This blog started off by focussing on NZ's smaller 3rd level airlines, past and present. It has evolved to trying to present some record of NZ's domestic airline operations and some of the larger charter operators, interesting NZ international airliner movements and photos I have taken around the country. Comments, corrections or contributions are welcome, Steve - westland831@gmail.com
  

  

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Pablo Iglesias says that Podemos will never enter into a coalition government with Ciudadanos. BERNARDO PEREZ

Podemos is ramping up the pressure against Socialist (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez in an effort to get him to accept its offer of a three-way leftist coalition.

Just minutes before King Felipe VI officially asked Sanchez to try to form a government and bid for the prime ministers office, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias warned that he would not be joining any alliance that includes Ciudadanos, Spains other emerging force.

The conditions are there for a government of change, but the time has come to make a choice

Pedro Sanchez has tried to sell everyone the notion of a governing agreement with Podemos and Ciudadanos, and thats impossible, said Iglesias, adding that he was still ready to reach out to the Socialists.

The head of the anti-austerity party has already proposed his own ideal scenario, a three-way coalition between PSOE, Podemos and the small United Left-Popular Unity group. In this government of change, Sanchez would be prime minister and Iglesias himself would be his deputy.

But so far, Sanchez seems more inclined towards a broader alliance of forces that would better reflect Spains new congressional makeup. Fellow Socialist officials have also expressed serious misgivings about entering into an alliance with Podemos.

Iglesias said on Tuesday that the only other option he sees is a grand coalition-type deal between the Socialists, the Popular Party (PP) and Ciudadanos.

Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera. EFE

Stressing Podemoss strategy of depicting Ciudadanos as a PP substitute, Iglesias said there was no possibility that we will agree, either actively or passively, to a government with Ciudadanos.

An agreement between the PSOE, the PP and Ciudadanos would contribute to breaking up Spain, he added, alluding to these parties economic programs, which he sees as similar.

Podemos and Ciudadanos are both new arrivals on the Spanish political scene, surging ahead in voter opinion polls with their similar messages of deep national change. But while the latter favors pro-market policies, the former began as a group sympathizing with Greeces anti-austerity Syriza party that has since shifted to the center-left to attract more moderate voters.

Both challengers were neck and neck during the campaign race, taking turns ranking near the top in voting intention polls. Their strong performance on December 20 cracked Spains traditional two-party hegemony, forcing the PP and PSOE to seek deals in order to govern.

Time is running out

But now, Iglesias is trying to force the Socialist Sanchez into choosing between himself and Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera as a coalition partner.

Spaniards are not in a position to wait any longer, said Iglesias.

The PP and PSOE have made us waste 40 days, but the impasse is broken, tweeted Podemos number two official Inigo Errejon after the king asked Sanchez to stand for the position. The conditions are there for a government of change, but the time has come to make a choice.

English version by Susana Urra.
Rod Burkett, President and CEO of Gardant Management Solutions, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Center for Assisted Living.

NCAL is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). The organization is dedicated to serving the needs of the assisted living community through national advocacy, education, networking, professional development and quality initiatives.

We are pleased to have Rod bring his expertise and experience from the Midwest in service to the entire assisted living profession, said Chris Mason, the NCAL Chair who appointed Burkett. He has made an imprint in Illinois by providing vulnerable seniors high-quality assisted living care. Rods wisdom and passion will be a valuable addition at the national level.

Burkett has been at the helm of Gardant since the company, formerly BMA Management, Ltd., was founded in 1999. The company manages more than 40 assisted living, senior living and memory care communities in Illinois. Gardant is the largest assisted living provider in Illinois and the 14th largest provider nationwide. Prior to joining Gardant, Burkett spent more than 20 years in the healthcare management fields of public health, home health, medical clinics, hospitals and nursing homes.

He is the past president and a current board member of the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition. He has served on several other state boards; this will be his first time serving on the board of a national industry organization.

I am looking forward to serving and bringing my experiences and strengths in the industry to this board, Burkett said, adding that he has been impressed by the leadership of Scott Tittle, Executive Director of NCAL, and Mark Parkinson, Executive Director of AHCA. Burkett also said he is looking forward to working with Chris Mason and the other board members.

NCAL is one of a handful of national trade organizations or organizational advocates that represent the assisted living industry, and Burkett said the organization is well positioned to be the national advocate for a more comprehensive plan for affordable and accessible assisted living for America's seniors. Accessibility for seniors has been a priority for Gardant; last year, the company spearheaded the first national summit on affordable assisted living.

Moving forward, NCAL is also positioned to help benchmark data and validate quality outcome initiatives while guiding the industry as it builds stronger relationships with hospitals and the healthcare delivery system.

Burkett will attend his first NCAL board meeting on Feb. 11 in San Antonio. He will serve the remainder of the current term, which ends this fall.

For more information about Gardant Management Solutions or the assisted living, senior living and memory care communities the company operates, call 1-877-882-1495.
Lice Guardian, LLC in Dallas, TX "We really try to make the whole process as pleasant as possible. Our goal is to put families at ease and give them really useful, factual information," explains Vicky.

Lice Guardian provides Dallas and Fort Worth area families a new way to combat head lice. Launched in October 2015, Lice Guardian's trained technicians bring specialized lice treatment directly to infected homes for fast relief of an oft-stigmatized condition. Technicians arrive in an unmarked car to maintain privacy and eliminate the need for distraught parents to explain their needs to a pharmacist in a public space.

Lice Guardian's owner/partner, Sara Portillo, started the business to alleviate the embarrassment felt by many families when children come home from school with lice. Though pediatricians are quick to point out that lice are easily passed from child to child and do not reflect on a home's cleanliness, many families still feel sharp embarrassment when the hear the diagnosis. "We really wanted to take the sting out of the stigma by making in home head lice removal treatment more convenient and private," says Vicky, Lice Guardian's lead technician.

When a family telephones or fills out a secure online form to contact Lice Guardian, the company sends a trained technician in a plain car to avoid unnecessary attention. Once in the home, technicians remove lice from the patients' hair while offering advice to parents and families about other lice abatement procedures, including proper disinfecting of bedding, clothing and household items like toys and games.

"We really try to make the whole process as pleasant as possible. Our goal is to put families at ease and give them really useful, factual information," explains Vicky.

In addition to maintaining privacy, Lice Guardian strives to reduce the incidence of so-called super lice, a breed of head lice that has developed resistance to the most commonly used lice treatments. Though the Center for Disease Control assures the public that super lice carry no disease, the genetic mutations that make them strong enough to survive traditional medical treatments are a cause for concern.

To avoid contributing to the rise of super lice, Lice Guardian uses products with all-natural, organic oils that are effective at removing lice without increasing their tolerance for chemical treatments. "Our products are safe and proven to be highly effective," states Sara. Lice Guardian offers a 21-day guarantee of their treatment's effectiveness.

With school in session, Lice Guardian is ready to treat families in the greater Dallas and Fort Worth area in the comfort of their own homes. According to Sara, "This is a new model of service, and we can't wait to help local families get rid of lice once and for all."
International Travel Security Consulting The Zika virus outbreak and ensuing official travel advisories are yet another wake up call that international employee security should be broadly defined.

IMG GlobalSecur, a top firm in the employee and executive international travel security consulting space, has issued a travel advisory bulletin on the Zika virus and overseas employee security. The company views international employee and executive security through a broad lense, and advises clients not only on issues such as terrorism and workplace violence but also on medical security and natural disaster risk exposure.

"The Zika virus outbreak and ensuing official travel advisories are yet another wake up call that international employee security should be broadly defined," explained Chris Hagon, CEO of IMG GlobalSecur. "We are advising the general public as well as subscribers to our international employee security alert service on ways to protect employees and executives who must travel to affected countries such as Brazil or Mexico."

To read the full travel advisory on the Zika virus, visit http://www.imgsecurity.net/zika-virus/. To sign up for the international travel security alerts, visit http://www.globalsecur.com/, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on 'DIB Sign up.'

Highlights of Zika Virus Travel Advisory

While most travel advisories are general in nature, the IMG Zika virus travel advisory focuses on corporate- and employee-related travel issues to Zika virus affected countries such as Brazil or Mexico. First, HR managers and employers are advised to educate themselves on the basics of the Zika virus and that its primary threat is to pregnant employees or to female employees in their childbearing years. Second, IMG advises caution when these employees might travel to affected areas; if possible, travel might be postponed until the situation becomes clearer. Third, the advisory gives practical advice to potential business travelers about ways to reduce exposure to mosquitoes as well as symptoms of the virus itself. Interested parties are urged to visit the website to read the advisory in full.

About the Incident Management Group (IMG)

Incident Management Group is a leading international security consulting firm. Corporate or business organizations concerned about their need for robust travel security solutions can reach out to the IMG Group for assistance. The companys experts provide services such as executive, employee, VIP, and expatriate travel security, workplace safety, duty of care management, risk and threat assessments, workplace violence prevention, crisis management planning, and more.

Web. http://www.theimg.com

Tel. (877) 887-9914
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Madrid City Halls decision to start tearing down monuments it associates with the Franco dictatorship has sparked a confrontation between the leftist municipal council and the conservative regional government.

The escalating face-off includes threats of legal action and calls for resignations.

On the same day that city workers took down a 1960 memorial to army officials located in the Jeronimos neighborhood, the regional government of Cristina Cifuentes, of the Popular Party (PP), announced an investigation that could lead to a penalty for local officials.

Priest: they could have told me E.P. Regional premier Cristina Cifuentes said the way the city removed the plaque to eight executed friars at Carabanchel cemetery was intolerable. Father Alberto, the parish priest at the Church of Saint Sebastian Martyr, where the memorial was located, said he found out that it was being taken away when a cemetery worker discovered some municipal workers loading it onto a van. They did it without consent or even informing us about it, adds the priest. I dont know whether the law mandated its removal, but I think at the very least they should have let me know about it. The plaque was returned to its place on Wednesday morning.

Regional authorities say that the obelisk to the Alferez Provisional (a military rank equivalent to second lieutenant) enjoyed legal protection on two counts: first, because it was located along the Prado-Recoletos axis, which is an officially classed Asset of Cultural Interest, and secondly because of its position next to a landmark building, the Cason del Buen Retiro.

The case could lead to a formal complaint with the public prosecutors office.

City Hall has come back saying that the monument falls under municipal ownership and was not protected by heritage laws.

Meanwhile, PP councilors at Madrid City Hall have called for the resignation of culture commissioner Celia Mayer, of the leftist alliance Ahora Madrid, for taking down this and other historical monuments between Friday and Monday without warning other parties about it.

The deputy PP spokesman in the Madrid council, Inigo Henriquez de Luna, said at a Wednesday press conference that both commissioner Mayer and Mayor Manuela Carmena have acted with stealth and secretiveness in this matter.

The conservatives even threatened to file a formal complaint against both women at a Madrid courthouse, but revoked their decision after the city announced that it would put back one of the memorials  a plaque to eight Carmelite friars who were executed by leftist forces in 1936, at the onset of the Spanish Civil War.

The plaque went back up at around 9.45am on Wednesday. But the PP said it may still consider legal action if the city continues to take down symbols without waiting for the action plan that the council agreed to draft in December.

Conservatives have asked for the resignation of Madrid Culture Commissioner Celia Mayer. EFE

It is also demanding the return of the Jeronimos obelisk and of a recently eliminated plaque to Jose Garcia Vara, a right-wing unionist who was killed in an ambush in 1935. The city has also revealed plans to do away with five other memorials, including two in honor of Jose Calvo Sotelo, a right-wing deputy who was killed in 1936 by members of the Republican Assault Guard.

The conservatives note that all these symbols allude to events prior to the Franco era, and thus do not violate the Historical Memory Law.

No prior warning

Other opposition groups have also voiced concern over the way Carmenas team has handled the issue.

You cant just take down monuments like this, regardless of whether you like them or not, said Mar Espinar, the Socialist spokeswoman for cultural affairs.

Her counterpart at Ciudadanos, Sofia Miranda, said that laws are there to be observed. We never agreed to remove these monuments at a plenary session, as Mayer now claims.

Miranda also wondered why the city paid 17,999 to a university chair for an as-yet unpublished report on the matter, if Mayer now says that the monument removal is based on a 2013 report justifying the move.

When Ahora Madrid successfully took over the city council from the long-ruling PP after the May 2015 elections, one of its promises was to eliminate all Francoist vestiges from the city streets, in compliance with the Historical Memory Law that Congress passed in 2007, under the Socialist administration of ex-Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

In a plenary session held in December, the council had agreed to draw up a plan in the space of four months to address the issue of what to do with Francoist vestiges in the city. There is also a project in the pipeline to change around 30 street names with links to the regime.

English version by Susana Urra.
A sanitation worker fumigating a home in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mario Martinez (EFE)

More information Mexico preve un aumento en el contagio del Zika

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Zika virus a global health epidemic, and in Mexico the number of cases is on the rise. Three cases had been detected by the end of November, but on Tuesday the Mexican government confirmed that the number had risen to 34. The Mexican Health Ministry expects that figure to grow yet further given that there is no vaccine or treatment for the disease  it can only be prevented by controlling the mosquito population.

Mexico began preparing for the virus more than a year ago, with specific actions aimed at controlling its transmission

Mexican Health Minister Mercedes Juan first announced on Tuesday that there were 21 people infected with the virus in Mexico. But later, during the inauguration of a hospital in Puebla state at which she appeared alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, she confirmed the number had risen to 34 cases. Juan added that Mexico had begun to prepare for the virus more than a year ago, with specific actions aimed at controlling its transmission.

At least 18 of the people infected contracted the virus on Mexican soil, most of them in the southern state of Chiapas. Before this, the WHO said Mexican authorities had reported three Zika cases in November 2015 including two domestic infections  residents of Nuevo Leon and Chiapas  and one imported case, in a patient who had recently traveled to Colombia.

This new disease has caused a global health emergency given that the virus is easily contracted and is difficult to control. The mosquito Aedes Aegypti is found in humid areas, especially where water is kept in storage containers. According to the WHO, when the insect bites an infected person and contracts the virus, it can then pass it on to another individual within eight to 12 days.

When the insect bites an infected person and contracts the virus, it can pass it on to another individual within eight to 12 days

Health Minister Juan said public health officials are focusing on providing medical attention to pregnant women in high-risk areas since the virus has been associated with an increase in cases of microcephaly  a neurological disorder that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads  in South America, especially in Brazil. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), 26 countries and territories in the Americas have reported domestic Zika infections, and the organization is concerned that the number of reports of microcephaly and similar complications associated with the virus may rise.

This mosquito species is also the carrier of dengue and chikungunya. The latter caused 11,468 cases in Mexico in 2015, the highest number of cases that year in any country in the Americas, PAHO says.

English version by Dyane Jean Francois.
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Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

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Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

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The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

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USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens

ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression
Hrant Bagratyan: Those involved in offshore scandal today have top posts (video)

The Armenian National Assembly today discussed a loan agreement to the tune of $113 million, signed with the Asian Development Bank on October 13, 2015, under the second part of the "Sustainable Urban Development Investment Program. In his speech, opposition lawmaker Hrant Bagratyan said he would first speak about the Parliamentary Assembly if the Council of Europe. In fact, we had a defeat (0:1) in the Strasbourg-based structure. We received a blow. But there is another problem here. I am sure that you can hardly find at least three people in this hall who understand the problem of the Sarsang reservoir. Speaking about the loan program, Hrant Bagratyan said that he would vote against it, but he finds it to be a good agreement. Though it is not perfect, the agreement is much better than the previous ones. Of course, it is well thought out. I only want to remind you that in the last eight years the Republic of Armenia has taken a loan of $3 billion six hundred million. You spend the money the way you want. But you will soon face difficulties in taking loans because there is a problem related to the GDP. On the other hand, we do not believe you because people involved in an offshore scandal today have tops posts why should we believe you? It is easy to guess what and who you are hinting at, NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan said. Mind your own business, Bagratyan said in reply. I have no other business, therefore I am sitting here. What do you want from me? I have not given any names, do you want to respond? Do you want me to give other names? said Sahakyan. Lawmaker Edmon Marukyan said he was going to vote against the loan programme.
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Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

Google Ad

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens

ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression
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Like many college seniors, Victoria Aveyard approached her 2012 graduation from the University of Southern California with a mixture of excitement and dread. Armed with a BFA in screenwriting, she had a portfolio of ideas, but no job. And what she really wanted to do seemed risky: write a YA novel. But when she confessed this to a representative from Benderspink, the television production company, at a campus pitchfest, he encouraged her to go for it. Aveyard, then 22, promptly decamped from Los Angeles to her childhood home in western Massachusetts where she spent most of her terrifying, unemployed year after college writing her first draft.

She need not have worried dramatically understates the events that followed. Her contact at Benderspink passed the manuscript to Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media, who brokered a three-book deal with HarperTeen in April 2013. Book one, Red Queen, sold out its first printing of 150,000 and then some: its been on bestseller lists for most of the year since its release last February. Foreign rights have sold into 37 territories, and film rights were sold before publication to Universal Studios, with Elizabeth Banks signed on to direct.

I remember when I first started writing, dreaming the dream that I would get it published, and whats happened since has exceeded that wish in every way, said Aveyard.

Now the follow-up, Glass Sword, arrives with a far more aggressive first printing of 500,000, continuing the exploits of Mare Barrow, 17, whose red blood marks her as a commoner in a kingdom whose rulers bleed silver and have superpowers, like telekinesis, Herculean strength, or mindreading. Mares fortunes change suddenly when she accidentally discovers that, despite her red blood, she, too, has a supernatural talent: she can control lightning.

The manuscript had a lot of in-house love, said HarperTeen executive editor Kristen Pettit, and the buzz grew exponentially once the publisher posted the striking cover (designed by Sarah Kaufman) on Epic Reads, its online YA site. Its so great, so iconographic, you almost dont need the words Red Queen on the cover, said Pettit, who ordered up the full dose of marketing: bookseller dinners, an invitation to appear at Winter Institute and Comic-Con, a pre-publication tour.

All that enthusiasm notwithstanding, Red Queen shares a lot of DNA with other fantasy trilogies, many of which have struggled to find an audience in a crowded marketplace. It is set in a dystopian society. Its heroine only reluctantly becomes embroiled in a revolutionary movement to overthrow the elite. Theres a complicated love triangle. So why did Red Queen succeed when similar series have failed to gain traction?

Pettit believes it was a perfect alchemy of elements that propelled the book to the top of the sales chart. Aveyard, now 25, brought boundless energy and a lot of social media savvy to the project. Once her fan base started to grow, she was able  and eager  to feed her readers appetites. After Red Queen made the bestseller list, Pettit wondered what else Aveyard might have in her notebook or computer files about the characters and their backstories.

We didnt expect to hit the bestseller list immediately so we all started brainstorming about what else we could give fans, whether there were other stories we wanted to tell and, of course, there were, Aveyard said. Its always interesting to get different points of view on a story. HarperTeen published two e-novellas, Queen Song and Steel Scars, to keep Aveyards readers sated until the release of Glass Sword. (In January, both e-novellas were published in a single paperback edition under the title Cruel Crown.)

A steady stream of content between books keeps fans engaged and gives readers insight into part of the greater tapestry that Victoria is weaving, Pettit said. Plus, it builds excitement for book two. So does cool swag, like the glass swords HarperTeen gave out at Comic Con. I mean how much fun is that, to use your glass sword for dueling with your friends? Pettit asked, while admitting, we might have done that a couple of times in the office ourselves.

But Aveyards greatest strength, Pettit insists, is the breadth of her canvas. From the beginning, I have been blown away by Victorias vision for the series, which is  Im going to invent a word here  Lucas-ian  like George Lucass vision for Star Wars, Pettit said. Shes writing an epic in the same vein. There is so much in her head about these characters and their world.

That became readily apparent when Aveyard began outlining book three, which shes working on now. I realized theres no way I was going to get all of the story into three books, Aveyard said, so Townsend negotiated a second, two-book deal for her writer. The trilogy became a quartet, with book three scheduled for 2017, book four for 2018, and a to-be-determined novel to be published in 2019.

Pettit said she had no hesitation about splitting the third volume into two separate books. Hollywood wouldve done that to the third book anyway! And Aveyard said she is not feeling pressure about the size of the story shes taken on  the key is to stick to her routine: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

I make myself work store hours because it helps me get in the zone and I try to break at five oclock unless something is really clicking, she said. Keeping set hours helps me combat burnout. I dont work on the weekends so by Sunday night I am actually excited for the work week to begin. I cant wait to get back to writing. Im like, Yeah, tomorrows Monday! 

Pettit is also mindful about Aveyards workload, in part, because the young authors instinct is to say Yes, when shes asked to do something. Suzie [Townsend] and I both feel incredibly protective of her so we have to be much more careful with the requests we send to her because her enthusiasm is bottomless.

The in-house marketing team has focused on promotions that dont require the authors input, creating, for instance, a fan site on Tumblr where readers who sign up to be part of Mare Barrows revolutionary group (The Scarlet Guard) get e-mail blasts each week with sneak peeks of new content, first looks at trailers or new jacket art, and the chance to win ARCs or related tchotchkes. Its pitched as, This is our mission for the week. Share this link and youll get the first seven chapters of the next book before anybody else,  Pettit said.

One thing they cant do without the author, though, is stage a tour, so Aveyard will join HarperCollins author Sophie Jordan, whose new book is titled Reign of Shadows, for appearances in St. Louis; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Fairfax, Va.; Philadelphia; and New York City beginning February 9. Before she hits the road, Aveyard is trying to get work done on book three, knowing she might not get back to it for a while. Its ticking along but its harder once youve been published to devote your attention to the manuscript that still needs to be written, she said. I realize now how lucky I was to have finished the second book before the first one came out.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. HarperTeen, $19.99 Feb. ISBN 978-0-06-231066-8

Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard. HarperTeen, paper $9.99 Jan. ISBN 978-0-06-243534-7
While ABA Winter Institute has become renowned for its roster of author appearances, inspiring keynotes, and rooms full of galleys, the annual gathering also provides indie booksellers with workshops and panels designed for stores of different sizes and specialties, including childrens booksellers. Below are some ideas gleaned at this years Wi11, held in Denver January 2326.

Martin Lindstroms Sunday breakfast keynote: Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends

 The instant gratification generation provides indie booksellers with their biggest opportunities  such as customers making last-minute purchases before birthday parties their children are attending.

 Build your brand by mining the small data about your customers. Observing customers browsing habits yields important information. Take note of generational differences in browsing behavior. Small data is about correlation.

 You are community centers: you should own that conversation. Keep your customer engaged: inside the store, outside, in the greater community, and via social media.

 Booksellers are curators and the discovery process is incredibly important: the fewer books on display, the more you sell.

 Dont stay in your store. Get out and understand your customers. Visit your customers at home, browse their bookshelves, converse with them about books, and also how and why they shop online.

 Consider adjacencies, whether its in displaying books and complementary sidelines such as plush toys, or taking full advantage of the browsers spilling over into the store from neighboring businesses.

 You help people transition from their busy lives. Thats what you are selling. Create an ambiance inside the store that prompts customers to make that transition as soon as they enter the store.

 Make your store accessible to customers so that they feel empowered rather than intimidated when entering and browsing inside the store.

Amy Cuddys Monday breakfast keynote: Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

 It is important to remain present in the face of challenges: believe your story; convey confidence without arrogance; communicate harmoniously. Be your authentic self.

 Presence is about power. It is easier to be present when you feel personally powerful.

 Your words should align with your body language. Your body language doesnt only speak to others: it speaks to you.

 Fake it until you become it.

 Cuddy quoted from Maya Angelou, Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper at a surprise appearance at Mondays breakfast at which he proclaimed January 25, 2016 Joyce Meskis Day, in honor of the Tattered Cover Book Store owner

 Good customer service is essential; it is important to put yourself in the others shoes when providing customer service.

 Do not praise a customers purchase when ringing it up: the next customer in line might be offended if his or her purchase also does not receive a compliment from you.

ABC Presents: Partnering for Diversity: Working with School Title 1 Coordinators

Moderated by Angie Tally, manager of The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, N.C., this panel included Missy Matthews, a Title 1 Coordinator in a Denver-area public school system, as well as Anne Menon, school orders coordinator, and Shelly Wilhelm, both with The Bookies in Denver.

 The panelists agree: its all about relationships.

 Think bigger than simply Title 1, but also think of Title 1 as opportunities to put great literature in the hands of school children, Matthews noted.

 Reach out to teachers, who come into store and to media specialists at schools before contacting Title 1 coordinators. The most important thing is to build relationships with teachers, as they are the most permanent personnel in any school district.

 Get to know school secretaries and principals as well.

 Booksellers in the store should have specialties to better assist teachers, such as geography or readers for the 1st and 2nd grades.

 It is essential to understand the needs of teachers, Matthews noted, because diversity is such a big thing. She said that teachers need guidance, because there is so much curriculum writing going on now. Teachers are rethinking texts used in the classroom.

 Menon and Wilhelm at The Bookies urged booksellers to deliver what you say you will deliver to teachers and to designate a staff person as the school ordering person at your store.

 Catalogs arent enough, Menon and Wilhelm said. Understand teachers needs, and put together packages for them that take into account diversity, as well as reading levels and proficiencies.

 Bring teachers into the store. Host open houses for teachers, and teacher nights, at the store.

 The Bookies is considering advertising itself to schools in the area by attending meet & greet events at the schools and attending educational conferences.

 Host book fairs inside the store. Wilhelm said, It brings children and their parents into the store. Its amazing how few of them have been to a bookstore before.

 Connect authors to students; facilitate personal visits by authors to schools.

 Partner with media specialists to convince principals to host authors. Convince publishers to send authors into your local schools.

 Tally said that she informs publishers when schools agree to buy copies of books in bulk for distribution to students  to suggest they send the author for an event who will also sign the books.

 Before selling Title 1 books to teachers, confirm the terms with publishers. Bookstores receive discounts from some publishers, if the books are to be donated. Tally passes that discount on to the schools.

 Audience member Jesica DeHart of Bookpeople in Moscow, Idaho, suggested giving f&gs to Title 1 teachers and to school media specialists, as they have staplers and can make regular books out of them.

 Fellow bookseller and PW blogger Elizabeth Bluemles [booklist on Librarything] http://www.librarything.com/catalog/shelftalker was recommended as a great resource for good books with multicultural characters, but which dont necessarily fit the criteria for Title 1 selections.

 Teachers are overwhelmed: if you help them, they will talk you up to other teachers, said Beth Stroh, a former teacher who is opening Viewpoint Books in Columbus, Ind.

ABC Presents: Inventory Maintenance and Turns for Childrens Series

This panel with Justin Colussy-Estes at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga.; Sara Grochowski at Brilliant Books in Traverse City, Mich.; Sarah Hutton at Village Books in Bellingham, Wash.; and Tegan Tigani (moderator) at Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, was packed. Judith Lafitte, co-owner of Octavia Books in New Orleans, called it the best workshop she attended at Winter Institute.

 If we commit to a series, Grochowski said, we commit to the entire series. That commitment is affected by the books in the school library. The store tries not to overlap.

 By contrast, Colussy-Estes said that his store would be overrun by series if they did that. A good rule of thumb, he advised, is to carry books 1, 2, 3, and the latest book. He alphabetizes the books by series name.

 With rapid replenishment, Hutton noted that booksellers dont need to keep more than minimal back stock for series titles. She arranges series by their intended age. Its almost a rite of passage, she said, if youre reading on the other side [of the section].

 One bookseller asked how to figure out the titles in a series in order, something that isnt always easy. The responses varied from Wikipedia to Amazon and Goodreads. The conversation carried over to the Town Hall, where someone in the audience recommended the FantasticFiction.co.uk web site. (A PW favorite is Mid-Continent Public Librarys exhaustive Juvenile Series and Sequels list.)

 As to how to decide when its time to remove a series and try something else, Grochowski looks at sales over time and considers why the first book might be selling but not the rest, which can mean its time to let the series fade away. At Village Books, Hutton said that if she sees that the first two books in the series have sold, shell check the shelf to see if book three was mis-shelved.

 Colussy-Estes warned booksellers not to neglect the standalones in the middle grade section. His rule of thumb about where to shelve is: Whats going to make that kid excited about finding that book?

Minimum Wage Update: Advocacy and Implementation

Becky Anderson at Andersons Bookshop in Naperville, Ill.; Jarek Steele at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Mo.; Tracy Taylor at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle; Michael Tucker at Books Inc. in San Francisco, and Pete Mulvihill (moderator) at Green Apple Books in San Francisco discussed the issues for booksellers surrounding minimum wage, which is already on a rising trajectory on the West Coast.

 Steele, who would like to see minimum wage tied to the cost of living, said that for his store to pay $15/hour it would have to sell 41 more books a day. The store currently provides free health insurance, which adds $2.85 to wages, and it has raised salaries.

Tucker said that the jury is still out on what $15/hour will do to small businesses; Berkeley is looking at $19. His biggest concern is how fast it is raised. Its a little bit like boiling frogs, he said, adding that the store is committed to not having anyone losing their job or benefits.

 Christin Evans at Booksmith in San Francisco and Keplers in Menlo Park suggested asking a disinterested party who is good with numbers to help go over the books to see what can be cut to get to $15/hour. She also renegotiated Booksmiths rent to less than the owner had wanted, so that she could meet wage increases.

 Mulvihill said that hes switched payroll companies and credit card companies to lower expenses. Hes also doubled down on the shop local message and tried to get the word out that people who shop at Amazon are voting for $9/hour versus $15 at indies.

 Taylor said that she shares the stores financial situation with staff at quarterly meetings. After a new hire, who had accepted a starting wage of $9.50/hour, told her that he wouldnt work there if his wages werent increased to $15, she said that she has begun to think more about what a bookseller is worth.

 Unlike the other panelists, who were concerned about how quickly minimum wage hikes are put into effect, Anderson would like to see the minimum wage raised immediately from $8.25, which she regards as too low, even though it is the highest in the Midwest.

Bookselling 101: The When, How & Why of Returns

Jenny Cohen at Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River, Ore.; Adrian Newell at Warwicks in La Jolla, Calif.; Kate Schlademan at The Learned Owl Book Shop in Hudson, Oh.; and Jonathon Welch (moderator) at Talking Leaves...Books in Buffalo, spoke about how their stores handle returns.

 At Warwicks, returns are pulled before the end of the year and before each buying cycle. Newell recommended taking a page from organizer Marie Kondo: Is this book bringing you joy? she asked. The other side [of that] is: Is it earning money?

 Cohen, who tries to pull each section once a year, asks, Is [the book] paying its rent? She does the same thing for gifts, which she marks down significantly since they are nonreturnable. Shes found that less inventory really is more. Whenever we pull a section, sales will increase, she said.

 I see returns as an exciting thing, Schlademan said, rather than a failure. It means I gave some things a chance. From her years doing inventory, including seven at Borders, she warned, Dont fall in love with your inventory. And she said that inevitably as soon as you pull a section, someone will request one of the books you pulled.

For more coverage of Winter Institute 11, see Kwame Alexander Becomes the 'Say Yes Guy' at the Show, Winter Institute 11 in Photos, and Winter Institute 11: Childrens Authors, Presses, Books Share the Stage.
While the focus was primarily on the offerings for adult readers among the 625 booksellers attending this years Winter Institute (held in Denver January 2326), childrens publishers and authors also took their turns in the limelight at the annual gathering of publishers reps, authors, and booksellers.

Of a dozen publishers presenting their 2016 releases at the Small Press Luncheon during Wi11, one, Creston Books, publishes books for children by debut authors and illustrators. The California-based press, which launched its first list in fall 2013, has 19 books on its list to date, 11 of which have received starred reviews in trade publications. Theres a lot of bang for our small list, publisher Marissa Moss said, before presenting her spring list of four releases: California Dreaming by Marissa Moss (April), the latest in the Miras Diary series of time-traveling historical novels; Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep by Robin Newman, illustrated by Chris Ewald April); Busy Busy by Lucy Scott (May); and The Girl Who Saved Yesterday by Julius Lester, illustrated by Carl Angel, which Moss described as gorgeous. Moss disclosed that it would probably be Lesters last book, adding, If you care about diversity, this is a book you should read.

While the other 11 small presses emphasized their adult offerings, several included a childrens book or series among the adult titles. Ben LeRoy, F&W/Tyrus publisher, presented Local Girl Swept Away by Ellen Wittlinger (June), the latest YA release from Merit Press, which is an F&W imprint of YA releases curated by author Jacqueline Mitchard. Matt Smiley of the University of Minnesota Press kicked off his presentation with the picture book, Wake Up, Island by Mary Casanova, with woodcuts by Nick Wroblewski (March), which is one of the presss top two releases for the trade market this spring. And Shana Capozza of Rowman & Littlefield presented among an extensive list of books about the outdoors five books in the Ranger Rick line of childrens books that are being released in June by Taylor Trade Publishing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ranger Rick magazine next year. Its about getting kids excited about visiting national parks, Capozza said.

Childrens authors received equal time during the Indies Introduce Anthology session immediately following the Small Press luncheon. Of the nine debut novelists presenting their spring releases to a packed ballroom of booksellers, four were YA authors  the fifth YA author scheduled to speak, Goldy Moldavsky (Kill the Boy Band, Scholastic/Point, Feb.) was stuck in New York City because of the blizzard. The four YA authors selected for Indies Introduce who did make it to Wi11 included Lindsay Eagar, Hour of the Bees (Candlewick, March), which she described as a magical realism novel that she wrote in about 10 days; Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, The Smell of Other Peoples Houses (Random/Wendy Lamb, Feb.), about four teenagers in the early days of Alaskas statehood; Sean McGinty, The End of FUN (Disney-Hyperion, Apr.), described as a volatile blend of M.T. Anderson, Cory Doctorow, Andrew Smith, and Hunter S. Thompson; and Harriet Reuter Hapgood, The Square Root of Summer (Roaring Brook, May), about a 17-year-old physics prodigy who immerses herself in equations and theories in response to personal heartbreak.

Afterwards, Judith Lafitte of Octavia Books in New Orleans expressed appreciation for all of the debut novels presented, singling out The Square Root of Summer over the other eight adult and YA debuts, and describing it as something new, really different. It sounded like its going to be exciting to read.

The Square Root of Summer wasnt the only YA novel receiving special mention from both general and childrens booksellers. Several booksellers PW queried cited Ruta Sepetys Salt to the Sea (Philomel, Feb.), a historical novel about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945 during World War II as the book they are most excited to sell. Most of the booksellers PW spoke to had read the galleys before Winter Institute.

Thirty pages in and tears were running down my face, said Shirley Mullin, the owner of Kids Ink in Indianapolis, praising Sepetys extensive historical research into the sinking of the ship filled with refugees of various nationalities fleeing war. The authors research included interviews with both survivors and divers who have explored the wreck. I often read books in a few days, but I had such an emotional investment in the characters, it slowed down my reading, Mullin said.

There were also, as usual, discoveries made during the conference. Robert McDonald of the Bookstall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Ill. praised as his find of the show Ms. Bixbys Last Day by John David Anderson (HarperCollins/Walden Pond, June), and described the middle-grade read as sad and funny, all at the same time. It tells the tale of a teacher who, in the midst of reading The Hobbit to her middle-grade class, announces that she wont be finishing out the school year. How could I resist? McDonald asked PW. Linda Devlin of Lindas Story Time in Monroe, Conn., noted that, with three boys as the main characters and a light touch, Ms. Bixbys Last Day is going to do really well with boys, including reluctant readers.

Winter Institute is moving to Minneapolis in 2017, to be held January 2730, and with the number of childrens authors and illustrators residing in Minnesota, the Minnesota Mafia of childrens trade and educational book publishers clustered in the Twin Cities and Mankato, and the proximity of such iconic childrens bookstores as Wild Rumpus Books and The Red Balloon Bookshop, childrens books and authors are certain to remain front and center throughout next years three-day gathering of book industry people.

Im so psyched  its such a great indie publishing town and such a great indie bookstore town for both adults and children, said Anmyram Budner of Main Point Books in Bryn Mawr, Pa., as Wi11 wound down with a small press reception. Why would we not want to be in the Twin Cities and while in town, check out [Wild Rumpus owner] Colette Morgans famed bookstore menagerie?

For more coverage of Winter Institute 11, see Kwame Alexander Becomes the 'Say Yes Guy' at the Show, Winter Institute 11 in Photos, and Bookselling Tips from Winter Institute 2016.
A coalition of authors, publishers, and rights organizations were among those filing amicus briefs this week in support of the Authors Guild's bid to have the Supreme Court review its legal challenge to Googles library book scanning program.

Those filing briefs include:

The briefs come after the Authors Guild in October lost its appeal in its long-running battle with Google. On December 31, the guild petitioned the Supreme Court for a review, arguing that the Second Circuits unanimous decision in the fair use battle represents "an unprecedented judicial expansion of the fair use doctrine that threatens copyright protection in the digital age.

Google has until March 1 to file its opposition brief.

In their brief, the authors contend that the fair-use doctrine was never intendedeither by the judges who developed the doctrine at common law or the many Congresses that drafted and finally codified the fair use doctrineto permit a wealthy for-profit entity to digitize millions of works and to cut off authors licensing of their reproduction, distribution, and public display rights.

In its brief, lawyers for the Copyright Clearance Center argue that, if left to stand, the Google decision will likely spawn myriad other unauthorized, technology-enabled exploitations of potentially vast amounts of copyrighted material, both here and abroad, on the premise that the uses to which these works are being put are socially valuable and do not directly compete with sales of the originals.

In a statement, Mary Rasenberger, executive director of the Authors Guild, said that the support of the various groups proves that this matter is critical to the future of fair use under copyright lawif not the future of publishing and authorship itself. The Supreme Court has not heard a fair use case in over 20 years.

The guild's Supreme Court bid is the last twist in the associations decade-long legal battle against Google over its program to digitize out-of-print library books. The suit was first filed in September of 2005, but was shelved from late 2008 until 2011 while the parties stumped for a controversial, ultimately rejected settlement.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide this spring if it will hear the case.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  People can see an alert system for school lockdowns and a power chair for toddlers with neurological disorders among the original projects competing in the Midwest Regionals for the Phoenix Contact Nanoline Contest at Purdue University.

The contest goes from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 6). Teams will be assigned rooms in Stanley Coulter Hall in the morning. Awards will be presented at 2 p.m. in Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry.

Eight teams from seven middle and high schools  six from Indiana and one from Ohio  will compete. A panel of five judges will look over the projects.

People are invited to view the projects beginning at 12:25 p.m. and also attend the afternoon award presentation.

Purdue professors Brad and Alka Harriger spearhead the regional event at Purdue and provide organizational support to this weekend's Southeast Regionals at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.

"The Phoenix Contact Nanoline Contest is a great way to spark interest in and enthusiasm for STEM, particularly logical thinking, computer programming and automation," Alka Harriger said. "It's a great way to respond to President Barack Obama's call to action to teach children programming."

The Nanoline is an intelligent and compact controller that automates multiple basic tasks. The projects call for teams to build a working automation system using the controller with related electronic components and nanoNavigator software.

Tool kits are provided to the teams along with gift cards to help defray the cost of additional materials for the student projects.

"The experience helps students understand what it takes to work in teams to innovate a fully-functional automated system," Brad Harriger said.

Two teams from Benton Central Junior-Senior High School in Oxford, Indiana, will compete again this year after winning the national event in 2015 with a T-shirt cannon. The qualifier from the Midwest region will advance to the national competition on Feb. 20 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Sources: Brad Harriger, 765-494-7515, bcharrig@purdue.edu

Alka Harriger, 765-494-2565, harrigea@purdue.edu
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP)  The wife of a disgraced Illinois police officer who staged his suicide to appear he was gunned down in the line of duty, sparking an intensive manhunt, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges she assisted her husband in siphoning money from a youth program.

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, of Antioch, pleaded not guilty in Lake County court to two counts of money laundering and three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority for personal benefit or use.

Her husband, Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, died Sept. 1. Authorities say he shot himself because he feared discovery of embezzlement from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post, a program for teens interested in law enforcement careers. His death touched off a manhunt involving hundreds of officers and raised fears that several killers were on the loose.

Melodie Gliniewicz's lawyer entered the not guilty pleas on her behalf Wednesday. After Judge George Strickland explained she faced a potential sentence of up to seven years behind bars, she acknowledged she understood. The next court appearance for Gliniewicz, who is free on a $50,000 bond, was set for Feb. 26.

Neither she nor her lawyer, Don Morrison, spoke to reporters as they left the courthouse. In a statement after her indictment last week, attorneys for Melodie Gliniewicz vehemently denied that she took part in her husband's scheme.

Immediately after Joe Gliniewicz's death, he was hailed as a hero and praised for his work with the youth program. Melodie Gliniewicz's tearfully told hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil that Gliniewicz had been her "hero" and her "rock."

Lake County prosecutors said in announcing the indictment of Melodie Gliniewicz that money from the explorer's account was used for expenses including more than 400 restaurant charges and a trip to Hawaii.

Authorities released incriminating text and Facebook messages in November showing a frantic Joe Gliniewicz discussing the money and ways he could evade discovery. An official with knowledge of the investigation identified Gliniewicz's wife and one of his sons, an Army soldier stationed in North Carolina, as the recipients of those messages. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly.

But investigators said last week they did not find evidence to charge the couple's son, 23-year-old son, Donald "D.J." Gliniewicz.
To the best of my knowledge:

-- Attention, SouthPark Mall male shoppers: THEY MAKE PANTS THAT FIT. I repeat, THEY MAKE PANTS THAT FIT.

-- My New Year's resolution was to be more caring and understanding and less sarcastic. Sorry.

-- Vegan pizza is just the box, right?

-- I woke up next to my bed the other day, but I still don't know if I fell out or didn't make it to it.

-- A single male in his 40s told me: "The hustle that is Valentine's Day was created by a woman who did not get what she wanted for Christmas.'' Remember, "single'' is the key word there.

-- Red velvet cake Oreos can brighten the darkest day.

-- Sooner or later, every dude quotes his dad.

-- Donald Trump could start an argument in an empty house.

-- I will rise, but shining is usually not part of my day.

-- Hear that? It's the quiet of a caucus-free community.

-- A coffeehouse Phi Beta Kappa (his words) said: "The world would be a better place if closed minds came with closed mouths.''

-- Your vote and your opinion count. See Bernie and Hillary in Iowa for all the proof you need.

-- There's always that one dude who can make your head spin explaining how his new phone works but has no idea how to turn off his flashers.

-- You never realize just how goofy the pack of people you hang out with is until you attempt to explain them to other people.

-- Only three more weeks until the new-leaf turners stop taking up all the space at the gym.

-- The big rat in Pennsylvania didn't see his shadow. That has to mean global warming.

-- A nice lady inside the Moline Dillard's said: "If Donald Trump becomes president, they are going to call the plane Hair Force One.''

-- If your car is wrapped in company advertising (Locals Love Us), you shouldn't look down at your phone and drift from one lane to another on a busy Monday. I'm just saying.

-- If you are average at eavesdropping but big on laughing for a long period of time, I suggest breakfast at Moline's 1st Street Village Inn. The table featuring four gentleman past age 60 -- located just to the south of the host station -- will leave you in stitches. They should put a rail around them and charge admission. Thanks, fellas.

-- I drive more carefully when there's food on my passenger seat than I do when there's a person sitting there.

-- There is no such thing as a bad cupcake or Rice Krispie treat.

-- It's officially that time of the year when you must refer to the Super Bowl as the Big Game. Remember, you cannot say Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.
Meng Brings NASA Astronaut To Queens On October 17, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) brought NASA astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim to Queens where he met and spoke with students at Francis...

Celebrating Columbus The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Queens (FIAO) held their annual Columbus Day parade in Astoria, on Saturday, October 8, during Italian Heritage Month. The...

Russo-Elling Mourned More than 300 first responders lined up on Thursday night to honor FDNY EMT Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, as her body was placed into a waiting...
BEG will award S-Bahn Munich an interim contract which will run from December 2017 when the current deal expires until December 2019, when a new long-term contract covering the entire network comes into effect. A second city centre S-Bahn tunnel will be completed half way through the contract term in 2025, and with a significant increase in capacity at the heart of the network, BEG forecasts a gradual increase in S-Bahn services from 20 million train-km per year to around 26 million.

At this point, the increase in services and the age of the current train fleet will necessitate the procurement of new rolling stock.

When this contract expires in 2032, operation of the network will be divided into lots, with each contract running for around 12 years.

BEG says the three-stage plan has been developed with the assistance of external consultants and takes into account the "extreme" operational complexity of the S-Bahn network, which combines intensively-used sections accommodating up to 30 trains per direction per hour in the core with single track and mixed-traffic operation in the periphery.

"Operational stability is the ultimate goal of all our planning," explains BEG managing director Mr Johannes Niggl. "Splitting the network into lots will enable greater competition, but it will be impracticable to do this before the second tunnel is built."

BEG says that it has decided to directly award the interim contract to DB Regio because it is the only operator with the resources, including rolling stock, to meet its operational requirements.
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Electus International has picked up the global distribution rights to the hit documentary A Murder in the Park.





The film was acquired for the US by Sundance Selects and IFC, and was released theatrically by IFC last year. Additionally, A Murder in the Park will air in the US on a premium cable broadcaster in March, and will be available on Netflix afterward.Electus International has already signed deals with Foxtel in Australia and an undisclosed broadcaster in Benelux; more are expected to follow.Directed by Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber, A Murder in the Park examines the fascinating case that resulted in Illinois abolishing the death penalty. In 1999, a group of Northwestern University students helped exonerate a Chicago man on death row who they believed was innocent. Anthony Porter was freed, and another man, Alstory Simon confessed to the crime. It sounds like a story too good to be true, and A Murder in the Park explores whether Porter was actually guilty all along.A Murder in the Park is an incredible documentary that carefully explores one of the most scandalous and riveting true-crime cases in recent memory, said Darah Wagner, director of acquisitions at Electus International . The true crime genre is exploding in popularity in recent years, and were excited to bring what Time Magazine called one of the 15 most fascinating true crime stories ever told to audiences around the world.Electus also recently secured a host of global sales for Media Headquarters hit format, Canadas Smartest Person.
"There's never been a line of commercial insurance that has more data at its fingertips than cyber insurers do today," says Methven. "But it's how they find that needle in the haystack."
The Kremlin and the Russian media are using Europe's refugee crisis to sow further divisions in the EU and weaken Angela Merkel.

Russia's propaganda machine-which went full blast against members of the Ukrainian government during the Ukraine crisis, labeling them fascists and anti-Semites-is in full swing again. This time, the target is Germany, once considered Russia's closest ally in Europe.

Ever since Chancellor Angela Merkel declared her intention to allow refugees from Syria to enter Germany, the Russian media have been reporting every twist and turn of the opposition that is building up in her conservative bloc and among sections of the German public to her open-door refugee policy.

But in recent days, the Russian state media, joined by none other than Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, have taken a different turn. They are tapping into Germany's community of 1.2 million ethnic Russians to criticize Merkel's policies and boost those who are unequivocally against Germany taking in refugees. The community is known for its conservative if not xenophobic views, as witnessed during demonstrations by Germany's anti-Islam Pegida movement, in which ethnic Russians participate.

Now, Russia may be using Germany's Russian-speaking community to create further opposition to Merkel, similar to the way it tries to instrumentalize the ethnic Russian communities in the Baltic states. Merkel is an easy target, certainly for many Russians living in Germany and for Russians back home. To the surprise and annoyance of the Kremlin, Merkel has managed to keep the EU united over maintaining sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea in March 2014 and subsequently invaded eastern Ukraine.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin can take solace over how the refugee crisis has divided and weakened Europe and, day by day, is making life more difficult for Merkel.

That may explain why the Russian media have homed in on the case of Lisa, the thirteen-year-old daughter of a Russian immigrant family. Ivan Blagoy, a correspondent for Russia's state-run First Channel TV, reported that the girl had disappeared for thirty hours and had been raped by "southern-looking" asylum seekers. His report went viral on Facebook.

Ethnic Russians recently held demonstrations in several German cities. Over 700 gathered outside the Chancellery on January 24 holding up placards demanding protection for their daughters. They accused the police of a cover-up and of political correctness in dealing with the refugees, a repeat of what was leveled against the police during New Year's celebrations in Cologne and other German cities, where gangs of North African men sexually assaulted women.

The Berlin police said the girl was neither abducted nor raped. The details are still vague. Blagoy has been reported to the police for incitement.

That didn't stop Lavrov from wading in. "It is clear that Lisa did not exactly decide voluntarily to disappear for 30 hours," Lavrov said during a news conference in Moscow on January 26. Then, challenging the integrity of Germany's police and investigation authorities, he added: "I hope these issues do not get swept under the rug, repeating the situation when a Russian girl's disappearance in Germany was hushed up. . . . Truth and justice must prevail here."

This hit a raw nerve in the German Chancellery, the foreign ministry, and the government. Steffen Seibert, the government spokesman, said there was "no reason, in fact it is even impermissible, to make political use of this case."

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, was unusually critical of his Russian counterpart. The case should not be used "for political propaganda, and to inflame and influence what is already a difficult debate about migration within Germany," he said.

Norbert Rottgen, the chairman of the parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, was even more critical. "Manipulation and untruths are common methods in the propaganda used by the Russian leadership," he said. "The case shows that domestic questions of power in Russia appear to be more important than relations with other countries."

But it's more than that. It's about Russia using propaganda to weaken the EU's common positions and therefore the union itself. There have been numerous reports of how Russia has been financing far-right movements or parties that are Euroskeptic and that challenge Europe's basic values of human rights, dignity, and media freedom.

Lavrov denied that Russia wanted to see a weakened EU. "We are not interested in seeing the EU weakened or split," he said at the news conference. "We are interested in a united and strong European Union, a partner to work with comfortably on economic issues and other matters," he added. Now that's news.

(AP photo)
British Prime Minister David Cameron has been negotiating with European Council President Donald Tusk on an amendment to the agreement that governs British membership in the European Union. As many other European countries are experiencing, there is a rising opposition in Britain to EU membership. Cameron is in favor of membership but is also committed to holding a national referendum later this year or early next year on whether the United Kingdom should remain a part of the EU. At the same time, he has been trying to redefine the British relationship with the EU, in order to diminish the opposition.

A draft agreement was reached on Feb. 2 and it is, like all international agreements, long and impenetrable. It is also subject to approval by all EU member states, and there are still some details - particularly on the key issue of a graduated system of benefits for European migrants - that are up for negotiation. Extracting the proposed agreement's essence is not easy. But even if the document is impenetrable, the core objection of opponents of EU membership is not. The opponents want to maintain British sovereignty and want Britain to have the right to reject or ignore the EU regulations with which they disagree. Simply put, they want to be ruled by their own sovereign and parliament as the supreme and undisputed law of the land.

There are many other issues involved and the views expressed by opponents are frequently more complex. But in the end, the principle of sovereignty is critical not only to opponents of EU membership but to the supporters who want to remain in the union but also want to retain some degree of control over the EU's regulations. If Cameron had been able to negotiate an agreement that substantially narrowed the EU's power to regulate Britain, the opposition would have collapsed, or at least been mortally weakened.

This is what Cameron went home with:

Where reasoned opinions on the non-compliance of a draft EU legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity, sent within 12 weeks from the transmission of that draft, represent more than 55% of the votes allocated to the national Parliaments, the Council Presidency will include the item on the agenda of the Council for a comprehensive discussion on these opinions and on the consequences to be drawn therefrom.

This means that Britain will not be allowed to independently reject EU legislation. However, when 55 percent of the bloc's member parliaments vote for non-compliance with a piece of legislation, the European Council will discuss the legislation, the opinions and the consequences. One fascinating phrase used in the draft agreement is "reasoned opinions," which will be necessary for the 55 percent to trigger council consideration. It's difficult to figure out if this is just a legal phrase of little importance or whether there really will be a process that will determine whether the objections were indeed reasoned.

Leaving that marvelous phrase aside, the fact is that Britain will not be permitted to opt out of legislation its parliament disapproves of. Rather, it must convince 55 percent of the other parliaments in the EU to also disagree, and that in turn will result in the council deciding whether or not to take further action. Simply put, the British Parliament will not have sovereign power over the law. It is not clear whether 55 percent of the parliaments of EU members will have the collective power to reverse a decision made by the union. At most, they will likely be able to compel the council to discuss the matter. Power to rescind rests with the council.

This issue is precisely what the critics object to. And that means that the referendum will go forward. It seems to me that Cameron has not succeeded in cutting the ground out from under the critics. To the contrary, his very failure might further fuel opposition.

Britain has never been comfortable with European integration. For centuries it has seen the Continent as a strategic threat, to be manipulated and blocked, but not to be drawn into. Britain was a maritime power and its wealth rested on that. Being drawn into the Continent and its disputes, except as a last resort, was not something it wanted to do.

When the European Economic Community (EEC), the forerunner to the European Union, was created, the British were instrumental in establishing an alternative to the EEC, called the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Where the EEC was early in seeking to harmonize the economies of its members, and lightly intruding on their internal affairs, the EFTA was simply a free trade zone, a treaty between sovereign powers that ceded no power at all over internal affairs. However, the attraction of a fully integrated European economy was too powerful and Britain eventually joined the EU. But it never joined the eurozone, and it was always uneasy over the growing power of the EU.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/03/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/02/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/02/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

Former and Bachelor Pad cast member Erica Rose is expecting a baby with boyfriend Galen Gentry.Rose, 32, confirmed the big news on Instagram Monday by writing , "Ok y'all the cat or should I say baby is out of the bag, lol! It's true I'm preggers and couldn't be more excited. #TheBachelor #babyfever #LibraBaby.""I am really excited!" Rose told Us Weekly in a statement. "We were trying, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. It's something that I've always wanted and feel ready for, so we can't wait."Rose is reportedly due on September 24 and intends to wed Gentry once the baby arrives."We don't know the gender. The first week, I felt like it was a girl, and then I was for sure it was a boy, so now I can't decide if I even want to know yet!" Rose admitted."[Galen and I] aren't married yet, but we are considering ourselves engaged. We were thinking about getting married in the next few months, but I think it'll probably happen after the baby comes, since there's so much to do!"The couple began dating in November after meeting at work. Rose is the director of business development for Gentry Law Group, while Gentry is an attorney there."I just hope this baby is a Libra, since I'm an Aries, and Aries get along really well with Libras," Rose, who currently lives in Los Angeles, told Us.Rose initially vied for the affection of Lorenzo Borghese on 's ninth season. She then competed on the second and third editions of Bachelor Pad and later appeared on VH1's You're Cut Off! reality series.
Investing in the Vancouver has reportedly been relatively safe. But even the most secure place to put money in are not 100 percent bulletproof.

Executive Vice-President Darren Kwiatkowski of Shape Properties said that many agree that when it comes to real estate, "Vancouver is a bright, shining star on many levels." The Vancouver property market reportedly expects to see more people renting and more foreign investments coming in. In addition, Senior VP Jon Ramscar of Jones Lang LaSalle Real Estate said that Vancouver is a "low-risk" market where investments are secure.

A more recent report may contradict what many believe. According to The Huffington Post, diversifying investments is a good strategy for managing wealth and adding a Vancouver property to your portfolio may seem to be a sound decision. Investment adviser Ludovic Siouffi warns though, that it is a fact that people have lost money even in a "low-risk" market like Vancouver.

According to The Vancouver Sun, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) broadcasted in January that in 2015 "home sales were the highest annual total in REBGV history." In a previous real estate conference, it was commonly agreed that the market has been overheated for two years already but no one is expecting prices to moderate in the near future.

But Siouffi reminds that prices in Vancouver were not always in a straight line then he said that in 2008, REBGV had reported that home price index for Greater Vancouver dropped by 10.1 percent while units dropped by 11 percent. Siouffi's point is that even red hot markets cannot guarantee investments by 100 percent. That is why the saying that in Vancouver people don't buy homes with their own income makes sense.

So, if the investor already has properties in the Vancouver area, Siouffi suggests, via Vancity Buzz, to steer away from real estate investment for now and further diversity portfolio instead to cut down on risks.
Week 3 of "Ellen's Design Challenge" Season 2 saw the six remaining contestants in a battle over china. Not the country, but fine china plate settings. Their task, to come up with a dining table that will become the background for their tableware.

Sef Pinney, having won last week's outdoor challenge, had the first pick. He chose dishes with ornate, scrollwork patterns. He immediately envisioned a table with a surprise detail at the center: mirrored inset, reflecting a "hidden" damask carving underneath, similar to the plates' pattern. He and his partner craftsman Chip Wade used wood and custom-made metal brackets to add an industrial feel to his ornate design.

Miles Endo also came up with a "dining table with a surprise." After choosing plates with geometric patterns, Miles decided on a round wooden table with a gold trim. Its piece de resistance: a hexagonal mechanical chamber at the center that can go up and down, and can store more dishes. Though the contestants only had three days, Miles was bent on making his mechanical system work.

Meanwhile, Kyle Huntoon picked ultra-feminine pink plates with delicate silver dots. He came up with a minimalist design in whitewashed wood to modernize the look. He incorporated metal rods in his dining to table to mirror the dots on his plates. On a side note, Kyle also got a new craftsman to work with this week, Matt Muenster from HGTV's "Bath Crashers."

Melissa River Torres' china had swirly patterns on them, and she decided to make a table that resembled the plates. Her design used dark wood for the table, with an embedded scrollwork pattern made of steel, along with curvy legs also made of steel.

As for Vivian Beer, she chose a traditional, delicate set of china. Her final design featured curvy metal legs just like Melissa's. But she decided to paint the legs in white, matching the tabletop in lightwood. Lastly, Alexis Moran chose plates that she said inspired her to go on a vacation. Hence, she designed a coastal-style table with a checkerboard pattern. The result was a simple, minimalist piece.

Have you caught alumna Alexis Moran on Ellen's Design Challenge on @HGTV yet? https://t.co/yJstGVkmAa pic.twitter.com/skZgXitJRv  CA College of Arts (@CACollegeofArts) January 25, 2016

After three days in the workshop, the contestants faced judges Christiane Lemieux and Cliff Fong. Joining them was Wendy Goodman, design editor for the New York Magazine.

First up was Kyle's whitewashed table with metal "polka dot" rods. All three judges liked his idea, with Wendy even calling it "inviting" and "beautiful."

Vivian presented her white table using the word "classy" to describe it, but the judges did not seem to be convinced. Wendy called it to be sculptural, but not in an inviting way. Christiane liked the top, but felt that the legs looked like they're going to crawl off. Similarly, Melissa's table got the same reviews for its curvy metal legs.

Meanwhile, Miles was anxious to make his big reveal, and his "tablevator" worked, much to the judges' pleasant surprise. Wendy called it a "masterpiece of harmony." Cliff commented that Miles has set a high bar for the rest of the designers, and said he was willing to buy the piece right away.

Sef's hidden mirror surprise also get a nod from all three judges.

However, Alexis' simple checkerboard table was panned by the panel. Cliff said that her chosen china was lyrical but the table was not. The judges deemed her table as the most underwhelming, and Alexis was sent home.

Miles and Sef's wow-factor tables were the top picks for this week's win. In the end, Miles' mechanical surprise deservedly took home the crown.

Only five contestants remain and next week, they will be designing furniture inspired by different countries. World renowned designer Karim Rashid will be the guest judge.

"Ellen's Design Challenge" Season 2 "Ellen's Design Challenge" airs Mondays, 9 p.m. on HGTV.
St. Paul's on the Hill, a century-old church in Summit Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota is on the market for $1.69 million. Biz Journals reported that the 103-year-old church was shut down last year after a major decline in its congregation. Many years ago, however, St. Paul's used to be the gathering place of the city's politicians and wealthiest families.

Former members are hoping for a buyer who would give new life to this meaningful building. After all, it has witnessed thousands of important memories such as baptisms and weddings throughout the years.

"It's an important piece of the fabric of the community," Jay Nord, the real estate agent handling the sale, told Twin Cities Pioneer Press. "It needs to be appropriately repurposed."

Built in 1913 by Emmanuel Masqueray, the church building has a 9,000-square-foot sanctuary, 60-foot cathedral ceiling, a large rose window, and 33 stained-glass windows. The property also includes an additional 11,000 square feet of space used by the church as offices, classrooms, meeting rooms and kitchen.

One of the building's greatest features is its impeccable acoustics.

"The place is a dream," Kim Sueoka, a soprano for The Rose Ensemble, said. Sueoka has performed in the sanctuary many times in the past. "It amplifies and carries the sound so beautifully, a warm, round sound, especially for voices. All the musicians who've ever done something there would hope in some way it will be used as a music venue."

The church's small items such as baptismal founts, vestments, crosses, candlesticks, chalices and paintings will be removed and sold separately. However, larger items will remain with the buyer, such as the statue of St. Paul holding a "sword of the Spirit."

Another item that the buyer will get is the buried body of John Wright, the priest and rector of the church during its construction. Wright died in 1919 and was buried in a crypt under the sanctuary. Since the church is part of a national and city historical preservation district, the building cannot be torn down, and the buried body has to stay with the building.

There is a columbarium within the property, but the real estate agent said that the ashes will be relocated according to the wishes of the families of the deceased.
Rich investors hit by the falling prices of oil are progressively concentrating on commercial property ventures as they draw once again from trophy residential acquisitions, brokers say.

Oil has tumbled to the low-$30s a barrel from about $115 a barrel in 2014, bringing on major financial acid reflux for oil-dependent economies including the Middle East, Kazakhstan, Norway and Russia. Real estate experts say investors from oil-dependent nations have started to be more careful and less impulsive about making luxurious private purchases and will probably cast their sights on income generating properties.

"Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and countries that were selling oil at $100 a barrel up to a year ago, all of a sudden lost all their revenues," said real estate lawyer Edward Mermelstein. Investors from those countries, who have been in charge of some of Manhattan's greatest condo deals, are as of now withdrawing from Manhattan's top of the line residential markets, he said, and since money streams are currently a need, "shifting to commercial investment as an alternative."

Large numbers of these investors are presently centered around multifamily structures, office condos and mixed-use structures as long-term ventures, Mermelstein said, however they stay inclined toward the Central Park corridor.

Since January 2013, of all the Manhattan business deals that foreign purchasers were included in, around 39 percent were office properties and 15 percent were hotels, as indicated by CoStar Group information. Despite the fact that the information doesn't represent each transaction that uses worldwide cash since arrangements are regularly made through a local substance, Joseph Sollazzo, an economist at CoStar who accumulated the information, said the patterns are for the most part illustrative of "what property types foreign buyers have focused on."

The general office opening rate in Manhattan dropped to 8.5 percent in 2015, information from Cushman and Wakefield demonstrate, the most minimal it's been subsequent to the end of 2008.

Stratos Costalas of Oxford Property Group, who considers well off Saudi Arabians as a real part of his customers, said that splashy private purchases are no-gos for his rich clients as of now.
Morgan Stanley has consented to pay almost $63 million to settle claims over the selling of unfair home loan sponsored securities to three banks that later failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Tuesday.

The settlement settles lawsuits that the U.S. regulator submitted as recipient for the three failed banks against Morgan Stanley and different defendants over what the FDIC said were distortions in the offering documents for the mortgage-backed securities.

Morgan Stanley declined remark on the settlement. It was the most recent stride by the Wall Street bank to settle U.S. government claims coming from the sale of mortgage bonds before the financial crisis.

In February 2015, Morgan Stanley said it had achieved an agreement on a fundamental level to pay $2.6 billion as a major aspect of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over mortgage bonds.

The most recent settlement took after a FDIC accord a year ago in which Morgan Stanley consented to pay $24 million over mortgage-backed securities sold to a fourth failed bank, Franklin Bank of Houston.

The National Credit Union Administration in December independently declared that the Wall Street bank would pay $225 million to settle identical cases over securities sold to credit unions that later failed.

The FDIC said the assets from the most recent $62.95 million arrangement would be divided among the receivership for Colonial Bank of Montgomery, Alabama; Security Savings Bank of Henderson, Nevada; and United Western Bank of Denver.

The FDIC, which has documented 19 claims over mortgage-backed securities, said the settlement came in a joint effort with the Justice Department and brought its overall recuperation from Morgan Stanley to $86.95 million.
The central bank of China plans to lessen the minimum 25 percent mortgage down payment requirement to 20 percent for first-time homebuyers in most cities, in the hope to revitalize the housing industry.

On the other hand, homeowners who want to purchase their second home will also have a lower mortgage down payment requirement, from 40 percent to 30 percent.

According to the report from Bloomberg, China's move to decrease the minimum mortgage down payment requirement is the result of their desperate effort to reduce the number of unsold homes that have been stocking up in its cities.

"This is clearly in line with the 'destocking' theme in the property market," said Zhou Hao, an analyst with Commerzbank AG in Singapore. "We believe that the relaxation of the mortgage policy will somewhat help accelerate the destocking process in the lower-tier cities."

The Wall Street Journal reported that the cut in the minimum mortgage requirement will be applicable to all cities in China that don't have restrictions in purchases, which include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. These cities have strong sales demand and will retain the higher mortgage requirement.

There are some analysts that are doubtful of the effectiveness of the decreased mortgage down payment requirement.

"Most of the home glut, which the government aims to clear, is in small cities. But buyers in small cities don't typically use high mortgage leverage," said Du Jinsong, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG.

"It is not going to be very useful for boosting the property market, despite the government's intention to support the real-estate sector," said Nicole Wong, a property analyst with CLSA.

This is not the first time that China cut back its minimum mortgage down payment requirement. In September 2015, China lessened its mortgage requirement to 25 percent from 30 percent.

According to Reuters, China has started battling with the surplus of housing inventory in their cities since 2014, and has been having some good results since then. The December property sales have increased by 6.5 percent in a year-over-year basis, while the median home price rose by 7.7 percent.
In a court hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 27 with an Athens-Clarke County Magistrate Court judge, Brandyn Clark was granted a good security bond of $1,250 for each of the nine felony charges in comparison to his original bail bond charge of $5,000 per felony charge at the time of arrest.
The Redding Police Department responds to the Redding Inn last August.

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By David Benda of the Redding Record Searchlight

The Shasta County District Attorney's Office is trying to negotiate a settlement with the Redding Inn, the problem downtown motel the county sued in November.

The lawsuit cited a list of alleged criminal, health and business violations, which included attracting a criminal element to the area. The Redding Inn is on Pine Street.

Deputy District Attorney Anand Jesrani declined to talk specifics about the negotiations.

"The discussions could work toward a settlement but it is unclear if that is going to occur at this point," Jesrani said this week. "We will proceed to trial if we don't reach a settlement."

A settlement conference is scheduled for July 11. The trial date is scheduled for Oct. 12.

"Obviously, those would go off the calendar should we resolve the matter," Jesrani said.

If a settlement is reached, the terms of the deal would be public, Jesrani said.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Redding Police Sgt. Walt Bullington said he has seen some success at the Redding Inn, "so they are responding."

But much work still has to be done, Bullington said.

"It's probably not at the level it was prior to this (lawsuit)," Bullington said. "We expect it will take some time."

Redding recently started posting calls the Police Department receives when officers are called to motel sand how often they are there. The idea (http://reddingpolice.org/resources/hotelscfs/) was suggested by Vice Mayor Brent Weaver.

The inaugural list shows the nine motels with most service calls and the Redding Inn ranks first with 413 calls from Dec. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2015.

Weaver hopes the site will encourage motel and hotel operators to work with the city to clean up their act.

"For me, it's a way of thinking differently about how we solve problems when we have limited financial resources," Weaver said.

Weaver noted that the list might appear "heavy-handed" but something had to be done.

"I think we have waited too long in many areas and this is one of them where we just haven't held those people accountable," Weaver said.

The county lawsuit against the Redding Inn follows the city of Redding Code Enforcement citing more than 500 health and safety violations against another downtown Redding motel  the Americana Lodge on Pine Street. Redding filed a civil suit against that motel.

Last month, the Americana Lodge agreed to an appointment of a receiver if it can't bring the downtown Redding property up to building code and fix health and safety violations.

Weaver's patience with the Redding Inn has reached its limit. Weaver said he would like to see the property "bulldozed" or a new operator brought in.

"It's important to take each motel separately," Weaver said. "This is just my opinion. I want to be careful to state that this is not policy. It's just my opinion."

Meanwhile, Stacey Christensen, who manages Ellis Art & Engineering Supplies across the street from the Redding Inn, said she can't tell whether much has changed at the motel since the lawsuit was filed.

"It's the winter time. That makes a huge difference," Christensen said Tuesday. "It's really hard to say because when it's raining, you don't see a lot of people hanging out there."

Shasta Charter Academy, also across the street from the Redding Inn, expects to move to the former Ethan Allen store on Park Marina Circle next school year. School director Ben Claassen said in November the criminals in the area and the growing student population prompted the move.

Jesrani, of the DA's office, said the county has been in settlement talks with the Redding Inn with Redding attorney Robert West. But Jesrani did not know whether West has been officially obtained by the Redding Inn.

West did not return a phone message left at his office Tuesday.

Maninderjit Singh Bath, of Redding Inn parent company GNDJ Inc., also did not return a phone message left Tuesday.
This Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 photo shows Baijiu brands, from left, Zhen Pen, Kweichow Moutai, Honk Kong Baijiu, Shui Jing Fang and Lu Zhoulao Jiao at Lumos, a Baijiu bar, in New York. As the No. 1 liquor in China, the powerful spirit, has always been big. But now it's also showing up in the United States as bartenders explore its nuances and experiment with it as a cocktail base. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press

Think bourbon is hot? It's got nothing on baijiu.

Yet chances are good you haven't even heard of baijiu, the high proof, pungent, spicy, savory, sweet traditional liquor of China. It packs a fiery punch. It also happens to be the world's best-selling liquor by volume, a drink with a pedigree stretching back centuries, and was poured to toast the warming of U.S.-Sino relations during Nixon's historic 1972 visit.

Now, producers are making diplomatic overtures to an entirely new audience  the U.S. craft cocktail scene.

"We feel that it has incredible potential," says Yuan Liu, senior vice president of business development for Los Angeles-based CNS Imports, the largest importer/distributor of baijiu in United States.

Baijiu is sorghum-based, though it also can contain wheat, rice and corn. An it's not a uniform product; it's a class of spirits with many categories. Think whiskey with its range from smoky Scotch to mellow bourbon. But unlike whiskey, which is fermented in a liquid state, baijiu is more or less dry fermented inside in-ground pits. It then is steam distilled several times in goose-neck stills, aged in massive terra cotta vessels, then finally blended (itself a complex and labor-intensive process.)

It generally is bottled at around 100 or 120 proof (well above the typical 80 proof for vodka, gin, etc.) and is classed by aroma, such as "light," ''rice," ''strong" and "sauce"  labels which aren't all that helpful to Westerners. Typical reactions from first-timers are that it smells and tastes like blue cheese, mushroom or soy sauce  not the most alluring descriptors.

"This is not a spirit you can just pour into a martini glass and enjoy," says New York bartender Orson Salicetti.

But introduced more gently as part of a cocktail? That can work, says Salicetti, co-founder of the Lumos bar, which focuses on the Chinese spirit and has a menu of more than 60 baijiu cocktails. Salicetti was introduced to baijiu by his architect partner Qifan Li and realized baijiu would be a great way to stand out in a city awash with specialty bars.

A popular option at Lumos is the "sesame colada," which includes caramelized pineapple juice, white sesame paste and agave syrup. There's also the goji baijiu punch, consisting of goji-infused HKB baijiu, mezcal, pink grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave syrup and orange bitters.

Lumos carries a full range of baijiu, including the No. 1 brand, Kweichow Moutai, recognizable by its distinctive packaging of a white bottle with a red and gold label. Other major players include Wu Liang Ye and Shui Jing Fang. A newer brand is HKB, designed with cocktails in mind and bottled at a relatively mild 86 proof. There also is a U.S.-produced baijiu, from Vinn, a distillery just south of Portland, Oregon.

Most of the $23 billion baijiu market stays in China, though there's been growing interest in exporting. Most of the baijiu imported to the United States goes to Chinese restaurants and shops. But about two years ago, CNS Imports decided to expand their reach. "We looked at each other and said, 'Why aren't we introducing this category of spirits to people outside the Chinese community?'" said Liu.

They've moved slowly, introducing the spirit to bartenders and learning, from experience, to work with rather than mask the unique flavors. "Instead of trying to mask the spirit and make it into something it isn't, like vodka, they're essentially creating and building a cocktail around the spirit," says Liu.

Clearly, there's a push to raise the profile of baijiu in the West. Whether it will be successful is another story. Baijiu has an exotic appeal which is both a weakness and a strength, says Jim Boyce, who blogs about Beijing nightlife at beijingboyce.com. "Baiju is such a novelty and that's going to be its challenge, going from 'Yes, I tried it once and it's interesting,' to something people buy regularly or even stock at home."

Chinese traditionalists wouldn't dream of drinking baijiu anything but neat and in very small glasses, which is how Kathy Fang serves it at her family's FANG restaurant in San Francisco's bustling SOMA district. Meant to go with food, baijiu pairs well with savory bites, such as Fang's fried pork confit eggrolls, and it's been a surprising hit with tech workers who tend to be open to new tastes, says Fang.

"If you tell them it's really strong like moonshine they're even more like, 'Oh, I want to try,'" says Fang.

___

Online:

http://www.lumosnyc.com/

http://www.cnsimports.com/

http://www.fangrestaurant.com/
In this Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 photo, Hanan Hassoneh, 45, holds a photo of her daughter Maram, in the West Bank city of Nablus. Maram, a top English student at An-Najah University and a devout Muslim, was shot and killed when she tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint on Dec. 1, 2015. Arabic reads, "the martyr hero Maram Hassoneh, stabbing operation at Anab checkpoint." (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

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By ARON HELLER and MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press

NABLUS, West Bank (AP)  When Palestinian youths began a wave of grassroots and often suicidal stabbing attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians several months ago, it wasn't his three sons that Ramiz Hassoneh was worried about  it was his daughter.

Ignoring her father's warnings, 20-year-old Maram took a kitchen knife to an Israeli military checkpoint on Dec. 1 and was shot dead as she tried to attack the soldiers, according to the Israeli military. The deadly mission put her among some 20 young females who have been involved in attacks on Israelis in recent months  a new trend that has confounded both Palestinian families and Israeli security officials.

While battling Israel was once a role restricted to Palestinian men and boys, the current wave of violence has seen an unprecedented spike in female involvement. And where the few women who did engage in attacks in the past were typically underprivileged females seeking redemption after being rejected by their families, the attackers are now largely ideological, educated women from supportive homes.

Palestinians consider the trend to be a combination of rising Islamist zeal, the growing role of women in the conservative society and the brewing desperation of a younger generation with few prospects.

In Maram's case, her family said she had a burning drive to resist the Israeli occupation somehow. A top English student at An-Najah University and a devout Muslim, Maram was deeply troubled by TV images showing the death of young Palestinians killed in attacks and clashes with Israel.

She had memorized the entire Quran and cited religious and nationalistic motives for her desire to strike at Israelis. Unlike her younger brothers, who busied themselves with daily life, her father said Maram was an independent thinker who couldn't be swayed from her convictions, even after serving six months in prison for another unsuccessful stabbing attempt on a soldier two years earlier.

"Girls are more sensitive to the occupation. They are more emotional about these things," said Hassoneh, sitting in his Nablus home under a large poster of his late daughter wearing a headscarf. "She believed that she would inspire the boys to do something ... She looked at me and said: 'When our men who sit in coffee shop see (a girl) killed, they will move.'"

His wife, Hanan, sitting next to him with a gold necklace featuring Maram's image, said her sorrow was mixed with pride. "I'm happy she is a martyr, but I miss her a lot," she said.

Since the violence erupted in mid-September, 21 Israelis and an American Jew have been killed, mostly in stabbing attacks carried out by young Palestinians in their late teens or 20s. Many attackers were doomed to failure from the start, armed with only crude weapons such as knives, scissors and potato peelers.

At least 132 Palestinians have been killed, of whom 11 were women. Israel has identified 91 of the Palestinians killed as attackers; the rest died in clashes with Israeli troops.

Israel says the violence is the result of incitement by Palestinian leaders and on social media sites. The Palestinians say it stems from frustration over nearly 50 years of occupation, failed peace talks and continued Israeli settlement construction.

In previous rounds of violence, women were expected to stay home while the boys fought. But women's increased presence online, where most of the rallying cries to violence take place, and general advancement in society have emboldened many to partake in the "national struggle," said Jihad Harb, a Palestinian researcher and commentator.

"Social media has opened a new horizon for the new generation. They interact and build their thoughts in a new way that gives girls the same chances of boys," he said.

The Israeli military says that of 152 attacks recorded, 22 were by women. It attributed the rise to a new, bolder generation of Palestinian women that did not belong to the established military organizations and did not ask for anyone's permission to act.

One of the most notable incidents involved a pair of cousins, aged 16 and 14, who stabbed an elderly Palestinian, mistaking him for an Israeli, with a pair of scissors near a popular Jerusalem marketplace. Security camera footage captured a police officer shooting one of them dead and wounding the other.

Ibrahim Awwad, the father of 16-year-old Norhan, who was wounded, said he was shocked by their botched attack and could only speculate that they were driven by the daily life in the Qalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem, where they often woke to the sounds of shootings.

"If I knew they were going to carry out an attack, I would have tied them up in the house," he said. "But everything was normal. There were no signs."

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that because females didn't fit the typical profile of an attacker, they aroused little suspicion and had an easier time getting around Israeli checkpoints. That has now changed.

Hanan Ashrawi, the most senior female Palestinian official, said the surge in attacks reflects an overall more active political approach of the younger generation. She said that Israeli measures had provoked all Palestinians and that women feel "they are just as affected by this reality."

Deeper religious devotion was also a factor, she added.

Taha Qatanani said his 16-year-old daughter Ashraqat's greatest wish was to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and when he was unable to get her the necessary permits, she accused him of letting her down. Tensions at the site, the third-holiest in Islam, and rumors that Israel was trying to expand its presence there enraged her, Qatanani said.

On Nov. 22, she pulled out a knife at the entrance to a West Bank military base when a settler driving by veered off the road and struck her with his car. A soldier then shot her dead.

"As long as there is occupation there will be resistance," said Qatanani, who served several stints in Israeli prisons for his activity in the Islamic Jihad movement.

In the family living room on the outskirts of Nablus, there was a makeshift shrine to Ashraqat featuring her image against a backdrop of Al-Aqsa and a wooden carving in her honor with a bloodied knife piercing through a map of historic Palestine.

"I would have much more relief if my son had done it," Qatanani said over tea, pointing to 18-year-old Yassin. "My masculine mentality says the man should do it. But I consider the girl doing it a much stronger message ... when it gets to the degree that a girl carries out an attack it means there is nothing else."
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Charles Canfield Jr. appeared in Shasta County Superior Court on Tuesday. He faces second-degree murder charges in a wreck that killed a 10-year-old Redding girl.

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By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

Family members of a 26-year-old Shasta Lake man involved in a suspected DUI crash last week that killed a 10-year-old girl sobbed in anguish on Tuesday as a Superior Court judge read the criminal charges against him.

Those felony counts include second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury and hit-and-run causing death, among others.

Charles Kevin Canfield Jr. made his first Superior Court appearance in his latest case for his arraignment, which was put off until Thursday so the Shasta County Public Defender's Office can perform a background check to ensure it can represent him.

Also seated inside the courtroom was the 10-year-old girl's brother, who later politely declined to make a statement to the media.

Following Canfield's court appearance, his father, also named Charles, said his family was heartbroken for his son and voiced condolences to the girl's loved ones.

"We're very sorry for the family," he said. Redding Police issued an investigative report on Tuesday that said Canfield had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal driving limit in the crash that killed Marley Johnson, a fifth-grader at Rother Elementary School.

According to that report, preliminary alcohol screening tests administered after the crash registered Canfield's blood alcohol level at 0.209 percent and 0.194 percent. The legal driving limit is 0.08 percent.

Police said Canfield was driving a 1995 Dodge pickup west on Hartnell near Churn Creek Road around 9:20 p.m. when he crashed into a taxi driven by Richard Cathcart, 62, of Redding.

Canfield then drove away and ran a red light at Northwoods Way and hit a 2001 Mitsubishi coupe driven by Marcel Johnson, 20, of Redding, police said. He ran away from the scene and police arrested him in front of a Hilltop Drive restaurant.

The second crash killed 10-year-old Marley, a passenger in the car.

According to a Redding police report, Canfield admitted to police he had been drinking beer and whiskey at the Hen House bar before the accident and was "kinda buzzed," but could not remember how much alcohol he had consumed.

"I'm not hammered or (expletive) up or anything like that," he told police. "I'm pretty dunk, but I think I'm O.K."

Canfield reportedly told police he had been drinking because he had a birthday a few nights earlier and he had a three-day weekend. Canfield's birthday is Jan. 26.

"I didn't kill anyone, did I,?" he asked police while they questioned him about the collision. "I (expletive) up, can anyone tell me if that girl is O.K?. I really (expletive) up, and I hope to God she's O.K."

Police said Canfield had a prior misdemeanor DUI arrest and conviction in 2011, while electronic court records also show he has a history of other traffic-related offenses, including driving on a suspended license, driving at an unsafe speed and running a stop sign.

Canfield is being held in Shasta County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

Click here to read the criminal complaint and police report on Charles Canfield.
<p>In this Aug. 21, 2009 file photo, water trickles over Copco 1 Dam on the Klamath River outside Hornbrook, Calif.A An Oregon Republican congressman has released a proposal to resolve disputes over scarce water in the Klamath Basin a but it doesn't include the removal of four aging dams, a central point in historic settlement agreements.</p>

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An agreement has been signed between the federal government, California, Oregon and Indian tribes to remove four Klamath River dams, officials said today.

Officials with the Karuk Tribe in Siskiyou County announced the agreement and an official with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation confirmed there was an agreement in principle to remove the dams.

There had been an earlier agreement on dam removal, but that expired at the first of the year when Congress failed to approve a the agreement.

Many were in favor of dam removal because they felt it would improve salmon habitat in the Klamath River, but many in Siskiyou County were against it. U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, was also against dam removal.


Jerry Cissney, of Happy Valley, walks around his Toyota minivan after the vehicle was struck by an alleged drunken driver on Highway 273 in south Redding.

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Updated at 4:00 p.m.

The Redding Police Department arrested Deleina Anderson, 37, of Anderson on charges of driving under the influence after she drove her white Chevrolet Camaro the wrong way on Highway 273 and crashing into another vehicle.

Anderson received a cut to her forehead and the driver of the second vehicle, Jerry Cissney, 72 of Anderson, received minor injuries.

After being cleared at a local hospital Anderson was booked into Shasta County Jail on charges of driving under the influence. Anderson is on court probation for a previous DUI conviction, according to police.

Original story

Police arrested a 37-year-old Anderson woman on suspicion of driving under the influence after she drove head-on into another vehicle Wednesday morning on Highway 273 in south Redding, officers said.

Deleina Anderson suffered a small cut to her face after driving her white Camaro south in the northbound lanes of Highway 273 and crashing into a red Toyota minivan, police said. Officers described her injuries as minor.

The crash was reported just before 6:50 a.m.

The driver of the Toyota, Jerry Cissney, of Happy Valley, did not receive any injuries, according to police.

I tried to swerve, said Cissney, who was en route to a doctors appointment. Its weird to look up and see headlights coming at you.

The northbound lanes of Highway 273, from Kenyon Drive to Branstetter Lane, were blocked for more than an hour as police investigated the crash and waited for tow trucks. The road has since reopened.

Police have not confirmed if this crash is related to an earlier report of a reckless driver in the area.

Though Cissney wasnt injured, he was a bit shaken up from the crash, he said.

Im glad she wasnt hurt more seriously than she was, Cissney said of Anderson, who he also claimed got out of the Camaro and told him she was drunk just after the crash.
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Inmate who penned letter released

A 36-year-old man who had an eloquent letter by him published in the Sept. 13 edition of the Record Searchlight about the plight of the area's homeless was released Tuesday from Shasta County Jail.

Charles Patrick Smith, who was initially charged with robbery, making terrorist threats and other charges, received a suspended sentence and was placed on formal probation for three years after earlier pleading no-contest to obstructing a police officer.

Smith, who was arrested in July 2015, faces up to five years in prison if he violates the terms of his probation.

Shasta County Superior Court Judge Cara Beatty, who said Smith's deputy public defender went "out of her way" to help him in his case, told him he is being given a second chance.

"Don't blow this chance," she said.

Suspect sought in motel robbery

Redding police said they are looking for information on a woman who robbed the Ponderosa Inn on Pine Street late Monday.

Officers just after 10 p.m. went to the motel at 2220 Pine St., near the intersection of Cypress Avenue and South Market Street, for the robbery report.

Night clerk Kristy Lynn Perando, 45, of Redding, told police a woman entered the business and demanded money, Redding police Cpl. Daniel Smetak said.

The woman took cash and ran to the parking lot, where she entered the passenger seat of a green vehicle that drove away, Smetak said. No weapons were seen.

Police described the suspect as a white woman, about 20 to 25 years old with brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie and dark pants with a mask that covered her face, Smetak said.

Officers ask anyone with information to call 225-4200.

Two earthquakes strike near Burney

Two earthquakes struck south of Burney on Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter of the 3.4 earthquakes was near Eiler Lake, south of Burney. The pair of quakes struck consecutively at 6:23 a.m. and 6:28 a.m. in the eastern region of Shasta County.

Coroner IDs woman who died in blaze

The Shasta County Coroner's Office said Tuesday that Karen Vielbig, 72, of Redding, died in a Monday fire that destroyed a mobile home off Hartnell Avenue.

No one else was inside the home, according to the coroner's office. A post-mortem exam on Vielbig is scheduled for next week.

The fire was reported just before 4:30 p.m. Monday and it took firefighters about five minutes to put out the blaze out at Enterprise Mobile Home Park in the 1400 block of Hartnell Avenue, east of Churn Creek Road.

The Redding Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.

Suspects get away after vehicle chase

The Yreka Police Department and California Highway Patrol early Tuesday morning pursued a stolen vehicle that was later found abandoned by officers after they followed its tire tracks through the snow.

The Yreka Police Department said its officers spotted the vehicle at 12:59 a.m. and attempted to stop it for a lighting violation on south Main Street. The vehicle slowed down but continued to go south through the Moonlit Oaks intersection at 50 mph.

As the vehicle headed out of town, the police contacted CHP for assistance. Officers saw a female driver with two passengers. The vehicle then headed onto Highway 3 where officers chased it at 80 mph toward Fort Jones, where it began to snow heavily.

A CHP officer followed the vehicle's tire tracks to a house in a wooded area on Serpentine Lane. The vehicle was found abandoned with the doors open.

Officers contacted the property owner and after a search, officers were unable to find the suspects. The vehicle was impounded, and the police department received a call from the vehicle's owner who said that it had been stolen out of Jackson County in Oregon.
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By Joe Szydlowski of the Redding Record Searchlight

RED BLUFF  Red Bluff's City Council on Tuesday rejected in a 3-2 vote a proposal to create a psychiatric facility that would provide short-term treatment and institutionalization to those experiencing a mental health crisis.

But they didn't reject the idea of having a facility  instead, they asked their staff to bring it back with more information and examine other ways to mitigate its effects on parking and other issues.

"If you polled the majority of residents of the city and county (they'd say), We need a facility: No ifs, ands or buts," said Mayor Clay Parker, who along with councilman Gary Jones cast the two yes votes. "... It's needed but it's a terrible location."

The proposed 16-bed, 24-hour psychiatric facility at 925 Walnut St. would take in people experiencing a mental health crisis and be run by Restpadd, which operates a similar facility in Redding.

Red Bluff police officers have had an 82 percent increase in 5150, or mental health crisis, calls, said Kyle Sanders, the city's police chief.

Normally, people are placed on a 5150 hold because they are a danger to themselves, said Valerie Lucero, executive director of the Tehama County Health Services Agency.

The county's current crisis stabilization unit can hold people for just 23 hours and doesn't dispense medication, said Betsy Gowan, administrator of the Mental Health Division with Tehama County. Restpadd, however, would be able to keep people longer and get them back on their medications, she said.

While acknowledging the need for such a facility, councilmen Rob Schmid and Suren Patel and councilwoman Daniele Jackson voted no.

Schmid took issue with the parking  the facility would use on-street parking for the up to eight employees each shift. Patel wanted more information about how the facility would operate.

The council took up the issue after Frank Ferreria appealed the planning commission's 3-1 approval of Restpadd's permit.

Ferreria told the council he initially worried about the effects on parking in the area, but now worries more about safety.

"It only takes one time: One kid, one adult, one woman," he said, adding that he supports having such a facility in a part of town that doesn't have any residential areas, such as near the airport.

But the majority of patients are not aggressive, said Susan Power, president of the Shasta County chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. She described her son's first mental breakdown when he was 7 years old. He wound up in a similar facility in the Bay Area.

"When he was brought there he was quiet, he was stable," she said. "They're not wild places, they're very quiet facilities."
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9:30 p.m. update:

The Red Bluff City Council didn't approve a permit for a 16-bed psychiatric hospital and crisis unit at its meeting tonight.

The council voted 3-2 and the permit failed.

Check back for a story on tonight's council meeting.

Original story:

The Red Bluff City Council will consider whether to allow a 16-bed psychiatric hospital and crisis unit to operate in town.

The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at 555 Washington St., comes after a business owner filed an appeal of the planning commission's decision to approve the Restpadd facility.

Restpadd operates a similar facility in Redding. But unlike that one, the proposed Red Bluff facility would also accept youth from the North State. Currently, those under 18 have to travel to the Bay Area when they are institutionalized on a mental health crisis hold.

The Record Searchlight will provide live coverage of the meeting via Twitter. Follow along below or by following @JSzydlowski_RS on Twitter.

You can also read a more in-depth story on the facility here: http://bit.ly/1SE7c0p





Tweets by @JSzydlowski_RS
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The Yreka Police Department and California Highway Patrol pursued a stolen vehicle early morning today which was later located by officers who discovered the abandoned vehicle after they followed its tire tracks through the snow.

According to a press release by Yreka Police, when they initially spotted the vehicle at 12:59 a.m. they attempted to stop it for a lighting violation on south Main Street. The vehicle slowed down, but continued to drive southbound through the Moonlit Oaks intersection at a speed of 50 miles per hour.

As the vehicle headed out of town, the police department contacted CHP for assistance. Officers noted a female driver with two occupants in the vehicle. The vehicle then headed onto Highway 3 and was pursued at a speed of 80 miles per hour toward Fort Jones, where it began to snow heavily.

A CHP officer followed the vehicles tire tracks to a house in a wooded area on Serpentine lane, where the vehicle had been abandoned with the doors open. The property owner was contacted, and after a search officers were unable to locate the suspects. The vehicle was impounded, and the police department received a call from the vehicle owner who said that her vehicle had been stolen out of Jackson County in Oregon.
Members of the Michigan National Guard load bottled water at a fire station, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 in Flint, Mich. T (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

SHARE Infographic on the effects on lead poisoning. Tribune News Service 2016

By Ed Felker, CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON  The contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., has thrown a harsh national spotlight on the problem of lead in drinking water, especially in poor and minority communities. Yet the issue is hardly new  Washington, D.C., had its own infamous lead scandal in 2004, among other communities that have seen lead spikes.

Now health advocates are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to quickly toughen the protections that states must require of local water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Among the mandates on the table is the eventual and costly replacement of all lead pipes in drinking water systems, rather than just those shown to be an immediate threat to health.

The EPA has been holding talks since 2010 on long-term revisions to its Lead and Copper Rule, last updated in 2007 after two years of deliberations.

The rule requires states to enforce the law by making sure local water systems take precautions to keep lead out of the drinking water supplies, such as treating water to limit the leaching of lead in pipes, a process known as corrosion control.

The EPA has said it will propose the revisions in 2017, an action that will take on new importance in light of the exposure of families in Flint to high levels of lead, a strong neurotoxin that can affect child brain development and behavior, and cause illness in adults.

One of those who hopes the problems that surfaced in Flint are addressed in the revisions is Hilliard L. Hampton II. Last year, he ended 16 years as mayor of Inkster, Mich., a small majority African-American suburb about 75 miles south of Flint that has had its own share of financial problems.

Hampton sits on the National Drinking Water Advisory Council, which advises the EPA on implementation of the law. The council in December sent Administrator Gina McCarthy an eight-point set of recommendations to revise the lead rule.

He signed off on the advisory councils recommendations, which came out of a working group that met seven times over 15 months, ending last summer as the Flint crisis was coming to light.

The list urged more emphasis on lead water pipe replacement and proper corrosion control measures to prevent leaching of lead. It also urged greater use of test samples from home water taps and action when results show heightened levels.

He pointed to a broad recommendation by the council that EPA should use the revised rule to minimize all contact between drinking water and lead pipes, and focus on low-income and vulnerable consumers.

It epitomizes where I would like us to be, in terms of making sure there are no loopholes. We want to remove all lead pipes from water, potable water, totally.

Hampton sees some parallels between his town and Flint. The state under Republican Gov. Rick Snyder also considered installing an emergency manager in Inkster, but a consent agreement in 2012 requiring spending cuts by the town averted that outcome.

Inkster also relies on Detroit for its water, as did Flint, until the Snyder-appointed emergency manager in 2014 switched its source to the Flint River. Still, some areas in Inkster have shown elevated lead levels in drinking water, Hampton said.

He also wants rapid action on the flaws that led to the contamination in Flint, such as requirements for a review of corrosion control when a new water source is tapped by a water system.

Strengthening protocols  addressing leaching and the corrosion control  are things that need to be done immediately, they need to be strengthened immediately, Hampton said.

States expect to face additional burdens under a revised EPA lead rule, said Jim Taft, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Officials, whose members were involved in writing the councils recommendations.

His group, which represents non-appointed state officials, supports the suggestions to the EPA and wants to see the Flint revelations incorporated into the agencys proposal next year, Taft said.

States probably feel that there likely will be some additional requirements of them beyond those that exist now, he said. But I think states also feel we collectively as a drinking water community, as a country, need to improve on the existing regulation. The fundamental thrust of the recommendations from the (council) are to get the lead out.

Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor and national water expert credited with uncovering the Flint contamination as well as lead exposure in Washington, has been a vocal critic of the EPAs inaction in Flint despite early warnings from an employee in its Chicago office, Miguel Del Toral.

Hes also been a critic of what he says are weaknesses in the Lead and Copper Rule, such as allowing states to sign off on drinking water sampling methods that underestimate lead content in some homes  a flaw that led Flint and Michigan officials to say the citys water was safe to drink.

Edwards, who was appointed by Snyder on Jan. 27 to an official 17-member committee to address Flints long term health and water infrastructure needs, did not respond to a request for comment.

But in a blog post in November, he said the objectives of the rule have never been realized because no tests are required on drinking water that has been sitting in lead pipes. In other words, millions of consumers who are currently being told that their water is safe, are drinking and cooking with water that routinely dispenses high concentrations of lead, he added.

The EPA has said that while its long-term revisions to the rule will not come this year, a spokeswoman also noted in a statement to CQ Roll Call that the agency is taking the Flint crisis into account in that process and potential short-term revisions.

EPA will carefully evaluate these recommendations, national experience in implementing the rule, and the experience in Flint to develop a proposed revision to the rule, she said, referring to the advisory councils list.

But even as the agency considers revisions, it will continue to engage with state and water systems on potential nearer-term steps that could strengthen implementation of the existing rule.

EPA officials met with Flint residents in January, as did President Barack Obama, who spoke with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver on Jan. 19.

The moves to revise the rule come as the agency works to implement a separate law, the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, passed in 2011 that lowers the allowable lead in plumbing fixtures and materials to a quarter of 1 percent, down from the current standard of 8 percent.

The future of the rule could also be affected by Congress, where legislation indicates how expensive the repairs to the Flint water system could become for taxpayers.

Three Michigan Democratic lawmakers  Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, and Rep. Dan Kildee  have unveiled legislation that would require the EPA to alert the public when lead is detected in drinking water, if local and state officials do not act.

The EPA withheld notification of its concerns to Flint residents last year, which was among the factors that led to a public uproar and the resignation of the administrator of Region 5, Susan Hedman, effective Feb. 1.

Her departure was announced with an emergency order by McCarthy that requires the state and Flint to take immediate steps to address the crisis, including increased public notice and sampling.

They would also direct $400 million to the EPA to repair or replace Flints water infrastructure. The money would require a dollar-for-dollar state match; Snyder estimated in an application for federal disaster assistance that the damages to Flints public and private water lines total more than $767 million.

Another $200 million over 10 years would be spent on a new federal center in the Health and Human Services Department to support Flint residents exposed to lead.

Snyder, at a news conference on Jan. 27, said any totals for the replacement of lead service lines in Flint are nonetheless speculation until a complete assessment is made, and that the short-term goal is to recoat pipes that were corroded by Flint River water to prevent lead leaching.

Regarding replacing the lead pipes, Snyder said, Thats one of the issues we have to look at statewide, and thats a national issue.  There are lead pipes in many places, and you have to come up with the proper priorities in terms of how do you replace that infrastructure.



2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Visit CQ Roll Call at www.rollcall.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Senator Ted Cruz's upset victory against Donald Trump has robbed "The Donald" of his stock answer to any criticism from rivals  that he is winning and his critics are losers.

Now that he has lost, Mr. Trump may finally have to try to come up with some substantive arguments about the complex issues facing this country, rather than simply boast about the great things he will do when he becomes president.

Trump may turn out to be like the Wizard of Oz, after the curtain was pulled back to reveal the real man who was been busy projecting an awesome image.

Everything, however, depends on Trump's followers, and on how much they have what William James called "the will to believe." Iowa's system of caucuses forced those followers to confront other people with different views before they could vote. In other states, they can simply walk into the voting booth and vote their unchallenged beliefs.

Although Trump was defeated in Iowa, he was by no means routed. Without the special handicap that the Iowa caucuses presented, he may still bluff his way through to the Republican nomination. And with Hillary Clinton's lies and illegalities catching up with her more and more, this could still end up with a President Trump in the White House.

With this country at a crossroads, facing social degeneration at home and dire threats from abroad, the last thing we need is an uninformed bluffer with a runaway ego in charge of our fate. Neither Trump's talent as a media performer nor his wheeler-dealer economic success is a substitute for the depth of knowledge and the chastening experience required for governing a great nation.

What about the alternatives to Trump?

After months of media fixation on Trump, and so-called "debates" that featured sound-bites which seldom got below the surface, we know remarkably little about the other candidates. The fact that there have been so many candidates has added to the problem of trying to understand any of them.

We can only hope that never again will the fate of this nation depend upon a media gimmick like these "debates," which obscure and mislead far more than they inform us about anything beyond the candidates' talents for glib responses.

Having each candidate sit down alone with an experienced interviewer for an hourlong, in-depth discussion of the problems facing the country would tell us a lot more about the things that matter. But such discussions would be unlikely to have as high media ratings as the sound-bite circuses we have seen.

With current realities being what they are, we can only make our choices among the alternatives available. That means both the existing candidates and the existing ways of learning about them.

There is much to be said for choosing among candidates with a track record of governing that we can judge. But none of the candidates with experience as a governor had voter support as high as 10 percent in Iowa.

Senator Ted Cruz's experience as attorney general of Texas is the next best substitute. But it is still only a substitute. Others have zero experience of actually running a governmental organization and having to take responsibility for the consequences of how it ran. Senator Cruz's refusal to pander to the sacred cow of ethanol subsidies in Iowa showed a resolve that is rare in politics, and may account for the Republican establishment's sudden shift to a more favorable view of wheeler-dealer Trump  someone who can "rise above principle," as an old-time politician once put it.

Dr. Ben Carson's monumental achievements as a brain surgeon, and as a human being, have made him an obvious favorite, even among people who did not vote for him. But you have to get the votes.

Only three people received enough votes in Iowa to lift them above 10 percent  Senator Cruz, Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio. Unless something spectacular happens in New Hampshire, these may be the voters' only viable choices.

Senator Rubio has both a heartwarming personal story and an attractive personality. But his fling at joining with ultraliberal Democrat Chuck Schumer to try to push an amnesty bill through the senate suggests that he too has the ability to "rise above principle" that is all too prevalent in politics.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com.
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I am writing in regard to Redding City Council's proposal concerning the HOPE (Health Outreach for People Everywhere) van, operated by Shasta Community Health Center.

My first thought when I began to read the article was that I need to pay more attention to what's going on in the city, because this just doesn't make sense. I soon felt not quite so ignorant when I read that the council has drafted an ordinance targeting a specific enterprise and didn't even bother to contact them. Incredibly arrogant and disrespectful at best, downright sleazy at worst. If you're going to bite the hand that's helping you, maybe you could at least growl a little first.

Back to feeling ignorant or should I feel deceived? This ordinance was apparently devised in a Planning Commission meeting as part of staff recommended "cleanups." How's that for transparency in government. Is the public informed of or invited to Planning Commission meetings? Does the public have a realistic opportunity to offer criticism or approval? I've been to more than a couple of City Council meetings and every time I've come away unsatisfied. It was quite apparent to me, at every meeting, that the council members had already reached their conclusions and often didn't even pretend to listen to their citizens, adhering to the letter but ignoring the intent of the law.

How can the council consider limiting access to healthcare for the poorest in our community or restricting blood donations to be "cleanups"? Again, I'm not the most aware person, but it seems to me that the HOPE van is one of the most tangible efforts happening to help solve this problem. The city obviously does not realize the major role HOPE plays in connecting with the chronically homeless  the mentally ill  and helping them off the streets.

Kurt Starman saying Shasta Community Health Center provides good service to the community is extreme understatement and it is flabbergasting to me that the council doesn't seem to grasp the incredible asset SCHC is to the entire county. I would hazard a guess that since his tenure began, Dean Germano has created a deeper and more reliable stream of federal funds into Shasta County than Wally Herger, Doug LaMalfa and all the rest combined. And I would also guess that a fair number of those dollars end up in downtown cash registers.

I am quite sure however, that the current problem would be drastically worse if not for SCHC. How could we calculate how many people are still in their homes because SCHC provided them quality healthcare they could afford? Business people are the first to complain about government regulations and restrictions. Is the hypocrisy of this proposal not evident?

Vice Mayor Brent Weaver proclaims that he does not subscribe to an either-or mentality, "for homeless service (healthcare) or anti-homeless." Yet in the very next sentence he betrays his true feelings by juxtaposing the homeless with law enforcement. Weren't we talking about access to healthcare? Did anybody say anything about crime? A little bit Trump-ish for my tastes. What is Mr. Weaver really trying to say? What I hear is, "Go be poor where we don't have to look at you. And for heaven's sake, don't walk in front of my business on your way to see the doctor."

Are the homeless really, truly suppressing business? Do people really not shop or eat out because they might cross paths with someone who doesn't have a home? If things were going good those folks would be at home, right?

Being poor is not a sin and it is not a crime, nor should trying to help the poor, wherever they may be. The city should support, not hinder SCHC.

Mike Withers lives in Redding.
Move will be a setback for India which wants information on black money probe based on leaked data

Switzerland could backtrack on a recently proposed law, which would have helped countries like India get information about black money.

After the data leaked from HSBC Private Bank (Geneva) by whistleblower Herve Falciani in 2008 was shared by France with 30 countries, Switzerland was flooded with requests for further information. However, Swiss authorities didnt share any such information claiming that they were bound by strict secrecy laws.

In September 2015, under increasing pressure from the international community, the Swiss Federal council proposed a new law and said Switzerland would respond to such requests if a foreign country had obtained the data via normal administrative assistance channels or from public sources (that is not from those who leaked the data). Switzerland also acknowledged that partner countries find Switzerlands current practice too restrictive. The most pertinent illustration is the case of India (HSBC list).

The reformed law could have helped several pending information requests from India. It would have also helped Switzerland clear the ongoing peer review by the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes that brings together 130 member countries, including India.

Switzerland needs to clear its ongoing peer review, which is in the second and final phase, to avoid being blacklisted as a non-cooperative secrecy jurisdiction. This would require peer countries to have a favourable opinion of Swiss efforts to provide information for tax purposes.

However, when the Swiss draft law was recently put up for public consultation, it was severely criticised by most of the right-wing parties that constitute majority in the newly-elected Swiss Parliament. According to a leading Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Switzerland now wants to postpone the parliamentary debate on the new law. Once Switzerland clears peer review at the Global Forum, India could remain stuck in the impasse for years. This can only be avoided if India ensures that the Switzerland passes the new law before the peer review process gets over.

Last week in Davos, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a bilateral meeting with the newly elected Swiss Finance minister, Ueli Maurer. Maurers party seems to be against the passing of this law. However, Jaitley had told Press Trust of India that Switzerland was very keen on greater cooperation in the fight against black money.

Swiss secret
IMAGE: Sameer Bhujbal being produced in a Mumbai court. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

'May I ask if Sharad Pawar will say the chief justice of the high court as well as the judge who extended remand are also taking instructions from Somaiya?'

'If political corruption is brought down, automatically lower level corruption will reduce.'

'This scam was exposed when Kirit Somaiya's party was not in power.'

The political war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra is getting bitter by the day.

After former NCP MP Sameer Bhujbal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Maharashtra Sadan scam, party chief Sharad Pawar stated that the BJP-led government in the state is playing vindictive politics.

Pawar further alleged that the ED was acting on a BJP MP's behalf -- political circles believe he is pointing to Kirit Somaiya.

Sameer is the nephew of the powerful NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, also a co-accused in the scam.

Kirit Somaiya, below, left, was the first person to accuse Bhujbal and his family of taking kickbacks when the Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) Maharashtra Sadan building was being constructed in New Delhi.

The work on Maharashtra Sadan was carried by the public works department -- Chhagan Bhujbal was then the state's PWD minister.

Somaiya, the BJP MP from Mumbai-North East, spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com

What is your reaction to Sharad Pawar indicating that the Enforcement Directorate is working on your directions?

You and Sharad Pawar might both have gone through the ED's submissions in the high court as well as the sessions court. The affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday (February 2) says so much about the scam.

Despite arguments by (Sameer) Bhujbal's advocate, the court did not accept a single word and extended his remand by a week.

I believe Sharad Pawarji accepts that he can say anything about Kirit Somaiya, but will he accept the court observations?

May I ask if Sharad Pawar will say the chief justice of the high court as well as the judge who extended the remand are also taking instructions from Somaiya?

The issue is what Bhujbal has done. Pawar and (Chhagan) Bhujbal want to divert the issue.

Pawar said Chhagan Bhujbal did not do anything wrong because all decisions were taken by the earlier state cabinet. So why target Bhujbal alone?

The same thing they have been arguing for the last four years in the high court. The same thing they said in court on Tuesday and are saying the same thing before the SIT (Special Investigation Team) also.

The major issue is corruption, corrupt practices, money laundering, parking funds in foreign countries and abusing power for individual and family purposes.

There could be a policy, but in execution if somebody is indulging in malpractices then that person is being charged. That is what is happening in the Bhujbal issue.

On your Web site you say, nation first, party second, self last. Now you are tweeting that you want Bhujbal, scams like Adarsh, Maharashtra Sadan and irrigation allegedly involving former ministers Sunil Tatkare, Ajit Pawar and Ashok Chavan taken to he logical end.

What is the reason that you are going after all the powerful guys in the Congress and NCP?

Nation first, that is the response to this question. Nation first means the leader who has been given responsibility by the people has to use that for the benefit of society.

Here the ministers have used and abused their authority for their benefit. These are major scams.

We are not after an individual, we are after the scams.

If political corruption is brought down, automatically lower level corruption will reduce.

We are not talking about Ashok Chavan. We are talking about the Adarsh scam. We are not talking about Tatkare or Ajit Pawar, but the Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) irrigation scam. This has hurt the development of the state.

Pawar further said in 1995 there was a Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra, but they were not vindictive as the Devendra Fadnavis government is.

The cases and the scams that have been exposed in 2011-2012 are acknowledged by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General). If the Supreme Court is monitoring the coal scam and the 2G scam, is Pawar going to tell them you are vindictive?

I am talking about the Maharashtra government.

In a similar manner, the Mumbai high court is monitoring the PWD's Maharashtra Sadan scam, and monitoring the irrigation scam. Can we say the courts are vindictive?

This scam was exposed when Kirit Somaiya's party was not in power. I was an ex-MP then.

We exposed the scam. I gathered the documents, compiled and analysed it and put it before the court.

Despite people like me, mediapersons and activists approaching the previous government and investigating agencies dozens of times, they did not do anything and tried to protect the scamsters.

Here the Fadnavis government gave permission for an open inquiry which was rejected by the earlier government. After the inquiry has been concluded, they have filed the chargesheet.

So let us debate if anything is wrong in the FIR or anything is not included in the chargesheet. Whatever documents are available have been placed before the public and in the assembly.

Now the investigating agency is able to conclude it and want to take it to its logical end. I will say Pawar must help the state do that.

You also accused Bhujbal of importing coal from Indonesia with benami money.

When I exposed Bhujbal in that case, he said they had taken coal mines in Indonesia through a Singapore company because they wanted coal in India to be used in their power plant. And he gave an example that they had a power plant in Nashik.

Now I have proved that Bhujbal is lying because he does not have any thermal power plant. The power plant which he referred is a green power plant.

The thermal power plant, which Bhujbal referred to, was in the Nashik municipal corporation area, where such plants cannot be allowed.

The company, which he referred to, was a defunct company. It never generated power in the last seven years. Just for money laundering they have run the power plant. It was corruption money.

Now the ED also has concluded that no coal block has been purchased anywhere in the world and they do not have a coal-based power plant also. They do not have permission to use coal in that power plant.
The Eastern Naval Command is all geared up to host the International Fleet Review in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhpatnam coast which begins on Thursday, a mega event that will witness participation from nearly 50 countries.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni said the command is fully prepared to conduct the four-day event with participation of foreign and Indian ships and foreign chief of the naval staffs from various countries.

Talking to media persons on board INS Sumitra after the rehearsal of the IFR on Tuesday, the vice admiral said 50 countries have already confirmed their participation and 90 ships, including 24 warships, from foreign countries and 24 foreign naval chiefs will take part in the fleet review.

He said 70 to 75 helicopters of various types, including hawk jet fighters, will exhibit their talent and demonstrate in the Bay of Bengal.

Supreme Commander of the armed forces, President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on Presidential yacht, INS Sumitra after inspecting the guard of honour which will be presented by 150 naval personnel on IFR on February 6.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parikar, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimham, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Cabinet ministers, state Cabinet ministers and chief ministers of more than 10 states, all chiefs of armed forces, Chief of naval staffs, retired chief of staffs and a host of delegates across the country will also take part in the fleet review.

Soni said the VIPs would review the fleet of participating Indian and foreign ships which will be anchored in six columns and the naval personnel standing on anchored ships on both the sides of Sumitra would salute the President in the traditional manner.

He said the Indian Navy is organising the event for the first time in the east coast and second time in the country. The first IFR was organised in Mumbai in 2001.

During the rehearsals on Tuesday, the helicopters of Indian Navy, coast guard exhibited their talent including the rescue demonstrations by the naval personnel form a Chetak helicopters that thrilled the audiences.

The main idea of conducting the IFR is to unite the navies through ocean -- the main theme of the Navy, Soni said, adding that the exercise would strengthen the friendship between friendly countries.

Vice Admiral Soni inspected the arrangements being made at the beach road. The galleries on beach road accommodate 20,000 spectators and the beach sands 1.5 lakh people.

According to a statement issued by the ENS, evening of February 7 will witness the operational demonstration followed by the International City Parade which would include marching contingents and bands from the Army, Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the gathering and also release a book on the maritime heritage of India.

Chief Minister Naidu would lead citizens in paying homage to the martyrs of the 1971 war at the War Memorial in a solemn wreath laying ceremony at RK Beach.

He will also inaugurate a maritime exhibition on Wednesday, one of the biggest events of its kind which will showcase various entrepreneurs in the maritime domain.

On February 7, a two-day international maritime conference would be inaugurated by Defence Minister Parikkar on the theme 'Partnering together for a secure maritime future', the statement said.

The activities of IFR will conclude on the evening of February 8 with a joint international band concert at the naval officers institute followed by a closing ceremony.

City Police Commissioner Amit Garg told reporters on Monday that elaborate security arrangements have been made with 15,000-strong police force deployed at event venues.

Police have prohibited all non-governmental agencies, organisations and individuals launching Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones in the city from January 27 to February 9.
The three Mi-35 Indian multi-role helicopters donated to Afghanistan have made a big difference in the offensive against militants in the war-torn country, the outgoing commander of US forces in Afghanistan has said.

"They do have three Mi-35s (sic) - really Mi-24s and Mi-35s from India. They'll have a fourth one coming in pretty soon that will add to their inventory as well and that'll make a great difference," Gen John Campbell told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

The Mi-35, a comprehensive upgrade of the Mi-24, is a versatile helicopter gunship with troop carrying capabilities.

Campbell, who has commanded US and international forces in Afghanistan for the past 18 months, is expected to retire. Lieutenant General John Nicholson has been chosen by President Barack Obama to replace Campbell.

In January, three multi-role Mi-35 attack helicopters donated by India were inducted into the Afghan Air Force, giving the country's security forces much-needed lethal teeth against militant groups like the Taliban.

The Indian gift to Afghanistan has been hailed by the people and government of Afghanistan, and also by the US.

Campbell's remarks on India's donation of attack helicopters came in response to a question from Congressman Rob Wittman who wanted to know about the capabilities of the Afghan Air Force.

The three helicopters were handed over to Afghanistan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kabul in December last year. The fourth helicopter is expected to be delivered soon.
As India and the US hold fresh talks on three contentious defence foundational agreements, a top American military official on Wednesday batted for the pacts, saying these are an opportunity for deeper collaboration and cooperation in the key sector.

"I think there is a shared understanding that these agreements have value. They provide structure for exchange. I think they provide opportunity for enhanced cooperation," said the Chief of Naval Operations of the US military, Admiral John Richardson.

Interacting with a select group of journalists here, the officer said there is a shared understanding to put in place these agreements.

"There is a very dedicated effort to put everything into place. So, we are optimistic about closing some of these arrangements," he added.

The American side had raised the issue of signing of the Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement, Logistics Support Agreement and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement during the recent visit of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the US.

While the previous United Progressive Alliance government had refused to sign these, sources said that Parrikar has asked the US to address India's concerns over these agreements for holding further talks, particularly on CISMOA and BECA.

Richardson arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a five-day visit to help deepen maritime partnership between the two countries.

He said enhanced collaboration and cooperation is being pushed from the very top in both governments.

"To do this, to take advantage of this window of opportunity, these agreements can be part of that. So, I think there is a sense of optimism that we might be able to get some things done," he said.

Talking about the joint working groups on aircraft carrier and jet engine technology, he said that both sides are making good progress.

Asked if the US will continue to help India if it chooses nuclear propulsion for its next aircraft carrier, he said it was a hypothetical question.

Though India has still not decided on this matter, navy officials here have indicated that they may go for nuclear propulsion.

Richardson said the two sides are collaborating and sharing lessons gathered from undertaking the design and building of an aircraft carrier.

Talking about what he described as China's aggressive posturing in the Indian Ocean, he said that Beijing should make its intentions clear.

Richardson welcomed a larger role for India in the region and the world, saying the country can become an exporter of security.

During his visit, the officer will meet key national security officials here to discuss navy-to-navy relations and opportunities for further technical and security cooperation.

He will then travel to Visakhapatnam to participate in the Indian Navy-hosted International Fleet Review, which will have participation from 50 countries through visiting warships, tall-masted ships, and chiefs of navies.

"A central line of effort for CNO is to expand and strengthen our network of partners," a statement by the American embassy said.
Pakistani authorities have arrested the main facilitator of the gruesome attack on Bacha KhanUniversity that killed 21 people, mostly students, while he was trying to slip across the border to Afghanistan, a media report said on Wednesday.

Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as 'Terrorist A', was arrested in Nowshera last week by intelligence agencies, the Dawn reported, citing "credible" sources.

"He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away," they said.

"He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was ntercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," said the sources, requesting anonymity.

The alleged facilitator, in his early 30s, said in his initial statement that the planning of the attack on the university was going on for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of militant commander Omar Mansoor.

Mansoor, mastermind of the Peshawar school carnage and a commander of the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for the January 20 assault on Bacha Khan University.

Waheed said Mansoor had provided him Rs 1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition.

Waheed is also reported to have said that he secretly made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and took the footages in a memory chip to Mansoor, but the plans were dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. He said he was the one who had made the video of the four attackers with Mansoor and that was the reason why the Abdul Wali KhanUniversity was mentioned in the video, according to the report.

The plan to attack that university was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.

Meanwhile, addressing a meeting last night, Deputy Inspector General of Police Mardan Division Saeed Wazir also said that militants initially had planned storming Wali KhanUniversity in Mardan but later selected BKU deeming it a soft target and to increase causalities.
Osama bin Laden got inspiration for the deadly 9/11 attacks from a 1999 plane crash in which an Egyptian airline pilot deliberately downed his plane in the Atlantic Ocean, the Al Qaeda has claimed.

In an article titled 'September 11 attacks - the story untold' published in its weekly magazine al-Masrah, the al-Qaeda said the inspiration for the September 11 attacks was the story of Gamil al-Batouti, the Egyptian co-pilot, who deliberately crashed EgyptAir flight from Los Angeles to Cairo, killing 217 people, including 100 Americans.

According to al-Masrah, when the then al-Qaeda chief Osama heard about the Egyptian plane crash, he asked, "Why didn't he crash it into a nearby building?", pronouncing the idea of targeting buildings, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Al-Batouti had deliberately downed the plane. Despite speculation over terrorism, his family and friends said he had no strong beliefs and reports stated that it may have been suicide or revenge against EgyptAir following disciplinary action.

Osama was apparently less interested in the motive than in how the disaster could be developed into a deadly new strategy.

When Osama met with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was identified as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks" by the 9/11 Commission Report, the latter presented him with an additional idea -- crashing American airplanes, the report said.

Before presenting his idea to Osama, Sheikh Mohammed started working on a plan to crash 12 American airplanes at once. And so, the final plan implemented by al-Qaeda was a combination of Sheikh Mohammed's and Osama's ideas  crashing American airplanes into the buildings of the WorldTradeCenter, it said.

Al-Masra is released by Ansar al-Sharia, which is an alias for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away in New Delhi on Wednesday. He was 92.

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was a popular leader who enriched Parliamentary democracy.

"Balram Jakhar ji was a popular leader who enriched our Parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP," he tweeted.

Jakhar served as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed to the establishment of ParliamentMuseum.

He also served as Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

Jakhar also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grief over the demise of Jakhar.

In her message to the family of Jakhar, Gandhi said, "The Congress party as indeed the entire nation will forever remember the contributions made by him during the course of his long public life, particularly to the cause of farming community."

"Be it as Legislator, Parliamentarian, Minister, Speaker or Governor, Dr Jakhar forever remained at the forefront in taking up issues concerning agriculture and farmers and his role in modernising the Parliament Secretariat was pioneering."

Jakhar also served as deputy minister cooperation, irrigation and power in Punjab from 1973 to 77 and then leader of the Opposition in the assembly between 1977 and 1979.

Jakhar was a four-time MP in Lok Sabha starting from his election in the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980. He was again elected in 1984, 1991 and 1998.

In 1980, he became Lok Sabha Speaker and served till 1989 for two terms during which he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of the house works.

He worked extensively for promotion of Parliament library, smartening the reference, research and documentation system of the house and streamlining information for the members.

Jakhar headed business advisory committee, rules committee; general purposes committee; and standing committee of the conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in India.

In the party, he became general secretary all india congress committee in 1990 and from 1992 he was member, congress working committee.

The body of Jakhar, who breathed his last in New Delhi at around 7 am, is being taken to his native village Panjkosi near Abohar in Punjab, where he will be cremated on Thursday morning, his family sources said.

Expressing grief over Jakhar's demise, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi hailed him as a party stalwart.

"Extremely saddened by the passing away of veteran Congress leader Balram Jakharji. In his passing Congress Party has lost a stalwart. His immense contribution to the nation in his long political career as Parliamentarian, union minister and governor will always be remembered," he tweeted.

Offering his condolences to the Congress leader's family, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran LK Advani said, "I am grieved to learn about the sad demise of Balram Jakhar, former Speaker, Lok Sabha, whom I had known very well."

Advani said that as Lok Sabha Speaker, Jakhar was instrumental in the computerisation of parliamentary documents.

"He made a distinctive contribution to the development of the Parliament library and reference, documentation and information service for the knowledge and use of Members of Parliament," he said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that with Jakhar's demise, the country has lost a "great parliamentarian". He noted that Jakhar will be always remembered for maintaining the decorum and dignity of the House when he was Speaker.

Former union agriculture minister Pawar added that, as one of his predecessors, Jakhar had worked to maintain the pace of agricultural development in all spheres.

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that Jakhar's sad demise is "an irreparable loss for the nation".

"The passing away of such a distinguished and soft-spoken leader is an irreparable loss for the nation," Mahajan said in a statement.

Extending condolences to the bereaved members of Jakhar's family, she said "He will always be in our midst for his thoughts. He used to call me behna (sister). I recently met him as he had been indisposed for a long time. Such leaders are remembered for their positive qualities."

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that Jakhar "maintained the high level of parliamentary traditions" during his tenure as Lok Sabha Speaker.

As a public representative, he remained dedicated to the welfare of farmers, labourers and other sections of the society, she added in her condolence message.
Lack of opportunities coupled with a desire to get rich quick in the West is fueling Punjab's human trafficking problem.

Rashme Sehgal reports.

The death by drowning of 24 young men off the coast of Panama on January 10 is one more tragedy in a series of accidents involving Punjabi youth who are willing to go to any lengths in their attempts to find a foothold in the West.

These young men were travelling to the United States when their boat capsized. Seven of the boys on the boat were rescued by a woman who happened to be near the scene of the accident.

One of the survivors, Sonu Singh, from Luroi village in Kapurthala district, managed to call his father Rajinder Singh and inform him of the tragedy. Rajinder Singh alerted the local police as also the parents of the boys who lost their lives.

Amongst the victims were Gurjit Singh of Tandi Aulakh village and Gurvinder Singh of Jaid village. Grief-stricken Bachan Singh, Gurvinder Singh's father, says he found out about the tragedy three days after it occurred. He visited Sonu's parents to get a first hand appraisal of what had happened and it was they who informed him that his son had not been rescued.

"My boy had passed his Class 12 exam and was looking for a job. He met a local travel agent who fed him all kinds of dreams about how he would become rich overnight if he went to the West. He fell for those stories and a deal was fixed at Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million)."

"I had to sell my land and borrow money from relatives to send him abroad. Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) was given to the agent as a first instalment," says Bachan Singh.

Bachan Singh filed an FIR against the travel agent for duping him and other parents. The agent had told the parents that the boys would be flown to the US, but sent them via a sea route in what was likely a rickety boat.

Although two travel agents have been arrested and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has sought External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention to bring the survivors back to India, the government has taken little action on this front so far.

The bhog ceremony for the drowned boys has been held in their respective villages, but the families have received no official confirmation of their deaths.

The majority of the parents who have sent their boys abroad can hardly be described as poor by Indian standards. They live in proper homes that boast of colour televisions and refrigerators. But within these farming communities, it is the families which receive remittances from abroad who are seen to be prosperous. They live in lavish houses and often have SUVs parked at their doorstep.

It is this keeping up with the Joneses that drives the boys and their parents to take this step. And by doing so, they play straight into the arms of the mafia who run this multi-billion rupee human smuggling trade.

Twenty years ago, 170 youth from the Doaba belt in Punjab drowned off the Malta coast.

The state government had then swung into action and arrested the kingpins of this racket. Despite these arrests, the touts and travel agents have continued their illegal trafficking in immigrants despite the tightening of rules in Western countries.

The Doaba region stretching between the Beas and the Sutlej rivers has a long tradition of sending their boys to the West. Even today, this belt sees a minimum of 500 legal immigrants flying out of Amritsar and Jalandhar every day.

But an equal number attempt to make this journey illegally. Human trafficking is said to rival the arms and drugs trade in size and subterfuge.

"Illegal immigration is controlled by international cartels," says a Jalandhar travel agent, speaking on condition of anonymity, "who provide people with fake documents and sends them along different routes. The minute one route gets too hot, they start using another."

"A shrinking job market acts as a trigger for this illegal immigration," says Santokh Singh Chaudhary, the Congress MP from Jalandhar.

"The state government is no longer interested in the welfare of the public," says Chaudhary. "Why has no strong action been taken against these travel agents?"

Chaudhary alludes to the abduction of 39 Punjabi men by Islamic State. "Why has the Badal government not put pressure on the central government to get our boys released?" the MP asks.</>

Vijay Sampla, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP from the Doaba region, blames travel agents for the human trafficking. "There is no shortage of employment in our state," says Sampla. "But the local people are dazzled by the standards of living of families who get regular remittances from abroad. Everyone wants a similar standard of living even if it is not feasible."

One of the most frightening incidents occurred when middlemen tried to smuggle 12 Punjabi immigrants into Britain at the back of a refrigerated metallic container packed with meat. The boys had been made to wear thick coats and sit on these frozen meat packs on the long flight.

"Are there no opportunities left in their villages? asks Nilambri Singh, a Canadian educationist. "In the past, many young women were married off to grooms living in the West, sometimes with horrible consequences. I don't understand why these young boys are migrating in such dangerous ways keeping in mind the fate of African migrants trying to enter the European Union on overcrowded boats."

"The youth in Punjab are certainly not facing the same dire situation as are desperate families in Africa and the Middle East," she adds.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has conveyed to the government that the majority of illegal Indian immigrants languishing in various prisons and refugee camps in Europe are from Punjab.

In the US, most of the 920 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation are Punjabis.

MPs across parties in Punjab have asked the central government to set up a commission which will work closely with the police to monitor illegal immigration.

IMAGE: Immigrants rights supporters rally outside the US Immigration Customs Enforcement Northwest Detention Centre in Tacoma, Washington state, March 11, 2014. Dozens of detainees went on a hunger strike protesting deportations and detention centre conditions. Photograph: Jason Redmond/Reuters
Right in the midst of bustling Kolkata lies what might be the most prominent population of Britons in India.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com walks through the South Park Street Cemetery.

IMAGE: Bards, botanists, indologists, jailers, translators, diplomats, postmasters, surveyors, judges, housewives, mothers, soldiers, surgeons, teachers, bureaucrats, architects, military officials and more have their final resting place in South Park Street Cemetery. Photograph: Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com

Park Street, central Kolkata, has the most prominent population of the British in the city.

They reside, or rather repose, in perpetuity, under the leafy, cool bowers of the south stretch of this quaint but bustling thoroughfare. Nearly 1,600 deceased Britons, living elegantly in their own city of the dead. Remains of another day.

This sanctuary of serenity, existing amidst the muted roar of traffic, is called the South Park Street Cemetery.

The avenue, formerly called Burial Ground Road, runs through what was once a deer park, grounds and bungalow of Sir Elijah Impey.

Impey was British India's first chief justice and known for wrongfully hanging Maharaja Nandakumar, who famously accused Warren Hastings, the then governor general, of corruption.

IMAGE: The architecture includes Gothic, Dorian, Ionian, Corinthian, Indo-Saracenic, Pancharatha-Rekha Deul. And then there's the resting place of Charles Hindoo Stuart, right -- a Hindu-temple-shaped tomb! Photograph: Giridhar Appaji Nag Y/Wikicommons

Eight acres of that park, from 1767, became home to the remains of the late Impey and a society of dead Englishmen and women, as well as a scattering of Eurasians.

Bards, botanists, indologists, jailers, translators, postmasters, diplomats, surveyors, judges, housewives, mothers, soldiers, surgeons, teachers, bureaucrats, architects, military officials, tide-waiters (do research that profession) and more have their final resting place in the towering cenotaphs that interestingly look similar to the chhatris -- the funerary architecture of Hindu kings.

When one sits on a stone bench in this graveyard -- called once upon a time as the Great Burial Ground -- one can imagine a pageant of ghosts murmuring together in the shade; about botany and a flowering shrub Monsonia, or over the politics of the East India Company, Hastings, Hinduism, Krishna and criticism of Christian missionaries, wicked tropical diseases, Patna Post harkaras (dak runners), the first Anglo-Afghan War, patriotism.

Sometimes in iambic pentameter, if they were poets like the gifted Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, who was also laid to rest here.

Spirits whispering incessantly under the colossal banyans and stately peepuls, which rustle in the breeze. Not surprising then that it is considered one of the most haunted spots of Kolkata. You would be forgiven for half agreeing.

The architecture chatters together too, sometimes none too peacefully. Gothic argues with Dorian and Ionian with Corinthian. Indo-Saracenic quibbles bitterly with Pancharatha-Rekha Deul, a particular Odisha style that adds a quirky accent to a Christian cemetery.

One has the eight acres just to one's self. Almost. There are no charts or key maps to the tombs -- some of which are fading and rapidly crumbling or graffiti-sed with games of tic-tac-toe -- so stumbling through the undergrowth, one bumps into all kinds of interesting oddities of history, not just architecture.

The sheer footage of the tomb masonry -- 50 bags of cement per head likely -- that must have cost pretty pence in those days, is bewildering.

The Archaeological Survey of India attributes this to both pomp and to preventing the wildfire spread of the deadly diseases that some of these 1,600 died of.

Reading the epitaphs at this cemetery is like perusing an anthology by the English Romantic wordsmiths of that era. The tomb memorials seem to echo bits of Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard; or then a stanza or two of Worsdworth. Paras of Walter Scott.

But the epitaphs, please note, were all written in an India that was celebrating Mirza Ghalib at the time.

Sacred to the Memory of Robert Gardiner Who was Unfortunately Wrecked in the Ship Ganges on the Barabullor Sand in the River Ganges... this monument is erected from a Motive of Filial Regard by his Affectionate Son Andrew Gardiner.

Or: Major George Downie, Died 4th December 1808. Aged 47 years. A Character every way creditable, to Human Nature, If Honest, if purity of Principle, Filial, and Fraternal Affection, a conscious discharge of his public and private duties, if Charity, and the practice of every virtue that enobles the character of man, Merit the Kingdom of Heaven, the living only have to lament his premature death.

Grave 363 is anonymous, the number stamped in a sarkari red and its message cryptic but poignant: A virtuous mother. Died 1825.

IMAGE: The grave of poet Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. Photograph: Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com

South Park Street's most illustrious dead are: Sir William Jones, who founded the Asia Society; Walter Landor Dickens, an East India Company official and son of Charles Dickens; Richmond Thackeray, father of William Makepiece Thackeray who wrote Vanity Fair; and Rose Aylmer, the muse of British writer Walter Savage Landor's poem of the same name.

And then there's the colourful, eccentric Charles Hindoo Stuart, who rests eternally in a Hindu-temple-shaped tomb! This Irish military officer, and later major general, came to India as a teenager and never went back. He Hindu-ised himself, quickly adopting Indian traditions, languages, clothes, befriending Lord Krishna and bathing in the Ganga daily.

Stuart made outrageous and shockingly unpopular suggestions to his stiff-upper-lip Raj colleagues like suggesting that British women should wear saris while posted in India. In letters to the Calcutta Telegraph, he exhorted white women to adopt native garb. He said saris were 'elegant, simple, sensible and sensual' unlike 'the prodigious structural engineering Europeon (sic) women strapped themselves into in order to hold their bellies in, project their breasts out and allow their dresses to balloon grandly up and over towards the floor.'

Or in the context of foreign missionaries in his book Vindication of Hindoos he said: 'Hinduism little needs the meliorating hand of Christianity to render its votaries a sufficiently correct and moral people for all the useful purposes of a civilised society... Wherever I look around me, in the vast ocean of Hindu mythology, I discover Piety... Morality... and as far as I can rely on my judgment, it appears the most complete and ample system of Moral Allegory that the world has ever produced.'

An interesting footnote to the history of the South Park Street Cemetery and the British Raj are the refurbished or newly-renovated graves. There are about a dozen graves that have been restored and whitewashed by descendants of those buried here.

For instance, the grave of Lady Anne Monson, who died in Kolkata in February 1776, is all spruced up. This English noblewoman, who collected specimens of plants and insects, was the great-granddaughter of England's King Charles II and was termed by historical records at the British Museum as 'a remarkable lady botanist' and someone who helped translate Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus's noted Philosophia Botanica into English.

IMAGE: Lady Anne Monson's grave. Photograph: Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com

Last year, Nicholas John Monson, 12th Baron Monson, came back to India with his mother Emma Windsor-Clive and daughter Isabella Monson and a few other British peers, to commemorate his celebrated ancestor with a small ceremony of rededication, after the grave was refurbished.

Remembers Isabella Monson in an e-mail to Rediff.com: "My grandmother had always taken a keen interest in family history and in 1985 started researching the family members who had lived in India, including Colonel George and Lady Anne Monson. My father visited South Park Street Cemetery in 2010 and tracked down their graves with some difficulty."

Recalls Nicholas Monson, of his initial adventure, "It was me who rediscovered their graves. The cemetery keeper Mr Brown challenged me on their existence. Forty minutes later, I reported back to his office with their location. He entered their graves then in his records. A proud moment."

"Lady Anne's original gravestone's inscription from 1776 had eroded," adds Isabella. "So, in 2013, my grandmother, together with those at the South Park Street Cemetery, organised for it to be re-inscribed. It was completed in 2015 and the cemetery had the idea to have a blessing."

"It was an important occasion for us and for all those involved. We were delighted at the sight of the newly-inscribed gravestone, which honoured a truly remarkable woman's memory. The occasion was very moving. The other people there were my boyfriend and his mother, and friends of my grandmother who happened to be in Calcutta. Everything ran very smoothly, except for our connecting flight which meant us getting stuck in Delhi for seven hours!" she says.

IMAGE: Spirits whispering incessantly under the colossal banyans and stately peepuls, which rustle in the breeze. Not surprising then that it is considered one of the most haunted spots of Kolkata. You would be forgiven for half agreeing. Photograph: Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com

The few visitors/tourists that do show up at South Park make a beeline for the graveside of Derozio, that basks in the bright sunshine, on the periphery of the burial ground, not comforted by the embrace of tree branches.

Research online indicates that the great Anglo-Indian poet -- most famous for his Indian nationalist verses from To My Native Land -- was denied burial in the proper graveyard because he was considered a Christian apostate. An uncompromising reformist, he had much to do with the Bengali Renaissance.

A bust of the young teacher, journalist, poet and patriot, who succumbed to cholera at an unripe 22, sits atop his tomb that is inscribed with the stanza from his poem The Poet's Grave:

Here all in silence, let him sleep his sleep

No dream shall flit into that slumber deep

No wandering mortal thither once shall wend

There is nothing over him, but the heaven shall weep

There never pilgrim at his shrine shall bend

But holy stars alone their nightly vigil keep.
Congo-Brazzaville: Authorities must release opposition leader detained for 2 months

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 1 February 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Congo-Brazzaville: Authorities must release opposition leader detained for 2 months, 1 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11949a27.html [accessed 20 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.

Authorities in Congo-Brazzaville must immediately and unconditionally release an opposition leader arrested and detained for over two months simply for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, Amnesty International said today.

Paulin Makaya, President of "Unis pour le Congo" (UPC), was arrested on 23 November 2015 while reporting for questioning at the office of the Public Prosecutor. He was charged with alleged crimes in relation to his participation in a protest held on 20 October in Brazzaville in opposition to amendments to the country's constitution.

"The right to express political opinions and protest peacefully are fundamental human rights that should always be respected and protected, not least during election periods," said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

"Paulin Makaya and others detained for nothing more than exercising these rights should be released immediately and unconditionally."

Amnesty International considers Paulin Makaya, as well as several others arrested during the same period, to be prisoners of conscience detained simply for peacefully exercising their right to express their political views.

The treatment of Paulin Makaya has also contravened a number of international fair trial standards as well as national legislation. He has been questioned several times without his lawyer, detained for seven days without being charged or brought before a court, and his bail application - finally denied on 20 January - took seven weeks rather than the five days prescribed by Congolese law.

Among the charges levelled against Paulin Makaya are that of incitement to disturb public order, unlawful possession of weapons of war and ammunitions and complicity to commit arson.

"All charges against Paulin Makaya should be dropped and as national elections approach, the authorities should promote and facilitate peaceful protest and respect the expression of different views," said Alioune Tine.

Background

On 20 October 2015, security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition at protesters in Brazzaville demonstrating against the proposed changes to the Republic of Congo's Constitution.

A referendum was held on 25 October 2015 to give way for, amongst other things, the current President to run for a third term in office in 2016.

The referendum was preceded by demonstrations organised in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire and across other towns to express dissent over the proposed changes to the constitution.

Clashes between security forces and protesters led to the death of at least 16 protesters and bystanders in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire alone.

Ahead of the referendum, the right to freedom of expression was also severely curtailed with mobile internet services, text messaging and the transmission signal of some radio stations being cut in Brazzaville.

The presidential election which was initially scheduled for July 2016, will now be held on 20 March.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Nigeria: Reinstatement of army general implicated in mass murder makes mockery of commitments to end war crimes

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 1 February 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Nigeria: Reinstatement of army general implicated in mass murder makes mockery of commitments to end war crimes, 1 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11a37c15.html [accessed 20 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.

The reinstatement of a senior Nigerian military general implicated in the mass murder of hundreds of detainees underlines the monumental failure of the government to stamp out impunity for war crimes at the highest level, said Amnesty International.



Last June, Amnesty International named Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, along with eight other senior commanders, calling for an investigation into their possible criminal responsibility for war crimes including the deaths of more than 8,000 of detainees.



Major General Ahmadu, was in charge of 7 Division and was in command of operations when the military executed more than 640 detainees following a Boko Haram attack on the detention centre in Giwa barracks on 14 March 2014. He was retired in 2014 for unrelated reasons, but reinstated this month.



An in depth report exposed a range of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by the military in the course of operations against Boko Haram. It found that, since March 2011, more than 7,000 were starved, suffocated, and tortured to death in military detention camps. A further 1,200 were rounded up and unlawfully killed.



"Major General Mohammed must be investigated for participating in, sanctioning or failing to prevent the deaths of hundreds of people," said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

"Young men and boys, rounded up by the military, were either shot, starved, suffocated or tortured to death and no one has yet been held to account. It is unthinkable that Major General Muhammed could resume command of troops before an investigation has even begun."



The report, Stars on their shoulders, blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military, was based on years of research and analysis of evidence - including leaked military reports and correspondence, as well as interviews with more than 400 victims, eyewitnesses and senior members of the Nigerian security forces.



It exposed a range of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by the military in the course of operations against Boko Haram. It found that, since March 2011, more than 7,000 were starved, suffocated, and tortured to death in military detention camps. A further 1,200 were rounded up and unlawfully killed.



It named nine senior Nigerian military figures along the chain of command who should be investigated for potential command and individual responsibility for the crimes committed.

Hours after the publication of the report on 3 June, President Buhari responded personally on Twitter to say: "I assure you that your report will be looked intoThis administration will leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law, and deal with all cases of human rights abuses."



Likewise the President announced on 12 June 2015 that investigating criminal responsibility for the violations documented in Amnesty International's report would be the first task of the Attorney General. This investigation is yet to begin.



Since the publication of the report, four of the named military commanders have retired. Two others had already retired prior to the publication of the report. The current status of two Brigadier Generals is unknown. Major General Mohammed was removed from his post on 16 May 2014 two days after a reported mutiny by his own men. News of his reinstatement reached Amnesty International on 17 January.

"Seven months after the publication of these horrific discoveries and the President's pledge that they will be looked into, we continue to call for urgent independent investigations to begin," said Salil Shetty.



"Those responsible for the crimes detailed in Amnesty International's report must be held to account, no matter their rank or position. Only then can there be justice for the dead and their relatives."



BACKGROUND



In November 2015, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, identified two potential cases of crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Nigerian military. These relate to the arrest, detention, torture and death in custody of Boko Haram suspects and extrajudicial executions, including of recaptured detainees on 14 March 2014.



The prosecutor is assessing the admissibility of the potential cases in order to reach a decision on whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met.



Amnesty International's report into human rights violations by the military was published on 3 June 2015. Based on the evidence it uncovered, the organization believes that the following military officers should be investigated for potential individual or command responsibility for the war crimes of murder, enforced disappearance and torture detailed in this report:



Major General Ahmadu Mohammed - reinstated.

He was Commander of 7 Division from 24 February until 16 May 2014. During this period, Amnesty International continued to document arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention of thousands of people in inhumane conditions, the deaths in custody of large numbers of detainees and extrajudicial executions committed by Nigerian troops under his command. In addition, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed was in charge of military operations when, in the aftermath of a Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barracks, Nigerian military executed more than 640 former detainees. Major General Mohammed was reinstated in January 2016 and is waiting to be assigned a post.



Major General John A.H. Ewansiha - currently retired.

He was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Operation Restore Order I (ORO) and Operation BOYONA between January 2012 and August 2013. As GOC of ORO and Operation BOYONA, he was informed about the arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention of thousands of people in inhumane conditions, the deaths in custody of large numbers of detainees and extrajudicial executions in areas under his command in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.



He received regular reports indicating the commission of these crimes by his subordinates and failed to take measures to stop and prevent them or to bring those responsible to account. In August 2013, he became Chief of Standards and Evaluation at Army Headquarters and Chief of Training and Operations at Army Headquarters.



Major General Obida T Ethan - currently retired.

He was Commander of 7 Division from 22 August 2013 until 1 January 2014. Major General Ethan took over the command of the military operations in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in August 2013 from Major General Ewansiha. During this period, Amnesty International continued to document arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention of thousands of people in inhumane conditions, the deaths in custody of large numbers of detainees and extrajudicial executions committed by Nigerian troops under his command.





Brigadier General Austin O. Edokpayi - status unknown.

He was in command of the Multinational Joint Task Force based in Baga from at least April 2013 until December 2013 where Nigerian soldiers were responsible for arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, the extrajudicial executions of more than 185 people in April 2013, and deaths in custody in Baga detention facility.



Brigadier General Rufus O. Bamigboye - status unknown.

He was Commander of the 21 Armoured Brigade, stationed in Giwa barracks from February 2012 till September 2013. He was in charge of the barracks during the period when at least 5,000 detainees died in custody, and when torture and ill-treatment were used routinely. In December 2013, he was promoted to Deputy Director of Operations at Defence Headquarters. According to media reports, Brigadier General Bamigboye was appointed Chief of Staff of 81 Division in July 2015. Amnesty International has not been able to verify his current status.



In addition, Amnesty International believes that the following high-level military commanders should be investigated for their potential command responsibility for crimes committed by their subordinates given that they knew or should have known about the commission of the crimes, and failed to take adequate action:



Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika. He was Chief of Army Staff from September 2010 until he retired in January 2014.

Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim. He was Chief of Defence Staff from 4 October 2012 until he retired in January 2014.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
China: Authorities intensify crackdown against critics with deplorable jail terms for rights activists

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 29 January 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, China: Authorities intensify crackdown against critics with deplorable jail terms for rights activists, 29 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11b292580.html [accessed 20 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.

Three Chinese human rights campaigners who were handed jail sentences on Friday for publishing books on democracy and activism are the latest victims of politically motivated "national security" charges used to silence government critics, Amnesty International said.

Tang Jingling, 44, Yuan Xinting, 44, and Wang Qingying, 31, were convicted by Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court for "inciting subversion of state power", and were sentenced to five years, three-and-a-half years and two-and-a-half years in jail respectively.

"Today's verdict against the three activists is a gross injustice. Their peaceful and legitimate work never threatened state security, this is solely about the authorities arbitrarily silencing government critics," said Patrick Poon, China Researcher at Amnesty International.

"The authorities appear to be stepping up the use of spurious "national security" charges as they escalate their attack against human rights activists and peaceful critics of the government's abuse of power."

According to the State prosecution's indictment, Tang Jingling, Yuan Xinting, and Wang Qingying "promoted the ideas of civil disobedience with the goal of overthrowing the socialist system". The three activists were not accused of having taken part themselves in any civil disobedience.

The key evidence cited by the prosecution at trial hearings in June and July 2015 was the publication of a series of books on civic activism, peaceful democratization and civil disobedience, such as From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders by Si Kahn and Breaking the Real Axis of Evil by Mark Palmer.

The authorities also accused the defendants of having participated in various "illegal activities" from 2006 onwards. These include commemorating the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, remembrance of Lin Zhao, who was executed during the Cultural Revolution, and the signing of the Charter 08 democracy manifesto, which was co-authored by imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo.

"The prosecutor's indictment itself makes clear that nothing the men did exceeded the boundaries of the right to freedom of expression. Their convictions and sentences must be quashed, and all three men must be immediately and unconditionally released," said Patrick Poon.

Background

Tang Jingling, Yuan Xinting, and Wang Qingying, have long been prominent rights advocates in Southern China, gaining the nickname "The Three Gentlemen of Guangzhou" from fellow activists for their willingness to take a stand for their ideas in the face of state suppression.

The arrest and prosecution of the three activists was marred by many procedural violations. The court repeatedly blocked defence lawyers from calling witnesses. The initial trial in June 2015 was suspended after the judge rejected defence requests for Communist Party members to be prevented from adjudicating on the case. Foreign diplomats were also prevented from attending the trial.

The three men were initially detained in May 2014 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", when scores of activists and government critics were detained ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.

Police first denied and then arbitrarily restricted the men access to their lawyers and visits by their relatives, in contravention of international standards and China's criminal procedure law. Tang Jingling was not allowed to meet one of his lawyers for several weeks after he was taken into custody.

Several of the men's lawyers also alleged that their clients had been repeatedly beaten in custody and during questioning by the police.

The lawyers also faced difficulties in accessing the case court material and were denied the right to make copies of the transcript of the police interrogation, which is cited as evidence in the indictment.

Earlier this month, the authorities formally arrested 15 people on state security charges in the ongoing crackdown against human rights lawyers and activists which began last July.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Burundi: Satellite evidence supports witness accounts of mass graves

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 28 January 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Burundi: Satellite evidence supports witness accounts of mass graves, 28 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11b983412.html [accessed 20 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.

Compelling new satellite images, video footage and witness accounts analysed by Amnesty International strongly indicate that dozens of people killed by Burundian security forces in December were later buried in mass graves.

Before and after images and video footage clearly show five possible mass graves in the Buringa area, on the outskirts of Bujumbura. The imagery, dating from late December and early January, shows disturbed earth consistent with witness accounts. Witnesses told Amnesty International that the graves were dug on the afternoon of 11 December, in the immediate aftermath of the bloodiest day of Burundi's escalating crisis.The findings are contained in a new briefing Burundi: Suspected mass graves of victims of 11 December violence.

"These images suggest a deliberate effort by the authorities to cover up the extent of the killings by their security forces and to prevent the full truth from coming out," said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International's Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.



Amnesty International researchers were in Bujumbura when the killings occurred and visited affected neighbourhoods, including Nyakabiga, the next morning. Residents described how the bodies of at least 21 men were left in the streets, homes and drainage ditches. Researchers found large pools of blood where some of the victims had been killed but the bodies had been removed.

Witnesses described how police and local officials scoured Nyakabiga and other neighbourhoods to retrieve the bodies of those who were killed and took them to undisclosed locations.



The mother of a 15-year-old boy who was allegedly shot in the head as he ran to take refuge in an outhouse in the Musaga neighbourhood, told Amnesty International that a pickup truck from the mayor's office retrieved her son's body. The men that took him refused to tell her where the body was being taken. "I don't know where he is or if he's been buried," she said.



In addition to the Buringa site, Amnesty International received credible reports of suspected mass graves of people killed on 11 December in several other locations, including Mpanda and Kanyosha cemeteries.

Local sources reported that 25 bodies were buried in five graves at the Mpanda site, and 28 bodies were buried in four graves at the Kanyosha site. It is not known how many bodies might be found at other sites.



The findings follow a report by Amnesty International in December, "My children are scared": Burundi's deepening human rights crisis, and come days before African leaders are due to discuss the conflict in Burundi at the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa.



"African leaders gathering at the AU summit must call on the Burundian government to grant international investigators access to all suspected grave sites and launch an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the killings and why most families were given no opportunity to retrieve and bury their dead," said Muthoni Wanyeki.



"Families need to know what happened to their loved ones and to be able to bury them in dignity. These suspected grave sites must be secured until proper investigations can be carried out, and any bodies found in them should be exhumed to assess the causes of death."

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Iraq: Protect Mass Graves

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 30 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Iraq: Protect Mass Graves, 30 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11d79c2.html [accessed 20 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.

The recently accessible mass graves in northern Iraq are being disturbed and possibly compromised for any future prosecutions of what could amount to genocide against the Yezidi people, Human Rights Watch and Yazda, a Yezidi support group, said today. The authorities should take urgent steps to protect the gravesites around Mount Sinjar that became accessible after Kurdish forces recaptured the area from the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Most of the bodies in these graves are believed to be Yezidi victims of large-scale killings when ISIS forces took over the area in August 2014. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rightssays the killings may have amounted to genocide.

"Justice for the Yezidi victims of the mass killings by ISIS depends on preservation of the Mount Sinjar gravesites," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. "The Kurdish authorities should protect the evidence at these sites and shield them from further degradation by weather and animals."

Iraqi authorities should invite neutral international forensic experts, including those with experience working before criminal tribunals, to help preserve and analyze evidence in newly accessible mass graves, Human Rights Watch and Yazda said. International donors should help finance the preservation and analysis of evidence that could be vital to future domestic and international accountability processes to address serious international crimes.

In August, Human Rights Watch visited seven sites north of Mount Sinjar - known to Yezidis as Shingal - where ISIS fighters are believed to have executed dozens of Yezidi Iraqis. Kurdish forces recaptured the area by December 2014. Since Kurdish forces retook the area south of the mountain in mid-November 2015, the documentation team of Yazda, a United States-based organization working to support the Yezidi ethno-religious minority, has investigated 35 sites through ongoing visits: 19 confirmed mass grave sites; three sites of reported but not yet identified mass graves; three identified but not yet visited mass grave sites in accessible territory; and 10 inaccessible mass grave sites in areas under ISIS control. Both Human Rights Watch and Yazda found little or no protection of the sites and no preservation of evidence.

During its visits, Yazda found the sites entirely unprotected, with returnees, soldiers, and journalists disturbing the sites and even removing items. Yazda spoke with Kurdish forces at one site who said they had used a bulldozer to cover it with earth in an attempt to prevent winter flooding from washing away the remains.

At the seven sites north of the mountain that Human Rights Watch visited in August, local residents or the authorities had removed the human remains. In isolated cases where they thought they could identify the victim, the authorities said, they had handed over the remains to the families for burial.

Exhumations without forensic experts can destroy critical evidence and greatly complicate the identification of bodies, Human Rights Watch said.

In August 2014, ISIS attacked Yezidi communities around Sinjar city in Iraq's Nineveh province, reportedly killing more than 1,000 people. Several mass graves were found after Kurdish forces retook areas north of Mount Sinjar by December 2014. When Kurdish forces retook Sinjar city in mid-November 2015, soldiers, returning Yezidis, and journalists discovered additional killing sites and apparent mass graves.

Human Rights Watch and Yazda separately collected information from witnesses and officials involved in exhuming the sites indicating that at least three victims in different sites had disabilities and at least three sites contained the bodies of elderly people. People with disabilities face added risks during conflict and displacement, Human Rights Watch said. ISIS caught and then killed elderly or sick Yezidis or those with disabilities, after they were apparently unable to flee in time.

Mahmud Hajji, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) minister of martyrs and Anfal victims (a reference to the genocide of Iraqi Kurds during the Saddam Hussein era), told Human Rights Watch in November that the regional government would welcome much-needed international assistance in the protection and forensic analysis of these sites.

The Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Victims in September 2014 set up the High Committee for Identification of Genocide Crimes against Residents of Kurdistan Areas Outside of KRG, tasked with collecting evidence and determining means of protection and analysis. Judge Ayman Mustafa, head of the committee, told Human Rights Watch in April 2015 that two mass grave sites that were then under control of the regional government's Peshmerga forces had been excavated and the remains transferred to a morgue in Dohuk, in addition to a site in Zummar district on lake Mosul where ISIS killed 23 Yezidis farmhands.

He said that the team that conducted the excavation had some training but was "not so professional." He added that they were seeking international assistance and supervision but that there had been no responses to those requests. In August, two policemen working with the committee to record and remove physical evidence, including human remains, from the seven sites north of Mount Sinjar, told Human Rights Watch that they had had no training, but had listed all items and human remains found and submitted the evidence to a forensic institute in Dohuk for safekeeping.

Several local organizations have been documenting ISIS crimes against the Yezidi community, but they and the local authorities told Human Rights Watch and Yazda that they have only limited capacity. To Human Rights Watch's and Yazda's knowledge, no international forensic experts have conducted forensic work in the area, despite political support for such a mission from a variety of countries, including the US and Germany.

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly urged Iraq to become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to allow for possible prosecution of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity by all parties to the conflict. The authorities could give the court jurisdiction over serious crimes committed in Iraq since the day the ICC treaty entered into force, on July 1, 2002. On September 24, 2015, Yazda presented evidence of crimes of genocide against the Yezidi people to the ICC and requested that the court's prosecutor investigate.

"Beyond expressing sympathy with Yezidi survivors, international donors should support them in their quest for justice by helping preserve and analyze this evidence," said Matthew Barber, executive director of Yazda.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Iraq: Possible War Crimes by Shia Militia

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 31 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Iraq: Possible War Crimes by Shia Militia, 31 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b11e5d12d7.html [accessed 20 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.

Members of Shia militias, who the Iraqi government has included among its state forces, abducted and killed scores of Sunni residents in a central Iraq town and demolished Sunni homes, stores, and mosques following January 11, 2016 bombings claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS. None of those responsible have been brought to justice.

Two consecutive bombings at a cafe in the town of Muqdadiya, in Diyala province, some 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, on January 11, killed at least 26 people, many of them Sunnis, according to a teacher who lives near the cafe. ISIS claimed the attacks, saying it had targeted local Shia militias, collectively known as Popular Mobilization Forces, which are formally under the command of the prime minister. Members of two of the dominant militias in Muqdadiya, the Badr Brigades and the League of Righteous forces, responded by attacking Sunnis as well as their homes and mosques, killing at least a dozen people and perhaps many more, according to local residents.

"Again civilians are paying the price for Iraq's failure to rein in the out-of-control militias," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Countries that support Iraqi security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces should insist that Baghdad bring an end to this deadly abuse."

Deliberate killing of civilians and looting and unjustified destruction of civilian property when committed in the context of an armed conflict are serious violations of international humanitarian law, which is applicable to all parties fighting in Iraq, and may amount to war crimes. By formally including, on April 7, 2015, the Popular Mobilization Forces among the state forces, the Iraqi government has assumed ultimate responsibility for their actions.

Abbas, a Sunni resident of Muqdadiya, who like others Human Rights Watch interviewed is not identified by his real name for his protection, said, "I know the militiaman [name withheld] and others who roam our streets. They are from the area. ISIS may have been behind the cafe bombing, but the attacks on Sunni houses, mosques, and people in our area was the League of the Righteous."

Abbas said he knew more than 30 people by name, some his neighbors, others from his neighborhood, whom the militias killed, most in the night of January 11.

Wathiq, also a Sunni from Muqdadiya, sent Human Rights Watch a photo of his brother's mutilated body. League of Righteous forces had come to the family's house on January 11 and taken his brother away. Wathiq said his mother told him that the militiamen asked for Sunnis and that he knew the names of five of the militiamen who came to his family's home that night. He said his mother collected the body from the morgue the day after the explosions.

Riyadh said he fled from Muqdadiya to Baghdad after militiamen took his brother Fadhil from their house in Muqdadiya and killed him on January 11 "because he was Sunni." His parents remain in Muqdadiya and buried Fadhil the next day, Riyadh said.

On January 12, Saif Talal, a reporter, and Hasan al-Anbaki, a cameraman at Iraq's al-Sharqiya television station, were killed near Ba'quba, the Diyala province capital 45 kilometers southwest of Muqdadiya, by what the channel, in an email to Human Rights Watch, said were "uncontrolled militia." Talal and al-Anbaki had accompanied Lt.-General Muzhir al-'Azawi, the newly-appointed Iraqi army head of the Tigris joint command, to see the effects of the Muqdadiya sectarian rampage first-hand. Al-'Azawi said in a media statement that after he and the journalists split up, armed men blocked the journalists' onward journey to cover a provincial council meeting in Ba'quba and killed them.

Ra'd, another Sunni resident of Muqdadiya, told Human Rights Watch that a day after the explosions, someone scrawled "Blood Wanted" on his family's house, and they fled. The next day, neighbors told them their house had been blown up.

In November 2015, Ra'd said unidentified armed men kidnapped his brother. Around New Year's Day, they demanded tens of thousands of US dollars in ransom, but he could not pay. After the bombings, he heard from a security source that a militia had handed his brother over to the police. Ra'd said that he spoke with a person who had visited his brother and that his brother said he was being charged as a suspect in the cafe explosions, even though he had been kidnapped over a month earlier. Ra'd said that his brother told the visitor he had been tortured because he had not confessed to the crime in front of an investigative judge.

Jamal, a Sunni activist who no longer lives in Muqdadiya, said that he has gathered information from local witnesses about 15 people, all Sunnis, abducted and killed since January 11 in Muqdadiya, , in addition to Wathiq's murdered brother and Ra'd's kidnapped brother. Another six unidentified bodies were found at Imam Abdullah bin Ali checkpoint in Ba'quba on January 12, Jamal said.

A Badr commander working in the outskirts of Muqdadiya told Human Rights Watch that kidnapping was a phenomenon throughout Iraq affecting Sunnis and Shia and Kurds and Turkmen alike, and that his forces were carrying out raids against suspects in the bombings.

Zaid al-'Azawi, Muqdadiya's mayor, whose nephew died in the cafe explosions, told Human Rights Watch that reports of more than a hundred Sunnis killed were "exaggerated" and that he only had names of seven people so far. He said that "gangs" destroyed five Sunni mosques in Muqdadiya after January 11, but that others had been destroyed in the previous months. Jamal gave Human Rights Watch the names of 12 Sunni mosques he said Shia militias destroyed, in addition to 10 Sunni-owned shops.

In a January 14 visit to Ba'quba, Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi tweeted that he had given orders "to pursue those that [sic] target mosques and public properties and to bring them to justice." On January 19, in Muqdadiya, al-Abadi "praised the security forces in Muqdadiya for arresting the gangs that attacked citizens, markets and mosques." Mayor al-'Azawi, who met with the prime minister, told Human Rights Watch, though, that to his knowledge no militia members had been arrested. Abbas, one of the Muqdadiya residents, said he heard from friends and relatives who attended the meeting with the prime minister that militia representatives there told al-Abadi that in addition to the cafe bombings, the murders and property destruction were the work of ISIS.

Some Shia religious and security leaders have acknowledged the sectarian violence against Sunnis and called for calm. On January 15, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on the government "not [to] permit the presence of militants outside the framework of the state," in reference to the Muqdadiya events. The following day, Badr's chief, Hadi al-'Amiri, calledtargeting Sunnis "a crime no different from terrorism."

What happened in Muqdadiya after January 11 is strikingly similar to events just a few months earlier in Tuz Khurmatu, a mixed Kurdish, Turkmen, and Arab city some 130 kilometers to the north, Human Rights Watch said. After a car bomb killed two people there on October 22, Shia Turkmen members of the Popular Mobilization Forces arrested at least 150 Arabs, torturing some and holding others for ransom. On November 12, a day-long gun battle between Shia Turkmen forces and Kurdish forces erupted around Tuz Khurmatu's general hospital, followed by the burning of dozens of shops and homes and abductions on both sides. No one has been brought to justice.

"The test for Iraq's legitimate judicial and security forces will be to bring the people responsible for these heinous attacks to justice in fair and public trials," Stork said. "Progress on identifying the suspects and handing them over the judiciary should be an important marker for continued military support to Iraqi forces."

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Somalia: Civilians at Serious Risk

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 27 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Somalia: Civilians at Serious Risk, 27 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b120a111.html [accessed 20 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.

The Somali government and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab placed civilians at excessive risk from conflict-related and other abuses during 2015.

There were clashes over the creation of federal states by the government with the backing of the international partners. Displaced populations remained vulnerable to sexual violence and forced evictions. And Al-Shabaab carried out unlawful, indiscriminate, and targeted attacks against civilians.

"Three years since coming to power, Somalia's government hasn't been able to provide basic security for the civilian population in areas under its control," said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "These problems are compounded by Al-Shabaab's indiscriminate attacks and interference with humanitarian aid."

In the 659-page World Report 2016, its 26th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive DirectorKenneth Roth writes that the spread of terrorist attacks beyond the Middle East and the huge flows of refugees spawned by repression and conflict led many governments to curtail rights in misguided efforts to protect their security. At the same time, authoritarian governments throughout the world, fearful of peaceful dissent that is often magnified by social media, embarked on the most intense crackdown on independent groups in recent times.

Al-Shabaab, which remained in control of significant swathes of the country, attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure and carried out numerous targeted killings and executions. Warring parties, including government forces, allied militia, opposition armed groups, and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and other foreign forces committed violations of the laws of war, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.

Tensions over the creation of a new interim regional administration in central Somalia led to open conflict, resulting in abuses against civilians. In February, fighting in the central Somali town of Guri'el between government forces and a Sufi militia resulted in civilian deaths and massive displacement.

In late 2015, repeated clashes between forces from Puntland and the newly formed Galmudug regional administration in the contested town of Galkayo resulted in at least nine civilian deaths, and dozens of civilians were injured. According to the United Nations, the fighting displaced at least 90,000 people.

The government failed to protect the capital's hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people from serious abuses, including sexual violence, and did not adhere to its own new displacement policies by forcibly - and at times violently - evicting displaced people from informal settlements. During the first eight months of 2015, more than 116,000 people were forcibly evicted, the UN reported. In March, government forces forcibly evicted more than 21,000 people in Mogadishu during one operation, beat evictees, destroyed shelters, and left them without water, food, or other assistance.

In Somaliland, the authorities on occasion arbitrarily arrested journalists and critics of the government. They also failed to sufficiently protect people with psychosocial disabilities from involuntary confinement and medication, chaining, and beatings in public and private institutions.

"In the name of political expediency, key reforms and actions needed to curtail Somalia's ongoing rights crisis were brushed aside in 2015," Lefkow said. "Moving forward, Somalia's government and its international partners should rein in abusive forces and make accountability a priority."

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Georgia/Russia: ICC Judges OK Investigation

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 27 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Georgia/Russia: ICC Judges OK Investigation, 27 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b121097f5.html [accessed 20 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.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has authorized an investigation into crimes committed during the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia, Human Rights Watch said today. ICC judges on January 27, 2016, approved the prosecutor's request to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between July and October 2008, in and around South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia.

"An ICC investigation will restart justice efforts for victims," said Elizabeth Evenson, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. "It's been more than seven years since the war ended, but neither Georgia nor Russia has held to account those responsible for unlawful civilian killings, looting, and torching of homes."



Georgia joined the ICC in 2003. As an ICC member country, Georgia will be obligated to cooperate fully with the court. Because Russia has not joined the ICC, its authorities are not bound by this same obligation. However, given the court's rules governing its jurisdiction, the ICC prosecutor now has a mandate to impartially investigate allegations of crimes committed in Georgia by all parties to the conflict, regardless of the nationality of the person allegedly responsible.

The Georgia case is the court's tenth situation under investigation. The prosecutor is also considering whether investigations are merited in several other countries, including Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine, and Ukraine. Unfortunately, ICC financing is under pressure due to the austerity budgets of many governments, and the prosecution is struggling to carry out the much-needed investigations on its docket, including in Cote d'Ivoire and Libya.

Alleged human rights violations committed during the conflict over South Ossetia are the subject of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. There is comparatively less knowledge in the region about the ICC than about the European Court of Human Rights and about the ICC's mandate to establish individual criminal responsibility rather than state liability. The ICC should start broad public information campaigns, including activities carried out by staff based in Georgia. This may be a challenge given the ICC's limited resources, but clear communication, particularly with victims, is not optional, Human Rights Watch said.

"The Georgia investigation is a reminder that the ICC is dealing with more and different kinds of cases than envisioned at its creation in 1998," Evenson said. "The court and its member countries should face reality about what the ICC will need in resources, in cooperation, and in political support to deliver on its mandate in this changed landscape."

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ICC: Former Ivorian President Gbagbo on Trial

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 28 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, ICC: Former Ivorian President Gbagbo on Trial, 28 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1217b867.html [accessed 20 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.

The International Criminal Court trial of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and his former youth minister, Charles Ble Goude, which begins on January 28, 2016, shows that justice can reach those who once appeared untouchable, Human Rights Watch said today.

In December 2010, Gbagbo's refusal to accept Alassane Ouattara's victory in a presidential election led to violence and eventually an armed conflict. At least 3,000 civilians were killed and more than 150 women were rapedduring the conflict, with serious human rights violations by both sides.

"Gbagbo's trial is a cautionary tale for those willing to use whatever means necessary to cling to power," said Param-Preet Singh, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. "Today, victims who suffered unspeakable crimes at the hands of pro-Gbagbo forces are one step closer to seeing justice."

Elite security forces closely linked to Gbagbo dragged neighborhood political leaders from Ouattara's coalition away from restaurants or out of their homes into waiting vehicles. Family members later found the victims' bodies in morgues, riddled with bullets. Women who were active in mobilizing voters - or who merely wore pro-Ouattara t-shirts - were targeted and often gang raped by armed forces and militia groups under Gbagbo's control.

Pro-Gbagbo militiamen stopped hundreds of real and perceived supporters of Ouattara at checkpoints, attacked them by gunshot at point-blank range, or burned them alive. In the western part of the country, Gbagbo militiamen and allied Liberian mercenaries killed hundreds of people, choosing many of their victims solely on the basis of their ethnicity.

Ivorian authorities surrendered Gbagbo and Ble Goude to the ICC in late 2011 and March 2014, respectively. The ICC has also sought to arrest Gbagbo's wife, Simone, on four counts of crimes against humanity, alleging that she acted as her husband's "alter ego" during the 2010-2011 crisis, but Cote d'Ivoire has yet to surrender her.

In March 2015 an Ivorian court convicted Simone Gbagbo of crimes against the state committed during the 2010-2011 crisis, but she has yet to be tried in Ivorian courts for her role in human rights abuses. The conviction was also tarred by fair trial concerns.

In May, the ICC confirmed Cote d'Ivoire's legal obligation to hand Simone Gbagbo over to the ICC in compliance with the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty. Cote d'Ivoire became an ICC member in 2013. Ivorian authorities have said they are investigating Simone Gbagbo's role in human rights violations.

"Simone Gbagbo should be in The Hague to answer allegations that she was part of the 'inner circle' responsible for the horrendous abuses by pro-Gbagbo forces," Singh said. "As a member of the court, Cote d'Ivoire should hand her over to the ICC."

Brutal crimes were also committed by forces loyal to Ouattara, particularly after they began a military offensive in March 2011 aimed at taking control of the country. In village after village in the far west, members of the Republican Forces loyal to Ouattara killed civilians from ethnic groups associated with Gbagbo, including elderly people who were unable to flee; raped women; and burned villages to the ground. Later, during the military campaign to take over and consolidate control of Abidjan, the Republican Forces again executed scores of men from ethnic groups aligned with Gbagbo - at times in detention sites - and tortured others.

The ICC has not yet brought any charges against pro-Ouattara forces, although the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has repeatedly stressed that her office's investigations are impartial and that investigations into pro-Ouattara forces are ongoing. The ICC investigation into pro-Ouattara forces was further complicated, however, by President Ouattara's statements in April that he would not transfer any future suspects to the ICC, and that all future trials will occur in national courts.

Although Ivorian judges have recently made progress in investigations into pro-Ouattara forces, concerns remain about the country's capacity to hold those responsible to account in impartial, independent, and fair proceedings. In June, credible reports emerged of executive pressure on investigating judges to prematurely close key human rights investigations. While those investigations ultimately moved ahead, other concerns that need to be addressed include weak judicial independence, the lack of protection for witnesses, judges and prosecutors, and the absence of a meaningful right of appeal for those convicted of a crime.

"Promising developments toward holding those responsible for the post-election violence to account in national trials should not distract from the many challenges facing the Ivorian justice system to deliver fair and credible justice," Singh said. "The ICC's ongoing investigation into crimes by the Ouattara side remains a critical avenue for victims to see justice."

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EU/Greece: Share Responsibility for Asylum Seekers

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 28 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, EU/Greece: Share Responsibility for Asylum Seekers, 28 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1223a430e.html [accessed 20 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.

Calls to quarantine Greece and to prevent the onward movement of asylum seekers put their rights at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. Asylum seekers and migrants in Greece face chaotic registration procedures, serious obstacles to applying for asylum, and inadequate reception conditions.

"It's deeply troubling to hear EU leaders discuss plans to trap people in Greece by sealing the country's northern border while people continue to risk their lives to reach Europe, and thousands more are suffering in Greece," said Eva Cosse, Greece specialist at Human Rights Watch. "Greece has its fair share of responsibility for the situation on the ground, but turning the country into a warehouse is no solution to Europe's refugee crisis."

Over 800,000 people crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands in 2015, and over 44,000 have made the journey since the beginning of 2016. According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 158 women, men, and children have died in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of 2016. A significant portion of those who successfully made it to Greece subsequently traveled through the Western Balkans to other EU countries. Thousands remain in Greece, after the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia closed its border in November to all but a handful of nationalities.

On January 27, the European Commission criticized Greece for seriously neglecting its frontier duties to Europe's free-travel Schengen zone and said that Greece could be subject to new border controls by other EU countries if it fails to remedy the problems within three months. Slovenia recently urged the EU to reinforce the Greece-Macedonia border, and Belgium's migration minister proposed creating detention camps in Greece for up to 400,000 refugees and migrants.

At the same time, the EU is intensifying its efforts to get Turkey to stem the flow. The leader of one of the parties in the Dutch coalition government announced on January 28 that the Netherlands is pushing for a plan for a core group of EU countries to accept 150,000 to 250,000 refugees a year from Turkey in exchange for Turkey accepting the automatic return of all those who travel irregularly to Greece. It is unclear how much support the proposal has from the Dutch government.

Significant resettlement from Turkey to the EU would help to establish safe and legal alternatives for asylum seekers, but it should not be conditional on Greece summarily returning asylum seekers to Turkey. Turkey cannot be considered a safe country for automatic returns.

In Greece, the failure of successive governments to adopt coherent migration and asylum policies, chronic mismanagement of the asylum system, and, most recently, the deep economic crisis and the dramatic increase in sea arrivals from Turkey, have created a humanitarian crisis. The government has failed to provide for the most basic needs and rights of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants on the Aegean islands, in Athens or at its northern border with the Republic of Macedonia.

Despite reforms in recent years, problems in Greece include serious difficulties for those who try to apply for asylum, the government's failure to identify and support vulnerable individuals, inadequate reception conditions for asylum seekers, and hurdles to integration for people who remain in Greece.

Most new arrivals have no access to services mandated by Greek law, and the situation is particularly dire both on the islands and in Athens for vulnerable people such as pregnant women, female heads of household, unaccompanied children, and people with disabilities. The law provides for mobile first-reception units to identify vulnerable groups, conduct medical screening, provide socio-psychological support and information on the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, and refer vulnerable people to social services. But only two units are operating, on Lesbos and Samos, and they are understaffed.

The vast majority of people arriving in Greece choose to continue their journey to other EU countries. Those who want to apply for asylum in Greece face serious problems. The Greek Asylum Service has set up a system for appointments almost exclusively through Skype, but it's very difficult to get through and people can wait for weeks to book an appointment.

Without adequate access to registration, they remain at risk of detention and deportation as irregular migrants. Those who apply for asylum after they are detained can be held throughout the examination of their claim for up to six months, without proper consideration of whether their detention is necessary or proportionate and without considering alternatives. According to the Greek Asylum Service, only 13,197 people applied for asylum in Greece in 2015.

Authorities in Athens are struggling to find facilities to temporarily host thousands of people. Many asylum seekers, including children, are left unassisted, destitute, homeless or living in substandard conditions. According to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, the total reception capacity for those who have applied for asylum in Greece is 2,109 places.

There are also 1,600 places for temporary stays in Athens. On a visit in December to one of these facilities, Human Rights Watch observed overcrowded and dirty conditions, well below international human rights standards. In October, the Greek government promised to create two centers for a total of 8,000 to 10,000 people, but has made little progress toward that goal. UNHCR said in December that it plans to gradually establish another 20,000 reception places through an apartment rental plan, hotel vouchers and host family programs.

A plan to transfer 66,000 asylum seekers from Greece for relocation to other EU countries over the next two years has gotten off to a poor start. Only 157 asylum seekers have been transferred out of Greece under the plan since it began in September 2015. The EU and its leaders have criticized Greece for moving too slowly to create five "hot spots" to provide triage for arriving migrants and asylum seekers, and to enroll people in the relocation plan. So far, Greece has only one operational hot spot, in Lesbos.

At the same time, EU countries have deployed just over half the personnel needed for Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office to help staff and operate these centers. EU countries have made only 4,237 places available, less than 3 percent of the 160,000 target over the next two years, while some governments are conditioning relocations on "preferences." Only Syrians, Iraqis, and Eritreans are eligible to participate in the plan. Afghans, who make up one-fourth of those who have reached Greece by sea so far this year, and who have a high rate of recognition for asylum across the EU, are excluded.

The stress on Greece's obligation to stop onward movements is based on the Dublin Regulations-EU rules that generally require the first country of entry to take responsibility for asylum applications. There is broad consensus that the Dublin system has not worked, and the European Commission is preparing a proposal to revise the regulations and create a permanent distribution mechanism to ensure a more equitable distribution of responsibility for asylum seekers. Almost all EU countries stopped returning asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin rules after a 2011 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that found conditions in Greece inhuman and degrading.

Greece should address the systemic failings in its asylum system to ensure compliance with EU and international standards. The EU as a whole should take effective measures to distribute responsibility in the refugee crisis more equitably, in a manner that respects the rights of all asylum seekers and migrants.

EU countries should move swiftly to fulfill their commitments under the relocation plan to alleviate the burden from Greece, including by giving the people who arrive in Greece more incentives to participate through better information and speedier processing, and ensuring proper functioning of hot spots in full respect of migrants' rights. The Dublin system should be replaced with a more equitable mechanism for determining the member state responsible for examining any particular application for international protection. The EU should expand safe and legal channels for people to go to Europe, including through increased resettlement, humanitarian admissions, humanitarian and other visas, and facilitated family reunification.

"Trapping asylum seekers in substandard conditions in Greece would be disastrous for these women, men and children, and is the exact opposite of the kind of sharing of responsibility that we need to see," Cosse said. "It would also signal an utter lack of leadership by the EU in the continuing global refugee crisis."

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Ending Unlawful Sieges and Atrocities is a Prerequisite for Syria Peace

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 29 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Ending Unlawful Sieges and Atrocities is a Prerequisite for Syria Peace, 29 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b122a9460.html [accessed 20 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.

The success of the upcoming Geneva peace talks must be measured against substantial and measurable progress being made in ending the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, ceasing unlawful attacks against civilians and releasing arbitrarily held detainees, a coalition of 15 Syrian, regional and international NGOs said today.

As a third round of UN Security Council backed peace talks aimed at resolving the Syria crisis commences in Geneva next week, the coalition warned that the process will ultimately fail unless the talks prioritize ending unlawful sieges and other atrocities immediately. "Achieving a lasting accord for Syria is not conceivable without developing a level of trust among Syria's many warring factions. The idea that you can build trust while parties continue to systematically kill and starve civilians is absurd," said Zedoun Al Zoubi, CEO of The Union of Medical Care & Relief Organisations (UOSSM).

The latest round of talks comes just weeks after the plight of the civilians in the besieged town of Madaya finally came to the world's attention. Under a complete siege for six months by Syrian government and allied forces, the 42,000 civilians trapped in Madaya have suffered from a severe shortage of food with many resorting to eating plants, insects, and even cats in order to survive. The UN estimates that 400,000 Syrians are living in areas under siege, while the Siege Watch project puts that number at over 1 million people, for whom access to international assistance is deliberately and systematically withheld as a tool of war.

Various parties to the conflict, including the Syrian government, ISIL and opposition armed groups are using starvation as a weapon of war -- a tactic that the UN Secretary General has declared a war crime.

"It is not just legally and morally incumbent upon the international community to take immediate action to end unlawful sieges in Syria, it is necessary for the viability and success of the political process," said Bassam Al Ahmad, spokesperson for the Violations Documentation Center - Syria (VDC). "No one wants to talk about preconditions for a political process, but the reality is that ending these atrocities is a prerequisite for peace," he added.

In December, the UN Security Council unanimously passed resolution 2254, which sets out a two-year timeline for a political process leading to a new constitution and free and fair elections, under UN supervision. The resolution emphasizes "the need for all parties in Syria to take confidence building measures to contribute to the viability of a political process and a lasting ceasefire."

The NGO coalition calls on governments with influence over the parties to the conflict to insist on an end to unlawful attacks, including the targeting of healthcare facilities, as well as a halt to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and the use of banned and indiscriminate weapons such as landmines and cluster munitions.

The NGOs also call for parties to immediately release all persons arbitrarily detained. Tens of thousands of people have been forcibly "disappeared" in Syria since 2011 primarily by the government, but also by non-state armed actors. According to NGOs, many of detainees are cut off from the outside world, kept in inhumane conditions where torture is systematic, disease is rampant and death is commonplace. The NGO coalition calls on the warring parties in Syria to give international monitors immediate access to all detention centers.

"The UN Security Council has repeatedly called for an end to atrocities in Syria but it has done little to enforce its demands, even though countries like Russia have more leverage with the Syrian government since beginning their military operations" said Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. "Without this changing it is difficult to be optimistic about the peace talks. Ending atrocities would go a long way toward establishing the conditions that might make the Syrian talks succeed" he added.

Signatories:

Arab Coalition for Sudan

Arab Network for Human Rights Information

Arab Program for Human Rights Activists

Baytna Syria

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Dawlaty

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Human Rights Watch

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Palestinian League for Human Rights - Syria

PAX

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)

Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)

Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM)

Violations Documentation Center

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China: Unjust Sentences for Guangzhou Activists

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 29 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, China: Unjust Sentences for Guangzhou Activists, 29 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b122fc164b.html [accessed 20 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.

The Chinese government should quash the verdicts handed down by a court in Guangzhou sentencing three human rights activists to up to five years in prison. On January 29, 2016, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court's sentenced Tang Jingling, Yuan Xinting, and Wang Qingying to five, three-and-a-half, and two-and-a-half years respectively for "inciting subversion of state power."

The three men were convicted for promoting the ideas of "non-violent civil disobedience" and of promoting peaceful transformation to democratic rule in gatherings of activists. The guilty verdicts and prison terms reflect the Chinese government's politicized manipulation of the courts and its increasing hostility toward peaceful dissent.

"The Chinese government needs to stop equating peaceful criticism with subversion if it is to make any progress towards respecting rights," said Sophie Richardson, China director. "The prosecution of three rights activists on such dubious charges shows how far Beijing needs to go."

Guangzhou police apprehended Tang, Yuan, and Wang in May 2014, initially detaining them for "creating disturbances." In June, the authorities formally arrested them on the more serious charge of "inciting subversion." Tang, 44, a human rights lawyer, Yuan, 44, a freelance writer, and Wang, 33, a teacher, are well-known for having participated in many human rights activities in Guangdong Province over the past decade.

The case has been marred by multiple procedural violations and all three have been allegedly mistreated while in detention. According to Wang Qingying's lawyer, Wang has been repeatedly beaten by fellow detainees and guards, forced to wear handcuffs and leg irons for 15 days, and subjected to forced labor every day. The authorities have also refused one of the lawyers' requests to copy case material and denied the defendants' right to communicate with their families. Tang Jingling was unable to meet with one of his lawyers for at least two months after he was taken into custody. The lawyers for all three have repeatedly been denied regular access to their clients. None were given adequate medical treatment when they were ill, nor allowed yard time for 15 months between May 2014 and September 2015 even though Detention Center Regulations require detainees be given time daily for outdoor activities.

On June 19, 2015, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court began the trial but suspended proceedings after defense lawyers protested against procedural violations. It was resumed on July 23 and concluded the next day without a verdict. The three have now been in custody for 20 months.

The defense lawyers will be able to appeal the sentences though appeals courts in China rarely overturn verdicts in political cases.

According to article 105 of the People's Republic of China Criminal Law, the crime of "inciting subversion" can carry up to five years in prison; the maximum penalty increases to 15 years in prison for those who are considered "ringleaders."

The prosecution of Tang, Yuan, and Wang is part of the Chinese government's broader crackdown on civil society launched shortly after President Xi Jinping formally assumed power in March 2013. Since then, the government has arbitrarily detained, arrested, and forcibly disappeared hundreds of activists, and further restricted freedom of expression especially on the Internet, in the media, and in universities. The government has also issued calls for stricter adherence to Communist Party ideology and for greater hostility toward "universal values" including human rights.

In July 2015, the government rounded up for interrogation nearly 300 lawyers, paralegals, law firm staff and activists who supported them in 24 provinces and municipalities. While most have since been released, 16 have been formally arrested, all but one for the crimes of "subversion" or "inciting subversion." Seventeen others remain in police custody or have not been located.

"The sentences for Tang, Yuan, and Wang don't bode well for the more than a dozen human rights lawyers likely to stand trial soon for similar 'subversion' charges," Richardson said. "The authorities should step in and end these prosecutions now."

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Thailand: Investigate Army Abduction of Student Activist

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 22 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Thailand: Investigate Army Abduction of Student Activist, 22 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b124dfae9.html [accessed 20 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.

The Thai government should urgently investigate the abduction and alleged beating and mistreatment of prominent student activist Sirawith Seritiwat by army soldiers, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrest, which Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha said was for violating the ban on public assembly and political activity, is itself unjustified under the right of all persons to peacefully assemble and protest.

Sirawith has been released after the Bangkok Military Court dismissed the police request for his pre-trial detention. According to Sirawith and eyewitness accounts, around 10:30 pm on January 20, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the army's 2nd Infantry Regiment snatched Sirawith as he was walking with his friends outside the Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus. Sirawith was then pushed into a pickup truck with no license plate and driven away to an unknown destination. The ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta denied knowledge of Sirawith's arrest and his whereabouts until soldiers handed him over to police custody around 2:30 am on January 21. Sirawith said he was blindfolded and beaten while being interrogated by soldiers.

"The abduction and apparent mistreatment of a prominent student activist is further glaring evidence that wanton violations of human rights are the norm under the NCPO's military dictatorship in Thailand," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "What's even worse is Gen. Prayut brushed off international concerns and condemnation, and appeared to tolerate the abusive treatment Sirawith received by emphasizing the military could 'use any measure' to carry out an arrest."

Sirawith said soldiers pushed him into a pickup truck and drove him to an unknown destination:

They blindfolded me and put a cloth bag over my head. I could not see anything. Those soldiers did not tell me where they were taking me to. The pickup truck took many turns, making me confused [about] which direction I was heading to.

Sirawith said soldiers beat him after they dragged him out of the pickup truck to interrogate him:

When the pickup truck stopped, I was dragged outside. I was dragged along [the] tall grass. I did not know what would happen to me. Then I was ordered to kneel down on the ground. They kicked me. They asked me "Do you want to be famous?" Why did you talk to journalists?" "Don't you know your duties to serve the nation?" Then they slapped me in my head. They jabbed my head with something hard - I thought it was a rifle barrel.

Similar to the NCPO's reaction to previous reports of abuses in military custody, the junta quickly and flatly dismissed Sirawith's story. The NCPO spokesman Col. Winthai Suwaree gave a media interview on January 21 stating that no violence was used during the arrest and Sirawith was treated gently and respectfully.

Instead of ordering an investigation of this incident and holding soldiers responsible for abuses accountable, Gen. Prayut said at a January 21 press conference at Government House that officials could use any measures to arrest Sirawith:

Officials acted on an arrest warrant. He [Sirawith] violated the Public Assembly Bill and the NCPO's order [Order Number 3/2558, which bans public assembly and political activity] ... Officials could use any measures to arrest him. The arrest doesn't have to happen in front of camera, which could then trigger a protest ... Why don't people respect the laws instead of asking for democracy and human rights all the time?  No one is allowed to oppose [the NCPO]. I dare you to try to oppose [the NCPO] ... I don't care what the international community would think about this. I will send officials to explain to foreign embassies. I am not afraid of them. I will tell them to understand that this is Thailand and we are enforcing Thai laws.

Also referring to Sirawith and other dissenting student activists, Gen. Prayut mentioned in an earlier televised speech on January 15 that, "Some university lecturers encourage students to oppose the government by teaching them about freedom, democracy, and human rights. These students will end up in jail or dead. They will have no future."

Since the coup in May 2014, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly expressed concernsabout abuses of persons arrested by soldiers and interrogated in military custody. Under provisions of martial law and, later, section 44 of the interim constitution, the military authorities have the authority to arrest and secretly detain people for up to seven days and interrogate them without access to lawyers or safeguards against mistreatment. The NCPO has consistently dismissed allegations that soldiers have tortured and ill-treated detainees but has provided no evidence to rebut those allegations.

Human Rights Watch questioned the compatibility of the arrest with Thailand's obligation to respect the international right of peaceful protest and assembly, and also stressed that police, not the military, should have been responsible for the arrest as they are lawfully responsible for the execution of arrest warrants and have the appropriate training on the rights and safeguards guaranteed to detained persons under Thai and international human rights laws.

Thailand is descending deeper into rights abuses under military rule with increasing arrests of critics and peaceful dissenters. Sirawith and five other activists from the New Democracy Movement (NDM) will be put on trial in the Bangkok Military Court for organizing a train trip to Rajabhakti Park - a park newly built by the army to honor the kings of Thailand - as a part of their campaign to criticize military corruption. The junta considers this activity a violation of Order 3/2558, which bans public assembly and political activity. If found guilty by the court, the activists could face up to six-months in prison.

International human rights law prohibits governments from using military courts to try civilians when civilian courts are functioning. The use of military courts in Thailand also fails to meet international fair trial standards under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a party. The Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors state compliance with the ICCPR, has stated in its General Comment on the right to a fair trial that "the trial of civilians in military or special courts may raise serious problems as far as the equitable, impartial, and independent administration of justice is concerned." This is particularly problematic in Thailand, where every element of military courts functions within the Defense Ministry's chain of command.

"The junta uses arbitrary arrests and draconian laws against dissenters and critics to maintain its hold on power," Adams said. "There is no apparent light at the end of this dark tunnel since the military shows no signs of easing its oppressive rule, or restricting officials with unchecked powers from committing abuses with impunity."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Russia: Government against Rights Groups

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 22 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Government against Rights Groups, 22 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1252fe6e.html [accessed 20 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.

Since June 5, 2014, the Ministry of Justice has designated 114 groups as "foreign agents". By January 22, 2016, at least 14 groups have shut down. Also, the Ministry has removed its "foreign agent" tag from 7 groups, acknowledging that they had stopped accepting foreign funding. Accordingly, on January 22, 2016, the official list of active "foreign agents" comprised 93 groups.

(Moscow) - In 2012 Russia's parliament adopted a law that required nongovernmental organizations (NGO)s to register as "foreign agents" with the Ministry of Justice if they engage in "political activity" and receive foreign funding. The definition of "political activity" under the law is so broad and vague that it can extend to all aspects of advocacy and human rights work.

Initially, the law required all respective NGOs to request the Ministry to have them registered and implied legal consequences for failure to do so. Because in Russia "foreign agent" can be interpreted only as "spy" or "traitor," there is little doubt that the law aims to demonize and marginalize independent advocacy groups. Russia's vibrant human rights groups resolutely boycotted the law, calling it "unjust" and "slanderous."

In early March 2013 the Russian government launched a nationwide campaign of intrusive inspections of hundreds of NGOs to identify advocacy groups the government deems "foreign agents" and force them to register as such.

Since the law entered into force, numerous rights groups challenged the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Justice in courts; most lost their cases. As a result, by February 2015 at least 13 groups chose to shut down rather than wear the shameful "foreign agent" label, including Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos", JURIX (Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms), the Moscow School of Civic Education (Moscow), Kostroma Center for Civic Initiatives Support, Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC) Memorial, Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, Coming Out, "Freedom of Information" Foundation, the League of Women Voters and Human Rights Resource Center (Saint-Petersburg), Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies and Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov), Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture" (Nizhniy Novgorod).

In August 2013, Russia's then-federal ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, acting on behalf of four organizations and their leaders who were affected by the law, challenged the law in Russia's Constitutional Court. On April 8, 2014 Russia's Constitutional Court upheld the law, ruling that there were no legal or constitutional grounds for contending that the term "foreign agent" had negative connotations from the Soviet era and that, therefore, its use was "not intended to persecute or discredit" NGOs. The Constitutional Court also found that the "foreign agent" designation was in line with the public interest and the interest of state sovereignty.

On May 23, 2014 parliament amended the "foreign agents" law, this time authorizing the Ministry of Justice to register independent groups as "foreign agents" without their consent, if the ministry regards the organizations as engaged in "political activity" and if the organization is receiving foreign funding. On June 4, 2014 the amendments were signed into law.

On June 5, 2014 the Ministry of Justice promptly registered five groups as "foreign agents," and since then has registered a total of 114, including prominent civil society groups that vigorously protested this action.

I. By January 22, 2016 the registry of "foreign agents" maintained by the Ministry of Justice included the following groups:

Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) - June 5, 2014

Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow) - June 5, 2014

Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies (Saratov) - June 5, 2014 (the organization was shut down - May 22, 2015)

Women of Don (Rostov region) - June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - June 19, 2015)

Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) - June 5, 2014

Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" (Kazan) - July 21, 2014

Regional public organization "Ecozaschita! - Womens' Council" (Kaliningrad) - July 21, 2014

Public Verdict Foundation (Moscow) - July 21, 2014

Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Moscow) - July 21, 2014

Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms / JURIX (Moscow) - July 21, 2014(the organization was shut down - May 26, 2015)

Soldiers' Mothers (Saint Petersburg) - August 28, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - October 23, 2015)

Freedom of Information Foundation / Institute for Information Freedom Development - August 28, 2014

PIR Center - September 3, 2014

Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov) - October 2, 2014 (the organization was shut down - November 6, 2015)

"News Agency MEMO.RU" (Moscow) - November 20, 2014

Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg) - November 20, 2014

Moscow School of Civic Education - December 9, 2014

Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization - December 15, 2014

All-Russian movement "For Human Rights" - December 22, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - December 30, 2015)

Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad) - December 25, 2014

Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni - December 25, 2014

Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation" - December 25, 2014

Resource Human Rights Center (St. Petersburg) - December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down - November 3, 2015)

Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El) - December 30, 2014

Center for Social Development "Vozrozhdeniye" (Pskov) - December 30, 2014

Public Human Rights Organization "Civil Control" (St. Petersburg) - December 30, 2014

The League of Women Voters (St. Petersburg) - December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down - May 22, 2015)

Free Press Support Foundation - December 30, 2014

Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture" - January 16, 2015

Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region) - January 16, 2015

Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" - January 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - July 22, 2015)

"Information Bureau of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg" - January 20, 2015

Jewish regional branch of the Russian public organization "Municipal Academy"- January 26, 2015 (the organization was shut down - May 22, 2015)

The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia" - January 30, 2015

Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk) - February 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down - October 28, 2015)

Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara) - February 6, 2015

Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk) - February 12, 2015

Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm) - February 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - June 19, 2015)

Municipal public organization "Samara Center for Gender Studies" (Samara) - February 16, 2015

Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" (Voronezh) - February 26, 2015

Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) - March 6, 2015

Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) - March 6, 2015

Humanist Youth Movement (Murmansk) - March 13, 2015 (the organization was shut down - August 25, 2015)

Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan" - March 13, 2015

Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk" - March 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down - October 16, 2015)

"Educational Center for Environment and Security" (Samara) - March 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - October 8, 2015)

Foundation "Migration XXI Century" - March 27, 2015

Eco-logika (Rostov) - April 3, 2015

Transparency International Russia - April 7, 2015

Social Environmental Organization "Planeta Nadezhd" - April 15, 2015

Foundation for Consumers' Rights Defense (Novosibirsk) - April 17, 2015

Civil Assistance Committee - April 20, 2015

Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism - April 24, 2015

Commemorative Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm - 36" - April 29, 2015

Women's League (Kaliningrad ) - April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down - December 16, 2015)

Legal Expert Partnership "Soyuz " - May 7, 2015 (the organization was shut down - 25 August 2015)

Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations - May 13, 2015

Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations - May 13, 2015

Informational Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Northern Countries (Kaliningrad) - May 13, 2015

Sutyajnik (Yekaterinburg) - May 15, 2015

Human Rights Academy (Yekaterinburg) - May 15, 2015

Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod) - May 22, 2015

The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research - May 25, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended - September 11, 2015)

The non-profit Dynasty Foundation - May 25, 2015

Union of Employers (Tula region) - May 28, 2015

Youth organization "Nuori Karjala/Young Karelia" - June 19, 2015

Siberian Center for Support of Social Initiatives - June 19, 2015

Interregional Social Foundation for Peace in the South and in the Northern Caucasus - June 19, 2015

Informational Center "Free Inform" - June 22, 2015

Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg) - June 22, 2015

Regional Organization for Population and Development - June 23, 2015

Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul) - June 23, 2015

Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg) - July 3, 2015

Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Northern Environmental Coalition" (Petrozavodsk) - July 8, 2015 (the organization was shut down - December 1, 2015)

Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" (Syktyvkar) - July 21, 2015

Altai Regional Public Fund for 21st Century Altai (Barnaul) - July 22, 2015

Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region) - July 22, 2015

SREDA Foundation - July 28, 2015

Non-governmental environmental organization "Green World" (Nizhny Novgorod) - July 29, 2015

Civic Action Foundation (Perm) - August 5, 2015

Alliance of Funds of Local Communities of the Perm territory - August 11, 2015

Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center - regional branch of the "For Human Rights" All-Russian movement (Nalchik) - August 18, 2015 (the organization was shut down - November 6, 2015)

The Human Rights Center of the Chechen Republic (Grozny) - August 21, 2015

Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk) - August 26, 2015

Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm) - September 3, 2015

Siberia's lifeline (Novosibirsk) - September 3, 2015

Golos Foundation in Support of Democracy - September 4, 2015

Jewish Cultural Center "Hesed-Teshuva" (Ryazan) - September 4, 2015

Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) - September 18, 2015

Yasavey Manzara Information and Research Center (Naryan-Mar) - September 23, 2015

Consumer Rights and Environment Protection Association "Princip" (Moscow region) - October 5, 2015

Far East Center for the Development of Civil Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok)- October 13, 2015

Russian Research Center for Human Rights - October 20, 2015

Women of the Don (Rostov region) - October 27, 2015

Friends of the Siberian Forests (Krasnoyarsk) - October 28, 2015

Photography Club "Sobytiye" (Omsk) - October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down - December 16, 2015)

Research and Information Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) - November 6, 2015

Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) - November 10, 2015

Glasnost Defense Foundation - November 19, 2015

Human Rights Institute - November 20, 2015

Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North - November 27, 2015

Green World (Leningrad region) - December 2, 2015

Mashr (Republic of Ingushetia) - December 8, 2015

Woman's World (Kaliningrad) - December 11, 2015

Panorama Information and Research Center (Moscow) - December 18, 2015

Dauria Ecological Center (Chita) - December 30, 2015

Yekaterinburg Memorial Society (Yekaterinburg) - December 30, 2015

Bureau of Public Investigations (Nizhny Novgorod) - January 14, 2016

Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Orenburg) - January 14, 2016

Institute of Forecasting and Resolving of Political Conflicts (Nizhny Novgorod) - January 22, 2016

And the four NGOs which registered voluntarily:

Non-commercial Partnership "Supporting Competition in the CIS Countries" - June 27, 2013

"The Union of Young Political Scientists", Karachay-Cherkess Republican Youth Social Organization - December 15, 2014

Regional Social Movement "Novgorod Women's Parliament" (Veliky Novgorod) - March 6, 2015

Center of Independent Researchers of the Altai Republic - June 10, 2015

II. Administrative Court Cases - at least 58 NGOs

Groups that a court has found responsible for failing to register as a "foreign agent" may be fined up to 500,000 rubles (over US$16,000), and their leaders personally - up to 300,000 rubles (approximately $10,000). They are:

Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) - NGO lost the suit

Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) - NGO lost the suit

Anti-Discrimination Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) - NGO won two administrative cases, but later lost a similar civil suit to the prosecutor's office and chose to shut down

Coming Out (St. Petersburg) - NGO won the administrative case but later lost a similar civil suit to the prosecutor's office

Side by Side LGBT Film Festival (St. Petersburg) - NGO won the suit

Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow) - NGO lost the suit

Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm) - NGO won the suit

Perm Civic Chamber (Perm) - NGO won the suit

Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm) - NGO won the suit

Women of Don (Rostov region) - NGO lost the suit

Ecozachita! - Zhensovet (Kaliningrad) - NGO lost the suit

Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov) - NGO lost the suit

News Agency "MEMO.RU" (Moscow) - NGO lost the suit

Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg) - NGO lost the suit

Moscow School of Civic Education - NGO lost the suit

All-Russian movement "For Human Rights" - NGO lost the suit

Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El) - NGO lost the suit

Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad) - NGO won the suit

Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni - the proceedings was discontinued

Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation" - NGO lost the suit

Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" (Volgograd) - NGO lost the suit

Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization - NGO lost the suit

Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk) - NGO lost the suit

Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region) - NGO lost the suit, court of appeal decreased the amount of fine

Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara) - NGO lost the suit

Citizens' Watch (St. Petersburg) - NGO lost the suit

The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia" - NGO won the suit

Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" - NGO lost the suit

Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan" - NGO lost the suit

Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) - NGO lost the suit

Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) - NGO won the suit

Eco-logika (Rostov) - NGO lost the suit

Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk" - NGO lost the suit

Foundation "Migration XXI Century" - NGO lost the suit

Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk) - NGO lost the suit, court of appeal decreased the amount of fine

The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research - NGO lost the suit

Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations - NGO lost the suit

The non-profit Dynasty Foundation - NGO lost the suit

Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism - NGO lost the suit

Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg) - NGO lost the suit

Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod) - NGO lost the suit

Regional Organization for Population and Development - NGO lost the suit

Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg) - NGO lost the suit

Human Rights Center "Memorial" - NGO lost the suit

Transparency International Russia - NGO lost the suit

Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "Committee Against Torture" - NGO lost the suit

Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul) - NGO won the suit

Civic Action Foundation (Perm) - NGO lost the suit

Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk) - NGO lost the suit

Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) - NGO lost the suit and is appealing the ruling

Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations - NGO lost the suit

Women's League (Kaliningrad) - NGO won the suit

Russian Research Center for Human Rights - NGO lost the suit

Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region) - NGO lost the suit

Human Rights Institute - NGO lost the suit

Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" - NGO lost the suit

Glasnost Defense Foundation - suit pending

Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) - suit pending

III. The leaders of at least 8 NGOs faced administrative charges personally:

Anti-Discrimination Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) - NGO won the suit but the organization chose two shut down when it lost a "foreign agent" civil suit to the prosecutor's office

Side by Side LGBT Film Festival (St. Petersburg) - NGO won the suit

Coming Out (St. Petersburg) - NGO won the suit

Association "Partnership for Development" - NGO lost the suit

Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) - NGO lost the suit

Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) - NGO won the suit

Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" (Volgograd) - NGO lost the suit

Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) - suit pending

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Burma: Political Prisoner Amnesty Falls Short

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 22 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Burma: Political Prisoner Amnesty Falls Short, 22 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b125b5ffe.html [accessed 20 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.

Yesterday's limited release of political prisoners in Burma leaves many others in prison and is undermined by the ongoing arrests and imprisonment of activists, with hundreds still facing trial, Human Rights Watch said today. Burma's international supporters should demand the release of all remaining political prisoners and an end to politically motivated arrests and trials.

On January 22, 2016, 52 political prisoners were released from five prisons nationwide. Those released include three convicted of religious defamation in late 2014 for allegedly insulting an image of a Buddha in a bar advertisement. New Zealand citizen Phil Blackwood and his Burmese business partners Ko Tun Thurein and Ko Htut Ko Ko Lwin were sentenced to two and half years hard labor. Other political prisoners released include land rights activists involved in protests at the Letpadaung copper mine and in Rangoon. Approximately 100 political prisoners remain in prison.

"Yesterday's limited release of prisoners should be followed by freeing all remaining prisoners and a commitment to drop all ongoing politically motivated charges against peaceful activists and critics," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "President Thein Sein will leave office soon. He could leave a lasting legacy by fulfilling his stated commitment to release all political prisoners. Otherwise, he will be seen as little more than a transitional figure who was not committed to a real change in Burma's political culture."

Human Rights Watch expressed concern that social worker Patrick Khum Jaa Lee was found guilty of defamation under the Telecommunications Law yesterday and sentenced to six months in prison. He was arrested on October 14, 2015, for allegedly mocking Burma's military leader in a Facebook post. His case follows that of Chaw Sandi Tun, who was sentenced to six months in prison on December 28, also for a Facebook post allegedly mocking the military leader. Another activist, poet Maung Saungkha, is facing trial for posting a poem on Facebook that mentioned he had tattooed a picture of the president on his penis.

In another worrying development, on January 19, 2016, the former Buddhist monk U Gambira, a leader of the 2007 anti-government protest movement, was arrested in Mandalay and charged with immigration offenses. He will face court on February 3 in what many believe is a politically motivated charge in retribution for Gambira's past political activities. Gambira has previously spent more than four years in prison. He was arrested in late 2007, severely tortured in prison, and released in a general amnesty in January 2012.

Other activists who were expected to be freed in a long hoped for amnesty but remain in prison include nearly 50 students charged with unlawful procession, rioting, and assault on police officers in connection with an incident in March 2015 during a demonstration against the national education bill, which was violently broken up by a police baton charge.

"Amnesties that are followed by the arrest and sentencing of more government critics cannot be called progress - and instead smack of making room in jails for new political prisoners," Adams said. "This revolving door of political prisoner releases and convictions needs to stop."

Human Rights Watch called on the incoming National League for Democracy government, which won more than 77 percent of parliamentary seats in the November 8, 2015 elections, to make a public commitment to prioritize the immediate and unconditional release of remaining political prisoners, and to amend or repeal all laws that do not comply with international human rights standards and are used to target activists and government critics.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Kazakhstan: Prison Time for Facebook Posts

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 22 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Kazakhstan: Prison Time for Facebook Posts, 22 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1261111.html [accessed 20 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.

Two activists in Kazakhstan were convicted and sentenced to prison on January 22, 2016, on the vague and overbroad charge of "inciting national discord" over writing they posted on Facebook, Human Rights Watch said today.

Kazakh authorities should immediately secure the release of the activists, Serikzhan Mambetalin and Ermek Narymbaev, and have their convictions, which violate their rights to free expression, set aside. In a separate case, authorities should also lift restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement and association imposed on Bolatbek Blyalov, another activist found guilty of the same vague offense, and have his conviction quashed.

"Two activists have been jailed in Kazakhstan for peacefully expressing their views," saidHugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia division director at Human Rights Watch. "Kazakh authorities should stop targeting critical voices with this overbroad 'incitement' charge, remove it from the books, and start respecting basic rights to freedom of expression and opinion."

Over and over again in recent years the Kazakh authorities have misused this vague and overbroad charge, which criminalizes speech and activities protected under international law, to try to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said.

The Almalinskii District Court in Almaty sentenced Narymbaev to three years in prison and Mambetalin to two years and barred both from civic activities for five years.

Authorities arrested the men in October 2015 in connection with Facebook posts about a text, attributed to another activist, which describes the Kazakh nation in provocative terms. Authorities claimed that the posts contained signs of 'inciting national discord' and offended the honor and dignity of the Kazakh nation.

Their trial began on December 9. In initial hearings, the men petitioned the court to dismiss the case on grounds they committed no crime. Mambetalin's lawyer also filed a motion asking the court to seek an opinion from the Constitutional Council, a body that reviews whether legislation complies with Kazakhstan's constitution, on the charge of "inciting social, national, clan, race, class, or religious discord" under article 174 of the criminal code. The judge rejected these motions.

Narymbaev, who has health problems, began a hunger strike on January 18, 2016. On the final day of the trial, he was so weak he had to be brought to the courtroom on a stretcher. The men have been in detention since their arrest.

Narymbaev's lawyer told Human Rights Watch that the men plan to appeal.

Blyalov was arrested in November 2015 for video clips and media interviews on YouTube in which he commented on a range of topics, including Kazakh nationalism and the Kazakh language. Authorities claimed the clips amounted to a "serious crime against peace and security of humankind."

Blyalov was convicted in a separate trial in the Saryarkinskii District Court in Astana on January 21. He admitted guilt and said he repented and was released. But the court imposed restrictions on his freedom for three years, including prohibiting him from changing his place of residence or work, or from spending time in public areas during his time off.

Article 174 refers to "deliberate actions aimed at inciting social, national, clan, racial, class, or religious discord, at insulting the national honor and dignity or religious feelings of citizens, as well as the propaganda of exclusivity, superiority, or inferiority of citizens based on their attitude to religion, class, ethnic, tribal, or racial origin." The offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Human Rights Watch, local human rights defenders, and authoritative international bodies such as the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, have called on Kazakhstan to narrow the "incitement" charge or repeal it, as the vaguely defined offense constitutes interference with basic rights protected by international law.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Kazakhstan is a party, permits a government to restrict the right to freedom of expression only if the restriction conforms to strict tests of necessity and proportionality, and is nondiscriminatory.

But no government may impose criminal sanctions for expressing thoughts or opinions merely because others, including government officials, deem them offensive, Human Rights Watch said.

Laws that target speech that incites violence, discrimination, and hostility must also respect the core right of free speech, and are considered compatible with human rights law only when such violence, discrimination, or hostility is imminent, and the measures restricting speech are absolutely necessary to prevent such conduct.

"These three new 'incitement' convictions fit a clear pattern of abuse by the authorities," Williamson said. "Not another government critic should have to go through an arrest and trial - or be jailed - merely for expressing an opinion."

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Iran: Threats to Free, Fair Elections

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 24 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Iran: Threats to Free, Fair Elections, 24 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b126998c1.html [accessed 20 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.

Serious electoral flaws are restricting the rights of Iranians to run for office and damaging prospects for free and fair parliamentary elections on February 26, 2016.

The Iranian authorities have disqualified the majority of reform candidates based on discriminatory and arbitrary criteria. And dozens of political activists and journalists remain in prison for exercising their rights.

"The Iranian electoral system suffers from serious structural problems that undermine free and fair elections," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director. "Not only are candidates being disqualified on the basis of fundamentally flawed laws, but certain officials arbitrarily act beyond their legal powers to leave virtually no alternative candidates for people to vote for."

On January 17, the Guardian Council, an appointed body of 12 Islamic jurists who are in charge of monitoring Iranian parliamentary and presidential elections, announced the approved list of candidates. According to the Iranian state televisionchannel IRIB News, the council approved only about 40 percent of 12,123 registered candidates. Disqualified candidates could file complaints before the same council within five days of the announcement.

The Guardian Council disqualified more than 6,500 candidates although the Interior Ministry's executive boards, which are in charge of initial vetting, had previously determined that 90 percent of candidates met the qualifications laid out in the elections law. These rules stipulate that candidates must not have a criminal record and must pledge to adhere to the state's governing ideology of "guardianship of the jurist" and the constitution. The doctrine places ultimate temporal and spiritual power in the hands of the supreme leader, who is supposed to be the country's most qualified religious scholar.

The Guardian Council has arbitrary powers allowing it to disqualify candidates even if they meet the discriminatory criteria stated in the election laws. In recent years, the Guardian Council has expanded the scope of its "approbatory supervision," using arbitrary measures, including information gathered from undisclosed sources, to disqualify candidates.

The Iranian government appears to have disqualified a high percentage of candidates associated with certain political groups. Seyed Hossein Marashi, a member of the reformists' policy committee, said on January 17 in an interview with the semi-official Ilna website, "that only 30 candidates from the 3,000 reformist candidates were approved by the Guardian Council, which is about 1 percent."

Among those disqualified are Rasoul Montajabnia, the vice-president of the pro-reform Etemad Melli Party founded by Mehdi Karoubi, one of the two reformist candidates during the 2009 presidential candidates. Others disqualified are Majid Farahani, the head of the pro-reform Nedaye Iranian Party, and Akbar Alami, a former reformist member of parliament. A letter issued by the youth branch of Etemad Melli Party said that the Guardian Council has not approved any of the party's 10 candidates registered to run in the parliamentary elections from Tehran. Hossein Marashi, the spokesman for the Kargozaran party, also said, in an interview with Insa News agency on January 18, 2016, that none of the 100 members of his party who registered for the elections were found qualified.

Documents reviewed by Human Rights Watch show that significant numbers of candidates were disqualified for their political opinions. Several disqualified candidates who spoke to Human Rights Watch on condition of anonymity due to their fear of official reprisals said that they provided all the necessary procedural documents and that their disqualifications were due to their political beliefs or their prior convictions or imprisonments for national security crimes that stemmed from legitimate activities.

Under Iranian law, each candidate must demonstrate a "practical belief in the Islamic faith and the sacred order of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and declare loyalty to "the progressive principle of the absolute rule of the guardianship of the jurist doctrine and to the constitution." The law also prohibits the supporters of illegal political parties and groups and individuals convicted of acting against national security from running for election. A 2005 Human Rights Watch report documented how the election laws prevent candidates outside the ruling elite from running for high public office.

During the violent government crackdown that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election, hundreds of political activists and peaceful protesters were arrested, detained, and convicted on national security charges in trials that fell far short of international standards. Some of them, such as Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist politician, and Bahareh Hedayat, a human rights defender, remain in prison. Iranian law effectively bars all of them from running for office.

On December 27, 2015, Nejatollah Ebrahimiam, the Guardian Council's spokesperson, stated in an interview with the Iranian Tasnim news agency that candidates running for elections are required to have clear boundaries [separating them] from the 2009 "sedition" - a term used by some officials to describe the post-2009 election protests.

In 2010, a branch of the revolutionary court ordered the dissolution of the prominent pro-reform parties Mosharekat-E-Eslami and Mojahedin-Enghelab, in part because their leaders and members were involved in the 2009 post-election protests.

Since 2011, Iranian authorities have kept the prominent opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karoubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, who is Mir Hossein's wife, under house arrest without any judicial orders. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called for the release of these figures, whose detentions were deemed arbitrary by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

"Iran's electoral system lacks independent oversight, significantly impairing access to the political process and citizens' freedom of choice," Whitson said. "When the system scarcely tolerates peaceful dissent even in the electoral process, the Iranian government robs its own citizens of a voice in governing their own affairs."

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Kyrgyzstan: Ensure Accountability in Torture Case

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 24 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Kyrgyzstan: Ensure Accountability in Torture Case, 24 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1273f28a9.html [accessed 20 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.

A court in Kyrgyzstan will hear an appeal on January 25, 2016, in a protracted case involving the torture of a man who died from injuries sustained in beatings in police custody, Human Rights Watch said today. The Kyrgyz authorities should ensure that the appeals hearing is fair and leads to an effective remedy for torture.

The Chui Regional Court in Bishkek is due on January 25, 2016, to hear an appeal filed by Zulfiya Kholmirzaeva, the wife of an ethnic Uzbek man, Usmanjon Kholmirzaev, who died in August 2011. Kholmirzaeva appealed the acquittal verdict of four police officers charged in connection with her husband's death.

"It is deplorable that in four years, the Kyrgyz authorities have failed to hold a single person accountable for Kholmirzaev's torture and subsequent death," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Kyrgyzstan has the responsibility to identify and prosecute those responsible for what happened to Kholmirzaev."

Police detained Kholmirzaev on August 7, 2011, in Bazar Korgon, a town in southern Kyrgyzstan. While he was in custody, police officers allegedly tortured Kholmirzaev for several hours, threatening to charge him with crimes related to the June 2010 ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan and trying to extort money from him in exchange for his release. Kholmirzaev was taken to the hospital, and police released him only after his family gave the police US$680.

Kholmirzaev told his wife before he died that as soon as he was taken into the station, the police put a gas mask on him and started punching him. When he fell down, one of the officers, using his knees, jumped on Kholmirzaev's chest two or three times.

Kholmirzaev's wife told Human Rights Watch that her husband could barely walk when he was released, and that his condition worsened the next day. In the early hours of August 9, 2011, Kholmirzaev died. A forensic medical examination determined the cause of death was acute blood loss due to blunt trauma to the chest. Kholmirzaev was 41.

The prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation and brought criminal charges against four Bazar Korgon police officers. Prosecutors charged Ularbek Ismailov, Munarbek Mamataliev, and Nurgazy Tutashev with "torture" and "extortion." Ismailov and Tutashev were additionally charged with "deliberate grave damage to a person's health causing death."

The prosecutor also charged Kuban Nuriev, the head of the Bazar Korgon police station, with "abuse of power with serious consequences" and "hiding a crime."

The prosecution immediately moved to have proceedings transferred away from Bazar Korgon, fearing that Kholmirzaeva could not get a fair hearing there. In September 2011, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court ruled to move the trial to the Sokuluk district court in Chui region, not far from the capital, Bishkek.

However, the investigation and four year trial that ended with an acquittal verdict has not provided Kholmirzaeva with an effective remedy or accountability for the torture and ill-treatment that led to her husband's death, Human Rights Watch said.

The trial was delayed repeatedly, in large part due to the multiple attempts by the defense to have the case sent back for additional investigation or to move the trial back to the south. Each time, after months of appeals processes, the Supreme Court ruled that the court in Sokuluk should hear the case on its merits.

In July 2014, the Sokuluk district court finally began proceedings on the merits of the case. On October 19, the court delivered its verdict, acquitting the police officers on all charges.

The prosecution appealed, contending that the court ignored key testimony implicating the chief of police and other officers, as well as the conclusions of the forensic medical examination, whose findings are consistent with Kholmirzaev's allegations of torture. Kholmirzaeva's lawyer noted in a separate appeal that one of the witnesses, a neighborhood police officer who testified that money had been extorted from Kholmirzaev, had been intimidated. The police officer apparently had fled the country due to threats from the defendants' relatives.

The integrity of the trial was also undermined by acts of hostility in the courtroom and harassment of Kholmirzaeva. Utkir Dzhabbarov, a lawyer at the Jalalabad-based human rights organization Spravedlivost, which has been closely monitoring the case since it began, told Human Rights Watch that supporters of the police officers on trial harassed and put pressure on the court and on the prosecution, including screaming at Kholmirzaeva when she testified in July 2014. Dzhabbarov said that supporters also pressured Kholmirzaeva to drop the case, including going to her home.

Kyrgyzstan is party to numerous international human rights treaties that ban the use of torture, such as the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Kyrgyzstan acceded in 1997.

Kyrgyzstan's Criminal Code and Constitution also criminalize torture, but impunity for such crimes remains the norm. Human Rights Watch documented widespread allegations of torture and ill-treatment in the context of the investigations and trials that followed the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, yet those responsible for the abuse have enjoyed virtual impunity for their crimes.

Following its second periodic review of Kyrgyzstan, the UN Committee Against Torture said in its December 2013 concluding observations that it is "deeply concerned about the ongoing and widespread practice of torture and ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty."

The committee said the government should "take effective measures to ensure that all allegations of torture or ill-treatment related to the June 2010 violence by security or law enforcement officials are fully and impartially investigated, and that the officials responsible are prosecuted."

"Torture is always a crime and it is especially urgent that when torture leads to a death, the responsible parties are identified and prosecuted," Williamson said. "Kyrgyzstan should be doing much more to stop ill-treatment and torture in the criminal justice system and can start by fairly reviewing Kholmirzaeva's case."

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Sri Lanka: Fulfill Rights Council Call for Justice

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 January 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Sri Lanka: Fulfill Rights Council Call for Justice, 25 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b127d9ca0.html [accessed 20 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.

The Sri Lankan government should fulfill its commitments to the United Nations Human Rights Council by ensuring that foreign judges and prosecutors play a significant role in the mandated accountability mechanism for wartime abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 21, 2016, President Maithripala Sirisena told the BBC, contrary to Sri Lanka's council commitments, that he will "never agree to international involvement," saying "[w]e have more than enough specialists, experts and knowledgeable people in our country to solve our internal issues."

Human Rights Council member and observer countries that backed the consensus October 2015 resolution, should make clear that foreign participation in a war crimes tribunal was already decided by the council and is not subject to renegotiation. After adoption of the resolution, Sri Lanka told the council that it was pleased to join as a co-sponsor "as a further manifestation of Sri Lanka's commitment to implement the provisions of the resolution, in a manner that its objectives are shared by the people and all stakeholders in the country, for their benefit."

"The Sri Lankan government sought international involvement to ensure justice and accountability so there's no excuse for backtracking now," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "President Sirisena needs to understand that international participation in a war crimes tribunal was not a vague promise to the UN but a firm commitment to the thousands of Sri Lankans who suffered during the country's long civil war."

President Sirisena's statement comes just weeks before a scheduled visit to the country by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The high commissioner's office released a report detailing wartime abuses by both sides, calling for a "hybrid" justice mechanism given the shortcomings of domestic institutions to ensure impartial investigations and witness protection, and the Sri Lankan government's failure to take meaningful accountability measures since the war ended in May 2009. The 2015 Human Rights Council resolution affirms the importance of participation in a justice mechanism of "Commonwealth and other foreign judges  and authorized prosecutors and investigators."

In line with its commitments, the government should be implementing its plans for a war crimes tribunal with international participation, a Commission for Truth, Justice, Reconciliation, and Non-recurrence, and an Office on Missing Persons. Progress on those commitments has been slow and not wholly transparent. A task force on consultations on the Human Rights Council resolution has been established, but there is little public information about its mandate and terms of reference. Victims and their representative groups have not been informed about the consultation, leaving many feeling isolated and shut out from a process ostensibly intended to provide real justice to them. The recent statements by the president and prime minister, who said that all missing persons are presumed dead, raise concerns that consultations will merely be window dressing for a predetermined outcome.

"The countries that worked so closely with Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council last year have a responsibility to ensure that this important resolution will be properly adopted," Adams said. "The real rights gains made by the Sirisena administration will rapidly fade if the families of wartime victims feel that their one hope for justice was dropped on the basis of political calculations."

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Activist arrest puts foreign NGOs in China on edge

Publisher IRIN Publication Date 25 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, Activist arrest puts foreign NGOs in China on edge, 25 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b4424.html [accessed 20 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.

Foreign NGO employees in China watched in horror last week as a Swedish rights activist went on state television to deliver what colleagues described as a "forced confession".

With the Chinese government already preparing legislation expected to severely curtail NGO activities, it isn't just human rights lawyers and activists who are running scared.

Chinese state media said the detention of Peter Dahlin was part of a police operation to "smash [an] illegal organisation jeopardising China's national security".

Dahlin was reportedly expelled from China today.

The 35-year-old co-founder of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, which provides legal assistance to local activists, had been detained since 4 January.

"I have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," Dahlin said in his televised statement, which, on the surface at least, was full of contrition. "I apologise sincerely for this and I am very sorry that this has happened."

His arrest shocked foreign NGO workers who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity. A friend of Dahlin's said she was "horrified to see him paraded on TV". Many said they now wonder if they will be the next targets in a sweeping crackdown on civil society.

One charity director pointed out that Dahlin's work supporting local activists and communicating information about China's human rights situation to the world was similar to what many groups do in China and elsewhere.

"These are not crimes," he said. "They are basic cornerstones of many organisations' activities in China, and his arrest is a warning to all of us."

The consensus among those who spoke to IRIN was that China is gearing up to use the full force of its laws to stop foreigners from supporting Chinese activists. The situation is likely to get worse, they say, because China is expected to pass a law this year that would tightly restrict foreign NGO activities and give police virtually unlimited powers to detain non-profit staff based in China.

"Draconian" law

About 1,000 foreign NGOs operate in the country, but that number is likely to dwindle if China passes the Foreign Nongovernmental Organizations Management Law, which would impose sweeping restrictions on non-profits.

These could include requiring all foreign NGOs to secure an official sponsor as well as approval from the Ministry of Public Security, in addition to submitting lengthy annual work plans. The ability of foreign NGOs to fund domestic organisations would also be greatly restricted.

Authorities would be able to detain foreign NGO staff without formal charge for up to 15 days, and seize equipment and materials for inspection.

"It is an absolutely draconian law. At least in draft form, it is so wide and encompassing and gives police so much power that it can threaten any form of cooperation between foreign and domestic organisations in China," said William Nee, China researcher for Amnesty International.

The draft law does not define what constitutes a "foreign NGO," which could make the legislation "vulnerable to corrupt or politicised implementation," said Human Rights in China, a New York-based group, in a September statement.

However, government officials say the law would give foreign groups formal recognition in China for the first time, which would afford benefits such as local bank accounts.

A timeline has not been announced, but analysts predict that the law will be passed at the annual National People's Congress meeting in March, or at a meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, which gathers every two months.

"The additional paperwork burden alone could force many organisations out of the country," a foreign charity worker told IRIN.

Reason for fear

For now, the government's intentions are unclear. Dahlin's arrest could simply be a warning. Instead of allowing him to leave the country as intended and then close down his group's operations, they chose to make a very public example out of the case.

One charity worker said the government has shown support for the work of NGOs in certain fields, including domestic violence. On the other hand, there has been an "undoubtedly ugly crackdown on lawyers and dissidents".

The growing pressure on foreign NGOs comes after three years of intimidation of civil society groups. Hundreds of Chinese activists have been sent to prison since Xi Jinping became president in late 2012. The government has also been contending with growing labour unrest and has been criticised for human rights abuses against ethnic and religious minorities such as Uighur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists.

After Dahlin's arrest, supporters of progressive reform in China have more reason to be alarmed and intimidated, said Jerome Cohen, a director of the US-Asia Law Institute at New York University.

"Chinese criminal procedure as practised in (Dahlin's) case is grossly unfair, as illustrated by the incommunicado detention, the so-called public 'confession' that detainees are coerced to make, and difficulties of (accessing) adequate legal counsel," Cohen told IRIN.

The case also highlights a bitter irony, said Cohen: "These are the very malpractices that Mr. Dahlin was seeking to correct."
Refugees Unwelcome: Border Closures and Freezing Temperatures

Publisher IRIN Author Tania Karas Publication Date 25 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, Refugees Unwelcome: Border Closures and Freezing Temperatures, 25 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b49a4.html [accessed 20 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.

Refugees and migrants attempting to pass through the tiny village of Idomeni near Greece's border with Macedonia are paying the price for the introduction of ever more restrictive border policies by countries further north.

Over the weekend, thousands of refugees and migrants were forced to sleep outside in temperatures that dipped to -8 degrees Celsius as Macedonia allowed only small numbers of refugees to cross its border with Greece.

There is a strong sense among those waiting at the border that they may be among the last allowed into Europe.

Thirty-year-old Mohammed and his wife Reem, 27, from Baghdad, spent Friday night in an aid tent, huddling under blankets as they waited for Macedonian authorities to reopen the crossing.

The couple - he a computer engineer, she a translator - had only been willing to put up with Iraq's deteriorating security and economy for so long. They felt the doors to Europe, their escape hatch, might be closing, so they decided to act fast.

"At first, we wanted to wait until the spring," said Mohammed, who asked that his last name not be used. "But the situation in Europe is escalating, especially after the attacks in Cologne.

"Many, many countries are closing their borders. So we left Iraq on Tuesday, and it's been boom-boom-boom, flying through as fast as we can until we get to Germany."

Indeed, major changes are afoot as European leaders become increasingly desperate to stem the flow of refugee arrivals before spring, when another spike in numbers is expected.

Last week, Austria, which received some 90,000 asylum seekers in 2015, became the first European country to set a cap on how many it would accept in the future. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said the country would limit applications to 37,500 this year and 127,500 by mid-2019. Only refugees wishing to seek asylum in Austria or Germany will be allowed into the country.

The announcements set off a chain reaction among countries along the Western Balkan corridor into Europe. Seeking to avoid bottlenecks in their own countries, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia all announced similar control measures, saying they would deny entry to people seeking asylum anywhere else besides Austria or Germany.

Greek officials at the transit camp in Idomeni have become the de facto implementers of any new policies announced further up the Western Balkan route. In early December, for example, violent mass protests broke out among the thousands of people stranded at Idomeni following a November decision by several Balkan nations to only admit Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis.

On Thursday, Greek police set up a mobile office at the transit camp to ask people where they plan to apply for asylum. Refugees and migrants must now wait outside in sub-zero temperatures for their hartia (Greek for 'papers') to be stamped and labelled with their final destination. Those who state they are heading to Germany or Austria are sent to wait in tents until Macedonia briefly reopens the border again.

So far, unsurprisingly, everyone has been giving Germany and Austria as their final destination. As yet it is unclear what the repercussions may be if they later try to proceed to another country.

The Idomeni camp, which has capacity for 1,200 people, is equipped with giant heated tents, showers, food, blankets, warm clothing, and separate spaces for particularly vulnerable refugees. But since last month's protests, Greek police have been forcing buses carrying refugees to Idomeni from Athens to stop at a petrol station 20 kilometres away, ostensibly for crowd-control reasons. Fewer than 300 people are allowed into the camp at a time. For the past several nights, this has forced more than 2,500 people to sleep at the petrol station - often outside on the ground in below-freezing temperatures.

"We are begging the police to let us use the camp, but they won't let us and won't say why," said Gemma Gillie, a spokeswoman for Medecins Sans Frontieres at Idomeni. She shuttles between the camp and the petrol station where the owners have allowed the medical charity to set up six tents. Other aid groups have not been allowed to provide services there.

NGOs and volunteers working at Idomeni say they fear what will happen when Austria reaches its quota. Nearly 45,000 migrants and refugees have already arrived in Greece since the beginning of the year, despite harsh winter conditions. The vast majority will have transited through Austria in order to reach Germany or other destinations in western and northern Europe. About 6,000 have applied for asylum in Austria so far in 2016, according to Karl-Heinz Grundbock, a spokesman for the interior ministry. The chancellor's office is seeking legal opinions on whether Austria can keep out additional asylum seekers once this year's limit of 37,500 is reached.

German President Joachim Gauck said last week that a similar limit was "extremely likely" for Germany this year.

"For everyone who can't cross, where are they going to go?" asked Gillie. "It's already hard enough to get people's basic needs met."

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned that his country risks becoming a 'black box' for refugees as migration flows continue unabated and other countries seal their borders.

The majority of the more than one million refugees and migrants who crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe last year, came via Greece, a country already struggling to recover from a protracted financial crisis. Greece is facing a new round of threats from other member states that it will be forced out of the EU's passport-free Schengen zone if it does not start doing more to control the EU's external borders.

European interior ministers were due to discuss new border measures, including the possibly of temporarily excluding Greece from Schengen, at a meeting in Amsterdam on Monday.

But at Idomeni, aid workers and volunteers say it is refugees and migrants who will pay the ultimate price for Europe's quotas and fences, with many being forced into the hands of smugglers.

"When you have people who will do anything to reach their final destination, it's quite simple that they will need to find other routes, and these routes are usually [with] smugglers," said Alexandros Voulgaris, who heads the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) field unit at Idomeni. "They are desperate. So they will find a way."
Should airdrops be tried to save starving Syrians?

Publisher IRIN Author Annie Slemrod Publication Date 27 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, Should airdrops be tried to save starving Syrians?, 27 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b5ad4.html [accessed 20 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.

The United States may increase the $15 million a year it spends on dealing with the legacy of its "secret" bombing of Laos, said Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday in the capital, Vientiane.

Yet, even a few million more would come nowhere near to matching the amount it cost the US to bomb the country between 1964 and 1973. The campaign came with a staggering price tag of $17 million per day in today's dollars, according to Legacies of War, a Washington-based advocacy group.

Funding is already at record levels, up from $5 million per year when I visited the country in 2010. At the time, one person a day was being killed or injured by the unexploded ordnance (UXO) that litters Laos.

"We're now down to about 50 a year, and 50 a year is still too many," said Kerry.

The decrease in casualty rates has been helped by the increase in funding for programmes aimed at clearing UXO, as well as mapping contaminated areas and paying for rehabilitation for victims.

"We've gone from $5 million of commitment to it to $9 million to $12 million, now $15 million this year, and I know that we're looking at whether or not that could be plussed up even more," Kerry said.

The commitment of President Barack Obama's administration to addressing the deadly legacy America left in Laos is commendable. But considering the damage wrought over decades, the question remains - how much is enough to make up for crimes committed against an entire nation?

Legacies of War said in a statement yesterday that it would be appropriate for the US to, at minimum, double the level of its current funding over the next decade. As the group noted: "The US flew 580,000 bombing missions over Laos, the equivalent of one bombing mission every eight minutes, around the clock, for nine years."

The fallout from that campaign, which was kept secret from Congress at the time, is hard to comprehend.

When I visited Laos in 2010, Maligna Souvignongs, who was then the head of the government agency tasked with clearing UXO, showed me a map of the country with contaminated areas marked by red dots. In some regions, the dots were indistinguishable - they ran together like bloodstains on the countryside.

Aside from causing countless deaths and injuries over decades, Souvignongs said UXO contamination had also crippled the economy. Most of the country's 6.8 million people are farmers, but much of the farmland remains contaminated, and contaminated areas coincide with the poorest districts, he said.

When I asked how long it would take to rid Laos of UXO at the rate they were being cleared at the time, Souvignongs said 100 years.

So, nine years of bombing left Laos with a lethal mess that will take about a century to clean up. The increased funding in recent years is welcome, for sure. But perhaps the US can do even better to make amends for a historical wrong.
Burundi - nobody to the rescue?

Publisher IRIN Author Obi Anyadike Publication Date 29 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, Burundi - nobody to the rescue?, 29 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b79e4.html [accessed 20 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.

It's almost a given that African leaders meeting this weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will not override Burundi's objections and endorse the deployment of a 5,000-strong intervention force to help end the violence in the troubled country.

The re-election this week of Burundi to the African Union's Peace and Security Council (akin to the UN's Security Council) for another two-year term was a clue the will is not there to call Bujumbura's bluff over its threat to resist the deployment of the intervention force - known as MAPROBU.

There is general acceptance that the mediation of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, under the auspices of the East African Community, has failed. He has been far too focused on his own re-election later this year to invest the time and energy required.

The talk is of widening the mediation, for the AU and UN to take a more hands-on role - effectively sidelining Museveni.

The key goal is to kick-start the abortive dialogue between the government and opposition, which was postponed "indefinitely" when Bujumbura's representatives refused to show up in Arusha, Tanzania, for the start of the talks on 6 January.

"Everybody agrees on the urgency, but nobody is putting anything on the table," said an African diplomat based in Addis Ababa. "[The parties] need to be prodded, but the prodding doesn't seem to be happening. Somebody, be it the AU, the UN or other interested parties, need to put down a roadmap around which talks can start."

Last week a delegation from the UN Security Council visited Bujumbura to urge President Pierre Nkurunziza to curtail the violence that has created 240,000 refugees, and to talk to an opposition he regards as "terrorists" and "criminals".

But instead, witnesses to the violence are being silenced.

On Tuesday the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that a team of independent experts "mandated to probe violations and abuses in Burundi" had not been allowed to enter the country. Among the issues to be investigated are reports from early December of mass graves.

Two foreign journalists - Le Monde's Africa bureau chief Jean-Philippe Remy and freelance photojournalist Phil Moore - were detained and then released on Friday. They were among 17 people held in a raid on the Jabe neigborhood of Bujumbura in which the police said a weapons cache was discovered.

Burundi has been in political crisis since Nkurunziza took the controversial decision to seek a third presidential term last year. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed since then, amid the fear the country could slide into civil war.
Stop scapegoating Greece

Publisher IRIN Author Fotini Rantsiou Publication Date 2 February 2016 Cite as IRIN, Stop scapegoating Greece, 2 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b8484.html [accessed 20 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.

Fotini Rantsiou is a volunteer aid worker and field advisor for Greek NGO, Solidarity Now. She is based on Lesvos while on a leave of absence from the UN's emergency aid coordination body OCHA.

As the Greek islands continue to receive around 2,000 migrants and refugees every day, despite treacherous winter sea conditions, many other European countries are trying to prevent their onward movement. Greece is increasingly isolated and under pressure.

Last week, the European Commission discussed the findings of an evaluation report on Greece that found serious deficiencies in its management of Europe's external borders and rekindled a debate about whether Greece should be suspended from Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.

If after three months "serious deficiencies persist", Greece could face suspension from Schengen for up to two years. Not only would such a scenario have disastrous implications for Greece's already fragile national economy - with potential impacts on tourism and the movement of goods through the Balkans - but it would also create an unprecedented humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants would be stuck here for an indefinite period.

The possibility of suspension has been vehemently denied by the EU commissioner for migration and home affairs, but last week the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, asked its humanitarian partners in Athens to start working on a contingency plan for up to 200,000 people being stranded in the country in the coming months.

Greece does not share borders with any other Schengen member state, putting it in a particularly vulnerable position as it can be sealed externally through unilateral actions. In fact, the border between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRoM), which is the main gateway to the Western Balkan migration route, has been closed to all nationalities besides Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans since November, and in recent weeks it has been sealed entirely for days at a time, leaving thousands of migrants and asylum seekers to sleep outside in freezing temperatures.

FYRoM's border restrictions, which include a new fence, are a reaction to similar restrictions imposed by European countries further north. They have contributed to a sense of urgency among refugees to reach their final destination before Europe (or Greece) is completely sealed off, and may explain the continued high numbers of arrivals to the Greek islands, even during mid-winter.

Austria's minister of the interior recently suggested that Greece could do more to protect its sea border with Turkey by making use of its navy. "It's a myth that the Greek-Turkish border cannot be protected," Johanna Mikl-Leitner said. But using the navy to patrol and prevent migrant boats from landing on the islands would be equivalent to treating refugees as invaders.

A spokesperson for Frontex, the EU's border agency, pointed out that sea borders are almost impossible to fully control and that pushing boats back into Turkish seas would be illegal under the 1951 Refugee Convention's principle of non-refoulement.

Greece has also come under fire for failing to scale up the use of 'hotspots' - an EU initiative to screen and fingerprint all migrants and refugees arriving in Greece and Italy. So far, only one in five hotspots is up and running on Lesvos - the island that receives 60 percent of new arrivals. The rest of the islands can only do basic fingerprinting as they lack the technology to do biometric registration despite the government requesting the necessary hardware from the EU six months ago.

The current pressure on Greece stems in part from the false assumption that the movement of refugees to Europe could be significantly slowed by channeling aid to Turkey to improve conditions for the 2.2 million Syrians estimated to be living there. The reality is that most Syrian refugees arrive in Greece after short Turkish stop-overs and there is little or no incentive for other nationalities to remain in Turkey.

Refugees will continue to rely on smugglers to reach Europe via Greece unless the EU comes up with a viable alternative for them. As Francois Crepeau, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights for migrants has said: "'Fighting the smugglers in isolation is useless; the irregular migration market is created by the barriers to mobility."

Residents of the Greek islands have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of a relentless flow of migrant boats coming on top of the economic crisis. They have had to watch helplessly as the Aegean has brought dead bodies to their shores almost daily.

The lack of a coherent EU policy has created a humanitarian crisis for those seeking sanctuary and for those responding on the frontlines. It has allowed individual European politicians to develop extreme positions on migration, creating an environment that threatens to close the door on refugees in need of protection.

Writing about the crisis recently, Maria Stavropoulou, director of the Greek Asylum Service, concluded that "the EU's member states must start to perceive Europe as a single asylum space with a common European asylum status and work towards these goals.

"Until then the dominant attitude will continue to be 'not in my back yard', forcing states and refugees alike to adopt irregular practices," she said.

Europe urgently needs to have a credible policy on the large-scale resettlement of refugees, and member states must start accepting asylum applications at their consulates in countries of first arrival like Jordan and Lebanon. For the 'survival migrants', whose main reason for mobility is the search for employment and decent living conditions, a separate visa system needs to be established. For both groups, we have to be mindful of the triggers that cause people to move: wars and poverty resulting from social inequality and climate change, for which Europe bears some responsibility.
Somalia offers Yemenis a safer home

Publisher IRIN Author Mohamed Omar Mulla Publication Date 2 February 2016 Cite as IRIN, Somalia offers Yemenis a safer home, 2 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1b8b24.html [accessed 20 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.

Somalia is the new home for 30,560 people who have fled the fighting in Yemen and are trying to adjust to life in a country that - while no longer written off as a "failed state" - certainly has its challenges.

Many who once left Somalia, fleeing war, are now returning, fleeing a different war.The majority of those who have landed by boat in the autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland since March last year are Somalis, embarking from Yemen's southern ports. They had either earlier crossed the Gulf of Aden to escape Somalia's long-standing conflict, looking to transit north to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, or were part of an old Somali community that had settled in Yemen as traders.

But at least 4,360 of the new arrivals are Yemenis who paid the roughly $150 boat fare to escape the violence and resultant humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where 21.1 million people - 80 percent of the population - require some form of humanitarian protection or assistance.

There is no let-up in the weekly arrivals of boats from Yemen. Between 7 and 20 January, three boats landed in Puntland and two in self-declared independent Somaliland to the northwest. Of the 210 people on board, 52 were Yemenis.

According to Peter de Clercq, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, the needs of the Somali returnees are "very similar, if not identical, to the needs of internally displaced persons [IDPs] in Somalia". They are vulnerable to exploitation and violence - especially women and unaccompanied children - and IDPs from minority clans suffer discrimination since they often lack clan protection and connections.

But for the Yemeni refugees, who have no previous knowledge of Somalia, the experience can be daunting.

"In view of the deprivation around them, in a country still suffering from conflict, it's not an easy situation," de Clerq told IRIN. "It's a very small group. They don't speak Somali. And their intention is to return to Yemen as soon as the situation permits."

Unprepared for refugees

The Somaliland and Puntland authorities have granted prima facie refugee status to Yemeni nationals, but there is no legal framework or established procedures in place to cope with any mass influx. Both regions "require support and capacity-building for the reception and assistance of new arrivals," the UN refugee agency, UNHCR said.

Abokor Abdullahi, a father of five, landed in the port city of Bossaso in Puntland, and was later transferred with other refugees 250 kilometres south to Gardo.

"I was fleeing war, conflict, destruction, famine and lack of economic opportunities. But I don't see much of a difference here in Somalia," Abdullahi told IRIN. The family lives in a single room in a small house shared with two other Yemeni families, and pays $25 a month rent.

"We don't get enough support from the local administration and international development organisations. Only UNHCR gives $150 per month to my family. This does not cover the cost of electricity, water, and house rent, so it's rubbish. We as refugees want [official] shelters.

"I don't have employment opportunities to feed my children, and they don't have access to schools. We desperately need social services like health and education," he said.

UNHCR has set up a temporary reception centre in Bossaso that provides screening and registration and some basic support for a few nights to both IDPs and refugees. Local officials in Puntland told IRIN a formal refugee camp is planned. But in the meantime, refugees settled in Gardo have to make do with private accommodation.

Two-way traffic

Gardo, the seat of an ancient sultanate that ruled Puntland is the fourth largest city in the region with a population of 47,000. But it's located in a relatively deprived area, which means there is little the local authorities can offer the refugees.

"Since the arrival of Yemen refugees in this region, the worry has always been whether we can accommodate that large number of refugees/returnees from Yemen due to our limited resources and the little support we receive from international partners. But we are coping," Puntland's deputy minister of interior, Abdullah Hashi, told reporters last week.

The refugees, however, say far more needs to be done. "We desperately need help with food and shelter as a priority number one," said Falastine Abdullahi, Abokor's wife. "Sometimes we take only lunch and forget about supper. It's bad."

Abdullahi Munir, who, like Abdullahi, was a fisherman in Yemen's port city of Aden, urged UNHCR to take action. "We are in so much trouble," he told IRIN.

But the numbers of boats arriving in Somalia is almost matched by those going in the opposite direction, according to the refugee agency. [ ]

Despite the ongoing conflict in Yemen, where some 8,000 lives have been lost since March, more than 90,000 people from across the Horn of Africa, the majority of them from Ethiopia, headed there in 2015. Of those, roughly 10,000 were from Somalia. Almost 100 people died trying to make the crossing.
Oil crash exposes Angola's era of excess

Publisher IRIN Author Obi Anyadike Publication Date 26 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, Oil crash exposes Angola's era of excess, 26 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1ba244.html [accessed 20 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.

There's never a good time for a drought, but this is a particularly bad period for Angola as it struggles to cope with shrinking revenues as a result of the global oil price crash.

In the southern province of Cunene, 800,000 people - more than 70 percent of the population - are threatened with food shortages due to last year's poor harvest. The drought has also affected the neigbouring provinces of Cuando Cubango and Huila, where the rural poor do not have enough in their granaries to tide them over to the next harvest in June.

"We can confirm that the level of acute malnutrition across Angola warrants a high impact emergency response," the development agency World Vision said in a statement to IRIN.

"We gather that supplies of essential medicines are disrupted. We have observed stock outs of therapeutic foods, reduced outpatient services, and increased admissions to in-patient nutrition centres that are ill equipped to provide the required level of service," the agency warned.

Oil-dependent Angola introduced spending cuts of around 50 percent last year as revenues fell, undermining its ability to cope with the current crisis. In 2014, oil prices were around $100 per barrel. Currently, they are at a low of about $31 per barrel, the local currency the kwanza has been devalued, and nationwide a total of more than 1.25 million Angolans are struggling with crop losses and livestock deaths.

Although the Angolan government has provided some emergency food rations for the south, the effort is "inadequate to meet the high level of need". As a result, World Vision has requested funding from the European Union's humanitarian arm, ECHO, to "support the affected communities, especially vulnerable children".

It's a far cry from the free-spending oil boom years when Angola - Africa's second largest oil exporter - tried to make up for more than a quarter century of civil war with a splurge in infrastructural projects and dizzying plans to become an economic and military powerhouse in southern Africa.

According to Angola specialist Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, it was a lost opportunity of "monumental proportions". State funds were "squandered in pointless projects or hoarded by the few, and most Angolans were left with nothing".

Writing in the journal Foreign Affairs last year, de Oliveira noted: "As those citizens awake from their dreams of petro-prosperity to leaner times, the key question is where their dissatisfaction will lead, especially now that the state's resources to buy off rising constituencies are dwindling."

The government has been quick to crack down on dissent, de Oliveira added.

Silver lining?

But Allan Cain, director of the Luanda-based NGO Development Workshop, says he sees this period as one of opportunity.

"In the past, Angola had sufficient funds to be inefficient, but the country can no longer afford to be inefficient and must find ways of recovering the costs of these services," he told IRIN. "There are demands from the public for basic services. Aspirations are strong, particularly from the youth graduating from the new universities. There are 21 to 25 of them, compared to just two at the end of the war."

Spending cuts are forcing reforms to Angola's system of subsidies - from fuel to water services - resulting in sharp rises in the cost of living, as well as a back-log in the refuse collection programme in the capital, Luanda. Civil servants are only receiving their pay intermittently.

But Cain points out that it's mainly the middle classes that have benefitted from the subsidies. The gridlocked streets of Luanda are a testament to the cheap fuel in the tanks of the cars the poor cannot afford.

Neither are the residents of the shanties connected to pipe-borne water. They are forced to buy theirs instead from more expensive private tankers.

"The fall in the oil price is stimulating the government to move ahead on a number of reforms that were already planned but it had been slow to implement," said Cain. "There is an incentive to make urban services affordable and at a just price for everyone to pay."
When the war hits home

Publisher IRIN Author Almigdad Mojalli Publication Date 22 January 2016 Cite as IRIN, When the war hits home, 22 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1ba614.html [accessed 20 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.

It was nearly midnight when I got the call. So panicked was the voice on the other end of the line, it took me a few moments to recognise Monasar's voice. "Come now! Come and help us! The missile attacked us," he yelled.

I rushed out to my find my motorbike and then set off as quickly as I could, weaving my way across the pitch-black city. As I got closer to their home, there were new explosions - one no more than a kilometre away. Was that a second bomb near where they were hit?

After what felt like a lifetime, I arrived at the area, or what was left of it: a jumble of metal and concrete spilling out onto the street for several metres.

Time and again, I called for Monasar and his family, screaming at the top of my lungs. Silence.

Over the past six months, as a Saudi Arabian-led coalition has bombed the city I call home, targeting Houthi rebels and breakaway parts of the military, I've been to dozens of bombsites. Even as a Yemeni, it is hard not to become desensitised. Every day I wake up to hear that 10 people were killed last night, or 20, or 40. It almost stops feeling real.

More than anything you focus on protecting those you care for. I am a journalist working in a war zone, but I am also a husband, a son and a father.

While I have stayed in Sana'a, I moved my family out to a village away from the airstrikes, so I don't get to spend as much time with the children as I would like. "When will you take me to the park, Dad?" my five-year old son also asks me lovingly every week. The reply is always the same: "When the war stops."

For those who have stayed, I warn them constantly not to go too near military sites or even government buildings to avoid getting caught in a strike. So I thought I had done everything I could to protect those I loved. Then came Friday night.

Monasar is a distant relative, but he works with my cousins Hamzah, Ahmed, Ali and Mohammed.

They also knew the risks. Saudi bombs have hit residential areas dozens of times, while the Houthis too have fired from close to civilian homes. So the family moved back to our village a few months ago. But, like most Yemenis, just being away from the frontline doesn't protect them from suffering. More than 80 percent of Yemenis are in need of aid, and the family was desperately short of money and fuel.

In anticipation of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will be celebrated by Muslims across the world this week, they returned to the city to sell raisins. With the few dollars they made, they hoped to buy stocks for the coming months and, if they had enough left over, maybe a few Eid dresses and sweets for their kids. Their shops have been shuttered for months, so they sold their produce from their cars or on the streets.

They had been sleeping in those same cars when the strike hit. There weren't any obvious military sites nearby. It is impossible to know if the strike missed its target or if the Saudis thought they were hitting something else. It doesn't really matter.

As I yelled out, I eventually saw two limping figures. I recognised Monasar, but the other person's face was distorted and caked in blood and dust. As I hoisted them both onto the motorbike I asked: "Who are you?" "It is me, Hamzah," he said, his eye badly wounded.

After what felt like a lifetime, we arrived at the Al-Thawrah public hospital. Doctors started to treat Hamzah, so I went in search of my other cousin Ahmed. Someone said he had been taken into surgery as he was seriously wounded.

In my rush down the hall, I narrowly avoided a gurney wheeling a charred body to the morgue. A few metres later, I saw another relative and asked about Ahmed. "He is there," he said, pointing grimly to the body I just passed.

The funeral was held in our village the next day, with Ahmed's wife and three children in tow. But that night in the hospital, in some way I didn't believe it was real. I needed to see his body to feel it, to understand.

Walking into the morgue, Ahmed's body was lying on the ground next to at least five others. "Why don't you put them in the freezers? " I asked. "It is already full," the doctor replied.

Seeing my shocked face, he said: "It seems this is the first time you have come here. We are in a war, we receive dozens every day."
Tough Times for Tajik Lawyers

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 21 January 2016 Citation / Document Symbol RCA Issue 779 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Tough Times for Tajik Lawyers, 21 January 2016, RCA Issue 779, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1c9d14.html [accessed 20 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.

Independent lawyers appear to be the latest victims of a government crackdown in Tajikistan.

Experts are concerned over the ongoing detention of two legal representatives of the recently outlawed Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP) as well as new legislation that may serve to further target lawyers.

The Supreme Court outlawed the IRP, a strong but moderate political force in Tajikistan for nearly two decades, in September 2015. Dozens of its most active members were arrested.

Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Mahkamov, lawyers who represented detained IRP deputy head Saidumar Husaini, were also arrested and remain in custody.

Legal expert Shokirjon Hakimov told IWPR that it was a dangerous time to be a lawyer in Tajikistan.

"Legal activity is an important mechanism to guarantee human rights and protect freedoms in a democratic, free and legal country, but not under current Tajik conditions," he said. "That's because in Tajikistan politics takes precedence over the law.

A new law signed by Tajik President Imomali Rahmon last November has also been interpreted as aimed at further limiting legal independence..

According to the new legislation, lawyers are required to obtain a license from the Justice Ministry every five years in order to perform their duties. Previously, they only had to be a member of one of eight legal associations.

But more importantly, lawyers with previous convictions are not allowed to practise.

This can be a real problem in Tajikistan, where activists warn that trumped-up criminal charges are a common tactic used by the authorities to silence dissent.

Human rights defender Fayzinisso Vohidova told IWPR that allegations of fraud, for instance, had long been a favoured method of harassment against lawyers in particular.

"This pressure on lawyers is [a way of putting] pressure on human rights, on the court justice system and on civil society. The recent events leave human rights defenders with no desire to work," Vohidova concluded.

"Obstacles are created for lawyers trying to carry out their professional duties [whether they have convictions or not] especially if they are engaged in defending civic society activists or personalities whose views differ from the official state position," added Hakimov.

LONG LIST OF ACCUSATIONS

Tajikistan has a history of detaining lawyers representing opposition forces.

One example was that of Shuhrat Kudratov, arrested in 2014 as he prepared to represent Zayd Saidov, a businessman and former Tajik minister who announced plans to create the New Tajikistan party and run for the 2013 presidential elections. (See Tajik Opposition Figure Gets 26 Years)

Saidov was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Kudratov was convicted of bribery and received a hefty fine and a prison term of three years and eight months.

In August 2015 another lawyer representing Saidov was also arrested. Fakhriddin Zokirov was detained on charges of extortion and only released in October after paying a fine of some 2,000 dollars.

He had previously been detained in March 2014 accused of fraud. He was granted amnesty in November of the same year. (See Tajik Authorities Target Opponents' Lawyers)

The recent cases of Yorov and Nuriddin Mahkamov appear to be connected to the government crackdown on the IRP, whose members the government accuses of terror offences and spreading radicalisation. (See Tajikistan's Embattled Islamic Party).

The regime has also linked the IRP with a military rebellion led by former deputy defence minister General Abduhalim Nazarzoda last September.

In a statement, the prosecution service said Nazarzoda, who died with a number of his supporters on September 16 in fighting east of the capital Dushanbe, was acting in collusion with the IRP.

(See Tajik Government Says Rebel General Dead)

Yorov was arrested on September 29, just a day after expressing concerns about the alleged use of torture against his client Husaini.

He said that the deputy IRP leader had been offered a ministerial post in return for leaving his party and publicly denouncing its activity.

The lawyer claimed that after Husaini refused to comply, he was taken into custody by the State Security Service and badly beaten.

Yorov was subsequently charged with a range of offences, including allegedly forging vehicle documents and publicly calling for violence and religious hatred.

Tajik State TV also reported that Yorov was originally from Surkhandaryo, a region in neighbouring Uzbekistan, although Yorov has previously insisted that he was in fact born in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

The two states periodically accuse each other of spying.

Yorov also made clear that he believed his arrest was directly connected to his professional activity. He said that during a 12-hour interrogation officials demanded he sever his ties with the IRPT, which he refused.

Mahkamov, another of Husseini's lawyers, was detained in October 2015 on charges of fraud. Just before he was arrested, Mahkamov said his application for a warrant to represent his colleague Yorov had been refused.

A human rights defender told IWPR on condition of anonymity that the authorities lacked any evidence for detaining IRP members and were attempting to stop lawyers making this public.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Georgian IDPs Still Stuck in Limbo

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Regina Jegorova-Askerova Publication Date 25 January 2016 Citation / Document Symbol CRS Issue 802 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Georgian IDPs Still Stuck in Limbo, 25 January 2016, CRS Issue 802, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1ca6b4.html [accessed 20 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.

More than 20 years have passed since the end of the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict, but many of those displaced by the conflict are still living in temporary accommodation.

Abkhazia claims independent status - recognised by Russia since 2008 - but Tbilisi insists that the breakaway entity must come back under central control.

So with no progress towards a peace settlement that would allow them to go back home, the IDPs are still waiting for their turn to receive housing from the authorities.

Most internally displaced persons (IDPs) still live with relatives or friends or are housed in former hospitals, kindergartens, factories, hotels and schools.

The problem in the western region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti is particularly acute. There are 84,000 IDPs living there, the second largest number of forced migrants after the capital Tbilisi.

At a recent round-table organised by IWPR, experts in the field agreed that a lack of coordination was severely hampering efforts by the state and various local and international organisations to resettle the IDPs.

"There are problems with communication," said Maia Pipia from local radio station Atinat, herself a forced migrant from Abkhazia. "For so many years, everyone has been doing something: the state, the NGOs and the international community. Everyone wants to help, but the IDPs still do not have better lives. And many think that this process will go on indefinitely. Many do not even have any idea what opportunities they have, how the system of resettlement works and who is responsible for what."

The event, held in the western Georgia city of Zugdidi in late November, brought together 22 officials, NGO workers and human rights activists.

They heard how ambitious government schemes had foundered in the face of poor communication and coordination.

For example, the ministry of internally displaced persons launched a programme called A Village House in 2014. IDPs could apply for a grant to buy a house anywhere in the country, with the amount dependent on family size. A couple was eligible for 17,000 lari (7,000 US dollars), with a family of three or four people could receive 21,000 lari (8,700 dollars).

Unfortunately, the process was so difficult that few took advantage of the offer.

Rusudan Pachkoria, of the Legal Protection Institute, said not many IDPs had heard of the programme and in any case, the procedure from the submission of the application to receiving a house took far too long.

Pachkoria explained that, across the board, IDPs struggled to access the information they needed. Citing figures from 2014, he said that 45 per cent of them looked to the ministry for IDPs as the main source of information. A further 28 per cent of the IDPs obtained information from other IDPs, and 27 per cent from the mass media. Only one per cent used the internet for this purpose.

The IDPs "go directly to the ministry, call the reception and write letters. And there is a big problem - more often than not they are given incomplete information. And almost always they don't understand it," Pachkoria said.

Civil servants send the same letters to everyone and give the same bureaucratic answers written using legal language about regulations and laws, he said.

"Everyone comes to us with a single question, What does this mean? That is why we always have to explain everything. This is a protracted process," Pachkoria continued.

Iago Pasandze, head of operations at the Saunje NGO in western Georgia, agreed.

"In fact, even the NGOs do not share information with each other, to say nothing of the IDPs themselves," he continued. "No wonder the effectiveness of the special action plan for the resettlement of IDPs and other important programmes is so low."

Gogi Revia, head of the social services department of the Zugdidi municipality, briefed the IWPR meeting on the local administrations "one-stop shop" which offered a simplified system of assistance to IDPs, and allowed them to receive all the information about state assistance programmes in one location.

Revia said that this had the potential to be highly effective, and the municipality was now trying to publicise it.

All available assistance programmes are listed on the Zugdidi municipalitys home page, but feedback has indicated that this website is not very user friendly.

Participants agreed that a single information source connecting all the existing IDP assistance programmes from various organisations would be enormously helpful.

Currently, there is little awareness about the existing social assistance programmes financed by the government, even among those working in the IDP sector.

Geronti Kalichava, editor-in-chief of the online publication livepress.ge, said his staff often covered the problems of IDPs, the deficiencies in the resettlement system, the poor living conditions and ongoing projects.

But even for him, as a professional journalist, it was often difficult to find information about specific projects.

"I could not figure out who will build two new housing complexes for IDPs in Zugdidi, which were recently announced by the authorities, and how long it would take for them to be built," Kalichava explained.

Participants also highlighted the haphazard way IDPs were resettled, for instance, being expected to move at very short notice and with scarcely any information about where they are going and what conditions they can expect.

Pasandze, of the Saunje NGO said he hoped that the IWPR event could lead to "a significant improvement of the existing defects in communication between the sectors.

"It is desirable that follow-up meetings have a thematic focus on specific issues, such as communication problems between the ministry and the community, resettlement, access to jobs and so on," Pasandze said.

Khatuna Bechvaia from the Tanaziari NGO agreed, adding, "The main problem of all parties is poor communication with the IDPs themselves. They also need to be involved in such meetings, which should be held regularly."

The round-table was organised as part of the project on Women for Equality, Peace and Development in Georgia, which is being implemented by UN Women, and IWPRs project Women Connecting for Peace - a Voice for Change, funded by the ministry of foreign affairs of Norway.

Regina Jegorova-Askerova is a web editor and trainer for IWPR in Georgia.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Afghan Women Demand Action Over Street Harassment

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Mina Habib Publication Date 27 January 2016 Citation / Document Symbol ARR Issue 534 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Afghan Women Demand Action Over Street Harassment, 27 January 2016, ARR Issue 534, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1caaf4.html [accessed 20 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.

Latifa, 22, earns up to 150 US dollars each month working in a factory that processes dried fruit. She needs the money, but longs to leave her job because of the gauntlet she has to run on her journey to and from work each day.

Every morning, as soon as she leaves her house and heads for the bus stop, men begin to harass her. Private cars pull up beside her and the occupants try to lure her inside.

"These men invite me to go have fun with them, they offer to pay me money, they harass and taunt me," she told IWPR. The same thing happens on the way home.

The harassment had reached a point, she explained, where she would prefer not to have to go out to work at all. However, she has to support her family as her father was killed in a suicide bombing three years ago.

Campaigners say that street harassment in Afghanistan has reached epidemic proportions. Women furious at the extent of the problem have been organising public protests across the country.

In Herat, in the west of the country, activists held two weeks of protests earlier this month to highlight the problem. In Kabul, women have also been marching to demand the government to take urgent action

"We should never surrender to these problems; we have to fight and find solutions to these challenges," said Zuhra, a third year literature student at Kabul University who has marched in several recent demonstrations in the capital.

"Our success lies in our struggle, not in our retreat to sit in a corner of the house and [be imprisoned] by its four walls."

But street harassment limits educational and employment opportunities for many women.

Habiba, a ninth grade student at the Qabul-bai school in Kabul, told IWPR that she would dearly like to carry on studying.

Her family, however, had forbidden this.

"Our home is located far from the road, on a back street with narrow lanes; when girls and women pass by, the boys who loiter there harass and bother them. They even get physical if they get the chance."

This meant that her family would not let her travel the extra distance to a local college to continue her education.

LEGISLATION AN IMPORTANT TOOL

Lia Jawad heads the Transitional Justice Coordination Group, a civil society forum that has organised demonstrations and public awareness workshops.

One historic problem had been the lack of specific legislation on street harassment, Jawad said.

"The police did not consider street harassment a crime because it was not included in criminal law. This was why the Transitional Justice Coordination Group presented a recommendation to the council of ministers, via the ministry of justice, to consider it to be a crime so that those who commit it can be prosecuted. Fortunately this regulation was passed."

Adela Amarkhail, deputy head of the women's support section of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told IWPR that street harassment was a huge social problem.

This was exacerbated by a lack of education, poverty and conservative attitudes towards gender roles. Legislation, she added, was an important tool in the battle against such discrimination.

"The implementation of the law on the elimination of violence against women is one of the ways to prevent abuse on the streets," Amarkhail said. "This problem will persist until the laws are applied."

Although passed by presidential decree in 2009, this law was rejected by parliament in May 2013, and has been shelved ever since. Conservative parliamentarians claim that it contradicts Islamic sharia law.

But religious experts also noted that harassing women was forbidden under Islamic law.

Maulawi Abdulbasir Haqani, head of the religious scholars' council of Kabul, told IWPR that such behaviour was a grave sin. Imams in mosques frequently repeated this message to their congregants, he said.

"If people commit to the religious teachings and respect them, society will not have this problem and there will be no need for the police and threats and abuse," Haqani continued.

Experts say that the disruption of decades of continuous conflict have also served to change men's behaviour.

Political scientist Abdul Ghafoor Lewal said that the government needed to urgently address the resulting ethical and cultural damage to society. The movement of population had had a marked effect, he added.

"Villagers who have moved to the cities for various reasons are not familiar with cultural traditions in urban areas, so they cause trouble," Lewal continued.

In addition, he attributed bad behaviour to former fighters who had become accustomed to behaving exactly as they pleased. Now back in civilian life, they continued to throw their weight around.

Kabul resident Shah Jan, 52, noted that women did not experience such problems 40 years ago, despite the fact that they had less personal freedom and rates of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment were high.

"At that time, women used to wear over-the-knee socks [and] miniskirts; women and girls mostly did not wear headscarves," she said. "However, no one disturbed them when they walked around the city. Then there were culture, principles and honour. Respecting women was part of Afghan culture. Now, social morality has become very weak. People do not fear the law or the police, because policemen themselves are among the offenders."

Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid denied such accusations, adding that officers dealt harshly with incidents of street harassment.

They had made between 130 and 150 arrests for such offences in the last two weeks alone, he added.

"The police emergency number, 100, is active 24 hours a day," Mujahid continued. "Citizens can inform the police."

Women who were pestered should report all incidents, he added, so that appropriate action could be taken.

"First, we contact the family of the accused, as well as community leaders in his local area, so that they can all try to correct the faults in his behaviour. We only release him after receiving guarantees from the family [that the offender will stay out of trouble]. We also shave his head as a warning, and if he has a criminal record then we refer him to the attorney's office."

The government says it is taking some action to combat violence against women.

Afghanistan's second vice-president, Sarwar Danish, told media last month that dedicated courts and prosecuting attorney offices had been created in all the country's 34 provinces.

Danish said that the courts would deal specifically with gender violence and that their creation was the result of many years of petitioning from female activists.

Lewal said that there was no alternative to the rule of law. Ultimately, the security services would have to crack down on abusers.

"Although educational programmes have their uses, one of the ways to prevent such behaviour is through punishment," he said. "And it is the job of the police to keep order in our cities."

This report was produced under IWPR's Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
UNHCR aid reaches Syrian town cut off for three years

Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Publication Date 2 February 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR aid reaches Syrian town cut off for three years, 2 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56b1cef04.html [accessed 20 October 2022]

Working in tandem with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), UNHCR has delivered crucial humanitarian aid to a rural town near Damascus that has been cut off by fighting for three years, stranding thousands of residents in dire conditions without clean water or fuel for warmth.

Some 26,000 people currently live in Al-Mleiha, a small town located on the eastern outskirts of Damascus at a strategic road leading to the Damascus airport. It has been largely isolated by prolonged fighting for the past three years.

The UN last delivered humanitarian aid to the area around the town in early 2013. However, occasionally limited commercial supplies of food and other commodities have been allowed into the contested areas to the east of the town.

On Sunday, a SARC convoy delivered non-food aid to more than 1,300 people living in the buffer zone around Al-Mleiha, in addition to food parcels provided by other humanitarian agencies. Volunteers reported dire living conditions inside the accessed locations, where families were living in shattered homes, burning plastic to keep warm.

"People were asking for extra plastic sheeting and blankets as they don't have any other means for heating their homes, many homes have been destroyed, with many families sharing residences with relatives and neighbors. They told us that they used to burn waste material to seek some warmth," said a volunteer.

SARC also reported that the local drinking water network had been damaged in fighting, leaving "people depending on hand-dug wells extracting water that is not always clean." The volunteer added that the town's sewage system is "completely damaged due to fighting and lack of maintenance."

Around 50,000 people lived in Al-Mleiha before the present crisis, although many have since sought safety in neighboring towns and villages. There are currently only around 26,000 estimated to be living in the town, according to UN reports, of whom 10,000 are internally displaced.

The people residing in the buffer zones accessed by the aid convoy, are mainly living in farmhouses lacking necessary infrastructure. Two of the three schools in the area have been destroyed and the third is not functional according to SARC.

UNHCR's assistance to Al-Mleiha included hygiene kits, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, and blankets, along with food parcels provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"These items are of crucial support to the residents of Al-Mleiha as it helps them reinforce their shelters and provide them with warmth in this cold season," said UNHCR's Senior Field Officer, Pablo Vizcaino.

The distribution of humanitarian aid to local residents will be continued periodically according to SARC. UNHCR, meanwhile, remains committed to providing humanitarian aid to all in need in Syria, where the conflict has been raging for five years.

"UNHCR is committed to delivering humanitarian assistance to all people in need all over Syria," said UNHCR's Representative in Syria Sajjad Malik. The recent access to Al-Mleiha "boosts hopes for upcoming regular deliveries of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people in Al-Mleiha and other besieged and hard to reach locations."

As the crisis in Syria nears its sixth year, up to 4.5 million people in the country still live in hard-to-reach areas, including some 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the humanitarian aid that they desperately need.

In 2015, UNHCR reached 3,213,275 people with core relief items that included, among other items, blankets, winter clothes, jerry cans, household items and diapers.

By Qusai Alazroni in Damascus, Syria
Advice

Dear Abby: I recently decided that I wanted to help an infertile couple conceive by becoming an egg donor. I'm well-educated and have a job I love. I understand the commitment both time-wise and emotionally. I am now part of a registry, and I could be selected for a donation at any time. Like other young women, I am dating. However, I am conflicted about whether to tell my dates about my involvement with egg donation and if so, how. I understand that this is extremely personal, but at the same time I could have genetic offspring out there. Can you advise?

 Helping out

Dear helping out: I do not think it would be appropriate to share this information with any man you are seeing casually. However, if a relationship becomes serious, you should discuss it. A way to start the conversation would be to say, 'It's said that the most meaningful gift a person can give is a gift of self. Well, I have taken it literally.'

Dear Abby: My 22-year-old daughter, a recent college graduate, is back living at home. She has been bringing her boyfriends home and having sex in her room. I have a real problem with it. There are younger children living here. My husband is not aware of what goes on behind her closed doors at night. What should I do?

 Still under my roof

Dear still: If you prefer not to involve your husband in this, have a private chat with your daughter and tell her you are not comfortable with her entertaining her boyfriends in your home in the manner you have described. Tell her that if she wants to have sex, she should do it elsewhere  but not under your roof with younger children nearby. Because it's your home, your rules should apply.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR 'ILLUMINATION CELEBRATION'

Work has begun to transform downtown Abilene into a magically lit nighttime destination in time for a special public event on March 8. 'Illumination Celebration' will be a free, fun family event hosted by the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council and sponsored by AEP.

Festivities will start at 6 p.m. with performances by student groups from AISD. Food trucks, activities and costumed characters will be there. Glow items will be available for purchase.

At 7:30 p.m., the switch will be flipped on. The 17 Storybook Sculptures located downtown will be spotlighted. There will also be a scavenger hunt and prizes.

The evening festival will be filmed by 'Voices in America,' which produces documentary programming hosted by James Earl Jones, for a piece on 'Abilene: The Storybook Capital of Texas' that will be broadcast on PBS stations across the nation to 60 million viewers.

In addition to the Storybook Sculptures being lit, trees up and down Cypress and Cedar streets will be covered in twinkling lights. The lighting will be a permanent addition to downtown. The funding for the project is a public/private partnership.

WELCOMING NEW REFUGEES

The International Rescue Committee will hold a Donation Fair in early March to get items for newly arrived families.

Donations of the following are needed: gently used twin and full sheet sets, comforters, towels, small electronics, bicycles, televisions, decorative items, paintings, small furniture and more. Donations can be dropped off at the IRC Office, 3303 N. 3rd St., from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Please drop off donations by March 10.

For a complete list of donations accepted, contact the volunteer coordinator at 325-675-5643. Donations are tax-deductible.

COVER-TO-COVER BOOK CLUB

The Abilene Public Library's Cover-to-Cover Book Club gathers monthly on the third Thursday to discuss popular fiction and nonfiction. Members select a title each month by consensus, then read and discuss during the free meeting.

Members will share their thoughts on 'The One and Only Ivan' by Katherine Applegate at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the auditorium at the APL, 202 Cedar St. This book tells a true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, told from the point-of-view of Ivan himself.

Join the club members for a lively discussion.

RELAY FOR LIFE

One of the American Cancer Society's signature events is its Relay for Life, a fun-filled overnight activity that mobilizes communities across the country to celebrate survivorship, remember those who lost their lives to cancer, and raise money for the fight against cancer

The event in Abilene is scheduled for April 29 at the Hardin-Simmons University Intramural Field.

For all the details, call the ACS office in Abilene at 325-672-0994.

Mail information to Jan Woodward in care of 'Around Town,' Abilene Reporter-News, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604. Email address is jan.woodward@reporternews.com or fax information to 325-670-5242. Deadline for submission is noon seven working days before publication.
Some time ago Dunkin' Donuts announced plans to build a store in Abilene. What happened to it?

A 'hole' lotta time has gone by since the Reporter-News ran a story in September 2013 that a Dunkin' Donuts franchisee planned to open eight stores in four Texas cities  Abilene, Lubbock, Amarillo and San Angelo. An Abilene store was expected to open by 2014, the story said.

We're still waiting.

So is San Angelo, according to the Dunkin' Donuts store locator on the company's website. Lubbock has two Dunkin' Donuts locations and Amarillo has one, according to the website.

And, Abilenians who want a cup of DD's coffee and a Boston Kreme doughnut will have to keep waiting.

Nicole Shepard, a company spokeswoman, says Dunkin' Donuts is 'tentatively aiming' to open an Abilene store in the second half of 2017.

Who knows how many new Walmarts we'll have by that time?

According to Reporter-News archives, there have been two Dunkin' Donuts shops in Abilene in the past. Both have long since closed. The first opened in October 1969 at 3234 S. 14th St., the location of Church's Chicken now. The second opened in September 1971 at Westwood Drive and North First Street, behind Baskin-Robbins.

When Dunkin' Donuts builds here, the company is going in 'hole' hog. It will have a Baskin-Robbins with it, Shepard said.

Now you know the 'hole' deal.
Albany Mayor Rodney Alexander said City Manager Billy Holson fired the lone officer and chief of police in Albany, Jason Price, on Friday after an investigation into drugs being left in a high school locker last week.

According to Alexander, authorities left a box containing marijuana and drug paraphernalia in a student's locker for dogs to find as part of a training exercise on campus Jan. 25 that involved Albany police, a deputy with the Shackelford County Sheriff's Office and the Cisco Police Department's K-9 unit.

"It's a mistake that has an accountability and responsibility with it," Alexander said.

The mayor added there will be no criminal investigation.

"I've never really dealt with anything like this and I hope I don't have to deal with it again," he said.

Alexander also said all 911 dispatch will be handled by the sheriff's office until the city finds the chief's replacement.

Shane Fields, Albany Independent School District superintendent, said that within minutes of the boy's discovery of the suspicious box, he and another student took it to the principal's office.

"This is the first time but one time is one too many for us," Fields told the Reporter-News on Jan. 27. "We have closed our facility down to that training."

The training has been ongoing for several years in Shackelford County and the surrounding counties, Fields said, to help train drug dogs in conditions that simulate real-world situations.

The Reporter-News received no responses during its attempts to contact the Shackelford County Sheriff's Office and Cisco Police Department about the reprimanding of any department employees involved in the training exercise.

Twitter: ARN_Titus
The two men killed last month in Snyder during what has been reported as a home invasion were shot to death, according to preliminary autopsy reports.

Joshua David Hoover, 25, of Snyder, died of "gunshot wounds of the head and chest," and Benjamyn Leslee Bruns, 29, of Victoria, died from a gunshot wound to the head during the incident reported Jan. 24 in the 2100 block of Avenue Z in Snyder, according to the reports released by Scurry County Justice of the Peace Norma Martinez.

The reports described the deaths as homicides.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Jan. 24, police were dispatched to the 2000 block of Avenue Z to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle. Officers at the scene found a parked vehicle with its engine running.

At about 9:15 a.m., a man and woman went into the Law Enforcement Center and reported that two people had broken into their house in the 2100 block of Avenue Z at 4 a.m., according to the Snyder Police Department.

The woman reported that "an assault had taken place at that location and two male subjects had been killed," according to police.

Officers sent to the scene found the deceased men.

According to the preliminary autopsy reports, Hoover suffered "sharp-force injuries" to his head and torso, and Bruns suffered multiple sharp-force injuries to the head, neck and extremities.

Juan Barron, 24, of Arizona, and Snyder resident Nicole Dabney, 28, have been charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the deaths.

Snyder Police Chief Terry Luecke said Thursday that the suspects "moved and altered" some things, including the bodies.

Investigators recovered marijuana, one handgun and three knives at the scene, Luecke said.

The Texas Rangers are assisting in the investigation.

Twitter: ARN_Titus
Longer school days aren't the only change Abilene Independent School District teachers face come August and the 2016-17 school year.

A new evaluation system, meant to be more comprehensive and factor in the growth of students over the course of an entire school year, is right around the corner.

While the initial reaction might be to panic on the part of the teacher, as other states with similar evaluation processes put a major focus on standardized testing scores, in Abilene some are taking a wait-and-see approach to the new system.

"The way it has been explained to us is about 20 percent of the evaluation is student growth," Mark Grose, of Education Abilene, said. "There are different ways to measure this, though. Other states are using test scores. We're not, for a number of reasons."

The Texas Education Agency, however, says student growth will not be part of the evaluation process until 2017-18.

TEA said a steering committee of teachers, principals and higher education representatives developed both the T-TESS (Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System) and T-PESS for evaluating principals. The new system was piloted in about 60 districts in the 2014-15 school year, introduced to about 250 districts this year and will be ready for full implementation, minus the student growth aspect, come 2016-17.

On the teacher side, the new system will replace the PDAS, which stands for Professional Development and Appraisal System.

In addition to student growth, teachers will be subject to observation, goal-setting and professional development. But some statewide organizations aren't sure yet what to make of the new plan.

In an article published in the Winter 2015-16 edition of "The Classroom Teacher," the magazine of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association, it's argued the need for student growth as a factor is questioned as a new federal law stripping the federal government of its ability to mandate growth being part of evaluations.

Texas had been granted a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education from the former federal law known as No Child Left Behind, which was struck from the books in December. TCTA argues the new federal law, Every Student Succeeds Act, limits the federal government's oversight in education matters, including requiring student growth be incorporated into any teacher evaluation system.

As such, they feel, as an organization, the state's implementation of student growth is no longer needed as the waiver will be null and void come Aug. 1.

TEA, meanwhile, said test scores are not required to be part of teacher evaluations and are not going to be required under the new evaluation system.

"Any district doing a local appraisal system can, and has always been able to, use that type of measure, and for the state recommended system (T-TESS), districts have the option to use a student growth measure that looks at state assessment results," TEA Information Specialist Lauren Callahan said. "But no district has to use state assessment results."

With its local control, Abilene's administration may be looking to shy away from test scores being included.

Audra Ude, the district's associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said a number of factors play into what the district eventually chooses while implementing the new evaluation system. She said a committee likely will form, reporting to Superintendent David Young who will have final say.

"There are many teachers whose students don't take tests," Ude said. "Fine arts, physical education and some of the technical education courses don't have that direct responsibility."

She said another reason testing data shouldn't be considered for evaluation purposes is special education performance, which could lead to negative results for teachers based on their student demographic.

Student Growth Overview

___________________________

Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System

Twitter: @TimothyChippARN
In an effort to maintain the status of Abilene's largest employer, the Development Corporation of Abilene on Tuesday agreed to provide $200,000 to help Dyess Air Force Base secure a state grant that would fund security upgrades at the base Visitors Control Center.

The Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee requested the $200,000 to help fund part of a $1.75 million grant that would allow the base to improve security at the entrance gate, said Kent Sharp, DCOA CEO.

To apply for the grant, the community surrounding the base must provide 20 percent in matching funds to receive the grant from the Texas Military Preparedness Commission, or $350,000 in this case, Sharp said.

The remaining $150,000 would be made up of in-kind, or non-monetary, contributions from the federal government, according to a news release.

"There are deficiencies at this control center," said Bryan Yates, chamber vice president for military affairs.

For one, the visitors center is too small, which would make potential security threats worse. Yates said once a week the visitors center detains someone whose background check flagged a current warrant. If that person does not want to be detained, the danger would be lessened in a larger, more secure facilities.

Additionally, the improvements would increase the base's ability to tackle terroristic threats and crowd control issues, among others, Yates said.

The new visitors center has been designed and ready to go out for bid; it is just waiting for the funds to move forward, he said.

These upgrades should help Dyess in the long-term because the congressional Base Realignment and Closure process evaluates facilities for infrastructure deficiencies, and the ratings from that process greatly affect which bases remain open, the release states.

Yates said aside from the moral duty to protect the airmen on base, the latest economic statement from 2014 indicates that Dyess injects $1.2 million a day into the local economy and employs more than 5,400 people. The annual estimated payroll is $268 million.

"It is the single largest employer in the area. If that base were to draw down or close altogether, it would be a significant negative impact to the Abilene economy," he said. "Even though we have made great strides in the last 20 years in diversifying our economy, this is still an important component, and we want to make sure that stays there for the foreseeable future."

The DCOA also approved funds to rehabilitate the railroad crossing on Five Points Parkway in the Five Points Business Park, which is so worn out that numerous holes have appeared in the wooden crossing.

The board authorized a contract with Trac-Work Inc. to refurbish the rail crossing at a cost of $37,342. The DCOA received another bid from Lone Star Railroad Contractors for $38,785.

Twitter: BrookeCrum_ARN
If anyone has the credentials to speak about 'being different,' it's Luis Juarez.

Students at Hardin-Simmons University seemed to understand that as they listened intently Tuesday to an address by Juarez as part of an emphasis on diversity this month at the school.

Juarez was 7 when his family moved from its native Nicaragua to the United States, living in four Southern states during Juarez's childhood. The family didn't speak English and immediately was labeled as 'different.' The second time Juarez got that label came when he was 17 and was involved in a car wreck that left him a quadriplegic.

As Juarez spoke, in perfect English, from his motorized chair Tuesday, it was obvious that he had overcome those labels and even had learned from them.

He said he realized soon after the crash that people had a hard time talking to him because they didn't want to mention the obvious. But Juarez urged the students to be intentional about striking up a conversation with someone who is different from themselves, whether it be a different culture or a physical disability.

'I challenge you,' Juarez said, 'to begin that conversation today.'

Tuesday's talk came during the weekly chapel service at Hardin-Simmons. This month, the university is emphasizing diversity as part of Black History Month. The theme for the month is, 'Seeing Color in a Colorblind World.'

Next Tuesday's chapel speaker also will address that topic, said Kelvin Kelley, associate professor of theology and coordinator of HSU's student diversity programs.

The speaker for the program at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 9 will be Erin Gaddis, a Baylor University student and president of the Texas NAACP Youth and College Division. The program is free and open to the public.

Tuesday's speaker, Juarez, is missions and spiritual life director at the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, where his father, Pablo, is dean of students. Luis Juarez also is youth minister at Sunny Slope Baptist Church of San Antonio.

Growing up, Juarez resided in several states as his father, who was then a Baptist minister, started new churches. The family lived in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. At 7, Luis didn't understand why he was ignored or even treated badly. He was uncomfortable living in a culture so different from his and among people who spoke a different language. Only in retrospect did he see the benefit of diversity.

'That has been the greatest blessing I have ever received,' he said. 'This reality is exactly what heaven will look like.'

Juarez said people sometimes wonder why God created different races and cultures. He said he believes there are two reasons. One is the power that comes from people of different backgrounds uniting through faith.

Another is the potential for a leader to step up and get the people to unite.

Juarez reminded the students that they someday will be leaders and it will be up to them to respond to the differences among the people they lead.

A good way to begin is by engaging people who are different, Juarez said, rather than avoiding them.

'Look beyond the surface,' he urged. 'Look at the heart.'
On Monday, the World Health Organization declared that recent outbreaks of the Zika virus were sufficient to be a global emergency.

And the first locally acquired case of the Zika virus in the United States through sexual contact was confirmed in Texas by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials said.

The patient, who had not traveled to a country where the virus was present, acquired the illness after having contact with an ill person who had returned from a country where Zika was present.

The mix means those traveling to countries where the virus is present should take care to not infect partners, health officials said, while taking precautions to avoid being infected themselves.

Zika virus disease is caused by a virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, said Beth Lantrip, infection prevention specialist with Hendrick Medical Center.

Zika mimics other viruses with common symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes), Lantrip said. The illness is usually mild, with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. The CDC estimates that only 1 in 5 people infected with Zika will have signs and symptoms of the disease, she said.

"But the main cause for concern with the emergence of this virus is the purported link between Zika and a birth defect known as microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is smaller than expected, if a pregnant woman contracts Zika during her pregnancy," Lantrip said.

Dallas County health officials on Tuesday warned those who had traveled to areas where the virus is present to protect themselves through condom use.

There are no reports of Zika being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas County.

And there is no danger to a developing fetus in the case of the person reported infected through sexual contact, according to the CDC.

There are seven cases of the virus in Texas, all related to foreign travel.

Watching the spread

Before 2015, Zika virus outbreaks had occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, according to the CDC.

In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert tagging the first confirmed infection in Brazil.

Currently, outbreaks are occurring in many countries, the CDC said, and the illness is expected to continue to spread.

With recent outbreaks, the number of Zika cases among travelers visiting or returning to the United States likely will increase, imported cases potentially resulting in the local spread of the virus.

Dr. Peter Norton, medical authority with the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District, said he had spoken with local obstetricians last week about the virus.

All were very aware of the situation, Norton said, and Zika itself is a "big topic right now in obstetrics."

"The significance for Texas is that the Zika vector, the Aedes mosquito, is found along the Gulf Coast, and this is the same vector that carries the dengue fever virus and the yellow fever virus," he said.

The mosquito that carries Zika primarily bites during the day, Lantrip noted, whereas the species that carries, for example, West Nile virus  another infectious illness that can, on occasion, have serious consequences  bites at dusk and dawn.

All pregnant or potentially pregnant women should avoid travel to countries where the disease is endemic, Norton said, noting that a woman's travel history may "now be as important as the family history" for health care providers.

The CDC currently is investigating potential links to microcephaly and a newly reported potential link to Guillain-Barre syndrome, Lantrip said.

"At this time, nothing has been confirmed, and the CDC continues to try and determine if there is a link between Zika and GBS," she said. GBS is a condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves.

"While it is likely that we will see some cases of Zika in the United States, experts predict that we should not see widespread disease due to our climate," Lantrip said.

Concern will increase during the spring and summer, particularly in areas affecting Texas to the East Coast, said Delores Cox, director of marketing with Abilene Regional Medical Center.

Cox said her hospital's infection control and employee health professionals have been attending CDC webinars on the Zika virus and are "working on a plan for surveillance that involves the various points of entry into the hospital."

"As with all infectious disease, we will continue to work with the CDC and our local health department," she said.

Mosquito bite prevention should be the highest priority for everyone, especially pregnant women, Lantrip said.

In addition to monitoring conditions in travel destinations, one should wear long sleeves and pants and apply a mosquito repellent if they go outside.

"If you need to apply both sunscreen and a mosquito repellent, apply the sunscreen first, then the repellent," Lantrip said. "It is safe to use insect repellent while pregnant, but if you are concerned, please talk to your doctor."

In addition, draining and avoiding areas of standing water is vital, she said.

"This is where mosquitoes live and breed," Lantrip said.

The CDC has made special recommendations for pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant, offering guidance for those who cannot avoid travel to affected areas.

"The list of countries where Zika is currently found is extensive and includes more than 20," Lantrip said.

The full list can be found at tinyurl.com/zqkgcst.

In addition, the American Medical Association has created an online Zika Virus Resource Center as a clearinghouse for timely, credible information from the CDC, other respected health organizations, and The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The AMA's Zika resource center is at www.ama-assn.org/go/zika.
Plenty of cash is flowing into the coffers of the 13 candidates running in the March 1 primaries in the District 71 Texas House and District 24 Texas Senate races.

Campaign reports were due to the Texas Ethics Commission by Monday. Most candidates filed for the period Jan. 1-21, although some candidates included a longer time frame.

In the five-person Republican race for state Rep. Susan King's District 71 seat, Stan Lambert raised the most money.

Lambert, an Abilene ISD board trustee, raised $34,875 from contributors. The largest donation  $25,000  came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a nonpartisan group that wants to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, according to its website.

The Abilene banker spent $2,295 on Austin consulting firm Lilly and Company, which worked with House Speaker Joe Straus and U.S. Randy Neugebauer, among others.

He had $58,162 in cash on hand, which includes a $12,500 loan.

Next in fundraising was Abilene attorney Chris Carnohan with $4,578 in contributions, including $500 from Abilene City Councilman Steve Savage.

Carnohan ended the filing period with a balance of $6,625 after spending $5,334 on photographs, a gala in Grapevine to meet conservative contributors and Axiom Strategies, a Kansas City, Missouri-based consulting firm. His campaign has a $15,000 loan

Winery owner and former Abilene firefighter Brian Scalf raised $3,500 from Jan. 1-21, according to his report. Of that, $2,750 came from in-kind contributions from PAK Harris Acoustics for rent and utilities for an office on South 14th Street. Black Plumbing donated $750 to his campaign, as well. Scalf also loaned his campaign $300.

Scalf spent $2,455 on his campaign during the period. He ended with a balance of $861.

Hamlin attorney Isaac Castro raised $600 from Jan. 1-21, and had expenditures of $8,293. His campaign had $5,940 in cash on hand, which included a $7,500 loan.

Stacey Scaief, an Abilene business owner and retired paramedic, raised the least amount of funds  $100 from Dec. 3-Jan. 31. She spent $2,787 in almost entirely personal funds on printing expenses and filing fees.

The sole Democrat on the 71st district ticket, Pierce LoPachin, raised just $300, spending $1,500 in mostly personal funds to pay for advertising and filing fees. He listed no funds in his coffers as of Jan. 5.

Those vying for state Sen. Troy Fraser's District 24 State Senate seat raised thousands of dollars, according to finance reports.

Jon Cobb, owner of Blanco Concrete in Lakeway, near Austin, raised $36,975 from Jan. 1-21.

His expenditures were $186,264. He had $442,793 in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, and outstanding loans of $500,000.

Drayton McLane Jr. of Temple and Gaye Cobb of San Marcos were his largest contributors, each giving $10,000. He also received $2,500 from the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association PAC.

He paid Lilly and Company $5,001 in consulting fees.

Susan King, who currently represents the 71st District in the house, was second in the Senate candidate field in fundraising for the period. Her campaign raised $33,254 from and spent $55,447 from Jan. 1-21.

She has $831,700 cash on hand, which includes $520,000 in loans. Her largest contribution was $2,500 from Baylor Medical. Her largest expense was three payments, totaling more than $48,000, to The Eppstein Group of Fort Worth for consultant fees and advertising.

Dawn Buckingham of Lakeway r received $13,161 in donations, some of the biggest donors being Constituents Focus PAC, Texas Lobby Group and Glazer's of Texas PAC, each of which contributed about $1,000.

The physician also has $772,826 in loans as of Jan. 21. She spent $249,000 on advertising expenses, office overhead expenses, travel, campaign staff and the consulting firm Axiom Strategies. Buckingham had $495,182 in remaining funds.

Ryan Downton, president of Little River Healthcare in Temple, had $5,350 in donations. He had $560,250 in loans and had spent $123,374 on Austin consulting firms FourOneThree Communications Inc. and Stampede Consulting, as well as advertising and campaign staff salaries. Downton had a balance of $213,928.

Brent Mayes, a retired physician, received $485 in donations, and spent $76,710 on advertising, office overhead, campaign staff wages and consulting firm Macias Strategies.

His campaign had $123,000 in cash on hand, including $325,000 in outstanding loans.

Reed Williams of Burnet raised $550 from Jan. 1-21, and spent $4,604. He had $125,300 in cash on hand, and $140,000 in outstanding loans.

The sole Democrat running for Fraser's seat, Virginia Leeder, raised $875 from Jan. 1-21. She did not spend any money in that time and maintained $1,125 in funds.

Twitter: BrookeCrum_ARN
'We have met the enemy and he is us.'

That is an appropriate statement to sum up our wild Republican presidential race to date, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's extremely bizarre rhetoric in endorsing Donald Trump on Jan. 19.

The ironic statement is from the durable comic strip 'Pogo' by cartoonist Walt Kelly, widely syndicated in newspapers from the late 1940s into the 1970s. He paraphrased the famous declaration by Adm. William Hazard Perry  'We have met the enemy and they are ours'  after the U.S. Navy won a great strategic victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.

Sharp political and social commentary characterized 'Pogo,' in a manner emulated in 'Doonesbury' by Garry Trudeau. Kelly first used a version of the 'enemy' statement to refer to the anti-communist fears and hysteria of the 1950s, and later to highlight growing public awareness and concern about environmental pollution.

Pogo the opossum was the egalitarian, reflective and wise leader of a highly diverse group of colorful, generally good-hearted, frequently nutty Okefenokee Swamp animals. Individually and collectively, they often represented major controversies of the day.

Vicious demagogue Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, a Republican of Wisconsin, was portrayed as 'Simple J. Malarkey,' an armed wildcat who disrupted the generally peaceful animals. This was in 1953, when considerable courage was needed publicly to criticize the controversial but at the time popular and powerful politician.

When 'The Providence Bulletin' threatened to cancel the strip if Malarkey was not removed, Kelly portrayed the character with a bag over his head and underscored obvious analogy to the Ku Klux Klan.

McCarthy generally did not engage publicly in the gross, highly personal insults of people that have become Trump's stock in trade. That contrast reflects how coarse collectively we have become.

Until a few decades ago, the vulgarity and simple-mindedness of what is today called 'reality' television prevented such programming on major media. Now, reality TV has become mainstream, and reality TV personalities Palin and Trump are prominent in our presidential politics, at least so far.

Keep in mind that for all the media melodrama, Americans have just started to vote. The first election was Monday's activist-driven Iowa caucuses, and the New Hampshire presidential primary is Tuesday.

New Hampshire is where Gov. John Kasich was surging, and could possibly win. Now in his second term as Ohio chief executive, he served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, including tenure on the powerful Armed Services Committee. Kasich is serious, focused and gaining ground.

National defense is the most central and crucial responsibility of the U.S. president. Palin's 2008 patron and running mate was Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a longtime POW during the Vietnam War. McCain, denigrated by Trump for being captured, was not mentioned during Palin's endorsement statements.

When McCarthy attacked the U.S. Army, President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw his opportunity to strike. He guided selection of Army defense counsel Joseph Welch, a brilliant and shrewd advocate, a lethal Boston lawyer clothed as old-fashioned gentleman. The televised Army hearings began McCarthy's political destruction.

Television unavoidably helps define our lives, but in elections ultimately what counts are the votes. In 2016, FDR's advice from a far more difficult and dangerous time continues to resonate:

'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

Email Arthur I. Cyr, Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College, at acyr@carthage.edu.
Wednesday should be sunny with a high close to 48 and a nightly low near 25.

Expect highs this week to range from the 40s and up into the 50s while the nightly lows should stay in the 20 to 30 range. There could be a 20 to 30 percent chance for showers Friday and Saturday.

Your seven day forecast:

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Wind chill values between 18 and 28 early. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. North wind around 5 mph becoming south after midnight.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 56. Wind chill values between 19 and 29 early. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. South southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. South southeast wind around 10 mph becoming north northwest after midnight.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. North northwest wind around 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southwest after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 60.

Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 34.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 53.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 54.
A former columnist at a top newspaper who disappeared in southeast Asia earlier this month after fleeing China to seek political asylum is now back in the country, "assisting police with an investigation," his wife said.



Li Xin, who once wrote for the cutting-edge Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper in Guangzhou, fled China last July, initially traveling to New Delhi where his application for political asylum and his U.S. visa application were both turned down.



He later left India, and was last heard from on Jan. 11 after boarding a train in Thailand en route to Laos.



His wife, He Fangxian, who remained in China with the couple's only child, said she spoke with Li by phone on Wednesday from a police station near the couple's current home in the central province of Henan.



"He told me he was submitting to investigation on a voluntary basis, and that it would be concluded very soon," He said. "He told me to relax and have a happy [Chinese] New Year."



He Fangxian said she went to a local police station to take the call.



"When Li Xin spoke to me, he didn't say where he is right now; he didn't want me to know," she said. "He just said he is back in China under investigation."



"He said it would be better for him and for me if I took it easy, and that he hoped there would be a result soon."



But Li said nothing about where he is currently being held, nor the reason for the investigation, she said.



"I am guessing he's probably in Xinxiang [Henan province], because the state security police who called me were from Xinxiang," He said.



Higher-ups involved



An officer who answered the phone at the Xinxiang police station declined to comment on Li's whereabouts.



"We don't know where he is ... his wife asked us to look into it, and we made enquiries with the relevant authorities," she said.



"We only know what they told us. There were several higher departments involved, and we couldn't even figure out where he is."



She said the case against Li hadn't originated in his hometown.



"This isn't our case. We were just helping [He Fangxian] because she reported him missing, and we were trying to find out for her."



She said local police had had no direct dealings with Li. "Only his wife spoke with him directly," the officer said.



Pressured to inform



Li Xin, a former campaigner for democratic reform and human rights, said state security police pressured him to become an informant by threatening him with criminal charges after he posted comments online in support of blind Shandong rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who is now a visiting scholar in the United States.



After arriving in New Delhi, Li had also revealed some of the inner workings of the Chinese propaganda regime, including a secret list of topics and sources off limits to media organizations.



China's police force recently set up a special unit to detain "fugitives" who flee the country, sparking fears that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is expanding its law enforcement activities far beyond its borders to target dissident asylum-seekers.



Li's repatriation comes amid growing concerns among rights activists and lawyers over the clandestine detention of critics of the Chinese government outside the country, several of whom have been picked up in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Hong Kong by means of opaque and undocumented procedures in recent months.



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Ka Pa for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




Illegal drug use is on the rise in North Korea as the countrys youth are getting turned on to methamphetamine and more of the drug known as ice is being made in China, sources tell RFAs Korean Service.

The demand for the drug appears to be growing, even as North Korean authorities step up efforts to stamp out the drug trade in advance of the Lunar New Year holiday, the sources say.

While drug abuse used to be confined to the wealthier segments of North Korean society with members of the Workers Party of North Korea, the judiciary and other leading organizations using methamphetamine, it is moving to other parts of society as students and other ordinary people are seeking it out.

Drugs as gifts

North Koreans are even sharing ice as a birthday or holiday gift, even as authorities begin a crackdown on drug use as a way to establish social discipline before the lunar New Year  one of the biggest and most important holidays in the country and most of Asia.

While the North Korean government is conducting a war on drugs and the raw materials to make them are scarce in the secretive country, methamphetamine makers are finding it easier and more profitable to slip into and out of China with the drug or its ingredients, the sources said.

It will be very difficult for the authorities to completely eradicate the use of drugs in North Korea when the North Korean narcotics manufacturers have advanced to neighboring China, one source told RFA.

Young North Koreans arent just seeking out the drugs; they are also taking the lead in their manufacture, the sources said.

Most of the North Korean narcotics manufacturers are in their 20s or 30s, a source told RFA. They dont have any problems with their entry into China, nor do they have any limitations in their activities inside the country thanks to the official permit for overseas business trips as well as the 3-month private travel certificate, both of which are issued by the North Korean authorities.

Lured by easy profits and rising demand, North Korean drug dealers also find a ready market in China. The sources say that even when authorities intensify their attempts to stop smuggling at the border, North Korean narcotics manufacturers still make trips to China to produce and sell the drugs.

The narcotics manufactured in North Korea are sold for 100 Chinese Yuan (U.S. $6.30) per 0.8 grams. However, the cost soars up to 1,300 Yuan in China (U.S. $212), another source told RFA. Thats why the North Koreans choose to produce narcotics at a factory in China, rather than smuggling those made in North Korea into China.

Links to organized crime

Working in groups of between three and six people they make and smuggle 10 to 30 batches of so-called North Korean Narcotics each time.

North Korean narcotics manufacturers are known to have close ties with organized gangs in China as their protectors, the source explained. Most of the North Korean narcotics manufacturers stay less than 6 months in China. They are scattered in such regions as Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang provinces.

According to the CIA World Factbook, China is major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia, and there is growing domestic consumption of synthetic drugs and heroin from Southeast and Southwest Asia. China is also identified as a source country for methamphetamine and heroin chemical precursors, despite new regulations on its large chemical industry.

Reported by Jieun Kim for RFA's North Korean Service. Translated by Hee Jung Yang. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, has called on Indian businesses to invest in his war-torn country -- including development of a proposed trade corridor through Afghanistan that links Iran with India and Central Asia.

Abdullah told a meeting of top industry groups in New Delhi on February 3 that the "mutual goodwill that exists" between the peoples of Afghanistan and India "must translate into a mutually beneficial relationship."

Abdullah said he hopes a proposed Afghanistan-Iran-India transit agreement that is centered around the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar would "happen in [the] near future."

Abdullah said Iran's Chabahar port could "act as a gateway towards opening new energy and trade routes not only in Afghanistan but in Central Asia as well."

Little has been done on the project since May 2015, when India signed a multimillion-dollar memorandum of understanding with Iran to develop the port.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
BABEK, Azerbaijan -- A court in Azerbaijan's Naxcivan exclave has sentenced an opposition activist to eight years in jail.

The Babek district court on February 3 found Zeynalabdin Bagirzade, a member of Azerbaijan's Popular Front party (AXCP), guilty of violent resistance to authorities. He had been arrested in November.

Taking into account that Bagirzade was serving a 2012 conditional sentence for fraud, the court sentenced Bagirzade to eight years in jail.

Bagirzade's brother, Yasar Bagirsoy, who is the chairman of the AXCP's branch in the region, said that the case was politically motivated.

The oil-rich former Soviet republic has faced harsh criticism for jailing independent reporters, human rights activists, and civil-society advocates.

With reporting by Turan
BRUSSELS -- A leading Belarusian opposition activist says the European Union must continue to pressure the ex-Soviet country's authoritarian president over his record on human rights and civil liberties despite a thaw between Minsk and Brussels.

Ales Byalyatski, who spent nearly three years in prison following a tax-evasion conviction his supporters call politically motivated, said in a February 3 interview that he hopes the current rapprochement between the EU and the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka will yield more than lip service.

"We expect from the European Union political pressure on Belarusian authorities with the aim of finally expanding the space for democracy and human rights in Belarus," he told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

Byalyatski and Belarusian media freedom activist Zhanna Litvina spoke to RFE/RL in Brussels, where they were lobbying EU officials ahead of the bloc's upcoming decision whether to lift sanctions against Minsk.

In late October, the EU temporarily suspended its sanctions against 170 Belarusian officials and three companies it had introduced several years ago in the wake of a crackdown against democratic and civil institutions in Belarus.

That suspension is set to expire on February 29, after which the sanctions could be lifted altogether. All 28 EU member states would have to agree to prolong the sanctions in order to keep them in place.

The independent Belarusian news agency Belapan quoted a spokesperson for the EU's Foreign Affairs Council as saying that foreign ministers would discuss Belarus on February 15.

In suspending the sanctions in October, the EU said the move was made in response to the release of "all Belarusian political prisoners" on August 22 and "in the context of improving EU-Belarus relations," adding that it will "continue to closely monitor the situation of democracy and human rights in Belarus."

Byalyatski, who was honored by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with its annual Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2013, said the united view of Belarusian rights groups was that since Lukashenka's release of the prisoners, "no other changes in Belarus are happening."

"We are only hearing beautiful words from Belarusian diplomats about their readiness for cooperation [with the West]," he said. "Indeed, they have finally started communicating with European officials. Nevertheless, we are witnessing no actions in Belarus itself to improve the standing of democracy."

Litvina said there had been no improvements in press freedoms, and that the situation could only improve if the government relaxed its monopoly on the media.

Lukashenka has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994 and won a fifth term in October in an election that Western monitors determined was neither free nor fair. He has repeatedly dismissed international criticism of his authoritarian rule and his government's rights record.

Litvina said EU officials should also pay close attention to the country's parliamentary elections in September. She called the vote a chance for the Belarusian government and the entire society to hold a real campaign for change according to generally accepted rules of conduct.

"Belarus needs to reject the very principle of vote fixing for the benefit of one person or a number of people. Democratic principles and mechanisms need to be put to work in Belarus," she said.

Lukashenka's role in facilitating the February 2015 deal in Minsk to bring a cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has also improved his government's relations with the West.

Lukashenka has rebuffed Russian pressure to recognize Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, a land grab that triggered waves of Western sanctions against Moscow.

Byalyatski said, however, that this was a small departure from Lukashenka's Moscow-oriented foreign policy during his 22-year reign.

The Belarusian president is "at the very core a post-Soviet dictator," Byalyatski said, who feels "more at home in the dictators club" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and "all those Central Asian tsars."

"European democratic society is completely alien to him," he said. "For someone who has spent 22 years watching the outside world through the glass of his presidential limo, it is probably very hard for him to understand what democracy is really all about."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Belapan
An Egyptian airline plans to buy up to 10 Russian-made jets in a deal with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft that could also involve the creation of a tour agency to restore flights between the two countries.

All Russian flights to Egypt were suspended after a bomb brought down a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing 224 tourists onboard.

Privately owned Egyptian Leisure Airlines will purchase four SSJ-100 jets with an option for six more as part of a memorandum of understanding signed on February 2, Russian and Egyptian officials said.

An Egyptian source told Reuters that the deal included the possibility of establishing a joint venture along with a third company that would see Egyptian Leisure acquire a total of 45 Sukhoi SSJ-100s over three years to transport Russian tourists to Egypt -- restoring a vital source of revenue to Egypt's economy.

"I expect the resumption of Russian flights in the first half of the year," said Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
Iraqi officials say tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are running out of food and medicine in the city of Fallujah, an Islamic State (IS) stronghold in Anbar Province that is under siege by security forces.

Anbar Province Governor Sohaib al-Rawi appealed to the U.S.-led coalition combatting IS militants to airdrop humanitarian supplies to civilians.

Rawi said airdrops have been the only way to deliver aid to Fallujah, about 50 kilometers west of Baghdad, since militants mined the entrances to the city and stopped people from leaving.

"No force can enter and secure [the delivery].... There is no option but for airplanes to transport aid," he said in an interview with Al-Hadath TV on February 2.

Iraqi media reports say several people have died due to starvation and poor medical care.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa
The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region called for a nonbinding referendum on independence on February 2, saying national borders that have separated the region's Kurds for a century were "a big mistake."

"The time has come and the situation is now suitable for the Kurdish people to make a decision through a referendum on their fate," Masud Barzani said on his website.

"That referendum does not mean proclaiming statehood, but rather to know the will and opinion of the Kurdish people about independence and for the Kurdish political leadership to execute the will of the people at the appropriate time and conditions."

Despite economic difficulties due to the plunge in oil prices, Kurdish territorial gains in fighting the Islamic State militant group in the last year have revived dreams of independence among Iraqi Kurds.

The Kurds have asserted their autonomy in recent years by building their own oil pipeline to Turkey and exporting oil independently as relations with the federal government in Baghdad frayed over power and revenue sharing.

The global plunge in oil prices, however, has brought the region to the point of insolvency. Moreover, any move toward independence is sure to draw strident opposition not only from Baghdad but from Ankara, and would be opposed in Washington as well.

Barzani asserted that national borders created a century ago dividing the region's Kurds between Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran were "a big mistake" that have caused "troubles, war, and instability."

Our region has witnessed too many disasters...and the Kurds havent caused any of it. The Kurds have only been the victims while others have brought disasters and conflict to the region, he said.

He did not suggest a date, but Rudaw.net reported that he told legislators he wants to hold the referendum before the U.S. presidential election in November.

"If the people of Kurdistan are waiting for someone else to present the right of self-determination as a gift, independence will never be obtained. That right exists and the people of Kurdistan must demand it and put it into motion," Barzani said.

"The same way that Scotland, Catalonia, and Quebec and other places have the right to express their opinions about their destiny, Kurdistan, too, has the right, and it's nonnegotiable."

Some observers suggested Barzani's statement was aimed at diverting attention from his own political troubles. His mandate as president expired last year, though he has remained in office and has been contending with a deadlocked legislature.

With reporting by Reuters and Rudaw.net
A wealthy Kazakh businessman with close ties to Russia who was detained on January 30 has been sent to pretrial detention.

Lawyers of Tokhtar Toleshov said on February 3 that their client had been charged with financing organized criminal activities and illegally producing and distributing illicit drugs.

The lawyers said that a court in the southern city of Shymkent had issued a two-month pretrial arrest order for Toleshov on February 2.

Toleshov is chief executive of one of Kazakhstan's largest breweries in the country's south.

He has run the Kazakh office of a Russia-based organization called the Center for the Analysis of Terrorist Threats.

Toleshov has also advised Russia's parliament on matters of economic cooperation and religion.

His detention follows a crackdown by Astana on both pro-Russian and nationalist activists.
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
A diplomatic ruckus is brewing between Russia and Kyrgyzstan following reports that Russian officials rescued two ethnic Russian children in the Central Asian country from organ traffickers.

Following the claims, which first surfaced on Russian public television in January, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry has requested an official explanation from its Russian counterpart.

The tiff started when Russia's Channel One television quoted Anastasia Antonova, deputy consul at the Russian Embassy in Bishkek, as saying Russian diplomats "rescued" the two children -- 6-year-old Timofei Romanenko and his sister, 14-year-old Anna Chernitsyna -- after they were sold to organ traffickers following the suspicious death of their mother in September.

Antonova told Russian media that the mother -- Natalya Romanenko, a Russian citizen -- may have been murdered by her partner, Aleksei Popov, the natural father of Timofei and Anna's stepfather, who sold the two children to a gang of traffickers. Popov has denied the accusations.

Antonova claimed that Russian diplomats were alerted to the case by the traffickers' neighbors, with whom the two children allegedly temporarily sought refuge before escaping.

Russian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Andrei Krutko said that only prompt action by Russian authorities had prevented the children from falling back into the hands of the traffickers.

Krutko told the English-language website Siberiantimes.com that Russian diplomats sprang into action and, with help from local police, saved Anna and Timofei after learning that they were roaming the suburbs of Bishkek. "They were begging and in a very bad state," Krutko was quoted as saying.

The two were eventually issued new Russian documents and sent to Novosibirsk, their mother's place of origin, where they are now recovering in a rehabilitation center, according to media reports.

While the Russian narrative has a happy ending, it has been contradicted by Kyrgyz officials, who have failed to confirm Antonova's and Krutko's accounts of events.

Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry spokesman Nurlan Suierkulov told RFE/RL on February 1 that the Russian diplomats' statements were not supported by local authorities' investigations.

'Groundless' Reports

The head of Kyrgyzstans General Directorate for Public Safety, Erkin Baev, has told RFE/RL that all reports regarding the "selling" of the children are groundless.

According to Kyrgyz authorities, after the children's mother committed suicide in September, their father, Popov, couldn't provide for Timofei and Anna and left them in the care of Yelena Bazhinskaya, a friend of their late mother.

A relative from abroad, contacted by Bazhinskaya, agreed to take them into her custody and traveled to Bishkek to file the papers with the Russian Embassy, since the children have Russian citizenship owing to their late mother.

Baev says the children were transferred from Bazhinskayas house to a local orphanage and then, after all papers were filed with the embassy, they were transferred to Russia.

"On December 29, the Russian Embassy official Anastasia Antonova took the kids away to Russia," Baev said. "All necessary documents have been prepared by local authorities. The information that the children were scheduled to be sold is wrong.

Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry spokesman Nurlan Suierkulov told RFE/RL that an official note has been sent to Russia's Foreign Ministry asking for details and an explanation.

Contacted by RFE/RL, the Russian Embassy in Bishkek declined to comment.

The diplomatic back and forth comes shortly after a spat between Russia and Germany resulting from Russian television reports on the alleged abduction and rape of a 13-year old ethnic Russian by foreign migrants in Berlin. The girl, identified only as Lisa in German media reports, admitted upon questioning that she had concocted the story, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Berlin.

The case received broad coverage in Russia, further souring already cold relations with Germany, leading to accusations that Moscow was exploiting the case for propagandistic purposes.

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service contributed to this report
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama has warned against growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States and urged Muslim leaders to speak out against extremist interpretations of Islam.

Speaking during a February 3 visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama alternated Koranic sayings with lessons from U.S. history as he pleaded for tolerance.

"We have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias and targets people because of religion," he said.

The visit was the first to a mosque by Obama during his seven years in the White House, and was aimed at countering some of the anti-Islamic and antirefugee rhetoric that has punctuated the U.S. presidential election campaign and elsewhere.

Before the speech, he met with several Muslim religious leaders and activists from around the country.

As he arrived at the school, located just west of Baltimore, Obama encountered several protesters chanting what sounded like anti-Islamic religious slogans.

The visit comes amid a growing number of hate incidents that have targeted mosques and Muslims more broadly, particularly since the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, in December and the coordinated terror attacks in Paris a month earlier. Both involved people who espoused extremist Islamic ideology.

In the weeks that followed the California shooting, a severed pig's head was delivered to a Philadelphia mosque, and police have investigated a fire at a mosque in southern California as arson.

The election campaign to succeed Obama in the White House has also seen anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Donald Trump, a leading Republican contender and billionaire real estate developer, in November called for a national database for U.S. Muslims, an idea that was loudly denounced by both Democrats and many Republicans.

A month later, Trump called for banning all Muslims from entering the United States.

Obama did not mention Trump or any other political leaders or officials who have been outspoken in their criticism of Muslims, but he denounced that rhetoric.

"We have to be consistent in condemning hateful rhetoric," he said. "None of us can be silent. We can't be bystanders to bigotry."

With fears growing for some Americans that radicalized Muslims could commit terrorist attacks similar to the California rampage, Obama also tried to push back against efforts by groups like the extremist Islamic State (IS) organization.

"I refuse to give them legitimacy, we must never give them that legitimacy. They're not defending Islam, they're not defending Muslims. The vast majority of people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women, and children," he said.

He also said that Muslim leaders need to be outspoken both in condemning terrorist ideology, and in celebrating their own achievements.

"What is also true there is a battle of hearts and minds that takes place, that is taking place right now, and American Muslims are better positioned than anybody to show that it is possible to be faithful to Islam and be part of a pluralistic society, and to be on the cutting edge of science and to believe in democracy," he said.
Iranian journalist and translator Bahman Darolshafayi, a dual Iranian-British national and former BBC journalist, has been arrested in Tehran.

Authorities had not announced the reason for Darolshafayi's arrest on February 3.

The opposition website Kalame said Darolshafayi was arrested at his Tehran home by security forces who did not identify their affiliation. They also did not say where they were taking Darolshafayi.

Sources told RFE/RL that Darolshafayi had been interrogated repeatedly by Iranian security officials in recent months.

Darolshafayi lived in London but returned to Tehran about two years ago.

One source said Darolshafayi's Gmail account was hacked recently. Pro-government forces in Iran have been accused in the past of hacking into the e-mail and social-media accounts of journalists and political activists to extract information that has, at times, been used in interrogations.

Darolshafayi worked for about five years with the Persian service of the BBC, which has been accused of spreading lies by Iranian hard-liners. He has also been affiliated with moderate and pro-reform Iranian dailies, including Hamshahri and Sharq.

In recent months, Darolshafayi had mainly been doing translation work. He also has published several books.

Darolshafayi also supported the Green opposition movement that was brutally repressed in 2009. Several of his relatives were arrested in the crackdown that followed the disputed reelection of Iran's former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

He has posted information on social-media sites about human rights abuses and the plight of political prisoners in Iran.

The cover photo of his personal Facebook page is an image of Iranian opposition figure Mir Hossein Musavi, who has been under house arrest, along with his wife, university professor Zahra Rahnavard, and reformist cleric Mehdi Karrubi, since February 2011.

Darolshafayi's detention is one of several recent arrests of journalists ahead of elections in February for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts -- a group that could choose Iran's next supreme leader.

Other journalists have been arrested by the intelligence branch of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

In London, The Guardian newspaper suggested that Darolshafayi's arrest could be an attempt by Iranian hard-liners to undermine an upcoming visit to London by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"The awkward timing of the arrest suggests that hard-liners, who dominate the judiciary and the intelligence apparatus, may be seeking to undermine Zarif and the moderate faction in control of the government as the Iranian foreign minister visits the U.K.," the British newspaper said.

Iran is routinely criticized by media watchdogs for detaining and jailing journalists. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 173 out of 180 countries in its 2015 Press Freedom Index.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the Leaders Club, a group of successful Russian entrepreneurs, to discuss the country's economy and the problems of small- and medium-sized businesses, the Kremlin said.

The Leaders Club, established in February 2012, assesses the conditions of business activity in the regions and the quality of state services. The club's network covers more than 40 Russian regions.

The chairman of the organization is Artem Avetisyan, who is head of the New Business direction of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

In December 2013, Putin asked the club to work with Russian business associations to assess government efforts to reduce administrative costs and procedures, and present a report every six months.

The organization meets regularly with top officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, presidential aide Andrei Belousov, and Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov.

Based on reporting by TASS
A court in Moscow has prolonged the pretrial detention for a Russian citizen charged with high treason and espionage for the United States.

Yevgeny Petrin's lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, told the TASS news agency on February 3 that the Moscow City Court had prolonged his client's pretrial detention until March 5.

The case against Petrin, who was arrested in January 2015, is classified.

Petrin's lawyers said earlier that their client had pleaded not guilty.

Petrin's relatives have said Petrin used to work for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and quit the agency in 2013.

Reports have said that Petrin was an employee of the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate's department for external ties and worked in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Based on reporting by TASS
Tajik authorities have accused Kyrgyzstan of violating cease-fire agreements near disputed segments of their shared border after dozens of people were killed from both sides during clashes last month.

Tajikistan's Border Guard Service stated on October 19 that Kyrgyz authorities are implementing "premeditated actions aimed at escalating the situation in districts close to the state border."

"The provocative actions of some Kyrgyz citizens to destabilize the situation, preparation of assault points, digging of trenches, continuation of concentration of military equipment, and regular violations of the air space of the Republic of Tajikistan clearly confirm the Kyrgyz side's malign plans," the statement said.

Kyrgyz authorities rejected the Tajik statement, saying it "absolutely does not correspond to the real situation."

In a statement, the Kyrgyz State Border Guard Service accused the Tajiks of using a photo of Kyrgyz military trucks taken last month as they were withdrawing from the border area, and falsely portraying it as a new photo to make it look as though Kyrgyzstan was concentrating its military equipment in the border area.

The statement said it was the Tajik authorities who are violating cease-fire agreements by leaving deadly mines on the disputed territories and digging trenches there.

Earlier in the day, Kyrgyz Defense Minister Baktybek Bekbolotov told reporters that Bishkek had asked the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to provide a limited contingent of troops at disputed segments of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

"An independent mediator must stay between us, such as a limited group of CSTO troops, with the goal of maintaining a cease-fire and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the border. If they solve these two issues, then the political goals on the delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border can start being discussed," Bekbolotov said.

Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, along with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Armenia, are CSTO members.

Bekbolotov's statement comes two days after Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Marat Imankulov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to provide Bishkek with archived Soviet-era maps to help solve the ongoing border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Putin has said that there is more "true" information about borders between the former Soviet republics available in the archives in Moscow than in the republics themselves.

Putin and the Kyrgyz and Tajik presidents, Sadyr Japarov and Emomali Rahmon, discussed border problems between the two Central Asian nations on October 13 in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

In September, Kyrgyz and Tajik authorities accused each other of aggression after the two sides used heavy artillery and mortars in clashes near a disputed part of border.

Kyrgyz officials said 63 of its citizens died in the violence, and more than 200 others were injured. Tajikistan has put its death toll at 41, but correspondents from RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported a higher number after talking to relatives and friends of the people killed during the clashes. They concluded that 81 people, about half of whom were civilians, lost their lives.

Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet.

Almost half of the 970-kilometer Kyrgyz-Tajik border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence more than three decades ago.
The Tehran Stock Exchange has surged to a one-year high since Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers went into effect last month.

The Tehran TEDPIX index soared to 73,725 on February 2, boosted by an outpouring of foreign investment of $16.6 million in the 10 days since sanctions were lifted, Bloomberg reported.

It hasnt been very long since implementation, but its impact in this short period of time has been very positive, Hassan Ghalibaf Asl, the exchange's chief executive, told Bloomberg. Its also psychological. It has generated optimism about the future because the picture is clearer for investors.

Iran had hoped for an economic bonanza after the lifting of sanctions, which has allowed the Islamic republic to sell crude oil more freely and access $100 billion in assets frozen for years in overseas banks.

The exchange said daily trading has more than tripled from $40 million to $133 million since implementation of the deal, which lifted international sanctions in exchange for Iran restricting its nuclear activities.

"Since the implementation of the nuclear deal last month, the stock index has experienced 15 percent growth in terms of share turnover alone," exchange spokesman Hamid Rouhbakhsh told the Associated Press.

"The total trade value is not remarkable yet, but it is a very good indication that foreign investors are now more enthusiastic about our market than before," he added.

Tehran stockbroker Tahereh Mollaie told AP that after the nuclear deal, "everyone was a little bit doubtful, but now we can say that trust is returning to the market."

European investors have been particularly keen to resume business with Iran and invest there after years of sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rohani toured the continent last week, signing lucrative business deals in France and Italy. The Iranian government controls about 80 percent of the countrys economy.

Rohani on February 2 invited U.S. businesses to also invest in Iran and expressed hope Iran would eventually become a major auto manufacturer and exporter of manufactured goods, lessening the country's reliance on oil exports.

"If U.S. companies are willing to come and invest in Iran, to bring manufacturing to Iran, we have no problem with that," he said on Dubai state television.

"In terms of cars, we must be world class...The recent contracts signed in France involve investment in Iran and manufacturing cars inside the country, and cars will be exported," he said.

While several major multinational firms have rushed to establish a position in Iran as it reopens for business, others have held back due to perceived business risks. U.S. companies in particular have been slow to invest due to separate U.S. sanctions that remain in place.

With reporting by AP, Bloomberg, Reuters, and U.S. News & World Report
Western leaders have praised the reform efforts of a Ukrainian economy minister who resigned and called on Kyiv to keep pursuing the reforms he championed.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby lauded Aivaras Abromavicius on February 3 for implementing tough economic policies that delivered "real reform results for Ukraine," and urged Ukraine's leaders to press ahead with his anticorruption measures.

"Ukraine's stable, secure and prosperous future is going to require the sustained efforts of a broad and inclusive team going forward of dedicated professionals like him, who put the Ukrainian people's interest above their own," Kirby said.

A group of Western envoys in Kyiv, including the U.S., German, and British ambassadors, said they were "deeply disappointed" by the resignation, and hoped reforms would continue.

The reforms have been tied to some $17 billion in loans Kyiv has received from the United States, European states, and the International Monetary Fund.

Lithuanian-born Abromavicius said he resigned on February 3 out of frustration that major reforms were being blocked, telling reporters in Kyiv that there was a sharp escalation in efforts to block systemic and important reforms.

He said that he had "no wish to be a cover for open corruption or puppets under the control of those who want to establish control over state money in the style of the old authorities."

He singled out Ihor Kononenko, a senior lawmaker close to President Petro Poroshenko, saying Kononenko had lobbied to get his people appointed to head state companies and at top government positions.

Kononenko rejected the allegations as "completely absurd" and accused Abromavicius of trying to shift the blame for his own failures atop the Economy Ministry.

Meanwhile, Poroshenko urged Abromavicius to stay at his post and push ahead with reforms. Poroshenko deputies insisted that they remain devoted to carrying out the reforms sought by western allies.

But there was no sign that the minister was reconsidering his decision to quit. Several of his deputies said they would leave as well following his announcement.

"I would like to make clear that each and every member of this cabinet for the last 14 months has been doing everything in their power and sometimes even more," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting.

Stillborn Reforms

Abromavicius, a 40-year-old former asset manager, was one of several foreigners appointed to official posts as part of Ukraine's attempts to pull the country away from its Soviet past, recover from Russia's seizure of Crimea, and kick-start a reform process.

His departure leaves two foreign-born ministers, U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and Georgia-born Health Minister Aleksandr Kvitashvili.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has since taken on Ukrainian citizenship, is governor of the Odesa region and has played an oversize public role in Ukrainian politics.

Abromavicius's resignation comes amid parliamentary anger with Yatsenyuk's government and infighting among political interests tied to powerful tycoons.

There has also been growing public discontent that the pro-Western government has not delivered on promises to stamp out corruption, raising the prospect of a ministerial reshuffle.

In a tweet upon news of the resignation, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt described Abromavicius as "one of [the] main reformers" and said, "Reforms must continue."

The government is "a fire and Yatsenyuk himself is in the ring of fire," political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told Reuters news agency. He also suggested there is currently insufficient support in parliament for an alternative to Yatsenyuk.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's eurobonds slumped on the news of Abromavicius's resignation over concern among investors that Kyiv's commitment to implement reforms might fade, threatening to derail a $40 billion aid-for-reforms deal championed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United States, and European Union.

Initial government estimates show Ukraine's economy shrinking by more than 10 percent last year.

The country has struggled economically since pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in a popular revolt in February 2014.

His departure was followed by Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and a conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the country's east that has killed more than 9,100 people.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, TASS, and Bloomberg
The U.S. House of Representatives on February 2 narrowly approved a Republican bill targeting the landmark nuclear deal by making it hard for President Barack Obama to lift sanctions against Iran.

Lawmakers voted 246-181 for the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, ignoring a White House veto threat. The vote along party lines was not strong enough to overturn a veto, which would require a two-thirds margin of support for the legislation in both houses of Congress.

The bill would bar the removal of sanctioned Iranian individuals and financial institutions from a restricted list until the president certifies to Congress that they weren't involved in Iran's ballistic-missile program or in terrorist activities.

Proponents say it would simply hold Obama to his promise to enforce sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program despite signing the nuclear accord, which lifts nuclear-related sanctions.

But Iran strongly objects to the legislation and the White House has warned the bill could cause "the collapse" of the nuclear agreement, which went into effect last month.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
An Uzbek university is said to have forbidden students from using a widespread term to address teachers and professors in favor of Russian-style patronymics reminiscent of Soviet days.

It's still unclear whether this week's purported order to avoid "Ustoz" (Teacher) came from Uzbekistan's Education Ministry or otherwise "on high," as students and educators at Kokand State Pedagogical Institute insisted to RFE/RL's Uzbek Service.

The university rector's office insisted it issued no such ban.

A reversion to teachers' first names followed by patronymics (ending in "-ich" for men and "-ovna" for women) would be especially puzzling in Uzbekistan, where President Islam Karimov's administration has spent the two decades since the breakup of the U.S.S.R. trying to scrub society of its most Russified elements.

So why would those same officials reverse course, even on such a minor point?

One educator suggested to RFE/RL that the rationale for reintroducing the onetime protocol might be to encourage students to remember their professors' names rather than defer to the anonymity of a title.

Another aim might simply be to standardize university mores across the country. After Uzbekistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, students took to addressing their teachers in a variety of ways, although the most popular was almost certainly "Ustoz."

In many Uzbek schools, the honorific "Aka" for males or "Opa" for women -- denoting respect for elders but literally meaning "Uncle" and "Aunt" -- were tacked onto teachers' first names.

Some of the most popular forms of addressing teachers across Central Asia's most populous country, however, have been Arabic words or other terms with their roots in religion, specifically Islam. The words "Mualim" for males and "Mualima" for females are such examples, meaning "teacher" -- traditionally in religious schools but used more generically in Soviet times. The same applies to "Domla" for male teachers, a term for a person who reads prayers during marriages or other important ceremonies.

Ubiquitous Arabic

So are Uzbek authorities trying to rid their schools of terminology directly or indirectly linked to Islam?

The official Soviet doctrine of atheism and secularism was rigorously preached across the former U.S.S.R., so the current Uzbek regime might see a return to Soviet protocol as a path to secularize Uzbek youth.

It might sound ridiculous to some.

But beyond Uzbekistan's own highly publicized campaign against Islamist extremists like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Central Asia is rife with efforts to counter the influence of Islamic ideologues: shaving beards and closing down Islam-inspired political parties in Tajikistan, suspending students in hijabs in Kyrgyzstan, and confiscating talismans and harassing Muslim students' families in Turkmenistan.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Central Asians are believed to be fighting alongside Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq, and a significant number of them are thought to hail from Uzbekistan.

But eliminating the Arabic language's presence in Central Asia would be a virtually impossible task, given its prevalence.

And what's next for Uzbek schools? Commonly used words for book ("kitab") and even school ("maktab") in Uzbekistan derive from Arabic. Are officials going to ban the use of the word "talaba," a ubiquitous word in Uzbekistan (and elsewhere in Central Asia) for "student" that gained international notoriety with the rise of the radical fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan?


About Me Riaz Haq I am the Founder and President of PakAlumni Worldwide, a global social network for Pakistanis, South Asians and their friends. I also served as Chairman of the NEDians Convention 2007. In addition to being a South Asia watcher, an investor, business consultant and avid follower of the world financial markets, I have more than 25 years experience in the hi-tech industry. I have been on the faculties of Rutgers University and NED Engineering University and cofounded two high-tech startups, Cautella, Inc. and DynArray Corp and managed multi-million dollar P&Ls. I am a pioneer of the PC and mobile businesses and I have held senior management positions in hardware and software development of Intels microprocessor product line from 8086 to Pentium processors. My experience includes senior roles in marketing, engineering and business management. I was recognized as Person of the Year by PC Magazine for my contribution to 80386 program. I have an MS degree in Electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. www.pakalumni.com http://www.riazhaq.com http://southasiainvestor.blogspot.com View my complete profile
Environmental groups are heading to court to try to block Dominion Virginia Powers state-approved plan to dump millions of gallons of treated water from coal ash ponds into Quantico Creek and the Potomac River.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has notified the state Department of Environmental Quality that it plans to challenge in circuit court the states decision to give the utility permission to remove water from its ash ponds at Possum Point Power Station by eventually draining them into the public bodies of water.

The SELC is acting on behalf of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network. The Prince William County Board of Supervisors is considering joining the appeal. Another appeal concerning the Bremo Power Stations ash ponds and the James River could come by next week.

Both the DEQ and Dominion Virginia Power have said the permits awarded to the utility last month include treatment standards for heavy metals that will keep the rivers safe for people and wildlife. But opponents  who numbered in the hundreds during public debate of the permits  argue that the states standards arent strict enough.

Coal ash  the potentially toxic remnants from burning coal  has been a controversial topic since a Duke Energy site in North Carolina last year spilled thousands of tons of the material into the Dan River, which flows into Virginia.

The permitted levels of arsenic, one of the cancer-causing metals present in coal ash, are many times higher than they would be if the state had applied a portion of the federal Clean Water Act requiring the water be treated to the best available technological standards, said Greg Buppert, a lawyer for the SELC. Other states, including North Carolina, have used the technology standards to be more stringent about the release of heavy metals.

This is simply an egregious misapplication of the Clean Water Act and we want to put that question to a judge, Buppert said. I think the goal here is to make the water going into the creek as clean as possible. Its not a significant increase in time or expense to do that.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors has hired a consultant to review the permit and plans to decide soon whether to join the appeal as a plaintiff.

Were very, very concerned that Dominion appears to be jamming this thing through without the appropriate amount of scrutiny. And were concerned that its going to lead potentially to the pollution of Quantico Creek and will present a public safety threat because there are some commercial fishing operations in the area, said Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. The problem is the potential risk is so huge and irreversible.

A DEQ spokesman declined to comment on the planned appeal.

Dominion Virginia Power hasnt yet released any of its coal ash water into either the Potomac or James. First, the utility plans to build treatment facilities onsite to clean the water. At Bremo Power Station, situated about 50 miles northwest of Richmond, million-gallon holding tanks will store the water until it has been tested and approved for dumping in the river, Dominion spokesman Dan Genest said.

In addition to monitoring and testing of the water, Dominion will be required to submit monthly lab work on fish and other aquatic life to make sure they arent being harmed by the water.

The state has approved the permits for Bremo and Possum Point, but still must sign off on Dominions final written treatment plans.

We believe the permit is appropriate, properly issued and consistent with federal and state regulations, Genest said. Water will be filtered, treated, monitored and discharged in a controlled manner into nearby waterways. This process meets the very stringent limits imposed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and ensures the safety and health of the public and aquatic life.

Dominion Virginia Power plans to close a total of 11 coal ash ponds at four power plants in the state in response to new federal regulations. Permit hearings for the other two sites  the Chesterfield Power Station and Chesapeake Energy Center on the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake  are scheduled for later this year. Only the Chesterfield Power Station still burns coal.
A North Carolina man who brought a young woman to Virginia to work as a prostitute at two Henrico County hotels was convicted Tuesday as the first person to be charged in Virginia under the states new commercial sex trafficking law.

Robert Lewis Dillard, 27, of Jamestown, N.C., pleaded guilty to one felony count of sex trafficking by force. He served as the North Carolina womans pimp as she worked as a prostitute at two Henrico hotels last summer and gave him the earnings, according to evidence.

But Dillard received light punishment in a plea deal that saw an accompanying charge withdrawn, because the victim refused to cooperate with police and prosecutors and left the state soon after Dillards arrest, said Henrico prosecutor Michael Feinmel.

We did not have a victim who was cooperative with us in this case, Feinmel said. Because of the transient nature of these cases, she left town fairly soon ... and we had some difficulty keeping in touch with her. So we were happy to get the conviction and ban him from being involved with the sex industry. But had we had a witness who was cooperative with us, we could have gotten a lot more out of the case.

Henrico Circuit Judge Richard S. Wallerstein Jr. sentenced Dillard to five years in prison with four years and nine months suspended. Dillard earlier received two six-month jail terms in lower court on convictions of operating a bawdy house.

A lot of times these girls have romantic feelings for their pimps, and I think she fell into that category, Feinmel said. And I think its part of the psychological manipulation that the pimps use to control some of their victims. They are dependent on their pimps physically, emotionally and financially. And we couldnt break that cycle of dependency between her and her pimp.

Feinmel said Dillard was the first person in Virginia to be charged under a 2015 commercial sex trafficking law, which focuses new attention on the men behind prostitution rather than the female victims or the johns.

The Virginia General Assembly gave authorities a new weapon, effective July 1, that criminalizes the effort to lure women into sex trafficking and increases the exposure to prison time. It dramatically increases prison time in cases where a juvenile is involved, incorporates the use of multijurisdictional grand jury and adds as a crime the recruitment of females into the sex trade.

Feinmel helped write the new law and has been instrumental in the multifaceted attack on prostitution in the Richmond area in recent years.

Henricos effort uses a team of federal, state and local agents who assess each case, search out online sex advertising and can monitor activities for days before arranging meetings with a prostitute.

In the Dillard case, investigators located the defendant and a woman advertising her services on Backpage.com, which is among a number of online advertising media that offer thinly disguised sexual trysts.

An undercover officer made a date with the North Carolina woman working as a prostitute and went to her Knights Inn hotel room on Brook Road. She welcomed him and made some comments about prostitution, which allowed (the officer) to make an arrest for residing in a bawdy place, Feinmel said. Dillard was observed standing outside the hotel.

Had the case gone to trial, the prosecution had lined up clerks from two different hotels who would have testified that Dillard and the victim had stayed in the hotels for a couple of days, and there had been a steady stream of men in and out. Further, Dillard was seen standing outside as the men entered and left, Feinmel said.

In addition, a jail inmate would have testified that Dillard boasted while he was incarcerated that he was the young womans pimp and that she had been working for him, Feinmel said.

But again, we never had her as a cooperating witness, so we never would have been able to hook up her prostitution-based activities to (Dillard), other than the fact he was there with her at the hotel, Feinmel said.

Although Dillard was the first person in the state to be charged under the new law, he is the second to be convicted. In another case Feinmel prosecuted, Terry C. Nichols pleaded guilty in December to two counts of commercial sex trafficking involving a minor.

In that case, the underage victim contacted Sabrina Glover, a co-defendant working as a prostitute, about getting into the business. Glover brought the girl to Nichols, and he became her pimp and received her earnings as a prostitute, Feinmel said.

Glover and Nichols are to be sentenced Feb. 24.
During this week in 1933, the Holocaust began. The president of the Weimar Republic, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany. Within six weeks, on March 20, Dachau, an unprecedented invention known as a concentration camp, opened on the outskirts of Munich.

Events that occurred during this critical time period  the early years of Nazi terror before the world watched the racism of the Berlin 1936 Olympics, the 1938 Anschluss with Austria or the November 1938 nationwide pogrom known as Kristallnacht  deserve greater attention.

In addition to being the great-grandson of a prominent Bavarian textile magnate and the rabbi of a thriving Virginia congregation dating to the antebellum era, I am a student of history. It is with this historical context that I applaud the recent statements of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama.

In her weekly video podcast last week, the chancellor stated, Anti-Semitism is more widespread than we imagined. And that is why we must act intensively against it. More rabbis must commend Germany for being a steadfast economic and security ally of the United States and Israel during these trying times.

Last week, in a historic visit to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, President Obama marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. For the world to hear, he shared the powerful sentiment, We are all Jews. More rabbis must commend President Obama for his outspoken support of memorializing the Holocaust.

It is with an eye to the history of American inaction during the 1930s that we are painfully reminded that positive actions speak louder than words. As Holocaust survivors are dying at an alarming rate, we know that 2016 must be a year of action.

Unfortunately, the government of Chancellor Merkel, museum directors across Germany and various state-level officials  notably those in the ancestral home of my family, Bavaria  have shown more words than action.

Neither my family, nor any of my congregants, are actively working on property restitution claims. However, Jewish tradition teaches, If I am not for myself, who will be for me? Jewish tradition also teaches an adage that Obama is most fond of: I am my brothers keeper, and indeed, all Jews, regardless of their personal connections to Germany or feelings toward the Obama administration, are our brothers keepers in honoring the history of the Holocaust.

In too many instances Holocaust survivors and their heirs steel themselves to relive frightful 1930s nights, only to then face the repudiation of German authorities to even sit across the table and have professional dialogue to begin arbitration. They are faced with reliving this dreadful period while being questioned whether artwork, family heirlooms, and other property were actually sold under duress.

Holocaust survivors and their families were forced to read headlines in 2012 about an apartment in the heart of todays Munich where more than 1,000 paintings and thousands of documents were mysteriously accumulated by the infamous Hildebrand Gurlitt. However, to this day, Jewish families have no access to reams of documents assumed to outline looting orchestrated by Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels.

Lastly, but perhaps most egregiously, my Jewish brothers and sisters learned last November  the week before the anniversary of Kristallnacht  how attorneys hired on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany submitted a motion to dismiss a court case in U.S. District Court in Washington contending that the alleged taking of the Welfenschatz (collection) in 1935 predated the Holocaust by several years.

Frustration lies somewhere between a backlog of claimants having their seat at the arbitration table  a woefully slow, ineffective and nontransparent response to a treasure trove of looted art and accompanying documents  and legally opportunistic historical revisionism in the 1998 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art.

Late in his presidency, Bill Clinton deemed it politically expedient and morally just to convene delegations from 44 governments and 13 international NGOs to achieve consensus on a set of clear principles for dealing with looted property. This message of change gave Holocaust survivors and their families hope.

As Obama prepares for his April trip to the Hannover Messe, he should be applauded for his efforts that foster cohesiveness between the United States and our European friends. I know he will remember his own recent history when in 2008 he presented a vision of hope and change to our allies  the people of Berlin.

This rabbi hopes that Obama will return to Germany again, studying his history of the events that began this very week. He can return with a message behind which all my Jewish brothers and sisters, regardless of political party, can unite  true justice for Holocaust survivors demands transparent dialogue and expedited action.
When Derek and Jodi Wilson traveled to central Virginia with their two young sons last year to look for a new house, they expected to encounter the unknown. Derek had grown up in North Carolina, and Jodi was a New Jersey native. Neither had lived in Virginia.

But they found something unexpected in northern Powhatan County.

We visited the Tilmans Farm development and said, This is absolutely perfect, Derek Wilson said. Were an outdoors family, and it was everything we wanted. It felt like home.

The couple bought a 4-acre lot in the community, which is located near the intersection of Huguenot Trail and State Route 522. Construction on their custom-built, 3,300-square-foot home began in August.

Fianna Adams and her family had a similar experience when they toured a 4,400-square-foot spec house that was on the market in Tilmans Farm last year. They appreciated the houses architectural details, and they especially liked the developments four ponds, which are open to homeowners looking for a place to fish. (The largest of the ponds covers 8 acres, and a walking path encircles it.)

The family bought the spec house, and they moved in 10 months ago.

We love living here, Adams said. The neighbors are wonderful, and the setting is absolutely beautiful.

For many years, Edward Tilman operated a cattle farm on the idyllic, 723-acre site. After Richmond-based Realty Ventures Group Inc. bought the land in 2005, business partners Herbert Fitzgerald and Richard Nuckols decided to name the new development after the farm.

Richard and I thought that naming our subdivision after Mr. Tilman would give it name recognition and reflect the same high quality as his business, Fitzgerald said.

They also sought to change the landscape as little as possible. They designed the roads around the propertys groves of mature hardwood trees, for example, and they dedicated 250 acres of rolling pastures, groves and ponds to common areas.

This land is as beautiful as any Richard and I have developed, Fitzgerald said.

Realty Ventures Groups other developments include Tarrington and the Grove in Chesterfield County and Rivergate in Goochland County.

Work on Tilmans Farm began in 2006, but like many developments that were under construction back then, the recession slowed down progress. In the last year, though, sales and construction have gained traction.

Almost 50 percent of all activity in the development has taken place this year, said Stephanie Sellers, a real estate agent with reFine Properties and the site agent for Tilmans Farm.

Eight of the developments approximately 20 homes have been built since January.

Builders working in Tilmans Farm include TimberCreek Building & Design LLC, Huguenot Builders Inc., and Homeplaces Ltd.

There are four sections in Tilmans Farm, Sellers said. Section one is nearly sold out, and we have sold about six lots in section two. Sections three and four havent been developed yet.

The communitys four sections have 144 lots in total, with approximately 40 developed lots currently available for new homes. Lot sizes range from 2 to 5 acres.

Prices for finished homes begin in the low $400,000s, with sizes starting at 2,500 square feet. The largest home built in the development so far this year is 5,600 square feet.

Powhatan County doesnt have a lot of standing inventory of new homes in this price range and size, and Im having a hard time keeping product in Tilmans Farm because theyre selling so quickly, Sellers said.

The quality of the construction and access to Comcast Cable and a community water system with fire hydrants are major attractions for homebuyers, as are the developments location midway between Charlottesville and Richmond and its proximity to shopping and dining.

Its about 25 minutes to Short Pump and 20 minutes to Westchester Commons, Sellers said.

But the biggest draw might be the neighborhoods beauty and the lifestyle it offers, she added.

If you take a drive through the neighborhood, youll fall in love with it, Sellers said. Its like having a vacation getaway in your own backyard.

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Dabney S. Lancaster Community College is offering two 140-hour non-credit clinical medical assistant courses in two locations this spring semester. Both begin in late February.

On the Clifton Forge campus, the class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 6 to 9:30 p.m., and six Saturdays, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23, through May 26, in room 502, McCarthy Hall.

At the DSLCC Rockbridge Regional Center in Buena Vista, the class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays in room 905, also from 6 to 9:30 p.m., and six Saturdays, beginning Monday, Feb. 29, through June 6.

Students will learn to assist physicians by performing functions related to the clinical responsibilities of a medical office. Instruction includes preparing patients for examination and treatment, routine laboratory procedures, diagnostic testing, technical aspects of phlebotomy and the cardiac life cycle. Students will review important topics including phlebotomy, pharmacology, the proper use and administration of medications, taking and documenting vital signs, cardiology including proper lead placements, professional workplace behavior, ethics and the legal aspects of healthcare.

Classroom lecture and hands-on labs are included, as well as a 160-hour clinical externship opportunity at a local health care provider. To be eligible for the clinical rotation, students must successfully complete the course, submit to a thorough background check and drug screening and meet other requirements.

Upon successful completion of the CMA course, students would be eligible to sit for the National Healthcareer Association Certified Clinical Medical Assistant national examination. The tuition fee of $2,599 covers books and other supplies, but not the cost of taking the CCMA national exam.

For more information contact Doug Jones, program coordinator, DSLCC Workforce Solutions & Community Education, at 863-2870 or email djones@dslcc.edu. The RRC is located at 35 Vista Links Drive in Buena Vista.

Submitted by Judy Clark
Annie Lin of Salem shares these photos and writes:

"Thursday, Jan 14th, 2016, I received a call from Mayor Bowers inviting my son, Jerry Wu and me to Roanoke and Lijiang () Sister Cities relationship dinner on Friday, Jan 15, 2016 at 6:00 pm at Sheraton Roanoke Hotel and Conference Center.

"That night, Jerry and I dressed up for the special dinner. When we walked in at Botany Ballroom. Mayor Bowers shook hands with Jerry, and said "looking good young man!". At 6:00 pm, Mayor Bowers, Master of Ceremonies, welcomes everyone. Then someone blessed the food.

"Present were the Roanoke City Council members, William D. Bestpitch, Roanoke City Manager, Christopher P. Morrill, Roanoke Valley Sister Cities, John Makay, City Treasurer, Evelyn W. Powers, Mayor Bowers' secretary, Elizabeth Watson, Roanoke School Staff, Wendy Goodwin Stelmack and Barbara Dameron, Yoleinda Poyane, and Roanoke City Public School Superintendent, Dr. Rita Bishop, Local Colors staff, Beth Lutjen, and Pearl Fu, Ambassador of Goodwill, Roanoke Sheriff, Tim A. Allen, and Rebecca Chang, Chairwoman for the Lijiang Sister City Committee in Roanoke, and Lijiang members in Roanoke, and six people contingent from Lijiang, China. A crowd of people there. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

"After dinner, Mayor Bowers recognized Honored Guests, the six people who made a one-day trip from Lijiang to Roanoke, Mayor Bowers presented a key to Roanoke to Yan Wenmin, a cultural advisor for Lijiang, China. Mr. Yan said "Lijiang has no doors, they are open for everyone to come, but he felt honored to bring a Roanoke City key back." They also presented gifts to each Roanoke City Council representing their local culture. The Sister Cities program is important to spur both economic growth and understanding.

"Before we said "Good Bye", we had a group picture. From left to right (sitting)-He Xianojing, Margarita Cubas, Pearl Fu, Annie Lin, Jerry Wu. Second Row-Rebecca Chang, Christopher P. Morrill, Ma Xiang, Wan Hongwei, Mayor Bowers, Yan Wenmin, Bill Bestpitch, Tim A. Allen, He Wenping, and He Haiyan."

To view the photos, click on the slideshow above or click here for an alternate view.
In the months before her death, Nicole Lovell shared widely and openly online, reaching out to strangers and friends to share the highs and lows of her life.

Her posts included inside jokes with friends and talk about crushes on boys. She shared photos of her pets and family, music she was listening to and her fears that no one cared about her.

Whether the Virginia Tech freshman charged with her abduction and death preyed on those vulnerabilities in order to meet Nicole, 13, is unclear, but the potential has prompted worry from parents and renewed concerns about the role social media plays in teens lives.

Her father, David Lovell, told CBS Evening News he and his wife, Nicole Lovells stepmother, were concerned about the Blacksburg Middle School students involvement on online teen dating sites because of a potential scenario like this and said they had addressed it with her.

I guess we didnt do enough, Lovell said.

Police havent said publicly how David Eisenhauer, 18, met Nicole, only that they were acquainted before she disappeared last week. Nicoles mother, Tammy Weeks, has said investigators told her the pair met online, on some off-the-wall site I never heard of.

One of Nicole Lovells neighbors told The New York Times that the day before she went missing, the teen showed her daughter messages on Kik where she had made plans to see an 18-year-old. Kik is an app where users can instant message with relative anonymity.

Just as it is for adults, social media is an important way for teens to maintain relationships, said Amanda Lenhart, who studied teen social media use for the Pew Research Center and now works as a researcher at the Data & Society research institute. For adolescents, social media is where a huge part of socializing takes place and often a place where teens get feedback that shapes the way they view themselves and their friendships.

The thing we need to keep in mind is that, social media is social first and foremost, Lenhart said. Its about talking with and communicating with other people, and its about presenting yourself to them and then about getting an assessment of that presentation. And I think a lot of times teens, particularly young ones, just do that in the most raw form.

Making friends online through social media is very common among teens, Lenhart said. In one of Pews recent national surveys, 57 percent of teens said theyd made a new friend online, typically through social media. Teens also use social media to find romantic relationships, Lenhart said, but much less frequently  only about 8 percent of teens.

Lovells mother told The Washington Post her daughter often cried and asked to stay home from school because of bullying. On an Instagram account, Lovell posted photos showing tear-stained faces and shared when she was crying, comments that friends responded to and initiated offline conversations.

I feel better now thanks, Nicole posted about two months ago after one of those times.

A lot of teens wear their hearts on their sleeves, when it comes to social media, said Bob Faris, a sociology professor at the University of California-Davis who studies teen behavior online, specifically bullying and other types of conflict between teens.

Those kinds of posts  often somewhat vague  usually have a meaning thats not immediately understood by parents and adults but is understood by friends, he said. Teens arent necessarily expecting any kind of response  theyre just sharing their feelings and emotions, he said.

Im not sure the motivations are to get therapeutic help from an empathetic friend as much as they are cries for help, Faris said.

When teens dont get responses or feedback, it can affect how they feel about themselves, Faris said. Teens who dont get the kind of affirmation their friends get might turn elsewhere for validation and support, he said, which might explain Nicoles participation in a Facebook group called Teen Dating and Flirting. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment on the group, but the page was shut down by the social media company on Tuesday.

A few weeks ago, Nicole posted a selfie to the group, asking Cute or nah. Many of the 304 comments in response were negative: Youre very round, one person said. And no not cute, another said.

Such behavior is concerning partly because it indicates teens feel like theyre missing a support system in real life, said Nancy Hans, the director of the Prevention Council of Roanoke County.

What is missing in their lives that they are feeling they have to go somewhere where they dont even know who theyre talking to? Hans asked. Why do you want to go where you cant see someones face to feel engaged and wanted and needed?

Hans said she counsels parents that they need to have serious conversations with their children when giving them a phone or permission to join online social media apps. According to Pew data from 2012, about 78 percent of adolescents 12 to 17 years old have a cellphone. Hans suggested having children draft a contract with their parents about how those devices and applications will be used.

That phone becomes an incredible open door to the world, Hans said.

Hans said she tells parents repeatedly its OK to say no. Jamie Garst, an assistant principal at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem, said he tells parents the same thing.

Its OK to set boundaries, Hans said. Its OK to help your child wait for things.

Garst said he tells his students they also have a responsibility to step up when they see classmates engaging in risky behavior, which is what some of Nicole Lovells friends appear to have tried to do in comments posted on her social media accounts.

Among teens, theres often a reluctance to be labeled as a snitch, but Garst said he tries to convey to them that the consequences of not telling a trusted adult can be serious.

You need to tell someone, Garst said. I tell kids, you can get mad at me today, but at least well be able to solve the problem and go on to tomorrow.

Roanoke Times staff writer Jacob Demmitt and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
RICHMOND  A House of Delegates subcommittee on Tuesday scrapped a series of bills aimed at nonpartisan redistricting.

The five measures were defeated 4-3 in a bloc vote in a subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections panel.

Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania County, who called for the vote, has said that action on redistricting is premature and that even independent commissions to draw districts require politicians to make appointments.

Brian Cannon, executive director of OneVirginia2021, which is pushing for nonpartisan redistricting after the 2020 census, criticized the vote.

This morning was Groundhog Day all over again in the Virginia General Assembly when the members of the House Elections Subcommittee voted to kill five of the most significant redistricting reform bills in recent Virginia history, he said in a statement.

Also Tuesday, a Virginia Senate panel narrowly advanced bills aimed at having voters  and candidates in local elections  identified by party affiliation, while also near unanimously advancing to the full Senate a bill that would prohibit parties from imposing loyalty oaths on primary participants when the elections are financed by the state.

Sponsored by Sen. Chapman Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, Senate Bill 686 would prohibit any party holding a presidential primary from requiring voters to sign a loyalty pledge when voting.

Current law allows parties to determine the requirements for participation, which led to the recent controversy over the Republican Party of Virginias bid to have voters sign a statement of affiliation. The move caused an uproar among a number of Republican presidential candidates, most notably Donald Trump.

Late last week, the GOPs State Central Committee voted to remove the pledge as a requirement in the upcoming March 1 primary.

Voting 7-6 along party lines, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections used its Republican majority to pass and send to the Finance Committee Senate Bill 650, which would allow party affiliation among Virginia voters beginning next year.

Virginia currently does not require registration by party. The legislation sponsored by Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, would ask voters when registering to declare whether they are a Republican, Democrat or independent.

According to the bill, voters registered prior to Jan. 1, 2017, would be designated as independent unless they provide a political party designation in writing to the general registrar. Voters could change their party affiliation or independent status in writing before registration is closed prior to an upcoming election. Independent voters would still have the option of voting in either primary.

The committee also approved Senate bill 767, which would require candidates in local elections who were nominated by parties or elected in a party primary to be identified on the ballot by the party that is backing them. Currently only candidates for federal, statewide, and General Assembly offices are identified by party on a ballot. The measure now heads to the full Senate.

As for the redistricting bills defeated in the house subcommittee, House Bill 26, sponsored by Del. Richard C. Rip Sullivan Jr., D-Fairfax, and House Bill 555, sponsored by Del. R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta, would have set nonpartisan criteria for the drawing of General Assembly and congressional districts, including respect for political boundaries, contiguity, compactness and communities of interest.

House Bill 553, sponsored by Del. J. Randall Minchew, R-Loudoun, also provided criteria for drawing districts, adding that if a district was drawn that did not conform to the criteria, findings of fact would be made in writing.

House Bill 247, sponsored by Del. Jeion A. Ward, D-Hampton, would have allowed voters to participate in a referendum asking if theyd like to implement a nonpartisan redistricting commission.

House Bill 303, sponsored by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, would have created the Virginia Interim Redistricting Commission. That panel would have had the duty of drawing fair lines when district borders in Virginia were found to be unconstitutional.
RICHMOND  The Virginia Senate majority leader is asking for about $750,000 in staff for lawmakers in leadership as well as perks for rank-and-file senators who say their part-time salaries are inadequate.

Thomas Norment, R-James City, filed five budget amendments that call for increases in pay and money for more employees over two years in an apparent effort to match Senate spending with that of the House.

The move is the latest round in a periodic tit for tat between the chambers that tends to flare up at the start of senators four-year terms, insiders on both sides say.

The proposal is also in keeping with Norments penchant for flexing his clout in the General Assembly, as he did earlier this session when he temporarily banished reporters from the Senate floor.

Norment declined to comment on the need for the additional spending, but his spokesman Jeff Ryer said: Our position is we are a bicameral legislature representing the same 8 million people. We are simply bringing the staff allowances to line up with those in the House.

Some Democrats said they were skeptical of the budget spending, which probably will get worked out later this session during negotiations over Gov. Terry McAuliffes $109 billion budget plan.

Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico County, questioned the Senate expenditures when Republican lawmakers say the state cannot afford future costs associated with covering 400,000 uninsured Virginians under the Affordable Care Act.

I look forward to hearing the justification for these budget amendments, he said. At a time when we dont seem able to expand Medicaid and we were unable to help other vulnerable populations, this seems to be a misplaced priority.

One budget amendment would give Norment a $16,200 expense allowance equal to one received by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County. Norment also earns state salaries as a commissioner of accounts, overseeing the disposition of estates, and teaching at the College of William and Mary.

Anna Scholl, executive director of the left-leaning Progress Virginia, said her organization supports raising legislator pay to make public office more attainable for people who are not independently wealthy.

But Tommy is not talking about increasing compensation for the General Assembly, she said. Hes talking about increasing compensation for himself.

An additional $20,277 would pay for staff for Sen. Ryan T. McDougle, R-Hanover County, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Norment and McDougle would also hire more legislative assistants and secretaries for Senate leadership at a cost of $249,942, according to the budget amendments.

Finally, Norment called for an additional $87,600 to cover the increase in stipends  from $200 to $300  that senators receive for attending meetings while the General Assembly is not in session. Delegates would still receive $200. Ryer said the increase is necessary because the rate has remained unchanged for some time.

Senators make a yearly salary of $18,000 and delegates $17,640. In addition, each lawmaker receives $15,000 annually for office expenses. During legislative sessions, lawmakers are reimbursed for hotel and mileage costs as well.
However, in the more than three months since Kerry made those remarks at an Energy Department nuclear stockpile stewardship event, there has been no evidence of a concerted administration campaign to lobby senators in favor of the treaty.

Early on in his administration, President Barack Obama promised to seek Senate approval of CTBT but decided to focus first on negotiating and achieving Senate ratification of what became the New START treaty with Russia, an accord that replaced an older strategic arms control pact that expired at the end of 2009. But negotiating the treaty with Moscow and then pushing it through the Senate proved to be much more time-intensive and politically costly than the administration had initially anticipated.

Coupled with the gradual winnowing of Republican foreign policy moderates in the Senate such as Richard G. Lugar of Indiana through electoral defeats and retirement, the Obama administration essentially determined after the New START ratification fight it did not have the votes or the energy for another uphill arms control treaty push.
VOLUNTEERS can get their hands dirty to help nature at an event this month.

Blackburn Meadows nature reserve on Steel Street in Masbrough, which is run by the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, is hosting a volunteer work day on Thursday, February 11 from 10am-3pm.

The work can include tasks such as footpath improvement and habitat management.

Gloves, tools and refreshments are provided.

Volunteer work days are held at the reserve on the second Thursday of each month.

Volunteers should meet at the end of Steel Street, which can be reached from junction 34 of the M1 motorway.

The event is free.

Further details can be obtained from Hannah Wittram on 0114 263 4335 or at nature.reserves@wildsheffield.com
MP John Healey has attacked the Government over plans to cut housing benefit support for thousands of elderly and vulnerable people across the country.



The shadow housing minister called a vote to block the move and demanded

George Osborneexempt supported housing from his housing benefit cuts and to consult with charities, councils and housing associations to safeguard supported housing.



But the Labour motion was voted down by Conservative and UKIP MPs.

Mr Healey said this accommodation provided specialist care for groups including the elderly, the homeless, disabled people, veterans, people with mental health problems, young people leaving care and women fleeing domestic violence.



There are 1,264 such homes in Rotherham.



Mr Healey said experts had concluded that across the country 156,000 supported homes were at risk of closure due to the Chancellor's cuts.



The Wentworth and Dearne MP said: George Osbornes crude cuts to housing benefit could force the closure of thousands of specialist homes for vulnerable people across the country.



This would be a catastrophe for those who can least afford it.



There is no way these people or the organisations who support them could make up the yawning shortfall these cuts are set to open up.



Labour is calling on the Chancellor to urgently exempt supported housing from his housing benefit cuts and consult fully with the organisations that provide this vital accommodation.



The Government said in response that they would suspend plans to cut supported housing rents for a year, and look again at the impact of housing benefit cuts.



Housing minister Brandon Lewis said welfare reform was at the heart of the Governments agenda, adding: We need to balance the books and introduce a welfare system that is fair to taxpayers, where work pays and where having a job is always preferable to a life on benefits.



He said: The right honourable Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey) speaks as though we are debating in a vacuum.



Let us remember that in 2010 we inherited a welfare system that failed to reward work, hurt taxpayers, and was a millstone around the neck of the British economy.



The result was a benefits system in disarray, which was costing taxpayers an extra 3,000 a year.



He added: We want to ensure that we get a deal that protects the most vulnerable in society, helps them out and gives them an aspirational opportunity to move forward in their lives while getting a right and proper deal for the hard-working taxpayer.



Mr Healey said Labour had forced some recognition of the devastating effect of the cuts, but the Governments response was totally inadequate.



He said: Ministers have offered nothing but warm words.



They don't seem to understand that decisions are being made now to halt or scrap development of new supported housing, and preparations to wind up existing accommodation could start within weeks.
DON Valley MP Caroline Flint has called on the Prime Minister to require companies like Google to publish their tax returns.



Ms Flint said she was concerned with the news that Google had struck a deal to pay 130 million in tax when its profit level suggested it should cough up much more.



Ms Flint said: Not everyone is as satisfied as the Chancellor, with what for Google is loose change to cover their tax liabilities.



On Monday (January 25), the honourable member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills MP) called for Government to make companies publish their tax returns.



In that way we can all see how they got from their cash profit to their tax bill. Does the Prime Minister agree?



Prime Minister David Cameron replied: I do want a situation where we make the rules in this house and the HMRC enforce them.



UK corporation tax is 20 per cent but experts believe that even with Googles recent payment, their tax rate will be about three per cent.
An extremely rare 7.84 carat chameleon diamond is to be offered at the Tzoffeys 1818 B2B diamond auction taking place during the International Diamond Week in Israel.

The round, Internally Flawless diamond is set in a ring surrounded by small pink diamonds. According to Avner Sofiov, President of Tzoffeys 1818 auction house, the stone has an estimate of about US$300,000.

This is a very rare diamond that was cut in Israel by diamond manufacturers that specialize in fancy colored diamonds, explains Sofiov.

Chameleon diamonds are so-called because their color changes in response to light and heat. They are typically of green, yellow or gray color and, after being slightly heated or spending time in the dark, change color temporarily to a hue of yellow. These diamonds also take on a strong red glow during the polishing process and typically fluoresce yellow.

Back in the 1950s, the Gemological Institute of American laboratory published a short note about an especially fluorescent diamond that turned out to be a chameleon diamond. The diamond had a yellow-brown color when the parcel was opened, but when they brought it into the light its color changed to green and remained so all day long. At night we gathered up the diamonds into the safe, and in the morning it once again had a brown-yellow color. Tests on the diamond revealed no evidence of any color treatments, the GIA explained.




The Swiss stock market ended Tuesday's session with a significant decrease, after a broad based sell-off. The market got off to a weak start due to the poor performance of most of the Asian . The weak start on Wall Street triggered further losses in the afternoon.

Crude oil prices dropped further Tuesday, stoking concerns about the of the global . Disappointing financial results from UBS also contributed to the negative mood among investors. Meanwhile, shares of Syngenta jumped on renewed takeover speculation.

The Swiss Market Index decreased 1.37 percent Tuesday and finished at 8,196.99. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 1.71 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 1.25 percent.

Shares of UBS tumbled 6.8 percent. The bank's profit for the full year 2015 topped expectations, but it provided a warning about the challenging environment ahead.

Credit Suisse declined 3.7 percent and Julius Baer weakened by 3.2 percent.

Cyclical stocks were also under pressure Tuesday. LafargeHolcim decreased 4.2 percent and Adecco lost 3.6 percent. Transocean sank 7.3 percent due to the continued fall in crude oil prices. Luxury goods manufacturers Richemont and Swatch both declined by 2.7 percent.

Syngenta jumped 3.7 percent. The agrochemical company surged on media reports suggested that a takeover by ChemChina is approaching. A deal could reportedly be reached as soon as Wednesday.

Givaudan ended the session unchanged. The Flavours and Fragrances Group reported full year results that surpassed consensus expectations. The company also announced a dividend increase of 8 percent.

Kuoni surged 17.4 percent, after it agreed to be acquired by EQT Partners.

AMS advanced 2.9 percent, following its better than expected earnings report.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. (DNKN) said it remains on track to deliver its full-year targets, and is expecting to regain transaction momentum through great products, exceptional guest service, and innovative marketing.

The company has a strong lineup of innovative products, such as the sweet black pepper bacon breakfast sandwich and new croissant donuts. It remains focused on ensuring the pricing reflects value, and on continuing to build its coffee credentials with the launch of products like the Macchiato and its new coffee commitment campaign.

The company is slated to release its fourth-quarter results before the bell on Thursday, February 4. Consensus estimates call for earnings of $0.50 per share on revenue of $203.31 million, according to analysts compiled by Thomson Reuters.

The company continues to target 1% - 3% comp store sales growth for the full year and, remains optimistic for the long-term.

For the next five years, the company targets 2% - 4% U.S. comp store sales growth, encompassing both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins; 4% - 6% growth rate for net restaurant development; mid to high single-digit revenue growth; 10% plus operating income growth; and up to 15% adjusted earnings per share growth.

In the previous quarter, the company reported net income of $46.2 million or $0.48 per share compared to $54.7 million or $0.52 per share last year. Adjusted net income was $50.2 million or $0.52 per share versus $52.2 million or $0.49 per share reported a year ago.

Revenue totaled $209.8 million, higher than the previous year's revenue of $192.6 million.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Students from five elementary schools and five middle schools in Colorado will have the opportunity to speak with a NASA astronaut living and working on the International Space Station at 12:35 p.m. EST on Thursday. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

During the event, hosted by Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, space station commander Scott Kelly will answer questions from students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Bookcliff Middle School, Cedaredge Elementary, Grand Mesa Middle School, Fruita Middle School, Independence Academy, New Emerson Elementary, Pomona Elementary, Taylor Elementary, Tope Elementary and West Middle School.

Kelly launched to the station on March 27, 2015, to spend a year on the space station with Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. They'll be wrapping up their stay in space and returning to Earth on March 1.

This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Education Office's efforts to improve science, , engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through NASA Education's STEM on Station activity provides them with an authentic, live experience of space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing them to the possibilities of life in space.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
A rare case of the Zika virus being sexually transmitted has been reported in Texas, fueling fears of the rapid spread of the disease in the United States and other parts of the world.

With concern growing that an outbreak sweeping Latin America could spread much farther, authorities in Texas said they had confirmation of the virus being transmitted by sexual contact and not just tropical mosquitoes. That is a troubling prospect for the United States, Canada and Europe, where Zika had so far only appeared in travelers returning from affected areas.

CDC has confirmed through laboratory testing that it was the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental U.S.

The patient was infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from Venezuela this year, a Dallas County statement said without identifying the patient.

Someone who visited Venezuela and was infected there, developed Zika symptoms as did their sexual partner who never left the United States, Dr Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Twitter. Last month, the CDC said it was aware of one reported case of sexual transmission of Zika and one case of the virus being present in a man's semen after it disappeared from his blood.

Zika virus, which is spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, causes relatively mild flu-like symptoms and a rash. But there is growing alarm over an apparent link between the current outbreak and both a rise in birth defects and a potentially crippling neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome. Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, have reported a surge in cases of microcephaly,which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, since the Zika outbreak was declared in the region last year.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
The first-ever India-US Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) conference will be held in Florida next month targeting two million job creations for both offshore and domestic Indian businesses, its organizers have said.

Themed 'Leveraging the Power of Partnerships in the New Digital Age', the two-day conference is being organized by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC-NIC) in partnership with TV18, on March 29-30. This summit will also boost the confidence of the Indian community showcasing the 'New Digital India,' a statement by organizers said. Top executives from leading BPO firms, including Aegis, Concentrix, Genpact, HGS, Integra Global, SITEL, TCS, TBSS, Teleperformance, Quatrro and Wipro are expected to attend the meeting.

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in a statement said this first of its kind industry initiative is in sync with the combined vision of the Indian and the US government of a five folds growth in the Indo-US bilateral trade--from the current $100 billion to $500 billion as well as creating a new wave of growth for the Services Industry.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP,CP.TO) said it has released a white paper detailing the comprehensive, merit-based process any merger application would be subject to at the U.S. Surface Transportation Board or STB.

According to Canadian Pacific or CP, the new STB policies do not "reflect an anti-merger bias" or "reverse a statutory policy favoring mergers". The company argued in the white paper that effective regulatory approval should be fact-based and free of political interference.

The company noted that status quo is not an option for North American rail. In advancing its proposal to combine Canadian Pacific or CP and Norfolk Southern Corp. or NS (NSC), CP is confident that the proposal can meet this standard and its voting trust structure will be approved.

This is because a CP-NS combination will more than satisfy the STB's public interest standard by introducing features that will enhance competition through a number of shipper-friendly options.

According to CP, all stakeholders will benefit if the proposed transaction is evaluated on its merits and based on a full record that includes the opportunity for all interested parties to comment within the STB's prescribed framework, free from political interference.

In light of ample STB precedent and its regulatory mandate to reduce regulatory control, CP is confident that a proposed voting trust structure would be approved, but only at the appropriate time and under the clear procedure set out in the STB's merger rules.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
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By SA Commercial Prop News - Ortneil Kutama

SA REIT Association Chairman, Laurence Rapp said: Despite a tough operating environment and the brutal turmoil that hit local markets in December, the SA REIT sector continued its excellent track record of outperformance for investors in 2015.



While being the best performing asset class of 2015, South African Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are having to weather many challenges which have prevailed for the past four to five months.

South African listed property once again outclassed bonds, cash and equities in 2015. Listed property returned 7.99% to its investors, outstripping cashs 6.46%, equities 5.13% and bonds -3.93%, according to figures from Catalyst Fund Managers.

Speaking on the sectors top performance, SA REIT Association Chairman, Laurence Rapp said: Despite a tough operating environment and the brutal turmoil that hit local markets in December, the SA REIT sector continued its excellent track record of outperformance for investors in 2015.

Listed propertys returns were somewhat lower than in recent years after it took a nasty knock in December, with other sectors, as capital markets responded to what has been coined Nenegate. As the market was rocked by the news, listed property dropped around 10% in two days. It later recovered to some extent. Despite these gains, in December listed property still lost 6.12%. Before then, listed property wasnt only leading other asset classes but outperforming market expectations.

Developing markets including SA are experiencing capital flight. This is placing companies growth in these countries, including South Africa, under pressure.

Mostly offshore listed funds have performed well. They were the top performers in 2015 and South African investors have enjoyed dollar based income pay-outs which are then converted into rands. The Rand has been poor performing currency for months.

At least 6 of the top 10 performing property funds on the JSE last year, had exposure to offshore assets or were totally offshore. This is likely to persist in 2016 as the South African market looks competitive and the economy struggles to grow. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this month cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa by almost half to 0.7% because of weak commodity prices and high borrowing costs.

Intu Properties which is listed on the JSE and owns major malls in the UK, achieved a return of 24.86% last year. Capital and Counties, also a property owner in the UK, achieved an overall return of 56%. SAs largest South African based fund, Growthpoint Properties total return fell nearly 10%.

The IMF's forecast is a full percentage point lower than the economic growth rate forecast which was made by the National Treasury for 2016.

Nevertheless, investors should not only invest in offshore based or exposed companies. Some smaller and not necessarily high quality companies are listing on the JSE from abroad largely because they are so hyped.

A number of analysts believe that Schroder European Real Estate will be a top performer this year. Schroder offers local investors exposure to European markets which are expected to gain pace in 2016.

Some South African funds will look to invest abroad this year too. Tower Property Fund, for example is expanding its operations in East Europes Croatia.

Evan Robins, the head of Old Mutual Investment Groups Macrosolutions Boutique says investors must be wary of the companies that do operate abroad and see the JSE as a good place to list.

Investors who are keen to buy offshore shares on the JSE should know exactly what they are buying. There has been a plethora of inward listed property companies on the JSE catering for this demand pf different quality. You must ask questions about seemingly opportunistic companies raising money in SA because they cant raise it in their home market or are trying to access much cheaper capital in SA which then implies that South African investors would be paying too much, he said.

Investors must also be aware that while by investing in offshore or exposed companies, they protect themselves against rand weakness, the rand could recover and then they will be hurt so they must think longer term and diversify. This means they should invest locally and offshore.

Grindrod Asset Managements Ian Anderson said people should buy into locally based property funds now while their share prices are depressed and even if they find 2016 difficult amid weak economic growth and few acquisition opportunities.

The long term should see listed property recover in SA. Listed property remains a sector with much growth potential and there will be a period of consolidation again. Listed property was the most active of any sector on the JSE last year in terms of capital raises and new listings.
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
I give my consent to Sakshi Post to be in touch with me via email for the purpose of event marketing and corporate communications. Privacy Policy
Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2016 shows the ministerial meeting regarding the action against Islamic State group in Rome, Italy, Feb. 2, 2016. Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting here on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.(Xinhua/Jin Yu)

Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting here on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.

Yet, they did not announce any immediate similar action in Libya to prevent IS militants to make further progress on the ground.

The 23-country ministerial conference was co-chaired by Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Relevant progresses have been made against Daesh, but the organization we face is very resilient and able to plan strategically, and we should not underestimate it," Gentiloni said.

"The Daesh has lost 40 percent of the territory under its control in Iraq, and 20 percent in Syria in recent months ... thanks to the joint commitment and resolve of all of us," he added at a press conference after the meeting.

Steps forwards were also being made in terms of cutting IS's access to financial resources.

The 23 ministers said in a final statement that they will"intensify and accelerate the campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria", expressing their determination to counter and push back Daesh's global ambitions.

Yet, the ministers did not mention any direct military action in the North African country of Libya in the immediate future.

"We follow with concern the growing influence of IS/Daesh in Libya, and will continue to monitor closely developments there", the final statement said.

"We will stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people," it added.

"In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity, and that will prevent Daesh from turning it into a stranglehold on the country's future," Kerry said.

Libya has big resources, and the last thing the world needs would be "a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue", according to the U.S. secretary.

"This means we need to push full speed ahead with training security personnel and we need to ensure there is a decisive military edge not just to clear territory but to create a safe environment for a government to begin to stand up and operate," Kerry added.

Italy's Foreign Minister also acknowledged there were "renewed activities" by IS in Libya and in Sub-Saharan African countries, and he stressed that "the coalition should improve its coordination".

Italy has repeatedly said it would be ready to take part, and even a leading role, in a military mission against IS in Libya, but only if strictly authorized by the United Nations (UN) and under request of a stable Libyan government.

Gentiloni reiterated the stance on Tuesday, saying "it is very comforting for us to see there was a great convergence here (among coalition's members) on the need to consolidate the negotiating process in Libya," Gentiloni said.

"Italy is ready to answer to a request from a new government in Libya on several issues, including security".

"Yet, the key point is that we need a political process going on, and a unity government with the full endorsement of the Libyan parties in the next two weeks. This is possible, and is what we are all working for," Gentiloni stressed.

Since early 2015, the increasing presence of IS in Libya has been a factor of major concern for the international community, and for Italy, whose most southern coasts lie only few hundreds kilometers from the North African country.

Libya has been engulfed in fighting between rival factions since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 after a NATO-backed military intervention, and two administrations have contended for the power since 2014.

A UN-brokered deal to form a national unity government was reached in December, but failed so far to gain approval from the two rival parliaments. Enditem

Anti-IS global coalition in Rome vows to step up strikes in Syria, Iraq

Source: Xinhua2016-02-03 02:43:59

ROME, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting here on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.

Yet, they did not announce any immediate similar action in Libya to prevent IS militants to make further progress on the ground.

The 23-country ministerial conference was co-chaired by Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Relevant progresses have been made against Daesh, but the organization we face is very resilient and able to plan strategically, and we should not underestimate it," Gentiloni said.

"The Daesh has lost 40 percent of the territory under its control in Iraq, and 20 percent in Syria in recent months ... thanks to the joint commitment and resolve of all of us," he added at a press conference after the meeting.

Steps forwards were also being made in terms of cutting IS's access to financial resources.

The 23 ministers said in a final statement that they will"intensify and accelerate the campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria", expressing their determination to counter and push back Daesh's global ambitions.

Yet, the ministers did not mention any direct military action in the North African country of Libya in the immediate future.

"We follow with concern the growing influence of IS/Daesh in Libya, and will continue to monitor closely developments there", the final statement said.

"We will stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people," it added.

"In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity, and that will prevent Daesh from turning it into a stranglehold on the country's future," Kerry said.

Libya has big resources, and the last thing the world needs would be "a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue", according to the U.S. secretary.

"This means we need to push full speed ahead with training security personnel and we need to ensure there is a decisive military edge not just to clear territory but to create a safe environment for a government to begin to stand up and operate," Kerry added.

Italy's Foreign Minister also acknowledged there were "renewed activities" by IS in Libya and in Sub-Saharan African countries, and he stressed that "the coalition should improve its coordination".

Italy has repeatedly said it would be ready to take part, and even a leading role, in a military mission against IS in Libya, but only if strictly authorized by the United Nations (UN) and under request of a stable Libyan government.

Gentiloni reiterated the stance on Tuesday, saying "it is very comforting for us to see there was a great convergence here (among coalition's members) on the need to consolidate the negotiating process in Libya," Gentiloni said.

"Italy is ready to answer to a request from a new government in Libya on several issues, including security".

"Yet, the key point is that we need a political process going on, and a unity government with the full endorsement of the Libyan parties in the next two weeks. This is possible, and is what we are all working for," Gentiloni stressed.

Since early 2015, the increasing presence of IS in Libya has been a factor of major concern for the international community, and for Italy, whose most southern coasts lie only few hundreds kilometers from the North African country.

Libya has been engulfed in fighting between rival factions since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 after a NATO-backed military intervention, and two administrations have contended for the power since 2014.

A UN-brokered deal to form a national unity government was reached in December, but failed so far to gain approval from the two rival parliaments. Enditem

11

1

[ Editor: Fanhua ]
Ex-officer was a churchgoer, family man. Police say he may be a serial rapist.

The Allen family lived on the northwest side of Hutchinson, less than two miles from Rice Park, where several women said they were accosted.
File Photo

Female Chinese author ZHU YAN wrote a novel about lesbians' pure love, named The Love. When the novel was first serialized on China's most popular social network Weibo, it received over 10 million hits within three months. A lot of China's young netizens considered The Love as the most romantic fiction in 2015. The highly educated young readers, those who have at least received a bachelor's degree, in China are very acceptive of LGBT groups.

Homosexual love is difficult in the real society

"I'm not a lesbian myself, still I wanted to write a story about the lesbians I had in my head. I am a writer concerned about the homosexual community, especially lesbians. I think LGBT groups as a minority have a history of being misrepresented by people outside of their groups. " Zhu Yan believed that LGBT groups need a massive dose of positive representation, including in literature.

"Love is love, normal and just like love between any other people. Love is equal, no matter gender issues. I deliberately set a happy ending for my book. In real life, love is tough, confusing and entangled," Zhu explained why she named the book The Love. "Homosexual love is difficult in the real society, which makes me insist on using a good ending to finish my work. I want to give everyone hope, an affirmation of life. Hope breeds motivation, and hope is existent."

Heterosexual and homosexual values should not be in conflict, they should co-exist in a spirit of sharing, mutual respect and understanding. In the long-term, though, as knowledge and awareness of equality spread, it would be great if more people come to see LGBT groups in a positive light."

My work rejected by many publishers in China

Homosexuality is still a sensitive topic in China, where traditional family values are deep-rooted. "My work has been rejected by many publishers, because they chose to avoid the controversial topic because they are afraid of losing more than they gain," Zhu said.

Every character in this novel is struggling. There is one dialogue in the book: "You want to fight against this society? Do you think you can win?" The author considers this is a no-win game, this is how homosexuality exists in society.

"We live in a time in which lesbians are more freely able to represent themselves in books, art, and the world at large. I have a couple lesbian friends. I think homosexuals need safe spaces where they can be the dominant voice in their own representations at last. I think they deserve their own orbit of survival as normal members of society, and they can protect themselves," Zhu said.

Historical significance for China's film industry

Zhu was preparing for the filming of this novel, and she discussed with a French director recently. But her Chinese investor is skeptical whether the film can pass scrutiny by the authorities. "My readers and I will be excited for the release of this film if all goes well, I think it also has historical significance for China's film industry."

A brief synopsis of the Love

The story tells that a female college professor and her student fall in love with each other after an occasional sexual encounter. The Love depicts the love, marriage, life, work and friendship of homosexuals in todays China in an objective and realistic manner.

[ Editor: Xueying ]
Country

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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/03/2016 -- viastore Systems' customer service manager, Adam Smelker recently discussed the importance of functionality in implementing automation. Smelker addressed how material handling automation installation does not always have to be an enormous undertakingin both size and budgetin order to deliver a solid return on investment (ROI). Rather, it is the functionality and flexibility of the installed equipment that can deliver the biggest impact when automating your warehouse.



Smelker noted, "The key lies in first determining what configuration of warehouse automation technology will address the unique challenges of your specific operation, whether your goals are labor savings, space savings, throughput and flexibility gains, or reduced maintenance and supervision. Understanding the needs of your warehouse, the capabilities of the equipment, and the adaptability of the system's design can address a variety of different handling objectives."



To read more, go to: http://bit.ly/1UsnwAc



MODEX 2016



viastore Systems, Inc. will be exhibiting at the 2016 MODEX event April 4-7, 2016 at the Georgia World Congress Center at Booth #1439. At MODEX, solutions needed to solve tough manufacturing and supply chain challenges, identify best practices, exceed customer demands and gain competitive edge are available. viastore will be presenting a special session titled, "An Incremental Approach to Automation and ROI" on April 5, 2016 from 12:45-1:30 in Theater H.? The link to register is: http://bit.ly/1O70T0a



About viastore Systems, Inc.

For over 40 years, viastore Systems, Inc. (http://bit.ly/1PxYifB) has been a leading international provider of automated material handling solutions including AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval systems), conveyor and shuttle systems, warehouse management systems software, material flow and process controls, and integrated SAP logistics solutions. The company employs over 470 people worldwide and has annual sales of over $140 Million.



viastore's focus is on consulting and planning, together with the implementation and constant improvement of intralogistics solutions with locations in Germany, USA, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Russia, China, Croatia, Turkey, Poland, Israel, Ukraine, Sweden, and Brazil. viastore, with North American headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI, is an integrated and certified partner for all major ERP system database and operating system suppliers such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. viastore earned a return spot on Food Logistics' 2015 FL100+ list of software and technology providers whose products and solutions are key to the global food supply chain. viastore is a proud member of MHI.
Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/03/2016 -- Browse 288 tables and 41 figures spread through 398 pages and in-depth TOC on "Healthcare IT Market"



http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/healthcare-it-252.html



Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.



Over the past decade, the global healthcare IT market has evolved from basic EMR/EMR solutions to the development of specialized hospital information management systems, population health management solutions, and healthcare information exchange systems. This market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period of 2015 to 2020. A majority of this growth is attributed to the growing adoption of various healthcare IT solutions by healthcare providers in order to meet the heightened regulatory requirements for patient care and safety, increasing need to curtail the soaring healthcare costs, and growing need to improve the quality of healthcare while maintaining the operational efficiency of healthcare organizations.



This report provides detailed market analysis of various healthcare IT solutions available in the market, comprising healthcare provider solutions, healthcare payer solutions, and HCIT outsourcing services. In 2014, the healthcare provider solutions segment accounted for the largest share of the global healthcare IT market.



Ask For The PDF Brochure: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=252



The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to the rising adoption of EHRs and other hospital information systems by healthcare providers, inclination of the healthcare industry towards deployment of interoperable solutions, and growing regulatory requirements regarding patient information and safety. In this report, the healthcare provider solutions segment is further segmented into clinical solutions and non-clinical solutions. EHR, mHealth solutions, and PACS &VNA are some of the key clinical healthcare IT solutions covered in this report. Together, these segments accounted for more than 65% of the global clinical healthcare IT solutions market in 2014. Whereas, supply chain management, revenue cycle management, and healthcare analytics are some of the key non-clinical healthcare IT solutions covered in this report, accounting for a share of approximately 50% in 2014.



On the basis of end users, the healthcare IT market is broadly segmented into healthcare providers and healthcare payers. The healthcare providers segment is further divided into hospitals; ambulatory care centers; home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities; diagnostic and imaging centers; and pharmacies. The healthcare payers segment is further divided into private payers and public payers. Hospitals form the largest end-user segment of the global healthcare IT market, owing to the huge demand for various HCIT solutions among hospitals in order to manage the increasing load of patient information generated in hospitals and growing need to improve the quality of healthcare while improving operational efficiencies within organizations.



In 2014, North America and Europe accounted for the majority share of the global healthcare IT market, mainly due to the technological competencies of the healthcare industry and presence of well-established HCIT infrastructure in these regions. Changing regulatory requirements for improving quality of healthcare and increasing patient safety and rising healthcare expenditures are some of the key factors driving the growth of the healthcare IT market in North America and Europe.



Get The Sample Copy Of This Report:

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsample.asp?id=252



However, during the forecast period, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR, owing to the rising medical tourism, increasing healthcare expenditure, rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure, increasing per capita incomes, and growing health awareness among middle-class population in emerging countries of this region.



Although, the global healthcare IT market is highly fragmented in nature; some of the key players in this market include McKesson Corporation (U.S.), Epic Systems (U.S.), Cerner Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), athenahealth, Inc. (U.S.), Siemens Healthcare (Germany), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), and Infor, Inc. (U.S.).



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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/02/2016 -- Those who travel to Vietnam from Thailand need not go to the embassy for getting their visas because the good news is that Visavietnam.in.th that is run by VISA-VIETNAM.ORG arranges visas for them on their arrival. According to the company, getting a Vietnam Visa on Arrival is now completely hassle-free because they have put in place easy steps for the benefit of travelers from Thailand who opt to utilize their services.



Visavietnam.in.th further adds that these travelers need not have any apprehensions about the costs of the Vietnam Visa On Arrival services they provide because they offer these services at amazingly reasonable costs. Not only that, these travelers can be certain of getting quick and very efficient services also from them. In other words, those who opt to utilize their services can rest assured of having hassle-free and smooth trips to Vietnam. They can mainly avoid the arduous task of chasing the embassy for getting their Vietnam Visas. They need not send off their passports also to get their Visas.



Though there are a number of providers who operate in this industry, they stand out from the crowd, says Visavietnam.in.th because they have been providing these services since many years. In fact, they have started offering these services in 2007. They have hundreds of satisfied customers and in addition to that, the number of customers who opt for utilizing their services has been increasing year after year.



The key factor that has catapulted them to the top of the chart is the reliability with which they offer their services, says the company. Further, they do not believe in charging heftily for rendering their services. They rather believe that by offering high-quality services at reasonable costs, they will get repeat-customers. Their belief has been vindicated by the fact that the number of their loyal customers has been rapidly increasing.



The company assures its customers from Thailand that they will take all possible measures for protecting their private details. The company takes pride in pointing out that they are so popular in the field of travel and tourism to Vietnam that even reputed companies like TripAdvisor, LonelyPlanet, Routard, and so on are recommending them to those who need Vietnam Visa on Arrival services.



About Visavietnam.in.th

Visavietnam.in.th that is run by VISA-VIETNAM.ORG arranges visas on arrival for those from Thailand who travel to Vietnam. These travelers need not go to the embassy for getting their visas because Visavietnam.in.th has put in place easy steps so getting a Vietnam Visa on Arrival is now completely hassle-free. Further, the Visa On Arrival services the company offers come at reasonable costs. Visitors from Thailand who opt for their services will certainly be impressed by their quick and efficient services as well.



For Media Contact:



http://visavietnam.in.th/

Address Room A2, 64 Nguyen Dinh Chieu street, Dakao ward, district 1, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.

Phone (00) (+84) 8 5404 3118

info@visa-vietnam.org
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/02/2016 -- Vietnam launched its innovative scheme where nationals from the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy can get a visa free entry to the country for a stay that doesn't extend a 15 day period.



Vietnam has become a hugely popular destination for travelers from all over the world; no two ways about it. While there are many holidaymakers that come here to take in the sites and enjoy the warm vibe, business owners like to explore several possibilities the country has in store for them. But of course, getting the visa to the country without going through a lot of hassle is something all types of travelers look for.



Now the Government of Vietnam has made things easier for travelers from these five European countries. They can now avail of a 15 Day Free Visa offer that makes things extremely convenient for them. They could be coming to the country to visit friends, engage in work meetings or simply travel around for that matter; they don't have to burden themselves with tedious process of going to great lengths to get the visa.



Of course by waiving the visa laws, the Government has made the prospect of travelling to Vietnam more appealing for these Nationals. However according to the new ruling, if these travelers want to re-enter the country within 30 days of the last departure, then they will need to get an entry visa. This step has been taken by the Government to keep a check on foreigners who come into the country and try to work illegally before leaving after short durations again.



However overall, with the new visa ruling, things are looking positive for travelers from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain who come to the country with the intent of staying not more than 15 days. For those who need to get a visa to the country, Visa-Vietnam.org offers convenient, secure and reasonably priced options that make things a lot easier for them.



About Visa-Vietnam.org

Established in 2007, it is a professional company legally registered with the Vietnam government that offers hassle free visa solutions to holidaymakers and business travelers.



Media Contact



URL: https://www.visa-vietnam.org/

Phone: +84 8 5404 3118

Address: Room A2, 64 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Dakao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The UN climate agreement signed off in Paris, France, in December 2015 intensified the global push to protect forests as carbon sinks that can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.



Many developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have pledged to ring-fence their natural capital, creating parks that will be protected from logging, mining and other forms of industrial exploitation.



But analysis published today warns of a major blind spot. It says the price of failing to consider the people who live in protected areas could cost billions of dollars because of conflict, compensation and maintenance, delaying projects and thus missing the mitigation targets.

The Rights and Resources Initiative NGO and consultancy group TMP Systems teamed up to challenge the common myth that frames wilderness as areas empty of people. The analysis looks at the specific cases of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia, where plans to implement ambitious conservation actions are moving at pace.



The researchers analysed Liberias proposal of protecting 30 per cent of the countrys forest by 2020, with an initial donation of US$150 million from Norway, now reduced to US$100 million due to the strong depreciation of the Norwegian currency, to be managed through the World Bank.

They overlapped geospatial data sets on the countrys population and forest cover, producing six scenarios to estimate the number of people who would be displaced by creating the parks in less or more populated forest areas.



The results (see graph below) also include the locations most likely to be chosen, as they have been identified through the International Union for Conservation of Natures World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA).



Of the six scenarios, the WDPA scenario will cause higher than average displacement, exceeding the average number by about 35,000. The implication here is that the scenario fails to take into account the number of people affected by the measure.

The map shows current population densities within the potential protected areas.

When it comes to costs, too, the numbers just do not seem to add up.



David Theis, a spokesperson for the World Bank, said in an email: The World Bank recognises the need for careful consideration of land tenure issues as well as the important role of forest-dependent people in sustainable forest management worldwide.

He added that the Liberia Forest Sector Project seeks to invest an initial amount of US$37.5 million to improve the management of forest landscapes in the country and increase benefits for forest communities.

But should these preventive measures fail to avoid displacement, the report warns that compensation for people forced to move and facing loss of livelihood is estimated to cost up to six times more than the US$100 million currently available to implement the entire project.

Andy White, head of the Rights and Resources Initiative, says there is an unfunded liability to the government of Liberia that could lead to the proliferation of paper parks. These are projects where money is set aside and agreements signed off, but nothing happens on the ground.



This leaves room for illegal logging or mining. This is not only a waste of money and abuse of human rights, but it also doesnt achieve the forests conservation goals, says White.



However, the World Bank challenged the researchs findings, saying in an email: the specific allegations made regarding displacement of people in Liberia are very much off the mark, as they are based on erroneous assumptions and lack a firm basis in fact.

The email says that under the Liberia Forest Sector project people will not be displaced from their houses and farms. The creation of new protected areas will take into account the established human settlements, rather than requiring their relocation.

Forests cover 30 per cent of the worlds land surface. Their protection features prominently in the Paris agreement. Although scientists have been unable to accurately estimate how much carbon global forests are absorbing, damage from deforestation is measurable. Evidence shows it is becoming more serious by the year.



Programmes such as REDD+ intend to preserve these natural carbon sinks. But, says Ben Bowie, a risk analyst at TMP Systems, the tools available to design effective conservation programmes have not been used rigorously.

Another myth that the research aims to dispel is the assumption that local governments have a clear picture of where their people live, and that they can use this data to identify areas where conservation projects will have minimum impact. The researchers warn that this is rarely the case, although international funders seem unaware of the problem.



Population data is available, Bowie says, but nobody uses it. Instead of drawing achievable goals based on evidence, climate targets are often aspirational and efforts to meet them come afterwards.



Still, Bowie believes the Paris agreement is an opportunity for countries to develop policies based on solid evidence, as they will have to report on their progress at international negotiating tables.
For years, retired Maj. David Underwood has noticed that whenever he drove under power lines and around other electromagnetic fields, he would feel a buzz in what remained of his arm. When traveling by car through Texas' open spaces, the buzz often became more powerful.

"When roaming on a cellphone in the car kicked in, the pain almost felt like having my arm blown off again," said Underwood, an Iraq War veteran who was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). His injuries have resulted in 35 surgeries and the amputation of his left arm. Shrapnel from the IED also tore part of his leg and left him with more than 100 smaller wounds. "I didn't notice the power lines, cellphones on roam or other electromagnetic fields until I first felt them in my arm."

Until a recent study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas was published online last month in PLOS ONE, there was no scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal stories of people, such as Underwood, who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around cellphone towers and other technology that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

"Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain," said Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, senior author of the study and an associate professor of bioengineering in the University's Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. "Our study also points to a specific nerve pathway that may contribute to our main finding."

Most of the research into the possible effects of cellphone towers on humans has been conducted on individuals with no diagnosed, pre-existing conditions. This is one of the first studies to look at the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in a nerve-injury model, said Romero-Ortega, who researches nerve regeneration and builds neural interfaces -- technology that connects bionic or robotic devices to the peripheral nerve. There are nearly 2 million amputees in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many suffer from chronic pain.

After interacting with Underwood, Romero-Ortega decided to study the phenomena that Underwood described.

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The team hypothesized that the formation of neuromas -- inflamed peripheral nerve bundles that often form due to injury -- created an environment that may be sensitive to EMF-tissue interactions. To test this, the team randomly assigned 20 rats into two groups -- one receiving a nerve injury that simulated amputation, and the other group receiving a sham treatment. Researchers then exposed the subjects to a radiofrequency electromagnetic antenna for 10 minutes, once per week for eight weeks. The antenna delivered a power density equal to that measured at 39 meters from a local cellphone tower -- a power density that a person might encounter outside of occupational settings.

Researchers found that by the fourth week, 88 percent of subjects in the nerve-injured group demonstrated a behavioral pain response, while only one subject in the sham group exhibited pain at a single time point, and that was during the first week. After growth of neuroma and resection -- the typical treatment in humans with neuromas who are experiencing pain -- the pain responses persisted.

"Many believe that a neuroma has to be present in order to evoke pain. Our model found that electromagnetic fields evoked pain that is perceived before neuroma formation; subjects felt pain almost immediately," Romero-Ortega said. "My hope is that this study will highlight the importance of developing clinical options to prevent neuromas, instead of the current partially effective surgery alternatives for neuroma resection to treat pain."

Researchers also performed experiments at the cellular level to explain the behavioral response. That led researchers to explore the protein TRPV4, which is known to be a factor in heat sensitivity and the development of allodynia, which some subjects displayed.

"It is highly likely that TRPV4 is a mediator in the pain response for these subjects," Romero-Ortega said. "Our calcium imaging experiments were a good indicator that TRPV4 is worth further exploration."

Romero-Ortega said since the research produced pain responses similar to those in anecdotal reports and a specific human case, the results "are very likely" generalizable to humans.

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"There are commercially available products to block radio frequency electromagnetic energy. There are people who live in caves because they report to be hypersensitive to radiomagnetism, yet the rest of the world uses cellphones and does not have a problem. The polarization may allow people to disregard the complaints of the few as psychosomatic," he said. "In our study, the subjects with nerve injury were not capable of complex psychosomatic behavior. Their pain was a direct response to human-made radiofrequency electromagnetic energy."

At one point in the study, members of the research group showed Underwood video of subjects in the experiment and their response to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

"It was exactly the same type of movements I would have around cellphones on roam, power lines and other electromagnetic fields," said Underwood, who has served on congressional medical committees and been exposed to some of the best doctors in the world. "It is pretty amazing that a few short conversations with this team led to validation of what I, and many others, experience."

Researchers said that the next step is to develop devices that block neuropathic pain from radiofrequency electromagnetic energy.

Dr. Bryan Black, a research associate in the Department of Bioengineering in the Jonsson School; Dr. Rafael Granja-Vazquez, a postdoctoral fellow at UT Dallas; Dr. Benjamin Johnston of Brown University; and Dr. Erick Jones Sr., a professor of industrial, manufacturing and systems engineering at UT Arlington, also contributed to the work.
Big data and the growing popularity of online dating sites may be reshaping a fundamental human activity: finding a mate, or at least a date. Yet a new study in Management Science finds that certain longstanding social norms persist, even online.

In a large-scale experiment conducted through a major North American online dating website, a team of management scholars from Canada, the U.S. and Taiwan examined the impact of a premium feature: anonymous browsing. Out of 100,000 randomly selected new users, 50,000 were given free access to the feature for a month, enabling them to view profiles of other users without leaving telltale digital traces.

The researchers expected the anonymity feature to lower social inhibitions -- and apparently it did. Compared to the control group, users with anonymous browsing viewed more profiles. They were also more likely to check out potential same-sex and interracial matches.

Surprisingly, however, users who browsed anonymously also wound up with fewer matches (defined as a sequence of at least three messages exchanged between users) than their non-anonymous counterparts. This was especially true for female users: those with anonymous browsing wound up with an average of 14% fewer matches. Why?

Women don't like to send personal messages to initiate contact, explains Jui Ramaprasad, an assistant professor of information systems at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management. In other words, she says, "We still see that women don't make the first move." Instead, they tend to send what the researchers call a "weak signal."

"Weak signaling is the ability to visit, or 'check out,' a potential mate's profile so the potential mate knows the focal user visited," according to the study. "The offline 'flirting' equivalents, at best, would be a suggestive look or a preening bodily gesture such as a hair toss to one side or an over-the-shoulder glance, each subject to myriad interpretations and possible misinterpretations contingent on the perceptiveness of the players involved. Much less ambiguity exists in the online environment if the focal user views another user's profile and leaves a visible train in his 'Recent Visitors' list."

Men often take the cue. "Men send four times the number of messages that women do," says co-author Akhmed Umyarov, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. "So the anonymity feature doesn't change things so much for men."

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Implications beyond online dating

Experiments of this sort could be used in a range of online-matching platforms to help understand how to improve the consumer experience -- though it's important that the experiments be done ethically, the researchers say.

"Even though people are willing to pay to become anonymous in online dating sites, we find that the feature is detrimental to the average users," says Professor Ravi Bapna, co-author and the Carlson Chair in Business Analytics and Information Systems at Minnesota. "Professional social networks, such as LinkedIn, also offer different levels of anonymity, but user behavior and the underlying psychology in these settings is very different from that of romantic social networks."

As with many academic research projects, the idea for this experiment stemmed partly from serendipity.

"I happened to know a senior guy at an online dating site," Ramaprasad explains. "Since he knew that I studied online behavior, he suggested, 'Why don't you study this?'" The site, referred to in the study by the fictitious name of monCherie.com, is one of the largest online dating websites in North America.

The study could lay the groundwork for further academic analysis of online dating sites. "We expect future research to examine in more depth the issue of match quality and long-term outcomes as they relate to marriage, happiness, long-term relationships, and divorce," the researchers conclude.
LEXINGTON, S.C. -- Three Lexington high school students were among many across the Midlands who noticed the disconnect between organizations who needed manpower and volunteers who could help them in the aftermath of the historic Oct. 4 storm.

So River Bluff High School juniors Christian Antley, Travis Mize and Helen We devised an idea for an app, called Helping Hands, that would match those volunteers with people, organizations and causes that need their help.

Months later, the idea has taken off, making the students finalists in an international innovation competition.

I was actually kind of surprised with how far this app went, Mize said.

People and organizations could post to the proposed app when and where they need help, and volunteers could sign up to lend a hand or donate money through the app. The app would have helped after the October flooding, the students say, but it could be used year-round.

The students idea was initially just a project in their fluid design honors class. But now the team is among three finalists in a World Series of Innovation challenge requiring students to design an app that would encourage volunteerism.

The students didnt win the Peoples Choice portion of the contest but still could be picked by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to win $2,000 in cash, plus $500 for River Bluff.

Jason Ignet, the teams fluid design teacher, said he is proud of his students for trying to solve a problem that affected their community after the flooding.

I thought that was excellent, Ignet said. They saw that in a way that could be helpful to what we all had to deal with at that time.

The students dont have any immediate plans to go forward with creating the app but said they would like to see an investor or software developer take their idea and run with it.

I think it could bring a lot of benefits, Mize said. Our main purpose was to tell people there is a way to volunteer.
The Scottish Government should be required to publish a post-legislative report on each Act of Parliament, three to five years after implementation.

And Holyrood committees should normally have a maximum of seven members to ensure focused and effective scrutiny of Government.

Key recommendations on Holyrood Committee Reform, by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments (SPPA) Committee. In its report published today, the Committee said it was not, however, persuaded by arguments for the introduction of elected conveners.

SPPA Committee Convener, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

The aim of any change must be to make committees more effective at scrutinising legislation and government policy, and holding the government of the day to account.

We believe there are already many examples of committees working with great effectiveness - challenging the Government, questioning Ministers, airing public concerns.

Our recommendations, and a greater emphasis on post-legislative scrutiny, will see committees working at this level of effectiveness, more of the time.

Background information

In addition to key principles which should underpin any future change, the committee made the following recommendations:

We recommend that next sessions committees should normally have a maximum of seven members (the effect of which is that Members serve on only one committee).

If the next Parliament aimed for around 14 committees, with no more than seven members each, the number of committee places to be filled would be similar to the number of members available to serve on committees. Each additional committee, or each committee of more than seven, will increase the number of members who have to sit on two committees.

On avoiding churn of members - We recommend that in proposing changes to committee membership, the Bureau should attempt to minimise turnover of members.

On committee remits and the Justice Committee - We do not think that there is a case for significant changes to the way in which the remits of subject committees are decided.

The one exception is the Justice Committee which, in every session of the Parliament to date, has been more consistently burdened with legislation than any other committee

the Parliament could consider for next session establishing two justice committees but this time with distinct remits  analogous to the split in the House of Commons between Home Affairs and Justice.

In a previous report on post-legislative scrutiny, we suggested steps that committees could take to increase post-legislative scrutiny. We think a further step is needed to build this scrutiny routinely into committees work. We recommend that, within 3-5 years of Royal Assent, the Scottish Government should be required to publish a post-legislative report on the implementation of each Act of the Scottish Parliament.

Nothing we have heard has persuaded us that the introduction of elected conveners would result in more effective committees or conveners. We do not recommend that the Parliament makes any change to the current system of choosing committee conveners.

On next steps: The best time to make significant changes to working practices is at the start of a new session. The Committee hopes that this report will lead to discussion across the Parliament and broad agreement on the steps needed to increase committees effectiveness next session.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2016-19

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the opening of registration for their 2016 Regional Compliance Outreach Programs for Broker-Dealers that will take place in New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, beginning in the spring.

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, in coordination with the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, is partnering with FINRA to sponsor the programs. Similar to the 2015 National Compliance Outreach Program for Broker-Dealers, each regional program will provide a forum for regulators and industry professionals of broker-dealer firms to discuss current regulatory issues and exchange ideas for effective compliance practices.

The regional programs illustrate our continued commitment to foster an open dialogue among broker-dealers and regulators, said Kevin Goodman, National Associate Director of the SECs Broker-Dealer Examination Program. These outreach programs are an opportunity to discuss current compliance topics of regional and national importance.

Susan Axelrod, FINRAs Executive Vice President of Regulatory Operations, added: The financial markets are evolving rapidly and the industry must continually assess risk, exposure, and how brokers interact with customers. Each year, these direct dialogues between regulators and compliance leaders yield new insights about how we can best achieve our mutual goal of investor protection in this dynamic environment.

There is no cost to attend the regional programs, which will be held in New York on April 7; Atlanta, April 20; Dallas, June 7; Boston, June 14; Chicago, July 25; and San Francisco, August 18. Registration is open to risk, audit, legal and compliance professionals employed by broker-dealers, with limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. CPE credits will be available at each program.

For registration and additional details about the regional programs, please visit the SEC website or the FINRA website.
The Flint water crisis has gone from bad to worse since the very first reports from residents of brown, smelly water after the city switched over to river water in an attempt to save money.When the toxicity tests on their water revealed that an entire city's population of children had been exposed to high levels of lead leaching from pipes corroded by the river water the crisis got much worse.And when Michigan learned that officials disregarded concerns and ignored warnings about lead contamination for months before alerting residents and taking action, we found ourselves baffled by such a blatant disregard for the well-being of citizens and a willingness to let people drink poison to avoid admitting a mistake.Now a state of emergency has been declared in Flint for the unnatural disaster, Gov. Rick Snyder has asked the federal government for assistance, and the national media has shed a bright light on mismanagement at all levels.The crisis opened up a national debate over a number of things  mainly lead exposure  but also a community's ability or inability to trust the leadership of their municipality and state to keep their residents safe. For Flint, the action regarding city's water system was taken by an Emergency Manager appointed by the governor, making decisions for that community without regard to local elected officials or citizens.Those efforts proved not only to be a financial disaster but more disturbingly passed on lifelong learning impairments to children who were needlessly exposed to additional lead toxicity through the water pipes in their city. Between 2013 and 2015, elevated blood lead level (BLL) rates for children in Flint doubled, rising from 2 percent in 2013 to 4 percent in 2015.That is "additional" exposure, because Flint, like Kalamazoo, was already listed as one of Michigan's 14 target communities for lead exposure before the recent disaster. A target community has known issues with children exposed to lead, not from corroding water pipes as in Flint, but in their environments  mostly from ongoing exposure in older homes such as lead paint dust released from the friction of opening and closing old windows and doors, and exposure to lead in the soil around a home. About half of those 14 target communities have county-wide intervention programs to support their children. Flint is among them. Kalamazoo is not.Kalamazoo City Commissioner Matt Milcarek has been thinking a lot about lead exposure in light of Flint's crisis. Really, he has been thinking about a troubling lead problem  concentrated in pockets of Kalamazoo  for quite some time.Milcarek is not only a newly elected city commissioner, he is a licensed lead inspector and risk assessor. Through his decade of work in residential construction, including his present position as the Construction Manager for Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services, he oversees a variety of lead abatement rehabilitation projects in homes in Kalamazoo.On a personal level, he has a child with elevated blood lead levels. He and his family live in the heart of the Vine neighborhood, one of the citys historic districts, with predominantly older homes. Even though they knew the precautions to take, their daughter became exposed to lead through lead dust found in their home.Recently, Milcarek's home underwent lead hazard reduction work through the State's Lead Safe Home Program , which involves lead assessment, recommendations, and remediation, to reduce toxic lead exposure within the home to families with at-risk children.Families with children under age 6 may qualify, and those with children with elevated blood lead levels have priority. The application process can take a while, though. And for a family whose child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning, time is of the essence.Families need intervention immediately to identify the sources of lead exposure and to eliminate it because the longer a child is exposed to lead, the greater the potential physical damage. Ongoing exposure to even low levels of lead can be as detrimental to a childs long-term cognitive and neurological abilities as a one-time high-level exposure.According to the CDC , No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. And effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected.Kalamazoo used to have one of the most robust county-wide intervention programs in the state. When a child tested positive for lead poisoning, a registered nurse and lead assessor would go to the family's home, locate sources of lead, educate the family about how to reduce exposure and offer remediation options. In 2014, the program was cut, entirely.Gillian Stoltman, Director at Kalamazoo County Health Department cites several reasons for cutting the program  funding changes that put more financial burden on local jurisdictions; the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) expanded its follow-up programs; more private businesses offer lead abatement work; and the fact that the children with elevated blood lead levels had dropped substantially.A consistent decline in elevated blood lead levels in the county  a trend that was a reality for Kalamazoo, and nearly all of the other 14 lead target communities, during the several years preceding 2013  can be detected in the last accessible year of the state's annual report on blood lead levels of children in Michigan.The increased testing and awareness appeared to be working. It would be important to analyze the statistical data from 2014  the year the county program stopped  to see if the downward trend continued. At publication, Second Wave is awaiting a response to an FOIA request for the document with that data.The Kalamazoo County Health Department instead provided seven months worth of data from 2015, April through December, which included information about confirmed venous draws and not capillary blood tests. Venous tests are blood draws taken directly from the vein  they are typically only conducted when capillary test results come back elevated. Capillary blood tests are more common and are a finger poke to express a small amount of blood for testing. Venous tests are more accurate and have a lower level of false positive outcomes, but they reflect a much smaller percentage of the children tested (not all those who have elevated capillary tests are re-tested with venous draws). More importantly, though, confirmed venous tests, alone, are not the data that communities use to evaluate their lead risk. Combined capillary and venous tests are the standard used to assess a community's lead risk.Cutting an intervention program is an interesting choice when your community remains one of a handful of lead target communities in the state. The County Health Department insists that Kalamazoo has low levels  the overall county rate of children in Kalamazoo County who have elevated blood lead levels in 2013, the latest full-year data available, was 3.6 percent, slightly less than the current crisis level of 4 percent in Flint. And for the seven-month snapshot between April and December of 2015 that the Health Department offered, the overall county rate was 3 percent. However, further scrutiny of the statewide data reveals a troubling pattern.Certain neighborhoods within Kalamazoo have concentrated pockets of lead poisoned children. The state report, on Blood Lead Levels of Children in Michigan , breaks the numbers down by zip code, according to the most current available reports  from 2013 and earlier.In 2013, in zip code 49001, home of the Edison neighborhood, 44.5 percent of the housing stock is made up of homes built prior to 1950, those that have the greatest lead risk. The testing rate for children in that zip code was 24.9 percent, and of the children tested 6.5 percent tested positive for elevated blood lead levels.Jump to zip code 49007, which contains the city neighborhoods of the North Side and Vine. The housing stock there is made up of more than 60 percent older homes. In 2013, 34 percent of children in that demographic were tested for lead, and of those children, 10.9 percent tested as having elevated blood lead levels.So, of the children being tested in some of Kalamazoo's most under-resourced neighborhoods, up to almost 11 percent of them were testing positive for lead poisoning.It's irrelevant that the overall county rate was 3.6 percent when pockets of Kalamazoo's lowest-income neighborhoods show elevated blood lead levels at upward of three times the county rates.Prior to 2012, blood lead levels were only considered elevated if they were above 10 micrograms per deciliter, but now the CDC considers anything above 5 micrograms per deciliter elevated.That's because lots and lots of studies between 1991 and 2012 confirmed not only the broad risk that lead exposure poses but the small quantities that can lead to a lifetime of problems. Dozens of studies involving tens of thousands of children have documented adverse health effects in children with lead levels between 5 micrograms per deciliter and 9 micrograms per deciliter. Known adverse effects of lead poisoning include loss of IQ and lifelong behavior and learning impairment.Lead testing is reported to the state, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recommends that an environmental history be done, and when very high levels are detected, a referral to case management is made, but the reality is MDHHS services the entire state on a limited and set budget. Which is why county-wide intervention programs are so important.What it would take to get the lead intervention program reinstated? Kalamazoo County's Stoltman reiterated that it boils down to funding.Kent, Ingham, Genesee, Saginaw and Wayne County health departments are all target communities, like Kalamazoo. They retain community-based prevention programs. Families in those communities identify young children at risk for blood lead poisoning, and monitor blood lead levels of children above 10 micrograms per deciliter and assure follow-up of children with blood lead levels above 20 micrograms per deciliter.And because budgets are tight in nearly every municipality, some communities have been creative as they sought out funding sources. The City of Detroit Health Department, for instance, was awarded a grant through the CDCs Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and funding from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant for the identification and follow-up of lead-poisoned children.If you look at the zip code break out for Kalamazoo, it's clear. Lead poisoning doesn't discriminate. But it does disproportionately affect the most marginalized children in a community.Milcarek says lead poisoning is tied to socio-economics for a number of reasons. It's housing, but not just old houses," he says. "We don't have good housing opportunities. We don't have a good housing stock in core cities. You have decades of disinvestment in core communities. You couple that with a state that literally has a financial system that strangles core cities and, you know, it's just this sort of decades-long compounding of consolidating low-income people in inner cities, with limited resources, in old homes and there's no equity in those homes to get them repaired. A new home doesn't have lead  it never had any put in.Which brings us back to the way we discuss a community's lead problem. Going back to the state's annual report from 2013 it shows that there were 2,300 kids under age 6 living in Portage zip code 49024. That zip code only has an older housing stock of 4.5 percent, yet they tested 333 kids or 14.5 percent of the total number of children in that zip code. Of those, only 1.5 percent had elevated blood lead levels.Stephanie Evergreen is an award-winning researcher with a doctorate in research and evaluation. She took a look at the county reports and found two things of concern in the reporting methods.First is the fact that grouping (zip codes) all together masks the high lead levels happening within specific communities.The second concern she found was in the disparity between the numbers of children tested in the highest risk areas and those tested in the lowest risk areas. Children on Medicaid are required to be tested for lead, but the 2013 data report reveals that state-wide only 26 percent of the community's children on Medicaid were tested. Kalamazoo county did better than the statewide average, but still only tested 55 percent of the highest risk children in the community.Evergreen says, if we are under testing, it's likely we are under accounting. She also notes that if the remainder of 45 percent of non-Medicaid children is made up of more educated parents who request testing for their child (that) definitely would lead to a biased sample.Discussing a community's lead problem by focusing solely on county numbers reflects a willful look-away from the most vulnerable children in our community.There has been harsh and deserved criticism for the state-appointed leadership in Flint. Basically, the criticism can be summed up like this: City poisons the poor to save a few bucks. Can't the same be said for Kalamazoo?Kathi Valeii is a writer, speaker, and activist living in Kalamazoo. She writes about gender-based oppression and full spectrum reproductive rights at her blog, birthanarchy.com Photos by Kasey B.
Press Release

February 3, 2016 Transcript of ANC Headstart Interview with Senate President Franklin M. Drilon by Karen Davila Q: With the 16th Congress coming to a close, would you consider it a success despite the fact that the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) did not make it? SPFMD: Yes. You know, it's not only with the BBL that we should be judged. This Congress, let's not forget, to my mind, had many firsts. If you recall, if we go back, this is the only Senate where three of our members got jailed - Senator Enrile, Senator Revilla, Senator Estrada. Two of them are still in jail, one of is out. But the three of them went to jail, got charged with the Anti-Graft Law because o the investigations done in the Senate. We also had an extensive investigation on the corruption charges against the Vice President resulting in a committee report recommending plunder charges. Q: For more than a year? SPFMD: More than a year. And the Mamasapano hearings - all of these, you have never seen these in the past. And by the way, in the 15th Congress, we also had the impeachment of the Chief Justice so he had a very historic 15th and 16th Congresses and that is why -many people do not realize it - we have now one-fourth of the Senate running for either president or vice-president. Never happened in our history before. All these investigations notwithstanding, we did not neglect our principal duties of enacting laws and policies for the good of our country. You'll be surprised, we made a count, we are passing about 2 bills a week, in the 16th Congress, before we close, on the average. I think we passed around 285 bills on third reading in the Senate of which 116 were enacted into law. 27 are with the President pending signature and another 14 are in the bicameral conference committee. Just last night we worked until 8 in the evening passing laws that could still make it. This Congress was not affected by the controversies we saw in the past three years. We passed many reform measures which languished in the legislative mills for years and we are proud of particularly of those bills concerning the economy. We passed various laws, the latest one is the Fair Competition Act, this one languished in Congress for years. We have passed the amendments to the Cabotage Law, which allowed more competition in inter-island shipping. Q: And the President has all signed these into law? SPFMD: Yes, the President has signed into law. We also passed the law which would create the Department of Information and Communication Technology, the DICT. We have passed the law liberalizing the entry of foreign banks. We ratified the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, which have been pending in Congress for several years. So many of these economic reform measures were passed in this 16th Congress, notwithstanding the fact that we had investigations, we were able to do our principal job. And by the way, there are a lot of criticisms in the Senate, but surveys will show that the Senate has not been affected as an institution. The SWS and the Pulse Asia have consistently shown that the Senate as an institution is performing well in the eyes of the people. We had the highest rating last December, and a little propaganda: This representation, your Senate President, has been judged as one of the most trusted and judged well in my performance as a senator. Q: I think it is quite interesting that you are mentioning it and we are talking about it because yes, I do remember that when the PDAF scam broke out, you have the trust and the credibility of the senators and the Senate as an institution being questioned. You have people saying, "Wala namang ginawa sa Senado kungdi maghearing," and yet you are saying that amidst all of that is that 116 bills have been signed into law, you have passed more than 200. Of those that passed which did not get the kind of news coverage you would have wanted, which ones would you say which would truly make a dent in the economy? SPFMD: Me for example, the matter of the Fair Competition Act (Philippine Competition Act). I have been in Congress for 18 years, since year 1 that has been discussed. Q: Yeah that is not sexy, it won't get the headlines. SPFMD: Yeah right, and yet especially with the NEDA Director General as the new head of the Philippine Competition Commission then you can really expect that slowly we will remove many of these monopolies which are strangling our economy. You know as I said, consistent with that we have adopted that policy of a more open economy, we have passed various laws, the Cabotage Law, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, which are very important. You know, recently we had these problems with our balikbayan boxes because of our outdated and outmoded customs laws which require inspection over a certain amount of cargo which was set years or decades ago. Q: You also made that P100,000 is tax-free for a balikbayan box. SPFMD: That's correct. That's precisely the point. I can't exactly remember now how much it was, but that amount gave the customs people the right to inspect, because of that declaration. So, this one is very critical. And I must repeat, the DICT, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, we sent that to the President, it's one of the bills that we passed that are pending with the President. We hope that this becomes law since this is critical for our BPO industry particularly. Q: How close are we to a Department or a Commission on Disaster Response on its own? Was that part of any of the bills passed? SPFMD: No it was not. Because, we also have to make sure that we do not unduly expand the bureaucracy. As they say, if it ain't broke then don't fix it. We don't see anything wrong with The present setup, we just need a strong orchestrator and a coordinator, because disaster relief would rely upon a number of agencies that would be involved - the DSWD, the DPWH, etc. Q: You speak of a good record of how many were signed into law, and how many bills were passed. But is it fair to ask that the Senate actually read what it has passed? Like the SSS pension hike, where the President vetoing after it had passed bicam? SPFMD: It's not a question of whether or not the senators read, I read it all and my colleagues in the Senate can attest to that. I pay attention to every bill passed. In the case of the SSS pension hike, unfortunately there was a disagreement between the stances taken by Congress and the SSS itself. The system of checks and balances precisely would check upon the tendency of to do something which could harm our economy. That's the view of the President, we may disagree - and we disagree since we passed the SSS hike - but the system of check and balances allows or authorizes the President to check on Congress in the same manner we check on the President. Q: So it's not true that the Senate did not read this law. I was told that this proposal was left to the committee of Senator Villar. SPFMD: Well that's the nature. You refer it to the committee, there are committee hearings, I would assume all views were heard and at the end of the day, the committee made a committee report which was adopted by the Senate, in the same manner for example, when we worked on and increased the tax exemption for the Christmas bonuses. It used to be P32,000, beyond P32,000 you'll get taxed, but this was fixed 20 years ago so we increased the exemption to P82,000. The President complained but he thought that the national government could absorb this loss in revenue as a result of this higher exemption so that's how this system works. We have a check and balance system where the executive branch under the Constitution is given the power to veto certain policies we have enacted. Q: Regarding the BBL, what's discussed the BLBAR (Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region). It's not the first draft, the pet bill of President Aquino himself. Do you think it affects his legacy that it did not pass? SPFMD: Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that he was not able to complete the structure. No, in the sense that he was able to come up with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which, by the way, can be pursued. It is not as if the peace process died with the President. He has set the framework, we have the Comprehensive Framework on the Bangsamoro , there are the steps that outline one of them being the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the change in the form of government to fit the Muslim region. It's unfortunate that it did not pass, the President really pushed for it but as I have said in previous interviews, the stars did not align for the passage of this bill. The reality is that Senator Enrile had a thick file of questions to ask Senator Marcos, inabutan na ng kampanya, Senator Marcos became busy and could not attend all the sessions and Senator Enrile - because he was not there during the committee hearings - had so many questions. And then the political environment, given that we are nearing elections, did not add to an environment conducive for the passage of the law. But the fact that the Bangsamoro Basic Law was not passed does not mean the end for the peace process. I would urge whoever is elected President - and I think it makes a lot of sense for him or her - to pursue this peace process and bring it to conclusion. Q: So you can re-file this bill? SPFMD: Yeas you can re-file this bill. It can be refilled, and all the experts opinion, all the testimonies of the resource persons, need not be taken again, it can incorporated in the present law. Q: I'm curious, what happens when someone like Senator Bongbong Marcos, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, and who is in charge of the details, studying the BBL, and he does not win the vice-presidency, the fact remains that he may not be in Congress next year. SPFMD: He can be a resource person. He can be asked, whoever is the chair of the committee can ask him before the committee and share his views at this point. So it is not the end of the world. Q: So what happens to the budget? Did you just continue for 2016 the ARMM budget? SPFMD: Yes the ARMM budget is there, and the contingency was that if we pass the BBL, the budget of the ARMM will be moved to the new structure. In fact it is not just the budget. Do not forget, there is an election in May, and the local officials will be elected on the basis of the old law, so you would still have the governor for the ARMM, etc. Life will continue, and the peace process will continue. That is my recommendation to whoever gets elected. Q: One of the disappointing things is that the President promised the passage of the Freedom of Information Act. Where is that? SPFMD: We passed it in the Senate, it's one those that we counted. It's in the House, we don't know exactly where it is in their committee, but there are a number of versions of the Freedom of Information Bill which the House is trying to reconcile and maybe they ran out of time. But maybe in the Senate, we have passed it. Q: I think they have an issue with the right-to-reply provision. SPFMD: Right, among others. Q: There is also the Salary Standardization Law. SPFMD: Yes but unfortunately it is stuck in bicam as we talk. We passed the Salary Standardization Law, the issue there is the indexation of the salary of the active personnel in the armed forces and the police indexed to the retirement pensions of those retired. So the salary increase of those in the active service, let's say is P1,000 then those retired will also get P1000. Now the 2016 budget, the present General Appropriations Act, we have P58 billion but this does not approximately P20 billion more for the retirees. So that's the issue, because by a PD (presidential decree) or an old law, there is an indexation, and in next year or the year after next, we will be paying more for the pensions than those in the active service. So this is a difficult area for our fiscal managers because our pension systems for the armed forces and the police is non-contributory not like an ordinary government employee, then we contribute to the GSIS. They are not covered by the GSIS and it is the budget which pays for the pensions. So this must be resolved. My recommendation is that let us increase the salaries of our workers in our government just for one year, while we are reviewing this very difficult issue. Q: If we increase it for a year, you are saying 2016, then in 2017 it hangs in balance? SPFMD: That's what it will be but in the meantime we work on the 2017 budget. Today, is the last day, so if we don't come up with anything, I think the President is authorized under existing laws to increase or order a salary increase, because there is already an authority under the General Appropriations Act in the tune of around P58 billion for salary increases. So he can mandate salary increases for our government employees which was done in the past. Then in the next Congress we should work hard to see how we can reform the system, including particularly the enrollment of our AFP and PNP personnel into the GSIS because that is the only way we can solve this problem. Q: You have government willing to put in P58 billion to increase salaries, and you have the same government not wanting to reform income taxes which will lessen revenues by around P38 billion, which would go back to the economy. Is there still hop for the income tax reform bill? SPFMD: P1.3 million workers in government. But I myself is open to that, but the reality is, our fiscal managers were not enthusiastic to that, because there were concerns to our credit standing but to me, it's time to review our income tax system, our income tax brackets, since these have not been reviewed for the last decade or so. We should look at it. We still have the next Congress to do it. I will personally push for it, its' probably one of those agenda items we will push for. Q: You were Senate President for the 15th and the 16th Congress. SPFMD: No not in the 15th Congress. In the 15th Congress it was Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. Q: Right. Would you consider the 16th Congress one of the most successful ones that have come in the recent years? SPFMD: I would think so. I would like to assert that. Because no.1, you know, we really had transparency as our basic tenet, we were a reform oriented Congress. Many of the laws that we passed were languishing in the legislative mill for years. By the way, in the 15th Congress, we also passed the Sin Tax Reform Law, which today I read in the papers in 2015 we generated around P141 billion in sin taxes. And I worked on that, I am proud to say that I worked on that. This year, in the 16th Congress, we passed the full coverage of senior citizens in the Philhealth program, right now our Philhealth which is funded totally out of sin taxes, covers I understand about 90% already of our people because the Sin Tax Law funded our universal healthcare program which now is giving benefit to our senior citizens and 90% of our population per the report of Philhealth is now covered by Philhealth insurance. Q: So would you say that within the 6 years of the Aquino administration, much has been done in terms of reforming the system? SPFMD: Very much has been done. This is the political will done by the President, to enact reform measures, to push Congress to enact reform measures, which for years have been languishing. I repeat, the Sin Tax law, for years languished and was eschewed in favor of certain brands. The Fair Competition Act, for years could not move. The Customs Modernization Act, for years could not move. Here under the leadership of the President and in fairness to Speaker Sonny Belmonte and me we really met every month without much media coverage and we tediously worked on each bill and saw to it that every reform measure that we need to pass will be passed. Q: What many people complain about is that here we are, we vote for senators and congressmen, and they have a lot of absences, they don't show up, they say they're helping their constituents. The BBL primarily didn't make it due to a lack of quorum in the House. How will this change? SPFMD: Well the change will start by electing the right people. Once you get elected, you have a mandate, you are responsible for your constituents. Nobody can tell you what to do. What is critical is that we elect the right people. Hindi naman po sa pagmamayabang, but quorum is not an issue in the Senate, Yesterday we were able to ratify treaties with 16 votes out of - by the way - were are only 21. Q: Will you be 24 this coming election? SPFMD: Yes we should be 24 this coming election. By the way, kami po ni Senator Tito Sotto, perfect attendance the whole 16th Congress. No absences, no tardiness, we were there when the gavel is banged and roll call is made. Q: Is there no punishment for legislators who have a certain number of absences? How about the ethics committee? SPFMD: Theoretically yes, but the reality is that is why you are elected, it is that you can be subject to the judgment of the electorate when you present yourself, it can be one of the issues against you. You know in the United States, I think it is Marco Rubio, an issue against him is his failure to attend a number of Senate sessions. Here, it can be an issue, when you present yourself for election, what kind of attention did you give to your duties as a senator. Q: I'm curious, if Manny Pacquiao wins a Senate seat, will he be able to get away with his absences in Congress at the Senate? SPFMD: Well you know in the Senate we are right in the fishbowl. We are scrutinized and looked at like in a fishbowl, and media, dahil kokonti lang kami, kitang-kita kung palagi kang absent. Those covering the Senate would know who are conscientious. Q: The lack of quorum, do you think that did in the BBL? SPFMD: In the House, yes. In our case, it is the process of interpellation because we have no cloture rule in the Senate, we cannot stop other senators from asking questions. That is why filibustering in the history of the Senate is a fact, we can filibuster to prevent the passage of a bill. That is a tradition in the bill. Pakiusapan mo na lang na huwag masyadong habaan, but in terms of imposing a cloture we traditionally we do not do that. Q: Representative Nograles said that it is possible that the Senate did not study the Salary Standardization Law in detail. SPFMD: I don't understand what he means. Q: Did it really go through scrutiny in the Senate? SPFMD: It was heard. In fact, a lot of revisions were done. The original bill filed by Senator Trillanes had to be revised, and we studied it. I dispute the statement that we did not study it. The issue that could not be resolved is the issue of indexation because of the amount of money involved. I repeat, for those in the active personnel the Salary Standardization Law this year will cost government P58 billion. The matter of the additional pension, the effect of the pension will be another P20 billion. Yes they are entitled to it, the pensioners, this is by law. Unfortunately, the present budget did not anticipate that, so that is the issue: Where will we get the funding? Q: Aquino's administration is operating with the largest budget right now - P3 trillion, how much of the GDP is going to infrastructure? SPFMD: I think for 2016 that is five percent, but that is not even enough. First, five percent, and never in the history of our country were we able to allocate five percent to infrastructure which is critical because infrastructure is critical in being able to move our economy forward. Having said, you'll hear Secretary Singson saying, "I am returning so much to the treasury, because it is unutilized, or plans changed, or savings." Now this says much about our planning process, about our execution. Maybe we should take a good look at the capacity our construction industry to absorb this budget we allocate. Sayang lang, we allocate five percent for infrastructure and yet they could, the economy could not absorb this, because of weaknesses of the system. Q: What can you say about the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee partial report recommending that charges be filed against Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son? SPFMD: Well it was presented to the Senate, the chairman of the Subcommittee, Senator Koko Pimentel presented the report to the Senate, it is now subject to interpellation. Q: Did you sign that report? SPFMD: I did not sign that because under our rules it is submitted to the plenary through me. So I am not a member of the committee. Having said that, with the findings contained in the report, the report speaks for itself. It's up now to the Senate to approve, to amend or to reject the report. Q: Now you have presidential and vice-presidential candidates spending billions already in advertisements and it is not even campaign season already to begin with. Elections in this country have gotten so expensive. SPFMD: Yes, so expensive, and we have to take the bull by the horn especially in the next Congress insofar as election spending is concerned, and better monitoring is concerned. First maybe we take a look at the budget allowed, the authorized spending per candidate, because it may have been outmoded. The law is violated, but maybe we look at how reasonable the law is. That's one. Number two, the political reform act, of course, it is an idea which, maybe, we will not have the support. In other countries, the candidates are given support by the government. Of course, those are countries with better economies such as the United States. Q: Not too many candidates like in our country? SPFMD: That's one. Maybe the time is not yet ripe but it is always good to start with a debate. But the political party reform act is something that we should work on. The reason why people hate politicians is that we change parties like we change our clothes every day. I have no magic solution to this election spending, but we should look into it because, as you've mentioned, election spending, has gotten expensive, with almost P600 million for the whole year of 2015 is something that to me, we should look at whether we can regulate this. P600 million and this was done before election period and this was not counted. Shouldn't we ask them to reveal their contributors? And maybe this is one of the areas that we will look into in the reform of the election laws. Q: Yeah, because in the US it is quite interesting how they do it. SPFMD: In the US, there is no limit on how much you spend, but there is a very strict regulation as to the contributors. Q: And how much one person can give? SPFMD: Yes. Very limited. Yesterday, I was listening to Senator Sanders and he is very proud to say that his average contribution is $25 per person and this was started by President Obama when he was able to utilize social media to get the grassroots' support. But can you imagine $25 per person, that's something that we look up to. They have this is what they call the super PACs where, if you were a candidate, I will form the super PACs for you, raise money for you, pay your television ads, and I hit your opponent, but I have no contact with you. I just believe in you. These are reforms... Whatever fits our system, we should do something about these enormous spending that we are doing because the next question is, "are you going to recover these? Q: Can a sitting be arrested? SPFMD: Under the Constitution, a sitting cannot be arrested while Congress is in session for crimes that the penalty is less than six years. Q: Libel, definitely no? SPFMD: Definitely. Q: So, to arrest Trillanes on libel... SPFMD: I really didn't study that portion. But I'm just citing the Constitutional provision. Q: Senate Poe, if she gets disqualified, what happens to her Senate seat? SPFMD: Very difficult. That's an open question because the qualification for the president, it is the same qualification for the senator, except for the residence. The question of natural-born is an issue in the Senate that is why there was a case in the SET and that questions her status, but beyond that I don't want to comment. Q: Would it really matter who wins as president for 2016? I know that you're with the Liberal Party and you support Mar Roxas. But given that you came on that show and said that there are so much economic reforms that are already put in place by this Congress. In other words, a democracy works where the institutions are strong. Will it make that much difference in our country? SPFMD: It does. We have a very personality-oriented system. Before we came to the show, we talked in America they are campaigning on issues, not on personalities. In our case, our psyche and culture would still look at the person. That is why President Aquino has succeeded because he was perceived to be clean, incorruptible, and reform-oriented, and therefore, in the almost six years of his presidency he was able to push many of the reforms because of his credibility as a leader. That is why even if we have done all these reforms, the implementation and execution is necessary that is why the next leader is very important.
On the Senate's adoption of the bicameral conference committee report on Senate Bill 2955 or the proposed OWWA Charter

The approval of this measure strengthens the mandate and capability of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as the principal government agency in ensuring the protection and welfare of our overseas Filipino workers. It also signifies the steadfast commitment of the Senate and the government in general in providing the best and comprehensive assistance program to our migrant workers who are heralded as our "modern heroes."

The legislation aims to provide the OWWA with more funds coming from the national appropriations which is expected to beef up its operations and implementation of pro-OFW measures. Further, it ensures that the contributions of its land-based and sea-based members are disbursed exclusively for such welfare programs.

I would like to thank Sen. Sonny Angara for shepherding the passage of this bill which will benefit millions of our OFWs and their dependents.

I am expecting that once enacted, the OWWA with all its regional and overseas offices will never fail to urgently respond to problems of our kababayans in aspects of repatriation, onsite assistance, reintegration, among others.
Press Release

February 3, 2016 GUINGONA: VIGILANCE NOT FEAR TO COMBAT ZIKA VIRUS SENATOR Teofisto "TG" Guingona III, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, reminded the Filipino public that being vigilant and proactive against mosquitoes is the first and most effective line of defense against the rapidly spreading Zika virus after the World Health Organization declared on Monday "international emergency" regarding high incidence of the virus. "The widespread cases of Zika virus have caused alarm in different countries, mostly because of its tragic effect on the unborn child of pregnant women, but this should not be the case in our country," Guingona stated. WHO has earlier warned against the possibility that Zika virus is "spreading explosively," and on Monday declared "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" following a meeting of independent experts in Geneva, Switzerland. While there is no reported incidence of the virus in Philippines aside from a single case in Cebu in 2012, the Department of Health (DoH) assured the public that it is ready to handle possible cases. Among its measures are information dissemination and ensuring proper clinical guidelines and capability of diagnosing Zika. According to Guingona, households and communities will be the ones directly affected should Zika be present in the country; therefore, mobilizing local efforts is vital to combat the virus's spread. "The mosquito that carries Zika virus is the same that carries dengue virus, and we have had our share of dengue outbreak but we fought hard. Zika is not as deadly but we must be as vigilant," Guingona added. Symptoms of Zika virus are typically mild, which include fever, skin rash, joint and muscle pains, and reddening of the eyes, and may be mistaken for symptoms of dengue or Chikungunya. Precautions like keeping the environment clean and destroying possible mosquito breeding grounds are highly advised.
Press Release

February 3, 2016 Speech of Senator Loren Legarda

First National Fisheries Industry Summit

3 February 2016 | Philippine Trade Training Center, Pasay City It is my honor to be part of this momentous event--the First National Fisheries Industry Summit where we will also launch the Comprehensive National Fisheries Industry Development Plan for 2016-2020. I am particularly interested in this five-year national fisheries plan due to the challenges that the industry must address and cope with. The Philippines has one of the world's richest ecosystems, characterized by extensive coral reefs, sea-grass beds and dense mangroves. It is located within the Coral Triangle and houses the world's center of the center of marine biodiversity, the Verde Island Passage. Despite this abundance of marine resources, we know very well that a large percentage of our population living in coastal communities remain poor. An estimated 4 of 10 coastal residents in the Philippines live below the poverty line. Unsustainable fishing practices, urbanization and pollution degrade our marine ecosystems. Moreover, the changing climate poses great threat to our seas. In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth's surface than any preceding decade since 1850. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are now at levels "unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years." Oceans have acidified, having absorbed about a third of the carbon dioxide emitted. This has resulted in coral bleaching. For an archipelagic country like the Philippines, this unraveling scenario is a nightmare due to threats of inundation, decrease in fish catch, and weak tourism in marine environments. Rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification are projected to cause major damage to coral reef systems. Coral reefs are the food basket for the fish. A square kilometer of healthy coral reef may yield to about 30 tons of seafood every year. But sea level rise, floods that damage fish farms, and increased acidification of the oceans by 2050 could reduce farmed fish yield by 90%. The destruction of coral reefs, whether due to coral bleaching or destructive fishing practices, would translate to lower fish catch and lower protein for the people. It is estimated that 80 percent of the animal protein requirement of Filipinos come from our seas. Thus, I wish to highlight the importance of the Comprehensive National Fisheries Industry Development Plan for 2016-2020 and express my support to the programs of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). This national fisheries plan should be able to uplift the fisheries sector through innovative and sustainable practices covering the four major fisheries sectors--capture fishing, aquaculture, post-harvest and marketing. The convergence among government agencies is also crucial. The Department of Agriculture and BFAR must work with other agencies that have coastal management programs. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will start implementing the National Coral Restoration program which we funded under the 2016 national budget. The DENR will implement the program based on current programs, such as the Sustainable Coral Reef Ecosystem Management Program (SCREMP), a national program to protect and rehabilitate coral reef ecosystems through a strategic and ecosystem-based approach. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), has a program called Filipinnovation on Coral Restoration, which aims to restore coral reefs in partnership with several universities, private institutions, local government units and other stakeholders. The program has established laboratories to produce young corals that will be used to enhance and restore the reefs. It also attempts to identify genes that could possibly help corals cope with environmental stresses brought about by climate change. In 2012, the Philippine Senate concurred in the ratification of the Agreement between the Philippines and the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) to Establish the Office of the WorldFish Center in the Philippines. The WorldFish Center's projects on small-scale fisheries practice and aquaculture will contribute to improving nutrition and raising incomes in rural areas. Its work on biodiversity information systems will provide scientific basis for projects involving natural resources management and aquaculture. Its work on environmental conservation, jointly with national institutions, will be key to fighting poverty, food security and over-all economic development. In closing, I wish to call upon everyone in the industry to strike a delicate balance. We must aim to increase fish production for the benefit of our fisherfolks, industry stakeholders and the consumers, but we must do so through improvement of resource management, equitable distribution of benefits, and protection of the environment. Thank you and good morning.
Press Release

February 3, 2016 Sen. Marcos calls for intensified anti-drug campaign in all government agencies and offices Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. today called for intensified anti-drug campaign in all government agencies including regular random drug testing for state workers. Marcos aired the call after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency reported to the Senate an increase in the number of public officials and employees arrested last year for alleged links to the illegal drug trade, or a total of 191 government personnel compared to 180 arrested in 2014. "Unless the government can attend to its own backyard first by cleansing the ranks of public officers and employees of those involved in illegal drugs we cannot launch a credible nationwide campaign against the drug menace," said Marcos. Marcos noted that Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 mandates the conduct of random drug tests for officers and employees of public and private offices. The implementing rules and regulation of RA 9165 gives to the Civil Service Commission the duty of ensuring the implementation of random drug test in government offices. Marcos admitted that random drug tests alone won't be enough to cleanse the bureaucracy of people involved in drugs. "But if there is consistent implementation of random drug tests in all government offices it would at least serve as deterrent against drug use among public servants," said Marcos. Meanwhile, Marcos also backed proposals to allow anti-narcotic enforcers to conduct wiretapping operations against drug syndicates, saying this would buttress the government's efforts against illegal drugs. "Crooks are getting high-tech and we must provide our law enforcement agencies the means to deal with this situation," he said. He noted that in a series of surprise searches prison authorities conducted at the New Bilibid Prison authorities confiscated various contrabands from inmates including high-tech gadgets such as cellphones, tablets and computers with Internet connections. "This gives bases to suspicion that arrested drug lords manage to go on with their illegal business inside their cells. We must not allow this to happen," Marcos stressed. Marcos had been calling for a shift in the priority of the anti-narcotic campaign, saying the target should be big-time drug syndicates instead of small-time pushers and drug dens. At the same time he said the government's anti-drug campaign should also involve the entire community, including the parents, schools, church, barangays and other institutions, particularly in the conduct of values education to steer the youth away from the lure of illegal drug.
Press Release

February 3, 2016 SEN. GRACE POE SPONSORSHIP SPEECH

ON SB 2139 AMENDMENTS TO THE ANTI-WIRETAPPING LAW Mr. President, distinguished colleagues: As Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, I have the honor today to sponsor Senate Bill No. 2139 under Committee Report No. 463. This measure takes into consideration two Senate bills filed by Senator Honasan and this representation, and the approved House Bill 6107 by Representatives Belmonte, Ferrer, Sema, Bataoil and Pagdilao. This bill seeks to amend Section 3 of Republic Act No. 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Law, in that it exempts law enforcement agencies who are conducting illegal drug operations from the realm of Anti-Wiretapping Law, subject still to due process. This bill, once enacted into law, will be beneficial in providing assistance to our law enforcement agencies and strengthening the government's ability to prosecute drug cases. Illegal drugs is a persisting problem in our country. According to the Dangerous Drugs Board, about 1.7 million Filipinos are engaged in illicit drugs, which represents a 200,000 increase from the number of drugs users two (2) years ago. However, drug syndicates have become more apparent and cunning in getting away with the law. We continue to push for legislation that will help our authorities prosecute illegal drug perpetrators, as earlier we have passed an amendment to Section 21 of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. To support our proposal as contained in this legislation, wire-tapping has been used to solve major crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking in the United States. Wiretapping has helped established the flow of drugs and the structure of syndicates and how they are managed from the source to the market. The heads of syndicate and financiers are not exposed during criminal activity. It is not easy to prove their participation in trade, but recorded conversations can establish their involvement. Mr. President, I appeal for the Philippine Senate's favorable consideration in passing this measure. Patuloy po nating bigyang halaga ang nasisirang buhay--at ang karagdagang buhay na maaapektuhan--dahil sa iligal na droga. Layunin po natin bilang mga mambabatas ang bigyang proteksyon ang ating mga mamamayan at ang mga pamilya laban sa iligal na droga. Maraming salamat po, Mr. President.
Senate to launch centennial commemorative stamp

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) Chairman Cesar Sarino will lead the launching of the Senate centennial commemorative stamp tomorrow, February 4 at the Recto-Laurel Room, Philippine Senate, Pasay City, to mark its 100 year (1916-2016) anniversary.

Senate Secretary Oscar G. Yabes said the commemorative stamp, measuring 40mm x 30mm, features the Philippine flag and Senate logo from 1987 to the present. It was designed by artist Luis "Junyee" E. Yee, Jr.

The launching of the commemorative stamp is the Senate's first major Centennial activity in celebrating its Centennial year. The Senate is celebrating its centennial year from October 2015 to October 2016 under Proclamation No. 1091 signed last August 7, 2015 by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

The proclamation calls on all national government offices, government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local government units (LGUs), to support and extend "assistance and cooperation to the Senate in the observance of its Centennial year."

"Truly it is an honor for PHLPost to have become part of this celebration. It is but fitting that a stamp will immortalize the achievements of this August body which now have reached its centennial year," Sarino said.

He said PHLPost had commissioned Amstar Co. to print 101,000 copies of the stamps, to be sold at P15 each starting February 01, 2016.

The stamps and official first day cover are now available at the Post Shop, Central Post Office, Door 203, Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila and area post offices nationwide. (Apple Buenaventura)
Press Release

February 3, 2016 Start writing EO on pay hike, Recto tells PNoy as SSL IV remains deadlocked Even if Congress will adjourn today for a four-month election break without passing the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) IV, government workers can still get their pay hike through an executive order which President Aquino can sign. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said "a presidential order can be the Plan B" to effect the new wage rates under the pay hike bill which has stalled in a House-Senate impasse over the issue of including military pensioners in the increase. "I think that at this stage, the President's men should start drafting the executive order," Recto said. Recto said that Congress has already appropriated the amount of P57.9 billion, representing the cost of the first annual installment of SSL IV, in the 2016 General Appropriations Act, "so the spending authority is already there." "By issuing an executive order, the President will be merely implementing a program which, in principle, Congress has consented to," he said. Recto said "there are many standing precedents in which presidential power was used to effect compensation adjustment in the government." During the time of President Arroyo, this prerogative was invoked four times, in 2001 and yearly between 2006 and 2008. In 2001, Arroyo issued Executive Order 22 granting a five percent increase over monthly salaries of civilian and uniformed personnel. In 2006, Arroyo issued Administrative Order No. 144 granting additional compensation of one thousand pesos to government employees. The following year, she signed Executive Order No. 611 granting a 10 percent increase in basic monthly salaries of civilian government personnel and likewise increasing the subsistence allowance and hazard pay of military and uniformed personnel. In 2008, Arroyo caused the increase of 10% over the basic monthly salaries of civilian, military and uniformed personnel through Executive Order No. 719. President Joseph Estrada also exercised this prerogative, issuing EO 219 in 2000, which grants "salary adjustment to all government personnel." During the time of President Corazon Aquino, three EOs were issued by her, one in 1986, and two in 1987, all of which hiked government sector pay. Under RA No. 6758 known as the "Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989" and PD 1597, the Chief Executive was granted the power to revise the compensation and classification system and approve the grant of additional allowances and other fringe benefits to employees of the national government. Because any presidential order would merely implement the pay hike appropriation in the national budget, "then it will only be good and valid for 2016, for the budget year it was appropriated. Kung ang budget cover ay for 2016 lang, then the EO is for 2016 din lang," Recto explained. "This means the SSL IV will have to be resubmitted to the next Congress that will convene in July," he said. "This would provide time to further study the bill, polish it, remove the contentious provisions, probably further increase the salary for teachers, policemen, and soldiers, and raise military pension," he said. Recto, however, reminded "all the president's men" involved in the pay raise project to include a provision "protecting Magna Carta benefits" in the presidential order. "There should be a 'non-diminution of benefits' clause in the Malacanang order that will be issued," he said. "Specifically, this provision must be included: 'Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to reduce, diminish or alter benefits provided for in existing laws on Magna Carta benefits.'" "This is the clause government teachers, scientists, nurses, doctors and social workers want because it removes all ambiguities in the measure that can be interpreted as a pay cut," he added. "That's a short 22-word provision that can bring comfort to Magna Carta beneficiaries," Recto said, reminding Malacanang "to be mindful over the spreading protests in the civil service ranks over the threatened reduction of Magna Carta benefits." He recalled that when this section was sent to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for comment, "the DBM fully agreed."
Kyiv's direct access to external capital markets in the coming years is unlikely because of the high cost of such borrowings and the centralized management of external sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt at the state level, but the capital of Ukraine has a good opportunity to raise funds through international financial institutions (IFI), CEO of Kyiv Investment Agency Oleh Mistiuk believes.

"Centralization of functions for external public debt management, which is based in the Ministry of Finance, implementing the conditions of the EFF program and consolidated controls over macro indicators suggest that "quasi-sovereigns" similar to municipalities should not independently enter capital markets not to disturb the structure and predictability of public debt management," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Mistiuk added that, given the current credit ratings of the country and the city, the cost of borrowings for Kyiv will be high enough.

"But we have an 'opened window' of opportunity to work with IFIs... We've finally lived up to the point when not only the most proactive IFIs such as the EBRD or the IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank, but even more conservative, such as the World Bank itself, begin to move to the level of bilateralness, i.e. direct work with municipalities," the official said.

According to him, the matter will unlikely concern attracting wholesale funding.

"Most likely IFIs will consider specific sectors, specific transactions, such as transport, energy efficiency or water supply, and so on," he explained.
Upon seeing Tamas Dezsos portrait of a weathered Romanian shepherd, Petru, or of 83-year-old Ileana carrying fallen apples to her remote mountain village, one may believe that the Hungarian photographer has somehow traveled back in time to the 18th or 19th century to capture these shots.

How else to make sense of the seminomadic shepherd enveloped in his woolly cojoc, a cloak hand-sewn from the skins of three or four lambs that serves as shelter during the months he sleeps in the open, driving his stock several hundred kilometers across the mountains? Or the fact that Ileana, an entirely self-sufficient woman, with her strong hands and floral head kerchief, has lived alone since 1958 in the village of Fata Rosie with no running water or electricity and once-a-month mail delivery?
Two Santa Clara University student hospitalized over the weekend have contracted meningococcal meningitis, public health officials said Tuesday.

One undergraduate student, whose condition and identity have not been disclosed, became extremely ill Sunday and was admitted to an area hospital. County public health and university officials were working to identify anyone who came into close contact with the student during the contagious phase.

County health officials said another student, who also was hospitalized, tested positive for the disease.

The disease, for which vaccines are available, involves inflammation of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Initial symptoms are often similar to those of the flu, such as sudden fever, headache and vomiting.

Though people with meningitis are contagious, the infection is typically only spread through mucus or saliva. It can prove fatal if not treated in time.

Because of the way the disease is spread, the larger community is likely not at risk, said Allison Thrash, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.

Santa Clara University officials and personnel from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department were administering antibiotics to those who came in close contact with the students.

Lynn Bozof, president of the National Meningitis Association, urged parents to ensure their children get the immunization. Bozofs son, Evan, contracted the disease while at Georgia Southwestern State University in 1998 and died after hospital personnel initially misdiagnosed him.

We were told he has a little virus, and the next morning we got a call saying he was in intensive care with a 5 percent chance of survival, Bozof said.

A Nebraska teenager at High Plains Community Schools died last week from an apparent meningitis case.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
BRUSSELS  The European Union and the United States struck a deal Tuesday over data-sharing that will allow the likes of Facebook and Apple to continue sending peoples information across the Atlantic.

The sides had been trying to forge an agreement since October, when Europes top court struck down the previous pact  known as Safe Harbor  amid concerns that Europeans personal data stored by companies in the U.S. might be exposed to spying by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The new deal, once put in place, potentially brings an end to a period of uncertainty that had raised the prospect of legal challenges by individuals across the 28-country EU worried about privacy.

Our people can be sure that their personal data is fully protected, said Andrus Ansip, the European Commissioner responsible for the digital single market. Our businesses, especially the smallest ones, have the legal certainty they need to develop their activities across the Atlantic.

Ansip said the new framework, which will be known as EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, will ensure the right checks and balances for European citizens and added that it offers significant improvements to the previous deal, which had been struck in the early days of the Internet at the turn of the century.

This solution is much better than the one we had in the year 2000, he said.

Annual review

Under the new deal, there will be an annual joint review of the data-sharing pact, with the first expected sometime next year. The U.S. has also promised to appoint a new official  a so-called ombudsman based at the State Department  responsible for following up on complaints upon referral from EU data protection officers.

Its Safe Harbor with teeth, said Dyann Heward-Mills, head of data protection at London legal firm Baker & McKenzie. I think this is good for business certainty and consumer trust.

In its October decision, the European Court of Justice declared the Safe Harbor pact invalid because it did not adequately protect consumers where their data was stored in the U.S., in light of the spying revelations made by Edward Snowden, a former contractor at the National Security Agency. Snowdens revelations had prompted the complaint to the court from an Austrian law student, Max Schrems.

The pact, which had been used by around 4,500 companies, had allowed the easy transfer of data from the EU by having U.S. companies promise to provide privacy protections equivalent to those in the EU. The EU courts ruling that the pact was invalid opened up the possibility that data privacy officers across the EU might be inundated by complaints by consumers worried about their privacy.

Vera Jourova, the European Commissioner for Justice, said the deal is a landmark because for the first time the U.S. has given the EU binding assurances that the access of public authorities for national security purposes will be subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms.

Redress mechanisms

Also for the first time, she said EU citizens will benefit from redress mechanisms in this area.

The U.S. has assured that it does not conduct mass or indiscriminate surveillance of Europeans, she said.

Jourova added that shes confident that the new arrangements will withstand any future court challenges as the discussions used the court ruling to help in the formulation of the new structure.

She estimated it could take up to three months to make the deal binding, while U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said she expects it to be in effect in a matter of weeks. Pritzker said its been a long road but weve turned the corner.

Industry groups heralded the new deal, which they called critical because of the role cross-border data flows play in the modern economy.

We welcome the agreement, which will provide strong privacy safeguards for consumers and legal certainty for the thousands of companies that depend on trans-Atlantic data flows, said Christian Borggreen, international policy director at the Computer & Communications Industry Association.

Legal appraisal

Sophie int Veld, spokeswoman for data protection for the ALDE alliance of liberals in the European Parliament, said a legal appraisal of the safeguards offered by the U.S. is needed.

It is highly doubtful that they offer meaningful protection to European citizens, or if they meet the standards set by the European Court of Justice, she said.

She noted that the assurances seem to rely exclusively on political commitment, instead of legal acts so any change in the political constellation in the U.S. may undo the whole thing.
The Ukrainian parliament has ratified the financial agreement (the draft Ukraine municipal infrastructure programme) between Ukraine and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Bill No. 0075 on the ratification of the agreement was supported by 261 MPs on Wednesday.

The bill ratifies the financial agreement signed on July 23, 2015 in Kyiv.

The agreement envisages the provision of EUR 400 million by the EIB.

Ukraine in the person of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine acts as the borrower of the bank's funds, and Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry of Ukraine will execute the project.

Central and local executive power agencies, local self-government agencies and public municipal enterprises, including enterprises where the state or community holds over 50%, could be ultimate beneficiaries of the money.

The rate, fixed of floating, is defined by the borrower on the date when the funds are received. The total period for returning the funds is from 15 to 390 years, including the grace period from three to eight years.

The fee for provision of loans to ultimate beneficiaries is 0.01% per annum of the amount drawn down and outstanding.

According to the explanatory note to the bill, the ratification of the agreement would allow raising funds for the Ukrainian regions to modernize the utilities and housing sector.
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A weeklong battle for life ended tragically Tuesday for a 29-year-old Apple data analyst and popular DJ who was stabbed along with another man by a mob last month outside a San Francisco nightclub.

Joseph Razos close friends and family are hoping police find the killer while grieving their beloved friend, whom they described as warm and loving.

He was my beautiful man, Razos girlfriend of two years, Rhian Humphries, said Wednesday. Its beyond surreal. You dont expect something like this to happen to someone you care about.

She added that Razo was one of those people that everyone instantly loved. He was 6-foot-5 but a gentle giant. Everyone wanted to be his friend. He was so warm and loving.

The attack happened outside the Cellar nightclub at Sutter and Taylor streets in the early morning hours of Jan. 25.

Razo  who spun records at several bars around town  had been out with three friends when the club shut down around 1:45 a.m., police said.

He and a friend started to head off, but noticed their other buddies were being attacked by a mob of at least seven people in front of the nightclub, according to reports from the San Francisco Police Department.

Razo and his friend ran to help and were immediately pulled into the violent fracas. Someone in the crowd then pulled out a knife and began stabbing Razo and his friend before the group of attackers ran off, police said.

Suffering severe wounds to his chest, Razo stumbled around the corner and collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the Bohemian Club on Taylor Street.

Friend recovering

Paramedics took him and his wounded friend to San Francisco General Hospital, where they were treated in the intensive care unit.

Razos friend, who was not named by police, has slowly recovered from knife wounds to his liver and intestine. On Friday, he was sent home from the hospital.

But Razos injuries were far more serious.

He was stabbed in the aorta and he had severe internal bleeding, Humphries, 26, said. His lungs collapsed. They got those functioning again, and he had daily surgeries for different things.

She said that Razo fought hard for his life over the next week and that the doctors kept saying, Hes our miracle boy. His family posted dozens of pictures of the young man and his friends along with notes on a bulletin board in his hospital room.

But on Tuesday, Razo took a turn for the worse. Doctors said that his brain activity was affected by loss of oxygen and that his liver failed.

The family decided to remove life support.

About 40 people were in the hallway when he died, Humphries said. I cant describe how well-loved he was. His dad was there. It was obviously pretty tough. He was suffering.

No suspects identified

Police have not identified or arrested any suspects in the killing.

Homicide is looking for anyone who was a witness, said Sgt. Dennis Toomer, a San Francisco police spokesman. Were asking anyone from the public to come forward.

News of Razos death has reverberated through his extended family around the country and in Haiti, where his mother was born.

He was a really wonderful, beautiful and progressive kid, said his uncle Engels Souffrant, who lives in New York and works as a professional artist. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Razo was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Atlanta. His mother, Souffrants sister, worked as an emergency room doctor in Atlanta, where she died from cancer two years ago.

Friends like family

After graduating from high school, Razo went to Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he studied media technology and Spanish.

Razo later moved to San Francisco, where he shot instructional videos for Academy of Art University and started working as a DJ. He soon had a large group of close friends who were like a family, Humphries said.

In April 2014, he began to contract for Apple as a bilingual data analyst and would take the commuter shuttle to the companys Cupertino campus from his home in the citys Western Addition.

Shortly before landing the Apple gig, Razo began dating Humphries, who is originally from the United Kingdom, and the two eventually fell in love.

Razo was supposed to go to Humphries home from the Cellar club the morning he was stabbed, but she said he never called. She learned the news the next morning from a friend.

Joe, I will love you forever and always, Humphries wrote in a tribute to Razo on her Facebook page. You will always be in my heart and soul.

Anyone with information about the killing can call the San Francisco Police Departments homicide tip line at (415) 431-2127.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
Back in the studio days, Eddie Mannix was an executive at MGM and a famous mob-connected fixer for the stars. If a star needed an abortion  if a star got drunk and killed somebody with a car  Mannix would handle it. Hed suppress the scandal, work with the police and, if necessary, come up with an entirely false and palatable story for the newspapers. If he was your friend, he was your best friend, and if he was your enemy, you made sure your life insurance was paid up.

Mannix (Josh Brolin) is at the center of Hail, Caesar! The loose riff on the studio era is set in the early 1950s. But the Mannix here is not really Mannix but a jumping-off point for a fun and sloppy Coen brothers lampoon that compresses real characters, reimagines others, and brings together some of the periods many styles and currents. Hail, Caesar! can be enjoyed by anyone, but the more you know about the eras movies, the more youll appreciate it.

The studio here is Capitol Pictures, but its patterned on MGM, with Mannix taking orders from a Mr. Schenck out of New York (that is, Nicholas Schenck). When we first meet him, his studio is funneling lots of money into its latest biblical epic, Hail, Caesar!  a sort of combination of the real-life films Ben-Hur and The Robe. The Coens give us scenes from the film within the film, which capture both the magnificence and absurdity of filmmaking at this time.

The magnificence was in the Technicolor camera work and the completely uncynical way in which stars were presented as glorious  such as when George Clooney, as a dim-witted actor playing a centurion, sits on a horse, framed against the sky.

A more ironic take on the era comes when the centurion, in the desert, cuts through to the front of a line of slaves to get water  and then melts at the sight of Jesus, seen only from behind. Clooney is very funny, playing the scene with a completely unconvincing look of astonishment and transformation. What makes it funnier is that this is a stock scene that can be found, in one form another, in every biblical epic of the era.

The Coens Hail, Caesar! is a flimsy construction that depends on a zany spirit and the charm of individual scenes to hold it together. There are times when this begins to feel like a dubious strategy, but each time, the movie rights itself. And if you keep your eyes open, there is always something to notice: Frances McDormand in a subtle tribute to MGMs longtime editor, Margaret Booth, or a boardroom adorned with nothing but framed photos of Wallace Beery. In the biblical epic, you might also note the palm trees of a type that doesnt grow in the Middle East.

As the focus of most scenes, Brolin walks that distinct Coen brothers line between absurdity and realism, sarcasm and pathos. Somehow the Coens get to have it both ways, so that we see Mannix as a satirical figure and yet believe in his passion for the movie business. As the film star, Clooney has the fun of playing a frivolous, happy airhead in the offscreen scenes  a motormouth with nothing to say  and a screen idol in the film within a film. If he ever dreamed of being Kirk Douglas, here he gets his chance.

One of the Coens most inspired, bizarre touches is to cast Tilda Swinton as rival gossip columnists, twins who hate each other. Shes quite funny  blithe and vindictive in one incarnation, insecure and vindictive in the other. And Ralph Fiennes enlivens a couple of scenes as a refined gay director trying to direct a cowboy actor in a drawing room comedy  the studio era described in a single sentence.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. E-mail: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle

Hail, Caesar!

Comedy. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. (PG-13. 106 minutes.)
The San Francisco Independent Film Festival, the Bay Areas version of Slamdance, provides a showcase for edgy cinematic work  and a great excuse to do some serious partying.

With festive events like the Big Lebowski Party and the Anti-Valentines-Day Power Ballad Sing-Along, and with zany titles like Bunny the Killer Thing, Meathead Goes Hog Wild, and Lady Psycho Killer, SF IndieFest organizers leave little doubt that fun is a top priority.

Yet the festival  which runs from Feb. 11-25 at the Roxie, Brava and Alamo Drafthouse theaters  includes its share of serious offerings, whether its a documentary on photojournalists in Afghanistan or a feature about a young German woman struggling to get her life in order after being incarcerated.

Here is a sampling of the 41 features in this years 18th annual festival:

Frank and Cindy: Having no money and few prospects, budding filmmaker G.J. decides to make a picture show about his wacky parents, only to discover much more about himself, in this crowd-pleasing, opening-night film. Director G.J. Echternkamps autobiographical tale has a big heart and features strong performances from Rene Russo, Oliver Platt, Johnny Simmons and Jane Levy. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, Brava; United States, 100 minutes.

Meathead Goes Hog Wild: In this dark comedy, a seemingly docile slacker goes bonkers on the streets of Chicago after a horrible day in which he loses his dog, his butcher job (for ogling a customers breasts) and his sandwich order. He steals meat from his former workplace in a do-gooder effort to help the poor, but his most primal instincts quickly take over. The film is way out there, but it keeps you watching. 9:30 p.m. Feb. 19, Alamo; United States, 103 minutes.

Bunny the Killer Thing: A monster bunny, with a scary human appendage, is on the loose, and he has an insatiable sexual appetite. Soon, a remote campground becomes a living hell when the ravenous rabbit hops over to a cabin filled with vacationers, who make out like bunnies, natch, even as danger looms. This is a rollicking B movie that will score an A with cult movie enthusiasts. Check your political sensibilities at the door. 9:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Alamo; Finland, 88 minutes.

#BeRobin the Movie: This touching documentary follows comedian Margaret Cho and her street theater events to help San Franciscos homeless, in recognition of Robin Williams unceasing efforts to aid the less fortunate. Director Kurt Weitzmanns film also has plenty to say about the unique wavelength between comics and the homeless, and the darkness they sometimes share. Plenty of food for thought. 2:15 p.m. Feb. 14, and 7 p.m. Feb. 15, Roxie; United States, 41 minutes.

Paradise Club: A look at the darker side of the 1960s, this impressionistic film focuses on a nude dancer who gets trapped in the seedy undercurrent of a San Francisco club. Director Carolyn Cavalleros film includes lots of female skin, archival footage from the era, and Eric Roberts in loud suits. 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and 9:15 p.m. Feb. 18, Roxie; United States, 93 minutes.

Stubborn Boy: Just out of prison, young Hannah is dispatched to a German farm to finish her community service. There she must endure onerous tasks like shoveling manure, but thats nothing compared with dealing with the dour folks who surround her. Slowly but surely, though, this unlikely heroine begins to find her place in the world. 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and 7 p.m. Feb. 16, Roxie; Germany, 81 minutes.

Frame by Frame: One of the hidden gems of the festival, this extraordinary documentary follows four courageous photojournalists who work in Afghanistan. The film not only is a compelling profile of these empathetic souls, but also a colorful, inside look at a country that many of us still dont understand. Not a dull frame here. 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and 7 p.m. Feb. 15, Roxie; United States, 85 minutes.

Rain the Color of Blue With a Little Red in It: Inspired by Purple Rain, this film from Niger tells the story of a musician  with a purple robe and purple motorcycle  who is struggling to fulfill his artistic dreams in the Sahara Desert. Director Christopher Kirkley keeps the story simple, allowing us to experience a culture that we rarely get to see. 9:15 p.m. Feb. 19, Roxie; Niger, 75 minutes.

Booger Red: A fascinating cross between The Thin Blue Line and The Jerry Springer Show, this hybrid documentary-narrative features a fictional reporter who investigates a real-life child abuse story in Texas and interviews real-life witnesses, attorneys and victims who question how the case was prosecuted. It often plays like a reality TV hoax  we never know quite what is true  yet the approach seems oddly appropriate for the surreal tale at the center of the film. 9:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, and 9:15 p.m. Feb. 18, Roxie; United States, 98 minutes.

David Lewis is a San Francisco freelance writer.
NEWBURY, N.H.  Next up: New Hampshire.

Presidential contenders on Tuesday turned their airplanes and their hopes to the next arena in the fight for the nomination, a state that will test Ted Cruzs broad appeal and give Hillary Clinton yet another chance to revive a battered campaign in the Granite State.

On the Republican side, Cruzs win provided a twist worthy of the topsy-turvy race. Winning 27.7 percent support, the Texas senator proved to be beloved by evangelicals, even if much maligned by many others in his party, and adept at mounting a powerful grassroots operation. Donald Trumps second-place finish at 24.3 percent was a humbling blow to the boastful mogul who had dominated the polls for weeks. Coming in at a close third with 23.1 percent, Marco Rubio was catapulted to the top of heap of establishment candidates vying to be the partys preferred alternative to Trump or Cruz.

With all precincts reporting, Clinton led Sanders by less than three-tenths of 1 percent. The Iowa Democratic Party declared the contest the closest in Iowa Democratic caucus history. Sanders did not concede the race to Clinton, his spokesman Michael Briggs saying Tuesday that they are still assessing whether to ask Iowas Democratic Party for a recount.

For Clinton, New Hampshire represents a formidable, but inescapable, challenge. She used the state to rebound after a third-place finish in Iowa eight years ago. This time around shes facing an electorate that has been receptive to Sanders antiestablishment, anti-Wall Street message.

For Republicans, the pivot to New Hampshire meant the still-crowded cast of the candidates turned toward a less religious and mostly undecided electorate.

New Hampshire has historically favored more moderate candidates than Iowa, and more than 40 percent of the states electorate are not registered in any political party, giving them the power to choose which parties primary to vote in on Feb. 9. Polls show well over half of GOP voters have yet to make up their minds.

That may be good news for Cruz, who is hoping to avoid the conservatives Iowa curse. Unlike past conservatives who found love in Iowa but fizzled fast, Cruz argued Tuesday that his campaign has staying power, resources and broad appeal.

This is the power of the conservative grassroots and there is a silent majority in this country, Cruz told CNN. This is center right country. This is a country built on Judeo-Christian values. And the heart of my campaign is based on common-sense principles.

But as his campaign kept one eye on New Hampshire, the other was on South Carolina, where his fiery conservatism is expected to resonate better than in northern New England. Cruz was set to hold an evening rally in Greenville, S.C. evening rally, before returning to New Hampshire immediately afterward.

Rubio, too, was looking ahead. His campaign announced the endorsement of South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the only African American Republican in the Senate.

His advisers cast the race as a three-person contest  an attempt box out the other contenders vying for mainstream Republicans.

That wont be easy. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday stormed into New Hampshire with packed campaign schedules. Christie had five events scheduled on Tuesday; while Bush was holding four and Kasich had three town hall meetings planned.

And then there is Trump, who may be the candidate most in need of a comeback after Iowa. Despite stealing the spotlight and driving the debate for months, Trump appears to have been out-organized by Cruz in Iowa.
LOS ANGELES  Los Angeles prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges Tuesday against a utility for failing to immediately report a natural gas leak that has been gushing nonstop for nearly 15 weeks.

District Attorney Jackie Lacey said that the charges arent a solution to the problem but that Southern California Gas Co. needs to be held responsible for the leak that has uprooted more than 4,400 families.

The charges came the same day the state attorney general joined a long line of others in suing the gas company for the blowout that has spewed more than 2 million tons of climate-changing methane since October.

Lawmakers in Congress have urged the U.S. secretary of energy to investigate the leak, and federal regulators are crafting safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities.

The criminal complaint charges the company with three counts of failing to report the release of a hazardous material and one count of discharge of air contaminants.

The company didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

If convicted, the company could be fined up to $1,000 per day for air pollution violations and up to $25,000 for each of the three days it didnt notify the state Office of Emergency Services of the leak.

The company said it discovered the leak Oct. 23 and notified state gas and oil regulators.

But it failed to let state emergency officials know until Oct. 26, Attorney General Kamala Harris said in the latest of more than two dozen lawsuits filed against SoCalGas.

The leak has created a public health and statewide environmental emergency, Harris said. The lawsuit, which doesnt specify damages, says the company created a nuisance and violated health and safety codes and the states unfair competition law.

A spokeswoman said the company doesnt comment on pending litigation and was focused on stopping the leak, which it expects to plug by the end of the month.

SoCalGas is facing more than two dozen lawsuits  including potential class-actions from residents and businesses over the leak as well as from regional air regulators and city and county authorities.

Harris, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, is the first state official to sue, though her lawsuit incorporates elements of lawsuits filed by the city and county of Los Angeles.

Several state agencies are investigating the blowout and have issued orders to the gas company to stop it and turn over records of the 60-year-old well and others from the field that is the largest natural gas storage facility in the West.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration got involved for the first time Tuesday, saying it is working to propose regulations for gas storage and directing operators to inspect and take immediate actions to ensure the safety of underground natural gas storage facilities across the country.

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat who lives in the Porter Ranch neighborhood that has been most affected by the gas leak, said the agencys advisory amounted to a note to industry saying, not just please, but pretty please follow the American Petroleum Institutes recommended practices for gas storage.

At a very minimum, those practices should be mandatory immediately, said Sherman.

Residents have reported symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds and rashes.
Myron Beldock, a lawyer who championed seemingly lost criminal causes but won freedom for various wrongly convicted men, including former boxer Rubin Hurricane Carter after he had served 19 years in prison for three murders in New Jersey, died Monday at a hospice in Manhattan. He was 86.

His wife, Karen L. Dippold, confirmed the death, but did not specify the cause. Mr. Beldock lived in Greenwich Village.

The son of a Brooklyn judge, Mr. Beldock specialized in criminal and civil rights law, but styled himself an old-time general practitioner. Most of his cases were not high-profile murder-and-mayhem trials, and most of his days in court were spent ingloriously with clients accused of wrongdoing that never made headlines, or with plaintiffs, many of them poor and black, who contended that their rights had been infringed on by employers or government agencies.

Creature of my time

I was a creature of my time, liberal, progressive and idealistic, he said in an interview for this obituary in 2014. Yes, I wanted to rectify injustices and improve the criminal justice system. But basically, I took whatever came my way.

Mr. Beldock became nationally known for defending people who had already been convicted and imprisoned, like Carter and his co-defendant, John Artis  black men who were accused of firing shotgun and pistol blasts that killed two white men and a white woman in a Paterson, N.J., bar in 1966. Carter, a leading middleweight at the time, said he had been a victim of racial bias, framed for speaking out on civil rights.

Mr. Beldock, over more than a decade, helped to expose false testimony by witnesses and misconduct by Passaic County prosecutors in two earlier trials, helping Carter and Artis win reversals in 1985.

The case inspired celebrity protests; a song by Bob Dylan; best-selling books, including Carters autobiography, The 16th Round (1974); and a 1999 movie, The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington as Carter.

In another major case, Mr. Beldock represented Yusef Salaam, one of five young black and Latino men who had falsely confessed on videotape to the 1989 beating and rape of a woman who became known as the Central Park jogger. After serving terms of 7 years to 13 years, the five were exonerated in 2002, when an imprisoned serial rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime and prosecutors confirmed his account with DNA evidence.

A national symbol

Early in his career, Mr. Beldock won dismissal of an attempted rape charge against George Whitmore Jr., a teenager arrested in Brooklyn in 1964 who would become a national symbol of injustice.

After days of questioning, Whitmore confessed to the attempted rape of a nurse, the rape and murder of a Brooklyn woman and the knife killings of Janice Wylie and Emily Hoffert in 1963 in Manhattan, a case known as the Career Girl Murders. He later recanted the confessions, saying he had been beaten into signing the statements.

In the attempted rape case, Whitmore was convicted twice and sentenced to five to 10 years after the second trial, largely on the testimony of the nurse, Elba Borrero. The first verdict was reversed after a finding of prejudice on the jury; the second after it was found that his confession was tainted.

Whitmore had been incarcerated for three years when Mr. Beldock, in a third trial, successfully challenged the victims identification of the perpetrator; she had viewed him through a peephole in a police station where Whitmore stood out as the only black man in a lineup.

All I know is, George Whitmore attacked me that night, Borrero said during Mr. Beldocks relentless cross-examination, which exposed numerous contradictions in her story. Stop bothering me. I know it, he knows it and God knows it.

When Mr. Beldock objected, she jumped up and said, You werent raped that night, sir.

Mr. Beldock objected again. A broken Borrero, turning to the bench, pleaded, Judge, do you know what it is to go through this for five years?

Mr. Beldock retorted, Do you know what it is to spend three years in jail?

There was no answer. Mr. Beldock had won his point.

Miranda decision

After many witnesses said Whitmore had been in Wildwood, N.J., on the day of the Wylie-Hoffert murders, prosecutors in 1965 dismissed those charges and the Brooklyn rape-and-murder case.

Coerced confessions by Whitmore became instrumental in the 1966 Miranda decision by the Supreme Court, which required the police to advise suspects of their rights to remain silent and be represented by a lawyer. They were also decisive in the 1965 repeal of capital punishment in New York state except in the murder of police officers.

Myron Beldock was born in Brooklyn on March 27, 1929, to George and Irene Goldstein Beldock. After serving in the Army from 1951 to 1954, he earned his law degree from Harvard in 1958.

In 1953, he married Elizabeth Pease. They were divorced in 1969. He married Dippold, a lawyer with his firm, in 1986. Besides her, his survivors include four children from his first marriage.
1 Hacking tools: The U.S. government is rewriting a proposal under arms control rules from 20 years ago to make it simpler to export tools related to hacking and surveillance software since they are also used to secure computer networks. The White House said it supports making cyberintrusion tools available overseas for legitimate cybersecurity activities, according to a letter made public Tuesday. Industry groups and lawmakers have raised fears that overly broad language aimed at limiting the spread of such hacking tools would have unintended negative consequences for national cybersecurity and research.

2 Flint water probe: The FBI is working with a multiagency team investigating the lead contamination of the drinking water in Flint, Mich., alongside Environmental Protection Agency investigators who can tackle criminal violations of federal environmental law, officials said Tuesday. Several local, state and federal officials have resigned since doctors revealed last year that using the Flint River for the citys drinking water supply caused elevated levels of lead in some childrens blood.
CATONSVILLE, Md.  President Obama sought Wednesday to correct what he called a hugely distorted impression of Muslim Americans as he made his first visit to a U.S. mosque. He said those who demonize all Muslims for the acts of a few are playing into extremists hands.

Inserting himself into a debate that has ricocheted in the presidential campaign, Obama told parishioners at a mosque outside Baltimore that hed heard from young Muslims worried theyll be rounded up and kicked out of the country. He said Muslims, too, are concerned about the threat of terrorism but are too often blamed as a group for the violent acts of the very few.

Weve seen children bullied, weve seen mosques vandalized, Obama said, warning that such unequal treatment for certain groups in society tears at the nations fabric. Thats not who we are.

For Muslim advocates, Obamas visit was a long-awaited gesture to a community that has warned of escalating vitriol against them that has accompanied the publics concern about the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issues sensitive political implications.

In this years Republican presidential campaign, Donald Trump has called for banning Muslims from the U.S. temporarily, and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio warned of radical Islamic terrorism. Muslim American advocacy groups have warned of growing antagonism that has followed recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam.

We have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths, Obama said. He said it fell on all Americans to speak up.

For Obama, the visit reflected a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency. For years, Obama has fought incorrect claims that hes actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans. Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

Obama, acknowledging that uncomfortable chapter in his own story, noted that Thomas Jefferson had also been accused of being a Muslim.

So I was not the first, Obama said to laughter from 100 or so Muslims who gathered for his speech. No, its true. Look it up.

Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa.  The handlers of Pennsylvanias most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he predicted an early spring.

Is this current warm weather more than a trend? Perchance this winter has come to an end? There is no shadow to be cast, an early Spring is my forecast! read Jeff Lundy, vice president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Lundy is a member of the group sporting top hats that announces the forecast every year.

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.

The forecast was delivered with temperatures in the low 20s, on a clear day when the temperature was expected to reach the unseasonably mild mid-40s.

The Inner Circle congratulated the midweek crowd of about 10,000 revelers, which the group said was one of the largest for a weekday celebration. Many of those in attendance had stayed overnight and partied into the wee hours waiting for the groundhogs forecast.

Truth be told, Phils handlers dont wait to see if he sees his shadow  which he almost certainly would have Tuesday. Instead, the Inner Circle decide on the forecast ahead of time and announce it on Gobblers Knob, a tiny hill near the town for which the groundhog is named, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Records dating to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 102 times, while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. There are no records for the remaining years.

Tuesdays celebration was billed as the 130th forecast by Phil.

A number of other prognosticating groundhogs sided with Phil on the extended forecast.

The handlers for Staten Island Chuck in New York, General Beauregard Lee in Georgia and Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin said the rodents predicted an early spring.

But, others didnt agree. In Michigan, handlers of Woody the Woodchuck said she predicted six more weeks of winter. The same went for Ohios Buckeye Chuck.

And in Canada, two four-legged forecasters split the decision. Nova Scotias Shubenacadie Sam called for an early spring, while Ontarios Wiarton Willie expected six more weeks of winter.
The number of banks with non-transparent ownership structure in Ukraine fell to less than 2% of their total number, and they are on the list of troubled banks, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Valeriya Gontareva has said.

"If they do not disclose their shareholders within next month, by the end of the first quarter they will be sent for liquidation," she said at a meeting of the profile parliamentary committee in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Gontareva said that since early 2014 the NBU removed 64 banks from the market of one third of their total number, including 33 banks last year.

She said that a total of 92 banks out of 116 operating banks have less than 10% of assets of the banking system and 85 banks  5%. The NBU expects that the banking system will consolidate this and next years, she said.
LANSING, Mich.  Legislative leaders said Wednesday they are open to spending $30 million to help pay the water bills of Flint residents facing an emergency over a lead-contaminated water supply, though a top Democrat said the proposed state funding should be doubled.

Gov. Rick Snyder briefed city officials and pastors in Flint earlier in the day about his plan, which he will formally outline to the Republican-controlled Legislature next week as part of his annual budget proposal.

The aid would cover the estimated portion of residential customers utility bills for water that has been or will be used for drinking, cooking or bathing between April 2014  when the citys water source was switched  and this spring. Customers would still be responsible for paying for water used for other purposes, such as to flush toilets or wash clothes.

Snyder has apologized for regulatory mistakes that caused Flints water to become tainted with lead from old pipes after the city started tapping the Flint River instead of Detroits water system in 2014. The switch was made in an effort to save money while the cash-strapped city was under state financial management.

State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat from Flint, said Snyders proposal was a step in the right direction. But he said the state should fully cover the water portion of customers water/sewer bills and double the amount to cover the costs to $60 million, because the state was almost wholly culpable for this problem.

State Senate Majority Leader Republican Arlan Meekhof said theres a good argument to be made for assisting with bills because government at every level failed the citys water customers.

An estimated 21,000 residential customers continued paying their water/sewer bills since the switch occurred, while 9,000 customers have not, according to the Snyder administration.

The 21,000 paying customers, in addition to people who have since moved away, would get a credit for 65 percent of the water portion of their combined water/sewer bill. Thats the part of the bill that Snyder estimates is used for water that could be ingested or come into contact with skin.

The 9,000 residential customers in arrears would be put on a payment plan to catch up on sewer charges and 35 percent of their water fees, potentially over a period of years.

I agree with Flint residents, that they should not have to pay for water they cannot drink, Snyder said in a statement.
Developers for the proposed Grand Parkway Town Center are expressing cautious optimism that construction will start at the 153-acre site before the middle of this year.

However, significant progress is unlikely to be made until occupants for the two planned anchor sites are signed to leases.

The Grand Parkway Town Center will include 187,010 square feet of retail space and 143,974 square feet of office buildings.

While leases with smaller retailers and restaurants are in various stages of completion, negotiations with the larger anchor retailers are still underway, which is hampering construction.

"We are in great shape, and there has been a ton of activity," said David Meyers, director of leasing for NewQuest Properties. "Until they give us the green lightwe won't be able to go into any level of detail (on) who we have."

The Houston-based company has plans to develop the Grand Parkway Town Center on 63 acres of the 153 acre tract, which could include retail giant Sam's Club, a Kroger Marketplace, and other major retailers and restaurants, according to the site plan presented to the city of Tomball last year.

Representatives from both retailers declined to confirm whether or not negotiations were underway to occupy the Grand Parkway Town Center.

"Developers put our name on projects all the time," said Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield. "We have no news in Houston. As much as we are always looking for better ways to serve our customers, we have nothing to report."

Kristal Howard, media relations director for Kroger, also declined to confirm whether or not Kroger intends to occupy one of the anchors sites.

"We are always looking for growth and expansion opportunities," she said. "(We) have no updates to share at this time."

In May, the Tomball City Council approved a strategic partnership agreement to create the Grand Parkway Town Center at the intersection of Texas 249 South, Boudreaux Lane and the Grand Parkway.

The agreement allowed for the city a limited purpose annexation for the development of the 153 acre tract.

The limited purpose annexation allows the city to collect 2-cents in sales tax revenue from any businesses developed at that site.

The sales tax revenue from the first year of operation is projected to generate about $80 million in sales, about $500,000 of which will go to the city each of the first five years, said Tomball City Manager George Shackelford.

After the first five years, the amount will shift with the city projected to receive about 25 percent more.

In 2015, sales tax revenues dropped 14.34 percent, between December 2014 and December 2015.

For cities like Tomball, sales tax revenue is a significant source of income, and in Tomball's case, that amounts to about 45 percent of the city's general fund balance.

The last major downturn in the region happened in 2010 in the midst of the last major recession, but has progressively improved since then.

Shackelford said he expects the February numbers to be significantly higher that December and January.

"We will have to wait and see," he said.

Still, local community leaders in Tomball are thinking positive.

In November, Kelly Violette, executive director for the Tomball Economic Development Corp. attended the annual deal making event for the International Council of Shopping Centers, which allows retailers to connect with local communities.

Violette, who has attended the event each of the last five years, said they met with a greater number of retailers this year than in previous years.

"From the moment we walked in we had a steady stream of traffic," she said. "A couple of years ago, we were going to other people's booths and trying to get them to recognize that (Tomball) is a growing market. Now, we are in a position where people know about Tomball and know this is a very hot market. It's very promising from our standpoint to know the interest is there."
Blacksburg, Va.

A 13-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom was stabbed to death by a Virginia Tech student, and another freshman already charged with hiding the body was more deeply involved, authorities said Tuesday. A neighbor said the seventh-grader told friends she would sneak out to meet her "boyfriend" David, an 18-year-old she met online through the Kik messaging app.

Nicole Madison Lovell was killed Wednesday, the same day she vanished, by David Eisenhauer, a freshman at Virginia Tech now jailed on charges of kidnapping and murder, Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt said Tuesday.

The prosecutor also announced that Eisenhauer's classmate, Natalie Keepers, will face a more serious charge of being an accessory "before the fact" to first-degree murder, in addition to helping to dispose of the body. The new charge could mean a life sentence if convicted.

Nicole's mother discovered her missing last Wednesday morning, setting off an intense hunt for the girl, who suffered from bullying at school and online over her weight and a tracheotomy scar, and needed daily medication after surviving a liver transplant, lymphoma and a drug-resistant bacterial infection as a 5-year-old.

Police quickly zeroed in on Eisenhauer, and then found Nicole's body on Saturday, hidden off a North Carolina road, two hours south of campus.

Stacy Snider, a neighbor whose 8-year-old twins played with Nicole, told The Associated Press that before she vanished, Nicole showed her girls Eisenhauer's picture along with texts they had shared and said she would be sneaking out to meet him.

"She was talking about this boyfriend she had that was 18 and went to college, and his name was David. And showed some text messages off of a Kik and pictures. And that's what the girls told the police officers when they asked."

Snider said she learned all this from her girls only after Nicole vanished. "I would have told her mother. But we didn't know nothing about it until she came up missing, unfortunately," she said.

Her fate devastated her mother, Tammy Weeks, who also spoke at Tuesday's news conference, describing the health problems her daughter battled and the joys in her short life. "Her favorite color was blue. Nicole was a very lovable person. Nicole touched many people throughout her short life," Weeks read from a statement before her sobs became uncontrollable and she was ushered away.

Kik, along with Instagram and Snapchat, are particularly popular with younger teens, and it's impossible to keep underage users from signing up.

Teens who are vulnerable online would be vulnerable in other situations as well, said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, especially those who are "socially isolated or dealing with some emotional problem, not well supervised, suffering rejection by families or peers. They are looking for support, someone who can give them affirmation."
Astarta, the largest Ukrainian producer of sugar, plans to retain total investment at the level of 2015 in 2016  EUR 24 million, Astarta CEO Viktor Ivanchyk said in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Some 60% of them are investment into agricultural production, 30% in sugar production and 10% in other segments. It is planned investment will be sent to boost the capacity of two elevators by 60,000-80,000 tonnes and buy agricultural machinery in 2016.

Ivanchyk said that in the past 10 years Astarta has invested around $500 million in business development.

The company plans to send advance payments for planting sugar beets and soybeans - UAH 100 million (UAH 75 million in 2015).

"There are difficulties with winter crops, the structure of crops will be clear in next one month and a half," he said.

He said that the company as usual will sow sugar beets, wheat, soybeans, corn and sunflower seeds.

"The sowing campaign will cost more, but we're seriously working on the cash cost. We manage to agree on discounts with suppliers. We do not have a shortage. We've bought seeds, contracted crop protection agents and now we're buying fuel. We're ready to add farmers to the purchases and share discounts with them, including for machinery," he said.

Astarta is a vertically integrated agroindustrial holding, uniting six regional divisions in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, and Kharkiv regions. They include nine sugar factories, agricultural farms with a land bank of about 245,000 hectares and dairy farms. Last year, the holding commissioned a plant for processing soybeans in Poltava region (Globyno processing plant).
A homeless man is being credited with helping San Francisco police capture two Orange County jail fugitives last week, and he could now possibly collect $140,000 in reward money.

It was through Matthew Hay-Chapman's self-described photographic memory that he was able to spot the stolen van being used by Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu, after seeing them on the news.
Ukrainian army reports 55 attacks on its positions in Donbas

Ukrainian army positions came under 55 attacks in Donbas in the past 24 hours, the anti-terrorist operation press center wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

The press center reported an increase in the number of mortar shelling incidents.

Intense gunfire on Ukrainian positions in Mayorsk and Zaytseve resumed after dusk by use of grenade launchers and 120mm mortars, the report said.

Ukrainian strongholds in Pisky, Opytne and Avdiyivka near Donetsk were attacked by grenade launchers, small arms and 82mm mortars. The staff observed sniper activity in the Maryinka area.

In addition, Ukrainian strongholds were attacked by mortars and large-caliber machineguns in the vicinity of Krasnohorivka, the staff press center said.
WASHINGTON  The Pentagon will propose quadrupling what it spends on its troops and training in Europe as part of an accelerating effort to deter Russia, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday.

We must demonstrate to potential foes that if they start a war, we have the capability to win, he said in a broad review of the administrations 2017 defense budget proposal.
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) will raise over $64 million in 2016 for humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons and people who stay in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone, said Hennadiy Zubko, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Regional Development, Construction, Housing, and Utilities Economy Minister.

The State Agency for Donbas Restoration will coordinate the use of government grants and loans in projects assisting territories, which have been harmed by the Russian aggression in the east of Ukraine, Zubko said after a meeting with Alain Aeschlimann, head of the ICRC's mission to Ukraine.

In the words of Aeschlimann, 13,000 internally displaced persons will be given a monthly allowance of UAH 500 in 2016. In the first quarter of the year, the ICRC will provide water cleaning agents to the Popasna water services and will supply maintenance vehicles.

The Ukrainian government has approved a comprehensive state program for the support, social adaptation and re-integration of Ukrainian citizens, who temporarily moved from the occupied Ukrainian territory and the ATO zone to other regions of Ukraine, for the period until 2017, Zubko said.

Aeschlimann expressed the readiness to coordinate the ICRC activity in accordance with the government program.

The ICRC mission resumed its activity in Kyiv in April 2014 in response to Russian occupation of Crimea and aggression in Ukrainian eastern regions.
Military counterintelligence officers of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) have found two caches containing explosives and grenades in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in Donbas, the SBU press center said.

"The law enforcement officers seized 17 TNT blocks with a total weight of 6.8 kilograms from a cache on the outskirts of Hranitne village in the Donetsk region, which is situated in the so-called 'grey zone'," the press center said in a report published on Tuesday evening.

The report also said that SBU officers discovered a cache containing 4 kilograms of TNT in blocks and two F-1 grenades with fuses in a spoil tip near Berezove town in Donetsk region.

The seized ammunition was handed over to the police for the opening of a criminal inquiry under Article 263 of Ukraine's Criminal Code and further investigative procedures.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said that Ukraine needs military assistance from other countries, including Germany.

"We are open to this possibility, and we support it because there is a threat to the security situation in Europe. We should all provide greater support to each other to be ready for anything," he said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild published on February 3.

Poroshenko said that Russia's aim is to divide Europe and that they should not let it do this. "Europe should not become a victim to blackmail by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who says that without him it is impossible to settle the Syrian issue. Everything that happens in the world is directly or indirectly related to the Russian aggression," he stressed.

According to the Ukrainian president, Putin "does not recognize any red lines and will be able to annex other countries justifying themselves by claims of discrimination of Russian minorities. "Germany also has a Russian minority..." Poroshenko said.
Economic Development and Trade Minister Aivaras Abromavicius has announced his decision to resign because of the lack of support and the active opposition to the reforms which are carried out by his team.

"Today, I have decided to resign from the post of minister. The reason is a sharp intensification of blocking of any systemic and important reforms in our country," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

"It is not just the lack of support or political will. These are rigorous actions aimed at paralyzing our work on reforms starting from unexpected removal of the security guards of the minister and his family ending with implanting of shady characters into my team and imposing them to key positions in state-run enterprises," Abromavicius added.
Some 1.705 million internally displaced persons (1.346 million families) had been registered in Ukraine as of January 29, 2016, reads a report on the results of implementing the program of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2015, posted on the governmental portal.

According to the report, 714,867 families of this number appealed for subsidies to cover living expenses, including payment for housing and utilities services, while 669,487 of the families obtained the funds. In addition, more than 80% of pensioners, living in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions not controlled by Ukrainian authorities, receive pensions from the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea and the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas 62,700 residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions have appealed to the State Employment Service for a job, in particular, 50,900 citizens who were registered.

In 2015 the State Employment Service facilitated the employment of 17,200 internally displaced persons.
The Horlivka-Artemivsk corridor will temporarily shut down on Wednesday because of shelling incidents, the Vostok SOS non-governmental organization (NGO) has said, referring to Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration.

"According to the official report from Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration, the Horlivka-Artemivsk corridor will be temporarily shut down on 03.02.2016, because of attacks on the Mayorsk zero checkpoint," the regional administration wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

"There is unofficial information that the shutdown may last until the end of the week, and the traffic will resume if the shelling stops," it said.

Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration, said on February 1, it was decided to temporarily shut down the Zaitseve checkpoint on Wednesday, February 3, in connection with the increased number of shelling incidents.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has commented on Aivaras Abromavicius's announcement of his resignation from the post of the minister of economic development and trade of Ukraine.

"One of the Ukrainian government's great champions of reform...and a believer in the future Ukraine's people deserve," Pyatt wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

Earlier at a briefing in Kyiv, Abromavicius announced his decision to resign because of a lack of support for and active obstruction of reforms being pursued by his team. Abromavicius accused MP Ihor Kononenko of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc of pressing on the ministry to appoint his candidates into agencies and state companies, said that the ministry was obstructed in nominating its candidates for government. "My team and I do not want to be a cover for blatant corruption, puppets for those who want to control public money the way this was done by the previous authorities. These people have names, and I will name one of them. This is Ihor Kononenko. Being a representative of a political force that nominated me for this post, he has done much over the past month to block my work and the work of the ministry," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Aivaras Abromavicius has accused MP Ihor Kononenko of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc of pressing on the ministry to appoint his candidates into agencies and state companies, said that the ministry was obstructed in nominating its candidates for government.

"My team and I do not want to be a cover for blatant corruption, puppets for those who want to control public money the way this was done by the previous authorities. These people have names, and I will name one of them. This is Ihor Kononenko. Being a representative of a political force that nominated me for this post, he has done much over the past month to block my work and the work of the ministry," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Abromavicius listed the problems with the appointment of directors of Electrotyazhmash, Ukrkhimtransammiak, the Mining and Chemical Corporation, the impossibility to change the head of the Service of Intellectual Property, the reluctance to appoint the head of the State Statistics Committee for a few months.

The minister added that everybody has known about the problem with the appointment of the heads of these enterprises and institutions for a long time, but no assistance has been received in solving these problems.

According to Abromavicius, members of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc controlled by Kononenko first drafted a resolution on his dismissal, and then handed it to the Vidrodzhennia (Revival) Party and put it on the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada.

"In several months they have collected as many as 18 votes. Last year, Ihor Kononenko actively lobbied his people to the post of director general of Ukrkhimtransammiak. Kononenko had a direct interest in the company, where instead of helping me to overthrow [Viktor] Bondyk of the Party of Regions, he implanted his own people there, who jointly manage the enterprise," the head of the ministry said.

He also said that an MP directly controlled by Kononenko pressed for appointing his people in Derzhzovnishinform, powder metallurgy plants and several other enterprises.

"The culmination of this personnel lawlessness and desire of a complete control over the [money] flows was the desire to have his person in the post of deputy economy minister, who would be in charge of Naftogaz and other state-owned enterprises. In the end, two days ago his candidate brought a complete package of documents and said: 'I'm your new deputy, I'm on Kononenko's team and my candidacy has been agreed higher up. After that, I received a call from the president's administration urging me to take the man and another one for the post of deputy minister for defense," Abromavicius said.

Asked if he could name other people obstructing the work of the ministry, Abromavicius noted that there are many of them.
An OSCE patrol observed craters made by 120mm shells in the town of Zaitseve on Monday, which proved the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said.

He said in a program, aired by the 122 Ukraine television channel on Tuesday, that the patrol visited a government-controlled area in Zaitseve, on Monday, to verify and assess three fresh craters. The mission observers said that the craters were created by 120mm mortar shells fired from the south.

The OSCE SMM principal deputy chief monitor expressed concern about the developments in Zaitseve.

In addition, last Saturday in Horlivka, the OSCE SMM patrol heard the sound of nearly 46 explosions within a 30 minute period, and 160 large-caliber machinegun bursts coming from the side of Zaitseve.

Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of Donetsk Region Military-Civilian Administration, said on February 1, it was decided to temporarily shut down the Zaitseve checkpoint on Wednesday, February 3, in connection with the increased number of shelling incidents.
Three decades ago, Vitka Eisen was a heroin addict, but she knew from the start she needed to find a way to quit.

I just wasnt very good at it, she said. Even though I was completely hooked on heroin, I spent the whole time thinking Ive got to get off of this.

Her decision to finally kick the habit for good turned her life in a direction she probably didnt anticipate and proved fortuitous for a large underserved community of people in need of substance abuse, medical and mental health intervention.

It led her to Walden House, a longtime residential treatment center in San Francisco where she entered the organizations two-year treatment program, completing it in 1987.

Today, Eisen, who is a finalist for The Chronicles second annual Visionary of the Year award, leads HealthRight 360, a nonprofit health provider created in 2011 by a merger of Walden House and the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. The previous year, she had been named the first and only Walden House graduate to serve as its chief executive officer.

Peter DaSilva/Special to The Chronicle

Under her leadership, the new organization has expanded its depth and range of services for underserved people, taking under its umbrella other health organizations in the Bay Area and throughout California. HealthRight 360 offers primary care, mental health and substance abuse services using programs sensitive to its patients languages, ethnicities, genders, sexual identities and cultures.

Insiders perspective

Barbara Garcia, director of health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, described Eisens leadership as rooted in her commitment to communities that face profound prejudice and stigma.

She knows that those suffering from mental illness and addiction can recover and live healthy lives. It is this vision that drives her every day, Garcia said.

The personal struggles that brought Eisen to Walden House give her credibility, said journalist, author and broadcaster Ben Fong-Torres, who nominated Eisen for the Visionary award.

Shes not some outside recruited talent who has come in to run this health organization, Fong-Torres said. She benefited from the early version of Walden House and is committed to doing for others what has been done for her.

Eisens history doesnt entirely define her, but it makes for a compelling backstory.

A self-described middle-class Jew from the Bronx, Eisen dabbled early in marijuana and prescription drugs. She managed to maintain high enough grades to go to college but eventually graduated to using heroin and dropped out. After finding her way to San Francisco, she tried seven times to overcome her heroin addiction before landing at Walden House.

Free from her addiction, Eisen finished her undergraduate degree at New College and then attended San Francisco State University, where she received her masters degree in social work. Encouraged by a professor there, she applied to Harvard to get a doctorate in education and surprised herself by getting in. Before she could complete her dissertation, Walden House recruited her to run one of its programs, and, in 2010, she was named its chief executive officer.

Overseeing growth

Under her leadership, HealthRight 360 has nearly doubled its annual budget and now serves more than 27,000 people a year. It has acquired organizations in the Bay Area and other parts of California, particularly those in financial distress or struggling under administrative burdens.

Eisen, 56, visibly bristles when people, even in jest, refer to the organization as an empire, but acknowledges that her vision all along has been to expand HealthRight 360s services.

Its programs include Asian American Recovery Services, which operates in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties; Womens Recovery Association in San Mateo; North County Serenity House in San Diego County; San Franciscos Lyon-Martin Health Services, which specializes in providing health care to women and transgender people; and Rock Medicine, which has been providing care at music events in Northern California for four decades.

HealthRight 360 also offers treatment to inmates at three state prisons and last year agreed to operate Glides health clinic, now renamed Tenderloin Health Services.

The organization plans next year to move its primary care, mental health and substance abuse services into a five-story 50,000-square-foot building it purchased at 1563 Mission St. Lyon-Martin Health Services will move into HealthRight 360s current leased 34,000-square-foot building just two blocks away.

Eisen credited the Affordable Care Act with helping to financially stabilize the organizations clinics by expanding Medicaid programs to poor people, often single men with no dependents, who previously could not qualify for benefits.

Overnight, the percentage of clients who had a source of payment for medical services went from 10 percent to 80 percent, she said.

Growing need for services

But demand for HealthRight 360s services continues to increase, she said. Over the years, our clients are sicker, they have many more complex health challenges, more co-occurring mental health conditions and fewer resources, she said.

Eisen, 56, is married to Rachel Sing, whom she met as a graduate student at Harvard, and the two are raising three children in Berkeley.

Its been decades since she recovered from her addiction, but her experience still helps her to see beyond the substance abuse or the mental health issues of the people who come to her clinics.

Theyre somebodys child. Theyre somebodys mother, she said. When we look at them ... we see the person they were before.

Gallery: UN's worldwide drug usage data

Victoria Colliver is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vcolliver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @vcolliver

Visionary of the Year award

This is one of eight profiles of nominees for The Chronicles second annual Visionary of the Year award, which is presented in collaboration with St. Marys Colleges School of Economics and Business Administration. The honor salutes leaders who strive to make the world a better place and drive social and economic change by employing new, innovative business models and practices. The eight finalists were nominated by a distinguished committee that included Evan Marwell, CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit group Education SuperHighway; Pam Baer, founder and CEO of For Goodness Sake, a nonprofit foundation that created an e-commerce site to connect consumers with curated brands and nonprofits; Ron Conway, an angel investor and philanthropist; Ben Fong-Torres, a noted rock journalist, author and broadcaster; Pamela Joyner, founder of the strategic marketing consulting company Avid Partners LLC; Zhan Li, dean of St. Mary's School of Economics and Business Administration; and John Diaz, The Chronicles editorial page editor.

Chronicle Publisher Jeff Johnson, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper and Diaz will select the winner, who will be announced during a March 29 ceremony.

To read more, go to www.sfgate.com/visionsf.
KABUL  A 10-year-old Afghan boy who was declared a hero after fighting the Taliban has been shot dead by insurgents while on his way to school, officials said Wednesday.

Wasil Ahmad, who had fought the Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions, was killed Monday near his home in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern Uruzgan province, said deputy Police Chief Rahimullah Khan.

The 10-year-old boy had been a local celebrity of sorts, with widely circulated photographs on social media showing him holding an automatic weapon and wearing a uniform and helmet.

Ahmads uncle was a former Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district, Khan said.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International said both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

The organizations policy and advocacy director Charu Lata Hogg said the Afghan government, despite pledging to stop the recruitment and use of children by the Afghan security forces, was making slow and tardy progress.

There is a lack of political will to address this issue, and while its within the framework of overall human rights violations, there is a specific commitment by the government to clean it up but sufficient measures are not being taken, she said.

In a June 2015 report presented to the U.N. Security Councils working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based charity said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police. It said the recruitment was mainly driven by poverty, but also filial duty, patriotism and honor.

The Afghan Local Police, set up with U.S. and British funding to provide security at a district level, has been widely criticized for a range of abuses, including extortion, as in many places it operates much like an independent militia. The government has been urged to disband the force but relies on it to supplement the over-stretched army and police.

The report said that in May of last year the charity found that half of national police checkpoints in Tirin Kot were staffed with visibly younger officers, who all acknowledged they were under 18 years old.

They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing checkpoints and engaging in combat for the last few years, the report said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boys death with his family, the government and the Taliban, a militant group that has been fighting a 15-year insurgency.

Spokesman Rafiullah Baidar said local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege after the death of his father in fighting.

Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his fathers death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents, Baidar said.
HAVANA  The 3.5 million tourists who flooded Cuba last year downed oceans of mojitos, lakes of daiquiris and rivers of thin, sour beer. Only an odd few accompanied their ropa vieja and croquetas with wine  mostly overpriced, low- to mid-grade vintages from Chile, Argentina and Spain.

That may be about to change, at least around the margins of Cubas once-dismal dining scene. Some of the United States largest vintners want to turn this island of sweet rum and flat state-brewed beer into a haven for robust California Zinfandel, oaky Chardonnay and powerful Cabernet Sauvignon.

Thousands of private restaurants have cropped up around Cuba in recent years under economic reforms designed to soften the shock of cutbacks in the troubled state-controlled economy. Particularly on the high end, those restaurants clients are increasingly American, part of a 76 percent surge in U.S. tourism  to 161,174 last year  that followed Presidents Raul Castro and Obamas declaration of detente at the end of 2014.

Hoping to ride both trends, about 100 California wine producers, distributors and exporters descended on Havana this week for a two-day symposium to reintroduce Cuban restaurant owners and managers to their products.

The California Wine Symposium was organized by the California Wine Institute, associations of Napa and Sonoma wine producers and Sonoma-based U.S. Cava Exports, a 2-year-old company founded to export California agricultural products to Cuba. The event featured tastings, talks on Californias vineyards and one-on-one meetings between U.S. business people and Cuban restaurateurs and state officials.

This is a spectacular meeting, said Orlando Rodriguez, owner of Waoo!!, a 3-year-old, 20-employee restaurant in Havanas trendy Vedado neighborhood. It arouses interest, which prompts business, which creates profits.

About 50 private restaurants, or paladares, and hundreds of sommeliers and buyers for state-run restaurants attended the conference, whose participants included representatives of the E&J Gallo and Francis Ford Coppola wineries.

Its been legal for Cuba to buy wine and other agricultural products from the U.S. for years, but Cuban officials say they stopped importing California wine in 2005 because the U.S. trade embargo prohibits American producers from selling agricultural goods to Cuba on credit. Obama allowed sales of most goods to Cuba on credit through executive action last week, but lifting the ban on credit for farm products would require an act of Congress.

Cuba has never been a big wine-drinking country, but it imports about 360,000 cases of wine a year from countries that allow sales on credit.

Darius Anderson, head of U.S. Cava Exports, said he hopes to be shipping California wine to Cuba by the end of the year.

Were working on the shipping, were working on the financing, and we hope to have them all solved by mid-year, have two or three containers on the water and get them here by the holidays, he said.

Only a small number of Cuban government agencies are allowed to import goods, creating a choke point of inefficiency and bureaucracy that makes it virtually impossible for private businesses to bring in large quantities of goods from other countries. Restaurant owners depend on black-market goods, items bought at retail stores, or supplies brought in the suitcases of people paid to mule products from the U.S. and other countries. The lack of a legal wholesale market is widely seen as one of the main hindrances to the efficient development of private enterprise in Cuba.
1 Radio station destroyed: U.S. air strikes destroyed an Islamic State-operated radio station in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. Voice of the Caliphate radio was destroyed by two U.S. air strikes, according to a U.S. military official. An Islamic State affiliate has emerged in Afghanistan over the past year, with a military presence in districts near the border with Pakistan. The radio station was broadcasting illegally across Nangarhar province, calling on fighters to join the group and threatening journalists.

2 Forming a government: Spains King Felipe VI on Tuesday tapped Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to try to form a government following an inconclusive December election in which the countrys conservative Popular Party came in first but failed in more than a month of efforts to drum up enough support for a coalition or a minority government. Sanchez now faces the difficult task of trying to negotiate with two new upstart parties who made big inroads with voters upset with austerity, high unemployment and official corruption.
JERUSALEM  Three Palestinians armed with automatic weapons, explosive devices and knives killed an Israeli security officer and seriously wounded another in Jerusalem on Wednesday before police shot and killed the attackers, police said.

It was one the most brazen attacks in nearly five months of near-daily Palestinian assaults, mostly stabbings, on Israeli police, soldiers and civilians. Israel has struggled to contain the violence, despite sending troops to secure cities, expanding police powers and toughening punishments for attackers.

Wednesdays attack took place after Israeli paramilitary border police officers on a security patrol noticed three people who aroused their suspicion near the Old Citys Damascus Gate, a central shopping area for Palestinians as well as a main tourist draw, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

The officers stopped them, and as they began checking one of their ID cards, the other two drew guns and knives and attacked two female officers. One of the officers, identified as 19-year-old Hadar Cohen, later died, police said.

Police officers opened fire and killed the three Palestinians. They then defused the explosive devices they were carrying.

The weapons indicate that a combined attack was prevented by officers who protected city residents with their own bodies, Samri said in a statement.

Police identified the Palestinians as two 20-year-olds and one 21-year-old from the area of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Since mid-September, 27 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. At least 154 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire, including 109 Israel said were attackers. The rest have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

Israel says the violence has been fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustrations stemming from nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation.
At the outset, let me say that I make no excuses for those who engage in criminal behavior. If you break the law, particularly if it is knowingly done, you should expect to assume the consequences. No exceptions, be you the secretary of state, law enforcement personnel or a petty criminal who accidentally kills someone in a drug-related robbery.

But we know (or should) that not everyone is held equally accountable for the consequences of their illegal behavior. Justice is neither blind nor fairly distributed. The price tag attached to one's lawyer, and often political connections, count in the price that a felon pays. Just as race, class, economic status, fame and education can shape the fates of felons.

So when I read a number of news stories about New Mexico legislators pre-filing more than a dozen crime bills for this year's short legislative session, it triggered my BS detector.

Recent high-profile crimes (the murders of Lilly Garcia and Officer Daniel Webster, for example) and the general increase in crime throughout the state signal that we are facing serious challenges at every level of New Mexico society. But this is not new.

Back in 2012, Gov. Susana Martinez signed an executive order to establish a task force on criminal recidivism reduction. The goal was to study and assess issues "to include, but not limited to the areas of education, work, substance abuse, mental health, reform of pro-criminal values." Where is the policy to support the findings? Where are the findings? The governor's office has not responded to my request for the status of this report.

So why are our legislators compelled to act urgently now at our long-rising crime rate? Most importantly, why are their responses almost exclusively punitive? The obvious answer is that the November election season looms large, and all the legislative seats are up for re-election. Appearing tough on crime polls well and tugs at donors' wallets.

Propelled by what they say is the worthy cause of public safety, our officials have strategically deployed the phrases "repeat offender," "recidivism," "tougher sentencing" and most colorfully, "boomerang thug" to justify more and longer incarceration. Three strikes reasoning has arrived in New Mexico, folks. Never mind that it's being abandoned and reversed elsewhere.

This is an out-of-touch response. It also flies in the face of existing evidence about recidivism and successful criminal reform. The proliferation of jails during the last three decade has not slowed the growing crime rate nationwide. Why should it slow crime in New Mexico?

The pieces missing from this more-punishment approach to crime reform are fact-based analyses of the causes that propel people to commit crime. Absent of sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies, the reasons for crime are banal. The causes can usually be tied to bleak economic and social conditions, desperation and despair.

And those who've benefited most from longer incarcerations and tougher sentencing are those with financial and political investments in privatized prisons and the prison industrial complex. For more on this, read Ruth Wilson Gilmore's Golden Gulag (2007, UC Press).

Here's the Thing: It is difficult to value anyone else's life and future if you have no faith in your own. In lieu of real reform, politicians embrace the policies of punishment. Why? Because punishment is easier to say, and do, than confronting the reality of securing preventative measures.

I am no stranger to the perils of unchecked crime. My younger brother was senselessly murdered on the streets of my hometown. One of my dearest uncles died in police custody. At this very moment, I have friends and relatives on multiple sides of law enforcement: police officers, inmates and attorneys.

Punishment wont fix my grief or bring back my loved ones. But Id feel better if I knew other young people werent doomed to suffer similar fates because of the la ck of commitment and investment in proven solutions to criminal activity that snatched them from me.



Andrea L Mays is an American Studies scholar and a Santa Fean. Write the author: andrea@sfreporter.com







Santa Fe Reporter
Nearly 70 percent of New Mexicans have no problem with legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes, a considerable spike in approval from more than two years ago, according to a survey touted by a pair of Democratic legislators who are trying to legalize weed in the state and make money off it.

Last week at the Roundhouse, State Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, and House Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, unveiled the poll in which 69 percent of respondents were in favor of making pot legal, a significant jump from the 52 percent approval rate in a similar poll in 2013.

Albuquerque-based Research and Polling Inc. conducted the survey over a five-day span in January by strategically placing more than 400 phone calls to adults who live across the state.

McCamley says he is hoping that his House Bill 75 will pass both chambers and eventually become law, making New Mexico the fifth state in the country to make the plant legal for adult consumption. His colleague, Ortiz y Pino, hopes to put the issue before the voters in November's general election.

Legislators say between $20 million and $60 million in tax revenues would be generated annually from legalizing cannabis, which is one of the fastest-growing industries in America.

On Tuesday, another new survey showed that marijuana sales increased by 30 percent annually across the country, accounting for $5.4 billion in sales in 2015, according to New Frontier Financial's latest edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets.

Each year, New Mexico legislators raise the issue of legalization and taxation, arguing that it's time to find another funding source to pay for education and law enforcement in the state.

Santa Fe Reporter
Weather Delays School

Santa Fe Public Schools and others are on a

this morning, and theres a small chance of more snow before noon today. Weather forecasters say, Bundle up, because its going to be frigid tonight.

Schools Win

Voters in Santa Fe County

of the school districts Digital Learning Program, which provides computers and software to students. The technology bond wont raise a mill tax but does extend an existing one for three more years.

for Albuquerque Public Schools. Another bond for the Central New Mexico Community College also got a thumbs up.

Another Big F

The American Lung Association is giving New Mexico

. A new report shows the state is only spending $6.9 million a year on cessation programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends states spend $22.8 million. Lawmakers are considering a few measures to hike prices on tobacco sales.

PRC Demand

The Public Regulation Commission wants a retired staffer to

he collected after quitting the agency.

Last month, KRQE News 13 reported on [Dwight] Lambersons departure deal, which runs counter to PRC policy requiring employees to use sick leave for actual illness.

The PRC has not provided journalist Matt Grubs any evidence Lamberson was ill at the time he was paid the money.

'Youre Fired'

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission has fired its executive director

Pot Sales Rocket

Lawmakers who are on the fence about legalizing marijuana in New Mexico for adult recreational use might want to take a look at national sale and tax numbers. According to New Frontier Financials latest edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, sales jumped 30 percent last year to

. Thomas Ragan at SFR says lawmakers here estimate theyd collect up to $60 million in tax revenue from

.

Legislative News

The Senate Public Affairs Committee has passed a "compromise" bill aimed at making New Mexico compliant under the federal Real ID Act, but the sponsor of the original House bill isnt happy. Rep. Paul Pacheco, R-Albuquerque, says his proposal was hijacked.

"compromise" bill The bail bond reform bill has cleared the New Mexico Senate.

bail bond reform Stuart Dyson reports that state lawmakers are working on legislation that would limit those golden parachutes and lucrative contract buyouts for school district superintendents.

lucrative contract buyouts Reducing the number of rape kits that still havent been tested at the state crime lab will require hiring a few more technicians, but there might not be money in the state budget to get it done.

there might not be money in the state budget A bill nicknamed Racheals Law that would allow rape victims to get a permanent restraining order against their convicted assailant is headed to state senate.

Wolves Die



Two Mexican gray wolves died after being shot with tranquilizer darts during a federal count.

Energy Plan Lacks Focus

New Mexico In Depths Laura Paskus has been taking a long look at Gov. Susana Martinez The plan does talk of growing the states burgeoning solar and wind industriesincluding developing new businesses focused on energy storage in batteriesbut many of the documents recommendations concentrate around helping the states extractive industries. New Mexico In Depths Laura Paskus has been taking a long look at Gov. Susana Martinez energy plan

Lobos Run Past UNLV

JR Oppenheim reports the UNM Lobos closed out another high-scoring game with an impressive win in Albuquerque last night. They

. Next up: The Lobos (13-8, 6-2 Mountain West) head to San Diego State, which has a perfect conference record.

Santa Fe Reporter
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has met with a delegation of the German Bundestag Committee on the Affairs of the European Union led by its Chairman Gunther Krichbaum while German parliamentarians were visiting Ukraine.

"The head of state has expressed his gratitude for the Bundestag's close attention to the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas and for the support of Ukraine in countering Russian aggression, and restoration of its territorial integrity," the presidential press service said on Tuesday night.

At the same time, Poroshenko emphasized the need to continue sanctions against the aggressor, the source said.

"Sanctions are an effective mechanism to induce Russia to fulfill the Minsk agreements," the president was quoted as saying.

Poroshenko welcomed the results of his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on February 1, 2016. He said they "confirmed the common vision of the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the extension of sanctions."

In their turn, representatives of the German Bundestag confirmed that sanctions were "working". The head of the German delegation, Gunther Krichbaum, added that "Ukraine may count on Germany's full support." Krichbaum also assured that sanctions would remain in force until Russia fulfilled the Minsk agreements.

During the meeting Poroshenko also stressed the importance of introducing the visa-free regime with the EU for Ukrainian citizens. Besides, in the context of the energy cooperation the president noted that Ukraine "counted on the EU's solidarity regarding Nord Stream 2 project".
Fonterra Cooperative Group's Darnum plant in Australia, which it's rolling into a joint venture with China's Beingmate, is expected to start producing infant formula products for the venture's Chinese customers in the second half of 2016.

The joint venture, 51 percent owned by Beingmate and 49 percent by Fonterra, will distribute Fonterra's Anmum brand products in China. Subject to final regulatory approvals, the first product destined for Beingmate's Chinese customers is expected to roll off the Darnum line in the second half of 2016, Auckland-based Fonterra said in a statement.

For Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter, the partnership with Beingmate aims to create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to consumers in China, the world's largest market for infant formula, using Fonterra's milk pools and manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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The European Union sanctions against Russia will be continued until the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, Head of the Bundestag Committee on EU Affairs Gunther Krichbaum has said.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, the German parliamentarian pointed out that "one thing is clear to an overwhelming majority of the Bundestag members: the sanctions will remain in effect as long as weapons are fired."

"A long road begins with the first step. What's the most important is that people shouldn't get killed," he said.

It is obvious to German politicians that the parties should continue working hard on the Minsk agreements in 2016, Krichbaum said. The first and foremost condition is that the firing should be stopped, and the second, that the weapons must be withdrawn, he said.

It is too early to talk about even the partial lifting of the sanctions from Russia until a ceasefire in Donbas becomes permanent, it's Russia's duty, and the ball is in Russia's court, Krichbaum said.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with Slovak Republic Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak, where the parties discussed energy sector issues, Ukraine's European integration, and the situation in Donbas.

The press service of the Ukrainian state reported that the interlocutors exchanged views on important issues of bilateral relations and the international agenda. In particular, they talked over the security situation and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

With this regard Poroshenko emphasized the importance of international unity and solidarity with Ukraine as to the need to fully implement the Minsk agreements, as well as to extend sanctions against Russia, as a result of a failure to comply with these commitments.

The president also shared his impressions of the visit to Berlin and talks with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I am very pleased that in these very difficult circumstances, the leaders of the European Union find time and make efforts to keep Ukraine among the top priorities on the European agenda," Poroshenko said.

He thanked Slovakia for its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for the provision of humanitarian aid in the amount of EUR 2.9 million.

The parties also paid special attention to energy security issues. The Ukrainian president thanked the Slovakian leadership for the increase of reverse gas supplies to Ukraine. "We spent the first winter without Russian gas. We have reduced consumption by 21% if compared to the last year. We are introducing energy diversification and energy independence," Poroshenko said.

Ukraine's president and Slovakian Foreign Minister also noted infeasibility of the Nord Stream 2 project implementation.

Besides, special attention was paid to the bilateral cooperation algorithm regarding Ukraine's European integration in the context of the Czech Presidency in the EU in the second half of 2016.

What is more, the interlocutors noted the importance to open joint checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Slovak border that would facilitate the border check procedures for citizens.

Besides, the Slovak foreign minister expressed support for Ukrainian visa-free regime with the EU. Lajcak also said his country was ready to share experience and help Ukraine on its way to European transformation.
LONDON: A UK-based Indian-origin family with business interests across metals and renewable energy has invested in a multi-billion-pound tidal lagoon power project.

The Gupta family's SIMEC division has acquired a substantial stake in the UK's Tidal Lagoon Plc, a holding company established by Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd, to finance the development of full-scale tidal lagoons in the UK and India.

"We are very pleased to invest in this ambitious and innovative enterprise that promises to provide low-carbon, baseload energy and drive economic renewal through the development of a high-value supply chain that will create thousands of new jobs. As a group we are expanding internationally on several fronts and renewable energy is right at the heart of that expansion," said Sanjeev Gupta, chief executive of SIMEC's sister group firm Liberty House.

Liberty House had last year stepped in to acquire units of Caparo Group, Lord Swraj Paul's steel company that went into administration.

The latest investment, completed yesterday, leads to the creation of a joint venture between the Guptas' global energy and commodities company, SIMEC, and Tidal Lagoon Power to develop large-scale tidal lagoons for power generation in India.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in November last year, British Prime Minister David Cameron had signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of clean energy.

Last month, India joined the UK in the International Energy Agency's Ocean Energy Systems intergovernmental collaboration programme. The latest acquisition by the Gupta family, pegged at an estimated eight-figure sum in pounds, is expected to plug into the programme.

The past year has seen SIMEC and sister company Liberty House acquire extensive power generation, steel production and engineering capacity across the UK, including the Uskmouth Power Station at Newport.

The move is part of a wider strategy by the Gupta family to create multi-billion pound renewable energy capacity worldwide and apply innovative technologies to provide low-cost power for energy-intensive industries, particularly steel.

The first tidal lagoon under the project is planned for Swansea Bay in Wales is expected to open in 2018, with an estimated cost of 1 billion pounds.

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BANGALORE: Government's initiatives like Digital India, Make in India and Smart Cities Mission present American businesses a good opportunity to sell high-tech products in the country, U.S. Exim Bank said. "I want to emphasise the potential for cooperation in three government-led initiatives. "Digital India will present American businesses with an opportunity to sell their products towards new high-speed internet and digital infrastructure in India.

"The Make-in-India initiative offers U.S. high-tech companies the chance to sell equipment to Indian manufacturers harnessing the globally competitive resources of innovators right here in India," Export Import Bank (EXIM) of the United States Chairman Fred P Hochberg said here.



Delivering the keynote address at the Global Trade Review's (GTR) India Trade and Export Finance Conference, Hochberg said the Smart Cities mission will also offer U.S. exporters the chance to provide engineering and high-tech products towards the modernisation of the world's largest democracy. Several American companies are looking at opportunities in the renewable energy, transportation and construction sectors.

"We are working with a number of renewable energy companies in the US and they are looking to increase their business here," Hochberg said, adding that India's commitment to renewable energy, particularly solar, is comprehensive and given the country's scale, it has the potential to change the global energy game.



He pointed out that India plans $ 142 billion investment in railway projects and its aviation sector is fastest growing in the world, increasing by nearly 20 percent every year. This offers a huge opportunity for U.S. locomotive and aircraft manufacturers as well as engineering and construction firms that will be bidding to build hundreds of new train stations and airports.

At a time of global economic disruption and with a diminishing number of bright spots, competition for projects among exporters will increase in places like India, he remarked. He said export credit agencies like Exim play a key role in fostering global economic growth through infrastructure investment by filling financing gaps. "Our mission is to support U.S. jobs and promoting companies headquartered in the U.S.

We also support the Indian companies to invest in the U.S. and export from our country," he added.

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WASHINGTON: The U.S. today attributed Chinas rise to the peace in the Asia Pacific region it ensured for the past seven decades and said India is now benefiting from it.

"Look at what the U.S. has brought to the Asia-Pacific region over last 70 years, the most rapidly growing region economically in the world," U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told a Washington audience.

"Its been the peace and stability there that we underwrote thats allowed first Japan to rise, then South Korea, then Taiwan, then Southeast Asia, now China and India. Thats what weve stood for and theyve benefited from that," he asserted.

"So to disrupt the security environment where half of humanity lives and half of humanitys economic behavior is not a good idea on their part, but certainly for our part, we intend to continue our strong role there," he said, responding to a question on the recent assertive behaviour of China in South China Sea.

The U.S., he argued, is going to keep doing what it has always done for 70 years.

"Were going to fly and sail and operate where international law permits, period. And we demonstrate that and that wont stop," he said.

The South China Sea is also a major shipping lane. Over half of the worlds commercial shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways.

China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with several other Asian nations like Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

They accuse China of illegally reclaiming land in contested areas to create artificial islands with facilities that could potentially be for military use.

The U.S. has criticised Beijing for building artificial islands in the disputed sea, and has flown a B-52 bomber and sailed a guided-missile destroyer near some of the constructions China has made in recent months.

Carter said the U.S. is also making investments in its defense budget that are specifically oriented towards the checking the development of the Chinese military.

Also the recent Chinese behavior has made other nations in the region concerned.

"All around the region, people are reacting. The Chinese are, with this kind of stuff, going to get people to react and compensate. But more importantly, its self-isolating behavior," he said.

"I dont know when theyll realise that, whether they will realise that, but its not the American approach to have a cold war there, to carve up the region, to divide. Were not trying to stop the Chinese from doing what theyre doing," Carter said.

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WASHINGTON: U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson is visiting India on his first trip to the country aimed at deepening bilateral maritime partnership, the Pentagon said.

Admiral Richardson will visit New Delhi and Visakhapatnam between February 2 to 6.

In New Delhi, Admiral Richardson will meet key Indian security officials to discuss navy-to-navy relations and opportunities to further technical and security ties, an official statement said.

The admiral would then travel to Visakhapatnam to participate in the Indian Navy-hosted International Fleet Review, which will have a participation from 50 countries with visiting warships, tall-masted ships, and heads of navies.

The International Fleet Review is being promoted as the Indian Navy's premier international engagement event for 2016.

While in Visakhapatnam, he will meet with sailors from USS Antietam (CG 54), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, and USS McCampbell (DDG 85), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, said the statement.

Noting that a central line of effort for Richardson is to "expand and strengthen our network of partners," the Pentagon said the visit to India and interactions with Indian and other navy leaders helps to deepen ties and expand shared maritime interests.

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India Can Become a World Leader in Affordable Health Care: PM Modi
The ambassadors of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain and United States to Ukraine have expressed their disappointment towards the decision of Economic Development and Trade Minister Aivaras Abromavicius to resign since they highly assess his job.

"We are deeply disappointed by the resignation of Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Aivaras Abromavicius, who has delivered real reform results for Ukraine," reads a statement translated by the Embassy of Sweden in Kyiv and posted on the websites of a number of the embassies.

According to the ambassadors, during the past year, Abromavicius and his professional team have made important strides implementing tough but necessary economic reforms to help stabilize Ukraine's economy, root out endemic corruption, bring Ukraine into compliance with its IMF program obligations, and promote more openness and transparency in government.

"Ukraine's stable, secure and prosperous future will require the sustained efforts of a broad and inclusive team of dedicated professionals who put the Ukrainian peoples' interests above their own. It is important that Ukraine's leaders set aside their parochial differences, put the vested interests that have hindered the country's progress for decades squarely in the past, and press forward on vital reforms," the diplomats stressed.
WASHINGTON: The Indian-American community across America celebrated the 67th Republic Day of India with cultural programmes and a call to renew commitment to the Gandhian ideals and help their motherland achieve its full potential.

In Washington metropolitan area, the National Council of Asian Indian Associations (NCAIA) in partnership with over 15 community organizations marked the day with an event in Greenbelt, Maryland over the weekend honouring the monumental achievements of Mahatma Gandhi.

In a keynote address, Frank Islam, a prominent Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist, said in these "extremely troubling and turbulent times" India was "engaged in a battle for the ideals that Mahatma Gandhi propagated."

"In 2016, radical extremists are countering Gandhi by preaching of hate, violence, and war," he said. "If they are successful, Republic Day in India and in places around the world that celebrate democracy will become a distant memory."

As concerned "citizens with connections to two great nations - India and the United States," Islam said, it was their responsibility as those "who understand the values of a free society to prevent that apocalyptic vision."

He called on the community to "bear witness to and reaffirm and renew our commitment to the Gandhian ideals of love, non-violence, and peace as means for achieving the full potential of India."

India was "destined to be a great nation and a force for good in the world", Islam said. "As Indian Americans who understand our civic responsibilities, I am confident that we will do whatever we can to help her achieve that destiny."

The event also featured a cultural show, which included several patriotic songs, Indian dance performances and a fashion show.

India Association of Greater Boston celebrated the day with an event with the theme of Folk Art of India that featured folk music and colourful folk dances from across India at Burlington High School in Burlington, Massachusetts.

A number of vendors and non-profit organizations had set up their stalls and booths, creating a festive and mela-like atmosphere outside the auditorium, according to ethnic India New England News.

In Texas, the Indian-American community held the celebrations at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza in the city of Irving.

In Ohio, the Federation of Indian Association of Central Ohio (FIA-Ohio) celebrated the day with flag-hoisting ceremony held at the State House in Downtown Columbus.

In Chicago, the Federation of Indian Associations hosted the Republic Day celebrations.

Read More: Indian American Man Invents Geothermal Snowmelt System

India is Doing Great, Nobody Talks about it, Says Donald Trump

Source: IANS
Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 10.04.23 PM.png

Cops are investigating an armed robbery at the San Mateo Grocery Store Tuesday night. (Google Maps)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A masked man robbed a customer at gunpoint during a heist where he stole about $600 from a Rosebank deli, police said.

Police are searching for a suspect who wore a black mask and brandished a gun during the robbery, which occurred at about 8:13 p.m. Tuesday inside the San Mateo Grocery Store at 409 Tompkins Ave., according to a spokesman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI).

"Give me your chain," the suspect said to a 39-year-old male customer, according to police.

The robber also demanded money from a 54-year-old store employee who handed over about $600 in cash.

The suspect fled with the jewelry and cash, but it's not yet clear whether he ran away on foot or took off in a black, four-door sedan that was seen in the vicinity, police said.

The suspect is a Hispanic man with brown eyes standing about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing about 145 pounds, according to police. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants and tan footwear, police said.

The incident is the second reported armed robbery at a deli in Rosebank in a week. A masked gunman made off with hundreds of dollars and MetroCards from Lucky Deli & Grocery at 1200 Bay St. at the corner of Hylan Boulevard on Jan. 26.

Investigations into both incidents are ongoing, and police are not yet able to say whether the two robberies are part of a pattern or connected in any way.
goethals.JPG

Update: All lanes of the Goethals heading toward Staten Island have been reopened with residual delays from a disabled vehicle.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A disabled vehicle has taken out the right lane of the Goethals Bridge heading toward Staten Island during the Wednesday morning commute, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and media reports.

A 15-minute delay is reported by the Port Authority.

The traffic jam began around 6 a.m. on the span, based on reports on WCBS 880 and NBC4NY.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said he is not contemplating the possibility of elections for the heads of regional state administration, seeing it as a direct path to federalization.

During the introduction of the new head of the Kyiv region, Maksym Melnychuk, in Kyiv on Wednesday, the president said that a few days ago, Kyiv city councilor asked him to contemplate such a possibility.

"A very odd request. First of all, this is a direct step towards federalization, which I will not allow to happen," the president said.

Ukraine had an unfortunate experience in the 1990s, he added.

He recalled that he introduced in parliament draft constitutional changes, proposing to eliminate the institution of regional administration heads and implement decentralization with a transfer of power to local authorities.
The Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Jan Tombinski, is concerned by the situation around the possible resignation of Ukrainian Economic Development Minister Aivaras Abromavicius.

The EU is very concerned that the people who aimed to change the system, start reforms and reach the point of no return are now leaving their posts, he said at a ceremony in Kyiv on Wednesday, which saw 20 armored vehicles from the EU handed over to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe) Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Among such people is the infrastructure minister, Andriy Pyvovarsky, who tendered his resignation last December, he said.

Tombinski also noted that it was difficult for him to comment on Abromavicius' resignation because he does not know all the details. He stressed that the EU's primary appeal to all Ukrainian leaders is to follow the path of reform.
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The European Union has delivered 20 armored vehicles for the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE SMM) in Ukraine.

All these vehicles will be sent to eastern Ukraine and provide significant help to the OSCE SMM both from the viewpoint of the monitors' safety and in their monitoring of the implementation of the Minsk agreements in terms of the ceasefire and heavy weaponry removal in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, SMM chief Ertugrul Apakan said at the vehicles handover ceremony in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The SMM was receiving non-financial aid from the OSCE members and partners, in particular, from the governments of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, Apakan said.

Today, the SMM numbers 686 monitors and has 188 vehicles, he said.

The SMM conducts between 60 and 90 patrols daily, he said. Each patrol involves two vehicles, three to six monitors and two translators.

The SMM also uses armored vehicles for other purposes, for example to evacuate the injured, he said.

Apakan has also not ruled out nighttime patrols in the event that the security situation improves.
"Among the more convincing arguments used in that debate  and elsewhere  is that the conservative touchstone belief that government is flawed and should have minimal power over people's lives is repulsed by the idea that any government should be considered flawless enough to put people to death. Dispassionate reflection on the number of death row inmates who have been exonerated in recent years supports the idea that the process is not nearly dependable enough to be allowed to end even one human life. ...
BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) is considering an application for clinical testing of the antimalarial artemisinin in treating lupus.

The application by the team led by pharmacologist and Nobel Prize laureate Tu Youyou has reached the final stages of review, a CFDA source confirmed on Tuesday.

The discovery of artemisinin, widely used in the fight against malaria, enabled Tu to win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Tu and her colleagues have been working on treatment of autoimmune diseases with artemisinin for the past decade, with promising lab results on lupus. If the CFDA permit is issued, her team will begin large-scale clinical testing.

In May last year, a team from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica obtained a permit for similar tests of a water-soluble artemisinin derivative to treat lupus.

In a meeting with Li Bin, minister in charge of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, on Monday, Tu suggested health departments spend more on artemisinin research, which, she believes, has great potential in the treatment of a range of conditions.

Lupus, or systemic lupus erythematosus, is an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own tissue and organs and can damage the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain and blood. Traditional therapy for the potentially fatal ailment is a combination of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressives which themselves can damage patients' immune systems.
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System error

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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(0x5612f0226fd0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f00eb498)', '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(0x5612f0226fd0)') 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(0x5612f00eb498)') 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(0x5612f00ed7d8)') 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(0x5612f00eb498)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f00eb498)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e2573c28)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f01137d0)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f01137d0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
It was once the "go-to" site on the internet. Now Yahoo is basically a laughing stock.

Today the fallen internet giant announced another reorganisation of its business. It is going to cut costs, fire 15 per cent of its workforce and try to sell itself, if it can find a buyer. (A spokesperson from its local operations, Yahoo7, which is a joint venture with Seven West Media, said: "The recent Yahoo announcements will not affect our 2016 strategic plan or local team.")

Terry Semel also committed one of several massive missteps: missing a chance to acquire Google. Credit:Damian Dovarganes

In any case, with a new boom in start-ups under way in Australia and abroad, and conditions looking frothy, Yahoo's sad, slow decline could provide today's internet entrepreneurs with some valuable lessons.

Where did it all go wrong?
A 24-year-old Iranian woman who was allegedly raped on Nauru faces being returned to the island to face her assailant following Wednesday's high court ruling that Australia's offshore detention regime is lawful.

Nazanin was allegedly assaulted in May 2015 while on her way back to the detention centre after a visit to meet friends.

Following the attack, Nazanin stopped eating and suffered kidney damage. She was flown to Brisbane in August for treatment.

Her younger brother and mother, who are on Nauru, have repeatedly petitioned the government to allow them to be by her side.
Making a return trip to the edge of space typically requires enough jet power to thrust the craft through the stratosphere.

But aviation specialists have built a glider capable of reaching altitudes of 90,000ft (27,430 metres) using nothing but wind - and are set to attempt to become the highest plane in history in June.

If it succeeds, it will be the highest that any winged vehicle, powered or otherwise has gone.

Aviation specialists have built a glider capable of reaching altitudes of 90,000ft (27,430 metres) using nothing but wind - and are set to attempt to become the highest plane in history in June.

Called the Airbus Perlan II, the glider is the world's first engineless aircraft designed to reach such heights by riding so-called 'mountain waves'.

Allan McArtor, the Chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, which is sponsoring the craft, told Forbes it could will attempt to reach its optimal cruising altitude of 90,000 feet as early as this coming June in Argentina.

Airbus says that any insight gained into flight at increasingly higher altitudes also has implications for the future of both sub-sonic and supersonic or hypersonic aviation, where given the right technology, higher operating altitudes could provide a range of potential advantages.

'Airbus recently filed a patent for hypersonic passenger craft that will go to suborbital space and back down again,' said McArtor.

'It's in that region of suborbital space that Perlan 2 will be flying.'

Glider pilots have surfed so-called mountain waves since 1932. The process is similar to surfing on a wave in the ocean, except the glider is in the wave rather than on the surface of the wave. Winds in the Polar Vortex can reach speeds of 260 knots and upwards allowing the mountain waves to propagate upwards into the stratosphere. An infographic revealing more about the project is pictured

Airbus says that any insight gained into flight at increasingly higher altitudes also has implications for the future of both sub-sonic and supersonic or hypersonic aviation, where given the right technology, higher operating altitudes could provide a range of potential advantages.

The goal of the project is to 'open up a world of new discoveries related to high-altitude flight, climate change and space exploration', explained the firm.

The Perlan II is a pressurised sailplane designed to ride air currents that, in certain mountainous regions near the north and south poles, can reach into the stratosphere.

Despite having no engine, the glider's true flight speed at that altitude will be more than 400mph (643km/h) and the air density will be less than two per cent of what it is at sea level.

The crew will breathe pure oxygen provided by a rebreather system, similar to what astronauts use in space.

In addition to its two-person crew, the aircraft carries scientific instruments to provide new insight into climate change and the upper atmosphere.

Because it lacks an engine, Perlan II can explore the edge of space without polluting the atmosphere it will study.

Glider pilots have surfed on so-called mountain waves since 1932.

The process is similar to surfing on a wave in the ocean, except the glider is in the wave rather than on the surface of the wave.

Mountain waves form when winds of at least 15 knots cross over a mountain range perpendicularly and the atmosphere is 'stable' waves will form on the lee side of the mountains. A glider uses the upward moving part of this wave system to climb.

But the maximum altitude of a mountain is typically at the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere, and this is because the cold air of the mountain wave encounters warmer air at the boundary and can't rise further.

Einar Enevoldson, a Nasa test pilot and founder of the project, saw evidence that in regions closer to the Poles in winter, the waves could extend above the troposphere and well into the stratosphere.

Previously, no-one had searched for waves in the stratosphere in sub-polar regions in winter.

From 1992 until 1998, he gathered more evidence that these waves existed, and found they might be strong enough to lift a sailplane to high altitudes.

Then, in 1998 Dr Elizabeth Austin joined Mr Enevoldson in the search for an understanding of stratospheric mountain waves.

She found that the Polar Vortex, and one of its principal components, the stratospheric polar night jet that only exists in winter, provided the high speed wind in the stratosphere that powered incredibly high waves.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison are facing a backbench revolt over a possible hike in the GST to 15 per cent, with opposition in government ranks hardening against a move to hike the consumption tax.

The revolt centres on two groups of MPs: hard-headed small government advocates who oppose any tax hike, particularly if it also means an increase in welfare spending and compensation and, secondly, backbenchers in marginal seats - nicknamed "bedwetters" by some in the Liberal Party - who fear Labor's scare campaign on the GST and the difficulty of explaining the reform to voters.

One MP even claimed to Fairfax Media that as much as 50 per cent of the Liberal backbench were opposed to the rise. Fairfax Media spoke to 14 Liberal MPs on Wednesday about the prospect of an increase in the GST and was told that at least 17 MPs are now opposed to a rise.
Under questioning, Dr Hollingworth said he had attempted to ensure Elliot would not abuse again. "I had been managing the risks as best I could. There appeared to me no more risks. He was of an age where this was less likely to happen, in any case," he said. "He was in considerable financial need, and on the balance of things I thought there was no problem about it." BYB was abused between the ages of eight and 13, when Elliot was a lay preacher at Brisbane's St Barnabas church at Sunnybank and involved with the Church of England Boys' Society. The pair had contact on an almost weekly basis during those years. "On nearly all of those occasions, Elliot sexually abused me," BYB told the commission.

BYB said he and his parents had several discussions with Dr Hollingworth urging that Elliot be stood down after he revealed the abuse in 1993. "I never received an appropriate response to my request that Elliot be disallowed from having any contact with children," he said. "I was only ever told by Dr Hollingworth that the matters were best handled internally, that there was a process to be followed and there was no need to involve any other parties." In a letter to Elliot at the time advising him of the conditions under which he could stay, Dr Hollingworth indicated he was going against the advice of the church's psychiatrist. "The action differs from the advice given to me by Dr Slaughter who is of the view that your problem is something which keeps recurring and is likely to happen again," he wrote.

Dr Hollingworth told the commission he wrote this to tell Elliot that he knew there was a risk involved, and he was trusting him. "It was saying... if things go wrong that's going to be bad for you, for me and for the diocese," he said. He maintained Elliot performed well as a priest after the warning. "I saw every sign that in priestly ministry he was a good priest, and he was behaving in a way that was entirely appropriate and a spiritual leader, he said. Dr Hollingworth was head of the Brisbane diocese from 1990 to 2001, when he was appointed governor-general. He was forced to stand down in 2003 amid criticism over the church's handling of abuse allegations when he was in charge. Giving evidence in Hobart, Dr Hollingworth agreed that he gave incorrect evidence to a 2002 church board of inquiry investigation into abuse in the Brisbane diocese about a meeting with BYB nine years earlier.

He told the 2002 inquiry he arrived at the scheduled meeting unprepared and not having been briefed after returning from interstate early that morning. In evidence given at the time via his solicitors, he said he did not know who the young man waiting in his office was and he could not recall BYB identifying himself or naming Elliot as his abuser during the meeting. BYB said he told Dr Hollingworth at the meeting that Elliot was a paedophile, that the abuse was not isolated and he should not have contact with the public. On Wednesday, Dr Hollingworth told the commission he now retracted his 2002 evidence that BYB had not identified himself or named Elliot. He said he had left the Brisbane diocese by the time of the inquiry, did not have access to his notes and did not feel it was appropriate to ask for them.

He agreed the evidence he gave the Brisbane inquiry was incorrect. "I regret many things, and certainly that," he said. Dr Hollingworth criticised the Brisbane inquiry, which found against him, for treating witnesses differently. He said he gave his evidence through correspondence via lawyers, and could have clarified some issues if he had been called to answer questions. Issues of contention included his use of the word "isolated" to describe Elliot's abuse. The inquiry interpreted it as saying abuse of BYB occurred only once. Dr Hollingworth said he meant he was aware of only one abuse victim. He had not known how frequently BYB had been abused, and did not ask. He said he now regretted describing the abuse as isolated. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is sitting in Hobart for eight days, examining how the dioceses of Tasmania, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney responded to reports of sexual assault.

At question are allegations against Elliot, Robert Brandenburg, Louis Daniels, Simon Jacobs and Garth Hawkins (now known as Robin Goodfellow). All served jail time for their crimes except Brandenburg, who died in 1999 before facing court in South Australia over 375 assault charges. Former Archbishop Ian George, head of the Adelaide diocese from 1991 to 2004, also issued an apology at the commission on Wednesday. "I'm deeply sorry the church did not protect children and indeed provided an avenue and an opportunity for someone like Brandenburg to abuse so many," he said. with AAP
More than 150 passengers and crew have been struck with gastro on a cruise ship that docked in Sydney on Thursday morning.

NSW Health confirmed that 158 passengers and crew members caught the contagious virus while on board Carnival Australia's megaliner, Diamond Princess.

Passenger Stephen Dinale, from Sydney, said he felt as if he had been on board the "voyage of the damned", with people vomiting in pools and running down corridors covering their mouths.

"You would be [in] the elevator and I would be hitting the button with my knuckle and other people would be running down the corridor holding their mouths ... a lot of the staff would be wearing face masks, gloves," Mr Dinale, who, with his wife, was on his first cruise trip, said.
Virgin Australia has posted an eight-fold rise in underlying profit before tax in the first half to $81.5 million, as a result of ongoing fare increases in the domestic market and better conditions in the international market.

On a bottom-line basis, Virgin reported a $62.5 million profit in the first half, up from a $47.8 million loss in the same period the previous year. It did not reveal how much the lower fuel price had contributed to the result, but the carrier has previously flagged relatively lesser benefits from the oil price fall than rival Qantas.

Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti says the carrier's international business has continued to improve. Credit:Ben Rushton

Virgin will not unveil its detailed half-year financial figures until February 11, but it provided information on its December quarter results on Thursday because large shareholder Singapore Airlines is obliged to disclose its share of Virgin's earnings each quarter.

Virgin reported an underlying profit before tax of $73 million in the December quarter, up 32.2 per cent from the previous year, in what is typically the strongest quarter of the year for the airline.
CYBG Plc, the UK consumer-lending division sold by National Australia Bank Ltd., closed 6 per cent higher on its first day of trading in London.

The stock started the day trading above the 1.80 float price before finishing at 1.92.



National Australia raised up to 396 million pounds ($805 million) from the initial public offering of the unit that was priced at the lower end of the indicated range. The IPO values the company at about 1.58 billion pounds and follows the sale of 75 per cent of the unit to shareholders in Australia.

The IPO draws to a close years of struggles in the UK for National Australia Bank. Credit:Bloomberg

The 178-year-old CYBG, owner Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, is the largest publicly traded independent bank battling to win market share from Britain's top four lenders, which control as much as 80 per cent. The challengers include Richard Branson's Virgin Money Holdings UK Plc and J.C. Flowers & Co.'s OneSavings Bank Plc.

The IPO draws to a close years of struggles in the UK for National Australia and allows Chief Executive officer Andrew Thorburn to shift focus to its home markets of Australia and New Zealand to lift returns that have lagged competitors. National Australia has seen multiple writedowns, capital infusions and losses at the UK unit, which it acquired in 1987.
The Queensland government has hosed down suggestions it is about to approve a mining lease for Adani's Carmichael project, with Mines Minister Anthony Lynham warning there was still a long road to go.

The $16.5 billion Galilee Basin project received an Environmental Authority from the government on Tuesday, outraging environmental activists who saw the approval as a betrayal of Labor's promise to protect the Great Barrier Reef and the environment.

Queensland Mines Minister has poured cold water on the suggestion Adani's Galilee Basin coal mine will receive approval soon after an EA was issued this week. Credit:Ryan Stuart

But the news was welcomed by the resources sector, which saw it as knocking down one more hurdle towards breaking ground.

The state opposition called for Dr Lynham and the government to issue Adani with a mining lease "immediately" following the issuing of the EA.
The federal government is in a pickle over Victoria. It desperately wants to win seats in suburban Melbourne, after transforming itself from being deeply unpopular in Victoria under Tony Abbott to highly competitive under Malcolm Turnbull.

At the top of its target list are the south-eastern Labor seats of Chisholm, with a 1.6 per cent margin, and Bruce with a 1.8 per cent margin. In both cases, the locally popular incumbent is retiring, something which Labor strategists fear could shave up to two percentage points from the vote.

The state of Victoria is in a strong enough position that it could press on with the Melbourne Metro Rail project even without federal backing.

But here's the dilemma. The federal budget is in such a parlous state the Turnbull government has very little money to throw at Victoria when the campaign rolls around in about seven months. Victoria is in a strong enough position to shut the federal government out completely and "go it alone" on big projects like the Melbourne Metro. This is fraught with risk for Turnbull, but who cares? Certainly not Labor in Victoria.

Federal Treasury is now predicting budget deficits totalling $108.3 billion over the four year budget period, up from last year's budget prediction of $82.2 billion. Net debt will peak will peak at 18.5 per cent of the national economy in 201718, before tapering off.
Voter distrust towards the political class has become potent. It is potent in the United States, it is volatile in Europe and it is evident in Australia, where the electorate has dispatched ten major party leaders in just 12 years.

Here is the roll call: Simon Crean (2003), Mark Latham (2005), Kim Beazley (2006), John Howard (2007), Brendan Nelson (2008), Malcolm Turnbull (2009), Kevin Rudd (2010), Julia Gillard (2013), Kevin Rudd again (2013) and Tony Abbott (2015).

Voter revolt: A marginal figure six months ago, Bernie Sanders has fought to a stalemate with Hillary Clinton. Credit:AP

Only two of those leaders, Howard and Rudd in 2013, were sacked via an election. For the rest it was death by polling numbers.

Tuesday's first vote in the 2016 presidential nomination campaign, in Iowa, turned into a voter revolt. Hillary Clinton came close to humiliation. Despite her enormous advantages of high profile, experience, funding and party backing, she was fought to a stalemate by a candidate who was a marginal figure just six months ago.
For now we will have only proximity talks, with the various parties entering into discussion with de Mistura but not among themselves. And the focus of discussion, at least initially, will not be the settlement of the conflict but three more immediate objectives: a possible ceasefire; release of prisoners; and humanitarian aid to the worst-hit areas.

Secondly, despite ongoing disagreements about who should be represented and threatened walkouts, the UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, has managed to get most of the relevant parties to agree to come to Geneva.

Smoke rises after three bombs exploded in Sayyda Zeinab, a predominantly Shiite Muslim suburb of the Syrian capital. The triple bombing claimed by the extremist Islamic State group killed at least 45 people on Sunday, overshadowing an already shaky start to what are meant to be indirect Syria peace talks. Credit:Uncredited

The last three months have seen two positive developments. First, last November the key international players, including the United States and Russia, agreed on the need for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. More ambitiously, they envisaged a transitional authority to be created within six months of the launch of the Geneva talks, and UN-monitored elections to be held within 18 months.

Significantly, the future of the Assad regime is not on the agenda, and just as well. For too long many of the protagonists  global powers, regional players and warring parties  have used arguments about the legitimacy or otherwise of the regime to conceal their own interests in the conflict. Their strategic competition, including military intervention and the flow of arms, money and oil, helps to explain the scale and brutality of the war.

Russia's support for the Syrian government reflects a desire to maintain its strategic toehold in Syria. Importantly it wants to be treated as a key player in the Middle East, whose interests and priorities others cannot afford to ignore.

Iran is concerned to thwart Saudi Arabia's regional ambitions, and in particular its support, both direct and indirect, for Sunni extremism. More broadly Iran wants to be accepted as a major regional player.

Hezbollah supports Assad for fear that another government in Syria would work to weaken its military position in Lebanon. More immediately it wants to secure its supply lines that run from Iran via Syrian territory.

For the United States the primary goal, generally shared by its allies, has been to maintain Western dominance in the Middle East and prevent Russia from re-establishing a significant presence. Regionally, US policy has sought to limit Iran's influence while maintaining the Saudi connection which it deems vital to its strategic and economic priorities. To this end it has been prepared to turn a blind eye to the oppressive character of the Saudi regime and its known support for Islamist movements, not least in Syria.
And Abbott started ruling things out. Superannuation wouldn't be touched. It's the biggest tax break there is after the family home. But Labor had proposed touching it and Abbott wanted a point of difference. Negative gearing wouldn't be touched. Labor had talked about touching that.

By the time the green paper was ready (about the time Abbott lost his job) there was not much in it. Abbott's vetoes had piled up. So Turnbull and Morrison sat on it, and now they are thinking about not releasing it at all.

To their credit they have put everything back on the table and they are talking to lobby groups. Morrison says he has fostered "quite a real debate out there in the community, among policy makers, in private and public sector alike, the various groups".

"I mean, we have the current arrangement, which says there would be a green paper and a white paper. But what the debate over the last three or four months, I think, has shown is, in many ways, the public [has] moved beyond that," he says. "We've advanced the debate I think a lot more effectively over the last four or five months than a green paper ever would."

That's rubbish. Without a clear objective, a 15 per cent GST can seem like the answer. Morrison has become a fan. The treasury isn't. It has calculated that compensation would end up costing "at least half of the extra GST revenue". And that's if it could be delivered. The much higher tax-free threshold these days makes it difficult.




Premier Li Keqiang inspected the Spring Festival market supply at Nanqiao Marketplace in Yongning County, Yinchuan city, in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Tuesday.

As the Spring Festival is approaching, peddlers in Ningxia have displayed all kinds of special goods including the New Year scrolls and Blessing Characters for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Premiere Li visited every booth in the marketplace and asked about their business operation. He said to the accompanying local officials that they should not only provide abundant safe material products but also intellectual and artistic products in the market.

Premier Li also walked into a grocery store and listened to the shop owners sharing with their business operation stories in 2015. He wished the store a booming business in the New Year and said the government will further support the development of the countrys entity economy.
Why you should be appalled We know, from horrible experience, what happens to people in offshore detention. They get raped. They get murdered. They die of preventable infections. They self-harm at terrifying rates. And, in the case of one five-year-old boy, they get raped and then sent back to be incarcerated with his rapist. That's the discovery of the 7.30 Report, as the incredibly brave Dr Karen Zwi - a paediatrician who can be jailed for speaking out about conditions of people in detention - reported that the child was sent back to Australia as a result of the attack. "Like many other children who are very distressed he regressed, he began bed-wetting, he became very anxious about his mother's well being, he actually began to self-harm, as I've seen several other children do as well, and eventually he was transferred over to the mainland for treatment," she said.

Another similarly gutsy paediatrician, Dr Hasantha Gunasekera, explained that "in Nauru and in detention centres where kids have been kept, sometimes for most of their life, we see very young children who just can't take it anymore and try to kill themselves or wanting to hurt themselves, or saying things like, 'I may as well just jump off the roof'." Again, this is children we're talking about. Nauru's police commissioner Corey Caleb insists that the allegations are false and that these kids are just making up stories as part of the Australian media's "political agenda". Just for context on just how gosh-darn seriously Nauruan authorities take rape, they threaten to charge women with the recently-invented offence of "making false complaint" if they report sexually assault. Maybe they can wait until this five-year-old child is returned to their tender mercies, and then charge him too? Problem solved! "Ahhhh, but what about stopping the evil trade of people smugglers, huh?"

The argument that's being used, along with the ever popular (and inaccurate) "the boats have been stopped", is that offshore detention is necessary to stop people smugglers. And while island concentration camps seems at best to be a very indirect method of achieving this dubious aim, there's the fact that both Australia and Indonesia have been singled out for doing nothing meaningful about people smuggling by former Indonesian foreign minister Dr Hassan Wirajuda. He's one of the architects of the "Bali Process" - aka The Closest Thing We Have To A Regional Solution To Deal With The Issue Of What Is Euphemistically Called "Forced Migration", Since "People Fleeing For Their Lives" Is A Bit Too Obvious. You want to stop people risking their lives at sea and smash people smuggling rings? A coordinated regional resettlement programme of the Bali Process stripe would appear to be the best way to address both problems. Yet Australia's barely giving it any attention - much less meaningful leadership. Your tax dollars at work!
It's an odd quirk of nature that birds - even chickens - typically lay just one egg a day, and many species rely on all the eggs in the clutch hatching on the same day.

Parent birds control incubation by modifying the temperature that triggers embryo development, which is one way that species ensure roughly synchronous hatching.

Bird in the hand: Professor Simon Griffith and one of his zebra finches. Credit:Macquarie University

However, climate change - particularly the increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves - will take some of that control away from birds, causing some eggs to hatch earlier than others, according to new research published in the Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday.

The team, led by Simon Griffith from Macquarie University, studied zebra finches, a common and hardy species found across central Australia that typically lays five eggs per clutch, all of which hatch on the same day.
The state government has recommended approval for what could be one of Australia's biggest wind farms, but continued uncertainty in the renewables sector may see the project added to the 6000 megawatt-strong "pile of wind farms" currently approved, but stalled, industry figures say.

The recommendation for approval of the Epuron Yass Valley Wind Farm by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment clears the way for the Planning and Assessment Commission to make its final decision on the wind farm.

Financiers are yet to gain confidence that the legislative underpinning for renewable energy projects is going to be stable. Credit:Getty Images

While industry figures say the news is positive, it does not mean the wind farm will be built.

"We've lost count of these announcements," said Ric Brazzale, managing director of Green Energy Trading.
They were besieged by forces of the Assad regime which were deliberately preventing them from receiving the supplies and support they needed in order to survive, Mr Kerry said, adding that this was "against the rules of law". Military edge needed: United States Secretary of State John Kerry delivers his speech in Rome. Credit:AP "Eyewitnesses have described 'walking skeletons'." These were scenes not seen in these numbers and this "organised way" since the concentration camps were liberated after World War II, Mr Kerry said. He is to attend the Supporting Syria meeting in London on Thursday alongside Ms Bishop and world leaders.

The meeting, co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, and the United Nations, is being billed as a "donors conference" raising money for humanitarian aid for the civil war-torn country. However, due to the level of political interest, in the wings it will include discussions about how the country may be rebuilt more generally, should the peace talks currently taking place in Geneva result in a more-or-less stable ceasefire and a transition to a post-Assad democracy. It aims to raise significant new funds for a plan to support and rebuild Syria over the next five years, and to put pressure on those fighting in Syria  on either side  to better protect the innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. In a speech to the conference, Ms Bishop was to call for a serious negotiation leading to a ceasefire as a prelude to lasting peace. "Countries with influence on these parties must also act responsibly and bring pressure to bear on the warring parties," she will say.

"We welcome the focus here today on economic and education opportunities, as well as building economic resilience and facilitating development in refugee host countries Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. "It is vital that Syrian refugees have the opportunity to contribute to their host countries and the communities within, and be given the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to help rebuild their country after the conflict is over." Australia's response to the Syria and Iraq crises includes: humanitarian assistance of $230 million since 2011; military contribution to the "anti-Daesh" (Islamic State) coalition which is expected to cost around $400 million this financial year alone; and offering permanent resettlement to 12,000 Syrian refugees at a cost of around $830 million over four years. On Tuesday, Ms Bishop said it was the turn of other countries, not Australia, to add military power to the international coalition fighting IS. Oxfam Chief Executive Helen Szoke said Australia's $25 million pledge was "a good start".

"But it is far from enough to make the difference needed in this massive humanitarian tragedy and it pales in comparison to reports that Germany's contribution is $770 million," Dr Szoke said. "Even if all of the $25 million went to respond to the Syria crisis, Australia would only be meeting 14 per cent of its fair share of funding for the crisis for this year. "This comes on the back of historic budget cuts that have seen the government cut $11.3 billion in current and future spending from Australia's aid budget since 2013, and at a time when the world is facing an unprecedented level of need for humanitarian assistance. "Next year will bring Australia's aid program to its lowest level in our nation's history, falling to just 0.22 per cent of Gross National Income." Australia will draw the new aid out of its emergency relief fund, which is normally used for Indo-Pacific regional disaster relief.
Churches have taken the extraordinary step of offering sanctuary to asylum seekers facing deportation in the wake of a High Court verdict, raising the prospect of police raids on places of worship and possible charges for clergy.

Ten Anglican churches and cathedrals have invoked the ancient Christian tradition to offer protection to the 267 people - including 37 babies - facing imminent transfer to Nauru after the court on Wednesday upheld the legality of the government's offshore processing regime.

The movement is being led by the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Dr Peter Catt, who has declared his St John's Anglican Cathedral a place of sanctuary.
There is, however, still a significant bloc of MPs that believe the government must press on with its reform agenda and spend the considerable political capital Mr Turnbull has banked - not to mention his lead in the opinion polls. Liberal MPs have been given tax briefings in Treasurer Scott Morrison's office. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Some backbenchers are withholding judgment, rather than supporting a rise sight unseen, and are awaiting further details of the final shape fo the tax reform package. But there is a developing view that a GST rise will be so unpopular that it is best "killed" in the coming weeks. It is now the prime topic of discussion for Liberal MPs and briefings by the tax unit in Mr Morrison's office - designed to keep nervous MPs "in the tent" - have begun to give an outline of the broad fiscal challenge facing government. However, frustration at the absence of any details has marginal seat MPs worried that the government is losing control of debate, which is being increasingly defined by Labor's GST scare campaign.

Liberal Party federal director Tony Nutt will on Wednesday night brief marginal seat MPs about the challenges of the coming election campaign, and the GST is expected to be discussed at the meeting. Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos put a positive spin on the disquiet, saying he would be "very surprised if people weren't talking about this". Asked if MPs were concerned, the former chief of staff to John Howard when the GST was introduced said: "It would be natural, we had similar concerns previously. "One of the tests in putting together the package will be to convince our colleagues that the package is viable, economically sustainable, and fair," he said. "You go out there when you are ready," he said while revealing "all sorts of options" are being modelled, even though backbenchers remain in the dark.

"I only know what I read in the papers," said one. Amid the confusion, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer struggled to explain the government's position at the National Press Club on Wednesday, pledging only that voters would know all the details of the government's tax package before the election. Mr Turnbull told Parliament: "The government is considering carefully all of these proposals; the government has not made a decision to change any element of the tax system beyond those that have already been announced." And Mr Morrison seized on the comments of former prime minister Paul Keating - revealed in Fairfax Media - to criticise the opposition on Wednesday. "This is what Paul Keating said: 'The world has trimmed us down, we now to have trim ourselves, trim our spending and not accommodate more of it by ever more taxation'. He says: 'The aim of policy should be make the private sector larger'. He's right."

The hard-heads - who are predominantly but not exclusively part of the party's right and are economically dry - are particularly annoyed with Mr Morrison, believing he is trying to emulate former treasurer Peter Costello. "We are broadly supportive of the PM's desire to see all options on the table but Scott is too blinkered and too GST-focused - now is the time to narrow the focus and take the GST off the table," one MP said. That MP said Mr Morrison had made it very clear, through his "consigliere" Alex Hawke, a hard man of the NSW centre-right faction, that "Scott wants this" but there would be a "revolt" if it went ahead. The opponents of a GST rise believe, however, that Mr Turnbull still genuinely has an open mind on the issue. Another MP said there had been a "tidal wave of concern" expressed since MPs returned to Canberra.

"It's the only thing anyone is talking about," that MP said, "I don't like it because it increases the size of government. Why is [Mr Morrison] going so hard?" A third MP said: "My growing view is that it is nearly impossible to raise [the GST] without increasing the size of government, in which case I can't support it." The economic dries say they would accept other reform options that have been canvassed, such as changes to generous tax concessions on superannuation contributions. But a supporter of raising the GST in Coalition ranks said that while "some people are very nervous" and agreed there were small government and marginal seat groups opposing a rise, "now is the time to do this". "With Malcolm Turnbull having so much political capital, he needs to spend some of it and indirect taxes are more efficient than direct taxes," the MP said.
"It does look cheap," admits Max Williamson, Mossgreen's sporting memorabilia specialist. He's referring to the conservative estimates of $2500 to $3500 for the Australian singlet worn by Melbourne athlete Peter Norman at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. It will be offered for sale at Mossgreen's Sporting Memorabilia auction in Melbourne on February 8.

Norman won silver that day in the 200 metres sprint but his main claim to fame is what happened after the race, when the three medallists were on the presentation podium.

Sign from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, gilt on perspex in metal frame, 28x15cm. Estimate: $6000-7000.

On the podium, gold medallist Tommie Smith and bronze medallist John Carlos, both African-Americans, gave the Black Power salute, one fist raised and heads bowed, each wearing one black glove and black socks without shoes.

Peter Norman stood in silence as a mark of respect. All three wore Olympic Project for Human Rights badges.
This law came into force a few days later on June 30, 2015, but was backdated to take effect from 2012. The retrospective operation was designed to support Commonwealth actions before that time that could otherwise have been invalid.

The passage of this special law undercut the arguments of the plaintiff, who failed in the High Court on all counts. The logic of the majority was straightforward. In the absence of any special protections for asylum seekers in the Constitution or elsewhere, the Commonwealth can participate in offshore processing regimes so long as this is authorised by law.

In this case, the requisite legal authority was provided by section 198AHA. It was argued by the plaintiff that this section was not a valid law under the Constitution.

However, this failed when the High Court applied one of its earlier decisions from 2014. That case upheld similar provisions that supported the sending of asylum seekers to Manus Island in PNG.

The result was that the federal government has the power to detain people who come to our shores claiming to be a refugee. It also has the power to send those people to other countries without first determining whether their claims are correct.
Ms Carney, who has a history of workplace conflict, successfully appealed the insurer's refusal to pay out her claim for "adjustment disorder".

Public sector employers have been told a worker's "glass jaw" will be no defence if they lodge claims for psychological injuries. Credit:Tamara Voninski

Australian Federal Police administrator Sandra Carney has won her legal battle for workers' compensation for mental harm arising from a minor workplace disagreement over a workflow chart at the AFP's Canberra headquarters two years ago.

Public servants with "glass jaws" or "eggshell skulls" who suffer psychological harm from minor office disputes are still entitled to taxpayer funded workers' compensation, a federal tribunal has found.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision sends a message to public sector employers that a worker's "glass jaw" will be no defence if they lodge compo claims for psychological injuries.

Successful Comcare claimants are entitled to be paid their full salaries for their first 45 weeks off work and 75 per cent of their salary, plus medical and pharmacological expenses, until they either return to work or reach retirement age.

Two medical experts who gave evidence to the tribunal, Associate Professor Michael Robertson for Ms Carney and Dr Catherine Oelrichs for Comcare, both acknowledged "some predisposition on Ms Carney's part to injury arising from workplace conflict".

"With this glass jaw, as Prof Robertson described it, leading to emotional reactions to a succession of workplace incidents, the difficulty in attributing a particular mental condition to incidents on particular dates is obvious," tribunal presiding member Gary Humphries wrote in his decision on the case.

The trouble that led to Ms Carney's latest Comcare claim began on January 21, 2014, when she declined to discuss a workflow chart in a meeting with her acting boss because she and her team had not had a chance to read the document.
Premier Li Sends New Year Greetings via New Media Platform in Ningxia

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspected the Smart City of Ningxia Digital Exhibition Center in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Tuesday. On behalf of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, Li wished people in Ningxia happiness, health and a happy Spring Festival through the centers new media platform.

Premier Li checked the data on Ningxia migrant workers payments situation before the Spring Festival and the citys poverty-alleviation work. He emphasized that the government should take advantages of Internet Plus to improve its civil service.

Premier Li also meets a young startup entrepreneur, Wang Lei, who has established his new-type display company. Four years ago, Premier Li met the fresh grad Wang and encouraged him to build his own business during an inspection tour in Ningxia.

Premier Li said that college students should study hard and acquire more knowledge at school to better start up their business in the future.
Australian scientists may soon be at the forefront of the fight against the Zika virus in South America, using a biological control designed to combat dengue fever.

Professor Scott O'Neill, program director of Eliminate Dengue, a Melbourne-based, Australian-led international collaboration dedicated to wiping out dengue fever around the globe, said the organisation was in discussions with "governments in South America" about potentially adapting its work to combat the latest pandemic.

Professor O'Neill and his colleagues have pioneered a unique form of biological control against the virus that causes dengue fever. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, and each year infects an estimated 390 million people worldwide, including some in northern Australia.
A bus driver has been killed after he was crushed between two buses in Sydney's south west on Wednesday.

Emergency services were called to Park Street in Hurstville at 4.30pm after reports that a man had been hit by a bus.

The driver, believed to be in his 20s, was pinned between two buses near the Westfield car park.

He died at the scene of severe injuries.
A man has been arrested after police say he used a claw hammer in a bid to carjack a vehicle at the University of NSW in Sydney's east.

Aaron Milligan, 31, allegedly opened the door of a car that was leaving a car park on Botany Street, Randwick, about 4.30pm on Tuesday.

He threatened the 28-year-old driver in an attempt to force the driver out of his car and to steal the vehicle, police said.

He fled when the driver made to get out of the car and it rolled forward and collided with another vehicle. The driver was uninjured.

Police arrested Mr Milligan near the university, still allegedly carrying the hammer.
Murdered Sydney student Jamie Gao kept a machete under his dinner table which his cousin removed after his disappearance because it was "not really a good look" for the weapon to be found by police, a court has heard.

Prosectors allege that Mr Gao, 20, was murdered by former police officer Glen McNamara and Roger Rogerson in a south-west Sydney storage shed in May 20, 2014.

Justin Gao, cousin of Jamie Gao, arrives at the Supreme Court on Wednesday to give evidence. Credit:Daniel Munoz

It is alleged that the young man came to the storage shed with the intention of selling Mr McNamara and Mr Rogerson 2.78kg of the drug "ice" but was then shot twice in the chest by the men, who then took the drugs and dumped his body in the ocean off Cronulla.
Salim Mehajer has launched an urgent challenge to his suspension from Auburn Council, with a fast-tracked Supreme Court hearing set for Friday.

The hearing was expedited by Justice Peter Garling instead of granting the councillor a stay, which would have stopped the suspension taking effect pending the outcome of the appeal.

Salim Mehajer says he is challenging his suspension for the "sake of my constituents". Credit:Peter Rae

In a decision delivered last Friday, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal blasted Cr Mehajer for his "hubris" and suspended him from council for four months for failing to disclose his financial interest in a property when voting on changes adding $1 million to its value.
A speed limit of 40km/h will be imposed on a much larger part of Sydney's central business district in an attempt to reduce accidents involving pedestrians at night and in the early morning.

A reduction in the limit from 50km/h will come into force in April and cover an area bordered by Macquarie and College streets in the east of the CBD and Central Station in the south. It increases the size of the existing 40km/h speed zone  which also applies to cyclists  by about three-quarters.

The danger time for pedestrians is often at night and the early morning. Credit:Anthony Johnson

The changes are aimed mostly at improving pedestrian safety between 6pm and 6am because, as the state government concedes, congestion often prevents motorists from driving faster than 40km/h during the day.

Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the "greatest enemy" to pedestrians was often confusion among motorists about speed limits.
But that morning's Waratah enjoyed no such official solicitude. Nobody from the NSW government wanted to be associated with a train contract that had delivered its new carriages 18 months late.

Typically, the initial run of a shiny new train fleet would be feted by politicians eager to claim the credit.

It was a strange morning when the first Waratah train in passenger service rolled into Sydney's Redfern station in July 2011.

Fast-forward to 2016 and the Waratahs are the pride of Sydney's rail fleet. They are the most comfortable trains on the network, and they break down the least.

The irony of the $3.6 billion Waratah train contract is that it proved a disaster for the manufacturer, Downer - which is now defending claims it withheld problems with the project from their sharemarket - but it was ultimately a pretty good deal for the NSW taxpayer and commuter.

There was that long wait. Because of delays in Downer's construction program, some of which were caused by difficulties with its Chinese contractor, the first trains turned up long after they were meant to arrive in 2009.

But the financial pain was inflicted on the company, not the taxpayer. And even though the new Coalition government eventually said it would provide a $175 million bailout for the project, it is very likely to get a good return on that investment.

For the Sydney rail commuter, the main complaint that can be made these days about the Waratah train is that the government did not order enough of them.
Seven people have died in little more than a month at a small far north Queensland aged-care facility under investigation for the deadly outbreak of a flu-like illness.

In late January, authorities confirmed four elderly patients at the Herberton Hospital on the Atherton Tableland had died after contracting the respiratory illness human metapneumovirus (hMPV).

Herberton Hospital, near Cairns, where four patients died after a virus outbreak last week. Credit:Queensland Health

On Wednesday, Cairns Hospital and Health Service chief executive Julie Hartley-Jones announced seven patients had died at the 36-bed facility this year but said it appeared "not all of these" were caused by the virus.

"One of those who died tested positive to the virus, while several others displayed symptoms consistent with the virus," she said in a statement.
The Palaszczuk government has ruled out supporting any plan to build a national radioactive waste storage facility anywhere in Queensland.

That includes Oman Ama, the small town on the Cunningham Highway between Inglewood and Warwick, where a private landowner had put forward his property as a potential radioactive waste site.

Queensland's government has asked that all potential Queensland radioactive waste storage sites be removed from the Australian government's shortlist. Credit:Glenn Campbell

Information from the Australian government project confirms intermediate-level radioactive waste would be "temporarily" stored at the chosen facility for many years, while the majority of radioactive waste would be low-level.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says intermediate-level radioactive waste "contains higher radioactivity levels than low level waste. It requires shielding when handled. Intermediate level waste  generated during operation of a nuclear power plant  consists mostly of ion exchange resins used to clean the water circulating through the reactor."
The organisers of a protest against an international "neomasculine" organisation say they have not instructed members to bring pocket knives to protect themselves.

Melbourne feminist groups plan to protest in Federation Square on Saturday night against the all-male group Return of Kings.

The feminist group Mad F---ing Witches is leading the protest against Return of Kings, whose founder Daryush "Roosh" Valizadeh has most recently advocated for rape to be legalised on private property.

"We will hold a peaceful event to gather and dress as witches and cast spells on them and their supporters so they'll be gone from Australia without achieving any of their sorcery," Mad F---ing Witches said in a message to supporters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited one of China's oldest revolutionary bases Jinggang mountain in east China's Jiangxi province on February 2, 2016. People crowded to see their leader of the country on the village road. The President shook hands with them one by one. "I have deep feelings with Jinggang Mountain," he said. "This is the third time I come here to pay respect to this old revolutionary site and its people. I wish you a better life.

The Zuo family is a Red Army martyr descendant family in this cradle of People's Republic of China. When President Xi came to their house, they were busy preparing Spring Festival food. Xi immediately started making the local rice cakes with the family.

Learning that the Zuo family is good at creating bamboo handcraft and raising giant salamanders, and that they are to renovate their house after the Spring Festival, Xi was very happy for them. He wished that their life would get better and better in the new house, and encouraged Zuo's grandson to work hard at school.
More wreckage has been found but one body is still missing after a light plane plummeted into the water near Barwon Heads on Friday, killing three people.

A fourth body is yet to be located amongst the debris as Water Police search an exclusion zone about four kilometres off shore between Point Lonsdale and Barwon Heads.

Police and the Coast Guard search for the missing plane crash victim. Credit:Joe Armao

Police believe the engine block, prop and part of the fuselage of the doomed Piper Cherokee aircraft have been found, however divers are waiting for better weather before exploring the wreck.

Access has been restricted to the site, with police believing that the body may be trapped in the wreckage on the ocean floor.
The Federal Auditor General is set to probe the former Abbott government's funding for the controversial $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link.

The Abbott government poured $925 million into the freight link, which will run from Perth Airport to Fremantle Ports, while the Barnett government has committed $650 million into what is one of the biggest road projects ever undertaken in WA.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has called on the Auditor General to investigate the Perth Freight Link. Credit:Andrew Meares

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam who led the charge for Auditor General Grant Hehir to investigate the funding, said the Barnett and Abbott-Turnbull government's were "terrified of transparency".
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron said he's ready to campaign to keep Britain in the European Union after its president, Donald Tusk, issued a draft proposal that may go some way to allay fears migrants are draining Britain's welfare coffers.

As well as offering a four-year "emergency brake" on welfare for new migrants from the EU, the plan sets out safeguards to shield the British financial system from interference by EU regulators and more powers for national parliaments.

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks to Siemens factory staff in Chippenham on Tuesday. Credit:PA/AP

Mr Cameron needs to persuade a sceptical British public he's fought hard and won significant concessions as he prepares for a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU or leave  a so-called Brexit. At the same time, he has to keep the bloc's other 27 leaders on side, because they still have to approve the plan at a summit in Brussels this month. That would pave the way for a popular vote as early as June.

"If I could get these terms for British membership, I sure would opt in to membership of the EU," Mr Cameron said in a speech at a plant in Chippenham, western England, run by German engineering giant Siemens, symbolising the degree to which Britain's economy is bound up with the rest of the bloc. "Strong, determined, patient negotiation has achieved a good outcome for Britain."
The agency said an internal investigation would be "immediately" launched into the source of the documents following questions from Fairfax Media. Papuan activists scuffle with police officers during a rally marking the 53rd anniversary of the Free Papua Movement in Jakarta in December 2014 Credit:AP "BIN has never issued such a document," said BIN's director for information, Sundawan Salya. "We are an intelligence operation and therefore would never use such an open document." The dossier lists the strengths and weaknesses of numerous Papuans and describes tactics to "suppress the movement" and "divide and fragment" opinion within the movement. A Papuan protester addresses a crowd in Jayapura in 2011.

The pro-independence movement in Papua is especially sensitive in Indonesia given its experience with East Timor, which voted to break away from the republic in 1999. Markus Haluk, the former chairman of the Central Highlands Papuan Student Association, is one of the Papuans named in the documents. It is reported that he attends seminars demanding a "liberated Papua" and always criticises government policies. His strengths are his ability to motivate Central Highland people who are not university educated and create "propaganda via media". His weaknesses? "Money and women". "I think it's harassment of my pride, my character," Mr Haluk told Fairfax Media. "I have a wife, I am not a playboy. I know there are many ways Indonesia (achieves its goals). It's intelligence strategy, Jakarta's strategy to kill a fighter."

Mr Haluk said he would not be afraid or panic. "My struggle is to save Papuans. I am not sponsored or paid by anyone. And I will keep fighting until the truth is upheld in Papua." The documents list a "minimal" and "maximal" goal for each Papuan named in the dossier, which authorities hoped to achieve between April and October 2014. The "minimal" goal tended to be that the person would not contend there were severe human rights violations in Papua or would reject Papuan independence. The "maximal" goal was usually that the person would support the Republic of Indonesia or support a draft law on enhancing special autonomy in Papua that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government was trying to push through at the time. Mr Haluk said he did not consider the intelligence agency's strategy to have been a success.

"Papua has been incorporated into Indonesia since the late 1960s but people are still hoisting the (banned West Papuan national) Morning Star flag in the forests, protests demanding (that) Papua separates from Indonesia are still going on," he said. Beny Dimara, a prominent religious figure who works with Papuan university students in Yogyakarta, is named in the documents as someone who "follows separatist politics". However he told Fairfax Media he had nothing to do with pro-independence activities. "I am a priest and my concern is only one and that is making young Papuans better in their knowledge of God and in their education." Indonesia has a history of spying on Papuans. Documents from Indonesia's elite special forces unit Kopassus, leaked to Fairfax Media in 2011, revealed members of the small armed resistance as well as ordinary Papuans were under intense surveillance.

The 2006-2009 intelligence briefs revealed informants infiltrated every aspect of daily life, including American tourists being watched while they attended a traditional dance outside the capital Jayapura in case they met with pro-independence groups. Agus Sumule, a lecturer from the University of Papua, said Papuans are the only ethnic group in Indonesia spied on by their own government. "Indonesians approach Papuans with racism and a paternalistic attitude," Mr Agus said. "The feeling of being part of Indonesia is not there for Papuans because of the stigma put on Papuans that we are separatists, that we are not able to do things as the Javanese people do, for instance." A 2015 report by the directors of the Institute for Policy Analysis for Conflict in Jakarta said Papua struggled with some of the lowest development indicators in the country. "Successive Indonesian administrations have failed to resolve these problems or reduce the grievances that fuel the independence movement," it said.

This was despite the implementation of limited special autonomy since 2001 and vast amounts of development spending. Last May dozens of activists from the West Papua National Committee, a pro-independence group, were arrested during peaceful rallies in Jayapura. And the government has still not released results of official investigations into the shooting of five protesters by security forces in the town of Enarotali in December 2014. Theologian and activist Benny Giay, who is described in the documents as a "prominent clergyman who can influence and can generate separatist enthusiasm", said surveillance was a reality in Papua. "This is paranoid, this is crazy," he said, when told about the documents. "They are often following us or sending journalists to interview us on certain topics. They will attend press conferences, attend our church meetings."
London: Nigerian separatists have hijacked an oil tanker and threatened to blow it up unless their government frees a British-Nigerian radio presenter who runs their propaganda station from a London council estate.

Nnamdi Kanu, a firebrand broadcaster who runs Radio Biafra from a terraced former council property in Peckham, was arrested on charges of terrorism during a visit to Nigeria in October. His detention sparked a wave of street protests in Nigeria among campaigners for an independent Biafran homeland, and was raised with the British Foreign Office by his MP in Peckham, Harriet Harman.

Biafran separatist leader and broadcaster Nnamdi Kanu attends a court hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria. Nigerian separatists have threatened to blow a tanker up if authorities do not release him. Credit:AP

A group of armed militants in Nigeria's south-east have now taken a rather more direct means to campaign for his freedom, hijacking an oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea on Friday.

They have told the Nigerian army that if Mr Kanu is not freed within a month, they will blow the tanker up along with its crew. The stand-off puts Britain in an awkward position  it is welcoming Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to London this week. Mr Buhari, a former general who was elected in May last year, is understood to feel Mr Kanu is a dangerous rabble-rouser who should not have been allowed free rein to broadcast in Britain.
During the weekend, her campaign had exuded confidence, with some advisers predicting she would win the Iowa caucuses by several percentage points, and by Monday evening, they were urging news outlets to call the race in her favour. Clinton prepared a victory speech in which she virtually ignored her rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and attacked the Republican candidates.

Des Moines: Late on Monday night, supporters of Hillary Clinton gathered for what they expected would be a victory rally.

The outcome in Iowa - which at least until Tuesday afternoon appeared to be effectively a tie with a far left senator from a small New England state - dealt a jolting psychological blow to the Clinton campaign, leaving volunteers, donors and aides confused throughout the night, and then crestfallen. They had hoped that the former secretary of state would garner a decisive victory here and put to rest any doubts about her strength as a candidate.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Credit:AP

Instead, they now head to New Hampshire, where Sanders is heavily favoured in the polls, and brace themselves for another battle before they reach more hospitable states like Nevada and South Carolina.

Even before Clinton finished her brief remarks to her supporters late Monday night, discussions were underway among her outside advisers and donors about the need to bring in longtime Clinton aides and diminish the role of Robby Mook, her young data-driven campaign manager. Asked about such discussions, Nick Merrill, a spokesman for the campaign, grew irritated. "Are you serious?" he said tersely to a reporter.

On board the campaign's plane to New Hampshire, Brian Fallon, another spokesman, declared a victory for Clinton. "We believe strongly that we won tonight," Fallon said. "Senator Sanders has been saying for weeks that if this caucus was a high turnout affair, he would win. He was wrong."
Des Moines, Iowa: Presidential candidate Marco Rubio, a senator from Florida, is being likened to a Republican Barack Obama due to his youth and penchant for soaring oratory.

Although opponents dismiss him as an inexperienced overachiever, Rubio emerged perhaps the biggest winner on Tuesday as a three-horse race opened up for the Republican presidential nomination following a divisive contest in Iowa.

In the rancorous Iowa campaign, Mr Trump called him a "baby", but Senator Rubio, a one-time protege of rival candidate Jeb Bush, refused to engage in insults and instead pitched himself as a "unity candidate".
What is that one drink that reminds you of Chinese New Year? Given at our age you might probably guess my answer would be one of those typical larger beer considering how much an alcoholic I made myself look like online am but sorry to disappoint, my answer is actually Orange Soda.





I guess this goes way back to childhood days. Drinking carbonated drinks and soda ain't a privilege I had when I was a kid. Not just because I was a fat boy or my mum read something off a stupid blog that says too much sugar is bad for kids but simply because to prevent me from getting a bad cough.





That aside, Orange soda always reminds me of Happy Occasions. Happy occasions like Chinese New Year visits (I used to like it when I was younger), good old "Bai Toh", the nostalgic Chinese "Hui Guan" or 7th Month dinners as well as wedding dinners in a what we would probably call "old skool" Chinese Restaurant now. (Ya, one of those restaurant above NTUC Fairprice back in those days. A place where your wife-to-be now would probably become ex-gf if you suggest a wedding at those restaurant in the year 2016)





So here comes the question, WHICH IS THAT ONE ORANGE SODA YOU HAVE BEEN DRINKING? Do they even taste different?

From left to right, F&N, Fanta and Mirinda. Same same but different.

So we did a simple taste test the other day during a house party. We pour the 3 different drinks into tasting cups and ask them to identify which is actually which. Below are some of the findings:





1. F&N has the most unique taste. Almost 90% of "focus group" managed to identify its taste





2. Only a mere 5% managed to get all the 3 brands right





3. Fanta apparently has the most coloring - it left stains on the plastic cup there after





4. Strangely there was no consistency in description of taste. (For example which is sweeter, which is more tasty, which is more gassy. Nobody could actually pinpoint what are the differences in taste.)





5. F&N has the lightest color, you can actually see the difference just from a quick glance. (I bet you are looking at the picture above one more time.)





6. No one actually have a preference on which orange soda is better. Orange is Orange





7. I personally prefers Fanta because erm, it taste right.





So which do you prefer?

P.S. Smith Leong Paid for his own orange soda. This is not an Ad.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Central Committee will meet in session on February 8th.

The Central Committee meeting has been set for Monday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the draft National Ordinance to establish the National 2016 Budget.

Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.

The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.

The parliamentary session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 120, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the Internet www.pearlfmradio.com and via www.sxmparliament.org.
GREAT BAY(DCOMM):--- The Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a government department under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, spearheaded a multi-disciplinary meeting that took place on Monday at the Ministry of Public Health conference room regarding the mosquito-borne Zika virus disease.

The platform guided by CPS will coordinate, monitor and steer actions being taken to combat mosquito-borne diseases.

The multi-disciplinary partners that met on Monday morning were the Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten Medical Center, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, Public Health Department, Vector Control and Surveillance Officer.

A number of topics were discussed such as a: collective marketing strategy; distribution of public information flyers to stakeholders; information in different languages eg. Spanish, Creole, Mandarin; public information ads at ports of entry; targeted fogging; distribution of mosquito kits; distribution of information from the Caribbean Public Health Agency to the St. Maarten Hotel and Trade Association, ports of entry, with a follow-up discussion with hotels and taxi drivers; and district clean-up parties.

There was also a discussion in preparation for a February 3 meeting health officials from the French Collectivite of St. Martin.

CPS is appealing to the community to step up measures to eliminate mosquito breeding sites in and around their homes and businesses.

Dengue fever, zika and chikungunya are transmitted by the female vector Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is distinguished by its markings. The body of the mosquito has alternate black and white horizontal stripes. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito lays her eggs in clear (clean) stagnant water. Within eight days the mosquito can complete its life cycle from egg, to larvae to pupae and to adult mosquito.

Actively destroy or dispose of tin cans, old tires, buckets, unused plastic swimming pools or other containers that collect and hold water. Do not allow water to accumulate in the saucers of flowerpots, cemetery urns/vase or in pet dishes for more than two days. Throw out the water and turn them over every time it collects water.

Check around construction sites or do-it-yourself improvements to ensure that proper backfilling and grading is realized to prevent drainage problems which can be a source for standing water. Empty all construction containers such as blue tanks, buckets, paint cans etc.

Mosquitoes can be kept out of the home by keeping windows, doors and porches tightly screened (16-18 mesh). Those insects that do get into structures can be eliminated with a fly swatter or an aerosol space spray containing synergized pyrethrum.

Screen off cistern outlets, cover and screen septic tanks properly.

The aforementioned measures should also be taken in and around the workplace, social gatherings and living quarters to eliminate mosquito breeding sources.

An increase in the mosquito population puts residents and visitors at risk. For information about dengue fever, zika and chikungunya prevention measures, you can call CPS 542-2078 or 542-3003.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited east China's Jiangxi province on February 2, 2016, wishing people of all ethnic groups there a very happy Spring Festival.

President Xis visit was on invitation by the representatives of the National Peoples Congress, who had invited him last year when the President sat down with the lawmakers in Jiangxi during the meeting. Xi gladly accepted the invitation.

The Presidents first stop was Jinggang Mountain, one of China's oldest revolutionary base. This is the third time the President visited the area since 2006 and 2008.

Braving the snow, President Xi Jinping laid wreaths at the Jianggang Mountain Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery in the early morning. He walked up the 109 steps to the cemetery, listening to the stories and learning the names of the martyrs.

"It is very much necessary to come here and learn, so that the Party members are reminded that the happy and peaceful life today is hard-won," Xi said.

"It is very important for them to accept the 'red genes' education," Xi added.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin in his remarks on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing announced that the government of St. Maarten does not agree with the proposal sent to him by the Kingdom Government on the formation of a dispute committee. Marlin said while the government of St. Maarten cannot agree with the proposal simply because it states that despite any advices the Kingdom is the one that will have the last word on any matters of dispute. Marlin said even if the Council of State is sought for an advice that according to the Kingdom will remain an advice and the Kingdom could ignore the advice if they if they have motivated reasons to deviate from that advice. Marlin said he does not see the proposal sent by Minister Plasterk as a solution, instead he sees the document where the Kingdom is taking the countries for a nice ride around the park but at the end of the day they the Dutch government/Kingdom are in charge and whatever they say goes. The Prime Minister said in his view it does not make any sense with the dispute committee, because it makes absolutely no sense having a dispute between two parties, while only one party will have the last word.

Prime Minister peeved about documents from Government owned companies being leaked and published.

Prime Minister William Marlin expressed his dissatisfaction on Wednesday when asked if government is addressing the ciaos at GEBE. Marlin said he does not believe that documents from government or government owned companies should be leaked and published on blogs because in his view, this create confusion while in his opinion it is intended to destabilize the company. He said publication of such information affects the trust of the company, while it also creates some distrust.

One example he made was the lunch receipts and confidential reports were leaked and published.

Marlin said that everyone knows that the company is under stress for some time now and that the government is dealing with the matter. He said the situation has the full attention of government, therefore he is assuring the people as well as the employees of GEBE that Government is dealing with the situation at GEBE. Marlin said there are proposals to appoint board members and there is a discussion ongoing for a manager or CEO of the company. He however said that the way GEBE is structured a CEO, COO and CFO has to be on the managerial board. He said government has to take into consideration the ongoing legal process involving the former CFO and GEBE. Marlin said currently there are discussions taking place between the board and the legal representative of the CFO. All of these things have to be placed in the proper equation before appointing persons.

As for the appointments, government has to deal with the Corporate Governance Council while those persons that wants to take up senior positions on the managerial board has to go through the screening process that is conducted by VDSM.

Asked if the shareholder, or the Supervisory Board requested that the Temporary Manager William Brooks to resign, Marlin said that Brooks applied for the position as CEO of the company and he felt that if he will be evaluated based on his performance as a temporary manager, then he Brooks preferred to step aside and wait until government takes a decision on his application.

Clem Labega Square will soon be opened.

Marlin further updated the media on the opening of the Clem Labega Square parking which is yet to open. Marlin said that there are some more work that has to be done in order to have the parking lot open and when it does it will be fully automated. He said in the beginning he had to ensure the huge boulders that were placed by one of the entrance removed because it defaces the area. He said the only work that is being done now is creating a parking line for vehicles to wait if the parking lot is full. He said when the parking lot is open, security will be placed at the location to direct traffic for the first two days.

Marlin praised Audit Chamber for a job well done.

The Prime Minister also announced that he met with the Council of Advice where he update the council on the 2016 budget, and the electoral reform that has to take place prior to the September 26th parliamentary elections.

Marlin said one of the issues that is constantly raised is that government has to get a two third majority in order to get a legislation passed. He said in his view the parliament of St. Maarten has a three third majority and one must remember that the it is the former government who wanted to dissolve the parliament of St. Maarten because they felt that would solve the problems of ship jumping. Marlin said while the former government used article 59 to dissolve parliament to curb ship jumping but those that were in government did not have anything in place for electoral reform.

Marlin said he also met with the Audit Chamber on Tuesday and he had to tip his hat to the employees of that department since they started off from scratch when St. Maarten became a country and so far they submitted a number of reports. He said that he is hopeful that the Parliament of St. Maarten would make good use of the reports that were prepared by the Audit Chamber.
Bitcasa Powers Indosat Ooredoo Cloud

SAN MATEO, CA  (Marketwired)  02/03/16  , the cloud drive for the device economy, today announced a partnership with network operator , a leading telecommunications network and services provider in Indonesia. Indosat Ooredoo has integrated Bitcasas cloud storage technology into the companys wireless plans. The new service, called incloud, launched in November of 2015 and is seeing steady growth.

Bitcasa has given us the opportunity to use personal cloud as one of the digital services we offer our customers to enhance their experience with Indosat Ooredoo. We are very excited to leverage Bitcasas infrastructure, pre-built applications, and subscriber analytics. This offering is in-line with our vision to be the leading digital telco in Indonesia, enriching peoples lives through digital experiences, said Alexander Rusli, CEO of Indosat Ooredoo. Indosat Ooredoo currently provides wireless services for over 69 million subscribers in Indonesia.

With the partnership, Indosat Ooredoo subscribers have access to incloud branded applications that provide cross-device storage, access, and sharing functionality backed by Bitcasas industry-leading security model. Bitcasas platform allows Indosat Ooredoo to maintain ownership of the service branding, customers, and data.

Most cloud storage solutions available to the device economy require taking on a great deal of risk  or giving away users to third-party brands, said Brian Taptich, CEO of Bitcasa. Our partnership with Indosat Ooredoo to power their incloud service further validates that the Bitcasa platform removes these hurdles, allowing partners to use cloud storage to generate additional revenue and reduce churn.

As the amount of digital content created and shared across devices continues to increase exponentially, cloud storage has become increasingly important for device manufacturers, network operators, and ISVs because of its ability to deepen customer relationships.

Bitcasa has a growing roster of global partners that utilize its white-label Turn-key Drive applications including SanDisk and Hutchison Telecommunications, which services more than 82 million customers throughout Asia and Europe. More than 25,000 developers also use Bitcasas CloudFS APIs, which provide a simple way to integrate cloud storage into applications and services.

Bitcasa is transforming the drive. By providing secure APIs and white label storage applications for OEMs, network operators, and software developers, Bitcasa helps the device economy create deeper relationships with their customers in over 140 countries worldwide. The Bitcasa Platform enables secure file storage, access, and sharing across all major platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and the Web. Bitcasa is backed by top-tier investors, including Horizons Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Samsung Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. For more details visit or follow us on LinkedIn or on Twitter @bitcasa.

Indosat Ooredoo (IDX: ISAT), member of Ooredoo Group, is building Indonesias leading digital telco, enabling access and greater connectivity for everybody and every business. Focusing on human growth, Indosat Ooredoo aspires to enrich the lives of Indonesians in the digital world and proactively offer solutions to fulfill their needs.

The company reported 69 million mobile customers as of Q3 2015 and has recorded an increase of 155% in data usage compared to the same period last year. Supported by 3,000 employees, Indosat Ooredoo has recorded an increase revenue of 10.5% compared to the same period last year. Indosat Ooredoo was recognised in the Most Innovative Company of the Year category in the 2015 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards.

Ooredoo is a leading international communications company delivering mobile, fixed, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of consumers and businesses across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. As a community-focused company, Ooredoo is guided by its vision of enriching peoples lives and its belief that it can stimulate human growth by leveraging communications to help people achieve their full potential. Ooredoo has a presence in markets such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, the Maldives, Myanmar and Indonesia. The company was named Most Innovative Company of the Year  MEA Region at the 2015 International Business Awards.

The company reported revenues of US$ 9.1 billion in 2014 and had a consolidated global customer base of 114.9 million customers as of 30 September 2015. Ooredoos shares are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Twitter: @Ooredoo

Facebook:

LinkedIn:

YouTube:

This document may contain certain financial information and results of operation, and may also contain certain projections, plans, strategies, and objectives of Indosat Ooredoo, that are not statements of historical fact which would be treated as forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable law. Forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events and Indosat Ooredoos future results to be materially different than expected or indicated by such statements. No assurance can be given that the results anticipated by Indosat Ooredoo, or indicated by any such forward looking statements, will be achieved.
Intelligent Product Solutions (IPS) Announces That Derek Peterson to Speak at the IoT Summit in Santa Clara, CA

HAUPPAUGE, NY and SANTA CLARA, CA  (Marketwired)  02/03/16  (IPS) today announced that its Vice President of Software and Business Development, Derek Peterson will be speaking at the , held on March 17-18 in Santa Clara, Calif., on When IoT Doesnt Make Sense: Product Design Insights. IPS is a leading product design and development firm, with a consulting practice dedicated to Internet of Things (IoT).

As a product design executive that works with all sorts of companies, Derek will share insights on when IoT-enabled products dont make sense. The session will look at scenarios such as: the value proposition just isnt there, the cost/benefit trade-off is unattractive, or the company is not ready to capitalize on or sustain a new business model. Along with addressing these scenarios, the session will share IPS IoT successes and challenges, offering insights into when connecting products to the internet does make sense.

The IoT Summit is a forum to present, highlight and discuss the latest products, applications, development and business opportunities in IoT. The conference brings together researchers, developers, and practioners from diverse fields including scientists and engineers, research institutes, and industry. IoT Summit is the 5th event products by SensorsCon and sponsored by the International Society for Electronic Design.

Derek Peterson, VP of Software and Business Development, Intelligent Product Solutions (IPS), is an expert in software engineering and his focus is currently on creating and executing enterprise software services and products for multiple consumer and enterprise clients including Pepsi, Honeywell and Google. He has created software products that are deployed on more than 100,000 devices worldwide. Before IPS, he was Senior Director of Engineering at Symbol Technologies, where he created and implemented the Symbol (Motorola) Software Test & Validation department and procedures. Derek holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Applied Math from SUNY Stony Brook.

About IPS

is a leading product development company headquartered in Hauppauge, NY and Seattle. IPS offers expert product design services, including Internet of Things solutions and Wearable Technology design. IPS fully-integrated capabilities include industrial design, electrical, mechanical and systems engineering, optical engineering, software and firmware engineering, user experience/interface design (UX/UI), program management and marketing. IPS clients are among the brand leaders in consumer electronics, medical devices, enterprise providers, defense contractors, and start-ups. Clients include, Motorola, L3 Communications, PepsiCo, Zebra Technologies and Physio-Control. Its IoT clients include , with a smart pill bottle and Canary.

For more media information, contact:

Lisa Hendrickson

LCH Communications for IPS

516-767-8390
Calian Reports First Quarter Results

OTTAWA, ONTARIO  (Marketwired)  02/03/16  Calian Technologies Ltd. () today released unaudited results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2015.

The Company reported revenues for the quarter of $64.5 million, a 15% increase from the $56.0 million reported in the same quarter of the previous year.

EBITDA(1) for the first quarter was $5.2 million, a 19% increase compared to $4.4 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

Net profit for the first quarter was $3.1 million or $0.42 per share basic and diluted, a 24% increase compared to $2.5 million or $0.34 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted Net Profit(1) for the first quarter was $3.3 million or $0.45 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2.7 million or $0.37 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year.

See caution regarding non-GAAP measures at the end of this press release

The 15% improvement in revenues this quarter is a reflection of the revenue growth in both divisions  32% growth in our Systems Engineering Division (SED) revenues and 9% growth in our Business and Technology Services (BTS) division. We experienced organic growth in most of our service lines this quarter and cash earnings continue to improve with an increase in EBITDA compared to the prior year stated Jacqueline Gauthier, CFO.

Our Q1 revenue attainment of $64.5 million represents our highest Q1 revenues in our 33 year history stated Kevin Ford, President and CEO. Despite challenging market conditions I am very proud of the teams efforts to continue the momentum coming out of last fiscal year continued Ford.

I am also pleased to see tangible progress in each of the components of our growth strategy. We have secured new customers in support of our customer diversification focus, and continue to evolve our services with investment in areas such as product development at our SED division. We also signed almost $50 million in new contracts this quarter which demonstrates our sales and marketing functions are executing well stated Ford.

As reported in our last quarter results, to reflect the diversity of Calians services with the expansion into areas such as healthcare and training, management has obtained board agreement to ask for shareholder approval to rename Calian Technologies Ltd. to Calian Group Ltd. to more accurately reflect the current business activities of the Company. Shareholder approval will be solicited during our Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held February 5, 2016 continued Ford.

During fiscal 2016, management will continue to focus on its key strategic initiatives. Traditional markets in which Calian operates have stabilized recently and management expects organic revenue and earnings growth in most or all of its service lines through the successful execution of our growth strategy. However, we must caution that revenues realized are ultimately dependent on the extent and timing of future contract awards as well as customer utilization of existing contracting vehicles. Based on currently available information and our assessment of the marketplace, we expect revenues for fiscal 2016 to be in the range of $250 million to $280 million, net profit per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share and adjusted net profit(1) in the range of $1.49 to $1.79 per share.

Caution regarding non-GAAP measures:

This press release is based on reported earnings in accordance with IFRS. Reference to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) means IFRS, unless indicated otherwise. This press release is also based on non-GAAP financial measures including EBITDA, adjusted net profit and adjusted net profit per share. These non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the interim consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of our financial reports with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of our business. Refer to the MD&A for definitions of these metrics and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.

About Calian

Calian employs over 2,500 people with offices and projects that span Canada, U.S. and international markets. The companys capabilities are diverse and include the provision of business and technology services to industry and government in the health, training, engineering and IT services domains as well as the design, manufacturing and maintenance of complex systems to the communications and defence sectors. Calians services are delivered through two divisions. The Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division is located in Ottawa. This division delivers outsourcing services for a variety of technical and professional functions and provides health services to numerous domestic customers. Our strength lies in understanding clients needs, recruiting highly qualified personnel who understand and meet those needs, and then effectively managing those personnel within our customers framework. Calians Systems Engineering Division (SED) located in Saskatoon plans, designs and implements complex communication systems for many of the worlds space agencies and leading satellite manufacturers and operators. SED also provides contract manufacturing services for both private sector and military customers in North America.

For further information, please visit our website at , or contact us at .

DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Companys most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

1. BASIS OF PREPARATION

Calian Technologies Ltd. (the Company) is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The address of its registered office and principal place of business is 340 Legget Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2K 1Y6. The Companys capabilities include the provision of business and technology services to industry and government in the health, IT services and training domains as well as the design, manufacturing and maintenance of complex systems to the communications and defence sectors.

These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements are expressed in Canadian dollars and have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34  Interim Financial Reporting, as issued by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared using accounting policies consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and in accordance with the accounting policies the Company adopted in its annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015 and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Companys Annual Report for the year ended September 30, 2015. These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information required in annual financial statements.

These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements were authorized for issuance by the Board of Directors on February 3, 2016.

2. FUTURE CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In April 2014, the IASB released IFRS 15  Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Standard replaces IAS11 Construction Contracts and IAS18 Revenue, providing a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. IFRS 15 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

IFRS 9 Financial instruments

IFRS 9 was issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in November 2009 and October 2010, was amended in 2013 and finalized in July 2014 and will replace IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (IAS 39). IFRS 9 uses a single approach to determine whether a financial instrument is measured at fair value through profit or loss, fair value through other comprehensive income or amortized cost, replacing the multiple rules in IAS 39. The approach in IFRS 9 is based on how an entity manages its financial instruments in the context of its business model and the contractual cash flow characteristics of those financial instruments. The new standard also requires a single impairment method to be used, replacing the multiple impairment methods in IAS 39. IFRS 9 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

IFRS 16 Leases

In January 2016, the IASB released IFRS 16 Leases which replaces IAS 17 Leases. For lessees applying IFRS 16, a single recognition and measurement model for leases would apply, with required recognition of assets and liabilities for most leases. IFRS 16 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

3. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGMENTS

Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the Companys management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods presented. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

There were no significant changes in estimates or approaches to determining estimates in the periods presented when compared to the estimates or approaches used the annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015.

4. SEASONALITY

The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the full year. The Companys revenues and earnings have historically been subject to some quarterly seasonality due to the timing of vacation periods and statutory holidays.

5. ISSUED CAPITAL

Stock options

The Company has an established stock option plan, which provides that the Board of Directors may grant stock options to eligible directors and employees. Under the plan, eligible directors and employees are granted the right to purchase shares of common stock at a price established by the Board of Directors on the date the options are granted but in no circumstances below fair market value of the shares at the date of grant. The plan provides for a 10% rolling maximum number of options available for grant. As at December 31, 2015 (2014), a total of 737,830 (735,390) common shares are reserved for issuance under the plan with 495,000 (415,000) options currently outstanding of which 397,100 (302,600) are exercisable. During the first quarter ended December 31, 2015 (2014), no options were issued.

6. NET PROFIT PER SHARE

The diluted weighted average number of shares has been calculated as follows:

Options that are anti-dilutive because the exercise price was greater than the average market price of the common shares are not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. For the three month periods ended December 31, 2015 (2014), 495,000 (415,000) options were excluded from the above computation. Profit for the period is the measure of profit or loss used to calculate Net profit per share.

7. SEGMENTED INFORMATION

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, regarding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Companys chief operating decision maker is the Chief Executive Officer. The Company operates in two reportable segments described below, defined by their primary type of service offering, namely Systems Engineering and Business and Technology Services.

The Company evaluates performance and allocates resources based on earnings before interest income and income taxes. The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 2  Summary of significant accounting policies to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015.

8. HEDGING

Foreign currency risk related to contracts

The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange fluctuations on its cash balance, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities and future cash flows related to contracts denominated in a foreign currency. Future cash flows will be realized over the life of the contracts. The Company utilizes derivative financial instruments, principally in the form of forward exchange contracts, in the management of its foreign currency exposures. The Companys objective is to manage and control exposures and secure the Companys profitability on existing contracts and therefore, the Companys policy is to hedge 100% of its foreign currency exposure. The Company does not utilize derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The Company applies hedge accounting when appropriate documentation and effectiveness criteria are met.

The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. This process includes linking all derivatives to specific firm contractually related commitments on projects.

The Company also formally assesses, both at the hedges inception and on an on-going basis, whether the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in fair values or cash flows of hedged items. Hedge ineffectiveness has historically been insignificant.

The forward foreign exchange contracts primarily require the Company to purchase or sell certain foreign currencies with or for Canadian dollars at contractual rates. At December 31, 2015, the Company had the following forward foreign exchange contracts:

A 10% strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the following currencies at December 31, 2015 would have decreased other comprehensive income as related to the forward foreign exchange contracts by the amounts shown below.

9. CONTINGENCIES

In the normal course of business, the Company is party to business and employee related claims. The potential outcomes related to existing matters faced by the Company are not determinable at this time. The Company intends to defend these actions, and management believes that the resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Companys financial condition.

Management Discussion and Analysis  December 31, 2015:

(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)

This MD&A is the responsibility of management and has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. This MD&A has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Securities Administrators. The Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that we fulfill our responsibilities for financial reporting and is ultimately responsible for reviewing and approving the MD&A. The Board of Directors carries out this responsibility principally through its Audit Committee.

IFRS and non-GAAP measures:

This MD&A contains both IFRS and non-GAAP measures. Non-GAAP measures are defined and reconciled to the most comparable IFRS measure.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Revenues:

For the first quarter of 2016, revenues were $64,533 compared to $56,000 reported for the same period in 2015 representing a 15% increase from the prior year.

Systems Engineerings (SED) revenues were $19,680 in the quarter representing a 32% increase when compared to the $14,965 recorded for the same period in the previous year. The first quarter 2016 reflect a higher level of materials and subcontractors than in the same period of the prior year. A significant increase in commercial RF ground systems work was a major contributor to the increase in SED revenues over the previous year.. An increase in satellite gateway systems and communications product developments also contributed to increase revenues. The manufacturing group continued at a steady pace, producing assemblies for Defence programs and processing renewed orders for contract manufacturing of agricultural products.

Business and Technology Services (BTS) revenues were $44,853 in the quarter representing a 9% increase when compared to the $41,035 recorded for the same period in the previous year. During the first quarter of 2016, government spending showed signs of recovery with additional demand for our services in many of the divisions mainstay contracts.

Management expects that the marketplace for the near term will continue to be unsettled and very competitive and the timing of new contract awards is always subject to delay. Our backlog provides a reasonable level of revenue assurance on existing contracts and new opportunities continue to arise. Although we continue to focus our efforts on the diversification of our customer base outside of government, the nature and extent of future government spending remain uncertain and therefore, future revenues in this sector will ultimately be determined by customer demand on existing contracts as well as the timing of future contract awards.

Gross margin

Gross margin was 18.1% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 18.8% recorded for the same period in the previous year.

Gross margin in Systems Engineering was 24.6% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 28.4% recorded for the same period in the previous year. The results for this quarter reflect solid performance in all of its business areas. Margin for the first quarter of 2016was impacted by the significant level of material and subcontractors driving lower margin as compared to the same period of the prior year. Although the mix of revenues will always play a role in the margin ultimately realized, recent investments in new product developments will allow the division to continue to weather the current competitive landscape.

Gross margin in Business and Technology Services was 15.2% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 15.2% recorded for the same period in the previous year. The traditional BTS business which is concentrated within the federal government has stabilized in recent quarters. While stiff competition on new work is expected to temper any significant near-term improvement, the division continues to evolve its service offering with a goal to increase gross margins realized in the longer term.

Because of the significant difference in gross margin between each of the two divisions, the overall gross margin of the Company is dependent on the relative level of revenue generated from each division. Management will continue to focus on operational execution and diligent negotiation of supplier costs in order to maximize margins. However, increased competition is expected to maintain the pressure on margins in both divisions. The volatility of the Canadian dollar is always an influencing factor for margins on new work in the SED division when denominated in foreign currencies.

Operating expenses:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, selling and marketing, general and administration and facilities totalled $6,494 or 10.1% of revenues compared to $6,147 or 11.0% of revenues reported in 2015. Operating costs increased in absolute dollars as a result of continued investment in both business development and service line evolution capabilities. However, with growing revenues, operating costs as a percentage of revenues decreased.

EBITDA(1):

EBITDA(1) for the first quarter was $5,173 compared to $4,357 in the same quarter of the previous year.

Depreciation:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, depreciation was $307 in line with the $334 recorded in fiscal 2015.

Amortization of intangibles:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, amortization of intangibles was $312 compared to $358 in fiscal 2015.

Deemed compensation related to acquisitions and Bargain purchase gain:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, deemed compensation related to acquisition amounted to $267 compared to $267 recorded in fiscal 2015.

Income taxes:

The provision for income taxes was $1,228 or 28.6% of earnings before tax compared to $973 in 2015 or 28.3% of earnings before tax. The difference in effective rates is primarily due to the non-deductibility of the deemed compensation amounts referred to in the above paragraph. The effective tax rate for 2016, prior to considering the impact of non-taxable transactions and adjustments to reflect actual tax provision as filed, is expected to be approximately 26.9%.

Net profit:

As a result of the foregoing, in the first quarter of 2016 the Company recorded net profit of $3,063 or $0.42 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2,468 or $0.34 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the prior year. Adjusted net profit(1) for the first quarter was $3,330 or $0.45 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2,735 or $0.37 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year.

(1) See reconciliation regarding non-GAAP measures below

Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to most comparable IFRS measures:

Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of the Companys financial reports with enhanced understanding of the Companys results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of the business. EBITDA, adjusted net profit and adjusted net profit per share exclude items that do not reflect, in our opinion, the Companys core performance and helps users of our MD&A to better analyze our results, enabling comparability of our results from one period to another.

These non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the interim consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these are necessarily non-recurring. From time to time, we may exclude additional items if we believe doing so would result in a more transparent and comparable disclosure. Other entities may define the above measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to use similarly named non-GAAP measures of other entities to compare performance of those entities to the Companys performance.

BACKLOG

The Companys backlog at December 31, 2015 was $428 million with terms extended to fiscal 2018. This compares to $442 million reported at September 30, 2015. Contracted Backlog represents maximum potential revenues remaining to be earned on signed contracts, whereas Option Renewals represent customers options to further extend existing contracts under similar terms and conditions.

Most fee for service contracts provide the customer with the ability to adjust the timing and level of effort throughout the contract life and as such the amount actually realized could be materially different from the original contract value. The following table represents managements best estimate of the backlog realization for 2016, 2017 and beyond based on managements current visibility into customers existing requirements. Managements estimate of the realizable portion (current utilization rates and known customer requirements) is less than the total value of signed contracts and related options by approximately $122 million. The Companys policy is to reduce the reported contractual backlog once it receives confirmation from the customer that indicates the utilization of the full contract value may not materialize.

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND CASHFLOWS

Operating activities:

Cash outflows from operating activities for the period ended December 31, 2015 were $3,053 compared to cash outflows of $7,881 in 2015. Cash flows for the quarter have been negatively impacted by the increase in work in process with the SED division continuing to perform work on customer contracts in advance of milestone billings. In addition, amounts owed to SED suppliers decreased as a result of significant levels of payment required near quarter end compounded by the usual payment at BTS of amounts owed to contractors prior to the holiday season. The aging of the accounts receivables remain in excellent health. These variations in cash flows are not considered unusual and reflect normal working capital fluctuations associated with the ebbs and flows of the business. The market for the Systems Engineering Division is characterized by contracts with billings tied to milestones achieved, which often results in significant working capital requirements. Conversely, given the nature of this business, it is sometimes possible to negotiate advance payments on contracts. Such advance payments give rise to unearned revenue that will be realized as revenue over the course of the contract. As at December 31, 2015, the Companys total unearned revenue amounted to $8,959. This compares to $6,980 at September 30, 2015, with the increase primarily attributable to advance billings for work to be performed in a future period.

Financing activities:

During the periods ended December 31, 2015 (2014), the Company paid quarterly dividends of $0.28 ($0.28) per share. The Company intends to continue with its quarterly dividend policy for the foreseeable future.

Investing activities:

During the current period, the Company invested $293 in capital assets compared to $2,277 in the prior period which included significant upgrades to the manufacturing assets in the SED division. Capital acquisitions are expected to revert to normal levels for fiscal 2016.

Capital resources:

At December 31, 2015 the Company had a short-term credit facility of $10,000 with a Canadian chartered bank that bears interest at prime and is secured by assets of the Company. An amount of $75 was used to issue a letter of credit to meet customer contractual requirements. Management believes that Calian has sufficient cash resources to continue to finance its working capital requirements and pay a quarterly dividend.

ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING RULES AND IMPACT ON FINANCIAL RESULTS

The Company did not adopt any new accounting policies this quarter.

SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA

SEASONALITY

The Companys operations are subject to some quarterly seasonality due to the timing of vacation periods and statutory holidays. Typically the Companys first and last quarter will be negatively impacted as a result of the Christmas season and summer vacation period. During these periods, the Company can only invoice for work performed and is also required to pay for statutory holidays. This results in reduced levels of revenues and in a drop in gross margins. This seasonality may not be apparent in the overall results of the Company depending on the impact of the realized sales mix of its various projects.

OUTLOOK

Management is confident that the Company is well positioned for sustained growth in the long term. The Companys strong contract backlog provides a solid base for the realization of future revenues. Leveraging the Companys diverse services offerings, the Company operates in global and domestic markets that will continue to require the services that the Company offers. To ensure the Company is positioned to respond to market requirements, the Company will focus on the execution of its growth strategy using a common framework across all of its services:

The Company has completed four acquisitions in the past 4 years, and will proactively look for companies that can accelerate its growth strategy with a focus on customer diversification and service line evolution.

The SED Division has been working within a sustainable satellite sector and is expecting opportunities to continue to arise as systems adopting the latest technologies will be required by customers wishing to maintain and improve their service offerings and react to an increasing demand for bandwidth. SED continues to invest in communications products, software development and manufacturing equipment to strengthen its competitive position. However in the short-term, activity levels in Custom manufacturing will continue to be directly dependent upon SEDs customers requirements and continuing volatility in orders is anticipated as both government and commercial customers continue to re-examine their traditional spending patterns. The recent delays, deferrals and cancellations of DND capital procurements have created intense competition for available manufacturing work. Finally, changes in the relative value of the Canadian dollar may negatively or positively impact the Systems Engineering Divisions competitiveness on projects denominated in foreign currencies.

The BTS Divisions services are adaptable to many different markets. Currently, its strength lies in providing program management and delivery services across Canada with a significant portion of this work currently with the Department of National Defence. Recently the division has been successful in diversifying its customer base and evolving its service offerings. As an example the division now provides direct to customer health services through the operation of managed medical clinics as well as onsite health practitioners in the oil and gas sector. Management believes that for the long term, the public and private sector will continue to require health, IT, and training services from private enterprises to achieve their business outcomes. Looking at the current outlook, the results of the recent election, the current economic climate and budget balancing initiatives in the federal government may create uncertainty as to the extent of demand from this customer, at least in the short term. With recent investments in sales, marketing, acquisitions and success in new markets outside of the federal government, the division is better positioned to manage through these downturns. Recent acquisitions have also bolstered the divisions performance and it is expected that overall, the acquired companies will continue to meet and exceed the targets established as part of the acquisitions.

GUIDANCE

During fiscal 2016, management will continue to focus on its key strategic initiatives. Traditional markets in which Calian operates have stabilized recently and management expects organic revenue and earnings growth in most or all of its service lines through the successful execution of our growth strategy. However, we must caution that revenues realized are ultimately dependent on the extent and timing of future contract awards as well as customer utilization of existing contracting vehicles. Based on currently available information and our assessment of the marketplace, we expect revenues for fiscal 2016 to be in the range of $250 million to $280 million, net profit per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share and adjusted net profit(1) in the range of $1.49 to $1.79 per share.

INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

During the most recent interim quarter ended December 31, 2015, there have been no changes in the design of the Companys internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Companys internal controls over financial reporting.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

Certain information included in this management discussion and analysis is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Companys most recent annual report and other reports filed by the Company with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

The foregoing discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the first quarter of 2016, and with the Management Discussion and Analysis in the 2015 annual report, including the section on risks and opportunities.

Contacts:

Calian Technologies Ltd.

Kevin Ford

President and Chief Executive Officer

613-599-8600

Calian Technologies Ltd.

Jacqueline Gauthier

Chief Financial Officer

613-599-8600
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THE ONLY WAY TO END ESCALATING ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN GAMBELLA IS THROUGH GENUINE RECONCILIATION AND THE RESTORATION OF JUSTICE TO ALL

WILL THE GOVERNMENT OF ETHIOPIA HELP OR HINDER THE PROCESS? Press Release

For Immediate Release:

February 3, 2016. Washington, DC--Over the last week, deadly violence between the Nuer and the Anuak of Gambella has broken out, resulting in the senseless loss of lives. It started as an argument between an Anuak and an Nuer, but it triggered ethnic tensions, which have now exploded into revenge killings, destruction and insecurity. Now, many are suffering as it has caused great distress, pain and sorrow to both the Anuak and the Nuer who have lost loved ones. We give our deepest sympathy for the loss of these precious lives to those families, friends and communities who are grieving their deaths. We also express concern for those who have been wounded and for countless others, both Nuer and Anuak, who are now living under great stress and hardship as they have fled their homes to find safety from the violence and conflict. We condemn all violence and call on all parties involved to immediately stop the killing and destruction so that peace might return to the people of Gambella. It is critically important to seek lasting solutions before the tensions and violence escalate further; something that will cause more deaths, injuries, loss of livelihoods, greater destruction, the destabilization of the region or even the violence to spread to other parts of the country. We are not seeking the status quo in Gambella, nor in Ethiopia; but instead, the reconciliation and corrective actions necessary to bring about meaningful and sustainable solutions to the pervasive injustice, human rights violations, corruption and lack of freedom throughout the country. Background: Many details surrounding the tragic ethnic clashes in Gambella have been fairly well established; however, additional information is emerging daily, if not hourly, as the situation is further clarified and as new reports emerge. Some of these reports may also vary to some degree, pointing to the very real need to corroborate the narratives and to integrate those proving to be reliable. Eventually, a more thorough investigation of the incidents and its root causes will be required. The first reported incident of violence resulted from a dispute over land between a Nuer man who is the Deputy Dean of the Teachers Training Institute (TTI) now called Gambella Universityand an Anuak man who is the driver for the Deputy (Vice) President of the region, second in command under the Governor of the regional state of Gambella, Gatluak Tut, a Nuer. Reportedly, the Anuak man, who was the Deputy Presidents driver, had legally leased the land a few months ago, with plans to eventually build a home on it. The borders of the land had been demarcated and he held clear title to it; given to him by the government authorities. Recently, the Nuer man from Gambella University, decided he wanted that same land. The Anuak man told him you cannot take the land because he had the legal rights to it. Allegedly, the other man said he would like to see the boundaries of the land so they both agreed to meet there. After showing him the boundaries, the Nuer man told the other man he wanted the land, starting an argument that escalated into anger. The Anuak man told the other to get off the land. The Nuer man pulled out a pistol which he was carrying and shot the Anuak man in the arm. He then got into his car and left. People in the vicinity took the man to the hospital where he recovered. Allegedly, after some pressure, the Nuer man turned himself over to the authorities and was put in jail in Gambella town. News of the incident quickly spread, including to the college, where Anuak students started to argue about it; asking, how could the Vice President of the college shoot someone for this? As they talked, anger increased, leading to an argument between the Nuer and Anuak college students. It resulted in a physical fight between them. A number of the students were injured, both Anuak and Nuer; however, one of the Nuer students was seriously injured. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. Several days after the burial of the Nuer student, another incident of vengeance took place at the college. While students were taking an exam, the brother of the deceased Nuer student entered the classroom and threw a hand grenade at the students, seriously injuring at least four of them. One of them lost his arm, another his eye and the other two were injured by the exploding shrapnel. Others in the classroom had more minor shrapnel injuries. In retaliation, the Anuak students started throwing rocks at the Nuer students; again triggering more ethnic-based fighting. Fortunately, the local school security quickly contained the violence and the school was shut down. However, later on in the afternoon, this news spread to other Nuer who were not students, but adults who responded with more violence. When they heard of what had happened, they organized themselves and attacked two Anuak neighborhoods where they burned down homes and shot at the people as they ran from their homes. Five Anuak were killed; a number of others were wounded. The regional government authorities did not intervene to stop it; despite the fact it could have helped contain the violence that continued to escalate. This incident begs the question as to why a group of people would organize to destroy the homes of innocent persons and randomly shoot at them, targeting them only for their ethnicity, as they fled their homes? Why did they have guns in a region where the Anuak had been disarmed years ago? The news of the Anuak killings and burning of homes swept through the region, causing the Anuak to take revenge against innocent Nuer; who again, had not done anything wrong except for the fact they were Nuer. In this case, three Nuer were killed in a rural area. One of these incidents occurred when a Nuer man, the second in command of the work of the Road Authority was stopped by Anuak who forced him out of the car and killed him. The highlander, who was the driver, was not harmed. After this incident, the federal government decided to disarm the Nuer and the Anuak security officials, who had been appointed to help the local police force. Most of the local police were also disarmed. Guards at the Gambella jail were exempted from this. Additionally, despite the disarmament of many, some of the Nuer continued to have access to guns due to the numbers of weapons brought to Ethiopia from South Sudan by those in the refugee camps.

In an attempt to stop the spiraling violence in Gambella town, the federal government placed restrictions on the movement of the people, ordering that each stay in their own areas, the Nuer on one side and the Anuak on the other. However, on Sunday, January 31, 2016, some Nuer with guns, with the assistance of the guards, stormed Gambella jail, releasing the Nuer Vice Deputy of the College who was being held there and proceeded to kill seven of the Anuak prisoners as well as two highlanders, with help from the guards. Most every Nuer being held in the jail was also released. This is the main jail in the Gambella region. Where else could such a crime be carried out except in a place where there is no rule of law? Apparently, after they stormed the prison and killed the prisoners, they replaced the Ethiopian flag outside the jail with a Southern Sudanese flag, but some others within their ranks, took it down right away, probably realizing how dangerously provocative it could become. Yet, because it was witnessed by others in the vicinity, the story has spread. We have heard reports, not yet corroborated, that some innocent Nuer were murdered by Anuak in retaliation for other deaths; however, we do not know the details surrounding these incidents, but are seeking more information. We hope those who know more will provide that information as we must seek to protect the lives of all people, regardless of ethnicity or other differences. This is Gods universal law, which is higher than any other and should help us to seek the truth and to do right even in the absence of the rule of law. The federal government finally realized they needed to bring in more national defense forces as the situation was getting increasingly out of control, especially in the rural areas. There is talk that a good number of Nuer are being killed in Anuak areas and of Anuak being killed in Nuer areas. One incident involved three Anuak who were waiting for the bus in village of Nyniang to go to Gambella town when they were killed by Nuer. Two of them were civilians and the other was a security official who had been disarmed. The Nuer have other incidents to add. It has become obvious that there is a risk to all. In Gambella town, the Anuak cannot safely go to the Nuer area and Nuer cannot go safely to the Anuak area; dividing the town. Tensions are extremely high. Those perpetrating these crimes should be held accountable, but a large share of the blame is also on the shoulders of the ruling one-party, ethnic-based Government of Ethiopia (GoE). There are a number of reasons for this: The lack of an effective rule of law or at the least, the failure to intervene earlier, when the conflict first broke out, could have stopped the violence from escalating, saving many lives and preventing the destruction that is now recycling and is at a stage that is much more difficult to contain.



The GoEs policies of fomenting ethnic division as a means to prevent unity among Ethiopians a unity that could threaten the authoritarian government of the TPLF/EPRDF has created the seeds of ethnic hostility that can easily erupt under certain conditions; not only in Gambella, but in many other places across the country.



The GoE has failed to disarm the incoming South Sudanese refugees, coming from a war zone across an open border. Refugees can be seen walking freely in the region, carrying heavy-duty weapons like M-16 or AK-47 guns; yet, the GoE has failed to exert controls on this incoming flow of weapons to the region.



The GoE disarmed the Anuak prior to the massacre of Anuak in December of 2003, making them highly vulnerable and dependent on the GoE for protection, which has not been given.



The GoE has failed to give local representation in the regional government to the Anuak. In some cases, the local Nuer have also been excluded from access to the same; instead, some of the refugees have now taken government positions within the regional government. This is the case despite the lack of citizenship and their inability to speak Amharic. Some go to their offices wearing a South Sudanese pin attached to the lapels of their jackets.



The GoE has allowed the UN to use the region to house over 541,437 refugees, exceeding the population of Gambella, but they have never consulted with the people of Gambella regarding the local impact, seeming not to care. Although refugees are not supposed to carry guns; the UN is doing nothing to stop this, becoming part of the problem. Recommendations: The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) is prepared to take a role in this effort, strongly believing the problem must be addressed before it worsens. We in the SMNE strongly condemn the killing of all the people, whether Anuak, Nuer, highlanders or others. The SMNE will do our best to draw attention to this volatile and fragile situation in southwestern Ethiopia, utilizing our experience, knowledge and network to help restore peace and calm. We call on the Nuer and Anuak elders in these communities, their religious leaders and other leaders among them to find a peaceful solution.





We call on the GoE to bring those who committed the crimes to justice and to provide protection from harm to all the people, based on their humanity. We also call on them to improve security by disarming the refugees and establishing checkpoints of entry to better ensure that guns will not flow into the region.





We call on the all the people of Ethiopia to not allow the people of South Sudan to import the conflict of ethnic violence to Ethiopia to the best of their ability. Instead, where there are other issues and grievances, civil discourse to find solutions should be pursued rather than the use of violence. Solutions for land and other conflicts in South Sudan should be justly resolved so that the people of South Sudan can live peacefully together. The Nuer of South Sudan should understand that Gambella is in another sovereign country and the erection of the flag of South Sudan within the boundaries of Ethiopia could be considered a violation of the sovereignty of Ethiopia.





We call on donor countries to use their leverage to exert pressure on the Ethiopian government to: 1) protect their citizens, 2) call for the UN to play a positive role in ensuring the conflict in South Sudan is confronted more effectively among the refugees so the region is not at destabilized with ethnic-based violence, the overflow of guns and the expansion of the problems in South Sudan to Gambella and beyond.





We call on the regional and federal government to act impartially; not representing the interests of one ethnicity, but with equal protection, justice and fairness towards all of the people of the region. The refugees should not be allowed to destabilize the area, even if it requires placing restrictions on their movement outside the camps at least until peace is restored.





We call on SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, to control and contain any of his supporters and soldiers who may have contributed in any way to this ethnic-based conflict so that the deadly conflict of South Sudan does not cross the border into Gambella. The basis of this recommendation is from alleged reports that soldiers responsible for killing Anuak and destroying their homes in Itang, when captured by Ethiopian National Defense forces, allegedly were wearing South Sudanese uniforms, with some claiming allegiance to the SPLM-IO.





We call on the UN and members of the international community to move the refugee camps to a different inland part of Ethiopia that does not border on South Sudan if the UN and GoE fail in their efforts to provide more effective border security and to control the influx of guns . The current open border creates an ongoing risk of violence and instability to the region due to the ease of going back and forth between countries, a situation that allows for the free flow of both guns and conflict if not addressed immediately.





. The current open border creates an ongoing risk of violence and instability to the region due to the ease of going back and forth between countries, a situation that allows for the free flow of both guns and conflict if not addressed immediately. We call on SPLM leader, President Salva Kiir, and SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, and those who support them, to genuinely seek the implementation of the peace agreement so peace, justice and reconciliation can come to precious people of South Sudan; and so the fruit of such peace overflows across its borders to contribute to peace and prosperity of all in the Horn of Africa. May others do the same for them. Conclusions: What started as a dispute among two people has now exploded into revenge killings due to a failure to see the humanity of others. Instead of holding the perpetrators responsible for the crimes because there is no rule of law people have taken the law into their own hands. In the case of Gambella, revenge is being taken against innocent parties another family member or someone of the same ethnicity. This is a tragedy that causes evil to prosper and mutual destruction. It has caused much blood to be shed, the destruction of homes, and a surge in ethnic-based hostility after years of peace between the people of Gambella. The people should not forget the good times. During the massacre of the Anuak in 2003; many Nuer gave safe refuge to Anuak in their homes. Religious leaders have been involved in the past years in efforts to bring reconciliation and peace among the people. Nuer and Anuak have intermarried, worked together, developed friendships and lived in peace. The future could be wonderfully promising together, but it will be lost if people give in to evil, hate and retaliation. If there are some wanting to use ethnicity to divide the people for their own agenda; others should not give in to it. The Anuak and the Nuer should work together to bring genuine reconciliation among them and others in the region so healing can take place and they can once again live in harmony, thriving together. This is now an opportunity for the regional and federal Government of Ethiopia to do their job to stop the violence, to deal with issues of insecurity and the heavy influx of guns, to protect the people and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Initially, federal security forces simply looked on without intervening; allowing this violence to be committed and to spread by lack of intervention; however, without more effective governance, the violence could spread beyond the region. A meaningful implementation of the peace agreement in South Sudan could resolve much of this crisis. The vast majority of the refugees living in the camps simply want a peaceful life where there is safety, security, peace, justice and equal rights, just like what is wanted in Ethiopia. Let us work together for lasting peace. May God help those recovering, those who are grieving for lost loved ones and for the softening of the hearts of those who carry anger, wounds and the desire for revenge. Let God raise up leaders who can bring peace, justice, reconciliation and prosperity to Gambella, Ethiopia and beyond. Let us put humanity before ethnicity or any other distinctions. Let us care for the wellbeing and justice of others as we care for our own or for our own groups. Let us share freedom with others for no one is free until all are free. May God work through our souls to heal the pain that we have been going through until we are free indeed! ______________________________________________________________ For more information, contact Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE. Email: Obang@solidaritymovement.org Share View article in Word return to top View article as a PDF
BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces have pledged to support and contribute to China's ongoing comprehensive reforms in national defense and the military.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), conferred flags on five new PLA theater commands at a Monday ceremony in Beijing.

The troops have studied Xi's instructions at the ceremony, saying establishing the commands and forming the joint battle command system are strategic decisions by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the CMC to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military.

The PLA forces vowed to uphold the Party's absolute leadership over the army, act in line with the CPC Central Committee, the CMC and Xi, concentrate on improving its fighting capacity and be prepared to fight at any time.

Officers of the five theater commands committed themselves to building joint battle command agencies that are "absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding and courageous and capable of winning wars."

Officers and soldiers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Strategic Support Force and the Armed Police promised to speed up efforts on their own development.

Officers of the CMC organs pledged to better serve the CMC, the theater commands, the different military branches and all officers and soldiers.

Party leading cadres and staff of military institutions as well as officers and soldiers of Transitional Work Offices also vowed to understand their roles and tasks, making their own contributions to the Chinese dream of a strong military and reforms.
February 3, 2016

Statewide FAFSA Workshops Assist Families In Completing Financial Aid Applications

College Goal Arizona Helps Ensure Students Dont Miss Opportunities for Free College Money

PHOENIX (January 27, 2015)  The Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education announces its 20th Annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) workshops. FAFSA completion workshops are hosted at more than 45 locations statewide. College and Community sites will host the February 13 and 14 events, while more than 25 high schools have signed on to host one or more workshops as a result of the positive turnout at several high school locations in 2015. The FASFA workshops are designed to give college-bound students and their families free, on-site assistance in completing the FAFSA, and provide information about available financial aid opportunities. A FAFSA is required to apply for all federal and state financial aid programs as well as many private-donor scholarships and work study programs.



The mission of College Goal FAF$A is to increase the number of first-generation and under-served students entering postsecondary education. The goal is to provide awareness of the financial aid process, increase access to accurate and timely information regarding financial aid, as well as offer in-person events where students and families can get help to complete the FASFA. The Commission reports that 92% of students surveyed stated that the help received at a 2015 College Goal FAF$A event was worth the effort of attending and 89% of students surveyed stated that their participation in College Goal FAF$A 2015 increased the likelihood that they would enroll in college or vocational school in the next academic year.



According to the U.S. Department of Education, 90 percent of students who complete the FAFSA application receive some form of federal aid to attending a postsecondary institution. In addition, a data analysis study performed by NerdWallet showed that in the state of Arizona 34 percent of the graduating class of 2013 did not complete the FAFSA, and left more than $75 million dollars of free federal grant money on the table. That works out to $3,478 per student  enough to cover a full year of classes at a local community college with money left over for books.



Completing the FAFSA early is the key to removing one of the most common barriers students face in going to college, said Dr. April Osborn, Executive Director for the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education. There is more than $150 billion of financial aid funding available and every student should be taking advantage of that. The FAFSA is the critical first step in applying for any type of assistance.



Financial aid professionals and community volunteers will help students and families complete the FAFSA during the February 13 and 14 event. These workshops will be held from 2 - 4 p.m. at a variety of locations spanning the state including sites in: Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, Tucson, Prescott, Nogales, Yuma and more. High school workshops will also be held statewide, at various times and dates throughout January, February and March. A full list of locations, dates, times and information of what attending families will need to bring  identification, financial information, etc.  can be found at: https://collegegoal.az.gov/college-goal-fafsa.


February 3, 2016

Desert Foothills Chapter, Arizona Archaeological Society presents guest speaker Jaime Awe February 10





The Desert Foothills Chapter (DFC) of the Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS) is pleased to announce Dr. Jaime Awe an expert in western Belize cave archaeology and Mayan culture as a lecturer on February 10t Doctor Awe was born in San Ignacio Town of the Cayo District in Belize. A graduate of St. Johns Junior College in Belize City, he was awarded a Bachelors Degree with Honours and a Masters Degree in Anthropology at Trent University in Ontario, Canada. In 1992, he completed a Ph.D. in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London, England. Between 1990 and 2000, he was a professor of Archaeology at Trent University in Canada and at the University of New Hampshire. In the summer of 2000, he returned to Belize to direct major conservation projects at Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, Altun Ha, Cerros, Lubaantun and Lamanai. Tales from the Dark Side: Cave Archaeology in Western Belize and its Implications for the Decline of Maya Civilization by Dr. Jaime Awe. In Maya cosmology, few locations were (and are) considered more sacred or ritually charged than caves. Representing portals to the netherworld and places of origin, these dark subterranean sites also served as the abode for important, powerful, and often capricious deities.





The Maya further believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors descended to the watery underworld where they could eventually be reborn. Caves were thus places of death and creation because of their sacredness both the ancient Maya and their descendants visited and visit these sites to conduct rituals. Until recently, intensive scientific investigations of cave sites are rare. In an effort to address the latter bias, the Western Belize Regional Cave Project embarked on a multi-year research program designed to ascertain the nature of Maya cave utilization. By combining ethnographic and ethnohistoric information with data from archaeological investigations, this presentation provides evidence which suggests that the Maya visited caves in an effort to communicate with particular gods or ancestral spirits and the primary focus of their ritual activities were directed toward sustenance and agricultural fertility, and that intensified cave ritual in the ninth century A.D. was intrinsically related to factors that led to the decline of Maya civilization.





More recently, between 2003 and 2014, Dr. Awe served as the first Director of the Belize Institute of Archaeology. During his active career in archaeology, Jaime Awe conducted important research at several sites in the Belize River Valley (Cahal Pech, Baking Pot, Lower Dover and several caves). He published numerous articles in various books, journals, and magazines. His research was featured in several national and international television documentaries. Dr. Awe lives in Flagstaff, Arizona where he teaches in the Anthropology Department of Northern Arizona University and continues to conduct archaeological investigations in western Belize. The general public may attend an Arizona Archaeology Society  Desert Foothills Chapter meeting at no charge, except for the holiday party in December.





The AAS-DFC meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month, September through May. There are refreshments available at 7 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. usually ending prior to 9 p.m. The meeting is at the Foothills Community Foundation (Holland Community Center) 34250 North 60th Street, Building B, Scottsdale AZ 85266 (just south of Carefree Highway) www.azarchsoc.org/desertfoothills.
February 3, 2016

Cave Creek Museum hosts Valentines family program and more in February







CAVE CREEK  Arizona turns 104 on Valentines Day, and Cave Creek Museum will celebrate a week prior with a fun family program sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Carefree. Come learn about Arizonas history, make valentines, and mark your calendar for some of the Museums other programs and events. 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.  4:30 p.m. The February event schedule follows:



Sunday, February 7

Happy Birthday, Arizona! Family Program 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Celebrate the birthday of Arizona and Valentines Day. Make your own special valentines, and taste some treats from the early 1900s that are still popular today. Cave Creek Museum is grateful to the Kiwanis Club of Carefree for sponsoring the Family Programs.



Saturday, February 13

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.



Saturday, February 13

Flora and Fauna of the Desert Foothills

History Highlights 2  3:30 p.m.

Guests will learn about the native plants and animals of the Desert Foothills. Reservations are requested.



Wednesday, February 17

Oh, for the Love of Technology! 6:30  8 p.m.

Presented with the plan of helping you with that new piece of technology that you purchased but have never been brave enough to really know what it can do for you. Nothing is too new or too hard. Come let the experts unlock the world of your new device.





Steve Woods with Tech4Life will be the Museums featured technology guru. Seating is limited, and reservations are recommended. For information, call (480) 488-2764 or visit www.cavecreekmuseum.org.
Guest Editorial





By Matt Barber | February 3, 2016

'Slut shame' indeed

Abortion and promiscuity. Planned Parenthood and slut shaming. Im reminded on this, the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts disgraceful Roe v. Wade abortion-on-demand opinion, how inexorably linked are Americas abortion death culture and her ongoing sexual revolution. As the story goes, Winston Churchill was talking with a socialite: Madam, would you sleep with me for 5 million pounds? he asked. My goodness, Mr. Churchill, she replied. Well, I suppose we would have to discuss terms, of course. Churchill: Would you sleep with me for 5 pounds? Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?! Churchill: Madam, weve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.



Todays progressives would accuse Winston Churchill of slut shaming. Thats a relatively new euphemism wherein liberals paradoxically try to shame into silence those who call a spade a spade. While she would certainly frame the demonstrable connection between abortion and promiscuity in different terms, feminist author and psychologist Valerie Tarico is well aware of the correlation. She boasts of it, in fact. In an October opinion piece at the Huffington Post, Tarico, who also served on Planned Parenthoods Board of Advocates, writes, The most lasting effect of the smear campaign against Planned Parenthood may be this: Young women are done  beyond done  with being shamed for the fact that they are sexual beings, with sexual bodies that have t*ts and as*es and tw*ts and vaginas and uteruses  and they are done being forced to have babies when they choose to have sex. Pure class.



The smear campaign to which Tarico refers ostensibly denotes the groundbreaking investigative journalism of The Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which exposed smoking-gun proof that Planned Parenthood intentionally and illegally profits, in the millions, by crushing, dismembering alive and otherwise torturing to death our most innocent fellow human beings, and then selling their body parts for Mengelesque medical research.



I remember sitting in my psychotherapy office a few years back, listening to a mother complain about her teen daughters attire, Tarico continues. She looks like a prostitute, the mother said. Yes, I agreed. Like a prostitute  or a teenager.'



Tarico and many pro-abort feminists like her encourage young women to look like prostitutes, or sluts. These days slut walks, wherein scantily clad, topless or fully nude gals march together in courageous, slutty unity, are all the rage  and Planned Parenthood has a revolving door through which they stream. It goes ka-ching! with every spin. Indeed, the abortion/STD giant manipulates young girls into values neutral, consequence free sex  something that does not exist  and then, when they get knocked up, takes their money, slaughters their babies and coldly sends them on their way. Mix and repeat.



In an article on her own website titled, Thirty Signs Youre a Slut, Tarico brags of inspiring her own middle school-aged daughter into sluthood (the URL ends with proud-mom-of-two-teenage-sluts). These days, its getting rather hard to hold your head high as a female if you arent willing to be seen as part of the slut sisterhood, she opines.



Thats right. In the upside-down world of secular-leftism, sexual promiscuity is a badge of honor  and abortion, a rite of passage  for the upwardly mobile babe. Tarico hammers this home with a score-based inventory of benchmarks needed to hold your head high as a female.



Among them:

I have condoms in my purse  or bra.

I like sex.

I am unmarried, and Im not a virgin.

I wasnt a virgin on my wedding night.

I stand with Planned Parenthood.

My cat is a person; a fertilized egg isnt.

You can count me among the 1 in 3 women who have had an abortion.

I told my abortion story at the 1 in 3 Campaign.

I believe sex can be rich and intimate without marriage.

I find people of my own gender sexy.

Submission (except, maybe, in bed) is not my thing.



Only a dying culture lionizes women who publicly impugn  with pride  their own honor and virtue, and brag about killing their own flesh and blood. Yet, to the left, Valerie Tarico represents progress. Shes a hero  a bold voice for womens rights.



This is by design. Secular-progressives have worked hard to deconstruct traditional sexual morality for generations. The goal is to impose  under penalty of law  their own moral relativist, sexual anarchist worldview. (Hence, the unconstitutional Obamacare mandate requiring that Christian groups cast aside millennia-old church doctrine, get with the postmodern program and capitulate to funding abortion homicide.)



Indeed, like other feminist radicals, Tarico demands that the rest of us underwrite her stated immoral practices by paying for her and other womens birth control and child sacrifice. Fornication and abortion, of course, are considered mortal sins in Christianity. Catholic doctrine further bars the church from providing contraception, but to anti-Christian liberals like Tarico, religious liberty and freedom of conscience are things of the past, and the First Amendment represents an obstacle to their dystopian future.



Seriously. Can someone please explain to me how and why a womans right to be promiscuous and snuff-out her resulting offspring is my financial responsibility? If you refuse to buy your own preventative medicine, gals, why not hit up the fellas? Last I heard it takes two to do the fornication Fandango. It seems to me that public groveling for free contraception, abortifacients and surgical abortion reinforces the sexist stereotype that women cant survive without welfare  without men. Womens empowerment? More like patriarchal governmental dependency.



In another column this week on the social stigma surrounding abortion and female promiscuity, Tarico writes, If the wall of shame and stigma ruptures, abortion foes may find themselves up against something even more powerful: Love.



Yep, nothing says I love you like ripping your baby limb-from-limb. Slut shame indeed.



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. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber)
China in bid to ward off the Zika virus

China is taking steps to avert a potential outbreak of the Zika virus after the World Health Organization declared the mosquito-borne virus an international public health emergency.

The virus has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil, but no travel or trade restrictions have been imposed so far.

A news release from the WHO China on Tuesday evening described the virus as "an extraordinary event" that looks set to constitute a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease.

This will potentially require a coordinated international response, the statement added.

Lu Hongzhou, head of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, said the existence in South China of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which harbors and spreads the Zika virus to humans through bites, and close exchanges of trade and people with South America put China at risk from imported outbreaks of the virus.

"The health authorities are drafting clinical guidelines for Zika detection and treatment," he said.

The WHO China office said the risk of Zika transmission is low during the winter in China, as the climatic conditions are not suitable for the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But inspection and quarantine, trade, and travel agencies are on high alert.

A notice issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said travelers arriving from Zika-hit areas must report suspected symptoms. Quarantine checks have also been stepped up for cargo arriving from these areas.

Bernhard Schwartlander, the WHO representative in China, said, "The WHO is working closely with the Chinese health authorities to discuss the implications of this public health emergency of international concern."

But he said the risk of a widespread outbreak of the Zika virus in China currently appears to be low.

In general, the symptoms known to be caused by the virus tend to be mild. They include fever, a rash, pain in the joints and conjunctivitis.

Symptoms usually occur two to seven days after infection. Many people who are infected do not show any symptoms, and those who do can be treated easily.
Guest Editorial





By william heuisler | February 3, 2016

McCains Connections

Most of us voted for him, but he seldom votes for us. Remember John McCain voted to fund Obamacare, bail out Wall Street, raise the debt limit 14 times, and voted for a $600 billion "fiscal cliff" tax hike. The McCain-Kennedy and "Gang of 8" immigration bills legalized the illegals. Soros-backed McCain-Feingold exempted media, but limited Conservative, pro-life and Tea Party political speech. In May 2013, a Treasury Inspector General audit found that in 2012, the IRS had targeted groups with Patriot and Tea Party in their names. Lois Lerner even admitted the IRS inappropriately targeted conservatives. But Senators John McCain and Democrat Carl Levin insisted the IRS was not reining in political advocacy groups enough. (5) (9) (10)



Hes survived due to his POW status, but other reasons for McCains success are dirty money and corrupt connections. McCain came to Arizona (AZ) in 1981 with a pension of $31,000. He ran for US Congress just a year later using influence from AZ Republic publisher Duke Tully and House Majority Leader Burton Barr. He also received a half million dollars from United Liquors, the employer of his new AZ father-in-law, James Willis Hensley. (1) (6) (11)



Darrow Duke Tully was a decisive McCain connection: publisher of the AZ Republic, Phoenix Gazette and friend of Goldwaters, Barrs, Keatings and Hensleys. For years Tully had bragged he was a decorated fighter pilot in Vietnam, even speaking at military functions in the full-dress uniform of an Air Force Colonel. The problem? Tully never served in our Armed Forces. But remember: Senator Barry Goldwater was a retired Air Force General and Chairman of the Armed Services and Select Intelligence Committees with vast military connections. John McCain was a retired Navy pilot and Pentagon lobbyist with similar military connections. McCain became Dukes best buddy - making Tully the Godfather to his daughter Meghan in 1984. But these veterans had to be fully aware the publisher of both AZs largest newspapers was a Stolen Valor fraud. (1) (2) (6) (11)



And the Republic and Gazette publisher helped his friend. Tully ordered both of his editorial staffs to endorse the completely unknown McCain despite a long newspaper policy of strict neutrality in primaries. So McCain won the 1982 Republican primary against known Arizonans, with 32% of the vote, benefitting from phony newspaper endorsements and by extravagantly outspending the other candidates with over a half a million Hensley/Marley dollars  for a primary! (1) (2)



Hensley/Marley dollars? Yes. McCains new AZ father-in-law, Jim Hensley, had managed United Liquors (AZs only beer/liquor monopoly distributer) since the 1940s. United Liquors was wholly owned by Kemper Marley, millionaire Scottsdale developer, owner-operator of Transamerica Wire Service and protege of liquor Baron (Emprise co-founder) Sam Bronfman. McCains main money-connection was Kemper Marley, through Marleys employee, Hensley. (3) (6) (7) (11)



Charles Keating Jr. organized a massive AZ real estate fraud with his Taxpayer Insured Lincoln Savings and Loan. And Keating gave new Congressman McCain more than $112,000 in campaign contributions between 1982 and 1987. In 1986, McCain invested $359,000 Hensley /Marley money with Keating and nearly doubled his investment. When the Keating Five scandal broke in 1989, Keating was imprisoned for defrauding taxpayers of $1.1 billion dollars. But McCain was only scolded by the Senate Ethics Committee for poor judgment. (1) (11)



McCain was also connected to AZ Majority Leader Burton Barr (whose net worth after 20 years in the AZ House had grown to $9 million). During Mecham's 1986 primary with Barr, our investigation found Barr-invested companies selling hundreds of acres of land to County taxpayers for an Outer Loop route around Phoenix  the same route Barr coincidentally planned and mapped as senior member of the Maricopa Association of Governments. Remember, we mailed that damning information to Republican Primary Voters in 1986. Mecham became AZs Governor.



Ironically, in 1987 McCain was the first Republican to accuse new Republican Governor Mecham of corruption. Courts later found this to be false, but McCains lie gave our State House to Democrat Rose Mofford and then to another big McCain campaign donor, Fife Symington. In a few years, Governor Symington was convicted of seven felonies for defrauding lenders and filing false financial statements for his real estate businesses in the 1980s and I am a Republican, Marine, policeman and private investigator. McCains history was detailed to me by many policemen and reporters who also reminded me how McCains biggest connection had paid to have AZ Republic reporter, Don Bolles killed. Bolles dying words, Mafia, Emprise and Adamson, refer to the race track (Emprise) and Mafia-run wire service activities of Kemper Marley. Marley was an associate of Pulliam (Tullys boss), Barr, Symington, Keating and 40-year-boss of John McCains father-in-law. After his arrest, long-time Marley crony, John Adamson, confessed in court that Kemper Marley had paid him and Max Dunlap $50,000 to kill Bolles. (6) (7) (11)



County Attorney Donald Harris declared Adamsons confession and Bolles dying declaration were sufficient for a grand jury indictment of Marley. But AZs Attorney General, Bruce Babbitt, cancelled the grand jury. Publishers Pulliam and Tully noticeably ignored the murder of their reporter. No official prosecuted, investigated, or bothered to interview Kemper Marley, the man accused of paying for the car-bomb execution of an AZ Republic reporter - and who also paid over a half a million dollars to elect newcomer John McCain to Congress five years later. (1) (6) (7)



My fact-based book, "Casual Executions: assassinations in Arizona, shows justice is blinded when newspapers misinform the public. Cover-ups of Soros links, Keating-Five and IRS-targeting are bad enough, but when newspapers also ignore dying declarations, murder confessions and politicians using mobbed-up millionaires money, the result is John McCain. (7) (9) (10) (11)



Sources:

(1) http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/mccain/articles/2007/03/01/20070301mccainbio-chapter5.html#ixzz3WYTXswGu

(2) http://articles.latimes.com/1986-01-11/news/mn-26741_1_tully

(3) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/us/politics/23mccain.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0

(4) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-05-05/news/9102090853_1_fife-symington-seven-state-legislators-southwest-savings

(5) http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-irs-documents-reveal-lerner-knew-targeting-criteria-of-nonprofit-groups-might-raise-questions/

(6) http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-02-17/news/haunted-by-spirits/5/

(7) http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/06-18-98/curr4.htm

(8) http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/17/us/mecham-acquitted-of-concealing-loan.html

(9) http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=456

(10) http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/weekly-updates/more-irs-smoking-gun-emails/

(11) http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/21/us/2000-campaign-arizona-ties-beer-baron-powerful-publisher-put-mccain-political.html



William Heuisler is a Republican, former Marine and Tucson police officer.
Guest Editorial





By RUSSELL PEARCE | February 3, 2016

We must take action and adhere strictly to our Constitution

I am as mad as hell and if you are not you are not paying attention. If we intend to save this Republic, then we must take action and hold those we elect to strict adherence to the Constitution and our Founding principles. I want my Republic back. I want Warriors in defense of liberty and traditional values.



I am a Republican because I believe this Party still stands for those Founding principles the Preamble of the Declaration, the Constitution and Bill of Rights declare. Apparently not everyone in this Party does or they are not bold enough to stand by those who do. Does anyone not know why we have disdain for some of our leaders? Just like Speaker Paul Ryno (Ryan) who blatantly has ignored the promises made to dismantle Obamacare, stop illegal Executive Orders that granted Amnesty, reform entitlements, stop reckless spending, rein in activist judges and a corrupt President. Instead everything they promised to stop has been funded. Leaders like Speaker Paul Ryno who was voted into the Speakership by a Congress we trusted to fix things tells one a lot. He is a back door stabbing, pro illegal alien, pro spender, pro Obamacare, pro Obama and a track record to prove it.



So here in Arizona we just passed overwhelmingly a Resolution censuring a Governor and several legislators for supporting and voting for Medicaid Expansion (Obamacare) after being told by a huge majority of Republicans not to do it after they ran on an anti-Obamacare Promise. Then we passed a censure on John McCain for his failure to support this Partys Platform on our principled issues, including his support of Amnesty and many other issues. And in spite of this they continued to ignore this Partys demand to follow our Platform and keep their Promises and their Oath of Office. Enough is enough.



We are tired of those who continue to reject or ignore this Partys Platform of God, Family and Country and fail to defend at all cost our Constitution including Life, Liberty and Property. Big government, open border, cheap labor  so called Republicans. So we have this committee to review Resolutions submitted by members to be voted on and to insure they are in compliance with our by-laws and if in compliance move them forward. Not rewrite them to tone them down.



Then we find this Resolutions committee refused to stand by a Christian Kim Davis of Kentucky who refuse to obey an illegal opinion from a left leaning Supreme Court who ignored the Constitution, States Rights and the Oath of Office taken by an elected official who had the nerve to keep her Oath of Office, defend her States Constitution and her 1st Amendment right of Religious Freedom. And having broken NO LAW was jailed for her Religious Beliefs, with no trial with no formal charge and citing no law she had broken.



This same Resolution Committee refused to allow another Resolution to go to the floor for a vote on support for Sheriff Joe who has taken a beating in the press and by open border anti law groups as he kept his Oath in enforcing our immigration laws and protecting Arizona Citizens from those who break our laws.



Then as if to endorse corrupt judges this same Resolution Committee refused to allow a Resolution to go to the floor that pointed out Judicial Corruption and named specific cases and quotes from the minority Constitutional loving Supreme Court Justices pointing out over reaching and dangerous actions by liberal courts.



This same Resolution Committee even after some of those cases cost Arizona taxpayers millions of dollars, ignored the law and rejected a huge majority of voters who passed these laws at the ballot box and that involve Arizona Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson who decided that the law does not count as he upheld an illegal order by Obama and decided that illegal aliens can get in state tuition at our Community Colleges in direct violation of Arizona law and a slap in the face of the 75% of voters who voted for Proposition 300 in 2006. The Supreme Court strikes down 34 state Constitutions protecting marriage between a man and a woman and they have NO authority in Constitution to do so. The Ninth Circuit Court decided Proposition 100, a Constitutional Amendment denying bail to illegal aliens who commit serious crimes and passed by 78 pe rcentof Arizona voters was bad law and right afterward released violent illegal aliens and Americans were murdered by those released. The Ninth Circuit Court ordered theArizona Governor to issue driver licenses to illegal aliens again in violation of Arizona law (it is an Arizona drivers license not a federal license).



This same Resolution Committee refused to recognize the success of SB1070 and the impact of enforcement and reduction in crime as after its passage we had a 50% reduction in homicides, a 46% reduction in property crimes, a 47% reduction in auto theft and Arizonas clear and convincing evidence that enforce works and most self deport when the message of enforcement is clear. Arizonas Motto, Attrition by Enforcement.



In a 3 to 2 vote the Resolution Committee barely allowed a Resolution to Defund Planned Parenthood. Our duty is to protect innocent life; it is part of our founding principles of this Republic and this Party to protect life, liberty and property above all else and to stop Planned Parenthood which is in the barbaric business of aborting babies and selling their body parts with your tax dollars.



This AZGOP Resolution Committee refused to move forward several Resolutions, including Anyone BUT Senator John McCain that had just passed by an over whelming vote by the Maricopa County Mandatory Meeting.



This members of this Committee:

Chair Cindy Coleman

Marcus Huey

Jenni White

George Cuprak

Nancy Edwards
February 3, 2016

Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona

congressional leaders call for removal of Arizona from The Ninth Circuit

PHOENIX  Governor Doug Ducey has announced a partnership with members of Arizonas congressional delegation to remove Arizona from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with legislation severing ties to be introduced in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.



Senior aides to Governor Ducey, Senator Jeff Flake and Congressman Matt Salmon have been meeting and studying the issue for several months. The governor in October sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressing well-documented and widespread concerns over the Ninth Circuits judicial performance, culture and capacity to deliver legal rulings in an efficient and reliable manner.



In his letter, Governor Ducey reiterated numerous calls from congressional members, federal justices, judges and scholars over the years for the restructuring of the Ninth Circuit  citing its unwieldy size, rapidly-growing caseload and high reversal rate as contributors to its reputation as the slowest and most inconsistent circuit court in the nation.



The Ninth Circuit is by far the most overturned and overburdened court in the country, with a 77% reversal rate. In 2010, it had three times as many reversals as most circuits had cases before the Supreme Court, said Governor Ducey. Meanwhile, due to its voluminous caseload and disproportionate size, the Ninth Circuit has an abysmal turnaround time of over 15 months for an average ruling  a figure thats only going to grow as the docket does. Arizonans deserve better than this from the people in power, and that includes a judicial process that is judicious in nature. Its time that Congress takes overdue action to resolve this crisis in our courts  and Im proud to join a strong coalition of Arizona leaders stepping up to facilitate the process in Washington.



Arizonans are waiting too long for justice, and for no other reason than the 9th Circuit is oversized and overworked, said U.S. Senator for Arizona Jeff Flake. Establishing an additional circuit would lessen that burden across the West and ensure that the people of Arizona finally get the swift access to the courts that they are entitled to.



I thank Governor Ducey for his leadership in addressing this urgent and long-ignored problem, said U.S. Representative Matt Salmon (AZ-05). Justice delayed is justice denied and the current 9th Circuit does not properly serve the people of the nations fastest growing region with a court that is too large, too inconsistent, too slow, and too overworked. I look forward to working with other state and federal officials on producing a viable and responsible long-term plan to vastly improve how our government, specifically our judiciary, serves constituents throughout Arizona and the Mountain West.



Having been involved in similar efforts during my time in the Senate, Im glad to see a real, revived focus on Ninth Circuit reform, said former U.S. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. It was just around a decade ago that Congress began to seriously explore and entertain legislation to split up the court into more manageable, accountable, efficient and effective parts. This is not a new problem, but it is a growing problem  and its not going to work itself out. I commend Governor Ducey for taking the initiative to redirect Washingtons attention to this issue. Leaders in Congress should make it a priority of this session.



All Arizonans should be pleased to see our leaders stepping up to revisit this issue, said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The Ninth Circuit is overloaded and its bringing on new cases faster than it can resolve old ones. Reform in this area is long overdue, and Im hopeful Congress can work together this session to take a step in that direction.



I stand with Governor Ducey and the Arizona leaders calling for this much-needed reform in our federal judiciary, said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. A court with 29 judges where only three represent Arizona, where the vast majority of rulings are overturned, where cases continue to pile up and decisions are delayed well over a year  thats a recipe for failure. Division or restructuring of the Ninth Circuit would be a significant step in the right direction toward a judiciary that better serves Arizona.



Read Governor Duceys letter to Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell


By Andy Ericson | February 3, 2016

LD1 COS MTG in the Valley!

Since LD1 is so large, not everybody can make it to Prescott for COS meetings. There have been requests to have a meeting to accommodate the southern District 1 supporters. If you live in the valley, come to the convention of States Public meeting on Saturday, February 13, 1-3pm, at North Valley Assembly of God 28660 N Black Canyon HWY, Phoenix, AZ. The church is on west side of Interstate 17. Take 17 (North or South) to JoMax, take the frontage road, on the east side of 17, north to Dixieletta; come back across 17, to the frontage road on the west side of 17, and go south. The church will be on the right side about 3/4 of a mile. Go to google maps for clarification.



There will be a Convention of States presentation implementation of our strategy to get the Application through the Arizona House and Senate this legislative session. The House has put forth HCR2010(COS application), and it has passed step 1, the Federalism Committee. Step 2,3, and 4, are the Caucus, Rules, and House Floor over the next couple weeks or so. LD1 Reps. Karen Fann and Noel Campbell are strong supporters of COS. Other Representatives will be contacted to encourage their support, as well. A complete list can be found at azleg.gov.



The effort is not being taken for granted, but confidence is high it will get through the House. The Senate is where the battle will be, and with one person in particular... Who Decides? It should be 'we the people' and our legislators. There is one legislator, Senate President Andy Biggs, who thinks he should decide for us.



The COS application was 1 of 21 pieces of legislation in 2015 he didn't agree with, so he tabled it until the end of the session. Signatures are still being gathered on the Governor Ducey petition. With the citizens speaking up, Governor Ducey will hopefully pressure Senator Biggs to let legislation flow in a timely and orderly manner.



Go to azconventionofstates.com and click on "sign the petition" for more information. Americans are upset with the abusive, corrupt, and overreaching federal government. With God's help, and the tool in Article V our Founding Fathers' gave us, we can save this great Republic without the bloodshed we recently saw in Oregon. Stay on your knees and actively involved in our citizen government. Hope to see you at the meeting.



If anyone would like to make phone calls (from our supporter call list) inviting people to the meeting, please contact Andy Ericson, AZLD1 Captain, Conventionofstates.com, 928.592.8251.
February 3, 2016

Amazon sells Hitler's "MEIN Kampf" but pulls book that says Sandy Hook "MASSACRE" was elaborate FEMA Drill

DULUTH, Minnesota  Amazon.com is offering Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitic rant "Mein Kampf" for sale but has withdrawn one of its brisk sellers titled "Nobody Died at Sandy Hook"(NDSH), which does not advocate gassing Jews or doing violence to any human being for any reason.



"What is apparently so dangerous about our Sandy Hook book, is that the Newtown, CT, elementary school massacre of December 14, 2012, which supposedly killed 20 children and six staff, was actually a two-day FEMA drill, where no children or adults died," said James Fetzer, McKnight Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, the book's editor. FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency.



The book has thirteen contributors, including six Ph.D. professors (current or retired), some of whom have published as many as 80 articles about Sandy Hook, all of whom are placing their reputations on the line because they believe that the public is entitled to know the truth about Sandy Hook.



So Hitler can write and Amazon will publish, "The personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew." But my series editor, newspaperman Mike Palecek, and I cannot charge, "The only death certificate we have (for 'Noah Pozner') turns out to be a fabrication".



Hitler could write and Amazon will publish, the sacrifice of millions at the front (in World War I) would have been prevented if "twelve or fifteen thousand of the Hebrew corrupters of the people had been held under poison gas." But Amazon.com will not allow a book containing these words, "The evidence presented here (425 page book) demonstrates that the school was closed by 2008; that (alleged shooter) Adam Lanza appears to have been a work of fiction; and that the teachers, the parents, the Newtown School Board, the State Police, the Medical Examiner and the Governor were in on the hoax."



"Hitler's OK with Amazon but they don't want the public to read our book with hundreds of proofs that Sandy Hook was a drill by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)," Fetzer said. Among these proofs was the sign, 'Everyone must check in,' the boxes of bottled water and pizza cartons, name tags on lanyards, and even parents who brought their children to what was supposed to be a child shooting massacre--which is simply absurd.



"They were bringing them to the rehearsal on the 13th, not the LIVE event on the 14th", Fetzer said. Among the most important discoveries in the book is the 19-page FEMA manual for the drill, which specifies that a rehearsal will be conducted on December 13, 2012, with the event going 'LIVE' on the 14th.



The FEMA Manual for Sandy Hook is reproduced in its entirety as Appendix A of the new book, which explains the embarrassing confusion, where some parties published donation web pages and began soliciting funds from the public BEFORE the alleged shooting had even taken place.



"During Wolfgang Hablig's FOIA hearings, Newtown's First Selectman, which is a position analogous to being Mayor, Patricia Llorda, acknowledged that the sign, 'Everyone must check in!', was placed in position by the Department of Homeland Security," Fetzer observed.



The school was in deplorable condition and loaded with asbestos and other bio-hazards, leading Fetzer to ask the Newtown Board of Education, "When were the parents notified that their children were attending school in a toxic waste dump?", to which he received no response.



"The participants have made out handsomely", he added. "The community received $50,000,000 for a new K-4 elementary school, even though the cost to build one on average is $7,000,000 across the nation. The 'families' have received more than $1,000,000 apiece from sympathetic Americans, who do not realize that they have been conned."



A special case is that of Lenny Pozner, who says he is the father of Noah. "Not only is Noah's death certificate a fabrication, but he has been reported to have died twice: once in Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012; and then again in Pakistan on 16 December 2012, Fetzer said. I believe that Lenny has been conducting a vendetta against those of us who have discovered what happened because he is afraid he might have to give the money back and might even be prosecuted for fraud."



"But with the backing of the Obama administration and dereliction of duty by the national press, there isn't much chance of that", Fetzer remarked. "When crimes of this magnitude are supported by The New York Times, CBS, NBC and the rest of the controlled American media, faking murders of children to promote gun control doesn't cause the batting of an eye. Even The Chronicle of Higher Education has buckled."



"One of our contributors, Professor James Tracy of Florida Atlantic University, has been given a notice of termination by an administration that does not think he should be exposing a scam that has cost the American people millions of dollars and has been used to support a political agenda," Fetzer said. "It is a complete disgrace."



"Our book is being censored because it exposes the Obama administration's leadership in a gross, criminal fraud, an elaborate psy-op to promote gun control," Fetzer said. "And the mainstream media endlessly repeats a story about an event that we have proven to have been no more than an elaborate charade. It's pathetic." The book is being made available on the Web for free.
By Linda Bentley | February 3, 2016

Gorraiz said massive amounts of water, as used to fight the Buffalo Chip fire,

was unnecessary and irresponsible

CAVE CREEK  The planning commission voted unanimously to reappoint David Smith and Bob Voris as chairman and vice chair, respectively, with no other nominations.



Planning Director Ian Cordwell announced the next planning commission meeting, scheduled for Feb. 18, would include a rezoning case for a two-acre parcel next to Lowes.



The general plan was the only item on last Thursdays agenda.

By Linda Bentley | February 3, 2016

Citizen declares his loss of confidence in towns planning staff

CAVE CREEK  During Monday nights Call to the Public, Dan Devlin, who introduced himself as chair of the Canyon Ridge Estates Trail Committee, said the community has elected a new board and has approved the Surrey Trail reroute to Lot 37.



Devlin thanked council, staff and the community for their patience while they got their house in order.

February 3, 2016

PHOENIX  Governor Doug Ducey has announced a partnership with members of Arizonas congressional delegation to remove Arizona from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with legislation severing ties to be introduced in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.



Senior aides to Governor Ducey, Senator Jeff Flake and Congressman Matt Salmon have been meeting and studying the issue for several months. The governor in October sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressing well-documented and widespread concerns over the Ninth Circuits judicial performance, culture and capacity to deliver legal rulings in an efficient and reliable manner.

byalan korwin | February 3, 2016

If you like stats with your gun debate this scratches the itch. Since President Obama's election the number of concealed handgun permits has soared, growing from 4.6 million in 2007 to over 12.8 million this year.



Among the findings in our report:

The number of concealed handgun permits is increasing at an ever-increasing rate. Over the past year, 1.7 million additional new permits have been issued  a 15.4 percent increase in just one single year. This is the largest ever single-year increase in the number of concealed-handgun permits.

By Andy Ericson | February 3, 2016

Since LD1 is so large, not everybody can make it to Prescott for COS meetings. There have been requests to have a meeting to accommodate the southern District 1 supporters. If you live in the valley, come to the convention of States Public meeting on Saturday, February 13, 1-3pm, at North Valley Assembly of God 28660 N Black Canyon HWY, Phoenix, AZ. The church is on west side of Interstate 17. Take 17 (North or South) to JoMax, take the frontage road, on the east side of 17, north to Dixieletta; come back across 17, to the frontage road on the west side of 17, and go south. The church will be on the right side about 3/4 of a mile. Go to google maps for clarification.

February 3, 2016

A group of 27 states and state agencies  as well as the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, and a dozen other groups and associations  is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to stay implementation of the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan (CPP) regulations. The petitioners argue the CPP rules represent an overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency.

February 3, 2016

DULUTH, Minnesota  Amazon.com is offering Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitic rant "Mein Kampf" for sale but has withdrawn one of its brisk sellers titled "Nobody Died at Sandy Hook"(NDSH), which does not advocate gassing Jews or doing violence to any human being for any reason.



"What is apparently so dangerous about our Sandy Hook book, is that the Newtown, CT, elementary school massacre of December 14, 2012, which supposedly killed 20 children and six staff, was actually a two-day FEMA drill, where no children or adults died," said James Fetzer, McKnight Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, the book's editor. FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

February 3, 2016

PHOENIX  The latest voter registration figures have been released and according to Secretary of State Michele Reagan, the number of registered voters has declined to 3,254,397, a decrease of 45,509 since the last report in October of 2015.



Of the state's 3.25 million voters, 34% are Republicans, 28% are Democrats and 37 percent have either registered with independent parties or not designated a party preference.



Libertarians and members of the Green party make up a little less than one percent of the states total registration while the Americans Elect Party recently failed to qualify for continuing representation on the state ballot.
My View

BY DON SORCHYCH | February 3, 2016

Soon we will have results from the Iowa Caucus. It appears to be between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. The question in everyones mind is whether presidential candidate and leader Donald Trump was damaged by dropping out of the Jan. 29 debate. So far, on Jan. 31 Trump still has a substantial lead of 30 percent, the highest ever. However, Mondays Iowa results will answer the question.



Mondays caucus in Iowa had several major events; Bernie and Hillary were deadlocked at 50 percent and ended with Clinton 49.9 and Bernie at 49.6 percent. Ted Cruz won with 27.7 percent, Trump at 24.3 percent and Rubio at 23.1 percent.





Guest Editorials:

By Frosty Wooldridge | February 3, 2016

For the past 45 years, every president and all our Congresses failed the American people on massive levels. Members of Congress allowed themselves to be duped into bogus wars in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq.



The American people did not ask for or want those wars. Who did? Answer: the bankers, Military Industrial Complex and corporations who stood to profit from the deaths of so many of our soldiers.

By Matt Barber | February 3, 2016

Abortion and promiscuity. Planned Parenthood and slut shaming. Im reminded on this, the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Courts disgraceful Roe v. Wade abortion-on-demand opinion, how inexorably linked are Americas abortion death culture and her ongoing sexual revolution. As the story goes, Winston Churchill was talking with a socialite: Madam, would you sleep with me for 5 million pounds? he asked. My goodness, Mr. Churchill, she replied. Well, I suppose we would have to discuss terms, of course. Churchill: Would you sleep with me for 5 pounds? Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?! Churchill: Madam, weve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.



By william heuisler | February 3, 2016

Most of us voted for him, but he seldom votes for us. Remember John McCain voted to fund Obamacare, bail out Wall Street, raise the debt limit 14 times, and voted for a $600 billion "fiscal cliff" tax hike. The McCain-Kennedy and "Gang of 8" immigration bills legalized the illegals. Soros-backed McCain-Feingold exempted media, but limited Conservative, pro-life and Tea Party political speech. In May 2013, a Treasury Inspector General audit found that in 2012, the IRS had targeted groups with Patriot and Tea Party in their names. Lois Lerner even admitted the IRS inappropriately targeted conservatives. But Senators John McCain and Democrat Carl Levin insisted the IRS was not reining in political advocacy groups enough.

By RUSSELL PEARCE | February 3, 2016

I am as mad as hell and if you are not you are not paying attention. If we intend to save this Republic, then we must take action and hold those we elect to strict adherence to the Constitution and our Founding principles. I want my Republic back. I want Warriors in defense of liberty and traditional values.
Actress Sonam Kapoor, who is prepping for her upcoming film "Neerja", is campaigning against fear on social media platforms.

The "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" actress uploaded a less than a minute video on Instagram, where she urged her fans and followers to share a clip of themselves talking about their fears and how they overcame it.

"Hi everybody, I have a request, I want you to talk about your fear and how you overcame it. Neerja's fear gave her courage. The best videos you put out I will post. It will give other people courage to face their fears," Sonam said in the video.

She captioned the video: "Hi everyone. I often wonder how fear gave Neerja courage. I would love to hear your stories in 15 second Instagram videos."

"The most fascinating and touching stories will be posted by me, so that your stories can inspire other people to overcome their fears. You can be also be #Neerja. Use #fearvsneerja when you post."

"Neerja" is a biopic on Neerja Bhanot, a valiant Indian flight attendant who lost her own life, but saved the lives of passengers during a hijack.

The Ram Madhvani-directorial features Sonam as Neerja, a Pan Am chief purser who was gunned down by terrorists when Flight 73 was hijacked in Karachi in 1986. She saved a number of lives, but lost her own.

The film is set to release on February 19.
Rain and snow give way to sunny skies over weekend in Michiana

Parts of Michiana saw very early snowfalls earlier this week, but temperatures should rise into the 70s this weekend.
In a bid to revive China's urban housing market, the central bank lowered the minimum down payment for first-time homebuyers on Tuesday for the second time in less than five months.

The People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that the down payments for first-time homebuyers would be reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent. Economists described the move as "pointing to the healthy growth of the market".

Unsold homes in China rose by 11.2 percent last year to a total of 52 million square meters, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In October, China lowered first-time homebuyers' minimum down payment requirement from 30 percent  at which it had stood since 2010  to 25 percent to curb a rapid rise in urban housing prices.

Zhao Xijun, deputy dean of the School of Finance at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said Tuesday's down payment adjustment would help China to reduce the inventory of unsold housing at a time of general economic slowdown and lackluster business.

In tandem with the rate reduction for first-time buyers, down payments required for second homes will fall from 40 percent to 30 percent, a joint statement by the central bank and the CBRC said.

However, the revised percentages do not apply in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, where heavy restrictions against speculative home purchases remain in place.

Industry specialists said the lower down payments would benefit the housing market in small towns near large cities.

It could cause an immediate surge in sales in places like Langfang and Yanjiao in Hebei province, both of which are only about an hour's drive from Beijing, said Yan Yuejin, a researcher at E-house China R&D Institute.

In other small cities, Yan said, homebuyers' interest could remain low because business in general has experienced no major growth over the past few years.

However, Zhang Dawei, chief market analyst at Zhongyuan Real Estate Co, argued that the timing of the rule change is important. As Chinese New Year draws near and many people head for family reunions, the new policy could arouse their interest in buying real estate in their hometowns, Zhang said.

China Index Academy, a private-sector research firm, said the average new home price in the country's 100 major cities rose in January by 0.42 percent month-on-month to 11,026 yuan ($1,675) per square meter.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
A court in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region recently reduced the sentences of 11 people, including the former heads of a terrorist cell and a separatist group, who were imprisoned for endangering national security.

The terms were reduced because the convicts demonstrated repentance and regret, the regional politics and law committee said on Tuesday.

Xinjiang People's High Court in the regional capital of Urumqi reduced the sentences of seven people from life in prison to fixed terms.

The seven include Memettohut Memetroz, 42, who received terrorist training in Afghanistan and later founded the East Turkestan Islamic Party with the former head of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which is listed by the United Nations as a terrorist group. He set up training camps in Afghanistan and trained Xinjiang people to carry out violent attacks.

Yushanjon Jilili and Memetjon Abudulkadeer also had their life sentences reduced. Yushanjon, who joined the East Turkestan Islamic Movement abroad and later become a key member, used his identity as an imam to carry out separatist and terrorist activities. Memetjon, who has a doctoral degree, used his profession as a university teacher to recruit members for separatist groups, the court ruled.

Four others had their sentences reduced by six months, including one who was subsequently released from prison.

Memettohut said that when he began to serve his sentence in February 2005, he was still quite troubled and confused because he was under the influence of religious extremism. Since the prison regularly invites religious leaders to give lectures about the real Islam, he gradually came to understand that what he had done, such as plotting several terrorist attacks in China and abroad, was unforgivable under Islam.

He now realizes the huge damage he caused to people and the country, he said while giving a speech to other inmates in the prison on Monday. He will never forget the day his sentence was reduced, he added.

Yushanjon, 48, said it was like waking up from a nightmare when he realized what real Islam is and what religious extremism had done to him. He said he deeply regretted ruining many young people's lives by passing on terrorist and extremist thoughts to them, he said.

Xinjiang has gained great experience in transforming those imprisoned for crimes of endangering national security into responsible citizens, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of Xinjiang, said on Monday.

Zhang Chunxian, top leader of Xinjiang, said the door of hope will always be open if those who commit crimes that endanger national security make efforts to turn their lives around.
Oak Creek to host outdoor 2022 World Cup watch party

A partnership between Morans Pub in South Milwaukee and the city of Oak Creek will offer residents food, drinks, music and games on Nov. 25.
Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city.

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Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea
(China.com.cn/Photo)

Itagaki, the shortest contestant of Miss World 2013, has become a hotly-discussed topic among Chinese netizens. With only 152 cm in height, she is a student at Peking University in Beijing and has been called a super-scholar goddess by web users.

Many short girls shared their pictures online and left comments such as "Although we are short, were giants in our hearts", "Rarely taking full-figure photos, I have to say: short stature is not our fault, we just need to be giants in our hearts."

After finishing her college education in Japan, Itagaki came to Beijing and became a student at the School of Chinese as a Second Language, Peking University. Within less than one year, she obtained several certificates and so was called a super-scholar goddess.

(China.com.cn/Photo)

It takes Itagaki one-hour to ride the subway from the place where she lives in Beijing to Peking University. She gets up at six o'clock in the morning and leaves for school before half past seven. She said she made a lot of friends in Peking University from all over the world and life in the school is very memorable.

Itagaki pays close attention to her image. She has attended beauty school in Japan. She has a set of make-up tools, in a cosmetic case, including 35 eye shadows and 47 lip balms.

She always puts on makeup very carefully before going out.

(China.com.cn/Photo)
High-flying spy planes such as the U-2, seen here, likely spurred many reported UFO sightings over the years, CIA officials have said.

In 1947, New Mexico police officer Lonnie Zamora was chasing a speeding car when he heard a loud noise. He saw a flame shoot up in a nearby patch of desert and went over to investigate, thinking a dynamite shack in the area might have exploded.

What Zamora reported is still under intense dispute decades later. He says he saw a sedan-size, shiny object on a hilltop. Once he got closer on foot, the object began making loud noises. Zamora backed away but saw the UFO rise into the sky and speed away until it disappeared.

The UFO sighting  which is still unexplained despite investigators' belief that Zamora told the truth  was investigated by the United States Air Force as a part of Project BLUE BOOK, which recorded 12,618 sightings of strange objects between 1947 and 1969. The Central Intelligence Agency also assisted in analyzing the sightings. [Where to Spot UFOs (Infographic)]

Below are the tips that the CIA learned from "flying saucer intelligence," as the agency highlighted in a recent blog post. Helpfully, the CIA also published a list of UFO cases that Fox Mulder and Dana Scully  the heroes of the recently revived "X-Files" TV series  would enjoy.

Create a group to find and evaluate the sightings. After the 1947 incident, Project SAUCER was established to obtain all possible information about these sightings. (The premise was that the sightings were not necessarily UFOs, but could be foreign craft.) The group was renamed Project SIGN and then Project BLUE BOOK. Figure out your investigation's goals. Project BLUE BOOK aimed to find out if UFOs were a threat to U.S. security, determine if UFOs have technology that could be used by the U.S., and explain which stimuli cause a person to report a UFO. Consult with experts. Project BLUE BOOK's outside experts included astrophysicists, federal aviation officials, pilots, academics, and people at the U.S. Weather Bureau, local weather stations, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA, among other organizations. Organize cases in a reporting system. BLUE BOOK's categories included astronomical, aircraft, balloons, satellites, other (such as reflections or mirages), insufficient data and unidentified. Eliminate false positives. Examples included misidentified aircraft (particularly the U-2, A-12 and SR-71 spy planes), hoaxes and mass hysteria. Develop methodology to identify common aircraft (or other phenomena) the public mistook as UFOs. Examine witness documentation. Conduct controlled experiments, such as photographing certain types of balloons from different distances under similar weather conditions. Gather and test physical and forensic evidence. The Zamora investigation included using Geiger counters to look for radiation, and sending soil samples off for expert analysis. Discourage false reporting. In the 1950s, during the Cold War, there were concerns the Soviet Union could deploy fake "UFOs" to incite panic in the U.S. So officials countered that by teaching the public how to look for similar phenomena, such as astronomical objects (meteors) or illuminated objects (balloons).

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
An artist's conception shows a family of comets as it passes in front of a star  one of the best explanations for the strange dimming around Tabby's star.

It's looking less likely that a swarm of comets or an "alien megastructure" can explain a faraway star's strange dimming.

The star (nicknamed "Tabby's Star," after its discoverer, Tabetha Boyajian) made major headlines last October when Jason Wright, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University, suggested that it could be surrounded by some type of alien megastructure. A more likely idea  one that's far less exciting  is that the star is orbited by a swarm of comets. But scientists can't be sure either way.

Now, Bradley Schaefer, an astronomer at Louisiana State University, has probed the star's behavior over the past century by looking at old photographic plates. Not only does the star's random dipping date back more than a century, but it also has been gradually dimming over that period  a second constraint that makes it even harder to explain. [13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Alien Life]

The first signs of the star's oddity came from NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope, which continually monitored the star (as well as 100,000 others) between 2009 and 2013. Astronomers, citizen scientists and computers could then search for regular dips in a star's light  a sign that an exoplanet has passed in front of that star. The largest planets might block 1 percent of a star's light, but Tabby's star dropped by as much as 20 percent in brightness. That, in and of itself, would be weird. But the periodic dimmings didn't occur at regular time intervals, either  they were sporadic. The signature couldn't be caused by a planet, scientists said.

In September, a team led by Boyajian, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, tried to make sense of the unusual signal. First, the researchers looked into any angles that might mean there was something wrong with the data itself. They even checked in with Kepler mission scientists. But everything came out clean. "The data that we were observing with Kepler is, in fact, astrophysical," Boyajian told Space.com.

Still, nothing about the observations indicated what might be causing the extreme interference. After considering many possible scenarios, Boyajian determined that dust from a large cloud of comets was the best explanation. But she admits that "it's a bit of a stretch to have comets that are large enough to block that much of the light from the star." With her paper published, she hoped that other astronomers would jump in with alternative solutions.

And they did. A month later, the star exploded into the public's eye when Wright announced that an advanced extraterrestrial civilization could be responsible for the signal, assuming this civilization built a megastructure, like solar panels, around the star. And Boyajian thinks the theory is definitely worth a follow-up.

"We have to look at every angle that we can  and that's one angle, as wild and crazy as it seems," she said. Slate blogger and astronomer Phil Plait, too, admitsthat "while it's incredibly unlikely, it does kinda fit what we're seeing."

A follow-up looking for alien signals, however, turned up empty-handed.

So Schaefer turned to old photographic plates from the Harvard College Observatory. Lucky for him, the star has been photographed more than 1,200 times as part of a repeated all-sky survey between the years 1890 and 1989. That many data points revealed that Tabby's star is acting strangely in more than one way: It's flickering on short timescales, as the Kepler and Harvard data show, and it's dimming over the course of a century, as the Harvard data show.

"Occam's razor [the simplest explanation is likely the best one] needs to be considered in a scenario like this," Boyajian said. A single phenomenon must be causing both behaviors, she added. But what is it?

Well, the results don't look good for a family of comets. It would take a vast number of comets to pass in front of the star for a century, astronomers say.

"It would be more mass than what we have in the whole Kuiper Belt" [the band of icy bodies in the vast region beyond Neptune], said Massimo Marengo, an associate professor of astronomy at Iowa State University who co-authored a paper supporting the comets theory in December.

"You can get out of that if you assume it's the same family of comets passing in front of the star over and over," Marengo told Space.com. But with the century-long dimming trend, too, that family of comets has to get bigger every time it passes the star. "It's a difficult thing to do," he said.

The results also change the requirements for the alien megastructure hypothesis. Plait pointed out that the general fading is actually what you'd expect to see if aliens were building a massive sphere around their star. But before you get your hopes up, consider this: Plait calculated that aliens would need to build a minimum of 750 billion square kilometers (290 billion square miles) of solar panels to account for the 20 percent drop in their star's brightness. "That's 1,500 times the area of the entire Earth," Plait wrote. "Yikes."

So astronomers now have to hope that future observations might shed light on this stellar oddity. "Nature can help us by creating another one of these events," Marengo said. "But sometimes, we don't get lucky."

Follow Shannon Hall on Twitter @ShannonWHall. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
China reiterates its indisputable right over the South China Sea

The illegal construction site of Vietnam on the southwestern corner of the reef

China has indisputable sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press conference Tuesday.

Satellite images recently released by the Chinese media showed that Vietnam attempted to construct two artificial islands in part of the South China Sea that is claimed by China.

China hopes that disputes with neighboring countries over the Nansha Islands should be resolved through bilateral and friendly consultations, according to Lu Kang, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In response to the amendment of Sanya's Flight Information Area by International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) as per Vietnam's request, Lu pointed out that markers on the relevant aeronautical chart are to facilitate effective air control and flight guidance and maintain security and order of international civil air transport.

Lu hoped relevant party would not politicize the matter.
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SPIEGEL: Once migrants are at sea, the Greek coast guard has no other choice but to bring them back to Greece.

Leggeri: People in need of protection must have access to a safe country. The Turkish coast guard should work with the Turkish police to prevent migrants and refugees from putting their lives in danger. But that's not what's happening. Frontex and the Greek coast guard rescued more than 100,000 refugees from rubber dinghies last year and brought them to Greece.

SPIEGEL: At the moment, the number of refugees is decreasing slightly compared to last autumn. Why?

Leggeri: This seems to be due to the winter weather. We won't be able to say whether cooperating with Turkey has already begun to show positive results for at least another few weeks. Despite the bad weather, between 2,000-3,000 people are arriving in Greece each day.
Within the last month, several international brands have launched special designs for the coming Chinese lunar new year, the Year of the Monkey.

A post showing various products, including a Jaquet Droz wristwatch with a monkey design, a Louis Vuitton bracelet and a Dior necklace with monkey-shaped pendants has sparked heated discussions on Chinese social media. However, most Chinese Internet users say the designs are "too ugly."

For example, the Giorgio Armani limited edition foundation makeup case with the Chinese character fu" (happiness) printed on it and a monkey imprinted on the powder inside. The pattern is referred to as a paint work by a pupil in an art class.

It is said that the sport brand Nike has always known how to cater Chinese consumers. But this time... Are you high, Nike? Check it out! The capitalized "Nike" in Chinese stands out on the shoe heel. Chinese shoppers are no longer interested in buying goods with big logos.

Not to mention the lotus flower on the tongue, a koi carp on the side of the shoe and a chubby baby coming out of a New Year painting on the insole. Could you please leave the classic pure white Air Force 1 alone?

The eye-catching monkey make-up becomes the only focal point in a series of Adidas "TUBULAR" advertisements - instead of the shoes.

The "Monkey three-piece" is called "the best choice for 2016 Chinese New Year" on the official Louis Vuitton website. But how many Chinese customers can figure out it was a monkey?

Starbucks, famous for its festive red cup events, got its pass point for a red monkey cup this year. Something red is always the right choice for gifts in China. Chinese people love the color, which is always associated with "happiness and good fortune".

Actually, this is not the first time that the topic of "Chinese style" has made the news recently. Chinese style in fashion is far more than using Chinese zodiac signs in special edition designs.

Do you remember the Burberry scarf with a character Fu, which means happiness in Chinese? It received a lot of derision as many Chinese internet users said the design looks like counterfeit.

GUCCI's design presented at the 2016 autumn/winter Milan Men's Week again received many negative comments.

Am I the only Chinese who thought it came from the traditional Chinese underwear Dudou' er? But Nasir Mazhar said his street-inspired collection conjured "a club world of individual characters unified by darkness", delivering a confusing and provocative collection mainly in black.

It is no secret that international brands are making more effort to appeal to Chinese consumers whose purchasing power has been growing rapidly in recent years. However, whether those attempts will hit the sweet spot for Chinese consumers or show a misunderstanding of the Chinese culture is constantly under discussion.

"So eager to cater to the Chinese market" might be a problem of these foreign brands and designers that they forget that Chinese people prefer things that are more subtle.
What Journalists Need to Do

Is there something we can do as journalists to counter this? Should we carry on? Of course we should. But we also need to do more.

In times like these, especially, the quality media cannot allow cost-saving measures to kill the very thing that sets them apart from the loudmouths -- namely their capacity for research and reporting, i.e., local reporters, foreign correspondents and investigative teams. We need to take the time necessary to have a true understanding of contexts and be able to explain them properly, and we must maintain a moderate tone and not allow ourselves to descend into the ruckus. Modern life demands immediate gratification, but journalism requires clear thinking and calm.

All the same, there are times when escalation and judgements, based on reporting and analysis, are necessary -- but this must come at the right moment and cannot be based on self-fulfilling prophecies or prejudices. However, differentiation doesn't mean backing down -- of course journalists need to have a spine.

We must also admit our mistakes and explain them. We must determine whether we do, on occasion, have another, more elite view of German reality than many readers. We need to engage in a dialogue with our readers and absorb their criticism. To this end, having a sense of humor might help. The fact is that we should have no problem accepting that millions of people who in the past tended to be quiet consumers today use social media to get involved and, as such, have themselves become producers of media. While debates can be gratifying, people who are too thin-skinned seldom seem attractive. Astonishingly, the same holds true for journalists.

What Readers Should Know

Still, it would nonetheless be helpful if our esteemed readers were to consider three things every now and then:

First: There's a danger inherent in Facebook and Twitter that users will only read what they want, spending every minute seeking self-affirmation and, in the end, viewing their own hatred to be rational and perfectly justified.

Second: The oft-disparaged "mainstream media" do not exist. The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and right-leaning Die Welt have adopted different editorial lines from those of the left-leaning Die Zeit or Suddeutsche Zeitung. There are some media whose perceptions of reality border on fantasy.

Third: SPIEGEL is an independent publisher owned by the journalists it hires and, as such, is not influenced by any third party. This is not a publication where a person can just spew unverified information out into the world, only to turn around and say the opposite the next day. Our reporting takes days, weeks, sometimes even months to complete. Articles are then subjected to a rigorous review process that includes editing and vetting by section editors, fact-checkers, researchers, lawyers, editors-in-chief and copy editors, with steady improvements made to the stories throughout. Our editors and reporters engage in constant debate over the contents of these articles and the views expressed by the magazine and website. We are united in our belief that we must seek to understand and not denigrate people who are fleeing war zones. We are also united in our belief that it is self-evident that we must report on mistakes made by the German government or political parties, European failures or any apparent loss of control on the part of the state. These tasks may prove to be as complex as the entire migrant crisis itself, but none of them are mutually exclusive.

The good news is that many, many media are already exercising great care and accuracy. See above.
Blight was the cause of the infamous Irish potato famine in the nineteenth century and remains a huge problem around the world, particularly as more countries turn to potato as a major staple crop and ramp up production. China is now the worlds major producer of potatoes.

Scientists at the University of Dundee and James Hutton Institute in Scotland have been working with colleagues at Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, and Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, to study ways to prevent the disease.

They have identified a potato enzyme that, if it were removed, could prevent the disease from taking hold.

Professor Paul Birch, who works at both the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute, explained;

The potato blight organism seeks help from its host, potato, to cause disease. It does this by creating an association with a host phosphatase enzyme in the potato to form a new holoenzyme that suppresses immunity.
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In one film a family of Israeli settlers finds their car has broken down outside a convent where Palestinian nuns live in the West Bank wilderness, just as the Sabbath is about to commence. Will the nuns treat them as Jesus would?

In another film, a divorced father picks up his 8-year-old daughter for their usual weekend visit, and finds shes feeling very strongly that something is terribly wrong. Shes teary and emotional. Will he be able to fix it?

These are but two of the stories that will play out when Fairfield Theatre Co. continues its tradition of screening Oscar-nominated shorts next week. The program set for Monday, Feb. 8, features entries in the live-action category. (Entries in the documentary and animated shorts categories were screened earlier this week.)

The live-action shorts cover a wildly diverse range of scenarios. Joe Rog, director of development at the venue, said thats part of the reason this category is his favorite of the three.

Live-action is probably the most intriguing of all because the stories can go in any direction  modern issues, science fiction, historical things. It really runs the gamut, he said. With documentaries youre limited to real life, and animation has its own limitations.

Ive found every year that the live-action shorts have always been the most surprising. Some are very emotional; others have surprise endings.

More Information The Warehouse at Fairfield Theater Co., 70 Sanford St. Monday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. $12, $15 at the door. 203-259-1036, fairfieldtheatre.org See More Collapse

Mondays event takes place in the Warehouse at FTC, which is a change from previous years, when the films were at FTCs StageOne. While the screenings regularly sell out, with 640 seats in this newly opened venue there should be plenty of room for everyone.

The first contender mentioned above, about Palestinian nuns and an Israeli family, is Ava Maria, by Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont. The second one, about the divorced dad and his daughter, is Everything Will Be OK (Alles Wird Gut), by Patrick Vollrath. Others include Henry Hughes Day One, about a new translators first day accompanying a U.S. Army unit as it searches for a local terrorist, and Shok, by Jamie Donoughue. Based on true events, Shok tells a tale of two boys whose friendship is tested as they battle for survival during the Kosovo war.

Stutterer, from Benjamin Cleary and Serena Ermitage, is the fifth finalist. Its the story of a lonely typographer with an eloquent inner voice, who  despite a cruel speech impediment  must face his greatest fear. Stutterer is described as  a roller-coaster ride of joy, doubt and romance in the digital age.

This years live-action shorts come from filmmakers in Palestine, France, Ireland, Kosovo and the United States. The entries range in length from 30 minutes (Everything will be OK) to 12 minutes (Stutterer), making the whole program 107 minutes.

Comedian Chris Rock will serve as host when all of the Oscar winners are announced during a televised ceremony on ABC, set for Sunday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. Local film enthusiasts are welcome to make their predictions on the shorts categories by filling out a ballot at the FTCs screening, another tradition at the venue.

Rog said people always enjoy seeing the shorts and being like an Oscar insider. He said they usually get hundreds of entries and conduct a drawing from the winning ballots for an FTC Showbucks gift card.

Though its definitely a challenge to predict the top shorts with 100 percent accuracy, Rog said certain picks are obvious. There are certain films that you watch and go, Holy crap! Thats a winner! 

lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter: @LindaTKoonz
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Federal authorities are investigating possible privacy and disability act violations in the way Connecticuts towns and cities require handicapped Americans to vote in referendum elections.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ndidi N. Moses sent a letter dated Feb. 1, to most, if not all, of the first selectmen, mayors and town managers of the states 169 municipalities informing them of the probe.

It advises them a complaint was filed contending violations of federal civil rights laws and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Specifically, the allegation charges that voting by paper ballots, which are then segregated and hand-counted, violates privacy and secrecy requirements that are afforded non-disabled voters.

U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said her office is acting on a complaint that certain cities and towns in Connecticut may not be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act during referendum voting.

As a result, she said her office sent letters to all Connecticut municipalities.

Based on the results of the survey, we will determine if further action is necessary, Daly said. That action can range from guidance and training to the opening of individual investigations.

Fred DeCaro III, Greenwichs Republican registrar of voters and chairman of the Fairfield County Registrars of Voters Association for Connecticut, said he received the letter Tuesday.

Based on conversations with fellow registrars, he believes every municipal leader was mailed a copy.

It is a very blanket request, DeCaro said. I have no idea why it was sent to Greenwich.

Thats because DeCaro said Greenwich has not had a referendum vote that was separate from a general election in years.

I suspect some of the smaller towns, particularly those that vote on budgets, have separate referendums, DeCaro said.

However, DeCaro believes the states registrars followed instructions provided in the Office of the Secretary of State: Information Bulletin Issue 65 dated March, 2012.

The passage may clear municipalities of any wrongdoing, he said.

The following question and answer was published in the bulletin: Is a municipality required to use the IVS (Interactive Voter Service) vote-by-phone system for stand alone local referenda that will not be conducted in conjunction with a May or November election in 2011?

The response from Secretary of State Denise Merrills office was: No. The Connecticut Attorney General has stated that the IVS vote-by-phone system need only be used during a primary, election or special election held in a municipality. This includes a primary, election or special election held in a state or municipal year.

A voice message was left with Merrills office Tuesday seeking comment.

The IVS system often involves a phone hooked up to a fax machine at the polling place. It is used to amplify sounds for hearing-impaired voters as well as help visually-impaired voters cast their ballot.

A poll worker calls the system using their identification numbers then hands the phone to the voter. The voter listens to a line by line reading of the ballot in which numbers are applied to each candidate.

The voter then uses the telephone keypad to record a selection. Once completed a ballot is faxed back. Some of these can only be read by hand.

There is an expense with these machines which require an active telephone line, DeCaro said. If a municipality has multiple referenda and elections, its best they keep the line active all year to avoid the suspension costs.

DeCaro said Greenwich has 30,000 active voters but he cant recall a single person using the system.

We have 12 districts and the ballots might contain as many as 50 names, he said. It takes us a full day to sit and listen to the names read off.

And he said it takes a long time for a voter to listen and select candidates.
Franchise Players is Entrepreneurs Q&A interview column that puts the spotlight on franchisees. If youre a franchisee with advice and tips to share, email franchiseplayers@entrepreneur.com.

In the age of smartphones snapshots and real-time photo sharing via social media, it would seem that professional family portraiture is a nonstarter. But the success of Little Nest Portraits tells a very different story.

Little Nest Portraits is a luxury, boutique family photography studio with multiple locations throughout the U.S. Founded by photographer Laura Novak in 2009, the studio offers stellar imagery in a relaxed atmosphere, where families can slow down and enjoy the experience. The company, looking to expand and capitalize on the $10 billion per-year photography industry, franchised its brand in 2014 to offer access to owning a photography studio to more entrepreneurial-minded individuals.

Related: How Fatherhood Changed This Man's Career Course

Photographer Brittany DeMaio is one of these individuals. After six years balancing a nine-to-five job in project management with her freelance photography business, she took the leap into full-time franchising with Little Nest last year. She says she's finally found her happy place at her comfortable New Jersey studio with a team of photographers, enjoying the tears of joy she often sees over a beautiful family portrait.

Image credit: Little Nest Portraits

Name: Brittany DeMaio

Franchise owned: Little Nest Portraits in Montclair, N.J.

Q: How long have you owned a franchise?

My studio opened on Oct. 18, 2015. I signed with Little Nest on Feb. 8, 2015.

Q: Why franchising?

Ive always believed that I would have the drive and ambition to turn photography into my full-time business, but I struggled with how to make it happen. What would my pricing look like? When I was an independent photographer, no client was ever the same, and I was always afraid I was charging too much. It was scary to think about quitting my full time job and starting a business where everything would be on me.

I looked at all the challenges I faced as a sole proprietor and saw how being part of a franchise would help me get so much further than I ever thought possible. Id be able to start my studio with proven pricing structures and client processes in place. Id have a built-in support system. Franchising was the answer to my fear of the unknown.

Q: What were you doing before you became a franchise owner?

For six years, I balanced a nine-to-five job in project management with my freelance photography business. I felt constantly pulled between my livelihood and my passion. By becoming a Little Nest franchisee, Im pursuing my love for the arts and putting my management experience to good use.

Q: Why did you choose this particular franchise?

As soon as I walked into Little Nests headquarters, I said, This is it! Id followed Little Nests progress for a while, but it was the the feeling of the studio that sold me -- a homey vibe, warm people and a real sense of community. At Little Nest, one person is no more important than another. You come into work and its fun. Youre making moms feel comforted, their lives easier and creating lifelong family treasures. I knew this was what I wanted for my team and myself.

Now Im operating the type of luxury boutique studio I've always dreamed of. There are tears of joy over a beautiful babys portrait, children playing in the Kids Corner, and my team and I are doing it together. We're making the most of every day and enjoying the job. Thats the Little Nest culture. Its such a happy place.

Related: Retired Executive Finds Second Career Giving Back to His Community With Kona Ice

Q: How much would you estimate you spent before you were officially open for business?

Ive learned that buying a Little Nest franchise ranges from $115,000 to $230,000, which includes the franchise fee and three months of expenses. Little Nest has lots of suggestions for ways you can finance your new business, which was super helpful to me.

Q: Where did you get most of your advice / do most of your research?

I did a significant amount of research before signing with Little Nest on my own and with a financial advisor. Leaving my corporate job was a big risk, so I wanted to be confident that this was the right decision. I created a business plan with demographics, scenarios and projections which further defined what was possible.

Q: What were the most unexpected challenges of opening your franchise?

Construction took so much longer than I expected. Delays had us about four weeks behind schedule for our grand opening.

Knowing that fall was going to be our busiest time, we were under the gun to open in October. I needed my photographers to start training before the studio was finished. I couldnt just wait. I had to be proactive, so I ended up renting studio space. It was stressful, because it was added cost and inconvenience.

Luckily, the Little Nest franchise team helped me train my staff in the rented space and pull everything together. My grand opening was a huge success! I look back now at how calm and happy I was that day -- which would not have been the case if I had been on my own.

I learned that you have to expect the unexpected, roll up your sleeves and believe in the power of a team. No day is ever the same as an entrepreneur, but I wouldnt have it any other way!

Q: What advice do you have for individuals who want to own their own franchise?

Do your research and due diligence. Be sure that this is really what you want to do. Owning your own business takes blood, sweat and tears but in the end, its so worth it. Im doing what I love and creating jobs for people that they love as well.

Q: Whats next for you and your business?

We finished our first holiday season, and I could not be more proud of my team. Our goals for this year are to build our client base, get a good groove going in the studio and become more involved in the community. I am starting to meet other business owners in Montclair and learning what a great town this is for small business.
Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2016 shows the ministerial meeting regarding the action against Islamic State group in Rome, Italy, Feb. 2, 2016. Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting here on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.(Xinhua/Jin Yu)

ROME, Feb. 2 -- Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting here on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.

Yet, they did not announce any immediate similar action in Libya to prevent IS militants to make further progress on the ground.

The 23-country ministerial conference was co-chaired by Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Relevant progresses have been made against Daesh, but the organization we face is very resilient and able to plan strategically, and we should not underestimate it," Gentiloni said.

"The Daesh has lost 40 percent of the territory under its control in Iraq, and 20 percent in Syria in recent months ... thanks to the joint commitment and resolve of all of us," he added at a press conference after the meeting.

Steps forwards were also being made in terms of cutting IS's access to financial resources.

The 23 ministers said in a final statement that they will"intensify and accelerate the campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria", expressing their determination to counter and push back Daesh's global ambitions.

Yet, the ministers did not mention any direct military action in the North African country of Libya in the immediate future.

"We follow with concern the growing influence of IS/Daesh in Libya, and will continue to monitor closely developments there", the final statement said.

"We will stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people," it added.

"In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity, and that will prevent Daesh from turning it into a stranglehold on the country's future," Kerry said.

Libya has big resources, and the last thing the world needs would be "a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue", according to the U.S. secretary.

"This means we need to push full speed ahead with training security personnel and we need to ensure there is a decisive military edge not just to clear territory but to create a safe environment for a government to begin to stand up and operate," Kerry added.

Italy's Foreign Minister also acknowledged there were "renewed activities" by IS in Libya and in Sub-Saharan African countries, and he stressed that "the coalition should improve its coordination".

Italy has repeatedly said it would be ready to take part, and even a leading role, in a military mission against IS in Libya, but only if strictly authorized by the United Nations (UN) and under request of a stable Libyan government.

Gentiloni reiterated the stance on Tuesday, saying "it is very comforting for us to see there was a great convergence here (among coalition's members) on the need to consolidate the negotiating process in Libya," Gentiloni said.

"Italy is ready to answer to a request from a new government in Libya on several issues, including security".

"Yet, the key point is that we need a political process going on, and a unity government with the full endorsement of the Libyan parties in the next two weeks. This is possible, and is what we are all working for," Gentiloni stressed.

Since early 2015, the increasing presence of IS in Libya has been a factor of major concern for the international community, and for Italy, whose most southern coasts lie only few hundreds kilometers from the North African country.

Libya has been engulfed in fighting between rival factions since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 after a NATO-backed military intervention, and two administrations have contended for the power since 2014.

A UN-brokered deal to form a national unity government was reached in December, but failed so far to gain approval from the two rival parliaments.
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Wednesday was like old times for Mario Testa.

Bridgeports Democratic Party chairman was back in Hartford for the opening day of the legislative session beside his favorite mayor.

Joe and I, we always went up, Testa said, referring to returned Mayor Joe Ganims first administration, which lasted from 1991 to 2003.

The wily Testa helped orchestrate Ganims comeback last year, which included ousting two-term Mayor Bill Finch in Septembers Democratic primary. Testa said he rarely attended the General Assemblys annual kickoff with Finch.

So it should not come as a surprise that when Ganim stepped foot in the state Capitol building after so many years, Testa  who some consider Bridgeports shadow mayor  would be beside him.

Testa recently had a role in trying to undo a controversial union contract and mediating a dispute between Ganim and City Council President Thomas McCarthy, a Finch ally.

There are still a lot of people that are still up there that Ive known for the past 30 years, Testa said of the Capitol. Not just for Joe, but for me, too, it was like a welcome. Really it brought some memories back.

Testa said it is important not just for big city mayors, but for their party chairmen to be seen in Hartford.

So what did Testa make of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloys budget speech?

Testa is skeptical the General Assembly will support the governors proposal to eliminate thousands of jobs from the state payroll as he tackles a deficit.

I dont think thats gonna happen, Testa said.

Testa hoped Malloy will keep a promise to not raise taxes again.

If you want to attract some business  and that was his goal  definitely thats how you do it, said Testa, who owns two Italian restaurants. If youre going to keep on raising taxes, youre going to chase most businesspeople out of the state.
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers baton charge on employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) during a protest near Jinnah International Airport in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Feb. 2, 2016. At least one person was killed and five people were injured as police fired tear gas shells, used batons and water cannons to disperse a few hundred employees of the Pakistan International Airlines in the port city of Karachi on Tuesday, health officials said. (Xinhua/Arshad)
T esco was discovered to have fiddled its accounts by manipulating payments to and from its suppliers.

Hundreds of millions of pounds were involved and the sheer scale of what was going on led to the inevitable inquiry, the results of which were published last week.

The Groceries Code Adjudicators report told a story of suppliers being billed for promotional expenditures, agreed prices being changed and multiple invoices being issued for the same goods  the purpose of which was to accelerate payments into the group or generate additional revenues that together allowed Tesco to claim it was hitting its profit and growth targets.

To the layman, it painted a seedy picture  but not apparently to those who have spent a lifetime dealing with the UKs supermarket groups.

Indeed, someone now retired who was formerly in charge of Europe for one of the big American consumer goods manufacturers said that outside investigators never get close to what really goes on in business and pick up on only a fraction of what companies really get up to in seeking to secure a good position on the supermarket shelves.

His firm was a supplier to Tesco, and therefore on the other side, and this raises an issue that seems to have been neglected in all the coverage since the reports publication: it takes two to tango.

If Tescos accounts were wrong because they were manipulating supplier payments, it implies that the accounts of the business on the other side of the deal  the supplier  must have been wrong too.

The lack of interest thus far in this aspect of the affair has been because Tesco has tens of thousands of products on its shelves, and it has been assumed therefore that the effect on any one single supplier would not be material.

But this ignores the reality that very many of those products come from just a handful of suppliers. Any visit to a supermarket confirms that a few big groups account for the bulk of what is on the shelves, even if there is also a long tail of small suppliers.

Reading between the lines, that also comes through in the report. It talks of sums running into the millions being up in the air for months. A small supplier could not cope with the damage that would do to their cash flow; in a manipulation of this size the counterparty has to be one  or all  of the big boys.

Tesco 'accepts' report

That leads us to ask whether it is only Tesco which needs to adjust its accounts or whether there have been material inaccuracies in the figures produced by some of its suppliers.

Here the report strikes something of a hollow note. It says that it has taken the issue of confidentiality seriously and adds with pride that no supplier has been named, nor should it be possible to identify any supplier from information in the report.

This might be fine from the perspective of Tesco, and no doubt it is a matter of delight to the suppliers that they are not publicly in the frame.

But does such secrecy meet the wider interest of public policy? Does it satisfy the needs of investors, and does it add to or subtract from confidence in the integrity of accounting and the public markets?

There are serious questions about what went on here, who was involved and over what time period. This requires more disclosure, not less.

"Did it matter if sometimes the auditor of Tesco and the auditor of the supplier were the same firm?"

Given that the Tesco mis-statement amounted to several hundred million pounds, it is reasonable to think the impact among the big suppliers could run into the tens of millions of pounds each, a sum which may in some cases be quite material.

That leads us to ask further what was the attitude of the auditors while this was happening. Were they ignorant of what was going on, in which case were they doing their job properly, or were they complicit in what was going on, in which case again were they doing their job properly?

And did it matter if sometimes the auditor of Tesco and the auditor of the supplier were the same firm, PwC, in those days?

Could the auditor to the supplier voice doubts about the treatment of the invoices without in effect challenging the work of the auditor of Tesco  which in some cases would have been the same firm?

Given the sums involved and the public interest, this does seem a legitimate area of inquiry for the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the body that acts as custodian for the integrity of published accounts and also acts as a disciplinary body for the audit profession.

Unfortunately, although the FRC has many virtues, speed off the mark is not always one of them. It has, for example, recently attracted criticism because only now, almost 10 years after the event, has it begun to probe aspects of the work of auditor KPMG in the near-collapse of HBOS.

The message from that is we should not expect anything too soon, and this leaves us with two choices.

One is to put a marker in our diaries for 2025, to remind us to ask the FRC then to leap into action. The other is to ask the audit committees of the suppliers to all the UK supermarkets to publish a public statement in the next set of accounts, stating that their company is and has been clean in this invoicing scandal.

Come to think of it, the audit committees should not wait to be asked; they should see it as a necessary part of their duties.
B ritish Airways has vowed that it will not become a sitting duck at London City airport if a new owner ramps up landing charges.

The airline, which has been increasing flights from the Docklands airport and is its largest carrier, says it will move its planes to other London airports if it is has to.

London City airport was put up for sale by its American owners Global Infrastructure Partners last August with a reported 2 billion price tag.

However, International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, believes that a sale at that level would lead to a hike in charges, as the new owner seeks to recover its outlay.

A spokeswoman for IAG said: Air fares have fallen in recent years, but airport charges just seem to keep going up.

There is no room at London City for more shops, so at the price that has been mooted, the only way a buyer could get a return is to increase charges.

IAG has also made clear to Heathrows owners that it is not prepared to pay for a sharp increase in charges, to pay for a third runway.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, has said the group could refocus its operations in Spain or Ireland if Heathrow becomes too expensive.
T he sell-off of banking stocks accelerated on Wednesday as all the big, High Street lenders languished at the bottom of the blue-chip ladder.

More than 42 billion has been wiped off the value of the FTSE 100 banks this year amid a sector-wide exodus.

Most of them have fallen more than 20% since the New Year, with investors concerned that we are on the verge of another global financial crisis.

Traders suggested the new lows may have triggered so-called stop-losses, limiting a loss on a falling stock and which activate automatic selling.

Barclays was worst off today, 5.35p cheaper at 168.4p, with taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland nipping at its heels, down 5.8p at 234.7p, and Asia-focused banks HSBC and Standard Chartered 10.45p lower at 457.15p and 8.75p cheaper at 457.15p respectively.

Bucking the trend was Clydesdale Bank, now known as CYBG, which after a days delay managed to float its shares. Having been priced at 180p, the lower end of guidance, the stock began up 3.75p at 183.75p.

The banking slide weighed on the FTSE 100, which dropped 26.55 to 5895.46 after a slump on Wall Street and also in Japan, with jitters about Chinas growth lingering in traders minds.

Investors hung up on Vodafone, which fell 3.85p to 217.7p, expressing disappointment that the talks with John Malones Liberty Global were not about a bigger European asset-swap deal.

Ocado, off 9p at 236.2p, was the worst performer on the mid-cap index as a wave of broker downgrades hit the grocery-delivery firm on concerns about lack of clarity over its delayed first overseas deal. Jefferies slashed its target price to 265p, suggesting that without an international presence the shares would be worth less than 200p.

Ocado is yet to announce an international partner (Picture: Ocado) / Ocado

Investors were relieved when profit warning-prone HSS Hire, one of the worst floats of 2015, left full-year guidance unchanged. The tool-hire firms shares were flat at 79p, some way below the 210p IPO price a year ago.

A profit warning knocked Shanks down 3.75p to 83.25p as the waste-management system revealed challenging conditions would lead to worse-than-expected annual results.

Local-paper group Johnston Press enjoyed its best day for three years, up by 4.97p, or 14%, to 41.47p as the company confirmed plans to cut its pension deficit by 50 million.

Meanwhile, spoken-word content site Audioboom lost early gains to trade just 0.07p higher at 3.57p after being chosen as a partner for Google Play in the US.
T he Prime Minister addresses the Commons today on the deal he has secured from his negotiations with Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. But even before that, the response to his take-home package of concessions modifying Britains relationship with the EU has been mixed. Even supporters of the EU regard the deal on delaying in-work benefits for EU workers as short of groundbreaking; as for the opt-out from ever-closer union, the feeling is that it depends on how it works in practice. The concession that 55 per cent of national parliaments would be able to block EU laws is very far from any one states freedom to opt out from those laws.

Of course, the problem is that the Prime Minister was never going to be able to address the most fundamental concerns of sceptics about EU membership; sensibly, he didnt even try. Their real concern is that freedom of movement allows unlimited numbers to come to Britain, which puts enormous strain on public services and housing. Yet freedom of movement was never going to be up for renegotiation. The notion that the Prime Minister could have bid for a mere trading agreement with the EU is simply a fantasy. It is a good thing that Mr Cameron has secured a deal which seems to require people to pay into the system before they take benefits from it but this is not really going to affect the flow of people to Britain from the rest of the EU, which is driven by economic osmosis. People come to a high-employment, high-wage state from countries which have high unemployment, simple as that.

Politically rather than practically, however, Mr Cameron has achieved something. It is still not clear whether the Home Secretary, Theresa May, will campaign for Britain to stay in the EU but her tentative support for the deal is significant. The problem for the Eurosceptics, pending a decision by Boris Johnson on where he stands, remains that their side lacks any leader of substance.

Much needs to be decided, on the EU and British sides. But for now, this looks like a very qualified success.

The mayoral hustings

The mayoral election campaign is well and truly under way and it will be given a heightened charge by the hustings hosted by this paper tonight. All the candidates for the mayoralty will be present so there will be enormous diversity of views and, we hope, an opportunity for them to be aired. Democracy flourishes with combative but civilised debate. Indeed, what the US primaries have shown is that in these public contests, sometimes the outsiders outflank the establishment candidates, which enlivens the contest.

This is an opportunity for the candidates to make their case, to allow opponents to scrutinise their policies and to engage with a live and lively audience. There are many issues of substance at stake and this is the chance for them to be addressed properly. We shall be holding further events as the election progresses but this first one, for all the candidates, promises to be genuinely dynamic.

Syria: the costs of war

The conference on aid for Syria which the British Government, together with partner governments and the UN, hosts tomorrow, may not bring the war there to an end  that is being attempted in Geneva talks  but it does tackle the most distressing human costs of that war. As the International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, writes here, if we can provide schooling and jobs as well as aid for refugees close to Syria this will diminish the numbers that attempt the perilous crossing to Europe. This aim deserves our full support.
W orld leaders will arrive in London tomorrow for a major summit on the Syria crisis. That countrys people have suffered unimaginable horrors at the hands of the Assad regime and now Islamic State. Barrel bombs, brutal attacks on schools and hospitals, starvation tactics and the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid have left 250,000 people dead and the whole country staring into the abyss.

There are now 13.5 million people in need of help within Syria and 4.6 million refugees  numbers so enormous it can be easy to overlook the fact these are people who once led very normal lives, a lot like ours.

In the next 24 hours the world has a historic opportunity to come together and pledge to stand by these people. This is a pivotal moment to offer the Syrian people and their children hope for a better future. Every person in the UK can be proud that we have led the way when it comes to responding to this crisis. Our 1.1 billion support is more than any other country except the US.

Together with our co-hosts Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the UN, we are now calling for other nations to match our leadership, so we can continue to provide food, water, shelter and medical care. But its not just about immediate, life-saving support. I have often visited Syrian refugee camps and met the people whose lives are now stuck in a limbo they are neither at home nor can they get on with life where they are. They overwhelmingly say they want to go back and rebuild the country they love. But as this crisis has gone on, their hope is steadily running out.

Over this past year I have made the case in this newspaper that to deal with the refugee crisis were seeing in Europe we need to more constructively tackle its root causes. For refugees, putting their lives in the hands of people smugglers is always a last resort. The key is making their first choice viable, which is staying close to home. That means making sure their children are in school and they have the chance to support themselves.

I believe this issue of education is vital. Thats why in 2013, along with Unicef,

I launched the No Lost Generation initiative. Through UK funding alone it has helped more than a quarter of a million Syrian children get back to school. If other countries pledge resources and join our efforts tomorrow, we can get all Syrian refugee children into education by the end of the 2016/2017 school year.

Jobs for Syrian refugees matter too because it means they can support themselves and their families. We are working closely with Lebanon and Jordan, which have taken in the vast majority of refugees. Tomorrow we are calling for new global investment and trading deals that will boost the economies of those refugee-hosting countries  creating jobs for refugees and unemployed local people alike. By giving support in the region we have enabled Syrian refugees to stay close to their homes. Our hope tomorrow is to mobilise the rest of the international community to join us in this approach.

The plight of the Syrian people has, I know, moved Londoners and Evening Standard readers. Tomorrow we can be proud that our capital will play host to what could be a turning point for the Syrian people. I want the world to offer a new vision of hope to its people.

This is a historic moment that the world must grasp.

Justine Greening is Secretary of State for International Development
I t is perhaps no surprise that the question of Britains role in the European Union inspires quotation from Shakespeare. Yesterday Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, tweeted: To be, or not to be together, that is the question. In response, Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP and long-time advocate of Brexit, alluded on The Guardian website to Macbeth: So much sound and fury, so little outcome.

Indeed, it was ever thus. When the then West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt addressed the Labour Party conference in 1974, urging it to support continued membership of the Common Market in the forthcoming referendum, he deployed the words of Brutus in Julius Caesar: There is a tide in the affairs of men,/ Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;/ On such a full tide are we now afloat,/ And we must take the current when it serves,/ Or lose our ventures.

Is such a tide once more at work to keep Britain in Europe, as it was in 1975? Or is the tide dragging the nation in another direction? Quite rightly, Tusks proposals, published yesterday, are now the subject of detailed scrutiny. There are legitimate technical questions for David Cameron to answer, especially on the payment of benefits to migrant workers.

How feasible, for instance, will it be for the Department for Work and Pensions to pay child benefit at the rate paid in the claimants home country, as the deal requires? Does the proposed red card system for countries to block EU measures go far enough? Is the assurance that Britain will be exempted from ever closer union sufficiently robust?

Inevitably, the detail will disappoint those who were expecting a transformative outcome. But that is not how real-world diplomacy works. A deal is not the same as outright surrender. There is give and take, push and pull, qualification and concession. The small print of the Tusk letter is important. But so too are the broad strokes. It was widely assumed, for instance, that Cameron would not secure a four-year emergency brake on benefits, or broad consent for the idea that migrants must contribute before they can claim welfare (an end to the something for nothing society, in the PMs words). But he has, on both counts.

Hedged about by exceptions they may be but these are significant diplomatic achievements. Yes, Tusks letter does not give Cameron everything he asked for. But did we seriously expect it to do so? Much more interesting is the conspicuous extent to which the Council President seeks to address the UKs concerns and to meet Cameron at least halfway. This is not just another lofty dismissal of le probleme Britannique.

All of which represents progress. The renegotiation of 1974-75 was no such thing, amounting to little more than a new deal for New Zealand exports and some changes to the EEC budget. As Oliver Lewis shows in his useful account of that diplomatic process, there was scant pressure on the British negotiators to do more than keep the UK in the Common Market. As Sir Michael Butler, then Assistant Under-Secretary for European Community Affairs, told Lewis: What we were doing was making an appearance of renegotiation rather than a reality.

Not so this time around. Tom Scholar, the PMs adviser on Europe, and Ivan Rogers, Permanent Representative to the EU, have, in the words of one close to the negotiations, pedalled like crazy to get this right. Whatever one thinks of the outcome, the diplomatic effort was real rather than symbolic; a serious attempt to bring home the bacon. Camerons opponents will falter if they claim otherwise, or sneer too readily at what has been a significant and substantial diplomatic initiative.

'Much as the PMs opponents may carp and grumble, they cannot deny that he has the initiative  which is half the battle'

Two weeks ago, I wrote that Theresa May should not be flattered into joining (and possibly leading) the Out campaign. Yesterday she stepped away from the cliffs edge and welcomed the Tusk proposals as the basis for a deal. Now all eyes will turn to Boris Johnson, as he ponders his options. While polite about the PMs progress, he insists that there is much, much more that needs to be done. Of course the Mayor knows full well that the Tusk letter will not be significantly enhanced to Britains benefit. If anything, the PM will encounter pressure to dilute his demands at the EU summit on February 18. In practice, Boris can sign up to the deal, or reject it and join the Out campaign. The moment of decision is upon him.

Cameron now faces the most challenging months of his political career. In 1975, the press was much more supportive of the Common Market and the political class not yet so tarnished by suspicion and distrust. There is much that could yet go wrong before June 23, the Governments preferred date for the referendum. The renegotiation might unravel, or be unstitched by our EU partners. Worst of all, the electorate, rarely exercised by the European Question, might be persuaded that this was a safe opportunity to kick Cameron and his colleagues. To the alarm of true Euroenthusiasts, the PM is betting the farm on a dangerously capricious process.

That said, he is on the front foot, and visibly so. This referendum, like all others, will be settled by emotion and broad impression rather than statistics and calculation. Much as the PMs opponents may carp and grumble, they cannot deny that he has the initiative  which is half the battle.

The whole undertaking is undoubtedly a huge gamble. But it also has the scope to promote Cameron from the ranks of good prime ministers to the pantheon of the great. It is his final battle, and his most audacious.

When the petty struggles of his career are forgotten, to quote King Henry, hell remember, with advantages,/ What feats he did that day.

He is by no means certain to win. But it is his to lose.


T he story of three schoolgirls from east London who fled to Syria to join Islamic State will feature in a new play at the National Theatre.

The theatres director, Rufus Norris, admitted Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State might get some flak  but said it was right to take part in a national debate.

It will explore why some British youths have been drawn to the terror group. Playwright Gillian Slovo and director Nicolas Kent interviewed 40 people, including parents whose sons and daughters have become IS fighters and brides, the lawyer representing the girls families and civil servants.

We may get flak, but it is something we as a culture are not informed enough about

The pair previously collaborated on a similar piece about the 2011 London riots which used witness testimony. Norris said: It is of massive interest to the whole world and is something that we as a culture are not informed enough about. We may get flak but I think people will be fascinated.

Kent, former artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre, added: The play explores why people have been radicalised and the pull of IS, its propaganda and attraction. Bethnal Green Academy pupils Shamima Begum, 15, Amira Abase, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, sparked an international search last February when they fled to Turkey, from where they crossed the border to IS-controlled territory in Syria.

Two of them are now reportedly married to IS fighters in the country.

A previous attempt to dramatise the story  a National Youth Theatre play, Homegrown  was cancelled last year amid concerns it promoted an extremist agenda. Set to be shown in a north London school, it was dropped after artistic director Paul Roseby said it would damage the NYTs reputation.

Another World, set to open on April 15, is part of a new season of work announced today. It includes revivals of Amadeus and Angels In America, as well as productions of Twelfth Night starring Tamsin Greig and Antony and Cleopatra with Ralph Fiennes. Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield will play the lead in Angels In America, a decade after he last appeared at the theatre.

Rory Kinnear will star in The Threepenny Opera, there is a new play by Chimerica writer Lucy Kirkwood, called Mosquitoes, and The Red Barn by David Hare will be based on a story by Georges Simenon, the author of the Maigret detective novels.

@RobDexES

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
A rmed raiders broke into a family home escaping with almost 10,000 worth of cash and jewellery.

The homeowner awoke to the sound of glass breaking downstairs in his house in Pondfield Road, Kenley, at about 5.30am on Tuesday, January 26.

The 54-year-old man was then threatened at knifepoint by two men who demanded money and jewellery.

The victim handed over cash and gold, but the burglars demanded more and searched the upstairs of the house.

The man's wife and two children were also in the house at the time, but fortunately did not come into contact with the suspects.

The raiders then went outside, ordering the victim to hand over his car keys, but he managed to close the door and call police.

Officers arrived on the scene and searched the area, but the suspects had made off with about 1,300 in cash and 8,000 of Asian gold jewellery, including necklaces and earrings.

No one was injured during the incident.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to help trace the men, who are described as being around 20 years old, 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins tall, with Asian accents.

They wore dark clothing and had their faces covered with balaclavas and goggles.

Detective Constable Paul Holmes, from Croydon CID, said: "This was clearly a very frightening incident for the homeowner who awoke to find himself confronted by knife-wielding burglars.

"We are appealing for anyone who saw them in the area, either before or after the incident, or anyone who may have been offered this jewellery for sale since to contact us."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Croydon CID on 0203 276 2183 or if you wish to remain anonymous Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
WASHINGTON -- The White House on Tuesday condemned the new satellite launch plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), urging a swift response of the international community to what it called "another irresponsible provocation."

"I feel confident in telling you that the international community would regard a step like that by the North Koreans(DPRK) as just another irresponsible provocation and a clear violation of their international obligations," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a daily news briefing.

The DPRK has informed three United Nations entities of its intentions to launch an earth-observation satellite between Feb. 8 to 25, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

But the DPRK side has not yet confirmed the plan.

Earnest said the United States has worked closely with China, South Korea, Russia and Japan to convey to Pyongyang the need to "end their provocative actions."

Also on Tuesday, the US State Department urged the international community and the UN to respond quickly and impose new sanctions against Pyongyang.

"The UN Security Council has a role to play by holding it (the DPRK) accountable by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions and by ensuring vigorous enforcement of the resolutions already adopted," State Department spokesman John Kirby said on a daily news briefing.

"This latest announcement further underscores for the international community to send the North Koreans(DPRK) the swift firm message that their disregard for the UN Security Council obligations will not be tolerated," Kirby said.

The Obama administration has been mulling additional sanctions against the DPRK in response to its recent nuclear test.

The DPRK said it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb last month. However, this was met with scepticism by US and South Korean officials and nuclear experts.
A family from hell have been ordered to leave their west London home after distressed neighbours said their lives had become a nightmare.

Hounslow Council said the Miller family caused upset soon after they moved into Berkeley House in Albany Road, Brentford, by drug dealing and drug use.

The once quiet area became an area where residents feared to walk alone at night as groups of youths used communal areas to litter and smoke drugs.

The authority said hallways were strewn with drug paraphernalia, floors were soaked with urine and that someone had defecated in a lift.

Residents approached the councils housing enforcement officers after months of living in fear and more than a dozen gave statements to police to outline their grief.

Last month, the Millers home was closed during a hearing at Ealing Magistrates Court.

The family were given 24 hours to leave the address and have been ordered not to return for three months.

The council said it will use the time to launch eviction proceedings against the family to ensure they never come back to Berkeley House.

Councillor Richard Foote, Hounslow's cabinet member for community protection, said: "What residents in this block had to put up with is the stuff of nightmares.

No one should feel afraid or intimidated in their own home but the behaviour of the Miller family made them feel trapped and in genuine fear for their safety and the safety of their children.

"Statements from residents described floors drenched with urine, used syringes in grassed areas where children played and people sleeping rough in sheds.

One woman had to call her partner to escort her from the block's car park to her home after she felt intimidated by hoodies hanging around.

"In cases like these, there's often no quick fix to resolve the issue. It takes time to build up the evidence we need to take matters to court.

The result we eventually got would not have been possible without the statements from brave residents who had enough of the Millers' boozy drug-fuelled lifestyle.

They can sleep easy knowing that we will do everything we can to ensure they never return to Berkeley House."

In addition to the closure order, Joshua Miller, 20, was convicted of criminal damage by Feltham Magistrates Court.

He was fined and given a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from Berkeley House and surrounding areas for two years.
A second teenager has been arrested following the murder of a man in east London.

A 27-year-old man was found stabbed in Plaistow Park, Plaistow, on Friday afternoon and died in hospital three days later.

Detectives today held a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He has been bailed until a date in April.

Another 16-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the murder and has been bailed until mid-April.

A post-mortem was held at East Ham mortuary yesterday which ruled the man's death was caused by a stab wound to the abdomen.

Police said the victim has been formally identified and his next of kin have been informed but have not released his name at the familys request.

An inquest is set to take place in due course.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams, of the homicide and major crime command, said: I am appealing for anyone who was in the area of Plaistow Park on the afternoon of January 29 and saw a fight involving two black males.

During this fight the victim received injuries which have since proven to be fatal. The suspect then ran from the park into Hollybush Street. If you saw anything, please contact police."

Anyone with information should call police on 020 8345 3775 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
A senior member of Prince Charles and Camillas staff was caught by police at the wheel of her luxury Land Rover nearly four times the alcohol limit during the morning school run.

Gemma Catherine Kaza, 41, who is the Inventory Controller for the Household of The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, appeared in court earlier this week.

She pleaded guilty to being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle after she was stopped close to the front gates of a primary school in Wandsworth.

It is understood a parent at the school called police after becoming concerned about the driver of a 50,000 black 2.0 litre Land Rover Discovery.

Officers approached the car and found Kaza at the wheel of the stationary car and detected a strong smell of alcohol.

Kaza, who has worked for the Royal family for twelve years, admitted to being in charge of the vehicle while she had 135 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35.

Kaza, of Wandsworth, was disqualified from driving for nine months and ordered to pay 85 costs and a 60 victim surcharge when she appeared for sentencing at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on Monday.

She also received a 12 month community order and must complete 100 hours community service work.

As the vehicles engine was not running she avoided a more serious charge of driving with excess alcohol.

Kaza started work with Prince Charles after spending over five years at Buckingham Palace helping to look after The Royal Collection as an inventory assistant.

She has also signed thank you letters written to people on behalf of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Kaza was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in the New Year Honours list in December 2013 as a personal acknowledgement of her work with the Royal Household from the Queen.

She attended both the University of Wales and Leicester University, studying Art History, English, Museum Studies and Museology.

At the Institute of Art and Law she obtained a Diploma in Art Profession, Law and Ethics and Cultural Property.

Kaza left her 725,000 three bedroom top floor Wandsworth flat on a bicycle yesterday and refused to respond when asked if she wanted to say anything about the case.

A Met police spokeswoman said: We were called at 9.03am on Tuesday January 5 to reports of a road traffic accident. Both cars had stopped at the scene. No-one was injured. Officers attended the scene and a woman aged 41 was arrested for drink driving.

She added that the woman was later charged with being in charge of a motor vehicle having consumed excess alcohol.

A Clarence House spokesperson said: We would not comment on individual members of staff or on a personal matter.
A woman has been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving after a pensioner was killed in a collision in Colney Hatch Lane.

Police were called to the eastbound A406 at the Colney Hatch Lane junction after three cars collided at about 10.40am on Wednesday.

Police believe a black Ford Fiesta broke down in lane one, and another motorist in a red Hyundai Getz stopped to help the driver.

A third car, a black VW Passatt, then smashed into the Hyundai, which in turn collided with the Fiesta.

A man in his 80s died at the scene, while a woman was also injured.

The woman was taken by ambulance to a north London hospital, where her condition is described as serious but stable.

The driver of the VW Passatt was arrested for causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving.

She was in custody on Wednesday night at a north London police station.

Formal identification of the man's body has not yet taken place. A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Thursday.

Any witnesses are requested to call the north Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0208 991 9555.
T he head of Great Ormond Street Hospitals organ donation committee told today how the heartbreaking death of her own baby daughter saved the lives of two other children.

Rebecca Patels daughter Zara died of meningitis at the age of 14 months. Her heart and part of her liver were donated to save the lives of two critically ill children.

Throughout the Give to GOSH appeal the Evening Standard has been following the stories of patients who desperately need transplants and are on the organ donation waiting list. Today Mrs Patel, from Harrow, described what it is like for those on the other side  donor families whose children save the lives of those waiting for organs.

Mrs Patel, who became chair of GOSHs organ donation committee last year, said the thought that Zaras heart and liver saved two other children is a great comfort to her and her family.

The decision by Zara's mother, Rebecca, to donate her daughter's organs saved the lives of two sick children / Glenn Copus

She said: The fact that part of Zara is still going on in other children helped us so much. It has just brought massive comfort to the family.

The night when the decision was made I do remember clearly thinking, I dont want another mum to go through what I am going through. It was just awful.

The hospitals urgent priority is to create a specialist unit dedicated to treating children with heart failure  the kind of children who Zaras organs helped to save. Some of the money raised through the Give to GOSH appeal will help support the facility.

The Standard can reveal today that readers have already raised enough money to also pay specifically for a high-dependency unit within the new heart centre.

The four-bed, high-dependency unit will help the sickest children who need one-to-one nursing and monitoring.

GOSH's new heart unit Some of the funds raised by the Give to Gosh appeal will help build a 14-bed heart failure unit at the hospital. Work in this unit will help develop new devices that can be implanted in a childs heart to help them stay alive until they get a transplant. The unit will also help enable researchers to develop drugs that slow the process of transplanted hearts wearing out, as well as to create hormone treatments and devices which will ultimately prevent the need for a transplant. The unit will be housed in a state-of-the-art clinical building due to open next year. It will include: Ten single, en suite bedrooms, each with space for a parent to sleep by their childs bedside

A play and dining room where children can have fun, socialise and have meals away from their bedroom

A treatment room where drugs and therapies are administered, ensuring the childs bedside remains a safe place

A staff training and rest area

A four-bed, high-dependency unit for patients who require more intensive observation and treatment than those on the general ward. Nurses will monitor patients at all times. Emergency procedures could be carried out without the need for moving the patient. There is also space for a parent to stay with their child and a recliner chair is provided.

In other hospitals, they would be classified as intensive care patients. The high-dependency unit will therefore help reduce the number of children who need to be cared for in GOSHs intensive care units.

Zara died in 2002. Mrs Patel also has an older daughter Sophie, now 16, and a 12-year-old son, George, who was born the year after Zara died.

Speaking about how she has coped since the tragedy, Mrs Patel wiped away tears and said: I think its the comfort of the organ donation. I really do. I really believe that has helped massively.

[Without it] there would be a complete sense of loss. She would be completely gone. Its an odd situation. They are not her organs any more, but a bit of her is still going on.

Mrs Patel first knew Zara was ill when she came down with a soaring temperature one day in June 2002.

She telephoned her GP who told her to wait for 24 hours, but by the following day she could not rouse Zara.

Mrs Patel said: We bundled her into the car and got her to A&E at Northwick Park Hospital and ran in with her.

They said run, run, run and got her into the resuscitation room and she was surrounded by people.

They shouted, wheres the rash? and I thought, oh no, they think its meningitis dont they?

Mrs Patel later found out that Zara was suffering from pneumococcal meningitis, which does not cause a rash to develop. There is now a vaccine for this disease.

Zara was immediately transferred to GOSH. Later that day her condition deteriorated and Mrs Patel was ushered into a room with her husband Sunil. Mrs Patel said: I asked are you telling me my babys dead? They said, yes. Mrs Patel stayed with Zara all night. She was still on a ventilator which was keeping her heart beating.

She said: I dont remember how the subject of organ donation came up, whether it was me or the hospital. But I phoned my husband [who was at home with their daughter Sophie] and I said how do you feel about organ donation? He completely agreed straight away and came in [to sign the consent forms].

The hospital carried out further tests to confirm Zara had died, and took some of her spinal fluid to officially confirm the diagnosis, which also meant her organs could be donated.

Mrs Patel said: I asked if I could watch the tests because I had to see for myself. I made my husband watch them as well. I just felt he needed to see there was nothing there. When they disconnected the ventilator she made no effort to breathe  there was nothing there.

When it was confirmed that it was pneumococcal meningitis we had to say our goodbyes.

A day later an organ donation nurse from GOSH arrived at Mrs Patels house with Zaras handprint and footprints and a lock of her hair. She told Mrs Patel that Zaras heart had been given to a little girl who would have died that night without it, and a lobe of her liver went to a baby who had never previously been able to leave hospital.

Mrs Patel now gets regular updates about the two children who Zara saved. I just thought, oh my God her heart is still going, she said. Its a massive comfort.
A West End promoter who wrote off a hired 130,000 Lamborghini after less than a minute behind the wheel today said: I just couldnt handle it.

Diyaa Lababidi, 32, got in the drivers seat of the Gallardo VRM to pose for photos at the launch of Drunch restaurant, off Oxford Street, in the early hours.

The Lebanese national, who does not hold a UK driving licence, underestimated the cars power, slammed into steel bollards and sent them flying.

He then panicked and fled, leaving behind what Westminster magistrates court heard was a scene of mangled steel and shattered glass.

Today, Lababidi told the Standard: It was a silly thing to do and it happened in less than a minute. It was never my intention for this to happen. It was so powerful it surprised me."

He was trying to attract passers-by to the launch night on July 27 last year when he was given the chance to get behind the wheel by a man who hired the car for the event.

He said: When you see a beautiful woman in the street you want to ask for a photograph with her. If your friend has a Lamborghini and lets you sit in it, its the same and you will do it. It was a very beautiful car but I just couldnt handle it.

Malachy Pakenham, prosecuting, showed the court CCTV footage of the crash. He said: The driver appears to have no control of the vehicle and wasnt able to do anything about the speed.

Stephanie Wookey, defending, said: The unfortunate reality is that he was driving the vehicle for less than a minute. He had a stupid boyish desire to drive a fancy car and have a picture in it to promote his club.

Lababidi, of Paddington, was given a suspended jail sentence of eight weeks for failing to report the crash and was disqualified from driving for six months for driving without insurance. Magistrates also ordered him to pay 714.13 to Westminster council for damage to the bollards, 85 prosecution costs and an 80 victim surcharge.

Chair of the bench Carol Mcintosh said: You damaged property and you didnt own up to it.

Talal Alkassab, 38, from Holland Park, denied a charge of failing to provide information relating to the identification of the driver. He was released on bail to stand trial on April 1.
B oris Johnson rocked the boat on Europe again today by saying David Cameron was making the best of a bad job, as the Prime Minister all but confirmed he is planning a June 23 referendum.

The Mayors comments came as the Prime Minister claimed in the Commons that his draft deal on EU reform was a prize that offered British families security at every stage of their lives.

Mr Johnson did not make clear if he regarded the deal or the EU itself as a bad job when he made the remark to Sky News. He also repeated his doubts about a so-called red card scheme to block damaging EU rules.

Mr Cameron was heckled by some MPs as he came to the Commons for the first time since the draft was issued. Is that really it? asked Labour MP John Mann.

A June 23 referendum looked more likely as Mr Cameron, answering questions, promised it would not be staged within six weeks of the London and Scottish elections on May 5.

In a passionate statement that strained Cabinet unity, he told MPs that his terms offered the best future for jobs, security and strength for our country.

But MPs warned that Euro-sceptic ministers such as Iain Duncan Smith and Chris Grayling were finding it hard to stay silent under the gag of collective responsibility while the Prime Minister kept speaking out.

Up to five Cabinet ministers are set to join the campaign for a British exit, claimed ex-Tory chairman Liam Fox, an out supporter.

One of Mr Camerons top officials is said to have confessed privately that the draft deal was only likely to get worse once other EU leaders try to water it down at a summit in two weeks time.

Bulgaria said it will not compromise on European free movement, Czech foreign minister Tomas Prouza would be worried if Mr Cameron won a seven-year emergency migration brake, and a French official called the draft very un-European.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker gave ammunition to British Eurosceptics by saying the euro remains the currency of the EU, despite Mr Camerons call for the pound to get equal respect. Mr Juncker also said a brake on migrant benefits will be limited in time.

This afternoons statement was Mr Camerons clearest signal yet that if the deal goes through at the summit on February 18 and 19 he will champion the campaign to stay.

He put security  both for jobs and against terrorism  at the top of the list of benefits of a reformed EU. The question is not could Britain succeed outside the European Union. It is how we will be most successful? How will Britain be most prosperous? ... How we will be most secure? And to me the answers to those questions are found within a reformed European Union.

But criticism was growing in the wider Tory party. Ian Ward, chairman of Isle of Wight Conservatives, tweeted that Theresa May, who last night backed the PM, needs to resign along with the PM after this debacle.

As well as Mr Duncan Smith, and Commons leader Mr Grayling, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale and Employment Minister Priti Patel are thought to be possible outers.

Lib-Dem leader Tim Farron urged Boris Johnson to get off the fence and added: He has had more positions on Europe than the Kama Sutra.
R epublican presidential candidate Donald Trump has apparently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump's name was put forward by an unnamed U.S. politician, who praised "his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat weapon of deterrence against radical Islam, ISIS, nuclear Iran and Communist China."

The nomination has been described as the most unlikely since the Soviet Union's Josef Stalin in 1947.

Others put forward for the coveted prize include Pope Francis, Edward Snowden, and Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who escaped from sexual slavery by ISIS to become a spokeswoman for those abused by militants.

However, it was not all good news for Trump, who has called for a re-run of the Iowa caucuses, accusing rival Ted Cruz of stealing a victory.

Previous front-runner Trump, who finished second behind Cruz, lit up Twitter on Wednesday with a series of posts saying the outcome was tainted because the Cruz campaign had deliberately spread misinformation about Trump's stand on Obamacare and an erroneous report that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

Trump had gone into Monday's vote ahead of the Texas senator by five percentage points in a key poll but Cruz ended up winning, four points ahead of the New York billionaire.

Iowa caucus results 2016

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump tweeted. "That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," Trump wrote.

In another tweet, Trump said Cruz had lied about his opinion of President Barack Obama's healthcare programme.

"And finally, Cruz strongly told thousands of caucusgoers (voters) that Trump was strongly in favor of ObamaCare and 'choice' - a total lie!" he said.

Cruz apologised to Carson on Tuesday after an email from his campaign sent before the caucuses urged Carson supporters to back Cruz.

"The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week," the Cruz email read, according to CNN.

"Please inform any Carson caucusgoers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz."

"Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud," Trump said in one of his tweets.

Carson also criticised the email, accusing the Cruz campaign of "shameless tactics & dirty political plays."
T he public overwhelmingly backs striking doctors, an exclusive poll for the Standard reveals today.

The BMG Research study shows a majority supported junior doctors in their last walkout over pay and conditions, with most also backing a second strike now called.

Worryingly for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has personally been forcing reforms, the poll demonstrates broad disapproval over how ministers have handled the dispute.

Almost two thirds said Mr Hunt is wrong to impose new contracts on junior doctors and more believe his plan will worsen NHS services than improve them.

While most approve of Mr Hunts proposed seven-day NHS service, his stated motive for reform, many simply do not buy his claims that deaths soar at the weekend due to poorly staffed wards.

The BMG poll was carried out before the British Medical Association this week called for a new strike on February 10, but will fuel concern in Downing Street that Mr Hunt is losing his grip.

BMG research director Dr Michael Turner said: The public are clear, they want a seven-day NHS, but think the Government are implementing these changes poorly. Interestingly, it is those most familiar with NHS services who are most likely to say that they believe the figures on weekend deaths that the Government claims; specifically women (46 per cent) and those aged 65+ (47 per cent).

He also highlighted how the poll showed Tory and Lib-Dem supporters more likely to be strongly against further action, with Labour and UKIP supporters strongly in favour.

Mr Hunts battle with junior doctors over new contracts, that he claims are the key to unlocking a seven-day service, has become increasingly bitter.

He says the BMAs opposition is politically motivated, while doctors argue they already work seven days and it is Mr Hunt putting politics before patients.

Todays BMG poll of 1,511 people shows 57 per cent think doctors were right to strike on January 12, a walkout which left about one in 10 non-emergency operations cancelled.

Only 32 per cent thought doctors wrong to strike.

A 48-hour walkout planned for last week was cancelled as hopes of a deal grew, but talks failed leading the BMA to confirm the February 10 action.

The association did back down from plans to include emergency care in the strike amid fears over patient safety.

But todays poll shows 48 per cent of people would have supported another strike, even if it included A and E departments, while 39 per cent would have opposed it.

Some 58 per cent of people said the Government is wrong to impose the changes to junior doctor contracts, with just 20 per cent thinking ministers were right to force change. The poll shows 35 per cent think the plans will actually worsen NHS services compared to just 30 per cent who believe they will be improved.

A large majority, 66 per cent of people, agree the Government is right to seek a seven-day service, the poll shows.

But some 35 per cent dont believe ministerial claims that up to 11,000 deaths are linked to poor staffing at the weekends. Some 43 per cent did believe the mortality figures.
Bomb horror on passenger jet:Burning man is sucked out of plane at 14,000ft

An unidentified man was sucked out of a passenger jet at 14,000 feet after a suspected bomb blasted a hole through the side of the fuselage just five minutes after the Airbus A321 took off from Mogadishu.

Eyewitnesses claim the badly burned body of an elderly man fell to the earth about 15 miles away from the airport at the time of the blast.

AIrline officials claim two people were injured by the blast which punched a hole in the aluminum fuselage about six foot by three foot in size.

A explosion blew a hole in the side of the Airbus A321 just 15 minutes after it left Mogadishu in Somalia

One passenger is believed to have fallen out of the hole in the fuselage caused by the suspected bomb

This photo shows the extent of the damage from a fire that started five minutes after take-off

The aircraft's pilot Vladimir Vodopivec, 64, from Serbia said: 'I think it was a bomb. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well.'

A source told CNN that initial tests have shown explosive residue indicating the aircraft may have been the victim of a suspected terrorist attack.

The explosion happened as the aircraft passed between 12,000 and 14,000, before it reached its cruising altitude.

Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said the aircraft, operated by Daallo Airlines was headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, was forced to land minutes after taking off from the Mogadishu airport

Awale Kullane, Somalia's alternate ambassador to the U.N. who was on board the flight, said on Facebook that he 'heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds'.

When visibility returned they realised 'quite a chunk' of the plane was missing, he wrote.

Kullane, who was going to Djibouti to attend a conference for diplomats, also posted video showing some passengers putting on oxygen masks inside the plane.

Another passenger, Mohamed Ali, told The Associated Press they heard a bang before flames opened a gaping hole in the plane's side.

'I don't know if it was a bomb or an electric shock, but we heard a bang inside the plane,' he said, adding he could not confirm reports that passengers had fallen from the plane.
A highly-commended detective has been cleared of giving a misleading account to the public of what was said during a meeting with "Plebgate" row MP Andrew Mitchell.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and two other Police Federation representatives met Mr Mitchell at his constituency office in October 2012, three weeks after the politician was involved in a well-publicised spat with Metropolitan Police officers at the Downing Street gates.

Following that meeting, the serving Warwickshire Police officer had been accused of giving a false impression of Mr Mitchell's explanation of the incident, in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live on October 13.

A misconduct panel convened at the force's former headquarters found his on-air comments did not amount to dishonesty, discreditable conduct or a breach of integrity.

Mr Hinton, described to the panel as a "model detective" and who was a local Federation branch secretary at the time, had always denied any wrong-doing.

In evidence, the officer of 23 years' service, said: "My intention was to give an accurate view of the meeting."

Giving the decision, tribunal chairman Assistant Chief Constable Ingrid Lee, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "The panel are of the view that this (Mr Mitchell's) was such a partial account of what was believed to have happened it wasn't misleading for Sgt Hinton to say 'he still won't say exactly what he did say' in his radio interview."

She added: "The panel therefore do not consider that the account Sgt Hinton gave was misleading or believe he was intending to mislead anyone or was careless as to whether he might have been."

A judge ruled in 2014 that the MP probably did call Met officer Pc Toby Rowland a "pleb" after the politician was stopped from riding his bicycle through the vehicle gate on September 19, 2012.

But at the time of the meeting, on October 12, Mr Mitchell denied uttering the offending word.

Closing the misconduct case against Mr Hinton today, Aaron Rathmell said Mr Hinton had got involved in the "politically toxic dispute."
A millionaire plumber has been ordered by a judge to hand his former cleaner girlfriend a major slice of his fortune.

John Hoggins, 62, claimed that Lithuanian Greta Cerniauskaite, 47, whom he met when she cleaned at the National Portrait Gallery, was only after his money.

He accused her of nagging him to buy her a house and the contents of most of the shops in Bond Street.

He bought her a 160,000 Bentley, bankrolled a 100,000 fashion and jewellery shopping spree and paid for 8,000 worth of monogrammed sheets and towels from Milan.

They also enjoyed properties in Spain and Florida and holidays in Alaska, Cuba, Thailand and Mauritius.

Mr Hoggins paid himself nearly 150,000 a year out of his plumbing empire and gave her a salary of up to 93,000 for a job with no work.

But when they split after a nine-year relationship, Miss Cerniauskaite  who is now a businesswoman and model  claimed she had a right to their 650,000 second home in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.

Contesting her claim to the house, Mr Hoggins said he had paid the 100,000 deposit when it was bought in 2009 and then all costs and mortgage bills.

But after a hearing at the First-Tier Tribunal in London, a judge has ruled that the property is  and always was  Miss Cerniauskaites alone.

The money spent on the house by Mr Hoggins was a gift by a generous man, said Judge Ann McAllister.

It is clear from all the evidence that John now feels very bitter towards Greta and has convinced himself that, from the outset, her intentions were to get what she could out of the relationship financially, she said.

His evidence is that the relationship had begun to deteriorate badly from 2007 onwards and that he only stayed with Greta because his youngest son adored her. But there is no dispute but that Greta was trying to become pregnant in the years 2005 to 2011.

What is also clear and is amply demonstrated by the paperwork I have seen is that he was a remarkably generous, some might say impulsive man, whose own life was complex and not always easy.

The tribunal heard that Mr Hoggins met Miss Cerniauskaite in 2004, when his first marriage was ending, and that she had been married twice before.

The couple lived in Hoddesdon, and never moved into the property in Sawbridgeworth. Mr Hoggins claimed she refused to do so because there was not enough wardrobe space, while she said they had only ever intended it as a weekend home.

The house was in her name, but Mr Hoggins claimed that was only in order to get a mortgage more easily, because he had debts.

But the judge ruled: I accept Gretas evidence and in particular that John reassured her that, whatever happened, she would have the property.

Although she did not work for his company, I accept that she did a great deal to make his life easier and to help with his children.

The judge also said that the relationship was not as unhappy as John is now at pains to portray it.

She added: John spent a great deal of money on Greta over the years.

If he could spend 100,000 on what might be described as fripperies, there is no reason to think that a further 100,000 by way of a deposit and further money to pay the mortgage should be put in a different category.

The couple split in 2013 and Mr Hoggins has since remarried.
A child soldier who was praised by the Afghan government has been killed, the Taliban announced.

Ten-year-old Wasil Ahmad was assassinated with two bullets to the head by members of the fundamentalist political movement.

Wasil was paraded in front of television camera wearing a police uniform too big for him after helping to lead a defence against the Tailban last year.

He was killed in Tirin Kot city in Afghanistan just months after he left the militia life and enrolled into school.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Mondays attack, saying they had killed a stooge militiaman.

It is thought Wasil had left his home to buy vegetables when an gunman on a motorcycle shot him twice in the head before fleeing the scene.

Wasil became involved in conflict after his uncle and 10 others who were fighting against the Taliban became injured.

The 10-year-old took command of the defence and his uncle, Mullah Abdul Samad, told The New York Times he fought like a miracle and helped fire rockets from a rooftop.

He added: He was successfully leading my men on my behalf for 44 days until I recovered.
M ore than 70 passengers miraculously survived an explosion at 14,000ft on a commercial airliner in Africa.

It is not known what caused the blast, described as a "bomb" by the pilot. There are reports one man died after being sucked through the hole in the plane's cabin.

The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Tuesday evening.

An aviation expert confirmed photographs appeared to show damage that was consistent with an explosive device.

It comes as Somalia faces terror threats from the al-Shabab Islamist militant group.

Photos of the damage to Daallo airlines taken after the emergency landing. Two passengers were injured. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/2A5XTyOajm  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) February 2, 2016

Two people suffered minor injuries. A total of 74 passengers and crew were accounted for after the plane landed. Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said it was not certain if all the passengers were accounted for.

A police officer in the nearby town of Balad said residents had found the dead body of an elderly man who may have tumbled from the jet.

The plane, operated by Daallo Airlines and headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, was forced to land minutes after taking off from Mogadishu airport, authorities said.

Serbian pilot Vladimir Vodopivec told the Belgrade-based newspaper Blic: "I think it was a bomb.

Plane crash in #Somalia after failing to take off at capital's airport, all passengers survived, but only 2 injured. pic.twitter.com/BMgLdy8Upl  Omar Nor (@Omaar_nor) February 2, 2016

"Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well.

Somalia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Awale Kullane, was on board the flight.

In a post on Facebook he said he "heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds.

When visibility returned they realized "quite a chunk" of the plane was missing, he wrote.

Kullane, who was going to Djibouti to attend a conference for diplomats, also posted a video showing some passengers putting on oxygen masks inside the plane. The post was later removed from his Facebook page.

Aviation expert John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety, said he believed there were only two things that could have caused the hole - a bomb or a blow-out caused by a flaw or wear in the plane's exterior.

The photos also appear to show black soot around the blast hole, further suggesting a bomb was responsible, he added.

Somalia faces an insurgency perpetrated by the Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has recently been responsible for a series of deadly attacks across the nation.
A heart-stopping moment when Prince Harrys camp came under attack in Afghanistan is revealed in a new book featuring accounts from more than 40 officers and soldiers from the Coldstream Guards who fought the Taliban.

Sergeant Tom Pal, from an anti-tank platoon, also told how the royal did a pretty punchy job as a forward air controller in the southern province of Helmand.

He recalls in the book: I remember one afternoon before evening scoff or a Gurkha curry was on, I was sitting chatting with both Captain Russell and Prince Harry about random stuff when the camp was hit by a Chinese 107mm rocket... whoosh bang wallop.

We had been attacked and we just looked at each other and Captain Russell mentioned wed better put our body armour and helmet on. Bit late, but we did.

The Taliban attack was on forward base Dwyer, an isolated desert outpost six miles from the front line.

On arrival at the camp Sergeant Pal had been surprised to discover the prince was in the warzone so close to the Taliban.

Id seen him on pre-deployment training with the Gurkhas, but didnt think he would be out here and doing a pretty punchy job as a forward air controller, he adds.

Prince Harry, who was 23 at the time, was withdrawn from Afghanistan in February 2008 after news of his secret deployment leaked out.

Prince Harry's military career 1 /14 Prince Harry's military career Harry quits A TV crew films the prince as he makes early morning checks on his Apache helicopter (Picture: WPA Pool/Getty Images) Harry quits Scrambling to his Apache helicopter at Camp Bastion in November 2012 (Picture: AFP/Getty Images) Harry quits Laying a poppy wreath with British troops and service personnel in Afghanistan on Remembrance Sunday last year (Picture: Getty Images) Harry quits Placing a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in a cemetery in Virginia Harry quits Kitted out in service dress during an event at Lydiard Park (Picture: Jeremy Selwyn) Harry quits Walking through the British controlled flight-line at Camp Bastion during his four months from September 2012 as an Apache Helicopter Pilot/Gunner with 662 Sqd Army Air Corps (Picture: WPA Pool/Getty Images) Harry quits Giving a thumbs-up to press after checking over his Apache helicopter during his stint at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan (Picture: Getty Images) Harry quits Harry salutes during a rendition of the Last Post at a Remembrance Sunday service in Kandahar last year (Picture: Getty Images) Harry quits As a 23-year-old in 2008 during an early tour in Helmand (Picture: AFP/Getty Images) Harry quits Sat in the front seat of the cockpit of an Apache Helicopter Pilot/Gunner at Camp Bastion in 2012 (Picture: Getty Images) Harry quits Concentrating during a mission briefing (Picture: Getty Images)

In the book  Coldstream Guards, 10 Years in Afghanistan, Guardsmens Stories  the heroism of dozens of soldiers, including many from London, is recounted. Lieutenant John Scarlett, the son of former MI6 chief Sir John Scarlett, tells in terrifying detail of an attack by a rogue Afghan policeman on British troops at a checkpoint in Nahr-e-Saraj in July 2012.

The lieutenant was wounded in the thigh as he fought to save comrades who had been shot by the Afghan assailant from a watchtower.

The moment felt like an eternity, he says as he recalled opening fire and hoping injured soldiers could drag themselves to safety. He was awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry for the attempted rescue. Three soldiers died from their wounds in the attack.

The book was the idea of Sergeant Paul Baines, now a plumber after having to quit the Army because of an injury. His van was paid for by a Coldstream Guards charity, and money from the book will go to that.

Retired Colonel Simon Vandeleur, Regimental Adjutant for the Coldstream Guards, whose HQ is Wellington Barracks in central London, says the unique book is a tribute to those who lost their lives."
J ustin Theroux and Kristen Wiig appear in the brand new trailer for the forthcoming Zoolander 2.

Released by Paramount Pictures just one week before the film hits cinemas, the new clip offers a more in-depth look at the eagerly-awaited comedy sequel.

Making a cameo as a scar-faced DJ at the beginning of the trailer, Theroux, who wrote the screenplay for the film, sets the tone by playing Frankie Goes To Hollywoods Relax.

Actress Wiig is almost unrecognisable as beauty expert Alexanya Atoz, who can barely move her face due to the amount of plastic surgery shes had.

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber also makes an appearance, losing his life after being attacked while taking a selfie.

Ben Stiller, who directs and stars in the film, has been busy promoting the forthcoming release in Europe this week.

Zoolander fronts Valentino Store Window in Rome 1 /10 Zoolander fronts Valentino Store Window in Rome Causing a stir Crowds swarm Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller at a Valentino shop window in Rome, Italy Rex Catch a glimpse Fans try to catch a glimpse of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller as Derek and Hansel Rex Working it The comedy duo show off their model prowess Rex Perfect pose 'Hansel' works the cameras in a yellow jacket and a beanie Rex Blue Steel Ben Stiller strikes a series of poses in the window Rex Double take Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller pose as mannequins in the window Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images Ready for a close up One fan gets up close to the 'model' Hanging out The duo took part in the stunt to promote their latest film, Zoolander 2 Rex

The entire cast, including Owen Wilson and Penelope Cruz, were in Berlin on Tuesday for the German premiere.

They will head to the UK to walk the red carpet at the London premiere on Thursday February 4.

Zoolander 2 is in UK cinemas on February 12.
A photo shows Wu Zeheng, founder of the pseudo-religion "Huazang Zongmen". [Photo/China.com]

The Higher People's Court in Guangdong has upheld the life sentence of a man who was convicted of organizing an illegal cult, rape, fraud, and the production and sale of harmful food.

Wu Zeheng, founder of "Huazang Zongmen", was sentenced to life in October by a court in the city of Zhuhai in the province.

He was also fined over 7 million yuan.

Three of his followers were also given sentences of up to four years in prison after being convicted of fraud and perverting the course of justice.

Wu and one of his followers appealed against the court's ruling.

Wu had been propagating the pseudo-religion Huazang Zongmen as a lofty sect of Buddhism and claimed to be the successor of several eminent monks.

He was also found to have amassed more than 6.7 million yuan in ill-gotten gains.
The geographical map of Nanning-Kunming High-Speed Railway. The bold red line shows the itinerary from Nanning city to Kunming city. (File photo)

Construction of 852-meter-long Nanpan River Railway Bridge has been completed in Mile city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The two sections of the bridge were successfully joined together on Jan. 16, 2016, laying a solid foundation for the opening of Nanning-Kunming High-Speed Railway.

The railway has 26 stations, including Nanning city, Jinji village, Long'an county, Baise city, Mile city and Kunming city.

Reporters of Youth.cn have collected photos of several inviting scenic spots along the railway.

Construction of 852-meter-long Nanpan River Railway Bridge is completed in Mile City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The two sections of the bridge are successfully joined together on Jan. 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Huitang)

Construction of 852-meter-long Nanpan River Railway Bridge is completed in Mile City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The two sections of the bridge are successfully joined together on Jan. 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Huitang)
Embedded in such a complex international situation and facing the arduous task of domestic development, China managed a 6.9 percent growth rate in 2015; Chinese tourists spent over a trillion yuan in overseas markets; Chinese investors invested 735 billion yuan abroad. Compared with the global economic environment, Chinas achievements really are worthy of praise.

According to statistics, Chinas contribution makes up over 25 percent of the global economy growth. Ranked the second largest economy, every 1 percent of growth for China today is equal to 1.5 percent of growth five years ago and 2.6 percent of growth 10 years ago. Chinas economic restructuring is also making headway: of Chinas 2015 GDP, tertiary industries made up 50.5 percent - 10 percent higher than the secondary sector - and contributed to over 60 percent of GDP growth.

Jim O'Neill, the British economist best known for coining BRIC, thinks that China is definitely on the right track based on its GDP. Chinas economic growth figure should be considered under the bigger international picture. To realize the same size of economic growth, the U.K. would need an annual growth rate of 22.5 percent, and India a rate of 34.5 percent to keep up.

Former Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman and senior fellow at Yale University, Stephen Roach, says the crash-landing scenario for the Chinese economy is misplaced, I think those fears are vastly overblown.

Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto , thinks highly of Chinas urbanization, looking forward to the high quality economic growth after the transition. Apple CEO Tim Cook states that he still sees strong growth in China.

Structural adjustment is a big task that many countries are facing. China has steadily improved and achieved positive results in comprehensively deepening reforms, and heading towards a more prosperous and stable social environment. Many people around the world have highlighted Chinas ability and achievements in its adjustment, like American scholar Francis Fukuyama who recently voiced this opinion. It could now be said that this way of thinking actually represents the mainstream of international society: Chinas development has brought the world so many opportunities, it is unreasonable to ignore its contribution.

This article is edited and translated from source: People's Daily
Testimony began Tuesday in the case against a Fort Worth, Texas, man accused of illegally selling materials from the business he helped his father operate.

Alan J. Beitel, 34, has been charged with conspiracy to commit theft, a Class III felony. Beitels father, Roger Beitel, 55, of Gering, has also been charged of the same offense and is pending trial. The two men had been operating Advanced Technology Repairs, also known ATR and Omega Capital LLC, until they were terminated in the summer of 2013.

According to court documents, the Beitels are accused of receiving profits from the sale of railroad batteries, radiators or pieces of radiators and other metal that had been designated as scrap. An employee, Eric Longoria, allegedly sold the items and profited off the sales, but says he did so at the direction of Alan Beitel and his father. The men allegedly split the profits.

During testimony, other employees of the business testified about the operations at the facility. One employee, Jay Conn, testified that the business received batteries from Burlington Northern Santa Fe and refurbished those batteries for them. As part of that process, business employees did a three-tier assessment process and charged BNSF for each step of that process, even for batteries determined to be unable to be refurbished or scrap. Another employee had to sign off before a battery could be designated as scrap. Conn testified that he didnt know the process of selling the scrap, but did know that a new owner wanted scrap batteries and the value of the batteries to be documented for the business.

Shayne Tower, the owner of B&T Metals, testified about accepting scrap batteries from Longoria. The business had never accepted locomotive batteries prior to Longorias initial inquiry and Longoria became a regular customer of the business. During Towers testimony, receipts, which also matched checks issued for payment, were shown, showing amounts that had been paid from a couple of hundred dollars to over $1,200 for deliveries.

A jury of 12 people and two alternates are hearing testimony in the case. Trial is slated to run through Friday.

Beitel is being represented by attorney Stacy Bach.
Man kidnaps himself to ask for ransom from his wife

A man from Chinas southwestern Sichuan province was recently sentenced to a 10-day custody for kidnapping himself to ask for ransom from his wife, Chengdu Business Daily reported Tuesday.

The man named Lan Hua did this because he was troubled by rising debts.

Due to a failed investment in 2015, he owed 70,000 yuan. As Chinas Spring Festival draws near, he came up with the kidnapping idea to ask for 60,000 yuan from his wife.

Lan is interrogated by a police officer.

To ensure his wife and her friend believed him, he smeared his face with chicken blood.

Worrying about Lan's safety, his wife called the police. The police soon found out that the kidnapping was planned and performed by Lan.

Lan was finally punished with a 10-day custodial sentence for public order violation.
While you may have heard about the research and development (R&D) tax incentive  the Australian Governments tax incentive to encourage innovation  you may be unsure how to apply for the incentive, or...
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With the per-capita GDP of Shandong, an eastern province in China, exceeding $10,000 in 2015, 10 of Chinas 31 provincial-level regions are now listed in the club with a per-capita GDP of over $10,000, China Business News reported Wednesday.

The 10 members of the club now include Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, Liaoning, and Shandong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.

The majority of them are located in coastal area. It is also the first time for Shandong to join the club.

Shandong's government work report shows that during 2011 to 2015, its provincial GDP has reached 6.3 trillion yuan with an average annual growth of 9.4 percent. The per capita GDP has increased to $10,000 from $6,000.

Among the 10 members, the figures of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai are now even approaching the $20,000 mark.

A per capita GDP of $10,000 is considered a threshold. The Statistics Bureau of Guangdong province said last January that in 2013, 65 countries in the world realized a per-capita GDP of over $10,000. Guangdong province, if taken as an independent economic entity, could rank 65th worldwide in terms of per capita GDP, reaching the standard of moderately developed countries.

Ding Changfa, associate professor of economics at Xiamen University told China Business News that the same as many other developed countries, the economic growth of some provinces will slow down after decades of breakneck growth.

He believed that as the transformation of Chinas growth pattern requires a long period, growth of local per-capita GDP will also slow down.

Ding also suggested the 10 provinces improve their social welfare and distribution of incomes, adding that those nations with per-capita GDP of over $10,000 have a better performance in these aspects.
Wednesday, 03 February 2016 09:47:14 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Brazil industrial output in December declined 0.7 percent, month-on-month, and 11.9 percent, year-on-year, according to the latest figures released by the nations Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE.





According to IBGE, accumulated industrial output in 2015 diminished 8.3 percent, year-on-year, as all of the nations four major economic categories experienced a decline in terms of industrial output.





As for December last year, output in the capital goods declined by 31.9 percent, year-on-year. Production in the durable consumer goods, intermediate goods and semi and non-durable goods declined by 24.7, 11.4 and 4.2 percent, respectively.





For the whole year of 2015, output at the capital goods, durable consumer goods, intermediate goods and semi and non-durable goods declined by 25.5, 18.7, 5.2 and 6.7 percent, respectively, year-on-year.


Wednesday, 03 February 2016 17:18:33 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

The European Commission will impose provisional antidumping (AD) duties on imports of cold rolled (CR) flat steel from China and Russia , of up to 16 percent for China and up to 26 percent for Russia , as stated in a report by Reuters. The investigation was launched following the application lodged by the European Steel Association (EUROFER) in April last year, alleging that Russia and China were dumping the steel products in question by selling them below market prices at home or below the cost of production in the EU market and thereby damaging the local industry.





According to Reuters, the provisional measures are due to be announced by February 14 and definitive duties, if imposed at the conclusion of the investigation, by August 12.





In December last year, the commission ordered the registration of cold rolled (CR) flat steel product imports from Russia and China , highlighting the possibility of imposing antidumping and countervailing duties for both import sources.





The products in question currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7209 15 00, 7209 16 90, 7209 17 90, 7209 18 91, 7209 18 99, 7209 25 00, 7209 26 90, 7209 27 90, 7209 28 90, 7211 23 30, 7211 23 80, 7211 29 00, 7225 50 80 and 7226 92 00.
Wednesday, 03 February 2016 22:57:55 (GMT+3) |

In order to aid Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA), industrial groups in the National Chamber of Industry and Transformation (Canacintra) agreed not to buy foreign steel and stock from producers of domestic steel, said the chambers director Antonio Alvarez.





Alvarez said that the chamber is also contemplating inviting industry heavies such as Gunderson, Pytco, and Trinity to join the campaign to support local consumption.





Because the local industry consumes different types of steelincluding rebar, beam, plate and channelsthat AHMSA produces, there is not a necessary option to buy overseas.





"It would be difficult to determine the amount of steel consumption by the local industry because we have no information, but if it is a fairly significant amount. We hope that other local industries join and stop buying foreign steel, as this would be part of the social commitment to the community," he said.





Alvarez said the chamber wants to meet with executives of the steel industry to share the program applied AHMSA.


Wednesday, 03 February 2016 16:53:05 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

Demand in the local Turkish billet market is still sluggish this week. Due to the ongoing declines seen in scrap prices, buyers are still postponing their billet purchases and continue to exert downward pressure on prices of locally produced and import billet , while the general view in the market is that import billet prices will fall in the coming period. Nevertheless, prices in the local Turkish billet market have moved sideways during the past week in the range of $275-290$/mt ex-works, for March production.Meanwhile, ex-CIS billet prices for Turkey have remained unchanged over the past week in the range of $260-265/mt CFR. Also, Chinese billet offers to Turkey have remained stable in the same period at $255-260/mt CFR, while Iranian billet offers to the same destination are still at $260/mt CFR.
According to market sources, a Turkish steel producer has concluded a deal to Bahrain for 10,000 mt of rebar at $350/mt CFR on theoretical weight basis.
Mackinac Island The weather has been up and down this past week. We had some very nice days, and other were cold,...

Outdoors This Week in the Eastern U.P. I know its fall, but, for some reason, the white stuff has started falling already and frost is covering my...

West Mackinac Thats all folks, the fall fashion show is over and Mother Natures winter wardrobe is waiting in the wings. In...
President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday signed a decree discharging Tiberiu Nitu from the office of Romania's Attorney General with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation.

Romania's Attorney General Tiberiu Nitu resigned on Tuesday evening."Although the [Cooperation and Verification Mechanism of the European Commission] CVM report validates the result of my work as head of the Public Prosecution Service, and so do data to be reported in March, as my name and the position I represent are artificially associated to a situation that might impact the image of the institution I manage, I have decided - as a gesture of responsibility and honour - to submit my resignation from the position of attorney general of the Prosecution Office with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation," Nitu said in a press statement.The Presidential Administration announced shortly afterwards that President Klaus Iohannis has received Nitu's resignation and accepted it.
The Senate on Wednesday voted in favour of a judiciary request for the criminal prosecution of Senator Gabriel Oprea, a former deputy prime minister and interior minister, 102 to 30 and one void ballot.

"After the count of ballots cast by the senators on the request from the Prosecution Office with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation for the criminal investigation of Mr Gabriel Oprea it has been acknowledged that there were 133 voters, 102 of which voted in favour of the request, 30 against it and one ballot was void. Given that the vote session met the majority requirement, (...) the Senate is hereby approving the draft decision on the criminal investigation of Mr Gabriel Oprea in connection with the offences in court file 905/P/2015 of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), the Prosecution Office with the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation," reads the minutes of the vote counting board.
Fiat Chrysler said it was recalling half a million Dodge Chargers worldwide to supply wheel chocks as there was a risk of these vehicles slipping off the jack when tires are being changed.

The recall covers 2011-2016 Dodge Chargers, and includes an estimated 441,578 vehicles sold in the United States.

Fiat said it was aware of three "minor" injuries related to the problem.

The company also said it would recall about 19,229 cars in Canada, 4,969 in Mexico and 38,947 outside the North American Free Trade Agreement region.
DETROIT  Honda Motor Co. is expanding its recall in North America of late-model vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata air bags, in a move that could affect nearly 2.3 million vehicles.

The Japanese automaker sent dealers in the United States a letter on Jan. 30, informing them of its intent to recall up to 2 million Honda and Acura vehicles over air bag problems, a Honda dealer said on Wednesday. Automotive News had reported the upcoming recall earlier on Wednesday.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday it had received a recall notice from Honda, but said it would not be made public until Thursday.

In Canada, the country's top safety regulator said on Monday Honda is recalling more than 269,000 cars in that country, including the 2016 Acura ILX, because the driver's air bag inflator could rupture and send metal fragments into vehicle occupants.

Most of the vehicles that reportedly are being recalled in the United States are the same models as those in the Canadian recall.

Honda declined to comment on Wednesday.

Honda has previously recalled more than 6 million vehicles in the United States since 2008 to replace Takata inflators that could rupture. Of the nine U.S. deaths connected with those inflators, eight have come in Honda vehicles.

Honda's action indicates the continuing Takata recalls may not be over.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey urged NHTSA to recall all cars with Takata inflators. The senators estimated that 24 million such vehicles remain on U.S. roads.

Asked about the request for a broader recall, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters on Tuesday that NHTSA's investigation "has not been closed. There is still ongoing work ... We will continue to take action as we deem appropriate."

Through December, NHTSA had recalled 23 million potentially defective Takata inflators in about 19 million vehicles. Two weeks ago, Takata agreed to seek the recall of another 5.1 million driver-side inflators, but NHTSA has not been able to say how much overlap there may be with the previous recalls.

Honda has been Takata's largest customer for air bags and owns a minority interest in the Japanese supplier.
Monsanto Co. said on Wednesday it received import approval from China for its new genetically modified Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and that it will begin selling the seeds in the United States and Canada.

China, the world's biggest soybean importer, does not allow imports of new genetically modified crops until they are approved by government regulators.

The Creve Coeur company's next-generation soybean variety is engineered to tolerate applications of glyphosate and dicamba herbicides amid a growing problem of glyphosate-resistant weeds in North America.

Dicamba use is allowed in Canada, but not yet approved in the United States, where the Environmental Protection Agency is still reviewing the chemical, Monsanto said.

Monsanto said it is offering discounts to U.S. farmers buying Roundup Ready 2 Xtend seeds in case the regulatory approval does not arrive in time for the 2016 growing season.

The company is aiming for 3 million acres planted in the upcoming season and expects the genetic technology to be planted to two-thirds of U.S. soybean acres by 2019. The company also licenses its GMO properties to other seed companies.

Monsanto shares were up 1 percent at $88.19 in early afternoon.
The Laclede Group plans to tap into a new natural gas supply with a pipeline connecting to the Marcellus and Utica natural gas shale formations in the Eastern U.S.

Laclede CEO Suzanne Sitherwood, who announced the project on an earnings call with investors Wednesday morning, said it will help the natural gas distributor diversify its gas supplies.

We are confident that adding this pipeline to our portfolio is the right choice, she said.

The planned 60-mile pipeline would head north from the St. Louis area through Southwest Illinois and connect into the Rockies Express and Panhandle Eastern Pipeline. That would give St. Louis-based Laclede's Eastern Missouri utility, Laclede Gas, access to natural gas from shale formations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

Sitherwood said the project should cost $170 million to $200 million and is still several years away. It will require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission because it will cross Missouri and Illinois, and Sitherwood said it will go into service 30 to 36 months after FERC next solicits gas pipeline projects.

The ownership structure of the new pipeline, however, is still being worked out, Sitherwood said. The company has looked at a range of options.

We want to make sure this project is solid under any scenario, and it is, quite frankly, she said.

Should the project be approved, it would provide a new, large source of natural gas as electric utilities look to retire older coal power plants and generate more power with cleaner natural gas and renewables.

St. Louis utility Ameren Missouri has said it expects to build 600 megawatts of natural gas power to replace retiring coal plants in the coming years, but the utility has also warned the region will need a larger supply of gas to provide enough for power generation in addition to home heating.

Asked about partnering on the pipeline with an electric utility, Sitherwood said there certainly could be some synergies between a gas company and an electric company if the electric utility needs gas to replace coal power.
BELLE GLADE, Fla.  Dozens of farmworkers looked up at the little yellow plane buzzing over the Florida radish field, a mist of pesticide falling from its wings.

Farmworkers are supposed to be protected by government rules regulating exposure to toxic farm chemicals. But in this case, the breeze pushed the pesticide over the crew in a neighboring field, where it fell mostly on women, including at least one who was pregnant.

"I smelled a strong odor and started feeling bad," worker Maria Garcia later told a state investigator. "I had a headache, itchy eyes and threw up."

The health investigator assigned to the case said more than a dozen workers showed symptoms of pesticide poisoning, and also found evidence that the farm and crop-dusting contractor may have violated federal farmworker safety laws.

An Associated Press review of federal and state enforcement data and other records revealed that the pesticide-safety system is riddled with problems: Investigations often take years to complete and result in few penalties. Written warnings are common, fines rare. Compliance is sometimes voluntary, not required. And worker anonymity can be compromised, making employees reluctant to report violations.

The agriculture industry defends the system, saying the low numbers are a sign that farms are doing a good job of protecting workers.

President Barack Obama's administration recently adopted tougher farmworker protections after 20 years of debate and fierce resistance from the chemical and agricultural lobbies. However, when they take effect in 2017, all of the new rules will still rely on the existing enforcement system.

Adding to the troubles are the regulators themselves. In all states except California, enforcement of federal pesticide-safety laws is managed by the same agencies that promote agricultural industries.

The Florida workers fell ill on Oct. 14, 2014, in Belle Glade, a farm town near Lake Okeechobee where the motto is "Her soil is her fortune." They had been moved at the last minute to a celery field owned by Duda Farms. Rains the previous night had made the fields they were supposed to plant too soggy.

That was not communicated to the crop-duster pilot, who should have waited to spray a "restricted-use" pesticide called Bathyroid XL, records show.

Twelve women including Garcia and one man were hospitalized. Many were released and cleared to go back to work after a few hours. But some, including the pregnant worker, required follow-up medical screening for lingering symptoms, according to state health records about the incident.

Despite the findings about pesticide poisoning and evidence of violations, a state investigation resulted in no punishment for the farm and, after more than a year, only the small fine for the crop duster, according to the case file obtained by the AP through a public-records request. Workers contacted by the AP said they were never interviewed.

"The Florida system is terribly broken," said Greg Schell of Florida Legal Services, a national expert who has been litigating farmworker cases for decades. "Unless you see somebody being sprayed, it's your word against the employer."

It's not clear how many workers get sick from pesticides each year. No one gathers comprehensive data.

A program run by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health identified 5,200 workers with acute pesticide-related illness, and eight deaths, in 11 states between 1998 and 2006. Those cases included only poisonings confirmed by doctors.

Using that data and other sources, the EPA estimates that the nation's 2 million farmworkers suffer 10,000 to 20,000 cases of doctor-diagnosed pesticide poisoning in the U.S. every year.

Many workers are afraid to report problems, especially those who have come to the U.S. illegally or are here on worker visas, and their immigration status is controlled by their employers.

After the incident in Belle Glade, some of the Florida workers sprayed by the crop duster were advised by supervisors against taking legal action, according to state documents obtained by AP.

"They were told 'You would never find a job in agriculture again. Their husbands may also be fired, and it would take years to get a settlement,'" said Antonio Tovar, the Florida health department investigator on the case.

Luis Martinez, one of the workers in the field that day, confirmed that he was discouraged from filing a formal complaint with the state.

Defenders of the agriculture industry say the lack of fines and violations in Florida and other places shows a high level of compliance, not lax enforcement.

"The culture has changed. There may be a few bad apples, but they are few and far between," said Gene McAvoy, who runs state pesticide safety trainings for farm supervisors in Florida.

Farm spokeswoman Donna Duda denied that anyone from the company had spoken to the workers. Jose Ojeda of Martinez & Sons Trucking, the contractor in charge of the workers that day, denied his staff discouraged workers from filing a complaint.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services never interviewed any workers about the retaliation or intimidation claims, despite a tip from the health inspector that some workers were talking about it.

In a statement, the agency denied being told about the intimidation allegations and said it would have investigated if it had known.

When workers do come forward, they face a yearslong process that often ends with nothing but a warning for the farm. In other cases, people who complain are sometimes put in professional exile.

North Carolina tobacco worker Cayetano Dominguez-Rosales complained to state investigators when 12 workers on his crew got sick in 2010 after witnessing pesticides being sprayed in a field that was no more than 40 paces away. Records show they all sat down and felt dizzy and nauseas.

After going to the hospital, he returned to work and was told to sign a "voluntary quit" paper giving up his job. He had worked for 15 years on North Carolina tobacco farms and never fallen ill, he said, but the incident left him without work. He returned to Mexico.

Nearly a year after he left, a state investigation issued a warning to the farm.

Pesticide investigations in North Carolina can take up to two years, and the vast majority nationwide end in warnings.

"A warning just says 'We're not going to hold you responsible for these actions,'" said Caitlin Ryland, an attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina. "Really, there's no teeth at all in that law."

Associated Press video journalist Josh Replogle contributed to this report.
A St. Louis man who gained notoriety as an online reporter covering racial issues has been fired for "a pattern of deception."

Juan M. Thompson has been dismissed from The Intercept for a variety of ethical breaches.

Betsy Reed, The Intercept's editor-in-chief, released a statement Tuesday that said Thompson "went to great lengths to deceive his editors" by inventing sources, fabricating quotes and creating different email accounts to mislead supervisors.

A story on Gawker.com states that when asked to respond to the allegations, Thompson sent a letter which said he was in St. Louis undergoing cancer treatment and did not have access to his notes and computer.

The Post-Dispatch's attempts to reach Thompson were unsuccessful.

In its statement, The Intercept said it decided to leave Thompson's questionable stories on its website, but has labeled them as "corrected" or "retracted" and has notified publications that used the stories.

One of the most prominent stories, now labeled "retracted," was Thompson's article in June about Dylann Roof, a white man charged with killing nine black worshipers at a South Carolina church.

At issue is Thompson's quote from Scott Roof, identified as a cousin. Thompson quotes the cousin as saying Dylann Roof was angry because a former girlfriend started dating a black man.

About the story, The Intercept said: "After speaking with two members of Dylann Roofs family, The Intercept can no longer stand by the premise of this story. Both individuals said that they do not know of a cousin named Scott Roof."

Two of the four corrected stories, both from May, have St. Louis subjects and appear to involve faulty quotes: one about the murder of black women in St. Louis; the other about the move of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's western headquarters, possibly to a St. Louis location near the old Pruitt-Igoe site.

The Intercept was founded in 2014 and is "dedicated to producing fearless, adversarial journalism."
Folks in Louisiana often say, Theres as many gumbos as there are mamas. Al Hofers gumbo starts with roasted chickens for its hearty stock and a dark roux for depth and flavor. He uses the holy trinity of onions, bell peppers and celery, but he adds a few unusual touches, too, like green beans and zucchini. The result is a rich and flavorful gumbo that he serves over red cargo rice. The gumbo cooks up nearly thick enough to eat with a fork, but a spoon will capture every drop of goodness.

Hofer served this gumbo to several hundred guests for many years at the now-defunct St. Vincents Church Mardi Gras party in Soulard. Today, he makes his gumbo, muffalettas with homemade olive salad and pralines for family and friends near the beginning of the Mardi Gras season, which starts on Jan. 6, the 12th night following Christmas.

He and his wife, Patty, both enjoy cooking and entertaining at their home overlooking the Mississippi River near the Chain of Rocks bridge. They plan their Mardi Gras party to coincide with Eagle Days on the bridge, a doubly good reason to celebrate.

Cooking for hundreds of people at the St. Vincents Mardi Gras party didnt faze you, Al. Why is that? Feeding a lot of people wasnt new to me. I was drafted in 1953 and sent to the 5th Army Area Food Services School at Fort Leonard Wood. After basic training I was assigned to cook at the Officers Club, but I asked for a transfer because I wanted to see more of the world.

Where did Uncle Sam send you? I went to Germany where I spent time in the mess hall and on field maneuvers. My parents were Swiss, second generation, so it was a good chance to see Europe.

Before your Army duty, had you done much cooking? Yes. My father was the chef at the American Hotel on the northeast corner of 7th and Market streets. I worked for him from the time I was a teenager, plus I took the commercial cooking course at Hadley Technical High School.

With a professional chef for a husband, did your mother cook at home also? Yes, my mother did cook. She was very into vegetables. She made wonderful desserts, especially her stollen and springerle cookies. She had an antique mold for the springerles that is still in use in our family.

After the Army, did you pursue a career in food service? While I was overseas, I took an Army course in radio repair. After my discharge, I went to work part-time for my father, who was then at the Sunset Hills Country Club after the hotel closed in 1953. I went back to school under the GI Bill to get deeper into electronics. I repaired televisions for about 20 years and cooked at home.

What guides your cooking today? Cooking something new is an adventure, a combination of art and science. I enjoy the Internet and often use the app Big Oven to find new things. Although Patty doesnt eat meat, I like to make baby back ribs, smoked long and finished in the oven.

Alfred Carl Hofer Sr.

Age  83

Family  Wife, Patricia Ann Hofer and one son, Alfred Carl Hofer Jr.

Occupation  Part-time manager for Vintage Directions

Neighborhood  Riverview
My introduction to opioid addiction came on Christmas Eve many years ago.

I was a preteen and our traditional holiday celebration at my grandparents house had turned strange. All night long, my dad, and aunts and uncles took turns going into my grandmothers room. They were somber and wouldnt tell us kids what was going on.

On the way home, Dad fessed up:

Grandma had a pain medication addiction.

In the almost four decades since that blip on my family radar appeared, national awareness of opioid abuse has skyrocketed, in part because the abuse of painkillers has grown significantly. Its an epidemic that has led to changes at the federal level in terms of increased regulation on which drugs can be prescribed and by whom, and in every state in the nation, except for one.

Missouri.

The Show-Me states status as the only state without such a database has consequences. Since 2005, for instance, the states rate of opioid abuse  as measured by visits to emergency rooms and other providers  has skyrocketed by 137 percent, a rate of rise much higher than the national average.

In a hearing held in Jefferson City last month, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., brought attention to the issue, noting that Missouri has the highest rate of opioid use in the Midwest.

For years, Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, and some of his allies have fought a proposal, sought by doctors, the Missouri Hospital Association, most medical groups and anti-drug abuse advocates, that would allow the same monitoring of such prescriptions as happens in every other state in the nation. Such monitoring helps doctors track patients use of pain medications and stops the practice of doctor shopping, where an addict goes from doctor to doctor until their fix is fulfilled.

Their argument is that the big-bad government cant be trusted with private health records of Missouri residents. Freedom trumps the simple saving of lives.

In a society in which Big Brother continues to play an outsized role in our lives, with all of our personal information seemingly one click away on the Internet for some hacker to find, the argument resonates. But not so much that lawmakers dont make exceptions to their philosophy.

For instance, Missouri lawmakers just last week advanced a bill that would create a massive database of the states various users of government welfare programs, from food stamps to Medicaid, and turn that information over to a private contractor who would search the database for fraud and abuse.

In Missouri, poor people dont deserve the same freedom as others, it seems.

Last year, the ability for even well-meaning people to abuse the opioid prescription process became very clear to me as I turned my medicine cabinet into a virtual pharmacy while being treated for throat cancer.

As in most cancers, pain medications are an important part of the treatment, as radiation does its job and daily pain in treated areas persists. I started with oxycodone pills, advanced shortly to a stronger liquid version when I could no longer swallow, and eventually ended up on fentanyl patches of increasing strength, sending the pain medications directly into my body 24 hours a day.

My three doctors each kept me fully stocked with whatever I needed, each at times prescribing pain meds until at one point I realized I had nearly twice as much as I needed. Why?

My wife, fearful that I would become addicted, would put about half of the pain meds in another cabinet when I brought them home. Not realizing that, Id think I had run out and ask for more drugs. I got them every time.

It wasnt a problem until my daughter, who fights her own addiction problems, moved into the house. I emptied the safe of financial papers and filled it with drugs to keep her safe.

This is a reality in too many families in America today. The drugs we need arent safe in our own medicine cabinets.

Eventually, when my treatment subsided and I no longer needed them, I deposited the leftover drugs in a drop-off location in the lobby of the Ellisville Police Department. Several police departments across the area have such secure drop-offs so that opioids dont end up in the trash or in the hands of addicts.

Better prescription monitoring would have been a safer route. Its maddening that in Missouri it is easier for authorities to track my purchase of Sudafed during cold and allergy season than it is a dangerous narcotic that is leading young people to addiction and even to worse drugs, such as heroin.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel in this important battle. This year, Schaaf filed his own prescription monitoring bill, signaling at least some openness to compromise. (His version would send the proposal to a public vote.) And this week, a House committee passed a version of the bill, moving the issue forward early in the session.

The bottom line is that the inconsistent and selective application of what it means to be free is getting in the way of saving lives.

Opioid abuse doesnt discriminate. More than 18,000 people died from opioid overdoses last year nationally. With a couple of exceptions, the number has been rising every year for more than a decade.

The epidemic is killing Missourians of all ages, colors and backgrounds. Its time our state lawmakers do something about it.
BERKELEY  A Berkeley man has been charged after a September arrest that left a police captain with a broken hand.

O.C. Hogan Jr., 31, was arrested Sept. 16 in the backyard of a home in the 5900 block of Hancock Avenue in Berkeley. Police said he was suspected in a burglary and was holding a pistol when he was captured in the backyard.

During the arrest, Berkeley Police Capt. Jules Alligood suffered a broken hand. Police said Hogan had 23 pills of alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medicine, as well as a .40-caliber Sig Sauer pistol reported stolen a month earlier from a Calverton Park police officer.

Calverton Park Police Chief Vince Delia said the gun that turned up missing was a privately-owned weapon that had been decommissioned in early 2015 when the department upgraded its service pistols. Delia said officers are given the chance to buy their duty weapons or turn them in to be sold.

Delia had few details on the theft of the gun but said it was apparently taken from the officer's car while the officer was off duty.

Hogan, who lived in the same block as the arrest on Hancock, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, resisting arrest, drug possession and receiving stolen property. His bail was set at $35,000

A booking photo of Hogan was not immediately available.
JEFFERSON CITY  A Missouri House committee on Wednesday sent a bill to the House floor that would force the state to sell 4,200 acres of Oregon County land the Department of Natural Resources plans to turn into a state park.

The state and federal governments have since 2009 reached settlements with lead mining companies totaling $49.3 million to be put toward cleanup from decades of mining in southern and southeastern Missouri. About $11 million from settlement funds is going to the new state park in Oregon County, near the Arkansas border.

But lawmakers say the planned park is nowhere near the affected areas.

Oregon County officials have also criticized the plans, saying that the state wouldn't have to pay property taxes and that the land is too secluded to generate any major economic impact.

Lawmakers are also upset that they weren't told about land purchases beforehand. The Post-Dispatch reported on park plans in October, months after concerns were raised about a separate park in Shannon County area state representatives said is being built under a "shroud of secrecy."

At a House appropriations hearing Tuesday, Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, said DNR hasn't communicated plans with the legislative branch.

"What I'll say is that for the sake of everybody, please don't do this anymore, where you buy new state parks without talking to people," he told Sara Parker Pauley, the director of the Department of Natural Resources.

The department attracted criticism from both parties. Rep. Genise Montecillo, D-Marlborough, said that there is $400 million in unfinished work at existing state parks.

"I don't think anybody in here opposes new parks," she said. "I think it would be great if we could acquire new parks, but we need to take care of the ones we have now."

The new park has some support. At the Select Committee on Agriculture hearing Wednesday, St. Louis County Democrats Sue Meredith and Tracy McCreery voted against the proposal to force the sale of the land.

McCreery said after the hearing that DNR is within its right to purchase the Oregon County land and that the economic impact of a new park would make up for property tax lost.

"I feel like the Department of Natural Resources is operating properly under the settlement," she said. "The vast majority of that money is being used for remediation efforts."

Bill Bryan, the state parks director, said Tuesday that the park would probably include about 60 campsites. He said that the department would pay property taxes for five years, which are about $4,000 per year.

"In five years, theoretically visitation at the state park is generating sales and sales tax revenue," he said. "Is there a loss to the county? Yes, there is. But the idea is that a state park will offset that loss."
WASHINGTON  Invoking the name of Michael Brown, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, attacked on Wednesday a bill sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, Mo., that she says would protect bankers and is an example of how justice is applied unequally in this country.

The House is expected to vote Thursday on the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act, which Luetkemeyer says would require Department of Justice investigators and bank regulators to show a material reason to investigate a bank. The bill is not intended to tie investigators hands, a spokesman in his office said.

It passed the House Financial Services Committee with bipartisan support and is expected to pass the House Thursday.

But Warren said in a Senate floor speech that the bill would make it much harder to investigate and prosecute bank fraud and was part of overall Republican efforts to ease restrictions on bankers and Wall Street.

She said it was an example of how there were two systems of justice.

In this legal system, even after huge companies plead guilty to felonies, law enforcement officials are so timid that they dont even bring charges against individuals who work there. Thats one system, Warren said. The second system is for everyone else. In this second system, whoever breaks the law can be held accountable. Government enforcement isnt timid here  its aggressive, consequences be damned. Just ask the families of Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown about how aggressive they are.

Brown, 18, was killed in 2014 by then-Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who was not criminally charged after a local grand jury determined he had reasonably feared for his life. A separate Department of Justice investigation also determined that no federal criminal charges should be filed. Gray died in police custody in Baltimore; six officers have been charged in that death, and the trial of one ended in a hung jury. Bland died in jail in Texas after being apprehended after a traffic stop, and a grand jury has been investigating that death.
UPDATED: At 4 p.m. with an audio recording of a January 26 meeting during which Ferguson City Attorney Stephanie Karr says that a vote of four council members is required to fill a vacate council seat. The recording corrects information about the timing of Karr's advice.

FERGUSON  For a city that wanted to learn what residents thought, Ferguson left many of them out in the cold.

People began arriving an hour early on Tuesday for the first public hearing on a proposed agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, which could cost the city $1.5 million a year.

A half hour later, dozens stood on the ramp leading into City Council chambers  its capacity: 120 people.

Ten minutes before the doors opened, the line twisted for several yards into the parking lot. The truth was apparent.

Not everyone would make it inside.

In all, roughly 75 people were denied entrance, leading to angry shouts that drowned out the Pledge of Allegiance.

As the meeting got underway, the intensity grew. Some residents urged the council to take the DOJ to court, arguing that the agreement would force Fergusons dissolution. Others said the proposal would ensure officers abide by the Constitution.

Many remained dismayed about a dispute over who should fill a vacant council seat.

The Justice Department began investigating Ferguson about 18 months ago, after a white Ferguson police officer shot Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, provoking months of protests.

The officer, Darren Wilson, was cleared by separate state and federal investigations.

But Fergusons police and municipal court were not let off the hook. The DOJ accused Ferguson of using both to bolster its budget, employing predatory tactics that violated the Constitution. The allegations resulted in the resignations of the city manager and police chief. Negotiations went on for months.

Then last week, the city released the proposal for extensive reforms  including new use-of-force policies for police, hours of additional training for officers, body camera requirements and a plan for community policing.

Newly hired City Manager DeCarlon Seewood said on Tuesday that at first blush the agreement would cost $1.5 million a year.

Ferguson, however, faces a $2.8 million budget shortfall and is asking voters to approve new sales and property taxes in April. The taxes are projected to raise $1.5 million.

During the meeting, residents chastised city leaders for holding the meeting at City Hall, saying they should have known a larger venue would be needed.

Mayor James Knowles III said the city wanted the event broadcast on the Internet but moving the equipment was not possible.

An additional hearing on the agreement is scheduled for Saturday at the Ferguson Community Center, which can accommodate a significantly larger crowd. The council will vote on the agreement next Tuesday.

Jared L. Hasten, one of the attorneys from a Chicago law firm hired to negotiate with the DOJ, said that if city leaders did not sign the agreement, the DOJ would sue Ferguson.

Some residents said the city should avoid the cost of litigation, and that if police could not abide by the Constitution, they should consider a different line of work.

What the DOJ has presented is not punitive demands, but constitutional demands, said resident Mildred Clines.

Others said the agreement went too far and that Ferguson lacked the financial ability to comply.

This could make policing in Ferguson worse, rather than better, said Tom Claffy.

Blake Ashby, the leader of an organization called Ferguson Truth, referred to the agreement as a poison pill.

This proposal will force the dissolution of Ferguson, he said. So if you want to see Ferguson wiped off the map, sign this consent decree.

Several residents asked about a side agreement with the DOJ that is mentioned in some documents. It describes a cap placed on the federal monitor who will oversee the reforms, as well as other provisions.

City Attorney Stephanie Karr said the DOJ was still drafting the side agreement and had not provided it to the city.

The cost of the monitor  estimated at $350,000 for the first year  was a sticking point during negotiations and city leaders said they would not sign any agreement without giving residents a chance to review and comment on it.

VACANT COUNCIL SEAT

Resentment lingered over the nomination of Laverne Mitchom to fill a council seat vacated Jan. 10 when Brian Fletcher, a former mayor known for championing Ferguson, died of a heart attack.

The citys charter stipulates that the council members  excluding the mayor  appoint someone in the event of a vacancy on the six-member board.

If the council doesnt appoint someone within 30 days, the decision falls to the mayor.

Last week, Councilman Mark Byrne nominated Rob Chabot, a Ferguson-Florissant School Board member, saying that Chabot best represented Fletchers volunteerism and community service.

Councilwoman Ella Jones put forward Mitchoms name  a move supported by the other two black council members, Dwayne James and Wesley Bell.

The 3-2 vote in favor of Mitchom fell along racial lines.

Karr advised that four votes were needed, in part because of some case law, a Ferguson spokesman said.

While some who attended said that Karr's opinion came after the vote, Ferguson Spokesman Jeff Small said she offered it earlier in the meeting.

Some residents said the seat could be the key to whether the city accepts the agreement.

Im not in any way calling you a racist, resident Angelique Kidd told Bryne on Tuesday. Truly, what I heard you say was, One good ol boy is gone. We must replace him with another.

Knowles on Tuesday said the city will consider additional applicants and asked residents to contact their council members if they were interested.

Bell and James indicated they supported finding a person that members could all agree on. We are trying to come together as a council, Bell said.

Jones sidestepped the issue, beginning her comments with You dont want me to speak, then lamenting the death threats that she had received over the past several days.

Felicia Pulliam, a resident who was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to the Ferguson Commission, said the council was not acting with transparency, especially in regards to Mitchoms nomination.

Have we calculated the cost of racism? she asked.
JEFFERSON CITY  University of Missouri System Interim President Michael Middleton said he understands state lawmakers' concern about the recent system upheaval, but hopes they understand the harm significant budget cuts would do.

"I don't think (cuts) are the solution," Middleton said Wednesday after a House budget hearing.

Lawmakers have been battling with Mizzou since last summer, when they targeted the university's ties with Planned Parenthood. In August, graduate students lost their health insurance subsidy only to get it back later. In November, UM System President Timothy Wolfe stepped down following student-led protests on the Columbia campus. Student demonstrators were angered over Wolfes perceived indifference to a number of racist incidents on campus.

Then a video surfaced of Melissa Click, a Mizzou assistant professor of communications, confronting student journalists after Wolfe resigned. Despite legislative calls for her termination, Click was suspended while the universitys general counsel conducts an investigation to determine whether more discipline is necessary.

Three UM Board of Curators have resigned since Wolfe stepped down.

Even while facing these issues, Middleton told a House committee Wednesday the "university never stopped fulfilling its mission."

"We cannot forget the value the UM system brings to the state," Middleton said.

Rep. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat running for state Senate this year, questioned Middleton on what budget cuts would do to the system because it is "no secret some people in the Capitol have threatened the budget."

To this, Middleton said a significant cut would be "devastating"

"We're working hard to rebuild confidence in the system," he said. "We're moving quickly to rebuild the campus culture so it's more welcoming to all students."
JEFFERSON CITY  A Missouri House committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would start a prescription drug monitoring program here, something every other state in the country has.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, has pushed the bill for the last two legislative sessions. The proposal would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to start a database that would track opioid prescriptions.

Opioids are narcotics such as Vicodin and OxyContin that are prescribed to treat pain but are also addictive. Those who use prescription painkillers can turn to heroin because it is cheaper.

Rehder's bill would allow the state to track who is prescribed opioid painkillers, which, proponents say, would make it easier for physicians to prevent "doctor shopping"  going through multiple doctors to get multiple prescriptions.

Opioid abuse has gotten worse. In Missouri, hospital treatment for commonly prescribed opioid painkillers increased 137 percent over the last decade, according to a recent study by the Missouri Hospital Association.

Though Rehder's bill passed the House the last two sessions, it has died in the Senate. Its chief opponent is Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, who says that a prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP, would violate patient privacy.

He's proposed his own bill, but it would only go into effect with voter approval.

The United States is facing a steep increase in heroin addiction. The Obama administration has proposed a $1 billion increase in spending to expand access to treatment next fiscal year.

It will also seek about $90 million more for programs that help states and local governments execute drug prevention strategies and improve access to naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that opioids, a class of drugs that include prescription pain medications and heroin, were involved in 28,648 deaths in 2014.

The bill passed on a 9-3 vote in the Health Insurance Committee, with Republican Reps. J. Eggleston, Justin Hill and Robert Cornejo voting no. The bill, named the Narcotics Control Act, still has to make its way through one more committee before reaching the House floor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rehder's bill is House Bill 1892. Schaaf's bill is Senate Bill 768.
JEFFERSON CITY  Top Republicans are pitching a plan to fix Missouri roads and bridges with money being saved by cuts to welfare programs.

Rather than raise the states fuel tax, GOP leaders say recent changes in programs for poor people will allow the state to generate $1 billion to $2 billion for road programs over the next decade.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, said the proposal would help Missouri create a well-developed infrastructure that is critical to ensuring the effective functioning of the economy.

The measure comes after the endorsement by a Senate committee of a plan to raise the states 17-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax by 1.5 cents to launch a road upgrade program. The tax increase concept is also supported by the Missouri Department of Transportation and Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

The governors office sharply criticized the GOP proposal late Wednesday.

Nixons spokeswoman Channing Ansley, in a statement, said, By diverting general revenue toward road funding, this budget gimmick could jeopardize priorities such as local public schools, higher education and services for Missourians with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The Governor has been clear that he supports fiscally responsible ways to invest in our roads and bridges without putting priorities like education and mental health at risk.

For weeks, Republicans, including House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, have said they want to avoid a tax increase by using money currently in the budget.

As outlined by state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, the new no-tax plan relies on savings that have come via changes the GOP majorities in the House and Senate pushed through the Legislature.

Our states transportation infrastructure is deteriorating and has become an impediment to our economic growth potential, our regional competitiveness and our citizens safety, Schaefer said in a prepared statement. We need to invest in improving our infrastructure while making sure our tax dollars are spent responsibly.

The Strengthening Missouri Families Act approved over the objection of Nixon last spring was expected to remove an estimated 6,400 poor children  including more than 2,600 children younger than 5  from public assistance.

The changes include lowering lifetime welfare benefits and adding new requirements affecting how quickly welfare recipients must find jobs.

CRITICAL PROJECTS

Underscoring the need to move forward on critical road projects despite funding uncertainty, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved on Wednesday a plan to build a replacement for the Champ Clark Bridge, which connects Illinois to Louisiana, Mo. The 87-year-old bridge tops the list of rural spans MoDOT says are most in need of replacement but that the agency had said it could not afford to replace.

Illinois has already pledged to pay half the cost of a new $60 million bridge. Missouri had been unable to come up with its portion. But the awarding of a $10 million federal grant to be split between the states gives a firm deadline of Sept. 30, 2017, for when the project must be under way.

So now Missouri somehow must come up with $25 million, said Paula Gough, MoDOTs northeast district engineer.

On Wednesday, the commission approved a plan to begin a design-build project to replace the span, in which MoDOT sets a projects goals and budget and the contractor who best meets those goals within budget will craft its design and schedule.

That means key details, such as what will be built and the schedule for construction, wont be known until the project is awarded.

And when the new bridge is done, a different one will take its place atop the list of those most in need of replacement  the span over the Mississippi River that connects Perry County to Chester, Ill.

Others must be addressed soon, state officials said. Dennis Heckman, the state bridge engineer, told highway commissioners that more than $1 billion was needed to replace 12 major bridges across the state and to renovate another 20 over the next decade.

The bridges in the St. Louis area in need of replacement are on Interstate 44 in Fenton over the Meramec River; the Chain of Rocks bridge that spans the Mississippi River on Interstate 270; and the Highway 40 (Interstate 64) ramp bridge near 18th Street in downtown St. Louis.

Steve Miller, commission chairman, said some of the funding pressure on the state had grown less bleak, thanks in part to the passage of a long-term federal funding plan and better-than-expected state revenue.

The highway commission approved one year ago Missouris 325 System, in which the state would use its $325 million construction and maintenance budget to maintain primary roads such as interstates, based on gloomy financial forecasts.

But state fuel taxes, sales taxes on vehicles and from vehicle and drivers licensing fees generated $47 million more than anticipated for MoDOT, which meant locking in matching federal dollars.

Missouri can match $1 of state funds with $4 of federal funds.

MoDOT also has secured an additional $20 million per year for the next five years in federal matches on projects that previously had not qualified for matching funds, Miller said.

So the $325 million has grown to between $700 million and $800 million a year in contractor awards, he said, although he warned that an additional $160 million annually in new state revenues was still needed for vital projects.
There are probably dumber ways for political parties to start the process of selecting presidential nominees than the one on display in Iowa Monday night.

But lets face it: Allowing one 92 percent white, heavily rural Midwestern state, with a total population only a half-million people larger than that of metropolitan St. Louis, to play such an outsized role in winnowing the presidential field does a disservice to the democratic process.

Ever since Gary Hart, then-campaign manager for Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., realized in 1972 the jump that the Iowas party caucuses could give his candidate, the Hawkeye State has been where the nomination process begins. Iowa is so jealous of the first-up franchise that its been enshrined in law.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won the GOP caucuses on Monday night. Hell get eight of the states apportioned delegates to the national nominating convention. Tycoon Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida will get seven each. By virtue of his closing kick, Mr. Rubio will get the biggest bump in the anybody but Trump or Cruz sweepstakes.

The biggest loser: Probably Mr. Trump, who couldnt convert headlines into a plurality. Conventional wisdom would suggest weve passed peak Trump and that the nation is tired of his uncivil discourse. But this is a strange year.

The Democratic side was a statistical dead heat, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders each getting not-quite 50 percent. Mrs. Clinton, with three-tenths of a percent more, will get 22 delegates to the national convention and Mr. Sanders 21. But Mr. Sanders won the all-important game of surpassing the prognosticators low expectations.

Now its on to New Hampshire next Tuesday, another outlier state.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Missouri. Were Iowa and New Hampshire not so jealous of their first-in-the-nation franchises, Missouri would be the perfect place to start the nominating process.

Were a little short of Asian-Americans and significantly short of Hispanic-Americans, but were far more representative of America than Iowa or New Hampshire. Indeed, until 2008, when Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona narrowly defeated Barack Obama in Missouri, Missouri had a nearly perfect 100-year record of voting for the winning presidential candidate. The exception was 1956, when Missouri liked Ike less than Adlai Stevenson.

Republicans have controlled both Houses of the Missouri Legislature since 2002 and now have veto-proof majorities in both chambers. But weve had a Democratic governor for all but four years since 1993. Currently the only Republican holding statewide office is Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

Weve got urban, weve got rural, weve got blacks and whites and conservatives and liberals. Were far more representative of America than either Iowa or New Hampshire. And frankly, our hotels and restaurants could use the business.
If the execution is carried out, it too will leave a grieving family, in addition to having lost a little boy who might have survived if he could have gotten to the hospital in time.
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Investors cheer as Truss chased out of No 10

Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 17:12

The FTSE 100 moved into the green on Wednesday afternoon, with sterling also rising, as investors in the UK were buoyed by Liz Truss calling an end to her disastrous six-week tenure.

Truss has announced her resignation after a chaotic 44 days in office during which she lost the confidence of Tory members of Parliament and the public and oversaw economic turbulence.

She is set to become the shortest serving prime minister in history after she battled an open revolt from Conservatives demanding her departure.

Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street, Truss said she had told the King she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party as she recognised she "cannot deliver the mandate" which Tory members gave her little over six weeks ago.

"To use a phrase that has no doubt been exhausted in the past few weeks, markets don
Israel has decided to equip its new Namer IFV (infantry fighting vehicle) with the Trophy APS (Active Protection System) to provide protection from RPGs and ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missile). Trophy weighs about a ton and is one of several APS models on the market but it is also the one with the most impressive combat record. Despite its thick armor Namer was found to be still vulnerable to some of the ATGMs their Arab foes are getting. Trophy is now a proven cure for this problem.

In 2012 Israel equipped all the Merkava tanks in an armor brigade with Trophy. This was a first and came after the first battalion of Merkavas was so equipped in 2010. Then in 2011 Trophy defeated incoming missiles and rockets in combat for the first time. This included ATGMs, apparently a modern Russian system called Kornet E. This is a laser guided missile with a range of 5,000 meters. The launcher has a thermal sight for use at night or in fog. The missile's warhead can penetrate enough modern tank armor to render the side armor of the Israeli Merkava tank vulnerable. A few weeks before the ATGM intercept Trophy defeated an RPG warhead (an unguided rocket propelled grenade fired from a metal tube balanced on the shoulder). All this came a year after first equipping the first few Merkava tanks with APS. As it was designed to do, Trophy operated automatically and the crew didn't realize the incoming RPG warhead or missile had been stopped until after it was over. That is how APS is supposed to work and Trophy has proved to be the most reliable and effective APS out there.

This first combat use is a big deal because APS has been around for nearly three decades but demand and sales have been slow. The main purpose of APS is to stop ATGMs but on less heavily armored vehicles, stopping RPG type warheads is important as well. This is the main reason for developing Trophy LV.

The Israeli Trophy APS uses better, more reliable, and more expensive technology than the original Russian Drozd (or its successors, like Arena) APS. This includes an electronic jammer that will defeat some types of ATGMs. For about $300,000 per system, Trophy will protect a vehicle from ATGMs as well as RPGs (which are much more common in combat zones). Israel is the first Western nation to have a lot of their tanks shot up by modern ATGMs and apparently fears the situation will only get worse. Trophy protected several Israeli tanks from ATGM and RPG attacks during the 50 Day War with Hamas in mid-2014. The Israeli manufacturer of Trophy also partners with American firms to manufacture Trophy and Trophy LV (for lighter vehicles) for the U.S. market.

Israel first encountered ATGMs, on a large scale, in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. But these were the clumsy, first generation missiles that turned out to be more smoke than fire. More recent ATGM designs have proved more reliable and effective but no nation, except Israel, has yet made a major commitment to APS. That may now change, simply because effective APS like Trophy are available and RPG and ATGM losses are growing.

Most APS consist of a radar to detect incoming missiles and small rockets to rush out and disable the incoming threat. A complete system weighs about a ton. There is also a Trophy Light (weighing half a ton) for lighter, often unarmored, vehicles and now the even lighter Trophy LV for vehicles as small as a hummer.

Russia pioneered the development of these anti-missile systems. The first one, the Drozd, entered active service in 1983, mainly for defense against American ATGMs. These the Russians feared a great deal, as American troops had a lot of them, and the Russians knew these missiles (like TOW) worked. Russia went on to improve their anti-missile systems but was never able to export many of them. This was largely because these systems were expensive (over $100,000 per vehicle), no one trusted Russian hi-tech that much and new tanks, like the American M-1, were seen as a bigger threat than ATGMs.

The Namer is based on the chassis of older Merkava I and II series tanks. These vehicles are being retired, so they can either be scrapped, or recycled. Thus Namer has the thick armor of the Merkava. With the turret removed, a remotely controlled (from inside the vehicle) heavy machine-gun has been added on top. The Merkava lends itself to this kind of modification, because the engine is mounted in the front and there is already a door in the back of the vehicle.

While the Israelis liked the speed of the Stryker, which they considered ordering, they felt they will still be fighting in urban areas, against Palestinian terrorists, in the next ten years. There, the Namer has an edge, because of its thicker armor. Out in the open, the Stryker has an advantage. If the Israelis cannot afford to build enough Namers, they will add armor to their existing supply of M-113 APCs. But based on tests, and the first experience in Gaza, troops prefer the Namer.

The Namer carries twelve people (a driver, gunner, vehicle commander and nine infantry). The passenger compartment is also equipped with a stretcher that enables one casualty to be carried along with a full load of passengers and crew. In addition to the remotely controlled 12.7mm machine-gun, there is also a roof hatch on the left forward part of the vehicle, for the commander to use, and also operate a 7.62mm machine-gun. The vehicle also has the Merkava battle management system, as well as four cameras providing 360 degree vision around the vehicle. The remotely controlled machine-gun has a night vision sight. The vehicle also has a toilet, an addition based on troop feedback (and many missions where they had to stay on board for up to 24 hours at a time in combat zones.)

Earlier, Israel had experimented with using T-55 and Centurion tanks as IFVs. This did not work because the engines in these vehicles were in the rear, where the exit doors of AFVs usually are. Thus troops had to enter and exit via top hatches. This was not a good idea in combat. When the older Merkavas became available, IFV conversions were an obvious application. Israeli troops were not happy with their elderly and poorly protected M113 APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers), and were eager to get a safer vehicle.

Note that Namer is sometimes spelled Nemer, in case you want to go searching for more information on the subject.
Iraq began receiving its own F-16IQ fighters in 2014 and now has over ten of them regularly in action. To support this effort Iraq recently ordered nearly two billion dollars worth of missiles and smart bombs for their F-16s as well as some useful accessories. Iraq bought nearly 20,000 bombs, but only enough laser guidance tail kits for half of them. Most of the bombs were 227 kg (500 pound) types with about a quarter of them being 908 kg. The laser guidance is more accurate than the cheaper JDAM (GPS) model and reflects the fact that a lot of these bombs are being used in populated areas.

Accessories ordered include twenty JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System) look and shoot helmets for F-16 pilots, 24 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 150 Maverick air-to-ground missiles. This contract includes 400 contractor personnel to help with handling and maintenance. While Arab air force often need (and empl0y) this degree of contractor support in this case the U.S. wants some of the contractors to also try and prevent Iran from grabbing any (or at least too much) of this stuff.

The Iraqi F-16IQ is a special version of the Block 52 F-16C and the two-seater F-16D. The F-16IQ is similar to American Block 52 F-16s except they are not equipped to handle AMRAAM (radar guided air-to-air missiles) or JDAM (GPS guided bombs). The F-16IQ can handle laser guided bombs and older radar guided missiles like the AIM-7. The first 18 F-16IQs were ordered in late 2011 and the first arrived in Iraq right about the time ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) seized Mosul in June 2014. In 2014 Iraq ordered another 18 F-16IQs. The Iraqis were eager to buy F-16s partly because neighboring Turkey and Jordan have done well with this model.

Meanwhile, Iraq is slowly building a new air force. This force currently has some 250 aircraft, about half of them helicopters. There are 15,000 personnel in the air force, but Iraq plans to double the size of the air force by the end of the decade and equip it with over 500 aircraft, most of them non-combat types. By then, there will be about 35 squadrons (14 fighter, 5 attack helicopter, 5 armed scout helicopter, 2 transport, 2 reconnaissance, 1 fixed wing training, 1 helicopter training, 3 helicopter transport, 1 utility/search and rescue, and 1 special operations). Currently, the air force is flying mostly transport and reconnaissance missions. Iraq got its first combat aircraft in 2009, when three Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft with laser designators and Hellfire missiles arrived. Mi-17 helicopters were equipped to fire unguided rockets. Most helicopters have a door gunner armed with a machine-gun.
Despite a massive 18 month long campaign against Islamic terrorist hideouts along the Afghan border the Pakistani military cannot reduce the incidence of Islamic terror attacks below about half their normal (since 2003) level. Back in 2003 there were 189 terrorist related deaths in Pakistan. That rose to 863 in 2004 and kept going until it peaked at 11,700 in 2009. Increased efforts by security forces steadily reduced that 5,300 in 2013. Public pressure led to the major offensive in the northwest against North Waziristan in mid-2014 which spread to adjacent border areas but not the major Islamic terrorist sanctuaries in the southwest (Quetta) or the northeast (Kashmir). In 2015 there were 3,682 deaths, most of them Islamic terrorists killed in the offensive. But Islamic terrorist attacks only fell by about half. The offensive in the northwest is to continue to the end of 2016 and there is general agreement that it was not enough. The military is under growing pressure to shut down all Islamic terrorists in the country. Many military officers resist that because they believe, for religious or economic reasons that some Islamic terrorists must still be protected (so they can attack India and Afghanistan.) It is getting harder and harder to defend that position. America, India and Afghanistan are leading that effort and Pakistani government denials no longer work at all.

India, in contrast, has far fewer problems with terrorist violence. In 2009 India (with six times as many people as Pakistan) suffered 2,200 terrorism related deaths. Per-capita thats less than four percent of what Pakistan suffered. In 2015 India had 722 deaths, which is closer to three percent of what Pakistan suffered. Moreover the majority of Indian deaths have nothing to do with religion but rather are caused by tribal separatists (Pakistan has some of those) and leftist rebels (none in Pakistan). Most of the Pakistani terrorism deaths are about Islam. A growing number of Pakistanis are wondering why these huge differences exist.

A major reason for these differences can be found in patterns of corruption and military influence on politics. The Pakistani anti-corruption movement, although it has lots of popular support, is bumping into a very powerful and stubborn obstacle; the military. Since Pakistan was created in 1947, the country has been ruled nearly half the time by generals who took over "for the good of the country." That is no longer as tolerated as it once was. The generals originally believed they were going to be part of a democracy, like neighboring India. But the Pakistani military quickly became aware of the fact that political forces in Pakistan were not as mature or as powerful as in India. For whatever cultural, historical and religious reasons Pakistani democracy was not working well and the military was the largest and best educated and disciplined part of the government. It seemed natural that during a political crises (the elected officials deadlocked and unable to rule) the military should step in. The politicians, and most of the people, did not agree with this and as the decades passed the politicians and their political parties became more skilled and the military takeovers less justified by necessity. Unfortunately to make military rule work where civilian rule could not the military made some fundamental and very damaging changes in Pakistani culture. Unlike in India Pakistan did not do much to eliminate the local ancient curses. As a result after 1947 Pakistan remained very corrupt and few wealthy feudal families continued to dominate the economy, politics and the military. In Pakistan less than a hundred of these clans control about half the economy. They are very powerful and determined to keep things that way. That has been accomplished by working very closely with the military. A disproportionate number of military leaders come from these clans and these men see family and national interests as inseparable. More damage was done in the 1970s when it was clear that the politicians were gaining in skill and power. So the generals decided to back religious radicalism and Islamic terrorist groups. Many officers later regretted that decision mainly because there was no easy way to turn the Islamic terrorism monster off once it had been declared legitimate but was no longer needed. So now, faced with the loss of political power the generals are looking for another way to safeguard their wealth (gained largely via corruption) and privileges (also mostly illegal) from growing public wrath.

January 30, 2016: Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to increase coordination on border security. The 2,600 kilometer long frontier is poorly guarded and there are frequent illegal crossings by smugglers and Islamic terrorists.

January 27, 2016: For the first time ever Chinese warships visited Bangladesh. Task Force (TF) 21 spent five days there showing off the destroyer, frigate and replenishment ship that comprise TF 21.

January 24, 2016: In eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, an American UAV fired a missile at a building and killed Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan had asked the Americans to do this and apparently provided some useful intel to make this attack possible. There is still no absolute proof that Mullah Fazlullah is dead but that is expected soon as a new leader will have to be announced if the previous one is really gone. Pakistan accused Mullah Fazlullah of authorizing and supporting several major attacks inside Pakistan, including the one at a Pakistani university on the 20th.

January 21, 2016: The head of the local (for Pakistan and Afghanistan) branch of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) released an interview in which he repeated allegations that the Pakistani military controls the Afghan Taliban and Islamic terrorist groups based in Pakistan that operate in India. These accusations are nothing new but they are the reason ISIL considers Pakistan un-Islamic and worthy of some lethal retribution delivered by ISIL. To underscore that on January 13th ISIL attacked the Pakistani consulate in Afghanistan (Jalalabad). Three attackers and seven security personnel died. This was the first time ISIL went after a Pakistani government target. Apparently four suicide bombers were involved in this attack and the fourth one got away. For most of 2015 ISIL has been skirmishing with Pakistani Taliban hiding out in eastern Afghanistan.

January 20, 2016: In northwest Pakistan (outside Peshawar) four Pakistani Taliban attacked Bacha Khan University. The attackers were killed after a six hour military effort against them but not before 22 people died. Military intelligence determined that the attack received support from local pro-Taliban clerics and over the next month nearly 200 religious schools were closed and bank accounts of 126 suspect organizations were frozen. Even before the Bacha Khan University attack Pakistan had been closing religious schools and going after Islamic terrorism supporters in response to Indian complaints that a January 2nd attack on an Indian air base near the border was the work of Pakistan based groups. Officially Pakistan still resists admitting that this goes on, but as a practical measure Pakistan now accepts that all Islamic terrorist groups are dangerous to everyone, even if some of them promise to only attack outside Pakistan. The attack on the university was also a Taliban warning that all non-Islamic schools were targets for Islamic terrorists and that led to several universities and private schools to close for a while. Others increased security.

The Afghan Air Force received the first of four used Mi-25 helicopter gunships from India. Afghanistan, India and Pakistan already operate some M-24s as well as the upgraded version (Mi-35). The Mi-25 is an export version of the Mi-24. India is replacing its Mi-25s with American AH-64s.

January 19, 2016: Pakistan revealed that it had nearly 1,200 military trainers and advisors in Saudi Arabia and was sending more. The Arabs wanted combat troops, warships and jet fighters. The oil rich Gulf Arabs are angry with Pakistan over what is perceived as ingratitude and betrayal after years of generous financial support. Pakistan is making matters worse by announcing it would cooperate with Iran to try and solve the Yemen unrest (where Iran admits it backs the Shia rebels) peacefully. That was seen as insulting to Saudi Arabia, which had publicly asked Pakistan to join the Saudi led coalition (Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt) fighting Shia rebels in Yemen. At the same time Pakistan assured Saudi Arabia that Pakistan would provide military assistance if the territory of Saudi Arabia were invaded. That would only happen if Iran attacked, although Pakistan refused to elaborate on that possibility.

Pakistan carried out another successful test of its stealthy Raad (Hatf 8) cruise missile. This is the air launched version, with a range of 350 kilometers. Hatf 8 is three decade old technology, been in service since 2007 and not as complex as the many ballistic missiles Pakistan has also built. Cruise missiles are cheaper than ballistic missiles, and can be recalled (useful if they have nuclear warheads).

January 14, 2016: The U.S. government made public its estimate that Pakistan had 110-130 nuclear weapons, mainly for discouraging India from invading.
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Chinese Carrier Fleet Expansion Confirmed And Clarified

by James Dunnigan

February 2, 2016 At the end of 2015 the Chinese navy finally confirmed that they were indeed building a second aircraft carrier. The design is apparently based on the first Chinese carrier, the Liaoning. This is a 65,000 ton, 305 meter (999 feet) long ship that is actually a modified version of the last Cold War Russian carrier design. China also confirmed that the new carrier would also have the ski jump deck like Liaoning. Since 2013 there had been reports that a large aircraft carrier was under construction in northwest China (Dalian). Although China is building a 22 meter (71 foot) high wall around parts of the Dalian naval base to prevent people from taking pictures of what is going on there this has not stopped amateur naval enthusiasts from getting information and distributing it on the Internet. One of the best sources of information on Chinese warship construction is the Internet. Thousands of Chinese naval buffs living close to major shipyards provide a steady supply of photos on the web. The Chinese government tried to prevent this but since 2005 came to realize that cracking down on enthusiastic and Internet savvy Chinese fans of the navy was not a wise move. A lot of important secrets are still preserved by building parts of ships in a shed and a lot of the most valuable military secrets are with equipment installed inside the ship or behind a wall. So the government allows all (with a few exceptions) these photos to appear. Then there are some interesting official photos. In mid-2014 photos of a carrier model being displayed at an official event appeared on the Chinese Internet. The detailed model had the hull number 18 and the ship looked similar to an American CVN (a Nimitz class nuclear aircraft carrier). The Chinese CVN has four catapults and three elevators and much other evidence of being nuclear and very similar to the Nimitz class. This is not what was thought to be under construction at Dalian but rather a proposal for carrier number three or four or whatever. The first Chinese carrier, the Liaoning is hull number 16 and the 2013 photos showed sections of a new Chinese carrier under construction. This ship would probably have hull number 17. All this implies the third Chinese carrier, the second one built in China, would be nuclear and probably closer in design to the recently decommissioned American USS Enterprise (CVN 65). That is still a mystery because too much information is coming out of China. CVN 65 was the first American nuclear powered carrier and it served as the prototype for the subsequent Nimitz class. The Enterprise was an expensive design, and only one was built (instead of a class of six). While a bit longer than the later Nimitz class, it was lighter (92,000 tons displacement, versus 100,000 tons). The Enterprise was commissioned in 1961, almost 40 years after the first U.S. carrier (the Langley) entered service in 1923. Chinese are keen students of history, their own as well as that of others. Chinese ship designers know all about the Langley and Enterprise. The Chinese are also well aware that in the two decades after the USS Langley there were tremendous changes in carrier aviation. While the innovation slowed after World War II, major changes continued into the 1950s (jet aircraft, nuclear propelled carriers, SAMs). But in the ensuing half century there has been no major innovation in basic carrier design. This has not been a problem because the carriers have proven useful, at least for the U.S. Navy (the only fleet to use such large carriers) and no one else has maintained a force of these large carriers. Only the U.S. has felt a constant need to get air power to any corner of the planet in a hurry. More importantly, no navy has been able to give battle to the U.S. carrier force since 1945. The Soviets built new anti-carrier weapons and made plans to use them but that war never occurred. China is building carriers but does not yet seem committed to having a lot of them to confront the U.S. but rather just a few to intimidate its neighbors. Large ships, including warships, are often built in sections, then the sections are welded and bolted together. The section of what appears to be a carrier does not indicate the exact size of the new carrier, other than that it appears larger than the new carrier (Liaoning) China commissioned at the end of 2012. At the time China was believed to be building the first of several locally designed aircraft carriers but the Chinese officially denied this. The only official announcements have alluded to the need for two or three aircraft carriers, in addition to the Liaoning. Construction of such large ships had been seen in shipyards like Dalian. The Liaoning spent over a year on sea trials and as of early 2016 has still not entered regular service. Since its 2012 commissioning Liaoning has been used for training and getting experience with carrier operations. During that time Liaoning began flight operations in November 2012 and these were such a success that the Chinese built carrier fighter J-15 (a Su-27 variant) eventually participated in these carrier operations. In 2013 China confirmed that the Liaoning will primarily be a training carrier. The Chinese apparently plan to station up to 24 jet fighters and 26 helicopters on the Liaoning and use the ship to train pilots and other specialists for additional carriers. Meanwhile, the Liaoning will also be staffed and equipped as a combat ship as well. Liaoning began as one of the two Kuznetsov class carriers that Russia began building in the 1980s. Originally the Kuznetsovs were to be 90,000 ton nuclear powered ships (the Ulanovsk class), similar to American Nimitz class carriers (complete with steam catapults). Instead, because of the high cost and the complexity of modern (American style) carriers, the Russians were forced to scale back their plans and ended up with 65,000 ton (full load) ships that lacked steam catapults and used a ski jump type flight deck instead. Nuclear power was dropped but the Kuznetsovs were still a formidable design. The Kuznetsovs normally carry a dozen navalized Su-27s (called Su-33s), 14 Ka-27PL anti-submarine helicopters, two electronic warfare helicopters, and two search and rescue helicopters. But the ship was built to carry as many as 36 Su-33s and sixteen helicopters. The Kuznetsovs carry 2,500 tons of aviation fuel, allowing it to generate 500-1,000 aircraft and helicopter sorties. Crew size is 2,500 (or 3,000 with a full aircraft load). While the original Kuznetsov is in Russian service, the second ship, the Varyag, was launched but not completed and work stopped in 1992. The Chinese bought the unfinished carrier in 1998, towed it to China, and spent over a decade completing it as the Liaoning. Meanwhile the Nimitz class is being replaced. The U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) was launched and christened in late 2013 and is expected to enter service in 2016. The first ship of the next class of carriers, the Ford will be about the same length (333 meters/1,092 feet) and displacement (100,000 tons) of the previous Nimitz class ships but will look different. The most noticeable difference will be the island set closer to the stern (rear) of the ship. The USS Ford is expected to cost nearly $14 billion. About 40 percent of that is for designing the first ship of the class, so the actual cost of the first ship (CVN 78) itself will be some $9 billion. Against this the navy expects to reduce the carrier's lifetime operating expenses by several billion dollars because of greatly reduced crew size. Compared to the current Nimitz class carriers (which cost over $5 billion each to build) the Fords will feel, well, kind of empty even through there will be 4,600 personnel on board. There will be lots more automation, computer networking, and robots. The most recent Nimitz class ships have a lot of this automation already. Like the Nimitz class, the Fords will carry about 75 aircraft and helicopters. The catapults will be electromagnetic rather than steam powered and its nuclear power plant will not have to be partially taken apart to be refueled. The new catapults and other design improvements will allow the Fords to launch 20-30 percent more sorties per day than the Nimitz class ships.


GULF OF OMAN (Jan. 26, 2016) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Airman Michael Ancelet, from Hackberry, La., directs an AV-8B Harrier as it takes off the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3). Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) 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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tyler Preston)

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by Austin Bay February 2, 2016

North Korea's nuclear extortion drama, the repeated threat of nuclear attack followed by demands for food and financial aid, has exhausted South Korean and Japanese diplomatic patience.

Last year, Japan indicated that North Korea should expect more than expressions of anger the next time it put a ballistic missile on a launch pad in preparation for a test. Pyongyang's threat theater often starts with erecting a missile and announcing a test flight. Alternatively, Act 1 begins with a nuclear test. North Korea allegedly conducted a nuclear test on January 6.

Weapon range and reliability play a role Tokyo's and Seoul's loss of patience. As Pyongyang's missile and nuclear warhead technologies improve, the threat to East Asia becomes more immediate. The threat also extends beyond East Asia. The U.S. is considering deploying land-based anti-missile systems in Hawaii (Aegis Ashore). In March 2013, North Korea revealed that Austin, Texas (where South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. has a manufacturing facility) is on its target list. North Korea can't hit Texas -- yet.

For Japan, the next time arrived last week when North Korea announced a missile launch. Major Japanese media reported that Defense Minister Gen Nakatani ordered Japan's military to be prepared "to destroy any missile fired by North Korea that threatens the country."

This is a message where the messenger matters. For years, Nakatani has argued that Japan must be able to strike enemy military assets preemptively when they threaten imminent attack on Japan. He vigorously advocated changing the Japanese constitution to permit offensive action by Japanese military forces. Last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe succeeded in making those changes.

However, when asked to confirm Nakatani's statement, the defense ministry demurred, arguing confirmation would reveal strategy. A spokeswoman told AFP "... we are taking all possible measures to respond (to a missile launch) by collecting information and coordinating with countries concerned."

Wiggle room. Diplomats love it. Fuzziness can provide space for compromise agreement. But doubt in an enemy's mind has military utility, and Nakatani is a leader who would create it and exploit it. Where would Japan's destruction of a threatening North Korean missile take place? "Fired," suggests Japan would respond post-launch when the missile is on a track to hit Japanese territory. However, nothing Nakatani said was confirmed or denied. And remember what I said about the messenger.

Say "missile defense." The first thought is in-flight interception. Japan has previously warned it will intercept North Korean missiles. Japan and the U.S. have anti-missile capable Aegis warships. South Korea is deploying upgraded U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile missiles. Last week, Japan positioned a Patriot PAC-3 launcher in downtown Tokyo, where everyone can see it.

However, destroying a missile on the launch pad is also missile defense. Offensive missile defense may be an oxymoron, but it is an option. A preemptive attack is an act of war. However, repeatedly placing a missile on a pad and threatening to nuke Seoul and Tokyo invites war. A preemptive attack by Japan or South Korea -- or even the U.S. -- on a North Korean launch site has always been a possibility. But once again, consider the messenger. Has Nakatani introduced the possibility without making it explicit?

How would China react? A North Korean attack -- or an attack to forestall a North Korean attack -- could ignite a devastating war. Even though they are major trading partners, China and Japan have serious territorial disputes. Nakatani takes a very hard line in those disputes.

Fair bet this wider war would -- at a minimum -- kill several hundred thousand people. Beijing knows a big war would harm its economy and perhaps erase a decade of growth. An East Asian war could beggar the global economy. Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo create a lot of value and do a lot of business.

To China's credit, since 2006, it is increasingly quick to criticize North Korean threat and aggression.
Wellesbourne Airfield

On Monday, 8th February, they will perform to Libyan migrants at the Salesian Theatre in Malta.

The tour started on 23rd April, 2015 and will finish on the same date this year - the day William Shakespeare's birth and death is celebrated.

Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of Shakespeares Globe, said: This performance will be yet another wonderful example of this ground-breaking tours ability to reach displaced people across the world.

"Its a privilege that our company have been able to perform in the Calais Jungle and our thanks go to Good Chance for enabling this.

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, artistic directors of Good Chance, said: We are delighted to welcome Shakespeares Globes to the Jungle.

"As a production which has travelled to audiences all over the world, it is fitting that it visits the camp here in Calais, where the fault lines of over 20 different nations meet.

"The Good Chance Theatre welcomes people of all ages and nationalities to share in the different cultures and traditions that provide the only positive aspect of this situation.

"The production is a message of solidarity with the people here, and testament to the power of theatre to unite."

The tour was granted UNESCO patronage for its engagement with local communities and its promotion of cultural education.
The visitors took the lead in only the third minute when James Walker converted from a corner. Another chance came with a long shot from Dan Carter and then Matt Archer made a smart save to deny Gareth Evans.

Captain Tunde Ajibade levelled the score in the 28th with a deflected shot from outside the box, after good work by Alex Andrews down the right and, although Saints put pressure on Town with a succession of corners as the interval approached, the teams went in at 1-1.

Archer was called upon to make three good saves as Town stepped up a gear at the beginning of the second half, but Andrews had a good chance to add a second for Saints in the 66th minute, only to shoot wide. Archer then made a fine save from a Ludlow free kick, and Aaron Cheshire blocked a goal-bound shot from a corner.

It was Archer again to the rescue from another Ludlow set-piece, before Cheshire and Mike Harvey combined to thwart substitute Jacob Snape. At the other end, Ajibade set up Paul Goonan, who was denied by a good save from keeper Andy Yarnold and, in the last minute of added time, Saints could have snatched the winner when Yarnold dropped the ball from a corner, but there was nobody able to get a touch.

In Tuesday night's other game, Racing Club Warwick's difficult start to the year continued as they were beaten 3-0 by Studley, who move up to tenth in Midland League Division One.
Wellesbourne Airfield

Welcoming the local figures, Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Ball said:

Protecting frontline policing has been a key priority for me and I have said from day one of taking office that I would not consider any further reductions in police officer numbers. These figures show that, not only have I been able to keep that pledge, I have in fact been able to deliver among the largest increases of officers seen across the whole of England and Wales.

At the beginning of 2015, the force looked to be facing further substantial financial cuts and with the major part of the budget used to cover salaries, it was inevitable that there would have had to be some stark decisions around future officer numbers in order to meet the savings targets that we were then anticipating. Thankfully, with a much more favourable settlement from the Chancellor in the autumn, that picture has fundamentally changed and the progress we have made in the last 12 months can be maintained.

When I took office I inherited a strong platform from the previous Police Authority. Im delighted that these figures prove that I will be leaving an even stronger base for the next Police and Crime Commissioner to work from.

Its also excellent news that the force with the single largest percentage increase in the country is our Alliance partner West Mercia. With the close working arrangements and shared services we both enjoy, what is good for West Mercia is also good news for the people of Warwickshire.
Wellesbourne Airfield

The redevelopment began in February 2015 and will be completed in time for the 400th commemorations to mark William Shakespeares death on Saturday 23rd April.

The Other Place will be a 200-seat studio theatre which will begin hosting Page To Stage tours shortly after it re-opens. This brand new tour will give unprecedented access to the newly transformed rehearsal rooms and costume store at The Other Place. There will also be first-hand accounts from directors and actors, and the chance to peek into the vast costume hire store.

The RSC will use the auditorium (pictured) for the first time later this year with a new work festival in July. Titles will be announced in spring.

Funding for the new theatre came from a 3 million grant from the Arts Council England, the National Lottery and public donations.
Wellesbourne Airfield

The tribunal was told that DS Hinton had praised Mr Mitchell for his candour at the meeting in the MPs Sutton Coldfield constituency, but then told the BBC he had been evasive.

However, the tribunal decided DS Hinton was not guilty of misconduct.

Immediately after the verdict Mr Ball said: Todays hearing hopefully brings to a conclusion a sorry saga that has taken far too much time and leaves very few people of those involved with any credit.

I have previously described the Plebgate affair as a national embarrassment and I stand by that view. In most cases, those involved have paid a heavy price: a few seconds of very poor judgement by Andrew Mitchell MP have cost him dearly, both in financial and reputational terms; a number of police officers have been disciplined, lost their jobs and, in one case, justifiably been imprisoned, while DS Hinton has been subjected to an overly-lengthy process before the allegations were found to be not proven.

There is one organisation, however, which has performed extremely poorly throughout: the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Their judgements concerning this case have been inept from start to finish.

Their initial decision was to allocate this as a supervised investigation  the third least serious on the scale, just above local resolution  for the very serious allegation that, potentially, members of the Police Federation had colluded to bring down a cabinet minister.

This was both astonishing and inexplicable. Unfortunately, the quality of their subsequent decision-making did not improve.

Mr Ball added: That first investigation had to be re-run, despite being supervised by the IPCC. A subsequent investigation found there was a case to answer for misconduct by the Warwickshire officer.

At this point the IPCC used their powers to intervene and imposed an allegation of gross misconduct  only to be proved wrong once again. The determination today that there has been no misconduct at all only serves to reinforce this point further.

Had the IPCC taken a different decision initially and conducted their own independent investigation  which allegations of this seriousness would have merited  this whole process could have been completed literally years ago, saving vast amounts of money. Instead, the costs of all of this have been massive and the public have been left with serious questions about the credibility and competence of the very body which is expensively funded to resolve just these sorts of issues.

Unfortunately, there are police and crime commissioners and chief constables the length and breadth of the country questioning the governance and oversight of the IPCC, asking to whom is it answerable? How can we be sure that the watchdog is doing its job effectively?

This whole affair has been an embarrassment from start to finish, yet I see no evidence of red faces from the IPCC. There should be.

The Plebgate Affair followed allegations by police officers in Downing Street that Mr Mitchell had called them plebs during an altercation with them. Mr Mitchell has always denied he used that word.
Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) and RONA inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lowe's is expected to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of RONA for C$24 per share in cash, and all of the issued and outstanding preferred shares of RONA for C$20 per share in cash. The total transaction value is C$3.2 billion (US$2.3 billion) (the "Transaction"). The offer represents a premium of 104 percent to RONA's closing common share price on February 2, 2016 and a 38 percent premium to RONA's 52-week high of C$17.36. Together, Lowe's Canada and RONA stores will create Canada's leading home improvement retailer with 2015 pro forma revenues from Canadian operations of approximately C$5.6 billion. Excluding transaction and integration costs, we anticipate the Transaction will be accretive to Lowe's earnings in the first year following the close of the acquisition.

The Transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Lowe's and RONA and is supported by the management teams of both companies. The Transaction is expected to proceed by way of a plan of arrangement by which Lowe's would acquire all of the outstanding shares of RONA, subject to RONA common shareholder approval and satisfaction of customary conditions, including the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The RONA Board has received an opinion from Scotia Capital Inc. that the consideration to be received by RONA's common and preferred shareholders pursuant to the Transaction is fair, from a financial point of view.

The RONA Board will recommend that RONA shareholders vote in favor of the plan of arrangement at a special meeting of shareholders expected to be held before the end of the first quarter of 2016. Further information regarding the Transaction will be included in RONA's information circular to be mailed to RONA shareholders in advance of the special meeting. The arrangement agreement provides that RONA is subject to customary non-solicitation provisions.

"We are very excited about this transaction as it leverages the strengths of two great companies, positioning us for continued success in Canada's over C$45 billion and growing home improvement industry. The strategic rationale of this transaction, for both companies, is very compelling," said Lowe's Chairman, President and CEO Robert A. Niblock.

"The transaction is expected to accelerate Lowe's growth strategy by significantly expanding our presence in the Canadian market through the addition of RONA's attractive business and excellent store locations across the country," added Niblock. "Importantly, the transaction also provides Lowe's with entry into Quebec, where RONA is the market leader and we have no presence. We have committed to maintaining RONA's operations in Boucherville, where we will headquarter our Canadian businesses, and plan to continue to operate RONA's multiple retail banners and distribution services to independent dealers. With our shared customer-centric values and a steadfast commitment to the Canadian market, we expect to generate significant long-term benefits for shareholders, customers, vendors, employees and the communities we serve."

RONA's Chairman, Robert Chevrier added, "We believe the time is right to take the next step in the evolution of the RONA family. The team at Lowe's has presented us with an excellent plan that enables our company to maintain its brand power while at the same time leveraging Lowe's global presence to build upon and expand our reach. With commitments made by Lowe's to our employees, potential new markets for Canadian manufacturers and product offerings for our independent dealers, this transaction presents the ideal opportunity for the continued growth of our company while delivering an attractive premium for our shareholders."

The Canadian operations will be led by Sylvain Prud'homme, president of Lowe's Canada. The senior management teams of both companies will work to assure a smooth and effective transition.

"We are pleased with the solid position we have established in key Canadian markets in recent years and the positive reception from our local customers," said Prud'homme. "We look forward to continuing our commitment to the Canadian market and further enhancing our offering to the customers of both Lowe's and RONA. We have great respect for RONA's leadership team and RONA's talented employee base and look forward to working together to take our businesses to the next level."

Lowe's has identified over C$1 billion of opportunities to further increase revenue and operating profitability in Canada. These include: expanding customer reach and serving a new portion of the market by applying Lowe's expertise in certain product categories, such as appliances; enhancing customer relevance, utilizing Lowe's strengths as a leading omni-channel home improvement company and drawing on its customer experience design capabilities; and driving increased profitability in Canada by leveraging shared supplier relationships and enhanced scale, as well as Lowe's private label capabilities, in addition to eliminating RONA's public company costs. Given these opportunities, Lowe's believes there is potential to double operating profitability in Canada over five years.

Lowe's Commitments to RONA Stakeholders in Canada

In addition to the attractive premium offered to RONA's shareholders, Lowe's has agreed to key commitments for RONA and its stakeholders. These include:



-- to headquarter the Canadian businesses in Boucherville, Quebec;

-- to maintain RONA's multiple retail store banners;

-- to enhance distribution services to independent dealers;

-- for RONA to continue to employ the vast majority of its current

employees and maintain key executives from RONA's strong leadership

team;

-- to continue RONA's local and ethical procurement strategy and

potentially expand relationships both Lowe's and RONA have developed

with Canadian manufacturers and suppliers; and

-- to continue to support Canadian communities through RONA and Lowe's

charitable and environmental initiatives.





Lowe's Companies, Inc. Conference Call





Lowe's will hold a conference call to discuss the announcement today at 8:00 a.m. EST. The conference call will be available by webcast and can be accessed by visiting Lowe's website at www.Lowes.com/investor, clicking on webcasts, and selecting Lowe's Companies Canada Acquisition Conference Call. Supplemental slides will be available 15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call. A replay of the call will be archived on Lowes.com/investor.

RONA inc. Conference Call

RONA will hold a conference call to discuss the announcement today at 10:30 a.m. EST. The conference call will be available by webcast and can be accessed by visiting RONA's website at rona.ca/corporate/investors.

News Conference

Lowe's and RONA will host a joint news conference at noon today at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Room Hemon, 1201 Boulevard Rene-Levesque O, Montreal, QC H3B 2L7. Executives of both companies will be present to answer questions from the news media. An audio webcast of the news conference will be made available during the event by clicking this link and can be accessed following the event by visiting http://www.Lowes.com/investor and rona.ca/corporate/investors.

Advisors

CIBC World Markets Inc. and RBC Capital Markets are serving as financial advisors to Lowe's in connection with the Transaction. Stikeman Elliott LLP is serving as legal counsel to Lowe's in Canada, and Hunton & Williams LLP is serving as legal counsel to Lowe's in the U.S. Scotia Capital Inc. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to RONA. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP is serving as legal counsel to RONA.
A 3D printed Twitter logo is seen in this illustration picture made in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic - RTX258QI

By Amy Tennery

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on Wednesday imposed a new policy banning staff from tweeting from its official Twitter account on their personal devices, a day after the bank apologized for an employee's unauthorized tweet dismissing the Iowa caucuses as irrelevant.

On Monday night, as results were coming in from the Iowa caucuses, a San Francisco Fed staffer used the bank's confirmed Twitter handle @sffed to send a tweet deriding the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest. The employee thought they were sending the message from their personal Twitter account.

The tweet was deleted, but not before Zero Hedge, an independent, anonymous blog about financial markets and economics, captured a screen grab of it and posted it to its site.

"Rick Santorum won #Iowa in 2012," the tweet read. "Rick Santorum didn't win...anything that matters. Iowa is...Iowa."

The San Francisco Fed tweeted out a two-part apology Tuesday afternoon.

"Last night an employee mistakenly tweeted from the Banks account. The tweet was deleted b/c it doesnt represent the Banks views," the San Francisco Fed tweeted. "We apologize for this mistake; we are reviewing our policies & practices to ensure that this does not happen again."

In an email to Reuters on Wednesday, a bank spokesman said that under its policy, employees will only access the Fed's account with bank-issued devices.

The spokesman declined to comment on whether the employee who sent the tweet was disciplined in any way, saying that "it would be inappropriate to comment on personnel matters."

The San Francisco Fed is among the most prolific tweeters of the 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve System. With 7,287 tweets issued under its handle, the bank's volume trails only the Federal Reserve banks of St. Louis (@stlouisfed), which has more than 16,400 tweets under its name, and Richmond (@RichmondFed), which has 9,836 tweets using its handle.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was the Republican victor in Iowa, while among Democrats, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 will be the next contest for candidates vying to represent each party in the November presidential election.

(Additional reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker)
AURORA, Colo., Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Louie Key, National Director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, released the following statement:

"On behalf of the over 3,000 Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines aircraft maintenance technicians, AMFA applauds House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster for the inclusion of greater oversight and accountability of foreign repair station employees in the FAA reauthorization bill.

"Safety is the cornerstone of the pact between the aircraft maintenance technician and the American flying public. Recognizing there is a safety gap with our foreign counterparts, AMFA leadership actively pursued policies in the FAA authorization to institute a mandatory drug and alcohol testing policy and establish a pre-employment background investigation requirement of employees of foreign repair stations. The safety and security standards on the domestic technician, that help to ensure the public safety and reliability of aircraft maintenance, should be uniform no matter where the repair station is located. To that end, AMFA recognizes the work of the Committee and supports the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, more specifically the Alcohol and Controlled Substances Testing and Background Investigations sections.

"In addition to the leadership of Chairman Shuster, AMFA would like to thank Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, Congressman Ryan Costello, Congressman Dan Lipinski, and Congressman Lou Barletta. Their continuous support and persistence throughout this process helps ensure the safety of the American flying public."

Legislative language is available here.

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association is a craft oriented, independent aviation union. AMFA represents licensed and unlicensed technicians and related employees actively involved in the aviation industry. These technician and related employees work directly on aircraft and/or components, support equipment, and facilities. AMFA is committed to elevating the professional standing of technicians and to achieving progressive improvements in wages, benefits, and working conditions of the skilled craftsmen and women it represents. For more information about AMFA visit www.amfanational.org.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amfa-applauds-the-inclusion-of-greater-oversight-and-accountability-for-foreign-repair-station-employees-in-faa-reauthorization-300214972.html

SOURCE Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced the development of an on-chip switched-capacitor DC-DC converter for wireless ICs that offers up to 95.8% efficiency with a 0.85-to-3.6V wide input voltage range, and a 0.1-to-1.9V wide output voltage range. The DC-DC converter extends the battery life of wireless devices, and supports use of both 3V lithium battery and 1.5V alkaline battery with the same design. This advance was announced at the 2016 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, California, on February 2.

Many of todays wireless ICs have embedded DC-DC converters instead of LDO regulators to reduce the power consumption of the ICs. However, mainstream inductor-based DC-DC converters require an inductor that is relatively bulky and expensive. Capacitor-based DC-DC converters have gained attention recently on their ability to offer a compact, low cost module. However, switched-capacitor DC-DC converters offer high efficiency only in a limited input and output voltage range, since they are based on a discrete conversion ratio; inductor-based DC-DC converters have a continuous conversion ratio. Conventional techniques solve this by connecting multiple switched-capacitor units in series, but this incurs an efficiency penalty.

Toshiba has solved the issue by developing a new unified switched-capacitor topology with 3 capacitors and a multiple switch control architecture, that achieves multiple conversion ratios. Switched between the appropriate configurations of capacitors, this switched-capacitor DC-DC converter offers up to 95.8% efficiency with a 0.85-to-3.6V wide input voltage range, and a 0.1-to-1.9V wide output voltage range. It also supports auto-configured step-up and step-down power conversions, and can provide 2 channels of regulated output voltages.

Toshiba will continue to research this technology toward providing lower-cost and thinner wireless device modules, and plans to use the switched-capacitor in a low-power wireless IC released in three years time.

About Toshiba

Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into five strategic business domains: Energy & Infrastructure, Community Solutions, Healthcare Systems & Services, Electronic Devices & Components, and Lifestyles Products & Services. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, Committed to People, Committed to the Future, Toshiba promotes global operations and is contributing to the realization of a world where generations to come can live better lives.

Founded in Tokyo in 1875, todays Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of over 580 consolidated companies employing 199,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 6.6 trillion yen (US$55 billion).To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160202006743/en/

Toshiba Corporation

Semiconductor & Storage Products Company

Megumi Genchi / Kota Yamaji, +81-3-3457-3576

Communication IR Promotion Group

Business Planning Division

[email protected]

Source: Toshiba Semiconductor & Storage Products Company
NAIROBI (Reuters) - At least one person was killed in a grenade attack on a bar in Burundi on Monday night, witnesses said, in more violence since the African Union backed away from sending in peacekeepers without the government's consent.

The grenades went off in the Butere neighborhood of the capital Bujumbura on Monday night.

"One (person) was killed instantly," said Jean de Dieu, who was near the scene of attack.

Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye confirmed two grenades were detonated and eight people were wounded.

Burundi sank into a crisis last year after President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term of office, which he secured in a disputed vote.

African leaders, who met in Addis Ababa at the weekend, agreed to send a team to try to persuade Nkurunziza to accept a 5,000-strong force after he rejected the plan and said any such force would be treated as an invasion.

The Butere neighborhood was one of the flashpoints during the height of the violent protest against Nkurunziza's decision, along with the neighboring Mutakura and Cibitoke areas.

When the peacekeeping plan was announced in December by the African Union's peace and security council, officials had said they could invoke an article of the AU's charter that allows it to act even without a government's agreement.

But African leaders showed wariness of such a move at the summit and instead decided to seek approval first.

Following a visit by the U.N. Security Council to Burundi late last month, Nkrunziza wrote to the 15-member body to say he took note of their concerns.

"We have decided  and issued instructions accordingly to the officials of the services concerned  to make ourselves available to the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General," Nkurunziza wrote in a Jan. 25 letter, made public on Tuesday.

He promised they would cooperate closely with the special adviser's team to support an inclusive national dialogue, disarmament, security, human rights and development.

(Writing by Duncan Miriri and Edmund Blair; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; editing by Katharine Houreld)
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Tuesday warned the country's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), that time is running out to begin peace negotiations to end five decades of war.

It called on the ELN to make clear and concrete efforts following its more than two years of exploratory peace talks so that formal negotiations can begin.

"Time is running out for the ELN to form part of a political solution to the armed conflict in Colombia," said Frank Pearl, head of the government delegation engaged in preliminary talks with the ELN.

The ELN has been saying it is ready for full talks since April.

"If that organization truthfully wants to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict, it has to be capable of taking serious decisions and change its ambiguous and useless words and statements for clear and concrete efforts toward peace," Pearl added.

He did not say what kind of steps he wanted the ELN to take.

President Juan Manuel Santos's government is close to agreeing a peace accord with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the nation's biggest rebel group, in talks underway in Cuba. Any ELN talks would be independent to those underway with the FARC.

More than 220,000 people have died in the conflict between the government, the ELN, the FARC and right-wing paramilitaries.

The ELN has battled a dozen governments since it was founded in 1964 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. It has continued kidnapping and attacks on infrastructure even as the talks continue.

Inspired by Cuba's 1959 revolution and established by radical Catholic priests, the ELN was close to disappearing in the 1970s but steadily gained power again. It has about 2,000 fighters.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy; Editing by W Simon)
PRAGUE/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Five Czech citizens who went missing in Lebanon in July are now with the Lebanese security services, a security source told Reuters on Monday.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the five, who went missing in eastern Lebanon last year, were found late on Monday.

"We will send a plane for them as soon as possible," the Czech foreign minister, Lubomir Zaoralek, on a visit to Oman, said on his Twitter account.

The disappearance, which Czech authorities treated as a possible kidnapping, may have been related to organized crime and the drugs and arms trade, Lebanon's interior minister said in July.

One of the missing Czechs was an attorney to Ali Fayad, a man of Lebanese origin who was in custody in the Czech Republic awaiting a decision on a U.S. extradition request.

The United States has accused Fayad of trying to sell arms and drugs to the Colombian guerrilla group FARC.

His Czech lawyer has traveled to Lebanon several times in relation to the case, according to his office.

The abandoned vehicle of the five Czech nationals and one Lebanese man who went missing was found near Kefraya, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, in July. This incident was near to where seven Estonian cyclists were kidnapped in 2011 and held for four months.

Neither the security source nor the Czech ministry said if the Lebanese driver had also been found.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Family members and rescue workers move the body of an employee of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) who was killed during a protest march towards Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, February 2, 2016. REUTERS/Athar Hussain

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Most flights by Pakistan's ailing national airline were grounded on Wednesday, a company spokesman said, as striking employees disrupted operations to protest against a government privatization plan.

The strike is the latest in a months-long series of protests against the plan to sell off part of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), among companies the government has pledged to privatize under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.

The grounding of flights follows the deaths of two PIA employees and injuries to several others during clashes on Tuesday with security personnel armed with water cannons, tear gas and batons near the international airport in Karachi.

The two men died of gunshot wounds, hospital officials said, though police and Pakistan's paramilitary force have denied opening fire on the crowd of several hundred as it marched toward the Jinnah International Airport in the southern city.

"Most of the PIA flights are not being allowed to take off from any of the airports, domestic or international," said airline spokesman Danyal Gilani, although some returning international flights were being allowed to land.

A spokesman for the protesters did not immediately answer telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment.

PIA's management expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the deaths of its employees, Gilani said, and asked the government to launch an inquiry into Tuesday's incident.

Since Jan. 26, the strike has cost the airline about 1 billion Pakistani rupees ($9.6 million) in losses, he added.

In a television interview on Tuesday night, company chairman Nasser Jaffer said he planned to resign.

"From this day on, my conscience does not allow me to stay as chairman of this organization," the emotional Jaffer said on Dunya Television.

"Two people lost their lives. I don't think anything worse than this could have happened."

Once a source of pride for Pakistan, the loss-making carrier has been hit by frequent flight cancellations, and many of its aircraft have been cannibalized to keep others flying.

Despite government attempts to allay fears the privatization could lead to mass layoffs, sporadic protests have continued.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this week extended legislation to ban the airline's employees from striking for six months, the government said in a statement.

The law specifies prison terms of up to a year, and an unspecified fine, for those convicted of infringements.

Sharif vowed not to back down from the reform plan.

"Action will be taken against those who have gone on strike," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I believe that any concession on this will be a disservice to Pakistan."

(Reporting by Krista Mahr in Islamabad and Syed Raza Hassan in Karachi; Writing by Krista Mahr; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
OPINION: Today is the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in Auckland, and there will be protests. Nobody knows how they will go but the leaders of the two main events are calling for a peaceful demonstration. And they are right.

There are many people rightly suspicious of the TPPA. Their opposition does not grow more powerful or persuasive if it becomes violent. In fact, it becomes less so, because the critics have then lost the moral high ground.

The signing is a mere ritual, although the critics find a symbolic importance in its being held in a casino which has a sweet-heart deal with the Government. And the site is symbolic, because the TPPA is at least as much about looking after the interests of large foreign corporations as it is about lowering tariff barriers.

FAIRFAX/NZ Prime Minister John Key expects things could get rough at Waitangi this year.

But the signing is mere ceremony. It is the ratification of the treaty that binds its signatories, and that ratification is distant and uncertain. It is quite possible that opposition in the US Congress will in fact scupper the TPPA completely.

It is also the reason that the whole argument about the TPPA should not be seen as an urgent matter. There is no rush and there is a great deal more argument to be had.

The meeting at Waitangi is being billed as another political flashpoint. But once again opponents of the TPPA need to be clear about their real interests in this. Threats to manhandle the prime minister or neglect his safety are intolerable in a democracy. So is the idea that he must keep silent.

John Key is elected by a democratic process and anybody who threatens his security is spitting in the face of democracy itself. We don't need to like the individual who holds this office. We certainly don't need to agree with him or her. But to prevent that person from speaking or attending the Waitangi ceremonies in the north is unconscionable.

Similarly with the Government's "provocative" timing of the TPPA signing so close to the country's national day: the right response is to protest, not to censor.

Banishing or howling down the prime minister, moreover, would clearly play into the hands of the red-necks and tarnish the case against the TPPA.

It's worth trying to think clearly about the so-called "annual commotion" at Waitangi Day. There have been brutal scenes there, but for many years now the rage has been ritualised and not personally threatening. Key, to his credit, has made a practice of attending. "I will keep coming back," he said in 2013. If his security or right to speak is threatened, his hosts could hardly complain if he stayed away in future.

Some Maori argue that Treaty rights, supposedly guaranteed under the TPPA, will in fact be weakened by the practice of the pact. There will be a "chilling" effect, just as the mere threat of judicial action by investor states has chilled New Zealand's anti-smoking campaign.

This is an argument worth making. So let the critics make it loud and clear during a fiery argument on the national marae, where fierce speech is never outlawed. And let Key show that he has heard it.
The armed offenders squad joined the search for a man who was reported to have pointed a rifle at workers in south Wairarapa on Monday.

A man alleged to have sparked a large manhunt by armed police in rural south Wairarapa will spend a second night in a cell.

The Wairarapa man, who has interim name suppression, was arrested on Monday evening after a large police response to reports of a man pointing a gun at two workers near the White Rock coastal district south of Martinborough.

The arrested man appeared in Masterton District Court on Tuesday on a charge of pointing a hunting rifle at two men, and another of being illegally in possession of a hunting rifle.

He did not enter pleas.

Armed police spent Monday afternoon searching around White Rock and the nearby settlement of Tuturumuri, after a man was seen with a gun, walking around nearby windmills.

READ MORE: Man with gun arrested in Martinborough after sparking armed police callout

Just before 6pm, local police, helped by the Wellington armed offenders squad, made an arrest north of Martinborough, after further sightings of the man were reported.

Police said no-one was injured.

The man was remanded in custody on Tuesday for a bail hearing on Wednesday, where Judge Barbara Morris said more measures needed to be put in place to ensure he would not be a threat to public safety if he was released on bail.

If he was, it would probably be with a 24-hour curfew and strict supervision conditions, she said.

She remanded him in custody for a further bail hearing on Thursday.
Muhammad Rizalman Ismail has been sentenced to nine months home detention by Justice David Collins in the Wellington High Court.

The Wellington woman indecently assaulted by a disgraced Malaysian military man has called his sentence "a kick in the guts".

Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail, 39, was sentenced on Thursday to nine months' home detention.

He had worked at the Malaysian High Commission, but fled the country believing he was entitled to diplomatic protection before he was returned under extradition.

MONIQUE FORD / FAIRFAX NZ Muhammad Rizalman at his sentencing at the Wellington High Court on Thursday.

In November, the father-of-three pleaded guilty to one charge of indecently assaulting Tania Billingsley in her Brooklyn home on May 9, 2014.

READ MORE:

* Rizalman had sexual motive, judge says

*Malaysian military man defecated outside woman's home

* Victim welcomes military man's guilty plea

Billingsley did not attend the sentencing at the High Court in Wellington, but afterwards told her key supporter, Louise Nicholas, that she was disappointed Rizalman's sentence did not include a treatment programme for sex offending.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Louise Nicholas read a statement from victim Tania Billingsley outside of court following sentencing.

"She said it's like a kick in the guts," Nicholas said of Billingsley's reaction.

"He has shown on that day, and several times that day, sexually harmful behaviour not only towards her, but two other women too," Nicholas said.

The judge had earlier found there was a sexual motive to his attack.

Former Malaysian diplomatic employee Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail arrives at the High Court for his disputed facts hearing in Wellington in November, 2015.

While Billingsley had been warned that a sentence of home detention was likely, she was upset that its term was only nine months, Nicholas said.

"In her view, it's quite short."

On Thursday morning, Justice David Collins heard defence and Crown submissions for Rizalman's sentencing.

He said the case was unusual because the Crown accepted Rizalman had not been going to force Billingsley sexually, but had been hoping she would agree to sex.

"It was your state of undress that made it indecent," he said.

"Your conduct was premeditated, you mistook a smile for a sexual advance, you deliberately followed her and waited outside her home for a long period of time."

Before the attack, he had taken off his trousers and underwear and pooed outside her home before entering.

The judge said Rizalman terrified Billingsley when he entered her home.

"She was a young woman alone in her room who was entitled to feel safe and secure in her bedroom.

"Plainly, your actions terrified her and she continues to suffer from the trauma of that night."

He told Rizalman that some might suggest he picked the wrong woman because of the very decisive way Billingsley responded to his conduct.

"However, those views were misconceived as they do not properly acknowledge that no woman should ever have to endure the terrifying experiences suffered by Ms Billingsley when you breached the sanctity of her bedroom."

The judge said he had initially hoped Rizalman could serve the home detention at the Malaysian High Commission, but that was not possible.

He said he was grateful to them that there was an address that Rizalman could use.

Rizalman would be also deported at the end of his sentence.

The judge ordered that Rizalman pay Billingsley an amount of reparations, but did not publicly reveal the amount.

He said he was struck by Rizalman's lack of remorse when he gave evidence last year during an earlier hearing.

While he accepted there was regret and that Rizalman had written a letter of apology to Billingsley, there was still a sense that Rizalman lacked insight into the offending.

Because of that he would not be giving a specific discount on the sentencing for remorse,

"It is difficult for me to see genuine remorse."

He said he accepted that Rizalman would lose his career in the Malaysian Army, that he had cooperated in coming back to New Zealand, had pleaded guilty, and had a good character up until the time of the offending.

The judge did not impose conditions on Rizalman's home detention, but standard conditions would apply, allowing a probation officer to order him to undergo any rehabilitative programme.

The judge made a point of saying he was also not imposing post-detention conditions to allow Rizalman to be removed from New Zealand immediately.

Crown prosecutor Grant Burston asked for a starting point of two years and nine months jail but accepted that it should be reduced into the range that home detention was available.

"It was a sexually motivated indecent assault by a stranger, entering the victim's home and bedroom uninvited in the hours of darkness and terrorising the victim," he said.

Defence lawyer Dr Donald Stevens QC said Rizalman would likely be dishonourably discharged from a 21-year career with the Malaysian Army where he had an exemplary record.

Stevens said the publicity the case has attracted would mean it would be very difficult for him to get alternative employment in Malaysia which would have very serious consequence for a man with young children which was a significant penalty in itself.

The offending was entirely out of character and Rizalman had led an exemplary life to date with no prior convictions.

He said others described Rizalman as a hardworking family man, diligent, polite and respectful at all times.

The decision to appoint him to the diplomatic staff in Wellington meant he was viewed as having a good character.

Stevens said the tragedy of the case was that Billingsley had understandably perceived the situation as worse than it was but that his intention at the time had been completely different.

"He very much regrets what happened," he said.

BILLINGSLEY REACTS

Louise Nicholas read a statement by Billingsley on her behalf outside court on Thursday.

"I'm relieved that the proceedings are finally done and that I can move forward from this event that has put my life on hold for nearly two years," Nicholas read.

"She said she hoped Rizalman would have the opportunity to undertake rehabilitative services during his home detention sentence "for the safety of others and also his own wellbeing".

In the statement, Billingsley said the court process had been "long and draining".

"I acknowledge that I am one of the small percentage of survivors who even get the chance to go through this process and have legal closure and I'm thankful for that opportunity."

She thanked her supporters, especially those at Wellington Rape Crisis and Wellington Help, for helping through the assault plus with her "ongoing struggle with media and the legal process".

"For anyone else who has experienced sexual violence of any kind and feels that they need support, I encourage them to contact these services as they have been invaluable to me in my journey to heal."

Billingsley chose not to attend the sentencing because she had gone through enough and wanted to move on with her life, Nicholas said.

Nicholas was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the Queen's Birthday honours list last June for services to the prevention of sexual violence.

She rose to national prominence when she claimed that, as a vulnerable teenager in Rotorua, she had been raped by four policemen.

While they were eventually acquitted, her case rocked the justice system and, after a 2007 commission of inquiry, senior police were forced to confront how the force treated sexual violence victims.

THE HEARING

Last year following the hearing the judge found that along with a sexual motive, Rizalman was in an abnormal state of mind at the time which might have diminished his understanding.

However, that did not mitigate the offending as Rizalman had likely voluntarily consumed synthetic cannabis.

The judge has also called for a home detention suitability report, and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to find out from the Malaysian High Commission if it would cooperate with a sentence of home detention.

Rizalman left New Zealand without facing trial after Malaysia invoked diplomatic immunity  in the belief it did so with the blessing of the New Zealand Government.

He returned to New Zealand escorted by police after extradition hearings were filed in Malaysia.

At the time of the attack he had been working at the Malaysian High Commission as a staff assistant to the Malaysian defence advisor.

Victim Tania Billingsley waived her right to name suppression before a district court judge, but her victim impact statement was suppressed at her request.

Two other charges, of assault with intent to commit sexual violation and burglary, were discharged by the judge.

Rizalman had changed his plea to guilty on the morning of his November hearing.

WHO IS RIZALMAN?

Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail

Born 1976 in Malaysia

Oldest of eight

Attended primary school then two boarding schools

Left school before going to a military college

1994 went into a regiment working as a storeman

1999 transferred to Sabah as military security

2002 transferred to Kuala Lumpur working in army administration

2004 Married Nor Azure Binti Hasim and now has three children

2008 posted to the foreign liaison branch as chief administrator. Responsibilities included dealing with foreign officials and Malaysians going overseas

2013 Posted to Wellington New Zealand as staff assistant to the defence advisor

He has never seen active combat.

CROWN SUMMARY OF FACTS

Billingsley had been home alone watching a movie in her bedroom. Rizalman took off his trousers and underwear and pooed outside her house before going into the house.

He knocked on her partially open bedroom door and pushed it open.

Billingsley looked up and saw him wearing only a shirt and naked from the waist down. She screamed at him to leave. Rizalman put his hands on her shoulders but she managed to push him into the living room then out of the flat before locking him out.

She then locked herself in the bathroom and called police. A flatmate's boyfriend arrived home and challenged Rizalman who was still outside the front door.

Rizalman began walking away but was stopped down the road by the police.

DEFENCE SUBMISSIONS

Defence lawyer Dr Donald Stevens QC had asked the judge to consider that Rizalman was in an abnormal mental state and that he was suffering from a mental illness. Experts had told the court Rizalman was most likely depressed.

Rizalman had told police on the night that he had "lost his mind".

Stevens said Rizalman defecating outside Billingsley's home was nothing to do with his belief in black magic but was a toilet emergency.

He said Rizalman did not enter the house with sex on his mind and any use by him of synthetic cannabis or drugs may have been an attempt at self-medication.

HOW THE SAGA UNFOLDED

2014

May 9: Rizalman follows Tania Billingsley from a shop to her home. After a struggle in the house he is arrested by police down the road.

May 10: Rizalman appears in court and his diplomatic status is considered. Foreign Minister Murray McCully is informed but Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade boss John Allen is left out of the loop.

May 12: An informal discussion between officials from Mfat and the Malaysian High Commission leads to Malaysia concluding that New Zealand "offered" an alternative option for Rizalman to be sent back to Malaysia to face charges.

May 21: Malaysian High Commission tells Mfat it will not waive Rizalman's immunity and asks for all charges to be dropped and all documents to be "sealed".

May 22: Rizalman leaves New Zealand and returns to Malaysia. He is hospitalised for psychiatric evaluation.

June 27: McCully hears for the first time that the Malaysians rejected the request for a waiver. Allen hears about the case for the first time.

June 29: The media reports that a diplomat has claimed immunity and left the country. Malaysian media soon report he was one of their diplomats.

June 30: Prime Minister John Key and McCully are adamant that New Zealand clearly opposed Rizalman leaving and wanted him tried, but on legal advice say they can't name him or the country. Malaysian High Commissioner called in for grilling by Allen; she reveals "ambiguity".

July 1: Fairfax Media lawyers succeed in getting court-ordered name suppression lifted so that Rizalman and the country he represents can be named in New Zealand. McCully releases on May 10 and May 21 documents showing New Zealand's unambiguous request for a waiver, and Malaysia's refusal. Hours later McCully concedes informal discussions may have created the "ambiguity" about New Zealand's position. He says Malaysia acted in good faith.

July 2: McCully apologises to Key and Allen apologises to McCully but they both refuse to say if resignations were offered. Allen announces an independent review of Mfat's handling of the event. McCully also reveals that a junior staffer in his office was informed about Malaysia invoking diplomatic immunity but never opened the email.

July 9: A district court judge accepts Billingsley's application for her name suppression to be removed and she speaks to the media.

October: A formal request to extradite Rizalman to New Zealand is made. Rizalman waives the need for a formal extradition and agrees to return.

October 25: Rizalman returns to New Zealand and immediately faces a district court.

2015

November 27: A High Court judge is told the trial does not need to go ahead as Rizalman will plead to one of the charges.

November 30: Rizalman pleads guilty to indecent assault and is remanded for further court hearings.

December 12: Judge finds there was a sexual motive to Rizalman's offending and remands him for sentence.
Henley School teachers Sam Baxendine, left, Sabine Reinert and Sue Strawbridge with pupils Cole Clarke, 7, second left, Alice Cox, 9, and Grace Shirley, 9, after the teacher only day was turned over to the children.

Henley School principal John Armstrong had a brainwave last week when he decided to turn a staple of New Zealand education on it's head.

Teacher-only days give pupils the day off so teachers can focus on their professional development. Often an outside speaker is brought in to explicate the school's values and provide direction for the year ahead.

Usually that speaker is an adult, but this year Armstrong handed the reins over to four Henley School pupils, leaving their teachers out of the loop.

"Normally the teachers expect you to give a vision from the top," he said.

"Staff rooms around the country probably have principals standing up there, but our best experts are those that are here today.

"It's a reminder to us teachers that we're here for the kids. When you think about it, it's probably something we should do."

Teachers Sue Strawbridge, Sabine Reinert and Sam Baxendin were surprised to encounter kids at their teacher-only day but Reinert thought it was "refreshing".

"It definitely puts a smile on your face," she said.

All the teachers felt it was good to get the kids' perspectives on their hopes and fears ahead of starting the school year.

Baxendin said the exercise was valuable to him as a new teacher at Henley School.

"When they said they were scared of tests and didn't want any on the first day I thought, I won't do that.

"It's kind of about getting that relationship."

Cole Clark, 7, said a good teacher needed to "communicate clearly and listen, give out responsibility, have a sense of humour and manage class behaviour" but the most common desire of the children surveyed was to know their teachers more personally.

Areas of intrigue included teachers' favourite holiday destinations, their pets, hobbies and what they do on the weekend.

"Sometimes they [the children] think we actually live at the school," Reinert said.

"I think now I will be more prepared with pictures of my animals and my house. It's about that context."
Wayne Sowerby, Stratford, stands in the dock at Hawera District Court during his sentencing on Wednesday.

A Stratford man who had 178 disks containing graphic child sexual abuse images showed no remorse or understanding of the impact of his actions on the victims in the material.

Wayne Kerry Sowerby, 45, was jailed for 18 months when he appeared for sentence in the Hawera District Court on Wednesday on 15 charges of possessing objectionable material.

Police prosecutor Steve Hickey said when police found the material on CDs at Sowerby's home, he told the police he had owned the disks for 10 years and said it had not been illegal when he got them. He asserted that he was not hurting anyone by owning the material. The charges were laid on November 3, 2015.

Hickey read a statement detailing some of the effects of child sex abuse images on victims.

"Every photograph of a child put before the Court that the defendant had in his possession depicts an actual child being sexually abused, assaulted, degraded, exploited or tortured. This abuse can cause not only serious emotional harm but also physical harm and in some cases deformity to the child," he said.

READ MORE:

* New Plymouth man pleads guilty to multiple child porn charges

* Former pharmacist Geoffrey Clifford Allen sentenced over child sex images

* 'No quick fix' for collector of child porn

"The demand for new child sexual abuse images results in making a continuing cycle of sexual abuse for existing victims and demand for new victims. Any sexual offence involving a child is horrific but by photographing, filming, distributing images and movies of the abuse, the victim is victimised again and again every time the image is viewed on the internet. The abused child carries the burden for the rest of their life."

"The defendant has, by possessing imagery of child sexual abuse, directly contributed to the further victimisation of these child victims and fuelled an international demand for such imagery."

Appearing for Sowerby on behalf of his counsel, Rajan Rai, Alice Leonard urged the judge to consider home detention as a possibility for the defendant. A suitable house had been located and his family was willing to assist with rent payments if it were approved, she said.

The offences had only involved possession of the material, not creating or distributing it.

She said Sowerby suffered from depression, diabetes and epilepsy, and was a beneficiary. His mother was in court to support him.

"Isn't the difficulty for you and Mr Sowerby that his remarks to the probation officer indicate a total lack of insight and the real impact of this behaviour," said Judge Garry Barkle.

"There is nothing before me that suggests any remorse from you about your offending and indeed little insight about the impact of your offending," he told Sowerby.

The 15 charges were taken as representative examples from the 178 disks. The children in the material were aged as young as four and there was also material involving a horse.

"All are of depraved sexual acts which are exploitative of very young children," Judge Barkle said.

Sowerby's deviancy fuelled the demand for the people who produced such material, he said.

"If there were not people like yourself to provide a market for them, then Mr Sowerby, young children wouldn't be put in these sad situations where they are being exploited in this way."

In considering a sentence, the Judge referred to other cases cited by the prosecution and the defence. He took into account that in April 2104 the Government had doubled the penalties for this type of offence and the classification system for such material had changed. Under the revised UK system, all of the material in Sowerby's possession was ranked at the highest level.
Historic Tudor House, on the banks of the Avon River, is on the market.

A century-old Tudor-style building opposite the Avon River in cental Christchurch has been put up for sale.

The building at 95 Oxford Tce houses the Regatta On Avon restaurant on the ground floor, and financial advisers Bradley Nuttall upstairs.

For many years it was home to Tiffany's Restaurant.

Tudor House is owned by the Rata Foundation, previously known as the Canterbury Community Trust.

Regatta on Avon manager Alan Price said the restaurant would continue under the new landlord, at least for the next five years.

The building is known as Tudor House and is owned as an investment by the Rata Foundation, formerly Canterbury Community Trust.

The foundation makes grants to community groups and according to its latest annual report has $32 million worth of property investments. The others are in Blenheim Rd, Montreal St in Sydenham, and Shands Rd in Hornby, all in Christchurch, and in Porirua north of Wellington.

Tudor House has a Christchurch City Council rating valuation is $2.39 million, of which $2.19m is land value. Its tenants are on medium-term leases and pay a combined annual rent of $148,000.

The two-level building was built in 1907 to a design by architect Collins and Harman. It has plastered walls, and a tiled roof. The 760sq m triangular site is bordered by Oxford Tce, Durham St, and the river.

The building had been commissioned as a home and surgery by Dr Fitzgerald Westenra, who at one time was medical superintendent of Christchurch Hospital.

Westenra died suddenly a decade later in 1917 but his wife and children lived in the house until 1926, when it was sold to dentist Charles Newell.

Medical and related professionals had consulting rooms in the house up until the mid 1970s. There was also a car dealership on the ground floor in the 1960s.

In 1971 the property was bought by New Zealand Mutual Funds. Then in 1981 it was sold to former insurance broker George Scrimshaw who did restoration work.

The building is listed in the Christchurch City Plan as a group 4 protected building. Both its heritage value and setting are considered significant by the council.

Marketing agent Noel Gilchrist of Colliers said the property was for sale by deadline private treaty, with offers closing in early March.

It had not been deemed earthquake-prone, he said.

Gilchrist described the property's location, by the river and near the retail precinct and justice and emergency precincts now under construction, as "unparalleled".

He believed it would suit investors, owner occupiers, or buyers with an interest in heritage.
Its life in the internet fast lane for the thousands of Bay of Plenty students who have returned to school.

Under the Governments Ultra-Fast Broadband and Rural Broadband Initiative programmes a total of 55 schools throughout the region now have access to faster and more reliable broadband.
In 1955, this outstanding example of Jaguar's double-Le Mans-winning XK120C design was registered under chassis number XKC 011, and was sold ex-works to the Dunlop Rubber Company. It survives today in essentially identical specification.

The car was acquired by the Griffiths family in 1963 and is to be offered at Monaco direct from this self-same ownership.

The preceding history of Jaguars works team car XKC 011 includes races at the 1952 Le Mans 24-Hours, the 1953 Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, plus a race win at Goodwood, when driven by such Jaguar stalwarts as Sir Stirling Moss, Major Tony Rolt and Peter Walker.

James Knight, Group Motoring Director of Bonhams, said: Bonhams has been assisted in its investigation regarding this famous Jaguar C-Type by a wealth of experts.

While officially sold by the Jaguar factory as 'XKC 011', the histories of 011' and 047' - which became intertwined during the preceding 1954 Le Mans race period  have baffled any number of Jaguar enthusiasts and historians over the years.

These recent collective efforts - most notably with the total support of the long-term owner - are getting closer to unlocking this exciting mystery in this gloriously-preserved old war-horses very early life.

Timed to coincide with the Monaco Grand Prix Historique, Bonhams Monaco Sale will present an exclusive auction of just 40 hand-picked motor cars at the Fairmont Monte Carlo hotel.
The Australian-first Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub) will bring together the best of Victorias aerospace research, design and manufacturing leaders to work with industry on the next generation of air mobility.
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U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, holds a press conference at the Centro bus terminal in Syracuse Nov. 30, 2015, to speak against possible funding cuts for the bus service. On Wednesday, Schumer called for increased funding for the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

(Michelle Breidenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y.  U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer called Wednesday for increased funding for a federal agency that provides grants to job-creating development projects.

Schumer, D-NY, said funding for the Economic Development Administration was $250 million in 2007 and has been cut to around $200 million since then. He called for increasing the funding for 2016 back to $250 million.

"At a time when middle-class incomes are going down and everyday families are being squeezed, we should be investing more resources into job retention and creation, not less," he said in a statement.

According to Schumer, the agency received 1,476 grant applications nationwide for a total of $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2013. However, it was able to approve only 670 grants for a total of $183.4 million, he said.

In New York, the agency approved 142 applications for a total of $55.18 million between 2007 and 2014, he said. However, from 2011 to 2014, there were 83 applications totaling $100.37 million in New York that were left unfunded, he said.

In Central New York, there were 17 applications that received funding between 2011 and 2014 for a total of $7.55 million. There were 11 other applications, for a total of $18.94 million, that were left unfunded, he said.

"That's unfortunate because most of these applications are worthy," he said.

Schumer said the grants help attract new businesses to a community by providing federal funds for initial infrastructure investments like sewer upgrades. They also help leverage private funds or matching state grants, he said.

The grants go to state and local governments, economic development councils, public and private nonprofit organizations, universities and other institutions that support development projects, typically in distressed communities, he said.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Kik.JPG

David Eisenhauer, left, and Nicole Madison Lovell, right

(Provided)

A 13-year-old girl lured from her Virginia bedroom and stabbed to death last week may have met her killer on Kik, an online messaging app, authorities say.

Police say Nicole Madison Lovell was lured from her Blacksburg home, abducted and stabbed to death on Jan. 27 by David Eisenhauer, a Virginia Tech student.

Lovell called Eisenhauer her "boyfriend" and showed neighbors messages and photos she exchanged with Eisenhauer on Kik, The Washington Post reported this week.

What's Kik and what do parents and others need to know about it?

Kik is a popular app used largely by children and teens to send messages, photos and videos with anonymity. They can anonymously search for people to chat with.

The app is also popular with predatory adults who can target youths and communicate with them, according to police and a local advocate.

One thing that makes it so popular is that, unlike many apps, the only information users need to sign up is a username that the person creates. That makes it essentially untraceable, police and experts said.

Kik doesn't have its users' phone numbers or email addresses, Kik explained in a guide for law enforcement.

Connie Smith, of the Child Advocacy Center of Cayuga County, said she has been warning children and teens about Kik for a couple years.

Smith found out about the app two years ago from students who were sent obscene photos and videos. She said students have reported encountering users who ask how old they are and fish for personal information.

Smith said the problem goes beyond Kik to Facebook, Yik Yak and a host of other apps and websites.

"You'd be shocked," she said. "When I go in and talk to kids, when I ask them how many of them have ever been solicited online, you should see the hands that go up."

Smith named three other apps besides Kik where she's heard of people sometimes using them to prey on youths:

Snapchat:

Vine:

MeetMe:

Smith said she works to educate students about sexual predators who prowl both in person and online. Students tell Smith about what new apps and websites they're using, and Smith teaches students to be wary of what they post online and who they share information with.

Smith said parents can take a simple step to help keep their children safe: Talk about how to safely use the Internet.

Along with keeping tabs on what apps their children are using, Smith said parents should ensure children know what information they should avoid sharing online such as personal information like their age, gender or address. She also talks about not sharing inappropriate photos.

She said virtual abuse should be reported to police, just as physical abuse would be reported.

"Parents can't be afraid to talk about it," Smith said. "They need to know where it's inappropriate to go online just like they need to know where it's inappropriate to go in the world."
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Monroe County's former chief information officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with others to rig bids for multimillion dollar public works contracts in the county, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced.

Nelson Rivera pled guilty to two counts of the a felony charge of combination in restraint of trade and competition in violation of the state's General Business Law.

It is expected that Rivera will be sentenced to five years of probation, may never again serve as a New York public employee, will be fined $25,000, and will be required to give up his government pension, the state officials said.



Rivera was originally indicted in November 2013 along with Daniel Lynch and John Maggio, local businessmen, and Robert Wiesner, former security director of the Monroe County Water Authority.

Wiesner, the husband of former Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, pleaded guilty last month to a felony. Wiesner paid a $5,000 fine, forfeited $3,000 of illegal gain, and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge.

Maggio, a local certified public accountant who headed a company at the center of the scandal, pleaded guilty in November.

Daniel Lynch is scheduled to go on trial on Feb. 23.

The men were charged with a scheme to rig the bidding process for a number of multi-million dollar public works contracts in Monroe County. Those contracts included a $99 million contract to provide upgrades and maintenance for the county's IT infrastructure, and a $212 million contract to provide upgrades and maintenance for the county's public safety and security systems.

Rivera admitted he conspired with others to rig bids between March 2004 and October 2013.



This case is the latest investigation conducted as part of Operation Integrity, a joint partnership between the state attorney general and state comptroller to root out abuses in state government. To date, the initiative has resulted in dozens of convictions and more than $9 million in restitution to the state, the officials said.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A man who was set to go on trial next week has admitted to having thousands of videos and photos containing child pornography.

Christopher Filippi, 48, of Liverpool, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to a four-count indictment charging him with the receipt and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian announced.

Filippi admitted that he possessed and received thousands of photographs and videos containing child pornography.

He had been set to go to trial Feb. 9, but not faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years on each count.

He will also be required to register as a sex offender and to pay restitution to the victims depicted in the child pornography he possessed. Filippi will forfeit his computer equipment and be on supervised release when he gets out of prison. The supervised release can last from five years up to life.

The case was investigated by the FBI with help from Syracuse police.
UPDATE: Phish has announced their 2016 summer tour dates, confirming concerts at Lakeview Amphitheater and SPAC.

Will Phish's 2016 tour dates include a stop at Syracuse's newest concert venue?

Multiple fan sites are reporting rumors that Trey Anastasio's famed jam band will perform a concert at the Lakeview Amphitheater on Sunday, July 10.

Last week, somewhat reliable fan site phishrumors.com said the band would likely kick off its trek in late June before hitting Upstate New York in July. Shows are predicted to be scheduled for July 1-3 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) near Albany and July 10 at the Lakeview Amphitheater.

Well-known phantasytour.com user "AttyatLoew" added fuel to the fire by announcing his own list on Monday, including the same three-night stay at SPAC and the same date for the Lakeview Amphitheater. AttyatLoew correctly predicted more than 83 percent of Phish's concerts the past two summers, including the band's Magnaball festival at Watkins Glen in 2015, both more than a week before the tours were announced.

If the rumors are true, Syracuse would be a homecoming show for drummer Jon Fishman, the Jamesville-DeWitt High School graduate and SAMMY Lifetime Achievement winner that the band is named after.

Phish last performed in Syracuse during their 2009 reunion tour, though the band still hits Upstate New York often. In 2014, the War Memorial nearly hosted Phish for a five-night rehearsal stay and a tour kickoff concert, but the deal fell through at the last minute.

A rep at Onondaga County declined to confirm or deny the rumor.

"Live Nation is working on a number of concerts for the Lakeview Amphitheater," an official statement said. "We have announced each of he concerts that have been officially booked and will continue to do so as we receive updates."

To date, eight shows have been confirmed for the Lakeview Amphitheater: Ringo Starr, Dave Matthews Band, Rascal Flatts, Journey/Doobie Brothers, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban and a "surprise superstar" country act. Other tentative concerts for the Amp include the Warped Tour and Florida Georgia Line; county officials previously announced Florida Georgia Line for the same date as the "surprise superstar" concert, but the band has removed Syracuse from its website list of tour dates.

During its construction, officials promised at least 20 shows at the Lakeview Amphitheater for this summer.

Lakeview Amphitheater 2016 concert schedule
NAPLES  Elite Airways LLC announced Wednesday that tickets for new scheduled flights from Naples Municipal Airport (APF) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) or Portland, Maine (PWM) are available at EliteAirways.com.

Elite becomes the first commercial airline service in and out of Naples Municipal Airport since 2007.

The Naples scheduled service will begin Feb. 27, with weekly nonstop flights to Newark, and twice-weekly flights to Newark via the Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB), and to Portland, Maine via Orlando Melbourne International Airport (MLB).

The schedules will be:

Saturdays: 8:30 a.m. Naples to Newark; 12:15 p.m. Newark to Naples (nonstop each way)

Thursdays and Sundays: 7:45 a.m. Naples to Newark; 12:15 p.m. Newark to Naples via Vero Beach.

Mondays and Fridays: 8:30 a.m. Naples to Portland; 2 p.m. Portland to Naples via Melbourne

Reservations for Vero Beach to Naples flights are now available. Round-trip flights to Naples begin at $59, with full-fare flights listed at $79.

To support the new routes, Elite Airways will use Bombardier CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 jet airliners. Fares start at $169 each way and include the first checked bag for free, plus complimentary onboard beverages and snacks. Free parking is available for Elite Airways passengers at the Naples Airport.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY  When his grandson threatened 77-year-old Thomas Kelly's life, he knew he had to act fast.

Scott Horn, 36, was headed to the locked bathroom door where his grandmother Dorothy Kelly was hiding.

Thomas Kelly, stunned and hurt from being thrown around and strangled, said he feared worse would happen to his 75-year-old wife.

So he rushed toward the only exit in their small manufactured home in The Village Green retirement community: the front door.

"I had to make it so he wouldn't hurt her anymore," Kelly said Wednesday from his bed in Indian River Medical Center.

In his bare feet, he made it to a neighbor's home and called 911.

It was around 2:45 a.m. Sunday.

The next time he saw his wife Dorothy, she was on a bed in the emergency room at Indian River Medical Center. She couldn't talk because of severe pain from injuries: six broken ribs, a broken sternum, cracked neck and vertebrae, plus many bruises.

He softly squeezed her hand.

Then emergency workers rushed her 15 miles away to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce.

If he could talk to her, "I would tell her I love her."

Horn is in the Indian River County Jail on charges of attempted murder of Dorothy Kelly and aggravated battery of Thomas Kelly. Four hours after the attack, deputies found Horn in the woods behind Village Green.

"It has been a nightmare for years," said Kelly of their relationship with Horn.

When Horn was 13, his mother died of cervical cancer and the grandparents took custody of him.

Dorothy Kelly promised her dying daughter to take care of the boy no matter what, said the grandfather.

Before coming to Florida, Thomas and Dorothy Kelly lived in Michigan, where Kelly worked as a carpenter, he said. They then moved to Clearwater, where he got a carpentry job with an oil company in West Africa.

But over the years, his grandson lost job after job, always turning to his grandmother. He kept telling his wife to stop giving money to Horn.

"He will never learn anything," Kelly said.

His grandson kept ending up in jail.

"I didn't argue with her," Kelly said, wincing after shrugging his shoulders. "She would win anyway."

Kelly said his grandson went against the grain.

"You would tell him something and he would just do the opposite," he said.

After moving to Vero Beach, things got so bad, Kelly said, three months ago, they got a court restraining order against Horn.

Still, through a relative, they found him a job in Oklahoma repairing dents in cars in that hail-prone state.

But about three weeks ago, he called saying he lost the job and was homeless.

A relative told them he had gotten in a fight with the boss.

Dorothy Kelly sent him $181 for a bus ticket to Vero Beach.

When he arrived, he said the talk about a fight was all baloney, Kelly said.

"He and I were not getting along," the grandfather said. "The day before the attack, he tried to get between us (the grandparents).

Keith Kelly said his father "knew Scott was a manipulator" and his mother "would do anything for him."

Saturday night, the arguments increased, according to Horn's arrest affidavit.

"He had both of us on the floor choking us," Kelly said. "Oh man, it hurt."

Later the grandson talked about not wanting any witnesses.

At one point Horn slammed a bottle of vodka on a dresser and told Kelly to be a man and drink it, the grandfather said.

He didn't. He rushed for the door.

When questioned after his arrest, Horn said he had taken 30 to 40 tablets of the anti-anxiety medication, Xanax, that night, according to his arrest affidavit.

Kelly may be released from the hospital in a few days. Dorothy Kelly may be released on Thursday and enter a rehabilitation center in Vero Beach.

Recovery could take months, family members said.
VERO BEACH  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is joining the search for the Fellsmere man wanted in the Jan. 21 homicide in Vero Beach.

The FBI is circulating a wanted poster for Edward "Geovani" Gamez in Florida and North Carolina, said Vero Beach Police spokeswoman Officer Anna Carden. Gamez is wanted in the shooting death of Alejandro Baldanado, 26, in the driveway of the Baldanado family home on Highland Avenue. Gamez also wounded Baldanado's brother, Efrain Baldanado, 22, according to authorities.

Gamez was last seen Friday morning near an Interstate 95 interchange in Wade, North Carolina. Because he fled Florida, Gamez is also wanted for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The FBI gets involved in serious crime cases where suspects cross state lines, Carden said.

"They now have their own warrant and reasons to look for him," she said.

The day after the shooting, Gamez took his girlfriend, Maria Marisela Flores Lopez, and their two children, ages 4 and 1, and fled to North Carolina, police said. On Friday, he dropped Lopez and the children off near Wade. He left in a white four-door Toyota sedan.

Police said the deceased brother had a romantic relationship with Lopez, which might have led to the shooting.

HOW TO HELP

Edward "Geovani" Guardado Gamez, remains at large after the Jan. 21 shooting death of Alejandro Baldanado in Vero Beach.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts can contact either the Vero Beach Police Department at 772-978-4600 or the FBI's Fort Pierce Resident Agency at 772-461-6142.
Adam Basilico, 32, 1400 block of Nebraska Avenue, Fort Pierce; warrant for possession of child pornography.

Lisa Thompson, 47, 5400 block of Fox Squirrel Lane, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of probation, giving false statement for public aid.

Sage Greco, 29, Orlando; warrant for court order to revoke bond, possession of buprenorphine, possession of blank prescription.

Austin Thacker, 25, Loxahatchee; warrant for failure to appear, possession of cocaine, possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana, attempted tampering with evidence.

Joseph Jarrett, 58, 1400 block of Flounder Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for driving while license suspended, habitual offender.

William Harmon, 29, 900 block of Haleyberry Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrants for burglary of a conveyance, petty theft.

Joseph Miller, 29, Okeechobee; warrant for petty theft.

Jesse Organ, 24, 1500 block of Collette Circle, Port St. Lucie; fraud  illegal use of a credit card.

Marcus Perry, 44, 4500 block of Timber Ridge Lane, Fort Pierce; driving while license suspended, habitual offender.

Faith Coles, 18, 900 block of Mades Drive, Fort Pierce; fraud  failure to redeliver hired/leased property.

Crystal Willis, 29, 1600 block of 29th Street, Fort Pierce; warrants for sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver marijuana, possession of marijuana.

April Parker, 35, Cincinnati, Ohio; out-of-state fugitive, Ohio, tampering with evidence.

Alexander Beatty, 23, 1800 block of Jensen Beach Boulevard, Jensen Beach; destroying, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence; possession of cocaine.

Sam Briggs, 18, 3000 block of Avenue B, Fort Pierce; warrants for burglary of a structure, grand theft.

Richards Edwards, 50, 1100 block of Cynthia Street, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of probation, DUI impairment, blood or breath alcohol level of .15 or more.

Cinnamon Rawls, 40, 1300 block of Leisure Lane, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of probation, giving false report to a law enforcement officer; hold, Martin County, felony battery, prior conviction.

Brian Gall, 44, 2000 block of 11th Avenue, Vero Beach; warrant for violation of probation, DUI, driving while license suspended or revoked.

Stephen Krup, 600 block of Little Kayak Point, Port St. Lucie; re-admit, trafficking in marijuana over 20 grams.

Tomas Gonzalez-Otero, 68, 3500 block of Cobia Way, Stuart; driving while license suspended.

Ryan Greenspan, 25, 6400 block of U.S. 1, Port St. Lucie; re-admit, possession of oxycodone.

Shanata Isaac, 26, 1400 block of Malaga Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for grand theft.

Patrick Kelly, 600 block of Biscayne Drive, Port St. Lucie; warrant for court order to revoke bond, new arrest.

Kimberly Heath, 37, 3600 block of Pleasant Acres Road, Fort Pierce; warrant for court order to revoke bond, new arrest. (ARRESTS FROM ALL AGENCIES/JAIL INMATE SEARCH PAGE DO NOT GIVE DETAILS ON NEW ARREST)

Delbert McNutt, 28, 1200 block of Boston Avenue, Fort Pierce; out-of-county, Taylor County, perjury, not official proceeding, giving false report.

Kayla Keough, 22, 700 block of Palomar Parkway, Fort Pierce; aggravated battery. Arrested in Indian River County.
WASHINGTON  Ted Cruz's victory shows he ran a "technically sound" campaign and Marco Rubio's late surge proves he was smart to stay in Iowa when other more establishment candidates abandoned the first caucus state, close Florida observers said in its aftermath Tuesday.

They were less sure the Democratic contest, in which a disappointed Hillary Clinton and an elated Bernie Sanders split the vote for delegates to the nominating convention, meant a whole lot. Clinton received 699.5 "state delegate equivalents" to Sanders' 697.7 for the 44 delegates from Iowa, a virtual tie. Floridians aren't likely to see former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley stumping in the Treasure Coast in advance of the state's March 15 primary after he suspended his campaign after winning just 7.6 delegate equivalents.

"For Sanders, the big question is can he turn this momentum into anything that shows he can expand his appeal" beyond white liberals, said Steve Schale, a Tallahassee-based Democratic consultant. "If he can, I think he can make the argument that he can stretch this out for a while."

"Surely six months ago, if you had told me that she'd basically tie Sanders in Iowa, I would have thought that was a pretty poor performance," Schale added. "But given the way the campaign has evolved, and the mood of the electorate, a wins a win."

Rubio's performance was on the minds of several Treasure Coast Republican partisans Tuesday.

"My big takeaway would be that Sen. Rubio certainly made an impressive, last-minute push to get within ... one point from (Donald) Trump," said Martin County Republican Party Chairman Donald S. Pickard.

Cruz, a Texas senator, got 28 percent of the vote to billionaire developer Trump's 24 percent and Rubio's 23 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush placed a distant sixth with 3 percent of the vote.

BUSH

Bush is battling "all the rocks that were thrown at his brother" and an electorate unenthusiastic about another "Bush-Clinton runoff," said Pickard, handicapping the performance. "I think he got in too early and was a little too (much) part of the establishment with  his big-money play."

Unlike O'Malley, Bush's disappointing finish in Iowa didn't prompt his withdrawal from the race and he remains on the Florida primary ballot in part because his early-money lead translates into longevity. Nonetheless, some who thought he was a good governor, like Pickard, are writing him off.

"It isn't to be," said Pickard of Bush's prospects. "It isn't his year. You can say whether that's a shame or not, but it is just what it is at the moment."

Former Florida GOP chairwoman and Indian River County Tax Collector Carole Jean Jordan was at Iowa's Alleman precinct caucus Tuesday night, urging voters to line up behind Bush. She was disappointed at the results statewide and there in Polk County, near the center of the state, she said by phone after landing at Melbourne.

Of the 133 voters who showed up at the town's elementary school auditorium, most preferred Cruz, Trump and Rubio, respectively, even though no one was there to speak for Trump, she reported. In Alleman, Bush came in dead last.

One bright spot Tuesday evening was the number of newly registered Republicans the event attracted, Jordan said. She expects Bush to do well in New Hampshire, where he has "a well-organized, well-disciplined team," and then move on to South Carolina and Nevada. Jordan heads to New Hampshire for Bush on Thursday.

RUBIO

St. Lucie County GOP chairman William D. Paterson was also impressed with Florida's junior senator.

"I was not surprised at the good showing Rubio made," he said. Paterson said Rubio has the advantage of lower "negative numbers" on overall perception than other contestants, which he can use to his advantage as others drop out. "Even if he's not their first choice, they still don't hate him."

Paterson said he was "a little surprised the media got it so wrong" anticipating a Trump victory, and didn't expect the size of Cruz's lead.

Taking a partisan's jab at the opposition, Paterson added: "I was surprised that the Democrats had a hard time choosing between a felon and a communist. It's still a coin flip. Fox still hasn't called the race for Hillary."

After Paterson spoke, the count established a narrow victory for Clinton.

EMOTIONS

Terry Miller, of TM Strategic Consulting and a former Lee County Republican Party chairman, said he was not surprised at the night's results because they bore out his conclusions about polling.

"When people are polled, they give an emotional response, but when it comes time to cast a real vote, their logical side kicks in," he said, explaining Trump's second-place finish.

As for Bush's sixth place finish, Miller joked: "It's impressive in a lot of ways, but none positive if you're a Bush supporter, that's for sure."

"For the amount of money spent, he didn't get a return on the investment," he said, adding he expects Bush to come in fourth next week in New Hampshire.

Miller said Sanders' showing is an indication the country is "fed up with career politicians and family dynasties. We saw that in Jeb Bush's dismal results as well as in Hillary's near upset."

University of South Florida political science and communications professor Susan A. MacManus attended Democratic and Republican caucuses at a school just outside Des Moines and was impressed with the vitality of the crowds.

"It was just packed. High energy levels. Very enthusiastic," she said in an interview with the Treasure Coast Newspapers before flying home to Tampa. "And lots of first-time people." In the precinct caucuses she observed, Clinton and Rubio won, bearing out what she said are the "key divides" this year: gender and generation.

MacManus said Sanders' showing "signals a very tight race. She (Clinton) really couldn't have afforded to lose this one and then lose New Hampshire, which obviously Sanders is projected to win handily." And it sets her up for the more racially diverse voters of South Carolina and the so-called SEC primary of southern states.

MacManus said Bush and his peers  Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Govs. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Jim Gilmore of Virginia  all did badly Monday night.

She predicted South Carolina will be "the end of the road" for several lower-tier candidates. And she suggested Rubio's surge is indicative of an electorate possibly intrigued by Trump but desirous of a candidate with "electability." She noted that though the endless television ads she watched, Rubio's were forceful but optimistic, while the others' were "slash and burn."

DELEGATES

As a political science professor, MacManus said she was miffed that so many overlook the importance of the delegate count when assessing who won. Cruz will take eight delegates to the convention while Trump and Rubio are essentially tied: they'll both take seven, she said.

Schale, the Democratic adviser, said Sanders is likely to win in New Hampshire but that the real contest is South Carolina  Feb. 20 for Republicans and Feb. 27 for Democrats.

"I think there are pretty high odds the nominee of both parties will be the winner of the South Carolina primary," he said. "Florida"  on March 15  "will end up validating whoever has the momentum at the time."

Schale said Cruz ran a "technically sound" race and Rubio was smart to stick with Iowa when the others moved on.

"They (Cruz and Rubio) get some good momentum by basically winning the entirety of the 'non-insane' vote in Iowa last night," he said.

Bartholomew Sullivan, a veteran Washington reporter, heads Treasure Coast Newspapers' D.C. news bureau.
Name: Charles Grande

Age: 75

Occupation: Retired

Seeking: St. Lucie County Commission District 3

Party: Democrat

Position salary: $75,612

Position term: 4 years

Residence: St. Lucie County

Political experience: St. Lucie County Commission, 2006-10; St. Lucie County Planning & Zoning for 10 years

Volunteer/civic involvement: Hibiscus Children's Center board; President's Council board; Treasure Coast Planning Agency board; Rivers Coalition and Defense Fund board; Miramar Property Owners Association board; American Legion; Mensa International; Marine Resources Council; Indian Riverkeeper; River Warriors

Education: Not provided

Family: Wife, Emily; son, Charles; daughter, Linda

More information: Ask the Candidates
<p>ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS Parking spots along South Flagler Avenue (left) in downtown Stuart is seen along side the Florida East Coast railroad tracks. The proposed All Aboard Florida passenger service would impact Downtown Stuart with its 32 trains daily along with the current freight train traffic and additional train tracks. PHOTOGRAPHED: Thursday MAY 8, 2014</p>

By Lisa Broadt of TCPalm

The Martin County Sheriff's Office likely would rearrange its zones of service to provide lifesaving services on both sides of the railroad tracks should All Aboard Florida begin Brightline passenger rail service through the Treasure Coast.

Sheriff William Snyder has long decried the dangers posed by increased rail traffic, and, in particular, the possibility that first responders could be delayed trying to reach scenes or hospitals.

"It's not so much that people are afraid they're going to get hit by trains  people know if you stop at the train bars you'll be OK  but people want reassurance they're not going to be cut off when seconds matter," Snyder said. "A fire, a child being abducted from a school, a heart attack. You can just go down the list."

Follow the tracks | All Aboard Florida timeline

All Aboard Florida officials on Tuesday said improved track infrastructure would mitigate delays caused by Brightline.

The company pointed to a rail-traffic study, commissioned last year by Indian River County, that indicates delays caused by Brightline could be shorter than they currently are with only freight-train traffic along the corridor.

For Snyder, the St. Lucie River train bridge is of particular concern.

Together, Brightline and freight trains from Florida East Coast Railway  the sister companies would share the existing tracks  could force up to 50 daily closures of the 75-year-old drawbridge. It takes about 20 minutes to open and close the bridge, and most boats cannot pass under the low-clearance bridge when it's closed, according to Martin County.

"All of the waterways we patrol could be cut off. I have to be very cognizant of that and keep a boat west at all times," Snyder said.

For the time being, however, the Sheriff's Office is monitoring All Aboard Florida's progress, not taking action.

"My sense is that the rail is not imminent right now. If it does become imminent, then we will start addressing the concerns," Snyder said.

Last year, Snyder and sheriffs Ken Mascara, St. Lucie County, and Deryl Loar, Indian River County, released an open letter warning the public of All Aboard Florida's potential dangers.

Construction of the $3.1 billion passenger railroad already has begun between Miami and West Palm Beach. Passenger service there is to begin in early 2017, with full service  through the Treasure Coast and on to Orlando International Airport  beginning in late 2017.
A bill to toughen registration requirements for vacation rentals, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Mayfield, was defeated in the state House.

By Isadora Rangel of TCPalm

TALLAHASSEE  A bill to toughen registration requirements for vacation rentals died Tuesday because some lawmakers thought it would create extra regulations, sponsor Rep. Debbie Mayfield said.

The legislation didn't gather enough support from members of the House Business and Professions Subcommittee, which was scheduled to hear it Tuesday. Mayfield said she had six members who supported it and eight who would have voted against it, so she pulled the bill out of the committee, postponing its hearing. The committee won't meet anymore, which means the bill cannot move in the House.

Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, filed HB 1287 in response to the city's issues with regulating vacation rentals. Homes in residential areas that owners rent to tourists for a short stay have boomed in resort towns across Florida, much to the dislike of neighbors and local officials.

The legislation would have required vacation rental operators to prove they'd registered with their county to pay the tourist development tax and with the Department of Revenue to collect sales taxes, before they could obtain a Department of Business and Professional Regulation license. Thirty percent of operators pay those taxes today, so the bill would have helped local governments go after those who are out of compliance, she said. It also would have required operators to display their license number when advertising.

NO SUPPORT

Mayfield was going to present an amendment to soften the bill during Tuesday's meetings, but decided to withdraw the bill because she wasn't sure she would get any support.

The amendment would have removed a fire safety inspection requirement and allowed up to 50 rentals to get a group license as long as they are in the same county; the original bill allowed only individual licenses. The amendment also would have created an amnesty program for operators who didn't pay taxes, but didn't specify how that program would have worked.

Some committee members thought even with the amendment the bill still would impose new regulations on the industry, she said. She disagreed, saying vacation rental operators already have to have a license and she's just asking for more accountability.

"A state license is supposed to mean something," she said. "It if doesn't mean something, let's repeal it and get it out."

RED TAPE

The legislation would have discouraged property owners from renting their homes, said Paul Hayes, president of the Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association.

One provision would have required operators to show evidence they received any necessary local licenses before getting a state license. That would create confusion because different jurisdictions have different requirements, and it creates a "venue for local governments to deny local licenses," Hayes said.

The industry already accepted a compromise in 2014, passing a law that allowed local governments to impose some regulations, such as parking and noise, without prohibiting vacation rentals or controlling how long a tourist can stay. That law still allowed local governments to use a different strategy to crack down on vacation rentals, Hayes said, by limiting the number of tourists who can stay at a time.

GOING NOWHERE

Mayfield said her bill would have leveled the playing field by requiring rentals to play by the same rules as hotels and resorts. Hayes said that's like comparing apples to oranges.

"When you have people flowing in and out of a hotel  hundreds of people  it's a totally different animal than somebody who's one family traveling together walking into a vacation rental property," Hayes said.

Sen. Thad Altman, a Rockledge Republican who represents Indian River County, introduced the Senate version of the bill, SB 1568, which hasn't been scheduled for a meeting.

Even if the bill moves in the Senate, it likely can't become law if it stalled in the House.
By Nicole Rodriguez of TCPalm

PORT ST. LUCIE  City officials are in talks over buying the City Center property owned by enigmatic developer Lily Zhong, according to a bombshell legal filing last week.

The filing  part of the Securities and Exchange Commission investment-fraud case against Zhong  reveals that a receiver over Zhong's frozen assets has been "in constant contact with the city of Port St. Lucie" since Nov. 12 about possibly selling the land to Port St. Lucie.

"The receiver and Port St. Lucie are currently exploring the potential sale of the City Center parcels to the city," according to the Jan. 29 preliminary report from receiver Michael Goldberg.

Assistant City Manager Daniel Holbrook on Monday declined to provide details on the discussions.

The City Council will be briefed at its winter retreat, March 3 and 4, Holbrook said. "Until then, I don't have a lot of updates."

Asked if the city is interested in buying the 22 parcels at Walton Road and U.S. 1, Holbrook said: "At this point, I can't give you a position."

Zhong purchased the 22 parcels that encompass City Center two years ago for $500,000 through her company US Investment LLC. She set up a regional EB-5 center, a federal program that requires foreign investors to put down at least $500,000 each and create 10 American jobs per investor in exchange for green cards. Zhong proposed building a $380 million downtown at City Center.

Renderings  in one of the rare instances when she contacted the city  showed residential, retail, dining and office space; an international trade center; and a high-end hotel.

Zhong faces six counts of violating the Securities Act and Exchange Act, and could face an unspecified civil fine if she's convicted. The SEC alleges she used money from Chinese investors, intended for Port St. Lucie's City Center and residential projects in Palm Bay, to purchase luxury cars and a boat.

The SEC claims Zhong, a citizen of New Zealand, fraudulently raised at least $8.5 million from at least 17 investors between March 2011 and August 2014 through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, and diverted nearly $1 million to buy the pricey items.

Zhong owes approximately $18.5 million in back taxes on the City Center land. It's unclear how the debt would be handled by the county if the city decides to buy.

"At this time, it's our statutory duty to collect the taxes on the roll," county tax collector spokeswoman Jayne Johnson said Tuesday.

The county on Tuesday was unable to calculate the amount of taxes owed to the county and other taxing authorities and what's owed to the city in special assessments. The land is located in the Community Redevelopment Area.

INTERACTIVE TIMELINE | Click arrows to learn more.
I suspect Jim Piowaty might have been a Bernie Sanders fan.

Piowaty, who died Jan. 22 at age 90, of a cerebral hemorrhage, shared Sanders' zeal for equality and social justice. He was a lifelong champion of the underdog.

Jim was a dreamer who believed social change would make a better world for those least able to help themselves.

That wasn't always a popular political stance in Fort Pierce in the 1960s and 70s. He and his family received death threats for his then-radical views.

As his pastor, Rev. John Liebler rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, noted this week, "he always wanted to make things better, even when the improvements he suggested were almost impossible to achieve."

You can see why he reminds me of Bernie.

Well into his 70s, Jim would appear like a ghost in the lobby of the News-Tribune with either a letter to the editor urging me to crusade for one of his causes, or seeking advice about something he was writing to Someone Very Important.

One time he had a letter to the pope outlining his solution for the problems in Bosnia. I don't know if the letter ever made its way to the Vatican. I do know Jim probably brought me a jar of his homemade sour orange marmalade as a small bribe.

Jim came to the Treasure Coast from Chicago in 1948 to grow winter vegetables.

At first, he rented land from the Adams family, west of Fort Pierce. Bud Adams remembered Jim's early efforts at growing radishes on a 21-day planting rotation.

"That's an awful lot of radishes," Adams told Jim. "I kind of figured he was used to farming elsewhere," Adams said. The rancher also noted that he and Jim definitely weren't on "the same wave length" politically.

Jim dropped the radishes and farmed tomatoes and citrus, yet his real passion was sowing the seeds of social change.

He and his wife Deborah were horrified to see female field workers in northwest Fort Pierce forced to leave their children alone and unsupervised while they rode to far-off groves.

"Sometimes you'd see little kids just sitting on the curb all day long," Deborah said, "with no food."

Jim and Deborah raised the money to build northwest Fort Pierce's first daycare center which offered those kids hot meals, baths and toys, "way before Head Start," as Deborah noted.

During the turbulence of the civil rights movement, Jim was appointed (along with painter A.E. "Beanie" Backus) to the biracial committee tasked with peacefully integrating St. Lucie's public schools.

The family's political views were at odds with many of their white peers in Fort Pierce. Jim's youngest daughter, Kathleen Piowaty Fredrick, recalled how they were blackballed by the Pelican Yacht Club, and shunned by neighbors who erected a 10-foot wall between their homes.

"There were threats to firebomb our house on 11th Street," Kathleen recalled of the period around 1967 or 1968, "and there was one phone call from someone threatening to shoot us. But his voice was so shaky, I figured he'd surely miss."

They were derided as "commies" and "pinkos" and were investigated by the FBI at one point, Kathleen said.

Undeterred, Jim continued to support social causes. He was a founding member of Mustard Seed Ministries in 1986, formed to help the homeless. He also helped found the Treasure Coast Food Bank. In 2004, the NAACP presented him with an award for a lifetime of humanitarian efforts.

Physically, Jim was a wiry guy who had an elfin quality. He made up for his lack of size with strong opinions, especially within the family. "Always finish what you started," was an axiom he stressed to his kids.

Much later in life, he lived up to that credo. He fell and broke his leg while trimming bushes on his dock on Indian River Drive. Unable to summon help, Jim crawled slowly and painfully up the steep embankment to the road. While he was at it, he trimmed bushes all the way up, figuring it'd be quite a while before he was back that way again.

Jim was an ideas man all his life. He had an uncanny  and sometimes annoying  knack for seeing the weakness in any plan.

Jim never shied away from offering advice. Piowaty was always a big supporter of St. Lucie County Clerk of the Court Joe Smith.

"He'd recite a list of all the things I'd been doing wrong," Smith recalled. "He was a liberal's liberal and always had that 'city on a hill' vision of where the community should be. We'd all be better served if we looked at society the way he did."

Jim Piowaty had a heart of gold; he could be maddening, could blurt out uncomfortable truths, often embarrassing his friends and family in the process. But you never doubted his sincerity for a moment.

He was a truly good man who made a difference. I'm proud to have known and loved him.

SERVICES FOR JAMES W. PIOWATY

Thursday: Visitation 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Haisley Funeral Home, 3015 Okeechobee Road, Fort Pierce.

Visitation 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Haisley Funeral Home, 3015 Okeechobee Road, Fort Pierce. Friday: Memorial service at 3 p.m., St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 210 S. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce.
Karen Jurewicz, who has been homeless since 2012, talks with Martin County Health and Human Services Manager Anita Cocoves on Friday during the 2016 homeless census. (GIL SMART/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

If you want to count the number of homeless people along the Treasure Coast, you might start behind the Walmart along U.S. 1 in Martin County.

There, over a few small rises, you'll see your first nylon tent, protected by several blue and brown tarps strung between trees. A rusty camp stove sits atop a milk crate. Here, a bicycle; there, discarded Styrofoam cups and other trash.

Inside the tent is Karen Jurewicz, age 46. Karen tells Anita Cocoves, Martin County's health and human services manager  and one of the people out conducting last Friday's homeless census  that she's been living in tents since 2012, when her husband lost his job. He's got a new job now, but still they're in the woods, beneath the tarps.

Karen says her husband's a veteran; Cocoves, who is also on the board of the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council, tells her there's grant money available to pay five months worth of rent, if they'd like to try to get into an apartment. Karen listens, nods, and says maybe she and her husband will follow up.

But there's a pretty good chance she won't.

The people camped out in the woods behind Walmart or off Commerce Drive represent only a tiny fraction of the overall homeless population along the Treasure Coast, though they might be the most intractable. Most homeless are crammed in with friends or relatives, some live in their cars.

"Our population of homeless is mostly single women with kids," said Louise Hubbard, Executive Director at Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council. And a growing group consists of women age 50-65 who may be ill and have exhausted their resources, but are too young for Social Security.

"Who's going to hire them?" Hubbard asks. "It's a mess."

The mess has grown in recent years.

In 2015, the annual homeless census  conducted so the department of Housing and Urban Development can determine the region's share of federal dollars for homeless services  tallied 504 homeless in Martin County, 812 in Indian River County and 1,096 in St. Lucie County. In each case, the number is significantly higher than it was five years ago. St. Lucie County has seen the number of homeless increase four straight years.

Figures for the 2016 census won't be available until late February.

Cocoves attributes the rising numbers to the ongoing fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. Hubbard points out that it's a lot easier to be homeless in Florida than it is up north, with its two feet of snow.

But maybe there's another reason the numbers are growing; the fact that if you're homeless along the Treasure Coast, there's basically nowhere for you to go.

Shelter beds are practically nonexistent. "Anyone who has transportation, I suggest they go to Orlando  they have two homeless shelters there," said Marilyn McQueen, a Martin County case manager who participated in the census.

Quipped Hubbard, "You even say the word 'shelter' and people bring out their pitchforks."

And in Martin County, though funds are available to get people into housing, the housing just isn't there.

"In terms of apartments there's just no availability, and those that are available are far above fair-market rent," McQueen said.

In Martin County, Hubbard said, "fair-market rent" for a two-bedroom apartment is $912, not counting utilities. Then add in a security deposit, more money for a background check, and on and on.

Neither the single mom crashing with a friend, nor the people in the woods behind Walmart, are going to have that kind of cash lying around.

To be fair, there's another part to the "why." As we tramped through the woods Friday, I asked Cocoves how many people take her up on the offer of rental assistance or other aid. Are there people whom you've gotten out of the woods, success stories?

There are some, she said. But others, the census-takers count year after year after year. "A lot of them have problems with drugs and alcohol," Cocoves said. "There are people who don't want to be in housing with the rest of the community."

So homelessness, in part, may come down to personal decisions, impaired though they may be. Yet the problem persists and worsens mostly due to decisions made by governments and the citizens  that is, policy decisions. Do we want to allocate more money for services? Do we want to build housing? If we do, might it mean more homeless will come to our community to take advantage of the services, thereby increasing the need?

And what might all this do to property values?

So the will to really address the problem just doesn't exist. And so long as it doesn't, it will remain a quiet problem, hidden in the woods and elsewhere, out of sight  and for most, out of mind.
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Re: Hyundai @ Auto Expo 2016



Much like the Creta, the Carlino sub-4m compact SUV should be quite a fabulous looker if they manage to "productionise" the "concept-ish" bits and pieces, but keep the final version true to the lines of this concept car.



My take is that the Carlino looks like Hyundai's raised, but shortened (i.e. sub-4m) version of its popular cousin, the Kia Soul:







Ideally, they should aim to put the car on sale by the end of this calendar year, or during the first quarter of the next one. Powertrain options should only be the 1.0 Kappa T-GDi 6MT & 1.4 U2 CRDi 6MT, along with a choice of AT with either or both engines.



The i30 can herald the entry of the European family hatch segment in India. Chevrolet's Optra SRV tried and didn't succeed, but that was a long time ago, and the market has changed a lot since then. However, if they want to try their luck with the i30 in India, then they would do well to wait till the next generation i30 makes its entry (it has already been spied during testing in Europe). Thanks for sharing this nice pictorial report!Much like the Creta, the Carlino sub-4m compact SUV should be quite a fabulous looker if they manage to "productionise" the "concept-ish" bits and pieces, but keep the final version true to the lines of this concept car.My take is that the Carlino looks like Hyundai's raised, but shortened (i.e. sub-4m) version of its popular cousin, the Kia Soul:Ideally, they should aim to put the car on sale by the end of this calendar year, or during the first quarter of the next one. Powertrain options should only be the 1.0 Kappa T-GDi 6MT & 1.4 U2 CRDi 6MT, along with a choice of AT with either or both engines.The i30 can herald the entry of the European family hatch segment in India. Chevrolet's Optra SRV tried and didn't succeed, but that was a long time ago, and the market has changed a lot since then. However, if they want to try their luck with the i30 in India, then they would do well to wait till the next generation i30 makes its entry (it has already been spied during testing in Europe). Last edited by RSR : 3rd February 2016 at 19:16 .
T-Mobiles 700-MHz rollout has given its mobile users some of the fastest data speeds in the U.S. market, according to a report OpenSignal released Tuesday.

OpenSignal crowdsources data on carrier signal quality from users who have its consumer mobile application installed.

T-Mobile has the fastest 4G LTE download speeds in the country, overtaking Verizon by a slight edge. Its expanded LTE coverage is almost identical to AT&Ts coverage and is closing the gap with Verizons coverage, according to the State of Mobile Networks: USA report, which was based on speed tests conducted from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.

We think the story around the OpenSignal report is just as much about our LTE coverage gains, if not more so, as our being able to remain Americas fastest 4G LTE network, said Viet Nguyen, senior communications manager for corporate communications at T-Mobile.

T-Mobile doubled its LTE footprint last year, adding nearly 1 million square miles of LTE and covering nearly 97 percent of Verizons customers, he told TechNewsWorld.

Speed Slowed by Throttling

How fast a carriers data flows may be less important to consumers than how it doles out that speed. Coverage area also may trump speed for customers.

Being identified as the fastest mobile data provider can be a big win for any company, especially if proven by a neutral third party, said John Turner, CEO ofUsersThink.

The problem is, as it is easy to fact check these types of things, many, many more people would be hesitant to fully believe these claims if it was shown that a company like T-Mobile was actually throttling its data in a violation of net neutrality, he told TechNewsWorld, referring to areport from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The sad efforts of a certainCEO to dismiss the EFF does little to improve the public image of the company, no matter what other awards or tests it may win, Turner added.

While data speed is important, what counts more for many mobile users is where they can get a signal, suggested Alex Merkulov, CEO of8th Sphere.

I think most consumers care about network speed, but many care more about coverage area as well as signal strength and stability, he told TechNewsWorld. For people who live behind thick stone walls in NYC or people who travel outside densely populated areas, Verizon should still remain the provider of choice.

Just because customers get a fast download speed in one corner of an apartment does not mean they are getting a great mobile networking experience overall, Merkulov said.

Digging In to the Data

T-Mobile is meeting its goal of having more LTE coverage across the country, according to OpenSignal. T-Mobile users got LTE 81.23 percent of the time. However, it was third behind Verizons 86.73 percent and AT&Ts 82.63 percent.

4G download speeds for T-Mobile and Verizon averaged about 12 Mbps nationally, with T-Mobile edging out Verizon in a speed comparison in the 11 largest U.S. cities.

T-Mobile had the fastest 3G voice calls and the fastest 3G download speeds at 3.48 Mbps, OpenSignal found.

AT&T and Sprint showed much slower results, but all four major operators gained ground on their coverage footprints in the last quarter.

Numbers Count

Any time a challenger like T-Mobile or Sprint receives recognition from an independent, well-respected third-party source like OpenSignal, it is significant, according to Rob Chamberlin, chief revenue officer atDataXoom.

Its used not only in consumer-based advertising, but also by carrier B2B teams. T-Mobile has a rather low penetration rate in midmarket and enterprise relative to all of the other carriers, particularly Verizon and AT&T, so this might entice a business to more seriously consider T-Mobile as an option, he told TechNewsWorld.

Network speeds become more relevant to consumers and businesses as more mobile applications utilize video.

Business apps like wearables are video-centric and require fast network speeds to work effectively. Network speeds are most noticeable and important when bandwidth-heavy apps are used, Chamberlin said.

Other Perspectives

OpenSignals speed test results differ considerably fromother accounts, according to Sprint, although its not clear what criteria those tests used.

OpenSignal also draws a comparison between the slower speeds of even the fastest U.S. networks and networks in other countries.

Countries with newer LTE networks have bigger spectrum blocks, OpenSignal concludes. The U.S. networks carry more users, however.
It was reported yesterday that Samsung had announced its Unpacked launch event will be taking place on Sunday, February 21 at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. While it seems almost certain that the company will reveal its new flagship line, the Galaxy S7, at the event, the Unpacked teaser video focused heavily on Samsung's Gear VR headset. The reason for this, according to a report from Sam Mobile, is because Samsung will also reveal its previously-rumored 360-degree VR camera - the Gear 360.

The device, which likely has its roots in Samsung's Project Beyond, is apparently a "compact spherical camera" that uses two 180-degree fisheye lenses to capture 360-degree images. The report states that while the Gear 360 will be compatible with the upcoming S7, we don't know if it will work with earlier Samsung smartphone models. Although it's pretty likely that it will be compatible with the newer handsets, much like the Gear VR.

The Gear 360 will also feature an internal battery - so no need for an external power source - and comes with its own onboard storage for videos and images, although we don't know what the capacity will be. Connectivity will be via Bluetooth and a "Gear 360 Connect app," which will include a gallery and a time lapse feature.

The Gear 360 will include features that are seen on many other cameras, such as HDR, exposure control, white balance and ISO settings. Additionally, it will also have a Liveview option, a mode called VR view, dual view, panoramic view, looping video, and the ability to switch between recording a "360 degree (dual lens) or 180 degree (single lens) front or rear view."

The camera's maximum resolution is apparently 3840 X 1920 when shooting in dual lens mode, or 1920 X 1920 in single lens mode.

Samsung will likely be hoping that the Gear 360 will make it easy for the average consumer to create their own VR content. With the device being pretty mobile, it's been suggested that people could use it to record their travels as fully immersive 360-degree experiences.

There's still no word on pricing for the Gear 360, but this may be revealed at the Unpacked event.
If you've ever been frustrated with your smartphone's shoddy keyboard, you've probably been recommended SwiftKey as a replacement due to its excellent prediction engine. According to a report from The Financial Times, Microsoft has recognized the quality of SwiftKey's product, and has acquired the company for $250 million.

The buyout will net founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock upwards of $30 million each, which is a pretty decent sum for a product they created only eight years ago.

SwiftKey has reportedly been installed on more than 300 million devices worldwide, either through a free download from the Play Store or App Store, or via pre-installations on some devices. While SwiftKey does make some money from in-app purchases, they've also licensed their technology to other companies for their own stock keyboards or other applications.

Microsoft appears most interested in the artificial intelligence technology behind SwiftKey, which allows the keyboard to make incredibly accurate predictive text suggestions. Considering Microsoft's own Windows Phone keyboard is pretty solid in the prediction department, the company probably has other interesting plans for SwiftKey's underlying technology.

With the acquisition of SwiftKey set to be finalized next week, it will join a growing list of app purchases by Microsoft, including other productivity tools like to-do list app Wunderlist, email app Accompli, and calendar app Sunrise.
If you're on the waiting list for a new Tesla vehicle, you may want to hold back on posting any unflattering comments regarding CEO Elon Musk - doing so may diminish your chances of ever receiving your order. Such is the case for Tesla customer Stewart Alsop, who had his electric car pre-order personally canceled by Musk after the blogger complained about him.

It all started when Californian venture capitalist Alsop wrote an open letter to Musk called 'You should be ashamed of yourself,' which addressed the badly run (according to him) launch event for the Tesla Motors Model X.

In the letter, Alsop complained about the overcrowding, the lack of food, and the fact that the event started two hours later than scheduled. But his biggest objection was that, despite placing a $5000 deposit on the car, he never got to test drive it at the event. Alsop concluded that it would be nice if Musk "showed some class and apologized to the people who believe in this product."

Musk, it seems, wasn't too forthcoming with his apology; in a follow-up post called 'Banned by Tesla,' Alsop revealed that during a phone call with the CEO, Musk considered the original letter to be a personal attack and was therefore canceling Alsop's order.

"I also hear that you are not comfortable having me own a Tesla car and have canceled my order for a Tesla Model X," Alsop wrote.

I must also admit that I am a little taken aback to be banned by Tesla. When I wrote a blog post about my BMW X1 called 'My Car Makes Me Feel Stoopid', the CEO of BMW didn't take the car back. And in the many articles and posts I have written criticizing products, companies and people, I have never been banned from doing business with any of the companies!

Musk confirmed that he was denying service to Alsop in a tweet.

Must be a slow news day if denying service to a super rude customer gets this much attention --- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2016

The Model X was unveiled nearly two years later than originally scheduled. Musk has acknowledged that the "difficulty in engineering" some of the SUV's parts had been greater than he had originally expected.
The military government of Thailand will attempt to persuade media firms Facebook and Line to comply with court orders to take down content it deems a threat to peace and order, a senior official revealed last Sunday.

The government has received court orders to remove content that it considered damaging to the country and its monarchy.

Council member Major General Pisit Paoin said in an interview that the junta-commissioned NRSA advisory council is looking at meeting Facebook and Line executives in the next quarter to discuss the monitoring and removing of content deemed as threats to national security.

In the future, the two companies would be requested to comply quickly with such rulings, added Paoin.

The Thai army, which has been in power since May 2014, has previously attempted to get these social media outlets to remove political posts. Although its efforts were mostly ineffective, thousands of Internet sites with lese majeste content had already been blocked under the anti-Royal Insult law.

The Thai government, too, had made a similar content removal request to Google  owner of YouTube  last Jan. 22.

Last Friday, a former politician and member of the party of deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was charged with the violation of the Computer Crime Act, particularly for sharing a video that appeared to mock junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The numbers of civilian arrests under the laws crafted against criticisms of Thailands monarchy have sharply risen.

Breaking the record for the severity of punishment under these laws is the 60-year prison sentences handed over to Phongsak S. for six specific messages posted on his Facebook account.

Using the name Sam Parr on the social site, Phongsak was convicted under military court for six actions ruled to be in violation of the Anti-Royal Insult Law, namely Facebook posts from Sept. 4, 2013 to Nov. 29, 2014.

I am so resentful that innocent people were shot dead. The image of these bodies is so clear in my mind. When I think of them, I get so angry that I cannot control myself. And it was even worse when I was drunk, partly read one of Sam Parrs Facebook posts, which he is said to have published in the wake of the 2014 coup.

He was arrested December 2014 and convicted last August after being imprisoned for eight months.

The sentence of Phongsak, already reduced by half after his guilty pledge, surpassed the 50-year sentence of the Bangkok military court to Yai Daengdueat, which also rooted from Facebook posts.

Photo: Jacob Botter | Flickr

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The cultural superiority of our human ancestors may have given them a deadly edge over our Neanderthal cousins, consequently driving the latter into extinction.

This supports the idea that instead of epidemics or climate change wiping out the Neanderthals, as previously believed, it was humans who had done it.

"Cultural Wars"

Thousands of years ago, our Neanderthal cousins lived in what is now known as Europe, even before our human ancestors arrived in the area.

According to scientists, humans came to Europe about 43,000 years ago. Some 5,000 years later, Neanderthals went extinct.

Experts are uncertain as to what really happened, but there are different theories that attempt to explain why and how Neanderthals were wiped out.

While some believe that Neanderthals died because of epidemics or climate change, others think that modern humans took down Neanderthals with better clothing, tools or social organization.

A small group of researchers, led by Professor Marcus Feldman of Stanford University, argues that the cultural and technological advances of modern humans could have been the tipping point.

In a study featured in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team adjusted a mathematical model often used to predict competition between populations. They added, for the first time, dimensions for the ability to learn and cultural advantage.

Researchers modified the model so that the more culturally advanced a group was, the larger it could grow.

As modern humans were moving into Neanderthal territory, scientists said it was likely that those who were dominant arrived in small numbers, in comparison to already established Neanderthal groups.

Despite being outnumbered, the cultural skills that modern humans brought with them could have allowed them to hunt, settle land, use resources more efficiently than the original residents.

Eventually, the population of modern humans swelled, making them even more powerful, researchers said. An even smaller number of modern humans could have overwhelmed a much larger Neanderthal population that did not have culture.

Additionally, if the culture levels were different, modern humans could have begun with half as many people and still win out.

Not A Case Of Brainpower

Feldman said it was not a case of whether modern humans were smarter than Neanderthals. Research suggests that modern humans and Neanderthals had similar brainpower, a trait that slowly evolves through time.

What allowed modern humans to outsmart Neanderthals were resources: modern humans had more tools, more clothes and more complex form of society. These cultural and technological advances spread from person to person, especially when coupled with superior learning abilities.

However, not everyone agrees with this. A 2014 study reviewed several arguments for human cultural superiority and had found them lacking.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder and Leiden University said they did not find any data to support the theory that Neanderthals were inferior in social, cognitive and technological aspects.

This indicated that the extinction of Neanderthals had resulted from a combination of factors.

Feldman and his colleagues do not settle the debate over humankind's 15,000-year conquest of Europe and Middle East. Rather, it merely tests the possibility of the cultural argument. It's an attempt to tie together what archaeologists have uncovered and direct to new things they might have to look for in the field.

Lastly, Feldman said one thing that can improve their mathematical model is a measure of the speed at which anatomically modern humans could have spread across Europe.

"We'd like to see the geographic trajectory - how much migration there would have to be and at what pace it would have to happen to reconstruct what geologists tell us," added Feldman.

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MediaTek, that other company besides well-known brands such as Samsung, Intel and Qualcomm that manufactures budget smartphone processors, is having a bad start in February.

After just dealing with a software issue early this month about their chipsets that are making Android devices more susceptible to attack, the Taiwanese semiconductor company now has to deal with supposed heating problems in its top-of-the-line Helio X20 chip.

MediaTek's Helio X20 is said to be the world's first 10-core processor, but all that power could be coming at a cost. Announced back in May last year, the Helio X20 had seen some delays along the way.

First, there were problems with the Wi-Fi dropping at random times and now overheating issues have popped up. At this point, however, issues of the X20 overheating are based purely on rumors. MediaTek has yet to comment and the company's roadmap has the chipset's launch still scheduled by the end of March.

But rumors can go a long way. When Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chipset was rumored to have overheating issues, Samsung backed off after testing it with its flagship Galaxy S6 last year. Similarly, LG also decided to skip the Snapdragon 810 in favor of the Snapdragon 808 instead.

Now MediaTek is facing the same predicament where three major manufacturers have supposedly backed off from supporting the Helio X20 in their devices. According to reports, Xiaomi, Lenovo and HTC are skipping out on the X20 with no plans to incorporate the chipset into their handsets for this year.

Between the three top-of-the-line chipsets expected this year  the Exynos 8890, Snapdragon 820 and Helio X20  it's MediaTek's offering that's technically inferior but is also cheaper than the other two. If vendors do hold out on using the X20, it's not certain what other budget processors OEMs would use for their lower-tier handsets.

If the rumors are true and phone makers are backing out on the X20, this will put MediaTek in the same spot as Qualcomm last year. Fortunately for Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 810 still made it to some devices such as Google's flagship Nexus 6P. So far, that device hasn't had too many overheating issues as rumors earlier suggested.

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T-Mobile ranked as the top wireless carrier the United States, a recent OpenSignal report reveals.

AT&T, which offers average speeds of 2.2 Mbps, was unable to match the 3G download speeds offered by T-Mobile, which sits comfortably at 3.5 Mbps. T-Mobile also secured itself the top spot for 4G, with a 12.3 Mbps download speed, only slightly above the 12 Mbps from Verizon.

Numbers show that both Sprint and Verizon scored unimpressive results on 3G with 0.6 Mbps and 0.7 Mbps. Looking at 4G, Sprint and AT&T offer download speeds of 6.6 Mbps and 7.9 Mbps.

For a bit of context: the average LTE network user in the U.S. works with a speed of 9.9 Mbps. It might be perfect for Internet surfing and app handling, but looking at the bigger picture shows that there is room for improvement.

The worldwide average reads 13.5 Mbps, with global leaders such as Singapore and New Zealand having an average LTE speed of 33 Mbps and 36 Mbps, respectively.

OpenSignal's study shows that the U.S. sits comfortably when it comes to national coverage. Network subscribers are getting LTE signal about 81 percent of the time, putting the country among the top 10. Considering how wide the American territory is, this is quite a feat.

Speaking of coverage, T-Mobile scored well in this sector, as well.

The company's CEO, John Legere, fueled the expansion efforts of T-Mobile. If the "Uncarrier" used to have only 61 percent coverage two years ago, according to the recent study the company reached the national average of 81 percent.

Out of the four big carriers, only Sprint sits behind T-Mobile, with 70 percent coverage. Verizon leads the pack with 86 percent while AT&T follows with 82 percent. It should be noted that coverage is not measured geographically. Instead, OpenSignal computes the amount of time subscribers have an LTE signal available to them.

OpenSignal, which takes its data from a network testing app installed on the handsets of 181,927 U.S. users, explains how T-Mobile's growth came to be in such a short amount of time. The company's recent expansion happened because T-Mobile was not afraid to cannibalize its own 2G network. This practically freed up a consistent portion of spectrum, which went straight to LTE.

"The majority of voice calls still go over 2G networks, but as U.S. operators move that traffic over to LTE they can start shutting down 2G networks and use that spectrum for [LTE]," the report reads.

Consumer Reports also placed T-Mobile ahead of its rivals. The evaluation took various variables into account such as value, texting services, voice quality, customer support, data speeds and web problems. In the consumer report, T-Mobile ranked first in customer support and value.

Should the U.S. aim to upgrade its national LTE speed, more spectrum is required. Telecom players from the country could be in luck, as the FCC plans to sell off some of the 600-MHz band that used to be dedicated to long range broadcast TV.

The good news is that the auction for the low frequencies starts on March 29 this year. The bad news is that the local TV stations that currently occupy the frequencies have a 39-month period until they are obliged to move out.

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As part of the franchises 20th anniversary, the Pokemon Company International is working to re-release and promote several of the original Pokemon video games, movies and even the original trading card game set. One major exception seems to be Pokemon 2.B.A. Master, the original soundtrack CD from 1999  which is unfortunate because its incredible.

For those perhaps unfamiliar with the masterpiece that is 2.B.A. Master, the CD is the very first in a short series of soundtracks for the English version of the Pokemon anime. It comes with 13 different songs, all of which either feature directly in the anime or are inspired by it. That includes the eponymous 2.B.A. Master track, which is far and away the best.

Dont believe me? Heres a small selection of the lyrics from the track:

I got 2 B the one, the only one who can

withstand the test 'n B the best.

I got 2 strive, keep up the drive,

B a Master.

It takes a different kind of skill

and I won't stop until

150 Pokemon are mine.

I must define the art of capture (of all Pokemon).

Its not like the companys completely forgotten about the CD after its initial release or anything. Back in 2007, a majority of the songs featured on a follow-up soundtrack celebrating 10 years of Pokemon. So, why no push for the 20th anniversary now?

Part of this is almost certainly related to the fact that a number of the bits of Pokemon getting promoted this year havent seen the light of day in some time. The first Pokemon movie, for example, has only just hit iTunes. Pokemon 2.B.A. Master, on the other hand, has been available on the service for some time.

Given that theyre essentially taking a whole year to celebrate everything related to pocket monsters, is it too much to ask for them to spare a little love for some of their original songs? For example, 2.B.A. Masters silly Team Rocket-themed song Double Trouble  performed by the voice actors for the animes Jessie, James and Meowth at the time  is a fun little romp with a chorus that easily gets stuck in your head.

Even so, the CD isnt all fun and games. There are several songs that are meaningful at worst and moving at best. The Time Has Come (Pikachus Goodbye) is taken from the time Ash Ketchum, the animes protagonist, tried to release Pikachu into the wild after the group ran into a bunch of wild Pikachu. Its all about good memories and moving on, and has more than once made me shed a tear or two. Though the two would eventually end up not separating, the song itself remains intensely melancholic.

I guess what Im trying to say here is this: please do not forget Pokemon 2.B.A. Master in your celebrations of the franchises 20th anniversary like everyone else seems to have done. If youre going to go whole hog and embrace everything about Pokemon, that includes the music.

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Microsoft is recalling more than 2 million AC power adapters because of the possibility to cause a fire and electric shock, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday.

The recall involves nearly 2.25 million AC power adapters distributed with Microsoft Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 devices before March 15, 2015. On top of that, it notes that almost 190,000 power cords were purchased in Canada.

It likewise covers accessory power supply units that come with an AC power cord sold independently prior to the said date.

The recalled power cords do not have a 1/8-inch sleeve on the cord on the end that connects to the power supply, says the CPSC.

Microsoft has so far documented five reports of electric shock and 56 reports of AC power cords catching fire upon overheating.

Impacted consumers can request for a replacement via the company's support site. Microsoft guaranteed that as soon as the replacement AC power cord is ordered, this will be shipped to the customers from seven to 10 business days.

Meanwhile, to make things clearer, the recall does not affect AC power cords sold with Surface RT, Surface Book, Surface 2, Surface 3 and Surface 4. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that this does not include Surface Pro 3 tablets acquired after March 15, 2015.

Earlier this year, Microsoft already issued a voluntary recall for Surface Pro AC power cords bought previous to March 15 last year in the U.S. and Canada, and before July 15 in other markets.

While the Redmond-based company said the risk is minimal and a small number of [its] customers have reported the issue, it still chooses to deal with concerns by making free replacement cords available to all eligible customers.

The recall comes hot on the heels of news about Apple voluntarily recalling AC wall plug adapters because of a shock hazard. These adapters are particularly built for use in Australia, Argentina, Continental Europe, Brazil, Korea and New Zealand.

"These wall plug adapters shipped from 2003 to 2015 with Mac and certain iOS devices, and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit," says Apple.

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Countries both poor and rich participated in a historic moment on December 2015 as world leaders reached a landmark agreement in Paris to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

Representatives from 196 nations signed a pact of commitment to prevent average global temperatures from rising 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher, starting late 2015 up to 2100.

United Nations secretary Ban Ki-Moon dubbed the 12-page Paris Climate Agreement as a monumental success for Earth and its inhabitants. "History will remember this day," he said.

But not everyone agrees. While Paris delegates were celebrating, politicians in Washington were grumbling about how bad the climate agreement was for the United States.

A hearing at the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology on Feb. 2. revealed how policy-makers and experts view the matter.

As President Barack Obama made a pact to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent within 10 years, Republicans believe this will have several negative effects.

"The president's Paris pledge will increase electricity costs, ration energy and slow economic growth," said Lamar Smith, chairman of the committee and a Republican from Texas.

Witnesses of the hearing questioned the legality of the climate agreement, as well as Obama's pledge. Smith said the president's pledge appears to lack constitutional legitimacy because it has not yet been ratified by the Senate.

Stephen Eule, Vice President for Climate and Technology from the Chamber of Commerce, said the Paris goals were futile.

"The US Paris pledge of a 26 percent to 28 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions from the 2005 level by 2025 is completely unrealistic," he said. "The administration still has no plan to achieve it."

Eule also said U.S. taxpayers will have to contribute billions of dollars in funds to help poor nations fight against the effects of climate change and produce clean energy economies.

Aside from that, witnesses were skeptical whether the climate agreement would have any significant impact on climate change, especially because America's pledge is only one-fiftieth of the overall 1 degree Celcius rise over the next 85 years.

One of the witnesses who testified in the hearing, Steven Groves of the World Resources Institute, published their complete stand on why the climate agreement is a bad deal for America.

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U.S. President Barack Obama seeks $1.1 billion in funds to act upon the problem of prescription opioid and heroin addiction.

The administration includes a mandatory funding to make sure that all Americans who want treatment can get help.

"The President's FY 2017 Budget takes a two-pronged approach to address this epidemic," the press release reads.

First Approach: Increase Access To Help

The first strategy is to include $1 billion in new compulsory funding over the next two years to increase availability of treatments for prescription drug abuse and heroin use. Such approach will help those with opioid drug disorder to look for help, complete necessary therapies and ensure recovery.

To be able to reach that goal, the administration proposes to include $920 million for cooperative agreements between states. This move is to expand access to guided treatment among those plagued with opioid use disorders.

The funds for each state will vary depending on the severity of the epidemic and strength of available measures to address it.

The administration is also looking at providing $50 million to the National Health Service Corps to bolster access to treatment providers. Through this fund, about 700 health care providers will be able to implement treatment services to different areas across the U.S.

Lastly, $30 million will be used to evaluate the outcomes of the programs and help determine opportunities to enhance treatment.

Second Approach: Continue Current Efforts

The second strategy is to provide $500 million of the proposed budget to existing projects by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS).

The money may be used to hasten prevention, increase medication-assisted programs, improve access to antidote naloxone and strengthen enforcement strategies.

Part of this budget will go to rural areas, where epidemics are high.

The President's Focus

Obama has made clear that battling opioid addiction is one of the priorities of his administration.

He has made substance abuse disorder services part of insurance coverage plans under the Affordable Care Act.

The law also necessitates making substance abuse benefits similar to that of medical and surgical cases.

America has been facing tremendous problems related to prescription drug abuse and heroin use. As per records, the rates of drug overdose deaths are now higher than motor vehicle accident mortalities.

In 2014, opioids were involved in 28,648 deaths and CDC continues to note a rise in mortalities related to heroin and other synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

Photo: Karen Neoh | Flickr

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Comcast has revealed its plan to introduce the first DOCSIS 3.1-powered Gigabit Internet service in the world to both residential and business customers in Nashville and Atlanta early this year, and to customers in Miami, Detroit and Chicago in the second half of 2016.

Last month, Comcast successfully installed the company's first DOCSIS 3.1 modem in Philadelphia, and a few days later, it was also able to do so in Atlanta.

The new network technology will be able to provide Xfinity and Comcast Business Internet clients with gigabit speeds for the first time, over communications lies that most of the company's customers already have inside their homes and offices.

According to Comcast Central Division President Bill Connors, the new technology will combine with the upgrades that the company has already made to its advanced fiber topic-coax network to provide users with more speed choices. Ultra-fast Internet speeds will also be eventually made available to most homes in Comcast's service areas.

Comcast's Gigabit Internet service is the company's answer to Google's Fiber and Verizon's FiOS. The service offers customers with download speeds of 1,000 Mbps, which is far faster compared to what most Americans are currently enjoying with their Internet connections. At such a speed, an HD movie can be downloaded in just 7 seconds.

The selling point of Comcast's Gigabit Internet is that, unlike other services that require upgrading to high-speed but expensive fiber optic cables, it only requires an upgrade to existing cables. While Google Fiber is required to build an entirely new infrastructure, Comcast will be able to utilize the cables that are already present to provide the massively fast connection speeds.

Customers that choose to sign up with the service will need to swap out the cable modems they currently use for the DOCSIS 3.1 ones which support the new technology.

Comcast, however, has not yet revealed how much Gigabit Internet will cost, though it will surely be cheaper compared to the Gigabit Pro service that charges $300 per month for speeds of up to 2,000 Mbps.

"We don't have product details to share today in terms of price or data plans," said a spokesman for Comcast.

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Women are more likely to be affected with contagious yawning than men because they are more understanding towards others. It may sound a bit sexist, but a study backs this up.

Researchers from the University of Pisa in Italy secretly observed more than 100 people in their natural environments during the five-year study. Most of the participants are friends and family, making it easy for the research team to log when the subjects yawned and what made them yawn.

The team logged their observations during dinner, travel and even during work hours. The study's lead author Elisabetta Palagi secretly observed her own husband's yawning.

The team found a pattern: people often catch the contagious yawning from someone they are close to. They also discovered that women are more likely to catch it than men.

Majority of the data showed women are more empathetic than men, on average. This suggests that contagious yawning is established on empathy, which is the ability to understand and mirror the feelings or emotions of another person. The findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on Feb. 3.

"Women are much more empathic than men in several aspects of their lives and this has a biological basis because women have evolved for maternal care. Our question was, if females are more empathic than males, can we use contagious yawning as an indicator of this empathy? The answer is yes," said Palagi.

Liz Cirulli, a geneticist from Duke University, said that despite making a good case, the research team didn't measure the empathy levels of the participants. Rather, they assumed that the female participants were naturally more empathetic than the male participants.

Cirulli, who was not involved in the research and also did a study on contagious yawning, said that the basis on empathy would make sense but it wasn't clear in Palagi's study if that's what's really happening.

Past studies among animals and humans found that contagious yawning is associated with the level of closeness among individuals.

Andrew Gallup from the State University of New York, Oneonta, said other research found no gender bias when it comes to contagious yawning. Gallup said until other researchers arrive at the same conclusion as Palagi's, he won't be convinced contagious yawning has anything to do with gender.

Photo: Josh Sniffen | Flickr

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After becoming the first UK-born astronaut to carry out a spacewalk, International Space Station crew member Tim Peake took on his next challenge while in space: a question-and-answer session with a group of schoolchildren.

The European Space Agency astronaut participated in a live chat event held at the World Museum in Liverpool on Tuesday, where he was quizzed by 25 students from 10 schools in the United Kingdom.

One of the students taking part in the interview was 8-year-old Rhys Maguire-Stokes from Blaenymaes Primary. He sent his question to Peake through a tweet because there was no more time left to ask his question live.

"How did it feel to walk in space?" Maguire-Stokes said in his message.

Amy Smith, a class teacher from Maguire-Stokes' school said that while they were not able to throw their question during the live video feed, they've already tweeted the message and are waiting for Peake's reply.

She said that the children had a wonderful time at the event, and when they were able to see Peake on the video screen, their faces lit up.

Blaenymaes Primary was among the schools chosen by the Times Education Supplement to take part in the "Cosmic Classroom" event. The school named Maguire-Stokes as its representative, according to Smith.

Another student asked Peake about the things that he could see from the ISS's windows.

"I have got a window right behind me  let me go take a look," Peake said as he turned from the camera and floated toward one of the windows to see what was outside. This caused the children to burst into laughter.

"At the moment we are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean coming up to the coast of Africa with the beautiful colors of the Sahara Desert."

Ten-year-old Matthew Savage from St. Anne's Fulshaw CE Primary in Cheshire asked Peake if he has ever been by meteors while on the ISS.

Peake said that they do experience getting hit by small objects, some of which even cause damage, but that "clever people on earth" helped make sure that astronauts like him were safe while in space.

Aside from being able to answer the children's questions, the live event also allowed Peake to engage with other students online through the use of an Astro Pi computer. This device was designed and built by British students using Raspberry Pi boards and the Python program as part of the Astro Pi Programming Competition.

Two Astro Pi computers were delivered to the space station on Dec. 6 for Peake's use during his six-month stay on the orbital facility.

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Volkswagen AG has submitted a plan to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board, which proposes to fix nearly 80,000 of the recalled 3.0-liter diesel vehicles that emit more than nine times the legally permissible pollution.

On Tuesday, Volkswagen Group of America submitted the intended plan, which will bring Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen cars that have six-cylinder 3.0-liter diesel engines at par with the air quality standards and guidelines dictated by the board and the agency.

The Board confirmed the receipt of the proposal from Volkswagen, but David Clegern, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, desisted from commenting on any other details until an additional review is conducted.

The plan has also been received by the EPA, which is simultaneously carrying out an investigation into the violation of the rules. Laura Allen, a spokesperson for the EPA, has let on that the agency will be reviewing the plan.

The Volkswagen proposal covers the fixing of the following diesel cars:

 2009-2016 VW Touareg

 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne

 2014-2016 Audi A6 Quattro

 Audi A7 Quattro

 Audi A8

 Audi A8L

 Audi Q5

 2009-2016 Audi Q7

The emission problem affects nearly 85,000 vehicles that have 3.0-liter diesel engines and were sold in the United States from 2009 to 2015. The affected vehicles include some Audi and Porsche SUVs that are sold under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group.

Of the affected vehicles, approximately 16,000 to 17,000 cars are operational in California, Clegern said. Volkswagen faces a stop sale in the United States, which debars the German automaker from selling 2016 diesel models.

In November 2015, regulators in California and the United States had said that the automaker deployed auxiliary software - which was not declared - to enable the vehicles from Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen to emit extra emissions that were detrimental for the environment.

A deadline of Tuesday had been set for the automaker to submit a proposal to recall and fix the diesel engine vehicles that were designed by the Audi unit.

"We are fully cooperating with the U.S. authorities to make our V6 3.0L (diesel) engine compliant with regulations. After meetings between EPA and (California) and our technicians, we filed a recall plan," said Mark Clothier, spokesperson for Audi of America.

The proposal offers the German carmaker the chance to win regulatory approval so that it can begin selling its diesel cars once again.

The Air Resources Board (ARB) has revealed that it intended to give the proposal a "thorough and complete review to make sure the plan addresses" the excessive emissions problem. Audi is hopeful that the ARB will soon give a decision on the proposal.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
This time, it isn't taxi cab drivers staging protests against Uber in France, alleging that the ride-hailing app is stealing their business.

It's now drivers for Uber and other ride-sharing companies who are holding protests in Paris, upset over the French government's announced crackdown on ride-hailing apps.

The Verge is reporting that hundreds of Uber drivers and chauffeurs from other ride-hailing apps flooded the streets in Paris on Wednesday, holding what they called a "funeral march" protest in an attempt to speak up about being against French Prime Minister Manuel Valls' plans  announced last week  to bite down on and restrict ride-hailing apps' drivers.

The website reports that the drivers staged their protest outside of a Paris train station while blocking surrounding streets with their cars. Others even threw objects at a taxi, according to the Verge, although there weren't any indications of the protest getting violent with riot police on hand.

Wednesday's protest comes a week after thousands of taxi drivers protested in Paris, even burning tires, paving the way for Valls to announce that France will enforce restrictions that would force Uber and other ride-hailing services from using salaried drivers.

"Mr. Valls guillotined us," Joseph Francois, president of the Alternative Mobilite Transport (AMT) driver association, told the Verge at Wednesday's protest.

His strong words come in reaction to Valls sending a letter to Uber and ordering it to stop using drivers designated for cars carrying at least two people.

Francois claimed that Uber and other ride-hailing apps account for 70 percent of all such business.

"For us, this decision was made under pressure, under constraints," Francois said in reference to taxi unions and Valls' decision. "That is what we are denouncing."

He added: "They are going to destroy an entire ecosystem in order to stop an evolution that is unstoppable. We cannot return to the Stone Age. It's just impossible."

How is this tense back-and-forth between Uber, taxi companies and the French government going to be resolved?

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Do the crime, do the time ... for life, in this case.

A federal appeals court upheld the Wisconsin state law that convicted pedophiles must wear GPS ankle monitors for the rest of their lives, Ars Technica is reporting.

This comes after a convicted Wisconsin man, Michael Belleau, 72, already served his prison sentence for sexually assaulting a boy and a girl and requested to not have to wear the GPS ankle device any longer, arguing that it violated his privacy and that he wasn't on any type of post-sentence supervision.

A federal judge actually sided with the convicted felon, but Wisconsin appealed to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and they weren't hearing it. The federal appeals court stood by the state, upholding the 2008 Wisconsin law that requires sex offenders in the state to wear GPS ankle monitors for life.

In upholding the law, the federal appeals judges reasoned, according to Ars Technica:

"When the ankleted person is wearing trousers the anklet is visible only if he sits down and his trousers hike up several inches and as a result no longer cover it. The plaintiff complains that when this happens in the presence of other people and they spot the anklet, his privacy is invaded, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, because the viewers assume that he is a criminal and decide to shun him. Of course the Fourth Amendment does not mention privacy or create any right of privacy. It requires that searches be reasonable but does not require a warrant or other formality designed to balance investigative need against a desire for privacy; the only reference to warrants is a prohibition of general warrants."

The federal appeals judges also added that the use of GPS devices among California's sex offenders results in those felons less than half as likely to ever commit a new sex crime in comparison to those who don't wear the devices.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Next gen cyber attacks could be through Internet images using Stegosploit tool which allows hackers to embed malware in an image

Security Researcher Saumil Shah has developed a Stegosploit tool wherein hackers can embed executable JavaScript code within an image to trigger a drive by download.

Internet is becoming a major source of media and eventually emerging as a hub of various advertisements. Hence, we can see so many innocent images scattered all over the Internet be it any of the social networking sites or the search engines. Security researcher Saumil Shah feels that it is this field which the next generation Cyber attackers could exploit.

Saumil Shah, a security researcher from Net Square security, recently presented his Stegosploit project at Hack In The Box Conference held in Amsterdam. During the conference he demonstrated an updated method of his digital steganography project known as Stegosploit Tool, which allows hackers to embed executable JavaScript code within an image to trigger a drive by download.

What does all this mean?

In layman terms it would simply mean that going forward there are chances that people might download potentially dangerous malware into their devices just by viewing an innocent looking image, even without clicking or downloading that image. While a person views an image, the hidden malware could get downloaded in the computer or smartphone or Tablets without the knowledge and consent of the user. Now, this malicious program or the malware can be very dangerous as it can steal users confidential data like photographs, login credentials, financial information etc. The worst part here is that antivirus and the malware detection scanners of present times are not equipped to detect these types of cyber attacks yet, thus even though the devices are protected with the safety programs they are useless in a scenario if the attackers choose to attack through the Stegosploit tools.

Steganography: This is a technique of transmitting some messages in hidden form, in such a way that the message becomes a part of something else such as an image or article or shopping list or even cover text. This technique is being used since 1499 and one striking example of Steganography would be when some hidden message is written with an invisible ink between the visible lines of an innocent friendly letter.

Usually in case of cryptography, the encrypted message arouses much interest; however in case of steganography the secret message does not trigger any attention and thus gets saved from unwanted scrutiny, this is why steganography is preferred over cryptography.

History has revealed that people have used a combination of cryptography and steganography in the past to transmit secret messages to the right people.

In his demonstration Shah said that steganography method hides the message in plain sight. On the contrary, the technique developed by Shah i.e. Stegosploit tool is an advanced method of the steganographic method wherein the exploits will not only be delivered in plain sight but also in style.

Besides being a security researcher, Shah also has a passion for photography.

It was five years back when Shah decided to combine his passions of hacking and photography; thus he started experimenting steganographic techniques in the images.

While speaking to iDigitalTimes, Shah said:

I really love photography and I had been looking into jpeg files and image files just because I could. It was then that I began to wonder if non-image data could be encoded inside an image itself. Of course, Steganography in images has been around a long time and a lot of research has been done with encoding text on pictures, but with classic steganography you are just adding text into an image and both the text and the image are passive. What I wanted to do was encode active code into the image pixels so that when it was decoded, it isnt viewed as an image, but rather, executes.

Finally, Shah discovered an executable code which can be embedded in an image and then executed in the web browser. Thus, Shah created his own tool Stegosploit with which he was able to hide executable code within an image and then execute the same code in a web browser that supports HTML5 Canvas. Further, the tool uses Java Script to read the image pixel data and decodes the image within the browser thus exploiting the HTML5 Canvas.

Using this Stegosploit tool, Shah has been taking known exploits in Chrome, Safari, Explorer and other HTML5 Canvas supporting browsers and coded these exploits into the image layers. Shah has dubbed the resultant files as Imajs (image + JavaScript) which loads as JavaScript in a browser and renders as an image as well as an executable. Thus Shah was able to hide two different kinds of content in one single file delivering malicious content in the images.

During encoding process, the image may appear to be totally unaltered depending on which layer the JavaScript has been embedded. The Stegosploit technique is able to distribute the executable code around the inside of an image file which makes it next to impossible to be detected by the current antivirus programs. To detect this hidden code, the antivirus needs to scan each and every byte in an image which would directly affect the speed of the internet.

It was in the month of March when, Shah gave the first demonstration of his Stegosploit tool at SyScan. Then, the technique could render the malware by using two images; one would contain the executable code and the other would contain a code to decode it. However, Shah has further worked on his technique and now both the executable as well as the decoder codes can be embedded within a same image. The technique is possible with PNG as well as JPEG images. Further, as long as the size of the file remains unchanged it can be added to any webpage including Twitter, Imgur, Instagram, dating profiles and many more.

People who view photographs and images online would be easily victimized as the malware gets downloaded just by viewing and does not need to be clicked or downloaded. This can be a greatest technique which cyber attackers can exploit in the near future. Shah is pretty confident that we will witness these attacks soon, though as of now there arent any cases of hackers using this technique yet.

Shah said: I cant be the only guy that thought this up. When I think of something I want to bring it out into the light and say heres a technique thats very difficult to do but have at it. Use your creative thinking and find out some defenses against, because this thing is coming.

I personally feel it is high time that all the anti virus programmers and malware scanners need to work fast and really bring some tool to act against such type of cyber crime and be ready before the cyber crooks start attacking the Internet users.
Later this year, Nasas Osiris-Rex mission will attempt to return a 60g sample from an asteroid to Earth at a pricetag of around $1bn. A mining mission would have to cost significantly less than that, particularly as the current slump in commodity prices means that metals mined on Earth are cheaper than they have been in years.
Arturo Murillo swindled the Bolivian state in 2019, when the U.S.-backed regime was trying to repress workers, farmers, and students. | Read More
Mahesh Villain Rejects Steven Spielberg Film

It's nothing but a dream for any actor to appear in Hollywood films. But one of the talented actor rejected the proposal made by Hollywood legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg as he feels the role offered to him was not exciting.



Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan was offered a role in Steven Spielberg's upcoming movie, but the actor rejected the proposal. Irrfan said he rejected the role as it did not have much scope for him. The film also features Scarlett Johansson.



"I didn't feel the character offered to me gave me much scope and I was not excited. So I said 'no', though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with," Irrfan told



Irffan was appeared in more than 50 films in Bollywood and he is considered one of the most versatile actors. Irrfan is well known face for Hollywood and he has been part of two Oscar-winning films ' Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Life of Pi (2012), apart from featuring in Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic World and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Irffan is known face for tollywood audiences too and he played villain role in Mahesh Babu's film Sainikudu.









News Posted: 3 February, 2016








Tamil director's Bilingual with Bunny

Stylish Star Allu Arjun's next film Sarrainodu under direction of mass maker Boyapati is in last leg of shooting and the recently released first look of the film double the expectations. Before the film release now Bunny has given nod to another commercial filmmaker.



If reports from Tollywood are to be believed Allu Arjun is doing a bilingual movie with tamil star director Linguswamy. After Sarrainodu, Bunny will do with Linguswamy.



The news was treated as just speculation till now but the director's office today confirmed that he is teaming up with Bunny for a bilingual. Bunny is already enjoying huge fan base in Malayalam and kannda and is waiting for a chance to increase his following in tamil too.



Lingusamy is famous for making commercial flicks. Even though all his films have a small plot, he laces it with racy screenplay and gripping scene composition. All his dubbing films worked well in Telugu and now the director wants to make his first telugu film as blockbuster. More details about the project are yet to be arrived.











News Posted: 3 February, 2016








Opposition parties ask Guv to take control

Hyderabad, Feb 3 (INN): All opposition parties on Wednesday asked Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to take Hyderabad's Law & Order under his control as per Section 8 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.



Led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly K. Jana Reddy, a delegation comprising representatives of TDP, BJP, YSRCP and Left parties, called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and apprised him of violent incidents reported during GHMC polling. They alleged that the MIM leaders were given a free hand to attack all their political rivals and the entire election process in Greater Hyderabad, especially in the Old City was turned into a farce. They said that the Governor has powers to take Law & Order under his direct control when State Government fails to handle the situation. The leaders informed the Governor about the attack on TPCC Chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Leader of Opposition Mohammed Ali Shabbir, Jangammet when BJP candidate Yadagiri, MBT leader Amjedullah Khan, journalist Mohammed Mubasshir Khurram and Deputy CM's son Mohammed Azam. They said that the not even the opposition parties, but some ruling party leaders, who are opposed to MIM, were not safe in Hyderabad.



The Governor has reportedly given a patient hearing and assured to take action. Before meeting the Governor, the all-party delegation also met State Election Commissioner V. Nagi Reddy and sought action against those involved in poll-related violence and violation of Model Code of Conduct.



Earlier, representatives of all political parties including Telangana TDP President L. Ramana, BJP floor leader Dr. K. Lakshman and MLC N. Ramchander Reddy and YSRCP representatives attended an all party meeting called by Jana Reddy in Assembly premises. During discussion, the opposition parties have resolved to unitedly fight against the alleged 'goondaism' unleashed by the MIM. They also condemned the TRS Government for not taking stern action against the people who were resorting to violence.



Addressing a joint press conference later, Jana Reddy said that the attack on opposition parties reflect the complete failure of State Government. He said that the opposition parties would also meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and if required, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Centre's intervention to restore deteriorating Law and Order situation in the city. He said attack on Uttam Kumar Reddy and Shabbir Ali by MIM activists led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was highly condemnable.



Condemning the violent incidents, TDP leader Ramana said in recent pasts, Congress and TDP legislators were attacked by the ruling party leaders in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts. He said that the opposition leaders were not feeling safe in Telangana State.



BJP leader Lakshman demanded that MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi be booked under SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act for attacking Jangammet candidate Yadigiri.









News Posted: 3 February, 2016








Krishnaiah opposes inclusion of Kapus in BCs

Hyderabad, Feb 3 (INN): BC Welfare Association President and TDP MLA R. Krishnaiah has warned the Andhra Pradesh Government against inclusion of Kapus in Backward Classes.



Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Krishnaiah said that the BCs would launch a massive agitation if Kapus are included in the BC list. He said that the BCs were not opposed to giving reservation for Kapus in jobs and education. However, they were against Kapus' inclusion in the BC list.



Krishnaiah said additional funds should be sanctioned for the development of Kapus and also poor Brahmins and Reddys. He advised that the State Government should constitute a separate corporation of Kapus by allocating a fund of Rs. 1,000 crore. He demanded that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu withdraw his statement promising BC status to Kapus.









News Posted: 3 February, 2016








TRS will win Narayankhed by-polls: Harish Rao

Hyderabad, Feb 3 (INN): Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao on Wednesday alleged that the Congress party's policy was confined to election, selection and commission.



Addresing a meeting in Sirgapur of Kolhar mandal in Narayankhed Assembly segment, Harish Rao said that the Congress party had lost the trust of common people. Instead, he said people have been praising the performance of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. He said TRS Government has been implementing several welfare schemes by spending thousands of crores.



Harish Rao expressed confidence that TRS would win the Narayankhed Assembly by-elections.









News Posted: 3 February, 2016








Sri Sri Ravi Shankar nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The founder of the Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji, who was recently decorated with the Padma Vibhushan award, is now all set to win one of the most prestigious awards in the world!



As per reports the spiritual guru is reportedly one amongst the people short listed to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The founder of Art of Living was nominated for the award, which is due to be announced in October this year, said reports.



The nominations for this year's Nobel Peace Prize due to be announced sometime around October and it was closed on February 1. The founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri has been instrumental in the peace negotiations in the Latin American country of Columbia. A report published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has said Ravi Shankar as a likely nominee for the prize.



Ravi Shankar's Art of Living courses taught in 144 countries provide tools that improve over-all health, wellness and increase enthusiasm and mental focus. Ravi Shankar had brought peace to thousands worldwide, even to people in New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. Ravi Shankar also mediated the peace deal between the Colombian government and the guerrilla movement FARC during his visit to Cuba in June 2015.









News Posted: 3 February, 2016








According to the World Bank (WB), Thailand will face the biggest shortage of skilled labour in the Asean region.

Kiatanan Ruankaew, deputy director general of Dhurakij Pundit Universitys research department, revealed the WB survey results recently, which showed that 83.5 per cent of the workforce in Thailand is unskilled.

This puts Thailands skilled workforce at the lowest proportion among other Asean countries, followed by Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The bank blames this on the Thai education system, which has resulted in the countrys lack of competitiveness.

The survey, which was conducted between 2006 and 2009, also shows that only 38.8 per cent of workers are suitable for the job they are doing  once again putting Thailand at the lowest in Asean.

Kiatana explained that the Thai education system failed to provide the right skills to people, resulting in the creation of a workforce that does not match the jobs available. Hence, he said, change is necessary so students can be armed with the right skills to meet employers needs.

Source: Thailand faces greatest shortage of skilled labour in Asean: World Bank  The Nation
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Asias largest drugmaker, has assembled an internal team to look into how it might contribute to vaccine efforts to combat the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne pathogen that is currently spreading through the Americas.

The Japanese company has been in contact with several global health organizations, Rajeev Venkayya, president of the Japanese companys vaccine business unit said in an interview. He didnt specify whether it was planning its own vaccine. The eight person team will be led by Venkayya, who was previously a special assistant to U.S. President George W. Bush for biodefense at the White House.

The Osaka-based company already has vaccine programs that combat diseases that are in the same virus family as Zika. It will begin late-stage trials on its dengue fever vaccine this year. Both viruses are spread by the same species of mosquito and share similar symptoms.

Companies from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to U.S.-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. are beginning work toward a vaccine to combat Zika. Researchers are studying Zikas possible links to a surge in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads. The World Health Organizationon Monday declared that the outbreak in Latin America is a public health emergency of international concern. Vaccines can take years to develop and countries are likely to have a long wait before there is an effective one against Zika.

Were looking at this very seriously," Venkayya said, referring to Takedas potential contributions to Zika vaccine research. He noted that discussions were "very early-stage" and no concrete decisions had been made.

The travel industry has already seen early effects from the Zika outbreak as tourists review plans to visit Latin America. Margaret Chan, the WHOs director-general, said that one of the first priorities should be controlling mosquito populations that have spread the virus.

Paris-based Sanofi said yesterday its vaccines unit would work on developing a Zika vaccine. It won approval in December in Brazil and Mexico for the worlds first inoculation against dengue.
They tend to avoid political donations, but Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have a fair bit to lose if Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders beats Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Mr Sanders surprised pundits by coming within 1 per cent of Mrs Clinton in Tuesday's Iowa caucus vote. Worryingly for the miners, he has been an outspoken critic of a copper mine called Resolution that Rio and BHP plan to jointly build in Arizona some time in the next decade.

Just three months ago, Mr Sanders jointly sponsored a bill to repeal the law that gave the miners access to the lands earmarked for the Resolution mine.

The mine is controversial because it will be built on lands that local Apache people consider to be sacred. Rio and BHP were given access in a land-swap deal that has been bitterly contested.
Mr Barilaro is responsible for vocational education and TAFE in NSW, which has been beset by potential campus closures and the loss of up to 5000 teachers and 60,000 students over three years through deregulation under his own government's Smart and Skilled policy.

In an exclusive interview, NSW Minister for Skills and Industry John Barilaro told Fairfax Media that his ministerial federal coalition colleagues "have made errors that I would not have ever believed from a government" in allowing the private vocational education sector to blow out to an expected $4 billion in public debt this year.

A NSW government minister has launched a blistering attack on the federal government's administration of the scandal-ridden private vocational education sector.

Despite overseeing the state government's move to more privatised vocational education, Mr Barilaro said he "couldn't believe any federal government could have administered a program like they have".

Skills Minister John Barilaro is understood to be doing the numbers on a possible challenge to Troy Grant. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"I think they have made errors that I would not have ever believed from a government. I mentioned that to the previous minister, [Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham] and the current minister [Luke Hartsuyker]. How have we allowed a private provider in one year to have $300,000 in funding go to a hundred million in funding?" he said.

The federal vocational training sector has been plagued by allegations of dodgy private providers recruiting tens of thousands of students through free laptops and targeting illiterate, disabled students to sign them up to tens of thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded student debt through the federal government's HECS-style VET-FEE help program.

Three Sydney private colleges are currently being pursued for their "unconscionable conduct" by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in the Federal Court for up to $200 million combined in taxpayer funding.
The bookshelves hold Kerouac and Kesey and Burroughs and Bukowski as they always have.

The big neon face of Bob Dobbs from the Church of the SubGenius towers over customers from the back wall, but only until May.

Adam Emslie is sad to be selling Polyester Books. Credit:Jason South

Then Melbourne's counterculture icon Polyester Books, in Fitzroy, will be gone.

This place has seen some action. A guy called Paul Elliott founded the shop in 1985. He was active in Melbourne's punk scene. He opened it as a record store called Dizzy Spinners then split the business in two and opened a dedicated record store further up Brunswick Street.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is suspending his run for the Republican presidential nomination, he said Wednesday after finishing near the bottom of the pack in the Iowa caucuses. CNN said conservative Rick Santorum also was quitting.

"It's been an incredible honour to run a principled campaign for the White House," the libertarian-leaning Paul said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

His withdrawal comes less than a week before the New Hampshire primary, the next round in the Republican and Democratic nomination contests. Paul didn't say whether he would endorse any of the other candidates.

Paul, the son of former Texas Representative Ron Paul, who twice ran for president, opposed many forms of foreign intervention and often found himself out of step with the other candidates in his party.
Students at Calwell High School, Canberra High School and Curtin Primary School were evacuated on Wednesday as the school bomb hoax saga continued - disrupting first week classes across eight Canberra schools.

The ACT Education Directorate has, however, asked all ACT school staff and students be alert for any suspicious activity and respond to any threats by calling 000.

While now understood to be part of an international hoax, ACT Police were called to the schools as a precaution.
Parts of Canberra Hospital have been searched after authorities received a threatening phone call on Wednesday morning.

An ACT Policing spokeswoman said officers attended the hospital in response to the call but she would not detail the nature of the threat.

Canberra Hospital's emergency department. Credit:Rohan Thomson

"We can confirm that the hospital was searched and nothing suspicious has been identified," the spokeswoman said.

"Police are warning that it is an offence to make such threats and every effort will be made to identify those responsible. The offence carries heavy penalties."
The long-running Mr Spokes bike-hire business closed its doors at West Basin on Sunday after being paid out by the ACT government, which wants the land for residential and commercial development.

The nearby paddle-boat business settled in December, also paid out in a confidential deal.

Jillian Edwards and Martin Shanahan, owners of Mr Spokes bike hire, and Jim Seears, owner of the paddle-boat business, pictured in 2014. Both businesses are now closed at the lakefront. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Both businesses were bruised by their dealings with the Land Development Agency, with Mr Spokes owners Jillian Edwards and Martin Shanahan close to desperation last year over what they said then were bullying tactics from the agency.

But the couple said they were satisfied with the final deal. They closed on January 31, settling the deal on Monday.
Langford was to step down last year but was convinced by Fitzpatrick to remain for a further 12 months after fellow commissioner Linda Dessau left the AFL to become Victorian governor.

There are two vacancies on the commission this year with Chris Langford due to step down in March and long-term commissioner Sam Mostyn expected to depart later in the year.

Newbold, who announced this week he was standing down as Hawks president immediately, is understood to be among a short list of candidates to have met recruiters from Egon Zender as well as several commissioners and AFL presidents this week.

Newbold was in his final year of his term as president this year and had already indicated to those inside the Hawks in recent years that he would go when he informed them on Tuesday of his decision to stand down as president.

The decision to wait until this year and not depart at the last annual general meeting was understood to have been strongly influenced by the preference to give successor Richard Garvey a clear year to be established in the job before an election.

The commission has been keen for someone with club experience and, having been involved with the growth of Hawthorn into a power of the AFL in his 11 years on their board, he is an attractive candidate.

Newbold has been popular with the AFL commission with engagement on team equalisation and stadiums. He went on a fact-finding trip to New York with the AFL on equalisation and had significant input into the debate.

Fitzpatrick has not indicated as yet when he intends to end his term as chairman but is expected to go before the end of next year at the latest,
Price deregulation, an overhaul of the hardship scheme as well as an earlier-than-planned end to the solar bonus scheme have been put on the table for the Queensland electricity industry in a bid to stem rising prices.

A detailed report by the Queensland Productivity Commission has also thrown its weight behind calls within the business community not to merge two state-owned power generators, CS Energy and Stanwell Corp, and has also called for the government to separate the retail and network activities of distributor Ergon.

The Queensland Productivity Commission wants an overhaul aimed at cutting power prices. Credit:Fairfax

Additionally, it has called for a voluntary code of conduct to be developed by the government-owned power generators when they undertake so-called "rebidding'', which some claim is distorting the market by resulting in higher power prices than would be the case otherwise. This is an area where the national regulator, the Australian Energy Markets Commission, is seeking to tighten the rules to stamp out this practice.

Queensland has been unwilling to support deregulation of prices in the electricity market, putting back at least until mid-year any consideration of the issue. As a result, the number of energy retailers in Queensland is far fewer than in other markets. In its report, the commission said the government should deregulate electricity prices from July 1 in south east Queensland  primarily the main population centres of Brisbane and the Gold Coast  which would bring it into line with Victoria and NSW.
It has fast become one of the biggest dinners on the Sydney corporate calendar.

More than 1700 guests  well represented by the big end of town  will fill the former locomotive workshop on Thursday night in the former Eveleigh rail yards for the CareerTrackers annual gala dinner.

Alan Joyce will be among the guests at Michael Combs' CareerTrackers gala dinner.

Five years since CareerTrackers founder and chief executive Michael Combs hosted 100 guests at his first gala dinner, the latest event reflects the success of the Indigenous internship program in partnering with some of Australia's largest corporations and universities.

Alongside the 400-odd CareerTrackers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university interns at the dinner, the guests will include Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and his spin doctor, Olivia Wirth, Lendlease chief executive Steve McCann, RBA assistant governor Michele Bullock, Goodman Fielder boss Scott Weitemeyer and IAG chairman Brian Schwartz.
Shareholders in budget furniture retailer Fantastic Holdings have called on chairman and major shareholder Julian Tertini to privatise the company after a series of senior executive departures and corporate governance glitches.

Shareholders including Perennial Value Management and Perpetual Investments met with Mr Tertini and non-executive directors on Wednesday following a board meeting on Tuesday, when the company discussed the recent resignations of managing director Stephen Heath and chief financial officer and company secretary George Saoud.

Fantastic chairman and major shareholder Julian Tertini may step in as executive chairman after the departure of two key executives. Credit:Rob Homer

Mr Heath and Mr Saoud are still working out their notice at Fantastic, but investors fear that the company is effectively under the control of Mr Tertini, who owns 40 per cent of the shares. Former finance director Peter Brennan, who is also on the board, owns 10 per cent.

Grant Oshry, head of small cap stocks at Perennial Value Management, said Mr Tertini must privatise the company.
Woolworths non-executive director and merchant banker Scott Perkins has stepped down from the board of Woolworths' home improvement joint venture as the retailer's exit from the $45 billion sector draws nearer.

According to documents filed with the corporate regulator, Mr Perkins, a former head of corporate finance for Deutsche Bank, resigned from the board of Hydrox Holdings on Wednesday.

Walking away: a Woolworths non-executive director has quit the board of its hardware joint venture as Woolworths prepares to sell or wind up the Masters business. Credit:Chris Hopkins

He was replaced by two Woolworths executives, group counsel Rod Bordignon and chief strategy director James Goth, in what Woolworths described as an administrative change in advance of Hydrox becoming a 100 per cent Woolworths owned business.

In late December, former Woolworths chief financial officer Tom Pockett resigned from the Hydrox board and was replaced by Woolworths chief legal officer and company secretary Richard Dammery.
There is plenty of irony in men's-rights activist Daryush Valizadeh's latest video, which lambasts the effects of immigration and multiculturalism on Western society.

For one, Mr Valizadeh is a second-generation American (his parents were born in Armenia and Iran). He also earned much of his income and notoriety by writing sex-themed guides for international travellers. And now, to extend the irony, Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has implied that Mr Valizadeh is unlikely to ever be allowed to enter this country.

American anti-feminist blogger Daryush Valizadeh, also known as "Roosh V".

Mr Valizadeh, also known as Roosh V, is an extreme misogynist and "pick-up artist" who regularly suggests stripping back women's freedoms. A year ago, he wrote what he later said was a satirical article that advocated legalising rape  if it took place on a private property that the woman had entered voluntarily. He said his proposal would eliminate "anxiety and unfair persecution for men while empowering women to make adult decisions about their bodies".

Mr Dutton described the anti-feminist on Wednesday as "a joke" but nonetheless asked his department to monitor Mr Valizadeh's travel. The minister said the government had "cancelled visas of people in the past that have advocated violence against women and no Australian wants to see somebody with those attitudes travel to our country". Indeed, the government revoked the visa of another controversial US "pick-up artist", Jeff Allen, last month, and also barred Mr Allen's colleague, Julien Blanc, from entering Australia in 2014.
We dont usually think of architects as heroes  mainly because those deified by the profession are still generally modelled on Ayn Rands Howard Roark. They are design demigods, artistic Thomas Mores conditioned to value "design integrity" above the other sort.

Paul Pholeros AM, who died suddenly this week, was different. He was a true architect hero and the fact that you havent heard of him proves it.

Illustration: Rocco Fazzari

The death of PP, as he was widely known, triggered a vast flood of grief. It was partly about who he was  a giant of a man, physically, intellectually, morally. But it was also what he represented; a lifelong eschewal of the wealth and fame he could have had for something he valued more, namely, other peoples health.

Few architects are equipped to deliver both high-end design and authentic altruism. Fewer still can do both but seek fame for neither. That was PP.
Nothing changes with the High Court's latest decision on the legality of Australia's offshore detention regime. Nothing. And that is a dreadful shame of this government's making and those that preceded it.

Hundreds of asylum seekers, who came here seeking refuge from persecution, are still being held on Nauru and Manus Island years after their boats were intercepted. They have no prospect of real freedom, no certainty about their lives, no political enfranchisement, no voice and little hope of anything changing.

For a nation that purports to open its arms to refugees, Australia practises deadening hypocrisy. It deliberately subverts human rights principles and disregards its duties under international conventions, while assuming for itself a level of moral righteousness for having stopped boatloads of desperate people from drowning at sea.

That claim to moral rectitude is castrated by the government's unfair and inhumane policy of using other people  real refugees  as playthings to be pinned on remote islands so that their "wrong", in trying to come here by boat (which, in fact, is entirely legal), might be a "message of deterrence" for others.

Successive governments have contrived a macrame of legislative devices and bilateral memos of agreement with Papua New Guinea and Nauru in order to obscure the chain of responsibility over asylum seekers. A majority of the High Court has affirmed that the detention is, in a strict legal sense, in the hands of the foreign powers.
As well as being the Queen's representative under s2 of the Constitution, the Governor-General has significant head of state powers under s61 of the Constitution.

Since the Constitution does not in terms identify our head of State, he or she must be the person who exercises the functions of the head of State. This can only be the Governor-General. The Sovereign's only constitutional function is to appoint or remove the Governor-General.

Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor General of Australia, poses for a selfie with Danielle Rifahi from Parramatta West School on Australia Day. Credit:Ben Rushton

The claim that the Governor-General is our head of state is not some bizarre theory dreamed up in recent years for the republic debate. Lord Dufferin, then Governor-General of Canada, described a Governor-General as a constitutional head of state in a speech in 1873.

Constitutional scholars such as Professor D.A. Low, Dr David Butler, Professor Brian Galligan, and Professor Stuart Macintyre have also referred to the Governor-General as head of state. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam considered Sir John Kerr to be Australia's head of state.
Phil Gawne, the transportation minister on the Isle of Man, is working 16-hour days on two projects rooted in radically different eras.

First, he's trying to salvage the island's horse-drawn carriages that date to 1876. At the same time, Gawne is leading a project to potentially lure companies that make fully self-driving cars, vehicles without steering wheels or pedals.

Practice laps for a TT Superbike race on the Isle of Man. The tiny self-governing island is considering giving up its roads to self-driving vehicles. Credit:Reuters

Such is the life of a bureaucrat on one of the world's most unusual islands. The self-governing island  nestled between Ireland and Britain  has a population close to 90,000 and a land mass of just 572 square kilometres. It claims to have the oldest continuous parliament in the world, dating back more than 1000 years.

Its reliance on tourism dictates keeping the horse carriage in business. Driverless cars probably would draw visitors, too, and the government's ability to move quickly given its small size could make it an appealing destination for companies developing such vehicles.
This might not sound like much to get excited about if the NBN is rolling 100-Mbps fibre down your suburban street, but Sky Muster will be a real game-changer for Australians who live off the beaten track. These people were never going to get fibre to the premises  even under the original NBN plan, seven per cent of remote dwellings were going to end up on satellite or fixed-wireless.

NBN's Sky Muster communications satellite blasted into orbit in October, with plans to launch a second satellite later this year. Between them they'll offer regional and remote Australia access to download speeds of 25 Mbps, replacing the Interim Satellite Service which is groaning under the load.

Australians in the outback are set to get a taste of high-speed broadband which is still out of reach for many city slickers.

It's easy to forget that many Australians in the burbs are languishing on sub-5 Mbps DSL which craps out in the rain, or even dial-up, thanks to the hotch potch nature of our communications infrastructure. I live within 10 kilometres of the Melbourne CBD on the end of a flaky DSL connection. I was rather jealous at this week's Sky Muster demonstration in Brunswick as we streamed ABC iView and Netflix simultaneously from the satellite while conducting a Skype video call and surfing the web.

Ready for business

Internet Service Providers will start signing up customers via Sky Muster in April/May, offering a choice of 25/5 Mbps and 12/1 Mbps plans. At the demonstration we clocked impressive download speeds of 25.1 Mbps and upload speeds of 3.25 Mbps, although the 654 millisecond ping times will obviously frustrate some users. This didn't have a significant impact on our Skype video call but serious gamers won't be happy with the lag.

This is the nature of satellite  Sky Muster ping times will always be more than 500ms by the time the signal bounces off the satellite and back to one of 10 ground stations spread around the country which tap into the NBN backbone.

Thankfully satellite customers should be less at the mercy of their neighbours' downloading habits than people relying on HFC cable, according to NBN's tech people. The satellites cover the country with 101 spot beams and each beam has its own capacity, with smart networking to ensure heavy users don't hog the bandwidth. The two satellites will be five degrees apart in the sky, with NBN allocating different premises to different satellites and spot beams to balance the load. The network will also employ content caching to speed up web browsing.
Brisbane Times is teaming with eOne and Dendy Cinemas to give 100 people and their guest a preview peek at the latest film to get a tick from the critics.

Trumbo has a stellar cast, including Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren and John Goodman.

Trumbo.

We're hosting a special screening at Dendy Portside, at 6.30pm on Wednesday February 17. That's the night before the film goes out for general release.

To be in with a chance to have your name added to the VIP doorlist, simply enter as per the instructions below:
It could have been so different for a fondly remembered Hollywood hit. Oscar-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin remembers the list of stars considered for Ghost before Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg were cast.

Harrison Ford was offered the role of Sam, a New York banker who becomes a ghost after being murdered in a street mugging, but knocked it back, saying he had read the script twice "and I still don't get it".

Instead of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze it could have been Nicole Kidman and Paul Hogan starring in the movie Ghost. Credit:Digital Mischief by SMH Graphics

Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox and Paul Hogan also turned down the role in director Jerry Zucker's 1990 hit movie.
Helen Dallimore says she is looking forward to offending rich suburban matrons with her portrayal of Olivia O'Neil in Here Come the Habibs. Credit:Channel Nine So the question really isn't why can't a commercial network do it, but what took them so long? "I think commercial networks in Australia are risk-averse when it comes to comedy," says Phil Lloyd, head writer and one of the producers of Here Come the Habibs. "They've been burnt a couple of times, they haven't found formats that suit. It's expensive for them and if it doesn't rate, well it's just too hard." Rob Shehadie, right, co-created Here Come the Habibs. Lloyd is best known as a co-writer and star of Review With Myles Barlow, The Moodys, and The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting, all on the ABC (he also played Julia Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson in At Home With Julia). He is based in LA now, where an American version of The Moodys is in development and two Americanised seasons of Myles Barlow have gone to air on the Comedy Channel.

He has some serious comedy runs on the board, but he acknowledges there's a certain anxiety that comes from being part of Nine's first dip of the toe in the sitcom pool for such a long time. Is it only SBS and the ABC that can have wog shows? Why can't a commercial network do it? Rob Shehadie "Fifteen years  no pressure," he jokes. "Actually, it's super exciting to have this opportunity. I think it was the concept they went for as much as the fact it was a comedy." Here Come the Habibs is about a Lebanese family who move from Sydney's west to a waterfront mansion in Vaucluse after winning the lottery. But it's also about the snooty neighbours, Olivia (Helen Dallimore) and Jack (Darren Gilshenan) O'Neil, who are put out because they wanted to buy the property (it used to be theirs until, Olivia says, "my senile grandfather subdivided it"). Yes, ethnic stereotypes abound, but the show is about old money versus new money as much as it is about race. And despite all the noise about vilifying Muslims, there's no mention of religion (though the Habibs are, apparently, Christian).

"It was meant to be as much about having a laugh at the way the wealthier half live," Lloyd says. "The Habibs have come from no money, suddenly they have lots of money and they have access to that world. Hopefully people are able to get as many laughs out of the O'Neils as they are out of the Habibs." Shehadie and Bilgic came up with the idea for the show about four years ago. "Originally, both families were getting along, and the comedy was from the Habibs being a fish-out-of-water family," says Shehadie. "As it went along we went a little edgier, we wanted to see the O'Neils trying to get rid of the Habibs. It gives it a bit more comedy in the tension between the two families." As for the issue of racism, Lloyd insists: "We tried not to think of it in that way too much. We wanted to tell stories that perhaps you wouldn't see in another show. We didn't go, 'What can we say about race relations or race?' but we thought it would be funny to lampoon attitudes and prejudices." This is tricky territory, of course. Arguably, Love Thy Neighbour  the benchmark for comedies that are both about racism and perceived to be utterly racist  set out in the 1970s to skewer its white chauvinist Eddie Booth (Jack Smethurst) as a small-minded bigot. But his constant litany of put-downs of West Indian neighbour Bill (Rudolph Walker) gained its own vicious momentum and turned him into a kind of cult idiot-savant. Ditto Ted Bullpitt (Ross Higgins) in Kingswood Country in the 1980s. More recently, the Australian web series How to Talk Australians seemed unsure who was the butt of its central joke  the Indian students at the English language school, or the Australians whose culture they were clumsily trying to navigate, in an echo of They're a Weird Mob from the 1960s.

Clearly, dealing in ethnic types is a fraught business, but Lloyd hopes having two of the most experienced comedians on the circuit on the team lends a certain veracity  or at least a degree of licence  to the project. "It was interesting, in the writing process Rob would suggest something to me, a middle-class white guy, and I might cringe a bit, and go, 'Oh that's a bit stereotyped'. And Rob would laugh and say, 'Yeah, but it's true. I know a guy like that, who walks like that and talks like that'," he says. "It was about finding the happy medium of using that stuff and hopefully coming at it in a fresh way." For Shehadie, a veteran of Paul Fenech's Pizza on SBS (a show utterly unafraid of ethnic stereotyping and aimed squarely at a second-generation immigrant audience), Here Come the Habibs is a golden opportunity not only to be funny but also to normalise ethnicity for mainstream (ie white, Anglo) Australia. "Hopefully this will open a lot of doors for multicultural actors," he says. "They usually audition to play a criminal or a bad boy. I'd love to play a doctor one day rather than someone who's being chased by cops." WHAT Here Come the Habibs
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had signalled the government's intention to move quickly, declaring last month that the transfer would leave only seven children in mainland detention, but Mr Turnbull is under pressure from church and advocacy groups and some Liberal MPs to be cautious.

In a 6-1 verdict, the court on Wednesday ruled that the federal government has the power under the constitution to detain people in other countries, clearing the way for the return of more than 220 asylum seekers to Nauru, along with as 37 babies born in Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has vowed the government's hardline border stance is unshakable after the High Court ruled offshore detention was lawful, but stopped short of saying when more than 250 asylum seekers will be flown to Nauru.

Victorian backbencher Russell Broadbent appealed to the Prime Minister to gradually transfer those on Nauru and Manus Island to Australia - while continuing with the policies that have stopped the boats: boat turn-backs and the policy of processing any future arrivals on Nauru and Manus Island.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But Mr Broadbent warned that any move to transfer the children, and women who say they are victims of sexual assault, back to Nauru would prompt a backlash against the government, especially in Melbourne. "I don't think Malcolm wants that," he told Fairfax Media.

The Australian Human Rights Commission will also release a report on Thursday that President Gillian Triggs says will represent a powerful case for the government not to go ahead with the returns. The report is the findings of medical experts who assessed children at the Wickham Point centre near Darwin who face being returned. Professor Triggs says the clinicians had never confronted such traumatised children, and the prospect of return was aggravating their condition.

In question time on Wednesday, Mr Turnbull reiterated the government's resolve to deter asylum seekers and ensure "this pernicious, criminal trade of people smuggling cannot succeed", declaring: "The line has to be drawn somewhere and it is drawn at our border". But Mr Turnbull added that the government would consider the decision "and its implications carefully".
"It is fundamentally wrong to condemn these people to a life in limbo on a tiny island," he said. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is being urged to keep the asylum seeker children in Australia. Credit:Andrew Meares "The stroke of a pen is all that it would take our Prime Minister or our Immigration Minister to do the decent thing and let these families stay." The test case was run on behalf of a Bangladeshi woman who was brought to Australia from Nauru in August 2014 for medical treatment. Supporters said the woman, who has a baby daughter, was "terrified" of returning to Nauru, where asylum seekers say they have suffered physical and sexual abuse, poor health care and inadequate living conditions. The woman argued that the Commonwealth's conduct, including restraining her liberty and entering into contracts to allow her detention, was not authorised by any valid Australian law.

The court ruled that the woman was not entitled to declare that her past detention was unlawful. It said a memorandum of understanding between the Commonwealth and Nauru on the processing of asylum seekers was authorised under the constitution, and other government conduct fell under the Migration Act. The stroke of a pen is all that it would take our Prime Minister or our Immigration Minister to do the decent thing and let these families stay Daniel Webb, Human Rights Law Centre Cases have also been brought for about 200 people who have been detained offshore and are now in Australia temporarily, including men who have been victims of violence on Manus Island and women sexually assaulted on Nauru. The Human Rights Law Centre argued the Australian government asked Nauru to establish a detention camp, organised a perimeter fence to keep people inside and effectively controlled the detention of asylum seekers at the island - conduct it said was unlawful.

A former worker on Nauru, who has remained in close contact with asylum seekers and refugees, said those on the island saw the High Court case as their last hope and had reacted to the decision with "disbelief and despair". One asylum seeker had told her "we are all broken now". The former worker reported receiving messages from children at Nauru before the verdict such as: "I am nearly dead. Only [the] High Court can save me" and "see you in Australia next week". "I was extremely worried for most of those in contact with me who have developed mental health conditions on Nauru and have a history of self harm there," the source said. "I have also been distressed for the families in onshore detention after [Mr] Dutton's threat to return them. I don't think he has any idea of the mental grenade his words were for those parents of children still suffering from their experiences on Nauru."



The former worker said many people were "at the end of their tethers after three years" on the island and, with their legal hopes dashed "I don't know what will help them endure the indignity, uncertainty and arbitrary cruelty of Nauru now". The case in October last year followed the Nauru government's decision to fling open the gates of the detention camp to create an "open centre" 24 hours a day.

Lawyers for the Commonwealth had submitted that the woman involved in the test case would be free to come and go from the detention centre should she return to Nauru. They said the detention centre was established under Nauruan law. Following the verdict, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said sending the children to Nauru would be "child abuse and Malcolm Turnbull needs to decide whether he is willing to authorise that". "The evidence is clear and it's undeniable that Nauru is unsafe for women and children and sending them back would be torture," she said. "We must create a fair and efficient system that will bring people here safely and integrate them into the community, so that their families can flourish. "This is the first major test for the Prime Minister. Will he keep these children safe, where they can thrive and prosper, or will he dump them back on the prison island of Nauru?"

Senator Hanson-Young also called on Labor leader Bill Shorten to make clear his position on returning the children to Nauru. Outside the court Mr Webb, of the Human Rights Law Centre, said he informed the plaintiff of the decision and it was "one of the most difficult phone calls I've ever had to make in my life". "I had to call a young mother with a one year old baby and tell her that we lost. She hasn't slept fo days," he said. "She wants the same things that every mother in the world wants and that is a decent life somewhere safe for her and her child. She is now terrified that one night soon her and her child are gong to be woken up pulled onto a plane and left to languish in limbo on Nauru."

He said the decision of the judges was split, and the government's legal victory rested on a retrospective law they passed after we commenced this case". "Right now I'm sure in the Immigration Minister's office it's high fives all round. They shifted the goal posts and they won in the High Court," he said. "But let me tell you around the country right now there are 267 incredibly vulnerable people who will be terrified." Those people, asylum seekers facing return to Nauru, included 54 children "in classrooms around the country right now" and about 12 women who "have been seriously sexually assaulted on Nauru or suffered serious sexual harassment on Nauru", Mr Webb said. In a statement, Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles did not address the question of whether children should be returned to Nauru. He called on the government to immediately find ways to resettle refugees in third countries.
Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has made a dramatic call for former Army chief David Morrison to step down as Australian of the Year, claiming he has helped cover up abuse in the military.

In a speech to Parliament on Tuesday night, Senator Lambie raised two long-running cases involving former soldiers who claim to have suffered abuse and said retired General Morrison had been involved in covering up both.

Australian Federal Police officers visited Senator Lambie's office on Wednesday in response to her speech.

One case was SAS Trooper Evan Donaldson, who says he was sexually and physically assaulted, and then had his records manipulated to falsely show he had never actually qualified for the SAS.
Kanye West may have ruffled a few fashionable feathers after the last minute announcement of his New York Fashion Week show forced two designers to reschedule their shows.

The rapper, who announced he would be showing both his Yeezy Season 3 fashion collection and releasing his latest album Waves (formerly known as Swish) on the first day of NYFW in a surprise statement last week, has reportedly forced the hands of designers Marissa Webb and Adam Selman, who were scheduled to show their collections at roughly the same time.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend Kanye West Yeezy Season 2 during New York Fashion Week at Skylight Modern on September 16, 2015 in New York City. Credit:Getty

In an email to Fashionista, Webb said moving her show time was the "easiest way" to ensure that everyone she wanted to view her collection would attend.

"This was definitely a new one for us. But at the end of the day, the reason we hold a show is so that the editors, retailers, and friends of the brand, such as bloggers and customers who support us, can come and see the collection," Webb told the online fashion publication.
On Wednesday evening, he received an overwhelming endorsement from Labor's 100-person Public Office Selection Committee, scoring 96.8 per cent of votes.

Mr Khalil, who has the backing of the Bill Shorten-aligned AWU, secured 224 primary votes out of 700 on Tuesday.

A former security adviser to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Peter Khalil, has had a landslide win in the hotly contested Labor preselection in Wills.

Mr Khalil was the right faction's endorsed candidate, and as Wills is an allocated Right seat in a stability pact with the Left, the Left supported his candidacy.

All other candidates vying for the Federal seat, which was once held by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, withdrew at the 11th hour, with the exception of the factionally unaligned venture capitalist, Josh Funder, who secured 3.2 per cent of the central vote.

However, Mr Funder actually edged Mr Khalil in the local vote after preferences were distributed with 51.3 per cent to 48.7 per cent.

Mr Khalil, a former SBS executive, who is also a multicultural commissioner for Victoria, dismissed suggestions that his triumph was the product of a factional deal, and proclaimed that his candidacy was a "genuine choice".

"It was a real testament to the democratic process. People had a genuine choice and people made their decision on who they thought the best candidate was for the role.
Seven south-east Queensland schools have put emergency procedures in place after multiple bomb threats were called in for the second day in a row on Wednesday.

Some of the schools were evacuated and all were acting on police advice to deal with the threats, a Department of Education and Training spokesman said.

Police believed they were from the same source as Tuesday's hoaxes.

Schools that received threats on Wednesday were:
Microsoft has agreed to buy UK start-up SwiftKey, the application company best known for its free software that replaces the default keyboard on Apple and Android phones and tablets.

The Financial Times reports the deal was agreed for about $US250 million ($348.50 million), citing people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft has agreed to buy SwiftKey, one of the most popular alternative keyboards on iOS and Android.

SwiftKey is one of the most popular alternative keyboards on the iOS and Android mobile platforms, installed about 300 million times across both. It uses machine-learning to predict the ends of sentences as a user types, and after initially charging a small fee for downloads is presently monetised through in-app payments for features such as different coloured themes to suit customer tastes. Crucially perhaps for Microsoft, it does not currently support the company's Windows Phone or Windows 10 platforms.

"It was clear to us when we met them back in 2010, that they had found an opportunity to build an incredibly exciting and global business that could scale quickly," said Alex Macpherson, head of London-based Octopus Ventures, which previously backed SwiftKey along with Accel Partners and Index Ventures. "The news that SwiftKey is to join the Microsoft family is a tremendous achievement for this innovative young business and further highlights the UK as a thriving global hub for entrepreneurship."
A man is in a critical condition after he and his wife were stabbed in an attempted robbery outside their home in Melbourne's west.

The victims' son, Vinh Le, said his parents were returning to their Maidstone home about 1.15am on Thursday after a long night's work at their St Albans restaurant when they were ambushed by a man with a knife.

The couple had the day's takings with them.

Mr Le said his mother had only just stepped out of the car when the attacker jumped from his hiding place in the bushes and stabbed her in the arm.
The notorious young Melbourne paedophile known online as "Lux" was supported in court by his family for the first time today.

Matthew Graham, 23, has admitted 13 horrific child pornography, child abuse and "hurtcore" charges relating to a darknet online empire he ran between 2012 and 2014.

Matthew Graham has admitted 13 horrific child pornography, child abuse and 'hurtcore' charges. Credit:Joe Benke

At the time he was living with his parents at home in South Morang.

David and Tracey Graham were at Melbourne's County Court, as was Mr Graham's sister Emily, although she and her mother left court when certain evidence was read.
Melbourne's Anglican churches say they cannot offer sanctuary to asylum seekers facing immediate deportation to Nauru because they are not equipped to provide accommodation.

It puts the Melbourne Anglican diocese at great odds with its counterparts around the rest of the country, who are willing to face police raids and possible charges to shield asylum seekers.

Anglican and Uniting churches and cathedrals in Brisbane and Sydney have taken the extraordinary step of offering sanctuary to 267 asylum seekers, including 37 babies, in the wake of a High Court verdict, which upheld the legality of the government's offshore processing regime.
At least one Victorian school that received a hoax bomb threat is upgrading its phone system amid concerns the technology is vulnerable to attacks.

It comes as authorities brace for a fifth day of threatening phone calls, which have so far forced at least 23 Victorian schools to evacuate, as well as a string of schools in Tasmania, Queensland, NSW and the ACT.

Hoax bomb threats have so far forced at least 23 Victorian schools to evacuate. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Education Minister James Merlino said police were investigating whether some of the calls received in Victoria originated from Nossal High School and whether its telecommunications system had been hacked.
Crew on board bulk carrier ship CSL Melbourne are refusing to disembark, as a new feud erupts over Australian seafarers being replaced by "cheap and highly exploited" foreign labour.

Shipping company CSL has decided to send the vessel to Singapore, where the crew will be laid off and the ship redeployed to international routes.

''Many of us will never work again'': CSL Melbourne crew protest in Newcastle.

The 16 crew members have refused to leave CSL Melbourne since mooring in Newcastle last week. They have begun wearing T-shirts and have raised banners saying they were "sacked for being Aussie".

Australia's industrial umpire on Wednesday ruled the industrial action illegal and has ordered the remaining crew members to leave the ship. The case will go to the Federal Court if they do not comply.
Dozens of Victorian children with severe epilepsy will soon be able to test a cannabis-based drug in the hope it will treat their seizures.

The Austin Hospital in Melbourne is recruiting 60 children with intractable epilepsy to participate in a trial of cannabidiol (CBD) produced by an American pharmaceutical company called Insys Therapeutics Inc.

The drug is made from a synthetic version of CBD, a therapeutic compound found in the cannabis plant. The drug does not include tetrahydrocannabinol or THC - the psycho-active component of cannabis that gets people "stoned".

The trial will test appropriate doses for 10 patients this year before researchers recruit 60 people aged one to 17 for ongoing treatment with either the drug or a placebo. The study will only be open to children with severe epilepsy who have tested at least three drugs that have failed.
Subiaco mayor Heather Henderson has made the extraordinary claim that the proposed City of Perth Act is void because residents won't get enough time to have their say on the bill.

The City of Perth Act proposes that a beefed-up capital city absorbs a number of key landmarks, including Kings Park, The University of Western Australia, the new Perth Children's Hospital and Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, along with thousands of residents from Nedlands and Subiaco.

Subiaco council claims the City of Perth Act is void because residents wont get enough time to have their say. Credit:Steven Siewert

Ms Henderson said the city had uncovered a "flaw" with the act, which will be debated in the Upper House later this month.
A woman who actively protested against development on the Swan River and once stood in front of a bulldozer to stop the Narrows Bridge being built has ironically had a statue built in her honour at Elizabeth Quay, Perth's largest waterfront development.

Bessie Rischbieth [1874  1967], was a feminist and activist for women's rights and environmental conservation.

She was also an executive of the Citizens Committee for the Preservation of Kings Park and the Swan River, campaigning against a swimming pool being built at Kings Park and failing in her attempts to stop the government reclaiming land to build the Narrows Bridge in 1964.

Her life and the causes she championed undoubtedly deserve recognition, but it's the location where the State Government has recently decided to honour her which has some people talking.
Washington: The terror threat in France is real. Just months after militants affiliated with Islamic State wreaked carnage in the heart of Paris, French authorities claimed to have arrested five people linked to the jihadist group. The suspects had reportedly bought bus tickets to journey to Syria and also had plans to attack a series of nightclubs in the city of Lyon.

There are widespread concerns about radical elements infiltrating France's borders as well as the radicalisation of France's own Muslim youth, some of whom chafe against a society where they feel marginalised and alienated.

French high school students wait in front of Lycee Victor Hugo in Paris on Tuesday. Credit:AP

Not long after the bloody November 13 attacks in Paris, a union of French school administrators proposed to the government that it loosen a smoking ban in high schools as long as the country was under a state of emergency. The implication is that students who smoke outside in the street were more vulnerable to being recruited by jihadists. About a third of French teens between ages 15 and 19 smoke, according to government data.
Mogadishu: A man was killed in an explosion on an Airbus A321 that made a hole in the fuselage and forced the plane to return to the Somali capital of Mogadishu to make an emergency landing, officials said on Wednesday.

Passengers heard a loud bang and a fire broke out on board, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.

One man was sucked out of the plane and two people were slightly injured. The remaining 74 passengers and crew of the Airbus A321 were evacuated after the plane made a safe landing on Tuesday afternoon, Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in nearby Balcad, said residents had found a dead body of an old man who they believed had fallen from the Airbus A321.
Dublin: Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has set parliamentary elections for February 26, kicking off campaigning for what promises to be a tight contest dominated by a fractious debate over the country's strong economic recovery.

Kenny's conservative Fine Gael party is ahead in the polls but short of a majority, even with the support of current junior coalition partner Labour.

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called an election for February 26. Credit:PA

If they fail to close that gap, a less stable outcome beckons, with a minority government, a larger coalition including independent deputies or fresh elections all possible.

Announcing a ballot he hopes will make him his party's first two-time prime minister, Kenny appealed to voters to give his government the credit for the turnaround it has overseen.
Signature Theatre has released photos from its ongoing return engagement of Bill Irwin and David Shiner's Old Hats. The production, which began performances January 26, will play through April 3.

Created and performed by Irwin and Shiner, with music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, Old Hats is an event that combines music, technology, movement, magic, and comedy. Tina Landau, who helmed the show's sold-out run at Signature in 2013, directs. Taub is featured in the show as its new songstress and comic foil to clowns Irwin and Shiner.

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For tickets and more information, click here.
In support of PEN International, Maberry Theatricals has announced that White Rabbit Red Rabbit, the internationally acclaimed play by Nassim Soleimanpour, will make its New York premiere in a limited engagement playing Monday nights at Westside Theatre beginning March 7.

The production will feature a rotating cast of all-stars, who will see the script for the first time immediately before stepping onstage for their performances. "No rehearsal. No director. No set. No spoilers. A different performer each night is handed the script for the first time as they step onto the stage."

The rotating cast, each performing only once, will feature Emmy and Tony winner Nathan Lane (March 7); Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner Whoopi Goldberg (March 14); Golden Globe, Emmy, and Tony nominee Patrick Wilson (March 21); Golden Globe, Emmy, and Tony winner Brian Dennehy (March 28); and comedian, actor, and director Mike Birbiglia (April 11). On dates soon to be announced (pending artist availability), performers will also include Emmy and Tony winner Christine Baranski; Tony winner and Emmy nominee Alan Cumming; Olivier and Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo; Emmy and Tony winner Andrea Martin; three-time Tony winner Marin Mazzie; Emmy and Tony winner Donna Murphy; Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner Cynthia Nixon; Emmy and Tony winner David Hyde Pierce; Emmy and Tony winner Martin Short; and television, film, and stage star George Takei. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit is described as follows: "Forbidden to leave his country, young Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour found a way for his voice to get out when he physically could not  distilling the experience of his isolation in an audacious and utterly nontraditional new play. This wildly entertaining and thought-provoking theatrical piece  where no audience can see the same show twice  blends drama, comedy and social experiment, providing audiences with a potent reminder of the transformative power of theater."

The play had its world premiere in 2011 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning the Arches Brick Award, followed by presentations at Summerworks and Dublin Fringe Festival where it was awarded Outstanding New Performance and Best New Performance, respectively. The play has since been translated into 15 different languages and performed over 200 times worldwide by such stars as Michael Shannon, John Hurt, Stephen Fry, Stephen Rea, Sinead Cusack, David Morse, and more.

"We are thrilled to be working with such an extraordinary group of performers, and to be partnering with PEN International, on such an intriguing and provocative work," said lead producers Devlin Elliott and Tom Kirdahy. "Each night will bring its share of surprises. We can't wait to be surprised ourselves. Remember, no cheating! Don't google this play!"

For tickets and more information, click here.
Fujitsu Develops Technology for Instantaneous Searches of a Target Image from a Massive Volume of Images

A server specially configured for a specific function realizes high-speed searches of more than 50 times faster than previous technology

TOKYO, Feb, 02 2016; Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced that it has developed technology that is installed on a server to specialize features with a specific functionality. In this way it is possible to search at high speed through an enormous archive to find even partial matches of a designated still image. It has confirmed that, compared to searches on general-purpose servers, the new approach resulted in an over fifty-fold improvement in processing time.

Companies and other organizations routinely accumulate presentations and other materials. To thoroughly search through these materials, photos and illustrations to find a desired image, the problem has been that it requires time to search enormous volumes.

Now, Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that dramatically improves server performance by configuring an accelerator that performs the necessary processing of image searches on an FPGA(1) and efficiently linking it with software running on the CPU, creating a high-speed image search function. Using a prototype server, Fujitsu Laboratories confirmed that it could search through a database of over 10,000 images and retrieve matches of any desired portion in about one second.

With this technology, companies and other organizations will be able to search through the large volume of image data they have stored and instantaneously find and reuse target images, enabling on-site work to be carried out more efficiently.

A server equipped with this technology will be exhibited at the Fujitsu North America Technology Forum 2016, which is scheduled to open on February 16 in Santa Clara, California. In addition, details of the technology will be announced at the IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision 2016, starting March 7 in Lake Placid, New York.

Development Background

Companies and other organizations produce and store numerous documents that include illustrations and photos for use in presentations and other materials as part of their everyday operations. If a target image could effectively be found out of the large volume of data stored, it could be expected to improve work efficiency, so image search technology that can quickly retrieve matching images is attracting attention.

Issues

When a person searches for an image, it is often prompted by a vague recollection or an associated image. There is a technology for finding images based on matches with a part of the query image itself, called partial-image search. This can be used to find similar or related images, or with new hints to spark the user's memory through associations, to more intuitively search for the target image. But partial-image searching requires massive computing resources, as comparisons of partial images need to be made between all the images. On a general purpose server, finding a target image from among 10,000 images can take over one minute. Search speed can be improved by using multiple servers in parallel or with distributed processing, but there are drawbacks in the form of great costs for energy consumption and equipment.

About the Technology

Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that dramatically accelerates search speeds by offloading the computing elements able to perform massive parallel processing as part of the processes that conventionally are done on a CPU to an FPGA, and furthermore, by optimizing the process scheduling, with a focus on data transfers, so that these processing units could be run in parallel at high utilization rates.

This technology is based on the "domain-specific server" approach, which dramatically improves server performance using a hardware configuration optimized for this particular application domain along with software optimized for key functions.

To achieve high performance using the FPGA, the keys are to densely pack processing units on the FPGA that efficiently executes complex processes, and to operate the processing units so that they are kept supplied with data and not left idle.

Key features of the technology are as follows.

1. Intensively conducting primary parts of the processing of the partial-image search algorithm on the FPGA

Fujitsu Laboratories analyzed the partial-image search algorithm in detail and shifted the feature extraction process and matching process from the overall search flow, and relocated these processes to the FPGA. Because the FPGA has a flexible design in which its processing units and parallelization can be organized to fit the process characteristics in a way that CPUs and GPUs cannot, compact and efficient processing units were designed for each of these two processes and incorporated at high density and with a high degree of parallelization into the FPGA (Figure 1*). Efficient coordination between the high-performance FPGA processing units and the software running on the CPU results in high-speed partial-image searches.

2. Scheduling technology for process-sequence reordering to maintain high run rates

In image processing, especially when it involves large volumes of image data, it takes time to read data from memory, where it is temporarily stored. So it is possible to shorten read latency by reading in advance the next required data currently being processed. But the next piece of data to work on may change depending on the results of the current process, negating the benefit of reading ahead. With a high degree of parallelization, and the simultaneous use of a large volume of data, the penalty for a wasted read-ahead is considerable. Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a scheduling technology in which, while read-aheads are being performed, the order of processing can be switched, depending on the circumstances, and thereby avoid wasting the read operation data. This resulted in good processing performance (Figure 2*).

Results

A prototype server using this newly developed technology was demonstrated to be able to search a database of over 10,000 images and finish retrieving matches of any desired portion of an image in roughly one second, performing partial-image searches over 50 times faster than on general-purpose servers (Figure 3a*). Compared to general-purpose servers with comparable performance, the prototype required less than 1/30th the electrical power and less than 1/50th the cubic volume of space as multiple general-purpose servers.

It is anticipated that by using this technology, a company or other organization could, for example, instantaneously discover target images from a large set of documents including the images it has, and then use those results to refine the search accordingly. This would allow it to efficiently reuse the enormous volume of images it has accumulated to date, and enable quick searches from target documents and more efficient production work (Figure 3b*).

Future Plans

Fujitsu Laboratories plans to move ahead with development of a system using this high-speed image-search technology, with the goal of a practical implementation during fiscal 2016. In addition, outside of just image processing, it also plans to move forward with R&D on domain-specific servers for other application domains where there is a desire for improvements in server processing performance.

[1] FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array. A general-purpose device whose circuit structure can be programmed after it is produced.

* Read this press release with accompanying figures at www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2016/0202-02.html.

About Fujitsu Laboratories

Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Next-generation Services, Computer Servers, Networks, Electronic Devices and Advanced Materials. For more information, please see: http://jp.fujitsu.com/labs/en.

About Fujitsu Ltd Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 159,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited reported consolidated revenues of 4.8 trillion yen (US$40 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.
February 03, 2016

Could A Plaintiffs' Lawyer Join The Chancery Court?

Posted by David Zaring

If the governor flips a coin, there's a 50% chance that a plaintiffs' lawyer will be the next Chancery Court appointee. And not just any plaitniffs' lawyer, but one leading the charge against investment banking conflicts of interest in Delaware.

Mr. Friedlander, a litigator, is best-known for representing shareholders in big class actions. In 2014, he won more than $75 million in a buzzed-about case against RBC Capital Markets LLC over the banks M&A advice.Mr. Friedlander, a litigator, is best-known for representing shareholders in big class actions. In 2014, he won more than $75 million in a buzzed-about case against RBC Capital Markets LLC over the banks M&A advice.

I don't follow the state, but I don't think this sort of thing is very common. You could certainly see the Royal Bank of Canada getting upset about it.

Delaware | Bookmark
The anti-Muslim bigotry from the right in America is so predictable its actually boring. Theyre like Pavlovs dog, but instead of salivating, they instinctively attack anything Muslim. No offense intended to dogs, which are far smarter.

So I expected that many conservatives would freak out when they heard that President Obama would be making his first visit to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday in Baltimore. (I will be attending the event.)

We heard Herman Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan Cain exclaim on Fox News that Obama is going to the mosque because he wants to go kissy-kissy with the Muslim Brotherhood. And right-wing publications like The Daily Caller, Breitbart.com, and Town Hall all wrote of nefarious ties between this mosque and the Muslim Brotherhood.

I wouldnt be surprised if Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Ben Carson makes similar allegations or claims that Obama cares more about Muslims than Christians or Jews despite the fact Obama has visited synagogues and prayed at numerous churches over the years.

The reality is that it doesnt matter what mosque Obama visited. The anti-Muslim industry, in a six degrees of Kevin Bacon type of way, would connect the mosque leaders to someone who once ate a falafel with a guy who is friends with a dude who is a neighbor to a guy allegedly in the Brotherhood.

Now if you are wondering what exactly is the Muslim Brotherhood in America, you are not alone. Im Muslim and have appeared at hundreds of Muslim-American events across the United States and have yet to meet a person who even mentioned it. And if you Google Muslim Brotherhood, you will be treated to numerous articles written by these very same right-wing publications incestuously citing one another for support.

But putting partisan BS aside, does anyone actually believe that Obama would make his first visit to an American mosque thats tied to radical Muslims or terrorism? But facts dont matter to these media outlets. They smear every visible Muslim, be they members of Congress, Muslim organizations, or even Muslim American comedianswith the goal being to marginalize Muslims from every aspect of American society.

Now just so its clear, as a Muslim American, I can assure you that I have zero tolerance for any terrorism, be it Muslim or right-wing anti-government terrorists like the Bundy gang in Oregon. And I have an even greater interest in ensuring that not one more Muslim is involved in any type of terrorism because I dont want to see people killed in the name of my faith. So if you see something suspicious involving Muslims or anyone for that matter, ignore political correctness and immediately contact the authorities.

In fact, when these right-wing media outlets or professional anti-Muslim activists have told me that certain Muslims or Muslim organizations have ties to terrorism, I sincerely respond: Lets go to the FBI and present the evidence.

But when I offer that, they tend to stammer and backtrack. For example, one well-known Muslim hate peddler claimed to me in an email exchange that a certain Muslim group was involved in terrorism. I then invited him to come with me to the FBI to present his evidence. His response sums up well what we are dealing withhe claimed the FBI wouldnt prosecute the Muslim group because the FBI had been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. How do you even respond to that?!

Putting all that aside, the biggest question is why Obama visiting a mosque now? The reality is that we have never seen a more challenging time for Muslim Americans.

First we had the despicable terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Those events on their own stir up anti-Muslim sentiment. But then GOP politicians have ginned up the hate to alarming levels. For example, Trump has made banning Muslims and warrantless surveillance of American Muslims a cornerstone of his campaign. The message hes sending is that every Muslim is a potential threat to you and your family.

When you combine fear of Muslims with the hateful words of these politicians, it yields a dangerous cocktail that could actually be deadly. Typically there have been 12 anti-Muslim hate crimes a month per the FBI. However, after the Nov. 18 Paris attack, there were close to 40 in the six weeks that followed. We are talking shots fired at a mosque, death threats, a mosque lit on fire in California, Muslims assaulted, and more.

Thats one of the main reasons Obama has chosen now to celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.

And Muslim organizations are overjoyed. Farhana Khera, the executive director of Muslim Advocates, told me her group had been encouraging the president to visit a mosque for years. Khera explained, Our nation is stronger and safer when Americans stand together, and that is what Obamas visit signals.

Robert McCaw, the government affairs director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, echoed those sentiments: The hope is that the visit can help foster understanding at a time when we are seeing an alarming spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate crimes.

But the comment that truly struck me as both powerful and painful was from Suhad Obeidi of the Muslim Public Affairs Council: Obamas visit sends a message that American Muslims are part of the American fabric.

The fact that a religious group that was here before the United States was even created (15 percent of the slaves were Muslims) is still simply trying to be seen as part of the American fabric is astounding but painfully true. Now the good news is that other minority religious communities have suffered through this very scenario, from Jews to Catholics to Mormons, and ultimately the haters lose out to American values. I just wonder how many more years that will take for Muslims?
On a foggy morning in the Hollywood Hills, Pamela Anderson casually name-drops Louis Malle, Ai Weiwei, and Werner Herzog into a wide-ranging conversation about her past, present, and future.

Weve been talking aging, femininity, and her surprisingly evocative turn in the meditative sci-fi short film Connected, in which she plays an alternate-future version of herself: a burned out fitness instructor who enters a wellness cult desperate to regain some semblance of her former beauty and self-worth.

Even American politics manage to meander into the discussion with Americas favorite Baywatch babe and Playboy icon, whos been quietly championing environmental causes for decades.

Hopefully, Obama will grant clemency to Leonard Peltier at the end of his term since thats what presidents are supposed to do, the blonde bombshell says, pointedly. Its 9 a.m. and her makeup is impeccable, her golden locks swept into an updo. Perched in a midcentury armchair, swathed in a white robe, she smiles and leans in to my recorder for emphasis. That would be really wonderful, and I think itd be a really smart move.

The British Columbia-born Anderson, 48, has lived a few lifetimes worth of pin-up fame and tabloid drama in her decades as an international sex symbol. Shes survived celebrity, a hepatitis scare, the worlds most famous sex tape, and four marriages to (and a few ugly splits from) three celebrity husbands.

But, she says, only her closest friends knew the real Pamela was capable of doing more than filling out a red bathing suit and simmering for the camera. And after stepping away from acting for 15 years to raise her two sons, Brandon and Dylan, Anderson found herself at a crossroads.

My kids were getting oldertheyre almost both graduated from high schooland I thought, Am I going home? Am I going back to Canada? Am I going to disappear?

A few years back, Anderson says, she was battling a bad marriage (to film producer Rick Salomon, whom she officially divorced last April) and contemplating leaving L.A. when she began getting surprise messages from filmmakers.

One of the first, she recalls, was a letter out of the blue from Werner Herzog. He said, Ive always wanted to work with you, Ive been watching you, and I would love to get you in my hands to do something, if you could trust me. I think you should be on the big screen. So I had a lot of conversations with him at Chateau Marmont and still, who knows, maybe something will come to fruition.

Another cold call came from fashion and art world filmmaker Luke Gilford, who reached out to Anderson for what would eventually turn into Connected, which premieres online at Vice on Feb. 8.

I was curious about what lies beneath, says Gilford, 29, who shares a warm rapport with his star and collaborator. With sex symbols its always very much about surface. We talked about Herzog, we talked about Woody Allen, we talked about old movies and new movies.

They also discussed Andersons own feelings on growing older in an industry that tends to discard women after the age of 30, her distrust of social media, and the kind of fixation on wellness and self-improvement thats inescapable in both Hollywood and Malibu, her longtime home.

It all filtered down into Andersons Connected character Jackie, for whom the duo conjured a backstory of parallels: a divorce, increasingly distant kids, even a new girlfriend for the ex who takes her kids to Coachella, so they love her and hate Jackie, Gilford and Anderson laugh.

Together they spent a year raising money to shoot the short in spite of financiers who wanted more-proven actresses than Anderson in the lead. Anderson took acting classes to prepare for the role she considers her first bona fide acting gig, despite all those years on Baywatch (which, incidentally, she claims to have never seen).

She candidly confides that her escape from her abusive marriage to Salomon also fueled her somber performance.

I look at old pictures and I look at me now and I feel, like they say, it just slowly catches up on youlike if youre in a bad relationship that makes you feel awful about yourself, she says. I was drawing a lot from that, too. Thinking about when people try and control you and put you down, and tell you youre crazyyou start believing those things.

Ever since breaking up with him, adds Gilford, seated next to Anderson, she looks 10 years younger.

Bitterness and scariness it does age you, she laughs in agreement. Its whatever zone youre in. A lot of it is psychological. You can make yourself younger just by being happy. I wasnt happy. I knew I couldnt do this film while I was married. And I knew I had to take that leap of faith. It was very therapeutic to do this film, at that time.

Anderson remembers feeling beaten down about her self-worth during that period of personal tumult. I was feeling very unsexy, and lied to, and betrayed, and confused about who I am, she says. Arent I supposed to be this hot, fun girl? Why am I sitting in bed, not leaving my house, not knowing who I am anymore?

It really didnt take long to bamboozle me into that state. People are powerful. People can be very manipulative. Just trying to get my groove back trying to drink the shakes, and take the vitamins, exercise, get out theredo what everybody else is doing. Thats kind of what I was drawing from.

The newly re-energized Anderson reflects on previous chapters in her life when she was much more fearful of branching out. There was the time, she shakes her head, when Quentin Tarantino wanted to meet with her to offer her a plum role in his and Robert Rodriguezs exploitation flick Grindhouse. She pulled up to the meeting, was greeted by paparazzi flashes, and never got out of the car.

I didnt even call him to tell him I wasnt coming, she says. I stood him up! And I havent seen him since. I couldnt believe Tarantino wanted to meet me. I just freaked out and ran away. But I was looking for any excuse not to go in there. It was self-sabotage; I just wasnt ready.

She waxes nostalgic for the golden age of Hugh Hefners Playboy, for whom she posed for the most spreads out of anyone on the planet. She says garbage social media and the internalizing self-scrutiny it fosters is so scary by comparison to those more genteel times that she once took a six-month break from cellphones and computers.

Were so desensitized, she laments. People are creating their own image. Youre texting and Instagramming and basically ordering from a catalog who you want to be with and who you want to be around. Its whoever takes the best pictures. You retouch yourself.

Partying at the Playboy Mansion, on the other hand, was how Anderson first rubbed elbows with the intellectual and artistic elite. Its where the PETA and Sea Shepherd fixture says she first learned about philanthropy and activism.

It was a bunch of cute girls and these really interesting men. I loved being at the Playboy Mansion. Intellectuals were at the Playboy Mansion. You were talking to the best artists and musicians and actors and politicians. We were these young girls, having these kinds of conversations that were having now.

Two years ago at the Cannes Film Festival Anderson unveiled her own namesake charity foundation, revealing at its launch the childhood sexual abuses that shaped her philanthropic impulses. Since then, shes been busy developing a tenure program to fund 10 activists for 10 years each that she says shes discussed with Julian Assange, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, and other supporters. Later in the day, after our chat, shell fly straight to Paris to urge the French Assembly to stop the practice of foie gras farming. Her appearance alone will spark global headlines when photographers begin brawling while taking her picture.

I ask Anderson about rumors she might want to segue into politics one day. No, I dont! she laughs. Politicians are evil. No, no, no, no, no. Just look at some of Vivienne Westwoods blogs. Politicians are criminals.

Artists are the freedom fighters of the world, Anderson says. She previously threw her support behind President Obama, but hints at her frustrations as she looks toward Novembers election. I think politicians hands are tied a lot of the time, she says. Im a Democrat. You have to vote. I love Bernie, but I dont think hell get the nomination. I still think Hillary has a better shot. I think shes going to be the president. A female president would be pretty awesome. We need that kind of energy in the world.

Politics, however, are probably the worst way to get things done, she continues. You have to have a relationship with governments and people to get things done, thats part of it, and then you have to have the people on the frontlines. And Im very much with the people on the frontlines.

Many of her fans may not know that Anderson also chairs the board of directors of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in her spare time, one of the causes that has her constantly globe-trotting. After Paris shes heading to Turks and Caicos to meet with lobbyists about deploying some of the organizations anti-poaching vessels before she heads back to L.A. and to her newly burgeoning acting career.

It is a job. I put the agenda together, I talk about litigation, I talk about all the different campaigns were on, I set the meetings, she says, her voice picking up. And I like that Im getting more into the nuts and bolts of how foundations work, how to be more effective.

Recently, right before she graced the cover of Playboys end-of-an-era January/February 2016 issue, Anderson fired her agents.

I fired everybody! I fire everybody all the time, but this time I meant it, she grins. I find there is this formula that everybody wants people to follow, and I really go with my gut. I felt like I was arguing with people all the time about where to go, what to do, how to look. You know, Im 48 years olddont tell me what to wear! Dont tell me not to wear lip gloss.

I think people are smart enough to know you can be a glamorous woman and play another role, which I think is actually more interesting than having to walk around like this decrepit, beat-up woman, Anderson continues. I just got out of an abusive relationship, I really didnt want someone else telling me she trails off.

This has got to be about fun, she says. Luckily for me, if people want to find me, they know how to find me through friends. I dont need an agent. [Or an agent] who wants to save me from my image. Ive already made all the mistakes, if youre calling them mistakes. Ive already done it, and it is part of me.

Anderson is visibly excited about the newfound opportunities shes getting in film, a second career she describes as the beginning.

At home, she constantly plays the films of Federico Fellini or Russ Meyertwo auteurs who knew the power of a voluptuous, sensual, powerful woman. She raves about classics like Malles Elevator to the Gallows, even if her kids keep asking why she doesnt get into the blockbuster game.

Sure, Ill just call the blockbuster people, she exclaims. Brandon just thinks I can be in any movie I want. My kids are like, Why arent you in X-Men?

Lately, she says, La Dolce Vita and Sunset Blvd.two iconic films about the cinema and its starshave gotten her thinking about her image and career. Whats real, what isnt, what does all this attention really mean? Does it really define me? Is this really me, or am I just a normal girl like everybody else? she says.

She issues yet another winking, self-deprecating laugh. I just want to be the girl with big boobs breaking things. Youve got to use everything youve got. Every woman does. When people say they dont, theyre lying.
Russias dirty war in Ukraine is far from frozen, and despite the deteriorating situation, the West appears keen to turn a blind eye.

While the fighting in southeast Ukraine has rumbled on incessantly throughout the winter, inducing conflict fatigue and a drop in media coverage, the last weeks have seen a marked spike in the number of attacks.

Ukrainian officials are reporting up to 71 attacks a day, with most of the fighting concentrated around the separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Gorlovka, as well as the countryside east of the Azov port city of Mariupol.

Both sides accuse each other of daily using heavy mortars, which were supposed to have been withdrawn in accordance over a year ago in accordance with the first Minsk agreement.

According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors the ceasefire, last month saw the return of the use of Grad multiple-launch rocket systems and 152 mm artillery. Both were reportedly used on two consecutive days in separatist-held Gorlovka.

Jan. 26 and 27 saw a multitude of reports from Donetsk residents on social media of intense fighting in the north of the city, where the frontline runs alongside the ruins of the airport and the suburbs of Peski and Avdeyevka. Dozens of Twitter and VKontakte (Russias Facebook equivalent) users across the city reported a powerful explosion and shockwave on the 27th, for which there is still no credible explanation. Some users claimed that the shelling was the heaviest heard since the final assault on Donetsk Airport at this time last year.

Furthermore, over the last few days, we have seen the targeting of frontier checkpoints, which allow civilians to enter and leave separatist-held territory, by Russian-backed fighters, raising the possibility that the government may be forced to close these vital passages to avoid casualties.

The Jan. 13 call, put forth by the new Russian representative at the Minsk peace talks, Boris Gryzlov, for an immediate, total ceasefire has clearly amounted to nothing.

The Ukrainian and separatist leaderships are pursuing diametrically opposed plans regarding the holding of local elections in the occupied regions of the Donbassa key element of the Minsk ceasefire agreements.

While Kiev, and the text of the Minsk deal itself, says the elections must be held in accordance with Ukrainian law, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR), last week restated his commitment to barring all major Ukrainian political parties and conducting the votes under DNR law.

The prospects for another element of the Minsk processthe exchange of prisoners of war, are looking gloomy too. On Jan. 28 the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Ukraine, Alain Aeschlimann, told reporters that his organization had been allowed access to only four of the 133 Ukrainian prisoners the separatists claim to hold.

On Jan. 25 former President Leonid Kuchma, the lead Ukrainian negotiator in direct talks with the Russian-backed separatists, said that he now thinks that many of those prisoners are already dead. The separatists are, he suggested, using the negotiations over the number of prisoners to stall and buy time.

All this comes amidst a grim backdrop. The ICRC says that over a thousand people are still missing as a result of the conflict in the Donbass, and disease, fostered by a breakdown in infrastructure and thousands of casualties caused by the fighting, is spreading rapidly.

Ukraine (as well as southern Russia) is now in the grips of an epidemic of H1N1 variant flu, which has infected 18 regions of the country and killed at least 171 people. Schools have been closed indefinitely in Kharkiv. In separatist-held Donetsk, well over 2,000 people have turned to doctors with complaints of viral respiratory infections so far this year. The sister Lugansk Peoples Republic reports an even worse situation, with more than 10,000 people infected and dozens of quarantine zones introduced. Both Eduard Basurin, a DNR military spokesman, and Vadim Solovyov, an MP in the Russian State Duma, have claimed that the flu outbreak in Ukraine originated from an American biological warfare facility in government-controlled Kharkiv.

This of course, combined with a (most likely Russian) cyber attack that caused a blackout late last year and the stand-off at the frontier with occupied Crimea over imports, only adds to the deep-seated mistrust between Kiev and the Russian side.

Yet on Jan. 22, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that sanctions on Russia could be lifted within these next months if the Minsk agreements were implemented in full.

Leaving aside the fact that sanctions were first introduced in response to Russias occupation and annexation of Crimeaa completely separate issue on which there is not even a hint of progress, Kerrys suggestion that Minsk could be fully realized in the space of a few months is absurd.

Poroshenko has said that there must be a ceasefire before the special status law, that would establish semi-autonomy for the occupied areas of the Donbass and establish the legal framework for local elections, comes into effect. And even if those highly contested electoral plans come to fruition, the Minsk agreements stipulate the withdrawal of all foreign (i.e. Russian) forces from Ukraine and the return of government control of all of the border with Russia before full implementation looks near.

Kerrys hint at rapprochement is part of a wider trend.

The German and Finnish governments continue to pursue the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom, a policy that flies in the face of moves to achieve European energy independence and is opposed by Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states.

In the U.K., despite a devastating conclusion from the public inquiry into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, which found that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had organized the radiological assassination, and that then FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev and even President Vladimir Putin himself had probably ordered it, the government has refrained from rocking the boat.

During the House of Commons debate that followed the publication of the Litvinenko Inquiry report, the home secretary, Theresa May, opposed calls from across the house for the introduction of a British equivalent to the U.S. Magnitsky Acta broad sanctions bill aimed at corrupt and human rights-abusing Russian officialsand announced little more than the lukewarm punitive measure of freezing any U.K. assets belonging to the two assassins, who have been living under Kremlin protection (one as an MP) for almost a decade since the murder.

The reason for both Kerry and Mays soft approach to Russia derives from Western hopes that Putin will be of assistance in Syria. We will continue to call on President Putin for Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, to engage responsibly and make a positive contribution to global security and stability, May said. They can, for example, play an important role in defeating [ISIS] and, together with the wider international community, help Syria work towards a stable future.

But this means turning a blind eye not only to the killing of Litvinenko, but Russias annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbass for the sake of a hope that Putin may be turned to work with the West on Syria. If Russia can, with impunity, use radioactive polonium to murder a British citizen in London or shoot down a passenger airliner over Ukraine, then how can we collaborate on serious crime or aviation security?

The hope here is profoundly misplaced.

While Russia could play an important role in fighting ISIS, they are not and have used the cover story of doing so to further aims that run directly contrary to the (publicly stated, at least) aims of the U.K., U.S., and France. The vast majority of Russian airstrikes in Syria are aimed not at ISIS-held territory, but areas controlled by opposition groups. This includes U.S.-supplied Free Syrian Army units. When they do carry out strikes in ISIS-held land, they bomb water treatment plants and grain silos, which the Russian Ministry of Defense attempts to pass off as oil refineries. Meanwhile, there are reports that Russia actually spent the years prior to the direct military intervention last September dispatching domestic jihadists to wage war in Syria with groups including ISIS itself.

The worst effect of this is that by devastating the opposition, which includes both nationalists and Islamists of shades varying from moderate to the fundamentalist, while leaving ISIS relatively unscathed, Putin and Bashar al-Assad are ensuring that the moderates are squeezed out and the jihadists appeal to bombed and abused Sunnis is strengthened.

Furthermore, if the Assad regime succeeds, with the help of Russian air and ground forces, in retaking rebel-held areas like Idlib and Aleppo, then the refugee crisis that is already causing a breakdown in the EU Schengen system of free movement will worsen dramatically.

It is by no means a stretch to say that the breakup of the European Union is a foreign policy goal for the Kremlin. Russia has fostered relationships with far-right Eurosceptic parties across the EU, with the virulent, neo-Vichyist Front National even receiving millions of euros from a Kremlin-linked Russian bank. Last month has even seen Russian state TV spreading a fabricated story of a German teenager being gang-raped by immigrants and the Russian embassy in London posting starkly racist tweets about Germany being trampled beneath the feet of migrants.

Western governments now appear set to ignore Russian malfeasance, not only in Ukraine and Syria, but at home in the EU, for the sake of fantasy and financial gain.
While Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaign to repeal the Hyde Amendmenta federal rider that bars Medicaid from funding abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangermenttheres an abortion law that has largely been left off the campaign trail and quietly ignored by the Obama administration.

Its a law that, as it is being interpreted, refuses abortion funding to refugees who have been raped.

But the Helms Amendment, which was introduced by the notoriously conservative Sen. Jesse Helms in 1973 shortly after Roe v. Wade, doesnt actually include that explicit prohibition. As an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), it specifies that no federal assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.

Terminating a pregnancy resulting from rape, as abortion-rights advocates have repeatedly pointed out, is not really a matter of family planning.When you look at our domestic laws, and even today with some of the most fierce advocates against legal abortion, the three exceptions [rape, incest, life endangerment] are consistently there, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), told The Daily Beast. Thats why its explicitly stated in the law: not as a method of family planning.

CHANGE and other human-rights groups have long called on President Obama to interpret Helms as allowing abortion funding for women and girls who have been raped in conflict.But so far, the White House has stalled. Last June, when The New York Times highlighted the advocacy around Helms, White House officials deferred to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). That agency did not address specific questions but said that the Obama administration took the issue extremely seriously.

Between last June and today, the sense of urgency around Helms has grown but no executive action has been taken. Last August, 81 House Democrats urged Obama to address the issue, saying that the current interpretation of Helms is both overly restrictive and inconsistent with established legal precedent. In October, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and 26 other senators sent a letter to the president asking him to correct the overly constrained implementation of the Helms Amendment and urging him to ensure U.S. foreign aid does not stand in the way of women and girls fleeing conflict who seek abortion services.

But when The Daily Beast asked the USAID for any updates, the agency did not answer specific questions, noting instead that it was taking the issue extremely seriouslythe same response given to The New York Times eight months ago.

Im not surprised that thats the answer they gave you, Sippel told The Daily Beast. She suspects that the Obama administration may be reluctant to reinterpret the Helms Amendment because of the current state of domestic abortion politics.

If thats the case, its a position that is strangely counterposed to current domestic policy and, perhaps, public opinion.

According to the latest Gallup data, 83 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in cases of life endangerment, and 75 percent agree in cases of rape or incest. Legality and federal funding are separate matters but the polling demonstrates a broad base of support for these three major exceptions. More convincing is that the Hyde Amendment, which both Democratic candidates for president have promised to ax, already contains those three exceptions in the case of domestic abortion funding.The double standard, advocates like Sippel say, is clear: A U.S. citizen who has been raped can secure Medicaid funding for an abortion in most states, but abroad, refugees who become pregnant as the result of rape cannot turn to the U.S. for aid.Given ISISs well-documented use of rape as an act of war, that contrast is only becoming sharper. But even when it comes to ISIS, politicians have been shy about reinterpreting Helms.During a November 2015 campaign stop in Iowa, Hillary Clinton was asked specifically about reinterpreting Helms but, as CNN reported, she stopped short of promising to do so, saying instead, [I]f the United States government, because of our very strong feelings against it, maintains our prohibition, then we are going to have to work through nonprofit groups and work with other countries toprovide the support and medical care that a lot of these women need.These nonprofit groups, however, are also constrained by the Helms Amendment. As The Atlantic noted in a 2012 feature on the legislation, NGOs in conflict zones often comply with the current interpretation of Helms in order to maintain access to U.S. foreign aid.How many women are affected by these restrictions? There are no precise statistics on the total number of rape-related pregnancies in conflict zones, but surrounding data paints a picture that is harrowing enough.One study in the American Journal of Public Health found that, in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2006 and 2007, an average of 48 women and girls were raped every hour. Over 70 percent of victims of sexual violence in conflict zones are estimated to be children. In Syria, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), rape and sexual violence are the most extensive form of violence faced by women and girls.The stories of rape perpetrated by ISIS terrorists are indeed horrific. But they also tend not to include any mention of what might happen to victims if they become pregnant.And as The Atlantic reported in 2012when former Missouri congressman Todd Akin made his infamous comments about rape-related pregnancy being really rare and the female body having ways to try and shut that whole thing downbecoming pregnant as the result of rape is more common than many might realize. In the U.S., women who have been raped once have about a 5 percent chance of becoming pregnant, according to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Abroad and especially in conflict zones, that rate is believed to be higher.Without access to proper medical care, some refugees will die if they attempt to end a rape-related pregnancy on their own. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 47,000 women die from unsafe abortions every year, mostly in developing countries.

President Obama has publicly addressed the issue of rape in conflict several times; by Sippels count, five times in the last 18 months. But on Helms, the administration remains silent.

Sippel points to the positions that GOP candidates have taken on abortion as evidence that the White House may fear backlash if they reinterpret Helms. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson have all expressed opposition to exceptions for rape and incest. As Paul Waldman observed on The Washington Post, those positions are more extreme than those of many Republican voters. Sippel agrees.

I think its a gross miscalculation on the part of the [Obama] administration to look at these reproductive politics and say that they would have some kind of bearing on the Helms conversation, she told The Daily Beast.

For CHANGE and other groups who have been petitioning the administration to reinterpret Helms since Obamas first term, the time for executive action is running out. After all, Cruz or Rubio could be president next January, virtually guaranteeing that the current interpretation of Helms remains in place until at least 2021.

The thought of President Obama leaving office without so much as picking up a pen for women and girls raped in conflict is unconscionable, Sippel said.
A man convicted of fatally beating and strangling his neighbor will spend the rest of his life behind bars after prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty a second time because of new details that emerged in the case after his sentence was overturned in 2012.

In the time after he was convicted and sentenced, details emerged in the case that the top prosecutor in Brazos County called a "perfect storm" that led to a life without parole sentence as the only result.

The Brazos County District Attorney's office said in a news release that several pieces of evidence, including DNA evidence, had been mishandled by the court reporter, and a key witness had committed suicide in jail.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys and District Judge Steve Smith declined to comment specifically how it was mishandled.

"I don't think it was anything that's intentional, I think it was inadvertent," District Attorney Jarvis Parsons said. "But talking with our experts at the lab, there's no way that they could guarantee that there was no tainting of the evidence because of that."

The key witness, Kelly Sifuentez, pleaded guilty in 2009 to coaxing Olsen into killing her mother, Geraldine Lloyd, in 2007. Olsen broke into Westbrook's house about six months later and killed her, court records show.

Sifuentez, who was in her 30s at the time, admitted to starting a sexual relationship with Olsen when he was 14 and introducing him to methamphetamine when he was 16.

Olsen was charged in Lloyd's death, but was never tried. During the punishment phase of his trial for Westbrook's death, prosecutors presented evidence Olsen killed Lloyd, who was found buried in her backyard.

Sifuentez didn't testify in Olsen's first trial because she was under indictment for solicitation of capital murder. She committed suicide in prison in May 2015. Parsons said there was no way for them to cross-examine her on those details.

Olsen has spent the past several years at the Brazos County Jail. Jail administrator Wayne Dicky said he hasn't had a single disciplinary write-up.

One of the questions jurors have to answer before someone is given a death penalty is whether that person is a future danger to society. Considering Olsen's clean record in the jail, one of his attorneys, Steve Jackson, said prosecutors would have had a tough time proving he would be a future danger.

Parsons said life without parole was the best punishment given the new details.

"I feel that -- knowing what we know with the new details -- this is the only result that could have come up," Parsons said. "Do I think the jury got it right in 2007 with the evidence that they heard? Yeah, I do. With these new details, could we have that same sort of confidence that they would come to the same conclusion? No, I don't."

Another of Olsen's attorneys, Frank Blazek, said he was relieved by the ruling.

"When we think back about the event, all of us are full of sorrow," Blazek said. "This was a terrible tragedy and we only have prayers and hope the best for the family of Mrs. Westbrook -- that they can heal. And I hope that the finality of this sentence contributes to that healing."

Westbrook's children were at the hearing Tuesday. The oldest, Debra Kette, told the court what kind of person her mother was. She said she loved to paint and never met a stranger.

Kette said as long as Olsen can never get out of prison, she's OK with the ruling.
In an interview with the daily Agos, the Chamber of Architects in Diyarbakir, Merthan Ank, claimed that the military operation in Sur could serve in the press as legitimization for the urban renewal of the area without the participation of the Diyarbakir and Sur municipalities.

The master-plan - implant a consumerist utopia among the ruins

Member of Parliament from the pro-Kurdish HDP Feleknas Uca has also suggested that this is what the government is aiming to do. In a parliamentary inquiry addressed to Prime Minister Davutoglu, Uca claimed that the goal is not, as originally planned in 2009, to protect Sur's history but to make Sur into a "center for consumption" with cafes, hotels, and shopping malls.

Uca has also claimed that TOKI plans to replace the torn down buildings with 4,000 TOKI apartments. The debate became yet more heated when the PKK-founded Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) called the TOKI plans a "cultural genocide" and released a warning that anyone attempting to erect TOKI buildings in Sur will encounter resistance from locals.

Meanwhile, the head of TOKI, Mehmet Ergun Turan, referring to the already existing agreement on urban renewal with Diyabakir and Sur Municipality in 2009, has denied the claim that high-rise TOKI buildings will be erected in Sur, emphasizing that the district is a world heritage site that only allows for the building of one or two-story apartments.

Instead Sur would be renovated to look like it did in the 1940s and become Diyarbakir's center for touristic attractions. However, Ank claims that beyond the initial engagement letter no master plan has been presented to Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality.

Though the confusion continues on what it is exactly TOKI will do in Sur, the fact is that with the fighting raging in Diyarbakir and with hundreds of buildings either destroyed or damaged, Sur's urban renewal is once again on the agenda of the national government, and this time it will be easier to realize.

While the government has claimed that all original residents will be able to return to Sur, it is likely that, similar to what happened in New Orleans, many of those who have fled will not come back. If this is the case, this will open the way for a dramatic change in Sur's social and economic composition without encountering further resistance.

Ethnic cleansing and corporate profit go hand in hand

This form of crisis management would not be surprising given the Turkish government has proved countless times that it can masterfully generate profit from human tragedy. For example, the disastrous 1999 earthquake in the Marmara region served as legitimization for the tearing down and rebuilding of whole neighborhoods in Istanbul and elsewhere under the nationwide urban regeneration program Kentsel Donus;um. [2]

Since this incident, not only has the construction sector grown exponentially but so also have the quarters that are home to ethnic and religious minorities been completely transformed.

Gecekondu residents in particular have been systematically displaced. In return the state has typically offered locals apartments for apparently favorable credit terms in social housing built by TOKI at Istanbul's periphery.

Many of these poor areas populated by Alevis and/or Kurds, for example Okmeydan in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul or Kucukarmutlu in Saryer, are at the same time strongholds of left political activism.

Thus, while on the one hand construction firms in cooperation with the state line their pocket, on the other hand part of the political opposition is effectively contained - killing two birds with one stone.

It remains to be seen whether a similar logic could soon be applied to Turkey's Southeastern crisis region.

Defne Kadoglu Polat is a Political Scientist and works on issues of urban transformation and social exclusion. She is currently a Mercator Stiftung-IPC Fellow at Sabanc University, Istanbul.

References

[1] 'Gecekondu' refers to informal settings that were virtually built 'over night' and in which until today relatively primitive living conditions prevail. Many of these settings are located on the fringe of big cities such as Ankara and Istanbul; however, some are located in the center. In 1966 a law was passed that legalized most of these settings.

[2] 'Kentsel Donus;um' refers to a nationwide urban renewal program based on an urban transformation law from 2012. The program is administered by the Ministry for Environment and Urbanization. In the framework of the program millions of apartments have been torn down and replaced with new buildings, most of them in Istanbul. The public mass housing administration is the most important actor in Kentsel Donus;um since it both builds social housing at the urban periphery and supports more luxurious construction projects in the center.

This article was originally published in openDemocracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.
European lawmakers today backed a 'compromise deal' to reduce car emissions that will still allow vehicles to exceed official pollution limits, defying calls for more radical reform following Volkswagen's emissions-test cheating scandal.

The vote, which narrowly rejected a proposal to block the compromise, had been scheduled for January, but was delayed by bitter arguments between members of the European Parliament and fierce lobbying.

Volkswagen's admission in September that it cheated US diesel emissions tests created a political storm in Europe where around half of vehicles are diesel. Diesel is particularly associated with emissions of nitrogen oxide linked to lung disease and premature deaths.

The European Commission had already begun trying to close a known gap between laboratory testing of new vehicles and the real world, where toxic emissions have surged to more than seven times official limits.

However, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a position paper seen by Reuters that the Commission's reform plans were 'too challenging' for current diesel models and could threaten the technology as a whole, jeopardising jobs across the region.

At a closed-door meeting in October, EU member states agreed a compromise - now backed by the European Parliament - that would cut emissions but still allow a 50% overshoot of the legal ceiling for nitrogen oxide of 80 milligrams / kilometre.

Strong resistance from Green and liberal MEPs

On Monday evening MEPs in the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted in favour of an opinion criticising the Commission-backed deal. The Environment Committee (ENVI) had previously rejected the deal in December.

Green and liberal MEPs also pressed for a rejection, saying the compromise was an illegal weakening of already agreed limits. As the UK's three Green MEPs wrote on The Ecologist this morning:

"Rather than clamping down on the car industry's irresponsible approach to pollution, EU governments and the Commission instead want to rewrite existing law, providing loopholes which will allow cars to legally pollute more."

But the dominant centre right grouping, the European People's Party (EPP), backed the compromise. It said rejecting the plan would delay a reduction in vehicle emissions, as a new proposal would have to be agreed and the car industry would lack regulatory certainty to invest in cleaner technology.

"Unfortunately, clean air, fair competition and the rule of law did not get a majority today", commented Dutch Liberal politician Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy. The UK's Green MEP Molly Scott Cato added:

"This vote underlines the damaging and deadly influence the car industry has on the EU Commission and EU governments. The fact that Tory MEPs were urged to vote in favour of these deathly loopholes reveal a government that has a dangerously cosy relationship with the car manufacturing industry and their lobbyists."
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Canadian businessmen are holding back investments in the Philippines for fear that the current policies on foreign investments would change after the May elections, the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said.

(Investors are) not so much looking at the specific outcome of elections than theyre looking at what is happening to the legislation, and rules and regulations covering foreign investment, chamber president Julian Payne told reporters during the groups monthly meeting in Cebu.

He said investors will be closely watching what the presidential candidates have to say with regard to investments.

Payne cited the Canadian mining companies which are interested in what candidates have to say about mining opportunities in the country.

If the current Mining Act is retained, the provisions of E.O. (executive order 79) regarding foreign investments changed and if your basic tax framework remains unchanged, you can expect more investments in mining, he said.

Cebu and the Philippines, in general, still have a relatively low number of Canadian investors.

In Cebu, two major Canadian investors are business process outsourcing (BPO) company Bombardier Transportation, and the $20-million waste-to-energy plant at the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) zone 3 in Lapu-Lapu City by Aquilini Mactan Renewable Energy, Inc. (AMREI).

Payne said the lack of Canadian investors is due not only to the foreign investment restrictions that turn off investors, but also to the fact that Canada came as a late player in the Philippines.

The main problem or challenge in the Philippines is restrictions on foreign investment, Payne said.

However, if the Philippines can score more trans-Pacific partnerships (TPP) or clinch a free trade agreement with Canada, Canadian investors will see the country as more appealing.

Payne noted that Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already expressed a desire to review trade agreements with the Philippines.

No commitments nor definite action plans have been made, but Payne expressed hope that they will be firmed up in the future.

Canadas first investment entry in the Philippines came at the turn of the century through financial services providers Sunlife and Manulife. The second wave of Canadian involvement in the Philippines was through religious missionaries in the late 1940s.

Its third involvement with the Filipinos was in the 1970s, which Payne said marked the beginning of the real migration of Filipinos to Canada.

Payne said Canada, because of its aging population, is still looking for caregivers and nurses.

Currently, Filipinos represent an estimated 2.5 percent of Canadas 35 million population. Filipinos continue to represent the largest number of immigrants in the country, and are very rapidly growing in number.

Payne said Canadas newly elected government may serve to benefit Filipinos already working in Canada, or those who intend to move to the country.

Included in their governments preliminary statements of intent are provisions for easier immigration or increased family-class immigration to Canada, and negotiation of trade agreements.

Meanwhile, demonstrating its commitment to enhanced relations with a region on the other side of the planet, the Canadian government has appointed Marie-Louise Hannan as the countrys new ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The appointment is significant in that it is the first time Canada has had a dedicated ambassador to ASEAN, the government said in a press release.

Canada already increased its diplomatic presence in the ASEAN region with the opening of its first resident diplomatic mission in Yangon, Myanmar in 2013, and in August 2015 opened offices in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Vientiane, Laos, thereby ensuring for the first time a permanent, resident Canadian diplomatic presence in all 10 ASEAN member states, the statement read.

As a group, ASEAN is Canadas seventh-largest merchandise trading partner. In 2014, Canada-ASEAN merchandise trade reached US$18.8 billion.

Canada continues to partner with ASEAN on concrete initiatives in key areas, including disaster risk management, human rights, the countering of non-traditional security threats, public-private infrastructure partnerships and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Canada has been an ASEAN dialogue partner, one of only 10 countries enjoying such a status, since 1977. Canada and ASEAN will celebrate 40 years of dialogue partnership in 2017.
Thailand is the worst-hit country in South-east Asia, with seven Zika cases uncovered between 2012 and 2014 in various provinces.

The Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia each have had one Zika-related case since 2010.

But World Health Organisation (WHO) officials say the disease is likely to have spread far more widely in South-east Asia than the number of cases suggests.

This is partly because detection of the Zika virus is often delayed, its symptoms being similar to those of other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue and chikungunya.

Thailand's most recent case was discovered earlier this month after a Thai man was stopped at a fever screening station at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport.

The Zika virus has "a widespread distribution" across Thailand, according to an article published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene last year.

Authored by researchers from the Thai Health Ministry and the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, it detailed how a Canadian woman who travelled to Thailand in 2013 was diagnosed with Zika after returning home.

This prompted the health ministry to look deeper into blood test samples taken from patients with fever and/or rash.

It found seven Thai residents with the Zika virus from 2012 to 2014.

"These endemic cases, combined with previous infection reported in travellers, provide evidence that (Zika) is widespread throughout Thailand," said the report.

Zika is rarely fatal, with patients usually recovering on their own in about a week.

But there appears to be growing evidence in Brazil suggesting that pregnant women infected with Zika are at risk of developing babies with abnormally small heads, a condition known as microcephaly.

There has been no link so far between Zika and microcephaly in South-east Asia, said Dr Rana Bardan Jung from the WHO's Regional Office for South-east Asia.

WHO officials also say they have not come across Zika cases in China and India.

"But as this virus is spread by mosquitoes, I would say that, wherever there are mosquitoes, there's a possibility of this virus being found," said Dr Wichan Pawan, head of the Thai Health Ministry's risk communication bureau.
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By Tom Lovett of The Gleaner

After an executive session discussion, Henderson Fiscal Court on Tuesday agreed to hire an administrator to oversee its new occupational tax.

On an unanimous vote, the county approved the hiring of Henderson attorney Andrew Powell.

Powell will work part-time as the administrator of the occupational tax, overseeing compliance. His salary would be $35,000 without benefits and he's expected to start in March.

He will also work part-time in the county attorney's office, filling a vacancy there.

County attorney Steve Gold said Powell will be employed through the state as a "part-time 100 employee."

In addition to his duties with the occupational tax, Powell will be required to work at least 100 hours a month in the county attorney's office. In return he'll be paid another salary in the neighborhood of $35,000 as well as health insurance and a pension.

In other action, the court, after a long discussion, rejected a proposal to donate $1,500 to help members of the Henderson County High School band attend Memorial Day festivities in Washington, D.C. The court received a letter from the band's booster organization asking for help to offset the $32,000 cost of the trip.

In presenting the request to the court, County Judge-executive Hugh McCormick cited the recent deep cuts to county offices and charitable organizations, saying that in light of those cuts he could not recommend monetary support, but said if there's something nonmonetary the county could do to help, it certainly should.

Magistrate George Warren proposed that the court make a $1,500 donation.

In the ensuing discussion, magistrates expressed personal support for the band but that given the county's current fiscal climate, a donation just wasn't feasible.

"I sit here and reflect back on 2015. We made some big cuts that hurt us all in our heart," said Magistrate Butch Puttman. "I think we cut Riverview School and we cut a lot of the programs where we help the needy; it was cut after cut after cut ... When I reflect back and see what we had to do, it was very painful and all the increases we added to the public ... I think there's something maybe we can do individually or something as a group. I really struggle with giving any money."

McCormick echoed the sentiment.

"We know it's an honor for our band to be there but we also know we've made many, many cuts in the budget this past year," he said. "I will write a check; I will try to help; I will try to do any fundraising I can, but we've cut our volunteer fire departments ... we cut our road department budget from $900,000 to $100,000 to make our budget this year. ... It may seem like $1,500 is small but every penny we spend is important. I'm more than happy to help them in an way we can, but as far as any financial contribution I can't recommend that."

The vote failed with only Warren voting for it, but the magistrates and McCormick said they would be making personal donations to the effort.

"These are the kind (of decisions) you don't like to do," McCormick said.

After the vote, County Engineer Bill Hubiak commended the court for a wise fiscal decision based on the cuts to departments across the county. Hubiak said he was writing a personal check for $100 to support the band campaign and challenged each member of the court to match it.

The court opened a sealed bid from Diamond Equipment on a used backhoe the county was seeking to sell. Diamond, the only bidder, offered $20,000 and Hubiak recommended the court accept the offer. They did so.

Emerson "Emmi" Kirtley, a fifth-grader at East Heights Elementary School, was named the Judge's Scholar. She is the daughter of Jason and Denise Kirtley of Henderson.
Photo furnished This is Dakota, the hitchhiking cat that made a round-trip to Alabama in the spare tire well of Charles Kirkpatricks truck.

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By Donna B. Stinnett

Henderson resident Charles Kirkpatrick knew that the two 3-month-old kittens belonging to a stray he and wife Ludy adopted in October liked to sleep and hide inside the spare tire well of his Dodge Dakota.

It was one of the reasons he left his truck outside his garage after he loaded it on Jan. 6 for a quick trip to Alabama.

"They stay inside the garage," he said. "I didn't want to disturb them when I left."

The next morning, he headed south, stopping in both Clarksville, Tennessee, and Decatur, Alabama, to refuel.

Kirkpatrick then dropped by to visit a cousin, who followed him over to inspect an ancestral home that's being refurbished.

If was when a friend joined them a little later and asked: "Do you hear a cat?" that the Hendersonian had the first indication that maybe he'd brought a hitchhiker along for the ride.

They looked all over and around Kirkpatrick's truck, but nobody saw or heard anything more.

His next stop was at the home of friend who owns two dogs.

As soon as he parked, "they went nuts," Kirkpatrick said, describing how they were barking and smelling around until the owner put them up.

"I hear a cat," his friend commented. "As a matter of fact, there it is."

The little yellow cat that Kirkpatrick thought he'd left in his garage on Holloway Lane was sitting on top of the left rear tire of the truck. When Kirkpatrick reached for it, the kitten retreated back into the underside of the vehicle.

He never saw the animal again during the time he was in Alabama. He kept looking for an opportunity to catch it, and put out both food and water to help coax the scared feline out.

No luck.

The next morning, before he headed back to Henderson, he checked all around one last time for the cat but then he had to head home.

Kirkpatrick stopped two places in Tennessee and also in Hanson to visit his father at the Western Kentucky Veterans Center.

Hours later he eventually pulled into his driveway and opened the garage door. Sam, the mother cat, darted out.

"The yellow cat came down from underneath the truck to greet its mother," Kirkpatrick said, noting that the second kitten also came outside to join the reunion. "I had no idea that the kitten would still be there."

It wasn't that cold on the days he traveled, but his road speed would have created quite a turbulence for the kitten, even inside the spare tire.

And as far as he knows, it had nothing to eat or drink from Wednesday night to Friday evening.

"I was stunned," he added, noting that it was a 300-mile trip each way with several stops that provided an opportunity for escape. "The kitten was just too traumatized to come out, I guess. Ludy didn't believe it, and if I hadn't seen the cat in Alabama I wouldn't have believed it either."

Kirkpatrick said that even though the mother and kittens have been living in their garage for several weeks, the kittens are "still pretty aloof" and haven't gotten used to humans. Sam, however, is very friendly and follows Kirkpatrick to the mailbox each morning to fetch the paper.

He said he'd been considering putting the kittens up for adoption, but now he's going to keep all three.

The yellow one, which is thinks is a male, also now has a name.

It's Dakota.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  A team of Kentucky middle school students won national recognition and a $20,000 grant for creating an app to help people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia remember to take their medications.

The Verizon Foundation announced Tuesday that the group of girls at Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville was one of nine student teams to win its Innovative App Challenge. They will work with the MIT Media Lab to turn the concept into a working, downloadable application.

The six seventh-graders banded together to create the app they named the "Pharm Alarm App," meant to alert those afflicted with memory loss to take their mediations, eat meals and complete other essential tasks. Elli Tilford, one of the students, said she was inspired to create the app after losing her grandfather to the disease.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Preliminary amount of compensation, which will be paid by Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) for the return of deposits in three bankrupt banks, will amount to 28.83 million manats, head of the fund Azad Javadov told reporters.

Currently, insurance cases have been announced in Bank of Azerbaijan, Ganja Bank and United Credit Bank.

Javadov noted that even if the rest liquidated banks [their total number is seven] are declared bankrupt, the ADIF will have enough money to pay out compensations.

The volume of insured deposits at Texnika Bank is 79.34 million manats, Atra bank - 7.56 million manats, while the Caucasus Development Bank has insured deposits worth 1.52 million manats, according to preliminary data.

"It is easy to calculate that even if these three banks are declared bankrupt, the total amount of reimbursable contributions will be slightly more than 117 million manats, while the fund has 132 million manats," the head of the fund said.

Javadov noted that in case of shortage of money, the fund will attract a loan from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.
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As state lawmakers battle for a bill this session that would raise the minimum wage in Kentucky to $10.10 an hour, something is missing from the debate.

While proponents say a boost would help the working poor, opponents argue it would largely be a burden to small businesses and other employers. Critics say an unintended consequence might be the rise in prices of other commodities that would ultimately offset any spike in pay to those who earn the least.

We're doubtful lawmakers will pass such a bill in this year's session, but it seems trivial in comparison to the broader conversation our country fails to address. And that's the growing income inequality between the richest and poorest Americans.

The ideal of a robust middle class in America has become just that  idealistic. That's because the gap between the 1 percent and the working poor has grown astronomically in the past decades.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research group shows the average American believes the richest fifth in our country own 59 percent of the wealth and that the bottom 40 percent own about 9 percent of it.

Yet the reality is strikingly different. The top 20 percent of U.S. households actually own more than 84 percent of the wealth, and the bottom 40 percent combine for a paltry .3 percent, the Pew Research study found. Put in simpler terms, the Walton family  which owns the vast international chain of Walmart stores and its subsidiary retailers  have accumulated more wealth than 42 percent of all American families.

Some would argue that hard work pays off and that successful capitalists have earned their share of the pie. We agree  to some extent.

But it's problematic when the 1 percent not only controls most of the country's wealth but also shapes its ideologies, its policies and ultimately its future.

While our Democracy was supposedly set up to give each American an equal vote and voice, it's become anything but equal. Money buys influence. And in this country, more money equals more power.

It's often difficult to fathom just who the 1 percent is in this country. And it obviously varies from state to state. That's why we've included a chart to show how much a person in Kentucky and other states must make to be a "1 percenter." We've added another chart to show the proportion of wealth as it's currently distributed in this nation.

Now consider this: as state lawmakers futilely debate the boons or busts a $10.10 minimum wage would create in Kentucky, do you think it would do anything to change these charts or the trajectory of our country?

We don't  and we'd hope that 99 percent of Americans agree with us.

This editorial was written by the (Frankfort) State Journal.
NORWALK -- The Norwalk Board of Education and the Common Council met Tuesday in a special joint meeting to discuss the $177 million operating budget for the 2016-17 school year.

Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski, CFO Thomas Hamilton and Chief Academic Officer Michael Conner spent some time recapping the budget, which requests more than $177 million for next school year -- a 3.9 percent increase of $6.6 million.

Adamowski told school board and council members that budget request would help the Central Office and the Board of Education "redesign the school system in a way where it can be more effective."

During a Board of Education retreat in November, the school board selected to employ the Managed Performance Empowerment (MPE) Theory of Action to drive fundamental change in the school district.

The theory of action will provide schools that are doing well with greater autonomy with the introduction of student-based budgeting.

School officials have created a funding formula for the first year of student-based budgeting that will allocate $6,703 per high school student, $6,713 per middle school student and $5,292 per elementary student.

Each school's budget will be managed by Student Governance Councils. The Board of Education is currently establishing Student Governance Councils all 19 schools. Each School Governance Council would consist of six parents, five teachers, two students and one principal. Principals would be non-voting members.

Student-based budgeting will account for 39 percent of the total operations budget in 2016-17. Central Office will manage 58 percent of the total operating budget.

One of the biggest drivers of the next budget is special education, which was largely underfunded in the current year's budget by about $4 million, according to Adamowski.

Next year's budget recommends spending an additional $3.3 million for special education, which will cover out-of-district tuition and professional services.

Another driver of the budget is a $2.9 million increase in labor contract settlements.

Salaries and employee benefits account for a little more than 80 percent of the budget.

The proposed budget has allocated $112,496,076 for employee salaries, which is a 1.74 percent increase over the current fiscal year. It also allocates $31,514,783 for employee benefits, a 5.68 percent decrease from this year.

Through next year's budget, Alliance District and Priority School District grants will be redirected for its intended purpose of achievement gap closure.

Adamowski said the Alliance District and Priority School District are currently being misused to fund salaries of the entire staff at Norwalk Pathways Academy at Briggs and 20 percent of salaries and benefits for 48 K-3 teachers.

For next school year, the salaries that were covered by the grants will be added back to the local budget, creating additional budget drivers of $482,000 for elementary teachers and $401,000 for the Briggs staff.

Adding the salaries to the budget will free up nearly $900,000 in grants funds that will be used towards putting interventions in place to close the achievement gap.

Norwalk Early Childhood Center, a 50-50 Pre-K facility at Roosevelt School, slated to open in August will provide the district with a savings of $293,000 since it would combine eight Pre-K classrooms around the district into six classrooms at one central location.

School officials found that the district allocates more funds per middle school pupil than any other student in the district. Next year's budget looks to reduce per-pupil spending by about $300 per middle school student -- a savings of $745,000 in the coming fiscal year.

Tuesday's meeting allowed the Common Council to ask question about the budget before the council adopt the budget cap on Feb. 23.

At presstime, the council and school board were discussing the budget. The Hour will follow up on this story.
NORWALK -- A Norwalk man was assessed with a host of burglary and larceny charges following the alleged theft of a motor vehicle and debit card.

Devon Willoughby, 18, was charged with two counts of credit card theft, two counts of illegal use of a credit card, two counts of second-degree larceny, sixth-degree larceny, third-degree identity theft, and third-degree burglary.

Police said they responded to a complaint in Nov. 2015 in which the complainant stated that someone had made an entry through an unlocked door of their Norwalk home and that a cell phone and possibly a set of keys were missing. According to police, the residents tracked the cell phone to a Nash Place residence and they retrieved the phone there. The family reportedly made contact with the suspect's father and told him that they did not want to press charges, but that he was not allowed at their residence.

On Nov. 10, the residents of the home noticed that their Chevy Sonic was not outside, and they filed a stolen motor vehicle report with police. According to police, the complainant reported that the car key was next to the cell phone when the residence had been burglarized earlier.

Police said that a worker at a business on State Street in Bridgeport found a bag of items that he initially believed to be garbage, but reportedly found a cell phone and cash inside along with other items. According to police, he called the cell phone number that indicated 'home,' and made contact with the cell phone owner.

Police said that items were identified by the owner as having been in the Chevy prior to it having been taken.

According to police, the vehicle was located on Nov. 12 in Bridgeport after being involved in an evading accident.

Police said that the victim had also been alerted by Bank of America that their debit card had been used at several locations in Stratford, Milford, and Bridgeport. According to police, the victim said that the card was in the pocket of a jacket that was in the back seat of the car.

Police said that a warrant for WIlloughby was applied for and he was arrested on Feb. 1.

Willoughby, of 22 Nash Place, was issued a $20,000 bond and given a court date of Feb. 9.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

Trend:

OSCE is expected to monitor the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops Feb. 4, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend Feb. 3.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative on the contact line near the village of Ashagi Veysalli of the Fizuli district, the ministry said.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be carried out by the field assistants of OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Peter Svedberg, Jiri Aberle, Simon Tiller and the representative of the OSCE High Level Planning Group, Colonel Tuncay Sevim.

On the opposite side, the monitoring will be conducted by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the field assistants of OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Yevgeny Sharov, Hristo Hristov and the representative of the OSCE High Level Planning Group, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nepokritikh.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Nola parents watch Austin best younger brother Aaron in Padres win

Austin Nola, with one swing of the bat off his brother Aaron, led San Diego to an 8-5 victory over Philadelphia with his family in the stands.
Victoria Wieseman, 19, of Worden, Illinois, is celebrating her new year with a new job as a chemical operator at Sigma-Aldrich in St. Louis.

Wieseman finished the Process Operations Technology (PTEC) program at Lewis and Clark this past fallafter just more than one year in the traditional two-year programall while earning honors each semester.

I am excited to be starting a new job as a chemical operator, Wieseman said. I knew I wanted to work with chemistry, so this program was a great match for me.

A 2014 graduate of Staunton High School, Wieseman came to Lewis and Clarks PTEC program on a recommendation from a high school teacher and has returned to Lewis and Clark this spring to continue working toward a degree in chemical engineering.

I would recommend the program to students who are interested in the processing industry, who are not afraid to work hard, get dirty sometimes, and who like to apply math and science knowledge to their work, she said. The career outlook is good, too.

PTEC Program Coordinator Linda LaCoe said there are employment demands for PTEC graduates, both regionally and nationally.

Our students are highly recruited, and the average graduate can expect to earn an income ranging from $50,000-$80,000 annually, immediately upon completing this two-year degree program, LaCoe said.

PTEC Instructor Gene Peters said Wieseman was an exceptional student who set herself up for success.

Vicky is a dedicated and talented student with a tremendous work ethic, Peters said. She is the type of student that we look for in our program and that employers recruit.

Wieseman said Peters inspired her to work in the field and further her education.

Gene is a great mentor, Wieseman said. He understands the field because he spent many years working in the industry. Gene and all of my instructors have encouraged me to continue my education in chemical engineering. It feels good to already be working in the field while continuing my educational goals.

Wieseman has earned a spot on Lewis and Clarks Presidents List every semester. She has earned several scholarships, including the Phillips66 PTEC Minority Scholarship, the George Oehler Jr. Memorial Scholarship, the Mark Mansholt Memorial Scholarship, the Illinois State Auctioneers Association Scholarship and the Staunton FFA Alumni Association Scholarship. She is a member of the Prairie Youth 4-H Club in Prairietown, Illinois, where she is active in community services. She also is a member of the Staunton FFA Alumni Association.

Learn more about the program at www.lc.edu/program/processop or call the Enrollment Center today at (618) 468-2222.
Music legend Brian Wilson has announced a 2016 world tour to celebrate and perform the iconic album Pet Sounds for a final time, in honor of its 50th anniversary. Originally released on May 16, 1966, Pet Sounds is universally hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time. With more than 70 dates being confirmed, and several previously announced dates selling out in record time, Wilson and his band will be joined by former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin when they kick off the tour this Spring. Fans can expect a live performance of Pet Sounds in its entirety, as well as top hits and fan favorites spanning his 54-year career with The Beach Boys and as a solo artist. For up-to-date information, please visit www.BrianWilson.com.

Brian Wilson is one of popular musics most deeply revered figures, a legendary writer, producer, arranger and performer of some of the most cherished music in pop music history. For more than half a century, fans have marveled at the sheer beauty of the music that springs forth from his imagination into glorious song. Wilson brings this ingenious vision to his own compositions, as well as to those for which he has collaborated, weaving a lush, vibrant tapestry of intricately nuanced vocal harmonies and instrumental arrangements for himself, his bandmates and others.
For the Intelligencer

General Carlton D. Everhart II was honored on January 19th at a reception celebrating his recent appointment as Commander of the United States Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base. The reception was hosted by the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, Civic Progress, Regional Business Council, St. Louis Regional Chamber and the Belle Scott Committee. Approximately 90 people attended the event at the Four Points by Sheraton in Fairview Heights to demonstrate their appreciation for the General and thank him for his service.

Business and civic leaders from across the Bi-State region also heard directly from General Everhart regarding the important work that the Air Mobility Command has been involved in and learned about his distinguished military career, during which he has enjoyed previous engagements at Scott Air Force Base (AFB).
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Anakhanum Hidayatova - Trend:

The OSCE Mink Group co-chairmen will visit the region in the nearest future, James Warlick, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chairman, told Trend Feb. 3.

Warlick said that the Co-Chairs are considering a visit to the region in the near future in order to pursue next steps following the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Switzerland.

"We continue to believe that such dialogue is necessary to bring about a lasting peace," he said.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents held a summit Dec.19 in Bern under the auspices of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.



The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post  Wed, February 3, 2016

Labor unions plan to send 20,000 members to rally in front of the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court on Feb. 6 to protest layoffs and to urge the government to revoke the recently introduced formula for setting minimum wages.

The rally follows the announcement of mass layoffs at companies such Japanese electronics giants Panasonic and Toshiba, which adds pressure on the government to swiftly implement stimulus packages designed to offset the economic slowdown.

'Not only in Jakarta, simultaneous rallies will be held by thousands of workers in Surabaya, Batam, Bandung, Medan, Aceh and Makassar,' the chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI), Said Iqbal, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

PT Panasonic Lighting, with facilities in Cikarang, West Java, and Pasuruan, East Java, as well as PT Toshiba Indonesia in Cikarang have announced the layoff plans to their workers, according to Said.

'It affects 1,700 KSPI members at Panasonic and 970 members at Toshiba. Around 600-700 Panasonic Lighting workers in Pasuruan were to be laid off in December and January, and another 900 to 1,000 workers in Cikarang would follow from January to March,' he said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

Currently, Said continued, the labor union was negotiating with the management of Panasonic and Toshiba on compensation for the workers. Both companies would officially stop operations in March, he said.

Beside those two Japanese companies, Said added, two South Korean electronics companies also shut down operations in January, namely PT Samoin, which had laid off 1,200 workers, and PT Starlink, which had dismissed 500 employees.

This situation, Said argued, sent a negative signal to the public, especially as the Industry Ministry had not been informed about the shut downs. The global slowdown has hit electronics manufacturer hard, curbing domestic purchasing power and hence demand.

'It proves that the economic policy packages issued by the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla administration are ineffective in their implementation. The policy packages only aim to accommodate investors, but in fact they [the investors] choose to wait and see amid the shutdown news,' Said claimed.

The union leader blamed the latest minimum wage formula for causing a drop in purchasing power and curbing demand, which then prompted the manufacturers to halt operations. (ags)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama is scheduled to testify at a court hearing on Thursday in a corruption case concerning the procurement of uninterruptable power supply (UPS) units.

'Yes I will testify,' Ahok confirmed on Wednesday kompas.com reported.

Ahok previously said he was ready to appear at the court to testify against the suspects.

'The prosecutor wants me to be an incriminating witness because I was the one who revealed that there was an unlawful act committed [in the procurement],' he said.

The governor is scheduled to appear at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, at 1 p.m. to give his version of how the UPS units were included in the revised 2014 city budget.

Two Jakarta civil servants are standing trial in the case, namely Alex Usman, former head of the infrastructure division at the West Jakarta Education agency, and Zaenal Soleman, the former head of the Central Jakarta Education Agency.

In November, the National Police also named Fahmi Zulfikar, a Hanura Party councilor and member of the council's Commission E overseeing people's welfare, and M. Firmansyah, a Democratic Party councilor during the 2009 to 2014 period, suspects in the case.

Fahmi and Firmansyah are accused of helping to approve the UPS procurement in the revised 2014 city budget at a price of Rp 6 billion (US$433,839) per unit for each school in exchange for a 7 percent commission from the total budget allocation of Rp 300 billion for the project. (bbn)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim, Ina Parlina and Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

With the government giving conflicting statements on a plan to amend the Corruption Law, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday rejected a draft revision of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK that was recently proposed by the House of Representatives.



The antigraft body said the proposed draft, if approved, could allow corrupt government officials, including lawmakers, to escape sting operations in the future.



The antigraft body said the draft, which would oblige the KPK to obtain wiretapping permission from a to-be-established supervisory body, whose members would be selected by the President, could lead to information leaks, which could in turn botch secret operations.



In the draft bill, members of the powerful supervisory body would come from outside the KPK and could have direct or indirect affiliations with political parties or businesspeople as well as individuals targeted by KPK investigations.



'KPK [leaders] unanimously agree to reject the draft requiring wiretapping permits be granted by the supervisory body,' KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.



Under the current law, which gives the KPK authority to independently launch wiretapping activities, the antigraft body has arrested dozens of lawmakers.



Since the current House members took office on Oct. 20, 2014, the KPK has arrested three lawmakers, two of whom were members of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the initiator of the draft.



The arrest of the PDI-P's Damayanti Wisnu Putranti in January reportedly implicated around 24 House lawmakers, who allegedly accepted bribes from a businessman that Damayanti helped to win a House endorsed construction project in Maluku.



Meanwhile, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said leaders of the antigraft body would meet with the House on Thursday to officially express their rejection of the bill.



'We are invited by the House to come on Thursday. We will tell them which articles should remain in place and which should be improved in order to strengthen the KPK,' Agus said.



The draft bill would also give the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO), two law enforcement bodies with dismal track records on graft prosecution, more authority as the bill mandates the KPK to hand over to them all graft cases that caused state losses below Rp 25 billion (US$1.8 million), the minimum requirement for the KPK to launch an investigation.



The current law allows the KPK to prosecute state officials whose policies caused minimum losses of Rp 1 billion. The draft also stipulates that the wiretapping permits from the supervisory body would expire three months after issuance and could only be renewed once.



This stipulation could jeopardize the handling of high-profile graft cases that need months or even years of surveillance before the arrest of suspects.



The supervisory body would also have the right to issue permits on raids in KPK investigations.



The draft further regulates that the President would have full authority on the appointment of the five supervisory body members, who would be tasked with evaluating the performance of KPK leaders every year.



'The scheme allows the government to watch the KPK's prosecution including secret operations that could involve members of the executive, which would influence the KPK's job,' former KPK advisor Abdullah Hehamahua said.



Apart from granting the KPK the authority to stop investigations, the House also wants KPK prosecutors to have the authority to reject investigation dossiers from KPK investigators and to declare investigations be stopped under certain circumstances.



Presidential spokesman Johan Budi said President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo remained consistent with his stance that 'the government would withdraw from the deliberation' should the amendment aim to weaken the KPK.



In contrast, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, who is a PDI-P politician, said the President was committed to making the KPK a powerful institution through the revision, but the government would stick to the four points of revision it earlier proposed.



The four points are to allow the KPK to have independent investigators, to establish a team to monitor the KPK, to ensure the KPK may only conduct wiretapping after obtaining permits from a monitoring team and to allow the KPK to stop an investigation into a suspect if the person died.

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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has urged for the acceleration of development in ten of the nation's key tourist destinations this year.

Breakthroughs in regulations as well as field works were needed to achieve fast results, said Jokowi during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The ten destinations are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mount Bromo in East Java, Mandalika in South Lombok, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Morotai in North Maluku.

Especially for Lake Toba, Jokowi requested that development of seaports, airports and roads be sped up to increase accessibility and connectivity.

Several ministers, including Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Haldimujono and Tourism Minister Arief Yahya, previously visited Lake Toba and Jokowi said he expected quick results.

"We should also prepare market branding, international-standard services as well as classy arts and cultural attractions with good choreography and interesting designs," said Jokowi.

Rizal said development plans for Lake Toba included shortening the length of the trip from Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency from four hours to only 1.5 hours.

Afterwards, the destination would be managed under a single tourism authority as the government aims to make Lake Toba the Monaco of Asia, Rizal said.

Previously, the government revealed its plans to make Lake Toba the country's first single authority tourism site, with the exception of Nusa Dua in Bali, as it aims to simplify infrastructure development and the management of tourism sites in the future.

A presidential regulation associated with the plan is expected to be signed by early 2016.

Indonesia reportedly welcomed 10.4 million foreign tourists and recorded an estimated foreign exchange income of Rp 144 trillion (US$10.5 billion) throughout 2015. (kes)
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Linkedin Muhammad Farid (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Several people were engaged in prayers at the Jin De Yuan or Kim Tek Ie temple in North Jakarta.



The Dharma Bhakti, the Indonesian name for Kim Tek Ie temple, caught fire in March 2015 and the ruins of its main chamber were covered with zinc sheets to prevent people from entering the location as the charred walls, wooden pillars and roof could easily collapse.



'It reopened not long after the fire,' an old man explained.



Several prayer chambers and dozens of kimsins (effigies of gods) used to be inside the temple area. Before the fire, the temple had a solemn atmosphere, with the walls, altars and pillars dominated by red and golden colors and decorated with classic Chinese ornaments and carvings.



There was also calligraphy and altars, bells and incense holders (hiolo), which were made during the 18th and 19th centuries.



However, most of them were destroyed by the fire ' only a few were saved, including the kimsin of Kwan Im, the Goddess of Mercy.





The fire was a blow to the culture and history of the city and country. The temple was built in 1650 in the Glodok area by a Chinese lieutenant Kwee Hoen or Guo Xun-Gan to honor Goddess Kwan Im, initially giving the temple the name Kwan Im Teng or Kwan Im Pavilion.



Kwan Im Teng once was burnt and destroyed by the Dutch following the Chinese community's rebellion in 1740 but it was rebuilt in 1755 by Chinese captain Oey Tjie, who named the temple Jin De Yuan or Temple of Golden Virtue.



Following the latest fire, the general secretary of the temple's Wihara Dharma Bhakti Foundation Mulia Soenardi said they had met Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama to discuss the rebuilding plan.



Rebuilding the Jin De Yuan in its original design was a complex project as it required sufficient information about the original interior and exterior designs as well as the initial ornaments, carvings, kimsins and worship objects.



It is, however, an important effort to preserve not only the cultural and historical heritage of Jakarta, but also the identity of the city ' showing that it has long been a melting pot of different cultures.



'Pak Ahok said that the Jakarta administration would ease administrative procedures for the rebuilding process. He also ensured that road expansion plans in this area would not affect the temple as Jin De Yuan is a cultural heritage building,' said Mulia.



'We did not ask for government funding, we will rebuild the temple with funds from worshippers instead.'



While showing the pictures of Jin De Yuan during the 18th and 19th centuries, he said that the temple would be rebuilt with its original design and that construction would commence after the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 8 this year.



' Photos by Muhammad Farid
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Linkedin Khoirul Amin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Automakers are asking the government to drop duties imposed on steel products widely used in car manufacturing to help locally made vehicles become more competitive.



Most car producers in the country still require imported steel products such as hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil.



The government imposes antidumping measures on imported steel products to protect local producers, but the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) is demanding exemptions for steel products used in car manufacturing, insisting the supply from local steel makers is not sufficient.



'Many car manufacturers import certain steel products from China, Japan and South Korea to keep their production costs low,' Gaikindo chairman Jongkie Sugiarto said recently.



However, with production costs forced up by the antidumping measures, Indonesia-made cars might lose their competitiveness against Southeast Asian peers Malaysia and Thailand, he said.



Finance Minister Regulation No. 224/2014 on antidumping measures on imported cold-rolled coil from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Vietnam has been implemented since the end of 2014.



The regulation stipulates a range of import duties on steel products made by certain producers in the listed countries.



Cold-rolled coil produced by Chinese Wuhan Iron & Steel Company Ltd. and Qinhuangdao Tongye Cold Rolled Strip Steel Co. Ltd., for example, is subject to 13.6 percent and 43.5 percent import duties, respectively.



Jongkie said his association had discussed the matter with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and that there had been a follow-up from both the Trade Ministry and the Finance Ministry.



Trade Ministry anti-dumping committee (KADI) chief Ernawati said on Monday that her committee was still investigating whether the measure lasting until March this year ' would be revoked.



'We're still investigating alleged ongoing dumping practices on cold-rolled coil from Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, and the final decision is expected to be made in the first quarter of this year,' she said.



Ernawati said the decision to revoke or maintain the measure would depend on the findings.



Meanwhile, Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA) executive director Hidayat Triseputro said many of the association's members had noticed a significant drop in demand from local automakers following the implementation of free-trade agreements with a number of steel-producing countries.



His association, he said, expected the government to retain the antidumping measures on a number of steel products, as a lot of imported steel products were sold below fair market price. Any revision to the policy should be based on findings from the investigation, he said.



'I think what the government needs to do is to optimize local production for both hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil, as well as encouraging automakers to use local products,' Hidayat added.



Demand for steel products from the national auto industry is estimated at around 1 million tons a year, with hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil making up 50 percent of demand each.
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Linkedin Andrian Bagus Santoso (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Developed countries commonly have a significant amount of entrepreneurs in their population. Entrepreneurs are necessary as a crucial driver of economic growth. They also provide job opportunities, so we do not have to rely on what is provided by the government or corporate sector. A dynamic business environment also stimulates business innovation, especially technological innovation, as business is required to be more efficient.



The 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report shows that Indonesia is on the right track to achieve the desired entrepreneurial rate. The report stated that around 14.2 percent of adult Indonesians surveyed are or will be involved in entrepreneurial activities (also known as total early-stage entrepreneurial activity or TEA), such as establishing startups or managing newly formed enterprises.



This number is surprisingly higher than other Asian countries which score an average of only 13 percent. It is even higher than the 13.4 percent TEA score of the US, which is famous for its developed entrepreneurial ecosystem.



On the other hand Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry data shows that the entrepreneurial rate in Indonesia is only 1.65 percent of the total population, or roughly 2.45 percent of the total adult population to give clearer comparison with GEM's data. There are many controversies among academics and the government about which number represents the best entrepreneurship conditions in Indonesia. This is actually somewhat undesirable, as not knowing exactly where we are could lead to misguided policies.



This article will stick to using the GEM data because it is comparable with other countries. The 14 percent TEA rate in Indonesia is quite high for a developing country, but does it mean Indonesia has a sound foundation of entrepreneurship? Let's dip further into the report.



There are two more indicators that we should highlight here: motivational drivers and job-growth expectations. GEM divides entrepreneurial motivation into two drivers. The first one is necessity-driven, which means individuals start businesses because there are no better options to obtain resources for living. The second one is opportunity-driven, which means individuals start businesses based on recognized opportunities.



Furthermore, in the survey opportunity-driven entrepreneurs were asked whether they started their business to earn money or to be more independent. This group was classified as improvement driven entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, job-growth expectations shows how many job opportunities will likely be created within five years of business establishment.



Indonesia's motivational driver is mostly opportunity-driven, reaching 78.57 percent of Indonesia's TEA, while necessity-driven amounts to 20.52 percent. These figures seem normal, but they are higher if compared with other ASEAN countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. These figures are also higher compared with developed countries such as the US.



Interestingly, Indonesia's improvement-driven entrepreneurs scored a TEA of only 37.95 percent, which is significantly lower compared with Singapore (70.81 percent), Malaysia (63.99 percent), Thailand (71.23 percent) and the US (66.93 percent). These findings mean that most Indonesian entrepreneurs are reluctant to improve or scale-up their business. They seem pleased to stay as micro, small or medium businesses.



It is also supported by low job-growth expectation figures, which show that 46.5 percent of TEA expect to open zero to five jobs, 4.6 percent expect to open six to 19 jobs and only 1.2 percent expect to open more than 20 jobs within 5 years.



These figures are clearly lower compared with other ASEAN and developed countries, which tend to have higher job-growth expectations especially for the category of six to 19 new job opportunities.



So how can Indonesian entrepreneurs become high-growth entrepreneurs? For this we can learn from the US, which has a long history of entrepreneurship and has experienced broad economic threats. However, they seem to understand that building sound entrepreneurship is not solely the government's task. Collaboration between the government, academics, the private sector and society at large is needed.



The US government has produced a series of policies to foster entrepreneurship. However, one of the most important of these was the US allowing immigrants to take part in businesses, causing dynamic assimilation in innovation and technology from various countries.



In 2009, up to 52 percent start-ups in Silicon Valley were founded by immigrants, and up to a quarter of all America's science and technology start-ups had somebody born abroad as their CEO or CTO. Right now, most US states are focusing on reducing the barriers to founding a business, which has resulted in a seventh ranking for the US in the 2015 World Bank Doing Business Index.



Academics also have a part to play in developing entrepreneurship in the US, as they act as economic engines with the proliferation of science parks, technology offices, business incubators and venture funds. Many tech-based start-ups are founded at universities, one of the most famous examples being how Stanford University supported the development of Google.



The private sector can also support entrepreneurship through business collaborations. One example is the ease with which entrepreneurs can access credit. The US' good performance in this regard is reflected in its second-place ranking in the 2015 World Bank Doing Business Index.



Besides the government, academics and the private sector, wider society also plays a significant role in supporting entrepreneurship. US citizens consider being an entrepreneur as a prestigious job, not a last option. Their perception of new business opportunities are high, as shown in the GEM report with more than 50 percent having positive opinions. Various business communities are also easily accessible, so start-ups can grow and learn from their predecessors.



Building a more vibrant entrepreneurship environment is necessary for Indonesia. The government, academics, private sector and society all have their own role to play in fostering entrepreneurship in Indonesia, and we can learn from the US' experiences.



The government should build more solid collaboration among ministries as they implement their own entrepreneurial programs. There are more than 20 ministries that have entrepreneurial programs. But a lack of coordination has resulted in many similar programs and participants.



Academics can start giving early entrepreneurial education, even in junior high school. Universities should act as business endorsers rather than just ivory towers. The private sector could contribute through effectively channeling their CSR funds, establishing business development services (BDS) or by acting as business incubators and embracing entrepreneurs as a part of their business chains. Meanwhile, society could improve its perception of entrepreneurs and start seeing them in a more positive light.



This would be very achievable as Indonesians are naturally creative and accustomed to limited resources, which are characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Business incubators are the most effective way to develop high-growth entrepreneurs, since they are mentored intensively with various business, management and technical knowledge. Business incubators can also act as a funding source for start-ups. Collaboration among the government, academics, the private sector and society is needed to build effective business incubators.

_________________________________

The writer is a researcher at Mandiri Institute
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued a fatwa against the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar), declaring it a heretical organization that spreads deviant religious teachings, but calling on Muslims not to take the law into their own hands.



Based on its findings, the MUI's edict commission concluded that Gafatar was a successor to the Al Qidayah al-Islamiyah group that the MUI had previously declared heretical.



"The Gafatar is deviant as its ideology unifies Islamic, Christian and Judaic teachings, which the MUI describes as syncretism," MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin said during a press conference on Wednesday.



People who follow Gafatar and accepted its teachings were thus considered apostates (murtad) and infidels based on Islamic teachings, he said, adding that they should repent if they considered themselves Muslims.



As for those involved in the movement but who did not accept its teachings, Ma'ruf called on them to leave the group and return to their communities.



He stressed that the government should assist them and take measures to protect them from discrimination and violence.



Meanwhile, MUI edict commission chairman Hasanuddin AF urged the Muslim community not to commit violence or discrimination against Gafatar members.



'Don't steal the property and wealth of the former members of Gafatar,' said Hasanuddin, adding that communities were obliged to accept those who wanted to return to society.



'Furthermore, the government should protect them, particularly those who have lost their property, wealth, lands and jobs,' he added.



Before issuing the fatwa, the MUI conducted research in Yogyakarta, Aceh and South Sumatra to gather accurate information on Gafatar, which was behind multiple missing-person reports in recent months; it later transpired the people involved were not missing, but had moved away to join the sect-like group.



Apart from carrying out research in the three provinces, the MUI central board also obtained information about Gafatar from its local office in North Maluku, Central Sulawesi, West Kalimantan and other offices in Java.



While Gafatar has declared itself a social organization unaffiliated to any religion, the MUI discovered deviant religious teachings in its activities, according to MUI edict commission secretary Asrorun Niam.



"One of the teachings demanded recognition of their spiritual leader, Ahmad Musadeq, as a messiah," Asrorun said, referring to the founder of Al Qiyadah al-Islamiyah.



Musadeq was sentenced to four years in prison by the South Jakarta District Court in 2008 for religious defamation after he declared himself to be a new prophet.



The fatwa also stipulated the mechanism the government should use to protect people from deviant religious teachings and the legal actions that should be imposed on those who lead people astray with false theology, Asrorun added. (bbn)(+)
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, aims to attract more clients for its aircraft maintenance services after receiving international recognition from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).



The new FAA status would open up the company's maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) business to the wider market, said GMF president director Richard Budihadianto.



He is targeting for the number of third-party aircraft maintained by GMF to increase to 40 percent of its total business, from 30 percent at present. Aircraft owned by parent company Garuda Indonesia account for the remainder of the company's maintenance works.



An FAA audit carried out between Jan. 22-26 resulted in the approval of GMF as a low-risk aircraft maintenance company, an improvement from the company's previous medium-risk status.



The company also received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval for its GMF Design Approval Organization (DOA) in November 2014.



'A lot of foreign operators have asked whether the facility has been approved by EASA or FAA,' he told reporters.



Located at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, west of Jakarta, GMF boasts four hangars and other facilities over nearly 100 hectares of land managed by the company.



It also operates the world's biggest narrow body hangar called Hangar 4, which can serve up to 16 aircraft.



Richard said GMF would expand its capacity by optimizing the use of its existing hangars and building more hangars in the future. However, he did not elaborate on the details.



Hangar 1 would be used only for third-party aircraft, while Hangar 3 would be used only for wide-body aircraft and Hangar 4 would become fully operational, he added.



The efforts are expected to optimize GMF's business while at the same time netting more third-party clients through contracts that will be sought at the Singapore Air Show to be held a couple of weeks from now.



The increase in third-party contracts is also expected to make the company reach US$368 million in revenue this year, a 21 percent increase from last year's $304 million and higher than its $282 million target.



'For the bottom line, we expect to get $50 million [in net profits] this year,' Richard said.



With the current Open Sky policy opening up Southeast Asia's aviation industry, effective following the 2015 implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community, GMF plans to bring more of the region's aircraft to the facility, as well as open a facility in another country.



'I hope we will open a facility abroad in the next two years. It will be in Asia or the Middle East,' he said.



Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia welcomed two more new aircraft on Monday, including an Airbus A330-300, the first of its kind to be received this year, as well as a Boeing 777-300ER the company ordered in 2013.



The company plans to receive 23 new aircraft this year, including eight Airbus A320 for its low-cost arm Citilink.



Garuda president director Arif Wibowo said that the new planes would help the company expand its medium and long haul flights this year.
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The government has ironed out overlapping problems related to the light-rail transit (LRT) project, including routes that clash with the high-speed railway project, aiming to complete the project before the 18th Asian Games in 2018.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli said that several technical problems related to the project had to be resolved, such as financing and overlapping routes and time frames.

"Some of these technical issues will be solved. A presidential regulation [Perpres] has been released that mandates that the LRT project be finished to support the Asian Games," Rizal told reporters after a coordination meeting on the LRT project in Jakarta on Wednesday.

President Joko Widodo officially launched construction of the LRT in September 2015 as part of the mass transportation integration plan, along with existing Transjakarta bus lines, commuter trains, and the mass rapid transit (MRT) system, which is also currently under construction.

National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) head Sofyan A. Djalil said the high-speed railway developer PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) had agreed to buy land in West Bekasi, which was previously allocated for the LRT project.

"We will make minor changes to the LRT route," he said, adding that land acquisition would be carried out by KCIC.

The government has appointed state-owned railway company Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) as the operator of the LRT project to speed up construction, according to Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan.

"The president wants to assign KAI as the operator to avoid a long tender bidding process," he said.

The project will be divided into two phases. The first will connect Cibubur to Cawang, East Bekasi to Cawang and Cawang to Dukuh Atas (Sudirman area) with 42.1 kilometers of rail and 18 stations.

The second will extend the network a further 41.5 kilometers, adding routes from Cibubur to Bogor, Dukuh Atas to Palmerah and Senayan as well as Palmerah to Grogol. Both phases are projected to be finished by 2018.

State-owned contractor Adhi Karya, which was appointed by the government to handle the project, has prepared Rp 2.75 trillion (US$193 million) in cash as initial capital for the project. (ags)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tangerang  Wed, February 3, 2016

Former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, who is currently serving a seven year prison sentence for graft, has been ordered to clean the Tangerang Women's Penitentiary in Banten for a month as a disciplinary punishment for keeping a cell phone, an official has said.



Prison head Murbihastuti said that the Tangerang Police raided the prison on Monday evening to comb for drugs among prisoners. Instead of finding drugs, they found numerous banned items, such as cell phones, knives and shavers.



'As a punishment, she has to help our staff clean the prison for a month,' Murbihastuti said on Tuesday as quoted by wartakotalive.com.



Thirty-five other prisoners also received disciplinary punishments.
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Following an 'extraordinary situation' in Tangerang regency, where 13 people died of dengue fever in January alone, Greater Jakarta is on high alert for the disease.



Jakarta and South Tangerang have reported an increase in dengue cases, 38 percent and 11.34 percent, respectively.



Ni Wayan Manik Kusmayoni, disease control and environmental health (P2PL) division head of the Tangerang Health Agency, said that by the end of January, the regency had seen 270 residents infected with dengue fever, 13 of whom died from the disease.



'Compared to a similar report in the same month last year, the number of cases has jumped by twofold by January. We have set an extraordinary situation status for dengue fever,' Manik told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.



Manik said the situation had been predicted as records showed that the regency had been seeing a significant increase in dengue fever cases every three years.



She said the last significant jump of dengue fever cases was recorded in 2013. Manik, however, did not recall the total case number in that period. Aware of the three-year cycle, she said, the agency had taken preventive measures to reduce infection cases. She could not explain the reason behind the cycle.



She said the agency had distributed circulars to community health centers (Puskesmas) and neighborhood administrations in the region so they could prepare for the rainy season, during which dengue fever cases mostly occurred.



Manik said that the agency had been disseminating information to other parties, including Muslim preachers.



'We hope these religious leaders explain to others the importance of maintaining a clean and healthy environment during the rainy season,' Manik added.



South Tangerang Health Agency P2PL division head Tulus Muladiyono said that the region had yet to declare an extraordinary status over the outbreak. However, he said the city had seen an increase in infection cases.



Tulus said that by the end of January, the city had seen 108 cases of dengue fever, 11.34 percent higher compared to the same period last year, when 97 residents were infected.



Tulus went on to say that from 108 residents infected this year, two patients died. His agency had also distributed free Abate powder to residents.



Similar to Tangerang regency, Tulus claimed that South Tangerang had a five-year dengue fever cycle, with the last significant increase in dengue patients seen in 2011.



Jakarta Health Agency head Koesmedi Priharto said that Jakarta had yet to set an extraordinary status for dengue fever although it had been on alert due to a high increase in dengue fever cases.



Koesmedi explained that early this year, the agency had seen 611 cases of dengue fever, an increase from 443 cases in 2015.



He said that Jakarta had not experienced a regular cycle for dengue because he believed infections only occurred because of lacksadaical mosquito monitoring measures.



Unlike the three other regions, Tangerang city saw a decrease in dengue infections, said Tangerang Health Agency head Rostiwi. She said that by the end of January, Tangerang city had seen 20 cases, a decrease from the 25 cases recorded in the same month of last year.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

After achieving his dream of starring in a movie last year, actor Dimas Anggara is aiming to transform himself into a religious man this year.



'Each year, every man aims to better himself. This year, my resolution is to practice my religion,' he told tribunnews.com on Monday.



'Last year, I dreamed of starring in movies. Thank God, it came true,' he added.



As a part of his resolution, the 27-year-old actor planned to carry out umrah (minor haj) this year. He has prepared a list of prayers for his upcoming visit to Mecca.



'Certainly, I will pray for the wellbeing of myself, my parents and the whole family,' Dimas, who starred in the drama London Love Story, said.



'I also hope that God will give me strength to overcome all challenges that I may face in the future,' he added.
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Linkedin Erika Anindita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The House of Representatives named nine new commissioners of the Indonesian Ombudsman in a plenary meeting at the House in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.



In the meeting led by House Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon, the House agreed to accept the results of a selection process to select new Ombudsman commissioners held by the House's Commission II overseeing home affairs.



" Commission II has chosen and determined the chairman, deputy chairman and seven members of the Indonesian Ombudsman through a discussion," Commission II chairman Rambe Kamaruzzaman said during the meeting on Tuesday.



Amzulian Rifai will head the Ombudsman for the next five years, with Lely Pelitasari Soebekty as the deputy chairman. The seven remaining members are Adrianus Eliasta Meliala, Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih, Ahmad Su'adi, Alvin Lie Ling Pao, Dadang Suparjo Suharmawijaya, Laode Ida and Ninik Rahayu.



Speaking separately, Amzulian said he aimed to grow Indonesia's reporting culture and hoped the public would become more aware of what was happening in public life.



"For those who are disappointed [over public service delivery], please don't keep your dissatisfaction to yourselves," Amzulian said after the inauguration ceremony of the new Ombudsman commissioners on Tuesday.



He said the Ombudsman also aimed to collaborate more closely with the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry given the latter's strategic position in managing governance-related matters.



Of 557 House members , 352 attended the plenary meeting. (ebf)(+)
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Linkedin Erika Anindita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The House of Representatives ethics council is to look into allegations that Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu assaulted an aide on Jan. 21.



'We'll begin to discuss it next week. We have to talk internally first before we talk to the National Police,' council member Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Wednesday,



Lawyers from the Women's Legal Aid (LBH Apik) institute on Tuesday visited the ethics council to report the assault case alleged by Dita Aditia Ismawati against her boss Masinton.



During the meeting with the council, LBH Apik handed over several pieces of evidence including Dita's report, the case chronology and a photo of Dita, according to LBH Apik's Jakarta branch director, Ratna Batara Murti.



Apart from reporting Masinton to the police, Ratna said, her institution also needed to report the case to the House's ethics council because the council had the right to summon and interrogate a lawmaker in a criminal case reported to the council.



'We reported the case to the council so that council members could question [Masinton],' Ratna told a press briefing on Tuesday, adding that the council should not allow any intervention by political parties in dealing with the criminal case.



Accompanied by her lawyers, Dita visited the LBH Apik office and the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) on Monday to seek support. Dita earlier reported her employer to the National Police for assaulting her twice on Jan. 21 in his car.



Masinton has denied the allegations, saying the scar on Dita's face was unintentionally caused by the driver of the vehicle. While Dita says only she and Masinton were in the car at the time, the legislator claims there was a third person, namely the driver. Masinton has also said that Dita is his personal assistant, rather than an expert adviser, as she has claimed.



Dasco stressed that the council would coordinate with the National Police to discuss the issue, assuring reporters that that the House would punish Masinton if he was found guilty by the court.



'We need to coordinate with National Police investigators to synchronize the process at the House's ethics council,' he added. (bbn)(+)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Indonesia will step up preventive measures against the Zika virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) declares a global emergency over its spread.

"I emphasize the anticipatory measures and steps that should become synergistic action across all sectors," said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a limited Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The supervision at the entrance of the country also needs to be improved to prevent the possibility of this virus being brought in from countries where it exists, the President added.

Jokowi reminded the need for early detection as an initial step to monitor the virus' spread through bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector for dengue. Therefore, Jokowi continued, a campaign to mobilize the public in fighting against mosquitoes should be strengthened.

"Educate the community in preventing the virus' spread and provide a warning to citizens who want to visit the countries that are already infected with the Zika virus," he stated.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani stated that the anticipatory measures for the Zika virus are similar to those deployed for dengue fever, centering on eliminating potential mosquito breeding places such as those found in bathtubs, sinks and water tanks.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek said the government had warned Indonesian nationals against traveling to areas prone to the virus. "We do not give a travel warning, but a travel advisory. The people who want to go abroad to endemic areas should be careful, especially women who are pregnant," Nina said.

This warning is given due to suggestions that if a pregnant woman is infected, her child could be born with a devastating birth defect called microcephaly: a shrunken head and brain.

The symptoms of the Zika virus are similar to dengue fever. The most common symptoms of the Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The illness is usually mild with the symptoms lasting a week.

Nila explained Indonesia has a history of Zika infections dating back to 1978 and 1981. According to several studies, Zika was found in Klaten, Middle Java and West Nusa Tenggara. Nina said the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology reported a Zika infection was found among 105 dengue specimens the institute took during an outbreak in Jambi last year. (bbn)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The Jakarta administration has blacklisted more than 100 contractor companies and banned them from joining tender bidding for city projects this year on the back of the bad track records they notched up in 2015, according to a high-ranking city official.

The 144 contractor companies were blacklisted due to poor behavior during bids for a project or insufficient implementation if they were awarded the tender, Jakarta Goods and Services Procurement Agency head Blessmiyanda said on Wednesday.

"The penalty is for two years. So blacklisted companies cannot make bids for national or Jakarta city projects," he told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday but refused to give further details on the names of the companies.

The companies were found to have submitted fake documents or conspired in order to win a project. Moreover, there were also companies that did not carry out projects in accordance with their tender proposal, Blessmiyanda said.

Among the blacklisted companies were all of those involved in the graft-tainted procurement of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units, which led to two city councilors and two civil servants being named suspects by the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).

Blessmiyanda urged for contractor companies to show integrity if they wanted to cooperate with the city administration in the future.

The Procurement Agency aimed to release Rp 7.7 trillion (US$550 million) of new contracts before May for city's massive low-cost apartment, school and community health center projects, he added. (rin)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

As competition among political parties to win voter support for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election heats up, politically wired businessman Sandiaga Uno has thrown his hat into the ring.



Sandiaga is among eight hopefuls the Gerindra Party will review before choosing one as its official candidate for next year's election. Gerindra is expected to choose a governor and vice governor candidate ticket within the next six months, and with his vast experience as a businessman, Sandiaga believes he is the man to resolve the capital's myriad social problems.



"Businessmen are proven to be able to offer solutions in Jakarta. They have been able to provide jobs, reduce employment and ease transportation obstacles. Just take a look at Go-Jek, a solution to the ongoing traffic problem in Jakarta, for example," Sandiaga said on Tuesday.



He was, moreover, an expert on markets, he claimed, as a member of the Market Vendor Association. The rise in the prices of meat, spices and other commodities were mostly caused by weak logistics and market management, he added.



Sandiaga said a long supply chain and vendors taking overlarge margins were among the causes of skyrocketing commodity prices, promising that were he elected governor, he would take measures to address this.



Recent surveys reveal that incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama remains the man to beat, though competition is tightening. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency's (BKMG) warning that rains will peak this month establish a prime test of his governorship; if he is seen to handle expected flooding competently, his candidacy next year will be all the stronger.



"We will see in the next two to three months. Personally I don't want Jakarta to suffer from flooding again," Sandiaga said.



Asked about his running mate, he claimed he had no preference as to whether the other member of his ticket was a businessman, politician or academic.



"I will follow the mechanism of the party," Sandiaga said. (ebf)(+)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The Jakarta Police had arrested more than 100 drug suspects in two weeks of raids, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Jakarta Police officers conducted intensive drug raids leading to the arrests of 135 people in 106 drug abuse cases from from Jan 19 to 31 in the capital city, according to deputy Jakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Nandang Jumatra.

One Hong Kong citizen and four Taiwanese citizens were among those detained.

Officers confiscated 23.1 kilograms of marijuana, 10,600 ecstasy pills and 6.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, locally known as sabu-sabu. Sixty sharp weapons, sickles, air soft guns and bongs were also confiscated over the course of the operation.

In total, the evidence was estimated to be worth Rp 11.6 billion ($ 846,407), Nandang said on Tuesday.

The suspects have all been charged under the Narcotics Law, with a maximum penalty of death.

Jakarta Police narcotics unit head Sr. Comr. Eko Danianto said the operation had targeted areas known to be drug hot spots, including Kampung Ambon, Rawa Bebek Cakung and Kampung Bahari.

"This operation is high profile and involves very many officers," Eko said in a press conference at the Jakarta Police headquarters.

The force is set to follow up the operation with raids on prisons, targeting drug transactions and abuse among inmates.

"More raids will be carried out to combat the distribution of drugs in Jakarta," Eko said.

A police officer and police informant died during a drug raid in the infamous Berlan area of East Jakarta on Jan. 18 after a gang of alleged drug dealers attacked police officers attempting to arrest a suspect. (rin)
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Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang  Wed, February 3, 2016

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) officers have raided a warehouse in Jepara, Central Java, where they seized 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from China.



BNN officers arrested four Pakistanis and four Indonesians at the warehouse operated by CV Jepara Raya Internasional in Pekalongan village last week.



BNN Central Java chief Brig. Gen. Amrin Remico said the suspects socialized with residents of Jepara, located 76 kilometers northeast of the province's capital, Semarang.



'Just look at Tahunan district, many furniture warehouses can be found on the side of the road. Many container trucks are also found there, so residents are not suspicious and do not expect meth to be stashed inside one of the warehouses in Pekalongan village, Batealit district,' said Amrin recently.



Residents were also shocked to learn that suspect Pakistani Muhammad Riaz, known as Mr. Jane and married to an Indonesian, had been arrested on suspicion of being a member of an international drug syndicate.



A resident, Suprihatin, said she never suspected that the warehouse next to her house was being used to store a large amount of drugs.



'I sometimes saw people going inside carrying furniture. I saw nothing suspicious,' Suprihatin said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.



The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) launched in July 2012 the Jepara furniture map in English to promote the area's industry to the public, especially foreign tourists.



During last week's raid, BNN officers found 194 portable made-in-China Zhouma brand power generators stashed with class A meth.



Authorities have dismantled 94 of the 194 generators, each of them filled with 1.5 to 1.9 kilograms of meth. The police have named eight people suspects, four of them Pakistani citizens (Faiq, Amran Malik, Muhammad Riaz and Toriq) and four Indonesians (Didi Triyono, Yulian, Tommy and Kristiadi).



Amrin said BNN initially received information from the US Drug Enforcement Administration on a plan to smuggle drugs from China to Indonesia via the sea. BNN immediately joined forces with the customs and excise directorate general, which then monitored all cargo entering ports across the country.



'The number of containers obviously reached thousands. We didn't know which port the contraband would go to. We all worked hard and were eventually led to Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang. From the thousands of containers entering Tanjung Emas, we eventually found the container filled with generators from China stashed with the contraband,' said Amrin.



BNN and the customs and excise directorate general continued to monitor the container that entered the port on Dec. 31. It was sent from China by Shen Zhen Yang Feng Industrial in China on Dec. 17 to CV BT in Semarang. It contained 278 boxes of portable power generators and air filters. The consignment was only picked up on Jan. 15.



A warehouse in Jepara was previously used by an international drug syndicate in 2009, when police found two meth factories in Kauman and Mulyoharjo subdistricts in Kota district.



To prevent drug trafficking and restrict the movement of drug dealers, the Central Java BNN has routinely conducted raids at nightspots and urine tests at schools for students and airports for pilots and flight attendants, as well as at government offices.
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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The government's plan to restore at least 2 million hectares of peatland destroyed through decades of mismanagement by oil palm plantations will likely face a setback, especially on account of a lack of high-resolution peatland maps.



Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) head Priyadi Kardono said on Tuesday that the newly established Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) would have to wait for the agency to boost the resolution of the national peatland map before it could kick off the restoration in four priority areas.



'For the four peatland areas [planned to be restored first by the BRG], we will boost the resolution of the map to 1:5,000,' Priyadi said in Jakarta, adding that BIG expected to finish the map by the end of the year.



He said that the BIG would soon begin mapping the four peatland areas severely damaged by this year's forest fires: Pulang Pisau regency in Central Kalimantan, Ogan Komering Ilir regency and Musi Banyuasin regency, both in South Sumatra and Meranti regency in Riau, seeing as how the four areas were prioritized by the government to be restored.



BIG's thematic geospatial information deputy, Nurwadjedi Fahmi, said that the current national peatland map had a scale of 1:250,000.



'Our current peatland map is a compilation of various maps, obtained mostly from desk study. Our field survey [to map peatland] needs improvement, covering only around 5 percent [of the country's total peatland area]. So its not surprising that our map lacks in accuracy,' he said on Tuesday. 'That's why our map only has a resolution of 1:250,000.'



The government plans to restore damaged protected-category peatland by pumping in sufficient water to restore dampness.



If a peatland area has been taken over by oil palm trees, the government plans to begin the restoration by blocking the canals that are built by palm oil producers to drain all the water out from the peatland.



Such a low quality map will make it difficult for BRG to carry out its job, a crucial element of the government's attempt to combat the annual forest fires.



'If you want to manage peatland with a map that lacks detail, it will be difficult. How can you make a good canal blocking if you don't know the contour [of the area]? In which direction the water will go?' Priyadi said.



A more detailed map is needed to determine the category of individual peatland areas, separating them into either protected or cultivated.



To boost the resolution of the map, BIG plans to use light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology, which is more expensive than using satellite images.



'If we use a high-resolution satellite image like IKONOS, we still couldn't display three dimensional images. That's why we're using LiDAR,' Nurwadjedi said.



The cost of mapping using LiDAR is estimated to be much higher than using satellites.



BIG has also launched a competition called the Indonesian Peat Prize, aiming to find a more accurate and faster way to map the extent and thickness of peatland.



The winner of the competition, to be announced in fall 2017, will receive a US$1 million prize. The winner's method will be used to revise the national standard for mapping Indonesian peatland.



BRG head Nazir Foead said on Tuesday that his agency would use the current map despite its poor resolution.



'I have to work with the existing map because I can't wait until 2017,' he said.
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The number of foreign tourists in the Lake Toba area of North Sumatra is expected to increase from 250,000 to 1 million over the next four years, a minister has said.



To meet the target, Lake Toba would be managed under a single tourism authority, Tourism Ministry Arief Yahya said, adding that budget funds of Rp 20 trillion (US$1.45 billion) had been allocated for its infrastructure development and amenities.



"The government will handle basic infrastructure, while the amenities will be managed by the private sector," said Arief after a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday.



A presidential regulation on the single tourism authority is currently being drafted.



North Sumatra interim governor Tengku Erry Nuradi said infrastructure development would include a toll road from Medan to Lake Toba, since the 180-kilometer journey currently took at least 4 to 5 hours.



"A highway from Medan to Parapat is currently under construction. It is expected to continue to Lake Toba," said Erry.



Also under construction is Silangit Airport in North Tapanuli regency.



Sibisa Airport in Toba Samosir regency, which is only a 15-minute drive from Parapat, is to be developed as well. (kes)(+)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Prosecutors in West Jakarta sought on Tuesday prison terms of up to eight years for six men suspected of having joined or supported the radical Islamic State (IS) movement in Syria and Iraq.



In a hearing at the West Jakarta District Court, prosecutor Suroyo called on a panel of judges to sentence 47-year-old Tuah Febriwansyah, also known as Fachry, to eight years in prison and a fine of Rp 50 million (US$3,636) for distributing information on radicalism and encouraging people to join the IS movement online.



'The defendant should be sentenced to eight years, including the time already spent in detention. Furthermore, he must pay a fine of Rp 50 million, or serve an additional six months in prison if he fails to make the payment,' the prosecutor said on Tuesday.



Febriwansyah has been accused of creating the radical site al-mustaqbal.net, where he uploaded information about the Muslim world, focusing mostly on the latest developments in the Middle East, and also encouraged readers to join IS and establish an Islamic caliphate.



The prosecution said his actions violated articles 15 and 7 of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism and articles 28 and 24 of Law No. 11/2008 on electronic information and transactions.



The prosecution also demanded prison terms for his accomplices, saying defendants Abdul Hakim, Ahmad Junaidi alias Abu Salman and Aprimul Henry alias Abu alias Mulbin Arifin should be given five-year sentences while Koswara alias Abu Ahmad and Ridwan Sungkar alias Abu Bilal alias Iwan should receive six-year sentences under Law No. 15/2003 and Law No. 9/2013 on terrorism funding.



The maximum sentence under the articles is life imprisonment.



Former drug convict Koswara has been accused of facilitating and funding IS supporters' trips to Syria, alongside Aprimul who allegedly bought the plane tickets.



Meanwhile, Ahmad Junaidi, Abdul Hakim and Ridwan Sungkar have been accused of traveling to Syria with Salim Mubarok Attamimi, also known as Abu Jandal Al Yemeni Al Indonesi.



Junaidi once told The Jakarta Post that he returned to Indonesia in September 2014 because he felt tricked by Abu Jandal, who said there would be financial benefits for those who joined IS.



Prosecutors were also scheduled to read out their sentence demand for another terror suspect, Helmi Muhammad Alamudi, but the hearing was adjourned until Wednesday because of an administrative problem.



A report called Disunity among Indonesian ISIS supporters and the risk of more violence, published on Monday by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), said Indonesians had been recruited in two streams because of a burgeoning rivalry between Abu Jandal and fellow Indonesian fighter Bahrumsyah alias Abu Ibrahim.



Another group of Indonesian fighters had also reportedly been recruited and transported by Bahrun Naim, who remains on fairly good terms with the other two.



However, since Turkish border controls have tightened, Indonesian IS leaders in Syria were expected to encourage more local attacks, especially following a fatal attack in Jakarta last month allegedly committed by the Partisans of the Caliphate (JAK) group, the report said.
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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Major lenders have begun to trim their lending rates following the central bank's decision to cut its benchmark rate last month amid a risk of tightening liquidity in the banking system.



With Bank Indonesia (BI) cutting its key rate by 25 basis points (bps) in January, the banks are able to reduce their time deposit rates and in turn slash their lending rates.



Bank Mandiri president director Budi Gunadi Sadikin said tighter liquidity conditions would not stop the lender reducing its lending rates by around 25 bps to 50 bps in all types of loan this February.



'We're also cutting our time deposit rates within the same range. The liquidity situation in the market is tight right now as the government is to absorb funds through bonds, but we hope it will get better,' Budi said in Jakarta recently.



Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) president director Asmawi Syam and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) president director Achmad Baiquni expressed similar views, noting that their respective banks had managed to cut their lending rates despite liquidity pressure.



Asmawi said BRI would cut its lending rate by at least 25 bps for retail and corporate loans this month, in the wake of the government's decision to slash the lending rate for its micro credit loan (KUR) program from 12 percent to 9 percent this year.



'We will lower our time deposit rates first to follow the cut in the BI rate and seek low-cost funds instead by improving our savings and current account products,' he said.



Meanwhile, Achmad of BNI said his bank would cut its lending rate for retail loans by 25 bps this month as the first part of a strategy to boost the growth of low-cost funds.



'Although we are cutting time deposit rates, we're still able to increase third-party funds, as we aim to grow our current and saving accounts by around 12 percent to 13 percent this year,' he said.



Bank Central Asia (BCA), the country's largest private lender, cut its lending rate in the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment by 0.25 percent on Feb. 1 as it saw more relaxed liquidity in January.



'Currently, our SME lending rate stands at about 13 percent and we will cut the SME rates for all sectors,' BCA president director Jahja Setiaatmadja said.



However, Jahja said BCA would not cut its time deposit rates, which stand at around 5.25 percent to 5.75 percent, the lowest level in the banking industry; other banks offer rates between 8 percent and 9 percent.



'The important thing is we've managed to decrease our lending rates, even though our net interest margin [NIM] will slightly decline. We will see higher income as lower lending rates mean our loan volume will increase,' he said.



Meanwhile, Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) economist Doddy Ariefianto said the agency saw liquidity risk in the banking system for the upcoming months as a result of the government's 'front-loading' strategy for bonds issuance, which sees a majority of government bonds released earlier in the year.



Samuel Sekuritas analyst Rangga Cipta said that the risk of 'crowding-out effect', or head-to-head competition between the government and banks in absorbing liquidity, had yet to be seen in yields of sovereign bonds, which were still falling.



However, he agreed that BI's monetary policy was still 'too tight' to be able to help boost economic growth.



'The most effective monetary relaxation would be another BI rate cut, accompanied by less-aggressive usage of foreign exchange [forex] reserves. Lower forex reserves would increase the squeeze in liquidity,' he said.
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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The government was unable to do much to anticipate the spread of the Zika virus, Health Ministry secretary-general Untung Suseno Sutarjo acknowledged on Tuesday, as the virus was hard to detect and its symptoms similar to those of other mosquito-borne viruses.



Responding to the WHO declaration of a global emergency over the explosive spread of Zika in Geneva a day earlier, Untung advised Indonesians to be cautious regarding the disease, including by refraining from visiting Zika-affected areas.



'We are telling people to be cautious as a preventive measure. What else can we do? After all, there is no medicine available,' Untung said.



He added that it was also hard to detect people who had been infected by the virus.



'We don't know whether people are sick with the virus, because the symptoms are usually mild,' the official said.



Citing the ministry data, Untung said of five Indonesians known to have contracted the virus, only one of them had fallen sick with a fever, with the other four showing no symptoms whatsoever.



As with efforts to prevent dengue fever, Untung advised people to use mosquito nets while sleeping and to apply mosquito repellent.



'If someone goes to a region [where the virus has spread], that person must report if they fall sick after returning home,' he said.



Indonesia has a history of Zika infections dating back to 1981. According to several studies, Zika was found in Indonesia in 1981 and in 2005, Untung said.



The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology warned in a recent report that the virus had been spreading for some time. A Zika infection was found among 103 dengue specimens that the institute took during an outbreak in Jambi between December 2014 and April 2015.



The fast-spreading Zika virus is likely being under-diagnosed in Southeast Asia, infectious disease experts have warned in several reports, including one regarding an Australian who was infected after being bitten by a monkey in Bali.



A report last year into the case of a 27-year-old Australian man proposed that a monkey bite he had received at the Ubud Monkey Forest could have been to blame for his subsequent Zika infection.

The man was diagnosed with acute Zika virus after arriving at the Royal Darwin Hospital with a fever and a rash seven days after the bite, the report stated. He had also been bitten by mosquitoes while holidaying in Bali.



The authors of the report, including doctors from the hospital and academics from the Victorian Diseases Reference Laboratory and the Menzies School of Health Research, wrote that while mosquito-borne transmission was possible, the monkey was also a plausible route of transmission.



Commenting on the report, Untung said that he had never heard of it. 'Where did that story come from? That's nonsense. Who is spreading this fraudulent conjecture? The carrier [of the virus] is mosquitoes, not monkey bites,' he said.



Meanwhile, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has instructed Health Minister Nila Moeloek to pay attention to and be cautious of the Zika virus.



'Although it has yet to occur here, it needs to be kept an eye on,' presidential spokesman Johan Budi said on Tuesday.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has offered to the government an initiative to stop the spread of teaching of the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) that the council has declared as a heretical movement.

The MUI's edict commission said on Wednesday Gafatar was a successor to the Al Qidayah al-Islamiyah group that is deviant as its ideology unifies Islamic, Christian and Judaic teachings, which the MUI describes as syncretism. MUI had previously declared Al Qidayah al-Islamiyah group as heretical.

Gafatar spiritual leader, Ahmad Musadeq, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2008 for religious defamation after he declared himself as a new prophet.

The initiatives will cover rehabilitation for former Gafatar members, who had been followers of Gafatar's ideology and to strengthen preventive measures to curb people from getting influenced by the belief, MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin said during a press conference on Wednesday.

"There will be concrete actions. The rehabilitation will actively assist the former members to return to the community, while the prevention will be strengthen through preaching," said Ma'ruf.

The technical details of the programs was still in discussion, however, the MUI offices in various levels ' cities, regencies, provinces would all coordinate to assist the rehabilitation of former Gafatar members, said MUI, adding that the MUI's preaching commission would lead the moderate Islamic preaching programs among former Gafatar members.

MUI edict commission secretary Asrorun Niam said the MUI would appeal to Islamic community groups to support the rehabilitation of the former members of the Gafatar, calling for the community groups to support those who wanted to integrate back to the community and eliminate discrimination or violence against them.

"Public should implement early warning mechanism to prevent the deviant teachings from spreading," Asrorun said, adding that Muslims could take part in preventing the spread of heretical teaching by reporting to related officials whenever there were potential emerging of deviant religions. (bbn)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Tuesday that it had issued a second summons for former state-owned seaport operator Pelindo II president director Richard Joost Lino.



Fearing that he would be locked up after being questioned in relation to a graft case last Friday, Lino declined to honor KPK's first summons, claiming that he was having heart problems.



KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said the second summons ordered Lino to show up at the KPK office on Friday.



'The questioning will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday,' Priharsa said on Tuesday.



Contacted separately, Lino's lawyer, Maqdir Ismail, said Lino had yet to fully recover from his illness, but he was planning to obey the summons.



'He will show up. He is still weak and needs total rest to fully recover,' Maqdir said.



The KPK has accused Lino of violating Law No. 31/1999, Article 2, Paragraph 1 and Article 3 on corruption when he directly appointed a Chinese company to supply three container cranes in 2010 worth US$20 million for three ports in Palembang, South Sumatra; Pontianak, West Kalimantan and Lampung.



A 2011 audit by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, indicated foul play in the procurement.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

Trend:

President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on the establishment of a public legal entity- the financial market supervisory body - in Azerbaijan.

The financial market supervisory body will handle all the functions of Azerbaijani State Committee for Securities, State Insurance Supervision Service under the country's finance ministry, Financial Monitoring Service under the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.

All the property of the mentioned state structures will be transferred to the financial market supervisory body. The mentioned structures will be liquidated since the day when the financial market supervisory body's Charter enters force.

The decree states that the financial market supervisory body will be created for the purpose of licensing, regulating and controlling activities of the market of securities, investment funds, insurance and credit institutions (banks, non-bank credit institutions, postal operator) and payment systems.

The financial market supervisory body's creation also seeks the purpose of improving the control system in counteraction to legalization of money or other property received by criminal way and financing of terrorism, as well as to ensure transparency and flexibility of the control system in these areas.
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Linkedin Novani Nugrahani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

A new option in fashion e-commerce that focuses on local brands launched on Wednesday.

Part of the conglomerate PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) Group, Brand Outlet, through its website brandoutlet.co.id, features fashion and beauty collections for women, men and children, consisting of 60 percent high-quality local brands such as Damn! I Love Indonesia, Nikicio, Ingrid Husodo and Hunted Inc, and international labels like Michelle Worth, Ted Baker and Oscar de la Renta.

"Most of the for-sale branded products are only available at offline shops and boutiques, making them inaccessible to people living outside big cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya. We aim to provide anyone anywhere with easy access to purchase them affordably," Brand Outlet chief operating officer Andry Huzain told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The company also publishes an e-magazine titled BOMagz, featuring tips, tricks and updates on the latest trends in fashion.

During its soft launch period, Brand Outlet is offering a discount of Rp 100,000 (US$7.30) for Indosat Ooredoo users who make a minimum purchase of Rp 300,000.

Andry said mobile applications for iOS and Android users would be available in April.

Despite having a similar name, Brand Outlet is reportedly not affiliated with the UK-based brandoutlet.com. (kes)
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Linkedin Tama Salim and Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Outspoken Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Masinton Pasaribu has become the subject of scrutiny following allegations that he assaulted personal staffer Dita Aditia Ismawati.



Dita's team of lawyers on Tuesday filed a report against Masinton with the House of Representatives ethics council.



In the report, the legal team from the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice and Legal Aid (LBH APIK) included evidence they claimed could 'strongly incriminate' the PDI-P lawmaker. The complaint followed Dita's earlier report on Saturday to the National Police's detective division regarding the same allegations.



LBH APIK director Ratna Bantara Mukti said the team had submitted Dita's letter requesting legal assistance from the institution, a written chronology of the incident and a picture showing Dita's badly bruised right eye, which has also been circulated on social media.



Ratna said the foundation was also in possession of medical results that Dita obtained after being treated at a hospital following a request from the police in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.



'[The results] can be used as evidence to challenge the testimonies of the accused and his aide that [Dita's injuries] were the result of being accidentally hit by a gemstone ring,' Ratna told reporters after a closed-door meeting with ethics council deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad in Jakarta on Tuesday.



Earlier, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana from the LBH APIK said the alleged incident happened after Masinton picked up Dita from a cafe in Cikini, Central Jakarta. They quarrelled in Masinton's car, which eventually led to the alleged assault.



Nursyahbani said Masinton had confronted Dita after finding out she was meeting with peers from the NasDem Party.



Masinton, who often makes headlines for his controversial statements, allegedly punched Dita because he had reason to believe she would reveal secrets to her friends.



Ratna said Masinton kept Dita under tight control, despite the fact that she had only been working for the lawmaker for a few months. She also denied that Dita was romantically involved with her employer.



Earlier, Masinton claimed that Dita had been accidentally hit by his driver's gemstone ring after she tried to take control of the steering wheel while intoxicated.



Ratna said eight of Dita's friends had testified against the claim.



Meanwhile, fellow PDI-P lawmaker Trimedya Panjaitan said party executives had urged Masinton to resolve the problem personally.



The PDI-P will, however, provide legal assistance for Masinton should he need it.



Trimedya, the chairman of the party's central executive board overseeing legal affairs, said PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri had instructed the party's faction at the House to monitor the case.



Separately, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suharsono said police investigators planned to summon Dita on Thursday to the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.



'On Monday, we analyzed the police report that was submitted on Saturday afternoon. [The case] is being handled by the [National Police detective division's] general crimes directorate,' he said on Tuesday.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The National Police's counterterrorism squad Densus 88 have arrested a man suspected of being a member of the Poso-based terrorist group East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT), led by Indonesia's most-wanted fugitive Santoso aka Abu Wardah.

Densus 88 officers arrested Edi Santoso, 40, in Bandar Lampung, on Tuesday after monitoring him for the past two months, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said.

"Edi was involved in fa'i [the practice of an Islamic teaching that allows Muslims to steal from infidels for the purpose of jihad] with Abu Roban a while ago," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said as quoted by tribunnews on Wednesday.

Edi's name had been on the Police's most-wanted list for his alleged involvement with a terrorist group in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and military training camp in Poso, Central Sulawesi, Agus said.

Abu Roban was shot dead by Densus 88 officers in a raid in Batang, Central Java, in May 2013.

Moreover, Agus said Edi had kept moving from place to place to avoid being tracked down as police believed that he had joined the MIT.

Bandar Lampung Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Hari Nugroho said he had not received any details about the raid from Densus 88 .

"I only know that a number of Densus 88 officers are investigating some leads. They are not interrogating anyone as there is no one in the house right now," Hari said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday night.

Police officers were still guarding the house on Wednesday afternoon.

The government is intensifying raids on suspected terrorists following the attack that struck Central Jakarta last month that killed four civilians and injured more than 20 people. (afr/rin)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Jakarta Police are to summon the father of murdered Wayan Mirna Salihin as a witness after he revealed Whatsapp conversations between his daughter and suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso, a spokesman said on Wednesday.



Investigators plan to summon Darmawan Salihin again after he publicized a Whatsapp conversation between Mirna and Jessica on the show Indonesia Lawyer's Club on nationwide channel TV One.



"We will not ignore any little information on this case, including the statements from the victim's parents, to add to the evidence," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muhammad Iqbal told journalists on Wednesday.



Police had not already included the Whatsapp conversations in their investigation report, he said.



Darmawan had been previously summoned as a witness by Investigators for the case.



In the show, Darmawan shared what he said he had found in conversations between his daughter and Jessica through the chatting application.



"Jessica said 'Mirna give me a kiss. It has been a long time that you did not give me a kiss'," he said in the live show broadcast on Tuesday evening.



It was something that he found odd, knowing that Mirna had been dating Arif Sumarko for eight years before the two married in December 2015.



Mirna and Jessica went to the same college in Sydney while Arif studied in Melbourne.



Mirna did not invite Jessica to her wedding with Arief, Darmawan added, explaining that the two had lost contact after graduation.



Jakarta Police had named Jessica a suspect in the case that caught the public's attention. Mirna died after drinking cyanide-tainted iced coffee in the Grand Indonesia Mall on Jan. 6.



Investigators are strengthening the evidence before they hand over the case to the prosecutors, Iqbal added. (rin)(+)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

The government is banking on renewable energy to boost power supply in the six darkest provinces, all located in eastern Indonesia, as it aims to increase the national electrification ratio to 99 percent by 2019, up from 87 percent at present.



According to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, 12,669 villages are disconnected from the electricity grid, most of them located in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua, North Maluku and East Maluku.



"It will be one of our areas of attention to tackle the gap within three to four years," Sudirman said after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in Jakarta on Wednesday.



On the other hand, Sudirman continued, the government had yet to capitalize on Indonesia's renewable energy potential, utilizing only 3 percent of the total estimated potential of 300,000 megawatt.



"By 2025, we need to boost the renewable energy portion in the energy mix from the current 6.8 percent to 23 percent," Sudirman explained, adding that up to Rp 1,600 trillion of investment were needed to meet this target.



Therefore, the ministry and the OJK signed the MoU on the acceleration of renewable energy development by increasing the role of financial institutions, given the fact that the state budget only allocates around Rp 2 trillion per year for developing renewable energy.



OJK chairman Muliaman Hadad added that several financial institutions had committed to invest up to Rp 3 trillion into renewable energy this year.



"At first [it will be] Rp 1 trillion, but later it will increase to Rp 3 trillion rupiah in 2016. Hopefully, it will become the first step of sustainable investment in renewable energy," he said. (ags)(+)
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016





Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has expressed his concern that flooding will again hit Jakarta when the rainy season reaches its peak in the coming days.



Many areas in the north of the city will likely be inundated by floodwater, particularly if heavy rains are accompanied by a full moon that would result in high tides, the governor said on Wednesday.



'We are worried about when heavy rains are accompanied by high tides. Water levels will not recede quickly,' Ahok said in Jakarta on Wednesday.



Meanwhile, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has estimated that the rainy season in Jakarta and surrounding areas would peak sometime this month.



He, however, said that the Jakarta administration had done its best this year to mitigate the risk of flooding to ease potential impacts on residents. Therefore, water levels in many parts of the city had receded quickly during recent rains.



'Just check yourselves in all areas of Jakarta. People who have been affected by flooding before will say that this year, the water levels are lower and have receded more quickly [than in previous years],' Ahok told journalists, adding that some areas had also remained free of flooding. (bbn)(+)
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Linkedin Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post)  Wed, February 3, 2016

To better compete within the global IT sector, the country must focus on increasing the number of its IT and software engineers by nurturing and encouraging young talent hiding in universities, says e-commerce platform Bukalapak.com.



To support this measure, Bukalapak has opened a competition designed for engineering students, titled the Bukalapak Programming Contest, to help build and nurture the talent needed to advance the country's digital ecosystem.



Bukalapak CEO Achmad Zaky said the program was initiated owing to the 'urgent need' for software engineers in Indonesia.



'Looking at our regional neighbors, China in particular, Indonesia seems to lag in terms of talent quantity in the IT sector. The supply and demand ratio is still way off. Through this competition, we aim to identify and develop Indonesia's digital human resource to advance digital business,' he said on Tuesday.



Bukalapak chief technology officer Nugroho Herucahyono explained that the platform would only 'provide an outlet' for the engineering students in the form of a friendly competition, and any victory achieved would not have anything to do with them working for the company.



Nugroho specifically pointed out China's digital ecosystem domination as a foothold for how successful and large the Indonesian IT ecosystem and e-commerce movement could be.



One of the attributes that shows China's immense development in the digital realm is the fact that Chinese sites tend to make up most of the top 10 most visited sites in the country.



While admitting that China's local triumphs were partly due to the massive firewall it has in place for foreign sites, Nugroho explained that the country was the best example for Indonesia to look to due to the strength of its IT sector and the dominating traffic toward local sites.



He also attributes that to the many outlets and government encouragement in having China's most valuable resource, its population, to build its digital ecosystem. The supply of engineering talent, he added, would be the difference in advancing the speed and state of Indonesia's digital development.



'We at Bukalapak want to provide an outlet for young engineers to build on their talents so that they can be beneficial for Indonesia's digital future. [The digital world] is a constantly developing one, so we have to encourage them to take advantage of this and quick,' he said.
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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

Indonesia has strongly protested France's plan to issue a biodiversity law that will triple import taxes on palm oil products, one of the country's main export commodities.



The Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister said that the proposed law was rife with protectionism, although the French senate has claimed that environmental protection was the reason for the law.



'This doesn't have anything to do with the ecosystem as it will be imposed on both crude and processed palm oil products, including Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil [ISPO] products,' assistant coordinating maritime affairs minister Arif Havas Oegroseno said in Jakarta on Monday.



If approved this March 15, the draft will oblige exporters to pay as much as 300 euro (US$327) for each metric ton in 2017, 500 euro in 2018, 700 euro in 2019 and 900 euro in 2020. At present, Indonesia is required to pay an import duty of only 103 euro per metric ton.



'The proceeds from this tax will go into [their] social security fund. In other words, Indonesian farmers will finance French social security,' he said.



Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer in the world, exporting 4.6 million tons of crude and processed palm oil last year to Europe, including France.



With skyrocketing taxes, farmers will suffer the most as they have to push down the selling prices, making them unable to practice costly sustainable practices.



According to France's senate, the bill has been proposed to address several environmental concerns: to help tackle deforestation caused by palm oil plantations, to stop the use of unhealthy pesticide paraquat and to diminish health risks, such as heart attack and Alzheimer's, stemming from palm oil consumption.



Havas said that the reasons were not based on facts, given the current practices and policies. According to him, the Indonesian government has made serious efforts to deal with environmental problems.



Last year, the Indonesian government released the ninth edition of its forest-clearance moratorium map, adding another 71,099 hectares. The extra land brings the total area covered by the current moratorium to 65.08 million ha, after the ministry added concessions for permits that had been revoked following the recent forest fires. According to a Global Forest Watch study that he cited, only 10 percent of the 2015 fires came from palm oil areas.



The moratorium was implemented to stem the rapid land-use transformation in Indonesia. Currently, the country has 8 million hectares of oil palm plantations. Europe, meanwhile, has at least 11 million hectares of land cleared for sunflower and rapeseed plantations, he said.



The bill also violated the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Tariff and Tax principles that obliges countries to impose similar taxes for similar products, such as sunflower and rapeseed oils, he said.



The ministry has been in contact with the French Embassy to receive clarification from the French government.



The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) voiced similar concerns with the ministry and said 'We'll continue lobbying the French government,' secretary general Togar Sitanggang said.



In 2012, a similar bill called the 'Nutella tax' was proposed in France that would have imposed high taxes on palm oil imports. However, the bill was rejected in 2013. (rbk)

__________________________________________

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Linkedin Jamie Stengle (The Jakarta Post) Dallas  Wed, February 3, 2016

A person in Texas has been infected with the Zika virus after having sex with an ill person who had returned from South America, local health officials said Tuesday.

It's the first case of the virus being transmitted in the US during the current outbreak of Zika, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas.

"It's very rare but this is not new, we always looked at the point that this could be transmitted sexually," said Zachary Thompson, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services, told WFAA-TV in Dallas.

Health officials did not release any details about the Texas patient, citing privacy issues. In a tweet, Dallas health officials said the first person infected had been to Venezuela, but did not detail when and where that person or the second person was diagnosed. The second person did not travel.

The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. There was report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

"That gives you the plausibility of spread, but the science is clear to date that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control said during a recent news conference.

The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant. The CDC has already recommended that pregnant women postpone trips to more than two dozen countries with Zika outbreaks, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Venezuela. It also said other visitors should use insect repellent and take other precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

In the epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, the main villain identified so far is called Aedes aegypti ' a species of mosquito that spreads other tropical diseases, including chikungunya and dengue fever. It is found in the southern United States, though no mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States to date.

The World Health Organization on Monday declared a global emergency over the rapidly spreading Zika virus, saying it is an "extraordinary event" that poses a threat to the rest of the world. The declaration was made after an emergency meeting of independent experts called in response to a spike in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between the virus and babies born with abnormally small heads.

The CDC said that in the recent Texas case, there's no risk to a developing fetus.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It wasn't believed to cause any serious effects until last year; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week. Symptoms usually start two days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

While Thompson told the television station that the case of sexual transmission is "a game-changer," he added that he didn't want people in Dallas County to overreact. Health officials and Thompson noted that sexual partners can protect themselves by using condoms to prevent spreading sexually transmitted infections.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report. (**)
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Linkedin Hyung-Jin Kim (The Jakarta Post) Seoul  Wed, February 3, 2016

South Korea warned on Wednesday of "searing" consequences if North Korea doesn't abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

The South's rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after North Korea's defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the UN work on strong new sanctions against the North.

North Korea on Tuesday informed international organizations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between Feb. 8 and 25, and if North Korea's past patterns are any clue, angry warnings by its neighbors and Washington probably won't dissuade a coming launch.

The launch declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Korea's disputed claim on Jan. 6 to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country's fourth nuclear test. A launch would be seen as a snub by North Korea of its only major ally, China, whose representative for Korean affairs landed in the North for talks on Tuesday.

South Korean and US officials said the launch would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic activities.

"We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range missile launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences for it as the launch would constitute a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world," senior South Korean presidential official Cho Tae-yong said in televised remarks.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of the North's planned launch. He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a UN ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilizing behavior. He called for the imposition of tough additional sanctions.

Russel said a launch "would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," in an apparent reference to China.

China urged all sides to show restraint Wednesday over North Korea's announcement of its launch plans, and expressed skepticism over the US calls for tough new sanctions.

"We hope all sides show restraint and take prudent action to avoid any moves that may increase the tensions on the [Korean] Peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons along with missiles capable of striking the mainland United States.

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. The North also told international agencies before that launch of its plans. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said North Korea informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunication Union of its launch plans.

"Right now, we're carefully monitoring developments and are in close touch with the interested parties and the international organizations," Haq said at UN headquarters in New York.

The International Telecommunication Union said North Korea informed its Geneva office of its intention to launch a Kwangmyongsong (Bright Star) -type Earth observation satellite with a four-year operational life. But the ITU's UN representative, Gary Fowlie, said not enough technical information had been supplied to register the planned launch in its Master International Frequency Register.

A South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said Seoul estimated that the first stage of the rocket would fall off the west coast of South Korea, more debris would land near the South's Jeju Island, and the second stage would land off the Philippines' east coast.

North Korea, an autocracy run by the same family since 1948, is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles, but it closely guards details about its nuclear and missile programs. This means there is considerable debate about whether it can produce nuclear bombs small enough to place on a missile, or missiles that can reliably deliver their bombs to faraway targets.

The North's recent nuclear test has led to another push in the UN to tighten sanctions, something that followed North Korea's 2012 rocket launch and its 2013 third nuclear test. The North followed that test with an escalating campaign of bombast that included threats to fire nuclear missiles at the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has said that plutonium and highly enriched uranium facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex are in operation. But just what is happening at Nyongbyon is unclear. North Korea booted out international inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.

__

Associated Press writers Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Matthew Pennington in Washington and Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:

The United Kingdom appointed a new ambassador to Azerbaijan, according to a message posted on the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office's website Feb. 3.

"Dr Carole Crofts has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to Republic of Azerbaijan in succession to Mr Irfan Siddiq OBE, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment," read the message.

Crofts will take up her appointment during May 2016.


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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

A group of election watchdogs is urging the House of Representatives to start deliberating a bill on the election law book, which will combine four current laws on elections into a single law, before the country gears up for the 2017 gubernatorial elections.



The watchdog groups argued that current regulations, comprising Law No. 15/2011 on election organizers, Law No. 8/2012 on legislative elections, Law No. 42/2008 on presidential elections, Law No. 1/2015 on regional elections and Law No. 8/2015 on the revision of the election of regional heads, contravened one another.



'As a result, we have no standard and their complexity could lead to election disputes and vote-buying. Further, it could create ineffective governance,' Titi Anggraini of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), which is a member of the group, said on Tuesday



The complexity itself has created many problems during elections, especially when votes were counted in the last presidential and regional elections.



Titi said that such a problem could easily be resolved if multiple elections laws were regulated under one law.



The House has listed the government-proposed bill among its priority tasks in the 2016 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), but has yet to start drafting it, likely on account of mounting priority bills, about 40, it has to finish this year.



As a solution, the group proposed a number of points that the House should focus on to avoid inconsistency and political bias in elections.



The group also proposed that the election schedule be amended.



'We recommend that Indonesia only have two sequences of elections ' a national simultaneous for president, vice president and lawmakers, and simultaneous regional elections for regional heads and local councillors,' Titi said.



The group also recommends that the mechanism to pick candidates should involve all the party members for the sake of transparency and consistency.



Until now, only party chairs and secretaries have had the authority to determine candidates, which often times opens the door to certain political interests and vote-buying.



Titi said that until now arguments between the government and the House concerned whether the elections would maintain the open-list system or return to the closed-list system, while it was better to evaluate and improve the technical matters in the open-list system.



House Legislation Body (Baleg) member Arsul Sani of the United Development Party (PPP) said that House Commission II, which oversees home affairs and regional autonomy, had yet to start deliberating the election bill.



Arsul, however, pledged that the House would involve civil society groups in the discussion of the bill.



'I'm sure that discussion will go on for a long time due to its complexity, but we will try to complete deliberation this year,' Arsul said.
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Linkedin Dyah Widiastuti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 3, 2016

World Hijab Day on Feb. 1 was celebrated in the aftermath of several incidents. The bombings and shootings perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) organization in Paris, Istanbul, California, Jakarta and other parts of the world, have placed Muslim women, particularly those wearing the hijab, (hijabi) in a more difficult position. Muslim women started 'World Hijab Day' following the 9/11 terrorist acts in the US.



Hijabi have long endured stereotyping across the globe. From Paris to New York, we have heard hijabi being discriminated against or physically attacked because of their appearance, which many associate with terrorism.



Such an attitude and misperception will easily provoke suspicion, resentment, anger and hatred, which may eventually lead to more withdrawal, exclusion or acts of violence.



Therefore, a different attitude should be promoted with regard to women wearing the veil. World Hijab Day, a day of recognition of millions of Muslim women who choose to wear hijab and live in modesty, could be the right time to start it all.



There are at least three things the hijabi can do to change people's mind-set about their religious dress code.



First, they can simply continue their life and their contribution to society. In Indonesia, several ministers, officials, athletes, democracy activists and celebrities wear a hijab. The whole nation is proud of Surabaya's reelected mayor Tri Rismaharini for being named the world's best mayor and of Muslim fashion designer Dian Pelangi, among noted hijabi.



Second, they can take full advantage of powerful social media to tell the world about their work. Finally, the hijabi can take every opportunity to speak in public about the hijab itself, which is a must, because many still consider it part of Arab culture that is being forced against their will on Muslim women across the globe.



There are undoubtedly women who are obliged to wear a hijab, including in Aceh, but more and more women wear it voluntarily.



For the women who wear a hijab by choice, no matter how surprising it may sound, the hijab is a source of liberation and empowerment. They decide to wear the modest clothing and to be valued for what they think and do, rather than what they look like.



In so doing, hijabi will help shatter the long-standing stereotypes. They will prove there are many hijabi who uphold democracy, promote tolerance and peace, work hard for achievements and help others, yet choose to be religiously devoted. The hijab should never hinder Muslim women to explore their potential. In other words, Muslim women can be religiously devoted and 'cool' at the same time.



On the other hand, the rest of the world ' in this case the people who are non-hijabi and the media ' can respond to these efforts by doing two things.



First, fairly accept and appreciate the fact that there are many hijabi who are different from what the stereotypes have been saying for long time.



There are , of course hijabi who are corruption convicts or incapable officials. Yet the world should not let appearance cloud their judgment and start to appreciate hijab as a life choice. If some women can demand to be valued by anything but the way they dress, the world should also allow the action and contribution of veiled women to speak louder than their appearance.



Second, help spread this information and images accordingly. Social media and the mainstream media also need to give a voice to these hijabi, in an equal manner to their promotion of the views of unveiled Muslim women such as Queen Rania of Jordan and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco.



This fairness of exposure will help the world to see an alternative perspective, showing that not only non-hijabi Muslim women can positively contribute to peace and prosperity.



It takes two to tango. Fair and friendly gestures from both sides ' the hijabi and the rest of the world ' will more likely nurture trust and mutual understanding.



We can start today, in Indonesia, home of the world's largest Muslim population as well as the world's third-largest democracy, where appreciation of diversity is its founding fathers' fundamental philosophy.

_______________________________



The writer is a policy planner at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), a co-founder of SabangMerauke, a group focusing on tolerance among youth, and a hijabi. The views expressed are her own.
The Real Deal chats with several real estate insiders about the luxury transformation of the Lower East Side.

Badlands, a publishing company started by well-regarded artist Paul Chan, has opened Y.oung P.ublisher 99 & Up in, you guessed it, a 99 cent store on Rutgers Street, reports Art News.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has more details about Fridays relaunch of Kossars Bialys. The price of bailys will rise from 90 cents to $1. But theres plenty of good news, too. A grill counter will offer up breakfast sandwiches, babka French toast and made-to-order pletzel pizzas.

Local chefs and entrepreneurs  Thomas Chen, Jonathan Wu and Wilson Tang  are featured in a Times piece on a small group of second generation Chinese Americans determined to begin a new culinary conversation with the food of their ancestors.
Ever wonder what Coney Island was like decades ago in the 70s and 80s, years before you went there on a picturesque August afternoon to enjoy a few rides, a Nathans hot dog or even a splash in the ocean? Well, it was a very different kind of place.

Last Thursday, City Lore Gallery hosted Alive on the Inside, a performance from artist Richard Eagan, who is known to many as the co-host of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. The event was part of their current American Bizarro exhibition, Boardwalk Renaissance: How the Arts Saved Coney Island. Artist Philomena Marano started off the night by giving a warm introduction to her long-time friend and collaborator. Together they founded the Coney Island Hysterical Society in 1981.

Their Hysterical Society was a group of daring artists who sought to revitalize the Coney Island community, which had been in rapid decline throughout the 1970s. There was gang warfare and numerous fires in the area that destroyed lots of property and left the local economy in shambles. The famous rides and attractions were shutting down at alarming rates.

How did these artists help turn around their beloved destination even if they could not reinvest in the real estate themselves? They drew crowds of visitors to the Boardwalk with their performance art.

During his poetic, and epic, spoken-word performance, Richard Eagan described his adventures interacting with the diverse characters that worked the boardwalks of Coney Island in the 80s. Eagan has since gone on to become a prolific painter, sculptor and karaoke cross-dresser (a.k.a. Kay Sera)  not to mention he has his own honeybee farm in Upstate New York.

With bravado, Eagan entered the room, turned on recorded sound bites from Coney back-in-the-day and began to tell the story of his days as one of the Bosses of the Boardwalk. Each time he impersonated one of the working characters he met on the job, the audience exploded in laughter.

Ronnie, Leo, the Colonel, and Paul-y D, were just some of the people he characterized with such great intuition that he actually made me believe he was someone else. You know somen, if you can make it in Coney Island, you can make it anywhere, and a quarter to play a quarter to win. One quarter it takes to take that bear away, were among some memorable exchanges that Eagan shared.

At the time Eagan was a married man with two kids. One day his family visited him at the Boardwalk and his son asked, Daddy, mommy wants to know if youre really gonna do this all summer? As the room erupted again, Eagan went on to describe a few shady situations. In one instance, Ronnie asked him to get in his Cadillac with the engine running and talk about business. Eagan, we need a guy like you here to run this place. You got talent kid, and if you keep working hard youre gonna be a made manand by the way, you owe me four-grand, so uh, you know, do what you gotta do to make a buck, but hey, yous a smart guy so dont worry about it.

As it became clear that Eagan was working with guys who had to fight through life, a chord was struck. Eagan remembered growing up during the good ol days at Coney  going to the Steeplechase, which was later demolished by Fred Trump in 1964 (yes, Donald Trumps father)  and a grim reality set it in. Would Coney Island ever be the same?

Facing the life and death of Coney Island, Eagan continued to entertain and create art, and through the oddity of those years touched something very real. He helped rebuild the soul of a place with historical roots, its own set of rules and most of all a proud community.

Even if from the outside the 80s were bleak times for Coney, they were filled with inspiration for Eagn and Philomena Marano. Along with Dick Zigun, the self-proclaimed Mayor of Coney Island, they organized the inaugural Coney Island Mermaid Parade in 1983.

Many other artists, including Robert Indiana (of the LOVE sculpture), Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) Charles Ludlam (Theater of the Ridiculous) Peter Schumann (Bread and Puppet Theater) and photographers Elaine Norman, Charles Denson and Hazel Hankin, joined in revitalizing and documenting the area.

So did these artists succeed? The show at City Lore proves these artists from the Hysterical Society have left us with a time capsule of Coney Island unlike any other.

As Eagan said, At Coney Island the things that are long gone are more real than the things we still see.

Boardwalk Renaissance: How the Arts Saved Coney Island runs through March 13th. City Lore Gallery (56 E 1st Street) is open from 2  6pm Wednesday through Friday and 12  6pm on weekends.

Max Rovo is a freelance copywriter and journalist based in New York. Youre way more likely to find him at a concert near you than a yoga session.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

Shareholders of Azerbaijan's Caucasus Development Bank (CDB) will on March 20 discuss its merger with other banks, read a message on the bank's website.

The shareholders will have an extraordinary meeting at the request of the CDB Supervisory Board.

Earlier, Trend reported that Caucasus Development Bank intends to merge with Gunay Bank and Atrabank.

Azerbaijani AGBank and DemirBank earlier signed a protocol of intent about merger.

NBCBank, KredoBank and ParaBank are also merging.

CDB's license was revoked upon a decision of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Jan. 27.

The decision on the revocation of CDB license was taken because the total capital of the bank didn't correspond to the Central Bank's minimum requirement of 50 million manats.

CDB couldn't fulfil its obligations to creditors and didn't manage its current activity reliably and prudentially, said the Central Bank.

Currently, 37 banks have licenses for banking activity in Azerbaijan.

Caucasus Development Bank has been operating on the market since 1997.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3



By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Kazakhstan-based Nurbank JSC to negative from stable. The 'B/B' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings were affirmed.

The agency also lowered our long-term Kazakhstan national scale rating on Nurbank to 'kzBB' from 'kzBB+'.

The outlook revision stems from our expectation that Nurbank's deteriorating capitalization, combined with negative trends in Kazakhstan's economy and banking sector, will put further pressure on the bank's creditworthiness over the next 12 months, the statement said.

The agency regards the bank's capitalization as moderate rather than adequate, due to low expected earnings capacity. In S&P's view, Nurbank will be unable to build up capital in 2016 without equity injections, taking into account growth of risk-weighted assets. Nevertheless, both moderate and adequate capital and earnings are neutral rating factors for a bank with a 'bb-' anchor, which starts our rating analysis of banks in Kazakhstan.

The bank's capitalization is being eroded by depreciation of the Kazakhstani tenge, because the share of foreign-currency denominated assets is increasing due to the exchange rate, whereas capital is denominated in tenge.

Positively, net of the devaluation effect, we assess the bank's growth strategy to be reasonable under the difficult economic conditions.

The negative outlook indicates that we might lower the ratings over the next 12 months if weakening capitalization and negative trends in Kazakhstan's economy and banking sector erode Nurbank's creditworthiness. It also reflects our expectation that Nurbank may face difficulties in developing new business and generating sufficient stable revenues to maintain capital over that period.

S&P could lower the ratings if we saw significantly higher industry risks for banks in Kazakhstan or if Nurbank's nonperforming loans started increasing, especially if the increase exceeded that of peers and stemmed from loans granted after 2011. Likewise, a further reduction of Nurbank's loss-absorption capacity, due, for example, to higher provisioning expenses than we currently assume; or material one-time charges that reduce our projected RAC ratio to below 5%, would lead to a downgrade.

The agency could revise the outlook to stable if the bank is able to improve its capitalization to adequate levels, according to our methodology. This is after taking into account forecast growth of the bank's risk-weighted assets, including devaluation and organic growth, and its internal capital generation over the next two years, subject to our view of negative trends in the Kazakh banking industry at that time.

---

Follow the author on Twitter:@E_Kosolapova


Finnish thrashers Lost Society return with a vengeance on their third release, Braindead.

Ill be honest: until Nuclear Blast Records gave me their new album to review, I had never heard of Lost Society.

But after listening to Braindead, I am honestly left scratching my head: how did this band evade my radar for such a long time?

The record is an exercise in pure aggression and relentlessness from start to finish, blending classic thrash metal of the 1980s with modern screaming, post-hardcore vocals.

Just listening to Braindeads opening track, 'I Am the Antidote', gives an instant indicator of what Lost Society is all about: wasting no time at all to provide the listener with a barrage of punishing guitar riffs, insanely fast compositions and roared vocals.

In many ways, listening to Lost Society is an experience akin to stepping into a time machine, sending us back to the era of classic, first-wave speed metal.

All the archetypes of Bay Area thrash are resurrected on Braindead, even down to the gang-vocalised choruses present on tracks like 'Riot' and 'Rage Me Up'.

The albums graphic artwork even feels like something lifted directly from an Exodus LP. Aside from a marked improvement in production quality, Lost Society sound like a product of the same period as Testaments The Legacy and Megadeths Peace Sells but Whos Buying?.

Whether or not this can be considered a positive or negative is dependent on the listener.

Im sure that for every metalhead that finds Braindeads sound to be an enjoyable throwback to rocks glory days, theres another that finds the emphasis on that style to be passe, self-restrictive and conservative.

But regardless, you cannot deny that Lost Society is a skilled band compromised of four talented musicians.

'Only (My) Death Is Certain', 'Hollow Eyes' and their cover of the Pantera rarity 'P.S.T.88' are songs that showcase a young band that isnt just a gaggle of undisciplined speed freaks: Lost Society clearly also possesses a very capable grasp of melody, technical prowess and an ability to make even another bands material sound at home on their album.

It is that ability that stops Lost Society from getting lost in the shuffle, and I cannot wait to hear more from them in the future.

Braindead is released physically and digitally on 12th February via Nuclear Blast Records .
Citizen dont like fitting in. Since the release of their first EP, Young States, in 2011, the band have been labelled as everything from straight up pop-punk, to hardcore, and even shoegaze.

The bands breakthrough came in 2013, with their full-length debut Youth. The album received widespread critical acclaim, and instantly labeled the five-piece as ones to watch for the future.

But despite this success, when it came to making their second album, Citizen - whose line-up consists of vocalist Mat Kerekes, brothers Eric and Nick Hamm on bass and guitar respectively, drummer Jake Duhaime, and guitarist Ryland Oehlers - werent interested in simply making Youth part two.

Now that the bands sophomore album, Everybody Is Going To Heaven, has been out for over six months, I sit down with guitarist Nick Hamm before their headline show at Londons Dome to reflect on the records reception, and how things have changed for Citizen.

We wanted to make a polarizing record, and I think we did, says Hamm. I think weve knocked down some of the doors weve been needing to.

Everybody Is Going To Heaven is evidently bleaker and heavier than Youth. The bands use of quietness and delicate melodies contrasts with visceral screams and moments of pummeling heaviness to create a bigger, darker sound.

But Citizen didn't set out with any particular style in mind for the album - although they knew they wanted to make a distinctly different record to Youth, they didn't know how it would be different.

When we started off writing the record, we definitely didnt intend for it to be what it ended up being.

It wasnt just us in a lab, building something where we knew what the outcome was going to be. Its just ended up its own animal.

What inspired this experimentalism, explains Hamm, was the bands constant desire to be inventive. Citizen were keen to tackle Everybody Is Going To Heaven in a new way, right from the beginning.

This record was just us throwing out any rule books, he says. We wanted to be as creative as possible.

Rather than coming armed with complete songs and dissecting them in the studio for tracking, Hamm tells me that the recording process involved more layering, and building on each different element of the music. Some songs were approached like hip-hop tracks or beats, and in an entirely different way to those on Youth.

Theres a couple of songs that we would do drum by drum  each part by each part, Hamm says. And I thought that was a really cool thing for us to do.

With Everybody Is Going To Heaven showcasing such a range of dynamics  from the soft, mellow vibes of songs like Heaviside and Yellow Love, to the aggressive riffs and biting screams of Stain and My Favorite Color  Citizen have been able to build a live set in a more interesting way, says Hamm.

And what is his personal favourite song to play live at the moment?

Its a tough question, he pauses, ponders for a moment, before deciding on Yellow Love.

Even though its really calm, weve noticed as the shows go on, Yellow Love gets a better and better reaction, and its always exciting when you put out new material and people respond to it like that.

The influences that fed into Everybody Is Going To Heaven were varied. Hamms constant favourite artist is Kanye West, although while making the record, he was listening to more punk and more noisy stuff, while vocalist Mat Kerekes was into the more industrial side of things.

But these influences have changed even more since the album's release in June last year.

Lately Ive been listening to a lot of Sky Ferreira and Iceage, says Hamm, so our tastes are pretty all over the place. I think if you asked each member youd get five different answers, for sure.

This diverse range of influences is likely one of the main reasons for Citizens ever evolving sound, which currently, is very far from that of their first EP Young States, written when the band were still teenagers. Now almost approaching seven years since their formation in 2009, do Citizen feel like they know their own sound better? Do they know where theyre going from here?

We havent necessarily found our sound, because were not really looking to find our sound, says Hamm.

A lot of people consider [Everybody Is Going To Heaven] to be a departure [from Youth], but I dont think we really had anything to depart from, because everything weve put out over the past four or five years has sounded different than what came before it, and I think thatll just continue happening.

Whatever we do next wont sound anything like this current record. And I think thats really cool. From an outside perspective  as a fan of Citizen  Id be excited to know that we [Citizen] dont plan on rehashing the past at any point.

Being so sonically fluid and open to new ideas, Citizen have never sat comfortably in one particular scene or genre  in pop-punk theyre too heavy, and in hardcore theyre too mellow. But are the band content with their current position?

I never want to be content, Hamm smiles. Sonically, we dont really have a specific place. But at the same time, its cool, because we can do a tour with a band like Turnover who we sound nothing like, and it makes for a really cool progression of the show.

Im never content, he says again. But Im definitely happy.

Its funny. Happy isnt the first adjective that comes to mind when describing Citizens music, or their live performances.

Later tonight, I see the now easygoing and relaxed Hamm tearing up the stage with his intense, glittering guitar-work, absorbed in the bands hard-hitting and relentless set  and hes a world away from the guy who tells me that he misses his bed and his cat Daisy (who, he hastens to add, is not named after the Brand New record).

But Hamm is certainly a happy individual. His genuine excitement about being in this band and sharing his music with the world is palpable, particularly when he recounts his number one Citizen memory of touring Australia last year.

I definitely never thought that I would ever go to Australia, let alone get paid to go to Australia. That was just crazy, he says, animated.

When we started the band, we had no intention of ever doing anything like that, or even coming to the UK or Europe. I just thought it would be a band that played shows on the weekends. When we were in Australia, that was when it really hit. I never even thought Id be on a plane, let alone going to Australia to tour.

But when Youth came out in 2013, Citizen went rapidly from playing small weekend shows and not being talked about at all, to being the band suddenly everyone was talking about  and people werent shy about speaking their minds, whether that was to love the band or hate them. Having formed the band while still in high school, this wasnt easy for the young members to deal with.

It forced me to grow up a little bit, Hamm reflects.

We got launched into this space where we were seeing a lot of opinions  positive or negative  and nobody in the band at that time, and still, even, is really good at ignoring negative things. Youth launched us into this place that we werent used to, which is also a reason that we wanted to make such a drastic change [on Everybody Is Going To Heaven], he explains.

Despite the positive response to their full-length debut from both fans and critics, Hamm reveals that it wasnt all sunshine and rainbows in the Citizen camp during the albums cycle.

Certain people, or certain bands, viewed Youth as a safe record.

So, we were really set on not making a safe record again, and on doing what we wanted to do without concerning ourselves with popularity. And in doing that, its pretty much solved every problem that we were dealing with during the Youth cycle. I think we definitely shook off some naysayers, and that was just one of many things that we wanted to do with [Everybody Is Going To Heaven].

With two impressive albums already under their belts, and evidently a desire to continue pushing musical boundaries, where do Citizen see themselves in the years to come?

Id like Citizen to have made a good legacy, says Hamm.

Were not the type of band that wants to stick around for the next 10 years or anything like that, or be a nostalgia band playing 10 year reunion shows. When we feel like weve done all we can creatively, well just put our energy elsewhere. I think most of the people in the band will never stop making music, so its just a matter of if its directed towards Citizen or somewhere else.

But definitely within the next five or 10 years, I would hope that weve left behind an influential legacy, if nothing else.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:

Iran says it hasn't has any discussion with Russian Gazprom over gas export to Turkey.

"Iran and Gazprom's cooperation would be in framework of establishing five workgroups in investment, repairs, maintenance, storage and refining sectors", Shana quoted the Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company Hamidreza Araqi as saying on Feb.2.

Iran has a contract with Turkey to supply the country with 27 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Russian energy giant Gazprom does not rule out its participation in the implementation of a number of export-oriented projects in Iran, the company's management committee deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said Monday.

In December, Gazprom and the National Iranian Gas Company held talks on expanding Iran's underground gas storage and its gas transport network, as well as equipment deliveries from Russia.

"With regard to Iran's export opportunities, they, of course, exist both in pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas. However, what the purpose of this gas will be, it is still an open question. In addition, we do not exclude our participation in a number of projects in Iran, with export orientation," Medvedev stated during an Investor Day in New York, commenting on the anti-Iran sanctions lifting and its consequences for cooperation with Gazprom, Sputnik reported.

Iran's priority in the gas sector will be meeting domestic demand, especially in its territorial aspect, he noted.

"It is no secret that there is a significant shortage of gas in the northern regions of Iran. It is no coincidence that the use of Russian output to meet Iran's demand for gas has been discussed quite specifically in the course of our recent meetings with Iranian colleagues," Medvedev stressed.

On January 20, Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors Viktor Zubkov said the company was exploring the possibilities of closer cooperation with Iran after the international sanctions against the country were lifted.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3



By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Ankara hopes to win the arbitration hearing on the Russian gas price, a source in the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources exclusively told Trend Feb. 3.

The source also said the court has already made a number of preliminary conclusions on Turkey's claim, but refused to disclose any details.

Earlier, the International Court of Arbitration passed a judgment in favor of Turkey over a long-term gas dispute between the country and Iran.

Moscow and Ankara agreed to reduce the Russian gas price a year ago, but in exchange for permission to build the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. However, the price was not reduced. Turkey filed a lawsuit to the International Court of Arbitration on Oct. 27, 2015.

In accordance with two contracts signed with Turkey, Russia is committed to annually supply 20 billion cubic meters of gas to the country.

The first contract to supply Turkey with 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas was signed in 1997, and will expire in late 2025.

The second contract for the supply of four billion cubic meters of gas was signed in 1998 and expires in 2021.

In 2014, Turkey was the second largest importer of Russian gas after Germany - Ankara purchased 27.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom.

Turkey imports 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Azerbaijan on the basis of a 'take or pay' contract. Turkey also buys gas from Iran.

Ankara also has agreements with Algeria and Nigeria for the supply of 4.4 billion cubic meters and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year, respectively.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:

Greece has solved all issues necessary for receiving Azerbaijani gas via the Southern Gas Corridor, said Nikos Kotzias, Greek foreign minister, at a meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev.

Aliyev, for his part, said the smooth implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project is very important for the development of energy cooperation between Greece and Azerbaijan, the Energy Ministry of Azerbaijan said in a message Feb. 3.

"Some 50 percent of the work on the Shah Deniz 2 project has been completed," added Aliyev. "Eight of 26 planned production wells have been drilled."

"The implementation of projects on expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP's construction and other work on Southern Gas Corridor are underway despite the drop in oil prices," Aliyev said.

He said the work on the project will not be suspended and the project will be completed on time.

Aliyev also said Greece's support for Trans Adriatic Pipeline's (TAP) construction is very important, because if the pipeline is not ready, Azerbaijani gas will not be supplied to Europe.

"Therefore, the timely implementation of the project will be effective for all sides," he added

Kotzias, in his turn, praised TAP's role in Europe's energy security.

"Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to Europe via TAP in the nearest future," added Kotzias.

He also expressed hope for rapid settlement of the issue concerning SOCAR's deal to purchase a share in the Greek gas operator DESFA.

The parties also discussed the issues related to the holding of the second meeting of Advisory Board of the Southern Gas Corridor project in late February.

The Southern Gas Corridor project envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe (with a possibility of increasing up to 20 bcm).



This large project is aimed at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply, which will enhance energy security of Europe.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Air Astana two of Europe's leading airlines, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, have today deepened their cooperation by signing a codeshare agreement for flights between Astana and Paris operated by Air Astana. Effective for flights from 11th March 2016, this three times a week service will now carry the marketing code of both KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France. This agreement enables passengers from across KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France worldwide networks to be able to purchase tickets and travel seamlessly to and from the Kazakh capital.

To facilitate this closer cooperation and expected growth in transfer traffic, the airlines have also executed baggage and passenger transfer agreements; and the operations of Air Astana flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport have been transferred from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2a, effective 11th March 2016 for more convenient connections of passengers to the Air France - KLM network.

Air Astana operates three flights a week between Astana and Paris, Charles de Gaulle on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using Boeing B757-200 aircraft, configured with 16 Business Class, 12 Economy Sleeper Class and 108 Economy Class seats.

"We are delighted to strengthen the cooperation with KLM and Air France as part of our bilateral partnership growth strategy. The Agreement adds the Kazakh capital to the KLM and Air France network and at the same time makes its easier for global travelers to fly with Air Astana to and from our home base using the Paris hub. We believe that Air France and KLM passengers will enjoy Air Astana's award winning 4 Star services. These first steps pave the way for a strong and long term cooperation between the three carriers" commented Peter Foster, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Astana.

Guillaume Glass, General Manager Russia & CIS AIR FRANCE KLM: "We have a track record of building successful partnerships with international carriers that broaden our global network. The co-operation with Air Astana is another milestone in our unique global flight network to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This strategic step will deliver significant benefits to our business and provide our customers with exclusive travel opportunities. Plus we will strengthen our presence in Kazakhstan in the capital city, which will hold the Expo-2017
COVID-19 surge unlikely this winter in South Dakota, Avera doctor says

Months away from the peak of COVID-19 in South Dakota, the state is prepping for another winter during the pandemic.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Feb. 3

By Demir Azizov - Trend:

The state of relations between Tashkent and Tbilisi was discussed by the management of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry and the Ambassador of Georgia Konstantin Zhgenti Feb. 3, Uzbek Foreign Ministry told Trend.

Proposals of the sides on further development of cooperation, including the way of intensifying Uzbek-Georgian relations at different levels were also discussed during the meeting.

Georgia is one of the Uzbekistan's main foreign trade partners. The main document regulating relations between the two states is the Agreement between Uzbekistan and Georgia on friendship and cooperation signed in 1995.

Issues of bilateral trade and economic relations are regulated by the joint Uzbek-Georgian intergovernmental commission.

The trade turnover between the two states was $205 million according to the results of 2014.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

While talks between Russia and OPEC may be possible, they are unlikely to be fruitful, Gal Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS), told Trend Feb. 2.

The Saudi-Russian relations are at a low due to Moscow's siding with the Syrian-Iranian axis, Luft said, adding this creates a context that is not conducive to cooperation on oil quota coordination.

"If the Saudis decided to act to reduce production they would act alone or in conjunction with other OPEC members - not with Russia," the expert said.

The cartel's delegates said last week that a gathering of oil officials of OPEC and non-OPEC countries could take place in February or March, perhaps at an expert level, rather than the ministerial one.

"It is all in the hands of the Russians now," an OPEC delegate was earlier reported to say.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Feb. 2 that his country will join the OPEC meeting with non-member states if it takes place.

"If there is common interest in a meeting between OPEC members and countries that are not part of the organization, we, of course, will be ready for such a consensus. We are willing to work in the formats agreed by all parties concerned," Lavrov said.

Market prices for benchmark Brent and WTI crude dropped to a 12-year low in mid-January, sliding below the level of $30 a barrel due to oversupply.

Further speaking to Trend, Luft commented on Iran's stance on the issue, saying Tehran would welcome any action that drives up prices, but it isn't likely to accept production cuts on the ground that its production has already been suppressed for too long under international sanctions.

Iran is preparing to add 500,000 barrels per day of crude to production level this year, following the removal of international sanctions against it last month.

The latest OPEC monthly report, released Jan. 18, indicates that the cartel decreased oil production by 210,000 barrels per day in December, month-to-month to 32.182 million barrels per day (mbpd).

In 2016, the demand for OPEC crude is forecasted at 31.6 mbpd, some 1.7 mbpd higher than the previous year.

OPEC will hold an ordinary meeting June 2.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Strategic ties between Russia and Iran contribute to regional and international stability, as well as to peace, said Ali Akbar Velayati, senior aide to Iran's supreme leader.



Velayati further said that the current international situation requires consultations between Iran and Russia, IRNA news agency reported.

The aide made the remarks at a session in Moscow, which discussed political cooperation between Iran and Russia on Feb. 3.

Velayati further added that the times when a single country could have domination on the world are over.



"The current nasty situation in the world is a result of undertaking unilateral policies," he said, adding the cooperation between Iran and Russia can help build a fair system in the world.

He also called for expansion of strategic ties with Moscow, and said Iran and Russia have a common point of view regarding international developments.

Velayati arrived in Moscow on Feb. 1, on a four-day official visit at an invitation from the head of the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, Leonid Reshetnikov.

Ahead of his departure for Moscow, Velayati described Iran and Russia as two influential countries in the region and the world, and spoke about cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in fight against terrorism.

He also was reported to say that Iran and Russia are the main pillars of regional cooperation.


Welcome to the trial of the century  er, at least of the moment. As journalists lined up on the steps of Old City Hall on a cold morning this week to witness the opening day of disgraced former broadcaster Jian Ghomeshis trial on sexual assault and choking charges, they were, thanks to the miracle of social media, hawking their wares  Follow my live blog/stream/Twitter feed! just as shrilly if they were newsies yelling, Extra, extra, read all about it!

That first day, with conflicted evidence, and a forceful formidable defence, yielded little in the way of sensational news. But never mind, its early yet. This trial will produce headlines and hypotheticals until the verdict is in.

May I confess what I was doing while day one of Ghomeshi unfolded?

I was engrossed in another sensational spectacular celebrity trial, one that took place mainly in 1995, and one I was so obsessed with at the time I might have been accused of child neglect. (My grown kids demur, but the very name of the accused brings a knowing smirk to their faces.)

I am talking about the months-long televised murder trial of football star and actor O.J. Simpson, accused in 1994 of viciously stabbing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman to death, this week on riveting replay in the new FX docudrama The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

The six of 10 episodes I saw in a screener were so gripping I felt like live-tweeting them. Yes, yes, we know the verdict. Thanks in part to a black-dominated jury who believed the defences story that hed been framed by racist cops, O.J., despite a history of domestic assault and overwhelming physical evidence, got off. But he never regained his place in the celebrity pantheon and is now in jail for something else.

The acting is superb, as is the weaving together of a narrative that was at the intersection, as one character puts it, of racial politics, due process and celebrity culture (to which Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. whines, What does that even mean?). Set in the 90s, it perfectly points to the celebrity-strewn landscape and bitter racial divides of today.

All the familiar players are there, including Sarah Paulson as the doomed, distracted-by-domestic-trouble prosecutor Marcia Clark, who thought she had O.J. in the bag and not only lost the case but was subjected to vicious sexism. Then there are the vain, high-end L.A. lawyers (John Travolta excels as one of them) and the brilliant black attorney Johnnie Cochrane (an astounding Courtney B. Vance), who, by invoking racial prejudice, got his client off. The hangers-on are there too, even a Kardashian (Robert, played excellently by David Schwimmer as O.J.s best friend.)

While O.Js was not the first celebrity trial, it was certainly one of the most talked-about. Whole dinner parties revolved around a pair of bloody gloves purportedly worn by the accused.

According to CNN, a survey by Nielson and Sony concluded that the moment that Simpson was acquitted of two counts of murder was the third most universally impactful televised moment of the last 50 years  behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

We love trials as spectacles. We see them not as one sordid tale, but as emblematic of our times.

My millennial daughter, for instance, says the recent Oscar Pistorius trial  in which the once admired disabled South African athlete was finally convicted on appeal of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp  was her O.J. Simpson spectacle, with its deeply disappointing moments when Pistorius character and culpability became clear.

Spectacle trials revolve around issues bigger than the crime, the accused and the victims. Racial politics. Police brutality. Rape culture. The accused must have already fallen from a very high place in society, thereby fulfilling our desire to escape into someone elses very big mess.

In following these trials we dont become less human. We become more so. We think of the victims, especially the dead ones, as noble stand-ins for ourselves, knowing that somewhere in the alleged assault, horror or violence, the bullets or the knife, is a whispered message not easily forgotten: Give me justice.

It will be a while before we know whether the Ghomeshi trial lives up to this standard as spectacle.

There are, make no mistake, sympathetic victims and big issues: violence against women, the blurred line between kink and crime, how women who accuse men of sexual assault are treated, and most importantly, consent. Yet what began, after Ghomeshis 2014 firing from the CBC, as an urgent national conversation on harassment, assault, and consent, may or may not, as played out in the courtroom, grip the nation after all.

Certainly we will continue to call it a circus, although we the media create that circus. Cameras will continue to whir as the once-cool radio host walks soberly toward the court.

Ghomeshis lead lawyer, Marie Henein, focused and fierce has already been given the fame treatment, most recently in an absorbing profile by Marci McDonald in Toronto Life magazine. In it, Henein likens her own need to be in the midst of courtroom drama to an addiction: I need the fix, she says.

We all need the fix. If this doesnt do it, well, weve got Bill Cosbys trial of the century coming our way soon.

Judith Timson writes weekly about cultural, social and political issues. You can reach her at judith.timson@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @judithtimson

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Ive written a few times about police accountability in the past month, and some small percentage of the response Ive gotten by email and phone has suggested I am a knee-jerk, anti-police hothead secretly in league with gangsters and criminals. I think that misinterprets what Im getting at  I am vocal about problems specifically because I want and expect an effective police force that we can trust, and I believe the vast majority of rank-and-file officers are likely worthy of that expectation.

But fine, I have been a critic of the cops at times, especially the executives who lead the force. Still, I dont think I have ever suggested that our front-line police officers are stupid or incapable, as Mike McCormack, the head of the Toronto Police Association, who represents members of the force, sometimes seems to suggest they must be.

To wit: after the guilty finding on the charge of attempted murder against Const. James Forcillo, McCormack stood on the courthouse steps and worried about how this verdict sends a chilling message to our members, and thats going to be a challenge for our frontline members.... Which message would his members find chilling and challenging? The message that they should not attempt to murder people?

And there hes been again, over the past few days, suggesting that a spike in gun crime this month can be attributed to the end of the practice of random carding last year. Our members arent out there engaging with the public like they used to because of broad changes to street checks, he was quoted as saying in the Toronto Sun after a public double-shooting in Chinatown over the weekend. Because of this, we dont have the ability to investigate like we used to.

Its worth noting that Staff Insp. Greg McLane, head of the homicide division, has not suggested any carding-related spike in homicides. In addressing reporters Tuesday, he said the higher than usual number of shootings is concerning, but I look on it as a bit of an anomaly, in that the shootings appear to bear no connection to each other, and he appealed not for a return to random street checks but for voluntary information from anyone who saw or knows what happened in these cases. He asked for help in gathering intelligence, in other words.

Which McCormack seemed to suggest is prevented by a prohibition on carding. Debating the issue with Toronto Star columnist and anti-carding activist Desmond Cole on CityNews Monday, McCormack  after noting that there are many factors involved in crime, and that its hard to isolate one  said the prohibition on carding means, What Im hearing from my members is, there is no pro-active policing engagement right now, there isnt intelligence gathering.

If what hes hearing from his members about that is true, it is distressing. But it is not clear why that alleged shutdown of all police work is a result of ending the practice of carding.

You may remember from the detailed debate about this issue last year that carding, as a police practice that the police board and the provincial government determined must stop, is the random, arbitrary stopping of people for no defined public safety purpose, and the documenting of that stop in a record containing the persons identification. It was two defining factors of carding that made it a problem: arbitrariness (which appears to have led to widespread discriminatory and biased application), and disconnection from any known or suspected wrongdoing.

The investigation of homicide is a very well-defined public safety purpose. The gathering of intelligence about criminal gangs is a well-defined public-safety purpose. Finding information about illegal gun smuggling, sales, and ownership is a well-defined public-safety purpose. There is nothing random or arbitrary about these practices. They are not carding  or at least, they are not the form of carding that was subject to public controversy.

(This kind of confusion seems endemic among police defenders of carding: the highest-profile specific defence of the practice, from Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans, involved the explanation of how an officer documenting the investigation of a call about suspected illegal fishing led to a break in the case of the murder of Cecilia Zhang. Notice, there was no arbitrary, random stop for undefined purposes. The officer was investigating a specific suspicion based on a call about a possible crime in progress. Nothing anti-carding activists have demanded would have prevented that scenario from playing out exactly as it did.)

The claim that intelligence-gathering and criminal investigation must be shut down entirely if some public safety purpose must guide those processes is bizarre. It suggests that police can think of no better method of preventing and solving crimes than randomly stopping and questioning people for no reason, and recording all that random information.

That is worse than suggesting they dont have a clue. It is suggesting that they dont know how to look for clues and follow them. That they may not even know what a clue is.

Thats not me suggesting that, mind you. It is the head of the Toronto Police Association, leveling a more devastating criticism than Ive heard from any activist critics in a long time.

Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire

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ROMEU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group had agreed at a meeting here to intensify their efforts to defeat the group, but he ruled out sending U.S. forces to intervene in Libya, where Sunni extremists are pressing to claim territory.

The United States and 22 other nations agreed to a very specific schedule for backing the formation of a national unity government in Libya, Kerry said, and discussed contributions that would be needed from each nation to stabilize Iraq and address the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Every single country there agreed that each of us has to do more in order to more rapidly and completely defeat Daesh, Kerry told reporters as he wrapped up a day of meetings in Rome devoted to planning the next stages of the battle against the group, using an Arabic acronym to refer to it.

But he said U.S. President Barack Obama had made clear that he had no appetite for sending U.S. troops into Libya. The president will never eliminate every option forever, if common sense dictated that the situation changed or it required him to adjust, but thats not in his horizon at the moment, Kerry said.

Related:

U.S., coalition concede they are losing propaganda war against Islamic State END

Canadas ISIS mission has cost close to $300 million END

Kerry warned earlier Tuesday that the group, also known as ISIS or Daesh, was threatening to gain a stranglehold in Libya and with it access to vast oil wealth.

More than four years after a U.S.-led military effort helped topple dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Libya is mired in chaos. Since 2014, it has been split between two rival authorities. A new unity government still doesnt have parliamentary approval.

Amid the chaos, an Islamic State affiliate has carved out territory in the centre of the country and fighters, wearied by coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, are flocking to the new front.

Paolo Gentiloni, the foreign minister of Italy, and Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister of France, also said their governments were not currently contemplating military operations inside Libya.

However, Italy, whose southernmost territory is less than 500 kilometres from Libya, has indicated it would participate in a UN-authorized peacekeeping or stabilization mission. It has moved aircraft to a base in Sicily, but insists that any action first requires a stable Libyan government and other international assistance. The instability has led to hundreds of thousands of migrants using Libya-based smugglers to reach Italy.

Last week, U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter warned that Islamic State militants were trying to consolidate their own footprint in Libya by setting up training sites, drawing in foreign recruits and using the levers of economic power to raise money through taxes. The U.S. wont allow the group to sink roots in Libya, he said, but provided no indication of any U.S. military campaign was imminent.

For now, Kerry said, the coalition plans to work with Martin Kobler, the UN envoy for Libya, to help the country form a unity government. He said that process was crucial to prevent it from sliding into the hands of the Islamic State.

Were still not at the victory that we want to achieve and will achieve in either Syria or Iraq, and we have seen Daesh playing a game of metastasizing out to other countries, particularly Libya, he said as the meetings began. The last thing in the world you want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue.

Kerry said that the coalitions gains in pushing back the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria were undeniable, but that its members had to do more to sustain the success. On Tuesday, some countries were asked to provide additional training, medical supplies or other services for Iraqis, while Norway agreed to help clear mines from liberated areas of Iraq, including Ramadi, where the Islamic State group left behind explosives and booby-trapped buildings.

At a conference in London on Thursday, Kerry said, the United States and other nations will announce additional humanitarian aid for Syria, where he said 13.5 million people, including six million children, were in urgent need. Next week in Munich, diplomats will discuss additional contributions that can be made by a group of nations pushing for a resolution of Syrias civil war, he said. And defence ministers of the coalition countries will assemble for the first time next week in Brussels to talk about expanding the military offensive against the Islamic State group.

We are committed to using every resource at our disposal in order to remain on the offensive on every front, Kerry said.

He described a UN-led effort unfolding in Geneva to bring about a political solution to the Syrian conflict as a vital piece of that process, calling President Bashar Assad a magnet for terrorism and accusing his government of war crimes for preventing humanitarian relief efforts to reach starving Syrians.

Starvation as a tactic of war is against the laws of war, and it is being used every single day as a tactic by the Assad regime, Kerry said at the start of the gathering. He said there was an urgent need for the talks in Geneva to deliver a ceasefire, immediate humanitarian assistance and protection for civilians at risk from daily airstrikes.

It would help enormously if those who say they are there to fight Daesh, fight Daesh, Kerry said later, apparently referring to Russian forces that have carried out airstrikes far from the Islamic State groups strongholds, in areas dominated by anti-Assad rebels.

His remarks came amid reports of a government drive in northern Syria that threatened supply lines from Turkey to rebel forces in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo. In addition to aggravating the suffering of civilians, the new offensive, backed by heavy Russian airstrikes, threatened to render meaningless the Geneva talks.

With files from The Associated Press

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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Iran and Germany are deeply interested in closer bilateral relations as the nuclear Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has opened a new window to Tehran-Berlin ties, Irna reported.



He made the statement in a joint press conference following a meeting here on Tuesday evening with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during which he said his second visit to Tehran in three months focused on good issues as well as those which are a source of concern.

'I am confident the JCPOA made the world and region safer, and for the years to come narrowed prospects of nuclearization of the region,' he said expressing his satisfaction over the deal reached between Iran and world powers in Vienna last summer.

On regional crises, the German foreign minister called for a change in the conditions so that bloodshed can be stopped and a political solution is achieved.

'It is why we say that JCPOA is important,' he added.

He said it is not a secret that there are differences over the settlement of the Syrian crisis. 'We shall act upon the understanding reached under UN supervision so that it will result in negotiations between the Syrian government and its opposition.'

The German foreign minister said that Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two countries that can contribute to the settlement of crisis in Syria and that he will visit Riyadh on Wednesday.

To a question on Germany's likely mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Steinmeier said, 'I think it is not necessary that I want to mediate between two neighboring countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia or that they need a mediatior.'

He also said that in his scheduled meeting with President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday, the issue of his next state visit to Europe will be discussed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has urged the country's Supreme National Security Council to stand against arrogance and confront those, who remain idle to it, said the message on the leader's official website.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks at a meeting with the secretary, deputies and members of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, this morning.

Without giving names, Khamenei hinted at some people in Iran, who do not tend to stand against the arrogance. The supreme leader further added that the council must deal with enemies trying to destabilize the country, with use of modern methods.

Khamenei urged the members of the Supreme National Security Council to consider the various issues of economy, politics and culture in making decisions.

He called on the council members to follow the thoughts of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Rouhollah Khomeini adding that security is one of most vital needs of a society.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani has underlined that Tehran and Berlin should plan for long-term cooperation.

Rouhani made the remarks during a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on Feb. 3, ISNA news agency reported.

The two parties also underlined necessity of a common fight against terrorism and extremism in the Middle East region.

Rouhani further hailed Germany's "positive and constructive" role during the nuclear talks with the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany), saying the two countries should enjoy the post-sanction period opportunity to boost the cooperation.

Top German diplomat, for his turn, expressed Berlin's readiness for expanding ties with Tehran in various areas including political, economic, cultural and academic.

Speaking after meeting with Rouhani, Steinmeier said he had told the Iranian president he was welcome to visit Germany the next time he comes to Europe.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Steinmeier arrived in Tehran Feb. 2 for two-day visit.

The top German diplomat also met with Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, as well as his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

Mutual ties, economic cooperation, as well as latest regional developments, including Syria crisis and the recent tension between Tehran and Riyadh were discussed during the visits.

Steinmeier will depart Tehran for Riyadh after holding talks with Iranian senior officials.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Aygun Badalova - Trend:

The US is too big, commercially, diplomatically, and militarily for Iran to avoid, Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, former official in US departments of state and defense told Trend.

At the same time, Pipes dismissed the idea that Iran's doctrine of "the West minus the United States" supported by local conservatives, can be a successful approach.

The mentioned doctrine was initially put in place by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the early 1990s. The doctrine, which envisaged Iran's cooperation with the entire West, excluding the US, has since then been followed by all Iranian administrations. Ayatollah Khamenei even has banned any talks with the US beyond the nuclear issue.

Iran and the P5+1 group have reached a nuclear agreement, which was followed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal), lifting international, nuclear-related sanctions off Iran.

Following a breath of fresh air, Iran set its sight to expanding its economic reach, inviting more investors to the country and making its presence felt on the world arena.

While Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the country is open for economic ties with the US, as well as doing business with the US entrepreneurs, Pipes doesn't see this happening any time soon.

"Many U.S. sanctions remain in place, as well as a general concern about the stability of Iran and the security of American visitors," Pipes said.

Another issue that Iran has been battling for a long time is the human rights, which is a sensitive issue for the US.

Answering the question about the US possibly sacrificing its principles, such as human rights, for economic interest in ties with Iran, Pipes voiced several obstacles for that to happen.

"There's a permanent tension between interests and morality, one that is never resolved," Pipes said. "That said, Iran is a small market and a major abuser of human rights, so I think the outcome here is quite clear."

According to last year's reports, Iran's human rights record is far from good, having the highest execution rate in over a decade (United Nations special rapporteur's report).

The mentioned report said Iran executed 753 people in 2014 (the highest total recorded in the past 12 years). The number was up from 687 in 2013.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has called for unity among Iranians to contribute to progress in the country.

He was addressing a ceremony dedicated to the National Day of Space Technology, where he unveiled Iran's new "Friendship Satellite", Iranian state-run TV channel IRINN reported Feb. 3.

Saying the implementation of the JCPOA (aka nuclear deal) is seen as a historic victory for Iran, Rouhani noted that, now, Iran needs a comprehensive plan for boosting its economy and industry.

Iranian president also urged to have the private sector carry out the significant parts of the government institutions' tasks.

He also spoke about the "Ten Days of Dawn" marking the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the revolution leader Ayatollah Khomeini returned to the country after almost 15 years of exile.

The president said the government should brief the public about its plans and urged to make advance in the country's scientific sector, as the obstacles to Iran have been taken down after the JCPOA's implementation.

He also spoke against importing commodities and called for joining efforts to boost the domestic production, as well as creation of job opportunities.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

Iran's capability to build economic ties with the West excluding the US, in compliance with the "West minus the US" doctrine, is under doubt, believes an expert.

"Iran will be able to build primarily economic relations with individual European states, as well as the European Union and other US allies," James Dorsey, senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Trend Feb. 3 commenting on the issue.

"Beyond that the US would be an integral part of anything the West does," he stressed.

In the early 1990s, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei put forward a doctrine known as the "West minus the United States". The doctrine, which envisages Iran's cooperation with the entire West excluding the US, has since then been followed by all Iranian administrations. Khamenei even banned any talks with the US beyond the nuclear issue.

Dorsey, while responding to a question about the major obstacles to the resumption of Iran-US economic ties, said the primary barrier is the remaining restrictions by the US with regard to the Islamic Republic.

It was primarily the United Nations' sanctions, rather than that of the US, that were lifted, he explained.

Iranian officials have repeatedly announced that Tehran is open for economic ties with the US, including presence of American businessmen and investors in the country. In the most recent similar remark, President Hassan Rouhani said that there is no restriction against entrepreneurs from the US to do business in Iran.

Further responding to the question whether West may sacrifice its principles, such as human rights, for economic interests in ties with Iran, Dorsey said, "the West does that regularly, why would it not do so with Iran too?"

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh
DeVry Education (DV) , the nation's third-largest for-profit education company, will report second-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings results Thursday after the closing bell.

How the Illinois-based company performed in its last fiscal quarter will be secondary to what the future holds. And DeVry's future is no longer clear, thanks to a recent suit that alleges DeVry committed deceptive advertising was filed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Since then, DeVry stock has been hammered, plummeting 58.6% over 12 months to a new 52-week low of $18.15 in Tuesday trading. Investors have witnessed some 23% of their value disappear in the past week.

The FTC investigation fuels even more questions about the merits and long-term viability in the for-profit education industry. And it teaches investors another tough lesson: don't bet on certain stocks that appear too cheap.

In August I offered tons of reasons why, despite a cheap stock price and international expansion plans, things could still get worse for DeVry. At the time, DeVry stock had declined 36% in the preceding six months and traded around $27. The constant flow of negative headlines about the for-profit education industry and chronic slumping student enrollment both made selling the shares -- as I recommended -- make sense.

DeVry was already struggling to grow its student population. Now it may face competing with the federal government, since President Obama proposes to make community college free for the first two years.

To offset its declining student population at its various campuses, DeVry has ratcheted its promotional activities and marketing campaigns, claiming that 90% of its graduates who actively sought employment found new jobs in their majors within six months of graduation. Plus, DeVry claims that within a year of graduation, its former students earned 15% more pay compared to other graduates.

But these claims are at best deceptive, according to FTC. Some of the graduates in DeVry's figures are either working outside of their field of study or were entirely excluded from the count since they gave up on their job searches altogether, the FTC says. And that's yet another headache for an industry that has suffered one black eye after another.

As for its second-quarter results, ending in December, analysts forecast 66 cents a share on revenue of $457.85 million, compared to the year-ago quarter when it earned 75 cents a share on $484.88 million in revenue. For the full year, ending in June, earnings are projected to decline 4% to $2.39 a share, while full-year revenue of $1.82 billion would mark a 4.6% decline from last year.

With DeVry earnings and revenue in retreat and with little prospect of higher enrollment, we recommend avoiding DeVry shares. And at around $18 per share, DeVry could see its stock reach single digits as the weight of the government investigation grows more heavy.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Yahoo! (YHOO) are declining 0.89% to $28.08 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, after reporting 2015 fourth quarter financial results largely in line with expectations, and after announcing its strategic plan.

The technology company posted adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share, in line with analysts' estimates.

Revenue was $1.27 billion for the quarter, above analysts' projections for $1.19 billion.

Mavens revenue (mobile, video, native and social media) came in at $472 million for the quarter, an increase from $375 million for the year-ago period. Revenue within this segment represented 33% of traffic-driven revenue for the quarter, and rose to 39% during the period.

Yahoo! separately announced that it will consider a reverse spinoff while also exploring strategic alternatives.

The company plans to cut about 15% of its workforce, close five offices and weigh asset sales. The moves are part of a restructuring aimed at realizing $400 million in annual savings.

Activist investors including Starboard Value have called for an outright sale of Yahoo!'s core business as the company struggles to keep pace with rivals such as Facebook (FB) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

"It's tough to turn around Internet companies," Shyam Patil, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group. told Bloomberg. "Either you're kind of in the sweet spot, or you're not."

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C.

Yahoo!'s strengths such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins are countered by weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: YHOO

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 article's author.

YHOO

data by

YCharts
The market was so rough last week that it would be tempting to forget about stocks and spend your spare time rehashing Denver's Super Bowl victory. But if you did that, you'd be missing a tremendous opportunity to get out in front of the market turmoil with the best minds in the business. TheStreet is running its Open House from now until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 8.

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Yahoo! (YHOO) investors didn't like what they heard during CEO Marissa Mayer's conference call Tuesday on the company's fourth-quarter results. They sent the stock tumbling by 1.7% to close at $29.06. Yahoo! shares dropped another 1.5% in after-hours trading.

Earnings came in at 13 cents per share, as analysts expected, but that wasn't enough to placate investors.

Revenue came in at $1.27 billion, above analysts' estimates of $1.19 billion. Still, revenue and Ebitda in 2014 were essentially the same as they were in 2012, when Mayer joined the company, TheStreetreported on Monday.

Mayer also announced Yahoo! would cut its workforce by 15% and close five offices. She laid out rosy plans in a section titled, "2017-2020 Return to Growth," which requires more spending to boost revenue. In 2015, she increased total acquisition costs to $878 million, from $218 million.

Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google unit has reached another milestone, CEO Sundar Pichai told investors during the company's fourth-quarter conference call on Monday. Gmail, which was released in April 2004, now exceeds 1 billion users.

Alphabet shares rose by 1.3% Tuesday, closing at $780.91.

Twitter (TWTR) is going to let the over 500 million people in 23 countries -- who visit Twitter every month without signing up -- join in all the fun.

"Now, you can check out a news story as it unfolds, dive into the play-by-play discussions around a game, and then come back again to see that exchange between two rappers everyone's been talking about. It's real time and straight from the source, just like the Twitter experience for those who log in," enthused product manager Paul Lambert.

The company is trying to attract a larger audience, which is so important to advertisers. But the news did nothing to lift Twitter stock, which got hammered on Tuesday, dropping by 10.2% to $16.08 a share.

Magic Leap, the Dania, Fla., company that is working on developing a "cinematic reality" device that many believe will change the way we use computers, won $793.5 million in new funding on Tuesday in "what might be the largest C-round of funding in Internet history," reports Money.

Alibaba (BABA) , the Chinese e-commerce giant, led the funding, with early investors Qualcomm (QCOM) and Alphabet joining in this latest round, along with several financial institutions.

"We invest in forward-thinking, innovative companies like Magic Leap that are developing leading products and technologies," said Joe Tsai, executive vice chairman at Alibaba, in a press release.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

British Airways announced that it is preparing to resume direct flights to Tehan from July 14.

According to a report released on the official website of British Airways on Feb.3, the route will launch as a six-per-week service before moving to daily flights from winter 2016, giving customers even more choice and flexibility between London and the Middle East.

" The service from Heathrow Terminal 5 will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777".

Neil Cottrell, British Airways' head of network planning, said: "Iran is a large and growing economy and Tehran is a brilliant business city so we are incredibly excited to be adding another gateway to the Middle East for our customers.

"The recent lifting of sanctions opens up exciting new prospects for Iran as a tourist destination and with its rich heritage, unique architecture and world-class food it's unsurprising Tehran is tipped to be a popular destination for 2016."
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) have fallen more than 6% on Wednesday after it reported fourth-quarter revenue that missed analyst estimates.

"This is, I think, within 10% of a bottom here," TheStreet's Jim Cramer, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, said on CNBC's "Mad Dash" segment, as he urged investors to look beyond the restaurant chain's lousy quarter. "People are going to come back to it and, therefore, this stock goes higher."

CMG data by YCharts

Chipotle has had a challenging few months, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently concluding its investigation into E. coli incidents associated with the restaurant chain.

Cramer urged investors not to make too much of a Department of Justice probe into a norovirus outbreak in a Chipotle restaurant in California. "People get scared about a Justice Department investigation. They're going to look back and say, "When did that end? What was that all about?" Cramer said.

The company will launch an aggressive marketing and promotional campaign next week to win back customers. Chipotle plans to spend $50 million in the first quarter for the marketing campaign, which will continue through the summer.

"I think people will be headed to Chipotle five months from now. These guys have more cash than they know what to do with because they are just buying hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of stock," Cramer said.

"I'm gonna go there," he said. "Will someone get me a burrito?"

At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in stocks mentioned.
The main Syria opposition coalition, the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), says it will not attend a planned meeting with the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Press TV reported.



"There is no meeting with (Staffan) de Mistura," planned for Tuesday afternoon, HNC member Farah Atassi told reporters outside of the UN headquarters in the Swiss city of Geneva, where the Syria peace talks are going on.



"We presented the demands that we wanted to demand. At this moment, there is no reason to repeat ourselves with de Mistura," she added.



The gathering was to be the opposition delegation's second meeting with the Swedish-Italian diplomat as part of the UN-brokered peace Geneva negotiations aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria.



United Nations spokeswoman Khawla Mattar also confirmed that there would be "no other meetings today" in Geneva with de Mistura.



Earlier in the day, the UN envoy held talks with the Damascus government delegation. The meeting came one day after de Mistura announced the beginning of peace talks proper in the Swiss city of Geneva.



Following the event, however, Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, who has represented the Syrian government in the peace talks, said the negotiations are still in a preliminary phase and called the opposition "not serious".



The ongoing Syria talks are to be held in an 18-month timetable under a resolution unanimously approved by the UN Security Council.



Adopted on December 18, 2015, the resolution calls for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and the formation of a "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian" government within six months as well as UN-supervised "free and fair elections" within 18 months.



Some 17 nations - including the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran - held several rounds of talks last year in the broadest international push to end the crisis in Syria.



The foreign-sponsored Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011, has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people, and displaced almost eight million others.
The shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) are falling after the company last night reported lower than expected revenue and divulged that its same-store sales had plunged more than 14% last quarter. However, a number of firms responded positively following the report, with Wells Fargo upgrading the stock and Piper Jaffray recommending that patient investors buy the shares. Conversely, Deutsche Bank and Jefferies continue to express caution about the company's outlook.

WHAT'S NEW: Chipotle reported Q4 EPS of $2.17, versus the consensus outlook of $1.86. However, the company's revenue came in slightly below expectations and its same-store sales plunged 14.6% versus the same period a year earlier, in-line with its previous guidance. Chipotle's sales have plunged after an E coli outbreak in multiple states was traced to its restaurants. Yesterday, the company said that the E.coli incidents are over, but warned that the upcoming year would be "difficult" in comparison with its historical performance.

BULLISH TAKE: Wells Fargo analyst Jeff Farmer upgraded Chipotle to Outperform from Market Perform. After studying the impact of food borne illness outbreaks on restaurant chains, Farmer says that same-store sales declines can be cut in half six months after incidents occur. Moreover, the same-store sales of affected companies can rise 12-15 months after the incident, the analyst stated. Although Chipotle's bottom line will be pressured as it spends more to improve its sales, the company's stock can rise as its same-store sales rebound, according to Farmer, who raised his price target range on the shares to $500-$530 from $420-$450. Agreeing with Farmer, Piper Jaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan wrote that the company's increased spending would weigh on its bottom line this year, but that its strategic initiatives support a positive outlook on the stock over the longer term. The company will have a number of near-term positive catalysts, including interim comp sales updates and its employee meeting next week, said Regan, who kept an Overweight rating on the shares but cut her price target to $479 from $500.

BEARISH TAKE: Comparisons between Chipotle and other companies that experienced similar situations are "irrelevant," since "no concept has been so loved and (then) so abandoned," wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Short. She believes that consumers were already becoming less enthusiastic about Chipotle before the E.coil outbreak, and she kept a Hold rating on the shares following its report. Jefferies analyst Andy Barish lowered his price target on the stock to $390 from $420, forecasting that the company's results would be "volatile" while its outlook will remain "uncertain" going forward. The analyst kept a Hold rating on the restaurant chain's stock.

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Chipotle dropped 7% to $442.50.

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The first flight of a new US rocket in 2018 will carry into space 13 small satellites, also known as CubeSats, along with an unmanned Orion spacecraft, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a press release, according to Sputnik.





One of the CubeSats will be placed in a low orbit 62 miles from the Moon's surface to search for water, according to NASA.

"These small satellite secondary payloads will carry science and technology investigations to help pave the way for future human exploration in deep space, including the journey to Mars," the release stated on Tuesday.

Another CubeSat will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep space radiation on living organisms over long durations, the release explained.

A CubeSat called the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is planned to perform reconnaissance of an asteroid, take pictures and observe its position in space, the release added.

The Orion spacecraft is designed to carry astronauts on long-duration flights that will eventually travel to Mars. NASA said it plans to lift the Orion from Earth on a powerful new rocket called the Space Launch System.


Sarah Milburn, a Verdun resident, said she was very lucky. And this August 20  so that others can be just as lucky  she will participate in the OneWalk to Conquer Cancer event benefitting the Jewish General Hospital.

The 43-year-old program coordinator at International Language School of Canada was found in late 2014 to have low grade squamous cells and adenocarcinoma, a pre-cancer condition. Tests had been taken at Verdun Hospital after a cyst burst on her ovary.

Dr. Shannon Salvador of the Jewish General spoke to me about it. I had more biopsies taken and we decided, because of my age and the fact that the AIS (adenocarcinoma in situ) was there and was quite extensive  to have a full hysterectomy and take the ovaries out as well, Milburn explained in a phone interview from Phoenix, Arizona. I didnt want to take a chance anything would happen there. If you find it in the ovaries, that means its already cancer and the risk rates are much higher.

She added that cancer does not run in her immediate family.

The surgery took place in March of last year, and, as a result, neither chemotherapy nor radiotherapy was needed.

I was very, very fortunate that we caught it so early, and although it was early, it was a scary time, she said. But I have very good support from my friends and family, and I felt looked after by the health system.

Milburns experience inspired her to walk in last years Weekend to End Womens Cancers. That annual event has raised $58 million over 11 years to support research, care, treatment and prevention programs at the JGHs Segal Cancer Centre. I had two friends I walked for who fought and survived breast and ovarian cancer; I had a great-aunt who died of breast cancer; a very close friends aunt who fought and lost a battle with cancer last year, and Im in Phoenix because my best friend just lost her husband to cancer, Milburn explained.

The former two-day event has now been transformed into the one-day 25-km OneWalk to Conquer Cancer with a route that runs through downtown Montreal. Funds raised this year will support Personalized Cancer Medicine at the JGH, enabling earlier detection of cancer, greater precision of diagnosis and support for patients and families during treatment.

Milburn likes the fact that, with OneWalk, participants raise the money for the type of cancer that they want to direct research funding to. She also plans to walk as part of a team, and surpass the $3,756 she raised last year.

But while fundraising is a large element of OneWalk, Milburn points that its also about awareness raising. There are cancers out there that not as many people are getting, but are just as deadly and horrible.

Siobhan OBrien, associate director for special events at the JGH, said the rebranding to OneWalk was a way to respond not just to the walks participants, but also to the demands of cancer funding.

The research were looking at is less site-specific than it was 10 years ago. Advances were making in treating breast cancer have consequences for colon cancer, for instance, OBrien explained, adding, We also wanted to open the walk experience to as many people as possible.

OBrien also pointed out that cancer research is long and expensive, and there is increased competition for funding.

The Weekend and now OneWalk are great sources of additional funding for our researchers here, and One Walk allows us more latitude in terms of funding different types of clinical trials for different cancers.

In line with World Cancer Day, a promotion allows each participant to register as part of a crew for $16 up to and throughout the day tomorrow, Feb. 4. The cost is $35 afterwards. To register, go to mo16.onewalk.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=mo16_reg_now. The promo code is 20$16.
In this Thursday, June 4, 2009 file photo, U.S. President Barack Obama tours the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. Obama's first visit to a U.S. mosque comes as Muslim-Americans say they're confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds. Obama is scheduled to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

A new structure for fighting illegal migration will be created at the ministry of internal affairs of Turkey, the country's Interior Minister Efkan Ala said, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported.

The minister said that the ministry of internal affairs will appeal to the cabinet of ministers of Turkey for approval of the new structure.

It is also provided to increase penalties in order to fight illegal migration in Turkey, he said.

Currently, Turkey is hosting more than two million Syrian refugees on its territory. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread across the provinces and cities of Turkey.



In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Ankara has so far spent $8 billion to upkeep the Syrian refugees.
Professor David L. Heymann, left, Chair of the Emergency Committee, sits next to China's Margaret Chan, right, General Director of the World Health Organization, WHO, as they inform the media during a press conference after the first Meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee concerning Zika virus, at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
A mock Scud-B missile of North Korea, left, and other South Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. South Korea warned on Wednesday of "searing" consequences if North Korea doesn't abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Water rolls across U.S. Highway 80 East near Pelahatchie, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, as several communities in east Mississippi dealt with flash flooding from the severe weather that swept through Mississippi and other states on Tuesday. The National Weather Service is trying to determine how many tornadoes touched down in Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3

Trend:

Ankara has on reciprocal basis introduced visas for Russian journalists, who make short-term trips to the country, RIA Novosti reported citing Turkey's Embassy in Moscow.

"Journalists, who go to Turkey for a short-term trip, will have to obtain visas. This measure is undertaken on reciprocal basis; Turkish journalists now also have to obtain visas to work in Russia from Feb. 15," said the embassy.

The embassy added that the requirements for entering Turkey haven't changed for permanently working correspondents.
Packs of imported beef are displayed for sale at supermarkets in Beijing, China, on June 17, 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)

A Shanghai court on Monday imposed fines totaling 2.4 million yuan ($364,780) on two food processing plants of a global fast food chain supplier and sentenced 10 people to jail for producing and selling substandard products in a case exposed in 2014.



The Shanghai and Hebei branches of Husi Food Co. were each ordered to pay 1.2 million yuan in fines for using recycled meat in their products, according to a report from Shanghai Daily.



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Husi Food Co. is a subsidiary of the U.S.-based global food processing firm OSI Group, whose former clients include McDonald's and Yum! Brands' KFC and Pizza Hut.



Yang Liqun, an OSI China executive in charge of its deep processing division and an Australian citizen, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 100,000 yuan, the Shanghai Daily reported. She also faces deportation.



Nine more people were given prison terms of up to 2 years and 8 months and fines ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 yuan. Four were given suspended sentences.



The case made headlines in July 2014 after a local TV station reported Shanghai Husi had supplied products containing reprocessed, expired meat to several fast food chains and restaurants across China.



After the report was aired, six senior executives were arrested and the group ceased all operations at Shanghai Husi.



Court documents indicated that between May and June 2013, Yum! Brands returned products produced by Husi's Shanghai and Hebei plants as they failed to comply with Yum! quality standards.



Husi then decided to use the returned and expired products to produce other food items, the document revealed.



Internal communications, including emails, further showed that the senior executives gave their consent to add recycled and expired meat to the company's products.



The recycled meat was used in meat patties as well as in chicken and beef products, court documents show.



The court ruled that Yang Liqun gave the order to Husi's Shanghai and Hebei plants to use the tainted products.



Law enforcement officials told the state-owned Xinhua News Agency that, upon hearing of the investigation, senior executives and other key personnel deleted emails that implicated them in the scandal.



Under China's Food Safety Law, recycled and expired ingredients are banned for use in food products.



During the trial, the defendants argued that the products returned by Yum! were not recycled and that the dates stamped on the packaging were a guide for clients and not "use by" dates.



The court, however, said that the products were recycled as defined in law and that the expiration dates cannot be changed once it is set.



The two Husi branches and the 10 defendants should be held accountable as they broke the Food Safety Law, Xu Wei, the judge presiding over the case, told Xinhua in an interview.


Last week, for the first time in 70 years in Germany, students from the Chabad Berlin Jewish-Traditional School were tested on the halacha and mitzvos of keeping kosher as part of their high school finals.

The students, studying in the eleventh grade, were tested on their kosher halacha and mitzvos finals project, becoming the schools first group of students to be tested on these topics as part of their high school finals. The projects grade will be added to the students total GPA, which includes all the other mandatory core subjects in Germany, making it an official part of the students official high school diploma.

In addition to teaching the core subject (foreign language teachings, math, and sciences), private schools in Germany are allowed to integrate different subjects into their curriculum, provided that they are acknowledged by the ministry of education and are being taught in German. As part of this policy, the Chabad Berlin Jewish-Traditional School has put together a unique curriculum, combining Hebrew, halacha, Chumash and Torah studies, along with all of the required core subjects.

The school, from which the high school was developed, was established 10 years ago by Rabbi Teichtal, Rabbi of the Jewish Community in Berlin and is the only fully Jewish observant high school in Germany.

Consequently, the school gathers students from all over the Jewish community in the city. We started out as an Elementary school only, Tells Rabbi of the institution, Rabbi Gvirtz. In the beginning, we had only two first grade classes and today, 10 years later, we have about 150 students, studying from the first grade to the eleventh. Next year, as part of the schools growth, we are planning on opening a twelfth-grade class as well.

In addition to its Jewish studies program, students of the Chabad Berlin Jewish-Traditional School enjoy a rich Hebrew studies program, in which they learn Hebrew from as soon as the first grade. One of our biggest achievements, says Rabbi Gvirtz, is that we are able to bring our first graders, who some of which come from non-Hebrew speaking homes to a full control of the Hebrew language, in both verbal and written Hebrew. The children then bring this knowledge back to their homes, passing that information to their parents and allowing them to also learn Hebrew.

Photos: The school, Rabbi Gvirtz and of the students (credit: Berlin Jewish community center)

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Feiga Tavness gun license and pistol have been returned to her following the acceptance of an appeal filed by Honenu Attorney Adi Kedar.

In October 2015 the Internal Security Ministry informed a 55-year-old resident of the Old City of Jerusalem, Feiga Tavnes, that her personal defense weapon license had been revoked by recommendation of the police because she was suspected of davening on Har Habayis.

Tavnes has been a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem for approximately 35 years and for the past 35 years had held a gun license and owns a pistol. She had never been investigated or encountered problems with law enforcement authorities.

The reason for revoking her gun license was given in a letter sent to her from the Internal Security Ministry and is as follows: Recommendation by the Israeli Police: The above-mentioned davened on Har Habayis and therefore due to the danger she poses we recommend that her [personal defense weapon] license be canceled.

Tavnes had never been investigated by the police for davening on Har Habayis, and even if she had davened, this is not legal grounds for revoking a gun license. In the past, Tavness husband was stabbed near their home and in light of the mayor of Jerusalems call (at the time Tavness license was revoked) for every license-holding citizen to carry his/her gun, revoking her license was particularly unjust and absurd.

Honenu Attorney Adi Kedar, to whom Tavnes turned for legal counsel, quickly filed an appeal, however Tavnes was forced to deposit her weapon with the police until she received a reply to the appeal.

After several months during which Tavnes was not able to carry a weapon for personal defense, the police announced that Kedars appeal had been accepted and that, After reexamination there was no reason that Tavnes could not hold a gun license. Over the past few days Tavness gun license was returned to her and then so was her pistol.

Honenu constantly handles requests from residents of Jerusalem, Yehuda, and Shomron, including from IDF reserve officers and members of rapid response squads, whose gun licenses have been revoked. During the week of Sunday, January 24 Honenu received notice that an appeal filed by Kedar on behalf of a Gush Shilo resident had been accepted. His gun license had been revoked in connection with an old case that ended approximately five years previously without him being convicted. Also a weapon was recently returned to a member of a rapid response squad in a Shomron community against whom a case was opened for entering a closed military zone.

Kedar: I am pleased that my clients gun license has been returned to her. However, one must remember that we are dealing with residents of Yehuda, Shomron and certain neighborhoods in Jerusalem who are unfortunately under threat of terror attacks on a daily basis. There have been many instances in which they have been unnecessarily deprived of their weapons for no reason. We call on the Prime Minister and the appropriate minister to reexamine the general conduct of the Internal Security Ministry concerning the matter of licensing weapons. I sincerely hope that until then no lives will be lost, G-d forbid, due to this conduct.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
As the Reform and Conservative Movements hail the agreement to provide an egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel, and as the chareidim explain away their lack of defiance to the cabinet decision, the PA has announced its objections to the decision.

From the PAs perspective, anything that occurs around the Kosel and Har Habayis is its business as it views the area its future capital. The PA (Palestinian Authority) announced on Monday, 22 Shevat, that the egalitarian area is a violation of the Har Habayis status quo and it objects to the Israeli cabinet decision.

Waqf & Religious Affairs Minister Sheikh Yousef Adeis warned on Monday the PA views the decision as part of Israels ongoing process to undermine al-Aqsa Mosque and to Judaize the Old City of Yerushalayim. He detailed that the Kosel is an integral portion of Har Habayis, which is holy to Islam and this is all part of the occupation which began in 1967.

According to officials, the new egalitarian prayer area, south of the Kosel near Robinsons Arch, will be operational in the coming months. The new area will be 900 square meters.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
There are reports that home demolitions are about to take place in Yehuda and Shomron. 0404 News reports that in the past days, yishuv leaders and council heads received notification in writing regarding homes that are slated for demolition. 0404 reports the letters detailed dozens of buildings and their exact location as well as photos. According to the letter, which was sent by the offices of area IDF battalion commanders, the demolitions may begin as soon as the coming days.

A resident of Gush Shilo who lives in one of the communities appearing on the list received the notification from the regional council. He is quoted saying I can only hope this bizarre plan will not be actualized for there will be pandemonium.

A source in the Ministry of Defense explains We are dealing with an accumulation of illegal buildings and they have decided to address this now. We spoke with yishuv leaders to explain it would be wise to speak to the families in addition to finding them alternative living arrangements to avoid the process turning violent.

Yossi Dagan, who heads the Shomron Regional Council is quoted explaining some of the demolitions should have occurred already but he managed to push them off.

A security establishment official explains due to the ongoing wave of Arab terror attacks, there is a manpower shortage and this is why they have not yet addressed the demolitions.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman on Tuesday morning 23 Shevat spoke with Kol Chai Radio about recent reports pertaining to alarming air pollution in Haifa and the possible medical consequences of the pollution from the citys chemical plants.

Litzman was referring to the results of a study that were released this week, a report that paints a worrisome picture about areas in Haifa including Kiryat Chaim, Kiryat Bialik and the southeastern area of Kiryat Tivon. The Channel 2 News report quoting the study stated the findings are not yet conclusive, yet there is sufficient evidence pointing to a connection to the pollution caused from the citys chemical plants and the fact babies in these areas are born with smaller heads and their birth weight is 20%-30% less than elsewhere. In addition, there have already been studies documenting the cancer rate in areas of the city being five times higher the national average.

Litzman told radio host Mordechai Lavi since the report was released earlier in the week he has already met with Minister of Environmental Affairs (Kulanu) Avi Gabbai accompanied by the professionals from his ministry in an effort to begin probing the report and the consequences of the data released. He emphasized this is the beginning of the report and by far not a conclusive report. Litzman stated he feels that prior to releasing the report to the general public the researchers should have presented it to his and other relevant offices to study and learn, admitting the some of the data released comes as news to him. He also feels the scientific community has not yet had opportunity to study the report in-depth and this too is significant.

The minister added I will surprise you by telling you the situation in Haifa has improved in recent years, adding the report is from 2012. (This contradicts other statements that the report is new, and not from 2012). The minister added that he and Gabbai have already made two joint visits to Haifa and that they both remain committed to following the situation and taking the necessary steps if and when the situation demands.

He explains the professionals in his office will of course study the data, adding there is much to learn including who funded the research and who is behind the report. While not minimizing the findings, Litzman added it is possible that there are persons with a specific interest behind the research and the release of the report  questioning why the research was leaked to the media before it was presented to his office.

During the interview Litzman mentioned pollution in other areas, citing the pollution in Jerusalem is worst at Kikar Shabbos because there are buses traveling in three directions. He added pollution was also bad in the Shmuel HaNavi area. However, he pointed out that he is unaware of an increase in maladies in the Meah Shearim due to the high pollution at Kikar Shabbos.

While the minister did not detail issues in the Shmuel HaNavi area, YWN-ISRAEL has reported residents in that neighborhood feel there has been an alarming rise in cancer-related deaths due to antennas positioned in the community.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
International cooperation has led to thwarting the smuggling of 600,000 packs of cigarettes worth NIS millions.

According to the Tax Authority report, international intelligence cooperation led to the apprehension of a container in the Port of Haifa which contained cigarettes while the bill of lading said the container contained clothing. The container was stored in the ship, reaching India, carrying out transshipment activities at the Port of Haifa on its way to Greece and contained more than 1,000 boxes with each containing 50 packets of Chinese cigarettes, some owned by Philip Morris.

As a result of British Customs intelligence information pertaining to smuggling, money laundering and tax evasion, the container was identified and located, and Value Added Tax inspectors arrived on the port, examining the contents of the lift with x-ray prior to opening it.

British tax officials estimate the 600,000 packs of cigarettes are worth NIS 18 million.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Chabad Shluchim in Katmandu, Rabbi Chezki and Chani Lifshitz, are currently in Israel, guests of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotevely. Hotevely has designated them honorary citizens for their tireless efforts on behalf of the many Israeli trekkers who visit Nepal, adding they have become a father and mother of the trekkers as she put it.

Among the officials with whom they are meeting, they met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who personally thanked them for their work as well as Chabad Shluchim around the world.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo:       via Media Resource Group)
Almost all of the land acquisitions carried out by Al-Watan, which is owned by Amana, which is in essence Gush Emunim, were illegal, the Channel 10 News magazine program HaMakor with Raviv Drucker reported. According to the report, a startling 14 of 15 acquisitions undertaken by Al-Watan, headed by Amana leader Zeev Chever (Zambish) are illegal. Zambish is the legendary Gush Emunim personality who has dedicated his life to building Yehuda and Shomron, a former close friend of the late Ariel Sharon until the latter betrayed Gush Emunim by planning and carrying out the Gaza expulsion in 2005.

The report states police have learned that 14 of the 15 purchases which Amana claimed were legal dealings were in fact illegal, turning over the case to the state prosecutor.

According to Drucker, two Arabs worked as Al-Watan straw men, who bought land from people using forged documents and then handed over the land to Amana, with the latter insisting the controversial sale was legal and in line with the letter of the law. This method was used on a number of occasions in recent years when they were told they must evacuate an outpost, then reporting the land in question was legally purchased.

One of the straw men, Akram, told the camera he signed on a number of deals including in Silwad, in the Ramallah district. He explained that he followed his instructions and made a number of deals. The Arab straw men also reported receiving a suitcase containing NIS 500,000 from a Jerusalem attorney whose name is barred from publication by a gag order. Drucker reports that these fake deals involved the attorney receiving most of his money back and only handing over NIS 10,000 for the so-called legal sale.

As part of the report two of the sellers who signed on bogus sales explained they are not the owners of the land as claimed but that the land once belonged to Arabs who are no longer living. In short, they were selling the Brooklyn Bridge.

Police have completed their investigation and turned over the case to the prosecution to file indictments.

In response to the program, Al-Watan released a statement all of its land deals were legal.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A planned missile launch by North Korea would be an unmistakable slap in the face for those arguing against more sanctions in response to its recent nuclear test, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Tuesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russels comments appeared to be directed at China, the North only major ally. He was speaking after North Korea notified international organizations that it plans to launch an observation satellite into space between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25.

He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a U.N. ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose real consequences on North Korea for destabilizing behavior.

The U.S. has been pushing for the imposition of sanctions following its Jan. 6 nuclear test. China, the Norths main trading partner and source of economic assistance, has condemned that test, but is more reluctant to impose sanctions. Beijing has traditionally be concerned that putting the squeeze on its unpredictable neighbor could destabilize it.

Secretary of State John Kerry sparred with his Chinese counterpart on the issue in Beijing last week, and discussions are continuing among U.N. Security Council members on how to respond to the actions by North Korea, which already faces sanctions under multiple resolutions imposed since 2006 when the North conducted its first nuclear test.

We share the view that there needs to be consequences to North Korea for its defiance and for its threatening behaviors. Our diplomats are in deep discussion in New York about how to tighten sanctions, how to respond to violations, Russel told reporters.

But I would say that yet another violation by the DPRK of the U.N. Security Council resolution, coming on the heels of its nuclear test, would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions, he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

(AP)
Health workers fumigate in an attempt to eradicate the mosquito which transmits the Zika virus in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, on Jan. 28, 2016. (Photo : Getty Images)

A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday said that China is eager to help Latin American countries to combat the spread of the Zika virus.



Zika, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has been linked to birth defects and causes symptoms such as fever, muscle and joint pain, nausea, and rashes in adults.



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More than 300,000 cases have been reported in Latin America since May 2015, when Zika started appearing in northeast Brazil, and is expected to infect up to four million people by the end of the year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).



"China supports Latin America's epidemic prevention efforts and is willing to cooperate and provide assistance within our capacity," ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing.



Lu said that China is paying close attention to the situation as well as developments in containing the Zika virus.



"We remind Chinese citizens going overseas and those in areas where there have been confirmed cases to take the necessary precautions," he added.



The National Health and Family Planning Commission issued a statement on Friday saying that the country is unlikely to face an epidemic as the winter weather keeps the density of mosquitoes low.



China is developing prevention and treatment plans that borrow from the experience of other countries and is currently training health professionals to identify and treat the virus, the commission said in the statement.



Several experts, however, have expressed concern that Zika may still reach Chinese shores.



"The risk for cases [of the Zika virus] to be imported into China is quite high," George Gao, deputy director-general of the Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention told Bloomberg on Friday. According to Gao, the type of mosquitoes that can spread the virus is prevalent in large areas in southern China, with coastal regions particularly at risk.



"It is inevitable that our region will have imported cases," said Ben Cowling, a professor at the University of Hong Kong's school of public health. "It is less clear whether our region will have sustained local transmission."


Donald Trumps presence is drawing unprecedented attention to the Republican presidential contest. But after careful consideration, many new Iowa voters turned to his rivals instead.

The political newcomer logged a second-place finish in Iowas kick-off caucuses, performing far better than anyone could have imagined just seven months ago when he jumped into the race. The Manhattan developer managed to pull in more than 45,000 votes, far more than 2012 caucus winner Rick Santorum, who many view as being more compatible with the states conservative electorate.

But Trumps own decision to escalate expectation, coupled by an outmaneuvered ground game, set his supporters up for disappointment.

Were going to have a tremendous victory, Trump told voters at his final rally in Cedar Rapids before voting began.

A lot of the news commentators. they say, Wouldnt you better off if you just said we want to do well in Iowa?' he said. And I said, Not really. I mean, I want to be truthful. Im a truthful person. I want to win Iowa, I dont want to do well. I want to win.'

The misconception  shared by Trump and much of the media  was that a boost in voter turnout would disproportionately benefit Trump and his rival Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side.

The race did attract large numbers of newcomers, with nearly 187,000 voters turning out at caucus sites, where cars were backed up for blocks at some sites and standing-room only at others.

But in the end, according to an entrance poll of those arriving at caucus sites conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks, many of those newcomers voted for Cruz and Floridas Marco Rubio. And of the 45 percent of caucus-goers who said they decided who to support in just the final week, 29 percent supported Rubio, 27 percent supported Cruz and just 14 percent supported Trump.

Among them was Davenports Dwight Reese, 55, whod been torn between Trump and Cruz when he attended a Trump rally earlier this week. In the end, he broke for Cruz.

I got kind of caught up in the Trump phenomenon, said Reese before leaving for his caucus site. He said the fact Trump hasnt always held conservative positions had given him pause. Cruz, he said, stands for everything I believe in. I believe I can trust him.

It was that precisely the messaging that dominated anti-Trump ads questioning the billionaires conservative credentials in the days before voting began.

Also cited by voters was Trumps decision to skip the final GOP debate before caucus day because of a spat with debate host Fox News.

To skip it was not a good idea, she Monica Baier, 47, who caucused for Trump and said she was disappointed by the loss.

There were also signs that Trumps secretive and non-traditional operation had been outmaneuvered.

While Cruz modeled his campaign after past Iowa winners, visiting all of the states 99 counties and courting influential evangelical and conservative leaders, Trump visited less frequently. Instead of working to woo undecided voters one-on-one in coffee shops and diners, Trump stuck to the large rally format that has been the hallmark of his campaign. When reporters were invited to document his first visit to a local Pizza Ranch restaurant, the location was closed to the public. Trump delivered a quick pep talk to dozens of campaign volunteers attending a caucus training session and left without trying a slice.

In the week leading to the caucuses, there was also a distinct feeling on the ground that his support was cooling. There were empty seats at rallies in Waterloo and Sioux City; audiences were dominated by out-of-state and on-the-fence voters rather than hard-core fans.

Voters interviewed at events across the state also frequently reported having received no outreach from the campaign, suggesting the ground game Trumps team had tried to hype was not as effective as his rivals. Indeed, among the 36 percent of Iowa caucus-goers who said they were contacted by someone asking them to come out to support their candidate, Cruz had a 31 percent to 23 percent advantage over Trump, the entrance poll showed.

Nonetheless, Trump and his supporters are downplaying the impact as they turn their attention to New Hampshire, which voted on Feb. 8.

Trump delivered a gracious concession speech at his debate headquarters in West Des Moines Monday night, but was already lashing out at the media and voters by Tuesday afternoon, tweeting that, The media has not covered my long-shot great finish in Iowa fairly. Brought in record voters and got second highest vote total in history!

Trump supporter Karen Riccelli, 60, of Des Moines, said she was disappointed by the loss, but didnt think it would have lasting impact.

I think his supporters are going to stay with him. This is the first one in the country, she said. Weve got a long ways to go.

(AP)
[VIDEO & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

14:28: The following information is provided by a Jerusalem Police spokesman:

The three terrorists arrived at Shar Shechem, attracting the suspicion of police at that location. The border policemen approached the terrorists and one of the terrorists pulled a Karl Gustav rifle and began firing while a second slashed victims with his knife. The police response was immediate, neutralizing the three within seconds.

Police report the three were armed with guns, knives and explosives, explaining the suspected pipe bomb earlier.

The wounded females are border policewomen, one listed in critical condition as CPR continues and the second in serious condition. The wounded have been removed from the scene. A police spokesman explains they were heavily armed.

The terrorists, all from the Jenin area, have been neutralized. It is unknown if they were killed.

14:36: As police continue at the scene of the latest Arab terror attack, they are being attacked with stones.

Two of the terrorists have been killed. The condition of the third is unknown. A photo of their PA (Palestinian Authority) ID cards is among the photos following the article.

14:44: Updates from MDA Chief of Operations Eli Bin: One border policewoman is in critical condition as CPR and advanced life support measures continue in a hospital. The second victim is listed in serious condition and efforts are ongoing to stabilize her condition.

It is unclear if the wounds are from knives, gunfire or both.

EARLIER REPORTS FOLLOW BELOW

14:04: EMS units are responding to a stabbing attack at Shar Shechem in Yerushalayim. First reports, which are yet unconfirmed, state a number of people have been wounded.

Additional information to follow as it becomes available.

14:09: There is a great deal of confusion at this time, including reports of knives and gunfire. There appear to be a number of terrorists. Ichud Hatzalah reports CPR is being performed on one victim.

14:11: According to all reports there are multiple wounded on the scene. In addition, there are at least two terrorists, whom have been neutralized.

14:14: Two females are among the wounded. CPR is being performed on one of them and the second is reported in serious condition.

Security forces are distancing all responders, apparently fearing there is an explosive device in the area.

14:19: The area has been cleared for fear of a pipe bomb, which may have been set into place to detonated as emergency responders operate on the scene. Needless to say this development delays operating on the scene as police distances everyone and shuts the area to traffic.

Channel 2 News correspondent Moshe Nussbaum states there is no doubt at this time there were three terrorists, not two.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group)
[VIDEOS & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich arrived at the scene of the latest Palestinian terror attack, Shar Shechem. He is being briefed by the Jerusalem Police Chief and other officials. A police chopper hovers overhead the scene of the attack.

Police are operating at the scene and they have succeeded in restoring order after Arabs in the area pelted them with rocks.

MDA paramedic Avi Shalom tells Channel 2 News that to the best of his knowledge, the wounded border policewomen were injured by knives, not gunfire. As reported earlier, one is in critical condition and the second serious condition as major blood vessels were cut by the terrorists.

Police are reporting that based on the initial information available, three terrorists arrived at Shar Shechem from the Jenin area. Police have set up some checkpoints, aware someone likely assisted them in reaching the area.

When the terrorists arrived at Shar Shechem shortly before 2:00PM Wednesday afternoon, 24 Shevat, police immediately became suspicious and approached them, instructing them to identify themselves. At least one of them pulled out an automatic weapon and began firing as the others slashed with knives. Police are reporting at least two of them had automatic weapons. They were also armed with explosives so clearly, the outcome of this attack was intended to be significantly worse and Bchasdei Hashem this was not the case.

The response to the gunfire was immediate and the three terrorists were immediately neutralized. It is known that two of them are dead. The condition of the third is not known.

Some of the questions the police are probing at present include:

 How did the heavily armed terrorists get from the northern Shomron to the Old City?

 Were they carrying their weapons and explosives from Jenin or did they receive them in Jerusalem?

 Who and how many assisted them in getting to their destination?

 Does this represent a new escalation in attacks or an isolated incident.

The probe conditions. There are no official updates from the hospitals regarding the wounded at this time.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Standing on a wooden podium at the front of the room is a geeky-looking 21-year-old man, typing furiously on a black laptop.

An audience of 150 City workers sit at tables in front of him, transfixed. On a projector screen set up on the stage are rows of letters and symbols.

It looks like a secret language - and it is. This is the code that IT whiz kids use to communicate with computers.

Under the radar: Nine in ten victims of online fraud in the UK fail to report the attack

Mustafa Al-Bassam, who describes himself as an ethical hacker, has set up what looks like an ordinary online shopping website.

But it is a fake, designed to show his audience just how easy it is for fraudsters to hack an online retailer and steal its customers' personal information.

Simple but cunning, this crime has become the biggest fraud risk in Britain, say police. Figures obtained by Money Mail show that almost 1,000 people a day fall victim to online shopping fraud.

Yet almost nine in ten fail to report the attack, either because they are unaware or because they blame themselves.

It has left police chiefs in despair: privately, they admit they are losing the battle to stop the cyber-criminals.

They are pinning their hopes on a two-pronged attack. First, they want shoppers to get smarter online. Police are urging us to use a separate bank account for internet shopping and write passwords on paper, rather than store them on a computer.

And the authorities are also desperate for banks, shops and other companies to beef up their online security.

That's what lies behind this hacking demonstration, which is being put on for company executives at the Guildhall's grand Livery building, home of the City of London Police.

Growing habit: More of us shop online - but police are warning that cyber crime figures are also going up

By now, Mr Al-Bassam has 'hijacked' the site he created by typing some letters and symbols into the box where the website address is at the top of the screen. This, he says, allows him to control what the website does.

He asks it to retrieve all the information it has on customers. Less than a minute later he has 52 tables of customer data, including names, addresses and credit card information.

'This would be seen by hackers as a lame hack - anyone could do it,' he says. 'It's how TalkTalk was compromised.'

Next he shows us how quickly fraudsters can guess your password. Most people still use something common, such as '1234', 'querty', 'password' or 'letmein'.

But even unusual passwords aren't safe. It takes Mr Al-Bassam's computer program just 0.7 seconds to scroll through millions of possible passwords and guess the right one.

Two-thirds of people have the same username and password for every website they use. So once fraudsters have obtained one set of details, they will try them on popular websites such as Amazon and major banks.

Watching Mr Al-Bassam work isn't exciting or glamorous. But this is how criminals get their hands on your money - and it doesn't seem to take much effort.

Audience members hesitantly raise their hands to ask questions. 'What exactly is the cloud that everyone is always talking about,' a woman asks.

Small steps: Police are urging people to write passwords on paper, not save them on a computer

Another wants to know if her text messages can be intercepted. A man asks if computer geniuses engage in hacker wars 'like in the films'.

These are the people in charge of your money. And it's clear many have no idea about the threat of online crime - let alone how to protect your money from fraudsters.

Big companies employ teams of IT experts to help, but small businesses and individuals are on their own.

Fraud costs the British economy 52billion a year. A total of 230,630 reports of fraud were made to the watchdog Action Fraud in the year to March 2015 - up 9 per cent on the previous 12 months. Almost one in five of these crimes (or 42,589) is related to online shopping.

Experts say it's just the tip of the iceberg. If the estimates are correct and 88 per cent of fraud goes unreported, the real figure for internet shopping fraud will be nearer to 354,903 - or 972 victims a day.

James Phipson, special inspector and director of the Economic Crime Directorate for City of London Police, says: 'Online shopping fraud is the biggest threat to the UK. Victims often don't realise they've fallen foul of a scam until their goods don't arrive a month later.

'By then, it is too late to do anything. Your money will have been moved from bank account to bank account and disappeared halfway round the world by then.'

The police admit they are struggling to keep pace with online criminals. With so few crimes being reported, investigators are missing out on the vital clues needed to catch criminals.

Many people don't even realise they have fallen victim to fraud, while others are embarrassed.

Special inspector Phipson says using a credit card is the safest way to buy something online. If you spend more than 100, you have protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Act if what you purchase never arrives.

Some websites charge a fee to use a credit card rather than a debit card, so you may need to set up a bank account that has a debit card, too.

He also recommends writing down passwords on a piece of paper and keeping it in a safe place at home. With so many passwords to keep track of, many people email themselves reminders. But fraudsters can hack into your emails and steal this information.

Mr Al-Bassam suggests using an online password manager such as 1Password or RoboForm. This software stores a file of all your passwords and can be accessed only with a super-secure master password.

Where possible, use a two-step security process. Most banks and major firms, such as Facebook and Paypal, allow customers to request a security PIN to be texted to their phone which then needs to be entered before anyone can log in. Mr Al-Bassam says this will stop most hackers in their tracks.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MONEY: LISTEN TO THE THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
It's time our tax bosses saw a shrink. The top dogs at HMRC and the Treasury have allowed their priorities to become so twisted that the institutions have become a danger to themselves  and to us.

For there is Google, crowned this week as the worlds biggest company, paying next to no tax on the money it makes in the UK.

Its increasingly clear officials have cosied up to the corporate giants.

Disgrace: How can Google and others be allowed to rake in billions from British customers without contributing

How else could Google, Vodafone, Lloyds, Shell and others be allowed to rake in billions from British customers without contributing to the schools, hospitals, roads and services their staff use here?

Yet, as a blind eye is turned to these outlaws, the tax authorities are busily attacking the middle-class way of life.

Today, I can reveal children who inherit properties from their parents or grand- parents will face a new tax blow should they want to buy a house of their own.

Its a hidden side-effect of a Treasury plan to force people buying second homes to pay an extra 3 pc stamp duty. This will cost someone buying a 250,000 house an additional 7,500 from April.

Ironically, the levy is supposed to help young people. Its designed to discourage buy-to-let landlords and foreign investors, freeing up more homes for first-time buyers.

But under plans being finalised by Treasury officials, anyone who inherits a house before theyve bought their own will also be hit.

Unless they can sell beforehand, theyll have 18 months to dispose of the inherited property and claim back the tax.

Its increasingly common for children to be given a share in a house while their parents are alive. It could be the family home or a buy-to-let property thats divided up as couples start to pass on parts of their estates in later life.

There will surely be a scramble to reverse these gifts.

Most severely hit by the tax will be amateur buy-to-let investors on middling incomes, who make just a few property purchases for the rental income.

Under a bizarre quirk in the rules, people who own 15 flats or houses can avoid the extra stamp duty by stowing them inside a limited company. I struggle to see how thats fair.

Reversal of fortune: Parents may have to take back the financial gifts they have given their children

To add salt to the wound, the Government is also cutting tax breaks for landlords with an overall income above 42,000 a year.

Middle-earners could see their returns wiped out by 2020 under the plans. Again, professional buy-to-let investors who have set up a limited company will be spared.

The good news is that landlords have launched a legal challenge. And the case has support from the Right and Left  it emerged this week that Cherie Blair QC, wife of the former Labour prime minister, will lead the charge in court.

When these property taxes are coupled with George Osbornes plot to raid savers pensions, you see a theme developing.

With the Budget just six weeks away, it will be the middle classes who lose most if Mr Osborne discards pension tax breaks. The rich need no help to save. For those on low incomes, the idea of putting away something for old age is fanciful; the priority is making ends meet every month.

Tax relief provides a vital boost to millions of people in the squeezed middle.

It is families who earn between 40,000 and 100,000  people like Paul Rogers, who we feature  who will have the rug pulled from under their feet. MPs and civil servants who earn similar sums will be fine because the taxpayer will pick up the tab for any shortfall in their gold-plated pension schemes.

Mr Osborne and the tax authorities really shouldnt need a shrink to set them straight on this.

Stop trying to extract every last penny from hard-working families if you want to fix Britains finances. Youll find far more tax is dodged by big businesses  and discover a lot of spare change sloshing about in your own, bloated pension pots.

Card tricks

Sticking with HMRC, I really struggle to see how it can justify charging us 1.5 per cent to pay tax using a credit card.

Banks have been banned from charging retailers more than 0.3 per cent for credit card payments. So, is HMRC making a profit?

A spokesman said: We dont make a penny from these charges  we are just passing on the cost our bank charges us.

In truth, a 1.5 per cent fee pales in comparison to the 31 per cent fees levied by some travel websites. Thats why Im pleased the Civil Aviation Authority is fighting these rip-offs.

I fear its remit as aviation regulator is too narrow  I suspect hotel booking websites, theatres and other online sellers are up to the same tricks. They shouldnt be allowed to get away with it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MONEY: LISTEN TO THE THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
After a brief rally on hopes that the Opec oil cartel and Russia are about to cobble together a deal on cutting production, crude was back in retreat in latest trading.

It fell 5 per cent to $30-a-barrel on Tuesday, a level at which it would be tricky for BP to keep paying its current dividend and at which the recent 36billion Shell takeover of BG Group ceases to make economic sense.

Big oil is counting on the energy market rebalancing quickly and the price floating back up to $50 to $60-a-barrel by 2017 at which the pressure on balance sheets starts to ease.

Crude fell 5% to $30-a-barrel on Tuesday, a level at which it would be tricky for BP to keep paying its current dividend and at which the recent 36billion Shell takeover of BG Group ceases to make economic sense

Chinas slowdown is playing a role in the reshaping of oil prices by limiting demand.

But the primary cause of the current malaise is technological change in the shape of fracking and shale oil production in North America.

It is starting to look like the early 20th Century when the wildcatters, of which John D Rockefeller is the most famous, changed the shape of the energy market forever.

As was the case then, many smaller drillers, transporters and refiners will go bankrupt, be bought by larger safer enterprises or temporarily end up on the books of the banks as collateral is called in.

But it may just be that recovery, to the kind of levels that big oil needs to be profitable, will take far longer than the likes of Bob Dudley at BP or Ben Van Beurden would like.

The biggest beast in the jungle ExxonMobil is latest to join the wounded as a result of the price plummet with a 58 per cent drop in final quarter profits, an end to share buybacks and a 25 per cent cut in capital spending. UK investors have good reason to be concerned about BP.

Having weathered the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and spill it has less room to manoeuvre than some of its competitors. Indeed, there are $11billion of charges in the 2015 accounts.

BP is steadfastly maintaining the dividend, despite an effective loss of $6.4billion (4.4billion) and a jump in debt levels from to $27billion or 21.6 per cent of capital.

This is not high by corporate standards but paying the dividend by increasing debt is never wise. Similarly after the torrent of assets sales to pay for the Gulf of Mexico disaster it cannot really continue to sell off assets without risking permanent shrinkage.

Just how bad circumstances are in the oil market is evident from the behaviour of normally cocksure President Putin.

He sent Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov off to the UAE to open negotiations with Opec.

Meanwhile in Moscow Putin is limbering up for a great Kremlin sell-off mark two with shares in Aeroflot and oil giant Rosneft, in which BP is a minority holder, possibly on the block.

British shareholders have reason to be grateful to BP for making the dividend a priority. It is, after all, a key source of income for every pension fund in the nation.

The lesson of the financial crisis, however, is that when the tsunami looms on the horizon conservation of the business, rather than distribution to investors, is the more prudent approach.

Home run

After several days of haggling Sainsburys came up with an offer of 161p a share to keep the Home Retail Group, owner of Argos, happy. The 1.3billion deal is really about giving Sainsburys another leg in terms of non-food offerings, especially in electronics, and a hub and spoke distribution system that can move goods to agreed pickup points within four hours.

HRG investors receive a useful premium and an ongoing interest in retail and Sainsburys gets some useful add-ons plus the opportunity to underpin earnings.

Bank accounting means that the Argos credit book throws up some useful cash for Sainsburys as it is integrated in the grocers challenger bank.

It also gains some useful brands including Habitat and the toy firm Chad Valley. Sainsburys chairman David Tyler, who knows Argos well from previous exposure at GUS, also thinks there may be opportunities for integrating his companys thriving Tu clothing brand into the Argos catalogue. As with all deals there is execution risk involved.

At least chief executive Mike Coupe and his team at Sainsburys are not sitting on their haunches and simply praying for the disrupters Lidl, Aldi and the like to go away.

Pink angst

The alacrity with which the Financial Times has seized editorially upon the maladies of its former owner Pearson suggests that some elements on staff may feel a sense of betrayal over the sale of the company to Japans Nikkei.

In particular there is resentment from the journalists union the NUJ that before the deed was done no one bothered to address an underfunded defined benefit pension fund or the need for a fairer (read more generous) successor defined contribution plan to be firmed up.

Pearson says it did commit an additional 90million to the pension pot as part of the sale. And FT journalists' benefits accrued thus far are safeguarded in the Pearson plan.
I bought a computer table on Amazon Marketplace that I returned immediately as it was not fit for purpose.

I was eventually refunded, but was not reimbursed for the return postage. I am entitled to this according to the refunds section of Amazons returns policy.

The seller disregarded my request for this money and advised that they were not responsible for return postage.

I contacted Amazon to register a claim against the seller, but it would not allow it  the reason being that the seller had refunded the amount I had paid in full, therefore the issue had been finalised and could no longer be pursued.

Small print: Amazons returns policy states that the seller should reimburse postage costs on returned goods

J. H., Cleveland.

Your return postage cost was 5.99. It has certainly cost everyone involved far more than this in time and resources to resolve the issue.

When the amounts are relatively small, there is a temptation to dismiss an affair as a waste of time and let the miscreant get away with it.

But Amazon Marketplaces returns policy is clear. If an item is faulty or not as advertised, the seller must replace it or give a refund  and this must include postage. In addition, all international returns must have postage paid by the seller.

Your description of the item makes it clear it was not as advertised, so you were entitled to a refund of your postage.

Amazon has now issued you with the refund.

In your letter, you refer to the Distance Selling Regulations. These have been subsumed into the Consumer Contracts Regulations, which give you 14 days to return goods bought online.

If you return goods, the seller must refund the basic cost of sending the goods to you in the first place. If you opted for a speedier delivery, you are only entitled to a refund of standard delivery costs.

But who bears the cost of returning goods depends upon the terms and conditions of the site you use, so be sure to check them before ordering.

If there is no mention of this in the terms and conditions, then the retailer must refund your return postage costs.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT I have two pensions from which tax is deducted before the money lands in my account. I also have some investments on which 20 per cent tax is taken. Do I have to fill in a tax return? M. M., Ilford, Essex. Most taxpayers dont have to complete tax returns because the tax they owe is collected using the PAYE system. HMRC says it looks at your PAYE records as a matter of course and would have asked you to fill in a return if you needed to. Only taxpayers with more complex affairs, such as income that has not been taxed, are asked to fill in a return. I was in a car accident last year, for which another driver admitted liability. I wasnt injured, but keep getting cold calls from firms saying Im owed compensation  one told me I can even claim if I was in an accident, but did not suffer an injury. Is this right? B. B., via email. No. According to the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, compensation can be claimed only for an injury or repairing damage to your vehicle. If you are being harassed by claims firms, use the Telephone Preference Service to block calls. Visit tpsonline.org.uk or call 0345 070 0707. I bought a laptop last March and paid 19.99 for McAfee antivirus software. The laptop stopped working days later so I took it back, but McAfee did not refund my payment and is chasing me for renewal. Help! M. P., Surrey. I contacted McAfee on your behalf. It offered you a years free antivirus cover to make amends, which you accepted. Our energy company wants to install a smart meter in our house. Are we legally obliged to let them do so? K. C., via email. No. You're under no obligation to accept a smart meter, which spells out your energy costs. The Government does not expect energy firms to take legal action if a householder does not wish to have one. We have booked to go on holiday to Turkey, but have heard there is a 100 visa charge per person. Is this correct? L. M., Notts. If you are going on holiday to Turkey, then the visa fee to enter the country is $20 (around 14) per person, according to the Foreign Office. You can pay this online up to three months in advance. If you are going for longer  up to six months  the fee rises to around 92 per person. If you are visiting as part of a cruise and will be in the country for less than 72 hours, you do not need a visa.

My son had a Halifax savings account opened for him for his christening in May 2001. His godmother put 30 into it and we were given the passbook.

Unfortunately, her marriage broke down. This was followed by a court case and her husband went to prison. They divorced and she left the area. In December 2009, I went to my local Halifax branch with a copy of my passbook and asked if we could withdraw the money and close the account.

I was told we couldnt do so without his godmothers signature. Unfortunately, I do not know where she is living.

Mrs M. B., Wiltshire.

Im afraid you will probably have to write off this money.

I asked Halifax to see if there was anything it could do to trace the money or your sons godmother.

After checking the records, it said it does not have anyone whose name matches that of your sons godmother, nor can it find a reference to your son on a trustee account.

The account belongs to his godmother even though your son was, at the time it was opened, the intended beneficiary.

Therefore, under the Data Protection Act, Halifax cant reveal any details about the account without his godmothers permission.

Reading between the lines, I suspect the money has been withdrawn and the account closed.

In January 2013, I joined a local health club, signing a direct debit with a company called Harlands Group. I was given a letter saying I could cease my membership by giving three months notice.

Last April, I switched bank accounts. Harlands did not respond to my emails asking it to swap to the new bank details.

Instead, it sent a letter warning that if I did not reinstate my direct debit I would have to pay a 25 administration fee.

Eventually, I spoke to someone at Harlands, who took the new direct debit details.

Due to the difficulties I had faced, I decided to cancel my membership and wrote on May 11, 2015, giving three months notice. I confirmed it at the gym.

In September, four months after I had written to Harlands, I cancelled the direct debit.

Harlands then began writing to me, saying that it had not received notice to cancel. My letters received no replies.

D. A., North Somerset.

Gym memberships have been controversial for some time and you are not the first to have difficulties cancelling one.

I phoned Harlands Group to be told it did not deal with press inquiries by phone and that I must send an email!

I was informed that your membership had been terminated on November 23. I pointed out that you had given three months notice in May, so it should have ended in August.

Harlands Group then confirmed that you had not paid since August 2015 and said that any debt had been wiped from its systems.

I was also concerned that you had received a letter from Credit Resolution Services demanding 204.95. It threatened that if you did not pay: Harlands will have no option but to take legal steps to collect the outstanding balance.

I asked for reassurance that the debt was not still sitting with CRS. Harlands said the debt had not been formally passed to CRS  so you should hear no more from them.

Incidentally, the Office of Fair Trading has issued guidance on unfair terms in health and fitness club agreements.

The key thing is to read the terms and conditions. If you sign up for a minimum term of a year then you will usually have to pay for that.

However, there are exceptions  for example, if your circumstances change, such as having an injury or suffering an illness that prevents you from using the gym.

Also a fundamental change to the facilities, such as closing a swimming pool, would allow you to cancel. Contracts that tie you in for more than 12 months are also likely to be considered unfair.

If you are cancelling, use a form of postage that makes the recipient sign for the delivery. That way you have proof they received it.
Lao Shu is a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. (Photo : Panoramio.com)

Lao Shu paints about mundane, everyday subjects, but his paintings and photographs have captured the hearts of even the most scrutinizing critic, China Daily reported.



He usually covers topics such as "being bored of checking WeChat updates," or "waiting for the annual bonus," but perhaps this realistic setting is what has endeared him to so many people.



Advertisement

Fans and critics agree that Lao's works have a special way of easing the stress modern life brings.



"I use Lao Shu's works to take a breather when I am busy. His words and paintings are a cure for urban solitude," shared Wang Jiasheng, an editor from Guangxi Normal University press.



Originally known as Liu Shuyong, Lao was born in 1962 in Shandong Province. He started out as an established curator and photographer.



Lao Shu rose to artistic stardom through his Chinese-style paintings often compared to ancient masterpieces, complete with signature seals and calligraphed poems. Still, other critics maintain that these works are different from each other.



His most famous work to date is an image of a man with no facial features, wearing a Chinese long gown and a Western bowler hat. This image made him go viral, with over a million fans following him on Sina Weibo since 2011.



This man in the long gown is Lao's main character, and often featured in other situations.



Once limited to Chinese boundaries, his body of work will be published by a French firm to reach an international audience.



"Nothing is impossible for me," said Lao in an interview with China Daily. He is a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.



"There is too much confinement in real life, so why not be true to your heart and be free about time and space on paper," he said.



Lao's book, "An Inch of Spare Dreams," was named by Tencent and China Publishing & Media Journal as the top original Chinese title of 2015, taking into consideration feedback from readers and professional recommendations.



His body of work has also been shown on CCTV's 2015 Spring Festival Gala.


Clost trackers: A European study found hundreds of funds were failing to live up to their billing

Up to one in six investment funds may have been mis-sold.

A study by European investment regulators found hundreds of funds were failing to live up to their billing, leaving savers paying over the odds.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) studied 2,600 funds sold as so-called active funds, which means they are run by an expert fund manager who is supposed to cherry-pick companies to invest in.

But as many as 15 per cent are just copying the list of companies that comprise the stock market.

This is known as closet index-tracking. It means thousands of investors are paying for a service they are not getting.
Fans: Ben Sherman shirts have been worn by a staple of British rockers including the Who

Its colourful checked shirts have been a staple of British rockers including The Who, The Jam and Oasis for decades.

But clothing brand Ben Sherman has been sold by its US private equity-backed owners  putting around 100 jobs in the UK at risk.

Just six months after buying the retailer, Marquee Brands has sold its UK operations to BMB Clothing, a Leeds-based company that runs Jeff Banks and Suit Direct shops.

The sale is being completed via a controversial pre-pack administration which involves a company being placed into administration and immediately bought out by a different business.

This enables the company placed into administration to shed its debts.

Three of Ben Shermans shops will be closed, resulting in the loss of around 20 jobs. Around 80 jobs are under threat at the brands offices in London and Northern Ireland.
George Osborne was last night under pressure to force Facebook to pay its fair share of tax as the social networking site appeared to be softening its opposition to coughing up more.

The company sparked anger after it emerged it paid only 4,327 in UK corporation tax in 2014 despite raking in billions of pounds around the world.

This year its global revenues were 12.4billion. Facebook, whose affairs are being probed by HM Revenue and Customs, has until now vowed to fight any attempts to make it pay more.

Cheapskates: Facebook sparked anger after it emerged it paid only 4,327 in UK corporation tax in 2014 despite raking in billions of pounds around the world

In its latest UK accounts, for 2014, the company promised to defend any and all such claims raised by HMRC and added that it was possible but not probable that it will have to pay any more.

But the company could be backing down on its approach in the wake of the row over the tax affairs of large multinational corporations such as Google, Amazon and Apple.

A Facebook source last night said its position in 2014 does not necessarily represent our approach today and added: If we find we owe taxes we will of course pay anything we owe.

Osborne was heavily criticised last month after declaring than an agreement struck by HMRC for Google to pay an extra 130million in taxes for ten years was a major success.

Critics described it as a sweetheart deal amid growing anger over the tax affairs of big business at a time when thousands of ordinary taxpayers were rushing to file returns before Sundays deadline.

Anyone who missed the self-assessment deadline of January 31 now face fines  with no chance of entering negotiations in the same way companies such as Google and Facebook do.

John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, warned Osborne not to allow another global corporation off the hook following his deal with Google last week.
Choice words: Blackrock boss Larry Fink is demanding UK fat cats

The world's largest fund manager has threatened to back boardroom revolts at Britain's biggest firms if fat-cat pay is not linked to future success.

BlackRock, which invests 3.2trillion worth of savings and pensions, has sent a warning letter to FTSE 100 chief executives, demanding openness and transparency with shareholders.

And in an aggressive move, it reminded firms that it had voted with activist investors more than a third of the time over the past year.

The letter, seen by the Mail, was penned by Larry Fink, BlackRock chief executive and one of America's most powerful investors. It was motivated by his concern that bosses have been boosting profits at the expense of investing in the long term health of their businesses.

Fink wrote: 'Working to invest in long-term growth remains an issue of paramount importance for BlackRock's clients, most of whom are saving for retirement and other long-term goals, as well as for the entire global economy.'

Fink's demands will be seen as a major warning shot to chief executives as the stake that BlackRock holds in their firms gives it considerable voting power at shareholder meetings.

BlackRock wants business leaders to produce an annual document that sets out their growth plans and dismiss annual reports that tended to concentrate on the past.

Instead he wants to see a shareholder letter that shows firms have developed a detailed strategy to deliver long-term value. He also wants confirmation such strategies have been approved by the board of each company.

'We believe that companies have an obligation to be open and transparent about their growth plans so that shareholders can evaluate them and companies' progress in [delivering] on those plans,' he said.

'This review should be a rigorous process that allows for a robust debate. Boards have an obligation to review, understand, discuss and challenge a company's strategy.'

BlackRock thinks the absence of a clear long-term plan leaves firms exposed to attack by hedge funds.

Such activists fill the void proposing a short-term plan with the sole aim of making an instant profit. Often they force change such as a break-up or sale of a business which can destroy growth prospects.

Just before Kraft, now called Mondelez, bid for Cadbury five years ago a flood of investors bought into the stock with the prospect of voting through the deal and making a quick profit.

Politicians at the time considered restricting such future votes to shareholders who had been investors in firms for longer than a year.

Fink argues the health of economies are at risk if firms disappear. This can jeopardise jobs, local communities and taxes.

He wrote: 'Without clearly articulated plans, companies risk losing the faith of long-term investors. Companies also expose themselves to the pressures of investors focused on maximising profit at the expense of long-term value.'

He said some activist investors have also managed to come up with better long-term strategies for firms they have invested in than the mangers themselves.

Separately, Fink told the Mail that executive pay should be linked to long-term growth.
Gold plated: George Osborne's pension is funded entirely by the taxpayer

In many ways, Paul Rogers and George Osborne have a lot in common. They are in their early 40s, have a young family  and neither is a stranger to hard work.

Paul, 41, regularly labours seven days a week on the family farm in Devon, typically clocking up ten-hour shifts at a time.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Osborne, 44, has the all-consuming job of keeping Britains economy ticking over.

The similarities even extend to their plans for retirement.

Each has been able to build up a pension for around 15 years: Mr Osborne through the MPs scheme and Paul through his personal plan.

But thats where the comparisons end.

Because while Mr Osborne could already be sitting on a 760,000 gold-plated pension scheme  rising with the cost of living and propped up by taxpayers  Paul has saved just 175,000.

And now that nest egg, along with those of millions of other middle-class savers, is under threat from a major Government tax grab.

In a ploy to bolster the nations finances, the Chancellor is planning to slash a pensions perk known as tax relief.

Hes decided the 34.3 billion-a-year cost to turbocharge savers funds is unaffordable in an age of austerity.

As part of Money Mails campaign to stop the tax raid, we reveal today the gross divide between the pensions enjoyed by MPs and those of workers in the private sector.

Paul and his wife Jo, 39, diligently put away money whenever they can as they provide for their three sons  Oliver, 11, Charlie, nine, and six year-old Morgan.

Theyve not always found it easy. Like millions of self-employed workers, the Rogers profits vary, generally hovering around 60,000.

When times are good the couple squirrel away as much as possible, sometimes reaching the maximum 40,000 a year allowed in pension pots without onerous tax penalties. When money is tighter, nothing goes in at all.

In 15 years Paul has managed to save 175,000  but it has meant sacrifices along the way.

We have to think long and hard before putting money into a pension, he says. Its locked up for a long time and there are always other things we could be using it for  especially for the boys.

Paul hopes his hard work will pay off. If he keeps going  and politicians dont raid the fund  he and Jo should have a decent pension when they retire.

Mr Osborne is just three years older than Paul. Until he took over as Chancellor in 2010, he earned roughly the same, too, at around 67,000 a year. And, of course, his (and every MPs) salary comes from money raised by taxes.

But politicians pension perks are so generous that his pot has grown four times the size of Pauls in the same amount of time.

Analysis for Money Mail by pension experts Barnett Waddingham estimates that the Chancellor could have as much as 760,000 in his parliamentary pension pot.

This calculation assumes he has been in the MPs scheme since he was elected in Tatton, Cheshire, in 2001, and has built up the maximum he was allowed.

Within a few years Mr Osbornes nest egg could hit 1 million. This is the new maximum you can save into a pension over a lifetime.

The overall figure for Mr Osborne, who has served as Chancellor for five years, includes a boost of 81,000 for being a minister.

Hard earned: Farmer Paul Rogers, pictured with wife Jo, has managed to squirrel away 175,000 over 15 years

Osborne's threat to tax-free pension saving

It is possible that Mr Osborne, as the beneficiary to a multi-million-pound family trust fund, may not have claimed his MPs pension.

The Treasury would not confirm what Mr Osborne has built up.

But to match what he was entitled to, it would take a worker earning 40,000 about 34 years in a stock market-linked pension. Thats why tax relief is so important for private sector workers.

Under the current rules, a 40 per cent taxpayer such as Paul needs only pay 60p to have 1 paid into his pension.

The extra 40p is a refund of the income tax he would otherwise have paid to HM Revenue & Customs.

This is a crucial aid for savers trying to create a pot that will see them through old age without relying on state handouts.

Poll Should tax-free pension saving for 40% taxpayers be kept? Yes No Should tax-free pension saving for 40% taxpayers be kept? Yes 3671 votes

No 1379 votes Now share your opinion





The benefit is that when they stop working, savers incomes usually drop. It means many will pay tax at a lower rate when withdrawing funds. But Mr Osborne is considering scrapping these tax breaks.

Pension savings could be treated like Isas  taxed when you pay in, but tax-free on the way out. Or there could be a flat rate of tax relief for everyone, as low as 20 per cent or 25 per cent.

For someone such as Paul, it could wipe away all the benefits of paying into a pension. Mr Osborne also gets tax relief on his contributions. But his salary and gold-plated MPs pension are funded entirely by taxpayers. Mr Osborne's defined benefit pension scheme promises a set income in retirement, and it is the state's responsibility to ensure this pledge is met.

If pension tax relief is axed, it is unclear whether MPs would have to find the shortfall in their pensions from their pay or whether the taxpayer would foot the bill.

These plans just seem to be a deterrent to saving into a pension, says Paul. Now I have no idea what my pension pot will be like when I retire or how much Ill be able to put away in future.

I know many MPs want to do good, but I cant help think they are out of touch with how the world works for normal people.

In 2014, the public purse paid 13.6 million into the MPs pension scheme. Politicians contributed just 6.19 million.

Figures from 2014 show the average MP retires on a pension of 21,000 a year after 14.6 years of service. By contrast, a worker in the private sector earning and contributing the same would end up with 10,000 after working for the same amount of time.

DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION A worker agrees to pay in a set amount into their defined contribution pension scheme, say 5 per cent of their earnings. Their employer may match this, so 10 per cent of their total earnings goes into the pension each month (5% + 5%). The money is invested in stock market funds and the pot grows over the years. On retirement the saver must take their pot and buy an income with it or draw on it for one.

DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION A worker agrees to pay in a certain amount per month into their final salary pension, say 8 per cent of their earnings. In return, their employer will pay them a set chunk of their final salary for every year they have worked there, in this case one-sixtieth. Someone who has worked at the company and been a pension scheme member for 40 years would therefore retire on two-thirds of their final salary (40/60ths).

In 2014, the public purse paid 13.6 million into the MPs pension scheme while politicians contributed just 6.19 million. Pictured(L-R) Don Foster, Michael Gove, Alistair Carmichael, Iain Duncan Smith, Chancellor George Osborne, David Laws and Eric Pickles at Downing Street in September 24, 2014

How do MPs build up their pensions?

MPs have final-salary pensions that pay a guaranteed amount at retirement instead of relying on the stock market. These have virtually disappeared from the private sector, where most workers rely on the stock market.

Until May 2015, in exchange for paying in 13.75 per cent of their salary, MPs built up a pension at a rate of 1/40th of their earnings each year.

An MP who served for 20 years on the current 74,000 salary would receive 37,000 a year in retirement.

Their families receive a payout worth up to four times their salary if they die in service. And a guaranteed income is paid to widows or widowers and their children.

Official documents reveal that other senior politicians have built up huge pension pots  some for their ministerial duties alone.

Under minor reforms in May, new MPs and ministers are joining a slightly different type of pension, called a career average plan.

Payouts are based on the average amount a worker earns over their career, as opposed to their final salary.

And instead of being able to take their pensions at 65, they must now receive their payout at state pension age, which is increasing  but it does not apply to all MPs.

Many can still stick to the old arrangements because they are judged to be too close to retirement for their pensions to be changed.

This new scheme is still very generous, paying around a third of the MPs average salary in retirement.

A Treasury spokesperson says: We have not decided on whether or how to reform the system and are considering all options, including retaining the current system.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MONEY: LISTEN TO THE THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
Staff at Lloyds Banking Group have been told 1,755 of their jobs are at risk today, as part of a cost cutting exercise by the owner of Lloyds and Halifax banks.

Nearly half of these cuts - 740 - will be made to staff at Halifax branches nationwide, This is Money can reveal, with the High Street banking giant citing more customers choosing to bank online and via smartphones as the reason.

The move follows last week's announcement by the Chancellor that 'turbulent markets' had forced the Government to delay plans to sell a final 2billion tranche of Lloyds Banking Group shares to the public.

Deep cuts: Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed staff were told 740 Halifax branch workers face the axe

The bank has told all employees impacted by the cuts that they are among those whose jobs may be at risk - and hopes that some will choose to take voluntary redundancy.

In a statement, it said: 'Lloyds Banking Group is today announcing 1,585 [net] role reductions as part of the total role reductions of 9,000 already announced in October 2014 as part of the group's three year strategy.

'The reductions are within retail, group operations, commercial banking, consumer finance, group legal and group finance.

'The net total is inclusive of 170 new roles that will be created across retail, commercial banking and group legal.

A large chunk of these job cuts are at Halifax branches. It also announced today it is wielding the axe to a further 29 branches - 19 of which are Lloyds, seven Bank of Scotland and three Halifax.

Just under 10 per cent of Lloyds is still taxpayer-owned, after the state acquired a 43 per cent chunk of Lloyds following a 20billion bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

The bank said: 'Lloyds Banking Group is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way. All affected employees have been briefed by their line manager today. Accord and Unite were consulted prior to this announcement and will continue to be consulted.

'The group's policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge within the group.

'Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, it will look to achieve this by offering voluntary redundancy.

Lloyds Banking Group: The Chancellor revealed last week it was delaying the last 2bn share sale because of 'turbulent markets'

'Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort.'

Lloyds says the way customers now bank has changed significantly in recent years, with more people choosing to use mobile and online banking rather than visiting a branch.

It added: 'On that basis we have reviewed how best we can match colleague availability to customer demand.'

A spokesman for the Lloyds Trade Union blasted the group for damaging staff morale after the announcement, claiming the majority of staff are having to reapply for their jobs every six months.

He said: 'How can the bank expect to be the best bank for staff, let alone customers, when everyone in the bank is only a teleconference away from being told they've got to apply for their own jobs again.'

The LTU points to recent comments from Lloyds managing director Robin Bulloch - he said a drive to move customers to digital banking has resulted in a reduction in counter transactions of 15 per cent last year.

The LTU forecast announcements like the one today will now happen every six months.

Halifax was a building society until 1997 when it demutualised and listed on the FTSE 100.

A merger saw it become part of Halifax Bank of Scotland, known as HBOS, however, the bank was sunk by bad management and reckless lending and was forced into a rescue merger with Lloyds Banking Group in autumn 2008, before the new entity then had to be bailed out in 2009, with the taxpayer taking a 43 per cent stake.

A series of share sales to institutional investors and the spin-out of TSB has seen the state's stake in Lloyds Banking Group to just under 9.2 per cent.
The largest container ship, a 200,000-ton vessel named Benjamin Franklin, sailed from Guangzhou port to the U.S. on Monday, Feb. 1. (Photo : YouTube)

The largest container ship, a 200,000-ton vessel named Benjamin Franklin, sailed from Guangzhou port on Monday, Feb. 1, the Xinhua News Agency reported.



According to the report, the 18,000-TEU ship is owned by the French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM.



Ludovic Renou, general manager for CMA CGM Shipping Co.'s south China region, said that the ship, which can carry up to 18,000 containers, will connect major Chinese ports such as Guangzhou, Xiamen, Yantian and Hong Kong with the U.S. West Coast.



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Renou said the company is confident with the Chinese market, so it put its largest container ship on this route, adding that China's ocean freight to the U.S. West Coast increased 5 percent last year while CMA CGM's freight volume surged by 30 percent.



Aside from the U.S. route, CMA CGM also offers 12 shipping lines in Guangzhou, which will connect the Chinese mainland with Europe, North America, Africa and Southeast Asia.



The mega ship was built in Shanghai by the French shipping company, according to the report.



"In the shipping industry, size matters," Renou was quoted as saying.



The report said that the Benjamin Franklin, which joined the company's fleet in Dec. 2015, will sail weekly on the China-U.S. route.



Huang Bo, deputy chief of the port authority, said that Guangzhou port reported 521 million tonnes of cargo output last year, up 4 percent from 2014.



In terms of container handling capacity, Guangzhou port is the fourth largest in China. The port handled 1.76 million containers last year, up 6 percent year on year.



U.S. media reported that shipping companies involved in the billion-dollar China-U.S. trade are hoping that large container vessels like the Benjamin Franklin will continue with their business.



"This is a test," Renou added. "We want to show our commitment to the U.S. route and hope that there is an understanding, that America needs this kind of ship."



Renou added that the move toward bigger ships has already become an industry trend in Asia and Europe.



"Thirty of these larger vessels are already in use worldwide, and 75 more are on order," Renou said.


A mountaineer uses a steel ladder as a makeshift bridge to cross a deep crevasse on Mt. Qomolangma, more widely known as Mt. Everest. (Photo : National Geographic/YouTube)

Looks like the steep slopes of the highest mountain in the world are not the only ones that challenge the most determined climbers in the planet but also the steep price that comes with it.



Yes, nowadays, conquering Mt. Qomolangma doesnt only require one to have a solid climbing experience and tons of willpower. Having a fat bank account would prove to be crucial, too.



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It is the financial aspects of the climb that most likely hinder hikers to scale the famed mountain, reported SINA English.



Hikers need approximately 330,000-400,000 yuan ($50,000-$60,700) to cover miscellaneous expenses, according to the lone Chinese company authorized to provide a guide service for Mt. Qomolangma climbers.



Such huge amount of money will go to climbing clothing, footwear and gear; guiding fees and other pertinent fees; insurance and for the overall travel cost.



More commonly known, particularly among Westerners, as Mt. Everest, the once unconquerable roof of the world mightily stands 29,035 feet (8,848 meters) above sea level.



Sitting on a mountain range that expands between Nepal and Tibet, the Tibetans refer to the mountain as Qomolangma (Chomolungma) while the Nepalese call it Sagarmatha.



Qomolangma translates to Goddess Mother of the World, Goddess of Mountain or Goddess of the Valley in Tibetan. Sagarmatha literally means Ocean Mother in Sanskrit.



The Chinese uses the Pinyin name Zhumulangma Feng.



Colonel Sir George Everest (1790-1866) mapped the peak of the mountain in 1852, which was eventually named Peak XV. The British geodesist served as Surveyor-General of India from 1830-1843.



The U.K.-based Royal Geographical Society decided in 1865 to adopt the name Mount Everest in honor of the colonel.



Everest opposed in 1857 the idea of naming the mountain after him, according to the website, Mt. Everest - The British Story.



The website said that Everest told the society that the people of India could not pronounce it (his surname) and Mount Everest could not be written in Hindi.



Nepalese officials told the media that it would ban inexperienced climbers from ascending the mountain, reported The Independent on Oct. 2, 2015.



According to the report, many seasoned mountaineers expressed their support to the proposed ban, but they still have mixed feelings about it.



Upon approval, one can only obtain a permit to scale Mt. Qomolangma if he or she already experienced climbing mountains higher than 6,500 meters. The mountain will be off-limits for the disabled, old and very young people.



Veteran climbers must also have deep pockets because the necessary permits cost thousands of dollars, according to the Guardian.



Throughout the years many have perished climbing Mt. Qomolangma.



From 1921-2006, 212 died, according to About.com. The website said that most of them were generally physically fit.



Deaths are usually attributed to avalanche, altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness (AMS), hypothermia, and even to safety-gear issues and excessive fatigue.


Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed renewed interest in China's offer and capability to build railway networks in the west African country. (Photo : REUTERS)

Nigeria has expressed growing interest on Chinas offer and expertise to help build a world-class railway network in the west African country, the Xinhua News Agency reported.



According to the report, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari made the pronouncement during a town hall meeting with Nigerians living in Ethiopia on Sunday, Jan. 31, where the Nigerian leader said he ordered a review of several railway transport projects signed by the previous administration with the Chinese government.



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Buhari remarked that the Chinese government was very generous to Nigeria on the projects as they agreed to pay 85 percent of them. However, the Nigerian government failed to fulfill the 15 percent counterpart funding, so the Chinese government was unable to make any impact on the project.



The report said that the president had directed the Ministers of Transportation, Finance, and Power, Works and Housing, to revisit the agreements and explore ways to approach again the Chinese government for assistance.



A few days ago, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Gu Xiaojie met with Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, and the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in Abuja to exchange views on cooperation in investment and financing areas, the report added.



Remembering the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Nigeria, Guo told the ministers that China is willing to strengthen cooperation in investment and financing areas in order to further promote the development of bilateral relations.



The Chinese envoy added that Nigeria is a major destination of China's investment in Africa as well as a major beneficiary of China's favorable loan in a large scale.



Adeosun, on the other hand, commended China for its longstanding support for Nigeria's economic and social development, especially in infrastructure construction, as he pledge to draw lessons on China's experience.



The minister also extended Nigeria's wish to further enhance cooperation with China in investment and financing to speed up the implementation of existing and planned projects, which will benefit the peoples of the two countries.



Amaechi, for his part, thanked China for supporting Nigeria's economic development and the improvement of people's livelihood, adding that the cooperation has yielded good results, especially in areas like infrastructure and investment.


MBABANE  Internationally-acclaimed guitarist, vocalist and composer, Ray Phiri will serenade local jazz lovers at Indibano Jazz Clubs first jamming session to be hosted by the club this Sunday at Riders Ranch in Sidvokodvo.



Phiri, a founding member of the legendary Stimela, will share the stage with local musicians, trumpeter Itallo Dlamini and Bholoja. Chikapa, as he is affectionately known to his fans, has surely been missed by his Swazi fans, mainly for his stage presence. All this will be forgotten when he reconnects with them come Sunday. Indibanos co-founder and organiser of the event, Mbusi Motsa confirmed Rays performance, and invited local jazz lovers not to miss this event.

Ray is excited about coming to the country after such a long absence. When we discussed this event with him a couple of weeks ago, he did not think twice about it. The best part about this is that a combination of Ray, Itallo and Bholoja will surely set Riders Ranch alight. So, I want to invite all jazz lovers to make sure they do not miss this session, said Motsa.



Motsa said the session will be spiced up by some of the countrys best jazz collectors, who will share their jazz collection with the audience. These include Motsa himself, seasoned broadcaster Ray Boom Boom Dlamini, Zanele Dlamini, Noncedo Mamba, Sikelele Fakudze, Sibongiseni Mamba and Bhadala Mamba. This is the year of jazz, and Sundays event is just a taste of what is coming this year, and jazz fans who have been starved of their favourite music must brace themselves for a great time this year,he said, adding that this session will be followed by a tour of all the countrys regions by the jazz collectors.

We want to go and reach out to all towns and cities to share the music and have a wonderful time. We are calling on all jazz clubs in the country to welcome us as we revive the spirit of jazz music in the country.




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By Gabriel Rom

Central Queens real estate boom shows no signs of slowing down.

A major development site in Ridgewood has been expanded to two lots and a new seven-story condo is under construction in Forest Hills.

The lot size and price tag for the Ridgewood sites, which are in an M1-4D light manufacturing zone, will both increase. In addition to 951 Cypress Ave., the parcel now includes the neighboring warehouse at 1716 Weirfield St. The two properties, owned by Greiner Maltz Investment Properties, are currently going for around $25 million collectively

When combined, the two properties have an approximate lot size of 104 feet by 175 feet, with a total square footage of about 18,200 feet.

The buildable area grew to 118,300 square feet with the addition of the warehouse.

Like much of the recent development, the site in the center of the neighborhood, near Myrtle Avenue and surrounded by retail businesses. According to the listing, there should be positive pedestrian traffic around the site due to an ample amount of nearby public transportation, which can be beneficial for a potential ground-floor retail space, according to Greiner Maltz.

Both properties will be delivered without any tenants.

In Forest Hills, a new seven-story condo located at 109-15 72nd Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street will feature almost two dozen apartment units as well as retail space on the ground floor, according to city documents.

The listings come on the heels of a slew of real-estate dealings in both neighborhoods over the past few months.

Seth Bornstein, the president of the Queens Economic Development Corporation, noted that growing demand for condominiums is especially beneficial for the borough.

People want to purchase, he said. There is a demand from people who want to invest in the borough and that idea of ownership is a good thing. It adds to a sense of community.

Straddling the border with Brooklyn, Ridgewood has had an influx of mostly younger people fleeing Bushwicks rising rental costs for the comparatively cheaper rates in Queens. But the development has led to what some longtime community residents say is displacement.

In September, LaserShip, a Virginia-based package delivery service and major Amazon contractor, signed a 10-year lease to relocate from Long Island City and fully occupy a Ridgewood warehouse as its newest distribution center.

Earlier this month, a longtime Ridgewood tenant, 1/2 Price Kids shop, announced it would be vacating its 60-84 Myrtle Ave. building, which was recently sold, by Jan. 1.

Earlier this month, Ridgewood residents gathered at PS 305 for an emergency informational session on tenant rights hosted by a mix of attorneys, non-profits and lawmakers.

According to community activists and tenants, concern has been rising over the loss of affordable units in Ridgewood as well as landlord harassment and illegal construction.
Airport development adding to economy, jobs in the region

Pittsburgh may always be known as the Steel City, but a wave of new industries are popping up near its airport to redefine business in the region.
Torin Halsey/Times Record News Wichita Christian School will hold a preview open house Thursday to introduce potential students to the schools teachers, facilities and students.

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Wichita Christian school preview set

Wichita Christian School will hold its annual preview day Feb. 4, where participants will get to tour the school, meet with teachers and talk with students.

The preview opportunity for grades kindergarten through 12 will run 9-11 a.m. at 1615 Midwestern Parkway.

The preview at the preschool, 4729 Neta Lane, will be 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Information: www.wichitachristian.com. Registration discounts will be in effect through April 30.

Hoggard Reading Series set to begin

A new reading series at Midwestern State University will honor the legacy of longtime English professor James Hoggard. The inaugural event in the James Hoggard Reading Series will feature Dr. Trey Moody at 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU.

Moody is visiting assistant professor of English at Oklahoma State University and the author of "Thought That Nature" (Sarabande Books, 2014). His poems can be found in "The Antioch Review," "The Cincinnati Review," "Gulf Coast," "Pleiades," "West Branch" and elsewhere; and his awards include an Academy of American Poets Prize, the Slope Editions Chapbook Prize, and the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry.

Hoggard retired in 2013 as the Perkins-Prothro Distinguished Professor of English after teaching at MSU since 1966. Assistant Professor of English Dr. John Schulze said naming the series for Hoggard was an appropriate way to honor his contributions to MSU, Wichita Falls and the broader literary community. "We hope to bring in two to three writers each academic year and make the series a mainstay for the literary community on campus and here in Wichita Falls," Schulze said.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Schulze at john.schulze@mwsu.edu.

Scotland heats up for sausage meal

Scotland Knights of Columbus Council 1715 will hold its annual German Sausage Meal 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at the KOC Hall in Scotland, 19 miles south of Wichita Falls on U.S. Highway 281.

The meal is the Knights main fundraiser of the year, with the profits used to support activities for the church and community throughout the year. The all you can eat meal includes German sausage, made with a secret blend of seasonings, sauerkraut with spare rib meat cooked into it, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, vegetables, bread, drink and a homemade dessert. Local dairymen provide cheese to go along with the meal. The price is $12 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Takeout plates will be available, along with homemade baked goods from the St. Boniface Catholic Church Altar Society and Christian Mothers organizations.

Information: 733-5974.

Healthy lifestyle to be topic for AAUW

The American Association of University Women will meet at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 in Room 204 of Wichita Falls Public Library, 600 11th St.

Rita Vokes will be the speaker. Vokes retired from the Air Force as chief nurse executive of the 882nd Training Group and commander of the Nursing Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base.

After retiring from the military, Vokes has served as a wellness consultant/educator and has taught undergraduate nursing students at Midwestern State University.

Information: AAUW President Linda Smith, 692-6066.

Democratic Women will meet Feb. 8

Dr. Jeremy Strickler will be the speaker Feb. 8 for a noon meeting of the Texas Democratic Women of the Wichita Area at Luby's Cafetria, 1801 Ninth St.

Strickler is an adjunct professor of political science at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. He received his doctorate in political science from the University of Oregon. His topic will be "State of the Union"

Lunch will be available starting at 11:30 a.m.

Information: Terry Gilleland, 692-6450.

Shipley will speak at Criterion Club meet

Midwestern State University President Dr. Suzanne Shipley will be the speaker for the Feb. 9 of the Criterion Club. Coffee will be served at 10 a.m., and the meeting starts at 10:30 p.m. at the Wichita Falls Country Club, 1701 Hamilton.

Shipley became the 11th MSU president of Midwestern State University in August. A former Fulbright Scholar, Shipley holds degrees in German from Texas Tech University and the University of Texas. Her research into the lives of German-Jewish women emigrants, funded by a postdoctoral fellowship at Hebrew Union College, resulted in translations of several previously unpublished diaries from the Holocaust.

Shipley also serves as president of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, an organization of 29 colleges and universities from the United States and Canada. She came to MSU from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia

Mental health group aimed at caregivers

A new support group has formed to help people charged with caring for those suffering from mental illness.

The Hope for Mental Health group meet from 6-8:30 p.m. each Tuesday at The Corner, 1301 Bluff St. Members share stories, information and understanding about the issues faced by the families and friends of those suffering from mental illness.

Information: 235-7828.

Workshop to focus on employment law

The Nonprofit Center of Wichita Falls will present "HR Smart: Top 10 Employment Mistakes Organizations Make" from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 18 at its offices at 2301 Kell Blvd., Suite 218 (second floor of Wells Fargo Bank in Parker Square).

Penny Miller, of Venture HRO, will be the speaker. Miller has more than 25 years of experience at a human resource professional in varied environments.

The workshop will provide a quick tour of the 10 mistakes organizations frequently make and how to avoid them. The program is designed for representatives of both for profit and nonprofit organizations. Also included will be a discussion of upcoming regulations concerning Fair Labor Standards Act exemption status and how it affects budget strategies.

Cost for the program is $30 for Nonprofit Center partners and $35 for nonmembers. To register, go to www.nonprofitcenterwf.org or call 322-4961.

Concert Feb. 26 to benefit food bank

An Evening of Music for Meals, featuring Steve Smith and Tim May, will be Feb. 26 at the Kemp at the Forum, 2120 Speedway.

The concert will benefit the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank and the United Regional Foundation Healthy Food Box project. Smith and May will present a concert of acoustic Americana swing and jazz music.

Advance tickets are $15 and are available online at donatenow.networldofgood.org. Tickets at the door are $20, or save $5 by bring five cans of food to donate.
Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Bob Beckel(left) and Cal Thomas chat on-stage as they are introduced at Midwestern States Artist-Lecture Series on Tuesday in Akin Auditorium. Thomas is a conservative Republican columnist and Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist.

SHARE Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Cal Thomas talks to the audience at Midwestern State's Artist-Lecture Series Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Akin Auditorium. Thomas is a conservative Republican columnist and Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. Lauren Roberts/Times Record News at Midwestern State's Artist-Lecture Series Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Akin Auditorium. Cal Thomas is a conservative Republican columnist and Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Jamie Gardner hands Cal Thomas the introduction sheet before the start of Midwestern State's Artist-Lecture Series Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Akin Auditorium. Thomas is a conservative Republican columnist and Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Cal Thomas tells the audience about Common Ground as Bob Beckel listens at Midwestern State's Artist-Lecture Series Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Akin Auditorium. Cal Thomas is a conservative Republican columnist and Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. Common Ground is a twice-weekly column the two write together for USA Today.

By Lana Sweeten-Shults of the Times Record News

America is mired in what has become one of the most divisive times in the country's history.

Conservative political columnist Cal Thomas and liberal political analyst Bob Beckel, whose viewpoints clash more than they mesh, found common ground in that thought Tuesday at Akin Auditorium as part of the Midwestern State University Artist-Lecture Series.

Thomas described Washington as its own version of the film "Groundhog Day," in which star Bill Murray is doomed to live the same day over and over.

"It's what's happening in Washington every single day," he said of the political machine that never changes.

"Republicans and Democrats only talk to each other every 10 years, during redistricting time," Beckel said during the chummy talk in which the longtime friends didn't debate opposing viewpoints but expressed what they agreed upon.

Beckel noted how money has become too important in political elections: "You've got to raise $5,000 every day  Republicans and Democrats have already spent $1 billion (this election)."

"The politicians sell their soul," Thomas added, as he spoke about the influence of political action committees.

"I think we have to start electing presidents in a different way," he said. "  In the British system, they thought (spending) five months (on an election) was exceedingly long."

He said voters can find out a politician's stance via Web pages and countless other ways. The arduous campaign process really is "for PACs and super PACs to gain influence."

The two also spoke about how politicians stay in office too long: "It's not meant to be a career," Thomas said.

"I'm a firm believer in term limits now," Beckel added. "Without turnover in Congress, you're going to have the stale legislators you have now."

They also agreed on how something must be done to stop ISIS.

America's mistake, Thomas said, is believing that other cultures want to be like us when "they hate us."

"I think we need to be careful about this.  You can't have these incubated cultures that are separate."

Beckel added that ISIS does not represent mainstream Muslims. He noted how 75,000 Muslims come to the United States on student visas and how "15,000 never show up at the college they're assigned to. We ought to stop these student visas until we find out where they (the students) are."

The average age of a democracy, Thomas said, is 250 years. He noted how America's democracy will be 250 years old in 2026.

"There's no guarantee our country is going to go on beyond that without some serious measures," he said.

Beckel closed the talk, saying that when he battled alcoholism and had a tough time of it, "The first person who came and helped me was the man on this stage with me," and he urged everyone to find common ground with someone they don't agree with.

"If you stop rewarding the polarizers, they will change," he said.
SCHENECTADY  A man on parole for a killing someone in North Carolina in 1990 was arrested on drug charges in Schenectady on Tuesday, when city police executed a search warrant at 409 Gifford Road.

Cullen Holley, 50, was arrested after investigators and members of the Special Operations Squad and K9 Units entered the home and found about two ounces of heroin, more than 10 grams of crack cocaine and $2,000 cash, according to police. The drugs' street value exceeded $12,000, according to police.
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Portland, Ore.

The jailed leader of an armed group that took over an Oregon wildlife preserve struck a defiant tone Tuesday while again urging four holdouts to leave, saying local residents should control the federally owned property and U.S. officials do not belong there.

Ammon Bundy said the FBI and Oregon State Police surrounding Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are leading an "armed occupation," words typically reserved for the ranchers and others that launched the standoff on Jan. 2. He said the refuge "belongs to the people," according to a statement read by his attorney. "I am requesting that the remaining protesters go home now so their lives are not taken," Bundy's statement said.

He is among 11 people arrested in connection with the standoff, whose adherents have called federal land restrictions burdensome and demanded the government turn over public lands to local control. Many were taken into custody during a traffic stop last week that left one occupier dead.

All face a felony conspiracy charge of using intimidation to prevent federal employees from their work. Bundy will stay behind bars while his attorneys build their case that the standoff was intended as a "peaceful protest and civil disobedience." A federal judge has allowed a couple of others to go free pending trial.

Meanwhile, the handful of remaining occupiers offered no signs they are ready to leave. They gave an interview Monday on an online talk show on a YouTube channel called Revolution Radio.

"We're still here," said David Fry, adding that the four hope sympathizers will come out to back them up. "We need the American people to get the courage to stand up."

Bundy pleaded for them to go home and aligned with his father, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, on demanding federal and state authorities clear out of the area.

The elder Bundy, who was involved in a high-profile 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights, sent a certified letter to the local sheriff Monday, saying the refuge should be placed under local control.

Federal prosecutors are building a case against Ammon Bundy and his followers to show that the occupation was a threat to residents and federal employees. Prosecutors say the group, once numbering a couple dozen, was ready to use violence to hold on to the refuge.

Many locals want the occupation to end and are eager to get on with their lives. But others sympathize with Bundy's complaints.

Some have rallied in support and opposition to the standoff, the latter often citing the death of an Arizona rancher by police. Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was killed Jan. 26 during a confrontation with FBI agents and Oregon State Police on a remote road.

Federal authorities have released aerial video and said Finicum was going for a gun in his jacket pocket. Bundy's relatives say the shooting was not justified.
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Colonie

Quebec is a long-time major trade partner with New York state, with nearly $7 billion in goods and services crossing the common border each year.

But Jean-Claude Lauzon, Quebec's delegate general, believes Quebec and New York state are on the verge of a new era of trade that will center on renewable energy and clean technologies.

Quebec generates 99 percent of its electricity through hydropower dams controlled by state-owned utility Hydro-Quebec.

Importing more Quebec power into New York is seen as a key way for the state to achieve Gov. Andrew Cuomo's goal of supplying 50 percent of the state's electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030.

Hydro-Quebec is planning to export 1,000 megawatts of electricity to New York City starting in 2017 through an underground direct-current cable called the Champlain Hudson Express. But officials who oversee the state's high-voltage electrical grid are already looking for additional ways to import more electricity from Quebec beyond the project to reach Cuomo's goals.

Quebec  which has an installed electric generating capacity similar to New York state of nearly 40,000 megawatts  is in the midst of a 25-year, $25 billion expansion of its hydro and clean energy infrastructure. New York and New England states are huge markets, and Lauzon said 60 percent of Quebec's hydropower resources remain untapped.

"This is a huge potential partnership," Lauzon said Tuesday during a visit to the Times Union in Colonie.

Lauzon and other Quebec and Canadian officials were at the Capitol earlier in the day as part of Canada-Quebec-Ontario Day. Quebec first opened its New York City delegate general office in Rockefeller Center in 1940 as a way to promote trade and tourism with the United States.

Lauzon, who was appointed to his post in December 2014, is not a career politician like many of his predecessors. He is an industrial psychologist by training and most recently was a top executive at the executive search firm Korn Ferry.

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In that sense, Lauzon sees the relationship between Quebec and New York state through the eyes of a businessman. He says future trade won't center only on exporting clean electricity into New York but also on clean technologies that will enable energy conservation and reducing the use of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. That includes electric buses that Quebec bus manufacturer Nova Bus is developing in Quebec and Plattsburgh.

Lauzon noted Quebec has the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction plan in North America, having pledged a 37.5 percent reduction below 1990 levels. He said the expertise from that effort will be highly exportable and will help Cuomo, who recently announced his decision to join with Quebec and California on a carbon cap-and trade program.

"The clean energy economy is the future," Lauzon said.

lrulison@timesunion.com  518-454-5504  @larryrulison
BUDAPEST, Hungary  The Obama administration's plans to quadruple military spending in Central and Eastern Europe, largely in response to recent aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, was greeted warmly but warily in the region Tuesday.

"It is not only the right decision, it is necessary to protect Central Europe from Putin's expansionistic lust," said Radko Hokovsky, executive director of European Values, a research organization in Prague.

Putin's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and his continued support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine  along with provocative incursions into Ukraine's airspace, increased submarine patrols and large-scale military maneuvers near its western borders  have unsettled many of the former Communist states in the region and have led to increasing demands for a concrete Western response.

There was little immediate reaction from government officials in the region  or in Russia  to the news from Washington, with press officers in the Baltics, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and elsewhere saying that their governments needed time to review the details of the proposal before providing a response.

The news was expected to draw a harsh reaction from the Kremlin and to prompt Putin to respond with a buildup of his own, although analysts doubted that it would inspire a new arms race.

"Russia will not welcome the strengthening of the American contingent in Europe, at the time when, regardless of the overall political difficulties, there is no risk of a direct military confrontation with NATO," said Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense. "This will make the system in Europe more unbalanced. It is one thing when the Americans deploy their forces in Spain, but it is very different when they deploy them in Poland, Romania or the Baltic States."

Still, Korotchenko added, "the response will not be hysteric."

Some action along these lines had been expected since Western officials announced at a NATO summit meeting in Wales last summer plans to build military supply bases and to station troops in Eastern Europe the region to bolster its ability to respond rapidly in the event of Russian aggression.

That the Obama administration was proposing more than $3.4 billion in military spending in the region next year  far above the $786 million in the current budget  put some heft behind what had been a vague goal, but questions about where the equipment and troops would be stationed were left unanswered.

U.S. officials told The New York Times that the intention was to have new equipment  available to both United States and NATO forces  positioned in the region as well as having a full armored combat brigade deployed somewhere in the region, on a rotating basis, at all times.

Administration officials argued that the rotating nature of this deployment would keep the United States in compliance with the NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997, under which both sides promised not to station large numbers of troops along their borders.

Government leaders in Poland and the Baltic nations have argued strenuously that Russia's aggressive actions in Ukraine had already violated the act, and urged U.S. leaders to ignore it and station permanent troops in the region. Poland's new right-wing government, in particular, has made the permanent deployment of NATO troops in the region a major foreign policy goal.

This summer's NATO summit will be held in Warsaw, so this proposal provides some response to such demands that might have dominated the summit.

"It's important for our self-confidence to see that the United States finally takes European security seriously again," said Petr Kolar, a former Czech ambassador to both the United States and Russia. "At the same, time I wish that the European allies would do their homework as well. It's not fair to expect the U.S. to save us all the time, when we don't take our protection seriously enough."

Hokovsky, the analyst in Prague, agreed. "Europeans really need to step up their defense efforts so that they are not like a child always waiting for an American mom to come save them because they are so lazy to spend their wealth on their own security," he said.

Despite Russian aggression, overall European military spending has been dropping. Although NATO asks its member states to contribute 2 percent of gross domestic product to military purposes, only a few countries in Europe actually do so. According to the NATO 2015 Annual Report, the European part of the alliance devoted to military spending 1.51 percent of GDP in 2013, 1.47 percent in 2014 and 1.43 percent last year.

Obama administration officials said the U.S. proposal was largely a reaction to recent aggression by Putin, but also cited other goals, including providing forces capable of fighting potential threats from Islamic extremists and reacting to the influx of migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"Both politicians and regular people are very likely to support any enhancements to Romania's security landscape," said Radu Madgin, a political analyst in Bucharest. "Russia is still strongly perceived as a threat and bolder U.S. moves and capabilities would be most welcomed. Let us not forget that Romania is also pushing diplomatically for a permanent NATO fleet on the Black Sea in order to increase regional security."

Poland, Romania and the Baltics have been especially vocal in criticizing Russia's seizure of Crimea and its ongoing support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Poland, in particular, has made numerous international appeals under both this new right-wing government and the previous, center-right one, for NATO troops to be stationed in the region.

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"It's a very significant increase, which needs to be viewed as a positive step," said Marian Majer, director of the Slovak Security Policy Institute in Bratislava.

The buildup did not come as a surprise, Majer said, as it has been a topic of discussion in security circles in the region in recent months. But the size of the increase and the context, coming in the midst of an U.S. presidential election, will bolster confidence that the United States is eager to demonstrate its commitment to the region's security.

Not everyone will react positively to a larger U.S. military presence, analysts said. In some countries, like the Czech Republic, where some leaders have increasingly made overtures to Moscow, the move may be seen as counterproductive.

"The tone in the country is increasingly being set by the president, Milos Zeman, who speaks openly of ending the sanctions against Russia and would see this as a step in the opposite direction," said Erik Best, the U.S.-born author of Prague's Fleet Sheet, an online political and business journal.

In Moscow, analysts tried on Tuesday morning to predict Putin's reaction. They agreed that it will almost certainly involve a beefing up of troops and equipment along the country's western fringe, including the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland and not contiguous with the rest of Russia.

"What will happen is that, on the one hand, Russia will further develop its military infrastructure in the western regions that was underdeveloped only five years ago," said Rusian Pukhov, head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. "On the other, the new weapons will be deployed in Russia's west, instead of east."

He also predicted that Putin will opt to deploy Russia's Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system as well as the S-400 antiaircraft system, "not to mention tactical nuclear weapons."

Korotchenko agreed that these systems will now likely be deployed in the region, but he did not expect there to be a major increase in Russian military spending  something the Kremlin might be hard-pressed to support with low oil prices and international sanctions already hobbling the country's economy.
New York

I had barely arrived for my tropical holiday in Brooklyn before I was deflowered. Yes, my lei, which had been hung welcomingly around my neck when I entered the resort called the Grand Paradise, was taken from me (gently) by a blonde in a pink satin bathing suit and pearls.

That occurred in her dressing room, where this guiding siren  whom I had just watched striking pinup poses with giant pearls on a nightclub stage  was showing me faded postcards affixed to her mirror and telling me about the different lovers they brought to mind. "Stan," she would sigh, or "Harry," or "Jim," appending each name with the same wistful postscript: "He was my first."

Now that my lei had been added to her collection, I was feeling shucked and sentimental. In the context of what seemed guaranteed to turn into a night of encounters with intimate strangers, she was, after all, my first.

More Information If you go "The Grand Paradise" Where: Grand Paradise, 383 Troutman St., Brooklyn Info: Running time: 2 hours See More Collapse

"The Grand Paradise," the latest and lushest of the many immersive theater spectacles to set up camp in New York in recent years, traffics in instant nostalgia. Created by Third Rail Projects, this interactive tour of an imaginary Floridian pleasure palace from the 1970s manages to summon romantic promise and regretful retrospection in a single, ocean-air breath.

The effect is of taking and remembering a wild vacation at the same time, the kind in which you drink too many pastel cocktails, smoke too much ganja and wake up in too many unfamiliar beds. At the Grand Paradise, though, you don't really do these things (though sweet cocktails, in tiny cups, are on offer and the odds are you'll find yourself fully horizontal at least once).

You just think you have, and any attendant pleasure and pain is hazy, as if what's happening is already in the past. This paradise has been designed for virtual hedonists. As the lady with the pearls warned me in our first conversation, "None of this is real." She was speaking philosophically as well as literally, and you are free to take her words as either reassuring or disappointing.

Third Rail is the troupe responsible for "Then She Fell," an impressionistic rendering of the world of Lewis Carroll and his Wonderland novels, which has been running for three years (also in Brooklyn). That piece, set in what seemed to be a derelict mental hospital, is a more explicitly literary head trip, replete with Victorian imagery.

For "The Grand Paradise"  overseen by the company's artistic directors, Zach Morris, Tom Pearson and Jennine Willett  the troupe drew from a kitschier and closer frame of reference. The Bushwick neighborhood warehouse it has taken over has been remodeled as a sybarite's temple to the swinging '70s.

OK, those of you who were there in the era of Jimmy Carter's presidency may recall that time as the less glamorous stepchild of the really swinging '60s. But think about it. By the late 1970s, the sexual revolution was in its fullest flower, when a night at the disco could end in a public orgy and sexually transmitted diseases could be chased away with a hypodermic needle.

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It was a sensibility translated into prime-time-appropriate television fare like "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island." These G-rated variations on the theme were all about penalty-free escapism, with the implicit guarantee that even the middle-aged were welcome at a party where the inner, innocent pleasure seeker would be unleashed to play.

"The Grand Paradise" absorbs this mindset in all its tackiness without ironic grimaces. Do you remember the musical number in the 1979 Bob Fosse movie "All That Jazz," in which lithe dancers in leotards rehearse an erotic airline commercial? It's called "Take Off With Us," and features the lines, "Meet our friendly, eager crew/They only live to service you (service, service, service)."

The group of 20 performers who usher you through "The Grand Paradise" exhale the same unspoken invitation. They're all dancers and all good looking. We first see a selection of them slithering about the fountain grotto in the room where the audience gathers.

Rumor has it it's the fountain of youth they're dipping into. Anyway, they certainly all look refreshed and relaxed.

Using the '70s as a time frame turns out to have been an inspired idea. It allows the troupe to be philosophically gooey in ways that might be embarrassing otherwise. But, hey, here we're all surfing through a past when people did things differently.
The eclectic jam band Umphrey's McGee is bringing their 2016 Couch Tour to the Palace Theater on Saturday night.

Formed in 1997, the band blends rock, funk, jazz, blues, electronica, bluegrass and folk into something they refer to as "improg", or improvised prog-rock. Originally formed in South Bend, Ind., the group's members are Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger on guitar and vocals, Ryan Stasik on bass, Andy Farag on percussion, Kris Myers on drums and vocals, and Joel Cummins on keyboards and vocals.

More Information If you go Umphrey's McGee Where: Palace Theater, Albany; after-show at the Hollow, 79 N. Pearl St. When: 7:15 p.m. Saturday; after-show at 11:30 p.m. Admission: $24.50; after-show $12-$15 Info: http://umphreys.com/tour/ See More Collapse

"I studied classical piano all through school," Cummins says. "The band started out at Notre Dame, where I was majoring in music theory, with a minor in performance; I was always into Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Genesis, Pink Floyd ... '70s rock, basically. But I was always trying to diversify my listening. Probably my favorite artist is Miles Davis. The keyboard players who played with him were amazing: Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea ... those guys are really my heroes. I also listened to a lot of Stax and Motown. Everyone in the band has an open mind when it comes to music."

What, exactly, is a "Couch Tour"?

"There isn't really a single 'Couch Tour,' per se," he laughs. "Basically, the 'Couch Tour' is where we webcast every show. We have 500 to 600 people watching each show all around the world. If you live someplace like Seattle, you might only get to a few shows a year. This way, you can put the show up on your TV, on your stereo, and enjoy. It's a great way to keep the fans involved in 2016.

"A lot of people complain about the role of technology in music," Cummins continues. "They complain that things aren't the way they were. To us, all of this technology represents an opportunity to connect on a human level with the fans. All of it: The webcasting and social media. I'm very active on Twitter, I'm even starting to put names to faces when I meet people I've connected with on Twitter at the shows. They'll offer to have a beer after the show. It allows them to connect with the band and with each other."

The band is extremely grateful for their fanbase.

"It's such a cool, wide demographic," he enthuses. "These are really kind people who turn out for our shows for a bunch of different reasons. Most of them come for the music, of course, but so many of them just come to gratify their ears and their brains. The shows simply make them smile."

Cummins also expresses his excitement about performing at the Palace.

"We're so glad that we've graduated to the Palace Theater," he says. "It's such a beautiful theater and a fantastic venue."

What are some of their favorite places to play?

"In terms of indoor venues, we just played at the Beacon Theater in New York City, which is always great," he says, "But the pinnacle has to be Red Rocks in Colorado. It's 10,000 person venue that feels half the size. The crowd is incredible, and being surrounded by all that nature is an amazing experience. It's definitely an annual stop. We always do two nights there, around the Fourth of July."

Cummins also shares an exciting program that will be coming to Albany for Saturday night's show.

"One of the most innovative things we've introduced is called Headphones and Snowcones," he says. "Fans can rent headphones at the show that connect to the soundboard and allow them to experience the show in high-definition stereo. We've got six people playing on stage, so a lot gets lost in the mix. It's a new way for fans to connect to the music and really hear what we're doing.

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"We were worried at first," he continues, "that the headphones would be isolating and make the social dynamic of the show kind of weird. But just the opposite has happened. We've found that most fans listen to the headphones for a half-hour to 45 minutes, and then someone comes up and asks what the headphones are all about. And they wind up sharing them! Instead of isolating the audience, people are making friends through the program. That really speaks to the nature of our fan base. That's what our shows are all about.

"What I'd really like to do is collect photographs of the fans when they first put the headphones on. They way their faces light up when the music comes on. And a bonus is that if you decide to go get something to eat, you don't have to miss a note. Just take the music with you.

"Umphrey's McGee is a band that straddles the line between intense composition and improvisation," Cummins concludes. "Over the weekend, we decided to play some shows that were pure improvisation. We had [tenor saxophonist] Joshua Redman performing with us, and he came out on stage and joined us for 25 or 30 minutes of the 60-minute set. All the music was completely improvised, and all of us on stage were completely connected the whole time. The fans really enjoyed it.

"That's really the hallmark of our sound. We have 200 individual compositions, which allows us to play at least four nights through without repeating a song. And we're always working new songs into the mix."

Supporting group Mr. F will perform at an after-show at the Hollow.

"The band may make an appearance," Cummins says. "It gives fans a chance to socialize and more music keeps the party rolling."

Alexander Stern is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
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Albany

Assembly Democrats have a plan for the state to generate more than $1 billion: Tax millionaires.

An income tax boost for the state's wealthiest residents was one of two progressive election-year policies pushed by the chamber's majority conference on Tuesday with the clock showing two months left to reach a state budget deal by the April 1 deadline.

Also on Groundhog Day, the Assembly approved a paid family leave proposal that has proven to be a non-starter outside the chamber each of the last four times it was passed.

The paid family leave action and tax plan and likely are one-house efforts that will need to change if they are to be adopted as law.

The millionaires' tax is something Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie pledged on Day 1 of the legislative session in January. A bill, backed by 73 Assembly members, would boost income taxes on earners of $1 million to $5 million to 8.82 percent.

,There also would be increases for earners of $5 million to $10 million (to 9.32 percent) and earners of $10 million or more (to 9.82 percent).

The current tax for millionaires is set to expire after 2017. The new tax rates would go into effect in 2018.

Income tax rates for those earning less than $40,000 would not change under the proposal (rates range from 4 percent to 5.9 percent based on annual income). Those making between $40,000 and $150,000 would see a small reduction of their rates from 6.45 percent to 6.25 percent. Rates for those making between $150,000 and $300,000 (6.65 percent) and $300,000 and $1 million (6.85 percent) would remain the same.

The tax proposal also would increase the earned income tax credit by five percentage points over two years, a move billed as increasing the average credit for more than 1.6 million residents and providing "much-needed tax relief for the middle class."

Heastie said the proposals are being unveiled now because legislative leaders and the governor will be hashing out the state budget for the next two months and possible sources of additional revenue should be part of the discussions.

"I'd remind you last year the governor said it was good to dream when we talked about the minimum wage," Heastie said. "We'll see what happens this year."

The governor himself said in ambiguous terms in January that he was not focused on income tax rates that will expire next year, rather, he is focused on this year.

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, R-Long Island, was more straightforward in his dismissal of the plan, saying in a statement the state Legislature should be cutting taxes, not raising them.

The Assembly approved its version of paid family leave, a policy lawmakers are far more likely to find compromise on this year than the tax plan.

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Cuomo has his own paid family leave proposal, and Flanagan has not shut the door on negotiations on that policy.

The legislation would extend 12 weeks of paid time off to employees who cannot work because they are caring for a sick relative or newborn child or are dealing with issues that arise from a family member's military service. It differs from Cuomo's proposal in that the bill would expand the state's temporary disability fund through an employee payroll deduction of 45 cents, sponsor Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, D-Queens, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Cuomo's proposal would establish an employee payroll deduction not to exceed 60 cents. Under the governor's plan, workers would be eligible to reap 35 percent of their pay beginning in 2018.

The amount would rise to 66 percent of weekly pay by 2021 under a modification coming in Cuomo's budget amendments, according to Politico New York.

The paid leave amount would be capped at a percentage of statewide average weekly pay.

Confronted with concerns from the business community who fear a double whammy from costs associated with paid family leave and a $15 minimum wage, Heastie countered, "For one, I'd say they need to have a heart." He added that paid family leave is a "humane" thing to do.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
Sinn Fein's Tipperary general election candidate, Nenagh-based Cllr Seamie Morris has called for a New Republic.

He told his election campaign launch in Clonmel that the existing right-wing parties had bankrupted and broken this one.

The last two Governments have been among the most regressive and damaging that we have seen since the foundation of this State, he said.

Cllr Morris told the gathering of several hundred that the people had been told Labour would offset the right wing conservative economic policies of Fine Gael.

Instead that pretend-left party rolled over and betrayed the very principles on which it was founded in 1912, here in Clonmel. The party of Larkin and Connolly has sunk deeply since then, said Cllr Morris.

Attacking the Government's health policies, he said that Ireland was a country where what was in your pocket dictated your right to healthcare. He described Ireland as a country that had one of the worst health systems in Europe.
After calling for six more weeks of winter 112 times during the 130 year history of Punxsutawney Phil crawling out of his hole to see if he can see his shadow, the groundhogs handlers announced on Tuesday morning that Phil had not seen his shadow, meaning spring would come early. This marks the 18th time that Phil has not seen his shadow.
The Titusville Rotary Club held its annual Farm City Day on Tuesday at Benson Memorial Library. The special guests were Randy and Paula Meabon (dressed in red), of Wattsburg. The Meabons are shown with (from left) Rotary members Ron Kerr, Chris Fiely and Jack Preston.
Here's how much your natural gas bill will go up this winter
Since it launched in the capital of Egypt in 2014, Cairo has been the fastest growing city for the San Francisco-based company Uber

Egypt's traditional taxi drivers called on Tuesday for a Thursday protest to demand the government immediately ban taxi applications Uber and Careem.

The planned protest would be the first against the the two increasingly popular companies since they made their debut on Cairo streets two years ago.

The anonymous call for the protest, set to take place at 6pm Cairo time in Mostafa Mahmoud Square, calls for the suspension of the taxi apps as they are "operating as taxis yet were unlicensed as such."

The drivers argue that Uber and Careem are negatively affecting the rights of taxi drivers.

While it is not clear who has called for the protests, Alaa Mohamed, head of the citys taxi association in Giza, said that his association endorses the calls as legitimate demands.

Mohamed says that, as of yet, they will not participate in the protests until they are assured that the protest is legal, by obtaining police permission.

In November, Uber announced an investment of $250 million to expand in the MENA region, where the service has been growing since its arrival.

Cairo has been the fastest growing city for the San Francisco-based company since its launch in the Egyptian capital in November 2014, with the on-demand car service application expanding into Alexandria in November 2015.

Dubai-based Careem has been booming in Egypt, with thousands of their cars providing services in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria.

"The market in Cairo is really big, taxis don't need to fight with us over customers," said Hadeer Shalaby, Careem's general manager.

On legalisation, Shalaby says they are licensed as a technology company in Cairo, yet she agrees that the legalisation of their cars and a working model is still needed.

She says she hopes to reach a solution regarding the legalisation of cars with officials in Cairo, just like they did with Dubai's Road and Traffic Authority (RTA).

Careem says it has provided thousands of work opportunities every month to unemployed Egyptians, elaborating that their service is not only important for customers, but for their drivers or 'captains,' as they prefer to call them.

Following the calls, angry customers criticised the taxis' protests, calling on them to improve their services and stop ripping off Egyptians through taximeters, arguing that people would not have resorted to private taxi services like Uber and Careem if the traditional taxis service was actually satisfactory.

A hashtag Taxi In Egypt was launched on Twitter where users shared their negative experiences with traditional taxi drivers.

This is the first time since the applications launch in the Middle East that the private taxi services are facing dissent by traditional taxi drivers.

France has been witnessing a series of protests by taxi drivers, the latest outcry on Tuesday was when they partially blocked roads on the edge of Paris and other areas to protest against what they say is unfair competition from the likes of Uber.

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Any police regime can prevent someone from entering his country, but they cannot prevent him from dreaming of changing it

Egyptian-born German researcher Atef Botros said Tuesday he "will not be silenced about the injustices" after authorities denied him entry to Egypt, stressing that he is entitled to enter the country he was born and raised in regardless of his stance.

My stance on the [Egyptian] regime, the use of torture, detention, forced disappearances, and killing of protesters wont change, the founder of Mayadin Al-Tahrir NGO said in a Facebook statement, highlighting the beliefs that he says have caused him to be denied entry.

Botros was detained upon arrival at Cairos International Airport late Friday, questioned by the authorities, and deported to Germany on Saturday.

Egyptian authorities did not comment on denying entry to Botros, who was born in Egypt to Egyptian parents but, according to his statement, was naturalised as a German citizen in 2008.

According to German law, he was required to give up his Egyptian nationality. Botros explained in the statement that he respects Germany, where he studied and worked in academia, but his feelings for and affiliations with his first country, Egypt, did not change.

He added he was being monitored because of his anti-Egyptian regime statements in the media, especially during Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Berlin last year, as well as his organisation of rallies in Germany against El-Sisis regime.

Botros added that during his detention at the airport authorities pressured him to obtain names and information on his family members and friends, which he refused to do.

"Any police state can prevent someone from entering his country, but they cannot prevent him from dreaming of changing it," Botros added.

Botros is a professor in Germany's Marburg University Centre for Near and Middle East Studies. His NGO, Mayadin Al-Tahrir, aims to enhance the capacities of marginalised groups in Egypt, in particular the women and youth of Matariya district.

Critics of Botross detainment and deportation accused the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin of sending Egypt security reports on Egyptian political activists in Germany, leading to their arrest back home.

The accusations cited the case of Egyptian journalist Ismail Alexandrani, who was detained at the airport in December 2015 upon arrival from Germany.

Alexandrani is currently detained pending trial on charges of broadcasting false news and joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

The Egyptian Embassy in Berlin released a statement on Monday saying these allegations are fabrications and show a complete ignorance of the basic roles of Egyptian embassies in defending Egypt's national interests and serving its expats."

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The defendants were originally sentenced in 2015 to death over the killing of 11 policemen in the town of Kerdasa in 2013

Related Egyptian court overturns 5 death sentences in Kerdasa police killings

Egypt's Court of Cassation, the country's highest appeals court, has overturned on Wednesday the death sentences of 149 defendants previously convicted of killing policemen in Kerdasa in 2013, and ordered a retrial.

In February 2015, a lower criminal court sentenced 183 supporters of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group to death over their role in the killing of 11 policemen in an assault on a police station in the town of Kerdasa, on the outskirts of Cairo in August 2013 during the unrest that followed the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Thirty-four of the defendants were sentenced in absentia.

The new trial will take place before a lower criminal court and defendants will have the opportunity to appeal again before the cassation court.

Since Morsi's ouster, hundreds of his supporters have been sentenced to death on murder charges in swift mass trials condemned by United Nations as "unprecedented in recent history". Many have won retrials though.

However, the Court of Cassation has overturned many of these mass verdicts on a number of occasions, citing procedural mistakes by lower courts' judges.

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The two militants were planning attacks on security forces in response to the killing of an Agnad Misr militant group leader, the interior ministry said

Egypt's interior ministry said that the two militants killed on Wednesday in the Cairo suburb of Maadi were planning attacks in response to the earlier killing of an Agnad Masr militant group leader by authorities.

The ministry said that the militants were planning to target several public figures, including politicians, and army and police members.

The police said in an official statement that the two "terrorist members" were involved in several terrorist operations.

The planned attacks were in retaliation for the recent Killing of Agnad Misr leader Ahmed Galal Ahmed Mohamed Ismail.

The circumstances surrounding Ismail's death remain unclear.

Ismail's family says he was arrested at a police checkpoint in Maadi on19 January then forcedly disappearced. His corpse was found with a gun shot in the head earlier this week.

Earlier this week, Egypt's semi-official National Council of Human Rights asked the ministry to investigate the death of Ismail.

Officials say the militants killed in the Maadi raid Wednesday had previously committed deadly acts against security forces including the murder of an army conscript on the Autostrad road in Cairo; the killing of two low ranking policemen in Helwan.

The attacks also included the bombing of a policeman's car also in Helwan; and the assassination of North Sinai's Sheikh Khaled Khalaf El-Menei, who was killed for allegedly collaborating with the security apparatus in the troubled governorate.

Earlier on Wednesday, authorities said that the two men were shot dead by security forces when they fired on police during a raid on a hideout in the Hadaek El-Maadi district in southern Cairo.

Police officials said they had received information that the militants possessed several weapons, including suicide belts and RPGs.

Two policemen were wounded in the gunfight, which lasted six hours.

Authorities announced in recent weeks the killing of several militants during raids on apartments in and outside Cairo.

The banned-Muslim Brotherhood group, whose top leadership are currently jailed and facing trials on criminal charges, has accused authorities of killing unarmed members of the group in various raids.

Agnad Misr, a small Islamist militant group designated by the government as a terrorist group in 2014 - has claimed several deadly attacks against security personnel, mostly in the capital of Cairo, since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt has been waging a campaign to crack down on an Islamist militant insurgency in North Sinai, led by the ISIS-affiliated Ansar Beit El-Maqdis group which intensified following Morsi's ouster.

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The Sony a6300 is a mirrorless camera for those who have pro-level ambitions. Building on the success of the Sony a6000, this premium cousin sports the same 24-megapixel resolution, but with a new sensor that offers improved photo quality in low light. The a6300 also stands out because of its fantastic 4K video, external mic jack and sturdier metal design. However, the a6300 costs nearly twice as much as the a6000, which is why it's the best mirrorless camera for those who aren't quite beginner photographers, but don't want to spend more than $1,000.

Since the a6300 debuted, Sony has released a number of other compact mirrorless cameras. We've compiled this handy guide that compares the Sony a6300 vs the a6000, a6100, a6400, a6500, and a6600.

Sony A6300 Photo Samples

Image 1 of 7

Design

The a6300's biggest design improvement is the upgrade from a composite material (reinforced plastic) body to magnesium alloy. That adds 0.63 ounces (for a total of 14.25 ounces), but it's a positive change. Although it's pretty durable, the a6000 always felt fragile; the a6300's heft removes the uneasy feeling that you might break the camera. The rest is essentially the same, for better or worse. The a6300 has slightly smaller (4.7 x 2.6 x 1.9 inches) dimensions, a deep handgrip, popup flash for fill lighting and a hot shoe for a more powerful strobe (or mounting a mic).

Some little tweaks mean a lot. The OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF), already quite nice, gets a resolution upgrade to 1024 x 768 pixels (XGA) from 800 x 600 pixels (SVGA), as well as an option to bump screen refresh from 60 to 120 frames per second (fps) to keep the preview from blurring when you pan.

The 3-inch, 640 x 480 rear LCD still provides a view that's inferior to the EVF and, unlike most other mirrorless cameras at this price, it's not a touch screen. Still, your ability to tilt up the LCD 90 degrees and down 45 degrees is great for framing extreme shots, as well as holding the camera steady when you're shooting video. A sensor automatically switches the preview from LCD to EVF when you place the camera to your eye. You can turn off this feature and set one of the camera's programmable buttons to toggle between screens. (We'll get to that in a bit.)

The addition of an external microphone jack allows the a6300 to use virtually any mic  a great improvement over the a6000, which only lets you plug in a few Sony microphones into its flash hot shoe.

MORE: Sony Mirrorless Camera Guide: Alpha a6000 vs. a6300 vs. a6400 vs A6500

Controls

Buttons and menus continue to be a mix of good and bad on the Sony a6300. Good is the freedom to program the C1 and C2 buttons as shortcuts. Plus, nearly every button can be reassigned to trigger nearly any menu option. A new combo button and switch near the right corner of the LCD toggles between autofocus and manual focus and activates auto exposure lock.

Bad is a sloppy menu layout that has sprawled even more. Pressing the menu button brings up six submenus, with up to nine sub-sub menus under each and up to six settings under each sub-sub menu. It's hard to suss out the logic, like why an item such as LCD display quality level is under the toolbox icon submenu instead of the gear icon submenu.

Those programmable shortcut buttons sometimes save you from falling into the menu abyss. Also helpful is the Fn button, which brings up an on-screen menu for quick settings like ISO (light sensitivity), and autofocus mode or metering mode. You can adjust settings like aperture and shutter speed using either a wheel on the back right of the camera or a (hard-to-reach) thumbwheel on the top right. Still infuriating is the tiny, recessed video record button below the top wheel, where it's nearly blocked by the camera strap mount.

The interface has a few little upgrades for pros, like displaying audio levels when capturing video and customizing image file names and embedding copyright info. Gamma Disp. Assist makes it easier to preview a video shot on-screen in the professional S-Log format. If these upgrades sound superfluous or baffling, the a6300 probably isn't worth the splurge for you.

Image Quality

Great photos (and videos) make up for the a6300's lackluster interface. This mirrorless camera retains the 24-megapixel resolution of its forerunner. It has an upgraded APS-C CMOS sensor (same size as in most DLSRs) that provides a higher max ISO of 51,200  up from 12,800 on the a6000. That's one f-stop (illumination level), so it's not as dramatic as it looks, and the images are not pretty at that max setting.

Lightning-fast autofocus, a hallmark of the a6000, gets even faster on the a6300.

I shot pictures with the 3X (16-50mm) kit zoom lens, as well as a snazzy 4.4x (16-70mm) Zeiss lens, which retails for about $900. The camera captured simultaneous JPEG and uncompressed RAW images, in order to gauge the in-camera processing  which was quite good. Light metering and focus setting depended on the subject matter, but were mostly Multi (aka evaluative or matrix) metering and Wide AF.

MORE: Best DSLR cameras

Bright-Light Quality

Like virtually every camera, the a6300 does well on a sunny day. It perfectly captures the skin tones and colorful gear of divers emerging from the Pacific. With the 16-70mm Zeiss lens, the a6300 quickly locked sharp focus on the figure in the foreground at the far left.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, F11, 1/640 sec, ISO 400, 70mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

Accurate color is indistinguishable between the a6300 (at left) and a6000 (right)

(Image credit: Both: F9, ISO 800, 50mm; a6300: 1/200 sec; a6000: 1/250 sec. Credit: Sean Captain)

Detail is fine and color is true in this close-up of a cactus.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, F8, 1/200 sec., ISO 100, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

It's just a tad sharper (and a skosh brighter) than an image taken with the a6000.

(Image credit: Sony a6000, F9, 1/200 sec., ISO 100, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

Dynamic Range

The a6300's fine ability to capture both highlights and shadow is evident in the cactus photos and this other beach photo  ranging from late afternoon sunlight beating on the mom's forehead to her shadowed hair and baby's less-illuminated face. The kit lens captures detail well.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, F5.6, 1/320 sec., ISO 500, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

I used the camera's default Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) setting for this and most other shots. It processes a single photo to bring out highlights and shadows, without combining multiple shots (with frequent blurring) to make an HDR image. Like the a6000, the a6300 has both automatic and manual DRO settings  letting you push the dynamic range to near-HDR levels, as seen in these two photos, first shot in Auto, then level 4 (of 5) DRO.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, f16, 1/80 sec., ISO 200, 44mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

MORE: How to Take Great Pictures with the Sony a6300 or a6000

Low-Light Results

Color and Detail

The a6300 and a6000 perform almost identically well in photos of a bar at night at a very high ISO.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, F5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 6400, 35mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

When you're using auto white balance, some amber tint is to be expected in both the a6300 photo above and the a6000 below.

(Image credit: Sony a6000, F5, 1/60 sec., ISO 6400, 31mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

ISO Performance



The a6300 achieves high light sensitivity of ISO 51,200, which is in line with rival cameras, but the results aren't pretty. In shots of the ocean liner Queen Mary, images looked clean up to ISO 3200, when they were displayed at around 1280 x 800 pixels  about the resolution of a typical laptop screen. Images were acceptable at ISO 6400, and showed just a little fuzziness in very smooth surfaces like the sky. Things fell apart an f-stop higher (ISO 12,800), but these are solid results for a camera with a sensor of this size.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, F5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 3200, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

The same photo taken with the a6000 at ISO 3200 is a bit more mottled, especially in the sky.

(Image credit: Sony a6000, F5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 3200, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

Focus and Speed

Lightning-fast autofocus, a hallmark of the a6000, gets even faster in the a6300: 0.05 versus 0.06 seconds, according to Sony's specs. Sony attributes the benefit to the whopping 425 phase-detection autofocus sensors on the new 24.2-MP imaging chip, up from 179 in the a6000.

(Image credit: a6300, F9, 1/400 sec., ISO 160, 70mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

The camera had no difficulty locking focus on the tiny target of a kite high in the sky.

(Image credit: Same as above. Cropped to show kite detail. Credit: Sean Captain)

Continuous Shooting and AF Tracking

The a6300 matches its predecessor's max burst rate of 11 fps (refocusing between each shot). I found the midlevel speed of 6 fps to be plenty, and since it fills the memory buffer less, I could shoot longer to capture more action.

Both cameras have focus tracking that's smart enough to distinguish the correct moving subject about two-thirds of the time. In about half a dozen tests, the a6300 seemed a bit better than the a6000 at catching a target and staying on it, such as this cyclist. You can see the progression in a handful of wide shots, along with 100 percent crops on his face.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, f5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

To fully appreciate how fast shooting is (even on the Mid setting), check out this GIF made from a 24-photo burst of a skateboarder. For some reason, white balance shifts in two images.

(Image credit: Sony a6300, f5.6, 1/400 sec., ISO 100, 50mm Credit: Sean Captain)

Video Quality

The a6000 is an outstanding HD (up to 1880p, 60 fps) video camera. The a6300 continues that quality, as you can see in this clip of volleyball players.

It also provides a new 4K/UHD option (up to 30 fps) with video so sharp you could cut yourself on it.

Nighttime 4K video is equally stunning. The 30-fps limit (typical for 4K/UHD cameras) is an asset, because it allows a slower shutter speed than HD clips I shot at 60 fps.

The whooshing sound in the second and third clips, triggered by even a slight breeze, shows the limits of the built-in microphones. The option to connect an external mic, such as one with a noise-limiting windsock, is very handy.

Another fun upgrade is the ability to shoot HD video in HFR (high frame rate) at 120 fps, which provides 4x slow motion when you're playing it back at 30 fps. This video shows a snippet of the same volleyball game, the first shot with the a6000 at normal speed and the second with the a6300 at 4x slow motion. (One curious artifact is how the slowed down audio makes the shrieking players sound like demons from The Exorcist.)

Wireless Sharing

Sony has made transferring photos over Wi-Fi radically simpler. Instead of making you manually enter the camera's Wi-Fi hotspot password into your phone, Sony took a cue from camera makers like Olympus and now displays a QR code on the a6300s LCD that you can scan with the latest PlayMemories Mobile app to establish a connection. That's less important with NFC Android phones, because you can establish pairing by tapping the camera, but it's a huge improvement on iPhones, which lack this capability.

Unlike Sony's many competitors, the a6300 does not allow you to control the camera from a smartphone.

You can also connect the a6300 to Wi-Fi hotspots to share photos across the network. It's also simpler, as Sony has added WPS push, which only requires you to tap a button on the phone, as long as you have a router that supports the technology. Unlike many competitors, the a6300 does not allow you to control the camera from a smartphone.

Battery Life

Using the industry-standard CIPA method, Sony rates a6300 battery life at approximately 400 shots if you're using the LCD, and 350 shots if you're using the power-hungry viewfinder. I got 153 shots in one session, 218 in another and 513 in a third. (In the last case, I shot in burst mode, getting lots of photos compared to the downtime when the LCD was on.)

You can goose battery power in several ways, like dimming the screen and viewfinder, and using the default Standard LCD quality setting, instead of the High option. Setting a short time for the camera to "go to sleep" between shots helps, as well as programing a shortcut button to trigger Deactivate Monitor, so you can turn off the LCD and viewfinder between shots.

MORE: How to Take Great Photos with a DSLR or Mirrorless Camera

Even with all the power-saving tricks, you'll feel more relaxed on a daylong shoot with an extra Sony NP-FW50 lithium-ion battery, which sells for about $50.

Lenses

The 16-50mm kit lens option adds a mere $150 to the base price, for rather good quality. It held up well to the 16-70mm Zeiss lens; it provided sharp quality at the center of photos, but trailed off to the edges, as you can see in this photo.

(Image credit: 16-50mm kit lens, f9, 1/160 sec., ISO 100, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

In comparison, the SEL1670Z 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS lens that was included with our review unit stayed sharp across the frame. Another benefit of the Zeiss is its wide f4 aperture throughout its zoom range. The kit lens's max aperture varies from f3.5 (wide) to f5.6 (telephoto)  a standard range for kit lenses that is a slight handicap in low light.

(Image credit: 16-70mm Zeiss lens, f9, 1/160 sec., ISO 100, 50mm. Credit: Sean Captain)

If $900 is beyond your means, Sony has some other options. A nice low-light alternative for nearby subjects is the Sony SEL35F18, a 35mm prime (nonzooming) lens with a giant f1.8 aperture that sells for roughly $400. For serious telephoto work in bright light (such as bird watching), the E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS image-stabilized zoom is a great deal at about $350. Combine that with the 16-50mm kit lens, and you can cover a tremendous range, from ultrawide to supertelephoto. If you decide that you don't need the a6300's extra goodies, you can get the a6000 and save plenty of money for lens upgrades.

Bottom Line

Though you might not be a fan of labeling yourself, it might be a good exercise when you need to decide between the new Sony a6300 and the older and cheaper a6000. If you consider yourself a really "serious" photographer who wants the absolute, best quality, the better low-light performance and slight autofocus improvement may be worth it. The case for the a6300 grows if video is a priority, since you can shoot in 4K and get respectable audio from the external mic jack.

The a6000 is the better option if you want to spend less but still enjoy great photo quality and speed. Whichever model you choose, you'll have a lot of fun capturing gorgeous images.
The European Commission published anaction plan (pdf) for stricter regulations against methods that help terrorists get financed. The paper showed prepaid cards and Bitcoin as two payment methods that would be impacted by these regulations if they are approved by the European Parliament by June.

In Bitcoins case, the rules will force the verification of users whenever they want to convert their Bitcoins into real currencies.

EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said:

We must cut off terrorists access to funds and enable authorities to better track financial flows to prevent devastating attacks such as those in Paris.

However, in a post published by the European Unions own website two weeks ago, experts were warning MEPs that they shouldnt overstate the risk of Bitcoin, especially when cash is even more anonymous than Bitcoin:

"In fact cash is likely to be a much more anonymous means of transferring value," said Sean Ennis, a senior economist from the OECD. "The ownership string for virtual currency is public and that allows a tremendous amount of analysis of transactions."

This is backed by the EUs own law enforcement bodies such as Europol, who so far havent found any reason to be worried about terrorists being funded through Bitcoin:

"Despite third party reporting suggesting the use of anonymous currencies like Bitcoin by terrorists to finance their activities, this has not been confirmed by law enforcement."

Bitcoin isnt anonymous by default, but it is pseudonymous. All transactions from a Bitcoin address are permanently logged into the Bitcoin blockchain, and anyone can see which addresses exchanged money.

To actually identify the person behind the address, law enforcement would also need to tie that Bitcoin address to a real person, in the same way that all web tracking happens. Intelligence agencies and law enforcement have become adept at tracking people online, so tracking down a Bitcoin user is no different.

The only time Bitcoin is truly anonymous is when people use Tor to create the addresses and then transact from them, also over Tor. The moment someones identity is tied to a certain anonymous address, they become exposed.

The European Unions solution is not to ban Tor (at least not yet), but to force Bitcoin users to reveal their identity the moment they try to exchange Bitcoin for real currencies. Most, if not all, of the major digital currency exchanges in the EU are already heavily regulated and demand photo IDs and proof of address before they enable your account, so its not clear at whom this regulation is targeted.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies or blockchain-based platforms are only just beginning to gain traction with big companies, so there is also a worry that heavy regulations could stifle these technologies before they get a chance to get off the ground.



Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. You can follow him at @lucian_armasu.

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This May, Melbournes beloved Cherry Bar will be hosting the 10th birthday edition of Australias only dedicated rock n roll street festival, CherryRock, and now organisers have finally announced CherryRock016s full lineup.

Kicking off Sunday, 1st May, the hallowed walls of AC/DC Lane will shake with the sound of headliners Kadavar, direct from Germany, who top a bill featuring Richie Ramone, Supersuckers, Gay Paris, Dallas Frasca, and many more.

Ten years under our belts and I firmly believe this is our best line-up ever. Kadavar are my favourite band in the world and AC/DC Lane will grow a beard while these hairy Germans play, says Cherry Bar owner and booker James Young.

Supersuckers were born with a tail and will finally shake that tail in AC/DC Lane. And with locals such as Power, Clowns, Dead City Ruins and Dallas Frasca, I know Melbournes CherryRock street rock n roll festival shall stand proudly beside the legendary Richie Ramone himself, together, too tough too die!

As always, these 12 awesome acts will be playing across two stages with absolutely no clashes. Check below for all dates and ticketing details. Tickets are available now and are priced at just $88.70, so act fast.

Cherry Rock 2016

Kadavar

Richie Ramone

Supersuckers

Gay Paris

Dallas Frasca

Clowns

Polish Club

Power

Dead City Ruins

Mammoth Mammoth

Devil Electric

Mesa Cosa

Sunday, 1st May 2016

Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Tickets: Cherry Bar
"All of the citys investments in economic development  through the earnings, sales and property taxes as well as direct public subsidies for projectsand its $77.6 million of diverted revenue this fiscal year. Thats a big number. But its not close to being north of $100 million."

"The subsidies for fiscal year 2014 are $93 million, and do not include the subsidies for Burns & McDonnell and Cerner. The latter subsidy, which the Star unequivocally endorsed, might be the biggest tax diversion in the history of the state of Missouri.





"The problem is that the Star's editorial board likely only considered the citys portion of TIF subsidies. The problem with TIF, however, is that it allows the city to divert money from other taxing jurisdictions such as schools, counties, and libraries. In short, the city is offering subsidies with other people's money."

Tax fighter dudes vs. the editorial board of a fading newspaper attempt to define terms in the ongoing debate over how to count TIF subsidy.And while accounting debates can get kind of dry . . . This dispute over tens of millions should resonate with the 8-9% of registered voters who will participate in the next KCMO election where the Earnings Tax is still virtually unopposed by any organized campaign infrastructure.More in a bit . . .
TKC TOLD YOU SO: Be careful because the toy train streetcar could soon start clipping cars in Downtown Kansas City.

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and tonight we are impressed with the lead editorialist at the fading daily newspaper has been inspired by our work.Remember that last week we noticed the lines for parking near the streetcar don't fit most cars . . .And today . . . Mostly unwatchable newspaper amateur video speaks to facts we've already reported . . .Of course Yael blames drivers and not the city but the story remains the same and something readers have seen FIRST on our blog.Bottom line . . .Developing . . .
Kansas hopes to make life even harder on the undocumented despite the fact thatyear after year. Checkit: Kansas Lawmakers Considering Ban on Sanctuary Cities
THE CONSULTANTS AGAINST AIRPORT RENOVATION ARE PAID THROUGH CITY HALL AVIATION . . . THE PRIME MOVER IN THE PUSH FOR A NEW INCONVENIENT SINGLE-TERMINAL AIRPORT!!!

a new

While consultants shot down the plan from Crawford Architects, it should be noted that the effort didn't cost KCMO a penny while single-terminal designs currently bill the city HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS but still don't want to stick to a single design for people to judge.

Recently, consultantswithout a great deal of consideration.Sadly, the statements were reported without any context.Fun fact that everybody missed . . .Watching the committee meeting it's not only clearis leading the effort to ask tough questions about plans forairport but alsoAdditionally,seems focused on the end result of airport plans and the potential to pass on costs to consumers.During the last meeting both Councilmembers Loar & Lucas did their best to nail down consultant promises that ticket prices wouldn't rise if KC build a new airport . . . As usual, all bets are off when these things go over-budget like they always do . . .And here's what stands out the most in the lastest meeting . . .And so . . .What we're seeing isa systematic effort from City Hall to push a single-terminal as the only option for Kansas City despite the fact that most voters are against destroying KCI convenience and both Mayor Sly and Aviation have done little more than attack any alternative while requesting a blank check for their plans that offer very few details.Developing . . .
The next round of tripartite talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will kick off in Khartoum next week

Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hossam Moghazi announced on Wednesday that ministry experts in the national tripartite committee on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam would conclude their reports about the French firms technical offers later this week.

The Egyptian experts will issue a report on the technical offers from French firms BRL and Artelia on studies of the dam and its impact on both Egypt and Sudan.

The offers involve two assessment studies: a risk assessment of the effects of the dam on the water flowing to Egypt and Sudan, and another study that addresses environmental concerns.

The minister added in press statements that the Egyptian delegation would head to Khartoum next Saturday to start the 10th round of talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

The three-day round of talks will run from Sunday until Tuesday.

Although Egypt has repeatedly expressed concern over the dam's possible effect on the country, Ethiopia insists it will not negatively affect Egypt's share of Nile water.

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CFRGs petitioners vs. City Hall in a packed courtroom!

. . . Here's insight into the fight against the Downtown Kansas City Convention Hotel Scheme from a tax fighter perspective . . . Take a look:CFRG and Friends,As you know the Judge heard final arguments in our fight to force the City to obey the City Charter and put our petition for the voters to approve the hotel project on the next ballot. We expect the decision in the next week or so.People asked us how we read the proceedings. We are not attorneys but we thought it went very well for our side. Our attorneys arguments were based on the Missouri State Constitution, The Missouri Supreme Court, The U.S. Supreme Court and the City Charter. All arguments were backed up by facts, chapter, paragraph and verse.He told the court the contracts the City says they cant cancel were signed after our petition process had started. He also pointed out how they can cancel the contracts via their exit clauses. They also tried to prove we were changing the States TIF laws. Our attorney showed them where we were actually not changing anything.The oppositions arguments were not nearly as convincing, in our opinion at times they floundered. They argued our petition was vague. The developers attorney accused us of gamesmanship. Not sure what that meant.With the possibility of being prejudice, we asked others who were in the packed courtroom what they saw. They all agreed with our take.It is difficult to beat the City in the local courts but we like our chances on this one.Citizens for Responsible Government##############
"With the number of homicides in Kansas City for 2015 having leapt back up, this film examines violent crime in the segregated black community east of Troost Avenue and asks whether enough is being done to make its neighborhoods safe."

- A note about our top elected official from fans of this movie: "Mayor Sly seems combative, unwilling to answer tough questions and unconcerned with talk of practical solutions for the plight east of Troost."





- City Manager Troy Schulte claims that it would take $10 million to tear down so many abandoned houses that host a great deal of crime in the urban core. Meanwhile, KCMO keeps spending hand over fist to subsidize developers and tourist attractions.





- It's not just blight but a question of priorities. Fans of this documentary note that the release of this feature comes at the PERFECT time given the current earnings tax debate.

"Take a look at the documentary and you'll see that the East side just isn't getting the services promised by the earnings tax. Eastsiders are being taken for granted and if, after watching this documentary, if they decide to vote for the E-Tax their actions are really akin to that of an abused spouse."

Tonight we're taking special attention to anKansas City documentary which juxtaposes the current corporate welfare spending spree from City Hall with the tragic homicide count on local streets.Without to much preamble, here's the most important thing for concerned residents of this cowtown to witness . . .Description:Just a few insights from many readers who have drawn our attention back to this documentary . . .Here's a quote that sums things up perfectly . . .Again, what's really important about this documentary is that we're not talking about race but resources and legislative priorities as we consider the financial future of Kansas City.Developing . . .
Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten,  , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei,  , holidays in Turkey,   , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas,

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We host up to six people per tent. Meaning that we need space and comfortable conditions for clients to feel cozy in our tents.We offer upscale bed sheets, all the silverware and equipment necessary for cooking, candles, wood to make fires This is the spirit of glamping, camping with a dose of glamour.In France, we offer two ranges of tents: a traditional one with no hot water. The other, the Noble Tent offers a warm shower and several small services to render the stay even more pleasant.The singular experience. You are in direct contact with nature, with those who make it live through their crops and livestock. It is a unique opportunity to regain unexpected contact with the environment in all simplicity, calm, and wilderness. I think that it is not a coincidence that 35% of our clients come back to us.There are two types of vacationers: families with children and groups of friends looking to celebrate a special event, such as a birthday, in an atypical setting, to guarantee a memorable moment.Our product is European, meaning that we touch a wide panel of people attracted to glamping. First in line: the English, Dutch and Belgians, for whom camping in farms is very popular. We also attract more and more German and French visitors.Our company is expanding. Similarly to the countries where we are already established, we will open in new spots. But we are always looking to convince farmers to join us in order to meet vacation requests at Un lit au Pre.More information: www.unlitaupre.fr
Bahraini investors were yesterday (February 2) urged to look into the potentially untapped markets of Sri Lanka that could promise high returns and boost economic and commercial ties between the two countries. This was highlighted by Sri Lankan Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who ended a successful two-day visit to Bahrain yesterday, during which he met top officials, ministers, community members and businessmen, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

To read further, please visit GDNonline
Egyptian authorities succeeded in freeing 35 Egyptians detained in eastern Libya over charges of illegal immigration and vagrancy following negotiations with Libyan authorities., Egypt's ambassador to Libya Hisham El-Naqib said on Wednesday.

The ambassador said those released included eight women and two children.

Libya has been a major destination for Egyptians seeking work abroad for decades.

According to a 2010 report by the International Organisation for Migration, some 1.5 million Egyptians were working in Libya at the time.

However, the number of Egyptian expats in the country fell sharply after the NATO-backed Libyan uprising in 2011, which saw the ouster and death of long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Egypt shares a 1,200 kilometre border with Libya, which has posed a security concern for Egypt in recent years, with smugglers crossing it to get weapons and militants in and out of the country.

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Middle Eastern business trends, innovation and entrepreneurship were the topics discussed by two of the regions most savvy business leaders, in a Twitter discussion hosted by Young Presidents Organization (YPO) yesterday (February 2).



Media personality, and the first woman from Saudi Arabia to be appointed by the United Nations Development Program as a Goodwill Ambassador, Muna AbuSulayman, and managing director of the Bahrain-based Khalid Almoayed & Sons, Sofyan Almoayed, used the popular social media platform to exchange ideas, share insights and provide their experiences in the lucrative business world of the Middle East.



Both Muna AbuSulayman (@MunaAbuSulayman) and Sofyan Almoayed (@almoayed) are members of YPO, the worlds premier network of more than 23,000 chief executives and business leaders in 130 countries.



The pair described the challenges that businesses can face while launching a business in the region, as well as the wealth of opportunities the market has to offer for budding entrepreneurs.



When asked about the business opportunities in the Middle East, Almoayed highlighted: Governments in the region are looking for sustainable businesses, this is a huge opportunity for investors.



Both participants agreed that petrochemicals, finance, banking, IT, and government related services were the fastest growing sectors in the region. AbuSulayman said: Im looking at the Internet of Things to level the playing field allowing innovation from the government right through to the public sector.



AbuSulayman observed that in the Middle East there was a real drive and desire to diversify from oil. And that this is driving all the change in the region.



On the topic of key regional business trends, Almoayed stated, I think privatisation is picking up and will grow. Saudi Arabia has just announced privatising of public education. Economic development is taking place because of private initiatives, just as much as government in the Gulf.



Both business leaders shared some insights into the best business advice they had ever been given, while Almoayed said his was for me to be myself. If it doesnt feel right, then its probably not.



AbuSulayman said: Perhaps the best is knowing my True North, my values and acting upon it. She also added, never work with someone you don't respect as it never ends well. Her third and final best piece of advice was to focus, focus, focus, but don't burnout. Give yourself support and meditate.



When the pair were asked why they felt Dubai was the choice for the upcoming YPO EDGE event in March, AbuSulayman said: Dubai has established itself as the networking capital of the world.



On talking about the events theme Vision to Reality she added: Dubai, more than any other place in the world, symbolises that for the 21st century. Almoayed concurred and stated that the theme shows the true spirit of this region.



YPO is a not-for-profit, global network of young chief executives connected through the shared mission of becoming Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange. This year, the organization has chosen Dubai as the host city for their landmark annual event, the YPO Edge in 2016.  TradeArabia News Service
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, recently hosted a workshop to focus on the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.



Hosted with the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment, the Change for the Better event aimed to promote a sustainable business environment for SMEs, and to enable them to develop their services and products.



The workshop was designed to promote interaction between project owners who are financed by the Khalifa Fund and the individual Mohammed Bin Rashid projects that are trying to build a wider network of relationships that will increase their efficiency, open new opportunities and develop business in the region.



Adil Al Mulla, Etihad Airways vice president of Procurement and Supply Management, said: As the national airline of the UAE we are committed to playing a vital role in the community by supporting SMEs across the UAE. Our cooperation with the Khalifa Fund and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment is recognition of those individual entrepreneurs. It is their efforts to showcase the airlines best policies and practices that have promoted better contracting opportunities in their businesses.



Abdulla Al Hameli, Enterprise Development and Support Department Manager at Khalifa Fund, said: Etihad Airways played a vital role in supporting and enabling the fund in conjunction with the Khalifa entrepreneurs. The Fund will continue to work in order to create suitable growth and the development of SMEs across the country.



This workshop offered a prestigious local platform to exchange knowledge and experiences and discuss the challenges facing the SME sector in emerging economies and developing countries. At Khalifa Fund, we are keen to support value-added projects as we recognise the importance of innovation in developing a knowledge society and a knowledge-based economy."



Ibtihal Naji, director of Corporate Development at Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment, said: We are grateful for Etihad Airways initiative in organising the Change for the Better workshop. There is no doubt that the workshop has had an impact on enriching the knowledge of members of the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment and informing them about the airlines advanced automated purchase system. This will significantly contribute to raising the efficiency of their products and services. It should also enhance their position as key suppliers to Etihad Airways.  TradeArabia News Service
The Egyptian government has sealed four financing contracts worth E3 billion ($381 million) to help fund the construction of a million housing units across the country, said a report.



The housing development, which is one of the countrys most ambitious projects, will see the construction of 150,000 residential units by the end of this year, reported the Egypt Independent, citing the housing minster.



"The contracts have been signed with the Housing and Development Bank, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Banque du Caire, with loans received from each worth E750 million ($95.4 million)," revealed Mostafa Madbouli.



We are currently spending between E500-600 million ($64-$76 million) per month, and shall reach E1 billion ($127 million) in the coming period to increase the number of constructed units, stated the minister.



We do not have liquidity problems, but are rather seeking to speed up procedures to hand the units to citizens, he added.
General Electric said on Sunday it had signed an agreement to invest $600 million in Italy in research and development projects in the oil and gas sector over the next five years.



GE Oil & Gas said the money would be spent on developing a facility to build turbines and compressors in the central region of Tuscany.



The project, dubbed "Galileo", will increase GE Oil & Gas volumes in Italy by 50 per cent and boost revenue by $1.7 billion over the five years.



"GE has been operating in Italy for about 100 years and today's operation confirms our strong commitment to invest and grow our business in the country," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt.



Immelt was present at a signing ceremony with, among others, Italy's Industry Minister, Federica Guidi.



According to a document seen by Reuters, GE will invest $400 million in Galileo while the remaining $200 million will be public funding.



In the statement, GE said another agreement had been signed in previous weeks by aviation unit Avio Aero to invest 200 million ($218.1 million). That brings the overall investment programme to more than $800 million, it said.



GE said its Oil & Gas division had also signed on Sunday an agreement with Italy's SACE, a state-owned export credit insurance agency.



It said SACE could provide assistance of up to $6 billion over the period 2016-2018 to support its exports to areas such as Latin America, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Asia. - Reuters
Gulfood, an annual food and hospitality trade platform, has set its own new record by confirming its largest country and pavilion line-up to date for this year's event.

It will run from February 21 to 25 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The show will feature 117 pavilions  five more than last year  with first-time group participation from Russia, Costa Rica, Belarus, Mauritius and New Zealand, the Oceania nation returning after a six-year break, said a statement.

Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Exhibitions and Events Management, DWTC, said: The sheer scale of the pavilions and their extensive membership lives up to our promise of delivering more taste, more trends and more trade.

The range of new products and services on offer is as diverse as the geographic spread of pavilion participants  the perfect combination to yield fresh business opportunities for professionals operating throughout the entire international food industry and hospitality supply chain.

Italy will operate the events largest pavilion with more than 190 companies occupying a 3,956-sq-m national pavilion, while a few Italian producers will go-it-alone with specialised stands.

At Gulfood, Italy will focus on ultra-high-end product offerings from fresh fruits and vegetables, to dairy  mainly cheese  pulses, dried and canned foods, dried and frozen foods, grocery products, olive oils and vinegar, juices, sweets and snacks. The pavilion will also host several specialist manufacturers of hospitality equipment and coffee and gelato machinery.

The UAE is the Italian food industrys fastest growing market, said LohMirmand.

Italian food product sales to the emirates have grown steadily rising 31.1 per cent in 2012, a further 39.5 per cent in 2013 and again by nine per cent in 2014 to reach 241.3 million ($263.1 million)," she said.

"In Q1 of 2015 exports climbed a further 23.6 per cent. Without doubt, the euro fluctuation against the dollar and dirham has significantly assisted Eurozone exports and Italy in particular has reaped the benefits," she added.

Meanwhile, Turkey will also be out in force at Gulfood 2016 with 103 exhibitors marketing beverages and beverage equipment, finished food and beverage products, food service hospitality and restaurant and cafe equipment.

Over the past few years, Turkey has made significant inroads into the UAEs food and beverage, hospitality and mass grocery retail sector, said LohMirmand.

Turkish produce is now familiar on supermarkets shelves, while a plethora of Turkish cuisine and hospitality outlets - adding to the high-profile entrance of the countrys Rixos hotels group to the region - are open and performing. The Turkish chamber of commerce has made no secret of its members ambitions to ensure food exports to the UAE climb to $250 million this year. Although this represents a 20 per cent jump on 2014 levels, a strong Gulfood push is expected to play a role in meeting those aims.

The Netherlands will again have a strong presence at Gulfood with the Holland Pavilion organised by the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH)  a Gulfood stalwart having exhibited every year since 1995  housing 54 companies across the dairy, deep-frozen, fresh vegetables, fresh/deep-frozen meat, conserves, traders, oils, sauces, grocery, fine food and drinks sector.

The council is looking to grow Dutch food exports to the UAE - currently worth $360 million a year.

With the global food industry eyeing Africa as the next major investment opportunity, Kenya is boosting its Gulfood presence with a pavilion 48 per cent larger than last year that will focus largely on tea and coffee produce, while Egypt is weighing in with 125 companies covering a multi-commodity profile including freshly frozen fruit and vegetables, confectionery, dairy and dates.

Back for its third Gulfood promotion, the small Eastern European state of Moldova is looking to expand its export reach for a wide range of agricultural and processed food products that currently account for 40 per cent of the countrys GDP. - TradeArabia News Service
After a year of secret diplomacy and hushed-up private talks around the world, Opec's mighty Saudi Arabia and rival Venezuela were persuaded to cut a deal by non-Opec Mexico which overcame mutual acrimony and led to a much-needed rise in oil prices.



It was 1998, trust had long broken down within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and it took outside mediation as a last resort to stop the squabbling to clinch deals at secret meetings in Riyadh, Madrid and Miami.



Now, with oil prices touching their lowest level since 2003, Opec officials and deal brokers are looking back nearly two decades and asking whether a behind-the-scenes deal to curb oil output between Opec and non-Opec Russia could be struck.



Some see Opec rifts as insurmountable and Russia as a wild card that cannot be trusted, but others say economic necessity to boost oil revenue could overcome acrimony and distrust and lead to a global deal to cut supply and mop up the glut.



There are plenty of reasons, however, to dispel optimism.



Unlike in 1998, the challenge goes beyond rebuilding bridges between just two Opec producers.



It pitches the interests of Saudi Arabia alongside fast-rising Opec producers Iran and Iraq as well as non-Opec Russia, the world's largest oil nation. All four are involved in conflict in the Middle East but also desperately need money to keep their oil-dependent economies afloat and meet social costs.



"The 1997/98 deal brokered between Saudi, Venezuela and Mexico took over a year to negotiate and it was touch and go as to whether it would get done or not," said veteran Opec-watcher Yasser Elguindi of Medley Global Advisors.



But low prices are making producers desperate. Prices sank to below $30 per barrel this year from as high as $115 a barrel just 18 months ago due to one of the worst oil gluts in history.



PERFECT STORM



This perfect storm was due to a boom in the extraction of oil from shale rock in the United States and a decision by the Saudi ruling elite to ramp up crude supply to regain market share from higher-cost producers.



Saudi Arabia has pushed its output to record highs over the past year above 10 million barrels per day, almost equal to Russia. Iraq also raised production sharply above four million bpd over the past months as foreign investment in oil fields paid dividends. Iraq expects to raise output further in 2016.



Meanwhile, Iran says the removal of European sanctions in January should allow it to claw back oil production and a deal with Opec is unacceptable until output reaches four million bpd.



"You cannot have a deal with non-Opec, until you achieve a credible Opec framework which at the moment is not possible because of Iraq and Iran. Until there can be some framework between Iran, Saudi and Iraq, all this non-Opec talk is just noise," said Elguindi.



Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, who has been in office since 1995, has said the kingdom would join cuts if key Opec and non-Opec players cooperated.



But insiders say, Saudi Arabia and it Gulf allies Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are all deeply skeptical that a workable consensus can be reached. "Iran and Iraq remain the main challenges inside Opec and Russia wont agree to a cut and is not to be trusted," a senior Gulf Opec delegate told Reuters.



CHANGE IN DYNAMIC



In the past month, however, all parties involved have sent signals suggesting the world oil dynamic may be changing.



Iran's main oil export official, Mohsen Qamsari, said in January he did not want a price war and might increase shipments gradually to avoid hurting world prices.



And Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi also said his country would support an extraordinary Opec meeting if a joint cut with non-Opec could be agreed beforehand.



"It is useless to go to a meeting without deciding up front. We said 'yes' if others are willing to go but we have to decide before. Otherwise this will backfire on us," he said.



The statements by Iran and Iraq coincided with a change of rhetoric from Russia where the head of its pipeline monopoly and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Tokarev, said joint action was possible to halt slumping prices.



For years, Russian officials said oil production cuts were technically difficult after an ill-fated deal with Opec in 2001, when Moscow agreed to cooperate but raised exports instead. It was this that created the mistrust that exists today.



But back then Putin was only at the start of his first presidential term and had little control of the oil industry, split between various oligarchs following the chaotic privatization after the collapse of the Soviet Union.



Fast forward 15 years, and the oil industry is mostly owned by the Kremlin and Putin has almost absolute power.



"You have to take this seriously now. Key will be if Russia can deliver," said Opec watcher and founder of US-based Pira Group Gary Ross, who was involved in the 2001 Russia-Opec talks.



Putin and his ally, head of Kremlin oil major Rosneft, Igor Sechin, have yet to speak about the recent talk of a joint move with Opec.



But Sechin in the past said he would not support cooperation by Russia, where one popular conspiracy theory maintains that the low oil prices of the 1980s were orchestrated by Saudi Arabia and the United States to undermine the Soviet Union. Sechin has also said Opec had "lost its teeth".



A year ago, Putin said it was possible that the current price crash was orchestrated in the same way as the crash of the 1980s, which effectively led to a collapse of the Soviet Union - a huge tragedy, according to Putin.



"There is a lot of talk today about why it is happening. Maybe it is a Saudi-US plot to punish Iran, or put pressure on the Russian economy or Venezuela," Putin said back then.



But with the Russian rouble sinking to a record low and a parliamentary election this year and a presidential election in 2018, pressure is rising on the Kremlin to protect state revenues and limit public discontent.  Reuters
Leading aircraft manufacturer Boeing today delivered two B787-9 Dreamliners and a 777-300ER (Extended Range) to Saudia, Saudi Arabia's national airline.



A third Dreamliner will be delivered to Saudia within the next week. The airline ordered eight 787-9's in 2010.

Saudia is no stranger to such large deliveries. In December 1999, Boeing delivered three 777s to Saudia.



"The delivery of our first Dreamliners marks yet another exciting chapter in Saudia's long-standing relationship with Boeing that began in the early 1960s," said Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser, Director-General, Saudi Arabian Airlines. "With its reputation for reliability, operational efficiency and comfort, we now look forward to the 787 becoming an integral addition to Saudia's fleet as we continue our fleet modernisation and expansion as part of our transformation plans."



The airline will now have 48 Boeing airplanes in its fleet that currently include 777-200ERs, 777-300ERs and 747-400s. Over the last 55 years, Saudia has taken delivery of over 130 Boeing airplanes including 707s, 737s, MD-11Fs, DC-9s and MD90s.



"This delivery to Saudia is an outstanding moment in a partnership that has grown phenomenally over the last several decades," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner. "Today, we are proud not only to have Saudia join our growing base of 787 customers in the Middle East, but also at the airline's continued confidence in Boeing's technology and airplanes over the years."



The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an all-new, super-efficient family of commercial airplanes that brings big-jet ranges and speed to the middle of the market. In response to airlines' overwhelming preference, Boeing designed the 787 family with superior efficiency, which allows airlines to profitably open new routes to fly people directly where they'd like to go in exceptional comfort.



Since entering service in 2011, the 787 family is flying more than 350 routes and has established more than 75 new nonstop routes around the world.



More than 60 customers - including Saudia - from around the world have placed orders for more than 1,000 airplanes, making the 787 Dreamliner the fastest selling twin-aisle airplane in Boeing history. - TradeArabia News Service
Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, a luxury property in Jordan, has appointed Emmanuel Stavrakakis as its new general manager.



A German national, Stavrakakis enjoys over 20 years of experience in the hotels and hospitality sector. His career at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) commenced when he started working at the Crowne Plaza in Germany. Proving himself to be a true hotelier, Stavrakakis climbed the career ladder confidently, working at many IHG properties in Germany, Austria, and China. Prior to joining Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, he was the resident manager of InterContinental Nairobi in Kenya.



Oussama Massoud, IHG regional manager, said: We are excited about having Stavrakakis as part of our team, specifically as part of the Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea team. Stavrakakis career is the perfect example of IHGs commitment to giving employees Room to Grow. He started his career with IHG, and continues to do so by constantly evolving and growing. We are confident that we will learn a lot from his vast and global experience, and that this will be yet another thrilling experience for him in one of the most magical places on Earth - the Dead Sea.



Stavrakakis will be reporting to Firas Irsheidat, area general manager of the IHG Dead Sea Properties, while working hand-in-hand with the Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea team.  TradeArabia News Service
Indian diversified group Sahara will soon close an agreement to sell the Grosvenor House hotel in London to Qatar, it told a court in India on Tuesday, said a report.

The group is also negotiating a deal with a lender for refinancing the loans on two New York hotels The Plaza, and the Dream Hotel Downtown, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Following the sale of Grosvenor House, the proceeds will be used to pay the $1.5 billion in bail that the court has set for Sahara founder Subrata Roy, who has been behind bars for two years.

Roy was charged with contempt of court for allegedly failing to pay $5.5 billion, owed to bondholders in India. Moreover, the countrys capital-markets regulator has accused two Sahara units of having raised money through an illegal private placement of bonds, and has asked Sahara to refund the money to investors, the report said.
Qatar Airways last night marked the start of scheduled services between Qatari capital Doha and Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, with the landing of its flight QR1120 at the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.



Engineer Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and Department of Civil Aviation; Mohammed Qazi, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport; and Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority welcomed the airline and senior Qatar Airways delegates on the flight, headed by chief commercial officer Dr Hugh Dunleavy.



Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: We are delighted to launch our newest route in the United Arab Emirates  Ras Al Khaimah. Qatar Airways network expansion will undoubtedly increase the flexibility and choice for our passengers to travel to and from different emirates in the UAE. And we are looking forward to enhance worldwide travel opportunities from Europe, Asia and Americas to new tourist destinations in the region such as Ras Al Khaimah.



Qazi said: Qatar Airways will serve the Northern Emirates catchment for both inbound and outbound traffic. This is a catchment area of over one million people who will gain much needed long haul connectivity via RAK International Airport, the Northern Emirates Gateway."



Qatar Airways will initially operate four flights a week with the hope that the frequency levels will develop into a daily service in near future.



Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is already home to regions largest low cost carrier, Air Arabia, which currently operates 10 routes with more destination plans in the pipeline for 2016 and beyond.



An Airbus A320 operates the Ras Al Khaimah route, featuring 144 seats in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy. - TradeArabia News Service
The Egyptian health ministry advises women who are expecting not to travel to Zika hotspots since the virus is believed to cause serious birth defects

The Egyptian Ministry of Health warned on Wednesday pregnant Egyptian women against travelling to South and Central America over risks of contracting the Zika virus.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that a surge in serious birth defects in South America was "strongly suspected" of being caused by the Zika virus and constituted an international health emergency.

WHO explained that the mosquito-borne virus is strongly believed to be connected to a surge in cases of microcephaly, a condition where a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain.

Egyptian health ministry spokesperson Khaled Maghed advised in a statement anyone returning to Egypt from South or Central America who experiences symptoms consistent with the virus should head to the nearest fever hospital.

The clinical symptoms of Zika are usually mild and often similar to dengue, a fever which is transmitted by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito. This has given rise to fears that Zika could spread to parts of the world where dengue is commonplace.

Egypt's health ministry has launched the "105" hotline for inquiries on the virus.

According to WHO, since May 2015 the virus has spread in 21 countries and territories in the Americas.

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Atana Hotels, Omans first home-grown hospitality brand, celebrates the essence of Omani hospitality, with new events and activities planned for the year ahead.

Newly introduced for 2016 are weekly cultural nights at Atana Musandam, featuring Omani artists and musicians showcasing their work with an Oud player and local ladies demonstrating the preparation of traditional Omani desserts, with the opportunity for guests to sample the unique flavours as well as learn how to prepare the recipes handed down through generations.

On a weekly basis [Thursdays and Fridays], whilst Omanis in traditional dress light torches around the courtyard at sunset, guests can relax over coffee and dates whilst listening to the performance of an oud player, indulge in henna painting and breathe in the scented aromas of the bakhour (perfumed incense) spread around the courtyard to greet the night.

All toiletries provided in the rooms and suites are sourced and produced in Oman by Al Husn Toiletries, and the laundry bags are hand-crafted by local women from the Khasab Womens Association, supporting the colourful textile cottage industry which is still very much part of the local community.

Atana Hotels also supports local initiatives and the community in a variety of ways. The group encourages professional development by training and providing ongoing support to local employees in a nearby restaurant to prepare and serve Omani dishes. The hotel associates regularly participate in cleaning local beaches alongside residents, and take personal delight in working with the local community to offer guests a true Zaree Experience which includes visiting local homes, spending time with local families, and learning first-hand about the culture. - TradeArabia News Service
The grassroots Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement responds to the stifling Gaza blockade by taking aim at Israel's economy

Last September marked the 10-year anniversary of the ostensible end of Gazas 38-year occupation. Following Israels "unilateral disengagement" in 2005, aspirations for greater independence for Gaza were swiftly crushed by a blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt after Hamass election in 2006.

The blockade, of course, remains in place today and has had profound social and economic ramifications for the 1.8 million Palestinians living in what is frequently described as the worlds largest open-air prison.

Out of Gaza's five border crossings, four of them are controlled by Israel. In the rare event that any of these crossings are opened, only a select few Gazans are allowed to travel, despite a provision in the Oslo Accords which requires Israel to allow the safe passage of Gazans to the West Bank.

The movement of Gazas population is heavily restricted and the exclaves airspace, maritime areas, and monetary market are controlled by Israel. Gaza is deprived of everything from the essential (fuel, medical supplies, building materials) to the absurd (the sale of processed hummus, baby wipes, and blankets was banned for some time before November 2009, meaning that Gazas population relied solely on humanitarian organisations to bring them in, although they could still be turned away at the border).

The Israeli occupation tries its best to justify its suffocating restrictions by convincing the West that the blockade is necessary to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Hamas in Gaza, Isra Saleh Al-Namey, a journalist based in Gaza, said in an interview with Ahram Online. But the siege [is meant] to punish the Palestinians for electing Hamas in the legislative elections.



Israels ongoing blockade and biennial military assaults are responsible for Gazas de-development, what the UN describes as a process by which development is not merely hindered, but reversed.

Gazas unemployment rate is a stagnant 43 percent with no recovery in sight. The World Banks May 2015 Economic Monitoring Report on Gaza explains that the closure of tunnels with Egypt and in particular the 2014 summer war shaved some $460 million off Gazas economy, leading to a 14 percent contraction of its GDP.

The World Bank also reports that Gazas economy in the last few years has been roughly 250 percent worse than that of any relevant comparators.

Nothing has progressed since the last war. It is only a matter of deterioration on all fronts, says Al-Namey. The reconstruction process is very slow and construction materials are denied in Gaza under a pretext that they might be of dual use.

Sinai as a last resort

Imports of critically-needed supplies are restricted, with Israel routinely preventing the delivery by land and sea of basic goods, forcing Palestinians in Gaza to rely on a network of smuggling tunnels connecting the strip with Egypts Sinai.

According to the UNs 2015 report on economic developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, the tunnels are yet another mechanism to respond to the economic blockade of Gaza, [allowing Palestinians] to partially circumvent Israels restrictions on the importation of fuel, cement, construction materials, seeds, etc.

Access to these products is further restricted by Hamas, as the group controls the tunnels and wields the power to select who within the Gaza Strip will have access to essential goods.

With the unregulated flow of goods comes the fear that the tunnels will be used to smuggle weapons and militants, fears the Egyptian government has repeatedly echoed.

To stem the supposed flow of weapons and militant fighters, Egypts military has recently dug makeshift canals and flooded them with seawater along the border with Gaza. In doing so, Egypt has plugged up one of Gazas last remaining lifelines to the outside world.

In November alone, the Egyptian military declared that it had destroyed 20 tunnels. In October 2014, it announced that it had destroyed 1,813 tunnels since 2011, or what amounts to anywhere between 80-95 percent of the once-existing network.

A new type of strategic threat

Despite the massive blows dealt to Gazas economy and infrastructure, Palestine and its supporters have found an increasingly effective way to fight back.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, launched in 2005, is inspired by the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa and is described as an inclusive, nonviolent human rights movement that seeks to hold Israels regime of occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid accountable to international law through boycott, divestment and sanctions in all fields  academic, cultural, economic, and military.

In interview with Ahram Online, Omar Barghouti, Palestinian human rights activist and co-founder of the BDS movement, emphasised that the rights of Palestinians cannot be achieved without strong internal resistance and effective external pressure, particularly in the form of BDS.

Israel is still getting away with murder, literally, of thousands of innocent Palestinians, including hundreds of children, only because of complicity from the US, EU, and other governments, including Arab regimes, Barghouti says.

The pressure that is being put on Israel through this global movement should not be underestimated. The efficacy of BDS is made evident by the Israeli governments repeated condemnations of it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tasked the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs with fighting BDS, while Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has recently characterised the boycott of Israel as a first-rate strategic threat.

The 2012-13 report for the Jewish People Policy Institute lamented that, It took several years for Israel ... to fully grasp that [BDS] was not merely a piece of political theatre that could be ignored, but rather a new type of strategic threat.

Moodys credit rating agency has reported that BDS represents a potential threat to the Israeli economy, with a Rand Corporation study predicting that BDS could reduce Israels GDP by one to two percent over the next 10 years.

Companies buckle under pressure

Among the major corporations boycotting and divesting from Israel are Veolia, the French transnational company, PFA, the largest private pension and insurance fund in Denmark, and Norwegian insurance giant KLP.

French telecommunications company Orange has taken the first steps to end its licensing agreement with an Israeli company operating in illegal settlements after an intense BDS campaign in Egypt and France.

The list goes on. The Presbyterian Church in the US divested from three companies involved in the occupation while the Gates Foundation divested its entire stake of more than $180 million from security company G4S, which supplies equipment to Israeli prisons.

Whats next for BDS?

As a decentralised human rights movement, Barghouti explains, [BDS] activists anywhere decide what to target and what kind of coalition they can build.

In the US, there are a number of strategic partners, such as the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, Jewish Voice for Peace, Friends of Sabeel North America, etc. In Egypt, BDS Egypt is the most important entity doing campaigning.

Barghouti explains, however, that, authoritarian and repressive regimes are not the easiest to influence through grassroots campaigns [like BDS].

His personal view is that any governments willful participation in Israels medieval siege of Gaza is not just a crime against the Palestinian people; it is a violation of [its] obligations under international law.

In a year and a half, in June 2017, the Palestinian territories will have witnessed half a century of occupation. In 2020, the UN warns that Gaza, even if spared further military assaults, will be unlivable due to the current blockade and insufficient donor support.

So what do additional years of occupation and blockade hold for Gaza? It will be unlivable, answers Barghouti, We cannot afford to wait.

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The collapse of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip has killed two militants from Hamas's armed wing, officials said Wednesday, as concern grows in Israel over the rebuilding of tunnels that can be used for attacks.

The collapse on Tuesday night was the second such incident since last week. A tunnel collapse on January 26 killed seven militants from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said a local commander was among the two members killed in Tuesday's collapse in the area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas's chief in Gaza, has vowed to continue building tunnels that have in the past been used to stage attacks against Israel and store weapons.

Israel destroyed a large number of tunnels in its 2014 offensive on Gaza, the third to hit the Palestinian enclave since 2008.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that "if we are attacked from tunnels from the Gaza Strip, we will take very strong action against Hamas."

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Iran and Germany agreed on the need to cooperate against "terrorism" Wednesday as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the latest official to visit Tehran since the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the two countries could "cooperate on resolving regional and international issues, especially on fighting terrorism", the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The flow of arms and financial resources to terrorism must be stopped," Rouhani said.

Steinmeier's visit comes after a landmark deal between Tehran and world powers to limit Iran's nuclear programme in return for lifting international sanctions against it came into force last month.

The German foreign minister will next visit Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf kingdom severed all ties with Iran last month after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran and consulate in second city Mashhad following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Saudi Shia cleric.

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The basement of apartment block "23" in the the flashpoint town of Cizre in southeastern Turkey has become the focus of a bloody standoff as fighting rages on between security forces and Kurdish rebels.

More than two dozen wounded Kurds have been trapped in the cellar of the largely ruined building in the besieged town for almost two weeks, and pro-Kurdish lawmakers say fears are mounting for their lives.

Cizre has been under a punishing curfew for six weeks as the Turkish army pursues a relentless campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a bid to root out rebels from the streets of the mainly Kurdish town.

A bitter war of words has erupted between the Turkish authorities and Kurdish politicians over the fate of the residents feared to be without medical care, fresh water or electricity since January 23.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), said Tuesday that six people trapped in the Cizre basement had already died, either of thirst or the loss of blood.

He claimed ambulances were being blocked from accessing the basement.

"We have no idea if those still stranded are alive or have fled," he said.

HDP lawmaker Faysal Sariyildiz said he had established contact with the basement's occupants via text message, but that communications had been cut off since Saturday.

Posting photos of the injured on Twitter, some sleeping next to decomposing bodies, Sariyildiz said several people had lost consciousness and at least four others were on the brink of death as of Saturday.

He said people inside had told him the floors above them had collapsed because of heavy shelling on the four-storey block.

Among those trapped were two teenagers, according to Sariyildiz.

HDP MP Osman Baydemir claimed security forces had attacked the building Saturday just as survivors were being rescued, based on a 16-minute phone conversation with a trapped party member.

"What was the reason behind the armed operation during the evacuation of building?" he asked the interior ministry in a parliamentary question on Wednesday. "Who gave the orders?"

He said at least 25 people were in the cellar, including at least 15 wounded.

HDP lawmakers have been taking turns to go on a hunger strike since Thursday to protest at the failure to evacuate the group.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday angrily denied ambulances were not being allowed in, and accused the hunger-striking lawmakers of behaving like the "servants" of the PKK.

"These (claims) are all lies. There are always ambulances there. They are deliberately not bringing the wounded out," he said.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday the residents were refusing to come out to receive treatment and that snipers were opening fire on ambulances from inside the building.

"Where are the wounded?" he asked? "There are probably no wounded."

Interior Minister Efkan Ala on Tuesday claimed that PKK commanders were among those hiding in the basement as well as another 100 buildings in Cizre.

"This is an urgent situation the Turkish government needs to address imminently to prevent loss of life," Emma Sinclair-Webb, the Turkey representative of Human Rights Watch, said last week.

On Wednesday, shells were still exploding on the deserted streets of Cizre, local residents told AFP by phone.

Many are sheltering in cramped basements, unable to retrieve or bury their dead.

Footage on state media this week showed security forces searching heavily damaged buildings, with shops and homes reduced to rubble, apparently by mortar fire.

The Turkish government says the operations in Cizre and two other towns in the southeast are necessary to root out militants who were effectively taking over the areas by building barricades and digging trenches.

The offensive in the southeast marks a new escalation in the decades-old conflict with the PKK after a fragile truce collapsed in July.

The army says it has killed about 500 rebels in Cizre alone since the operation started December 14. But with the curfew-hit area closed to the media, it has not been possible to independently verify the figures.

The HDP said last week at least 200 civilians had been killed since hostilities resumed in July, including 70 children, and that as many as 100,000 of Cizre's 120,000 residents have fled.

The United Nations on Monday called on Ankara to investigate the suspected shooting of a group of civilians in Cizre, caught in "extremely shocking" video footage.

The footage, apparently shot by a cameraman named Refik Tekin about two weeks ago, captures the moment a group of unarmed people holding white flags being shot as they are observed at a distance by security forces.

Lying wounded on the ground, Tekin continued shooting the chaotic scene, his own blood apparently spilling in front of the lens, with what looks like dead bodies on the ground in front of him.

"I am urging the Turkish authorities to respect the fundamental rights of civilians in its security operations," UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein told reporters in Geneva. The basement of apartment block "23" in the the flashpoint town of Cizre in southeastern Turkey has become the focus of a bloody standoff as fighting rages on between security forces and Kurdish rebels.

More than two dozen wounded Kurds have been trapped in the cellar of the largely ruined building in the besieged town for almost two weeks, and pro-Kurdish lawmakers say fears are mounting for their lives.

Cizre has been under a punishing curfew for six weeks as the Turkish army pursues a relentless campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a bid to root out rebels from the streets of the mainly Kurdish town.

A bitter war of words has erupted between the Turkish authorities and Kurdish politicians over the fate of the residents feared to be without medical care, fresh water or electricity since January 23.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), said Tuesday that six people trapped in the Cizre basement had already died, either of thirst or the loss of blood.

He claimed ambulances were being blocked from accessing the basement.

"We have no idea if those still stranded are alive or have fled," he said.

HDP lawmaker Faysal Sariyildiz said he had established contact with the basement's occupants via text message, but that communications had been cut off since Saturday.

Posting photos of the injured on Twitter, some sleeping next to decomposing bodies, Sariyildiz said several people had lost consciousness and at least four others were on the brink of death as of Saturday.

He said people inside had told him the floors above them had collapsed because of heavy shelling on the four-storey block.

Among those trapped were two teenagers, according to Sariyildiz.

HDP MP Osman Baydemir claimed security forces had attacked the building Saturday just as survivors were being rescued, based on a 16-minute phone conversation with a trapped party member.

"What was the reason behind the armed operation during the evacuation of building?" he asked the interior ministry in a parliamentary question on Wednesday. "Who gave the orders?"

He said at least 25 people were in the cellar, including at least 15 wounded.

HDP lawmakers have been taking turns to go on a hunger strike since Thursday to protest at the failure to evacuate the group.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday angrily denied ambulances were not being allowed in, and accused the hunger-striking lawmakers of behaving like the "servants" of the PKK.

"These (claims) are all lies. There are always ambulances there. They are deliberately not bringing the wounded out," he said.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday the residents were refusing to come out to receive treatment and that snipers were opening fire on ambulances from inside the building.

"Where are the wounded?" he asked? "There are probably no wounded."

Interior Minister Efkan Ala on Tuesday claimed that PKK commanders were among those hiding in the basement as well as another 100 buildings in Cizre.

"This is an urgent situation the Turkish government needs to address imminently to prevent loss of life," Emma Sinclair-Webb, the Turkey representative of Human Rights Watch, said last week.

On Wednesday, shells were still exploding on the deserted streets of Cizre, local residents told AFP by phone.

Many are sheltering in cramped basements, unable to retrieve or bury their dead.

Footage on state media this week showed security forces searching heavily damaged buildings, with shops and homes reduced to rubble, apparently by mortar fire.

The Turkish government says the operations in Cizre and two other towns in the southeast are necessary to root out militants who were effectively taking over the areas by building barricades and digging trenches.

The offensive in the southeast marks a new escalation in the decades-old conflict with the PKK after a fragile truce collapsed in July.

The army says it has killed about 500 rebels in Cizre alone since the operation started December 14. But with the curfew-hit area closed to the media, it has not been possible to independently verify the figures.

The HDP said last week at least 200 civilians had been killed since hostilities resumed in July, including 70 children, and that as many as 100,000 of Cizre's 120,000 residents have fled.

The United Nations on Monday called on Ankara to investigate the suspected shooting of a group of civilians in Cizre, caught in "extremely shocking" video footage.

The footage, apparently shot by a cameraman named Refik Tekin about two weeks ago, captures the moment a group of unarmed people holding white flags being shot as they are observed at a distance by security forces.

Lying wounded on the ground, Tekin continued shooting the chaotic scene, his own blood apparently spilling in front of the lens, with what looks like dead bodies on the ground in front of him.

"I am urging the Turkish authorities to respect the fundamental rights of civilians in its security operations," UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein told reporters in Geneva.

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The Lebanese army said its troops killed six Islamist militants and arrested 16 others near the Syrian border on Wednesday, in its largest operation against the Islamic State group.

The soldiers launched the raid, in which local IS group chief Anas Zaarour was killed, at dawn in the Arsal region of eastern Lebanon, a military spokesman said.

A "most wanted" militant, Ahmad Noun, was among those arrested.

"It was our largest operation against Daesh... in terms of size and the number of people killed and captured," the spokesman told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

The army said in a statement that its "lightning" raid was launched on the basis of information that the Islamist militants were planning attacks on military posts and to kidnap civilians in Arsal.

In August 2014, the army clashed with Islamist militants of IS and Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, in the Arsal region, with militants kidnapping 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen as they withdrew back along the border.

After long and arduous negotiations, 16 of the kidnapped men were released at the start of December in exchange for Islamist prisoners held in Lebanese jail.

The jihadists executed four of their hostages while a fifth died of wounds he suffered in the initial Arsal clashes, leaving nine members of Lebanon's security forces still in their hands.

Both the Lebanese army and the Shia militant group Hezbollah has since 2014 carried out attacks in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon on Syria-based Islamist militants.

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Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians after they attacked Israeli police outside Jerusalem's Old City on Wednesday, killing border policewoman and seriously wounding another.

It was the latest incident in an almost four-month long surge of Israeli-on-Palestinian deadly repression met with violent responses by Palestinians against setllers and Israeli soldiers.

The recent surge in violence has raised concern of wider escalation, a decade after the last Palestinian uprising subsided.

Since the start of October, Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 160 Palestinians. Meanwhile, almost daily stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks by frustrated and unarmed Palestinians have killed 25 Israelis and a US citizen.

The Palestinians launched the attack at the Damascus Gate, a busy plaza in the occupied East Jerusalem, after being stopped by police for an identity check, an Israeli police spokeswoman said.

At least one of the three Palestinians opened fire with an automatic rifle, killing one of the policewomen before they were shot dead by Israeli forces, the spokeswoman said.

The other policewoman was stabbed and wounded, and two pipe bombs were found at the scene, she said.

The current wave of protests by Palestinians and repression by Israeli occupation forces started in late July when toddler Ali Dawabsha was burned to death and three other Palestinians were severely injured after their house in the occupied West Bank was set on fire by Israeli settlers.

Settlement-building, racial discrimination, confiscation of identity cards, long queues at checkpoints, as well as daily clashes and the desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque, describe Palestinians' daily suffering.

The anger of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem has increased in the last three years after the Israeli authorities allowed increasing numbers of Jewish settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa mosque.

The surge in violence has been fuelled by Palestinians' frustration over Israel's 48-year occupation of land they seek for an independent state, and the expansion of settlements in those territories which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Palestinian leaders say a younger generation sees no hope for the future living under Israeli security restrictions and with a stifled economy. The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

*The story has been edited by Ahram Online.

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A Russian military adviser has been killed in Syria by shelling from the Islamic State group, the Russian defence ministry told Ria Novosti news agency Wednesday.

The officer was training Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the use of "new weapons" when he was "fatally wounded" on Monday, the ministry was quoted as saying. No details were given about where the attack took place.

The military adviser is the third Russian officer to have been killed since Moscow began its military intervention in the war-torn country in late September.

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The US state of Georgia executed its oldest death row inmate Wednesday, just days before his 73rd birthday, in a move critics denounced as emblematic of capital punishment's excesses.

Brandon Jones received a lethal injection at a state prison in Jackson, a corrections spokesman told AFP.

The African American man had spent more than 36 years behind bars for the 1979 murder of a white convenience store clerk.

His lawyers had launched last-minute appeals to halt the execution, including with the US Supreme Court, but they were rejected.

Critics point to his case as an example of the "double punishment" faced by some death row prisoners -- spending decades in solitary confinement with no prospects but death.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke out last year against "unconscionably long delays that undermine the death penalty's penological purpose."

Death penalty opponents note that many death row inmates were sentenced to death at a time when they lacked a satisfactory defense system and that if they were tried today, the outcome would be different.

"Jones's case raises questions of proportionality and discriminatory application of the death penalty," the Death Penalty Information Center said in a statement.

"He and his co-defendant Van Solomon -- both African American -- were sentenced to death... for killing a white gas station store clerk during a robbery.

"Jones denies shooting the clerk and prosecutors never determined who fired the fatal shot."

Solomon died on the electric chair in 1985.

A judge had ordered Jones to be resentenced because jurors had a Bible in the room during deliberations over his punishment.

During the decades he spent behind bars, Jones read a lot and become known for his writings on prison life and issues of race.

There are now 75 men on death row in Georgia, which suspended executions for several months in 2015 in response to a controversy over the drugs used in its lethal injections.

The United States executed 28 people last year, the lowest number since 1991.

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A blast on a passenger airplane punched a hole in the side of the fuselage soon after take off from the airport at Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said Wednesday.

The airplane, operated by Daalo Airlines and flying from Mogadishu to Djibouti with around 60 passengers, landed safely.

Two passengers were slightly injured, police said.

"The passenger plane made an emergency landing soon after it took off on Tuesday, and there was a damage on one side of the aircraft over the right wing," Somali police officer Mohamed Ise said.

He added it was not clear what had caused the explosion and fire and that investigations were being carried out.

"Passengers were terrified," said Abdiwahab Hassan, an airport official.

Photographs show a large hole -- about a metre in diameter -- ripped in the side the plane just above the engines on the right wing, with streaks of soot on the plane.

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Seven years into his presidency, Barack Obama will make his first trip to an American mosque on Wednesday, offering a symbolic rebuttal of harsh Republican election rhetoric against Muslims.

Obama, whose grandfather converted to Islam, will make the short helicopter ride to the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque, where he will meet community leaders and deliver remarks.

He has visited mosques from Malaysia, to Indonesia and Egypt as president, but has yet to visit one America's 2,000-plus places of Islamic worship.

In 2009, a freshly elected Obama traveled to the Egyptian capital to call for a "new beginning" with the Muslim world.

Much of Obama's foreign policy agenda has focused on improving ties with Muslim nations, from making a nuclear deal with Iran to improving ties with Indonesia and ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the effort has been stymied by continued confrontation with jihadist groups and military strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

His latest effort to ease intra-faith relations comes as a shrill election debate has sullied America's image abroad and jihadist attacks in San Bernardino and Philadelphia threatened to shatter post-9/11 religious solidarity at home.

Six days after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, then president George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, declaring "Islam is peace."

Today Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has wooed conservative voters by demanding a ban on Muslim immigrants, while frontrunner Ted Cruz has advocated Christian-only admissions and championed "Judeo-Christian values."

The White House is keen to offer a different image of America and draw a contrast between what it calls Republican's "divisive rhetoric" and the country's secular tradition.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama will "affirm the important role that Muslim Americans play in our society" and argue that "law-abiding Americans should be able to worship God in the manner that they see fit."

"And they shouldn't be subject to ridicule or targeting by anybody, let alone somebody who aspires to leading the country," Earnest added.

"We have seen an alarming willingness on the part of some Republicans to try to marginalize law-abiding, patriotic Muslim Americans, and it is offensive."

Obama is also likely to restate his case that groups like ISIS pervert Islam and do not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

The United States is home to around 3.3 million Muslims. Around 81 Muslim-Americans were involved in violent extremist plots in 2015, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

But Obama is also expected to call on Muslim leaders to help tackle radicalization.

"We know that there are extremist organizations like ISIL that are seeking to use social media to radicalize vulnerable members of the population," said Earnest.

"Certainly the leaders in the Muslim community have a strong interest in preventing that from happening."

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Aung San Suu Kyi tried Wednesday to calm nerves over Myanmar's tense political transition, with her choice of proxy presidential candidate shrouded in mystery days after her party took up its parliamentary majority.

Suu Kyi and hundreds of fellow lawmakers from her National League for Democracy (NLD) strode into the legislature on Monday with a huge mandate from November elections, carrying the hopes of a nation desperate to rebound after decades under the military yoke.

But the democracy champion, who is herself barred from the presidency under a constitution scripted by the former junta, said it was "not yet time to form a government".

She was speaking at her first press conference since the new parliament.

"Don't be anxious. You will know when the time comes," Suu Kyi told reporters, adding that the party must "think carefully" about its choice of a candidate and suggesting the decision would not come until next month.

The NLD's massive majority -- with almost 80 percent of parliament's seats -- gives it a clear run at the presidential selection.

Suu Kyi, the centrepiece of Myanmar's long democracy struggle, is excluded from the presidency by a charter clause that bars anyone with close relatives who are foreign.

She has sought to sidestep that problem by vowing to rule "above" a proxy leader.

But the secrecy surrounding a potential candidate has sent ripples of disquiet through the nation.

There are few obvious choices since the pro-democracy movement has been dominated by Suu Kyi's charismatic leadership since the 1980s.

The NLD also faces a still-powerful military, which under the constitution is granted 25 percent of parliamentary seats -- giving it an effective veto on charter change.

The army has so far resisted any move to amend the clause that blocks Suu Kyi, and a commentary in the state military newspaper on Monday restated this stance.

Elected members of both houses of parliament and the military will nominate three candidates to replace outgoing President Thein Sein, who retains his post until the end of March.

The new president will then be chosen by a vote of the combined houses.

Suu Kyi said she was "really satisfied" with the parliamentary process so far, particularly the selection of several ethnic minority representatives for the roles of parliament speakers and their deputies, which she said was intended to promote "national reconciliation".

She also chided reporters over their over-eager approach to news collection in recent months, following chaotic scenes during the election and huge media scrums in parliament this week.

"People should be able to move around freely," she said, but pledged to work for greater transparency in a party that decreed recently that she alone could act as a spokesperson.

The next government faces a daunting rebuilding task in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries, where civil wars continue to rage in ethnic borderlands and public services bear the scars of junta neglect.

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Egypt is continuing to accept the standard international codex of 0.05 percent ergot fungus in wheat shipments, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.

A 63,000-tonne French wheat shipment was rejected by Egyptian quarantine officials for exceeding the standard percentage last month.

A high level of ergot in wheat can cause serious health problems if consumed.

"There were two containers in the shipment, one had 0.07 percent ergot and the other 0.09 percent," agriculture ministry spokesperson Eid Hawash told Ahram Online.

Traders told Reuters anonymously that they boycotted a state tender over the rejection of the French tender, which they claim contained a level of ergot that was below the acceptable threshold.

The supply ministry and GASC, Egypt's official foodstuff importer, were not immediately available for comment.

Egypt, a major player in the international wheat market, imports around 10 million tonnes of wheat annually through both state and private sector buyers.

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Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 2

Tension gripped the outskirts of the city as residents of three villages  Phus Mandi, Jassi Paowali and Katar Singh Wala  seized two trucks carrying stray cattle near the Bathinda-Mansa railway under-bridge.

The drivers of the trucks succeeded in fleeing from the spot. The incident took place in the wee hours today at 3.30 am.

It has been learnt that these trucks had around 100 heads of cattle and some of them died while they were being brought out of the truck. The police also reached the spot.

Angry villagers demanded that the administration should stop such incidents.

Phus Mandi residents, Jagsir Singh, Jagmeet Singh, Gurtej Singh, Gagi and others, said this morning, when some persons were keeping vigil in the village, two trucks loaded with stray cattle arrived near the Bathinda-Mansa railway under-bridge. Persons involved in the incident started taking out the stray cattle from the truck.

The people who were keeping vigil immediately informed the villagers about the incident and villagers from Phus Mandi, Jassi Pauwali and Katar Singh Wala started gathering. They seized both the trucks while the truck drivers managed to flee.

Villagers said truck drivers were also trying to bury the dead stray cattle, for which they had dug up land with the help of a JCB machine.

They added that some days ago, two trucks had come to their village to leave the stray cattle but in that case, the police had not done anything so far.

To safeguard their crops, villagers keep vigil in the village at night, they said.

They said it was high time that the administration took up the issue seriously. A police party reached the spot and seized a truck bearing Haryana number from the spot while the other truck has been parked at the spot as its tyres were deflated by the villagers in protest.

Phus Mandi sarpanch Kaka Singh, former panch Dev Singh and others said they were fed up with the stray cattle menace but the administration was not serious about it.

They said the police should take strict action in this case so that in future, nobody dared to do this.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Swapan Sharma said investigation was on in the case and action would be taken accordingly.

The stray cattle menace has now become a bone of contention between villagers and city residents as the former generally abandon stray animals on the streets in the city as animals damage the crops.

Residents have protested against it and have started a vigil to keep a check on those who abandon stray cattle.
Amritsar, February 3

Leader of the Opposition in the Municipal Corporation, Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky, has demanded that Mayor should call an emergency House meeting to affix the responsibility of senior town planner and other officials concerned of the municipal town planning wing, with whose connivance illegal buildings had mushroomed in the city.

A petition is pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has already expressed its dissatisfaction over the attitude of local Municipal Corporation authorities. The High Court minced no words to express that except for paying lip service, no action was taken against illegal hotels and shopkeepers in the vicinity of the Golden Temple.

As many as 70 illgal hotels have come up around the holy shrine. Lucky said if Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora was feeling helpless to initiate action , he should call an emergency meeting of the House and ask officials of the municipal town planning, who had failed to perform their duties. He should also bring it before that House, who owned these hotels and whose was giving political patronage to them, added Lucky.  TNS
Jim McDermott

In 1959, Martin Luther King, Jr. travelled to India to study the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of nonviolent social change. When he landed in Delhi, he told a group of reporters, To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim.

Fifty years later, I retraced King's steps with Congressman John Lewis. The trip reinforced for me a long-held belief that in order to bring two countries closer, we must first learn about each other. Over the course of my 28 years in the House of Representatives, I have come to believe that the United States and India are bound by universal values of peace and opportunity that speak to the very best parts of our respective countries. As Prime Minister Modi himself said when he met with President Obama in Washington in September 2014, India and the United States are natural global partners, based on our shared values, interests and strengths in the digital age. We already have the foundation of a strong partnership. We now have to revive the momentum and ensure that we get the best out of it for our people and the world. I think he is absolutely right.

The US and India are two of the most ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse nations in the world. India is the world's largest democracy and can boast of one of its fastest-growing emerging markets. It counts the US as its largest trading and investment partner and I believe the US can count on India as a stabilising partner for peace and security in an often chaotic region. Of course, this relationship has not always been an easy one. Over the course of my service in Congress, I have witnessed both triumphs and disappointments in this relationship. Whatever our strategic disagreements over nonalignment during the Cold War, I always believed that underneath the politics lay a generation of enterprising and thoughtful Indians eager to play a substantial role in the global community.

I made my first trip to India just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Virtually overnight, India found itself alone on the world stage, in absence of any true friends or natural allies. The Prime Minister at the time, Narashima Rao, and Finance Minister Manmohan Sing assured me that given the country's emerging economic growth opportunities, India and the US stood to become strong partners.

I made it my mission to educate my colleagues in Congress about the potential opening for engagement. That is why I co-founded the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in 1993. I am proud to say it remains the largest country caucus in the House of Representatives and it is certainly one of the most active, welcoming and honouring Indian cultural and political figures, disseminating information about India, and promoting a stronger bond between both nations. I was a strong supporter of the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement signed eight years ago. It was a critically important reset for two countries that were in reality natural allies, despite years of mistrust.

Eight years on, we are seeing why it is so valuable to continually bet on India: a ripe investment climate and diverse market; burgeoning military and humanitarian assistance capability; a regional stabilising power and a demonstrated commitment to pluralism. Perhaps most significant to the US commercial interests is Indias intelligent, energetic, and innovative diaspora. It is fashionable these days to focus solely on the US-China rivalry, as if we still live in the bipolar paradigm of the Cold War. India finds itself uniquely positioned to design its own role on the world stage, no longer content to play the third wheel between the world's foremost superpowers.

India is unquestionably now a frontline player. It can choose to be a powerbroker, kingmaker, or serious competitor in its own right, thanks in no small part to its sheer size, but more so to its savvy economic choices. Complex political and developmental challenges remain, of course. Poverty, health, national security, and climate change threaten India's success. But it also means none of those issues can be tackled globally without India at the table.

For my own part, one of the joys of representing Seattle all these years has been the true friendships I have made in the Indian American community. The city, and myself, owe much to this community and the countless economic and cultural contributions they have made. This may be my last year in the US Congress, but I hope to be present at Seattle Diwali celebrations for years to come.

No place has ever quite captured me the way India has. I took my first trip there over 30 years ago and I go back virtually every year. I remember seeing the incredible temple of Jagannath in Puri during a visit a few years ago. Jagannath is neither human, nor animal. He pervades and permeates life. He is universal. I once heard him described as the ocean in which all the streams come.

And that is India to me. The place of many gods, of many languages, of many traditions so different than the world I know and grew up in, and at the same time, so familiar and inviting. It is the place I always return to and with each visit, I see it as if for the first time. As King himself said when he arrived in India all those years ago, I come as a pilgrim. I think I could visit India 100 more times and I'd still learn something new on each trip.

It has been a genuine privilege to watch the evolution of the US-India relationship over the past 28 years. I have done my best to promote understanding and partnership between us. I hope it is an alliance, indeed a friendship, that will endure. So long as our leaders remain committed to those values of peace and pluralism that we inherently share, I have every confidence that the future between our two countries will be bright and prosperous.

The writer, a Democrat serving his 14th term in the US House of Representatives, represents the Seventh District of Washington State.
KC Singh

The year 2016 opened with Iran's nuclear deal with P5+1 (Germany) getting operationalised on January 16, with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certifying that Iran had taken the steps agreed upon to cap its programme. Lifting of sanctions to unfreeze assets, their estimate varying from $32 to $55 billion or even higher, commenced on that day. More significantly, Iran entered the global oil market already flush with surplus oil. Iran has 50 million barrels of oil stored in tankers and hopes to pump additional 5,00,000 barrels a day.

The unshackling of Iran would not have occurred had the US not determined its criticality to the containment of the ISIS. This is akin to the US negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India, hoping an India with access to high technology would balance the rise of China. It is for Iran now to decide what role it wishes to play in the region. It can use the opportunity to economically integrate regionally calculating that security dilemmas will self-resolve as mutual confidence increases. Alternatively, it can start a no holds barred lethal Shia-Sunni struggle with Saudi Arabia to determine the victor, with the entire region already in chaos.

Pakistan and China also have choices to make. Saudis, under younger and more assertive leadership, have been attempting to suck Pakistan into their contestation with Iran and the Shias. Chinese President Xi has in January done a fine balancing act by swinging through three capitals of Muslim power in one trip i.e. Cairo, Teheran and Riyadh. While it does not want to be drawn into their rivalries, China realises that with half its daily import of oil, nearly 3 million barrels of oil, coming from the Gulf and its ambitious plans of one-road one-belt (OROB) it needs this Riyadh-Teheran rivalry to end. It most certainly does not want its ally Pakistan to get embroiled in it, with implications of Pakistani nuclear assets being passed around.

Pakistan in any case cannot play both sides beyond a point. Iran holds two vital cards: gas for Pakistani domestic use and export to China; ability to foil Pakistani designs in Afghanistan by propping up those opposed to the Taliban. Pakistan has also signed the agreement for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline. Originally, even the Iranian pipeline to Pakistan was also to come to India called the IPI, which got stymied by sanctions on Iran and US pressure. In theory, both these pipelines can now be a reality, provided Pakistan is able to overcome the terror syndicates targeting India, starting with credible action against the Pathankot perpetrators.

These scenarios are critical to the future of Punjab as clean and abundant energy and the possibility of benefiting from the transport and energy corridor that China has announced from Gwador to Xinjiang (part of OROB) can trigger the building of "New Punjab". The condition precedent is again Pakistan sharing that vision and realising that only a model that integrates development of the entire Indus basin can have lasting utility. In a sense, the 19th century connectedness can be resurrected as a 21st century construct, overcoming the 20th century baggage of Partition and distrust. The entire region needs to grow into an industrial-agricultural model that is non-polluting, low water consuming and high technology led. If Indian Punjab suffers from being land-locked and unconnected to its natural hinterland in Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab likewise loses out on Indian investment and innovation. Ironically, after employing Pakistan for decades to contain India, Chinese and Indian interests can now converge to ensure that Pakistan modifies its approach to India, Afghanistan and Iran for the economic growth of the entire region.

Perhaps Iranians and Saudis also need to examine alternative scenarios of the unlikelihood of oil price resurging yet or, in fact, ever. Thus they can ill afford profligacy in pursuing sectarian wars and rivalries. The extraction cost per barrel of oil runs under $5 for Iran, about $7 for Saudis and $10 for Russia. The strategic rivalry between the first two, the desire of Saudis to bankrupt shale producers in the US, which has not fully worked, and sputtering major economies add up to OPEC losing control over managing the supply side to ensure higher price. Hence the view of some analysts that the post-OPEC world may already be here. This implies that oil is never going to see three digit prices again, caught between factors listed above and the likely expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar for countries like India.

The focus has also come on natural gas, both as cleaner energy, and due to its abundant supply. The price is today hovering around $4 per MillionBTU, with a couple of dollars more in Asia. The recent discount given by Qatar to India on older contracts is in line with buyers globally demanding that prices reflect current reality.

India thus has a great opportunity to implement a grand energy strategy that integrates pipelines and LNG stations. For instance, with India's huge coastline and narrowing landmass in the south, the natural solution is to have LNG re-gasification stations, in the South and the East, that literally plug into end users, obviating long pipelines. Whereas in the North pipelines need to integrate supplies both from the West as well as the East i.e. Myanmar and Bangladesh. Additionally, the government needs to widen the search for oil, on and off-shore. A former Director-General Hydrocarbons feels that all along the Shivalik foothills in Punjab and beyond there should be serious prospecting for shale oil, not so far even considered. Perhaps the government needs to first amend old laws that do not give a share to the landowner of what lies beneath.

It has been well said that 9/11, as indeed 26/11, were not so much a failure of intelligence, as in both instances warnings were there, as a failure of imagination i.e. that hijacked planes can be weapons or a handful of 'fidayeen' could cause such mayhem. What the entire region from Delhi to Beirut needs is to imagine growth and opportunities that beckon and banish rivalries that persist.

 The writer is a former Secretary, MEA
Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 3

Governor NN Vohra inaugurated the 18th Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2016, an international theatre festival, at Abhinav Theatre here today. He was accompanied by First Lady Usha Vohra.

The festival is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) with support from the National School of Drama (NSD).

Theatre personalities from the US, Italy, Sri Lanka and Rwanda, besides Bhopal, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Jammu, are taking part in the six-day festival.

The Governor and First Lady witnessed the multi-lingual play Dear Children, Sincerely, which was presented by artistes from Sri Lanka and Rwanda. The play revolves around disconnection between successive generations.

The Governor complimented Dr Aziz Hajini, secretary of the JKAACL, for providing an opportunity to people of the state to appreciate theatre performances through a series of plays in this festival.

He said such events should be a regular feature in the state and the JKAACL should develop state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities for promotion of local art and artistes in the state.

Expressing his happiness over reopening of Abhinav Theatre, the Governor hoped that it would again produce high-quality per/es like it used to before it was shut down for repairs. The Governor lauded the efforts of the NSD in preparing highly professional and quality artistes.

KK Raina, film-maker who was the guest of honour, and Lateef Khatana, senior faculty member of the NSD, spoke about the journey of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav and the present scenario of theatre in the country and the state.

Dr Hajini presented the welcome address. Mitali Gupta gave a brief about the play and presented the vote of thanks on the occasion.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 3

Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Balram Jakhar died in New Delhi this morning. He was 92. Dr Jakhar passed away around 7 am at his residence in Delhi.

The body is being taken to Abohar in Punjab for cremation tomorrow, his son and former Congress Legislature Party leader of Punjab Sunil Jakhar said.

Balram Jakhar is survived by two sons and two daughters.

The cremation will be held in the family village of Panchkosi in Abohar at 11 am on Thursday.

The former Lok Sabha Speaker and Governor of Madhya Pradesh was ailing for over a year following a brain stroke. He suffered respiratory arrest last month, according to Sunil Jakhar.

He served as the Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989. As Speaker of Lok Sabha he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of Parliamentary works. He also contributed to the establishment of Parliament Museum.

He was also the Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009. He also served as the Union Agriculture Minister during former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress government.

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Jakhar was a popular leader who enriched Parliamentary democracy.

Balram Jakhar ji was a popular leader who enriched our Parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP," he tweeted.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has expressed grief over the demise of Jakhar.

In her message to the family of Jakhar, Gandhi said, "The Congress Party as indeed the entire nation will forever remember the contributions made by him during the course of his long public life, particularly to the cause of farming community."

"Be it as Legislator, Parliamentarian, Minister, Speaker or Governor, Dr Jakhar forever remained at the forefront in taking up issues concerning agriculture and farmers and his role in modernising the Parliament Secretariat was pioneering."

Expressing grief over Jakhar's demise, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hailed him as a party stalwart.

"Extremely saddened by the passing away of veteran Congress leader Balram Jakharji. In his passing Congress Party has lost a stalwart.

"His immense contribution to the nation in his long political career as Parliamentarian, Union Minister & Governor will always be remembered," he tweeted.

Offering his condolences to the Congress leader's family, BJP veteran LK Advani said, "I am grieved to learn about the sad demise of Balram Jakhar, former Speaker, Lok Sabha, whom I had known very well."

Advani said as Lok Sabha Speaker, Jakhar was instrumental in the computerisation of parliamentary documents.

"He made a distinctive contribution to the development of the Parliament library and reference, documentation and information service for the knowledge and use of Members of Parliament," he said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that with Jakhar's demise, the country has lost a "great parliamentarian". He noted that Jakhar will be always remembered for maintaining the decorum and dignity of the House when he was Speaker.

Former Union Agriculture Minister Pawar added that, as one of his predecessors, Jakhar had worked to maintain the pace of agricultural development in all spheres.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that Jakhar's sad demise is "an irreparable loss for the nation".

"The passing away of such a distinguished and soft-spoken leader is an irreparable loss for the nation," Mahajan said in a statement.

Extending condolences to the bereaved members of Jakhar's family, she said "He will always be in our midst for his thoughts. He used to call me 'Behna' (sister). I recently met him as he had been indisposed for a long time. Such leaders are remembered for their positive qualities."

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that Jakhar "maintained the high level of parliamentary traditions" during his tenure as Lok Sabha Speaker.

As a public representative, he remained dedicated to the welfare of farmers, labourers and other sections of the society, she added in her condolence message.  With inputs from agencies
Mumbai/Pune, February 3

The Bombay High Court criticised the Maharashtra Government and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) on Wednesday for inadequate measures to ensure safety on beaches across the state two days after 14 students drowned in a beach near Mumbai.

"It is shocking that 14 students died after drowning two days back at the Murud-Janjira beach. There is no system in place. There were no warning signals, no lifeguards and no watch-towers," a Division Bench of Justices NH Patil and GS Kulkarni said while hearing a public interest litigation on safety in beaches.

The high court criticised the state government and the civic body for not implementing a Government Resolution on safety measures on beaches in the state.

"The government is yet to implement the resolution. You (the government and the civic body) have a resolution directly on the issue but still nothing has been done. Ask the city collector why the resolution has not been implemented," the court said, while considering the PIL filed by the NGO Janhit Manch.

"There are so many beaches in the city itself, like Juhu beach, Gorai beach, Aksa beach and so on. There is so much crowd in these places especially children. With no system in place how does the government propose to avoid such incidents (drowning)," the bench said.

The court cited Goas measures on beach safety and asked the Maharashtra Government to emulate them. Goa has beach police running regular patrols on its shores.

The court will hear the case next on February 12.

In 2006, state government had issued a resolution on safety in beaches after the high court passed directions.

Parents blame college

Parents of some of those who drowned held authorities at Abeda Inamdar College, Pune, or the incident and gheraoed P A Inamdar, president of the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society (MCES).

At a condolence meet organised by the Abeda Inamdar College in Pune, parents of the victims claimed the college was negligent and even accused the college authorities of pushing them out unceremoniously when they tried to seek an explanation.

"I lost my daughter in the incident. On the tragic day, the college did not even notify me about the incident. It was us who bore the expenses of the ambulance vehicle in which my daughter's body was carried to the city. The college did nothing," Shakila Sayyad, mother of victim Safin Sayyad, said.

Savitribai Phule Pune University's vice-chancellor Dr WN Gade, who attended the condolence meet, said the college will be asked to submit a detailed report explaining the incident.

"We will see whether the guidelines laid down by the varsity regarding educational tours were followed during the picnic," he said.

Fourteen students drowned on the Murud beach while on a college trip on Monday.  PTI
New Delhi, February 3

President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday conferred honorary General of the Indian Army rank to Nepalese Army Chief General Rajendra Chettri who is on a six-day official visit to India.

The honour was given for his military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering Nepals long and friendly association with India, at a special investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan here, a press release issued by the Presidents office said.

General Rajendra Chhetris selfless service, sincere devotion and commitment to excellence are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself and the Nepalese Army.

Throughout his exemplary career, General Chhetri has demonstrated dynamic leadership and outstanding professionalism, reads the citation.

General Rajendra Chhetri has contributed to promote the existing bond of friendship, based on goodwill and mutual understanding, between Indian and Nepalese Army as well as other armies of the world, it said.

In recognition of his commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to further fostering the long and friendly association with India, President of India is pleased to confer the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri, the citation said.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Air Staff, Vice Admiral P Murugesan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar, the release said.

Chettri began his visit to India on February 1. It is his first visit abroad after assuming the top Army post in September last year.  PTI
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 3

In a minor diplomatic coup, India, despite its existing strained relations with Nepal, today conferred Nepalese army chief General Rajendra Chhetri with the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army.

Notably, despite the prevailing irksome issues, New Delhi was keen that General Chhetri visits India first instead of opting to visit China. As India maintains a large hold over Nepal, China has been trying to woo the Himalayan country with sops. This is General Chhetri's first 'port of call' after taking over as chief of Nepalese army in September 2015.

General Chhetri was accorded the rank by President Pranab Mukherjee at an investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

It is a custom and tradition between the Indian and Nepalese army to confer this honour on each other's chief to signify close and special military to military ties. Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh was conferred the rank of General of the Nepalese army in November 2014 when he visited the Himalayan nation.

General Chhetri is on a six-day visit to India. He shall be visiting the Infantry School and Army War College at Mhow and the Artillery School at Deolali wherein he shall be witnessing the training and facilities at Indian Army premier training institutes. During his visit to Lucknow, the General shall be interacting with top military hierarchy of Headquarters Central Command and shall also visit the Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre.
Kabul: A 10-year-old Afghan boy who was declared a hero after fighting the Taliban has been shot dead by insurgents while on his way to school, officials said on Wednesday. The deputy police chief of Uruzgan province, Rahimullah Khan, said the boy, Wasil Ahmad, was killed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern province. The boy had fought the Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions, Khan said, adding that unknown gunmen he referred to only as insurgents had killed the boy near his home. AP

Missing reporter tells wife hes back in China

Beijing: A Chinese journalist who disappeared while seeking asylum abroad turned up on Wednesday, telling his wife on phone he voluntarily returned to China for an investigation, in the latest case of Beijing's increasingly strong reach beyond the mainland for wanted people. He Fangmei said she spoke with her journalist husband, Li Xin, when she was summoned to a police station to receive his call. She believes he was forcibly brought back and spoke against his own will. AP

Obama to make first visit to US mosque as Prez

Washington: Amid growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US poll campaign, President Barack Obama's visit to a US mosque for the first time during his presidency is aimed at assuring the large Muslim-American community of their religious freedom, according to a top White House official. "I think the President is quite interested in making sure that we're affirming the important role that Muslims play in our diverse American society, and certainly affirming their right to worship God in a way that's consistent with their heritage," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. PTI

Main facilitator of Bacha Khan varsity attack held

Peshawar: Pakistani authorities have arrested the main facilitator of the gruesome attack on Bacha Khan University that killed 21 people, mostly students, while he was trying to slip across the border to Afghanistan, a media report said. Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as 'Terrorist A', was arrested in Nowshera last week by intelligence agencies, the Dawn reported, citing "credible" sources. "He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," a source said. PTI

Statue to commemorate 1st Indians in South Africa

Durban: A commemorative statue to honour the memory of first Indian indentured labourers' arrival to South Africa in 1860 will be erected at a popular beachfront point here soon. The Durban City Council has budgeted almost five million rands ($308,380) to build the heritage monument in memory of those who arrived on the steamship Truro after an arduous journey from India. PTI

Saudi poetic justice: Spared death, not lashes

Dubai: A Saudi court has commuted the death sentence against a Palestinian poet convicted of apostasy, to eight-year jail and 800 lashes, his lawyer said. Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the religious police in 2013. His conviction was based on evidence from a prosecution witness who claimed to have heard him cursing God, Islam's Prophet Mohammad and Saudi Arabia. He was also prosecuted for the contents of a poetry book he had written years ago. Rights campaigners say he was targeted for speaking out on political and social matters. In the Wahhabi interpretation of sharia, religious crimes incur death penalty. Reuters
The Pussy Riot punk provocateur band is punching back at the Russian government.



The collective has released a music clip that scathingly mocks Russian law enforcement agencies, in which Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and fellow band members perform in Russian prosecutors' blue uniforms.



Tolokonnikova told Dozhd TV that the video called Chaika was inspired by a documentary exposing alleged wrongdoing by Russia's chief prosecutor, Yuri Chaika. The film claimed that Chaika's sons benefited from his position and that they had ties to the underworld. Chaika has rejected the accusations.



Tolokonnikova and two other Pussy Riot members were detained in 2012 for staging a protest in one of Moscow's largest cathedrals. Tolokonnikova and member Maria Alekhina were convicted for extremism, but were released several months short of their two-year sentence in December 2013.

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Washington, February 3

The dreaded Haqqani network remains the most capable threat to US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, planning and executing high-profile attacks, the top American General in the war-torn nation has said.

Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John F Campbell, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said the al-Qaeda has been significantly weakened, but as evidenced by the recent discovery of its camp on the southern border, the group is certainly not extinct.

"The Haqqani network remains the most capable threat to US and coalition forces, planning and executing the most violent high profile attacks in Kabul," he said.

Haqqani network, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks against Western and Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul.

Campbell said 70 per cent of Afghan territory is under government control, while Taliban controls only 2 per cent.

"Of the 407 district centres, eight (or two per cent) are under insurgent control. We assess that another 18 (or 4 per cent) are under what we call insurgent influence," he said.

Often, these district centres are in remote and sparsely populated areas that security forces are not able to access very often in force, he noted.

Additionally, at any given time there may be up to 94 district centres (around 23 per cent) that we view as "at risk," he said.

Although the Afghan security forces have made advancements over the past eight years  beginning as an unorganised collection of militia and developing into a modern security force with many of the systems and processes of an advanced military  a lot needs to be done, he said.

"Capability gaps still exist in fixed and rotary-wing aviation, combined arms operations, intelligence collection and dissemination, and maintenance," he said.

One of the greatest tactical challenges for the Afghan security forces has been overcoming the Afghan Air Force's extremely limited organic close air support capability.

"Admittedly, we began building the Afghan Air Force late and are constrained by the time it takes to build human capital," he underscored.

Of the view that reconciliation is the path needed to obtain a negotiated settlement and end the conflict in Afghanistan, Campbell said current reconciliation efforts are an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned initiative.

Campbell said the National Unity Government could claim some meaningful reform and progress in it first year of formation despite the institutional and political difficulties it had to face.

"The unity government may be fragile, but it is holding despite being challenged, it is making continued progress, and building momentum to create an increasingly viable future," he said.  PTI
Kuala Lumpur, February 3

A leading Malaysian politician relinquished his post as a state chief minister today in what is widely seen as the latest move by scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak to purge potential rivals.

Ruling party politician Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former longtime premier Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as head of Kedah state following an internal party push to oust him, Malaysian media reported.

Mukhriz had been mentioned among potential future contenders for prime minister but his fortunes have flagged due to his outspoken father's ongoing campaign to oust Najib over sensational corruption allegations.

Malaysia has been seized for more than a year by reports that huge sums of money were diverted from a state-owned investment company closely linked to Najib.

The affair escalated last July when it was revealed that Najib had received payments of $681 million to his personal bank accounts.

Both Najib and the investment company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), strongly deny that the $681 million involved 1MDB money.

Mukhriz, 51, is the latest top figure in the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to suffer in the fallout.

After the Najib payment was revealed, he reshuffled his cabinet to sack several members including his deputy prime minister, who had called for transparency, and the attorney-general, who was heading investigations.

A new Najib-appointed attorney-general last week declared the premier clear of any wrongdoing, claiming the payment was a legal "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

That story is widely disbelieved in Malaysia, and the move to exonerate Najib has sparked accusations of a conspiracy to subvert justice to protect Najib.

Authorities in Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong also are looking into money flows related to 1MDB.  AFP
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Egyptian surgeon-turned-satirist Bassem Youssef has signed a deal to present a news show titled The Democracy Handbook, to be aired in spring on the American digital platform F-Comedy.

The F-Comedy website is the new comedy digital hub for the channel Fusion, and The Democracy Handbook will be part of the channels 2016 election coverage.

The comedy show will follow Youssefs move to America as he learns and exposes democracy in America. It is produced by former Daily Show producer Kathy Egan.

Youssef's weekly show on Egyptian television was cancelled in 2014, and he has since moved to the states, where he filmed the documentary Tickling Giants.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Youssef said discussing, exposing and satirising the political scene here in the States is something I am very excited about and hopefully I will be able to get Fusion in trouble along the way. Between issues like guns, white supremacist militias and Donald Trump, I am certain we won't be lacking in any material."

Bryan Carmel, Fusions head of comedy, reportedly called Bassem one of the most astute and therefore dangerous satirists, expressing his eagerness to see what material Youssef will unveil for the show.

Youssefs political satire falls much in line with F-Comedys vision, which according to Carmel is dedicated to challenging the status quo and trying to provoke shifts in the way people look at the world around them.

Youssef recently signed a deal to be represented by two major American channels, UTA, and Anonymous Content.

UTA has recently signed two deals with two regional rising directors, Majid Al Ansari, director of Zinzana, and Naji Abo Nawar director of Oscar nominated film Theeb.

Anonymous Content is the independent production company behind Oscar contenders Mr. Robot and the Revenant.

It recently signed on a creative consulting relationship with MBC Group, a prominent regional TV network and production company. The deal allows MBC access to Anonymous' creative experience and know-how, and in some cases, its talent roster.

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Set up in one of the World of Concretes halls, the Putzmeister pump trailer looks longer than it is. Up front is a Mercedes-Benz cab-over-engine tractor, which came from Germany with the trailer. Photos: Tom Berg

Trucks are always a prominent part of the annual World of Concrete show in Las Vegas, and to me the most impressive ones are the chassis carrying concrete pumper bodies. The bodies are big and bulky, and exhibitors extend their multi-section booms toward the tall ceiling and sometimes far away, over adjoining booths.

Pumper bodies are also heavy, so chassis toting larger units need six, seven or more axles to support the loads. Almost invariably they are straight trucks, but while roaming a section of the show on Tuesday I came upon a tractor-trailer unit displayed by Putzmeister America. Its body was a 70 M (M for meters, or about 227 feet, the maximum vertical reach of the five-section boom), and it was mounted on a five-axle semitrailer hitched to a four-axle tractor. This must be something new, I thought.

M-B Actros is common in Europe but seldom seen in the U.S. A conventional-cab Mack will be built and outfitted to pull the pump trailer to work sites in Texas.

The unit is being bought by Western Concrete Pumping, based in southern California, and was built by Putzmeister of Germany. It recently arrived by ship and was hauled to Las Vegas for the show, said Steve Delamarian, Westerns VP of business development. The tractor, a Mercedes-Benz Actros cabover  a popular model in Europe but not seen here -- couldnt legally run in California because its diesel isnt emissions-certified. So it had to be hauled up to Vegas.

With the M-B gone, the pump trailer, which weighs about 150,000 pounds, couldnt be towed by just any other tractor. So it was trucked up to Vegas aboard onto a high-capacity lowboy, said Dave Wright, a Putzmeister product manager. When the show is over, he will store the trailer nearby, then strip the tractor of specialized equipment before shipping it back to Germany (or maybe the Middle East, for which it was built, because its engine meets Euro 2 emissions specs and the European Union is now at Euro 5).

Meanwhile, hes ordered an American-built tractor to mate to the trailer. It will be a conventional-cab model; a specs sheet shows a Kenworth C500B, but Wright said itll be a Mack Granite. It will have twin steer axles and a live tridem (aka tri-drive). That will be sent to a Fontaine Modification facility near Putzmeister Americas plant in Sturtevant, Wis., where the equipment from the M-B will be installed. Then the Mack and the 70 M pump trailer will be sent to Texas, where Western will put it to work.

Gross combination weight for the rig is 175,300 pounds, according to its specs sheet (Delamarian estimated the GCW with the M-B cabover at 178,500 pounds). Three of its five axles hydraulically self-steer, with wheel cut electronically controlled based on sensor readings at the fifth wheel.

Road-ready, the pump trailer looks bigger than it is. The specs sheet says its about 50 feet long (46 feet, 10 inches from its kingpin to its rear), 98 inches wide and 13 feet, 2 inches high. Overall length with a conventional-cab tractor is 70 feet, 4 inches .

A pair of red pull pins lock the trailer's nose (above) to the tractor's frame. Tractor's weight then helps stabilize the pumper as it churns more then 100 cubic yards an hour to where the concrete must be placed.

When set up to work, outriggers are deployed, of course. And a pair of pull pins, one on either side of the fifth wheel, lock the trailers nose to the tractor, Wright explained. The nose rises as outrigger feet push into the ground, and the tractors weight acts as ballast to further stabilize the pumper as it churns away. The unit's pumps are powered by a large pony engine, a Deutz diesel rated at 500 hp.

The unit is capable of pumping 200 cubic yards an hour, but a contractor who happened by said in actual operation itd handle 100 to 110 yards. Thats still a lot of work, and its doable because while one mixer truck is off-loading into the big rear-mounted hopper, another can back into position and get set up.

This vehicle is unusual but not unique. Wright said several others have been built for Europe. And in the 90s, his company built some trailer-mounted concrete pumpers with smaller bodies for customers who preferred that configuration.

Articulation of a tractor-trailer makes it more maneuverable than a long straight truck in some situations. But in this case, the long vehicle length on 10 axles spreads out weight enough so it can run in bridge-formula states like California without a special permit for each trip. So far its the biggest rig Ive seen at the concrete show.
Heavy Duty Trucking editors have been named finalists in four categories in the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Awards, which reward excellence in journalism for business-to-business media.

The Neal Awards were created by the American Business Media association (now named Connectiv) in 1955 to recognize and reward editorial excellence in business publications covering fields such as agriculture, medicine, finance, engineering, aviation, education, marketing, construction, architecture, marketing and more. There are four finalists in each category.

HDTs entries that were named finalists are:

Best Technical Content: Cheating the Wind. This two-part series by Equipment Editor Jim Park took an in-depth look at the science behind fuel economy testing and how much fleets can rely on the EPAs SmartWay ratings. (Read Part 1 and Part 2)

Best Use of Video/Webcast: Ultimate Test Drive. Equipment Editor Jim Park uses the power of video to bring Test Drives to life in these videos, produced in conjunction with the Canadian magazine Todays Trucking.

Best Series: Driver Dilemma. Our ambitious 10-part series, written by Editor in Chief Deborah Lockridge, Executive Editor David Cullen, and Equipment Editor Jim Park, involved dozens of interviews with fleets, drivers and experts on the driver shortage, examining how fleets can not only find drivers, but also keep them engaged, satisfied, safe, compliant, and healthy.

Best Media Brand: This category recognizes a media brand's overall excellence by evaluating its depth of offerings to readers in print and/or digital environments. Entries are evaluated on how clearly they align their editorial mission with journalistic excellence, presentation, service to readers, innovation, and use of multiple content platforms to serve the brand's audience.

Winners will be announced April 1.
From music to food, the EGYCON Festival celebrates Japanese culture in Egypt

The third EGYCON Festival, an annual festival that celebrates Japanese culture in Egypt, is scheduled to take place on 6 February at the GrEEK Campus in Tahrir.

The event is supported by The Japan Foundation in Cairo and is organised by a group of young people interested in the Japanese subculture, a press release by The Japan Foundation stated.

The festival will comprise J-pop (Japanese pop-culture) as manga, anime, and a lot of other activities and arts of J-Pop as karaoke, manga workshops and exhibitions, cosplay competition, and Japanese food.

Programme:

12-8pm Saturday 6 February

GrEEK Campus, 28 Falaki Street, Bab El-Louk, Downtown, Cairo

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Good luck with that tax reform, Oklahoma Legislature.

One day after Gov. Mary Fallin and Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger outlined a grim program for overcoming a $900 million  and growing  reduction in revenue for the next state budget, the Senate Finance Committee had difficulty taking the first preliminary steps to eliminating or modifying a handful of tax incentives and exemptions.

The committee heard 10 bills concerning tax preferences of various kinds. Most of the bills only clarified that a particular preference had to be reviewed and approved by the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2018.

With a few exceptions, even that met resistance.

This year, everybody has to share, Chairman Mike Mazzei told the committee. We can each defend our own favorite program, but by golly, were going to sit here and never get ahead of this. Were certainly not going to be able to help the teachers.

Nobodys sacred cow is off limits.

Nine of the 10 bills passed, but not without various levels of grumbling.

Rural legislators werent happy about adding a new rural low-income housing credit to the list of incentives to be examined. School-choice advocates fretted about the uncertainty of including a credit for people and corporations who contribute to nonprofits that support private school scholarships. A few deemed a credit for energy-efficient construction too important to jeopardize.

There was, however, agreement that the states earned income tax credit for low-wage workers needs to be re-examined if not eliminated altogether, and the committee unanimously advanced a new sales tax exemption for a Tulsa nonprofit that works with veterans.

Failing was Senate Bill 1006, which on Jan. 1, 2017, would end the ability of some business concerns to claim both the Quality Jobs Act rebate and a capital investment credit. The double-dip provision was enacted in 2010 to help Tulsa refiner Holly Frontier get through the recession, and has been used by a few high-capital companies since, but Mazzei, R-Tulsa, said it is no longer necessary.

His committee disagreed, and the measure failed 5-8.

The measure with the most immediate impact, SB 883 by Mazzei and committee Co-Chairman Marty Quinn, R-Claremore, would reduce the renewable energy credit utilized almost entirely by the wind generation industry. Quinn said the cut, effective next Jan. 1, would save the state $5.8 million in FY 2017 and $11.64 million in FY 2018.

State Sen. Kim David said she feared the bill contradicts an unwritten agreement with the wind industry reached when subsidies were reduced, but Quinn said everything has to be reconsidered this year.

Rest assured, Quinn said, there are more bills like this coming. ... I support the wind industry  to a degree. I do not support it to the extent that it is detrimental to mental health, to Human Services, to schools.
Harlem Globetrotter Johnny Hawk Thomas brought the teams bullying prevention program to Park Elementary in west Tulsa on Tuesday.

Thomas is in town ahead of his teams upcoming appearance at the BOK Center, and Tuesdays event was one of its many community outreach programs.

The ABCs of Bullying Prevention teaches kids to stand up for themselves through action, bravery and compassion. The program was designed in coordination with the National Campaign to Stop Violence.

About 150 students were at the assembly, and all were engrossed by Thomass words, as well as his tricks.

Who can tell me what compassion means in a time of stress? Thomas asked the students.

To show them that you care, one of the kids answered.

Thomas encouraged all students to be a friend to those around them, especially those who may not have many friends. He discouraged them from bullying the bully.

When you bully the bully, youre only going to encourage their behavior, he said.

After his brief talk, Thomas brought some students and teachers up to the front to try some tricks with his basketball.

Cheers filled the room as Thomas showed off his skills, followed by some laughter as students and teachers tried to imitate him.

The Harlem Globetrotters  an exhibition basketball team that uses skills, theater and comedy in its performances  is marking its 90th season this year.

After the event, Thomas said the Globetrotters offer community outreach events because the players consider themselves both on-court and off-court ambassadors.

But the programs are also a way to show kids that its OK to have fun, he said.

Thomas said he takes great pride in participating in the bullying prevention program.

I was always picked on growing up, he said, noting that he was smaller than other kids before he hit his growth spurt.

Thomas said he feels that children sometimes accept the message from Globetrotters players because they look up to them as role models.

Gwen Climpson, a counselor at Park Elementary, said the school at 3205 W. 39th St. teaches students about bullying prevention, and having Thomas come in to reinforce the message was a boost to that effort. She said his fame frames the message in a new light.

Sometimes its better coming from someone from an outside setting, she said.
Ahmed Abdallah, the Red Sea Governor, agreed with the Theatre House to host guest theatre plays

Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah announced an agreement to invite a theatre production in the eastern governorate every month.

The initiative will infuse the theatre-deprived governorate with art activities and create a more dynamic link with cultural movements in other Egyptian cities that have well-established theatre companies.

The project comes in cooperation with the Theatre House (Beit El-Fanni Lel Masrah), a national theatre body headed by Fetouh Ahmed and operating under the Ministry of Culture.

The announcement came after Abdallah attended the performance of Ghaybouba (Blackout) at the culture palace of Hurgada last Sunday and Monday.

The play stars well-known film and theatre actor Ahmed Bedair, who voiced his appreciation of the warm reception in Hurgada and expressed his desire to present more shows in the Red Sea region.

After the performance, Abdallah presented Bedair with an honorary Governorate Shield.

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Donald Trumps aura of invincibility may have slipped a notch Monday night as more Iowa caucusgoers gave their support to Ted Cruz in the opening round of voting for the Republican presidential nomination.

And if it did, evangelical voters may be the reason why.

White evangelicals made up 65 percent of GOP caucus participants, and Trump won only 21 percent of them, compared to 34 percent for Cruz. Marco Rubio ran third in Iowa, also with 21 percent of the evangelical vote.

Trump, who has identified himself a Presbyterian, had worked to gain evangelical support but stumbled along the way. While speaking at the conservative Liberty University in Virginia, he referred to a book of the Bible as Two Corinthians, instead of the more commonly accepted Second Corinthians, raising a few chuckles in the audience.

And when Trump and his wife attended a Sunday service at the nondenominational First Christian Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he almost put money in the silver Communion plate, telling staffers I thought it was for offering.

Despite those gaffes, Trump has drawn support from some high-profile evangelicals, including Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. and the Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Church, Dallas.

Others, like Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said evangelical support for Trump was most illogical. ... To back Mr. Trump, these voters must repudiate everything they believe.

Trump, who has been married three times and uses the f-word in public speeches, has also said hes never asked for Gods forgiveness. He told a panel at the Family Leadership Summit that when it comes to what hes done wrong, I dont bring God into that picture.

Mike Ford, chairman of the Tulsa County Republican Party, said he found it odd that some evangelicals support Trump.

Evangelicals were turned off when he said he never asks for forgiveness and sees no need to, he said.

At the end of the day, its hard to tell where his support is coming from, Ford said.

He said Trump is not an ideal candidate for evangelicals, which figured into his losing in Iowa.

Theres a lot of cynicism and skepticism, even among evangelicals, he said. They feel disenfranchised by politicians who campaign one way and then govern another.

Most of the pre-caucus polls had Trump ahead in Iowa, polls that proved wrong.

Ford said that polling in Iowa may have been skewed because it was largely conducted on telephone landlines while many young people have only cellphones, and because some 60 percent of caucusgoers made up their mind in the last week.

Sonny Branham, assistant professor of government at Oral Roberts University, said he thought evangelical support for Trump was not even marginal, noting that only 21 percent of evangelical Iowa caucus participants voted for him.

But a lot of people are fed up with government and see him as a breath of fresh air, Branham said. And hes seen as someone who genuinely loves the country, and that resonates with evangelicals.

Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, told the Tulsa World he sees no evidence that Trump is a conservative or an evangelical Christian.

Why are evangelicals on his bandwagon? he said. We want a victory so bad that were willing to set aside the higher issues of virtue  so bad that we will compromise for the sake of that victory.

Trump is a misogynist who mocks the handicapped, praises Obama economics and boasts of multiple affairs, Piper said.

He said a blog he wrote that was critical of Trump has received 45,000 hits on the evangelical Christian universitys website, but Piper said he has been severely criticized by evangelicals who tell him: Weve got to win; hes our only chance to win.
A candidate for Tulsa County sheriff has lodged a complaint with the acting sheriff alleging an employee of the office violated policies regarding political activity.

Tulsa County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Randy Pierce late Tuesday filed a complaint with acting Sheriff Michelle Robinette about alleged actions of reserve program coordinator Sgt. Paula Hite.

Pierce, who is one of 10 candidates seeking to fill the remainder of Stanley Glanzs term in a special election this spring, provided the Tulsa World with a message he says Hite sent to all of the reserve deputies Tuesday morning.

In the message, Hite reminds the reserves of their meeting that night. She also writes, candidate Tom Helm has invited everyone to the ALOFT Hotel for a meet and greet.

Sheriffs Office policy regarding political activity states, Use of county vehicles, county money, county property or county time for political activities is prohibited.

Were looking into (the complaint), but without reviewing it in-depth at this point I cant tell you where were going to from here with it, Robinette told the World. It is being looked at; we do have policies speaking to political activity while on duty.

Robinette was in one-on-one meetings with media outlets much of Wednesday, making her first public comments to reporters since becoming interim sheriff in mid-January.

Helm, in a statement to the World, said he is proud that he has a lot of support within the Tulsa law-enforcement community.

I invited members of the TCSO Reserve Program to meet with me, Helm said. They were not on county time and we met on private property. I make no apologies for this.

Pierce, in his complaint, alleges that Hite violated policy by using a database of reserve deputies to message about a campaign event, promoting a campaign event on a county phone or computer and while on duty, as well as using her status of commanding the reserve program to promote a campaign event.

He also says Hite is actively promoting Helm on social media. However, that appears to be in line with policies allowed unless she is doing so on county time or via county property.

All the above-mention violated Tulsa County Sheriffs Office Policy & Procedures and is ethically wrong doing by a supervisor over the Tulsa County Sheriffs Reserves, Pierce wrote. This was another negative incident to our office, the reserve program, our employees, our community and all the candidates running for Tulsa County Sheriff, at a time when we are attempting to regain the publics trust back.

Pierce also notes he was called into a captains office Jan. 29 at Robinettes request and questioned about violating the same policy for a radio interview he had done the previous day.

Pierce stated he had an approved vacation day slip signed by Robinette for that day and that his time sheet reflects that day as a vacation day. He also said he took his privately owned vehicle to the interview.

Helm is an agent for the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office and a retired 20-year veteran of the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office.

Pierce told the World on Wednesday he filed the complaint while off duty and took vacation time to respond to the newspapers questions.

In filing the complaint, Pierce said he doesnt request any ill will or harsh disciplinary action against Hite. He said he asks that the Sheriffs Office and its employees follow the policies and procedures and uphold ethical standards regarding political activity.

He also said he wants the public aware the good ol boy system is still alive within the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office.

The special election field has 10 candidates, nine of whom are Republicans. Those nine are Pierce, Helm, John Fitzpatrick, Brandon Hendrix, Jason Jackson, Dan Miller, Bill Reaves, Vic Regalado and Luke Sherman. The only Democrat is Rex Berry.
BY CASS SUNSTEIN

In his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Barack Obama appeared to get his biggest bipartisan applause for this line: "I think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed. There is red tape that needs to be cut."

Republican presidential candidates have spoken in the same terms, though more emphatically. One of their most urgent priorities is to reduce the stock of existing regulations, and slow the flow of new ones.

Sure, Democrats like regulation more than Republicans do, but with the current focus on economic growth and national competitiveness, there's both a need and an opportunity for bipartisan agreement here -- if not this year, at least in 2017. (As administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from 2009 to 2012, I saw that Democrats and Republicans often concur on what makes sense and what doesn't, at least once we cut through abstract rhetoric and look at actual policies.)

Here are five proposals on which Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree:

1. Require every regulatory agency, by statute, to produce an annual report on its progress in cutting regulatory costs.

In 2011, Obama ordered his agencies to engage in a "regulatory look-back," with the goal of reducing and simplifying national bands. That effort has produced significant results, with over $22 billion in short-term savings. But far more remains to be done.

Congress should require every agency to act, every year, to cut unnecessary, obsolete, ineffective or unduly burdensome regulatory requirements and paperwork burdens (now in excess of nine billion hours annually!). In the process, it should direct agencies to quantify the savings, so that they do not list merely symbolic reforms that will make no difference in people's lives.

2. Enact the cost-benefit requirements all presidents since Ronald Reagan have imposed.

In 1981, Reagan issued a historic executive order, forbidding executive agencies from issuing new regulations unless their benefits outweigh their costs, and requiring agencies to choose the least expensive means for achieving their goals. Reaffirmed by every president since, these requirements have done a lot of good.

Nonetheless, agencies don't always obey them, and sometimes they aren't transparent enough about the costs and benefits of new rules. A congressional enactment would have more weight than an executive order.

3. Extend cost-benefit discipline to independent regulatory agencies.

Reagan declined to apply his 1981 executive order to agencies designated by Congress as having some degree of insulation from presidential control, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Communications Commission. His successors have followed him. One reason is that the president may lack the legal authority to do so.

In view of the substantial costs now imposed by such agencies on the private sector, Congress itself should require more discipline from them. A required accounting of both costs and benefits would help to prevent excessive regulatory burdens (including some that might be imposed on small businesses under the Dodd-Frank law).

4. Control the use of "interim final rules."

Under the Administrative Procedure Act, agencies are usually required to propose their rules to the public, and to seek comments before their rules can be finalized. That's an important safeguard, because public comments often highlight the points that agencies don't have right, and show how proposals need to be fixed.

In the last two decades, however, agencies have increasingly resorted to regulations with a confusing name: interim final rules. These become final without any public comment, but they are meant to be provisional.

Agencies argue that because of a legal deadline, or some other emergency, they have to act quickly. The result is that they end up finalizing some rules that aren't clear or that contain real mistakes. And while those rules are supposed to be temporary, agencies rarely revisit them.

Congress or the president should constrain this practice, by authorizing interim final rules only when absolutely necessary (in cases of imminent threats to public health or safety, for example) and requiring agencies to take comments on any such rules and to revisit them within 18 months.

5. Require "employment impact statements."

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio earlier this month called the Environmental Protection Agency the "Employment Prevention Agency." That's hyperbole, but it's fair to ask agencies to estimate the employment effects of rules that are especially expensive (such as those costing more than, say, $500 million annually).

During the Obama administration, agencies have often done exactly that. But Congress has not required them to do so. Nor has any president, Republican or Democratic, explicitly mandated such an assessment.

With the current national focus on increasing employment opportunities, it's time. If a regulation really would eliminate significant numbers of jobs, the public should know about it -- and the agency should do whatever it can to reduce that harmful effect.

The left and the right may not agree on Obama's health- care act, climate change or tighter restrictions on Wall Street. The good news is that across ideological divides, there's a lot of room for bipartisan reform that would significantly cut costs and burdens -- and do so without compromising safety, health and environmental goals.

Cass Sunstein, a Bloomberg View columnist, is director of the Harvard Law School's behavioral economics and public policy program.
There is nothing like Mardi Gras in Louisiana, but Chris West and his family do their best to bring some of that spirit to Tulsa.

And they have a little help. As owners of Lassalles New Orleans Deli at Sixth Street and Boston Avenue, theres a little bit of Mardi Gras every day inside their lively shop. But for this holiday season, expect to see the line even longer than normal. Expect to see West and his wife, Amanda, and everyone behind the counter a little more festive.

Its pretty wild in here, so that gives us a feeling of it, West said.

For New Orleans ex-pats like the Wests, its difficult being away from the revelry of the Mardi Gras season, but events around Tulsa hope to bring some of that familiar atmosphere here.

West used to bartend when he and his family lived in New Orleans and said that Mardi Gras is absolute mayhem. For many in the bar and restaurant business, it was a big moneymaker. West said Mardi Gras could account for about 30 percent of his yearly salary.

That week was working as many hours as you possibly could, West said. Its just wild. Theres people everywhere. Theres out-of-towners. The atmospheres electric.

He said the way New Orleans counts how many people participated in Mardi Gras festivities is by weighing the trash left behind from the revelry.

West and his family make it back down to New Orleans, the city they left after Hurricane Katrina hit just more than a decade ago, regularly, but they havent been back for the Carnival season, which culminates with Mardi Gras, this year on Feb. 9.

For locals there, it can be a love/hate relationship with the holiday. Does West miss it?

Id say I do and I dont, West said. Being a local down there, if you have anything to do during Carnival time, especially if you catch a parade, youre locked in, man. But its crazy busy and its fun, and you see the photos from back home, you really miss it.

Before we opened Lassalles, it was kind of a bummer. Its a bummer day if youre not down there.

But now that their restaurant is open, the bustling Mardi Gras day is a little bit of a familiar experience.

While they may not have special events planned for their lunch-hour service, a lot of the day is spent trying to not run out and sell out.

Its our busiest day of the year, West said. We close the next day every year. Were so busy in here cooking.

If you want to beat some of that Mardi Gras crowd at Lassalles, let us introduce you to another holiday: Lundi Gras, or Fat Monday.

In New Orleans, there are a series of Shrove Monday events for Lundi Gras. It includes the tradition of Rex, king of the New Orleans carnival, arriving by boat.

Thats when I usually go out, West said. Ive slept through many Mardi Gras because Ive had too much fun on Lundi Gras.
A stop in the middle of a nice stroll in old Cairo prompts the discussion of the man whose name is engraved in the place  the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe

It has become impossible to miss the clear Chinese influence on the once unchallenged Egyptian crafts and avenues of Khan Al-Khalili. This is particularly the case if it is the visitors first stroll around the Khan in 20 years or so.

It was hard not to think that had the Chinese president passed by last month during his visit to Egypt, he would have seen how the products of his country are permeating the heart of traditional Egyptian crafts.

At the entrance of the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe, for a little break in the middle of a sunny winter afternoon stroll, one may wonder what the man who documented historic old Cairo would have thought at this scene.

He believed in change and evolution  it is very clear in all his books, especially those that approached the socio-political developments of Egypt between 1919 and 1952 and beyond, Salma said as we were seated into the newly renovated Obrai managed cafe.

This is not evolution this is loss of ownership  it is as obnoxious as the Chinese theme that was imposed on Al-Karnak temple during the visit of the Chinese president last week, I said as we both decided, prior to examining the menu, that the first thing we would have is tea with mint which was promptly served with fresh green leaves and a slightly too cold bottle of mineral water that the waiter assumed  and rightly so  that we needed.

As we drank the small glasses of warm tea, Salma added that she thought that what Mahfouz must have really believed in was in fact revolutionIn all of his novels there is wish for or act of a significant unexpected shift that is not necessarily produced by society or by a particular group but by a key character, she said.

We discussed the sudden change of path of Ihsan, the leading female character in his novel Al-Kahira Al-Gadida (New Cairo) who decided maybe under the pressure of poverty to give up on her idealistic dreams that were given to her by Ali Taha and to simply become a part-time mistress for a rich older man.

Revolution does not always have to be from good to bad, in the conservative moral sense of the word, I think; it is just about breaking the ties and taking a whole new path, Salma said.

I was looking at the menu of drinks contemplating whether to go for a lemon-mint or for the yogurt frappe with mango  which seemed filling enough to replace a lunch of either the famous kofta (meat balls) or falafel sandwiches.

Still, I could not help remarking that Ihsan did not necessarily fully choose to take the path she took.

She was driven into it  it is like when the media was encouraging people prior to the 30 June demonstrations to go out and protest the Muslim Brotherhood rule  as opposed to the actual revolution of Zohra in Miramar where the leading woman character willingly decided to abandon her village to avoid being forced into marrying an older man and decided instead to get a job in Alexandria and to pursue an end to her illiteracy, I said as the waiter was getting an order of lemon-mint for Salma who was determined to have her kofta dish (not the sandwich) and my yogurt-mango frappe.

So Ihsan is 30 June and Zohra is 25 January? Salma asked with a loud laugh that echoed through what was a relatively empty cafe given the decline of tourism  something that the waiter could not have lamented more  and the time of the day which is not typical for the arrival of Egyptian clients who are more into the dinner and music scene of the evenings.

The drinks were both very fresh and the frappe did have more mango than I had expected and to my delight had no added sugar  something that I had forgotten to warn the waiter against.

Ihsan had not naturally wanted to end up as being both the escort of the older minister and the wife of an immoral civil servant  she was encouraged or maybe pushed, I told Salma.

This is not too sweet as it would have been in other places, Salma commented on the first sip of her lemon-mint.

She then added that Zohra in Miramar was also subject to the attempts of an older man, Toulba Bey Marzouk, and an immoral civil servant but Zohra was not blackmailed by the poverty of her family, especially of her younger brothers and sisters, she added.

As she ordered her kofta grill dish, I decided to abandon my worry over the post lunch laziness syndrome and ordered a falafel platter and vine leaves.

We followed the suggestion of the waiter for us to move to another larger table where the plates could fit easily. Salma then told me that Ihsan is Egypt after the 1919 Revolution while Zohra is Egypt after the 1952 Revolution.

Maybe, I mean Zohra is clearly Egypt being contested by contradicting political currents and El-Behiry is clearly the worst image of the 1952 Revolution  being the immoral, corrupt, and ambitious civil servant, I said.

As we waited for our lunch I told Salma that I thought Mahfouz had a bias for the 1919 Revolution and the political figures of the time compared to the 1952 Revolution  it is hard to miss if you read the last batch of his dreams that were issued in a book late last year; you clearly see positive references to Saad Zaghloul, and Moustafa El-Nahhas even, but this is not the case with Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

It is clear that he thought of time under Nasser as the inevitable police state  you cannot miss this in his novel Al-Karnak, Salma said.

As the food was placed to our table, conversation about the Mahfouz books was temporarily halted and we instead spoke of the quality of the food with an common agreement of actually good.

The grilled kofta was well-done but still juicy, the falafel were properly fried and the vine leaves were adequately cooked.

I told Salma that the last time I had eaten at this cafe was back in 1995  but at the time you could not find a single empty table. I remember my friends and I had to wait for 15 minutes before we were seated."

Following the meal, we ordered two Turkish coffees before we paid and decided to move on for the rest of our walk through Old Cairo that Salma noted had very little left from the one that Mahfouz described in his novels which, unlike Al-Kahira Al-Gedida and Miramar, were mostly happening around this neighbourhood.

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Fans of Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries have been patiently awaiting news of a fourth season, but they will have to wait a bit longer it seems.

A decision doesnt just come down to budgets, but the availability of star Essie Davis, according to ABC Director of Programming Brendan Dahill.

I love Miss Fisher and we are currently trying to resolve the Miss Fisher conundrum, because Essie is living in London these days, he told TV Tonight.



Shes got young kids in school, in London and so, she doesnt want to be away from them for 3 or 4 months at a go. So, there are some logistical issues that we are trying to resolve. Wed love to bring more Miss Fisher back, but it means finding an affordable way of doing it.

There have been whispers creators Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox of Every Cloud Productions have considered a feature film.

I think Fiona and Deb have talked about doing a Miss Fisher movie, weve also talked a Miss Fishers European vacation sort of thing, where shes doing Miss Marple and solving crimes all over Europe. The are a number of iterations that weve come up with of Miss Fisher to keep that particular brand alive. Which means finding a logistical and financial way of making it happen, says Dahill.

There are challenges, none of which are creative, because we all want to continue, its just trying to find a way of doing it.

Also, Essies now been cast in Game of Thrones and shes doing some movies while shes based in London, which puts pressure on her time as well. So, we want to keep Miss Fisher alive.

We just need to find a way to do it, which is a challenge.
The young tourist climbed to the top of the Great Pyramid in Giza where he took photos and videos which he posted online

Egypt's antiquities ministry sent an official notice to the German embassy in Egypt to ban a young German tourist from visiting Egypt in the future after he illegally scaled a pyramid in Giza, Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty announced today.

The 18-year-old Andrej Ciesielski illegally climbed the Great Pyramid of Khufu earlier this week to shoot collection of photographs and videos of the Giza Plateau from the pyramid's summit.

Egypt has strict rules against scaling pyramids, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.

Ciesielski was arrested by the antiquities and tourism police but was later released because of his ignorance of the law, the antiquities ministry said, adding that the teen promised not to repeat the stunt.

Hussein Abdel-Bassir, the director-general of the Giza Plateau, told Ahram Online that although the photos and the videos were confiscated, Ciesielski managed to post them on Facebook.

Abdel-Bassir added that Ciesielski also took videos and photographs without permission from the antiquities ministry.

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8:17 a.m., Feb. 3, 2016--The University Museums of the University of Delaware will present the exhibition Artists and Friends, on view from Feb. 10-May 15 in the Old College Gallery.

Ninety-nine years ago this spring, UD acquired its first documented painting, Delaware Awake! by Ethel Pennewill Brown, later to become Brown Leach.

Painted in response to a 1917 call by the National Womens Liberty Loan Committee, a group established to raise funds to support World War I, this work was purchased to be given as a gift to the Womens College of Delaware.

The painting was presented in a ceremony on May 13, 1918, when the women students were assembled for morning chapel. That same year, the Womens College saw its first graduating class.

In 1921, neighboring Delaware College was renamed the University of Delaware and in 1945 it merged with the Womens College to become a coeducational institution.

Over the next century, the University Collection would continue to grow, thanks mainly to the generosity of friends.

Provenance  the history of ownership of a painting  can imbue it with a special, almost personal meaning.

As gifts by generous donors from 1917 onward, the works in Artists and Friends tell a story of relationships. Many of the donors names are familiar, and many of their gifts were works by artists active in and around Wilmington, from Howard Pyle to Frank E. Schoonover.

An important gift from the estate of Ellen du Pont Wheelwright ranged more widely, bringing to the collection sculptures by Aristide Maillol and William Zorach, and paintings by the early 20th century artist Jonas Lie and Wilmington native William White.

Other works by Zorach came to the collection through a more personal relationship of the artist and his family with Wayne Craven, Henry Francis du Pont Professor Emeritus of Art History, and his student Roberta Tarbell.

Works on display in this exhibition reflect the friendship of artists and their families, as well as that of the conservators and students in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, who have treated many works in the collection, including two drawings by Zorach, exhibited here for the first time.

Programming highlights include an opening reception from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 16, and a Perspectives gallery talk by Janis Tomlinson, University Museums director, from 12:30-1:15 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25. Tomlinson will speak on the topic What Makes the University Collection Unique?

Admission to all University Museums exhibitions and events is free and open to the public.

RSVP for either event to universitymuseums@udel.edu or 302-831-8037.

The Old College Gallery is open from noon-8 p.m. Wednesday, and noon-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. It is closed during all UD breaks and holidays.

Guided tours are available by request. To book a tour, call 302-831-8037 or write to universitymuseums@udel.edu.

For general information, see the University Museums website.
1:23 p.m., Feb. 3, 2016--Researchers at the University of Delaware are one step closer to developing an online map that would help Mid-Atlantic fishermen avoid catching Atlantic sturgeon.

The research team, led by Matthew J. Oliver, Patricia and Charles Robertson Professor of Marine Science and Policy, found they could make useful predictions about sturgeon locations using satellite measurements of ocean color and temperature. They reported their findings Feb. 3 in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

The researchers believe this to be an important step toward helping both fishermen and the vulnerable fish. If they can reliably predict where sturgeon or other species of concern are congregating or migrating, they can relay this information to fishermen through a daily fishing forecast, similar to a weather forecast.

Fishermen sometimes accidentally catch sturgeon while targeting other species. Known as bycatch, this occurrence affects the species and can impact a fishermans allowable catch of other fish.

This gets us closer to using habitat preferences as a guide to help fishermen be successful while reducing harm to non-target species, said the paper's lead author, Matthew Breece, a doctoral candidate in UDs School of Marine Science and Policy, which is housed in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Its surprisingly accurate, and we see a lot of options for making it even better.

Sturgeon select seascapes

Where exactly sturgeon swim in the marine environment is a big unknown in the coastal ocean. On land, researchers use features of the landscape to predict where a species will be found. The UD team set out to do something similar using seascapes, or zones of the ocean that can be readily identified.

The research team studied the Delaware Bay and nearby coastal waters in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. By analyzing 10 years of satellite data, the researchers classified adjoining ocean areas with similar color and temperature. Their analysis identified six seascapes that form strips roughly parallel to the coast and can be anywhere from one mile to 20 miles wide. Local currents, tides and winds affect the seascapes location, which can vary as much as 10 or more miles in a single day.

The researchers combined these time-dependent seascape maps with locations of individual sturgeon. They determined locations using tags implanted in sturgeon that can be detected by a set of 94 stationary acoustic sensors arrayed along the coast.

According to Breece, the maps show that sturgeon seem to prefer a narrow corridor identified as Seascape E, which generally sits near the coast but sometimes expands into open waters south of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Half of the sturgeon detections were in that seascape, even though it covered only 35 percent of the available area, indicating selection for environmental factors over geography.

To test this hypothesis, the team deployed an autonomous underwater vehicle called a glider in 2013. The glider was equipped with telemetry detectors that enabled the researchers to actively look for the tagged sturgeon.

We expected to see the sturgeon closer to shore. For 7-10 days the glider did not detect any sturgeon, despite being in regions of the water where we had seen sturgeon in the past, said Breece. I actually thought the glider might be broken or the sensors might be damaged.

As soon as the glider arrived in Seascape E, however, it started detecting tagged sturgeon  62 of them actually  some from as far away as South Carolina.

Thats when it sunk in that the sturgeon were cuing in on this particular seascape, even though it moves around, Breece said.

The scientists arent sure why the sturgeon prefer this seascape. Sturgeon are typically bottom feeders, eliminating the idea that they may be chasing prey that is moving with the seascapes.

It could be a foraging preference, or it could be that the seascape acts like a turn signal, telling the sturgeon that its time to turn toward the Delaware River and return home to spawn. We dont know, Breece said.

Future research will focus on characterizing the water properties in the preferred seascape and exploring whether other cues in the water can be read from satellite or oceanographic data.

We still have work to do before this is ready for fishermen, Oliver said. But this gives us the scientific basis to build something really useful and to expand from sturgeon to other species.

Co-authors on the paper, titled Dynamic Seascapes Predict the Marine Occurrence of an Endangered Species: Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, include Oliver, Dewayne Fox (Delaware State University), Keith Dunton and Mike Frisk (Stony Brook University), and Adrian Jordaan (University of Massachusetts Amherst).

The research was funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS), and the Lenfest Ocean Program.

Video by Leah Dodd

Photo of Matthew Breece with research equipment by Lisa Tossey

Photo of Matthew Breece with sturgeon courtesy of Delaware State University, NMFS Permit No. 16507-01
9:26 a.m., Feb. 3, 2016--Five finalists for the position of vice provost for libraries and museums at the University of Delaware will visit the campus in February, according to George Watson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the search committee.

Each candidate will speak at an open forum, with the first scheduled Feb. 9. Details on the forums and background information on each of the candidates are available at a special website, accessible only to members of the UD community using their UD ID and password.

Open forums are scheduled from 3-4 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

 Tuesday, Feb. 9, Trabant University Center Theatre;

 Monday, Feb. 15, Multipurpose Room B, Trabant University Center;

 Wednesday, Feb. 17, Multipurpose Room A,Trabant Univeristy Center;

 Monday, Feb. 22, Trabant University Center Theatre; and

 Wednesday, Feb. 24, Trabant University Center Theatre.

The search committee, composed of faculty and staff with broad academic and administrative expertise, has been working with the top-tier search firm Witt/Kieffer since last fall to identify the best individual to lead the Library and supervise University Museums and the UD Press.

"Our committee has identified a talented and experienced slate of candidates for this important leadership position," Watson said. "The next vice provost will play a key role in shaping the future of the libraries, museums and press and ensuring their prominent role in the scholarly life of this University.

"I encourage members of our campus community to attend these upcoming opportunities to interact with candidates in an open forum and provide feedback to the search committee on the candidates," he said.

To read the position description for the vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris Librarian, click here. For a leadership profile on the position and its role at the University, click here.

Sandra Millard, formerly associate University librarian for services, outreach and assessment at the University of Delaware, has been serving as interim vice provost and director of libraries since Sept. 1. Millard took over after Susan Brynteson stepped down after leading the University of Delaware Library for more than 35 years.
Cyprus has handed over the instruments of ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement to the Council of the European Union.

Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski said this during the meeting with professors and students of the National Aviation University of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The end of ratification is submission of the instruments of ratification. Cyprus handed over the instruments of ratification yesterday [February 1]," Tombinski said.

According to the website of the Council of the European Union, Belgium, which ratified the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement last December, has already handed over the instruments of ratification.

Hence the Netherlands remains the only country that has not yet completed the ratification procedure for the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

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A family that fled street gangs in El Salvador now seeks asylum in Guatemala.  UNHCR/D. Volpe

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Feb 3 (UNHCR) - Repeatedly shaken down by gang members for a weekly US$30 protection payment he could barely afford, Salvadoran bus driver Javier filed a complaint with the police.

A family man with two teenage daughters, he recalls waking up at 3:00 am the next day with a knot of fear in his stomach. The six block walk to work at the central bus station in San Salvador stretched to an eternity as he anticipated a violent reprisal.

"When I decided to report them, they came to my workplace and shot me twice close to my eye," Javier* recalls, battling tears of anger and desperation. "I managed to get to the hospital, but when I left my job, they warned me that if I wanted to remain alive it was better to disappear immediately."

The family's ordeal was not yet over. Already subjected to harassment, Javier's school-age daughter was raped by a gang member, leaving her pregnant and unable to escape their reach within El Salvador. "We had no other option but to flee. It was impossible to go to another part of the country," he says.

The family is among a growing number of people of all ages who are fleeing out-of-control gang violence in El Salvador, which has become the most dangerous country in the Americas.

Since a truce broke down in 2014 between the Salvadoran Government and the "maras," as the street gangs are known, violence has exploded, driving the national murder rate up to 104 per 100,000 people - the highest since the country's bloody civil war came to an end in 1992.

The family is now seeking asylum in Guatemala where they live in a single room in the capital, while Javier continues to look over his shoulder ever-fearful of the maras, whose reach is international: "I don't trust anybody," he says. "I only trust God and my daughters."

Their flight from danger is becoming increasingly common in El Salvador, where the gangs' criminal activities include murder, extortion, kidnap and rape, and now impact people from all walks of life. Victims range from school children and bus drivers to business owners, police officers and their families, leaving a growing number with no option but to flee, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

"Anyone can be targeted by the maras: from a school boy walking home to a family with a small business in the neighbourhood to the police officer's cousin. People's lives are pestered by homicides at every corner, fights between gangs to control territories, invisible borders that should not be crossed, rape and sexual assaults, forced recruitment, increasing extortion fees and threats," said Fernando Protti, UNHCR Regional Representative for Central America, of the still deteriorating outlook.

"The situation is only getting worse. In 2015, the homicide rate outpaced the rate of killings during the country's civil war and El Salvador is now considered the most violent country in the continent," he added.

According to UNHCR figures, asylum applications in Guatemala from Salvadoran nationals nearly doubled - an increase of 172 per cent - between 2013 and 2014. Salvadorans are also fleeing to other countries in the region such as the United States of America and Mexico, where the applications have quadrupled and tripled respectively since 2010.

Among thousands who recently fled for their lives is businesswoman Caterina,* whose family owned a profitable neighborhood supermarket in San Salvador, which drew the attention of the maras. The gang members demanded a slice of the take, raising the amount each week until payment became untenable.

"We thought about selling the market, but (the gang) wouldn't allow it because the business was successful. We had to sell our home. We got to a point where the situation was unsustainable," she said.

When, after months of extortion, the family was unable to pay, the gang murdered a family member. Caterina's teenage daughter, meanwhile, was harassed by the gang who wanted her to join. When she declined, they sent photographs of the family home to scare her. Finally, the "mareros", as the gangsters are known in Spanish, went to look for her at her school.

"It was at that moment that I said I couldn't take it anymore. I spoke to my husband and we decided to leave the country," Caterina says. "You couldn't visit another neighbourhood because if you were seen in a different mara's turf  they'd just kill you without another thought. And if you don't pay the extortion, they kill you too. So there's no way out," she adds.

She is clear about the impact of the worsening terror wrought by the gangs, who control whole swathes of El Salvador's cities, despite police presence, and whose reach extends to neighbouring countries.

"It consumes us and we're invisible, screaming in silence," she says, clearly troubled by the thought of those she left behind. "Every day when you read the news you realize that the situation isn't improving and part of my family still lives there."

By Francesca Fontanini in Guatemala City, Guatemala

*Names have been changed for protection reasons
Children play at Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.  UNHCR/J.Matas

LONDON, United Kingdom, Feb 3 (UNHCR) - More than 70 heads of state, the UN Secretary General, heads of international organizations, NGOs and private sector representatives are gathering in London this week for a key conference to pledge their support for the growing aid needs of the Syrian people.

Hosted by the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations, the two-day conference "Supporting Syria and the Region" begins on Wednesday (February 3). It aims to generate significant new help for the immediate and longer-term needs of those affected by the Syrian conflict, including increased funding.

With needs at an unprecedented level, two record UN humanitarian and development appeals amounting to US$7.73 billion were launched this January. The Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) represent critical new funding needed to help 22.5 million people in Syria and across the region.

After nearly five years of deadly conflict in Syria, the 3RP seeks to aid an estimated 4.7 million refugees in neighbouring countries by the end of 2016, as well as four million people in the communities hosting them. Equally important is the appeal for continued support for the 13.5 million displaced and conflict-affected people inside Syria itself.

"The lives and futures of millions of Syrian refugees and internally displaced people depend on the world's response. It is imperative that those in positions of power act now. They must spare no effort in bringing an end to the Syrian conflict and generously assist in alleviating the massive human suffering of the Syrian people," said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "But aid alone will not suffice and we welcome the renewed focus on longer-term solutions for refugees and the communities hosting them."

Since the 3RP was first launched in December 2014, the humanitarian and development situation has deteriorated - both inside Syria, where fighting has intensified, and in neighbouring countries. An estimated quarter of a million Syrians have been killed since 2011, while many refugees across the region have exhausted their resources and are irreversibly sinking into destitution and despair.

With no prospects and no alternatives, thousands of Syrian refugees are embarking on dangerous sea journeys to Europe, risking their lives at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers. Despite these relatively large numbers, it is the host governments and communities neighbouring Syria that continue to bear the brunt of the political, economic and social spillover from the Syria conflict.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is increasingly concerned about the growing disparity between the massive humanitarian needs and the international aid available. In 2015, the two appeals for the refugees in the region and the needs inside Syria were funded at just over 50 per cent. More worryingly, considerable contributions arrived only towards the end of the year, ultimately making planning and implementation difficult.

"Given the fact that our appeals have been progressively underfunded, we are asking the international community for increased contributions earlier in the year. It is essential for those of us leading the response to the Syrian refugee crisis to have predictable, multi-year funding, running in parallel with greater support for the main host countries," Grandi said.

The London conference also sets ambitious goals for education and economic opportunities in order to improve and transform the lives of refugees caught up in the Syrian crisis and support neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, who are shouldering the heaviest burden of the Syrian displacement.

In addition to increasing the funding for HRP and 3RP; as well as mid-term humanitarian, resilience and development commitments up to 2020, the conference and side events aim to address long-term needs and identify ways in which to strengthen refugee livelihoods and resilience by creating economic opportunities and jobs. Creating education opportunities will be given equal attention.

Crucially, the conference will aim to maintain pressure on parties to the conflict, to protect civilians and to ensure the international community is well prepared to support a coordinated stabilization effort once conditions allow.

The two-day London conference opens on Wednesday (February 3) with civil society events such as the non-governmental and private sector conferences. These events will provide additional input for heads of state focussing on education, livelihoods and protection of the civilian population inside Syria.

After the pledging conferences in Kuwait and Berlin, the London conference is the fourth such event since the start of the Syrian crisis in spring 2011.

By Andrej Mahecic in London
(Beijing)  China's top economic planner will unveil a policy in February aimed at cutting excess production capacity of crude steel by 100 to 150 million tons over the next five years, people with knowledge of the matter say.

The goal will be announced shortly before or after Spring Festival, the holiday also known as the Chinese New Year, which this year lasts from February 7 to 13, the sources said.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which co-authored the plan, had pushed for achieving the reduction in three years, but had to extend the period due to strong backlash from local governments, one person close to regulators said.

The source acknowledged that meeting the goal in five years will require overcoming "many uncertainties and difficulties."

The policy requires provincial governments to submit a plan for how much manufacturing capacity they will have steel firms trim, the sources said.

One of the sources, who participated in formulating the plan, said the NDRC wants proof that lower-level officials follow through, in part by videotaping the dismantling of facilities and equipment. In cases where factories will not be torn down, a court will be called upon to seal the properties and order utility companies to stop providing water and electricity to them, he said.

The NDRC plan will also have the Ministry of Finance give funds to local governments to help deal with the coming layoffs, another one of the sources said. The ministry will announce details of how it will make the payouts.

Cutting excess capacity is in line with the Chinese government's policy emphasis in the past few years and was listed as a top priority in guidelines for this year's economic policies set out by the Communist Party's Central Economic Work Conference in December.

The steel and coal mining industries were raised in the meeting as areas that merit special attention.

Steel factories around the country churned out 800 million tons of crude steel last year but could have made 330 million tons more, official data show. That means on average only 71 percent of existing manufacturing capacity was utilized.

The ratio in many developed countries where the steel industry is healthier usually falls into the range of 79 to 83 percent, analysts said. The NDRC policy aimed to increase China's ratio to 80 percent, the people close to the matter said.

Many steel factories in the country have struggled to make ends meet. Official data show that in the first 11 months of last year the industry's average profit margin stood at minus 1.99 percent  meaning that for every 100 yuan worth of steel products a firm sold, it lost nearly 2 yuan. The average ratio for all manufacturing industries in the country was about 5 percent, the data show.

Last year, firms tracked by the China Iron and Steel Association, an industrial organization, reported a net loss of 64.5 billion yuan on combined revenue of 2.89 trillion yuan. This compared with a profit of 22.6 billion yuan in 2014, underscoring the challenges the industry faces amid deteriorating market conditions.

Many local governments have shied away from closing loss-making steel firms because they fear it will leave too many people unemployed, said the source who participated in drafting the NDRC's plan.

In fact, he said, it was not uncommon for local officials to go out of their way to protect a big company from collapsing even if it meant wasting money.

(Rewritten by Wang Yuqian)
(Beijing)  A creditors' committee led by State Development Bank (SDB) agreed to extend 2 billion yuan worth of new loans to Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. as part of a plan to restructure the debt-stricken solar module maker, a person close to the deal says.

The New York-listed company will receive the money before Spring Festival, the holiday also called Chinese New Year that this year runs from February 7 to 13, the source said.

Creditors made the decision because they believe Yingli, once the world's top solar panel maker, can pull off a turnaround, he said.

Yingli, whose headquarters are in Baoding, in the northern province of Hebei, has been suffering losses since 2011 due to a failure to cut costs amid falling prices. The company said that its losses more than tripled year-on-year to over 500 million yuan in the first three quarters of last year.

Supported by government subsidies, several solar panel manufacturers in China made a splash on global markets over the last decade, before plunging into debts as a result of overcapacity.

Wuxi Suntech Power Co. Ltd., based in the in the eastern province of Jiangsu, became the world's No. 1 solar module maker by market share in 2010. However, since 2013 it has only stayed afloat because the local government came to its rescue with bailouts.

Yingli, the solar module manufacturer by market share in the world in 2012 and 2013, had run up 10.4 billion yuan in debts at the end of 2014, company records show. Its debt-to-asset ratio, a broad measure of a company's level of leverage, has exceeded 100 percent.

Its creditors include the Hebei branch of SDB and several other banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Export-Import Bank of China.

The company this week confirmed a plan by China Banking Regulatory Commission and National Energy Administration to support its debt reorganization via a creditors' committee. The plan was laid out in a copy of minutes taken at a meeting that started circulating online on January 31. Yingli said it hoped to cut its debt level via a debt-share swap program with creditors.

The person close to the loan deal said the company is also working with state-owned China Cinda Asset Management Co. to unload some of its non-performing assets.

One Yingli executive who asked not to be named said that the new loans will ease the financial pressure the company is under for the time being, while Cinda's involvement in its debt restructuring can boost its management in the long run.

(Rewritten by Li Rongde)
UNICEF Executive Board

The Executive Board is the governing body of UNICEF, providing intergovernmental support and oversight to the organization, in accordance with the overall policy guidance of the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.
Officials in Blacksburg, Va. are treating details in Nicole Lovell's murder case with the utmost sensitivity, but new information gives some insight to her relationship with her killer.

Police first charged David Eisenhauer, an 18-year-old first-year engineering student at Virginia Tech, with first-degree murder and abduction. The Blacksburg Police stated he "used his relationship" to carry out the act, though they never disclosed the precise nature of the relationship.

Stacy Snider, a neighbor to the 13-year-old victim's family, told The Associated Press Lovell mentioned having a "boyfriend." Snider said her daughters told her Lovell showed them a picture of a boy named David, who was 18 and in college.

Lovell apparently used the messaging app Kik, and the company actively helped investigators target Eisenhauer in their search. But after his arrest Saturday, police arrested Natalie Keepers, also a first-year engineering student at Virginia Tech.

At a news conference Tuesday, Montgomery County Commonwealth Attorney Mary Pettitt stated a preliminary examination indicated Lovell died of stabbing, WDBJ reported. Authorities have not given any further details on that front, but stated Keepers would face additional charges.

She was initially charged with aiding Eisenhauer after the murder by disposing the body, but Pettitt announced Keepers would be charged with being an accessory "before the fact." True to form, authorities did not elaborate, indicating they were still working on the details of the case.

"Local, state, and federal investigators assigned to the case continue to make progress with reconstructing the timeline of those two individuals' movements and activities leading up to Nicole's abduction and murder," Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson said in a statement obtained by WDBJ.

Both Eisenhauer and Keepers face a maximum sentence of life in prison, if convicted.
The Paris Pact Initiative - What is it?



Since its inception in 2003, the broad international coalition known as the Paris Pact Initiative (PPI), made up today of 58 partner countries and 23 organizations, including UNODC, has evolved into one of the most important frameworks for combatting illicit traffic in opiates originating in Afghanistan.

As a well-established platform for consensus building, the Paris Pact functions as an essential bridge between political commitment at the highest international levels and the prioritization of technical assistance interventions on the ground. It is a multi-layered initiative that defines and strengthens linkages between various counter-narcotics actors at the global level. The partnership aims to define policy and provide stronger evidence for coordinated action by all Paris Pact partners.

The concept of the Paris Pact centers on developments along major opiate trafficking routes. Since the inception of the Paris Pact, the partnership has adapted operational responses according to emerging geographic trends, starting with the northern route followed by an expansion along the Balkan route. More recently under the Paris Pact, there is increased focus on certain trajectories of the southern route, specifically the trajectories through specific countries along the Persian Gulf and East Africa. To effectively and comprehensively tackle the threat of opiates, operational responses are needed on 'land, sea and air' under the Paris Pact.

The Vienna Declaration



In a balanced and comprehensive manner, the adoption of the Vienna Declaration, the outcome document of the Third Ministerial Conference of the Paris Pact Partners held in 2012, embodies a 'roadmap' for Paris Pact partners, recognizing their common and shared responsibility.

The Declaration guides the partnership on four interlinked pillars for enhanced cooperation:

Pillar I: Strengthening and implementing regional initiatives;

Pillar II: Detecting and blocking financial flows linked to illicit traffic in opiates;

Pillar III: Preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals used in illicit opiates manufacturing in Afghanistan; and

Pillar IV: Reducing drug abuse and dependence through a comprehensive approach.

The two Dimensions of the Paris Pact



Two dimensions characterise the Paris Pact Initiative:

1. The partnership itself, with its 80 partners including UNODC, responsible for defining and implementing priorities centred on the Vienna Declaration and based on the principle of the shared responsibility; and

2. The global programme established by UNODC on behalf of the partnership to provide coordination support. The current Phase IV of the GLOY09 programme, supported by the Paris Pact Coordination Unit located in the Division for Operations, has been extended to cover a four-year period (2013-2017) with a total budget of roughly 6.7 million USD.

The Paris Pact Programme and its three Components

Launched on the 10th anniversary of the Initiative in 2013, Phase IV of the Paris Pact programme builds upon the previous phases of UNODC's global programme and seeks to enhance synergies and increase cooperation among Paris Pact partners including UNODC.

Phase IV continues to drive forward the three well-established components developed over the preceding phases:

1. the CONSULTATIVE MECHANISM , made up of two distinct structures:

- The Expert Working Groups that identify operational priorities for implementation according to the Vienna Declaration pillars; and

- The annual Policy Consultative Group Meeting (PCGM) responsible for providing strategic

2. the field-based RESEARCH AND LIAISON OFFICER (RLO) NETWORK, made up of national staff currently based in UNODC offices in West and Central Asia as well as South Eastern Europe.

3. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT through the Automated Donor Assistance Mechanism (ADAM) and the Paris Pact supported online mapping tool Drugs Monitoring Platform (DMP).

UNODC through the Paris Pact Coordination Unit (PPCU) acts in its capacity as coordinator in support of the partnership and the realization of it goals. The Paris Pact programme promotes and facilitates the Initiative's activities to link policy and operational elements.

Contact

Paris Pact Coordination Unit: paris-pact@unodc.org

Go to ADAM (www.paris-pact.net) for further information concerning the Paris Pact Initiative.

Download the Paris Pact brochure published in September 2016.

Download the Paris Pact Report 2015/2016 published in December 2016 and updated in February 2017 to reflect the outcomes of the 13th Policy Consultative Group Meeting.
This planning study investigates the clinical impact of multi-leaf collimator (MLC) calibration errors on three common treatment sites; head and neck (H&N), prostate and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for lung.

All plans used using either volumetric modulated adaptive therapy or dynamic MLC techniques. Five patient plans were retrospectively selected from each treatment site, and MLC errors intentionally introduced. MLC errors of 0. 7, 0. 4 and 0. 2 mm were sufficient to cause major violations in the PTV planning criteria for the H&N, prostate and SBRT lung plans. Mean PTV dose followed a linear trend with MLC error, increasing at rates of 3. 2-5. 9 % per millimeter depending on treatment site. The results indicate that an MLC quality assurance program that provides sub-millimeter accuracy is an important component of intensity modulated radiotherapy delivery techniques.

Australasian physical & engineering sciences in medicine / supported by the Australasian College of Physical Scientists in Medicine and the Australasian Association of Physical Sciences in Medicine. 2016 Jan 27 [Epub ahead of print]

Craig Norvill, Guy Jenetsky

North Coast Cancer Institute, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia. North Coast Cancer Institute, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.

PubMed
Visiting UW Writer to Give Public Reading Feb. 12

Nam Le, a UW eminent writer-in-residence, will give a public reading of his book, titled The Boat, Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in the UW Alumni House. (Nam Le Photo)

Australia-based fiction author Nam Le will give a public reading from his book, titled The Boat, at the University of Wyoming Alumni House Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. A free public reception will follow his reading.

Le is the UW Creative Writing Programs eminent writer-in-residence for the 2015-16 school year. He teaches a fiction workshop for UW Master of Fine Arts students this semester, and is among speakers for UWs popular one-day education program, Saturday U, Feb. 11 in Gillette.

Le will sign copies of The Boat, which will be available for purchase during his public reading. Le will make additional appearances in Laramie, and in Gillette and Jackson this semester.

He has received multiple awards for The Boat, including a U.S. National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Fiction Selection. His book also was selected as a New York Times Notable Book and Editors Choice. Le is the fiction editor of the Harvard Review and divides his time between Australia and abroad.

Published in 2008, The Boat has been praised by publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Mr. Le not only writes with an authority and poise rare even among longtime authors, but he also demonstrates an intuitive, gut-level ability to convey the psychological conflicts people experience when they find their own hopes and ambitions slamming up against familial expectations or the brute facts of history. The opening story is a singular masterpiece. Les sympathy for his characters and his ability to write with both lyricism and emotional urgency lend his portraits enormous visceral power, Michiko Kakutani wrote in a review for The New York Times.

Jonathan Penner, in a Washington Post review, added:

"Ambitious and confident, these seven stories rise from diverse cultures and are filtered through characters of radically different sensibilities. Nam Le combines research and dreaming in a wonderfully wide range of imagined worlds. 'There's no place that's not strange to us,' Le has said in an interview. 'Fiction makes strange even the places we think we know.' It's true. And he writes best about the places whose strangeness he discovers himself, where history and headlines have left no footprint, raised no flag."

For more information, contact the UW Creative Writing Program at (307) 766-6453 or email cw@uwyo.edu.
The government on Sunday announced a new air defense identification zone with the same boundaries as Korea's Flight Information Region and overlapping with both the Chinese and Japanese zones.

The new zone stretches 236 km south of the submerged reef of Ieo, which also lies in the Japanese and Chinese zones, and includes Marado and Hongdo, an inhabited island that is also part of Japan's zone.

The eastern and western boundaries remain the same as before.

The old zone had been in place since it was delineated by the U.S. Air Force in March 1951, in the middle of the Korean War, and was being seen as an anomaly here. The move comes after China unilaterally last month declared its own zone covering Korean-controlled airspace.

A high-ranking Defense Ministry official said, "The adjustment is in line with the international aviation order and international regulations. Ahead of the announcement, we offered sufficient explanations to related countries."

The official added that they understand "to a certain extent" that the changes are not "excessive."

The expanded zone will go into effect after a week's notice period on Dec. 15.

But Korea lacks the military capability to monitor and protect the widened zone. A military source on Sunday said in an emergency the Air Force's state-of-the-art F-15K fighter jets would be capable of engaging in maneuvers over Ieo for "only around 20 minutes," while the mainstay KF-16 fighter jets can only operate in the area for "three to five minutes" before having to return for refueling.

"Only the F-15Ks are capable of operating in the region," the source added.

They are stationed at an air base in Daegu, which is 520 km away from Ieo and makes operations there inefficient.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers on Saturday that moving the F-15Ks to an air base in Gwangju "could shorten the time" required to mobilize the aircraft. The Gwangju base is around 90 km closer to Ieo.

But military officials said relocation is not being considered at the moment.


China expressed "regret" on Monday that Korea had extended its air defense zone to partially overlap with a similar zone declared by Beijing two weeks ago that has raised regional tensions.



China's declaration of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, which includes islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan, has triggered protests from the United States and its close allies Japan and Korea.



Korea said on Sunday that its move to expand its own zone would not infringe on neighboring countries' sovereignty, but China nonetheless registered its disappointment.



"China expresses regret over Korea's expansion of its air defense identification zone," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular press briefing.



China had immediately conveyed its concerns to Korea and requested that Seoul handle the matter "safely and cautiously," Hong said.



Hong said the zones, which overlap in an area that includes a submerged reef, called the Suyan Rock by China and Ieo by Korea, did not constitute territorial airspace.



"There currently does not exist a territorial dispute between China and Korea on this issue," Hong said, but noted that the reef was situated in portions of both countries' exclusive economic zones.



"This can only be resolved through maritime negotiations," Hong said of the economic zone issue, which puts at stake rights to potential underwater oil and gas reserves.



Korea objected to China's Nov. 23 move as unacceptable because of the reef, which has a research station platform built atop it and is controlled by Seoul.



Under the Chinese zone's rules, all aircraft have to report flight plans to Chinese authorities, maintain radio contact and reply promptly to identification inquiries.



The extension of Korea's zone, which was originally established by the U.S. Air Force in 1951 during the Korean War, will not apply any restrictions to the operation of commercial flights when it takes effect on Dec. 15.
The launch is widely seen as a veiled test of intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

North Korea has notified international organizations of a plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite into orbit, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

The International Maritime Organization confirmed it received notice from North Korea "regarding the launch of earth observation satellite 'Kwangmyongsong' between 8-25 February."

A government source here said the likeliest date is former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's birthday on Feb. 16.

A Japanese government official said the North notified international organizations that the launch would occur between 7 a.m. and noon on the day of the launch.

It will be the North's second launch of a space rocket since 2012. The first rocket was also supposed to carry a communication satellite dubbed Kwangmyongsong-3 into orbit, but the satellite was probably a dummy.

The North announced the launch plan the very day when chief Chinese nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei was visiting Pyongyang. "Wu probably visited Pyongyang to persuade the North to abandon the plan," a diplomatic source speculated.

The launch would challenge the international community head-on again just over a month after it violated the UN Security Council resolutions by conducting a nuclear test.

It is unclear how far preparations have progressed.


Regardless of the final vote tally in the Iowa caucus, Bernie Sanders won on Monday night. Nine months ago, when the septuagenarian Senator announced his candidacy, he was polling right around four percent nationally. It appeared as if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would merely ascend the throne to the Democratic nomination, and that there was no one with any hope of stopping her. As of Monday night, that is no longer the case.

Over the summer, momentum began to build for Sanders. He drew a crowd of over 10,000 in Madison, Wisconsin. Soon after that, he drew somewhere between 20,000 and 27,000 to a rally in Portland, Oregon, and just around the same number at a rally in Los Angeles, California. The large crowds were dismissed, and Sanders was belittled as a fringe candidate, one doomed to popularity on college campuses and among retirees, but without any mainappeal.

However, he never stopped campaigning. His populist message never wavered, and were it not for the media circus which is the candidacy of Donald Trump, Sanders would be the story of the 2016 Presidential Election cycle. The self-proclaimed democratic socialist has drawn in campaign donations from three and a half million people, and continued to see his poll numbers rise.

He overtook Secretary Clinton in New Hampshire. He pulled ever closer in national polling, and chipped away at the Secretarys lead in the Hawkeye State. Then, several weeks ago, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that the longtime Congressional Independent had pulled within seven points nationally of the presumptive nominee. Suddenly, the Sanders campaign had that one essential part of a successful campaign: momentum which cannot be ignored.

A stellar debate performance quickly followed, and so did an Iowa poll which found the universal health care proponent leading the woman hed once trailed there by 40 points. However, he still found himself belittled at every turn. "He doesnt have a prayer of winning, young people never show up to caucus." "Sure, polls are great and all, but they dont always pan out on caucus day." All of those people then found themselves proven wrong on Caucus Day.

All day long, the candidates found themselves making last ditch efforts to make sure those die-hard Democratic supporters would be making their voice known for the candidate they wanted. Sanders worked hard to get out the caucus, as did Clinton and unfortunate afterthought Martin OMalley. Finally, voters showed up at the caucus sites. Entrance polls were hurriedly conducted, and it appeared that the Secretary had a slim lead. Still, caucus sites reported high turnouts, which could only favor the democratic socialist. It would all come down to how many delegates each candidate would wind up with.

Early polling showed that Clinton had a narrow advantage, but as more and more caucus sites, specifically those in college towns, began to report, Sanders chipped away at the lead. Political pundits scratched their heads, attempting to figure out who, if anyone, had actually won. At first it seemed that the Secretary would eek it out. Then, it seemed as though the Senator might just pull level. Finally, they all seemed to decide that only thing they could agree on was that the end result was too close to call.

NBC reported that Clinton would claim victory, before quickly reporting that Sanders would as well. The Secretary took the stage, and claimed neither victory or defeat. Sanders soon took the stage, and proclaimed the end caucus result as a near tie. People went to bed literally not knowing who won, but secure in the knowledge that the two candidates would split the eventual delegates.

At the end of the day, who won the state of Iowa will not play a massive role in determining the ultimate winner of the Democratic nomination. Yes, the Hawkeye state has a terrific record when it comes to picking the ultimate nominee on this side of the aisle, but in the end the winner of the nations first caucus isnt the end all be all. However, Monday night established that Sanders is viable, and is around to stay.

It showed that he is more than a mere fringe candidate, and will not allow a Clinton coronation. With New Hampshire and South Carolina just around the corner, this is a race which is far from over and will continue to dominate the headlines for the weeks to come. It seems hard to pick a loser from Mondays caucus given the result, but it seems clear that Sanders is the winner. The first in the nation moniker which Iowa carries allows the state to bestow momentum on whichever candidate they so choose. Regardless of the fact that Clinton wound up winning Iowas final count, Sanders has picked up more of that magic m-word.

More and more young people will be energized by his populist message, and the democratic socialist, who out fundraised all Republican candidates in the last quarter, will be perfectly positioned to continue to receive donations. He should find himself in a better position to bring in volunteers, and look to continue to build a nationwide infrastructure and campaign machine.

Yet, this is in no way meant to say that Clinton is not still the favorite, because she is. It will still take an awful, awful lot for the former First Lady to lose out to the Senator. She holds a giant lead amongst minority voters, and will likely win South Carolina by a considerable margin. Sanders will need to pick up a result in Nevada, and have a strong showing on Super Tuesday.

The idea that Sanders could defeat Clinton still feels farfetched, but it now feels entirely possible. This will be a far longer race than anyone predicted back at the beginning, and the result Monday night confirms that. America must strap itself in for a long, wild ride-this is no coronation. Regardless of who voters support, this race is going to be quite something to watch. Lets enjoy it.
According to sources at PWinsider The King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura is on the way to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to begin a two week training session.

Upon arriving in the United States he was greeted by Funaki who will help to train Nakamura as he has done previously, helping other foreign superstars like Hideo Itami to name just one.

NXT Debut

Once he has completed his training he will head back to Japan before returning to the US just in time for his NXT debut against Sami Zayn at NXT Takeover: Dallas and this is sure to lead to big things for Nakamura who is going to bring something new & fresh to NXT.

Working for the WWE will be a new challenge for the Japanese superstar who has been a NJPW superstar for most of his career, as the styles are n stark contrast, hence why he's heading to train before he debuts, so he can begin adapting to the WWE's style.

What Nakamura will bring to WWE

Shinsuke Nakamura will bring a wealth of experience to NXT as he is a former; three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, five-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, as well as being the winner of the 2011 G1 Climax, 2006 G1 Tag League, and 2014 New Japan Cup tournaments.

Nakamura is the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history, having won the title for the first time at the age of 23 years and 9 months and just last year he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame.

Nakamura to WWE in 2004!

There were reports circulation back in 2004 that Nakamura would be loaned to the WWE to gain experience in working large American shows. However, it proved to be only speculation and never came to pass, as Nakamura was urgently needed back in New Japan due to Brock Lesnar's departure.

So it has been a long road to the WWE for the immensely talented superstar but he will be sure to make his mark in NXT and he will be looking to do it from the get go at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
Startup companies need funding to grow its business, and venture capital firms provides it. More startup companies arise and provides opportunities for venture capital to invest in the most suitable startups and create a perfect match. Here are some tips for venture capitalism compiled from various experts.

Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite shared his experience in The Entrepreneur about his first experience in dealing with venture capital firm, and provided useful tips for entrepreneurs.

His first tip is to flip the script, which he explained as, "Many entrepreneurs are intimidated by the prospect of meeting with investors. But VC firms aren't doing you a favor by meeting. Their whole purpose is to deploy capital -- in fact, they're losing money if they don't."

He explained second one as cast the wide net. Meeting a variety of investors, and don't try to get funded on the first meeting, and take time to build relationships. While the third tip is to avoid complex deal structure, because the harder a deal is to decipher, the more likely the entrepreneur will be left holding the bag a few years down the road.

Holmes closes his tips with keeping the expectations in check. It is because he wrote, " Lots of VCs will promise you the moon -- hands-on guidance, special insights, strategic help, etc. But once their investment is locked down, many turn their attention to the next big thing."

With his experience building HootSuite since 2009, and dealing with more than 10 venture capital firms invested in his company, Ryan Holmes has more than enough experience to share. HootSuite has a $246.9 million valuation from 4 rounds of funding, and the Vancouver-based company has acquired 9 companies since 2010 to integrate into its tech arms.

Another post in Huffington Post Blog wrote an interesting topic about Ivy Capital Management, the first corporate-backed investment fund started by David Zhao, Jeff Sheng, and Michael Cheng. All of them are still students at the University of Pennsylvania with extensive entrepreneurial backgrounds.

Ivy Capital Management has raised a $500,000 capital to start a fund that could be mutually managed by students at various schools across the United States.

In the investors perspective, Startup Smart provides tips for novice angel investors before start putting their money in startup companies. Starting from using porfolio approach and followed by preparing follow-on investment, and also to see startups from multiple perspectives.

Startup Smart also suggested novice investors to include startup accelerator programs in selecting startups. Then follow the lead from successful entrepreneurs that have now become venture investors. The last tip is to let the venture fund managers, as the professional investors to do their job in selecting best match for startup companies.

With increasing number of startup companies and venture capital firms, it is important to learn the tip to find a perfect match. Tips from seasoned entrepreneurs and investors provide a good guidance for either startups and investors.
Despite the fact that Gov. Rick Snyder marked regulation in late 2014, which forbids the company's way of straightforwardly offering vehicles to clients, Tesla Motors Inc. has proposed for licenses to sell as well as provide services its high-end electric cars in Michigan.

As stated in Detroit News, the applications submission to the Michigan Secretary of State Office was done in November by the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker. According to Fred Woodham, the Secretary of State spokesman, the applications are being examined by the department. The decision is expected to be made in the next month or two.

The company is going to registered trade new and used cars under "Class A" dealership license. This license class requires facilities for services as a component of their business or has an association with an authorized repair facility.

Tesla could start marketing and purchasing vehicles when the Secretary of State endorses the application. If not approved, the company cannot avoid claims over state laws, which do not allow direct selling.

A Tesla spokesperson stated via email, "Submission of the application is intended to seek the Secretary of State's confirmation of this prohibition. Once confirmed, Tesla will review any options available to overturn this anti-consumer law."

According to Road and Track, the electric automaker has struggled to get the license to trade its cars in numerous different states, yet Michigan has been one of the hardest towards permitting a direct sales model. It even continues further through rewritten dealership laws in order to prevent Tesla from selling cars there.

Dealers cartels have been said to have the control, including the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and General Motor, who initiated the signing by Governor Rick Snyder to keep Tesla away from his state. Tesla sees that those laws will stay not for a short time, so it starts to shift its strategy to open "a law-abiding franchise dealership owned and operated by a party independent from the automaker".

The Federal Trade Commission shared their support for Tesla by saying, "Consumers may benefit from the ability to buy cars directly from manufacturers-whether they are shopping for luxury cars or economy vehicles. The same competition principles should apply in either case."

Consumerist mentioned that the FTC sent a letter to the state's policymakers, asking them to consider revoking the restriction. The commission has also stated that customers are the ones who best decide what vehicles they are about to purchase and how they will purchase them.

There are now 400 Tesla's clients in Michigan. Its small existence can be seen through Tesla Tool and Die Factory bought a year ago, and four charging stations in the state.
Germany is seeing a substantial rise in employment rate, almost hitting the European Union record at 78 percent employment rate between citizens between the age of 20 and 64. The change is believed due to a corresponding rise in female participation in the country's workforce over the past 10 years.



Bloomberg reported the evidence that the rise in Germany's employment rates can be attributed to the increase of the female workforce. Over the past 10 years from 2005 to 2014, the percentage of female workers rise up to 10 percent. At the end of 2014, about 73 percent women were joining the workforce.



This improvement in the participation of female workers and professionals is strongly believed to be the result of labor flexibility introduced in the early 2000s. The labor flexibility makes it easier for women to work part-time and flexible hours while they can continue to take care of their families and households. Data shows that German women work fewer hours than in any other country in the EU except for Netherlands.



As for now, the EU record holder for the highest employment rate is Sweden at 80 percent employment. However, at this growth rate, at 9 percentage points in the past 10 years, Germany's employment rate is growing faster than any other country in the EU. In fact, the rest of the EU countries' employment rate remained rather unchanged.



Within Germany itself, this employment rate is a record-high not seen after the country's reunification in 1990. According to International Business Times, the eurozone also experienced a slight decline in unemployment rates. In November, the unemployment rate for the eurozone, in general, is at 10.5 percent. The number went down to 10.4 percent in December. The percentage shows the lowest level of unemployment in the eurozone since 2011. As for the EU, unemployment rates are also going down at 9 percent at the end of last year, and it's the lowest level of unemployment in the EU since 2009.



Reuters also noted that the rise of the employment rates in Germany could also be attributed to favorable economic conditions and an influx of foreign workers including 1.1 million migrants arriving from mostly the middle east, as well as muted price pressures and rising wages which helped boost domestic consumption amid global economic slowdown that hurts the exports.



Experts expected that the employment rate in Germany will continue to rise in 2016 as the unemployment rate falls. That would be the case especially if German authorities keep on encouraging and facilitating women to join the workforce.
Many developers have been upset after Facebook declared its decision to close down Parse service on January 28, 2016. The service has become the mainstay of many small developers, and shutting it down means they have to find a new way to continue their business.

Business Insider mentioned that there were 100,000 applications hosted by Parse at the time Facebook bought it. A comment in Facebook cynically said, "There goes my theory that Facebook's focus on developers and running services at scale would both improve Parse and make it stay around for a long time. Sigh. Yet another failed acquisition."

Parse's acquisition by Facebook was done in 2013 with a reported $85 million. Parse is a Y Combinator-backed startup, which gives key tools for designers to create and maintain slick applications for iPhone and Android. It was done by providing databases to monitor your data across phones and operating systems, as well as the mechanisms for applications to send push notifications.

Facebook was confronting a hard time in 2013 when it bought Parse, and was hoping to expand its business through a new great thing. And now since Facebook has gone through the difficulties and gained even greater success, it does not require that sort of expansion. Parse could be a setback of its present achievement. The time and energy spent to reach developers and have them login via Facebook with their applications was not an efficient action.

The Tech Crunch said that Parse shutdown is drastic for developers and may reduce their trust. Later on, when Facebook creates opportunities for developers, they might be doubtful to join a platform that they consider as not having a commitment in supporting them.

Kevin Lacker, Parse's co-founder, stated in a written announcement, "We understand that this won't be an easy transition, and we're working hard to make this process as easy as possible. We are committed to maintaining the backend service during the sunset period, and are providing several tools to help migrating applications to other services."

According to IT ProPortal, developers are still facilitated to arrange their movements. Parse provides developers with its database migration tools to relocate Parse app data to a MongoDB database. A full migration guide is also accessible, which shows how to utilize the open source Parse Server to run the majority of the Parse API from a custom Node.js server.

There are some other alternatives to Parse out there, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, which provide their own mobile application development services. However, the closing down of Parse by Facebook has trigerred anger among developers.
The Koch Brothers' super-PAC that is controlled by the donor network raised almost $11 million in the latter half of 2015, as per the Federal Election Committee documents, which brought up the total amount to a whopping $14.8 million.

The entire sum of $11 million came from a mere 20 donors. Of this amount, nearly half was contributed by founder Charles Koch and a couple of other wealthy stalwarts. According to The Hill, Charles Koch donated $3 million from his personal trust. Diane Hendricks, owner of leading roofing company in Wisconsin, made a contribution of $2 million. Another $2 million check came from billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, a staunch supporter of Senator Marco Rubio, while some more funds poured in from the DeVos family, one of the major bankrollers of Republican politicians, who gave $500,000. The Texan tycoon Darwin Deason also wrote out a check of $200,000 in favor of the network.

Additionally, as per Equilibrio Informativo, the total sum also included $10,000 from Hobby Lobby, the closely held retail store that was known for a Supreme Court challenge in 2014 to a provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring employers to include contraception for female workers in their health plans.

However, even though the super-PAC accumulated a huge fund, it did not spend as much as was expected of them. The Freedom Partners Action Fund spent only over $200,000 since June and just $260,000 in 2015. This $260,000 was mostly used for credit card fees, legal fees, bookkeeping, and grants to its counterpart, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce.

As NBC News represents, this fund seems quite insignificant when compared to the money spent by the Koch brothers - Charles and David - in 2015. The duo spent almost thirty times the current amount, which comes to a mind-boggling $400 million. This extraordinary sum of money was channelized through different groups operating under a specific tax component that does not require the donors to disclose their identities. These groups were mainly focused on supporting key constituencies, pushing volunteers towards bending the policies, shaping future political candidates, and providing financial aid to similar such groups.

The first biannual Koch donor event will be held on Sunday as the "seminar" near Palm Springs, California. It is being said that this is the biggest conference held so far, with almost 500 attendees. Of them, almost one-third will be participating in this program for the first time and will have to shell out $100,000 as the entry fee to become a member.
Coca-Cola announced that they would open a manufacturing unit in the strip of Gaza within weeks. This move is considered among the first and biggest economic development in the region since the end of the Gaza War in 2014.



According to the Times of Israel, the Coca-Cola factory project is worth $20 million raised from Palestinian investor, initiated by Palestinian-American businessman Zahi Khouri. Along with Palestinian richest billionaire Munib Masri and other investors, Khouri established the Palestinian National Beverage Company (PNBC) as Coca Cola's Palestinian subsidiary.



Khouri underlined the importance of this economic milestone in Gaza. "Coca-Cola is one of the first of the biggest global companies to invest in Palestine, and this investment opened the door to others. The same will happen in the Gaza Strip," he stated.



Besides being a pioneer that could help secure other investments in Gaza, this factory would also contribute directly to the local economy. According to Forbes, PNBC will employ at least 250 people, and would indirectly support more than 1,000 families that will provide services to the factory.



"I'm driven by the desire to get people working," Khouri noted, considering that the Gaza territory has been devastated by the prolonged war between Palestine and Israel for decades. According to the International Business Times, more than 80 percent of 1.85 million Gaza Palestinians have to rely on humanitarian aid to survive. More than 9,000 homes have been destroyed during just the last war in 2014, and most of them remain in ruins due to restrictions on construction materials.



The factory is located in the Karni industrial zone, and it's reported to be ready to open soon within a few weeks, and local supply will begin in a month. The completion of the factory is actually delayed to nearly a year-and-a-half, compared to the expectation of 10 months to build the 3,000 sqm factory.



Khouri has received huge supports and positive comments on what he's doing to help the economy of Gaza and its people. Some were even amazed that he could succeed. Khouri has had experience in operating a Coca-Cola factory in the West Bank since 1997.

This move is considered not just a business maneuver, but also a contribution to a devastated territory in desperate need of economic development. Khouri, himself a Palestinian refugee in his childhood, hopes that this new manufacturer plant could support the local economy as well as attracting more investors to support business units in Gaza.
The military on Tuesday said two Chinese fighter jets entered Korea's air defense identification zone at a point where the zones of the two countries overlap before heading back to Chinese airspace.

Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu told reporters, "We undertook ample monitoring and strategic steps and even prepared jet fighters for takeoff should they invade our air space."

The incident happened on Sunday.

The air defense identification zones of Korea and China overlap because Beijing unilaterally announced its own zone in November 2013. China not only included the Japanese-administered Senkaku or Diaouyu islands but also the northern and western skies of Jeju Island, drawing protests from its neighbors.

The Korean government in response announced its own widened zone with U.S. support, but China did not acknowledge it.

China's Defense Ministry denied any allegations that its aircraft had crossed over into Korea's zone and accused Korean journalists of making false accusations. One diplomatic source said, "This means China is unwilling to acknowledge Korea's zone."

Air defense identification zones are not governed by any international treaties and respecting them is a matter of discretion.

The source warned that Seoul-Beijing relations may become frayed at a time when they are already under pressure following North Korea's latest nuclear test.


Microsoft is reported to just take over Swiftkey for $250 million. The keyboard application is the first predictive typing application, which is also said to be the best among the other apps.

Swiftkey is the most well-known keyword apps used by iPhone and Android users. Business Insider mentioned that the app depends on its sophisticated machine learning tool. When you type, the app learns from you and then recommends the following word or phrase.

Pre-installation has been done by Blackberry and Samsung on some of their phones. Swiftkey was also once at the top list of downloaded apps on the Google Play store and Apple App Store.

With the attempts to make its own home-built Word Flow smart keyboard from the Windows 10 Mobile platform and to the iPhone sooner or later, Microsoft considers keyboard is a crucial part at this moment. Besides that, Microsoft adores that same machine learning technology and utilizes it to improve tools to be better, faster, and more personal, including the Cortana virtual personal assistant.

This is a strong way out for the London-based startup. Eventhough the app is popular, it has not found a reliable and strong business model. It has shifted from a $4 download to a free-to-use model where you need to purchase specific additional items. However, it does not go as expected.

The Tech Radar stated that the app turned into a free with paid upgrades when iOS 8 was released in 2014. Meanwhile, Swype, its main competitor, still occupies a higher rate on the downloaded application lists.

It is not just a tender for its expansion on more than 300 million iOS and Android gadgets. Microsoft seems to have bigger plans. Moreover, the push for AI has warmed Google, Apple and other tech companies. We also see that Microsoft has been conducting researches on the rival's new "crazy-looking keyboard apps".

Swiftkey is not Microsoft's first acquisition on mobile software. The company has taken over "the email app Acompli, to-do list Wunderlist calendar app Sunrise, all for the benefit of Outlook."

According to FT, a person close to the deal said: "There's a war for talent in artificial intelligence - and companies like Google and Microsoft recognize the best talent is in the UK." The $250m value makes the arrangement one of the company's greatest exits lately. From its annual report at the end of 2014, the company, which has a corporation with TouchType, gained 8.4m sales.

As indicated by some people close to the company, there are more than 150 workers in London, San Francisco and Seoul, who are supposed to join Microsoft Research under Harry Shum.

The $250 million agreement between Microsoft and Swiftkey will be Microsoft's next strategy for its mobile development. It aims at creating apps or tools that can be used in any kinds of devices.
Following announcement of $4.3 billion loss in fourth quarter of 2015, Yahoo announced its new strategic plan and to turn-around its business. That includes a 15% reduction of its manpower and closing down five offices.

Prior to the announcement, Los Angeles Times cited Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi prediction in his Monday note to investors, "We believe [Mayer] will have to announce bold moves in order to appease activist shareholders as well as a growing list of unhappy current investors in the company."

However, Investors and shareholders are not impressed by the result, Yahoo shares down 1.7% to $29.08 at Tuesday's close in New York, bringing the decline for the year to 13 percent as Bloomberg reported.

CEO Marissa Mayer said in announcement of her strategic plan on Tuesday, "Today, we're announcing a strategic plan that we strongly believe will enable us to accelerate Yahoo's transformation. This is a strong plan calling for bold shifts in products and in resources."

SpringOwl Asset Management, one of the shareholder did not think her plan as adequate. As quoted by Reuters, the New York-based firm said, "We believe the strategic plan does not fully address the core issues which have destroyed shareholder value - poor capital allocation, bad strategic partnerships, out of control spending and a bloated workforce."

As part of its turn-around plan, Yahoo will close down five offices in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan and lay-off its 17,000 employees. CEO Marissa Mayer will also plan to sell some of its Internet business, amidst struggling against the more well-prepared and well-equipped opponents such as Google and Facebook.

After the plan is executed, by the end of the year, Yahoo will only have approximately 9,000 employees and fewer than 1,000 contractors. This has been a 40% reduction of 2012 before Mayer was appointed CEO. The reduction are expected to cut $400 million of Yahoo's annual operating expenses.

Marissa Mayer took helm of Yahoo in 2012 and she determined to change Yahoo into profitability. However, many of her efforts to improve products and contents came fruitless, and only become a burden with futile attempts of expansion. Before Tuesday's announcement, Yahoo has already cut 30% of its workforce and closing down offices and sites in some regions.

Under her leadership, many top executives has left Yahoo. In December, Max Levchin departed in December, while Charles Schwab has just resigned from the board. This two directors resign in just two months showed her lack of leadership in steering the former 1990's Internet giant. Previously, exodus of top executives hit Yahoo in October 2015: development head Jackie Reses, marketing partnerships head Lisa Licht, chief information security officer Alex Stamos, senior vice president of advertising and data platforms Scott Burke.

CEO Marissa Mayer decision to cut another 15% of the workforce may also be another ineffective attempt to spinoff the company. As investors and shareholders are getting impatient with her performance, and continuous departure of her executive boards.
The Commerce Department reports revealed that opportunities for women-owned businesses to win federal contracts in the US are almost 21% lower than other similar companies. Despite the efforts to improve the conditions for businesswomen in the world's most developed country, the desired outcome is barely visible.

The US government is the largest buyer of products and services in the world. By law, the federal agencies are supposed to set aside 23% of the contracts for small businesses, as per Government Bids. From the 23%, 5% are meant to boost the businesses owned by women in the US, which so far hasn't been met by the government.

The opportunities reached its peak at 4.7% (still not the desired 5%) in 2014, an improvement from the 4% increase recorded in 2015. Still this tiny progress came about only after Small Company Administration program was set up to boost these establishments. The changes, implemented by the 2014 law, now make these businesses eligible for no-bid contracts so that the experience can come in use to win other competitive projects. However, to be eligible for this program, a company's 51% stake has to be held by one woman or more.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, was deeply disappointed when the 2014 law, which was sponsored by her, did not immediately yield the desired results. According to The New York Times, she said, "These are sobering statistics that show a real, unfair disadvantage for women entrepreneurs." but added that, "We've made good progress with the recent expansion of the women-owned small business contracting program, but this data clearly shows that this program should be expanded to more industries."

News Archives USA represented that the women-possessed companies are usually "smaller and more youthful than other companies," which nonetheless accounts "for only area of the disparity in the probability of winning contracts. Even when controlling for firm qualities, including firm size and age, women-possessed companies are less inclined to win contracts than otherwise similar companies not possessed by women."

Senator Shaheen also highlighted her own experience while addressing this issue. "I think what my experience shows is that if the sole-source option is available for women-owned firms, it's going to change the odds," she reportedly quoted. That option "allowed us to get our foot in the door and show what we can do compared to the big boys." She also believes that the new law empowering women with solo-source contracts should provide "an opportunity to get that experience and get ready to compete" and bid for the more competitive and larger federal contracts.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani Nobel laureate teenager, will be urging world leaders at a conference in London to commit to giving $1.4 billion to Syrian refugee children. The money will help them get access to an education.

The conference, called "Supporting Syria and the region," will start on Thursday, February 4. The goals of the conference are to raise money for the humanitarian crisis. Co-hosted by the United Nations and the British, German, Norwegian, and Kuwaiti governments, leading dignitaries and governments from around the world are scheduled to attend.

Because of the ongoing crisis, about 700,000 Syrian children are living in refugee camps and unable to go to school in the Middle East region, according to the Malala Fund. Malala told Reuters about her passion for helping them.

"I have met so many Syrian refugee children, they are still in my mind. I can't forget them. The thought that they won't be able to go to school in their whole life is completely shocking and I cannot accept it. We can still help them, we can still protect them. They are not lost yet. They need schools. They need books. They need teachers. This is the way we can protect the future of Syria."

Along with her at the conference will be 17-year-old student Muzoon Almellehan, the only young Syrian refugee scheduled to speak at the conference. With Malala, she has dedicated herself to getting an education for her fellow refugees.

Muzoon has created a petition on Change.org to encourage President Barack Obama to donate money to their cause. In her plea, she urged the public to help, saying, "Please stand with Malala and I and challenge the world's leaders to commit at least $1.4 billion to education on February 4th. We are #notlost. We are here and we are ready to build our futures and that of Syria. We need the world's leaders to give us the opportunity to do so."

Yahoo News reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron will be asking participating countries in the conference to double the amount of their donations. Last year, the UN asked for $8.4 billion to support the Syrian aid effort, but only received $3.3 billion.

In total, the UN will be asking for $7.73 billion to help handle the requirements following the impact of Syria's conflict. There are 13.5 million people who are vulnerable or displaced inside Syria and 4.2 million that have escaped to other countries in the region.

Malala gained worldwide attention after receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism for teenage education at 17, the youngest person ever to do so. A Taliban gunman shot her in the head in 2012 in response to her vocal advocacy for education for girls while living under Taliban occupation in Pakistan.
The Pentagon on Tuesday unveiled its plan to boost spending in defencse mechanism in 2017, aiming to increase its military capability to back its European NATO allies. Ash Carter, Defence Secretary, said that Pentagon plans to throw more capital to add US troops in Syria and Iraq.

The US Defence Department requested a budget seeking 7.5 billion US dollar for operations in Syria and Iraq for the year 2017, which is an increase of about 50% from the 5.3 billion US dollar requested in 2016, MilitaryTimes said. According to Carter, the nation owns 3,700 boots on the Iraq ground currently and it is seeking to add more troops.

The reports said that Pentagon will officially release its budget request next Tuesday. For the first time, the Defense Secretary provided some important details regarding the defense budget for the year that commences in October. Carter said that the new budget plans to allot $1.8 billion to purchase 45,000 new rockets and bombs.

Carter added that President Obama has always been backing up his idea of widening the US military troops in Syria and Iraq and that he expect the same to continue in the future. Carter believes that other nations will also supply troops to support the mission.

USA TODAY quoted Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the high ranking US commander in Iraq, as saying that the air campaign that started in 2014 rescued Iraq and Baghdad from the hands of ISIL. Sean pointed out to a recent attack in Mosul which destroyed millions of dollars that the ISIL kept paying its operatives.

MacFarland added that the Air Force selects bombs based on computer simulations of the destruction they create in urban territory. Unselective attacks with low precise weapons like carpet bombing will be counterproductive, according to Air Force Col. Pat Ryder.

The Defense Department will seek 582.7 billion US dollar budget for the next year, telesur said quoting Ash Carter. Pentagon will utilize the huge extra capital to multiple military expenditures in Baltic location, where they will allocate 3.4 billion US dollar. For 2016, Pentagon has allotted 789 million US dollar for the Baltic area.

China and Russia have also been included in the developing security challenges and legitimizes Pentagon's investment of 71.4 billion US dollar in research and development field against unproven threats. The plan will also increase expenditure on cyber capabilities, which include Pentagon's effort to make its electronic infrastructure safer.

According to Republican lawmakers, the net increase in 2017 budget is insufficient and that President Obama has failed to further boost military funding in 2016. However, Obama's 2014 initiative was favoured by friends near Russia's border.
The oil price drop for the 19 months is bringing cheer to consumers, but causing a lot of concern for the global governments and business firms. Many banks and the US government forecast oil price above $40 a barrel this year. The recovery in oil price depends upon narrowing down of gap in oil supply and demand to equilibrium.

The lower oil prices are resulting in financial windfalls for some and huge deficits in the budgets of many countries. Consumers are riding high on less expensive oil and the same factor is eroding the job market drastically. The oil price fell from $107 a barrel to below $30 during the past 19 months.

The shale oil production surge in the US and firm decision by OPEC not to cut production led the price fall continuously impacting every country and every section of the global economy. The sluggish global economy has further added to the concerns about the demand for oil. The US government forecasts Brent crude at $40 and Bank of America predicts oil price at $46 a barrel this year, as reported by ABC News.



The oil price drop is major factor for uncertainty at several governments. The US households' savings on account of gasoline budget are increasing due to lower prices. The consumer spending is also increasing as the savings are spent elsewhere in the economy. Another major beneficiary of oil price drop is the aviation sector. Airlines spend one-third on fuel and steep fall in oil prices helping their operating margins boost.

However, profitability of energy companies was drastically hit following the oil price drop. Energy stocks tumbled on stock exchanges and many oil companies announced job cuts. Several oil drillers have also slashed down their headcount and trimmed their budgets, according to NEWS 1130.



States such as Alaska and Dakota are suffering from widening budget deficit. Many oil exports-dependent countries too witnessed huge deficits in their budgets as their export revenues tumbled. According to IHS Global Insight, oil price should be in the range of $85 to $95 a barrel for recovering costs at new mines.

For countries such as Iraq and Nigeria, the situation is much worse in the wake of lower oil prices. Iraq is instituting unprecedented taxation and austerity. Nigeria is seeking $11-billion emergency loans from World Bank. The Iraq's government and social order are on the verge of collapse, if oil price fall further continues, according to Business Insider. Iraq's oil price is less than the half of break-even point. Iraq is selling oil at $22 a barrel.



Several weaker oil companies are in the process of restructuring exercise, while healthier companies are buying distressed assets. Canadian currency fell 20 percent against the US dollar. Mexico is believed to be weathering the impact of lower oil prices. Oil revenues account for 20 percent of the total economy of Mexico now from 40 percent until 2012. Mexico has halted some projects and postponed some.
Kalamazoo, Michigan-based medical-device maker, Stryker announced that the company had reached an agreement to acquire Sage in a $2.76 billion agreement. The company confirmed the news through its official statement released on the company's website.

Sage, a 45-year-old intensive care product manufacturer is previously under the acquisition of a private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners according to USA Today. Sage business which is aligned with Stryker's is seen as the main reason for the acquisition as the company could make use of Sage main client which is hospitals around the United States to better market their products too.

The acquisition which is expected to be completed by the end of second quarter this year will see Stryker obtaining a tax benefit of around $500 million as calculated by The Wall Street Journal. Besides increasing the company's potential cash flow for the next 15 years, Stryker is also optimistic about its earnings as the company had also adjusted its 2016 earnings to $5.75 per share.

Stryker's CEO, Kevin Lobo also said that the acquisition will help the company to obtain a consistent disposable revenue considering the fact that Sage reported total sales of $430 million in 2015 alone. The acquisition is also part of Stryker latest international expansion plan as the company has been actively involved in more countries outside the United States.

According to CNBC, Lobo was also quoted to be saying that more deals will be done by the company soon. He said that "One of the reasons to postpone the share repurchase program was to make sure we still have the capacity, so this will not be the last deal that we do."

Sage is the manufacturer for disposable intensive-care products has been responsible for providing hospitals with different products that help to clean the patient from skin to oral cleaning. The disposable products has been helping hospitals to control disease from infecting and is expected to see more growth in the coming years as more infectious disease is spreading.

Stryker, on the other hand, is the major player for patient-handling equipment, surgical devices, and also hip and joint replacement related products.

With its fourth-quarter earnings report saw the company's profit doubled compared to previous quarter. For the acquisition, J.P. Morgan Securities act as its financial adviser and Sullivan & Cromwell as the legal counsel.

Sage President and CEO, Scott Brown said in a statement that the acquisition is good for the company because Stryker "Understands our business, supports our goals and embraces our values." There is still no announcement regarding Brown's position once the acquisition is complete.
The buying demand for the yellow metal from the world's second largest economy is continuously rising in the wake of switchover of investors to safe haven assets. The sluggish stock markets, weaker currency and lower global prices are prime reasons for the gold rush.

China Gold Association sees surge in jewellery buying. The consumption rose 3.7 percent to 985.9 metric tons in 2015. The demand picked up following the price drop on gold recently. Investors too preferred to park their funds in gold than other financial assets. China Gold Association represents jewelers, banks, brokerages, gold refiners and gold miners.

Bloomberg reports that though gold consumption increased by 3.7 percent in 2015 in China, it's well below the record level of 1,176.4 tons in 2013. The 28 percent drop in markets buoyed the gold buying in 2013. Swiss' gold exports to Hong Kong and China mainland rose 87 percent in December.



Asia accounts for over 60 percent of global gold consumption. The demand for gold is likely to continue in Asia, according to RBC Capital Markets. Gold jewellery demand rose 2.1 percent to 721.58 tons in 2015. Gold bar consumption was up 4.8 percent to 173.08 tons and coin buying rose by a whopping 78 percent to 22.8 tons.

Industrial consumption rose 3.5 percent. Bar and coin sales rose, while gold price was hovering at $1,100 an ounce. Investors consider this level of gold price is ideal for investment. Gold was trading at $1,125 an ounce on Wednesday.

The main reason for the rally in gold can be attributed to global economy slowdown and some factors in the western countries, according to CNBC. Spot gold rose 6.3 percent to $1,127 an ounce. The peak of gold price was $2,000 an ounce in September 2011.



Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Financial Holdings Capital Management Co, said: "Chinese people are treating gold more as a consumption item regardless of price so demand will continue to rise steadily. To repeat the buying frenzy in 2013 will be hard unless there's a big move in prices."

Gold futures rose to three-month high after the manufacturing sector slowdown in the China and the US economy. The selloff in global equities triggered rally in gold this year. Gold futures for April rose one percent to $1,128 an ounce on New York Comex. This is highest since 3 November 2015, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.



Shandong Gold Financial Holdings Capital Management is a part of Shandong Gold Group, a mining company. China's imports of gold from Hong Kong rose 67 percent in December indicating highest monthly surge in over two years. China's central bank is also buying gold every month.

However, gold production eased 0.4 percent to 450.05 tons in 2015 owing to stoppage of operations by small and private producers. Over 700 gold mines are operational in China and half of them are suffering from losses.
China's state-owned chemicals group ChemChina confirmed that it will make an agreed bid of $34 billion for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta. Previously, several companies have expressed interest in acquiring the Swiss company, but so far ChemChina is the closest to close the deal.



The acquisition is the biggest foreign purchase by a Chinese company. It is also the second biggest takeover in the chemicals industry over the past year, as reported by the BBC.



Ever since Syngenta announced that the company is considering a possible foreign merger a few months ago, several companies have stated their interest, including American multinational agrochemical and agricultural corporation Monsanto. In fact, Monsanto had cast out a bid of $46 billion in a cash-and-stock takeover in January, but it was rejected.



The buzz around Syngenta's possible takeover has boosted its stock price over recent months. According to Fox Business, the company's shares rose more than 6 percent early on Wednesday. However, the shares somehow traded at around 418 Swiss francs, below the agreed offer price of 480 Swiss francs.



The two company have agreed on the settlement, but ChemChina will have to secure approval from some authorities to proceed with the deal. However, Syngenta CEO John Ramsay is optimistic that the transaction would not be unobstructed by major regulatory hurdles. "I think the overall regulatory approvals will not be very challenging," Ramsay said, as quoted by Reuters. ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin also described the discussions process between the company as friendly and cooperative. "We are delighted that this collaboration has led to the agreement announced today."



This purchase is not ChemChina's first move to acquire Western technology and distribution networks. Last year, ChemChina acquired German machinery manufacturer KraussMaffei Group for $1 billion in a transaction often regarded to as one of the most intriguing foreign purchase. On March, ChemChina also bought Italian tire maker Pirelli's stake.



Syngenta chairman Michel Demare also noted the significance of the deal for global growth. "The transaction minimizes operational disruption. It is focused on growth globally, specifically in China and other emerging markets, and enables long-term investment in innovation," Demare stated.



After the acquisition was completed, Syngenta will remain with its brand as Syngenta. The company will also continue to retain its base in Switzerland. For the deal to be completed, ChemChina still needs regulatory approval in the U.S and Europe.



The transaction, most likely to be completed, reflects China's ambition to expand business in global markets as well as acquiring advanced technology in foreign countries. ChemChina's acquisition of Syngenta will be biggest foreign purchase ever made by a Chinese company. However, it's by no means the only recent transaction, considering that the trend is increasing for Chinese companies to invest overseas.
South Africa's largest mobile operator Vodacom Group Ltd has posted 8.7 percent growth in third quarter revenues. The mobile phone company is able to perform in a better way on increase in subscribers and high-speed network expansion. Vodafone is expanding internet services. Vodacom is strengthening its network and offerings in the wake of increasing domestic competition.

Vodacom Group's sales were Rand 21.7 billion for the third quarter ending December 2015. Active subscriber number rose 6.8 percent to 65.2 million. Vodafone is banking on internet services to offset the drop in revenues from voice services.

Vodacom is witnessing slowing down of revenue growth in the next quarter through March. The drought conditions and weaker South African currency Rand are impacting the financial performance of Vodacom. The company sees weaker outlook for consumer in South Africa.

The wireless operator in 2015 decided to acquire most of Neotel Pty Ltd's assets pertaining to fixed-line business. The regulatory scrutiny took over 18 months of time. The revenue growth from South African market was 7.1 percent during the third quarter as against the 16 growth in the global markets, according to Sunday Times.



The number of active data users was up 15 percent to 30.3 million. The revenues from data rose 28 percent to Rand 5.52 billion. The data revenues contributed 32 percent to the service revenue.

Vodafone registered increase in sales of affordable smartphone and other data devices in South Africa, The increased capacity added to data traffic growth of 47 percent. The number of smartphones and data devices on Vodacom network rose 28 percent to 13.5 million, according to Market Watch.

Vodacom is competing with MTN, Millicom, Orange and Orascom in the African continent. Vodacom alerts investors about the next quarter as it sees some tough weather in the quarter ending March 2016.

Shameel Joosub, Chief Executive Officer at Vodacom, said: "Our performance in the quarter reflects the positive impact from our substantial network investment of 9.5 billion rand across all our operations in the nine months. We have expanded our network coverage and increased data speeds to secure network leadership."

Despite this, Vodacom's future outlook remains encouraging as the company is focusing on network expansion to meet the growing requirements from the subscribers. Vodacom invested Rand 9.5 billion during the third quarter on infrastructure development. The company enhanced network coverage and increased data speeds to secure network leadership, as reported by Tech Financials.



England-based Vodafone Group Plc owns 65 percent in Vodacom. Vodacom shares fell 5.5 percent this year so far to Rand 144.06 giving a valuation at Rand 214 billion. Another competitor MTN Group Ltd is fighting against a $3.9 billion fine in Nigeria over a missing deadline to disconnect customers. MTN shares also fell five percent. The company is disconnecting unregistered customers in Congo and Mozambique countries as part of adhering to government orders.
China's representative to dormant six-party nuclear talks visited North Korea on Tuesday, the same day North Korea informed international agencies of its impending rocket launch.

The trip by Wu Dawei marks the first visit to Pyongyang by a foreign official since North Korea's nuclear test on Jan. 6.

Pundits believe Wu's aim is to persuade Pyongyang to abandon the plan.

Wu is expected to meet with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, Pyongyang's chief negotiator to the six-party talks, as well as Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan.

Prior to his visit, Wu met with the South Korean, Japanese and U.S. counterparts.

North Korea notified the International Maritime Organization that it will launch a satellite between Feb. 8 and 25. The launch is widely seen as a veiled test of intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

Diplomatic sources say Wu's primary mission is to stop North Korea from pushing ahead with the launch "If North Korea challenges UN Security Council sanctions with a missile launch after the nuclear test, China will find itself in an extremely difficult position," one said. "North Korea is aware of this and will attempt to win Chinese concessions by flashing the missile card."

The government here does not expect Wu to succeed. "There is nothing Wu can realistically achieve at this point," an official said.
LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR The Westlake Culinary Institute and its on-site gourmet cookwares and artisanal foods shop, Lets Get Cookin, closed Sunday in Westlake Village.

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By Lisa McKinnon of the Ventura County Star

The Westlake Culinary Institute and Let's Get Cookin' closed Sunday, ending the business' more than 30-year run as a combination cooking school and gourmet store that hosted book-tour visits by the likes of Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Roy Choi.

Cheri Mercer, who served as director of business operations, confirmed the closure Monday before a farewell message appeared on the school's website. A sign also is posted at the business' former location at 4643 Lakeview Canyon Road.

"We did the best we could. We worked 24/7. But it just became harder and harder to compete" with Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma and online discounter Amazon for sales of high-end cookware and other items, Mercer said. She also cited rising costs due to taxes and overhead.

The closure was a financial decision made by owner David Borger, who purchased the business in the summer of 2014 from previous owner Phyllis Vaccarelli.

Borger worked with Mercer and culinary director Mary Bergin to remodel the store and kitchen, expanding offerings to include a growing array of public, private and professional courses.

Borger told employees of his decision Friday, Mercer said. Employees then contacted longtime customers, who flooded the store during a 50-percent-off sale that ran through Sunday afternoon.

Customers who prepaid for previously scheduled classes will be reimbursed, Mercer said.

"It was fun, and we made some wonderful relationships," Mercer said. "It just wasn't sustainable."
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By Staff Reports

CSU Channel Islands and Moorpark College are cooperating to offer a free lecture series on the Moorpark campus.

In the series, which starts Friday, Channel Islands professors will share their research with Moorpark students, faculty and the public.

Simone Aloisio, a chemistry professor at Channel Islands, will deliver the first lecture, talking about how climate change is affecting mercury concentrations in soil, water and food. Aloisio will speak from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday in the physical science building, Room 207, at Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road.

The lectures, which will be offered every six to eight weeks, are designed to build a stronger partnership between the colleges, officials said.

The rest of the lineup has not yet been decided. More information is available by contacting Scarlet Relle, an engineering professor, at 553-4162 or scarlet_relle1@vcccd.edu.
ROB VARELA/THE STAR Third-graders Jayden Rogers (from left), Kenia Catalan, Jackie Magana and Josie Aguilera read books in the Glen City School literacy center in Santa Paula on Monday.

SHARE ROB VARELA/THE STAR Librarian Helen Davis reads to third-graders Monday in the Glen City School literacy center in Santa Paula. Davis is standing in front of a new, interactive board. ROB VARELA/THE STAR Third-graders Francisco Perez (from left), Daniel Addison and Kevin Carreno read books in the Glen City School literacy center in Santa Paula on Monday. ROB VARELA/THE STAR Third-grade teacher Martha Luna helps her students find books to read in the Glen City School literacy center Monday in Santa Paula. ROB VARELA/THE STAR Librarian Helen Davis checks out books to third-grader Kevin Carreno in the Glen City School literacy center in Santa Paula Monday.

By Jean Moore of the Ventura County Star

Santa Paula schools are starting to turn their traditional libraries into "literacy centers," basically, libraries with lots more technology.

The initial literacy center is at Glen City School, where students used the space for the first time Monday.

"It's bigger," said Esmeralda Flores, 9, a fourth-grader who likes to read chapter books. "There's lots of books, and we've got new computers. And there's couches and tables."

The updated library, fashioned out of two former classrooms, features three large monitors, a bank of 16 computers, and tables resembling puzzle pieces that can be pushed together or pulled apart. Sitting alongside them are shelves of books that wouldn't be out of place in a library decades ago.

"The monitors can stream videos, news media, anything world-affecting," said Helen Davis, Glen City's library assistant. "In the seating nooks, they can sit and do a project with their teacher or some silent reading. And they can use the computers to look up books."

The Santa Paula Unified School District spent about $500,000 to create the literacy center at Glen City, as well as to modernize two other classrooms, said Superintendent Alfonso Gamino.

The district hopes to convert more of its libraries into literacy centers over the next several years, but the issue will be funding, Gamino said. Some of that funding could come from a $39.6 million bond measure that the district will put before voters in June, he said.

"It may take time, and we may not get to all of them," Gamino said. "But we're optimistic that we'll get the bond approved. We're trying to modernize all our facilities. We feel that all our kids deserve these 21st-century facilities."

The literacy centers fit into a nationwide trend to convert school libraries into spaces where students can actively take advantage of the latest technology but also sit quietly and read traditional books. Along those lines, Glen City Principal Alice Pacheco is considering converting another classroom into a makerspace  a room where students can create anything from videos to robots. The space would have iPads, but also Legos and Lincoln Logs, she said.

"We want to give children the opportunity to create," Pacheco said. "It will be more of place where they'll have general guidelines but can create what they want to. They don't have to follow our model."

Glen City's literacy center is still filled with traditional print books, but the district is planning to invest in more e-books, too, Gamino said.

"We want to have a nice balance," Gamino said. "We want hard copy books, but we also want to be online. It can't be all shelves filled with hard copy books. We want to be adaptable."

The literacy center also will allow students to be involved in different activities at the same time. And it can be used as a meeting room, where parents come after school to help children with their homework or use the computers.

"It's an extension of their learning day," said Assistant Principal Ana Rodriguez. "They can come do research or come with their parents. It becomes a family space."
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By Staff Reports

Oxnard College will host a state budget hearing this week involving community colleges.

The hearing will provide information on how community college districts can apply for grants to improve their remediation courses. Many students who start community college in remedial classes never earn a degree or transfer to a four-year university.

The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Friday in the Liberal Arts Building, Room 6, 4000 S. Rose Ave.

Participants will include members of the state Assembly budget committee, the vice chancellor of California community colleges and Oxnard College students and faculty.
JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Sister Shawn Marie Doyle, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, helps her kindergarten class get ready for snack break. Doyle is helping plan Saturdays Nun Run, proceeds from which will support the Sisters of Notre Dame Life and Ministry Fund.

SHARE JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Sister Shawn Marie Doyle, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, smiles at her kindergarten class after the students pronounced several words correctly. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Sister Shawn Marie Doyle, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, helps her kindergarten class get ready for snack break. Doyle is helping plan Saturdays Nun Run. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Kindergartners Denise Aguilera (from left), Teresa Quintana and Hailey Esquivel get help with their spelling from Sister Shawn Marie Doyle, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Sister Shawn Marie Doyle, a teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, helps her kindergarten students with their jackets as they get ready for snack break.

By Robyn Flans

Sister Mary Anncarla Costello, of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Thousand Oaks, uses two words to describe the upcoming Nun Run at La Reina High School & Middle School: fundraiser and friend-raiser.

"That friend-raising part is important to us," Costello said. "We've been in this neighborhood for 40 years; the high school we have has been here for 50 years. We thought, 'Let's try to connect with our neighbors.' "

Both a 5K and a 1-mile will be offered Saturday at the school in Thousand Oaks. About 800 people participated in the inaugural 5K last year, said Christiana Thomas, director of mission advancement for the Sisters of Notre Dame and the race director.

The event raised more than $30,000, which helps with operating costs for the Sisters of Notre Dame Center in Thousand Oaks and pays the 30 resident sisters for their work as teachers in the community.

"The Nun Run gives us additional income so the sisters are able to serve where the need is greatest," Thomas said. "There are sisters who are essentially volunteering as teachers for schools who could not necessarily afford to have them there. Sister Florette Marie Adams volunteers as a music teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Oxnard, thanks in part to the help of the runners."

The Nun Run also allows them the freedom to participate in uncompensated parish ministry efforts, such as women's support and Bible groups, Thomas said.

Costello said people don't always understand Catholic sisters  who they are and what they do.

IF YOU GO

What: Nun Run

When: Saturday; 1-mile run at 7:30 a.m.; 5K at 8 a.m.

Where: La Reina High School & Middle School, 106 W. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks

Race-day cost: $30 for 1-mile run; $40 for 5K

Information: http://www.sndca.org/nunrun

"The media doesn't always do a good job of portraying nuns, so it was really nice to be able to reach out and be on people's doorsteps, to see the smiles and to hear the cheers," Costello said.

And to say thank you: The sisters left little bags of Hershey's Hugs at the houses on the perimeter of the run to thank residents for their patience with the street closures and other chaos of the event.

"It was those people who said, 'We hope you do this again.' There was so much support," Costello said. "It was kind of like these big arms embraced all of us."

Thomas said this year's 1-mile course has been improved.

"It will be an easier and clearer race to run," she said.

The booth area will be expanded, with more vendors, including Juice It Up! and The Abundant Table.

"And more of a party atmosphere afterward," Thomas said.

She said that at one booth, La Reina High School girls will be making video records of people sharing memories of the sisters and their impact on their lives.

"We will be compiling all of those into a social media thing for National Catholic Sisters Week," Thomas said. "If people want to share their memories and talk about the changes the sisters have made in their lives, we would love to hear about it."

Returning this year is a Kids Zone and a pancake breakfast for the runners.

Costello said her favorite part of the event isn't the walking, but the outreach  "to see people and have the community come together."

"It's about fundraising," she said, "but it's really about helping people connect with us and each other."
COURTESY FILE PHOTO In this November 2015 file photo, the Ventura County Sheriffs Office destroyed this large marijuana plantation in the Los Padres National Forest.

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By Tom Kisken

Dr. Ronald C. Thurston endorses a statewide proposal to legalize marijuana. That doesn't mean he endorses marijuana.

The distinction is key to the psychiatrist from Somis who serves on the state board of the California Medical Association. Leaders of the group that represents more than 41,000 doctors announced they support a proposed ballot measure that would allow adults over 21 to purchase as much as 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational use.

Thurston, who treats issues including addiction, voted in favor of a proposal that could appear on the November ballot if supporters gather 366,000 signatures. The initiative is a way to regulate a drug that is widely abused in a status quo built around by a prohibition everyone ignores, he said Tuesday.

"The cooks make all the money, The product is unsafe," said Thurston, former president of both the Ventura County Medical Association and the California Psychiatric Association. "The fiction of medical marijuana encourages the public belief it's a panacea for all ailments."

Regulation is needed. Taxes need to be designed so money from sales goes to health programs, not criminals, he said.

"The cat's already out of the bag," Thurston said of widespread use of the drug. "We're not endorsing the use of marijuana any more than we're endorsing the use of cigarettes or alcohol."

The medical association's support of a ballot effort led in part by a retired physician drew praise and barbs from doctors across Ventura County.

"I think the California Medical Association should have the best interest of people in mind," said Dr. Ted Hole, a Ventura family doctor who described marijuana as a gateway drug that alters a person's mental state and triggers bad decisions. "I don't think marijuana is something that improves people's health."

It's safer than alcohol and can be used to treat muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis and to help cancer patients deal with the side effects of chemotherapy, said Dr. Lorne Label, a Thousand Oaks neurologist.

Medical marijuana laws already exist but legalization would save money spent on enforcing marijuana laws, Label said. State officials said it could also create as much as $1 billion in tax revenue.

Pot proposal

A proposal to legalize marijuana backed by the California Medical Association would include the following provisions:

*Allow people to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana or grow up to six plants.

*Place a 15 percent state tax on marijuana sales.

*Allow sales only to people 21 and older.

*Allow employers to establish drug-free workplaces.

*Impose fines for use in public places.

*Create licensing tiers for cultivators.

*Funnel tax money to uses including research on affects of marijuana, economic development, drug prevention and treatment programs.

For more on the proposal, go to bit.ly/1mGeepM.

"As long as it's regulated, I think it will be a good thing," Label said.

Dr. Ken Saul, a Thousand Oaks pediatrician, isn't convinced. He said he worries about evidence suggesting marijuana can create educational problems for kids and harm babies exposed during pregnancy.

"There are a lot of yellow flags," said Saul, noting he needs to research the proposed initiative. "My gut feeling would be 'No, don't legalize it.'"

Others said medical marijuana laws are exploited, meaning anyone who wants the drug can find a way to get it.

Dr. Josephine Soliz, an Oxnard family physician, doesn't help her patients acquire medical marijuana cards partly because she sees it as telling people "get as much as you need as often as you want."

Though she's not satisfied with the current system, Soliz has mixed views on legalization. She worries daily use of the drug affects self-initiative, meaning the ability to pursue a goal or dream.

Like Soliz, Dr. Luther Cobb doesn't prescribe marijuana to patients. The general surgeon from Eureka doesn't want his kids using the drug either.

But as immediate past president of the California Medical Association, Cobb endorses the legalization proposal.

"We're not saying by this, 'Please go out and buy some marijuana,'" he said, describing the initiative as a way to bring law to the Wild West.

"Prohibition didn't work for alcohol," he said. "It's not working very well for this either. It's better to have control."
STAR FILE PHOTO Ideas for improving downtown Oxnard will be heard during a 5 p.m. study session Tuesday night in City Council chambers at 305 W. Third St. The Congress for the New Urbanisim will present results of public sessions held over the weekend.

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By Staff Reports

Over the weekend, numerous Oxnard residents and business owners took part in workshops to envision a better downtown.

Results of the so-called "charrette" will be presented to the City Council during a study session this evening, Tuesday.

The process was guided by the state chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, a nonprofit with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., that promotes walkable cities and neighborhoods.

Sparking the effort is $6.1 million to be spent downtown. The money comes from an agreement involving Oxnard's former redevelopment agency and the Century Theatres RiverPark 16 multiplex that opened in 2012 in The Collection shopping center.

Tuesday's presentation will include ideas for "doable, achievable steps" to help revitalize the city center, said Roy Prince, one of the founders the Community Planning Group, an informal local citizens group that helped organize the charrette.

The session is to hear about results of the charrette, not to make decisions on projects.

In other business, the council will vote on a resolution saying it intends to update its local coastal plan to ban new power plants near the beach.

The study session on the downtown charrette starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with the regular meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. The council meets in chambers at 305 W. Third St.
Star File Photo Port Hueneme City Hall

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By Anne Kallas

The Port Hueneme City Council on Monday voted again to reduce the city's utility subsidy for low-income residents from 15 percent to 7.5 percent.

The second reading of the item, first passed in November, was on the consent calendar for the Jan. 19 meeting but was pulled for discussion. The consent calendar is the portion of the agenda that is generally passed without discussion.

Councilwoman Sylvia Munoz Schnopp was absent from that meeting, so the item was tabled to avoid a tie vote.

On Monday, Councilman Tom Figg voiced his objections to any subsidy and introduced a measure abandoning the program, which he also did in November. And that motion died for lack of a second, just as it had in November.

Councilman Jim Hensley objected to any reduction in the program, as he had in November, noting that many of the people enrolled in the program are seniors who struggle to make ends meet.

The program costs the city about $125,000 a year to reduce the city utility bills of about 800 households by roughly $20 a month. By reducing the rate to 7.5 percent, the average bill will be lowered by about $10.

Councilman Doug Breeze said he agrees with Hensley that the people who need relief should receive as much help as possible. But with the city facing a structural deficit of close to $1.5 million a year, cuts have to be made across the board.

"But instead of cutting it completely, we should try to do it gradually. Cutting it by half is better than nothing. If we need to, we can cut it completely at a future date and if the city becomes solvent, we can add it back," Breeze said.

The council voted 3-2 to pass the reduction, with Figg and Hensley voting no.

The council also directed Interim City Manager John Baker to return to the council with options for a revised medical marijuana ordinance.

The council last month passed an ordinance that bans medical marijuana dispensaries, delivery and cultivation.

Like many cities in California, Port Hueneme was acting to keep control of its medical marijuana regulations in light of a new law that would have the state regulate medical marijuana in cities that don't have a specific ordinance in place.

But Breeze noted that the new ordinance left residents who have doctor's recommendations for marijuana in a "Catch-22," by not allowing them any way to get marijuana.

After hearing from several people who spoke in favor of relaxing the medical marijuana ordinance, Breeze polled the council.

Figg said he was more comfortable with dispensaries and delivery but had reservations about cultivation.

Hensley advocated allowing people to cultivate their own marijuana if they were registered. He said medical marijuana deliveries should be licensed by the city.

Munoz Schnopp said she opposes dispensaries and cultivation. She noted that those who have medical marijuana recommendations are still entitled to possess marijuana.

Sharkey recommended that the city craft an ordinance similar to the one he said is in Moorpark, which allows regulation of delivery and allows cultivation in accordance with state law.

Breeze said he wants to see the matter resolved as quickly as possible.

Baker said he would offer the council various options, but would be unable to return with any proposed action until after March 1, when the new ordinance will go into effect.

The council also voted unanimously to eliminate its pre-agenda session, which is regularly held 15 minutes in a conference room before the main meeting, at Baker's recommendation.

"When I came here, I asked why we were doing it. With the pre-meeting there's the perception that there are deals happening before the main meeting. If the council is going to have a discussion, it should be in council chambers," Baker said.

The council unanimously approved a wide range of procurement policies recommended by consultant Management Partners, which will make all purchases by the city conducted according to the same procedures.
STAR FILE PHOTO

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By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Santa Paula residents will soon receive quarterly rebates on their sewer bills, most likely starting in April.

The city plans to refund residents some of the money being saved on financing costs and other expenditures for Santa Paula's wastewater treatment facility now that the plant is under municipal control.

Santa Paula purchased the wastewater treatment plant from a private entity for $70.8 million in April. The purchase, financed by low-interest bonds, saves the city and sewer customers money largely because the previous owner and operator, Santa Paula Water, charged a higher rate.

Financial consultant Terry Maas told the council Monday that the city may be able to set aside $3.2 million in savings this year as a result of the purchase. How much of that can be refunded to sewer customers depends on expenses such as infrastructure improvements, chloride removal, and maintenance, he said.

Maas recommended the council set up a special Rate Rebate Fund, and task an existing city utility committee with deciding how much to refund customers on their sewer bills each quarter. He said the amount would vary, but could be around $60 per quarter.

"The amount is not going to be the same every quarterly rebate," Maas said. "Maybe there's an extraordinary capital expense that comes up, there's a huge spill that has to be paid for, there's unforeseen maintenance, there's more chloride regulation and you have to spend some money somewhere,  but (the quarterly plan) gives you the flexibility to manage that."

Under the proposed plan, residents would receive rebates in April, July, October and January.

City council asked staff to return with a formal policy for handling the wastewater rebate process so it can vote on the measure.

In other business Monday, the council sought new modifications to an animal spay and neuter ordinance it has been debating since November. The ordinance requires pet owners to spay or neuter their dogs and cats when they are over 4 months old, and implant them with an identification microchip.

In a 4-1 vote, council directed city attorney John Cotti to remove language from the ordinance requiring pet owners to obtain an annual cat license. Instead, the council asked that the ordinance only require one-time licenses for people wishing to keep their cats unaltered.

Councilwoman Jenny Crosswhite voted against the measure. She and Councilwoman Ginger Gherardi criticized the ordinance. Gherardi argued that the city does not have an established program for handling cat licenses, that information on the city's dog licensing program is hard for the public to find, that the proposed ordinance burdens staff and that council needs more information and a fine structure in place before taking action.

Crosswhite and Gherardi expressed concern about the 4 month age requirement. Cotti said he could add language to allow people to spay or neuter their animals when they are older if they obtain a veterinarian's recommendation.

Mayor Martin Hernandez said the point of the ordinance is to educate people about spaying and neutering their animals and reduce pet overpopulation, not to make money for the city.
Family home 18 months after fire razed their Thousand Oaks condo

The family says it's been a long, frustrating wait, but they're thrilled to finally be back home in their two-bedroom unit.
Moscow opposes the deployment of U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries in South Korea, Ambassador Alexander Timonin in Seoul said Tuesday.

"Russia believes that the deployment of THAAD to South Korea will not be helpful to peace and security in Northeast Asia nor to the resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," Timonin told reporters.

"That is why Russia is urging all relevant nations to refrain from actions especially in the military field that could aggravate the situation."

He said that the deployment will affect Moscow's foreign policy in the region, and expressed the hope that nothing will be done to sour bilateral relations.

Timonin said six-party nuclear disarmament talks are the "most effective means" to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Russia has joined UN Security Council sanctions but believes that any further sanctions would drive Pyongyang deeper into isolation and have a negative effect on the resolution of the nuclear issue, he added.


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This Thursday and Friday, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission will hold a long-awaited hearing on a proposal that would ultimately allow more than 250 long oil trains to come into that county every year. Many of those trains could be routed through Ventura County.

We urge the commission to follow the recommendations of its staff and reject the application.

On the table is a proposal from Phillips 66 to build a rail spur at its Nipomo Mesa refinery. The oil company says the refinery currently processes crude oil brought in by pipeline from California. It is looking for alternate sources for crude and no pipelines link it to sources outside the state, so that oil would have to be brought in by train.

The refinery currently ships out much of its refined product by train. It needs the additional spur to allow for incoming oil trains.

Phillips 66 proposes bringing in up to five 80-car-long oil trains each week, each carrying 52,000 barrels of oil. Each train would need three engines and be about 1.4 miles long.

Depending on where they bought the oil, the trains would come to the Nipomo refinery from the north, through Roseville, or from the south, through Colton. The trains from the south would travel on Union Pacific Railroad tracks through Ventura County.

The risk inherent in those additional oil trains passing through our county is not justified by the economic benefit of the additional source of oil for the refinery.

If there was any indication that the oil being brought in by rail might increase supply in California (which could help reduce our costs), or even allow for a less expensive refining process, then we could balance that against the risk. But Phillips 66, in its own proposal, touts the idea only as a replacement for existing oil supplies needed because of potential future market changes.

In the meantime, we know the potential impact of oil train disasters. An investigation in October 2105 by the Los Angeles Times found that of 31 oil train crashes it reviewed, track problems were to blame in 59 percent of the cases, which is more than double the rate for regular freight trains.

We have all seen the coverage of oil train derailments in recent years, which has heightened the awareness of the danger of these trains. Just this month in west Ventura County, an oil train was involved in a tragic accident that took the life of a young man walking on the tracks across the Santa Clara River rail bridge. We are fortunate that the engineers involved were able to bring the train to a stop without a derailment.

Various governments in Ventura County have expressed their opposition to the Nipomo project. Oxnard officials, for instance, pointed out that an accident involving a 1.4-mile-long oil train in their city could potentially block three major intersections and prevent access from a large number of residents to the only local hospital.

The San Luis Obispo County officials have been studying this issue for nearly three years, and sifted through more than 24,000 comments on the proposal. Their conclusion is based on that thorough review. We support it and urge the county planning commission to reject the plan.


Mayor Andy Hafen and the Henderson City Council will accept the AARP Age-Friendly Community designation at tonights City Council meeting. Henderson is the first city in Nevada to receive this recognition.

An age-friendly community is designed to help create an environment that is accessible and encourages active and healthy aging for all people.

Henderson has always been a premier place for retirees and seniors to live, and now we are being recognized for our long history of providing quality recreational and housing services for older adults, Mayor Hafen said. I am pleased that Henderson is the states first Age-Friendly Community.

With acceptance of the age-friendly community designation, city staff will conduct a survey of senior residents to determine the needs of the community. The city will also work with an advisory committee to develop objectives and strategies to accompany goals that will be incorporated into an age-friendly plan in continued support of age-friendly living.

As the first Nevada city to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Henderson will be a model for the kind of smart, forward-thinking planning that makes communities great places to live at any age, and for generations to come, said Maria Dent, AARP Nevada state director. We look forward to working with the city, residents and community partners on this exciting and important process.

Henderson first applied for the program in the summer of 2015 and now joins 73 other communities around the nation with the Age-Friendly Community designation. The citys population is older on average than that of the United States as a whole, with a median age of 41 compared with the national median age of 37.

With 22.3 percent of the citys population over the age of 60 and projected to increase, Henderson is remains committed to providing quality senior and nutritional services to the community at Heritage Park Senior Facility and Downtown Senior Center.

The city, in partnership with private developers and the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, has also worked to provide quality and affordability in its senior housing complexes.


Just in time for Valentines Day, the stunning ladies of FANTASY, the award-winning adult revue at Luxor Hotel and Casino, will heat up the dance floor with a sultry performance at LAX Nightclub Saturday, Feb. 13. The event also will celebrate cast member Soolin, who was recently featured in a pictorial as Playboy South Africas Miss February 2016 (Photo credit: Courtesy of Playboy South Africa).

Following the casts 10:30 p.m. performance, the lovely ladies will mix and mingle with fans before performing a dance number, complemented by the powerhouse vocals of headliner Jaime Lynch. Each of the nightclubs luxurious VIP booths will feature a copy of Soolins pictorial and a FANTASY After Dark calendar, with the opportunity for lucky club-goers to have them signed by the models themselves.
This year, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas will take business travel to a higher ground with the addition of 75,000 square feet of full-service meetings and convention space, including simulcast capabilities in The Joint, catapulting the resort to a world-class destination of choice for the meetings and convention industry. The blend of Hard Rocks cutting-edge lifestyle with a four-star meetings experience will appeal to the savvy event planner, while impressing the most discriminating business traveler.

The expansion of the Hard Rocks meetings and convention space allows us to satisfy the demand of our diversified customers who have had to look elsewhere in the past for groups larger than 600 people, said Yale Rowe, Senior Vice President & General Manager Operations. In town, you wont find a casino hotel that offers the extensive services and amenities of a successful meetings and convention destination, while still providing guests with the high-energy and entertaining environment they have come to know and love at the Hard Rock.

As part of Hard Rocks $750 million expansion and renovation, the 40-total meeting rooms will offer first-class amenities only found at Las Vegas original boutique-style hotel. The meeting spaces will feature spectacular modern, rock glamour decor and include up-to-date technology, such as built in flat screens with projection capability, wireless Internet and CAT5 cabling.

Upon completion in Spring 2009, the 82,000 total square feet of flexible meeting space will include Muse and Artist Halls totaling over 25,000 square feet combined; The Joint, a brand new concert and events facility renowned as the first rock venue of Las Vegas offering state-of-the-art sound and video systems for up to 4,000 guests; and the Studio Collection in the new Paradise Tower, providing intimate settings for breakout sessions and meetings.

Hard Rock is coupling this expansion with a renewed focus on customer service. This year, Hard Rock introduces Higher Frequency, a customizable sensory meetings experience designed to enhance the impact of any meeting. Whether hosting a content-packed board meeting or a scaled-back incentive meeting that needs to maintain its punch, Hard Rock has the experience, creativity and organization to exceed the highest expectations. Meeting planners will have a Shadow, their meeting concierge, anticipating every need and fulfilling requests from start to finish. A new Rider program, long known in the rock world as a contract addendum fulfilling every stars wish, will give business and meetings travelers alike the opportunity to customize their favorite amenities.

Additionally, Hard Rock is adding 860 new guest rooms, totaling 1,525 rooms and suites; including HRH, an all-suite 15-story tower and Paradise Tower, a 17-story tower adjacent to the new meeting space. Guestroom blocks of up to 1,200 rooms per night will be available along with sumptuous suites. All rooms include high speed Internet, data port on the phone or wireless, and iPod connections, ensuring business travelers are hooked up with high-tech necessities. Guests will also enjoy numerous new amenity upgrades from an expanded five-acre award-winning Pool and Beach Club to the plush Poker Lounge, which will guarantee that guests not only work hard but, should they choose, play hard too.

For group or meetings availability and information about pre-opening specials, call 702.693.5507 or visit www.hardrockhotel.com/meetings.
Up-and-coming recording artist LexRox, a Youth Ambassador for Childrens Miracle Network (CMN), will be performing at St. Roses 54th Annual Mardi Gras Ball at The Bellagio Hotel and Casino on March 5.

As a Youth Ambassador for CMN, LexRox frequently visits ill children at the Siena Campus of St. Rose Dominican Hospital. During her visits, she often brings her group of young rocker friends, Team Rox, to spend time with the children and sing to them in an effort to lift their spirits.

Being a Youth Ambassador to the Childrens Miracle Network has been such a rewarding experience for me and I enjoy visiting children who are aided by Childrens Miracle Network. My song Dare to Be Great is dedicated to the organization and Im really looking forward to continuing to give back to the community through the upcoming Mardi Gras Ball, said LexRox.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and LexRox will perform several songs throughout the evening. For more information regarding the event, visit www.strosehospitals.org.

About LexRox

Born and raised in Las Vegas, LexRox began singing when she was 3 years old. By the time she reached the age of 8, she was already well-known in her hometown, performing at multiple venues. Living in a city known for bright lights and elaborated shows, LexRox was born to rock. Now 14 years old, she has multiple performances under her belt, including performances at the Arizona State Fair with Disney Channels Raven-Symone, Las Vegas First Friday arts festival as well as numerous school and talent competitions.

She recently released her first album, LexRox 10, which showcases her dynamic vocals and musical blend of pop, rock and dance rhythms. KYDZ radio loved her sound and named her artist of the week, putting her rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in constant rotation. More information can be found at www.lexrox.com.

About St. Rose Dominican Hospitals

According to the 2010 HealthInsight quality report, based on Medicare data, the three St. Rose Dominican Hospitals  Rose de Lima, Siena and San Martin  are three of the top eight ranked hospitals in the state for quality measures. As the communitys only not-for-profit, religiously sponsored hospital, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals is guided by the vision and core values of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and Catholic Healthcare West (CHW). As the community grows, St. Roses mission is to serve people in need. For more information, visit www.strosehospitals.org.

About Childrens Miracle Network

Childrens Miracle Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for childrens hospitals. Each year, the 170 Childrens Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind. St. Rose Dominican Hospitals partnered with Childrens Miracle Network in January 2005. Since then, 100 percent of every dollar raised in Southern Nevada goes to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals Pediatric Centers to provide state-of-the art treatment and care, specialized pediatric medical equipment, health education, and charity care to those families who are most in need.
New Conditions for Establishment of Real Estate Trading Floors

The government recently issued new requirements for organizations and individuals that wish to establish real estate trading floors. These conditions, issued under government circular 11/2015/TT-BXD, will be applicable from 16 February.

The circular states that individuals and organizations that wish to establish real estate trading floors need to comply with the following:

The trading floors should have a minimum of two real estate brokers that have a practicing certificate. The management and administration of the corporation should have a practicing certificate for real estate brokerage. The firm must reflect a stable organization name and address for a minimum of 12 months. In the event of any change, the company must notify the Department of Building as well as customers. The trading floor must have a minimum area of 50 square meters.

Real estate corporations should ensure regulatory compliance with the new conditions. Corporations that ensure such compliance mitigate the legal and reputational risks that non-compliance entail.

RELATED: Dezan Shira & Associates Corporate Establishment Services

Government Set to Issue New Rules for the Power Market

Hoang Quoc Vuong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, recently said that new laws would be issued for the power market in the second quarter of 2017. These laws will be applicable to the wholesale power market and operational by 2019. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has delegated the task of designing regulations to the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Viet Nam (ERAV).

ERAV has compiled the first draft of prospective regulations which include regulations related to the price offerings and calculations. In addition, the draft also proposed news laws, which will mandate power companies to publish necessary information.

While yet to be passed or implemented, drafts of new rules are good a indicator to track regarding regulations that will be applicable on the power market in the coming years. Industry analysts state that companies planning to invest in the power sector in the coming years stand to gain by tracking such regulations.

Tax Cuts Announced for Select Environmental Products

The Ministry of Finance recently announced tax cuts for some environmental products issued under Circular 05/2016 / TT-BTC. These changes will see change in the import duty rates levied on specified preferential environmental goods.

All types of water heating equipment, machines, and equipment for filtering or purifying water will now be charged a 5 percent import duty. Previously, the importation of these goods was subject to a dutiable rate of 10 percent. The changes will be effective from 27 February.

A few other goods will also enjoy similar cuts in tariff duty rates. The comprehensive details of all changes are available in the Ministry of Finance circular. Importers of the specified products welcomed the reduced tax rates as it implies a lower cost of operation for them.



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 vietnam@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. 

Import and Export: A Guide to Trade in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing Magazine, we provide you with a clear understanding of the current business trends related to trade in Vietnam, as well as explaining how to set up your trading business in the country. We also attempt to give perspective on what will be Vietnams place in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015, and look at some of the countrys key import and export regulations.

Using Vietnams Free Trade & Double Tax Agreements

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing we explore how Vietnams Free Trade Agreements  and especially those via its membership in ASEAN  will affect foreign investment into Vietnam. We also go a step further and examine the specific, bilateral Double Tax Agreements that Vietnam has enacted, and how these can be further used to minimize profits and withholding taxes that would otherwise be levied upon foreign investors.

Developing Your Sourcing Strategy for Vietnam In this issue of Vietnam Briefing Magazine, we outline the various sourcing models available for foreign investors  representative offices, service companies and trading companies  and discuss how to decide which structure best suits the sourcing needs of your business.
Pham Nhu Khoa, 56, who lives in Hoi An Ancient Town, a popular tourist attraction in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam, has so far crafted nearly 400 trong troi (aerial drums) from bomb and bullet shells.

Born in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City now), Khoa moved with his family to France at the age of nine.

Wartime scars never cease to haunt the young boy, who suffers birth defects resulting from the toxic defoliant Agent Orange sprayed by the U.S. military over vast swathes of Vietnam.

Following his university graduation in France, he worked as a software engineer with several companies in France and later Israel.

At 40, Khoa came down with the debilitating Parkinsons disease, which rendered him too weak to work.

He later quit his job and left France for Hoi An Ancient Town, which he has been head over heels in love with for its landscapes and tranquility.

Drums from the sky

Back in Vietnam, Khoa hangs around markets and scrap stores buying bomb and bullet shells before having them melted and shaped into drum moulds at the Phuoc Kieu bronze casting village, located in Dien Ban District.

The artisan revealed that it takes painstaking work to build a trong troi.

The most important thing is a refined appreciation of sound to create notes on the drum surface.

Each drum has its own note set, which ranges from Indian, Chinese, and Japanese to Vietnamese Central Highlands.

If the notes do not sound properly, the drum will go to waste, he said.

After repeated failures, his efforts finally paid off when his first trong troi came into being in early 2013.

The percussion instrument, which measures around 20 centimeters in diameter and adopts an Indian note set, was crafted from B52 bomb casings.

The drum produces refined, bell-like sounds just as he wanted.

The hard-earned success has inspired him to build more drums which come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and note sets.

All of his drums, which he names trong troi Hoi An (Hoi An aerial drums), boast eight to 32 notes, Khoa revealed.

The middle-aged man limping with shaking hands has been a common sight in streets and cafes around Hoi An Ancient Town, where he also plays music on his prized items.

Amazingly, his hands, which tremble uncontrollably due to Parkinsons disease, move deftly on the drums to produce haunting melodies.

[Khoas] trong troi Hoi An emit eerily compelling sounds and tunes, which vary in pitch and tone and deeply move audiences, Ivanov Shapova, a Russian tourist, remarked.

Intrigued tourists have insisted he build some for them to take to their country.

He has crafted and sold to tourists from around the world a total of nearly 400 drums, which fetch US$400-1,500 each.

Khoa has also been invited to perform on his hand-made instruments at different venues in France, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vo Phung, director of the Hoi An Center of Culture and Sports, said that Khoa and his drums have added to the allure of Hoi An Ancient Town.


Victoria Kwakwa

Kwakwa made the statement yesterday at the banquet held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to thank the partners for their support to the country for the past year. "In the future we hope to continue seeing the ministry's contribution in the development of Vietnam," she said.



Bui Quang Vinh

On his part Minister Bui Quang Vinh thanked the partners for their support not only in terms of financial and technical assistance that they share and hoped to continue receiving this support in the future.

"A new era has opened for Vietnam with a new generation of leaders. In this period, Vietnam has to face more competition as we integrate into the world economy. We hope development partners will continue cooperating with government agencies of Vietnam in an effective manner," he said.
Addressing Tuesdays national conference on election activities of the 14th National Assemblys first session slated to take place during May and June 2016, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said that the session would highlight the spirit of Doi moi in terms of the mind set, organisation, and activities of the countrys political system. This would aim to meet the demand for national development.

The session will largely focus on the election of the countrys new state president, prime minister, chairperson of the National Assembly, ministers, and peoples councils at all levels for the 2016-2020 tenure.

The election will be a political event of prime importance. It will be an opportunity for the public to exercise their will via the selection of talented and virtuous people, who will represent the public at the National Assembly and peoples councils at all levels, Trong said.

This will also be an opportunity for continuing to build and strengthen our socialist-oriented law-governed state of the people, for the people, and by the people, he stressed.

According to Trong, the newly elected Politburo has ordered the whole political system to stay united and act in concert to prepare for the election, as well as ensure that the election will be implemented in accordance with the principles of equality, democracy, and safety.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung added that the election results would greatly contribute to further enhancing democracy and the construction of the national solidarity bloc, while successfully materialising all targets and tasks, which would help boost the national renovation and defence efforts.

At the eight-day 12th National Party Congress recently brought to a successful end, a 200-member strong Party Central Committee, including 180 officials and 20 alternate members, was elected.

The Party Central Committee elected the 19-member Politburo, the Party general secretary, the three-member Secretariat, the 21-member Inspection Commission, and the commission's head for the new tenure.

Party General Secretary during the 11th tenure, Nguyen Phu Trong, was re-elected unanimously for the 12th tenure.
Susan Walsh

Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks about the upcoming Defense Departments budget, Tuesday during a speech at the Economic Club of Washington in Washington.
Cambodian officials say they are considering joining the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, but analysts say the country is a long way from being a part of the regional trade pact.

Prime Minister Hun Sen is preparing for a US visit later this month, where he will meet with other Asean leaders and US President Barack Obama, to discuss trade and security issues.

The US is making major overtures to Southeast Asian countries, as it seeks to counter Chinas influence in the region. So far, four Asean membersBrunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnamhave joined the 12-nation TPP. Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnamas well as the Philippinesall have contentious overlapping claims with China over the South China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told VOA Khmer that relevant ministries are studying the possibility of joining the pact. During his visit last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed Cambodias interest in the pact, Chum Sounry said.

It is unclear exactly how Cambodia would benefit from the trade deal, which lowers tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods between its adherents.

Ou Virak, head of the think tank Future Forum, told VOA Khmer that Cambodia should not rush into the pact, the study of which could take two to three years. Still, Cambodia should show interest in it, he said, even as it continues strong ties with China. Until we depend on no nation, we are at risk of becoming their tool, he said.

The TPP will not bring that kind of independence, he said, but it would boost exports and revenue, helping the budget away from dependence on other countries.

More immediately, the trade deal could become a part of talks over the South China Sea, which will be discussed at the US-Asean meeting this month. Analysts say the TPP could be a tool through which the US helps its allies in Asia.

Chap Sotharith, senior economic researcher at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said Cambodia could sign onto the TPP, but it would have to express clearly its own interests, versus the interests of the Asean members who are in disputes with China.

We are a neutral nation that is not inclined to any party, he said. We are not concerned by any dispute with any major power. However, the major advantage for Cambodia is strengthening its foreign relations, especially in terms of trade and investment.

Now may not be the time to sign onto the TPP, with so much happening in regional politics, he said. A better time frame would be five to 10 years from now, and only after it has joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which US and China are both a part of, he said. 

If we take part, we will gain a lot, he said. That includes markets to South America, as well as the US, without tariffs, for Cambodian agriculture, especially rice, he said. If we take part, our goal to export 1 million tons of rice can be reached easily, he added. 

Before his departure to China on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told VOA Khmer that Cambodia, as well as other Asean members, will strengthen ties with the US during the summit this month in California. He did not, however, discuss the TPP.

There will be steps forward for friendship, strategic partnership and trade ties with the US, he said, because we have to do our best to move Asean forward for the people of the 10 Asean member countries, which have more than 600 million people today.
The High Court in Australia on Wednesday rejected a challenge to the countrys offshore detention policy brought by a Bangladeshi detainee, a setback for opponents of the controversial program.

Asylum-seekers who try to reach Australia by boat are detained on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru or on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Lawyers argued it was illegal for the Australian government to fund and run the offshore camps.

Acting for a Bangladeshi woman brought to Australia for medical treatment, they took their case to the High Court in Canberra, where they had hoped to have the offshore detention system declared unlawful.

However, after months of deliberation the judges decided that offshore processing of asylum-seekers was valid under the constitution.

The ruling means more than 250 migrants, including dozens of babies and children, are likely to be sent from Australia to Nauru.

One of the youngsters facing deportation to Nauru is a 5-year-old boy allegedly raped at the detention center.

Vulnerable people

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said deportation is a terrible way to treat vulnerable people.

Sending children back to Nauru is child abuse. All of the adults that are here on the mainland are here because they've suffered trauma and medical issues as a result of being in the island prison, Hanson-Young said.

During the High Court case, the Australian government amended the law to close a loophole in its offshore funding arrangements, which officials feared could be undermined by the legal challenge.

The changes gave the authorities the explicit power to pay foreign countries like Nauru to run detention centers.

Asylum-seekers

Before the decision was handed down, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he intended to send a large group of asylum-seekers currently in Australia back to Nauru, should the case go the governments way.

We are not going to allow people who seek to come to our country by boat to settle here permanently, so we want to make sure that we can deliver a border protection system which is robust, as it must be, because as we're seeing in Europe at the moment, millions of people would seek to come to our country by boat, Dutton said.

Australia offers resettlement to about 14,000 people each year through international humanitarian programs.

Last year, the conservative government said it would also accept an additional 12,000 people fleeing the conflict in Syria.
President Barack Obama pressed for unity in America during his first visit to a U.S. mosque as the nations leader, telling Muslims We are one American family.

During remarks Wednesday at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama thanked Muslim-Americans for helping to build the U.S. and make it strong.

He also acknowledged the hugely distorted negative view Muslim Americans have had to endure with the rise of terrorism-related violence by Islamist extremists.

Muslims Americans are worried not only about the threat of terrorism, but also about being targeted or blamed for the violence of the very few, the president told the group.

Particularly since the terror strikes in Paris in November, and in San Bernardino, California in December, Obama said too often people conflate terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith.

He also lashed back against anti-Muslim discourse by some political figures.

Of course recently, weve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans. It has no place in our country, Obama said.

The president has criticized remarks by Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and others in recent months.

Countering anti-Muslim rhetoric

Trump called for all Muslims to be barred from entering the country for a period of time, and Cruz suggested that the United States resettle only Christian Syrian refugees.

More than two dozen U.S. governors also have signaled they will try to block Syrian refugees from settling in their states. Critics of the Obama administrations plan to resettle immigrants from Syria and Iraq argue they pose a greater security threat.

The president has accused prominent political figures of using fear to win support, and said those tactics are dividing the country and fueling propaganda by terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida.

During his remarks, Obama reaffirmed Americans constitutional right to freedom of religion. Our founders meant what they said when they said it applied to all religions, he said.

While the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims embrace Islam as a source of peace, it is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted version of Islam, he added.

Muslims around the world have a responsibility to reject extremist ideologies that are trying to penetrate within Muslim communities, Obama said, noting that some who have dared to speak out have been targeted and sometimes killed.

Those voices are there, he added. We just have to amplify them more.

WATCH: Obama meets with Muslim-Americans in Baltimore

In a direct message to young Muslims, Obama urged them to reject voices on the Internet constantly claiming that Muslim Americans must choose between faith and patriotism.

Do not believe it, he urged. Youre part of America too. Youre Muslim and American.

Ultimately, however, Obama said combating terrorism will require Americans of all faiths to work together. We will rise and fall together. It wont always be easy."

Before his remarks, Obama held a closed door round-table discussion with Muslim leaders from all walks of life, with a variety of experiences, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Outside under cloudy, drizzly skies, a small group of both protesters and supporters gathered.

Responding to some claims that a former imam at the mosque had ties to extremist groups, Earnest said he is not surprised that political opponents stepped forward to protest the visit.

WATCH: White House video of President Obama's speech
Regulators in the Western state of California voted Tuesday to extend water restrictions ordered by the governor in June to battle years of drought.

The mandate to conserve water will now last through at least October with Californians asked to cut their usage by about 25 percent.

The State Water Resources Control Board did ease the restrictions slightly for especially hot and dry areas of the state.

California may see a big improvement in its water supply this year compared to 2015 thanks to much more snowfall in its Sierra Nevada mountains. Officials took a measurement there Tuesday and said the accumulated snow is 30 percent above the normal for this time of year. Last year's measurement at this point was more than 80 percent lower than normal.

That snow will melt and fill reservoirs during the warm spring and summer months when water usage is at its highest.

The board reported Tuesday that since Governor Jerry Brown instituted the water cutbacks, water use fell slightly more than his target of 25 percent.

Usage in December was only down 18 percent, but the board said that was expected since there are fewer opportunities to save water in winter months when people are not doing activities like watering grass.
With U.S. presidential candidates now focusing their attention on the northeastern state of New Hampshire, they will once again turn to a round of debates to make their cases before voters make their choice on Tuesday.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, fresh off her narrow win in Iowa, is taking part in a town hall event Wednesday night with Senator Bernie Sanders, and the Democrats have a standard debate scheduled for Thursday. Republicans are set to hold their debate on Saturday.

While the small state is rural, like much of Iowa, analysts say its Republican electorate is much less religious than the group of voters that helped give Texas Senator Ted Cruz a 28-to-24 percent margin over the billionaire Trump in Iowa. Another conservative, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, finished a close third with 23 percent.

Sanders, Trump lead polls



Pre-election voter surveys in New Hampshire show Trump with a commanding lead over other Republican challengers, but the polling was conducted before Tuesday's Iowa caucus. Trump had led the polls in Iowa for months as well.

Surveys of Democratic voters in New Hampshire show Sanders, who represents adjoining Vermont in the Senate, with a wide lead over Clinton, the country's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013. But she told CNN Tuesday, "I feel good about my prospects" in New Hampshire and that she is looking forward to the events Wednesday and Thursday for her and Sanders to showcase their differences.

Several Republican candidates, all calling themselves conservatives but minus some of the harsher rhetoric employed by Cruz, are looking to New Hampshire to revive their campaigns after poor showings in the farm state of Iowa.

Hoping to re-energize campaigns



Ohio Governor John Kasich, endorsed by The New York Times for the Republican nomination, has campaigned for weeks in New Hampshire and has pulled to second place behind Trump in some voter surveys in the state.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said at his New Hampshire headquarters that he intends to campaign hard in the state in the coming week and declared, "We can stop with the Donald Trump inevitability, because the guy who does nothing but win lost last night."

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two U.S. presidents, has made numerous political stops in New Hampshire and is also looking to breathe new life into his well-funded, but stumbling campaign. He said New Hampshire voters often "reset" political expectations as the effect of the Iowa results fades into the past.

Rubio nearly overtook Trump for second place in Iowa and is viewed by some Republicans as the candidate with possibly the broadest voter appeal in the November national election against the eventual Democratic nominee.

A spokesman for Rubio, with a Cuban-American heritage like Cruz, dismissed the chances of Kasich, Christie and Bush, saying the contest has now boiled down to a three-way race among Cruz, Trump and Rubio.

Rubio wasted no time in attacking Cruz, alleging that Cruz's career is "one of calculation." The Florida senator said Cruz has "criticized (Trump's) New York values but has raised millions of dollars in New York City."

Iowa win significance



In past presidential elections, Republican conservative stalwarts who won in Iowa faded as the race moved to other states. But Cruz told CNN, "I believe we have the national campaign and infrastructure to capitalize."

Trump tweeted, "Because I was told I could not do well in Iowa, I spent very little there, a fraction of Cruz & Rubio. Came in a strong second. Great honor."

In the Democratic race, Sanders greeted a large crowd of supporters from a flat bed truck at 5 a.m. as he arrived in New Hampshire after a flight from Iowa. He said after his virtual deadlock with Clinton in Iowa, his campaign is going to "astound the world again" in next week's voting.
U.S. billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump at first said he was honored to finish second in this week's Republican presidential nomination caucuses in Iowa, but Wednesday he claimed the winner, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, "stole" the election.

Trump, a flamboyant political novice, wrote a Twitter message alleging that Cruz, a conservative firebrand, "didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

The 69-year-old Trump, who was competing in his first election, attacked the Cruz campaign for putting out a statement, which Cruz later apologized for, suggesting that another candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, was leaving the race and that his supporters should instead vote for Cruz.

Trump also accused Cruz of lying about Trump's policies and of sending some Iowa voters a mailing designed to look like an official document that accused them of a "voter violation." The mailers gave the recipients a failing grade for not voting in past elections, and said they could rectify it by voting for Cruz in Monday's caucuses.

Trump: Vote again, Iowa

Trump, a longtime New York developer, casino magnate and one-time television reality show host, called for either a new election in Iowa or nullifying Cruz's win.

Neither is likely to happen and Cruz's campaign treated Trump's broadside with amusement.

"Reality just hit the reality star  he lost Iowa and now nobody is talking about him, so he's popping off on Twitter," a Cruz spokesman said. "There are support groups for Twitter addiction. Perhaps he should find his local chapter."

Trump's revised assessment of the Iowa outcome came as the still-large field of Republican candidates and two Democratic contenders fanned out across the northeastern state of New Hampshire, where the next voting in the presidential race is set for Tuesday.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, fresh off her narrow win in Iowa, is taking part in a town hall event Wednesday night with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and the Democrats have a debate scheduled for Thursday.

Republicans are set to hold a debate Saturday.

New Hampshire voters

While the small state is rural, like much of Iowa, analysts say its Republican electorate is much less religious than the group of voters that helped give Cruz a 28-to-24 percent margin over Trump in Iowa.

Another conservative, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, finished a close third with 23 percent in Iowa and is looking to move higher in the New Hampshire voting. Rubio said he would seek to win over voters who supported Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who dropped out of the race Wednesday.

Pre-election voter surveys in New Hampshire show Trump with a commanding lead over his Republican challengers, but the polling was conducted before the Iowa vote debunked any thought that Trump would sweep to the nomination with wins in state-after-state party elections.

Surveys of Democratic voters in New Hampshire show Sanders, who represents adjoining Vermont in the Senate, with a wide lead over Clinton, the country's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013.

Several Republican candidates, all calling themselves conservatives but minus some of the harsher rhetoric employed by Cruz, are looking to New Hampshire to revive their campaigns after poor showings in the farm state of Iowa.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, endorsed by The New York Times for the Republican nomination, has campaigned for weeks in New Hampshire and has pulled to second place behind Trump in some voter surveys in the state.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he intends to campaign hard in the state in the coming days, and he leveled new attacks on Trump and Rubio as unqualified to be president.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of U.S. presidents, has made numerous political stops in New Hampshire and is looking to breathe new life into his well-funded, but stumbling, campaign. He is bringing his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, now 90 years old, to New Hampshire to campaign for him.
Residents of Ferguson, Missouri, jammed a meeting on Tuesday to weigh in on a proposed agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to reform the city police department after the 2014 shooting of a black teenager by a white officer.

The fatal shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson exposed tension between the city government and the largely black community outside St. Louis. Ferguson erupted into violent protests in 2014 after a grand jury chose not to indict the officer.

It was one of a series of highly publicized killings of black men, mostly by white police officers, that set off a nationwide debate about the use of police force, especially against minorities.

In the meeting at City Hall, Ferguson resident John Knowles said he had a problem with the Department of Justice singling out the city.

"I think it's wrong that the city of Ferguson is bearing the brunt for a countywide issue," Knowles said.

More than 100 people were prevented from attending the meeting when the meeting room reached its 120-person capacity, leaving many grumbling in a parking lot.

"Out-of-towners don't belong here," Ferguson resident Maryellen Moylan shouted toward the door. "This is not right. We don't have representation. We demand representation."

The Justice Department's sharply critical report last year documented discriminatory actions by Ferguson police and the municipal court system, especially against blacks.



Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the Ferguson Police Department would be required to give its officers bias-awareness training and implement a strong accountability system.

The department would have to ensure that police stop, search and arrest practices do not discriminate on the basis of race or other protected characteristics.

The settlement would also require the city to change its municipal code, including sections that impose prison time for failure to pay certain fines and an ordinance used against individuals who do not comply with police orders.

Ferguson's City Council plans to vote next Tuesday on whether to accept the agreement. Two more public meetings are set for Saturday and next Tuesday, and written comments will be taken before the vote.
Iraqi Kurdistans regional President Masoud Barzani has announced that the time has come for Kurdistan to hold a referendum to decide on declaring unilateral independence from Baghdad.



The time is ripe for the people of Kurdistan to decide their future, Barzani said in a statement released Tuesday.



He said while the result of the referendum would not lead to an immediate break with Baghdad, it would prepare the ground to declare an independent state at an appropriate time and circumstance.



Any move toward independence could be fraught with challenges: There are deep divisions among Kurdish political factions that support Barzanis continued hold on the presidency and others who oppose him.



Economic pressures



Kurdistan is also suffering from a severe economic crunch, with many public salaries now months in arrears.



Baghdad cut funding to the region in 2014 after the Kurds, seeking economic independence, built an oil pipeline to Turkey and began exporting oil without Baghdad's approval.



Stephen Cook, senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, says economic pressures could have played into Barzanis decision.



The Kurdistan Regional Government is in serious financial straits because of low oil prices and the perennial fighting with Baghdad over money, Cook told VOA.



This could be seen as an effort to extract money from the central government in Baghdad, he said.



A KRG team on January 31 met with Iraqi government officials to discuss reforms aimed at resolving the economic crisis that both are facing, Reuters reported.



Iraqi Kurdish forces are seen as Washingtons strongest local partners in the fight against Islamic State extremists, although Kurdish Peshmerga are still heavily reliant on coalition forces' help to keep the militants at bay.



Putting U.S. on notice



Cook said Barzani may also have wanted to put the Americans on notice that the Kurds are not going to ask for permission to establish an independent state.



Because Barzani also enjoys a relatively positive relationship with Ankara, Cook said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan could be prepared to work with an independent Kurdistan  while continuing to attack Syrian Kurds, who Ankara believes are linked to independence-seeking Kurds in Turkey.



Kurdistan is officially made up of three northern provinces, but during the fight against IS, Kurdish forces have spread beyond that to control areas that are disputed with Baghdad, such as parts of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.
The widow of an Islamic State fighter has voiced rare open criticism of the terror group's leaders, complaining about the treatment of the widows and families of dead fighters. Her protest letter, posted online, has been circulated widely on pro-IS social media sites.

Criticism of IS leaders is seldom expressed in public forums by followers of the group. Critics are labeled murtads (apostates) and dissenters receive harsh treatment, including whippings, torture, and are often executed.

The woman calling herself al-Muhajirahm, apparently a Westerner, laments the meager support given to some widows.

Imagine that youve helped a sister who requested zakat [charity] two days ago, but you have ignored the sister who has been waiting a month before, she writes. She cries every night, concerned about how to feed her children as her husband is martyred. The tears that roll down her cheeks and the pain she suffers will be something you will be asked about and accountable for, she adds.

The letter, titled, "A Reminder to the Leaders of the Islamic State," was first posted January 27 on JustPaste.it, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based group that monitors jihadist online activity.



Such criticism is almost never found in such a widely circulated document, says Anat Agron, a MEMRI researcher. In the past, IS members have publicly criticized aspects of life in the Islamic State, however, normally such posts were swiftly deleted.

IS hypocrisy



Some male deserters from the terror group recently cited the treatment of IS widows as an example of IS hypocrisy. They expressed disgust to academics from the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, a U.S.-based research group, about how widows were often forced to marry other fighters quickly after their husbands had been killed in battle.

In the case of widows of IS fighters up for remarriage, our informants stated that IS does not follow the normal Sharia practice of iddah - having the widow wait for a period of four months and 10 days to ensure that she was not pregnant by her former husband, write researchers Anne Speckhard and Ahmet Yayla, in a report the two published in the journal Perspectives on Terrorism in December.



Instead, IS widows are expected to remarry quickly, a practice that serves the needs of IS cadres who are often single and sexually motivated. Iddah is considered also a womans right, allowing her time to grieve.



Women as currency



Women are used as currency by IS. Foreign and Syrian male recruits are told they will be given wives as well as homes and money. That can be a major motivation for joining, analysts and anti-IS activists say, especially for young men from impoverished communities in North Africa.



Three Syrian women from Raqqa, considered the de facto capital of the terror group, told The New York Times last year that they fled to Turkey at great risk because they realized they were in effect being treated as sex slaves and rebelled at being forced to marry strangers soon after losing husbands from earlier arranged marriages.



The women  given the pseudonyms Aws, Dua and Asma by The New York Times for their protection  said they had bartered their lives and agreed to marry in the first place for the benefit of their families and to secure better standards of living.



Just 10 days after the husband of the woman called Dua was killed on a suicide mission, Another man from her husbands unit came to the house. He told Dua she could not stay home alone and would need to marry again, immediately, according to the paper.

In her Justpaste.it letter, al-Muhajirah warns IS leaders: Everything that happens to your subjects is something that you will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement. She says, Every wife of a shahid [martyr] from your battalion is under your care...Fear Allah in the way you cater for her needs. She is your responsibility and all her needs now rest on your shoulderThis is your trust, she is under your care, so do not abandon her.

She goes on to quote ideologue Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian Islamist theorist respected by jihadist groups. Sayyid Qutb said, To abandon the duties Allah has assigned to the Muslim community is betrayal of Allah and His Messenger.

A former IS cadre now in the southern Turkey town of Urfa, who asked not be identified, told VOA that the terror bosses may well be withholding charity from widows who are refusing or delaying remarriage. This is a way to force them to do so  starve or marry, he said.

Financial problems

Because of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, IS may be struggling financially  another possible underlying reason for insufficient support of widows. According to leaked internal documents from inside IS territory, the group has had to slash the salaries of fighters by half.

An order issued by the terror groups treasury, and translated last month by Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, an analyst at the Middle East Forum, an American think tank, announced the cuts.



On account of the exceptional circumstances the Islamic State is facing, it has been decided to reduce the salaries that are paid to all mujahideen by half, and it is not allowed for anyone to be exempted from this decision, whatever his position.

Al-Muhajirah's criticism comes as rifts within the group appear to be on the rise in territory controlled by the terror group in neighboring Iraq.

IS internal security cadres Tuesday raided the office of the taxation department in the city of Mosul, in the province of Nineveh, and shot dead its head, Saleh Ahmed al-Jabouri, and three of his guards. Media activist Abdullah al-Malla told the independent local ARA News that it wasnt clear whether the slayings were carried out on orders from IS leaders.

Killing al-Jabouri reflects the growing rifts in the ranks of IS, al-Malla said.

There were also local news reports recently that IS publicly beheaded 20 of its own militants after they were caught fleeing the battle lines in Nineveh.


In an interview with VOA this week, Washington Post Editor Marty Baron said Iran's imprisonment of Post reporter Jason Rezaian will have an effect on how the paper covers Iran.

Rezaian was imprisoned for 545 days on spying charges  allegations the Post and U.S. government vigorously denied. He was released Jan. 16 as part of a prisoner exchange on the same day the U.S. and five other world powers implemented an agreement with Tehran curbing Iran's nuclear capability.

Both Baron and interviewer Setareh Derakhshesh, who heads VOA's Persian service, noted Iran seems to be embroiled in an internal struggle between components of the Iranian regime.

Baron said Rezaian's case put "in sharp relief" the fact that there are factions within Iran that are competing with each other. Rezaian was being held in a prison controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and it wasn't clear, Baron said, whether Iran's president or foreign minister would have been able to free the imprisoned journalist if they had wanted to.

The editor said that was a story the Post would love to cover closely, but the newspaper won't station another reporter in Iran without some kind of pledge from Tehran not to interfere.

"Right now we're not in a position to be able to put a correspondent there," he said. "We've had no discussions with the Iranian government about having another correspondent there, and we would need some good assurances from the government that a correspondent there would not be arrested, as Jason was."



WATCH: Excerpt of VOA Persian service interview with Post Editor Martin Baron

Exceptionally emotional moment

Baron said greeting Rezaian in Germany, where the reporter was flown after his release, was an "exceptionally emotional moment."

He said Rezaian seems to be in good condition physically, but the 18-month imprisonment took an emotional toll.

The newspaper is giving Rezaian time to reconnect with family. Baron noted that Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, were married only about a year before they were both arrested in Iran. Salehi was released more than two months after the arrests.

Baron declined to say whether Rezaian's imprisonment and treatment while in jail  which included 49 days in solitary confinement  amounted to torture.

"I do consider it an injustice," he said. "No one should have their freedom taken away. The threshold is not whether someone was tortured. The threshold is whether somebody had his freedom or her freedom denied, and that was the case with Jason."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday his country's military will not stop its airstrikes in Syria until "terrorist organizations" there are defeated.

Lavrov's comments come as the United Nations tries to keep its fragile Syrian peace talks in Geneva moving forward after a day in which neither the government or opposition delegation held a formal session with U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Lavrov specifically mentioned the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra as a target of the strikes, saying he does not see why they should stop.

Russia has come under Western criticism for its air campaign in Syria, saying it focuses on opposition fighters instead of militants, which Russia repeatedly denied.

Calls for end to airstrikes

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for an end to airstrikes on Tuesday and said a cease-fire in Syria should be implemented soon.

"We are all extraordinarily sympathetic to the limits of propriety and common sense in the opposition sitting at the table while someone continues to bomb them,'' Kerry said in Rome, where he attended a meeting of coalition members fighting the Islamic State group.

But members of the opposition delegation in Geneva said the gesture would make little difference for the peace process.

One representative, Ahmad Ramadan, said the only way to save the talks is for the United Nations and the United States to force an end to the bombardment and the targeting of civilians.

Another opposition member, Farah Atassi, said, "The regimes and Russias actions gravely threaten the political process at this early stage.

Humanitarian aid

The Syrian government on Tuesday allowed 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to travel into a rebel-held area near Damascus as a demonstration of good will. The opposition called it an empty gesture as long as government forces continue to step up their offensive.

The Syrian government delegation said it did not open formal negotiations as scheduled Tuesday with U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, saying the basic framework or agenda of the talks had yet to be established, and the process had not yet moved beyond the preparatory phase.

We are waiting to find out the procedural issues, who will negotiate. Until now nothing is clear: one or two or three or four delegations? There is no clear answers, Bashar Jaafari, the chief Syrian government representative, told reporters in Geneva.

At the same time, the main opposition group canceled a meeting it had scheduled with de Mistura on Tuesday, saying the escalating assault by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies are reasons not to pursue negotiations.

De Mistura declared the talks officially under way on Monday, after persuading the opposition to join the talks.

As far as we are concerned, their arrival to the Palais des Nations and initiating the discussion with us is the official beginning of the Geneva talks, the U.N. envoy said.

Formal talks

The formal start came exactly one week after they were originally scheduled to begin.

Talks were delayed by discussions of who should represent the opposition, then by an opposition boycott and the oppositions demands for an end to airstrikes and a lifting of blockades on rebel-held areas.

De Mistura offered those assurances.

On Monday, he said discussions to pause the assault are part of a framework that was decided during multinational discussions held in Vienna last year that cleared the way for the talks.

There was a message in the Vienna meetings that when the Geneva talks will actually start, in parallel there should be a beginning of a serious discussion about cease-fire, de Mistura said.

The head of the Syrian government delegation this week called on the opposition to show good faith and devote to serious discussions. But both sides continued to accuse each other of lacking goodwill.

Prospects for a cease-fire seemed especially uncertain after the Syrian government, with Russias assistance, launched a massive offensive against rebel forces this week.

Syrian state media say government forces on Tuesday took the village of Hardatneen, north of Aleppo, Syrias second-largest city. Observers say forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have recaptured several other villages near Aleppo over the past two days.

The opposition is threatening to walk out of the Geneva talks if the airstrikes do not stop and if the government does not lift the siege they say is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in rebel-held areas.

Chris Hannas in Washington contributed to this report.

WATCH: U.S. Sen. Corker discusses Syria talks


There was not much in the way of official congressional reaction Tuesday to the first voting of the 2016 presidential race in Iowa. But the hallways on Capitol Hill were buzzing with talk of the winners and losers of the caucuses and what it all means.

Members discussed the cliffhanger on the Democratic side, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeating Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by the narrowest of margins. And some commented on the new realities taking shape in the Republican race, with Texas Senator Ted Cruzs surprising defeat of billionaire Donald Trump, and the very strong third-place showing by Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Outside the House chamber in the speakers lobby, Republican Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma told VOA he thought the Iowa caucuses had shaken up the Republican presidential race. He said after Trumps loss to Cruz that the businessman and reality TV star had lost any aura of inevitability, and that it was now a wide-open race.

Three solid efforts

Cole credited Trump, Cruz and Rubio with running very strong campaigns and said both of the young senators were making their mark. He said he was not supporting any one candidate.

On the Senate side, Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona told VOA that he was not surprised that Trump did not win. He had gone on record as saying that Trump would not become the Republican nominee.

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe told VOA he was an enthusiastic supporter of Rubio. Inhofe said the Floridian stood out from the rest of the field because of his positive and disciplined message.

Rubio also won the endorsement last night of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the only African-American member of the Senate.

Overall, in the crowded Republican field, Rubio and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush have won many more endorsements from members of Congress than their opponents.

'We are all angry'

At a news conference early Tuesday with other House Republican leaders, Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin declined to comment on the results directly, but he did have something to say about the anger many Republican voters said they were feeling.

We are all angry that the country is headed in the wrong direction," Ryan said. "Were angry were not doing what we need to do to defeat ISIS [the Islamic State terrorist group]. Were angry that we have a porous border. Were angry that people arent getting raises.

Ryan said the key was to take that anger and to channel it into constructive and positive policy solutions to problems. Ryan strongly criticized Trumps call late last year to ban Muslims from entering the country, saying the United States was founded on religious freedom and tolerance.

On the Democratic side, most lawmakers who were taking a side were lining up to back Clinton over Sanders.

'Exciting' Sanders campaign

Democratic Representative Brian Higgins of New York told VOA that he had expected a fight to the finish in Iowa: Hillary Clinton started with a huge lead a year and a half ago, and that is very, very difficult to sustain. I think the campaign of Bernie Sanders has been very exciting and energetic, and I think caucus voters responded to that.

Higgins is supporting Clinton in the race, saying he worked very closely with her on a major project to revive the city of Buffalo when she was a New York senator.

Representative Jim Costa of California is also supporting Clinton. He told VOA he didn't necessarily think the close finish in Iowa meant Democrats were in for a long, protracted race. He said it remained to be seen whether Sanders, an independent running for the Democratic nod, would have staying power past April.
A 72-year-old man has become the oldest person on death row to be executed in the state of Georgia.



Brandon Astor Jones was given a lethal injection early Wednesday morning after last-minute appeals failed.



Jones was sentenced to death 36 years ago for having killed a convenience store worker during a robbery.



Another man, Van Roosevelt Solomon, took part in the crime and was also sentenced to death. He was executed by electrocution in 1985.



Jones denied shooting the store manager, Roger Tackett, and law enforcement officials were never able to determine who fired the fatal shot.



The Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organization which aims to educate the public about issues related to capital punishment said the case  raises questions of proportionality and discriminatory application of the death penalty.



In 1989, a judge overturned Jones sentence because jurors had a bible during their deliberations and that, it was argued, could have influenced their verdict. The death sentence was reinstated in 1997.



According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper, Jones did not make a final statement but did record a message before his execution.
At the start of the new year, a law took effect in Texas that allows a gun owner with a concealed-weapon license to openly carry a handgun in a holster in public.

Some stores and restaurants are exercising their right to ban guns on their property, but at least one Houston-area business owner is encouraging customers to pack heat.

Customers come to Brooks Place for the smoked brisket, but they pay 10 percent less if they bring a gun.

Law-abiding gun owners

Owner Trent Brooks believes law-abiding gun owners help prevent crime.

We support the Second Amendment"  which relates to the right to keep and bear arms  "and we want to show appreciation to people who are carrying their firearms to protect themselves, to protect their business and to protect their family, he said.

Brooks said most customers have no problem with his policy. But some have told him the guns give them heartburn.

We have people who say they are not coming back, we have people who say they are not going to support us, and that is their choice, he said.

But most customers dont wear guns and dont get the discount, even some who often do carry a weapon.

I did not have it today because I was at my parents house and there were lots of little kids around there, so I didnt want to carry it there, customer Augustin Sanchez said during a recent stop at Brooks' Place.

When asked how often he does carry the weapon, Sanchez replied, "Ah, most of the time.

Increase in bans

Gun-rights supporters have held rallies with their firearms to celebrate the new law, but many gun owners say it has resulted in more gun bans on private property.

Some businesses have posted legal notices to bar guns, while others, like the Kroger grocery chain, have not.

Many customers say they dont want to see a gun in the fresh produce section.

One shopper named Mandy said she didn't object to concealed weapons, "but if I were to see it or they were to walk around with it, I probably would be a little bothered. I would not feel comfortable with my kids being around it.

Moms group

The Texas chapter of a group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America wants Kroger and other businesses that allow guns to change their policy.

Only 3 percent of the estimated 27 million people in Texas have handgun permits, so most Texans will probably never see anyone other than a police officer wearing a gun. But there may be a larger public reaction in August when the provision allowing open carrying of guns at state colleges and universities takes effect.
Phone booth, meet your great-great-grandchildren.

Futuristic, 3-meter-tall Wi-Fi portals are steadily moving into New York, replacing thousands of old payphones while using their existing infrastructure. By summers end, more than 500 units will dot the city; in 12 years, there will be as many as 10,000.

The selling points are simple: They are free to use  featuring hotspot 2.0 encryption technology (i.e., a more secure connection) and thereby providing gigabit-speed Internet to the citys 8.5 million residents. Thats roughly 100 times faster than average public Wi-Fi and five times faster than the capability of most smartphones.

It means you can upload pictures in a fraction of a second, you can download a movie before you hop on the train in less than 30 seconds, you can have the content that you want downloaded to your phone and be able to use that on your journey throughout the day in the city, said Jen Hensley, general manager of LinkNYC, the communications network tasked with bringing the units to the citys sidewalks.

The Links, which have already launched in beta phase, each feature two flashy 140-centimeter HD digital screens for public service announcements and advertising, LinkNYCs primary source of revenue.

Bridging the technology divide

The high-speed Wi-Fi reaches a minimum radius of 45 meters before automatically connecting to the next available Link. Every unit is equipped with a charging device and Android tablet for Internet browsing, phone calls and easy access to information on city services, as well as a 911 emergency call button.

Hensley said the idea is to reach all New Yorkers who might not otherwise have access to a broadband connection, either in their homes or at work.

We look forward to being able to provide the opportunity for educational, professional and recreational access that really every human deserves in this day and age, Hensley said.

The units infrastructure is built using a cast aluminum exterior, designed by CIVIQ Smartscapes to withstand vandalism and severe weather, including flooding, earthquakes, extreme heat and cold.

Joshua Berglund, engineering program manager at CIVIQ Smartscapes, said its designers have extensive experience in military application manufacturing, which was useful in developing LinkNYCs rugged structure.

He said the key structural feature of New Yorks Links is their ability to blend in with their surroundings, representing a natural progression of the city.

It stands out on its own, but it doesnt really jump out at you and stand out too much from the rest of the streetscape, Berglund said.

Global model

LinkNYC expects CityBridge, the consortium awarded the 12-year franchise, to generate more than $500 million for the city of New York over the span of its contract, while regaining its capital investment worth $200 million.

Its a venture that Hensley describes as a revolutionary model for cities worldwide who want to deliver quality services to their residents and visitors.

It's a global economy," she said. "People are traveling more and more, and the services that they know they can rely on in New York, we expect them to want when they go to places like London and Paris and Hong Kong.

In addition to its current features, LinkNYC plans to roll out additional apps and services over the next few months. The company expects to install 4,500 Links within the first four years, across all five New York boroughs.
Authorities in Pakistan have arrested the suspected main facilitator of last months attack on a university that killed at least 21 people, mostly students.

Intelligence sources confirmed to VOA on Wednesday that security operatives detained the suspect from an area not far from the northwestern town of Charsadda, where four heavily armed militants stormed the Bacha Khan University on January 20 and carried out the massacre. All of the assailants were killed in a four-hour gun battle with security forces inside the university.

The English-language DAWN newspaper has identified the suspect as Waheed Ali, alias Arshad, saying his arrest took place last week in Nowshera, a city near Charsadda, while he was attempting to flee to Afghanistan.

"He had shaved his beard and packed up. His [hired] taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," the paper reported, adding that Arshad is in his 30s and has confessed to his crime.

Fugitive commander implicated

The detainee told interrogators that a fugitive Pakistani militant commander, Khalifa Umar Mansoor, planned and ordered the attack from his suspected base in the Afghan border district of Achin, sources said.

The Pakistani military announced the arrest a week ago of five other people who allegedly facilitated the deadly university assault. Officials at the time claimed to have intercepted telephone conversations between the attackers and their alleged handler in Afghanistan, namely Mansoor.

The militant commander, who heads a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility in a video message released to the media a few days after the attack. He identified the four men accompanying him in the video as the university attackers.

In his video message, Mansoor also threatened to carry out more such attacks, prompting educational institutions across the country to close until early this week.

Bitter memories

The university attack revived memories of the December 2014 militant raid on an army-run school in the nearby city of Peshawar, in which 150 people, mostly children, were massacred.

The main Taliban organization, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, had claimed responsibility for that violence but has denied any involvement in the university attack.

Afghanistans Achin district, according to U.S. and Afghan officials, is serving as the main base for regional militants linked to the Islamic State militant group.

The Afghan district and surrounding areas in eastern Nangarhar province have increasingly become a security challenge for authorities already struggling to tackle the resurgent Taliban insurgency.

Earlier this week, a joint Afghan-U.S. air assault on Achin destroyed an Islamic State radio station and killed 29 of its fighters, according to provincial officials.

U.S. military commanders acknowledge that fugitive Pakistan Taliban extremists fleeing military offensives on the other side of the border have joined forces with IS in restive Nangarhar.
An attack on a petroleum pipeline in Nigerias restive Niger Delta region last week sent crude gushing into creeks and raised fears of a renewed insurgency in the countrys oil production heartland.

Senator Ben Murray-Bruce says the flow of oil from a ruptured pipeline near the Bayelsa State community of Brass has been stopped. He says he didnt know how much oil has been spilled.

A spokesman for Italian multinational Eni, parent company of pipeline operator Agip, did not respond to an email for comment.

Last weeks attack marks the fifth time an oil installation in the delta has been sabotaged since the start of the year, said Mike Karikpo, program manager for Nigerian environmental group Environmental Rights Action.

The Niger Delta was previously home to an insurgency by local militants who wanted a greater share of the regions oil wealth. A 2009 amnesty deal that saw the government provide the militants job training and monthly cash stipends is credited with quelling the violence.

Given the lull that weve had over the last two years or thereabouts, this is... an unusual increase in attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Karikpo said.

Possible backlash

Anyakwee Nsirimovu, executive director of the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the oil production hub Port Harcourt, attributed the recent spike in pipeline vandalism to the filing of charges against prominent former militant Government Ekpemupolo, who is known as Tompolo.

The filing of charges against the former militant is one of a string of corruption-related arrests and prosecutions in recent months of politicians and businessmen.

President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to fight corruption after taking office last year. Nsirimovu characterized the recent incidences of vandalism in the delta as blowback from Tompolos arrest warrant.

Whoever is doing this, they are doing that... to, probably think that theyll be able to stop the federal government from getting Tompolo to [be held to] account, Nsirimovu said.

Bargaining chip



Karikpo said the reasons for the sabotage are greater than just one man. Nigerias government has been trying to wind down the amnesty program, which is increasingly seen as a costly expenditure at a time when the low price of crude is hurting Nigerias oil-dependent economy.

He believes whoever is sabotaging the pipelines is doing so to get the federal government to make more concessions to the ex-militants.

Theres that apprehension by the ex-agitators who have been benefiting from this particular process to get government to come back and see if they can continue the amnesty process and the payments that they do monthly on a permanent basis, Karikpo said.
Investors and power developers from around the world gathered in Washington last week to push ideas and efforts to alleviate the shortages of electricity that plague many African countries.

The In-Stream Auger Turbine, which uses flowing water to generate power, was among the technological innovations exhibited at the second annual Powering Africa Summit.

This unit, unlike other hydro-energy projects, doesn't take years to perform, said Chun Pong Ng of Zoetic Global. Unlike wind and solar that only deliver when Mother Nature cooperates, these units deliver energy 24/7, nonstop as long as the river flows."

His company just signed a 100-megawatt purchasing power agreement with Ghana's electricity company and hopes to deliver the turbines by mid-summer.

Another example of innovation: Karpownership, dubbed the "floating power plant," according to Veronica Bolton-Smith from EnergyNet, the organizer of the summit.

"They are able to pull power that's generated from their ship onto the mainland and they've just done a project in Ghana and it was quite successful," Bolton-Smith said.

However, she stressed, the smaller projects are just as important as bigger ones.

"We've got something called 'Shake Your Power' which is run by a lady called Sudha. It's a little device kind of like a musical instrument; you shake it and it emits a light, Bolton-Smith said. That's going to be relevant to someone living in a provincial place that has no reading light or can't see their cooking utensils."

Progress, praise, hope

It was 2013 when President Barack Obama unveiled the new power Africa initiative with a vow to invest $7 billion in U.S. government resources.

Fast forward to this week, in which Power Africa coordinator Andrew Herscowitz unveiled a free app called PATT, which can track hundreds of energy projects in the continent.

"What we've done with this road map is we've shown specifically how we're going to add 30,000 megawatts and 60 million connections," he said.

Babacar Diagne, Senegal's ambassador to the U.S., praised Obama's initiative, which he credits with helping to boost Senegal's electricity production.

He said nearly $100 million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation will allow Senegal's biggest power plant to reopen in May 2016.

OPIC financing provides medium- to long-term funding through direct loans and loan guaranties to eligible investment projects in developing countries.

Opportunity for many

The hope is that these partnerships are just the beginning, said Gabino Guerengomba, CEO of Integrated Solar Technologies.

"The electricity shortage in Africa is 90 million megawatts, so it cannot only take one company or one government," Guerengomba said.

Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, which operates a portfolio of businesses across Africa, also stressed the importance of partnerships in creating success for all parties.

We are the first solar module thats developed from the ground up exclusively for Africa," he said of a recent project. As a result of it, we have not only produced our first unit, but we went on to get a very good contract with the government of Benin. We are here not only to present our joint venture, but also to seek partners to showcase how our technology can really be a game-changer in the energy sector in Africa."

The future, agrees Herscowitz, is bright.

There is absolutely no reason the entire continent cant be lit up, he said, because there is the money, the technology and the desire to make it happen. People have to be more forward thinking, forward leaning and have competition to bring cost down.

The new external challenge with whats going on with commodity prices being lower and currency devaluation; thats going to add an additional complication, so our role is going to be what we can do to help mitigate some of those risks as well.
A new report said the United States had a record number of exonerations in 2015.

The National Registry of Exonerations, a project of the University of Michigan Law School, said 149 people were exonerated last year, a number that has more than doubled since 2011.

The wrongful convictions were spread out across 29 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and federal courts. But the southwestern U.S. state of Texas was by far responsible for the most exonerations, with 54, followed by 17 in New York and 13 in Illinois.

"There is a growing awareness that false convictions are a substantial, widespread and tragic problem," the report said. "Increasingly, Americans realize that we convict innocent people of crimes on a regular basis."

More than two-thirds of those exonerated had been convicted in homicide and drug cases, and five people had been sentenced to death.

Heightened focus

The report comes at a time of heightened focus on the U.S. criminal justice system.

In the past few years there have been high-profile cases involving police misconduct, especially against African-Americans, that drew headlines and protests, while podcasts and television series exploring the cases of people serving sentences for murders have garnered huge followings.

"The most striking thing about these exonerations, however, is the nature of the underlying convictions," the report said. "The list of exonerations in 2015 includes record numbers of homicide cases with false confessions and official misconduct, with convictions based on guilty pleas, and cases in which no crime in fact occurred."

The report lists 27 exonerations in cases that involved false confessions, 65 that featured official misconduct and 65 more where the person was convicted based on a guilty plea. Another 75 cases involved one where the report said no crime took place.
Under huge strain from an influx of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, the Swedish government faces political pressure to undertake medical tests like X-rays to vet the age of young refugees despite opposition from doctors and lawyers.

The controversy reflects tensions over surging immigration into the Nordic country of 10 million after a public backlash that saw controls reimposed on the border with Denmark, from which most migrants have entered Sweden.

Sweden took in 163,000 asylum seekers last year, the most per capita in Europe. They were among more than one million who streamed into the continent, fleeing increasing conflict and deprivation in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

More than a fifth, 35,000, of those reaching Sweden have been unaccompanied children, stretching services like schools.

Reports of violence and assaults at centers for minors have added to the public disquiet and hardened anti-immigrant sentiment in a country long renowned for its humanitarian open-door policy towards the wretched of the earth.

Many have arrived without IDs, leaving Sweden the task of checking their real ages to ensure adults  defined as age 18 or over  were not pretending to be minors to secure asylum.

Worried young adults may be swelling these ranks, many of Sweden's opposition parties are calling for medical tests. Even the government has called for more non-medical testing while it awaits reform proposals in April to break the deadlock.

There is a great incentive to claim to be a minor. Applicants have greater access to housing and schools and less chance of being deported.

"At the moment, very few, if any, age assessments are being done in Sweden," Fredrik Beijer, Director of Legal Affairs of Sweden's Migration Agency, told Reuters.

Efforts to confirm ages have been hampered by the inability of authorities to carry out medical tests  such as X-rays of teeth and hands. The government said in November it wanted medical tests. But while such tests are not llegal, doctors have refused, saying they are inaccurate.

"We believe that for a decision that has such large consequences in an individual's life, one must require higher precision," said Anders Hjern, a spokesman for the Swedish Paediatric Society.

But doubts have not stopped the center-right Moderates, Sweden's biggest opposition party, calling on the migration agency to hire doctors for medical checks in an effort to lower the number of children arriving without families.

"Unaccompanied minors make up around 20 percent of asylum seekers but they cost about half the migration budget," said Hanif Bali, an Iranian-born lawmaker for the Moderates. Bali himself came to Sweden as an unaccompanied minor at age three.

"Out of my own experience, because I have lived in these kinds of homes, the environment becomes much harsher when you have older people there. You get prison rules and many children get caught up in the older people's trouble-making."

Many other European Union countries do carry out medical tests. Austria, for example, allows doctors to do "age determination reports" that include checks on teeth as well as genital development. In Italy, medical-age assessments, such as X-rays, can be carried out by court order.

Sweden shocked by assaults

The issue of refugee minors is especially sensitive in Sweden. Reports of assaults in overcrowded minors' centers including a 22-year-old female Swedish employee of one center who was stabbed to death last week  have contributed to a sense authorities are overwhelmed.

"The risk of disputes and discontent is obvious, and some small detail may trigger conflict," said Thomas Svensson, head of social affairs for the Emmaboda municipality in southeastern Sweden, where staff at a home for unaccompanied minors locked themselves in a room as 19 migrant youths rioted.

The influx of minors also carries big fiscal costs. Sweden last year had to find an extra 70,000 school places due to asylum seekers, on top of the 100,000 pupils that normally enter the school system for the first time in any given year.

Half of unaccompanied minors have been registered as between 16 and 17, often making age confirmation difficult and sparking accusations from the likes of the far-right Sweden Democrats  the third biggest party in parliament - that adults are taking advantage of soft controls to enter the country.

Even without medical tests, some 667 minors had their age "adjusted" between January and November last year, according to the justice ministry. The data does not show if it was adjusted to above 18. That compares to 363 cases for all 2014.

Proud of Sweden's decades-old tradition as a self-proclaimed "humanitarian superpower", the government regards most refugee minors as bona fide refugees fleeing war.

Immigration supporters say Swedes have been unduly influenced by a media frenzy linking migrants with crime that has little to do with reality. For example, despite reports of refugees being associated with sexual assaults, reported rapes fell 12 percent last year in Sweden. Thefts were down 2 percent.

The debate is part of a crisis that has cut center-left Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's support to record lows in polls due to a popular sense that his government is largely helpless to stop a migrant influx seen as threatening Sweden's generous welfare state and vaunted social stability.

In a sign of mounting political frustration, Migration Minister Morgan Johansson called on Sunday for the migration agency to carry out more non-medical tests, such as interviews with children.
Somali authorities have found the body of a missing passenger from a plane that made an emergency landing at Mogadishu airport after a blast ripped a hole through it Tuesday.

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Ali Ahmed Jama Jangali told VOA Somali that the body of the person, found near the town of Balad, is in the hands of the investigators.

He said it will take days to determine what caused the explosion on the plane, operated by Daallo Airlines, that was carrying 81 people.

Meanwhile, passengers praised the pilot and the crew for saving their lives.

Ahmed Elmi Muhumed, a Somali official who was on the plane, told VOA's Somali service that the crew immediately evacuated the passengers sitting near the hole, helped them put on oxygen masks and assured them there would be a safe landing.

The pilot and crew have done a wonderful job by communicating effectively, he said.

Muhumed said the explosion occurred 10-15 minutes after take-off. He said that air that was coming into the plane through the hole but the airliner did not dive or lose balance.

Another passenger on the plane said he felt the lights flickered seconds before the explosion.

According to sources the explosion occurred at row 16. The person who was ejected out of the plane after the blast was sitting in seat number 16F.

The airline said most of the passengers were transferred by Turkish Airlines which cancelled flights to Mogadishu two days ago.

Turkish Airlines gave a brief statement to VOA Somali which read: "Our relevant flights have been cancelled due to operational reasons required in the framework of bad weather conditions."

After the plane landed, Muhumed said, the passengers clapped and congratulated the pilot and crew.
Japan and South Korea joined the United States Wednesday in demanding that North Korea cancel plans to send a long-range rocket into space, saying the launch would violate United Nations resolutions banning ballistic-missile and nuclear weapon development in the country.

North Korea notified U.N. agencies late Tuesday its plans to launch what it calls an "Earth observation satellite" sometime between February 8-25.

Pyongyang maintains it has a sovereign right to pursue a space program by launching rockets, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other U.S. allies have denounced the program as a hostile pretense intended to circumvent international restrictions.

'It's a provocation'

"This has been a meaning actually for a ballistic-missile test. In addition to the nuclear tests, North Korea testing these ballistic missiles is an obvious violation of Security Council decisions. In terms of important security decisions for our country, it's a provocation," Abe said.

His government Wednesday ordered the military to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens Japan.

Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test January 6.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012 shortly before conducting its third nuclear test.

South Korea cautioned the North will face serious consequences if it proceeds with the launch.

"We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan, which is a grave threat to peace not only in the Korean peninsula but also this region and around the world," said Cho Tae-yong, senior security official at the South Korean presidential office.

Limited diplomatic options

China Wednesday said it was extremely concerned by the reports of an impending North Korean missile launch. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing has called on Pyongyang to exercise restraint.

The U.S. and its allies are already pressing a reluctant Beijing to support harsh U.N. sanctions in response to Pyongyangs recent nuclear test, there are few diplomatic options available to compel the Kim Jong Un government to stop.

I think there is nothing for the U.S., Japan and South Korea to do other than releasing statements, said North Korean defector and analyst Ahn Chan-il with the World Institute for North Korean Studies.

While Washington and Beijing agree on the need for a strong United Nations resolution against North Korea, they remain divided over the degree of severity the punitive measures should take.

The United States is advocating for stronger international sanctions that impose real economic pain by restricting shipping, aviation, and trade of resources, including coal and fuel.

The U.S. Congress is also working on unilateral sanctions legislation that would target third parties, companies and banks, many in China, that do business with North Korea. If utilized, these measures would almost certainly increase tensions between Washington and Beijing.

China, as the Norths chief benefactor and trading partner, wants a compromise approach that would impose some punishments on the Pyongyang leadership but would also lead all sides toward resuming international negotiations.

In early 2009, Pyongyang withdrew from six-party talks with Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing and Moscow to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic assistance and security guarantees.

China's top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday to discuss the situation just as North Korea announced the rocket launch.

Military options limited

Analysts believe the planned launch is part of North Koreas ongoing program to develop intercontinental nuclear missiles that could potentially target the U.S. mainland.

Japans Defense Ministry on Wednesday ordered ballistic-missile defense units, including Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and Patriot missile batteries onshore, to be ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatened Japan.

However it is unlikely that U.S. or South Korean forces would attempt a preemptive airstrike against the North.

No one is seriously contemplating force to destroy the missile on the ground before the launch or something like that because the cascading effects and the consequences of that would be costly for everyone, said Daniel Pinkston, a lecturer in international relations with Troy University in Seoul.

North Korea is believed to have over 1,000 Soviet-model missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan, and enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear bombs.

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.
South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar visits Egypt Wednesday at the invitation of Egyptian leader Abel Fattah El Sissi.

Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, secretary for foreign affairs of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-In Opposition, said talks will center on getting Egypt to support the implementation of last Augusts agreement to end the South Sudan conflict.

Machar's visit comes on the heels of last weeks African Union summit, where leaders expressed disappointment in both the rebels and the South Sudan government on the lack of progress in implementing the agreement, particularly the formation of a government of national unity.

Implementation has been stalled due to the opposition rejection of President Salva Kiirs decision to create 28 states. Gatkuoth says Egypt has had historic relations with South Sudan, and Machar will urge Sissi to use those relations to help the peace process.

One, they [Egypt] can talk to Juba because they have influence over Juba; they can also talk to us because they also influence over us because if you can recall also, Egypt was a former colonial power together with the United Kingdom and now South Sudan as an independent country, many of our leaders were educated in Egypt," he said. "So, the role of Egypt is being appreciated by all of us across the aisle. So, they can also influence us to make sure that this agreement is respected by all parties.

Gatkuoth also said the Egypt visit is in line with Machars regional tour to drum up support for the peace process, which has taken him so far to Uganda and last weeks African Union summit.

The chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, which is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the August peace agreement, has urged both parties to form the transitional government of national unity without further delay.

Former Botswana president Festus Mogae told government and opposition officials in Juba Tuesday that he is disappointed in the delay, which he said is contributing to the continued suffering of the South Sudanese people.

The deadline for forming the transitional government was last month.



This disappointment stems not solely because of a day on the calendar was missed but because the potential, the opportunity, the possibility of a new government is so close, so vital for this country, that it must be taken," Mogae said. "Every day we spend here, I think of children I met growing up without the chance of education, the chance of bettering their own lives denied through no fault of their own.



Gatkuoth said rebel leader Machar is ready to come to Juba to be sworn in as the vice president of South Sudan as soon as the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission facilitates the move to Juba of rebel security forces.



We have informed officially in a meeting that now we are ready for our leader to come to Juba to be sworn as the first vice president of the Republic, but now we want the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission and the whole world to move quickly to bring in the security forces of the SPLA-in Opposition to Juba as soon as possible, Gatkuoth said.



The impasse in implementing the peace agreement arose after President Salva Kiir created 28 states out of the current 10 states, a move the rebels said violated the agreement.



Gatkuoth said both the rebels and the South Sudan government have agreed to the stipulations in the communique of IGAD, which calls for suspension of the operationalization of the 28 states once a transitional government of national unity has been formed.



We [the government of the Republic of South Sudan and also the SPLA in Opposition and other opposition parties] have adopted the IGAD communique which is basically saying, one, take the security forces of the SPLA-IO to Juba, two, form the transitional government, three, discuss the 28 states, and immediately once the transitional government of national unity is in place, the operationalization of the 28 states will be suspended until there is an agreement by the two parties on the number of states, he said.



But he said if the two parties still fail to agree on the number of states, then a provision in the agreement that is 10 states will prevail.
South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar visits Egypt Wednesday to urge Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to support the implementation of the peace agreement signed last August to end the South Sudan conflict.

Last week, leaders at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, expressed disappointment with the rebels and the South Sudan government for the lack of progress in implementing the agreement, particularly the formation of a government of national unity.

The peace agreement has been stalled due to the opposition's rejection of President Salva Kiirs decision to create 28 states.

Purpose to states' creation

Kiir said one purpose of the new states is to decentralize power, placing resources closer to the rural population while at the same time reducing the size of the national government.

Rebel leaders have said the division of South Sudan into 28 states will bring about more community unrest because it takes away land from one tribal group and gives it to another.

Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, secretary for foreign affairs of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, said Egypt has had historic relations with South Sudan and Machar will urge Sissi to use those relations to help the peace process.

Egypt was a former colonial power together with the United Kingdom and now South Sudan as an independent country, many of our leaders were educated in Egypt. So, the role of Egypt is being appreciated by all of us across the aisle. So, they can also influence us to make sure that this agreement is respected by all parties, Gatkuoth said.

Urging completion

The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the August peace agreement, has urged both parties to form the transitional government of national unity without further delay. January was the deadline for forming the transitional government.

Former Botswana President Festus Mogae, chairman of the JMEC, told government and opposition officials in Juba Tuesday he is disappointed in the delay, which he said was contributing to the continued suffering of the South Sudanese people.

This disappointment stems not solely because of a day on the calendar was missed but because the potential, the opportunity, the possibility of a new government is so close, so vital for this country, that it must be taken, Mogae said.

Gatkuoth said Machar is ready to come to Juba to be sworn in as vice president of South Sudan as soon as the JMEC facilitates the move to Juba of rebel security forces.

He said the rebels and the South Sudan government have agreed to the stipulations in the communique of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) trade bloc, which calls for suspension of the 28 states once a transitional government of national unity has been formed.

But he said if the two parties still fail to agree on the number of states, then a provision in the agreement which is 10 states will prevail.
The United Nations on Wednesday called off the fractious Syrian peace talks in Geneva until the end of February.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who was alternating between discussions with representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups trying to overthrow him, called the delay until February 25 a "temporary pause" and not the demise of what had been the first Syrian peace effort in two years.

"This is not the end," de Mistura said, "and it is not the failure of the talks."

Aleppo takeover

The temporary halt in the talks came as the Syrian army claimed that it has ended the rebel siege of two Shi'ite villages in Aleppo, handing Assad's government a major victory.

Syrian state television said the army and Shi'ite militias known as the Popular Defense Committees had broken the rebels' three-year blockade around Nubul and Zahraa, part of the government's advance in Aleppo province in recent days.

The rebel defeat allows Syrian forces to take control of a supply route from Aleppo to the Turkish border.

The army's success is one of the biggest blows to the insurgents since they captured large parts of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, in the summer of 2012.

The U.S. blamed the pause in peace talks on Russian airstrikes that disrupted humanitarian aid to Syrians.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said Russian airstrikes around Aleppo focused mainly on opposition forces, not Islamic State militants.

"Today we continue to see more Russian airstrikes in and around Aleppo. Strikes not aimed at DAESH," said Kirby, using the acronym for the Arabic name for the Islamic State, "but rather almost exclusively on the opposition. Strikes which again have led to reports of civilian casualties, increased displacement of Syrian citizens and the possible destruction of humanitarian assistance routes."

Elsewhere, Syria's state news agency SANA said rebels had fired several rockets in the southern city of Daraa, killing 10 civilians and wounding 41 in a residential area. Daraa is a contested area with forces loyal to both Assad and armed opposition groups trying to overthrow him.

The new fighting came as the country's main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, appealed to international donors for more financial support for the Syrian people affected by the nearly five-year conflict.

The committee, speaking ahead of a donor conference in London on Thursday, said, "Syrians need concrete action from our friends to stop the indiscriminate bombardment" being carried out by Assad's forces with aerial support from Russian fighter jets.

Russian airstrikes

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday his country's military will not stop its airstrikes in Syria until "terrorist organizations" there are defeated.

Lavrov specifically mentioned the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra as a target of the strikes, saying he does not see why they should stop.

Russia has come under Western criticism for its air campaign in Syria, saying it focuses on opposition fighters opposed to Assad, instead of Islamic State militants, which Russia repeatedly has denied.

US urges end to airstrikes

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for an end to airstrikes on Tuesday and said a cease-fire in Syria should be implemented soon.

"We are all extraordinarily sympathetic to the limits of propriety and common sense in the opposition sitting at the table while someone continues to bomb them,'' Kerry said in Rome, where he attended a meeting of coalition members fighting the Islamic State group.

But members of the opposition delegation in Geneva said the gesture would make little difference for the peace process. One representative, Ahmad Ramadan, said the only way to save the talks is for the United Nations and the United States to force an end to the bombardment and the targeting of civilians.

"The regimes and Russias actions gravely threaten the political process at this early stage, another opposition member, Farah Atassi, said.



The Syrian government on Tuesday allowed 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to travel into a rebel-held area near Damascus as a demonstration of good will. The opposition called it an empty gesture as long as government forces continue to step up their offensive.

The Syrian government delegation said it did not open formal negotiations as scheduled Tuesday with U.N. envoy de Mistura, saying the basic framework or agenda of the talks had yet to be established, and the process had not yet moved beyond the preparatory phase.

We are waiting to find out the procedural issues, who will negotiate. Until now nothing is clear: one or two or three or four delegations? There is no clear answers, Bashar Jaafari, the chief Syrian government representative told reporters in Geneva.

Troubled talks

At the same time, the main opposition group canceled a meeting it had scheduled with de Mistura Tuesday, saying the escalating assault by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies are reasons not to pursue negotiations.

De Mistura declared the talks officially under way on Monday, after persuading the opposition to join the talks. As far as we are concerned, their arrival to the Palais des Nations and initiating the discussion with us is the official beginning of the Geneva talks, the UN envoy said.

The formal start came exactly one week after they were originally scheduled to begin, and now they are delayed again.

But the opposition was threatening to walk out of the talks if the airstrikes did not stop and if the government does not lift the siege it says is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in rebel-held areas.
According to a recent estimate, there are 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States, making up about 1 percent of the U.S. population. About 150,000 are of Syrian ancestry. Thousands are college graduates trained in medical, technical, engineering and business specialties, with incomes above the national average.

Education is extremely important to Muslim Americans. And higher education includes fraternity life.

In an effort to enhance their American identity, 15 Syrian-American students at Pennsylvania State University, one of Americas largest public universities, have formed a chapter of a growing national Muslim fraternity, Alpha Lambda Mu.

The idea is to create a place where Muslim students can go on campus and essentially feel that they can experience college to the full potential, but in a way that aligns with Muslim values and interests, Zico Khayat, a third-year science student at Penn State, told VOA.

Khayat said Islamic State's attacks in Paris and other terrorist threats, plus verbal assaults against Muslims in the current U.S. political campaign, also are reasons for Syrian-Americans to participate fully in campus life.

Penn State is located in the small town of State College, in the eastern United States. The university population is approximately 45,000, with a blend of religions, ethnicities and colors. Approximately 1 percent of the student body is Muslim, including Syrian-Americans.

The university administration recently invited Muslim students to a breakfast, a step that Khayat called real care and initiative on the part of the university.

They really wanted to hear from us and talk to us. People are learning we are good people, he said.

Muslim students purchased over 75 cases and 100 single gallon jugs of water that they donated to people in Flint, Michigan, on February 1st, Khayat noted proudly. "We do things on campus to show that we are normal people; you shouldnt be scared of us.

Natives of town

Both Khayat and his brother, Zak, were born and brought up in State College. Zak Khayat has a bachelor's degree in material sciences and engineering. Before enrolling in graduate school, he was a resident assistant on campus for three years.

Before the whole Syria crisis, when I would say my family is from Syria, people never heard of the country before," Zak Khayat told VOA. "I have never felt out of place. People at Penn State are open and so accepting of other faiths. It allowed me to get closer to my religion because I had a place to go and study at the same time. People now recognize my religion.

Commenting on the idea of a national registry or ID program for Muslims of the kind proposed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Zak Khayat said: Why do we need to carry ID cards if others dont carry ID cards? Whats special about us that you make us carry ID cards?

Robert Smith, director of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development at Penn State, said 60 different religious groups utilize his facility. He said the Syrian-American students feel supported and very welcome, adding: Most people are open and just willing to look at them as individuals, not as a group or anything like that. That seems to work pretty well for them.

Nada El-Hillal, who will be graduating from Penn State in three months, is majoring in bio-behavioral health, which is a combination of biology, psychology and sociology. El-Hillal was born in Dubai. Her parents are from Syria.

She said she has not faced much discrimination, and called Trump and his views absurd."

"Doesnt make sense to me, she said of Trump. He says, 'Go home.' And this is my home, you know? Its just kind of sad that people have the wrong idea about Islam. I dont know how people see me, but this my home. America is my home, and Im just going to school like everyone else.
Seventy world leaders are due Thursday in London for the fourth Syria donors conference. The United Nations wants $9 billion to help fund humanitarian relief and projects to help refugees.



The toll on civilians grows heavier by the month as Syrias civil war enters its sixth year.



The United Nations estimates more than a quarter million people have been killed. Four and a half million Syrians have fled the country, and a further 6.6 million are internally displaced, half of them children.



Previous donor conferences have focused on raising funds for humanitarian relief.



U.S. Assistant Secretary for Refugees and Migration Anne Richard says the agenda in London is different.



This year there are more ambitious goals, which are to do more to educate children, to get jobs for the refugees, to bring development resources to bear, to help people get to safety, not just in the region, but beyond as well," said Richard.



World leaders are aiming to raise $9 billion. Last year the United Nations received only $3.3 billion of the $8.4 billion promised by donors.



Jordan warned this week that the "dam could burst" if it did not receive more support to deal with the estimated 630,000 refugees on its soil. Mohammed Momani is Minister for Media Affairs.



"Europe and the international community can give enough commitment and support to shouldering part of the responsibility that the host countries are undertaking in this period of time," said Momani..



Richard says the United States is working towards accepting thousands more Syrian refugees.



We have a process that is slow and thorough, and intent on ensuring that no bad actors get into the United States. And we are trying to do as good a job as possible to bring in more refugees without undermining the program," she said.



The images of drowned three-year-old refugee Aylan Kurdi, and the pictures of people starving in the town of Madaya, have focused attention of the plight of Syrias people. The response of the worlds governments is being watched closely.
Ukraine's economy minister tendered his resignation Wednesday, citing political pressure and corruption.

Aivaras Abromavicius said the countrys leadership had routinely blocked his reform efforts and that the economy ministry was at the mercy of corrupt vested interests.

"Neither me, nor my team have any desire to serve as a cover-up for the covert corruption, or become puppets for those who, very much like the 'old' government, are trying to exercise control over the flow of public funds," he said.

The Lithuanian-born Abromavicius said Ukraine needed a total reset of power. Referring to ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, he said the country's present state is not just because of Yanukovych, but because of the total lack of reform over 20 years.

President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday that Abromavicius should remain in his post and push ahead with reforms. But the president has no direct say over cabinet appointments.

In announcing his resignation, Abromavicius said Igor Kononenko, a Poroshenko ally in Ukraine's parliament, had lobbied to have loyalists appointed to key positions in state-owned enterprises, and even to the post of deputy economy minister.

Speaking to Ukraine's Espreso TV channel Espreso, Kononenko categorically denied Abromavicius' accusations and said he would resign if they were proven.

Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said it would investigate Abromavicius' accusations against Kononenko.

Abromavicius's resignation may be reviewed by parliament as early as Thursday.

A group of ten ambassadors, including those from the United States, Britain and Canada, said in an open letter that they were deeply disappointed by Abromavicius' resignation.

During the past year, Abromavicius and his professional team have made important strides -- implementing tough but necessary economic reforms to help stabilize Ukraines economy, root out endemic corruption, bring Ukraine into compliance with its IMF (International Monetary Fund) program obligations, and promote more openness and transparency in government, the ambassadors wrote.

Ukraines stable, secure and prosperous future will require the sustained efforts of a broad and inclusive team of dedicated professionals who put the Ukrainian peoples' interests above their own.

Abromavicius, a former investment banker, advocated deregulation and wide-scale privatization in Ukraine.

He was appointed to the cabinet 14 months ago along with other political newcomers from the private sector, including U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko.

VOA's Ukrainian Service contributed to this report
Campaign money from shadowy sources is back this election. More than $4 million of it channeled to outside groups helping U.S. presidential candidates has come from unknown or masked donors.



Super political action committees, or super PACs, helping White House hopefuls like Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Hillary Clinton received big checks recently from obscure corporations or from nonprofits that don't have to disclose their donors' names.



A super PAC backing Rubio, a senator from Florida, benefited from companies with names like IGX LLC ($500,000) and TMCV (hash)2 LLC ($90,000). The Associated Press traced IGX to a New York investor, and the other to an Idaho billionaire.



Meanwhile, Democratic-leaning American Bridge 21st Century reported more than $1.5 million from its affiliated nonprofit, which doesn't have to name its donors. American Bridge, which said it used the money to pay for expenses like rent and staff, was founded by Clinton supporter David Brock.

The contributions are a reminder of federal court decisions in recent years that loosened prior restrictions in campaign finance laws. That has made it difficult at times to tell who's really supporting candidates, and what favors or influence could be owed should they get elected.



The AP counted more than two dozen groups that each gave at least $50,000 to presidential-aligned super PACs during the last three months of 2015. At least half of those were unrecognizable names like family trusts, real estate holdings or firms that were far from household brands.

The AP pieced together who was behind some of the donations by analyzing more than 80 million campaign finance records, property tax documents and other public records.



The largest, obfuscated super PAC donation was IGX's $500,000, paid to the Rubio-aligned Conservative Solutions PAC. The AP discovered the contribution came from self-described investor and IGX owner Andrew Duncan of New York, whose firm was listed in a prior donation to Rubio.



Rubio has said it's important for people to know the source of political money.



Duncan, who said he worked as a technology executive and has invested in several film productions, acknowledged he was the source of the super PAC donation in emails Tuesday to the AP. Duncan, who funds human rights efforts in China, said he admired Rubio's work on the issue and had used IGX to mask the donation because he was worried about reprisals.



Even frequent contributors whose names appear elsewhere in Federal Election Commission data donated through a variety of companies.



One conservative super PAC donor, Frank VanderSloot from Idaho, gave $150,000 under his own name to Conservative Solutions PAC. Yet records indicate two companies tied to him, TMCV (hash)2 LLC and NG Montana LLC, gave an additional $175,000 to the same PAC, which has so far spent $14.8 million in ads this election, according to political ad tracker Kantar Media.



In an interview, VanderSloot confirmed he was behind the contributions but denied he was trying to hide money. He said the super PAC called him in December requesting more donations, and that's where we had cash at that moment.



Just wait until this year, VanderSloot said. We're going to send bucketloads. This was teaspoons.
"Business is always good here, store clerk Mohammad Ali said, pointing to the rows of clothing in his shop in the Saudi capital.

But a month after Saudi Arabia severed formal relations with Iran, the calm in Riyadh belies a growing fear in the region. The two regional giants are often at odds, but now, with no diplomatic ties, they are teetering between peace talks and escalating proxy wars in Syria and Yemen.

For many Saudis, victory for Irans allies in either conflict would threaten the kingdom militarily and psychologically.

Yet as Iran rejoins world markets after an international nuclear agreement, some Saudi analysts say the new dynamic presents not just a threat, but an opportunity.

We are in the same boat, said Mohammad al-Sabban, a former senior adviser to the Saudi minister of petroleum. Either we have to sink together or we have to swim together.

The quarrel

In this quiet, ancient market, locals say the quarrel between Saudi Arabia and Iran has little to do with the people who would be harmed, in either country, if the conflict escalated.

The current row is an extension of a decades-old rivalry and, some argue, the product of a rift within Islam between Shiite and Sunni Muslims more than a thousand years ago. Iran is the worlds most powerful Shiite-led nation and Saudi Arabia is arguably the strongest Sunni-led state. Throw in ethnic differences  Arab versus Persian  and the split widens.

Last month, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite sheikh, causing anger across the Shiite world, especially in Iran. After protesters attacked Saudi Arabias embassy in Tehran, the kingdom, along with Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, downgraded or cut formal ties.

The Iranian government condemned the attack, saying more than 100 people have been arrested. Still, people here blame Iranian leaders for the incident.

Iran is our neighbor, said essential oil seller Abu-Talal Sultan, sipping a small glass of tea. Its their governments political agenda. They dont even care for their own people.

But Sultan added that Iranians and Saudis are more alike than different.

We are all Muslim, he said.

Military map

Iran gives direct support to the Syrian government in its war against rebel factions and Islamic State militants, and it is widely believed to support Houthi rebels battling Yemen's Saudi-backed government. Saudi analysts view these as Iranian attempts to build up allies in the region.

With Shiite militias in Iraq, and Egypts growing alliance with Russia, which also supports Damascus, the possibility of Iranian hegemony in the Middle East has become a threat comparable to a 1939 moment, according to Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist, making a comparison with Germanys bid to overrun Europe in World War II.

Over the past year, Saudi Arabia has felt sidelined as Iran's global importance has grown, according to Hamad al-Shehri, an academic adviser for the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While negotiating a nuclear deal intended to curb Irans nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, Irans relatively new leadership preached moderation and cooperation.

But Saudis were incredulous that the West did not take a strong stand against Iranian involvement in Syria, Yemen and other regional conflicts, al-Shehri said.

The United States are our allies, he said. We wanted them to send a clear message to the Iranians to stop their interfering and to stop supporting smuggling weapons to those militias.

For Saudis, he said, the threat of a future nuclear weapon in Iran is not nearly as immediate as the threat of the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

Economic worries, opportunities

Within three months, Iran could be exporting 500,000 barrels of oil per day, and possibly 1 million more by the end of the year, according to al-Sabban, the former senior adviser to the Saudi oil minister.

This oil will be entering an already flooded market that has driven down prices to below $30 a barrel  a blow to all oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia.

That will have an impact, al-Sabban said. If you add it to the existing oil glut, or oil surplus, definitely that will impact prices.

On the other hand, the economic co-dependency of competing in the same market may force both countries to compromise, said John Sfakianakis, who has advised the Saudi government and serves as chief economist for several Saudi banks.

The only way for oil-producing countries to raise prices globally, he said, is to reduce production. Saudi Arabia has said it will not unilaterally reduce production, lest it lose market share to competitors.

Saudi Arabia is not going to budge, Sfakianakis emphasized.

This means oil-producing nations will have to work together, or they will all continue to suffer, al-Sabban said.

Saudi Arabia could also reap economic benefits through trade with Iran, according to Khaled Almaeena, a veteran Saudi journalist.

Especially now that Iran has joined the world community, Almaeena said in his office overlooking the Red Sea.

Repairing diplomatic relations is more complex than trade for mutual benefit.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Saudi Arabia to end its hostile policies toward Iran. In Saudi Arabia, Almaeena and other analysts say it is Iranian policies that must change to move forward.

Good relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran  provided Iran also comes to its senses  is good for the Muslim world, Almaeena said. It is good for the Arab world.
Its been nearly a year since the Abualnar brothers and their two friends set off from Libya on an overloaded fishing boat, recording the journey on their mobile phones. They survived thanks to the Italian coast guard, which rescued the migrants and took them to the island of Lampedusa.

VOA first met the young refugees at Italys Milan station  cold, fearful, unsure of what lay ahead on their journey to Berlin.

Nine months later, they have been given asylum by Germany and most are still living in refugee camps. Bahaa lives at a camp on the industrial outskirts of Berlin that once housed East Germans fleeing communist rule.

The first days when I got to Berlin I had a strategy to build my life here," he said. "I was thinking of working as a teacher or continuing to study at college or to do something else. Now I am a little bit lost. I dont know what to do.

Refugee camp

Bahaa desperately wants to leave the refugee camp and find a place of his own. But he said landlords in Berlin refuse to rent apartments to refugees, and with so many fleeing Syria's civil war, theres just not enough housing.

Bahaa said he finds it difficult to watch whats happening back home.

I lost my father and brother," he said. "I also lost my uncle and two other relatives because of the war. Its really difficult to communicate with my family because of the situation there and  [weeps] sometimes I am afraid also to get another bad news about them, like I had about my father and brother.

Bahaas friendship with Ghiyath Abualnar was forged in the deserts of Libya and on the open seas of the Mediterranean.

Father's support

With the support of their father, a longtime Berlin resident, Ghiyath said he and his brothers have been fortunate.

I have new work with my father, in an Arabic restaurant, [called] Canaa," he said. "And I study the Deutsch [German] language. And I hope I make that good. And I have a new room in a hostel.

Ghiyath even met German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a refugee-welcoming event in Berlin.

She, for me, is Mama Teresa. Why? Because she open door for me to come," he said.

For Ghiyath, one thing is missing: his mother, who is stuck in Turkey, unable to get a German visa and too frail to follow in her sons footsteps.

The young men are safe, but their search for a new future is far from finished.

WATCH: Video from a year ago: From Aleppo To Berlin: Band of Brothers Escapes Civil War
Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court has struck down a criminal defamation law that had led to hundreds of journalists being arrested in past years.



Justices from Zimbabwes Constitutional Court unanimously struck down the criminal defamation law after an official from the attorney general's office, Venrandah Munyoro, was forced to concede the legislation had no place in a democracy.



She refused to speak to journalists after the ruling.



"No, I am not allowed to talk. [Coco: But you were speaking in court?] That was in court. [Coco: What is the difference?] I am outside court," she said.



In their application, journalists from the Media Institute of Southern Africa argued criminal defamation was unconstitutional and violated media freedom guaranteed by Zimbabwes new constitution.



'Small victory'



Media Institute of Southern Africa in Zimbabwe head Nhlanhla Ngwenya said it is still early to fully celebrate.



It is a small victory in the sense that there are still a lot of laws which can be used to criminalize the profession of journalism," said Ngwenya. "There is still a litany of laws that Zimbabwe still needs to fight; but, having said that, we are coming from [leaving] a period where criminal defamation was now the preferred law that members of the ruling elite were now using against journalists. They were wantonly and recklessly using the law where they felt the stories were quite unpalatable.



Other law targeted



Another law journalists want struck from the books is the Official Secrets Act, which criminalizes reporting on Cabinet meetings less than 25 years after they are held.

Nqaba Matshazi, editor of privately-owned daily The News Day, was one of the journalists who had taken President Robert Mugabes government to court over criminal defamation for a story published in 2011. He says the Wednesday ruling does not give Zimbabwean journalists the right to report lies as civil defamation can be used by an aggrieved party.



"You still cannot write recklessly; you still have to follow the ethics, truth and objectivity. The import of it is that you cannot be arrested for writing falsehoods or stuff like that. We have to remain objective; we can be sued and that still drags our name into the mud, all the same," he said.



Zimbabwe is one of the African countries where media freedom is a rare commodity. Since the early 2000's, several journalists have been arrested and some deported for various offenses under different media laws.
The Constitutional Court rules that Section 69 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act is unconstitutional as it clashed with Sections 61 and 62 of the Zimbabwe Constitution, which protect the right to freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information.

Zimbabweans speak out on the arrest of prosecutor general Johannes Tomana accused of allegedly abusing his office.

Some Zimbabweans living in the United Kingdom are staging protests over attempts by a Zimbabwean-born doctor staying in that country to take over land owned by a white commercial farmer.

And former Vice President Joice Mujuru is said to be trying to entice young people to join her proposed People First party.

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. We also broadcast on www.channelzim.net. Please check us out on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

Today on LiveTalk our hosts Gibbs Dube and Blessing Zulu will be talking with listeners and experts about the arrest of prosecutor general Johannes Tomana.

Send us your numbers on our WhatsApp number 001 202 465 0318. The number again 001 202 465 0318. Stay tuned!!!!!!
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday outlawed Zimbabwes criminal defamation law under which several Zimbabwean journalists have been arrested.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku delivered the courts decision outlawing Section 96 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, saying it was unconstitutional, adding that the Constitutional Court would give its reasons in a full written judgment later.

The Constitutional Court ruling means that journalists, who would have defamed people in their reporting, wont be arrested but affected people may approach the civil courts for recourse.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists welcomed the courts decision saying it was an important milestone in promoting freedom of expression in Zimbabwe.

Veteran journalist Ngoni Chanakira said journalists can now do their work freely following the courts decision.

His views were echoed by freelance journalist Whatmore Makokoba, who said they may be able to now operate without state interfence.

Barnabas Thondlana, editor of The Observer newspaper, said while he welcomes the ruling, there are several laws that hinder the operations of journalists in Zimbabwe that still need to be challenged.

The application challenging the constitutionality of the criminal defamation law was filed by four journalists Nqaba Matshazi, Sydney Saize, Godwin Mangudya and Roger Stringer. The quartet argued that Section 96 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act also clashed with other sections of the constitution that seek to protect the right to freedom of expression, media freedom and access to information.

In 2015, the Constitutional Court struck off the same law from the countrys statute books in relation to the old constitution, resulting in the Zimbabwe Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa to further challenge the law under the countrys constitution adopted in 2013.

Several journalists, such as Nevanji Madanhire and Matshazi, who filed the initial case, were arrested under the law as the government continued its onslaught on journalists, especially in the private media.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the countrys leading legal minds have condemned the arrest of prosecutor general Johannes Tomana calling it an assault on the rule of law and the justice delivery system.

But the state maintains that he criminally abused his office by releasing two army officers detained on January 22 for allegedly attempting to bomb Gushungo Dairies (Pvt) Limited, President Robert Mugabes family business in Mazowe district, about 20 miles north of Harare.

Lawyer, Dzimbabwe Chimbga of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights says his organization is disturbed by the arrest Monday and detention of Tomana, and his appearance in court Tuesday on charges of criminal abuse of office or alternatively obstructing the course of justice.

Chimbga says the independence of the prosecutorial authority in Zimbabwe is constitutionally protected.

"Further safeguards exist under regional and international law. These provisions empower prosecutors to exercise their functions impartially and without fear or favour. The head of the National Prosecuting Authority, the prosecutor general is entitled to such protection."

Leader of the opposition National Constitutional Assembly Lovemore Madhuku concurs.

Lawyer Terrence Hussein, who has represented President Robert Mugabe on many occasions, argues that the arrest did not follow the dictates of the countrys supreme law.

But were the police not right in charging Tomana for releasing treason suspects? Hussein says the law is the law.

But is there a legal precedence to this development? Legal law expert Dr. Alex Magaisa of Kent University said Zimbabwe's former attorney general Sobusa Gula Ndebele was also once arrested for allegedly abusing his office.

The law of the land does not permit the immediate arrest of a sitting judge or prosecutor general. This has led Dr. Magaisa to conclude that the arrest dove-tails with the serious factional fights in the ruling Zanu-PF party.

With the countrys legal minds agreeing that the arrest of Tomana was unconstitutional, what then can be done to correct it?

Madhuku said, Now to avoid serious complications that would arise from what has already happened and to safeguard the rule of law, the president (Mr. Mugabe) has no option but to appoint a tribunal under Section 187 (of the constitution) so that the prosecutor-general is automatically suspended pending the outcome of the investigations by the tribunal. This would allow a clean way for the return of the prosecutor-general to his office.

Tomana, who has declared his allegiance to the ruling Zanu PF party, is not without his critics in the country. Human rights and political activists have accused him of siding with Zanu-PF and abusing his office.

But some lawyers say the issue is not about Tomana the man but the office of the prosecutor general which must be protected so Zimbabwe cannot become a banana republic.

Meanwhile, the opposition Movement for Democratic change party led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the Peoples Democratic Party have condemned the arrest of of the prosecutor general.

In a statement, MDC T secretary for legal affairs Jessie Majome said the party is bemused by the startling arrest and prosecution of the Prosecutor General.

The party further hopes that "this sensational development is a big lesson to the prosecutor general and all law enforcement authorities and officials that they must pursue justice and fairness and respect the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone including those they consider as political foes or of low social status. The prosecutor general as everyone else, has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. 

Spokesman Jacob Mafume of the People's Democratic Party in a statement said the opposition group noted the arrest of the Prosecutor General (PG), Johannes Tomana on Monday and his appearance at the Harare Magistrates Courts on charges of abuse of office.

The party said, While we are tempted to say the chickens are coming home to roost, we, however, must hasten to add that Tomana, as the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), should show gratitude to the call by democratic forces in ensuring that the independence of the work of the Prosecutor General was enshrined in the new Constitution.

"The people of Zimbabwe have also been against the abuse of Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (CPEA). This section, which Tomana has previously abused for his own selfish interests, saved him from being denied bail on Tuesday."
Each month, Boris Kachka offers nonfiction and fiction book recommendations. You should read as many of them as possible.

The Queen of the Night, by Alexander Chee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Feb. 2)

Its been 15 years since Chee published his first novel, Edinburgh, a slim and powerful debut about a traumatic coming of age. He manages to both meet and defy the inevitable expectations with a grand, heavily accessorized historical epic. Queen is as operatic as its shape-shifting narrator, a professional tragic soprano (and former circus performer turned prostitute) chasing glory in the ashes of Frances Second Empire  until her secret past resurfaces to threaten her freedom and maybe her life. No self-conscious pastiche, this is classical, full-throated melodrama, not so much a meditation as an aria on fate.

A Doubters Almanac, by Ethan Canin (Random House, Feb. 16)

Forgive the plug of a second 500-pager, but theres no better month for long nights with heavy books. Canins fifth novel ranges over two linked narratives  one about a mathematical genius who cracks a famous theorem at 32, the other about his equally talented son, who cracks the market at 20 and becomes a hedge-fund billionaire. Patriarch Milo is imperious and self-destructive, while the cannier Hans spends his life trying not to be. Alternately explosive and deeply interior, Almanac is more Buddenbrooks than A Beautiful Mind, but ultimately more hopeful than both.

In Other Words, by Jhumpa Lahiri, trans. Ann Goldstein (Knopf, Feb. 9)

A writer of controlled, lapidary prose takes a risk that pays off, like much of her work, in the telling. Raised by Bengali immigrants, Lahiri decides to throw off the chains of her familys heritage and her adopted America by writing a book about moving to Rome and learning Italian  in Italian. (Pages alternate between Lahiris original and an English rendering by Elena Ferrantes translator.) Lahiri both describes and demonstrates an expats push-pull of immersion and alienation, a process through which a novelist known for lyricism is refreshingly reduced to stark simplicity.

My Father, the Pornographer, by Chris Offutt (Atria, Feb. 9)

The least titillating book youll ever read about porn, and possibly the most interesting, Offutts memoir about his fathers secret occupation  writing 400 lurid paperbacks under 17 pseudonyms, initially to pay for Chriss orthodontia  is as candid and methodical as Andrew Offutts assembly line of bondage fantasias. The familys backwoods Kentucky home, dominated by a man who told his son that porn saved him from becoming a serial killer, could easily be painted in Gothic black, but Offutt tells the story straight, a loving if unsparing tribute to a very complicated father.

Forty Rooms, by Olga Grushin (Putnam, Feb. 16)

A young female poet, shedding Soviet Moscow for an American education, wants only to live in a timeless poem. But time catches up to her with brutal stealth, and before too long shes Mrs. Caldwell, a wealthy suburban housewife without a stanza to show for it. Grushin, the Russian-American author of the extraordinary Dream Life of Sukhanov, spins a Bovary plot into a mystical tapestry, complete with ghostly harbingers, jarring shifts in perspective, and linguistic fillips most native-born writers would envy. She also crafts a feminist response to Joyces Stephen Dedalus  an artist navigating life backwards in heels.

Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir, by Joel Grey (Flatiron, Feb. 16)

The star who originated the role of Cabarets louche emcee tells his story, which is the story of the 20th-century stage, with style and candor. Grey first thought of the emcee role as merely a metaphor; it also became an uncomfortable reminder of the actors secret gayness. Grey obscured his Jewish upbringing by changing his name and his nose, but he could never lop off his desire, wife and kids notwithstanding. It took a star turn in Larry Kramers The Normal Heart to launch him out of the closet, and 80-plus years to find comfort in his skin.

Strange Gods: A Secular History of Conversion, by Susan Jacoby (Pantheon, Feb, 16)

Neither a scathing New Atheist tract nor a dry academic history, Jacobys sweeping account of religious conversion, from Augustine to Muhammad Ali to the horrors of medieval Spain and modern-day Raqqa, finds an essential new angle of approach. An ardent secularist but a child of multiple American converts, Jacoby chooses to focus not on spiritual or psychological motives but on the social forces that drive religious change. Strange Gods may be off-putting to believers, but its a likely story and, in her hands, a lively one.

The Fugitives, by Christopher Sorrentino (Simon & Schuster, Feb. 9)

A novel about a literary novelist is a risky thing, especially if, like this one, its partly inspired by the authors real-life scandal. Luckily, Sorrentinos exiled writer  prickly, crass Sandy Mulligan  flees not just Brooklyn but its parochial mores, removing us to small-town Michigan and a Native American casino-mob caper thats also about the traps of identity. To be sure, theres room to spare for witty rants, humiliating raunch, and a sharp-tongued literary agent riffing on the death of publishing  all to the better.
If you look at the full scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are few characters whose lives we know more about than Peggy Carter. In the early 1940s of Captain America: The First Avenger, we met her as the military woman who first saw potential in Steve Rogers. We spent Agent Carters first season watching her adjust to postwar life as an S.S.R. agent in New York City. A Marvel one shot short, which was included as a bonus with Iron Man 3, reveals that she turns out to be one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. And, thanks to the 60-year jump between The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier, we know the broad strokes of the rest of her life: a decades-long career as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, a husband and two children, and, eventually, a retirement home, where she finally reunites with Steve at age 92.

But for all the time the MCU has spent on Peggy, weve been told surprisingly little about her background. This weeks Smoke and Mirrors slows down the ongoing narrative to fill in some of those gaps. We finally get to see the various incidents, from childhood to young adulthood, that turned Peggy into Agent Carter.

It starts with a childhood flashback, where young Peggy plays the knight in a medieval fantasy about dragon-slaying. (True to form, shes never the damsel in distress.) Its a game that elicits some friendly teasing from her brother Michael, as well as an impatient tsk-tsk from her mother: One of these days, youre going to have to start behaving like a lady.

Cut to Bletchley Park in 1940, as Peggy  now a young codebreaker  shows off a sparkling engagement ring to her admiring colleagues. Her fiance, Fred, is a high-ranking officer in the home office. When Peggy reveals that she has also been recruited for a job as an undercover field agent, he snorts. Can you imagine risking life and limb behind enemy lines, doing God knows what? Fred laughs in the midst of their engagement party. Thats not our Peg.

And thats probably where the matter would have been settled if not for Peggys brother Michael, who immediately recognizes how much Peggy has sacrificed for the life shes been told to want. Michael is a soldier on the front line, and his recommendation led to the field-agent offer in the first place. Even so, its not until Michael is killed in action that Peggy trades her wedding dress for a military uniform, breaks off her engagement to Fred, and joins the war effort.

Its an intriguing piece of Peggys history, though I wish it didnt come at the expense of her own agency. Then again, it might be too much to expect anyone to rise to the heights Peggy has reached without a little push from someone who knows and loves her. Heroes rarely emerge fully formed.

And neither, as Smoke and Mirrors reminds us, do villains. If last weeks Better Angels teased the parallels between Peggy Carter and Whitney Frost, this weeks episode makes them explicit. In a series of elegant flashbacks that play like a mirror version of Peggys, we discover Whitneys unhappy childhood as Agnes Cully, a brilliant and ambitious young woman who was pushed to fit a mold that simply doesnt.

We first see the young Agnes as she fixes a radio, showing early flashes of the brilliant technical mind that will eventually spawn Isodyne. But the radio also serves a practical purpose: It blocks out Agness mothers trysts with her creepy boyfriend, Bud. Bud is the first person to utter a command that will haunt Agnes for the rest of her life: Smile.

Smile is a message reinforced by Agness mother, who bitterly warns her that a pretty face is the only asset she possesses. Its the message reinforced by the men who reshape her into Whitney Frost, silver-screen icon. And its the message pushed by her husband, the would-be senator Calvin Chadwick, who says shell be the most beautiful First Lady this country has ever seen  as long as she shows up to smile for the cover of Life magazine.

Smoke and Mirrors gives us one more key flashback, at the precise moment Agnes Cully becomes Whitney Frost. Outside a movie theater, shes approached by a sleazy talent agent who says she could be a model or an actress. You know, I bet youre real pretty when you smile, he says. And this time, she does.

The dueling Peggy/Whitney arcs in this episode offer Agent Carters CliffsNotes version of how a bright, young woman becomes a hero or a villain. Its no accident that the advice Michael once gave Peggy applies just as well to Whitney. Stop trying to be something youre not, he urged his sister. Thats a message Agnes Cully surely could have benefited from hearing, too.

Now, many years and a full continent away, Whitneys encounter with Zero Matter has pushed her down a similar path  and as much as she represents a threat to our heroine, its hard not to feel a thrill about her new step toward self-actualization. What are you? her cowering husband asks after she reveals the full extent of her strange powers. Whatever I want, she replies.

Stray bullets:
Winner of the Most Beautiful Face Contest. Photo: Owen Franken/Corbis

I have never laughed harder than I did on the night of June 2, 1984, and I doubt I ever will.



I dont recall exactly how it happened in those pre-internet days, but in the previous couple of years I had stumbled upon some tapes of the comedy team Bob and Ray. What I am sure of is that Id never heard anything like them: Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were so deadpan that you werent even quite sure that they were joking. There was no straight-man-and-punch-line-guy split; they were both playing it dead straight, a couple of guys in suits. Often, the sketches involved one interviewing the other  Wally Ballou, Bobs dopey-journalist character, appeared regularly, always missing his entry cue by a half-second  and most often the subject of the interview would turn out to be spectacularly clueless. Once in a while, a character would have a goofy voice to get a few extra laughs, but thats it. The deep, deep restraint meant that their funnier lines arrived at weird angles, and because theyd never telegraphed what was coming, the jokes, which didnt even usually sound like jokes, absolutely exploded out of the speaker.

As it turned out, that night pretty nearly marked the end of their performing run. Health problems were beginning to close in on Ray, and he died in 1990, at 68. And now Bob is gone as well: He died Tuesday, at 92, at the family home in Maine.

Bob and Ray in 1951. Photo: Bettmann/Corbis

On that evening in 1984 Bob and Ray had reunited for a two-night show at Carnegie Hall, and the room was full; this was the second night. I cant tell you what the best sketch was, because it was essentially a greatest-hits performance for the true fans. I remember seeing Al Franken in the crowd, and I doubt he was the only comedy writer there, because Bob and Ray were  are  royalty in that circle. (And dynastic royalty at that: Bob was the father of writer-comedian Chris Elliott, and the grandfather of the former SNL performer Abby Elliott.) They did plenty of TV, with some success, but radio was the medium on which they thrived; their act was pretty undynamic onscreen, centering as it did on two guys who looked like accountants, usually sitting down. They did make good talk-show guests, however, and a few Letterman appearances make it clear that Dave and they were cut from the same cloth.



Their comedy, even more than most, disintegrates when you try to explain it, but a few bits and pieces may help get it across. If they had a specialty, it was playing off the conventions and hack language of broadcasting. (Forbush Dinnerware: The Plates America Eats Off  Of.) From a fake radio promo in which listeners were offered free sweaters:   at laughably low prices, sweaters in two styles: turtle or V-neck. State what kind of neck you have. Or on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show, another interview segment, in which Bob played a male beauty queen: My neatly chiseled features do stand out. When the critic John Simon wrote a vicious pan of their (actually quite excellent) Broadway revue in this very magazine, a character based on him soon appeared on their radio show, where he would consume a large, messy sandwich directly into the microphone. (Ray: Hes eating the sandwich right through the wax paper!) He wasnt called John Simon; he was simply referred to as the Worst Person in the World.



And if you want to lose the rest of today, please make your way down the deep YouTube rabbit hole of B&R clips, beginning with The Great Lakes Paper Clip Company, about a factory that makes office supplies in a very, very special way.

I wont spoil the payoff line, which is the one that begins we dont pry   But suffice it to say that when I heard it onstage at Carnegie Hall  and Im pretty sure this clip is from that pair of concerts, which were recorded  I knew I had seen and heard something that wasnt going to come around again.
Yoga Hosers. Photo: SModcast Pictures

At the Sundance Film Festival, as the lights go down and the projector comes on, you truly dont know what youre going to get. In part, this is because Sundance premieres most of its films before the studios have bought them and waged multi-million-dollar ad campaigns that tell you every little thing about a movie before youve had the chance to see it. But its also because at Sundance, the films are likely to show you things youve never seen before: gross things, shocking things, emotional things, and things that get everyone talking. Here are 13 movie moments where you could almost feel the collective audience WTF as something startling unspooled onscreen.

The attack of the Brat-zis in Yoga Hosers

In Kevin Smiths Yoga Hosers, an army of footlong sentient Canadian Nazi bratwurst (called Brat-zis), decked out in Mountie uniforms and pointed German helmets, attacks the denizens of a convenience store  including two teenage rockers named Colleen (seen above, and played by Lily-Rose Depp and Smiths daughter, Harley Quinn Smith). The Brat-zis preferred method of killing? Using their helmets to go up their victims rectums, naturally. They are played by Kevin Smith himself, who shaved off his signature beard for the role.

Daniel Radcliffe is a farting Jet Ski in Swiss Army Man

If Daniel Radcliffes corpse washed up onshore, youd probably be bereft, right? One of our most appealing actors, struck down in his prime! But Swiss Army Mans Paul Dano doesnt spend much time grieving the death of Harry Potter: Instead, he rides that corpse across the ocean like a fart-powered Jet Ski, plays dress-up with it and role-plays elaborate dates, and uses Radcliffes postmortem boner as a compass that can point the way back to civilization. Just a really normal movie, this one.

Dana Brody does coke off Justin Barthas erection in White Girl

Morgan Saylor had her fair share of problems as Brodys daughter on Homeland, but theyre nothing compared to the drug-fueled shenanigans she gets into in the film White Girl, where her libidinous college student screws, snorts, and flirts her way through Brooklyn and barely lives to tell the tale. Ostensibly, shes got a job interning for magazine-editor creep Justin Bartha, but once she sprinkles some coke on his eagerly proffered member, youll be wondering what sort of college credit this internship is really good for.

Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin allow a camera to capture them in Weiner

The most salient question of this astounding film, which won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize, comes at the end: Why have you let me film this? Its what director Josh Kriegman (who made the film with Elyse Steinberg) asks failed New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner after a second sexting scandal puts the nail in the coffin of his career, a political demise we witness in real time. Were with Weiner as he discusses the timeline of his sexts with his wife, top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and how they align with her debate over whether to leave him. Were there as he cant stop watching an out-of-control video clip of his appearance on a cable-news show (as a mortified Abedin rubs her temples and wonders why in the world he is laughing). And were there as Weiner attempts to outrace Sydney Leathers, a 23-year-old with whom Weiner exchanged explicit texts, by ducking through a McDonalds to avoid her on the way to his concession speech. The biggest WTF is that the movie exists at all, but oh, what a gift it is.

The car-wash scenes in The Greasy Strangler

In this bonkers film, septuagenarian Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels) lives with his virginal 40-something son, Big Brayden (Sky Elobar), by day  but by night, he disguises himself to become the Greasy Strangler. This bizarro serial killer strangles victims, sometimes eats their eyeballs, and then cleans the evidence off himself at a car wash (the oft-repeated image of Big Ronnies naked body getting slapped by motorized rubber strips as his gigantic, red-tipped penis hangs between his legs is not one youll easily forget). The entire endeavor is insane, from Big Ronnies bell-bottomed disco jumpsuit with a front cutout for his giant penis, to the hilariously prolonged monologues the Greasy Stranglers victims give in the throes of death. Also odd: Elijah Wood produced it. Bring the kids!

James Franco goes nuts in Goat

For a Franco-produced drama about frat hazing starring pop pinup Nick Jonas, Goat goes awfully light on the homoeroticism that is both mens stock-in-trade. Still, once Franco makes his inevitable cameo as an alum who comes back to college to party with his old bros, things get amped up to 11, fast: Franco chugs like a champ, tears his shirt off, slaps one of the new pledges, and orders the poor guy to punch him in the stomach. Its the most unhinged hes been since Spring Breakers.

Courtney Love politely interrupts a phone call to do drugs in Author: The JT LeRoy Story

In this documentary about an infamous literary hoax, we learn that Laura Albert, the real author behind the fictitious teen-punk writer JT LeRoy, taped many of her phone calls with the celebrities who came calling after LeRoys work broke through. Among them was Courtney Love, and at one point in the documentary, we hear Love excusing herself from a phone conversation to go finish off a small line of coke. Itd be impolite coming from anyone else.

A Speedo-wearing megalomaniac leads 150 cult followers in Holy Hell

A documentary made up of 22 years of footage captured from inside a cult, directed by former disciple Will Allen, Holy Hell centers on a spiritual leader named Michel who promises his followers a utopia in which they can change their names to avoid their pasts, do a lot of dancing in woods and lakes, and meet God in a ceremony called the Knowing. Soon the besotted masses are carrying a throne for Michel to sit on wherever he goes  and no matter where hes going, hes usually stripped down to just a Speedo. (Did we mention that Michel is a ballet dancer and former gay-porn actor?) Farce turns to nightmare, though, as Michels controlling nature grows more severe: He gets aggressive plastic surgery and encourages disciples to do the same, orders his female followers to get abortions, and sexually abuses much of his congregation. The festival purposefully didnt release Allens name in the program for safety reasons, and we heard that Michel himself had sent spies to several screenings.

The bride buy in Sonita

Winner of both the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, this film is at first the wrenching story of a teenage Afghan refugee, Sonita, who lives in Tehran and expresses her terror over the fate of her people through rap  even though it is illegal in both Afghanistan and Iran for women to sing. Then, midway through the movie, her mother shows up to sell Sonita to a stranger back home for $9,000, a sum that will pay for Sonitas brother to buy his own bride. In a controversial move, filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami steps out from behind the camera, pays $2,000 to stall Sonitas mother, and then helps her record an emotional rap video about her frustrations and terror that changes the young womans life.

Pretty much all of The Eyes of My Mother

In this disturbing, arty thriller, a young girl witnesses her mothers death at the hands of a strange, psychotic man. After her father nearly kills the man, they hang the psycho by some chains in the barn. The girl feeds him and keeps him captive for years, chained and unable to speak. Oh, and she considers him her only friend. Heartwarming!



Logan Lerman and Tracy Letts have a showstopping conversation in Indignation

James Schamuss adaptation of this novella by Philip Roth, about a young Jewish college students obsession with a troubled young woman in 1951, is an elegantly mounted, old-fashioned and well-proportioned period piece  except for one scene, when our young hero, Marcus (Logan Lerman), is invited into the office of the college dean (played by a wonderful Tracy Letts). Their conversation begins with the dean questioning Marcuss religion and asking how hes adjusting to college life, then slowly turns into an intense, extended philosophical debate about religion, conformity, language, girls, love, more religion, and more girls, until its eaten up an ungodly amount of screen time. (It clocks in at about 15 minutes  already an eternity for a dialogue scene between two people in one room in a conventional film  but it feels like half an hour.) The scene is so wild that it prompted spontaneous, sustained applause at the films premiere.

The canine indignities of Wiener-Dog

The conceit could easily be that of a live-action Disney movie  a series of short vignettes reveals the impact a sweet female dachshund has on her lonely, sad, and lovelorn owners  until you find out its a movie directed by Todd Solondz, at which point any hope you had of decency is likely stripped away. In its place are 90 minutes of excruciating meditations on loss, death (a sweet young boy who has survived cancer is told that his dog was probably cremated), more loss and death (a not-so-sweet old lady sees her beloved dog squashed to bits by a seemingly endless parade of cars), and, most trenchant of all, Solondzs disillusionment with Hollywood (a depressed screenwriter straps a bomb to his wiener dog and blows up his film school). Thanks, Todd, for keeping it real!

Natasha Lyonne has the grossest birth ever in Antibirth

A lot of weird shit starts happening to Lyonnes Antibirth character, Lou, after she blacks out at a warehouse rager in her desolate trailer-park town and wakes up with her titties hurting. Medically speaking, she cant be pregnant, but shes exhibiting all the signs, along with pus-filled feet and the grossest distended belly youve ever seen. But of all the things in this movie that might make you upchuck, its probably the part where [SPOILER ALERT] she gives birth to a full-grown, snarling, humanlike head, followed by his headless, man-size body, which follows instinct and protects its mama. That is actually what I feel like actual childbirth is like, Lyonne told Vulture. Ahhhh!!! This 18-year-old, six-foot creature just came out of me. Im not taking care of this thing! But thats just me.
This is not Chinese New Year. Photo: Ron Tom/ABC

It was just one year ago that Fresh Off the Boat premiered on ABC, becoming the first sitcom about an Asian-American family to air on broadcast television since Margaret Chos All-American Girl in 1994. And while this achievement is bewildering in its simplicity, so is the next one: Tuesday night, during its mid-season return, Fresh Off the Boat become the first show to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Obviously every holiday has been done a thousand times. Theres been a million Christmases, a million Thanksgivings, a million Halloweens, showrunner Nahnatchka Khan said. But Id be surprised if there was a show that has ever done Chinese New Year because there just hasnt been the opportunity or awareness that we have on our show.

Khan knew she wanted to do Chinese New Year when they got a second season order. At the time, ABC had only ordered 13 episodes, so they planned for Year of the Rat to serve as their de facto series finale if need be. (The network eventually picked the show up for a full season.) The episode finds the Huang clan gearing up to travel to D.C. for the big holiday, only to discover that dad Louis got the dates wrong, forcing them to figure out how to celebrate a holiday in a city without any Chinese people, creating some distinctly awkward moments.

I know that its historic, but one of the great things about our show is that we try and celebrate the Asian-American perspective instead of saying, Were just like every American and neutralizing our race, said Constance Wu, who plays Jessica Huang, the mom with masterful side-eye. So its special because it happens, but its not special because Nahnatchka and the writers try really hard to normalize it  as in, this isnt an exotic holiday.

That ability to weave between in-groups and out-groups is part of what makes the show so strong  even as they have Jessica explain the various symbols of Chinese New Year, the writers also made sure she was tired of having to do so. Its kind of like when youre constantly having to teach white people about microaggressions or racism, said Wu. Even with well-meaning people after a while, youre like, I dont want my life to exist in education and explanation. Sometimes you just want to enjoy your dinner.

Tuesdays episode culminated in a festive gathering at Cattlemans Ranch, complete with dragon dancers, red lanterns from Janet Jacksons If video, and a full table of dumplings. Normally Ill take a few bites for camera, but I was really eating throughout that entire day of shooting because the food was so good, said Randall Park, who plays Louis Huang. The kids ate so many dumplings during takes, I thought they were going to throw up, said Khan. I couldnt believe it. Hudson [Yang] was just inhaling dumplings. The director would call cut and then our poor set person was like a waitress, because she was like, I need more dumplings! Can you refill this?

Khan hopes that Chinese New Year becomes a tradition for the show much like Halloween became a tradition for Community and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I will definitely do Chinese New Year every year, said Khan. It becomes in the canon of our show like, What are we doing for our Chinese New Year episode? Like not even up for debate if were doing one, just, whats it going to be this year? That kind of thing would be fantastic.

That the episode falls right around the first anniversary lends extra significance to the occasion. Being a part of the show has definitely been a real crazy journey for me personally, said Park. I went to college with a focus on Asian-American studies, and one of my big interests was media representation. To see the journey of the show, to feel how worried people were before the show came out, and how much theyve embraced it for the most part  Im really proud.
Chinese New Year, with its fireworks and its lion dancers and its glorious displays of food, is a holiday tailor-made for television. Weve just never been privy to it because, until very recently, there has never been a show like Fresh Off the Boat. Its both unabashedly Chinese and unafraid to show an important part of its culture to a wide swath of America.

The best thing about the show is that moments that should and could feel like teachable moments  laborious, exhausting, pedantic  are handled with the same levity and commitment as any joke. Its a testament to the talent of the writing staff and the actors that this episode, Year of the Rat, feels less like an after-school special and more like something that belongs right where it is.

So! Its Chinese New Year, and the Huangs are planning to go to Washington, D.C., to hang with friends and family and celebrate the New Year the right way  with fireworks, lots of food, and the ceaseless chatter and gentle judgement of family. The plane tickets are purchased, as are the various travel-size toiletries. Eddie got his New Years haircut, but anyone who understands the importance of this holiday knows that what counts the most are the red envelopes, those potential cash cows all Chinese kids look forward to every February. Emery wants to buy a fedora. Evan wants to buy a Snoopy snow-cone machine. Eddie wants Jordans. Very on-brand.

With their bags packed full of fireworks, Evan armed with his travel neck pillow, and Grandma on airplane relaxation drugs, the Huangs ford a freeway and multiple parking lots to arrive at the ticket counter  only to discover that, despite Jessicas best efforts, theyve missed their flight. It looks like Chinese New Year will be spent in Orlando this year. Its too expensive to buy last-minute tickets. Grandma is despondent. Louis has to tell Big Auntie and the rest of the fam that they cant make it. Eddie, Emery, and Evan are left with the prospect of parental red envelopes, which are empty and inscribed with inspirational messages. There is nothing more disappointing than an empty red envelope. Nothing.

The kids immediately recognize that Grandma is despondent because Chinese New Year is her time to turn up. After deducing that they need to make the New Year right so she can be happy  and also so they can get money  they trot out Evan to run through a quick stand-up set, but shes not having it. Not even a TV tray generously laden with her favorite snacks, Mountain Dew and Combos, can cheer her up. Chinese New Year is ruined! Or it will be  unless Jessica and Louis fix it.

There arent that many Chinese people in Orlando, save that deaf Chinese guy Jessica and Louis yelled at through a bus window, so they take to the phone book. There are no Yangs, Mas, Liangs, or Leungs, but there is an Asian-American Association of Orlando. The nice man who answers the phone has been looking for them for months. It turns out theyre having a Chinese New Year party. The Huangs will be able to celebrate Chinese New Year after all. Jackpot!

I know what youre thinking: Surely this will net some fruitful results. Surely this organization wont be run by a white man named Rick (Rob Huebel) who dresses in traditional garb and bows for, like, an hour as the Huangs stare at a motley crew of Russians, Indians, and white dudes with Chinese characters for toaster tattooed onto their biceps. Surely there will be Chinese people other than the Huangs, right?

Give credit where credit is due: Rick, the head of the AAAOO, means well, but every single thing about this celebration is off. Yes, theres a dragon dancer, but its actually a male stripper named Mark, dressed as a high-school mascot, leading a bunch of cheerleaders in a sad approximation of a high-school pep rally. Yes, theres a nod to the year of the rat, but nowhere in the handbook of Chinese culture does it say that one must lower a rat stuffed animal at the stroke of midnight, Beijing time. This is Chinese New Year as seen through the eyes of someone who simply read that a rat, dragons, and the color red are involved, then made a lot of guesses as to what is actually correct. No one cared to pick up an Encyclopedia Britannica and really get it right.

Now, the worst part: A sad Huang family, glumly eating food and trying to talk to relatives in D.C., who are setting off so many fireworks that they cant hear them on the phone. Even jelly doughnuts  similar in construction to pork buns, but not actually pork buns  cant save the day. But Louis owns a restaurant. At least he can take his family out to dinner. Personal pan pizzas arent a substitute for dumplings consumed with family in great quantities, but at least Jessica doesnt have to cook.

Surprise! Cattlemans Ranch is dressed up for the Year of the Rat. It looks a little bit like your favorite dim sum place, but with more taxidermied bears. They really went all out. Theres lion dancers with very well-articulated eyeballs, a table full of dumplings and whole fish, lanterns stolen from the set of Janet Jacksons If, illegal fireworks, and red, red, red everywhere. If they cant make it to Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year will make it to them. Jessicas crying, and now Im crying, too. Everyone pitched in because, as Louis says, Its not that people didnt care to get it right, its because they didnt know.

AUTHENTICITY INDEX

+900 dumplings for Jessicas insistence that Eddie cut his hair at home using a Flowbee. A generation of Chinese children who went to elementary school with choppy bangs sighs in solidarity.

+50 cans of condensed milk for Evans innocent dream of a Snoopy snow-cone machine. We had one, and we used it to make shaved ice.

+20 hong bao for the unfettered greed of the Huang children, who understand that Chinese New Year is a time for hanging out with your family  but mostly think of it as the one time of year you get money from your relatives. That includes birthdays.

+a lifetime supply of citrus fruits for Jessica rightfully acknowledging that basically every New Years tradition is for wealth and good fortune, because we like wealth and good fortune.

+1,000,000 illegal fireworks for the first time I have ever heard Happy New Year in Mandarin on national television.

+10,000 whole fish cooked with ginger and scallion for Jessicas initial enthusiasm at explaining everything about Chinese New Year to everyone, which quickly turns to exhaustion. Teachable moments are fun and all, but sometimes all you want to just be quiet and eat. Xin nian kuai le!
Durst. Photo: Steven Hirsch/Corbis

As expected, The Jinxs Robert Durst has pled guilty to gun charges, the New York Times reports. The real-estate magnate appeared in New Orleans federal court on Wednesday to plead guilty to illegally possessing a .38-caliber revolver that the FBI found in his hotel room during his arrest in March 2015 for the murder of his friend Susan Berman. That arrest took place the day before the airing of The Jinxs season finale, in which Durst, 72, was famously caught saying, Killed them all, of course on a live mic. As part of his plea bargain, Durst will be sentenced to 85 months (a little over seven years) in federal prison. He is expected to be transferred to Los Angeles federal prison by August 18 (the deadline for his arraignment), where hell face the first-degree murder charge.
Photo: Getty Images

Leslie Moonves, already arguably the most powerful man in television, just got a little more powerful. The president and chief executive officer of CBS Corp. will soon add the title of chairman of the CBS board of directors, replacing his longtime boss Sumner Redstone. The ailing Redstone, 92, stepped down as executive chairman of the CBS board Tuesday and will now hold the honorary title of chairman emeritus. Redstones health has been declining for months, leading to intense speculation in both Hollywood and on Wall Street about how his eventual passing might impact the future leadership of his two media conglomerates, CBS Corp. and Viacom (the company that controls MTV, Comedy Central, and other holdings). Todays news settles at least half of that mystery: Moonves has been given a massive vote of confidence and is positioned to remain fully in charge of all things CBS even after Redstones death.

As part of todays development, Moonves will continue to work with Redstones daughter, Shari Redstone, who is vice-chairman of CBS Corp. and will inherit his controlling stakes in both CBS and Viacom. She issued a statement Wednesday saying it was important that the two media companies be led by someone who is not a trustee of my fathers trust or otherwise intertwined in Redstone family matters, but rather a leader with an independent voice. Curiously, the younger Redstone made no specific mention of Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman. Since Dauman is part of the trust that will own CBS and Viacom after her father dies, her statement would seem to signal shes not keen on the idea of Dauman getting the same sort of promotion as Moonves. Bottom line: Nothings changing at CBS  but at Viacom things may be about to get a little bit interesting.
Illustration: Giacomo Gambineri

When the first episode of Chappelles Show aired in January 2003, audiences were blown away by an audacious Frontline parody about Clayton Bigsby, a blind black man who also happened to be a leader in the white-supremacy movement. Among the many offensive lines: The message of my books is very simple: niggers, Jews, homo-sexuals, Mexican, A-rabs, and all different sorts of chinks stink, and I hate em! Created by Dave Chappelle and white comedian, actor, and director Neal Brennan, the nine-minute bit was an immediate hit among fans and remains a historically daring sketch. Vulture caught up with Brennan  whose one-man show 3 Mics will be coming to the Lynn Redgrave Theater March 3  to discuss how the segment was inspired by Daves blind grandfather, Comedy Centrals reaction, and why they didnt think it was any different from their other sketches.

What were the origins of the sketch?

It was based on Daves grandfather, who was mixed-race and blind. The day Martin Luther King got shot, apparently he was on a bus and a bunch of black dudes came up to him and were like, What you doing on this bus, cracker? and Daves grandfather apparently thought, Man, this cracker is in a lot of trouble, before he realized, Oh, Im the cracker. Dave explained to me, Hes a black guy who doesnt know hes black, and it just never made sense. I never knew what he meant, and then he explained to me that the character went to boarding school, and thats why he didnt know. Nobody told him he was black. It came rushing in, like I completely got it immediately.

How did the concept evolve from that seed to the guy being a hero of the white-supremacist movement?

That was just the natural progression in sketch comedy. Its like, Well, then hes the head of the KKK, isnt he? Its obviously the most extreme way to go. Then ultimately you want to just do every different kind of joke you can do in terms of variations on it. Him explaining himself to the reporter at his house is one thing, and from there its like, Well, he should yell at some white kids. Him yelling at white kids and white kids being excited is funny, and then going to the rally and pulling the mask off is really funny.

And Dave introduced it by saying that he hadnt been canceled yet but this sketch might do it, and that he showed it to a friend who looked at him like he had just set black people back with a comedy sketch.

Yeah, that was a guy named Cey Adams, who was the art director for Def Jam for, like, 15 years. Hes a black dude, and we showed it to him in editing, and he looked at us like, You guys are in trouble. He said, This is like the time Horovitz [Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys] said the N-word at the Apollo. At the time we had a show at Carolines, and Dave used to show sketches during it. The audience hated that, by the way. Theyd go for a stand-up show, and Dave would be like, Im going to do ten minutes of stand-up, then Im going to show some sketches, and theyd be like, Fuck you!  though Im sure they all brag about it now. So Dave showed the sketch there one night, and it killed. Cey happened to be there, and when I saw him I gave a look like, Well? and he said, Man, people will laugh at anything.

When you were writing it, did you feel like it was going to have the impact that it did?

No! That was the thing. We never thought, This is going to be a banger. You just hope. That was back in the days before things went viral. They would go, like, spoken viral, whatever the fuck thats called. There was no map, like, And then BuzzFeeds going to pick it up.

Did you have a sense that it would push more buttons than some of the other sketches you were airing?

We didnt, because it didnt feel any more button-pushing than anything else we were doing. The next episode we had a white woman singing black thoughts. She said crack was invented and distributed to intentionally destroy the black community; AIDS was too. Every episode had something insane.

Looking back, do you think that the lack of information about whos working on the show, and the absence of online critics and social-media users picking things apart the next day, gave you more comfort to do this?

Yeah, Im glad that didnt exist. I dont think it wouldve helped. If everyones looking over their shoulders, its not going to make the stuff better.

Was Comedy Central concerned about the content at all?

Not really. I mean, obviously its inflammatory, but Comedy Centrals thing was If an intelligent, well-regarded black comedian is saying this stuff about race, its not our place to say, Hey, wait! which is a good policy. Their two biggest money-makers have been South Park and The Daily Show, the two most subversive shows of all time. So when people are like, Did they mess with you guys? Im like, No! Theyre better off when shit is inflammatory. It needs to be inflammatory for it to be successful in some ways.

That said, for some reason, Comedy Central didnt want the sketch in the first episode because they didnt think it was emblematic of the show. We were like, Wait, what? Its entirely emblematic. It was just a really potent piece of comedy, if that makes sense. It was like Chris [Rocks] niggers-versus-black-people bit where its searing. You can almost feel the ripple effect. Its abrasive in the best possible way.
You have to make a lot of sacrifices to be a winner. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Will Leonardo DiCaprios trials never cease? In order to finally get that Oscar, the actor has eaten raw bison liver, met with the pope, and even (possibly) jettisoned a girlfriend. Now Leo faces yet another ordeal: He will have to sit through the Academy Awards ceremony without resorting to that precious vape pen. According to TMZ, the Dolby Theatre has a very strict no-smoking and no-vaping policy, so unless the man who was Hugh Glass gets up during the ceremony and heads for a smoking area outside the theater (as if Leo could leave his seat at a time like that), hes going to have to go without for a whole three hours (plus overflow time)  thats more than 24 minutes longer than the theatrical cut of The Revenant!
In commemoration of Black History Month, the Central Texas African American Heritage Foundation will present a town hall meeting, A Conversation With Lt. Col. Allen Smith, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Center, 300 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Smith, an 86-year-old black veteran who served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, will share stories from his life.

The program is co-sponsored by the city of Waco, Cultural Arts of Waco, Community Race Relations Coalition, American Legion Post 121 and Waco NAACP.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information, call 836-4599.

Republican lunch

The McLennan County Republican Women will have a meet-the-candidates lunch at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Brazos Room C of the Waco Hilton, 113 S. University Parks Drive.

Candidates for District 17 U.S. representative, District 12 state representative and Precinct 3 county commissioner are scheduled to speak and answer questions.

Cost is $15, which includes a buffet lunch. The reservation deadline is Thursday.

For reservations, email Anita Allen at anitagallen @aol.com or call 772-8763.

For more information, visit www.mcrwpac.com.

DRT meeting

The Sterling C. Robertson Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd.

T. Bradford Willis, a dentist and local historian, will present Registers of 19th-Century McLennan County Physicians.

For more information, email Susie Perkins at susieperkins06@gmail.com or call 749-2342.

Vets writing workshop

The Writers Garret and the Texas Commission on the Arts will host a Veteran Writes: Learning to Share Your Story, a free, multiday writing workshop for veterans, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Feb. 25 in Room 202 of the Michaelis Academic Center at McLennan Community College.

Veterans can register online at vetswritetruth.eventbrite.com.

For more information, email leilalevinson@yahoo.com.

Baylor faculty recital

Ann Shoemaker, Baylor Universitys assistant professor of bassoon, will present a free faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Baylors Roxy Grove Hall.

Shoemaker, who will be accompanied by Kae Hosoda-Ayer, Baylors assistant professor of piano, serves as principal bassoonist for the Waco Symphony Orchestra and the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra.

For more information about the programs music, visit www.baylor.edu/music or call 710-3991.

Reicher enrollment

Reicher Catholic High School, 2102 N. 23rd St., is conducting enrollment for the 2016-17 school year.

For more information, visit www.Reicher.org/ admissions.

Submit items for Briefly 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.
McLennan County commissioners unanimously agreed to a settlement Tuesday with a company that, for the past few years, has handled its backup data.

County Administrator Dustin Chapman said the county received $23,600, the full amount it asked for in the agreement. The county also was able to cancel the contract with Vi3 Technologies, a predecessor to nDivision.

Waco attorney Mike Dixon, who represents McLennan County and its officeholders, said ultimately the county had paid the company for service it was not receiving. Dixon said there was a mix-up in service provided, leaving part of the county without its data backed up at any location.

The countys legal counsel sent correspondence to nDivision in early January demanding payment allegedly owed to the county based on a contract and threatening to file a lawsuit, according to the settlement and release agreement. NDivision denied owning any money to the county, according to the document.

Dixon said the company eventually agreed to pay the amount and was easy to work with.

The settlement was a result of a desire to avoid the cost, expense and uncertainty of litigation, according to the agreement.

As part of the settlement, the county agreed to return equipment to nDivision.

NDivision shall assure the electronic destruction of all County data stored in Vi3s/nDivisions data center and on the DELL NX200 NAS Appliance that was stored at the McLennan County IT data center. Because the nature of this data may fall under HIPAA and CJIS guidelines, the electronic destruction of this data should adhere to FBI standards, according to the settlement. The parties understand and agree that this settlement is a compromise of doubtful and disputed claims and that the agreements herein shall not be construed as an admission of liability by either party.

Dixon said the company provided a service that the county may never use. However, he said, it is important to have that service in place in case of an emergency that completely wipes out the IT department at the courthouse. Backup data at an off-site location helps secure the countys information, Dixon said.
Two ventures, one big and one small, are steaming ahead with new opportunities to show off Waco from the river.

Waco City Council this week approved commercial watercraft licenses to Ryan Helm and the nonprofit Miracle on the Brazos Institute for boats that will offer sightseeing cruises on the Brazos and Bosque rivers.

The Miracle on the Brazos group, headed by retired Baylor business professor L.M. Dyson Jr., will lease a small dock location on city land next to the La Salle Avenue bridge for $1,250 per month for the next year.

Dyson said a two-level, 100-by-36-foot boat is nearing construction at a shipyard in Galveston and will be delivered to Waco later this month.

The boat will have space for 110 sit-down guests, with a kitchen and fully air-conditioned space downstairs and an open deck upstairs, he said.

Dyson said the nonprofit group will run the boat with college students as part of an experiential hospitality education program.

Certainly, I think it will change the perception of the river, and both the Waco and academic community will see the benefit, he said.

The docking area is adjacent to a large mixed-use development called Chisholm Landing, which also involves Dyson. But, he said the two ventures are operationally separate. He said he hopes to have other docking locations, perhaps in downtown, but that hasnt yet been settled. The boat was designed to have a low enough profile to fit into the boat basin at McLane Stadium, Dyson said.

Meanwhile, Helm says he plans to set up a more modest boat service from Buzzard Billys restaurant starting in March.

Helm said he got bank financing for a 30-foot boat Wednesday, the day after getting a five-year commercial watercraft license from the council.

Waco River Safari

Helm, 31, who lives in Axtell and grew up partly in this area, recently acquired a master boat captains license so he could run the service, which he calls Waco River Safari.

Helm has spent much of his adult life working in oil fields but relished the chance to get back to Waco to run a business on the Brazos, where he grew up fishing and canoeing, he said.

I was lying in bed in the oil field, and the idea came to me. Hey, this might be good thing to do with all the people coming to town for McLane Stadium and Magnolia Market, he said.

Helm said he plans to offer two-hour cruises every day on the Brazos and Bosque rivers, perhaps going up as far as the Lake Waco dam in a boat that seats 12. The ticket cost will be about $25, he said.

Im offering a lot of tour times, because its a smaller boat, he said.

On football game days, he plans to operate the boat as a water taxi running fans to McLane Stadium from points upstream.

He also plans to offer date night cruises with live music, most likely one guy with an acoustic guitar, he said.

Waco Recreation Superintendent Jeff Goodman said the city recently began requiring a commercial watercraft license as a way to identify operators and ensure they are operating safety and with the appropriate insurance.

We tried to keep it so it wasnt too restrictive, Goodman said. We wanted to encourage business and commercial ventures on the river.

He said the construction of McLane Stadium sparked interest in boating on the Brazos, though flooding on the river during the last couple of years seems to have dampened it temporarily.

I think its definitely an area of growth, Goodman said.

Helm said he ultimately hopes to have a variety of watercraft available for public tours. He said many Wacoans dont realize the asset they have in the Brazos and Bosque rivers.

Thats the whole idea, he said. I remember my first time going up and down the river. Its surprisingly scenic.
County leaders hope to receive about $270,000 from the state to cover some costs associated with the deadly May 17 Twin Peaks shootout in Waco.

Commissioners directed staff Tuesday to apply for a grant from the states County Essential Services Program, which offers reimbursements of costs a county incurs after an incident.

County Administrator Dustin Chapman said the total may not be the final amount the county seeks, as applying for more funding is permitted.

County Judge Scott Felton said the shootout that left nine dead and at least 20 injured was a statewide issue and not just a county matter.

The states program is to ensure counties do not carry the full burden of an incident of that nature, Felton said. Not all costs will be covered, but officials hope to have some reimbursed, he said.

Chapman said the funding covers the housing of inmates that day at the Jack Harwell Detention Center  which cost about $190,000  as well as costs associated with autopsies, transportation of bodies and overtime for the McLennan County Sheriffs Office.

On the day of the incident, 177 people were arrested. Nine more have been arrested since then, and 106 have been indicted by a grand jury.

The city of Waco also applied for grant funding to cover Twin Peaks-related costs.

The city council sent off an application in January requesting a $248,841 Justice Assistance Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to cover costs, including police officer overtime.

The county received $40,000 to $50,000 from the County Essential Services Program through Gov. Greg Abbotts office after applying for reimbursements for a two-week capital murder trial that was moved to Williamson County in 2013.

Funding for the state program is considered on a case-by-case basis, with preference given to counties seeking reimbursement for costs incurred for the investigation and/or prosecution of capital murder or crimes committed because of bias or prejudice, according to the governors website.
WAHOO  It was still business as usual last Thursday at Region V in Wahoo. But, there were a lot of congratulations and smiles being shared by everyone there.

Region V was named the 2016 Terry OBrien Business of the Year at last Wednesdays Wahoo Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet.

Region V Director Kal Lausterer said the award came as quite a surprise, and he made sure he let everyone know about it first thing Thursday morning.

The memo he sent out to staff said Congratulations and Thanks for the work you do to help us fulfill our mission.

Region V Services serves people with developmental disabilities and similar needs. The mission of Region V Services is to provide desired education and supports that promote relationships within community and lessen reliance upon agency services.

While their mission is to serve people, Region V must function as any other business in terms of employees, budgets and operations. Lausterer said that is one of the reasons that this award means a lot to his agency.

One of the nice things is being considered a business like any other business, he said.

Currently, Region V Services has 92 employees and offers services to 70 people.

On the budgeting side, that adds up to an employee payroll of about $2.5 million. People receiving services also have the opportunity for employment at the Region V workshop or with various contracts for cleaning in the community. That payroll is an additional $130,000.

That number does not take into account, Lausterer said, any dollars that Region V clients make while working at jobs offered at businesses in the community.

Since Region V Services is in the people business, staff stay busy 24 hours a day.

We serve 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, Lausterer said.

Services offered include both vocational and residential. There are various levels of service. While some of the people they serve may require 24-hour supervision, others only require minimal assistance.

No matter what level of service is required, one of the most important functions is helping those they serve to become integrated into the community.

For Lausterer, who will mark his 25th year at Region V in Wahoo in March, its all about making sure people have a good quality of life.

I loved the good life theme for Nebraska, because that is what I always try to preach, he said.

He said there are great staff members that help to make that happen, and the community has been very accepting as well.

I greatly appreciate the communitys acceptance, Lausterer added.

Getting to know someone by their first name and welcoming them when they walk in the door is a part of that good life.

Being named the business of the year was a good life feeling. Lausterer compared the feeling of getting the award to being told by the state regulatory agency that they have earned another two-year certification.

Its most gratifying, he said.

The Chamber Business of the Year Award is named after long-time Johnson, Erickson, and OBrien partner Terry OBrien, a tireless promoter of Wahoo business and economic growth. The award is given yearly to a Wahoo business that is not only successful, but contributes to the vitality of the community.
WarbirdsNews has received the latest XP-82 Twin Mustang restoration update from Tom Reilly at his workshop in Douglas, Georgia. Heres what theyve been up to this month!

Fuel Systems

The major job this past month has been installing the wing and center section fuel tanks, boost pumps, liquidometers and sump drains. Reillys team completed the installation for the two center section 95-gallon tanks around the first week in January. Three of the four outboard tanks are now installed less their pumps and liquidometers. The team expect to have completed these when the fourth tank is finished in the next week or so.

Inboard Gear Doors

Tom Reilly has been planning the remanufacture of the exceptionally complex-shaped inboard gear doors for several years now. He had recovered two extremely damaged inboard doors from the Alaska wreck site, but neither one had any usable parts. However, the wrecked doors both yielded essential information on how to make new examples. Between these two crashed door remains and the very detailed North American Aviation plans in their possession, two team members were able to complete both door frames in a short amount of time. The press-die pattern for the inside skins is currently under design.

One of Reillys contractor machine shops has supplied the project with the four needed gear door hinge points (see below).

Upper & Lower Engine Cowlings

Reillys own machine shop finished all of the 4130 alloy steel adjustable-dzus-rail attach points for the left and righthand upper cowlings. These are the attachment fittings that join the two top cowls together down the centerline of the top of each Merlin engine.

With the lower cowling ribs being finished over the past month, the English wheeling of the six (three each engine) lower cowls under way. Within a short amount to time, the team had the first forward, lower wheeled cowl completed. The wheeling of the five remaining cowls should go smoothly. The two filtered-air screen ducts still need to be fitted in the sides of each forward cowl.

Reilly is wistful over how nice it would have been had these cowls been the same as a standard D-model Mustang so that he could have purchased them, more or less off-the-rack, from a current P-51 parts builder, but no such luck!

Armament / Replica Machine Guns

The Twin Mustang project received its six replica, dummy machine guns from a contractor. The duplication and detail of all the parts copied from a non-fireable, real .50 caliber gun are superb. All Reillys team had to do was paint and re-assemble each weapon, and now begins the process of installing them in the center section gun bays. In an extra flourish of authenticity through a machine gun dealer/friend of his, Reilly was able to locate enough, original, pre-fired WWII .50 caliber shell casings with the correct date code of 44 or 45 stamped on the base.

Rollout Time Frame

Reilly is planning for the XP-82s first rollout to occur sometime early this summer. The main unfinished task remaining prior to that grand day is the completion and installation of the tail wheel assemblies and retract mechanisms. At that point Mike Nixons Vintage V12s (the company that overhauled the XP-82s engines) will send someone from their base in Tehachapi, California to start both engines and final-test all of the firewall forward systems (fuel, oil, vacuum, hydraulic, propeller, etc., etc.).

Final Major Tasks to Complete

The five major tasks to complete are as follows: the pressing of one, fire-wall-forward dishpan and the two inboard gear door waffle skins, fitting the two outboard gear doors, and then machining and installing the two brake calipers. The final item then will be pressing the parts for and assembling the two air induction trunk forward lip carburetor air control mechanisms; one located under each prop spinner.

-

And thats all of the news for January, 2016!

Many thanks again to Tom Reilly for the update! You can learn more about the project on their blog HERE. Please be sure to check back with WarbirdsNews in February for the next installment in the story following the XP-82s road to recovery!
A leading international human rights group has highlighted the decision to place a 10-year-old autistic student in a metal cage as a violation of disability rights in Australia.

Human Rights Watch, one of the world's most respected campaign organisations, detailed the incident in its latest annual report on abuses and concerns in Australia.

Human Rights Watch have condemned a decision to build this cage for a 10-year-old autistic student.

The cage, which was two metres square in size and had a self-closing latch and door, cost $5195 and was not approved by the ACT Education Directorate.

The cage was in place for 17 days and was initially described to parents as a "sanctuary" for a boy with special needs and behavioural problems. It was dismantled a day after government officials became aware of its existence.
Former breakfast radio host Mark Parton has joined the staff of ACT Liberal leader Jeremy Hanson as a media adviser.

Mr Parton's brief is to extend the Liberals' reach into social media, with YouTube videos and a bigger presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

Former radio host Mark Parton is joining the staff of Liberal leader Jeremy Hanson.

He joins Joe Prevedello, also a former radio journalist, who has been the sole media spokesman for the Liberal team.

Mr Parton, who resigned from 2CC in December after 16 years on Canberra radio to focus on his marketing consultancy, Parton Me, stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate at the 2008 election. He has ruled out standing at this year's election.
Energy giant AGL has decided to cut its losses in the troubled coal seam gas sector, announcing that it will end all exploration and production of gas in NSW and Queensland.

The decision, released to the stock exchange on Thursday morning, follows a lengthy internal review ordered by new chief executive Andrew Vesey last year.

AGL said there would be no change to its commercial or retail gas activities, and said it would take a $640 million after-tax impairment charge. Asset sales are likely to recoup less than $10 million.
While the 1016-person online survey did not seek specific responses regarding the building and construction sector alone, the independent online survey commissioned by the ACTU, found just 23 per cent of voters believe unions generally have a bigger problem of corruption than other organisations.

The finding comes as the Turnbull Government attempts to ratchet up the pressure on Senate crossbenchers to pass a once-rejected bill to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission - a disbanded Howard-era union watchdog granted extraordinary powers in order to attack a culture of union militancy and criminality in the nation's building sites.

Fewer than a quarter of Australian voters share the Coalition government's apparent view that unions are more corrupt than other organisations, such as government bodies, political parties, and businesses, according to polling conducted by Essential Media.

When broken down according to voting preference, the survey found 43 per cent of Liberal and Nationals voters think unions are more corrupt, compared to just one in 10 Labor voters, at 11 per cent, who arrived at the same conclusion.

Among Labor voters as a cohort, 66 per cent believe either the corruption problem is no worse within unions than in companies and the public sector, or that it is not even as bad. Eight per cent of those said unions had no corruption problem.

Most tellingly, the poll points to considerable public distrust of institutions, with 8 in 10 voters favouring the creation of a national body dedicated to rooting out corruption across all sectors of society - a figure that jumps to 88 per cent among Coalition voters.

The findings suggest the Government's focus on creating a singular specialised body to address union corruption alone, does not go far enough in the view of most Australians.

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said while there were cases of union corruption, the survey results were a wake-up call to the government to get back to real policy work.
A 22-year-old man will appear in court on Thursday, charged over an alleged attack on a woman in her home with a vacuum cleaner pipe on Wednesday afternoon.

Police will allege the man broke into the woman's home in Northgate, in Brisbane's north, about 3pm Wednesday and, when she confronted him, he demanded her car keys.

A woman was hit with a vacuum cleaner pipe during a home break-in in Brisbane's north.

It will further be alleged the man hit the 36-year-old across the legs with a vacuum cleaner pipe before taking her car keys.

Neighbours came to the woman's aid and the man fled the scene.
The heavily pregnant partner of a Perth bikie member due to be deported back to New Zealand on 'character grounds' says she won't give up her fight to keep him in WA despite an eleventh-hour decision by the government to cancel his visa for a second time.

Joel Makaea has been held at Casuarina Prison in immigration detention for five months after receiving a deportation order because he was a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang in September.

Joel Makaea has been held in immigration detention for five months. Credit:Andrew Meares

In January, Mr Makaea successfully challenged his deportation order in the Federal Court which ordered his visa be reinstated and the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton pay his legal fees.

But an eleventh-hour decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to again cancel Mr Makaea's visa on Monday has left his family and partner Rhianna Manolini-Drage in limbo.
An Australian nano satellite, ready for launch. Credit:Ray Sparvell "It's the best material for the deployment of the satellite in space," Mr McAndrew said. "Once it leaves the ride housing of the host vehicle, the folded arms of the antenna just snap back into place." McAndrew sourced his satellite parts from around the world. Credit:Ray Sparvell Mr McAndrew studied for a degree in aviation, but eventually worked his way into IT and is now a systems administrator in the construction industry.

His interest in building a satellite began with a desire to see whether he could design a circuit board. Mr McAndrew has fabricated many of the components of his nano satellite. Credit:Ray Sparvell "I didn't have any electrical engineering skills  everything I know now, I learned through experimenting and through forums on the internet and the like," Mr McAndrew said. However, there are still some hurdles to overcome before OzQube-1 reaches its final frontier. "I have to prove to the carrier that my satellite is up to spec and will survive the launch and space," he said.

An internet friend of Mr McAndrew will fabricate new housing for his satellite made from space-approved aluminium. "I've got a few more tweaks, but essentially it's there," he said. Mr McAndrew's biggest barrier to getting into orbit around the Earth is funds. "I need to be able to finance the testing and the launch," he said. Mr McAndrew is hoping to launch aboard the Russian rocket Dnepr via an Italian ride sharer, also launching a satellite, at the end of the year, but he will have to confirm his booking by the end of June.

The satellite-builder has been running an online campaign at gofundme with a target of $50,000. Contributions have stalled on the launch pad with less than $2000 raised so far. Mr McAndrew said Australia's first amateur satellite  Oscar 5 - was launched into orbit in 1970. "Since then, there haven't been any other Australian amateur satellites. In the meantime, other countries have continued to develop their capability in space, and Australia has lagged a long way behind," he said



"Funding my project, is not just about helping get my satellite into orbit  it's helping build the foundations of a new national industry." Mr McAndrew said donors would also be helping show young students that there's more to space than being an astronaut.

"It's showing them that STEM education can lead to exciting careers," he said. The IT professional is also creating a study unit with lesson plans that could help bring satellite building into the classroom. Mr McAndrew is now at the leading edge of a new industry whose potential has been graphically summed up by one of the world's acknowledged creative thinkers. "We're really talking about something which is, in the long term, like rebuilding the internet in space," said global innovator and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk. Andrew Dempster who heads the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at the University of New South Wales said that Mr McAndrew was somewhat of a "Robinson Crusoe" in WA as far as the emerging space industry was concerned.

"He really enjoyed coming over here and meeting like-minded people," he said. Professor Dempster said despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's new narrative of innovation, Australia was one of the few developed countries in the world without a national space agency. A committee within the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science coordinates and prioritises the government's involvement in civil space activities. Bodies like ACSER have stepped into that absence of government leadership in space research, and are now playing a driving role in helping incubate space start-up companies. "Historically, satellites were big, cost a lot of money and involved governments," Professor Dempster said.

"Space 2.0, as we call it, is characterised by low cost access to space and it has less of a need for government to get involved." Professor Dempster said initiatives like Delta-V, Australia's first start-up accelerator would help new companies determine how they could monetise projects in space. "Imaging, communications and research projects are traditional satellite payloads, but the full scope of the commercial potential is something that these creative brains are turning toward," he said. One of the barriers remained the cost of launchers that still required traditional larger rockets. "NASA is looking at ways of making cheap launchers available and some other providers are considering free services for universities," Professor Dempster said.
A firefighting ladder has arrived to help police investigate the suspicious death of a man in a Perth CBD laneway on Tuesday.

Major Crime Squad officers were on Wednesday examining the incident, which occurred off Pier Street, next to the Wilson carpark, around 8.15pm on Tuesday.

Forensics are reportedly examining a third-storey window and ledge of the derelict building overlooking the laneway on the other side.

WA Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said side access to the carpark was closed as it was part of a "protected forensic area".
A Palestinian poet convicted in Saudi Arabia of charges including insulting Islam now faces 800 lashes, his lawyer said on Wednesday, after a court commuted his death sentence.

The case has stirred international outrage over the kingdom's harsh codes.

The punishment reflects the wide authority of the ultraconservative clerics who oversee a legal system based on strict Islamic views, and effectively serve as behind-the-scenes power brokers for Saudi Arabia's Western-allied rulers.

It also highlights what rights groups and others describe as a widening crackdown on perceived dissidents amid increasing uncertainty for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom now faces belt-tightening over sinking oil prices and unease over its nearly year-long war in neighbouring Yemen.
Supported by the Japan Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan), a diagnostic mission, specifically covering post-clearance audit (PCA), has been conducted in Cambodia, from 18 to 22 January 2016, by a team of representatives from the WCO, Japan Customs, and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The team was warmly welcomed by the staffs of the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) of Cambodia.

The diagnostic team was encouraged by the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) continuous efforts towards modernization. In the field of PCA in particular, the experts witnessed the GDCEs determination to move towards more effective implementation in line with international standards.

The team also conducted a one-day workshop on practical audit techniques covering issues such as targeting auditees and tackling uncooperative traders. Upon completing the workshop, participants demonstrated a high degree of motivation and readiness to address future challenges.

Dr. Kun Nhem, Director General of the GDCE, welcomed the interim reports initial conclusions which were shared at the end of the mission.

The team would like to express its sincere appreciation to the GDCEs management and staff for their constant support throughout the mission, and wishes the Department every success in its modernization process.
By The Associated Press Feb. 02, 2016 | 11:11 PM | CARBONDALE, IL

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is reporting enrollment has dropped more than 5 percent for the spring semester.

SIU administrators said Tuesday enrollment for spring is down to 15,806 from 16,684 during spring 2015.

Graduate student enrollment fell 11.5 percent, or 420 students, for the period. Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell attributes the decline, in part, to a delay in awarding graduate assistantships because of state budget uncertainty.

Administrators said uncertainty surrounding MAP grant funding also impacted enrollment. But they did not say how many students failed to re-enroll as a result.

Due to the lack of a state budget, SIU is providing grand funds to low-income students this semester. SIU President Randy Dunn has said if the state does not reimburse the university, students will be on the hook.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 03, 2016 | 01:02 PM | BENTON, KY

A Marshall County man heard gunshots near his house on Tuesday, and it led to another man's arrest.

The Marshall County Sheriff's Department was called to Hall Drive near Calvert City after a man said someone was firing a rifle in the direction of his home. He told deputies that one bullet ricocheted off the ground and hit a building on his side of the road.

When deputies spoke to 24-year-old Marcus R. Brennan of Calvert City, and he told them he did shoot a rifle, but didn't know it was illegal. Brennan was arrested and charged with 1st degree wanton endangerment.

He was taken to Marshall County Jail, but has since made bail.
PARDEE HOSPITAL GETS GRANT FOR OR RENOVATIONS

Pardee Hospital Foundation announced today that the James H. Cummings Foundation awarded $200,000 and The Cannon Foundation awarded $150,000 to support recent operating room renovations as part of the hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Center Capital Campaign. The renovations integrate the latest lights, equipment and computers in Pardee's 10 operating rooms, making operating environments even safer and more effective. Each fully integrated surgical suite has:

More space surrounding the patient to accommodate surgeons and staff.

LED cool lights so rooms can be warmer, which is better for patients and staff.

An advanced camera so photos can be taken throughout surgery for future surgical reference and/or patient education.

Reduced shadows, resulting in better viewing conditions for surgeons.

No cords or wires that could cause tripping or jeopardy of medication delivery.

Highly visible screens accessible by all members of the team; essential for viewing key information or recording video.

Central controls of all technology, easily controlled by one technician.

Stabilized computer stations housed on special beams.

"We are so grateful for the generous support of the James H. Cummings Foundation and The Cannon Foundation," said Kim Hinkelman, executive director of Pardee Hospital Foundation. "Their gifts helped fund important renovations to our 10 operating suites, which will improve patient outcomes and surgical success, ensuring the best possible care for residents in our community."

James H. Cummings Foundation, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit corporation organized in New York in July of 1962 for the purpose of complying with certain directions in the will of its founder and namesake. James H. Cummings was a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., where he owned and operated a pharmaceutical business, American Ferment Company. With offices and plants in both Buffalo and Toronto, Canada, Mr. Cummings grew strong ties to both cities, but he was just as much at home raising cattle on a farm he owned near Hendersonville. The Foundation has supported many renovation projects for Pardee Hospital, including cardiovascular, diabetes, orthopedic and spine facility renovations. For more information, visit www.jameshcummings.com.

The Cannon Foundation, Inc. is part of the philanthropic legacy of Charles A. Cannon, industrialist and humanitarian, who was President and Chairman of Cannon Mills Company for more than half a century. The Foundation continues Mr. Cannons philanthropy through funding in healthcare, higher education, human services and community. For more information, visit www.cannonfoundation.org.

Pardee Memorial Hospital Foundation was approved as a nonprofit Foundation in January 1996. The Foundation exists to educate and inspire the community to support Pardee Hospital. Since its inception, the Foundation has generated more than $30 million in pledges and cash gifts for Pardee services. For more information, visit www.pardeehospitalfoundation. org or call (828) 233-2700.
The three accused filed a petition challenging their 12-day custody and said they were being subjected to third-degree torture.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 02/02/2016 (2452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpyoutube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpece_I8xig:wfpyoutube

The wheels on the bus may go round and round but the bus driver is not supposed to go wee wee out the school bus door.

So says a bus company that fired a driver of one of its Winnipeg school buses, after the driver was caught on video urinating off the bus steps onto a residential boulevard.

We dont in any way condone this type of behaviour by any employee, said Jay Brock, spokesman for First Student Canada, in a telephone interview from its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Brock said the drivers employment with First Student Canada was terminated on Tuesday, as soon as the company became aware of the behaviour. Brock said he saw the video of the bus driver in the act, taken by a Winnipeg mother whose daughter rode the school bus.

Its a terrible situation. We do not condone this type of activity in any way, he said.

The company is also conducting an internal investigation of the Winnipeg office. It was apparently not the first time the driver relieved himself from the bus, and in view of children on the bus. The daily ritual by the bus driver took place in a Transcona neighbourhood.

River East Transcona School Division superintendent Kelly Barkman said it was not one of its buses. It does not use First Student Canada buses.

Brock did not know immediately how many buses the company operates in Winnipeg.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 02/02/2016 (2452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman has issued a statement to alert city residents that a U.S. blogger planning to bring his misogynist views to Winnipeg this weekend is not welcome.

Daryush Valizadeh, who is also known as Roosh V, operates a website called Return of Kings that promotes rape of women inside private dwellings, among other violent views.

A recent post indicated this Saturday is an international meetup day, and 165 meetings have been set in 43 countries including Canada. The one listed for Winnipeg is at the fireplace at St. Vital Centre near the entrance to the Chapters bookstore at 8 p.m.

www.rooshv.com Daryush Valizadeh, who is also known as Roosh V.

I have no interest in offering a platform for the types of violent and harmful views espoused by Mr. Valizadeh and his organization. I am deeply disturbed by many of his statements, and I denounce them unequivocally, Bowman said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

The Winnipeg Police Service is aware of this organizations intended plans and will be monitoring its activity.

The author has attracted outrage around the country for his platforms that include violence against women, restraint or treating them like property.

The blog includes the authors requirements for a wife: She must be between 18-25 years old. In the case I want to have more than two kids, I need to find a woman who is substantially younger than myself so she is biologically able to keep popping them out.

Highlights of the blog include, women in their prime prefer sex with damaged men, women must have their behaviour and decisions controlled by men, and women shouldnt work as there are only three or four women who have made great contributions to science and human resources over the past century.

It also advocates not allowing women to attend university unless the societal need is urgent where an able-minded man could not be found to fill the specific position, not allowing women in bars without a man present, women needing male co-signers to access money, and modern man should focus on extracting as many instances of sex from individual women as he can until the well becomes dry.

The post said a host at each meeting place, including St. Vital Centre, will wait for 20 minutes before taking the men who show up to an undisclosed location. The post bordered on comical as it attempted subterfuge in gathering supporters.

To determine who is at the location for the meeting, men should ask other men, Do you know where I can find a pet shop? If the answer is, Yes, its right here, men can then receive details about where to go at 8:20 a.m.

Another post, entitled Frequently Asked Questions For International Meet Up Day on February 6, says the meetings are for heterosexual men only but non-white/visible minorities are welcome.

The post also advises men to record any crazy feminists who show up, and tries to abate their fears of feminists recording them and searching out their identities.

If you remain anxious or fearful of green-haired female activists or male feminists, simply dont give out your last name or company name during the meet-up, the post states.

The goal of Valizadeh and his followers is to start tribes of other like-minded men complete with chiefs and elders in cities.

Another post, called Worldwide Effort to Shut Down International Meet Up Day Is Under Way, states a private central command has been created for mee-tup hosts and that protocols for meet-up attendees will be posted on the site by Thursday. Not a single meet-up will be cancelled. We will not be intimidated by the actions of the lying media and leftist political establishment.

St. Vital Centre management denounced the meeting on its Facebook page, stating St. Vital Centre condemns any proposed meet-up by groups associated with violence or hate towards women or others in our community. Our security is trained for any issues arising at the centre and for added public safety, we have co-ordinated Winnipeg Police Service paid duty officers on-site in the event that this alleged meet-up does materialize.

Bowmans statement said the city embraces tolerance, diversity, acceptance, and a desire to help others.

All our residents need to feel safe regardless of their gender, sexuality, ethnicity or faith, the statement read.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 03/02/2016 (2451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON  Canadas resettlement plan for Syrians came under scrutiny Wednesday in the U.S. Congress amid a hothouse election-year atmosphere  one where American politics is split over the welcoming of Muslim refugees.

It became apparent just moments into a hearing of the Senates Homeland Security committee that this conversation was as much between Americans as it was between countries.

In his opening remarks, the committees top Republican, Ron Johnson, said of the Trudeau plan to bring in 25,000 refugees: Thats a pretty significant ramp-up. Will there be short-cuts taken?

David Harris, seen after testifying at the U.S. Senate on Feb. 3, 2016, worked at Canada's spy agency over a quarter-century ago and more recently has become a persistent critic of Canada's immigration levels and the threat of terrorist infiltration of the U.S. from its northern neighbour. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Panetta

The top Democrat, Tom Carper, countered by quoting Pope Francis: I think we should support our ally Canada in doing the right thing in the most secure manner possible, he said.

The context for this meeting was unfolding elsewhere.

Up the highway in Baltimore, Barack Obama visited a mosque for the first time in his presidency and warned against anti-Muslim bigotry. His Republican opponents have hammered him for planning to bring in 10,000 refugees  some want zero; some want only non-Muslims; and Donald Trump wants a total freeze on Muslim travel to the U.S.

The Canadian government was invited to participate in the hearing but declined, citing the historical precedent of avoiding that partisan chamber.

A veteran Washington lobbyist called that a wise move.

Former Canadian diplomat Paul Frazer said he hasnt heard a single lawmaker raise Canadas refugee plan as a serious concern. He said the Canadian government should keep on eye on the discussion, communicate with U.S. counterparts on security and stay out of the political fray.

This is a particularly partisan year. Canada has nothing to gain by jumping into the pool, Frazer said.

This is not really about Canada Senate and House hearings serve many purposes and often serve a variety of agendas. Hearings are often political theatre.

One senator used the hearing to promote a bill shes trying to pass.

At one point, two of the six senators present were border state representatives whove co-sponsored a bipartisan bill calling for more resources and customs agents in their states.

A second witness, David Harris, was employed at Canadas spy agency from 1988 to 1990 and has in subsequent decades been regularly quoted in U.S. media stories referring to the danger of terrorists from Canada.

Outside the hearings, he explained his broader goal: a massive reduction in immigration to Canada  from the current 250,000 annually to several tens of thousands.

We have imposed upon ourselves a remarkable burden where security is concerned, he said.

Immigration lawyer Guidy Mamann expressed doubt that refugee-screening safeguards  a biometric exam, intelligence co-operation with the U.S., the prioritization of families, women and children and the fact refugees would require a visa to enter the U.S.  could eliminate the threat entirely.

Our (border) checkpoints are only effective with respect to people who choose to use them, he said. Many successfully avoid our checkpoints.

Laura Dawson, of the Wilson Centers Canada Institute, was the only witness to defend Canadian policy, listing security projects where Canada has co-operated with the U.S.

Canada is not a weak link in the fight against terrorism, she said.

Neither partys lawmakers were too harsh on Canada.

Carper, the Democrat, said later that a terrorist would have to be stupid to try using the international refugee process to first infiltrate Canada, then the U.S.

Theyre not stupid, he said.

He offered no such guarantees about his colleagues when asked whether the border might be tightened in future: God only knows what people running for president are going to say. Well see who gets elected.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 02/02/2016 (2452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:112961938:wfpvideo

In the summer of 2014, during the heat of a municipal election campaign, I had an opportunity to interview Wab Kinew about racism, diversity and whether Winnipegs indigenous population could ever engage meaningfully in local politics.

More than a little charismatic, Kinew had gone from obscure hip-hop artist to darling of the local and national arts scene. He became a nationally recognized broadcaster and author. His work at the University of Winnipeg, where he served as director of indigenous inclusion, has been widely lauded.

Given his resume, the conversation inevitably turned to his own political ambitions. I was aware Kinew had already been courted by a variety of political parties at both the federal and provincial level. He had also been encouraged to consider municipal politics. His political potential as a powerful indigenous leader within a mainstream political system was nearly unlimited.

Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press A quint moment for Wab Kinew after he announces he will seek the NDP nomination in Fort Rouge at Gas Station Arts Centre Tuesday.

Still, Kinew said back then he was not at all sold on the idea of mainstream politics. He was already gaining an increasing audience through his work as a commentator and artist. This was opening up a world of opportunities, he said, to become a role model outside of the political arena.

I have a lot of options if I want to be a leader for my community, Kinew said then.

My, how things have changed. On Tuesday, Kinew was unveiled as a candidate for the NDP nomination in Fort Rouge. In a speech to supporters and journalists, Kinew said he had decided the time had come to get directly involved in trying to make the province a better place to live.

For the NDP, and Premier Greg Selinger in particular, the Kinew announcement represents a much needed respite after a week when two high-profile veterans  former minister Jennifer Howard and Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh  announced they would not run in April. Trailing both the pack-leading Progressive Conservatives and the upstart provincial Liberals, the NDP had never looked weaker and more vulnerable than it did last week.

Although it is far too early to calculate the net impact of Kinews candidacy on the general electorate, it represents a much-needed shot in the arm for core NDP supporters, the folks who will be expected to carry water in the upcoming provincial election.

To get all the phone callers, door-knockers and fundraisers engaged, Selinger had to offer them something more exciting than his continued leadership. Kinew offers the rank and file an important sign that there is some life left in Selingers NDP.

Perhaps as an indication of Kinews strategic importance to the campaign, there were clear signs that  although at this point he is only a candidate vying for the right to represent the NDP in the April election  this is more or less a direct nomination.

At a news conference in the Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village, Kinew was joined by Selinger, Howard and at least seven MLAs and cabinet ministers. Its still possible someone could challenge Kinew for the Fort Rouge nomination, but that person would fail.

It was a positive moment for Selinger, although it had its share of awkwardness, too. It was impossible to forget, for example, that Howard is leaving politics largely because she tried and failed to get Selinger to step down as leader in a well-publicized coup last year. Rather than run again for a party that seems destined to implode in April, Howard has decided to leave Winnipeg for Ottawa and a job with the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Kinew did not discuss the rift between Selinger and Howard, making it obvious he does not consider the current premiers continued leadership a problem going into this election. When asked if he had any future designs on leading the NDP, Kinew pointed at Selinger: This is the leader.

Again, while Kinews impact on the provincial election cannot be calculated right now, it will most certainly be seismic in Fort Rouge, a riding that appeared to be in play following Howards retirement announcement last week. At that point, the stars seemed to be aligning for Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari, who is running in Fort Rouge. Audrey Gordon, a former public servant and health care manager, is running for the Progressive Conservatives.

A week later, and Bokhari is right back where she was earlier this year: a political newbie facing the prospect of winning a seat against a star NDP candidate. The impact of her rapidly changing fortunes was clear on Tuesday when she issued a terse one-line statement  I like Wab Kinew, but residents of Fort Rouge know a vote for Wab is a vote for Greg Selinger  and then declined to make any additional comment.

Bokhari has momentum right now, but her decision to turtle on the day Kinew announced his intention to seek the NDP nomination revealed she is a long way from developing the fighting skills necessary for provincial politics.

For now, Manitobans can expect to see and hear a lot of Kinew. In his speech Tuesday, he used words like progressive and renewal over and over again to explain his motivation for entering mainstream politics. The NDP message is thinly veiled: although Selinger is still leader, Kinew and a roster of younger, dynamic candidates being recruited to fill holes left by departing veterans are the future of the NDP.

That may help a few of those dynamic new candidates get elected. But its far from clear it will do anything to save the leader who steadfastly refused to step aside to contribute to the renewal of the NDP.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Winona

Tuesday

8:10 a.m.  Jenna Rae Eastman, 23, Winona, was cited for running a red light after a collision at Broadway and Main Street. No one was injured in the crash.

10:49 a.m.  An iPad mini valued at $500 was reported missing from a location near Fifth and Center streets.

11:46 a.m.  Matthew Allen Steinke, 33, Independence, Wis., was cited for no Minnesota drivers license and no proof of insurance after a collision at West Broadway and Huff Street. No one was injured in the crash.

12:31 p.m.  A city of Winona bus missed a turn and ran into the ditch near Links Lane and Homer Road. No one was injured in the mishap.

12:56 p.m.  Two tires were slashed on a vehicle parked on the 350 block of West Mark Street.

2:26 p.m.  A vehicle pulling a skier was reported near East King and Franklin streets.

11:42 p.m.  Blake Jeffrey Lara McGrew, 21, was arrested on a Monroe County, Wis., warrant by officers investigating a reported suspicious person near Wabasha Street and Druey Court.

Wednesday

12:01 to 6:30 a.m.  Police ticketed 21 vehicles for alternate-side parking violations.
A new degree program may make it easier for technical college students to transfer to a four-year college.

Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has applied to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board of trustees to confer an Associate of Arts degree beginning with the 2016 fall semester, college president Dorothy Duran said.

Holders of the two-year liberal arts degree will be readily accepted with junior class status by most four-year colleges and universities, Duran said. The degree program is intended either as a terminal degree, or for students intending to transfer into a four-year degree program.

Southeast Technical currently confers two-year Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees, in addition to technical certifications, but some colleges and universities are resistant to accepting credits earned in a non-AA program at a technical college.

High school administrators were particularly passionate advocates for creation of an AA program, Duran said. About one-quarter of the students attending Southeast Technical are also high school students enrolled in the Post-Secondary Education Option programs offered through their high schools. The PSEO program allows high school students to enroll in a college or university and earn up to two years of college credit along with their high school diploma.

"Students will be able to earn their AA degree while in high school," Duran said and begin their first year of college as a junior.

Adding the AA degree will enhance the attraction of Southeast Technical and, hopefully boost enrollment. Assuring the transferability of credit will make the college a convenient, lower cost option for many studentsparticularly in the Red Wing areawho would otherwise have left their home communities for their first two years of college.

Duran emphasized that the the proposed new degree option would not be created at the expense of the college's technical mission. "Our technical mission is just as important as our transfer mission," she said. The college will continue to work with business and industry to meet their need for qualified, skilled employees and student's desire for rewarding and remunerative careers.

If the MnSCU board approves the degree in April as hoped for, the next task for the college will be to adopt a new name that reflects its added academic mission.
Next week, voters in New Hampshire will cast their ballots in two hotly contested presidential primaries that could determine the direction of the rest of the election. But this year, thanks to a new state voter ID law, many New Hampshire voters voices may not be heard at all.

In presidential election years, particularly when there are open contests for both parties, voter excitement is at an all-time high. If past is precedent, more than three times as many New Hampshire voters may go to the polls as in regular, non-presidential state primary years. But this year, for the first time in the New Hampshire presidential primary, voters must show photo identification before they can cast a ballot. If voters cant produce the ID, they will have to sign an affidavit and then mail a letter back to elections officials confirming their voter eligibility.

This sounds simple enough in theory, but the heaviest burden of such laws falls on new voters, infrequent voters, and voters without access to the information and identification they need to cast a ballot: primarily young people, people of color, low-income voters, and seniors.

The Granite State isnt the only place where voters ability to fully participate in this years presidential election is at risk. Voter ID and other restrictive voting lawspassed after Republicans made historic gains in taking over state legislative chambers in 2010have made it increasingly harder for voters to cast a vote and know it will be counted.

In Wisconsin, for instance, strict voter ID laws mean that out-of-state drivers licenses, technical college student IDs, and even veterans identification arent acceptable forms of voter identification. As many as 300,000 Wisconsiniteslargely Hispanic and African American votersmay not be able to vote because of these laws. Meanwhile, Kansas has purged thousands of voters from the rolls for being unable to provide citizenship documentsdocuments that young voters, low-income voters, and seniors are less likely to have access to.

Alabama passed its own voter ID requirement in 2011, then proceeded to close 31 department of motor vehicles across the state, largely in counties with the highest percentage of African American voters. With these closures, voters living in the affected regions will have long drive timessome up to 45 miles one way, an insurmountable barrier for those without access to reliable transportationto get a the ID necessary to vote.

Fortunately, despite the failures of several states, others are expanding access to the ballot through common-sense reforms. Oregon and California, for instance, have adopted whats known as automatic voter registration (AVR), where anyone interacting with a states department of motor vehicles is added to the voter rolls unless they opt out. Studies have shown that, if every state adopted AVR, as many as 55.8 million new voters could be added to the rolls nationwide.

In other states, cross-partisan coalitions have restored voting rights for ex-offenders who have completed their sentence and deserve a stake in their community through voting. Nationwide, 1 out of 13 African Americans cannot vote due to felony disenfranchisement laws. Not only will these reforms begin to adjust this imbalance, they will save taxpayer dollars by reducing recidivism: a study by the Florida Parole Commission found that, when ex-offenders voting rights were restored, they re-offended at one-third the rate of those who were not re-enfranchised.

And in several states, the courts have played a major role in blocking gerrymanderingwhere elected officials essentially pick their voters instead of the other way aroundand in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Arizonans right to have a nonpartisan redistricting commission to take redistricting decisions out of the hands of politicians.

Presidential elections arent decided nationally; theyre won state-by-state. But right now, voters in states with new and worsening restrictions are having a very different voting experience than voters in states that are working to expand voting rights.

Thats why its so critical that states look for every opportunity to make voting and civic participation more accessible for every eligible voter. The ballot box is where Americans can make their voices heard. No person, not an elected official or a Supreme Court justice, should stand in the way of any eligible voter and the ballot box. This is why we need to fight these restrictive laws across the country and support those who will restore key policies that protect our sacred right.

Further, every American should exercise their right and vote. The health of our democracy depends on it.
A testament to the rise of a Baraboo agribusiness left town Monday in a semi trailer.

Synergy Metalworks exported seven hydraulic hoof trimming chutes to China, a quarter-million-dollar order weighing 3,600 pounds. They were shipped from a loading dock at the burgeoning Baraboo business newly built headquarters on Commerce Avenue.

Baraboo agribusiness builds on success Staff at Synergy Metalworks like each other fine, but they wont miss being quite so cozy.

Synergy is part of a multifaceted agribusinesses enterprise owned by Landis Brozak and Karl and Melanie Burgi. Construction began April 1 on a 35,000 square-foot facility that houses Synergy, Comfort Hoof Care, Dairyland Hoof Care Institute and Sure Step Consulting.

In December the staff moved in, leaving behind 21,000 square feet of rented space in three buildings that formerly housed Glenville Timberwrights on Water Street. Today, the staff doesnt have to shuffle from one building to another, or work three to an office, or risk getting a forklift stuck in the snow.

Were not going outside, through the snow and in the rain, Melanie Burgi said. We just needed to have some more room.

The business partners speak affectionately about their days at the former hammock factory along the Baraboo River, but acknowledged that a company that ships to 52 countries needed an indoor loading dock.

Construction to begin on new facility Design Structures announces that they will begin construction on the new world headquarters 

Today, products move seamlessly through the new building. Raw materials head to the assembly area on their way to the shipping dock. The product flow through the building is exactly how we thought it would be, Burgi said. Everything makes a big circle.

The network of agribusinesses started with Comfort Hoof Care, established in 1989. It develops products that aid in hoof trimming and hoof care analysis. Dairyland Hoof Care Institute, launched in 1995, offers courses on hoof care for students from around the world. Synergy Metalworks, established in 2008, manufactures products such as stanchions for Comfort Hoof Care and other customers. Sure Step Consulting, created in 2010, works with dairy farmers to develop hoof health solutions.

Agribusiness facility moves ahead Construction of headquarters for a locally grown network of agribusinesses is moving forward.

The business parent company, SureFire Group, bought the 5-acre lot from the city in March. It lies at the corner of Commerce and Hatchery Road, near U.S. Highway 12 in the citys southwest corner. The new facility features about 5,000 square feet of office and training space, plus a 30,000 square-foot manufacturing floor.

The staff of about 17 played a role in designing the facility and getting it set up. We probably didnt sleep the month of December, Brozak said. They did whatever it took.

Operating out of custom-designed facility has improved staff efficiency. You can have everything you need within a few feet, Burgi said.

Land deal for agribusinesses approved A network of locally grown, international agribusinesses will buy land from the city of Bara

The group of companies has become an international player in recent years, helping to establish dairies in emerging markets like China and Vietnam. This weeks shipment to China was easier to fill and ship from the new facility.

Were pretty excited to be here, Burgi said.

Were constantly in production. We just never stop.
Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls is joining Apple and Facebook in the land of green. The company merged with Tyco International and they have decided to set up their international headquarters in Ireland. The move will save the company $150 million in taxes.

This is called corporate inversion. Its what happens when a company relocates its legal domicile, or headquarters, to a lower-taxed nation while retaining its material operations in the higher-taxed nation. The corporate tax rate in America is 35 percent  the highest rate in the world. The corporate tax rate in Ireland is 12.5 percent.

Facebook, a California company, set up its international office in Dublin in 2009. The savings allowed it to have positive cash flow for the first time in company history. Apples headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa is located in Cork, Ireland. The money the company makes over there isnt penalized by bringing it into the United States.

The one thing politicians can agree on is that corporate inversions are a bad deal. Its probably likely that most corporate leaders would also agree. Sen. Bernie Sanders called it a disaster while Hillary Clinton called it a perversion. Both candidates believe these companies have a duty to support the country  a country that has pick-pocketed their corporate wallets. What they dont offer is a real solution to the problem.

At least the Republican candidates acknowledge we need to be more competitive when it comes to corporate taxes. The failure of politicians to modernize the corporate tax structure will only continue to push more businesses overseas along with billions of America dollars.

The Democrats solution comes right out of the socialist handbook. According to the Democrat Socialists of America, they believe, In the short term we cant eliminate private corporations, but we can bring them under greater democratic control. They believe that even more regulation will prevent this problem.

Under the lefts plan, instead of just moving the headquarters, corporations will be forced to move their entire operation to tax-friendly countries. Its failed logic when you consider they essentially require world domination to occur because we are left with the same problem, only compounded.

Democrat control is nothing more than code for the regime. If you vote them in, they will use government power to force corporations, or any business and person for that matter, to capitulate to a system of government regulation that has not only evolved over the past 80 years, but has failed repeatedly around the world.

Prior to the progressive liberal policies instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt, the black and impoverished communities were flourishing. The Great Depression didnt change their fate; it was the liberal policies which followed that did. As those policies expanded through the 1960s, we are now left with greater economic divides in those communities and greater rates of poverty than at any time in American history.

If you believe that socialist control of a nation is good for people, just ask those folks in China and Cuba how well its playing out for them. The Foundation Economic Education reports, While it (socialism) promised prosperity, equality, and security, it delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny was achieved only in the sense that everyone was equal in his or her misery. The foundation adds, In a world with perfect beings and infinite abundance, any economic or political system  socialism, capitalism, fascism, or communism  would work perfectly.

This country has lost a lot of corporate headquarters to our stifling corporate tax structure. It has resulted in billions of dollars being moved out of the country as corporations shelter their profits. Unfortunately, they also have to spend that money and it isnt being spent here. Imposing more rules on corporations to prevent this problem, as the left proposes, will only force them to take their entire operations out of the country.

This path is one that expands government controls over the private business sector and, in all reality, would require the government to restrict companies from leaving. It brings to mind the former Soviet Union.

The other path is to lower the corporate tax rate and let American business compete on a global scale. We should be incentivizing companies for bringing money into the country, not punishing them. When the money is allowed to flow back in, these corporations can reinvest in America.

Lowering the corporate tax rate will lead to more growth and ultimately, more jobs right here in this country  not Ireland.
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese  that is, unless it already has been stolen.

Last month Wisconsin saw two major cheese heists, a crime only possible in a state where foam cheddar wedges are considered high fashion. Why steal cheese? For starters, the truckloads of cheese were valued at $160,000. Thats some major cheddar.

But there may be another explanation as to why those rats took the cheese: A recent study shows cheese contains a chemical found in hard drugs. Hi ho, the derry-o! Move over, crack cocaine, and while youre at it, pass the camembert.

Well return to the study in a moment. First, let me tell you about the trucks that got (pepper) jacked. On Jan. 15, Marshfield police reported 41,000 pounds of parmesan were stolen en route to Illinois. This grate amount was valued at $90,000.

A semi picked up the cheese from a distributor but never reached its intended destination. Investigators received a tip that the semi was in Grand Chute, where they found the entire shipment unloaded into a warehouse, fully intact. Fortunately, no one had cut the cheese.

A week later, another $70,000 worth of cheese was stolen from a Germantown distribution center. A 54-foot-long trailer and semi used to steal it turned up in Milwaukee a few days later, but the trailer was empty. These abominable thieves are absolute muensters. Unfortunately for police, they have mastered their Kraft.

Because the heists involved cheese rather than bratwurst, Wisconsins other favorite health food, police dont know whether the cases are linked. But they suspect the Marshfield theft was coordinated by organized crime. Now that La Queso Nostra is involved, fondue isnt the only hot cheese out there.

Why would the mob stoop to swipe Swiss, when there are so many addictive drugs out there to smuggle and sell? Because according to University of Michigan researchers, cheese is dairy addictive.

The study found cheese stimulates cravings because it contains casein, a chemical that triggers the brains opioid receptors. It produces a feeling of euphoria, like highly addictive hard drugs. This may explain a lot of the behavior one witnesses at Lambeau Field.

Subjects were asked to identify the foods they crave, and scientists quickly found a common ingredient. You guessed it: Asparagus. Just kidding, it was cheese.

All dairy products contain casein, but in varying amounts. Casein point: Milk contains only a tiny dosage, but when 10 pounds of it are used to produce a pound of cheese, look out, Chester Cheetah. The next thing you know, youre strung out, loitering outside Sargento and begging for a hit of colby.

The studys authors used their findings to identify a potential cause of addictive eating, and to call for public policy initiatives regarding the marketing of cheese to children. Hey, kids: Cheese is no gouda for you!

But they also may have started a crime wave. Keep in mind, the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people. No doubt Wisconsinites, who tend to be above average, consume considerably more than that. I bet 35 pounds are eaten at the Chuck E. Cheese in Green Bay every Tuesday.

Now we know why criminals have developed a hankering for cheese: Its an addictive product that people consume in mass quantities. Before you know it, thieves will descend on Americas Dairyland from across the country: Its a curd mentality.

Lock up your cheese, Wisconsin: I smell a rat.
Im writing this months Under the Clock Tower on the day of the 2016 Iowa Caucus. Wait, didnt that happen months ago? You mean with all of news and seemingly endless chatter about the Presidential candidates there hasnt even been a vote cast yet?

Today also marks the day that voters in Wisconsin can vote absentee for the spring primary. For these reasons, and given its another presidential election year, I elected to write about election issues, ones that really mean something to us in Columbus.

2016 will see the city hold four elections: the spring primary, on Feb. 16; the spring general, on April 5; the fall primary, on Aug. 9; and the fall general (or presidential) on Nov. 8. For Columbus, the spring primary does have an election to work with. Its the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, where currently three candidates are to be whittled down to two. The election for local offices (City Council and School Board) will be held on the spring general, because the number of candidates were not enough to trigger a primary.

One of the biggest changes that voters will experience this year is the return of the photo ID requirement for voting. After a couple of years of court challenges and legal review, this requirement is now, required. The city of Columbus website: www.cityofcolumbuswi.com has further information on how you should prepare for casting your votes this year.

The switch to the photo ID requirement is just one of the many constant changes that the state and federal government imposes on the procedures for elections. City Clerk Anne Donahue is continually reviewing and planning for how to implement them. Another key cog in the process is the dedication and hard work of our citys election workers, who put in long hours to ensure a smooth and legal election process. This goes well beyond their work on Election Day, but also through many hours of training to keep up to speed with the rapid changes imposed from above that I alluded to earlier. Please treat our election workers with the respect afforded to those who truly want to serve their community, which they clearly do.

For those who have never voted in the city of Columbus, the polling place is the Columbus Area Senior Center, 125 N. Dickason Blvd. The polling hours for Election Day are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. I hope to see you there!

If you have any questions on this or any other issue before city government, please contact me down at City Hall at 623-5900 or via email at pvandersanden@columbuswi.us.
Whether youre a student doing research for a doctorate, a hunter looking for a big buck or you simply want a leisurely hike in the woods, Wisconsins State Natural Areas are hidden gems many people have yet to discover.

A separate entity from the state park system  the Department of Natural Resources website describes State Natural Areas as places that protect outstanding examples of Wisconsins native landscape of natural communities, significant geological formations and archaeological sites.

There are 674 Natural Areas encompassing more than 380,000 acres in Wisconsin. Locally, there are 26 of the areas in Sauk County, 15 in Juneau, 14 in Columbia and six in Adams County. Despite those impressive numbers, you may drive by one without even knowing it. Many are tucked away along rural county roads with no more than a small entrance sign and a parking lot big enough for only a few cars.

A lot of people dont know that theyre out there, and they may go to a State Natural Area and not realize theyre (on one), said DNR State Natural Areas manager Nate Fayram.

While more popular areas like Parfreys Glen in Merrimac have noticeable signs visible from the road, others like Ferry Bluff near Sauk City initially have nothing to indicate a beautiful reserve of land open to the public lies only about a mile off Highway 60.

A long gravel road that looks more like a private driveway extends off the highway, eventually ending along the banks of the Wisconsin River. A small parking lot along with informational signs are at the base of a trail that rapidly ascends 300 feet to stunning views of the Wisconsin River, Blue Mounds State Park to the southwest and the villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac to the east.

Fayram said while the DNR welcomes the public to Wisconsins natural areas, the agency keeps them low-key.

Some of them dont even have parking lots and theres no designated trail. With some of the sites theres nothing to direct people to, he said.

Josh Mayer, a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is on a quest to visit every natural area in Wisconsin, but may have a hard time keeping up. Mayer recently was featured on Wisconsin Public Televisions A Wisconsin Life saying They keep adding them faster than I can go see them all.

A storied history

Wisconsins State Natural Area program began in 1951 and is considered to be the oldest and largest statewide nature preserve system in the U.S., thanks in large to part to Clifford Germain.

Germain, who studied under Aldo Leopold at UW in the 1940s, was honored in 2014 by the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame as the first ecologist and chief of the State Natural Areas program. Under his guidance, he more than quadrupled the program from 48 nature preserves upon his hiring in 1966 to 211 when he retired in 1985.

The DNR initially labeled the land reserves scientific areas, but eventually realized it needed a public-relations overhaul.

Thomas Meyer, a conservation biologist for the Wisconsin DNR, said the areas originally were set aside for university research and not necessarily for use by the public.

For the first 40 years of the program we really didnt go out of our way to promote the program because we had this science base where we were trying to protect rare stuff, he said.

Meyer said while the DNR always kept natural areas open to the general public into the 1980s, the DNR shifted its stance as the 90s approached.

We recognized that we really needed to have a constituency that could support us when the chips were down, he said. We wanted to promote the fact that these were great places to learn about nature.

Meyer said the agency developed web pages promoting the areas. By 2000, the DNR created a guide book for natural areas, promoting the reserved lands. Meyer added we told the public these are not hands-off places and you can bring your fishing pole or your shotgun.

The majority of areas are on state-owned property, but some are on property owned by private nature conservation organizations and even private landowners. Meyer said there can be confusion regarding the programs namesake among visitors.

Even though they use the term State Natural Area (sometimes) they arent state-owned and people dont make that connection that these are public accessible properties, he said.

To serve and protect

While the public can enjoy the serenity and recreational opportunities SNAs have to offer  even including snowmobiling at some locales  the state strives to keep the nearly half-million acres the way they may have looked hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.

Whether its managing the land through prescribed burns or keeping out invasive plant species, protection is the goal for the DNR.

Jon Robaidek is the Central Sands Field Ecologist for the Wisconsin DNR. A typical day for him may include desk work from his office in Wisconsin Rapids or field work at one of many State Natural Areas in a seven-county area he keeps an eye on, including all of Juneau and Adams counties.

At a recent field mission at Quincy Bluff and Wetlands State Natural Area north of Wisconsin Dells in Adams County, Robaidek kept busy posting a snowmobile regulation sign after a recent snowfall. Further down 14th Court, he switched gears and started mapping out an area where the DNR plans to conduct a controlled burn in the spring. The burn will reduce the tree canopy and remove unwanted brush so native plants can continue to thrive.

Robaidek said human activities over the course of decades have led to a destruction of what Wisconsin looked like hundreds of years ago.

Thats why some of the species that utilize that landscape become very rare, he said. Weve been putting out the fires and not allowing things to burn and thats paralyzing (growth).

Robaidek added that not only does the DNR revitalize rare plant species and get rid of invasive non-native ones, wildlife also comes back to the areas. He noted a Quincy Bluff entrance sign that was riddled with holes. Once we started doing some of the work out here, you got to see a lot more red-headed woodpeckers, which were responsible for the holes in the sign, he said.

Robaidek and fellow DNR ecologists appear to have their work cut out for them in some of the areas. The Quincy Bluff area spans more than 6,500 acres and contains forests, rock outcroppings, wetlands and bluffs. However, Robaidek said the agency puts its energy and resources into the areas that need it most.

You have some SNAs where not much management is going on because you want to protect whats there and then you have SNAs where you do have a lot of management going on because it needed management to maintain that, he said.

Educating the public

After 65 years of the program, the DNR still holds true to its original mission of preserving thousands of acres of Wisconsin land for research opportunities. This past fall two red vans marked with Southern Illinois University emblems unloaded a number of college students at Baxters Hollow State Natural Area near Baraboo.

Students picked and chopped away at rock samples while a professor guided the students to traverse a steep hill.

Meyer, the DNR conservation biologist, said organizations or universities must get proper permits if they want to collect any type of samples  whether it is rocks, flowers or even moths that Robaidek observed one group of college students collecting.

The Baraboo Range, which extends from near Portage to just south of Reedsburg, has become a world-wide destination for geologists, according to Meyer. Within the range are several State Natural Areas that offer key geological and archaeological landscapes that Meyer said allow scientists and students to understand how the Earth was formed and how it has eroded.

The glaciers did quite the handiwork on our landscape and people from all over the world who study glacial geology come to Wisconsin to see that, Meyer said. When theyre here theyre also poking around looking at other bedrock geology sites such as the Baraboo Hills.

He added the southern Wisconsin is the Mecca for unusual geological features and formations.

Posted: Hunting allowed

Meyer said hunting and fishing are allowed in the areas. The DNR and various conservation agencies encourage hunting because an over-populated deer herd leads to over-consumption of native plants the state wants to preserve.

Hannah Spaul is Wisconsins director of land management for The Nature Conservancy  an international charitable environmental organization based in Arlington, Virginia.

I think a lot of people would say, The Nature Conservancy  they must be protecting deer. Deer eat a phenomenal amount of native vegetation to the point where it no longer thrives, she said.

Thinning the deer populations allows many rare or uncommon plants or flowers along with oak trees to regenerate, she said.

We want as many people to be out to decrease the deer herd, she said, noting that Sauk County in particular has an astronomically high deer population.

State Natural Area hunting rules and regulations can be found on the DNR and The Nature Conservancy websites at www.dnr.wi.gov/topic/lands/naturalareas and www.nature.org/wisconsin.

If you go

Visitors to Wisconsins State Natural Areas can not only simply enjoy natural beauty and the calm of few or no other human beings, but can educate themselves, too. Spaul encourages visitors to first research what types of protected plant and animal species each conservancy has to offer by going to the organizations website.

Spaul also said an excellent place to start is at the DNRs website, which is linked to the Nature Conservancys site. Users can find interactive maps, buy a guidebook and view visitor guidelines, among other things.

Some areas have regulations requiring visitors to stay on marked trails while others do not  allowing hikers to roam wherever they choose. Spaul said typically when an area is owned by the state, visitors can go wherever they want, but he encourages people to first find out what regulations apply at a particular site.

Spaul said regulations vary among the areas owned by The Nature Conservancy. Some allow visitors to roam freely while others dont. She referred to the organizations area in the bluffs near Spring Green. We do ask that people stay on the trail while hiking because its a very fragile system and the plants that are off the trail would get damaged.

Visitors to The Nature Conservancys website can download digital maps that show hikers on their smart phones exactly where theyre located in a preserve.

Whether exploring the wetlands of the Swan Lake Sedge Meadow near Portage or an ancient mountain range near Baraboo that geologists say was once as high as the Rocky Mountains, there are many hidden treasures to be found right in the area.

Its just something fun for me. It gets me outside, said Madison explorer Josh Mayer. I get to take pictures and I get to see the state. What more could you ask for?
Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, became famous for one quip about George H.W. Bush by saying, He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

Anns daughter Cecile, president of Planned Parenthood, has carried on the tradition of joking about body parts. Well, not Cecile herself, but some of the people who work for her. There is no one with a pulse who hasnt seen or heard of the undercover videos filmed by David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress, in which Planned Parenthood employees are seen munching on salad and chuckling about how they could perform abortions in such a way as to preserve the choicest organs.

After the videos were released last year, abortion supporters tried to do some damage control by saying they were heavily edited and taken out of context. Methinks they did protest too much, because the unedited versions were made available online for anyone who had the stomach to view them.

Its also very hard to find a proper context for a doctor who says, while sipping merlot, If we alter our process, and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget, that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this, I mean thats, its all just a matter of line items.

Intact fetal cadavers are, after all, so much better for research purposes than a mass of smashed organs.

Many of us were convinced that this was the moment that Planned Parenthood would be called to answer for some of its more shady practices, the ones that had nothing to do with providing birth control or mammogram referrals.

But even the most sophisticated and savvy of us could not have anticipated the turn of events last week, when a grand jury in Harris County, Texas, handed down an indictment against the filmmaker and his assistant.

According to District Attorney Devin Anderson, As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us.

The evidence did not lead the DA, a registered Republican, to indict Richards and her friends. Apparently, Anderson agreed with the abortion rights supporters and the FOC (Friends of Cecile) that the videos did not show Planned Parenthood employees doing anything illegal, since there wasnt enough evidence that the organs and tissues harvested by its employees were being sold for a profit.

If things had ended there, I might be annoyed, but Id chalk it up to the powerful FOC and their ability to protect their fair-haired girl from any real trouble.

But things didnt end there. That grand jury, which was intent on indicting much more than the DAs ham sandwich, found a way to stick it to the fellow who made their sweet Cecile sweat. Improbably, they dug up some esoteric Texas law that makes it a crime to tamper with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to 20 years. In this case, the tampering involved playing around with a drivers license.

And as if the drivers license count wasnt enough, the grand jury charged Daleiden and his assistant with the misdemeanor count of purchasing (or attempting to purchase) human organs.

At this point you must be laughing hysterically, right? I mean, you cannot make this stuff up.

When the grand jury turned around and handed down its indictment against Daleiden, it was clear that its members were no longer engaged in a search for the truth. They were out for blood.

At least Daleiden didnt pervert the legal system to do his work. He engaged in exactly the type of activities that investigative journalists have used for over a century.

So Im thinking there will be some First Amendment rumblings in defense of these charges. And I know the defendants wont have to worry about legal fees, because a lot of pro-life attorneys out here are willing to lend them a body part, or two.

After all, Cecile isnt the only one with friends.
Planning nutrient management prior to harvest

Harvest is always a fast-paced season for growers, that's why it is important to meet nutrient management goals prior to harvest.
John Wallace De Rozaro: W&Ms first black applicant?

W&M in the 1800s This 1840 drawing by Thomas Millington (son of Professor John Millington) is the earliest rendition of the campus from the 1800s. Three decades before its creation, John Wallace De Rozaro sought to attend lectures at the university. Image courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library Photo - of - Hide Caption

Rozaro sought to attend lectures at W&M in early 1800s

Many people who are familiar with the history of William & Mary know that Hulon Willis was the first black student to enroll at the university, beginning classes in the summer of 1951. Edward Augustus Travis, the second African American student to enroll, started at the law school that fall.

What they may not know is that more than 140 years earlier, William & Mary might have seen its first black applicant during a time when the university still used the labor of enslaved people.

Jody Allen has begun researching the life of John Wallace De Rozaro (also spelled DeRozzaro or DeRozaro), a free black man who sought to attend lectures at William & Mary in the early 1800s.

He was very unique in coming to the College and requesting access, said Allen, visiting assistant professor of history and managing director of William & Marys Lemon Project.

The Lemon Project is an ongoing research effort to explore the universitys history with slavery and its relationship to the black community through the Jim Crow era to today. Established in 2009, the project is named for an enslaved person whom the university owned in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, just about the time that Rozaro asked to attend lectures at William & Mary.

Rozaros appeal is recorded in a letter written by Bishop James Madison, the Colleges president, to William H. Cabell (W&M Class of 1793), the governor of Virginia in 1807:

He has been his own Master in reading, writing, arithmetic, & as he says superficial and solid measuration; he has also taught himself a little of the Latin Language, & has evinced this in strongest Solicitude to attend the Lectures in College.

The document was originally brought to Allens attention by Terry Meyers, Chancellor Professor of English, who learned of it from Margaret Cook, retired curator of rare books and manuscripts; David Holmes, retired Mason Professor of Religious Studies who is now editing the papers of Madison, and Mel Ely, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Humanities.

According to the letter, Rozaro was born in Virginia and became a gunsmith who owned land in York County. He possessed an uncommon character in respect to genius and good conduct, Madison said.

The letter reveals that Rozaro, who was 20 at the time, had talked with Madison about attending lectures at William & Mary, but Madison encouraged him to instead pursue work in an armory:

[I] thought, that the Mind of such a Man, considering the peculiar Situation of our Country, ought, if possible, to be directed into a safe Channel, & ardent as he really appears to be, in the Acquisition of Science, I, not withstanding, advised him to apply himself to those Trades, which he has commenced, & by perfecting himself in which he may obtain a comfortable living.

Allen sees the countrys situation, with its economy based on the labor of enslaved people at the time, reflected in Madisons words. Although Madison appears somewhat supportive of Rozaro in the letter, his words can also be read as reflecting the fear and suspicion of the free black community at the time, implying that they might want to keep an eye on [Rozaro], Allen said.

Allen first became aware of Rozaro while conducting research for the Colonial National Battlefield Park (National Park Service) at the Library of Virginia. There, she found an 1806 petition from about 30 white men asking the General Assembly to grant Rozaro a firearms license. At the time, Virginia laws restricted the possession and use of firearms by free black people.

I do hereby further certify that the above named John Wallace DeRozarro is an excellent gunsmith and stocker and wishes to follow said calling for a support and without a [Licence] for doing so he is afraid the public who may entrust their Firelocks with him may sustain a Loss ...

The petition also states that the signees have a high opinion of Rozaros honesty and integrity.

Complex is the best word to describe the relationship between black and white communities at the time, said Allen. A free black community existed in the Williamsburg area, and its members, like Rozaro, often did business with the white community. However, enslaved people still made up the majority of the black population. At William & Mary, the Bray School, which provided a religious education to free and enslaved black children, had closed in 1776. Due to economic difficulties, the university sold most of its slaves in the early 1800s but still utilized the work of enslaved people by renting them. It was in this environment that Rozaro sought to study at William & Mary.

Although Madisons letter and the petition have shed some light on Rozaros life, theyve also brought up myriad questions. Had someone in Rozaros family attended the Bray School? How did he become a gunsmith? What kind of ties did he have to William & Mary? Did he end up working at the armory as Madison suggested? What was the rest of his life like?

Allen is hoping to find some of those answers and more as she continues her research.

This is why I want to spend more time on him, she said. Its just a fascinating story.




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Spanish-Chinese cooperation on fuel inspection systems

03 February 2016

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Enusa and Tecnatom of Spain have agreed to cooperate with China's Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute (SNPI) in the field of nuclear fuel inspection systems.

Enusa's Mariano Rodriguez and Roberto Gonzalez shake hands with Wang An of SNPI and Tecnatom's Manuel Fernandez following the signing of the agreement (Image: Enusa)

The three companies signed a framework cooperation agreement on 28 January, Enusa announced yesterday.

Under the agreement, the parties will work together to introduce the fuel inspection equipment and technologies developed by Enusa and Tecnatom into China General Nuclear (CGN), SNPI's parent company.

Enusa said, "This agreement will boost the business of the two Spanish companies in the Chinese market, where in recent months they have supplied equipment for quality control in the nuclear fuel manufacturing phase to the Yibin fuel factory owned by China National Nuclear Corporation."

The two Spanish companies began cooperating with SNPI in 2014 with the signing of a supply agreement for their jointly-developed SICOM-UT ultrasonic irradiated fuel inspection system. This system was delivered last year to SNPI's facilities in Daya Bay in China's Guangdong province.

In October 2007, the China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute (CNPRI) and Tecnatom established the 75-25 joint venture company CITEC. This supplies in-service inspection and non-destructive testing technology research and development and technical services. In January 2012, the equity and management right of CNPRI was transferred to SNPI.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Royal recognition for Jordan's nuclear program

02 February 2016

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King Abdullah II of Jordan has stressed the importance of moving ahead with the country's plans for nuclear energy, calling for Jordan to become a role model for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

King Abdullah II meets with representatives from the nuclear energy program IAG (Image: Royal Hashemite Court)

The monarch made his comments as he met with the International Advisory Group (IAG) set up in November last year to review Jordan's progress towards implementing its nuclear energy program. The meeting was also attended by prime minister Abdullah Ensour.



According to a statement from the royal court, the king said Jordan was keen to be a 'model pioneer' in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, with a commitment to the highest levels of security, safety and international best practices, and with full transparency.



Chaired by former prime minister Marouf Bakhit, the IAG's members include former UK Atomic Energy Authority chair Barbara Judge, former International Atomic Energy Agency deputy director general Werner Burkart, former director general of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) Rolf Huer, former assistant US secretary for nuclear energy Peter Lyons, president emeritus at Carnegie Institution for Science Richard Meserve, former commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission Akira Omoto, former Jordanian energy minister Khaled Shraideh, and former UK chief inspector of nuclear installations head of the country's Office for Nuclear Regulation Mike Weightman.

According to the Jordan Times, Bhakit said that the group expects to submit its detailed report within three months.

In March 2015, Russia and Jordan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of two 1000 MWe VVER units at Az-Zarqa in central Jordan.

Jordan's first nuclear reactor, the Jordan Research and Training Reactor, is being built at the Jordan University for Science and Technology by a consortium led by the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) with Daewoo. The 5 MWt reactor is based on version of Korea's 30 MWt Hanaro design, and is expected to start up in 2016 or 2017.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
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CoreLogic Forecast Projects Increase of 5.4 Percent by December 2016





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According to Irvine, Ca-based CoreLogic's Home Price Index and HPI Forecast data for December 2015, U.S. home prices are up both year over year and month over month.Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.3 percent in December 2015 compared with December 2014 and increased month over month by 0.8 percent in December 2015 compared with November 2015, according to the CoreLogic HPI.The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.4 percent on a year-over-year basis from December 2015 to December 2016, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase 0.2 percent from December 2015 to January 2016. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state."Nationally, home prices have been rising at a 5 to 6 percent annual rate for more than a year," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "However, local-market growth can vary substantially from that. Some metropolitan areas have had double-digit appreciation, such as Denver and Naples, Florida, while others have had price declines, like New Orleans and Rochester, New York.""Higher property valuations appear to be driving up single-family construction as we head into the spring. Additional housing stock, especially in urban centers on the coasts such as San Francisco, could help to temper home price growth in the longer term," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "In the short and medium term, local markets with strong employment growth are likely to experience a continued rise in home sales and price growth well above the U.S. average."
There is public concern over the long working conditions of surgeons.

A nationwide experiment conducted on fatigued, young surgeons found that their tired conditions do not affect patient safety according to a Business Insider report. This is the first time we have randomized trial data on this controversial topic, said study leader Dr. Karl Bilimoria. You would think for such a hot-button issue we would have had randomized trial data, which is sort of the gold standard for research, years ago.

Due to public concern over the long working conditions of surgeons, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) rolled-out studies in 2011 of first year residents of hours up to 16 hours and capped the senior staff at 28 hours. These stipulations were applied to medical trainees comprehensively in all fields, not just surgery based on 2003 regulations that limited workers to 80 hours.

Critics thought the long hours affected work performance and the quality of education especially during dangerous surgeries or when patients rely on them most. The trial arbitrarily assigned 117 general surgery resident programs to follow the regulations for one year, from July 2014 to June 2015, or abide by flexible shift lengths, as long as the total number hours didnt exceed the enforced limit.

The 80-hour workweek was still in place, said Bilimoria, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Results concluded that nearly 9 percent of patients died or experience an urgent medical problem within 30 days after surgery regardless of following the mandate.

And residents at more lenient programs were found to leave in the middle of surgery half the amount of time, miss a surgery deadline or fob the patient off to another doctor. Residents in both programs were satisfied by their quality of education, but they didnt like not being able to spend more time with loved ones.

ACGME oversees resident programs in the U.S., and they will consider the findings as an ongoing analysis, said Emily Vasiliou, the organizations communication manager.We want to leave the 80-hour workweek in place and some of the other protections, like one day off in seven and (being on-call) no more frequently than every third day, Bilimoria added.

However, Dr.Michael Carome, of Public Citizen in Washington, D.C. voiced bias in the study to reach predisposed conclusions to Reuters Health. For instance, he said, former research indicated that residents would often flaunt ACGMEs directive, which would minimize the differences between the two control groups. In addition, he feels that the hours would had the most impact on first year residents while more senior staff are indisposed with patient care.For all these reasons and others, the reported findings of no difference in patient deaths is unsurprising and uninformative, said Carome.

Carome also added that the trial didnt test whether the shift mandate protected the residents health themselves because the testing didnt monitor details that would result in fatigue, such as workplace or car accidents, which were found to be side effects of working long shifts.

However, Public Citizen and the American Medical Student Association said the testing was unethical by potentially exposing patients and residents to increased harm (See Reuters Health story of Dec. 30, 2015 here: .). But The Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons applauded the conclusions. Based on the trials results, the RAS-ACS firmly believes that flexibility in duty hours is not only safely possible, it is essential to provide surgical residents with exposure to the variety and complexity of educational experiences necessary to become fully trained and competent surgeons, the statement said.
The ship's low-frequency sound emissions have shown in earlier studies to affect the whale's environment, but the higher frequencies created much noise pollution.

Sounds produced underwater from ships, oil tankers, and cargo ships are snuffing out communications between endangered orcas of the Pacific Northwest making it more difficult for them to find food to survive in a report published in Yahoo News. These ships are not only prevalent, but quite loud compared to other sources of noise in the ocean, said oceanographer Scott Veirs, the lead author of a new study published Tuesday in the journal PeerJ. Ships are dominating the soundscape.

Utilizing underwater sonic technology, researchers analyzed emitted sounds from 1,582 carrier ships, mostly commercial vessels, on 2,812 trips through Haro Strait, a waterway positioned west of Limekiln State Park on Washington states San Juan Island. They compared the recordings to particular ships in the area using Cost Guard tracking information. Approximately 20 container, cargo, military, and other massive barges sail through Haro Strait daily heading for the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia, the same route for the 88 critically endangered Southern killer whales, which rely on Chinook salmon as their primary food source.

The ships low-frequency sound emissions have shown in earlier studies to affect the whales environment, but the higher frequencies created much noise pollution that drown out those same frequencies whales use to detect the salmon food source. The most subtle sound they are probably trying to hear is the sound of their echolocation clicks bouncing off a salmon, Veirs said. Like bats, theyre listening for very faint echo from their prey.

Not only are the frequencies affecting the whales, but theyre also endangering the Chinook salmon directly impacting local residents and local fisheries. Viers adds, from an orcas point of view, the vessels create a persistent source of loud noise, like highway noise in your neighborhood, or trying to have a conversation in a room with the vacuum cleaner on.

But the same frequency pollution wasnt uniform across all variations of ships. Container ships produced the loudest as military vessels were among the softest. Moreover, the differentiation in the produced sound frequencies offers potential solutions. For instance, despite container ships being the loudest, theyre also the swiftest-moving; in other words, simply slowing down the ships speed would reduce the affects.

In terms of the low noise spectrum of ships, Viers said, theres an implication there that the military has employed ship-quieting technologies that could be useful in the commercial sector. I know NOAAthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationhas had a couple conferences on this subject, of transferring ship-quieting technologies.

As for the varying range of sound produced by ships within a particular subset suggests that if you quieted the loudest 10 percent of the ships, you could reduce the median level of noise for the whole class of ships, he explained. From a fleet owners perspective, it might be that the older ships, or the less well-maintained ships.

Following trials will involve how to better understand the noise levels and their impact generally within the Pacific Northwest. As an endangered species, the killer whales will be at the top of our list, Viers observed. But we also want to look at fish, invertebrates, and the many other marine mammals we have. Some of them are also high-frequency specialists, such as white-sided dolphins and Dalls porpoise.
Wrestlers (illustration)

By: Tanya Malhotra

(Scroll down for video) Four teenage wrestlers were arrested on a charge of rape after allegedly raping two boys while traveling on a bus, police in Oklahoma said.

Garvin County police said that they have arrested 18-year-old Tanner Shane Shipman, 17-year-old Hunter Oren Matthews, 17-year-old Sage Griffen Gandenberger, and 16-year-old Chase Denton Smith, after being accused of raping a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy.

All four suspects were charged with rape by instrumentation.

Police said that the attack was recorded on the busa security surveillance cameras.

According to the police investigation, the four suspects used their fingers to attack the two boys. The 16-year-old victim was restricted under the seats in the back of the bus and was assaulted for more than six minutes.

The bus transported wrestling teams from an arena back to the school. After the 16-year-old wrestler was assaulted, the four suspects turned to the 12-year-old victim.

The 12-year-old wrestler was sexually assaulted for a second time as the bus arrived at the Norman North High School. The sexual assault then continued in a secluded area outside the school.

The 12-year-old victim escaped temporarily, but was caught and held down between two parked cars. The assault ended when the father of the 12-year-old boy arrived in the parking lot.

The four defendants have been suspended from school.
By: Wayne Morin

A woman was arrested on a charge of improper use of a licensed telecommunications system after allegedly making fun of a manas small private parts via a text message, police in Kenya said.

Nairobi police said that they have arrested Emily Karimi, after George Mburugu filed a complaint against her, saying that she refused to have sex with him and made fun of his small manhood.

Karimi was charged with one count of improper use of a licensed telecommunications system. She was booked into jail, and her bail was set at $390.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman sent a text message, saying that she cannot have sex with the victim because his private parts were small.

She then cracked several jokes and laughed.
Groves Demolition Row Rumbles On Ahead Of Scrutiny Meeting

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 3rd, 2016

Councillors will meet this afternoon to reassess a decision to knock down the Groves school buildings, with further criticism over decision being made public.

Local MP Mr Lucas has written to the councils Head of Corporate and Customer Services, Trevor Coxon, to make clear he opposed the plans as they could be ruled to be against the councils constitution.

In his reply, Mr Coxon disputed this and suggested the proposals needed to be brought forward under health and safety grounds.

However, in a further letter to the council, Mr Lucas states: I appreciate that you have to act on instructions and do not, therefore, intend to engage in protracted correspondence. I want you to be clear, however, that I do not accept any of the reasoning you put forward. In particular, I think it is indefensible for the Executive Board to have made the decision to demolish without public consultation and I do not accept that there is a significant and imminent health and safety issue.

The latter description is not even included in the Report to the Executive Board which made the decision and appeared out of thin air in your letter. The position has not changed materially in the decade since the property has been vacant.

I will continue to oppose this dreadful decision which I believe is bringing Wrexham and its Council into disrepute.

Speaking this morning, Mr Lucas said: The council are acting in an inexplicably heavy handed manner on this issue.

There seems to be a rush to demolish the Groves, and the main grounds put forward to me by officers  which are health and safety concerns  would not appear to have changed materially in the past decade the building has been empty.

I will continue to work with campaigners who want the council to consult with the public on this issue  and I would urge people to add their names to the petition on the UK Parliament website.

The petition can be found at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/119801

A copy of an email purportedly sent by Council Leader Mark Pritchard which mentions health and safety issues of those gaining access notes: In September 2015 a group of approximately 20 youths broke into the building and they went about systematically smashing nearly all of the internal windows with iron bars, punching holes in walls and pulling down ceilings. As well as the significant deterioration caused by water ingress following earlier vandalism, the extensive damage caused by the youths has created a real risk of contamination by asbestos fibres that would have previously been encapsulated within the fabric of the building.

Wrexham.com requested further details from North Wales Police who confirmed an incident (S144877) was logged on the evening of the 21st September 2015 at the Groves school. Police say they did receive a report of criminal damage, with security calling the police after around 20 youths in late teens were seen around the building. The report notes access was believed to be gained by bending back metal shutters and there was damaged caused. No arrests have been made in connection to the incident.

Another letter has been made public over the last 48 hours, this time via local Assembly Member Lesley Griffithss Facebook Page where she copied a reply from the Principle of Coleg Cambria David Jones, who has given their timeline of events.

The statement notes how the preservation of the Groves building was part of the loose agreement with Wrexham Council, The in principle purchase included a number of conditions specified by the council, including a requirement to preserve the original school building. No contracts were exchanged, and there was no formal agreement to purchase/sell.

Further, an indication on the timeline of the decoupling of Coleg Cambria from the redevelopment of the site is noted as: We were informed, in confidence, by WCBC officers in late summer 2015, that Council leaders had reviewed future school requirements in Wrexham and had decided that they needed to retain the Groves site for future development. and later in the statement: Cambrias governors met (HR, Finance & Estates Committee) on 9 November 2015. We must stress that the college had not at any point withdrawn the offer to purchase the Groves site prior to this governors meeting.

It also notes that Coleg Cambria had expended not only time but money via various fees, and would be listing these under losses in their annual report to Welsh Government.
Llay Resource Centre Benefits From 3500 Investment

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 3rd, 2016

Staff at a community resource centre and library which will benefit from new furnishings and fittings worth more than 3,000 thanked an energy company for their generous donation.

New furniture donated by the Hertfordshire-based energy efficiency and property support company Wilmott Dixon Ltd was unveiled at the Llay Park Resource Centre on Market Square, Llay, on Friday.

Cllr Barbara Roxburgh, the Mayor of Wrexham, thanked the company alongside centre staff from the Wrexham Youth and Play Service.

The items, worth nearly 3,500, include sofas, easy chairs, stools and a storage unit.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: Wilmott Dixon has been very generous to donate these items, and we are very happy with the companys support.

It is our aim that all our community and resource centres provide the best and most up-to-date service possible, so any improvements we can make to our facilities is welcome.
Canadas two major spy agencies, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), have been illegally obtaining personal information about the population and sharing data with their partners in the US National Security Agency-led Five Eyes alliance without the required authorization. These long-suppressed revelations emerge from reports of the intelligence services oversight committees that were presented to parliament last week.

The report from the Security and Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), which is responsible for overseeing CSIS, revealed that the domestic intelligence agency illegally obtained information on individuals from the Canada Revenue Agency, the countrys tax authority. The information was accessed without a court warrant on numerous occasions, and even after CSIS assured the federal courts and government ministers that the information had been removed from its system, CSIS retained it on one of its databases.

CSE Commissioner Jean-Pierre Plouffe reprimanded the signals intelligence spy agency for disclosing metadata from Canadians communications in 2013 to its Five Eyes allies, the NSA and the eavesdropping agencies of Britain, Australia and New Zealand. In an unprecedented briefing to the media, CSE officials sought to portray the illegal sharing of Canadians metadata as an unintended lapse caused by a software glitch.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is responsible for CSEs activity, also sought to downplay the breach, claiming that the eavesdropping service had stopped sharing such information and would not resume the wholesale transfer of information relating to foreign communications with Canadians until the government was convinced regulations were in place ensuring no information about Canadians could be accessed. Sajjan refused to confirm the number of Canadians affected by the breach, arguing in a truly Orwellian manner, I cant give you the actual number, because the way I am informed is that  we would be violating the law in digging up that type of information.

Such attempts at damage control are particularly disingenuous coming from a Liberal government which made opposition to certain elements of the draconian Bill C-51 a key component of its election campaign last year. While media coverage of the revelations has focused on the fact that the previous Conservative government was informed about both violations but chose not to disclose them to the public, the reality is that the Liberals have been in power for almost three months but did nothing to notify the public about the serious violations of their rights. Sajjan even acknowledged that he was informed about CSEs illegal sharing of metadata last year, shortly after becoming the Defence Minister.

The intelligence agencies have long held the position that metadata does not constitute private correspondence, meaning that accessing it should not be considered illegal. This reactionary line of argumentation represents a major threat to Canadians privacy and to their political rights, since it is possible to find out a vast amount of information about a persons life, social connections, political beliefs, and other online activity by examining metadata, which includes email addresses, Internet URLs, chat messenger service information and cell phone numbers.

The SIRC report pointed out that CSIS has consistently avoided informing the courts about its practices in dealing with metadata. Several years ago, CSIS decided that the metadata of communications could be kept, even if it was legally obliged to destroy the communications themselves. SIRC said that the court issuing the warrant to legalize the initial collection of the communications was never informed about the retention of the metadata. SIRC was given no indication that the Service was fully transparent with the Federal Court about the nature and scope of its activities with respect to metadata, it wrote.

The reassuring noises made by the review bodies, government ministers and the intelligence agencies themselves cannot be taken at face value. SIRC and the CSE are largely toothless oversight bodies staffed by carefully vetted political appointees who are responsible to the government, barred from revealing the details of any wrongdoing they do uncover, and specifically denied the right to investigate the ever-growing collaboration between CSIS and the CSE.

The glacial pace of the review system is demonstrated by the fact that the incidents exposed last week took place almost two years ago but were hushed up until now. In addition, although SIRC issued a recommendation to CSIS that it make clear to judges what its metadata practices are, the intelligence agency responded by rejecting the finding and insisted they had provided the courts with sufficient information. This is in keeping with the publicly stated view of the previous government that metadata is not constitutionally-protected communications, and therefore can be accessed by the intelligence agencies without any court approval. (See: Canadas government curtly dismisses concerns over blanket spying)

Canadas spy agencies have a long record of violating the law to take full advantage of the vast surveillance powers they were granted by Jean Chretiens Liberal government in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In November 2013, it was revealed that both spy agencies had systematically lied to the courts for years in order to obtain at least 35 warrants enabling CSE to enlist the support of its Five Eyes partners to spy on Canadians when they went abroad.

In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Canadas national security apparatus also developed an intimate collaboration with its US counterpart in the rendition of suspects to third countries. This included the creation of Canadas own rendition program, under which CSIS and the RCMP instigated the arrests of Canadians travelling abroad then supplied authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa with information on allegations against them for use in combination with enhanced interrogation techniques, i.e. torture.

The latest revelations about CSISs illegal gathering of information came just two weeks after damning evidence emerged in a British Columbia courtroom on the role the intelligence service played in entrapping a couple in an alleged terrorist plot to attack the BC legislature. BC Court Justice Catherine Bruce ruled in favour of the release of the transcript of conversations between CSIS and a human source, who allegedly played a major role in radicalizing John Nuttall.

If there (redacted) was a human source then that raises serious issues about the potential role of CSIS in inciting the applicants to commit terrorist acts, Nuttalls lawyer, Marilyn Sandford, argued in calling for the release of the document. She noted that Nuttall said the alleged CSIS operative strongly encouraged him on many occasions to engage in violent terrorist acts and played a significant role in (his) radicalization.

The July 2013 arrest of Nuttall and his partner, Amanda Korody, was used by Stephen Harpers Conservative government as grist for the mill of its narrative that Canada was a society facing an existential threat from Jihadi terrorism which required extending unprecedented police state powers to the national security apparatus.

The Conservative government subsequently exploited the October 2014 attack on Parliament Hill to ram through a raft of measures expanding the powers of the intelligence agencies. Bill C-51 grants CSIS carte blanche to actively intervene to disrupt vaguely defined threats to national security. Under Bill C-51, CSIS and the rest of Canadas national security apparatus have also been given free access to all information held by up to 17 government agencies on individuals deemed to be persons of interest by Canadas security agencies. This could include people who merely travelled to a strife torn country like Pakistan. The law also established a new criminal offence of promoting terrorism in general.

The Liberals voted in favour of this vast assault on basic democratic rights, but sought to appeal to the widespread popular opposition to the police state powers by pledging to make minimal reforms to the legislation if they came to power. Trudeau denounced the New Democratic Party (NDP), which chose after much hesitation to oppose Bill C-51, for scare mongering for making limited warnings that the legislation vastly increases the powers of the state to suppress political opposition.

Like Sajjan, Liberal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was quick to minimize the latest revelations about CSIS and CSE lawbreaking, We believe more can be done to strengthen scrutiny, said Goodale, and the government is currently developing legislation that will strengthen our system of accountability for national security.

The Liberals main alteration to Bill C-51 is expected to be the inclusion of a mechanism for parliamentary oversight of the intelligence agencys actions. Nobody should be under any illusions that this will do anything to check the mass surveillance practiced by CSIS and CSE. Canada is the only one of its Five Eyes allies not to have formal legislative oversight of its intelligence agencies, but this provision has done absolutely nothing to hinder the vast array of spying activities carried out against the populations in the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, which were exposed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Officials from Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday announced plans to cut $100 million in spending in a move that threatens the jobs of 1,000 teachers and other school employees if they do not bend to demands for sweeping wage and benefit concessions. The announcement followed the unanimous rejection of a deal proposed by the Chicago Teachers Union by its own 40-member bargaining team on Monday.

Saying that he was disheartened by the vote, schools CEO Forrest Claypool said at a press conference he had spoken to CTU President Karen Lewis and was committed to work with her to reach a deal.

Claypool said he had no choice but to make cuts that would disproportionately affect staff and would have to stop paying teachers share of pension contributions to the Illinois retirement system. Leaving no doubt these measures were aimed at blackmailing teachers into submission, Claypool said, We would be thrilled to rescind it if we get a deal. We really believe the contract weve put into place is the foundation of an agreement.

School officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel were confident they had a deal with the CTU to impose deep concessions on 27,000 teachers and other staff. Last week, CTU President Karen Lewis called the deal a serious offer, adding that the basic framework calls for economic concessions in exchange for enforceable protections of education quality and job security.

The deal was so foul, however, that the bargaining committee was aware of the deep opposition of teachers and could not adopt it. According to media reports, the four-year contract offer would have had teachers shoulder the whole of their pension costsamounting to a seven percent pay cutin exchange for raises of 2.75 percent next year and three percent for each subsequent year of the four-year contract. No other details on wages and benefits were released, although Emanuel has demanded teachers accept higher out-of-pocket expenses to cover their health care benefits, which will be subject to Obamas Cadillac Tax in 2018. The offer reportedly included a pledge from the city to limit the expansion of charter schools.

With CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkeya leading member of the pseudo-left International Socialist Organizationat her side, Lewis and other officials described the districts announced cuts as an act of war. Lewis announced lamely that the union intended to file unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

For all their bluster, Lewis and Sharkey welcome the added pressure on teachers to accept the districts demands. Since the expiration of the previous contract last June, the CTU has done everything to prevent a strike, which teachers overwhelmingly voted for, and to wear down opposition by insisting that teachers have no choice but to accept concessions because of the alleged financial crisis the district and the state of Illinois faces.

Members of the bargaining team said they rejected the deal because the promises about the city stopping charter expansion were totally unenforceable. The city's pledge to temporarily halt the growth in the number of charter schools can be overridden by the state of Illinois at any time.

The CTU-backed deal, moreover, did not include any measures to resolve the revenue problems the district faces due to cuts, pension costs and enormous interest payments to major financial institutions. Hundreds of millions in interest payments will again come due on the district's debt, which was downgraded to junk bond status in 2015.

Lewis, Sharkey & Co. are determined above all to suppress any struggle that would disrupt their relations with the Democratic Party, which while supporting drastic attacks on public education, generally prefers to carry them out with the support of unions, rather than circumventing them like the Republicans.

In 2012, the CTU sold out the strike by teachers in order to prevent a direct confrontation with Mayor Emanuel and the Obama administration, which has spearheaded corporate-backed school reform measures, including punitive test-based accountability schemes and the expansion of charter schools.

Following the defeat of the strike, Emanuel pressed ahead with the closing of 50 schools and the layoff of more than a thousand teachers. In return, a CTU-affiliated union was given access to organize low-wage teachers at one of the citys largest charter school operations.

During the 2012 strike and for two years after, Lewis and Sharkey portrayed Emanuel as a villain in order to posture as opponents of his attacks on teachers and school privatization policies. But this rhetorical opposition has long been dropped and the CTU leaders are now in an open alliance with Emanuel in the current budget and pension negotiations with Republican governor Bruce Rauner. (See, ISO-led Chicago Teachers Union aligns itself with mayor against teachers)

Last week, Lewis declared, Both sides understand that concessions have to be made." (See, Chicago teachers union leader pledges to enforce austerity)

The problem for the CTU and the Emanuel administration, however, is that teachers are determined not only to stop further concessions but to recoup their losses and fight for a vast improvement in public education. This is part of a growing mood of opposition and militancy, which has also been expressed in the wave of sick-out protests by Detroit teachers conducted independently of the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

Teachers have shown immense determination to fight, reflected in two mass demonstrations last year and in a 96 percent strike authorization. But teachers cannot allow their fight to defend schools and jobs to be strangled by the CTU, which is allied to the Democratic Party and through it to the banks and corporations.

Rank-and-file teachers must take the conduct of the struggle in their own hands by building fighting committees, which are independent of the CTU, and focused on fighting to mobilize the broadest support in the working class to defend the right to public education. There is widespread sentiment in the working class for a united struggle against austerity but the fight must be a political struggle waged against the entire corporate-controlled political system: the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and their adjuncts in the unions and so-called left groups propping them up.
Detroit Public Schools (DPS) Emergency Manager Darnell Earley announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he would leave his position by February 29, three months ahead of schedule.

Earley has been the target of popular outrage because of his attacks on public education and on teachers in the 46,000-student school district, and also because of his role as the former emergency manager of Flint, Michigan.

Governor Rick Snyder appointed Earley as the fourth emergency manager of DPS in January 2015 in order to restructure the school system and vastly expand the number of for-profit charter schools. Between October 2013 and January 2015 he was the financial overseer of Flint. During his tenure he switched the citys water supply to the highly polluted Flint River, which resulted in the lead poisoning of residents and irreparable damage to children.

Earleys snap resignation follows the announcement of an FBI investigation into the Flint water crisis and Wednesdays hearing of the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee. A congressional staff member told the Detroit Free Press that Earley has declined to testify at the hearing, and other reports indicate that he has hired an attorney.

Over the past several weeks, Detroit teachers have engaged in a series of sickout protests, culminating in the near-shutdown of the school system on January 20, the day Obama visited the city. The movement, which erupted outside of the control of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), brought national and international public attention to rodent- and insect-infested schools and other deplorable conditions in the long cash-starved district.

While the protests generated widespread support, including from students who walked out of their high schools in solidarity with teachers, the response of the DFT and its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has been to corral and smother the movement by diverting it down the dead end path of petition campaigns, lawsuits and appeals to local and state Democrats.

The DFT has made the removal of Earley a central demand, claiming that the restoration of an elected school board would return democracy to Detroit.

The departure of Earleya long-time Democratis meant to clear the way for the passage of a bipartisan deal in the state legislature to restructure DPS and further undermine public education. As the Detroit News commented, Earleys position at the district has become a major impediment to Snyders plans to financially stabilize the troubled school district.

The Detroit Free Press noted, Two controversial bills that would overhaul the district will be the subject of a 1 p.m. hearing Thursday before the state Senate Committee on Government Operations.

The deal would include replacing the emergency manager with a nine-member school board appointed by Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Even after an elected board assumed power in January 2017, it would remain under the thumb of an unelected Financial Review Commission. The top priority of this oversight commission would be to impose further cost-cutting measures to satisfy bondholders and for-profit education companies. In other words, the schools would remain under the dictatorial control of the banks without a formal emergency manager.

The plan also includes breaking up DPS into two districts. Modeled after the Obama administrations restructuring of GM and Chrysler in 2009, it would set up a bad district to liquidate the districts debts and liabilities, including perhaps teacher pensions, with whatever resources it can get from state aid, private foundations etc. The other district, renamed the new Detroit Community Schools, would essentially be controlled by various education businesses and investors. It would be given free rein to run roughshod over the rights of teachers.

Governor Snyder, who said he would find a replacement for Earley before the end of the month, issued a press release praising the emergency manager for restructuring a heavily bureaucratic central office and putting in place operating and cost-containment measures that would set the course for a sustainable, new Detroit Community Schools, as I have proposed.

Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature have been engaged in a protracted debate over the funding of the measure and the exact proportioning of decision-making powers and resources. The sometimes-bitter struggle has had nothing to do with restoring democracy or improving the schools. On the contrary, it is essentially over how the spoils from the dismantling of public education will be divvied up.

One of the major players behind the so-called reform of DPS is The Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildrena supposed grassroots organization consisting of various business interests and trade union officials. It is co-chaired by David Hecker, the president and secretary treasurer of the Michigan chapter of the AFT. It also includes United Auto Workers Vice President Jimmy Settles and Tashaune Harden, union bargaining chair of the Alliance of Charter School Teachers and Staff (AFT-MI) at the Leona Group-owned charter school Cesar Chavez Academy.

John Rakolta Jr., a prominent Republican businessman who is another co-chair, told the Detroit Free Press that the governor cannot afford to have DPS run out of cash this spring while the Flint water crisis continues. They cant have a two-front fire and thats what this is going to cause, said Rakolta, who is chairman and CEO of the Walbridge construction company.

DFT Interim President Ivy Bailey hailed Earleys departure as a step in the right direction, adding that it presents a perfect opportunity for state officials in Lansing to pay off the debt their appointed managers have created and return the Detroit Public Schools to local control Now is the time for DPS to have an elected school board that answers to the people of this great city.

The terms of the proposed legislation make clear, however, that the bipartisan attack on public education will only escalate. The DFT has collaborated with the attacks on teachers and public education by Democratic Party-run school boards for decades, and it will continue to do so under a new Financial Review Commission. The only concern of the union apparatus is gaining the franchise in the expanding charter school sector so that it can continue to get dues income from miserably paid charter school teachers even as thousands of public school teachers are driven from the profession.
The head administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Gina McCarthy, held a press conference in Flint, Michigan Tuesday to announce the agencys plan to address the lead-in-water crisis in the city. The event was held just one day after the resignation of EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, who oversaw the Midwestern region including Michigan.

McCarthys one-day visit to Flint was a politically orchestrated effort at damage control engineered from the highest levels of government. She said in her remarks, We also know that the level of trust needs to be rebuilt here.

The event took place under the shadow of a political crisis over the two-year failure of local, state and federal officials to protect the 100,000 residents of Flint from the poisoning of the water system. The location of the press conference was held at an unpublicized location, with an RSVP only requirement for media representatives to attend. The organizers were clearly concerned that Flint residents would hold a protest either inside or outside of the venue had it been public.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrics professional whose study released in late September showed that Flint childrens blood lead levels had increased sharply since the citys emergency manager switched the citys water source to the polluted Flint River was invited to speak. She thanked the EPA for finally looking at our water more closely and doing the tests required to determine the quality of water in the city.

Hanna-Attisha added, As you know, our water is still not safe. We still have a lot of lead leaching from our plumbing and theres a need for ongoing testing. And I am reassured that we actually have the expertsthe world corrosion experts, the world lead-in-water expertshere on the ground doing the testing that needs to be done.

McCarthy, appointed by President Barack Obama to the leading position in the EPA in 2009, opened her remarks by thanking Hanna-Attisha for not just being at the press conference, but for your determination, your commitment and your courage. She said that without that, Im not sure we would all be standing here today with the level of commitment, not just of the EPA, but certainly across the federal family.

Also, today, it was announced that the FBI would be conducting a criminal investigation into the Flint catastrophe. For almost two years since the switch to Flint River water, residents protests over the water quality were answered with stonewalling and lies, the most egregious of them being that the water is safe to drink.

McCarthy addressed the television cameras with a dire message for the people of Flint: Right now the bottled water is the safest choice. It is not safe to drink the water in Flint today, especially vulnerable populations. So, if youre pregnant, you need to drink bottled water. If a child is under six years old, make sure that they drink bottled water.

For everyone else, use filters. Filters that have been tested. Follow the instructions that come with those filters, so you know that theyre on properly and when you use it make sure that you check that filter and change it according to what the directions say.

After making assurances that the safety of Flint residents is everybodys number one priority, McCarthy declared, we are here for the long haul.

In her presentation, McCarthy sought to put the blame for the Flint disaster solely on the state of Michigan and its Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Yet the resignation of the EPA Region 5 administrator Hedman was a result of her being discredited for suppressing information, brought to light by an EPA employee, Miguel del Toral, that water sampling was being done improperly under the direction of the DEQ and that, in fact, no corrosion control was being carried out at all in the Flint water system.

World Socialist Web Site reporter Lawrence Porter asked McCarthy during the question period: You say that the state is responsible for this. Isnt the EPA equally responsible for whats happened over the past year? In April, Miguel del Toral, in fact, submitted a memo, which was quashed, and he was silenced. If, in fact, that material had been taken up, it would have shown that what was taking place was illegal under the Safe Water Act, but that wasnt done. In fact, he was silenced. How do you explain that?

McCarthys response was a direct lie. She said, Well sir, Ill let you talk to Miguel on your own because hes been available, and, as Ive said before, Miguel has never been silenced, and he wont be. Hes one of our experts and hes working with us and he is doing a great job and he has been for our agency. So you can speak to him about this.

She went on to claim, We are here today, because a state-appointed emergency manager made the decision that the City of Flint would stop purchasing treated water that had well served them for 50 years and instead purchased untreated water and not treat that water. That is the decision that was made. And by law, the state of Michigan had to approve that switch and they did not require corrosion control. All to save money.

Did EPA do everything it could? I will find out. We have an investigation ongoing at my request. But I do know that EPA raised these issues time and again. I know that we were misled. I know that we were rebuffed. And I know that we were ignored.

Such is the Obama administrations official line.

The Flint Water Study website, operated by Dr. Marc Edwards, who led the independent testing of Flint water this summer, has a different take. Virginia Tech researcher Siddartha Roy states in an article that del Toral was under virtual house arrest: Del Toral, gagged and effectively placed under house arrest by EPA Region 5 Administrator and political appointee Susan Hedman, was certainly guilty of doing his job. In early July, Del Toral released an interim memo to sources (Walters/Edwards) outside of the EPA that first sounded the alarm about MDEQs illegal decision to not use corrosion control for the Flint River water source. His memo also detailed the perils that illegal decision posed to the city of Flint and the health of its children. The lack of corrosion control has caused red water, taste and odor problems, pipe infrastructure damage, childhood lead poisoning and quite possibly an outbreak of Legionnaires disease.

It was only through the independent testing done by the Virginia Tech team that the danger in the water being piped into the homes of Flint residents became known. Edwards made a public warning in early September that Flint citizens should not drink the water. His warnings were made while local and state authorities were covering up the water crisis that the EPA had known about for months! It was only after Republican governor Rick Snyder made the decision to make the funds available to return to Detroit water that the EPA publicly recognized Flints crisis.
A survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of breakfast manufacturer Kelloggs has exposed the extent of food poverty among children in the UK.

The survey took a nationally representative sample of head teachers, classroom, and supply teachers at state and independent schools throughout England and Wales.

YouGov found that four out of five teachers see hungry pupils arriving at school without having eaten breakfast each week, with many having nothing to eat until lunchtime. Nearly 50 percent of teachers said some pupils arrived at school hungry at least three or four times a week. The situation is mirrored in Scotland, with an increasing number of pupils going to school hungry. In some cases, children are stealing food from classmates, according to teachers.

The impact has been felt widely by those in the teaching profession, who have expressed heartfelt reactions to the children in their care. Eight percent of teachers said they had given pupils money for food, and approximately three in 10 admitted that they have brought food into school for pupils they believe have not had breakfast.

Nearly two-thirds of teachers said they knew of children at their school who regularly ate nothing until lunchtime. Almost two-fifths of school staff said they see pupils turning up for class who have not had enough to eat every day, while a similar proportion see it between one and four times a week.

Hunger is clearly detrimental to a pupils health and wellbeing. It has a devastating impact on their education, as pupils who are hungry are more likely to be lethargic and unable to concentrate. This contributes significantly to pupil behaviour. How can a child concentrate with an empty stomach? Nearly a third of those polled suggested that a child has blamed falling asleep in class on hunger or thirst.

Teachers and schools are being forced to deal with the outcome of a situation created by successive Labour and Conservative governments, which have funded financial institutions with vast amounts of money instead of providing for the basic requirements of working families.

According to YouGov, of the teachers that said there had been an increase in hungry pupils, 69 percent thought one of the main reasons was families continuing to struggle due to the economic downturn. Some 56 percent said welfare cuts are affecting families financial situations, making it tougher for them to provide breakfast for their children.

Just under half thought that some parents were struggling to find work and cannot afford to put food on the table in the morning.

This should not come as a surprise to Kelloggs, considering they have contributed to the unemployment of families in the UK and globally. Over the past decade, the US-based conglomerate has shut factories and relocated to other countries to increase profits. The company has introduced annualised hours, changing the shift patterns of production staff at its UK plants in Wrexham, Wales, and Trafford, England.

Paul Wheeler, Kelloggs director of corporate communications, said, Its a crying shame that so many children are going to school without having eaten a basic breakfast. But the fact remains that the companys interests are laser-focused on raising the profits made from their breakfast products, not the plight of families struggling to make ends meet. Figures released in 2015 revealed that the firm, which uses a number of tax avoidance loopholes, effectively paid no UK corporation tax in 2013 despite reporting huge profits.

Many large companies increasingly rely on zero-hours contracts, with the number of these increasing by almost a fifth during 2015. Under zero-hours contracts, workers earn less per hour than staff in similar roles and are denied benefits such as sick pay.

Parents feel compelled to work which can lead to cutting out meals like breakfast. A smaller group of teachers surveyed cited that the pressures of work and the impact of unsociable contracts meant they were too busy to make breakfast.

Fully 20 percent of teachers said that the number of pupils arriving at school hungry had increased over the past 12 months, while 77 percent said it had stayed about the same.

Research last year by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) revealed that children were turning up for school cold, hungry and wearing unwashed or unsuitable clothing, because their families are facing serious financial problems. One unnamed teacher said, Children  should not be hungry and coming to school with no socks on and no coatssome children are living in Victorian conditionsin the inner cities.

Some teachers tell stories of pupils hugging radiators to keep warm, bringing in mouldy food in their lunch boxes and getting upset when they lose basic items such as pencils and rubbers.

More than three in four had seen pupils arrive at school with inappropriate clothing including no coat in bad weather. More children were being sent home with letters about unpaid school meals. Pupils who were sick were still being sent to school because parents could not afford to take time off work.

No attempt at tackling this desperate situation has been undertaken by those in power. A few token measures have been applied which cover free school meals for all key stage one pupils (aged between 5 and 7) and a paltry pupil premium budget to allow disadvantaged pupils to receive funding for trips and for closing the gap with their peers.

However, these only place the problem of hunger on schools with already stretched budgets.

Teachers also have to cope with the wider problems associated with family hardship, such as children living in temporary accommodations or relying on food banks. A UK all-party report released at the end of 2015, found that hunger is now regarded as a permanent fact of life in the UKs poorest communities.

Hunger has been woven into the lives of people for whom going without food on a daily basis is now almost inevitable.

The Scottish teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), also recently carried out a survey on the impact of poverty in schools.

The leaders of the education trade unions make token criticism of government policies that lead to children going to school hungry, but the relentless austerity that has led to this intolerable situation only continues, because the unions have suppressed all struggles against government cuts to pay and conditions. In October, the EIS accepted a measly pay deal of just 2.5 percent over two years with 1.5 percent for 2015-16 and a further one percent for 2016-17.

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[16 January 2016]
This year will see the publication of the fifth poverty and wealth report by the German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. It is to include three main topics: Impact of atypical employment forms on career development and income earned in the course of life, the relevance of areas of social segregation (increasing ghettoisation and poverty within cities), and wealth.

Under the heading of wealth, already published figures for 2013 are included. The Passauer Neue Presse drew attention to last week: inequality of wealth among households is steadily widening. The top 10 percent owns more than half (51 percent) of the wealth, while the poorest half owns a mere 1 percent.

Since the Social Democratic Party (SPD)-Green government under Gerhard Schroder took office 18 years ago, the process of growing social inequality has accelerated. In 1998, the bottom half of the population owned 2.9 percent of the wealth. Their percentage of the wealth thus shrank by two thirds over the intervening period, while the top 10 percent saw their share rise by more than 6 percent.

As with all statistical projections, these figures fail to show the full social reality. In fact, social inequality in Germany is much more pronounced.

One reason for this is that the income and consumer investigation (EVS) of the federal agency for statistics, on which the latest figures are based, does not take millionaires or billionaires into account. In Germany in 2014, according to a wealth report by consultancy firm Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management, there are more than 1.14 million people with wealth worth more than US$1 million.

This tiny minority of the population does not generally take part in wealth surveys, such as the EVS studyat least not in sufficient numbers to provide accurate statistical projections. Money and property wealth are investigated, as well as loans, debts and income from employment or social welfare. Details on household income of more than 18,000 per month are so rare that they are not reflected in the statistics.

In addition, it is difficult for statisticians to gather accurate data about capital income. The Suddeutsche Zeitung acknowledged, Capital income like interest, dividends or speculative profits, which flow overwhelmingly to wealthy households, are captured only partially. Recent studies by the European Economic Research Centre and trade union-aligned Hans Bockler Foundation pointed this out.

The Ministry of Labour and the Suddeutsche Zeitung also drew attention to the fact that in international comparison [of social inequality], Germany performs badly, because the percentage of land and property owners in the population is lower than in the eurozone. In addition, many young people had their own household, but possessed no wealth.

Along with the points made by the ministry, another more important factor is responsible for the growth in social inequality: the vast majority of the population do not participate in the speculative activity of the banks on the stock market. In addition, temporary labour contracts and other atypical employment relations have had a grave impact on wealth distribution.

In spite of the reasons given for the limited picture of social reality presented, the published figures make clear that social inequality in Germany has already reached dramatic proportions. Sections of the ruling elite are increasingly concerned about this. In a comment in the Suddeutsche Zeitung, Heribert Prantl remarked at the beginning of last week that inequality cannot go beyond a certain limit, otherwise it takes away our freedom.

The latest lead article in Der Spiegel also points out that inequality in the industrialised world is [threatening] to reach the obscene level it did in the 1920s, when American author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby .

Der Spiegel accused the Wests political elite of talking a lot about inequality while doing nothing about it. It pointed to the reaction of the rich and powerful to the latest Oxfam report on income inequality and painted a picture of growing concern over the uncontrolled development of capitalism.

The development charity Oxfam has reported annually in January that a declining number of super-rich own a greater percentage of global wealth. Currently it is 62 billionaires and multibillionaires who own around half of the worlds wealth. Following this, the global elites meet annually for their glamorous conference in Davos, Switzerland to complain that they have once again become a bit richer and more powerful [and] to note disappointedly that nothing can be done to reverse this.

Der Spiegel declares, One does not have to be a Marxist to describe the concentration of wealth on both sides of the Atlantic as neo-feudal.

One also does not have to be a Marxist to know that the social, geopolitical and economic contradictions to which the ruling elite has no answerother than rearmament, the drive to war and the destruction of democratic rightswill provoke great social struggles with revolutionary implications. This is precisely the fear behind the concerned commentaries in Germanys bourgeois press.
The three-day visit to India by French President Francois Hollande on January 24 to sell Rafale fighter jets to India, coming after New Delhi opened talks with Washington on possibly hosting US troops on Indian military bases, pointed to the military escalation seizing South Asia.

Hollandes delegation, including the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, economy and culture and dozens of top corporate executives, aimed to boost the French military-industrial complex and Frances exploitation of Indian cheap labour. The French delegation announced it would invest US$1 billion a year in India in the coming period. This is on top of Frances existing investment of $19 billion in India, compared to Indian investment of only $700 million in France.

Hollande flew directly to Chandigarh, the capital of Haryana state, whose free-market policies made it attractive to the French delegation. Offering a $2.25 billion line of credit, France has already promised to help transform Chandigarh, Nagpur, and Puducherry into smart cities with clean water supplies, efficient sewage disposal and public transportation. Both Hollande and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended an India-France Business Summit in Chandigarh, attended by around 30 CEOs of Indian and French companies.

Addressing the summit, Modi declared, We want to work closely with France. ... The world has accepted India as a good investment destination. Indias talent and the manufacturing (skills) of France can achieve a lot. Keen to guarantee that French investments are in safe hands, he added, This government is known for a stable and predictable tax regime.

The two sides failed to finalise the main deal, Indias purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets. Dassault, who manufactures the Rafale, declared last week that it supports finalising an agreement in the next four weeks. After meeting Hollande, Modi only said, We have completed an intergovernmental agreement for the purchase of 36 Rafales, with the exception of the financial aspects.

Though India is anxious to boost the strength of its fighter squadrons and emerge as a major world power, New Delhis initial plans to purchase 126 jets were later reduced to 36 to cut costs.

Agreements were signed on space cooperation, green economy, smart cities and infrastructure, science and technology, and the renovation of railway stations in India. The two sides also agreed to finalise the building of six nuclear reactors for India by a French company within a year. There was also an unspecified aerospace agreement between Airbus and Mahindras Company of India.

The two sides also discussed increased cooperation on security and intelligence. Hollande said, France and India are two great democracies ... therefore we are prime targets for terrorists who cannot abide liberty, democracy or culture.

Hollandes description of France and India as two great democracies waging a war on terror is sheer hypocrisy. In fact, Modi and Hollande personify the reactionary and anti-democratic character of the ruling elites in both India and France.

Modi, as the then Chief Minister of Indian state Gujarat, presided over the anti-Muslim pogroms in 2002 which killed more than 1,200 Muslim civilians and drove tens of thousands from their homes. Since Modi became prime minister in May 2014, communal tensions and attacks against minorities have surged.

As for France, since the terrorist attack last November 13 by ISIS in Paris, it is under a state of emergency. Public protests are banned, there is no guarantee of freedom of the press or freedom of assembly, and no judicial oversight of searches and seizures carried out by police. Hollande has pledged to make the state of affairs permanent and is stirring up anti-Islamic hatred. This has created a political atmosphere in which the neo-fascist National Front can flourish.

Hollandes trip coincided with Indias celebration of its independence from Britain on Republic Day, January 26. In keeping with the Modi governments tradition of inviting prominent leaders of Western countries for Republic Day, Hollande was the chief guest following US President Barack Obama last year and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the year before.

A French military contingent marched in the Republic Day parade, the first time since independence that foreign forces had joined the parade, underscoring the subservience of the BJP government to the imperialist powers.

Sections of the Indian media hailed the measure as proof of Indias growing military ties to the Western powers. C. Raja Mohan praised Modi in the Indian Express for trying to exorcise the ghosts of Indian isolationism. He added, The marching of the French contingent down Rajpath suggests the effort has begun to pay off.

Trying to somehow pretend that New Delhis relations with Hollande have an anti-imperialist character, the Indian media highlighted the fact that in the late 18th century, French troops joined with Indian feudal lord Tipu Sultan against the British, which ruled most of the country.

The comparison of French troops fighting the British monarchy during the war for American independence, the French revolution, and the Napoleonic wars is a reactionary fraud. These wars emerged from a revolutionary upsurge of the masses of Europe and America against absolute monarchies. Today, France is waging bloody wars to defend the imperialist order across Africa and the Middle East, while imposing police-state measures at home.

For the first time, the involvement of the CIA in a French presidents visit to India was reported. The CIA asked the police of Haryana state on January 23 to submit a crime status report and data on all criminal activities reported on Gurgaon and surrounding districts. Modi and Hollande visited Gurgaon on January 25, and this was said to be part of efforts to ensure proper security.

CIA inquiries also touched upon illegal mining and other activities in the Aravalli Mountain range, as well as on Mewat district, where several alleged terrorists were arrested over the past three years, including an Al Qaeda suspect.

Though the CIAs role was presented as reflecting Frances friendly relations with the United States, French and US foreign policy in Asia do not coincide. In fact, while they collaborate with Washington on military policy, both India and France have significant reservations regarding US foreign policy in Asia.

Significantly, Modi and Hollande were silent on the US pivot to Asia, aimed at isolating China during the visit. Only three months ago, Hollande visited China in order to deepen financial ties with that country. Both New Delhi and Paris joined Chinas $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, despite Washingtons calls to boycott it.

Heavy security measures were imposed in Gurgaon and Faridabad. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) commandos took up positions in a radius of two kilometres around where Hollande and Modi were located, and Section 144 was imposed. This allows authorities to ban an assembly of more than 10 people and impose fines and three years imprisonment on those violating police orders. Section 144 was applicable at prominent malls, shopping centres, strategic locations and crowded places between January 24 and 26.

Blanket security measures were imposed on Republic Day. Central Delhi was turned into a virtual fortress, NDTV noted. 50,000 members of the Delhi police and security forces were mobilised, it noted: Commandos with light machine guns were deployed at 10 strategic locations and anti-aircraft guns remained positioned at two vantage points in the capital. A multi-layer security ring was enforced around Hollande and Modi.
Last week, Seattle, Washington became the latest addition to the list of cities filing lawsuits against multinational corporation Monsanto, joining San Diego, San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley in California, along with Spokane, Washington. These efforts, led by San Diego-based law firm Gomez Trial Attorneys, aim to extract tens of millions of dollars from the agrochemical company for knowingly promoting the severely hazardous line of polychlorinated biphenyls, more commonly known as PCBs.

The Seattle lawsuit holds the corporation responsible for PCB contamination that finds its way into the citys stormwater that flows into the Lower Duwamish River, designated a federal Superfund site because of its high levels of pollution and the high cost of cleanup.

These lawsuits are based on a precedent set last year in a California case against lead paint manufacturers in which the prosecution, after a 12-year legal battle, won a $1.15 billion judgment using a new application of Californias public nuisance law. Under the ruling, liability was imposed against the defendant companies because they had actively sold and promoted lead paint with actual or constructive knowledge about its health hazards. Through this same framework it has become possible to build a case against Monsanto for actions taken over 50 years ago.

In previous legal suits, (namely in Alabama, where the company had a chemical production plant), evidence was produced from internal Monsanto reports dating to the 1960s and 1970s. The reports confirmed the companys knowledge that PCBs were causing health problems in its workforce and becoming an environmental contaminant. The company, however, continued to produce the profitable compounds.

Monsanto has faced numerous attacks over the past few decades for its alleged disregard for society and the environment. The company, along with Dow Chemical, was known for its production of Agent Orange during the Vietnam war as well as its role in the development of nuclear weapons under the Manhattan Project.

In an effort to create a better public image and avoid liabilities from its industrial chemical business, Monsanto spun off its industrial chemical and fiber divisions into a company called Solutia in 1997. For their part, officials from Monsanto claim that the company has been exclusively focused on agriculture over the past decade and has no responsibility in the current lawsuit for the chemicals produced and sold by the company that was initially formed in 1901.

Manufacturing of PCBs began in 1929. The chemicals were largely produced in the post-war period as wartime chemical companies refocused their attention on domestic uses. In the next four decades, close to 600,000 tons of the toxins were produced in the United States almost exclusively by Monsanto, until their ultimate prohibition by US Congress in 1979. Production of PCBs continued by other companies in various parts of the world until the 1990s. These chemicals were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications, including transformers, paints, caulk, flame retardants and pesticides, just to name a few.

As a result of their tendency to spread quickly and easily through air, water, river sediments, and animal ingestion, the contaminants have been found in virtually every corner of the world, including the Arctic, where the polar bear population was affected.

In areas with high concentrations of PCBs, which include but are not limited to the major cities involved in the lawsuits, overwhelming populations of fish, birds and mammals were found to have levels of chronic toxicity. This condition has resulted in developmental complications, reproductive failure and mass death rates, causing major disruptions in many ecosystems, most notably in San Francisco Bay.

The unique set of properties of PCBs, namely their non-flammability, chemical and thermal stability and high boiling point, means they do not readily break down once released into the environment. These chemicals tend to build up in animal fat, with increasing density going up the food chain, often ending in human consumption. The Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged that ingestion of products with high levels of PCBs, in addition to causing cancer, also have been proven to cause neurological disorders, and toxic effects on the human immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system.

It should be noted however that the lawsuits will not demand any reparations for the people affected by these toxins, but instead will be limited to monetary compensation exclusively for local governments to use in a limited cleanup of environmental damage.

Outrage at the irresponsible, criminal behavior of companies such as Monsanto is a healthy and understandable reaction to such events. However, the ongoing legal efforts are not likely to spring from such motivations and will in any case prove completely unable to redress the problem.

Even a victory in these cases will primarily serve to line the pockets of Gomez Trial Attorneys and the corrupt local city governments that are in fact routinely complicit in similar crimes, so blatantly exposed currently in the ongoing Flint water crisis. Any money won through this lawsuit, assuming it is used appropriately, will not even come close to repairing the vast social and environmental damages caused by Monsanto and similar corporations over the past century.

Predictably, these legal proceedings are being hailed as a victory by various corporate media. In a San Diego Union Tribune article absurdly titled Monsanto lawsuits unnerve corporate America, the author, Joshua Smith, writes, In a move that might give corporate America chills, a San Diego-led legal team is testing a strategy aimed at expanding companies liability for cleaning up pollutants.

In reality, even if the San Diego law firm is successful in securing damages from this particular firm, corporate America, far from being unnerved or wracked with chills, will emerge virtually unscathed by these legal proceedings. The capitalist systems drive for profit, which led Monsanto to essentially poison the environment and society in the first place, will continue unabated. The crises created by capitalism, environmental and otherwise, cannot be solved through the legal avenues provided by the same system which creates these problems.

This situation, like that of Flint Michigan, the 2014 nuclear reactor explosions in Japan, the historic oil spills of 2010, the ongoing global warming crisis, and the many other environmental catastrophes experienced over the last century, expose again and again the much larger systemic problem characterized by todays irrational organization of society.

The critical environmental issues facing humanity today cannot be solved by corporate lawsuits, moral appeals to the uninterested political establishment, or through any charade of multi-national collaborative efforts, but instead can only be addressed on the basis of a rationally organized socialist society.
Iowa Democratic Party officials declared Hillary Clinton the winner of the Iowa Democratic caucuses Tuesday afternoon by the narrowest of margins. The former secretary of state edged Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by 699 to 695 in delegates to the state convention, with two state delegate equivalents still to be determined.

More significant was the announcement of the total turnout of 171,109, divided nearly equally between the two candidates. Approximately 85,000 peoplea third of them young people under 30cast votes for Sanders, a candidate who identifies himself as a democratic socialist. This is 30,000 more than the number of people who voted for Senator Ted Cruz, the ultra-right winner of the Republican caucuses, and nearly double the vote for the massively hyped campaign of billionaire Donald Trump.

Sanders rolled up a huge margin among younger voters: those 17-29 supported him over Clinton by 86 percent to 11 percent; Democratic voters in the 30-44 age bracket also gave him a majority. Lower-income voters, those making under $30,000 a year, backed Sanders heavily, as did those in the $30,000-$50,000 a year range. Clintons support was concentrated among upper-income and older voters, particularly those over the age of 65, who turned out in large numbers.

Entrance/exit polls found that the Vermont senators claim to be a socialist was one of the main attractions of his candidacy, as far as his supporters were concerned. Sixty-eight percent of Democratic caucus-goers regarded having a socialist president as a good idea, with 31 percent strongly in favor.

The mass support for Sanders explodes the myth, peddled endlessly by the American media, that the American people are unalterably wedded to capitalism. In his speech to campaign aides and volunteers Monday night in Des Moines, Sanders reiterated the condemnations of economic inequality, the criminality of Wall Street and the corruption of the US political system by big money that have been the basis of his campaign.

Hillary Clinton sought, however awkwardly, to strike a populist pose as well, telling her supporters Monday night that she too was a progressive who shared her opponents goals of universal healthcare, good jobs and rising wages, only differing on the best methods to achieve them.

The broad support for Sanders campaign has taken the corporate-controlled media by complete surprise, an expression of the vast chasm that separates the entire establishment and the mass of the American people. Now the commentators and pundits express bemusement over the hatred of Wall Street and the corporate eliteexpressed in a left-wing form in the Sanders campaign and in a right-wing form in the campaign of billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trumpwhen, according to the media, American society is doing well, particularly compared to its European and Asian rivals.

This bewilderment is combined with fear. Longtime political adviser to presidents of both parties and virtually omnipresent media pundit David Gergen told the New York Times after the Iowa vote: Its striking that the winner of the Republican side represents the far right and the moral winner for the Democrats comes from the far left. Its a clear vote of no confidence in the economic order.

The World Socialist Web Site has made clear its political differences with Sanders in many commentaries published since the presidential campaign began last year. His democratic socialism is far less radical than the New Deal liberalism of Franklin Roosevelt, and it is combined with open support for the militarist foreign policy of American imperialism.

Nonetheless, the large vote for a self-proclaimed socialist candidate has enormous historical significance, particularly in the United States, where socialist ideas have been virtually criminalized for more than 60 years. Socialists were driven out of the unions and victimized in Hollywood in the course of the witch-hunts of the 1950s McCarthy era, and public discussion of any alternative to the capitalist system has been effectively banned in official politics and the corporate-controlled media ever since.

For nearly half a century, basic class issues have been suppressed in America through a combination of virulent political reaction and militarism and an obsessive focus on issues of race, gender and sexual orientation on the official left. This has coincided with an ever-greater shift to the right by both major parties, a relentless assault on the social conditions and living standards of the working class, and the suppression of strikes and workers struggles by trade unions that have been transformed into corporatist adjuncts of the corporations and the government.

This period is coming to an end. The indignation of the working class has steadily mounted, especially since Wall Street threw the US and world economy into the abyss in 2008 and then used the crisis to further enrich itself at the expense of the working population. The bitter experience of the Obama administration, which came to power by promising progressive change and instead has overseen a further and unprecedented transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top, along with an expansion of militarism and war, has only intensified the anger and combativeness of working people and youth.

Sanders has evoked a powerful response because he has raised social issues that transcend race, ethnicity, gender, etc. The Iowa vote has highlighted the fact that it is class issues of economic security and equality that animate the broad masses, not the narrow and exclusivist concerns of identity politics, which reflect the preoccupations of privileged layers of the middle class.

There are growing signs of a revival of the class struggle, including the mass opposition of autoworkers to the sellout contracts imposed by the United Auto Workers union last year, the eruption of mass protests and sickouts by Detroit teachers carried out independently of the unions, and ongoing protests against the poisoning of the water supply in nearby Flint, Michigan.

At the same time, the two-party system through which the American ruling class has monopolized political power for more than a century-and-a-half is facing an unprecedented crisis of political legitimacy. It is losing its grip on a population that is profoundly alienated from the entire political system.

The mass vote in Iowa for the Sanders campaign is an expression of deep social discontent that is bringing the working class into political conflict with the capitalist system. The candidate himself may conceive of political revolution as merely a larger turnout at the polls and an effort to increase support for the Democratic Party, one of the two parties of big business. However, there is little doubt that many in his audience have something more ambitious in mind.

The reality is that world capitalism is plunging deeper into economic slump and there are harbingers of a new round of financial shocks on a scale that could well surpass those of 2007-2008. The Sanders phenomenon must be placed in this global context. There are increasing signs of the working class all over the world seeking to break with its old, outlived organizationstrade unions, labor parties, social-democratic partiesthat have become nothing more than instruments of the capitalist ruling elite to suppress and sabotage workers struggles.

The initial stages of this process involve the emergence of pseudo-left elements like Syriza in Greece, Podemos in Spain and Jeremy Corbyn in the British Labour Party, which appeal to this leftward movement of the working class in order to divert it back into new forms of accommodation with the crisis-ridden capitalist system. Sanders is an American counterpart to such tendencies, deliberately working to corral growing working-class opposition within the confines of the Democratic Party, one of the oldest capitalist parties in the world.

The movement of the working class to the left will inevitably go well beyond the bounds envisioned by Sanders. The objective logic of its struggles will propel it into a conflict with both parties of big business and the capitalist system that they defend. This must, however, be prepared politically and transformed into a conscious political and revolutionary movement against capitalism and for socialism.
Opposition is growing in Portugal to the austerity programme of the minority Socialist Party (PS) government, which came to power in December with the support of the Left Bloc (BE) and Communist Party (PCP).

The BE and PCP made an agreement with the PS knowing full well that during its 2005-2011 term in government it rescued the banks and drove down the living standards of workers and youth.

During last years election campaign, the BE proclaimed that the PS was no champion of the end of austerity, nor of any of the breakthroughs that the country needs. Yet in December, ostensibly in return for a promise to legislate for a handful of minimal social demands, the BE and PCP agreed to support the PSs pro-austerity, pro-European Union (EU) programme and its inclusion in the overdue 2016 state budget.

The chickens have now come home to roost. The PS has submitted a draft budget to the European Commission (EC) that makes a mockery of its claims to be reversing austerity and exposes as a fraud the BEs and PCPs posturing as anti-capitalist and anti-austerity.

Last Friday, the PCP-controlled CGTP trade union federation was forced to call a one-day public sector strike to protest the PS governments decision to delay implementing its election promise to reduce the 40-hour weekbut only as a face-saving measure.

Tens of thousands of nurses, teaching support staff, and workers in courts and other government departments took part. The 35-hour week was abolished by the previous right-wing Social Democratic Party (PSD)-Peoples Party (CDS-PP) coalition. As a result, in 2015, public sector workers carried out an estimated 150 million hours of free labour. They now work some of the longest hours in the EU.

On Thursday, workers also demonstrated against the privatisation of the national rail freight company, CP Carga, to the global container corporation Mediterranean Shipping Company. Reversing ongoing privatisations was one of the measures the BE and PCP trumpeted as part of the left agreement with the PS. The PCP complained that the PS itself expressed the most severe reservations about the process of privatisation before the elections but was now carrying out a crimenot against the working class but against national interests.

The government insisted the sale of CP Carga was a condition of Portugals 2011 bailout and had to go ahead. It demonstrated once again that the PS acts in the interests of finance capital and that the role of the pseudo-left and Stalinists is to fall into linewhich they did by calling off a threatened strike against the privatisation and substituting a symbolic protest.

The cynical manoeuvre by the PCP came after its candidate, Edgar Silva, received the partys worst-ever result in the January 24 presidential electionjust 4 percent in a 49 percent turnoutpayback for its alliance with the PS.

The actions of the pseudo-left and Stalinists are conditioned by the crisis in the PS. Five of the 10 candidates were PS members or sympathisers, but the party refused to support any of them. Instead, Prime Minister Antonio Costa and three former Portuguese presidents supported an independentthe Dean of Lisbon University, Sampaio da Novoa, who polled 22.8 percent, a far cry from 1991, when former PS prime minister Mario Soares won 70 percent of the vote. During his campaign, Sampaio da Novoa declared, Im not pushing for a break with the European Union. Im not saying we shouldnt pay unilaterally our debt, but I do want us to have solidarity in the European Union that allows southern countries, which have problems, to find realistic and pragmatic solutions, to solve the debt problem. 

Sampaio da Novoas appeal for the EU to be reasonable in return for Portugals loyalty is virtually indistinguishable from that of BE presidential candidate and former member of the European Parliament Marisa Matias, who declared she was pro-Europe but opposed to the weight of Berlin and Frankfurt in the EU. Matiass third place in the election, polling 10.1 percent (460,000 votes), the best-ever result for the party, indicates it is still able to attract support because of the discrediting of the PS. But it will only use this support to prop up the PS and defend Portuguese capitalism from the working class.

BE leader Catarina Martins lamented that, during the presidential campaign, the PS had displayed an ambiguous and even fragile vision towards the powers that are strangling the jobs, wages and living conditions in our country [emphasis added], which, she complained, does not mobilise anyone.

Costa, for his part, applauded the fact that, contrary to what has been taking place in other European countries, the Portuguese have clearly rejected populist candidates that present themselves as anti-system.

He made it clear he was not in the business of mobilising anyone and offered the new SDP president, TV pundit Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, his maximum loyalty and full institutional cooperation (as did Martins).

Rebelo de Sousa stipulated that his priority is to prevent any financial slippagei.e., maintain compliance with EU demandsand to ensure political stability.

Portugals financial slippage became the subject of a warning last week by the EC, which said the austerity measures in the PSs draft 2016 State Budget were well below target.

Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and vice-president of the EC for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis declared that the ECs calculations showed Portugals budget deficit would be 3.6 percent of GDP this year and not the 2.6 percent claimed by the government. Its very important that we work together so that the final Portuguese budget is coherent with rules of the pact and the commitments Portugal has taken on, Moscovici told reporters. If Portugal does not comply with the ECs demands, it could declare the country at default risk and order it to impose new measures or redraft the budget. Heavy fines and other sanctions could follow.

At the same time as the EC issued its statement, the financial markets and credit ratings agencies intervened, with Fitch threatening to cut Portugals rating because its budget proposals were unrealistic.

Portugals parliamentary budget oversight unit (UTAO) made similar criticisms, virtually accusing the PS of fiddling the books by using incorrect and irregular accounting for extraordinary measures to exclude one-off costs of around 2 billion from the budget deficit in order to come to its 2.6 percent estimate. The one-off costs refer to the limited social measures the BE and PCP proclaimed in order to justify their agreement with the PS.

Costa rejected the criticisms, insisting, We have sound economic arguments to defend our position. Were engaged in a re-orientation of policies introduced over the past few years [but] within the framework of our European commitments.

In reality, none of the minimal measures agreed by the PS can be achieved within the framework of the EU. The measures that have so far been delayed will later be cancelled altogether.

The BE responds by portraying the PS as a hapless victim, facing a difficult equilibrium between what is demanded by Brussels and the promises made in the agreement with the left-wing to reverse the measures of the previous right-wing government. This is a fraud, similar in all respects to the cover its co-thinkers provided for Syriza in Greece. The BE knows the PS will do whatever the EU demandsand so will the BE.
The call by extreme right wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) for the use of firearms by border police against refugees marks a new stage in the all-party political offensive against refugees in Germany.

On Sunday, AfD leader Frauke Petry declared in an interview with the Mannheimer Morgen that police must prevent illegal border crossings and when necessary also use firearms. This is what the law says.

On Saturday evening, AfD deputy chairwoman Beatrix von Storch wrote on her Facebook page that whoever does not accept the order to halt at the border is an attacker. And we must defend ourselves against attacks, she added. In answer to a comment asking whether she also wanted to prevent women and children from entering by force of arms, Storch answered with a decisive Yes.

The government and opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens have reacted to these statements with feigned shock and the call for surveillance and a stronger state.

SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel called for the AfD to be monitored by domestic intelligence agencies. It was extremely doubtful the AfD upheld the fundamental free democratic order of the republic, Gabriel told Bild am Sonntag. For him, the AfD belonged in the Annual Report of the Protection of the Constitution (domestic intelligence service) and not on television.

Katrin Goring-Eckardt, the head of the Greens parliamentary fraction, also appealed to the intelligence services: The Office for the Protection of the Constitution should examine to what extent the AfD meets the requirements for monitoring, she told Spiegel Online. A state based on the rule of law appears to be a thorn in the side of many AfD members. It is highly questionable whether a party that wants to shoot refugees at the border and trumpets racist theories can be, or wants to be a part of our democratic system.

Similar reactions have come from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). When the leadership of the AfD explicitly calls for children to be shot at the border, they forfeit the protection of the constitution which permits even extreme views, said deputy CDU chair Armin Laschet. Human dignity, proportional means, respect for lifethe AfD violates all of them. They are becoming a party which betrays the constitution and the values of our country and of civilization, Laschet added.

Do Gabriel, Laschet and Co. really believe the population, deeply outraged by the inhumane statements of the AfD, can be so easily fooled? In reality, the same parties and media figures now denouncing the AfD share responsibility for the return of fascistic demands like the shooting of women and children to the realm of official political discourse 70 years after the end of National Socialism.

A few notes and observations must be made:

1) For several months now, hardly a day has gone by in which the media has not invited representatives of the AfD onto prominent talk shows and given them a primetime platform to spread their fascistic propaganda. Storch began her agitation against refugees last Sunday on the Anne Will show, denouncing the supposed welcoming culture of Chancellor Angela Merkel and calling for a drastic reduction in refugee numbers. She received support from former federal minister Hans-Peter Friedrich (Christian Social Union). On Wednesday, Petry then delivered a similar tirade on the Maischberger show.

2). Official policy and the media first created the racially charged atmosphere which the AfD has fueled further. At the beginning of last year, representatives of every party in parliament spoke out in favour of a dialog with followers of the radical right-wing Pegida movement. In the last week, representatives of the same parties used the events of New Years Eve in Cologne to intensify their rhetoric against immigrants and Muslims and loudly demanded the closing of the borders, quotas for refugees, and expedited deportations of criminal foreigners.

3) The AfD is merely articulating in explicit terms the consequences of measures which German politicians have long demanded. Last October, CSU chair and vice-chancellor Horst Seehofer threatened extra-legal emergency measures in the event that Merkel did not reverse her refugee policy. In a commentary entitled Brown Rhetoric, even Spiegel Online criticized him for this, saying Seehofer not only made use of National Socialist rhetoric but also encouraged totalitarian attitudes.

At the beginning of last week, the CSU sent a letter to the chancellors office and demanded an effective protection of the German borders. Similar right-wing sentiments came from the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party. When Sahra Wagenknecht, chair of Left Partys parliamentary fraction, joined in the agitation against refugees and the call for a strong state with the words whoever abuses the right to hospitality has lost the right to be a guest, she received praise, not accidentally, from leading AfD member Alexander Gauland.

What is behind this sharp turn to the right among the German elite?

Ultimately, it is driven by the same social and political contradictions that led to dictatorship, war and barbarism in the 1930s. The German elite are reacting to the historic crisis of European and international capitalism, the growing tensions between the major powers and the deep social division in society by again developing an aggressive foreign policy. To do so, just as in the past, they stir up racism and begin to rely on brute force. Or to paraphrase Trotsky: German imperialism vomits up its undigested barbarism.

An interview with the prominent German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk in the latest edition of Cicero reveals how far this process has progressed. Sloterdijk complains that, in Germany, the attitude prevails that a border is only there to be crossed. The hope of philosophers was: The Europeans will sooner or later develop an effective shared border policy. In the long run, the territorial imperative will assert itself. There is, after all, no moral duty to destroy oneself.

The enforcement of territorial imperatives against the self-destruction of the nation! The historical tradition of such reactionary ideas and conceptions is so obvious that even the Tagesspiegel noted: Talk of territorial imperatives sounds impressive but what exactly is meant by this remains unclear. A return to geopolitics? The Wilhelmine politicians believed Germany would have to arm itself because of its central position, later because of so-called Lebensraum.

In fact, the return to geopolitics and the (violent) pursuit of territorial imperativesor to put it another way, the economic and strategic interests of German imperialismhas long been the policy of the German government. Two years after President Joachim Gauck and the federal government announced the end to military restraint at the 2014 Munich Security Conference, Germany has made a further step toward the revival of militarism with its combat missions in Syria and Mali and recently announced plans for rearmament.

The sealing-off of borders and the brutal rejection of refugees has long been the policy of the German government with regard to Europes external borders. On Monday, Spiegel Online published an article on the inhumane measures with which the Erdogan regime in Turkey acts, above all, in the service of Berlin against refugees from Syria. Under the title Refugee deal with TurkeyEuropes doorman, the news magazine wrote: The official transit junctions are effectively closed. Soon a wall three meters high and 200 kilometres long will seal the country off from refugees.

The authors add: Soldiers patrol the border near the city of Antakya on a January afternoon. Tanks roll between checkpoints. In the distance, bombs from the Syrian war zone can be heard. The refugees use hidden paths through the forest and over hills. Several Syrians were arrested by Turkish security forces, some of them abused and deported back to Syria.

The lethal response demanded by the AfD has, in effect, long been enforced along Europes external borders. In the last year alone, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported 3,771 refugees, including many women and children, drowned in the Mediterranean while fleeing war zones destroyed by the West. As a result of Germanys isolationist policy, this number will rise dramatically.
1. The January report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) underscores the urgency of developing an international anti-war movement of the working class. The report, which was commissioned by the Department of Defense at the request of the US Congress, reviews the plans by American imperialism, along with its key allies such as Australia, for a military confrontation with China. Behind the backs of the worlds population, the ruling elites are actively preparing a catastrophic conflict involving nuclear armed powers.

2. The recommendations of the CSIS for increased operations by American and allied forces in Asia, and the expansion of US bases across Australia and the region, flow from the megalomaniacal attempts by the American ruling elite to subordinate the entire world economy to the profit interests of Wall Street. The reports preoccupation with Chinas rise expresses the recognition by a parasitic and predatory financial aristocracy that its ability to monopolise much of the planets wealth has reached its limits.

3. The strategy implicit in the CSIS report is that the US will use military pressure and diplomatic intrigue to attempt to overturn the current regime in Beijing, before it can credibly challenge American power. The Wall Street oligarchs are not interested in peace or freedom of navigation, let alone human rights and democracy. They are determined to remain the primary beneficiary of the ruthless exploitation of the multi-millioned Chinese working class and the vast industrial capacity developed in China since the restoration of capitalism. On behalf of the American elite, Washingtons objective is to transform China into a client stateas it was before the 1949 Chinese Revolution. To achieve its ends, the US is prepared to risk nuclear war.

4. The report acknowledges the crucial support provided to the US war drive by the Australian ruling elite, which ranks among Washingtons most venal imperialist allies. While Australian corporations have derived immense profits from the export of iron ore, coal and other raw materials to feed Chinese industry, the most powerful sections of the financial and business elite are linked to Wall Street by a web of multi-billion dollar investments and corporate relations. Moreover, the US-Australia alliance remains the pivotal strategic relationship upon which Australian imperialism relies to assert its interests not only in the Asia-Pacific, but on the world arena. The Australian establishment has clung to the coattails of Washington, in the mercenary hope it will also benefit from the reduction of China to the status of a semi-colony.

5. Canberra is already a key participant in the US pivot or rebalance to Asia. In June 2010, the pro-American hierarchy of the Australian Labor Party carried out an overnight political coup to oust Kevin Rudd as prime minister when his mild calls for the US to compromise with China had rendered him unacceptable to Washington. In November 2011, Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard turned the Australian parliament over to President Barack Obama as he announced the pivot. At the same time, as a further demonstration of its loyalty, the government signed a pact to hand over Darwin as a base for US Marines.

6. Washingtons entire anti-China strategymost significantly its encouragement of the remilitarisation of Japanese imperialism and provocative challenges to Beijings territorial claims in the South China Seahas received unconditional backing from successive governments in Canberra. Labor and Liberal-National, with the complicity of the media, academia, the Greens and the pseudo-left organisations, have integrated Australia into the US war plans behind the backs of the working class. The Australian military functions as the adjunct to American forces, whether in Asia or the Middle East. The Pentagon, CIA and NSA use the Pine Gap satellite base near Alice Springs to spy on the world, identify targets for drone assassination and pinpoint sites across China and elsewhere for destruction by nuclear or conventional weapons.

7. The CSIS makes clear that Washington will depend ever more heavily on Canberra in coming years, declaring: As Australias own influence expands and Australias geopolitical position becomes more central to US strategy, Washingtons expectations of Canberra are growing. It describes Australia as a sanctuaryout of range of most Chinese weapons except for intercontinental ballistic missilesand proposes that the continent host American aircraft, warships and troops on a scale not seen since World War II.

8. In the event of armed conflict with China, the Pentagons Air-Sea Battle strategy envisages that the Australian Navy and Air Force will assist in blockading the sea lanes between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The aim would be to starve the Chinese people of energy, food, medicines and other essential supplies and collapse the countrys economy. From Australian bases, the US would conduct long-range air bombardments of mainland China and attack Chinese naval and commercial vessels. Nuclear strikes would potentially be launched by submarines operating from Australian ports and using targeting data from Pine Gap. Australian imperialism, in other words, has volunteered as the enabler of what would be the greatest war crime in history.

9. As tensions escalate with increasing US-Australian provocations against China, the CSIS predicts the government will face opposition to the US-Australia alliance, above all from the Australian working class. Washington and Canberra will have to manage occasional pressures in the relationship, it warns. The Labor Party and the US embassy managed Rudds minor divergence from the Obama administrations line with a backroom coup. Far more ruthless methods will be used against a political movement of workers and young people against Australian imperialisms ever closer involvement in the reckless drive to war.

10. Conscious efforts are being made to condition the Australian population for the sacrifices demanded by war. The multi-million dollar commemorations of the centenary of World War I, launched by Labor and continued by the Liberal government, are directed toward promoting patriotism and subservience to the military, particularly among young people. The Labor Party and trade unions, along with extreme right-wing tendencies, have organised campaigns against Chinese investment in order to stoke anti-Chinese chauvinism. At the same time, the entire political establishment has exploited the fraudulent 15-year war on terrorism to generate anti-Muslim hysteria to justify the systematic erosion of fundamental democratic rights and an unprecedented build-up of the intelligence apparatus. The Australian ruling class has already erected the framework for a military-police state.

11. The drive to war poses profound questions of political perspective and leadership to the working class. The US attempt to use its military power to dominate the globe is not the policy of a particular government in Washington. It arises inexorably from the breakdown of all the mechanisms set in place after World War II to suppress the fundamental contradictions of the capitalist system, between an interdependent world economy and its continued division into antagonistic nation-states. The eruption of US militarism expresses the historical bankruptcy of a social order where global economic life is subordinated to the accumulation of profit by a tiny, obscenely wealthy elite, above all in the most powerful imperialist countries. War has become the only means, in the final analysis, by which American capitalism, with its allies in tow, can overcome its economic rivals and stem its historic decline. Protests to the powers-that-be, appealing for reason and sanity, are worse than futile. They are reactionary diversions from the only means of preventing war: the independent mobilisation of the international working class to abolish capitalism, which is the root cause of national rivalries and conflict.

12. There is an inseparable connection between the struggle against war and the fight for the social and democratic rights of the working class. The same transnational banks and corporations whose profit interests dictate the drive to war by national states and governments also demand an endless assault on workers jobs, wages and conditions, along with constant cutbacks to essential public services and social infrastructure. Vast resourcesclose to $2 trillion a year on a world scaleare being squandered on war preparations, at the direct expense of the working class. In Australia, the $50 billion allocated to the construction of new submarines would pay for at least 25 new, state-of-the-art public hospitals. The $39 billion earmarked for frigates and destroyers could finance a desperately needed five and a half million dollar upgrade to every public school in the country. The $24 billion being wasted on F-35 jet fighters would pay for tens of thousands of high quality, publicly-run and serviced houses and apartments for working class retirees.

13. The pervasive silence of pseudo-left organisations such as Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative on the war drive against China is the political expression of their pro-imperialist character. Like the Syriza government that imposed austerity in Greece, and opportunist demagogues such as Bernie Sanders in the US and Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, they represent affluent sections of the middle class that have benefited from the destruction of working class living standards and the rise and rise of stock and property values. For decades, this layer has employed various forms of identity politicsbased on race, ethnicity, gender and sexual preference and falsely portrayed as left-wing or radicalto gain greater privileges for themselves at the expense of the working class. Their greatest fear is that the agenda of war and austerity is propelling the workers and young people into struggle and towards socialism. The pseudo-lefts role is, above all, to block any independent mobilisation of the working class by confining all opposition to the dead-end of protest and parliamentary politics, and thus subordinating it to the political establishment of which they are part.

14. The essential task facing the working class is to forge its political independence from every pro-capitalist tendency and to develop a unified, international anti-war movement based on a socialist perspective. The political elites in Washington and Canberra do not speak for American and Australian workers, who have no interest in wars for profit and geopolitical dominance. Likewise, the corrupt capitalist regime in Beijing, with its reactionary threats to answer US aggression with a nuclear holocaust, does not represent the interests of Chinese workers. The working class of all countries has a common interest in the rational planning of global economic life to raise living standards, eradicate poverty and suffering, and achieve social equality for all.

15. The calamity of war can only be prevented by the working class taking political power, placing the banks and key industries under public ownership and carrying out the socialist reorganisation of society. The historic mission begun with the Russian Revolution in 1917world socialist revolutionmust be completed.

16. The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), of which the Socialist Equality Party is the Australian section, is committed to preventing war. The fight to build an international anti-war movement is at the centre of all the SEPs work among workers, youth and students, and in its campaign for the 2016 electionsagainst Labor, Liberal, the Greens and the pseudo-left. The SEP calls on workers and students across Australia to demand the immediate repudiation of the US-Australia alliance, which is, and has always been, a conspiracy of the ruling elites against the working class of both countries and of the world. All US military bases, equipment and personnel must be evicted forthwith. The tens of billions of dollars that Labor and Liberal are preparing to squander on the military must be redirected to meeting urgent social needs such as public health, education, housing, child and aged care, and transport.

17. The SEP and its youth movement, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), stand for the international unity of the working class and the establishment of a workers government that will implement socialist policies. We urge all workers and young people who agree with this perspective to contact us and join our fight for world socialism.
The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) concluded its 12th national congress last week by retaining Nguyen Phu Trong as general secretary after outmanoeuvring his rival Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in an unusually public faction fight for the top post.

The sharp divisions in the CPV leadership reflect the rising geopolitical tensions throughout the region as a result of the US pivot to Asia and military build-up directed against China. The Obama administration has deliberately inflamed longstanding maritime disputes between China and its neighbours, including Vietnam, in a bid to isolate Beijing.

Dung is widely regarded as closer to Washington and more determined to ram through pro-market restructuring, including the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). He was in the forefront of the condemnation of China in May 2014 for placing an oil rig in contested waters in the South China Sea and whipping up a xenophobic campaign that led to violent anti-Chinese riots.

The infighting carried into the congress itself when Dungs supporters nominated him for the partys central committee after he was left off the new leadership list prepared by the outgoing Politburo. If elected to the central committee, Dung could have stood for the top job. However, facing challenges to the legitimacy of the manoeuvre, Dung finally turned down the nomination and will go into retirement after he steps down as prime minister.

The consolidation of Trong as general secretary will not result in any sharp shift in economic or foreign policy. For the past three decades, all factions of the Stalinist leadership have been united implementing doi moi, or the integration of Vietnam into world capitalism as a cheap labour platform for foreign investors.

Last week deputy foreign minister Le Hoai Trung immediately sought to reassure foreign investors that the new leadership would continue refining and modernising the financial and banking sector, press ahead with privatisation and upgrade the countrys infrastructure. In his speech, general secretary Trong declared that the private sector is an important engine of the economy. The 20162020 economic plan ratified by the congress called for favourable conditions to support the private sector, including equal access to credit, land and other resources.

Significantly Trong identified the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a key economic driver, declaring that 30 years of doi moi had positioned the country to seize opportunities affected by the TPP for rapid and sustainable development. The US-led TPP is regarded by Washington as the means to ensure, in Obamas words, that the US, not China, sets the economic rules for the 21st Century.

While the regime is clearly hoping that the TPP will open up new trade and investment opportunities, the economic pact also dictates sweeping economic restructuring measures including the sale of SOEs and the further opening up of the economy to foreign investors. The equitisation of SOEs, which constitute a third of GDP, is already slower than planned, amid concerns that it could lead to a huge loss of jobs and social unrest.

Vietnam is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a record $14.5 billion in foreign investment and GDP growth of 6.7 percent in 2015. However, Bloomberg Business noted: A cloud over the countrys economic picture is a trade deficit, widening public debt and the governments failure to meet its goal to privatise 289 state companies last year.

As a result, the government will be compelled to press ahead with the pro-market agenda demanded by international finance capital. As in the past, it will not hesitate to use police-state measures against any resistance by workers and peasants.

In foreign policy, the government will also continue its balancing act between the United States and China, with an ever-more pronounced shift towards Washington. In 2015 China was the countrys largest trading partner, but the US was the largest destination of exports. Hanoi is hoping that the TPP will provide greater access to the American garment market at the expense of rivals like China and Bangladesh.

The 2014 clash with China over the oil rig marked a turning point in relations. The previous year Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed an agreement with Vietnam to establish a working party to discuss the joint exploitation of oil, gas and fish stocks in the Gulf of Tonkin. That deal, however, was rendered a dead letter by the bitter dispute the following May.

In December 2014, Vietnam formally supported the legal case initiated by the Philippines in the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to challenge Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea. Dung went much further in stating Vietnam should take its own case against China to the court.

At the same time, Vietnam has been strengthening military ties with the US. Last June, US Secretary of State Ashton Carter signed a Joint Vision Statement with Hanoi that included US training for Vietnamese troops to operate as UN peacekeepers and foreshadowed the co-production of weapons and defence supplies. In October 2014, Washington lifted its ban on the sale of lethal weaponry to Vietnam.

Carter also pledged to provide $18 million to Vietnam to facilitate the purchase of two US patrol boats. He pointedly made this announcement after touring the Vietnamese coast guard vessel that, according to Hanoi, had been rammed by a Chinese navy ship during the confrontations over the oil rig.

While General Secretary Trong may be more cautious than his rival Dung about a whole-hearted embrace of US imperialism, his trip to Washington last July indicates his support for growing ties. He was welcomed in the White House by Obama, who normally hosts only presidents and prime ministers rather than party leaders, for discussions on the TPP and South China Sea disputes. In 2015, eight of the 16 Politburo members, including National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Public Security Minister Tran Dai Quang visited Washington for talks with high-level US officials.

At the same time, Hanoi is attempting to maintain relations with China. Last December, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, deputy chairman Huynh Ngoc Son and other central committee members visited Beijing for five days of talks with senior Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping.

Relations with China, however, remain tense. Last month, in the lead-up to the Congress, Vietnam issued sharp protests against several Chinese actions in the South China Sea. In early January, Hanoi joined the US, Japan and the Philippines in a chorus of condemnation over the landing of a Chinese civilian aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, a Chinese-administered islet. On January 20, the government protested over the presence in disputed waters of the Chinese oil rig that was involved in the 2014 clashes.
MOULTRIE, GA (WTXL) - Seven people, six of which were from Moultrie, Georgia, have been arrested after authorities say they were involved in an insurance fraud ring.

According to the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance, those people set multiple fires, committed residential burglaries and vandalized vehicles in an attempt to commit insurance fraud.

"Not only did these individuals endanger the lives of others by setting fires, they also committed insurance fraud, a crime that costs Georgians thousands of dollars each year," Commissioner Hudgens said. "I'm proud of the work done by my office and Colquitt County's fire and law enforcement professionals to bring these individuals to justice."

The department said the crimes happened between January of 2013 and December of 2015.

They are believed to be involved in more than 24 incidents and authorities say they received a total of $392,000.

"Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000. Firstdegree arson is a felony with a penalty of five to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000," said the department.

These are the individuals from Moultrie that were arrested; Ricky Lewis Forrest, 26, KaNaya McGee, 35, Diana McGee, 55, Cachea Jones, 25, Shikia Latimore, 21 and Lvariaus King, 24.

They are all being held in the Colquitt County Jail. Doris Ann Buie, 49, of College Park, Georgia was also arrested.
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - With the Florida House scheduled to review two controversial gun bills Tuesday, a state group voiced its opposition in front of City Hall.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum also lent his support to oppose the state's open carry and campus carry bills. The mayor's main concern is the safety of not only the public but those in law enforcement.

The League of Women Voters says if the bills are passed, they could have a negative effect on tourism with visitors thinking twice about coming to places where others may be armed.

The mayor, echoing those remarks, adding police would have a tougher job, trying to gauge how safe an environment is, if the public is armed: "I'm for sensible gun law legislation, and unfortunately, the legislature seems to be going to the other end of the spectrum to say if one person has a weapon, everybody ought to have a weapon. And I think that's -- I don't think that's logical, and I think that's unreasonable -- not to mention unsafe."

In addition to Mayor Gillum, FSU President John Thrasher has also voiced opposition to the bills. The House is scheduled to hear the bills this week, while the Senate version is in the judiciary committee.
The Dutch government's decision to stop transferring payments to Holocaust survivors who also receive one from the Israeli government, has sparked outrage among survivors from the Netherlands.

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During a hearing Tuesday, the Knesset Finance Committee found out that the Dutch government's decision was made following their finding out that an equivalent benefit was given to survivors from Israels Finance Ministry.

Following talks conducted between the Dutch authorities and Holocaust survivors organizations in Israel and the Finance Ministrys Holocaust Survivors Rights Authority, survivors received a notice at the end of December. Channel 10 reported that those who receive a monthly payment from the Dutch government will not receive the payment from the Israeli Ministry of Finance.

Dutch Holocaust survivor Abraham Roet

In the letter sent by Ofra Ross, director of the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority it was noted that by law the benefit cannot be paid to survivors already receiving a survivors allowance.

The letter ended by saying: we apologize for the inconvenience and wish you good health and longevity." In addition, the elderly survivors were told that they had to report to the authority within two weeks if they receive a payment from the Dutch government.

Abraham Roth, 87, a Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands, testified Tuesday in the Finance Committee hearing. Roth, who survived the ghetto in Amsterdam and whose two sisters were murdered in Auschwitz, said that many Dutch Jewish Holocaust survivors would rather give up the Israeli Ministry of Finances allowance provided the government in Amsterdam does not stop its payment to survivors.

"The Dutch government is trying to find a technical loophole to save a few bucks on the backs of Holocaust survivors, while the Israeli government announced the termination of the allowance," said Roth. "The Dutch have a responsibility to the survivors and the crimes committed in their territory, and they cannot shirk it. The two governments cannot deny their obligations towards the survivors."

As far as is known, the Dutch government's decision has not yet been put into practice. However, the chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) announced Tuesday night that he would turn to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to intervene in the Dutch governments decision. "I am determined to resolve the matter and will definitely not let it pass just like that.
A tunnel collapsed on Tuesday in the central-southern area of the Gaza Strip, killing two members of Hamas's military branch, an official statement from the group said on Wednesday.

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The statement also promised that the group would continue digging attack tunnels.

Sources in Gaza reported the collapse in the Nusayrat refugee camp to Ynet on Tuesday, but officials would initially neither confirm nor deny this. They did, however, affirm that a Palestinian was killed "in an event in the center of the Strip". Announcement of a second death soon followed.

Hamas operatives inside a tunnel (Photo: Reuters)



The dead men were identified as Ahmed A-Zahar and Fuad Abu Atiwwi. According to the reports, eight additional people were wounded in the incident.

A week ago the collapse of an additional tunnel was reported in the Tufach neighborhood in the north of Gaza City. After a day of silence, Hamas officially admitted that the tunnel indeed collapsed and that people were missing. According to a statement by the military branch, contact was lost with the tunnel unit's squad as a result of the tunnel collapse caused by stormy weather. However, Hamas avoided publishing the number of missing persons on whom the tunnel collapse.

Ahmed A-Zahar, one of the two men who died in the collapse

Earlier this week, IDF forces were using engineering equipment at the Gaza border in order to detect tunnels. Concurrently, classified technological means for the detection of tunnels are being installed.

The IDF has been drilling and looking for Hamas tunnels for more than a year, each time at a different location on the border. Residents in settlements along the Gaza border have become increasingly concerned about Hamas's tunnels .

The IDF sent a message to the settlements' representatives that the working assumption, as has been published, is that Hamas is digging attack tunnels and continues to prepare for the possibility of escalation. The military is thus using a process of elimination, checking areas in order to rule them out as possible tunnel locations.

Despite the recurring claims of residents in the Gaza vicinity of suspicious noises heard from deep underground, so far no offensive tunnel has been discovered in Israeli territory since Operation Protective Edge. However, engineering teams review each complaint on its merits.
Three terrorists committed a combined stabbing and shooting attack Wednesday afternoon at Jerusalem's Damascus gate, wounding two female Border Police officers and a young man.

One of the guards, Hadar Cohen, 19, was critically wounded and later died from her injuries while hospitalized in Hadassah Medical Center.

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Scene of the attack at Damascus Gate

X

The scene of a combined shooting and stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

Cohen, a resident of Or Yehuda, was a recent recruit to the Border Police, and leaves behind her parents, brother and sister.

Hadar Cohen, who died from wounds she sustained during a combined shooting and stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

The other Border Police officer, 20, was seriously wounded and also taken to Hadassah Medical Center with multiple stab wounds, where her condition improved to moderate.

The man was lightly wounded. The three terrorists were shot dead at the scene by security forces.

Just before the attack happened, the two officers - who had recently joined the Border Police and were undergoing training - approached two men who were sitting on a bench next Damascus Gate, along with their unit commander. The officers asked them for their ID, when of the pair got up and stabbed one of the officers, moderately wounding her. Cohen shot the stabber, killing him.

According to the other Border Police officer who was on the scene, another terrorist drew a Carl Gustav rifle when he was asked for his ID and started shooting.

Other Border Police officers on the scene also opened fire, including the moderately wounded officer, at which point the third terrorist arrived and shot Cohen at close range. A police officer who was in the area shot and killed the shooter who had fired at Cohen.

Scene of the Jerusalem attack

According to Palestinian sources, the attackers - Ahmed Abu Al-Roub, Mohammed Kamil and Mohammed Nasser - came from the Jenin area, and were aged between 20 and 21. Two of the attackers had been barred from entering Israel by the Shin Bet, and all three crossed over illegally.

Later on, two explosive devices were found at the scene along with two guns. The explosives were neutralized.

Hamas praised the attack, calling the terrorists "heroes" and saying that the incident proved that "the Palestinian people will persist with the intifada."

Last Sunday, three soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack at a checkpoint near Beit El in the West Bank. The terrorist, who arrived at the checkpoint by car from the direction of Ramallah, was shot dead by IDF troops at the scene. One of the wounded soldiers, 21 years old, was taken to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem in serious condition with a gunshot wound to his neck. His condition was later defined as moderate.

Another soldier, 31, was in serious condition and taken to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Mount Scopus with gunshot wounds to his stomach and extremities. The third soldier, 20, was also taken to Hadassah in light condition after being hit in his extremities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to appear before the High Court of Justice to explain his position on the agreement on the future of Israel's natural gas field, it was agreed on Wednesday in a hearing with an expanded quorum of five judges on a series of appeals against the deal.

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The appeals were filed by several organizations for social change among them the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), Adam Teva V'Din, The College of Law and Business in Ramat Gan, along with Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Gal-On and the Zionist Union. Dozens of protestors that oppose the gas pipelines gathered outside the courthouse in Jerusalem.

'High Court, void the gas robbery!' reads a protester's sign

During the hearing, the justices requested that government representatives agree to give a conditional order in order to debate the gas fields and to more quickly reach a decision. A hearing after the provision of a conditional order is primarily intended to hasten judicial processes. "If you won't agree, we won't conduct the hearing and this will stretch out for months," Justice Uzi Fogelman warned.

The government agreed to this offer but requested additional time in order to present its claims and also to allow Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz to appear before the court. "We would also request to allow the prime minister to speak on this matter," they added.

Justice Elikim Rubinstein said in response: "We suggest that the prime minister file an affidavit and arrive at the start of the next hearing." The judges requested that the classified information be presented in order to test the decision-making process regarding the gas deal.

This request is considered quite extraordinary. Usually only lawyers appear in the Supreme Court, and only rarely are other entities heard. But if filing an affidavit is sufficient for them, this is standard procedure.

The appeals deal with the legality of the gas deal and how it is to operate. The College of Law and Business requested in its appeal the nullification of the clause determining that it will be illegal to make changes in the gas deal for ten years, claiming this paragraph was flawed and unreasonable.

Other social organizations claimed that the gas companies had gained control of a precious public commodity and that it was wrong to allow them to exploit their power to become a monopoly. The appeals also claim that the approval process of the gas deal circumvented the Antitrust Authority.

"Monopoly is not preordained fate, a historical inheritance or an unpreventable constraint," read the appeal. "Its a direct result of illegal conduct by the gas companies in the past couple of years, and of the surprising laxness of the state authorities regarding enforcement of the law," the appeal states. not allowed to constrain its discretion and that of the other governance authorities."

The groups also claimed that "if the deal is authorized, it will be very easy for the monopoly to enforce its will. As the dependence on gas grows, so will the monopoly's power. It might create corruption, and the vision of energy security and independence will vanish."
Jewish organizations in Germany have stepped up their fight against Irans infamous Holocaust cartoon contest by calling on the German foreign minister, currently on a visit to Iran, to get it canceled.

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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier traveled to Iran on Tuesday for an official visit, his first since the lifting of sanctions against Iran. On the eve of his trip, Jewish organizations turned to Steinmeier urging him to act. The contest is expected to take place in Tehran in June 2016 at the initiative of the Iranian authorities.

The letter sent to Steinmeier by the office manager of Berlin's American Jewish Committee said: "Fairness, conscience and humanity require the German government not to remain passive in the face of the recurring trampling of the dignity of Holocaust victims and their relatives.

"Germany needs to act to have the offensive contest canceled, and if necessary it should impose political and economic sanctions," the letter continued.

The prize-winning illustration in Iran's 2006 Holocaust caricature contest

The letter added: "A regime for which anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of its essence cannot be a partner for peace and stability. This competition shows that Iran is still not ready to reverse course. Only when this change happens will Iran once again be a partner in the international community."

The European organization Stop the Bomb published an open letter addressed to Steinmeier demanding he officially condemn the contest. "Holocaust denial is no longer a secondary caprice of the Iranian regime. It is an expression of the centrality of anti-Semitism to the Iranian regimes ideology. The leadership of the Islamic Republic has placed Holocaust denial at the center of its foreign policy and it uses it against the worlds biggest Jewish community - Israel.

This is the third Iranian caricature contest, meant to ridicule the Holocaust as a response to the caricatures of Muhammad, and it offers a cash prize of $50,000 to the winner.

On the last International Holocaust Day held on 27 January, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a video which raised doubts about whether the Holocaust occurred.

As part of his trip to the German minister also will visit Saudi Arabia in an attempt to calm the rising tension between Saudi and Iran.
It began in 2001. A UN conference convened in Durban, South Africa. It had representatives of states, as well as representatives from rights organizations. It was supposed to be an anti-racism conference. It became a racist and frightening festival of hatred and incitement against the State of Israel. Its not as if there werent expressions of hatred before that. There were more than enough. But the conference became a turning point.

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The picture became more and more worrisome. The BDS campaign, which began in 2005, made the problem worse still. Academics, activists and journalists took part in an increasingly powerful campaign of lies against Israel. Not criticism: Lies. What was once the peace camp in Israel withered, and was replaced by more and more rights organizations. The fight for peace was cast aside. The Durban/BDS syndrome became a global phenomenon.

Amos Oz. Some of his fellow B'Tselem members support the right of return. (Photo: Haim Zach)

The Zionist leftists, heirs of those who realized the Zionist dream, were supposed to preserve the wall of separation that differentiates justified  even if harsh  criticism, which every democratic society needs, from demonization, whose central point is denying Israels right to exist. But that wall has slowly been broken down. The language of Durban and the BDS movement gradually took over the dialogue regarding rights.

The Israeli Left, wrote Dr. Tzvia Greenfield, has in large part become a party that explicitly or implicitly no longer believes in the legitimate right of the Jewish state to exist. Dr. Greenfield is not a right-winger. She was a Knesset member from the Meretz party, and is a member of the BTselem board of directors.

Amos Oz is among the most influential leftist intellectuals in Israel. He represents the Zionist lefts righteous ambition: Ending Israeli rule over the Palestinians in order to prevent the disaster of a bi-national state. Just a few weeks ago I wrote that in two lectures he gave last year, Oz represented what the Zionist left could have been: Sober, fair, Zionist. But most of all, an alternative to the path leading us toward a single state, which would not be a bi-national state, as Oz says, but an Arab one.

The BDS movement. The sprout of a seed planted at the 2001 UN conference in Durban, South Africa.

And thats whats tragic here. Oz, that same sober, Zionist thinker, is a member of the public council of BTselem, an organization with several leaders supporting the right of return. One of Ozs fellow council members thinks Israel is a Nazi monster which needs to be squashed. Oz himself boycotts Israeli outposts abroad. What is that if not a backing of BDS? Its a tragedy, since Ozs pointed words become pointless when he, even he, participates in tearing down the wall that has to separate the sane left from Durban syndrome.

Journalist Nahum Barnea published an article on this very website (and in the daily paper Yedioth Ahronoth), in which he expressed his anger over the campaign I am running, two days ago. Hes accusing me of shaming and McCarthyism. It sounds familiar. Ive heard plenty of such hollow statements coming from the radical left in the past few years. Every expose becomes persecution. Im used to it. Barnea insists on proving my claim right: Part of the left that was supposed to be sane is adopting the language of the zany left. Its not just Oz, but Barnea as well.

Nahum Barnea. Accusations of "shaming." (Photo: Dana Kopel)

Not all leftists are that way. Amnon Rubinstein, Ruth Gavison, Elhanan Yakira, Aharon Megged, Shlomo Avineri, Alexander Yakobson, Gadi Taub, and others have been and still are expressing criticism of the deterioration of parts of the left. Their way is also my own.

Barneas criticism also brings up other quandaries. According to his logic, exposing the ties Breaking the Silence has with the BDS movement is pillaging through filth. He doesnt want exposes, he wants silencing. For his information, I wont be deterred by mean nicknames. I have no intention of shutting up.
A Border Police officer was on Wednesday indicted for abusing his authority and violating privacy, after he allegedly passed on a woman's personal information to the far-right Lehava organization.

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The incident took place in December 2014, when the officer in question, Matan Amichai, sent the personal details of two Jewish Israeli women to Lehava head Benzi Gopstein after he found them traveling to Eilat with two Arab men.

Lehava activists (archive). (Photo: Kobi Koanks)

Amichai, 23, was on duty carrying out routine checks close to Silwan, East Jerusalem, when he pulled over a car with the four inside.

He photographed the identity card of one of the women on his phone and sent it to former MK Michael Ben Ari with the message: "This is the ID of a young woman who was going to Eilat with two Arabs and her friend (these are two residents of Silwan we're talking about).

"Michael, please pass this on to the relevant parties if you can," Amichai's message continued. "I wanted to cry just now."

Amichai then sent another message to Gopstein along similar lines, saying: "We are a group of Border Police officers in Silwan, we stopped a car and saw two Jewish girls going with two Arabs to Eilat. Please do something, we can't do anything about it."

A few months earlier, Lehava activists had tried to prevent the wedding of Mahmoud, a resident of Jaffa, and Moral, a Jewish woman who had converted to Islam. The wedding took place under police protection.

The indictment, which was submitted to the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court by the police internal investigations department, accuses Amichai of passing on personal information to another individual outside the scope of his role. He is also accused of violating the individual's privacy in this regard.
Turkish hoteliers are set to arrive in Israel next week to participate in the IMTM international tourism fair, which is being held in the Tel Aviv Convention Center.

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"Tourism to Turkey is in a tough spot due to the collapse of the Russian market, which formed the bulk of visits to the country," one of the hoteliers said. "There has also been a decrease in arrivals from other markets.

Antalya, Turkey: looking to welcom back Israeli tourists. (Photo: Danny Sadeh)

"The situation here is definitely not good and we would want the Israeli tourists who were really important visitors a few years back to return," he added.

Diyar Ickale, the owner of the Spice Hotel in Antalya, will also be in attendance at the convention, and is hoping for a boost in the number of Israelis taking trips to Turkey.

"The relations between the two sets of peoples are good and there is an improvement in relations between the countries," Ickale said.

"Personally I like Israelis. In Antalya the situation is really quiet and there is no reason to worry at all. You are an hour away from us and we want you here," she added.

In addition to Ickale and other hoteliers, a delegation from the Rixos chain of resorts will be coming in order to try and advance Israeli tourism to Turkey, particularly in Antalya. The delegation will be located at the Ksharei Teufa booth at the fair.

Until a few years ago the Turkish booth at the tourism fair in Tel Aviv was the largest out of all the foreign delegations. But following the Mavi Marmara incident , the stand began to shrink and for the last three years there has been no Turkish booth at the fair.

In 2015 about 224,000 Israeli tourists arrived in Turkey, a growth of 19 percent compared to 2014 and 36.5 percent compared to 2013. However, the figures still pale into comparison next to the pre-Mavi Marmara numbers, when Turkey welcomed over half a million Israeli tourists a year.
French President Francois Hollande ruled out on Wednesday Britain getting a veto over euro zone policies as London negotiates an EU reform package to keep the country in the bloc.

On Tuesday, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draft reform package to persuade Britain, an EU member but not a member of the currency area, to stay in the bloc.

"A country outside of the euro zone cannot have a veto over countries in the euro zone," Hollande said after meeting in Paris with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.
The Syrian army and its allies have broken a three-year rebel siege of two Shi'ite towns in northwest Syria, government and rebel groups said on Wednesday, cutting off a main insurgent route to nearby Turkey.

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The two towns of Nubul and Zahraa, with an estimated 60,000 population, are connected to the border by areas under the control of Kurdish militias that provided them some access.

The scene of the battle in Halab on Wednesday, when a 3.5-year siege on two Shi'ite towns was broken.

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Al Manar, television channel of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, joined Syria's army and state media in reporting the breakthrough, which it said came after the army moved in from towns secured in a recent offensive in northern Aleppo province.

A Levant Front rebel said the siege was broken "after three days of legendary resistance by the revolutionaries facing the Russian military machine, and after more than 500 raids by Russian airplanes."

Smoke rises in the background during fighting in Halab, northern Syria. (Photo: Reuters)

"Less than 3 km separate the regime from cutting all routes to opposition-held Aleppo," said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "It did in three days what it failed to do in 3-1/2 years."

At the same time, rebel forces fired rockets at residential areas in south Deraa, according to Syrian media outlet SANA. Ten were killed and over 40 wounded by the attacks, most of them women and children, according to the reports.

Also on Wednesday, UN-mediated talks in Geneva to end the war in Syria were paused until February 25. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said they had not failed but urgently needed help from international backers led by the United States and Russia.

The Syrian government and its allies were meanwhile pressing offensives against rebels south of Aleppo, once Syria's biggest city and commercial centre, and against Islamic State to the east of the city split between government and rebel control.

Alongside heavy Russian aerial support, the advances have been made possible by ground troops from Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and Iranian-backed militias that support President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The Russian air strikes that began in September tilted the war in Assad's favour after setbacks earlier in 2015 brought rebel groups close to the coastal heartland of his Alawite sect.

Photo: Reuters

"The Syrian army and its allies have totally broken the siege on Nubul and Zahraa," a senior army official told Reuters, referring to Hezbollah fighters and other militias fighting alongside government forces

Al Manar TV said pro-government militias from the besieged towns were able to link up with advancing Syrian army troops after the town of Maarsteh al Khan fell to them.

Breaking the siege opens a direct route for the Syrian army to Kurdish-controlled Afrin and brings them closer to areas run by Turkish-backed insurgents near the Turkish border.

Defence strategists say the two heavily garrisoned towns could become a launching pad for the Syrian army and its allies for wider territorial gains in northern Aleppo province and to tighten the encirclement of the rebel-held part of Aleppo city.

"Ending the siege means the supply route to terrorists from Turkey to Aleppo has been severed," a Syrian military source said.

Syria's state-run news channel Al-Ikhbariyah quoted Nubul mayor Ali Balawi as saying the siege by mainly Islamist rebels was "cruel and caused much hardship," with severe shortages of humanitarian goods. The only route that brought some food and essential goods came from Afrin to the north of the town.

The Syrian army also pressed ahead in southern Syria where it made advances near Deraa city in the town of Atman after securing the town of Sheikh Maskin last month.
Congressional staff tour, fly with AFRC

Eleven Congressional staff members representing various states around the country learned about the Air Reserve Command aerial refueling mission and more during a wing tour and flight on board a KC-135R Stratotanker here Jan. 19, 2016.



In an effort to showcase the Air Force Reserve mission, the Congressional staffers spoke with senior Reserve unit commanders in the 507th Air Refueling Wing, 513th Air Control Group, 35th Combat Communications Squadron and the 10th Flight Test Squadron. Tinker Air Force Base was the first stop for the Air Force Reserve Command tour of bases in Oklahoma and Texas.



After the briefs, the group got the opportunity to speak with the maintenance teams that were responsible for launching and maintaining the KC-135 they would fly on.



"It's great for us to go on these visits because it helps us understand how what we do in Congress affects those on the ground level," said Caroline Thorman, Legislative Assistant with Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk's office.



Over the skies of Texas, the KC-135R crew conducted a training aerial refueling mission with an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft flown by crews in the 552nd Air Control Wing also out of Tinker Air Force Base. During the flight, the congressional staffers observed from the flight deck and refueling pod while interacting directly with the flight crew.



To better inform members of Congress and their defense staffers of the contributions of Citizen Airmen, Office of the Chief of Air Force Reserve partners with Air Force Reserve Command units to provide key members first-hand perspectives, according to Lt. Col. William Vaughn, Air Force Legislative Liaison.



"These visits help our elected leaders and their advisers better understand the operational capability, strategic depth and surge capacity our Reserve component brings to the Air Force and the nation," Vaughn said. "When we receive feedback from staffers during an air refueling mission, such as, 'I had no idea you all [Air Force Reserve] did all of this' we know the additional coordination and effort by many to make these experiences happen has been worth it."



Highlighting the contributions of the Air Force Reserve to Congress is especially important given the heavy reliance on Reserve capabilities in current U.S. defense operations.



"The air refueling mission would not be fully possible without the Reserve component." said Col. Doug Gullion, 507th Operations Group commander. "It seems vital that we showcase that particular reserve mission when we are relied on so heavily in overseas contingency operations,"



After the KC-135 flight, the capitol hill staffers toured other Air Force Reserve units at Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas.
442nd wins Maintenance Effectiveness Award 2 years running

The 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Bagram AB, Afghanistan has been awarded the 2015 Air Combat Command Maintenance Effectiveness Award, distinguishing the unit as the top-performing medium aircraft maintenance unit in ACC.



The award is for the unit's accomplishments during fiscal year 2015, stretching from 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015. During part of that time, maintainers from the 442nd Maintenance Group were deployed to Bagram in support of Operation Resolute Support, serving up operational jets to meet every sortie - without missing a single one.



The 442nd's contribution to this award comes right on the heels of the 442nd MXG winning the Air Force Reserve Command MEA in 2014, meaning the award has been won two years in a row in two different major commands.



"I would say the biggest contributor to our success is teamwork," said Col. James Brock, Commander of 442nd MXG. "The teamwork that I have observed with the 358FS/442MXG is the best I've seen to date in my 32 years of military service."



"It isn't about the awards for us," said Tech Sgt. Cecil Brushwood, 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Specialist Flight. "It's about the mission. And that mission is getting troops out of the heat of battle as effectively as possible."



Whether at home station training, or on deployment, the maintainers of the 442nd MXG have consistently shown their ability to do just that.



"This is a testament to the skill and consistency of our maintainers," said Col. Brian Borgen, Commander of the 442nd Fighter Wing. "We count on them to get jets in the air every day, and they've shown time and again that nobody does it better. I am extremely proud of our entire maintenance organization."



The 455th EAMXS will go on to compete for the MEA at the Air Force level.
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.

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The latest edition of NABs Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey, which for the first time includes forecasts for the unit sector, has predicted that unit prices will decline by 1.2% over the coming year.

Across the capital cities, the unit market in Melbourne and Perth are predicted to be the worst hit, with prices expected to head backwards by 3%.

Brisbane and Sydney are expected to see price falls of 0.6%, while Hobarts market will see no movement.

Adelaide is the only city expected to see growth it its unit sector, with a 0.2% increase predicted.

NAB group chief economist Alan Oster said most residential markets in Australia have seen their best performance for the time being, with the unit market to suffer due to oversupply, its dependence on foreign purchasers and changes to investment lending policies.

Weakening fundamentals have already seen the market starting to cool, suggesting the best of the price gains are probably behind us, Oster said.

Aside from the strong supply response in the apartment sector, a greater reliance on foreign buyers adds a degree of unpredictability to the outlook, both positive and negative he said.

Todd Hunter, founder of buyers agency wHeregroup, said he thought NABs prediction may be a little conservative and said that oversupply is a huge issue for most unit markets across Australia.

I think the decline for units could be considerably larger than that, Hunter said.

Just about every capital city is already way oversupplied and theres a tonne more coming as well, he said.

Hunter, who has never been a proponent of units as an investment location, said he would not advise people to buy one currently.

Ive never been a real fan of units because of strata fees and sinking funds and all those sorts of things and right now I definitely wouldnt be looking to buy one.

One of the problems is just how fast theyre getting put up these days. You can buy in an area and before you know it theres hundreds more popping up.

Look at whats happened in Sydney, there would have been some areas where there was a good balance of stock, but you can only see what DAs are actually approved. You dont know if a developers just going to come in and put another huge block right next to you.

While NAB is predicting unit values to head into negative territory, there will be an increase, albeit small, for house prices.

Nationwide, NAB predicts house prices will rise 1% through 2016.

Brisbane is expected to lead the way, with capital growth of 3%, with Melbourne in second place at 2%.

Prices will rise 0.6% in Sydney and 0.2% in Adelaide.

Perth will be hit by 3% decrease, while prices in Hobart will decline 0.6%.

While he disagreed with their prediction for units, Hunter said NAB's housing forecast was similar to his outlook for the year.

Nationally I think thats probably right. I think well see a decline in Sydney and a little one in Melbourne. Perth and Darwin will fall too, while Adelaide might see a little growth.

Hobart will be fairly flat, while Canberra and Brisbane look like theyre going to be pretty strong, so that 1% sounds about right.
The NSW government announced last October that it will undertake a review of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, with NSW Fair Trading commissioner Rod Stowe saying it was important the states laws are correctly serving all parties.

Whether youre a renter or a landlord everyone needs residential tenancy laws that are balanced, modern and flexible, Stowe said at the time.

Over 800,000 NSW households live in rental properties and it is important that the states tenancy laws are working as intended, he said.

In a submission to the review, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) has called for the act to be overhauled so that those in the property industry as well as tenants can make better use of technology, especially in the area of communication.

We just think the legislation has fallen behind the advancements weve had in technology in the past few years, REINSW chief executive officer Tim McKibbin said.

Its not really much a much of surprise thats happened given the speed that technology moves at and that the legislation is only reviewed every five years. We think now is the right time for that to be addressed.

In particular, the REINSW is calling for the act to be updated to allow for tenants, landlords, property managers and others to be able to make use of more contemporary method of communication.

A lot of the language in the legislation talks about people communicating and sending documents by post or fax. As a medium these days I think to a certain extent post and fax have been made redundant, McKibbin said.

I dont think social media is as yet a way people can serve documents like a lease, but I think theres definitely a place for email, and to a certain extent SMS messaging, to be better incorporated into real estate transactions.

McKibbin said an update of the legislation would bring more certainty to situations currently encountered in the real estate industry.

Were at the point now where landlords, tenants and agents are receiving or sending emails to do with residential agreements. We need some consistency so people know how to act when that occurs.

If theres a dispute about some aspect of an agreement then and somebody sends an email then it would be benefit everybody if they knew that was something they need to act on and make record of.

Opening more official channels of communication would also likely help in minimising some of the headaches that can come with rental properties.

The best way to stop a lot of disputes is to have a pro-active agent or landlord who takes the time to ensure you find a good tenant that will respect the property, McKibbin said.

Theres still a chance that there will be issues and disagreements, but if you have open and accessible methods of communication, then youre going to go a long way to minimising the impact of those.
As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
The Global and United States Hydrobike Market Report has been published by QY Research recently. Hydrobike Market Analysis and Insights This report focuses on...
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A case of Zika virus in Texas was transmitted from one person to another during sexual intercourse. This is the first known instance of transmission of the virus in the United States.

Zika is usually transmitted by mosquito bites; transmission through sexual contact would be alarming if the virus spreads in the United States. The U.S. cases of Zika that have been diagnosed before this were in people who had traveled to Central or South America or the Caribbean and become infected there. The virus has been reported in more than 30 countries.

Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A patient who had traveled to Venezuela appears to have transmitted the virus to a sexual partner, who had not traveled to South American. However, the Texas Department of State Health Services is not saying that sexual transmission was certain, stating: "Case details are being evaluated, but the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person is likely in this case."

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Dallas County authorities said there were no reports of Zika virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the county.

Zika is linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil and is spreading so rapidly in the Americas that World Health Organization officials are worried that it could hit Africa and Asia as well. Babies born to mothers who contracted the virus during pregnancy have smaller than normal heads, a condition called microcephaly.

A CDC spokesman confirmed the results of a test for Zika infection but said local officials investigated the mode of transmission.

Previously, international health officials say there has been one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission. But more evidence is needed to confirm sexual contact as a likely means of Zika transmission. Zika has been detected in human sperm.
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Warm states like Florida are stepping up their spraying and education programs in the face of the possible spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus to the United States.

Only one case of Zika appears to have been transmitted within the United States, and that one was transmitted sexually, but public health officials are bracing for warmer weather when the number of mosquitoes rises.

The two species of mosquitoes that carry Zika, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are common in Florida and in states along the Gulf of Mexico.

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Several counties in Florida have ramped up insecticide spraying programs. Flroida's Hillsborough County has workers spraying, monitoring mosquito populations, and misting in the area of the home of someone who had Zika, according to a county official.

In Pinellas County, FL, there are plans to launch education programs. People will be told to remove standing water where mosquitoes breed from yards. The county is also considering expanding its spraying programs to use sprays that specifically target the Aedes mosquitoes that transmit Zika.

Texas is asking healthcare providers to monitor its 8 cases of Zika. Dallas County already has robust anti-mosquito programs in place and Houston is stepping up mosquito control education.

Northern states are keeping to their normal mosquito control programs as yet. Cases of Zika have occurred in travelers returning home to Minnesota, New York, and Illinois after contracting the virus, but it is thought to be unlikely that mosquitoes will spread the virus in winter in those areas.

As yet, no national guidelines for preventing Zika have been put into place. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a national program. Until then, the agency is using guidelines it developed for combating chikungunya, a virus closely related to Zika that is carried by the same types of mosquitoes.

The CDC recommends keeping skin covered with clothing and insect repellant, covering open windows with screens, and staying in air conditioning. The insecticides for Zika-carrying mosquitoes are the same as those for other mosquitoes, officials said.

However, the CDC is also recommending that women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant put off traveling countries with Zika outbreaks because of the probably link to a birth defect called microcephaly.
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North Korea is in the spotlight and once again it is not for anything positive for the global community. Early this month, the communist country announced that they have successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test at 10 A.M. on the same day.

"If there's no invasion on our sovereignty we will not use nuclear weapon. This H-bomb test brings us to a higher level of nuclear power" confirmed the North Korean State News Agency.

Since then Japanese satellites have observed movement in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang indicating preparations for a long-range ballistic missile launch.

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The United Nation Security Council have long banned North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile launch. However despite the restrictions the communist state, the country has launched several rockets including a disguised ballistic launch in 2012.

Unsurprisingly, the U.S., South Korea and Japan have spoken out against North Korea's plans to send another rocket in a satellite installation mission. Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, declared last Wednesday that the upcoming launch is a clear violation of the UN's previous decision.

"If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN security council resolutions and pose a serious provocation" explained Abe to parliament.

Officials from North Korea were quick to explain that the preparations are for the space programme the country is trying to launch. According to them, it is purely scientific in nature.

Still Daniel Russel, assistant US Secretary of state for Asia-Pacific Affairs, warns about the threats of North Korea. He explained that this decision does not only pit the international community in an awkward and dangerous position but also poises the North Korean people in harms way.

"North Korea is defying the UN security council, it's defying its ... neighbour China, it's defying the international community to the detriment of regional peace and security, and to the detriment of North Korean people itself," explained Daniel Russel.
Women who love tanning are in for a bad news. A new study found that indoor tanning is linked to melanoma.

According to a new research involving people under 50 diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, there is a significant relationship between indoor tanning and cancer, Reuters Health reported. Interestingly, majority of those diagnosed before age 30 were those who tanned indoors. The findings also revealed that tanning indoors is associated with 60% higher chance of getting melanoma among young women.

This is not the first time a study revealed that inner tanning is associated with melanoma. An Australian study back in 2011 showed the same. The new study by DeAnn Lazovich of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and her colleagues, however, is the first time that specifically separated men and women. That almost all of the risk of melanoma related to indoor tanning was among women was surprising, as was the very strong association among the youngest women," Lazovich said.

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Chelsea Dawson's article with The Roanoke Times was timely. According to Dawson, parents have to protect the youth now from indoor tanning. Citing her own experience, she said that more than ever, it is important for Virginia's General Assembly to pass the currently still pending legislation that would ban young people from using indoor tanning devices.

Dawson said her mom was not aware of the negative effects of tanning devices and signed the forms that would let her get a salon membership. She said she realized that was wrong because at age 23, she was diagnosed with stage 3 malignant melanoma.

She wrote that passing the law will be effective in dissuading teens from using tanning devices. "States with indoor tanning laws have a lower teen tanning rate than states without such laws. Our elected officials should pass legislation to protect youth from the potentially deadly harms of exposure to ultraviolet radiation," she wrote.
Older adults at risk of dementia may benefit from eating fish. A new report found that fish has brain-protecting benefits.

According to Reuters Health, older adults should not worry about having higher brain levels of mercury because of fish. Eating fish can help protect them against dementia, a benefit that certainly outweighs any potential harms from mercury.

The main findings showed that if older adults have a gene variant making them at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease, eating fish is one of the more effective ways of lowering their risk. The lead researcher, Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said that the findings of the study can convince older adults that eating fish is good for them, slowing their cognitive decline and preventing them from getting Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

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Even though this is not the first time that seafood has been praised for its health benefits, the findings of the new research uniquely showed that older people who are worried about fish because of mercury has nothing to be worried about. The researchers said that even though older adults who consumed fish a lot were found to have higher brain levels of mercury, they also did not suffer any negative effects from it. "There is mercury toxicity that does affect the brain, but we do not have data on very high levels of seafood consumption," Morris said. The study is currently published in JAMA.

In a related news, there is a new research debunking previous reports that claimed pills for anxiety and sleep deprivation can lead to increased dementia risk, Science 2.0 reported. The study, which is already published by The BMJ today, showed that taking benzodiazepines for anxiety and insomnia, is not significantly related to having dementia in the future.
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Real Estate in Latin America

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International Living has produced a comprehensive report on Latin America that explores the best places to visit, live, retire or buy real estate in central America and south America.

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Cost of living and climate information

and Real estate advice and property examples.

advice and property examples. The country where you can live on less than $600 a month where the weather is perfect all year roundand where you can live the relaxed life youve always dreamed of.

where the weather is perfect all year roundand where you can live the relaxed life youve always dreamed of. And much more!

At International Living we have been scouring the globe since 1979 looking for the best retirement, second-home, and investment destinations.

In that time we have looked at countries on all of the worlds continentsbut theres one in particular that we keep coming back toSouth and Central America.

With its Latin vibe and old European influences, the South American continent has much to offer the potential expat.

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The Resonanz Music Studio, Pimpinan Avip Priatna. Menyediakan pendidikan kelas vokal, instrumen & choir.



AVIP PRIATNA ADALAH KONDUCTOR MUDA.. BERBAKAT.. BERDISIPLIN .. PROFESIONAL.. DAN SANGAT PRODUKTIF MEMIMPIN DAN DIREKTUR JAKARTA CONCERT ORCHESTRA (JCO).. DAN BATAVIA MADRIGAL SINGERS (BMS) DAN THE RESONANZ CHILDREN CHOIRS (TRCC) DENGAN KARYA-KARYA MUSIK DUNIA DAN NASIONAL BERMUTU.. DAN MENERIMA PENGHARGARGAAN DAN KEJUARAN INTERNASUIONAL DIBERBAGAI NEGARA .. BALI INDONESIA .. RRC .. JEPANG.. EROPA.. DAN AMERIKA SERIKAT..

JADWAL KONSER MUSIK TAHUNAN DI JAKARTA DIAWAL TAHUN DENGAN TEMA-KARYA2 KOMPONIS BESAR DUNIA .. KONSER SIMFOMFONI UNTUK BANGSA DENGAN KARYA MUSISI NASIONAL .. DAN DI AKHIR TAHUN DENGAN KONSER KARYA2 MUSIK INDAH DAN PILIHAN.. DAN KONSER2 BESAR LAINNYA BERSAMA JCO-BMS-TRCC DAN SOLIS2 BERBAKAT N BERKWALITAS TINGGI



Alamat: Jl. Kertanegara no. 28 Kebayoran Baru - Jak Sel

Hubungi telp: 021-7201918




Very short life, huge accomplishment





You probably haven't heard much about this amazing young man because our media has no time for

real people









Syed Hadi Nasrullah was born in 19th January 1979 in the village of Bazuryeh, Lebanon. H is father embraced the first born of the family, his heart filled with love, and recited the Azan in his ears.





After his family moved to Beirut, Hadi continued his studies at the Educational Center of Al-Mustafa which is managed by Hezbollah. In the third year of high school when he was 16, he left school temporarily with the consent of his parents to join the ranks of the Islamic resistance fighters of Hezbollah.



Membership of Hezbollah wasn't easy. It required intense steps and the process was no different for Syed Hadi Nasrallah. Intelligence officials of Hezbollah called him for an interview and a thorough systematic investigation. He responded with a smile, "I am the son of Syed Hasan Nasrallah." He was told, "It does not matter. Write out your detailed personal information." Hadi went to his father and asked, "Father, did you give orders that have bothered me and would not let me into the group?" Syed Hasan Nasrallah replied, "Such is the system of resistance and we must comply." And so, Hadi had to fill a lengthy form and write 14 pages about himself before being recruited within Hezbollah.



On September 12, 1997 three Hezbollah fighters attacked an Israeli army base in the Zionist occupied province of Aqleem Al Tafah in South Lebanon. They took the army base by surprise. In the wee hours of September 13, the Israeli army martyred the three Hezbollah fighters and six Lebanese soldiers in the mountains of southern Lebanon. Their bodies were in possession of Israeli forces. Hezbollah officials viewed the video footage of the bodies after Israeli television displayed their images and confirmed that one of the martyrs was Syed Hadi Nasrallah, son of the Hezbollah leader and Secretary-General, Syed Hassan Nasrallah. The news spread like wild fire across Lebanon and the Middle-East. Hadi was 18.







It was like a bombshell in the Lebanese society. In the history of the country, both during the Civil War and the confrontation with Israel, never did the son of any political or military leader undertake a mission as dangerous as this. In fact, nowhere can we imagine the concept of equitability rising to such heights. Writes New Republic: " In the days after Hadi was killed, Lebanese leaders from across the political spectrum  even Christian warlord and bitter enemy Elie Hobeika  paid their respects to Nasrallah and his wife."





Lebanon was greatly influenced by the martyrdom of Hadi which had a tremendous unifying affect. The country was filled with enormous sympathy, respect and admiration for the Secretary General of Hezbollah that came from all political leaders, the Lebanese religious tribes and the people. Condolences as well as congratulations on the martyrdom of Syed Hadi Nasrullah were conveyed with expressions of gratitude and respect for the courage and sincerity of the Secretary General. It was the first time ever when the then Saudi crown prince (Abdullah) found it necessary to send a condolence message to Hassan Nasrullah.





In response to Hadi's captured body by the Zionist army, his mother said: This body is also like the other bodies of the martyrs of Resistance. There is no difference between them. I am the mother like other mothers of the martyrs. I have heard in the news that the enemy has swapped the body of my son with the body of Zionist military which remained in the failed operations of Ansariyeh in Lebanon. They have got blind and must give all the bodies of the martyrs and free the prisoners. We do not accept just one body and do not submit to the outrageous proposal of the occupiers.



According to reports, Hadi's remains were sent to his family for burial nearly a month after his martyrdom.




Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been booked for allegedly attacking the Congress workers during the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls yesterday after which the police had to resort to mild lathi-charge to disperse them.

Reports on Wednesday said that a criminal case has been filed against Asaduddin Owaisi and some others on the complaint of Congress leader Shabbir Ali.

The incident has triggered tension in parts of Hyderabad, the situation however remains fully in control, according to V Satyanarayana of the Hyderabad Police.

Meanwhile, the AIMIM has rejected the allegations completely and blamed Congress for fuelling the confrontation.

"It is a completely baseless allegation. It is an example of what local Congress leaders are doing in Telangana. At 1 pm I was told that my concerned MLA of that area and a Congress contestant has been arrested by the Police. Police said that it was preventive arrest," AIMIM chief Owaisi said.

They are already creating an alibi and an excuse for their most fantastic defeat in GHMC election: Owaisi said.

The incident occurred when the Congress leaders were about to leave the Mir Chowk police station after the release of a Congress candidate on bail.

Just then, several AIMIM workers led by Owaisi arrived at the police station and a heated argument led to the incident.

"At 4 pm, I was told that Congress president, in 30 cars and with 150 people, had barged into the Mirchowk police station and pressurised the local ACP to release the Congress contestant. And then he was released," Owaisi was quoted as saying.

"The Police will investigate, we will cooperate with them," he added.

Several Congress leaders, including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, sustained minor injuries in the scuffle.

With ANI inputs
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday agreed to immediately release Rs 550 crore as loan to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) so that the civic body can pay the salaries to its agitating employees.

Addressing a press conference, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief requested the striking workers to call off their ongoing protest as the state government has made arrangements to release money for the MCD.

While taking pot shots at the Modi government, the Delhi CM demanded CBI inquiry into alleged corruption in the three municipal corporations led by BJP.

He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been running the MCD for 10 years, which has become a den of corruption.

The AAP chief came down heavily on the central government, saying that it is trying to create perpetual crisis in Delhi so that it can impose President's rule as it did in Arunachal Pradesh.

Kejriwal said, while the BJP spread garbage on the streets played politics over the issue, his party members along with PWD staff cleaned the city.

Development Authority of Delhi (DDA) has to pay 1,500 cr property tax to MCD, we have appealed to them to pay these amount soon, Kejriwal said.

While alleging that MCD is a classic case of financial mismanagement and corruption, the Delhi CM demanded a thorough probe into the accounts of MCD.

Our government had ordered inspection into the alleged financial irregularities in the MCD, but when the officer went for inspecting the accounts of the civic body they refused to show the books, the AAP chief asserted.

Kejriwal demanded dissolving of the MCD and holding fresh elections. He also expressed confidence that his party would win the MCD elections next year and clean the mess that BJP has created.
Delhi: The Delhi government will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday and alleged a situation was being created through the ongoing municipal strike to prepare grounds for imposition of central rule in the national capital.

Following are 10 developments related to the issue:

- Speaking from Bengaluru, where he is undergoing naturopathy treatment, Kejriwal alleged there were "massive scams" in three BJP-ruled municipal corporations and demanded a CBI inquiry into them. He said his government does not owe any money to the civic bodies. Besides a loan of Rs 551 crore, Kejriwal said Delhi Government is also releasing Rs 142 crore to the North Delhi Municipal corporation as sought by it by way of stamp duty last week.

- The decision to extend the loan was taken at a meeting between MCD commissioners and representatives of the Delhi Government. The amount has been given to enable the MCDs to pay salaries to the employees till January 31.

- Exuding confidence about winning next year's municipal polls, Kejriwal said situation in the MCDs is such that they should be dissolved and fresh elections be held immediately. He said joint front of 19 Unions of MCD Employees have called for dissolving the civic bodies and bringing them under Delhi Government.

- Demanding a CBI probe into the affairs of MCDs, Kejriwal said "If CBI could probe us then why not the MCDs. We had ordered inspection of accounts of the civic bodies but they refused to cooperate," as per PTI. Alleging graft, he said the East Delhi Municipal Corporation only collected Rs 12 crore as advertising revenue in the current fiscal.

- On BJP's demand for implementation of the recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission, he said the Delhi Government would accept it only if the panel's recommendation for handing over the DDA is accepted by the Centre.

- Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds education and finance portfolios, said the government will divert the money from the capital expenditure of the education department, adding that due to this, they will have to defer some of infrastructure projects to the next financial year.

- The strike by the sanitation staff of municipal bodies demanding payment of dues entered the eighth day today, crippling the garbage disposal system. They have been joined by teachers, doctors, nurses and contractors of the civic bodies.

- The agitating MCD staff today refused to call off their strike even as the mayors of the north and east Delhi municipal corporations said they will

accept the loan extended by the AAP government as a grant only. The mayors of north and east Delhi said they will accept Rs 551 crore as a "grant" only because Delhi government is yet to pay Rs 3,000 crore to the municipal corporations under the Third Delhi Finance Commission.

- A demonstration will be held at the Civic Centre and effigies of AAP and BJP will be torched tomorrow. Besides, a protest will also be staged in Geeta Colony, said the strikers' leaders.

- The Commissioners of the east and north Delhi municipal corporations appealed to the striking employees to call off their protest in the interest of people of the city and said they are in the process of getting funds for their salaries till January.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday rubbished allegations of corruption levelled against it by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation Ravinder Gupta rejected Kejriwal's charge that the MCD was a corrupt body and dared him to probe the body.

Kejriwal had today alleged that there were "massive scams" in the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations and demanded a CBI inquiry into them.

Kejriwal levelled the allegations whiel announcing that the Delhi government will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies to pay salaries.

Workers of the three MCD wings have been on strike for the past several days over non-payment of salaries.

Besides a loan of Rs 551 crore, Kejriwal said that the Delhi government will also release Rs 142 crore to the North Delhi Municipal corporation as sought by it by way of stamp duty last week.

"An impression is being created as if Delhi government is responsible for the financial mess in the MCDs which have been ruled by BJP for the last 10 years. There are huge scams in MCDs. A situation is being created through the strike of the municipal workers to show that there is a crisis in Delhi.

"The Modi government has dictatorial tendencies. Someone told me they are trying to create a situation to impose President's Rule in Delhi the way they imposed it in Arunachal Pradesh," the Chief Minister said.

The strike by the sanitation staff of municipal bodies demanding payment of dues entered the eighth day today, crippling the garbage disposal system. They have been joined by teachers, doctors, nurses and contractors of the civic bodies.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: Global health officials have said that the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is rapidly spreading in the Americas and could infect 3 million to 4 million people. The race is on to develop a Zika vaccine.

Here are some questions and answers about the virus and the current outbreak.

How do people become infected?

The virus is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female Aedes mosquitoes, the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.

How do you treat Zika infection?

There is no treatment or vaccine available for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but one is not expected to be ready for months or years.

How dangerous is it?

The PAHO said there is no evidence that Zika can cause death, but some cases have been reported with more serious complications in patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in newborns marked by abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly. It also has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body`s immune system attacks part of the nervous system. Scientists are studying whether there is a causal link between Zika and these two disorders.

How is Zika related to microcephaly?

Health officials have yet to establish a direct causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth defects, but it is strongly suspected. Brazil has reported 3,700 cases of suspected microcephaly that may be linked to Zika. It is unclear whether in pregnant women the virus crosses the placenta and causes microcephaly. Research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk appears to be associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.

What are the symptoms of Zika infection?

People who get Zika virus disease typically have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito.

How can Zika be contained?

Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika.

How widespread is the outbreak in the Americas?

Health officials said Zika cases have been reported in more than 30 countries ranging from the Americas to Ireland to Australia in the current outbreak. Brazil has been the nation most affected. Other nations and territories include Barbados, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, Venezuela and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the PAHO. (http://tinyurl.com/hoq6qqo)

What is the history of the Zika virus?

The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization.

Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact?

Two cases of possible person-to-person sexual transmission has been described, but the PAHO said more evidence is needed to confirm whether sexual contact is a means of Zika transmission.

The PAHO also said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence the virus can be transmitted to babies through breast milk.

What other complications are associated with Zika?

The WHO says because no big Zika outbreaks were recorded before 2007, little is known about complications caused by infection. During an outbreak of Zika from 2013-2014 in French Polynesia, national health authorities reported an unusual increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Health authorities in Brazil have also reported an increase in Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Long-term health consequences of Zika infection remain unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue.
Jaipur: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday targeted Pakistan for failing to curb export of terror to India.

Speaking at a counter-terrorism conference here, Rajnath said when certain states use terrorism as an instrument of their foreign policy, the challenge to tackle it gets compounded.

Most of the terrorist attacks in India emanate from Pakistan... it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in various terror groups operating against India from its soil, Rajnath said without mincing his words.

The Home Minister stated that for India, the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack and the recent strike on Pathankot airbase have signified a tectonic shift.

In the recent attack on the Pathankot airbase, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and to cause large-scale casualties.

Our security forces and intelligence agencies not only prevented any damage to our capabilities and assets but achieved it with minimum casualties, the minister stated.

He, however, added, If Pakistan takes concrete action against terrorists operating from its territory, it will not only improve bilateral ties between the two countries but also bring peace and stability to the South Asian region.

India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations, Rajnath added.

Rajnath said terrorism has no religion because religions do not allow crimes against humanity.

Terrorism is a crime against humanity, he told the conference, adding, I firmly believe that terrorism is a by-product of a perverse mind and this perversion has no love for human beings or humanity.

Rajnath rued that the world still has not agreed on one definition of terrorism.

Unfortunately, while the world acknowledges the threat of terrorism, there is no consensus even on the definition of terrorism.

They make perverse distinction between good and bad terrorists. The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no good terrorist, Rajnath said.

As we struggle to arrive at a consensus on relatively simpler issue such as the definition of terrorism, terror groups are becoming deadlier by the day. From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco terrorism and bio-terrorism, Rajnath said.

He stressed that cutting funds' supply line to terrorists is a big challenge.

We want to disrupt the line of funds to terrorism, he told the conference.

Talking about India-specific challenges, Rajnath said, We are a country with multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society. These conditions are actively utilized by anti-national elements.

To counter such threats we need to undertake sound, preventive and responsive security measures, he added.
New Delhi: After Padma Bhushan awardee Anupam Kher accused Islamabad of not issuing him visa to attend Karachi Literature Festival, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit, Tuesday, said they are yet to receive visa application and passport of the Bollywood actor.

While rejecting Kher's claims, Pakistani High Commission too said that they never received a visa application from the Indian actor.

While making his stand public, the maverick actor took to his Twitter account saying, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didn't apply for visa.

Reacting to the actor's charge, Basit tweeted: @AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport.

@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport  Abdul Basit (@abasitpak1) February 2, 2016

Official Twitter account of High Commission for Pakistan also said that the Anupam Kher didn't applied for visa.

It may be clarified that PHC never received Mr Kher's visa application. So the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise.  PakNewDelhi (@Paknewdelhi) February 2, 2016

While addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Anupam Kher submitted a 100-page proof stating that he was ready with all necessary documents regarding a visa to Pakistan - to attend the Karachi Literature Festival on February 5.

He also accused the Pakistan High Commission of lying on the claims that he never applied for visa.

"Technically, they have to say something, if I haven't applied for it then on what basis Karachi Lit Festival had put my name, I didn't tell them to put my name. The Pakistan High Commission is lying, rest of the 17 people got visa only I was denied," he added.
New Delhi: Taking a jibe at Bollywood actor Anupam Kher's visa controversy, Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modimust talk to "his drop by friend" Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and facilitate visa.

"If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?" Tewari tweeted.

Kher, who was to attend the Karachi Literature Festival on February 5, has been denied visa by Pakistan.

Earlier, he said that his viewpoint on Kashmiri Pandits or his pro- Prime Minister stand might have forced Pakistan to reject his visa.

"Maybe it has been done due to my point of view on Kashmiri Pandits or my pro-PM stand that my visa has been denied," Kher told ANI.

However, Pakistani High Commission to India Abdul Basit has reiterated that they have received no visa application from the actor.

Kher earlier accused the Pakistan High Commission of lying on the claims that he never applied for visa.

The actor was denied a Pakistani visa in May 2015 as well, when he wanted to visit Pakistan to attend a literary festival in Lahore.
Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Investigating Team (SIT) may question doctors who examined Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor at KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

CNN IBN quoted sources as saying that the police had planned to expand the probe into Sunanda's death case.

The Congress leader's wife was undergoing treatment at KIMS hospital before she came to the national capital.

The report also said that couple of days back a team of investigators had visited medicine shops in Lodhi Road area Delhi to inquire what medicines (if at all) were bought for Sunanda.

This pertained to her duration of stay at a Delhi hotel where she was found dead on January 17, 2014.

At the same time, Tharoor's family driver Bajrangi and personal staff Narayan Singh along with family friends were reportedly re-examined for further probe.

On February 15, the case of sensational death of Sunanda reached a new stage with the FBI endorsing the AIIMS report of poisoning as the cause and also saying that a "dangerous chemical" was present in her body that may have killed her.

Disclosing the receipt of the AIIMS report analysing the FBI conclusions, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had told the media that Sunanda's death was not natural but ruled out the presence of radioactive material in her viscera.

Sudhir Gupta, head of AIIMS Forensic Science department, had said that the FBI report also said the death was due to poisoning as was concluded by the AIIMS.

"One thing is clear that the death was not natural. It was unnatural as per our investigation till now and evidence collected so far. I can say that with certainty," Bassi had told reporters, as per PTI.

Gupta had also said that the FBI has not ruled out completely the presence of radioactive substances in viscera samples.

He had added that the FBI analysis of stomach, spleen, liver, kidney and urine has endorsed the cause of death saying that "the same poison is present in all the viscera".

In January last year, Delhi Police had registered a case of murder in connection with the death of Sunanda.

An AIIMS medical board had found poisoning as reason for her death following which the police had sent her viscera samples to an FBI lab in Washington last year.

There was earlier speculation that Sunanda may have died as a result of poisoning through radioactive substances.

The FBI had sent its report to Delhi Police around more than two months ago.

The report said the radiation levels in Sunanda's viscera samples were "within the standard safety norms" besides mentioning other details.

As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report.

(With Agency inputs)
Maryland: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday slammed what he called "inexcusable" anti-Muslim rhetoric in the political sphere - a veiled jibe at Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump and others.

Making his first visit to a mosque while in office, Obama praised American Muslims as upstanding citizens and thanked them for helping their community.

Recently we`ve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country," Obama told the members of the Islamic Society of Baltimore, without specifically naming anyone. Trump recently called for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
Delhi: Shoot-at-sight orders against intruders at all airbases in the western sector has been ordered after Panthkot attack, as per media reports on Wednesday.

'Shoot at sight' order has been issued for unauthorised trespassers at western Command airbases, ANI quoted MoD sources as saying.

It also quoted Defence Ministry sources as saying that all western command airbases were on high alert.

Reports also said that security had been strengthened and regular exercises with Army and Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF) quick reaction team was being conducted.

Also, the government is likely to soon clear everything required for security system to secure periphery.

"Security strengthened, regular exercises with Army and Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) quick reaction team being conducted," MoD sources said.

MoD sources added that IAF will provide protection to 54-55 large airbases which house strategic assets.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is seeking more evidence from India to move forward, a source privy to the developments said on February 01, days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised to make the probe's findings public soon.



"No headway has been made in the investigation of (the) Pathankot attack so far. The ball is back in India's court again as we need more evidence to move forward in the probe," the source had told PTI.



The six-member Pakistan government's team investigating the Pathankot airbase attack has written to the foreign ministry to seek more 'leads' from India.



India had given "specific and actionable information" to Pakistan soon after the January 2 attack.

Seven security personnel were killed and several others were injured when six militants, suspected to owe allegiance to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, stormed the Pathankot air base.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: His admirers feel that the honour is long overdue  Nobel Peace Prize for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

As per a report in The Hindustan Times, the Art of Living founder's name has appeared as a likely contender for the prestigious award. The nominations for this year's Nobel Peace Prize  due to be announced sometime around October  closed on February 1. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is also among this year's Padma Vibhushan awardees.

HT refers to a report published by Thomson Reuters Foundation in its blog on February 1 that read: The Norwegian Nobel Institute does not publish names of nominees, but Nobel watchers have said former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and peace negotiators in Colombia have also been nominated.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has played an important role in the attempts to bring peace to Colombia. The Indian spiritual leader, during his Cuba tour in 2015, had held several rounds of discussions with leaders of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in an exercise of confidence-building for the peace process in the Latin American nation.

During these talks, FARC leaders had agreed to follow Gandhian principle of non-violence to attain its political objectives.

In recognition for his efforts, Columbian government had in July last year honoured Sri Sri with their highest civilian award, Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar.

A designated terrorist organization by the UN and USA, the left-wing FARC is involved in the Colombian armed conflict since 1964.

Since November 2012, FARC has been hammering out peace terms with government negotiators to bring an end to five decades of war and conflict, which has killed more than 2,00,000 people and uprooted more than six million people.
New Delhi: Reacting to the shocking incident in Bengaluru a few days ago when a Tanzanian student was stripped and beaten over a fatal accident in which she had no role, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that she is deeply pained over the shameful incident.

She said that she had spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and asked him to take stringent action against the guilty.

I spoke to Karnataka CM. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested, Sushma tweeted.

However, Bengaluru Police have ruled out that it was a racial attack.

It is a case of road rage, not a racist attack, Bengaluru Police Commissioner told CNN-IBN. No racism in Bangalore, I can assure full security to African community. He further said that the police initially had no knowledge about the assault on the woman.

Last Sunday, an angry mob in Bengaluru mistakenly targeted a 21-year-old African student for an accident which has snowballed into a major controversy.

The mob reportedly thrashed her and tore off her clothes when she protested and pleaded them to leave her alone.

The African students union termed it a racial attack and demanded the authorities to take strong action against the accused.

Bosco Kaweesi, legal adviser for All African Students Union, said that the situation is still not safe for the African students in the city.

The girl was targeted some 30 minutes after a fatal road accident in which a 35-year-old woman had died when a driver of a car ran over her.

The angry mob then waylaid the victim's car, which had arrived at the spot later, dragged her out and started beating her. They also tore off her clothes.

The girl said that the police refused to register her case saying that they would only do so when she would bring the driver to them.

She pleaded that she did not even know about the accident nor she had anything to do with the driver, a Sudanese student, but her pleas went on deaf ears.

The police reportedly swung into action after the Tanzanian Embassy in New Delhi sought a detailed report about the incident.
Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was shifted to another plane at IGI Airport following an argument between a passenger and the CISF person frisking him.

As per a report in Mail Today, Priyanka was shifted following a bomb scare when she was traveling from Delhi to Chennai on a Jet Airways flight 9W-821 on Monday morning.

As per the report, a leather exporter who was to board the same flight casually told the security man that he had a bomb.

This triggered the scare.

The man was apparently irritated at being frisked.

Later he was interrogated for six hours by Intelligence Bureau officials, SPG and Delhi Police, the report said.

The was then allowed to board the flight.

"As he was carrying coins, the metal detector beeped and he was asked to take out the coins. Again when metal detector beeped, he was asked to take out a pen. When the CISF official enquired, he said bomb hai (it's a bomb). Immediately, the CISF raised an alarm and other security staff reached the spot," an official was quoted by the website as saying.

"After analysing the situation, the Special Protection Group (SPG) and other security agencies considered that passenger can be a 'possible threat'. He, along with his co-passenger, were taken to the police station. Again, agencies rechecked the aircraft for security reasons and allowed it to fly almost two hours after its scheduled departure time," the website further quoted sources as saying.

"We jointly interrogated the passenger. Later, he was let off after taking important information like address, etc," DCP IGI, DK Gupta told Mail Today.

Priyanka was put on another flight as the matter was sensitive.

She is a SPG protectee.
Srinagar: In a significant victory in the fight against terror, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Wednesday, busted a Jash-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror module operating in the state.

Three terrorists, who were part of the module, were arrested by the police from Handwara.

Ghulam Jeelani, SP, Handwara, said that the arrested men were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad has emerged as one of the biggest threats facing India. Suicide attackers from the group had  on January 2 - attacked the Pathankot Air Base that left security personnel dead.

JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India`s most wanted terrorists, recently wrote in Peshawar-based jihadi magazine al-Qalam that his `army` loves death and warned his `enemies` that any action against the jihadis operating against India from Pakistan will have dangerous consequences.
Bengaluru: An angry mob in Bengaluru wrongly targeted an African student for an accident which has now snowballed into a major controversy.

The unruly mob reportedly thrashed her and tore off her clothes when she protested and pleaded them to leave her alone.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru Police have filed an FIR and arrested four people in connection with the case.

The African students union has termed it a racial attack and demanded the authorities to take strong action against the accused.

Bosco Kaweesi, the legal adviser for All African Students Union, said that the situation is still not safe for the African students in the city.

The driver who caused accident was already in the hands of the mob and the police, why did they attacked the student, Kaweesi asked.

The girl had no connection with him, Kaweesi said.

Kaweesi claimed that the girl arrived at the spot 30 minutes after the accident from a different route.

The 21-year-old girl has alleged that the police refused to register a case saying that they would only so so when she brings in the driver who ran over a 35-year-old woman.

Although she pleaded them that she did not even know about the accident and had nothing to do with the Sudanese student, her pleas went on deaf ears.

The Tanzanian Embassy in New Delhi has reportedly sought a detailed report about the incident.

The Bengaluru City Police have also started a probe.
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave permission to the Maharashtra government to hold a 'Maharashtra Night' event at Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai to kick-start the 'Make in India Week' programme.

Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the event will be attended by leaders from 56 countries and 10,000 delegates.

The Maharashtra government had approached the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court denied permission for the event citing guidelines issued by an HC appointed committee in 2005 on what activities and functions can be permitted to be held at the Chowpatty beach.

The High Court observed that the 'Make in India' violated these guidelines, hence the event cannot be granted permission.

Appearing for the government, the Solicitor General argued before the SC that the idea behind holding such an event is to attract investments in Maharashtra. The SG also pointed out that certain events have been allowed to be held at Girgaum beach in the past also.
Peshawar: Pakistani authorities have arrested the main facilitator of the gruesome attack on Bacha Khan University that killed 21 people, mostly students, while he was trying to slip across the border to Afghanistan, a media report said today.

Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as 'Terrorist A', was arrested in Nowshera last week by intelligence agencies, the Dawn reported, citing "credible" sources.

"He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham.

Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away," they said.

"He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," said the sources, requesting anonymity.

The alleged facilitator, in his early 30s, said in his initial statement that the planning of the attack on the university was going on for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of militant commander Omar Mansoor.

Mansoor, mastermind of the Peshawar school carnage and a commander of the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the January 20 assault on Bacha Khan University (BKU).

Waheed said Mansoor had provided him Rs 1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition.

Waheed is also reported to have said that he secretly made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and took the footages in a memory chip to Mansoor, but the plans were dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. He said he was the one who had made the video of the four attackers with Mansoor and that was the reason why the Abdul Wali Khan University was mentioned in the video, according to the report.

The plan to attack that university was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.
Delhi: Google parent Alphabet Inc said Amit Singhal, the longtime chief of its Internet search business, will leave the company and be replaced by the head of the technology giant`s artificial intelligence business.

John Giannandrea, currently a vice president of engineering, will replace Singhal, a 15-year Google veteran, once he leaves on Feb. 26.

"Search is stronger than ever, and will only get better in the hands of an outstanding set of senior leaders who are already running the show day-to-day," Singhal wrote in a blog post.

The appointment of Giannandrea, who joined Google in 2010, underlines the growing importance Silicon Valley is attaching to artificial intelligence technology.

Giannandrea led Google`s machine learning efforts, applying the technology to products such as image recognition for Google Photos search and the smart reply for Google Inbox.

"Machine intelligence is crucial to our Search vision of building a truly intelligent assistant that connects our users to information and actions in the real world," Google said in an emailed statement.

The importance of AI has been highlighted in moves by other prominent companies.

Elon Musk, Tesla Motors` chief executive, and other prominent tech executives in December announced a $1 billion funding commitment to an AI non-profit.

Apple Inc reportedly bought AI startup Emotient Inc last month.
WASHINGTON: U.S. gun traders are setting up new websites to arrange deals after Facebook Inc barred private gun sales on its platform.

With gun rights and safety registering as a hot-button issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail after several mass shootings last year, Facebook said on Friday it would no longer allow users to arrange private gun sales via the site.

Reaction was swift among some Facebook gun trader groups, hundreds of which are based in the United States. Some of them immediately began advertising other gun-dealing websites.

In a chat room outside Facebook on the Firearms Enthusiasts Club website, users complained their gun trading groups had been deleted from Facebook and urged others to spread the word about their site.

"I just lost Cheap Guns Minnesota which had close to 18,000 members," said a user by the name of "The Guard Dog." "So PLEASE spread the word about this site to every group in EVERY state."

The administrator of the Facebook group Central Florida Gun Talk changed its name to Central Florida on Monday and directed the group`s 2,055 members to another site outside Facebook set up quickly in response to the ban.

Another Facebook user posted that the gun community had "grown dependent on Facebook" and the ban "will backfire" by forcing gun traders to unmonitored sites where users share less information about themselves.

Facebook users contacted directly by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.

Monika Bickert, Facebooks head of global policy management, said in an interview that gun group administrators were notified of the new policy ahead of its enforcement.

"We have to spend a lot of time thinking through new policies," she said, noting that 80 percent of Facebook`s 1.6 billion users reside outside the United States and Canada.

Bickert said Facebook will rely solely on user reports when deciding which posts, groups and accounts to delete or restrict. The company gets about a million user reports a day, she said.

Bickert said Facebook`s community operations team decides whether to remove reported content including terrorist activity, cyber-bullying and nudity, in addition to private gun sales. The team works in offices around the world and has subject matter experts fluent in dozens of languages, Bickert said.

But it is challenged sometimes by having "a very limited picture." She said, "The context in the actual post may be unclear. It may be hard to tell what they are expressing [and] we aren`t seeing what they`re saying offline."

The gun policy change came as Facebook pushes further into e-commerce and underscores social media firms` challenges in managing content to weed out violent extremists, criminals and other bad actors without being too restrictive of free speech.

The National Rifle Association declined to comment.

Given Facebook`s and Instagram`s popularity, "its really significant for them to say, `not on our platform,` said Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for the Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety.

Licensed gun dealers are still able to advertise firearms on Facebook that lead to sales off the network.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh ATS arrested Saudi-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Abdul Aziz from Lucknow airport late Tuesday night.

Aziz, who has held up in a jail in Saudi Arabia was deported last night.

Meanwhile, Telangana Police is interrogating the LeT terrorist.

In a crackdown ahead of Republic Day, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 13 suspected ISIS sympathisers for plotting attacks in different parts of the country.

The arrests were made following simultaneous searches and raids conducted at 12 locations in six cities--Bangalore, Tumkur, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Lucknow with the support of local police forces.

According to sources, the arrested people were part of a group named Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind (Army of Caliph of India), a terror group which has almost similar ideologies that of ISIS.
Nairobi: Prosecution lawyers in Burundi have appealed the verdicts in the trial of leaders of a failed coup, demanding all should face life sentences including seven who were acquitted.

They also released a list of 34 names of opposition chiefs, civil society leaders and journalists -- now in exile -- they want to face trial for their alleged role in the May 2015 coup bid.

The appeal comes after a court in January jailed 21 men for their role in the coup, sentencing four ex-generals to life, nine others for 30 years, and eight soldiers to five years.

Prosecutors, who said in a statement that they were "not satisfied with the judgement of the trial judge", said they should all be jailed for life, and that the seven acquitted should face a re-trial.

Burundi has been in crisis since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a controversial third term, sparking street protests, the failed coup, regular killings and a nascent rebellion.

Coup leader, ex-general Godefroid Nyombare, is on the run. The former intelligence chief has been named as leader of the Forebu rebels.

The rebels formed the force "to protect the population" and uphold the Arusha Agreement that paved the way to the end of the 1993-2006 civil war -- but which they say Nkurunziza violated by running for, and winning, a third term in power.

Since then, clashes between loyalists and the opposition have turned increasingly violent, with hundreds killed and at least 230,000 fleeing the country.

The African Union had proposed sending a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force to end the violence, but on Sunday buckled in the face of vehement opposition from the government.

Instead, the AU is to send envoys for more talks, although previous negotiations have achieved little, if anything.
Sydney: A Canadian who said he fought alongside Kurdish forces against Islamic State in Syria has been detained while trying to enter Australia and told he will be deported, his father said on Wednesday.

Richard Somerville said his son Robert, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane airport on Tuesday after he told immigration officials he had spent seven months fighting alongside the Syrian Kurdish militant group YPG last year.

"I haven`t seen my son in 20 years," Richard Somerville, who lives in Queensland, told Reuters. "I was absolutely shocked when he called to say he was being detained."

Australian Border Force and Immigration Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The basis for the visa cancellation is at this stage unclear," Somerville`s Melbourne-based lawyer, Jessie Smith, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It may have political undertones and could be contestable."

Australia introduced sweeping security reforms in 2014 over concern at the number of its citizens heading to Iraq and Syria to fight. About 110 Australians are estimated to be involved in the conflict.

It is illegal for Australian citizens to support any armed group in Syria and fighters face life in prison upon return.

The Syrian Kurds have established control over wide areas of northern Syria since the country erupted into civil war in 2011, and the YPG has become a major partner in the US-led coalition against Islamic State.

Several foreigners, including Europeans and Americans, have joined the YPG but their numbers are dwarfed by foreign jihadist recruits to the other side.

Kurds in Syria and Iraq are backed by a US-led coalition, including Australia, which has been bombing Islamic State in both countries.
Beijing: A Chinese province with a large Tibetan population has ordered shopkeepers to hand in portraits of the Dalai Lama, state-run media said Wednesday, quoting Beijing experts likening the Nobel laureate to executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sichuan in the southwest, which includes several ethnically Tibetan areas, set up a "law enforcement squad" of cultural bureau personnel, police and other officials to enforce the drive, reported the Global Times, which is close to the ruling Communist party.

The aim was to "crack down on pornography and illegal publications, which include portraits of the Dalai Lama" ahead of the Lunar New Year, it quoted Gou Yadong, director of the provincial publicity department, as saying.

People were more than welcome to put on show pictures of the country`s past and present leaders, he added, referring to former heads of the ruling party.

The Global Times also cited Lian Xiangmin, of the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing, as saying that for Chinese people, hanging his picture was the same as displaying Saddam Hussein`s image would be for Americans.

The former Iraqi leader was executed in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity, while the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace prize.

The move in Sichuan comes as Beijing steps up a campaign against the spiritual leader, who is still widely revered by Tibetans.
Cairo: Death sentences of 149 activists of the banned Muslim Brotherhood were revoked on Wednesday by Egypt's highest court which also ordered a retrial in the case in which the defendants were accused of killing 13 policemen and attacking a police station in 2013.

The Muslim Brotherhood activists were accused of killing 11 policemen, attacking a police station in Kerdasa, torching police and private vehicles, possessing weapons among other charges in 2013 following the dispersal of Rabaa and Nahda Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins, which left many Islamists dead.

The Court of Cassation ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which killed 11 policemen here in August 2013. The initial ruling came in February 2015 amid a series of death sentences in mass trials that were criticised internationally.

The court had sentenced 149 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death and 34 others sentenced to death in absentia. The court also sentenced a child to 10 years in prison, while two people were acquitted.

Seven people have been executed for political violence since ex-president Mohamed Morsi's ouster, including six who were convicted of belonging to an Islamist militant group.

Since Morsi's ouster, the Egyptian government has been cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters, which left thousands in jail, and hundreds facing trials on various charges.

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie and 100 other leaders were sentenced in June to death for escaping prison in 2011.

Badie and Morsi were also sentenced to life in prison in an espionage case.
Cairo: An Egyptian appeals court overturned on Wednesday death sentences for 149 pro-Islamists accused of killing policemen in a mob attack on their station, a judicial source said.

The court ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which killed 13 policemen near Cairo on August 14, 2013, the day police shot dead hundreds of Islamist demonstrators in the capital.

The initial ruling in February 2015 came amid a series of death sentences in mass trials that were criticised internationally, as the government cracked down on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammad Morsi.

The court had also sentenced 37 people to death in absentia, but they would have to hand themselves in for a retrial.

The grounds for the appeals court ruling were not immediately available, but the court has overturned hundreds of death sentences over the past year, to the relief of rights advocates and frustration of some in the government who have urged fast track executions.

Seven people have been executed for political violence since Morsi`s ouster, including six who were convicted of belonging to an Islamist militant group.

The military overthrow of Morsi, the country`s first freely elected president, ushered in the worst domestic bloodshed in the country`s modern history.

Morsi ruled for only a year, deeply dividing the country, and his removal was met with escalating protests by Islamists that police dispersed with live ammunition.

On August 14, 2013, less than two months after his overthrow, police broke up two protest camps in Cairo, killing about 700 protesters.

Morsi`s supporters around the country attacked police stations, killing dozens of officers, and torched the churches of Coptic Christians.
Brussels: The EU said Wednesday it had agreed on how to finance a three billion euro ($3.3 billion) deal to aid Syrian refugees in Turkey, in exchange for Ankara`s help in stemming the flow of migrants, after resolving a dispute with Italy.

The deal means the European Commission, the EU executive, will contribute one billion euros to Turkey and the 28 member states will contribute two billion, the commission announced.

Germany is the country making the biggest contribution to the fund with 427 million euros, followed by Britain with 327 million and France with 309 million, EU sources said.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had stalled on signing off on the deal because of questions about how the accord would work, but EU sources told AFP that said Rome had given its approval on Wednesday.

"The European Commission today welcomed the agreement by Member States on the details of the 3 billion euro Refugee Facility for Turkey," the Brussels-based Commission said in a statement.

"The EU will now be able to swiftly deliver substantial new financial resources to support Turkey in coping with the presence of Syrian refugees under temporary protection and host communities in Turkey."

Turkey, the main launching point for the one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Europe last year, has promised to cut the flow of people as part of the deal agreed with the EU at a summit in November.
Gaza City: The collapse of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip has killed two militants from Hamas's armed wing, officials said today, as concern grows in Israel over the rebuilding of tunnels that

can be used for attacks.

The collapse last night was the second such incident since last week. A tunnel collapse on January 26 killed seven militants from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said a local commander was among the two members killed in the collapse in the area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the

central Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas's chief in Gaza, has vowed to continue building tunnels that have in the past been used to stage attacks against Israel and store weapons.

Israel destroyed a large number of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, the third conflict to hit the Palestinian enclave since 2008.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that "if we are attacked from tunnels from the Gaza Strip, we will take very strong action against Hamas."
Gaza City: The collapse of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip has killed two militants from Hamas`s armed wing, officials said Wednesday, as concern grows in Israel over the rebuilding of tunnels that can be used for attacks.

The collapse on Tuesday night was the second such incident since last week. A tunnel collapse on January 26 killed seven militants from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas`s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said a local commander was among the two members killed in Tuesday`s collapse in the area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas`s chief in Gaza, has vowed to continue building tunnels that have in the past been used to stage attacks against Israel and store weapons.

Israel destroyed a large number of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, the third conflict to hit the Palestinian enclave since 2008.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that "if we are attacked from tunnels from the Gaza Strip, we will take very strong action against Hamas."
Muzaffarabad: A Pakistani firebrand cleric on Wednesday praised a deadly Indian air base attack last month that threatened to scupper peace efforts between the nuclear rivals.

Hafiz Saeed, alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and leader of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group, encouraged further violence following the air base assault in Pathankot that left seven Indian soldiers dead.

Saeed, who remains a free man, also lauded Kashmiri militant leader Sayed Salahuddin, who heads the United Jihad Council (UJC) that has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"You have only seen one attack on Pathankot. Matters could easily escalate."

Crowds at the rally shouted slogans including "The war will continue until the liberation of Kashmir" and "We are ready for jihad".

Indian officials believe another group -- the Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) -- was behind the siege.

Strategic analyst Ayesha Siddiqa told AFP Saeed's praise of Salahuddin could be part of a "deflection strategy" to steer blame away from JeM, and by extension Pakistan, where it is based.

The air base attack occurred just a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Lahore, raising hopes for peace between the two countries.

Further planned talks between the top diplomats of both countries that had been due in mid-January were subsequently postponed.

Saeed's freedom and his frequent calls for jihad against India irk New Delhi, which considers JuD -- a UN designated "terror organisation" -- to be no more than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.
Miskolc: Several thousand Hungarian teachers and sympathisers rallied in the eastern city of Miskolc on Wednesday demanding Prime Minister Viktor Orban`s government reverse sweeping reforms of the school system.

A crowd estimated at around 5,000 by local media held candles during a march through the city centre with a speaker saying the demonstrations would draw attention to the "unsustainable" education system.

Smaller demonstrations in solidarity with the Miskolc-based protestors took place simultaneously in ten cities around the country including the capital Budapest.

Since coming to power in 2010 Orban`s government has handed over many decision-making powers including finance and administration previously held by schools to a state-run agency and introduced a national curriculum.

Teachers also say too much of their time is spent on administration tasks, and complain that wages have not been increased for many years.

The protest began last November when an open letter signed by staff at the prestigious Otto Herman high school in Miskolc was published by online media.

"The whole education system is in danger, everything has turned to chaos," read the letter which listed a series of grievances about the reforms.

Since then, around 500 education institutions nationwide and nearly 30,000 individuals have signed the letter.

One of Hungary`s largest teacher trade unions has also organised a demonstration against the reforms to take place at the parliament building in Budapest on February 13.
Leinster: Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Wednesday called parliamentary elections for February 26 in a poll that could see disillusioned voters turn away from established parties to back political mavericks.

"I am seeking a dissolution of Dail Eireann (parliament) today with the election to be held on February 26th," Kenny tweeted before going to President Michael Higgins for formal authorisation.

The two rival centre-right parties that have taken turns leading Irish governments since 1932, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, have seen their combined dominance among voters recede as support for independent politicians, new parties and anti-austerity groups has risen.

The eurozone nation has the highest economic growth rate in the European Union -- 7.0 percent in the first nine months of last year -- but many voters are disillusioned after years of sacrifices and a financial crisis that has discredited Ireland`s elite.

Polls indicate the current coalition government led by Fine Gael`s Kenny with junior centre-left party Labour will struggle to gain the minimum 80 seats required to form a majority for a second term.

The vote follows an election in Portugal that returned a fragile ruling alliance, and political deadlock in Spain since a December election returned no clear majority that has fuelled fears of risks to the eurozone countries` economic recovery.

Kenny and Labour leader Joan Burton insist that a vote for their parties is the only way to ensure "stability" and protect economic growth.

But both parties, particularly Labour, have seen an ebb in support in polls.

This could mean Kenny cobbling together a coalition with an assortment of small parties and independent politicians, leading a minority government, or holding another election.

Some commentators have even raised the idea of an unprecedented pact between the old adversaries Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, whose differences date back to the opposing sides of the 1920s Irish Civil War.

"Even though Election 2016 will deliver the most anti-establishment and pro-independent results ever, a Fine Gael and Fianna Fail coalition is still the most likely outcome," Noel Whelan, a former Fianna Fail advisor, said in a blog for betting company Paddy Power.

"Government doesn`t come more party-dominated or more establishment than that!"Ireland`s last general election in 2011 delivered an earthquake result in which voters stripped Fianna Fail, long Ireland`s largest party, of all but a nub of their seats in response to a brutal property crash and recession on their watch.

Since then the left-wing Sinn Fein party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, has risen to become one of the most popular parties in opinion polls as it has positioned itself as an anti-austerity force.

Newly-formed groups that could benefit at the expense of traditional parties range from the left-wing Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit group, to the Social Democrats, to right-leaning Renua Ireland.

Karen Green, a 45-year-old hospital worker from Crumlin in Dublin, said she had been politicised by the fight against new water charges that became a rally point for anti-austerity groups, sparking huge protests and collective refusals to pay.

"It was the straw that broke the camel`s back. I`m in my forties and I`ve seen two recessions and I`ve never seen anything like it," Green said.

She now hopes to help left-wing candidates "shake up" Ireland`s lower house, Dail Eireann.

Much will depend on whether the trends indicated in polls are borne out, if support for Sinn Fein translates into seats, how badly Labour fares and whether voters might quietly return to Fianna Fail under leader Micheal Martin.

According to Queen`s University Belfast politics lecturer Muiris MacCarthaigh, 2016 could be Ireland`s real "earthquake" election.

"A plethora of small parties, alliances and independents have now emerged across the political spectrum," MacCarthaigh wrote in an analysis.

"Agreeing a common programme for government is likely to take a lot longer than the week it took in 2011, and the potential that a diverse coalition of interests may not serve a five-year term is a distinct possibility," he said.
Tokyo: Japanese police Wednesday said its special unit that deals with alleged espionage arrested an ethnic Korean resident on suspicion of fraud -- as local media reported he was acting as a spy for North Korea.

Japan is particularly sensitive to North Korean espionage activities in the country as operatives from and with links to the country have been blamed for abductions of Japanese citizens who were taken there to serve as language teachers for its spies.

Japan also has a large population of residents with Korean nationality, the descendants of people from the Korean peninsula who either immigrated to Japan or were brought as forced labourers when Tokyo controlled the region as a colony from 1910-1945.

The 49-year-old man was arrested yesterday by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police public safety department -- which deals with crimes linked to spies and violent political and religious groups -- spokesman Kazufumi Suzuki told AFP.

Suzuki offered a phonetic rendering of the man's name but had no romanised spelling, which was reported as Pak Chae-Hun by Kyodo News agency.

Pak's nationality was registered as "Korean", meaning he has ancestral roots on the Korean peninsula, according to Suzuki.

He added that Pak is suspected of using a credit card which he obtained illegally to make purchases from an online shopping company in Tokyo, Suzuki said.

Pak is a former associate professor at the pro-Pyongyang Korea University in Tokyo and was engaged in espionage activities aimed at spreading North Korean ideology in South Korea and China, Kyodo reported.

He is suspected of having purchased six computer equipment items online, the report said, adding that police found written instructions and encrypted e-mail messages from North Korea's spy agency on his confiscated computer.

Other local media carried similar reports, saying Pak was active in South Korea from around 2000 when he was recruited by Pyongyang's intelligence agency known as "Bureau 225".

North Korean spies have long been believed to be active in Japan.
Tokyo: Japanese police on Wednesday said its special unit that deals with alleged espionage arrested an ethnic Korean resident on suspicion of fraud -- as local media reported he was acting as a spy for North Korea.

Japan is particularly sensitive to North Korean espionage activities in the country as operatives from and with links to the country have been blamed for abductions of Japanese citizens who were taken there to serve as language teachers for its spies.

Japan also has a large population of residents with Korean nationality, the descendants of people from the Korean peninsula who either immigrated to Japan or were brought as forced labourers when Tokyo controlled the region as a colony from 1910-1945.

The 49-year-old man was arrested Tuesday by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police public safety department -- which deals with crimes linked to spies and violent political and religious groups -- spokesman Kazufumi Suzuki told AFP.

Suzuki offered a phonetic rendering of the man`s name but had no romanised spelling, which was reported as Pak Chae-Hun by Kyodo News agency.

Pak`s nationality was registered as "Korean", meaning he has ancestral roots on the Korean peninsula, according to Suzuki.

He added that Pak is suspected of using a credit card which he obtained illegally to make purchases from an online shopping company in Tokyo, Suzuki said.

Pak is a former associate professor at the pro-Pyongyang Korea University in Tokyo and was engaged in espionage activities aimed at spreading North Korean ideology in South Korea and China, Kyodo reported.

He is suspected of having purchased six computer equipment items online, the report said, adding that police found written instructions and encrypted e-mail messages from North Korea`s spy agency on his confiscated computer.

Other local media carried similar reports, saying Pak was active in South Korea from around 2000 when he was recruited by Pyongyang`s intelligence agency known as "Bureau 225".
Tokyo: Japan said Wednesday it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on its territory, after Pyongyang announced it planned to launch a space rocket this month.

"Today the defence minister issued an order" to destroy such a missile if it "is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani issued the order, citing the "possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a `satellite` within coming days," the statement said.

The order will be carried out by Japan`s ballistic missile defence system, which includes PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, and similar SM-3 systems aboard warships, the ministry said.

The order will be effective until February 25, it added, the end of the launch window announced by Pyongyang that begins on February 8.
Kuala Lumpur: A leading Malaysian politician relinquished his post as a state chief minister Wednesday in what is widely seen as the latest move by scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak to purge potential rivals.

Ruling party politician Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former longtime premier Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as head of Kedah state following an internal party push to oust him, Malaysian media reported.

Mukhriz had been mentioned among potential future contenders for prime minister but his fortunes have flagged due to his outspoken father`s ongoing campaign to oust Najib over sensational corruption allegations.

Malaysia has been seized for more than a year by reports that huge sums of money were diverted from a state-owned investment company closely linked to Najib.

The affair escalated last July when it was revealed that Najib had received payments of $681 million to his personal bank accounts.

Both Najib and the investment company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), strongly deny that the $681 million involved 1MDB money.

Mukhriz, 51, is the latest top figure in the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to suffer in the fallout.

After the Najib payment was revealed, he reshuffled his cabinet to sack several members including his deputy prime minister, who had called for transparency, and the attorney-general, who was heading investigations.

A new Najib-appointed attorney-general last week declared the premier clear of any wrongdoing, claiming the payment was a legal "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

That story is widely disbelieved in Malaysia, and the move to exonerate Najib has sparked accusations of a conspiracy to subvert justice to protect Najib.

Authorities in Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong also are looking into money flows related to 1MDB.
Washington: US Senator Marco Rubio, emerging from the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa as the leading Republican mainstream contender, portrayed himself in New Hampshire on Tuesday as the party`s best hope to recapture the White House.

But Rubio, 44, a US senator from Florida, faces a strong field of establishment rivals in next week`s New Hampshire primary after his stronger-than-expected third-place finish in Iowa behind front-runners Ted Cruz, 45, and Donald Trump, 69.

"If I am the nominee, we are going to beat Hillary Clinton and it won`t be by the flip of a coin," Rubio told supporters in Exeter, New Hampshire, taking a jab at the close Democratic race in Iowa between Clinton and challenger Bernie Sanders, where some precincts were decided on a coin flip.

Other more mainstream Republicans including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, are expected to do better in New Hampshire than in Iowa and vie with Rubio to become the establishment favorite.

Cruz and Trump also headed to New Hampshire as the presidential race shifted to the second nominating contest in the state-by-state battle to pick nominees for the November 8 election to replace Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump told a news conference before a rally in Milford, New Hampshire, that he felt "a tinge" of disappointment at losing to Cruz in Iowa. The billionaire businessman also picked up an endorsement from former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.

Cruz told New Hampshire supporters he was like former Republican President Ronald Reagan, urging the state to help ensure his nomination by giving him a win in the February 9 primary.

"Every day from now until Election Day here in New Hampshire, I`m going to continue asking for the men and women of New Hampshire to make that same fateful decision yet again so that we can reignite the promise of America," Cruz said.

Cruz, a conservative US senator from Texas, beat Trump in Iowa`s Republican caucuses with the help of the state`s large bloc of evangelical Christians, but he might struggle to finish on top in New Hampshire, where Republican voters have a more secular and libertarian streak.

Cruz apologized to rival Ben Carson over an email his campaign sent on Monday night implying Carson was dropping out of the race and his Iowa backers should switch to Cruz.

"This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr Carson," Cruz wrote.

The campaign for Carson, who finished fourth in Iowa, said the retired neurosurgeon had accepted Cruz`s apology but that the incident was the sort of "dirty trick" politics that Carson was trying to fight.

The Democratic presidential contenders, Clinton and Sanders, also headed to New Hampshire after their close duel in Iowa, where the former secretary of state narrowly edged out the insurgent US senator from Vermont.

Vermont borders New Hampshire, and that proximity may give Sanders an advantage in next Tuesday`s primary. Clinton`s razor-thin margin was the smallest in Iowa Democratic caucus history.

Concerns about the income gap and economic insecurity have helped Sanders, 74, a self-described democratic socialist who came from far behind in polls to throw a scare into the front-runner in Iowa.

Clinton, 68, acknowledged she had to try harder to win younger Democrats, who backed Sanders in Iowa in large numbers. "Im going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first-time voters, who have to make a tough decision, she told CNN.

The two Democrats also renewed a days-old battle over when and where to have more face-to-face debates, and were still talking about potentially meeting in a televised debate on Thursday night in New Hampshire.
Seoul: South Korea and Japan on Wednesday echoed US warnings that North Korea would pay a heavy price if it pushes ahead with a planned rocket launch just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for a launch as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a "direct challenge" to the intenational community.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a "serious provocation," while his defence minister issued an order to "destroy" the rocket with surface-to-air missiles if it threatened to fall on Japanese territory.

The warnings came a day after the North announced a February 8-25 window for the launch, ostensibly aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesday`s announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an international community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month`s nuclear test.

"It`s a classic move," said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

"While waiting for a full response for the nuclear test, you might as well sneak in a rocket launch. The North tends to do these things in pairs," Delury said.

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs slammed what he called "yet another egregious violation" of UN resolutions.

"This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose... tough additional sanctions," Russel said.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of 7:00am-midday Pyongyang time (2230-0330 GMT).

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The South Korean government statement urged Pyongyang to call off the launch immediately or pay a "heavy price" for threatening regional peace and stability.

UN sanctions were tightened after North Korea successfully placed a satellite in orbit on a three-stage Unha-3 rocket in December 2012.

A fresh launch poses a dilemma for the international community, which is already divided on how to punish the North for its nuclear test.

North Korea`s chief diplomatic ally, China, has been resisting the US push for tougher sanctions, but a rocket launch would bolster calls for Beijing to bring its maverick neighbour into line."However, I`m not sure if China will change its position," said Delury.

"The nuclear test is a far bigger deal for Beijing than the rocket launch, so I don`t expect any tangible shift in China`s perspective, whatever the US says," he added.

While its patience has been stretched to the limit by Pyongyang`s refusal to curb its nuclear ambitions, China`s overriding concern is a collapse of Kim Jong-Un`s regime and the possibility of a US-allied unified Korea on its border.

US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pressure his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last week.

Although the two sides agreed to mount an "accelerated effort" to try to resolve their differences on a new resolution, Kerry acknowledged that they had not agreed on the "parameters of exactly what it would do or say".

Since early 2013, North Korea has been upgrading its Sohae satellite launch complex to handle larger, longer-range rockets with heavier payloads, but most experts say Pyongyang is still years from obtaining a credible intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

The flight plan coordinates sent to the IMO were similar to the December 2012 launch -- suggesting an Unha-3 would again be the selected carrier.

The separated first stage was predicted to fall in the Yellow Sea around 200 kilometres off the west coast of South Korea, followed by a second stage splashdown in the Philippine Sea.
Naypyidaw: Aung San Suu Kyi tried on Wednesday to calm nerves over Myanmar's tense political

transition, with her choice of proxy presidential candidate shrouded in mystery days after her party took up its parliamentary majority.

Suu Kyi and hundreds of fellow lawmakers from her National League for Democracy (NLD) strode into the legislature on Monday with a huge mandate from November elections, carrying the hopes of a nation desperate to rebound after decades under the military yoke.

But the democracy champion, who is herself barred from the presidency under a constitution scripted by the former junta, said it was "not yet time to form a government".

She was speaking at her first press conference since the new parliament.

"Don't be anxious. You will know when the time comes," Suu Kyi told reporters, adding that the party must "think carefully" about its choice of a candidate and suggesting the decision would not come until next month.

The NLD's massive majority - with almost 80 per cent of parliament's seats - gives it a clear run at the presidential selection.

Suu Kyi, the centrepiece of Myanmar's long democracy struggle, is excluded from the presidency by a charter clause that bars anyone with close relatives who are foreign.

She has sought to sidestep that problem by vowing to rule "above" a proxy leader.

But the secrecy surrounding a potential candidate has sent ripples of disquiet through the nation.

There are few obvious choices since the pro-democracy movement has been dominated by Suu Kyi's charismatic leadership since the 1980s.

The NLD also faces a still-powerful military, which under the constitution is granted 25 per cent of parliamentary seats - giving it an effective veto on charter change.

The army has so far resisted any move to amend the clause that blocks Suu Kyi, and a commentary in the state military newspaper on Monday restated this stance.

Elected members of both houses of parliament and the military will nominate three candidates to replace outgoing President Thein Sein, who retains his post until the end of March.

The new president will then be chosen by a vote of the combined houses.

Suu Kyi said she was "really satisfied" with the parliamentary process so far, particularly the selection of several ethnic minority representatives for the roles of parliament speakers and their deputies, which she said was intended to promote "national reconciliation".

She also chided reporters over their over-eager approach to news collection in recent months, following chaotic scenes during the election and huge media scrums in parliament this week.
Geneva: The United Nations strained to keep faltering Syrian peace talks alive on Wednesday as Damascus tried to press home gains against rebels and its ally Russia said its air strikes would go on until "terrorists" were defeated.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura announced the formal start on Monday of the first attempt in two years to negotiate an end to a war that has killed 250,000 people, caused a refugee crisis in the region and Europe and empowered Islamic State militants.

But both opposition and government representatives have since said talks have not in fact begun, and fighting on the ground has raged on without constraint.

De Mistura acknowledged on Tuesday that a collapse of the Geneva talks was always possible.

"If there is a failure this time after we tried twice at conferences in Geneva, for Syria there will be no more hope. We must absolutely try to ensure that there is no failure," he told Swiss television RTS.

The opposition cancelled a meeting with him on Tuesday afternoon, accusing Russia of putting the process at risk with an "unprecedented" bombing campaign on Aleppo and Homs.

Rebels described the ongoing assault north of Aleppo as the most intense yet. One commander said opposition-held areas of the divided city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the government and allied militia, and appealed to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons.

"How can you accept to enter a negotiations when you have unprecedented military pressure? The Russians and regime want to push the opposition out of Geneva so the opposition bears the responsibility for the failure," said a senior Western diplomat.

Despite calls from the U.S. and its allies for Moscow to stop the bombing during the peace process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country had no intention of ending its campaign.

"Russian strikes will not cease until we really defeat terrorist organisations like Jabhat al-Nusra. And I don`t see why these air strikes should be stopped," he said at a news conference in Oman`s capital Muscat.

"UNREALISTIC" CEASEFIRES

Diplomats and opposition members said they were also taken by surprise when de Mistura called for immediate efforts to begin ceasefire negotiations despite there being no official talks or goodwill measures from the Syrian government.

The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless the government stops bombarding civilian areas, lifts blockades on besieged towns and releases detainees.

"The level of confidence between both sides is close to zero," de Mistura told the BBC late on Tuesday.

"A ceasefire for me is essential. In fact it is the test that shows the talks are successful," he said, urging Russia and the United States to work with other major powers to bring it about.

The opposition tentatively said it would resume meetings with de Mistura on Wednesday. Its chief coordinator Riad Hijab, who diplomats say is a unifying figure for the fragmented opposition, is expected to arrive in Geneva later in the day.

De Mistura called on Monday for the International Syria Support Group, which brings together major powers who back and oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to tackle the issue of ceasefires immediately. The group is scheduled to meet in Munich on Feb. 11.

Opposition delegate Nazir Hakim said a general ceasefire in the current climate was "unrealistic".

"Regarding a ceasefire, we have pragmatic ideas and we talked with the Americans who head the Syria support group and we look forward to discussing these ideas at the meeting on February 11," Lavrov said.

The attack north of Aleppo that began in recent days is the first major government offensive there since Russian air strikes began on Sept. 30.

The area safeguards a rebel supply route from Turkey into opposition-held parts of the city and stands between government-held parts of western Aleppo and the Shi`ite villages of Nubul and al-Zahraa, which are loyal to Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence in the country, said Russian and Syrian war planes carried out dozens of air strikes against the rebel towns of Hayan and Hreitan in northern Aleppo on Wednesday.

A pro-government source in the area said that the army and its allies were around two km from Nubul and Zahraa, which have been under rebel siege for around three years.

Senior Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamed Alloush, representing Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army), a major rebel group, said he was not optimistic given the events on the ground.

"Our answer will come in two days," he told Reuters without elaborating.
Geneva: The UN envoy for Syria was under pressure Wednesday to get peace negotiations back on track after intense Russian bombing in support of regime forces left talks in Switzerland hanging by a thread.

Staffan de Mistura`s brief is to coax the warring parties in a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people into six months of indirect talks in Switzerland.

After formally meeting the main opposition umbrella group for the first time in Geneva late Monday, the Italian-Swedish diplomat said these negotiations had officially begun.

But less than 24 hours later, it became clear that this had been premature, with the head of the delegation representing President Bashar al-Assad insisting the talks were "still in the preparatory stage".

"We still don`t know who the opposition delegation is," Bashar al-Jaafari told reporters after, he said, putting de Mistura straight.

Then the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) cancelled its meeting with de Mistura scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, with HNC member Farah Atassi saying that "at this moment, there is no reason to repeat ourselves with de Mistura."

The HNC has demanded the regime allow humanitarian access to besieged towns, stop bombing civilians and release thousands of prisoners -- some of them children -- languishing in regime jails before the talks can start.

But what really outraged the HNC is an ongoing regime offensive, backed by Russian air power, that allowed government forces Tuesday to edge closer to breaking a long-running rebel siege on two government-held villages in Aleppo province.

Russian planes carried out an intense aerial bombardment throughout the area north of Aleppo city, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting some 320 raids since Monday morning in the region.

The monitoring group said at least 18 civilians had been killed in the raids on Tuesday, including five women, three children and two emergency workers.
Manila: The United States is open to the possibility of joint naval patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a US diplomat said on Wednesday, stressing it would continue to exercise "freedom of navigation" in the disputed waters.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

A US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China in the South China Sea on Saturday to counter efforts to limit freedom of navigation, the Pentagon said, prompting an angry reaction from Beijing.

Manila has asked the US to patrol the area together after China began test flights from Fiery Cross Reef, one of three artificial islands where Beijing has built airfields.

"We do discuss that principle (joint patrols) with the Philippines and so I am not discarding that possibility," US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg told reporters.

"But we are not going to make announcements about that beforehand because it is our view that we have every right under international law to exercise freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and we will continue to do so."

The Philippine has challenged Beijing before the arbitration court in The Hague, a case Beijing has not recognised.

Foreign and defence ministers from the United States and the Philippines met in Washington last month for the second time in more than three years to discuss trade and security, focusing on the South China Sea.
London: Civil wars crippling many Muslim states and fuelling a global refugee crisis are driven in part by major struggles within Islam that cannot be ignored, former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday.

This "implosion" in many Muslim-majority countries has forced people from their homes in "unheard-of" numbers, said Miliband, now head of the New York-based humanitarian group International Rescue Committee.

Miliband spoke at the international affairs think-tank Chatham House in London. He will take part in a major conference on Thursday in the British capital that aims to raise billions of dollars from donors to respond to the Syrian crisis.

"More people are fleeing conflict, they`re fleeing conflict significantly in Muslim-majority countries, so the implosion in the Islamic world, in Afghanistan, in the Middle East, is driving it," he said.

Venturing into what he called "tricky territory", he added it would be dishonest not to report that his organisation`s work was increasingly focused on crises in Muslim-majority countries.

"It seems to me there are big questions, big debates happening within Islam about the reconciliation of Islam to modernity, to democracy, of different segments within the Islamic tradition," he said.

"To pretend that that`s not part of the story wouldn`t be right," he added, without elaborating.

In several war-torn countries, militant Sunni literalists such as the Taliban and Islamic State are battling other Muslims who want the faith more adapted to the modern world or belong to a minority sect such as Shi`ism.

Miliband added his analysis did not apply to the whole of the Muslim world, citing Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country, and Bangladesh as two examples of countries that did not fit into the narrative.

"It`s not right to pretend that all Muslim-majority countries are undergoing this implosion," he said. "But I think if you look at the story in South Asia over the last 30 years and the story in the Middle East over the last 20 years, then that`s part of the story."

Miliband said the Syrian crisis was a long-term issue, with large numbers of refugees likely to be living in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and other countries for many years, and this called for a change in the scale and nature of the response.

Refugees were increasingly living in urban areas, he said, where the fact they are not separate from the general population creates new demands very different from those of refugee camps.

Dozens of heads of state and government are due to attend the London pledging conference.

The United Nations estimates that $7.73 billion is needed to meet Syrian humanitarian needs this year, with an additional $1.2 billion required by countries in the region.
A nightmare that has no end: that is the sick pontificate through which we are suffering. The Pontifical Academy for Life was one of the very few positive...

2 days ago
By Caroline Humer (Reuters) - Health insurer Aetna Inc, which is in the process of buying smaller rival Humana Inc, said on Monday its Obamacare insurance business improved at the end of last year, providing a stronger starting point for 2016. Aetna said its individual insurance sold on the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, had operating losses of about 3 to 4 percent in 2015 as fourth-quarter operations improved from mid-single digit losses earlier in the year. The late-year improvements in that segment for Aetna contrasted with recent reports from UnitedHealth Group Inc and Anthem Inc, whose profits missed expectations because of fourth-quarter losses in the individual business. "We are positioning that to try to get back to breakeven," Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin said during a call with analysts. That difference helped shares, said Vishnu Lekraj, an analyst at Morningstar Research. "A lot of their peers have reported some issues as far as the exchanges go," he said. Aetna shares surged about 1.7 percent to $103.50 in late morning trading, while Anthem and UnitedHealth both dipped slightly. Aetna reported a better-than-expected profit in the quarter ended Dec. 31, amid a robust performance by Aetna's Medicare business for the elderly and disabled. NEW RULES Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said that new government rules were needed to stabilize the pool of customers enrolled in these subsidized insurance plans, an issue that has pushed up insurer costs. Recent changes proposed by the U.S. government do not go far enough, he said. "We continue to have serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges," Bertolini said. Bertolini said he still expects to close the company's $31 billion acquisition of Humana in the second half of 2016, based on Monday's share price. The Aetna-Humana deal and Anthem Inc's proposed acquisition of Cigna Corp are under intense regulatory and political scrutiny. The company's medical benefit ratio, which compares the amount spent on medical claims with income from premiums, improved to 81.9 percent from 83 percent a year ago. Aetna said it expects full-year operating earnings of at least $7.75 a share, compared with $7.71 in 2015. Net income rose to $320.8 million, or 91 cents per share, in the quarter, from $232 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. Aetna's operating earnings of $1.37 per share also beat the average analyst estimate of $1.21 per share. (Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Bernadette Baum)
ALGIERS (Reuters) - An Algerian court jailed six people on Tuesday in a corruption case involving state energy firm Sonatrach, including a former vice president and an ex-state bank chief, and it fined two local subsidaries for their role. The verdicts in the so-called "Sonatrach 1" case come at a time when sliding global oil prices have significantly hit state finances in Algeria, an OPEC member, and Sonatrach is struggling to attract sorely needed foreign investment. The charges against the defendants included corruption, money laundering, awarding contracts contrary to the law and regulations and hiking the prices of contracts, state news agency APS reported. The Algiers criminal court handed five-year jail terms against Belkacem Boumediene, a former vice-president for upstream at Sonatrach, against the son of a former Sonatrach chief and a former director of a state bank, APS said. It also dished out six-year prison sentences to Mohamed Reda al-Ismail, who heads the Algerian-German firm Contel Funkwerk, to a second son of Sonatrach's ex-chief and to the son of a state bank head. Former Sonatrach chief executive Mohamed Meziane received a five-year suspended sentence. Most of those who received jail sentences on Tuesday will likely be released soon because they have served pre-trial detention terms. The court also imposed a fine worth four million dinars ($38,000) on Contel-Funkwerk and Saipem Contracting Algeria. The corruption case was linked to equipment supplies for Sonatrach. Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe, has been trying to attract foreign energy companies to help it offset stagnating oil and gas output after two energy bidding rounds failed to attract large groups of investors. Algeria relies heavily on its oil and gas sales, which account for 95 percent of exports and 60 percent of the state budget. Despite the slump in global oil prices, the large North African state still has more than $130 billion in reserves it says will help cushion it from the fallout. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Patrick Markey and Gareth Jones)
[Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 2, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie]



Its been nearly 100 days since Justin Trudeau has been prime minister of Canada and so far, so-so, some pundits suggest.

A recent poll found a high rate of approval among Canadian voters for Trudeau and his team but the Liberals did stumble out of the gate, says one of the co-founders of Democracy Watch.

They have broken a few promises, says Duff Conacher, also a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa. So thats not a good start.

Baiting voters with false promises, such as bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of 2015, can win an election, Conacher tells Yahoo Canada News, but its a risky game.

Each scandal will chip away at the trust that theyve taken 10 years to win back.

A couple of days before the Oct. 19 federal election, Trudeau told reporters what the first 100 days of a Liberal government would look like.

As Ive said from the very beginning, my style of leadership is to bring people together, Trudeau said.

Indeed, the Liberal government has been big on consultation since taking office but eventually you have to make decisions and you rarely can reach a compromise where everyone is pleased, says Conacher, offering oilsands pipelines as an example.

Trudeau promised a revised environmental review system for controversial oil pipeline proposals like Kinder Morgans Trans Mountain project and TransCanadas Energy East.

But both projects are already before the National Energy Board and the revisions to the review system announced last week did little to appease critics of the process.

On other issues:

Taxes: Trudeau promised the very first legislation the Liberals would put forward would be to lower taxes for the middle class and raise them for the wealthiest Canadians. Done.

Refugees: The new goal is 25,000 refugees by March.

ISIS: Canadian jets are still in Iraq and Syria, despite a promise to withdraw them from the U.S.-led coalition combat mission.

Story continues

Electoral reform: Trudeau appointed Maryam Monsef to head an all-party committee to come up with recommendations within 18 months.

Missing and murdered indigenous women: The Liberals have announced a long-sought public inquiry. Consultation on the process is underway.

Legalization of marijuana: Still illegal.

Climate change: The Liberals have renamed the ministry to Environment and Climate Change Canada and signed the Paris climate change agreement but so far, no new emissions targets or emissions control measures.

Still, a poll by Abacus Data last month found that 53 per cent of those surveyed approved of the federal governments performance so far.

To put this in context, at no point during 2015 did the Harper government find an approval rating higher than 37 per cent, says the online poll of 1,500 Canadians conducted the second week of January.

Even 14 per cent of those who said they voted Conservative approved, as well as 57 per cent of those who voted for the NDP. Overall, just 25 per cent of respondents disapproved of the governments performance so far.



For the most part, the majority of Canadians approved of the job that the federal government is doing so far, says David Coletto of Abacus Data.

In particular, Trudeaus openness, his promise to work with provincial and municipal leaders and his general approach to his job have won voter approval.

A lot of things that the previous prime minister, Mr. Harper, was criticized for, we see a significant change, a different approach and theyre reacting positively to that, Coletto says.

Trudeaus worst performance in the poll was on dealing with the Islamic State. Even on that, though, just 34 per cent gave him a poor rating.

Of course, other studies have found that Harper had similar numbers when he first took office in 2006.

Any new government is going to get I think the benefit of the doubt from voters. Now the challenge for Mr. Trudeau and the new government is keeping Canadians happy, Coletto says.

The upcoming federal budget could be the first real challenge. With an ailing economy, a faltering dollar and instability in oil prices, the next 100 days are unlikely to be as calm as the first 100, says Genevieve Tellier, a professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa.

We know theyre not able to fulfil all their promises; either they run a higher deficit than promised or, if they stick to a $10-billion [a year] deficit, theyve got to cut other promises, she says.

The Liberals faced just two weeks of sitting in Parliament in the first few months.

Now that Parliament is back, we want to see bills, we want to see government initiative, where are we going and that kinds of thing, Tellier says. So I think the real work starts now for Mr. Trudeau.
Canada's plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees was the focus of a U.S. Senate committee today in Washington, where lawmakers wanted reassurances America's ally and neighbour to the north isn't taking any "shortcuts."

Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican representative from Wisconsin who is chair of the committee, and Senator Thomas Carper, a Democrat from Delaware who is a committee ranking member, heard from four witnesses  one U.S. border patrol guard and three Canadians.

"Will there be shortcuts taken? Is that something that really ought to concern Americans here, as Canada is really ramping up  ... with all wonderful intentions, being very compassionate  admitting a much higher level of refugees than they are normally taking in and at a much faster pace," said Johnson as the hearing got underway.

The hearing comes not long after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. and some American lawmakers voted to ban Syrian refugees from entering their states.

Dean Mandel, a U.S. border patrol guard who works along the Buffalo-Ontario crossing, told the powerful homeland security committee he was much more concerned with Canada's overall immigration policies than the Canadian government's plan to resettle Syrian refugees.

"I know that there is significant controversy regarding Canada's recent decision to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees. In my opinion, it's very difficult to gauge the risk by these refugees and much of the risk will depend on the screening process utilized by Canadians."

"Candidly, of greater concern to me  from a border security perspective  are the over five million foreign visitors entering Canada annually," he said. "Canada is a diverse nation and has a per capita Muslim population three times our own. As a result, they have major inflows from tourists and business travellers and throughout the Middle East."

Story continues

Mandel was testifying on behalf of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing 16,500 U.S. border patrol agents.

"As someone stationed on the northern border, I want to be clear what happens in Canada matters to the United States. Whether it be Canadian policies for refugees or immigration, their decisions impact U.S. security given the size and nature of our shared border."

He said that his union believes the current staffing level of 2,100 agents should be boosted "by another 1,500 on our northern border."

"This additional manpower will help to decrease our almost complete reliance on Canadian law enforcement intelligence agencies for our security."

Laura Dawson, an expert in Canada-U.S relations and a former senior advisor at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, countered some of the anti-Canadian rhetoric heard in Washington circles after the 9/11 attacks.

"Canada is not the weak link in the fight against terrorism, rather it is part of a shared security perimeter with the United States," Dawson said on Wednesday.

'Risks' and 'significant constraints'

The U.S. Senate committee also heard from two Canadian lawyers who expressed their own concerns with Canada's plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees.

Guidy Mamann, an immigration lawyer from Toronto, told the U.S. Senate committee there are "unavoidable costs and risks associated" with bringing in such a large number of refugees in such a short period of time.

"Our government believes that those risks are manageable. I know that we have experienced and dedicated men and women in our security agencies who are working feverishly to meet our governments' time lines. Whether or not our efforts will work out well in the end, only time will tell," said Mamann.

David B. Harris, a lawyer based in Ottawa and an expert on national security, said he had concerns about Canada's ability to screen 25,000 refugees in four months.

Harris said the federal government should make public a number of security screening details such as the amount of time spent screening each refugee and the acceptance and rejection rate of refugees applying for resettlement to Canada.

"There is little doubt that those in Canada tasked with the job of screening refugees are doing the best they can given the constraints, but the constraints are significant and we must be realistic about that fact," said Harris, the director of the International Intelligence program at INSIGNIS Strategic Research in Ottawa.

'Almost a Tea Party operation'

Some 15,685 Syrian refugees, a mix of government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees, have arrived in Canada since Nov. 4, as the Canadian government looks to resettle a total of 25,000 by March 1.

Immigration Minister John McCallum has said Canada could resettle a total of 50,000 refugees by the end of 2016.

In an interview with CBC News Network's Power & Politics on Wednesday, McCallum said he did not hear any "major" concerns emerge from the testimony that was heard in Washington today.

"I am confident that we have a proper security approach, it's confirmed by heads of RCMP, CSIS and CBSA. We have explained it in detail to our U.S. counterparts and they have not expressed any concerns."

"So perhaps this is a little bit of political theatre in Washington," McCallum said.

The immigration minister chalked up the political rhetoric to "different agendas" telling CBC host Rosemary Barton "it's almost a Tea Party operation, perhaps."

McCallum will be in Washington later this month for a Five Eyes meeting with ministers from the U.S., U.K., New Zealand and Australia.

He will be accompanied by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. A spokesperson for Goodale's office told CBC News "these meetings happen on a regular basis and cover various topics of mutual concern."

Gary Doer, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., sent a letter to the U.S. committee last month, outlining the security measures taken by the government in its effort to resettle 25,000 refugees.

"Rest assured that no corners, including security screening, are being cut in order to achieve the government's objectives. Rather, the government has devoted significant resources to this effort," Doer wrote in a letter dated Jan. 20 that was read into the record by Carper today.

"Vilifying refugees coming to the United States or Canada only serves as a distraction from the real challenges of defeating ISIS on the battlefield and combating homegrown, violent extremism here on our shores," Carper said during the hearing on Wednesday.

"Providing safe haven for a few of the millions of people victimized by ISIS and the Syrian war will not hurt that cause. I actually believe it helps us," said the Democrat Senator from Delaware.

David MacNaughton has been named Canada's new ambassador to the U.S. He will be replacing Doer, whose term has come to an end.
By Arno Schuetze and Pamela Barbaglia (Reuters) - China's state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for around 43 billion Swiss francs ($42.2 billion), two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The deal, for roughly 470 Swiss francs per share, would be the biggest cross-border deal involving a Chinese buyer and mark an acceleration of a shakeup in the global agrochemicals industry. Negotiations are in final stages but nothing has been signed, the two sources said. It will likely be announced on Wednesday, when Syngenta is scheduled to release 2015 results, the people said. One source said minor adjustments to the price were still being discussed. Syngenta shares closed 3.7 percent higher at 392.30 francs in European trade on Tuesday. ChemChina's offer would be at a premium of about 24 percent to Syngenta's Monday close of 378.40 francs. Syngenta will not have to pay a considerable breakup fee if the buyout fails, the two sources said. While this potentially leaves the door open for peers including U.S. seed company Monsanto Co or BASF SE to top ChemChina's offer, the people said that Syngenta was not actively soliciting counter bids. Syngenta last year spurned takeover approaches from Monsanto, arguing it can create value on its own. Last month, Monsantos CEO said attempts to re-engage Syngenta about a potential takeover had been difficult but that he believed there was still "a significant opportunity" for integration between the companies. Syngenta declined to comment. ChemChina was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. Bloomberg had reported earlier on Tuesday that the deal worth 43.7 billion Swiss francs was near. Any deal would likely be reviewed by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which probes transactions with potential national security implications, but two CFIUS experts said they doubted that the inter-agency group would stop it. "It looks like they (Syngenta) have a lot of U.S. operations but it doesn't look like they are sensitive," said one CFIUS expert, adding that he would be "very surprised" if the company failed to register the merger with the agency. It is rare for CFIUS to stop a deal, although it did block Philips sale of high-end lights to Chinas GO Scale Capital just last month. Given other mergers in agricultural chemicals, such as DuPont's and Dow Chemical Co's agreement to combine, Syngenta Chairman Michel Demare recently conceded that "going it alone is hardly possible," given what shareholders were expecting. The likely takeover price would nominally match Monsanto's revised cash-and-stock bid made last August but the value of that offer would have fallen along with Monsanto's share price. ChemChina's move marks another instance of the country's quest for Western technology and distribution networks. Similar transactions include last year's buyout of Italian tire maker Pirelli by ChemChina. In January, ChemChina announced the acquisition of German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for about $1 billion. The Chinese government is keen to boost farming productivity as it seeks to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption. A global glut of corn and soybeans has depressed grain prices for the past three years, prompting U.S. farmers to reduce spending on everything from equipment to seeds and pesticides. The cutbacks, along with pressure from investors and a desire to bolster profit, have sent many of the world's largest agricultural companies scrambling to cut deals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that net farm income sank to $55.9 billion last year, down nearly 55 percent from an all-time high in 2013. Prices for U.S. corn have halved from three years ago. (Additional reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru, Sue-Lin Wong in Hong Kong and Diane Bartz in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Writing by Ludwig Burger and Diane Bartz; Editing by Adrian Croft and Matthew Lewis)
By Edmund Blair ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - China is expected to start work in Djibouti soon on a naval base, Djibouti's president told Reuters, defending Beijing's right to build what will be its first foreign military outpost on one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Strategically located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal, Djibouti is already home to U.S. and French bases, while other navies often use its port. China said last year it was in talks to build what it describes as naval "support facilities" in the Horn of Africa nation, which has less than a million people but is striving to become an international shipping hub. "The Chinese government has decided to move to this area," President Ismail Omar Guelleh said in a weekend interview in Addis Ababa. "They have the right to defend their interests, just like everybody else does." For Djibouti, among Africa's poorest nations, it adds to its credentials as a global player in shipping as it targets investment of $12.4 billion to create a commercial hub for Africa. "We want to follow the path of Singapore," Guelleh said. For China, the base reflects the increasing reach of its navy, which has conducted anti-piracy operations in the region, and a greater readiness to respond to threats abroad. President Xi Jinping is reforming the military, with China also becoming more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, and as its navy invests in submarines and aircraft carriers. The West is watching closely. "We understand that some Western countries have worries about maybe the Chinese willingness to have military outposts out of China," Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said during the president's interview. But he said the West, which had long had similar bases, should not be concerned. The president did not say when the work would begin or how many personnel would be stationed there. "They are now studying and they will, I guess, start soon," Guelleh said. BIGGEST INVESTORS The Chinese facilities would be at the $590 million Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port being built in the south of the country in partnership with China Merchants Holdings International. The navy would use one of the berths. It will be close to another port, the Doraleh Container Terminal, run by Dubai's DP World although the government is locked in a legal arbitration battle over that contract. Djibouti is expanding its port facilities to handle more bulk commodities, containers and other goods. It is also building two new airports to handle more tourists and cargo. It is already the main export and import route for Djibouti's fast growing neighbour Ethiopia, and the two nations will soon be connected by a new highway and rail links. Djibouti plans investment worth $12.4 billion between 2015 and 2020, with the Chinese providing much of the financing. "They are the biggest investors in our country," the president said. "They are the ones who were sensitive to what we feel and seek, and our interests are complementary." Last month, Guelleh signed a deal for a new free trade zone to be built by China. The first phase is to open this year. Others foreigners are also investing, including a German firm building a solar power project and a Qatari company backing a wind energy plant, part of Djibouti's goal to switch entirely to renewable power sources in five years. The investment has pushed economic growth to 6 percent or more a year, but the International Monetary Fund said it would also drive public and publicly-guaranteed debt to a peak of 80 percent of gross domestic project in 2017 from 60.5 percent in 2014. "Infrastructure always pays off, doesn't it?" the president said when asked about this debt burden. He said the investment drive would help fight the nation's "main enemy that is unemployment", adding that this would be his focus if he secures a fourth presidential term in April. Opponents, who have long said elections are marred by abuses despite official denials, say it is time for the president to quit, echoing increasingly loud calls by Western states for veteran Arab leaders to step aside. Asked for his response to such calls, Guelleh said: "An ambition is legitimate, isn't it? ... If they beat me in the election, I will leave." (editing by David Stamp)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Authorities in China's unruly far-western region of Xinjiang have reduced the sentences of 11 people jailed for threatening state security after declaring success of a de-radicalisation program, state news agency Xinhua reported. Hundreds of people have been killed in violence in Xinjiang in the past few years. The government blames the unrest on Islamist militants who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan for minority Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people from Xinjiang who speak a Turkic language. Seven of the convicts had their life sentences reduced to jail terms ranging from 19.5 years to 20 years, including people convicted of instigating "secessionist activities" or participating in terror attacks, Xinhua said late on Tuesday. The other four had their jail terms cut by six months from initial sentences ranging from eight to 15 years, it added. A spokesman for the main Uighur exile group dismissed the report as "political propaganda". Xinjiang's governor, Shohrat Zakir, was quoted by Xinhua as saying the region's jails had been very successful in recent years at their de-radicalisation efforts, with a majority of convicts becoming law-abiding citizens. Efforts need to continue in this regard with a focus on those convicted for harming state security, he said. Xinhua said this had been accomplished by inviting religious leaders and scholars to talk to prisoners about "correct religious belief". One of those whose sentence was reduced was identified as Yushanjiang Jilili, the Chinese spelling for Huseyin Celil, a Uighur-Canadian jailed in 2007 for terrorism. China considers him a Chinese citizen. "My crimes caused serious damage to my country, Xinjiang, my family and children that can never be made up for," Xinhua quoted him as saying. In Ottawa, a Canadian official confirmed Celil's sentence had been reduced. Canadian diplomats have been unable to get consular access to Celil, who was deported to China while visiting relatives in Uzbekistan. Reuters was also unable to reach officials in Xinjiang for comment, or any family members of the convicts to verify their stories. Exiles and many rights groups say the real cause of the unrest is heavy-handed Chinese policies, including curbs on Uighur culture, and a dearth of economic opportunity, rather than any cohesive militant group. Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the main exile group the World Uyghur Congress, said news of the commutations was a "political propaganda tool" to cover up the government's use of the term extremist to repress the Uighur people. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Michael Martina and David Ljunggren; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel and Bill Trott)
By Alastair Macdonald and Noah Barkin BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Is this how "Europe" ends? The Germans, founders and funders of the postwar union, shut their borders to refugees in a bid for political survival by the chancellor who let in a million migrants. And then -- why not? -- they decide to revive the Deutschmark while they're at it. That is not the fantasy of diehard Eurosceptics but a real fear articulated at the highest levels in Berlin and Brussels. Chancellor Angela Merkel, her ratings hit by crimes blamed on asylum seekers at New Year parties in Cologne, and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker both said as much last week. Juncker echoed Merkel in warning that the central economic achievements of the common market and the euro are at risk from incoherent, nationalistic reactions to migration and other crises. He renewed warnings that Europe is on its "last chance", even if he still hoped it was not "at the beginning of the end". Merkel, facing trouble among her conservative supporters as much as from opponents, called Europe "vulnerable" and the fate of the euro "directly linked" to resolving the migration crisis -- highlighting the risk of at the very least serious economic turbulence if not a formal dismantling of EU institutions. Some see that as mere scare tactics aimed at fellow Europeans by leaders with too much to lose from an EU collapse -- Greeks and Italians have been seen to be dragging their feet over controlling the bloc's Mediterranean frontier and eastern Europeans who benefit from German subsidies and manufacturing supply chain jobs have led hostility to demands that they help take in refugees. Germans are also getting little help from EU co-founder France, whose leaders fear a rising anti-immigrant National Front, or the bloc's third power, Britain, consumed with its own debate on whether to just quit the European club altogether. So, empty threat or no, with efforts to engage Turkey's help showing little sign yet of preventing migrants reaching Greek beaches, German and EU officials are warning that without a sharp drop in arrivals or a change of heart in other EU states to relieve Berlin of the lonely task of housing refugees, Germany could shut its doors, sparking wider crisis this spring. GERMAN WARNINGS With Merkel's conservative allies in the southern frontier state of Bavaria demanding she halt the mainly Muslim asylum seekers ahead of tricky regional elections in March, her veteran finance minister delivered one of his trademark veiled threats to EU counterparts of what that could mean for them. "Many think this is a German problem," Wolfgang Schaeuble said in meetings with fellow EU finance ministers in Brussels. "But if Germany does what everyone expects, then we'll see that it's not a German problem -- but a European one." Senior Merkel allies are working hard to stifle the kind of parliamentary party rebellion that threatened to derail bailouts which kept Greece in the euro zone last year. But pressure is mounting for national measures, such as border fences, which as a child of East Germany Merkel has said she cannot countenance. "If you build a fence, it's the end of Europe as we know it," one senior conservative said. "We need to be patient." A senior German official noted that time is running out, however. "The chancellor has been asking her party for more time," he said. "But ... that narrative ... is losing the persuasiveness it may have had in October or November. If you add in the debate about Cologne, she faces an increasingly difficult situation." He noted that arrivals had not fallen sharply over the winter months as had been expected. "You can only imagine what happens when the weather improves," he said. SCHENGEN FEARS Merkel and Juncker explicitly linked new national frontier controls across Europe's passport-free Schengen zone to a collapse of the single market at the core of the bloc, and of the euro. Both would ravage jobs and the economy. "Without Schengen ... the euro has no point," Juncker told a New Year news conference on Friday. Historic national resentments were re-emerging, he added, accusing his generation of EU leaders of squandering the legacy of the union's founders, survivors of World War Two. Merkel has not suggested -- yet -- that Berlin could follow neighbors like Austria and Denmark in further tightening border checks to deny entry to irregular migrants. But she has made clear how Europe might suffer. "No one can pretend that you can have a common currency without being able to cross borders relatively easily," she said at a business event last week. In private, German officials are more explicit. "We have until March, the summer maybe, for a European solution," said a second German official. "Then Schengen goes down the drain." A senior EU official was equally blunt: "There is a big risk that Germany closes. From that, no Schengen ... There is a risk that the February summit could start a countdown to the end." The next summit of EU leaders one month from now follows meetings last year that were marked by agreement on a migration strategy as well as rows over failures to implement it. Of the 160,000 asylum seekers EU leaders agreed in September to distribute among member states, fewer than 300 have been moved. Berlin and Brussels continue to press for more distribution across Europe. But few place much hope in that -- one senior German official calls it "flogging a dead horse". TURKISH KEY EU leaders' hope is for help from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, a man many of them see as an embryonic dictator. Berlin is pressing for more EU cash for Ankara, beyond an agreed 3 billion euros, which Italy is blocking. Some Germans suggest simply using German funds to stem the flow from Turkey. EU officials say it is too early to panic. Arrivals have fallen this month. U.N. data show them running in January at half the 3,500 daily rate of December. Progress includes a move to let some of the 2.1 million Syrian refugees in Turkey take jobs. The EU will fund more schools for refugee children. Yet EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, who travels to Berlin on Monday, told the European Parliament last week: "The situation is getting worse." The refugee crisis was jeopardizing "the very core of the European Union", he said, offering no grounds to be optimistic other than that "optimism is our last line of our defense". (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Paul Taylor and Tom Koerkemeier in Brussels; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
By Paul Taylor LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union formally abandoned on Tuesday the founding principle that all of its members are heading toward ever closer integration, only at different speeds. But whether that will be enough to enable Prime Minister David Cameron to win a referendum perhaps as early as June on maintaining British membership of the EU remains to be seen, given hostility in his Conservative party and the depth of public anxiety about immigration. A draft deal negotiated by EU authorities with the aim of keeping Britain in the 28-nation bloc recognizes for the first time that some countries do not share the objective, enshrined in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, of "ever closer union" and may never go further in political integration. A legally binding decision up for approval by EU leaders says references in the bloc's founding treaties to an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe "do not compel all member states to aim for a common destination". In other words, member states will no longer be obliged to order the full set menu at European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's restaurant, but have a recognized right to pick and choose their courses. The text makes explicit a long-term shift in Europe's architecture toward a two-tier or multi-tier system, with the 19-nation euro zone destined to move to deeper political and economic integration even as others stand aside. Until now, the Brussels orthodoxy had been that all members of a "two-speed Europe" would eventually participate in all European policies, but at their own pace. Britain is already the most semi-detached of EU members. It has opted out of the euro and the Schengen zone of passport-free travel and only participates in judicial and police cooperation on an "a la carte" basis. EU officials are keen to avoid the terms offered to Britain triggering a "me too" wave of efforts by others, such as Poland, to row back on existing commitments. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria all bound themselves in their EU accession treaties to join the single currency once they meet the economic criteria. Since the euro zone's debt crisis, most have stalled preparations. At Britain's behest, the text recognizes that "not all member states have the euro as their currency" but it avoids undermining the others' obligation to join. Warsaw's new Eurosceptic government has said it does not intend to adopt the euro during its four-year term. INSUBSTANTIAL? Cameron secured concessions on a range of demands from more say for national parliaments, to denying welfare benefits to new EU migrants arriving in Britain, and a procedure to make it harder for euro zone countries to outvote non-euro members. But hardline Eurosceptics dismissed the package in advance as insubstantial and too weak to restore national control over immigration, while even some supporters of EU membership said the deal created no new rights or constraints. "There is nothing in the text that substantially alters the EU rules and laws as far as they apply to Britain or any other country," former Europe Minister Denis MacShane of the opposition Labour party said. "There is no veto for the House of Commons which would have to find 13 other parliaments and governments to object to a EU proposal. Some benefits to EU citizens working in the UK face some changes but that is happening in other member states. There is no interference with the principle of free movement," said the strongly pro-EU MacShane. Cameron has secured an immediate right to deny newcomers in-work benefits by using a new provision that, if approved, would recognize a state of emergency in Britain's social services due to immigration. However, experts including the head of Britain's independent fiscal watchdog doubt whether the measure will have much impact on migration from poorer EU countries, given that a buoyant labor market is sucking in workers into low-skilled jobs. Britain neither sought nor received a veto over further euro zone integration, which its finance minister George Osborne has said is in the remorseless logic of sharing a single currency. The EU has fudged the issue of assuaging UK fears of being outvoted by euro members on regulation affecting the City of London's global financial center without giving Britain a veto right over such rule-making. The deal includes a procedure allowing a country or group of countries to force a special deliberation and additional efforts to find a solution when it feels disadvantaged. But how high the issue can be escalated remains to be agreed, and the final decision would rest with finance ministers by majority vote. So Britain could still be outvoted. Similarly, the text gives national parliaments a slightly greater power than before to stop legislative proposals by the European Commission that a majority deem to infringe national prerogatives. Previously, a smaller group of legislatures could send a proposal back to the EU executive for redrafting. However, the short deadline and large number of parliaments needed to stop a European bill make it unlikely that the so-called "red card" will be waved more frequently than the current "yellow card", which has been used only three times since 2009. For its part, London gave a commitment "not to create obstacles to but facilitate such further deepening" of the economic and monetary union. That would appear to preclude any repeat of a 2011 incident when Cameron tried to veto a fiscal compact treaty designed to strengthen enforcement of EU budget rules in the euro area, only for other member states to adopt the measure as an inter-governmental treaty, bypassing Britain. (Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Mark John)
The Zika virus could spread in every European country if the Aedes mosquito gets a foothold on the continent, the WHO has warned.

The World Health Organisation's Europe chief said the risk of the virus spreading around Europe would increase in spring and summer as temperatures warm up.

It is most likely to spread beyond Latin America by mosquitos stowed away in baggage, or in the blood of travellers.

The virus - strongly linked to birth defects such as abnormally small heads - has been declared an international health emergency.

The governor of Florida has declared a health emergency in four counties where at least nine cases of the illness have been detected in Florida.

:: Zika Virus: Will It Spread And Can We Stop It?

The Aedes mosquito is absent from the vast majority of Europe, but health experts say it could potentially spread across hotter countries.

One island that does have the Aedes aegypti mosquito - responsible for most of the cases in Latin America - is the Portuguese island of Madeira.

It caused a dengue fever epidemic of more than 2,000 cases in 2012.

Another Aedes mosquito - Aedes albopictus - is also established in Italy and areas of southern France and eastern Spain.

"Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease," said WHO Europe chief Zsuzsanna Jakab.

"A number of travellers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive.

"With the onset of spring and summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases."

Authorities have been urged to take measures such as eliminating mosquito breeding sites, such as standing water, and spraying insecticide where necessary.

Blood donors across the UK will also be barred from giving blood for a month if they have been to a country affected by Zika.

The NHS said the "safety of the blood supply is paramount" as it brought in the 28-day ban.

Story continues

Brazil has been worst affected by the outbreak after detecting its first case in May, with nearly 4,000 cases reported so far.

It has spread "explosively" to more than 30 countries, according to the WHO.

Women are being warned to avoid Zika-hit countries if they are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant.

:: Q&A - Zika Virus and Pregnancy

Zika has also been found in semen and a county in Texas has reported a sexually transmitted case of the virus.

It is reported to be only the second recorded case since Zika's discovery in 1947.

However, with the exception of the risks for unborn babies, the virus is not considered dangerous.

About one in five people infected get relatively mild symptoms including a fever, muscle pain, red-eyes and a skin rash three to 12 days after being bitten.

Two people in Ireland who had travelled to a country affected by Zika have now recovered.
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has decided not to impose further punishment on David Petraeus, a former U.S. military commander and CIA director who admitted sharing classified information with his mistress, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The short letter was sent by Stephen Hedger, the assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, and the decision is in line with an Army review. Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA in 2012 after it was revealed that he was having an affair with his biographer, Army Reserve officer Paula Broadwell. When he pleaded guilty to mishandling classified information, a court document signed by Petraeus and prosecutors said that in 2011, Petraeus illegally gave Broadwell access to official binders. In April, the retired four-star general was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $100,000 but was spared prison time after pleading guilty to mishandling classified information. The Pentagon could have sought to further reprimand Petraeus under military law. Hedger's letter was addressed to Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Senator John McCain and Senator Jack Reed, who had recently asked Carter not to take further action. The Pentagon declined to comment on the letter. Petraeus, a counter-insurgency expert with a Princeton University doctorate, served as the top U.S. commander in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was once considered a possible vice presidential or presidential candidate. Known as "black books," the binders that Petraeus shared with Broadwell contained classified information including identities of covert officers, code word information, war strategy, intelligence capabilities, diplomatic talks and information from high-level White House National Security Council meetings, according to court records. Petraeus now serves as chairman of the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' captive economic and geopolitical think tank, the KKR Global Institute, according to its website. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Bernard Orr and Bill Trott)
By Jeffrey Dastin and Malathi Nayak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Expectant couples planning "babymoon" vacations are increasingly steering clear of Latin America and the Caribbean amid warnings about a suspected link between a Zika virus outbreak in the region and birth defects, travel agents say. Airlines and hotel chains say it is too early to tell if the Zika epidemic is affecting bookings. But some babymooners - parents-to-be taking last-hurrah vacations - have backed out of trips and changed itineraries. Theres been a lot of cancellations, said Lauren Machowsky, a travel advisor at New York-based SmartFlyer. Some people are freaked out." Machowsky, who is herself expecting a child and called off a planned vacation to Anguilla, said she is redirecting a lot of people to Florida and pointing clients to travel warnings issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I refer them to the CDC website and say, Listen, this is my experience. I was going away and had to cancel, Machowsky said. On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an emergency because of evidence that the mosquito-borne virus is linked to a spike in birth defects in Brazil. The current outbreak has spread to at least 25 countries and territories, most of them in the Americas. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to areas with an active Zika outbreak. Parenting website babycenter.com asked pregnant readers with plans to travel to Zika-affected areas if they would change course. About half of 1,118 respondents said they planned to cancel, and 27 percent said they were keeping their plans. The rest were undecided. New Hampshire-based travel agent Darcy Allen, of Travel by Darcy, said shes had a handful of cancellations and estimated 80 percent of her babymoon clients are avoiding Mexico. Its certainly a factor in deciding where they want to go," said Allen. In another sign of Zikas impact on travelers, sales of trip cancellation insurance have surged among people booking Latin American vacations, RoamRight, a top U.S. provider, told Reuters on Monday. Newlyweds hoping to start a family also are cautiously evaluating honeymoon options, said New Jersey-based Mindy Gilbert of My Vacation Lady. "I have been asking personal questions like, 'Are you pregnant? Do you plan on conceiving,' - something Ive never asked before," she said. One couple that had hoped to spend their honeymoon in Mexicos Riviera Maya is now waiting to see how the virus situation develops, she said. Several travel agents said they were steering clients toward Europe and Hawaii. Ilonka Molijn, founder of Netherlands-based BabyMoon Travel, said visiting Mexico and the Caribbean was not a huge draw for her clients before the Zika outbreak, but now "there isnt any interest in it at all. Concerns are extending beyond babymooners and honeymooners. Florida-based Travel Planners Inc owner Marieanne Syverson said 70 percent of her clients in January - only a small portion of whom were honeymooners - had asked about Zika. A few are rethinking their plans, she said, but shes had no cancellations. People are considering different destinations, absolutely," she said. "Those who were thinking of Puerto Rico or Brazil for Carnival and the Olympics are thinking maybe they shouldnt go there. (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin and Malathi Nayak in New York; Writing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Lisa Girion)
By Francesca Piscioneri and Gabriela Baczynska ROME/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italy will contribute to a 3 billion euro European Union fund to help Turkey tackle the European migration crisis, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Monday, dropping objections blocking implementation of the plan. Under a deal from last November, Ankara is to stem the flood of refugees and migrants leaving for Europe in exchange for the aid. Brussels hopes that would help limit the influx of people fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and Africa after more than a million reached Europe last year. Italy, which has locked horns on a number of issues with Brussels recently, has been blocking payouts to Turkey in hope of winning more leeway from the bloc on its 2016 budget. But during a visit to Nigeria on Monday, Renzi spoke to reporters in comments later circulated by a spokesman. "At this point, we will give our contribution to Turkey to save human lives," he said. The EU's executive said earlier on Monday that it had offered in December to exempt any contributions to the Turkey fund from member state's budget deficit calculations under the bloc's accounting rules. That would make the contributions more palatable as the 28 EU states are obliged to stick to prudent spending rules set out in the so-called Stability and Growth Pact or face disciplinary action from Brussels. Renzi welcomed the proposal as "finally something positive" and EU envoys will consider it on Wednesday in Brussels. A source told Reuters the plan includes contributions in 2016 envisaged at 427.5 million euros for Germany, 327.6 million euros for Britain, 309.2 million euros for France and 224.9 million euros for Italy. The source, familiar with the document, said it also included a line allowing for the lowering of the contributions in 2017, and that Cyprus - which has a long-standing feud with Turkey - would pay 2.3 million euros to Jordan and Lebanon instead. While some 2.5 million Syrian refugees are currently in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon have also taken in hundreds of thousands. ITALIAN DEMANDS Renzi's demands have gone further than the exemption proposed by the Commission. The Italian leader, who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the matter on Friday, has pressed Brussels to accept up front that Rome would spend an extra 3.2 billion euros this year on migration, increasing its deficit. The Commission says it can only evaluate migration-related spending after it takes place, assessing each item case-by-case. Italy, which is in complex financial talks with Brussels to help its struggling economy, has also been on the front line of migrant multitudes entering Europe, along with Greece. It was not immediately clear whether Italy's other demands were now dropped. In his remarks, Renzi still criticised Brussels' approach to trying to alleviate Europe's worst migration crisis since World War Two. "We have saved thousands of lives while Europe looked the other way. We will keep doing that because before the stability pact, there is a humanity pact," Renzi said. "If they want to open a procedure against Italy, let them, we will go ahead. For us, Europe means values and ideals, not arguments among budget pedants," he said, calling EU officials in Brussels "professional polemicists". (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri in Rome, Gabriela Baczynska, Tom Koerkemeier and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Writing by Isla Binnie and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Rumble

This video shows the incredible behaviour of a caring mother elephant on high alert, quickly stopping her adorable baby which was curiously straying away from her towards a vehicle full of safari tourists. Going on safari in the Kruger National Park is a life changing experience. Driving around multiple tarred roads, slowly scanning a massive area of wilderness is all part of the thrill. You never know what will be around the next corner or what animal will suddenly appear from the bush onto the road. Its an exciting experience and one of the must-see animals for most tourists are elephants. Not only are they the largest land mammals on our planet and fairly intimidating, elephants are also one of the most intelligent and emotionally intelligent animals that roam this planet. Seeing these giants in the wild is always a sight to remember. The video shows an incredible moment filmed in the Kruger National Park when a safari vehicle full of tourists found a large elephant cow and her adorable calf next to the road. The safari vehicle stopped and it looked like the mother elephant and her baby wanted to cross the road. The baby elephant was the cutest thing alive in the wild right at that moment. While the elephant cow remained focussed on crossing the road, her baby took notice of the safari vehicle and curiously started straying away from its mother towards the vehicle. The caring mother elephant immediately went into high alert and quickly took her trunk and stopped her baby from going any closer to the safari vehicle. The mother elephant gently used her trunk to guide her baby back and into the right direction. It was incredible to see how quickly the elephant cow became protective over her baby. The elephant calf listened to its mother and in a well-behaved manner, walking on the opposite side of its mother, continued to focus and follow its mother as it should. This is crucial for the survival of the calf in the wild. The gestation period of an elephant is twenty-two months, so it is very understandable that an elephant calf is seen as a huge investment and there will always be a mother around, ready to protect her calf from any potential danger. Even though the tourists were not a direct threat, the mother elephant knows all to well that there are humans that still pose a danger for them in the wild. The mother of such a small calf is definitely not something to mess with at all and its best never to get too close to a mother and her calf.
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles prosecutors filed criminal charges against the Southern California Gas company on Tuesday over a huge methane leak near the city that has forced thousands of residents from their homes since October. The four misdemeanor charges accuse SoCalGas, a division of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, of failing to report the release of hazardous materials following the underground pipeline rupture and discharging air contaminants. "While we recognize that neither the criminal charges nor the civil lawsuits will offer the residents of Los Angeles County a complete solution, it is important that Southern California Gas Co. be held responsible for its criminal actions," District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a written statement. Lacey's move came on the same day that California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued Southern California Gas Co, accusing the utility of violating state health and safety laws by failing to promptly control the escaping gas and report the leak to authorities. The lawsuit also cites environmental damage caused by the uncontrolled release of 80,000 metric tons of methane, the prime component of natural gas and a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The leak stems from an underground pipeline rupture at the company's 3,600-acre (1,457-hectare) Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field. The largest such leak ever in California, at its height it accounted for a fourth of all methane emissions statewide. The lawsuit amends a civil complaint brought in December by the Los Angeles city attorney and later joined by Los Angeles County. It seeks civil penalties and court orders requiring the utility to immediately take all steps necessary to mitigate the leak, repair the damage and prevent future discharges. Several attempts to halt the methane release have failed, but the company said it hopes to plug the leak by the end of the month through a relief well. The company said in a statement it would "respond to the lawsuit through the judicial process." Last week, the South Coast Air Quality Management District filed a separate lawsuit against SoCal Gas seeking civil penalties of up to $250,000 a day for each of six pollution-related health and safety code violations. The methane fumes have sickened scores of people and prompted the relocation of more than 6,600 households from the Porter Ranch community at the edge of the crippled underground gas storage field. More than 20 private lawsuits have been filed on behalf of some of those residents. (Reporting Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Dan Levine in San Francisco and Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by David Gregorio, Tom Brown and Bernard Orr)
Top Army and Marine Corps generals have said woman should have to register for the draft and that it could take up to three years to fully integrate them into all combat jobs.

Military leaders revealed they were in favour of the change during an occasionally contentious Senate Armed Committee hearing on Tuesday into the full integration of women in the military.

Marine Corps commandant General Robert Neller and Army chief of staff General Mark Milley gave their response after a question from Senator Claire McCaskill.

But they told members of the committee they will not lower standards to bring women into more gruelling jobs.

The hearing revealed a deep reluctance among Marine Corps leaders to bring women into certain demanding infantry, armour and special operations jobs.

It initially sought to maintain certain infantry and combat jobs closed to women, citing studies which claimed that combined gender units are not as effective as male-only units and arguing that allowing women to compete for ground combat jobs would make the Marine Corps less-efficient.

Gen Neller told senators: "I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft."

He added: "We have a decision and we're in the process of moving out. We will see where the chips fall.

"And, again, our hope is that everyone will be successful. But hope is not a course of action on the battlefield."

Gen Neller said testing had revealed two significant differences between all-male units and those with men and women.

He said all-male units were able to better march long distances carrying heavy loads and were able to fire their weapons more accurately after marching over distance.

General Milley also backed registration for women. He estimated that full integration would take "no less than one to three years of deliberate effort".

The US military has been an all-volunteer force since the 1970s, but young men between the ages of 18 and 26 must register in case the draft is reactivated and face being forced into military service.

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After a lengthy review by the services and the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered all combat jobs to be opened to women in December , but vowed that standards would not be lowered.

Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the committee, said there had been too little planning and pointed to studies that found women suffer more injuries.

The military leaders said that for the first time services are developing standards that are specific to each job, based on the requirements and tasks that must be accomplished.

Those standards would be applied equally for men and women.
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks to members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in the East Room at the White House in Washington January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will make his first visit as president to a U.S. mosque next week in a defense of religious freedom, the White House said, following a rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.

Obama will visit on Wednesday the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque, where he will hold a roundtable with the community and deliver remarks, a White House official said on Saturday.

At the mosque, the president will "reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values  welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference, and protecting our nation's tradition of religious freedom," the official said.

He has visited mosques outside the United States on his trips abroad.

Obama, a Democrat in his last year as president, has appealed to Americans to reject anti-Muslim comments by politicians, most notably Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

Trump, who is leading the Republican field in opinion polls, called for a ban on Muslim visitors to the United States after a Muslim couple inspired by Islamist militants killed 14 people in a shooting in San Bernardino, California, in early December.

According to a Gallup poll in December, Americans are now more likely to name terrorism as the top issue facing the United States than any other issue.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken)
Iraq's finance minister has told Sky News the OPEC cartel of oil-producing nations is "trying, really" to cut output and raise prices as his country suffers the effects of the weakness.

Hoshyar Zebari said the country's revenues had fallen "dramatically" as a result of the market turmoil - at a time the government is trying to defeat so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country - putting a huge strain on resources.

In Iraq, where more than 90% of government revenue relies on oil sales, a financial crisis is looming. With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) the ongoing war against IS, it is something ministers simply cannot afford.

The government forecast the price of oil this year at $45 per barrel. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is now selling for around 30% less than that, impacting not only peoples livelihoods but also the security of the country.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to cut output last year to help prop up prices as it battles to maintain its market share from the challenge posed by cheaper, US-produced shale oil.

However, a former Iraqi oil minister - now an MP on the parliament's energy committee - is optimistic that prices will soon recover.

Ibrahim Bahr Al Ulloum said: "We are seeing some discussion between Saudi Arabia and Russia and also from inside the OPEC to push Saudi Arabia to reduce production".

The solution sounds simple  reduce production of oil and the price will increase.

But in the long term, experts here, including Dr Ulloum, believe that OPEC, which was founded in Baghdad to unify the oil price, needs to be restructured to include other big oil producing nations including Russia.

Mr Zebari told Ian King Live: "OPEC is trying really to cut production collectively and ..the gap between supply and demand will close by the end of this year - but these are all expectations."

Across Iraq, businesses are going under. People are trying to save whatever money they are making in case things get worse.

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Prices are going up but salaries are not. The government has warned its 8 million employees that soon, it may be unable to pay their wages because of the huge state deficit - a deficit Mr Zebari put at 24%.

Managers like Haider Rasheed, who owns a car dealership in Baghdad, say people are worried about the deteriorating security.

He told Sky News: We have militias, we have gangs in Iraq and now those people dont have money and that means they will kidnap and commit crimes more.

Maybe they kill people to take money from them, he warned.

The huge deficit also affects the war effort and has the potential to reverse gains made against IS in recent months, which could not only destabilise Iraq but also its neighbours.

Oil analyst Dr Sajad Jiyad thinks declining oil prices may also contribute to the European migration crisis: Additionally youve got the young people who have had enough of, number one, the violence that has happened in Iraq in the last few months, and, number two, the economic fallout, and they are seeking a better life elsewhere.

It is a bleak scenario: as the economic situation worsens, so does Iraqs fragile stability.
By Daniel Kelley NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge refused to dismiss a sexual assault case against once-celebrated comedian Bill Cosby on Wednesday, clearing the way case against him to move toward trial. Attorneys for Cosby had argued that the entertainer could not be prosecuted due to an agreement reached with a former Montgomery County district attorney. But Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court Judge Steven O'Neill dismissed the immunity claim after a two-day hearing in suburban Philadelphia. "I hereby find no basis to grant the relief requested" by Cosby's lawyers, O'Neill said. Cosby, 78, faces charges of sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago. The case now moves to a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Cosby's attorneys had asked the judge to toss out the charges, contending that a deal reached with former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor spared their client from prosecution in exchange for a 2005 civil deposition. In the deposition, Cosby admitted giving what he said was an anti-allergy drug to his alleged victim before a sexual encounter that he described as consensual. The woman, Andrea Constand, now 44, has said Cosby plied her with alcohol and drugs before raping her. More than 50 women have accused the once-celebrated entertainer, whose long career was based on family-friendly comedy, of sexually assaulting them in attacks dating back to the 1960s. Many of the incidents are too old to prosecute. The Pennsylvania case is the only incident for which Cosby has been criminally charged. Castor testified on Tuesday that he had declined to bring charges in 2005 that Cosby had assaulted Constand, a former employee at Cosby's alma mater Temple University in Philadelphia, because he did not consider her case "viable." Defense attorneys on Tuesday presented a 2005 press release from Castor's office that they said amounted to an agreement not to prosecute Cosby. The defense called Cosby's chief attorney, John Schmitt, as a witness on Wednesday. Schmitt testified that would not have allowed Cosby to give the deposition if he had not been sure it could not be used against his client. On cross examination, District Attorney Kevin Steele attacked the idea that Cosby's lawyers would allow a deal that was never spelled out in a formal non-prosecution agreement. Castor said he believed Constand's charges but thought a jury would view her as less than credible because she had waited a year to bring charges and had hired a lawyer to look into a civil suit.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans should battle against corruption and grisly drug gang violence, Pope Francis urged on Wednesday, just days before he is set to make his first tour of some of Mexico's most violence-scarred regions as pontiff. Blighted by endemic corruption and cartel violence that have killed well over 100,000 people in the past decade, Mexico is still grappling with the fallout of conflict of interest scandals enveloping President Enrique Pena Nieto's government. The fate of 43 students abducted and apparently massacred in late 2014, a crime that sent shock waves through Mexico and around the world, is still shrouded in mystery after authorities failed to solve the case. "The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants," the Pope said in video released by the Vatican in response to a series of questions submitted by the public. He was referring to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who Roman Catholics venerate as the patroness of Mexico. "Of course I don't want to cover up any of that, on the contrary, I exhort you to fight every day against corruption, against trafficking, against war, against division, against organized crime, against human smuggling." During his five-day visit starting Feb. 12, the Pope will lead Mass with the indigenous community in Mexico's poorest state Chiapas, speak with young people in Morelia, capital of violence-wracked Michoacan state, and end with a large Mass in border town Ciudad Juarez, which once had one of the world's highest murder rates. [ID:nL1N1410J9] (Reporting by Philip Pullella Writing by Christine Murray and Simon Gardner Editing by W Simon)
By Sarah White MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Socialists on Wednesday kicked off long-awaited talks on forming a coalition government, a task seen as impossible unless several political parties drop some conditions. After meeting small leftist and regional parties on Wednesday, Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez is due to meet the liberal Ciudadanos on Thursday and anti-austerity Podemos on Friday. Sanchez told a news conference he would also seek a meeting next week with the conservative People's Party (PP) - the party which won the most seats in an inconclusive December election but, like its rivals, fell far short of a majority. "The feeling I got from the round of talks I've had with different parties is that this is starting well," Sanchez said after talks with former communists United Left as well as parties from Valencia and the Canary Islands. The election result has plunged Spain into its most fraught political situation in decades, threatening to bring in a period of instability just as its recovers from a long economic crisis. Worn down by years of belt-tightening and angered by high-level corruption cases, Spaniards turned away from traditional forces and backed newer parties such as Podemos in December. Despite Sanchez's upbeat assessment, a new election may eventually be called if parties remain at loggerheads. Given the fragmentation of parliament, the Socialists would need the backing of at least three parties to achieve a simple majority of seats while several others would have to abstain. Not only do those parties have different - and sometimes opposed - economic manifestos but they also disagree on fundamental issues such as whether to organise an independence referendum in Catalonia. That leaves Sanchez with a difficult path to tread as he tries to keep his own party behind him. He stressed on Wednesday that he would tell pro-secession parties from Catalonia that he opposed their independence drive. He is also not planning to ask the PP for support in trying to form a government. But Sanchez sought to reinforce his credentials as a consensus leader by calling for parties to agree on how Spain should respond to a European Union reform package aimed at keeping Britain in the bloc. "We're going to ask (acting) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to appear in parliament to seek a common position," Sanchez said. Rajoy had been pushing for the PP to lead a "grand coalition" of parties such as the Socialists and Ciudadanos, though he passed on his chance to try to form a government first, saying he lacked support. Sanchez, who has said he needs at least a month before seeking a confidence vote in parliament, has appointed a six-strong team to handle the negotiations. These will focus on four areas - creating jobs, tackling social inequalities, restoring faith in Spain's institutions and giving it a new constitution to better accommodate Catalonia. If he fails, other potential candidates would have a maximum of two months to try to form an alternative majority. After that, a new national election would have to be called. (Reporting by Julien Toyer, Blanca Rodriguez and Rodrigo de Miguel, Writing by Sarah White, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By John Irish and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks being mediated by the United Nations to end the war in Syria are on hold, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday, while another official at the United Nations blamed the suspension on Russia's latest military escalation. "I have concluded frankly that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but by the stakeholders," he said. "I have indicated from the first day that I won't talk for the sake of talking." He was speaking after meeting opposition coordinator Riad Hijab, who had just arrived in Geneva. A senior U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that de Mistura called a halt to the talks after Russia increased air strikes to help the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, undermining the negotiating process. "I think the special envoy decided to suspend the talks because the (United Nations) did not want to be associated with the Russian escalation in Syria, which risks undermining the talks completely," the official said. "The stepped up airstrikes gain the government ground, but also aim at humiliating the opposition on the ground and in Geneva," he added. Hijab told reporters that it was not the last chance for peace, but the opposition would not return to peace talks without evidence of humanitarian improvements on the ground. The pause was a chance for the international community to put pressure on Assad and his allies, he said. The pause came abruptly after several days of stuttering progress and postponed meetings, without De Mistura ever getting the two sides in a dialogue. De Mistura's office initially said the talks would resume on Feb. 25 but later issued a statement saying the could start again before that date. It also came after intensified Syrian government advances backed by Russian air strikes on rebel positions in northern Aleppo. Hijab blamed the Syrian government delegation for collapsing the talks, but its leader Bashar Ja'afari said it was "a failure of everybody except the government of the Syrian Arab Republic." Ja'afari told reporters that he had known for "hours" that the opposition wanted to withdraw and accused De Mistura of pausing the talks to avert a walk-out. "We consider that the style used by the Special Envoy to justify the withdrawal of Riyadh delegation under instructions from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey was not subjective. It didn't say the truth as it was, Ja'afari said. Those regional powers, along with the United States, Russia Iran and others, comprise the "International Syria Support Group" (ISSG), which has thrown its weight behind De Mistura's initiative, without always agreeing on how he should go about it. "We are waiting for the United States to stop leading from the back, and the Russians, who are co-broker of the ISSG, to stop adding fuel to the fire," said opposition spokeswoman Farah al-Atassi. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other top ISSG diplomats are expected to meet at the annual Munich security conference on Feb. 11. "I will be asking for the ISSG to convene as soon as possible, hopefully in Munich, and for the U.N. Security Council to meet and reconvene on Feb. 25," De Mistura said. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said he saw an opportunity for negotiations at the Munich conference. De Mistura said he planned to go to London for a Syria humanitarian pledging conference on Thursday, since the plight of Syria's 5 million refugees would be an additional incentive to reconvene the talks. The Swedish-Italian diplomat apologized to reporters who had waited in sleet and hail while he spent 2 1/2 hours meeting the opposition delegation. He said he was neither frustrated nor disappointed by having to pause the talks. "I have been long enough at the U.N. to know that when you have a five-year war that has had so many difficult moments you have to be determined but also realistic." (Reporting by John Irish, Stephanie Nebehay, Kinda Makieh, and Tom Miles; additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Tom Miles; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Toni Reinhold, Grant McCool)
By John Irish and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations envoy halted his attempts to conduct Syrian peace talks on Wednesday after the army, backed by Russian air strikes, advanced against rebel forces north of Aleppo, choking opposition supply lines from Turkey to the city. Another senior U.N. official said the Russian escalation was the main reason for the suspension of the peace talks, which have made little progress since beginning earlier this week. Staffan de Mistura announced a three-week pause in the Geneva talks, the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria's war in two years, saying they needed immediate help from the rival sides' international backers, principally the United States and Russia. "I have indicated from the first day that I won't talk for the sake of talking," the envoy, who has described the negotiations as Syria's last hope, told reporters. A senior U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that De Mistura halted the talks after Russia's military escalation undermined the negotiating process. "I think the special envoy decided to suspend the talks because the (United Nations) did not want to be associated with the Russian escalation in Syria, which risks undermining the talks completely," the official said. "The stepped up airstrikes gain the government ground, but also aim at humiliating the opposition on the ground and in Geneva," he added. Washington and Moscow's support for opposite sides in the five-year-old war, which has drawn in regional states, created millions of refugees and enabled the rise of Islamic State, means a local conflict has become an increasingly fraught global standoff. De Mistura has said a ceasefire is essential but Russia refused to suspend its air strikes. They helped government forces end a three-and-a-half year siege of the Shiite towns of Nubul and al-Zahraa on Wednesday, a step toward recapturing all of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war. "I don't see why these air strikes should be stopped," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, saying they were targeting al Qaeda-linked rebels. Opposition delegation co-ordinator Riad Hijab said there would be no ceasefire until a transition without President Bashar al-Assad was in place. Moscow accuses Washington, which is backing opponents of Assad, of supporting terrorists, while the U.S. State Department said the air strikes around Aleppo focused mainly on Assad's foes rather than the Islamic State militants Russia says it is trying to defeat. The United Nations said it had been told hundreds of families had been uprooted following "an unprecedented frequency" of air strikes in the past two days. Three aid workers were among the dead. Its envoy had formally opened the peace talks on Friday but both sides denied they had ever begun. Aleppo rebel factions, reeling from the assault, told the opposition delegation late on Tuesday they would bring down the negotiations within three days unless the offensive ended, a source close to the talks said. De Mistura halted the talks until Feb. 25 at the latest after meeting the opposition. "I have concluded frankly that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but by the stakeholders," de Mistura said. French Foreign Minister Fabius Laurent Fabius said his government supported De Mistura's decision and he accused Assad and his allies of "torpedoing" the peace effort. The opposition's Hijab said the pause gave the West a chance to put pressure on the Assad government and Russia to end their assault and that he would not return until there was a change on the ground. NO END TO RUSSIAN STRIKES Government delegation chief Bashar al-Ja'afari accused the opposition of pulling out of the talks because it was losing the fight. Developments on the ground were crucial," he said, accusing de Mistura of providing them with political cover. "Those who have the responsibility of this failure are the Saudis, Turks and Qataris. They are the real handlers and masters of the Riyadh group." Aleppo, 50 km (30 miles) south of the Turkish border, was Syria's most populous city before the country's descent into civil war. It has been partitioned into zones of government and insurgent control since 2012. If the government regains control, it would be a big blow to insurgents' hopes of toppling Assad after a war that has divided Syria between western areas still governed from Damascus and the rest of the country run by a patchwork of rebels. The Levant Front rebel group said the breaking of the sieges of the Aleppo villages of Nubul and Zahraa came only after more than 500 raids by Russian airplanes. One commander said opposition-held areas of the divided city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the government and allied militia, and appealed to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons. Diplomats and opposition members said they were taken by surprise when de Mistura called for immediate efforts to begin ceasefire negotiations despite there being no official talks or goodwill measures from the Syrian government. The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless the government stops bombarding civilian areas, lifts blockades on besieged towns and releases detainees. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said Russian and Syrian warplanes launched dozens of strikes on the rebel towns of Hayan and Hreitan in northern Aleppo on Wednesday. "Less than 3 km separate the regime from cutting all routes to opposition-held Aleppo," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. "It did in three days what it failed to do in 3-1/2 years." A U.S. official in Geneva called for an end to the daily bombing of civilians by Russian and government warplanes. (Additional reporting by Firas Makdesi, Cecile Mantovani, Kinda Makieh and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Mariam Karouny, Tom Perry and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Beirut, Fatma Al Arini in Muscat and Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Andrew Roche and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
By Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) - The United States is open to the possibility of joint naval patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, stressing it would continue to exercise "freedom of navigation" in the disputed waters. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims. A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China in the South China Sea on Saturday to counter efforts to limit freedom of navigation, the Pentagon said, prompting an angry reaction from Beijing. Manila has asked the U.S. to patrol the area together after China began test flights from Fiery Cross Reef, one of three artificial islands where Beijing has built airfields. "We do discuss that principle (joint patrols) with the Philippines and so I am not discarding that possibility," U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg told reporters. "But we are not going to make announcements about that beforehand because it is our view that we have every right under international law to exercise freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and we will continue to do so." The Philippine has challenged Beijing before the arbitration court in The Hague, a case Beijing has not recognized. Foreign and defense ministers from the United States and the Philippines met in Washington last month for the second time in more than three years to discuss trade and security, focusing on the South China Sea. The United States has no South China Sea claim and says it takes no sides, though it has been highly critical of China's assertiveness. It carried out a navy patrol near areas claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines in October. (Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By James Mackenzie and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Coalition aircraft struck Islamic State's new radio station in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar late on Monday, part of NATO's escalating campaign to stop the ultra-radical Islamist movement taking root in the country. Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, said the overnight raid also involved Afghan ground forces and destroyed an Islamic State broadcaster in Achin district, killing 29 militants including eight working on the radio and online operation. The emergence of fighters loyal to Islamic State has introduced a dangerous new element to Afghanistan's long-running civil conflict, with the group violently challenging the much larger Afghan Taliban movement in pockets of the country. NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, which is led by the U.S. military, confirmed that American forces carried out two counter-terrorism air strikes in Achin district, but declined to provide further details. Whether the raid succeeds in silencing the transmissions, which have recently increased from an hour a day to 90 minutes, and are now broadcast in Dari as well as the Pashto language, remains to be seen. But it reflects intensifying efforts by U.S. forces in the fight against Islamic State, known widely by its derogative Arabic name Daesh, since a special order gave U.S. forces broader authority to strike at IS fighters. "We have increased the pressure, the U.S. has increased the pressure against Daesh in the past few weeks," said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and NATO's top spokesman in Afghanistan. U.S. officials generally provide only bare details of counter-terrorism operations, but the military has confirmed a series of drone strikes in Nangarhar over recent weeks. According to the Afghan interior ministry, Afghan and international forces have conducted nearly 20 joint operations against Islamic State in Nangarhar over the past month. "We use airpower of our own and of international forces, which is crucial in defeating Daesh," said Nangarhar police chief Fazel Ahmad Sherzad. NO SINGLE ISLAMIC STATE LEADER Established mainly in Nangarhar, a province which borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, Islamic State has raised its profile in Afghanistan over the past year. General John Campbell, the American commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said in December that the movement was believed to command no more than 1,000-3,000 fighters in the country. Shoffner added: "What we don't see is Daesh in Iraq or Syria having the ability to control operations here in Afghanistan. We also don't see any one Daesh leader in Afghanistan able to control operations in more than one part of the country at a time." But he said it had the potential to become a more serious threat if left unchecked. Combining radical ideology with gruesome tactics including beheadings and at least one instance in which prisoners were killed by being blown up with explosives, it has established a reputation for extreme ferocity and attracted former members of the Afghan Taliban. Over the past year it has grown in strength, challenging its larger Islamist rival for control of lucrative smuggling routes as well as dominance of the insurgency. That has complicated the search for peace in Afghanistan by fragmenting forces who are fighting the Western-backed government, which, along with the United States, wants to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. One senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the potential for Islamic State to radicalize young people who have known nothing but war was a much greater threat than the absolute size of its forces. The raid on the radio station appears to have been aimed at eliminating an increasingly influential propaganda tool, which had targeted growing ranks of unemployed young men in the region. Shoffner said that despite its efforts at propaganda and recruitment, there were doubts about whether Islamic State would succeed in communicating its radical message to the traditional tribal culture of Afghanistan. But he added: "We want to see Daesh contained and not become any more powerful than they currently are." (Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul and Rafiq Shirzad in Jalalabad; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) - The water scandal in Flint, Michigan has many of the ingredients for a mass, class-action lawsuit: danger signs that may have been ignored, many thousands of potential victims, the possibility of lifelong health problems, and the alleged systemic failure of people in charge. Even consumer activist Erin Brockovich, the main subject of a 2000 movie named after her, has drawn attention to Flint's plight on her Facebook page and in public appearances. But big-name, national plaintiffs' firms have yet to jump into the fray in Flint, which has a population of about 100,000. What's holding them back, several lawyers said, is not the facts or the victims, but the prospective targets: The State of Michigan, the city of Flint, and officials at various levels of government. Special legal protections make it difficult to hold governments liable for damages, they said. Federal and state governments and employees engaged in their official duties are shielded from most private lawsuits by a legal doctrine known as sovereign immunity. The doctrine, enshrined in the laws of many countries, stems from the centuries-old principle that the government itself cannot commit a legal wrong, though exceptions have evolved. While cities in the U.S. are not technically considered to have sovereign status, they are similarly protected by state and federal laws. As of Friday, only a few lawsuits had been filed in the wake of the crisis that began when the city began in April 2014 to use river water, which was more corrosive than its previous supply source and caused lead to leach from aging pipes into the water that people drank and washed in. Those suits were filed against the state, city, and various state employees by a group of Michigan lawyers who are pushing relatively novel theories designed to circumvent immunity. The financially troubled city was governed by a state-appointed emergency manager at the time of the change to the river water. A spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to comment on the lawsuits. The Flint City Attorney's Office did not return calls seeking comment. The legal scene couldn't be more different in Southern California, where several big, national law firms are behind some of more than 25 suits filed over a disastrous natural gas leak near Los Angeles that has forced thousands of residents from their homes since October. The targets of those suits are the utility Southern California Gas Co and its parent company Sempra Energy, the non-government operators of the leaking gas storage facility. A state court in Los Angeles is currently considering a motion to coordinate the cases. "THEY POISONED KIDS" Frank Petosa, head of complex environmental litigation at Florida's Morgan & Morgan, which is representing residents in the California case in multiple lawsuits, said the firm decided against litigating in Flint for now. "The concern is the sovereign immunity," Petosa said. Robin Greenwald of New York plaintiffs firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which is also representing plaintiffs in California, agreed that immunity was an obstacle in Flint. But she did not rule out getting involved in some way. I really believe there must be something to do here, she said. There must be an opportunity for that community to be compensated. They poisoned kids. Tests have shown an alarming rise in the levels of lead in the blood of children from the city. The crisis has led to the resignations of several officials, federal and state investigations, and widespread concerns that a potential health crisis in a largely poor, majority African-American city had been ignored. Officials had insisted the water was safe for many months despite concerns expressed by residents and activists after the change in the source of the supply. Sovereign immunity does not apply if the government or an employee infringes on the U.S. constitution, as in, for example, cases where police have allegedly violated someones civil rights. It also may not apply if the plaintiff can show there was gross negligence. Michigan law, however, shields the state's topmost officials - including the governor, agency heads and Flint's emergency manager - even in cases of gross negligence. There are other exceptions to immunity, such as injuries involving government-owned vehicles or buildings, but they are typically spelled out in state and federal laws and not applicable to the water crisis, lawyers said. Undaunted by the high bar, a coalition of Michigan lawyers is pursuing creative arguments on behalf of what one of them, William Goodman of Detroit's Goodman & Hurwitz, said could be as many as 30,000 to 90,000 residents. "We're zigging and zagging around government immunity," said another of the lawyers, Michael Pitt, of Royal Oak, Michigan's Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers. STATE-CREATED DANGER One of the Flint lawsuits, filed in November against the state and local governments and various officials in U.S. district court in Ann Arbor, makes a federal constitutional argument. It contends that the decision to switch the water source denied residents their civil rights to bodily integrity and to be free from state-created danger. The state's response is due next month. Pitt said he was aware of no federal appeals court that had addressed such claims in a comparable situation, but a similar suit over asbestos in public housing is currently pending in a Philadelphia trial court. The Flint lawyers announced two other lawsuits this month. One, filed in the Michigan Court of Claims against the governor and state agencies, alleges state constitutional violations. The other, filed in Genesee County Circuit Court, targets lower-level officials who are not protected by Michigan's immunity laws if they are shown to have acted with gross negligence. In all three cases, the plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged health problems from the water. In the federal case, they also are seeking punitive damages, which are barred in Michigan state courts. "We're going to continue to fight until we get what we need," said former Flint City Attorney Trachelle Young, one of the lawyers in the group. Jean Eggen, a professor at Delaware Law School specializing in environmental law, said all the Flint lawyers' legal arguments would be challenging but maybe not impossible. In her view a "forward-thinking" judge might be open to the constitutional arguments. But Peter Hsiao, the Los Angeles-based head of the environment practice at global law firm Morrison & Foerster, who has represented California agencies and municipalities against environmental lawsuits seeking to circumvent sovereign immunity, said those cases were all dismissed by judges before trial. "I think in Flint theyll have the same difficulties," Hsiao said. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Anthony Lin, Amy Stevens and Lisa Girion)
The Independent

A wallaby was spotted hopping down a residential street near Newcastle.13-year-old school girl Cia Christie captured it jumping around outside her home on Wednesday (19 October) In the video, the wallaby can be seen hopping behind a fence in Valley Dene, Chopwell, Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear.Cia said: I was in car after getting ready for school and just looked out of the window and saw this wallaby. I couldnt believe my eyes."SWNS
The ECB launches a new round of ultra-cheap loans for banks in a fresh move to kick-start sluggish credit (AFP Photo/Daniel Roland)

Paris (AFP) - Western companies have been rushing into Iran for a part of post-sanctions business action but European banks, still reeling from punitive US fines over links to the country, are waiting on the sidelines until they feel it is safe to do business with Tehran.

"Sanctions have been lifted but really things are still not very clear," a source at a major French bank told AFP on condition of anonymity.

US and French interpretations on the current state of play are "not aligned", the source said. "We shall not be taking any new initiative in this domain."

The sealing of a nuclear deal with world powers has ushered Iran in from the diplomatic deep freeze, opening the door to a raft of lucrative new partnerships.

France has already hailed a new era after welcoming Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who sealed a host of post-sanctions deals last week on a visit to Paris, the headliner the purchase of 118 Airbus aircraft.

But when it comes to what oils the wheels, high finance, there is hesitation, at least on the part of European banks.

"The hefty fines levied on these financial institutions during the sanctions has made them particularly wary," Farhad Alavi, a lawyer specialising in trade issues including sanctions, told AFP from Washington.

"European banks are not only confronted with potential sanctions risks, but also other exposure points under international banking regulations and practices," Alavi added.

Prudence is the watchword for bankers who have had their fingers burned before in the shape of swingeing fines handed down by US regulators.

The Elysee Palace says France has agreed deals worth upwards of $15 billion with the Islamic Republic. Yet the nitty gritty of how the investments will be drawn up and financed requires hands-on banking.

In the past, some banks were too pro-active towards Tehran and saw Washington extract a heavy price for violating the old sanctions regime.

Story continues

The most spectacular example, which is still on every banker's mind, was a record $8.9 billion fine imposed on BNP Paribas in 2014.

The issue is also taxing banking minds elsewhere in Europe, including Germany.

"Deutsche Bank has noted the easing of American and European sanctions against Iran," said a spokesman for the German giant which last November took a $258 million fine for doing business with US-sanctioned entities including Iran and Syria.

"Until further notice the group will stick to its decision and not undertake Iran-linked business," the Deutsche spokesman insisted.

- 'Uncertainty' persists -

"There is uncertainty," says Yves-Thibaut de Silguy, vice-chairman of Medef International, which offers private sector liaison for the likes of the World Bank and other development banks and international organisations.

De Silguy told France Info radio last week that while Washington had lifted nuclear sanctions other US measures -- notably to stem terror funding -- remain in place.

French minister of state for foreign trade, Matthias Fekl, said Thursday he had requested "clarification" from Washington on sanctions lifting parameters and timetabling.

It will fall to the US Treasury Department offshoot the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees sanctions enforcement, to provide that information.

Thierry Coville, of the French Research Centre for International and Strategic Studies (Iris), believes Washington is happy to let uncertainty persist.

"It could be a US policy to say, 'careful, it's complicated', so people don't understand what's going on and think they (the sanctions) remain in place," says Coville.

"Legally, the banks can do things" but still require "all the assurances in the world before they can return to Iran," Coville said.

He added that "what BNP Paribas did was not actually illegal" but Washington "still has the means to put pressure on the banks".

Even if some are ready to position themselves for a return to the Iranian market the banks are keeping quiet on their intentions.

"I don't see how large groups can seal contracts without financial support" being in place, says Coville.

Pascal de Lima, chief economist with Economic Cell group, believes Iran has strong potential yet remains a "high risk country" owing to "the geopolitical situation with Israel."

For the banks, he also highlights the "confidence undermined through the BNP Paribas sanction".

Seeking to reassure, Paris last Tuesday unveiled an accord offering state guarantees to back French investments in Iran through credit management firm Coface in order to cover onsite non-payment risks.

Fekl also stressed that France has set up teams of sanctions specialists working out of the treasury and the foreign ministry to address questions firms may have regarding the legitimacy of their Iranian operations and whether they conform to US legislation.

Even so, Coville laments a "strategic mistake which is today being paid for" to allow OFAC to place "direct pressure on the European banks" when it comes to a return to Iran.

"Politically, this is lamentable on the part of the Europeans. This is now a financial and geopolitical weapon that the United States won't shirk from using again in other circumstances."
By Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher VILLAROCHE, France (Reuters) - Airplane orders may be slowing this year, but jet engine makers are ramping up production with a large chunk of the industrys profits riding on the flawless operation of a high-tech factory in the French countryside. As revamped medium-haul models emerge from Airbus and Boeing, French engine maker Safran and its U.S. partner General Electric are running ahead to reach a newly expanded goal of producing 2,000 new-generation LEAP engines a year by 2020. Their CFM International joint-venture controls three quarters of a market valued at $600 billion over 20 years for engines for narrowbody jets, and any delays could rattle both plane giants and their global suppliers. With eight years' of orders in the bag, CFM is beginning a record-quick climb in output to deliver the successor to the industry's most-sold engine, the CFM56. "We have sold 10,000 LEAP engines before we even delivered one. It took us 17 or 18 years to get to the same point with the CFM56," LEAP director Sebastien Imbourg told Reuters. Some analysts worry a recent boom in orders is overheating, with U.S. aerospace stocks underperforming by 12 percent this year. But at a 212-acre factory complex outside Paris, and similar plants in the United States, the talk is only about how to raise output and monitor time and quality, both of which translate into cost. We are preparing as never before in our history, said Cedric Goubet, Safran's civil engines director. The Villaroche site employs 4,500 workers and assembles one in five CFM engines for Boeing and all the CFM engines sent to Airbus, whose A320 can also be sold with Pratt & Whitney motors. The first revamped Boeing 737 MAX made its maiden flight with LEAP-1B engines last week. The Airbus A320neo entered service with Pratt & Whitney engines last month. Tucked inside giant cradles capable of flipping engines like pancakes to help workers inspect them, the first CFM engines for Airbus, known as LEAP-1A, are due to delivered to the planemaker in April and should enter service in July. Safran says the supply chain is humming essentially as it should, but not without tensions. "We had some areas at red and now at amber," Imbourg said, referring to troubleshooting codes. "There are areas where we need to work ... but red spots which risk the entry to service of the (LEAP) 1A? No." STRESS TESTS Airbus missed a goal of delivering the first A320neo in 2015 because of glitches surrounding Pratt & Whitney's engine, which has also had teething problems over the engine start-up process. Safran insists LEAP's performance will be on par as soon as it enters service. Since both types are designed for aircraft that fly half a dozen trips per day, slip-ups can be costly. "What airline customers want is that we stick to promises. Many people talk about the future but miss the present, Imbourg said. With Airbus and Boeing both recently announcing increases in production, CFM has set a new target of 2,000 engines a year in 2020, up from 1,800. At record aerospace volumes, any bottlenecks can quickly undermine the programme and ripple throughout the sector. To prevent this, CFM runs regular "stress tests," where suppliers have to operate for 1-2 weeks at speeds that won't be seen in reality for 18 months. One of the most critical stepping stones will be between 2018 and 2019. This year CFM will build 100 LEAP-1A for Airbus, 50 LEAP-1B for Boeing and 3-4 test engines for China's new C919 jetliner. That will rise to 300 engines in 2017. Safran and GE are also doubling up on their own suppliers to reduce the risks of a single point of failure and aim for the first time to spread 'dual sourcing' throughout the LEAP engine. That means a "very strong reduction in risk," Imbourg said. Existing CFM56 suppliers were vetted before being allowed on the successor programme. Some did not make the cut, Imbourg said, declining to give names. Some 50 new factories have been built at suppliers to support the LEAP programme, including 20 in France where some industry leaders have expressed concerns about the ability of small suppliers to invest in new capacity. CFM has not been without its own test flight problems, with a delay of 1-2 weeks last summer due to a faulty part. Last year it denied reports it was missing performance goals. "In a few months we will see who has really kept their promises ... and how our customers react," Imbourg said. "I sleep well today," he added. "I don't say I sleep a lot, but I sleep well." (Editing by Mark Potter)
Compliance deadlines have also been extended.

Singapore Exchange revealed that it is changing the methodology used to determine whether a company share price meets the hotly-debated minimum trading price (MTP) requirement, following market feedback.

The volume weighted average price (VWAP) of shares following a share consolidation will now be computed based on historical prices adjusted for the consolidation ratio. Previously, the VWAP was computed based on the total value of securities traded for the 6 months under review divided by the total volume traded for the 6 months.

The VWAP of the shares of companies will now reflect fully the impact of a completed share consolidation. This will reduce the risk of companies having to consolidate shares at extremely high ratios, or for repeated corporate actions. We are also giving companies which might have been unduly impacted by the market volatility in January, time to react, said June Sim, Head of Listing Compliance at SGX.

As at the end of January 2016, 86 of the 181 companies likely to be affected by MTP have either acted, or announced plans, to comply. Of these 74 have decided on a share consolidation of which 57 have completed this corporate action.

The exchange also sought to mitigate the effect of extreme market volatility in the first month of the year. Companies whose VWAP dipped below the required $0.20 for the first time in January will be granted an extension to 1 September 2016 to comply with the MTP.

The extension will allow these companies  which number about 20 as at the end of January  time to evaluate their options and take action to comply with the MTP requirement.

This comes after the SGX last month extended the date of the VWAP review of shares of companies which consolidate their shares before 1 March 2016.

SGX introduced an MTP for shares of Mainboard companies in March 2015 to reduce the risk of excessive speculation following the extreme volatility of low-capitalisation stocks in October 2013. The requirement takes effect from 1 March 2016 after a 1-year transition period.





More From Singapore Business Review


U.S. Navy Admiral John Richardson (L), the U.S. chief of naval operations is seen in this file photo taken in Tokyo October 15, 2015. REUTERS/Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool/Files

By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and the United States are making progress in talks on the joint development of an aircraft carrier for India, the top U.S. navy admiral said on Wednesday, potentially the biggest military collaboration between them.

The two countries agreed to work together on aircraft carrier technology as well as jet engines during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to India last year in a strengthening of ties to balance China's expanding military power in the region.

The visiting chief of U.S. Naval Operations, John Richardson, said the two sides had held talks on a range of issues relating to the next generation Indian carrier from its design to construction.

A high-level U.S.-India joint working group is due to meet in New Delhi later this month, part of a series of meetings aimed at establishing broader cooperation on the design, development and production of the proposed Indian carrier.

"We are making very good progress, I am very pleased with the progress to date and optimistic we can do more in the future. That's on a very solid track," Richardson told reporters in New Delhi.

India inducted an old aircraft carrier from Russia in 2014 while an ageing British vessel is set to retire this year. It is building an indigenous carrier that is expected to enter service in 2018-2019.

But the navy also plans a third, its biggest carrier yet, for which it has sought U.S. assistance, especially state-of-the-art technology to launch aircraft.

Richardson said the electromagnetic launch technology that enabled a navy to fly heavier planes from a carrier was part of the discussions with India.

"All of those things are on the table, there are possibilities, its a matter of pacing, it's very new technology for us," he said.

China has one aircraft carrier and announced last month it is building another. The Pentagon said in a report last year that China could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years.

Story continues

India's navy, which has long considered the Indian Ocean its area of influence, has been unnerved by Chinese naval forays in the region and its efforts to build port infrastructure in countries stretching from Pakistan to Djibouti on the African coast.

After years of neglect, the Indian government has approved the navy's plans for a dozen new submarines, six of them nuclear-powered. More than 40 warships are under construction.

(Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones)
English Danish

Release no. 2/2016

After a higher activity level in the services business and a larger sale of own software during the last quarter of 2015 than expected, Columbus upgrades earnings expectations for 2015 from the level of DKK 94m to the level of DKK 105m in EBITDA*.

Expectations to revenues are specified to the level of DKK 1,123m compared to the previously announced expected level of DKK 1,030m.

We experienced a great final sprint in 2015 with a high activity level in several of our operational units, especially in the US, UK and Denmark, where the utilization of resources in the service business was very high. Besides, the sale of Columbus Software developed positively, which means that we are able to upgrade our earnings expectations for 2015. I am especially excited about being able to deliver the earnings that we told our investors we were aiming for with our Columbus15 strategy back in 2011, says Thomas Honore, CEO & President.

Ib Kune Thomas Honore

Chairman CEO & President

Columbus A/S Columbus A/S

For further information, please contact:

CEO Thomas Honore, T: +45 70 20 50 00.

Translation: In the event of any inconsistency between this document and the Danish language version, the Danish language version shall be the governing version.

* EBITDA before share based compensation
DGAP-News: Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG / Key word(s): Alliance Eckert & Ziegler expands cooperation program with drug developers in the field of nuclear medicine 03.02.2016 / 11:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Berlin, February 3, 2016 - Eckert & Ziegler AG, a specialist for isotope-based applications in medicine, science and industry, is expanding its cooperation program with promising drug developers in the field of nuclear medicine and will support Curasight, a spin-off based on research by the group of Professor Andreas Kjaer at the National University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) and University of Copenhagen, in obtaining market clearance for its uPAR breast cancer diagnostic agent. To do so, Eckert & Ziegler - represented by its Radiopharma segment - will focus mainly on the development and validation of the pharmaceutical production process and leverage its isotope laboratories and global infrastructure for this purpose. The pre-clinical and clinical trials, however, will continue to be managed from Denmark. In exchange for its services, Eckert & Ziegler will receive minority interests on a step by step basis. To a minor extent, the Group also will commit to a financial investment. However, the main contribution to the increase in Curasight's value remains the experience with the pitfalls of the approval process and the special requirements in the field of radiopharmaceuticals. "Many international drug developers have already taken advantage of our services, including Octreopharm Sciences GmbH, which is developing diagnostic and therapeutic agents for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. Last year, Octreopharm was also successfully sold to the French pharmaceutical company IPSEN," Dr. Andre He, Member of the Executive Board of Eckert & Ziegler AG and responsible for the Radiopharma segment, explains. "We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with Eckert & Ziegler AG and believe the two companies are a perfect match", says Morten Persson, CEO and co-founder, Curasight. The rising demand for nuclear medicine imaging methods (PET/CT) and the trend toward personalized medicine are leading more and more small, highly qualified drug developers for radiopharmaceuticals to enter the market. Eckert & Ziegler has decades of experience in isotope technology, allowing it to help these new companies develop their medicinal products. The support provided includes the use of isotope laboratories as well as the complete development of radiopharmaceutical production and testing methods (CMC) by Eckert & Ziegler. Curasight has successfully guided the medicinal product known as uPAR (Ga-68-NOTA-AE105) through clinical phase I. As a Ga-68-based radiodiagnostic agent, it is primarily intended to diagnose breast cancer. The current practice for evaluating diagnostic findings often entails removing the sentinel lymph node surgically and examining the tissue. By performing a biopsy of the lymph node, experts can identify whether a tumor has already metastasized and then determine what the options are for the further course of treatment. In the future, the new medicinal product will aim to make performing these biopsies unnecessary in many cases. Curasight's aim in developing this product is to make it possible with the help of a PET scan to determine in a non-invasive fashion the extent to which metastases have formed in the sentinel lymph node and elsewhere, and whether the lymph node actually needs to be removed. By receiving an individual diagnosis that is tailored to their specific case, many women with breast cancer can be spared unpleasant side effects. It would also reduce the overall examination time. With approximately 1.7 million new cases per year across the globe, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer (WHO World Cancer Report 2014). Each year, some 70,000 women in Germany alone are diagnosed with breast cancer. Apart from Eckert & Ziegler, SEED Capital Denmark  Denmark's largest early stage venture fund  is also an investor in Curasight. With around 700 employees, Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE0005659700) is one of the world's largest providers of isotope technology components for radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. For further information or questions, please contact: Eckert & Ziegler AG, Karolin Riehle, Investor Relations Robert-Rossle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany Tel.: +49 30 941084-138, karolin.riehle@ezag.de, www.ezag.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03.02.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Eckert & Ziegler Strahlenund Medizintechnik AG Robert-Rossle-Str.10 13125 Berlin Germany Phone: 49 30 941084-138 Fax: 49 30 941084-112 E-mail: karolin.riehle@ezag.de Internet: www.ezag.de ISIN: DE0005659700 WKN: 565970 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 434335 03.02.2016
MILWAUKEE, Feb. 3, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hupy and Abraham, S.C. has received a 2015 Litigator Award, a prestigious legal accolade given to less than one percent of trial attorneys across the nation.

Given in each firm's practice areas, Hupy and Abraham, S.C. received the award for outstanding legal representation in the "Dangerous Conditions: Slip and Fall" category.

Spearheaded by firm president, Attorney Michael Hupy, the selected case was a tragic accident involving an immigrant family from Southeast Asia. The firm's client, Xu Yang, suffered massive brain damage after his mother slipped on ice and fell when he was 8 months old. For years, Attorney Hupy fought over who was responsible for this incident. After more than six years of deliberations, Xu was awarded $22 million over the course of his life. This particular case qualified for the highest verdict eligibility, which was at least $10 million.

Attorney Hupy is well known for believing that the best way one can support the community is by giving back to the people served. He has made numerous efforts to ensure that organizations made to assist disadvantaged members of society continue to thrive. These efforts include donations of more than $100,000 to Marquette University Law School and $150,000 to the Milwaukee Justice Center as a founding member and supporting the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.

Attorney Hupy currently serves on the COA Youth and Family Centers Board of Directors. COA has served children and families in the Milwaukee community for over 100 years by providing numerous resources and services. He is also a board member of the United Performing Arts Fund's (UPAF) Lawyers Division. UPAF is an organization that promotes the performing arts in Southeastern Wisconsin. Additionally, Hupy has been voted runner-up, only to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, as Milwaukeean of the Year two years in a row in the Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee Poll. For two consecutive years, he has also been selected as runner-up  Top Local Activist.

He has been involved with several lawyer-run organizations and is a member of the National Trial Lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and a member of the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Additionally, Attorney Hupy is past president of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers Board of Directors.

The 2015 Litigator Awards represent the highest honors in Trial Law, and justly stand as the nation's most coveted symbol of "Litigation Achievement". Presented in up to 72 "Practice Specialty" categories, the Awards are based on actual "Verdict & Settlement" dollar achievement rather than peer popularity, making them perhaps the most rigorous and openly judged Award Ratings anywhere.

This acknowledgement is a powerful endorsement of Hupy and Abraham, S.C.'s ability to provide top-notch representation for its clients and is considered by many to be one of most coveted and prestigious accolades in the legal field.



Hupy and Abraham, S.C.

Founded in 1969 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, personal injury law firm Hupy and Abraham, S.C. has a proven record of success with large settlements in serious cases, collecting $100s of millions for more than 60,000 satisfied clients. The firm has a long-established reputation of providing sound legal representation to accident victims, securing fair compensation for its clients and giving back to the community.

With 11 offices located in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, the law firm handles personal injury cases including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, pharmaceutical and medical device class actions and nursing home neglect and abuse cases.

The firm's 24 experienced attorneys are committed to going above and beyond the call of duty for their clients by tirelessly representing them to the best of their ability while being involved in the local community  from raising funds for local charities to participating in safety and accident prevention initiatives. In the past three years, the firm has donated more than $500,000 to more than 250 worthwhile causes.

Hupy and Abraham, S.C. has received top ratings from a number of national professionalorganizations for many years and was voted Best Personal Injury Lawyers in 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 and voted Best Personal Injury Law Firm in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 in another popular poll, and named Best Law Firm in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 2015 Top Choice Award. In 2015, the firm was named a Webby Award Honoree in the Best Law Website Category and was honored at the Legal Marketing Association's "Your Honor Awards" for Best Website: Reboot.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=38759
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
South Korea and Japan on Wednesday echoed US warnings that North Korea would pay a heavy price if it pushes ahead with a planned rocket launch just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for a launch as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a "direct challenge" to the international community.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a "serious provocation" and clear violation of Pyongyang's international obligations.

The warnings came a day after the North announced a February 8-25 window for the launch, ostensibly aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesday's announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an international community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month's nuclear test.

"It's a classic move," said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

"While waiting for a full response for the nuclear test, you might as well sneak in a rocket launch. The North tends to do these things in pairs," Delury said

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.

- 'Egregious violation' -

Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs slammed what he called "yet another egregious violation" of UN resolutions.

"This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose... tough additional sanctions," Russel said.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of 7:00am-midday Pyongyang time (2230-0330 GMT).

Story continues

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The South Korean government statement urged Pyongyang to call off the launch immediately or pay a "heavy price" for threatening regional peace and stability.

UN sanctions were tightened after North Korea successfully placed a satellite in orbit on a three-stage Unha-3 rocket in December 2012.

A fresh launch poses a dilemma for the international community, which is already divided on how to punish the North for its nuclear test.

North Korea's chief diplomatic ally, China, has been resisting the US push for tougher sanctions, but a rocket launch would bolster calls for Beijing to bring its maverick neighbour into line.

- Pressure on China? -

"However, I'm not sure if China will change its position," said Delury.

"The nuclear test is a far bigger deal for Beijing than the rocket launch, so I don't expect any tangible shift in China's perspective, whatever the US says," he added.

While its patience has been stretched to the limit by Pyongyang's refusal to curb its nuclear ambitions, China's overriding concern is a collapse of Kim Jong-Un's regime and the possibility of a US-allied unified Korea on its border.

US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pressure his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last week.

Although the two sides agreed to mount an "accelerated effort" to try to resolve their differences on a new resolution, Kerry acknowledged that they had not agreed on the "parameters of exactly what it would do or say".

Since early 2013, North Korea has been upgrading its Sohae satellite launch complex to handle larger, longer-range rockets with heavier payloads, but most experts say Pyongyang is still years from obtaining a credible intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

The flight plan coordinates sent to the IMO were similar to the December 2012 launch -- suggesting an Unha-3 would again be the selected carrier.

The separated first stage was predicted to fall in the Yellow Sea around 200 kilometres off the west coast of South Korea, followed by a second stage splashdown in the Philippine Sea.

Japan has said its military will shoot down any rocket that strays into its air space.
Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) - Roger Federer had "successful" surgery on his knee Wednesday and will be ruled out of action for one month, his agent said.

The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam champion underwent the surgery to repair a torn meniscus sustained the day after his semi-final match at the Australian Open, according to Tony Godsick.

As a result of the surgery, Federer will now miss the ATP tournaments in Rotterdam and Dubai this month.

"I am so disappointed to have to miss Rotterdam and Dubai as they are two of my favourite tournaments on the ATP World Tour," Federer said.

"While this is an unfortunate setback, I feel grateful that up until now I have remained mostly healthy throughout my career. My doctors have assured me that the surgery was a success and with proper rehabilitation, I will be able to return to the Tour soon."

The 34-year-old suffered a four-set defeat by eventual winner Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals, going down 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in his eighth loss to the Serb in their past 10 Grand Slam meetings.

Federer has not beaten the runaway world number one at a major since the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2012, when he last won a Grand Slam title.

Unlike great rival Rafael Nadal, Federer has enjoyed a relatively injury-free career, the exception being bouts of recurring back pain.

The last time that happened was at the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals in London when he withdrew at the last minute from the final against Djokovic.

The following week, however, he returned to action and helped Switzerland win the Davis Cup for the first time, defeating France in the final.

Federer will now aim to be fit in time for the first two Masters Series tournaments of the year at Indian Wells and Miami in March.

After that the season switches to clay and the build-up for the French Open, the second of the year's Grand Slam tournaments. Federer's only title in Paris came in 2009.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian air strikes around the Syrian city of Aleppo have almost exclusively targeted opponents of the Syrian president rather than Islamic State militants, and were partly responsible for Wednesday's pause in peace talks, the State Department said. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a briefing the strikes around Aleppo had led to reports of more civilian casualties, displacement of Syrian citizens and the possible obstruction of humanitarian assistance routes. "It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored," Kirby told reporters. Kirby said the U.N. special envoy had paused the Geneva peace talks in part because of the disruption of humanitarian aide and civilian deaths. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura announced the three-week pause less than a week after formally opening them on Friday but both sides denied they had ever begun. He made the decision after the Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, advanced against rebel forces north of Aleppo, choking opposition supply lines from Turkey to the city. Kirby said the Russian air strikes in and around Aleppo had been aimed almost exclusively at opponents to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and not Islamic State militants. He reiterated the longstanding U.S. appeal for Russian forces to "focus their military energy" in Syria on Islamic State militants and "not on the opposition or on innocent civilians." Kirby said he was not blaming the suspension of talks exclusively on Russia, but he indicated it was a factor. "I said in part because of the obstruction of humanitarian aid and in part because of the continued violence that's being wrought by the regime, supported by Russian military activity. I did not say it was in total," he said. Kirby also insisted the peace talks had gotten under way, despite the quick pause. "There was a beginning," he said. "Now, how deep did it go? How much dialogue there was? I don't know. But they were there, and they got a start." (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Eric Beech and Grant McCool)
By Stephanie Nebehay and Anthony Boadle GENEVA/BRASILIA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization voiced concern on Wednesday over the reported sexual transmission of the Zika virus in Texas amid worries that such infections could make efforts to combat the virus linked to severe birth defects in Brazil even tougher. The virus, spreading quickly across the Americas, is usually transmitted by mosquitoes. But health officials in Dallas County reported on Tuesday that the first known case contracted in the United States was a person infected after having sex with somebody who had returned from Venezuela. The WHO declared a global health emergency on Monday, citing a "strongly suspected" casual relationship between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can cause permanent brain damage in newborns. Health ministers from across South America gathered in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, to discuss the public health emergency and how the region can coordinate its fight against the outbreak. There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika. Sexual transmission could add a new dimension to the threat Zika poses, but WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl stressed that "almost a 100 percent of the cases" are transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. "This reported case in the U.S. of course raises concerns," Hartl said at the U.N. agency's headquarters in Geneva. "This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is." But he said that for the WHO "the most important thing to do is to control people's exposure to mosquitoes." The WHO estimates as many as 4 million people could become infected in the Americas. Hartl called the Texas case only the second worldwide linked to sexual transmission, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal in 2008 and is suspected of having infected his wife. The medical literature also has a case in which the virus was detected in semen. "If you swap enough bodily fluid, most viruses can probably be sexually transmitted to some extent," said Ben Neuman, a virologist at Britains University of Reading. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in four counties with travel-related cases of the Zika virus, and ordered state officials to increase mosquito control efforts in some of the southeastern U.S. state's most heavily populated locales including Miami and Tampa. Scott directed state officials to pay special attention to mosquito spraying in residential areas. In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has urged pregnant women to consider delaying travel to locations with ongoing Zika transmissions, added Jamaica and Tonga to its travel alert. The WHO said the virus has been transmitted in at least 32 countries, from South America to the Western Pacific. Late on Tuesday, the Brazilian health ministry said the number of newborns with microcephaly it suspects are linked to the virus had increased to 4,074 as of Jan. 30, from 3,718 a week earlier. Researchers have identified evidence of Zika infection in 17 of these cases, either in the baby or in the mother, but have not confirmed that Zika can cause microcephaly. WARNING FOR EUROPE The WHO warned member states in Europe on Wednesday that the risk of the virus spreading into the region increases with the onset of spring and summer. "Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations," said the WHO's Europe chief, Zsuzsanna Jakab. "Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease." The Pan American Health Organization, the WHO's arm for the Americas, said it needed an estimated $8.5 million to help countries in the region respond to the Zika threat. Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said U.S. experts will travel to Brazil next week to start work on the development of a Zika vaccine and come up with a timetable for the effort. A number of drug developers and universities are attempting to produce a vaccine. Experts have said a vaccine is months or even years away. Japan's leading drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd <4502.T> said it has created a team to investigate how it might help make a vaccine, a day after France's Sanofi SA said it would launch a Zika vaccine programme. Pfizer Inc , Johnson and Johnson and Merck & Co Inc said they were evaluating their technologies or existing vaccines for their potential to combat Zika. Indian biotechnology company Bharat Biotech said it was working on two possible vaccines. The rising number of cases has stirred concern ahead of the Olympic Games in August in Rio de Janeiro in August when Brazil's second largest city will host tens of thousands of athletes and tourists from around the world. (Additional reporting by Malena Castaldi and Sarah Marsh in Montevideo, Kate Kelland and Ben Hirschler in London, Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai, Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Amrutha Penumudi and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru and Letitia Stein in Tampa; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Frances Kerry)
Founders from Luxola, Wego, Tokopedia, and Facebooks Managing Director of Southeast Asia discuss best strategies for penetrating into Asia



Asia is a densely populated region made up of disparate cultures and economies. For entrepreneurs, the success of their business often depends on how well they can localise and tweak their products to each market.

At the Kauffman Fellows Southeast Asia Venture Capital Summit last week, four Southeast Asia-based Founders and CEOs sat down in a panel moderated by Akshay Garg, Founder of Singapore-based fintech startup FinAccel, to shoot the breeze about their experiences navigating in the regions waters and the best strategies to adopt.

They are:

1. Ross Veitch, Founder, Wego

2. William Tanuwijaya, Founder, Tokopedia

3. Ken Bishop, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, Facebook

4. Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, Founder, Luxola

Here are four key takeaways from the discussion:

1. Imperative to optimise your product for the mobile platform

Asia has an increasingly high mobile penetration. Currently there are over a billion smartphone users in the region, with no sign of levelling off anytime soon. It is important for entrepreneurs here to make their products mobile-friendly.

Tanuwijaya saw the proliferation of cheap smartphones as a major driving force behind smartphone adoption. In the past, most of Indonesia-based e-commerce platform Tokopedias transactions were carried out on desktops. Now, Tanuwijaya claimed that at least 75 percent of its transactions came from smartphones.

Ross added to that point and said smartphones with larger screens as well as faster networks were key drivers behind the conversions from desktop to mobile. Companies need to be spending more money on mobile app in-store campaigns and push notifications as opposed to paid searches, he said.

Also Read: 7 key tips for Asia-based startups from Silicon Valleys VCs

He said his team at Singapore-based travel startup Wego foresaw this trend coming six years ago. Still, they faced difficulties adapting to this new model.

Story continues

It hit us harder than we expected, as a company, we have tried going with outsourcing our development or going hybrid [mix of outsourcing and in-house development] and what worked best was building a full in-house native client app development team, said Russ.

The tactics for marketing and acquiring users also required a different approach, he added.

For consumer facing industries, the mobile experience is important, said Horowitz-Burdick, whose Singapore-based cosmetics e-tailer Luxola was acquired by luxury brand LVMHs cosmetics subsidiary Sephora mid last year. She cautioned, however, against putting all your eggs into one basket, and stressed the importance of optimising both the mobile and desktop experiences.

Bishop observed many Facebook users discovering new products on mobile, before proceeding to purchase it on the desktop. Facebook helps companies understand the path users take to make an online transaction.

2. Understand the complexities of each market

Beyond adapting the product to fit users behaviour, there are also other factors to consider.

For Horowitz-Burdick, she did not face any difficulties launching Luxola in Malaysia because English is widely used over there. In Thailand and Indonesia, however, it was a different story. Because of the complex regulatory and distribution models, her team had to learn to adapt to those frameworks quickly. She also established teams there to localise the content.

Also Read: A tale of 2 Asian hardware startups

Another problem she pointed out was while in Singapore and Malaysia, language barrier was not an issue, the user behaviour model didnt translate well to Australia because the continent has different seasons and trends.

Among all the countries in Southeast Asia, Singapore was the easiest place to start a company, she said. Big companies such as Spotify and Facebook have built regional teams there.

Ross echoed that point, he said most Southeast Asian-companies preferred to run regional bases from Singapore. Building a business in Japan and South Korea may require a different approach as they are radically different from the rest of Asia, he added.

3. Funding and exit trends in Southeast Asia

A steady flow of capital and acquisitions or IPOs are signs of a growing and healthy tech ecosystem.

Also Read: Pivot your marketing instead of your product

According to Horowitz-Burdick, Southeast Asias ecosystem is still somewhat nascent. She said Singapores tech scene does not look like Silicon Valley; expectations of investors need to be focussed on the maturity of the ecosystem instead.

More than just exits, We need to focus on how an ecosystem gets built, we need people to invest back into ecosystem. I dont think there is a secret recipe to it.

Ross had a different observation. He said the investment scene in Singapore has changed radically. It used to be difficult to get VC funding, now more of them are receptive. The government is also playing a pivotal role in growing startups.

While valuations are coming off the boil a little bit, Singapore is still a good place for investments, he said. And there is more local capital flowing into local startups than ever before.

4. Building a talent pool

How strong and fast your startup grows is dependent on the quality of the talent you bring on. You need a team who can innovate to build a long-lasting product [or iterate when things go south].

Tanuwijaya said in the beginning, it was difficult to find talent in Indonesia. You had to patiently nurture people, build up the culture and build up their trust to prepare them to be the next generation of tech leaders. Besides growing local talent, it is also important to extend an invitation to global talent, he said.

Also Read: 5 reasons why VCs and startups need to put India under the spotlight

Finding the right employees wasnt really a problem for Horowitz-Burdick, although, she faced difficulties hiring local qualified CFOs and managers in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and had to resort to expats.

The issue, she said, was not because there was a lack, but rather, the turnover rate for top management professionals was low.

Hire passionate people that will stay. Offshore some positions and find out the core strengths of each region, she added.

Ross agreed with her and said:

If employees dont see the value and long term vision, you can filter them out.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The post 4 tips on business-building from top SE Asia-based Founders and CEOs appeared first on e27.
The partnerships come close on the heels of the governments announcement of an e-commerce roadmap for the country

Indonesias Ministry of Trade has said that it is forming a partnership with search engine giant Google and e-commerce honcho Alibaba in a bid to boost the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

With the partnership, the ministry aims to optimise Google Adwords to promote products launched by local SMEs to global markets. At the same time, the Alibaba partnership will help SMEs initiate marketing for food and beverage (F&B) products, both in the B2C and B2B segments.

According to Nus Nuzulia Ishak, Inspectorate General of National Export Development (Ministry of Trade), the partnership is currently in negotiation stage and both the partners are discussing pricing and target markets.

According to a DailySocial report, the government is targetting US$10 million from the Alibaba partnership this year alone, and US$50 million annually over the next few years.

Also Read: Latest trends in Indonesia that e-commerce firms should take note of

Ishak also explained the government will also release a trade certification that will guarantee security for F&B products, which is likely to ease the taxation and immigration aspects of the trade.

The ministry will also assist SMEs during the registration process, including product selection and validation of product warranty.

The announcement comes close on the heels of its recent e-commerce roadmap and is an indication of the governments commitment to the countrys booming e-commerce sector.

Echelon Indonesia returns to Jakarta this April! Save over 35% off on your tickets with promo code Empower10, exclusive to e27 readers only! Tickets available here.

Image Credit: Juan Ignacio Tapia on Unsplash.com

The post Indonesia to partner with Google and Alibaba to boost SME sector appeared first on e27.
Virus spreading explosively

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency, with the Department of Health (DOH) warning that the threat of the mosquito-borne virus reaching the Philippines is real.

The UN agency sought to build an international response to the threat, which has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil. Honduras on Monday declared a state of emergency as Zika infections soared.

WHO director general Margaret Chan told reporters that coordinated international action was needed to improve detection and expedite work on a vaccine and better diagnostics for the disease, but said curbs on travel or trade were not necessary.

Chan, whose agency was assailed as too slow in reacting to West Africas Ebola epidemic that killed more than 10,000 people in the past two years, cited first and foremost the concern about microcephaly, the birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains.

She noted that it was strongly suspected but not yet scientifically proven that Zika causes microcephaly.

Can you imagine if we do not do all this work now, and wait until the scientific evidence comes out? Chan told reporters at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Then people will say that, Why dont you take action because the mosquito is ubiquitous?

The emergency designation, recommended by a committee of independent experts following criticism of a hesitant response to Zika so far, should help fast-track international action and research priorities. The move lends official urgency to research funding and other steps to stem the spread of the virus.

Spreading explosively

The WHO said the Zika virus, transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, was spreading explosively and could infect as many as four million people in the Americas. The Pan American Health Organization says Zika has spread in 24 nations and territories in the Americas.

Story continues

This marks the fourth time the WHO has declared a global health emergency since such procedures were put in place in 2007, with the others arising from influenza, Ebola and polio.

DOH: Zika threat real

The DOH said the threat of the Zika virus in the Philippines is real due to the existence of mosquitoes not only in the country but its neighboring nations as well.

Because of the existence of mosquitoes, the risk is there Its an old virus with a new occurrence, a possible public health threat. There is still a lot more that we need to know about the virus, Health Secretary Janette Garin told reporters.

Garin said what is important is to eliminate all possible breeding sites of mosquitoes.

Zika virus is transmitted by infected day-biting Aedes aegypti, the same mosquito species that causes dengue and chikungunya.

According to Garin, the Philippines is not among 29 countries reporting cases of Zika virus.

Although the first case in the country was recorded in 2012 involving a 15-year-old boy from Cebu City, Garin said nothing followed after this.

While there is no travel advisory for the 29 countries affected by Zika, the health chief said it is best for pregnant women to avoid traveling to these places.

The Zika virus has raised questions worldwide about whether pregnant women should avoid infected countries. Chan said delaying travel was something pregnant women can consider but added that if they needed to travel they should take protective measures by covering up and using mosquito repellent.

Brazil has reported some 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly. Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro told Reuters the epidemic was worse than believed because in 80 percent of cases the infected people had no symptoms.

Testing kits

According to Garin, the DOH-run Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has 1,000 testing kits for Zika virus even before the first case was documented in 2012.

She explained that a suspected dengue patient normally undergoes testing for dengue fever. If the patient is negative, he or she will be examined for chikungunya and then Zika virus.

The testing kits were acquired by the DOH for free from Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention since they are not yet commercially available.

Garin said they requested for more testing kits from the CDC and the agency is expected to send 1,000 more sets in two weeks.

Garin said the RITM is training five other hospitals on how to use the testing kits with the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines. These are the Southern Philippines Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Baguio General Hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and San Lazaro Hospital.

The DOH is looking into reports that a Filipina in Honduras was infected by the Zika virus.

Lyndon Lee Suy, spokesman for the DOH, said health officials were coordinating with their counterparts in Honduras.

Mobilize barangay leaders  Bongbong

Vice presidential aspirant Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the DOH to tap and mobilize barangay leaders to step up preventive measures against the Zika virus.

Barangay officials constitute our best line of defense against this threat. With their cooperation and commitment, preventive actions can be implemented down to the grassroots level, he added.

Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, noted that barangay officials know better the situation in their respective areas and are directly connected with their constituents who need to be informed of the Zika virus.

He said barangay officials would be effective in leading residents on search and destroy efforts to rid their surroundings of stagnant water, which are breeding site of Aedes mosquitoes.

PRC to launch cleanup

Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman Richard Gordon urged the public to clean their surroundings regularly to remove breeding sites of mosquitoes.

Similar to our dengue prevention campaign, the PRC will mobilize its volunteers all over the country to lead and encourage the people to practice cleanliness and remove all possible areas where mosquitoes breed, Gordon said.

He said the use of mosquito repellent, long sleeves and long pants and mosquito nets can help prevent mosquito bites.  With Perseus Echeminada, Non Alquitran, Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos, Reuters
The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out
Enterprise Resource Planning

Jackson-Madison County Schools Adopts New ERP

Jackson-Madison County Schools in Tennessee has selected a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to help staff manage the district's finances and human resources.

The school district was looking for an ERP with better reporting capabilities and security than its current system and collaborated with the Madison County office to search for a replacement system. The county and the school district took advantage of an existing contract with National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA), a contract purchasing cooperative, to search for the new ERP.

The search lead them to the cloud-based Munis ERP system from Tyler Technologies. The district plans to implement the Munis financial management, human resource management, employee self-service and content management applications. As part of the agreement, the company will provide Jackson-Madison County Schools with hosting services, professional services, maintenance and support. Because Munis is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) system, the district won't have to invest resources in infrastructure upgrades, and according to Chris Hepburn, president of Tyler's ERP & School Division, Munis "is ready to use off the shelf without customization."

"We needed to upgrade our ERP system and Munis was a good fit because it provides enhanced reporting functionality that will benefit the county and school district," said Mike Nichols, finance director at Madison County, in a news release. "Munis delivered as a SaaS model will allow our staff to focus on other projects, while knowing that our ERP system has built-in technical security."

Jackson-Madison County School System operates 27 schools serving 13,000 students and employing 1,100 staff and 800 support staff.
By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States must make a long-term commitment to Afghanistan to stop security there from worsening and prevent attacks on the West by militants based there, the outgoing commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said on Tuesday. General John Campbell testified before a congressional committee that while Afghan security forces had shown "uneven" performance and faced leadership problems, continued U.S. support for the Afghan government was needed to defeat militants including the Taliban, al Qaeda, and the Haqqani network. "These are certainly not residual threats that would allow for a peaceful transition across Afghanistan," Campbell said. "The threats Afghanistan faces require our sustained attention and forward presence." That includes financial support until the Afghan economy can support the population, which Campbell estimated would be "at least" 2024. The United States will this year require more of the Afghan government before it provides funding, in order to spur reforms, he said. U.S. defence officials have warned of a nascent Islamic State presence in some Afghan provinces, and the White House has given the military broad authority to target Islamic State there. The threat of attacks staged by militant groups based in Afghanistan and the surrounding region requires continued U.S. engagement, Campbell said. "If we think we can just stop and it's going to go away, or people are not going to continue to try to attack Europe or attack our homeland here, then we're naive, we're kidding ourselves," he said. "We have to be able to continue to have a long-term commitment." Campbell has commanded U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan for the past 18 months and is expected to retire. President Barack Obama has chosen Lieutenant General John Nicholson to replace Campbell. A Pentagon report released in December said the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in the second half of 2015, with the Taliban staging more attacks and inflicting more casualties on Afghan forces. The outlook prompted Obama to announce in October that he would maintain a force of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016, instead of drawing down to an embassy-based presence by 2017. Of 407 district centres in Afghanistan, 26 are under insurgent control or influence, Campbell said, with another 94 district centres viewed as at risk at any given time. (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and David Gregorio)
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Tuesday warned the country's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), that time is running out to begin peace negotiations to end five decades of war. It called on the ELN to make clear and concrete efforts following its more than two years of exploratory peace talks so that formal negotiations can begin. "Time is running out for the ELN to form part of a political solution to the armed conflict in Colombia," said Frank Pearl, head of the government delegation engaged in preliminary talks with the ELN. The ELN has been saying it is ready for full talks since April. "If that organization truthfully wants to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict, it has to be capable of taking serious decisions and change its ambiguous and useless words and statements for clear and concrete efforts toward peace," Pearl added. He did not say what kind of steps he wanted the ELN to take. President Juan Manuel Santos's government is close to agreeing a peace accord with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the nation's biggest rebel group, in talks underway in Cuba. Any ELN talks would be independent to those underway with the FARC. More than 220,000 people have died in the conflict between the government, the ELN, the FARC and right-wing paramilitaries. The ELN has battled a dozen governments since it was founded in 1964 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. It has continued kidnapping and attacks on infrastructure even as the talks continue. Inspired by Cuba's 1959 revolution and established by radical Catholic priests, the ELN was close to disappearing in the 1970s but steadily gained power again. It has about 2,000 fighters. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy; Editing by W Simon)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's Senate voted on Wednesday to lift the immunity of former deputy premier Gabriel Oprea, opening the way for a criminal investigation into allegations that he ordered unauthorised motorcades for himself. Romania is seen as one of the European Union's most corrupt states and its judiciary is under special EU scrutiny, though its prosecutors have won praise from the EU executive for stepped-up efforts to punish graft and abuses of power. Anti-corruption prosecutors alleged last month that Oprea, who has also served as interior minister, ordered unauthorised motorcades for himself and for chief prosecutor Tiberiu Nitu. The Senate, Romania's upper house of parliament, voted 102-30 to lift Oprea's immunity. Oprea and Nitu both deny wrongdoing. Nitu resigned on Tuesday while Oprea quit in November alongside prime minister Victor Ponta after a deadly night club fire triggered massive protests. Ponta is now facing charges of forgery and money-laundering. Oprea's case came to light in October after one of his police officer outriders died when his motorcycle crashed into a pothole in downtown Bucharest. Under Romanian law, only the president, prime minister and two parliamentary speakers are entitled to motorcades, while ministers can use them only for emergencies. Anti-corruption prosecutors have launched several high-profile investigations in recent years - against ministers, lawmakers, mayors, magistrates and businessmen - in a crackdown that has exposed widespread graft and angered Romanians. (Reporting by Radu Marinas; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi court has commuted the death sentence against a Palestinian poet convicted of apostasy, to eight years' jail and 800 lashes, his lawyer said. Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the religious police in 2013. His conviction was based on evidence from a prosecution witness who claimed to have heard him cursing God, Islam's Prophet Mohammad and Saudi Arabia. He was also prosecuted for the contents of a poetry book he had written years earlier. Rights campaigners say he was targeted for speaking out on political and social matters. Fayadh's lawyer, Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, said that while the new court ruling had commuted the execution, it had reconfirmed Fayadh's guilt for the crime of abandoning his Islamic faith. "The accused is sentenced to a punishment of eight years in jail and 800 lashes divided into instalments, 50 lashes for each instalment," the ruling said, according to al-Lahim on a Twitter posting. A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's justice ministry could not be reached for comment. Human Rights Watch said the new sentence was still inappropriate. "No one should face arrest for peacefully expressing opinions, much less corporal punishment and prison," said Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for the rights group. "Saudi justice officials must urgently intervene to vacate this unjust sentence." Fayadh had initially been sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes but an appeal process led to that being increased to death after a judge ruled that defence witnesses' testimony was ineligible. Saudi Arabia's justice system is based on sharia, or Islamic law, and its judges are clerics from the ultra conservative Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam. In the Wahhabi interpretation of sharia, religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy incur the death penalty. Liberal writer Raif Badawi was flogged 50 times in January last year as part of a sentence for blasphemy of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, prompting an international outcry. Badawi remains in prison, but diplomats have said he is unlikely to be flogged again. After a case has been heard by lower courts, appeals courts and the supreme court, a convicted defendant can be pardoned by King Salman. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, Editing by Nick Macfie and Robin Pomeroy)
Tusk To Table New Plans For EU Deal With UK

EU president Donald Tusk says he will table proposals for a new settlement with the UK after "good progress" in talks.

Mr Tusk said he would submit the plans on Tuesday ahead of a summit of EU leaders on 18-19 February.

But in a sign there could still be some way to go, Mr Tusk said "outstanding issues" remained.

Downing Street has acknowledged Britain still faces "a lot of hard work" to secure acceptable reforms in time for an early in/out referendum.

Intensive negotiations have taken place between diplomats in Brussels to finalise a package to put to the EU's 28 national leaders.

Agreement in February is regarded as crucial if the referendum is to be held before the summer holidays, which is David Cameron's preference.

In a message on Twitter Mr Tusk said: "Tomorrow around noon I will table proposal for a new settlement for #UKinEU. Good progress last 24 hours but still outstanding issues."

Mr Tusk approved a 24-hour extension on Sunday after a meeting with the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

It delivered what Number 10 termed a "significant breakthrough" over migrant benefits, but failed to reach agreement on a number of other areas.

Mr Tusk will now present EU leaders with his proposed solutions to the UK's concerns over migration, sovereignty, competitiveness and protection for non-eurozone countries, for discussion at the upcoming Council summit.

Downing Street said the PM had won an assurance that a proposed "emergency brake" on welfare payments to EU workers could be triggered immediately after a vote to remain in the bloc, on the basis of existing levels of immigration.

Mr Cameron's official spokeswoman insisted Britain had made "substantial progress", although she added: "There is more work to do in all four areas - more work in some areas than in others."

It remained unclear how the proposed emergency brake would operate and who would have the final say on when it could be activated and how long it would remain in effect.

Story continues

The mechanism has been put forward by Brussels as an alternative to Mr Cameron's plan to impose a unilateral four-year curb on benefits which other member states have ruled out as discriminatory and in breach of the freedom of movement principle.

Poland's former Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, told Sky News: "This issue of welfare payments is a relatively small one. I understand it affects about 60,000 people, and let's remember that migrant workers overwhelmingly contribute more to the British exchequer than they draw from it."

Despite those reservations, Mr Sikorski had some encouragement for the Prime Minister, saying: "The continent, and I think the Polish government in particular would like to help David Cameron to win his argument in Britain, in the upcoming referendum."

Nevertheless, he pointed out that the Polish government had a difficult decision to make when deciding whether to veto the PM's proposals: "David Cameron needs to show that he is limiting the rights of migrants, but those migrants happen to be overwhelmingly Polish."

Supporters of British withdrawal from the EU dismissed the latest round of negotiations as a choreographed display designed to convince voters that Mr Cameron has been forced to fight hard for significant concessions.

UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall said: "The theatrics and drama of David Cameron's sham renegotiation continues and he is playing us for fools."

But the Prime Minister's spokeswoman denied the wrangling was concocted. "I wouldn't accept that at all," she said. "These are significant, far-reaching reforms and that is why it is taking time."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was in Mr Cameron's interest to hold a referendum as soon as possible.

He told Sky News: "What (he) fears is another summer of serious migrant problems, people coming across the Mediterranean,

"He knows that as this continues there will be more people from ISIS coming in, there'll be more tension and more barriers going up within Schengen.

"I think we're going to see a deal on the 18th and 19th of February and I still believe myself that a June referendum is on track."
CATONSVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will continue to be updated on the risks of the spread of Islamic State to Libya and the United States will take action in the North African country to counter that threat if necessary, the White House said on Wednesday. "If there is a need for the United States to take unilateral action to protect the American people, the president won't hesitate to do that," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Three Hills Capital Partners has soared past 1bn for the final close of its fourth flagship fund, almost doubling the total it collected for its predecessor vehicle.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Four-star cornerback Carlos Becker of Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola was Ohio State's top-remaining defensive back target.

The Buckeyes won't land him.

That's because Becker announced his commitment to Florida State during a National Signing Day ceremony at his high school Wednesday morning.

Ohio State is still waiting on whether it'll land three-star safety K'Von Wallace of Highland Springs, Va.

Rated the No. 15 cornerback in the 2016 recruiting class in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Becker officially visited Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 22, the week after he took an official visit to Florida State.

Though Becker took an official visit to Mississippi this past weekend, he ended up doing what many prospects do -- staying home.
Bernie Sanders is the candidate of young voters and sparks a movement in the social media. Sanders is the man of the people and Clinton is the woman of big money. In the US, politicians who change their positions all the time are called "flip-floppers." Clinton compares Putin with Hitler. Sanders urges a diplomatic solution of problems. Who is the radical?

US PRIMARY ELECTION: WHO IS THE RADICAL? BERNIE SANDERS?By Jens Berger[This article published on January 29, 2016 is translated from the German on the Internet, http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=30687 .]If the wrong candidates should prevail in the US presidential election campaigns beginning February 1, 2016, the billionaire Michael Bloomberg will jump in the race as an independent candidate. His goal is to keep the US from radicals of the right and the left  and these radicals are Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. This is printed in Spiegel Online. The message is clear: America and the western world will be saved when a moderate candidate competes in the showdown. This can obviously only be the inevitable Hillary Clinton in the momentary mishmash. According to this, Hillary Clinton is moderate. Is her only serious rival Bernie Sanders who calls himself a socialist a radical? It is time to readjust our political compass.According to traditional election campaign knowledge, Bernie Sanders is the most unlikely top-candidate of recent political history. Sanders is 74 years old and wears very reasonable suits. However the anachronism works. Bernie is cool! Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders is the candidate of young voters and sparks a movement in the social networks. By the New Year, Sanders had mobilized more than $72 million in election campaign donations from more than a million small contributors. The latter is a record that eclipses Obamas famous 2008 campaign. But have you ever read anything about the Sanders campaign in a German newspaper? In 2007/2008 Obama was omnipresent. Only Hillary Clinton among the democrats could mobilize more donations than Sanders  from big businesses and lobby groups, the so-called political action committees and certainly not from small contributors. Even if it sounds a little tactless, Sanders is the man of the people and Clinton is the woman of big money.WHO IS BERNIE SANDERS?Bernie Sanders is a political bedrock. From 1991 to 2007, Sanders sat in the US House of Representatives. Since then, he represented his state Vermont that has half as many residents as the Bronx district in New York City. In the Senate, Sanders is a leftist according to European perspectives which is a very unusual characteristic for a US politician. Even if he describes himself as a socialist, the predicate old social democrat would suit him better. Hillary Clinton is a modern social democrat but doesnt agree with much of social democracy.Politicians who change their positions all the time are mocked in the US as flip-floppers. If Bernie Sanders cannot be reproached for one thing, it is that he is not a flip-flopper. Rather the positions Sanders defends today he has represented for an eternity  probably since his birth. This is an absolutely unique characteristic in the US where it is common for top politicians to adjust their positions according to polls and tactical voter analyses. Sanders is authentic and does not act as though were authentic. That is also his secret of success for his fans and supporters.THE WOMAN OF BIG MONEYSanders central election campaign theme is the income- and wealth inequality that becomes ever more absurd. Sanders wants to keep a tighter rein on Wall Street, raise the minimum wage to at least $15, redistribute from top to bottom through the tax system, make the health and social system more just and abolish university tuitions. Thus Bernie Sanders wants (almost) everything to change. Hillary Clinton wants everything to remain as it is. You are doing fine! No wonder big businesses pay the incomes of the Clinton family and not only their election campaigns.The pair of Clinton politicians pocketed more than $35 million for addresses from banks and financial providers in the last years. Since her retirement from the State Department three years ago, Mrs. Clinton took in $2.9 million for twelve speeches at big banks  including $675,000 from Goldman Sachs and $485,000 from Deutsche Bank. Clintons connections to Wall Street are open and identifiable. We could ask how credible can her social-, economic- and financial program be. Nevertheless Sanders is regularly presented as radical or even as a lunatic, not Clinton. Is this because he represents the 99% and Clinton the 1%?MODERATE SABRE RATTLING?The difference between Sanders and Clinton in the area of foreign- and security policy is tremendous. Former Congressperson Joe Scarborough described the notion that she could be a presidential candidate as follows: This is fascinating. If she decides to compete and is nominated, she will be the greater saber-rattler and the more convincing neoconservative than her republican rival. Isnt that true? In the last 20 years, there was hardly a US military engagement that Hillary did not support. Scarborough is doubtlessly right on this point. Hillary Clinton was either for or initiated herself all the wars of the last years, all foreign policy adventures as for example the American intervention in the Syrian civil war. Sanders pleads to bring US soldiers home and not to instigate wars worldwide. Clinton compares Putin with Hitler. Sanders urges a diplomatic solution of problems. Who is mad or totally confused here? Who is radical?WILL VOTERS AVOID THE INEVITABLE?That Hillary Clinton has an adversary worth mentioning in the primaries is a real surprise. Internally she has long had the nickname The Inevitable. The 2016 candidacy was reserved for her after her narrow 2008 defeat to Obama. Until late summer 2015, she single-handedly dominated the polls.Then the Bernie hype began in the net and Clintons lead in the polls fell from more than 60% to around 15% today. This is till an enormous number. Sanders picks up points beyond the net and the social networks. In the TV debates, he simply had the better arguments.Nevertheless with all the enthusiasm, Sanders is a real cultural shock for many Americans. A genuine leftist presidential candidate represents a challenge in a country where socialist is still a swearword in many places. The leftist candidate Sanders would never have been possible without the arch-conservative Tea Party. For years the tea-baggers railed against those above and against the establishment at their events, marches, radio shows and Internet appearances. The republican political establishment is now discredited and the democratic political establishment is shaken. No one represents the establishment as well as Hillary Clinton. Sanders is a kind of anti-Clinton, a Mr. Clean who first joined the Democratic Party in 2015.That Bernie Sanders is a radical for a man like Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire, mayor of New York for eleven years, a basic component of the establishment, is understandable. But German media adopting this assessment is anything but understandable. On closer view, it is not clear why a large part of the German media desires a president Hillary Clinton directly or indirectly. With the question of war and peace elementary for Germans, a president Clinton would be the worst possible alternative in the Oval Office while a president Sanders would be a true glimmer of hope,Admittedly a few polls do not make a candidate and much imagination is needed to think a genuine leftist who wants to put Wall Street and the military-industrial complex in chains could enter the Oval office. This would be a dream more than a nightmare. We should finally stop being deluded by a few selfish billionaires and journalists who tell us who or what is radical. One thing is clear. The politicians who are sold to us as moderate not only in the US are more radical in many points than the politicians sold to us as radical. Radicalism is a question of perspective. Whoever is considered radical for the one percent need not be radical for the bottom 99%.
Silicon Valley Billionaires Caught Bribing Elected Officials in HSBC Case

(ANTIMEDIA) A federal judge ruled last week that the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) will be forced to share a report on its business practices with the public  a decision both the bank and the Department of Justice (DOJ) fought in court to prevent. The report is based on the findings of an ongoing government audit of the bank initiated amid revelations in 2012, that it laundered money for drug cartels and terrorist organizations.When HSBCs sordid dealings were discovered in 2012, the DOJ declined to press charges, arguing the bank was too important to prosecute. As the Guardian reported at the time, Assistant Attorney General Larry Breuer argued the Justice Department had looked at the collateral consequences to prosecuting the HSBC or taking away its US banking license. Such a move could have cost thousands of jobs, he said.Further, Had the US authorities decided to press criminal charges, theGuardian summarized, HSBC would almost certainly have lost its banking license in the US, the future of the institution would have been under threat and the entire banking system would have been destabilized.The DOJs refusal to prosecute those responsible was widely criticized, as HSBC was found to have laundered over $850 million for cartels, while also laundering money for Saudi banks with ties to terrorist groups. The bank also helped nations like Libya and Iran bypass American financial laws. The lack of punishment for these transgressions appeared to reveal a double standard.As Glenn Greenwald observed at the time:The US government is expressly saying that banking giants reside outside of  above  the rule of law, that they will not be punished when they get caught red-handed committing criminal offenses for which ordinary people are imprisoned for decades. Aside from the grotesque injustice, the signal it sends is as clear as it is destructive: you are free to commit whatever crimes you want without fear of prosecution. And obviously, if the US government would not prosecute these banks on the ground that theyre too big and important, it would  yet again, or rather still  never let them fail.Rather than directly prosecute HSBC, the DOJ opted for a deferred prosecution and imposed a five-year monitoring program wherein government authorities would regularly audit the banks internal reforms to ostensibly prevent similar criminal behavior in the future. The bank was also ordered to pay a $1.9 million fine, which DOJ officials bragged was the largest ever for such a case.A private individual, Hubert Dean Moore, recently sued in an eastern New York district court to publish the findings of the first annual audit, but both HSBC and the DOJ resisted. HSBC reportedly argued in a letter to U.S. District Judge John Gleeson that Moore had not identified a public interest case for publishing the report that would outweigh the negative consequences.Further, according to the Guardian, HSBC contended that publishing the monitors report would undermine the very purpose of the monitoring by compromising the ability of the monitor and the government to assess HSBCs progress in improving its anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance program. This argument was based on the DOJs own June 2015 argument against publishing the 1,000-page report. That report warned that monitors found certain areas within HSBC Group where the understanding of money laundering and financial crime red flags continues to lag.Flight99 - 4 - INTLThough HSBC maintained that publishing the report about its alleged improvements would harm the public, others see the justification for secrecy as a continuing double standard in American rule of law. As Greenwald also said of the DOJs refusal to prosecute HSBC in 2012:[W]e are constantly told that immunizing those with the greatest power is not for their good, but for our good, for our collective good: because its better for all of us if society is free of the disruptions that come from trying to punish the most powerful, if were free of the deprivations that we would collectively experience if we lose their extraordinary value and contributions by prosecuting them.In a recent court filing issued to fight Moores lawsuit, HSBC argued its original deferred prosecution agreement guaranteed the monitors findings would remain private  but perhaps this highlights the crux of the problem. In addition to failing to prosecute clearly criminal behavior that any average American would be imprisoned for committing, from the outset, the DOJ assisted HSBC in keeping its dealings clandestine.In spite of their efforts to keep the information suppressed, however, Judge Gleeson ruled Thursday that the public had a right to see the report. I find that the Report is a judicial record, and that the public has a First Amendment right to see the Report, he wrote in his opinion.Moore was pleased with the decision, and pointed out the banks unabashed resistance in trying to keep the report private. Im director of business development, he said. My job is to deal with people. If you make a mistake, you say sorry. They dont have that kind of humility at all.Instead, the bank simply said, We regret this decision and are considering our next steps.This article (Feds Helped Hide Investigation into Big Banks Money Laundering for Drug Cartels) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: Barry Caruth. If you spot a typo, email edits [at] theantimedia.org
Replacing A Legend: The Next Santa Anita Track Announcer by Kirby C. Grimes The racing world was shocked last December when it was announced that the legendary Trevor Denman was to retire from Santa Anita, effective immediately. For 32 years the South African native had wowed fans with his unique and flavorful race calls, and his entrance into American racing had opened the door for international announcers to come to the United States.

Once the paralyzing shock of the news wore off, a lonely racing world turned its attention to who could possibly fill the void. That same day it was announced that Michael Wrona, the announcer at Golden Gate Fields, and Frank Mirahmadi would fill in on a rotating basis for the balance of the Winter/Spring meet until a replacement could be found. Mirahmadi is the announcer at Monmouth Park and the boutique Thoroughbred meets at Los Alamitos. Formerly the announcer at Oaklawn Park, he resigned that position to pursue his dream job at Santa Anita. Santa Anita announced that a worldwide search would commence to find a replacement.

Most racing fans feel that it is between Wrona and Mirahmadi for the position, with Mihramadi being the popular pick for the job. However, applications have come in from across the world, and there is the distinct possibility that the track will stick with an international announcer to replace Denman. Though no announcement has been made as to whom the applicants are, several have become known, and their careers and prospects for the position are detailed as such.

A native of Southern California, Frank Mirahmadi began going to the sun-drenched ovals of California in the early 1970s with his father. He instantly fell in love with racing and with the announcers. He was blessed with the ability of a flexible voice, one that would allow him to imitate almost anyone. He began doing mock race calls in the voice of established race callers and making tapes of those calls. In 1992, on a whim, he sent one of those tapes to Hollywood Park, and much to his delight, he was given the chance to call two races in December of that year on closing day of the autumn meet. One of the two calls he did in the voice of his idol Trevor Denman, the man he now hopes to replace.

He has since called races from California to New Jersey and almost everywhere in between. He began his career at the historic Hialeah Park during its days as a Thoroughbred venue and has also been the announcer at various Northern California fairs, Louisiana Downs, and Turf Paradise. Known for his smooth and colorful race calls as well as his imitations of other announcers, he spent several years as a racing analyst at TVG.

Mirahmadi is fan favorite among younger and more casual fans and is quite active on social media. His popularity is linked to his announcing style and imitations done during his race calls as well as due to his time on-air at TVG. He idolizes Trevor Denman and is known to be well-connected with Santa Anitas management. In fact, he resigned his position at Oaklawn Park to pursue the booth at Santa Anita. The distinct disadvantage he has is his lack of an international accent and a unique flavor to his calls. It is highly probable the track will want to stick with an announcer in the vein of Denman, and if so, Mirahmadi would be behind the proverbial eight ball.

Michael Wrona, track announcer at Golden Gate Fields, is another candidate with a very strong chance of landing the booth. A native of Brisbane, Australia, he arrived in the United States in 1990 to assume the race calling position at the now defunct Hollywood Park. His very arrival in the United States is owed to Denmans popularity at the time.

After only one season at Hollywood Park, he was caught up in a board room battle and was late through no fault of his own. On the verge of returning to his homeland heartbroken, he was offered the announcers position at Bay Meadows in Northern California, followed shortly with an appointment to the same position at Golden Gate Fields. Once again he was a victim of circumstance and began a decade-long journey across America. The next tens years saw him become the announcer at Retama Park in Texas, Arlington Park in Chicago, The Fairgrounds in New Orleans, Lone Star Park outside Dallas, and a second stint at Hollywood Park. Several times the door was slammed shut due to situations beyond his control. Yet, he continued to persevere, and with the spirit of the ANZACS of Gallipoli and Tobruk coursing through his veins, he soldiered on. In 2005, he returned to Golden Gate Fields which by then was the only major racetrack in Northern California.

Wrona brings thirty years experience in racing calling and a unique style reminiscent of his race calling mentor, Johnny Tapp. He prides himself on being accurate and delivering an authentic commentary on each race. As an Australian, his accent and style of calling would ensure a smooth transition from Trevor Denmans style of announcing.

A dark horse candidate, and one that inside sources say is receiving strong consideration, is Alistair Cohen of South Africa. A native of Durban, he is an announcer and presenter for Tellytrack, the South African equivalent of TVG. Only 25 years old, Cohen possesses remarkable race calling abilities, and his age would ensure a long tenure at Santa Anita.

Born less than half a mile from Greyville Racecourse, the premier track in South Africa, Cohen grew up going to the track. His father, an avid bettor, would take him to the races in a stroller. He quickly became interested in racing and especially race calling, and around the age of five he began making mock race calls.

At the age of twelve he entered a race-calling competition at Clairwood Racecourse. The organizers of the competition couldnt believe his age! For the next seven years he honed his skills, and, soon after landing a job with Phumela, the countrys racing authority, in 2010, he began regularly calling races.

Cohen has always revered Denman and dreams of following in his footsteps. He doesnt plan out his race calls; he simply allows the horses on the track to lead him in his calls. He feels that should he be given the job at Santa Anita, fans would enjoy his race calls, and it would seem as if Denman had never left. His chances, by virtue of reading the tea leaves, appear to be very good at securing the position.

There are perhaps thirty or more applicants from across the world, and few of the names that have applied are known publicly. From Australia to South Africa, Britain, and the United States, the track will have their pick of the cream of the crop. As the situation stands now, Wrona appears to be a head in front of Cohen with Mirahmadi a trailing third. With several months to go in the process, as applicants are given auditions, the field will become more clear. Regardless of whoever lands the position, the next six months will be exciting as the eventual winner earns his new job in the highest profile public forum possible.

Breaking News: First Auditions For The Santa Anita Track Announcer Position
- Pro-Biafra militant groups have threatened Nigeria with a 31-day ultimatum

- They demand the release of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu

- The army has taken a stand on what to do with the pro-biafran militants.

The Nigerian army has said it will take strict measures against the pro-Biafran Militants threatening the peace with the southsouth and southeast region of the country.

According to the Defence Headquarters, the pro-Biafran militants who allegedly hijacked a merchant vessel off the coast of Nigeria on Friday, January 29, would be made to face the wrath which is meted-out to criminal and saboteurs.

Defence sources, who claimed knowledge of the hijacking on Tuesday, February 2, explained that the operatives of the Nigerian Navy were on the trail of the captured vessel and the hijackers.

The Punch reports that one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the hijackers had threatened to blow up the ship and its crew members if the government refused to release Kanu, who is currently being detained and undergoing prosecution for treasonable felony, after 31 days.

File photo: The Nigerian Army

The director of fefence information, Brig Gen Rabe Abubakar who confirmed the hijack, threatened that the military would deal decisively with those he called criminals and saboteurs.

He said the vessel, named MT LEON DIAS, was hijacked outside Nigerias territorial waters about 7.5 nautical miles off the Port of Cotonou, adding that the vessel was under the watch of the Navy of Benin Republic.

Abubakar said: Well, I can confirm to you that a vessel, a tanker with the name MT LEON DIAS with number 9279927, was hijacked 7.5 nautical miles off Cotonou port. The ship is presently in Benin Republic. It is a merchant ship.

I must add that on this issue of militancy, there are no more militants now, what we have are criminals. The Amnesty programme has taken care of the militants.

The military will treat those behind such acts as criminal and saboteurs; the law will take its course; the security agencies will do their job.

The countrys interest is above any other persons interest. We have to work towards the enthronement of peace and stability because development can only take place in an atmosphere of peace.

The spokesman for the Defence, said the military would treat those behind such crimes in the nations maritime domain as criminals and saboteurs.

Abubakar admitted that there were some sort of threats, but he was not specific on the 31-day ultimatum issued by the hijackers.

A Bulgarian-based Maritime News had said: The group boarded the tanker from two fast boats and took control of the vessel and locked the crew in the mess room before heading for the Niger Delta, reports AP.

A factional leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra, Uchenna Madu, had also explained that the said General Ben was one of the Niger Delta militants, who had volunteered to join forces with the secessionists groups.

Ben is not a separatist but some Niger Delta militants have shown interest in working with us, said Madu.

The hijacked ship is believed to be an oil tanker, some maritime industry sources claimed that the vessel was an oil tanker seized about 160 kilometres off the Bakassi Peninsula.

In the same vein, the Nigerian military has recorded yet another victory over the dreaded Boko Haram sect. According to Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, the director of public relations and information, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), was responsible for the recent success against the insurgents after one of their logistics base was destroyed by NAF drones.

Source: Legit.ng
- More than $2tn has been confiscated and recovered in the last 12 years

- The CJN said he is currently working with the judiciary to ensure the success of governments efforts to end impunity

- President Muhammadu Buhari had said that the judiciary was his only headache in his fight against corruption

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed

In 12 years of its existence, Nigerias anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than $2tn.

This was made known by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who also called for collaboration between all relevant agencies of the Federal Government for the war against corruption to succeed.

More than $2tn has been confiscated and recovered in the last 12 years by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the CJN was quoted by Punch newspaper.

READ ALSO: Pro-Biafran militants in trouble, read what army has planned

He stated this at a workshop on combating financial fraud, cyber and cross-border crimes in Abuja on Tuesday, February 2.

He also stated that he was currently working with the judiciary to ensure the success of governments efforts to end impunity in the land.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had said that the judiciary was his only headache in his fight against corruption.

Justice Mohammed said any efforts to end impunity in the country must first consider and prioritise reforms of the nations laws.

The justice sector must be better coordinated and develop synergistic avenues for the exchange of information and best practices. It is time to leave the rhetoric behind and take visible steps forward in this fight against transnational crimes.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court passes verdict on Oyo, Delta and Yobe state (photos)

I believe that if we work in harmony and in sincerity of purpose towards concrete outcomes, then, the efforts that we make will doubtless create a butterfly effect of positive change that is so sorely required in the justice sector.

Achieving success in fighting fraud, cybercrime and other cross-border crimes depends on all stakeholders working together towards developing intelligent initiatives, which will result in tangible and pragmatic solutions to ending and ridding ourselves of these emerging crimes.

Meanwhile, more revelations have emerged in NRC contract scam investigations. Former chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr Mohammed Haliru Bello, has admitted to signing documents in the ongoing contract scam being investigated in the sector.

Source: Legit.ng
-Comic actor Dejo Tunfulu remarries

-Traditionally tied the knot with few friends and families

-Dejo lost his first wife in 2012

Dejo Tunfulu and wife

Popular Nigerian comic actor Dejo Tunfulu over the weekend traditionally tied the knot with his sweetheart in Lagos. Also known as Kunle Mac Tokunbo, had a low key traditional wedding ceremony with his fiance, Deola Idowu Gunwa which had in attendance close families and few friends of the couple.

READ ALSO: Uti Nwachukwu blasted American actor for mocking God

The actor was once married to Mrs. Adesola Olakunle until the passed away in December 2012, she was reported to have given up at the early hours of the day during childbirth. Dejo also has two grownup children from his previous marriage.

See wedding pictures below:

Dejo with his in-laws

Deola and friends

Dejo with his parents

Dejo Tunfulu performing his traditional rite

The 44-year old comic actor was born in Idumota, Lagos state to Mr. and Mrs. Abass Adetokunbo. Dejo Tunfulu is the last family of six and holds a first school leaving certificate and a prophesy certificate in printing from Modern Way Nigeria School of Printing.

READ ALSO: Moyo Lawal robbed and hospitalized (Photo)

He was an old pupil of Ansar-u-deen Primary school Ereko Lagos and was later admitted into Dolphin High School, Ebute-Elefun where he joined the drama club and from there began his acting career.

Source: Legit.ng
- Groups insist they are not responsible for any seizure of merchant ship with foreigners

- They added that they are non-violent

- MASSOB supports any group fighting for Biafra, irrespective of the mode they carry it out

Members of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) during a recent protest.

The reports linking the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State Of Biafra (MASSOB) to the recent seizure and threat to blow up a merchant ship carrying foreigners, are false if recent reports by Vanguard are anything to go by.

These allegations were denied by both pro-Igbo groups which explained that they were not involved in the recent turn of events, as IPOB specifically stated that it remains a violence-free organisation.

The pro-Biafra agitators were alleged to have hijacked a merchant ship with a foreign crew and threatened to blow it up if the Nigerian government does not release its detained leader who is hell bent on the creation of a sovereign state of Biafra.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS / VIDEO: Kanu Appears In Court With Changed Clothes

But Emma Powerful, who spoke on behalf of IPOB, said the group has a lot of responsible men in the Nigerian society and in diaspora and therefore, cannot involve in any violent activity that may possibly harm or take the life of anybody from within and outside Nigeria.

"Many people are sympathetic to the Biafran actualization cause because of the treatment meted to the entire Biafran land comprising the former Eastern Region.

Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafran leader, is still in detention.

"Many groups are also rising up to speak against the treatment meted to the IPOB leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu who at present is being incarcerated in Kuje prison, and they can use any style to make their demand felt by the Federal Government but no IPOB member has a hand in it," Powerful was quoted to have said.

The MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, who also denied his group's involvement in the alleged hijacking of any merchant ship or any threat to blow up the alleged ship, stated that they are non violent and have no weapon to hold any ship hostage, let alone seizing and threatening to blow it with its passengers.

According to him: "I am aware that a militant group sometime gave the Federal Government twenty one-day ultimatum to release Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, failing which they threatened that they will do what will surprise the Nigerian government. May be it is the group, I do not even remember their name but I heard or read about that threat.

"You know that a lot of groups are springing up from the old Eastern Region to agitate for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and as far as they are fighting for Biafra, we cannot disown them, but they have their own style which I think the Federal Government of Nigeria understands easily. If you are not violent, they will not understand and they will ignore you. So, we support the group if that is what they have actually done.

READ ALSO: Biafrans across Europe storm EU parliament (photos/video)

"We in MASSOB are not involved in violence, that is why they do not take us serious. They believe we are illiterate job seekers that are frustrated in life and decided to demand for Biafra. They think that our own is to demonstrate peacefully and they will shoot and kill us and go into jubilation that they have dealt with us, but now, they have seen their match. We support the people if they have actually done that."

Madu added however, that, "any method applied by any Biafra agitating group to ensure that the Federal Government of Nigeria respects its law and court orders is approved by MASSOB, but we in MASSOB have chosen the path of non-violence and we will maintain it until Biafra is achieved."

In spite of these denials, the Nigerian army has said it will take strict measures against the pro-Biafran Militants threatening the peace with the southsouth and southeast region of the country.

According to the Defence Headquarters, the pro-Biafran militants who allegedly hijacked a merchant vessel off the coast of Nigeria on Friday, January 29, would be made to face the wrath which is meted-out to criminal and saboteurs.

Defence sources, who claimed knowledge of the hijacking on Tuesday, February 2, explained that the operatives of the Nigerian Navy were on the trail of the captured vessel and the hijackers.

Source: Legit.ng
- Another Bristow helicopter has reportedly gone missing in Lagos

- The chopper was en route Lagos from Port Harcourt

- The helicopter had 9 passengers and 2 crew members on board

File photo: Bristow helicopter

No fewer than eleven persons on Wednesday, February 3, escaped death after a Bristow 5B BJQ Helicopter enroute Lagos from an off- shore location in Port Harcourt ditched inside the Atlantic Ocean, Legit.ng can authoritatively report.

According to reports from emergency agencies, the helicopter had 9 passengers and 2 crew members on board.

READ ALSO: Meet 26-yr-old co-pilot of the crashed helicopter

The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has confirmed the incident, saying the aircraft 5N BJQ was flying at 1,500 feet when it disappeared.

Sam Adurogboye,a spokesperson of NCAA, in a text message, said there was no casualty as the 11 persons on board were rescued after the chopper ditched inside the Atlantic Ocean.

"It happened 70 Nautical Miles off Lagos. They were returning from their off-shore location called ERA," he said.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Farinloye, the NEMA spokesperson, told Naij.com that the 11 passengers on board the aircraft have been rescued alive.

A rescue team by the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) after yesterday's crash.

Michael Akindele, LASEMAs general manager, said no life was lost in the incident, adding:

Agip, Mobil and Shell oil companies provided speed boats, while Bristow Helicopter also provided landing boat for the evacuation of the survivors. Their survival is in adherence to the use of life jacket and the recently conducted emergency preparedness simulation of air crash by NEMA, LASEMA and other stakeholders. Further investigation on the crash will be looked into by the relevant authorities.

Other agencies involved in the rescue operations included the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Red Cross.

It would be noted that less than six months ago a helicopter flying in from Port Harcourt owned by Bristow Helicopters crashed into the Oworosoki end of the Lagos lagoon on Wednesday, August 12, 2015. No fewer than 12 people were on board when the helicopter went down.

Another rescue operation boat after the mishap in Lagos on Wednesday, February 3, 2016.

Owners of the helicopter comment

Below is the statement by Bristow Helicopters Nigeria on the crash:

Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today that one of its helicopters, was involved in a water landing near Lagos at about 10.25 a.m. local time on return from an offshore platform.

The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C++, had departed on a routine crew transfer flight offshore with nine passengers and a crew of two.

All persons onboard are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation. The company is in the process of collecting pertinent information and will release more details as soon as it is available.

The Media Consultant to Bristow Helicopters, Cornelius Onuora, added that the incident was not a crash but a controlled ditching, which was an emergency landing of a helicopter on water.

Onuora said the pilot observed that there was a technical issue with the helicopter and he decided to land it earlier than scheduled.

Source: Legit.ng
- Ex-governor released after completing initial jail term

- Re-arrested to face fresh charges

- New location unknown as at press time

James Ibori, the former Delta state governor, has been rearrested in the United Kingdom after initially regaining freedom from a London prison.

The former Delta state governor has been released and rearrested after completing his jail term in a London hospital.

The ex-governor, who reportedly completed his prison terms in the United Kingdom bagged a 13-year in April 2012 by a Southwark Crown court in London and was released by prison authorities on January 22.

He finished his prison term at Her Majestys Prison in Bedford, outside of London, after initially being held at the Long Lartin Prison in Worcestershire.

According to PM News, a prison source at Bedford confirmed on Tuesday night that, "He is out of here." but his new destination is yet to be confirmed.

Ibori was reportedly re-arrested to face another charge which borders on the confiscation of his ill-gotten assets, estimated to be about 250 million pounds as sources confirmed that the case initially billed for May, will now come up in June.

Ibori, 57, had been jailed for using UK financial institutions to misappropriate hundreds of millions of pound sterling he stole from public funds in Delta state and his journey to jail began with his arrest on May 13, 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He was nabbed under Interpol arrest warrants issued from United Kingdom courts and enacted by the Metropolitan Police.

Ibori also recently reacted to claims by Abubakar Malami, Nigeria's minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation (AGF) that the federal government will soon recover 6.9 million stolen funds frittered away by him.

In a statement issued on his behalf by Tony Eluemunr, his media aide, Ibori said: "There is no Ibori loot anywhere in the world. Such money, whether in British pounds, American dollars or the Nigerian naira just does not exist. This is because the Ibori London trial is not yet over.

"It is an incontrovertible fact that the confiscation hearing has not started at all, and remains months away into the future."

Source: Legit.ng
Minister of power, works and housing, Fashola, on Tuesday, February 2 said the increment in electricity tariff will improve power supply.

Fashola said this when he appeared before the Senate committee on power, to defend the budget of the ministry.

Fashola during his screening at the Senate last year

He said that investors would pull out if they were not able to get returns on their investments.

He said that the Senate had empowered the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to determine tariff for electricity and as such, the increment was not unlawful.

READ ALSO: Check Out Fasholas First Assignment As Minister Of Power, Works & Housing

"Electricity is a product, it is made from raw materials and some of the raw materials are gas. So, the issue of tariff is the single issue of price, when the raw materials of course will go up the price cannot stay the same.



"You may ask why cant we have more power before the price goes up: I am also a consumer, but we see that investments in power are not where they should be.



"If the recovery of price, the income and profit do not make economic sense to the investor, would you do that business if you are the one?



"So it is not what I want, it is what I think will solve the problem, everybody is owing everybody in the power equation and they are also owing banks.



"Now if you want investment in power, banks must continue to see confidence to lend.



"There are a lot of investors who want to pay a little more than the open market tariff, if we want them to come into the industry we have to allow the new tariff order," he said.



Fashola told the committee that there were lots of people producing excess power, who also want to join the national grid if the price was right.



He said that the tariff was necessary as the former government was perhaps afraid to confront Nigerians with the real price of electricity, hence the increment in tariff every two years.



However, he assured that the new tariff was a ten-year policy that would not be reviewed upwards or downwards.



"This tariff order also removes fixed charges, the consumers say they do not want fixed charges: nobody likes fixed charges because they want to pay for what they use.



"So, it gives the consumer something and it gives the service provider something too so that we can see increment.



"Government has bought out the issue of generation of power so people will not go into generation of power if it is not a business from which they can make a recovery and some profit.



''The law passed by the National Assembly clearly gives NERC the responsibility and power to give a tariff that enables them to recover their investment and returns on investment.



''So nothing unlawful or illegal has happened, one thing we must however begin to embrace is conservation,'' he said.

READ ALSO: Nigeria must leave oil production for technology

Legit.ng recalls that the (NERC) on Monday, February 1 effected the new electricity price tariff . NERC boss, Dr. Anthony Akah, had stressed that there is no going back on the new tariffs.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Supreme Court has passed a verdict on the last gubernatorial election which held in Akwa Ibom

- The Apex court has validated the election of Governor Udom Emmanuel

Governor Emmanuel Udom will stay on as governor of Akwa Ibom state, emerging reports suggests.

The Supreme Court sitting in Abuja On Wednesday, February 3, ruled in favor of Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Governor Emmanuel Udom

READ ALSO: Antigraft controversy: Read why Senate has summoned Attorney General

The ruling follows a long legal battle between Governor Emmanuels Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his opponent in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Umana Okon Umana stretching back to the dramatic April 11th, 2015 gubernatorial elections.

According to Sahara Reporters, the ruling by the apex court follows the December 18th Appeal Court ruling nullifying the election won by Governor Udom.

Both the PDP and APC Parties in Akwa Ibom state submitted appeals for either a partial or total re-run election exercise with both citing violence and pervasive polling irregularities.

In the same vein, the Supreme Court has upheld Okezie Ikpeazus election as the governor of Abia state.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu

The court gave the ruling validating the April 11 governorship election on Wednesday night but did not provide reasons for its judgment.

The court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which nullified Mr. Ikpeazus election on December 31, 2015.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Ikpeazu of the PDP won the lawfully cast votes in the April 11, 2015 election.

Premium Times reports that the court said full details of the ruling would be provided on Friday, February 26.

It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, had on December 31 removed Mr Ikpeazu as governor of the South-east state, the court also declared Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) the winner of the April 11 and April 25 supplementary elections in the state.

Meanwhile, supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom state had earlier taken over the Ibom Plaza in Uyo, while awaiting the Supreme Court judgment on the governorship election in the state.

The supporters were chanting in support of their party and celebrating the expected end of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They were hopeful that the Supreme Court would uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal to nullify the governorship election and remove Governor Udom, who was declared winner of the April 11 poll.

The Punch however, reports, that the Supreme Court verdict buried their hopes, as witnesses say the supporters went home with heads hung low.

Below are earlier photos from the Ibom plaza in Uyo.

APC supporters before the Supreme Court announcement

APC supporters anticipated a victory for their party ahead of the Supreme Court's judgement.

Source: Legit.ng


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Following the conclusion of a long-term lease with Deloitte France for the top 19 floors of the tower, Unibail-Rodamco announces the Majunga tower is now fully let less than 18 months after delivery. The space will be available to Deloitte France in 2016.

Less than 18 months after it was delivered, t...

[]
Honda Car India has postponed the launch of its 2020MY Honda City sedan (fifth-gen) due to COVID-19

A few months ago, we had shared a set of patent images of Hondas upcoming City hatchback (based on the latest-gen City sedan). At the time, it was assumed that the hatchback would hit only ASEAN markets. But now, it has been revealed that the hatch would come in multiple markets including South America (especially Brazil), China, etc.

Launch in India is still not confirmed. Considering Honda decided not to launch the new gen Jazz in India (BS6 model coming soon), and recently revealed that Jazz diesel BS6 will not be launched  could it be possible that Honda India has plans to replace Jazz hatchback with some version of the City hatcback in the future?

On the other hand, India is still waiting for the 2020MY Honda City sedan (5th gen; 7th gen globally). The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has caused major confusions across the industry and as a result, Honda Car India had to postpone its launch from the initial timeline of March 2020. It will debut in a petrol format as the Japanese automaker is yet to update the old 1.5-litre DDiS mill to BS6 emission norms.

In China, Honda already sells the Gienia notchback (almost sedan-ish hatchback) which could be potentially replaced by the new City hatchback. Engine choices would most likely be a 1.0-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder (like the original sedan which debuted in Thailand) and 1.5-litre NA petrol four-cylinder. In terms of design, the front profile carries minimal changes compared to its base sedan counterpart.

Meanwhile, Brazilian automotive digital artist Kleber Silva has given his own twist to the 2021 Honda City hatchback as well as its sportier RS version. Either render was done over the regular 2020 Honda City sedan with fitting cosmetics to differentiate their focus. Unlike the proven Civic Type-R, the Honda City RS hatchback (if something of that sort becomes a reality) may not have serious performance-bias engineering underneath. Instead, it could just be a better-looking version of the regular model  like the 2020 Honda City sedan and its RS Turbo variant.

In addition to the City sedan, Kleber has also borrowed multiple aesthetic components from the global-spec 2021 Honda Jazz (or Fit). Over the months, we have shared several renders by Kleber; latest being a possible Ford EcoSport successor.

Coming back to the much-awaited India-spec Honda City BS6, its 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol motor makes around 119bhp and 150Nm of torque. It will be available with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 7-step CVT. The 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine, in BS4 format, was good for 99bhp and 200Nm. It came only with a 6-speed manual. Interestingly, there are chances of Honda Car India selling the Citys new and old model (in BS6 format) alongside each other for a brief period.
To be positioned between Hyundai Creta and Santa Fe, the new Hyundai Tucson shares space at Hyundai Motor pavilion at 2016 Auto Expo along with the Genesis luxury brand, Sonata Hybrid, N Vision 2025 and many more. Showcased earlier at 2015 Geneva Motor Show, 2016 Hyundai Tucson would be notably different from the model that was on sale in India 5 years ago, considering the growing demand for added comforts and compact size, buyers of vehicles in this segment demand.

2016 Hyundai Tucson will sport a new design philosophy with exteriors displaying a new hexagonal grille, dual projector headlamps, and LED DRLs. On the sides, large wheel arches will be evident with 19 alloy wheels and a sleek roof rail while at the rear, wrap around LED tail lamps, a chrome exhaust pipe and high mounted spoiler will be evident.

Interiors of 2016 Hyundai Tucson will sport a number of comfort, safety and infotainment features. Sporting an 8 touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and smartphone connectivity, the Tucson interiors will also see a panoramic sunroof, automatic parking, 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking and blind spot detection. These features along with static corner lighting and other onboard safety features is what have earned the Tucson a 5 Star rating in Euro NCAP safety tests.

2016 Hyundai Tucson is built on a new platform which has resulted in more cabin space and luggage capacity of 513 liters. It will be powered by a 2.0 liter CRDi engine offering 182.5 bhp power and 402 Nm torque mated to 6 speed automatic box. Both AWD and FWD options are expected to be on-board the new Hyundai Tucson, which could come in at a starting price of around INR 18 lakh.

Stay tuned to Rushlane as we cover the 2016 Auto Expo LIVE.

Hyundai Tucson at Auto Expo

New Hyundai Tucson  Photos

News Release
Volkswagen had launched the T-Roc in India, just before the commencement of the lockdown

Now, latest photos suggest that T-Roc units have started to arrive at VW dealerships across the country. It is to be noted that VW T-Roc had first unveiled the SUV in India just before the 2020 Auto Expo. Later, in March, the German carmaker launched the car at a starting price of INR 19.99 lakhs (ex-showroom). However, due to the lockdown, deliveries & sales of the SUV hadnt happened (at least, no sales had been reported till April20 end).

The SUV is actually an imported unit, which is brought under the CBU (completely built unit) route. Thanks to governments new norms, OEMs are allowed to import up to 2,500 units every year, without the requirement for homologation.

VW will be leveraging the same facility to bring in T-Roc units for India. If there is a surge in demand, Volkswagen has the capacity to locally assemble the SUV and then bring it in via the CKD (completely knocked down kits) route.

It is to be noted that VW has introduced the SUV in a single trim only. It is offered in the country with a 4 cylinder 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol motor. The unit is capable of dishing out 148 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque. It comes mated to a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission unit.

The Indian version misses out on VWs 4Motion AWD (All Wheel Drive) system. Indians also miss out upon two other engine options, namely the 1L TSI & 2L TSI motors, which are on offer in European markets.

While in terms of size and space, the T-Roc is a direct competitor to cars like Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta and Nissan Kicks. However, considering its pricing, it will be competing with cars like Tata Harrier, MG Hector and Mahindra XUV500 too. Closest rivals to the T-Roc will be the Jeep Compass and the recently launched Skoda Karoq (sister model of the T-Roc). It will be interesting to see, how Indian customers will respond to the SUV in the coming months.

In a related development, we would like to report that VW has introduced a T-Roc Black edition in international markets. The Black edition, as the name suggests, gets a blacked out grille, roof rails, exhaust pipes, alloy wheels etc. The Black edition is based upon T-Rocs mid-spec SE variant, however VW is offering additional equipment on the Black edition, compared to the standard SE variant.

Source
In late 2015 Singapore arrested 27 Bangladeshi Moslem construction workers and charged them with planning terrorist acts outside of Singapore. Most (26) of them were deported back to their home country while one as charged with trying to leave the country illegally (and engage in terrorist acts). Singapore can afford to just send these wannabe Islamic terrorists home (to face further investigation and possible prosecution) because it is one of the few industrialized nations to have never experienced an incident of Islamic terrorist violence.

Starting in the 1980s Singapore spent an increasing amount of resources on dealing with the terrorist threat. This increased after 2001 and continues as Islamic terrorist groups like al Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) continue to mention Singapore as a target for attacks. There are several interesting reasons why these Islamic terror groups have never been able to touch Singapore.

Singapore has long been known for its secrecy when it comes to military matters. While Singapore has long been considered to have the most effective, man-for-man, security forces in Asia, it tries to enhance their military effectiveness by keeping most details secret. What is known is that Singapore manages to monitor local Moslems (mostly foreign workers) and regularly hold large scale drills to practice what it would do if there was an Islamic terrorist attack. This is aided by the fact that 15 percent of the population is Moslem (mostly ethnic Malays) who are overwhelmingly opposed to Islamic terrorism and quick to call in any signs of Islamic terrorist activity. All this tends to discourage Islamic terrorists from even trying to carry out attacks inside Singapore. This formidable reputation is an old one and can said to have originated in a 1991 incident that resulted in death of the four Pakistani political activists and the release (unharmed) of 125 passengers and crew being held on a hijacked airliner. The four Pakistanis were political activists who hijacked the airliner to try and force the Pakistani government to release fellow activists from jail. The speed and efficiency of the Singaporean response to the hijacking impressed other terrorists, which was what Singapore wanted.

Singapore believed it needed this sort of reputation because it is one of the smallest nations in the world, being a tiny (633 square kilometers) island city state. Defense spending is only about $1o billion a year for a population of 5.5 million. The armed forces consists of 71,000 active duty troops, of which 55 percent are conscripts. But on a per-capita basis, Singapore spends more on the military and has more people in uniform than the United States. The police and intelligence organizations add another 50,000 personnel and cost about $2 billion a year. This is also high, on a per-capital basis but Singapore has the lowest crime rates on the planet. Several surveys of crime rates world-wide place Singapore at or near the top of lists for safest countries.

The Singapore military is one of the best equipped, trained and led in the region. Singapore is not only quite wealthy but occupies a crucial strategic position as it is astride the most important shipping channel (the Malacca Strait) in the world. Singapore has the best educated and most affluent population in the region. With so much worth defending, Singapore is ready to take on any hostile neighbors (mainly Malaysia, which Singapore used to be part of) and an increasingly aggressive China. To enhance their defenses Singapore has always had close ties (diplomatic, economic and military) with the regional countries with powerful military forces in the area (United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea).

Singapore attributes its unique characteristics to its population, which is 75 percent Chinese. These are the descendants of ambitious emigrants who left China over the past two centuries looking to make a better life as "overseas Chinese." None have done better than the Chinese who ended up in Singapore.

The city of Singapore was founded by the British in 1819, on what was then a thinly populated island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The British considered the local Malays rather too laid back and brought in thousands of Chinese and Indians to work the booming port city. Within six years, the population exploded from a few hundred, to over 10,000. By the 1820s Chinese were the most numerous ethnic group. They eventually came to dominate the rich port of Singapore, providing administrators as well as traders and laborers. The British kept the key jobs but otherwise ran a meritocracy. When Malaysia, which Singapore was a part of, became independent in 1963, many Chinese in Singapore openly opposed being ruled by the Malay majority. The Malays also resented the more entrepreneurial and economically successful Chinese. Although most Singapore residents wanted to be part of Malaysia, it didn't work out. In 1965, Malaysia basically expelled Singapore, which become a separate, mainly Chinese, country. Over the next three decades, the Singaporean economy grew an average of nine percent a year, and Singapore became the wealthiest, on a per-capita basis, nation in the region.

With so much to defend, the Singaporeans developed, early on, a strong military. This was prompted by Britain withdrawing its garrison in 1971 and, in effect, telling the Singaporeans they had to defend themselves. Singapore asked Israel to help it develop a force similar to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). That is, a large reserve force with a small active force to handle training and any immediate military needs. The two countries have been close allies ever since.

Thus the 71,000 full time troops exist in large part to train conscripts to be reservists. There are only about 30,000 full time, professional troops. In wartime, there are 310,000 trained reserves who can be mobilized, plus nearly has many who have had military training, but are no longer in reserve units. Like Israel, Singapore can mobilize a force that can defeat any of its neighbors.

The main criticisms of Singaporean armed forces were their training, promotion and retirement policies. Singapore troops are the best trained in the region, and all forces train regularly, much like American troops do. But Singapore is also very safety conscious, and this limits many of the things troops can do. The reason for this caution is the low birth rate in Singapore (a universal side effect of prosperity), and the popular outrage every time a soldier is killed or seriously injured during training. The promotion policies are criticized because they emphasize test taking over practical experience. The retirement policies force every soldier to leave active service by age 45. This is done to keep the military leadership young, and provide a supply of experienced military commanders for management jobs in government and the civilian economy. Other criticisms knocked ethnic Chinese dominating the military and sundry administrative policies. But in realistic training exercises with their allies, the Singaporean troops regularly demonstrate a high degree of effectiveness. Despite these issues most major military powers believe the Singaporean forces would be very effective in combat.
British newspapers dubbed him "The Beast of Broomfield," but to pet owner Hannah Butcher, he's always just been Dougal. Butcher first heard the fearsome new nickname on Tuesday, when a senior citizen told The Essex Chronicle about a terrifying close encounter she had with an animal she was "100 percent certain" was "a big wild cat, possibly a lynx or a jungle cat."

Dodo Shows Little But Fierce Pocket-Sized Kitten Grows Up To Be A Wild Woman

Describing the beast as "a huge cat" with leopard-like markings, green eyes and no tail, the unnamed retiree said she wanted to warn parents of small children about the creature that made her "shiver with fear." "With one huge leap the cat had jumped onto the top of my 7-foot-fence and disappeared over the other side," the woman toldthe newspaper. "I have never seen anything like this in my life and remain shaken by the experience."

Hannah Butcher, however, claims to have not only seen the beast before, but to have even let him into her home. "It's not a leopard," she told the BBC. "It's bound to be Dougal, my cat."
Abandoned in a small field in Soacha, south of Bogota, Colombia, she was left to fend for herself. The Staffordshire bull terrier was starved for food, her skin afflicted with mange, and she was physically weak. Facebook/Carol Vasquez

Carol Vasquez, who initially found the dog - now named Cara - made a post on Facebook, asking someone to save her. Maria Paula Hernandez, a student at the University of Los Andes, came to her rescue. Vasquez told Hernandez Cara seemed so weak, she wasn't certain if she would even make it through the night - but, miraculously, she did. The next day, Cara came into Hernandez's care after careful transport coordination. Details about how Cara was abandoned in the first place are as yet unknown. Facebook/Carol Vasquez

A local vet estimated Cara to be about 2 to 3 years old. Her teeth were worn down and it appeared that she had previously given birth to puppies. Maria Paula Hernandez

Dodo Shows Pittie Nation The Sweetest Pittie Was Living Under A Jeep

Maria Paula Hernandez

"She was really weak and [didn't] do much for the first few weeks," Hernandez told The Dodo. "I believe she hadn't received much affection before." Because she had scars on her body and trouble socializing with other dogs, Hernandez believes Cara may have also been a victim of dogfighting. According to Hernandez, in the Soacha borough of Bogota, where Cara was found, reports of illegal dogfighting are common. Because of her mange (a skin condition caused by mites that results in hair loss and scaly skin), Cara was uncomfortable and frequently itchy, Hernandez said. Everywhere she walked, a trail of dead skin followed her. Maria Paula Hernandez

Maria Paula Hernandez

Cara's exposed, sensitive skin could not handle much sunlight, so she had to be kept in the kitchen while she healed, to avoid the rest of Hernandez's bright, sunny apartment. Whenever Hernandez did take Cara outside for short periods of time, people would stare openly at the duo. "Everyone looked like it was wrong, trying to help this dog," she said. Yet, it was that very same compassion that gave Cara the ability to live her best possible life. The Cara from six months ago is nothing like the Cara whom Hernandez still cares for today. Maria Paula Hernandez



Maria Paula Hernandez

"We live together, only me and her," Hernandez said. Maria Paula Hernandez

Maria Paula Hernandez

"I've had pets when I was little and had helped several street dogs," she said. "However, with her, all was different. I was planning on giving her up for adoption, but during her recovery, she just stole my heart." Maria Paula Hernandez

Maria Paula Hernandez

Although Cara still has trouble getting along with other dogs due to past trauma, she adores affection from humans. "She is the most loving and playful dog you can meet," Hernandez said. Maria Paula Hernandez



Maria Paula Hernandez

"She just wants attention and gives kisses to everyone and cuddles whenever she can. In the morning, she lays down in the living room and the sun is all over her. She loves that." Maria Paula Hernandez

Maria Paula Hernandez
This is what love looks like when it seems like no one is watching. Back in 2016, Maggie, an Australian shepherd, was in her cage when she heard the cries of puppies nearby, according to a Facebook post by Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming. The family-run business in St. Albert, Alberta, often boards rescue dogs when there isn't enough space for them elsewhere.

Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming

Maggie had given up her own babies a couple of weeks earlier and these puppies happened to be without a mother. When all the humans left the site, Maggie made her move. "There's a gate at the front of the kennel," Alex Aldred, whose family owns the business, told The Dodo. "And there's a spot where we can just slide in a water bowl. She pushed out her water bowl and wriggled her way through the opening."



Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend

Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming

Maggie made her way down the hall until she found the two little orphans, clinging to each other. Although she couldn't slip inside the kennel with them, she pressed her body up to the cage as tightly as possible, as if to say, "It's OK. I'm here for you."

Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming

The Aldred family was out for dinner that night, and while checking the motel's security cameras over their phone, they realized a dog had gotten out of a kennel. Hurrying back from dinner, Sandy Aldred was greeted by a jubilant Maggie. Together, they went back to the puppies' kennel. Sandy Aldred opened the cage door and Maggie made herself at home inside.

Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming

"She was super affectionate with them," Alex Aldred said. "She was mouthing them and they were kissing her chin. So we just decided to keep them together for the night." "When we got back in the morning, they were still all snuggled up," Aldred added.

Barker's Pet Motel and Grooming
In April 2015, a woman spotted a stray dog from a distance outside Athens, Greece, whose face had completely hardened.

Valia Orfanidou

She took a photo and posted it to Facebook, in hopes that the right people would see it and come to help. The 5-year-old mixed breed dog was sick, terrified and had no way of knowing that day would mean the end of her suffering. Petra, Greek for "stone," had seemingly never interacted with people before, causing her to be terrified of them. Approaching her was nearly impossible - she would run away if anyone came too close. Rescuing her was extremely difficult, but everyone refused to give up.

Valia Orfanidou

After she was finally captured, she was brought to the Save a Greek Stray shelter in Oropos, Greece. Valia Orfanidou, who has helped rehabilitate many dogs, met Petra and knew she had to help her. "I think she's always been a stray because she looked like she had never been around people," Orfanidou told The Dodo. "Even dogs in that condition, if they've been around people are more friendly. Petra looked like she had never been touched."

Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap

Valia Orfanidou

Petra was in extremely poor condition, and was treated for virtually everything, from mange, a skin infection causing painful scabs and leisons, to leishamiasis, an infection spread by bugs that can be deadly if left untreated. In fact, the severe mange diagnosis was the culprit behind Petra's stone-like appearance. But even as the treatment for her health issues began, her rescuers could see that Petra was still suffering.

Valia Orfanidou

"The problem is she still didn't trust anybody," Orfanidou said. "She never wanted to leave her cage; she would hide every time she was approached and growl at the other dogs at the shelter." The first time Orfanidou tried to approach Petra, the dog was so scared she went to the bathroom in her cage - but Orfanidou refused to give up on her.

Valia Orfanidou

"The second time it took us one whole hour to walk just a few meters from her cage," Orfanidou said. "She would make three or four steps, and then stop. I'd pull her slightly and then a few more steps." Every week Petra got a little bit braver. She became more and more willing to leave her cage, and slowly started to tolerate people touching and interacting with her. Orfanidou never gave up on Petra, and it paid off - because soon, she was a completely different dog.

Valia Orfanidou

"She started wagging her tail and looked willing to play with us, her toys and the other dogs," Orfanidou said. Petra, the dog who wanted nothing to do with anybody, was now more than ready to be loved.

Valia Orfanidou

Now, Petra is completely unrecognizable. She is no longer skinny and mange-ridden, or terrified of interacting with people. She has become the most beautiful dog, both inside and out.

Valia Orfanidou
"I'll never look at a giraffe the same," declared Philippe Binder, the Hawaii-based physicist who, while on sabbatical in Africa, decided to figure out once and for all how giraffes drink water. Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Binder normally studies chaos theory. But when he saw a giraffe drinking from a puddle in Namibia, he got to work. "Physicists often have a childlike curiosity to know why things do what they do," Binder told Inside Science about his research released in December. "I just wanted to understand how giraffes drink. It was sheer, pure fun." YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Scared Pittie Gets So Happy When He Meets This Guy And His Pack Of Dogs

This browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

If you take a second to think about it, the act seems to defy gravity. Shutterstock

Shutterstock

The lanky, long-necked animal has to awkwardly stoop down to watering holes and then somehow draw all that heavy water up his neck and into his body. Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Binder teamed up with another scientist, Dale Taylor, and together they ruled out the theory that the neck acts like an 8-foot-long drinking straw. YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

This browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

Curiosity kept Binder and Taylor going, though, and finally they landed on a theory that seemed to make sense: Giraffes have a sequence of special pumps in their necks that move the water up. According to Inside Science: [T]he giraffe's lips form one valve of the "pump" while the animal's epiglottis, located at the back of the mouth, is the other. To start, the giraffe sinks its puckered lips into the water and then pulls back its jaw, allowing water to rush into the mouth, all the while keeping the epiglottis "valve" closed. Next, the giraffe clenches its lips and relaxes the epiglottis, then pumps its jaw so that the captured water is pushed into esophagus. Shutterstock

Shutterstock

To know absolutely that the theory of the pumps is true, the researchers will need to X-ray a giraffe - a tall order, indeed. YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

This browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/Gian Luigi Concone

Unfortunately, the animals who spark excitement in the imaginations of everyone, from children to chaos theorists, need help: In 1999, the population of giraffes across Africa was estimated at 140,000; today, it's dropped to just 80,000. Click here to learn how you can help giraffes.
It took some serious guts for one little raccoon to board that train full of humans ... the kind of guts and gall subway rats everywhere would probably envy. "He was walking under the seats nonchalantly, like it's another day on TTC [Toronto Transit Commission]," Tatyana Marayeva, who was on the train on Tuesday's morning commute, told The Dodo. One woman stood up on her seat when the raccoon passed. Tatyana Marayeva

But most of the passengers held themselves together fairly well, according to Marayeva. "I must admit, that people's reaction was very Canadian," she said. "Nobody was freaking out or screaming." The raccoon then proceeded down the cart and shared a moment of eye contact with a woman before pawing through the open bag at her feet. Tatyana Marayeva

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When the train arrived at the Spadina station in Toronto, the doors opened up and a conductor couldn't help but laugh as he made the announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Marayeva recounted. "This train is out of service due to ... uhm ... a raccoon!" Tatyana Marayeva

At that point, everyone politely exited the train and waited for the raccoon to follow. Eventually, he made his way to the platform. One Twitter user captured the explorer as he sniffed his way through the crowd.

Fortunately, the delay was brief, and the raccoon ended up continuing his adventure through the tunnels of the human world. At that point, people chuckled and joked among themselves, according to Marayeva. The raccoon may have startled a few people, but all in all, his visit was a pleasant disruption for the commuters' Tuesday morning.
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIRWaQWXjK1RXc6_hG-kZzQ" target="_blank">YouTube/BFCMEDIA</a></p>

Today, there are around 5,000 bison roaming Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. On February 15, between 600 and 900 of those animals will be rounded up, sorted and put into a holding facility. Some may become anxious - they've never been in such a small space before - and gore other bison, or shove them into the walls of the pen. Eventually, they'll all be killed. This is Yellowstone National Park's annual bison cull. So, why would Yellowstone want to kill so many of its own animals? Turns out, it's mostly to please agitated cattle ranchers in neighboring Montana.

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"Each year since 2000, the National Park Service and other agencies ... determine a number of buffalo that they'd ideally like to 'remove' from the Yellowstone population," Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) lawyer Stefanie Wilson told The Dodo. According to Wilson, the alleged reasoning for the cull is twofold: to avoid overwhelming the land, and to protect farmers' beef cattle from a disease called brucellosis. Brucellosis, a bacterial infection that can cause fever, joint pain and fatigue, is often passed from livestock to humans via unpasteurized milk and other dairy products. But Wilson noted that although bison can suffer from brucellosis, there has never been a documented case of a bison passing the disease to a cow or bull. "It is only theoretically possible based on a lab test," she said.

Buffalo Field Campaign, which is working to stop the bison slaughter entirely, also notes that there are no cattle in West Yellowstone for most of the year, and therefore no risk of transmission. (From November to June, cattle are trucked out of the area and into milder temperatures.) And when the bison - including calves - are herded toward the holding facilities, it may disrupt other wildlife, too. "During a typical hazing operation, the ... agencies ride noisy, smelly snowmobiles, fly helicopters, run horses, and ride ATVs throughout sensitive habitat important to numerous wildlife species," the Buffalo Field Campaign wrote. When they flee from the noise, many animals - elk, moose, swans - use up energy they can't afford to spend during a cold winter. Finally, there's the matter of the cull itself, details of which have been kept notably under wraps. In fact, parts of the park - public land - will be closed to the public during the event.

The ALDF is currently representing journalist Chris Ketcham and wildlife advocate Stephany Seay in a case against the National Park Service. Both Ketcham and Seay want to know exactly what will happen to the bison when the capture and kill operation takes place - especially given the reports about bison injuring each other in their extremely close quarters. "These are wild animals," Wilson said. "They are not domesticated livestock." Seay, Ketcham and their legal team are arguing that, under the First Amendment, the public has a legal right to this information.

"The federal government manages the National Parks, and the wildlife that reside in those refuges, in trust for the American public and future generations," Wilson said. Now, it's up to the National Parks Service to protect that trust - and spare the lives of its innocent bison. You can watch footage of the buffalo holding facilities below.
When computer security giant Symantec agreed to off-load its data storage business to a D.C. buyout firm for $8 billion last summer, it looked like the sale of a unit that never quite lived up to its potential. After all, Symantec bought Veritas for $13.5 billion in 2005.

But Bill Coleman, who took over as chief executive this week, says he was pleasantly surprised by what he found under the hood when he started evaluating the company for its new owners, the Carlyle Group, a year ago.

I didnt expect to find nearly as strong an asset, nearly as strong a team, he said in an interview Monday morning, on his way to his first meeting as CEO.

Veritas is a software company headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., playing in the evolving and complex world of data storage and management. The company has roughly 7,800 employees operating in 58 countries and says it works with 86 percent of Fortune-500 companies. The company generated $2.6 billion in revenue for Symantec in fiscal year 2015.

Symantec became an industry leader in anti-virus software with its flagship product Norton Antivirus, but in recent years has faced stiff competition from new Silicon Valley rivals like FireEye and Palo Alto Networks, which focus on companywide cybersecurity.

Symantec had been looking to off-load its data management business for more than a year. In October 2014 it announced plans to spin off Veritas into a separate publicly-traded company, but veered towards a sale the following year. Reuters reported as early as April 2015 that Symantec had been approaching companies and private equity firms about a potential deal, and it wasnt until August that it finalized an agreement with Carlyle.

Veritas new CEO Coleman is a Silicon Valley veteran best known for founding BEA Systems, a business software company bought by Oracle in 2008 for $8.5 billion. Before that he was a vice president at Sun Microsystems, a computer company that was also bought by Oracle.

As an executive, Coleman has made frequent use of so-called tuck-in acquisitions to build his companies. He says BEA bought a whopping 24 companies under his leadership.

Coleman says he plans to follow a similar game plan at Veritas. He says hes currently looking for so-called strategic acquisitions to develop a stronger cloud storage and information management footprint.

Cloud storage is an emerging field in data management in which chunks of information can be split across multiple servers rather than stored in one place. As corporations look for new ways to organize complex information, the sector has become a growth area for companies like Amazon and Google.

As a private company, Coleman said he has more leeway to embark on acquisitions that dont generate immediate profit. Public companies can face more pressure for short-term results.

He insists the Carlyle group, an $188 billion private equity fund known primarily for leveraged buy-outs, is in it for the long term.

This is not the 1980s private equity, Coleman said of Carlyles plans for the company. When you look at how Carlyle and KKR and the big guys are today, theyre in to build value.

Coleman says Veritas will need to beef up its sales and customer service apparatus and find new ways to streamline the business now that it is no longer part of Symantec

They havent had a culture of being a company, of being focused on that long-term customer goal, Coleman said. Theyve been part of a big bureaucracy where the systems and processes arent necessarily efficient.

The company that would become Veritas was founded in 1983, went public a decade later and was acquired by Symantec in 2005. In 2007 the Securities and Exchange Commission accused five former Veritas executives of accounting fraud, alleging that members of the companys C-suite had lied to independent auditors and falsely inflated financial statements, affecting financial statements from 2000 through 2002. By July 2012, all five executives had agreed to settle the charges.
Clinton holds a campaign rally at the Union Hall for Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 in St. Louis on Dec. 11. (Charles Ommanney/The Washington Post)

When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked into the gilded Elysee Palace in Paris on March 14, 2011, she found a fired-up French President Nicolas Sarkozy eager to launch military strikes in Libya.

It had been nearly a month since Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafis security forces had gunned down more than a dozen protesters in Tripoli, touched off a civil war and threatened to slaughter thousands more rebels like rats.

Clinton had been traveling the globe meeting with allies, hoping to find a diplomatic solution to avoid U.S. military action in yet another Muslim country. She knew European and even Arab allies wanted to strike Gaddafi, and she had come to Paris to hear them out, still unconvinced.

Now, with a huge column of Gaddafis tanks and soldiers closing in on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, an animated Sarkozy gave Clinton an earful about the imminent bloodbath.

He told Hillary, Something must be done,  said a senior European diplomat directly involved in the Paris talks. The diplomat said Clinton came out of the meeting shaking her head about Sarkozys hyper-energetic style.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Tripoli, Libya, on October 18, 2011. (Kevin LaMarque/AFP/Getty Images)

But hes right, she said, according to the diplomat.

A few hours later, after consultations with British and Arab allies and a leader of the Libyan opposition all demanding action, Clinton joined a White House meeting of President Obamas National Security Council by phone and forcefully urged the president to take military action.

Clintons decision to shed her initial reluctance and strongly back a military operation in Libya was one of the most significant  and risky  of her career.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon and others were against military action, contending that the United States had no clear national interests at stake and that operations could last far longer and cost more lives than anyone anticipated.

But Clinton joined U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice and White House adviser Samantha Power in pressing Obama to back a U.S.- and NATO-led military campaign, arguing that the United States could not let Gaddafi butcher his citizens.

Obama sided with Clintons argument, and three days later, on March 17, the U.N. Security Council passed a U.S.-backed resolution authorizing all necessary measures to protect Libyan civilians. U.S. warplanes immediately destroyed Libyas air defenses before turning the operation over to NATO, which continued strikes until Gaddafi was captured and killed in October.

Clinton has pointed to the international military operation as a signature moment in her four-year tenure as the top U.S. diplomat: No one else could have played the role we did, she wrote in her book Hard Choices, adding that acting with European and Arab allies helped prevent what might have been the loss of tens of thousands of lives.

But Libya today has deteriorated into a virtual failed state run by hundreds of private militias. Eighteen months after the initial airstrikes, U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in attacks by militants on a U.S. diplomatic post and a nearby CIA site in Benghazi. The North African nation has become a primary outpost for the Islamic State, which has exploited the chaos to take territory, train soldiers and prove its strength outside Syria and Iraq.

While the administrations use of force was widely praised at the time, Libya has become a liability for Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and one of the central lines of attack on her by the leading Republican candidates  and some Democrats.

Some have accused her of timidity for not pushing for a stronger and more sustained U.S. military and diplomatic campaign in Libya. Others have faulted her for getting involved at all, accusing her of adventurism for going beyond the civilian-protection mandate of the U.N. resolution and toppling Gaddafi without a better plan for what came next.

Clinton has repeatedly defended the Libya military intervention as U.S. smart power at its best.

We had a murderous dictator . . . threatening to massacre large numbers of the Libyan people, she said during an October Democratic presidential debate. We had our closest allies in Europe burning up the phone lines begging us to help them try to prevent what they saw as a mass genocide, in their words. And we had the Arabs standing by our side saying, We want you to help us deal with Gaddafi. 

But where Clinton sees smart power, her attackers see poor judgment and a failure to learn from mistakes made in Iraq  a war that Clinton initially voted for as a senator, then acknowledged was a mistake during her 2008 Democratic primary campaign against Barack Obama.

As in Iraq, Clinton backed a military operation that toppled a dictator yet was marred by poor postwar planning that led to violent chaos and the ultimate rise of new and even greater threats to U.S. interests.

Much of the criticism has been over the killing of Gaddafi when the U.N. mandate was only to protect civilian life.

While few mourned the loss of Gaddafi, his death, at the hands of opposition forces, has had long-term effects on U.S. relations abroad. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was his countrys prime minister during the debate over Libya, remains highly critical of the decision to pass the resolution, which he asserts Washington used as a justification for eliminating Gaddafi. Analysts have said Putins anger over Libya has been a key stumbling block in diplomatic discussions about whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stay or go.

How did we move from protecting civilians to the decapitation of the entire military and the state? I dont know the answer, said the European diplomat. The Russians accused us of playing fast and loose with the resolution, and Putin never misses a chance to throw that in our faces.

Whether different choices by the United States and its European and Arab allies could have prevented the chaos now crippling Libya remains fiercely debated. But Clintons deliberations in the early weeks of the Libyan crisis offer a glimpse of how she would make decisions as commander in chief.

Different from Obama

By the time Gaddafis security forces started killing protesters in Tripoli on about Feb. 17, 2011, Clinton and her staff were already working around the clock to respond to Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen. Jake Sullivan, one of Clintons top advisers, said she realized immediately that the Libyan violence could spin out of control quickly.

Clinton confidants said the secretary quickly shifted into a mode they had seen many times. Faced with a big choice, they said, Clinton  who declined to be interviewed for this article  gathers information and ideas from a wide range of people.

Shes different from Obama, said a former high-ranking member of Obamas administration who was directly involved in the Libya deliberations. Hes a more solitary decision-maker and works with a very small group. She consults widely and intensively. She talks to more people, takes more phone calls, travels more miles.

Like many of the people involved in Clintons deliberations in Libya, the former official insisted on anonymity to discuss what is still a white-hot political issue. The official described Clintons approach as grind-it-out information-gathering.

Shes more disciplined than her husband, the official said. Hillary Clinton came into the Situation Room for every meeting thoroughly prepared. There wasnt anything she hadnt read. She was punctual. Shes a disciplined decision-maker.

When Clinton heard the Libya news, she gathered her top aides, along with other officials with expertise in Libya, at the State Department.

Over the next four weeks, Clinton received emails with advice from friends including her former aide Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Clinton administration adviser Sidney Blumenthal and former British prime minister Tony Blair, whose office sent notes from Blairs private phone calls with Gaddafi urging him to step down.

Clinton forwarded them to Sullivan or other aides, with notations such as pls print or pls read, according to emails released by the State Department. But it is unclear whether Clinton sought that outside advice or how it affected her thinking.

Obviously shes got people shes close to she relies on a great deal, but its not a palace-guard-like process, said Derek Chollet, who was part of the Libya deliberations as a member of the White Houses National Security Council staff after working as a top Clinton aide for two years. Shes comfortable with flat organizations. She likes to hear from the junior people.

Aides said Clinton rarely mentions her husband, former president Bill Clinton, when debating issues with her staff. But they said it seems clear that he serves as an important adviser and sounding board for her.

Hillary Clinton was initially cautious in her public remarks about Libya because, aides said, she did not want to provoke Gaddafi as she worked to arrange the safe departure of more than 300 U.S. Embassy staffers and other Americans.

Clintons public comments were also constrained by the presidents posture. Obamas statements on Libya were extremely cautious; his first was issued on Feb. 18 and called for the governments of Bahrain, Libya and Yemen to show restraint and respect the rights of their people.

Three days later, Clinton called for an end to this unacceptable bloodshed and urged Libya to respect the universal rights of the people.

To critics, and even some allies, Clintons response seemed tepid and disappointingly insufficient.

The horrific situation in Libya demands more than just public condemnation; it requires strong international action, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) said in a statement.

The senators, Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and others were calling for the United States and allies to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to ground Gaddafis planes and helicopters, which had been attacking and killing rebels and protesters.

Libya was a case where we needed to get out there, seize the moment and support these people, said Lieberman, who retired from the Senate in 2013. We wanted [Obama and Clinton] to understand that what was happening in Libya was important to the future of the Arab world and American credibility.

Clinton believed that establishing a no-fly zone was premature, said Sullivan, who described her first instinct as seeking a way to de-escalate the situation and avoid large-scale violence.

Clinton was skeptical that a no-fly zone would be an effective deterrent to Gaddafi, since it would ground his planes but not stop his tanks and troops.

Sullivan said she started posing key questions to her advisers: Who would enforce the no-fly zone? Would normally reluctant Arab nations participate? Would a no-fly zone achieve its goal of protecting civilians? Would the U.N. Security Council back the move?

Gaddafis grip on power

The stakes Clinton faced were high.

Introducing U.S. military force could have easily led to a much-longer-than-expected and bloodier operation, at a time when Americans were already weary of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Libyan opposition was untested, and there were fears about providing such an unknown force with U.S. support and weapons.

But failing to act could have led to a massacre that the world would have blamed on Washington. It also could have solidified Gaddafis grip on power as other dictators were falling across the region.

The decision ultimately belonged to Obama, but Clinton was the one who had been measuring the moods of allies, especially in Arab nations leery of U.S. interventions in the Muslim world. The former White House official interviewed said Obama placed high value on the opinion of his secretary of state.

Knowing that, Sullivan said, she wanted to be very specific and clear and not rush into a determination on something as consequential as the use of American air power in the Middle East.

When the last Americans left Libya on Feb. 25, the tone from Washington changed immediately. The United States imposed unilateral financial sanctions on Libya and strongly backed a U.N. Security Council freeze on the assets of Gaddafi, his family and associates.

For the first time, Clinton called for Gaddafi to step down after 42 years in power, saying he had lost the confidence of his people and he should go without further bloodshed and violence.

Inside Libya, the rebel forces were gaining ground, putting pressure on the administration. McCain and Lieberman, traveling in the Middle East, raised questions about the administrations resolve. I know there are doubts about Americas commitment to the region, our willpower, our strength, Lieberman said. I think in that sense it is very important that we not just make statements about the massacre that is occurring in Libya but that we lead an international coalition to do something.

A powerful group of Obama national security officials, starting with Vice President Biden and Gates, were lined up solidly against any U.S. military involvement in Libya. In his book Duty, Gates wrote that as of Feb. 26, other officials on his side included Donilon, Chief of Staff William M. Daley, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen, deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough and homeland security adviser John Brennan. The primary advocates for military action were Rice and Power.

The secretary of state had to pick a side.

Unforeseeable consequences

Clintons view of the use of military force has been colored by her 2002 vote in favor of the Iraq war, according to several aides interviewed. Forever in her life she will be explaining why she voted for the initial Iraq invasion, said a former State Department official who worked closely with Clinton. It defined the 2008 election for her.

Obama, then her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, blasted her for being ready to give in to George Bush on Iraq.

So although shes not afraid of the military, shes a realist, shes a pragmatist, the former official said. She supports the U.S. military, but she is also aware of the risks of military intervention. And, the official noted, President Obamas top military advisers on Libya kept saying: Not so fast. Its always harder than you think. Its our guys who are going to get killed.

Clinton flew to Geneva on Feb. 27 to attend a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council and meet with U.S. allies. The situation on the ground in Libya was getting more violent, but Clinton continued to be noncommittal.

On March 10, she told Congress: Im one of those who believes that absent international authorization, the United States acting alone would be stepping into a situation whose consequences are unforeseeable. And I know thats the way our military feels. . . . We had a no-fly zone over Iraq. It did not prevent Saddam Hussein from slaughtering people on the ground, and it did not get him out of office.

Despite those cautious words, Clinton has an innate bias toward action, said the former White House official, adding that her strong preference is for the United States to lead, preferably at the head of an international coalition. She deeply believes that the alternative to American leadership is not somebody else leading  its chaos, the former official said.

Two days later in Cairo, Arab leaders made a decision that Clinton said began to change the calculus of her thinking. The Arab League, which represents 21 Middle Eastern countries, voted to ask the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone and recognize the Libyan opposition as the legitimate representative of the people.

The message was clear: If the United States and NATO would lead the way, Arab leaders would join military action against Gaddafi  which Clinton believed was a requirement before any offensive in Libya.

The next night, she boarded a plane for Paris.

Who are you guys?

On Monday, March 14, she spent the day in discussions with top officials from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, Canada and Russia. She also spoke with representatives from several Arab nations.

Late that evening at her luxury hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower, she met with Mahmoud Jibril, a low-key, U.S.-educated leader of the Libya opposition, which had organized itself into the Transitional National Council. It was more of an investigation than a dialogue, Jibril recalled in an interview. She asked every type of question that you can think of.

Jibril, who flew to the meeting from the Qatari capital, Doha, where he was living in exile, said Clintons main interest in the 45-minute meeting was: Who are you guys? What kind of objectives do you have? Suppose the regime fell down tomorrow. Are you capable of running the country? She grilled him about whether al-Qaeda or other radical groups were members of his council, and he said he assured her they were not.

Jibril said Clinton seemed comforted when he told her that his group was not seeking revenge against Libyans who had worked in the Gaddafi regime. But she listened without response as he pleaded for military strikes. She made no commitments whatsoever, he said.

In her book, Clinton said she found Jibril impressive and polished. After four decades of Gaddafis repression, she wrote, we were unlikely to find a perfect George Washington waiting in the wings. . . . Jibril and those he represented might well be the best we could hope for.

Meanwhile, intelligence reports indicated Gaddafis forces were within a day or two of reaching Benghazi, and a massacre seemed imminent.

She basically concluded that for all of the risks of acting, the risks of not acting were greater, Sullivan said. That swift succession of events, in a matter of hours, really, led her to say, Okay, when I get on the phone with the president, Im going to recommend that we do this. 

To critics, Clintons late conversion seemed opportunistic. Power and Rice had spent weeks trying to persuade a reluctant president to open a military front in Libya. Clinton held back and let them blaze the trail, they said.

Her allies call that careful, deliberate, thoughtful decision-making.

After meeting Jibril, her mind was made up. Clinton called the White House late Monday night. The Security Council passed its resolution Thursday. And on Saturday, the bombing began.
In her 2015 novel, The Unquiet Dead, Ausma Zehanat Khan, former editor in chief of Muslim Girl magazine, introduced readers to the flawed but brilliant Esa Khattack. A Canadian detective of Pakistani descent, Khattack is a fascinating, complex character. Hes a fervent Muslim who finds himself in the position of investigating crimes that may tarnish the reputation of the very minority group hes a part of.

In Khans new novel, The Language of Secrets, fellow Muslims call him the house Arab. His non-Muslim co-workers distrust his allegiance at every turn. Khan, who holds a PhD in international human rights law, fills this thoughtful yet suspenseful novel with fully developed Muslim and non-Muslim characters. No one is perfect, nothing is rendered in black and white, and everyone has passionate beliefs.

As she did in The Unquiet Dead, Khan focuses her novel on an event in the news: Islamophobia and the new millenniums war against terrorism.

[Best mystery books and thrillers of 2015]

Khattack is asked to investigate the shooting death of Mohsin Dar, an undercover officer who had infiltrated a Muslim terrorism cell. He must determine whether Dars death was related to his police work or is something more personal. Complicating matters is that Khattack cant risk raising the suspicion of the cell, whose activities are being monitored by INSET, Canadas version of Homeland Security. The cell is planning a major attack in the Toronto area, and INSET needs time to determine the target and identify the participants.

Khattacks investigation is thwarted by a grudge-ridden officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who belittles and bullies him at every turn. Is it because Khattack is a Muslim? No matter: Khattack has a job to do.

Sgt. Rachel Getty, Khattacks partner, goes undercover at a mosque frequented by the terror cells charismatic leader, Hassan Ashkouri. There she finds fervent followers of Islam as well as lost souls in search of community, including two teenagers, a Somali immigrant and a Canadian woman who buries her emotional problems behind a mask of painful piercings. Getty wonders who in these difficult days would choose to enter the fold of Islam? It was hardly a popular choice when outrages connected to political Islam were becoming routine and mundane. Unless the message struck deep to the soul.

The Language of Secrets is as much an examination of the complicated social, political and religious aspects of the war against terrorism as it is a crime procedural. It also offers readers an introduction to Arabic poetry and fascinating details about Khattacks and Gettys personal lives. These colorful threads complement the bigger storylines  finding Dars killer and stopping a cataclysmic event thats inspired by a true story: a foiled 2006 plot to blow up Canadian Parliament.

The novels somber tone is lightened by Gettys clear-eyed views. It wasnt enough to say that the same faith that had produced Hassan Ashkouri also had produced Esa Khattack, good and evil sketched out in broad strokes, she thinks. Unlike some, she believes its more nuanced, complex and difficult than that because something could be beautiful, humane, encompassing. Or it could be made ugly.

Carol Memmott who lives in Virginia, also reviews books for the Chicago Tribune.
The Queen of the Night, Alexander Chees second novel  after his well-received Edinburgh  is an overstuffed picaresque that launches from frontier America and sprawls across 19th-century Paris, with fateful side trips to Baden-Baden, London and St. Petersburg. Its gorgeous prose style and ardent romanticism certainly suit the novels protagonist, who, no matter how dire her circumstances, never forgets to tell us what shes wearing.

Indeed, as the curtain rises  and rarely has this metaphor been more apt  on diva Lilliet Berne in 1882, she has just decided that the Worth gown of pink taffeta and gold silk in which she enters the Luxembourg Palace is hideous. She will have to leave the Senat Bal as soon as possible.

Before she can, however, the famed soprano is waylaid by a writer who wants to tell her about his new novel. Its about the Settlers Daughter, a circus performer from North America whose singing moved Emperor Louis-Napoleon to present her with a ruby brooch shaped like a rose. The writer found this brooch hidden in his apartment in the Marais, he says, along with a diary that forms the basis of his novel. Now he plans to turn the novel into an opera and hopes she will originate the leading role. Will she cross the palace courtyard with him to meet its composer?

Meeting the composer in this dress was out of the question, declares Lilliet, who goes on to confide that her need for a change of costume was the turning point when everything that came next in my life was decided. Chee, too, has crammed into his first chapter practically everything he wants to develop in the story that follows. Silence as eloquent as speech, clothing as an assertion of identity and a means of disguise, life as a performance in masks, the different kinds of power wielded by men and women: These themes and many more wind through Lilliets narrative, which mingles past and present with the freedom of memory and the surreal logic of dreams.

Lilliet herself is, of course, the Settlers Daughter. Or, rather, it had been her first role: the girl who sang her way over the sea. In Minnesota, she was a guilt-riddled survivor convinced that her rebellion against being forbidden to sing had caused her familys deaths. In Europe, she reinvents herself over and over, changing names almost as often as her clothes. She leaves the circus and falls into prostitution, which the madam of her high-priced brothel insists is simply another kind of performance: These men, they entrust us with their most secret fantasies. . . . They rule the day, we rule the night.

Novelist Alexander Chee (M. Sharkey)

But Lilliet is more prisoner than potentate, especially after a Prussian tenor buys her from the brothel to groom as his singing partner, constantly reminding her that she is his property. She escapes by getting arrested, assuming the identity of a dead cellmate and being sent to a convent, from which she is dispatched as a maid to Empress Eugenie at the Tuileries Palace. There she encounters the love of her life, pianist and composer Aristafeo Cadiz, who quite understandably asks, How many women are you? And this is before she makes her triumphant debut as the soprano Lilliet Berne in 1872; she has to get through the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris first.

Thats a lot of plot, and the unmasking of its secret architect, who has been shaping Lilliets destiny since her brothel days, is regrettably anticlimactic. Chees novel will best please those who can enjoy its baroque complications without worrying unduly about plausibility, which is arguably a reasonable response to a text imbued with the extravagant ethos of opera. Other readers may find Lilliets musings about the nature of self, the workings of fate, etc., poetically phrased but ultimately insubstantial  rather like Aristafeo, whose role as her soulmate we must take on her word, as he remains a cloudy figure of romance rather than a fully developed character. The Queen of the Night is extraordinarily beautiful and dramatic, a brilliant performance filled with glittering scenes that never quite deliver the revelations they promise.

Wendy Smith is a contributing editor at the American Scholar and Publishers Weekly.
Sebastian Faulks, best known for his romantic wartime novels Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, once again calls upon the horrors of war and doomed love in Where My Heart Used to Beat, his 13th novel.

The dramatic effect of both is, however, swamped by relentless theorizing, chiefly on the part of the books cheerless narrator, Robert Hendricks. He is in his early 60s when we meet him. It is the 1980s and, ever since a passionate wartime affair ended some 40 years ago, he has not been able to feel love for anyone except his dog, Max. He is, as he puts it himself, an habitue of loneliness. He is also a psychiatric doctor who believes that neuroscience and evolution are the key both to his mental condition and to what separates human beings from the rest of creation.

The book sets off on its scattered way with Hendricks disgracing himself by inviting a prostitute to an apartment borrowed from an absent friend. Then he gets a letter from an old man hes never heard of, a Dr. Pereira, another psychiatrist, who asks him to visit him on his lovely island off the south of France. Pereira says he can show him some photos of Hendrickss father, who was killed during World War I. He also wonders whether Hendricks would consider becoming his literary executor. After some hesitation, Hendricks decides to go. On the island, he delves into his memories  of his childhood, his wartime experiences  and of his lost love.

[Looking back at the best works of fiction for 2015]

Unfortunately, Hendricks can be a terrific bore, waxing rhapsodic about neuroscience and his theories about humanity. Homo sapiens is a freak, he claims, in that it suffers the curse of self-awareness, which itself is the result of catastrophe in natural selection. He says that the thing that makes us different is a neural tic, a freak ability to connect at will a moment of physical awareness to the site of episodic memory. That is the miracle of our conscious humanity. A mutation that gave rise to an illusion. In Hendrickss mind  or, sequence of firing synapses  this unique, human-defining sense of having a self turns out to be a fiction anyway. In fact, the illusions, delusions, the abstractions of art and lunacy . . . all spring from a few cells that were rearranged by a mistake but remain physical cells. With mass.

Its impossible to say whether readers are supposed to find all of this quasi-nihilistic, radical materialism convincing, or at least interesting, or whether they are meant to feel sorry for poor old Hendricks with his attempts to persuade himself that his feelings for his lost love were no more than the side effects of neurotransmitters that had serially misfired. I would guess both.

Still, and not a page too soon, these neuro-scientific formulations are pushed to the side as Hendricks describes his experiences as a commissioned officer: first, in the British Expeditionary Forces landing on the continent and subsequent evacuation from Dunkirk; then, after a spell guarding Englands coastline, in North Africa; and, later, most terribly, at Anzio in Italy  one of those fatally bungled battles that Faulks has always evoked with such brilliance.

Its all here again: the botched planning, lack of coordination and cooperation among various forces, the ruthless deployment of men and their powerlessness against their superior commanders coldbloodedness, miscalculation, negligence and outright stupidity. Faulkss writing leaps into color as he describes the scenes of battle and the wretchedness of the soldiers. Mired in a fetid soup of excrement and deliquescent corpses, they had become semi-aquatic mammals, a kind of large and vicious water rat, living in and above the drainage ditches of the marsh.

Alas, the only sections with any vigor or narrative substance are those concerning Hendrickss war and his one true, though broken, romance. The rest of the novel is an unmeshed assemblage of case histories, accounts of Hendrickss psychiatric practice, expositions of his theories: his own and those of Dr. Pereira. There are also miscellaneous excursions into Hendrickss past, and a lot of trips  to Dr. Pereiras island, to the country to see an old officer, to Switzerland on another mission, and, most pointless and tedious of all, a sojourn in a coyly unnamed European city during which he wrote a book. (The book went on at a steady three pages a day.) Finally, at novels end, a secret is revealed, to us and to him. It is arresting enough and provides yet another glimpse of the madness of war, but it has no refracting or amalgamating effect on the collection of episodes that make up the first 300-plus pages.

Throughout my life, Hendricks tells us at one point, I had thought that if I could get through this section of it, then the pattern of a destiny would reveal itself. In this, at least, he is not alone. Through section after section, the reader has been looking for something similar, or at least for a story.

Katherine A. Powers is the editor of Suitable Accommodations: The Letters of J. F. Powers, 19421963.
In a move sure to thrill fans of both Stephen Sondheim and Elmo, Signature Theatre has named librettist John Weidman the winner of its 2016 Sondheim Award.

The prize is given annually at the theaters spring gala to an artist who has collaborated with the great musical-theater lyricist and composer. Recipients include James Lapine, Jonathan Tunick and Bernadette Peters.

Weidman, a longtime writer for the childrens television show Sesame Street, got his start in theater in 1973, when, as a student at Yale Law School, he sent director Hal Prince a letter requesting an internship. As a postscript, he remarked that he thought the opening of Japan to the West would make an interesting subject for a play. Prince not only agreed, he commissioned Weidman to write the book and Sondheim the music for the show that became Pacific Overtures. The pair went on to create two more musicals, Assassins (1990) and Road Show (2008). Not coincidentally, a new production of Road Show opens at Signature this month.

Weidmans other creative efforts include the Tony-nominated books for the musicals Contact and Big.

Weidman will receive his award April 4 at the Italian Embassy in Washington.

Signature Theatre has named librettist John Weidman the winner of its 2016 Sondheim Award. (Courtesy Signature Theatre)

Life imitates art

Joe Smelser has supervised dozens of theater evacuations during his 24-year career as a stage manager. Hes stood on city sidewalks with actors from Julius Caesar drenched in fake blood and herded 800 schoolchildren out of a theater during an earthquake in Seattle.

But Smelser had never dealt with an emergency quite like the one that occurred during Saturdays matinee performance of The Critic at the Shakespeare Theatre Companys Lansburgh Theatre. The show, which ends with a massive blaze, was interrupted by an actual fire alarm.

Actors had just dragged a four-foot replica of a cannon onstage and had begun to reenact the sinking of the Spanish Armada when alarms started sounding and strobe lights began flashing.

There probably was a metatheatrical moment when the audience thought, Oh, this is a very interesting choice by the director,  Smelser said. It even took me about five or six seconds to figure out what was going on. Then I realized, This is really happening. 

From his intercom in the tech booth, Smelser asked the audience to evacuate. House and concessions managers clicked into high gear and got all 410 patrons out of the theater, while Smelser made sure the cast and crew evacuated safely. Everyone rendezvoused outside on the still snowy Seventh Street NW sidewalks and huddled up to share whatever jackets where not still inside at the coat check.

A few generous patrons gave up their parkas to the underdressed actors, who were wearing 18th-century garb  pantaloons, low-cut bodices and other clothes not appropriate for the weather, Smelser said. Two fire department trucks were on the scene within five minutes, and Smelser said an emergency panel indicated that the alarm was triggered at Jaleo, the tapas restaurant next door to the theater. Regulations require clearing the Lansburgh if an alarm goes off at any of the four restaurants in the building. Jaleo patrons, however, did not evacuate, Smelser said.

A spokeswoman for Think Food Group, the company run by Jaleo owner Jose Andres, did not return a call seeking comment.

After about 20 minutes, the fire department gave Smelser the all-clear. He had dropped the curtain inside the theater, and when it was raised, revealing the actors and the fake cannon, the audience cheered. Moments later, they roared as smoking model ships sank into the rippling fabric waves representing the Atlantic.

Most of the action in The Critic, a 1779 comedy by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a play-within-a-play. After a witty prologue that includes the quip Critics only go to the theater to see what goes wrong, an aspiring dramatist invites two critics to see a rehearsal for a tragedy, The Spanish Armada. Because both the play and the Spanish fleet are doomed, the prop cannon backfires, and pyrotechnic special effects simulate an onstage blaze. A bumbling bucket brigade goes to work, then a booming voice on an intercom (an actor, not Smelser) announces that the fire is out.

At that moment Saturday, Smelser recalled, the audience cheered and applauded like no other crowd that has come to see The Critic.

It was quite an art-imitating-life moment, he said. I have seen all sorts of reasons to stop shows, but Ive never seen an audience respond to the excitement of theater as a live event quite like this. They understood that theater requires a suspension of belief and that no one else will ever have this same experience.

STC dramaturge

Lichtenberg met Farber last fall while serving as dramaturge for Farbers searing new adaptation of Salome. (On Monday night, the play was nominated for 10 Helen Hayes Awards, more than any other non-musical in the region during 2015.) After the success of Salome, which was adapted from multiple sources, Farber asked Lichtenberg to look at her working script for Les Blancs, the final play by the writer of Raisin in the Sun, who died at age 34 in 1965 and left behind three drafts of her futuristic drama set in Africa. Her husband, Robert Nemiroff, unified those drafts into a play that was first produced in 1969. This week, Farber and Lichtenberg are meeting with representatives of Hansberrys estate, hoping to get approval to use a revised version that draws from all three drafts.

I think this could be a big [expletive] deal, said Lichtenberg, who admits to being flattered and flabbergasted when Farber asked him to once again be her dramaturge, a researcher who helps a director better understand the given circumstances of a play.

I hope to work on [Les Blancs] the same way I work on a Shakespeare play and really try to approach it as humbly as possible. Its my job to try to unlock the secrets and really try to figure out the world Hansberry wanted to see put onstage.

Ritzel is a freelance writer.
This pie (or at least something similar) could be yours! CurvyMama Pies in Bethesda holds a pie workshop on Feb. 7. (Scott Suchman/The Washington Post)

THURSDAY

BEER TASTING: Participants taste beer paired with cheese, charcuterie and more. 6:30-8 p.m. $20. Wegmans Lake Manassas, 8297 Stonewall Shops Sq., Gainesville. 571-222-2300. wegmans.com.

WINE CLASS: Participants learn about wine from Frances Southern Rhone Valley. 7 p.m. $30. Chain Bridge Cellars, 1351 Chain Bridge Rd., McLean. 703-356-6500. chainbridgecellars.com.

SATURDAY

MARDI GRAS FEST: Four days of specials and events in celebration of Mardi Gras. Free entry; food and drinks available to purchase. Black Jack, 1612 14th St. NW. 202-319-1612. blackjackdc.com/events-offers.

TEA PAIRING: Seminar on pairing tea with chocolate. Prepaid reservation required by Feb. 3. 1-3 p.m. $30. Colvin Run Mill, 10017 Colvin Run Rd., Great Falls. 703-759-2771. fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/colvinrunmill/events.htm.

WINE DINNER: Four courses paired with Veneto regional wines. 6 p.m. $85, not including tax and gratuity. Portofino, 526 23rd St. S., Arlington. 703-979-8200. theportofinorestaurant.com.

SUNDAY

PIE WORKSHOP: Class taught by CurvyMama Pies in Bethesda. Participants take home their own pie. Class size limited to four students; address provided upon registration. Noon-4:30 p.m. $125. 301-717-3010. curvymamapies.com.

WINTER WARMER LADIES TEA: Features 18th-century desserts and tea or cups of American Heritage hot chocolate. 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Free tours at 2:15 p.m. or 2:45 p.m. also available. $35. Gadsbys Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St., Alexandria. 703-746-4242. gadsbystavern.org.

RESERVE NOW

FEB. 10

CHEESE PARTY: Fondue and raclette paired with wine and beer. 7 p.m. $35. Via Umbria, 1525 Wisconsin Ave. NW. 202-333-3904. viaumbria.com/events.

FEB. 11

CHINESE NEW YEAR: Three courses celebrating the Chinese New Year. Wine pairing also available. 6:30 p.m. $85, not including tax and gratuity. $35 extra for wine pairing. The Source, 575 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-637-6100. wolfgangpuck.com.

WINE CLASS: Participants learn the dos and donts of pairing wine with chocolate. Part of the One Sip at a Time series. 7:15 p.m. $25. Chain Bridge Cellars, 1351 Chain Bridge Rd., McLean. 703-356-6500. chainbridgecellars.com.

FEB. 15

UZBEKISTAN FEAST: Special menu with a talk on Uzbek cuisine by Rus-Uz manager Abraham Rakhmatullaev. Reservations required by Feb. 11. 6:30 p.m. $50, including tax and gratuity. Rus-Uz, 1000 N. Randolph St., Arlington. lesdamesdc.org.

 Kara Elder

Submit event listings at washingtonpost.com/gog/talk-to-us.html at least 14 days in advance.
Navy conservator Shanna Daniel carefully cleans a smashed trumpet that was retrieved by a diver from the wreck of the USS Houston, which was sunk in battle by the Japanese in 1942. Navy experts believe the owner's DNA might be preserved inside the instrument. (Michael Ruane/The Washington Post)

Navy conservator Shanna Daniel carefully cleans a smashed trumpet that was retrieved by a diver from the wreck of the USS Houston, which was sunk in battle by the Japanese in 1942. Navy experts believe the owner's DNA might be preserved inside the instrument. (Michael Ruane/The Washington Post)

The old, bent trumpet is dripping with water as Shanna Daniel lifts it from its basin in the conservation lab at the Washington Navy Yard.

Its a B-flat horn, made around 1934, with a bell that was smashed in battle, a missing mouthpiece, and brass tubing that is split and pitted.

Daniel, in a white lab coat and lavender rubber gloves, rests it on a layer of hard foam and lowers a magnifying light over it. She picks up a surgical scalpel and begins to scrape deposits from the surface.

She is very careful. The object has traveled a great distance, and sealed inside may be the DNA of the sailor who played it.

The trumpet arrived at the lab 21/ 2 years ago, handed over by an Australian diver who found it in the wreck of the USS Houston, a World War II cruiser, off the coast of Java in Southeast Asia.

A model of the USS Houston is seen at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

The Houston, which had been President Franklin D. Roosevelts favorite vessel, was the elegant flagship of the Navys Asiatic fleet when it was sunk in a fierce battle with the Japanese three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hundreds of sailors died as the Houston and the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth blundered into the Japanese warships at night and were illuminated by enemy searchlights and attacked.

The Allied ships fought valiantly  the Houston fired flares at the enemy when it ran out of ammunition. But the Japanese pounded away with guns and torpedoes. The Perth sank first, followed by the Houston shortly after midnight March 1, 1942.

About 650 U.S. sailors, including many members of the Houstons band, died.

Three hundred others survived and most spent the rest of the war in brutal Japanese prison and labor camps.

The trumpet, battered in the sinking event, as Navy senior conservator Kate Morrand put it, came to rest about 100 feet down as the Houston settled on its starboard side in the murky waters outside Banten Bay, west of Jakarta, Indonesia.

[Probing the bones of the dead of Pearl Harbor.]

Howard E. Brooks, who was an electricians mate on the USS Houston, is interviewed at his home in Mount Laurel, N.J. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Despite its condition, and its 70 years on the bottom of the ocean, the instrument may hold clues to its owner, said Robert S. Neyland, head of the underwater archaeology branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Conservators have found the trumpets serial number, which helped track its date of manufacture by the C.G. Conn instrument company of Elkhart, Ind.

But theyre hoping for more.

There is the possibility of examining the interior of the [trumpets] valves and potentially locating some DNA remains of the individual who played the trumpet, Morrand said in a recent interview at the Navy Yard.

Its a long shot, but the theory is that the owner may have left his DNA when he took it apart to clean it. And, sealed in when he reassembled it and then by seven decades of marine encrustation, the DNA may still be there, Morrand said.

If we could recover DNA, and if there are descendants that we could match with . . . [we could] identify who the owner of the trumpet was, Neyland said. It kind of pushes the technology and pushes the science . . . but it would be pretty exciting.

***

On Feb. 4, 1942, electricians mate Howard E. Brooks, 22, the son of a Tennessee tobacco farmer, was a member of a damage-control team near the Houstons rear turret when Japanese bombers appeared overhead. The Houston was steaming in the Flores Sea, north of Australia, and as enemy bombs straddled the ship, Brooks was called to fix an ammunition hoist elsewhere on the vessel.

While he was away from his post, a 500-pound bomb struck near the turret, and when Brooks returned, he witnessed a scene of carnage. Scores of shipmates lay dead or dying. And the massive turret, with its three huge guns, was askew and on fire. Inside, there was nothing left of the turret officer except for his shoes and a hand still wearing a Naval Academy ring, according to a history of the ship.

Oh, boy, Brooks, now 96 and one of the few living Houston survivors, said he thought to himself. This is war. It came so quick.

It was nine weeks after Pearl Harbor, and the tide of Japanese conquest was sweeping across the Pacific.

In a recent interview at his home in Mount Laurel, N.J., Brooks said that when the attack ended, the Houston, damaged but seaworthy, steamed for the friendly port of Tjilatjap on the island of Java.

En route, the dead were collected, put in canvas bags and laid out on the fantail, he said. Once in port, the crew built coffins for the 48 men killed, a Houston officer, Walter G. Winslow, wrote later. And as the coffins were carried ashore, the ships band played Chopins funeral march.

[Sea-going weathermen, lost in World War II, finally get their medals. ]

Japan announced that the Houston had been sunk. The announcement was premature.

***

In the summer of 2013, Australian diver Frank Craven, 68, was diving with a group on the wrecks of the USS Houston and HMAS Perth. The ships were about three miles apart, near the mouth of Banten Bay.

The water was warm, the current was strong and the divers had to pull themselves down on anchored ropes.

Visibility was poor. And Craven, a retired cattle rancher who lives north of Sydney, was an older, less-experienced diver. He thought he must be crazy. Hardest dive of my life, he texted his son.

But his mothers first husband had been killed on the Perth. She had just died, and he wanted to leave a lock of her hair in the wreckage.

The next day, the divers went to the Houston, he said in an email.

The ship, which had hosted Roosevelt on four cruises in the 1930s, rested on its side. Its prow was broken off and there were holes in its hull made by enemy torpedoes, according to a 2014 U.S. Navy survey of the wreck.

Remnants of its 60-foot-high foremast were present, as well as evidence of damage caused by Japanese shell fire. There were no visible human remains. But the ships fuel oil was still leaking and drifting to the surface.

As Craven swam along the keel with an underwater flashlight, he noticed hundreds of ammunition shell casings, large and small. What a battle they must have had, he said he thought.

Then, amid the shell casings and other wreckage of war, he spotted a trumpet.

He wondered: Who would be playing a trumpet in the middle of a battle?

He picked it up and brought it to the surface, thinking he might somehow get it back to the United States.

***

By Feb. 28, 1942, the Houston and the Perth were two survivors of an Allied force of American, British, Dutch and Australian ships that had been decimated by the Japanese navy. Five Allied ships were lost, along with more than 2,000 sailors.

The two were steaming under a full moon on a calm sea, headed west for the Sunda Strait, which separates Java from Sumatra, according to Winslows account.

If they could get through, they might escape the Japanese onslaught and make for Australia. On the damaged Houston, only six of nine heavy guns were working. Both ships were low on fuel.

The Houston was at condition 2, Howard Brooks remembered. Youre not manning your guns, but youre sleeping by them. He was up on deck, under the guns of the rear turret, clad only in white skivvies because of the hot night.

Suddenly, about 11:30 p.m., there were gun flashes from the Perth as it fired on an enemy vessel it had spotted. Thats what woke us all up, Brooks said.

The next thing we knew, the whole sky lit up with flares fired by the enemy, he said.

The battle of the Sunda Strait had begun.

The two Allied ships had stumbled on a huge enemy force in the process of landing troops in Banten Bay. The Houston and the Perth found themselves virtually surrounded and assailed from all sides. Brooks said enemy vessels came so close that Japanese sailors could be seen on the decks of their ships.

The fighting went on for less than an hour, when about 12:10 a.m., the Perth was spotted in the distance, sinking, recalled Winslow, the Houston officer.

All enemy guns were now trained on the Houston. From that moment on . . . we began a savage fight to the death, he wrote.

The Houston held its own for a time but then was hit by three torpedoes. It slowed and began to sink. The captain ordered the crew to abandon ship.

Brooks grabbed a gray kapok life jacket, and as the ship slowly rolled over, he clambered down the hull and jumped into the water.

I wasnt scared, he said. I wasnt frantic. Im saying, Well, what do I do now?  He reached a life raft filled with injured sailors and hung on. As they watched, he said, the sinking Houston was illuminated by enemy searchlights, its battle flag still flying from the rear mast, he said.

He couldnt recall whether anybody said anything when the ship sank. But he remembered how silently it went down.

Three years later, when Brooks and other POWs were finally freed from Japanese captivity, their American liberators questioned them: Sailors? What ship were you on?

The USS Houston.

Never heard of it, he said the rescuers replied.

***

When the Houston sank, 11 members of its 18-man band went down with it, according to researcher Marlene Morris McCain, whose father, Edgar, played trombone in the band and survived the sinking.

Those who perished included Severyn Steve Dymanowski of Gary, Ind., who played trumpet. Three others known to have played the trumpet in the band survived the sinking, but they died in the 1960s and 70s.

The instrument Frank Craven found may have belonged to one of those four.

A week after his dive, Craven emailed John K. Schwarz, head of the USS Houston CA-30 Survivors Association and Next Generations, to say he had found the trumpet and wanted to give it to the association.

Schwarz, whose father, Otto, also was a Houston survivor, thanked Craven but said that the wreck remained the property of the Navy and that it was illegal to remove objects from it.

He told Craven to contact the Navy heritage commands underwater archaeology branch. Craven apologized for taking the instrument, reached a Navy attache in Australia and arranged for the transfer.

The trumpet was cushioned in bubble wrap and shipped to the Navy lab in Washington in November 2013, senior conservator Morrand said.

The instrument was placed on a foam pillow in a tub of deionized water to start drawing out the corrosive salts eating at the metal.

One recent morning, conservator Daniel hunched over the trumpet, scraping off corrosion with a No. 15 scalpel. The deposits came off as a fine green dust.

We feel a lot of responsibility, Morrand said. It went through a lot to get here. And we want to make sure . . . its going to stick around a lot longer.
Dear Dr. Fox: In a recent column, E.B. of Norman, Okla., wanted to have a dog or a cat but had various reasons why it would be a financial expense that he could not afford.

In the St. Louis area, we have a wonderful organization called Senior Dogs 4 Seniors that adopts adult dogs to seniors who need a calmer pet.

My friends mother used the organization until she passed away. For a one-time adoption fee, Senior Dogs 4 Seniors provided a dog, paid for vet services, provided dog food, groomed the dog and even removed the dog leavings from the yard. (There are various levels of involvement from the organization, based on the adopters needs.)

I know that my friends mother loved her dog very much, and he was a wonderful companion for her in her old age. Readers in the St. Louis area can visit seniordogs4seniors.com for information.

I hope there is a similar organization in Norman for E.B.

P.G.F., St. Louis

Dear Dr. Fox:

I saw the letter from the 74-year-old in Norman, Okla., who is physically and financially unable to care for an animal, yet could use the comfort of one.

There is an organization called A New Leash on Life in Oklahoma City that might be able to assist by bringing a therapy dog for visits. I participate in the People Animals Love therapy dog organization in the Washington area, and I know we honor requests for therapy dog home visits on a regular basis.

A New Leash on Life can be contacted toll-free at 886-248-6265 or newleashinc.org.

P.H., the District

Dear Dr. Fox:

I read the touching letter from E.B. in Oklahoma who wanted a pet but could not afford one. I wanted to ask him whether hes part of a faith community or a similar organization through which he might seek out someone to share their pet for a day or two each week or month.

My parents are aging but love dogs, and they will often watch our dog for a weekend. They love the company, and we get a wonderful, trusted, no-cost pet sitter. Perhaps E.B. has a community to reach out to and see whether someone would do something similar.

P.P., St. Louis

DF: Thanks to all of you for your concern and helpful letters. I hope these kinds of programs and initiatives will spread across North America like wildfire.

RECIPE CHANGE

Dear readers:

Please note that I have changed the beef ingredient in my cat and dog food recipes for in-home preparation, increasing the proportion of beef in light of recent nutritional studies, and using stewing and whole beef rather than ground beef or hamburger, which is more likely to harbor potentially harmful bacteria.

This change is also because we will soon not know where our ground beef came from  possibly multiple sources. Congress has been pushed by the World Trade Organization and U.S.-based multinational corporate lobbyists to discontinue Country of Origin labeling. One way around this is to buy beef from local producers, notably those with Grass Fed and USDA Organic certification.

FERAL CAT REHAB

Dear Dr. Fox:

As a feral cat rescuer for more than 20 years in the District, and with parents who did this in Washington state, I can tell B.W. in Naples, Fla., that old, feral, outdoor cats do love to retire from the outside and live the indoor life when they get old.

There is nothing more rewarding than waking up to a formerly feral cat sleeping beside you in bed!

Boo sounds as though she would do very well as an inside-only cat. I have brought many, many colony cats inside when they get old, and they adapt well. I do this not only for my cats, but I have helped many people bring their old feral cats inside, too. There are some tricks that make it easier:

First, I recommend taking the cat to the vet for a full checkup, including vaccination updates, flea and worm treatment and ear treatments, if necessary.

Use two litter boxes at first; feral cats seem to prefer to urinate and defecate in different boxes, I think because they are used to the clean soil. Scoop right away when the box is used, and use unscented, scoopable sand to approximate what they know outside.

Install window perches, as you suggest, but do not let the cat have access to screens for the first few weeks. Instinct could cause the cat to try to get out, and they can go through screens easily.

Use interactive toys to keep Boo active, so shes not bored. Turn on a radio to get her accustomed to human voices.

I hope this is helpful.

S.W., the District

DF: I will pass this on. Good advice indeed. In my estimation, formerly feral cats, like many stray and previously abused or neglected dogs, once they come to trust and feel secure, make the best companions.

Too many in shelters are killed for lack of space and funds to re-socialize these animals, although some never come around because of severe trauma or possible genetic drift to wild (fearful and hyper-alert) temperaments, especially those birthed in the outdoors by stray and feral generations of cats.

My wife and co-worker, Deanna Krantz, and I have a feral cat in our home we are hoping to rehabilitate for adoption or integration into our two-cat (formerly feral) family.

What is quite nonsensical in our location is that if we had taken this cat to our local animal shelter, he would have been declared unadoptable and been released back on our property  after being neutered and given rabies vaccination  when the wind chill was negative 20!

Animal control and the local police contend that feral cats are wild animals and belong outdoors. In suburbia? The domestic cat, Felis domestica, belongs only indoors, never having been part of the wildlife ecology of North America. It is a descendant of the Middle East desert cat Felis sylvestris lybica. Nuts!

LEARNING FOR LIFE

Dear Dr. Fox:

I am 92, and I have three kitties. I love them dearly. They are 15, 11 and 4 years old. They get along quite well. I always want to learn more ways to care for them better.

When I leave my mortal coil, my sons (who also love kitties) have promised to care for them, and I know they will. So I would love to buy copies of the two books you recently wrote about that you have written: Supercat: Raising the Perfect Feline Companion and Cat Body, Cat Mind. Where can I find them?

M.C., Falls Church

DF: I always appreciate receiving a letter such as yours that demonstrates how elderly people can be eager to learn more about their animal companions.

Having an active mind and learning new things is the best antidote to mental deterioration  along with good nutrition!

My cat books are easily available to order online at Amazon.com. You can also check my website, drfoxvet.net, for more cat-related information. I am sure there are some articles there that you would enjoy reading. I also have a DVD movie on my website you can watch about cat behavior and psychology, as well as one on dog behavior and psychology.

Michael W. Fox, author of a newsletter and books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Send letters to animaldocfox@gmail.com or write to him at United Feature Syndicate, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo. 64106.
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria seeks an animal control officer. For information, go to alexandriaanimals.org. Send applications to careers@alexandriaanimals.org.

Arlington County Invasive Plant program needs volunteers to remove invasive plants: 9-11 a.m. first Saturdays, Haley Park; 2-4:30 p.m. second Sundays, Gulf Branch Nature Center; 10 a.m.-noon third Saturdays, Tuckahoe Park; 2-5 p.m. third Sundays, Long Branch Nature Center; 10 a.m.-noon fourth Saturdays, Benjamin Banneker Park; 10 a.m.-noon fourth Sundays, Fort Bennett Park. Information: environment.arlingtonva.us. To register, call 703-228-1862.

Arlington Neighborhood Village needs volunteers to help senior citizens with various tasks. Must pass a background check. arlnvil.org.

Arlington Therapeutic Recreation seeks volunteers for adapted aquatics, social clubs and adapted ice skate night programs. 703-228-4740, trinfo@arlingtonva.us or parks.arlingtonva.us.

Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment has board of directors and committee openings. 703-228-6427 or arlingtonenvironment.org.

Shepherds Center of McLean-Arlington-Falls Church needs volunteers to visit seniors or provide transportation to medical appointments, pharmacy and grocery stores. 703-506-2199, info@scmafc.org or www.scmafc.org.

Travelers Aid needs volunteers to help travelers at Reagan National Airport. Must be able to work evenings and weekends, and commit to six months. Parking provided. 703-417-3975, travelersaiddca@mwaa.com or travelersaiddca.com.

Virginia Hospital Center Auxiliary in Arlington County offers opportunities to help on information desks, the surgical center and in gift shops. 703-558-6401.

Wildlife Rescue League needs hotline volunteers, transporters and wildlife rehabilitators. 703-391-8625 or volcoord@wildliferescueleague.org.

Volunteer Alexandria: Call the numbers below or contact Volunteer Alexandria at 703-836-2176, mail@volunteeralexandria.org or volunteeralexandria.org for information on the following opportunities:

Capital Caring needs a receptionist, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org and volunteers for We Honor Veterans program, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org.

D.C. Paws Rescue needs volunteers to handle animals during the adoption event at the Dog Park in Alexandria, 1-3 p.m. every fourth Saturday. handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org.

Fitizen seeks volunteers for the 5K Race/Clothing Drive on April 23. handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org.

Generation Hope seeks math tutors. megan@supportgenerationhope.org or supportgenerationhope.org.

Reset STEM Education needs volunteer scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians in elementary schools and prekindergarten centers to lead students in STEM learning. handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org.

United Community Ministries needs an assistant community center supervisor, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org; a back porch cashier/sales associate, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org; a basic-needs counselor, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org; and a food pantry assistant, handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org.

Volunteer Arlington: Call the numbers listed below or contact Volunteer Arlington at 703-228-1760 or volunteer.truist.com for information about the following:

American Heart Association needs volunteers for Hearts Delight Wine Tasting and Auction, 9:30-11:30 a.m. March 12 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in the District. 703-248-1784, joellen.brassfield@heart.org or volunteer.truist.com.

Arlington County DHS Community Outreach Program needs citizenship instructors. 703-228-1317 or volunteer.truist.com.

Arlington County DHS Aging and Disability Services Division needs VICAP volunteers. Training provided, volunteer.truist.com; customer service volunteer, volunteer.truist.com; and court appointed guardians and conservators for seniors, volunteer.truist.com. 703-228-1700.

Arlington library system needs high school volunteers for the Rosie Riveters Internship program at Shirlington Library, volunteer.truist.com. 703-228-7688.

PRS CrisisLink needs crisis worker hotline volunteers. volunteer.truist.com.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, Arlington County, seeks volunteers for the master financial education program. Must attend training sessions scheduled May 7, 14, 21 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S. Stafford St., Arlington. Application deadline is April 1, volunteer.truist.com. Master food program training dates are March 1, 8, 15, 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Applications are due Feb. 15, volunteer.truist.com. 703-228-6417.

 Compiled by Ria Manglapus

TO SUBMIT AN ITEM

Email: axliving@washpost.com

Fax: 703-518-3001

Mail: Volunteer Opportunities, The Washington Post, Alexandria-Arlington Local Living, 526 King St., Suite 515, Alexandria, Va. 22314.

Details: Announcements are accepted on a space-available basis from public and nonprofit organizations only and must be received at least 14 days before the Thursday publication date. Include event name, dates, times, exact address, prices and a publishable contact phone number.
Say goodbye to long summer breaks, at least in a wide swath of Southeast Washington. Starting next fall, nearly 4,000 students in some of the citys poorest neighborhoods will attend school year-round.

Ten D.C. public schools will move to extended-year schedules next fall, city officials said Wednesday, the latest push by the District to embrace a learning calendar used at more than half of the citys charter schools.

An extended year means that students will have 20 more school days per year than their peers at other D.C. public schools. But those days will also be organized differently: Instead of a long summer break, students will have shorter and more frequent breaks over a school year that runs 200 days through all 12 months.

The idea is to eliminate summer learning loss among the citys most underserved communities, officials said.

[Lazy snow day? Think again, educators say.]

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

We will offer students the equivalent of an extra year of learning by the time they reach the eighth grade, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Wednesday.

The schools are all elementary and middle schools. Most feed into one another and are east of the Anacostia River in some of the Districts poorest neighborhoods, where the achievement gap is often the widest compared with more-affluent neighborhoods and where fewer parents can pay for summer camps and seminars.

These are schools where not all the kids are reaching their potential, said Jennifer C. Niles, deputy mayor for education.

The extended school year will allow for more academic instruction time as well as for electives  or specials, as theyre called in elementary schools  including performing arts, languages and physical education, Niles said.

Seasonal breaks will include additional intersession programming, when students will be able to dive deeper into special projects or reading development, she said.

More than half of D.C. charter schools already run on extended schedules, but only one public school does, Niles said. The shift is pending a budget appropriation by the D.C. Council.

The change immediately drew concern from the Washington Teachers Union.

Union President Elizabeth Davis said labor leaders have seen little data from city officials showing that extended scheduling really works.

In the lowest-performing schools, the focus has been on tests  reading and math  not providing students a well-rounded curriculum, she said. Simply extending the time is not the answer.

[Thousands shift schools during the year, creating disruptions]

Davis said that Bowser and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson made their decision without consulting any of the four unions that represent school workers in the District. She said that the WTU has submitted a complaint about the process.

Teachers at some of the schools, she said, are being told that if youre not interested in working in a school with an extended school day or year, then youd have to find another job. 

Democrats for Education Reform, an advocacy group that has backed charter schools, released a statement Wednesday in favor of the move.

Education isnt one-size-fits-all, and our current 180-day school year and 6 1 / 2 -hour school day is not enough for all students, particularly in our highest-need schools, said the groups director, Catharine Bellinger.

The schools affected by the schedule change are H.D. Cooke Elementary in Adams Morgan and, in Wards 7 and 8, Garfield, Hendley, King, Randle Highlands, Thomas and Turner elementary schools and Hart, Johnson and Kelly-Miller middle schools.
Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect name for the former seventh-grade math teacher at Stratford. His name is Herbert Ware. The story has been updated.

A video message featuring Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.) is played Tuesday as Arlington Public Schools mark the anniversary of the integration of Stratford Junior High School, which took place on Feb. 2, 1959. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

When Ronald Deskins, Lance Newman and Mike Jones retraced the concrete path to the back entrance of the Stratford school building Tuesday, there were no police officers lining the way. There was no anxiety or fear of violent reprisal.

It was vastly different from their walk into the building exactly 57 years prior, when they  along with Gloria Thompson  became the first black students to integrate a public school in Virginia, where elected officials fought to keep black children from attending school with whites. On their first day, a long line of police officers ensured their safe passage to the building and a gaggle of reporters documented their every step, down to what Deskins had for breakfast. Minutes, hours and days later, other black students would make the same harrowing journey into schools that had previously been off-limits to them.

To mark the 57th anniversary of their arrival, the trio shared their memories before an audience of students from H-B Woodlawn, a magnet program for sixth- through 12th-graders that is now housed in the building. They were joined by Alfred Taylor Jr., who attended schools in pre-integration Arlington, and Herbert Ware, their former seventh-grade math teacher.

That day in 1959, his math class was fraught with tension, Ware recalled.

The atmosphere in the class was icy. I mean stiff, formal; students spoke softly, Ware said. In the teachers lounge, Ware remembered his colleagues talking disparagingly about the efforts to integrate, equating them to the worst thing that could ever happen to mankind. An angry white student shouted a string of expletives at the principal who had welcomed the black students to the school, calling him a n----- lover.

Jahzira Harvey listens to a panel discussion featuring three of the four students who helped integrate Stratford Junior High School, now the site of H-B Woodlawn. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

The men recalled students being civil to them, with the exception of a few who regularly demeaned them with racial slurs. But it was not easy to make friends. Many school social events had been canceled, and black students were barred from playing sports.

It was pretty quiet, pretty tense, but civil, Newman recalled, remembering walking through a phalanx of police officers to get into the building.

It was a pretty nerve-racking situation, Deskins recalled of that first day at school.

The anniversary carries extra weight this year, as public officials debate how to commemorate Stratfords role in desegregating Virginias public schools. The building, which houses a program for children with special needs as well as H-B Woodlawn, is set to be renovated to accommodate a neighborhood middle school. H-B Woodlawn plans to move to a new building in Rosslyn.

County and school officials are moving toward historic designation but will formulate their own guidelines rather than going through the countys historic board, said School Board Chair Emma Violand-Sanchez.

Students said hearing about the experiences from the former students made them appreciate how far the school has come. H-B Woodlawn, which emphasizes student autonomy, is smaller and more intimate than other high schools in the county, and it has a diverse student body, although only about 5 percent of the students are black.

A 15-year-old sophomore who is black said it was difficult to comprehend that there was a time  not so long ago  when she would have been banned from the building where she now spends her school days.

Exterior of Stratford Junior High School in September 1959, at the beginning of the first full school year after its integration. (Warren K.Leffler/Library of Congress)

Its just like, wow, kind of overwhelming, she said. If I were in their position, it would have been really stressful. . . . They have a lot of courage.

For the trailblazing former students, it also drove home the progress. In the auditorium of the school where they once felt like outsiders, students rose to their feet to applaud them.
Blue Sky Puppet Theatre will perform The Jesters Box as part of the Artful Afternoon program. (Michael Cotter)

THU 04

My First Time Cause Theatre portrays real heartbreaking and hilarious stories of the first sexual experience. Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Fine Arts theater, 8730 Mitchell Rd., La Plata. 301-934-2251. www.csmd.edu/arts. $5.

FRI 05

See How They Run The British farce follows a young vicars wife who is trying to fit in with the residents of a small town after World War II. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., through Feb. 14. Port Tobacco Players, 508 Charles St., La Plata. 301-932-6819. www.ptplayers.com. $18; seniors, students and military $15.

The Philadelphia Story The 1939 hit comedy follows a Philadelphia socialite whose plans to remarry are complicated by the arrival of a handsome journalist and her ex-husband. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., through Feb. 20. Bowie Playhouse, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., Bowie. 410-757-5700. www.2ndstarproductions.com. $22, seniors and students $19, age 11 and younger $12.

SAT 06

All-Screened Video Fest The one-day festival and contest features short works by regional producers. 1 p.m. Brentwood Arts Exchange at Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood.

301-277-2863. arts.pgparks.com. Free.

Narrative in Black Identity A mixed-media exhibit from Antonio McAfee, Tiffany Jones and Stephen Towns that celebrates African American heritage and identity. Reception 1-3 p.m. Through Feb. 28. Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel. 301-377-7800. arts.pgparks.com. Free.

Choreographers showcase The 33rd annual event features dance performances in modern and contemporary ballet, aerial, world, hip-hop and more. 3 and 8 p.m. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Dance Theatre, University of Maryland, Route 193 and Stadium Drive, College Park. 301-405-2787. www.theclarice.umd.edu. $25, youth $10.

Redwine Jazz Trio The jazz band performs traditional instrumental music. 7:30-10 p.m. Westlawn Inn, 9200 Chesapeake Ave., North Beach. 410-257-0001. www.westlawninn.com. Free, reservations recommended.

Cities to See The Hyattsville Community Arts Alliance closes its exhibit of cityscapes in pen, ink and watercolor. Prince Georges Plaza Community Center, 6600 Adelphi Rd., Hyattsville. 301-699-1148. www.hcaaonline.org. Free.

SUN 07

The Jesters Box Blue Sky Puppet Theatres production follows Ralph the jester, who is tasked with entertaining a king who never found anything to make him laugh. Part of the Artful Afternoon program. An arts workshop follows the show. 1-4 p.m. Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt. 301-397-2208. www.greenbeltmd.gov/arts. Free.

Milt Diggins lecture The author discusses his new book, Stealing Freedom Along the Mason-Dixon Line: Thomas McCreary, the Notorious Slave Catcher From Maryland. 3 p.m. Calvert Marine Museum, 14200 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons. 410-326-2042. www.calvertmarinemuseum.com. Free.

MON 08

CAPP at 10: The Shape of Remembering An exhibition of more than 40 works collected over a decade by students from the University of Maryland Contemporary Art Purchasing Program. Through March 11. University of Maryland, Stamp Gallery, 1220 Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Campus Drive, College Park. 301-314-8493. www.thestamp.umd.edu/gallery. Free.

TUE 09

Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table Film Series A screening of the 2010 film The Conspirator, about Mary Surratt, the only female conspirator charged in Lincolns assassination and the first woman to be executed by the federal government. 4:47-6:49 p.m. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, 8730 Mitchell Rd., La Plata. 301-934-7625. www.somdcwrt.org. Free.

Bridges to the World International Film Festival The festival comes to Bowie for the first time. This weeks feature is Cruel Joys, a 2002 Slovak-Czech comedy about the strained relationship between a girl and her ambitious father. 7 p.m. Festival runs through March 1. Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Rd., Bowie. 301-805-6880. www.worldartists.org . Free.

WED 10

Red! An art exhibition showcasing the bold, fiery color and its many interpretations. Opens Wednesday, through March 6. CalvART Gallery, 110 Solomons Island Rd., Prince Frederick. 410-535-9252. www.calvartgallery.org. Free.

 Compiled by Jillian S. Jarrett

from staff reports
Montgomery County

The following information, provided by the Montgomery County Police Department, shows only initial calls for service received by the 911 center. Many of these reported incidents could turn out to be classified under a different crime category or determined to be unfounded. And some calls for service could be resolved with no further action needed.

REWARDS FOR INFORMATION

Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, a nonprofit organization, pays up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in connection with felonies. Call the 24-hour hotline at 800-673-2777. Callers may remain anonymous.

District 1

Rockville Station

Telephone: 240-773-6070

SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Calhoun Pl., 7300 block, 5:05 p.m. Jan. 19. A sexual assault was reported.

Edison Park Dr., 100 block, 7:41 p.m. Jan. 19. A sexual assault was reported.

ASSAULTS

Bernerd Pl., 1400 block, 1:27 a.m. Jan. 23.

Potomac Valley Rd., 1200 block, 10:45 a.m. Jan. 20.

Rockville Pike, 200 block, 8:39 p.m. Jan. 19.

Rockville Pike, 1000 block, 9:09 a.m. Jan. 24.

Rockville Pike, 12200 block, 2:17 p.m. Jan. 19.

Village Square Terr., 12200 block, 6:06 p.m. Jan. 25.

Village Square Terr., 12500 block, 6:17 p.m. Jan. 25.

ROBBERIES

Montgomery Ave. W., unit block, 1:04 p.m. Jan. 22. Robbery reported.

Pebble Hill Lane, 14400 block, 11:02 p.m. Jan. 25. Robbery reported.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Bradford Dr., 500 block, 7:30 a.m. Jan. 22.

Congressional Lane, 200 block, 1:47 p.m. Jan. 22.

Darnestown Rd., 12100 block, 12:55 a.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Elsdale Ct., 13100 block, 6:06 p.m. Jan. 20.

Falls Rd., 11300 block, 5:32 p.m. Jan. 21.

Fishers Lane, 5600 block, 2:19 p.m. Jan. 20.

Frederick Rd., 15100 block, 11:51 a.m. Jan. 19.

Frederick Rd., 16200 block, 7:37 p.m. Jan. 21.

Gude Dr. E., 600 block, 5:04 p.m. Jan. 25. Trespassing.

Halpine Rd., 100 block, 3:58 p.m. Jan. 25. Theft from auto.

Howard Ave., 300 block, 10:05 a.m. Jan. 19.

Hungerford Dr., 600 block, 6:03 p.m. Jan. 24. Trespassing.

Hungerford Dr., 700 block, 8:16 a.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Jefferson St. E., 1700 block, 7:42 p.m. Jan. 19.

Jefferson St. E., 1700 block, 4:06 p.m. Jan. 20.

Potomac Valley Rd., 1100 block, 3:56 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Randolph Rd., 5500 block, 8 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Rockville Pike, 1000 block, 10 a.m. Jan. 19.

Rockville Pike, 1700 block, 2:13 p.m. Jan. 20.

Rockville Pike, 12000 block, 2:13 p.m. Jan. 19.

Seven Locks Rd., 11300 block, 8:05 p.m. Jan. 24.

Shady Grove Rd., 15700 block, 5:56 p.m. Jan. 19.

Shady Grove Rd., 16000 block, 3:30 p.m. Jan. 23. Trespassing.

Travilah Rd., 13700 block, 10:51 a.m. Jan. 19.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

Veirs Mill Rd., 1900 block, 4:32 p.m. Jan. 20.

Whites Ferry Rd., 23300 block, 12:19 p.m. Jan. 19.

Wootton Pkwy., 2100 block, 5:27 p.m. Jan. 20.

VANDALISM

Fontaine St., 7700 block, 1:34 a.m. Jan. 20.

Pure Spring Crescent, 300 block, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20.

District 2

Bethesda Station

Telephone: 240-773-6700

SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Democracy Blvd., 7100 block, 7:10 p.m. Jan. 21. A sexual assault was reported.

Lone Oak Dr., 6100 block, 10:46 a.m. Jan. 20. A sexual assault was reported.

ASSAULTS

Connecticut Ave., 8400 block, 4:29 p.m. Jan. 19.

Cordell Ave., 4700 block, 8:04 p.m. Jan. 19.

Jones Bridge Rd. and Lynbrook Dr., 2:32 p.m. Jan. 21.

Kings Riding Way, 10700 block, 1:44 p.m. Jan. 24.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Auto Park Ave., 10400 block, 8:31 a.m. Jan. 19.

Battery Lane, 4900 block, 10:19 a.m. Jan. 19.

Bethesda Ave., 4800 block, 7:17 p.m. Jan. 19.

Blueford Rd., 3200 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 23.

Brookeway Dr., 4900 block, 5:17 p.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Cloister Dr., 4800 block, 8:27 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Connecticut Ave., 10500 block, 4:52 p.m. Jan. 22.

Connecticut Ave., 11300 block, 3:14 p.m. Jan. 20.

Connecticut Ave., 11300 block, 8:30 p.m. Jan. 22.

Delfield St., 7200 block, 6:23 p.m. Jan. 20.

Democracy Blvd., 7100 block, 2:38 p.m. Jan. 20.

Democracy Blvd., 7800 block, 1:08 p.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

East-West Hwy. and Meadowbrook Lane, 10:28 a.m. Jan. 25.

Gloster Rd., 5600 block, 9:55 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Grosvenor Lane, 5400 block, 9:31 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Grosvenor Pl., 10100 block, 12:04 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Massachusetts Ave., 5200 block, 2:34 p.m. Jan. 20.

Montrose Ave., 10400 block, 7:38 a.m. Jan. 25.

Motor City Dr., 10400 block, 12:09 p.m. Jan. 24.

Nicholson Lane, 5800 block, 11:46 a.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Nicholson Lane, 5800 block, 5:14 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Oberlin Ave., 6100 block, 10:18 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Ogden Rd., 5600 block, 9:07 a.m. Jan. 21.

Old Georgetown Rd., 10400 block, 2:05 p.m. Jan. 20.

Old Georgetown Rd., 10400 block, 2 p.m. Jan. 22.

Old Georgetown Rd., 11700 block, 6:04 p.m. Jan. 22.

Randolph Rd., 5400 block, 6:56 p.m. Jan. 25.

River Rd., 5200 block, 11:41 a.m. Jan. 22.

Rockledge Dr., 6900 block, 12:16 p.m. Jan. 19.

Rockville Pike, 11300 block, 1:32 p.m. Jan. 21.

Rockville Pike, 11400 block, 6:23 p.m. Jan. 19.

Strathmore Hall St., 10300 block, 6:40 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

University Blvd. W., 3400 block, 9:02 a.m. Jan. 19.

Westbard Ave., 5400 block, 9:45 p.m. Jan. 24.

Weymouth St., 10600 block, 7:06 a.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Wisconsin Ave., 5400 block, 4:12 p.m. Jan. 19.

Wisconsin Ave., 5500 block, 6:36 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Wisconsin Ave., 7300 block, 2:01 p.m. Jan. 20.

Wisconsin Ave., 7700 block, 4:19 a.m. Jan. 20.

Wisconsin Ave., 8300 block, 8:06 a.m. Jan. 19.

Woodmont Ave., 7700 block, 3:17 p.m. Jan. 20.

VANDALISM

Metropolitan Ave., 10500 block, 7:25 a.m. Jan. 20.

District 3

Silver Spring Station

Telephone: 240-773-6800

ASSAULTS

Briggs Chaney Rd., 2900 block, 10:39 p.m. Jan. 20.

Carroll Ave., 8700 block, 6:47 p.m. Jan. 19.

Kinross Ave., 10000 block, 8:12 p.m. Jan. 25.

Lockwood Dr. and New Hampshire Ave., 12:03 p.m. Jan. 25. Stabbing.

Lockwood Dr., 11400 block, 4:13 p.m. Jan. 23.

New Hampshire Ave., 11200 block, 4:26 p.m. Jan. 20.

11th Ave., 8500 block, 2:47 p.m. Jan. 20. Stabbing.

ROBBERIES

Bonaire Ct., 8100 block, 3:18 p.m. Jan. 19. Robbery reported.

Loft Way, 1700 block, 3:12 p.m. Jan. 20. Robbery reported.

Milestone Dr., 1000 block, 4:41 p.m. Jan. 19. Robbery reported.

Reading Rd., 8800 block, 1:39 a.m. Jan. 22. Robbery reported.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Batson Rd., 16600 block, 11:03 a.m. Jan. 22.

Brookmoor Dr., 10100 block, 1:33 p.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Cameron St., 8700 block, 5:49 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Cameron St., 8700 block, 10:26 a.m. Jan. 25. Trespassing.

Cameron and Fenton streets, 4:40 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Carroll Ave., 8700 block, 3:41 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Castle Blvd., 13900 block, 11:15 a.m. Jan. 25. Trespassing.

Castleleigh Rd., 3100 block, 9:40 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Cherry Hill Rd., 12000 block, 7:27 p.m. Jan. 19.

Cherry Hill Rd., 12000 block, 12:19 p.m. Jan. 22.

Cherry Hill Rd., 12000 block, 12:32 p.m. Jan. 22.

Cherry Hill Rd., 12000 block, 10:22 p.m. Jan. 25.

Clearview Pl., 9600 block, 7:34 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Colesville Rd., 8400 block, 8:07 p.m. Jan. 21.

Colesville Rd., 8600 block, 8:34 p.m. Jan. 19.

Colesville Rd., 8600 block, 1:17 p.m. Jan. 20.

Colesville Rd., 8600 block, 6:22 p.m. Jan. 20.

Colesville Rd., 8600 block, 7:51 p.m. Jan. 21.

Columbia Pike, 11300 block, 6:25 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Dixon Ave., 8200 block, 10:46 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Dixon Ave., 8200 block, 5:23 a.m. Jan. 24. Trespassing.

Easley St., 500 block, 12:55 p.m. Jan. 21.

East-West Hwy., 1400 block, 4:14 p.m. Jan. 23. Trespassing.

Ellsworth Dr., 800 block, 2:22 p.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Evergreen St., 9500 block, 1:14 p.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Fenton St., 8100 block, 4:46 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Fenton St., 8200 block, 8:20 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Fenton St., 8500 block, 2:31 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 8000 block, 12:43 a.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 8000 block, 9:31 p.m. Jan. 22.

Georgia Ave., 8100 block, 10:09 p.m. Jan. 19.

Georgia Ave., 8700 block, 6:32 a.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Gilmoure Dr., 500 block, 4:12 p.m. Jan. 19.

Granville Dr., 100 block, 8:28 p.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Hollyhock Way, 14400 block, 3:09 p.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Linton St., 9000 block, 11:03 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Linton St., 9000 block, 8:21 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Lorain Ave., 10300 block, 10:31 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Merwood Lane, 9700 block, 8:51 a.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Milestone Dr., 1000 block, 4:47 p.m. Jan. 21.

New Hampshire Ave., 11200 block, 1:59 p.m. Jan. 22.

New Hampshire Ave., 12200 block, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 19.

Noyes Dr., 1600 block, 12:27 a.m. Jan. 24.

Outlet Dr., 13800 block, 7:36 p.m. Jan. 19.

Piney Branch Rd., 8600 block, 1:34 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Piney Branch Rd., 9300 block, 8:34 a.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Ripley St., 1100 block, 7:58 p.m. Jan. 24. Trespassing.

Schubert Dr., 3000 block, 10:16 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Sierra St., 9400 block, 9:46 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Spring St., 1000 block, 4:21 p.m. Jan. 19.

Stewart Lane, 11600 block, 11:41 a.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Stewart Lane, 11600 block, 11:49 a.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Sweet Clover Ct., 2700 block, 3:26 p.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

University Blvd. W., 200 block, 11:56 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

Wayne Ave., 800 block, 8:18 p.m. Jan. 21.

Wayne Ave., 900 block, 12:08 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

First Ave., 8700 block, 5:36 p.m. Jan. 20.

13th St., 8000 block, 7:13 p.m. Jan. 22.

VEHICLE THEFTS

Carroll Ave. and Piney Branch Rd., 8:22 a.m. Jan. 21. Stolen vehicle.

New Hampshire Ave., 11200 block, 3:25 p.m. Jan. 19.

VANDALISM

Second Ave. and Cameron St., 7:41 a.m. Jan. 21.

District 4

Wheaton Station

Telephone: 240-773-5500

SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Edgeware St., 2100 block, 11:43 a.m. Jan. 20. A sexual assault was reported.

Feldon St., 12400 block, 12:59 p.m. Jan. 19. A sexual assault was reported.

Winexburg Ct., 1900 block, 11:20 p.m. Jan. 21. A sexual assault was reported.

ASSAULTS

Bel Pre Rd., 3700 block, 1:17 p.m. Jan. 23.

Connecticut Ave., 14000 block, 9:18 p.m. Jan. 20.

Furman Rd., 4500 block, 3:19 a.m. Jan. 19.

Georgia Ave., 14300 block, 11:08 a.m. Jan. 25. Stabbing.

University Blvd. W., 2300 block, 6:53 p.m. Jan. 25.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 12:25 p.m. Jan. 20.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11400 block, 11:47 a.m. Jan. 22.

Veirs Mill Rd., 12200 block, 3:35 p.m. Jan. 25.

ROBBERIES

Greenery Lane, 2300 block, 2:25 p.m. Jan. 19. Robbery reported.

Triangle Lane, 11200 block, 6:20 p.m. Jan. 21. Robbery reported.

University Blvd. W., 2700 block, 1:17 a.m. Jan. 22. Robbery reported.

WEAPON

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 10:25 a.m. Jan. 19.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Aspen Hill Rd., 3900 block, 1:24 p.m. Jan. 20.

Batson Rd., 16000 block, 2:28 p.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Batson Rd., 16100 block, 7:57 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Bel Pre Rd., 2600 block, 6:39 p.m. Jan. 25.

Bel Pre Rd., 3200 block, 9:59 a.m. Jan. 22.

Bluhill Rd., 13100 block, 12:37 p.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Chesterwood Dr., 3800 block, 4:28 p.m. Jan. 24. Theft from auto.

Georgia Ave., 11200 block, 8:13 a.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 11200 block, 12:41 p.m. Jan. 23. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 12300 block, 11:06 a.m. Jan. 22. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 12400 block, 12:23 a.m. Jan. 22. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 13800 block, 4 p.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Georgia Ave., 14100 block, 8:39 a.m. Jan. 24. Trespassing.

Hathaway Dr., 13300 block, 2:19 p.m. Jan. 22.

Hewitt Ave., 3400 block, 2:09 p.m. Jan. 22.

Markwood Dr., 11200 block, 9:53 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

New Hampshire Ave., 14600 block, 4:49 p.m. Jan. 25.

New Hampshire Ave., 15500 block, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Norbeck Rd., 2600 block, 9:46 p.m. Jan. 19.

Silver Moon Way, 13400 block, 9:55 a.m. Jan. 20. Theft from auto.

Spartan Rd., 3300 block, 6:11 p.m. Jan. 19.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11000 block, 8:01 p.m. Jan. 20.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11000 block, 12:15 p.m. Jan. 22.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 1:50 p.m. Jan. 20.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 6:35 p.m. Jan. 20.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 3 p.m. Jan. 21.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11100 block, 1:16 p.m. Jan. 25.

Veirs Mill Rd., 11200 block, 11:26 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Veirs Mill Rd., 12200 block, 1:19 p.m. Jan. 19.

Village Center Dr., 18300 block, 4:06 p.m. Jan. 19.

District 5

Germantown Station

Telephone: 240-773-6200

SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Aircraft Dr., 20000 block, 5:06 p.m. Jan. 19. A sexual assault was reported.

Gallop Terr., 14000 block, 5:03 p.m. Jan. 19. A sexual assault was reported.

ASSAULTS

Aircraft Dr., 20000 block, 4:36 p.m. Jan. 20.

Brink Rd., 10400 block, 8:16 p.m. Jan. 25.

Crystal Rock Dr., 19700 block, 8:52 p.m. Jan. 22.

Frederick and Old Hundred roads, 2:50 p.m. Jan. 24.

Ginger Ct., 18700 block, 5:05 p.m. Jan. 21.

Kingsview Village Ave., 13400 block, 9:44 p.m. Jan. 24.

Nutmeg Pl., 18500 block, 2:54 p.m. Jan. 21.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Century Blvd., 19800 block, 5:47 p.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Century Blvd., 19800 block, 5:21 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Century Blvd., 19800 block, 10:44 a.m. Jan. 25.

Climbing Ivy Dr., 12800 block, 9:07 p.m. Jan. 24.

Frederick Rd., 20900 block, 12:20 p.m. Jan. 20.

Frederick Rd., 20900 block, 1:13 p.m. Jan. 20.

Frederick Rd., 20900 block, 3:11 p.m. Jan. 20.

Germantown Rd., 19700 block, 12:24 p.m. Jan. 20.

Germantown Rd., 19700 block, 1:57 p.m. Jan. 20.

Gunners Branch Rd., 19600 block, 4:41 p.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Henderson Corner Rd., 21000 block, 9:35 a.m. Jan. 23. Theft from auto.

Robin Song Dr., 23100 block, 10:11 p.m. Jan. 21.

Sanderling Pl., 13500 block, 11:36 a.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Scholl Manor Way, 23200 block, 10:20 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Seneca Meadows Pkwy., 20600 block, 2:34 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Silver Birch Lane, 21100 block, 5:26 p.m. Jan. 21.

Steeple Pl., 19000 block, 10:49 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

Waters Point Lane, 20400 block, 11:06 a.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

VEHICLE THEFT

Damascus and Laytonsville roads, 6:01 p.m. Jan. 21. Stolen vehicle.

District 6

Gaithersburg Station

Telephone: 240-773-5700

SEXUAL ASSAULT

Gable Ridge Ct., 15300 block, 5:31 p.m. Jan. 24. A sexual assault was reported.

ASSAULTS

Beaver Ridge Rd., 20500 block, 11:40 p.m. Jan. 24.

Billingsgate Ct., unit block, 4:12 p.m. Jan. 25.

Clopper Rd., 900 block, 9:30 a.m. Jan. 25.

Education Blvd., 100 block, 1:54 p.m. Jan. 20.

Elioak Terr., 7500 block, 5:26 p.m. Jan. 25.

Mooney Dr., 18600 block, 7:54 p.m. Jan. 21.

Oakmont Ave., 16600 block, 11:19 p.m. Jan. 19.

Palmtree Dr., 500 block, 11:17 a.m. Jan. 24.

Ridgeline Dr., 10200 block, 1:27 p.m. Jan. 19.

Snouffer School Rd., 8500 block, 2:04 p.m. Jan. 24.

Tschiffely Square Rd., 400 block, 10:01 a.m. Jan. 20.

Walkers Choice Rd., 18800 block, 5:39 p.m. Jan. 21.

ARSON

Sunburst Ct., 400 block, 5:42 p.m. Jan. 20. Arson reported.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Battleridge Pl., 10000 block, 4:18 a.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Bell Tower Dr., 8700 block, 11:34 p.m. Jan. 19. Theft from auto.

Brenish Dr., 7300 block, 6:06 p.m. Jan. 22.

Clopper Rd., 900 block, 9:52 a.m. Jan. 22. Theft from auto.

Frederick Ave. N., 200 block, 12:03 p.m. Jan. 25. Trespassing.

Frederick Ave. S., 400 block, 12:30 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Frederick Ave. N., 500 block, 12:53 a.m. Jan. 20.

Goshen Rd., 20200 block, 5:49 p.m. Jan. 20.

Highland Hall Dr., 20700 block, 3:58 p.m. Jan. 19.

Montgomery Village Ave., 19100 block, 12:40 a.m. Jan. 19.

Montgomery Village Ave., 19300 block, 1:14 p.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Montgomery Village Ave., 19300 block, 2:44 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Montgomery Village Ave., 19300 block, 4:16 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Montgomery Village Ave., 19300 block, 7:22 p.m. Jan. 25. Trespassing.

Montgomery Village Ave., unit block, 9:44 p.m. Jan. 20. Trespassing.

Muncaster Mill Rd., 7200 block, 6:01 p.m. Jan. 25.

Pepperwood Lane, 8200 block, 1:17 a.m. Jan. 19.

Russell Ave., 800 block, 12:02 p.m. Jan. 22.

Shady Grove Rd., 15700 block, 6:44 p.m. Jan. 19.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

Washingtonian Blvd., 9800 block, 2:44 p.m. Jan. 25.

Watkins Mill Rd., 19200 block, 3:18 p.m. Jan. 21. Trespassing.

Watkins Mill Rd., 19200 block, 4:06 p.m. Jan. 21.

Watkins Mill Rd. W., unit block, 8 p.m. Jan. 21. Theft from auto.

Westland Dr. N., 8900 block, 6:46 a.m. Jan. 19. Trespassing.

Willow Oak Dr., 18600 block, 1:39 p.m. Jan. 25.

VEHICLE THEFTS

Frederick Ave. S., 500 block, 11:38 a.m. Jan. 23.

Frederick Ave. N., 18700 block, 8:24 a.m. Jan. 21.

Turtle Dove Lane, 9100 block, 3:36 p.m. Jan. 20.

VANDALISM

Contour Rd., 18200 block, 3:25 p.m. Jan. 20.

Takoma Park and other areas

WEAPON

New Hampshire Ave., 7400 block, 2:35 a.m. Jan. 21.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Carroll Ave., 7000 block, 12:57 p.m. Jan. 21.

University Blvd. E., 1300 block, 1:46 p.m. Jan. 21.

VEHICLE THEFTS

Maple Ave., 7600 block, 1:45 p.m. Jan. 22.

New Hampshire Ave., 6900 block, 12:06 p.m. Jan. 19.
D.C. court judges, attorneys and personnel and staff gathered Wednesday in the D.C. Court of Appeals to celebrate four living legends who combined have more than 300 years in law, aviation and business, as part of the courts Black History Month celebration.

Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric T. Washington helped celebrate longtime D.C. defense attorney, 95-year-old John McDaniel. McDaniel who since becoming an attorney in 1955, still wears a suit and tie and reports to his office in D.C. Superior Court each day; original Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Robert J. Friend, 95; D.C. Courts Security Specialist Sgt. Hubert T. Jones, 75; and local entrepreneur and hatmaker Vanilla P. Beane, 96, owner of Bene Millinery and Bridal Supplies in Northwest Washington. Beane has been making ladies hats in Washington since 1956 and several of her creations will be on display at the new Smithsonian Museum when it opens in September.

During the hour-long celebration, Washington called the four black pioneers in their respective fields who each continues to work in those fields.
A Massachusetts man imprisoned 30 years for rape has been granted a retrial, marking the first conviction in the country overturned solely because of recent FBI admissions that its evidence experts for decades overstated forensic hair links to crimes.

Previous exonerations based on flawed hair evidence  including several in the District  included new DNA results or came in appeals launched before the FBI and Justice Department confirmed in April that FBI lab reports and testimony incriminating hundreds exceeded the limits of science.

The decision by the Massachusetts state judge had been awaited as a bellwether for how state and legal authorities respond to the errors, made by almost every examiner in an elite microscopic hair analysis unit in nearly all trial testimony before 2000, when DNA testing of hair had become routine.

The judges ruling also comes as a White House-appointed commission, Justice Department and FBI are debating how to strengthen forensic science standards, including how results are reported by law enforcement.

The federal review of convictions including FBI hair matches began in 2012 and has uncovered errors in more than 1,300 cases, including many in which defendants pleaded guilty.

Flaws have been identified in 33 of 35 death row cases, including 14 cases in which the defendant was executed or died in prison. Defenders and prosecutors are being notified to determine whether there is other evidence of guilt or grounds for appeal.

One notice went in 2014 to George Perrot, 48, a Springfield, Mass., man who was 17 when he accused of rape during a burglary and later convicted by a jury that heard now-recanted FBI testimony matching Perrot to hair found on a bedsheet.

[FBI admits flaws in hair analysis over decades]

In a 79-page opinion filed Jan. 26, Hampden County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Kane found that the FBI acknowledgment of errors on its own constituted newly discovered evidence regarding evolving science and granted Perrot a retrial.

Justice may not have been done in Perrots conviction for the Nov. 30, 1985, rape of a 78-year-old woman in Springfield, Kane wrote, because of errors not authoritatively recognized and addressed earlier.

Had any of that hair evidence been offered today, the judge wrote, it would have been excluded.

Some legal observers called the ruling a milestone in how courts tackle questions about final convictions involving later-disputed or debunked forensic practices.

This decision, although it does not represent precedent elsewhere, can be a very persuasive analysis to other trial judges facing similar questions, said Kirsten Mayer, a partner with the Ropes & Gray law firm in Boston that represented Perrot pro bono.

[U.S. to commit scientists and new commission to fix forensic science]

In 2009, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences commissioned by Congress reported that although forensic examiners have long claimed to be able to match pattern evidence  such as hair samples, shoe and tire treads, bitemarks or marks on fired bullets  to a source with absolute or scientific certainty, only DNA analysis had been validated through statistical research.

Courts have continued to admit the other types of forensic evidence citing precedent, however, and rarely reopen related convictions in the absence of new DNA results.

That has posed a challenge to appeals of older cases in which biological evidence often is lost, destroyed or degraded.

The National Commission on Forensic Science this month is weighing whether to call on U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to direct federal prosecutors, law enforcement agents and forensic scientists to abandon such assertions of scientific certainty in forensic testimony in the future, saying these terms have no scientific meaning and may mislead judges and juries  as happened previously with hair testimony.

[Forensic science not as reliable as you may think]

The Innocence Project and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers  two outside legal groups assisting the FBI review  said Perrots was the first retrial granted and that it would help speed greater scrutiny of flawed techniques. They praised the FBI for acknowledging a duty to correct scientific errors and said they hoped state labs whose examiners were trained by the FBI would join that effort.

Texas, North Carolina and Massachusetts are reviewing their hair-examiner cases.

NACDL President E.G. Gerry Morris said the group looks forward to other courts recognizing the FBI concessions as new evidence.

M. Chris Fabricant, director of strategic litigation for the Innocence Project, praised Kane for holding an evidentiary hearing and basing the decision on current science rather than a reflexive reliance on precedent.

In a statement, the FBI said the purpose of its ongoing review is to ensure that FBI Laboratory examiner testimony regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis . . . met accepted scientific standards, adding: In cases in which those standards were not met, remedial action may be taken.

[U.S. judge quits commission to protest Justice Department forensic policy]

The issues raised by Perrots case are controversial within the FBI lab and across law enforcement because of concerns by some practitioners that strict testimony limits may do more harm than good by unduly weakening valuable techniques.

In September, during arguments in Perrots case, local prosecutors called an FBI Laboratory chief scientist, Marc A. LeBeau, who testified the FBI review is identifying only potential errors that might have been offset elsewhere in agents testimony.

That month, FBI Laboratory Director Christopher Todd Doss wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee that statements have been designated as errors regardless of whether or not they were later clarified or corrected with context.

The following day, Sept. 15, a senior Justice Department official assured senators that federal authorities were not attempting to walk back or undermine concessions of flawed testimony. The government will not dispute that the erroneous statements should be treated as false evidence, Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote the Senate committee.

Federal authorities began their investigation after The Washington Post reported in 2012 that flawed forensic hair matches might have led to convictions of hundreds of potentially innocent people since at least the 1970s, typically for murder, rape and other violent crimes.

[Convicted defendants left uninformed of forensic flaws found by Justice Dept.]

Perrot was among the first to ask for new trial without DNA evidence in a contested proceeding. Prosecutors raised procedural objections and argued there was other evidence of guilt, although in his ruling, the Massachusetts judge noted the defense had also countered there may have been police misconduct.

Perrot, 17 at the time with multiple burglary arrests, was identified in a purse-snatching in December 1985. After lengthy interrogation, Perrot confessed to burglarizing the homes of two elderly women but denied attacking one who said she also had been raped.

The victim, since deceased, testified that although she was not wearing her eyeglasses the bearded Perrot could not have been her clean-shaven attacker. But at trial, an FBI examiner testified that a bedsheet hair matched Perrots, and said that it would be extremely rare for the examiner to be unable to distinguish hair samples from different people.

The Hampden District Attorneys Office said it was weighing whether to challenge the judges decision or retry Perrot and oppose his attorneys request to have him released. A bail hearing is set for Feb. 8. James F. Leydon, a spokesman for District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni, noted that state appeals courts have previously upheld the conviction, and added that the judge did not overturn convictions for a burglary to which Perrot confessed or to a previous robbery of an elderly couple.

In a statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) called the Perrot case "a prime example" of the reviews importance and of why the ongoing effort "falls short." The FBI was scheduled to brief the committee Wednesday with updates on the review.

"This case is more proof that the FBI's review of cases where work performed by its crime lab may have led to a miscarriage of justice is important and critical, and the agency needs to approach this task with the utmost care," Grassley said in a statement before the briefing. "People's lives might depend on it."

The FBI said as of September it had completed reviews of 1,537 cases in which examiners had declared hair matches before 2000 and in which results were used in convictions. As of Jan. 29, the FBI was unable to review another 389 cases because prosecutors did not respond to requests for information.

Grassley and ranking Judiciary Committee member Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) have faulted the bureaus efforts as incomplete because it has not yet identified hundreds of FBI-taught state and local crime lab analysts; checked cases before 1985 when FBI files were computerized; or conducted in-person visits or released information to help track the 389 cases with no-responses.

In response to the senators, the FBI said Monday it has put out a formal contract request for information to launch "a root cause analysis" to uncover why problems continued for so long, and has completed new written standards that define scientifically appropriate ways to explain results in testimony and lab reports for 14 of 18 forensic disciplines across the lab. Standards for the four others are in the process of being developed.

This story has been updated.
A man from Virginia who D.C. police said burglarized a hotel, a restaurant, the front desk of an apartment building and other Northwest Washington businesses has been arrested.

Police said their investigation was helped when the man broke into the Bentley luxury apartments near Thomas Circle and at 3 a.m. signed on to his own Twitter account from a computer on the concierge desk.

Authorities said they linked Thomas Matthew Collodel, 33, of McLean to burglaries at the Bentley, the Iron Gate restaurant, a Homewood Suites hotel and two businesses. All are located near Thomas and Scott Circles. The burglaries occurred between Dec. 30 and Jan. 24.

Collodel has been charged with five counts of burglary and was ordered detained until a preliminary hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday.

Police said Collodel was arrested Saturday during what court documents describe as a violent struggle that left two District officers injured. Collodel was taken to Howard University Hospital, though his injuries were not detailed. Collodel also was charged with assault on a police officer.

D.C. Police said a McClean man burglarized the Iron Gate restaurant on Jan. 21. (Andre Chung/For The Washington Post)

On Monday, police said in an affidavit that Collodel damaged a hospital bathroom and destroyed metal railings and water pipes, flooding the room.

The first burglary that police have linked to the spree occurred Dec. 30 at the Bentley, in the 1300 block of 14th Street NW. Police said a drawer behind the concierge desk had been tampered with, and surveillance video showed a man using the computer. Police said Collodels Twitter account had been accessed, which showed pictures matching the person seen on the video.

On Jan. 7, police said, Collodel broke into the Homewood Suites in the 1400 block of Massachusetts Ave. NW. The arrest affidavit does not say what was taken.

Police said that on Jan. 21, Collodel broke into the Iron Gate restaurant, in the 1700 block of N Street NW, which was closed at the time. Police said the burglar stacked two beer kegs to climb a brick wall to enter a patio. A chair was then used to get into the bar. Police said an iPod was taken.

Three days later, on Jan. 24, police said Collodel broke into a business in the 1500 block of M Street NW. Police said he got into a garage and tried to open the doors of parked cars. Nothing was taken, but the man left behind a black jacket that, the affidavit says, is the same one worn during the burglary at the Iron Gate, as seen on a surveillance video.

Police said another burglary occurred Jan. 24 at a business in the 1300 block of Massachusetts Avenue.

Keith L. Alexander contributed to this report.
Police are investigating the murder of a mother and her 2-year-old daughter after they were fatally shot in a parking lot around about 7 a.m. Tuesday in Prince George's County. (WUSA9)

Police are investigating the murder of a mother and her 2-year-old daughter after they were fatally shot in a parking lot around about 7 a.m. Tuesday in Prince George's County. (WUSA9)

His 2-year-old daughter was sitting in her car seat when he turned the gun on her and opened fire, police said. He had gone to the girls Fort Washington home early Tuesday morning and waited for her mother to leave the house to confront her about the $600 in monthly child support he recently had been ordered to pay, according to police and court documents.

The disagreement over those payments turned violent, police said, leaving NeShante Alesha Davis, 26, and her daughter, Chloe Nichole Davis-Green, dead.

Daron Maurice Boswell-Johnson, 25, was charged with two counts of first- and second-degree murder in relation to each death after he admitted to killing his daughter and Davis, Prince Georges County law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

Boswell-Johnson was arrested in Montgomery County on Tuesday shortly after police began investigating the double slaying at the Pinewood Hill Condominium on Palmer Road, said Hank Stawinski, the countys interim police chief.

While this resolves [the case], this is not a happy circumstance, Stawinski said at a news conference Wednesday evening. This is a callous and cold-hearted crime.

Daron Maurice Boswell-Johnson, 25, is escorted by detectives after his arrest. (Prince George's County Police Department)

Davis was on her way to her job as a teacher and was taking her daughter to day care just before 7 a.m. Tuesday when Boswell-Johnson confronted her in the parking lot of the townhouse community, police said. Shots were fired, leaving Davis dead outside her home and her wounded daughter nearby in a dark-blue sedan. The girl was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Boswell-Johnson and Davis had had an ongoing disagreement over child support payments, police said. Court records indicate that Boswell-Johnson was ordered in November to pay $600 in monthly child support for Chloe after a DNA test indicated that he was her father.

Boswell-Johnson told detectives that he drove to Daviss home, parked down the street and waited nearby for her to exit her residence, charging documents state. He then approached her at gunpoint and demanded that she drop her ongoing child support petition.

The windows [of the car] were not broken in, Prince Georges County States Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said at the news conference with Stawinski. The door had to be opened in order for the baby to be shot.

Immediate family members of Boswell-Johnsons could not be reached or did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday, and it is unclear whether he has an attorney.

Boswell-Johnsons cousin Raynardo Boswell said he was shocked to learn about the arrest. Boswell said that he did not know of any problems his cousin might have had and that the family has been crying and crying over the news of the charges against him.

This doesnt sound like him, Boswell said. Hes a good boy. Hes a good man. He takes care of his kids.

Boswell-Johnson has two children from another relationship, and he requested sole custody of them in 2014, according to court records filed in Prince Georges County. That case was dismissed after neither party appeared for a conference, court records indicate.

The death of Davis and her daughter mark the third and fourth domestic-related homicides among the 10 killings the county has recorded this year, police said.

Alsobrooks said her office would aggressively investigate and prosecute the case to bring Mr. Johnson to justice and bring peace to this family.

But Alsobrooks also urged the community to work on how it can address family violence before more such killings occur.

We are tired of talking about babies dying in our community, Alsobrooks said. These cases cant be resolved here at the police station. They cant be resolved at the courthouse.

Davis graduated from Bowie State University last year and was a second-grade teacher at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights.

The killing of Davis and her daughter stunned friends, family members, neighbors and students at Bradbury Heights. Many had wondered Tuesday who could have committed such a crime. The apparent resolution of the case Wednesday was bittersweet.

These circumstances do not lead us to celebrate, Stawinski said. Coming and talking about the death of another child, its unacceptable.

Matt Zapotosky and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
Police said they are looking for the driver of this white vehicle that is believed to be involved in a fatal hit and run in the Fairfax area on Nov. 1. (Courtesy of Fairfax County Police)

Authorities in Fairfax County said they are looking for a driver who was involved in a fatal hit-and-run of a pedestrian.

Fairfax County police put out a photo showing a white vehicle that they believe was involved in the Nov. 1 incident in the 5600 block of Franconia Road.

Zahoor Ali Khan, 69, of the Alexandria area was struck and killed as he crossed the roadway. Police said Khan stopped in the median to wait for passing traffic and then was hit by a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle did not stop and fled the scene. Khan was pronounced dead on the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-866-411-8477.
The U.S. Capitol Police on Wednesday suspended the use of the departments newly refurbished indoor firearms range in the Rayburn House Office building, a move the union said was taken because bullets fired at targets were bouncing back toward officers.

Jim Konczos, chairman of the labor committee representing police officers assigned to the Capitol Hill force, said the range has been the subject of complaints since it reopened less than a month ago. The nine-lane facility is in the basement of the House building on Independence Avenue SW.

Konczos said one officer was slightly injured last week when a bullet fragment ricocheted and struck him in the corner of one eye. Police officials said they were unaware of any injuries at the range, and Konczos said the officer had not reported it because it was minor.

Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine would not describe the problem leading to the closure, but said upgrades to the gun range were to make it modern and state-of-the-art, as well as to improve safety features. Obviously the safety of our officers is paramount, and any kinks or issues that need to be worked out will certainly be accomplished, the chief said.

News of the closure came in a news release from the U.S. Capitol Police attributing the closure to operational concerns. The statement says the closure is temporary until range designers identify and examine those concerns.

A spokeswoman for the Capitol Police, Tasha M. Jamerson, described the problem as a design issue that is being investigated. She declined to elaborate. Jamerson did say that the decision to close the range was made out of the utmost caution.

A spokesman for the sergeant at arms, the chief law enforcement and protocol officer for the House of Representatives, referred questions to the Capitol Police.

The identity of the contractor or contractors who handled the gun range renovations and how much it cost could not immediately be determined on Wednesday. Laura R. Condeluci, a spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol, did not address that question in an email response and instead said only that her office is aware of the issues with the firing range and are working with contractors to resolve them.

Konczos said it as yet unclear where Capitol Police officers will be able to practice firing their guns, which is necessary to pass proficiency tests given every six months. He said they could make provisions to use the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Southern Maryland.

The union head said that problems with the new range started almost immediately. He said that as officers shot down range, bullets or fragments ricocheted and were coming back at them.

He said officials told officers that they did a run-through of the new range and told us it was safe. . . . Im disappointed that the department was aware of this and they continued to operate the range.

But once police officials closed the facility, Konczos emailed them to say he appreciated that they took the precaution to address the officers concerns.

Jamerson said officials closed the range as soon as problems were brought to their attention. Roll Call said the gun range has been in the building for 50 years.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver speaks to the media regarding the current status of the Flint water crisis. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver called Tuesday for immediate replacement of the lead service lines that run from water mains into the citys homes, a large-scale repair effort that would eliminate one of the prime sources of lead that have poisoned this citys water supply.

Weaver offered no cost estimate or source of funds for the project, but she touted an approach used in nearby Lansing over the past 11 years that does not require digging trenches. That city has spent $42 million, funded by water-rate increases, to replace 13,500 lead service lines, according to Randy Hannan, chief of staff to Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero.

Weaver and Hannan estimated that 30 crews could replace 15,000 pipes in a year, at a cost of $2,000 to $3,000 per home.

Flints nearly 100,000 residents have been told not to drink unfiltered tap water until tests show it is free of lead, a potent neurotoxin that is especially dangerous to the developing brains and nervous systems of children younger than 6.

Such warnings have forced tens of thousands to rely on bottled water and water filters for weeks, creating a health, logistical and political crisis with no end in sight.

Take a look at the key moments that led up to Flint, a city of 90,000, getting stuck with contaminated water. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The situation began in April 2014, when Flints emergency manager switched the citys water supply to the Flint River to save money and the state Department of Environmental Quality failed to ensure that anti-corrosion chemicals were added to the water. The more-acidic river water quickly began to leach lead from aging pipes into the citys drinking water.

The city switched back to water furnished by the city of Detroit in October, but the tap water is still not considered safe to consume.

[Michigan governor appoints Flint whistleblowers to remedy water crisis]

Also Tuesday, the Baltimore law firm that represents the family of Freddie Gray, who as a child suffered lead poisoning, announced that it had filed a federal lawsuit seeking a refund of water-bill payments for all 31,000 Flint households.

Attorney William Billy Murphy Jr. estimated that ratepayers are owed about $150 million for the costs of water they cant drink, bottled water and water filters.

The citizens of Flint got cheated by having to pay water bills for absolutely undrinkable and horribly dangerous water. They are entitled to an immediate refund, he said.

Gray, a 25-year-old Baltimore man, died in April of spinal-cord injuries he had suffered in police custody a week earlier.

1 of 37 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The controversial case over dangerous lead in water in a Michigan city View Photos Anger over the levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Caption Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Jan. 25, 2016 Flint resident Angela Hickmon, 56, chants during a protest outside City Hall in downtown Flint. Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP Wait 1 second to continue.

The new lawsuit is one of several that have been filed seeking remedies or damages for the Flint water crisis. In one, a coalition of environmental groups has asked a federal judge to order the immediate replacement of the lead pipes in the citys water system.

[Flints water crisis reveals government failures at every level]

Weaver said the city should first replace the service lines to the homes of residents who are most vulnerable to lead poisoning: young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Its not clear how many Flint homes have lead service lines or where they are. The administration of Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has estimated that it could cost $55 million to replace an estimated 15,000 lines. As part of this years federal budget, the Obama administration is sending $80 million to Michigan for infrastructure upgrades, but the amount headed to Flint has not been determined.

[Its not just Flint: Poor communities across the country live with extreme polluters]

Hannan said Lansing crews have developed a technique that involves punching a hole in the street, threading a new pipe underground and bringing it up through another hole to connect to a home. That method eliminates the need for a trench and shortens the work time from 10 hours to four hours, he said.

Alexander reported from Washington.
NATIONAL SECURITY

Navy SEAL to receive Medal of Honor

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers, a Navy SEAL and member of the units elite SEAL Team Six, will receive the nations highest military honor for his actions during a hostage-rescue mission in Afghanistan, the White House announced Tuesday.

Byers, 36, will be presented with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony at the end of the month.

In Medal of Honor announcements, the White House has released summaries of the recipients actions that led to the medal. In Tuesdays statement, however, the only nod to Byerss heroics was that he will receive the medal for his courageous actions while serving as part of a team that rescued an American civilian being held hostage in Afghanistan on December 8-9, 2012.

The civilian rescued was Dilip Joseph, a doctor and aid worker who was kidnapped in eastern Kabul and held for approximately a week before a detachment of SEALs killed several of his captors and rescued him during a nighttime raid.

One of the SEALs, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, was killed.

Joseph, in a phone interview, said he thinks that Byers shielded him by lying on top of him while the rest of the SEAL team killed Josephs five captors in the room.

Byers was born in Toledo and joined the Navy in 1998, according to a biography released by the White House. He started his career as a hospital corpsman and spent time with a Marine infantry unit before trying out for the SEALs.

 Thomas Gibbons-Neff

and Julie Tate

MICHIGAN

Appointed manager of Detroit schools leaves

Criticized on two fronts for his role in the crisis over lead-tainted water in Flint and his handling of teacher sickouts and building conditions in Detroits troubled public schools, Darnell Earley has decided to step down from his job as the state-appointed emergency manager for Michigans largest school district before the end of his 18-month term.

Earley told Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in a letter Tuesday that his last day would be Feb. 29  about 4 months early.

What Earley said effectively ended his role in overseeing the Detroit Public Schools finances is Snyders push for the Republican-controlled state legislature to provide funding for the districts $515 million operating debt and help with transitioning the district, which has been under emergency management for nearly seven years, back to some form of local control.

Democratic lawmakers had called for Earleys resignation because of rolling teacher sickouts over complaints about the districts decaying facilities and wrecked finances  forcing dozens of Detroit schools to close intermittently in recent months  and because of Earleys 16-month stint as the emergency manager in Flint.

Earley approved a plan to save money by switching Flints water supply from the Detroit system to a new pipeline consortium and to use Flint River water until the new pipeline was ready.

 Associated Press

FLORIDA

States top court delays execution

Floridas highest court has delayed the execution of a condemned inmate weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court found flaws in the way the state sentences people to death.

Floridas justices provided no reasoning for their decision Tuesday. But earlier in the day, they heard arguments from the state and an attorney for inmate Michael Lambrix, who told them the Supreme Court ruling should apply to all 390 people on death row.

Lambrix was scheduled to be executed Feb. 11. He was sentenced to death for the 1983 slayings of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant. The jurys death recommendation was not unanimous for either murder.

The Supreme Court found Jan. 12 that the states sentencing procedure is flawed because it allows judges to reach a different decision from juries. Juries play only an advisory role in recommending the death penalty in Florida.

 Associated Press

Calif. gas company faces criminal charges over methane leak: Los Angeles prosecutors filed criminal charges against the Southern California Gas company on Tuesday over a huge methane leak near the city that has forced thousands of residents from their homes since October. The four misdemeanor charges accuse SoCalGas of failing to report the release of hazardous materials following the underground pipeline rupture and discharging air contaminants.

Indiana lawmakers drop bid to change anti-discrimination law: Indiana Republican lawmakers abandoned efforts to add protections for lesbian, gay and bisexual people to anti-discrimination laws, leaving in place a religious-objections law that sparked a national campaign to boycott the state when it was passed last spring. Sen. Travis Holdman (R), who had sponsored the gay rights bill, said Tuesday that there wasnt enough support for it to win approval.

 From news services
SPAIN

Socialist leader asked to form government

Spains king on Tuesday tapped Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to try to form a government after an inconclusive December election in which Spains conservative Popular Party came in first but failed to drum up enough support for a coalition or minority government.

King Felipe VI made the decision after meeting with Sanchez and acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who heads the Popular Party, parliamentary speaker Patxi Lopez told reporters.

Sanchez  whose party came in second  now faces the task of trying to negotiate with two new upstart parties that made big inroads with voters upset with austerity, high unemployment and official corruption.

The election smashed Spains traditional two-party system for the Popular Party and the Socialists. The Popular Party won the most votes but got only 123 seats in the 350-member lower house of parliament.

The far-left Podemos came in third in the Dec. 20 election; the business-friendly Ciudadanos came in fourth.

Rajoy had proposed forming a so-called grand coalition with the Socialists and Ciudadanos, but Sanchez ruled out a deal with the Popular Party and Rajoy.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Government allows aid to rebel-held area

The Syrian government allowed aid into a rebel-held area near Damascus on Tuesday in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture after U.N.-mediated indirect peace talks got off to a rocky start in Geneva.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered 14 trucks of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross to the al-Tal suburb, said Damascus-based ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek.

The Syrian opposition had demanded that aid be allowed into 18 besieged areas throughout the country and that Syrian and Russian forces halt the bombardment of rebel-held areas ahead of the talks, which officially began Monday.

But Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes have since captured three villages north of Aleppo, throwing the future of the talks into question.

The delivery to al-Tal came a day after the Syrian government approved a U.N. request for new aid deliveries to the besieged towns of Madaya, Foua and Kfarya. It was not immediately clear why food was sent to al-Tal and not the other areas.

 Associated Press

ALGERIA

Law targets violence against women

A new Algerian law came into effect this week punishing violence against women and sexual harassment  a victory for feminist groups that had fought for years for the legislation.

The law had been blocked by the Senate for eight months amid resistance from conservative Muslims who view it as interference in family affairs. It is the fruit of a long struggle by feminist groups in the North African country that have been fighting against a spike in attacks against women in recent years.

The measure includes heavy penalties for domestic violence and also for harassment of women in the streets. It is aimed specifically at the spouse.

If a domestic attack prevents a woman from working for more than 15 days, the perpetrator faces two to five years in prison. If a woman is mutilated, or the violence causes loss of eyesight or a limb, or any permanent damage, the law says the attackers could face 10 to 20 years incarceration.

 Associated Press

Thai elephant kills tourist: A Scottish tourist was gored to death by an elephant that he and his teen stepdaughter were riding on the resort island of Samui, Thai authorities said. Police said the animal threw Gareth Crowe and Eilidh Hughes to the ground during a trek Monday. The elephant then gored Crowe with its tusk and stomped on him. Thai news reports said the elephant became enraged after its trainer climbed off to take a picture of the tourists. The trainer was also gored and wounded, and Hughes was injured from her fall.

Italy fines smokers: Smokers in Italy now face fines of up to $600 if they light up in a car with a child or pregnant woman  or if they toss a cigarette butt on the street  after new health and environmental laws took effect Tuesday. The measures extend bans on smoking in restaurants and other public places to the private sphere of the car.

2 held in Greece pending ISIS trial: A Greek magistrate ordered two men held pending trial on charges of attempting to travel to Syria through Greece to join the Islamic State. The two men, born in Bosnia and Yemen but traveling on Swedish passports, were arrested last week near the Greek-Turkish land border. They are charged with membership in a terrorist group, arms possession and possessing military equipment with the intent of supplying a terrorist group.

 From news services
Q: When is a win not a win?

A: When the winner is Hillary Clinton.

The Iowa Democratic Party confirmed in its final tally Tuesday that Clinton had won Monday nights caucuses. She not only beat Bernie Sanders but got more votes than any Republican candidate, and she becomes the first woman ever to win the Iowa caucuses. Clinton remains the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

Yet from the coverage of Mondays caucuses, youd think Clinton was on the ropes.

Hillary Clinton (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The New York Times: Hillary Clinton Campaign, Unnerved by Iowa, Braces for New Hampshire

The Post: Photo finish reveals shortcomings of candidate who once seemed invincible 

Politico: How Iowa went wrong for Hillary Clinton

CNN: Did Hillary Clinton really win the Iowa caucuses?

The Post reported that she would spend the day trying to reassure supporters, donors and the mainstream media that last night does not mean a reprise of 2008, and the Times raised the possibility that a significant staff shakeup was at hand.

One shudders to imagine the coverage if she had lost Iowa.

Journalists were faulting Clinton for flunking the expectations game by barely defeating a 74-year-old socialist who once trailed distantly. But that dismissed the salient fact that she won  and that her performance fit with forecasts.

1 of 43 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What it looked like on the ground in Iowa for the caucuses View Photos A few hundred thousand Iowa residents gather in a couple thousand caucus sites and finally, finally kick-start the presidential nomination process. Caption A few hundred thousand Iowa residents gather in a couple thousand caucus sites and finally, finally kick-start the presidential nomination process. Feb. 1, 2016 Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during his election night watch party at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Cruz placed first in the voting. Cassi Alexandra/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Yes, the RealClearPolitics polling average showed her up four points in Iowa, but a few days earlier that same average showed Sanders with a slight lead. As for the margin of victory, Rick Santorum defeated Mitt Romney by all of 34 votes in 2012  yet his win was reported as a conquest.

Why the disparate treatment? Some see sexism, which is difficult to prove. But there does seem to be a long-running game in which Clinton can never quite meet the expectations set for her, even if her actual achievements are considerable. She raised a ton of money  but Sanders raised almost as much! She won the Iowa caucuses  but she didnt win by enough!

Yes, the narrow win in Iowa could make for a more protracted nomination battle. So would an expected loss in New Hampshire, which the media will likely attribute to Clintons weakness rather than Sanders being a New Englander (like previous New Hampshire victors Romney, John Kerry, Paul Tsongas, Michael Dukakis and Edmund Muskie). But it may have been a hard slog no matter who was in the race with Clinton: Shes a candidate of steadiness at a time when the electorate wants iconoclasts.

Voters, particularly young ones, are easily wooed by talk of free college and free health care. They can be intemperate (as demonstrated by the supporters at the Sanders rally in Des Moines on Monday night who booed Clinton when she appeared on television and chanted Shes a liar!) and can fall for unrealistic promises. But Clinton, to her credit, is not pretending to be something other than herself this time. I come to you with a lifetime of service and advocacy and of getting results was her less-than-soaring pitch here Tuesday.

Clinton staffers have come to expect that theyll have to fight every hour  literally. After Clintons speech Monday night, in which she stopped short of claiming victory, aides briefed reporters at about 1:30 a.m. aboard the campaign plane on the Des Moines airport tarmac, trying mightily to spin a victory in the absence of final results.

The only candidate who can emerge from tonights caucuses with a win is Hillary Clinton, Brian Fallon said.

We believe, said Jennifer Palmieri, that we won. Our modeling shows that.

When the plane landed in New Hampshire at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, Fallon announced that the Iowa Democratic Party and NBC had projected Clinton the winner. Were still waiting for CNN and ABC and AP, he told reporters. As soon as they project it, well open the door to the plane.

A few hours later, at Nashua Community College, the candidate herself felt it safe to declare victory. I am so thrilled that Im coming to New Hampshire after winning Iowa, she told about 800 supporters. Ive won and Ive lost there. Its a lot better to win.

The speech, at 40 minutes, was too long and discursive, but it included the most important point. Dont ever forget, she told the cheering crowd. Close elections matter. You either win or you lose.

Thats how it works, and Hillary Clinton won the Iowa caucuses. Lets cut her some slack.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
March 5, 2016 Sen. Marco Rubio speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post

The U.S. senator from Florida is vying for the Republican presidential nomination.

The senator from Florida is among the candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination.

The senator from Florida is among the candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination.

Marco Rubio is in an enviable position among mainstream Republican presidential candidates after his strong finish in Iowa. Yet the man is running scared.

The young Floridian is stumping through New Hampshire as if hes campaigning to win the Cautious Caucus. He gives the same speech everywhere. The most tightly managed candidate in the race, he shuns risk and appears to live in mortal terror of mentioning the man who dominates the race.

At a town hall event here in central New Hampshire on Wednesday morning, Rubio, as usual, didnt mention Donald Trump in his speech. But the first questioner, a businesswoman, practically begged the candidate to trash Trump, asking him to comment on Trumps very definite views of the disabled, including calling people stupid and attempting to remove disabled veterans from one of his properties.

Rubio demurred, saying only that he had already called out Donald for his distasteful mocking of a disabled reporter at an event. He then dropped the Trump talk and moved on.

Rival Chris Christie mocked Rubio on Tuesday as the boy in the bubble managed by his handlers. This criticism apparently smoked Rubio out, because he took a few questions from reporters before his event in Laconia, N.H., on Wednesday afternoon.

The first questioner noted that Rubio had poked other candidates, but not Mr. Trump. Why?

Donald hasnt really outlined any position on policies, Rubio reasoned. So when the time comes and its appropriate, well do so.

Why do you deliver the same speech wherever you go? the second questioner asked.

Cause its my message, he said. Its the reason Im running for president.

Rubios determination not to be taken off of this bland message, or to engage Trump, may give the impression that he is above the fray. But it also can make him look weak and callow.

While other candidates, particularly Jeb Bush, have denounced Trumps outrages, Rubio and allied groups have spent upward of $30 million on ads so far  some of it targeting Bush, Christie and Ted Cruz, but none of it targeting Trump. Rubio has mentioned Trump a couple of times on Twitter. In debates, he has frequently deflects questions about the mogul.

After the December debate, in which Rubio declined a chance to take on Trumps proposed ban on Muslims entering the country, Fox News asked Rubio why he hadnt gone after Trump. Rubio said he wasnt going to spend a valuable 75 seconds on a debate stage talking about something thats never going to happen.

Likewise, asked to comment on Trumps qualifications as a conservative, Rubio said that the billionaire is running as someone whos a populist whos upset about the direction of this country, as am I, as are millions of Americans.

On other occasions, Rubio declined to talk about Trumps mosque-closing ideas (well, I think we need to target radicalism) and Trumps plan for mass deportation of illegal immigrants (both sides have points to make here that are valid).

Asked back in September whether he would engage Trump, Rubio replied: No, Im ready to talk about who I am and why Im running.

Its not as if Trump returns the politeness. Ann Coulter, warming up a Trump crowd Tuesday night, called Rubio a Cuban boy who wears high heels and has big ears. (Ever-cautious Rubio, ridiculed last month for wearing booties with thick heels, quickly retired the offending footwear.)

Rubios strong Iowa finish has brought new attention  and overcapacity crowds  in New Hampshire. But the would-be supporters are greeted by a robot.

The closest Rubio gets to Trump in his stump speech is observing, as he did here in Bow, that you have a right to be angry, but anger is not a plan. What exactly do you want to do? Or, as he put it in Laconia a few hours later: Anger is not a plan. Frustration is not a plan. You have a right to be frustrated. You have a right to be angry. . . . But what exactly are you going to do about it?

Voters questions, rather than spurring spontaneity, inspire more caution. Asked Wednesday what hed do about the millions of illegal immigrants who otherwise havent broken any law, Rubio said, Well figure something out.

The logic behind Rubios candidacy, recited in his speeches, is that, as he put it in Bow: I give us the best chance to win, and if you dont believe me, ask a Democrat. They do not want to run against me. Or, as he said in Laconia: If Im our nominee, we will win, and the Democrats know this. They do not want to run against me.

If he keeps playing the boy in the bubble, they may reconsider.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
THE PEOPLE of Madaya, a Syrian town besieged by the government, are still starving. According to Doctors Without Borders, 16 more people have died of hunger despite a single delivery of aid last month, bringing to 51 the number who have perished from lack of food since December. Moreover, the town of 20,000 people, says the United Nations chief humanitarian coordinator, is the tip of the iceberg. Close to 500,000 Syrians are cut off from food assistance, Stephen OBrien told the U.N. Security Council, and the government has denied about 100 of the U.N.s 113 requests to deliver aid in the past year.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry has been denouncing this atrocity in recent days. People are dying; children are suffering not as an accident of war, but as the consequence of an intentional tactic  surrender or starve, he said Sunday. And that tactic is directly contrary to the law of war. Unfortunately, the Obama administrations handling of the Syrian crisis appears to be enabling those very war crimes.

In December, the United States joined with Russia to pass Security Council Resolution 2254, which required the delivery of humanitarian aid and an end to the bombing of civilian areas as part of a plan to launch peace talks. Yet even though the sieges have not been lifted and the bombing has not stopped, Mr. Kerry and U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura have insisted on going ahead with the peace talks, pressuring an opposition coalition to participate. While issuing strong statements of disapproval, neither the United States nor the United Nations has taken, proposed or even hinted at any action to force compliance by the regime of Bashar al-Assad or by Russia, which is doing much of the bombing.

While Mr. de Mistura was declaring the Geneva talks open on Monday, the regime and Russia were stepping up an offensive against rebel-held areas near the city of Aleppo. Opposition forces reported bombing attacks on hospitals and other critical civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile in Madaya, near Damascus, a shell fell in a schoolyard, injuring several children, according to the New York Times. The Russians and Syrians are using military action as leverage in the peace talks  or perhaps as a way of wrecking them. They show no interest in bargaining: The Syrian government delegation arrived in Geneva still insisting it would not negotiate with terrorists  which it defines as anyone bearing arms against the regime.

Mr. Kerry and the Obama administration, meanwhile, are responding with nothing but rhetoric. We havent seen a catastrophe like this since World War II, and its unfolding before our eyes, Mr. Kerry said Tuesday. People in Madaya [are] eating leaves and grass or animals of one kind or another that they manage to capture. He declared: The Syrian regime has a responsibility  in fact, all parties to the conflict have a duty to facilitate humanitarian access to Syrians in desperate need. And this has to happen not a week from now. . . . It ought to happen in the first days.

Or else what? On that, Mr. Kerry has had exactly nothing to say. Expect the sieges, the bombing, the starvation  and the statements  to continue.
Regarding the Jan. 30 front-page article State calls 22 emails of Clintons top secret :

These 22 emails were unmarked until a later review by intelligence officials made a determination that their classification should have been top secret. Critics of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are outraged and charge her with mishandling national secrets and believe she brought this on herself by choosing to use a private server.

But if these emails were in hard-copy form and had been stored in her file cabinet, a review by intelligence officials would have resulted in the same top secret determination. Clearly, Ms. Clinton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, cant be held accountable for unclassified emails sent to her.

It is possible that she improperly classified information that originated with her. But the classification rules are broad and imprecise. This issue is not related to Ms. Clintons private server.

As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her rival for the Democratic nomination for president, said, Enough of the emails.

Sam Peperone, Columbia

Regardless of markings, the difference between sensitive compartmented information and unclassified information is readily apparent to an informed and cleared reader. In more than three decades of handling top-secret information, I cannot recall a sensitive compartmented document that could be mistaken for unclassified, even without markings.

The handling rules for emails are clear: Never use a communications system that is not approved to handle at least the level of classification of the information in the message.

If you receive any unmarked information as unclassified that you believe is actually classified, you have a responsibility to protect the email at the highest classification level you suspect is warranted and to transfer it appropriately to security personnel for a classification ruling. It seems clear that Hillary Clinton did not do this.

Ms. Clinton said she used an uncertified personal email server for her convenience. It is apparent that some emails sent from or received on that server contained classified information. Her actions or lack thereof violated her sworn responsibilities for handling classified material. She also potentially placed some of our most sensitive information and peoples lives at risk.

M.R. Callaway, Springfield

I hate to support any Republican nitpicking of Hillary Clinton for political advantage, but as a retired federal employee, I am unimpressed with Ms. Clintons excuses. It is a national security breach to have any classified information at home without approved security measures, as any federal employee is well aware. Information on a home computer is easily accessible by hackers.

Had I or any of my employees purposely made classified information so easily available to people without a security clearance and a need to know, we would have been summarily fired. The fact that some of the information was top-secret only increases the seriousness of the breach. Ms. Clintons flagrant disregard of national security for personal convenience makes one a bit insecure about such a person leading the nation.

Harold R. Booher, Baltimore
Who will win the Republican and Democratic nominations is still anyones guess, but the Iowa caucus voters defined three themes that are likely to roll through the rest of this years campaign: alienation, disruption and resilience.

Let me unpack those words. Our political system has been shaken by the anger of middle-class voters who doubt the elites political nostrums; the insurgent candidates provocative, populist counterarguments have had a disruptive effect on both parties; and yet, the most extreme and demagogic responses seem to have been rejected by a resilient electorate.

How will this fractious campaign look to people overseas who are at once hungry for American leadership and dubious about its staying power? I hope they will see that the United States is in a necessary process of internal renewal and reinvigoration. Were grappling with the same issue facing all advanced economies  how to revive growth and distribute its fruits more fairly. A United States that can tackle that problem head-on can perhaps help revive a stagnant global economy.

Foreign fears of a U.S. implosion should diminish, too: The likelihood that the bombastic Donald Trump will emerge as the winner  which a week ago provoked gasps, quite literally, from European friends of the United States  now looks a little less likely.

After Iowa, its a mistake to pretend that voters arent angry with conventional, middle-of-the-road solutions and prepared to listen to unconventional ones. Thats the message of Bernie Sanderss success in battling Hillary Clinton to a near-draw in the Democratic caucus. And its a mistake to think that if only Clinton, or Marco Rubio on the Republican side, could package mainstream politics better, the country would get on board. The next president isnt going to limp to the finish with a warmed-over, pepped-up version of the past.

The disruptive idea this year, as David Corn of Mother Jones has described it, is that the system isnt working well enough to maintain the living standards of the vast bulk of Americans who live between the coasts. This doesnt mean that Sanders has the answers; from what weve seen so far, his proposals for free college and universal health care would push the country further toward insolvency and division, rather than prosperity and unity. But he is engaging the issues that concern the country in a straightforward, constructive way.

You cant call Sanders a crank or an accident anymore. He embodies something real. My favorite Iowa campaign moment came last week when Sanders asked a woman at a rally to describe what it was like to live near the poverty line. She tearfully explained the difficulty of caring for her family, and the shame. Any American who didnt get a lump in the throat listening to her emotional words has lost touch with what pursuit of happiness means.

What other lessons can we take from Iowa? I wish I could write off Trump as the man who could not close the deal, as Tom Bevan wrote Tuesday on RealClearPolitics. Or that I could agree with the Daily Beast that, with Ted Cruzs GOP victory, to quote one of Trumps own vainglorious tweets, no one remembers who came in second.

What we do know is that Trumps blowhard, professional-wrestling-promoter style failed to capture an Iowa Republican electorate that identified itself as 64 percent evangelical. The polls had suggested that these voters would be swayed by Trumps constant boasting that he was a winner and ignore this self-declared evangelicals comic mistake Sunday of nearly putting money into the plate of Communion wafers. It turned out that Iowans had better sense.

Another obvious post-Iowa lesson is that Clinton is going to have to become a better candidate. And by that, I dont simply mean that she has to buff her image and give better speeches. No, what Clinton really must do now is engage the economic issues that animate the alienated Sanders, Cruz and Trump voters.

The electorate senses the secular stagnation in the economy that Lawrence Summers, a former treasury secretary and longtime Clintonite, has been talking about the past three years. Summers and other economists have been discussing radical ideas to spur growth and foster equality that go beyond the usual establishment trinity of trade, technology and transfer payments. Clinton needs to embrace them.

A disaffected United States can be drawn into a civilized  but disruptive  dialogue about political change and reformation. Thats a positive message from Iowa, at home and abroad.

Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
CHILDREN WHO go to school in Detroit face conditions that are inexcusable. Not just buckled floors, moldy walls and rodent infestations: There are also the days of missed instruction because of teacher sick-outs and the millions of dollars of crippling debt that rob classrooms of needed resources. Student achievement ranks among the nations worst. The entire system, not just the physical plant, is in need of drastic overhaul.

The problems of Detroit schools got new national attention after the teachers union there filed a lawsuit arguing that physical conditions were so unhealthy and unsafe that the fundamental rights of students to a minimally adequate education were being violated. The children affected are mainly poor and mostly African American. The suit demands the ouster of state emergency manager Darnell Earley. On Tuesday, he announced he would step down at the end of the month.

Mr. Earley, who had previously presided over the city of Flint and its now lead-contaminated water system, was but the latest in a succession of emergency managers put in place by the state in response to the systems mismanagement and broken finances. Their lack of success has prompted some to call for the return of the 45,000-student school system to local control. Thats understandable but probably not constructive; it was the incompetence and corruption of local officials that prompted the state to get involved in the first place. The systems problems now are beyond the ability of local officials to solve without state help.

The massive debt, much of it in pension liabilities, translates to about $1,100 per student being spent on debt service rather than classroom needs. The system is faced with the prospect of going broke by April, which would also affect other Michigan school districts, since the state is constitutionally responsible to cover many debts.

The best way out seems to be a legislative package put forward by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R). He would create a community school district to run the schools, leaving the current district just to collect property taxes and pay down the debt. Under the plan, the state would provide $715 million over about 10 years to cover $515 million in operating debt and $200 million in expenses, including repairs to school buildings. A board appointed by the governor and the Detroit mayor would run the new district, including hiring a superintendent.

The plan faces some opposition, including from lawmakers outside Detroit who are not keen on having to bail out the citys system. But no one should find it acceptable to have children consigned to schools where they have to worry about rats and leaking ceilings  and where, not coincidentally, not much learning is going on.
If you think Donald Trump lost the Iowa caucuses, Trump has news: You have it totally wrong.

Trump likes to describe himself as different from ordinary politicians, guys who have spent their lives debating and running. But Trumps post-Iowa spin was dizzying enough to give a career politician vertigo. Trumps appearance here  at a news conference beforehand and at a boisterous rally after  was a master class in spin.

Fantastic results, Trump observed. Unbelievable.

If there were unaccustomed hints of humility in Trumps concession speech Monday night, if he sounded a tad subdued, all that had evaporated somewhere en route to New Hampshire, replaced by a touch of social media petulance  not only to the media but toward voters themselves.

The media has not covered my long-shot great finish in Iowa fairly, Trump tweeted at 11:29 a.m. Brought in record voters and got second highest vote total in history!

And, ten minutes later, I dont believe I have been given any credit by the voters for self-funding my campaign, the only one. I will keep doing, but not worth it!

Trump was still worked up when he got to Milford, touting an endorsement by former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.

Iowa shouldnt be considered a loss, Trump explained to a rally here and to reporters at a press conference beforehand, because he started so far back in the pack. They said if you get in the top ten youd be lucky, Trump said. So coming in second was, if you think about it, a remarkable achievement.

It wasnt a loss because Trump didnt spent as much per vote as his rivals, so it demonstrated that he was the most efficient investor. Lowest, the great Donald Trump, Trump crowed of his spending. I spent the least, and I had the best results.

It wasnt a loss because he won more votes than any other Republican in the history of the caucuses  except for one. And Trump should get the credit, in any case, because it was his presence in the race that drew record-breaking turnout. The biggest vote in the history of a primary in Iowa, Trump said. Primary, caucus, whatever. Im not going to say that was me, but believe me it was me.

In fact, if it was a loss, which you should understand it wasnt, the reason might have been that he decided to ditch the Fox debate. In which case he has no regrets, because he raised millions for veterans in the space of a single hour. I would never give that up to go between first and second, Trump said.

What really got his goat was the biased media  the most dishonest people ever. Ever  blaring its insistence, Trump in second  hes humiliated. And, not only that, talking about the unbelievable night for Marco Rubio, with his poor third place showing. In fact, Trump fell far shorter of Ted Cruz, 24.3 percent of the delegates to Cruzs 27.6 percent, than Rubio, at 23.1 percent, did in relation to Trump.

The problem, Trump observed, was that polls built up false expectations for some people  as if it werent Trump himself who touted those poll numbers and flat-out predicted a win. In Iowa, Im leading. Nobody says it, he said on CBSs Face the Nation on January 3. I want to win Iowa.

Spin notwithstanding, he didnt. But I dont like to hear second that much either. Which was about the most honest thing that he said all evening.

Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, right, is greeted by Secretary of State John F. Kerry at the grand opening of the Washington Post newsroom on Jan. 28. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

Dana Milbanks Jan. 31 Sunday Opinion column, A triumphant return for Jason, included this assertion: It was, indeed, one of Kerrys finest hours. Though the White House demonstrated a maddening lack of urgency on Rezaians release, Kerry pursued the matter vigorously. There is no question that Secretary of State John F. Kerry worked tirelessly on the release of Post reporter Jason Rezaian from an Iranian prison and on many other fronts and has earned the praise and gratitude of the nation.

I am left to conclude, however, that the secretary was a lone ranger or the columnist was privy to the presidents thinking and White House deliberations on the issue. In recent years, the media has second-guessed all of this White Houses actions, dissected and analyzed to distraction the presidents every statement and, most egregiously of all, denied the administration credit for any result that could be considered a success.

Did a lack of White House urgency mean that the president should have declared Mr. Rezaians release a condition to the negotiation of the Iran nuclear agreement?

Lennox French, Silver Spring
Hillary Clintons hairs-breadth win over Bernie Sanders in the first contest of the Democratic nominating season has sent a loud message: Every day from now until November is going to be a battle.

That realization was settling in Tuesday with a party hierarchy that has united almost unanimously behind her candidacy  many on the assumption that the former secretary of state had practically a clear shot at becoming the Democratic standard-bearer.

But the narrowness of Clintons margin over the Vermont senator, who had been trailing by 30 points in polls as recently as November, came as a surprise to many of her backers. Indeed, had it not been for the superiority of her ground operation in Iowa, many say privately that she would have been swamped by the wave of enthusiasm for Sanders.

After campaigning on her behalf in Iowa, I was thinking its going to be like a point, or two. Not, you know, 0.3 or 0.4, said Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.), who is regarded as a potential vice presidential pick for Clinton.

I think the whole thing is going to be closer all the way to November, Kaine said.

Money is not likely to be a problem for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. In January, the Vermont senator raised $20 million, almost all of it over the Internet in contributions that averaged about $27. (John Minchillo/AP)

Most leading Democrats, and the interest groups around them, remain confident that Clinton will emerge with the nomination.

Clintons highest-profile ally in Congress, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), played down Sanderss showing in Iowa, citing the Clinton familys tortured history with Iowa.

Bill Clinton barely competed there in the 1992 race that put him in the White House. And Hillary Clinton lost badly in Iowa when she ran in 2008 against Barack Obama.

You know, Iowa was hardly Hillarys best state. Last time she came in third, and she won this time, said Schumer, who is in line to become the Senate minority leader.

However, Clintons battle with Sanders has exposed vulnerabilities that her backers find worrisome. Chief among them is what is being called an enthusiasm gap  an apparent inability to ignite the kind of excitement that the gruff, rumpled Sanders is generating among young people and on the left.

[How Sanders caught fire in Iowa and turned the Clinton coronation into a real race]

Not even the prospect of making history as the first female president has been enough to add electricity to Clintons candidacy.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders split the Iowa caucuses nearly evenly  but how? (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL, an abortion rights advocacy organization, engaged heavily in the final weeks of the Iowa campaign with voters on the ground and on the states airwaves. Women voted with Clinton overall, but entrance poll results show that the support of these groups did little to blunt Sanderss appeal to their core constituency: unmarried women, who skew younger and supported Sanders over Clinton by 10 points.

Iowa was a wake-up call, said a person involved with outside efforts on Clintons behalf who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the race.

The rules of the Democratic nominating process and the unique nature of Sanderss candidacy, meanwhile, give him both the resources and the motivation to stay in the race, even if he loses in a string of states after his expected victory in New Hampshire on Feb. 9.

Republican battles in the later states will be winner-take-all, which means that a candidate on a hot streak would rack up delegates quickly. Democrats allocate their delegates in proportion to vote totals, which slows the process.

Nor is money likely to be a problem for Sanders, who in January raised $20 million, almost all of it over the Internet in contributions that averaged about $27. Those small donors are a renewable resource; they can be tapped again and again.

In my view, he could run this right down to the convention, said Harold Ickes, a longtime Clinton adviser who helped oversee her delegate operation in 2008 and who is working outside her campaign with the pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action.

Clinton backer Steve Rosenthal, a political strategist with close ties to organized labor, said of Sanders: Hes got money. Hes got a compelling message. And hes becoming a better candidate as this is going on.

Kaine and other senators expressed optimism that although Sanders may stay in the race deep into the spring, she could win enough races in March to make clear she will eventually secure the nomination.

However, the longer-term challenge, according to Democratic senators, is to sharpen her pitch to voters. Clinton tends to dwell on the granularity of her policy proposals  many of which are incremental steps on a traditional Democratic agenda  at a time when voters are in a rebellious mood.

One of the things that I know the team will grapple with  and this is something that people like me have to grapple with  is just making it simple and straightforward, Kaine said. Bernies message is pretty darn simple. And its a message that kind of the rich are stepping all over everybody.

We know she would be good at the job and the governing part of the job, and governing is complicated, Kaine added. But sometimes youve got to make the message a lot simpler than the realities of governing.

The lack of focus in Clintons message to voters has emerged as a weakness. Her stump speech, which can wind on for 40 minutes or more on the minutiae of virtually every major policy detail, tends to impress voters at her events, but it poses a challenge for her surrogates, who are countering a far simpler message from Sanders focused on income inequality.

Shes going to have to change on that, said one ally, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly. Shes going to have to get more succinct on messages that are powerful, around a small subset of issues.

If youre in a primary state, shes going to have to hone it down to the top three and just bang away at it, the person added.

It wasnt just the college vote that boosted Sanders. He over-performed in some rural areas and some urban areas that were expected to lean toward Clinton, as well as among union members.

If there is any consolation for her allies, it is knowing that Clinton has often been at her best when she is under pressure.

Hillary just has to be her. The Hillary that we see when were talking to her one-on-one or as a group is completely different than sometimes what people might see on the campaign trail, because she has to be so guarded, said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). This is a contest now.

Kane reported from Washington. Karoun Demirjian in Washington and Abby Phillip in New Hampshire contributed to this report.
Sen. Ted Cruz, energized by his evangelical-fueled victory in Iowa, set out Tuesday to defy recent history and finish well enough in next weeks New Hampshire primary to carry him to the Republican nomination.

Cruzs challenge is to prove that, unlike the past two GOP winners of the Iowa caucuses, he can expand his base here and nationally. While the campaign said it has more than 1,000 volunteers in New Hampshire, that is far fewer than the 12,000 who helped Cruz triumph Monday in Iowa, and the evangelical base here is much smaller.

Were running here to exceed expectations, campaign spokesman Rick Tyler told reporters before the senator from Texas took the stage here. No, I dont expect to win. No.

But Cruz does hope to damage his opponents, particularly Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, who finished behind him in Iowa. He told a packed town hall meeting here that Trump was absent in the fight against amnesty for immigrants who are in the country illegally until he discovered that it was a good issue, and he said Rubio had broken his promises on the same topic.

After weeks of saying the race was a two-man contest between himself and Trump, Cruz backed off the assertion Tuesday when asked if it is now a three-man race, including Rubio.

View Graphic How rural voters controlled the Iowa caucuses

Thats going to be a question for the voters to decide, he told reporters aboard his plane headed to a rally in Greenville, S.C. Thats going to be a question for the voters in New Hampshire to decide, for the voters in South Carolina to decide.

At the New Hampshire event, Cruz repeatedly compared himself to former president Ronald Reagan, reminding his audience that the state backed Reagan in 1980 (but not mentioning that he lost the Iowa caucuses that year).

[Who won each key voting group in Iowa]

The Granite State shocked the country, he said, telling the crowd that voters here helped Reagan change the course of the United States and the world by toppling communism and liberating millions.

Cruz also demonstrated in his first post-Iowa speech that he will stick with the strategy that has brought him this far, putting faith at the center of his message. After warning several times that America is at cliffs edge, he asked the audience to pray to awaken the body of Christ to pull us back from the abyss.

After investing so much effort in Iowa  a bet that paid off better than many pollsters had predicted  Cruzs campaign is trying to transition to the landscape of New Hampshire. Its headquarters in Manchester is a modest affair, tucked at the back of a building that also houses a business selling fireplaces. A half-dozen workers manned computers and phones when a reporter stopped by Tuesday morning; a staffer said many volunteers were out knocking on doors.

The campaign wants to avoid the fate of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and 2012, respectively, but lost New Hampshire and their bids to become the GOP nominee.

The Cruz campaign hopes that the Iowa win will help goose fundraising, and Tyler emphasized that Cruz can repeatedly go back to his small-donor base and ask for new contributions. On the big-money side, a network of super PACs could raise millions more.

The Iowa results energized Cruz and the town hall crowd of more than 200 people, who gave him a standing ovation as he entered the room. What a victory last night! the senator said. Two nights ago I was watching TV . . . every pundit said theres no way Cruz can win. It cant happen, its impossible, the race is done. But last night the men and women of Iowa sent notice across this country that this election is not going to be decided by the media. . . . Its going to be decided by the grass roots.

[The inside story of how Ted Cruz outfoxed Donald Trump]

Cruz aimed much of his criticism at Trump, who is leading in the polls here and has questioned whether Cruz, who was born in Canada to U.S. citizens, meets the constitutional requirements to be president. Cruz has said there is no question he is qualified.

Six weeks ago, Donald Trump was saying every day that I was his friend, that he loved me, that I was terrific, that I was nice, and now Im an anchor baby,  Cruz said, using a term for a child born in a country for the purpose of gaining residency or citizenship for his family. What did change was his numbers started going down, and my numbers started surging.

As for Rubio, who finished in a strong third place in Iowa, just behind Trump, Cruz slammed him for working with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and other Democrats on a comprehensive immigration bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for up to 11 million people. Rubio has since disavowed the legislation.

Cruz said that the bill was directly contrary to what Marco promised the men and women who elected him.

Robert Boots, a retiree from Windham who attended the rally sporting a Cruz sticker, said in an interview that he was attracted to the Texan because of his Christian faith and his views on national security and the economy. Boots said he believes that Cruz will do better than expected in the Feb. 9 primary here  perhaps a strong second  but agreed with the conventional wisdom that Trump will win.

Its all over the map, Boots said of New Hampshires Republican electorate.

The Cruz campaign says it plans to rapidly expand its volunteer base here, opening a dorm for out-of-staters as it did in Iowa and South Carolina. The volunteers are attempting to rustle up support using the campaigns analytics system, which sifts data to try to find people who are likely to vote for Cruz.

Tyler said the campaign plans to base its strategy on what worked in Iowa, matching a volunteer army with a disciplined turnout machine.

So weve proven that we can turn out evangelicals in Iowa, and were going to take that model, with that organization, and replicate that through the states, Tyler said. But in the meantime were going to compete here, and were going to compete here hard.

Juliet Eilperin in Washington contributed to this report.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with his kids after addressing supporters at his caucus-night party Monday in Des Moines. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

Marco Rubios surprisingly strong showing in the Iowa caucuses reshuffled the already intense competition here in New Hampshire among the Republican establishment candidates, leading some to sharpen their attacks on the freshman senator from Florida ahead of next weeks primary.

The sense of urgency was on display here Tuesday as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie belittled Rubios toughness, his intelligence and even his manhood.

Maybe hell do more than 40 minutes on a little stage telling everybody his canned speech that hes memorized, Christie said to reporters, mocking Rubios tightly controlled campaign appearances. This isnt a student council election, everybody. This is an election for president of the United States. Lets get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, meanwhile, expanded his line of attacks beyond Donald Trump to include Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), the winner of Monday nights Iowa contest. Bush said at a town hall meeting in Rindge that Rubio, 44, and Cruz, 45, did not have the life experience to be president and questioned whether either had ever sacrificed his personal ambition for the public good.

For the past six weeks, the four mainstream GOP candidates  also including Ohio Gov. John Kasich  have looked to New Hampshire as their proving ground. But the calculus of all four was changed by Iowa, where the three with gubernatorial experience each finished in low single digits while Rubio surged to within one percentage point of Trump, who came in second.

The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains where Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and other presidential candidates stand after Iowa's caucus and what's next going into the New Hampshire primary. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

With only one week until the New Hampshire primary and the potential that voters here could effectively eliminate some candidates from the nomination battle, the stakes are high and the tone is increasingly confrontational.

It is a dog-eat-dog, hand-to-hand combat up here, said Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire. These guys are going to be scrapping it out until the final minute. At stake is a ticket out of New Hampshire.

[The inside story of how Ted Cruz outfoxed Donald Trump]

Going all in

In past election years, New Hampshire Republicans have not followed the lead of Iowa in making their choices. Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire-based GOP strategist, said the dynamics of the race among the establishment candidates here could be affected by the order of finish in the Hawkeye State.

I think this year is different, Dennehy said. There are so many candidates this year that they are looking for help, and I think Iowa did that last night.

That puts enormous pressure on Bush, Kasich and Christie.

The establishment candidates who have gone all in in New Hampshire are making their last stand, said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt. Bush, Kasich and Christie have to knock Marco Rubio down in New Hampshire and steal his spot for a rationale for their campaigns to exist.

1 of 43 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What it looked like on the ground in Iowa for the caucuses View Photos A few hundred thousand Iowa residents gather in a couple thousand caucus sites and finally, finally kick-start the presidential nomination process. Caption A few hundred thousand Iowa residents gather in a couple thousand caucus sites and finally, finally kick-start the presidential nomination process. Feb. 1, 2016 Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during his election night watch party at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Cruz placed first in the voting. Cassi Alexandra/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

But Dennehy said Rubios performance in Iowa also heightens the stakes here for the senator. He has to push those [other establishment] candidates down to get into a strong second-place showing, he said. Third place just isnt good enough for him. Youve got to show progress and momentum.

Rubios advisers said they are optimistic he will be able to do just that.

Were not sneaking up on anybody anymore, said a senior Rubio campaign official who requested anonymity to talk about the post-Iowa environment. Folks have figured out that Marco is a candidate who connects with voters and who closes strong. Hes got momentum.

Rubio returned to New Hampshire early Tuesday, arriving before dawn and visiting a Manchester diner during the breakfast hour. He was upbeat and said he hoped to replicate his Iowa success in next Tuesdays New Hampshire primary.

[The Fix: The winners and losers of the Iowa caucuses]

When a supporter presented Rubio with some cigars, the son of Cuban immigrants responded playfully.

Lets hide them, guys. I used to smoke a little cigar here and there, he said, adding that he didnt want to be a bad influence on his young children but that a celebration may soon be in order. Maybe well save them for Tuesday night, Rubio said, referring to the Feb. 9 primary.

Prior to Iowa, recent New Hampshire polls showed Bush, Cruz, Kasich and Rubio in a statistical tie for second place, with Christie trailing a few points behind. Trump has long led the field by roughly 20 percentage points.

Last chances?

Next Tuesdays primary is expected to help winnow the chaotic Republican field, affirming one or two establishment candidates as the consensus choices for party donors and other leaders when the nominating contest heads to a slew of Southern states.

One of them is going to emerge as the leader here, said Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard and a Republican donor who campaigned with Christie on Tuesday in New Hampshire. I think there will be a natural winnowing.

The establishment-friendly candidates are comforted by the fact that many New Hampshire voters tend not to settle on a candidate until days before the primary. Noting that time is running out, Kasich said to laughter at a town hall meeting in Newbury, All you undecideds, knock it off!

[Iowa caucus election results]

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a Kasich supporter who knows the state from his years at Dartmouth College, said: New Hampshire attempts to be a place where presidential campaigns get launched. Iowa is important, but when you look at the results over the last several elections, it tends to be New Hampshire winners who go on to the general election.

Bush, who has been humbled since falling out of the top tier of candidates last year, has labored to mount a comeback in New Hampshire. He is beginning what aides describe as a dogfight to finish second to Trump, whom they expect will win the primary.

Bush will lean on the popularity of his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush. He will appear with her on the campaign trail in coming days, and with Columba Bush, his publicity-shy wife, who has been huddling privately with local residents.

A key component of Bushs strategy here is negative advertising, something for which his aides will not apologize. The campaign said Tuesday it was buying two-minute chunks of television air time for its toughest ad yet against Trump, part of a $4.5 million New Hampshire advertising blitz.

Kasich, meanwhile, vowed Tuesday to stay positive, calling on his opponents to stop airing negative ads and to urge their super PACs to do the same.

I just think it will work for me by being positive, and I wish all of them would just knock it off and lets just judge whos got the best program and the best plan and the best message and the most town halls, Kasich told reporters in Newbury.

But rivals complain the positive tone does not extend to Kasichs super PAC, or even to his own operation. Kasichs chief strategist, John Weaver, said that when Kasich is attacked, the campaign will respond in kind.

Of Rubio, he said, Im not going to go as far as Chris Christie, but Rubios not somebody that likes the ad hoc atmosphere of campaigns.

One thing all four campaigns agreed on is that it was anybodys game  and that New Hampshire voters are predictably unpredictable.

New Hampshire Republicans are the most powerful people in the world right now, bar none, Christie said at a town hall meeting in Epping. Youre going to take this race from 11 candidates probably down to four or five. . . . Exercise it with great care.

Balz reported from Newbury. Ed OKeefe in Rindge and Sean Sullivan and Robert Costa in Manchester contributed to this report.
Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders listen as he speaks Tuesday at the Claremont Opera House in Claremont, N.H. (Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

While Hillary Clinton barely edged Bernie Sanders to win the Iowa caucuses, one thing became clear Monday night: The race for the Democratic nomination is turning into a battle of the ages.

The dividing line was 45 years old  voters that age or older went decisively for Clinton, while those younger flocked to Sanders. Voters under 30 were the most emphatic, with an astonishing 84 percent backing the 74-year-old senator from Vermont, according to entrance surveys.

Clinton, 68, appears to face a similar problem in New Hampshire, which holds the first-in-the-nation primary next week.

She kicked off her post-Iowa efforts here by touting her razor-thin caucus victory with a midday rally at Nashua Community College, but despite the academic setting, the 1,100-person crowd tilted older.

Hillary just isnt trustworthy, said Amanda Delude, 22, who was headed to her car instead of the rally after class. She said she is likely to vote for Sanders, who she said strikes many in her generation as an uncommonly candid politician.

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters in Hampton, N.H., on Tuesday. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Chloe Bruning, a 21-year-old Boston University student who attended Tuesdays rally, said she and other members of the group BU for Hillary were struggling to convince pro-Sanders classmates to give Clinton a new look.

Clinton fatigue is a thing, she said. It really is.

Younger voters were a problem for Clinton in 2008 as well, when they emerged as a key element of the support base that helped Barack Obama defeat her for the Democratic nomination. In Iowa that year, Obama beat Clinton among caucus-goers under 30, 57 percent to 11 percent.

Clintons campaign has said it intends to rebuild the Obama coalition, which included blacks, Hispanics, liberals and young people, while tapping into additional excitement among women over the possibility of the first female president.

Typically, younger voters do not turn out as reliably as older ones. But Monday nights entrance polls and other opinion surveys suggest a massive advantage for Sanders among those who do turn out  young women and men alike. Ninety-three percent of caucus-goers under 30, for instance, said Sanders shared their values, compared with 53 percent who felt that way about Clinton, helping Sanders surge past Obamas performance in that age bracket eight years earlier, according to the entrance surveys.

If Clinton wins the nomination, reaching younger voters could be a challenge for her in the fall, particularly if the Republicans nominate 44-year-old Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.).

Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, told NBC News on Tuesday that Sanders has built a following among young people because he offers them emotionally satisfying promises.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders split the Iowa caucuses nearly evenly  but how? (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

If you vote for me, Ill break up the big banks, tax the millionaires and give you free college, cut the cost of health care  end of story, Bill Clinton said, recapping Sanderss pitch. He suggested that his wife, on the other hand, would appeal to young peoples sense of realism. You tell them what you think will really work and what we can afford that will solve the problem, and ask for their help in doing it, and it takes longer, he said.

Hillary Clinton campaign officials noted that she performed well among many important groups, including minorities and self-described Democrats.

Her coalition reflects all parts of the Democratic Party, and her agenda of making college affordable, tackling climate change and reforming our criminal justice system speaks to all parts of the Democratic Party, especially younger voters, said campaign spokeswoman Jesse Ferguson. She will continue reaching out to them to earn their support.

In terms of age breakdowns, Clinton won among older voters, and especially older women, on her way to squeaking out her Iowa victory.

A number of young people here, including some Clinton supporters, said Sanderss appeal has gone beyond the issues. He has managed to capture an intangible quality unexpected for a rumpled grandfather figure with bad hair who has served in Congress for 25 years: Hes cooler than Clinton.

In contrast, the former secretary of state has been in the middle of partisan battles for all their lives.

Emma Sands, 21, another Clinton backer from Boston University, said that campus social media is dominated by Sanders talk. And while the BU group has more women than men, Sands said it offends many young womens sense of gender equality to suggest gender as a reason to back Clinton.

I have an issue with the argument that you should like Hillary just because shes a woman, she said.

Amy Chapman, 43, who came to hear Clinton speak but said she remains undecided, said she is disturbed by the candidates ties to Wall Street banks, which have donated millions to her presidential campaign and from which she and her husband have earned major speaking fees.

How can you be completely unbiased when youre taking huge amounts of money from them? asked Chapman, adding that she may wind up voting for Clinton anyway, out of fear that Sanders would be a weak general-election candidate.

Sonia Almeida, 40, a physicians assistant from Bedford, N.H., came to the rally with an undecided co-worker. Almeida said shes convinced that Clinton is the better choice on education, health care and foreign affairs. But she had one piece of advice for the campaign: They need to be on social media more, she said. You didnt think hed be so cool there.

Her co-worker, Celia Ortiz, 36, said Sanders seemed more genuine. Ortiz said she works in New Hampshire but lives in Massachusetts, which holds its primary March 1, and was also considering Clinton because she liked the idea of electing a female president.

Clinton enjoys a lot of support at her own alma mater, the all-female Wellesley College in Massachusetts. But there, too, Sanders dominates online, said Laura Prebble, 19, and Juliette Sander, 18, freshmen at the school who said they support Clinton.

People are always putting up Bernie pictures or Bernie quotes, said Prebble, who grew up in Wisconsin.

Sander, an international student from France, said some of her classmates liked the idea of a newcomer to the presidential field.

They like the idea that hes not part of the Clinton family,  she said.

But the two students agreed that the idea of electing the first female president is powerfully moving to them.

For me, thats incredibly meaningful, Prebble said.

Abby Phillip in New Hampshire contributed to this report.
It was expected that more buyers would get approved for mortgages, but that hasnt been the case. (ISTOCKPHOTO)

Federal housing policymakers and mortgage-lending groups have been talking about expanding access to home loans for greater numbers of credit-worthy buyers for more than a year. They call it opening up the credit box and insist that its an important goal.

So hows it going? Not so great. Although there are a few, scattered hints of easing credit requirements, the numbers arent impressive. Take credit scores. If the lid on the box had opened even a crack, youd expect to see the change reflected in the average credit scores on closed mortgages extended to home purchasers. Yet according to the latest data compiled by Ellie Mae, a technology company that examines a massive sample of mortgage transactions every month, theres been little change in the average FICO credit scores of buyers getting funded. Lenders may say theyre willing to approve loans to applicants with lower-than-average scores, but theyre not necessarily following through.

[More Harney: Mortgage applicants may benefit from changes to credit-scoring system]

The average score for conventional loans closed in December was 754, just 1 point lower than in December 2014. Conventional mortgages are those eligible for sale to the two giant mortgage investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FICO scores run from 300 (abysmal) to 850 (pristine). The average score at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the governments main mortgage source for young and minority first-time buyers, actually rose to 688 in December, 7 points higher than in the same month a year earlier. That looks like a tightening of the lid, not an opening.

To put this into context: The average FICO score for Americans is just 695. Young, prospective first-time buyers  millennials  tend to have lower scores on average than other age groups. According to a report from FICO last year, nearly 53 percent of millennials have scores lower than 670, and just 25 percent of them score between 670 and 739. No wonder first-time buyers are missing in action, accounting for just 30 percent of all home purchases instead of the historical norm of around 40 percent.

Its the same picture when you look at two other key criteria: debt-to-income ratios and down payments. Debt-to-income ratios weigh your monthly income against your total monthly recurring payments for credit cards, auto loans, student loans and other things, plus the mortgage youre seeking. If your total monthly debt ratio is too high, lenders figure youre more likely to default on your loan. Federal rules specify a 43 percent maximum debt ratio as acceptable for qualified mortgages. Yet the average ratio for conventional loans in December was 35 percent, just 1 percent more generous than the average for all of 2014. FHAs average in December was 41 percent, the same as it was a year earlier, but a point higher than it was in November.

[More Harney: Debt ratios are worrisome for mortgage applicants]

Down payments havent budged much, either. The average conventional home- purchase borrower made a down payment of 20 percent in December  slightly more than it was last spring. At FHA, where low down-payment requirements have always been the marquee attraction, the average was 5 percent, slightly higher than earlier in the year, when it was 4 percent.

On the plus side, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced new 3 percent down-payment programs last year, and they are beginning to pull in some buyers. Freddie Mac chief executive Donald H. Layton said the new Home Possible Advantage program is exceeding our targeted expectations but provided no numbers of loans closed to date.

So whats going on here? Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac, noted in an email that during the past year the company had offered a steady expansion of credit terms for mortgages we are willing to buy from lenders, including the 3-percent-down plan. But, he added, we cannot force lenders to make or sell loans to us, even when theyd have the effect of expanding access to more borrowers.

David Stevens, chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, had a different take: He argues that Fannies and Freddies automated underwriting systems continue to impose high fees on borrowers with low FICO scores and down payments. Stevens also criticized the Justice Department for effectively discouraging participation in FHAs low down-payment loans by demanding huge financial settlements and filing lawsuits against lenders who make even the most minor errors in underwriting or documentation.

Bottom line: Theres plenty of finger-pointing going on, but not much opening of the credit box.

Ken Harneys email address is kenharney@earthlink.net.
A hole was ripped open on the side of this Somali Daalo Airlines jet shortly after takeoff. The plane was carrying 74 passengers, the airline said. (Awale Kullane)

A hole was ripped open on the side of this Somali Daalo Airlines jet shortly after takeoff. The plane was carrying 74 passengers, the airline said. (Awale Kullane)

An explosion that blew a hole in a jetliner shortly after takeoff and left one man missing was thought to have been caused by a bomb, the pilot said Wednesday, describing how he returned to Mogadishus airport for an emergency landing.

Residents of Balad, a town about 18 miles north of Mogadishu, found the body of a man who might have been blown out of the Airbus 321 in Tuesdays blast, said police officer Mohamed Hassan.

Abdiwahid Omar, the director of Somalias civil aviation authority, told state-run Radio Mogadishu that authorities were not sure if the body was the missing passenger. Government officials also said no evidence had been found so far of a criminal act.

Mohammed Ibrahim Yassin, chief executive of Daallo Airlines, did not rule out a possible bomb. At this stage, everything is possible, Yassin said.

No group claimed responsibility for the blast. Somalia faces an insurgency from the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has carried out deadly attacks across the nation.

A hole is photographed in a plane operated by Daallo Airlines as it sits on the runway of the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP)

Capt. Vlatko Vodopivec, the pilot, said he and others were told the blast was caused by a bomb.

Vodopivec said by phone from Mogadishu that the blast happened when the plane was at about 11,000 feet and climbing to its cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.

Daallo Airlines said all passengers except one got off the plane safely. It previously said the plane, which was headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, carried 74 passengers.

Cellphone video taken during the flight showed passengers, some wearing oxygen masks, sitting toward the back of the jet, with empty seats in the front of the cabin near the hole in the fuselage. A loud sound of rushing air could be heard on the video, which was shot by Awale Kullane, Somalias deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

When we heard a loud bang, the co-pilot went back to the cabin to inspect the damage, and I took over the commands as the procedure demands, the Serbian pilot said, adding that the engines and hydraulics functioned normally so he had no problem flying the aircraft back to Mogadishu.

Read more:

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
In a blow to hopes that Ukraine will be able to overcome a decades-long struggle with corruption and mismanagement, the countrys Western-trained economy minister resigned Wednesday, saying he had been unable to beat back corruption.

Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said that he had come under pressure from senior allies of the countrys president to make patronage appointments in state-owned companies and to appoint unqualified deputies who would have overseen the most lucrative industries in Ukraine.

The resignation fed growing concerns from Ukraines allies that the country remains stuck in unscrupulous dealmaking almost two years after pro-Western protesters overthrew President Viktor Yanukovych, whom they condemned as corrupt.

We learned to manage the resistance of the old system, but it turned out that some of the new people around are even worse than the old ones, Abromavicius told reporters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Wednesday. Neither I nor my team have any desire to be a cover for open corruption, or to be a marionette of those who want to establish control over state money. I do not want to go to Davos and talk about our successes, while at the same time deals are being concluded behind my back in the interests of certain people.

[Vladimir Lenin is having a really bad week]

Abromavicius, who was born in Lithuania, was one of a small team of Western-trained foreigners whom President Petro Poroshenko invited to join the government after his May 2014 election. The perception at the time was that Ukraine was so corrupt that the only people who could be fully trusted to fight it were people who were not Ukrainian. Abromavicius naturalized in order to take the post. Another foreign appointee was Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, who was named a regional governor and has also clashed with what he says is entrenched corruption among Ukraines new elite.

Abromavicius said that he decided to resign after one of Poroshenkos closest allies, businessman and lawmaker Ihor Kononenko, tried to appoint unqualified deputy heads of the economy ministry who would have overseen the state-owned natural gas company NAK Neftegaz and Ukraines defense producers.

Kononenko is the deputy head of the presidents political party and is so close to the president that he has been nicknamed Poroshenkos gray cardinal. Last year, the former head of Ukraines state security service, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, accused Kononenko of money laundering. Kononenko denied those charges.

On Wednesday, Kononenko said that Abromaviciuss resignation was simply an attempt to blame lawmakers from our party for a failure to solve issues that were not solved during the year, Interfax-Ukraine reported. I believe that ministers should be responsible for what they have done and not shift the responsibility over to the parliament.

The resignation was met with disappointment from many of Ukraines biggest backers in the West, including the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt. He called Abromavicius one of the Ukrainian governments great champions of reform in a posting on Twitter. Separately, he and ambassadors from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and four other Western countries issued an unusual public statement saying they were deeply disappointed by the resignation.

A spokesman for Poroshenko did not respond to a request for comment. Abromaviciuss predecessor as economy minister also resigned, citing frustration with the slow pace of reforms in the country.

The political turmoil comes as the violence in Ukraines east has largely calmed since September. Russian diplomats have said privately that they now see less need to apply direct pressure on Ukraines leaders as Russia watches the government lose support through problems of its own making.

Poroshenko has struggled to pass unpopular constitutional changes that would decentralize power from Kiev and hand more to Ukraines breakaway eastern regions. Those measures are part of peace agreements signed a year ago that would also require rebels to hand control of Ukraines borders back to Kiev, a step they have not taken. U.S. and European Union leaders have said they will not roll back sanctions against Russia until the measures of the peace agreement are fully obeyed.

Read more:

Germanys Merkel presses Putin on Ukraine separatists

As Ukraine enters 2016, peace remains elusive

Ukraine isnt unified yet. These 4 charts explain.
Activists in Germany hold portraits of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi in January. Badawi has received 50 lashes in a sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian poet convicted in Saudi Arabia of charges including insulting Islam now faces 800 lashes, his lawyer said Wednesday after a court commuted the death sentence in a case that has stirred international outrage over the kingdoms harsh codes.

The punishment reflects the wide authority of the ultraconservative clerics who oversee a legal system based on strict Islamic views and effectively serve as behind-the-scenes power brokers for Saudi Arabias Western-allied rulers.

It also highlights what rights groups and others describe as a widening crackdown on perceived dissident amid increasing uncertainty for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom faces belt-tightening over sinking oil prices and unease over its nearly year-long war in neighboring Yemen.

[Saudi Arabia: Beware of comparing country to Islamic State]

It was not immediately clear when lashing could begin against the poet, Ashraf Fayadh, or whether the sentence would be on hold during possible appeals or other reviews.

His attorney, Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, said in a Twitter post that the court decreed that the lashings  if carried out  would come in installments of 50 each. Fayadh, who has denied the charges, also was sentenced to eight years in prison, Lahim said.

A handful of nations, including Singapore and Qatar, have lashings or floggings as part of their legal measures, but international attention has been particularly intense in nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. The group Freedom From Torture said lashings in Saudi Arabia are often carried out with a short cane or a whip to the back.

The more blows are inflicted on top of one another, the more chance of open wounds being caused, raising the risks of infection, wrote the anti-torture groups head of doctors, Juliet Cohen.

Lahim noted that although the court commuted the life sentence, it confirmed Fayadhs conviction for apostasy, including claims of promoting atheism and insulting Islam. Such a decision could be a setback for further legal appeals.

[Illegal wine brings Saudi sentence for British grandfather]

Fayadh, who was detained in 2013, was originally sentenced to 800 lashes and eight years in prison, but a court then imposed the death sentence during an appeal. The prosecution stems in part from a decision by a religious council that Fayadhs 2008 poetry collection Instructions Within contained passages considered atheistic and offensive to Islam.

Under the Saudi system, which is based on strict Sunni Islamic interpretations known as Wahhabism, death sentences are common in cases involving charges of blasphemy and apostasy.

In November, Fayadh was quoted as denying the allegations. I am not an atheist and it is impossible that I could be, the news website Mecca Online quoted him as saying in a prison interview.

Fayadh, who lives in Saudi Arabia but has Palestinian roots, insisted that his poetry has no anti-Islam undertones. He said a Saudi student brought false accusations against him following an argument.

[From boyhood in Saudi jail to manhood with death sentence]

Rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabias leaders for failing to curb sentences such as lashings and beheadings.

Saudi Arabia should reform its justice system and halt these ghastly punishments, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, in a report issued last week.

Amnesty International has called Fayadh a prisoner of conscience.

But the effects of international outcry on Saudi decisions is difficult to gauge.

Last year, writer Raif Badawi received 50 lashes as part of a blasphemy sentence of 1,000 lashes. The punishment was then put on hold, although Badawi remains imprisoned. Saudi officials have not given a reason for the halt in lashings, but it followed intense protests from rights groups and others, including the U.S. State Department, which called the punishment inhumane.

Yet in January, Saudi Arabia ignored widespread concerns over stoking regional tensions and executed a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, for allegedly leading anti-state unrest.

Nimrs death set off protests in Shiite power Iran and prompted a diplomatic splintering in which Saudi Arabia and some Sunni Muslim allies broke ties with Tehran.
An agreement between U.S. and E.U. negotiators established privacy guidelines for U.S. firms moving European citizens data across the Atlantic. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

European and U.S. negotiators on Tuesday agreed on a set of privacy obligations for U.S. firms moving European citizens data across the Atlantic, replacing a framework struck down in October on grounds it did not sufficiently respect data privacy.

The new pact, dubbed the EU-US Privacy Shield, effectively gives U.S. firms a reprieve from the great uncertainty resulting from last years decision by Europes highest court that invalidated the Safe Harbor framework and jeopardized the ability of thousands of U.S. companies to move across the Atlantic.

But the text has not been formally released, and officials have given out only a few details. The agreement in principle calls for companies to agree to robust obligations to protect European personal data and enables Europeans who feel their data has been accessed by U.S. intelligence agencies to complain to a new ombudsman. It also calls for an arbitration process for Europeans who feel their complaints are not being addressed.

The framework must still be approved in a multi-stage process led by the European Commission. And, most significantly, analysts expect that the deal will be challenged in European courts by data protection authorities or individual plaintiffs who feel it does not go far enough to safeguard their privacy.

Im convinced the new agreement will face legal challenges, said Peter Swire, a Georgia Institute of Technology law professor who helped negotiate the original Safe Harbor agreement. I expect the complaints to make it back to the European Court of Justice.

The court last year ruled that Safe Harbor was invalid on grounds that it placed national security and law enforcement requirements over Europeans fundamental privacy rights.

We are confident that we have met the requirements of the [ECJ] ruling, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in a media call Tuesday. The new agreement, she said, will allow the digital economy in the European Union and United States to grow, which is so critical to jobs and economic security.

On the call, Pritzker said the Federal Trade Commission has agreed to cooperate with the European data protection agencies on complaints lodged by Europeans about alleged mishandling of their data. She said the framework provides for eight means for Europeans to pursue complaints. The new arbitration process, apparently, is one of them.

A European Commission news release describing the deal said, For the first time, the US has given the EU written assurances that the access of public authorities for law enforcement and national security will be subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms.

But Michael Vatis, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, noted that the U.S. has always taken the position that access by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to data is subject to such safeguards. This seems like an enormous fig leaf, he said.

The news release also said that the Commerce Department will monitor whether companies publish their privacy commitments, which will be enforceable by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Though FTC enforcement action is important, it is unclear what Commerce Department officials will do if a company fails to publish its commitments. That is a huge unknown, Vatis said.

The deal is not a treaty but will be carried out at the executive-branch level with an exchange of letters, European officials said.

U.S. industry groups praised the deal. We believe it is hugely significant that they have come to an agreement, said Victoria Espinel, president and chief executive of the group BSA. We were in a world that had a lot of confusion and unpredictability. We are now well on our way in moving back toward predictability and stability.

But some were also skeptical that the issue was resolved. While the agreement is an important milestone, said Daniel Castro, a vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the big question right now is whether the agreement will withstand the inevitable court challenge. If it does, it could greatly boost the digital economy. But until this is settled, he said, there is still a shadow of uncertainty for companies operating on both sides of the Atlantic.

Max Schrems, an Austrian citizen whose 2013 complaint against Facebook with the Irish data protection commissioner led to the European Court of Justice ruling, called the agreement laughable.

He mocked the exchange of letters.

With all due respect, he said, but a couple of letters by the outgoing Obama administration is by no means a legal basis to guarantee the fundamental rights of 500 million European users in the long run.

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a privacy group, said the pact seems to provide additional protections for E.U. citizens. But absent reform of U.S. surveillance law, said Jens-Henrik Jeppesen, the groups director of European affairs, it is highly unlikely that the Privacy Shield agreement will be deemed sufficient by the court of justice.
A Libyan man walks in the rubble of the damaged U.S. consulate, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. (Mohammad Hannon/AP)

A federal judge late Tuesday denied requests by the man accused of leading the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans in 2012 to be returned to Libya and spared the death penalty on murder charges because of what his defense called his unlawful seizure and interrogation by American authorities.

Libyan militant Ahmed Abu Khattala, 44, pleaded not guilty in Oct. 2014 to an 18-count indictment, including charges of murder, conspiracy and destroying a U.S. facility, in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others.

The attacks, dramatized in the recent Paramount Pictures film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, set in motion an ongoing U.S. investigation that led to Abu Khattalas capture by U.S. Special Operations forces in Libya in a June 2014 raid.

Abu Khattalas attorneys said his arrest and questioning for 13 days aboard a U.S. Navy ship without a lawyer violated his due process rights, Libyas sovereignty under international law and a U.S. doctrine that limits the U.S. militarys role in law enforcement.

[U.S. captured Benghazi suspect in secret raid]

A courtroom sketch shows Ahmed Abu Khattala (C-R), the suspected leader of the 2012 terror attack against the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, being arraigned in Washington, DC, USA, 28 June 2014. (William Hennessy/EPA)

In a 20-page opinion released after hours Tuesday in Washington, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the District disagreed, using a variant of Abu Khattalas name in U.S. government documents.

Because the power of a court to try a person for a crime is not dependent on whether he was initially brought within the courts jurisdiction by lawful means, the Court will deny Abu Khatallahs motion for return to Libya, Cooper wrote, And because the Court lacks the authority to prescribe the sentence that the prosecution may seek, it must decline to order the government to forgo the death penalty.

Cooper in December refused to dismiss most charges in the indictment that the defense claimed were overly broad, vague or improperly sought to charge Khattala with crimes that occurred overseas rather than in the United States.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Federal Defenders Office of the District did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

[Judge hears arguments over whether to dismiss Benghazi charges]

In Tuesdays opinion, Cooper did not rule on whether the governments conduct outrageously violated his constitutional rights, the United Nations Charter, Hague Convention or the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the role of the military in U.S. law enforcement.

Instead, he said that the proper remedy of any such violation would be exclusion of evidence obtained by unconstitutional means or criminal prosecution of violations of the posse comitatus doctrine. Cooper added that the international agreements impose obligations on countries, and do not confer rights on individuals enforceable by U.S. courts.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifie before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 22, 2015. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Regardless of whether the government violated domestic or international law in apprehending Abu Khatallah and transporting him to the United States. . . divestiture of personal jurisdiction is not an appropriate remedy in this case, Cooper wrote.

Cooper said the courts might rule differently if an extradition treaty were in place between the United States and Libya laying out the only way by which one country might seize the others national for prosecution.

Khattalas lawyers challenged the blended military and civilian tactics adopted by the Obama administration to extract intelligence from terrorism suspects such as Abu Khattala while preserving the ability to try them in U.S. civilian courts.

[Abu Khattalas interrogation poses legal risks, intelligence benefits]

Abu Khattalas attorneys argued that U.S. authorities denied him a prompt appearance before a judge and failed for six days to notify him of his rights against self-incrimination to interrogate him for six days shipboard using a group of U.S. military and intelligence personnel as well as law enforcement officials. Information obtained by such efforts may further intelligence-gathering but cannot be admitted as evidence.

Then a second group  of FBI agents  told Abu Khattala he was under arrest and read him his Miranda rights. He requested a lawyer, but none was available for him, and he was interrogated under coercive conditions for seven more days, his attorneys said.

Cooper wrote, quoting from a 1988 opinion by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, that said even if government conduct is neither picture perfect nor a model for law enforcement behavior, it did not rise to the required standard of torture or brutality to dismiss charges or order his return to Libya.

Instead, Cooper said Abu Khattala could ask the court later to suppress evidence gleaned from his arrest and questioning.

As for Abu Khattalas posse comitatus claim, Cooper said it recalled the case of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, whose attempt to overturn his seizure on drug charges by a U.S. military invasion in 1989 authorized by then-President George H.W. Bush was rebuffed by the federal courts.

It simply makes no difference whether Abu Khatallah was seized at the behest of a high-ranking official or on the whim of a few rogue agents, Cooper wrote, a defendant cannot defeat personal jurisdiction by asserting the illegality of the procurement of his presence.

Federal prosecutors have argued that no laws or treaties were violated and Abu Khattalas rights were not abused.

No trial date has been set. A final decision by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch whether to seek the death penalty is expected by early March.

The U.S. government in January 2014 designated Abu Khattala a terrorist. It alleges the Benghazi attacks were carried out by Libyan-based extremists, including members of Ansar Al-Sharia -- an armed militia that seeks to establish Sharia law in Libya -- and an extremist brigade that it absorbed, Ubaydah Ibn Al Jarrah, which Abu Khatalla commanded.

[Capture thrusts U.S. special operations in Africa into spotlight again]
Israeli border police stand guard as Palestinians look on after an attack by three Palestinian assailants at Damascus Gate, a main entrance to Jerusalem's Old City. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

Three Palestinians armed with automatic rifles, knives and bombs killed an Israeli police officer in the heart of Jerusalem on Wednesday before they were shot dead by police, Israeli officials said.

It was the first time Palestinians appeared to have coordinated an attack against Israeli security forces. Israeli police said it marked a serious escalation in the daily violence that has plagued Israel and the occupied West Bank for more than four months.

Since Oct. 1, 27 Israelis and two foreign citizens have been killed in a series of knife, shooting and vehicular attacks by Palestinians. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed: more than 100 while carrying out the attacks, and the rest during clashes with the Israeli military. Hundreds have been injured on both sides.

One police officer was also critically injured in Wednesdays shootout, which took place just outside the walls of the Old City.

[Israel steps up home demolitions to punish Palestinian attackers]

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the two female officers had been on a routine patrol when they spotted two men acting suspiciously. After the officers approached them and asked for identification, one of the men pulled out an automatic rifle and began shooting, Samri said. The two other Palestinian men joined in the attack before being overpowered by additional Israeli forces.

Until now, most acts of violence have tended to be committed by opportunistic lone wolves, usually Palestinian teenagers armed with stones or knives or using cars. Only a handful of the attackers have used guns.

Avishai Peled, deputy commander of the Jerusalem district police, said the use of automatic rifles and explosives was unprecedented in the current wave of violence and is seen as an escalation. He said Israels Shin Bet security agency would be involved in investigating the attack.

[Airbnb slammed for offering rooms with a view in Jewish settlements]

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the three Palestinian men as Ahmed abu Al-rub, Mohammed Kamil and Ahmed Zakarna, all in their early 20s, from the town of Qabatiya near Jenin. It is unclear whether they were affiliated with a militant Palestinian group.

Israeli police identified the officer who was killed as Hadar Cohen, 19.

Avigdor Lieberman, a hard-line legislator and former Israeli foreign minister, told Israeli TV that Israel must crack down further on the Palestinians to stop the violence, even though Israel has been criticized in international forums as being too harsh in its responses.

The deadly gun battle broke out in the heart of Jerusalem on Wednesday. The three Palestinians assailants were armed with rifles, knives and bombs, Israeli police said. (The Washington Post)

Maj. Gen. Nitsan Alon, head of the Israeli armys operations directorate, told a gathering of foreign journalists on Wednesday that the violence showed no signs of abating anytime soon and that Israel needs to adapt its response accordingly.

We are working with the assumption that this wave of terror will be with us at least until the end of 2016, he said. But we think its important, as part of our counterterrorism measures, to separate between Palestinian terrorism and civilian society. The political echelons have adopted our recommendation not to close the West Bank and allow Palestinians to continue working in Israel.

On Monday, after a similar shooting attack at a West Bank checkpoint by a Palestinian security officer that left three Israeli soldiers wounded, the Israeli military imposed a partial closure on the nearby Palestinian city of Ramallah. For most of the day, the city, which is the de facto Palestinian capital, was closed to all nonresidents.
Syrian peace talks being held in Geneva were suspended Wednesday, as opposition and government delegations failed to agree on the conditions required to get them started.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy who is shepherding the negotiations, said he called for a temporary pause until at least Feb. 25.

In a statement to reporters, de Mistura appeared to sympathize with the oppositions insistence that the bombing of civilian areas by Russia and the Syrian government it backs must stop and that sieges must be lifted to allow humanitarian access before the talks could start.

The talks would not be meaningful unless they were also accompanied by immediate tangible benefits for the Syrian people, he said.

De Mistura also said he had called on the governments backing the talks, including the United States and Russia, to implement the steps required to allow negotiations to begin.

The new date to reconvene the talks is after the next meeting of those governments, scheduled for Feb. 11 in Munich. There, the international backers of negotiations are scheduled to assess progress and decide what other steps need to be taken.

In London, Secretary of State John F. Kerry scrambled to rearrange his Thursday schedule after de Mistura decided to delay the talks.

Kerry, who is in London for a meeting of donor nations being asked to pledge more money for humanitarian aid in Syria, blamed the delay on the Syrian government and its Russian backers.

The continued assault by Syrian regime forces  enabled by Russian airstrikes  against opposition-held areas, as well as regime and allied militias continued besiegement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, have clearly signaled the intention to seek a military solution rather than enable a political one, he said in a statement released around 11:30 p.m. in London.

Kerry repeated demands made by the opposition groups as preconditions for negotiations.

We call upon the regime and its supporters to halt their bombardment of opposition-held areas, especially in Aleppo, and to lift their besiegement of civilians in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2254 and 2258 which outlined the negotiation process, he said. It is past time for them to meet existing obligations and restore the international communitys confidence in their intentions of supporting a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.

Kerry also implicitly agreed with de Mistura's decision to try to start the talks in late February, a full month after they were initially due to begin:

We look forward to the resumption of talks later this month, as outlined by Special Representative de Mistura. During this pause, the world needs to push in one direction  toward stopping the oppression and suffering of the Syrian people and ending, not prolonging, this conflict.

In Geneva, the opposition negotiating committee issued a statement voicing appreciation for humanitarian contributions, but said, if the international community is serious about a solution in Syria, then it must get serious about protecting Syrian civilians. . . . Actions, not aid, will stop this crisis.

The group called for donors to adopt a new approach, including airdropping aid to besieged communities, to create the necessary conditions for a credible and viable political process.

Both the opposition and human rights organizations have cited an increase in Russian bombing over the past several days that they said has targeted civilian areas, including camps for displaced persons in the western part of the country.

Russia maintains that it is bombing only terrorists, but its definition of that word includes parts of the opposition that has been fighting a civil war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for more than four years, whose representatives are among those on the opposition negotiating team in Geneva, as well as the Islamic State.

The United States says that only about 10 percent of the thousands of airstrikes Russia has launched in Syria since last fall have targeted the Islamic State.

Instead of moving toward a cease-fire, the opposition charged Russia with a massive acceleration of attacks near the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Homs. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, currently on a tour of Persian Gulf states, said Wednesday that he saw no reason to stop these airstrikes.

De Mistura declared the official opening in Geneva on Monday of proximity talks, in which the opposition and government delegations would sit in separate rooms, with U.N. officials shuttling between them. The idea was that the meetings would continue for about two weeks, until the Feb. 11 sponsors meeting, and then reconvene.

But despite U.N. and U.S. efforts to press the two sides toward substantive negotiations, the talks never really got underway, and de Misturas announcement Wednesday was a recognition of the inevitable.

deyoungk@washpost.com

Carol Morello in London contributed to this report.
Last Friday, January 29, the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) and its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), filed a legal complaint charging that the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and its state-appointed emergency manager has not performed its duty to provide a minimally adequate education and to properly maintain the schools.

The legal complaint was filed in Michigans Third Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the unions, current DFT President Ivy Bailey, and ten parents of DPS students.

The suit cites several examples of the intolerable decay of the schools. Spain Elementary-Middle School, for example, has dangerous mold under the buckled gym floor. Osborn High School has rodent droppings, exposed wiring, unsanitary bathrooms with nonfunctioning equipment...fungus growing out of the walls, missing tiles, warped floors, broken windows that have been taped or boarded up, and even bullet holes that have not been repaired.

These appalling conditions, which make it virtually impossible to teach or to learn, are certainly a damning indictment of top DPS officials, the Snyder administration and successive emergency managers, including Darnell Earley.

However, the nine remedies the DFT requests the court to adopt would amount to little more than minor window dressing under conditions in which Democratic and Republican legislators in Lansing are preparing the wholesale dismantling of public education in Detroit.

The first is the removal of Earley and the restoration of local control over DPS. This has largely been superseded by Earleys resignation, which has been cited as a necessary precondition for an agreement on the new legislation. Under its terms, local control is allegedly being restored with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Governor Snyder appointing a new Detroit school board, which will be replaced by an elected school board in January 2017. However, this will be little more than a fig leaf, as the banks will continue to exercise a financial dictatorship through an unelected Financial Review Commission, which has ultimate power over spending decisions.

The second request is to Compel Defendants to perform the duties enjoined upon them directing them to promptly conduct periodic and systematic inspections of all school buildings in the City of Detroit. In fact this is already being conducted by Mayor Mike Duggan, as part of the efforts of local Democrats, who have overseen decades of budget cuts, school closings and mass layoffs, to dupe teachers into thinking their voices have finally been heard.

The additional relief asked for by the suit includes compelling Defendants to perform the duties enjoined upon them by directing them to promptly investigate the complaints filed by parents or teachers regarding the deteriorating physical conditions and providing a safe and hazard free workplace to the teachers who work in the City public schools.

It also calls on the court to compel the defendant to remedy all existing violations of the City and State Building Codes and to maintain City public schools in accordance with the standards set forth therein and institute a capital plan that provides the students of Detroit 21st century schools in which parents would want to send their children and educators would want to teach, and that provide students the opportunity to be prepared for life, career and college.

It also urges the court to continue jurisdiction over this matter to receive reports from Defendants of inspections to the plant and equipment of the school system, the results of the inspections and the steps being undertaken to remedy the problems.

The truth is that even if all of these remedies were granted tomorrow it would not stop the continued looting of the schools and public resources, which the Democrats and Republicans throughout the country have conducted on behalf of the big banks and corporations pushing school reform.

As noted above, the Democrats and Republicans in Lansing, with the full support of the DFT, AFT and other unions that are part of so-called Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren, are moving ahead with plans to break up the school district, attack teacher pensions and vastly expand the operations of for-profit charter schools.

Enjoining school authorities to guarantee a safe learning environment is meaningless under conditions in which the entire political establishment, Democrats and Republicans, the courts, the governor, the mayor, the City Council, and any future school board, accept without question the dictates of the banks and big business. In every state and school district around the country politicians from both parties claim there is no money while the Obama administration finds billions to enrich the Wall Street criminals and finance the endless and expanding wars of conquest and domination. Citing budgetary concerns, officials in Providence, Rhode Island this week fired their entire teacher workforce.

In its lawsuit, the DFT and AFT assiduously avoid any mention of their own the role. If truth be told, in any lawsuit concerning criminal conduct in the destruction of public education and teachers jobs and living standards, top DFT and AFT officials would have to be in the dock right along with the emergency managers and big business politicians.

The lawsuit says nothing about the shortage of teachers and attacks on their wages, benefits, seniority rights, and pensions over the past two decades. This is because these retrograde measures were all supported by the DFT.

In 2009 alone, the DFT, in the name of saving jobs, imposed drastic concessions on teachers, including a $10,000 per teacher forced loan to the district. The contract also included cuts to health care and a merit pay scheme.

The entire purpose of the lawsuit by the DFT is to divert the anger and determination of teachers into dead end appeals to the courts for justice. This was the same tactic the unions used during the Detroit bankruptcy of 2013-14, when they claimed that workers pensions and other rights would be defended. And what was the outcome?

US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, with the support of Obamas Justice Department, ruled against retirees and simply tossed out the state constitutional protection for their pensions. Rhodes also ruled that citizens did not have an inherent right to water and sanctioned mass water shutoffs in order to pave the way for the privatization of the citys water department.

The DFT and various Democratic politicians, including State Representative Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, have claimed that the January 25 decision by Judge Cynthia Stephens to deny Earley s request for a temporary injunction against protesting teachers proves that teachers can get justice in the courts. In reality, this was only a maneuver aimed at giving the DFT more time to corral the teachers and crush them.

If the unions are not successful, the same judge would just as quickly issue an injunction and impose mass fines and order the arrests of teachers that defied her. That such repressive measures are being prepared is underscored by the ongoing discussions on State Bill 713-715 sponsored by Senate Education Committee chair Phil Pavlov, who wants anti-strike laws expanded to cover the sick-outs by Detroit teachers. The proposed bill would strip teachers of their licenses for two years and add an extra incentive for the union to crush such protests by threatening teacher unions with decertification, i.e., the cutoff of their dues income.

The way forward for teachers is not fruitless appeals to the capitalist courts but championing the fight for a mass political movement of the working class to defend public education and all the social and democratic rights of workers and young people. Only by replacing the corporate-controlled government with a workers government can workers reorganize economic and political life to address the pressing needs of society.
Presenting a preview of the Pentagons $583 billion budget, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stressed that the US military is shifting its focus toward war against both Russia and China even as it escalates ongoing interventions in the Middle East.

Speaking before the Economic Club of Washington Tuesday morning, Carter said the gargantuan budget for fiscal year 2017, which is to be presented next week, had been prepared to confront what he called a new strategic era. The thrust of Carters speech, delivered in the dry cadence of a longtime technocrat in the field of mass destruction, was that US imperialism is preparing for a new world war.

The biggest single change in the budget is the quadrupling of funding for the so-called European Reassurance Initiative, which is being increased from $789 million to $3.4 billion. This initiative was introduced by the Obama administration in the wake of the crisis provoked in Ukraine two years ago, when the US and Germany orchestrated a coup spearheaded by neo-fascist forces that overthrew the Moscow-aligned government of President Viktor Yanukovych.

In September 2014, Obama, speaking in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, committed the US to the military defense of the three former Soviet Baltic republics, vowing that this pledge was unwavering and eternal and would include American boots on the ground.

According to a report published Tuesday in the New York Times, the increased funding will be used to ensure that the US and NATO maintain a full armored combat brigade at all times on Russias western border, along with the forward deployment of weapons and military hardware in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in other eastern European countries such as Hungary and Romania.

The Times quoted a Pentagon official as saying that what was being prepared was a heel to toe rotational troop presence in the region, meaning that combat units would be continuously deployed. This provocative and reckless tactic is designed to evade a 1997 agreement with Moscow known as the NATO-Russia Founding Act, in which both sides pledged not to station large numbers of troops on each others borders.

The US, Carter insisted, must have the capacity to counter Russia theater-wide, meaning it must maintain forces capable of attacking Russia wherever it sees fit.

The money for this anti-Russian escalation is to be taken from the Overseas Contingency Operations account, the war-fighting fund that has paid for US wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. While from an accounting standpoint this is meant to circumvent spending caps on the Pentagons regular budget, it also signals that what is involved is the active preparation for a military confrontation between the worlds two largest nuclear powers.

Included in the budget proposal are plans for a substantial buildup of US imperialisms nuclear war arsenal. It calls for the allocation of $13 billion over the next five years to develop and produce a fleet of new submarines armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. Pentagon sources said it also provides for a new Air Force bomber as well as new generation of land-based nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Pentagons proposed budget emphasizes the development of naval firepower, with the aim of escalating the Obama administrations pivot to Asia, which has seen increasingly provocative US military operations in the South China Sea. Were making all these investments that you see in our defense budget that are specifically oriented towards checking the development of the Chinese military, Carter said.

The pretense that funding for the vast US military apparatus is driven by the need to keep up with the growth of the Chinese or Russian military is absurd on its face. American military spending last year was greater than that of the next seven largest powers combined. It spent nearly three times as much as China and roughly seven times as much as Russia.

Carter listed five challenges that he said the Pentagon budget must seek to counter. At the top of the list were Russia and China, followed by North Korea and Iran. Dead last were the ongoing US interventions against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which was lumped together with the so-called war on terror generally, which for nearly 15 years has been presented to the American people as the justification for the uninterrupted growth of American militarism.

Nonetheless, the Pentagon budget provides a substantial increase in funding in this area as well. Totaling $7.5 billion, it includes $1.8 billion to pay for 45,000 bombs and rockets needed to replenish the stockpile that has been depleted by continuous air strikes in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

The US defense secretary emphasized that the shift in strategy was based on a return to great power competition. This required the US military to prepare to confront a high-end enemy with the full spectrum of armed power. This situation, he added, was drastically different than the last 25 years, referring to the period since the Moscow Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Carter insisted that America is still today the worlds leader and the underwriter of stability and security in every region across the globe, as we have been since World War II.

The US military, he said, had to prepare for confrontation with those who see Americas dominance and want to take that away from us in the future so we cant operate effectively around the globe.

The mission spelled out by the US defense secretary is essentially a military struggle to impose US control over every corner of the planet. Americas residual military superiority is to be employed to counter the effects of the protracted decline of American capitalism and its domination of the global economy. To this end, US imperialism must confront every real or potential rival for both global and regional hegemony. The path outlined in Carters speech leads inexorably toward World War III.
Rand Paul, the U.S. senator from Kentucky who was once a legitimate contender for the Republican presidential nomination, dropped out of the race Wednesday, two days after a lackluster showing in the Iowa caucuses.

Its been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House, Paul said in a statement announcing the end of his bid. Today I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty.

Paul, a 53-year-old ophthalmologist who had never run for office before his election to the Senate in 2010, risked losing his Senate seat if he tarried too long in the presidential race. He will now turn his attention to winning reelection in Kentucky, where the Democratic mayor of Lexington announced last week he will run against Paul.

Paul, the son of libertarian former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who ran quixotic but ultimately impactful campaigns for president in 2008 and 2012, rose to national prominence in the spring of 2013 after he spoke on the Senate floor for almost 13 hours to protest President Obamas use of drones to target American citizens overseas.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., surrounded by his family at a caucus night rally at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. (Photo: Nati Harnik/AP)

Paul showed considerable creativity in seizing on issues related to civil liberties and foreign policy that cut across partisan lines, raising the prospect that he could build on his fathers constituency in Iowa and elsewhere, bringing in more younger voters as well as mainstream Republicans who saw him as more electable than his father.

Paul also made a point of visiting historically black universities and talked often about the need for the Republican Party to welcome minorities and to expand their party.

But Paul was beset by a number of troubles. His relationship with the Ron Paul libertarian crowd was hurt by his endorsement of Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and further deteriorated as Rand tacked to the center on foreign policy.

Story continues

At the same time, Pauls noninterventionist foreign policy, which had seemed current in 2013, grew out of step with the times as the rise of the so-called Islamic State and a spate of terrorist attacks around the world and in the U.S. raised the nations anxiety level about national security and pushed civil liberties concerns off the front burner.

And Paul was also not well cut out for the rigors of a presidential campaign. He was a lackadaisical campaigner who  from the early days  failed to impress donors and Republican Party influencers. His decision to wear blue jeans to a Koch brothers event early this year was innocuous in and of itself, but it came to be seen as a sign of something larger, an arrogance and indifference on Pauls part that indicated a lack of hunger for the presidency and offended the partys elites.

Paul, in fact, hated to ask for money. His campaign aides and advisers worked on him to improve, and he did. He also improved in the last few debates.

But over the course of the past year, it became ever more clear that if Paul wanted a place of influence in national politics, he was a better fit for the Senate, where there is more space for the debating and hashing out of ideas, and where he can over the long haul craft legislation to address issues of his concern.

Kentucky Republicans are confident that as long as Paul is fully focused on his reelection, he can hold his seat. The senior senator from Kentucky, after all, is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and theres no doubt he was in constant communication with Paul about the need to retain the GOP majority in the Senate.

I look forward to earning the privilege to represent the people of Kentucky for another term, Paul said.
#stocks-summary Seoul shares down for 2nd day on rate hike woes South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight session Thursday, as investor sentiment worsened on concerns about aggressive rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the U.S. d...
Charlie Cox says his return as Daredevil "still feels too good to be true"
The popular TV series Robot Wars is returning to the BBC after more than a decade off the air, and it has been announced today that it will in fact be two Irish presenters taking over on hosting duties. Nice to know we are making our mark over yonder.

Dara O'Briain and Angela Scanlon have landed the gig in a show that sees amateur and professional roboteers make their own robots to fight against each other, as well as avoiding the "House Robots".

The show was in its heyday back in the late nineties/early noughties when former Red Dwarf and Corrie star Craig Charles hosted the show from 1998 until 2004, while Jeremy Clarkson also presented the series briefly in its early days.

Yep.

Some of the show's hardcore fans were disappointed that it wasn't Charles returning to host but we reckon Dara and Angela will make a great team. Everyone knows comedian Dara loves any opportunity to showcase his inner geek while Scanlon seems to be on the crest of a wave over in the UK at the moment, presenting BBC series Getaways while she's also digital host for The Voice UK.

As part of hosting the new Robot Wars on BBC2, I'll also be hosting the coverage of our actual war against the Robots in 2021.  Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) February 3, 2016

Both are delighted with their new jobs, with Mock the Week presenter Dara saying; "I am thrilled to be presenting Robot Wars. For too long, the schedules have cried out for a show in which dedicated amateurs toiling day and night, handcraft sophisticated automatons built on the delicate interplay of hand-wired servo motors with custom-built circuit boards and fingertip motion control, just to see them get smashed to pieces by a dustbin carrying a massive hammer. It's war, and how I love it so."

While Angela added; "I'm so excited to be joining such a legendary show that, after all this time, still manages to make people squeal with joy.

"I cannot wait to see the robots in all their metallic glory playfully destroying each other!"

Dara also took to Twitter to address the pro-Craig Charles camp of Robot Wars fans...

Because you put my name at the start of that tweet, I am the ONLY person who saw it. Hey, let me fix that for you! https://t.co/W07wc0Syvk  Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) February 3, 2016

I, for one, welcome our new Irish overlords. https://t.co/m7z4GMeIVq  Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) February 3, 2016

One thing clear from the Robot Wars response: lots of happy memories (mine too) of the job @CCfunkandsoul did.  Dara O Briain (@daraobriain) February 3, 2016

Fans will be happy to hear however that the six-part series will see original commentator Jonathan Pearce returning, although there is no transmission date yet for when it will air on BBC2.
In news that is sure to cause the masses to exclaim "huh?", Donald Trump has reportedly been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Somehow, the Republican Presidential hopeful managed to end up on the list alongside Pope Francis and a campaigner for Isis rape survivors.

He was nominated by one unnamed American nominator for his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat weapon of deterrence against radical Islam, Isis, nuclear Iran and Communist China

Now before you work yourself up into too big of a panic we should point out that thousands of people are eligible to nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize and just because he's nominated doesn't mean he actually stands a chance of winning. The Norweigen Nobel committee, who eventually awards the prize, typically receives two hundred nominations in all.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, a Nobel watcher and head of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, has said that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is in the running for the award, as are Colombian peace negotiators, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation. He did not list Donald Trump as one of the contenders to win.

Via The Independent
Join our efforts to get the IRS out of Israel, and other countries!
Chinese New Year fever spreads to Europe's capitals Updated: 2016-02-03 22:11 By Liu Jing in London, Tuo Yannan in Paris and Gao Shuang in Brussels(chinadaily.com.cn)

Items designed for Chinese New Year on display in Harrods Department Store in London, UK, Feb 2, 2016. [Photo by Liu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

As many Chinese are returning home for the Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival celebration, it is also being gradually accepted by Europeans: schools are starting to teach that side of Chinese culture to children, adults attend special events, and even businesses take the opportunity to use the festival for promotion.

In the European capitals of London, Brussels and Paris, the atmosphere is easy to feel as the year of Monkey approaches. Shopping centers are trying their best to broaden their appeal to Chinese consumers with offers, discounts and presentations featuring Chinese elements.

The high-end department store Harrods in London has partnered with Hong Kong-based toy-art brand Papinee to create an exclusive Chinese New Year toy, the Harrods Happy Monkey.

The soft toy, available from January and displayed in the department's windows, is decorated with symbols representing happiness, luck and positive energy in shape of motifs such as hearts, four-leaf clovers and horse shoes, according to the department.

The Harrods Happy Monkey is displayed in the window of Harrods Department Store in London, UK, Feb 2, 2016. [Photo by Liu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The department store's souvenir shop also offers various items designed for the year of monkey, ranging from purses and pens to key rings and cups. A traditional Chinese-style decoration door is placed for customers to offer their wish cards for the coming festival.

In Chinese folklore the monkey represent cleverness and agility.

Kyle, a manager of the department, who didn't give his full name, said that the store has celebrated the traditional Chinese festival for many years. "We have a lot of Chinese tourists here and they will be very interested to see this," he said.

Sunkiran Boyal, a shopping assistant for cosmetics in Harrods, said Chinese customers are their most loyal clients and her brand has prepared special offers to thank them. The Estee Lauder brand has rolled out a new bottle design with golden-colored main body and a red monkey pendant.





Hand-held fans designed by aristist Sun Yinjie displayed in Selfridges store in London, UK. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Chinese customers really like the new design and they can get the product with the new bottle for no extra charge," she said. "We also give them samples wrapped in red envelopes to say thank you and celebrate the festival with them."

Other department stores have followed suit. Selfridge department store offers its customers a complimentary hand fan, which can be decorated by a Chinese artist with a personal message or a bespoke design when spending 100 pounds or more on accessories.

Sun Yinjie, a Chinese painter invited by Selfridge to display his works in the store, said this is his second time to be invited. He has also been asked to participate in another celebration by BBC.

"I have been in UK for more than eight years and I'm glad to see more activities about Chinese New Year in the country. This is apparently a result of China's growing economic and political status," he said.

Chinese food on sale at a Tesco supermarket in London, UK, Feb 2, 2016. [Photo by Liu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

Many retailers are also trying to tap the market in China. The Cambridge Satchel Company, for example, is offering buyers a special discount and free embossing of a monkey symbol on all the red bags they buy in the brand's online store.

Moreover, many local supermarkets have put more Chinese food on sale to celebrate the festival and Chinese recipes, including those for spring rolls and dumplings, are offered on their websites for those who prefer to cook themselves a New Year feast at home.





Belgian supermarket Cora is having a special promotion to celebrate Chinese New Year between 25th January and 6th of February, offering a variety of Asian food at low prices. [Photo by Gao Shuang/chinadaily.com.cn]

In Brussels, Belgian supermarket Cora started a special promotion to celebrate Chinese New Year last Monday, 25th January. The promotion will continue until Saturday, 6th of February.

The promotion consists of discount for Asian food that is particularly aimed at celebrating Chinese New Year such as spring rolls, dumplings and prawn crackers, as well as discounts for ingredients such as soya sauce, noodles and pots. In addition, exotic decorations are also part of the sales.

Irsuto Francesco, manager of food section in Cora , said the store has been doing special promotion for Chinese New Year for over 15 years since Belgians love Chinese food and the promotion has proved successful at attracting more customers.

"We received a lot of positive feedback every year and we hope that we could enlarge our promotion next year, in order to provide wider choices for our customers who would like to try something authentic during Chinese New Year," added Francesco.

Walter Bontez, a 69-year-old retiree, knows that Chinese New Year is the most important event for Chinese people and food plays an important role.

"I love Chinese food. I eat Chinese food regularly and sometimes I even prepare it by myself. Every year I come to Cora for this special promotion. My favorite Chinese dish is fried noodle," said Bontez.

The promotion is also triggering the interest of Chinese living in Brussels. Yang Chun, from the Chinese embassy, said that at the promotion she finds more Asian goods than at other times and the low price is also attractive.





Promotion brochure of Cora for Chinese New Year. [Photo by Gao Shuang/chinadaily.com.cn]

In Paris, the French capital' renowned department stores have already prepared to welcome Chinese shoppers during spring festivals with red-colored products, Chinese posters, Mandarin-speaking staff and VIP services.

At the Champs-Elysees, home to some of the world's most famous luxury labels, Chinese New Year elements already can be found one week ahead of the festival. For example, in the window of luxury brand Montblanc, a red Chinese monkey can be seen at the window background with customized Monkey Year pens.

One of Paris most popular attractions, La Vallee Village, an outlet mall specializing in the sale of discounted designer brands, has already decorated its village full of Chinese new year symbols. Red flowers and many signs in Chinese saying "Happy Chinese New Year" can be seen in the shopping village everywhere.

In the window of luxury brand Montblanc at the Champs-Elysees, a red Chinese monkey can be seen in a display featuring customized Monkey Year pens. [Photo by Tuo Yannan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Marisa Minelli, senior tourism manager at La Vallee, says recent years the village celebrates the Chinese New Year with different decorations, and offers traditional Chinese red envelopes containing coupons for customers.

This year is also the 12th year of the French post office, La Poste, issuing Chinese New Year stamps. Started from Jan 29, French people can buy money stamps from post offices.

Many districts in Paris will celebrate the Chinese New Year, for example, from Feb 5 to 12, at 13th district, which has a large Asian population, there are Chinese New Year celebration events every day. On the first day, Feb 5, in front of the district city hall, at Careau du Temple, there will be a dragon dance and there will also be Chinese martial arts classes or Chinese culture seminars.

More than 300 French people will also attend an event held by the Paris China Culture Center on Feb 6, when there will be a big celebration with traditional Chinese calligraphy writing, mah-jong, Chinese opera and Chinese food tasting.




We want your comments and your story tips!

geniusofdespair@yahoo.com (use ALL caps in subject line)

afarago@bellsouth.net. Actually I never look at my email, Genius, so write to Gimleteye.


I had a much longer post I was moments away from publishing when my computer crashed and I lost it, so I'll make this do-over post more concise.

I've been working on a deal that would allow me to work on anti-poverty issues and today, after about a year of trying, that deal came to fruition. That means I'll be leaving FailedMessiah.com, the website I founded almost 12 years ago.

So let me thank all of you who read, commented and debated here, those of you who agreed with me and even those of you who did not, and those of you who sent me stories, tips and pashkvils.

[FailedMessiah is not closing down. More details on its future will be posted Thursday.]

I'd like to encourage all of you to work to stop child sex abuse and to work to stop those who enable it or cover it up. I'd also like to encourage you to do what you can to bring some light to the haredi world which is, sadly, still shrouded in some intense darkness. No kid should go to 13 years of school and leave without a valid high school diploma, proficiency in the language of the country, and extensive knowledge of math, science, history and civics, even if their religious community's elders claim it is their religious right to deprive them of this much-needed education. Please continue to fight for those kids.

I'd also like to ask you work to equalize and humanize the US Sentencing Guidelines. With very few exceptions, nonviolent criminals should not be incarcerated for decades. Prison should not primarily be a place of punishment. Instead, it should be a place where combined with loss of freedom, inmates also get good regular mental health care and are trained in skills (or given education) that can earn them gainful employment on release. In the long run, it is far cheaper for society to work help inmates than it is to punish them. It is also far better for society because the recidivism rate for inmates who are well treated rather than abandoned and abused is lower. That means fewer victims and fewer losses for all of us.

Similarly, just as the seller of crack cocaine should not be treated more harshly than the seller of powder cocaine, poor criminals should not be treated more harshly than rich criminals. Criminals who are true sociopaths should be treated as such, but the justice and penal systems should not through their dysfunction take average criminals and push them right to the edge of sociopathy. Sadly, as it now stands, both often do so.

The Jewish community should, I believe, work for these reforms, not just for its own criminals like Agriprocessors Sholom Rubashkin, but for all of Americas criminals, save the most dangerous and evil. Arguably, it was Rubashkin supporters refusal to be, for want of a better term, ecumenical during their battle to get Rubashkin  who I believe was guilty as sin  a lighter sentence that drove many good people away from them.

Since Ive mentioned him, Rubashkin presided over abuse of poor undocumented workers and of animals, crimes I would argue are far greater than the financial fraud charges he was convicted of.

I believe the federal government should have prosecuted Rubashkin for these crimes after it won conviction on 86 counts of financial fraud. It did not do so in part because trials cost lots of money and eat up lots of time, and the return for doing so was, in the governments eyes, too minimal.

As the US Sentencing Guidelines are now constructed, all that abuse and mistreatment might have added a only a few months, maybe a year or two, to Rubashkins 27-year sentence. So why spend the money and the time?

In fact, the government only charged and considered prosecuting the immigration crimes linked to Rubashkin. The abuse of those undocumented workers and the abuse of the animals were issues that really were not on the governments radar.

So when Rubashkin wanted those immigration charges severed from the financial fraud charges and tried separately, the government agreed. And then it prosecuted the financial charges because they were the most serious and carried the larges penalties. And when it won conviction of all 86 of them, it declined to prosecute Rubashkin on anything else. After all, why waste the money and the time?

The answer, of course, is that human life and animal lives matter, perhaps not equally or in exactly the same ways, but both matter far more than dollars. Yet the governments decision taught the opposite lesson.

So Rubashkin sits in prison, serving a much-too-long 27-year sentence (25 years for the fraud charges  exactly at the middle of draconian the US Sentencing Guidelines  and 2 years for perjury). The lesson taught is dont steal from rich people and banks, and through association dont employ undocumented workers because you could get caught and punished for something worse.

The lesson really should have been different: do not exploit poor workers, do not abuse animals (in the name of religion or otherwise), care about all life and protect it. But it wasnt. It was a national teaching moment lost.

Lastly, Id like to say a word about the current religious freedom situation in Israel and the general tenor of the government.

Let me start by saying that, agree with his politics or not, Menachem Begin was generally a mentch, a surprising down to earth person who truly cared about people. I dont think that same statement can honestly be made about Benjamin Netanyahu and it certainly cannot be made about many of the other political leaders in the coalition government, including its haredim. As a person who spent close to three decades as a person of the right, one of the things that drove me away  perhaps the thing that most drove me away  is that lack of mentchlikeit.

My criticism comes out of that and from the clear empirical evidence that Israel is no longer led by a a government or by leaders who cherish truth. I saw this first when Yitzhak Shamir led Israel in the 1980s, but I brushed it off. My ideology  or, I should say, Chabads theology and Rabbi Meir Kahanes ideology  were more important. I could look the other way while Shamir parsed and lied if those untruths protected Israel. But I was wrong to do so then and I refuse to make the same mistake today.

For Israel to truly thrive, it needs to separate religion and state. There should not be a state-funded chief rabbinate or a mandate that citizens marry and divorce through any officially sanctioned religious outlet. If a couple wants a religious marriage ceremony, let them hire whatever clergy is meaningful to them. If a Jew wants to marry a non-Jew, it should not be the job of a state apparatus to stop the couple from marrying. If a couple wants a totally secular ceremony, let a justice of the piece do the honors. Schools that teach Israels core curriculum should be funded by the state. Schools which refuse to do so should not.

Religion should ply its wares through good example and honest reasoning, not through state-supported coercion and deceit.

Netanyahu is willing to inflict coercive religion on Israelis in exchange for power, just as he is willing to abandon haredi children to substandard schools as long as their parents vote for parties which support him. Indeed, hes even willing to allow most haredim to avoid the draft in perpetuity as long as those haredi votes stay with him. Secular Israelis disproportionately bear the burden of Israels defense and its economy while Netanyahu laughs all the way to the prime ministers office, and this must stop. Perhaps one day soon it will. We can only hope.

I dont approach this as a Reform Jew or as a Conservative Jew or as a Reconstructionist or Renewal Jew. I approach this now as a proud secular Jew, as a post-religions Jew who has far greater affinity for Baruch Spinoza or Theodore Herzl than for any rabbi or religious leader.

I want to thank the people at Diversified Holdings for their professionalism during these last months. Theyve promised to guard your confidentiality as I did, at least with regard to whatever you posted before this. (I hope theyll post some type of privacy policy in the next day or two so youll know what they intend to do from here on out. Diversifieds people should begin regular posting soon, as well, probably by early Thursday.)

As for me, Ill keep you posted on my anti-poverty work and other issues Im working on or interested in if you follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/Shmarya) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/shmarya).

And with that, I thank you all again. This blog and its people have become like a second family to me. I will miss it and miss you all more than you will ever know.

[FailedMessiah is not closing down. More details on its future will be posted Thursday.]




I had no idea these existed so when I ducked into a corner convenience store in Victoria, BC and saw them, I couldn't buy them fast enough. Tossed the shopkeep a couple of Loonies and hit the bricks.





Just in case you thought it was REAL flavor.









You bet they did. These are a spot on version of poutine in chip form. They somehow nailed the cheese and gravy flavor combination perfectly. My brain had a hard time handling the taste but seeing that I wasn't stuffing gravy and cheese covered fries into my mouth, just a chips! I was a little worried that they would get too salty the more I ate, but I never ran into that problem and I can assure you that I ate this entire little bag in one sitting.









Just like with poutine, some of the chips had more of the gravy flavor than others did. So some of them ended up just bursting with gravy flavor while others tasted a bit more of the cheese side.









Look at the happiness on my face. That's a happiness that could only come from Poutine. I'm giving Poutine Ruffles a solid A! If you like poutine, there's no way you won't like these. They are tremendous. But remember, you can only get these in Canada, or on the internet, delivered from Canada. Nobody is that crazy, right? Wrong. Remember Mike who used to be a part of the crew? He had an epic Canadian chip post once upon a time and he bought them all online. Check it out!





Next up, Intense Pickle Doritos!









I have to be honest, I saw a picture of these online recently and thought they were fake or photoshopped. PICKLE DORITOS?! Come on. Who would ever want these? I like a good pickle as much as the next guy, but pickle chips always end up being something where I can eat one or two and then I have to bail on them. But when I posted a picture of these on our Instagram, people went nuts so I figure I had to try them out.





Welcome to Canada week on Fatguyfoodblog! Where we showcase a some food items gotten while within the borders of our neighbors to the north. Why did we decide to do a week of Canada stuff? Well pretty much because I went up to Canada on a quick trip around the holidays and came back with a bunch of stuff I thought was super cool. So I figured you might find them cool also. So prepare yourself, For Canada Week has begun! I will most likely offend every Canadian this week but fear not, I have much love for Canada, since half of my family is from there. It's like a second home to me. Hell, I should look into dual citizenship. But until then, let's review some chips I got in Canada!First up...POUTINE RUFFLES!Every once in a while poutine comes up in conversation and someone has no idea what it is. It always blows my mind and makes me want to flip a table. So if you're one of those simple minded folks, I'll lay it out for you. Poutine is French Fries, cheese curds and gravy. All tossed together in a big delicious mess. It's incredible. As a kid I once ate Poutine on the ferry to Newfoundland. Later on a college trip to Montreal, I ate poutine everywhere I could during a visit. Almost every meal. That's how good it is. More and more places are opening their menus to the wonders of poutine in the 'States, but not nearly enough. But the big question here is did Ruffles capture the flavor?The second I tore the bag open the smell of pickles filled the air. At least that's a plus since that is the flavor they are going for. Oh, and just in case you are wondering, there are barely any chips in the bag. So it's basically exactly the same as in the U.S.The first thing I noticed about these when I took my first bite was that it seems like they used the Cool Ranch flavor as a base. So reconfigure your mind when you think about these. Now they are a pickle flavored Cool Ranch Dorito. Now it's probably sounding a little bit better, if you're not a huge pickle fan. But let me tell you, the pickle flavor is there and it's quite intense. But not bad, I was surprised that I liked these so much.I will say that Doritos aren't messing around when they say that these guys are intense. I think that even if you were a fan of pickle chips, you might need to be careful with these. The amount of flavor dust on them is staggering and after only four of five of them my tongue felt like it went five rounds with Georges St. Pierre. In the end, I'll say if you love pickle flavored chips, these will probably be your favorite chips of all time. If you don't? You might still like these. But me? I'm giving them a C+. But I'm not a pickle fan, so that alone says a lot about them.I would have liked to call one of these two flavors the best Canadian chips I have ever had but that would be a lie. The title is still held by Sour Cream 'N Bacon Ruffles. FOR LIFE.Check back this week for more some Canadian candy and more, as Canada Week continues on FATGUYFOODBLOG!As always, we know you've all got a million ideas of things we should review, so feel free to hit us up! Also if you're a company who wants us to try your stuff, drop us a line! We love getting free food in the mail! Here's where you can find us on the internets:EMAIL: fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/fatguyfoodblog Twitter: @fatguyfoodblog Instagram: @fatguyfoodblog This review was by Rich Brunelle. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington and still hasn't met Phoenix Jones.
featured the article by,  Neda: The Voice of the Iranian People , as one of the first three blogs worldwide to bring the fate of Neda to the public.
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.
Abbott Posts 4Q15 Results: Expected Earnings, Missed Revenues

(Continued from Prior Part)

Abbotts Medical Devices segment sales

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) reported ~$1.3 billion of revenues through its Medical Devices segment. The segment contributed about 25% of the companys total revenues of ~$5.2 billion in 4Q15.

These sales figures represent about a 0.7% YoY (year-over-year) increase in 4Q15 on an operational basis. But the negative foreign exchange impact of ~6.6% led to the reported decline in revenues of ~5.9%. The diabetes care and medical optics divisions of the segment witnessed operational sales growth of ~2.4% and ~1.9%, respectively. The vascular divisions operational sales saw a decline of ~0.5%.

The above chart shows YoY sales growth in all the quarters of 2015 for various divisions of Abbotts Medical Devices segment. Although the company continued to report a YoY decline in revenues, the sequential growth in revenues was registered.

Key growth drivers

During 4Q15, sales for the Medical Devices segment witnessed marginal growth. The segment generated approximately 65% of its sales from international markets and thus faced high exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations.

MitraClip generated sales of more than $250 million, representing a double-digit worldwide growth in product sales. In 2015, Abbott made some further strategic acquisitions and entered into agreements that led to the strengthening of its position in the transcatheter mitral valve repair market. These acquisitions include Tendyne and Cephea Valve Technologies.

The company also witnessed an increased demand for its flash glucose monitor FreeStyle Libre in Europe, which led to capacity expansion initiatives. In 2015, Abbotts Medical Devices segment was impacted by slow growth in the coronary stent market, a negative foreign exchange impact, and a challenging environment in Venezuela. Although all these impacted performance, the segment is positioned for long-term growth. It will most likely be driven by its strong product portfolio, emerging market growth, and increasing market share in developed markets.

Story continues

Investors looking to gain exposure to Abbott Laboratories can invest in the Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RYH). RYH accounts for approximately 1.7%, 1,8%, 1.9%, and 1.8% in Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic (MDT), Stryker (SYK), and Boston Scientific (BSX), respectively.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb 3, 2016) -

Editors Note: There are four photos associated with this press release.

Alabama Graphite Corp. ("AGC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ALP)(ABGPF)(1AG.F) is pleased to report positive pilot plant test results for its flagship Coosa Graphite Project.

AGC is the sole owner of the Coosa Graphite Project, located in east-central Alabama, USA. The Company's mission is to become a vertically integrated green-energy supply chain producer of coated spherical purified graphite ("CSPG") for the American lithium-ion battery industry.

The primary objectives for running the pilot-scale plant were as follows:

 Confirm the performance of the primary processing metallurgical flow sheet;  Develop an optimized process design criterion (for primary processing) for the forthcoming Coosa Graphite Project Feasibility Study;  Achieve a high-carbon concentrate suitable for AGC's proprietary secondary processing to produce specialty graphite products, namely CSPG for lithium-ion batteries; and  Produce concentrate material for AGC's secondary processing development and optimization, subsequent secondary processing pilot plant (in support of the forthcoming Feasibility Study), and for evaluation by potential offtake partners.

The following results support the effectiveness of the AGC's primary processing metallurgical flow sheet and that the graphitic material from the Coosa Graphite Project can be upgraded to high-grade graphite concentrate by mechanical means - specifically, flotation and polishing - without the use of hydrofluoric, hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric acids, and alkalis. The flow sheet will form the basis for a significant component of the Company's upcoming Feasibility Study.

The main objective in designing the pilot plant was to achieve a high grade output regardless of the flake sizes of the input material - including the smaller flakes. Achieving this objective is expected to be a key requirement for easily and cost-effectively purifying all primary concentrate produced via AGC's low-temperature thermal purification (a critical step in the Company's secondary processing to produce CSPG). As a result of management's graphite processing and optimization experience, AGC had the ability to design the circuit process to achieve this high overall grade for the pilot plant.

Story continues

Some graphite development companies with traditional business plans focus on producing and selling a primary processed, run-of-mine, concentrate material and are most concerned with the disposition of flake sizes and the associated carbon grade. However, since AGC intends to divert all of the primary processed graphite concentrate that it will produce to secondary processed specialty graphite products, flake sizes are not the primary focus. AGC's management believes that the primary evaluation metric for the Coosa Graphite Project's pilot plant is carbon grade since jumbo or large flake sizes are not required for the manufacture of CSPG. Concentrate grade - not flake size - is what is important to AGC for secondary purification and processing.

AGC's pilot plant has exceeded expectations in that a high carbon grade - averaging 96.7% Cg across all flake sizes - has been produced, meaning 100% of the concentrate to be produced via primary processing from the Coosa Graphite Project is expected to be suitable for secondary processing.

HIGHLIGHTS

 The AGC pilot plant was able to produce a high carbon grade, averaging 96.7% across all flake sizes;  All size fractions greater than 325 mesh yielded between 96.2% and 97.2% total carbon; even -325 mesh material yielded 94.6% Cg;  Overall recovery was 88.2%, which management considers good given the inversely proportional relationship between high concentrate grade and recovery; opportunities for improvement were identified, as first-stage cleaner recoveries achieved 99.3%;  130 tons of graphitic material from the Coosa Graphite Project was processed in the pilot plant, netting the Company 3 tons of graphite concentrate;  Average head grade of 3.09% total carbon (ranging from a minimum of 2.54% total carbon to a maximum of 3.48% total carbon); and  AGC's graphite concentrate is expected to be quite amenable to secondary processing.

The testing of the pilot plant has supported (at the scale of the pilot plant) the technical viability and operating performance of the process plant design for production of high-grade primary processed concentrate material, which, as outlined in AGC's Preliminary Economic Assessment* for the Coosa Graphite Project (announced on November 30, 2015), would be diverted to secondary, specialty processing to produce CSPG for use in lithium-ion batteries, and purified micronized graphite ("PMG") for use in polymer, plastic and rubber composites, powder metallurgy, energy materials, and friction materials, among other applications.

President and Chief Executive Officer Donald Baxter commented, "The pilot plant results have demonstrated that the Coosa Graphite Project holds the potential to produce a high-carbon concentrate, across all flake sizes, from mechanical means - without chemical or thermal treatment. More importantly, however, is that the graphite concentrate produced is well suited for our secondary processing to produce specialty CSPG graphite."

"Typically, when processing graphite, one expects to experience a significant drop off in grade with the smaller flake sizes. This is not the case with the Coosa material, with the -325 Mesh graphite concentrate grading 94.6% Cg," stated Mr. Baxter. "Based on our graphite experience, we designed this circuit to maximize the grade of the fines and we are very pleased with this achievement. What I am most pleased with is that these pilot plant results support our business strategy in that all flake sizes appear to be suitable for our specialty secondary processing."

The overall pilot plant recovery was 88.2% and the Company is confident that there is significant room to improve this metric. The first cleaner stage recoveries achieved 98.7% and 99.3% respectively, and it was noted that the main loss in recovery was from a single stream, namely the rougher tails. Accordingly, AGC's management has identified this situation as an opportunity since management expects that the loss in recovery can be corrected by developing and optimizing a secondary grinding circuit.

The pilot plant was designed in collaboration with, and built and operated by SGS Mineral Services ("SGS") of Lakefield, Ontario (which is a division of SGS Canada Inc.) and the testing of the pilot plant was managed by a Consulting Metallurgist for SGS, renowned graphite metallurgist Oliver Peters (the Principal Metallurgist of Metpro Management Inc.). In August 2015, AGC prepared a 200-ton bulk sample of graphitic material from the Coosa Graphite Project's resource grid, which was shipped to SGS. SGS processed a 130-ton sample of this material. Based on the successful yield and results of the pilot plant and for maximum cost efficiencies, the Company and SGS decided not to process the remaining 70 tons of graphitic material.

* Note: A preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

Qualified Person

The disclosure herein regarding the scientific and technical information concerning the pilot plant testing results is based upon information prepared by or under the supervision of Oliver Peters, P.Eng., MSc, MBA, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") guidelines.

Donald K. D. Baxter, P.Eng., President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of AGC, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 guidelines and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

About SGS Mineral Services

SGS Mineral Services ("SGS") (which is a division of SGS Canada Inc.) is recognized as a world leader in the development of concentrator flow sheet design and pilot plant testing programs. SGS' metallurgical services division was founded more than a half century ago and its metallurgists, hydro-metallurgists and chemical engineers are experienced in all the major physical and chemical separation processes utilized in the recovery of metals and minerals contained in resource properties around the world.

About Alabama Graphite Corp.

Alabama Graphite Corp. is a Canadian-based flake graphite exploration and development company as well as an aspiring battery materials production and technology company. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Company Inc. (a company registered in the state of Alabama). With an advancing flake graphite project in the United States of America, Alabama Graphite Corp intends to become a reliable, long-term U.S. supplier of specialty high-purity graphite products. A highly experienced team leads the Company with more than 100 years of combined graphite mining, graphite processing, specialty graphite products and applications, and graphite sales experience. Alabama Graphite Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, and its Bama Mine Project in Chilton County, Alabama as well the research and development of its proprietary manufacturing and technological processing process of battery materials.

Alabama Graphite Corp. holds a 100% interest in the mineral rights for these two U.S.-based graphite projects, which are both located on private land. The two projects encompass more than 43,000 acres and are located in a geopolitically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction with significant historical production of crystalline flake graphite in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt (source:U.S. Bureau of Mines). A significant portion of the Alabama deposits are characterized by graphite-bearing material that is oxidized and has been weathered into extremely soft rock. Both projects have infrastructure in place, are within close proximity to major highways, rail, power and water, and are approximately three hours (by truck or train) to the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority's deep-seawater port and the ninth largest port by tonnage in the United States (source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/USACE). The state of Alabama's hospitable climate allows for year-round mining operations and the world's largest marble quarry (which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in Sylacauga, Alabama), is located within a 30-minute drive of the Coosa Graphite Project.

As announced on October 13, 2015, the Coosa Graphite Project hosts an National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 78.5 million tons grading 2.39% graphitic carbon (Cg) - the largest Indicated Mineral Resource of flake graphite in the United States. On November 30, 2015, Alabama Graphite Corp. announced the results of its NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Coosa Graphite Project, indicating a potentially low-cost project with potential positive economics. The PEA is based on the Coosa Graphite Project producing two finished (final) specialty, secondary-processed graphite products - a coated spherical graphite product ("CSPG") and a purified micronized flake graphite product ("PMG"). The PEA is not modelled on producing a final run-of-mine ("ROM") graphite concentrate product typical of other conventional flake graphite projects. The products Alabama Graphite Corp. intends to produce are targeted to address the needs of clean-tech and green-energy customers; products that are in high demand, and command the highest prices in the flake graphite space, with historically inelastic pricing. Please refer to the Company's technical report titled "Alabama Graphite Corp. Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Coosa graphite Project, Alabama, USA" dated November 27, 2015, prepared by independent engineering firms AGP Mining Consultants Inc. and Metal Mining Consultants Inc., and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Note: a preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

Inferred Mineral Resources represent material that is considered too speculative to be included in economic evaluations. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will be converted into a Mineral Reserve.

For further information and updates on the Company or to sign up for Alabama Graphite Corp. News, please visit www.alabamagraphite.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements") that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect Alabama Graphite Corp.'s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of Alabama Graphite Corp. with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of graphite; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. Forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions, including that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen breakdowns, that no labor shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted.

Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and Alabama Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements (unless required by law) if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Alabama Graphite Corp. cautions that the foregoing list of material factors and assumptions are not exhaustive. When relying on Alabama Graphite Corp. forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and assumptions and other uncertainties and potential events. Alabama Graphite Corp. has also assumed that the material factors and assumptions will not cause any forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors and assumptions is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

To view the photos associated with this release, please visit the following links:

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-Pilot%20Plant%201-gr.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-Pilot%20Plant%202-gr.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-Pilot%20Plant%203-gr.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-Pilot%20Plant%204-gr.jpg
(Adds comments from Argentine finance secretary paragraphs 6-8)

By Richard Lough and Stefano Bernabei

BUENOS AIRES/ROME, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Argentina has reached a deal to pay $1.35 billion in cash to a group of Italian creditors who hold unpaid sovereign debt stemming from the South American country's record default in 2002, the investors said on Tuesday.

The deal, which is subject to approval in Argentina's Congress, represents a payment of 150 percent on the $900 million principal value of the defaulted bonds.

"That means the entire nominal value plus 50 percent interest," Nicola Stock, president of Task Force Argentina which grouped together some 50,000 bondholders, told Reuters.

Even though newly elected President Mauricio Macri does not hold a majority in Congress, Stock said he expected lawmakers to greenlight the deal swiftly once it returns from recess in early March.

Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay earlier said the Italian investors' holdings accounted for 30 percent of all the debt that is subject to legal claims in a U.S. federal court and 15 percent of the defaulted debt that was not restructured in 2005 and 2010. Argentina defaulted on $100 billion of debt in 2002.

In New York, Argentine Finance Secretary Luis Caputo said mediated talks with New York hedge funds leading litigation in the U.S. courts for full payment were "making progress."

He said Argentina could make an offer to the funds on Wednesday or Thursday, though there are no signs a deal is close.

Asked how far apart the two sides were, Caputo said: "I wish I knew."

While the agreement with Italian creditors is a boost for Macri, it may not strengthen his government's negotiating hand.

"Argentina still has no leverage in that they want the deal more than the bondholders," said Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America fixed income strategy at Nomura.

Argentina needs a deal to emerge from default and tap global credit markets at more affordable rates.

Last month, Prat-Gay said the previous government's failure to reach a deal with holdout creditors had cost the economy, with creditor claims in New York rising to $9.9 billion from $2.943 billion initially.

Story continues

Prat-Gay stressed on Tuesday that Argentina was committed to finding a quick and fair settlement with the U.S. investors.

The preliminary accord with some 50,000 Italian bondholders underlines the divergent views among the hedge funds and other "me-too" claimants who have joined the litigation about what an acceptable agreement looks like.

"The difficulty that we have is that some bondholders want to receive a level of interest that is unacceptable under any legal criteria," Prat-Gay said.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Bases in New York; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, W Simon, Lisa Shumkaer and Bernard Orr)
By Paul Kilby

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (IFR) - Argentina's New York-law sovereign bonds outperformed on Wednesday thanks to growing belief that a settlement with the country's holdout creditors could be on the cards.

Although worries about a sudden glut of supply kept a cap on enthusiasm, the New York-law Discounts were 75 cents higher to be quoted at 115.50-116.50.

Meanwhile Argentina's local-law Bonar 2017s were closing flat at 102.00-103.00.

The sovereign is holding talks in New York this week with the holdouts, and news that it has agreed to pay Italian creditors holding defaulted bonds added to the optimism.

Argentina's finance ministry said on Monday that a formal offer to holdouts could be on the table this week.

"Since they reached a deal with the Italian holders, we have seen more strength than we had previously," one New York-based broker told IFR.

But negotiations over what is now some US$9bn in unsettled claims are expected to be tough, and the legal battle has now dragged on for years.

The New York-law bonds have been in default since a US court last year blocked payments on them unless Argentina also made whole the litigant creditors.

The government is seeking to reduce past due interest and cut a deal that is acceptable to Congress, where the party of newly installed President Mauricio Macri is in a minority.

"It will be more complex than Italian negotiations," said Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America strategy at Nomura.

"But I don't think it will drag on. The country needs market access, and it is good time to seek approval from Congress while Macri still has political capital."

BONDS FOR BONDS

Unlike the Italian creditors, who will receive US$1.35bn in cash for their US$2.5bn claim, other holdouts have shown a willingness to receive payment in bonds.

This will bring its own set of risks, however, namely the threat of a deluge of bond supply that could knock secondary levels lower.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the government will need to issue US$15bn this year, including US$7bn in June when Congress is expected to sign off on any agreement.

Story continues

This does not include the potential sale of sovereign debt from hedge funds that are expected to reduce their exposure to Argentine risk after taking profits from recent price gains.

"There is a US$25bn (supply) overhang that will take a year-and-a-half to clear out," a hedge fund investor told IFR last month.

Such concerns have put a spanner in the works for prospective Argentina issuers, and deal execution could prove difficult.

One possible solution is to involve an intermediary bank, which could monetize holdouts' legal gains and slowly re-sell the bonds into the market.

This is what Spanish oil company Repsol when it was paid compensation for the 2012 expropriation of its stake in YPF.

"It is a price risk for holdouts," said Morden. "If they dump (all their bonds) at the same time, it is their loss."

Bank of America, which has kept its overweight position on Argentine external debt, thinks the market should have little trouble absorbing the additional US$7bn in June.

"When Argentina paid US$5bn to Repsol in 2014, the market was able to take down the supply in one day," it said.

(Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Marc Carnegie)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb 3, 2016) - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:AVU)(8AM.F) is pleased to announce results from exploration drilling at the Sesmarias target area within the Alvalade Joint Venture in the Pyrite Belt of south Portugal. The joint venture is presently operated by Avrupa Minerals and funded by partner Colt Resources (see AVU news release of September 3, 2015). In this new phase of drilling, the partners plan to drill 5,000 to 6,000 meters in the general area of the Sesmarias copper-zinc discovery announced by Avrupa in February 2014.

Analytical results from four diamond drill holes completed in late 2015 in the area of previously-drilled SES010 (58 meters @ 0.32% Cu, 0.61% Pb, 1.95% Zn, 0.45 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag) confirm and extend the massive sulfide lens to a present length of 300 meters with a 35-40 meter thickness. The lens is open to the northwest and down dip to the northeast. Following are the results from the recent drilling.

Drill hole ID From

(m) To

(m) Intercept

(m) Cu

(%) Pb

(%) Zn

(%) Au

(g/t) Ag

(ppm) SES019 263.50 315.20 51.70 0.44 0.75 2.71 0.40 17.35 including 264.15 299.05 34.90 0.40 0.99 3.46 0.38 20.67 and including 280.45 290.95 10.50 0.36 1.71 5.18 0.37 21.71 SES020 277.85 287.55 9.70 0.25 0.57 0.99 0.47 24.70 297.70 319.95 22.25 0.55 0.59 0.66 0.53 20.54 325.00 334.10 9.10 0.32 0.14 0.52 0.68 11.31 337.85 356.65 18.80 0.33 0.14 0.64 0.26 6.40 SES021 262.85 277.65 14.80 0.36 0.29 0.40 0.43 9.82 SES022 323.90 376.00 52.10 0.43 0.49 0.98 0.62 17.31

Table 1. New drill intercepts from the SES010 lens at Sesmarias

Results from recently-completed downhole geophysics, utilizing the "mise-a-la-masse" (MALM) method, combined with historic ground magnetics data, suggest that the sulfide lens may continue another 300 meters or more to the northwest from SES022. Future drilling will be completed to test this target area.

To view Figure 1 please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/AVU0203.pdf

Story continues

As at the nearby Aljustrel Mine (22 km SE) and at the past-producing Lousal Mine (7 km NW), it is usual for Iberian Pyrite Belt deposits to consist of multiple lenses of massive sulfide mineralization, some of which may be richer in base metals. Planned drilling in the Sesmarias area will also be directed towards the discovery of additional lenses, with the goal of finding an economic metals deposit.

Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, commented, "We are pleased with the progress of drilling at Sesmarias as we have confirmed the presence of a significant mineralizing system there. As we better understand the geology and structure of the Sesmarias area, we continue to delineate attractive drill targets in the hunt for higher grade copper- and zinc-bearing massive sulfide lenses."

Notes on analytical methods and quality control.

The drill core was transported by Company personnel from the drill sites to a nearby secure storage facility for logging and sampling. The sample intervals were one meter, unless visual inspection of the core indicated that a slightly different interval was necessary to preserve continuity of mineralization and rock type for analysis. One half of the core was collected and sent to the geochemical laboratory, while the remaining half of the core was retained in the core boxes for future reference.

All samples were sent by courier or transported by Company personnel to the ALS Minerals sample preparation facility in Seville, Spain. ALS shipped the prepped material to their main European analytical laboratory located in Loughrea, Ireland. The samples were analysed by ICP methods for copper, lead, zinc, and silver, and by fire assay with an AAS finish for gold.

In addition to ALS Minerals quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of all work orders, the Joint Venture conducted its own standard, internal QA/QC from results generated by the systematic inclusion of certified reference materials, blank samples, and field duplicate samples. The analytical results from the quality control samples in the Sesmarias work orders have been evaluated, and conform to industry best-practice standards.

Colt Resources Inc. (www.coltresources.com) is a Canadian minerals exploration and development company engaged in acquiring, exploring, and developing mineral properties with an emphasis on copper, gold and tungsten. It is currently focused on advanced stage exploration projects in Portugal, where it is one of the largest lease holders of mineral concessions.

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (www.avrupaminerals.com) is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company focused on discovery, using a prospect generator model, of valuable mineral deposits in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, including Portugal, Kosovo, and Germany.

The Company currently holds nine exploration licenses in three European countries, including six in Portugal covering 3,821 km2, two in Kosovo covering 47 km2, and one in Germany covering 307 km2. Avrupa operates three joint ventures in Portugal and Kosovo, including:

The Alvalade JV, with Colt Resources, covering one license in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Portugal, for Cu-rich massive sulfide deposits;

The Covas JV, with Blackheath Resources, covering one license in northern Portugal, for intrusion-related W deposits; and

The Slivovo JV, with Byrnecut International, covering one license in central Kosovo, for gold related to carbonate sediment-hosted deposits in the Vardar Mineral Trend.

Avrupa is currently upgrading precious and base metal targets to JV-ready status in a variety of districts on their other licenses, with the idea of attracting potential partners to project-specific and/or regional exploration programs.

On behalf of the Board,

Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director

This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, a Licensed Professional Geologist and a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has reviewed the technical disclosure in this release. Mr. Kuhn, the QP, has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation or approval of the scientific and technical content in the news release.

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.
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa released a new proof-of-life video of Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, shown in a file picture, who has been held hostage by the group in Mali since January (AFP Photo/Ahmed Ouoba) (AFP/File)

Geneva (AFP) - Switzerland is struggling to resolve the case of a Swiss woman kidnapped for a second time by jihadists in Mali, Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter said in an interview published Sunday.

"We are facing a case that is very delicate and very difficult to resolve," Burkhalter told Le Matin Dimanche.

Beatrice Stockly, who was previously abducted by Islamists from Timbuktu in 2012, was taken for the second time on January 7 by armed men who stormed her home in the country's fabled city.

The kidnapping was claimed by Al-Qaeda's north Africa affiliate (AQIM) who issued an eight-minute video in which it denounced Stockly as "a Swiss nun who declared war against Islam".

The footage was replete with montages of jihadists brandishing weapons and the masked speaker spoke with a British accent.

Stockly, who is in her 40s, has lived in Timbuktu for years and has previously been identified as a missionary and social worker.

The last time she was snatched in April 2012, she was described as the last Westerner living in the legendary desert city who had refused to leave despite it being captured by Islamist Ansar Dine rebels on April 1.

Two weeks later, special forces from Burkina Faso swept into rebel-held northern Mali aboard a helicopter and whisked her to safety in a pre-arranged handover by Islamist rebels.

- Battling for her life -

In Sunday's interview, Burkhalter said that the fact that Stockly's kidnapping was her second considerably complicated efforts to free her.

He pointed out that the last time she was kidnapped, her abductors had demanded that she leave and never return to Mali.

"That's where the difficulty lies," he said.

"We are in a battle to try to keep her alive.

"Unfortunately, that is not going to be easy."

Stockly's decision to remain in Mali has been harshly criticised, with some politicians calling for her to be handed for her rescue -- if she makes it out.

Story continues

Burkhalter acknowledged Swiss authorities had warned Stockly a number of times about the dangers of remaining in Mali, but said he would not judge her for ignoring the warnings.

"She is a missionary who felt her life and her role was over there," he said.

Switzerland has a clear policy against paying ransoms, he said, stressing it would only lay "the groundwork for future kidnappings... It would be a vicious circle."

Stockly's capture is believed to be the first in northern Mali since the kidnap and murder of two French radio journalists in November 2013. The two were snatched from the northeastern town of Kidal and their bodies found several hours later.

Earlier this month, an elderly Australian doctor and his wife were seized by jihadists in a remote town in neighbouring Burkina Faso on the night of January 15-16.
brendan dassey

The Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer" follows the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, only to be convicted in the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.

It also follows the trial and conviction of Avery's then-16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey as an accomplice.

According to court documents, Dassey was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, and second-degree sexual assault.

As depicted on the show, the conviction appeared to be largely based off of a confession Dassey gave to police, which his defense attorneys argue was coerced. The attorneys repeatedly make the case that Dassey was susceptible to police pressure to confess because he had a low IQ.

IQ scores have been linked with many things, including a person's school and job performance, income, social status, and risk of death.

But there's a lot of debate in the scientific community about what a high or low IQ actually means.

What IQ tests really measure

The term "IQ" test, which stands for intelligence quotient, was developed by the German psychologist William Stern in the early 1900s. The test usually consists of a standard set of questions designed to measure human intelligence in logic, math, and verbal comprehension.

The average IQ score in each age group is defined as 100, so in a typical population, two-thirds of people score between 85 and 115. By comparison, the show reveals that Brendan Dassey has an IQ of 73 (and a verbal IQ of 69).

In some states, an IQ of 70 or below is used as the cutoff for intellectual disability. But in 1978, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a defendant who was found guilty of rape and murder who had an IQ of 71, arguing against a strict cutoff.

One of the most widely used IQ tests is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, which comes in adult and children's forms. The test measures two types of intelligence: verbal intelligence (things like vocabulary and comprehension) and performance intelligence (like pattern recognition and picture completion).

Story continues

Another commonly used test is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, which measure a combination of five factors, including fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory. The test is used to diagnose developmental or intellectual problems in young children.

But some experts argue that IQ tests measure specific types of intelligence at the expense of others.

A narrow definition of intelligence

In the case of Brendan Dassey, Richard Leo, an expert on coercion and false confessions, testified in a 2010 hearing for Dassey's defense that the teen was coerced into confessing his involvement in Halbach's rape and murder, without understanding the consequences. But an IQ test alone wouldn't tell you that.

In his 1983 book "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences," developmental psychologist Howard Gardner described eight different kinds of intelligence: musicalrhythmic, visualspatial, verballinguistic, logicalmathematical, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.

By Gardner's definition, IQ tests only measure verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, and some types of spatial intelligence. It doesn't necessarily predict poor intra-personal intelligence  another term for self-awareness and introspection  the kind of intelligence you might expect to explain why Dassey was susceptible to coercion by the police.

Still, that doesn't mean we should get rid of IQ tests completely, Illinois State psychologist W. Joel Schneider said in an interview with psychologist and science writer Scott Barry Kaufman.

"IQ tests, error-ridden as they are, peel back a layer or two of uncertainty about what people are capable of," Schneider said.

NOW WATCH: The lawyer from 'Making A Murderer' describes what's wrong with America's criminal justice system





More From Business Insider


SAO PAULO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer will supply five Phenom 100 ultralight executive jets to train pilots in the British armed forces, the company said on Wednesday.

Embraer struck the deal, which covers support services and options for more aircraft, with Affinity Flight Training Services, a consortium of Lockheed Martin and Babcock International contracting with the Ministry of Defense.

The agreement follows a November order from the Emirates Flight Training Academy for five Phenom 100 aircraft and marks further inroads by the Brazilian company with NATO armed forces.

Embraer won a U.S. Air Force deal in 2013 to supply 20 light attack planes for counterinsurgency missions in Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Brad Haynes)
British Prime Minister David Cameron likely face tough questions from lawmakers, including eurosceptics from his own Conservative Party (AFP Photo/Ben Pruchnie)

London (AFP) - Prime Minister David Cameron will on Wednesday defend planned reforms to keep Britain in the EU before parliament, as European lawmakers begin negotiations in Strasbourg to avoid a so-called "Brexit" from the bloc.

EU president Donald Tusk unveiled proposals to avoid Britain leaving the 28-nation club on Tuesday, firing the starting gun on two weeks of tense negotiations to reach a deal at a summit later this month.

Tusk said Wednesday the proposed deal is "fair" for Britain and its 27 partners.

"The settlement that has been proposed is fair for the United Kingdom and fair for the other 27 members states," Juncker told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

They include a four-year "emergency brake" on welfare payments for EU migrant workers, protection for countries that do not use the euro and a "red card" system giving national parliaments more power.

Cameron said Tusk's plans showed "real progress" and made it likely that he would campaign to stay in the European Union in a referendum expected in June.

But he will likely face tough questions from British lawmakers, including eurosceptics from his own Conservative Party, who greeted the plans with scorn -- one of them even accusing the premier of "polishing poo".

They are also expected to be a hard sell for some EU states, which fear Cameron is winning too many concessions ahead of a February 18-19 summit.

Negotiations are set to begin at the European Parliament on Wednesday, before Cameron begins a charm offensive that will take him to Poland and Denmark on Friday then Germany next week.

"To be, or not to be together, that is the question which must be answered not only by the British people in a referendum, but also by the other 27 members of the EU in the next two weeks," Tusk said in a letter to EU leaders.

London's bid to transform its EU membership has added to turmoil in the bloc as it struggles with its worst migration crisis since World War II and the fallout from the eurozone debt saga.

Story continues

- Opinion polls split -

The British premier said Tusk's proposal showed he had "secured some very important changes".

"If I could get these terms for British membership I sure would opt in for being a member of the EU," Cameron said in a speech in southwest England.

But British eurosceptics were unconvinced, with London Mayor Boris Johnson, from Cameron's party, saying he had "doubts" about their effectiveness.

UK Independence Party head Nigel Farage dismissed Tusk's proposals as "pathetic," while conservative Steve Baker said the prime minister was just "polishing poo".

Opinion polls are split on whether Britons would back leaving the EU in their first vote on the subject since 1975.

Tusk's most controversial proposal is an "emergency brake" that would allow any EU state to limit the welfare payments migrants from other European countries can claim for up to four years after their arrival.

To pull the brake, states would have to prove an "exceptional situation" in which their welfare system and public services are overwhelmed, get approval from the European Commission and then from other bloc leaders in a majority vote.

Despite concerns in France, Tusk's plan also includes a "mechanism" by which the nine countries that are not in the euro can raise concerns about decisions by the eurozone.

But he stressed that the mechanism could not delay or veto urgent decisions by the 19 countries in the euro.

Britain will be further exempted from the EU's stated goal of "ever closer union" because of its "special status" in the bloc's treaties -- including staying out of the euro and the passport-free Schengen area.

The "red card" system would allow a group representing 55 percent of the EU's national parliaments to stop or change draft EU laws.

Although Cameron has only set a deadline of the end of 2017 to hold a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU, sources have said he is keen to push a vote through by June.

That would avoid the fallout from any new flare-up in Europe's migration crisis this summer and British eurosceptics becoming even more unruly.

burs/pdw/cah/psr
BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - ChemChina is fielding requests from prospective investors to take an equity stake in either Syngenta (SYNN.VX) or ChemChina to refinance the bridge loans for the Chinese state-owned company's planned $43 billion takeover of Syngenta.

"There are many capital funds and banks which are very interested in engaging with us in this investment opportunity," ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin told a press conference in Basel, Switzerland on Wednesday, in remarks translated from Chinese into English.

He added the refinancing of the transactions may include equity investors. Members of the future funding consortium would be selected in close coordination with Syngenta's top executives, such as Chairman Michel Demare and Chief Executive John Ramsay, he said.

"They can either invest in ChemChina or into the transaction," Ren added.

The initial funding was supplied by a Chinese commercial bank and an international lender, Syngenta Chairman Demare said, without providing the names.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Christoph Steitz)
* $43 billion deal to be China's biggest overseas

* Aimed at helping to boost security of China food supply

* Syngenta says regulatory hurdles can be cleared

By Ludwig Burger

BASEL, Switzerland, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China made its boldest overseas takeover move when state-owned ChemChina agreed a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta on Wednesday, aiming to improve domestic food production.

The largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, announced by both companies, will accelerate a shake-up in global agrochemicals and marks a setback for U.S. firm Monsanto , which failed to buy Syngenta last year.

China, the world's largest agricultural market, is looking to secure food supply for its population. Syngenta's portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds will represent a major upgrade of its potential output.

"Only around 10 percent of Chinese farmland is efficient. This is more than just a company buying another. This is a government attempting to address a real problem," a source close to the deal told Reuters.

Years of intensive farming combined with overuse of chemicals has degraded land and poisoned water supplies, leaving China vulnerable to crop shortages. The deal fits into Beijing's plans to modernise agriculture over the next five years.

"I was sent to the countyside at the age of 15, so I'm very familiar with what farmers need when they work the land. The Chinese have relied mainly on traditional ways of farming. We want to spread Syngenta's integrated solution among smallholder farmers," ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin told a media briefing.

With growth slowing at home, Chinese companies are increasingly looking abroad for deals that can boost their business and help them diversify. If completed, ChemChina's Syngenta purchase would be more than double CNOOC's $17.7 billion buy of Canadian energy company Nexen in 2012.

ChemChina last year bought Italian tyre maker Pirelli and last month said it would buy German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for some $1 billion.

Story continues

Shares in Syngenta rose on news of the deal, but at around 412 Swiss francs, were some way below the agreed offer price of $465 per share, equivalent to 480 francs, reflecting market concerns that the deal could yet stumble over regulatory hurdles and limited expectations of a counter-offer.

"Syngenta has never been valued so highly. Over the last few years the company has failed to demonstrate it can generate reasonable earnings on its own," Patrick Huber, a fund manager at Mirabaud Asset Management told Reuters.

"We will definitely tender our shares at the offered price. I can't imagine another bidder making a higher offer," Huber said, adding that although U.S. regulators may not block the deal, they could delay it.

REGULATORY ISSUES

Syngenta CEO John Ramsay, who described the ChemChina offer as "very appropriate and attractive", said he saw no major barriers and noted that ChemChina -- short for China National Chemical Corp -- had secure financing in place.

A source with knowledge of the deal said the funding would come from a range of Chinese players, as well as HSBC and China CITIC Bank International.

"I think the overall regulatory approvals will not be very challenging," Ramsay told Reuters, adding he expected antitrust regulators to acknowledge the limited overlap.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), whose mandate is U.S. national security, would not pose a major hurdle, Ramsay said.

Swiss regulators said their conditions were largely met by the terms of the deal, although they want Swiss retail investors to receive the ChemChina offer in Swiss francs and warnings to be given on foreign exchange risks.

Syngenta's board would still have to consider any rival offers, Ramsay said, although there are tough financial penalty clauses for both parties if they fail to deliver on the deal.

In a hint of what may be in store for the enlarged group, Syngenta's chairman said ChemChina will be on the lookout for more deals as China strives to improve its food supply.

"ChemChina has a very ambitious vision of the industry in the future. Obviously it is very interested in securing food supply for 1.5 billion people and as a result knows that only technology can get them there," Michel Demare said.

Syngenta is already the largest supplier of crop chemicals, excluding seeds, in China with a 6 percent share of a fragmented market, the group's chief operating officer Davor Pisk said.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Beijing is seeking to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption. China's combined consumption of pork, beef and poultry has grown by an average 1.7 million tonnes a year for the past decade, placing further stress on feed grain supplies.

Meanwhile, a global glut of corn and soybeans has depressed grain prices for the past three years, prompting U.S. farmers to reduce spending on everything from equipment to seeds and pesticides. The cutbacks, along with pressure from investors to bolster profits, have sent many of the world's largest agricultural companies scrambling to cut deals.

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co agreed in December on an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step towards breaking up into three separate businesses, a move that was seen as a trigger for further consolidation.

Syngenta was advised by Dyalco, the one-man business of former Goldman Sachs M&A head Gordon Dyal, alongside JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS while HSBC and China CITIC Bank International advised ChemChina. (1 Swiss franc = $0.9824)

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields, Freya Berry, Lisa Jucca, Lawrence White, Elzio Barreto, Aizhu Chen, Oliver Hirt and Gavin Maguire; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Keith Weir)
(Adds details on seed sales in United States and Canada, other background)

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co said on Wednesday it received import approval from China for its new genetically modified Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and that it will begin selling the seeds in the United States and Canada.

China, the world's biggest soybean importer, does not allow imports of new genetically modified crops until they are approved by government regulators.

The U.S. seed and agrochemical company's next-generation soybean variety is engineered to tolerate applications of glyphosate and dicamba herbicides amid a growing problem of glyphosate-resistant weeds in North America.

Dicamba use is allowed in Canada, but not yet approved in the United States, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still reviewing the chemical, Monsanto said.

Monsanto said it is offering discounts to U.S. farmers buying Roundup Ready 2 Xtend seeds in case the regulatory approval does not arrive in time for the 2016 growing season.

The company is aiming for 3 million acres planted in the upcoming season and expects the genetic technology to be planted to two-thirds of U.S. soybean acres by 2019. The company also licenses its GMO properties to other seed companies.

Monsanto shares were up 1 percent at $88.19 in early afternoon.

(Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By Ludwig Burger

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - China made its boldest overseas takeover move when state-owned ChemChina agreed a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta on Wednesday, aiming to improve domestic food production.

The largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, announced by both companies, will accelerate a shake-up in global agrochemicals and marks a setback for U.S. firm Monsanto, which failed to buy Syngenta last year.

China, the world's largest agricultural market, is looking to secure food supply for its population. Syngenta's portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds will represent a major upgrade of its potential output.

"Only around 10 percent of Chinese farmland is efficient. This is more than just a company buying another. This is a government attempting to address a real problem," a source close to the deal told Reuters.

Years of intensive farming combined with overuse of chemicals has degraded land and poisoned water supplies, leaving China vulnerable to crop shortages. The deal fits into Beijing's plans to modernise agriculture over the next five years.

"I was sent to the countyside at the age of 15, so I'm very familiar with what farmers need when they work the land. The Chinese have relied mainly on traditional ways of farming. We want to spread Syngentas integrated solution among smallholder farmers," ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin told a media briefing.

With growth slowing at home, Chinese companies are increasingly looking abroad for deals that can boost their business and help them diversify. If completed, ChemChina's Syngenta purchase would be more than double CNOOC's $17.7 billion buy of Canadian energy company Nexen in 2012.

ChemChina last year bought Italian tyre maker Pirelli and last month said it would buy German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for some $1 billion.

Shares in Syngenta rose on news of the deal, but at around 412 Swiss francs, were some way below the agreed offer price of $465 per share, equivalent to 480 francs, reflecting market concerns that the deal could yet stumble over regulatory hurdles and limited expectations of a counter-offer.

Story continues

"Syngenta has never been valued so highly. Over the last few years the company has failed to demonstrate it can generate reasonable earnings on its own," Patrick Huber, a fund manager at Mirabaud Asset Management told Reuters.

"We will definitely tender our shares at the offered price. I can't imagine another bidder making a higher offer," Huber said, adding that although U.S. regulators may not block the deal, they could delay it.

REGULATORY ISSUES

Syngenta CEO John Ramsay, who described the ChemChina offer as "very appropriate and attractive", said he saw no major barriers and noted that ChemChina -- short for China National Chemical Corp -- had secure financing in place.

A source with knowledge of the deal said the funding would come from a range of Chinese players, as well as HSBC and China CITIC Bank International.

"I think the overall regulatory approvals will not be very challenging," Ramsay told Reuters, adding he expected antitrust regulators to acknowledge the limited overlap.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), whose mandate is U.S. national security, would not pose a major hurdle, Ramsay said.

Swiss regulators said their conditions were largely met by the terms of the deal, although they want Swiss retail investors to receive the ChemChina offer in Swiss francs and warnings to be given on foreign exchange risks.

Syngenta's board would still have to consider any rival offers, Ramsay said, although there are tough financial penalty clauses for both parties if they fail to deliver on the deal.

In a hint of what may be in store for the enlarged group, Syngenta's chairman said ChemChina will be on the lookout for more deals as China strives to improve its food supply.

"ChemChina has a very ambitious vision of the industry in the future. Obviously it is very interested in securing food supply for 1.5 billion people and as a result knows that only technology can get them there," Michel Demare said.

Syngenta is already the largest supplier of crop chemicals, excluding seeds, in China with a 6 percent share of a fragmented market, the group's chief operating officer Davor Pisk said.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Beijing is seeking to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption. China's combined consumption of pork, beef and poultry has grown by an average 1.7 million tonnes a year for the past decade, placing further stress on feed grain supplies.

Meanwhile, a global glut of corn and soybeans has depressed grain prices for the past three years, prompting U.S. farmers to reduce spending on everything from equipment to seeds and pesticides. The cutbacks, along with pressure from investors to bolster profits, have sent many of the world's largest agricultural companies scrambling to cut deals.

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co agreed in December on an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step towards breaking up into three separate businesses, a move that was seen as a trigger for further consolidation.

Syngenta was advised by Dyalco, the one-man business of former Goldman Sachs M&A head Gordon Dyal, alongside JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS while HSBC and China CITIC Bank International advised ChemChina.

(1 Swiss franc = $0.9824)

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields, Freya Berry, Lisa Jucca, Lawrence White, Elzio Barreto, Aizhu Chen, Oliver Hirt and Gavin Maguire; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Keith Weir)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has set its economic growth projection range at 6.5 to 7 percent this year, but efforts to curb overcapacity is expected to raise unemployment in some provinces, an official from the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday.

Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a news briefing that downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy would remain in 2016.

China's investments were now focussed on fixing weak points and structural adjustments, including infrastructure in the central and western regions, education and healthcare sectors, he said.

Xu also said that China's basic infrastructure investment growth increased 15 percent last year.

Beijing's attempts to curb overcapacity will increase unemployment in provinces with high output of steel and coal, Xu said, adding that job losses in provinces such as Shanxi, Heilongjiang and Hebei will rise.

Keeping unemployment low is a top policy priority for China's stability-obsessed government, a task it has admitted is becoming more difficult as growth sags.

Local governments started trying to tackle overcapacity in 2013, he said, and are already aware of problems arising from unemployment, a build-up of company debt and bank loans.

"Now the problems are worse than they were two years ago but the government has the ability to cope," Xu said.

He did not elaborate on what kinds of policies the central government and local governments were using to deal with rising unemployment as a result of attempts to curb overcapacity.

The government was more likely to intervene and provide unemployment support for people from state-owned enterprises, rather than for private businesses, he said.

China's plan to cut its steel production capacity by 100-150 million tonnes will lead to the loss of up to 400,000 jobs, the official Xinhua news agency reported last month.

(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
By Matthew Miller and Shu Zhang

BEIJING (Reuters) - Once China's biggest peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, Ezubao collected 50 billion yuan (5.3 billion pounds) in less than two years from more than 900,000 investors through savvy marketing and the promise of big returns.

But executives at Ezubao's parent company, Yucheng Group, now say it was "a complete Ponzi scheme", which used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle, the official Xinhua News Agency reported this week.

Among gifts that Yucheng Chairman Ding Ning gave his president, Zhang Min, were a $20 million Singapore villa, a $1.8 million pink diamond ring, luxury limousines and watches and more than $83 million in cash, Xinhua stated.

The alleged scam underscores the risks in China's fast growing and loosely regulated wealth management product industry, with many products peddled through online financial investment platforms and privately run exchanges.

Products promising annual returns of up to 14 percent have drawn in investors at a time when savings rates are low and property is no longer a guaranteed get-rich-quick bet.

A report on China's stock market crash authored last year by former senior officials, including former central bank vice governor Wu Xiaoling, said Chinese retail investors are short-sighted, have a weak investment philosophy and a herd mentality.

China's P2P and the online finance industry also serve as a critical channel for the emerging small business and consumer market, which is often ignored by banks and mainstream financial institutions. iResearch predicts China's unsecured consumer finance market alone will triple in size by 2019, reaching outstanding loans of over $1.7 trillion.

RISKY BUSINESS

By November, there were over 3,600 P2P platforms as the industry raised more than 400 billion yuan, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). More than 1,000 of those were problematic, it said.

The consequences when these schemes fail can be devastating, said Yang Dong, vice-dean at Renmin Law School and an expert on finance and securities law. "The harm is obvious. It's going to damage financial reforms, cause social unrest and destabilise the regime to some extent," he told Reuters.

Story continues

Yang said there needs to be more supervision at both a national and local level, with more staffing, funding and a central bank-led financial risk monitoring system capable of tracking Internet financial activity and flagging problems.

Last year, hundreds of angry investors protested on the streets in Beijing and Shanghai, saying they lost $6 billion from the Fanya Metals Exchange, which offered an investment product promising up to 14 percent annual return and the flexibility to deposit and withdraw money at will.

The CBRC published draft rules in December to oversee the P2P industry, banning the pooling of investor money, concealing risks of financial programmes and using fraudulent sales tactics. "Due to the lack of necessary regulation, many P2P platforms play in the area between legal and illegal, using Internet concepts to brand themselves, fraudulent advertising and illegal deposit-taking to hurt public interest," it said.

WELCOME ABOARD 'TRAIN EZUBAO'

At Ezubao, Ding collected a monthly salary of 1 million yuan, and admitted on state television to spending an estimated 1.5 billion yuan in Ezubao funds on himself.

"We fabricated projects to raise money," he said, adding Ezubao used project companies to re-circulate money back into accounts linked to his companies, Xinhua reported. Yong Lei, head of risk management at Yucheng's financial leasing company, said 95 percent of projects on Ezubao were fake.

Ding asked dozens of his secretaries to dress only in Chanel, Gucci and other luxury branded clothing to make the company appear highly successful. Zhang, the group president who was marketed as "the most beautiful executive in online finance", said on state broadcaster CCTV that Ding asked her to buy up everything from every Louis Vuitton and Hermes store in China, "and go overseas to buy more if that wasn't enough."

Ezubao investors contacted by Reuters attributed their willingness to hand cash to the company to high-profile commercials on state-owned TV and a high-speed train named after "Ezubao" that ran between Beijing and Shanghai.

"When you got on the train, there was an announcement saying: 'Welcome aboard Train Ezubao'," said a company employee who said she lost about 100,000 yuan in the scheme.

When Ezubao's fraud was detected late last year, executives buried 80 bags of documents in a 6 metre (near 20-foot) hole on the outskirts of Hefei in Anhui province, where the company started, Xinhua said.

"I feel terrible," said another Ezubao investor surnamed Liu who said she invested 800,000 yuan. "I haven't dared tell my husband yet."

(Reporting by Matthew Miller and Shu Zhang, with additional reporting by the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
Coca-Cola Expanded in Africa, PepsiCo Launching Kola House

Minority stake in Chi

Beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) has expanded its presence in Africa with the acquisition of a minority stake in Chi Limited, Nigerias leading dairy, juice, and snacks company. On January 30, 2016, Coca-Cola announced a binding agreement with Tropical General Investments Group (TGI Group), Chis holding company, to acquire an initial minority stake of 40% in Chi. Coca-Cola plans to increase its ownership to 100% by purchasing the remaining 60% stake over the next three years.

This acquisition reflects Coca-Colas plan to expand beyond the developed markets where soda volumes are under intense pressure. It should also help Coca-Cola enhance its presence in the still beverages growth categories.

Africa: A key growth region

Coca-Cola (KO) sees significant growth opportunities in Africa. In the first nine months of fiscal 2015, Coca-Cola derived 5.5% of its $34.3 billion net revenue from the Eurasia and Africa segment. In 2014, Coca-Cola announced an increased investment in Africa of $17 billion over the 20102020 period. The regions growing population and rising income are expected to fuel the demand for these beverages.

At the end of 2014, Coca-Cola, SABMiller (SBMRY) (SAB.L), and Gutsche Family Investments agreed to combine the bottling operations of their nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverage businesses in Southern and East Africa. The new bottling system, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, plans to serve 12 high-growth countries to account for ~40% of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa. Coca-Cola makes up 0.8% of portfolio holdings of the iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV).

Rivals PepsiCo (PEP) and Monster Beverage (MNST) also sell their products in Africa. However, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) lacks a presence in the African continent. Dr Pepper Snapple sells its products in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Strategic acquisition

Coca-Colas (KO) stake in Nigerias Chi is expected to facilitate its growth in Africa. Chi enjoys a leading position in the Nigerian value-added dairy and juice market. It owns the popular brands Hollandia and Chivita. This acquisition should also help both companies leverage their respective strengths in terms of innovation, efficiency, and route-to-market.

Story continues

Value-added dairy and juices are key categories of the still beverages space, which is a key focus area for nonalcoholic beverage companies like Coca-Cola. Well discuss this in the next part of this series.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
(Adds analyst quote)

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy delivered a downbeat address on Wednesday, outlining plans to slash government spending and admitting to "a visceral feeling" that there was no going back to the prosperity of pre-recession years.

The short and somber address came on the heels of a presentation by Malloy's top budget official, who called for $570 million of reductions next year on top of millions in cuts and tax hikes in previous years.

"Our national economy, while making progress from the Great Recession, was fundamentally changed," Malloy, a Democrat, said at his annual state of the state address. "A shifting workforce, the rapid rise of technology, and stagnant wage growth have made this recovery tougher for everyone, everywhere."

Connecticut has consistently lagged the national economic recovery and has been hit by job losses in its key financial and high-tech manufacturing industries.

The state has one of the worst funded pension systems in the nation. With required payments set to balloon to $6 billion by 2032, the system presents a significant risk to the budget.

"Connecticut is not going back to that pre-recession reality," Malloy told the Democrat-dominated legislature. "It just doesn't exist anymore."

Connecticut's woes show how U.S. states have shared unevenly in the recovery since the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Andrew Cuomo, governor of neighboring New York, felt confident enough to tout a $100 billion infrastructure plan in January.

"It's been a really hard recovery," said Douglas Offerman, an analyst at Fitch Ratings. "The old paradigm that you would exceed your past peak in every expansion doesn't appear to be holding right now."

Ben Barnes, Malloy's top budget official, said the replacement of higher-paying jobs with lower- and middle-wage positions had been a "major story" in Connecticut's budget ills.

Barnes proposed cuts of 5.75 percent to the budgets of state agencies, which could mean the elimination of several thousand jobs. He said cuts to discretionary spending would amount to 15 percent over two years.

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At the start of the legislative session, Malloy urged lawmakers to pass an early budget and not wait until the last day of the fiscal year on June 30. But he said he would not circumvent the process.

The governor proposed overhauling the way the state runs its budget to bring the process more in line with revenue projections, shifting away from a "current services" model. He also said lawmakers should implement a spending cap.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Cynthia Osterman)
By Tracy Rucinski

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Creditors of Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska LLC have asked a federal judge to put the U.S. affiliate of troubled Spanish renewable energy group Abengoa into bankruptcy because it owes them more $4 million for grain.

The involuntary bankruptcy petition, a rare form of legal action that seeks to impose court oversight on a company that is not paying its debts, comes as demand for U.S. biofuels has dropped in an environment of cheap crude oil.

The petition for a Chapter 7 liquidation against Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska, which operates a bioethanol plant in that state, was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Nebraska late on Monday.

The company owes a total of $4.07 million to Gavilon Grain LLC, the Farmers Cooperative Association and The Andersons, Inc, for grain, court documents showed.

Abengoa and Abengoa Bioenergy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The filing also coincides with a tough time for Abengoa, which is expected to present its own viability plan to creditors on Wednesday in a bid to avoid becoming Spain's biggest bankruptcy.

The company foresees closing the U.S. headquarters of Abengoa Bioenergy in St. Louis, unidentified sources told Spanish news website Andaluciainformacion.

In recent months, creditors have used involuntary bankruptcies to put several large energy companies into bankruptcy.

Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska can seek to dismiss the involuntary petition, or convert the case to a voluntary bankruptcy, which allows the company to control the proceedings.

Abengoa runs part of its renewable energy business through its Abengoa Bioenergy arm, which has dozens of subsidiaries including Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska, according to Abengoa Bioenergy's annual report.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, additional reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Chris Reese)
(Adds plans for bioenergy division)

By Tracy Rucinski

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Creditors of Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska LLC asked a federal judge to put the U.S. affiliate of troubled Spanish renewable energy group Abengoa into bankruptcy because it owes them more than $4 million for grain.

The involuntary bankruptcy petition, a rare form of legal action that seeks to impose court oversight on a company that is not paying its debts, comes as demand for U.S. biofuels has dropped as crude oil prices have plunged.

The petition for a Chapter 7 liquidation of Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska, which operates a bioethanol plant in that Midwestern state, was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Nebraska late on Monday.

The company owes $4.07 million to Gavilon Grain LLC, the Farmers Cooperative Association and The Andersons Inc, for grain, court documents showed.

Abengoa declined to comment.

The filing coincides with a tough time for Abengoa, which is expected to present its own viability plan to creditors in a bid to avoid becoming Spain's biggest bankruptcy.

Known for its solar thermal plants, Abengoa has struggled with high debts for more than a year. Pre-insolvency proceedings were triggered in Spain in November when a key investor backed away from a plan to inject new cash.

The Seville-based company faces a full-blown insolvency process if it does not reach a restructuring plan with creditors before the end of March.

Among other assets up for sale, Abengoa is looking for a buyer for its biofuels division, Abengoa Bioenergy, where it is also trying to consolidate offices and streamline costs, a source familiar with the matter said.

Abengoa Bioenergy of Nebraska is part of Abengoa Bioenergy.

In recent months, creditors have used involuntary bankruptcies in the United States to put several large energy companies into bankruptcy.

The Nebraska operator can seek to dismiss the involuntary petition or convert the case to a voluntary bankruptcy, which allows the company to control the proceedings.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Additional reporting by Tom Hals; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)
* EU states OK funding 2 months after decision to set up fund

* Italy leaves doors open to seek more financial leeway

* Migrant influx into Europe comes mainly from Turkey (Adds detail throughout)

By Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - European Union countries on Wednesday approved a 3 billion euro ($3.32 billion) fund for Turkey to improve living conditions for refugees there in exchange for Ankara ensuring fewer of them migrate on to Europe.

The EU is counting on the deal to lower the number of asylum seekers arriving in Europe after over a million streamed onto the continent in 2015, mainly by sea from Turkey, with figures indicating little sign of the flow ebbing so far this year.

All 28 EU countries signed off on the proposal at a meeting in Brussels after Italy dropped its opposition to the plan, which was first agreed with Ankara in November.

The bloc's executive European Commission welcomed the decision on Turkey, currently home to an estimated 2.5 million refugees from the civil war in Syria next door.

"Turkey now hosts one of the world's largest refugee communities and has committed to significantly reducing the numbers of migrants crossing into the EU," said Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement.

"The Facility for Refugees in Turkey will go straight to the refugees, providing them with education, health and food. The improvement of living conditions and the offering of a positive perspective will allow refugees to stay closer to their homes."

Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, said cooperation with Turkey on the migration crisis would also focus on targeting human traffickers who have arranged passage for many people.

Europe is saddled with its worst migration crisis since World War Two. This has put strain on security and social systems in some EU states and resolving the problem has become an urgent policy priority for governments since it has fuelled support for anti-foreigner groups, nationalists and populists.

Story continues

The crisis has bitterly divided EU members, as underlined by the fact that it took the 28 states more than two months to agree on the funding for the Turkey scheme even after their leaders approved setting it up back in November.

The EU would provide 1 billion euros from its own budget, twice as much as initially offered. The rest is to come from 28 governments, with Germany being the top contributor at 427.5 million euros in 2016.

Britain would follow with this year's contribution of 327.6 million euros, France at 309.2 million euros, Italy at 224.9 million and Spain at 152.8 million, according to figures provided by the European Commission.

ITALIAN RESERVATIONS

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR says more than 67,000 people arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, entering mainly through Greece, as well as Italy.

Struggling with its own weak economy and large debt loads, Italy unblocked the funding only after Brussels said it would exempt contributions to the Turkey fund in calculating EU countries' budget deficits. Under EU rules, countries must keep their budget shortfalls low or face disciplinary action.

Italy wanted to exempt more migration-related spending from its budget gap and sought to agree a figure of about 3.2 billion euros this year. The European Commission refused to endorse a lump-sum up front and said that any such spending would be analysed separately after it takes place.

But on Wednesday, Rome secured an additional declaration before agreeing to the fund, in which it says it still "strongly expects" Brussels will exempt from its deficit figures "the full amount of costs" it incurred from 2011 when a conflict in its ex-colony Libya started and triggered higher migration to Italy.

That potentially opens way for more back and forth between Brussels and Rome as the latter seeks to win more financial breathing space from the Commission. ($1 = 0.9040 euros) (Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio, Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Marco Aquino and David Lawder

LIMA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Peru has become the latest commodity exporter to seek financing help from the World Bank amid fiscal and currency pressures brought on by collapsing prices for metals, oil and other raw materials.

Peruvian government sources and a World Bank official said on Wednesday that talks were underway for two new credit lines that will bolster Lima's available government resources.

Amounts for the three-year loan facilities could not be disclosed as the arrangements have not yet been sent to the World Bank board for approval, the bank official said.

Peru has no immediate plans to draw on the credit lines, and they will be kept in reserve.

"They are contingent credit lines whose objective is to have resources immediately available for any eventual needs," a government source in Lima told Reuters. "We don't expect to use these resources in the near term. Nor do they substitute traditional financing through bond issuances or other debt instruments such as loans from multilateral institutions for financing projects."

The World Bank also is engaged in loan discussions with Africa's two biggest oil exporters, Nigeria and Angola, and the Caspian Sea crude producer Azerbaijan.

The collapse of oil and commodities prices and demand brought on by China's massive growth slowdown has widened budget deficits of many oil and mineral exporters and caused capital outflows that have pressured currencies.

With foreign currency reserves still above crisis levels, several of these countries have opted not to seek rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund, choosing instead to explore financing available through World Bank programs aimed at supporting institutional and market-based reforms.

One of the credit lines under discussion with Peru is aimed at "strengthening fiscal management amid the regional economic downturn," while the other would support "reforms to boost human capital and productivity," the World Bank official said.

Story continues

Known as Deferred Drawdown Options, the credit lines can add to Peru's existing total of $1.5 billion in contingent credit lines already arranged with multilateral institutions.

The government source said that the credit lines "are part of a prudent asset and liability management strategy that recognizes that when faced with adverse market conditions or possible financial needs due to natural disasters, it's best to have credit lines available."

Peru's economy has slowed sharply from growth rates that topped 6 percent during a decade-long mining boom fueled by high prices for its key copper and gold exports and strong demand from China's manufacturing sector. The budget deficit is set to widen to about 3 percent of gross domestic product in 2016 as forecasts for an growth rebound are routinely ratcheted down.

Earlier on Wednesday, an IMF fact-finding team sent to Baku urged Azerbaijan to boost reforms and diversify its economy to better withstand the plunge in global crude prices that have triggered a sharp fall in the manat currency.

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington and Mitra Taj in Lima; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)
HELSINKI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Finland should consider replacing its ageing Hornet fighter jets with Swedish firm Saab's Jas Gripens, Matti Vanhanen, the country's former prime minister and the current head of MPs in the ruling Centre party, said on Wednesday.

Finland is looking to replace its 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets with multirole fighter aircrafts in a procurement estimated at 5-10 billion euros ($5.5-$11 billion).

Vanhanen, in a book published on Wednesday, said deepening defence cooperation between Finland and Sweden supported the choice of the Swedish aircraft.

"If the aircraft meet the required performance demands, and the planes can be equipped with necessary weapon systems, then the purchase would have a positive impact on fostering defence co-operation between Finland and Sweden," Vanhanen, a close adviser to the current Prime Minister Juha Sipila, told Reuters.

A Finnish government working group proposed in June that a request for quotations for new jets should be carried out in 2017-2018, with final decisions to be made in the early 2020s.

The working group did not recommend any specific model or manufacturer, but listed the candidates as Jas Gripen, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, Boeing's Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin's F-35 and the Eurofighter, which is made by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The government has no preferred candidates, and it has not ruled any out.

Finland and Sweden, both militarily non-allied, have recently deepened cooperation in training, information sharing and by the use of ports and airports. The governments said last month the countries could also in the future cooperate in armed conflicts. ($1 = 0.9160 euros) (Reporting by Tuomas Forsell, editing by Jussi Rosendahl and Susan Thomas)
ABBOTSFORD, BC--(Marketwired - February 03, 2016) - Gatekeeper Systems Inc. ("Gatekeeper" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: GSI) (OTC PINK: GKPRF) (1GK.F) is pleased to report a new contract by the United States Air Force for Gatekeeper's VIPERFISH SDI-1 High-Definition airborne Digital Video Recorders. The value of the contract is approximately $350,000 USD.

Gatekeeper received a purchase order from Stirling Computers Corporation ("Stirling") for twenty-five airborne high-definition digital video recorders and is expected to deliver within ninety days of the purchase order being received. Stirling is an experienced Department of Defense contractor with past awards totaling over $100 million USD.

President and CEO Doug Dyment commented, "We are thrilled with the new contract award for our latest airborne digital video recorders. Integrating with L3 Wescam's MX-15Di sensor on the Gunship opens new opportunities for us. Our Viperfish SDI-1 high-definition airborne recorder not only meets military standards such as electromagnetic interference and explosive environment, but it does so by providing a cost effective, high performance and fully compliant platform for multiple defense and home security applications. We are pleased with our new alliance with Stirling who has a proven track record of over $100 million in contract awards with the Department of Defense and we congratulate them on winning this competitive bid contract."

The Viperfish airborne digital video recorder was required to capture 720P or greater resolution over a HD SDI interface from L3 Wescam's MX-15Di sensor. Other requirements included synchronized audio, carry-on carry-off external storage media and various Military Standards including MIL-STD-461F electromagnetic interference/conductance (EMI-EMC), and MIL-STD-810G environmental including explosive atmosphere.

Gatekeeper, through its Deep Development Corp. division, has been a long standing supplier of airborne digital video recorders for the United States Air Force AC-130 Gunships sold directly or through defense contractors such as Boeing Aerospace.

Story continues

About Gatekeeper Systems Inc.

Gatekeeper provides innovative, end-to-end video safety and security solutions for mobile applications including body cameras, in-car police video systems, school bus video and stop arm camera video enforcement systems, transit bus video systems, and airborne digital recording systems for military applications.

The Company is headquartered in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and its shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "GSI", on the OTC Markets under the symbol "GKPRF", and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1GK".

For more information visit: www.gatekeeper-systems.com.

On behalf of the Board,

"Douglas Dyment"

President & CEO

Neither 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.
Live Free or Die is the official motto of New Hampshire, a state that prides itself on independence and choosing non-traditional candidates in the first-in-the-nation primary.

New Hampshires nominating contest follows the Iowa Caucus on the calendar but voters do not typically follow their lead. New Hampshire primary voters havent picked the same winning Republican candidate in 40 years.

There are now nine remaining contenders in the GOP field with recent departures from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who was expected to officially suspend his campaign late Wednesday. The rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls are battling to keep their campaigns alive ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

No one has an incentive to quit before New Hampshire and everybody has enough money to play there so they might as well roll the dice and see if any magic strikes, said Matthew Hale, associate professor of political science at Seton Hall University.

I think right after New Hampshire votes you will see a whole bunch of people calling it a day.

In a recent poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, real estate mogul Donald Trump is in first place with 30% support from likely primary voters. Newly minted Iowa Caucus winner Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is in second place with 12%, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is in third with 11% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich comes in fourth place at 9%.

Andrew Smith, director of the Survey Center for the University of New Hampshire, says the Granite State is different than any other primary state because it consistently has a really big turnout rate, with more than 50% expected this year.

The people who vote are not political activists, they are just regular old voters and they are not wedded to any one candidate, said Smith.

Traditionally, New Hampshire primary voters dont make up their minds about a candidate until right before casting a ballot, which gives contenders a chance to make their final appeals for last votes as long as they have played a good ground game which includes: being personal and sharing policies.

Story continues

New Hampshire voters expect a personal connection with the people they are going to vote for. There is an old joke there, who are you going to vote for? I dont know I havent met them all yet. Voters expect to have shaken hands, seen and heard them all in person either at a town hall or diner, not just on TV. So the number of personal connections a candidate has really play out on Election Day, said Hale.

Hale says the lowest ranking candidates who are considered to be more of a long shot in the still overcrowded Republican field should start examining the reality of getting out.

I think [former Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) CEO] Carly Fiorina is still holding on and every once in a while she seems to show some signs of life, but she is pretty much done. [Former Virginia Gov.] Jim Gilmore has never been around and he is still holding on, said Hale. I think [Retired Neurosurgeon] Ben Carson is probably in a fair amount of trouble because it seems Ted Cruz has cleared the decks of his wing of the Republican party. Carson is on the bubble right now so he has to beat Cruz in New Hampshire.

Other candidates on the bubble include Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Hale says all three must beat Marco Rubio in New Hampshire in order to stay in the race.

Kasich, who has recently been rising in the polls while scoring key endorsements from the Boston Globe and New York Times, has dedicated as much time to New Hampshire as Christie. The New Jersey governor has been working an intense ground game, practically living in the Granite State, and was recently introduced to the state legislature as the Governor of New Hampshire.

Christie was rising in the polls a couple weeks ago: He may have peaked too early and now Kasich is the flavor of the week. Kasich could be rising because people are still searching for the mainstream establishment Republican. Iowa said its going to be Marco Rubio but I dont think New Hampshire has made that decision yet, said Hale.

The New Hampshire primary will be held on Tuesday, February 9.

Related Articles
Aetna's 4Q15 Results Are Coming Up: Will It Beat the Estimates?

(Continued from Prior Part)

Government-sponsored programs

Government-sponsored programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are expected to be key drivers of Aetnas (AET) revenue growth in 4Q15. Aetnas performance in the Medicare business has been consistently strong in the first three quarters of 2015. The company increased its total Medicare membership by about 11% on a year-to-date (or YTD) basis.

In 2015, on a YTD basis, Aetna also witnessed a 14% rise in the total members enrolled in its Medicare Advantage (or MA) plans. To know more about Aetnas government-sponsored business, please refer to Aetnas Government-Sponsored Business Accounts for 38% of Revenue.

The above diagram shows that according to Aetnas projections, its MA segment offers the best combination of revenue growth as well as long-term margins. Although Medicaid and duals also contribute to Aetnas revenues, they generally earn low profit margins.

Factors driving Medicare performance

On April 6, 2015, the federal government announced that MA payments will rise by about 1.3% year-over-year (or YoY) in 2016. This is also expected to boost government revenues of other health insurance companies such as Humana (HUM), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), and Anthem (ANTM).

To further expand its Medicare business, Aetna has planned to increase its geographic presence. It has decided to offer Medicare products in 745 counties in the United States in 2016. Compared to its national peers, Aetna also scores the highest in MA plan quality, with 87% of its Medicare members enrolled in plans with four or higher MA star ratings. These members represent about half of the total Medicare-eligible members in the United States.

Medicaid performance

Aetna has also reported strong membership growth in the Medicaid business. It enrolled about 86,000 people mainly due to the Affordable Care Act (or ACA) Medicaid expansion. This has enabled Aetna to earn solid operating margins in its Medicaid business, despite slower growth in its duals program and a decline in payment rates in the Kentucky Medicaid contract.

Story continues

The company will also witness further membership growth due to recently awarded contracts such as the Michigan Medicaid contract and the Texas STAR Kids program. To know more about Medicaid expansion, please refer to Why Medicaid expansion leads to better hospital performance.

You can get exposure to Aetna through the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). Aetna accounts for 0.23% of IVVs total holdings.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
(Adds context and additional comments from Gramercy and Peru)

LIMA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Gramercy Funds Management LLC is threatening to sue Peru for at least $1.3 billion in a dispute over its decades-old land-reform bonds, the company and finance ministry said Tuesday.

U.S.-based Gramercy said in a notice of intent to commence arbitration that Peru had rendered the bonds worthless, which it said amounted to expropriation and a violation of the free trade agreement with the United States.

In 2013, Peru's Constitutional Court ordered Peru to honor the bonds using a method of calculating its current value favored by the government - upsetting bondholders who expected as much as $8 billion.

Gramercy owns about 10,000 of the bonds and said they should be worth at least $1.3 billion instead of the $1.9 million or less it estimates it would get now.

Peru said it was confident it had acted diligently and would defeat a claim.

"These bonds were issued in Peru, in local currency, and are subject to Peruvian law and the jurisdiction of Peruvian courts," the finance ministry said in a statement.

Peru issued the bonds as compensation for land expropriated and redistributed to the poor in the 1970s by leftist dictator Juan Velasco. Previous Peruvian governments resisted honoring them, even during a decade-long mining-boom that allowed gross domestic product to more than double.

Peru's fiscal and current account deficit have since widened as the prices it fetches for its key copper and gold exports have dropped and helped cut economic growth in half.

Last year Gramercy threatened to sue Peru and launched a media campaign to draw attention to what some bondholders call a "second expropriation."

Gramercy said Peruvian officials have repeatedly rejected invitations to negotiate, including last week by Peru's Ambassador to the United States Luis Miguel Castilla, who was finance minister at the time of the 2013 court decision.

The fund said if it could not reach a solution with Peru it would commence arbitration proceedings.

(Reporting by Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Bernard Orr and Lisa Shumaker)
Bookmakers currently give odds of around 2/5 for Remain, compared to around 2/1 for Leave, suggesting gamblers believe overall it is more likely Britain will stay in the EU (AFP Photo/Emmanuel Dunand) (AFP/File)

Paris (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday said there should be no further changes to proposed reforms to keep Britain in the EU when the plan is discussed at a summit in Brussels in two weeks.

"We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union. The compromise that has been found will likely allow us to find solutions to problems that until now seemed difficult to resolve. But at the European Council (summit), there can be no new adjustments...(or) new negotiations," Hollande told reporters after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The proposals unveiled by European Council President Donald Tusk to avoid a "Brexit" notably include a so-called "emergency brake" that would allow an EU state to limit the welfare payments that migrants from other European countries can claim for up to four years after their arrival.

The plan also includes a "mechanism" by which the nine countries that are not in the euro -- including Britain -- can raise concerns about decisions by eurozone nations, though Tusk has sought to reassure countries such as France this would not amount to giving non-euro states a final say on such matters.

"We have reached a point that should give Britons the reassurances needed while respecting European principles," Hollande said in the statement.

But he reiterated there "can be no veto by countries outside the eurozone" on eurozone policies.

The proposed deal will be presented to all 28 EU leaders during a crunch February 18-19 summit in Brussels.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said Tusk's plans showed "real progress" and made it likely that he would campaign to stay in the EU in a referendum expected in June.
By Krishna N. Das and Manolo Serapio Jr NEW DELHI/MANILA (Reuters) - State-run company KIOCL is considering building an iron ore pellet complex in Iran at a cost of about $59 million and is in talks to sell more than 2 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material to the Gulf country now free from trade sanctions. The potential Indian investment could offer cheaper supplies of processed iron ore to Iranian steel mills that, like most companies around the world, are having to contend with cut-price steel from an oversupplied China. Companies such as KIOCL and aluminium maker NALCO, which is considering setting up a $2 billion smelter complex in Iran, hope that India's long-held ties with the Middle Eastern country would help them seal new deals. India had remained one of Iran's top oil buyers during the Western trade curbs and is already in talks to buy more now that the sanctions have been lifted. KIOCL Chairman Malay Chatterjee told Reuters on Wednesday that he discussed setting up a 1.1 million tonne beneficiation plant -- for ore purification -- and a 1.1 million tonne pelletising plant in Iran through a potential joint venture with a local company when he was there in Tehran late last year. Further government-level talks could take place soon to pave the way for the project, which could cost abut 4 billion rupees ($59 million), he said. KIOCL's commercial director, M.V. Subba Rao, flew to Tehran on Tuesday and to scout for more deals after selling 67,000 tonnes of ore pellets to Iran's Mobarakeh Steel Company last month. "Rao will talk to Mobarakeh and other companies as we have the capacity to export up to 2.5 million tonnes of pellets a year," Chatterjee said. "There is enough demand in Iran, though everybody is facing competition from an oversupplied China (steel industry)." Mobarakeh's managing director, Bahram Sobhani, said his company sources pellets from a variety of suppliers, including KIOCL, but declined to give details. Keyvan Ja'fari Tehrani, head of international affairs at the Iranian Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association, said the country's steel mills are not aggressively chasing expensive foreign pellets because local steel production has been falling. However, talks over KIOCL's proposed investment in an Iranian plant could be complicated by plans for two Iranian companies -- Gol-e-Gohar and Sangan Mines -- to start their own pellet production from March, which Tehrani said would add more than 5 million tonnes in supplies. Iran used to import 7-8 million tonnes of pellets a year, with total demand of 28-29 million tonnes, but Tehrani said the new supplies could soon end the country's reliance on imports. ($1 = 68.0500 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Krishna N. Das in NEW DELHI and Manolo Serapio Jr. in MANILA; Additional reporting by Maytaal Angel in LONDON; Editing by David Goodman)
Getty Images. The Chicago Board of Education sold $675 million in bonds, with yields hitting 8.5 percent, just short of the Greek 10-year yield.

Another indicator points to financial trouble in Chicago.

The Chicago Board of Education sold $675 million in bonds on Wednesday, with yields hitting 8.5 percent, according to Reuters. That yield is only about 1 percent lower than the yield on 10-year bonds (Exchange: GR10Y-GR) issued by cash-strapped Greece and roughly equal to the yields on Greek 30-year debt.

The Chicago general obligation bonds, which are due in 2044, are not directly comparable to the Greek bonds. But the yields show just how much concerns about the financial state of Chicago have grown.

Chicago has struggled to fully pay public pensions and fund its public education system. The bonds sold by the Board of Education on Wednesday carry a "junk" rating.



Legislation that would allow Chicago's public schools to declare bankruptcy was introduced last month, and the board of education has attempted to assure investors that it could pay off debt if the school district ends up in bankruptcy court.

The school district previously planned to sell $875 million in bonds Wednesday but trimmed the offering.

 Reuters contributed to this report.





More From CNBC


* Deal valued at C$3.2 bln ($2.28 bln)

* Lowe's to pay C$24/shr per common share, C$20 for prefs

* Premium on common shares more than double Tuesday close

* Largest shareholder Caisse says will accept offer

* Lowe's made unsolicited offer more than three years ago (Adds Breakingviews link)

By Amrutha Gayathri

Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos Inc agreed to buy Canada's Rona Inc for C$3.2 billion ($2.28 billion), winning over Rona's board with a far higher offer than an unsolicited bid more than three years ago that was opposed by the company and Quebec politicians.

The deal will put Lowe's in a stronger position to compete with Home Depot Inc in Canada's more-than $30 billion home improvement market.

Lowe's, which withdrew a C$1.8 billion offer for Rona in September 2012, said on Wednesday it had made key commitments, including moving the headquarters of its Canadian business from Toronto to Rona's home base in the Montreal suburb of Boucherville, Quebec.

It also said it would retain the vast majority of Rona's employees, keep the brand and ramp up distribution to independent dealers, many of whom had opposed the previous deal.

Lowe's previous attempt to take over Rona became a hot-button issue in Quebec.

Quebec's economic development minister said it would not be in the interest of the Liberal government to block the new deal, despite a call from the opposition Parti Quebecois to reject it.

Asked on a call with analysts why Lowe's had made a new offer, Chief Executive Robert Niblock said Rona was "a much better business today."

After years of disappointing sales, Rona has been closing unprofitable stores and generally streamlining operations under Chief Executive Robert Sawyer. Sales at established stores have risen five quarters in a row.

Lowe's push into Canada comes a year after Target Corp exited the country after less than two years due to supply chain and other issues.

The big difference is that Lowe's is buying an established business, while Target was largely starting from scratch.

Story continues

CAISSE ACCEPTS

Lowe's, the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, had only 40 of its 1,850 North America stores in Canada as of March. Rona has about 700 stores.

Home Depot has 182 Canadian stores, its website shows.

Lowe's will pay C$24 per share for Rona's common shares - more than double the stock's close on Tuesday.

Rona's largest shareholder, Quebec public pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, said it would accept the offer. The Caisse holds about 17 percent of Rona, Thomson Reuters data shows.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Peter Sklar said the deal would likely win regulatory approval.

Rona's shares were trading as high as $C23.57 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, their highest since July 2007. Lowe's shares were down nearly 8 percent at $66.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. ($1 = 1.4012 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri and Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; With additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Kevin Dougherty in Quebec City; Additional writing by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Maju Samuel, Ted Kerr and Jonathan Oatis)
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Malaysia's second finance minister, Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, said the government may further revise its 2016 budget if oil prices fall below $25 per barrel, state media reported.

Ahmad Husni said on Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) late on Tuesday that the government must always be realistic in determining national expenditure, according to state news agency Bernama.

Last week, Prime Minister Najib Razak slashed 2016 spending plans and trimmed its growth forecast in a budget revision as weak global oil prices squeezed finances of Southeast Asia's third-largest economy.

The revised budget was based on the assumption that world crude oil prices would be $30-$35 per barrel.

However, Ahmad Husni said a further decline in the oil price "by $5 per barrel is impossible as oil producers (countries) will definitely protect their financial position."

Crude oil prices were at $32 per barrel on Wednesday.

Malaysia, which is the world's second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has been hit hard by tumbling oil prices. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Russian Su-27

On the night of March 29, 2013, a contingent of Russian combat aircraft flew across the Gulf of Finland and came within 18 to 24 miles of Swedish territory near Gotland Island, which is only 100 miles from Stockholm.

The aircraft followed a flight path that deviated from typical Russian air force routes in the region. While Russian planes often fly between "mainland" Russia and the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, these aircraft made a detour that suggested they were carrying out a simulated attack of some kind.

Now, a NATO report has appeared to confirm the purpose of that Russian maneuver. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's 2015 annual report, released late last month, referred to the event as one of several "simulated nuclear attacks" on NATO and its partners, according to The Local, Sweden's English-language publication.

"As part of its overall military build-up, the pace of Russias military maneuvers and drills have reached levels unseen since the height of the Cold War," Stoltenberg wrote.

"Over the past three years, Russia has conducted at least 18 large-scale snap exercises, some of which have involved more than 100,000 troops. These exercises include simulated nuclear attacks on NATO Allies (eg, ZAPAD [a large-scale Russian military exercises]) and on partners (eg, March 2013 simulated attacks on Sweden)," his report continued.

Sweden map

According to a Swedish-language Svenska Dogbladet report later discussed on the The Aviationist blog, the 2013 operation involved two TU-22M3 "backfire" bombers escorted by four Su-27 flankers.

The TU-22M3 has a more than 4,300-mile operational range, and is capable of carrying cruise missiles and nuclear weapons. It's a long-range aircraft perfectly suited for strategic attacks against Western Europe. The Su-27 Flanker is a workhorse Russian fighter jet, ideally equipped for protecting strategic weapons aircraft during a bombing run.

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The planes reportedly carried out mock attacks on a military facility near Stockholm and a second facility in southern Sweden.

Tu 22 706x342

The lack of a response from the Swedish air force demonstrated that a Russian bomber group could come within nuclear strike range of the Swedish capital with total impunity.

As an analysis from the Warsaw-based Center for European Studies revealed, Sweden didn't even have a quick-reaction alert team on call the night of the operation, a fact that revealed "structural problems" and staffing issues within the country's air force. Two Danish F-16s on a NATO air policing mission ended up shadowing the Russian aircraft  but the incident made Sweden appear alarmingly vulnerable to a surprise Russian strike.

That could be why the country, which is not a member of NATO, launched its largest military operation since the Cold War in response to evidence that a Russian submarine had entered the country's territorial waters in October 2014. The mock nuclear attack exposed a vulnerability that Sweden seemed eager to correct.

Although the attack came before Russia's March 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, it's consistent with Russian President Vladimir Putin's penchant for subtly raising the specter of a possible nuclear attack on neighboring states in the years after the Ukraine crisis.

Putin has spoken frankly about Russia's nuclear capabilities over the past year, while the strategic value of nuclear preemption had been openly discussed among more nationalistic Russian politicians and policy analysts in the aftermath of the Crimea annexation.

In November 2015, the Kremlin deliberately "leaked" images of an underwater, trans-oceanic nuclear torpedo supposedly in development, giving an impression that Russia has a continued interest in exotic nuclear delivery systems.

But the fact that the mock nuclear attack on Sweden came before the Crimea crisis shows that Russia was carrying out provocative nuclear attack simulations on Western European even before relations reached a crisis point. The 2013 operation flaunted Russia's military capabilities while exposing how unprepared its neighbors would be in the event of an actual conflict.

NOW WATCH: This is how Mexican drug cartels make billions selling drugs





More From Business Insider


US President Barack Obama speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in Windsor Mill, Maryland on February 3, 2016 (AFP Photo/Mandel Ngan)

Baltimore (AFP) - Barack Obama offered an impassioned rebuttal of "inexcusable" Republican election rhetoric against Muslims Wednesday, on his first trip to an American mosque since becoming president seven years ago.

Obama, whose grandfather converted to Islam, made the short trip to the Islamic Society of Baltimore to call on Americans not to be "bystanders to bigotry."

Invoking the Prophet Mohammed and hailing the tolerance shown by American political icons from Thomas Jefferson to Dwight Eisenhower, Obama hit out at anti-Islamic sentiment that is "not who we are."

"We've heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country," he said, lauding Muslim-Americans as sports heroes, entrepreneurs and the architect who fashioned Chicago's dizzying skyline.

His comments came as a shrill election debate has sullied America's image abroad, and as jihadist attacks in San Bernardino and Philadelphia threatened to shatter post-9/11 religious solidarity at home.

Six days after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, then president George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, declaring "Islam is peace."

Today, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has wooed conservative voters by demanding a ban on Muslim immigrants, while frontrunner Ted Cruz has advocated Christian-only admissions and championed "Judeo-Christian values."

Obama took on such comments, and asked Christians to see "an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths."

He also criticized the media and Hollywood, which he said portrayed Muslims in a narrow way.

"Our television shows should have Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security," he said.

- 'Thank you' -

Obama has visited mosques in Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt as president, but this was his first visit to one of America's 2,000-plus places of Islamic worship.

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In 2009, a freshly elected Obama traveled to Cairo to call for a "new beginning" with the Muslim world.

Much of Obama's foreign policy agenda has focused on improving ties with Muslim nations, from making a nuclear deal with Iran to ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the effort has been stymied by continued confrontation with jihadist groups and military strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Obama restated his case that organizations like the Islamic State group pervert Islam and do not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

The president offered "two words that Muslim-Americans don't hear often enough, and that is 'thank you'."

But he also called on Muslims to help tackle radicalization.

"How do we defend ourselves against organizations that are bent on killing innocents?" he asked.

"It can't be the work of any one faith alone. It can't be just a burden on the Muslim community, although the Muslim community has to play a role."

That message is a vexed one for members of the Muslim community, including audience member Riham Osman, who works for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group.

"I know national security will come up in the speech just because of the climate of today," she said ahead of Obama's remarks.

"It does upset me a little bit that it is his first time coming to visit a mosque, and there will be kids there who have grown up in this post 9/11 era and their faith is constantly linked to national security and extremism."

Around 49 percent of all Americans think "at least some" US Muslims hold anti-American sentiments, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

The United States is home to around 3.3 million Muslims.

Around 81 Muslim-Americans were involved in violent extremist plots in 2015, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Feb 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

MICROSOFT STEPS UP AI PUSH WITH SWIFTKEY DEAL

(http://bit.ly/1RZ6z2K)

LUXEMBOURG LAUNCHES PLAN TO MINE ASTEROIDS FOR MINERALS

(http://bit.ly/1RZ6E6p)

EU AND US REACH DEAL ON DATA SHARING

(http://bit.ly/1RZ6P1y)

SAINSBURY'S FINDS NOVEL WAY TO FUND HOME RETAIL DEAL

(http://bit.ly/1RZ70Kj)

Overview

* Microsoft Corp is paying about $250 million to buy Swiftkey, maker of a predictive keyboard powered by artificial intelligence that is installed on hundreds of millions of smartphones.

* Luxembourg is going to launch an official initiative to promote the mining of asteroids for minerals. Collaborating with U.S. and European commercial partners, it aims to help create a new space industry to exploit asteroids for metals and other materials that are scarce on Earth.

* The United States and European Union have agreed a new deal for transferring data across the Atlantic. A top U.S. director of national intelligence will sign a pledge that the U.S. government will avoid "indiscriminate mass surveillance" of EU citizens when their information is sent from Europe to the United States.

* One of Britain's biggest supermarket chains J Sainsbury Plc agreed on Tuesday to pay 1.3 billion pounds ($1.87 billion) to acquire Home Retail Group Plc, while analysts at Sanford Bernstein say is "a carefully crafted deal".

($1 = 0.6946 pounds) (Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Moscow (AFP) - A Russian military adviser has been killed in Syria by shelling from the Islamic State group, the Russian defence ministry told Ria Novosti news agency Wednesday.

The officer was training Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the use of "new weapons" when he was "fatally wounded" on Monday, the ministry was quoted as saying. No details were given about where the attack took place.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said three Russian soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which it said took place in an area where IS does not have a presence.

The military adviser is the third Russian officer to have been killed since Moscow began its military intervention in the war-torn country in late September.

The Russian government has launched a massive air campaign in Syria against rebels fighting to overthrow Assad, a long-time Moscow ally, but it says no Russian troops are fighting on the ground.

The Observatory said Wednesday's incident took place in the northwestern province of Latakia, where it says rebel groups fighting against the regime operate, but not IS.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier Wednesday the country would press ahead with its bombing campaign in Syria until "terrorist organisations" such as the Islamic State jihadist group are defeated.

Russia suffered its first casualties in the conflict in November, when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet it claimed had violated Turkish airspace. One of the two pilots on board died in the downing. Another serviceman was killed in a subsequent rescue mission.

The incident triggered a huge row between the countries, with Turkey saying the jet strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, and Moscow insisting it did not cross over from Syria and accusing Ankara of a planned provocation.

Backed by the intense Russian air campaign, Syrian troops have been gaining ground in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Assad's regime cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border, in a major blow to the opposition.

The development was followed by the announcement that troubled talks in Geneva aimed at securing peace in Syria were being suspended until February 25.
MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Spain's Socialists on Wednesday kicked off long-awaited talks to form a coalition government, a task seen as impossible unless several political parties drop some major red lines.

In a brief speech to representatives of his party, socialist chief Pedro Sanchez announced he would meet with small leftist and regional parties on Wednesday, with liberal Ciudadanos on Thursday and with anti-austerity Podemos on Friday.

He also said he had appointed a six-strong team to handle the negotiations, which will focus on four areas: creating jobs, tackling social inequalities, restoring faith in the country's institutions and giving Spain a new constitution to better accommodate Catalonia.

"Before we can discuss the 'who' we have to answer the 'what'," Sanchez said. "I want to send a message of confidence because Spain can be governed with moderation and dialogue and with progressive policies."

Given Spain's unprecedented parliamentary fragmentation, the socialists would need the backing of at least three parties to achieve a simple majority of seats while several others would have to abstain.

Not only do those parties have different - and sometimes opposed - economic manifestos but they also disagree on fundamental issues such as whether to organise an independence referendum in Catalonia.

Sanchez had said on Tuesday that he would need at least one month before he could seek the confidence of the parliament.

If he fails, other potential candidates would have a maximum of two month to try to form an alternative majority. After that, a new national election would have to be called.

(Reporting by Julien Toyer and Blanca Rodriguez; Editing by Dominic Evans)
earl avery making a murderer steven access hollywood

Steven Avery has another family member in his corner, who says Steven has apologized for ever naming him as a suspect.

The "Making a Murderer" subject's brother, Earl Avery, appeared in his first television interview earlier this week, and he said that he's made amends with Steven, who previously implicated him in a theory of the murder.

I guess blood is blood and you cant change that. Life is too short, Earl told "Access Hollywood."

After his 2007 conviction for killing Teresa Halbach, who was allegedly last seen on the Avery property, Steven accused his brothers, Earl and Charles, of possibly killing her. Earl said he understands why Steven pointed to them.

"He told me that his lawyers told him to say that," Earl told the show. "And he told me that he was frustrated that we wouldn't talk to him or go up and see him."

steven avery making a murderer ap

Earl also pointed out an observation that may have bearing on his brother's conviction: He says that on the night Halbach went missing, he drove by the spot

where her car would later be found, but it wasn't there.

Debates have been raging around Steven's conviction since December, when Netflix released "Making a Murderer," a 10-episode docuseries following Steven and his then-teen nephew Brendan Dassey's trials in the murder of Halbach. Its themes of police corruption and the impact of wealth and media on the criminal justice system resonated with many viewers.

Steven and Dassey are currently serving life sentences.

Watch the interview with Earl below:

NOW WATCH: The lawyer from 'Making A Murderer' describes what's wrong with America's criminal justice system





More From Business Insider


TAIPEI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Taiwanese regulators on Wednesday approved a plan by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to build a chip plant in China that will make 12-inch wafers.

The plan was announced by the company in December after Taiwan authorities relaxed rules that had mandated such investments in China be done under joint venture terms.

TSMC had lobbied the Taiwanese government to allow chip companies to invest in advanced wafer-making facilities in China as wholly owned businesses to protect their intellectual property.

(Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
SIERRA BLANCA, TX--(Marketwired - Feb 3, 2016) - Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp. (OTCQX: TRER) has issued the following letter:

Dear Shareholders:

2015 has been another difficult year for the mining industry in general and the rare earth sector in particular. Although the fundamentals and long term growth trends for the heavy and magnet rare earth elements remain favorable, illegal production as well as some overproduction in China has depressed prices to the point where most rare earth operations, unless also producing mineral by-products, are uneconomic, including those in China. China has committed publicly to tacking the illegal production issue. Lack of reliable information regarding Chinese rare earth production makes it difficult to predict how long it will take to draw down any oversupply.

One thing that has not changed is the vulnerability of the United States military and major consumer goods companies to restriction or cutoff of supply of these important elements. We remain confident that the Round Top deposit will be an important link in the supply chain of these strategic commodities. Work in progress on the processing and separation of the rare earth elements from the primary leach solution is yielding favorable results and we are highly confident that the CIX/CIC process being developed by our processing partner K-Technologies Inc. will be efficient and economic.

We are now in the process of evaluating the separation and marketing of the various other elements that are leached from the rock. The aggregate value of the elements -- potassium, lithium, iron, magnesium, manganese, sodium and beryllium -- reporting in the leach solution exceeds that of the rare earth elements at current market prices. We are confident that a process to separate these elements as sulfates can be designed, because of the widespread use of these compounds in agriculture and water treatment there is a very large body of knowledge on their production. Existing rail access at Round Top, and the fact that these elements are already in solution as sulfates, holds the possibility that these elements alone could support a profitable operation.

Story continues

2015 Operations

Using the equipment and personnel of the nearby railroad ballast quarry, we mined and crushed approximately 500 tonnes of rhyolite from Round Top. This "trial mine" has verified that mining this ore will be low cost and will require little or no blasting. Crushing characteristics of the rock are excellent for leaching in that the rock tends to break into tabular, domino shaped particles.

The capital market has caused us to scale back the process development work originally planned for the past year, but we have made technical progress with K-Tech in adapting the CIX/CIC technique for separating the rare earth elements from the primary leach solution. We have been sufficiently encouraged by this work being conducted at K-Tech's Florida lab that we have executed a joint venture with them to introduce the technology to the rare earth industry worldwide. In late September, the joint venture LLC, named REETech, was awarded a contract by the Defense Logistics Agency, a subsidiary of the United States Department of Defense, to produce three highly purified rare earth elements. This work is presently in progress with outstanding interim results and final results are expected in the near term.

2016 Plans

TRER, through REETech, plans to fulfill the contract with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to produce highly refined samples of yttrium, ytterbium and another unnamed element. In view of the fact that ion exchange is the preferred method of making highly refined rare earth oxides (99.999% and 99.9999%) we believe that completion of the DLA contract will give REETech a chance to serve the market for these high purity products. Contingent on satisfying this contract and on arranging the necessary financing, we plan to construct and operate a pilot plant to make the entire suite of separated rare earth products.

In an otherwise challenging commodities environment, the DLA contract is a sign that Round Top rare earths could well meet critical demand, adding national security considerations to our commercial potential. With the closure of Molycorp's operations, which even at peak production did not address strategic heavy rare earths demand, the U.S. is once more 100% dependent on Chinese supply. In 2016, we will continue to make Round Top's potential as a reliable domestic source of critical rare earths known to relevant federal officials in the executive and legislative branches, as well as key state officials in Texas.

Again, contingent on arranging the requisite financing, we plan to conduct a series of column leach tests to optimize recoveries of the rare earth elements and also the various by-products present in the leach solution. We believe these so-called by-products are now important enough to be considered as co-products. In order to stress their importance and to more accurately reflect the expanded scope of our final products we are proposing to change the name of the company to Texas Mineral Resources Corp.

Work on processing the primary leach solution to separate the fertilizer and industrial sulfates is presently being carried out in the Geology Department labs at University of Texas at El Paso under the supervision of one of our directors, Dr. Pingitore.

Respectfully,

Dan Gorski

About Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp.

Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp.'s primary focus is exploring and, if warranted, developing its Round Top rare earth minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles east of El Paso. The Company's common stock trades on the OTCQX U.S. tier under the symbol "TRER."

Forward-Looking Statements

The press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Texas Rare Earth Resources expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as the potential development of the Round Top rare earth project, estimates of mineralized material, possible low costs of production, advancement of exploration and resource definition, future mineralogical and metallurgical analysis and results, potential profitable production, the Company obtaining sufficient water rights for mining operations, the Company's plans for 2016, including optimizing cost and recoveries, determining the economics of bi-product elements, maximizing shareholder value and other such similar matters are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "potential", "indicate", "expect", "intend", "hopes," "believe," "may," "will," "if, "anticipate" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Texas Rare Earth Resources to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of mineralized material estimates, risks relating to completing metallurgical testing at the Round Top project, risks related to project development determinations, risks related to fluctuations in the price of rare earth minerals, the inherently hazardous nature of mining related activities, potential effects on Texas Rare Earth Resource's operations of environmental regulations, risks related to uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Texas Rare Earth Resource's latest annual report on Form 10-K as filed on November 12, 2014 and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although Texas Rare Earth Resources has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Except as required by law, Texas Rare Earth Resources assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(Adds criticism from Republican lawmaker)

By Andrea Shalal and David Alexander

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday the Pentagon would seek a $582.7 billion defense budget next year and reshape its spending priorities to reflect a new strategic environment marked by Russian assertiveness and the rise of Islamic State.

Carter, speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, said the funding request was in line with last year's congressional budget deal and the spending plan would be refocused to address the five big challenges facing the U.S. military: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Islamic State.

"Today's security environment is dramatically different than the one we've been engaged with for the last 25 years and it requires new ways of thinking and new ways of acting," he said.

Carter's remarks came a week ahead of the formal rollout of the administration's 2017 budget. The Pentagon is in the process of cutting projected spending by nearly $1 trillion over a decade but the congressional budget deal last year raised the department's spending caps by $25 billion for 2016 and $15 billion for 2017.

The Pentagon received $580 billion this fiscal year, including a $521 billion base budget and $59 billion in war funding, which is not constrained by budget caps. The budget deal set the Pentagon's base budget for 2017 at about $524 billion and war funding at a minimum of $59 billion.

But a top Republican lawmaker quickly accused President Barack Obama of failing to use the authority given him by the deal to boost the Pentagon's war-funding budget.

"The president's response to a security environment that is quickly degrading is to further cannibalize our military capability," Representative Mac Thornberry, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Carter said that to address the changing strategic environment the Pentagon would seek $7.5 billion for the war against Islamic State in the 2017 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, a 50 percent increase over spending on the conflict this year.

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He said the increase was critical because the United States has used so many smart bombs and laser-guided rockets against the militants in Iraq and Syria that it is running low on the weapons and needs to invest $1.8 billion for 45,000 more.

Carter said the Pentagon would ask for $3.4 billion to boost military training and exercises aimed at reassuring European countries concerned about Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has worried NATO allies with its strategic bomber flights.

Obama said in a statement the request for European training, a four-fold increase from last year's $789 million, would enable the United States to strengthen the U.S. military posture in Europe. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the move a "clear sign" of the U.S. commitment to European security.

Carter also voiced concern about China's military intentions. Beijing has been rapidly developing missiles and other weapons that could force the U.S. military to operate farther from shore in the case of a conflict.

"Key to our approach is being able to deter our most advanced competitors," Carter said. "We must have - and be seen to have - the ability to impose unacceptable costs on an advanced aggressor."

To build upon the U.S. military's technological superiority, Carter said the Defense Department planned to invest $71.4 billion next year in research and development, much of it aimed at boosting strategic capabilities.

The military has been developing drone aircraft and boats that are capable of swarming an adversary, preventing it from threatening U.S. warships and jets.

He said the Pentagon also would spend $8.1 billion on undersea warfare in fiscal 2017 and more than $40 billion in the next five years.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, David Alexander and Roberta Rampton in Washington and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Bill Trott)
* Minister accuses presidential ally of meddling

* Western powers say "deeply disappointed" by exit

* Ukrainian sovereign bonds tumble

* Resignation will undermine investor confidence - analyst (Adds U.S. State Department comment)

By Natalia Zinets

KIEV, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius quit on Wednesday saying his ministry was being hijacked by corrupt vested interests, dealing another blow to Western hopes that the country can reform itself.

In his statement, Abromavicius singled out a close ally of President Petro Poroshenko, accusing him of blocking the ministry's work and pressing for powerful jobs for placemen, with the support of the president's office. Poroshenko later responded by urging Abromavicius to stay, adding that the anti-corruption bureau would investigate the allegations.

Abromavicius's exit could derail plans to privatise around 100 state-owned companies, which were a plank of a reform programme to turn around an economy which shrank by more than a tenth last year.

There has been mounting public anger that the new, pro-Western government that came to power after a pro-Russian president was toppled by protests in 2014 has not delivered on promises to stamp out corruption. The government's approval ratings have fallen sharply.

Ukraine's international backers, including the United States and the European Union, have also become increasingly impatient with the slow pace of change in a country into which they have pumped billions of dollars in aid.

A group of envoys, including the U.S., German and British representatives in Kiev, said they were "deeply disappointed" by the resignation, which also sent Ukrainian sovereign bonds tumbling.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Abromavicius implemented tough economic policies that delivered "real reform results for Ukraine." He urged Ukraine's leaders to press ahead with those reforms but declined to speculate on the impact the resignation would have on U.S. assistance to Kiev.

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Any threat of Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk's government collapsing would deeply worry Ukraine's Western partners, who have backed the coalition to keep the country from falling back into Moscow's orbit.

"Neither me, nor my team have any desire to serve as a cover-up for the covert corruption, or become puppets for those who, very much like the 'old' government, are trying to exercise control over the flow of public funds," Abromavicius said in an English-language statement.

Ukraine has struggled economically since the 2014 revolt, which was followed by Russia's annexation of its Crimea peninsula and by war in the east of the country against pro-Russian separatists Kiev says are supported by Moscow.

Abromavicius is a Lithuanian-born former asset manager who was brought in as one of several foreign experts to help run Ukraine's new government.

He said Ihor Kononenko, a senior lawmaker close to Poroshenko, had lobbied to get his people appointed as heads of state companies, culminating in an attempt to appoint one of his people as Abromavicius's deputy. A candidate showed up, demanding to be appointed, he said.

After that, "I received a call from the President's Administration, whereby I was emphatically suggested to hire this individual, as well as another one, who would take the position of my deputy in charge of defence industry. I responded by declining to take part in this corrupt arrangement and by offering to resign my post."

Kononenko denied the accusations as "completely absurd", and said Abromavicius was trying to shift blame for his own failures in running the ministry. Yatseniuk said there was a campaign to discredit his government, and accused Abromavicius of "running from the field of battle."

WORSE NOT BETTER

Since coming to power in 2014, the government has pledged to stamp out the systemic graft that flourished under former president Viktor Yanukovich and kept Ukraine hooked on Russian money and cheap gas.

But many Ukrainians believe corruption has not improved, eroding support for the authorities, deterring foreign investment and causing Western backers to question Kiev's ability to deliver real change.

They have warned Ukraine not to repeat the mistakes of more than a decade ago, when the euphoria of the "Orange Revolution" of 2004, an earlier popular protest movement that brought pro-Western leaders to power, eroded amid government infighting and a failure to stamp out graft.

The slow pace of change now threatens to derail a $40 billion aid-for-reforms deal championed by the International Monetary Fund, European Union and United States.

"Abromavicius' initial appointment was made precisely because, as a Lithuanian with no experience in Ukrainian politics, he came from outside a corrupt system and could credibly work to reform it," said Daragh McDowell of the risk analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft.

His exit "will fatally undermine what little confidence investors still had in the Poroshenko administration and Ukraine's economic prospects in general."

Low approval ratings for Yatseniuk's government have raised expectations of a major ministerial reshuffle, and the government also could face a no-confidence vote in parliament around the middle of February.

"It is important that Ukraine's leaders set aside their parochial differences, put the vested interests that have hindered the country's progress for decades squarely in the past, and press forward on vital reforms," the foreign envoys in Kiev said in a joint statement.

Some other cabinet members have also expressed frustration at the pace of progress in their ministries.

Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky has threatened to resign, while Health Minister Alexander Kvitashvili tendered his resignation last summer, only to have it rejected by parliament. Abromavicius's resignation must also be approved by lawmakers, and he urged them to meet on Thursday to green-light his departure.

Poroshenko said in a statement that Abromavicius had recognised the support the president had given him.

"As far as I'm concerned this support is guaranteed, in the future also. I believe that Aivaras should stay as minister and continue reforms. He went away to think," he said.

The statement did not address the allegation of his office meddling in appointments in the ministry.

(Writing and additional reporting by Matthias Williams; Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Alexei Kalmykov and Alessandra Prentice in Kiev and Karin Strohecker and Marc Jones in London; Editing by Peter Graff and James dalgleish)
BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The risk of open war between Russia and Ukraine is greater than it was a year ago and Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun an "information war" against Germany, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the German newspaper Bild.

Poroshenko, who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday, said Russia had implemented "not one single point" of the Minsk accord, which includes a ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Russia was building up its military presence on the border with Ukraine, he said.

"The danger of an open war is greater than last year," Poroshenko told Bild, in an interview published in its Wednesday edition. "Russia is investing a great deal in war preparations."

Merkel pressed Putin by phone on Tuesday to use his influence to ensure that a ceasefire is upheld in Ukraine and that monitors from the OSCE European security organisation are granted free access to conflict areas, her spokesman said.

Berlin is growing increasingly suspicious that Russia is trying to stir up trouble in Germany to try to weaken Merkel, who has taken a tough line on a crisis that was triggered when Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014.

German officials say Moscow hopes to destabilise Europe and create a vacuum into which it can project its own power.

"Now Putin has opened an information war against Germany as well," Poroshenko said.

The Kremlin has not commented on the accusation that it is pursuing a policy of misinformation in Germany.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Louise Ireland)
(Adds Kremlin comment on alleged rape case)

BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The risk of open war between Russia and Ukraine is greater than it was a year ago and Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun an "information war" against Germany, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the German newspaper Bild.

Poroshenko, who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday, said Russia had implemented "not one single point" of the Minsk accord, which includes a ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Russia was building up its military presence on the border with Ukraine, he said.

"The danger of an open war is greater than last year," Poroshenko told Bild, in an interview published in its Wednesday edition. "Russia is investing a great deal in war preparations."

Merkel pressed Putin by phone on Tuesday to use his influence to ensure that a ceasefire is upheld in Ukraine and that monitors from the OSCE European security organisation are granted free access to conflict areas, her spokesman said.

Berlin is growing increasingly suspicious that Russia is trying to stir up trouble in Germany to try to weaken Merkel, who has taken a tough line on a crisis that was triggered when Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014.

German officials say Moscow hopes to destabilise Europe and create a vacuum into which it can project its own power.

"Now Putin has opened an information war against Germany as well," Poroshenko said.

German concerns about Moscow grew last month after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the German authorities of "sweeping problems under the rug" over an alleged rape case involving a German-Russian girl.

The case of the 13-year-old, named only as Lisa F., caused controversy after she told police that she had been kidnapped in east Berlin last month by migrants who raped her while she was held for 30 hours.

The Berlin public prosecutor's office has since said a medical examination found she was not raped.

When asked if Russia had used the case to try to stir up tensions around immigration, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters on Wednesday: "We cannot agree with such accusations."

"On the contrary, we were keen that our position be understood, we were talking about a citizen of the Russian Federation," he added. "Any country expresses its concerns (in such cases). It would be wrong to look for any hidden agenda." (Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
(Recasts throughout; adds details, quotes)

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced a measure to privatize the national air traffic control system by placing it in the hands of a new private nonprofit corporation run by airlines and other stakeholders.

The long-anticipated measure would transfer air traffic operations and 38,000 government employees from the Federal Aviation Administration to the nonprofit, in a bid to reduce flight delays, speed the adoption of next-generation technology and insulate the system's funding from congressional gridlock.

But Democrats and other critics warned that the move could lead to a costlier, less-efficient system controlled by the airline industry. They vowed to unveil a rival plan for targeted reform that would protect air traffic control from congressional politics by making its funding mandatory.

"Our system is incredibly inefficient, and it will only get worse as passenger levels grow and as the FAA falls further behind in modernizing the system," said U.S. Representative Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Shuster, who expects to send the legislation to the floor of the House next week for a possible vote, said the plan is modeled on private air traffic control operations in other countries, including Canada and Britain.

The bill won ready backing from the Airlines For America, a leading industry trade group, and the main air traffic controllers union.

But its future was unclear ahead of the November election, when voters will determine which party controls the White House and Congress in 2017.

"We cannot support the proposal," said Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the committee's top Democrat, who said he was concerned about whether it would meet acceptable safety, national security and public interest standards.

Unionized commercial pilots also objected to the measure. Delta Air Lines Inc has already warned that it would lead to higher costs for passengers.

Story continues

Republicans anticipate a three-year transition from government to private control under the proposal. It is expected to reduce annual federal FAA spending from $14 billion to $3 billion, aides said. Lost tax revenue would be replaced by user fees. But those details have yet to be worked out by the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes.

Republicans said privatization is necessary to ensure greater efficiency and modernization, pointing to a recent Transportation Department report saying two decades of reform have failed to make the FAA more efficient.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis)
The U.S. will export significant quantities of natural gas by the end of the decade.

Anyone whos followed the U.S. natural gas market for any length of time is well aware that it is an isolated market. With the exception of Canada and Mexico, the U.S. does not have the capability to export its natural gas.

Imports are another story. The U.S. has several LNG import terminals, but theyre slowly being converted into export terminalsa consequence of the fact that U.S. natural gas prices are well below those seen around the world.

For example, European natural gas prices were last trading around $10/mmbtu, while those in Japan were at $16. Compare that with the U.S. benchmark futures contract at $4.50. Clearly, theres money to be made shipping cheap U.S. natural gas into higher-priced markets.

NatGas Prices

Source: Cheniere Energy

Thats what companies such as Cheniere Energy plan to do. Cheniere has been leading the charge in the U.S. push to export natural gas. The company, which owned several money-losing import facilities, is in the process of converting those facilities into export facilities.

In the pre-shale-boom period several years ago, when it seemed like the U.S. would actually run out of natural gas, import facilitieswhich convert liquefied natural gas back into gasseemed like a good idea.

Now that the U.S. has more natural gas than it knows what to do with, Cheniere is turning those facilities into liquefaction terminals, which convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas. That will allow LNG to be shipped around the world to higher-priced markets.

Other companies are also planning to build export terminals of their own, pending government approval. The federal government has cautiously embraced the idea of natural gas exports, though it has been wary of any dramatic price increases that could occur in the U.S., which would hurt the countrys manufacturing sector.

According to Cheniere, there are 13 or more proposed LNG export projects totaling 16.85 bcf/d of capacity in the pipeline. For context, total U.S. natural gas production in the lower 48 states was 77 bcf/d in March.

Story continues

LNG Exports

Source: Cheniere Energy

If the U.S. began shipping more than 20 percent of its natural gas overseas, prices would undoubtedly spike higher. But at the same time, those higher prices would encourage more production. Thats a reason to be bullish on U.S. natural gas, and U.S. natural gas exploration and production companies in particular.

The onset of U.S. natural gas exports will come slowly as more and more terminals are approved. The first notable quantities will between 2015 and 2017, when Cheniere puts the first four trains of its Sabine Pass facility into operation.

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Permalink |  Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved
Mexico crime scene blood victim

Homicides in Mexico went up in 2015, registering the first yearly increase since 2011, according to security analyst and El Daily Post editor Alejandro Hope.

The jump in homicides in Mexico is worrying enough, but the frequency of a specific type of violence may also signal a dangerous trend.

In the past few years, clashes between cartels and attacks by cartels on civilians in Mexico drew most of the world's attention. Recently, however, clashes between Mexico's military and criminal elements have drawn comparisons between that country and Colombia.

While, as Insight Crime notes, Mexico is twice the size of Colombia, if what has been seen in Mexico over the last three years is the new "normal" level for violence against state forces, then it is comparable to that of Colombia, which has been mired in civil conflict for a half-century (though it has made progress toward peace in recent years).

To be clear, Mexico and Colombia face distinct challenges arising from unique circumstances.

However, the toll that criminal groups have taken on each country's armed forces "reinforces a fundamental point about modern conflicts: they greatly resemble war in form if not in name," writes Insight Crimes Sam Tabory (emphasis ours).

According to Mexicos Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the Mexican military sustained 156% more attacks from drug traffickers and organized crime during the first three years (2012-2015) of current President Enrique Pena Nietos term in office than it did during the same period under former President Felipe Calderon, who was in office from 2006 to 2012.

It was under Calderon that Mexicos war on drugs and drug traffickers was declared. During his first three years in office, there were 361 attacks against military forces, leaving 40 personnel dead and 176 wounded.

Story continues

Mexican marines

Violence against state forces in Mexico grew considerably in the final three years of Calderons term. From 2010 to 2012, there were 2,133 attacks recorded, leaving 118 military personnel dead and 762 wounded.

According to Sedena, between January 2013 and July 2015 there were 924 attacks on military forces, leaving 57 personnel dead and wounding 281.

In Colombia, according to statistics cited by Insight Crime, there were 1,737 attacks on military personnel recorded between 2007 and 2009, far exceeding the number in Mexico over the same period.

But between 2010 and 2012, there were 1,204 clashes between the Colombian military and guerrillas; this is much less than the number attacks in Mexico over the same period, but not many more than the number of attacks in Mexico over the last three years.

'A self-reinforcing process'

Attacks on Mexican military personnel also seem to be mirroring trends in homicides in general.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto addresses the media in Havana January 29, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

In 2013, there were 482 attacks on soldiers, leaving 23 dead. In 2014 there were 276 clashes that killed 17, but during the first quarter of 2015 alone there were 166 attacks that left 17 military personnel dead.

In terms of homicides, in 2013, there were 18,331 (a 15% decline from the year before); in 2014, the number fell to 17,342. In 2015, however, there were 18,650 homicides, a number that may only go up.

In 2015, Mexican President Pena Nieto made the dubious claim that it is a fact that violence is diminishing in Mexico. But survey results from the previous year found that 73% of Mexicans felt insecure, and the upswing in homicides (in addition to increases in other types of crime) may reveal why.

Violence in 2015 was not at the levels Mexico has seen in recent years. However, the possibility of infighting in Mexicos largest criminal organization, the Sinaloa cartel, as well as the continued fragmentation of the countrys other drug cartels, could set the stage for a resurgence of the bloodshed that Mexico experienced during Calderons time in office.

As we saw between 2008 and 2011, violence can be a self-reinforcing process, Hope wrote last week. Blood has the rather annoying custom of bringing more blood.

NOW WATCH: This is how Mexican drug cartels make billions selling drugs





More From Business Insider


On Track or Off? Kansas City Southern Railways' 4Q15 Earnings

(Continued from Prior Part)

Kansas City Southerns 4Q15 agriculture revenues

In the preceding part, we discussed the Kansas City Southern Railway Companys (KSU) chemicals revenues in fiscal 2015. In this part, lets consider the companys agriculture revenues in 4Q15.

KSU reported agriculture revenues of $108.6 million, which fell by 4% compared with the $113.7 million the segment saw in the fourth quarter of 2014.

4Q15 agricultural volumes and reasons behind the dip

Even though the agricultural revenues went down in 4Q15, carloads went up by 2% compared with the same period in 2014. The rise in carloads was mainly due to higher volumes of food products and from the ores and minerals segment. But these were negatively impacted by slightly reduced grain volumes and by unfavorable mixes.

The agriculture and minerals sector is made up of grain and food products. Food products include grain meal, soybean meal, oils, canned goods, distillers dried grains, corn syrup, and sugar. More specifically, US export grain shipments and Mexico import grain shipments consist of soybeans, corn, and wheat.

Agricultural outlook for 2016 and 2017

According to the USDA (US Department of Agriculture), wheat prices are expected to decline through 2016 and 2017, indicating more wheat stocks, lower corn prices, and lower planted acreage. The USDA further adds that the agricultural sector will likely adjust to lower prices for most farm commodities in the near term.

This lower crop price should, in turn, result in reduced acreage planted, indicating reduced prospects of hauling agriculture items for railroads in 2016. Adding to this, the strength of the US dollar should negatively impact US agricultural exports, causing low volumes for railroads in 2016.

Peer group agribusiness comparisons

Kansas City Southerns thrust on agricultural revenues is less compared to other commodity classes. The following shows the agriculture commodity shares in 2014 revenues for KSUs peer group:

Story continues

Union Pacific Railroad Company (UNP)17%

Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSC)13%

CSX Corporation (CSX)15%

Canadian National Railway (CNI)17%

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP)10%

These companies have exposure in the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which holds 0.65% in all Class I railroads.

In the next part of this series, well analyze Kansas City Southerns energy freight revenues, related headwinds, and segmental outlook going forward.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
sam altman

After 10 years of teaching startups to find product-market fit then grow like crazy, Y Combinator is finally following its own playbook.

When the famous Silicon Valley accelerator began in 2005, it was just that: a prestigious three month program known for pumping out 100 companies every batch.

It has spawned some of the current tech boom's biggest names, including Airbnb (worth over $25 billion as of its last round), Dropbox (worth $10 billion), Heroku (which Salesforce bought for over $200 million), and Reddit.

Yet, over the course of the past year, Y Combinator has transformed far beyond its roots. Sam Altman, who took over as CEO from founder Paul Graham in February 2014 and was recently promoted to president, has led its transformation. Under his leadership, it's launched a VC arm, a fellowship program, and a research lab.

It's all part of Altman's plan to make Y Combinator 10 times bigger than it is today.

"The batch size had doubled since I started. We were talking about how do we add another zero, go from 200 companies to 2,000," Altman said.

The first 10x

Y Combinator has done it before.

When Y Combinator started in 2005, founders Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, and Trevor Blackwell incubated the first batch in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before moving the program to Silicon Valley. Among the first companies was the social network Reddit, and Altman's own location-based mobile company Loopt.

First YC batch

There were eight companies spawned from that batch.

The three-month incubator now produces around 100 new ones, twice a year

Obviously we have not scaled in the way Facebook does, but the program now is rather unlike what was here in 2006, both in number of startups, but also the breadth of companies, the quality, and the amount we deliver," said Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail, who joined Y Combinator in 2010 and now runs the incubator, recently renamed Y Combinator Core.

Story continues

To Graham, one of Y Combinator's founders, there's never been a limit. As for as how big it could grow, even a number that seems surprisingly high likely isn't that much of a reach.

"The number of startups is increasing. I've always thought Y Combinator would have to grow with it. Otherwise you have to turn down applicants you think will succeed. It's very hard to predict how big you'd have to grow to avoid having to do that," Graham told Business Insider in an email.

A fund to tackle bigger problems

For its first 10 years, Y Combinator (the startup version of itself) was fine-tuning its product. It leveraged its network of alumni through its own social network, aptly called "BookFace." It applied software along every step of the way, including to solve the problem of how to get investors to commit to funding its companies.

Y Combinator's first act came to an end when Graham passed the baton to Altman in 2014.

From the beginning, Altman wanted to bring more hardware and biotech companies to Y Combinator. These are capital-intensive ventures, like re-imagining nuclear energy or solving cancer through new testing  not your typical growth hacking or VC-subsidized coupon for a free massage on demand.

He soon learned their needs were different. The timeline is much longer and more capital intensive. A social app can go viral overnight, but changing America's energy resources takes a different approach.

For nearly five months, Altman talked to potential investors (limited partners) and tried to figure out how to support these kinds of companies. He ruled out a debt vehicle, or a fund that would invest in early stage companies or non-Y Combinator companies.

Instead, Y Combinator decided to expand its scope with a new VC fund that would focus on later stage companies that had graduated from the original incubator program. It was a bold move, putting Y Combinator into more direct competition with traditional VC firms who often invested in its companies.

By April 2015, the Continuity Fund, as it would be named, started to take shape, but it was still missing a leader.

Altman didn't want a traditional late stage venture capitalist. Instead he looked at the the Y Combinator community and picked Ali Rowghani, who had joined the company in 2014 as a part-time partner after stints as chief operating officer and CFO at Twitter and CFO at Pixar.

Ali Rowghani

"It kind of came out of the blue a little bit. It wasnt something we had been talking about or something that we had been planning on, or even at that point something that I wanted to do," Rowghani told Business Insider.

Working with startups had been a fun diversion for Rowghani as he pondered his next career moves.

"I didnt join Y Combinator one day to one day lead their growth investing," he admits.



When Altman asked him over sushi, he was still hesitant. But Altman convinced him by telling him his work had been exactly what these startups needed as they moved into later states. Plus, he could use his operating knowledge to help these companies grow to a larger company, like Twitter or Pixar.

"By that point, I was just so impressed by Y Combinator as a platform. I just saw it as so unique, so differentiated," Rowghani said.

Splitting the program to deal with growing pains

There was another issue to tackle. Y Combinator had become a victim of its own popularity.

The incubator had seen demand double in the fall of 2014. Altman taught a class at Stanford, which reached entrepreneurs far outside the hallowed campus halls.

"Of all the single things weve done for recruitment, that class has been the best," Altman said. "Our application rate basically doubled after the class."

However, Y Combinator's accelerator program demanded a lot from founders. They had to move for three months to the Mountain View campus in the middle of Silicon Valley. For founders with an idea but no money, sitting in some place like rural Pakistan, there had to be a better option.

"Lets say we have 600 founders in a year, and theres 7 billion people in the world. I think were reaching just a tiny fraction of the talent thats out there," Buchheit said.

But he adds, "your brain would melt" if a demo day  the showcase where startups present ideas to investors  lasted two weeks instead of two days to cover increased number of companies.

At the same time, Y Combinator was worried that it was missing out on the next Facebook. The main accelerator had started to see more companies that were already functioning, instead of the "two people with an idea" companies that characterized its early years.

"Thats something that we worry about because historically companies like Facebook or Microsoft start off in a pretty primitive state. Obviously were worried about missing those companies," Buchheit says.

y combinator demo day

To discuss next steps, Y Combinator's leadership gathered at a campsite in the redwoods, two and a half hours north of San Francisco.

The solution: A separate early-stage fellowship that didn't require the same in-person commitment as the original program.

A month after the camping trip, Y Combinator announced its inaugural fellowship class, led by Kevin Hale. The shorter eight week program required founders to devote themselves entirely to proofing their ideas and find a product market fit.

The original program, now called Y Combinator Core, continues under the leadership of Paul Buchheit. Now, Altman is focused on the bigger picture  and for the first time since he took over, advising startups in the class.

Altman is watching the split carefully. Some founders have been confused if they should apply to Y Combinator Fellowship or the Core. The leadership decided to change the applications to avoid confusion, and Altman has already noticed a lot fewer emails as entrepreneurs begin to understand who they should be reaching out to.

"As long as we can keep the mean quality per company improving all the time, then more companies is better," Altman said.

One more arm: a research program

Even after all that, Altman believed there was more Y Combinator could do to help the startup ecosystem, and that's how Altman ended up sitting on stage with Elon Musk at the Vanity Fair Summit in San Francisco last October introducing a new project: Y Combinator Research.

Its first research nonprofit is Open AI, or researching how AI can grow without presenting a threat. Another research area that the group wants to tackle is basic income.

Elon Musk Sam Altman

It's a pet project for sure of Altman's and one that he's now devoting half a day to every week.

"We always view of our mission at Y Combinator as enabling innovation. And mostly thats meant funding startups. but if theres something outside of that and it fits our mission, then we will still do it," Altman said.

A week after Y Combinator Research was announced, the Continuity Fund formally launched. The name Y Combinator had gone from meaning one accelerator (with a side project running Hacker News) to five different entities.

Y Combinator had reached its Alphabet moment. But unlike Google, which changed its name to Alphabet when it upheaved its corporate structure, Altman decided to keep the name.

"I thought about it briefly. I like the name Y Combinator. I think its meaning is very good for what we do, and I think it still fits that meaning. In the way Y Combinator is a function that starts other functions, we are a company that starts other companies," Altman said.

NOW WATCH: Why new companies have it way easier now than a decade ago





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captain morgan said: From what I recall, no one in contemporary history has successfully attacked Canada or the USA.... Click to expand...

On the other hand, it was the Americans and Canadians that were begged by the British parliament to shield your nation from an outside threat on a couple of occasions. Click to expand...

... A nation of warriors indeed Click to expand...

Well, there was 9/11. And, before that, there was the War of 1812, in which the British defeated the Americans.British (and English before that) military defeats are very rare. Britain is rarely defeated in war.Britain hasn't been successfully invaded since 1066.Of the 108 or so wars, including minor scuffles and revolutions and insurgencies, that Britain has fought since her defeat in the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809, she has lost just seven of them: First Ashanti War (1823-1831); First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842), Bombardment of Greytown (1854); First Boer War (1880-81); Intervention in the Russian Civil War (1918-1920); British-Zionist conflict (1938-1948 ); Aden Emergency (1963-1967).Britain did not lose a major war in the 20th century, unlike the United States.Canada and America would have begged Britain for help had Nazi Germany been just 700 miles or so away from you as it was from Britain.Britain is a nation of warriors and is rarely defeated on the battlefield. If there was a league of war performance of major nations, Britain would top it. The British military is the finest on Earth.
Liberals Laud Rona Ambrose's 'Come To Jesus Moment' On Pot LegalizationOTTAWA  Liberal MPs gleefully welcomed on Monday Conservative interim leader Rona Ambroses apparent new position on the legalization of marijuana.As health minister, Ambrose had waged a multimillion-dollar television and radio ad campaign aimed at Justin Trudeaus pot plan. Earlier this month, however, in what seems like a stunning reversal of Tory policy, she called on the prime minister to move quickly on his plan to legalize weed.On Oct. 19, there was a very clear message sent when he was elected that pot is going to be legal across Canada recreationally, not just from a medicinal point of view, she told reporters Monday. So pot dispensaries are popping up everywhere. [Trudeau] said he is going to manage this, and he is going to keep it out of the hands of kids and so Im waiting to see his plans to do that.Pot dispensaries did exist before the Liberals win this fall, Ambrose acknowledged, but she said police had previously cracked down on them in some jurisdictions.As late as December, the Conservative interim leader had argued that selling pot in places such as Ontarios liquor board would fail to keep it out of the hands of children. She told The Huffington Post Canada she was very skeptical the Liberals would be able to achieve their goals.But then, in a confusing interview in early January, Ambrose told a Vancouver radio station she wanted the government to move on marijuana legalization as soon as possible. The faster they move on this, the better  the better to protect kids, she told CKNW AM 980's Simi Sara.
Kenney tweets defence of 'English to English' heckle of SajjanConservative MP Jason Kenney went on Twitter to explain why he shouted in question period that he needed an "English to English translation" to understand Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.Kenney, a former minister of defence, directed the heckle Monday at Sajjan as he was answering a question about the government's plan to deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).Conservative defence critic James Bezan and associate defence critic Pierre Paul-Hus both asked questions on the Liberals' election promise to withdraw Canada's fighter jets from the U.S.-led mission in Iraq and Syria.Bezan accused Sajjan of suggesting that Canada's allies were to blame for the spread of ISIS, referring to Sajjan's speech at an event organized by Canada 2020 on Friday."Why are the Liberals lecturing our allies on how to fight terrorism while at the same time befriending [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Iran?" asked Bezan."It's about consulting our allies and having a dialogue," replied Sajjan. "These lessons, as I stated, were learned while working with our coalition partners, and that's the plan that we'll be putting forward and making sure that we get this right so we don't make the mistakes of the previous 10 years."After question period, government House leader Kevin Lamoureux rose in the House of Commons and called for Kenney to apologize for his "inappropriate comment.""I'm wondering if the member would do the proper thing and apologize or at the very least explain his comments," Lamoureux said.Kenney refused to apologize for his remarks, saying Sajjan's answer was "totally incoherent," prompting shouts of "shame" from Liberal MPs.Later, on Twitter, Liberal MP Raj Grewal called Kenney's remarks "unacceptable."MP Ruby Sahota called Kenney's heckle "racist."About an hour later, Kenney posts a series of replies to Grewal explaining why he needed a "translation" of Sajjan's answer.
Free movement proposed between Canada, U.K, Australia, New Zealand

I'd move to Brisbane, AU.

James Skinner says free movement of citizens already occurs in the EU, and between Australia and New ZealandWhen James Skinner moved from the United Kingdom to Australia, he fell in love with Melbourne, landed a great job, met a great group of friends, settled down in his new home  only to leave because permanent residency was much harder to obtain than he anticipated.Skinner, who now lives in Vancouver, says he fears the same experience could happen again."We are virtually the same people," he told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff, referring to countries within the Commonwealth."The only thing that divides us is the cover of our passports."Skinner, who is the founder and executive director of the Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization, is calling on politicians in Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand to loosen restrictions on visas and work permits between the four countries.He says citizens within the European Union can work and reside indefinitely in each of the 28 member states, and a similar policy occurs between Australia and New Zealand.There's no reason why something similar can't happen between Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, he argued."We've had that Commonwealth tie for generations and decades in the past, we've stuck together through thick and thin, [we] share the same head of state, the same native language, the same respect for the common law," he said."It's not something completely out there that we're proposing."The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization's petition has already gathered nearly 25,000 online signatures.Skinner says he plans to send the petition to politicians in New Zealand and Australia, and then to the Canadian and British governments, pending elections in each respective country.source: Free movement proposed between Canada, U.K, Australia, New Zealand - British Columbia - CBC News .....................
Roosh V. plans 'rape should be legal' meetup in TorontoBy Jenny Yuen , Toronto SunFirst posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 05:06 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 05:12 PM ESTTORONTO - Roosh V. is back but Mayor John Tory says hes not welcome in Toronto.The notorious American pick-up artist  who ruffled feathers during a tour stop in Toronto last summer to promote neomasculinity  announced on his blog that Hogtown will be among the 10 Canadian cities hosting local rape should be legal meetups on Feb. 6.Torontos tribal meeting for only heterosexual men will take place at 8 p.m. at Queens Park near the Edward VII statue.The media in Canada, Iceland, and the United Kingdom have also put out defamatory reports about the meetup that falsely claim its a rape gathering where we will strategize on how to rape women, said Roosh V, whose real name is Daryush Valizadeh, on his website. Not a single meetup will be cancelled. We will not be intimidated by the actions of the lying media and leftist political establishment.According to Valizadehs website, there are 165 meetings in 43 countries slated for Feb. 6. Hosts will wait until 8:20 p.m. sharp at the meeting point before moving on to the final location.It isnt clear if Valizadeh will attend Torontos meeting. The 36-year-old could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.Torys office said Valizadehs views dont reflect the values of Toronto and his statements about women are demeaning and unacceptable.While free speech is the law in this country, promoting violence against women is wrong, the mayors spokesman, Keerthana Kamalavasan, said, adding the mayors views have not changed since Valizadehs last visit to Toronto in August.Roosh V and his hate speech have no place in our city and should have no platform here either.Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash said the event is on our radar.Valizadeh has sparked controversy online with posts like How To Stop Rape, in which he suggests legalizing rape on private property, and that feminism has left a legacy of weaker, more androgynous men, and that men should seek out women with eating disorders.Its mostly an attention-getting thing ... so he can stay in the media, feminist Anne Theriault said. At the same time, events like this are intimidation tactics and should be taken seriously because women deserve to live in a city where people dont have open public meetings about how rape should be legal.This isnt Roosh V.s first Canadian controversy:* On Aug. 15, 2015, protesters met at Queens Park to shun Roosh V. hours before he was scheduled to speak at a secret event.The Toronto Sun couldnt confirm whether the event had actually taken place and whether Roosh V.  or Daryush Valizadeh  had spoken at it. However, he did tweet out a picture of himself at a Mississauga venue, holding the Saturday edition of a Toronto newspaper with several people behind him, their faces all blacked out with the message Back to back victory. We won in Montreal and we won in Toronto. We will not be silenced. He said he delivered his speech to 56 people.* A petition against him at the time collected more than 43,000 signatures.* Valizadehs views include legalizing rape on private property. Less women will be raped because they wont voluntarily drug themselves with booze and follow a strange man into a bedroom, and less men will be unfairly jailed for what was anything but a maniacal alley rape, one of his posts reads. He also has implied gay men have become a public health threat and gay marriage is destroying the American family.* In the meetings FAQ page, Valizadeh says hes prepared for protesting feminists. Record them with your camera, upload the footage to Dropbox, and then send it to me at roosh@rooshv.com afterwards so we can tear them up, he writes.
The Iranian sanctions are over. The United States has now officially returned 100 billion dollars in frozen assets to the Iranian government as required by last years nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington.These assetshave fully been released and we can use them, said government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht If youre negotiating a deal with a hostile party, it behooves you to ask whos having who for breakfast.The United States, as the worlds sole remaining superpower, should have had the Iranian rulers for breakfast. We should have eaten their lunch, too, while we were at it, but nope. Iran gets 100 billion dollars and we getnothing.Oh, sure, we get promises from the Iranian government that it wont build nuclear weapons, and inspectors get limited access to old nuclear facilities, but even if Iran never cheats and never builds a bomb, the best we can say is that we paid Iran off so it wouldnt do something horrible.The word for that is. Blackmail is a crime for a reasonbecause the blackmailed person or party gets robbed.A good deal with Iran would have required the governmentat minimumto cease and desist all funding of international terrorist organizations. Instead, this deal enables the regime to dramaticallyits support for international terrorist organizations.mo
David Cameron today believes himself on the brink of a triumph. His proposed EU renegotiation needs only endorsement at a summit of the other 27 members. This would be followed by a June referendum, ending with an in vote that will scupper his foes in Ukip and on the Tory Right.



But what if he is wrong? What if yesterdays draft settlement, requiring merely a shifting of deckchairs in Brussels, provokes a seismic shift in the British body politic?



EU Referendum: This sham will only make voters even more cynical

By Max Hastings for the Daily Mail 3 February 2016David Cameron today believes himself on the brink of a triumph. His proposed EU renegotiation needs only endorsement at a summit of the other 27 members. This would be followed by a June referendum, ending with an in vote that will scupper his foes in Ukip and on the Tory Right.But what if he is wrong? What if yesterdays draft settlement, requiring merely a shifting of deckchairs in Brussels, provokes a seismic shift in the British body politic? Read President of the European Council Donald Tusks letter, which makes plain how little has changed, for instance on migrants: We need to fully respect the principles of freedom of movement and non-discrimination.Most of what Cameron claims to have secured will remain vague aspiration, a country mile from implementation. Who else would trumpet the securing of an emergency brake on migrants benefits over which he will have little control, or a red card system that requires the support of more than half of our bickering EU neighbours on any given issue?This much is plain: the sham of a renegotiation, the pretence that the Prime Minister meant what he told us for years about his intention to change our terms of membership of the EU, has spawned a cynicism across the land that will not quickly be dispelled.No politician dares to tell voters all the truth about difficult issues, because the message would be so bleak that they could never win an election.But we are entitled to hear more truth more of the time than we get from David Cameron. The consequence of his past evasions and outright deceits is that now when we are asked to endorse his judgment, to accept his assurance that we are better staying in Europe than getting out, it is hard to do so.I wrote here back in 2009 that it was Camerons misfortune that he would become our national leader at a moment when to be merely an adequate prime minister would not suffice: he needed to show himself a great one. At that time, I was thinking chiefly of our crippling debt problem.As matters have evolved over the intervening seven years, however, other equally grave problems have emerged, headed by the migrant crisis and the struggle with Muslim extremism.In response to the challenges, on the credit side Cameron has supported George Osborne in making a modest start towards curbing the deficit. He handles himself in the Commons and on the world stage with the natural authority of a country squire opening village fetes. By winning last years general election, he saved Britain from the disaster of Ed Miliband.Yet through it all, Cameron shows no sign of having any higher purpose than that of holding together the Conservative Party, keeping himself in office until he quits to make a fortune and passes the reins to George Osborne. He seems prepared, meanwhile, to tell the British people whatever might shut us up until next week.He promised his 2014 party conference that a future Tory government would cut immigration, repeal the Human Rights Act and repatriate powers from Brussels, when he had not the smallest intention of doing anything significant to advance those objectives.He told the Commons last November that 70,000 Syrian moderates were waiting to join with the Kurds to fight Islamic State, if we would do our bit by sending four RAF Tornados to provide air support.This seemed tosh then, and is tosh now, on a subject rightfully too serious for spin-doctoring. He delivers ringing denunciations of what he describes as great evils of our time, most recently social inequality and alleged racism at Oxbridge and in the police and Armed Forces, while saying pitifully little about the matters that passionately concern most British people: mass migration, the failure of the state education system, the need to prevent the NHS from bankrupting our children  and the manifold failures of the EU.The best defence that can be made of Cameron is that he is no more guilty than his fellow European leaders in refusing to face harsh realities. Almost all of them have abrogated responsibility for credible security policies, at a time when Russia looks more menacing than for three decades.They are in denial about the enormity of the migration threat. We are not talking here about a few hundred thousand Syrian refugees, but tens of millions of economic migrants striving to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East. Absolutely nothing in the Cameron renegotiation with Brussels will prevent these people from coming here once they secure some sort of EU documentation, as most assuredly will.My old friend Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, has always argued that history will judge Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, much more harshly than do her contemporaries. Even before Merkels ghastly blunder in publicly opening Germanys doors to millions of migrants, she has maintained a posture of stubborn denial about the precariousness of the eurozone and the irrecoverable debts still burdening banks and whole nations.She will not tell the German people what every numerate person knows, that Greeces vast sovereign debt will sooner or later have to be written off. Meanwhile, France has fundamental social and economic problems that no Paris government seems capable of persuading its electorate to face.Every day, the supposedly intelligent political leaders of Europe tell their peoples falsehoods that would make Pinocchios nose fall off. One of the most powerful arguments for leaving the EU is that its dominant members refuse to admit its bureaucratic stagnation and absence of accountability. It is plain they will not do so unless or until economic disaster brings their temple down about their ears: Europe is incapable of self-reform.David Cameron wishes us to swallow the nonsense of his renegotiation, when, in truth, he has simply reached a personal decision to forget his Eurosceptic past, shrug his shoulders and stick with the tottering European club, in sickness or in health.Last month, I asked a group of clever thirtysomethings what they thought about the EU. They said they wanted to be convinced that we should stay in, but nobody had yet offered credible arguments for doing so. A retired captain of industry  a Tory and lifelong European  told me recently that he has become so exasperated by Camerons condescension in assuring us that the moon is made of green cheese, figuratively speaking, that he is now minded to vote out.So am I. The arguments do not all run one way, and we should disbelieve those who claim they do. We all favour a free trade area, a genuine common market. Leaving Europe will not solve some of our grave national problems, starting with the failure of the education system, poor productivity and a chronic balance of trade deficit.But the Prime Minister and his henchmen seem to want Britain to stay in this creaking union merely because they are too slothful to contemplate the alternative. Our squire wants no unpleasantness at the harvest supper.Yet a leader of more courage and imagination would at least consider the logic of addressing the EUs perhaps irredeemable predicament by leaving it.David Cameron is not a bad prime minister  Gordon Brown and Tony Blair did far more harm. But he has utterly failed thus far to rise to the greatness of the challenges he and this country face. The times require a visionary leader of the stamp of Margaret Thatcher or Clement Attlee. Instead, we have a man resembling that oh-so-soothing 1930s appeaser, Stanley Baldwin.Cameron could yet win his summer referendum on Europe, for the usual reasons such things happen: on the day, voters prove too scared to risk the unknowns of out.But on the case the Prime Minister has made thus far, and following the risible draft deal he has struck with Donald Tusk, he does not deserve to.
Canadian Military Ill-Prepared For Peacekeeping Role: Report

OTTAWA  The Trudeau government has promised to get Canada back into the peacekeeping business, but a new report from two independent think tanks says the military is ill-prepared for the task.The study by the Rideau Institute and the Centre for Policy Alternatives was penned by Walter Dorn, a professor at the Canadian Forces Staff College and one of Canada's leading experts in peacekeeping.For the last decade, he says, the army has specialized in counter-insurgency warfare because of the combat mission in Kandahar and other skill sets  once second nature to Canadian training  were relegated to the back burner.Dorn says the complexities of modern peace operations require in-depth training and education, on subjects including the procedures, capabilities and limitations of the United Nations.He says Canada is currently far behind other nations in its readiness to support the United Nations and train for modern peacekeeping."Special skills, separate from those learned in Afghanistan and warfare training, would need to be (re)learned, including skills in negotiation, conflict management and resolution, as well as an understanding of UN procedures and past peacekeeping missions," said the report."Particularly important is learning effective co-operation with the non-military components of modern peacekeeping operations, including police, civil affairs personnel and humanitarians, as well as UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the local actors engaged in building a viable peace."The focus of training at both the Canadian Forces Command College in Toronto and the army staff college in Kingston, Ont., is on "taking part in 'alliance' or NATO-style operations," Dorn concluded."At the higher (national security) level, the case studies and exercises on peacekeeping were dropped."Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan have said rather than sending a lot of soldiers, Canada can contribute equipment and expertise, such as commanders and headquarters contingents. But Dorn says the military regime provides less than a quarter of the peacekeeping instruction it did a decade ago.The report recommends the reinstatement and updating of the many training programs and exercises that have been cut, and introducing new instruction that reflects the increasing complexity of modern peace operations."Canadian soldiers have served as superb peacekeepers in the past and can do so again, with some preparation," the report says.Following the Somalia scandal of the mid-1990s in which a teenager was tortured and killed at the hands of Canadian soldiers, National Defence recognized the need for specialized training. It was implemented with success between 1995 and 2005, when the army went into Kandahar.Dorn says while the number of personnel deployed in the field by the United Nations is now at an all-time high of more than 125,000, the number of Canadian soldiers involved in those operations has dwindled to an all-time low of 29 as of Dec. 31, 2015.Source: Canadian Military Ill-Prepared For Peacekeeping Role: Report
District Attorney David Learner said a grand jury in Burke County indicted Justin Nojan Sullivan, 19, on Monday on a murder charge.A federal indictment unsealed Monday charges Sullivan with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, as well as firearms offenses, charges that he lied to federal agents and a count related to offering to pay an informant to kill his parentsProsecutors say Sullivan admitted to taking a rifle from his father's gun cabinet and that testing showed the gun killed his 74-year-old neighbor, John Bailey Clark, in December 2014. The indictment alleges he later hid the gun, along with an illegal silencer he obtained and other items in the crawl space of his parents' home in Morganton and that he stole $689 from Clark and intended to use it to buy an assault rifle and ammunition.Sullivan's father tipped off authorities to his son's activities."Warning signs were there, and that's why I made some calls," Rich Sullivan said. "I can never forgive him for what he planned or condone it. I'm a retired Marine, but we have to love him.more NC man accused of killing neighbor, plotting terrorism :: WRAL.com
This is disturbing. I'm thinking it might be time to start up a meet up group for people who like to beat up rapists.A U.S. pick up artist, Daryush Valizadeh, who has published material suggesting rape inside a private home should be legal, is planning a meetup in Victoria this weekend.His group, Return of Kings, is hosting gatherings Saturday night in 43 different countries. The intended meeting point in Victoria is the War Memorial statue at the BC Legislature grounds. According to their website:We will have 165 meetings in 43 countries for our international meetup day on February 6, 2016 at 8PM local time.To identify your fellow tribesmen, ask the following question to a man you suspect is there for the meetup: Do you know where I can find a pet shop? If you are asked this question, answer in the affirmative: Yes, its right here. You can then introduce yourself and get details about where to proceed at 8:20. If you ask someone for the pet shop and they appear confused or actually try to direct you to a real pet shop, theyre not there for the meetup.The group believe rape should be legalised on private property and that women are biologically determined to follow the orders of men.These ideas that are hateful and misogynistic arent welcome here,city councillor Jeremy Loveday tells CFAX.The hashtag #turnawayreturnofkings is currently trending on Twitter, with Vancouvers Mayors office tweeting:The Mayor of Ottawa has also made it clear that the group is not welcome in the cityVictoria police reached out to the public through social media networks today, stating that they were aware of the gathering and will be keeping an eye on the situation. From the Victoria Police Department Facebook page:Weve heard concerns from many of you about a group that is planning a meet-up in Victoria on Saturday. Please know that we are hearing you and are monitoring the situation. Well be keeping a watchful eye on this in order to ensure public safety. Thank you for bringing us your concerns. If you have a more immediate concern, please call us at (250) 995-7654.There are several listings for variuos cities hereand because people are protesting there is also a link to how to find out where the location is IF there's a email address listed only.Seriously f'cked up people.
talloola said: this should be on fun and jokes thread.



guess in a free country there has to be a party that will accept all the low life, the dunces,(rich of course)

the insanely religious, the aggressors or others, and of course the rich to take care of the rich,

and now a clown,(clowns are a scary and secretive group with funny hair.) lol Click to expand...

Donald Trump on the Issues.

Trump on Abortion

Trump on Afghanistan

Trump on the Budget

Trump on Business & Labor

Trump on Capital Punishment

Trump on China

Trump on Civil Liberties

Trump on the Deficit

Trump on the Economy

Trump on Education

Trump on Energy

Trump on Foreign Affairs

Trump on Gun Control

Trump on Health Care

Trump on Immigration

Trump on Iran

Trump on Iraq

Trump on Israel

Trump on National Security

Trump on North Korea

Trump on Poverty

Trump on Same Sex Issues

He may be a clown, however is there any doubt he is a brilliant and successful businessman?He also has some great points.. and doesn't flip flop like other candidates. Donald Trump is pro life. Although Trump opposes abortion he respects the rights of women to make their own choices. The only abortion procedure Trump feels should be banned is partial birth abortion. Donald Trump thinks we should withdraw from Afghanistan as soon as possible. He said that giving a withdrawal date was a stupid mistake, He believes now that the Taliban knows when the U.S. will withdraw, they will merely wait for us to go and re-take the country. Donald Trump thinks that if something isnt done soon, well have a crash worse than that of 1929. In 1999, he proposed taxing the rich with a one-time 14.25% tax to erase the national debt, which he still thinks is a good idea. He said that such a plan would save billions annually in interest payments. Eliminating debt would boost the economy 35% and income taxes could be lowered. Trump believes the biggest danger to both business and labor is China. He believes that we are rebuilding China instead of taking care of our own country. Trumps thinks that If wed alter our trade policies, we could pay off the debt and start creating more jobs right here. Donald Trump says that anyone who takes a life should forfeit their own. He said criminals have declared war on decent people and lethal injection is too comfortable. 100% of the people executed will never commit another crime. He thinks that capital punishment also serves as a deterrent for some. Trumps believes that judges should be held accountable for their sentencing. Pedophiles, drunk drivers, murderers and other criminals are often are set free to prey again because of light sentencing. He wants to stop the victim culture and recognize what criminals arebad people who prey on good people and they should be punished as harshly as possible. Trump says we give way too many advantages to China and they're laughing at how easy it is to take advantage of the U.S. He thinks that we should tax all imports from China 25%. That would encourage buying American and balance out the trade deficit. Human rights are important - if the Chinese are oppressed, then there shouldn't be much of a market for US goods. We are betraying our principles by allowing them to violate basic rights of their people. We should not keep our markets open to countries that oppress their people or steal from us. He said that the US makes better products but China manipulates their currency so people almost have to buy Chinese products to stay in business. China makes it nearly impossible to do business there but wants our technology and for Americans to buy their products. Trump believes diversity is good and has made this country what it is. Crimes against people for their race, sexual orientation, religion, etc should be prosecuted as hate crimes with more punitive penalties than random crimes. He thinks that big government is the worst threat to civil liberties. Government scrutiny of private individuals is a real threat and curtails liberties. Government should keep to public works and safety and limit itself to that. Donald Trump believes that the deficit would be greatly reduced if government would stay out of things in which it doesnt do well, which is a very long list. He would take the government out of providing public conveniences such as farm subsidies, food safety, energy regulations and transportation and limit it to defending the constitution and our shores. This will save billions, even trillions. Trump believes raising taxes is foolish seeing that the US is the highest taxed nation in the world. He thinks the economy would improve if we would charge the countries we protect. Donald Trump thinks our education system is in trouble. He would teach citizenship and stop 'dumbing down' the curriculum. He would make schools safe and be tough on troublemakers. Trump says diplomas are often little more than attendance certificates. Lower levels should cover the basics, teach study skills and prepare kids who want higher education. He says, forget self esteem, challenge kids and allow small failures. Failing incentivizes kids to do better when handled properly. People fail in life but if properly prepared they will get back up and try again. Schools these days encourage them to give up and nurse their hurt feelings. Trump thinks that schools should compete, school choice encourages competition. He would do away with the Department of Education and let local and state governments run their schools as they see fitthis would also encourage competition and people would move to the best school districts, growing the economy while providing better education. Trump thinks we should use our natural resources to solve our energy problems while helping the economy. He believes that the US has so much oil in our ocean and we should get it. He thinks that we don't use much of our natural gas but we should. He said that Abu Dhabi has plenty of oil but just went to natural gas because they want us to buy oil at ridiculous prices. Unless we use our natural resources well always be prisoners of OPEC. Donald Trump wants the US to quit appeasing dictators. He knows that foreign policy is not as easy as drawing up a general plan, be thinks we should be deal-makers instead of chess players. Deal-makers can put our interests first, know when to back off, when to be tough and never settle for less than America deserves. Trump believes that if countries want our help they should have something to give in return other than vague promises of 'working toward democracy'. They need us more than we need them; we should use our leverage to benefit everyone but especially ourselves. Donald Trump generally opposes gun control. He thinks that every law abiding citizen should have a gun if they want to. Trump believes that assault weapons should be banned, who needs them except criminals and police? He wants a longer waiting period for hand guns, rifles and shotguns. We should be able to tell within 72 hours if a person has a record or mental issues that would prohibit ownership. Donald Trump believes that people should have access to affordable health care. He has advocated a single payer system in the past but believes the new health care law is unconstitutional and so costly that it will bankrupt the country. Donald Trump thinks that legal immigration should be difficult and illegal immigration should be impossible. He believes that we cant absorb all the illegals and thinks that theyre destroying our economy. He wants to take care of our own people first. Were bankrupting our states with illegals that take advantage of hospital emergency rooms, entitlement programs and public education. Donald Trump believes that our soldiers have no business in the Middle East. Trump believes we should withdraw from Iraq and the Middle East. He would not be in Iraq unless our own interests are directly threatened. Trump would not offer humanitarian intervention. Donald Trump maintains that Israel is our best friend. He thinks we should do everything we can to protect Israel He believes that Israel should be the cornerstone of our policy in the region. Theyve always been there for us and we should be there for them. They are the only stable democracy in a region that is not run by dictators. They are pioneers in medicine and communication and a close fair trading partner. Trump believes that America is ill prepared for a biological attack. He would prepare for biological attack by stockpiling and rotating antibiotics and other remedies while training emergency workers. He thinks that there should be sensors in major cities for early warning of biological devices activated. He thinks that the public should be educated to reduce panic if an attack occurs. Trump believes that we should stop North Korean nukes by force if necessary. Trump believes that teen moms should not receive assistance unless they meet tough requirements. Living in group homes might reduce further pregnancies by lending moral support. He said that there are many people that work out of churches, temples or on their own who want to care for the poor and disadvantagedlet them, and restrict public assistance. He thinks that states, cities and counties should partner with faith-based charitable organizations and others. He believes that communities should work together instead of depending on public assistance. Donald Trump is not in favor of same sex marriage.
Highball said: This is another example of incompetent or corrupt government officials simply resigning and walking away without being held accountable. Many Flint citizens are ill and the full impact of this criminal fiasco will not be known fully for at last a decade. Think of the damage to the vital organs of the human body this badly contaminated water is doing. Click to expand...

Michigan's appalling, undemocratic "Emergency Manager" system that allows Governor Rick Snyder (R), unilaterally, to appoint anyone of his choosing to completely replace local democratically elected officials, including the Mayor and the entire City Council, in any city he likes, for whatever reason he determines.

It was, in fact, one of Snyder's hand-selected Emergency Managers who switched the city's water supply from the clean Lake Huron to the corrosive Flint River without bothering to put the appropriate filtering system first. As he notes at Vox, it's "inconceivable" that this problem would have occurred or, at least, gone this horribly wrong, "had Flint residents been able to threaten incumbents at the ballot box." But with the Emergency Manager system, there is no such accountability.

"Flint may be the most dramatic example of that system having gone wrong," he tells me. "But I think about all of the cities that have been under Emergency Managers -- Pontiac, Detroit [also Highland Park, Benton Harbor and elsewhere] -- it hasn't really gone right anywhere. Emergency Management doesn't work ethically, but it also doesn't work practically. It just flat out does not work."

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/20/10789810/flint-michigan-water-crisis

What has happened in many parts of Michigan is the Snyder abused his ability to fire government workers and elected people to put in his own people .........
Give the guy a break



DaSleeper, if you are saying that to the right wing, you are whistling in the wind. Right and far right have a visceral hatred of Obama. They decided long time ago that he is a Muslim terrorist, a Fascist, a Communist, a Socialist, an illegal alien and so on. He has been compared to Stalin, to Hitler, to practically every dictator imaginable. To my knowledge, no far right columnist has compared him to Mao, but give them time.



So, according to far right everything that happens is Obamas fault. They started blaming Obama for the economic downturn, even before he took office, right after he was elected (well, perhaps even before that, right wingers were saying that as a candidate, Obama talked the economy down to get elected).



Right and far right has blamed everything on Obama. They havent yet blamed the Katrina disaster, assassination attempt on Reagan and dot com meltdown on Obama but again, give them time.



So if your message was directed to right and far right, it is wasted, Obama gets no break as far as they are concerned (their attitude was loudly and proudly proclaimed by the drug addict, Rush Limbaugh, I hope he fails).



The rest of the population on the other hand, is quite reasonable. They are quite willing to give Obama a chance to show what he can do. He has approval rating around 60%, so most people are either satisfied with the way he is running things or at the very least are withholding judgment.



The right and far right on the other hand, will be satisfied with nothing less that arresting Obama and putting him in prison (or at the very least, deporting him to Kenya or to Indonesia).
The Nebraska Pork Producers Association (NPPA) will welcome Gov. Pete Ricketts to its annual meeting on Feb. 17 at the Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln. Rickets will be the guest speaker at a breakfast sponsored by NPPAs Allied Members and SIP contributors.

Philip M. Seng, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) will discuss foreign trade, product distribution and expectations for markets in 2016. USMEF operates worldwide, providing strategies and priorities in international programs, research, technical services, industry relations and global communications.

Seng is a primary spokesman for USMEF and other exporting interests to government and private entities regarding international trade policy and foreign market development issues related to U.S. red meat products.

Dr. Ron Brodersen, owner of Whole Hog Genetics and partner with Suidae Health in Hartington, will address producers about the importance of having a working relationship with their veterinarian and of cooperation between the National Pork Board and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV). New antibiotic use regulations taking effect in January of 2017 will also be discussed.

Election of new officers and board members will take place during the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Pork Producers beginning at 8:45 a.m. Also on the agenda is recognition of the 2015 NPPA Mentors and Pork Leadership Participants, announcement of the 2015 Outstanding Pork Service recipients and introductions of the 2016 NPPA Mentors and Pork Leadership Participants.

There are no registration fees. Register at www.nepork.org, email dee@nepork.org or call 888-627-7675.
One day you wash up on the beach, wet and naked. Another day you wash back out. In between, the scenery changes constantly.
Marco Polo Hotels has announced a new president as Mr. Eric Waldburger, who led the company for almost four years, has retired.

Marco Polo Hotels has announced the commencement of Dr. Jennifer Cronin as President for Marco Polo Hotels. Dr. Cronin, who had been Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the hotel group has assumed the position of President Designate for the past six months, providing a smooth transition for the leadership role. Dr. Cronin stated: I am very honoured to have been given this opportunity to take Marco Polo Hotels to a new level as a management company, but also strengthening our position as an owner-operator. Eric has helped to create a new thinking culture within our organisation and I am excited about the next chapter for our company and the future ahead.

Our new luxury brand has proven to be a resounding branding and business success in just nine months since the opening of the first Niccolo Hotel in Chengdu, China, continued Dr. Cronin. It augurs well for our new Hong Kong flagship in the iconic conservation project: The Murray Building, scheduled to open on 31 October, 2017. The search has already begun for the Managing Director of this landmark chic hotel that will surely change the luxury hotel landscape in Hong Kong and beyond. At the same time, our new succession plans and talent management strategies will support the openings of Niccolo hotels in Chongqing, Changsha and Suzhou in the next three years. It is truly an exciting time to take over the helm of this great Asian brand.

An Australian, Dr. Cronin has an extensive career and successful track record in hotels and hospitality throughout Asia and Australia in senior marketing and operational roles, including Hyatt International, Ritz Carlton and Dusit International. Dr. Cronin is married and is currently based in Hong Kong. She will be officially conferred with the Doctorate of Philosophy in the field of Crisis Leadership at Bond University on 13 February, 2016.
A lot of pundits seem to be thinking that 2016 is going to be the year of virtual reality, so I thought we could use this blog to touch base with some new developments in audio/music tech for the VR world. We'll look at a brand new audio tech conference that should be particularly interesting to VR folks. We'll also get an overview of a couple of top audio technologies for virtual reality video games. One of these new technologies pertains directly to Google Cardboard, so that's where we'll begin:

It wouldn't be make believe...

First, let's get a little historical overview. A good place to start may be with a popular old song that seems particularly appropriate right now:

"It's only a paper moon... sailing over a cardboard sea... but it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me."

This music rings true at the moment, because Google has taught us all to believe in cardboard.

In June 2014, Google announced their new virtual reality initiative called Google Cardboard, and a lot of people didn't believe in it (they thought it might be a joke). Over a year and a half later, nobody's laughing. Google just created a dedicated VR division with a new VP to run it, and 5 million Cardboard headsets are currently out in the marketplace. While some say that the VR experience delivered by this device is limited at best, it has opened up the awesome visual spectacle of virtual reality to the masses. (Personally, I've been enjoying my initial forays into VR with Google Cardboard, and I'm looking forward to broadening my virtual horizons). While 3D visuals have wowed users of Google Cardboard, the enveloping audio of a true VR experience has been unavailable to users of these headsets - until now.

On Jan. 13, 2016, Google announced the introduction of spatial audio capabilities for the software development kits designed for Google Cardboard Unity (iOS) and Google Cardboard Android. The underlying technology was developed by ThriveAudio; a group of research engineers from Trinity College Dublin who specialize in 3D virtual audio environments. While previously focusing on the audio needs of the Oculus Rift VR device, ThriveAudio was acquired by Google in July 2015 and set to work bringing spatial audio to Google Cardboard.

In an interview with journalist Drew Olanoff of TechCrunch, Google Cardboard's project manager Nathan Martz stated that the spatial audio technology would "allow creators to control the direction of sounds in an immersive experience." Martz explained, "Sounds that come from the right will reach a users left ear with a slight delay, and with fewer high frequency elements (which are normally dampened by the skull)."

It's good news that the most famous and accessible VR platform is getting spatial audio - it shows how serious Google is about entertaining its Cardboard users.

On a personal note, recently I bought my first Google Cardboard VR headset. For something as high tech and impressive as the VR experience, Google Cardboard makes the whole process easy, low-cost and accessible. While Google provides instructions for users who'd like to make their own headsets from scratch using simple craft materials, I opted to purchase a version made by the good folks at IMCardboard.com. Pictured to the right, you see me wearing their EVA 2.0 headset, made from a rubber-like material that's very comfortable and lightweight. Despite the more sophisticated look and materials, this headset still adheres to the Google Cardboard specs in terms of its design. To get me ready to go adventuring in cyberspace, I coupled the immersive visuals offered by this headset with the powerful music and sound from my trusty pair of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. And speaking of Sennheiser...

Introducing AMBEO

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the German audio company Sennheiser (my favorite headphones manufacturer) unveiled a suite of immersive audio technologies, dubbed AMBEO. The proposed AMBEO product line is designed to provide solutions for three dimensional audio in multiple listening situations. While AMBEO has applications in the world of complex surround speaker systems, the emphasis of this new technology line is clearly on headphones. In fact, AMBEO represents Sennheiser's ambitious entry into the world of spatial audio for VR.

Much of the AMBEO tech on display at CES was in an early prototype phase, which intrigued journalist Tyll Hertsens, editor in Chief at the audio technology site InnerFidelity. He draws a parallel between Sennheiser's bullish attitude towards VR sound and the threat of imminent competition from Apple. "With the acquisition of Beats," Hertsens speculates, "Apple now has all the pieces in-house to develop the technological ecosystem to commercialize immersive audio... (Sennheiser needs) to get things moving along. And that's why they produced a technological demo at CES, to wake people up and get their creative and competitive juices flowing."

The AMBEO VR audio technology for headphones was presented in a three-pronged approach. The first was the Venue Modeling software that could faithfully replicate room acoustics, allowing DJs to play their music sets from within several dance clubs around the world. The second was a virtual reality microphone designed to capture audio in four quadrants (launching Q3 2016). Finally, the third was a proprietary Sennheiser algorithm designed to enable video game developers to create three dimensional soundscapes for VR. At the Sennheiser booth at CES, this algorithm was put to the test in the virtual-reality game EDEN, developed by SoulPix. The video game is still in development, but an early proof-of-concept demo is now available for download for the Oculus Rift. Here's the trailer for EDEN:

2016 AES International Conference on Headphone Technology

Finally, a brand new conference organized by the Audio Engineering Society should provide lots of useful takeaway for game audio pros working in VR. The International Conference on Headphone Technology will focus on "technologies for headphones with a special emphasis on the emerging fields of Mobile Spatial Audio, Personal Assistive Listening, and Augmented Reality." Of particular interest are the proposed mobile spatial audio discussions, which should directly pertain to VR projects for mobile platforms such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard.

Well, that concludes this blog! If you've encountered any interesting developments in VR audio tech, or if you're taking your first trips into the world of VR, please let me know in the comments!

Winifred Phillips is an award-winning video game music composer. Her credits include five of the most famous and popular franchises in video gaming: Assassins Creed, LittleBigPlanet, Total War, God of War, and The Sims. She is the author of the award-winning bestseller A COMPOSER'S GUIDE TO GAME MUSIC, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Follow her on Twitter @winphillips.
Geekologie has shut down.

Thank you to everybody.

Now go be happy.
Are you interested in getting your company, event, or institution noticed? Advertise with the GRC on Global Geothermal News - Contact

at dgroves@geothermal.org
About Me John V. Fleming John V. Fleming, the Louis W. Fairchild Professor of Literature emeritus at Princeton University, retired after a long teaching career in 2006. He and his wife Joan continue to live in Princeton. The Flemings have three adult children, six delightful grandchildren, and lives that mysteriously continue to be busy. He can be reached at jfleming@princeton.edu. View my complete profile

Blog Archive
MASON CITY | City snowplow crews in Mason City will continue clearing streets and roadways until 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Operations will resume at 3 a.m. Wednesday, said Operations and Maintenance Manager Bill Stangler.

Crews began moving snow at 7 a.m. Tuesday. They used 26 plows, graders and other vehicles, Stangler said.

Cerro Gordo County plows were pulled off the roads Tuesday morning due to dangerous conditions. They returned to duty at noon Tuesday.

Alternate side parking begins at 7 p.m. MASON CITY | The alternate side parking ordinance will be in effect beginning at 7 p.m. Mon

Check back at globegazette.com for the latest on this developing story.

-- Molly Montag.

Our previous story:

MASON CITY | Snow will likely taper off temporarily in Mason City before 1 p.m., but return to bring several more inches before the system is through, officials say.

Meteorologist Frank Boksa said areas in North Iowa reported 4-6 inches of snow as of 11:45 a.m. There were no official reports from Mason City.

"It will likely let up here in the next hour or so, but we will have strong winds which will continue to produce blowing and drifting snow which will make for hazardous conditions," Boksa said.

The break in snow will last much of the afternoon, although a mix of rain and sleet could fall, he said.

The last bands of snow will probably hit somewhere around 7 p.m..

"As the storm pulls off, the second band of snow that is currently in Nebraska and far Northwest Iowa will lift across the state," Boksa said. "That will be this evening and (will) give us a second shot of snow and we can expect another couple inches from that band."

Check back at globegazette.com for the latest on this developing story.

-- Molly Montag

Our earlier story:

MASON CITY | As the snow piled up on Tuesday, North Iowa agencies and services continued to shut down.

City buses in Mason City will cease operation around 1 p.m. The Cerro Gordo County Courthouse will close at noon.

Those announcements made late Tuesday morning were just the latest of a slew of cancellations or closures as road conditions deteriorated Tuesday.

The Globe Gazette's business offices will close at 1 p.m.

Several inches of snow had fallen in Mason City as of 11:45 a.m. The winds also picked up considerably.

The combination is causing whiteout conditions in Franklin County, officials said.

Travel is so difficult many deputies plan to spend the night at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, said Franklin County Sheriff Chief Deputy Linn Larson.

"We're just concerned about everybody out there, so we're asking people not to travel and they should be prepared to shelter in place," he said.

Check back at globegazette.com for updates on this developing story.

-- Molly Montag

Our previous story:

MASON CITY | Road conditions are rapidly deteriorating in North Iowa due to a blizzard.

"We want to get the word out to everybody to stay put," said Sgt. Dana Knutson of the Iowa State Patrol's Mason City post.

Knutson said some places in North Iowa had zero visibility Tuesday morning, noting the snow was falling so hard it was impossible to see the road.

Travel is not advised and a tow ban has been issued for state highways in most of the northern third of the state.

A tow ban has been issued for Cerro Gordo County roads until further notice. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals said county plows have been pulled from the roads due to heavy snow and poor visibility.

Most other North Iowa counties either have issued a tow ban, have pulled plows from the roads or both.

After almost a week of hype, the storm is expected to bring 7-13 inches of snow to North Iowa.

The snow began falling early Tuesday morning.

Northeast winds are becoming north at 25 to 35 mph with gusts in excess of 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Winnebago, Worth, Franklin, Kossuth and Wright counties are under a blizzard warning until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Floyd, Mitchell and Butler counties are under a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

At the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse, county offices closed after the 10 a.m. board of supervisors meeting. State judicial offices are closing at noon.

The Worth County Courthouse is closed.

City Hall in Forest City is closing at 11 a.m. Tuesday night's city council meeting is postponed until Feb. 8.

Most North Iowa school districts announced Monday afternoon they would cancel Tuesday's classes.

Several nonprofit agencies, businesses, the Mason City Public Library, Mason City Municipal Airport and colleges also preemptively canceled activities.

The Clear Lake Arts Center is closed.

Garbage pickup is taking place as scheduled in Mason City.

Six to 10 inches of snow are possible during the day Tuesday with another 1-3 inches on Tuesday night.

Blowing snow is expected to continue through noon Wednesday.

Check back at globegazette.com for the latest on this developing story.

-- Mary Pieper

Our earlier story:

BELMOND | Several North Iowa schools have canceled Tuesdays classes in anticipation of a severe snowstorm expected to hit the region.

They are:

* Algona Community Schools.

* Belmond-Klemme Community Schools.

* Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Community Schools.

* Clear Lake Community School District.

* Charles City Community Schools.

* Forest City Community Schools.

* Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Community Schools.

* Hampton-Dumont Community School District.

* North Iowa Community School District.

* Pocahontas Area Community Schools.

* Lake Mills

* Mason City Community Schools.

* Newman Catholic Community Schools and Newman Catholic Childcare are closed.

* North Iowa Christian School.

* Northwood-Kensett Schools.

* Riceville Community School District.

* West Fork Community Schools.

Other storm-related closings:

* The Mason City Municipal Airport also will be closed Tuesday. All of Tuesday's Air Choice One flights and Jefferson Bus Lines travel have been canceled. Flights and bus service are expected to resume on Wednesday.

* The MacNider Art Museum will be closed Tuesday.

* Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank in Mason City will be closed.

* Mason City Public Library will be closed.

* NICCU West Branch is closed and Main Office will be closing at 11 AM

* All activities canceled at North Iowa Area Community College. Campus will be closed.

* Buena Vista University's Mason City campus will be closed.

Check back at globegazette.com for the latest on this developing story.

-- Molly Montag.

Our earlier story:

MASON CITY | Snow is expected to begin falling in the Mason City area during the overnight hours Tuesday, mainly after 3 a.m., with areas of blowing snow expected by 4 a.m.

Up to a foot of snow is expected by Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Although the snowfall is expected to end by then, blowing snow is expected to continue until noon Wednesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for most of North Iowa from 3 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The counties in the blizzard warning area include Cerro Gordo, Kossuth, Winnebago, Worth, Hancock, Wright and Franklin.

Mitchell, Floyd and Butler counties are under a winter storm warning from 3 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches are expected in the blizzard warning area, according to the National Weather Service. A period of very heavy snow is expected during the Tuesday morning commute, with snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour.

The strongest winds are expected to develop early Tuesday afternoon and continue into the evening.

The National Weather Service is predicting northeast winds becoming north at 25 to 35 mph with gusts in excess of 40 mph. Visibility is expected to be less than a quarter of a mile with whiteout conditions likely to occur.

In the winter storm warning area, 8 to 10 inches of snow is expected, with localized higher amounts possible. The heaviest snowfall rates will be from 6 a.m. to noon Tuesday.

Winds are expected to gust as high as 35 mph, causing widespread blowing and drifting snow. Whiteouts and localized blizzard-like conditions are possible.

Check back at globegazette.com for the latest on this developing story.

 Mary Pieper
Strong showings in the Iowa caucuses by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio sent them roaring into next weeks Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire with a head of steam at the expense of a deflated Donald Trump.

On the Democratic side, the virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders puts intense pressure on Clinton to rebound in New Hampshire and foreshadows a protracted struggle in a race she expected to dominate.

New Hampshire is renowned for its independence and contrarian voting habits, and anything can happen there. Trump and Sanders enjoy big polling leads that they now need to turn into New Hampshire victories. That will be a test of whether Sanders can retain the enthusiasm of his youthful supporters and whether Trump fans still consider him a winner after losing the first contest of the 2016 campaign.

Rubio didnt win Iowa but he was a big a winner there. His third-place finish was closer than polls predicted and he almost caught Trump. His challenge now is to persuade mainstream Republican voters to coalesce behind his candidacy to foil the self-styled outsiders Cruz and Trump. To do that hell need a strong showing in New Hampshire against Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie  three other mainstream Republicans who are competing vigorously in the Granite State.

New Hampshire comebacks are not unusual. Clinton staged one after Barack Obama beat her in Iowa eight years ago. Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1988 scored critical New Hampshire wins after losing Iowa.

Of course Clintons New Hampshire victory in 2008 wasnt enough to propel her to victory over Obama for the nomination. This time shes counting on strong organizations and well-financed campaigns in later contests to overcome the unexpected early success of Sanders, a senator from Vermont.

New Hampshires outcome is hard to predict because about 40 percent of its voters are independents who are allowed to decide on primary day whether to vote in either partys contest. A candidate who scores big with these voters can spring a surprise. And surprise has already been the story of this campaign, in which little has played out as expected.

On the Republican side there are several huge question marks in addition to the overriding one of Trumps durability:

Can Rubio get a bounce from his strong Iowa finish and thereby crowd out the other mainstream contenders? He will be the focus of a lot of fire from rivals over the next few days to prevent this. If he places first or second in New Hampshire he would become a top contender for the nomination.

Can Kasich, Bush or Christie do well next Tuesday? Each faces virtual elimination otherwise. And each probably has to finish ahead of the other two and Rubio for a plausible pathway to the nomination.

Can Cruz ride his Iowa victory to a respectable showing in New Hampshire, a state hed been inclined to ignore but now intends to contest? Hed planned to focus instead on South Carolina, where the third GOP contest takes place on Feb. 20 and where conservative voters are more of a force. His campaign manager has predicted that the Texan will prevail there, though polls show Trump ahead.

Another factor may be whether Ben Carson, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon who finished a distant fourth in Iowa, stays in the race; he and Cruz compete for evangelical Christian voters.

New Hampshire is likely to winnow out at least three or four candidates. Iowa effectively took out half a dozen, including Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, winners of the last two Republican caucuses there.
Nominees complement expertise of current Board in areas related to priorities of ABBs Next Level strategy; Agnelli not standing for reelection ABB has nominated four new members for election to its Board of Directors. With this move, the Board of Directors will strengthen its expertise in areas related to the shift in the center of gravity of the companys activities. The nominees all have leadership roles in global companies and collectively bring extensive international experience in a broad range of industries. The shareholders will vote on all nominations at the companys next annual general meeting (AGM) on April 21, 2016. Media Relations Antonio Ligi, Sandra Wiesner Tel: 41 43 317 7111 media.relations@ch.abb.com ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd Affolternstrasse 44 8050 Zurich Switzerland Investor Relations Switzerland: Tel. 41 43 317 7111 investor.relations@ch.abb.com For further information please refer to http://www.abb.com/news
AstraZeneca PLC Full-Year and Q4 Results 2015 On Thursday, 4 February 2016, AstraZeneca PLC will release its full-year and Q4 2015 results at 07:00 GMT. A presentation will take place at 12:00 GMT (07:00 EST, 13:00 CET) and will be accessible via two routes: Audio webcast The slides will be available to download via http://www.astrazeneca.com/investors prior to the start of the presentation. Teleconference UK (freephone): 0800 376 922 US (toll-free): 1 866 966 1396 Sweden (freephone): 0207 92102 International: +44 20 7192 8000 Conference ID: 22241252 Details of the teleconference and webcast replay facilities are available via http://www.astrazeneca.com/investors.
DGAP-News: Bayerische Landesbank / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Bayerische Landesbank: BayernLB set to pay back another EUR 1.3bn of silent participations to the Free State of Bavaria 03.02.2016 / 13:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 February 2016 BayernLB set to pay back another EUR 1.3bn of silent participations to the Free State of Bavaria Munich - Following the adoption of its 2015 full-year financial statements this April, BayernLB intends to pay back another EUR 1.3bn of silent participations to the Free State of Bavaria. The European Central Bank has already approved this move. The planned repayment is still subject to the final adoption of the 2015 financial statements by BayernLB's Supervisory Board on 14 April 2016. After the planned repayment, BayernLB will have returned nearly EUR 4.4bn to the Free State of Bavaria, of which approximately EUR 4.0bn counts towards the state aid repayment requirement. BayernLB will continue to strive to repay the remaining outstanding amount of EUR 1bn before the 2019 deadline set in the agreement ending the EU state aid proceedings. As before, all such payments to the Free State of Bavaria are, of course, subject to approval by banking supervisory authorities. BayernLB's "fully loaded" CET 1 capital ratio was a solid 11.1 percent as at 30 September 2015. As this ratio does not include the Free State of Bavaria's silent partner contributions, it will not be lowered by the EUR 1.3bn repayment. The impact on BayernLB's hybrid instruments is as follows: The silent partner contributions and profit participation certificates will be fully replenished from 81.2 percent to 100.0 percent. In addition, deferred interest payments on the profit participation certificates from 2013 and 2014 will be paid as will interest due for 2015. The capital repayment to the Free State of Bavaria will trigger the so-called "dividend pusher" for the Trust Preferred Securities of BayernLB Capital Trust I. Additional information, such as about dividend payments on silent partner contributions, will be presented at the 2015 Annual Report Press Conference on 17 March 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03.02.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Bayerische Landesbank Brienner Strae 18 80333 Munchen Germany Phone: + 49 (0) 89 21 71 -2 5852 Fax: + 49 (0) 89 21 71 -2 1332 E-mail: franziska.roederstein@bayernlb.de Internet: www.bayernlb.de ISIN: DE000BLB25M0 WKN: BLB25M Listed: Regulated Market in Munich End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 434373 03.02.2016
English Icelandic

Marel Q4 and full year 2015 Results

(All amounts in EUR)



Q4 2015 - Solid performance and MPS acquisition



Revenue for Q4 2015 totaled 201.9m [Q4 2014: 200.0m].



Adjusted* EBITDA for Q4 2015 was 30.0m or 14.9% of revenue [Q4 2014: 28.1m]. EBITDA was 23.6m or 11.7% of revenue [Q4 2014: 21.0m].



Adjusted EBIT for Q4 2015 was 22.2m or 11.0% of revenue [Q4 2014: 16.1m]. EBIT was 14.6m or 7.2% of revenue [Q4 2014: 8.5m].



Net result for Q4 2015 was 9.9m [Q4 2014: 3.0m]. Earnings per share were 1.40 euro cents in Q4 2015 compared with 0.41 euro cents in Q4 2014.



Cash flow from operating activities before interest and tax in Q4 2015 was 26.9m [Q4 2014: 32.7m].



The order book was at 180.9m at the end of the quarter compared with 187.7m at the end of Q3 2015 [Q4 2014: 174.9m].

Full year 2015 - Adjusted EBIT 100 million, 12.2% of sales

Revenue for 2015 totaled 818.6m, an increase of 14.9% compared with previous year [2014: 712.6m].



Adjusted EBITDA was 135.7m or 16.6% of revenue compared with 83.7m and 11.7% for 2014. EBITDA was 120.8m or 14.8% of revenue [2014: 66.7m and 9.4%].



Adjusted EBIT was 99.9m or 12.2% of revenue compared with 48.8m and 6.8% for 2014. EBIT was 81.6m or 10.0% of revenue [2014: 29.2m and 4.1%].



Net result for 2015 was 56.7m [2014: 11.7m]. Earnings per share were 7.93 euro cents compared with 1.60 euro cents in 2014.



Cash flow from operating activities before interest and tax was 119.7m [2014: 102.2m]. Net interest bearing debt at the end of the year 2015 was 142.8m compared with 174.3m at the end of 2014.

Marel achieved 15% revenue growth in 2015. Revenue was 819 million with 12.2% adjusted EBIT or 100 million compared with 49 million in 2014 (6.8%). Net profit for 2015 is 57 million compared with 12 million last year. Cash flow and operational performance was strong leading to net debt/EBITDA at 1.05 at the end of the year compared with 2.08 at the end of 2014. Marel is entering the year 2016 with order book of 181 million compared with 175 million at the beginning of 2015.



Marel closed the acquisition of MPS on January 29, 2016. The purchase price is 382 million on a debt and cash-free basis. Preliminary numbers from MPS operation show revenue of 158 million in 2015 and EBITDA of 41 million. Orders received were strong and totaled 190 million and MPS enters 2016 with order book of 140 million.



Marel has finalized long term all senior financing of an approximately 670 million with final maturity in November 2020. The financing is at favorable terms in line with Marels financial strengths and current market conditions. Initial interest terms are EURIBOR/LIBOR plus a margin of 275 basis points which will vary in line with Marels leverage ratio (Net debt/EBITDA) at the end of each quarter. Opening leverage post MPS acquisition is below 3x Net debt/EBITDA.

Marels earnings per share (EPS) in 2015 are 7.93 euro cents compared with 1.60 euro cents for 2014. The acquisition of MPS is expected to be highly accretive and will enhance EPS going forward. The Board of Directors will propose to the 2016 Annual General Meeting that dividend of 1.58 euro cent per outstanding share will be paid for 2015, corresponding to 11.3 million or approximately 20% of net profit for the year.



Pro-forma revenue for combined Marel and MPS in 2015 is 977 million with estimated adjusted EBIT of 133 million. Pro-forma order book is around 320 million entering 2016 compared with 280 million at the beginning of the year 2015. Management expects modest organic revenue and EBIT growth in 2016 compared with 2015 on pro-forma basis, before purchase price allocation in relation with the acquisition.



Arni Oddur Thordarson, CEO:



2015 was a great year for Marel. We successfully concluded our two year refocusing program, rationalizing the product portfolio, optimizing our manufacturing footprint and streamlining the operation. We managed to engage even better with our customers while refocusing, resulting in a 15% increase in revenue with 100 million in operating profits in 2015 compared with 49 million in 2014.



With the acquisition of MPS we further enhanced Marels position as a global leading provider of advanced systems and services to the poultry, meat and fish industries. In many ways we are now taking similar steps in the meat industry as were taken eight years ago in the poultry industry with the Stork acquisition, which stimulated organic growth and value creation for customers and shareholders.



Parallel to the acquisition of MPS we secured long term stable financing for the whole company that will support operational and financial flexibility going forward. We appreciate the continued trust from the banks that are supporting Marel as the consolidator in the industry.



MPS is concluding a great year just like Marel. Combined revenues last year were 977 million with adjusted EBIT of 133 million. After a period of strong growth, we expect modest organic growth in revenues and operating performance in 2016.

Simpler, Smarter, Faster refocusing program



The two year Simpler, Smarter, Faster refocusing program was successfully completed in 2015 resulting in increased sales, improved operational and net profits and strong cash flow. The focus will now shift towards full potential program with the aim of further operational improvements, continuous innovation and focused investments to improve the business and support future growth and value creation.



During the two year refocusing program Marel managed to streamline the general business, refocus its product portfolio, optimize the manufacturing footprint and at the same time invest in further growth through innovation and advanced business tools. During the program the manufacturing footprint was reduced from 19 to 9 location and employees were reduced by 200 while at the same time revenue increased.



From the beginning of the refocusing program, taking into account the proceeds from sales of operations, the total cash-out cost of the refocusing program is estimated at 16 million, with 35 million P/L effect for the same period, thereof 4.3 million in Q4 2015.The refocusing cost in Q4 2015 is mainly due to manufacturing optimization and the transfer of manufacturing activities from Des Moines to Gainesville that were completed before year-end 2015.



Further streamlining of operations will take place in 2016 such as the streamlining of the operation in Seattle, U.S and in Marels further processing segment, where the focus is on supporting poultry, meat and fish customers in further value creation.



Marel becomes a full-line supplier to the meat industry



Marel announced the closing of its acquisition of MPS meat processing systems on January 29, 2016. The purchase price is 382 million on a debt and cash-free basis. Agreement of the acquisition was announced on November 21, 2015 and the closing was subject to anti-trust approvals that were obtained without reservation in January 2016.



United, the two companies will be at the forefront in developing full-line solutions and equipment for the meat processing industry. They have a good strategic and cultural fit with a highly complementary product portfolio and geographic presence, creating a strong platform to enhance further growth.



MPS is a leader in primary processing solutions for the pork and beef industry as well as in innovative solutions in water treatment and food logistics. Under the leadership of MPS management, MPS has shown solid growth and profitability in recent periods. MPS has one of the largest installed bases in the industry and a large global base of customers.



The MPS acquisition enhances Marels position as a leading global provider of advanced systems and solutions to the poultry, meat and fish industries and is fully in line with the companys previously announced growth strategy. This step will contribute to a more balanced revenue split between industry segments and geographies. On a pro-forma basis Marels meat segment will now contribute close to 30% of revenue and EBITDA of Marel.



Preliminary MPS results show revenue of 158 million in 2015 and EBITDA of 41 million. MPS accounts are based on Dutch GAAP and will be transferred to IFRS in the first half of 2016. The results of 2016 will be affected by Purchase Price Allocation which involves allocating the purchase price to various balance sheet items including intangible assets. Orders received at MPS were strong and amounted to 190 million resulting in order book of close to 140 million at the end of the year.



Pro forma revenue for combined Marel and MPS is 977 million with estimated adjusted EBIT of 133 million. Combined order book is estimated around 320 million entering 2016 compared with around 280 million at the beginning of the year 2015.



Marels advisory cost associated with the MPS acquisition is 3.3 million and is fully accounted for in Q4 2015 results of Marel.



Outlook



Combined pro-forma revenues of Marel and MPS last year were 977 million with adjusted EBIT of 133 million. After a period of strong growth, Marel expects modest organic growth in revenues and operating performance in 2016 compared with 2015 on pro-forma basis, before purchase price allocation in relation with the acquisition.



A commercially strong product portfolio and focused market approach together with tailwind in the market has driven strong revenue growth in recent quarters. The industry that Marel operates in has a history of 4-6% annual growth and it is expected that average annual growth will remain at that level in the long term. Marels aim is to continue to grow faster than the market by leveraging its market presence and with continuous investments in innovation.



In the mid- and long-term, the company believes its innovative products and global presence in all segments will secure good growth and increased profitability. Results may vary from quarter to quarter due to general economic developments, fluctuations in orders received and deliveries of larger systems.



Presentation of results, February 4, 2016

Marel will present its results at an investor meeting on Thursday, February 4, at 8:30 am (GMT), at the Companys headquarters at Austurhraun 9, Gardabaer. The meeting will also be webcasted at marel.com/webcast.



Publication days of Consolidated Financial Statements in 2016



 1st quarter 2016 April 25, 2016

 2nd quarter 2016 July 27, 2016

 3rd quarter 2016 October 26, 2016

 4th quarter 2016 February 1, 2017



Release of financial statements will take place after market closing on the aforementioned dates.



For further information, contact:



Audbjorg Olafsdottir, Corporate Director of Investor Relations and Communications, tel: (+354) 563 8626 / mobile: (+354) 853 8626.




GMAT 690. Low Quant and IR. Detailed Profile. [ #permalink

Hi,



I am here with the good old question regarding the GMAT score. I have read all the other posts but I wanted to get a more personalized evaluation. I need to get this question answered as I'm quite anxious about it, though I know it's a very old one. So I took the GMAT and got a 690 (43 Q: 55 percentile; 41 V; 94 percentile; 2 IR; 12 percentile; 6 AWA). So this is the composition which is, as evident, quite uneven. I don't aim to get into the top 25 business schools. I'm coming from Asia and considering my background, any top 100 school would do it for me.



What do the experienced guys here think about the chances of me getting into a university into a top 100 university like Schulich, Ohio State, Rochester, Cranfield etc? Should I re-take as my IR score is embarrassing to say the least and Quant score is also poor or should I give it a shot and see how it goes.



Other background information is 3.33 CGPA on a scale of 4, 2 years of work experience (I know it's not competitive enough and thus, I'd also like to know if it's worth giving it a shot now or waiting for a couple of years?). I'd really appreciate some help here.

Additional information:

So let's get down to the details. First of all, I might not seem to be in a hurry as most of the application deadlines have already passed, especially considering the fact that I'd like to secure a scholarship (need or merit based) as well as an international applicant. Another reason is that of the two years of work experience, 1 year was in a startup without any managerial responsibilities and won't be considered impressive. The 2nd year is not necessarily of managerial nature but is in a fortune 500 company and I have a lot to show to the adcom from the latter year (performance appraisals, in-line for promotion, managers' feedback etc.). i am 24 right now but that's not to say that I'm willing to reach the average MBA age. That's one of the reasons why I'm willing to leave a top 25 if a good school outside of those can take me in despite limited work experience.



I'm planning to apply this year but I just started my research after I took the GMAT in the mid of this January so yeah the deadlines have passed or are approaching fast. Also an additional year of work experience would be quite valuable. With that in mind, I do want to apply to some schools this year and assess the responses from adcoms which will give me a better picture of my own standing. So I'll apply for schools that have March as their international applicants deadline. Although, Im willing to delay it to the next year if I can more accurately assess my chances and this is where you come in to play.



Secondly, there are only a few schools that have interested me so far and in fact, I'd like to know how high I could go up the university ranks for applications without hurting the probability of getting the admission and without re-taking the test as I can't afford to spend another month for preparation. Having said that, UBC Sauder has interested me so far the most considering time taken and ROI. Other programs are MBA programs from Schulich, Rochester: Simon and Cranfield. Another one would be Emory as I love the nature of the program (though I know its very competitive for me).



Thirdly, I am well aware that even if my GMAT is good enough, my work experience would still remain a big drawback which I'm hoping to cover through my side interests of stock investment and content writing that I can prove through internship experiences and my individual endeavours in these fields. My primary concerns are getting into MBA as young as I can and for that I wont mind going 10 universities down in the ranking when I apply.



Now comes the tricky part: my electives would primarily consist of finance courses along with an operations management course. I have majored in finance in my bachelors with 3.33 CGPA. I have studied business mathematics, Commercial Banking, Analysis for Financial Statements and these kind of courses securing A and B grades. I got a C in Budgeting which was the first finance course but I guess that would be overshadowed with grades secured later. Furthermore, in my higher secondary school (equivalent of A-levels), I have studied Calculus (integration, derivation) and probability and statistics with 75-85% marks in these specific subjects.



I hope I made my perspective clear. I need guidance on each of the mentioned concerns.



Thankyou.
Deputy Secretary of Labor lauds apprenticeship program with Zurich

Harper College President Dr. Ender joined Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu, Zurich North America Commercial CEO Mike Foley, diplomats and other business leaders on Tuesday to officially launch a first-of-its-kind U.S. apprenticeship program for the insurance industry.

The group, which also included Suzi LeVine, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and Martin Dahinden, Swiss Ambassador to the U.S., welcomed the inaugural cohort of 24 apprentices during an event at Zurichs North American headquarters in Schaumburg.

Zurich and Harper are working together to educate and train people for careers as an insurance professionals, focused on underwriting and claims. The two-year program, which began last month, includes three days of on-the-job training at Zurich and two days of classes each week at Harpers main campus in Palatine.

Last year, the White House awarded Harper a $2.5 million federal grant to support Apprenticeships on Demand, a new initiative that aims to integrate technical instruction and on-the-job learning to train workers in high-growth and high-demand fields including insurance, IT and manufacturing.

Officials call these apprenticeships as the ultimate learn and earn opportunity.

Deputy Secretary Lu said the Zurich apprenticeship is particularly innovative because its in a traditionally white-collar profession. Dr. Ender said there need to be more relationships between business and education with public support.

This model is what post-secondary education has to be about in this country, he said.

Upon completion, apprentices earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Administration. Zurich has committed to training at least 100 apprentices through the program by 2020.

Dr. Ender also credited Dr. Maria Coons, Vice President of Workforce and Strategic Alliances, and Dr. Rebecca Lake, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development, for helping to launch the apprenticeship programs.

For more information about Harper's apprenticeship programs, visit harpercollege.edu.

Media contact:Kim Pohl, Media Relations Manager, 847.925.6159
Clinton Hill's Emily turns out some of the city's most delicious circular pies and now the team is set to debut what are bound to be equally delicious square pies in Williamsburg. Emily and Matt Hyland told the world last year about their plans to make Detroit-style square pies along with Paulie Gee's alum Lou Tomczak in a small space near their Fulton Street digs. But now the team has revealed to Grub Street that they'll actually be taking their new operation, Emmy Squared, to Williamsburg.

It seems that well-appointedif off the beaten trackBill Baker's on Grand Street will be the Hyland's new home, where they'll be dishing up the pizzas plus red sauce Italian sandwiches like chicken parm and an Italian combo. The trio tell Grub Street with the new larger space they'll also be utilizing the on-site bar, plus may add additional topping options and "snacks" of some kind. They're expected to open this spring.

A bigger name like Emily is likely to do better in the space than a newcomer like Bill Baker's. The somewhat tucked away restaurant right next to the BQE on-ramp likely didn't get the kind of foot traffic needed to fill out a restaurant of that size, but Emily has become something of a food destination, both for their pizzas and top-notch burger, and checklist eaters will most certainly make a trip to try out their new offerings.
[UPDATE BELOW] An Upper West Side daycare center is suffering from a serious mouse infestation, according to a recent Department of Health inspection that resulted in two "critical violations."

As first reported by West Side Rag, Goddard Riverside Day Care Center at 114 West 91st Street has to move fast to alleviate a serious vermin problem. Parents had apparently been complaining that the center was so full of mice they were finding droppings on cots and toys, with one mother telling WSR that a teacher warned children their toys might fall victim to "gnawing" if they weren't stored properly in plastic bins.

And it looks like officials agreea DOH inspection on January 25th found the center was "not free of pests or maintains pest harborage," and " failed to take any and all necessary action to eliminate potential hazards," which are critical violations that require correction in two weeks' time. The inspection also found that the floors, walls and ceilings were in disrepair, and that the service "failed to take appropriate action to keep facility free of pests or conditions conducive to pests."

Stephan Russo, Goddard's Executive Director, confirmed to us that parents had previously voiced concerns about the center, which has been housed in a New York City Housing Authority facility since 1965. He says the center became aware of the extent of the problem about two weeks ago and immediately moved to remedy it. "NYCHA responded very well, they sent somebody to do some of the repairs and to make sure we patched up some of the holes," Russo told us. "We were very concerned ourselves. We've been in that building a very long time."

Russo says center officials have also held several meetings with parents to keep them informed of the progress.

Still, parents are worried. One parent told WSR that her four-year-old son's asthma has worsened since he entered the program, and she believes his condition has been aggravated by the proliferation of mouse droppings. "This is the most hes ever been sick, she told the blog. Another parent pointed out that though the center is plugging up holes and making necessary repairs, the work is being done during the school day. "Theyre still jeopardizing these kids by having this done while children are on premises," she said.

The program, which currently has 60 children ages 2 years/9 months to 5 on the books, has racked up a number of other serious violations over the years, with violations including failing to provide "constant and competent supervision for children," utilizing "unacceptable forms of discipline," and overcrowding. The program was closed by the Health Department in August 2014 after an inspection found that the service failed to conduct necessary criminal and background checks on its employees, among other violations. Over the last three years, 100 percent of annual inspections have yielded violationscitywide, only 82 percent of inspections yield violations on average.

Russo tells us that parents have not pulled their children out of the program, despite current health concerns. "We've been taking care of kids in early learning for over 50 years," he said, adding that the facility has a maintenance staff and undergoes daily inspections "to make sure that space is absolutely up to what you would want your child or my child to go to."

The Health Department has not yet responded to request for comment.

Update 2/4/16: A NYCHA spokesperson provided us with the following comment:

In light of the Health Departments findings, Goddard Riverside Daycare Center has taken action by cleaning accessible areas and plugging holes where rodents could enter into the building. NYCHA will continue our aggressive extermination program through treating our development grounds weekly, and we await the results of the Health Departments upcoming inspection. The health and safety of our residentsparticularly childrenare our top priority.

The Health Department says they will re-inspect the facility later this month.
Despite lingering opposition from dozens of locals, last night the Upper West Side's Community Board 7 voted in favor of a DOT redesign plan for Amsterdam Avenue between 72nd Street to 110th Street. The redesign [PDF] will create a protected, north-bound bike lane along the 30-block stretch, buffered by a parking island.

Motor vehicle traffic will be reduced from four lanes to three, and parking space on the avenue will be diminished by 21%.

Among last night's 'no' votes were CB7 transportation committee co-chairs Dan Zweig and Andrew Albert. Last month, a few days before 73-year-old Thomas McAnulty was fatally struck by a motorcycle driver while crossing 96th Street at Amsterdam Avenue, their committee reached a split 4-4 vote on the DOT's proposal. Both co-chairs denied this monthnot for the first timethe validity of DOT data showing increased safety as the result of protected bike lanes.

Zweig and Albert voted in favor of a 2013 resolution calling for a safety study of Amsterdam Avenue. (Some things need to be done for pedestrians now, Zweig said at the time, calling for curb extensions over a protected lane.)

The final vote on Tuesday was 28-13 in favor with two abstentions, and concluded a years-long debate that was heated until the last minute. As safe-streets advocates pressed shoulder to shoulder and dozens deepthe majority of them wearing bright-yellow #FixAmsterdam stickers supplied by the advocacy group Transportation Alternativesa fire marshal arrived and ordered about 100 people to leave.





Some attendees called for the meeting to be rescheduled, while others shouted "check the zip codes," hoping that anyone from outside the district would be kicked out. Undeterred, several Transportation Alternatives members crouched at street level, reaching through the conference room windows with signs reading "Safety is the #1 priority."

A hiss rose from the crowd of TransAlt members and their supporters when anyone opposed to the bike lane took the mic, and applause for those in favor was raucous. Some residents countered that TransAlt had co-opted their meeting, "peppering" the audience with advocates from out of district.

These claims were drowned out by screams of, "Liar! We live here!" and "This is slander! Sit down!" While many advocates from across the city attended the meeting, several leaders of the advocacy group Families For Safe Streets, including founding member Mary-Beth Kelly, are UWS residents.

According to the DOT, 59% of drivers speed on Amsterdam Avenue during off-peak hours. The road saw 513 traffic injuries36 of which were severebetween 2009 and 2013. Four-year-old Ariel Russo was fatally struck by an unlicensed driver when he jumped the curb at Amsterdam Avenue and 97th Street in 2013.

Resident Rita Callahan put it this way in her testimony: "I live on Amsterdam Highway."



Kathleen McAnulty testifies before CB 7 (Konstantin Sergeyev / Transportation Alternatives)

Voices shaking, McAnulty's children, Kathleen and Steve McAnulty, testified before the board as the newest members of Families For Safe Streetsan organization for victims of traffic crashes and their families.

"I can't believe we're standing up here," Kathleen said. "It will be three weeks [since my father's death] on Thursday. I grew up in this neighborhood. We've always known that Amsterdam has been crazy. We've been here for 35 years. And my father was hit right on 96th and Amsterdam, demolished, killed, done. Something has to be done."

McAnulty added, "I really cannot image what the arguments are against it I hope they are not parking."

"What's going to happen with the cars circling our side streets looking for parking?" countered co-chair Albert on Tuesday, as if on cue. "Where are all of the cars going to go? There won't be any spaces anymore."

"The proposal from DOT makes for a safer route, but it imposes a lot of very real problems on the neighborhood. One of the problems is 21% parking reduction," Zweig echoed.

Other neighbors and local business owners opposed to the plan said they anticipated increased congestion as a result of the bike lane. "NYC was built on commerce," said resident Daniel Hank. "This was built as a port of commerce, not for biking. Want to bike? Go on the bike paths."

"What happens is traffic creates pollution," said Joseph Bolanos, a community advocate and longtime resident of 76th Street. "You're going to have slower traffic and more pollution air and noise."

"Amsterdam is an established artery," he elaborated afterwards. "Its a dedicated truck route, so it provides commerce for all of the restaurants and stores."

A spokesman for the DOT cited the favorable green-light progression on Amsterdam Avenue, which would be maintained, as well as a potential shift from taxis to Citi Bikes in the coming months, as evidence that congestion would not worsen.



(via DOT)

A southbound protected bike lane was installed on Columbus Avenue in 2010 and extended in 2013, also against considerable pushback from some vocal Upper West Siders.

Some locals said on Tuesday that they seldom see bikers on Columbus Avenueproof that bike lanes should not take priority in the neighborhood. Bicycle traffic aside, a spokesman for the DOT described the bike lane as a crucial traffic-calming measure. "I think the safety numbers are really what we should be focusing on," he said.

According to the DOT, protected bike lanes reduced total injuries along Columbus Avenue between West 96th Street and West 77th Street by 20% in three years. Pedestrian injuries are down 22%.

"At times this has felt like defending climate change," said resident Richard Fine. "With all of the facts on one side versus someone saying, 'I talked to a guy the other day.'"

During the final hour of debate on Tuesday, board member Shelly Fine introduced an alternate proposalrejected by a 28-15 votethat called for safety measures like curb extensions and additional traffic signals in lieu of a bike lane.

"We all want safety," he said. But the current plan "ignores the reality that Amsterdam is a major truck route and car route going north and out of the city and that's not going to change."

Board member Brian Jenks described the alternative plan as a step in the wrong direction. "It is high time New York modernized its streets," he said. "We need to shift the way we commute in this city. It's a sea change, it's going to happen, and it should happen now."

Filing out of the meeting after 10:00 p.m., Bolanos, who earlier predicted the changes would result in more congestion, called the decision "a victory for pollution."

"I'm thrilled that the lane was passed," said Kathleen McAnulty, standing a few feet away. "It's very upsetting to hear, when you're in this process of grieving, that people are unable to put into perspective real life grief. It was hard to hear over and over and over again about parking."

The DOT plans to begin construction on the new lane this spring, and complete two miles of protected bike lanes on Amsterdam in 2016.
A 25-year-old New Jersey woman survived a 200 foot leap from the George Washington Bridge Tuesday night. Rescue divers pulled her from the water at around 5 p.m. yesterday, the Post reports.

A bridge security guard spotted the woman floating in the Hudson River, and she was rescued by volunteer firefighter Scott Koen, 58, who happened to be assisting a rescue group in the search for the body of another recent bridge jumper. Koen reportedly leaped into the water and tied a rope around the woman, who told him, "My legs are broken."

Koen and his crew brought the woman to shore, after which she was taken to St. Luke's Hospital and treated for a broken leg.

Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo told the Daily News that police recovered the woman's car on Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan. Investigators believe she jumped from the bridge near its Manhattan tower.

Last year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced plans to build a suicide-prevention fence on the George Washington Bridgeplans which wouldn't actually install such a fence until 2024.

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide: do not leave the person alone; remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt; and call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
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Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today
Thor Equities, perhaps most notable for bringing their hammer down on Coney Island, are eliminating three Williamsburg restaurants in one fell swoop with the introduction of a new mixed-use building opening in the ever condo-fied neighborhood. A new residential and retail building will be popping up at North 6th and Berry Street sometime in the near future, razing Baoburg, Ramen Yebisu and Chai Thai in the process. All three restaurants are currently still open, but the developers have seen fit to completely obscure them behind a sad plywood-and-metal sidewalk shed prison in advance of their demise.



(Nell Casey/Gothamist)

Representatives for Thor declined to discuss the development, but renderings on-site reveal a glass monstrosity that'll totally gel with Berry Street's low skyline and mostly modest storefronts. They're currently in search of retail or restaurant clients to fill the space when it's built, though those plans do not seem to include any of the restaurants currently occupying the site.

Ramen Yebisu already operates a Park Slope location, so their excellent Miso Ramen won't be gone completely, and there's a Chai Thai in midtown. Baoburg is also currently working on a Greenpoint location on Manhattan Avenue, which they say will focus on noodle soups, dumplings and different types of buns in an Asian-Spanish fusion. Their new space will also boast a backyard.
The ten slashing/stabbing incidents that have occurred in the NYC subway since the beginning of January are not part of a trend or copy-cat phenomenon, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted today.

"I'm going to ask all of you to report this very squarely," Mayor de Blasio told reporters on Wednesday, at a monthly briefing on crime statistics. "These are individual incidents. There is not a pattern here."

"We don't have somebody moving around the subway system randomly slashing multiple victims," Bratton added.

There have been 37 assaults in the subway this year to date, according to NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Fox. Six were slashingscompared to three over the same period in 2015and four were stabbings, compared to two last year. Of these, two resulted from robberies, and seven from an altercationsomeone spilling hot coffee, for example, or telling another straphanger to keep their voice down.

"Only one of these attacks is what we'd call 'random,'" Fox said, referring to the slashing of 71-year-old Carmen Rivera on a southbound D train last Monday morning. "They all concern me, but this one concerns me the most."

Commissioner Bratton also blamed NYC's record-high ridership, trying his best to commiserate with the average straphanger. "Tempers are short when you can't get on a subway car. It's actually fascinating that 6 million people a day ride, and it's actually as safe as it is," Bratton added. "It is a relatively calm environment considering the crowding."

In the coming weeks, New Yorkers can expect to see extra uniformed officers at subway stations across the city. Deputy Chief Jimmy O'Neill confirmed that a few pre-selected stations in Brooklyn and Manhattan will also undergo complete inspections, including mezzanines, platforms, and trains pulling through. Transit cops will be working overtime, and will be reinforced by members of the NYPD's new Counterterrorism Response Command (CRC) unit, as well as the Strategic Response Unit, the NYPD's protest police referred to by some activists as the "goon squad."

Commissioner Bratton confirmed on Wednesday reports that he would like to ban career criminals from the subway as part of his MTA crime-prevention strategy, possibly as a condition of their parole.

"It's actually very practical," Bratton said. "We'll be meeting with [MTA Chairman] Tom Prendergast to explore further the options within their powers. Some of these characters have been out there for 25 years with 50, 100, 150 arrests under their belts. If they continue to go in, let's put them away for a longer period of time so they can't keep victimizing New Yorkers."

The Commissioner went on to compare his idea to policies already in place in city parks and playgrounds. "Might it require legislation? Possibly," he said. "In that case, let's give it a try."

Other planned measures are within the NYPD's power to instate. For example, officers will be tasked with waking up sleeping passengers, according to top brass. Apparently, about half of the seven-odd crimes documented in the subway each day are committed against sleeping passengers.

City-wide, NYC saw the lowest crime statistics in CrimeStat history this January, according to the NYPD. There were a record-low 22 murders last month, compared to 40 this time last year. Rape, robbery, grand larceny, and burglary all saw marginal decreases.

"There's so little crime that we're paying a lot of attention to a relatively small amount of crime," Bratton argued. "We are able to focus when something is out of the norm."

A 37-year-old man allegedly slashed a fellow straphanger across the chin with a knife on a northbound 3 train in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, after throwing hot coffee onto his victim's back and shouting, "Wanna fight?"


(Photo via ekonon's flickr

I spend a fair amount of time in Los Angeles, and when I'm there I rely heavily on Uber, as I'm usually without a car and that city isn't exactly known for its public transportation. A year ago, I was in Venice and an Uber driver told me I had a low rating of 4.8 (out of 5!)he explained that if I got down to a 4.5, that Uber would delete my account. Well, that sure didn't seem accurate! And it wasn't. This was simply his way of steering the conversation towards tipping, and how tips would help me get a higher rating, and to tip him, please, "$2 would be fine," he said.

At the time, Uber had just started giving passengers the ability to find out their rating. Just as you rate your driver (1 to 5 stars), s/he rates you. Gothamist publisher Jake Dobkin argues this is a system of oppressive control (in Soviet Russia, cabs rate you! Etc.). But it's really just meaningless, like playing a game of Candy Crush on your phone, pressing a star isn't really doing anything. Because unless you're a total dick giving out 1-star ratings for no real reason, your rating is probably in the 4s, and it won't have any effect on your using Uber. (If your rating is significantly low, however, this can effect how many drivers will actually pick you up.)

My 4.8 rating last year has since gone down, a couple of times. This seems to happen after every trip to Los Angeles, where I have now learned that tipping is more standard. At first I went down to a 4.6, and the last time I requested my rating (which you can do via the app), I was told by a cheery Uber rep name Roderick that: "It is 4.4. Great!" Is that really "great," Roderick? Even though it doesn't really mean anything in relation to using the service, the 4.4 Uber rating was making me feel guilty for not tipping. That's probably a good thing.



"Add a tip option onto the app." (Gothamist)

I reached out to Uber to make sure their most current tipping policy hadn't changed, and to find out how much drivers got of the final fare. I was told that drivers are encouraged to remind passengers that tipping isn't necessary, however, if a passenger insists on tipping, the driver is free to accept it. The Uber spokesperson also told me that they try to make their experience "a cashless and seamless experience." Drivers, I was told, take home 75 to 80% of the fare.

But with fares being lowered, Uber drivers are taking a hitat a recent protest, driver Dwayne Andrews explained, It was good at the beginning, there was a base fare, not as many drivers. You were able to make a living and truly work at your own time. But now you have to do more trips for less money and every month they're putting out more and more drivers, further diluting the market. And now theyre dropping the prices?"

Uber needs to explicitly change their tipping policywhereas Lyft encourages tipping, currently Uber still tells passengers not to tip... but why? When the service was first introduced it was more expensive, and offered up mostly black carsat that time there was a pretty firm "no tipping" policy, and it made sense. The problem is this no tipping policy seems to have stuck even though the service has come more in line with the common cab. But you are tipping your cab driver, so why wouldn't you tip your Uber driver?

In fact, Uber has hidden away a feature where you can automatically tip your Uber Taxi driver. You can only activate the feature via signing up on your desktop, not on the app itself. Here's what to look for under the payment option online:

This is sort of pointless since with Uber Taxi you need to swipe your card at the end of the ride anyway (the Uber part comes in through a $2 fee for using the app to hail the cab). This feature would be helpful with the other Uber services, however, since the appeal is that you don't have to swipe anything or have cash on hand, since you pay directly via your app... but until this is introduced for those options, it's on you to do the right thing. Here are some simple rules I've created that everyone on earth should now follow:
News

VIDEO: Sheikh Sultan inspects progress of 'Hanging Gardens' project

Sheikh Sultan was briefed on the plans for the remaining stages in the implementation of the project, which extends over an area of one and a half million square feet, listening to the progress of work and the most important completed and remaining stages.
-- Thomas JeffersonSyndicated columnist Charley Reese (1937-2013): "Gun control by definition affects only honest people. When a politician tells you he wants to forbid you from owning a firearm or force you to get a license, he is telling you he doesnt trust you. Thats an insult. ... Gun control is not about guns or crime. It is about an elite that fears and despises the common people."The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles -- Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."How much do you know about Trayvon Martin? It's all here (Backups here and here An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. -- Robert A. HeinleinAfter all the serious stuff here, maybe we need a funny picture of a cantankerous cat
We all do it. Every December, as the new year approaches, we get busy making resolutions and vow that this year, we will deliver on every single one. Then a few weeks go by and most of us start slipping just a little, if not on all fronts, then on some. We have a second helping at dinner, we skip a day of exercise, we spend a little more than planned and save a little less. Its tough to maintain that early January fervor, even though we try. We get busy, life takes over, and before we know it, we try to forget all about those irksome resolutions. But deep down  admit it  were a little disappointed.

This year, Montana Red Cross wants you to make a resolution that almost always meets with success: volunteer.

At the American Red Cross, volunteers are central to our mission. We call ourselves a volunteer-driven organization, and we mean it. While at many nonprofits volunteers supplement the work of paid staff, at the Red Cross volunteers are an essential part of our operations. They are present in virtually all dimensions of our work, at all levels. They are on the front lines, providing food, shelter, comfort and hope to local families who face emergency situations. They train people in lifesaving skills like first aid and CPR. They provide support and services to military members, veterans and their families, and they help save lives by organizing blood drives across the country.

We invest a tremendous amount of training in our volunteer corps and they invest in the Red Cross. Our volunteers are leaders, doers, organizers, and decision-makers. We empower them and promote them to key roles, not just because we are prudent stewards of our donor dollars (although we most certainly are), but because we want to tap into their many talents and their deep and varied experience. In Montana, we have well over 400 bona fide, committed volunteers who make up 98 percent of our total workforce. We could not operate without them if we tried.

This brings me back to why its so easy to stick to a resolution to volunteer. As soon as you sign up to volunteer, whether with the Red Cross or any other worthy organization, you become part of an intricate web of people, an essential cog in an organizational wheel. We train you, we put you to work doing something important, like finding lodging for a family whose house just burned down, and we start to depend on you. Soon we are making plans that not only involve you, but are built around you. You run with it, and before long, you are leading a team.

And that, my friend, is when you realize youre stuck. You realize that bailing out on this particular resolution is no longer an option. Backing out now is harder than sticking with it. You have found you calling, your personal mission, you no longer want to get out. Your resolution is you and you are your resolution.

At the Red Cross, we have a dictum  sleeves up, hearts open, all in. Youd be surprised how many people do just that and forget all about the resolution they once made to volunteer. Theyre too busy living it.

Anna Fernandez-Gevaert is the regional communications director at the American Red Cross of Idaho and Montana. If you feel called to volunteer after reading her column, Anna recommends the following website as a starting point: redcross.org/montana. Tell them she sent you.
The Missoula County Public Schools district is investigating whether the most recent edition of the Willard Wire, a publication produced by Willard Alternative High School students, violated district policy by including photos of topless men and women.

The district is also recalling the edition, removing copies from shelves and angering the students who produced it. The paper is distributed to Willard, Hellgate, Sentinel and Big Sky high schools, as well as to businesses that advertise in the paper.

The Wire's January issue features a cover story titled "Free the Nipple" by Willard junior Chase Boehmler, accompanied by a photo of five shirtless women and one shirtless man. Their nipples are obscured by red dots, and they are fully clothed from the waist down. Their faces are cropped out of the photo.

On a page labeled "Editorial & Opinions" inside the edition, the article is accompanied by a picture taken by editor Kylie Hoedel of a topless woman and a topless man. Their faces are cropped out, but their nipples are bare.

Boehmler's article questioned society's premise that gender should define the appropriateness of revealing one's chest.

"We originally developed (breasts) to feed our offspring, and that was their main purpose, but they've become something different, something dirty and shameful," Boehmler wrote. "They've been overwhelmingly fetishized and feminized in western culture. And we need to put the kibosh on that. People all over the world are wrapped up in this illusion that we have created."

No complaints on headturner

Hatton Littman, director of communications at MCPS, said Superintendent Mark Thane's office hasn't received any complaints about the edition.

Nonetheless, "an active investigation is being conducted and the district will not make other statements with regard to editorial freedom until the investigation is complete," Littman said.

She said the district also hasn't determined whether the newspaper violated a policy regarding publications and distribution or postings of materials.

The policy states "school-sponsored publications and productions are part of the curriculum and are not a public forum for general student use. ... Such materials may not be libelous, obscene, or profane nor may they cause a substantial disruption of the school, invade the privacy of others ... or advocate the violation of a law."

Littman said the district is also examining prior case law to determine precedent.

Hoedel said a long research-and-planning process went into the article, and staffers all knew it would be a "head turner."

"I feel the school board should prove some sort of law that we broke," she said. "I feel if they had read the article before they took it out of students' hands or had the janitor throw it away without confronting us about it, they would realize the reason why we printed it was backed up by the article."

Hoedel said she understands why some people would have a problem with the distribution of nude photos.

"If you see a picture of (female) breasts you are going to think sexualization," Hoedel said. "That's how our society has taught us to feel. We wanted people to think they shouldn't be sexualized and treated just as normal as male breasts."

Sarah Donald, a graduating junior at Willard, said she made sure that all the models for the photos were older than 18 years and that they signed consent forms.

"All of them signed a release form saying they understand they were giving permission for the photo to be taken, and we made sure all the people involved were over 18 so nothing was considered child pornography," she said. "I am extremely upset about (the recall) because the Willard Wire became something that I was able to write about things that I am passionate about. And everyone was extremely passionate about the Free the Nipple piece and making sure it was getting to the public."

The Wire contains an editorial message on the third page that states "Willard Wire is a completely student-run paper based on freedom of expression and opinion. Unlike the other high schools in Missoula, we do not receive any funding from the school district, which means we are funded entirely by advertisements. This limits what we can do with our paper but also gives us the freedom to write what you (the readers) would like to hear. The ethic of the Willard Wire is one of inherent integrity due to our independent journalistic nature. Fight censorship and help support our right to free speech, expression, and full liberty of the press."

Littman said the district, in fact, partially funds the publication.

"The Willard Wire is a school publication and is in fact a school-sponsored and funded publication, so there is an investigation underway," she said. "I can't give a lot of details right now, but that statement (in the Wire) is probably likely to be corrected. All student publications are governed by board policy with regard to publications."

Littman said district policy states that the paper's faculty adviser, Lisa Waller, and Willard Principal Jane Bennett would have needed to approve the publication before it went to press. Waller was not in the office Thursday, and Bennett did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Free the Nipple

Boehmler, the author of the article, said the Free the Nipple movement is about ending the shame associated with having a body that is perceived as feminine.

"I feel pretty strongly about the Free the Nipple movement, because me and a lot of girls and women have experienced large amounts of sexual harassment just for having breasts. And it's completely unfair and hypocritical that gender identity is the basis of whether or not you can remove your shirt," she said. "And it's unfair to breast-feeding mothers that breast-feeding in public has to be such a controversy when it's what you should be doing. I felt like I needed to take a stance on it and did something that was risky."

Boehmler said Free the Nipple, which has gained nationwide traction, is about equality.

"The Free the Nipple movement is an equality movement for everyone to feel like everyone's body is equal," she said. "Your body feels like this trap. No matter what, you're a sexualized object. It's a movement for all people really."

She said the pictures were necessary -- having an article laying out her case without them wouldn't have had as much impact.

"They show the innocence of toplessness," she said of the photos. "We put it in because it's a powerful message to show we believe in the Free the Nipple movement this much, and being topless is innocent no matter who you are."

Hoedel said the Wire has pushed a lot of aspiring young journalists to explore topics they are nervous about.

"Having the freedom for the students to write what they feel is important because it helps them learn more," she said. "If they are not passionate about it, it's not going to be well-written. I feel it was too much censorship on (the district's) part."
Calling for reductions in the use of fossil fuels through support of programs such as the federal Clean Power Plan, the National Wildlife Federation released a Groundhog Day climate change report focused on potential impacts to smaller animals.

NWF convened several experts in small mammals for a conference call with reporters on Monday to discuss research and potential climate change challenges. The call was part of the Big Climate Challenges Facing Small Mammals report, focusing on species including pikas, pine marten, snowshoe hares and Canada lynx.

The experts spoke to research but not to policy.

Pika

Dr. Erik Beever, research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said it is critically important to understand the underlying changes and mechanisms driving overall declines in pika populations. The small relative of rabbits live at high altitude in rocky slopes as far south as New Mexico, and has been the subject of a number of research and monitoring projects, he said.

The Sierra Nevada and Rockies house some high-elevation remote habitat, and an abundance of pikas remains stronger than on the southern portion of the range, Beever said. Small areas of habitat, called microrefugia, also play an important role in wildlife persisting when broader changes occur, he added.

This is not to suggest there are climate change winners or losers -- there has been rapid change in some places and much less change in the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies, he said.

In both Montana and Wyoming, researchers have found areas used by pikas in the past as well as documented retraction of habitat upslope, Beever said.

(Retraction) rates have changed dramatically from the 20th century to the last few years, he said.

On the ground, researchers are looking at vegetation chemistry for potential changes as well as hormones indicating stress in pikas, Beever said.

Pine marten

Dr. Steven Buskirk, professor emeritus of wildlife biology at the University of Wyoming, spoke to potential changes for pine marten, a house-cat sized weasel known for its love of deep snow. Researchers are asking how climate change could contribute to changes in insect-impacted forest stands that marten occupy in addition to changes to snow consistency.

In winter they prey almost entirely beneath the snow  theyre strongly affected by snow attributes, Buskirk said.

If snow becomes crusted, marten may have a harder time hunting as well as face more competition from other animals, such as bobcats or fishers, he said, which are more associated with lower elevations.

While marten are distributed throughout the core of the Rocky Mountains, isolated mountain ranges with fragmented populations raise additional concerns, Buskirk said.

Snowshoe hare

Dr. Scott Mills, professor of wildlife biology for North Carolina State University, has studied snowshoe hares and other animals that seasonally change colors from brown to white since the 1990s.

Day length is traditionally a strong predictor of weather patterns, driving migrations, emergence from hibernation and coat color change, he said.

Hares are entirely shaped by predation  and camouflage is their main defense, Mills said.

A white hare on a brown background is ripe for predation, Mills research has shown. With predicted decreases in days with snow on the ground, that makes mismatches likely to increase, he said.

Future research will look at whether evolution through natural selection will allow hares to adapt, Mills said.

Its really and truly not a doom and gloom story. It may not be a silver bullet, but under the right condition, evolution can be a powerful force underneath even rapid conditions, he said. The jurys still out whether it can be fast enough, but it is a possibility.

Canada lynx

Dr. John Squires, research wildlife biologist for the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, said that Canada lynx remain at small and isolated populations in the lower 48 states. The snow-loving, spruce and fir forest dwelling cat preys almost exclusively on snowshoe hares and is typically separated by snow depth from other carnivores, he said.

We do know that hare populations in the U.S. are fairly low and close to the level lynx can persist, so that could be of concern and affect populations, he said.

Decreases in snow depths or increase in crusty snow could close that gap and place lynx in competition with generalist carnivores such as bobcats and mountain lions, Squires said.

Predicted declines in suitable habitat at lower elevations suggest lynx will rely more on upper elevations, he said.

Lynx habitat has historically seen natural disturbances such as forest fires and insect infestations, but predictions that those disturbances will increase at an accelerated rate and severity could mean smaller and more isolated habitats, he said.

Carbon-reducing policy

Dave Ditloff, regional representative for NWF, said the report was not only aimed at providing information on the plight of small mammals, but to generate support for carbon-reducing policy. Supporting EPA standards for methane emissions in the oil and gas industry, reduction in fossil fuels and support of the federal Clean Power Plan are important, in addition to work to conserve and protect habitats, he said.

For the first time maybe ever, theres momentum behind this and that hopefully shows hope for these small animals, he said.

The Clean Power Plan with calls on Montana to reduce carbon emissions by 47 percent, has seen resistance and concern from various state and federal officials.

Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, while noting a need to address climate change, said the EPA moved the goal posts and failed to account for steps the state has taken to reduce carbon to date. The governor recently convened a 27-member panel to address compliance with the plan.

Attorney General Tim Fox, a Republican, in October joined 26 other states in a lawsuit against the EPA, saying in part that the plan will dramatically increase electric bills while overstepping its rule-making authority.

Republicans Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke have both come out firmly against the plan, citing rising electrical costs and potential loss of coal jobs.

Our communities cannot afford another federal assault on the economy, Zinke said.

Several conservation and renewable energy advocacy groups have thrown support behind the plan and called for support from Montanas elected officials.
Greg Gianforte is a right wing, conservative Christian zealot, who cant separate his religious beliefs from his politics. If he were elected, I am sure he would govern completely from his misguided faith. His actions would destroy our indispensable doctrine -- the separation of church and state.

As a public school educator, I am most disturbed by his support of public money being diverted to religious/private schools. Secular public education should be supported as the backbone of our society. Also, I am sure he would put business interests over public benefit. I consider him one of scariest gubernatorial candidates to emerge in Montana.
The Montana Department of Revenues ruling denying tax credit benefits for scholarship donations to religious schools under Senate Bill 410 drew considerable flak. Granted, the DOR administrative rulings are to reflect legislative intent. Nevertheless, the DOR is certainly charged to comply with the Montana Constitution. Director Kadass many less vocal supporters feel that he bit the bullet and acted within the perimeters of his office.

Soliciter General Dale Schwengerdt said that approval of the DOR ruling would put Montanas Constitution in conflict with the U.S. Constitution. Whatever his reasoning, states are empowered to interpret their constitutions more strictly than the federal Constitution and thus provide greater protection for religious liberty than is currently afforded under the First Amendment: Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, U.S. Supreme Court,1980, makes clear that state courts may interpret their constitutions differently from the federal Constitution so long as they are not less protective.

Resting their case on the statement of District Judge Sherlock: The granting of an income tax credit is not an appropriation." Sens. Hansen and Jones are confident that the constitutionality question of SB410 is a piece of cake. However, still other tests lie ahead. Article 10, Section 6, of the Montana Constitution not only bars direct or indirect appropriations for any sectarian purpose , but also bars payment from any public fund or monies, or any grant of land or other properties to aid any church, school, academy ... controlled in whole or in part by any church, sect or denomination.

In SB410, we must separate form from substance. At the outset, the state of Montana has a given General Taxpayer Fund amount. The donors gift is channeled through the scholarship foundation in payment for the religious school tuition. At the end of the transaction the donor receives a tax credit by some legalistic legerdemain in the amount of his donation. The effect is for the General Fund amount to be less the tax credit sum the donor made resulting in payment for sectarian purpose.

In PEARL v. Nyquist and Sloan v. Lemon the U.S. Supreme Court has twice held tuition reimbursement grants and tax credit tuition reimbursements to have the impermissible effect of advancing religion.

In answer to the unending parade of attempts to divert taxpayer money for direct or indirect aid to nonpublic schools, there have been statewide referendums giving the voters an opportunity to render judgement on these programs. Commencing in Nebraska in 1966 and continuing through to Hawaii in 2014, voters in no less than 28 referendums (especially in western states , California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Colorado) have soundly defeated these attempts and threats to public education by an average of 2 to 1 majority. Montana state legislators should take heed. When the people speak they do not want to divert taxpayer money to support private and parochial schools. Montana taxpayers deserve that such a referendum be offered.

Everett Lynn is a retired Helena dentist and advocate of separation of church and state.
BUTTE -- Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau has won two statewide elections as a Native American woman.

As the 48-year-old congressional candidate ramps up her campaign against first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, she is matter-of-fact about her sexual orientation, making her Montanas first openly gay candidate running for federal office.

While Juneau introduced the woman she is dating at a fundraiser in Bozeman last week, she has been open for some time about her sexuality, without making a big deal of it.

State Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, said she was at the Bozeman fundraiser Saturday that honored women in politics. She said Juneau spoke and told a story about how when she first ran for state superintendent of public instruction, she told her parents, who asked, When do we hit the road? to help campaign.

Juneau told the crowd Saturday that the first person she told she was running for Congress was her partner, who asked exactly the same question.

It demonstrates how Denise feels about making sure she represents everyone, Dunwell said, adding it speaks volumes about her.

Zinke was unavailable for comment Tuesday night and his staff did not return email messages.

Montanans know and trust Denise, Juneau's campaign manager, Lauren Caldwell, told Lee Newspapers Tuesday night. Her run for Congress is historic in many ways, which is why were seeing major endorsements and unprecedented excitement from every corner of the state. She's the first female American Indian to win statewide office, twice. Denise will be the first woman Montanans send to Congress in 75 years. Denise is proof that anyone can go from Head Start to Harvard, from a small town to the U.S. Capitol. In Congress, Denise will be an independent voice who puts all Montanans first."

David Parker, a political scientist at Montana State University, said Tuesday night, People who were going to vote for her are still going to vote for her, and people who werent going to vote for her still arent. But he added, Whats really important here is enthusiasm among young Democratic voters. Look at how younger voters feel about same-sex marriage, for instance. They are very strongly supportive. So now, she has a story to tell a group of voters that are otherwise hard to motivate.

He likened the situation to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who became the first openly gay person elected to Senate., and said it was transformative  she got huge turnouts in Madison, where the University of Wisconsin is located. So this could have an effect for Juneau in Missoula and in Gallatin County, he said.

Parker added that perhaps most importantly, Juneau will attract even more national attention as a candidate. By virtue of her policy positions and her status as a Native American and a woman, she has already benefited from endorsements like Emilys List, but she could also receive attention -- and money -- from groups supporting LGBT candidates.

She will have money to tell her story, he said, but added that shes running against a well-heeled incumbent in Zinke, who has shown big-time fundraising ability.

The seat is rated safe Republican right now by some national Congress-watchers, he said, although that could certainly change.

Social-media reaction to an earlier story regarding Juneaus sexuality was positive.

Former Missoula city council member Caitlin Copple Tweeted, @denisejuneau is making so much history!

Personally I dont care if Denise Juneau is LGBT or not, Helena writer
Republicans Roger Koopman of Bozeman and Bob Lake of Hamilton are both running to keep their seats on the Montana Public Service Commission.

Lake filed Wednesday for District 4, while Koopman will file Thursday for District 3.

Democrat Pat Noonan of Ramsay is also running for the District 3 seat. Noonan is serving his fourth, and last, term as a state representative. He is facing Caron Cooper, of Livingston, in the primary.

Democrat Mark Sweeney, of Philipsburg, who ran for the PSC seat in District 3 in 2012 when he lived in Anaconda and narrowly lost in the primary, is also running in District 4. Tony O'Donnell, a Republican from Billings, is running for the District 2 seat.

Koopman said he would continue fighting for affordable, reliable energy, and for regulatory decisions in the best interests of all Montanans in a press release he sent out Wednesday.

Also in a press release, Lake said energy consumers will face much hardship in the near future if regulators dont provide strong leadership and resolve to protect low cost, reliable energy services, and I promise the people of Montana that I will strive to do just that throughout a second term on the PSC.

In 2012 Koopman defeated incumbent Democrat John Vincent. Lake defeated incumbent Democrat Gail Gutsche of Missoula in that election, which created an all-Republican five-member commission for the first time in the PSC's nearly 40-year history.

Koopman in his release said hes built a reputation for being a thorough, independent-minded commissioner, who is tough but fair, and who often takes the lead on difficult issues.

Montana and the PSC are facing issues of epic proportion, and our degree of resolve in standing up for the states legitimate interests will determine our energy future. The EPAs so-called Clean Power Plan is an example of the kind of federal power grab that threatens our state, and too many of our state politicians seem ready to knuckle under. These regulations are highly discriminatory against Montana, and if enforced, will have a devastating impact on rate payers and the states economy. How the next Public Service Commission responds to this bureaucratic injustice will be a real test of our mettle. Im one commissioner who will not back down with so very much at stake, Koopman said.

Koopman said the most important mission of the PSC is to keep the lights on and keep the rates low.

Lake said it's been his goal to fight for long-term affordability and reliability of energy in Montana.

Its easy to criticize the actions of a regulatory body like the PSC when you havent been in the trenches, contemplating the decisions that the Commission must make. Striking the balance between low rates for consumers, and a just, reasonable return to the utility that allows it to keep the lights on is no easy task. It takes real persistence and experience to understand the complexities of every situation that the Commission finds itself, and I am confident that my time on the PSC will serve Montana consumers better than the ideologically driven, pie-in-the-sky agenda put forth by others who currently seek this office.

Koopman is the owner of Career Concepts employment services, a Bozeman-based job placement agency he founded in 1980. He has also spent two terms in the Montana House of Representatives, from 2005 to 2008. Lake worked in the private sector for 38 years, including owning and operating Lakeland Feed & Supply in Hamilton, and also spent 10 years in the Montana Legislature.

District 3 encompasses 14 counties in southwest Montana, stretching from Butte and Dillon on the west to Columbus and Roundup on the east. District 4 includes Missoula, Granite, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Lincoln counties.
MISSOULA -- Missoula became a center of the anti-refugee settlement movement Monday morning as more than 100 people from across the state and Idaho took to the snow-lined sidewalk in front of the Missoula County Courthouse to decry what they see as a national threat.

Right now, were locked in a battle to protect our security, to protect our country, said organizer Jim Buterbaugh of Whitehall. We are fighting the system, trying to head this thing off at the pass.

Dubbed the American Security Rally, Buterbaugh expressed amazement at the turnout.

Ive had rallies several other times and I didnt have anybody show up but my family and a few other people, he said.

This one struck a chord when Buterbaugh put up a Call to Action Facebook site 10 days ago. Within four days, he said, it had generated some 1,500 invitations.

I figured Im going to actually have to do something here, he said.

Buterbaugh said he was looking at all this crap going on about Soft Landing Missoula organizing to help refugees from the Syrian crisis relocate to Missoula. That organization formed last September in the wake of reports of atrocities in the Middle East nation, and after a photo of the body of a 3-year-old child who washed ashore off Turkey underscored Europes refugee crisis.

He was spurred too by a letter dated Jan. 13 from Missoula County commissioners to the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. It was in support of Soft Landings quest to help resettling approximately 100 refugees per year through the International Rescue Committees Reception and Placement program.

Mondays rally, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., ended in the cold shortly after 11:30 a.m. At least a dozen people used a sidewalk cornerstone to argue against such a move, as co-organizers constantly asked supporters to keep the middle of the sidewalk clear.

Buterbaugh said speakers would have to speak loudly to make themselves heard as they were told they couldnt use a sound system he brought for fear it would interfere with proceedings inside the courthouse.

Soft Landing said in advance it wouldnt hold a counter-rally, but along with the Montana Human Right Network issued statements before it began.

"We're saddened to see a group that's not from our community come in to tell us we shouldn't help people fleeing from violence," said co-founder Mary Poole. "Compassion is a Missoula value, Missoula successfully took in refugees for decades, and we know that once again our community will overcome the politics of fear in order to provide safe haven for war-town families."

Other opponents did show, standing away from the crowd on West Broadway during the rally. Several were American Indians of various tribes, including Dustin Monroe, a member of the Assiniboine and Blackfeet tribe who was invited to speak near the end of the morning. He was quickly challenged and shouted down.

Voices of discontent

Caroline Solomon of Bigfork, co-founder of the Montana chapter of Act for America, came from the Flathead on a bus with 27 others to lend their support to the rally.

Solomon said she came from Belgium and was made a U.S. citizen at the Missoula courthouse in 1995.

I would make it clear we are not against immigrants, she said. Were not against legal and legitimate refugees. Some have a right and should be coming into our country. The thing that we are against is, we are against and have a problem with unvetted refugees and those who are actually using ... loopholes to bring the jihadists in.

We have a problem with the people telling us that they can vet these refugees. They cannot be vetted. Our own FBI and our own Homeland Security tells us so.

This is an invasion. Its a government-sponsored invasion, said Brad Trun of Seeley Lake.

Why dont they stay in their own country and fight? asked Tom Wing, who urged the crowd to start doing something by flooding the chambers at Mondays Missoula City Council meeting.

You vote for them and you have to stay on their asses," Wing said. "Thats the only way to do it.

Brothers Bob and Steve Cabaniss drove to Missoula from Sandpoint, Idaho, for the rally. They said the new mayor of that town introduced a plan to establish a refugee camp there in his first week of office.

Enough of us went to the town council meeting and we shut him down right there, Bob Cabaniss said.

Two hearings drew packed houses and the Sandpoint city council tabled the idea after the first one. Mayor Shelby Rognstad withdrew his proposal at the second one on Jan. 20.

So if you guys show up, you can shut it down, Cabaniss said. We shut it down in north Idaho.

Immigration by the administration is wrong, said John Gibney of Hamilton, who sat with wife Dee on the side of the street with cardboard signs.

There is a legal way of doing things, an orderly way of doing things, John Gibney said. There has been since this country was founded. Theres a right way and theyre doing it the wrong way, and our black Muslim president is trying to bring this country down. And hes doing a very good job with all of his lapdogs.

The Gibneys have two adopted Korean children.

Obviously, Im not a racist. My wife is not a racist. We help as many people as we can, said John.

Refugees come over and they suck off the system, Dee Gibney said. They get medical care, they get food stamps, they get housing.

Counterpoint

At its peak, some 120 people were on the sidewalk and street at the Missoula rally, most in ardent, sometimes strident, support of the anti-refugee protest.

Buterbaugh opened by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a prayer for the courage to move forward and the presence of mind and intelligence to understand what we need to do on this issue.

Several people held American flags, and many more carried placards. Among the messages: One comes in and then we cant stop them; Refugees or terrorists? The threat is real; Trump that! Look at Germany; and Costly service to refugees. What about vets?

Monroe sported a sign of a different kind on West Broadway.

These guys R racist. Plain and simple, it read.

Monroe, a Blackfeet Indian and University of Montana graduate, is founder and CEO of Native Generational Change in Missoula, a nonprofit grassroots organization that "works to improve daily life for all Native Americans," according to its website.

Monroe said his group and others are planning symposiums on racism in Kalispell in the next few months.

I really dont think this reflects Montana, he said, motioning at the crowd nearby. And I guess on something I dont like is them playing the veteran card.

Im a U.S. veteran, an Iraq veteran. I served, but Im also a Montanan, a Missoulian and a Native American. This is our land. Right here. Everybody talks about immigration. This is our land.

I think, bottom line, were all human, said Krystal Two Bulls, an Oglala Lakota from Missoula who stood in support with Monroe.

As the rally drew to a close, Monroe was invited to address the crowd. He explained his military background, something shared by many on the sidewalk.

"When we were serving in the military, were there not different colors?" Monroe asked.

"That's not what this is about," someone from the crowd interrupted.

"This isn't about racism," someone else shouted.

"Thats OK, you can speak," Monroe said with a smile. "We all have our differences. I disagree with you guys. I dont agree with some of the views here, but I think a lot of them are misperceptions, you know?"
MISSOULA -- There are four places in the United States set up to handle a patient sickened by the Ebola virus, and Missoula is one of those.

It has been since 2007, in fact.

St. Patrick Hospital administrators have no notice about when or if they will be asked to care for someone stricken with the disease thats killed more than 3,000 people in Africa this year. But the hospital has a special wing of its intensive care unit with three rooms modified to safely handle infectious diseases like Ebola.

We may never get a patient, but we may someday, said Carol Bensen, St. Patricks senior director for critical care. We want to help alleviate the rumor mill by making people aware of what we offer. We deal with tuberculosis patients fairly often and nobody expects a press release. We care for lots of different diseases here.

And any hospital equipped to care for a tuberculosis patient can care for an Ebola patient, according to Dr. George Risi, an infectious disease specialist who recently returned from spending 20 days in a Sierra Leone Ebola ward. Accompanied by St. Patricks intensive care nursing director Kate Hurley, Risi helped local clinic staff care for up to 95 patients at a time. While untreated Ebola kills more than 70 percent of its victims, more than half of those who made it to the clinic recovered.

Its a disease to be respected, but not feared, Risi said. Its similar to the HIV-AIDS time, when there was this fatal disease and we didnt know how it was transmitted and people were afraid to touch a patient. We know how to treat Ebola. And this is a cutting-edge center of excellence for a lot of things -- for cancer treatment, for cardiac surgery and for infectious diseases as well.

The care and isolation unit of the hospital occupies one hallway of its intensive care unit. It has a set of hallway doors that can close to keep out other hospital traffic. Each room has an anteroom -- a double-doored chamber where medical staff can put on or take off their personal protective gear before tending to the patient. The double doors also preserve negative air pressure inside the patients space, so air is always being sucked into the room instead of floating out.

Inside the room, more complicated air circulation and filtration systems blow air from the ceiling across the patient and staff and into filters that remove any infectious organisms before release to the general atmosphere on the hospital roof. Otherwise, it has the usual equipment needed for critical care: ports for administering breathing oxygen and medicines, draining fluids and related treatments. Outside, a separate nursing station has all the regular ICU medicines, equipment and supplies.

The three rooms are qualified to handle Level 4 safety concerns. Level 1 has protection against things generally not dangerous to healthy people, like brewers yeast. Level 2 is the safety margin of the standard hospital microbiology lab, where clinicians test for routine diseases like chicken pox or staph infections.

Level 3 spaces can handle infectious diseases spread by air, like influenza, bubonic plague or yellow fever -- that have known cures. Level 4 units are for exotic agents that may or may not have cures available, or appear in highly concentrated or modified forms from a research institution.

And thats why St. Patrick has a care and isolation unit. The federal Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton deals with those kinds of substances on a daily basis, and has done so for years. Some of its researchers are on the forefront of developing a vaccine for Ebola, and have worked with many other unusual disease organisms.

The other U.S. sites cleared for Ebola treatment are in Bethesda, Maryland; Atlanta; and Omaha, Nebraska. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have deployed teams of health workers to numerous sites in West Africa to slow the epidemics progress. U.S. military personnel have also been sent there to build hospital clinics, although Risi said those people would not be performing any care or have contact with Ebola patients.

The CDC reports no confirmed Ebola cases in the United States as of Sept. 29. Affected countries include Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. A separate Ebola outbreak has been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Training

Hurley said in addition to the physical facilities, St. Patrick staff have workshops on Level 4 safety practices every six months along with regular drills. She and Risi just returned Friday from a trip to Cuba, where they trained about 200 nurses and doctors in safe clinical procedures for working in an Ebola ward. Those Cuban medical personnel are due to leave for Africa, where they will put the training to work.

When we started putting them through the PPE (personal protective equipment) exercise, everyone was excited, trying to be first in line to try on the gear, Hurley said. But then theyd get it on and start moving around for 30 or 40 minutes and realize -- this is kind of tough.

Ebola clinic staff must wear full-body protective suits including complete face shields. Hurley said the hardest thing for her to get used to was the condensation that would fog over the mask, limiting her vision to the places where sweat had trickled down.

You cant touch your face, Hurley said. You cant move your hands above your shoulders. You cant sit down. And you stay in this for three or four hours at a time. It got to be all about the hydration.

Hurley said clinicians used a buddy system to check that gear was worn properly, procedures were done carefully and no one was getting too tired to work competently.

We got really good putting it on and taking it off, she said of the clothing. Protective suits are disposed of after each use.

While no vaccine for human use has been approved for Ebola treatment, Rocky Mountain Labs researchers have moved very close to a possible formula, Risi said. The goal is to have a medicine that gives health workers advance protection against the virus or, equally important, that could take effect within a few hours or days after exposure.

There are also other treatments that degrade the virus ability to multiply or attack the body, some of which have been successfully used on patients brought back to the United States. And some Ebola victims can survive if theyre given fluids and other treatments long enough for their bodies to develop their own antibodies. Such treatments have been available since the 1960s, when they were used to stop a similar disease outbreak in a research lab in Marburg, Germany.

We know that even with the regular support any Western hospital can provide, we can treat Ebola, Risi said. Just with IV fluids and electrolytes and clotting control, we can reduce the mortality rate from 70 or 80 percent down to 30 or 40 percent. We dont need to talk about exotic treatments.

The St. Patrick care and isolation unit can be used as a regular part of the ICU when its not needed for an infectious disease patient.
MISSOULA -- Opponents of Missoula's quest to re-establish a refugee resettlement office in Missoula are "capitalizing on broader national fearmongering," the co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network said Monday.

"In a time where it is easy for fear to take hold, it is important to hold to our values to be a free and welcoming place for people of all faiths," Rachel Carroll Rivas said in a statement issued before a morning rally at the Missoula County Courthouse by more than 100 people with anti-refugee sentiments.

"Two of the core democratic values are to be a welcoming community where everyone can participate and the freedom to practice religion in that welcoming community," Rivas said. "These types of events and this hateful rhetoric flies in the face of those basic rights tenants."

Father Joseph Carver, Jesuit pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Missoula, quoted Pope Francis in a call to recognize and respect "the dignity of all persons everywhere."

The pope, who Carver said has made concern for migrants a centerpiece of his papacy, called on the world to hear "the pleas of thousands of people who weep as they flee horrific wars, persecutions and human rights violations, or political pleas or social instability, which often make it impossible for them to live in their native country."

Monday's rally, organized by Jim Buterbaugh of Whitehall, was called in part as an angry response to a letter Missoula County commissioners wrote last month to Anne Richard, assistant secretary of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

In the letter, commissioners Cola Rowley, Stacy Rye and Jean Curtiss said Missoula "is an ideal city for resettling refugees" and pointed to the hundreds of Hmong refugees who were resettled here in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as Ukrainians, Belarusians and others.

"Our community enjoys good schools, incredible natural beauty, and a low unemployment rate, among other factors," the letter said. "Missoula County takes our humanitarian obligations seriously. We would be proud to help in this endeavor and support the opening of a refugee resettlement office in Missoula."

Resettlement office

Soft Landing Missoula was formed last fall as the magnitude of the Syrian refugee crisis across the Middle East and Europe became known. It has been contacted by some 400 people offering support, said Emily Bentley, a Missoula City Council member who was in on the ground floor of Soft Landing.

"A lot of people with a lot of skills and incredible expertise," Bentley said of the supporters, adding that Monday's protesters represent a tiny fraction of Missoulians.

"Ninety-nine percent of what we hear is just tremendously positive," she said.

The International Rescue Committee is compiling an application to submit to the U.S. State Department for a resettlement office in Missoula. Bentley said it's not known when the State Department will receive and act upon it.

Soft Landing intends to work with the IRC, one of nine major federal resettlement contractors, to help refugees find housing and other services.

"Soft Landing really sees itself as going the extra mile for the long term to help people integrate into our committee," Bentley said.

Bentley's name and phone number were among those of 10 city council members, along with Rye's, appearing on a placard that Kathleen Whitton carried at Monday's rally. Whitton, who said she moved to Missoula from Atlanta two years ago "to get away from the riff-raff," urged people to contact their representatives to voice opposition to Soft Landing Missoula's mission.

Bentley said it's important to note that the city council itself has taken no vote or other action concerning Soft Landing. She asked other council members to sign a letter of support for a refugee assistance center and nine of them took her up on it.

"It's really not appropriate to be aggressive or say some of the threatening things (opponents) are saying," Bentley said. "They can be mad at me if they want to. I can take it."

The state Human Rights Network's three-page statement said Monday's rally was put on by the "anti-Muslim ACT for America organization and Tea-partier Jim Buterbaugh," although Act for America chapter leader Caroline Solomon of Bigfork said her group had no part in the organization.

Buterbaugh, said the statement, is vice chairman of the recently formed Veterans Party of Montana. Tim Ravendal of Townsend, another speaker of the rally, "is a well-known political activist who has engaged in everything from opposing wilderness, militia organizing with groups like the Oath Keepers and Order of the Constitution Defenders, armed gun rallies, and, most notably, was ousted by a Tea Party group for advocating hanging gay people."

"Anti-refugee actions like the Missoula protest are being fueled, in part, by the prejudiced rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidates, especially Donald Trump, who has attacked nearly all traditionally oppressed groups from women to Jewish people," Rivas' and the Human Rights Network's statement claimed.

"These national far-right political positions have trickled down to the state level as well, resulting in a recent letter from 55 Republican legislators in Montana to Governor Bullock calling on him to block all Syrian refugees from entering Montana."
When Elizabeth Strout was in second grade, there was a boy, very poor, with no friends and dirt behind his ears.

Our teacher said to him, You are not so hard up that you cant afford a bar of soap, and he turned deep red, the author told me. That child has stayed with me.

The title character of her slim new novel, My Name is Lucy Barton, is an homage to that boy, to these very rural families who are outcasts because they are poor, Strout said. Every town has one, and probably a lot more, now.

Strouts latest narrator grew up in a remote and stark Illinois town, where she lived in a cramped and cold garage beside her great uncles house with her parents, brother and sister.

Lucy stayed warm by staying in school long after classes ended, doing homework and reading until the janitor nudged her out.

Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, Lucy says, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me.

Her studies allowed her to avoid the dysfunction at home, and it would propel her out, and away, never to return: A full scholarship to a Chicago university; marriage to a well-to-do classmate; two daughters, a writing career and a life in New York City.

But when Lucy ends up in the hospital with an infection, her husband flies her mother out to keep her company.

They connect the usual way: gossip about the town and the people Lucy escaped long ago, but cant shake from her being.

Its familiar ground for Strout, who made her mark with another mother-daughter novel, Amy and Isabelle, in 2000; and whose 2008 book, Olive Kitteridge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was made into an HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand that won four Emmys.

Theres a lot of Lucy Barton in her, Strout said. She grew up in rural Maine, went to college, got a law degree, married and lives in the big city as a writer.

Honestly and truly, every character I wrote, they are all me in some way, she said. They have to be, because I am the only person I know. Thats the truth of it.

As a child, Strout realized that she would never see the world, except through her own eyes.

I was so frustrated with that, she said. And so as I began to read, I remember thinking, Oh, I have had that thought. Books have always made me realize, Oh, this is what its like to be another person.

I write because I have always wanted to be another person, but I make it up from what I have observed closely about other people.

Strout has made her mark with those close observations, and for putting to the page what people dont usually say in public.

I have always believed that everyone will bring their own story to whatever book they are reading, she said. But this book, particularly, I was aware that this was more porous than my others and that leaves more room for people to bring their own experience.

I dont want to press anybodys face into things, either, she said. I just dont want to be that kind of writer. People can do that and they do it beautifully. I am more interested in the essence of people.

Strout had been writing for decades before her first novel was published. There was a time when she was working as a waitress and writing, and I never got a nibble and I began to think to myself, Oh my God, I am going to be 58 and Im going to be a cocktail waitress, completely unpublished and that is going to be pathetic. 

She went to law school and got a job as a legal-aid lawyer.

I was doing what I wanted to do, but I was so bad at it, she said. I remember standing in the backyard, thinking, I can be a bad lawyer or a 58-year-old waitress who tried writing and gave it everything, and thats going to be fine.

If I am going to die, I will die knowing I tried with my whole heart.
SPRINGFIELD  A lot could happen in the presidential campaign before Illinois primary voters head to the polls March 15, but supporters of the top finishers in Mondays first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are sounding an optimistic tone about their candidates chances.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished ahead of billionaire Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The Democratic race, meanwhile, was a photo finish, with Illinois native and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont by a nose.

State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, will appear on the March 15 primary ballot as a delegate candidate for Cruz in the 15th Congressional District.

While Trump, the national front-runner, thought he was going to cruise to victory, Rose said, the Texas senator now has momentum carrying him into the next round of voting, beginning with Tuesdays New Hampshire primary.

Hes a consistent conservative, and its a consistent conservative message that folks are responding to, Rose said.

Although the past two GOP winners of the Iowa caucuses  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in 2012  didnt go on to win the nomination, Rose said, Barack Obama didnt exactly sputter out after upsetting Clinton on the Democratic side in 2008.

Clinton avoided a repeat of 2008 with her narrow win over Sanders.

State Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and a Clinton delegate candidate in the 13th Congressional District, said the slim margin isnt a cause for concern but rather a reflection of a heated primary based on issues, not based on personal insults.

I believe that shows that the Democratic Party is alive and well today, Manar said.

He noted that Clinton is the first female candidate to win the Iowa caucuses.

That speaks, I believe, to Secretary Clintons campaign and to the depths of her candidacy and why I think she will make an excellent president when elected, Manar said.

Those who will appear on Illinois primary ballots as delegate candidates werent just watching the Iowa caucuses unfold on TV.

State Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, a delegate candidate for Rubio in the 18th Congressional District, was at a Republican caucus site at a suburban Des Moines church. He was there to give his pitch for the Florida senator before the votes were cast.

It was awesome to be a part of it and to see the participation of voters at a grass-roots level, Barickman said. Families brought their kids to the precinct. All the candidates or their surrogates, like myself, have an opportunity to make a pitch, and I think a number of voters show up undecided.

His pitch was that Rubio has an aspirational message of optimism that attracts all sorts of voters to his conservative message, he said.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Phil of Rock Island didnt cross the Mississippi River to attend the caucuses, but he worked the phone from his dining room table to encourage voters to get out and caucus for Sanders. Hare is a delegate candidate for the Vermont senator in the 17th Congressional District.

Hare, who was in Congress from 2007 to 2011, said he worked with Sanders on veterans issues and supports his stances on raising the minimum wage, reining in big banks and other issues.

Despite Clintons well-developed network of support in Illinois and elsewhere, Hare said hes cautiously optimistic about Sanders chances here and in other states.

What I think hes done is proven that you dont have to have multimillion-dollar super PACs pumping money in like everyone else has, Hare said.

Springfield attorney Kent Gray, a Trump delegate candidate in the 18th Congressional District and the businessmans Illinois campaign director, said he wasnt permitted to speak with the media about the results.

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, covered the Iowa caucuses from 1976 to 2008 as a reporter at The Des Moines Register.

In many previous campaigns, the parties nominations have been all but wrapped up by the time Illinois voters head to the polls, Yepsen said, but given Mondays results, things could be different this year.

This time theres a real possibility that the race could mean something, he said.
The production of alcoholic beverages in Armenia decreased in 2015.

16.950 liters of brandy were produced in 2015; a drop of 9.4% from 2014.

5.930 liters of wine were produced in 2015; a drop of 4% from 2014.

Beer and vodka production also registered decreases of 12.8% and 1.6% respectively. 20.7 million liters of beer and 9.3 million liters of vodka were produced in 2015.

Increases were registered in the production of liquor, champagne and whiskey. 164,500 liters of liquor were produced; 658,100 liters of champagne, and 1.170 million liters of whiskey were produced in 2015.

In 2014, only 3,800 liters of liquor were produced in 2014. Whiskey production that year stood at 45,700 liters. A company linked to MP Samvel Aleksanyan produces whiskey in Armenia and is sold in the Yerevan City supermarket chain he owns.

As to how much Armenian wine and brandy has been exported in 2015, we cannot say. Customs figures only cover the first half of the year.

Avag Harutyunyan, President of the Armenian Winemakers Union, has stated that exports have drastically dropped despite the record grape harvest. Some say exports have dropped by half.

In the first half of 2015, 2,683 liters of wine were produced; 14.7% more than the same period in 2014. The production drop occurred later.

The vast majority of Armenian brandy is exported to Russia, so does a lot of Armenian wine. The negative fall-out of a weakening Russian economy on these exports is evident. Many Armenian producers finished the year even or with a loss.

They sell their product in devalued Russian rubles.

If Russian consumers start to veer away from Armenian brandy, the fall-out on exports will be greater still.
CANBERRA: Senator Joe Bullock of Western Australia today delivered a speech in Australias Senate, blasting the anti-Armenian stance on Nagorno-Karabakh recently expressed by his fellow Federal Australian politician, MP for Cowan, Luke Simpkins.

Simpkins, the Chair of the Azerbaijan Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, recently travelled to Azerbaijan as a guest of the petro-Dictatorship, and has since refused to meet with the Armenian side of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Despite this unbalanced approach, and despite the Australian media questioning his relations with Azerbaijan and his other activities abroad, Simpkins has remained steadfast in what the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) has called his "assumed role as the chief communicator of the Azeri propaganda in Australias Parliament".



On the first 2016 sitting day of Parliament, Bullock spoke in Australias Senate, recalling his late-2015 meeting with an ANC Australia delegation headed by Republic of Nagorno Karabakh MP, Davit Ishkhanyan.

He proceeded to call out Simpkinss uncritical support for Azerbaijan, sighting the history of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and why this democracy does not deserve the treatment the West Australian MP is serving. In his speech, Bullock also acknowledged the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the rights to self-determination for the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.



After highlighting the historical background of how Nagorno Karabakh was always Armenian, and explaining the oppressive Azeri regime forcing the Armenians of the region to vote for Independence in a referendum, Bullock said:



To speak, as the Member for Cowan [Simpkins] has repeatedly done in the other place [House of Representatives], of the 'illegal occupiers of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan' is ludicrous. How can a people who have lived continuously in this region for centuries illegally occupy their own land?

For full Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) statement click HERE
The Prague Municipal Court has sentenced Marek Dalik, a lobbyist and an ex-aide to former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, to five years in prison and a 5 million crown fine (US$ 204,829) for corruption, reported Reuters.

Public Prosecutor Jan Koran had asked for seven years and a 22 million crown fine (US$ 901,511), according to Czech news sites Blesk and Aktualne. Dalik denies the charges, reported the Prague Daily Monitor.

Both Dalik and the state prosecution can appeal the verdict at a higher court.

Prosecutors said that Dalik asked for  18 million (US$ 26 million) in bribes linked to an army procurement deal of Austrian-made Pandur armored personnel carriers (APCs) manufactured by Steyr, the Austrian branch of General Dynamics.

Police investigated Dalik on the basis of testimony from Stephan Szcuecs, a former Steyr employee, who said Dalik asked him for a bribe, according to Czech news site Ceske Noviny.

Dalik requested the bribe at a casual meeting at the U Maliru restaurant in Prague in November 2007, where he feigned close ties with government officials and said he could influence the purchase of the APCs, according to prosecutors. Aktualne reported that the meeting was allegedly arranged by then-deputy (and later Minister of Defense) Martin Bartak.

Dalik never got the money, according to the Prague Monitor. The main evidence prosecutors relied on was an e-mail Austrian police seized at Steyr that confirmed the U Maliru meeting, the participants involved and that Steyr representatives were there to hear Czech proposals.

Along with witness testimonies, the court concluded that a bribe was demanded and that Dalik was working on someone elses orders. However, the court did not specify who was behind the bribe request.

The procurement deal, worth 20.8 billion crowns (US$ 1.1 billion), was originally approved by the left-wing government of Jiri Paroubek in 2006, reported Czech newspaper Ceske Noviny. By the end of 2007, however, Topolanek's government claimed Steyr had violated the conditions of the purchase and withdrew from the deal. But in 2008, the government set up a new tender under which the Czech army signed a contract with Steyr for 107 Pandur APCs for 14.4 billion crowns (US$ 642.8 million) in 2009.

The case is part of an anti-corruption drive by Czech prosecutors in response to public protests against unchecked corruption by public officials in recent years. But few high-level officials have been convicted so far, reported Reuters.

Photo: Armored Personnel Carrier (APC)

occrp.org
Italian authorities have seized assets worth  28 million (more than US$ 30 million) from a businessman investigators say may have links with a huge organized crime network. A yacht which used to belong to Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is among the seized assets.

The police operation is part of an investigation into three people and 10 companies, and apart from the yacht, police seized real estate, luxury cars and company shares.

The Italian Financial Police, who announced the seizure on Monday, did not name the businessman.

According to Reuters, however, a confiscation order from a court in Rome named him as Salvatore Squillante.

Reuters cites a court document, which says Squillante served a community service sentence for filing fraudulent bankruptcy in 1993 and made deals that imply he may be linked to a Rome-based organized crime network.

The yacht, named Black Flame, was originally presented to Mussolini by a friend in the 1930s. It was deliberately sunk in 1943 after the collapse of the Fascist regime so it would not fall into German hands. It was later recovered and restored, and after a series of ownership and name changes, bought by the businessman through one of the companies subject to seizure.

The Financial Police say several other properties seized were rented to a company owned by a main suspect in one of Italy's biggest organized crime trials to date, the "Mafia Capitale", in which prosecutors accused Rome officials, politicians and businessmen of colluding with mobsters to rig public tenders for an array of services.

Police identified the person who rented the property only as "SB", identified by Reuters as Salvatore Buzzi  a convicted murderer who is one of the main Mafia Capitale suspects.

Photo: Benito Mussolini

occrp.org
News, commentary, and analysis of current events in Honduras where cultural forms intersect with political interests, with links to the work of Honduran writers and scholars.
An Assembly bill would change how fish farming, known as aquaculture, is regulated by the state, moving it into the same regulatory category as traditional farms.
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A Racine man faces two felony charges after allegedly taking a vehicle from a local dealership on a test drive and not returning it.

Isiah J. Smith, 54, of the 1300 block of Marquette Street, was arrested Friday after he allegedly took a Cadillac from Bob Weber Auto Mart, 2200 Douglas Ave. Smith was arrested and convicted for a nearly identical vehicle theft in 2013, court records indicate.

Smith made his initial appearance Monday in Racine County Circuit Court and his bail was set at $500, according to court records. According to jail booking records, he is on a probation hold due to prior offenses and cannot be released.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to Bob Weber Auto Mart at about 8 p.m. Friday and met with an employee who had allowed Smith to take the vehicle for a test drive. Police said Smith took the car for a test drive just before 5 p.m. and had not returned.

The employee informed Smith that the vehicle needed to be returned by 5:45 p.m. because the dealership closed at 6, according to the criminal complaint. Smith asked the employee if there was a drop box he could leave the keys in after hours, and the employee informed him there wasnt, police said.

According to the complaint, police discovered the vehicle parked and unoccupied on Hamilton Street at Marquette Street later that night. As additional officers arrived on scene, police said the vehicles rear lights illuminated and the trunk popped open.

There was no one around the vehicle, but police observed a person that had just exited a house on Hamilton Street walking south on Marquette Street who matched the physical description of Smith, according to the criminal complaint. Police apprehended Smith and said he appeared intoxicated.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith told police he was planning to return the vehicle just as police stopped him. Police said Smith told them he thought he could return the vehicle after hours and leave the keys in a drop box, even though the employee specifically told him he couldnt.

Smith is charged with operating a vehicle without the owners consent and felony theft of movable property, both as a repeater. He faces up to six years in prison, six years of extended supervision and fines capped at $20,000, as well as an additional eight years behind bars since he was charged as a repeater.

Smiths preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 10.
JUNEAU  The 17-year-old high school student charged with shooting an assistant manager at Mills Fleet Farm, 1815 N. Spring St., was found not competent to stand trial.

Jared L. Spencer is charged with attempted first degree-intentional homicide, one count of first degree reckless injury, aggravated battery, two counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety, two misdemeanor counts of pointing a firearm at another, one count of discharging a firearm at a person or vehicle and retail theft.

In court on Tuesday, Judge Joseph Sciascia found Spencer not competent to stand trial based on a report from the court psychiatrist Dr. Craig Schoenecker. Sciascia determined that based on Shoeneckers report that Spencer is currently not competent, but believed he was likely to become competent.

Spencer entered a not guilty plea to all charges in October. His attorney Charles Giesen raised some concerns about Spencers competency in November and asked to amend his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

Judge Sciascia ordered that Spencer be committed to a state mental health institution to try to restore his competency. Spencer has been held in the Dodge County Jail on a $250,000 cash bail since he was arrested in July. The court ordered that Spencer receive credit for 203 days of pre-commitment incarceration. Additionally, the court ordered that periodic updates regarding Spencers condition be provided.

Spencer remains in the custody of the Department of Corrections while he is being treated. His bond remains intact and he may not have any contact with his victims or Fleet Farm. He also may not possess any firearms.

A telephone scheduling conference has been scheduled for April 12 at 8:15 a.m.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Fleet Farm at 5:27 p.m. July 15 after an assistant manager at Fleet Farm had been shot in the parking lot and the suspect fled in a vehicle. The assistant manager, a member of loss prevention, and an off-duty DeForest police officer were near each other at the time of the shooting.

Andrew J. Kruse, 31, was shot in the shoulder area and the right wrist. Kruse was taken to Beaver Dam Community Hospital before being transported to UW Hospital in Madison. He was later released.

Kruse told officers he and other staff spoke to Spencer about the ammunition that was in his pocket. They asked Spencer to go back in the store, but it was clear Spencer was not going to stop so Kruse started to call 911.

The bullet did not exit Kruses shoulder.

Columbus Police stopped the vehicle Spencer was driving at about 5:40 p.m. Officers also found the ammunition in his pocket and the handgun in the vehicle.

Spencer acknowledged that he was at Fleet Farm and shoplifted some ammunition while there. Spencer requested an attorney when asked about the shooting.
Two more members of a group of college students who pooled their money to buy hundreds of pounds of marijuana out West and sell it in Madison, including a leader of the ring, have been sentenced to prison.

Amadou Camara, 24, of Sun Prairie, was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William Conley in federal court in Madison on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

From September 2012 to February 2015 the seven men  then students or recent graduates of UW-Madison and Madison Area Technical College  pooled tens of thousands of dollars to buy pot in California and Colorado, the purchases ranging from five to 50 pounds. The loads were divvied up in Madison among the investors to sell at a big profit here.

On Wednesday, 23-year-old Yotam Israeli, of Madison, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his involvement in the operation.

In addition to Camara and Israeli, four other men have been sentenced in the scheme. Enis Gashi, 21, the seventh defendant, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 12.

Conley said at sentencing that Camara had a managerial role in the conspiracy by recruiting at least one driver, supplying vehicles and financing for trips, and directing driver activity.

The judge also said Camaras conduct could be tied to more than 220 pounds of the marijuana in the conspiracy, and, along with his manager role, warranted a longer sentence than the others.

Co-defendants Haris Riza, 22, and Parvis Samadzada, 22, were each sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Joseph Ramsey, 21, and Kevin Ha, 22, were each sentenced to three years probation. All four men are from Madison.
A pair of bills set for hearings Thursday could deliver more state funding for rural broadband grants, but skeptics believe grant criteria created by one of the bills could be too limiting to help many residents in remote areas.

Assembly Bill 798, introduced in late January by Reps. Romaine Quinn, R-Rice Lake, and Ed Brooks, R-Reedsburg, would increase annual funding for Wisconsins Broadband Expansion Grant Program from $1.5 million to $10 million. A companion bill introduced last week, however, would direct the states Public Service Commission to give priority in awarding grants to projects that promote economic development or municipalities that achieve a certification proposed in the bill.

The companion, AB 820, creates a Broadband Forward certification for municipalities that is intended to limit fees and streamline the application process for service providers. To be eligible, municipalities must enact an ordinance that designates a single contact for applicants to work with and provide a timeline for consideration of applications, specific criteria for approval or denial of applications, and enables electronic filing.

It would also prohibit application fees exceeding $100 and bar municipalities from discriminating against providers seeking access to public right-of-ways.

Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, said he wants to hear whether access to high-speed broadband Internet at educational buildings is considered economic development at Thursdays hearing before the Assembly Committee on Mining and Rural Development. But Considine said hes largely concerned that the bill would place too many restrictions on local governments.

Im scared that were dictating a whole lot as a state to local municipalities, he said. While I support rural broadband like crazy and wanted to sign on just based on the title, I think theres enough restrictions in there that make me hesitate.

Quinn and Brooks both said the legislation is intended to reduce fiscal and bureaucratic barriers companies face in providing service to rural areas.

There arent a lot of people fighting to provide service in rural areas, but it does give assurance that these communities are making a good-faith effort to get broadband, Brooks said.

Quinn, whose district is in rural northwestern Wisconsin, acknowledged that even $10 million a year falls well short of fixing the states rural broadband infrastructure, but called the proposal a conversation starter. He said he doesnt see the economic development provision as an obstacle for residents in underserved parts of the state, but added hes open to amending the bill if testimony warrants.

Obviously, hailing from a rural district, our intent is not to prevent people from getting service, Quinn said. The bills intent is to make sure everyone is ready to go and everyone is able to attain this money.

Bill Esbeck, executive director of the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, lauded the bill for prohibiting unreasonable fees on service providers. Some of the Telecommunications Associations member companies have seen right-of-way access fees as high as $5 per foot, making already expensive projects less feasible, he said.

When you have a project that is looking to invest in a fiber route thats 10,000 feet long, a $50,000 invoice from a local government seems to cross the line between reasonable and unreasonable.  This will absolutely improve the efficiency of those investments, Esbeck said.

Brooks said hes confident AB 820 can pass before the end of the legislative session, but said the funding increase may fall to the next biennial budget because of the fiscal items currently before the legislature.
The campaigns will be eager to tell you the meaning of Ted Cruzs victory and the virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Iowa Monday night, but the larger significance of this election has been clear for months: The two major parties are paper tigers.

My old boss, the late Ben Wattenberg, was a conservative Democrat who worked for decades to keep his party from drifting leftward. In the end, he failed. But he fought a valiant fight. He helped found the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, which was a kind of precursor to the Democratic Leadership Council, the New Democrat organization that helped Bill Clinton burnish his image as a more conservative, different kind of Democrat.

I remember asking Ben on more than one occasion why the Democratic Party would allow this or that thing to happen. Hed always respond pretty much the same way. What Democratic Party? The Democratic Party is a dozen people with fax machines.

Bens point was that the image of the Democratic Party as some formidable organization with legions of political henchmen and bosses capable of imposing their will on the rank-and-file was a leftover from a bygone era.

I think about my conversations with Ben a lot these days. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, who isnt even a member of the Democratic Party, is the runaway favorite of the partys liberal base. Donald Trump, an ideologically unmoored billionaire who has changed his party registration five times since 1987 and donated substantial sums to Democrats, has been the Republican front-runner since this summer.

When the leading Republican is arguably a more loyal Democrat than the Democratic sweetheart, it certainly seems silly to talk about either party as particularly powerful organizations. Does anyone quake in fear of Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz? How about the Republican National Committees Reince Priebus?

Ted Cruz is reviled by his fellow Republicans, and yet they havent been able to stop his rise. Jeb Bush is a darling of the Old Guard, and yet it hasnt been able to prevent his fall.

Politics, the saying goes, is downstream of culture. Well, our culture has been losing faith in large institutions for a very long time.

In June, Gallup found that only three major institutions still captured the confidence of a majority of Americans. More than 70 percent said they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military. Small business and the police garnered 64 percent and 52 percent, respectively. Organized religion, the presidency, Congress, the courts, the schools, the medical system, the media and the rest were all underwater or simply in the toilet.

Its no wonder the parties are not immune to such trends. In fact, the parties were ahead of the curve.

The primary system, which took power out of smoke-filled rooms and handed it to voters, was a self-inflicted wound from which party bosses have never recovered.

Once upon a time, earmarks and other perks encouraged partisan loyalty up and down the food chain. But party leaders stripped themselves of these prerogatives, like soldiers tearing off their stripes.

As party power has declined, the relative strength of special interests has grown. Outside groups often have more money and flexibility than the parties.

And yet, news of the parties demise hasnt really reached the voters. The ranks of people describing themselves as independents have been swelling for decades, at least partly on the mistaken belief that breaking from the parties is a bold act of rebellion, when in reality theyre kicking a dead donkey  or elephant.

The real source of power in politics resides in personalities, not parties. Its been hard to see this until recently because the personalities of old were career politicians  Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama  hiding behind the partisan light show like the man behind the Wizard of Oz.

Whether or not Trump and Sanders go on to win the nomination, theyve already played a historic role. Theyve exposed the parties as the weaklings theyve long been.
by consciousreporter

Is the all-seeing eye a symbol of divine omniscience or sinister influence? Today it symbolises control and domination by a shadowy elite, but its original use was quite different.

This article traces its use and meaning back to ancient times, when it was a symbol of divine providence, powerfully representing spiritual truth and awakening.

Humanity is Losing Its Precious Symbology



The all-seeing eye is a powerful esoteric symbol which is widely misunderstood and misused today; few know what it originally stood for. It was originally symbolic of a higher spiritual power or God, a watchful caretaker of humanity or an awakened spiritual part within. But these days it has quite different associations.

Today the all-seeing eye is more likely to be seen as an Illuminati symbol of control and surveillance by elites who to a large degree run the show on this planet at this time.

This is because, over time, dark sinister forces have taken over esoteric symbols that for thousands of years were used to convey positive, helpful, uplifting spiritual messages and principles.

The all-seeing eye is a prime example of how spiritual symbols have been hijacked and inverted. There has not really been much push to understand the symbols original meaning or to reclaim it for the spiritual significance it first conveyed.

This is the first in a series of articles I am presenting that will take a closer look at individual symbols, and delve into their origins and history to uncover their deeper esoteric significance. I am writing these as part of an effort to reclaim these positive esoteric symbols and restore them to their previously esteemed state.

Universal Nature of Symbolism

Symbolism has long been used by humanity to communicate ideas which are best crystallised in a compact form. As the well-known saying goes, a picture tells a thousands words! Esoteric symbols are alive today as they were in the ancient past, but there is much confusion surrounding their usage, history, intent, and meaning.

In ordinary life we use symbols to show at a glance important information such as traffic and road signs amongst many other symbols which are widespread and common today. Some other examples are corporate logos and certification statuses.

Symbolism is also especially used in the communication of non-physical, spiritual ideas, phenomena, and processes.

The all-seeing eye is one of the most powerful and widely used  and misused  symbols of all. In this article I trace its use from the earliest of times through to the 18th century, and show what the symbol originally stood for. My next article will examine its use from 18th century freemasonry onwards, and show how it has since been hijacked and misused.



Use of the All-Seeing Eye in Ancient Cultures

India

We perhaps find the precursor to what eventually became known as the all-seeing eye in the Rig Veda, a sanskrit text thought to have been written over 3,000 years ago and one of the oldest known texts. In it there are many references to the sun and to other deities as being an eye in heaven, as an eye which reveals creation, or an eye which never closes.

One can liken this to being symbolic of a high level of awakened consciousness that advanced spiritual beings have and which an ordinary person can potentially attain.

The Hindu god Shiva has three eyes. The third eye or brow chakra eye is known as the eye of Shiva, possessor of all knowledge, which when opened will destroy anything it sees. Thus it is a symbol of knowledge which destroys evil and ignorance.

This again can be likened to an awakened higher spiritual part of a person which sees the truth of things and can then eliminate within a persons psyche that which is opposite to and blocks divine consciousness from manifesting more. In this way it is a creative destruction of evil to transform it into higher consciousness.

Even in modern times, the eye of Shiva is used in jewellery to give protection against evil to its wearer and to gain wisdom and understanding from the world, from life events and from the self, for positive transformation.

Nepal

In Buddhism, Buddha is referred to as the Eye of the World. It is typical for temples in Nepal to display a graphic of the Eyes of Buddha as shown to the right  notice it includes a mark for the third eye as well. The eyes are also known as the eyes of wisdom and compassion.

Statues of Buddha typically show a dot in the mid-brow to represent the third eye.

Ancient Egypt

Eye of Osiris

It is interesting to find that the Egyptian hieroglyph for their god Osiris contains an eye as shown below. So as with Hinduism and Buddhism we find a spiritual deity being represented in ancient times as an eye.

Eye of Horus

In ancient Egypt, the all-seeing eye was known as the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra and also formed part of the symbology of Wad-jet. Through various myths they were symbols of protection, healing and restoration. The left eye of Horus was said to be the moon and his right eye the sun.

Horus was a falcon-headed sun god and it could be said the Eye of Horus was styled like an eye of a lanner falcon with its marking beneath the eye.

It is also very interesting to note that the drawing of the Eye of Horus very much matches the cross section of the mid brain where the thalamus, the pineal and pituitary glands are situated. The pineal gland is often said to be the third eye and a centre of spirituality and of spiritual insight, which can be developed in a person.

Its as if the Eye of Horus could be a depiction of the thalamus as the eye ball with the corpus callosum the eye brow above and the medulla oblongata (brain stem) and the hypothalamus being the two markings below.

If this is what they were drawing but calling it the Eye of Horus, does it suggest they considered the mid brain to be the seat of consciousness or even of divine consciousness or Horus consciousness? Horus being a sun god and symbolic of the universal Christ, a spiritual force which a suitably prepared person can merge with.

Middle East/Asia  Hamsa

In the Middle East the all-seeing eye has been known in the form of a hand-eye symbol called either Hamsa, Khamsa or Hamesh.

Its the symbol of an eye in the palm of a hand, usually the right hand. Again it is a symbol of protection against the evil eye (bad luck caused by jealousy from others) and danger in general and can been seen as a good luck charm in that way.

It is also known as the hand of Fatima in Islam and the hand of Miriam in Judaism. In India it is known as Humsa Hand.

The Jains also have a form of the Hamsa in their symbolism with the word ahimsa (meaning non-violence) inside a wheel instead of where the eye would be. The Hamsa has been used for thousands of years and is still in use today as amulets, charms or wall hangings.

It would seem to have its origins from ancient Mesopotamia with the hand of Ishtar being a symbol of divine protection although it did not contain the eye in the palm.

A more Christian-themed representation of the Hamsa is an art work called The Divine World by Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese Maronite Catholic prominent in the early 20th century as a poet, painter, writer, philosopher, theologian.

In Greece and Turkey they have something similar to the Hamsa which they call a Nazar. It is just an eye without the hand but it is used in the same way and has the same meaning as the Hamsa, that is, to ward off the evil eye, in the form of amulets or hanging ornaments usually made from blue glass.

Similarly in Buddhism there is the eye of Buddha amulet to ward off the evil eye.

The symbol of an eye in a hand also appears in Aztec and Mayan cultures and in Native American artworks although archaeologists are not sure what meaning it had for these cultures.

To the right is a Native American example referred to as The Rattlesnake Disc which was unearthed by a farmer in Moundville, Alabama in the 1800s.

Some archaeologists think its symbolism may have represented a portal to spiritual dimensions. It is the most elaborately decorated artwork found at Moundville giving rise to the belief it was of the most importance to its creators. Other artworks found there also contain the hand-eye symbol.

Ancient Ecuador

There is also the amazing discovery in 1984 in La Mana, central Ecuador, of an ancient artefact referred to as the Black Pyramid amongst 300 artefacts found there of unknown origin.

It is not known what culture they come from and the many objects found are baffling and seemingly out of place for this part of the world, such as an object designed as a hooded King Cobra of south east Asia. Cobras dont exist in South America.

The so-called Black Pyramid is made from black stone with an eye at the apex. The stone has gold inlays forming 13 levels of bricks and an eye at the top. These inlays glow when under black light.

Overall it looks like a representation of the great pyramid of Giza (7,470 miles away) and also amazingly just like the eye pyramid symbol used on the Great Seal of America and the US $1 bill.

It is also interesting to note the cobra artefact has another similarity with ancient Egypt where the raised cobra is associated with the Eye of Horus/Ra and Wad-jet in their protective aspects with it being worn on the foreheads of Pharaohs at the mid-brow right where the third eye is located.

This symbolises the raising of a persons energies to a higher vibration which internally leads to the awakening of psychic faculties such as those latent in the third eye.

It is not known how old these objects are as dating them has not been possible but they are thought to pre-date the known ancient cultures of the region.

There is also a pre-Sanskrit type language (making it very old) engraved on some of the objects including on the underside of the black pyramid where there are also markings which appear to map out the stars of the Orion constellation, which the pyramids at Giza also map.

The 4 pre-Sanskrit markings are thought to translate as saying the son of the creator comes.

Given the care taken to create this object it would seem to have been an important symbol for its creators although it is not clear how they interpreted it.

Ancient Greek

In the Hymns of Orpheus, the hymn To The Sun describes it variously as thus;

as an eternal eye with broad survey ;

and compares it to being the Father of ages ;

and as Immortal Jove, all searching, bearing light ;

then later as the Great eye of Nature and the starry skies ;

followed by Faithful defender, and the eye of right

So here we see in an ancient text of the western world similar representation of the sun like that presented in the ancient text of the east, the Rig Veda, as being an eye of the creator and an all-seeing never closing eye watching over and protecting the good.

Christianity

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (Jesus in Matthew 6:22)

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry; (Psalms 34:15)

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)

A possible first known use of the all-seeing eye symbol in Judeo-Christianity is the so-called Jesus tomb from 1st century AD discovered in 1980, which uses a similar symbol over the entrance to the tomb. Regardless of whose tomb it is, could this be a first known or early use of the eye-pyramid symbol in the Judeo-Christian tradition?

In Christianity, the all-seeing eye or Eye of Providence or Eye of God has been used as a symbol from at least the 16th century as seen in the following painting below which depicts a scene from Luke 24: 13-32 where after his resurrection, Jesus has supper with two disciples.

The eye is inside a triangle, and surrounded by rays of light, with the triangle representing the holy trinity and the whole symbol meaning Gods omnipresence and all-seeing eye watching over creation.

Some claim that the eye in triangle symbol was added to the painting soon after the Council of Trent 1545- 1563, to conform with its canons and decrees but even if that is so that would still place its use in the 16th century.

In Alsace, France, the fresco painted above the altar of the Abbey Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste (1763) shows a large example of the eye-in-pyramid symbol, with the rays of glory breaking through the clouds.

Another example is on the Aachen cathedral in Germany. It was originally built in the late 8th century under the Emperor Charlemagne and then enlarged in the middle ages with various other changes and updates along the way.

It would seem the all-seeing eye symbol was placed on the cathedral in 1766 to mark the renovations done that year.

Note that these first two examples pre-date the founding of the Bavarian Illuminati (1776) although Freemasonry already existed in England and Europe by this time.

Perhaps it was a masonic influence that saw these symbols used on these cathedrals yet it was not until about 1797 that masons are regarded as beginning to use the eye-in-pyramid symbol.

The eye-in-pyramid symbol also features prominently on the front facade of the Hartegbrugkerk Church in Leiden, the Netherlands, built in 1835-36. The Latin words Hic Domus Dei est et Porta Coeli translates to This is the House of God and the Gateway to Heaven.

These are just some Christian examples of many that appear in Europe.

Conclusion

As we have seen, throughout history there has been a strong tradition across time, continents and cultures of using eye symbolism to generally represent a benevolent creator force watching over, helping and protecting humanity and to represent a spiritual part within.

In my next article I will continue to trace the use of the all-seeing eye symbolism over the last 240 years and reveal how it has been inverted and increasingly used for sinister aims in current times.
SPRINGFIELD - Two objections to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz being on Illinois' March 15th Republican primary ballot were quietly tossed out Monday while the rest of the world was focused on Iowa and their primary caucuses.

Two Illinois citizens argued that because Senator Cruz was born in Canada, he was not a "natural born" citizen, as candidates for the presidency are required to be by the U.S. Constitution.

The Illinois objections drew the attention of GOP candidate Donald Trump, who has been raising the question of Cruz' eligibility.

The State Board of Elections ruled Monday that although Cruz was born in Calgary Canada, his mother was a U.S. citizen living in Canada at the time of his birth. Therefore, Cruz is a "natural born" citizen because being born - even outside the U.S. borders - to a U.S. citizen did not require him having to go through the naturalization process to be considered a legal American citizen.

One objector - Lawrence Joyce of Poplar Grove, IL - represented himself in the hearing, and the Cruz campaign's points were argued by Murphysboro attorney Sharee Langenstein.
Live updates from the Auto Expo 2016 where more than 80 cars and a suitable number of two-wheelers will be unveiled over the next two days.

By India Today Web Desk: Catch the latest updates from Day 2 of the Auto Expo 2016 here.







The Auto Expo 2016 is underway. On display are numerous new cars which are likely to be available in showrooms across India with some changes. Nearly 30 new cars have been unveiled at the Auto Expo 2016 already with a corresponding number of two-wheelers on the first day of the mega auto show.

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The first two days of the expo, February 3 and 4 will be restricted only for the media. The expo will be thrown open to the general public for five days from February 5-9.

As the major auto makers go about giving us a sneak peek at the advancements they have done in the field of transportation, India Today and Auto Today correspondents shall be bringing the latest updates from the Auto Expo to you live right here.

The auto expo is being held at a time when the automobile manufacturers are under pressure amid rising concerns over pollution, especially in Delhi-NCR, where the registration of diesel SUVs and cars with engines above 2,000cc has been banned following a Supreme Court order.

6.22pm: Sachin Tendulkar launches all new 7-series 730 diesel & 750 petrol for Rs 1.1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore



6.09pm: With the Audi launch, rivals BMW couldn't be much behind. The German car-makers launched the BMW X1 for Rs 29.9 lakh, with the sales starting in April.



The new made in India #X1 launched starting at ?29.9 lakh with deliveries begin in April @bmwindia @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/487FHwfcDX Yogendra Pratap (@YogenPratap) February 3, 2016

5.50pm: Audi India launch the R8 sports car for Rs 2.47 crore. Virat Kohli, Indian cricket player and Alia Bhatt launch the latest sports car from the German car-makers amidst much fanfare at the Auto Expo 2016.

Sachin Tendulkar launches all new 7-series 730 diesel & 750 petrol for Rs 1.1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.

5.01pm: Toyota India has finally unveiled their much awaited MPV, Innova Crysta at the Auto Expo 2016. First showcased at the Gaikindo International Auto Show, Toyota has been planning to reveal the big machine. If you remember then we were the first one's to reveal the name of the new Innova.

Virat Kohli, Indian Cricketer and Alia Bhatt, Actress launch Audi R8 at the Auto Expo 2016.

Toyota Innova Crysta (Photo: Suyash Shrivastava)

3.30pm: If 2015 was the year it found itself mired in a global scandal involving diesel emissions, Volkswagen kept up its tradition of presenting world-class cars. At the Auto Expo 2016, Volkswagen unveiled two of its most awaited cars - the Volkswagen Ameo, a sub-compact sedan and the Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.



Toyota Innova Crysta interiors. (Photo: Suyash Shrivastava) Toyota Innova Crysta interiors. (Photo: Suyash Shrivastava)

Volkswagen Tiguan, one of its more awaited vehicles at the Auto Expo.

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Both the cars are expected to be launched in the coming fiscal year and will make up two of the four cars it plans to launch in India this year.

Volkswagen also plans to unveil the Polo GTI and Passat GTE tomorrow.

3.08pm: Mahindra Two Wheelers go electric with their Genze scooter.





The Volkswagen Passat GTE.

Mahindra also unveiled its all-new MGP30 Moto3 racing motorcycle for the 2016 season.



Mahindra's electric 2-wheeler Genze 2.0.

The latest MGP30 is a significantly upgraded motorcycle in almost every area as Mahindra racing aims to fight at the front of the highly-ompetitive Moto3 World Championship in 2016.



2.40pm: American SUV maker Jeep has finally entered the Indian market with a bang at the Auto Expo 2016. The company brings the likes of Grand Cherokee and Wrangler to Indian shores. Will it garner the same appreciation as in the US? Only time will tell.

Jeep Wrangler

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2.23pm: Honda unveiled two of its most anticipated cars - the compact SUV, BR-V as well as the popular premium sedan Accord. The BR-V is expected to be launched in India sometime later this year. The Accord, when it is launched in India, will come with a hybrid engine.

Jeep Grand Cherokee.

2.15pm: Renault wasn't too far behind with the excitement as it launched its concept car the Eolab at the Auto Expo. The company claims that the car runs 100 km in 1 litre. Good answer to that age old question: Kitna deti hai?

The other exciting offers from Renault included the Renault Kwid Climber and the Kwid Racer.

Renault Kwid Racer belongs to an entirely different category of car and conjures up the world of racing, with 18-inch alloy wheels, low-profle tyres, honed aerodynamics, bucket seats and a roll cage.

The car boasts of a sporty metallic blue finish. Its wide air intakes are suggestive or performance, while the spoilers and diffuser guarantee outstanding handling. The C-shaped LED lighting signature and the high-tech treatment of the lights signal that the Renault Kwid Racer is clearly in tune with Renault's new design strategy.



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2pm: At the Mercedes Benz pavilion, the stunning S-Class Coupe and the GLC took centrestage.

The stunning Mercedes Benz S-Class Coupe.

1.50pm: Piaggio unveils two-wheeler crossover Aprilia SR 150. The model, which will be launched in August, is a blend of motorbikes and scooter and sports a 150cc engine. The crossover will have 14-inch wheels like motorbikes and auto-gears like scooters.



The GLC at the Mercedes Benz pavilion.

1.40pm: The Akula310 stole all the attention at the TVS Motor pavilion. Made as a race concept the Akula310 comes with full CF bodywork and race suspensions.

TVS Motor also unveiled its concept racer the Apache RTR200.

1.30pm: More from the Tata Motors stable: The Hexa, a premium lifestyle SUV that will come with many segment firsts including a 2.2 litre varicor engine and 19 inch wheels.

Tata Motors' Hexa is being positioned as a premium lifestyle SUV.

1.00pm: Apart from introducing its Zica and Kite 5, Tata Motors also unveiled its Nexon, a compact SUV which features Zica's bold looks and 200mm ground clearance. It comes in two variants: 1.5 litre diesel and 1.2 litre petrol turbo engines.

The Hexa will come with many firsts including a 2.2 litre varicor engine and 19-inch wheels.

Tata Motor's Nexon, a compact SUV which features Zica's bold looks and 200mm ground clearance.

Tata Motors Nexon comes in two variants: 1.5 litre diesel and 1.2 litre petrol turbo engines.

12.48pm: Introducing the Zica, which is likely to undergo a name change following the spread of the Zika virus abroad, Tata Motors' head of communications Minari Shah announced that the Indian car maker will be introducing two cars every year in the country.

Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif marks her presence for Jaguar Land Rover, sends the crowd in a tizzy. Jaguar launched the XE in India priced at Rs 39.90 lakh.



Tata Motors introduced the Zica at the Auto Expo 2016.

Fiona Pargeter, head of global PR communication for JLR, while speaking at the launch of the XE said, "Since the last expo, the entire line-up has been completely refreshed."

Dr Ralf Speth, JLR CEO, said, "F-Pace is a performance crossover with jaguars DNA while the XE is a true driver's car. Low cost of ownership, low fuel consumption make it the ideal car for India. Our commitment to India has increased."

11.30am: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor introduces Hero MotoCorp's new line-up at the Auto Expo 2016.

Katrina Kaif replaced Priyanka Chopra at the JLR stall in this edition of the Auto Expo.

11am: American motorcycle brand UM Motorcycles showcased three of its premiere bikes at the Auto Expo 2016 and announced the launch of the Renegade Commando, the Renegade Sport S and Renegade Classic.



Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor with Hero MotoCorp's CMD Pawan Munjal for Greenovation at Hall 8 of Auto Expo 2016.

Prices for the UM Motorcycles Renegade start at Rs 1.49 lakh for Sport S, Rs 1.59 lakh for Commando and Rs 1.69 lakh for Classic.

Kudos for making a small bike look big; the UM Motorcycles Renegade Sport with a 279cc heart.

All three bikes come powered by a 279cc engine with a 25bhp and a 6-speed box. For a bike with a small engine, the Americans have managed to make it look really big.



Powered by the same 279cc engine with 25bhp & a 6-spd box, presenting the Renegade Classic.

The UM Motorcycles Commando comes with a matte paint and blacked out everything.

Interestingly, the UM Motorcycles Renegade Classic is a cruiser that comes with a USB charger.

UM Motorcycles Commando gets matte paint and blacked out everything. Same engine as the other two.

10.35am: Yamaha unveils new scooter Cygnus Ray-ZR at Auto Expo 2016



10.30am: In a first, the Hero Splendor ismart110 is the first bike from the Hero stables to get an inhouse built engine. The lights on the bike remain on, something seen only in international bikes so far. Hero claims the bike has the most fuel efficient engine in the world.

10.20am: Suzuki has also unveiled three of its two-wheelers today. However, there is no news of any of them being launched in the near future as yet.

The Hero Splendor ismart110 gets the first inhouse developed engine which Hero claims is the world's most fuel efficient.

Meanwhile, the facelifted Suzuki Access 125 was also unveiled. The new features include, Chrome bezels over headlamps, SEP technology, Improved fuel economy with at least a 20 per cent more fuel efficient with no lag in pick up and perhapsp the longest seat and foot board in the segment. It also comes with a one-click start system.

9.50am: DSK Benelli has unveiled four bikes at the Auto Expo 2016. These include the TNT Naked T-135, BX 250, Tornado 300 and TRK 502. These models will soon be available at the DSK Benelli showrooms across the country.

DSK Benelli's TRK 502 got quite a few hoots.

Along with these, DSK also put on display its current range of superbikes including the TNT 25, a single cylinder 250cc engine, TNT300 with an in-line two cylinder 300 cc engine, TNT 600i with an in-line 600cc engine, TNT 600GT which comes with an in-line four cylinder 600cc engine along with the TNT 899 which comes with an in-line three cylinder 898cc engine and the TNT R which comes loaded with a powerful in-line three cylinder 1131cc engine.

DSK Benelli's BX250 is expected to be available in the showrooms in the coming year.

The DSK Benelli TNT 302.





9.35am: As part of its plans to expand its line-up, Honda India is planning to Make in India the Africa Twin

The BX250 will soon find its way into the DSK Benelli showrooms in India.

9.20am: Isuzu unveils adventure utility vehicle D-MAX V-Cross

9.15am: Honda unveils its next offering in two wheelers: the Navi. Honda is aiming at sales of at least 50 lakh units of the motorcycle in 2016.



The Navi is available in 5 colours and will be priced at Rs 39,500 ex-showroom Delhi.



The Navi offers a unique experience in biking, says Honda.



Hyundai unveils concept cars HND-14 and Tucson. The Korean auto major unveiled the sports utility vehicle 'Tucson' as it eyes a bigger play in the fast growing segment.

The Hyundai Tucson comes with a 2.0-litre diesel engine that makes 178PS and comes mated to the new 8-speed automatic gearbox. The Tucson is expected to arrive in India between August and October, 2016 and is likeley to be be priced around Rs 15-20 lakh.



"We are delighted to unveil our global sports utility vehicle Tucson. We aim to launch two new products each year going ahead," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) MD and CEO Y K Koo told reporters here.



Watch the unveiling of Hyundai's concept HND-14 at the Auto Expo 2016:





Hyundai India is banking on the HND-14 to form a base for a small SUV to take on the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.

8.45am: General Motors today unveiled two new cars at the Auto Expo 2016, Chevrolet Beat Activ and Essentia.

The Chevrolet Essentia is a sub-four metre sedan that uses the M300 platform used in the current generation Chevrolet Beat. This car features Cherolets MyLink2 system, which offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. On the safety front the Essentia features dual airbags and ABS. Chevrolet Essentia is slotted for a 2017 launch.



Chevrolet plans to bring in at least 10 new vehicles in the next 5 years.



Hyundai India is all set to unveil its concept of a small SUV with the HND-14.

The Chevrolet Essentia.









8am: And it has begun. The Auto Expo 2016 gets underway with the unveiling of the Maruti Suzuki Brezza .



Chevrolet unveiled its Beat Active at the Auto Expo.

The brand new Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Twitter/YogenPratap

The new Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza comes with these specifications:

Engine:

1.3-litre DDiS

Power: 88.5bhp

Torque: 200Nm

Dimensions:

Length: 3,995mm

Width: 1,790mm

Height: 1,640mm

Wheelbase: 2,500mm

Ground Clearence: 198mm



Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is planning to launch 15 new models in India by 2020, says MD Kenichi Ayukawa.

He also says that Maruti is expanding its sales network further which includes growth for the Nexa showrooms.

Kenichi Ayukawa is also confident that the Vitara Brezza would do well as it is built on a global platform.

Maruti Suzuki President and COO Toshihiro Suzuki says:

Baleno exports begun for Japan from India, a part of Make-In-India Campaign.

Baleno exports will strengthen India's role as manufacturing hub.

India most important market for Suzuki.

Suzuki completes 100 years in 2020



Watch the unveiling of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza here:

Global premiere of the @Maruti_Corp #VitaraBrezza #AutoExpo2016 @AUTOTODAYMAG @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/xOzO25jZcW

Yogendra Pratap (@YogenPratap) February 3, 2016

DND to be toll free at peak hours



To facilitate the massive volume of traffic that is expected to head to Greater Noida for the Auto Expo 2016, the DND Flyway shall remain toll free at peak hours. No toll will be charged from 8am to 10 am and from 5pm to 9pm between February 5 to February 9.

The morning hours toll will be waived for people heading from Delhi to Noida via DND, the evening toll shall be waived for people travelling from Noida to Delhi.

--- ENDS ---
The Chevrolet Activ is a crossover version of the Beat, while the Chevrolet Beat Essentia is a sub-four metre sedan.

By India Today Web Desk: General Motors today unveiled two new cars at the Auto Expo 2016, Chevrolet Beat Activ and Essentia. The Chevrolet Activ is a crossover version of the Beat, while the Chevrolet Beat Essentia is a sub-four metre sedan.

Chevrolet Beat Activ

The Chevrolet Beat Activ crossover version is based on the Beat hatchback and will come with affordable price. While it will have no direct competition, there are other crossovers in the market that the company will be looking to target like the Toyota Etios Cross, Hyundai i20 Active and Fiat Avventura

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Chevrolet Beat Essentia

The Chevrolet Beat Essentia sedan is also based on the Beat hatchback. The Chevrolet Beat Essentia sedan comes with a 1.2-litre STEC II petrol engine churning out peak power output of 77bhp and peak torque of 107Nm, while the diesel engine will have the 1.0L XSDE unit producing power output of 56bhp and torque of 142.5Nm.

The Chevrolet Beat Essentia sedan will rival Tata Motors hatchback Zica.

--- ENDS ---
Cambridge University is all set to introduce a written entrance test as part of its admission process, from the academic year 2017.

By India Today Web Desk: Cambridge University is all set to introduce a written entrance test as part of its admission process, from the academic year 2017. The students who want to study in the premier British institution will now have to clear a written test apart from the interview, to bag a seat.

These entrance exams were phased out by the university in the 1980s; their reintroduction brings it in line with its competitor, the University of Oxford.

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The university's director of admissions, Dr. Sam Lucy, informed all major schools and colleges of the UK of the change in the admission process through a letter.

"The colleges of the University of Cambridge are introducing a system of common format written assessments for applicants, specifically tailored to each subject. This will provide admission tutors with valuable additional evidence of our applicants' academic abilities, knowledge base and potential to succeed in the Cambridge course for which they have applied," she wrote.

"This move is a result of responding to teacher and student feedback, a desire to harmonise and simplify our existing use of written assessments and a need to develop new ways to maintain the effectiveness and fairness of our admissions system during ongoing qualification reform," she added.

Either students will have to undertake the written test pre-interview or at the interview, depending on the course they apply for, the first tests will start from November this year.

The pre-interview tests will be held at individual schools and colleges on the same day as the University of Oxford's pre-interview tests, to facilitate their administration by all schools and colleges.

The at-interview tests will be conducted during the December interview period on the university premises, usually on the same day as the interviews. The university says no advance preparation will be needed, "other than revision of relevant recent subject knowledge where appropriate". Most at-interview assessments will be an hour long and most pre-interview assessments will be no longer than two hours.

Courses that will have pre-interview written assessments include medicine, economics, engineering, English, history and natural sciences, and courses with at-interview written assessments include computer science, architecture, archeology, law and philosophy, among others.

Check: UGC urges college students to take Swachhata pledge



Click here to get more education news.

Get latest updates on exam notifications and scholarships across India and abroad here .

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Amid the forecast of heavy rainfall in parts of Karnataka for the next few days, heavy downpours battered the IT capital, Bengaluru, on Wednesday evening, flooding several areas in the east, south and central parts of the city. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a yellow alert, indicative of heavy rain, has been issued as rainfall will continue for the next three days.
Well, these strangers wrote their biggest regrets, on a blackboard--and all of them had one thing in common. Can you guess what?

By Mini Dixit: Remember all those dreams you had as a child? Dreams of becoming an astronaut, a painter or an author?Dreams of conquering the world.

You kept changing the calendar sheets and your ambitions--which at some point in time were all you lived for--were carefully starched, ironed and tucked away in the wardrobe of everyday routine.You and those around you kept thrusting the cupboard with a new set of expectations, dreams and ambitions, till the point where the things that you really wanted were nothing but a mere speck.

Well, if you had at least one particular regret running through your mind while reading the aforementioned lines, then we must tell you that you have company.

The citizens of New York were in for some soul-searching when they found a blackboard with nothing but the words "Write your biggest regret" written on it. Passers-by stared, contemplated, clicked pictures and then wrote their responses on the board.



Picture courtesy: Youtube

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The statements on the board which ranged between, "Not saying I Love You" to "Not getting my MBA"--had something extremely heart-breaking in common.

The word, "Not."

Some blamed their unfulfilled desires on the lack of time, or simply on the fear of failure.

Also Read: Here's why it's important to chase your dreams



Also Read: These moving statues explain a story of love, passion and separation

The people were then given an eraser each--to get rid of their regrets and see their life as a "clean slate" each day. Symbolic in essence, the experiment comes with the message, "Do the things you'll regret NOT doing."

Picture courtesy: Youtube

Picture courtesy: Youtube

Because in the end, nothing haunts one more than the chances not taken, the words not spoken and the dreams not pursued. Right?




Aaradhya Bachchan is not keeping very well these days, and that has made mom Aishwarya Rai Bachchan pulling out all stops to be with her daughter.

By India Today Web Desk: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's daughter Aaradhya is not keeping very well these days. And that has put mom Aishwarya on high-alert, even as the actor is busy with her upcoming film.

PHOTOS: Aishwarya, Abhishek throw princess-themed party for Aaradhya's 4th birthday

ALSO READ: Aaradhya Bachchan turns 4, dad Abhishek wishes his 'little angel' on Twitter

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Aishwarya is currently shooting for Sarbjit, the biopic on the slain Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh. In between shooting for this Omung Kumar film, Rai Bachchan is tending to her child.

Aishwarya's daughter is under the weather. Reports have it that Aaradhya has been accompanying her mother to the sets of the film and staying in the actor's vanity van while she is busy shooting.

Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan's 4-year-old daughter, the apple of the Bachchan family's eye, has almost always dominated discussions about the family ever since she was born.

On her part, Aishwarya has taken her daughter along to film shoots earlier too, be it during Sanjay Gupta's Jazbaa or Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

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The High Commission of Tanzania has requested the Government of India of follow up on the matter. A 21-year-old Tanzanian student was beaten and then stripped of all her clothes by a group of locals in BengaluruThe locals assumed she was part of an incident in which a Sudanese man had run over a local woman on Saturday night

After the assualt, the local residents set her car on fire.

By India Today Web Desk: Update:

The High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale about reported attacks on African students in Bangalore. The Note Verbale requests the Government of India to follow up on this matter and take necessary legal action against those involved in such attacks and to ensure safety and security of all African students in India.

Joint Secretary E&SA spoke to the High Commissioner of Tanzania a short while ago. He expressed regret at the unfortunate incident and assured him that the Ministry is in regular touch with the authorities in Bangalore in this regard and that the State authorities have assured that they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent any recurrence of such untoward incidents.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

I spoke to the Chief Minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

I have asked the Chief Minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty. Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

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The incident involved a 21-year-old Tanzanian student was beaten and then stripped of all her clothes by a group of locals in Bengaluru after they assumed she was part of an incident in which a Sudanese man had run over a local woman.

The incident took place on Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru where on Saturday night a Sudanese national ran his car over a 35-year-old woman resulting in on the spot death of the woman.

The Tanzanian victim arrived on the scene after 30 minutes of the incident but she alleges in her complaint that the locals dragged her out of the car and thrashed her. She was allegedly stripped of her clothes and paraded naked.

The victim told the police in her complaint that when she tried to get on a bus in order to escape the assault, people on the bus pushed her back into the mob that assaulted her.

The legal advisor to the African students union in Bengaluru Bosco Kaweesi said that the victim has been assaulted in the worst possible manner.

They saw the mob attacking the guy who had caused the accident, the girl had no connection with him- Bosco Kaweesi pic.twitter.com/VEXoNYSFiRANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

Earlier, the local residents set fire to two cars belonging to the African students, who studied in local colleges in Ganapathinagar on Hesaraghatta Road.

Also Read:

Hit-and-run case: African students targeted in Bengaluru


Kapil Sharma's new show will most probably be called Comedy Style, and will reportedly be telecast on Sony TV.

By India Today Web Desk: All the Kapil Sharma fans out there, rejoice. The King of Comedy, Kapil Sharma will soon be back on your screens with a brand new show. If the industry buzz is to be believed, the show will be called Comedy Style and will be telecast on Sony TV.



Also read: Exclusive: Yes, I'm replacing Kapil Sharma on Comedy Nights, confirms Krushna Abhishek

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His new show is expected to fill the void left by Kapil Sharma after his legendary Comedy Nights With Kapil wrapped up on January 24 on Colors. Meanwhile, Krushna Abhishek and his team comprising Bharti Singh, Sudesh Lahiri, and Siddharth Sagar are desperately trying to retain the Comedy Nights fans with their new show called Comedy Nights Live, after the first episode opened to dismal reviews. Also read: Kapil Sharma did not give us a choice: Raj Nayak of Colors opens up about Comedy Nights controversy

Kapil, who was said to be in talks with Sony TV and Star Plus for a new show, had mentioned in one of his interviews that he would be back soon.

While we don't know the airing date, the cast, and the format of the show yet, we'll keep you updated.

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Pakistan High Commissioner today called actor Anupam Kher and expressed regret over the visa row. He also invited Kher and asked him to apply for visa as soon as possible.

By India Today Web Desk: Pakistan High Commissioner today called actor Anupam Kher and expressed regret over the visa row. He also invited Kher and asked him to apply for visa as soon as possible. However, the actor denied to go to Pakistan saying he has already committed his dates elsewhere.

Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you."

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Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now."

In another tweet last night, the Pakistani envoy had said, "@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport."

Kher has been denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi Literary Festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Dear @abasitpak1, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didn't apply for visa," Kher said in a tweet last night



Today Congress too took a dig at the actor and said that the PM should help him to go to Pakistan .



Veteran actor Anupam Kher on Tuesday said he was "sad" that he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the second time, and described as a "lie" a Pakistani diplomat's claim that the actor had "not submitted" any visa application.

He also requested the Indian government to take the matter up with Pakistan.

Anupam was to attend the Karachi Literature Festival which begins on Friday. However, while 17 out of the 18 Indians who were due to go received their visas, the 60-year-old says he was "singled out".

"Have been informed that Pakistan MoFA has denied permission for my visa to participate in the Karachi Literature festival. Sad to have been denied visa on second time in a year, while around 17 people will participate in the Karachi Literature Festival as guests," Anupam posted on Twitter.

Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Anupam Kher said," For the last 15 days, all my visa documents are ready. I am not angry at anyone, I am hurt and saddened. Out of 18 applicants, only my visa was rejected. I did not personally ask for a visa, the organizers of Karachi Literature Festival did."



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By Javed Anwer: Apple is planning to launch the iPhone 5SE, along with the iPad Air 3 and the new Watch models, on March 15, a report says. Earlier, there were rumours that the company would announce its new devices either in the late March or early April.

However, the report by 9to5mac , which cites Apple officials aware of the company's plan to host a media event on March 15, notes that the date is not yet final and may change. Usually, 9to5mac has been spot on with its Apple-related scoops so it is possible that we will see the iPhone 5SE and the updated iPad Air 3 next month.

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The iPhone 5SE has been rumoured for quite some time in the last few weeks. The phone is said to be a fresh Apple attempt to enter the smartphone market with relatively cheaper iPhone. It has rumoured that the iPhone 5Se would cost around $450. It will most likely have a 4-inch screen and a full-aluminium body similar to that of the iPhone 5S. However, internally there will be bigger changes. The phone will have a screen with curved glass, similar to the one in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. It will also have the hardware that would be a mix of what Apple has given to the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. It will be most likely powered by Apple A8 processor, will have the same camera that is inside the iPhone 6 and feature fingerprint as well as 3D touch functionality.

The iPad Air 3, meanwhile, could look like a shrunken iPad Pro, complete with its stereo speakers. the devices will also probably feature ports to connect the portable keyboard cover similar to the one that can be used with the iPad Pro. It will also get updated hardware, possibly a variant of the A9 processor and 2GB RAM.

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Calling the logjam as a classic example of financial mismanagement, Kejriwal sought a CBI investigation into the matter.

By India Today Web Desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused the ruling BJP of provoking the sanitation workers in the national capital to strike. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kejriwal claimed that the Narendra Modi government "wants to impose President's Rule in Delhi just like Arunachal Pradesh."

The workers of Municipal Corporation of Delhi or MCD are on strike since last eight days demanding immediate payment of their salary. Kejriwal, who is in Bengaluru for naturopathy treatment, said his government will be releasing funds soonso that the workers get their salary dues.

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Kejriwal also claimed that his government does not owe any money to Delhi's civic agencies and added that the MCD is den of corruption.

"We will arrange salaries till January 31, for which Rs 690 crore is needed. We are paying 142 crores immediately," he said. Calling the strike as a classic example of financial mismanagement, Kejriwal sought a CBI investigation into the matter.

Nearly one lakh MCD employees, including doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, technicians, sanitation workers and other class III and IV staff, who have not been paid salaries for up to three months.

Highlights of Kejriwal press conference I understand the pain of the MCD workers who did not get their salaries, but what about the BJP people spreading garbage on streets. I have gone through each and every figure and can say with confidence that Delhi govt doesnt have to pay a penny to MCD Two way politics have been played in Delhi PWD, DJB pressed their staffs and trucks to pick up garbage from streets of Delhi. North MCD was given close to Rs 900 crores this year. If salaries were being paid till last year and their payment were doubled then where has the money gone. During President rule last year, Rs 300 crore loan recovered from North and Rs 76 crore recovered from East Delhi, on the other hand, we have waived off the loan. There is a big corruption, money was diverted, we are asking MCD's to explain where has the money gone. EDMC has been given Rs 466 crores this year. Rs 100 crores more than earlier payment, where has the money gone. No new employees were hired by EDMC. Request MCD workers to call off strike. Have asked Manish Sisodia to examine if we can take over the MCD run hospitals across Delhi since doctors have written to us, MCD will stand to gain Rs 800 crores. We are giving 550 crore loan to both NDMC & EDMC. MCD lied in court yesterday; if MCD has paid salaries till December 31 then why has the MCD gone on strike from January 27. DDA has to pay Rs 1500 crore property tax to MCD This is a classic case of mismanagement of MCD We are demanding CBI enquiry into MCD mismanagement. Where has the house tax money, parking tax, toll tax, ad revenue, conversion tax, electricity tax, transfer duty money gone. They have been stolen.

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reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Ten army personnel have been trapped in the avalanche that was reported this morning on the northern glacier of Siachen.Rescue operations are on.

By India Today Web Desk: At least 10 soldiers of the Indian Army, including one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), are reported missing after an avalanche in the northern Jammu and Kashmir's Siachen region.



Defence officials said rescue work is on to locate the missing soldiers of the Madras Regiment. Army and IAF rescue operation teams were rushed to the spot immediately. According to reports, rescue operation was launched at the Baan post, the highest on the glacier at about 22,000 feet.

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Four soldiers were killed in an avalanche which hit the region on January 4 this year.

In November, 2015, an Army Captain was killed and 15 soldiers were rescued after an avalanche struck a patrol party in Siachen in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Regimental Medical Officer Captain Ashwini Kumar was killed after the avalanche hit the southern area of glacier.

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By India Today Web Desk: Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Telangana Police arrested a suspected jihadi from the Lucknow airport today.

Abdul Azizi alias Aziz, who is a resident of Hyderabad, was arrested after he was deported from Saudi Arabia. Police sources say that Aziz was wanted in several cases including one of possessing fake passport as well as another case involving conspiracy to blow up a temple.

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Aziz reportedly influenced by turn of events in Bosnia in 1990's had joined jihadis there via Saudi Arabia. Later, he came back to India and stayed in Hyderabad. He was arrested in Hyderabad in 2001 in a case of fake passport where a case under sections 120b, 153A, 379, 420, 468, 34 CRPC and various other cases under Arms Act, Explosives Act and Passport Act were registered against him.

He later jumped bail and again fled to Saudi Arabia, where he was arrested in a criminal case and sent to jail.



ALSO READ | Pathankot attack: Jihadi called his mother, said Ammi I'm on a suicide mission



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This real-life replica of Elsa's castle from the movie Frozen is made entirely out of ice and has soon become a travellers' favourite.

By Samonway Duttagupta: If you are a Walt Disney fan and have been closely following its animated films, Frozen and its character ice queen Elsa must have become one of your favourites by now. One of the most beautiful things in the film was Elsa's castle, and a lot of us have even imagined how something like that would look like in real life. Well, you can actually get into the castle in real life -- only if you travel to Canada.

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A US based company named Ice Castles has come up with the real-life replica of Elsa's castle at the William Hawrelak Park in Alberta. Made entirely out of ice, this castle has become a major attraction of the tourists visiting Alberta of late.

Also read: Canada: Into the wild!



Although, this ice castle is a temporary structure, travellers are seen enjoying the walk through the castle's cave-like tunnels. They just love exploring every part of this ice-and-snow structure and enjoy living the imaginary world of Elsa by sitting on the icy throne.

At night, the place looks even more beautiful as the castle and its surroundings are illuminated with by different-coloured lights that are nestled among the tunnels.

The ice castle looks beautiful under the night sky.

Also read: From Kolkata to Canada, Lisa Ray suggests travel hot-spots



So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and rush to Canada before the castle is gone!

Here's a video to give you a better glimpse how it feels to visit the place:

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A college student met with a major accident at Delhi University's Deshbandhu college after a light stand fell upon him while participitating in a fashion show.

By India Today Web Desk: A college student met with a major accident at Delhi University's Deshbandhu college after a light stand fell upon him while participitating in a fashion show.

Correction: Student from Aurobindo College, event at Delhi's Deshbandhu College. Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) February 3, 2016

Akash Dahiya, a second year student of Sri Aurobindo College, got seriously injured during a fashion show at Deshbandhu college, Sri Aurobindo College principal told India Today in an email.



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The student suffered serious injuries on face and back after the light rig fell on him.





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Relaunching the scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said of the 2.5 lakh students who pass the class XII school exams every year in Delhi, nearly 1.25 lakh of them do not get admission in colleges, therefore apprenticeship will benefit them.

By India Today Web Desk: Delhi Government on Wednesday relaunched the Apprenticeship Training scheme forthe empowerment of youth of Delhi. Relaunching the scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said of the 2.5 lakh students who pass the class XII school exams every year in Delhi, nearly 1.25 lakh of them do not get admission in colleges, therefore apprenticeship will benefit them.

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He said in fact the government would want even those who are taking admission in colleges should also enroll for apprenticeship, since it will increase their employment avenues.

Sisodia also asked the stakeholders to do further research on what exactly are the requirements of the youth of Delhi, instead of imposing the national model on them.

The Deputy CM said he would like to introduce the Vocational Training in all 1000 schools of Delhi Government schools so that vocational training can be mainstreamed. He cautioned against turning vocational training into a ritual.

Jayant Krishna, CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), applauded the Delhi government's initiative and said that revised Apprenticeship Act is a great reform which has happened after 50 years. He exhorted the industry to take advantage of the changes in the Apprenticeship Act and employ large number of apprentices at their work places. He also said that India employs only 5 per cent of its workforce as apprentices while the same number is 50 in China and 90 per cent in Korea and Germany.

Ashish Khetan, Delhi Dialogue Commission vice-chairman, stressed on the need to equip the youth with skills of the industry.

Secretary Education Punya Salila Srivastava said she is happy to relaunch the Apprenticeship scheme that was stopped in the year 2005. She said that more than 400 students have already enrolled in the scheme from Delhi and a big awareness scheme is being launched to attract the students to the Apprenticeship scheme.

ALSO READ:



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Nearly one lakh MCD employees, including doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, technicians, sanitation workers and other class III and IV staff, who have not been paid salaries for up to three months are on strike since last 8 days.

By India Today Web Desk: Crippled and paralysed by MCD employees strike Delhi is on the brink of complete collapse. And as the protest entered day 8, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced loan of Rs 551 crore to end the city's garbage crisis. But while Delhiities continue to suffer the political bickering has snowballed.

Nearly one lakh MCD employees, including doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, technicians, sanitation workers and other class III and IV staff, who have not been paid salaries for up to three months are on strike since last 8 days.

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Unpaid for months, sanitation workers intensified their strike blocking National Highway 24 triggering a massive traffic jam today.

But even as twin strike cripples the national capital there is no end to the political blamegame.

Talking to reporters in Bengaluru, Arvind Kejriwal accused the ruling BJP of provoking the sanitation workers in the national capital to strike. Kejriwal claimed that the Narendra Modi government "wants to impose President's Rule in Delhi just like Arunachal Pradesh."

"I understand the pain of the MCD workers who did not get their salaries, but what about the BJP people spreading garbage on streets. We will arrange salaries till January 31, for which Rs 690 crore is needed. We are paying 142 crores immediately," he said. Calling the strike as a classic example of financial mismanagement and huge corruption, Kejriwal sought a CBI investigation into the matter.

Speaking on the show Newsroom, AAP leader Ashish Khetan blamed the BJP governed MCD for the Delhi mess.

"MCD has turned into a black hole, figures and facts don't lie. MCD was given Rs 500 crore more than last year," Khetan said.

Responding to Khetan's charge, Sudhanshu Mittal of the BJP said that the Delhi government has the mandate to look into the financial aspects of the municipality.

"The AAP government is just trying to shrug off its responsibility," Mittal added.

"Isn't this dirty politics? Kejriwal agreed to release funds today only because he wanted to turn this issue into a political one," he said.

Congress's Kiran Walia pointed out that the Sheila Dikshit government had made special arrangement of Rs 1000 crore apart from the 10 per cent that we had given to the MCD.

"You can not hold people of Delhi to ransom. What has happened now that there has been no effort to resolve the logjam also MCD employees were driven to strike as their salaries were not paid for months," Walia said.

Also read:

Arvind Kejriwal on MCD strike: Modi govt wants President's Rule in Delhi

MCD strike enters sixth day, now teachers refuse to turn up



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By India Today Web Desk: Former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jakhar passed away today morning. The body is being taken to Abohar in Punjab for cremation tomorrow, his son and former Congress Legislature Party leader of Punjab Sunil Jakhar said.

Jakhar served as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed to the establishment of Parliament Museum. He also served as Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

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Jakhar also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009.

Jakhar also served as Deputy Minister Cooperation, Irrigation and Power in Punjab between 1973-77 and then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly between 1977 and 1979.

Jakhar was a four-time MP in Lok Sabha starting from his election in the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980. He was again elected in 1984, 1991 and 1998.

In 1980, he became Lok Sabha Speaker and served till 1989 for two terms during which he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of the House works.

He worked extensively for promotion of Parliament Library, smartening the reference, research and documentation system of the House and streamlining information for the members.

Jakhar headed Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee; General Purposes Committee; and Standing Committee of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India.

In the party, he became General Secretary All India Congress Committee in 1990 and from 1992 he was member, Congress Working Committee.

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was a popular leader who enriched Parliamentary democracy. "Balram Jakhar ji was a popular leader who enriched our Parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP," he tweeted.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grief over the demise of Jakhar.

In her message to the family of Jakhar, Gandhi said, "The Congress Party as indeed the entire nation will forever remember the contributions made by him during the course of his long public life, particularly to the cause of farming community."

"Be it as Legislator, Parliamentarian, Minister, Speaker or Governor, Dr Jakhar forever remained at the forefront in taking up issues concerning agriculture and farmers and his role in modernising the Parliament Secretariat was pioneering."



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The French school administration unions' one stop solution to protect the large population of smoking teenagers from becoming terror targets is by lifting the ban on smoking.

By India Today Web Desk: School administrators across France second the lifting of smoking ban in order to protect teenagers from becoming easy targets for terror attacks while they congregate for smoke breaks outside the school premises.

The first request to loosen the ban on smoking was made by the National Union of School Administrators just five days after the November 13 attack, which wrecked havoc in Paris and left 130 people dead.

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According to government statistics about a third of French teens between the age of 15-19 are hooked on to the habit of smoking.

"During each recess, in more than 2,000 schools in France, dozens of youth or even hundreds at the largest establishments form static and compact groups in a predictable way for 15 to 20 minutes," the union said in a letter dated Nov. 18, 2015.

Many schools have already allowed the students to smoke on school grounds, as waiting for the government's response only put's their life at risk. Despite the fact that smoking is injurious, the union is forced to opt for this solution to dodge bigger dangers.



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In its new digital film titled Fuelled by love, British Airways tells the heart-warming tale of a UK based cabin crew member travelling to India for the first time.

By India Today Web Desk: British Airways has come up with a way to express its love for India. And its very much 'fuelled by love'.

Directed by the maker of Masaan, Neeraj Ghaywan, Fuelled By Love tells the tale of a young UK based cabin crew member travelling to India for the first time.

On the flight, cabin crew member Helena attends to an elderly woman who responds to her care with equal affection and invites her to her home.

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The special bond that develops between Helena and this woman influences her feelings towards India, which she describes as a place 'the more she discovers, the more she falls in love with'.

What makes this campaign even more beautiful is the fact that it is inspired by real stories.

Also, created by SapientNitro India, this campaign does not deploy television in its media-plan, instead focuses largely on the digital platform.

"India is British Airways' second largest market outside the UK and after the US," said Moran Birger, British Airways' regional commercial manager inSouth Asia. "We are proud of our rich heritage of over 90 years in India and deep understanding of this wonderful country."

"Through this film and the brand campaign, we want to show the actual experiences of our cabin crew members serving customers on our India routes," he added,

Watch the heart-warming campaign here:

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Greek journalists have walked off the job ahead of a general strike to protest against the pension reforms that are the part of the country's third international bailout.

By Indo-Asian News Service, AP: Greek journalists have walked off the job ahead of a general strike to protest against the pension reforms that are the part of the country's third international bailout.

To disrupt the services across the country all news broadcasts over radios and televisions were pulled off and websites were left without updates. Also, no newspaper will be published on Thursday.

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Unions have called for a nationwide general strike on Thursday. The strike will shut down everything from state schools to public offices, while state-run hospitals will operate on emergency staff only. Public transport, including domestic flights, will also be disrupted.

Overhauling the pension system is one of the main reforms the government must make, but critics say it will lead to dozens of professions paying most of their income in social security contributions and taxes.



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A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, while upholding the single-judge bench order of February 1, said that as the MP is not entitled for relief, his appeal is dismissed.

By Press Trust of India: The Delhi High Court today refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow in New Moti Bagh in Delhi.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, while upholding the single-judge bench order of February 1, said that as the MP is not entitled for relief, his appeal is dismissed. "Pending representation before the House committee does not mean you are entitled for relief. The single judge has rightly dismissed your petition. This petition is also dismissed," the bench said.

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Chowdhury, a Lok Sabha member, had moved the court against the February 1 order dismissing his plea against the eviction, following which the authorities concerned had disconnected water and power supply to his ministerial bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh, even as they started eviction proceedings against him.

Yesterday, the division bench, which did not interfere with disconnection of utilities, had directed maintenance of status quo with regard to the eviction till today morning.

According to the Directorate of Estates, the MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and given sufficient time to vacate the ministerial bungalow which, it said, he was not entitled to. But Chowdhury did not vacate despite several reminders in the past, it said.

Chowdhury had yesterday said that it was nothing but "political vendetta against Opposition by the government."

During the arguments yesterday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, who appeared on behalf of the Directorate of Estates, had told the court that the government was trying to accommodate the MP but he was not satisfied with the housing options being given to him.

Chowdhury's counsel had submitted that there was a security threat to the MP as well as his family at the new premises.

Defending the eviction move, the Urban Development Ministry had said that Chowdhury was offered three Type VI bungalows after cancellation of Type VIII bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh but he refused.

The allotment of the bungalow was cancelled in 2014 by the ministry since he ceased to be a minister at the Centre after the 2014 general elections.

As a member of Lok Sabha, he is entitled for a Type-6 accommodation. He was allotted an alternative accommodation at C-1/99, Moti Bagh by the House Committee of Lok Sabha in January, 2015 which was not accepted by him.



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Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations.

By India Today Web Desk: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations.

The Home Minister, who was addressing a conference on counter-terrrorism in Rajasthan's Jaipur, said that most terror attacks emanate from Pakistan so it should act against terrorists operating from its soil.

"Most of the terror attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil.

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"The government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations," he said.



He underlined that if Pakistan takes concrete actions against terrorists on its territory it will not only improve bilateral ties between both countries but will also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region.

Singh even said that terrorism has no religion because religions do not allow crimes against humanity. Terrorism is a crime against humanity. And said that the world must accept the reality without any loss of time, that there is no good terrorist. "They make perverse distinction between good and bad terrorists. When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating bands of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons and weapon systems of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult," he said.



Focussing on the recent Pathankot terror attack, Rajnath Singh said there was conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and to cause large scale casualties. "Likewise, in the recent attack on Pathankot air base, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and also cause large-scale casualties, thus taking the dynamics of terror attack in India a notch higher," he said.

The Home Minister said for India, Mumbai (26/11) and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a "tectonic shift".

Here are the highlights:



We are fully-equipped and prepared to deal with cross-border terrorism or any kind of terrorism.

We are now formulating an effective strategy which would help in preventing our country from such terror attacks in future.

After the Pathankot terror attack, the government is reviewing its counter-terror strategy.

Government of India will stand by Pakistan, if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations.

Most of the terror attacks emanate from Pakistan. Pakistan has to show some sincerity and take action against terrorists operating from its soil.

To counter such threats we need to undertake sound preventive and responsive security measures.

These conditions are actively utilised by anti-national elements and other enemies to foment trouble in our country.

We are a country full of diversity with multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.

From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber-terrorism, narco-terrorism and bio-terrorism.

The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no 'good' terrorist.

The challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy.

While the world acknowledges the threat of terrorism, there is no consensus even on the definition of terrorism.

I firmly believe that terrorism is a byproduct of a perverse mind.



Today much of the world is grappling with the scourge of terrorism and its dangerous consequences.

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ALSO READ | Pathankot attack: Pakistan's flip-flop exposed again, no FIR registered yet



How Pathankot attack highlighted NSG's weaknesses

--- ENDS ---
When 21-year-old Ahmad was approached by a homeless man for a sandwich, she decided to take him out for a full-fledged meal, only to have a conversation that led to Feeding Forward.

By Mini Dixit: Remember the time when you over estimated your appetite and ended up dumping the last two slices of your extra-large pizza? Or that time when that chocolate cake was just too huge for you to finish?

If you're nodding in agreement for both those statements, some serious guilt is coming your way. If you didn't, this is one story you should absolutely lend your time to.

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At the age of 21, when Californian resident Komal Ahmad happened to have a conversation with a homeless war veteran, she realised that there was nothing she wanted more than to free the world from the clutches of hunger.

Four years later, according to The Mighty Girl, Ahmad is now the CEO of Feeding Forward--a non-profit organisation that has built a web-based platform that aims to "connect businesses with leftover food to organisations that feed the hungry."

Four years ago, the then-undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, Ahmad, was approached by a hungry, homeless man for a sandwich. She decided to take him out for a full-fledged meal instead, and had a conversation with him that went on to change her life.

During the course of their dialogue, Ahmad was heartbroken to know that the man had served the US Navy in Iraq and that he had been "evicted" from his house. Ahmad also recalled him saying, "I've been waiting for several weeks to have my benefits kick in, but until then, I don't have any money and I don't have any food."--a statement that agonised and in a way determined her, as she herself wanted to join the naval forces some day.

Taking the phrase 'charity begins at home' quite literally, Ahmad then began her quest towards eradicating hunger. She brain wired an "on-campus food recovery program to donate leftover meals from the dining hall" --but not without its set of challenges.

Reminiscing over one particular incident, Ahmad spoke about how one time an event with low attendance resulted in her dining hall being left with over 500 sandwiches that were perishable in nature. "I rent a Zipcar and I drive to our dining hall dock, and I'm by myself, so it takes me 30 minutes to load the food," Ahmad says. "Then I call our entire list of recipient agencies...a third of them don't answer the phone, a third of them said they were good for that day and the last third said they would love to take 15 sandwiches." The incident left her feeling helpless and frustrated, as she remembers telling herself, "It shouldn't be this hard to do something good."



That awesome moment where you feed 130 people in need in less than an hour with high-end gourmet food that would have...Posted by Komal Ahmad on Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Cut to 2016: Komal Ahmad now has a team of individuals who believe in her cause of imagining a world sans hunger. According to Ahmad, the Feeding Forward app works much like the Uber app, "Just like you can hail an Uber, you should be able to donate your food in minutes."

advertisement We want to thank you for the donations, pickups, support, volunteering and all the love that we got from all of you...Posted by Feeding Forward on Monday, January 4, 2016

But how does the app actually work?

So, in a scenario where a company has left-over food from an event or celebration, they merely have to provide the details of their donations and a driver is sent to deliver food to those organisations that are in dire need.

Reportedly, "After one food conference featuring celebrity chefs, Feeding Forward received over 5,000 pounds of food donations, which fed over 4,200 people in eight different shelters and food banks and diverted more than 25,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from landfills."

With an aim of perpetual and all-invasive growth, the Feeding Forward app is currently functional in six cities in Northern California, "...with a 99% pickup rate and over 780,000 pounds of food donated so far."



--- ENDS ---

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Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad's son-in-law's SUV was snatched away by some unidentified men near Sikandarpur Metro station today.

By India Today Web Desk: Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad's son-in-law's SUV was snatched away by some unidentified men near Sikandarpur Metro station today.

According to reports, Vineet Yadav's driver Hariprakash was waiting in the Toyota Fortuner (DL-14CC 1343) near Sikandarpur Metro at about 4.00 pm today when some men, brandishing a gun, asked him to come out of the vehicle.

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As soon as the driver stepped out the criminals sped away with the vehicle.

The driver informed the police about the incident immediately. DLF Phase-2 police is investigating the matter. The vehicle was yet to be traced till reports last came in.



ALSO READ | Patna court closes another case against Lalu Prasad on Nitish govt plea



--- ENDS ---
The MCD Doctors Association have written to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking the Delhi government and Centre to bail out MCD from financial crunch Will also move the Delhi High Court asking for their services to be transferred from MCD to Delhi governmentHealthcare services, except the emergency ward, in many hospitals run by municipal corporations in Delhi witnessed a shutdown on February 1

The MCD staff, who are on an indefinite strike, outside the L-G residence on Monday in New Delhi.

By India Today Web Desk: The MCD Doctors Association have written to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking the Delhi government and Centre to bail out MCD from financial crunch. They will also move the Delhi High Court asking for their services to be transferred from MCD to Delhi government.

Doctors who are posted at MCD hospitals filed intervention petition in high court asking the Delhi government to take over health services in a permanent measure.



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As the indefinite strike of MCD employees entered its eighth day, the civic body workers continued with their protest which resulted in a massive traffic jam on NH4 in Delhi.



Healthcare services, except the emergency ward, in many hospitals run by municipal corporations in Delhi witnessed a shutdown on February 1 as doctors, nurses and medical staff suspended work as part of the indefinite strike by municipal corporation employees.

Around 2,000 consultants, 5,000 resident doctors and 13,000 nurses have joined the strike by municipal corporation employees over non-payment of salaries for the past three months.

#MCDStrike enters day 8: MCD workers continue their protest over non-payment of dues in Patparganj (Delhi). pic.twitter.com/JdbitmrUgoANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

All the doctors, municipal-based dispensaries, maternity homes, polyclinics, para-medical staff, technicians and four major hospitals of civic agencies, including Bara Hindu Rao, Swami Dayanand and Rajan Babu Tuberculosis hospitals, have halted their medical services till the corporation releases their salary.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain called the strike a political move against the AAP government and said that the protestors are just wasting their money.

"It seems political. MCD gave and affidavit that the salary was given till December then why have they started protesting in January. DDA collected Rs 25 crore as tax from Delhi public but they are not ready to give out the money," Jain said.

"Arvind Kejriwal has the responsibility of running the government and he is doing it.," he added.



Traffic jam at NH 24 (Delhi) as Delhi Municipal workers continue with their protest over non payment of salary dues. pic.twitter.com/IE7ggM9NDgANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

"For the past one year, we are facing the same problem. We have not been getting our salaries. Every time, we have to agitate to get our payments.

"We want a solution to the problem and this can only be done by unification of all three corporations and timely payment of MCD employees," Dr R R Gautam, President of Municipal Corporation Doctors Association, said.

"We really apologise for the inconvenience caused to patients, but we are helpless," he said.

"All the patients who were not critical have been discharged and we are not taking any new admissions. Even in the emergency ward, we are treating only the critical patients," Dr Aditya Gupta, president of the resident doctors association at Hindu Rao hospital, the biggest run by the MCD, said.

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He said they were referring all patients to Delhi government-run hospitals.

Bara Hindu Rao hospital caters to more than 10,000 patients in its OPDs per day.

Nearly one lakh MCD employees, including doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, technicians, sanitation workers and other class III and IV staff, who have not been paid salaries for up to three months, are on indefinite strike demanding the release of their salaries.

Also read:

MCD strike enters sixth day, now teachers refuse to turn up

AAP govt is taking workers for granted: Lata Gupta on MCD crisis

Delhi faces civic lockdown as employees of 3 MCDs decide to go on strikeDelhi Police to ensure no one burns garbage in the open

--- ENDS ---
14 students of a Pune college were washed into the sea while on a picnic at Murud Janjira at the beginning of this week.

By Vidya : The issue of beach safety came up for discussion in the Bombay High Court today. 14 students of a Pune college were washed into the sea while on a picnic at Murud Janjira at the beginning of this week.

A PIL filed by NGO Janhit Manch more than a decade ago had resulted in the Bombay High Court passing several orders to regulate beach safety. It was only after this that the Maharashtra government on 8 September 2006 had issued a government resolution (GR) regarding beach safety.

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Bombay High Court asked the state government pleader to find out how the GR was being implemented or not. "You have to simply ask the Collector why things are not being implemented" said Justice Naresh Patil.

"Where ever there is large gathering of people where ever people are partying your attention should be there" advised Justice Patil. Court noted that in the neighbouring state Goa, there is coastal police and security guards who are stationed round the clock. They regularly monitor and if they see anyone heading to dangerous water they come in their speed boats and ask people to go from there. There are also sign boards put up showing the dangerous zones.

The court in its earlier orders had directed various civic authorities to ensure adequate appointment of life guards, watch towers and flood lights at night on the beach fronts. Court wants to know if these facilities were available at Murud Janjira when the incident took place. It also wanted to know whether these facilities have been put up at frequented beaches like that of ratnagiri, kashid and in mumbai like aksa and gorai beaches where accidents have known to occur. The authorities will have to reply to the queries put up by court within a week.

ALSO READ:

14 Pune students drown in Murud beach tragedy



Six friends from Mumbai drown off Maharashtra beach



--- ENDS ---
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to re-examine its verdict on homosexuality and referred the matter to a larger five-judge bench. The decision by the three-judge bench that heard the curative petition has reopened the debate around Section 377, the colonial-era Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises consensual sexual acts of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults in private.

By India Today Web Desk: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to re-examine its verdict on homosexuality and referred the matter to a larger five-judge bench. The decision by the three-judge bench that heard the curative petition has reopened the debate around Section 377, the colonial-era Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises consensual sexual acts of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults in private.

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But how realistic are hopes of Section 377 being repealed?

Senior lawyer Anand Grover, who appeared before the Supreme Court for petitioner Naz Foundation, said that he is hopeful that the 5-judge bench will hear the matter on its merit.

Speaking on the show To The Point with Karan Thapar noted Supreme Court lawyer CA Sundaram pointed out that since the curative petition was heard in an open court and not in chambers, as is the case in 95 per cent of such incidents, means that the 3-judge bench felt that the issue requires a relook.

"The stage 1 appears to have been crossed. There is every reason for optimism for the petitioners," Sundaram said.

Big questions: Is law made in 1871 relevant today? Will judiciary deliver a historic verdict? Why does gay sex remain a taboo? Is LGBT community being denied equal rights? Does Section 377 contradict fundamental rights? Conservative religious texts resisting change? Is it high time to scrap Section 377? If Supreme Court de-criminalises 377, will India accept it? Is there any hope for LGBT rights in India?

Naz Foundation founder Anjali Gopalan expressed hope that the Supreme Court will deliver a verdict which will be in the favour of thousands of people who have been labelled as criminals due to the present law.

Author and activist Rahul Easwar said that there should be a wider discussion over the issue and the Parliament should also debate the matter.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Zafaryab Jilani, however, stressed that something which is unnatural can not be accepted.

"This country has always accepted to be as unnatural. Therefore, we had argued and held consultations among the leaders of other communities and they were also of the same view. We feel that this is something which is not in accordance with the cultural of India and its civilisation. The Section 377 should remain as it is," Jilani said.

What Section 377 states:

"Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine."

Also Read:

SC reopens homosexuality debate, religious bodies unite to oppose LGBT rights



--- ENDS ---

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Pakistan has not even registered an FIR to begin investigations into Pathankot terror attacks.

By India Today Web Desk: In the past one month, Pakistan has repeatedly assured India of a detailed probe over the audacious terror attack on the Pathankot air base. However, the neighbouring nation's seriousness over the issue can be gauged from the fact that the Pakistani agencies are yet to register an FIR to begin investigations into the January 2 terror strike.

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Pakistan raided offices of Jaish-e-Mohammad, which carried out the Pathankot attack, last month and detained some suspects. Even the Prime Minister office confirmed that Pakistan has detained 3 suspects of JeM including its boss Masood Azhar. Pakistan submitted an initial investigation report to Indian authorities on January 12 seeking more details from India to nail down Azhar and JeM.

Islamabad also constituted a joint investigation team comprising of officials of Investigation Bureau, ISI and police to look into the involvement of Pakistan-based terror groups in the attack on Indian Air Force base. The team is still busy in investigating and interrogation of suspects in custody.

Pakistan stands exposed: Pakistan has not even registered an FIR to begin investigations into Pathankot terror attacks. JeM chief Masood Azhar yet to be arrested or detained. Details of 3 men detained and their alleged role not shared with India. India unaware of sections of law applied, if at all, on suspects detained. Pakistan tells India that the probe has reached a dead end with phone numbers found to be fake. Six member Pak probe team makes no headway with phone numbers shared by India. Masood Azhar continues to talk jihad against India. On January 26, Masood Azhar wrote against India in a jihadi magazine published from Peshawar. On January 26, Masood Azhar wrote against India in a jihadi magazine published from Peshawar. Masood Azhar threatens Pakistan government if action taken against JeM. India to share more details with Pakistan and wait for it to create positive environment to take talks forward.

Also read:

The blunders of Pathankot

ISI agent got job inside Pathankot Cantt, caught passing images to handlers



--- ENDS ---
A casual argument between a passenger and the CISF person frisking him led to a bomb scare at the IGI Airport prompting authorities to shift Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to another plane.

An argument between a passenger and the CISF personnel frisking him led to a bomb scare at the IGI Airport. This prompted authorities to shift Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to another flight.

By Mail Today: A casual argument between a passenger and the CISF person frisking him led to a bomb scare at the IGI Airport prompting authorities to shift Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to another plane.

The incident took place on Monday morning when Priyanka was travelling from Delhi to Chennai on a Jet Airways flight 9W-821.

Irritated on being frisked, a leather exporter, who was to board the same flight, casually told the security man that he had a bomb, triggering the scare. He was interrogated for six hours jointly by Intelligence Bureau officials, SPG and Delhi Police. The passenger was accompanied by his friend from China and was later allowed to board the flight.

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According to a senior CISF official, a staff was frisking passengers when the leather businessman got irritated and shouted at personnel saying he was carrying a bomb. "As he was carrying coins, the metal detector beeped and he was asked to take out the coins. Again when metal detector beeped, he was asked to take out a pen. When the CISF official enquired, he said bomb hai (it's a bomb). Immediately, the CISF raised an alarm and other security staff reached the spot," official said.

After that, CISF informed Delhi Police, IB and SPG officials as Priyanka was also travelling on the same flight. "After analysing the situation, the Special Protection Group (SPG) and other security agencies considered that passenger can be a 'possible threat'. He, along with his co-passenger, were taken to the police station. Again, agencies rechecked the aircraft for security reasons and allowed it to fly almost two hours after its scheduled departure time," sources said.

Later, cops, IB officials and other officials interrogated the man. "We jointly interrogated the passenger. Later, he was let off after taking important information like address, etc," DCP IGI, DK Gupta told Mail Today.

According to sources, sensing the sensitivity of the issue, Priyanka was put on another flight.

According to an official, the reason for changing the flight was that the statement of the passenger was analysed as a threat and being a SPG protectee, she was shifted to another flight.

Last week, two flights were delayed after security agencies got threat calls about bombs being placed on Kathmandubound flights.

Already under a heightened alert since the Pathankot terror attack, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGIA) received two calls about bombs being placed on two flights - Jet Airways (9W 260) and Air India (AI 215).

The caller identified himself as Hafiz Azad from Istanbul and said the two bombs were placed inside laptops. But, nothing was found and the flight took off after hours of delay.

Watch video here:

Also read:

Air India, Jet Airways flights from Delhi to Kathmandu delayed after bomb scare

Multiple bomb scares disrupt flights across India. What's happening?



--- ENDS ---

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today urged the global investor community at 'Invest Karnataka 2016' to consider Karnataka as their partner for growth.

By Mail Today: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today urged the global investor community at 'Invest Karnataka 2016' to consider Karnataka as their partner for growth.

Citing the Global Startup Eco-system Ranking Report 2015, Siddaramaiah pointed out that Bengaluru is the only Indian city to be ranked amongst the 20 Startup Eco-systems in the World.



Addressing a galaxy of Indian businessmen and international delegates at the 'Invest Karnataka 2016' meet, Siddarmaiah said, "Karnataka is being put on a high growth trajectory. Our focus is to ensure economic growth for each and every person in the State. Our goal is to make our state highly prosperous. Our government is working towards propelling Karnataka to contribute to India's growth in a significant way."

He claimed that ever since the Congress took over the office, Karnataka has received Foreign Direct Investment worth USD 5.2 Billion. "We rank as the state with the Second highest FDI in India. We have cleared more than 500 projects worth over USD 20 Billion. Our goal is to make Karnataka the growth engine of India," he added.

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The inauguration of the investors' meet saw the participation of Union ministers and business leaders including Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata, Infosys Co-Founder & Chairman N R Naryan Murthy, Walmart India CEO Kris Iyer, and several others.
The body of Divyansh, a Class I student of the posh South Delhi school, was found in a water tank within the school premises on SaturdayA look at Divyansh's school diary has revealed that he kept "running out of the class", but instead of keeping an eye on him, his teachers passed the buck to the parents by repeatedly writing remarks in the school diarySo far, the cops have questioned two school students in connection with Divyansh's death

By Ankur Sharma: Six-year-old Divyansh Kakrora was a bright student who received several 'smileys' from his teachers for his performance in school. But he had the habit of quietly leaving the class which was ignored by the authorities at Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj.

A look at Divyansh's school diary has revealed that he kept "running out of the class", but instead of keeping an eye on him, his teachers passed the buck to the parents by repeatedly writing remarks in the school diary.

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The body of Divyansh, a Class I student of the posh South Delhi school, was found in a water tank within the school premises on Saturday following which the Delhi Police registered a case of negligence.

So far, the cops have questioned two school students in connection with Divyansh's death.

Sources said Wednesday will be a crucial day for investigators as they plan to question teachers, the principal and classmates of Divyansh. Mail Today had earlier reported that some arrests are likely on Wednesday.

"The school diary has revealed that Divyansh had the habit of quietly moving out of the class which was ignored by schools. In his school diary, teachers have mentioned multiple times about this habit and it seems that it had become a routine for them. They only informed the child's parents about this," a senior police officer said.

Apart from teachers in the class, there is reportedly a maid who looks after the kids in the school. "We have the facility of a maid for each KG class, but Class I onwards, one maid is responsible for looking after the kids of two-three classes," a spokesperson from the school told Mail Today.

"Since the inquiry is on, we cannot comment anything on the case. We are supporting the police in carrying out the investigation. We have full sympathy with the parents; we have also lost our child. Once the investigation is over, we will be taking strict action against the one found guilty," the spokesperson said.

Police, who have also analysed Divyansh's notebooks, said he was a bright student as his notebooks revealed he had received several smileys for his work, showing that his teachers were happy with him. "Divyansh used to get smileys for his work from teachers. There is hardly any adverse remark found in his notebook. He was not a bad student and used to study properly," the police officer added.

According to police, Divyansh's diary has revealed other things as well. "In his diary, the school had once communicated to his parents about Divyansh suffering from fever and asking them to avoid sending him to school when he was ill. Other communications mentioned in the diary will also be examined properly," a police officer said.

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Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court sought responses from the AAP government, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and the school authorities on a PIL filed on the matter. "It's a very unfortunate incident. This matter requires consideration," a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said.

MCD school's principal held, gets bail

Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested the principal of a municipal school in southwest Delhi's Kapashera area where a fiveyear-old boy had died after falling into a septic tank. Principal Rekha Kakkar was suspended after the police received the report of a preliminary inquiry by the SDMC and its findings corroborated statements recorded earlier, a senior official said.

The principal of the SDMC school was later released on bail, the official added.

SDMC authorities had ordered a probe into the incident by the civic body's Additional Commissioner (education) Rajesh Pathak. Inquiries by the police and civic officials suggest that though the open septic tank was brought to the notice of school authorities, it was still not covered. A case under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) was registered.

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Watch video here:

Also read:

Delhi HC issues notice to Ryan International School over boy's death

Six-year-old's death: AIIMS team to inspect tank in Ryan school



--- ENDS ---
As Supreme Court reopens the homosexuality debate, Christian, Muslim and Hindu religious bodies say they will oppose decriminalisationChief Justice TS Thakur-led bench agreed to the plea by members of the LGBT community to re-examine its 2013 verdict which criminalised homosexual acts and made it punishable by up to ten years in jailThe Delhi High Court had, on July 3, 2009, legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults by overturning the 149-year-old law finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS

By Harish V Nair: Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community broke into celebration, even kissing and hugging each other outside courtroom no. 1 of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. They had reason to cheer as the Chief Justice TS Thakur-led bench agreed to their plea to re-examine its 2013 verdict which criminalised homosexual acts and made it punishable by up to ten years in jail.

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But Hindu, Christian and Muslim organisations are already in a mood to spoil their party, deciding to oppose any move to legalise homosexual acts.

They are unanimous that Indian society disapproved of homosexuality, no religion can approve it and the Delhi High Court's 2009 decision de-criminalising homosexual acts was based on "international trend and western influence". They vociferously argue that there is a vast cultural difference between Indian and other societies of the world.

"Homosexuality is an abomination as per the Bible. The act of sodomy, as per the Christian philosophy, faith, belief and sentiments of Christian religion as a whole is a most contemptuous sinful act," said Manoj V George, lawyer for Apostolic Churches Alliance, who earlier submitted before the court that the curative petition (the last legal recourse) filed by Naz Foundation Trust and several NGOs representing the LGBT community will be challenged.

George informed the court that even the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB ) will be opposing it. It was confirmed by AIMPLB member Sayyed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, who told Mail Today: "We will oppose the curative petition also. Homosexuality is against all religious faiths. Not just of Muslims. If it is legalised, it will create problems in society."

Joining issue, International Secretary General of VHP Champat Rai said the "practice (homosexual acts) was influenced by western culture and it is against Indian culture. Those who are influenced by the West are discussing this. Let them be..But Bharat will not accept this as it is a country with a glorious past and a thousand-year-old tradition".

VHP says it is a serious question of culture, morality of the society and the court should not interpret the Constitution in such a manner to thrust foreign culture in India where the morality standards are not as high as in India.



Larger Bench

Referring the curative plea to a larger five-judge constitution bench, CJI Thakur said: "We would have a fresh look into the issue. Several constitutional dimensions of importance were ingrained in the challenge against Section 377 that criminalised homosexuality."

At the outset, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, arguing for decriminalising section 377 of IPC, submitted that major constitutional issues are involved in the matter.

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Sibal said the issue concerned the most private and the most precious part of life, that is right to sexuality, which has been held as unconstitutional. "Any provision that penalises an adult persons' expression of consensual sexuality in private domain is significantly unconstitutional, he said. The Delhi High Court had, on July 3, 2009, legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults by overturning the 149-year-old law finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It had said "As it stands, the section denies a gay person a right to full personhood?" The HC had said section 377 will henceforth apply only to non-consensual, penile, non-vaginal sex, and sexual acts by adults with minors.

But a SC bench overturned the HC verdict in December 2013 saying the Delhi High court order decriminalising homosexuality is "legally unsustainable" and only Parliament is empowered to change a law. LGBT and human rights activists sharply criticised the judgment saying it "would turn the clock back by centuries".

The judgment was being viewed in India and globally as a retrograde step. The bench, which ruled that making or changing a law was the sole prerogative of Parliament, questioned why the government had not acted even 13 years after a law commission report sought deletion of the section, for which there were repeated demands. The court said this proved the Centre wanted the section to remain in the statute.

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The SC said even the HC judgment said it will be valid only till Parliament amended the law in tune with the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 172nd report "and removes the confusion".

SC had repeatedly asked the Centre's lawyers why Parliament had not settled the issue and left it to the court.

"Probably there is no sufficient debate in society for the legislature to take up this matter. A section of society does not want this matter discussed at all. They [gays] are parading on streets. A vast section of society are against such exhibition. There has to be a larger debate. The momentum had not reached for Parliament to discuss the issue," the then Attorney General GE Vahanvati had told the SC.

Watch video here:

Also read: #NoMore377: SC order to hear curative plea on gay sex gives hope to LGBT community

--- ENDS ---

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A 21-year-old Tanzanian woman student, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management, was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car in Bengaluru.

By India Today Web Desk: Reacting to the Bengaluru incident in which a Tanzanian woman student was stripped by a violent mob, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that she was deeply pained over the shameful incident.

In a series of tweets, the minister said, "We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested."

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A 21-year-old Tanzanian woman student, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management course, was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car in Bengaluru.

The car, in which the victim was travelling, was stopped by the mob shortly after they reached the accident spot on Sunday night. The innocent student was dragged out of the vehicle, beaten, stripped and paraded naked on the street. The matter didn't end here. Her car was set on fire and her three friends who were inside the car beaten black and blue for no fault of their own.

A friend of the victim, who didn't want to reveal her identity, told India Today Television, "I have been in India for the past 3 years... After whatever happened in the past two days, we live in constant fear because we don't know what will happen next. Who is next? If you can mistake some other person, just because we are Africans and we all look the same then what will happen to me next? We all have that fear and we want the government to do something, may be talk to the locals, direct them that we Africans are not here to cause trouble. Accidents do happen. Your mistake again and that happens to her. Today its her, tomorrow it will be me, tomorrow it can be anyone. Just because we are Africans, it shouldn't really happen to us. We see India as our home, we are in India to learn, to grow..."

A friend of the victim speaks to India Today Television.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Bengaluru Police Commissioner NS Megharikh said, "Bengaluru Police has taken up the case very seriously and they have zero tolerance for such mob mindset and mentality. Today, it has been brought to our notice and whatever statement the victim has given we have taken it as truthful. We will definitely arrest the culprit..."

Speaking on the issue, Mohd Nahbill, spokesperson for African students, said, "...the problem here is that people can't differentiate. As son as they see an African or see black person, they think you belong to the same country. But I still believe in the law and regulations of this country. I question to Bengaluru Police why did they refuse the take the complaint of the girl when she was attacked?"

Official sources in New Delhi said the High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry about the reported attack, requesting it to take necessary legal action against the guilty. The Joint Secretary told the Tanzanian High Commissioner said that the Ministry is in regular touch with the authorities in Bangaluru and that the state authorities have said they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

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The Karnataka police arrested a New Delhi-based techie, who had allegedly raped his colleague, at a resort near the historic Hampi ruins in Bengaluru last year. The accused Rajakumara Sanvi, who hailed from Rajasthan, worked in a tech firm in New Delhi from where he was nabbed.

By Mail Today: The Karnataka police arrested a New Delhi-based techie, who had allegedly raped his colleague, at a resort near the historic Hampi ruins in Bengaluru last year. The accused Rajakumara Sanvi, who hailed from Rajasthan, worked in a tech firm in New Delhi from where he was nabbed.

According to the police, Sanvi and his colleague Rohit Mangalikar (from Uttar Pradesh) had allegedly raped their colleague (from Kolkata) during a trip to Hampi in August 2015 after spiking her drink. Back then, all the three worked for the same IT firm in Hyderabad. The girl had lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad police, who transferred the case to Karnataka police because the crime had taken place in their jurisdiction.

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However, both Sanvi and Rohit quit their jobs and relocated to other cities. While Rohit found a job in Bengaluru, Sanvi moved to New Delhi. The police, who tracked the accused based on the information provided by their colleagues, nabbed Rohit in January from Bengaluru. But they were unable to trace Sanvi, who had changed his mobile phone number and address. Eventually, the police managed to find Sanvi.

Now, both Sanvi and Rohith are behind the bars in Koppala district, Karnataka.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) today voiced concern at a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation.

By Reuters: The World Health Organization (WHO) today voiced concern over a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.

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"We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters.

"This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," he said, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal and is suspected of infecting his wife.

The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly.

The WHO global response team will discuss the sexual transmission report among other issues at its daily meeting later on Wednesday, Hartl said.

"There are many things we don't know about Zika," he said. "Lots of surveillance is needed...We have our team set up and are sure there will be lots of progress quickly."

For now the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitoes and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Hartl said.

Also Read:

Zika virus: India gets into action to deal with emergency crisis



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Deepika has been in the limelight because of her upcoming Hollywood film xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Now, Ranveer Singh has opened up about her new achievement.

By India Today Web Desk: Deepika Padukone has been making news ever since she posted a picture of her with Hollywood star Vin Diesel on her Facebook page. Later, it was revealed that the Bajirao Mastani actor has bagged a role in the most-anticipated next outing of the XXX franchise.



ALSO READ: Who do you think Deepika Padukone wants to do a biopic on?

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ALSO READ: Yet another video of Deepika Padukone traning for XXX will give you fitness goals



Now, her boyfriend Ranveer Singh has opened up about Deepika's Hollywood debut. In an event at Delhi, Ranveer said,"Deepika we are really proud of you. Since you are leaving tonight (Tuesday) to go and shoot your action Hollywood blockbuster, we all wish you all the best. May you conquer this new frontier and make us proud as you always had."

According to a source, Deepika has left for Canada to start filming for XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. But the exact location of the shooting is not revealed yet.

Lately, Deepika has been working out a lot on her fitness level for the upcoming film. She has shared many photos and videos of her work out sessions on social media.

On the other hand, Vin Diesel has also posted several photographs from the shooting location of the upcoming action film through his official Facebook page.

One of the images features the actor on a motorbike with a girl in a bikini in front of a green screen.

Diesel is back as Cage who returns to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence in the movie, which also stars Nina Dobrev, Samuel L Jackson, Ruby Rose, Jet Li and Tony Jaa A.

In 2015, Deepika struck gold with all her films -Piku, Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani. And as cherry on the top, she signed up for the Hollywood project. The excited actor earlier told IANS,"I'm very excited and at the same time nervous about the film".

XXX: The Return of Xander Cage is expected to release in 2017.

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The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday issued detailed guidelines for combating Zika virus and urged people not to panic, even as The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already declared an emergency over the spread of the mosquito -borne virus.

By Neetu Chandra Sharma: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday issued detailed guidelines for combating Zika virus and urged people not to panic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already declared an emergency over the spread of the mosquito -borne virus and has expressed special concerns for pregnant women. On similar lines, the health ministry has also issued an advisory to pregnant women.

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"Pregnant women should defer/cancel their travel to the affected areas. All travellers to the affected countries/areas should strictly follow individual protective measures, especially during day time, to prevent mosquito bites," the government guidelines said. "Persons with co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, etc. should seek advice from the nearest health facility prior to travel to an affected country. Travellers having febrile illness within two weeks of return from an affected country should report to the nearest health facility," the guidelines added.

The ministry said all international airports and ports will display signage with information on the disease. Travellers will be asked to report to customs if they are returning from affected countries and suffering from febrile illness. "I have instructed all concerned officials to take steps for preventing entry and transmission of the virus in India. Key elements of strategy on the Zika Virus are vector control, community participation and effective surveillance. Sufficient diagnostic capacity and risk communication are also key," Union Health Minister JP Nadda said in series of tweets. "My ministry is fully geared to deal with Zika virus. No case reported in India. No need to panic," he added.

The health ministry said the overall situation would be monitored by a joint monitoring group under the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) while the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) would identify research priorities and take appropriate action. Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) shall be activated at central and state surveillance units with each team comprising an epidemiologist or public health specialist, a microbiologist and a medical specialist, the ministry added.

The National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi would be the nodal agency for investigation in case of any outbreak in India, it said. Airports or ports would have quarantine or isolation facilities while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will be asked to instruct all international airlines to follow the recommended aircraft disinfection guidelines, the ministry added.

According to the health ministry, the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), through its community and hospital-based data gathering mechanism, would track clustering of acute febrile illnesses and seek primary information from those who travelled to affected areas.

IDSP would also advise its state and district-level units to look for clustering of cases of microcephaly among newborns and reporting of Gullian Barre Syndrome. "States and UTs would create increased awareness... about Zika virus and its possible link with adverse pregnancy outcomes (foetal loss, microcephaly, etc), the advisory said.

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Watch video here:

Also read:

Zika virus spread has Rio Olympics organisers worried

More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women infected with Zika virus

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By Priya Pathak: Microsoft has purchased the SwiftKey, a popular keyboard app, $250 million. The deal, reported by the Financial Times and later confirmed by Microsoft, is seen as one of Microsoft's aggressive steps to bolster its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

As per a report by Financial Times, Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, the founders of the SwiftKey will each gain a profit of $30m from this buyout. The SwiftKey team is based in the UK.

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"We love SwiftKey's technology and we love the team that Jon and Ben have formed," Harry Shum, head of Microsoft Research, told The Verge, confirming the deal. "We believe that together we can achieve orders of magnitude greater scale than either of us could have achieved independently."

"There's a war for talent in artificial intelligence - and companies like Google and Microsoft recognise the best talent is in the UK," said a person close to the deal.

Founded in 2008, SwiftKey is a widely used keyboard. It is pre-installed on nearly 100 million phones. One of the finest examples of AI, it predicts the next word user intends to write. It is like the auto-fill feature but based on prediction and context and not entirely on the usage history. Although the keyboard also analyses the messages and text written by the user in past to make its predictions more accurate.



Before 2014, the app was only available to users willing to pay for it. It was also, by far, the best keyboard app at a time when Google's inbuilt keyboard app in Android phone was vastly inferior to what Apple provided in the iOS. That fuelled SwiftKey's popularity. After 2014, the app became free. When Apple opened up the iOS and allowed third-party keyboard apps, SwiftKey also became available on the iOS.

Also read: Microsoft kills Windows 8, just three years after launch



However, after 2013 Google stepped up its efforts to improve the Android keyboard and managed to improve it to an extent where its performance and prediction became almost as good as what SwiftKey offered. That also diminished SwiftKey's appeal in the last one year.

The race to master the AI has become intense these days. Big Silicon Valley companies are aggressively buying new and innovative AI startups to build their own technology. They are also investing in predictive virtual assistants like Siri, Google Now and Cortana. While Microsoft has bought SwiftKey, Google bought DeepMind, a London-based AI startup in a deal worth $500 million in 2014. Apple earlier bought purchasing Parceptio, a startup developing AI for Android phones.



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Investigative reporting from the inner city to Wall Street to the United Nations This is the blogspot version InnerCityPress.com
Insurance Back EIOPA consults on the development of an EU Single Market for personal pension products

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a Consultation Paper on its advice related to the development of an EU Single Market for personal pension products (PPPs).



This public consultation will give input, in the broader context of the Call for Advice from the Commission, how PPPs and a possible European Union-wide framework can be further developed.



The consultation paper contains EIOPA's final advice on the attractiveness and feasibility of a 2nd regime Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP). This advice takes account of the stakeholders' feedback received through the public consultation conducted in summer 2015.



EIOPA confirms its position on the potential and the design of a PEPP, setting out standardized features the product should have, such as information disclosures taking PRIIPs as a base line, or limits on the number of investment choices faced by the customer; and flexible features, such as on the decumulation options available at retirement and guarantees to be offered.



EIOPA also invites stakeholders and interested parties to provide feedback particularly on the following proposed areas:

Governance standards for providers of PPPs

Harmonized basis for product governance rules for PPPs

Harmonized basis for distribution rules for PPPs

Harmonized disclosure rules for PPPs

Possible specific additional capital requirement for PPPs

Further powers for national supervisors that are tailored to PPPs

The main objective of EIOPA's advice is to further build on a regulatory environment for PPPs to contribute to the provision of adequate future retirement income. This is also considered to be one of the priority measures for the Capital Markets Union Action Plan, as recently confirmed by the European Commission.



The consultation period will end on 26 April 2016. Please note that comments submitted after the deadline or not submitted in the provided template cannot be processed.



The consultation paper and the template for comments can be viewed here





Author: Mihai CRACEA on 03.02.2016





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Ukraine gets grant from Britain to create concept for social support of miners at liquidated mines

The government of Britain has provided Ukraine with a grant for the work of the project office to create a concept for the social support of coal industry workers and the public living in the territories, on which coal enterprises being under liquidation (mothballing) are located.

According to a report on the results of work of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine under the program, posted on the governmental portal, it is planned to liquidate the following unprofitable mines: Rodynska (production in 2015 was 16,000 tonnes, part of Krasnoarmiyskvuhillia), Zarichna (60 tonnes, Lvivvuhillia), Novovolynska No. 9 (92,600 tonnes, Volynvuhillia), and Pivnichna (54,700 tonnes, Dzerzhynskvuhillia).

At the same time, the liquidation of Pivdenna mine (40 tonnes, Dzerzhynskvuhillia) has been agreed with the trade unions and other regional and central authorities, and the liquidation of Novovolynska mine No. 5 and Korotchenko mine is to start in February 2016.

In general, one mine was passed for liquidation and four mines were liquidated in 2015.
It is unacceptable for Ukraine to yield any of its territory, including part of Donbas, says Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

"Some political leaders have just said that we should build a new wall, to isolate part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are part of Ukraine's sovereign territory, and yield our land to the enemy. To me, the idea of squandering Ukrainian lands is unacceptable," Poroshenko said, in introducing a new head of the Kyiv regional administration on Wednesday.

"On the contrary, we should unite and fight for Ukraine's return to Donbas," he added.
The Internet Writing Workshop has monitored critique groups for fiction, nonfiction, novels, romance, short prose, poetry, scriptwriting, and practice writing. Each have participation requirements. The IWW also has groups discussing the art and craft of writing in general, creative nonfiction, speculative fiction, and marketing. The IWW is a cooperative. Membership is free.

The Disclaimer ...
If you visit here, you may be aware that I'm signed up with Replika . "Replika is a personal chatbot that you raise through text ...
"Sh!t ton is my favourite unit of measurement."

Bill Murray Parody Twitter Account

Pallas cat looking angry, by Tambako the Jaguar



<Merpel, were she an economist, would swoon at this point.>

IP God?

British Museum Egypt

by Einsamer Schutzer

You can't touch IP, most litigation devotes significant energy to even defining a right, and, by definition, any particular right is unique. So, how do you measure IP? Data on IP is scarce; inaccessible registries, unregistered rights and privately held information don't help. Yet, recent trends in IP data suggest progress is being made. In particular, trends in national offices are promising.Economics is data-obssessed. Ive discussed before economists predilection for all things quantitative (numbers), but its worth emphasising why  objectivity. Anecdotes and observations are susceptible to the subjective views of the observer. Shark attacks are a good example as our fear, horror stories and media coverage can lead us to vastly overestimate the actual risk. Quantitative data provides an objective information on shark attacks to balance our subjective view. However, the objectivity of quantitative data is only relative and data collection involves oft-forgotten subjectivity (even deciding what to measure is subjective.) Nonetheless, I've never met a standard deviation that didn't do it for me.The relative dearth of data in IP impacts both policy and business. The lack of good data means that policy may be based on subjective views not in line with empirical evidence. Poor data on the value of IP, litigation risk and the importance of IP protection may mean that firms IP strategies are not optimised. For example, the fear of patent litigation, even if such fear is unwarranted, increases demand for litigation insurance, and consequently increases insurance premiums. Good data benefits everyone.The trendy word in datasets these days is, granular. Granular, however, does not mean organic grains stuck between teeth, but the size in which data fields are subdivided. In short, it means detailed. The kinds of datasets becoming available now are at an unprecedented level of detail.Creating a database is challenging work. In some cases, historical data, key to understanding trends, may be stored on legacy systems or in hard copy only. Records may be poorly maintained due to error or even deliberately (managing data costs money) and ownership of data may be unclear. Data must be cleaned, which is not some organised crime euphemism, but quality control. Missing data, or an errant line of code, can mess up a database. And once youve done all the work of extracting the right data, you may have to go through the same exercise next year.Thankfully, IP offices are making data more accessible. While the increasing availability of IP registries for search purposes is encouraging, one-off cases provide little insight. Comprehensive research requires complete databases rather than registry searches. It is these complete databases where we are seeing great improvements.I could write multiple posts on patent data, but suffice to say that it is much more widely available, from both offices and commercial databases, than other rights. The USPTO has recently published some more data on application data, which the Written Description blog has covered . IP Australias forthcoming 2016 version of their IP Government Open Data (IPGOD) has broader coverage than previous releases and includes attorney information, abstracts, transactions and process milestones.The USPTO has led the trend in publishing trade mark data . They've created good, easily accessible databases (accessibility here meaning comprehensive, high-quality, historical data in a format that can be easily ported into a variety of software.) Hot on the heels of the USPTO are the UK IPO and IP Australia. IP Australia has particularly exciting plans, according to Chief Economist, Ben Mitra-Kahn, We are working with WIPO, USPTO, UK IPO, IPONZ and OHIM to create a global TM database with the Universities of Swinburne and Melbourne which will also be a first. Next steps are tools to work and look into the data. A lot of cool stuff. OHIM has plans to make its data more accessible and WIPO , in some cases, is restricted from sharing its data as it is often-third party. If readers could alert me to other offices making more data available, please do. Most offices seem to be sticking to online searchable, but not downloadable, records systems and statistics releases (e.g. analysis of IP trends, often in published in pdf.)Alas, poor design rights. They are the lesser loved of the registered IP rights, so feel some pity. Like trade marks, theyre heavily dependent on images, which makes large scale analysis challenging. However, improved image analysis techniques suggest we may get a lot more out of image data than we do at present. Unofficially, I hear offices are planning to publish more design data.The unregistered nature of copyright suggests we wont be seeing much by way of copyright data boons from IP offices. However, the digital era creates opportunities for copyright-related data. For example, Google makes its copyright removal requests available for download . Digital copyright exchange-type initiatives and Orphan Works schemes are also ripe for creating valuable data.I have very high hopes for the future of IP data. Increased digitisation means that more data is available in formats that can be relatively easily mined. So, keeping in mind you are what you measure, Merpel would like you to know her vital stats: Hairball average: 1.1 per month, Grooming sessions: 3 per day (summer) 5 per day (winter), CIQ (Cat I.Q.): 17/20 (but she was distracted by a mouse when taking the test.)And remember, "Measurement is like laundry. It piles up the longer you wait to do it. - Amber Naslund
The NCRIs communications regarding this situation have also accused President Hassan Rouhani of being a party to it, in contrast to some Western analysts expectations that Rouhani would help to bring reformists to the forefront of Iranian politics, thereby heralding prospects for change. The NCRIs criticisms were arguably underscored on Tuesday when Reuters reported that the Iranian president had spoken optimistically about the process, saying, There should be no doubts in anyones mind about these elections, and we must all work actively towards that.

These remarks appear to be encouraging the Iranian people to participate in the elections, even though their views may not be represented. This in turn could have the effect of helping the regime to portray those elections as a democratic outlet for the voice of the people, despite the relative absence of free choice.

As those elections approach, a number of critics of the Iranian regime are coming forward to publicly dismiss lingering expectations that a trend toward moderation or reform might emerge in the wake of the nuclear agreement and the ostensibly discord between factions affiliated with Rouhani and with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

This sentiment was expressed for instance, by an editorial that appeared at Ground Report on Tuesday and insisted that reform has proven impossible in Iran, largely because any disagreements between figures like Rouhani and Khamenei are only over the tactics for how to achieve the same revolutionary aims of the Islamic Republic.

This dismissal of the portrait of Rouhani as a relative moderate is supported with reference to his domestic record during his two and a half years as president. Critics are keen to point out that that record includes a significant increase in the number of executions, totaling to nearly 2,300 since he took office in the summer of 2013. The same critics have tended to highlight a conservative crackdown that became particularly apparent in November when several journalists with innocuous connections to the West were arrested or summoned for questioning.

In addition to journalists, the regime has been aggressively targeting artists, filmmakers and poets. Two prominent poets who had been sentenced to multiple-year prison terms and 99 lashes each, famously fled the country last month. But others remain under duress, either in prison or under threat of imprisonment for vague political charges related to supposedly un-Islamic cultural expressions.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency points out, for instance, that the poet Mohammad Mahdavifar was recently sentenced to a year and a half in prison for the crime of spreading false news.

In the aftermath of the July 14 nuclear agreement, Supreme Leader Khamenei warned his subordinates against economic, political, and cultural infiltration by the West. Crackdowns on both Iranian cultural expressions and political participation may be reactions to this.
The congressional legislation was aimed at pressuring the administration to move on those sanctions by making it illegal to implement the nuclear-related sanctions unless all affected companies could be certified as being unconnected to the Iranian ballistic missile program. But that measure was made unnecessary when the administration imposed the new sanctions mere hours after concluding a prisoner exchange with Iran.

Nevertheless, a re-do of the original vote went forward on Tuesday in order to allow for participation by 137 legislators who missed their opportunity to vote for it the first time around. While this may strike some observers as a pointless exercise, it illustrates how important symbolic gestures are and have been in the past with respect to the discord between the Congress and the president over issues of Iran policies.

Iran News Update has pointed out in the past that Congress was considering a number of steps to block or undermine the Iran nuclear deal, even up until it was just days away from full implementation. Many of these efforts were longshots, if not certain failures, but they were apparently considered important as a means of demonstrating to both the American people and the Iranian regime that there is strong opposition to a policy of reconciliation with the Islamic Republic.

In instances like the re-vote on the ballistic missile sanctions bill, Congress serves not only to illustrate the strength of that oppositional sentiment, but also the fact that it is bipartisan. While the Republican Party has been unified in opposition of the presidents Iran policy since early in the nuclear negotiating process, the delay in ballistic missile sanctions brought serious criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Some congressional leaders feel that at least some measure of bipartisan unity will be important to counteracting perceived missteps by the Obama administration, especially after the current president is replaced by whomever is elected in the coming year. This sentiment was expressed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker in an interview with Voice of America News on Tuesday. Corker pointed out that there are concerns on both sides of the aisle and that this will help Congress in doing everything it can do to hold Irans feet to the fire.

Corker stopped short of endorsing a plan to rip up the nuclear deal under a new presidential administration. Instead, he urged the formation of partnerships to move ahead based on where we are at the time. But opponents of the Obama administrations strategies do not seem to foresee a time in which reconciliation will be a realistic option. This perspective has been reinforced over the past few months by a major increase in anti-Western rhetoric coming out of Tehran.

Townhall reports that the head of the IRGC Navy claims that his forces held onto additional images of those sailors, as well as information gathered from personal communication devices that were in their position during their one-day detention. Irans state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency has now warned that the IRGC would release that information and those images as an act of revenge if the US ever sought to embarrass the Islamic Republic.

The persistence of this sort of anti-Western rhetoric raises more substantive concerns among US congressmen and other critics of rapprochement. That is, it reinforces the notion that Irans behavior is not changing, and thus that the money they receive under the nuclear deal may go in large part to the financing of terrorist groups and activities.

This frequently-repeated criticism was reiterated once again in an editorial that appeared at US News and World on Tuesday. The article pointed out that even staunch defenders of the nuclear deal, such as US Secretary of State John Kerry, have recently been forced to acknowledge that at least some portion of those funds is likely is end up in the hands of terrorist proxies.
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[February 02, 2016] PhishLabs Launches the First End-to-End Spear Phishing Solution Driven by Real-World Attack Intelligence

PhishLabs, the leading provider of 24/7 phishing defense and intelligence solutions, today announced general availability of T2 Spear Phishing Protection, the first solution in the industry using intelligence from real-world phishing attacks to train employees, analyze attacks, fight back against threats, and prevent data breaches. The company will spotlight T2 Spear Phishing Protection at RSA Conference 2016, one of the cybersecurity industry's marquee events, Feb. 29 - March 4, at the Moscone Center's North Hall (Booth 3485) in San Francisco. "We investigate and fight back against more than 6,000 phishing attacks every month, giving us deep insight into the tradecraft and infrastructure used by threat actors to compromise organizations," said PhishLabs Founder and CEO John LaCour. "With this intelligence, we're able to prepare organizations for the real-world attacks they are most likely to face, and mitigate those threats before their business is impacted." T2 Spear Phishing Protection is an end-to-end solution consisting of three services: T2 Employee Defense Training: Conditions employees to recognize and report phishing threats, turning them into a powerful security asset.

Conditions employees to recognize and report phishing threats, turning them into a powerful security asset. T2 Analysis and Mitigation: Analyzes and disrupts spear phishing attacks before targt systems and data are compromised.

Analyzes and disrupts spear phishing attacks before targt systems and data are compromised. T2 Threat Intelligence: Improves security controls and analytics platforms with intelligence from real-world spear phishing attacks.



"What PhishLabs is doing to solve the phishing problem - combining awareness training, 24/7 threat analysis, and threat intelligence - is brilliant and can serve as a powerful security asset," said Richard Stiennon, Chief Industry Analyst at IT-Harvest.

By delivering these three capabilities in an integrated solution that is driven by PhishLabs' unique intelligence, T2 Spear Phishing Protection goes well beyond phishing simulation and awareness training products to reduce the risk posed by phishing attacks. The services are supported by experts that fight back against phishing every day. These experts partner with our clients and serve as extensions of their security teams to transform how they prevent, detect and respond to targeted phishing attacks. T2 Employee Defense Training is a fully managed phishing simulation and training service delivered by PhishLabs experts. The service uses real-world phishing content to condition employees for attacks that pose the greatest risk to the organization. Employees are trained and enabled to report phishing attacks immediately via an easy-to-use email plug-in, providing visibility into active attacks targeting employees. T2 Analysis and Mitigation delivers expert analysis and response to reported attacks. PhishLabs is home to the industry's only 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) that specializes in analyzing and mitigating spear phishing attacks. When a threat is identified, the SOC performs deep attack analysis to extract threat indicators and establish threat context; PhishLabs experts then take rapid action to mitigate the threat. T2 Threat Intelligence is an automated, machine-readable feed of threat information gathered from across PhishLabs' client base and research operations. It includes threat indicators from spear phishing attacks and advanced tradecraft analyzed by PhishLabs experts. Organizations can use this STIX-compliant intelligence to enrich their security infrastructure, proactively block attacks, and improve their resiliency against advanced threats. About PhishLabs Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, PhishLabs provides 24/7 cybersecurity and threat intelligence services that help organizations fight back against attacks targeting their employees and customers. PhishLabs is trusted by four of the top five U.S. financial institutions, seven of the top 25 global financial institutions, leading social media and career sites, and top healthcare, retail, insurance and technology companies. In addition to mitigating more than 6,000 phishing attacks per month, PhishLabs clients benefit from real-world actionable intelligence, analysis, and guidance from the PhishLabs R.A.I.D. research division, which is comprised of some of the world's most respected malware researchers, reverse engineers, and threat analysts focused on monitoring global attack trends, dissecting cyber tradecraft, and tracking cybercrime. For more information visit https://www.phishlabs.com and follow @phishlabs. PhishLabs and T2 are registered trademarks or trademarks of E-Crime Management Strategies, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160202006518/en/

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[February 02, 2016] Fitch Affirms University of Massachusetts Short-Term Rating at 'F1+'

Fitch Ratings has affirmed its 'F1+' rating on the following debt issued by the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (MHEFA) on behalf of University of Massachusetts (UMass, or the university). --$20 million variable-rate demand bonds, series A (UMass issue). SECURITY UMass revenue bonds are essentially secured by gross unrestricted revenue of the university and other legally available funds. KEY RATING DRIVERS RESOURCE SUFFICIENCY: The 'F1+' rating is based on UMass' ability to cover the maximum potential liquidity demands presented by its variable rate debt program by at least 1.25 times (x) from internal resources. Such resources include cash and highly liquid, highly rated investments. UMASS' CREDIT STRENGTH: The university maintains stable operations from diverse revenue sources and modest but adequate balance sheet resources relative to debt. The debt burden remains high at 8.3% but manageable supported by adequate 1.3x coverage. Fitch rates UMass' general revenue pledge bonds 'AA', with a Stable Outlook. STEADY FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: The university generated break-even operating margins the last two fiscal years including fiscal 2015. Growth in student-generated revenues and improved operating support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Commonwealth) combined with proactive expense management efforts are expected to provide similar operating performance in fiscal 2016. RATING SENSITIVITIES FINANCIAL DETERIORATION: Erosion to University of Massachusetts' internal resource base or to its general credit profile to the point where the university could no longer sufficiently cover its variable-rate obligations, while unlikely, would put downward pressure on the rating. CREDIT PROFILE The university was established in 1863 and encompasses five separate campuses at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester. The five campuses are geographically dispersed throughout the commonwealth and possess unique and complementary missions. In fall 2015, the university combined enrolled 63,350 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. In addition, UMass has system-wide online education, which in fiscal 2015 offered approximately 1,500 online and blended courses. UMass' financial profile is characterized by diverse revenues and a trend of historically positive but more recently break-even operations over the last two fiscal years; thin but adequate balance sheet resources; and a moderately high but manageable debt burden. Pro forma maximum annual debt service (MADS) consumes 8.3% of fiscal 2015 operating revenues, excluding any federal subsidy. Pro forma MADS coverage is 1.3x, in line with previous years. UMass' capital plans are viewed as aggressive, but increased capital support from the commonwealth over the last several years, with the exception of fiscal 2015, is viewed favorably by Fitch, recognizing that the level of support may fluctuate as projects near completion. Importantly, UMass' capital improvement plan is flexible; future debt can be deayed.



LIQUID RESOURCES SUPPORT SHORT-TERM DEBT UMass is required to maintain internal liquidity to support a potential failed remarketing of outstanding variable rate demand bonds (VRDB). As of Dec. 31, 2015, the university's total self-supported obligations include $20 million of VRDBs. Fitch excludes $200 million (maximum authorization) University of Massachusetts Building Authority (UMBA) tax-exempt and taxable commercial paper (CP) bank notes and $97.3 million series 2011-2 Window Bonds (guaranteed by Commonwealth) in its calculation, since neither is supported by self-liquidity.

As of Nov. 30, 2015, UMass identified approximately $747.6 million of liquid resources available to support the $20 million of series A VRDBs, including money market mutual funds with a combined capacity of $256 million. Total resources decline to approximately $565.7 million after adjusting for quality and duration per Fitch's criteria (adjusted resources), but still provides strong coverage of all self-supported variable rate debt obligations, well in excess of the 1.25x criteria requirement. For additional information, see 'Fitch Rates University of Massachusetts Sr. Series Revs 2015-1 & Sr. Series 2015-2 Rfdg Revs 'AA'; Outlook Stable' dated Feb. 11, 2015. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria

Rating U.S. Public Finance Short-Term Debt (pub. 17 Nov 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=873508

Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=998901

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=998901

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160202006651/en/

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[February 02, 2016] Fitch Affirms TE Connectivity Following Announcement of Creganna Acquisition; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings affirms the ratings for TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL; TE Connectivity) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tyco Electronics (News - Alert) Group S.A. (TEGSA) following the company's announcement that it has agreed to acquire Creganna Medical group (Creganna) for a total value of $895 million (14.9x 2015 EBITDA). The Rating Outlook is Stable. The ratings affect $3.7 billion of total existing funded debt, prior to consideration of incremental debt that the company plans to use to fund part of the acquisition. A complete list of rating actions follows at the end of this release. KEY RATING DRIVERS The rating affirmation and Outlook reflect Fitch's view that the acquisition rationale is consistent with the company's strategy of increasing focus on harsh environment solutions, building on its medical device capabilities following the acquisition of AdvancedCath in 2015. Fitch estimates pro forma leverage (total debt/operating EBITDA) as of Dec. 25, 2015 of about 1.5x, which is consistent with Fitch's expectation that TE Connectivity (News - Alert) will manage debt below 2.0x. TE Connectivity's revenue diversification will improve slightly following the acquisition. Fitch estimates that the Industrial Solutions segment will increase from about 26% to 27% of total revenue and the automotive business will decrease to about 38% from 39%. Notwithstanding the high exposure to the automotive market, Fitch believes several secular demand drivers (new emissions standards, increased safety requirements, hybrid and electric cars) position the company to outperform automotive vehicle production growth over the medium to long term, despite the potential for cyclical downturns temporarily impacting revenue and margins. The acquisition supports Fitch's expectation for mid-cycle net sales growth in the mid-single digits, based on Creganna's high single digit revenue growth. Fitch believes secular demand drivers for harsh environment electronic content and sensors and the prospect of integrated product offerings containing both connectors and sensors increases confidence that TE Connectivity can sustain this level of growth. Creganna's 24% EBITDA margin should be accretive to TE Connectivity's margin of about 22% (Fitch adjusted). Fitch expects mid-cycle operating margins to continue to trend toward the upper teens based on continued restructuring initiatives and operating leverage. Operating margins in fiscal 2015 increased 80 basis points (bps) to 16.3%, due mainly to efficiency programs and an increasing mix of harsh environment revenue, which increased from 70% to 80% following the sale of Broadband Network Solutions (BNS) and a few harsh environment acquisitions in fiscal 2015. Fitch believes TE Connectivity's comparatively large R&D budget and embedded relationships with global OEM leaders across a variety of industries enables the company to remain ahead of the technology curve. As the largest connector company in North America and Europe, and one of the largest in China, TE Connectivity has significantly more capital for research, development and engineering compared with the thousands of local and regional connector companies that comprise about 40% of industry revenue. Further, technology innovations by competitors may only be relevant for a select number of products, or a single generation of products, resulting in only a temporary and potentially immaterial loss of business. While TE Connectivity is a clear leader in the connector industry and is gaining scale in sensors, Fitch notes some risk associated with the increased scope beyond connectors and sensors of recent acquisitions. Fitch anticipates TE Connectivity will operate Creganna largely as a standalone business, which should reduce risks around potentially expanded regulatory requirements and investment profiles. Fitch believes the company's liquidity will remain solid after funding the transaction based on a pre-transaction cash balance of $2.2 billion as of Dec. 25, 2015, undrawn $1.5 billion revolver which fully supports the company's $1.25 billion commercial paper (CP) program and Fitch's expectation for annual free cash flow approaching $1 billion (within the context of mid-single digit revenue growth). Fitch believes TE Connectivity's countercyclical working capital needs also support cash generation of about $1 billion during a downturn supported by inventory and accounts receivable liquidation; in 2009, inventory and accounts receivable reductions contributed about $1.3 billion to cash from operations. Cash pension obligations are minimal over the next few years, and the company expects to settle its obligations related to its tax sharing agreement with Tyco International and Covidien for about $147 million-$163 million in fiscal 2016. Fitch expects TE Connectivity's financial policies will remain largely unchanged. he company targets returning two thirds of free cash flow (FCF) to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. The company has publicly stated that it will complete its $3 billion of share buybacks from the BNS sale proceeds in fiscal 2016.



While the Creganna acquisition does not meaningfully change the company's leverage profile, future acquisitions that increase leverage above 2.0x on a non-temporary basis would likely result in a negative rating action. Fitch does not expect this would occur under the company's existing capital allocation policy. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and will be funded with a combination of balance sheet cash and debt. Creganna reported sales of approximately $250 million in 2015 and is a portfolio company of Permira Funds. Fitch last affirmed TE Connectivity's ratings on Jan. 26, 2016, and also assigned an 'A-' rating to the company's $350 million 10-year unsecured notes at that time.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch's key assumptions within our rating case for the issuer include: --Low- to mid-single-digit organic revenue growth in fiscal 2016, mid-single digits thereafter; --60 bps of operating margin expansion per 5% organic revenue growth; operating margin approaches 18%; --One third of FCF spent on acquisitions beginning 2017; --Aggregate dividend growth of 10% per year beginning fiscal 2017; --Total share repurchases of $2.7 billion in fiscal 2016 (representing the remainder of the BNS sale proceeds following fiscal Q4 buybacks); beginning in 2017, remaining FCF after M&A and dividends used for repurchases; --Capex of 5% of total revenue; --One time cash outflow of $155 million in 2016 for settlement related to tax sharing agreement. RATING SENSITIVITIES Fitch believes further positive rating action is unlikely in the absence of a commitment to more conservative financial policies, including leverage closer to 1.0x, which Fitch does not expect serves TE Connectivity's flexibility. Fitch believes the company will want to maintain the financial flexibility to pursue consolidation opportunities in the fragmented sensor and industrial markets. Conversely, negative rating actions could occur if Fitch expects: --Operating profit margins will remain below the 10%-15% range beyond the short term, driven by TE Connectivity's inability to offset pricing pressures or commodity price volatility with new product introductions and productivity gains; --Total leverage sustaining above 2.0x, potentially due to more aggressive shareholder returns or leveraged acquisitions; or --Fitch's expectations for annual FCF sustaining below $750 million. LIQUIDITY Liquidity as of Dec. 25, 2015 was solid with a cash balance of $2.2 billion and an undrawn $1.5 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility, which fully supports the company's $1.25 billion commercial paper (CP) program. Fitch's expectation for annual FCF approaching $1 billion also supports liquidity. The ratings and Outlook accommodate cash for pension contributions and assume a one-time cash settlement payment of $155 million in 2016 related to the company's obligations under its tax sharing agreement with Tyco International and Covidien. Total unadjusted funded debt as of Dec. 25, 2015, pro forma for the $350 million unsecured notes and repayment of the $500 million floating rate notes due Jan. 29, 2016, and prior to consideration of incremental debt that the company plans to use to fund part of the acquisition, was approximately $3.7 billion and primarily consisted of: --$1,250 million CP program ($0 outstanding); --$1,500 million unsecured senior revolving credit facility due Dec. 9, 2020 (undrawn); --$708 million of 6.55% senior unsecured notes due Oct. 1, 2017; --$325 million of 2.375% senior unsecured notes due Dec. 17, 2018; --$250 million of 2.35% senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2019; --$250 million of 4.875% senior unsecured notes due Jan. 15, 2021; --$500 million of 3.5% senior unsecured notes due Feb. 3, 2022; --$600 million (EUR550 million) of 1.1% senior unsecured notes due March 1, 2023; --$250 million of 3.45% senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2024; --$350 million of 3.7% senior unsecured notes due Feb. 5, 2026; --$477 million of 7.125% senior unsecured notes due Oct. 1, 2037. FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS Fitch has affirmed the ratings for TE Connectivity and TEGSA as follows: TE Connectivity: --Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A-'; --Short-term IDR at 'F2'. Tyco Electronics Group S.A. --Long-term IDR at 'A-' --Short-term IDR at 'F2'; --CP program at 'F2'; --Senior unsecured credit facility at 'A-'; --Senior unsecured notes at 'A-'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: Feb. 02, 2016. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage (pub. 17 Aug 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=869362 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=998907 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=998907 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160202006699/en/

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[February 03, 2016] Radiflow Introduces IDPS (Intrusion Detection & Prevention Solution) for Cyber-Securing Critical Utilities

TEL AVIV, Israel, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiflow, a pioneer developer of ICS/SCADA network security, today issued an analysis of the December 2015 cyber-attack on a Ukrainian power provider. According to multiple accounts, multiple western-Ukrainian power utilities were attacked, disconnecting thirty substations, and leaving 80,000 customers without power for hours. Using compromised HMI software and remote access software, the attackers targeted specific servers on the utilities' operational networks and deleted their attack paths-which delayed the response to the attack. Draft guidelines for preventing attacks of this type against critical infrastructures were already issued prior to the attack by the U.S. National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These guidelines were developed in collaboration with a select group of industry leaders. Radiflow took part in two NCCoE projects focused on identity and access management, and situational awareness, in critical infrastructures.



Radiflow's IDPS (Intrusion Detection & Prevention Solution), designed specifically to protect ICS operational networks, meets and exceeds the NCCoE guidelines. It offers multiple layers of protection, including an IDS with network visibility and anomaly detection capabilities, an industrial DPI firewall, and user authentication and task-based permissions management for securing maintenance activities. The NCCoE guidelines, and their implementation in Radiflow's IDPS, apply directly to multiple points along the Ukrainian outage "Kill-Chain":

Penetration phase: segregation of the OT network would have enabled detecting penetration attempts (as already suggested by ICS-CERT in August 2014 ) by deploying firewall protection between sites (preferably a DPI Industrial Firewall), and implementing an extensive authentication mechanism.

) by deploying firewall protection between sites (preferably a DPI Industrial Firewall), and implementing an extensive authentication mechanism. An Industrial IDS would detected opened SSH connections used for communication between networked substations and the attackers' Command-and-Control servers.

Signature-based detection would have detected known malware (the Ukraine attackers used the Black-Energy malware as well as known SSH-Backdoors, which both have signatures).

attackers used the Black-Energy malware as well as known SSH-Backdoors, which both have signatures). Analysis of the attackers' commands using an Industrial IDS during the attack, which would assist post attack forensic research. Radiflow's new IDPS has already been successfully deployed at a renewable energy site operated by a large-scale European utility. This is in addition to a large number of Radiflow secure-gateways and standalone IDSs that are already installed in utilities around the world. To read the complete analysis paper, and for information about effective solutions adopted by power utilities worldwide, please visit http://www.radiflow.com. Contact:

Amit Slutzky

[email protected]

Tel: +972-507-547-607

SOURCE Radiflow

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[February 03, 2016] CrowdStrike Global Threat Report Analyses the Biggest Cyber Crime and Targeted Intrusion Trends

CrowdStrike Inc., a leader in cloud-delivered next-generation endpoint protection, threat intelligence and response services, today announced the release of its 2015 Global Threat Report. The report, issued annually, analyzes more than 70 designated adversaries, providing details about their behavior, capabilities, and intentions related to targeted intrusions, e-crime, and hacktivist campaigns. Notable Highlights of the 2015 Global Threat Report: Economic, geopolitical and diplomatic events are becoming the driving force behind today's cyber threat landscape, the effects of which are being felt by organizations around the world.

Deep dive into the key factors shaping the targeted intrusion campaigns of notable nation-state adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc.

The rise of extortion-based criminal operations including use of ransomware, banking trojans, and exploit kits, along with intelligence-powered social engineering scams, phishing campaigns, and more.

Uptick in sophistication and scale of terrorism-related hacktivist groups and online censorship in the Middle East.

Forward-looking predictions about emerging threats, espionage activity, personally identifiable information usage, new e-crime waves, and disruptive attacks that impact businesses globally. Intelligence powers everything that CrowdStrike does, driving next-generation endpoint protection, providing customers unrivaled visibility and detection and response capability, coupled with 24/7 managed hunting for ultimate threat protection. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform processes more than 10 billion events a day, establishing a front-row seat to analyze massive amounts of attack data on a global scale. As a result, CrowdStrike is able to deliver industry-leading endpoint protection that prevent and responds to all types of attacks -- even malware-free intrusions. Supporting Quotes: George Kurtz, chief executive officer and co-founder, CrowdStrike "Security operators and business leaders should use CrowdStrike's 2015 Global Threat Report as a resource to gain a better understanding of what they will face in 2016 and beyond to stay ahead of the online adversary. It is a forecast of what is coming in terms of cyber threats for not only c-level executives such as CEOs and CIOs, but also CMOs and corporate boards. Distant geopolitical events occurring in disparate parts of the world are actually creating ripple effects that wash up on the doorstep of industries and companies thousands of miles away in the form of cyber threats. Business and organizations ignore these geoplitical developments at their own peril if they do not allocate adequate resources and build the capacity needed to protect their information and networks."



Adam Meyers (News - Alert), vice president of Intelligence, CrowdStrike "Today, technology, processes and people are not enough to stop the threats that will continue to evolve in 2016 and beyond. Actionable intelligence is critical for fortifying a security posture; understanding adversary motivations and the reasons for their actions is critical to businesses being able to anticipate what they will do next, to whom, and why. This report is intended to provide that very intelligence to outline the context, motivations, trends, and triggers of today's attacks. The information in this report is a powerful tool to help businesses prevent, detect, and respond to real-world threats that are more methodical, targeted, and organized than ever before."

Resources: Download the Global Threat Report: http://www.crowdstrike.com/global-threat-report-2015/ Read the Executive Summary of the Report: http://www.crowdstrike.com/wp-content/uploads/Global_Threat_Report-2015/Exec-Summary/crowdStrike-2015-threat-report-exec-summary.html Watch a Preview of the Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO4HriNQRdU Download an Infographic on China's 13th 5-Year Plan: http://www.crowdstrike.com/wp-content/uploads/Global_Threat_Report-2015/China-2015/Infographic_China-2015.html Review the blog from George Kurtz, CEO and Co-founder of CrowdStrike: http://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/global-threat-report-intelligence/ About CrowdStrike CrowdStrike is the leader in next-generation endpoint protection, threat intelligence and response services. CrowdStrike's core technology, the Falcon platform, stops breaches by preventing and responding to all types of attacks - both malware and malware-free. CrowdStrike has revolutionized endpoint protection by combining three crucial elements: next-generation AV, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and a 24/7 managed hunting service - all powered by intelligence and uniquely delivered via the cloud in a single integrated solution. Falcon uses the patented CrowdStrike Threat Graph to analyze and correlate billions of events in real time, providing complete protection and five-second visibility across all endpoints. Many of the world's largest organizations already put their trust in CrowdStrike, including two of the 10 largest global companies by revenue, four of the 10 largest financial institutions, three of the top 10 health care providers, and two of the top 10 energy companies. CrowdStrike Falcon is currently deployed in more than 170 countries. Stop Breaches. Period. Find out how: www.crowdstrike.com Follow us: Blog | Twitter View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005439/en/

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[February 03, 2016] Cortus and Aspen Logic Offer Educational Webinar on Creating ASICs to Enable IoT & M2M Products to Stand Out

Montpellier, France and Broomfield, Colorado, 3rd February 2016  Cortus, a technology leader in low power, silicon efficient, 32-bit processor IP, and Aspen Logic, a provider of expert logic design and embedded processing development services announce an educational webinar on creating ASICs for IoT & M2M products. The presentation entitled Attention IoT Developers: Yes, your Things can stand out! will run live at 10:00 a.m. PST/ 6:00 p.m. GMT on Tuesday 16th February 2016. The webinar, with 45 minutes presentation and 15 minutes for Q & A, is aimed at engineers and managers with limited or no ASIC design experience who are developing Things for the Internet in categories such as: smart homes/cities, intelligent sensors, electronic shelf labels and wireless communication devices.







At the Creative Think seminar held in July of 1982, an American computer scientist named Alan Kay offered a simple but very powerful message to the attendees: People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware. Nothing could be truer today in the world of the IoT. However, many IoT developers have little or no experience in ASIC or hardware design, so they make the safe choice and elect to use commercial-off-the-shelf products. What have been their results? Things are created that have little product differentiation from the myriad of other IoT products that are being rushed to market, thus producing disappointing sales.



An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) can be a reasonably-priced way of adding differentiation whether at the system-level, in analog circuit design or in a digital system. With IoT applications frequently requiring the use or digital, analog, RF and increasingly on-chip sensors, the silicon technologies used must support the mixing of these types of circuit. The good news for IoT designers is that mixed-signal technologies are generally well-proven, low-cost, mature processes that are both affordable and low risk.





This seminar examines some of the key steps involved in creating a differentiated ASIC including; What EDA tools are required for developing custom ASICs that support mixed-signal designs? The important decision criteria for evaluating and selecting processor and system IP cores.



What options are available for ASIC prototyping and production manufacturing? How to implement hardware security features from simple to very complex that will successfully defend IoT ASICs from unwanted attacks.



Registration for the webinar is free of charge and is open now. For more information on the webinar and details of how to register, please visit: http://marketing.cortus.com/acton/media/9762/cortus-iot-and-m2m-design-webinar About Cortus S.A.S.: Cortus S.A.S. is a technology enabler for rapidly growing applications including Internet of Things (IoT), wearable electronic devices, smart sensors and security. It has specialised in 32-bit processor cores which can significantly reduce manufacturing costs while achieving good computational performance and meeting tight power constraints. Integrated circuits containing Cortus cores have been manufactured in high volumes for a wide range of applications including automotive, CMOS imaging, M2M controllers, IoT edge devices, secure execution, sensors, SIM cards, PayTV cards, smart metering and wireless. To date well over 800 million devices have been manufactured containing Cortus processor cores. Cortus headquarters are in Montpellier, France.



http://www.cortus.com Cortus S.A.S. Contact: Roddy Urquhart, +44 753 158 7023 roddy.urquhart[at]cortus[dot]com About Aspen Logic Inc.: For 24 years, Aspen Logic has delivered logic verification, design and implementation services targeting FPGA and ASIC devices to customers around the United States. Companies seeking support come from the defense, medical, industrial and other commercial sectors  frequently with urgent needs because of missed deadlines, departure of key employees or a simple lack of experience navigating complex logic designs. Our logic development experience translates into your success.



http://aspenlogic.com Aspen Logic, Inc. Contact : Tim Davis, +1 303 800 5859 Logic.Design[at]aspenlogic[dot]com Distributed on behalf of Cortus S.A.S. by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com) As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments.

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[February 03, 2016] Digital Low Resistance Ohmmeters from Megger Test Resistance with Up to 100 A

NORRISTOWN, Pa., Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Megger adds a new low resistance ohmmeter that features a Li-ion battery that supplies a constant 100 A current for up to 200 manual/auto tests in remote locations. The DLRO100 is the lightest 100 A battery-powered unit on the market. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329175 Designed to allow low resistance measurements to be taken across multiple applications in areas without access to power, this new DLRO has a CAT IV 600 VAC/500 VDC safety rating in accordance with IEC61010. The unit's rugged design, intuitive interface and operational IP54 ingress protection against dust and water ensures reliability and ease of use in the harshest conditions. Ideal for use in applications that include switchgear, circuit breaker contact resistance, bus bar and cable joints, wire and cable resistance, lightning conductor bonding, welded joints as well as ground connections and joints, this new DLRO series is both portable and flexible. Offering a unique combination of features including DualGround testing, adjustable current ramping, high noise immunity and remote control, this DLRO series is offered in four models. All four feature CAT IV 600 VAC and can test currents from 10 A to 110 A. The mid-range model adds data storage and DualGround testing while the top range model adds the capability of asset tagging to enter unique asset IDs using the DLRO100 Asset Tag Windows application as well as Bluetooth download and USB remote operation. Each ohmmeter features three test modes  manual, auo mode and continuous mode. Manual allows users to initiate the test procedure once the probes are in contact with the object under test. Once the 'test' button is pressed the assessment begins. In auto mode the user selects the desired current and connects the test leads. Once leads are connected the test begins automatically. In continuous mode users connect the test leads and press the 'test' button to initiate the procedure. The unit will continue to test until the test button is pressed again or the procedure times out.



Megger's DLRO100 can measure resistance from 0.1 O to 1.999 O, has a resolution of 0.1 O and an operating temperature range of -20C up to 50C. Each unit features a replaceable Li-ion battery pack that can fully charge in 2.5 hours when fully discharged. 200 individual 100 A tests or up to two 10 minute continuous tests with a 100 A output can be performed on a fully charged battery.

Technical Specifications Can measure resistance from 0.1  O to 1.999 O

O to 1.999 O Resolution of 0.1  O

O Operating temperature range of -20C up to 50C

Comes with a replaceable Li-ion battery pack For more information contact Peg Houck at [email protected] or 610-676-8536. For high res download and full text:

http://www.simongroup.com/PressRoom/press-release.php?Job=MEG-A-28085 Access our blog: http://www.meggerblog.com/

Watch the latest videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/meggerUS Reader Service Inquiries: Peg Houck; Megger; 2621 Van Buren Avenue, Norristown, Pa. 19403; [email protected]; 610-676-8536. ABOUT MEGGER:

Megger is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of test and measurement equipment used within the electric power, building wiring and telecommunication industries. With research, engineering and manufacturing facilities in the USA, UK, Sweden and Germany, combined with sales and technical support in most countries, Megger is uniquely placed to meet the needs of its customers worldwide. Editorial Contact:

The Simon Group, Inc.

Joanna Puglisi-Barley or Christina Sanchez

Phone: (215) 453-8700

E-mail: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-low-resistance-ohmmeters-from-megger-test-resistance-with-up-to-100-a-300214557.html SOURCE Megger

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CHARLESTON -- Following a majority vote of "no confidence" from faculty in the fall, Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs, announced Tuesday that he will be retiring in June 2017.

In an Eastern Illinois University Faculty Senate meeting, Lord and President David Glassman both spoke of Lords future at Eastern.

(Glassman) and I have had a number of discussions about my possible future, Lord said. At one point he gave me the opportunity to sort of say if you had free rein what would your choice be and I said, 'Left to my own druthers, I would have liked to have finished this year and stayed one more academic year.'

Glassman said he had reviewed and agreed to a letter of retirement for that June timeframe.

Lord said he wanted to have the rest of this academic year and calendar year to handle and progress initiatives he has been working on.

I think I could help continue to progress them, he said.

Glassman said he accepted the retirement at that time because of the difficulties with filling Lords shoes.

At this time, I only have one non-interim person in my entire council and that is Blair, Glassman said. For me to put an interim provost for the year would be very difficult.

Bob Martin, vice president for university advancement, announced his retirement a couple of years ago. Dan Nadler, former vice president for student affairs, had been transitioned to faculty status and left the position. And Paul McCann has been serving as interim vice president for business affairs for over a year.

Also, Glassman said the provost position is not a position that can just be taken on.

A provost position is not an easy one to just come in and pick up,  Glassman said. It has elements of academic affairs, of course, but it has elements of financial aid. It has elements of admissions. It has elements across the board. For me to bring in an interim, would take, I believe, a lot of my time assisting that person in those activities. Right now, I believe I do not have the time.

A national search to fill Lord's position permanently will be conducted beginning in August.

Glassman added he hopes those under the umbrella in academic affairs can work with Lord as provost positively until his retirement.
MATTOON -- The City Council heard Tuesday evening that the total number of calls for police service increased by approximately 3,000 in 2015 from the previous year's levels.

Chief Jeff Branson shared these figures with the council as part of an annual report for the Mattoon Police Department. Branson also told the council that he took offense to a recent JG-TC editorial on Mattoon Area PADS that he felt implied that the department was skewing data regarding PADS, an allegation that he said is not true.

Regarding the annual report, Branson said the total number of calls for police service increased to 34,308 in 2015. He said this total consisted of 2,974 high priority calls, which require immediate response by at least two officers, and 31,334 low priority calls.

Branson said part of the increase in activity was caused by the department stepping up its patrols for violators of the new state law that makes it illegal for motorists to drive while using handheld cellphones.

"We really were hitting it hard. We did a lot of traffic stops," Branson said.

In addition, Branson reported that the police department issued 431 notices to clean up unkempt properties in 2015 as part of enforcement of nuisance ordinances in its designated part of Mattoon -- the north section. He noted that, as of Jan. 1, the police department is responsible for public nuisance enforcement throughout Mattoon.

Regarding the JG-TC editorial, Branson took issue with a line that stated that those in local government "have sometimes skewed data regarding PADS." Branson said he felt that the editorial implied that the department is being dishonest in its reporting of PADS data, an allegation that he said is untrue.

Branson said the department gets residency and other information on PADS guests from the Coles County emergency communications center. He said PADS relays this information directly to the center when it calls to request the police-aided background screening process that is required for all prospective guests at the shelter.

The police chief reported, as an example, that the center recorded information for 11 individuals from Mattoon as part of this process between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31. He reported that the center also recorded 33 individuals from other Illinois cities and 16 from out of state. The total number of individuals recorded from Coles and neighboring counties was 19 during this time frame.

Council member Sandra Graven said she also took offense to the implication that those in local government have skewed data regarding PADS, a sentiment that was echoed by other members of the council.

"When I read that editorial, I was very disappointed in the editorial staff," Graven said.

Information on other actions taken during Tuesday's council meeting will be included in a follow-up story.
SPRINGFIELD -- A lot could happen in the presidential campaign before Illinois primary voters head to the polls March 15, but supporters of the top finishers in Mondays first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are sounding an optimistic tone about their candidates chances in the weeks of voting to come.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished ahead of Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The Democratic race, meanwhile, was a photo finish, with Illinois native and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont by a nose.

State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, will appear on the March 15 primary ballot as a delegate candidate for Cruz in the 15th Congressional District.

While Trump, the national front-runner, thought he was going to cruise to victory, Rose said, Texas senator Cruz now has momentum carrying him into the next round of voting, beginning with Tuesdays New Hampshire primary.

Hes a consistent conservative, and its a consistent conservative message that folks are responding to, Rose said.

Although the past two GOP winners of the Iowa caucuses -- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in 2012 -- didnt go on to win the nomination, Rose said, Barack Obama didnt exactly sputter out after upsetting Clinton on the Democratic side in 2008.

Clinton avoided a repeat of 2008 with her narrow win over Sanders.

State Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and a Clinton delegate candidate in the 13th Congressional District, said the slim margin isnt a cause for concern but rather a reflection of a heated primary based on issues, not based on personal insults.

I believe that shows that the Democratic Party is alive and well today, Manar said.

He noted that Clinton is the first female candidate to win the Iowa caucuses.

That speaks, I believe, to Secretary Clintons campaign and to the depths of her candidacy and why I think she will make an excellent president when elected, Manar said.

Those who will appear on Illinois primary ballots as delegate candidates werent just watching the Iowa caucuses unfold on TV.

State Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, a delegate candidate for Rubio in the 18th Congressional District, was at a Republican caucus site at a suburban Des Moines church. He was there to give his pitch for the Florida senator before the votes were cast.

It was awesome to be a part of it and to see the participation of voters at a grassroots level, Barickman said. Families brought their kids to the precinct. All the candidates or their surrogates, like myself, have an opportunity to make a pitch, and I think a number of voters show up undecided.

His pitch was that Rubio has an aspirational message of optimism that attracts all sorts of voters to his conservative message, he said.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Phil Hare of Rock Island didnt cross the Mississippi River to attend the caucuses, but he worked the phone from his dining room table to encourage voters to get out and caucus for Sanders. Hare is a delegate candidate for the Vermont senator in the 17th Congressional District.

Hare, who was in Congress from 2007 to 2011, said he worked with Sanders on veterans issues and supports his stances on raising the minimum wage, reining in big banks and other issues.

Despite Clintons well-developed network of support in Illinois and elsewhere, Hare said hes cautiously optimistic about Sanders chances here and in other states.

What I think hes done is proven that you dont have to have multimillion-dollar super PACs pumping money in like everyone else has, Hare said.

Springfield attorney Kent Gray, a Trump delegate candidate in the 18th Congressional District and the businessmans Illinois campaign director, said he wasnt permitted to speak with the media about the results.

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, covered the Iowa caucuses from 1976 to 2008 as a reporter at The Des Moines Register.

In many previous campaigns, the parties nominations have been all but wrapped up by the time Illinois voters head to the polls, Yepsen said, but given Mondays results, things could be different this year.

This time theres a real possibility that the race could mean something, he said.
CHARLESTON -- As Illinois moves into its eighth month without a budget, Eastern Illinois University plans an estimated 200 layoffs of non-instructional employees -- as well as furloughing all administrative and professional staff additionally in March to make it through the spring semester.

These layoffs, along with cash flow reserves and budget cuts and freezes enacted last week, will be used to push Eastern through the semester financially considering no appropriations from the state have been allotted for higher education.

In related news, in reaction to budget concerns started at the state level, a group of Charleston community members and Eastern students and staff plan a rally Friday to push for change in Springfield to get Eastern funded.

In regard to the layoffs, 30-day notices will be sent out to those employees either late this week or earlier next week, President David Glassman told the Faculty Senate on Tuesday. This will start the normal "bumping" process associated with the layoffs such as in the fall, when employees with higher seniority who get a layoff notice can instead "bump" those with less seniority.

Depending on when and if the state budget is passed or appropriations are released to Eastern before the March layoff date, some, if not all, of those layoffs could be rescinded and the employees recalled.

Thats whats so difficult emotionally for all of us as we think about these things because we are dealing with real peoples lives, Glassman said.

Glassman said cuts will be made in a way to ensure spring graduation can still happen. Eastern will not run just half a semester, he said.

While the university will run through spring, uncertainty still lingers in regard to what will happen over the summer and in the fall. Glassman said he along with Paul McCann, interim vice president for business affairs, have started looking into if continuing operations during the summer will be possible, relying on tuition alone as income.

If I find out from Paul that we would not generate enough tuition dollars to operate the university (in the summer), then I have to figure out what's our other alternatives, he said.

Eastern is in a similar boat regarding the fall semester. If funds do not come in from the state by the July, August and September time frame, Eastern will not be able to afford the expenses of the semester at its current capacity without changes. This is also dependent on tuition and federal funding.

Otherwise, Glassman said it is too soon to clearly identify what will happen in the summer and the fall, but he said he is optimistic funding will come in before then. He added he does not want to suggest summer and fall classes are in danger.

I have true anticipation that we are having summer school as normal, he said.

Discussion and actions over higher education have been swirling around in Springfield. One bill sponsored Democrats, which would provide funding to community colleges and Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants, passed through the General Assembly. Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he would veto that move.

Republicans have filed a bill that would fund universities at 80 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015, community colleges at 90 percent and MAP grants at 100 percent, contingent on reform to procurement to pay for the $1.7 billion it would cost to fund the higher education bill. (See related story on page A3.)

Even with this plan, which means a reduction of 20 percent to the operating budget, Eastern will have $8.6 million off its budget, which was already cut down by 6.5 percent in the fall. If this was passed, the university would still not be able to recall some of the laid off employees.

Otherwise, Glassman said he is excited that the state is actually talking and focusing on the issues arising at the university level.

From about May 2015 until January 2016, there has not been much discussion on the hill with bills or anything else associated with higher education, Glassman said.

He noted university leaders are still nervous about the future.

It is unprecedented ... I had no idea in the fall that our appropriation would be, in February, zero, Glassman said. In the 36 years now that I have been in higher education, I never have experienced a more challenging year.

To garner more attention from Springfield, a Fund EIU rally will take place at 4 p.m. Friday in the Library Quad on campus. Kate Klipp, rally organizer, said students will be talking about why we all love EIU, and the necessity for the state to live up to its commitment toward appropriations.

Music provided by the EIU band will also be provided. Jon Blitz, another organizer, said the rally is expected to be big. According to Blitz, state representatives and senators have been invited to attend. It is not certain which of them will attend.

We don't know if any state reps or senators will be coming, Klipp said. We have given Springfield plenty of notice, and we are hearing that legislators are getting lots of phone calls, which is amazing. Love to see the people empowered and engaged.

Blitz said it will take more than a rally to get a budget passed, but it is a necessary step to put more political pressure on the state. He said there is clearly not enough now to get them to finalize a bill.
RTI International is one of the worlds leading research institutes, dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. Our staff of more than 4,000 provides research and technical services to governments and businesses in more than 75 countries in the areas of health and pharmaceuticals, education and training, surveys and statistics, advanced technology, international development, economic and social policy, energy and the environment, and laboratory testing and chemical analysis.

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RTI READ TA based in Addis Ababa is looking for One Driver to assist its activities. The driver will report to the READ TA Logistics Specialist in Addis Ababa. Local candidates are preferred.

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About CRS: Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

In Ethiopia, CRS has a long and rich history of providing emergency relief and development assistance to the people of Ethiopia since 1958. At present, CRS/Ethiopia implements multiple projects through different partner organizations. CRS/Ethiopia has a highly diverse portfolio ranging from very large food-supported emergency response to cutting edge development programs. The current CRS/Ethiopia budget stands at $100 million with funding from the U.S. Government, UN agencies, private foundations, individual donors, and CRS private funds.

CRS strictly adheres to its Policy on Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults among its staff, consultants, volunteers, and affiliates. CRS is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer: women, minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

As part of CRS family, you will join the more than 5000 strong and vibrant individuals working globally to accomplish the mission of CRS. CRS/Ethiopia invites you, the qualified candidate, to apply for the following positions;



To provide technical assistance to the implementing partners in planning, implementation to emergency and recovery projects;

 To monitor and report on seed and agriculture recovery projects activities and other livelihoods based on CRS/ET funded projects;

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 Facilitates Seed and agriculture Recovery Project advances and liquidation documents with the CRS/Ethiopia Finance Department to make sure that project advances and liquidations are processed on a timely basis;

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Reviewing Activities

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Preparing Report

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 Helps in identify training needs of partner and program staff in emergency and recovery and facilitate training programs in accordance to quality standards established by CRS/ET and other agencies, where relevant and maintain awareness of national and international thinking on emergency, recovery, DRR etc.;



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Wednesday, February 03, 2016 No Tea Party Sippers Here; APS And CNM Bonds Score Big Win, Plus: Highlights From Statewide Candidate Filings



The tea party must have run out of cups because the community wasn't sipping its brew. Voters were sensible not to confuse the mess between the APS Board and its former superintendent with the interests of the community-at-large.



The absence of the city's major business groups in promoting the bond issues to improve the schools for kids was notable and depressing. The ABQ Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and NAIOP, whose leaders of the past would be front and center, were nowhere on this critical vote. It's as if they resent the city they purport to represent. Sad.



The bonds will upgrade dozens of schools and provide hundreds of construction jobs. All three questions pulled over 65% of the vote. There was no big turnout surge with about 31,000 casting ballots. In the 2010 APS/CNM mill levy election about



Election results



FILING DAY



Espinoza Here's what stood out as the statewide candidates came forth and



Dem Bernalillo County Clerk



Oliver ran against Duran in 2014 and was defeated. She is getting a rare second chance and her odds look much better, this being a presidential election cycle when Dems perform better. Oliver also promises Dems she will be a more aggressive campaigner after taking negative TV hits from Duran in the last campaign and failing to respond.



VIGIL VS. NAKAMURA



Judy Nakamura was a popular ABQ District Court Judge when she was recently appointed by Gov. Martinez to fill a vacancy on the State Supreme Court, but she is going to have her hands full keeping the seat when she faces election in November.



The only candidate to file for the Dem nomination was Court of Appeals Judge Michael Vigil. He's currently chief judge of the appeals court. With ties to the north (he's a grad of Santa Fe High) Vigil can be expected to run strong there. He's been on the court since 2003 and has a statewide network of contacts. Also, it has been ages since any Republican has been elected to the five member court.



As for Republican Nakamura, like Vigil she will have no primary opposition. She is also a respected jurist and a solid vote-getter. She's been a NM judge for nearly 20 years and also has a wide list of contacts. But her party--Republican--and Vigil's edge with Hispanics are major obstacles for her to overcome.



APPEALS SLOT



Vargas The Dems have also put up a strong candidate as they labor to keep the Court of Appeals seat being vacated by Cynthia Fry. Julie Vargas, an ABQ Old Town native with over 20 years experience as a business attorney, is the sole Dem to file for the post.



Gov. Martinez has been given three names for the Fry seat by the judicial nominating commission. Vargas is one of them. An appointment is expected in the next month. However, the Governor is expected to name one of two Republican attorneys recommended by the commission--Steve French or Ned Fuller. Both filed for the seat Tuesday.



Vargas' ABQ base, ethnic advantage and longtime presence in the legal community give her the front-runner position against either Fuller or French, both of whom have deep wells of support in the GOP.



THE BOTTOM LINES



The long running political radio broadcast "Dateline New Mexico" has a new voice. Veteran newsman Tom Trowbridge takes over from the retiring Mark Bentley.



Dateline began decades ago under famed newsman and commentator Ernie Mills. The program follows state politics from Santa Fe and airs every weekday on stations across the state, including KANW 89.1 at 8:05 a.m. and KSFR 101.1 FM at 3:55 p.m. . .



In a first draft Tuesday, we blogged that former ABQ State Rep. Bennie Aragon, who died this week, was elected House Majority Leader. He was House Majority Whip.



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 A healthy win for their big bond issues had officials at the ABQ Public Schools and vocational college CNM breathing easier last night. Voters rejected the pleas of conservative groups like the Rio Grande Foundation and NM Business Coalition to go skeptical on the bonds and gave overwhelming approval to the $575 million APS bond and mill levy package and the $84 million CNM bond. That CNM bond will raise property taxes.The tea party must have run out of cups because the community wasn't sipping its brew. Voters were sensible not to confuse the mess between the APS Board and its former superintendent with the interests of the community-at-large.The absence of the city's major business groups in promoting the bond issues to improve the schools for kids was notable and depressing. The ABQ Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and NAIOP, whose leaders of the past would be front and center, were nowhere on this critical vote. It's as if they resent the city they purport to represent. Sad.The bonds will upgrade dozens of schools and provide hundreds of construction jobs. All three questions pulled over 65% of the vote. There was no big turnout surge with about 31,000 casting ballots. In the 2010 APS/CNM mill levy election about 32,000 voted Election results here Here's what stood out as the statewide candidates came forth and filed paperwork and petitions with the Secretary of State Tuesday to let their intentions known this election year. . .Dem Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver dodged a bullet when former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil did not file for the position. She said she was considering a run. Oliver will be the lone Dem contender on the ballot and Roswell State Rep. Nora Espinoza will be the lone R. One of them will fill out the term left vacant when Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran resigned because of a campaign finance scandal and served a month in jail.Oliver ran against Duran in 2014 and was defeated. She is getting a rare second chance and her odds look much better, this being a presidential election cycle when Dems perform better. Oliver also promises Dems she will be a more aggressive campaigner after taking negative TV hits from Duran in the last campaign and failing to respond.Judy Nakamura was a popular ABQ District Court Judge when she was recently appointed by Gov. Martinez to fill a vacancy on the State Supreme Court, but she is going to have her hands full keeping the seat when she faces election in November.The only candidate to file for the Dem nomination was Court of Appeals Judge Michael Vigil. He's currently chief judge of the appeals court. With ties to the north (he's a grad of Santa Fe High) Vigil can be expected to run strong there. He's been on the court since 2003 and has a statewide network of contacts. Also, it has been ages since any Republican has been elected to the five member court.As for Republican Nakamura, like Vigil she will have no primary opposition. She is also a respected jurist and a solid vote-getter. She's been a NM judge for nearly 20 years and also has a wide list of contacts. But her party--Republican--and Vigil's edge with Hispanics are major obstacles for her to overcome.The Dems have also put up a strong candidate as they labor to keep the Court of Appeals seat being vacated by Cynthia Fry. Julie Vargas, an ABQ Old Town native with over 20 years experience as a business attorney, is the sole Dem to file for the post.Gov. Martinez has been given three names for the Fry seat by the judicial nominating commission. Vargas is one of them. An appointment is expected in the next month. However, the Governor is expected to name one of two Republican attorneys recommended by the commission--Steve French or Ned Fuller. Both filed for the seat Tuesday.Vargas' ABQ base, ethnic advantage and longtime presence in the legal community give her the front-runner position against either Fuller or French, both of whom have deep wells of support in the GOP.The long running political radio broadcast "Dateline New Mexico" has a new voice. Veteran newsman Tom Trowbridge takes over from the retiring Mark Bentley.Dateline began decades ago under famed newsman and commentator Ernie Mills. The program follows state politics from Santa Fe and airs every weekday on stations across the state, including KANW 89.1 at 8:05 a.m. and KSFR 101.1 FM at 3:55 p.m. . .In a first draft Tuesday, we blogged that former ABQ State Rep. Bennie Aragon, who died this week, was elected House Majority Leader. He was House Majority Whip.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Links HOME

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Nebraska Agriculture Director Greg Ibach has called on top federal officials to finalize trade negotiations with China that would open the Asian country to U.S. beef and create a huge opportunity for cattle producers in the state.

China banned beef from the United States in 2003 after mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was found in cattle in Washington state.

But Chinas 1.4 billion people are hungry for red meat. In the first 10 months of 2015, the volume of beef imported by China shot up nearly 40 percent from the year prior and was worth $1.8 billion, the website Beefmagazine.com recently reported.

An agreement that would open that market to U.S. beef producers is close to being finished, Ibach said in letters to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

It is my understanding the United States and China have reached agreement on the parameters, with only the specific protocols to be finalized, Ibach said in his letter. I urge you both to complete these export protocols as soon as possible.

Nebraska has the most cattle on feed in the nation and ranks second for total cattle behind Texas, according to the USDAs annual count of the nations herd, which was released Jan. 29.

The United States' total herd was counted at 92 million, up 3 percent from the prior year. The growth shows ranchers rebuilding herds after national numbers hit a 63-year low in 2014.

Nebraska also posted 3 percent growth last year, with total cattle reaching 6.45 million. Nebraskas number of cattle on feed, 2.52 million, was slightly down this year from last but remained ahead of No. 2 Texas.

Ibach hand delivered letters to federal officials this week at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture winter policy meetings in Washington D.C. , according to a news release from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Ibach chaired the policy meeting, during which there were speeches by Vilsack and Darci Vetter, the lead agriculture negotiator for the U.S. Trade Office.

In his letters, Ibach also offered support for finalization for controversial multi-nation trade agreements known as the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership and the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Jenny Nguyen isn't nearly as interested in the big game as she is in wild game, although she and her boyfriend, Rick Wheatley, have perfected plenty of Super Bowl-worthy recipes since they moved to Nebraska.

The two moved from California to Elkhorn, and often hunt the surrounding areas together. The full story of how they met is available on their shared blog, where they began posting recipes for the wild game and fish they hunted and caught in Nebraska. At Food For Hunters (foodforhunters.blogspot.com), they offer recipes for soups, steaks, tacos, sliders, wraps, BBQ pheasant pizza, kabobs and kebabs -- you name it.

There are enough to fill a cookbook, which a publisher asked them to do after reading their blog. "Hunting For Food: Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game" came out last summer and is available through online book retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble and features illustrated guides for 13 different species.

Nguyen, a writer and photographer for NEBRASKALand Magazine, will be teaching two wild game recipe classes this month at the Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center, 4703 N. 44th St. Each two-hour class begins at 6 p.m. and costs $15 per person. It's part of Nebraska Game and Parks' Becoming and Outdoors-Woman programming. The first class on Feb. 11 will focus on several ways to serve rabbit, and the Feb. 25 class will focus on venison. There will be samples at each.

To learn more about the classes and see other events going on at the Outdoor Education Center, go to outdoornebraska.gov/outdooredcenter or call the center at 402-471-6141. And to learn how to make a few recipes that can spice up your Super Bowl snack buffet, keep reading. Nguyen shared some gems with the Journal Star.
Dear Food Doc: Ive heard my favorite food, chocolate, and my favorite beverage, coffee, may soon be in short supply because of climate change.

Dear Reader: Alas, youve heard correctly. In fact, the situation may be even more serious. Not only are coffee and cocoa crops being affected by climate change, but according to reports in leading scientific journals, nearly every major agricultural product is already being affected by climate change.

Lets start with cocoa and coffee. Most of the world supply of cocoa is grown in West Africa, and most of the coffee in Central and South America. Coffee, in particular, is so important to the economies of Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia that it ranks just behind oil among traded commodities.

These crops are sensitive not only to temperature, but also moisture. Indeed, high temperatures and variable precipitation (no rain for long periods of time or large amounts of rain in a very short period of time) may be the most immediate concern for crops in these regions.

Moving farms to higher elevations may help, but there is often less arable space in these regions. Already, climate change has led to lower yields, and entire regions may soon become unsuitable for coffee and cocoa production.

There are also other unforeseen consequences of climate change. For example, coffee is often infected by a fungus, resulting in a devastating disease called coffee rust (la roya in Spanish). The rate of infections and the number of diseased leaves are both functions of temperature and moisture.

Here in the Farm Belt, corn, soybean and wheat production are also affected by climate change. Hot temperatures and highly variable precipitation are stressful for these crops and yields can suffer. Last month, Canadian researchers reported that drought-related damage of cereal crops in North America and Europe will actually be worse than in developing countries. While research aimed at developing new stress- or drought-resistant plants can help, another recent report by MIT researchers concluded that plant adaptation strategies can go only so far.

Another crop affected by climate change is grapes. Wine quality is especially influenced by terroir -- the interactions of soil, weather, and environment that create the character of the wine. As wine-producing areas become warmer, grapes once suitable for that region may no longer grow well or their character may be altered (possibly for better, but also for worse). If the current patterns continue, some experts contend, in 20 years the great wine regions may no longer be so great. While that could mean adieu to Bourdeaux or Napa Valley, other regions might take their place. Who knows, maybe even Nebraska Valley?

Not surprisingly, the very corporations whose economic future relies on secure supplies of agricultural products are especially concerned about climate change. Thats why Nestle, Unilever, Hershey, Mars, Gallo and other international companies have developed adaptation and mitigation strategies and sustainability programs.

Just prior to last years climate change meeting in Paris, CEOs from these companies signed a letter stating that "climate change is bad for farmers and agriculture. They advocated for world leaders to set measurable and enforceable science-based targets for carbon emissions reductions. Achieving these goals will certainly be good for agriculture, not to mention those of us who live for coffee and chocolate.

Dear Food Doc: I have a math question for you. For dinner, I eat a 12-ounce steak and a 4-ounce baked potato with a dab of butter. I have a 6-ounce slice of apple pie and a 10-ounce beer. By my math, Ive consumed 32 ounces of food. Do I gain 2 pounds of weight?

Dear Reader: If you put all those items on a tray and stood on a balance, you would indeed weigh 2 pounds more. Same as if you put a bag of nails in your pocket and weighed yourself. But thats not how digestion works. In fact, most of the weight of your dinner is water weight, which is very temporary. Fiber, from the potato and apple, will also pass through without adding weight.

Ultimately, its the calories or energy in those foods that counts. Thus, regardless of the weight of the food in your steak dinner, youve probably consumed about 1,200 calories, which equates roughly to a third of a pound. However, the very act of eating, digesting food, and simply being alive also requires energy and burns up calories. Bottom line, when it comes to food, a pound is not always a pound.
Phones buzzing in backpacks or pockets are becoming an everyday part of university life, even in the midst of a lecture hall or small seminar class.

After all, those texts, Facebook messages and Snapchats arent going to respond to themselves.

Digital distractions in classes continue to rise, University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Associate Professor Barney McCoy said.

When he first studied the issue in 2013, McCoy found 30 percent of college students admitted to checking their phones 10 times in class per day.

In a study published in January, McCoy said that frequency has grown. Now one-third of students said in a survey they will spend time on their phones or other digital devices for non-class purposes as many as 11 times a day.

To me, thats not a surprise, McCoy said. Its a trend weve been seeing.

The latest study, including 675 students in 26 states., also contains an alarming new data point. Some students are paying more attention to what's on the small screen in front of them for 20 percent of class time.

For McCoy, 60, the technological advances that have brought Wi-Fi to college campuses and allowed classes to connect with teachers and students around the world have also been responsible for the proliferation of digital devices drawing students attention away from the subject at hand.

The ability to communicate beyond the walls of the classroom is greater than its ever been, McCoy said. But thats a double-edge sword. We can converse with people around the world, but it is also a distraction.

Students see it both ways.

Leye Yu, a third-year international student from southeast China, said he saves his social media use and texts until after class, but will often have the phone out for academic purposes.

For a lot of international students, the phone is also a dictionary, Yu said. I use it to learn words I dont know, but I dont check texts or emails during class.

Freshman Casey Smith of Howells said she will use her phone to take notes, send an email to a professor or set reminders on her calendar, but she admitted the urge to reply to a text or check other apps can sometimes be overwhelming.

Sometimes its boredom, sometimes your mind is on other things and youre wondering if someone has replied yet, Smith said.

A generation of college students who have grown up with an instant connection to the world in their pockets feel it isnt a big deal.

Three out of 10 students surveyed in McCoys study say they are still able to pay attention to the instructor even when their phone is open in front of them, while one-fourth of respondents said it was their choice to check their device whenever it suited them.

Thirteen percent said using a digital device for non-class reasons outweighed any distraction it may cause, while 11 percent said they just cant help themselves.

Finding a middle ground in the Age of Digital Distraction is a problem with a three-fold solution for universities, McCoy said.

First, students need to be more aware of the costs associated with being distracted from the instruction going on in the front of the classroom.

That 20 percent of class time they are spending on their phone? That's tuition money out the window, McCoy said.

But should professors ask students to turn their phones in at the beginning of class, or ban them altogether? McCoy said probably not.

Smith said more of her professors prohibit students from using their phones in class than not, which does work.

If its a teacher whos never said anything about checking your phones, I would do it more often than one who says dont check your phones, Smith said. "I think other students feel the same way."

McCoy said professors should engage in a dialogue with students about when it would be appropriate to scroll through Instagram posts in class to avoid a building resentment.

I think its going to be very difficult to enforce bans and not have some student resentment develop or even students say they arent going to take that class anymore, he said. Students want to be treated as adults -- can we have a formal dialogue about this and talk about how using these devices in class is a potential distraction?

Instructors should also be on the hook for engaging students so that they dont feel the need to pull out the iPhone to check their Twitter timeline, McCoy said.

They could maybe find ways to incorporate the devices into their lectures or create more interactive lessons that would bridge the boredom gap.

McCoy said universities need to provide opportunities for professors and others to learn more about how to use technology more effectively in the classroom.

Clearly there are different perceptions about devices across age groups, he said. Its important for teachers of any age to stay current with technology, and universities and colleges need to support that.

Students like Smith will keep being early adopters of technology, even if it diverts their full attention from whats happening at the front of a classroom.

Were used to doing multiple things at one time, she said. "Now, you can text from your laptop which has come in handy.
As crews continued clearing Lincolns neighborhood streets Wednesday evening, crews in Grand Island began digging through drifts that have shut down the city.

The winter storm that dropped just 6 inches on Nebraskas capital Tuesday dumped 17 inches on the central Nebraska city of 50,000 people about 90 miles west.

Our Wal-Mart's even closed, said resident Chloe Aguilar, a Grand Island tow-truck driver stuck in her home.

Since 3 a.m. Tuesday, Aguilars business of Island Towing and Recovery has been inundated with calls, she said.

Shes sent her five drivers on at least 75 calls in the two-day span  about triple a regular snowy or icy day.

This has been crazy, Aguilar said. Weve pulled some people out, and theyd go one or two blocks, and they get stuck again.

Wednesday afternoon, Aguilar was dispatching calls from her house because the streets outside her home were impassible.

Outside of Grand Island, Interstate 80 reopened Wednesday afternoon. Tuesdays storm had forced the closure of a stretch spanning from Lincoln to North Platte.

The Nebraska State Patrol said no fatal crashes occurred in the state Wednesday.

Car crashes in Lincoln had jumped to 35, as of Wednesday evening, after police responded to just 20 the day before. Schools and many businesses had closed for the day Tuesday.

Material spreaders continued to patrol arterial streets, re-plow and apply deicer, as plows began working on clearing the opposite sides of residential streets.

The city banned parking along both sides of street in areas including the downtown, the Haymarket, University Place, Havelock and College View, among others as crews worked to remove snow.

Police had cracked down on more than 250 parking ban violators by Wednesday morning.

Classes for the public school districts nearly 40,000 students resume Thursday after two consecutive snow days.

School officials on Wednesday cited concern about driving conditions on sidestreets in particular as the reason for a last minute-cancellation.

Forecasts call for sunny skies and 31 degrees in Lincoln on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Valley.

In Grand Island, classes were canceled for a third consecutive day, meaning Aguilars six children will spend another day at home.

The single mother said she was getting tired and the kids stir crazy.

Grand Island Mayor Jeremy Jensen took to Facebook urging Grand Island citizens to remain patient because crews would eventually get the city dug out.

For Aguilar and many Grand Island residents, staying put was the only option.

Theyre home," she said. "But they cant get nowhere else."
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a two-year contract extension for University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold on Friday.

Gold was hired at the end of a 2013 search to succeed outgoing Chancellor Harold Maurer. At that time, he received a three-year contract to Jan. 31, 2017.

In September 2014, the board granted Gold a one-year contract extension and now has extended it through Jan. 31, 2020.

Golds salary will remain unchanged at $814,234 through the 2015-16 academic year.

Gold, who helped spearhead UNMCs response to the Ebola epidemic with Nebraska Medicine and who will oversee the opening of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, said he is excited to continue leading UNMCs initiatives.

I look forward to working with our faculty, staff and students -- as well as community, state and university partners -- to make this state and beyond a healthier place, he said.
The 17-year-old girl has been here before, and she expects shell be back someday.

In fact, she tells a group of state senators and county commissioners, this is her fourth visit to the Lancaster County Youth Services Center this year.

Ive been coming back here for so many years its not even funny, she says.

Why, asks a visitor.

We never figure it out, the girl replies.

Three state senators and two Lancaster County commissioners toured the countys juvenile detention center Thursday, seeking to learn more about life inside in the wake of a report that criticized the use of solitary confinement of juveniles.

In the report, "Growing Up Locked Down: Juvenile Solitary Confinement in Nebraska," the ACLU of Nebraska denounced the lack of uniformity in how detention centers use solitary confinement to discipline youth in custody.

The report, released Jan. 4, said some lockups, including one in Lincoln, can keep kids isolated for as long as 15 days. Confinement logs from the center demonstrate "arbitrary and subjective" use of solitary confinement as a form of punishment, ACLU officials have said.

Lancaster County officials have argued the ACLU failed to ask for interpretation of the confinement logs when it requested the information last summer.

On Thursday, Youth Services Center Director Sheli Schindler told Lincoln Sens. Colby Coash, Matt Hansen and Patty Pansing Brooks and county commissioners Todd Wiltgen and Bill Avery her staff members have to separate troublesome youth from others at times.

Such youth are typically locked in their rooms, but never for more than four hours at a time. They still get visits from mentors and therapists and have access to gyms and outdoor recreation areas, she said.

It really depends on your behavior, Schindler said.

In addition, youth who break the rules have the opportunity to appeal their punishments.

The Youth Services Center has 60 secure beds and 20 staff-secure beds, which are in a part of the center where rooms arent locked from the inside. However, the center only has staff to allow use of 40 secure beds and 20 staff-secure beds, Schindler said.

The center contracts with Lincoln Public Schools to provide eight teachers, three para-professionals and a special education coordinator to provide education to the juveniles. It also provides life skills education, Girl Scouts, religious services and art classes.

Schindler said the center uses a behavior management program that provides incentives to youth who follow rules and denies privileges to those who do not.

She said many youth at the center have mental health disorders and are awaiting placement in private facilities. Those facilities often reject especially troublesome juveniles, leaving some at the Youth Services Center for weeks at a time.

Schindler said the lack of private placements for mentally ill juveniles has forced her staff to find ways to integrate them into programs without endangering others.

As they toured one girls room in the secure side of the center, Coash asked Schindler whether the centers staff members keep track of juveniles time locked in their rooms.

She said they do, and that they don't use the phrase solitary confinement.

Solitary, thats kind of an old, antiquated statement, she said.
State senators should try to keep an open mind about the best way to expand Nebraskas prison system until they have heard more from Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes.

Frakes surprised senators and other state officials in November when he proposed a $26.2 million unit for women at the Lincoln Community Corrections Center.

Skepticism about the wisdom of that proposal has grown louder.

Last month State Ombudsman Marshall Lux in a memo to Sen. Heath Mello, chair of the Appropriations Committee argued that a better option would be to lease and renovate a building in the Lincoln Air Park.

The cost of renovating the building to add 200 beds would be $18 million, or about $90,000 per bed. The new womens unit would cost about $176,000 per bed, Lux said.

Frakes, however, told reporters in response to the memo that operational costs at the Air Park building would be much higher, perhaps as much as $1 million a year. At that rate it wouldnt take long before the apparent savings were erased and then turned into a deficit.

Frakes also has some good arguments for giving the womens unit priority. For one, he pointed out, the new unit would address a situation in which male and female inmates share some spaces at correctional facilities in Lincoln and Omaha.

The project also would free up other beds in the system, including 100 prison beds in Omaha.

Noting that prison overcrowding as at 158 percent of design capacity on Dec. 31, Lux suggested that the best option of all might be to do both the Air Park renovation and the women's unit. He has a point. Frakes has not proposed anything better.

Frakes relationship with state senators deteriorated when he tried to defend the executive branchs pursuit of execution drugs, which was an impossible task.

Gov. Pete Ricketts eliminated that source of friction when he announced that the state would suspend executions until the November vote on the death penalty.

Its also important that Frakes understand that he needs to work to regain the confidence of state senators. In recent years senators have been forced to clean up several administrative messes, such as the failed privatization of the child welfare system and the mistreatment of residents at the Beatrice State Developmental Center. Theyre used to it; theyve been effective. Frakes needs to accept the legislators as partners  not opponents.

Frakes, who started on the job a year ago, has had a heavy workload that included a prison riot in Tecumseh.

Nonetheless, the sooner he can present a viable plan for addressing overcrowding in the prison system, which has ranged from 158 percent to 163 percent of design capacity in the past two years, the quicker he will regain the trust and cooperation of state senators.
The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality plans to hold 18 meetings in nine Nebraska towns to discuss a new federal environmental mandate that aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

NDEQ needs to determine how the state will respond to the federal Clean Power Plan, which requires substantial reductions in carbon emissions from power plants, state Environmental Quality Director Jim Macy said in announcing the meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to first explain what is being mandated federally, and then to seek the publics input on the strategy Nebraska should pursue in reducing carbon emissions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week denied requests for a stay that would have barred the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from implementing the Clean Power Plan.

The plan has been challenged by more than two dozen states, including Nebraska, and allied business and industry groups tied to fossil fuels. The states deride the carbon-cutting plan as an "unlawful power grab" that will kill coal-mining jobs and drive up electricity costs.

The federal plan issued Aug. 3 calls for Nebraska to reduce its carbon emissions from power plants by 40 percent by 2030. using 2012 data as a baseline. States are required to submit plans to comply with the rule or a request for an extension by Sept. 6, 2016.

The state Environmental Quality agency is working with Nebraska utilities and interest groups to develop a framework that will address Nebraskas carbon emission and unique needs. Macy said the next step in the process is to seek broader involvement from the public, which is required by the EPA rules and is the purpose of the upcoming meetings.

Two sets of meetings will be held in the afternoon and evening on the same day at these locations.

* Broken Bow -- Feb. 16, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., One Box Convention Center at Cobblestone Inn

* Lexington -- Feb. 17, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., Dawson County Opportunity Center

* Grand Island -- Feb. 18, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., Nebraska Extension in College Park

* South Sioux City -- Feb. 22, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., Marina Inn

* Omaha -- Feb. 23, 1-4 pm. and 6-9 p.m., Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, 3448 Evans St.

* Lincoln -- Feb. 24, 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m., Country Inn & Suites, 5353 N. 27th St.

* Valentine -- March 1, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., Niobrara Lodge

* Alliance -- March 2, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. MST, Knight Museum & Sandhills Center

* Ogallala  March 3, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. MST, Quality Inn

Comments received before March 15 will be considered as NDEQ develops its initial submission to the EPA. Additional public meetings will be announced as the process moves forward.

NDEQ has developed a web page for the public to comment and see comments and related documents; it's at https://ecmp.nebraska.gov/DEQ-CPP.

To learn more about the process, visit http://deq.ne.gov/NDEQProg.nsf/OnWeb/NCMS.
Rebecca Fischer, violinist with the Chiara Quartet, and pianist Ann Chang join forces at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 9) to perform a recital of duo sonatas titled Close to the Heart. The performance is free to the public and will be held in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Musics Westbrook Recital Hall.
Jaxson Klein, a student at Lincoln Lutheran Ms/High School, has been selected to be a National Youth Delegate to the 2016 Washington Youth Summit on the Environment to be held June 26-July 1 at George Mason University.

Klein joins a select group of 250 students from across the country to participate in an intensive study week-long of leadership in environmental science and conservation. Klein was chosen based on academic accomplishments and a demonstrated interest and excellence in leadership in the sciences and conservation studies.
STURTEVANT  BRP plans to establish a global training center this year that will annually draw more than 500 dealers and technicians, and Tuesday gained this villages conceptual agreement to contribute money toward the plan.

Four BRP executives Tuesday evening told the Sturtevant Community Development Authority and Village Board about two initiatives the company plans for its Evinrude campus at 10101 Science Drive in Renaissance Business Park. The projects would total $700,000 or more in capital investment, and BRP seeks $125,000 in village assistance.

One project would create a training center at the BRP campus, and the other is an energy-recapture system. To help nurture those plans, the CDA unanimously voted to have village staff and BRP work out a development agreement with BRP.

BRP, or Bombardier Recreational Products, executives said the company should complete both projects by this fall.

They said the Valcourt, Quebec-based company has chosen to make the local campus the global technical training hub for the Americas. The training center will be built into existing space at BRP and provide training on several company products including Sea-Doo personal watercraft, Ski-Doo snowmobiles and Spyder all-terrain vehicles.

They said the training center will bring in more than 500 dealers and technicians attending weeklong training sessions at BRP annually. People will come from all over the world, said BRP Legal Director Michael Schroeder.

And because of the varying seasonality of the BRP products, he said, There will be a more consistent flow of visitors.

Benefits for the community

Racine County Economic Development Center Business Development Manager Laura Million said that number of visitors will bring an estimated $360,000 to $450,000 additional spending to the area.

The approximately 4,500-square-foot center would bring 11 new employees averaging $30 per hour in wages, BRP said. Nine of those employees will be transfers from the Wausau BRP training center, which will be closing.

The other project BRP officials described is an energy recovery plan to recapture heat from the 600,000-gallon tanks used for testing Evinrude engines made here. Jeff Wasil, BRP engineering manager for emissions, said the company will be able to recover and use in other ways more than 80 percent of the heat generated in the testing process.

Current employment at the Sturtevant campus is about 500 people. Consisting of 472,000 square feet on 65 acres, it is world headquarters for the Evinrude brand and the main showcase for worldwide Evinrude activities.
CALEDONIA  Barring a last-minute write-in campaign, village Trustee Ed Willing will run unopposed for re-election in April.

The Village Board has decided not to appoint a challenger to replace candidate April Weatherston, who filed nomination petitions last month to run against Willing, but died several weeks later.

State statutes state the Village Board has the power to appoint an alternative candidate, but is not required to do so. The board was informed it had an opening last Friday and had four business days to take action.

Village President Bob Bradley said that resident Mike Pirk, owner of Mikes Trailer Sales, 6410 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, expressed interest in running for the seat. He has served on the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission and currently serves on the Caledonia Sewer and Water Utility board.

But at Mondays Village Board meeting, several residents urged the board to not appoint Pirk  or any challenger  to avoid the appearance of political chicanery.

It seems like good-old-boy politics, said Fran Martin, a member of the villages Community Development Authority. Mr. Pirk seemed to be the only one aware of the opening. Its probably not good-old-boy politics, but thats what it seems like.

Its just bad appearances, agreed Eric Butcher, who is running for a trustee position against incumbent Kathy Trentadue. There was a time to collect signatures and he had his chance.

Willing himself wasnt thrilled at the prospect of an opponent on the ballot. I dont feel any government is obligated to create a challenge, he said.

Willing also said he felt there was no conflict of interest in him casting a vote against appointing a candidate.

Village resident Harry Garnett supported Weatherstons candidacy, but knew Pirk had thought about running for the seat.

This seat deserves a challenger, Garnett said.

This is not some underhanded thing, said Pirk, who was at Mondays meeting. I thought about this during the summer. I certainly would be very happy to run.

Options remain

Pirk could still run as a write-in candidate, but his name would not be on the ballot.

Weatherston, the wife of state Rep. Tom Weatherston, R-Caledonia, filed nomination petitions Jan. 5 to run against Willing. But she was striken by a rare form of blood cancer, was in intensive care at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa for two weeks, and died Jan. 17.

Before she died she told her husband she hoped to recover and run for the seat.

After she died, Wisconsin Government Accountability Board officials said Weatherstons name would be removed from the ballot because the ballots had not been printed.

Village Clerk Karie Torkilsen received a call from the GAB last week informing her the village could appoint a challenger in April Weatherstons place.

Torkilsen contacted Village Attorney Elaine Ekes, who confirmed the board had that option. Torkilsen told the Village Board last Friday that it had four business days to take action, and added the issue to Mondays board agenda.
Wisconsin is home to thriving agriculture and food processing industries employing tens of thousands of people in every corner of our state. Unfortunately, unless Congress acts, these industries could be subjected to burdensome new labeling regulations that will drive up prices, costing our state jobs and taking more money out of the pockets of hardworking Wisconsin families.

There are states considering individualized labeling requirements for foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMO). GMOs help farmers reduce pollution and keep food costs affordable for families worldwide. GMOs have been proven by nearly 2,000 studies to be safe, including by the American Medical Association. As states look to adopt individual labeling requirements, it adds regulatory costs to Wisconsin producers and employers. If this continues, the end result of 50 separate state laws with 50 separate labeling requirements would mean a tremendous and costly burden for Wisconsin producers.

We need Congress to act and create uniform nationwide standards for GMO labeling. Wisconsin businesses cannot afford to be subjected to a 50 state regulatory patchwork. Fortunately, Congress is already considering legislation to address this issue. In fact, last summer the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599  the safe and accurate food labeling act of 2015  with broad bipartisan support, including that of Speaker Ryan. This legislation creates a science-based national standard to fix this problem.

We applaud Speaker Ryan for supporting H.R. 1599. With negotiations ongoing, Wisconsin companies and families need continued attention to this issue in hopes that it gets resolved before its too late.

Lucas Vebber

Madison
This was a perfectly beautiful spring day! I was outside in the morning doing some cleanup after the winter snow. Almost all of the snow is...
You Just Want Everyone to Have a Gun!

Posted on January 19th, 2016 by DRGO

When a person who believes in strict gun control argues with a supporter of gun rights, you can tell when one of them realizes they can't win the argument.

The gun owner will usually fall back on the Second Amendment and the phrase "shall not be infringed" as being the final word on the subject. Supporters of more gun control laws will often resort to some variation of: "You just want everyone to have a gun!"

This argumentum ad absurdum signals their inability to process any more information that runs contrary to their world view. End of discussion. But let's examine this statement further and see where it leads.

To start with, nobody advocates universal gun ownership. There are obviously many people who should not have a gun. Some easy examples would be people with certain severe mental illnesses, people below a certain age and those who have committed violent crimes.........

It is always refreshing to read opinion from "Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership", as all too often the blanket impression of doctors is that they are all anti-gun. Here is an article with the belief that the vast majority of mentally competent, non-criminal, adult Americans deserve the freedom to make their own choice, and those who live where that freedom is recognized do a pretty good job of it.

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JURIST Guest Columnist Veronica Reyes of St. Johns University School of Law, Class of 2016, is the tenth author in a twelve-part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. Reyes discusses why warrantless searches of cell phones by the police may not be the best solution in protecting our Fourth Amendment rights The Riley v. California decision is a slight victory for privacy rights advocates like myself who believe individuals should be protected from unreasonable searches of personal information. In Riley, the Supreme Court held that police officers must get a warrant before searching the contents of an arrestees cell phone. Nonetheless while the courts ruling thoroughly discussed the privacy risks posed by warrantless cell phone searches, I am not confident the decision went far enough in protecting cell phone privacy rights.

The Riley holding is disconcerting because it does not provide law enforcement officials with suitable instructions for implementing cell phone search warrants. A warrant must describe with reasonable precision the places to be searched and items to be seized. However by declining to define particular requirements for what can and cannot be searched on a cell phone, the courts ruling left police officers with considerable free reign to still search through private information on an arrestees cell phone.

The two cell phone privacy cases heard by the court help illustrate this point. Riley and US v. Wurie dealt respectively with police searches of a smartphone and flip-phone. In the first case, police pulled Riley over for driving with expired license registration tags. When police discovered that Rileys drivers license was also suspended they searched his car, found two guns, and arrested him. They found a smartphone in Rileys pocket, searched it, and discovered videos and photographs connecting Riley to a gang drive-by shooting. In the second case, police arrested Wurie for selling cocaine. Police then searched Wuries flip-phone and found his home phone number, which they used to locate his home address. Upon searching his home police found more drugs and weapons in Wuries possession.

In both cases, warrantless cell phone searches gave police the evidence necessary to prosecute Riley and Wurie for new crimes. But at what cost? Many individuals believe that police best protect society when given full authority to search and seize incriminating evidence that locks up criminals. They feel that the benefits of a cell phone search, which can recover fruits of a crime, far outweigh the protection of a criminals privacy rights.

Yet, I caution these individuals to consider the constitutional problem with warrantless cell phone searches: they violate the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures absent probable cause or a warrant. This protection is violated when police officers search digital data on a cell phone without a warrant. This protection is also violated if, despite a warrant, the warrant does not precisely authorize what can and cannot be searched on a cell phone.

Through its decision, the court drew many appropriate conclusions. First it declined to extend the search incident to a lawful arrest exception to cell phone searches, which ordinarily allows police officers to search an arrestees person for twin purposes of protecting officer safety and preserving evidence. In Riley, the court correctly found that these purposes are not an issue during a cell phone search. Digital data cannot be used to harm a police officer, nor are officers concerned with remote wiping or data encryption that would destroy evidence on the phone before they obtain a warrant.

Second the court embraced the digital age, discussing how cell phones differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from other physical objects on an arrestees person. Chief Justice Roberts compared cell phones to minicomputers; they are portals to vast amounts of information that individuals may no longer store in their own homes. Finally the court determined that protecting the expectation of privacy in data stored on cell phones outweighs immediate needs of law enforcement to protect society. Privacy concerns are certainly magnified when one considers how much information police officers can uncover from cell phone searches.

Thus, post Riley, police officers now know they must get a warrant before searching a cell phone if they want evidence to withstand a suppression hearing. Nevertheless, by evading a discussion of particularity requirements, the Supreme Courts decision left law enforcement with uncertainties about how to implement the cell phone search warrant requirement.

Legitimate questions arise regarding what digital data an officer can search when he requests a warrant for a cell phone. For instance, cell phones store emails, text messages, photographs, videos, internet searches, mobile software applications and much more. This information may not be pertinent to a criminal investigation. Furthermore, this information may not be physically stored on the cell phone, but may be on a remote server or in the cloud which pose their own privacy issues.

I suggest that we can find guidance for implementing cell phone search warrants in Justice Alitos concurring opinion. Agreeing with the majority that warrants are the best solution, Alito suggested that the legislature enact laws to determine what can and cannot reasonably be searched on a cell phone.

Therefore, to ensure that cell phone privacy rights are protected, Congress should enact a law that would regulate searches of cellular devices based on categorizing the information stored on the device. The categorization would differentiate digital data stored directly on a cellular device from digital data synchronized with a cellular device. The law would still require police officers to show probable cause to search information on the cell phone. However, synchronized data, because of its connection to sources outside of the cellular device, would be afforded greater privacy protection than data stored directly on the cellular device. Searches of this information would require officers to show that there is more than mere criminal activity afoot to obtain a search warrant for such information.

The Riley ruling reaffirmed an arrestees fundamental Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Yet while the court acknowledged the necessity of a search warrant requirement for cell phones, it fell short in discussing how to implement such a requirement, giving police considerable authority in searching cell phones. Through Congress initiatives, we can hope that a balance between privacy interests and the goals of law enforcement will be perfectly struck through a defined warrant requirement.

Veronica Reyes is a third-year law student at St. Johns University School of Law. She currently serves as a Senior Articles Editor for the St. Johns Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development and as a Legal Writing teaching assistant for first year students. During her first and second year, she worked at a law firm in Manhattan specializing in criminal appeals.

Suggested Citation: Veronica Reyes Why Police May Still Have Free Reign to Search an Arrestees Cell Phone Despite a Warrant , JURIST  Student Commentary, Feb 3, 2016, http://jurist.org/forum/2016/veronica-reyes-search-phones.php.
JURIST Guest Columnist Dimitrina Petrova of Equal Rights Trust discusses the need to reduce inequality as a development goal in order to reach a prime Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)

As we entered 2016, a new resolution to transform our world by 2030 came into effect. On January 1, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With this New Years resolution has come new wisdom. Among many other advances, the SDGs address one major shortcoming of the MDGs: the failure to make reducing inequality a development goal.

The MDGs largely neglected the role which inequality can play in frustrating human development efforts. This has had serious consequences, both for the communities that have been excluded and for the success of national policy measures designed to achieve development goals. Yet the centrality of equal rights in development policies is not a new idea among strategic thinkers, such as Nobel Prize Laureate Amartya Sen. A reflection of the need to reduce inequality is also found in the early work of the UN Development Programme [PDF].

In recent years, research by NGOs has demonstrated that ethnic and religious minorities [PDF], persons with disabilities [PDF] and older persons [PDF] have frequently been left behind by MDG efforts focused on achieving aggregate targets. Success in reaching such targets often disguised an increase of the gap between groups inside a country. For example, a reduction of maternal mortality by 75 percent (MDG 5) might be achieved at the expense of concentrating efforts in urban centers in pursuit of quick results whilst ignoring rural or remote communities.

The SDGs focus on reducing inequality is to be welcomed and as the new framework came into effect, the pressing question now is how can this be achieved? The answer, increasingly recognized over the last years, lies in the direction of holistic government-led interventions; but what has not been stressed as strongly as it should have been is that an essential element of this approach is the adoption and enforcement of comprehensive equality laws on which such policies should be based.

Since 2013, the Organization Equal Rights Trust has advocated the adoption of an equal rights approach to development [PDF], which rests on comprehensive equality legislation prohibiting discrimination on all recognized grounds and requiring states to adopt positive (affirmative) action measures to address substantive inequalities of particular groups. The difference between development with and without this approach is the difference between enforceable rights and unaccountable aspirations.

Until just a few years ago, it was legal for courts in Kenya to discriminate against widows in succession cases. Disinherited widows would be evicted from their homes and land and have no means of redress. A new Constitution [PDF] adopted in 2010, finally prohibited such discrimination. If women are able to seek enforcement of their legal right to equality, they would be stepping up to an entirely new level on their ascent to full participatory equality with men. The Equal Rights Trust, among others, works with Kenyan women to enable them to dare forward.

With effective equality legislation in place, the ethnic minority living in a marginalized area can use the law to challenge development policies which direct resources to other parts of the country; the persons with disabilities can challenge the failure to accommodate their needs in places of education and employment; all those disadvantaged by history of policy or both can take effective steps to reducing the inequality gap in their societies.

The MDGs of the past 15 years leaped over the inequality gap. The SDGs of future decades require taking a good look at the gap to create the regulatory framework for interventions that would make it shrink.

Dimitrina Petrova is the founding Executive Director of the Equal Rights Trust, the international organization advancing equality worldwide. Dimitrina previously headed the European Roma Rights Centre, recognized for its pioneering work on racial equality. She has help professorships at various universities and published extensively on human rights, equality, politics and social sciences.

Suggested citation: Dimitrina Petrova, Mind the Gap Between Poor and Rich: An Equal Rights Approach is Key in Global Development, JURIST  Professional Commentary, Feb. 3, 2016, http://jurist.org/professional/2016/02/Dimitrina-Petrova-poor-and-rich.php.
Syrian refugee women are being abused in Lebanon, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] said in a report [text, PDF] published Tuesday. The report explains [press release] how the refusal by the Lebanese government to renew permits causes refugee women to be exploited by people in positions of power such as police, employers and landlords. Around 70 percent of Syrian refugee families are living significantly below the Lebanese poverty line. Due to their desperation, some refugees have claimed to receive inappropriate sexual advances and offers in return for financial assistance. Others claim that employers pay them excessively low wages because the employers know the women cannot afford to turn down the work. AI called on the international community to increase the number of resettlement locations and routes along with increased funding and support to fulfill the UNs funding requirements for assistance for the Syria crisis.

The rights of migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issue around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. In January Human Rights Watch (HRW) published [JURIST report] a report claiming that Lebanese residency laws risk creating a large undocumented community of refugees living within the Lebanese community. In November UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed [JURIST report] the UN General Assembly and cautioned the international community to avoid discrimination against Muslims, especially refugees and migrants entering Europe, as a result of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris a week earlier. Also that month AI analyzed [JURIST report] the EUs approach to the refugee crisis and recommends changes to ensure international law is followed and human rights are appropriately valued. In October HRW called on [JURIST report] the EU and Western Balkans states to focus on remedying what it characterized as deplorable conditions for asylum-seekers in Europe. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights gave the opening statement [JURIST report] at the thirtieth session of the Human Rights Council in September in which he addressed, among other pressing human rights issues, the migrant crisis.
[JURIST] The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) [official website] on Tuesday sentenced [judgment, PDF] two men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladeshs war of independence in 1971. Obaidul Haque Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni were found guilty [VOA report] of three counts of of participating, aiding and contributing to the commission of offences of murder, abduction and torture as crimes against humanity and one count of abetting, contributing, facilitating and complicity in the commission of offences of murder, abduction, confinement, torture, and other inhumane acts [plundering and arson] as crimes against humanity under Section 3(2)(a)(g) and (h) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 [text, PDF]. Since the formation of the tribunal in 2009, 25 people have been convicted.

The ICTB, established in 2009 under the International Crimes Act [text], is charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes committed during the 1971 conflict, in which about 3 million people were killed. Rights groups such as Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] have criticized [JURIST report] death sentences imposed by the ICTB, stating that trials of war criminals have, in the past, failed to meet international standards. In June a Bangladeshi court gave Syed Mohammed Hasan Ali, a fugitive commander of an auxiliary force of Pakistani troops, a death sentence [JURIST report] for torture and massacre in the Liberation War. In April a Bangladeshi appeals court rejected [JURIST report] a final appeal by Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, an Islamist party official convicted of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation war, upholding his death sentence. Last February the ICTB convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] Abdul Jabbar, a militia leader and former lawmaker, to life in prison for genocide and religious persecution committed during the 1971 Liberation War. Earlier that month the tribunal convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] Islamist leader Adbus Subhan to death.
[JURIST] An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday overturned death sentences for 149 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood accused of executing an attack on a police station near Cairo in 2013. Last year an Egyptian court sentenced the defendants to death in a series of mass trials that were used to denounce the ex-president Mohamed Morsi and his supporters, many of whom align with the pro-Islamist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi was overthrown in 2013 and shortly thereafter the Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization and membership was determined illegal in Egypt. Approximately 500 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood were sentenced to death [IBT report] in early 2014. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people have been killed and 40,000 have been jailed [BBC report] as a result of the crackdown on Islamists and Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt. Wednesdays ruling will result in a retrial [AFP report] for the defendants. Last month Egyptian authorities spent the week clamping down on dissidents [JURIST report] in an effort to avoid further political unrest as the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring approaches. At the instruction of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi [BBC profile], Egyptian security forces searched over 5,000 homes, seized activists in public, closed an art gallery, raided a publishing house and arrested a medical doctor in a nighttime raid, all as precautionary measures.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood [JURIST news archive] have faced a series of legal challenges since Morsis ouster in 2013 and the Egyptian judiciary has received international criticism for its use of mass trials and deviations from due process. In November, an Alexandria court of appeals ordered a retrial for 77 Muslim Brotherhood supporters [JURIST report]. The defendants were charged with murder, possession of weapons, rioting and a number of other criminal charges stemming from a July 2013 protest. They were sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. In August, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced Mohamed Badie and 88 other Muslim Brotherhood members to life imprisonment [JURIST report] for their role in a 2013 attack on a police station. Most defendants were tried and sentenced in absentia for the killing of five people at a police station in the northeastern city of Port Said in August 2013.
[JURIST] Four former Blackwater [corporate website] security contractors on Monday appealed their conviction for a 2007 Baghdad shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians. This appeal centers around a witness for the prosecution who changed his testimony [AP report] after the trial in a way that allegedly undermines the governments case. The four men were found guilty [JURIST report] of various murder charges in October 2014 by the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website], and in April 2015 one was sentenced [JURIST report] to life in prison while the remaining three were given 30 years. US District Judge Royce Lamberth declined to grant a new trial when the witness new testimony came to light before the sentencing hearing, but the defendants pursue this appeal while maintaining that the shootings were justified.

Blackwater [JURIST news archive] and its employees have faced legal controversy in recent years for activities during the Iraq war. In 2014 the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries urged [JURIST report] stronger global and regulation of private security companies. The call came on the heels of the guilty verdict against the four ex-Blackwater security guards. In August 2012 Blackwater agreed to settle [JURIST report] federal criminal charges dealing with export and firearm violations. Also in 2012 Blackwater reached a confidential settlement agreement [JURIST report] with survivors and families of victims in the 2007 shooting incident. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad [JURIST report] in May 2009 when its security contracts expired and were not renewed.
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] on Tuesday rejected [opinion, PDF] a Georgia death row inmates legal challenge. The federal appeals court rejected inmate Brandon Astor Jones challenge to Georgia law that shields the identity of the producer of the drug used in the execution by a 6-5 decision. Jones argued [AP report] that the information was necessary to show that the states lethal injection procedures were cruel and unusual, thereby violating his due process rights. Jones was convicted in 1979 for shooting and killing a convenience store manager. He is set to be executed Tuesday evening.

Use of the death penalty remains a controversial issue throughout the US. In a recent JURIST op-ed, guest columnist John Bessler discussed new changes in the evolution of capital punishment [JURIST op-ed]. In October a judge for the US District Court for the District of Utah denied an appeal [JURIST report] by 74-year-old death row inmate Ron Lafferty to place a hold on his federal case to challenge his execution by firing squad. In September an Oklahoma appeals court granted an emergency stay of execution [JURIST report] for inmate Richard Glossip several hours before he was scheduled for his sentence. In June the US Supreme Court held that the use of the drug midazolam may be used in executions [JURIST report] without violating the constitution. In April the Tennessee Supreme Court postponed the execution [JURIST report] of four inmates on death row while it determines whether current protocols are constitutional, effectively halting all executions in the state. Also in April the Delaware Senate voted to repeal the death penalty [JURIST report], but the legislation includes an exemption for the 15 inmates currently on death row.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Monday called [press release] for the South Korean government to pass legislation that would promote human rights in North Korea. A divisive bill proposed in 2005 provides for the creation of a North Korean Human Rights Foundation (NKHRF) and a system to document and archive information about rights abuses by the North Korean government. According to HRW, the NKHRF would fund non-governmental groups to conduct research and seek to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, educate South Koreans about rights conditions in North Korea, and provide humanitarian aid in line with international monitoring standards. The bill is divisive because it would support organizations that would actively work to undermine [VOA report] the Kim Jong-un government, potentially damaging inter-Korean relations. The bill would intensify international pressure on North Korea and would be supported by other countries focused on issues in North Korea.

Last month the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea Marzuki Darusman called Kim to be held criminally responsible [JURIST report] for the human rights conditions in the nation. In November Japan and the EU circulated [JURIST report] a draft UN resolution condemning North Koreas human rights abuses and encouraging the UN Security Council to refer the country to the International Criminal Court [official website], noting reports of torture, limits on freedom of mobility, restrictions on freedom of speech, restrictions on freedom of religion, privacy infringement, arbitrary imprisonment, prison camps and more. Darusman expressed deep concerns [JURIST report] regarding human rights violations in the country just a month earlier. In November 2014 Darusman said that there is enough evidence to hold Kim responsible for massive human rights atrocities [JURIST report] committed in the country. In response to these concerns, the UN in June opened a new office [JURIST report] in Seoul to specifically monitor human rights in North Korea.
[JURIST] The High Court of Delhi [official website] ruled Monday that women may legally serve as the head of a family, a role traditionally held by the eldest man. In traditional Hindu culture the eldest man serves as the Karta, or manager of the family. Legally, the Karta is responsible for a familys rituals, real property and assets. The decision [Times of India report] came as a result of a lawsuit brought by woman whose family business was turned over to a younger male family member after her father and uncles died. In deciding the case, Justice Najmi Waziri foundt the Karta may be the eldest female in a family and determined the family business should be turned over to the eldest daughter.

Last month UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] announced that he is creating the first high-level panel to address womens economic empowerment initiatives [JURIST report]. The panels goal is to create a plan of action for nations and private sector businesses to implement in order to improve womens rights by achieving economic agency for women all over the globe in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [text, PDF]. In September the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] said that no country has achieved full equality between men and women and urged [JURIST report] the 47 members of the Human Rights Council to make efforts to achieve such equality.
[JURIST] A court in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday overturned a death sentence for an apostate poet who renounced the Muslim faith, giving him eight years in prison instead. The court quashed the previous courts ruling [JURIST report] that poet Ashraf Fayadh was to be sentenced to death for, what human rights activist Mona Kareem states was posting a video online showing the Mutaween (religious police) lashing a man in public. Fayadh, who had no legal representation, was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes, but this changed after another judge revised the sentence to death. Fayadh is required to repent [AP report] as well, with an announcement in the media in the future. The complaint against him had originally come from a cultural discussion group at a cafe in Abha.

Saudi Arabias justice system has drawn international criticism for alleged human rights abuses in recent months. Last month a well-known female human rights activist was detained [JURIST report] by government authorities in Saudi Arabia. Also last month Saudi Arabian officials announced that the government executed 47 prisoners convicted of terrorism charges [JURIST report], including al Qaeda detainees and a prominent Shiite cleric who rallied protesters against the government. In November Amnesty International reported [JURIST report] that Saudi Arabia has executed a record 151 people in 2015, the highest number since 1995. In 2014 the total number of executions carried out was 90. AI said that almost half of all the executions carried out in 2015 were for offenses that are not considered most serious crimes under the international human rights laws. Saudi Arabia also reportedly continues to impose the death sentence on individuals under the age of 18, violating child human rights laws. In September a group of UN human rights experts urged authorities [JURIST report] in Saudi Arabia to block the execution of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was convicted of involvement in the Arab Spring protests when he was 17.
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] refused [order, PDF] Monday to delay the implementation of a new redistricting plan in Virginia for the upcoming election to the US House of Representatives. The case, Wittman v. Personhuballah [JURIST report], involves the 3rd congressional district, which is the only congressional district in the state that has a majority African American population. The question presented before the court is whether race was used unconstitutionally to form these district lines. The district map that the state is seeking to defend has already been replaced by a new plan, which had been struck down itself by a federal district court. After the state failed to create a new map to replace this one, the three-judge district court began to create one for the district and is well into finishing the project. District 3 was created in 1991 by Democratic Representative Bobby Scott as a majority African American district, and it was redrawn in 2010 but with less of a proportion of African Americans. The court is set to hear oral arguments in the case March 21.

The Supreme Court has heard a few cases regarding district lines recently. In November the court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in a challenge to the Three Judge Court Act, which requires the convening of a three-judge district court to decide certain important lawsuits such as those concerning voter redistricting. In June the court ruled [JURIST report] that the Elections Clause of the US Constitution permits the state of Arizona to adopt a commission to draw congressional districts. In April the court threw out [JURIST report] a North Carolina court ruling that upheld Republican-drawn electoral districts for state and congressional lawmakers.
The UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled [case materials] Wednesday in favor of a lesbian woman seeking the return of her IVF-born daughter to the UK from Pakistan, giving her the right to fight for custody. The seven-year-old child was taken to Pakistan by her biological mother and legal parent after her relationship with the appellant ended in 2011. The UK high court and court of appeals previously ruled that they did not have jurisdiction [Guardian report] over the proceedings, brought under the Children Act, as the child was no longer a UK resident. The Supreme Court, however, found that the girl was a habitual resident of the UK, and that an English judge could now consider what is in the childs best interest, and, if appropriate, order contact [Guardian report] or the childs return to England.

Advances in reproductive technology have continued to raise legal issues. In November a California judge ordered the destruction [JURIST report] of five embryos following a couples divorce. Last February UK lawmakers voted in favor [JURIST report] of a law that would make the UK the first country to allow an in IVF technique that uses DNA from two women and one man. In 2014 the French Court of Cassation ruled [JURIST report] that a woman is allowed to adopt the child of her same-sex spouse conceived through IVF.
[JURIST] The chief prosecutor of Zimbabwe was charged Tuesday with obstructing justice after he dropped a case against the men accused of plotting to bomb a dairy operated by members of President Robert Mugabes [BBC backgrounder] family. He was officially charged with [AFP report] abuse of office and obstructing justice after authorizing the release of two of the four suspected plotters facing charges of treason. Johannes Thomas, once seen as a serious loyalist to Mugabe, has recently had a falling out with the president. The men accused of plotting the attack include the leader of the opposition party Zimbabwe Peoples Front, an army corporal and retired intelligence officer. Tomana appeared before a magistrate in Harare and was released on $1,000 bail after not entering a plea.

Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, has consistently been accused of influencing and controlling the judicial system. Tomana had previously been accused of bias against Mugabes opponents by opposition parties. Last year, he was found guilty [The Zimbabwean report] of contempt of court when he refused to prosecute a ruling party lawmaker facing rape charges. He later avoided a 30 day jail sentence after the decision was reversed. The ruling Zanu-PF party has experienced some divide [BBC report] as they have struggled to decide who will succeed 91 year-old Mugabe. One side is backing Mugabes wife Grace, while another side is backing Deputy President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
* Line didnt debut until 2011, so its an anachronism here, but aurally, I really wanted that stupid chime to be a part of this fic.

What Paak Seesgen, outsider POV, Mid/Late S5PG-13~2500racial slurs, brief mentions of police violenceLowereys Diner in Manitou Creek is nothing special, and these men know it. They glance at the menu like its a body part--something known and familiar that need only be assessed, not discovered. They dont call her over. The hungry one just sort of flicks his gaze up at her and flicks it away, like theyre in the middle of something and waitresses are not invited.One Hmong waitress, two tall men, and the morning of what could have been the end of America. Mid/Late S5.These days shes from Milwaukee; and her English is fine.Its just that Mindys is better. Susans, too.Mindy and Susan are here from a top 150 Guangdong womens college. Grammar. Rhetoric. They even understand honorifics likeand. Paak didnt finish tenth grade.Its not that theyre shy, either. Mindy and Susan will talk to families, babies, and lady backpackers, and church groups, and lovers, and tour buses--Paaks never met a shy Chinese.But Mindy and Susan never speak to men like these. The tall plaid ones.And who can blame them, really? In the face of Real American Men.Paak rolls her eyes.Their grades may have been perfect, but they can barely pronounce their own American names. Still sounds like Mengxi, Sucheng.Paak is the American one.And these men are her responsibility, just like all the rest of them.WELCOME TO MANITOU CREEK, she chirps, exactly the same way Chris The Manager trained them all to say it. WE ARE THE GATEWAY TO THE VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK. WE HAVE MEALS AND BEDS AND WE RENT CANOES FOR CHEAP.One of the men puts a hand to his belly and jabs the other lightly in the back. Paak hands them laminated menus because whatever her command of English, these men speak the language of her uncles. Bodies moving, speaking without words.Their fingernails are dirty. She wonders if they work in machinery, too.The hungry one winks at her.Mindy and Susan titter from behind the counter. (And Paaks uncles were right--coward Chinese. Never shy, only cowards.)they whisper, as though this were not true of their last shuffle of guests, or the one before.Theyre unclean, Paak thinks. But she rubs at her own brown skin.--Lowereys Diner in Manitou Creek is nothing special, and these men know it. They glance at the menu like its a body part--something known and familiar that need only be assessed, not discovered. Like Auntie and her hangnails. Like Ma and her swollen gout. Theyre not excited about the selection and dont expect to be; these are things you live with.Theyre ready in about four seconds, but dont call her over. The hungry one just sort of flicks his gaze up at her and flicks it away, like theyre in the middle of something and waitresses are not invited. Their smiles are rushed. Its all a little off-tempo.Coffee, The Special, Side of Bacon. Nothing for Me, Thanks.Paak stands at the threshold of the kitchen, repeating their order under her breath, counting its contents on the beads of her bracelet.Behind her, the two men whisper.says Hungry.OMELETTE. GREEN PANCAKE, CHINESE STYLE. GRAVY CANOE, Paak thinks.Hungry says nothing.Hungry says,--Mindy cooks well, for all her tittering. Shes not completely useless.Shes to be married, she explained once. When she returns home shell have suitors. Young businessmen home from the city for the autumn solstice, with mooncakes wrapped up in fancy red-gilt boxes. Theyll want her because she has experience doing business in America.She has experience working at a National Park as a cook as a waitress in Minnesota one summer.Susans phone yelps, LINE! and Paak quickly cant stand either of them any more. As the bacon fries, sparkling richly with Real American Fat, Paak wanders back out to the front desk.She rearranges post cards.The men are like all the men she knew in Wisconsin. Same Carhartts. Same thick hands. Messy not-quite beard, not remotely beard--the lazy scruff Paaks brother absolutely could not grow. (His hairs always sprouted from his chin and lip like wiry, solitary eels.)She hears two things that might be names, though these men have a drawl thats hard for her to understand. They have an ugly accent, like Mindy, like Susan. Like Paak.(Co ffithespecialsideofbeykunAndNothingforme please)Paak knows only sharp Milwaukee English. Round Minnesotan. Sam, though. And Dean. Those are easy names.In Mas tongue, just these two sounds would mean a dozen things, depending on their intonation. But Paaks mother says that even when Paak tries, she still sounds like an American--always so flat.To her, Sam means Sam. Dean means Dean. One sound, one man.The man with his back to her--the man whose back was jabbed, the taller one--adjusts his coat. She catches a flash of metal at his waistband and for a moment Paak thinks,These men are the same as all the rest.--When Paak is thirteen a whiskey bottle filled with bloated cigarettes crashes through her bedroom window. At first its nothing, just the way this street is, but in the morning theres black oil screaming hatred on their driveway. GO HOME GOOKS. Ma isnt mad shes not American--she has no pretensions. But she is not Vietnamese. Shes from a village in Laos that she refuses to name, but she is proud of it; shes no Gook.Paak is sixteen and not at all proud when federal agents burst through their front door. Her Ma is in trouble because her brother is in trouble--or an uncle, an auntie--someone. Maybe everyone. Theyve been doing things theyre not supposed to do. Selling, maybe. Green cards jeopardized, maybe jail time. Maybe go home, pretend to be Gooks. They quit the black market fast after that--everyone except Paaks brother.At nineteen, more drunk men. Paak is accused of witchcraft. This time, shes the one who made a mistake, brought them home after a party because she was mad and she hated her mother and her brother was three days missing. The men see their shrine, the red threads leading up to the ceiling, the heavens. Break it all and then Ma starts screaming. Her brother never gets found.Twenty-five, and a white man in a heavy green coat--like that one, like the one sitting in a Lowereys chair gulping coffee--tells her what Ministry hes from (shes familiar with this routine by now--Milwaukee can actually be a very welcoming city). Tells her he has a job for a girl like her, maybe. A neat, nice girl.And now shes here, making more money staring at men than her mother does in the factory. Than her uncles and the machines. Not as much as her brother, though, before he disappeared. This man was one of the good ones. Savior, maybe.But all these tall white men, theyre all the same to her. It doesnt matter what their names are. Paak can hardly tell them apart.--Hungry is more personable after coffee, or less hungover. He smiles more patiently when she brings his Special and its side of bacon.Then too patiently. She feels naked.Im sorry, he says. Its been a long drive.We dont serve alcohol on these premises. We dont have a license, Paak says quickly. Its all she can think to say.Hungry and Back look at each other, maybe embarrassed. Embarrassed she, just the waitress, can see (and smell) so much of them. Then Paak thinks of the gun in Backs pants and maybe regrets her honesty.Manitou Creek is a nice place, nicer than Milwaukee; dont get her wrong. But you get strange ones up here sometimes. Down from the forest, off from the roads. From folds of American soil Paaks never seen first-hand. They actually make her miss Milwaukee, these wanderers and voyagers. At least in Milwaukee theres city blocks and turf lines.Men like these ones never care about any of that, though. And Back has a gun.asks Back.He smiles and it looks nice.--Mindy is counting the number of pancakes it will take her to get back home to Guangdong.Today is April 24, 2010.That means theres a good many pancakes between now and Tuen Ng.Mindy starts crying in Chinese, even though thats not allowed. (English only at work, please.)Paak sighs.If shes not careful, she will learn Chinese in northern Minnesota, in an American diner, surrounded by tall white men. Guang dong tuen ngshut up SHUT UP.If she turns Chinese, Ma will never take her back.So Paak goes back to the front, and returns her focus to her two white men. Even though they stare. Even though they whisper. Shed rather face a white mans gun than a crying Chinese girl.She can still see the gun, maybe. Something bright at the edge of Backs jacket. But maybe thats only underwear.Paak blushes.He does have a nice strong back. For a moment she imagines kissing him--then is terrified by her own imagination. Ma always said thats what gets her into trouble. Paak digs her nails into her palms until she feels the heat drain from her face.Its easier to stare at Hungry--because she can see his face and it reminds her of men beyond their body parts. It reminds her of their own staring, their drinking, their danger. Not just their strong backs.Hungrys dirty fingers dance over the tabletop.Then he says something strange.says Hungry.He looks ill.Back grabs Hungrys wrist, hard like he intends to drag him up from something--or break it. He spits out something reassuring. Paak cant tell what he said--and she still cant tell if the problem is her English, or theirs; but they must be far from home, talking like that--but Hungrys expression wavers.says Hungry, like hes annoyed by the insinuation.Backs shoulders straighten. His coat settles differently, heavy and resolute. Paak cant see the gun anymore. This time for sure.Back says.Hungry takes a deep breath and then a big bite.Then hes gone and Susans prodding Paaks elbow with a dish so hot it burns. Backs pancake.I can put this in a box, if you want, says Paak, as she nears the table. Back is counting crumpled bills.Nah, thats fine, says Back. Were in a rush.I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY IN MANITOU CREEK, says Paak, brochure perfect. Mr...Dean?Backs face twists.Chris The Manager would not be pleased.Mr. Sam? Paak tries again.Listen to me, Back tells her.No matter what you hear, you stay inside, okay?She must give him a stupid look, because he repeats himself, slower. Calmer.stay insideHungry comes back then, peeks through the front door and sayswhen he realizes what Back must be trying to explain.And Paak, Paak asks the one question Ma forbade her, so many years and thousands of miles ago. Back when Paak was young, too young to know the place that she lived had a name--that it needed a name because there was more than one place, that this place she would never see again. (Ma slapped her so hard she fell, the last time she asked this question.)Excuse me, Paak asks. But whats going on?Thats...complicated, says Back.Were not who you think we are, Hungry tries to assures her, though even he doesnt seem convinced.--When Paak hears the shots--two, in quick succession; brash and unsilenced--she whips still, scared but nostalgic. She knows that sound, and it reminds her of home, of all her homes.Mindy and Susan shock white, whiter than their powders and lotions. Susans phone yelps, LINE! and Mindy giggles, nervous.Im going to call the police, Susan announces.Paak crosses her arms in front of her face--a warding.Do you trust the police in Guangdong? she asks.Susan looks at Mindy. She silences her phone, holds the power button until the screen goes black.Then theres a rap at the door.--Were not who you think we are, Hungry insists. Were--Then he doubles over, throws up in Lowereys slop bucket. Again.says Back. He rubs Hungrys back. Roys back.(Its just one more single-syllable name.)Roy sputters agreement.Back asks for a towel. And a to-go order of those pancakes if you got any, he says.We make them fresh, says Paak, feeling half-dumb. Can I get your name for the order?Back looks at Roy, throwing up; his hand goes to the gun at his back; then to his cheek, where he wipes flecks of someone elses blood from his skin.Darling, he says, You know I cant give you that.Paak looks at Roy, whose name is Roy., hisses Roy.--Two plainclothes agents walk into Lowereys a few hours later. They are tall and plaid and white, as usual.They have a few questions about some suspicious characters, if shes got a minute. Two guys, yay high, open carry?Mindy and Susan pretend. COOK ONLY, VERY TASTY, they say. SORRY NO ENGLISH. But maybe Mindy and Susan arent pretending. These two men have foreign accents, too. They are voyagers from afar, and their English is crumpled. Yet another brand of American.Yes, Paak says. She has a minute. It is, after all, what shes been hired to have.Waitresses wait.But Paak does not give answers. She only shrugs and says, People disappear sometimes. Sorry.The man shrugs back.Hes a tall white man looking for tall white men in Minnesota; maybe he understands.No problem, he says. Figured it was worth a shot.Then he turns to his partner.Nothing for me, Sammy (Winchester?) says flatly.Hes upset about something. Wont stop looking at his partners neck--theres something missing and there shouldnt be, like a limb, or a hangnail.Theres grime under his nails and blood in his hair, even though he smells like soap.says the other one. Then he orders a side of bacon, the Special, and coffee.Paak looks at his hands.Hes got blood on him, too, same as all the rest.
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Listed below are the Weblogs I commend to your attention. A listing is not an endorsement of content. For an explanation of the groupings (by analogy to Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade"), please see this post , and this ; the reference to "cannon" is not pejorative (although it may, depending on its character, be regarded as onomatopoetic). Authors who object to their listing here, either on specific grounds or no grounds at all, may contact me for correction or removal. (Removal is automatic after a month or so of inactivity.) I will also consider requests and recommendations to be added.Note: only the best of the conservative political blogs are listed here (under "Cannon Fodder", below). For political blogs on the left, those readers who lean toward such fare need no assistance in locating them, and they need no promotion here.
NC Dhanusha warns retaliation against Morcha

Nepali Congress Dhanusha chapter has condemned Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) for their violent activities such as vandalism and arson targeting the houses belonging to NC parliamentarians.
A lost opportunity

Nepals transitional justice mechanisms have failed to involve victims in their activities
CommMin to prepare draft of transit treaty

The Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday announced that it would be drafting a transit treaty in the next 100 days as it wants to sign deals with other neighbouring countries, particularly China, so that Nepal will have more route options.
NC warns of retaliation if SLMM attack continues

Nepali Congress (NC) Dhanusha District Committee has warned of retaliation against the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) unless the latter stops its attack on the NC leaders and activists.
Rural farm communities lack banking services

Local small farmers have been complaining that they cannot get access to banking services as banks are concentrated in urban areas.
Small investors accuse Joshi of irregularities

But he denies charges, blames two board members for the current mess in the company
A blog on Singapore defence and the SAF that goes Above & Beyond The Obvious -The views expressed on this blog are my personal views and/or opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD). Copyright  2009-2020. David Boey. All rights reserved. Follow us on Twitter @SenangDiri
Yoopers for Ukraine offers Family Fun on Mont Ripley Sunday, Oct. 23, to help rebuild schools



UPDATE: Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra UNQUIET EARTH concert now on video livestream



UPDATE: Oct. 10 Town Hall with Dr. Bob: Recording now available on Facebook



Rozsa Galleries present ARABESQUE through Nov. 4



FOREST SPIRITS, by artist Joyce Koskenmaki, opens Oct. 7 at Gallery on 5th, Calumet



Garbage stickers to replace Hancock City garbage bags The City of Hancocks bag vendor has been unable to produce garbage bags on a consistent and reliable basis; therefore, Hancock has made the switch to garbage stickers instead of bags. Residents may use garbage bags of choice, with the requirement that the bags are a minimum of 1.2 mil thick and no greater than 35 gallons (bags must not exceed 30 pounds in weight). Stickers will be sold in sheets of 5 for $5 each sheet. Stickers will be available for purchase at City Hall, Holiday Gas Station, Krist Oil, Keweenaw Co-op, Pats IGA, Ristos Hardware. As the current inventory of bags is depleted at the different locations, they will be replaced with stickers. City of Hancock trash stickers will need to be purchased and placed around the top of the bag where the bag ties. Please contact Hancock City Hall (906)482-2720 with any questions in regards to this change.

Oil and Water Don't Mix: Submit comments to US Army Corps on EIS for Enbridge Line 5 tunnel project



Red Flags: Enbridge's proposed Great Lakes Tunnel Project under Mackinac Straits



Copper Beacon



UPEC livestream rebroadcast: Latest on Line 5 available on Facebook



Michigans wolf management plan: What do tribes think?



COVID case rates in 5 counties stable with low transmission as of June 28



On June 18 CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination. Read more at cdc.gov.

95 COVID cases, one death in 5-county area last week



Portage Township Planning Commission to meet June 9



COVID case rate rising; vaccination rates still low as of June 1



Updated COVID numbers through May 25



Benefit for Ukraine: May 26 Evening of Art and Cinema



UPEC Livestream Wednesday, May 25: "Mobilizing Grassroots to protect Menominee River"



[UPDATE: If you missed this event, the video recording is available at https://www.facebook.com/upenvironment/videos/400593088651697]

The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalitions Livestream Series will present Mobilizing the Grassroots to Protect the Menominee River, at 8 p.m. (ET) 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday, May 25, on Facebook Live and Zoom. Guest speakers are Dr. Al Gedicks, environmental sociologist and Indigenous rights activist; Anahkwet (Guy Reiter), executive Director of Menikanaehkem, Inc.; and Dale Burie, Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River.

These three activists have been fighting to save the Menominee River from the proposed Back 40 sulfide mine for gold, zinc and other metals. Learn about their struggles and get an update on the present state of their grassroot efforts to protect this beautiful river and nearby Menominee cultural resources.

Facebook: https://facebook.com/upenvironment/live

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86075269466?pwd=OFZCTk1ERHdJSEJOUlNWbW5UaTA3QT09

Meeting ID: 860 7526 9466

Passcode: 2022

Click on photo above for details.

Memorial for Bill Sewell to be May 21 in Rozsa Lobby



COVID cases up 30 percent as of May 18



Additional tests are available from the federal government. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order a third round of free at-home tests. Order yours today at covid.gov/tests.

MDHHS shares FDAs updated guidelines for J and J COVID-19 vaccine The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is updating vaccine providers across the state about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limiting the authorized use on the administration of the Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine. Read more at Michigan.gov.

Updates from CDC and State of Michigan CDC Recommendation for Masks and Travel:

At this time, CDC recommends that everyone aged 2 and older -- including passengers and workers -- properly wear a well-fitting mask or respirator over the nose and mouth in indoor areas of public transportation (such as airplanes, trains, etc.) and transportation hubs (such as airports, stations, etc.). When people properly wear a well-fitting mask or respirator, they protect themselves and those around them, and help keep travel and public transportation safer for everyone. Read more at cdc.gov.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reminds Michigan residents to test, get vaccinated and boosted as COVID-19 cases are expected to rise through May. MDHHS is reminding Michiganders to participate in best practices to reduce risks of COVID-19 and prevent spread at spring gatherings including proms, graduations and other holidays and to make sure they are up-to-date on vaccines. Read more at michigan.gov.

COVID update through April 20: slightly higher case rate, no deaths



UPDATE FROM STATE OF MICHIGAN Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announces that all Michiganders ages 50 and up and moderately or severely immunocompromised individuals over age 12 may choose to receive a second booster vaccine. Read more at Michigan.gov.

UPDATE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Data continue to show the importance of vaccination and booster doses to protect individuals both from infection and severe outcomes of COVID-19. For adults and adolescents eligible for a first booster dose, these shots are safe and provide substantial benefit. Read more at cdc.gov.

COVID-19 vaccination continues to help protect adults against severe illness with COVID-19, including hospitalizations and death, according to two reports released. Read more at cdc.gov.

Open Discussion on Ukraine today, March 8, at Portage Library



UPEC Livestream Feb. 24: Sarah Green speaks on MTU delegation to COP26 in Glasgow



"Animal Life, Art from the Kalevala" in Kerredge Gallery through Feb. 26



Western UP Health Department FREE TESTING CLINICS Free COVID-19 testing is available weekly in Hancock, L'Anse, Ontonagon and Ironwood. Testing is located inside the buildings and no appointment is necessary. All of the services offered at these clinics are free:

HANCOCK: Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 821 Water Street

L'ANSE: Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 303 Baraga Avenue

ONTONAGON: Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 408 Copper Street

IRONWOOD: Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 213 Marquette Street (Memorial Building)

WUPHD advice on home testing for COVID The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) recommends residents take the following steps when testing positive on an at-home COVID-19 test:

- Isolate for 5 days from the start of your symptoms or if no symptoms, the day you took the test.

- Notify all your close contacts that they have been exposed and should quarantine as recommended.

- End isolation only after symptoms are improved, you have had no fever for 24 hours, and continue to mask for an additional 5 days.

"Home tests are a great tool for early detection and prevention of further spread; however, their results cannot be verified, meaning that positives are only considered to be suspect cases and are not included in total case counts," said Kate Beer, WUPHD Health Officer. "Home tests cannot be used to document cases for return to work letters; a follow up lab test is recommended if you need such documentation. Due to resource shortages, the WUPHD is not currently asking residents to report positive home tests to the agency. All residents should take precautions by staying home if you are not feeling well, masking in public or crowded spaces, following quarantine guidelines, and getting vaccinated or your booster dose. Vaccinations continue to be our best defense to reduce the severity of symptoms, prevent hospitalizations and death."

Free COVID at-home tests available from US Postal Service The federal government is making at-home COVID tests available for FREE. Each residential address ia allowed 4 free tests. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order them.

Jan. 15 UPDATE: Omicron identified in Western UP The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has notified the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) that the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories identified the COVID-19 Omicron variant in a Western Upper Peninsula case.

"With the rapid rise in case counts over the last few days, we can be certain that there are additional cases," said Kate Beer, Health Officer at WUPHD. "We encourage residents to take precautions by staying home if you are not feeling well, masking in public or crowded spaces. Follow quarantine guidelines and get vaccinated or your booster dose. Vaccinations continue to be our best defense to reduce the severity of symptoms, prevent hospitalizations and death."

Over the past 2 days WUPHD has posted 396 new COVID-19 cases: 38 in Baraga County, 68 in Gogebic County, 260 in Houghton County, 10 in Keweenaw County, and 20 in Ontonagon County. Case counts do not include the numerous positive home tests taken by residents. Primary vaccinations are currently open to anyone 5 and older. Boosters are available to those 12 and older. Vaccinations can be scheduled with local providers by calling your local health department office, your physicians office, pharmacies, or by visiting www.coppercountrystrong.com/vaccine. Various testing sites are available throughout the district. Visit www.wuphd.org for more information or call 211.

MDHHS updates COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools



Michigan Tech Updates for Spring Semester See the Michigan Tech Flex Updates blog for important updates for the start of Spring Semester: https://blogs.mtu.edu/flex/2022/01/05/important-updates-for-the-start-of-the-spring-semester/

Visit coppercountrystrong.com/vaccine to find out where you can get a vaccine in the Western U.P. To obtain a booster see the Western UP Health Department waitlist at https://www.wupdhd.org/covid-booster-vaccination-waitlist/ or contact your local health provider.

UPDATES from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) -- MDHHS reports first Omicron variant in Kent County. Vaccination, masking and social distancing strongly encouraged to help slow spread. -- MDHHS officials are offering tips and resources to help Michiganders cope with winter, or seasonal, blues that are common at this time of year.

-- MDHHS updates school guidance quarantine guidelines, continues to strongly recommend universal masking to prevent spread of COVID-19.

-- Unvaccinated residents filling Michigan hospitals, getting hospitalized for COVID. As Michigan continues to record high numbers of COVID-19 cases, new data from the Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA) proves that the majority of Michigan residents severely sick with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Read about these and other updates at michigan.gov/coronavirus or click on Copper Country Strong logo above.

Rozsa Center (UPDATED): New guidelines for public events



FEATURED SPONSORS Keweenaw Now thanks the following sponsors for their continued support.



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For recent updates visit FOLK on Facebook

Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts



Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition



Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party



5 Things you need to know about Line 5



Houghton County Democratic Party



City of Hancock



Parade of Nations 2021 Photo Gallery from Late Edition



Copper Country Audubon



Click on image above to learn about Copper Country Audubon and their many birding projects, as well as local webcams for viewing birds in action.



Gratiot Lake Conservancy seeks Program Administrator



The Gratiot Lake Conservancy (GLC) has an opening for a part-time membership administrator and program manager. See GLC program information at www.GratiotLakeConservancy.org (or click on photo above). The position has flexible hours. The ideal candidate will have excellent writing, communication, organization, database management, and record keeping skills. Social media skills and a background in natural science and/or education are a plus. Pay commensurate with experience. Send a resume and cover letter to: director@gratiotlakeconservancy.org

Governor Whitmer accelerates "MI Vacc to Normal" plan



Gretchen Whitmer announced an updated "Vacc to Normal" plan, which outlines steps Michiganders can take to emerge from this pandemic. As of June 1, capacity limits will lift for outdoor events. Additionally, indoor capacity limits will increase to 50 percent, allowing indoor social gatherings such as weddings and funerals to move closer to normalcy. As of July 1, the state will no longer limit capacity at indoor or outdoor gatherings. "As Michiganders have stepped up to get vaccinated and the CDC has released new guidance on masks, we are adapting the MI Vacc to Normal challenge to keep up," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. On May 20 Governor, which outlines steps Michiganders can take to emerge from this pandemic., capacity limits will lift for outdoor events. Additionally, indoor capacity limits will increase to 50 percent, allowing indoor social gatherings such as weddings and funerals to move closer to normalcy., the state will no longer limit capacity at indoor or outdoor gatherings. "As Michiganders have stepped up to get vaccinated and the CDC has released new guidance on masks, we are adapting the MI Vacc to Normal challenge to keep up," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Click here for details.

Health Department returns to 10-Day Quarantine for Covid-19 Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) is recommending a return to a 10-day active monitoring or quarantine period for close contacts. The decision to reduce the quarantine period is in line with state and federal guidelines and will offer consistency across the Upper Peninsula. Close contacts can return to normal activities after the 10-day period, however, they should continue to monitor symptoms up to 14 days from their last contact with an infected person. The new recommendation will apply retroactively to people currently in quarantine. People who are two weeks past their completed Covid-19 vaccination series do not need to quarantine. For additional information please visit Effective May 7, the(WUPHD) is recommending a return to a. The decision to reduce the quarantine period is in line with state and federal guidelines and will offer consistency across the Upper Peninsula. Close contacts can return to normal activities after the 10-day period, however, they should continue to monitor symptoms up to 14 days from their last contact with an infected person. The new recommendation will apply retroactively to people currently in quarantine.For additional information please visit wuphd.org

Gov. Whitmer introduces "MI Vacc to Normal" challenge



Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled the "MI Vacc to Normal" plan as the state continues to push toward its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Michiganders ages 16 years or older. To facilitate this goal, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will base future epidemic order actions on four vaccination-based milestones that, once achieved, will enable Michigan to take a step toward normalcy. On April 29, 2021,unveiled theas the state continues to push toward its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Michiganders ages 16 years or older. To facilitate this goal, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will base future epidemic order actions on four vaccination-based milestones that, once achieved, will enable Michigan to take a step toward normalcy. Click here to read more from the Small Business Association of Michigan.

League of Women Voters, Portage Library to co-host Town Hall on "Re-Districting in Michigan" Apr. 20 League of Women Voters and Portage Lake District Library will co-host a Town Hall presentation on "Re-Districting in Michigan" from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Apr. 20, via Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting Theandwill co-host a Town Hall presentation onfrom, via Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting HERE . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Apr. 17 League of Women Voters of the Copper Country 61st Recorded Annual Meeting held at 1 p.m. on April 17, 2021, with speaker Pat Gotschalk on "The Legal Process: Thoughts on the Transition from Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Amy Coney Barrett," the recording of the meeting is available

If you missed the, with speaker" the recording of the meeting is available HERE

VACCINE UPDATE: Pause in Johnson and Johnson vaccine administration locally Thursday, Apr. 15, at Michigan Tech's Student Development Complex (SDC) will still take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the Moderna vaccine will be given, by appointment, instead of Johnson and Johnson. To make an appointment,

Because of the pause in the use of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, called for by federal health agencies, the Western UP Health Department (WUPHD) reports some changes in scheduling vaccine clinics that were announced in this column. The community vaccination clinic scheduled forbut theTo make an appointment, sign up for the WUPHD COVID Vaccine Waitlist here



We have removed other announcements about Johnson and Johnson vaccine clinics until further notice. Anyone over the age of 16 is now eligible to receive a vaccine in Michigan. Click here for more details.

Vaccine availability coppercountrystrong.com/vaccine Copper Country Strong has updates on vaccine availability at Walgreens in Houghton and Ironwood and Snyders in Calumet. See the full list of places you can get a vaccine by visiting

UPEC Apr. 9 livestream discussion on propane and electricity still on Facebook UPDATE: The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) hosted a discussion, "Propane and Electricity: Keeping the Heat on and Powering Up Our Grid," with Jenn Hill -- a board member of the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, a Marquette City Council member, and a member of the UP Energy Task Force -- on April 9. You can still access this livestream event on Facebook at

Thehosted a discussion,with-- a board member of the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, a Marquette City Council member, and a member of the UP Energy Task Force -- on April 9. You can still access this livestream event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/upenvironment/videos/3803910703027349

Propane in the UP has become another battleground in the fight to close Line 5. Enbridge, the owner of the pipeline, has been waging a propaganda campaign with its allies that is meant to create fear, alarm, and confusion about what would happen to propane supplies if the line is shut down. Hill explains how the recommendations crafted by the task force on alternative sources for propane became a political football. She also discusses work done by the task force this past year on our electrical generation capacity. Will solar and wind projects become the norm? Whats in store for consumers with our widely varying utility bills? Is electrification of transportation feasible in the UP? And more ...

COVID-19 Variant B.1.1.7 identified in Houghton County Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) notified the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) that the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories identified the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 in five Houghton County cases.



The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant, thought to have emerged in the United Kingdom, has since been detected in many countries and states. Compared to the original virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is approximately 50 percent more transmissible, leading to faster spread and potentially increasing the numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.



"When a variant is identified or suspected, additional measures take place, such as a strict 14-day quarantine," said Kate Beer, WUPHD health officer. "A new variant in our community is concerning since it can be related to higher transmission rates. Residents across the jurisdiction are reminded to continue practicing mitigation strategies including mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing and getting a vaccine as soon as it is available to you. These actions help slow the spread of the virus."



With the high transmission rate of the B.1.1.7 variant, vaccination is more important than ever. Vaccination is currently open to anyone 16 and older. Vaccinations can be scheduled with local providers by calling 2-1-1 or by visiting Thenotified thethat the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories identified thein five Houghton County cases.The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant, thought to have emerged in the United Kingdom, has since been detected in many countries and states. Compared to the original virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is approximately 50 percent more transmissible, leading to faster spread and potentially increasing the numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths."When a variant is identified or suspected, additional measures take place, such as a strict 14-day quarantine," said Kate Beer, WUPHD health officer. "A new variant in our community is concerning since it can be related to higher transmission rates. Residents across the jurisdiction are reminded to continue practicing mitigation strategies including mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing and getting a vaccine as soon as it is available to you. These actions help slow the spread of the virus."With the high transmission rate of the B.1.1.7 variant,Vaccination is currently open to anyone 16 and older. Vaccinations can be scheduled with local providers by calling 2-1-1 or by visiting www.coppercountrystrong.com/vaccine . For more info visit www.wupdhd.org or www.michigan.gov/coronavirus

COVID-19 Vaccines and fetal cells At michigan.gov/covidvaccine you can find a ton of data related to the vaccines that are available to Michigan residents. One datasheet available on the website includes information on COVID-19 Vaccines and Fetal Cells. The page includes facts about fetal cell usage in the vaccine development and deployment. In addition there are links to how various faith organizations have addressed this. Click here to view COVID-19 Vaccine and Fetal Cells Data Sheet.

Beginning Monday, March 22, Michigan is expanding access to safe, effective COVID-19 Vaccine to include all Michiganders 50 and older and to include Michiganders ages 16 and older with disabilities or medical conditions that put them at high risk of negative COVID-19 outcome. Beginning Monday, April 5, all Michiganders age 16 and up who were not previously eligible will be eligible to receive a vaccine. Learn how to put yourself on your local waiting list at coppercountrystrong.com/vaccine or by calling 2-1-1. , Michigan is expanding access to safe, effective COVID-19 Vaccine to includeand to includeBeginning. Learn how to put yourself on your local waiting list at or by calling 2-1-1.



See also, in our main column: "Local COVID-19 vaccination eligibility expanded as vaccine supply stabilizes."

Will getting a COVID-19 vaccine protect against new variants? All three variants of concern are thought to have a higher rate of transmission than the SARS-CoV2 that has been circulating across the U.S. for months. This is concerning because more cases of COVID-19 would increase the number of people who need clinical care. Vaccination remains an important tool in stopping the spread of COVID-19, in addition to other protective actions like mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing. Studies about the effectiveness of vaccines against new variants are ongoing. Read more ...

Community Art Show: "The Art of Valuing Water"



World Water Day 2021 is about what water means to people and other creatures, and how we can better protect this vital resource. The Michigan Tech World Water Day Art Show is an opportunity for local artists and community members of all ages to share what water means to them through creativity and creation!

is about what water means to people and other creatures, and how we can better protect this vital resource. Theis an opportunity for local artists and community members of all ages to share what water means to them through creativity and creation! Click here to view the Gallery

UP Health System-Portage vaccine update UP Health System-Portage, invites those interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to call their vaccine voicemail line at (906) 483-1775 and leave a message with name and call back number. For info on other vaccine providers click HOW DO YOU GET THE VACCINE ? At this time the, invites those interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to call their vaccine voicemail line at (906) 483-1775 and leave a message with name and call back number. For info on other vaccine providers click here and scroll down to

Vaccination scheduling help available If you are a Michigan resident within the current prioritization category and you do not have access to the internet or need further assistance finding information on vaccination or scheduling an appointment, if available, contact the COVID-19 Hotline (888-535-6136) to speak to a 2-1-1 specialist. People in Michigan can dial 2-1-1 from any phone for help in getting information about the COVID-19 vaccine, and, if in an eligible group, can be placed on a local waiting list to receive a vaccine. Click above on Copper Country Strong for more details.

New book by Michigan Tech's Joshua Pearce



Designed for beginners, Professor Joshua Pearce's Create, Share, and Save Money Using Open-Source Projects is filled with ways to save money by making use of free and open-source technologies on a wide range of products. The book covers the potential of DIY manufacturing and recycling projects and even how to score deeply discounted big-ticket items, including housing and electricity. All of these tricks should help people in the Keweenaw since he has tested many of them here. The book is for sale at Amazon and other book sellers in hard copy and digital copy. Click above on the book cover to see a list of places to purchase it along with many free resources from the book.

WUPHD: First and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine must be same brand The Western UP Health Department (WUPHD) reminds people that your second dose of COVID-19 vaccine must be the same brand as your first dose. Second doses of the Pfizer vaccine are given 21 days after the first dose and Moderna is given 28 days after the first dose. Current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control recommends that the second dose not be delayed more than 6 weeks (42 days) from the first dose for either vaccine. WUPHD was allocated the Moderna brand and does not expect to receive a Pfizer allocation from the State of Michigan. If your first dose was the Pfizer brand, the WUPHD is unable to provide your second dose. You will need to wait until your first dose provider has enough Pfizer vaccine on hand to schedule a second dose clinic. The State is working on allocating additional Pfizer vaccine to our area within the next few weeks. WUPHD extends appreciation for continued patience from the community as local healthcare partners work through this process with the extreme limited availability of vaccine.

Click here for more info on COVID-19 vaccine and scheduling an appointment with WUPHD.

Updated MDHHS Order allows contact sports to resume with risk reduction measures Feb. 8 Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has updated its current epidemic order to allow contact sports to resume as of Monday, Feb. 8, provided masks are worn during practices and competition. If masks cannot be worn, participants must be regularly tested for COVID-19 consistent with guidelines issued by MDHHS. Safety protocols like wearing masks and testing will help keep kids, coaches and families safe and allow our schools to remain open for in-person instruction. The order remains in effect through Monday, March 29. The, provided masks are worn during practices and competition. If masks cannot be worn, participants must be regularly tested for COVID-19 consistent with guidelines issued by MDHHS. Safety protocols like wearing masks and testing will help keep kids, coaches and families safe and allow our schools to remain open for in-person instruction. The order remains in effect through Monday, March 29. Read more...

Assistance available for businesses seeking new state and federal loans and grants



In Michigan, the Small Business Survival Grant Program will support businesses and industries that have been affected by the "gatherings and face mask order" and currently need working capital to support operations after experiencing a decline in revenue.



Click on the

Western U.P. organizations and local governments are offering assistance for businesses to apply for new state and local grant and loan funding programs. The federal relief act signed into law in December 2020 will provide another round of forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA), which are offered under similar terms as those in the original CARES Act.In Michigan, thewill support businesses and industries that have been affected by the "gatherings and face mask order" and currently need working capital to support operations after experiencing a decline in revenue.Click on the Jan. 18 Copper Country Strong Briefing to read more about these opportunities.

Zero Visitor Protocol implemented for inpatients a UP Health System - Portage Effective Tuesday, January 19, 2021, visitors will not be permitted into their inpatient unit. The previous limited visitation hours for inpatients of 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. will be suspended until further notice. Learn more about this at

For the safety of patients, employees, and medical staff, UP Health System - Portage is implementing certain visitor restrictions.The previous limited visitation hours for inpatients of 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. will be suspended until further notice. Learn more about this at portagehealth.org/covid-19-information

Health Department asks for patience with vaccine scheduling; supply is limited Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) asks the public to be patient with the process of vaccinating all who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Due to the lack of a sufficient supply of vaccine, clinics are by appointment only. Appointments for this week have been filled. WUPHD will add more appointments as additional vaccine becomes available. Residents are asked to periodically check the Theasks the public to be patient with the process of vaccinating all who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Due to the lack of a sufficient supply of vaccine, clinics are by appointment only. Appointments for this week have been filled. WUPHD will add more appointments as additional vaccine becomes available. Residents are asked to periodically check the WUPHD website for available clinics. Those who have booked appointments are asked to make every effort to keep the appointment and to cancel the appointment via the scheduling email if they cannot make it. Missed appointments could result in spoiled vaccine. Click here for more info.

UPDATE: MDHHS confirms new MI COVID Alert text message outreach Monday, Dec. 21, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) confirmed the launch of a statewide text outreach aimed at increasing residents awareness of the states new exposure notification mobile app, MI COVID Alert. Click here to learn about this free app for your mobile phone. It will help us to notify each other and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan. Click here to read more from MDHHS.





Keweenaw Now begins the New Year by joining the 295 community members who signed this letter to our Western UP Health Department, health workers and frontline workers:



Thank you to the staff of the Western UP Health department for working tirelessly to keep our community safe and informed. Thank you to our local healthcare workers who daily put their lives on the line to protect others. Thank you to the cashiers, servers, and frontline workers who go the extra mile day in and day out to keep everyone safe. Thank you to teachers for working so hard for our children. Thank you to all members of our community who are making sacrifices in their personal lives, in their jobs, and in their businesses to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We appreciate the care that you show for your fellow Yoopers, and we appreciate your sisu.* *Editor's Note: This letter is reprinted with permission. We regret that we lack the space to list all the names of those who signed. begins the New Year by joining thewho signed this letter to our Western UP Health Department, health workers and frontline workers:

Great Lakes MMIW Billboard Campaign seeks support



Native Justice Coalition (NJC) officially launched their Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) Program in August 2019. The movement has been growing across Canada for several years and now the Global Indigenous Council has started this billboard campaign, which has been supported by Native American Congresswomen including Deb Haaland (D-NM) and Sharice Davids (D-KS). The campaign is now active in the Great Lakes region. The goal is to locate these billboards in rural and remote Native communities to create awareness of the ongoing violence and continued genocide that affects Native women, girls, and Two-Spirits across the US and Canada. Support is needed to pay for the billboards. Theofficially launched theirProgram in August 2019. The movement has been growing across Canada for several years and now the Global Indigenous Council has started this billboard campaign, which has been supported by Native American Congresswomen including Deb Haaland (D-NM) and Sharice Davids (D-KS). The campaign is now active in the Great Lakes region. The goal is to locate these billboards in rural and remote Native communities to create awareness of the ongoing violence and continued genocide that affects Native women, girls, and Two-Spirits across the US and Canada. Support is needed to pay for the billboards. Click here to learn more and to contribute if you can.

WUPHD announces preliminary plans for COVID Vaccine Roll Out Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) announces that initial allotments of COVID-19 vaccine are beginning to arrive across the state, with vaccinations expected to begin next week throughout the Upper Peninsula. The vaccination process is anticipated to be a

large undertaking with multiple community partners involved including local hospitals, physicians, and federally qualified health centers.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 will the first vaccine to arrive this week, followed shortly by Modernas COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine is currently approved for individuals over 16 years of age and initial allotments will be designated for those in the highest priority group as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to include Healthcare personnel, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Skilled nursing facility staff and residents. Read more... Theannounces that initial allotments of COVID-19 vaccine are beginning to arrive across the state, with vaccinations expected to begin next week throughout the Upper Peninsula. The vaccination process is anticipated to be alarge undertaking with multiple community partners involved including local hospitals, physicians, and federally qualified health centers.Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 will the first vaccine to arrive this week, followed shortly by Modernas COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine is currently approved for individuals over 16 years of age and initial allotments will be designated for those in the highest priority group as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to include

UPDATE: Virtual tour of Sisu exhibit with artist Karen Stewart now available on YouTube



Karen Stewart, on her exhibit, Sisu, featured as the 30th Annual Contemporary Finnish American Artist Series Exhibition at the Finlandia University Gallery, you can now view on YouTube until January 5, 2021. Appointments for a private viewing of the exhibit can be made with Gallery Director Carrie Flaspohler at (906) 487-7500 or by email at gallery@finlandia.edu.

If you missed the Nov. 19 Zoom reception and artist talk by, on her exhibit,, featured as the 30th Annual Contemporary Finnish American Artist Series Exhibition at the Finlandia University Gallery, you can now view on YouTube a video tour of the exhibit with Stewart explaining some of her paintings. The exhibit continues. Appointments for a private viewing of the exhibit can be made with Gallery Director Carrie Flaspohler at (906) 487-7500 or by email at gallery@finlandia.edu. virtual tour HERE.

Karen Stewarts realistic portraiture seeks to embody her subjects sisu, a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness in the face of adversity. Combining art historical references with the personal stories of her subjects, Stewarts portraits of women chronicle the struggles as well as the joys inherent in life. Read more HERE . Take the

MORE NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: See below for news briefs you may have missed and links to groups, organizations and books we recommend!



Liquor licenses, permits suspended for businesses for violations of MDHHS Emergency Order KMPD, Inc. d/b/a Rock House/Mine Shaft located at 915 Razorback, Houghton. The Commission issued an emergency suspension order of the Class C and SDM liquor licenses with a Specific Purpose Permits (Food and Bowling), Outdoor Service Area Permit, Sunday Sales (P.M.) Permit, Extended Hours Permit, Additional Bar and Dance-Entertainment Permits, on November 25, 2020. Allowing this activity to continue could create additional outbreaks of COVID-19.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) has issued emergency suspensions of the liquor licenses and permits held by three Michigan businesses in Lakeview, Houghton and St. Joseph. Licensees multiple violations of the current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Emergency Order include: allowing non-residential, in-person gatherings; providing in-person dining; failure to require face coverings for staff and patrons; and failure to prohibit patrons from congregating. The Houghton business is. The Commission issued an emergency suspension order of the Class C and SDM liquor licenses with a Specific Purpose Permits (Food and Bowling), Outdoor Service Area Permit, Sunday Sales (P.M.) Permit, Extended Hours Permit, Additional Bar and Dance-Entertainment Permits, on November 25, 2020. Allowing this activity to continue could create additional outbreaks of COVID-19. Click here for details

Nov. 18 Face Masks and Gatherings Order. If you have any questions about what went into effect Nov. 18, read these frequently asked questions for the

Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve



The Howl, here: https://yellowdogwatershed.org/newsletter/. See the latest Yellow Dog Newsletter,, here:

"Every Vote Counts" Vigil held at Courthouse



Undaunted by Sunday's very cold winds in Houghton, a group of concerned voters gathered at the Houghton County Courthouse for the "Every Vote Counts" Vigil. Michigan Tech student Zachary Olson spoke about the need to "stay calm and stay committed" during the upcoming election and to oppose interference in voting or voting results. Barry Fink, president of the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country, offered a brief historical background on voting rights and voter suppression, noting that voting rights are still under attack today in the U.S. The Rev. Bucky Beach, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, spoke of the need for a welcoming environment for voting -- free from intimidation. He led the group in singing a line from a song inspired by Wendell Berry: "What we need is here." Click on photo above for a video of the event.

Michigan Healthcare Systems issue Joint Statement on COVID-19 Policies



"As the physician leaders of hospitals and healthcare systems throughout the state of Michigan, representing 110 of Michigans 137 hospitals, we have an important safety message regarding COVID-19:



"We want to make it clear that regardless of state law, executive orders, or local public health directives, hospitals and healthcare systems across the state are standing as a united front in our policies and interventions in order to fight the spread of COVID-19. It is imperative that every Michigan resident join us in taking the necessary steps to prevent the spread of this deadly disease.



"Our hospitals and healthcare facilities will continue requiring staff, patients, and visitors to follow public safety protocols, including mask-wearing, screenings upon entry to our facilities, and limitation of visitors. We ask that everyone do the public version of these precautions: wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart, avoid crowds, and wash your hands frequently. We do this to keep our patients, visitors and healthcare workers safe...." The following statement, posted Oct. 22, 2020, is made on behalf of Chief Medical Officers and Chief Clinical Officers of Michigan Healthcare Systems and Hospitals:"As the physician leaders of hospitals and healthcare systems throughout the state of Michigan, representing 110 of Michigans 137 hospitals, we have an important safety message regarding COVID-19:"We want to make it clear that regardless of state law, executive orders, or local public health directives, hospitals and healthcare systems across the state are standing as a united front in our policies and interventions in order to fight the spread of COVID-19. It is imperative that every Michigan resident join us in taking the necessary steps to prevent the spread of this deadly disease."Our hospitals and healthcare facilities will continue requiring staff, patients, and visitors to follow public safety protocols, including mask-wearing, screenings upon entry to our facilities, and limitation of visitors. We ask that everyone do the public version of these precautions: wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart, avoid crowds, and wash your hands frequently. We do this to keep our patients, visitors and healthcare workers safe...." Click here to read the full statement.

Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services rules Due to the recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling, the issuing of new orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and the quickly changing information, there have been many questions about what the current rules are, who is enforcing them, and what everyone should be doing. Shortly after the Michigan Supreme Court ruling against the Governor's Executive Orders, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued rules under a separate law. These rules are currently valid and replaced (almost) all of the previous Executive Orders issued by the Governor, including masking requirements (the new rules are actually MORE stringent than the Governors Executive Orders were). More details on the orders are available here: Due to the recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling, the issuing of new orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and the quickly changing information, there have been many questions about what the current rules are, who is enforcing them, and what everyone should be doing. Shortly after the Michigan Supreme Court ruling against the Governor's Executive Orders, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued rules under a separate law. These rules are currently valid and replaced (almost) all of the previous Executive Orders issued by the Governor, including masking requirements (the new rules are actually MORE stringent than the Governors Executive Orders were). More details on the orders are available here: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98158-541979--,00.html . Also, click above on Copper Country Strong for additional updates, including recently released new rules and guidance from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).

Following the recent significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Houghton County, the Houghton County Board of Commissioners, on Sept. 29, issued a Resolution for the Promotion of COVID-19 Safety Measures. Here is an excerpt:

WHEREAS, some members of the Community have practiced good prevention methods, while a small minority of people continue to refuse, despite the risk to themselves and others;

WHEREAS, efforts to trace the contacts of people who have tested POSITIVE for COVID-19 are being hampered by some Residents refusals to disclose who they may have spread the virus to, causing FURTHER SPREAD of the virus;

WHEREAS, the impact to the local economy due to COVID-19 so far will PALE IN COMPARISON to a second wave of shutdowns by the State of Michigan, should the caseload in Houghton County not be brought under control by its OWN RESIDENTS ...." "...WHEREAS, the simple, cheap, and effective methods to slow the spread of COVID-19 are readily known and available, such as wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, frequent hand washing, and limiting gathering sizes indoors and outdoors;WHEREAS, some members of the Community have practiced good prevention methods, while a small minority of people continue to refuse, despite the risk to themselves and others;WHEREAS, efforts to trace the contacts of people who have tested POSITIVE for COVID-19 are being hampered by some Residents refusals to disclose who they may have spread the virus to, causing FURTHER SPREAD of the virus;WHEREAS, the impact to the local economy due to COVID-19 so far will PALE IN COMPARISON to a second wave of shutdowns by the State of Michigan, should the caseload in Houghton County not be brought under control by its OWN RESIDENTS ...." Click here for the complete Resolution.

Michigan Tech COVID tracking forms required for employees, visitors All employees are required to monitor their symptoms daily before coming to campus. The all visitors must fill out the A reminder that no one is permitted to come to the Michigan Tech campus with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.are required to monitor their symptoms daily before coming to campus. The Daily Symptom Tracking Form is a short form that will help you determine if you have COVID-19 symptoms. In addition,must fill out the Visitor Symptom Tracking Form each day before coming on campus.

UPDATE from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services



Under MCL 333.2253, if the MDHHS director determines that control of an epidemic is necessary to protect the public health, the director by emergency order may prohibit the gathering of people for any purpose and may establish procedures to be followed during the epidemic to insure continuation of essential public health services and enforcement of health laws. Gordon shares more about the reasoning behind the order in a recent column

Violations of this order are punishable by a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than $200, or both. Violations of this order are also punishable by a civil fine of up to $1,000.

This order is effective immediately and remains in effect through Friday, Oct. 30. Individuals with suggestions and concerns are invited to submit comments via email to COVID19@michigan.gov. Details can be seen by clicking on Copper Country Strong above.

On Monday, Oct. 5, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon issued an Emergency Order under MCL 333.2253 restricting gathering sizes, requiring face coverings in public spaces and placing limitations on bars and other venues. The order follows the Michigan Supreme Court decision on Friday, Oct 2, that invalidated COVID-19 related executive orders. Todays order relies on authorities that were first enacted after the Spanish Flu of 1918, and that were not at issue in the Michigan Supreme Courts decision.

Houghton County is at a critical time. Please follow the guidelines for masking, social distancing, and personal hygiene. The recent cases in Houghton County are spreading rapidly throughout the community. These are not exaggerated numbers. The only path through this pandemic is for everyone to take personal responsibility for slowing the spread of the virus. Each individual -- young, old, student, employee, everyone -- must contribute to the cause or the spread will continue as we have seen recently. Yes, it is inconvenient, yes, you may miss out on something, yes, your plans may have to alter. But, only together with everyones help, can we move forward towards a return to normal. Follow these guidelines: 1. Wear a mask (MHDDS orders require masks in all businesses, workplaces, and schools)

2. Avoid public gatherings (MDHHS orders limit indoors (10 people maximum) and outdoors (100 people maximum))

3. Keep at least 6 feet away from others indoors or outdoors

4. Wash your hands frequently

5. Stay home if you are sick

6. Cooperate with contact tracing.

"Seven Generation River" -- Sustainability Film Series discussion online May 21



UPDATE: UPEC May 12 virtual discussion on Line 5, tunnel regulation now online



Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) presented "Line 5: Whats the fuss? A virtual discussion" Tuesday, May 12. The online presentation, by Jeff Towner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retired wildlife biologist, and Mike Ripley of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA) is now available on

ThepresentedThe online presentation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retired wildlife biologist, andof the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA) is now available on UPEC's YouTube channel . Towner and Ripley discuss the controversy over re-permitting Enbridges Line 5 oil pipeline, which now passes through the Upper Peninsula and crosses the Straits of Mackinac, to be moved to a proposed tunnel under the Straits. Towner explains the regulatory path Enbridge has to go through for the Line 5 tunnel approval. Ripley discusses tribal efforts to shut down Line 5 because of the dangers a spill would pose to their fisheries, which they operate under rights afforded them by the Treaty of 1836. Jeff Towner has extensive experience with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service throughout the U.S., as well as in wildlife work in Africa. Mike Ripley is an Environmental Coordinator for the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA), a position hes held since 1996. CORA represents five tribes in Michigan with regard to the tribes commercial and subsistence fisheries in the 1836 treaty-ceded waters of Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior.

Update: Michigan Tech's Guy Meadows on Michigan's lake levels; Apr. webinar now online Guy Meadows, Michigan Tech University Robbins professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering and the founding director of the Great Lakes Research Center, discussed Michigans lake levels from 1938 to present to inform coastal communities, property owners and community planners at Michigans High Water Summit held April 28 -- a webinar town hall focusing on shoreline erosion and permitting. That webinar is now available here on YouTube.

Engineer, Michigan Tech University Robbins professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering and the founding director of the Great Lakes Research Center,to inform coastal communities, property owners and community planners at

Celebrate the U.P.! with UPEC on line Apr. 25



Celebrate the U.P.! 2020 (Virtually) with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC). The April 25 event is now available on YouTube here. Guest speakers are as follows:

--Keynote speaker Monica Lewis-Patrick, President and CEO of We the People of Detroit: "Water as a Human Right." --Sarah Green, Michigan Tech Professor of Chemistry who recently took a group of students to the COP25 climate conference in Madrid: "International Climate Action." --Angie Carter, Michigan Tech Assistant Professor of Social Sciences: "Cultivating Connection: Strengthening Our Regional Food System." --UPEC Annual Membership Meeting. Updates from Board Members. --Short videos: "Homespun Responses in an Extraordinary Time." Local people show how they turned Michigan's pandemic stay-at-home order into a positive experience. Click here for details.

with theGuest speakers are as follows:

New plays by Mary Jane Willliams



Calumet Theatre -- copper miners work night and day. Finnish miner's daughter Lilly is at the center of these two plays, "Calumet 1900" and "Sarah Bernhardt 1911," and an interim act taking place in the social hall for Finnish immigrants. UPDATE: A black and white edition is available on Amazon.com for $10.99.

It's 1900. Beneath the gorgeous new Red Jacket Opera House ---- copper miners work night and day. Finnish miner's daughter Lilly is at the center of these two plays, "Calumet 1900" and "Sarah Bernhardt 1911," and an interim act taking place in the social hall for Finnish immigrants. Click here or on book cover above for more info on the latest plays from Mary Jane Williams. Available at North Wind Books in Hancock for $25.

Saving Copper Country birds at Portage Library



Birds hitting windows is one of the leading causes of their death. Birds see a reflection of the outdoors in a window so they try to fly right through. The Portage Lake District Library has had many bird strikes, especially on the bridge side near trees. A Copper Country Audubon member who worked at the library requested help to prevent these bird strikes. Stencils of hawks and other things can be put on windows to help prevent bird strikes, but none are as effective as a new product that birds see but humans can't: Birds Eye View window films -- six-inch plastic films that look like frosted glass. They are clean, easy to install and non-adhesive -- so they remove easily. The films work by reflecting ultraviolet light that birds can see as a bright blue glow across the window surface. Having the films on large windows reduces window strikes by up to 80 percent. Copper Country Audubon members donated 30 films to the Portage Lake District Library to help prevent bird strikes. They have a decorative design so they do not obstruct the beautiful views from the library windows. Window films were also put on some of the worst windows at Michigan Tech. For more information about Copper Country Audubon contact Dana Richter, 482-3361 or dlrichte@mtu.edu.

Finlandia University



Portage Lake District Library



Buffalo Reef Task Force to hold public meeting July 31 on saving fish habitat from stamp sands



Buffalo Reef Task Force will hold a public meeting to discuss three alternatives tentatively selected for further analysis in the fight to save Buffalo Reef -- an important natural reef near Gay, Mich., where historic copper mine tailings (stamp sands) are threatening to destroy spawning habitat and recruitment areas important to Lake Superior whitefish and lake trout. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. (EDT) TONIGHT, Wednesday, July 31, at the Lake Linden-Hubbell High School, 601 Calumet Avenue, Lake Linden. In February, the task force issued an Thewill hold a public meeting to discuss three alternatives tentatively selected for further analysis in the fight to save Buffalo Reef -- an important natural reef near Gay, Mich., where historic copper mine tailings (stamp sands) are threatening to destroy spawning habitat and recruitment areas important to Lake Superior whitefish and lake trout. The meeting will begin, 601 Calumet Avenue, Lake Linden. In February, the task force issued an alternatives analysis which briefly described 13 strategies for managing historic copper mine tailings threatening to destroy spawning habitat and recruitment areas important to Lake Superior whitefish and lake trout in and around Buffalo Reef. Maintenance dredging has been ongoing this summer in the harbor and the trough area to buy time to develop a long-term solution to the stamp sands issue. Click here for details.

Jack Parker: 1930-2019



Keweenaw Now wishes to extend our deepest condolences to the family of Jack Parker of Twin Lakes and Baltic, who passed away on April 20, 2019, at the age of 88. Born in England, Jack was a miner of great expertise, who loved the outdoors and cared about the environment. Keweenaw Now also published several letters to the editor from him. wishes to extend our deepest condolences to the family ofof Twin Lakes and Baltic, who passed away on April 20, 2019, at the age of 88. Born in England, Jack was a miner of great expertise, who loved the outdoors and cared about the environment. Click here to read our Dec. 6, 2010, article about Jack. also published several letters to the editor from him. Click here to read his Obituary.

Dance Zone Marquette



Art by rosa at blackbird, Marquette



rosa musket of Marquette, Mich., is an artist with concerns for the environment. Her hoodies celebrating "Water is Life" are for sale at

blackbird, a bohemian boutique located at 110 N. Front St., Marquette. Other works by rosa include water drop necklaces, small packages of 3 water drop ornaments, and a small retrospective selection of signed cards that can be framed. Click on photo above for blackbird's Facebook page.



Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club



New climate legislation introduced H.R. 7173, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend approach that -- if passed -- would help us make significant progress toward our big goal: keeping warming to 2C. The bill will put a price on carbon, a key step to quickly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. It also will protect about 2/3 of our UP households, including most lower income households, from rising energy costs. CCL will be sharing more about how to support this bill, will be contacting Rep. Bergman urging him to sign on as co-sponsor, and will be writing letters to the editor. Bergman needs to hear from as many of his constituents as possible, so he knows how much this issues matters to us. You can read about the bill at

Bipartisan climate legislation has been introduced in Congress --, a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend approach that -- if passed -- would help us make significant progress toward our big goal: keeping warming to 2C. The bill will put a price on carbon, a key step to quickly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. It also will protect about 2/3 of our UP households, including most lower income households, from rising energy costs. CCL will be sharing more about how to support this bill, will be contacting Rep. Bergman urging him to sign on as co-sponsor, and will be writing letters to the editor. Bergman needs to hear from as many of his constituents as possible, so he knows how much this issues matters to us. You can read about the bill at energyinnovationact.org and then call Congressman Bergman and ask him to co-sponsor H.R. 7173.

Featured Post Obituary: Gustavo Bourdieu, 1944-2018 Gustavo Bourdieu , 74, a resident of Hancock, passed away suddenly on Monday, September 17, 2018. Gustavo was born in Buenos Aires, Arge...

From Michele Bourdieu, Editor: Many thanks to all who attended our Memorial for Gustavo on Sunday, Oct. 21. Thanks also to all who have sent lovely cards, email and Facebook messages of condolence and more. In addition to taking photos for Keweenaw Now, Gustavo kept computers running and technology up-to-date for Keweenaw Now's postings. We miss him very much for so many reasons.



Copper Country Recycling



CCRI brochure, (available on the CCRI website The Copper Country Recycling Initiative (CCRI) , a group of local citizens working together to promote recycling in the Copper Country, urges residents of the Keweenaw to save natural resources and energy and to help extend the life of the landfill by integrating the three "Rs" into their daily life: Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling. CCRI has worked to implement cardboard recycling at the Houghton County Transfer Station and Chassell and curbside recycling in Hancock and Houghton, as well as E(lectronic) Waste collection; and, in the near future, there are plans for household hazardous waste and tire recycling. The, (available on the CCRI website here ) lists what is recyclable along with what to do with batteries, bedding, books, cellphones, clothing, construction material, Electronic waste, glasses, medication, motor oil, packing material, printer cartridges, and more. There is also a sign-up for their mailing list.

Copper Country GoFundMe campaigns continue



Fundraiser to help Ripley family: home damaged by flood, waterfall



aerial video. See photos of volunteers working to help families impacted by the June 17 flood on the Facebook page for brockit inc. Thanks to Adam Johnson of brockit for sharing photos and his

Slide Show: Keweenaw March for Our Lives



See KNSC updates on trail conditions and photos on the Maasto Hiihto blog

Kids, parents enjoy 2018 Barnelpet ski race at Maasto Hiihto



Kids and parents braved a chilly, windy Sunday, Feb.11, for the 11th annual Barnelpet children's ski race at Maasto Hiihto -- hosted by the Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club, Sons of Norway, and the City of Hancock and sponsored by Portage Health Auxiliary. Click on photo above for more photos of the event taken by Maasto groomer Arlyn Aronson.

Slide Show: Sister March: Jan. 21, 2018



Slide Show: Art, Culture, Oct.-Nov. 2017



New book by Nancy Langston



New book by Cyndi Perkins



New Novel by Kristin Neva



Copper Country, by Keweenaw author Kristin Neva, is the second novel in her Copper Island Series, following Snow Country (see ad below). Two main characters, Aimee and Russ, appear in both novels. Neva continues to describe life in the Keweenaw, including the influence of Finnish names and culture. Click on book cover image above to learn more or purchase the book on Amazon.com.

"Snow Country" -- A Copper Island Novel



Calumet Art Center



Midnight in the Pawn Shop



Offer from Houghton Keweenaw County Genealogical Society



Houghton Keweenaw County Genealogical Society (HKCGS) can be yours for free with a minimum $50 donation to the Italian Hall Memorial Fund. The book tells about the families of Italian Hall victims and includes historic photos. If you wish to donate and receive a copy of the book, please click on book cover above for the HKCGS order form, complete the form, print it and mail it to the address on the form. See story about the memorial and other ways to donate This publication by the(HKCGS) can be yours for free with a minimum $50 donation to the. The book tells about the families of Italian Hall victims and includes historic photos. If you wish to donate and receive a copy of the book, please, complete the form, print it and mail it to the address on the form. See story about the memorial and other ways to donate here

Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District announcements

Keweenaw Climate Community



New Michigan Tech Web site addresses visa issues



Michigan Technological University has launched a new web site regarding President Trump's Executive Order.

Tech Signs National Letter About Immigration Executive Order (Feb. 3, 2017)

University Senate Passes "Sense of Senate Resolution in Support of our International Colleagues and Students."

and more ... has launched a new web site regarding President Trump's Executive Order. Click here to visit the site. It now includes a Travel and Visa Advisory and recent posts on these actions:(Feb. 3, 2017)and more ...

UPDATED: Attention Hancock Residents: Waste Management Garbage and Recycling new schedule for Hancock started on Sept. 12, 2016.

- All items need to be out by 7 a.m.

-Weekly same day pick up for garbage and recycling (using a new dual garbage truck)

-Pick Up Day Change affects some neighborhoods:

-East of Elevation Street will be on Monday.

-West of Elevation Street will be on Wednesday.

*Pick up for residents living on Elevation, S. Elevation and N. Elevation Streets will be on WEDNESDAY.

-Any container will work for recycling. Some people are painting or taping (recycling) on the bins they now use or you can purchase a new recycling bin from McGanns or Ristos.

-Single stream will continue for all items including glass and clean pizza boxes!

-Service is also available to small commercial.

-The City still has a recycling drop off at the DPW Garage (1601 Tomasi Drive)

QUESTIONS: Call Bill Marlor, DPW, 482-1480 or Glenn Anderson, City Manager, 482-1121.

for Waste Management's new list of acceptable and unacceptable items for recycling.

Thank you for your participation. Waste Management Garbage and Recycling- All items need to be out(using a new dual garbage truck)-Pick Up Day Change affects some neighborhoods:-Any container will work for recycling. Some people are painting or taping (recycling) on the bins they now use or you can purchase a new recycling bin from McGanns or Ristos.-Single stream will continue for all items-Service is also available to small commercial.-The City still has a recycling drop off at the DPW Garage (1601 Tomasi Drive)QUESTIONS: Call Bill Marlor, DPW, 482-1480 or Glenn Anderson, City Manager, 482-1121. Click here for Waste Management'sof acceptable and unacceptable items for recycling.Thank you for your participation.

Copyright Policy copyright policy , please Keweenaw Now . Photos by guest photographers are copyrighted and you must seek their permission for re-use. This policy applies to the photos in our slide shows as well. Please do not share photos taken by guest photographers without their permission.

For our, please click here or email us if you wish to use any of the photos or video clips by. Photos by guest photographers are copyrighted and you must seek their permission for re-use.

Slide Show: Christmas in Calumet 2016



Slide Shows: Family fun with science, more ...



new slide shows can be accessed as follows: Click here or on the photo above for the slide show of the Aug. 5, 2016, Keweenaw Water Festival at Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC). click on the first photo in the album and click the info icon in the top right corner for the caption. Then click on forward arrows to view the photos as a slide show.

Thecan be accessed as follows:for the slide show of the Aug. 5, 2016,(GLRC). Click here for the Aug. 4 and Aug. 6 Keweenaw Science and Engineering (KSEF) family events held in Houghton's Kestner Waterfront Park, and click here for photos of some 2016 Science Fair winners and highlights of the April 26, 2016, Lake Superior Celebration sponsored by the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Michigan STEM Partnership, the Copper Country Recycling Initiative and more. For each slide show,

Eagle Rock, 2010: Slide show



In May 2010, concerned Native and non-Native citizens camped, prayed and planted a garden at Eagle Rock, an Ojibwa sacred site, which was blasted for the portal to the Rio-Tinto-Kennecott Eagle Mine. The mine, now in operation, was sold to Lundin Mining Corporation of Toronto. Click on photo above to access a photo album on Eagle Rock protests in May 2010. Click on the first photo in the album and then on the info icon to view captions if they are not visible on the right. To view the photos as a slide show, click on the forward arrows.

Peaceful Uprising



Save the Water's Edge





Click here for the latest news on Save the Water's Edge.

A Rascal's Craft



Distant Drum



New edition of book by Steve Lehto



Click here to see Steve Lehto's YouTube video about Italian Hall.

to see Steve Lehto's YouTube video about Italian Hall.

Keweenaw Adventure Company



Red Circle Consulting



Mike Lahti at State Farm

Copper Country Community Arts Center



Click here to visit the Community Arts Center on Facebook.

Keweenaw BEST!



Michigan League of Conservation Voters



What Is Sustainable



Author Richard Adrian Reese recounts how his life took a new direction after 9 years of simple living in the Keweenaw -- and offers a new worldview for a sustainable future.



Sustainable Keweenaw Resource Center

Welcome to Keweenaw Now! Welcome to our Keweenaw Now blog. This site, the sequel to the Web site www.keweenawnow.com, officially began on September 1, 2007. The Blogger format allows you, our readers, to comment on any post. Read our articles here and send us your comments and suggestions! Your comment will come to us on email (without showing your email address) and as long as it's not objectionable we will post it on the article page. Please note: Right now the comments do not appear on the home page; but, if you click on the headline of an article, it will go to the article's own (archive) page, where comments do appear and where you can reply to them. Click on the comment link below the article to send us a comment. Sometimes the number of comments is indicated on that link on the home page. It may take some time for it to appear.



In addition, Keweenaw Now offers editing -- including editing of scholarly papers in various fields -- and some translation services. We can also help you write or edit the text on your Web site.



Email Keweenaw Now Editor Michele Bourdieu, Ph.D., at andersm@pasty.com with your suggestions and requests.





Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home



The Buzzards Have Landed!



The Buzzards Have Landed! -- hyperlinked electronic edition -- is now available as a FREE DOWNLOAD. Click here to access the e-book.

See the Web site, Flambeau Mine Exposed -- hyperlinked electronic edition -- is now available as a

Resource Rebels



Living on Sisu



Living on Sisu: the 1913 Union Copper Strike Tragedy .

Read about Deborah Frontiera's First Place Purple Dragonfly Book Award in the historical fiction category for this book,

Environment Michigan

North Woods Conservancy



Copper Country Guatemalan Accompaniment Project

Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

Copper Country ReStore

Open to the Public: Hours 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Donations Welcome!



Keweenaw County: Official Site



Gratiot Lake Conservancy

M. J. Shupe Photography

Photography by Eric Munch

PastyNet

Visit the Pasty Cam for great Keweenaw photos.

Cabin au bord du lac



About Me Keweenaw Now Hancock, Michigan, United States Email us at andersm@pasty.com or call or fax 906-483-0822. View my complete profile

Author of "The Women of the Copper Country to speak at Portage Lake, Michigan Tech libraries Mary Doria Russell is the award-winning author of six bestselling novels. Her latest novel, The Women of the Copper Country, centers on the life of American labor activist, Annie ("Big Annie") Clements and paints a broader historical portrait of the lives of local people in Calumet in the midst of a turbulent labor movement and social landscape.

An informal book talk and book signing will take place at the Portage Lake District Library from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome to attend! A formal lecture will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the East Reading Room of Michigan Tech's Van Pelt and Opie Library. A social hour and book signing will follow the presentation.




The Electoral Commission has explained the absence of observers and candidates agents at Entebbe International airport to witness the arrival of the 2nd batch of ballot papers.

The commission yesterday received 360 pallets containing over 36,000, 000 ballots from Dubai.

However there was no representative of the observers or any of the candidates.

The commission secretary Sam Rwakoojo says their absence is a sign that they are satisfied with the work done by the Electoral Commission.

On Friday Last week when the first batch of ballot papers was delivered, the agents complained of not being allowed to verify the consignment.

Meanwhile the Electoral Commission has designated another day for public demonstration of the biometric voter verification System.

The commission which has come under attack over the new technology on Saturday held the first public demonstration of how the new technology works.

The chairperson Eng Badru Kiggundu says the commission will conduct another demonstration on Saturday at all its district offices across the country, appealing to all those who missed last week to use this chance to be verified.

Meanwhile the commission has allayed fears that the time given for issuance of the Voter Location slips was inadequate.

The commission started the issuance on Monday however sections of the Civil Society Organisation argued that this was likely to disenfranchise many voters given the short time left to the general polls.

Story By Benjamin Jumbe
The Minister for the presidency Frank Tumwebaze has added voice to those appealing to Ugandans to desist from all forms of violence during this fragile election period.

His call comes a day after government sounded a warning to the opposition Forum for Democratic Change(FDC) for allegedly hatching a plan to invade Electoral Commission headquarters and destabilize the country during election period.

Tumwebaze has called upon all political parties to respect the rule of law and make use the courts in case they are dissatisfied with the election outcome.

Story By Samuel Ssebuliba
Journalists on NRM Presidential candidates campaign trail have been involved in an accident.

Masaka Region Traffic Police Commander, James Tebaijuka says the accident occurred at Kyoja swamp along Masaka- Mbarara road in Lwengo district.

The driver of the Toyota Prado in which the scribes were travelling swerved off the road and fell into the swamp.

The group was were heading to Masaka after covering President Yoweri Musevenis campaign rally at Kiwangala play ground in Lwengo district.

Tebaijuka says all the 6 journalists and the driver have been rescued.

Meanwhile, addressing one of his rallies at Kinoni playground, president Museveni has promised to improve the road network in the district.

He also promises to address water scarcity that has mainly affected the health of the residents.

Story By Malik Fahad
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.


More than 5,000 people have given their signatures of support for California's new school curriculum guidelines calling for teaching students about Japan's wartime sexual slavery, campaign activists said Tuesday.A coalition of Korean-American organizations in Los Angeles, which has organized the signature collection campaign, said that 5,088 people have signed up at the online petition website at www.comfortwomenpetition.org.

Religious organizations and other Korean-American groups have also been collecting signatures in support of California's 2014-2016 Draft History-Social Science.Framework that includes the "comfort women" issue in the world history curriculum for grade 10.The Californian Department of Education has been collecting comments from the public on the new curriculum guidelines, and plans to finalize the framework in May."'Comfort Women,' a euphemism for sexual slaves, were taken by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during the war. 'Comfort Women' can be taught as an example of institutionalized sexual slavery, and one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the twentieth century," the draft framework said.On the other hand, an online petition has also been under way to oppose the new curriculum guidelines.Right-wing Japanese nationalists are suspected of involvement in the petition under way at the change.org online petition site to demand California's Department of Education write "comfort women were well paid prostitutes, sold their service to U.S. Army as well."About 5,400 people have signed the petition.Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mainly from Korea, which was a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945, were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II. But Japan has long attempted to water down the atrocity.The sexual slavery issue has long been the biggest thorn in relations between Seoul and Tokyo.But the two countries announced a landmark agreement in late December that centers on Japan's admission of responsibility for the wartime crime and plans to pay reparations to the victims. South Korea promised to end the dispute once and for all if Japan fulfills its responsibilities. (Yonhap)
South Korea is planning to build a national railway system by 2025 that can link Seoul with most cities in two hours, the government said Wednesday.



The third national railroad development plan aims to upgrade existing rail lines so they can accommodate high-speed trains and open new railroads that can handle semi-high speed rolling stock, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.



The semi-high speed lines can be used by trains with top speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, compared to more than 300 km/h for local bullet trains.



The ministry claimed that the entire project could cost 74.1 trillion won, with 53.7 trillion won coming from the central government and the rest being financed by regional administration and the private sector.



The 2016-2025 plans, which will be finalized in the first half, could connect most midsize regional cities, such as Gangneung, Sokcho and Andong, along the country's east coast within a couple of hours of the capital city. Gangneung and Sokcho in Gangwon Province is more than 200 kilometers east of Seoul while Andong is 268 km southeast of South Korea's largest urban center.



At present, it takes over five hours to reach Gangneung from Seoul by train and way over three hours to get to Andong.



In addition, the goal is to connect most cities within the country by a high-speed rail line so it would only be a short two-hour trip between them.



The ministry said if all goes according to plan, 85 percent of the country's population can benefit from a high speed train service in the next decade, up from 51 percent at present.



Besides this, the government's plan calls for extending the Korea Train Express line from Gwangju to Mokpo, the country's southwestern region, and opening new bullet train services from Suwon, Incheon and Uijeongbu, near Seoul. It, moreover, envisions the building of the Great Train eXpress connecting downtown Seoul with satellite cities such as Ilsan and turning Korea Train Express's Suseo station into a new hub for rail travel. (Yonhap)




South Korea will join the leadership of a U.N. panel on peace efforts in recognition of its active support for a related global campaign, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.



The Peacebuilding Commission plans to elect South Korea as a vice chair of the group in a meeting to be held in New York on Wednesday (local time), it said.



Kenya will become the chair of the panel and Sweden will be elected another vice chair under the rule of rotating the presidency by region.



South Korea will hold the position until the end of this year. It reflects South Korea's resolve to expand support and assistance for efforts to prevent conflicts and promote peace around the world, said the ministry.



President Park Geun-hye stated Seoul's commitment, while addressing the 70th U.N. General Assembly in September last year. (Yonhap)




South Korea's rival political parties unanimously slammed North Korea on Wednesday for its move to carry out a long-range missile test later this month.



On Tuesday, North Korea notified international maritime and telecommunication agencies of its plan to launch what it claims will be a satellite sometime between Feb. 8 and 25.



"North Korea should be aware of the fact it will reach the point of no return if it goes through with provocations," Won Yoo-cheol, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, said during a meeting.



Won said that South Korea should put its military on alert and make efforts with the international community so that the North does not make a terrible mistake.

The party convened a meeting of senior members to discuss how to respond to Pyongyang's possible provocations.



The main opposition Minjoo Party also denounced Pyongyang for its notification, noting North Korea is banned from conducting ballistic missile tests under U.N Security Council resolutions.



"The party expresses deep regret that North Korea is planning to launch a 'long-range missile' after its fourth nuclear test that will threaten the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," Kim Sung-soo, the party's spokesman, said in a press release.



The minor opposition People's Party also urged the North to not carry out its plan, saying that the act will exacerbate international tension. (Yonhap)




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ANGOLA  Gang activity in the Steuben County area is minimal, but that does not mean it cant happen.

Law enforcement, probation, prosecutors, students and representatives from other regional agencies attended Wednesdays Midwest Gang Investigators Association Indiana Chapter Training at Trine University. Some were there for a full day of training. Others attended in the morning to hear Bruce Malkin, criminal investigator for the DuPage County States Attorneys Office in Wheaton, Illinois, and president of the MGIA.

Malkins talk in Fabiani Theatre focused on how community partnerships can combat street gang violence. Some of the officers who attended the presentation work for departments dealing with regular gang activity.

In Steuben County, there is some indication of the gang Dirty White Boys, who also have a presence in penal institutions, said Francisco Ortiz, a Trine professor and former Steuben County Sheriffs Department jail captain. Sheriff Tim Troyer said there are motorcycle gangs circulating in the region, such as Hells Angels groups originating in South Bend and puppet clubs in the surrounding area.

Chicago tends to be the hub of all gang activity, said Malkin, who immersed himself in Hispanic gang culture in West Chicago, Illinois. Gangs are migrating to the suburbs now.

Gang issues started in West Chicago in the mid-1990s, and Malkin was on the front line of combating growing violence and related issues with the towns property values, drug activity and truancy in schools. Much of his work focused on creating networks that included school resource officers at the middle school and high school level.

In Steuben County, officers are seeing a generational problem where parents are indoctrinating children into their criminal lifestyles, said one deputy. Malkins presentation included his teams efforts to provide positive activities and role models in a Hispanic neighborhood  reaching out to residents in apartment complexes, holding annual block parties and using city code enforcement to encourage landlords to be cognizant and responsible for what goes on at their properties.

Neighborhood mobilization was one of the keys to Malkins success, he said. It was important that the city recognized its problem.

Denial is a common response to gang problems in many communities, Malkin said.

You dont want to overstate the problem and you dont want to understate the problem, he said. Gangs are a cancer. They grow. They grow. They grow.

Gleaning information on the main gang members and their activities and sharing it with law enforcement and other community partners is a key to combating it.

A group of Northeastern Center employees attended Malkins presentation Wednesday to learn the signs of gang activity. Because they do frequent home visits, they said they wanted to arm themselves with knowledge for their own safety and to provide the proper resources to their clients.

Im definitely getting a lot out of this, said Todd Pfafman, who works for Northeast Indiana Community Corrections. He also makes numerous home visits, and said the presentation helped him know signs to look for and how civil ordinances and legal rules can be used to a departments advantage.

Malkin shared his 11-point plan for reducing criminal activity, including documenting and eliminating gang related graffiti, community education and mobilization and using local and state laws to their fullest. He suggested those who want to learn more about gangs go to chicagogangs.org.

Malkin encouraged parents to get involved in their childrens lives and learn the signs of gang affiliation; wanna-be status is the first step toward becoming involved, he pointed out. Among Malkins pointers were to know your childrens friends and introduce yourself to their parents; have a zero tolerance policy for criminal activity; talk to children about the dangers of gang activity; provide positive activities like sports; tell your children to avoid drug users; and talk to police if there is an issue.

Too much television or Xbox is a recipe for destruction, Malkin said. He also called cell phones the root of all evil. Malkin is now investigating sex crimes in DuPage County, and said cell phones hold a lot of evidence, as do Facebook accounts. He said he and his wife go through their teenage daughter and sons cell phone logs every night.

Malkin also advocates room searches.

Its your house. Its your right to know whats in your house, said Malkin.

While Steuben County residents may not have to worry about gang shootings next door, they may want to take heed of the messages their children are getting through various media and know the signs of gang activity. Its a lot easier to redirect a young person who is just starting to show interest in gangs than it is to help a youth who has joined a gang, said Malkin.
ALBION  How precious are parking spots in Albions downtown?

Precious enough that the Albion Town Council at its Jan. 26 meeting decided to table a decision on whether to allow a portable stage to take up five of those spots for two weeks this summer.

Albion S.T.A.R. Team representative Steve Hook came before the council to ask that the portable stage that is a fixture of the Chain O Lakes Festival be kept up for two additional weeks until the ALL-IN Block Party scheduled for June 25.

The ALL-IN Block Party is a daylong, state-sanctioned Indiana Bicentennial event being organized by the S.T.A.R. Team.

The portable stage would be set up for the Chain O Lakes Festival, but that event ends on June 11. Rather than go through the hassle of tearing down the stage and then having to set it up again, the S.T.A.R. Team asked that it be left up.

Town Council president John Morr said he understood the principle, but wanted to make sure it would not be an inconvenience to local merchants.

Im concerned about the businesses across the street, Morr said.

Hook said the S.T.A.R. team would survey the businesses and make a report back to the council at its next meeting before a decision would be made.

Hook said he would have to get an application from the Indiana Department of Transportation to put up the portable stage regardless, since that government body has the right-of-way on that section of Orange Street which is S.R. 9.

In other business from the Jan. 26 meeting, the council received an update from Street Department superintendent Mark Tarlton regarding demonstrations being down with mini excavators.

So far, the town has tried one of the digging tools, and Tarlton is impressed.

It would be excellent for the cemetery, Tarlton said.

According to town employee Aaron McGinnis, who operated the 12,000-pound piece of equipment, the mini excavator allows for precise digging.

It makes delicate tasks easier, McGinnis said. You are much more controlled.

The council also announced that it would consider a petition to vacate a platted public way in the North Ridge Village development.

Town attorney Mike Yoder said despite the label of public way, the request has nothing to do with a town street or alley.

It has nothing to do with roads in any shape or form, Yoder said. It is merely a relocation of utilities.

The matter will first go before the Albion Plan Commission at its Feb. 3 meeting. The council will then hear the commissions recommendation before voting on the measure.

The council also heard from Fire Chief Brad Rolins on his departments monthly activity for December.

The Albion Fire Department had 29 runs in December, including eight fire calls, totaling 29.5 staff hours; five car accident responses, totaling 26.0 hours and nine medical runs, totaling 13.5 hours.

Including training and administrative functions, the department put in 240 man hours during the month.

Rollins also released year-end department hours.

The fire department put in 3,666.3 hours in 2015. For the year, firefighters responded to 100 fires, 42 car crashes and 174 medical runs.
Check back often for news and commentary about Kentucky by David Adams. Contact via email: kyprogress(at)yahoo.com or Lexington area telephone 537-5372.
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The legal troubles just keep coming for the Southern California Gas Company, whose natural gas storage facility sprung a leak in late October that still hasn't been fixed. A new filing yesterday of criminal charges against the company from the LA County District Attorney's Office alleges that the gas company took its time in reporting the leak to the proper authorities, says the LA Times. The four misdemeanor counts could add up to thousands of dollars in fines for the company.

The Daily News reports that the gas company's facing three counts of "failing to report the release of hazardous material" for the period from October 23, when the leak started, to October 26. The gas company's also facing a count of "discharge of air contaminants," also starting from October 23 until now, since the leak still hasn't been totally stopped.

The charges could result in a fine of up to $25,000 for each day that the company didn't notify state agencies of the leak, and an extra $1,000 a day for "pollution violations." The case is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Clarita on February 17. "I believe we can best serve our community using the sanctions available through a criminal conviction to prevent similar public health threats in the future," said LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey in a statement.

These fines, if the gas company has to pay them, will be nominal compared to the costs of relocating the over 4,400 households that have had to leave their homes because of the leak, according to a Southern California Gas Company release. (An additive in the gas that makes it easier to detect has been blamed for causing headaches, bloody noses, and nausea in Porter Ranch residents.) The company had previously said that it would cover up to $7,500 a month for each family to relocate; with over 4,400 families to move, that's could be around $33,000,000, and there are still about 1,200 households that are in the process of temporarily moving.

The District Attorney's charges aren't the only new legal battle the gas company's going to be fighting. Yesterday the state's Attorney General, Kamala Harris, joined a civil suit already filed against the company that charges that it broke "health and safety codes, public nuisance laws and hazardous materials reporting requirements, as well as engaging in unfair business practices." If a judge agrees, the company would have to pay up, and could be subject to "injunctions to enforce regulations," says the Times. There are now 11 agencies (federal, local, state) that are either looking into the company or outright suing it as a result of the Porter Ranch leak, the Times says.

 L.A. County files criminal charges over Porter Ranch gas leak [LAT]

 DA files criminal charges against SoCalGas over Porter Ranch leak as legal challenges mount [LADN]

 A Running Count of Exactly How Much Methane is Being Released From Huge Porter Ranch Gas Leak [Curbed LA]
The Modernist master Rudolph Schindler designed only one church and it stands today in South LA. But for all its well-lit internal spaces, the Bethlehem Baptist Church "the lone example of Modernist architecture to cross Los Angeles's economic and racial boundaries during the era of Jim Crow housing covenant," as the Cultural Heritage Commission's application for Historic-Cultural Landmark status called ithas a backstory that in many places remains murky. How Schindler came to get the commission and the reclusive status of its owner around that time a licensed plumber who stayed out of sight despite multiple attempts to contact him by city officials are among the many mysteries of the church touched on by a piece on Atlas Obscura.



 For a bit of background, Bethlehem Baptist was built in 1944 for the congregation of a small, black church. How they got on Schindler's radar has always been unclear. Atlas Obscura, citing an unpublished essay by architectural historian (and one-time draftsman to Schindler) Esther McCoy, says that it appears Schindler wasn't the first one to propose a design for the church.

Archival materials suggest that African-American architect James Garrott, who'd designed the nearby Mt. Zion Baptist church in 1926, had drawn up plans first. But for whatever reason, "Garrott disappeared and Schindler took the job."

 Even though neither the church nor its congregants were rich, it's speculated that Schindler took the project because he'd be given free rein to do whatever he wanted with the church. (Archival papers suggest that when Schindler died in 1953, he'd not been paid in full for his work on the church but had still volunteered his time to help maintain the church.) Plus, Schindler "also worked as his own contractor and could make small budgets go far."

 Another favorable attribute of a design by the famed Modernist Schindler: Garrott's design had been very traditional, but Schindler's would not be. That possibly appealed to the congregation in addition to his likely affordability.

 Once the building was complete, Bethlehem Baptist stayed in their church until the 1970s, moving to "a larger, more conventional building" about five miles away, on Normandie Avenue and 74th Street. In 1976, the Schindler-designed building sold to its second-ever owner a female minister named Ola Mae Miller. She paid $39,000.



 Miller held services at the Bethlehem Baptist building well into the 2000s, even though her congregation was shrinking, and even though Miller had suffered a stroke and moved to Claremontat least a 40-minute drive away from the Bethlehem Baptist building.

 Trouble came in late 2006, when Miller transferred deeds for the church and her house in Claremont over to a man named Leroy Dowd. Sadly, nobody figured out it had even happened until late 2007. Miller had no memory of the transfers happening. An elder abuse report was filed with the city of Claremont in 2008 by a concerned friend of Miller's, but by then Miller's house was already in foreclosure.

 A police detective working the elder abuse case uncovered an incredible web of fraud, involving "straw buyers" who'd been engaged to fake their income, get loans, and buy properties out from under the elderly and in some cases deceased women. In this case, Dowd had Miller sign the house to him; he in turn sold it to a woman who'd faked her income to get an $800,000 loan; that new owner briefly sold the house to a real estate agent.

 By June 2008, all three had been arrested for their involvement in the scam, and evidence had been found to connect the whole scheme back to a guy living in a penthouse in Chicago and a church there that has "a bad reputation for preying on the elderly."

 In 2009, the Bethlehem Baptist was in bad shape. As it was preparing for and ultimately awarded designation as a Historic-Cultural Monument that year, it was often noted that the church's paint was faded and that the building was covered with graffiti.

 The owner, listed on the deed as Inland-Empire-based plumb Luis Niebla, was absent and not returning calls and letters from at least one councilwoman whose office attempted to contact him multiple times.

 Niebla had bought the church for exactly $0 from Dowd in 2008a time when Dowd "would have been jailed for real estate fraud," Atlas Obscura notes. Niebla was still the owner in 2009, but the church was eventually repossessed for back taxes. (Miller got her house in Claremont back in 2010 and died four years later, at 93.)

 Bethlehem Baptist was purchased in 2012 by an investor group, Yamato Capital Fund. They paid just $210,000.

 In 2014, the Faith Build International church moved into the space. They'd paid Yamato Capital "a $17,500 down payment on the church to lease it with the option to buy," the head pastor said. But in 2015, Yamato Capital decided to list the church instead, asking $1.85 million. (The price has since been dropped down to $1.49 million.)

 The Bad Deed That Robbed Compton Avenue of Its Most Iconic Church [Atlas Obscura]

 Touring Rudolph Schindler's Miraculously Restored Bethlehem Baptist Church in South LA [Curbed LA]
MADISON -- Republican lawmakers want Wisconsins attorney general to help break a legal impasse that has frustrated businesses and brought permitting of controversial high-capacity wells to a standstill.

Since taking over state government in 2011, Republicans have made significant changes to natural resources laws, but they have failed to remove obstacles for frac sand mines, farms and food processors that want to dig more wells able to draw 100,000 gallons of water a day.

Opponents say the wells deplete groundwater, lower lakes and streams, and cause other environmental problems.

At issue is whether the state Department of Natural Resources has authority to consider the impact of all wells drawing groundwater from a given area instead of just the new well being proposed.

Another point of contention is whether the DNR can require installation of monitoring wells to see how high-capacity wells affect others, according to the request approved in a 5-3 party line vote Tuesday by the committee on assembly organization.

Democrats complained that the vote was taken by paper ballot, avoiding a public debate on the vote.

The committee sent a four-page letter to Attorney General Brad Schimel asking if the states top court in a ruling it issued in 2011 improperly ignored a state law enacted that year to restrict the ability of state agencies to regulate businesses.

A formal opinion of the attorney general does not create a binding precedent, but it can have a strong effect. An attorney general opinion can be persuasive to courts and is presumptively correct as long as the Legislature doesnt pass a law contradicting it, said Schimel spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

But a public interest law firm that has frequently challenged the DNR for issuing permits that dont protect natural resources, Midwest Environmental Advocates, said seeking an attorney generals opinion was a way of cutting the public out of an important decision.

The committee approved the request at the urging of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

There is confusion surrounding the authority of the DNR to place conditions on permits for high-capacity wells, the committee said in its request to Schimel. These permit conditions have created a substantial backlog in permit requests, bringing the issuance of new permits to a standstill.

The digging of high-capacity wells increased rapidly in the state over the last 10 years.

The committee said the current backlog was created by a 2011 state Supreme Court decision that has been interpreted by Republicans as giving the DNR too much power to consider wells cumulative impact on state water quality.

The Supreme Court said that 2011 Act 21, a state law restricting the authority of state agencies, didnt affect its analysis of the Lake Beulah Management District versus DNR case.

The court ruled unanimously that the state constitution gives the DNR the authority and a general duty ... to consider the impact of a proposed high-capacity well on waters of the state.

In that case, landowners filed a lawsuit to block a well permit issued by the DNR to the village of East Troy. They said the permit wasnt restrictive enough, arguing the well would damage wetlands and the level of Lake Beulah in Walworth County.

Around the same time the case was decided, Act 21 was enacted. The law forbids the DNR and other state agencies from placing any regulations on businesses that arent specifically allowed in statutes.

Act 21 changed the way in which, after state laws were enacted, state agencies wrote administrative rules that spelled out how the laws would be implemented. GOP lawmakers complain that the DNR has gone too far in placing restraints on business activities that pollute or affect the environment in other ways.
When schools out for the summer, programs and organizations across the state still provide free, nutritious meals for economically disadvantaged children through the Summer Food Service Program.

Last year, Wisconsins 208 Summer Food Service Program sponsors provided nearly 2.8 million free meals to children from low-income families during the summer months. The number of sponsors and meals served in Wisconsin has increased 32 percent in the last five years. Sponsors operated 872 sites statewide in 2015, up more than 80 sites from the prior year.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is seeking sponsors for the 2016 Summer Food Service Program. Sponsors may be:

public or private nonprofit schools;

public or private nonprofit residential camps;

local, municipal, county, tribal, or state governments;

public or private nonprofit colleges or universities;

Upward Bound programs;

libraries; or

private nonprofit organizations.

Through its year-to-year growth, the Summer Food Service Program demonstrates its increasing importance in communities across Wisconsin, said State Superintendent Tony Evers. I commend our public and private schools and nonprofit organizations for increasing their sponsorship and the number of nutrition sites to serve the many families who need food assistance during the summer.

The most common sponsor for the Summer Food Service Program has been local school districts which combine a meal program with their summer school sessions. Through partnerships and creative collaboration, some districts have been able to work with other organizations to extend the Summer Food Service Program beyond summer school to meet the needs of more children.

All sponsors for the 2016 program year must complete the online Summer Food Service Program application at www.wisummerfood.org. New sponsors for the program will be required to attend a training session on March 31 in Madison. Continuing sponsors for the 2016 summer program are encouraged to attend one of the training sessions to be offered around the state. Those sessions will be held on March 11 in Madison and March 15 in Rice Lake. The deadline to register for training is Feb. 26 and must be done online at www.wisummerfood.org.

The DPI has administered the Summer Food Service Program since its inception in 1975 and is an equal opportunity provider. Additional information about the program is available from Amy Kolano, 608-266-7124, the DPI website at www.wisummerfood.org, or the USDA at http://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-food-service-program-sfsp.
From the public files of the La Crescent Police Department.

Monday, Jan. 25

7:16 a.m. Medical emergency, N. First St.

11:52 a.m. Suspicious activity reported by La Crescent resident.

2:22 p.m. La Crescent resident applied for permit to acquire a firearm.

3:00 p.m. La Crescent resident applied for permit to acquire a firearm.

3:34 p.m. Predatory offender registration, Sycamore St.

7:36 p.m. Assist Minnesota State Patrol in locating wrong-way driver, I-90.

11:21 p.m. Overtime parking complaint, S. Seventh St.

Tuesday, Jan. 26

8:13 a.m. College student obtained fingerprints for employment.

11:33 a.m. Found property returned to owner.

1:33 p.m. Records request.

2:15 p.m. Identity theft, Onalaska, Wis.

5:10 p.m. Driving complaint originating outside of the city reported, Hwy. 16. Officer requested to attempt to locate the vehicle.

6:17 p.m. Welfare concern, N. Fourth St.

8:07 p.m. 911 hang-up call reported, S. Oak St. Subject who called would not identify themselves and no apparent problems at physical address.

11:01 p.m. Burglary alarm, N. Chestnut St. Found to be false.

Wednesday, Jan. 27

12:39 a.m. Parking enforcement for snow removal.

8:17 a.m. Report of a wounded deer on roadway, CTH 25. La Crescent Police Department requested to assist.

9:08 a.m. Emergency medical, CTH 6.

11:52 a.m. Civil property dispute, S. Elm St.

1:52 p.m. Attempt to serve out-of-county arrest warrant, Juniper St.

3:10 p.m. Juvenile welfare concern, Grandview Terr.

4:50 p.m. Harassment complaint, Kistler Dr.

8:20 p.m. Emergency medical, S. First St.

9:45 p.m. Suspicious activity, CTH 6. Male subject identified walking in the area.

10:18 p.m. Domestic assault reported, N. First St. Juvenile arrested and taken to detention center.

Thursday, Jan. 28

1:01 a.m. Security check, Kistler Dr.

7:22 a.m. Pushed stalled vehicle out of intersection during morning traffic.

8:20 a.m. Truant student, S. Third St.

9:51 a.m. Public assist, N. Fourth St.

10:22 a.m. Public assist, Main St.

1:40 p.m. Auto unlock, Red Apple Dr.

3:44 p.m. Updated offender registration, Main St.

4:53 p.m. Auto unlock, Redwood East.

5:50 p.m. Noise complaint, S. Ninth St. Subject told to turn music down for the evening.

7:12 p.m. Suspicious activity, N. 13th St. Motion lights kept turning on. Officer patrolled area and was unable to locate anyone present.

7:32 p.m. Assist Houston County Sheriffs Office with a welfare check, Hokah. It was reported an intoxicated male had been outside in the snow for a significant amount of time. Subject was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Friday, Jan. 29

1:00 a.m. Officers arrested La Crecent female on felony warrants, Larch Ave.

1:26 a.m. Building security check, S. 14th St.

1:32 a.m. Building security check, Kistler Dr.

10:53 a.m. Illegal dumping of tires, Shore Acres Rd.

11:05 a.m. Emergency medical, Lancer Blvd.

1:30 p.m. Suspicious vehicle/activity reported, S. Maple St.

3:07 p.m. Attempt to locate hit-and-run driver from La Crosse, Hwy. 14/16/61. Gray vehicle with Wisconsin plates.

3:14 p.m. Motor vehicle property damage crash, S. Oak St.

4:58 p.m. Citation issued to La Crescent man for driving after revocation and expired registration, Hwy. 16.

10:54 p.m. Dog barking complaint, S. Sixth St.

11:47 p.m. Domestic assault reported, Welshire Dr. Juvenile arrested and transported to detention center.

11:47 p.m. Probation check, Welshire Dr. Probation violation for no use of alcohol.

Saturday, Jan. 30

1:49 a.m. Medical lift assist, Hwy. 16.

1:55 a.m. Traffic stop, Lancer Blvd. Three subjects arrested for possession of significant amount of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

8:35 a.m. Suspicious vehicle abandoned in the roadway, Hwy. 44. Subjects located and told to move it.

1:55 p.m. Theft investigation, Lancer Blvd. Property recovered and case to be sent to the Houston County Attorneys Office for charges against a juvenile.

Sunday, Jan. 31

2:02 a.m. Door checks, S. 14th St.

2:56 p.m. Public assist, S. Third St.

4:34 p.m. Motorist assist, Hwy. 14/61. Subject reported to be walking on shoulder of roadway.
Two La Crescent volunteers, known now as all-stars, were recognized Sunday night during the 15th annual La Crescent Rotary/Lions Super Community Events at Pettibone Resort.

Teresa ODonnell-Ebner and Linda Larson were bestowed the honor this year and were presented the award by Mike and Sarah Dohnalik, who along with Summer Thorson, were recipients last year.

Both all-stars have a long list of volunteerism in the community, which the Dohnaliks touched on as they ticked off a list of accomplishments. They clued the gathered audience in as to who won with a clever banter.

You know Sarah, I was looking over the two award winners, and I have to say that I think the one I introduce has done more for the community than yours, Mike Dohnalik said.

What do you mean, Mike? My person has done many more things than yours has done, Sarah replied.

Well Sarah, those are fighting words, so lets get at this and we will let the audience decide.

Mike first introduced ODonnell-Ebner, who is known in La Crescent for her leadership. She was a board member and past-president of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Council. There, she helped develop the scrip program thats generated thousands of dollar for the church.

Her guidance during the transition in pastors of the church helped maintain calm in the congregation, Mike said.

Larson, Sarah said, has served on the La Crescent Area Healthy Community Partnership Board as secretary and past president, and has been an ongoing supporter and manager of the Bike Shoppe, an initiative of HCP.

When there was a possibility it would close, she recruited volunteers for the project that has kept the doors open. She has truly stepped up to help make our community healthier and better, Sarah said.

Mike countered, adding that ODonnell-Ebner has been a leader in volunterism. She recruited volunteers for the recent effort to build a new La Crescent-Hokah Elementary School and sought out people to support the marriage equality effort in the state of Minnesota.

These were controversial issues and required not only leadership, but courage, he said.

Building on the controversy theme, Larson has provided leadership by working to bring the community together to discuss long-term planning through the La Crescent Planning Commission.

Getting the city and the town together on anything is like bringing Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders together to sing Kumbaya around a campfire, Sarah said, coaxing laughter from the crowd.

Both agreed  ODonell-Ebner and Larson are more equal than they realized. Theyre both volunteers, leaders, courageous, thoughtful, considerate and, best of all, committed to the La Crescent community.
One of Black River Falls own will share her work and life as a wildlife researcher in Alaska at the February meeting of the Friends of the Black River.

Sadie Ulman will present a program about her work as a research associate with the Alaska SeaLife Center in Alaska this Wednesday, Feb. 10 in Jackson County Banks community room. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Ulmans program will cover the goals, logistics and adventures associated with various avian research projects taking place across remote areas of Alaska. These projects include conservation ecology and habitat associations of sea ducks, seabirds and shorebirds.

The daughter of Tom and Denise Gearing, Ulman grew up in rural Black River Falls. She earned a bachelors degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a masters degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Delaware.

She has worked with many Arctic species over the past 15 years, ranging from least sandpipers to Stellers eiders to Sandhill cranes.

Ulman helps organize and execute several projects under the principal investigator for the Eider Breeding Program at ASLC. Her main project is helping with Stellers eider reintroduction on Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, a collaborative project with USFWS. Other ASLC projects include breeding productivity of common murre, seabird presence and habitat associations in Resurrection Bay and growth monitoring of Stellers eider and spectacled eider ducklings.

One of Ulmans favorite places to visit is the productive arctic breeding ground, where singing birds can lull visitors to sleep after a tundra-tromping-filled day.

The ASLC is Alaskas only public aquarium and ocean wildlife rescue center. Serving wildlife and visitors for 10 years, the center has become a window on the sea. It offers wildlife enthusiasts and researchers close encounters with puffins, octopus, sea lions and other sea life.

Along with Ulman, more than 100 full-time employees assisted by volunteers and interns work at the private corporation, conducting research projects. The research helps scientists discover why marine animal populations are declining and the causes for changes in the environment. The center provides rehabilitation for sick and injured marine animals, and with its many exhibits, the center also provides educational opportunities to all ages, from early childhood to Elderhostel.

For more information, e-mail FBR at info_fbr@yahoo.com.
Hold on to your hats. By the time you see this, we should know whether or not there will be 10 or more inches of white stuff outside. Nice way for February to roll in. Yuck.

I am nothing if not predictable. January always means I get guilty pangs about my home office being less than pristine, and then things start to fly. Every year, I make progress, every year I lose things in my effort to be organized, every year I manage to get side tracked and not get as much done as I have hoped and every year, little by little, the unorganized packrat in me prevails again. The procrastinator that I am let things go until almost the end of the month and we will see how long it lasts.



It was sure fun getting feedback on cravings after last weeks column. Its nice to know that I am not the only one who gets a little obsessive. I have had people telling me about oatmeal, stew, ribs and chicken and biscuits cravings, and a couple people, out of the kindness of their hearts I am sure, even shared pictures of them enjoying their winter obsessions. If there has to be a favorite, however, the winner overall has been chili. And there are so many ways to prepare it that it could become an obsession to try them all.



Got a fun fundraising event coming up. Tubes and Tunes at Bruce Mound will be held on Saturday, Feb. 13. Tubing will be from 5-8 p.m. and music by the always popular Them Coulee Boys will be from 6-9 p.m. Donations accepted at the door.



Congratulations to Toni Nelson on her recent retirement. Its nice to hear that their love of travel is going to continue. They already have a retirement planned for the future. Enjoy.



February birthdays include Jeannette Bohac, Troy Nerby, Rachael Nerby, David Nerby, Nick Nerby, Merlin Nerby, Olivia Hefty, Gabe Bush, Duane Jarrett, Tayte Matthew Yeskie, Jule Johnson, Isaac Osegard, Brenda Zillmer, Mary Sedelbauer, Dallas Jelinek, Will Sedelbauer, Jake Sweeney, Kevin Laufenberg, Grace Simonson, Linda Lusk, DeEtta Darst, Mark Sedelbauer, Jewell Hagen, Kevin Cain, Jared Laufenberg, Ashley Henrickson Hodge, Dena Bills Graff, Brandon Demers, Me, Derrick Heard and Greg Krueger.



February anniversaries include Ryan and Mari Sedelbauer, Eric and Barb Johnson, Joan and Gordon McRae and Samantha and Matthew OQuinn.



Congratulations to Rick and Brenda Hentsch who celebrated their 25th, aka silver, anniversary on Jan. 19.



Friends and family attended Amber Gilbergs bachelorette party in the Cities recently, which was held in anticipation of her upcoming wedding.



Jay and Anne Mageland are new residents of the village of Hixton. Welcome.



Got a chance to wish Duane Jarrett a happy birthday. He celebrated a significant birthday with a fun family get together.



Recently named to the deans list at UW-Eau Claires college of arts and sciences are Jacinda Kinser and Carly McPeak.



Congrats to Kayla Gilbertson of Hixton who won third prize in the Big Buck contest sponsored by 4 Seasons Quik Stop in Black River Falls.



Ive Learned  Happiness is an inside job.



Word of the Week: sternutation  the act of sneezing.



Words of Wisdom and Advice: You dont have to win every argument. But stay true to yourself.



Natural High: Seeing little by little that a plan is coming together.



Tip of the Week: I am becoming a regular night owl, so when I read this, I thought I would share and see what you think. Lie on your right side, which will help open your left nostril, then use the thumb or index finger of your right hand to close the right nostril. Take long, deep breaths through your left nostril for a few minutes and you will feel much more relaxed and closer to sleep.



Fun Fact of the Week: There are more donut shops in Canada per capita than any other country.



Here is a red recipe in honor of the upcoming Valentines Day.

Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake

Bottom crust:

22 Golden Oreos, crushed

5 tbsp melted butter

Filling:

4 8 oz packages cream cheese

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

jar of strawberry ice cream topping

Topping:

12 Golden Oreos crushed and divided into two bowls (one for plain Oreo topping, one for your strawberry ones)

1 tsp softened butter

3 tbsp from a small package of strawberry gelatin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the outer perimeter of your pan with aluminum foil and generously apply butter to the inside to prevent sticking.

Crust: Crush the Oreos and incorporate the butter, press into the bottom of your spring-form pan.

Filling: Place one 8-ounce package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the remaining 3 packages of the cream cheese. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups of the sugar, then beat in the vanilla.

Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well after each one. Blend in heavy cream.

At this point, mix the filling only until completely blended. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Gently spoon of the cheese filling on top of the prepared crust. Spoon plops the jar of strawberry topping here and there. Drag a butter knife through the strawberries to marbleize the cheese and strawberries. Spoon in the other half of the batter and the repeat the strawberry process on top. Bake for one hour or until there is only a slight jiggle when shook gently.

Crumb topping: In a small bowl or the food processor, add the Oreo cookies and pulse into large crumbs. Add the softened butter and mix gently with a fork or your hands to make pea-sized pieces stick together. Scoop out two tablespoons of the mixture into a small bowl and set aside. Pour strawberry Jell-O powder over the remaining crumbs and continue pinching the pieces together. Add more softened butter if needed for mixture to stick to the cake.



Quote of the week: Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.  Andre Gide
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After a 28-year career as an educator, Tracy Stuhr has opened her dream business.

Around the Bend, an eclectic home decor and gift shop, has been open since October in North Bend. Stuhr and husband Larry launched the shop after buying the more than 100-year-old, two-story building four years ago and renovating it. Before they bought it, it had most recently been an antique store.

For 30 years, Ive wanted to have a little eclectic shop, said Stuhr, who also owns Freddies Bar & Grill in North Bend with her husband and live on a nearby farm.

Around the Bend sells items like Fair Trade products from other countries, like handwoven baskets from Ghana, rugs from India and scarves from Thailand. It also sells candy from Germany and Sweden, nonalcoholic Glogg beverages from Sweden and many locally made products.

Some of the locally produced beverages available at the store include Pearl Street Brewery beer from La Crosse, Sand Creek Brewing Co. beer from Black River Falls and wines from Elmaro Vineyard near Trempealeau and from Tenba Ridge Winery near Blair.

Around the Bend also sells local items that include chainsaw carvings made by artist Lisa Christopherson, dip and soup mixes from Wildwood Specialty Foods in Trempealeau, Kickapoo Honey essential lip balm and jams, hot sauces and pickled foods.

The store also has a large selection of greeting cards.

We have quality, American-made cards, Stuhr said.

Stuhr grew up in La Crosse, while her husband was raised on a farm in the North Bend area. During her 28-year career in education, she taught in schools in Merrill and Tomah, as well as Spring Grove, Minn., before working for the Melrose-Mindoro School District for 20 years.

She spent six years at Mel-Min teaching junior high literature and third grade before serving as kindergarten through eighth-grade principal for 14 years. She retired from that post in 2012.

While there are things Stuhr misses from her career as an educator, she said, operating her shop is definitely less stressful.

Theres no politics involved. And this is a brand new avenue for me. Its a new challenge, she said.

Stuhr enjoys visiting small shops when she and her husband go on road trips. And she tries to make her own shop a place thats happy and comfortable for the people who stop there.

I like going to happy places, comfortable places, she said.

In the rear of her store is an unfinished studio where Stuhr plans to eventually offer Saturday classes. She plans to have local hobbyists lead classes in beadwork, jewelry making and chalk painting.

Im an educator and like to try new things, Stuhr said of her plans to offer classes.
Lead in drinking water, which has ignited a public health crisis in Flint, Mich., is largely ignored as a potential contributor to elevated blood lead levels in thousands of Wisconsin children, records and interviews show.

Nearly 4,000 children in Wisconsin were diagnosed with elevated levels of lead in their blood in 2014, though the number has fallen over the years thanks in part to bans on lead in paint and gasoline. Unlike in Flint, however, it is not known to what extent lead in the drinking water contributes to elevated blood lead levels in Wisconsin.

The percentage of lead-poisoned children among those tested in Wisconsin  4.5 percent  is similar to the 4.9 percent of children diagnosed in 2015 in the Flint region, where state and federal officials have declared a state of emergency over the spike in lead in drinking water and childrens blood.

In Milwaukee, the percentage is even higher: 8.6 percent of children tested in 2014 had blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter, the level at which children are known to suffer health problems, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Even those percentages likely understate the magnitude of the problem, said Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor whose team helped identify the lead problem in Flints water. Standard testing for lead in blood begins around age 1, a time when children become mobile and may be exposed to lead paint or dust  ignoring infants on formula who may be ingesting large amounts of lead-tainted tap water.

Neither in Flint nor in Wisconsin is the greatest at-risk group being tested, Edwards said.

Leads effects are severe and permanent. Reduced intelligence, learning disabilities and developmental delays have all been attributed to lead exposure in young children, particularly those under age 6 whose developing brains are most vulnerable.

Some studies have linked childhood lead poisoning to disruptive behavior at school and a greater likelihood of violent crime in adulthood. Lead exposure in pregnant women has been associated with an increased risk of fetal death.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged the contribution of water to the nations lead exposure in 1991 when it estimated that drinking water accounts for about 20 percent of average lead exposure, but as much as 85 percent of exposure for infants consuming formula made with tap water.

Because of the dangers of lead, the United States started phasing out leaded gasoline in 1973 until it was virtually eliminated in 1988. The use of lead-based paints steadily decreased after 1950 until the additive was banned from the market in 1978. The use of lead for plumbing was outlawed in 1986, although until January 2014, lead-free indoor plumbing components could legally contain up to 8 percent lead.

Officials at the nations Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsins Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program attribute childhood lead exposure almost exclusively to deteriorating lead-based paint and lead dust in older homes.

But lead paint is not the only hazard of old housing stock. For decades beginning in the late 1800s, lead was a commonly used material in the pipes that carry drinking water from the water main to individual homes, also known as lead service lines. There are an estimated 176,000 such lead pipes in Wisconsin.

Yanna Lambrinidou, a researcher and instructor at Virginia Tech, said the CDC and public health community are doing tremendous damage by failing to require testing for lead in drinking water when a child is lead poisoned.

Its putting generations of kids in harms way for absolutely no good reason, she said.

A study led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the Flint pediatrician who sounded the alarm about elevated blood lead levels among children in her community, described the crisis as a warning to other communities with aging water infrastructure and limited budgets.

The situation in Flint, Michigan, Hanna-Attisha and her research colleagues concluded, may be a harbinger for future safe drinking-water challenges.

Thousands affected in Wisconsin

In 2014, 3,922 Wisconsin children under age 6 had blood lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher. About 20 percent of Wisconsin children are tested in a typical year.

The Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program provides technical assistance, funding and consulting to health providers to prevent, detect and treat childhood lead poisoning. It projects lead-poisoned children will likely cost Wisconsin billions of dollars in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), lifetime earning losses and the associated societal costs for health care, education and correctional services.

Almost 60 percent, or 2,244, of the states lead-poisoned children in 2014 were from the city of Milwaukee.

Ramona Jensen, lead liaison for Milwaukees Social Development Commission, wonders when Wisconsin officials will finally begin investigating tap water as a potential contributor to lead poisoning.

Jensens organization, which plans, coordinates and provides human service programs to the poor in Milwaukee County, is wrapping up work on a multi-year, $3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded project to identify and remove lead hazards from 231 low-income housing units. Yet drinking water is not part of the program, she said.

We just quite honestly dont consider the water, she said. If youre not testing the water when youre doing a (lead) investigation, how do we know if it is or is not an exposure route?

Water standard unchanged

In recognition of leads high toxicity, in 2012 the CDC cut in half the amount at which a childs blood lead level requires reporting and possible intervention from 10 micrograms per deciliter to 5.

But the nations standard for lead in public drinking water has not been updated since 1991 when the EPAs Lead and Copper Rule took effect. The federal law aims to keep lead levels in water below 15 ppb, while standards for lead in Canada and the European Union match the World Health Organizations guideline of 10 ppb.

Public water utilities are required to take remedial action under the Lead and Copper Rule only if more than 10 percent of household tap water samples exceed 15 ppb. No remediation is required for even exceedingly high readings if the 10 percent threshold is not met.

In Wisconsin, 725 tap water samples, or 3.5 percent of almost 21,000 household samples tested between January 2010 and April 2015, exceeded 15 ppb, according to a DNR database analyzed by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Applying the 3.5 percent estimate to the 176,000 known lead service lines in the state suggests that some 6,200 Wisconsin households may drink public water that exceeds the federal standard. That does not account for the unknown number of homes with lead fixtures.

In addition, an estimated 940,000 Wisconsin homes get their water from private wells. Private wells are largely unregulated, meaning those property owners are responsible for the safety of their own water.

In 2013, the Department of Health Services analyzed almost 4,000 private well samples and found that 1.8 percent of them exceeded 15 ppb of lead. Applying this estimate to all homes on private wells adds nearly 17,000 households to the at-risk total.

When public and private well calculations are combined, they suggest that residents in roughly 23,000 homes in Wisconsin may be consuming unsafe levels of lead in their water.

In some Wisconsin communities, the percentage of public water samples that tested above 15 ppb was much higher than 3.5 percent, such as Lake Mills (20 percent), Columbus (18 percent) and Mount Horeb (16 percent). The states highest value was recorded in 2012 in Mount Horeb: 9,370 ppb.

Investigations ignore water

In July 2013, Crystal Wozniak of Green Bay learned that her 9-month-old baby Casheous had 18 micrograms per deciliter of lead in his blood  more than three times the federal threshold. The finger prick test that Casheous received is mandatory for children, generally beginning at age 1, who are covered under BadgerCare, Wisconsins health care program for low-income families.

When (the nurse) broke the news to me, Wozniak said, I was devastated. My heart broke, I cried. I was very worried for him and had no knowledge of what to do next.

The Brown County Health Department identified multiple sources of deteriorating lead-based paint in Wozniaks home, built in 1900. Eventually, the house was gutted, and Wozniak moved elsewhere.

But she wondered why nobody talked about lead pipes or urged her to get her tap water tested.

A source investigation triggered in Wisconsin by a case of childhood lead poisoning does not require testing the tap water in the childs home or daycare, despite the documented link between water lead and blood lead levels. The CDC guidelines also do not specifically recommend examining drinking water.

Later testing of Wozniaks tap water found no lead, but even EPA officials acknowledge that the existing regulatory sampling protocol  systematically misses high lead levels and potential human exposure.

Lambrinidou, the Virginia Tech scientist, said regulatory agencies fail to examine lead in water or alert homeowners of ways to protect themselves, including installing filters costing as little as $40.

Lead in drinking water has been pushed under the rug by almost every single agency, she said. Lead particles (in water) can contain far more lead than lead paint chips and can spike a childs blood lead level literally overnight, and cause irreversible brain damage from one glass of water or one bowl of pasta.

The outrage, Lambrinidou added, is that for many households, the prevention of miscarriages and of irreversible brain damage is $40 away.
Authorities are investigating a report of inappropriate behavior by another employee at the beleaguered Tomah VA Medical Center.

In an email sent to all employees Jan. 22, Acting Director Victoria Brahm said a hospital employee had reported being a victim of inappropriate contact by another employee and that the Tomah VA police were investigating.

The VA police department has not responded to a Freedom of Information Act request for reports.

Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger said he had yet to receive any referral for criminal charges.

Brahm said appropriate employee reassignments have occurred. Her message went on to remind workers of the VAs sexual harassment policies.

A mental health worker from the hospital was charged two weeks ago with two counts of sexual exploitation by a therapist and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior. According to a criminal complaint, Charles W. Davis, a 47-year-old peer support specialist, was accused of harassing two female patients, exposing himself and receiving oral sex from a patient in his office.

The facility has been under scrutiny since a media report last year detailed high levels of opioid prescriptions. 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.
VIROQUA  The Viroqua Police Department is warning local residents of a telephone scam in which a caller seeks personal bank information from victims.

According to the Viroqua Police Department, several Viroqua residents were called Monday morning by someone saying he was an IRS agent. The victims were told they owed the IRS money and needed to call a specific telephone number.

These calls are scams, according to the Viroqua Police Department. The IRS does not contact people by phone. Do not give any information to these people, and do not call the number back that is being given.

The police remind people not to give out personal information over the phone unless you know and trust the person on the other end of the line.
The word diversity has been thrown around recently in almost every major conversation in the United States, especially when it comes to college campuses and the students attending them.

So what is diversity  and why is it so important?

Diversity can be thought of as having a variety of different people from all backgrounds, which includes race as well as economic status. This so-called diversity is extremely important to students in the University of Wisconsin System, whether they know it or not.

Times are changing, and will continue to change, so students should be better prepared for those changes and how they may affect us in the future.

Diversity is a scary term for much of white America; however, diversity is actually a good thing. Increased diversity fosters innovation and competition in business, spurring economic growth. A failure to educate our increasingly diverse generation of millennials will lead to an uneducated and uncompetitive workforce by 2050.

In the post-civil rights society, there is a common misconception about race and diversity. Many people assume race is no longer a factor in the quality of a persons life. However, recent statistics and research have shown this to be false.

According to the Race to Equity Report released in 2013, African-Americans in this post-racial society are almost three times more likely to be in poverty nationwide, and four times more likely in Wisconsin.

The word diversity also has become a sort of meaningless term that has a lot of assumptions buried inside it. When you talk about diversity, what people are really getting at is economic and racial justice. We have a public administration program at UW-L, where students can study the process of how people with decision-making power spend taxpayer dollars to foster the greater good of their community.

What happens when decision makers with control over a communitys available means do not value diversity? The tragic example of Flint, Mich., comes to mind: Officials there did not value diversity enough to make sure that people  mostly black people in Flint  had a safe water source. That is an example of economic and racial injustice for all people in Flint, particularly the black communities.

Diversity is lacking statewide in the UW System. Lately, a group of students has begun to organize around racial justice throughout the UW System to accomplish the following:

That UW System lets the taxpayers and students of the state know they are serious about bettering the college experience for students of color. That UW campuses, such as UW-L expose white students to the damaging racial history of this country and its lingering effects on policy and culture. That students, staff and faculty design solutions and goals to erasing the opportunity and graduation gaps between white students and students of color by studying what is and what is not working well inside and outside the classroom. Finally, because students of color experience bias and hate at a higher rate than white students, and thus turn to mental health counseling at a higher rate than white students, we need to increase the number of mental health counselors who look like the students of color that they serve.

Lack of diversity on college campuses not only creates more issues inside the classroom, where students of color often are asked to speak on behalf of their entire race, but it also robs white students of the opportunity to find common ground with someone who does not look like the neighborhood kids they grew up with.

Wisconsin is changing fast: Hmong folks, black folks, Latino folks and Native American folks all call this state home at a much higher rate than before. Now, young white students have an opportunity to go beyond what is comfortable and familiar. Young white people have the chance to find happiness and purpose connecting with what is different and new, rather than what is familiar and safe.

I encourage students across the UW System to engage in student, local, statewide and national elections. This way, we can come together to improve the daily lives of all people.
Deshawn Randall admitted Tuesday that he shot another teenager nine times Aug. 21 on the citys South Side.

Randall, 18, faces life in prison with the possibility of release after 20 years after pleading guilty to first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 17-year-old George Miller of La Crosse, the last of six shootings in one week that put the community on edge.

He understands the gravity of what happened. Hes devastated by what happened, said his attorney, Michael Covey. He wishes he could take it back.

Randall remains jailed on a $1 million cash bond and returns to La Crosse County Circuit Court on April 8 for sentencing. As part of the agreement, prosecutors will not make a sentencing recommendation, while Covey has not reached a decision.

He absolutely does not deserve to spend the rest of his life in custody, Covey said. In many ways  both George and Deshawn are victims of a culture of gang violence that has infected a lot of communities.

At about 10 a.m. Aug. 21, Miller was a passenger in a Kia Spectra that parked in front of 1313-1317 Redfield St. Outside the car, Randall accused Miller of firing at him, according to witnesses.

Several witnesses reported that Randall then shot Miller once while Miller was inside the car, the complaint stated. Investigators found the window shattered and blood on the passenger seat.

Miller, a Central High School senior, fled the car to 14th and Redfield streets when Randalls gun jammed. Randall approached Miller again with the weapon, and Miller ran west on Green Bay Street with Randall behind him before witnesses heard a series of shots.

A truck driver for Badger Corrugating at 1300 Green Bay St. saw one person fleeing and fall twice before running behind a boom truck. A second male in a red hooded sweatshirt also ran behind the truck before the witness heard four or five shots, according to the complaint.

Authorities recovered six .380-caliber shell casings near the loading dock of Badger Corrugating.

A medical examiner during Millers autopsy discovered 11 wounds from nine gunshots to the front and side of his body; four bullets were recovered. Miller was shot in the abdomen, chest, thigh, wrist and arm, and the fatal shot penetrated his liver and kidney and lodged in his spinal cord, according to the complaint.

The tenant of 918 Denton St., No. 5, arrived home about 3:30 p.m. Aug. 21 to find Randall in her living room, anxious about a van parked outside he suspected was occupied by police.

Later that evening, tactical team members used explosive tape to knock the apartment door from its hinges and a robot to find Randall in the bedroom. He surrendered to police at 10:45 p.m.

Investigators found a red and black jacket in a tree at 1309 Green Bay St. with staining consistent with blood. It matched the description of what some witnesses reported Randall was wearing the day of the shooting. They also found a .380-caliber handgun partially buried by dirt and leaves nearby, according to the complaint.

Randall agreed to enter a plea in the case in part to spare Millers family and his own the difficulties of a trial. Millers family attended Tuesdays hearing.

They want to see justice, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said. They want him held accountable.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors dismissed charges against Randall that accused him of fleeing police in a stolen car on June 30 and threatening two women with a gun Aug. 19 outside 1027 Tyler St.

Earlier shootings

Randall agreed to talk with investigators, but only about a series of five shootings reported Aug. 14-16 in the Washburn Neighborhood.

We still havent closed the investigation into what happened, Gruenke said.

Randall told police that Miller and Paul Thomas Jr., 19, approached him in a silver SUV late Aug. 14 at Fifth Avenue and Mississippi Street. Both were armed, he said, and declared, Tell your man its on. Its war, before driving south on Fifth Avenue.

Miller and Thomas shot at Randall and another man at Fifth Avenue and Mississippi Street and at Fifth Avenue and Jackson Street before the driver of Randalls car returned fire, Randall told police.

Randall also said Thomas shot at a vehicle he was riding in at Fifth Avenue and Winnebago Street on an unknown date.

According to police, shots were fired from inside a silver car at 8:53 p.m. Aug. 14 into 1102 S. Fifth Ave. and 412 Mississippi St. Each house was hit once by gunfire and police found several shell casings at Fifth Avenue and Jackson Street, and Fifth Avenue and Mississippi Street.

Paul Thomas Sr., 40, was shot in the foot about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 15 while standing outside his apartment at 717 S. Fifth Ave., according to police. He told officers he heard a noise and turned around to see two flashes.

Witnesses heard several gunshots fired in the 900 block of Fifth Avenue South about at 1:25 a.m. Aug. 16 and saw three males between 15 and 20 years old flee the area, police stated. No one was injured.

The fifth incident was reported at 1:50 p.m. Aug. 16 when Thomas Jr. was shot near 400 S. Ninth St., where police recovered a handgun.
Plans to demolish a portion of Village Shopping Center that formerly housed Village Kitchen took a step forward Tuesday.

The La Crosse Judiciary & Administration Committee voted 6-1 to approve a recommendation from the citys Planning Department to approve a conditional-use permit requested by VSC Corp., which would allow the business to tear down three now-vacant storefronts to make way for 80 more parking spaces to serve Festival Foods employees.

As a condition of the permit, VSC will agree to provide the city with a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to mitigate the loss of tax base by the demolition, which will remove 9,960 square feet from the building. The portion of the building to be removed is worth a little less than $350,000, according to the permit application. The amount of the PILOT has yet to be determined.

According to city planner Jason Gilman, the proposal falls within the citys comprehensive plan; however, city ordinance requires a plan to mitigate the loss of tax base when structures are removed to make way for parking.

Council members Gary Padesky and Jai Johnson were leery of approving the application, although for different reasons.

Im not a real fan of tearing down businesses to put in parking, Padesky said. Were trying to stop all these parking lots in town, and here we are building another one.

Johnson asked Gilman to address concerns that Village Kitchen owner Rick Hawkins wasnt vacating the space voluntarily. The restaurant closed its doors Jan. 20, the week after VSCs request for the permit went public.

Gilman told the committee he spoke to Hawkins personally. He indicated that his lease was expiring in April, and he was moving into other things, Gilman said.

Hawkins also co-owns Huck Finns on the Water on French Island.

Council member David Krump cast the dissenting vote, saying he didnt believe it fit within the citys plan for urban development.

Council member James Cherf, however, disagreed. Cherfs shared Padeskys and Krumps concerns, but was satisfied that the parking relief provided by the demolition is needed and new development in the area will replace the loss of tax base, he said.

I have every confidence that we will continue to see redevelopment and reimagination of the property at the corner of State Road and Losey Boulevard in the years to come, Cherf said.

The application will come before the La Crosse Common Council Feb. 11.

In other business, the committee voted 4-3 to approve a resolution authorizing the renaming of the South Side Neighborhood Center to the Maney Neighborhood Center in honor of former council member Bernie Maney, who died last fall. Richard Becker, Andrea Richmond and Johnson voted against the resolution, which will go before the council next week.
WINONA, Minn.  A new degree program could make it easier for technical college students to transfer to a four-year college.

Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has applied to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board of trustees to confer an Associate of Arts degree beginning with the 2016 fall semester, college president Dorothy Duran said.

Holders of the two-year liberal arts degree will be readily accepted with junior class status by most four-year colleges and universities, Duran said. The degree program is intended either as a terminal degree, or for students intending to transfer into a four-year degree program.

Southeast Technical currently confers two-year Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees, in addition to technical certifications, but some colleges and universities are resistant to accepting credits earned in a non-AA program at a technical college.

High school administrators were particularly passionate advocates for creation of an AA program, Duran said. About a quarter of the students attending Southeast Technical are also high school students enrolled in the Post-Secondary Education Option programs offered through their high schools. The PSEO program allows high school students to enroll in a college or university and earn up to two years of college credit along with a high school diploma.

"Students will be able to earn their AA degree while in high school," Duran said and begin their first year of college as a juniors.

Adding the AA degree will enhance the attraction of Southeast Technical and, it's hoped, boost enrollment. Assuring the transferability of credit will make the college a convenient, lower-cost option for many students  especially in the Red Wing area  who would otherwise have left their home communities for their first two years of college.

If the MnSCU board approves the degree in April as hoped, the next task for the college will be to adopt a new name that reflects its added academic mission.
Strong showings in the Iowa caucuses by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio sent them roaring into next weeks Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire with a head of steam at the expense of a deflated Donald Trump.

On the Democratic side, the virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders puts intense pressure on Clinton to rebound in New Hampshire and foreshadows a protracted struggle in a race she expected to dominate.

New Hampshire is renowned for its independence and contrarian voting habits and anything can happen there. Trump and Sanders enjoy big polling leads that they now need to turn into New Hampshire victories. That will be a test of whether Sanders can retain the enthusiasm of his youthful supporters, and whether Trump fans still consider him a winner after losing the first contest of the 2016 campaign.

Rubio didnt win Iowa but he was a big a winner there. His third-place finish was closer than polls predicted and he almost caught Trump. His challenge now is to persuade mainstream Republican voters to coalesce behind his candidacy to foil the self-styled outsiders Cruz and Trump. To do that hell need a strong showing in New Hampshire against Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie  three other mainstream Republicans who are competing vigorously in the Granite State.

New Hampshire comebacks are not unusual. Clinton staged one after Barack Obama beat her in Iowa eight years ago. Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1988 scored critical New Hampshire wins after losing Iowa.

Of course Clintons New Hampshire victory in 2008 wasnt enough to propel her to victory over Obama for the nomination. This time shes counting on strong organizations and well- financed campaigns in later contests to overcome the unexpected early success of Sanders, a senator from Vermont.

New Hampshires outcome is hard to predict because about 40 percent of its voters are independents who are allowed to decide on primary day whether to vote in either partys contest. A candidate who scores big with these voters can spring a surprise. And surprise has already been the story of this campaign, in which little has played out as expected.

On the Republican side there are several huge question marks, in addition to the overriding one of Trumps durability:

Can Rubio, the Florida senator, get a bounce from his strong Iowa finish and thereby crowd out the other mainstream contenders? He will be the focus of a lot of fire from rivals over the next few days to prevent this. If he places first or second in New Hampshire he would become a top contender for the nomination.

Can Kasich, Bush or Christie do well next Tuesday? Each faces virtual elimination otherwise. And each probably has to finish ahead of the other two and Rubio for a plausible pathway to the nomination.

Can Cruz ride his Iowa victory to a respectable showing in New Hampshire, a state hed been inclined to ignore but now intends to contest? Hed planned to focus instead on South Carolina, where the third GOP contest takes place on Feb. 20 and where conservative voters are more of a force. His campaign manager has predicted that the Texan will prevail there, though polls show Trump ahead. Another factor may be whether Ben Carson, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon who finished a distant fourth in Iowa, stays in the race; he and Cruz compete for evangelical Christian voter

s.

New Hampshire is likely to winnow out at least three or four candidates. Iowa effectively took out half a dozen, including Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, winners of the last two Republican caucuses there.
Did Houston County officials violate county ordinance and state law regarding planning commission membership?

On Dec. 22, a self-appointed committee of Commissioners Judy Storlie and Steve Schuldt and County Attorney Sam Jandt recommended appointing two planning commissioners.

The committee was assembled via telephone conversations among Schuldt, Storlie and Commissioner Teresa Walter. Commissioners Justin Zmyewski and Dana Kjome werent apprised of these conversations, nor were they informed that Planning Commissioner Glen Kruse, whose term limit had expired, was a candidate.

Kjome and Zmyewski expressed concerns about reappointing Kruse. Zmyewskis request for copies of the applications went unanswered.

At their next meeting, Schuldt disclosed Planning Commission Chairman Dan Griffin had privately suggested keeping Kruse on because of his experience and knowledge of the ordinance.

Applications revealed Kruse is a county employee. He listed his employment as a drop site supervisor.

Minnesota law and the ordinance state, No more than one voting member of the commission shall be an officer or employee of the county. That member always has been the commissioner who serves on the planning commission.

Therefore Kruse apparently was ineligible  and may have violated state law and local ordinance ever since being hired. It appears department head Rick Frank may have violated local and state law when he hired Kruse.

Many people should have caught this  Frank, Planning Commission Chairman Griffin, County Attorney Jandt, Commissioners Storlie and Schuldt, and Kruse himself.

Is this evidence of ignorance, incompetence, cronyism or corruption? Houston County citizens deserve better.
On a hot July day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a Latina business owner addressed a crowd at an event billed Happy Hour with Hillary, urging them to caucus for Clinton.

I dont want to wake up on Feb. 2 and wonder if theres more I could have done, she said to the casually dressed crowd of mostly older people, with a smattering of college-age students.

Did she wake up satisfied?

Clinton came out later that July day and thanked the audience, including those who had yet to make up their minds, inviting them to join her team. Its not about right, left, up, down. Its about the future instead of the past, she said. Republicans still believe in trickle-down economics. We have been trickled on enough.

Clinton was at her best that day  relaxed, punchy and un-programmed. This campaign has to be about making it very clear whos right and whos wrong, she insisted. Right was paid family leave, clean renewable energy and early childhood education. It was refinanced student loans and a more peaceful, cooperative world. Wrong was young people not getting the opportunities for education and employment the previous generation had.

We have got to have a movement, so when we win in November 2016, well be prepared to win with confidence and optimism, Clinton declared, adopting a line from Bernie Sanders.

Just over a year ago, when Sanders was contemplating running, he wasnt even sure which party it would be with. The longest-serving independent in Congress was being urged by the Green Party to run as an independent. In an interview with me back then, he shared his concerns: Neither of the two major parties was held in very high esteem by Americans, Sanders said. The Democratic Party has not been seen as a champion of working families.

But running outside of the two-party system required building a political infrastructure in 50 states, which would interrupt his ability to get out and talk to people. Either way, he insisted hed get in the race only if he determined the country was ready for a grassroots revolution, to change a corrupt campaign finance system, eliminate child poverty and address the uneven distribution of wealth, among other things.

Among those who heard him was Clinton. She sharpened her attacks on systemic inequality.

Regardless of the final Iowa caucus count, Monday was a victory for Clinton and for Sanders, and for the issue of inequality he has focused attention on. It was also a victory for his campaign, financed without corporate money and only small donations. Not long ago, it would have seemed unthinkable that a self-described 74-year-old socialist could come within striking distance of someone with her experience and standing. It would also have been unimaginable for more than 40 percent of Iowa Democrats polled to describe themselves as socialists.

In the Democratic caucus of Des Moines precinct 47, which I sat in on, Sanders beat Clinton by a single vote out of 167. Each got three delegates. Sanders picked up six of Martin OMalleys seven supporters  but only after Sanders and Clintons backers made their cases and answered substantive policy questions. But what made it such a joyous affair was the raw enthusiasm that permeated the standing-room-only crowd, challenging the idea of voter apathy. People came well-informed, from a range of ages and incomes, races and occupations. Despite the heat and shortage of chairs, and the crush of international media, opposing sides laughed and joked together.

Rachel Busson, 32, who was voting in her second caucuses, cast her ballot for Barack Obama in 2008. I liked Hillary, but I liked Obama just a little bit more, she said. But this year, she thinks Clinton has the more concrete plans, especially on capping prescription drug prices. Busson works with people with special needs, to whom, she says that makes a big difference.

Rene Chavez, 18, was casting his first caucus vote  for Sanders. Hes more appealing to younger people, he said. He doesnt seem as corporate as other people.

Many people Ive spoken to recently have agonized over the choice between Clinton and Sanders. Shes best qualified, some argued, but he has the more inspiring vision. Shes more realistic about how to get things done and pay for them, and its time for a female president; hes pure and un-corruptible.

Hillary Clintons been committed to the Democratic Party all her life, declared a Clinton supporter at the caucus.

Lets take corporations out of politics, said a Sanders organizer.

Martin OMalley will make America great again, bellowed one of the former Maryland governors supporters, drawing laughter by appropriating Donald Trumps line.

Agonizing as the choice may have been for some, the process is a victory for democracy. There were real choices, and people were taking them seriously enough to listen, research, consider the alternatives and turn out to vote.
With Wisconsin's presidential primary still more than two months away, some Badger State politicos are hopping the border to assist their chosen candidates in the first nominating contest of the election cycle.

Iowa voters will gather Monday night in the fabled schools, churches and community centers  and in some cases, homes  to pledge their support and attempt to persuade others to back their preferred candidates. Some of those candidates will get a little help from Wisconsin.

Absent from the Hawkeye State will be Gov. Scott Walker, whose short-lived presidential campaign focused heavily on Iowa until he exited the race in September.

Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, will speak on behalf of Marco Rubio in Hampton, Iowa  a town of about 5,000, about an hour-and-a-half north of Des Moines. Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, is also in Iowa working to shore up support for the Florida senator.

"My whole reason for supporting Rubio is I think hes the most consistent conservative that can appeal to the broadest base of people and can actually win in November," Steineke said, adding that he thinks Rubio is attracting new voters to the Republican Party.

With Trump the expected GOP winner Monday, Rubio and Cruz supporters are vying for second- and third-place finishes.

"In Iowa, these caucuses  theres generally a surprise in them," Steineke said. "What that's gonna be, Im not sure. I anticipate (Rubio) is going to do well. I think hell do better than projections. If its going to be enough to overtake Cruz for second place or beyond that, Im not sure."

It will be Steineke's first caucus experience. But he's in luck in at least one regard: the Republican caucus is a much more straightforward process than its Democratic counterpart.

Each of Iowa's 1,681 precincts will hold caucuses Monday night, where more than just presidential candidates will be selected. Voters will also select delegates and discuss their party's platform.

Republicans listen to representatives for each candidate make their pitches, then cast their preferences on a secret ballot. That's pretty much it. For Democrats, it's a little trickier.

Democratic caucusgoers stand in clusters based on their presidential first choice. But if a candidate doesn't have enough supporters to be "viable"  usually about 15 percent of attendees  then the other campaigns will make their pitches to poach them. For more on the intricacies of caucus operations, read Ben Jacobs' explainer for The Guardian.

The national attention will be on which candidates "win, place or show." People want to know who comes in first place, sure, but conventional wisdom is that there are "three tickets" out of Iowa. A candidate doesn't have to win it all, he or she just needs to have a strong showing in the top tier.

That's good news for Republicans who don't want to see Donald Trump become the party's nominee  people like Steineke, and like Brian Sikma, who works for a Wisconsin-based conservative organization.

Sikma traveled with a friend to Des Moines last month and spent 48 hours at "Camp Cruz"  the former college dorm that's providing a temporary home to Ted Cruz volunteers.

In his first Iowa caucuses experience, Sikma made phone calls from campaign headquarters and attended a rally for the Texas senator.

Sikma said he was able to reach some Republican voters who don't agree with everything Cruz stands for, but find they agree with him on more issues than they do with Trump. Many of the voters he spoke with wanted to talk about national security and immigration, Sikma said.

While he was there to win support for Cruz, Sikma also chatted with Democratic voters who were happy to talk about their own political inclinations.

Molly Wyant, a Democrat from Madison, decided to make the trip to Des Moines with her fiance, whose parents live there. She's not there to support a particular candidate; instead, she'll be assisting the Iowa Democratic Party with logistics from its headquarters.

Volunteers like Wyant are fielding calls with questions like, "Where's my polling place?" and "Can I bring my kids?" and will be available to help with any problems that arise throughout the evening.

"I have my thoughts of whats likely, but I do think theres no forgone conclusion," Wyant said. "I think its likely that Hillary (Clinton) is going to come away with it, but I dont know by how much and I dont know that its foregone."

While Wyant, Steineke and Sikma disagree on political ideology, they all agree the Iowa caucuses are a unique and admirable process.

"The level of involvement from individuals is just really cool and really high," Wyant said. "People have to really make an effort to be part of this process."

Sikma said he'd like to see the "first in the nation" status rotate among several Midwestern states, so a state like Wisconsin could have its turn in the spotlight. But he said having "flyover country" consistently come first in the process keeps both parties grounded.

"I like the idea of people getting together in their communities and having a chance to listen to each other and listen to representatives of each of the candidates make that final pitch," Steineke said. "It also seems to get more people involved. You look at how seriously people in Iowa take this ... the people involved in this seem to be pretty thoughtful."
Plant product exports certified pest-free by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and shipped to international markets topped $1 billion for the first time in 2015.

Exporters need certificates to ship plants or materials derived from plants. These products range from nursery plants to grain and seed to lumber to decorative materials. The certificates tell the state or nation receiving the products that they meet all that states or nations plant pest and disease requirements. Before issuing a certificate, staff from the Department's Bureau of Plant Industry research requirements for the destination, and inspect the products if a federal inspector has not already done so. Exporters pay a fee for the certificates.

"Wisconsin wood products continue to be an area of growth," said DATCP Secretary Ben Brancel. "Also, Indonesia has been importing high volumes of soybean products. That's where the high value is coming from."

Soybean products accounted for $758.7 million of the total $1.1 billion worth of plant product certified for export. Exporters from surrounding states often come to Wisconsin to certify their plant products for export, so those totals include soybeans grown in other states. Value of the Wisconsin soybeans certified for export was $252.9 million.

Along with the strength in Asian markets, high-quality customer service contributes to the strong numbers.

Exporters can get certificates from us or from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but a lot of the time they come to us because we turn the applications around fast  usually within 24 hours, said Greg Helmbrecht, who heads up the plant export certification program.

Lumber, logs and veneer accounted for $86.9 million. All of those products were Wisconsin produced. Other major exports were distillers dried grain, totaling $115.7 million, with $38.6 million of that coming from Wisconsin; and corn products, $124.2 million total and $41.6 million from Wisconsin.

The value of products shipped under certification from the bureau totaled $1.1 billion last year, up from about $850 million in 2014. About $431.8 million of that amount was for products grown or processed in Wisconsin. Soybean, corn, distillers grain and wood products make up about 98 percent of the certified shipments.

The biggest markets for the goods were Indonesia ($602.9 million), China ($153.6 million) and Taiwan ($127.7 million).
Proposed rule revisions to align state regulations with federal requirements for managing the state's water resources were adopted by the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, Jan. 27.

The board approved two rule packages that modify the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program and help address differences outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The federal agency identified 75 potential issues with Wisconsin's regulatory authority. The Department of Natural Resources previously resolved 30 issues through rulemaking or other means and the board-approved changes address 21 additional issues, with the remaining 24 issues to be addressed through additional administrative rule changes and other efforts.

"Our administration has diligently worked to address these issues, and we're working hard to resolve the rest," DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp said. "With the board's approval and continued support, we believe that these rule packages will help maintain and enhance our efforts to protect and restore Wisconsin's vital water resources."

Issues addressed in the rule updates include establishing new regulations to cover pollutant discharges when pollutants are present in intake water and methods to calculate effluent limits.

To learn more, visit dnr.wi.gov and search "WPDES permits."
MAUSTON  When confronted by police, two Baraboo residents accused of committing an armed robbery claimed they were the victims of a crime.

Jeremy W. Filocha, 20, and Laython W. Fowler, 19, were arrested shortly after the Mauston Family Dollar was robbed Jan. 14. A witness at the scene told police one of the men had a gun during the incident, though it was not clear whether the weapon was used to threaten anyone. Another witness reported seeing the suspects flee into a Mauston residence.

According to the criminal complaint, when police knocked on the door of the residence, Fowler opened the door. He told police he had been jumped by three people at McDonalds. He claimed the pair came to their friends apartment to escape.

Filocha then came downstairs wearing a red hoodie  an article of clothing witnesses told police one of the Family Dollar robbers wore. Filocha also said the two were jumped, but he claimed it was by two people. He described the people who jumped him as black males.

The resident of the apartment was home and told police Filocha and Fowler had run into the apartment and placed a bunch of stuff in the living room shortly before police arrived. He said they also pulled money out of their pockets when they came into the apartment.

When police looked at Filocha and Fowlers items, they found a change of clothes and a pistol. They also found footprints in the snow between the residence and Family Dollar.

During separate interviews, police said both men admitted they committed the robbery and that their story about getting jumped was false.

In court Jan. 15, both men were given a $7,500 cash bond. If convicted of armed robbery, each faces up to $100,000 in fines and 40 years in prison.

They remain in Juneau County Jail and are due in Juneau County Court again Feb. 10 for an initial appearance.
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The Los Angeles Police Commission today found that all LAPD officers involved in the shooting death of Charley Keunang, a homeless, black man killed by officers on Skid Row, were within policy when they used deadly force. Charley "Africa" Keunang, 39, was shot and killed by LAPD officers on Skid Row on March 1, 2015. The shooting was recorded by a bystander, who later posted the video online.

In a release from Police Commission, President Matthew Johnson states that they had investigated the shooting for 11 months before making today's decision. The decision was announced after a closed-door meeting that went on for several hours, City News Service reports.

The Commission unanimously found that all officers were within policy when it came to drawing their weapon and use of force, but found a rookie officer to be out of policy when it came to tactics used. The release did not specify what tactics those were.

Keunang's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles, calling it a "classic case of abuse of power and deadly force."

Police say they first approached Keunang because they believed he was a robbery suspect. They said that during a scuffle with officers, Keunang reached for a rookie officer's weapon, prompting them open fire. Keunang was shot six times, and died at the scene. Footage from officers' body cameras has not been released to the public, though the Times reported that the footage shows Keunang asking to "express himself," and going back into his tent, asking to be left alone.

The Commission did fault another LAPD officer when it came to the shooting death of 35-year-old Sergio Navas, the L.A. Times reports.

Navas was killed on March 5 by officers after a pursuit that began in North Hollywood and ended in Burbank. Officers attempted to pull over a car they later learned was stolen before being led on a six-minute chase. The chase ended in a Burbank cul-de-sac, where LAPD Officer Brian Van Gorden opened fire on Navas from the passenger seat of the police vehicle, hitting Navas as he sat in the driver's seat of the stolen car. Navas got out of the car and ran, but fell down in an alleyway a short distance away. He had been shot twice. His family has also filed a suit against the city of Los Angeles.
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Two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies were acquitted on charges that they used excessive force in the beating of an inmate.On Tuesday, deputies Joey Aguiar and Mariano Ramirez were acquitted of civil rights violations after a jury deadlocked on the verdict. Aguiar and Ramirez were accused of beating down Bret Phillips while he was unconscious, hitting him with a flashlight and spraying him in the face with pepper spray. They were, however, found guilty of writing a false report on the incident in an effort to cover it up, according to City News Service.

The incident took place on February 11, 2009 inside the Men's Central Jail. Prosecutors say the attack was retribution against Phillips for showing them disrespect earlier that day. "What they did was beat a man and they used their badge to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams told the jury last week. "And now they're trying to use that badge to get away with it. Do not let them."

Defense attorneys countered that the deputies used force that was "appropriate" and that Phillips was unruly and tried to headbutt Aguiar.

Both Aguiar and Ramirez face up to 20 years for the charge related to the false reports. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to retry Aguiar and Ramirez on the civil rights violations. They are both on unpaid leave from the sheriff's department and are expected to be fired.

The two deputies are among 21 current and former sheriff's deputies that have been investigated and tried by federal investigators for corruption and civil rights violations, including former undersheriff Paul Tanaka.
Namibia's beauty is divine and perfect, hand designed by God, In contrast to the beauty of the country the people in a significant number are absolutely full of iniquity; senseless haters, jealous, envious, greedy and arrogant. The purpose of the blog is to be objective in its presentation of the hideous part of Namibia and constructive therefore inviting comments from everyone, this in an attempt to adjust and perhaps help make Namibia truly beautiful in and out.


Officials in the southwestern state of Texas have reported what may be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact.

On Tuesday, health officials in Dallas County said the person became infected after having sexual contact with a person who had returned from Venezuela. Venezuela is a country where the virus is present.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal U.S. health agency, confirmed the infection in an email to VOA. The CDC wrote that it confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental United States.

On its website, the CDC notes Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes-species mosquito. But it says the spread of the virus through blood transfusion and sexual contact have been reported.

Last year, French scientists reported the virus was found in the semen of a patient during the 2013 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia. This supports the possibility that the virus can be transmitted sexually.

Dr. Tom Frieden is the head of the CDC. He also sent out Tweets to confirm the infection.

Brazil reported the first case of Zika virus in this latest outbreak in May 2015. Since then, the virus has spread by mosquitoes and has caused infections in Brazil, many Latin America countries, and the United States.

With the Summer Olympics taking place later this year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her government would spend whatever is necessary to kill the kind of mosquitos that carry the virus.

In a speech, she said, my entire government is working on fighting this emergency. There will be no lack of funding, and Im certain that I will be able to count on the Congress support.

She said she has spoken with President Barack Obama about the virus. She said Brazil will work with the U.S. government to establish our capacity and improve it in order to develop as quickly as possible a vaccine for the Zika virus.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. It says four million more people could be infected by the end of the year.

The health agency called for more international resources to fight the spread of Zika but ruled out a ban on traveling or trade. And the International Red Cross is calling for $2.3 million in emergency money to fight Zika in Latin America.

Im Anna Matteo.

VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

transmit  v. to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to others

continental  adj. the part of the U.S. that is on the North American continent; the states of the U.S. except for Hawaii

transfusion  n. a medical treatment in which someone's blood is put into the body of another person

semen  n. the sticky, whitish liquid containing sperm that is produced by a male's sex organs

entire  adj. complete or full; not lacking or leaving out any part

funding  n. money used for a special purpose

capacity  n. the ability to do something; a mental, emotional or physical ability


President Barack Obama visited a Muslim religious center in the United States for the first time as president on Wednesday.

Were one American family, Obama said during his meeting with Muslim-Americans at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in the eastern state of Maryland.

He said too often Americans link the Muslim religion Islam with terrorism and blame the entire Muslim community for the violent acts of a few.

Obama spoke about the contributions Muslims have made to American society. He said Muslim-Americans keep us safe. They are our police. They are our firefighters. Theyre in (the Department of) Homeland Security.

And he said inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslims has no place in this country.

Obama has visited mosques in other countries, but never in the United States.

His visit took place during an election campaign in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on new Muslim immigrants.

Many Republicans -- including U.S. Sen. John McCain and presidential candidate Jeb Bush -- condemned Trumps plan. But Ben Carson, another Republican presidential candidate, said a Muslim should not be permitted to serve as president.

Obama has not directly answered the comments about Muslims from the Republican candidates. But he has criticized anti-Muslim statements.

In his final State of the Union address last month, Obama asked Americans to reject any politics that target people because of race or religion.

When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesnt make us safer.

Muslim-American groups have been asking Obama to visit a mosque in the United States for some time. They asked again after threats and attacks on Muslims last December.

The Islamic Society of Baltimore has received such threats. Police have increased security at the building, which includes a place for religious study, a health clinic and a school. It was started 47 years ago and has thousands of members.

President Obama has said it is important for the federal government to work with Muslim-American leaders to help fight attempts by extremists like the Islamic State terrorist group to radicalize Muslims in the U.S.

Im Dorothy Gundy.

Aru Pande and Mary Alice Salinas reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________



Words in This Story

rhetoric - n. language that is intended to influence people

vandalize - v. destroy or damage

radical - adj. having extreme political or social views


Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested nine American citizens among a sweep of 33 terror suspects, the Saudi Gazette reported.

They were arrested in a sweep, or roundup, of suspects in response to recent terrorism in the kingdom.

The U.S. State Department says it is seeking details from the government of Saudi Arabia about reports that nine Americans have been detained in the kingdom as terror suspects.

The Saudi Gazette did not say if any of those arrested were linked to the Islamic State terror group. U.S. authorities were checking names to confirm if Americans were arrested, reports said.

Also arrested were 14 Saudis, three Yemenis and two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Philippine national and three others.

The arrests took place while Saudi Arabia witnessed several deadly attacks over the past months. Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in the kingdoms Eastern Province, killing four.

Spokesman John Kirby, speaking Monday, said U.S. officials have seen Saudi media reports of the detentions, and that diplomats are in contact with authorities in Riyadh. He told reporters he could not verify "the actual truth of these reports."

A Saudi website run by the kingdom's foreign ministry showed a list of 5,158 suspects in detention, including eight Americans. It does not identify the Americans by name or gender. It says four of them were detained January 25.

It says four other Americans were arrested in November and December, and that all eight are "under investigation." A ninth American is shown convicted of an unidentified crime in 2007, and the website says the conviction is "subject to appeal."

Sunday's Saudi news report did not say whether any of the Americans is suspected of links to Islamic State extremists, who have claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against Saudi security forces and minority Shi'ites in recent months.

Im Jim Dresbach.

This story was based on reports from VOANews.com. Additional information came from the Reuters news service and the Saudi Gazette. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck 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

sweep  n. the act of picking up someone or something in one quick, continuous motion

roundup  n. the act or process of finding and gathering together people or things of the same kind

province  n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into


Japan and South Korea joined the United States Wednesday in urging North Korea to cancel plans to send a long-range rocket into space.

Japan and South Korea say the launch would violate United Nations resolutions. Those measures bar North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Such a missile can travel over a great distance, fall to the ground and then explode.

North Korea told UN agencies on Tuesday that it planned to launch what it called an Earth observation satellite between February 8th and the 25th.

The Japan Times newspaper reported that the launch may take place around February 16th. That is the birth anniversary of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. He was the father of current leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea says it has a right to launch rockets as part of its space program. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other American allies have criticized the program. They say it is a way for North Korea to avoid UN restrictions on weapons development.

Abe called the Norths missile tests an obvious violation of Security Council decisions. He told Japanese lawmakers that the launch would be a grave, provocative act against the security of our country.

On Wednesday, Japans Defense Ministry ordered its ballistic-missile defense units to be ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatened the country. The Japan Times reported that observers expect the missile to fly over two small Japanese islands.

Experts say it is not likely that American or South Korean forces would attack the missile before it is launched.

Daniel Pinkston teaches international relations at Troy University in Seoul. He says no country is considering using force to destroy the missile on the ground before the launch, or something like that, because the cascading effects and the consequences of that would be costly for everyone.

South Korea warned the North not to launch another missile.

Cho Tae-yong is a security official in the office of the South Korean president.

He said, We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan, which is a grave threat to peace not only in the Korean peninsula but also this region and around the world.

On Wednesday, China said it was concerned about reports that North Korea was planning a missile launch this month. A Chinese foreign ministry official said China has called on the North to exercise restraint.

The United States and its allies have been pressuring China to support strong U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear test last month. Experts say China must pressure the North to stop its nuclear tests. They say the North does not change its behavior because of criticism or pressure from other countries.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012. It then soon tested its nuclear weapons for a third time. It tested its nuclear weapons for a fourth time early last month.

The United States and China agree that the UN should approve a strong resolution against North Korea. But they do not agree on how the North should be punished. They also remain divided over the level of severity the punitive measures should take.

The U.S. is considering sanctions against the North. These measures would target companies and banks that operate in North Korea. Many of them are based in China. If these sanctions are put in place, they would likely increase tensions between the United States and China.

China protects North Korea and is the Norths top trading partner. It agrees that the North Korean leadership should be punished. But it also wants any sanctions to lead to a restarting of international negotiations.

In early 2009, North Korea left negotiations with the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. Those talks were aimed at ending the Norths nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees.

Chinas top nuclear diplomat arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Tuesday to talk about restarting the talks.

Ahn Chan-il lived in North Korea until he defected. He is now an expert on the North at the World Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. He said there is little the U.S., Japan and South Korea can do other than releasing statements criticizing the North for its plan to launch a missile this month.

Experts believe the planned rocket launch is part of North Koreas program to develop nuclear missiles. They believe the North has more than 1,000 missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan, and enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear bombs.

Last year, American military officials said they believe North Korea can make a nuclear weapon small enough to be placed on a long-range missile. North Korea has not yet shown that it can do so, however.

Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.

VOAs Brian Padden reported this story from Seoul, with help from Youmi Kim. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. He also used information from VOAs Victor Beattie in Washington. 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

grave  adj. very serious; requiring or causing serious thought or concern

provocative  adj. causing discussion, thought, argument, etc

unit  n. a single thing, person or group that is a part of something larger

cascade  n. a large number of things that happen quickly in a series

effect  n. a change that results when something is done or happens; an event, condition or state of affairs that is produced by a cause

consequences  n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

defect  v. to leave a country, political party, organization, etc., and go to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy
Your digital subscription includes access to all content on our agricultural websites across the nation. Access unlimited content and the digital versions of our print editions - This Week's Paper.


The new movie, The Birth of a Nation, was a long time in creation.

Nate Parker stars in and directed the movie. But he also wrote the screenplay and it took him seven years.

The film created a buzz at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It tells the story of Nat Turner, a slave who grew up to lead a rebellion in the state of Virginia in 1831.

As a child, Nat Turner learns to read and becomes a religious leader in Virginia. His owners think his preaching will lead other slaves to become more obedient. So they send Turner to nearby farms to preach to the slaves. But instead Turner urges them to rebel against their owners. The rebellion left 60 slave owners and hundreds of slaves dead.

Nate Parker said the film looks at the roots of issues that African-Americans still have to deal with.

My job as a filmmaker is to create content, to seek out material, to develop material that I think will help be progressive and deal with some of the systemic issues that we are dealing with."

Armie Hammer plays Nat Turners owner, Samuel Turner. He said that Nate Parker ran the movie set like a long-time director. Yet it was his first film as director.

He (Parker) walked on the set with the confidence and skill and ability of someone who has directed 50 movies before."

The Sundance Film Festival honored The Birth of a Nation with the grand jury prize and the audience award for American dramatic productions.

The film has the same name as a famously racist 1915 movie by D.W. Griffith. That movie showed the white extremist Ku Klux Klan in a good light, while African Americans were shown as immoral and dangerous.

Nate Parker told vulture.com that it was critical he use the same title. He said the earlier Birth of a Nation persuaded millions of Americans that for their survival they needed to oppress an entire people. Parker said, now Birth of a Nation honors Nat Turner. He describes the rebel leader as one of the bravest revolutionaries in U.S. history.

Oscars and diversity

Hollywood has been criticized for the lack of black actors among Academy Award nominees for the second year. Parker said the Oscars issue is just a sign of a much wider problem.

"I think the sickness is the fact that there is a level of racism that exists not only in society, obviously, but in Hollywood. The legacy of slavery and the legacy of the injury that we've endured. We want to be a change factor with this film.

Birth of a Nation co-star Armie Hammer said Parkers interest in the movie carried the cast and crew members through some difficult filming.

You could feel this passion bleeding out of him while we were doing this. Everybody else would be getting tired, everybody else would be uncomfortable with the subject matter. But he would be there unwavering, the perfect leader for the project, really.

The Birth of a Nation was shot in 27 days for about $10 million. Fox Searchlight Pictures has paid $17.5 million for the rights to the film. That is a near record for film festival deals.

Im Jill Robbins.

We want to hear from you. Post your message in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

In this video, Nate Parker talks about "The Birth of a Nation."

__________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

buzz  n. informal. a feeling of excitement

preach  v. to make a speech about religion in a church or other public place: to deliver a sermon

confidence  n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

title  n. the name given to something (such as a book, song, or movie)

legacy  n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

passion  n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

unwavering  adj. continuing in a strong and steady way
CUSTER COUNTY, Neb.  With much of central Nebraska paralyzed by a blizzard, the Cozad Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, road crews from Dawson and Custer Counties, and the Dawson County Sheriffs Office undertook a late night search-and-rescue for a stranded motorist near the Custer County line.

According to Marlene Williams, rescue chief for the Cozad Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, a call came late Tuesday from a concerned CusterCounty resident. The caller is the neighbor of a man who had called his family about three hours earlier and reported he was stranded in a ditch on the Callaway-Cozad road going north.

The caller asked what rescue resources where available to go out and search for his neighbor, who was driving home north from Cozad.

Williams said resources were then quickly mobilized. She thanked Tim Wolf with the Dawson County Department of Roads for providing two road graters late Tuesday night. A group of four-wheel drive pick-ups, an ambulance from Cozad Fire and Rescue and the snow graters then conducted a search and rescue operation, Williams said.

She said Cozad and DawsonCounty first responders searched for the stranded motorist. The only information searchers had to go on was the stranded driver was a male whose truck had gone in a ditch on the edge of a hilly area. As DawsonCounty responders searched from the south, their peers from CusterCounty searched from the north.

Williams said the ambulance driver noticed the flashing red emergency lights of the stranded motorists truck from the west and located the driver. Hed turned into a gravel road three miles north of the CusterCounty line.

She said rescue staff were very thankful to find the stranded man. The motorist was then transported to Cozad, where he spent the night. No hospital visit was required.

Calls from family and his neighbor were not received by the motorist because cell phone signal coverage is not available in the hilly area north of Cozad going into CusterCounty, Williams said.

The search began at 10 p.m. Tuesday and concluded with everyone safe and sound at approximately 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The rescue call involved a collaborative effort that included: Dawson County Department of Roads, Dawson County Dispatch, Custer County Dispatch, Custer County Department of Roads, Custer County Sheriff Office, Custer County Emergency Management and the Cozad Fire and Rescue Department.
Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year 2014



"Well written, funny and wistful" - Paul Linford; "He is indeed the Lib Dem blogfather" - Stephen Tall

"Jonathan Calder holds his end up well in the competitive world of the blogosphere" - New Statesman

"A prominent Liberal Democrat blogger" - BBC Radio 4 Today; "One of my favourite blogs" - Stumbling

and Mumbling; "Charming and younger than I expected" - Wartime Housewife
The 2015 Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 smartphones was pretty well received due to strong specs and a reasonably low price tag of $250.

Now the company is apparently getting ready to launch the Idol 4 and Idol 4S smartphones, and while there are no details about the price tags for thew phones yet, the phones seem to be getting a nice spec bump.

Android Police noticed that leaked materials about the new phones were posted to the Alcatel OneTouch website, even though the phones probably wont be officially unveiled until Mobile World Congress later this month.

Heres a run-down of what to expect from each phone:

Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4

5.2 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor

2GB and 3GB RAM options

16GB storage + microSD card

2,610 mAh battery

13MP rear and 8MP front cameras

802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS, and 4G LTE

Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4S

5.5 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display

Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor

3GB of RAM

32GB of storage + microSD card

3,000 mAh battery

16MP rear and 8MP front camera

802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS, and 4G LTE

Both phones are expected to ship with Android 6.0 software, and both should support AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States.
A Regular Commentary on Strategic Affairs from a Leading Commentator and Analyst

2021 book: Future War and the Defence of Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Hello, everyone. Well, well, well. After New Hampshire, this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it? On the Democratic side, there's a real contest. We all know about Bernie Sanders' assumed weakness among minority voters, but when you look at how he dominated in New Hampshire, and how he won 79-19 among voters under 30, the Hillary Clinton campaign had better be concerned. On the GOP side, meanwhile, it's just utter craziness. Donald Trump didn't underperform like he did in Iowa, he overperformed. John Kasich was a surprising second, Ted Cruz a weak third, Jeb in fourth and still with a pulse, and Robo-Marco all the way down in fifth place after his software glitch in the debate. There's no clarity on the establishment side and no one is better positioned than Trump. Is all of this really happening? Let's figure it out.
I'm St. Jerome! I'm a passionate Christian, fiercely devoted to Jesus Christ and his Church. I am willing to labor long hours in the Lords vineyard, and I have little patience with those who are less willing or able to work as I do. My passions often carry me into temptation zones of wrath, lust, and pride. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!
After a day marked by controversy over the alleged denial of a visa to actor Anupam Kher, authorities in Pakistan asked the actor to submit his papers and passport for a visa on Wednesday.

Pakistan's high commissioner Abdul Basit on Wednesday called up the actor to offer him a visa for visiting Karachi but Anupam turned it down saying he had already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates. Anupam Kher was slated to visit Pakistan to attend the Karachi literature festival, which has been organised from 5 to 7 February. The actor tweeted:

#BREAKING | Pak High Commissioner Abdul Basit spoke to Anupam Kher last evening; Asked him to submit papers and passport for visa  CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) February 3, 2016

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

Anupam Kher had on Tuesday claimed that he was singled out for a denial of a visa, and questioned whether it was because of his identity as a Kashmiri Pandit, or because of his views on intolerance in India. The Pakistan High Commission, however, had claimed that he had never applied for a visa in the first place.

In a media conference on Tuesday, Kher had said that he was 'hurt' and 'upset' on account of the denial of a visa to him by the Pakistan High Commission. In response to Pakistan's claim, he had said that he had not personally applied for a visa, but the organisers of the festival had asked for a visa for him.

However, Kher said that he would visit Pakistan in future if he were to be invited.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kher had said, "Didn't Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs red flag my name to Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi? Why hide facts deliberately? Pakistan High Commission should know their own rules. #KarachiLitFest had given my name to authorities 1 month back and have my name in every poster."

Manzoor Ali Memon, a diplomat from the Pakistan High Commission, said, "He (Anupam Kher) has not submitted (any) visa application. Please check out from him if he has any receipt." This, Anupam, said on a TV channel, was a "laughable explanation."

It may be clarified that PHC never received Mr Kher's visa application. So the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise.  PakNewDelhi (@Paknewdelhi) February 2, 2016

Ameena Syed, the spokesperson for the KLF, said that the festival organisers had been advised by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to tell Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued one.

Reacting to the controversy, Congress leader Manish Tewari took a jibe at the union government, saying that Kher's friend "PM Modi can surely talk to his drop-by friend Nawaz and facilititate it"

If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?  Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) February 3, 2016

In May last year, the actor was denied a visa to Pakistan. He was due to visit Lahore for an event hosted by an NGO, but according to reports, back then it was denied on security grounds.

With inputs from IANS
New Delhi: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he likes to maintain distance from social media due to all the negativity that surfaces in the virtual world.

The cine icon also urged his fans to refrain from abusing and trolling other actors on social media. Shah Rukh shared his take on social media through #fame, a live video social platform.

When a question "Why have you not been on Twitter lately" surfaced, the actor asserted that he likes to be out of the Twitter world because he ends up reading idiotic stuff whether he likes it or not.

I don't come (on Twitter) that often. I don't like people abusing and all. I don't need to open my telephone and see the negativity. So, I dont like it... there are some idiots who talk really idiotic stuff and say bad things, so I don't like to read (it) and unfortunately I end up reading it whether I like it or not, the actor said.

Shah Rukh added: So just one little thing... Don't abuse on social media and don't say bad things about other actors and actresses... because I don't feel like that myself for anyone and nobody is important enough in life to be abused; I did a few times and I regret doing it.

Last year, Shah Rukh asked his fans to stop trolling other actors. Even Salman Khan has warned his fans to stop trolling other celebrities in a series of tweets.

The Dilwale star requested, everyone - don't do such things specially you know people write ill things on social media and go in fact there is no fun in that if you want to abuse someone then say it on the face."

"So, I would like to request all the people who consider the fact that they like me, not to be rude with anyone - on my behalf or on your own.
Mumbai: Critically acclaimed actress Shabana Azmi has expressed support for Anupam Kher after he was denied a visa to Pakistan. She says a similar situation was once faced by her husband, celebrated lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Shabana tweeted: "Some years ago Javed Akhtar, chair of delegation to Pakistan was denied a visa. Organiser cancelled the entire trip . I stand with @RoflGandhi... Oh ho! I meant I stand with Anupam Kher if he was denied visa."

Anupam on Tuesday claimed he was denied a visa to visit Pakistan for the Karachi Literature Festival, which begins on Friday.

However, while 17 out of the 18 Indians who were due to go for the event, received their visas, the 60-year-old said he was "singled out".

On Wednesday, he said that he has now been offered one. However, the veteran actor has "given away those dates" and won't be travelling.

IANS
New Delhi: Actress Deepika Padukone, who has left for Canada to shoot for Hollywood film xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, says she is looking forward to shooting with action hero Vin Diesel.

Bollywood's 'Mastani' Deepika says he is a very generous person and hopes to have fun during the shooting schedule.

In the few two or three interactions that I have had with him (Vin Diesel), he is just a very warm person. He is very generous among most of my co-stars that I have worked with. I think it will be a fun experience working with him, Deepika said of her maiden foreign project at an event here.

She was in the national capital on Tuesday to attend NDTV Indian of the Year 2015 awards ceremony, in which she was named Actor Of The Year.

Deepika left for Canada on Tuesday night after the event.

Her Bajirao Mastani co-star and rumoured beau Ranveer Singh shared the news about the actress flying off to shoot for her maiden Hollywood project.

In the third instalment of the film, Diesel is back as Cage who returns to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence in the movie, which also stars Nina Dobrev, Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Rose, Jet Li and Tony Jaa.

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is expected to release in 2017.

IANS
Bhuj (Gujarat): Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members on Wednesday protested against the ongoing shooting of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's film Raees in the district, for his earlier remarks on "intolerance".

Around 20-30 VHP activists had on Tuesday handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film.

On Wednesday, they protested outside the district Collector's office pressing for the same demand. They shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.

"From the Collector's office they wanted to go to the place where the shooting is on, which is on the outskirts of the Bhuj city, but we have stopped them and dispersed them," Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) M B Parmar said.

"He should think, living in this country which gave him name, fame and riches; if he goes on speaking about non-existent intolerance, the VHP will never forgive," Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said.

"Today there is news that a Hindu temple was attacked and vandalised in Pakistan. Why are they not giving any statement on the intolerance there," he asked.

In December last year, workers of right wing organisations had staged protest against Khan in Gujarat, Rajasthan states and called for a boycott of his film Dilwale on the same issue.

Shah Rukh Khan had entered the ongoing debate on intolerance on 2 November last year by expressing that there was "extreme intolerance" in the country.

PTI
The Sahara group on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was selling its Grosvenor House Hotel in London to Qatar and was in talk with a state-owned Russian bank for refinancing its two hotels in New York - New York Plaza and Dream New York hotel.

A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice A.K.Sikri was informed that sale of Grosvenor House Hotel would fetch Rs 3,000 crore which would be paid to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) towards the payment of Rs 10,000 crore as directed by the apex court on March 26, 2014.

Of Rs 10,000 crore - Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5,000 crore in bank guarantees - Sahara has to pay Sebi, the outgo also includes a part payment of investors money that it had raised from the market in 2008 and 2009. It is also a condition for release of Sahara chief Subrata Roy and two director - Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary - who are in Tihar Jail since March 4, 2014.

Appearing for Roy, senior counsel Kapil Sibal sought the court's nod for disposing off its four small aircrafts, the Sahara Star hotel in Mumbai, its stakes in Force India Formula One Team and two properties in Bengaluru to mobilise the money. Sahara had in 2011 picked up 42.5 percent stake in the Formula One Team which was thereafter rechristened as Sahara Force India Formula One Team.

The court inquired if the four aircraft that Sahara intends to sell were in airworthy condition or grounded, and Sibal said that Sahara can't sell these assets without its permission.

As court expressed its unhappiness over the way things were going, he told the court about the difficulties beging faced by his client. "Nobody wants to buy them. When one hears Sebi-Sahara (litigation in the apex court), no body wants to touch them," he said, seeking to explain the difficulties being faced by the group in complying with the court's orders.

Apparently displeased with the state of affairs, the court refused to, for now, extend the communication facilities that were extended to Roy to speak to prospective buyers of his hotels in London and New York.

The apex court March 26, 2014 had said Sahara Group will deposit Rs 10,000 crore as part payment of investors' Rs 24,000 crore that its two companies - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited - had collected through optionally fully convertible debentures as a condition for the release of Roy, Dubey and Choudhary.

The apex court by its August 31, 2012 order had directed the Sahara to return investors money with 15 percent interest.

According to SEBI counsel the amount that Sahara has now to return has touched Rs. 36,000 crore.

IANS
New Delhi: One can only hope that the PMs recent sharp criticism of exemptions to India Inc was with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in April-May and does not in itself signal a sudden change in the governments business friendly credentials.

His question seemed just: why should corporates continue to get tax exemptions when increasingly subsidies, meant for the poor, are expected to be rationalised?

But Narendra Modi made it an either-or debate when ideally there should be no competition between the two at all as far as the government support is concerned. Both need it, but in different forms. In a responsible state, no one goes to bed hungry. And in a democratic free market economy, regulatory hurdles are minimised and incentives given to the best performers.

If the problem is falling revenue receipts, the government needs to broaden the revenue base and raise disinvestment proceeds etc. instead of expecting India Inc to pick up the tab of its social experiments.

Modi's ridicule of the support the corporate sector has been enjoying sounds like a warning to his own government and as it came just before the Budget, there is every chance that India Inc might just have to bear the brunt of such populist ideas. He may be responding to the suit boot ki sarkar jibe of Rahul Gandhi or he may be worried about being projected as anti-farmer but this stance hardly seems practical. An indication of things to come can be taken from this piece in the Economic Times today which speaks of mammoth outlay for food security in the Budget.

As we have noted earlier, subsidies should be rationalised but side by side, the government should continue enabling the corporate sector too. Coporates have historically been the drivers of innovation, efficiencies, employment and growth. It is their balance sheets that will make capital markets buoyant again and allow the governments own disinvestment targets to be achieved.

Moreover, this is the time for boosting morale, especially when global headwinds are rocking the corporate world. Many companies are swimming in debt and others suffering from the dive in commodity prices. Without a pick-up in sentiment in the private sector, the PMs best laid plans  Make in India or Skill India  will be still born.

The success of Pahal  the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for LPG subscribers  shows that streamlining subsidies can be a hugely rewarding proposition. So a massive food security outlay is great but only if it is targeted better. Corporates have not begrudged even the cash guzzling MGNREGA since it has led to a spike in rural demand in the past. If there is criticism of this scheme, it lies in how easy it is to fake a job card or that it fails to build any reliable infrastructure. Thats the part the government needs to address.

Anyway, tax incentives are provided on the basis of investments companies promise or actually make. If the government were to lessen or withdraw these incentives, job creation and fresh investment in infrastructure etc would surely suffer. If tweaking is the need, then the government should look at subsidies, not corporate incentives, which are prone to misuse and where massive leakages are a norm rather than the exception.

This is specially a good time to stop the either or debate between subsidies and corporate exemptions since falling oil prices give the government a cushion which can effortlessly bring down the overall subsidy bill. Instead of cutting down exemptions for companies, the government would do well to frame a policy around a phased reduction in subsidies.

For India Inc, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a gradual reduction in corporate tax rates to 25 percent over a four year period from 30 percent earlier this fiscal. But there is still no clear roadmap on this. One is needed, in the upcoming Budget, so corporate India can plan its capex.

In the 2015-16 Budget, the impact of major tax incentives given to the corporate sector was a little over Rs 62,000 crore. And the government's total subsidy bill for FY16 is Rs 2.27 lakh crore, about 10% lower than the previous fiscal due to a continued fall in crude prices.

In the Budget being presented on February 29th, Jaitley is widely expected to propose a significant further reduction in the governments total subsidy bill for FY17 due to a steep fall in crude prices and because of better targeting of subsidies through schemes such as DBT.

Subsidy math

In the current fiscal, the government has budgeted for spending Rs 2.27 lakh crore on subsidies for food, petroleum and fertilizers. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows for every rupee the government spends, about 10 paise are spent on major subsidies.

In the current fiscal, it targeted Rs 1.24 lakh crore on food subsidies alone; fertilizer subsidy was pegged at a little less than Rs 73,000 crore while petroleum subsidy was halved from the previous fiscal to just Rs 30,000 crore on softening crude prices. The key question is whether benign oil prices are used by the government to further lower the petroleum subsidy in 2015-16 and whether better subsidy targeting has brought down its food payouts.

Over the last 10 years, subsidy pay out of the government has witnessed a steady increase from Rs 47,500 crore in FY06 to Rs 2.51 lakh crore (revised estimate) in 2014-15. Subsidy as a percent of GDP also increased almost steadily during this period.

Expenditure on subsidies in 2014-15 was at 2.1% of GDP, only marginally lower than 2.2% of GDP in 2013-14. A Crisil analysis has said that subsidy expenditure as percentage of GDP is budgeted to reduce significantly to 1.7% of GDP in 2015-16, benefiting from lower fuel subsidy bill.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police have registered an FIR in connection with a threat letter purportedly sent by Islamic State to All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman M S Bitta.

The letter was delivered to Bitta's residence on Talkatora Road, following which the matter was reported at the North Avenue police station on Monday, a police officer said on Wednesday.

On the basis of the complaint, the police registered an FIR on Tuesday under sections 506 and 507 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and took up investigation, he said.

Bitta's personal secretary, who filed the complaint, told the police that apart from Bitta, Vinod Bhardwaj, national general secretary of the front, and other members have also been threatened by in the letter.

Last month, BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain had received threat letters purportedly sent by the Islamic State.

PTI
A Tanzanian woman was allegedly stripped and beaten on the streets of Bengaluru after a road accident where a Sudanese man ran over a local woman on Saturday night. The locals who dragged the Tanzanian woman and attacked her thought she was in some way connected to the accident. The three friends travelling with her in the same car were also beaten up, and the car set on fire, media reports said. The social media storm over this attack is a huge embarrassment for the Karnataka government which is wooing international investments at its Global Investors Meet that began on Wednesday.

Bengaluru Police have launched a manhunt for suspects.

"We have registered a case of riot and arson against the accused on victim's statement in which she reported of being assaulted in a mistaken identity by a mob on the outskirts of the city," city police commissioner N S Megharik told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The police is denying reports that the victim was molested. Megharik said the African woman had admitted being only assaulted by a frenzied mob after her three male friends deserted her at Soladevanahalli where the car in which they were travelling was burnt.

"The incident occurred because the mob mistook the victim's car being involved in a road mishap on the same night (31 January) when a 20-year-old drunken Sudanese national (Mohammed Ahad Ismai) ran over a woman fatally. We arrested him after he was rescued from a raging mob," Megharik said.

"We have formed special teams to trap the culprits and render justice to the victim who declined to file complaint against the accused fearing attack again.

The victim's friends told police that on Sunday the furious mob had pulled them out of their car, assaulted them and molested her in which her clothes were torn.

Meanwhile, the city-based Tanzanian youth association decided to seek its embassy's help in registering an assault case and booking the culprits.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday described the attack as "shameful". The Hindu reported that the Tanzanian students struggled to get their complaint registered and have approached their embassy to help out as the attack made world headlines. 'Indian mob strips, molests and beats Tanzanian student' read The Washington Post headline on Wednesday afternoon local time in the US.

The High Commission of Tanzania has requested the Government of India of follow up on the matter, reported India Today.

The road accident which led to the attack was allegedly caused by rash and drunk driving by a Sudanese student at Ganapathinagar off the Hesaraghatta Main Road in North Bengaluru where a number of African students live and study at local colleges. The region and its surrounding areas constantly see a clash of cultures between locals and African students who avail affordable accomodation facilities in housing colonies in the area, reported The Indian Express.

Expressing deep pain over the Sunday incident on microblogging site Twitter, Swaraj said she has sought a report from the Karnataka government and asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure safety of foreign students. The Indian Express reports that the car was set on fire on the night of 31 January, after the fatal accident.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the chief minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested," Sushma Swaraj said.

"I have asked the chief minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty. I have asked for immediate report from the Government of Karnataka," she said in her tweets.

Bangalore, often called India's Silicon Valley for being the hub of global software firms, is home to hundreds of foreign students, including 150 from Tanzania, reports BBC.

Tanzanian woman thrashed & stripped by mob after being mistaken to have caused an accident #BengaluruRacistAttack pic.twitter.com/dB0MfJfDZI  CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) February 3, 2016

This is how #BengaluruRacistAttack unfolded on Jan 31

Complete miscarriage of justice? pic.twitter.com/9oZZibc91t  CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) February 3, 2016

Will a certain Cong ldr b vistng #Bengaluru 4 photo-op with tanzanian victim of violence? bcoz tanzanians cnt vote n its his partys govt!  Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@rajeev_mp) February 3, 2016

No apology is enough for the horror this girl from Tanzania was made to suffer!! Shameful..! #sicktothestomach https://t.co/f6wPU1ozCK  Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) February 3, 2016

With inputs from IANS
By Vivek Avasthi

Tainted engineer-in-chief of Noida, Yadav Singh was finally placed under formal arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he was called for questioning to the CBI headquarters in New Delhi and quizzed for several hours before being formally placed under arrest. The arrest has been made in connection with the Disproportionate Assets case.

He is said to have doled out contracts worth over Rs 10,000 crore to his cronies and facilitated allotment of group housing, and of commercial, industrial and institutional plots to many top ranking builders in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway.

Singh's journey came to an end when Income Tax sleuths swooped down on his properties in Noida on 27 November, 2014. They recovered Rs. 10 crore in cash and two kilograms of diamond-studded gold ornaments. Investigations revealed that 40 companies were registered in the name of his wife Kusum Lata and 20 buildings in Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi in Singh's name. Some of these companies were into garment exports as their front business but were involved in land deals.

Land was purchased at throwaway prices, using the clout of Singh, and later sold at prevailing market rates. Singh is also said to have allotted 32 plots out of a total of 319 farm house plots in his name and the names of his family members in 2011-12. Investigations also revealed that Kusum Lata had purchased large chunks of land in Firozabad District of Uttar Pradesh, where she hails from.

Enforcement Directorate also swung into action and registered a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as agencies got evidence that the couple illegally bought property outside the country.

Singh was placed under suspension and in February 2015, a one-member judicial commission was set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the multi-crore case. But in July 2015, the Allahabad High Court directed the CBI to investigate the case as "allegations were most serious and the probe was complex". The UP government approached the Supreme Court against the High Court order but the Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea of the state government. Initially, many were surprised that the UP Government was trying to shield Singh from a CBI enquiry but soon things became crystal clear.

Investigations revealed that Singh has close connections with the Samajwadi Party leadership. Records of a firm owned by Singh's associate Rejeev Kumar Minocha showed that 9995 shares of his company NM Buildwell, were given to Samajwadi Party's Firozabad Member of Parliament Akshay Yadav, the son of party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who is also the cousin of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Minocha is said to be a partner of Singh's wife Kusum Lata and the SUV from which Rs 10 crore was recovered at Singh's house, belonged to Minocha.

There are serious allegations that many top Samajwadi Party leaders got many benefits from Singh in their futile bid to save him from a CBI enquiry. It is being said that two bemani properties of Singh  a hotel in Sector-37 of Noida and a residential plot in prime sector-44 of Noida  had been transferred in fictitious names to benefit his present political masters.

He joined Noida Authority as a junior engineer in 1980. He was promoted to the post of assistant project engineer in 1985. This promotion raised a storm within the Noida Authority, as it superseded 20 assistant project engineers. And that too with a rider that he should get an engineering degree within three years of his promotion date.

It was quite evident that Singh had in his early days mastered the art of pulling political strings to his advantage because as per rules only a junior engineer with 15 years of service experience can be promoted to the rank of assistant project engineer but Singh achieved this feat in just five years, that too without having an engineering degree.

It was in 1995 that he was elevated to the post of project engineer. Since then Uttar Pradesh has seen six chief ministers from three political parties. Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh of the BJP, Mayawati of Bahujan Samaj Party, and Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party. But Singh was comfortable with every regime and this showed that he was never weak at political management.

He became the blue-eyed boy of Mayawati and was appointed chief project engineer in 2002. This post is equivalent to chief engineer level - II. This was even more unprecedented and Singh gained more power. In 2007, when Bahujan Samaj Party and Mayawati stormed back into power in Uttar Pradesh, Singh was made the engineer-in-chief of Noida. Obviously, he had very 'cordial relations' with higher ups of the party.

Later during the 2014 Income Tax raids, one of his diaries revealed suspicious financial dealings with political figures supposedly Bahujan Samaj Party leaders named "Bhai Sahab" and "Pandit ji". Sources say that Bhai Sahab was a reference to Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar and Pandit ji is the pseudonym for Satish Awana alias Pappu Awana, a BSP leader of Noida. But the BSP leadership has constantly denied any involvement with Singh.

It was in 2012 when there was change of guard in Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party came into power. RP Singh, an engineer with Noida Authority filed an FIR against his colleague Singh under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Allegations were made that during the previous BSP regime, Singh had passed a tender to the tune of Rs. 954 crore for an underground cable laying mega project.

It was alleged that the tender work was started even before the tendering process could be completed. The state government immediately placed Singh under suspension and a CB-CID inquiry was initiated against him. Soon, he was exonerated by the CB-CID which stated that "no financial loss to the exchequer was found". This was enough of an example to show that Singh had not wasted much time in making inroads in the new government establishment.

Within no time, he was reinstated and again in February 2014, he was made the engineer-in-chief of Noida Authority. In November, he was given additional charge of Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authority as well, earning the distinction to be the first engineer-in-chief of the state to have all three authorities in his kitty. The total development fund of these three authorities in a year amasses to Rs. 200 crore.

With Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh round the corner, the arrest of Singh could well give many a sleepless night to a number of politicians of the Hindi heartland.
In the new year, urban pollution appears to have become the biggest headline-grabbing phenomenon in India.

Close on the heels of the publicity surrounding Delhi's odd-even scheme, a massive fire at the Deonar dumping ground in Mumbai shifted the focus to the commercial capital.

The extent of the fire can be gauged by images reportedly shared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) showing smoke from the fire spreading across to the southern part of Mumbai.

The satellite images show that the smoke plumes were not seen on 27 January, the day before the fire started, Hindustan Times reported.

On the very next day, the city's air quality index (AQI) deteriorated significantly, falling into the 'very poor' category, Indian Express reported.

Residents since last Thursday faced a tough time after a fire at the Deonar dumping ground created a thick blanket of smog causing serious breathing and health problems to them.

State Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya has said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was proactively concerned of the issue and that the issue would be sorted out.

The fire has triggered health problems in the city, as it has led to pollution and respiratory problems, a general physician was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

With inputs from PTI
Visakhapatnam: The Eastern Naval Command is all geared up to host the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Bay of Bengal off Visakhpatnam coast which begins on Thursday, a mega event that will witness participation from nearly 50 countries.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Vice Admiral Satish Soni said the command is fully prepared to conduct the four-day event with participation of foreign and Indian ships and foreign chief of the naval staffs from various countries.

Talking to reporters on board INS Sumitra after the rehearsal of the IFR on Wednesday, the Vice Admiral said 50

countries have already confirmed their participation and 90 ships, including 24 warships from foreign countries and 24 foreign naval chiefs will take part in the Fleet review.

He said 70 to 75 helicopters of various types, including hawk jet fighters, will exhibit their talent and demonstrate in the Bay of Bengal.

Supreme Commander of the armed forces, President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on the Presidential yacht, INS Sumitra after inspecting the guard of honour which will be presented by 150 naval personnel on IFR on 6 February.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parikar, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimham, Chief

Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union cabinet ministers, state cabinet ministers and chief ministers of more than 10 states, all chiefs of armed forces, retired chief of staffs and a host of delegates across the country will also take part in the fleet review.

Soni said the VIPs would review the fleet of participating Indian and foreign ships which will be anchored

in six columns and the naval personnel standing on anchored ships on both the sides of Sumitra would salute the President in the traditional manner.

He said the Indian Navy is organising the event for the first time in the east coast in Visakhapatnam and second time in the country. The first IFR was organised in Mumbai in 2001.

During the rehearsals on Tuesday, the helicopters of Indian Navy, Coast Guard exhibited their talent including the

rescue demonstrations by the naval personnel from a Chetak helicopters that thrilled the audiences.

The main idea of conducting the IFR is to unite the navies through ocean - the main theme of the Navy, Soni said,

adding that the exercise would strengthen the friendship between friendly countries.

Vice Admiral Soni inspected the arrangements being made at the beach road. The galleries on beach road accommodate 20,000 spectators and the beach sands 1.5 lakh people.

According to a statement issued by the ENS, the evening of 7 February will witness the operational demonstration followed by the International City Parade which would include marching contingents and bands from the Army, Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard.

Prime Minister Modi will address the gathering and also release a book on the maritime heritage of India.

Chief Minister Naidu on Thursday would lead citizens in paying homage to the martyrs of the 1971 war at the War

Memorial in a solemn wreath laying ceremony at RK Beach.

He will also inaugurate a maritime exhibition on Thursday, one of the biggest events of its kind which will

showcase various entrepreneurs in the maritime domain. On 7 February, a two-day international maritime

conference would be inaugurated by Parikkar on the theme 'Partnering together for a secure maritime future', the statement said.

The activities of IFR will conclude on 8 February with a joint international band concert at the naval officers institute followed by a closing ceremony.

City Police Commissioner Amit Garg told reporters on Monday that elaborate security arrangements have been made

with 15,000-strong police force deployed at event venues.

Police have prohibited all non-governmental agencies, organisations and individuals launching Unmanned Aerial

Vehicles (UAVs) or drones in the city from 27 January to 9 February.

PTI
Gurgaon: The car of RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav's son-in-law Vinit Yadav was on Wednesday snatched by some unidentified persons at gunpoint near Sikandarpur metro station on the busy MG road in Gurgaon, police said.

The white colour Toyota Fortuner was being driven by Vinit's driver Hari Prakash when four to five assailants intercepted it at gunpoint in broad daylight, a police official said.

"After stopping the vehicle the assailants dragged the driver out of the car and fled with it," APRO and ACP, Gurgaon Police, Hawa Singh said.

The RJD supremo's son-in-law, who is a resident of Delhi, was not in the car at the time of the incident, Singh said.

Police have registered a case under the Arms Act and launched a hunt for the culprits, the ACP said.

PTI
By Seema Guha

Manipur police head constable Herojit Singhs sudden admission that he shot dead an unarmed 22-year old member of the Peoples Liberation Front, one of the prominent insurgent groups of the state, is not surprising.

His admission is led by the belief that the police force he served is about to abandon him and leave him to his fate. Unlike the army, he does not have the protection of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which would have given him immunity from penal action.

Killing so-called insurgents with impunity was routine at one time in this sensitive border state. Those familiar with Manipur know that it has happened several times and may be happening even now.

Even those not familiar with Manipur are aware of the heroic fight put up by Irom Sharmila, a young Meite woman who has been on protest hunger strike for the last 15 years to force the authorities to lift the draconian AFSPA.

Shamefully, the worlds most populous democracy has turned a deaf ear to her plight. She continues to be force fed but no steps have been taken to ensure that this draconian law, which shelters soldiers from punishment for their misdeeds, is not revoked.

The template reply of officials to this sorry plight is: It is the state government which has to take a call.

Politicians down the years have used the excuse of Manipurs position as an insurgency-prone frontier state to get successive Union governments in New Delhi to do pretty much what they want. It is not just the army, Assam Rifles and the CRPF, but also the state police commandoes who are heavily armed and trigger-happy. All this is done to ostensibly keep the situation under control.

Rape and murder by security forces also go unpunished. In a case which is being heard by the Supreme Court at the moment, a 15-year-old schoolgirl was reportedly raped by two army personnel of the 12th Grenadier on 4 October, 2004. The victim committed suicide the same day.

In another incident, a young mother was shot by CRPF personnel while putting her baby to sleep at home. The report said Amina was killed when a CRPF team, in pursuit of a man, entered Naorem village, surrounded her house and fired indiscriminately.

The Disturbed Areas Act as well as the AFSPA was imposed in Manipur in September 1980 when insurgency was at its peak. Though the threat has diminished considerably, the AFSPA continues to be in force and various gun-toting groups collecting taxes, threatening and intimidating people remain very much a part of this dysfunctional state.

Delhi turns a blind eye, happy the state is being managed.

Bad governance goes hand in hand with a militarist state. Successive chief ministers  most of them Congress politicians  have made insurgency the excuse for corruption and misrule.

But insurgency is just one of Manipurs problems. The various ethnic groups in the state are also forever fighting each other but often forget tribal differences to unite against the Meities of the valley. It is a frontier area which is churning.

Fight for scarce resources

There is a deep divide between the Meiteis  often seen as the plains people as they live in the valley  and the tribals inhabiting the hills. The majority of the Meiteis are Hindus. The tribals are mainly Christians.

Meiteis occupy just 10 per cent of the state while hill areas make up 90 per cent of Manipurs geographical area. But 60 per cent of entire population lives in the valley.

The population density is low in the hill areas of Manipur where buying of land is prohibited by law.

This was done to protect the tribals. But in the valley, everyone can buy property.

There has been much concern in the valley that the Meite population is being inundated by outsiders and may in future have nowhere to go.

The Manipur government brought in three legislations last year to calm address their fears. The Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, the Manipur Land Revenue & Land Reforms and the Manipur Shop & Establishment Bills were passed by the legislature in September last year.

The Land Reforms Bill is perceived by tribal communities as an attempt by the Meiteis to gain access to scheduled hill districts.

The passing of these bills escalated the insecurities of the tribals. Apart from the division between the hills and plains, the different tribal communities  Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis, Zomis, Hmars  are fighting their own ethnic demons.

All these ethnic communities, however, are together when it comes to the xenophobia about outsiders: Nepalis, Bengali immigrants or people from any other state in the country.

Lack of development and fear that scarce resources will be taken away from locals is at the root of the problem.

But the problem of immigrants is confined mainly to the valley as special provisions of the law stop them from settling in tribal areas.

The passing of what the tribals see as laws to take away their right to land has led to continued protests. The demonstrations took an ugly turn last year in the hill areas of Churachandpur, where the homes of lawmakers were attacked. Nine persons including a 11-year old boy was killed in police firing. The bodies of those who died due to police firing have been kept since last September in the mortuary of the Churachandpur district hospital.

The tribals have refused to bury the dead until the centre and the state governments give them the assurance that the hill areas of Manipur will come under the 6th schedule of the Constitution, which ensures protection to the tribals.



States like Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland as well as the hill districts in Assam want to make sure that the laws passed by the Manipur Legislature last year is not applicable to the hill areas.

If the tribal areas of Manipur come under the 6th schedule of the Constitution, we need not worry about whatever law is passed by the State assembly, says Romeo Mhar, a social activist from Manipur.

The Meite insurgent groups based in Myanmar have forced the Congress government to pass these legislations. All Meites are in this together, says Mhar. He and delegations from the hills have done the rounds of Delhi and appealed to the BJP as well as the Congress.

The bills, though passed in the Assembly, have not yet become law as they need to have Pranab Mukherjees consent.

As soon as we get an assurance from the Centre that hill areas of Manipur will come under the 6th schedule we will bury the bodies. We dont trust the Meities, if they dont succeed now they will try again after a while. They are eyeing the land in the hill areas, adds Hmar.

Indifference

Can anyone imagine such a state of affairs in any other state in India? This has continued since last September and the Centre has shut its eyes. If this had happened in any other state, there would be 24x7 coverage. The Meiteis have a point, so too the tribals. What Manipur needs is development.

It is important for all the state politicians, tribals and non tribals to sit together and solve the problem and the Centre should take the initiative.
By Ashok Row Kavi

It feels strange one day after the Curative petitions challenging Justice Singhvi and Justice Mukhpadhyaya's judgment on 11th of December 2013 have been deemed fit to be heard by a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court. Thus a legal process that seemed to be taking us from the depths of despair to an enervating ecstasy is now making us read the petitions all over again.

I see the door to the Temple of Justice has opened slightly showing us a glimmer of hope coming through. Receiving literally hundreds of messages, phone calls and twittering reach-outs, many even threatening suicides if we were not heard in court, I for one, am exhausted at the incredible way we are dependent on the judicial process to send us democratic messages which should have been really Parliament's job.

The first message that the Supreme Court has sent out loud and clear is to the executive branch, especially the police forces which maintain law and order regarding the sexual minorities coming under SOGI (Sexual orientation and gender identity). The harassment through extortion, blackmail and sexual violence against them is on the Court's radar now. No more is it going to go un-noticed. And any ideas of "public morality" as against 'constitutional morality' will weigh heavily in favor of the later.

This, the Supreme Court has indicated through a simple mechanism  it has constituted a bench of five senior judges to hear the infirmities of the 2013 judgment, if any. In other words we will not be so easily thrown to the mercy of an unrelentingly homophobic and misogynistic Lok Sabha. So there is hope.

However, even as I read the curative petitions, what stunned me was the simple logic embedded therein. For example, in a small and snappy chapter titled "Presumption of Constitutionality", the petition states: "...Section 377 could not have been presumed to be constitutional since at the time of its enactment, the legislating authority had no knowledge of fundamental rights or other Constitutional limitations on its power". This argument by itself is a damning comment on Section 377's formulator, Thomas Babington Macaulay, the British Raj Administrator who had scant regard for Indians and their cultural mores.

It doesn't say so but it's obvious that Macaulay wasn't all that conducive to allowing the brown men he ruled over any significant democratic rights while introducing a Judeo-Christian law which had crept into British Criminal law through Ecelestial channels.

Here is where I see tremendous hope that the Bench will see reason and declare section 377 undemocratic and unconstitutional.

You cannot impose a colonial law and use the most democratic of Constitution as a curtain to cover-up and pretend you are being inclusive. The Delhi High Court had stressed the inclusive nature of the Indian Constitution in that it encouraged minorities of every kind to live a life of equality and dignity and join the mainstream in nation building. Section 377 expressly denies us that right by classifying us through an arbitrary and curious classification. How?

Here is what the curative petition says in this matter. In its very beginning this "error" in the 2013 judgment, the petition says: "a patent error of law is that there is no intelligible differentia ie..no "real and substantial difference', no 'yardstick or measure', no "policy or principle for guidance to distinguish between "carnal intercourse in the natural course" from "carnal intercourse against the course of nature". Hilariously, the judgment itself, after reviewing reported judgments on Section 377, recorded at para 38 that not only was it NOT possible to list acts which were covered by Section 377, but no tests would be laid down to differentiate "carnal intercourse against the order of nature".

The joke is in America, for instance, it came to a stage where anything that didn't end in reproduction was dumped under the sodomy statutes till it became ridiculous. Similarly, in India, certain acts like even mutual masturbation could be termed as "against the order of nature".

This arbitrary classification and categorization of humans allows the State to create two different categories of people without any test to determine who is in which category and therefore violates Acts 14 and 15 of the Constitution. i.e our right to equality and dignity. The whole judgment based on such arbitrariness seems to be bizarre now as you read the curative petition. What makes it more dangerous for the LGBTI communities is that it leaves such important forensic sexuality matters to the police and hence leaves us vulnerable and open to police harassment, extortion and blackmail.

However, far more serious that is what happened to that category which the State finds as felons who commit acts "against the order of nature". The Delhi High Court judgment has scores of scientific affidavits attached from 13 senior psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and mental health professionals, including a Professor of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, a fellow of the Indian Psychiatric Society, a member of the International Advisory Board of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry, an editor of the influential Lancet series on global health, and a lecturer in psychiatry, Maharashtra Institute of Mental Health. All these worthies applied to be impleaded before the honorable court and were allowed to intervene in the special leave petition.

All these petitioners were heard through their counsel and detailed written submissions with authoritative scientific literature from reputed academic peer-reviewed journals supporting the Delhi High Court were submitted. To our horror, the Supreme Court judgment of 2013 which overturned the Delhi High Judgment does NOT "mention, refer, or deal with the submissions" at all. This is a gross violation of the principles of natural justice. What is one of make of this lament of learned men who pronounced on the "naturalness" of the category of persons committing acts "against the order of nature"? And then read that Section 377 which made us into undeclared felons was constitutionally right?

If this is not frightening, the curative petition pointed to another strange logic in the 2013 Supreme Court judgment. The curative petition pointed out that the judgment's noting: "Only 200 prosecutions over 150 years cannot be made a sound basis for testing the vires of Section 377", It added that the judgment "introduces a numerical requirement for the protections of Chapter III of the Constitution whereas it is long settled that the fundamental Rights of numerous minorities, even minorities of one, are entitled to full protection". This distressing abdication of duty of the refusal to defend the rights of what it called "miniscule minorities", is something that nobody can dare to forget. It's dangerous to be relegated to invisibility because one is uncommon and singularly different from the mainstream as LGBTI discover in society.

According to me, this small set of arguments by themselves constitutes enough of reasons in determining how we want the hearings to go. Whether the honorable men populating this bench of the Supreme Court of India hear the lament of unfair and inequitable treatment of SOGI sexual minorities is for the future to decide.

Meanwhile, we must remember that this case will be the synclosure of the whole legal fraternity of developing countries burdened as they are with colonial laws that have become a barrier to not just health services but to social development of whole societies. The developed countries with their ever expanding global industrial machines will be concerned because penal laws against sexual minorities have become an embarrassment in the workplace. Scores of intelligent people do not wish to come to India with such a regressive law on the statute books.

However, let me end on a sober note. It is indeed painful that our elected representatives have failed us as they have failed other minorities promised constitutional rights. But we can never lose hope. There is a fresh glimmer of dawn on the horizon thanks to Justice Thakur of the Supreme Court and it only gives us an impetus to work with the Lok Sabha's callous quarreling members. Maybe once in the while they will glance outside that circular Parliament House and see the state of society outside the cacophony filled Home of Indian Democracy.
Geneva: The UN special envoy for Syria has warned that if troubled peace talks in Switzerland failed, then "all hope would be lost".

"A failure is always possible, particularly after five years of horrible war," Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday on Swiss television channel Radio Television Suisse.

"But if there is a failure this time, after two previous meetings in Geneva on Syria, then all hope will be lost," de Mistura said.

De Mistura is trying to coax representatives of the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition umbrella into indirect peace talks.

The negotiations have, however, after several days, failed to move beyond the preliminary stage, with chief government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari on yesterday saying the opposition was "not serious".

The main opposition umbrella group on Tuesday cancelled a planned meeting with de Mistura, angry at what it called "unprecedented" Russian air strikes in support of regime forces near Aleppo.

AFP
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal created much anticipation about his press conference by tweeting earlier that he will unveil a "solution" to Delhis garbage crisis. His innovative solution, however, failed to match the hype.

Kejriwal announced that the Delhi government will give a loan of Rs 550 crore to the municipal corporations so that they can pay the salaries of all their workers up to 31 January. This is a loan; Delhi government does not owe the MCDs (Municipal Corporations of Delhi) even a single rupee. The claim by the BJP is false, he said.

Kejriwal read out a series of figures to prove that there is widespread embezzlement in the municipal corporation bodies.

We have paid the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Rs 893 crore this year, said Kejriwal. Thats almost double the amount they have received the previous years. If they can pay salaries in Rs 550 crore, then why cant they do so now? Where is the rest of the money?

He also demanded that the CBI probe the corruption in the organisation.

Kejriwal stated that doctors have written to the government about taking over MCDs hospitals. Ive asked Manish Sisodia who is both the law minister and the finance minister to see if Delhi government can take over. This will save the MCD Rs 800 crore which they spend on seven hospitals.

He thanked the Public Works Department (PWD) officials and his own party members for helping out at times of crisis and blamed the BJP for taking advantage of the plight of the workers.

Once again blaming the BJP for creating an environment of crisis in Delhi, he stated, This is a conspiracy by BJP to keep the Delhi government under constant crisis. It is creating such an environment because they dont want Delhi government to do any work. It just shows the dictatorship tendencies of Modi government; see how they got Presidents Rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh. They want to create an environment here conducive to imposing Presidents Rule in Delhi too.

When quizzed about why it took the government so many days to arrive at this solution, Kejriwal said that was because they were trying to recover money from the Delhi Development Authority.

Post the press conference, Kejriwal tweeted that the Delhi government had a tough time finding the money.

It is with great difficulty that we hv been able to find this Rs 550 cr for loan. Del govt is facing Rs 3000 cr VAT shortfall(1/2)  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 3, 2016

We had to postpone some of our present commitments to next yr to manage this money(2/2)  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 3, 2016

At the press conference, he also said that there is a provision by which the Centre can dissolve the municipal corporation bodies if they fail to carry out their duties. This crisis, he said, shows that the MCD has failed in their duties. I request the Centre to dissolve the MCD, he said.

He then addressed the municipal workers. I request you to call off the strike. We have to work together to take Delhi forward, he said.
Hyderabad: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi has been booked for his alleged involvement in the attack on Congress MLC Shabbir Ali during the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, police said on Wednesday.

Cases against Owaisi and others were registered late Tuesday night under relevant sections of IPC.

Ali, Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council, had on Tuesday filed a case against Owaisi and his followers for allegedly attacking him in Mirchowk area.

"Mirchowk Police has registered a case against Owaisi and others under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage), 506 r/w 149 of IPC. The case is being probed and action will be taken against responsible

persons as per facts and law," a senior police official said.

TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ali have alleged MIM party workers led by Owaisi attacked them. A vehicle belonging to Reddy was also damaged by miscreants. Ali alleged he sustained injury below the right eye and on other body parts.

Mirchowk Police Inspector Y Yadgir Reddy told PTI they have received a similar complaint from an Urdu daily reporter alleging Owaisi and some of his followers attacked him on Tuesday.

Police have registered a case and a probe is underway.

On Tuesday, MIM and Congress workers clashed during the GHMC polls and police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse them.

The trouble started when Congress candidate Mohammad Gouse and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Pasha Quadri engaged in a confrontation in Mirchowk in old city following which they were taken into police custody briefly.

Reddy and Ali then reached Mirchowk Police station, where Gouse was kept in custody. Owaisi also reached there at the same time which escalated tension between the two groups.

According to police, they had to resort to mild lathicharge to disperse the agitated party workers when they, led by their respective leaders, gathered at the police station.

PTI
New Delhi: Taking a dig at Anupam Kher over visa issue, Congress on Wednesday said if the "poster boy" of "tolerant" India is so keen to go Pakistan, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi can talk to his "friend" Nawaz Sharif to facilitate the visit.

"If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said in a tweet.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh also questioned the uproar by Kher over the denial of visa, asking if it is not mandatory for an individual to file for a visa application.

"Anupam Kher has himself confessed that he hasn't filed an application in Pakistan Embassy. Then Arnab (Goswami) and Anupam what is the fuss about?(sic), Singh tweeted.

The veteran actor had last year taken out a rally against a protest march over growing "intolerance" in the country.

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit had called up Kher on Tuesday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you."

Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.

PTI
Seoul: South Korea and Japan on Wednesday echoed US warnings that North Korea would pay a heavy price if it pushes ahead with a planned rocket launch just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for a launch as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a "direct challenge" to the international community.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a "serious provocation" and clear violation of Pyongyang's international obligations.

The warnings came a day after the North announced a 8-25 February window for the launch, ostensibly aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesday's announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an international community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month's nuclear test.

"It's a classic move," said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

"While waiting for a full response for the nuclear test, you might as well sneak in a rocket launch. The North tends to do these things in pairs," Delury said

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.

'Egregious violation'

Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs slammed what he called "yet another egregious violation" of UN resolutions.

"This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose... tough additional sanctions," Russel said.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of 7:00am-midday Pyongyang time (2230-0330 GMT).

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on 16 February of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The South Korean government statement urged Pyongyang to call off the launch immediately or pay a "heavy price" for threatening regional peace and stability.

UN sanctions were tightened after North Korea successfully placed a satellite in orbit on a three-stage Unha-3 rocket in December 2012.

A fresh launch poses a dilemma for the international community, which is already divided on how to punish the North for its nuclear test.

North Korea's chief diplomatic ally, China, has been resisting the US push for tougher sanctions, but a rocket launch would bolster calls for Beijing to bring its maverick neighbour into line.

Pressure on China?

"However, I'm not sure if China will change its position," said Delury.

"The nuclear test is a far bigger deal for Beijing than the rocket launch, so I don't expect any tangible shift in China's perspective, whatever the US says," he added.

While its patience has been stretched to the limit by Pyongyang's refusal to curb its nuclear ambitions, China's overriding concern is a collapse of Kim Jong-Un's regime and the possibility of a US-allied unified Korea on its border.

US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pressure his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last week.

Although the two sides agreed to mount an "accelerated effort" to try to resolve their differences on a new resolution, Kerry acknowledged that they had not agreed on the "parameters of exactly what it would do or say".

Since early 2013, North Korea has been upgrading its Sohae satellite launch complex to handle larger, longer-range rockets with heavier payloads, but most experts say Pyongyang is still years from obtaining a credible intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

The flight plan coordinates sent to the IMO were similar to the December 2012 launch  suggesting an Unha-3 would again be the selected carrier.

The separated first stage was predicted to fall in the Yellow Sea around 200 kilometres off the west coast of South Korea, followed by a second stage splashdown in the Philippine Sea.

Japan has said its military will shoot down any rocket that strays into its air space.

AFP
Jaipur: India on Wednesday blamed Pakistan for most of the terror attacks in the country but said it would stand by the neighbour if it takes action against terrorists operating from there.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said if Pakistan takes concrete action against terrorists on its territory, it will not only improve bilateral relations but also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region.

"Most of the terror attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil.

"The government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations," he said addressing the second edition of counter-terrorism conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with the government of Rajasthan.

The Home Minister said for India, Mumbai (26/11) and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a "tectonic shift".

The Mumbai terror attack in 2008 brought terror across the seas to country's economic capital, causing a large number of casualties among the innocent civilian population.

"Likewise, in the recent attack on Pathankot air base, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and also cause large-scale casualties, thus taking the dynamics of terror attack in India a notch higher," he said.

Singh said the challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy.

"They make perverse distinction between 'good' and 'bad' terrorists. When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating bands of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons and weapon systems of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult," he said.

The Home Minister said so long as some countries continue using terrorists as instruments to promote their geo-political agenda, the fight against terrorism will lack due resolve.

"The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no 'good' terrorist," he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar while addressing the conference said India was in touch with Pakistan after the Pathankot attack and dialogue between the two countries on the terror assault would continue.

"Since Pathankot attack happened, we have been in touch with Pakistan. We have been in touch at my level and the NSA level because only by remaining in touch, we can expect them to progress on the basis of information which we have provided to them," Jaishankar told the Counter Terrorism Conference.

Referring to the terror attack on Pathankot air base, the Home Minister said after the incident the government is reviewing its counter-terrorism strategy.

"We are now formulating an effective strategy which would help in protecting our country from such terror attacks in future.

"We are fully equipped and prepared to deal with cross-border terrorism or any kind of terrorism. We are working on a National Security Strategy aiming to achieve seamless coordination between all the agencies," he said.

Singh complimented the security forces and intelligence agencies for successfully preventing any major damage to the air force assets, with "minimum casualties".

"Security forces also ensured that there were no casualties to families including trainees from friendly foreign countries. For such a brave act they deserve the highest accolades.

"I can say this with conviction as terror attacks in the past on air bases of other countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka had led to major damages to their air assets including large number of casualties," he said.

The Home Minister said proper assimilation, analysis and timely sharing of intelligence inputs hold key to any successful strategy against terrorism.

"The government is increasing its capabilities in this area as well. We are also stepping up vigil at our international borders and strengthening our border infrastructure to ensure fool proof security in the border areas," he said.

Singh said terrorism is a "hydra-headed monster" fed by a massive supply of funds through different routes and there is a need to put a plug on the flow of funds to curb terrorism.

"Drug trafficking, hawala transactions and supply of counterfeit currency are some of the known sources of terror funding. It is a big challenge to cut the supply lines of terrorist organisations and their activities.

"There has to be a global strategy and better coordination among like-minded nations against terrorism, if we want to disrupt the supply of funds for terror activities," he said.

The Home Minister said due to the ever increasing threat of terrorism in India, the country's National Security Strategy is now aiming at creating an environment which provides full opportunity for unhindered growth and development to every section of the society.

"We are also looking forward to creating appropriate legal and structural frameworks to fight against the menace of terrorism. We want to ensure that all terror-related cases are thoroughly investigated and followed up properly and regularly in the courts.

"Our guiding principle while handling terror-related cases should be 'Koi Begunaah Fanse Nahi, Aur Koi Gunahgaar Bache Nahi' (No innocent should be punished and no guilty escapes," he said.

Singh said government solicits and appeals for full cooperation on issues pertaining to national security from opposition too because there is a need to rise above partisan politics on issues of national importance.

"Lack of consensus on matters like national security will adversely affect the country's national interest," he said.

The Home Minister said the country is full of diversity with multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.

"These conditions are actively utilised by anti-national elements and other enemies to foment trouble in our country. To counter such threats we need to undertake sound preventive and responsive security measures," he said.

From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narcoterrorism and bio-terrorism. Use of dirty bombs also cannot be ruled out. Modern weapons, technology, and communications are being used by terror groups to enhance their lethality and impact, he said.

"Terrorism is seeking to destabilise the geo-political order in several parts of the world. It is doing so in pursuit of an insane interpretation of faith and philosophy that is violently anarchic and allergic to diversity which is the essence of humanity and its habitat," he said.

Singh said he firmly believes that terrorism is a byproduct of a perverse mind and this perversion has no love for human beings or the humanity.

"Terrorism has no religion because religions do not allow crimes against humanity. Simply put, terrorism is a crime against humanity," he said.

The Home Minister said even though the world acknowledges the threat of terrorism, there is no consensus even on the definition of terrorism.

"The UN has adopted numerous resolutions to fight terrorism. All these resolutions amply show the resolve of the world. Sanctions stipulated by UN Security Council resolutions are often rendered ineffective by vested interests of some countries in the absence of a consensus definition of terrorism," he said.

PTI
By Seema Guha

Those who had hoped that the Pathankot terror strike may for the first time not affect the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharifs attempts at rapprochement, will have to think again. India and Pakistan are back to square one as earlier hopes that with the army on board on the talks, Nawaz Sharif would be in a position to keep his word is fast fading. Nawaz Sharif may still pull a rabbit out of the hat, but India appears frustrated at Pakistans inability to walk the talk.

Those opposed to talks in Pakistan have yet again succeeded in de-railing the conversation. Going by what foreign secretary S Jaishankar said in his address at the counter terrorism conference in Jaipur on Wednesday, India is not optimistic. Though he did not refer to Pakistan by name, the tone and tenor of his speech made it obvious that the government is now convinced that the Pakistan army or at least elements within the security establishment were hand in glove with the terrorists who celebrated the new year with an attack on the Indias front line airbase.

"In most cases, it is difficult for non-state actors to operate without the support and connivance of states," Jai Shankar said, speaking in general terms. But it was a veiled reference to the old position of the Indian establishment that without logistics and help from within the Pakistan security apparatus, no heavily armed terror outfit would be in a position to sneak across the border.

Even more telling are the Foreign Secretarys remarks on non-state actors.

"This is now where the non-state actor comes in; occasionally as a genuine outcome of governance incapability, but more often as an escape clause. It isnt difficult in this modern age to trace the roots of a terrorist attack to a particular geography. The standing of those involved in terrorism in any society is not difficult to establish either. Clearly, it means something if they operate openly out of a big city with a known address, than if they live in a remote cave or an isolated jungle hideout," the foreign secretary said.

"A paradigm, however, is not just about its human element. Terrorists use weapons that have clear sources of origin. They need financing and money usually leaves a trail. They deal with commodities; traders and brokers cannot be secrets. We have seen, in other areas, the effectiveness of controlling both upstream and downstream activities. Why not in countering terrorism?" he asked.

So where does this leave India-Pakistan ties?

The hope that Modis unconventional diplomacy would make a difference has evaporated. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was to travel to Islamabad to firm up both the format and the timeline of the comprehensive dialogue. But after a 15 January announcement that the meeting of the foreign secretaries would be re-scheduled, no fresh dates have been announced. Unless Pakistan takes some action against the Jaish-e-Mohammed group, or get back to India with the names and locations of those elements in Pakistan who were in touch with the terrorists in Pathankot Modi will not be in a position to continue his peace efforts. The opposition Congress is one factor, but not an important one. Modi would be more concerned about his own hardline supporters within the larger Sangh Parivar family of the RSS and other affiliates.

But the puzzling question is, did the Prime Minister and his advisers not take this into account that a terror attack to derail the talks would follow. This had happened many times in the past. The Mumbai strikes took place when the Pakistan foreign minister was in Delhi with the then PPP president Asif Zardari keen on breaking the impasse with India.

Nawaz Sharif may have been encouraged by his army chief Raheel Sharifs crackdown on terrorists inside Pakistan, and believed the army was on board this time around. Previously during the Lahore peace initiative, the then army chief General Pervez Musharraf had refused to meet with the visiting Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Later the Kargil incursions happened.

Immediately after the Pathankot attack, Pakistan made the right noises. There was hope in Delhi that this around Nawaz Sharif would have his way. But Delhi no longer seems convinced. Talk of a team flying in from Islamabad has also fizzled out.

Perhaps it would have been better for the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Pakistan counterpart, retired General Nasir Janjua, to meet immediately after the attack to discuss the situation. They have been in touch on the phone from the beginning, but nothing seems to have moved so far. "The longer we delay the talks, the less chance there is of them taking off," said former foreign secretary Salman Haider. But he admitted that with Pakistan unable to deliver it is difficult for the government to go ahead.

Narendra Modis Pakistan policy had not been clear sighted from the start. It has been in fits and starts. His attempts to revive the talks won him kudos both at home and abroad. But the talks have now hit the terror roadblock which could be difficult to surmount.
WASHINGTON Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is not among those accused of wrongdoing in an investigation by Switzerland's chief prosecutor into alleged corruption involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign fund, a Swiss official said on Tuesday.

The Swiss Attorney General's office said last Friday that it had identified four cases of alleged criminal misconduct in the suspected misappropriation of about $4 billion from Malaysian state companies.

Andre Marty, spokesman for the Office of Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber, said in an emailed response to a Reuters query on Tuesday, "In the ongoing criminal proceeding of the OAG (Office of Attorney General), Mr. Najib Razak is not one of the public officials under accusation."

Lauber's office announced last August that it had opened criminal proceedings related to 1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Najib.

Late last week, Lauber's office issued a statement in which it said it had formally asked the Attorney General of Malaysia for assistance in Switzerland's investigation.

It said the investigation related to possible bribery of foreign public officials, misconduct in public office, money laundering and criminal mismanagement and that the criminal investigation involved two unnamed "former officials" of 1MDB and "persons unknown."

The statement came days after Malaysia's attorney general cleared Najib of any criminal offenses or corruption, declaring that $681 million deposited into his personal bank account was a gift from Saudi Arabia's Royal Family.

Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing, and said the funds were a political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain.

The Malaysian Attorney General's office said on Saturday that it would take all possible steps to follow up and collaborate with its Swiss counterpart, but said the investigations into donations made to Najib were entirely separate from those into 1MDB.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Karachi: At least three persons were shot dead and 12 others injured on Wednesday during clashes between security forces and staff of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) protesting at Karachi's international airport against the planned privatisation of the ailing national flag carrier.

The clashes led to the disruption and then suspension of many domestic and international flights around the country's main airports.

The incident took place near the Jinnah International Airport after the joint action committee which represents all unions of PIA gave a complete strike call for Wednesday despite the government enforcing Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) under which all union activities were suspended and employees told to report on duty.

Though two of the protesters died of bullet wounds, Rangers and police denied opening fire at the site.

A third patient succumbed to his wounds later in the night.

Following the deadly clash, PIA Chairman Nasser Jaffer announced that he has resigned from his post.

He expressed grief over the deaths of the PIA employees and lamented at the events which lead to their deaths. "My conscience doesn't allow me to head the organisation anymore," he said. "I have resigned from the post," the PIA chairman told TV channels while in tears.

The PIA chairman said that he has sent his resignation to the Prime Minister. Jaffer said he was resigning since no one was willing to to accept his advice anymore and even the joint action committee did not try to resolve the matter through dialogue.

Kamran Afzal, the Deputy Inspector General (East Zone), has denied that the police backed by paramilitary rangers had opened fire on the protesting employees including women.

"The police fired tear gas shells and used water cannons but no shots were fired. Police officials on duty say gun fire was opened from within the crowd. We are investigating and will find out the truth after examining the two submachine gun shells that were found from the site," he said.

Pakistan on Tuesday enforced ESMA against PIA as the employees of the ailing national carrier announced an indefinite strike following the failure of talks with the government on the proposed privatisation move.

Pakistan Airlines Cabin Crew Association President Nasrullah Khan said that the strike would go ahead as the government has not accepted their four-point agenda.

A heavy contingent of Rangers and police personnel were deployed at the site to prevent protesters from entering the cargo gate and moving onto Jinnah Avenue.

Three people including a member of PIA's engineering department have died in the incident. At least 12 persons were injured, Sohail Baloch, who heads the joint action committee of the PIA employees, said.

Domestic and international flight operations from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan were disrupted with many flights being cancelled, Baloch claimed.

However, Danish Gillani, spokesman of the PIA told PTI that there were some disruptions in flights schedule but otherwise back up arrangements had been made for undisrupted operation of the flights.

PTI
Three weeks to the day after he unveiled his plan to raise the state sales tax to help pay for higher teacher salaries, Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Tuesday proposed education reform bills that were the target of proposed revisions even before they were drafted.

I believe that most legislators are focused on the objective, which is to raise teacher pay, state Rep. Jeff Partridge, R-Rapid City, said after Daugaard's bills were revealed. Whats happening right now is there are several side conversations going on related to how we will get there.

Daugaard's proposals, which he revealed in his Jan. 12 state of the state speech, include increasing the state sales tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent, which would raise an extra $107.4 million, according to estimates. Most of that money would be devoted to teachers' salaries because South Dakota almost always is rated 51st in average teacher pay among the U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Daugaard's bills were pretty much as expected, Partridge said. The governor has been very consistent.

Bills in Daugaard's plan include:

House Bill 1182, which would increase the sales tax to 4.5 percent. That would include increases in the state use tax, the excise tax on farm machinery and the amusement device tax. Those increases would pay for the higher teacher salaries, plus $40 million in property-tax relief.

Senate Bill 131 would establish a target salary of $48,500 for the average teacher pay. It also would eliminate the per-student state allocation paid to school districts and replace it with a teacher-student ratio formula.

Senate Bill 133 includes a number of proposals to recruit and retain more teachers. It also would encourage schools to cut spending by sharing services and by using the Statewide Center for E-Learning at Northern State University to teach classes.

Partridge has advocated a different route.

In an interview at a crackerbarrel session on Jan. 23 at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, he said cutting the proposed sales tax increase in half, coupled with other revenue moves, could solve the teacher-pay problem.

Partridge said the proposal to spend some of the sales-tax increase on property tax relief is misguided, and the tax increase should be devoted to solving the single problem of low pay for teachers.

His 0.25 percentage point increase alternative, coupled with the use of such existing education money as that in capital outlay funds, could hit the target mark of raising teacher salaries in South Dakota from the average of $40,000 to $48,500, as laid out in SB 131, Partridge said.

Still, he said he is pleased that the governor is taking such a strong leadership role in moving the state forward when it comes to teacher pay.

State Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Rapid City, said he was pleased with what he saw in the governors bills, including the sales tax increase, which is a point of some contention among other state lawmakers.

Thats the recommendation from the Blue Ribbon Task Force, said Tieszen, who served on the task force appointed by Daugaard to find solutions to South Dakotas abysmal teacher salaries. I still think thats the most logical source of funding.

But state Rep. Mike Verchio, R-Hill City, has a different outlook. He opposes the proposed tax increase, advocating instead that lawmakers tap district reserve and capital outlay funds to raise teacher salaries.

As far as Im concerned, HB 1182 is dead on arrival for me, Verchio said. Theres going to have to be some major changes before I support it.

Although Rep. Brian Gosch, R-Rapid City, the House majority leader, couldn't be reached for comment on Tuesday, he spoke pessimistically at the Jan. 23 crackerbarrel about the chances for passage of the sales-tax increase.

Pointing out that tax increases require a two-thirds majority in each house, Gosch said, "It's going to be tough to get the votes" for even the 0.25 percentage point increase Partridge favored.
Media commentator Waleed Aly has urged social media users to take no notice of the US leader of a "neo masculinist" group, saying he has an obvious "formula" for attracting attention.

In his editorial on The Project on Tuesday night, Aly said Daryush "Roosh" Valizadeh, the leader of a group called Return of Kings, had used the same strategy to bait mainstream media outlets and social media users around the world.

"This week, Roosh decided it was our turn and I know it hurts Australia but, like everyone before us, we took the bait," Aly said.

Valizadeh espouses homophobic, sexist and racial beliefs, including that rape on private property should be legalised and that women should not be able to vote.
This came amid international growth in opioid painkiller use, which doubled worldwide in that time, the Lancet study said on Wednesday. High-income western countries, including Australia, the United States and New Zealand, which made up 95 per cent of global opioid use, had largely driven the rise between 2001 and 2013.

Use of opioid painkillers, including oxycodone, rose from 3287 doses per day per million to 13,440 doses per day per million.

Australians have quadrupled their use of painkillers such as codeine and morphine for cancer and other chronic illnesses over a decade, a study says.

It said that higher usage in developed countries could be due to increased pain management for cancer in ageing populations and for other chronic illnesses.

It comes as the national drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, faces great opposition to its interim decision to stop codeine products, including common painkillers like Panadeine and Nurofen Plus from being available over the counter, to prevent people from misusing and growing dependent on them.

The TGA delayed its final ruling on this until next June after it received an "unusually large" number of submissions, mostly opposed to the proposed change.

A co-author of the study, Professor Richard Mattick at the UNSW's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said that removing codeine products could make it harder for older and lower-income patients to access the medication they needed but said there was also a risk of harm associated with them. He said the TGA was best placed to make this decision.

By contrast, the study found that there was little change in the use of opioids in most of the world, which "shows a continuing absence of provision of these essential medicines".
Broadcaster Alan Jones has issued an extraordinary threat to Liberal Party members who are considering challenging Hughes MP Craig Kelly for preselection, indicating he will use his program to attack them if they decide to run.

Mr Kelly's most likely challenger is Sutherland Shire councillor Kent Johns, a member of the Liberal Party's left faction.

Fairfax Media has previously reported that members of Mr Kelly's right faction were hopeful that Jones would use his program to attack Cr Johns' likely preselection challenge.

After an interview with Mr Kelly on Tuesday morning, Jones declared: "You're not going to get anyone better than that bloke."
The Public Security Police (PJ) raided an underground casino ring in Areia Preta on Tuesday night, leading to the arrests of 15 people, and the confiscation of 16 computers, a poker table, and what is being described as millions of dollars worth of gaming chips. The PJ said that 11 of the 15 individuals that were arrested are Macau residents, while the others are from Hong Kong and mainland China. They added that they suspect the gaming group had been operating the illegal casino for more than one month. The leaders of the gambling ring could face the crime of illegally operating the venue, while the others arrested may be presented with fines.
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has recreated the famous image of a three-year-old Syrian child who drowned in Turkey last year by staging a photo of himself lying face down on a beach in Greece.

The photograph last year of the child lying on a Turkish beach triggered international outrage as people saw the helpless toddler as the devastating human face of the refugee crisis in Europe.

Ai posed last week on a pebbly beach on Lesbos island for the picture for one of Indias largest English-language news magazines, India Today.

Rohit Chawla, the magazines photographer and visual director, traveled to Lesbos to take the picture.

The photograph was displayed at an art fair in New Delhi over the weekend and many visitors took pictures of it.

Ai has set up a studio on Lesbos where he is working on several projects with refugee-related themes. Lesbos is the main entry point for refugees seeking a better life in Europe.

Ai said last week that he had decided to withdraw his works from two Danish museums out of deep anger at a new law allowing Denmark to seize valuables from migrants.

The Chinese artist is famous for works addressing human rights abuses, official corruption and the collision between Chinese culture and Western consumerism. AP
ZIKA The World Health Organization declares a global emergency over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, calling it an extraordinary event that poses a threat to other parts of the world.

CHINA A U.S. meat supplier is disputing a Chinese courts verdict that its local subsidiary sold expired chicken and beef to McDonalds, KFC and other fast food restaurants in China. More on p10

CHINA-N.-KOREA Wu Dawei, Chinas special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, arrived yesterday in Pyongyang amid a flurry of diplomacy over the Norths recent nuclear test. More on p12

MALAYSIA A former law minister has filed a lawsuit challenging a decision by the countrys attorney general not to prosecute Prime Minister Najib Razak over a financial scandal that involved more than USD700 million channeled into his private bank accounts.

AUSTRALIA Lawmakers can now breastfeed in the Australian Parliament after the government changed the rules to make politics more family-friendly. But none of the nursing mothers appeared keen to take up the opportunity.

BANGLADESH A special war crimes tribunal in Dhaka sentences two more men to death after finding them guilty of killing, kidnapping and looting during the countrys independence war against Pakistan in 1971.

INDIAs top court has agreed to re-examine a colonial-era law that makes homosexual acts punishable by up to a decade in prison.

PIRACY A global maritime watchdog says ship hijackings worldwide declined in 2015 from a year earlier, with sea piracy incidents mostly consisting of low-level theft.

USA Ted Cruz, a fiery, conservative Texas senator loathed by his own partys leaders, sweeps to victory in Iowas Republican caucuses, overcoming billionaire Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were deadlocked in a tight race.

IRELANDs unemployment rate has fallen to a seven-year low of 8.6 percent as the country  buoyant again after years of gloom and austerity  faces an election. Unemployment has steadily improved since peaking at 15.1 percent in 2012, months before Ireland exited dependence on European and International Monetary Fund loans.

FRANCE High schools say students should be allowed to smoke on school grounds so that they dont become targets for extremists when they gather for cigarette breaks on the street outside. A leading union of school administrators first made the request five days after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Following a refusal by the Health Ministry, the union last week renewed its call for a loosening of the school smoking ban as long as France remains under a state of emergency.
CHINA A court in Xinjiang has reduced the sentences of 11 Uighurs convicted of terrorism and endangering state security, including a naturalized Canadian preacher whose life term had been sharply criticized by Ottawa.

CHINA Asian Champions League winner Guangzhou Evergrande has been fined for secretly filming its opponents training session before the second-leg match of the final. Evergrande must pay USD160,000 for several rules violations around the return match against Al Ahli of United Arab Emirates last November. Meanwhile, the club signed star striker Jackson Martinez.

SOUTH KOREA warned of searing consequences if N. Korea doesnt abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology. The Souths rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after the Norths defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the U.N. work on strong new sanctions against Pyongyang.

THAILAND Two Russian tourists are badly injured at a beach resort when a speedboats propeller severs one mans leg and cuts deep gashes in the other mans leg. The men, believed to be in their 30s, were struck while they were diving off Phi Phi island in Krabi province.

MACEDONIA has lifted restrictions on the entry of refugees from the Greek border after Macedonian taxi drivers ended a five-day protest that had closed a key railway line, slowing migrant flows to Serbia. More than 55,000 migrants have passed through Macedonia this year.

UK The founder of budget airline EasyJet has stepped into Britains grocery aisles. Stelios Haji-Ioannou has opened a discount grocery in northwest London, called EasyFood, offering canned sardines, soups and pasta for a mere 25 pence  for a limited time only. Prices will go up on the limited and basic range after a month.

SOMALIA An explosion and fire blew a gaping hole in a commercial airliner, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Mogadishus international airport at night, officials and witnesses said. The pilot said he thought it was a bomb. An aviation expert who looked at photographs of the hole in the fuselage said the damage was consistent with an explosive device.

NIGERIAs separatists hijacked a merchant ship with foreign crew, threatening to blow it up if officials dont free a detained leader agitating for a breakaway of the state of Biafra.

USA Microsoft is recalling about 2.44 million AC power cords for its Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3 computers sold before March 15, 2015, because of a potential fire hazard. Users have reported 56 incidents of the cords overheating and emitting flames, and five incidents where the cords gave users an electric shock. Microsoft is offering free replacements for the cords.
A new book chronicling the life of a sixth-generation, Indonesian-born, overseas Chinese man was presented last week by the Macau Society of Social Sciences at the Jao Tsung-I Academy.

The book written by Barnabas Koo, titled A Witness to History: an overseas Chinese in mainland China and Macau, details the life of Gary Ngai, the president of the Macau Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America, against the backdrop of the large number of overseas Chinese living in Southeast Asia.

It addresses one of the biggest challenges of the Chinese Diaspora: the question of competing loyalties and complex identities.

The Times spoke with Gary Ngai to discuss the first and only book chronicling his fascinating life, and his unique perspective on what the world can learn from Macau.

Ngai, who regards himself as both Chinese and Indonesian, is just one of some 600,000 Chinese who were estimated to have returned to their ancestral homeland following the victory of the communists and the establishment of the Peoples Republic in 1949.

Bound for China on a boat departing from the Indonesian island of Java, Ngai made his way to Beijing in 1950 at the age of just 18. There he studied, before working mostly as a translator for government officials. His early knowledge of Dutch and Mandarin prepared him well for a career that saw him learn Russian and Cantonese, among other languages.

After leaving mainland China at the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, Ngai followed his wife and family to Macau, who had arrived around six months prior.

Gary Ngai told the Times that he has lived and worked through what he describes as six very diverse and often difficult periods: the colonial Dutch period; the Japanese occupation of Indonesia; the independence of Indonesia; the founding years of the Peoples Republic of China; the Cultural Revolution; and both pre- and post-handover Macau.

From these diverse life experiences, Ngai has formulated a unique outlook on Macau, claiming that the territorys cultural harmony can serve as an example to the rest of world 

much of it currently rife with conflict.

Where is a better place in the world where so many cultures can interact with each other? Ngai asked. The world has much to learn about peaceful coexistence from Macau. Its a showcase [model] for the world.

The keywords here are unity and diversity, he added.

Ngai also praises the cultural preservation efforts of Macau, which he regards as superior to that of neighboring Hong Kong and the mainland. For example, take Daoism, he told the Times, these traditions were destroyed by the Cultural Revolution [on the mainland] and by the Japanese occupation in Hong Kong. But this did not happen in Macau.

Even gambling has a long cultural history in Macau and ought to be preserved, the former translator justified. Gambling, in a more traditional Chinese sense, has existed in Macau for nearly 200 years, Ngai says.

Macau has such a long tradition of gambling. You cannot throw out the tradition of gambling  it has existed for hundreds of years [here]. The Portuguese understood that, he added, commending the cultural preservation efforts of the territorys former administrators.

However, not everything in Macau has stayed the same. Ngai notes that, since his arrival in the MSAR around 40 years ago, the city has modernized both in terms of its infrastructure and in terms of its breadwinner industry: the gaming sector.

Back when I arrived, there was no infrastructure here, he said, adding that it would sometimes take around 12 hours to travel between Hong Kong and Macau. You would leave Hong Kong in the morning and arrive in Macau at night.

There [also] used to be very few cars, and most people rode a bicycle around town. And there were no bridges at that time, he told the Times. The first bridge to connect Macau with Taipa, the Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, opened in 1974.

The Indonesian-born Chinese accredits the modernization to Stanley Ho. He says that mainland officials have repeatedly written Ho off, when, in fact, they are jealous of him. He is a very clever man, added Ngai.

Asked why the overseas Chinese feel such a strong attachment to their ancestral homeland, even when they are the second or third generation to be born outside of the country, Ngai replied that, in the case of Southeast Asia, it was probably due to the segregation they experienced in the countries in which they lived.

In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, the ethnic Chinese were regarded as a distinct merchant class enjoying partial rights. While they were not entitled to the full rights that ruling imperialists enjoyed, they were seen as a step above the native people, who often possessed either no or few rights.

Therefore, ethnic Chinese people were alienated from the other segments of society in the countries in which they lived and resided. On the one hand, they were not considered home-grown natives; on the other, they were not considered a part of the ruling establishment.

The exception, says Ngai, was in the case of Thailand, where Chinese and Thai cultures have fused well. Thailand was the only country in the region that was not directly ruled by colonizers. Staff reporter
The Administrative Court has discarded an appeal over the governments decision to prevent the extension of the Pearl Horizon land plot concession. The appeal, which was launched by land developer, Polytec, objected to the governments decision in December not to extend the concession agreement. According to TDM, the judge explained that the Pearl Horizon plot does not meet certain criteria, as per the Land Act, that entitles the developer to a concession renewal. Therefore the appeal was rejected. Meanwhile, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario, came under fire from Pearl Horizon flat buyers gathered outside of the secretarys headquarters. They criticized Rosario for changing his stance on the issue after he reminded the public that the appeal period had not yet expired. Protesters have also threatened to take further action.

Three new cases of hypothermia

With the cold weather remaining, three new cases of hypothermia appeared between 4 p.m. Monday and 4 p.m. yesterday. According to the Health Bureau, two of the victims received medical attention at the public hospital, while the third was transported to the Kiang Wu Hospital. The ages of the victims range between 66 and 99 years. One of the victims is in a serious condition. The unusually cold weather in Macau has already resulted in a total of six deaths by hypothermia.

Uber partners with Alipay

Uber and Ant Financial announced a partnership early this week, saying that Zhifubao, an alias of the Alipay platform, will be available for all Uber users in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Under the agreement, mainland China clients will be able to use their Alipay accounts to pay for Uber rides in other regions.
A court in western China has reduced the sentences of 11 Uighurs convicted of terrorism and endangering state security, including a naturalized Canadian preacher whose life term had been sharply criticized by Ottawa.

The official Xinhua News Agency characterized the sentence reductions for the Uighurs at Xinjiangs First Prison as a sign that authorities in the restive western region were making progress de-radicalizing Islamist militants and separatists using a softer touch.

The rare move of clemency, announced after the prisoners took courses and repented their crimes last week, comes at a time when the Chinese government is tightening its grip over the region, expanding its security campaign and ordering cultural assimilation projects and religious restrictions that members of the Turkic-

speaking Uighur minority have deemed oppressive.

Among the 11 prisoners with reduced terms is Huseyin Celil, a preacher from Ontario whose life sentence in 2007 sparked a diplomatic row between China and Canada. After fleeing China and gaining refugee status in 2000, Celil lived in Canada until he was arrested in Uzbekistan and extradited to China.

China refused to recognize his Canadian citizenship and convicted him of organizing on behalf of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement militant group.

Aside from the reduction of life sentences to fixed terms, four prisoners, including a man convicted of contacting the ETIP and the Taliban to set up training bases in Afghanistan, saw their lengthy prison terms reduced to six months, Xinhua said in a report.

The new duration of Huseyin Celils sentence has not been announced, said San Francisco-based activist John Kamm, who has pressed for Celils release on behalf of the Canadian government since 2009.

But Kamm lauded the decision, telling The Associated Press yesterday that commuting Celils sentence represented a step in the right direction and should prompt other Xinjiang prisons to consider mass clemency.

The Canadian Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress exile group, called the commutations a political propaganda tool meant to divert attention from Beijings repressive policies.

The long-running Uighur insurgency in Xinjiang has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years despite efforts to pacify and assimilate the region that critics say are exacerbating a cycle of discontent and unrest. Chinas Strike Hard campaign, which was launched in 2014 in response to an attack on a public market that killed 31 people, will intensify in 2016 with a focus on deploying special forces and technological tools, the Xinjiang region chairman said last month.

William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, said the reduced sentences were intended to show the Communist Partys supposed benevolence and mercy amid the broader crackdown.

This is probably the proverbial carrot to the violent Strike Hard campaigns stick, Nee said.

He said that without independent or international oversight of such de-radicalization programs, it will be impossible to judge to what extent they are effective or in line with international human rights laws and standards. Gerry Shih, Beijing, AP
There were over 110,000 overseas students enrolled at Taiwanese universities in 2015. According to Taiwans Ministry of Education, those students represent 8.27 percent of its tertiary student population.

Foreign students come mainly from Malaysia, then China, Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam, in that order.

The ministry revealed that the number of non-

local students rose by 16,537 last year to 110,182. Statistics also showed that the number of foreign students taking up advanced degrees increased by 6,000 last year.

Department of International and Cross-strait Education section head, Liu Su-miao said that the increase was mainly attributed to an additional 7,000 Chinese students. Liu added that the recruiting efforts of overseas students by local universities has been aggressive; there has been a decline in enrollment of Taiwanese students because of the low birth rate over the past two decades.

Statistics show that the ministrys target to increase the number of foreign students from 30,000 in 2008 to more than 100,000 this year has been achieved. Taiwans government is aiming to turn the nation into an advanced learning powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Liu.

Liu noted that there was also a significant rise in the number of students from India, Indonesia and Myanmar.

The ministry said the focus now would be to encourage foreign students to work in Taiwan and to give the countrys private sector more access to overseas graduates.
European Council President Donald Tusk yesterday unveiled proposals that he hopes will keep Britain in the 28-nation European Union.

The draft deal was made public in a letter to EU leaders. It must be endorsed by Britains EU partners and is set to be thrashed out at a summit in Brussels on Feb. 18.

To my mind it goes really far in addressing all the concerns raised by Prime Minister [David] Cameron, Tusk wrote. The line I did not cross, however, were the principles on which the European project is founded.

Tusk proposed that more power be given to national parliaments to potentially block legislation. The plan would not bind Britain to deeper EU integration, which is written into the EUs Lisbon Treaty.

On the contentious issue of benefits for EU migrant workers, Tusk says that EU treaties must be respected, but he suggests there is room for maneuver by saying that current rules on the free movement of people could be clarified.

The EUs executive Commission has drawn up a safeguard mechanism which could be used for Britain to respond to exceptional situations of inflow of workers from other EU countries.

The plan aims to balance the concerns of Britain about its membership terms and perceived loss of sovereignty to Brussels without requiring time-consuming changes to the EUs legal treaties.

Cameron wants to hold a referendum by the end of next year on whether Britain should leave the EU, with this June already shaping up as a possible time for the vote.

Experts from EU nations are due to meet Friday for a first joint discussion of the proposals, hoping to pave the way for an agreement at the summit. AP
The New Macau Association (ANM) President Scott Chiang refused to comment on whether he thinks Au Kam San should step down from his post as a lawmaker, following his resignation from the pan-democratic organization.

On the sidelines of an ANM press conference calling for greater publicity and public scrutiny of the extradition treaty in progress, Chiang did not clarify whether he would advocate Aus resignation as a lawmaker, which would subsequently trigger a by-election.

I dont have an opinion on that, answered Chiang, before adding, I see no law regulating that [Au should step down].

According to the law, there is no requirement for the former ANM founder to resign from his post now that he has disassociated himself from the organization. However, it could be seen as inappropriate for the lawmaker to remain in his post following a divergence of views between Au and the association he founded and under whose banner he was elected.

According to the law, a by-

election is to be called within 180 days of a member of the elected legislative resigning, unless the current term of office of the AL expires before then. Au has not made any indication that he will resign, and according to some sources, he has said that he wouldnt.

One reason that the pan-democrats, like ANM, may be reluctant to push for Aus resignation is that a by-election is unlikely to go in their favor. The conservatives are considered to have more mobilization power in the event of a sudden by-election.

Due to the proportional, list-based voting system, the party with the most number of votes would win the vacant seat. If a by-election went the same way as the most recent AL elections in 2013, that party would be Chan Men Kams United Citizens Association of Macau (ACUM), which netted 18.02 percent of the vote. ACUM is in the pan-establishment bloc that opposes the pro-democrats.

I called him, Chiang explained, after the news of Aus departure was broken to him, to enquire if [the resignation] was genuine and if there was a way to work around it. Obviously I failed in that.

The reason behind Aus sudden departure remains unclear, with varying accounts being speculated across the media and among the public. Some are alleging that Au claimed that ANM adopted an arbitrary method for accepting or declining new membership applications, as a means of stifling potential challengers within the association.

After being questioned over the membership application system, Chiang refused to disclose the actual procedure for determining whether a member will or will not be permitted to join. He said that he prefers not to comment on individual cases.

More are accepted than rejected, he cryptically answered. Chiang also addressed allegations that the association did not permit dissenting voices, saying that he could only speak for the brief period of his tenure as president, but that he intends to investigate the matter further.

He also expressed that it was not a good time to start speculating over who might replace Au on the ANM list for the next election. Chiang wants to put the whole issue behind him, stressing that both sides think of it as water under the bridge. However, this does not explain Aus decision to halt financial contributions to the association from his lawmaker salary.

The president added, we acknowledge what Au has done for the association and for Macau in the past. Staff reporter

Jason Chao demands full disclosure of extradition treaty

Jason Chao has said that the inclusion of an exception clause in the proposed extradition treaty is very dangerous and will potentially allow the abuse of power by MSAR and mainland government officials.

The New Macau Association (ANM) member said that the group was alerted to an exception clause in the proposed extradition treaty that allowed the extradition of non-mainland citizens from Macau for acts committed on the mainland, involving the military or endangering interests of national defense, ignoring the requirement of double-criminality.

Double-criminality refers to the agreement on extradition that is widely accepted worldwide, when in order to proceed with extradition, a suspect or fugitive must have committed a crime in both of the countries or states in question.

ANM is concerned that, because mainland officials frequently justify arrests of individuals as endangering security interests, the exception clause is open to abuse.

This also applies to the recent arrests of human rights lawyers in China due to allegations of inciting subversion of state power. Using this justification to arrest individuals has become routine practice, Jason Chao explained.

He calls for the immediate and full disclosure of the complete text of the extradition treaty and the exact nature of the consensus reached with Hong Kong and mainland China.
The policy for handling applications by Portuguese citizens for residency in Macau has not changed, according to assurances given by the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, to the Consul General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong, Vitor Sereno.

During the meeting held this week, the secretary stated that Portuguese citizens in general have made a range of positive contributions to the development of Macau over the years, a government statement indicated.

Wong said figures for the past 12 years showed that only 114 applications by Portuguese citizens for residency in Macau, or 5.6 percent, were rejected out of a total of 2,039. Last year, four applications were not accepted, from the 131 applications received. Since 2003 only one unsuccessful applicant has filed an appeal against the authorities decision, Wong stated.

It was also said that the average processing time for each new application was about 76 days. The average time for processing each application for renewal of residency was approximately 25 days.

During the meeting, issues relating to the criteria of how the authorities judge an application were also discussed. These included the applicants linkages to the region; family ties and employment in professions that are in line with Macaus development and the applicants capacity to support him/herself with an adequate livelihood.

The meeting between the diplomat and Wong Sio Chak follows accusations made by the Council of the Portuguese Communities, which is officiated by lawmaker Pereira Coutinho.

The council has accused the immigration department of taking too long to process local ID requests and of being excessively bureaucratic. In a letter sent to Vitor Sereno, the advisory body claimed that some requests for documents violate privacy laws. [Authorities] have been requesting bank statements in order to verify banking movements and [have been] requiring salaries greater than MOP25,000, a value that we consider extremely high, the letter reads. The number of Portuguese citizens applying for non-resident worker status has also been increasing.
International inspection teams in Vietnam have been sent into the countryside to monitor the truce agreed last Saturday in Paris.

The International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) was created at the Paris Peace Accords 

signed by the US, the Vietcong, North Vietnam and South Vietnam  on 27 January and includes delegates from Hungary, Poland, Canada and Indonesia.

But the warring parties have been unable to agree the details of the settlement and fighting has continued in spite of the ceasefire.

About 3,500 communists have been killed by South Vietnamese troops, who claim they have suffered similar numbers of casualties over the past week.

The ICCS announced yesterday it was not going to wait for the reconciliation meeting between the Vietcong and South Vietnamese in Paris tomorrow.

Seven teams of observers are on their way to establish regional headquarters in the provincial capitals of Quang Nam, Thua Thien, Pleiku, Pham Thiet, Bien Hoa, My Tho and Can Tho.

They had already set up a skeleton presence in three of the areas after the Joint Military Commission met to produce guidelines for the ICCS on 2 February.

The Military Commission  comprising Vietcong, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the US  is responsible for the security and transport arrangements of the ICCS.

A spokesman for the ICCS said they will be settling into their areas until the Military Commission has laid down the infrastructure for them to move to the fronts and supervise the ceasefire.

Senior figures from the Military Commission met in Saigon on 29 January to decide how demarcation lines should be drawn between the South Vietnamese and communist Vietcong armies in South Vietnam.

Under the terms of the peace agreement the ICCS is to establish regional and sub-regional administrations, with headquarters in 26 towns and 12 observation teams based in the demilitarised zone below the Seventeenth Parallel.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Fighting continued in four main areas in spite of ICCS activities.

On the northern Quang Tri front there was a heavy artillery battle as both sides tried to prevent any further ground advances.

In Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces there were a series of clashes over the North-South highway in a mainly communist-controlled area.

North and south of Pleiku, in the Central Highlands, the South Vietnamese also fought to keep the roads free.

In the Northern Delta and north of Saigon the battles were over the control of hamlets.

But the fighting became less intensive and moves towards peace continued.

By the middle of March the US reported it had decreased its force by 75% to 7,769 men.

The Vietnam War finally ended with the fall of Saigon in April 1975 and the reunification of the country under communist rule.
Ted Cruz, a fiery, conservative Texas senator loathed by his own partys leaders, swept to victory in Iowas Republican caucuses, overcoming billionaire Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Among Democrats, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rode a wave of voter enthusiasm to a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton, long considered her partys front-runner.

Cruzs victory in yesterdays caucuses was a harsh blow to Trump, the supremely confident real estate mogul who has roiled the Republican field for months with controversial statements about women and minorities.

The victory in the first Republican nominating contest ensures that Cruz will be a force in the presidential race for weeks to come  if not longer. The first-term Texas senator now heads to next weeks New Hampshire primary as an undisputed favorite of the furthest right voters, a position of strength for drawing in evangelical voters and others who prioritize an abrupt break with President Barack Obamas policies. Cruzs victory was a testament to the massive get-out-the-vote operation that he built up in Iowa.

Perhaps most importantly, Cruzs win denied Trump a huge opportunity to gain momentum heading into New Hampshire. Trump parlayed his fame as a real estate mogul and reality television star into large rallies, extensive media coverage and national poll numbers that before yesterday had established him as the Republican front-runner.

Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment, Cruz told supporters.

Trump came in second, only slightly ahead of Rubio, who achieved a credible showing by nearly besting Trump. Rubios stronger-than-expected finish could help cement his status as the favorite of mainstream Republican voters who worry that Cruz and Trump are too caustic to win the November general election.

The Iowa caucuses kicked off voting in the 2016 presidential race, a tumultuous contest with unexpected candidates challenging both the Republican and Democratic establishments.

Candidates faced an electorate deeply frustrated with Washington. While the economy has improved under Obama, the recovery has eluded many Americans. New terror threats at home and abroad have increased national security concerns.

In the Democratic race, nearly complete tabulations showed Clinton and Sanders in a virtual tie.

Democratic caucus-goers were choosing between Clintons pledge to use her wealth of experience in government to bring about steady progress on Democratic ideals and Sanders call for radical change in a system rigged against ordinary Americans. Young voters overwhelmingly backed Sanders.

Clinton, the former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady, entered the Democratic race as the heavily favored front-runner. She was hoping to banish the possibility of dual losses in Iowa and in New Hampshire, the nations first primary, where she trails Sanders, who is from the neighboring state of Vermont. Two straight defeats could set off alarms within the party and throw into question her ability to defeat the Republican nominee.

For Clintons supporters, the tight race with Sanders was sure to bring back painful memories of her loss to Obama in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Clinton appeared before supporters to declare she was breathing a big sigh of relief. But she stopped short of claiming victory and declared herself ready to press forward in a real contest of ideas.

Sanders had hoped to replicate Obamas pathway to the presidency by using a victory in Iowa to catapult his passion and ideals of democratic socialism deep into the primaries.

It is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics, said Sanders, who declared the Democratic contest in Iowa a virtual tie.

With the race too close to call, Sanders aides said they had been told by the Iowa Democratic Party that it did not have results from several precincts and had asked the campaigns to help get the missing information. The party said it was awaiting results from a small number of outstanding precincts and had reached out to the campaigns for help contacting the chairs from those sites.

Despite Sanders strong showing, he still faces an uphill battle against Clinton, who has deep ties throughout the partys establishment and a strong following among a more diverse electorate that plays a larger role in primary contests in February and March.

Iowa has long led off the state-by-state contests to choose delegates for the parties national conventions. Historically, a victory has hardly assured the nomination, but a win there, or even an unexpectedly strong showing, can give a candidate momentum and media attention, while a poor showing can end a candidacy.

Trump sounded humble in defeat, saying he was honored by the support of Iowans. And he vowed to keep up his fight for the Republican nomination.

We will go on to easily beat Hillary or Bernie or whoever the hell they throw up, Trump told cheering supporters.

Rubio cast his stronger-than-expected finish as a victory.

We have taken the first step, but an important step, to winning the nomination, the Florida senator said at a campaign rally in Des Moines.

Some of the establishment Republican candidates have been focusing more on New Hampshire than Iowa, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov Chris Christie.

The caucuses marked the end of at least two candidates White House hopes. Former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley ended his longshot bid for the Democratic nomination and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race.

The states 30 Republican delegates to the national convention are awarded proportionally based on the vote, with at least eight delegates going to Cruz, seven to Trump and six to Rubio. Even without a declared winner, The Associated Press awarded all but one of the 44 Democratic convention delegates. Clinton led Sanders 22 to 21, with the remaining delegate to be awarded to the statewide winner. AP
TWIN FALLS  Police are investigating the death of a 38-year-old Twin Falls man killed Tuesday in downtown.

Police responding to a noise disturbance just before 1 a.m. found Joseph Lee Mohlman injured inside the home at 351 Seventh Ave. N. Despite life-saving efforts by police and paramedics, Mohlman died.

Police are conducting a death investigation, including the possibility it was a homicide, city spokesman Joshua Palmer said. Police are working closely with the Twin Falls County Prosecutors Office to determine what happened and if charges will be filed.

Its being investigated as someone else killed someone, and were trying to find out what happened, Prosecutor Grant Loebs said Tuesday morning.

Loebs said Mohlman did not die from natural causes and that early indications are its not a self-inflicted wound.

I dont know for sure how it happened, Loebs said. I dont believe theres a danger to members of the general public.

Nobody has been arrested in connection to Mohlmans death, Loebs said Tuesday night.

If I knew something happened there and it was a chargeable offense, wed charge them, Loebs said. Were waiting for the investigation to run its course. Well follow the investigation where it leads.

An autopsy was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Boise.

Online court records showed a criminal record for Mohlman in Twin Falls dating back to 2011. He was most recently arrested Dec. 13 on a misdemeanor count of possession of burglary tools.

Mohlman failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in that case Jan. 26, and a judge issued a bench warrant for him Tuesday.

But by then, Mohlman was already dead.

His body was wheeled out of the house and put in the back of a coroners van at 9:11 a.m., about 10 minutes after police left the house carrying bags of evidence.

After police left, a note could be seen taped to the door of the home. It read: If we dont answer Let us sleep If emergency dial 9-1-1. It was unclear who left the note, how long it had been there or for whom it was meant.

Carolyn Debbie Olsen owns the home, according to information provided by the Twin Falls County Treasurers Office.

Olsen, 51, has been in Twin Falls County Jail since Jan. 14, according to jail records. She was sentenced to three-years of probation in December 2014 after pleading guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance.

Olsen was arrested Jan. 14 on a suspected probation violation and charged with an additional felony count of possession of a controlled substance. Shes being held in lieu of $75,000 bond for the probation violation, court records said.

Loebs said he didnt know the connection between Mohlman and Olsen.

Three neighbors who spoke to the Times-News said Olsen moved into the house about a year ago. The neighbors said a woman and a man also moved in before Christmas. Three vehicles were in the driveway Tuesday, including a black Honda Civic that belongs to Olsen, a red Dodge Neon and a green Ford Expedition.

About 5 p.m. police received a report of two people with a hammer breaking into the house where Mohlman died earlier in the day.

Officers who responded called the county jail and confirmed Olsen gave those people permission to go into the house to retrieve a dog.

After police left, a husband and wife authorized by Olsen to enter the home could be seen trying to make entrance through two side windows. They later came out the front door.

When asked about people being allowed in the house where Mohlman died, Loebs said if the police are OK with it, Im OK with it.

The police investigation is not complete, said Palmer, the city spokesman. But evidence collection at the house is complete.
BOISE  Medicaid expansion got its first-ever hearing in the Idaho Legislature Tuesday, but with another health plan from the governors office in the mix, the outcome is still up in the air.

Senate Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, started the meeting by saying he wanted it to be an information only hearing with no motions.

He said it would put the committee in an awkward position to vote on Medicaid expansion now, given that the governors Health and Welfares plan to extend primary-care coverage to the uninsured is also expected to come up soon.

Sen. Dan Schmidt, a Democrat from Moscow, introduced two Medicaid expansion bills. One is for full expansion for everyone making up to 138 percent of the poverty level.

The second is the Healthy Idaho plan Gov. C.L. Butch Otters Medicaid Redesign Workgroup recommended in 2014, which would expand Medicaid to everyone under the federal poverty line and cover people who make up to 138 percent of poverty on the state insurance exchange.

For the past several years, state Democratic lawmakers have been pushing Medicaid expansion but the Republican Legislature hasnt taken it up.

This year, Otter and the Department of Health and Welfare are proposing the Primary Care Access Program, or PCAP, as a way to extend some coverage to the uninsured. Heider said last week he would hold a Medicaid expansion hearing as a courtesy to Schmidt.

Hundreds of people filled the halls before the hearing, some wearing stickers saying 78,000 Cant Wait, in reference to the number of people estimated to fall in the Medicaid gap. Those are people who dont qualify for Medicaid but are too poor to qualify for subsidized health care on the exchange. The vast majority of spectators couldnt fit in the committee room, so most listened in two overflow rooms.

Mindy Hong, the director of the Pocatello Free Clinic, said 60 percent of the people her clinic treats fall into the gap.

The people that we see are usually sicker than your normal population, she said. Theyve gone for a long time without care.

But, the clinic cant care for people with more serious or specialized problems and sometimes has to turn them away.

Basically, were the last stop for a lot of people, Hong said. So if you cant get care from us, you dont get care.

Hong said she appreciates Otters attempts to take care of the gap population but doesnt think PCAP would help much.

Really, I dont see any difference between whats being done now and what the governor wants to do with PCAP, because those financial barriers are not addressed in his program, she said.

The committee heard about an hour of testimony, most from doctors who back Medicaid expansion and people who fall in the gap who told their stories. One was Chelle Gluch, a Nampa resident whose family is uninsured and whose husband and daughter both suffer from painful and mostly untreated stomach problems.

Gluch, a child care worker, said she and people like her keep Idaho running  store clerks, service industry workers  but have to choose between going to the doctor, paying their bills and filling their gas tank.

With Healthy Idaho, the working poor will finally have some control over their lives, she said.

Medicaid expansion supporters say it would save money by getting rid of state and county health care funds for the poor. The fiscal note attached to the Healthy Idaho bill says it would save $25.6 million for the state and counties.

The only person to testify against expansion was Fred Birnbaum, vice president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Birnbaum said it is unlikely the federal government would continue to cover 90 percent of the expansion cost forever, given the $18 trillion federal debt, and that accepting expansion would mean if the state tries to withdraw in the future, it could put all of Idahos Medicaid dollars at jeopardy.

I dont think we can assume that this is going to save the state money, he said.

What happens now?

Heider said after the hearing they would have to see what Otter and DHW want to do and what the budget committee says it can afford. Heider said lawmakers are citizens first, and also want to find the right solution.

We have empathy for the people just like you do, Heider said. Were one of you.

A DHW spokesman said last week he expected a PCAP bill to surface this week, but it hasnt as of Tuesday, and Heider said he hasnt heard when it will be introduced.
BURLEY  Ongoing foul odors emanating from Ida-Pro, a vegetable-dehydrating plant in southwest Burley, has prompted criminal charges against the company.

The city has fielded citizens complaints for years that bad smells from Idaho Dehydration and Processing LLC, also known as Idaho-Pro, in the citys industrial park, were creeping into nearby neighborhoods.

The company was charged Jan. 6, with two misdemeanor counts of failure to conform to permitted use requirements and two misdemeanor charges for non-permitted use.

The company has entered a not-guilty plea.

Company owner Jeremy Anderson and the companys attorney did not return calls from the Times-News on Tuesday.

A pretrial conference is set for Wednesday in Cassia County Fifth District Magistrate Court.

In the criminal complaint, City Administrator Mark Mitton said the city has received numerous complaints that were turned over to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The DEQ visited the plant several times and documented odors.

I have personally observed the odors, Mitton wrote.

A complaint filed by resident Ken Wilson on June 6 said he smelled a moldy, rotten, burnt potato odor.

On June 9, the DEQ conducted an odor investigation at the plant. The DEQ said it detected two odors that smelled sour, two that were weedy or grassy and two that smelled like decomposition.

The DEQ staff noted the odor intensity was a 5 on a scale of 0 to 6.

On July 27, David Robinson, operations manager at the plant, wrote the DEQ an email saying the company followed up on the complaint and found that water from product leaked through a retaining wall and onto the ground outside. Robinson said the puddles were cleaned up and soil deodorizer applied.

But Mitton said on Oct. 11, he personally smelled offensive odor from the plant and received other complaints.

The DEQ also received complaints that called the smell sour, burned or like rotten potato and vomit. One complaint said It is the worst smell the facility has ever emitted. Eyes are burning.

In 2013 Robert Kay, who lives in a neighborhood west of the plant, said the smells at the time were like burnt bone or really bad barbecue with chemicals attached.

At the time, former Mayor Terry Greenman said the city had been battling the stench from the company for more than a year.

Company officials told the city in 2013 that several remedies had been taken to eliminate the odors, including increasing its emissions stack and installing a misting system.
TWIN FALLS | A funeral and vigil have been scheduled to remember a 14-year-old Twin Falls High School student who died after a ski accident this weekend.

The memorial service for Taylor Biggs will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Twin Falls Reformed Church, followed by burial at the Twin Falls Cemetery.

Twin Falls Highs student council is organizing a vigil at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the school rock. And on Friday, the school is holding a dress-up day to honor Taylor.

My understanding is that Taylor liked superheroes and anime, Principal Dan Vogt said. Students will dress up and theyll take group pictures to send to Taylors family.

Counselors are still available at Twin Falls High to help students, Vogt said.

Students and teachers who were close to Taylor are having a hard time, he said. Teachers who had Taylor in class were definitely affected, but know they need to be here for our students, too.

An online donation page has been set up to help Taylors family pay for medical and funeral expenses. Nearly $4,000 had been donated, as of mid-day Wednesday.

Taylors aunt, Christie Biggs, set up the online donation page. It became apparent that there were very substantial medical bills, she said.

The family has health insurance, she said, but co-pays, two medical helicopter trips and some other expenses wont be covered.

Beyond medical and funeral expenses, the family also wants to create a memorial fund on Taylors behalf.

Taylor loved track and field, shotput and discus, Biggs said, so one option would be a memorial near the Twin Falls High field.

Taylor also enjoyed mountain biking, so a memorial at a bike path is another option, she said.

Biggs described Taylor as someone who had an amazing spirit. She also loved anime and was a talented artist.

She was just at the beginning of her womanhood, Biggs said, adding the family was proud of her accomplishments and shell be greatly missed. She was taken way too soon.

Taylor  a high school freshman  died Jan. 31 at St. Lukes hospital in Boise from injuries suffered in an accident during a weekend school ski club trip at Solider Mountain Ski Area in Fairfield.

On Saturday morning, Soldier Mountain reported she struck the side of the restroom building, and was unconscious and not breathing. Taylor was wearing a helmet.

About 15 students are signed up for Twin Falls Highs ski club, and 10 were on the trip Saturday.

Forest Service and local law enforcement are gathering information about the accident.

Officials at Solider Mountain didnt return a phone call Wednesday. But the ski area posted a statement Monday on its Facebook page.

Now that information has been released from her family, we would like to properly acknowledge the devastating loss of Taylor Biggs life, the post said. We can't ever know why she was taken from this world at such a young age and we can only hope she is in a better place now.

Soldier Mountain announced it will have limited hours Saturday, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. so staff can attend the funeral.
Its an election year in Idaho, so no one should be surprised that lawmakers in Boise have proposed sweeping cuts to the states income tax. What better way to look good for voters than to tell them youre the candidate cutting their taxes?

A bill brought by House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, a Republican from Star, would lower the top two individual income tax rates by one-tenth of a percentage, to 7.3 percent and 7 percent. And it would cut the corporate tax rate from 7.1 percent to 7 percent.

Desperate to lower tax rates to better compete with rates in neighboring states, Moyle says his bill will help Idaho businesses and send a message to taxpayers that their lawmakers care about them.

Everybody wins, right?

Not so fast.

An analysis by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy released last week shows most Idahoans wont see any significant tax relief under the bill. In fact, Idahos richest residents stand to gain the most.

Idahos top earners  the 1 percent of households that bring in more than $440,000 a year  would see an $815 annual tax cut.

The states middle-income households -- those that earn between $41,000 and $64,000  would see a tax cut of $35 a year.

The states lowest-earning households would see a measly $7 annual savings.

Plus the cut would mean the state would have at least $27.8 million and as much as $31 million in less revenue, depending on who you ask, when you factor in an expansion of the grocery tax credit that accompanies Moyles bill.

Thats a tough pill to swallow as lawmakers are struggling to find a funding source for a plan to expand insurance programs for 78,000 Idahoans who still lack coverage. Or fund a career ladder lawmakers promised teachers last year. Or boost education funding levels back to a respectable level. Or find additional revenue for aquifer recharge, as the governor has proposed.

Is saving $35 a year on your tax bill really worth jeopardizing any of these programs?

In the end, its a question only Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, can answer. As chairman of the Senate Tax Committee, he is the ultimate gatekeeper over tax legislation that must pass through his board before it can reach the Senate floor. Last session, he threatened to block any tax cuts unless lawmakers first adequately funded education, and hes hinting hell do the same this time around. Siddoway has said hed shelve Moyles bill until March, when the state has a better sense of its financial obligations.

Perhaps all will be hunky-dory by then and the state will be able to carry through with its gesture of goodwill for Idaho taxpayers.

Fine. But lets make sure all who vote for this bill understand what it truly is: an election-year offering designed to reward Idahos richest residents the most.
Site: zorpia From: jeeny Date: Dec 26, 2015

My Name is Jennah,

please contact me at jennahkareem1@hotmail.com













From: Jennah kareem <jennahkareem1@hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2015 17:43:42 +0000 Subject: I WILL LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU

My Lovely Friend,

Thank you for your email. And since we are now friends, you would like to know about me likewise myself knowing about you.

My name is Miss Jennah Yasin Kareem Kymany, from Southern Sudan, 5.8ft tall, fair in complexion, (never married before), 25 years of age and currently residing in Dakar Senegal as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country. As friends, we are in a position of knowing each other and sharing experiences.

I only need a true love friendship, and about my parents, My late father Engr. Yasin Kareem Kymany was former operational manager of petronas progress energy resources, a leading oil and gas company in Durfer before the rebels attacked our house one early morning, killed my mother and my father in cold blood war. I was the only one survived because i was living in school hostel when the incident took place. Honestly is very painful to tell this story, And after the massacre i managed to escaped to Senegal with the help of the United Nation Peace Keeping Force.

I sent you my friendship request to enable us know ourselves and if you can assure me that you can be trusted, i will like to know more about you, I attach my picture for you, although it was taken before my coming to Senegal for you to know who I am, while waiting for your positive reply. Thanks and do have a wonderful day.

Your new friend Jennah.

From: Jennah kareem <jennahkareem1@hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 30 Dec 2015 09:00:55 +0000 Subject: MORE ABOUT ME

Hello My dearest one,

I am very happy to read your mail once again, how are you over there? I am very happy to have you as friend. As i told you in my previous mail, before i contacted you i prayed, asking God for an honest person who will not cheat nor deceive me, so i saw your email profile, my spirit moved me to contact you, though i do not know you very well, but i am sure you must be a nice person. As i am writing to you now am crying, due to the level of suffering and pains that i am going through since i came here, and i have no knowledge of any of my relatives alive up till now.

This is why i contact you after going through your profile and desire to have you as a friend in other to build my life-time relationship with you in truth and honest to be a true friend, i have chosen you with all my heart and will like to tell you every thing about me but i will like you to keep it to your self, because i am afraid of losing my life or my inheritance. there is some amount of money my father deposited in a bank with my name as the next of kin, i contacted the bank few days ago telling them of my intention to transfer the money to my position, to help me come out of this situation i found my self, but the bank ask me to choose any person of my choice to help me transfer the money to his personal account because of my present status as a refugee which the bank said cannot permit me to transfer the money by my self, the bank said as long as i am a refugee according to the law of the united nation, that i can not transfer the money by my self, and these money is the only thing that can help me to come out of this refugee camp, because i did not come here with passport that can permit me to move around, i will give you the bank contact for you to contact the bank to know how they can transfer the fund to your account over there, i have documents covering the money in the bank.

The amount is $5,700,000.00 (Five million Seven hundred thousand dollars) i am willing to give you 20% percent of the total money for your assistant, as soon as the bank transfer the money to your account, then you will send some money to me here for me to process my passport and other traveling document to join you over there in your country immediately. Please help me, i am just going through pains in my heart because of my present condition here, and i want to go back to school to finish my education when i come over to your country, cause i stopped at my first year before the war. Again i do not work nor do anything for a living here, as a result of that eating is very difficult as we are given food once a day please help me, i promise that i will never let you down.

this is the Number to contact me on phone; +221774979250 it is controlled by the camp authority but the person in the office is a Reverend father, his name is Rev. George Mathew, feel free to call him any time you want to speak with me, tell him that you want to speak to (Jennah) he will invite me to his office to answer your call, i will give you my full Address here in Senegal, and will like you to give me your own details, such as, your address, Phone numbers, Occupation, and your country of origin, which will prove to me that you are someone to be trusted.

please if you will really like to help me to transfer this my inheritance in the bank to your personal account, reply me as soon as possible, so that i can give you the bank contact for you to contact them and transfer the money to your account as soon as possible, then i can join you over there in your country, these are my full Address,

Senegal Refugee/Orphanage Society? Kassamas, in N'dioum village, Dakar Senegal, Name- Jennah yasin kareem Kymany Southern Sudan section Refugee Camp Identity Card No; 112 Camp Address No 129 Almadi Ndiom Dakar Senegal. phone number is +221774979250

Remember, I am giving you all these information due to the trust and believe i deposed in you. please I will like you to call me any time you want,like I said i have a lot to tell you. Have a nice day and pray for me. I am waiting to hear from you soon.

Your friend, Jennah.

From: Jennah kareem <jennahkareem1@hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2015 16:37:39 +0000 Subject: HERE IS THE BANK CONTACT, COPY THE MAIL BELOW AND SEND TO THE BANK

Hello my Dear,

I thank you once again. I am so glad that finally i could get a nice and honest person just like you. I'm of great hope that with time my problems will be over. Actually why i needed your details is for us to know more about each other, just as i gave you my own address and location here in Senegal, i thought is wise to know yours.

I hope the bank will tell you what to do to get this money transferred on my behalf. Here is the contact of the bank in London, now copy the mail below and send to the bank, to know how they will transfer fund to your bank account in your country. I have already sent mail to the bank introducing you as my trustee/Partner designated to receive the money on my behalf,

Andy Bruce Banker at natwest bank Investment Banking Current natwest bank, head of origination and client coverage Kings Cross House London N1 9HL United Kingdom Email. (info.natwestbak@accountant.com) Tel/Fax No. +4470724038998

Sir, Andy Bruce, My name is ---------------------, i am a partner to (Jennah yasin kareem Kymany) that is currently in the refugee camp in Senegal because of tribal war going on in her own country, i want your bank to transfer the money deposited by Jennah's father in your bank, into my personal account, i want Jennah, to come out from the refugee camp, to join me in my own country to continue her education, please try to inform me the process of your bank transfer from one account to another.

Account Information Name of depositor: yasin kareem Kymany Name of the next Kin: Jennah yasin kareem Kymany Amount Deposited: U.S. $ 5,700,000.00 Sort code: NWB0945L03 Account Number: 0-6998812

From: info.natwestbak@accountant.com Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2016 09:13:51 +0100 Subject: Requirements of International Payments and Transfers from Natwest Bank UK.

Attention Sir:

OUR LEGAL REQUIREMENTS TO TRANSFER MONEY FROM A/C.NWB0945L03 0-6998812N VALUED US$5,7000,000.00 INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT IN YOUR FAVOR AS AN APPOINTED TRUSTEE CUM MANDATE BENEFICIARY.

We wish to inform you that we have received your nomination as an appointed trustee cum mandate beneficiary by your partner Miss Jennah Kareem Kymany, who is currently staying in a refugee camp in Senegal to receive the sum of US$5,700,000.00 (Five million Seven hundred united state dollars) on her behalf which was deposited with us by her late father in which he legally penciled down Miss Jennah, as the next of kin. And to legally give value in your favor as an appointed trustee cum mandate beneficiary by Miss Jennah, of the sum of US$5,7000,000.00, we would like you to provide and certify us with the following requirements which are also in conformity with the British laws on payment of moribund funds to a third party.

(1) Original Certificate of Death of (Engr. Yasin Kareem Kymanay) legally confirming his death.

(2) Provide to us the Deposit certificate of the fund in our bank

(3) Affidavit of oath

(4) Provide to us with power of attorney from Miss Jennah, to you Mr ,legally mandating you as trustee to receive the sum of US$5,700,000.00 plus its interest accrues. This document must be witness by the Chief Probate officer of the high court of justice also in Senegal where Miss Jennah, is residing.

And to fasten this arrangement,you are advice to contact Miss Jennah, to help you get a financial Attorney who will procure these documents for you, this is whereby you cannot fly down to Senegal. Therefore on receipt of the above legal documents, we shall then be empowered to give value to the sum of US$5,7000,000.00 plus its interest in your favor. And since we have opened your payment file and for security reasons, you are requested to procure these documents and make it available to us through your lawyer in Senegal.

As soon as you get the documents and send to us, this bank will transfer your money to any bank account you may nominate. Remember that you were mandated to get the documents and make same available to us to proceed with the final fund transmission process. While hoping you will comply as directed accordingly.

Your Sincerely. Mr. ANDY BRUCE Banker at Natwest Bank Investment Banking Current Natwest Bank, head of origination and client coverage P. O. Box 16 Wimbledon Hill Road London: SW197ZD Web Page: www.netnames.com info.natwestbak@accountant.com Phone: +448447749744

From: Jennah kareem <jennahkareem1@hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2016 18:40:28 +0000 Subject: MY DEAR CONTACT THE LAWYER FOR THE POWER OF ATTORNEY.

Hello my dearest one,

How are you once again? With hope your are fine over there. My darling, i really thank you so much for your love and caring towards me, may God bless and reward you for every move you are making to get me out of these horrible situation i found myself. i appreciate your kindness to me, you are always in my heart pending my arrival to meet you over there in your country. .Just as i told you in my previous mail, i have two of the documents here with me, i kept them save in my luggage, the bank said you are to contact a lawyer here in Senegal to prepare the power of attorney and affidavit of oath documents for us in your name and address. I thank God Reverend has finally given me one lawyer contact here in Senegal, His name is Barrister Tamba Benjamin.

He is one of the senior lawyer's here in Dakar Senegal. Please, try to contact him immediately through his email address. if the lawyer prepare the documents in your name and address as directed by the bank, i will send the original copies of the documents here with me to the lawyer to signed, the lawyer will then send all the documents to the Bank in London, as soon as he finish preparing it, but contact the lawyer first. Below is the contact address of the lawyer, please contact him today for the power of attorney documents.

Tamba Benjamin Abogado Principal, Benjamin Tamba Law Firm No: 35 Cheikh Anta Diop avenida Lamine Guye, Dakar-Senegal TEL: +221777159524 Dire Email: (Barr_tambabenjamin@legislator.com or Barr_tambabenjamin1@hotmail.com)

May God bless you, as you contact him immediately.

Your beloved friend, Jennah.

From: "Barrister tamba" <Barr_tambabenjamin@legislator.com> Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 09:31:13 +0100 Subject: EQUITY LIGHT CHAMBERS, THE SYMBOL OF JUSTICE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY.

BARR TAMBA BENJAMIN LAW CHAMBERS! EQUITY LIGHT CHAMBERS, THE SYMBOL OF JUSTICE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY. ACCREDITED MEMBER AFRICAN UNION ATTORNEYS. No: 35 avenue Cheikh Anta Diop Lamine Guye, Dakar-Senegal P. O. Box. 782418 Dakar Senegal , Tel : +221777159524 E- barr_tambabenjamin@legislator.com

ATTENTION: MR. .



Your Email is Acknowledged on the subject Matter. Kindly Find Below the Cost of the Letter Power of Attorney Certification and Payment Release Documents equivalent of $ 5.700,000.00 USD deposited by Engr. Yasin Kareem Kymany, which shall be obtained within 2 Working days Upon the Receipt of the Fees.

1. Letter of Affidavit Support Certification From Economics Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Regulatory and Financial Commission amounts: EURO 800.00 Eur.

2. A Letter Power of Attorney Issued In Favor Of Your Name From Supreme Court Where Miss Jennah Yasin Kareem Kymany Is Residing: EURO 670.00Eur.

3. Handling and Professional Charge: EURO 200.00Eur.

Total:......EURO 1,650.00Euro.

The Total Fees is One Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy Euro Only. You are Hereby Urgently Requested to send the Money EURO 1,670.00Eur. you can send the money through Money Gram or Western Union Money Transfers, Using my information stated below and make the sending to my noble Law firm forward the control number for receiving the money in this country:

Payment Agent Western Union Money Transfer / Money-Grams Transfer. Receiving Name Tamba Benjamin. Country Senegal total amount of EURO 1,650.00 Eur. Text Question OK Answer OK M T C N Number Pending

As soon as the information's and the money are made available i shall pay in the money while taking the issued payment receipts to the Concerned Ministries for the insurance and legalization in your Favor of the Inheritance claim enhancing documents while upon Insurance Submitting same to the Bank and enforcing that the Money Transfers is effected to your account without delay. Meanwhile, your national identity number is required to complete your data/information. Finally i want you to note that the documents are issued by the Government only upon the receipt of required fees which are duly receipted by the Inland Revenue Section upon which the receipt shall be forwarded to the concerned Ministries Prior Issuance's of the Legal documents. My priority is to render the best and efficient service to my client to see that he/she will get his satisfaction. Best Regards,

Yours legally in service, Barr. (Dr) Tamba Benjamin. (Esq). Telephone: +22177759524

From: "Barrister tamba" <Barr_tambabenjamin@legislator.com> Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 22:38:07 +0100 Subject: EQUITY LIGHT CHAMBERS, THE SYMBOL OF JUSTICE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY.

BARR TAMBA BENJAMIN LAW CHAMBERS! EQUITY LIGHT CHAMBERS, THE SYMBOL OF JUSTICE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY. ACCREDITED MEMBER AFRICAN UNION ATTORNEYS. No: 35 avenue Cheikh Anta Diop Lamine Guye, Dakar-Senegal P. O. Box. 782418 Dakar Senegal Tel : +221777159524 E- barr_tambabenjamin@legislator.com With Due Respect Mr. .

The following is My secretary name and details where the sum of EURO 1,670.00Eur will be transferred to through Bank Of Africa(BOA) Senegal.) Feed me back with the transfer information once you deposit the money in My secretary name (Miss. Diop Aminata ep Fall) and the total amount of money being deposited. See below the information for sending.

1) Account Name... DIOP AMINATA EP FALL 2) Account Number...02749090006. 3) Swift Code.......AFRISNDAXXX. 4) Bank Code........SN100. 5) Counter Code.....01004. 6) Iban..................SN08 SN10 0010 0400 2749 0900 0620. 7) Cle Rip/Key......20. 8) Bank Name...... Bank Of Africa(BOA) Senegal.

I look forward to your response as I'm keen to help you and your partner in securing the documents for your funds transfer from NatWest Bank of London to your nominated Bank account. Keep in touch.

Yours legally in service, Barr. (Dr) Tamba Benjamin. (Esq). Telephone: +22177759524



From: Jennah kareem <jennahkareem1@hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 5 Jun 2016 09:13:36 +0000 Subject: GOOD NEWS

How are you today?

Hope all is well with you and your family?, You may not understand why this mail came to you.But if you do not remember me, you might have receive an email from me in the past regarding a proposal which we never concluded when i needed help from you. I am using this opportunity to inform you that the Money deposited by my late father has been concluded with the assistance of another partner from London who financed the transaction to a logical conclusion.

Presently I'm in London living with my partner and prospective husband, meanwhile,i didn't forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me in transferring those Funds despite that it failed us some how. Now i will like you to contact the present Reverend Father, his name is Benedict John with this contact EMAIL Rev.benedictjohn1@hotmail.com

ask him to send you the total amount of $350,000 ( THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR .Bank Cheque which i kept for your compensation for all the past efforts and attempts to assist me in this matter. I appreciated your efforts at that time very much, so feel free to contact the Reverend Father and tell him to send you the Bank cheque.

Please do let me know immediately you receive it so that we can share the joy after all the sufferings at that time and celebrate together our success. in the moment,i am very busy here because of the investment projects which my partner and i, are having at hand and we are also asking arrangements for our wedding ceremony which will be coming up by next month .We shall also send you the invitation as soon as the wedding card is out.

Finally remember that I had forwarded instruction to the Reverend Father on your behalf to receive the cheque, so feel free to get in touch with Father Benedict, he will send the cheque to you without any delay.

with best regards, Jennah. If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
The blog is devoted to the multiple issues of the security culture.
Amman has warned that its policies towards Syrian refugees could change if the upcoming February 4 donor conference in London does not help it to overcome the challenges it is facing. Authorities claim to have spent around $6.6billion over the past five years and this years spending is expected to stand at $2.7billion.

King Abdullah who will be leading his countrys delegation stressed that Jordan is at a boiling point and sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst.

Adnan Mazarei, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia Department, stated that the international community should support Jordan because its economy is facing several challenges due to repeated cuts in natural gas supply from Egypt, regional conflicts and global economic weakness.

According to the UN, Jordan is hosting around 700,000 Syrian refugees, while the government claims they are around 1,4million as many refugees are unregistered.

Prime Minister Abdulah Nusr said they need international support to continue to fulfill their duties towards the refugees and Planning minister Imad al-Fakhoury told representative of donor countries that Jordan would be forced to take painful measures that will lead to a greater influx of refugees to Europe if Jordan is left on its own to deal with the consequences of the Syrian crisis. Jordan can no longer continue to provide aid to Syrian refugees, he said.

Jordan has been exercising an open border policy to the Syrian refugees but continuing this policy seems dependent on the outcome of the London donor conference.

Jordans debt stands at over 90% of its gross domestic product and its economic growth has been falling.
Israeli bulldozers arrived in the villages of Jinba and Halawa south of Hebron in the West Bank on Tuesday and razed down more than 20 buildings in the area they claim was designated as a military firing range in the 1970s.

The villagers argue that their villages date back to the 19th century and their ancestors had lived there as cave dwellers. Some of the houses that were destroyed were funded by the European Union or co-funded by Denmark and the UK as part of UN humanitarian programs.

The destruction was delayed by a long legal battle and an Israeli Defense ministry unit known as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stated that the measures were taken in accordance with the law adding that construction of illegal structures continued and the building owners showed no willingness to get the situation in order.

Human rights groups challenge Israels claim to the land arguing that it is illegal to establish a military zone in occupied Palestinian territories.

The demolition of other homes in ten more villages was delayed by a High Court injunction later Tuesday as it ordered the suspension of the exercise till February 9.

A spokesman of the EU said the organization expects its investments in support of the Palestinian people to be protected from damage and destruction.

Sarit Michaeli of BTselem, an Israeli NGO, said in these coldest months of the year, some 110 people, including 60 children were thrown out on the street, while Israeli media reported that children were seen digging in rubble for their toys after the destruction operation.

Sarit Michaeli said several villages represented by a number of different legal teams are concerned by the demolitions and an arbitration process between the residents of the region and Israeli authorities broke down recently which basically means we are back to square one as the tussling between the parties continue.
UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler said that the Libyan would-be government to be formed under the political agreement signed in Morocco must be based in Tripoli.

We must advance on the political process by installing a government in Tripoli, Kobler stated Monday after a meeting in Algiers with Algerian Minister in charge of Maghreb Affairs Abdelkader Messahel.

A unity government is expected to lead the country in another transitional process towards democratic elections and will have to focus on combatting the Islamic State that is slowly but firmly implanting itself in the country.

Tripoli is controlled by the militants of the General National Congress and most of its members are against the Libya Political Agreement raising concerns over how the unity government will be stationed there while it has no control over militant groups.

Kobler urged warring parties to cooperate and called for a speedy formation of a Libyan national army under the unity government but the fate of General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan army under the Tobruk-based government, continues to be a stumbling block between the two rival governments.

Since the uprising of 2011 and the death of Gadhafi, Libya has plunged in chaos.

The resulting political and military vacuum contributed to the emergence and the spread of the Islamic State group in the country. European countries are worried about the dangers the extremist group poses as it tries to have a stronghold 300kilometres away from the Italian border.

Libyas two rival parliaments are yet to fully back the unity government despite pressure from the UN, the EU and the US. Fighting on the ground has not halted.
Morocco, which has the world largest phosphates reserves, has opened new fertilizer plant dedicated to the African market, confirming the countrys commitment to the African continent.

The plant was inaugurated by King Mohammed VI, a fervent advocate for African causes. OCP state-owned company has injected $537 million in the plant in the Jorf Lasfar area, located on the Atlantic coast.

The plant includes units that can produce 1 million tons of fertilizer, 1.4 million tons of sulfuric acid and 450,000 tons of phosphoric acid annually.

Moroccan companies, including banks and insurers, have been investing aggressively in Sub-Saharan Africa. OCP has already signed agreements with African governments and firms.

The plant is part of OCPs strategy to increase fertilizer production to 12 million tons by 2017  up from 4.5 million tons in 2010  and become the worlds top producer.

The company is building three other units in the same hub with a capacity to produce 1 million tons of fertilizer each.

OCP has invested heavily to improve its infrastructure and boost its output. It aims to raise output to 47 million tons of crude phosphate rock in 2017, from around 34 million tons in 2013.

King Mohammed VI pays regular visits to several African countries and at each stop he usually launches joint development projects in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, vocational training, health, water, solar energy, electricity, energy, mining

The growing influence of the North African Kingdom in the continent has pushed the super-powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France.to support Moroccos endeavor in Africa, as the country turns into a regional key player in safeguarding world peace and security.

Banking on its proximity to Africans and better understanding of African culture, traditions and aspirations, Morocco has managed to build a win-win partnership, setting out an inspiring example of South-South cooperation.
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Pills. Credit: Public Domain

(Medical Xpress)Commensal microbiota, populations of bacteria that inhabit the tissues of larger organisms, often have complex relationships with their hosts. Researchers have been aware for some time that commensal microbiota play a role in antiviral immunity by producing immune inductive signals that trigger inflammasome responses, among other things.

However, the role of dysbiosis on antiviral immunity hasn't been studied. Dysbiosis describes the loss of bacterial diversity within a microbiome, and the direct role that commensal microbiota play in antiviral immunity suggests that such loss would facilitate viral infections. Recently, a collaborative of Korean and Japanese scientists conducted a study into the effects of antibiotic-induced dysbiosis on antiviral immunity, and have published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers investigated the mechanisms of commensal microbial immunity on the genital mucosa by treating mice with antibiotics for four weeks and then exposing them to HSV-2. A control group received placebo. They report that the antibiotics caused dysbiosis within the vaginal microbiota, and resulted in a dramatic increase in innate immune responsespecifically, they noted increases in an alarmin called IL-33, which blocked effector T cells from migrating into the vaginal tissues and secreting antiviral cytokines.

Antibiotic-treated mice succumbed to HSV-2 infection dramatically faster than control mice. They exhibited more severe pathology and all mice treated with antibiotics prior to viral exposure died within 11 days of infection. "Taking these data together, we find that depletion of commensal bacteria results in a severe defect in antiviral protection following mucosal HSV-2 infection," the researchers write.

By analyzing stool and vaginal washes from both groups of mice, they determined that antibiotic treatment induced an imbalance in the microbial composition of the vaginal mucosa. Further, they were able to determine that no single species of bacteria was responsible for the antiviral immunity effects of the commensal microbiome; rather, it was the imbalance of the microbiotic population that accounted for the effects.

Proteomic analysis revealed changes in the abundance of certain vaginal wash proteins; the researchers hypothesize that factors driven by inflammatory damage of epithelial cells during antibiotic treatment modulate local immunity. Further, an innate immune cytokine, IL-33, is a big contributor to the impairment of antiviral immunity to mucosal HSV-2 infection. They corroborated the role of IL-33 in a supporting experiment in which they injected mice with recombinant IL-33 for eight days before viral infection. These mice died much faster than control mice.

The authors write, "Our present study demonstrates that inhibitory signals induced by the depletion of commensal microbiota also affect antiviral immunity. Taken together, our findings provide a unique insight into the role of commensal bacteria in maintaining the integrity of surface barrier epithelial cells by preventing pathogenic bacteria colonization, thereby supporting a micro-environment conducive to antiviral defense."

They note that their results are clinically relevant, with implications regarding the use of oral antibiotics and increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections, as well as other infectious viruses.

Explore further Commensal bacteria regulate immune cells in lungs to produce proteins for host defense

More information: Dysbiosis-induced IL-33 contributes to impaired antiviral immunity in the genital mucosa, PNAS 2016 ; published ahead of print January 25, 2016, Dysbiosis-induced IL-33 contributes to impaired antiviral immunity in the genital mucosa,2016 ; published ahead of print January 25, 2016, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1518589113 Abstract

Commensal microbiota are well known to play an important role in antiviral immunity by providing immune inductive signals; however, the consequence of dysbiosis on antiviral immunity remains unclear. We demonstrate that dysbiosis caused by oral antibiotic treatment directly impairs antiviral immunity following viral infection of the vaginal mucosa. Antibiotic-treated mice succumbed to mucosal herpes simplex virus type 2 infection more rapidly than water-fed mice, and also showed delayed viral clearance at the site of infection. However, innate immune responses, including type I IFN and proinflammatory cytokine production at infection sites, as well as induction of virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses in draining lymph nodes, were not impaired in antibiotic-treated mice. By screening the factors controlling antiviral immunity, we found that IL-33, an alarmin released in response to tissue damage, was secreted from vaginal epithelium after the depletion of commensal microbiota. This cytokine suppresses local antiviral immunity by blocking the migration of effector T cells to the vaginal tissue, thereby inhibiting the production of IFN-, a critical cytokine for antiviral defense, at local infection sites. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms of homeostasis maintained by commensal bacteria, and reveal a deleterious consequence of dysbiosis in antiviral immune defense. Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

 2016 Medical Xpress
The prevalence of past-year generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) for adults aged 50 and older with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is much higher compared to older adults without COPD (5.8% vs 1.7%), according to a new study published by University of Toronto researchers.

In a paper published online this week in COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, investigators reported that individuals with COPD had over three times the odds of generalized anxiety disorder compared to those without. (COPD is an umbrella term for several chronic lung diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.) Sleep problems, chronic pain, and functional limitations, partially explained some of this excess risk for anxiety among those with COPD compared to those without. "Even after accounting for 18 possible risk factors for GAD, individuals with COPD still had 70% higher odds of GAD compared to those without COPD," said lead author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Institute for Life Course & Aging.

The study was based upon a representative sample of 11,163 Canadians aged 50 and over drawn from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey. More than 700 of these older adults reported that they had been diagnosed by a health professional with COPD. COPD is now the third leading cause of death in the US.

The study also investigated predictors of generalized anxiety disorders specifically among the older adults in the sample who had COPD. Key risk factors for GAD among those with COPD included lack of social support and exposure to parental domestic violence during the older adults' childhood. Older adults who do not have a confidant available for important decisions had more than seven times the odds of having anxiety in comparison to those with a confidant.

Co-author and doctoral student Ashley Lacombe-Duncan commented, "Our findings suggest that screening for anxiety may be particularly important for patients who lack a strong social network. Individuals with COPD may be prone to social isolation, particularly if they also experience functional limitations that impair mobility."

Older adults with COPD who were exposed in childhood to parental domestic violence on more than 10 occasions had five times the odds of generalized anxiety disorders in comparison to those with COPD who had not experienced this early adversity. Lacombe-Duncan notes that "the chronic chaotic and violent home environment may have predisposed individuals to anxiety. Further research is needed to understand the pathways through which witnessing chronic parental domestic violence during the respondent's childhood may increase the prevalence of anxiety disorders among older adults with COPD."

Dr. Fuller-Thomson adds that this study "highlights how healthcare providers can play a significant role in identifying and providing promising interventions to reduce anxiety for individuals with COPD, in particular by screening for and addressing pain and functional limitations and targeting those most at risk."

Explore further Palliative care lacking for chronic lung disease patients

More information: Esme Fuller-Thomson et al. Understanding the Association Between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Current Anxiety: A Population-Based Study, COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2016). Esme Fuller-Thomson et al. Understanding the Association Between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Current Anxiety: A Population-Based Study,(2016). DOI: 10.3109/15412555.2015.1132691
The system that awards national and academic honors to doctors is called into question by a senior doctor writing in The BMJ this week.

Consultant cardiologist, Peter Wilmshurst, tells the story of Anjan Kumar Banerjee, a surgeon who spent the years 2002 to 2008 erased from the medical register for serious professional misconduct related to research fraud, financial misconduct, and substandard care.

Yet in 2014 he was awarded an MBE "for services to patient safety."

The MBE was forfeited two months later, but he remains a fellow of three medical colleges, explains Wilmshurst. The University of London has also ignored repeated requests to withdraw his Master of Surgery (MS) degree during the 15 years since it was confirmed to be based on fraudulent data.

"We need to get rid of the existing 'club culture' in British medicine and replace it with a culture that values integrity and transparency," he argues. And he warns that the inappropriate award of honours and medical qualifications to Banerjee "is not an isolated case."

British medicine has opaque procedures that can be manipulated to gain honours, advancement, and money (for example, clinical excellence awards), he writes. When errors occur, "the establishment would usually rather close ranks and silence whistleblowers than correct the error."

He says he is aware of other cases in which serious misconduct has been concealed and the culprits have received honours and awards, and calls for action to tackle a "systemic problem" in British medicine.

Peter Wilmshurst's story raises serious questions about the integrity of medical and scientific institutions, writes Richard Smith, in an accompanying editorial. Smith is former editor of The BMJ and now London-based Chair of the Board of Trustees for the international research institution icddr,b.

He argues that Britain has never taken the problem of scientific fraud seriously, and that "we have no way of knowing how many cases are successfully covered up."

"We need to move to a world where universities recognise the rightness of investigating allegations of misconduct and commit to punishing those found guilty and to publishing the results of their investigations, correcting the research record, and retracting fraudulent research," he writes.

And he says it's "shameful that the colleges do not retract Banerjee's fellowships, and their failure to do so raises questions about their competence and integrity."

"Something is rotten in the state of British medicine and has been for a long time. Statutory regulation is needed," he concludes.

More information: Poor governance in the award of honours and degrees in British medicine: an extreme example of a systemic problem, BMJ, www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.h6952 Poor governance in the award of honours and degrees in British medicine: an extreme example of a systemic problem, Editorial: Statutory regulation needed to expose and stop medical fraud, BMJ, www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.i293 Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Drinking more than two energy drinks per day is associated with adverse heart reactions, including palpitations, a raised heart rate and chest pain.

In a paper published in International Journal of Cardiology, researchers surveyed patients aged 13-40 attending a hospital emergency department in South Australia with heart palpitations, and found 70 per cent had previously consumed some sort of energy drink.

Co-author on the paper, the University of Adelaide's Dr Scott Willoughby, said the study found a direct link between energy drink consumption and hospital admissions for adverse heart reactions.

"Of the patients surveyed, 36 per cent had consumed at least one energy drink in the 24 hours prior to presenting at the hospital and 70 per cent had consumed some sort of energy drink in their lifetime," Dr Willoughby said.

"Eight of these patients had consumed a large quantity (more than five drinks), with one patient having consumed 12 energy drinks with alcohol.

"Those patients who were heavy consumers of energy drinks were found to have a significantly higher frequency of heart palpitations than those who consumed less than one per day.

"And, importantly, fast heartbeat, heart palpitations and chest pain was seen in energy drink consumers who were healthy and had no risk factors for heart disease."

The patients were surveyed at Lyell McEwin Hospital in South Australia in 2014 and 2015.

Dr Ian Musgrave, from the University of Adelaide's Discipline of Pharmacology, said there had been increasing concern that the consumption of energy drinks could lead to harm, particularly when mixed with alcohol.

"Energy drinks have become enormously popular in the past decade and half are consumed extensively by people who wish to reduce fatigue, increase wakefulness, and improve concentration and performance," Dr Musgrave said.

"Different brands of energy drinks contain different ingredients, but most of them combine high levels of caffeine with large quantities of sugar as well as vitamins and herbal extracts.

"Caffeine is one of the safest stimulants we know about but it looks like caffeinated drinks are more problematic for people with pre-disposed heart conditions than they are for normal people.

"People are unlikely to slam down seven espressos one after the other but people are more likely to  especially under the influence  misuse energy drinks in that way.

"One of the problems with alcohol is that not only does it reduce your ability to make sensible decisions about energy drinks, it actually slows the breakdown of caffeine in energy drinks and therefore is likely to increase the concentration to levels which may be dangerous.

Dr Musgrave said the study highlighted the need for education about the dangers of consuming above the recommended maximum quantities of energy drinks, which were generally two a day.

He said it also showed there could be a group of people that had some genetic pre-disposition to irregular heartbeat, which was not apparent until they had been stimulated with caffeine.

"Heart pulpatations are taken quite seriously because they can lead to arythmia and you can go into cardiac arrest," Dr Musgrave said.

"Anyone feeling unwell after consuming energy drinks should seek medical advice."

Explore further Concern grows over high-caffeine drinks availability

More information: Maureen Busuttil et al. A survey of energy drink consumption among young patients presenting to the emergency department with the symptom of palpitations, International Journal of Cardiology (2016). Journal information: International Journal of Cardiology Maureen Busuttil et al. A survey of energy drink consumption among young patients presenting to the emergency department with the symptom of palpitations,(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.11.118

Provided by The Lead South Australia
How has new legislation affected marijuana use in the United States? The best available data suggest that marijuana use is increasing in adults but not teens, with a decrease in marijuana-related arrests but an increase in treatment admissions, according to an update in the January/February Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

The review by Jane C. Maxwell, PhD, of The University of Texas at Austin and Bruce Mendelson, MPA, of the Denver Office of Drug Strategy gives insights into the initial impact of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in some states. "Data are needed to understand the relationship between the patterns and amounts of use in terms of consequences as well as data on the health conditions of those receiving medical marijuana and the impact of higher potency," the authors write.

Rising Rate of Marijuana Use, with Some Evidence of Harmful Effects

Maxwell and Mendelson provide an update on recent state laws regarding marijuana and analyze available data on how those laws are affecting rates of marijuana use, attitudes toward marijuana, and other key issues. A few states have legalized possession/use of small amounts of marijuana, while several others have "decriminalized" marijuana. Most states now permit some types of "medical marijuana" use.

Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggest that, over the past decade, marijuana use has increased significantly among adults aged 18 to 25 and those aged 26 years and older. These trends appear to have begun before 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana.

Meanwhile, marijuana use by youth aged 12 to 17 has not increased significantly. However, young people's perceptions of the risks of using marijuana have decreased, suggesting that they may be more likely to start using marijuana in the future.

Studies have consistently shown that the potency of marijuana is increasing. Data from California suggest that marijuana is more widely available, and that more drivers are testing positive for it.

Initial reports from Colorado and Washington State provide evidence on the effects of legalization. In Denver, marijuana-related hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and calls to poison control centers have all increased. At the same time, arrests for marijuana use/possession and admissions to substance use disorder treatment programs have decreased.

Data from the Seattle area also show reduced rates of treatment admissions and police involvement, along with an increased prevalence of frequent marijuana use.

The lack of data on the characteristics of the users of medical marijuana, their medical conditions, and use patterns, as well as adverse events they may suffer by using different variations of the drug is an important knowledge gap. Data are needed to understand the relationship between the patterns and amounts of use in terms of consequences, as well as on the health conditions of those receiving medical marijuana and the impact of higher potency.

The authors hope their review will provide a useful starting point for evaluating the impact of changes in marijuana legislation. They write, "As more states enact laws allowing the medicinal use of marijuana and relax penalties for the personal use of marijuana, attention should be paid to the experiences of the states to date and changes in their laws to handle unanticipated problems."

More information: Jane Carlisle Maxwell et al. What Do We Know Now About the Impact of the Laws Related to Marijuana?, Journal of Addiction Medicine (2016). Journal information: Journal of Addiction Medicine Jane Carlisle Maxwell et al. What Do We Know Now About the Impact of the Laws Related to Marijuana?,(2016). DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000188
Indonesia Wednesday officially confirmed a case of the Zika virus dating back to last year but said it was prepared to handle any outbreak of the disease which has sparked alarm in the Americas.

Government officials confirmed a single case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus had been detected in Jambi on Sumatra island. It was discovered by researchers studying specimens taken during a dengue fever outbreak between December 2014 and April 2015.

"We found an infected patient in Jambi. The presentation by the health minister showed that it is under control," senior minister Puan Maharani told reporters after a high-level meeting convened by President Joko Widodo to discuss the virus.

Zika has sparked widespread alarm in parts of the Americas. It is suspected of causing grave brain damage in newborns and has similar symptoms to dengue fever.

Health experts have warned Asia is particularly vulnerable to the virus, given that the Aedes aegypti mosquitowhich carries Zika, dengue fever and the chikungunya virusthrives in its congested cities.

Officials in Indonesia, a tropical country of 250 million where urban outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses are common, called for calm and vigilance.

"People must not panic and continue to keep their surroundings clean," said Maharani.

"The government is ready to anticipate this so it does not become an epidemic in Indonesia."

The Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute said Sunday a 27-year-old man living in Jambi had been infected by the virus despite never travelling overseas.

The case was detected by chance as researchers examined specimens from a dengue fever outbreak, and concluded that the Zika virus had likely been circulating in Indonesia "for a while".

The World Health Organization has warned that the virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas, with three million to four million cases expected this year.

Explore further Researchers say Zika case found in Indonesia

 2016 AFP
International audit firms help Georgia improve tax administration

World renowned professional firms providing audit, advisory and tax services are helping Georgias Ministry of Finance to improve the countrys tax administration.Representatives from KPMG, EY, Deloitte, PWC, BDO and Dechert met the first Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Tabuashvili and Deputy Minister Lasha Khutsishvili the day before yesterday.The sides discussed all the initiatives planned to be implemented in Georgias tax administration, including reforms related to income tax.The Georgian Government has started to make changes to the country's tax law in a bid to improve the investment climate, attract more investors and additional capital to the country.The tax law amendments will support trade process of the securities on international stock exchanges, said Georgias Ministry of Finance.Meanwhile, the Georgian Government has continued its efforts to liberalise the Tax Code and create better conditions for the business society.In particular, the Government planned to implement the Estonian model of income tax reform. Following the Estonian Taxation Model, except profit-sharing businesses all other businesses should be exempt from income tax.Recently. Georgias economic team has met with different professionals to receive their experience while working on the tax administration system in Georiga.
Turkey an important player in region  EU

Turkey is an important player in the region, claimed the head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini at a press conference in Ankara, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported Jan. 25.Mogherini said that relations between Turkey and the EU are continuing to develop.Ankara applied for the EU membership in 1987, and negotiations on Turkeys accession started in 2005.Since then, the parties have agreed on 14 out of 35 technical points that Ankara must fulfill to achieve the standards required for EU membership.In January 2015, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is no longer interested in EU membership.The same year, only 20 percent of the Turkish population wanted the country to join the EU compared to 75 percent, a figure reported in preceding years.At the moment, the EU and Turkey are negotiating on a common action plan, which envisages the EU's financial assistance in the amount of 3 billion euros, the intensification of negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU and the intensification of the visa abolition process for Turkish citizens.
Georgias first technology park offers a front office for innovators

By Messenger Staff

The Government says that very soon a front office will be offered for innovators at the recently-opened Georgias first Technology Park, aiming to allow the countrys young creative thinkers to utilise their entrepreneurial talents and innovative potential.Front office refers to the first place where guests/customers arrive and meet the staff.The decision came after the fourth meeting of Georgias Research and Innovation Council, initiated by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili several days ago at the Government of Georgia Administration building in Tbilisi.The PM tasked the Council to create an action plan over the Office and reveal it in a weeks time.The Council, together with the PM, also discussed a package of amendments supporting innovative projects and initiatives in Georgia.Reportedly, the amendments will make it possible to boost financial support for innovative businesses that will lead to the establishment of new, innovative enterprises, producing products for export and the creation of jobs.The Technology Park was opened on January 11 2016 in Okrokhana, in Tbilisis recreation area near Mtatsminda Park.The new complex will provide resources for start-up and small-sized companies that have not been accessible before. The Technology Park will play an important role in the creation of new companies, current business development, the commercialisation of innovations and the creation of high-paid jobs.The Technology Park will also give Georgia an opportunity to create local branches of international companies and attract foreign investments.It could be argued that such projects are of the utmost importance.There are many intelligent young people in Georgia who are dreaming about leaving the country in order to somehow implement their projects or ideas.If the country can give them the chance to foster their ideas in Georgia, such innovative young people space will no longer leave the homeland.However, most important is that such projects be brought to completion and be of long-term perspective, rather than be abandoned due to lack of foresight or planning.
Dublin to host interfaith forum marking world Harmony Week

By Staff Reporter

Since February 2011, World Interfaith Harmony Week has encouraged all UN member states to support the spread of harmony and goodwill in the worlds churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other places of worship, on a voluntary basis and according to their own religious traditions or convictions.

Irelands capital has marked the week via the efforts of the Dublin City Interfaith Forum (DCIF), through which various faith communities work together with the city on strategies to educate people about their practices, such as Faith in the City programme.

Such projects provide the DCIF an opportunity to pursue its continued efforts to enable people to learn more about cultures and traditions other than their own, in the belief that such knowledge and understanding will reduce ignorance, suspicion or fear of those who are different from themselves, says the forums executive officer Adrian Cristea.

This is a new and innovative way to communicate values that are important for improving the well-being of our citizens. In a changing world, it is more and more obvious that we have to educate ourselves and the younger generations to preserve knowledge and diversity.

This years World Interfaith Harmony Week kicks off on Monday 1 February with a Faith in the City session at the Indian Orthodox Church based in St George & St Thomas Church on Cathal Brugha Street from 6.30pm.

This is a great opportunity for local community, statutory and voluntary groups, schools, etc, to experience a place of worship first hand, and learn about its spiritual, cultural significance and meaning, says Cristea.

The week will also see a keynote conference and exhibition on Margaret E Nobles life and work in India.

Renowned poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore referred to Noble as the mother of India in recognition of her vital contributions to the national and educational life in the country.

This event will also highlight the Indian community in Ireland as a positive example of integration and outline diverse expressions of faith and culture in India.

Further details on these events and more can be found online at tinyurl.com/jglheak
Immigrant vote could prompt future policy change, event hears

By Meghan Nosal

A pro-immigrant group has proposed a manifesto aimed at engaging immigrants and minority groups ahead of the pending General Election.

That was the main message from a panel addressing participants at a recent seminar hosted by the New Communities Partnership (NCP), which invited Simon Woolley of Operation Black Vote UK as its keynote speaker.

In his speech, Woolley said its not about just asking for justice, but also politically empowering ethnic minorities. If candidates want minority votes, he said, then candidates must address the groups demands for social and racial justice.

We can make demands through the ballot box, he added. We must give them a reason to vote.

Woolley  whose organisation encourages political education, participation and representation as well as the promotion of equality and human rights in the UK  also said immigrant voters should be non-partisan and consider a political party that addresses health, education, and jobs.

Its about the issues and its about the policies, he said. All our skin-folk are not our kinfolk.

Whooley noted that electorates are voting for a place where they can be respected and cared about, and as such there needs to be a candidate that looks past the hijab and skin colour because we face racism for not being white.

Also speaking at the event was Anca Lupu, general manager of the NCP, and Luke Bukha Kasuwanga of the Anti-Racism Network, who said ethnic minority groups have to be visible and push people to register.

Part of the NCPs strategy includes voting for the right candidate that will work for the immigrant community. Just because I am part of the black community does not mean I will vote for you, said Kasuwanga.

Writer and activist Neltah Chadamoyo highlighted the potential gains of minority participation in the upcoming polls.

There are 300,000 nationalised immigrants in Ireland, she said. If 75 per cent of immigrants voted, major Government changes could be accomplished.

But Chadamoyo recognises that minorities voice at the polls is hampered by the fact that [many] are not citizens of Ireland.

We need to be more strategic and choose a support team and be unafraid to stand up and speak for our community, she added. We have the brains, we have the capacity, we are not afraid of hard work.

We are demanding this because we deserve it and we deserve to be treated like we are home, because we are not going.
@ByKristenMClark

The governor plays cornhole at the Florida Capitol, lawmakers huddle for initial budget talks and controversial gun bills get a floor vote in the House. Here's what we're watching today:

* Proposed plans for the 2016-17 budget will go before the House's and Senate's full appropriations committees. Both chambers have scheduled daylong meetings to debate and revise their respective proposals, which were released Friday. (House Appropriations, 8 a.m., 212 Knott Building. Senate Appropriations, 9 a.m. 412 Knott Buiding)

* Gov. Rick Scott is elevating his efforts to persuade the Legislature to support his call for a $1 billion tax cut and $250 million in business incentives. In a rare move, he's hosting a rally at the Florida Capitol, starting at 11 a.m. It will feature "leaders from around the state" and a specialty cornhole set branded with Scott's slogan of "1st For Jobs."

* The House Finance and Tax Committee, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, plans to formally unveil its "bipartisan" tax cut package -- and "much anticipated" hashtag -- during a press conference after the committee's meeting, set for 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

* More than 100 employees of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa plan to visit with House and Senate members to help draw support for a $3 billion gaming compact, which the Seminole tribe and the governor signed but which the Legislature is hesitant to back.

* The House convenes for session at 3. After heated debate yesterday evening, the chamber is expected to pass two controversial gun bills and consider a slew of other legislation on the table.

Photo credit: Gov. Rick Scott's office
via @learyreports

Six former Florida House speakers and the current one are featured in a New Hampshire newspaper ad urging voters to pick Jeb Bush over Marco Rubio, "a tremendous political talent" but "not the best choice to serve as Commander-in-Chief."

Bush's campaign placed the full-page ad in Wednesday's Union-Leader, the Manchester based newspaper with a conservative editorial page. It comes as Rubio has jumped into the spot light after Iowa and Bush has save his flagging campaign in New Hampshire.

"We like and admire Marco, but as individuals who have personally witnessed the leadership of both candidates, we are unequivocal in our belief that Governor Bush is the best choice to be our next president," it reads. "Jeb has been tested and is ready to lead our country in these challenging times."

The letter is signed by Allan Bense, Dean Cannon, Larry Cretul, Steve Crisafulli, Tom Feeney, John Thrasher and

.

--ALEX LEARY, Tampa Bay Times
As members of the Seminole Tribe arrive in Tallahassee today to continue to put pressure on lawmakers to approve the compact they've signed with the governor the posturing between the Legislature and the governor's office continues.

House Regulatory Affairs Committee Chairman Jose Felix Diaz told the Herald/Times that he is drafting three bill relating to gaming, including one that tracks the governor's proposed compact with the Seminole Tribe -- to be released no sooner than next week. One bill would establish the parameters of the compact, another would apply to other parimutuel facilities and the third would be a constitutional amendment.

Meanwhile, the Senate President Andy Gardiner said Wednesday that "the compact is just a heavy lift" but expects a bill to come up in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee next week.

"It's never the compact, it's everything else that potentially comes with it that makes it a little bit of a challenge,'' Gardiner, R-Orlando, said. "Keep in mind we don't even budget for the compact now and even if we passed it, it doesn't come into effect until next year and wouldn't even have an impact. We'll find out next week because I think it will be up in committee and I think that will be an indication if we can even get it done.

Senate Regulated Industries Committee Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, was more circumspect Tuesday when he told Florida Politics that the bill remains in limbo.

We may be hearing it next week, maybe the week after. We may not hear it at all,'' Bradley said.

Diaz said the elements of the House bill at this point include:

* removing the requirement that greyhound tracks race dogs, known as decoupling;

* some "modified decoupling of horses -- there will be some that continue to race;"

* additional slot machines licenses in Palm Beach and Miami but limited to 750 slot machines at each facility;

* no additional black jack games at the pari-mutuels;
The Florida House Finance & Tax Committee on Wednesday passed a package of tax cuts that's just short of $1 billion over two years. It's a lot less than Gov. Rick Scott wants from the Legislature and it leaves out the centerpiece of Scott's tax cut plan: the repeal of corporate income taxes on retailers and manufacturers.

As presented by the panel's chairman, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, the biggest piece of the tax-cut pie is a priority of Florida businesses: a reduction of the sales tax on commercial leases from 6 percent to 4 percent over two years with a net savings to businesses of $269.5 million. The permanent elimination of the sales tax on manufacturing equipment would save businesses another $73 million, a House analysis shows.

Noticeably absent from the House package is the first tax cut priority listed on Scott's website: the permanent elimination of the corporate income tax on manufacturing and retail businesses, which he estimated would save about $770 million a year.

Scott's goal of $1 billion in tax cuts has been long dead in the Senate. In the House, the tax cut package has several dozen provisions, including extending for one more year a sales tax exemption on college textbooks; a 10-day back-to-school sales tax holiday in August; a one-day sales tax holiday for computer purchases in April; and a permanent repeal of sales taxes on food and drinks sold by veterans' groups like the American Legion and VFW.

Gaetz said that when he found out that the state Department of Revenue was auditing vets' groups over their sales tax collections, "I couldn't believe it." Associated Industries of Florida, Anheuser Busch, the Florida Association of Realtors, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Retail Federation and the Manufacturers Association of Florida were among supporters of the package.

Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO testified in opposition to the bill and said union members oppose such a big tax cut package when Florida has so many unmet needs. He and another critic, lobbyist Karen Woodall, cited news accounts of repeated failures in state-run prisons and mental health institutions. A spokesman for the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association spoke in opposition to a provision that would expand the use of tourist bed taxes for police and paramedics.
@MichaelAuslen

The Florida House on Wednesday will vote on legislation to ban so-called sanctuary cities, in which local governments dont cooperate with federal orders to detain undocumented migrants.

The bill (HB 675) by Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, would fine local governments that dont repeal the policies. And it would allow the governor to remove officials from office if they are named in a successful wrongful death suit related to an undocumented immigrant.

As Metz has explained it, the bill targets a handful of counties  most notably Miami-Dade  which may not detain people who are or who they believe to be undocumented immigrants in some cases.

Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, said Miami-Dade County sometimes doesnt detain non-violent offenders because federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement often doesnt issue deportation orders. He tried to require the state to pay for any additional detainees, although lawmakers voted that down.

If its a low-level thing, Miami-Dade will in some cases not spend those tax dollars in the hope that ICE might come by, Rodriguez said.

But while Metz points to just a few counties or sheriffs departments with sanctuary policies, a study released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says at least 30 of Floridas 67 counties could be impacted, including the entire Tampa Bay and South Florida regions.

The chamber will vote Wednesday afternoon in its 3 p.m. session on the Metz proposal.

Other legislation targeting undocumented immigrants continues to move through the Florida House. On Tuesday, the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee approved a bill by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, that would include wages earned by undocumented immigrants in determining state welfare benefits for their family members.

And Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, is pushing legislation giving state criminal penalties to previously deported people who re-enter the state.

Similar proposals are not moving in the Senate.
@MrMikeVasquez

Daniella Levine Cava joined the Miami-Dade County Commission a year and a half ago  unseating an incumbent commissioner with promises to restore the publics trust and bring greater transparency to County Hall.

On Tuesday, Levine Cava found out just how hard it can be to put those promises into practice. At the final vote for Levine Cavas proposed new political action committee law, which would require greater disclosures from local elected officials, Miami-Dades newest commissioner had almost no support from her colleagues.

Levine Cavas proposal is relatively modest, and built to mirror existing regulations that apply to state politicians, who must file a disclosure for certain types of political action committees they are raising money for. If approved, Levine Cavas ordinance would apply to county and municipal elected posts in Miami-Dade.

But county commissioners expressed all sorts of fears, and delayed any action for now. Commissioner Barbara Jordan said not everyone whos asked to donate actually does so, and keeping track of it all isnt easy.

I may make a phone call, but there may not be a contribution, she said. Im so forgetful, I dont want to go to jail.
@NewsbySmiley

Former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has joined the law firm Shutts & Bowen as a partner, where he will specialize in land-use, lobbying and maritime law, the Daily Business Review reports.

Sarnoff spent nine years on the city commission before stepping down in November due to term limits. He represented most of Miami's waterfront neighborhoods, including Coconut Grove and downtown. His wife, Teresa Sarnoff, unsuccessfully campaigned to win his seat, which ultimately went to new District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell.

Ethics rules bar Sarnoff from immediately lobbying or working on city of Miami issues, but he's free to practice with other public agencies. The DBR reports that he was "recruited" by attorney Alex Tachmes, and plans to spend "much of his time" in the firm's Tallahassee office.

Sarnoff has been quiet since stepping down. He recently told the Miami Herald he was serving as general counsel for Cigarette Racing, out of Opa-locka. He also launched a consulting business, Sarnoff Solutions.
@ByKristenMClark

The son of former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Bobby Kennedy is backing U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, in Florida's contentious Democratic primary in the race to replace Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate next year.

The endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. marks one of the few but most high-profile names yet to pick Grayson over U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, who's drawn considerable support among the party establishment.

Grayson, in contrast, has earned most of his favor in progressive circles.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and progressive radio host, touted Grayson's strength in standing up against special interests, particularly on energy and environmental issues such as the Keystone XL pipeline.

He heralded Grayson as "the lone, true environmental defender in this Senate race."

Its a comfort to know Democrats like Alan Grayson still exist in Washington, Kennedy said in a statement provided by Grayson's campaign. Hes one of those who will not compromise in what they believe and fight for. We need Alan in the Senate.

Photo credit: AP
@ByKristenMClark

The chairman of the Florida Senate's education budget committee said Wednesday there's a very good reason the chamber didn't include funding toward continuing the new "Best & Brightest" teacher bonus program in its proposed budget for 2016-17: The program hasn't been vetted by the chamber yet.

A bill to continue the program, currently in its inaugural year, is moving slowly through the Senate, but it's far from guaranteed to pass.

"Its my sense we need to fully vet the policy; we didnt have a chance to do that last year," Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, told the chamber's Appropriations Committee.

The House debated the program last spring, and first-year funding of $44 million was ultimately added to the final state budget during the special session over the summer.

The controversial program offers bonuses to teachers who are rated highly effective and score in the top 20th percentile on their SAT or ACT exams when they took them in high school. First-year teachers are eligible simply based on their exam scores.

It is a priority item for the Florida House and the brainchild of House education budget chairman Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami. Legislation to renew it is ready for a full House vote.

Fresen describes it as both a recruitment and a retention tool, but critics say there's no evidence of a correlation between teachers' old high school test scores and student performance. The state's largest teachers' union also argues it discriminates against older teachers and those who are minorities.

Acknowledging the "confusion" and "frustration" teachers have expressed, Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, on Wednesday asked Gaetz for an update on the Senate's proposed funding for the program -- which was notably absent from its initial budget plan released last week.

"We can have full a debate on 'Best & Brightest' and any changes that might be necessary to the program, prior to making any kind of commitment on behalf of the Senate for funding," Gaetz said.

The House budget includes $45 million for the teacher bonuses, $1 million more than this year. Republican Gov. Rick Scott's budget plan recommended $39 million toward it.

Two bills could be vehicles for the "Best & Brightest" program in the Senate: a standalone bill by Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, or another by Gaetz, which deals with performance funding and is ready for consideration by the full Appropriations Committee, should the panel take it up.

Flores on Wednesday joined other Republican and Democratic senators who have previously expressed hesitation about the bonus program's eligibility requirements.

She questioned rewarding teachers based on the their own SAT scores, "something that's outdated, and seen as an input rather than an output, as it relates to student success." She said she would prefer to base bonuses on whether teachers have national board certifications -- which the Legislature used to do.

"I think that would be a better route for us to take," Flores said.

Gaetz said the Legislature stopped funding that program during the economic downturn several years ago, in part, as a cost-cutting measure because there was no evidence proving "a cause-and-effect relationship" between teachers' certifications and student performance -- a complaint of the "Best & Brightest" program today.
@ByKristenMClark

Florida's 160 lawmakers could inconspicuously pack heat in the state House and Senate chambers and legislative meetings, under a provision tacked on to a controversial open-carry handguns proposal that's expected to pass the Florida House on Wednesday.

The amendment by Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, was one of almost two dozen proposed changes that representatives vetted -- and a handful they approved -- during three hours of debate that stretched past 9 p.m. Tuesday over two high-profile gun bills.

The measures alter how 1.4 million people with concealed weapons permits in Florida can carry handguns.

The Republican-dominated House accepted Wood's idea by a 72-43 vote to allow lawmakers to carry concealed guns in legislative sessions and official meetings, but it's possible the change could prove fatal for the measure, which already faced a tough climb in the Senate.

Both the open-carry measure and another that would allow permit-holders to carry concealed on public university and college campuses are likely to pass the House. But across the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, said he won't hear the campus-carry proposal in his committee for the second year in a row, and he indicated last week he could change his mind and not hear the open-carry plan, either.

The two measures are endorsed by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups, but opponents cite numerous safety concerns.

Heading into Tuesday's House debate, more than 40 amendments were filed to the open-carry bill but almost half were later withdrawn; those were mostly rebuttals that bill sponsor and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, initially sought.

All but one of the others -- Wood's -- were filed by Democrats, as an attempt to chip away at the proposal and add exclusions to where concealed-carry permit-holders could openly carry. Each Democratic amendment failed by wide margins with almost entirely Republican support.
For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
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Mary Bailey: Bread so that this house may never know hunger. Salt so that life may always have flavor.

George Bailey: Wine that joy and prosperity may reign forever. Enter the Martini Castle.

One may recognize the above words from the classic 1946 James Stewart film. But instead of Bedford Falls, lets now jump forward 50 years in full color to a classic Main Street corner brick building in downtown Polson. Replace the Italian familys castle, for a different Italian familys cafe.

There you may be greeted by the comforting smells of fresh baked loaves of Pane Rustica, savory scones and even the Casellis themselves, Mary Frances and Gino, owners of Mrs. Wonderfuls Marmalade Cafe. Included in the cast of characters Diana, Mary Frances daughter, as well as the bread, the salt (and hopefully one day) the wine and here lies the heart of a modern day, small town feel-good classic story.

It all started with the bread. After seven busy summers of selling their signature Italian round loaves as well as their Mrs. Wonderfuls homemade seasoned salts at various farmers markets, a fitting space became available to expand their vision into a restaurant atmosphere. Doors first opened in July of 2014. They started with the basics. Delicious panini made with their rustic toast and organic local ingredients served with homemade sodas of various fruits of the Flathead. Just like the ample portions of each plate, the menu grew. One primary goal being to offer delicious homemade options made as much as possible with locally non-GMO ingredients. Rachel Murphy, baker, recounts how she and Mary Frances thoroughly tested numerous organic flours and were excited to find the best was milled from central Montana. Local farmers who offer produce and eggs often visit discussing what is new on the menu and how they can best plant, harvest and supply according to demand.

The cafe is now well into its second winter. Naturally Gino and Mary Frances are concerned about another quiet small town season like they experienced in the short days of last winter. But like many new businesses in Montana, word of mouth is the trusted method of getting more traffic through the doors, and the word is now out. The more it snows, the more cozy the tin roofed parlor room becomes with its vintage crackling Depot Stove. In the short dark mornings, locals on their way to work pop in for a warm swedish style cinnamon roll or fresh berry scones with sweet citrus glaze. Skiers on the way to Blacktail Mountain fuel up with sourdough biscuit breakfast sandwiches made with raw milk white cheddar melted over an organic farm egg and local ham or bacon. Guests enjoy breaking bread over a delicious French press pot of coffee or hot tea with local honey. Visitors continue to come in as a perfect stop on the corridor from Missoula up to Glacier or Whitefish. Many Bigfork and Lakeside folk make the gorgeous scenic lakeshore drive south for a nourishing meal or box of pastries to go.

Often eating at a neighboring table could be a farmer that harvested the organic strawberry on your plate and at the other could be a traveler from a distant country visiting a local relative. Friday Pasta and Pizza nights are highlighted with live music from local musicians. Paul Sebesta has played a romantic mix of old standards and classical on either his fiddle, viola or guitar the past months. When asked about his experience, Its all about the food he said. Then added, When I play and watch the people enjoy their dinners in such a warm setting, Im transported. I feel like Im in Paris. When I taste Mary Frances rolls (cinnamon) I always am back in my grandmothers kitchen.

From Paris to Polson, it certainly is a Wonderful life.

Mrs. Wonderfuls Marmalade Cafe is located at 235 Main St. on the corner of Fourth Avenue. Winter hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturday brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday night features pasta and pizza. Call (406) 319-2080 or follow them on Facebook for more information.
Although theyre spread by different mosquitoes, experience with West Nile virus is helping Rocky Mountain Laboratories researchers get a jump-start attacking the Zika virus suspected of causing tragic birth defects in South and Central America.

Were pulling together a contingent of Rocky Mountain Lab people to tackle all those elements of this new emerging threat, biochemist Sonja Best said Tuesday in Hamilton. The lab here has a long-standing interest and expertise in these flaviviruses, the group Zika belongs to.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern. That marks only the fourth time WHO has issued that level of warning, after outbreaks of influenza in 2009, and polio and Ebola in 2014.

Concern over Zika first showed up in Brazil last November, when health authorities there connected almost 400 cases of microcephaly in newborn children  a birth defect causing small heads and deformed brains  to Zika infections. That number has now increased to more than 4,000 microcephaly incidents in Brazil alone.

The disease is otherwise generally mild in the original patient. As a result, little research had been done on its pathology. RML got to work on Zika shortly after the Brazil outbreak was publicized in November.

It really wasnt until these microcephaly cases increased in such astounding numbers that there was real concern about infection, Best said. Also, we were surprised by how quickly it happened. This virus was unheard of in Brazil until 2014. Now youre looking at an estimated 1.5 million infections in a year and a half, just in Brazil.

Zika cases have also been reported in Mexico, Puerto Rico and some Caribbean islands, including Jamaica. It was originally identified in Uganda in 1947 and has also been reported in parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

***

The mosquito Aedes aegypti carries Zika virus. That bug is also infamous for being the vector for dengue fever and chikungunya  two extremely debilitating and sometimes fatal diseases which are showing up in new territories. In all three diseases, the virus appears capable of spreading from a human host to a mosquito, which can then infect a new human.

According to an Associated Press story, health officials in Texas on Tuesday reported the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin America  a person who was infected through sex.

Dallas County health officials said the unidentified person had not traveled but had sex with a person who had returned from Venezuela and fallen ill with Zika. There also was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Senegal and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

Zika typically incubates for about a week in a human patient, followed by about five days when the person is sick and infectious. During that time, pregnant women may face the risk of birth defects to their fetuses. However, the infection does not appear to have any latent or long-term symptoms.

West Nile virus is spread by a different species of mosquito. It also tends to have mild symptoms in humans, but can be deadly to horses and many species of birds. RML researchers have been probing its structure in several different ways. Best said the lab is using that background to expose Zikas characteristics.

The most urgent job is simply developing tools to detect and measure Zika virus infections. Because of its obscure past, little is known about what antibodies react to it, what its DNA profile looks like or what parts of the body it centers on.

A parallel effort aims at mimicking microcephaly transfer in mice, so scientists can understand how the virus and the birth defect are related. Its unknown if the virus causes the birth defect, or if it triggers some other process such as the bodys immune response to produce the result.

Meanwhile, RML researchers are also trying to determine whether recent advances in vaccines against West Nile and dengue viruses might also work on Zika. Best said she wants to understand how the virus turns off the immune response of its host so it can multiply. Unlocking that secret might expose the virus to a live-attenuated vaccine  a treatment where a mutated form of the virus can take away its disease-causing properties but still trigger an immune response. The technique produced a successful vaccine for yellow fever and is in testing as a defense against Ebola.

Best said she is also looking at what kind of defense the human body naturally puts up against Zika. That could lead to new ways of alerting the immune system to the threat of infection.

We are really starting at, not quite zero, but weve got to establish the basics for it, Best said of the Zika studies. With something like Ebola, we had decades of research and studies to fall back on. And we know a lot about flaviviruses, but not that much about Zika itself.
Prosecutors say an 18-year-old man who was arrested with a switchblade at Southgate Mall also was involved in a burglary at a Missoula campground in January.

Michael Joshua Neuwirth made his initial appearance in Missoula County Justice Court on Tuesday after being charged with accountability for burglary, a felony.

According to an affidavit, the alleged burglary took place Jan. 20 when a man reported that two males entered a camper he and his mother live in at the Missoula KOA and took a television, space heater and prescription pill bottles.

An employee at the KOA told a police officer she saw two men wearing hooded sweatshirts with bandannas over their faces walking through the campground with those items.

The man who reported the burglary gave officers the name of a man he believed was involved, according to the affidavit. When officers questioned that man, he allegedly admitted he, Neuwirth and three others drove to the campground and that Neuwirth and one of the men left the vehicle and later returned with the stolen items.

Sgt. Travis Welsh, public information officer for the Missoula Police Department, said Neuwirth was arrested Sunday afternoon after officers responded to a report of a man with a knife at Southgate Mall.

When Neuwirth was arrested, police found two knives in his possession, one of which was a switchblade, Welsh said. Neuwirth was charged with possession of a switchblade and disorderly conduct.

According to court records, Neuwirth pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges in Missoula Municipal Court on Monday. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, all suspended, and a $100 fine for the disorderly conduct charge, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a $250 fine for being in possession of the switchblade.

Neuwirth admitted his involvement in the alleged burglary during an interview with police, according to the affidavit. Neuwirth said he did not enter the camper, however, but stayed outside as a watchdog and helped the other man carry items to the car.

Neuwirth also said he was present during an alleged assault on the resident of the camper that happened earlier the same morning.

In court on Tuesday, Justice of the Peace Karen Orzech set Neuwirths bail at $5,000 for the felony accountability to burglary charge. Orzech said if he is released, he is not to possess weapons of any sort.
Mountain Water Co. President John Kappes figures the city of Missoula will pay at least $124 million for the water company when all the costs of condemnation are tallied  if the city does make the purchase.

The amount includes $5.4 million in legal fees for Mountain Water, and $1.9 million of the same for former owner The Carlyle Group, he said  money the city will pay even if it loses the eminent domain case.

Dale Bickell, chief administrative officer for the city of Missoula, disputed the figures presented by Mountain Water, and he said city officials remain confident in their ability to finance the system.

"I have no idea where Mr. Kappes got those numbers," Bickell said.

In June, the city of Missoula won the right to buy the utility in an eminent domain case in Missoula County District Court. Defendants appealed the verdict to the Montana Supreme Court, and the appeal is pending.

In November, a court proceeding set the value of the water system at $88.6 million, and the court is adjudicating other related costs in the meantime.

As Kappes sees it, the total bill for the city would include the cost of the system itself, in addition to the following:

$14 million in interest for roughly two years (10 percent per year since May 2014; Kappes said statute puts interest at 10 percent a year as of the date of filing). "That's going up $740,000 a month," Kappes said.

$6 million for infrastructure improvements.

$3 million for closing costs.

$5.1 million in legal fees for the city.

$5.4 million in legal fees for Mountain.

$1.9 million in legal fees for The Carlyle Group.

In general, Bickell said the items Kappes is counting are subject to pending motions that will be decided by the court, such as interest and legal fees. However, he believes the estimates of financing and closing costs are far off the mark.

"We're very comfortable financing a transaction at the purchase price established by the water commission, plus any costs the court deems reasonable," Bickell said.

The city disagrees the defendants will be entitled to the amounts claimed by Kappes, he said.

Bickell also said the city intends to stick with its preliminary capital improvement plan, and it can afford to pay for infrastructure improvements under current rates, pending more information. Once the city takes possession, he said, it will do a detailed engineering analysis and formalize a plan for upgrades.

"They're always subject to change as new information comes up," he said.

In the short term, he said, the city has the capacity to make many improvements. However, he said the decision to purchase the system is a long-term one.

"It's a 100-year decision," Bickell said. "Over the life of the system, the city is committed to making all of the improvements that bring this up to industry standards."

Kappes has a perspective on the life of the system, too. He estimates that counting principal and interest, $312 million will leave this community over 30 years and go to bondholders if the city follows through on a purchase.

"Roughly $10 million a year will leave the community to pay for the financing plan that the city is going to have being that it's 100 percent debt financing," Kappes said.

Recently, he said, the Missoula City Council Public Works Committee talked about its challenges paying for a couple of fire trucks at $500,000 apiece.

The city plans to pay for the water company using only income from ratepayers, or water customers, so the funding sources are different. Kappes, though, said if Mountain Water remains a private company, the city won't be on the hook for water infrastructure for years into the future.

"The community doesn't have any debt associated with the water infrastructure," Kappes said.
KALISPELL  Small dairy producers say the state may drive several of them out of business with current proposals to raise the price of some milk inspection assessments and expand it to non-producers to cover a projected budget deficit within the Department of Livestock.

Theyre making decisions that are going to sink some of us, Jared Tuck, president of Kalispell Kreamery, says of the Board of Livestock, which has proposed the rule changes.

Tuck said his business  which is unique in that its dairy farm, Hedstrom Dairy, is just a few feet from its processing plant  can survive the increases, but others wont be able to.

What they want to do to the dairy industry will tank the small guys, he said. Theyre catering to the large guys.

Heidi Arnold, who started Flathead Lake Cheese in Polson with her husband Joe four years ago, said one proposal would raise their fees from nothing  they dont produce milk, they just buy it  to $725 a month, or $8,700 a year.

If I had an extra $725 a month, Id have an employee, Arnold said. What I dont think theyre considering is if we go out of business because of this, that moneys not going to be there.

Dropped into the middle of the controversy is Mike Honeycutt, who began his new job as the executive officer of the Department of Livestock on Monday.

The big message that is important is that a final decision has not been made, Honeycutt said Tuesday. Were still trying to find the right solution, hopefully somewhere in between that allows us to meet our obligation to the public and doesnt create a new challenge for businesses.

We certainly have to respect, and be cognizant of, unintended impacts, whether on large or small producers. We dont want to be picking winners and losers.

The Montana Legislatures Economic Affairs Interim Committee ordered the Department of Livestock to delay adoption of any changes pending a Thursday hearing in Helena, where Department of Livestock officials and dairy producers are expected to testify.

***

Figures on the projected deficit in the costs associated with inspecting and testing dairy producers vary. Honeycutt said his department has come up with cost-saving measures that have reduced it from the original $147,000, but  just hours into his new job  he had not yet seen the latest number.

Tuck and Arnold agree that part of the problem is an antiquated fee schedule that the department is working under.

The way it stands, the state covers none of the funding, and its strictly supported by producers, Arnold said. That worked out fine when there were several hundred dairy producers in the state, but the big ones have been swallowing up the small ones for a long time.

Theres also a maximum monthly assessment. Tuck says that means that as smaller farms are merged into larger ones that are already paying the maximum assessment fee, the fees the smaller farms were paying are lost but fees for the larger farms never go up.

Tuck said one of the proposals hes seen would reduce the maximum fee from $1,050 a month to $925, while raising costs for the smaller producers and introducing significant fees to businesses such as Wilcoxsons Ice Cream and Flathead Lake Cheese.

Wilcoxsons has been making ice cream in Montana for 100 years, and never had to pay before, Tuck said, so with this, their fees would go from zero to $750 a month. Youve got people milking 100 goats who have never even reached the minimum; theyll go from zero to $250 a month. Those are significant increases.

There are 67 licensed dairies left in Montana. Gallatin County has the most, with 16. In west-central and northwest Montana, there are five in Ravalli County, four in Lake County and one in Flathead County. Arnold said there are only a handful more businesses like hers that purchase milk from those dairies to make their own products, and are also affected.

***

The Montana Milk Producers Association has written a letter to the Board of Livestock to express our strong disagreement with the proposed changes.

In it, Krista Lee Evans argues, on behalf of the association, that money appropriated by the Legislature to fund the human health portion of the diagnostic lab program should include money for testing milk.

Our big question is, who is benefiting? Tuck says. Theyre arguing its the creameries and dairies, and theyre providing services for quality control. But their role is purely in the realm of public health and safety. Ill tell you what, if Im paying for quality control, Im going to get what Im paying for.

Arnold says there is no way it should cost almost $9,000 a year for Flathead Lake Cheese to be inspected twice a year  the inspections last 60 to 90 minutes, she says  and submit 24 samples a year to the lab for testing.

The assessments are used to protect public health, Evans wrote, and the public should bear a majority if not all the cost. ... Requiring the dairy producers in Montana to pay substantially higher assessments without taking into account and/or applying the general fund appropriation toward its intended us is simply wrong.

Tuck also says the seven-member board, appointed by the governor, that oversees the Department of Livestock is supposed to have one representative of the dairy industry on it, but has been without one for approximately a year.

Whats really outrageous is the board thats raising these fees is not elected, Tuck said. Who gives this kind of authority to non-elected officials? Theres real farms on the other side of their numbers.

***

Honeycutt said the board is juggling two different scenarios: how to deal with the current projected shortfall, and how to deal with it in the future so that were not in the same position again.

We have to put some things out as potential solutions, he said, but were not at a point that were sold on any solution. This does hit us right where we live, and we have to be careful. We dont want to rush into a decision with unintended consequences.

Thursdays legislative hearing, Honeycutt said, will allow legislators to make sure were asking the right questions, and make sure weve thought through the impacts. Its a huge issue, and were feeling the weight of it.

Between the feedback weve been getting and the meeting, we hope to find ways forward. They may not be perfect for everyone, but hopefully they can avoid some of the consequences.

Down the road, he added, It would be nice to find a solution that helps the program get funded, and doesnt create barriers for businesses.

Arnold would like to see the Legislature get involved.

The Legislature needs to review how the department is run, and remove the antiquated parts, she said. Theres never going to be enough money the way its set up now.
The mountain pine beetles pinned inside Diana Six's lab in the Bioresearch Building on campus are little, the size of Tic Tacs.

The research the University of Montana professor of forest entomology and pathology is doing on the insects is big. In fact, the work coming out of the College of Forestry and Conservation has the potential to affect forests around the world.

Six, chair of the department of ecosystems and conservation sciences, fell in love with beetles and fungi as a child wandering the woods in the chaparral in Southern California. Her college education led her back to her first loves, and recently, her work has attracted national attention and taken a turn in her own mind.

In the West, the mountain pine beetle is a villain, destroying acres and acres of trees. The insects have moved all the way up to the Yukon and the Rockies of British Columbia, and they're making their way across the continent in a sweep that's devastating forests, Six said.

"It isn't until recently that I thought there would be anything good in this," Six said Tuesday at her lab on campus.

In the past couple of years, she developed a new hypothesis related to the effect the beetles are having on forests in the face of climate change. The tiny brown bugs she took a shine to as a child could hold a key that unlocks a genetic code that will help forest managers strengthen the next generation of trees.

"Maybe they're going to be the ones to help our forests adapt to the future," Six said.

***

Here's the hypothesis that Six and Clare Vergobbi, a junior in ecological restoration, are working under: Beetles can tell the difference between a strong tree and a stressed one, and they are removing trees that are less able to adapt to climate change.

"We think they're going after the ones that are not dealing with current conditions very well," Six said.

Six is working on lodgepole pine, and Vergobbi is working on whitebark pine. They've been taking tree cores and looking at their growth rates in different years under different conditions, such as weather and rainfall.

They're comparing cores from the dead trees the beetles have chosen against ones from survivors.

"You can find these big, beautiful healthy trees scattered here and there," Six said.

They're also extracting DNA from the pine needles and looking for genetic markers. If they can match the story the trees are telling them in its rings to its genetic markers, they can show people how to screen for markers as a way to easily and quickly identify survivors.

The work has the potential to change the way people manage forests.

Now, when beetles hit an area, people have a tendency to clear-cut for salvage, Six said. But downing every tree might be counterproductive if their hypothesis is correct.

"If this happens to be true, that's genetically devastating. You're removing the survivors, and then you're replacing them with trees that are probably genetically the wrong ones," she said.

In doing so, she said, people may be setting back the forest's own ability to adapt to climate change.

"Maybe the beetles, by going through and removing stressed trees, ones that are less adaptive, have left behind those few individuals that are well adapted," Six said.

***

On Tuesday in the lab, Vergobbi was doing DNA extraction from pine needles ground so fine they looked like pale green dust.

She became interested in the project after taking a class from Six because it speaks to her own goal to help transform restoration efforts in places she loves.

"I really like trees, and I really like subalpine ecosystems, which is where whitebark occurs," Vergobbi said.

She's spent a lot of time backpacking and hiking in whitebark habitat, and she'd like to figure out how to approach restoration from the genetic level and in doing so, streamline the process in general.

This year, she received a $1,000 research scholarship from the Davidson Honors College to work on the project, and she plans to reapply in the next school year.

"It's not a huge amount, but it's totally helpful, especially for this sort of stuff," Vergobbi said.

The research cost involves labor, travel and gas money, Six said. Now that she has collected preliminary data, Six plans to apply in April for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.

"That would allow us to do it on a much bigger scale, and faster," Six said.

***

In the meantime, her work is already on the map. Scientists in Africa have asked for her help with beetles killing the Euphorbia tree in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia  imagine a saguaro cactus on steroids, Six said.

"It's one of their iconic plants down there, and it's dropping dead," she said.

Last year, National Geographic published a story about the pine beetle epidemic that featured a trip with Six to the Big Hole Valley. Earlier this month, Yale Environment 360, a publication of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, did an interview with Six for a piece titled "How Science Can Help to Halt the Western Bark Beetle Plague."

Six said she doesn't know how she is landing on the national radar, but she believes research shouldn't just sit on a shelf, and she is making an effort to communicate the work she is doing to the public.

She's on Twitter as @DianaSix1, and she writes blogs and pieces for magazines. Scientists can work 70 hours a week, and many don't want to take the extra time to turn around and talk about their work, but Six said it's important.

"I'd like to see better communication of science to the public," she said.

If she and Vergobbi prove their hypothesis and develop a way to screen trees for survivors, she's hoping forest managers can quickly adopt the method.

"The threats to our forest are so severe right now that we can't wait for the usual 20-year lag for science to get incorporated into management," Six said.

Genetics allow forests and organisms to adapt, and she said now, time is of the essence.

"With climate change, we have to change our practices," Six said. "That's all there is to it. Genetics is going to be one of the biggest parts of that."
In December I attended the United Nations climate change talks in Paris (COP21) as a credentialed observer. I spent 10 days following the negotiations process of the Paris agreement, attending events on topics from clean energy, to agriculture, to carbon pricing. With over 2,000 events happening across the city over two weeks, I was overwhelmed by the dizzying array of perspectives and climate change solutions. I am sure Im not the only one  when it comes to climate change, its hard not to get overwhelmed. How can we translate such a massive global challenge into terms we understand? What does the Paris agreement really mean?

Media coverage of COP21 and the Paris agreement has been divided: Paris has been praised as an historic display of global unity signaling a new era, as well as criticized as woefully inadequate. In reality, I think both are true. We should be encouraged by the unprecedented cooperation of 196 countries on such an all-encompassing issue as climate change. But the Paris agreement is not enough. As things currently stand, the total impact of the national climate action commitments under the agreement will not keep global warming below recognized thresholds of catastrophic change.

This is worrying. Along with many of my peers, I believe climate change is the most urgent and difficult problem facing my generation. At Paris, climate change was not a political debate  it was simply an everyday reality. I heard people from around the world describe the devastating changes happening in their communities. Here in Montana, climate change has already begun to impact our landscape, our health and our livelihoods: warmer and shallower waters are affecting our fisheries and outdoor recreation; reduced snowpack and hotter, drier summers are intensifying wildfires and increasing accompanying smoke hazards; extended droughts are reducing agricultural yields. A recent study commissioned by the Montana Wildlife Federation estimates that Montana could lose 36,000 jobs by 2050 unless action is taken to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

At Paris, I saw clearly how climate change is a truly global challenge, uniting every person on this planet. I was also inspired by the innovative leadership of cities and states across the world that are proving its possible to create locally tailored climate solutions that benefit citizens while protecting the planet. These ambitious local efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are inspiring and important, but they still are not enough to avoid the increasingly catastrophic and irreversible damage that climate models predict. We urgently need to scale up.

A first step towards the deep nationwide emissions cuts that are needed is for Montana to come up with a strong plan under the federal Clean Power Plan, which targets power plant pollution. Gov. Steve Bullock recently announced the members of his Clean Power Plan Advisory Council, and 17 out of 27 of them have ties to the coal industry. Montanans must demand better. The public hearings which will be a part of the advisory councils work provide a forum for voicing our desires for a clean energy future.

We cannot expect meaningful change to come from a paradigm that is stuck in the past, hanging on to deadly and dying industries. Betting on coal and fossil fuels is betting on the wrong side of history. China has halted all new coal mine development and will be closing over 1,000 mines next year. Here at home, Arch Coal recently declared bankruptcy and there is a moratorium on coal leases on federal lands. The solar industry in the U.S. now employs more workers than coal, oil and gas; in 2015 the job growth rate in solar was 12 times faster than the rest of the economy. Montana has a lot to gain by embracing and accelerating the global shift away from fossil fuels, which is already underway.

The time is now to face the grave danger of climate change and choose a cleaner, healthier, more economically robust future for all Montanans; indeed, for all humanity.
I left Brazil seven months ago to study at the University of Montana in Missoula, and my experience so far has been much more positive than negative. I confess that when I received the news that I would come to Montana, I was apprehensive to go to the "end of world," but Missoula is the most beautiful and surprising end of the world that I could ever imagine!

Missoula is a small town and the people are extremely friendly, welcoming and helpful. The whole town is "pet friendly"; everyone respects animals and they are welcome almost everywhere (its a paradise for pet lovers like me). Most people have dogs who are part of the family and go everywhere with their owners. You dont see abandoned dogs roaming the streets and those who are sick go to the well-established shelter. Most of the animals are returned to their homes, and those who do not can receive great care, great affection and a second chance to find a family.

The city survived an environmental disaster due to mining, but they recovered the river and affected areas. Today every citizen grabs the opportunity to defend the city and its resources. The city has free public transport for the whole population and access to driving is affordable, unlike the ridiculous bureaucracy and absurd costs we have in Brazil. There are many cultural events for free too.

Ive made friends that are now my family in Missoula and we have a super adviser, Rita, at the university who helps us succeed personally and academically.

Compared to Brazil, the University of Montana has a high financial cost to the students, but the return on every dollar invested can be seen in classrooms, laboratories and libraries. The professors are concerned about the learning of each student. For example, I failed in one of my first exams here and the professor left a message on my exam that I should visit him to talk about it. I went to see him, we talked and he helped me set up a better study strategy and I managed to recover very well. Next semester I will do an independent study with a professor of mine. They welcomed my interest even though I do not have experience and have some difficulties in the area. At UM they do not want the best students doing research; they want to make the best researchers and professionals, regardless of the availability of scholarships.

UM takes many issues very seriously and the punishments for anyone who violates the laws in traffic or at university are severe. Raising awareness of sexual assault is a big deal. Educational opportunities exist throughout the semester and all students are required to learn how to proceed in such cases. All students must also go through an in-person and online preparatory course on the dangers of alcohol intoxication.

The quality of life of everyone is valued at UM and throughout the semester especially at the time of finalsde-stressing events are common. There are therapy dogs to play with students, there are massages, there are support groups to deal with anxiety, and there are free oils, teas with relaxing effects and anti-stress toys. The cost for access to health services is high, but very good. Professionals are attentive and competent. From employees to random people you talk to, everyone wishes each other good luck.

In my experience, Americans are criticized around the world in many aspects, but at least things really work here. My experience has also opened my eyes to the good things that Brazil has; access to health care and higher education for free, as well as experiences such as Science without Bordersa federal government program. Failures exist everywhere, but we cannot belittle the good things we have available and often take for granted.

The downside of living in Missoula is being away from family, friends and my four-legged puppies, but I believe this experience will bring many good things to share and to put into practice in ways that benefit the greatest number of people (and animals) possible in my community in Brazil.

Missoula, thank you for everything!
The reaction to "Free the Nipple" proves the authors point. One could just say, "I rest my case." But since thats probably too subtle, Ill go on.

I can only comment on the gist or glimpses of the article written for the Willard Wire, since Missoula County Public Schools officials have attempted to "recall" all copies, even having the janitor throw it away. So Ill proceed on the assumption that my thoughts are pertinent to article writer Chase Boehmlers intent.

When I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, I saw women breastfeeding their babies every day, everywhere. On the bus a baby started to cry, but not for long. It was breastfed immediately. Men, women and children paid no attention. It was a normal, unremarkable occurrence. In these warm climes it was not necessary for women to cover their chests until the missionaries and other Europeans came/invaded and told them it was lewd and immoral. My Kenyan woman friend said her grandmother did not have to cover her breasts. They were bare to feed the babies.

During cultural training we women Peace Corps volunteers were instructed (or were advised) to wear skirts or dresses. We were warned by our Kenyan trainers that if you wore pants, slacks or jeans, people would think you are a prostitute.

"Cultural differences." In Kenya the bottom half and the space between the legs must not be revealed. In Western, Northern culture, we reveal it in graphic detail every day in skin-tight pants, short shorts. This would have been shocking to Kenyans in the '90s.

Alternatively, in our culture the breasts, undeniably designed/evolved/adapted to feed the young in all mammals, have almost lost their basic natural function and are regarded primarily as sex objects of desire or shame.

Hum, which is healthier?

The uproar created by the article speaks for itself. I rest my case.

Barbara Ross,

Missoula
HELENA  Republicans Bob Lake of Hamilton and Roger Koopman of Bozeman are both running to keep their seats on the Montana Public Service Commission.

Lake filed Wednesday for District 4, while Koopman will Thursday for District 3.

Democrat Mark Sweeney of Philipsburg, who narrowly lost in the primary for the PSC seat in District 3 in 2012 when he lived in Anaconda, is also running in District 4. Tony O'Donnell, a Republican from Billings, is running for the District 2 seat.

Democrat Pat Noonan of Ramsay is also running for the District 3 seat. Noonan is serving his fourth, and last, term as a state representative. He is facing Caron Cooper of Livingston in the primary.

In a news release sent Wednesday, Lake said energy consumers will face much hardship in the near future if regulators dont provide strong leadership and resolve to protect low-cost, reliable energy services, and I promise the people of Montana that I will strive to do just that throughout a second term on the PSC.

Also in a news release, Koopman said he wants to continue fighting for affordable, reliable energy, and for regulatory decisions in the best interests of all Montanans.

In 2012, Lake defeated incumbent Democrat Gail Gutsche of Missoula and Koopman defeated incumbent Democrat John Vincent of Gallatin Gateway. Their victories created an all-Republican five-member commission for the first time in the PSC's nearly 40-year history.

In his release, Lake said it's been his goal to fight for long-term affordability and reliability of energy in Montana.

Its easy to criticize the actions of a regulatory body like the PSC when you havent been in the trenches, contemplating the decisions that the commission must make, he said. Striking the balance between low rates for consumers, and a just, reasonable return to the utility that allows it to keep the lights on is no easy task. It takes real persistence and experience to understand the complexities of every situation that the commission finds itself, and I am confident that my time on the PSC will serve Montana consumers better than the ideologically driven, pie-in-the-sky agenda put forth by others who currently seek this office.

Koopman said hes built a reputation for being a thorough, independent-minded commissioner who is tough but fair, and who often takes the lead on difficult issues.

Montana and the PSC are facing issues of epic proportion, and our degree of resolve in standing up for the states legitimate interests will determine our energy future. The EPAs so-called Clean Power Plan is an example of the kind of federal power grab that threatens our state, and too many of our state politicians seem ready to knuckle under. These regulations are highly discriminatory against Montana, and if enforced, will have a devastating impact on rate payers and the states economy. How the next Public Service Commission responds to this bureaucratic injustice will be a real test of our mettle. Im one commissioner who will not back down with so very much at stake, Koopman said.

Koopman said the most important mission of the PSC is to keep the lights on and keep the rates low.

Lake worked in the private sector for 38 years, including owning and operating Lakeland Feed & Supply in Hamilton, and also spent 10 years in the Montana Legislature. Koopman is the owner of Career Concepts employment services, a Bozeman-based job placement agency he founded in 1980. He has also spent two terms in the Montana House of Representatives, from 2005 to 2008.

District 4 includes Missoula, Granite, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Lincoln counties. District 3 encompasses 14 counties in southwest Montana, stretching from Butte and Dillon on the west to Columbus and Roundup on the east.
Love the article on Gaddaf

i

Samosa Iyoha



Hello from Johannesburg

I was amazed to find a website for Africans in Hungary .

Looks like you have quite a community there. Here in SA we have some three million Zimbabweans living in exile and not much sign of going home ... but in Hungary??? Hope to meet you on one of my trips to Europe; was in Steirmark Austria near the Hungarian border earlier this month. Every good wish for 2011. Geoff in Jo'burg



I'm impressed by

ANH

work but...



Interesting interview...



My comment to the interview with his excellency Mr. Adedotun Adenrele Adepoju CDA a.i--

B.Ayo Adams

click to read editor's mail

We must rise above tribalism & divide & rule of the colonialist who stole & looted our treasure & planted their puppets to lord it over us..they alone can decide on whosoever is performing & the one that is corrupt..but the most corrupt nations are the western countries that plunder the resources of other nations & make them poorer & aid the rulers to steal & keep such ill gotten wealth in their country..yemen,syria etc have killed more than gadhafi but its not A good investment for the west(this is laughable)because oil is not in these countries..when obasanjo annihilated the odi people in rivers state, they looked away because its in their favour & interest..one day!I think from what have been said, the Nigerian embassy here seem to be more concern about its nationals than we are for ourselves. Our complete disregard for the laws of Hungary isn't going to help Nigeria's image or going to promote what the Embassy is trying to showcase. So if the journalists could zoom-in more focus on Nigerians living, working and studying here in Hungary than scrutinizing the embassy and its every move, i think it would be of tremendous help to the embassy serving its nationals better and create more awareness about where we live . Taking the issues of illicit drugs and forged documents as typical examples.. there are so many cases of Nigerians been involved. But i am yet to read of it in e.news. So i think if only you and your journalists could write more about it and follow up on the stories i think it will make our nationals more aware of what to expect. I wouldn't say i am not impressed with your work but you need to be more of a two way street rather than a one way street . Keep up the good work... SylviaHe is an intelligent man. He spoke well on the issues! Thanks to Mr Hakeem Babalola for the interview it contains some expedient information..
Gordon Goody, who combined the rakishness of James Bond with the bravado of Jesse James to help conjure up Britains daredevil Great Train Robbery in 1963, died on Friday in Mojacar, Spain. He was 85.

His death was confirmed by officials in Mojacar, his adopted Andalusian town on the Mediterranean, where he owned and ran the Chiringuito Kon Tiki beachfront bar after he was released from prison in 1975. No cause was specified, but he was reported to have had emphysema.

Mr. Goodys death is believed to leave only two surviving members of the unarmed 15-man gang that staged the robbery, an audacious, nighttime ambush of the Glasgow-to-London Royal Mail train on Aug. 8, 1963.

It was the worlds largest cash robbery at the time. The gang made off with 2.6 million pounds, or the equivalent of nearly $50 million today. Little of the take, including Mr. Goodys share, which would be worth about $3.6 million today, was recovered.
The current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the most conservative in years. Its ministers have been promoting divisive legislation  like a loyalty in culture initiative and legislation that would require nongovernmental organizations to disclose funding they receive from foreign governments. Such legislation has brought condemnation from liberal Jews abroad.

The Kotel decision, after years of fierce discussion and delay, came as a rare contra to this trend. But the timing was more prosaic, and it probably does not portend any broader shift. Officials said the parties were pushed to wrap up negotiations because Mr. Netanyahus point person on the matter, Avichai Mandelblit, was leaving his post as cabinet secretary to become attorney general.

The new prayer space, where men and women can worship together, is to receive public funding. It will be governed by a committee led by the head of the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental organization that works with the Diaspora, and will include representatives from the Reform and Conservative movements, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Israeli government and Women of the Wall, a group that for 27 years has been agitating against the male-dominated establishment.

Advocates say this amounts to state recognition of the non-Orthodox branches of Judaism, though the laconic cabinet resolution sidestepped the issue by avoiding the words Reform and Conservative, instead referring obliquely to the issue of prayer arrangements at the Western Wall.

A last-minute argument over the wording at Sundays cabinet meeting ended with the government decision to implement the recommendations of the advisory team, rather than to adopt them. The resolution passed, though the ultra-Orthodox coalition members voted against it  and got in their licks.

Referring to Reform Jews, Moshe Gafni, an ultra-Orthodox Parliament leader, said, There will never, ever be recognition for this group of clowns, not at the wall and not anywhere else.

The plan is likely to face many hurdles. The wall is a remnant of the retaining wall that surrounded the Temple Mount, revered by Jews as the location of their ancient temples and the holiest site in Judaism. The mount also houses Al Aqsa Mosque compound, one of the three holiest sites in Islam.
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to put to rest claims that it engaged in reckless lending under a Federal Housing Administration program that left a government insurance fund to clean up the mess.

The bank, which is the nations largest mortgage lender, has been in talks with the government since 2012 over accusations that it improperly classified some F.H.A. loans as qualifying for federal insurance when they did not, and that it knew of the misclassification but failed to inform housing regulators about the deficiencies before filing insurance claims.

Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, had been a holdout among large lenders. Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase all previously settled similar claims.

The settlement means Wells Fargo has to reduce 2015 profit by $134 million to account for the extra legal expense.
To the Editor:

Re Can Shame Be Useful?, by Sally L. Satel and Scott O. Lilienfeld (Sunday Review, Jan. 24):

Drs. Satel and Lilienfeld disparage what they describe as a well-intentioned campaign to eradicate feelings of shame in addicted people. They credit a spasm of self-reproach with enabling many addicts to quit, ignoring the fact that addiction has for decades been recognized as a chronic, notoriously recidivist, treatable but as yet incurable medical condition, and not, in the writers words, a destructive habit.

A significant proportion of addicts want, need and can benefit greatly from treatment. Instilling or reinforcing a sense of shame is far more likely to hinder rather than advance the achievement of a positive outcome.

In managing disease, shaming the victim is no more rational or productive than blaming the victim.

ROBERT G. NEWMAN

New York

The writer, an adjunct professor of preventive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was assistant commissioner for addiction programs at the New York City Department of Health, 1970-75.
Ms. Chang said her mothers response to the letter has not changed since the first time she read it.

Every time she reads it, its the same, Ms. Chang said. From the first word she starts crying. She had never seen her father, so it was like he didnt exist, but when she saw the letter she knew she had a father, and that he loved her.

While Taiwans government has reckoned with some of the traumas of its past  for example, by creating a museum devoted to a notorious 1947 massacre  researchers say far fewer resources have been devoted to chronicling the decades of political repression under the rule of Chiang Kai-sheks Kuomintang, the Chinese Nationalist Party that ruled Taiwan as a one-party state from 1945 until Taiwans first democratic presidential election in 1996.

Academics say that little is known about the mechanics of repression under the Kuomintang, and that there has not been a thorough and transparent examination of the archives. Though researchers believe many records were destroyed, they also believe others have been kept from surfacing through willful neglect.

We know there are hundreds of thousands of records you can get access to, but there has been no systematic effort to go through them, said Huang Chang-ling, a professor of political science at National Taiwan University. Whats the percentage we have seen? It could be 10 percent or 90 percent. I have no idea, and I dont think anyone does.
BERLIN  The German cabinet took significant steps on Wednesday toward toughening asylum rules in the wake of the Cologne assaults, approving among other measures a two-year ban on family reunifications and excluding three North African countries from its asylum list.

The steps came just a week after the cabinet moved to make it easier to deport migrants who commit crimes, deepening a new and harsher line by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has come under mounting criticism for her asylum policies.

The measures approved Wednesday, which also included a plan to house asylum seekers in special facilities to speed their applications, must be submitted to Parliament, where they seem certain to pass.

The steps were clearly intended to make Germany less welcoming for migrants, and to blunt opponents of Ms. Merkels decision to throw open the doors to about a million asylum seekers last year.
The minister, Aivaras Abromavicius, a Lithuanian and one of the foreign technocrats appointed to root out corruption, said that a businessman, Ihor Kononenko, had lobbied to have his loyalists appointed managers of a government-owned ammonia fertilizer company to skim off the profits.

I dont want to be a smoke screen for obvious corruption or a marionette for those who want to return control in the old style, he said.

The United States ambassador, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, posted on Twitter in support of the aggrieved minister, calling him one of the countrys great champions of reform, as the gap widened between Ukraines oligarchs and a Western-backed, reformist wing of the government.

Standing astride that chasm is Mr. Saakashvili, one of the post-Soviet eras most contentious and best-known politicians in the region, a graduate of Columbia Law School who came to power in his native Georgia after the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003. So impressed were Western politicians that Mr. Saakashvili once joked that when he walked through Congress he turned more heads than Britney Spears.

At home in Georgia, though, he was a lightning rod for debate, steering a pro-Western course that culminated in a disastrous war with Russia and an electoral defeat. After a self-imposed exile in Brooklyn, he is now reinventing himself in Ukraine.

Anger over corruption was one of the major issues that animated the protests in Independence Square in Kiev, known as Maidan, leading to the demise of the pro-Russian government in Ukraine. But two years and many proclamations later, the countrys ranking in a standard gauge of government malfeasance, Transparency Internationals corruption perception index, has barely budged: Ukraine has moved to No. 130 in 2015, from No. 144 in 2013, in the list.

That is little surprise to most Ukrainians, since the new government of Mr. Poroshenko is padded with people drawn from the same corrupt business circles as the old government.
Gabon selects Gemalto for fully integrated border and visa system

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Feb. 2, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, has been selected as end-to-end solution provider by Gabon's Department of Homeland Security DGDI* to supply and implement a fully integrated border and visa management system. The new scheme will strengthen national security, improve operational efficiency and enhance the traveling experience for people entering and leaving the Central African state.

The visa management system simplifies and speeds the issuance of visas, e-Visas and resident's permits. This suite of applications was used to create Gabon's e-Visa portal service in July enabling visitors to use the Internet to apply for a visa to enter the country. Once the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is delivered, the visa is issued at Libreville International Airport upon arrival.

The solution is built around the centralized, back-office Coesys Visa and Border Management System. This supports automation of queries to databases - such as Interpol's - that alert authorities to potential threats and risks. In addition, the Automated Border Control kiosks now offer travelers rapid, 'self-service' passport checks at the country's main airport which handles around one million passengers annually.

The Border Intelligence module uses the data mined at the border. It offers investigation tools for discovering new risk patterns, with a highly intuitive "clicking" process. Its reporting app also provides valuable information to drive tourism and prioritize national investment efforts.

"Gemalto's solution puts us in control of a secure and adaptable integrated border management system that is field-proven. It also helps expedite the border clearance process, cutting wait times and improving the customs experience for travelers," said General Celestin Embinga, General Manager of DGDI, Gabon's Department of Homeland Security. "In addition, Gemalto's speed and commitment are tangible: our new e-Visa service was defined and implemented within 14 weeks."

"We take pride in helping Gabon's authorities improve border security and traveler satisfaction," said Ari Bouzbib, Senior Vice President of Government Programs at Gemalto. "Gemalto is delivering a unique solution which is flexible and fast to implement. We also combine local resources and international expertise in partnership with government bodies. This is precisely what is appreciated by our growing number of customers in Africa."

*La Direction Generale de la Documentation et de I'Immigration, Ministere de l'Interieur gabonais

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security, with 2014 annual revenues of 2.5 billion and blue-chip customers in over 180 countries.

Gemalto helps people trust one another in an increasingly connected digital world. Billions of people want better lifestyles, smarter living environments, and the freedom to communicate, shop, travel, bank, entertain and work  anytime, everywhere  in ways that are enjoyable and safe. In this fast moving mobile and digital environment, we enable companies and administrations to offer a wide range of trusted and convenient services by securing financial transactions, mobile services, public and private clouds, eHealthcare systems, access to eGovernment services, the Internet and internet-of-things and transport ticketing systems.

Gemalto's unique technology portfolio - from advanced cryptographic software embedded in a variety of familiar objects, to highly robust and scalable back-office platforms for authentication, encryption and digital credential management - is delivered by our world-class service teams. Our 14,000 employees operate out of 99 offices, 34 personalization and data centers, and 24 research and software development centers located in 46 countries.

For more information visit www.gemalto.com, www.justaskgemalto.com, blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.

CONTACT: Gemalto media contacts: Philippe Benitez North America +1 512 257 3869 philippe.benitez@gemalto.com Peggy Edoire Europe & CIS +33 4 42 36 45 40 peggy.edoire@gemalto.com Vivian Liang (Greater China) +86 1059373046 vivian.liang@gemalto.com Ernesto Haikewitsch Latin America +55 11 5105 9220 ernesto.haikewitsch@gemalto.com Kristel Teyras Middle East & Africa +33 1 55 01 57 89 kristel.teyras@gemalto.com Shintaro Suzuki Asia Pacific +65 6317 8266 shintaro.suzuki@gemalto.com
Aurora Solar Technologies Corporate Update

Rapid Customer Acceptance of Two Systems for Production and Other Corporate Updates

Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. ("Aurora") ("Company") (TSX VENTURE:ACU)(OTCBB:AACTF)(FRANKFURT:A82), a leader in inline measurement and control technology for the photovoltaic manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce customer acceptance of the Decima 3T and Veritas Software on two SEMCO Engineering Inc. (Semco) furnaces. Semco is a global manufacturer of production and lab equipment for the Semiconductor and Solar Industries. Both systems were delivered as a result of orders received in 2015, are installed "inline" in production facilities in Europe and Asia and are fully operational. Acceptance for both systems was received within a week of the arrival of Aurora personnel to assist in the calibration, verification and acceptance process.

Aurora also would like to announce that it has engaged Dr. Wolfgang Oels to provide a strategic review of its operations. His professional experience includes holding senior positions at solar companies such as QCells, and Alion. In addition, Dr. Oels has served two terms as a consultant to solar companies for respected consultancy McKinsey & Company, including its Operational Excellence Practice.

The Company will be issuing 350,000 options for incentives to consultants, including Dr. Oels, at $0.15 per share for a term of 5 years under the stock option program approved by the shareholders.

Gordon Deans, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Aurora has resigned from the Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Deans will remain as CTO of Aurora and we would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the Board and continued contribution to the Company.

About Aurora:

Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. produces measurement and control solutions which allow solar cell producers to improve manufacturing yield, lower costs, decrease waste and attain higher margins. Headquartered in North Vancouver, Canada, and founded by experienced leaders in process measurement, semiconductor manufacturing and industrial automation, the Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trade under the symbol "ACU". The Company was formerly "ACT Aurora Control Technologies". For more information, Aurora's website is located at www.aurorasolartech.com.

Neither 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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Manlai Baatar Damdinsuren with two of his adjutants. Damdinsuren was Mongolian patriot and nationalist who took part in revival of Mongolian...
"Fascism and communism both promise "social welfare," "social justice," and "fairness" to justify authoritarian means and extensive arbitrary and discretionary governmental powers." - F. A. Hayek"

"Life is a Bungling process and in no way educational." in James M. Cain

Jean Giraudoux who first said, Only the mediocre are always at their best.

If you have ten thousand regulations, you destroy all respect for the law. Sir Winston Churchill

"summum ius summa iniuria" ("More laws, more injustice.") Cicero

As Christopher Hitchens once put it, The essence of tyranny is not iron law; it is capricious law.

"Governments view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

"Law is where you buy it." Raymond Chandler

"Why did God make so many damn fools and Democrats?" Clarence Day

"If I feel like feeding squirrels to the nuts, this is the place for it." - Cluny Brown

"Oh, pshaw! When yu' can't have what you choose, yu' just choose what you have." Owen Wister "The Virginian"

Oscar Wilde said about the death scene in Little Nell, you would have to have a heart of stone not to laugh.

Thomas More's definition of government as "a conspiracy of rich men procuring their own commodities under the name and title of a commonwealth. ~ Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples

Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through. ~ Jonathon Swift
"When we started our business, Extension connected us with resources to get the answers we needed. Thats whats so amazing about Extension: they find a way to help you get to the next step."

- Scott Hicks

Cutting Edge Meat Company

In Green County
A work-related accident at Montana Resources Wednesday morning sent a contract employee to the hospital.

An employee for Western States, a Caterpillar dealer based out of Missoula, was injured while assembling one of MR's new haul trucks on MR's property, said Mike McGivern, vice president of human resources. The mining company bought two new haul trucks last year and two more this year.

McGivern said MR is not able to comment on the worker's condition.

The accident was called in to the Butte police department dispatch at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Police blocked traffic along Mercury Street to allow the ambulance unimpeded access to St. James Healthcare.

A hospital spokeswoman could not release information.

Montana Resources has been celebrating the longest-running safety record in the history of Butte mining. On Dec. 9, 2015, the mine achieved five million hours with no lost time due to an accident. Because the accident on Wednesday morning happened to a contract worker, MR's safety record is not affected by the incident, McGivern said.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency, and Western States are investigating the accident. McGivern said MR is assisting in the investigation.
Butte-Silver Bow County could soon join several other counties in receiving and responding to 911 messages sent via texts.

The Council of Commissioners approved Wednesday night a $9,000 contract with Third Signal LLC to implement and test the system, including procedures dispatchers should follow when receiving 911 text messages.

Undersheriff George Skuletich said there are certain advantages to Text 911.

If a person is in an area or in a situation where they cannot use voice, they can text us whats going on and well be able to have officers respond, he said Wednesday. It does have its advantages, and its another service we can provide.

The Montana Standard reported in late December that Butte-Silver Bow County would join Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Chouteau, Fallon, Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties by providing the service.

The Federal Communications Commission issued an order in August 2014 requiring all U.S. mobile carriers and some texting apps to implement text-to-911 service. Third Signal will work with wireless carriers in Butte-Silver Bow to implement the services here.

Skuletich said police will probably encourage young people to text information when appropriate.

He added that individuals may also feel more comfortable texting police dispatch, rather than calling.

Whats nice about it, too, our dispatchers will be able to text back, ask questions, he said. Well have a permanent record of that.

There are some challenges to Text 911, however, such as obtaining all the necessary information that dispatchers typically learn from a caller.

Maybe the person whos texting us wont be able to get us that information, and then we wont be able to get back in touch with them, Skuletich said.

But the undersheriff said there are more benefits to drawbacks.

Dispatcher J.R. Gonzalez said Text 911 will give citizens another tool to contact the dispatch center.

This is going to be something new for us, something that well have to train on. I think itll work good and be a good deal for everybody involved, he said.

Once the contract is signed, he said Third Signal will set up the system and it should be operational sometime this spring.
Although theyre spread by different mosquitos, experience with West Nile virus is helping Rocky Mountain Laboratories researchers get a jump-start attacking the Zika virus suspected of causing tragic birth defects in South and Central America.

Were pulling together a contingent of Rocky Mountain Lab people to tackle all those elements of this new emerging threat, biochemist Sonja Best said Tuesday in Hamilton. The lab here has a long-standing interest and expertise in these flaviviruses, the group Zika belongs to.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern. That marks only the fourth time WHO has issued that level of warning, after outbreaks of influenza in 2009, and polio and ebola in 2014.

Concern over Zika first showed up in Brazil last November, when health authorities there connected almost 400 cases of microcephaly in newborn children  a birth defect causing small heads and deformed brains  to Zika infections. That number has now increased to more than 4,000 microcephaly incidents in Brazil alone.

The disease is otherwise generally mild in the original patient. As a result, little research had been done on its pathology. RML got to work on Zika shortly after the Brazil outbreak was publicized in November.

It really wasnt until these microcephaly cases increased in such astounding numbers, that there was real concern about infection, Best said. Also, we were surprised by how quickly it happened. This virus was unheard of in Brazil until 2014. Now youre looking at an estimated 1.5 million infections in a year and a half, just in Brazil.

Zika cases have also been reported in Mexico, Puerto Rico and some Caribbean islands, including Jamaica. It was originally identified in Uganda in 1947 and has also been reported in parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

***

The mosquito Aedes aegypti carries Zika virus. That bug is also infamous for being the vector for dengue fever and chikungunya  two extremely debilitating and sometimes fatal diseases which are showing up in new territories. In all three diseases, the virus appears capable of spreading from a human host to a mosquito, which can then infect a new human. A few recent incidents indicate Zika may also be spread by sexual contact among humans, including a Colorado scientist who apparently transmitted the infection to his wife after returning from a trip to Senegal in 2008.

Zika typically incubates for about a week in a human patient, followed by about five days when the person is sick and infectious. During that time, pregnant women may face the risk of birth defects to their fetuses. However, the infection does not appear to have any latent or long-term symptoms.

West Nile virus is spread by a different species of mosquito. It also tends to have mild symptoms in humans, but can be deadly to horses and many species of birds. RML researchers have been probing its structure in several different ways. Best said the lab is using that background to expose Zikas characteristics.

The most urgent job is simply developing tools to detect and measure Zika virus infections. Because of its obscure past, little is known about what antibodies react to it, what its DNA profile looks like or what parts of the body it centers on.

A parallel effort aims at mimicking microcephaly transfer in mice, so scientists can understand how the virus and the birth defect are related. Its unknown if the virus causes the birth defect, or if it triggers some other process such as the bodys immune response to produce the result.

Meanwhile, RML researchers are also testing if recent advances in vaccines against West Nile and dengue viruses might also work on Zika. Best said she wants to understand how the virus turns off the immune response of its host so it can multiply. Unlocking that secret might expose the virus to a live-attenuated vaccine  a treatment where a mutated form of the virus can take away its disease-causing properties but still trigger an immune response. The technique produced a successful vaccine for yellow fever and is in testing as a defense against Ebola.

Best said shes also looking at what kind of defense the human body naturally puts up against Zika. That could lead to new ways of alerting the immune system to the threat of infection.

We are really starting at, not quite zero, but weve got to establish the basics for it, Best said of the Zika studies. With something like Ebola, we had decades of research and studies to fall back on. And we know a lot about flaviviruses, but not that much about Zika itself.
Denise Juneau has won two statewide elections as a Native American woman.

Now, as the 48-year-old Juneau ramps up her campaign against first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, she has, with little fanfare, also become Montanas first openly gay statewide candidate.

While Juneau introduced the woman she is dating at a fundraiser in Bozeman last week, she has been open for some time about her sexuality, without making a big deal of it.

State Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, said she was at the Bozeman fundraiser Saturday which honored women in politics. She said Juneau spoke and told a story about how when she first ran for state superintendent of public instruction, she told her parents, who asked When do we hit the road? to help campaign.

Juneau told the crowd Saturday that the first person she told she was running for Congress was her partner, who asked exactly the same question.

It demonstrates how Denise feels about making sure she represents everyone, Dunwell said. She said she thought the way Juneau has handled it speaks volumes about her.

Zinke was unavailable for comment Tuesday night and his staff did not return email messages.

Montanans know and trust Denise, Juneau's campaign manager, Lauren Caldwell, told Lee Newspapers Tuesday night. Her run for Congress is historic in many ways, which is why were seeing major endorsements and unprecedented excitement from every corner of the state. She's the first female American Indian to win statewide office, twice. Denise will be the first woman Montanans send to Congress in 75 years. Denise is proof that anyone can go from Head Start to Harvard, from a small town to the U.S. Capitol. In Congress, Denise will be an independent voice who puts all Montanans first."

David Parker, a political scientist at Montana State University, said Tuesday night, People who were going to vote for her are still going to vote for her, and people who werent going to vote for her still arent. But he added, Whats really important here is enthusiasm among young Democratic voters. Look at how younger voters feel about same-sex marriage, for instance. They are very strongly supportive. So now, she has a story to tell a group of voters that are otherwise hard to motivate.

He likened the situation to Tammy Baldwin, now a U.S. senator, running in Wisconsin as the first openly gay candidate for Congress, and said it was transformative  she got huge turnouts in Madison, where the University of Wisconsin is located. So this could have an effect for Juneau in Missoula and in Gallatin County, he said.

Parker added that perhaps most importantly, Juneau will attract even more national attention as a candidate. By virtue of her policy positions and her status as a Native American and a woman, she has already benefited from endorsements like Emilys list  but she could also receive attention  and money  from groups supporting LGBT candidates.

She will have money to tell her story, he said, but added that shes running against a well-heeled incumbent in Zinke, who has shown big-time fundraising ability.

The seat is rated safe Republican right now by some national Congress-watchers, he said, although that could certainly change.

Social-media reaction to an earlier story regarding Juneaus sexuality was positive.

Former Missoula city council member Caitlin Copple Tweeted, @denisejuneau is making so much history!

Personally I dont care if Denise Juneau is LGBT or not, Helena writer Shawn White Wolf Tweeted. Shes still getting my vote.

A Native American woman has never been elected to Congress.
HELENA  "He came at me, and I fired," James George Stiffler told a 911 dispatcher moments after fatally shooting a man.

Stiffler said the man, Henry Thomas Johnson, ransacked his Helena home then threatened him.

"I caught him breaking into my house," Stiffler said in the recorded call from May 22, 2013.

The call was one of the first items placed into evidence by the prosecution during the first day in testimony for Stiffler's deliberate homicide trial Tuesday in Helena district court.

Stiffler shot Johnson in the back. The alleged intruder fled the home through a window and got into his girlfriend's silver Ford Taurus, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Attorneys in the case agree Stiffler shot and killed Johnson. The circumstances under which he fired the fatal shot are being debated.

The defense says Stiffler feared for his life. Prosecutors allege Stiffler shot a man who was trying to flee.

"He is going to testify that he was frightened by a burglar who literally kicked his door in," Nicole Siefert, one of Stiffler's lawyers told jurors.

"He was forced to pull out his gun. He was forced to fire," Siefert said.

"Mr. Johnson ultimately caused his own death," she added.

Stiffler knew something was amiss when he saw the strange car parked in his driveway, Siefert said, as he approached his home, he took his gun out of his briefcase. When he confronted the man he says was burglarizing his Canyon Ferry Road house, Johnson raised his fists and threatened to hurt Stiffler, she said.

"In a split second, Jim makes the decision to pull the trigger," Siefert said.

A medical examiner testified the bullet struck the back of Johnson's eighth rib, went through his left lung and exited through the breastbone.

Prosecutors and investigators say Stiffler's version of the events leading up to the shooting vary and don't mesh with the physical evidence.

When detectives attempted to question Stiffler to clarify consistency issues about a week following the shooting, his attorney at the time, Royal Davis, spoke on his behalf. At the time, Davis voiced more concern about a civil suit from 37-year-old Johnson's family than criminal charges.

Prosecutors played a taped interview with Davis and Stiffler.

"He says he doesn't remember a thing about it," Davis said in the recording. "My guy doesn't remember firing a bullet hole into the guy."

"He has to be very careful what he puts on the record himself," he added.

In the recording from 2013, investigators informed Stiffler prosecutors were contemplating criminal charges.

In her opening arguments, Melissa Broch, deputy county attorney, said the felony deliberate homicide charge was filed in April 2015 after a forensic expert hired by prosecutors determined Johnson was shot while climbing out of a window.

Testimony will continue Wednesday morning. The court has set aside two weeks for the trial.
HELENA  Republicans Roger Koopman, of Bozeman, and Bob Lake, of Hamilton, are both running to keep their seats on the Montana Public Service Commission.

Lake filed Wednesday for District 4, while Koopman will Thursday for District 3.

Democrat Pat Noonan, of Ramsay, is also running for the District 3 seat. Noonan is serving his fourth, and last, term as a state representative. He is facing Caron Cooper, of Livingston, in the primary.

Democrat Mark Sweeney, of Philipsburg, who ran for the PSC seat in District 3 2012 when he lived in Anaconda and narrowly lost in the primary, is also running in District 4. Tony O'Donnell, a Republican from Billings, is running for the District 2 seat.

Koopman, in a press release sent Wednesday, said he'll continue fighting for affordable, reliable energy, and for regulatory decisions in the best interests of all Montanans."

Also in a press release, Lake said energy consumers will face much hardship in the near future if regulators dont provide strong leadership and resolve to protect low cost, reliable energy services, and I promise the people of Montana that I will strive to do just that throughout a second term on the PSC.

In 2012 Koopman defeated incumbent Democrat John Vincent. Lake defeated incumbent Democrat Gail Gutsche of Missoula in that election, which created an all-Republican five-member commission for the first time in the PSC's nearly 40-year history.

Koopman in his release said hes built a reputation for being a thorough, independent-minded commissioner, who is tough but fair, and who often takes the lead on difficult issues.

Montana and the PSC are facing issues of epic proportion, and our degree of resolve in standing up for the states legitimate interests will determine our energy future. The EPAs so-called Clean Power Plan is an example of the kind of federal power grab that threatens our state, and too many of our state politicians seem ready to knuckle under. These regulations are highly discriminatory against Montana, and if enforced, will have a devastating impact on rate payers and the states economy. How the next Public Service Commission responds to this bureaucratic injustice will be a real test of our mettle. Im one commissioner who will not back down with so very much at stake, Koopman said.

Koopman said the most important mission of the PSC is to keep the lights on and keep the rates low.

Lake said it's been his goal to fight for long-term affordability and reliability of energy in Montana

Its easy to criticize the actions of a regulatory body like the PSC when you havent been in the trenches, contemplating the decisions that the Commission must make. Striking the balance between low rates for consumers, and a just, reasonable return to the utility that allows it to keep the lights on is no easy task. It takes real persistence and experience to understand the complexities of every situation that the Commission finds itself, and I am confident that my time on the PSC will serve Montana consumers better than the ideologically driven, pie-in-the-sky agenda put forth by others who currently seek this office.

Koopman is the owner of Career Concepts employment services, a Bozeman-based job placement agency he founded in 1980. He has also spent two terms in the Montana House of Representatives, from 2005 to 2008. Lake worked in the private sector for 38 years, including owning and operating Lakeland Feed & Supply in Hamilton, and also spent 10 years in the Montana Legislature.

District 3 encompasses 14 counties in southwest Montana, stretching from Butte and Dillon on the west to Columbus and Roundup on the east. District 4 includes Missoula, Granite, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Lincoln counties.
If a proposed change to a state rule goes through, smaller and newer outfitters may get a better foothold on fishing the Beaverhead and Big Hole rivers, two of the most popular fishing spots in southwest Montana.

The change is intended to prevent bigger, more established outfitters from abusing the system.

Cheryl Morris, manager of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks river recreation for Region 3, said two established outfitters, who already had historical-use permits to fish on the rivers, sold their permit rights. They then applied for a temporary client day permit so they could still fish those rivers.

But the temporary client day permit was intended to provide the smaller or newer outfitter a chance to take clients on the two regulated rivers. Part of the criteria for the temporary client day permit application is how many days has the applicant been on the river in the past. A well-established outfitter could more easily get a temporary client day permit simply because he or she has a long history of fishing either of those rivers in previous years.

"The permits have a lot of value," Morris said. "They are hard to get, and they're very limited."

Morris said not all the logistics have been worked out yet of how the temporary client day permit will be redesigned, but FWP wants to prevent the previous abuse of the system from happening again.

The five-member FWP commission adopted recreation rules to regulate traffic on the two rivers in 2000. Outfitters that were already established at that point could obtain historical use permits based on how much time theyd fished the two rivers in the past.

But for an outfitter who has entered the business since 2000, the only way to start getting on either of those rivers, both south of Butte, is through the temporary client day permit.

Ninety-five outfitters are permitted to fish both the Big Hole and the Beaverhead rivers, Morris said.

The FWP commission voted recently to support Region 3's recommendation to change the rule governing the temporary client day permit. Beyond that, the regulations that affect fishing on the two popular rivers are not expected to change.

Morris said if the proposed change is finalized, the new rule would require that an outfitter who applies for a temporary client day permit cannot sell a permit previously, then apply for a temporary client day permit.

Temporary client day permit is also called the one boat outfitter day because an outfitter is allowed to have only one boat in the river at the time of use, but the outfitter can have other boats out in other rivers, so it technically does not prevent large established outfitters from applying for the permit.

The way the point system is set up, (the larger outfitters) get an unfair advantage (when they apply for temporary client day permits), Morris said. Thats not the intention of the program.

If the change goes through, it wouldn't take effect until the 2017 season. FWP will open the recommended rules for another public comment period. FWP will take the public's comments into consideration before making a final decision, which is likely to happen close to the end of January 2016, Morris said.

That would be too late for the change to the temporary client day permit to be implemented in time for the 2016 summer season.

FWP reviews its river recreation rules every five years. The rules are largely the same since the rules began in 2000. FWP has made only small amendments and changes, Morris said.

Chris Bradley, co-owner of Butte outfitter The StoneFly, said he thought the abuse happened in "only a couple of instances." He said he agreed with FWP's recommendation for virtually no change.

Bradley, who has been an outfitter for seven years, said he is one of the new businesses the proposed change is supposed to help.

Bradley said he has a permit to fish on the Big Hole River, but not the Beaverhead. He said he's put in an application for seven years to fish the Beaverhead, but so far, no luck.

Bradley said he believed the criteria regarding the number of previous days of experience on the rivers was what was keeping him from getting a temporary client day permit for the Beaverhead. Since he hasn't been allowed to fish there, he doesn't have the prior experience necessary to get the coveted permit.

David Decker, owner of The Complete Fly Fisher, Wise River, an outfitting business that's been on the Big Hole River since 1967, said via email he was not aware of any larger outfitters abusing the temporary client day permit. But he acknowledged that his observation of outfitters who use temporary client day permits is "not complete by any means."

Decker said he is in agreement with the proposed change to the rule. He said he has not ever used a temporary client day permit.

Tony Schoonen, director of two sportsmen clubs and the nonprofit Public Land and Water Access Association, said he would prefer not to see any change to the rules.

Schoonen acknowledged that at least a couple of larger outfitters reportedly took unfair advantage of the temporary client day permit. But he said he thought FWP could curb that problem by implementing better monitoring on the rivers.

"(The current rules) are well written," Schoonen said. "I don't think we need to change."
The occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is coming to a close. With the Bundys in custody, life around the refuge can start returning to normal. While Im so happy to see the occupation end, the fight over public lands is far from over. The Bundys' allies have been emboldened by the occupation, which lasted over three weeks. Westerners need to take this time to reflect on the foolishness of the Malheur occupation and reaffirm our commitment to public lands and collaborative management.

The Bundys represent a minority of Westerners who believe that public lands should be turned over to state or private control. In reality, people all across the West continually support public lands. Places like Malheur provide opportunities for hunting, fishing, bird watching and hiking. It also provides important wildlife habitat, as do most of our public lands.

Unfortunately, Montana has witnessed several efforts in the Legislature that would rob us of our outdoor recreation and natural resource heritage. This idea is shortsighted and would severely harm our states economy, erode public access for recreation and degrade millions of acres of wildlife habitat. Montanans value our natural resources, and our public lands ensure that those resources are used appropriately and conserved for future generations.

Like the Bundys, those in Montana who would give up our public lands are a small, yet vocal, minority. Hundreds of Montanans have stood behind Gov. Bullock as he has fought off attempts that would transfer public lands out of public hands. Republicans, Democrats, hunters, anglers, conservationists, mountain bikers, snowmobilers and more have all turned out to support our public lands. Montanans have shown time and again that the best way to move forward is not to privatize the lands that we love, but to collaborate. Win-win solutions continue to arise across the state, showing that we can (and should) keep our public lands public.

-- Robb Krehbiel, Missoula
WASHINGTON -- Woodrow Wilson, who enjoyed moralizing about the mundane, called paying taxes a "glorious privilege." In 1865, when there was a Civil War income tax, one taxpayer shared this sensibility, sort of. Mark Twain said that his tax bill of $36.82 (including a $3.12 fine for filing late) made him feel "important" because the government was paying attention to him. Today, Rep. Kevin Brady wants to change the way government pays attention to taxpayers.

Congress is like a Calder mobile: Something jiggled here causes things to wiggle over there. When conservatives toppled Speaker John Boehner, they inadvertently propelled Brady into the House's most important chairmanship, that of the Ways and Means Committee. Because revenue bills must originate in the House, Brady now wields Congress' most important gavel, all because the committee's previous chairman, Paul Ryan, now sits in Boehner's chair.

If there is going to be growth-igniting tax reform -- and if there isn't, American politics will sink deeper into distributional strife -- Brady will begin it. Fortunately, the Houston congressman is focused on this simple arithmetic: Three percent growth is not 1 percent better than 2 percent growth, it is 50 percent better.

If the Obama-era's average annual growth of 2.2 percent becomes the "new normal," over the next 50 years real GDP will grow from today's $16.3 trillion to $48.3 trillion. If, however, growth averages 3.2 percent, real GDP in 2065 will be $78.6 trillion. At 2.2 percent growth, the cumulative lost wealth would be $521 trillion.

Brady, however, would like to start with the approximately $2 trillion that U.S. corporations have parked overseas. Having already paid taxes on it where it was earned, the corporations sensibly resist having it taxed again by America's corporate tax, the highest in the industrial world. "[The $2 trillion] won't just naturally fly back to us," Brady says. Measures should be taken to make it rational for corporations to bring money home. And to make it rational for corporations like Pfizer, which recently moved its headquarters to Ireland for tax purposes, to remain here.

In the last 30 years, Brady says, more and more taxes have been paid by fewer and fewer people. And fewer and fewer businesses have been organized as corporations: Three quarters of job-creating entities are not paying corporate taxes.

"You can't," Brady says, "ask people to make big changes, leapfrogging our global competitors, just to get to average." But making big changes "is why we all came to Congress." And the benefit that comes from something unfortunate -- the fact that there are so few (perhaps fewer than 40) competitive House seats -- is that members can take risks. Presidential engagement is necessary for tax reform, and Brady says that will require a new president who understands that "just a little respect goes a long way up here [on Capitol Hill]."

All Republican presidential candidates have tax reform proposals, but only one candidate proposes increasing the cost of government for every American. Here, at last, Donald Trump actually resembles a Republican. Unfortunately, it is a Republican from 125 years ago, when the party stood for big government serving crony capitalism with high tariffs.

As Steven R. Weisman demonstrates in his splendid history of American taxation, "The Great Tax Wars," the GOP's tariffs were indirect, hidden sales taxes that crimped consumption by Americans with small incomes. In 1913, the first year of Wilson's presidency and the year the 16th Amendment and the income tax arrived, the glorious privilege of paying taxes was enjoyed primarily through tariffs: They provided nearly half of federal revenues, with most of the rest coming from tobacco and liquor taxes, which also were hardest on persons of modest means.

Trump, who works himself into a lather because Nabisco is making some Oreo cookies outside the country, is obsessed with America's trade with China. "We're going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country," says he, aiming to raise the price Americans pay for Apple products that today are assembled in China, which, according to trade attorney Scott Lincicome, makes about $6 by assembling an iPhone from parts (many of which China has imported).

Trump favors a 45 percent tariff to protect customers of Wal-Mart and similar retailers from the onslaught of inexpensive Chinese apparel, appliances and food. He can explain the glorious privilege of paying taxes-as-tariffs when he makes his next visit to a Wal-Mart, perhaps the one in Secaucus, New Jersey, just seven miles from his Fifth Avenue penthouse.

George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com.

(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group
Civil #: 15-002753

Special Execution

Bank Of America, N.A.

VS.

Phienlay Chounlamany And Banthit Chounlamany; First National Bank Of Muscatine; Muscatine Adjustment Bureau;

As a result of the judgment rendered in the above referenced court case, an execution was issued by the court to the Sheriff of this county. The execution ordered the sale of defendant(s) Real Estate Described Below. To satisfy the judgment. The property to be sold is

Lot 4, of Simmering Subdivision Replat to the City of Muscatine, Iowa AKA Lot 4, of Simmering Subdivision Replat to the City of Muscatine, in Muscatine County, Iowa

Property Address: 1105 Fillmore St., Muscatine, IA 52761

The described property will be offered for sale at public auction for cash only as follows:

Sale Date: 03/08/2016

Sale Time: 9:30 am

Place of Sale: Muscatine County Jail Lobby, 400 Walnut Street, Muscatine

Homestead: Defendant is advised that if the described real estate includes the homestead (which must not exceed 1/2 Acre if within a city or town plat, or, if rural, must not exceed 40 Acres), defendant must file a homestead plat with the Sheriff within ten (10) days after service of this notice, or the Sheriff will have it platted and charge the costs to this case.

This sale not subject to redemption.

Property exemption: Certain money or property may be exempt. Contact your attorney promptly to review specific provisions of the law and file appropriate notice, if applicable.

Judgment Amount: $117,071.54

Costs: $50,096.09

Accruing Costs: Plus

Interest: $5,946.59

Sheriffs Fees: Pending

Date: 01/20/2016

Attorney:

Benjamin W. Hopkins

1350 NW 138th St.

Ste. 100

Clive, IA 50325

(515)222-9400

C.J. Ryan

Muscatine County Sheriff

Melissa Hurlbut

Civil Deputy
WAPELLO, Iowa  A consultants proposal and a last-minute plea to save the former Louisa County Jail collided during the Louisa County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Louisa County property owner Von Smith told the supervisors he had read reports that $25,000 had been offered for the 80-year-old building. He urged them to consider that option.

It would allow the building to be put back on the tax rolls, he said, adding it would also preserve a well-built historic building and save the county the demolition expense.

Its going to be expensive, he told the board, warning the members the jail was still solid and also likely contained asbestos.

Smith said he had toured the building when it had first come on the market and realized it was still in good shape.

Im here as a concerned citizen and would sure hate to see that building torn down, he said.

Board members acknowledged they were torn over the decision, but said the countys need for space and other factors were important considerations. They also pointed out most of the asbestos at the jail had already been removed.

I agree I dont want to tear it down, but we dont have the room, board member Randy Griffin told Smith.

Supervisor Chair Paula Buckman agreed.

Randy is an old building hugger, but its hard to think what it would take to make (the old jail) viable (for other uses), she said.

Smith agreed there would be a cost, he was not convinced it would not be worth it.

I just think it can be saved and utilized, he said.

You are not the only one, Griffin assured Smith, adding the supervisors were listening to everyones comments.

Later in the meeting, after Smith had left, the supervisors met with county engineer Larry Roehl, who had talked to Donald Seymour, a consultant with FEH Design, Des Moines, and accompanied him on a recent tour of the building.

He is apparently known as Mr. Demolition, Roehl said, explaining Seymour had assisted with a variety of public building demolitions around Iowa.

Roehl presented a proposal from the Seymour, outlining what the consultant would provide.

One of our main goals is help you divert from the landfill as much as possible, Seymour explained in the proposal.

Roehl said that would include salvaging what could be from the building, including crushing the concrete into recycled gravel that could then be used for other purposes around the area.

In addition to developing bid documents and assisting in the bidding and bid selection process, Seymour indicated the company would also reach out to the general public. He wrote the company would hold a public meeting and encourage anyone to attend so the demolition process could be explained. The selected contractor would also attend the meeting.

The cost for the consulting services would be $14,000.

The consulting proposal was not slated for action at Tuesdays meeting and that pleased Griffin, who hinted he was still uncertain of his final decision.

Im going to think about it for a week, he said.

In other action, the supervisors learned Lori Kuntz, director of the Storks Nest in Wapello, might have to resign because re-certification guidelines now required child abuse service directors to have a college degree.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Participation was up in local caucuses and across the state Monday.

Republicans

Participation was near double over 2012 for Republicans.

Muscatine County Republicans had 2,414 participants in Monday nights caucus, up from 1,226 total in 2012.

This years figure comes www.iagopcaucuses.com, the official reporting website, and verified by the Muscatine County Republican Party. The 2012 figure was found with statewide data on the Des Moines Registers website.

Dan Yoakam, Muscatine County Republican Central Committee treasurer, said they were able to get everyone registered in time to start caucusing at 7 p.m. Monday.

I have to be happy with that, he said, noting the large crowd.

Most Muscatine County Republican precincts caucused at Muscatine High School.

Yoakam said he was surprised at the number of Democrats switching parties and the number of first-time voters who showed up at the caucus.

I think its a positive sign for the election process, Yoakam said.

He also noted the stark contrast in political philosophies driving the surge participation.

Muscatine bucked the statewide trend. Ted Cruz won the caucus statewide, but came in third in Muscatine County.

Donald Trump finished first locally with Marco Rubio in second place. Trump finished second statewide and Rubio third.

But Yoakam pointed out that followed the trend of Cruz, Trump and Rubio in the top three statewide, all capturing between 20 and 30 percent. The next closest in Muscatine County was Rand Paul at 5.4 percent then Ben Carson with 4.6 percent.

Statewide, Carson finished the next closest with 9.3 percent then Paul at 4.5 percent.

In Louisa County, 724 people caucused this past Monday - up from 371 in 2012. Louisa picked Trump (36 percent) as No. 1 closely followed by Cruz (35.5 percent) and Rubio a far behind third place (10.5 percent). The next two closest were Carson then Mike Huckabee.

According to statewide entrance polls, 45 percent of those who showed up Monday night had never caucused before. Trump carried the first-timers, but only by seven percentage points 30 percent to 23 percent for Cruz and 22 percent for Rubio. Among those who had caucused before, Cruz beat Trump by 13 point suggesting traditional caucusgoers were less enthusiastic about Trump than newcomers.

Registered voters

On Jan. 3, 2012, Muscatine County had 8,327 active Republican registered voters and 10,626 active non-party registered voters. Louisa County had 2,550 active Republican registered voters and 2,615 non-party registered voters.

As of 8:43 a.m. Feb. 1, 2016, Muscatine County had 7,918 active Republican registered voters and 10,681 active non-party registered voters. Louisa County had 2,314 and 2,606, respectively.

In 2012, there were 8,012 registered active Democratic voters and in 2016 there were 8,327. There were 1,601 in 2012 and 1,900 in 2016, according to the Iowa Secretary of State.

Democrats

Don Paulson, Muscatine County Democratic Party co-chair, didnt have exact figures handy but said Monday was the highest turnout since 2008. In 2012, Democrats nominated incumbent Barack Obama for the presidential race. In 2008, it was a contested nomination for Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Mondays statewide turnout of about 171,000 people  the second highest in the partys history  was evident at some precincts.

Paulson, who is precinct chair in a rural area, said hes heard reports that participation was high in cities: Muscatine, Wilton and West Liberty.

He said some locations ran out of voter registration forms.

Which kind of took us by surprise, Paulson said.

He said they had people fill out their information on a regular piece of paper and expects to have to have the information filled out on an official voter registration form in the near future.

Paulson said he was grateful for the volunteers.

Muscatine County Democrats also bucked the statewide trend, giving Bernie Sanders very favorable support  54 percent over Hillary Clintons 46 percent (and nothing for OMalley).

In Louisa County, it went the other way. Democrats there gave Clinton support with 56 percent over Sanders 42 percent and another 2 percent for OMalley.

Statewide ended up with Clinton declaring victory with 49.8 percent over Sanders 49.6 percent and OMalley, who announced withdrawing from future primaries, with a half percent.

Going in, I kind of figured it would be close, Paulson said.

In the aftermath of the closest contest in the history of the Iowa Democratic caucuses, it did not appear that Sanders campaign would mount any challenge to the results.

Nonetheless, questions were being raised about how the 1,683 meetings across the state were run.

Rania Batrice, a Sanders spokeswoman in Iowa, said on Tuesday the campaign had concerns about last-minute chairs who werent trained properly or precincts where there were chairs who did not show up and untrained people filled in.

In addition, there were reports of disputes in some parts of the state about whether accurate counts were taken of participants in individual caucuses.

A spokesman for the Iowa Democratic Party, Sam Lau, said Tuesday all precinct chairs are elected by the caucus, and that the campaigns were represented at the partys tabulation center and could, and did, bring up concerns. In the end, he said, the results were verified and that they are final.

Thom Hart, the Scott County Democratic chair, said there was one precinct where there was not a chair to call the meeting to order, so a person from Illinois did so. After that, a permanent chair was elected by the caucus. Still, he thought that, in the main, things went well.

In Scott County, Hart said, there were two precincts where a flip of the coin decided the awarding of delegates. The use of a coin flip has drawn some criticism.

Hart said that one coin flip in the county went Clintons way, while the other went for Sanders. In one of those precincts, there was also a dispute about the number of people eligible to participate.

Ed Tibbetts, James Q. Lynch and Rod Boshart contributed to this report.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa  Donald Trump's supporters showed up at the Sheraton on Monday night fully expecting their man to win the Iowa caucuses. And why shouldn't they? Trump had held a lead of varying sizes in 13 of the last 13 polls listed in the RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls. How could that not win?

Months ago, before Trump took the lead in Iowa, a number of analysts argued that he wasn't a "good fit" for the state's Republican electorate, made up heavily of voters who describe themselves as born-again evangelical Christians. Then Trump took the lead and  in the polls at least  fought off challenges from Ben Carson and eventual winner Ted Cruz. So analysts thought Trump might not be so bad a fit after all.

But on caucus night, some of Trump's supporters returned to the old "bad fit" theory to explain Trump's surprise loss.

"It was the evangelicals," said Dick Stoffer of West Des Moines. "They've done it before  they did it four years before with Santorum, they did it with Huckabee before that."

"The evangelicals," said Carol Anne Tracy of West Des Moines. "We've got a lot of evangelicals, and I just don't think they felt that (Trump) praised God enough."

"It's happened before  the guy with the biggest Bible wins Iowa," said Ken Crow, a Tea Party activist from Winterset.

The caucus results  Trump soundly beaten by Cruz, finishing barely ahead of Marco Rubio  seemed to confirm another nagging suspicion about the Trump campaign: that it had not paid sufficient attention to turning out its voters.

Most of the people at the Trump event had attended caucuses earlier in the evening. At those caucuses, the presiding officer asked whether there was a representative from each campaign present to speak, and, if not, whether anyone attending would like to speak on a particular candidate's behalf. At the caucus I attended, in Pleasant Hill, a suburb just east of Des Moines, there was no one to speak for Trump  no representative of the campaign  and no voter willing to stand up and speak on his behalf. (The precinct ended in a Cruz landslide: 110 votes for the Texas senator, versus 36 for Trump and 34 for Rubio.)

At the Sheraton, some Trump supporters had similar stories.

"We were at a caucus and Trump didn't even have anyone there to speak for him," one man told me.

"That's insane," added a man nearby.

"I was at a caucus, and no one spoke for him there, either," added someone else.

I asked everyone I talked to at the Sheraton whether they felt Trump had made any mistakes in the campaign, like deciding not to attend last Thursday's Republican debate. Most felt Trump had made the right call; they weren't in the mood to second-guess their candidate. But in light of the caucus results, the debate decision looms as a critical error in judgment for Trump.

In the days leading up to the voting, when I talked to voters on the fence between candidates  people who could possibly be persuaded to support Trump  one thing became clear: everybody watched the debate. It was the only debate held in Iowa, and it took place in the final days of the campaign, when voters who had been reluctant to pay attention months earlier had finally become interested and involved. They all tuned in. And Trump wasn't there.

"That was the one thing that I thought was a clear mistake," Republican blogger Craig Robinson, a former political director of the state GOP, said in a phone conversation Monday afternoon. With that one decision, Trump undermined a lot of the work he had done in the previous months.

The debate decision showed that Trump's political instincts could be wrong. But the caucus loss could point to even more serious problems ahead for Trump.

A lot of people like Trump and agree with what he has to say. They cheer him on. But as the time to vote approaches, they apply a seriousness test, a test of whether they would trust him in a position of grave responsibility. The difference between Trump's high pre-caucus polls and his underwhelming support in the actual caucus could indicate that voters who had supported him for months beforehand began to develop doubts as the time neared to actually cast a ballot. Would it be safe and smart to vote for this guy?

Just as fundamentally, Trump's Iowa loss could cast doubt on his unconventional tactics in other states. Trump's strategy is based on a big bet: that because voters are tired of conventional politicians, then they will also be resistant to conventional political appeals. Iowa proved just the opposite. Ted Cruz won a smashing victory by doing things the old-fashioned way, visiting all of Iowa's 99 counties, pressing the flesh in gatherings of 100, 150 people, and tailoring his pitch to appeal to concerned evangelicals. That  plus a highly sophisticated data operation  won the day for Cruz. Trump tried something different, and it didn't work.

So Trump now heads to New Hampshire, where, unlike Iowa, his lead in the polls is enormous  more than 20 points. Will that lead go away on election day, too?

Trump's first encounter with the voters should probably teach him several things. One, never suggest that you've got their support in the bag. Two, show up at the biggest events. And three, do everything you can to turn out your voters.

All that will be important. But even more critical will be questions about Trump's judgment and temperament. If Iowans who once supported him did in fact retreat when it came time to enter the voting booth  if they did in fact worry that he is just not serious enough to become president  Trump has a problem that might not be possible to solve.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
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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 []
UK-based technology investment company Amadeus Capital Partners has injected $40m (R648m) into Cape Town-headquartered online travel agency Travelstart.

The investment is expected to help expand Travelstarts presence in more African markets while also boosting its mobile offerings.

Travelstart was founded by Stephan Ekbergh in Sweden in 1999.

But Ekbergh, who is the current chief executive officer for Travelstart, then moved the business to Cape Town. Travelstart today has a presence in 16 countries ranging from Botswana, Kenya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Basically, what we want to try and do now is solidify our market leadership in South Africa and use this fund to break into other countries in Africa, Ekbergh told Fin24 by phone.

We do have footholds for some years back in Kenya, in Nigeria and also in Egypt. To some extent in Turkey and the Middle East as well, he said.

The funding injection, meanwhile, represents Amadeus Capital Partners first foray into Africa after mobile network MTN became one of Amadeus cornerstone investors in 2013.

Travelstart is further expected to tap MTNs reach in Africa and the mobile networks e-commerce channels on the continent.

Investing in travel

Andrea Traversone, who is an investment partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, told Fin24 that the investment in Travelstart comes from Amadeus  digital prosperity fundwhich basically invests in companies that address emerging markets and e-commerce.

Amadeus previous investments in the online travel agency space have included high-profile internet businesses such as Europes Lastminute.com, said Traversone.

The $40m investment in Travelstart then continues that trend for Amadeus, added Traversone.

In terms of the size of the investment, its just commensurate with the size of the market opportunity that Travelstart has and market leadership it has, Traversone told Fin24.

So, we feel that it totally justifies the investment, Traversone added.

Amadeus was founded in 1997 and its website says it has raised over $1bn for investment and backed more than 100 companies in the software, mobile, internet, cyber security and medical technology sectors.

Fin24

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Children at Noahs Ark Christian School in American Canyon will celebrate Black History Month in February through poetry, thanks to a local poet.

The celebration was the idea of Genea Brice, who teaches preschoolers at Noahs Ark and is the poet laureate of Vallejo.

Last month for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Brice read an original poem of hers to students, If I were Dr. King, which honors the teachings of the late civil rights leader.

The poem begins with:

If I were Dr. King, I would do the same thing.

I would stand tall and speak my mind.

Always be trueand strong... and kind

From there, Brice and school director Nora Ringler decided to continue the celebration by having the children participate in activities during Black History Month.

After MLK day we thought this would be a great opportunity to carry this over, said Ringler.

Each Wednesday during February, one of the classrooms at Noahs Ark will present Brices poem, along with something else, such as another poem, a song or a piece of art that represents diversity.

Ringler said Brice has been instrumental in teaching Noahs Ark students, who range in age from preschool to kindergarten, about accepting people from all walks of life.

Through poetry she has really gotten the kids to be socially aware and aware of the diversity in our community, said Ringler.

Brice first wrote the Dr. King poem 14 years ago when she was working at another school.

I was teaching a group of first graders at the time, said Brice, who was honored as Vallejos first poet laureate last summer. It was my attempt to make Black History Month palatable and memorable for young minds.

Noahs Ark is connected to American Canyon Community Church, which is part of American Baptist Church USA.

The Rev. Matthew Real, the head of American Canyon Community Church, loved the idea of honoring Black History Month and Dr. King, who was a Baptist.

Its part of our legacy [diversity], said Real, and encouraging all people to come together.
Lewis deSoto is the guest speaker for the PhotoEye@NVC 2015-2016 Lecture Series on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. The talk is free to the public and takes place in the NVC boardroom, 1500 McPherson, Administration Building.

Lewis deSoto, born 1954 in San Bernardino, is an American artist of Cahuilla Native American ancestry.

According to Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Director Lawrence Rinder, "DeSoto has explored a wide variety of media in his efforts to express the nuances of various social histories and worldwide cosmologies."

The majority of deSoto's work has been in photography, sculpture and installation. The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art writes that "deSoto's multimedia installations combine sound, light, video, space, and sculpture elements and are site-specific or oriented toward making a complete environment. His conceptual artwork utilizes automobiles, inflatables, electronics, photography, wood and metal construction."

DeSoto is based in Napa and New York City and has been a professor of photography at San Francisco State University since 1988.

PhotoEye@NVC is a quarterly photo lecture series organized by the Napa Valley College Photography Department featuring in-person presentations by noted photographers and other contemporary image-makers in which they are invited to share their ideas and artistic practices with students and the general public.

For information and a full schedule of 2015-16 PhotoEye@NVC lectures and information about NVC's photography department classes, call 707-256-7502.
The Santa Clara firefighter who was arrested for possibly killing his dog pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in Napa County Superior Court on Wednesday.

Nicholas Joseph Luiz, 32, of Napa faces two charges of felony animal cruelty, according to court documents. One count is for the alleged malicious and intentional torture of his dog, Woody, between Oct. 1 and Dec. 28. The second count is for his alleged killing of the animal on Dec. 29.

Judge Francisca P. Tisher ordered that records from California Pet Hospital in Napa be released to the prosecution.

Luiz was arrested on Dec. 30 after a neighbor reported seeing him abuse the dog in Luiz's backyard on Massa Drive. The witness told police on Dec. 29 that Luiz had been abusing the German shepherd puppy for several months and had possibly killed it earlier that day.

Napa Police responded to the residence on the 1100 block of Massa Drive that night, but there was no answer. When police returned the next morning with a search warrant, the 5-month-old puppy was found dead inside the residence.

Luiz admitted to killing his dog, according to the police report.

Investigators believed the dog was repeatedly slammed to the ground in the backyard, causing his death.

Luiz, out on bail, was ordered to appear at the next scheduled hearing.

A preliminary hearing is set for March 9.

Were hoping that justice will be served for Woody and that hell get convicted on both felony counts, said Monica Stevens, executive director at Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch in St. Helena.

Stevens and several others from the animal rescue were in court during the arraignment in support of the District Attorneys Office, she said. Its important for Luiz to be convicted so that other people dont think they can get away with heinous acts like this, she added.

When it starts to happen in this beautiful wine country, people take note, Stevens said.

Earlier media reports said Luiz has been placed on paid administrative leave by the Santa Clara Fire Department. The department could not be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
The Napa Fire Department responded to a house fire that sent flames out a first-floor window and sent the occupant running for safety Tuesday afternoon in the 1600 block of B Street.

The call came in at 2:08 p.m., according to Battalion Chief Jarrett Anderson. Because of an electrical hazard, the fire department called out more units.

Firefighters began arriving four minutes later to find flames and black smoke streaming from the windows of the one-story home. The blaze was contained by 2:20 p.m., Anderson said.

A neighbor said the homes occupant, identified as Steve Davis, had run out of his house, saying that the fire may may have begun in a stereo system.

He ran out and his house was already smoking, said the neighbor, Chris Rodriquez.

Rodriquez said he handed a fire extinguisher from his kitchen to his caregiver who attempted to fight the fire at Davis house.

She went in and emptied the extinguisher and said it was out  but then it was on again, Rodriquez said.

Afterward, Davis was treated by an American Medical Response ambulance team, but Anderson said it was not known whether he would be hospitalized. No injuries to firefighters were reported.

Damage from the fire appeared concentrated in the front of the house, and Anderson said the building is likely repairable.
The Napa County Library is ditching its old catalog system in exchange for one with more features and capabilities, according to Library Director Danis Kreimeier.

Kreimeier and the library staff have been shopping around for the past year, looking for a catalog system that would fit with the communitys needs as well as benefit the staff. They chose the Polaris Integrated Library System.

The new catalog will allow card holders to have added access to library resources, streamlined searching capabilities and more control over their information.

Its a big improvement, Kreimeier said.

Beginning March 9, cardholders will be able to do things like link family library cards, keep reading lists, and find materials across platforms. Such features will be helpful and convenient for users and staff. In some families, every child has his or her own card, which may be difficult for a parent to manage, in addition to their own fees and return dates, Kreimeier explained.

Keeping a reading list will be optional for patrons, said Assistant Director of Library Services Anthony Halstead. If you opt in, youll receive a notification when youre checking out a book youve previously checked out, he said. Its amazing to see people who read dozens of books a week or watch tons of films  theyll say I was 60 pages into it before I had realized I had already read that book in the series.

Users will also be able to search through library materials and online library resources all in one place, she said. Now, to search for a magazine article, cardholders must login to a separate database and do a search separate from the library catalog. Those extra steps will soon be obsolete.

Looking toward the future, the new catalog will allow the library to provide even more resources to consumers.

Lets say youre searching for books about Cuba. If we have a program next month on Cuba, it will come up as a result, Halstead said. Were trying to integrate all of our services so people can find it. Its called discovery  learn more about all the things we offer and be able to find them in one place.

The library will also be able to have community directories listed in their catalog, like information on nonprofit organizations. Theres so many groups doing so much for so many people but how does anyone know about them? We could theoretically input that and it would be the same as searching for a book, Halstead explained.

Cardholders should be aware that even the changes that begin on March 9 will require some work. To input all the current library information  hundreds of thousands of things  into Polaris, the catalog will be down for several days from 9 p.m. March 3 until March 8. The library will remain open normal hours and other online databases will be available. If patrons need help locating a book, staff can help.

No new holds will be placed during this week, no fines may be paid and no fines will accrue. During this time, the librarys partnership with Solano Napa & Partners Libraries Consortium, known as SNAP, will end  meaning that you can no longer checkout SNAP materials through the Napa Library.

If you already have a Napa County Library card, you can continue using it throughout and after the transition period.

If you have a library card from elsewhere, like Solano County or St. Helena, you will need a new library card beginning March 4. (Psst ... its the 100th anniversary edition!)

Library cards are free and available to everyone, even if you dont live in Napa.

With the Napa County Library card, youll also have access to materials from more than 50 libraries in California, Nevada and Arizona, including the Berkeley Public Library, San Francisco Public Library and San Jose State University libraries. Napa Valley College and Solano Community College will also be joining the library network July 1.

The expanded network will give cardholders access to more specialized subjects that may only be available at larger or university libraries. We could never justify the expense of these specialized items, but we want to be able to offer it to the public, Halstead said.

We want to help our residents find the things theyre looking for, he said, whether its part of the library collection or not.

For more information or to sign up for a library card, visit countyofnapa.org/library.
More than two years after shelving an ordinance that would have allowed a medical marijuana dispensary in their city, Napa leaders will see what parts of the old law could be revived in a new road map to legal, local cannabis sales.

Tuesday night, the City Council agreed to have Napa staff take a fresh look at the dormant dispensary ordinance, which passed in 2010 but was never carried out before council members repealed it in December 2013.

The vote was 4-0-1, with Mary Luros recusing herself because she said a client at her law practice is seeking a license to sell marijuana in Napa.

Napa would not revive the entire ordinance but rather would decide which elements can mesh with Californias new framework for regulating cannabis, which is expected to take at least two years to put in place.

In addition to putting a dispensary back on the table, the review also could lead to a decision on allowing marijuana deliveries from out-of-town outlets, a practice currently banned.

Any path to a Napa dispensary must avoid the traps that torpedoed the 2010 plan, which the council first suspended and then pulled back after a state court in 2011 voided a similar law in Long Beach. The Southern California citys system of fees, permits and a lottery to choose cannabis sellers placed it in the position of directly flouting federal law, which continues to ban the drug even for medicinal purposes, the Court of Appeals decided.

While Napas original dispensary plan got as far as finding a preferred operator, City Attorney Michael Barrett told the council the city will be on safer ground with an arms-reach, zoning-based policy that decides only where dispensaries can be located, without choosing winners or losers.

Since the Napa dispensary laws repeal, the federal government has taken a somewhat softer line on the drug. A 2013 memorandum by former Deputy Attorney General James Cole stated that federal authorities would make marijuana prosecutions a lower priority in states with well-developed regulations.

That framework, in California, is the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, a three-bill package Gov. Jerry Brown signed in October. The bills set up a state agency overseeing cannabis cultivation, transport, sales and labeling, as well as a dispensary licensing system to begin in 2018 at the earliest.

Councilman Scott Sedgley urged quick action to allow cannabis sales in Napa, saying the new state rules  and the federal governments less aggressive stance  now make it safe for the city to move ahead. I think we had it right in 2010, and then there was an unfounded fear, he said. Were past that now.

However, others were less enthusiastic about changing city policy now, with the possibility that California voters could completely rewrite marijuana laws in November. A host of proposed ballot measures would open up cannabis use to varying degrees, with many calling for legal recreational consumption and one proposal seeking a constitutional right to medicinal use.

Im voting aye to get the information, but Im extremely concerned about the timing of this (with) the ballot initiatives, investing a lot of staff time for something that could be voided, said Councilwoman Juliana Inman, concerned that a new city policy could last only a few months.

A particular worry to Inman was the prospect of marijuana growing taking over more land and homes, especially with the city scheduled to take over 80 percent of Napa Countys state-required minimum for affordable housing units starting in 2022.

I dont want houses being turned into grow houses, and I dont want people being displaced by indoor grows, she said. Because we have so many small lots in Napa, I dont want to see any large outdoor grows, either.

Though the councils decision was only a first, tentative step toward open marijuana sales, it touched off vigorous debate among more than 25 audience members  pitting cannabis advocates against educators and students warning of easier access to minors.

The more available we make it, the more it will filter down to our young people, said Barbara Nemko, superintendent of the county Office of Education.  I support morphine for those whose pain cant be dealt with any other way, but I wouldnt want a morphine clinic on the streets of Napa.

Others, however, rejected that idea as a red herring and a distraction from the needs of adult patients.

Theres this idea that if you open a dispensary, suddenly its easier for kids to get cannabis, replied Lani Cleveland, president of the Vallejo Patients Coalition, which campaigned to increase the number of outlets allowed there. You dont have a dispensary right now  and your kids are getting it from the black market. When towns in other states allow dispensaries, their black market significantly shrinks.

Its like abstinence-only sex education: it doesnt remove the desire, it only removes the opportunity to educate, said Matt Pope, a former county planning commissioner. Prohibition doesnt work. Never has.
CONCORD, N.H. -Presidential candidates arrived fresh from Iowa on Tuesday with the 2016 race upended, after front-runners from both parties took hits in the Midwest and now must shift strategies for a week-long sprint in New Hampshire.

Iowa rewrote the GOP narrative with New York businessman Donald Trump placing second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly slipped past surging rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

They now face a different set of voters and issues heading into the nation's first primary: more moderate than Iowans in general, and less attuned to religious-oriented appeals on the campaign trail.

For Democrats, the contest between Sanders and Clinton has intensified after a virtual dead-heat finish in Iowa and the departure of former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley from the race.

With all precincts counted, the Iowa Democratic Party reported Clinton had 49.8 percent of the caucus vote to Sanders' 49.6 percent.

Meanwhile, several Republican candidates sought to position themselves atop a much more crowded field.

"God loves the great state of Iowa," Cruz declared after the votes were tallied in Monday night's caucuses, showing he had defeated New York businessman Donald Trump. "Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives, across Iowa and all across this great nation."

But Cruz - who came here Tuesday morning along with several of his rivals - faces a series of new challenges in trying to replicate that victory in New Hampshire's primary next week, with a less-robust organization in a state where has spent less time and cannot count on such a large evangelical electorate.

History provides a clear warning. In 2008 and 2012, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania won the Iowa Republican caucuses with heavy support from evangelicals. Both then arrived in New Hampshire lacking a strong organization, lost the state and failed to become the GOP nominees.

With the Republican Party's focus on Iowa now complete, the spotlight on ethanol and evangelicals is out.

Now begins a week-long push that in many ways will be entirely different because New Hampshire's voters reflect another side of the GOP. They are socially moderate and fiscally frugal, and use a primary voting system that allows greater participation by independent-minded voters who revel in upsetting the conventional wisdom.

It's why a handful of GOP "establishment" candidates who did poorly in Iowa think they will perform better here.

"New Hampshire voters reset elections. That's what you all do. . . . The reset starts here tonight," former Florida governor Jeb Bush defiantly told about 300 supporters at Manchester's Alpine Club on Monday night.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told a crowd in Hopkinton on Monday night that Iowa "has passed the ball to you." The field would soon be thinned. "You all," he said, "are going to decide it."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told an audience of about 200 at Bow Elementary School on Sunday that "you come here, and you look and you poke, once in a while you smell and you try to decide, is this our leader? Whether I win or not, I believe in this process. I believe that folks in New Hampshire are the best screeners that America can have to recommend to the country."

Wayne Lesperance, a professor of political science at New England College in Henniker, N.H., said that "New Hampshire has gone differently than Iowa in six of the last nine elections on the Republican side, so the idea that one follows the other's lead just doesn't bear out."

And yet, Iowa and New Hampshire share more in common this cycle, thanks to Trump. He has held a double-digit lead over his GOP opponents here for more than 30 weeks and dominates the headlines - just as he did in Iowa before losing to Cruz there on Monday.

Cruz's first-place finish in Iowa and a stronger-than-expected showing for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, just behind Trump, could immediately scramble the top tier of the race.

Rubio was already making the rounds in New Hampshire on Tuesday morning, doing a series of television interviews and preparing to meet voters.

"Well, I think people realize on the Republican side that we cannot afford, this country cannot afford to lose this election, and that I give the party the best chance not just to unify the conservative movement but to grow it," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America from Manchester's Airport Diner.

"To take our message to people who don't vote Republican now, grow our party, grow our movement and defeat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders," he added.

Rubio noted that Cruz built a formidable operation in Iowa. "He earned this victory, but we feel so good about the growth we've had and what that's going to translate to now in New Hampshire, and after that, South Carolina."

Working the crowd, the Florida senator boasted about the "massive" turnout in Iowa, where 187,000 voters, or 8 percent of the state electorate, came out to caucus for Republicans.

"I got more votes than Santorum did, than Romney did, than Huckabee did," he said.

As one customer gave Rubio some cigars, he joked that he wanted to keep them under wraps - "I don't want the kids to see" - but alluded to when he might smoke the stogies. "Maybe we'll save them for Tuesday night," he said, as his supporters in the diner cheered.

Rubio also picked up a key endorsement Tuesday: GOP Sen. Tim Scott, an African American from the critical primary state of South Carolina.

"Marco Rubio understands that here in America, it's not about where you start, it's about where you are going," Scott said in a video message. "We have one shot in 2016 to beat Hillary Clinton and that shot is Marco Rubio, and with him as our candidate: we win."

For now, Trump is favored by 38 percent of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, according to a Boston Herald-Franklin Pierce University poll released Sunday. Cruz is a distant second at 13 percent, followed by Rubio and Bush, 10 percent; Kasich, 8 percent; and Christie, 5 percent.

A CNN-WMUR-TV poll released Sunday showed similar results: Trump with 30 percent, followed by Cruz, 12 percent; Rubio, 11 percent; Kasich, 9 percent; Christie, 8 percent; and Bush with 6 percent.

Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that if any of the four establishment candidates can find a way to jump ahead in New Hampshire, this will shake up the entire race.

That's why Bush, Christie, Kasich and Rubio see New Hampshire as their last opportunity to emerge as the anti-Trump.

While Rubio placed a strong third in Iowa, the other establishment candidates trailed far behind. Bush earned 3 percent support, topping Christie and Kasich,

In New Hampshire, Kasich held his 89th town hall meeting on Monday night. Christie has held 114 public events in the state since launching his campaign in June. Bush, who has most relentlessly attacked Trump as unqualified to be president, hosted his 80th public event in the state on Monday night. Rubio has been in New Hampshire less frequently, but is certain to earn renewed interest starting Tuesday.

Supporters of the New Hampshire primary process like to remind skeptics that they have more often picked the Republican nominee in recent years than Iowa. In 2008, Sen. John McCain of Arizona won here, and in 2012, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary. Both won the nomination.

Aside from social issues and state-specific interests, one of the biggest differences is that it is far easier to vote in New Hampshire. Iowa's caucus system requires hours of time at local meetings and commitments to a political party. The caucuses don't directly determine which candidates gets delegates. It is an expression of preference that must be ratified months later at state party meetings.

David Price of Weare, N.H., attended Kasich's event Sunday at the school and said he would take note of how Iowa voted. "But as a true New Hampshirite, I look at it independently," he said.

Price called Kasich "a very personable individual" but added that right now "I'm leaning to . . . Jeb Bush."

Arthur Moore, a retired physician from Bow, said he planned to learn more about Kasich but is also considering Bush and Rubio. Whomever Moore chooses, he said that "they've got to get rid of Trump - he's a loose cannon; he's a narcissist."

And while a poor performance in Iowa has already prompted Huckabee to drop out, other candidates at the back of the pack are forging ahead.

"We fight on!" Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tweeted after coming in fifth with roughly 5 percent of the vote in Iowa "We are not trading our liberty for anything," he added in a separate tweet. "Not now, not never. Hell no."

In the early morning hours Tuesday, Clinton's aides said they viewed Iowa as "tailor-made" for Sanders, and that despite his advantages with the state's liberal Democratic base, he was unable to win.

"Sanders has been saying for several weeks that if this caucus was a high turnout affair, then he would win," said Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon, after arriving in Manchester. "He was wrong."

Edison Media Research estimates that 171,109 voters, or 7 percent of the eligible voters statewide, turned out for Iowa's Democratic caucuses. The turnout represents a decline from 10.7 percent in 2008, but an increase from 5.6 percent in 2004.

Sanders can now campaign in a state adjacent to the one he represents, giving him a home-court advantage and a comfortable lead in the polls. But Clinton can take some comfort in the fact that New Hampshire's Democratic primary voters are less liberal than those who caucused for the party in Iowa. In addition, New Hampshire has demonstrated support for both her and her husband when they have suffered political setbacks in the past.

Sanders, for his part, was celebrating as he made his way to the back of his chartered jet at nearly 3 a.m. Tuesday. The senator told a crush of reporters in the aisle that his campaign is now "in this for the long haul."

"We're going to win states all over the country," a beaming Sanders said. The result from Iowa was "a wonderful start off to the national campaign," he added. "We're in this to the convention, and this is a campaign that we can win."
THE HAGUE, Netherlands

Eagles vs. Drones: Dutch police consider birds to prey on drones

It may sound like a flight of fancy, but Dutch police are considering using birds of prey to swoop down and pluck rogue drones out of the sky.

Police are working with a Hague-based company that trains eagles and other birds to catch drones to investigate whether the birds can be used above large events or near airports, where the small flying machines are banned.

Dennis Janus of the national police said Tuesday that trainers exploit the birds natural instincts to tackle the high-tech problem of drones flying in restricted areas.

Janus says the birds are trained to think drones are their prey and get a reward if they catch one.

Video released by police showed a small white drone with four propellers rising into the air and a bird of prey grabbing it from above with its talons in one fluid motion.

Dutch police will likely make a decision later this year whether to use the birds.

Janus said part of the evaluation includes research by a respected Dutch scientific organization into whether catching drones could harm the birds of prey.

PARIS

Castro meets with French officials to boost business ties

Cuban President Raul Castro held a series of meetings with senior French officials on Tuesday, the second day of a state visit to France aimed at boosting business ties between the two countries.

Castro has been received with all honors for the first state visit ever of a Cuban president to France.

His schedule in Paris on Tuesday included meetings with UNESCO chief Irina Bokova, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. He will also visit the Musee de lHomme, a museum focusing on human evolution.

The Cuban delegation has also participated in a business forum with French companies as the Caribbean islands economy opens up.

French companies already working with Cuba  such as Pernod Ricard beverages, the hotel company Accor, the Bouygues construction group and the shipping group CMA CGM  could get new development opportunities.

On Monday, President Francois Hollande called on the U.S. to lift its economic embargo in a joint appearance with his Cuban counterpart before a state dinner at the Elysee palace.

Castro leaves Paris on Wednesday.

MOSCOW

Russia bars 5 Americans from entry in tit-for-tat response

Russia has responded tit-for-tat to the U.S. sanctions against five Russians, barring entry to the same number of former U.S. officials.

The United States announced Monday that another five Russians were targeted with sanctions for human rights violations under a 2012 U.S. law named for Russian whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky. There are now 39 people subject to the sanctions, which include travel bans and the freezing of assets in U.S. jurisdictions.

Russias Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced Washingtons move as a hypocritical action further damaging U.S.-Russia ties. It published a list of five former U.S. officials barred from entering Russia, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Magnitsky was arrested on tax-evasion charges and died in a Moscow prison in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates.

SEOUL, South Korea

Agency says: North Korea plans satellite launch this month

An international agency says North Korea has declared plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket later this month.

This kind of rocket launch would cause international outrage because such tests are seen by the United Nations and other critics as covers for banned long-range missile tests meant to further North Koreas nuclear and missile programs.

An official at the London-based International Maritime Organization said North Korea declared that an Earth observation satellite launch would be conducted between Feb. 8 and 25.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she hadnt been authorized to speak publicly yet.

Japans Kyodo News agency reported that North Korea also notified the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union via diplomatic channels that it will launch a satellite later this month.

ATHENS, Greece

Greece orders 2 men to remain in custody pending IS trial

A Greek magistrate has ordered two men to remain in custody pending trial on charges of attempting to travel to Syria through Greece to join the Islamic State group.

The suspects lawyer, Menia Polychroni, says her clients deny any wrongdoing.

The two men, born in Bosnia and Yemen but travelling on Swedish passports, were arrested last week near the Greek-Turkish land border. Police confiscated two knives, a military-style waistcoat and a rifle shoulder strap from their possession.

The suspects, aged 29 and 20, havent been identified. They have been charged with membership in a terrorist group, arms possession and possessing military equipment with the intent of supplying a terrorist group.

They appeared before a magistrate in the northern town of Alexandroupoli on Tuesday. No trial date was set.
ROME

2,000-year-old Rome pyramid getting visibility after cleanup

Romes only surviving pyramid from ancient times is getting fresh visibility.

After a Japanese clothing magnate paid for a cleanup, archaeologists are eager to show off the monument, constructed around 2,000 years ago as the burial tomb for a Roman praetor, or magistrate, named Caius Cestius.

Although soaring 119 feet high, the pyramid has long been ignored by most tourists. Decades of grime blackened the creamy white Carrara marble exterior of the monument near a traffic-clogged intersection near a subway stop. The pyramids base is lower than street level since Rome has been built up over the centuries, so many dont appreciate the monuments height.

Archaeologist Leonardo Guarnieri told reporters Wednesday that tours, including of the frescoed burial chamber, are given twice monthly upon reservation.

MEXICO CITY

Mexican actress asks injunction in possible drug lord case

Mexican actress Kate del Castillo has filed a court petition seeking an injunction against any arrest related to Mexicos investigation of her relationship with detained drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

Del Castillo arranged a meeting between the drug boss and actor Sean Penn in October.

In January, Mexicos attorney general said officials are investigating possible money laundering involving Guzman and the actress tequila business.

On Wednesday, an official of the federal judiciary council confirmed del Castillos petition had been filed, but said a judge told the actress lawyers to specify more clearly the grounds on which they were seeking the injunction. The official could not be quoted by name under judicial policy.

Del Castillos representatives have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba

Ex-US marine accused of running over Aruba female cab driver

An ex-U.S. Marine has been arrested on suspicion of beating, running over and threatening to rape a 70-year-old female taxi driver in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.

Police say 30-year-old Patrick Maxwell of Austin, Texas, is charged with attempted rape and aggravated assault. Maxwell appeared in court on Tuesday and remains jailed.

Authorities said Maxwell was on a company trip when he hit taxi driver Grace Angela in the face and threatened to rape her. Authorities said he then got into her taxi and drove away, running over her torso and leg.

Attorney Chris Lejuez said his client does not remember much of what happened.

The New York Times profiled Maxwell in a story about ex-U.S. military members voluntarily fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigerian Air Force: Drone bombs Boko Haram base

The Nigerian Air Force says a drone bombed a Boko Haram logistics base in the northeast, possibly hitting an ammunition depot and dealing a major setback to the Islamic extremists.

A statement from Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said the first attack by an unmanned combat aerial vehicle took place when it was activated over a large gathering of vehicles a mile north of the Sambisa Forest, an insurgent stronghold.

It says multiple explosions and huge fire ball shown in an attached video suggest the drone hit an ammunition and fuel depot.

The military said Saturday that the air force has conducted 286 operations in a sustained aerial bombardment of the Sambisa Forest over the past month, covering an area of 60,618 square miles.
Some 208 people spent Sunday evening talking about writing in the Carriage House of the Charles Krug Winery during the inaugural Bookmark Napa Valley benefit.

The event, put on by the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library, raised $40,000 for the library. On Monday afternoon, Maria Criscione Stel, executive director of the Friends & Foundation, said it had been a very busy 24 hours and she was happy and exhausted.

We dont even have all the donations, she said, since some people left donations in envelopes while others took the envelopes home.

It succeeded beyond our wildest dreams, she said. Ive had nothing but absolutely positive comments from people downtown.

The event included a reception with four authors  Laura McBride, Joel Selvin, Cara Black and Hampton Sides  signing books, a buffet dinner by St. Helenas Oak Avenue Catering, and then talks by each of the four authors.

Master of Ceremonies Dan Whitehurst talked about the citys beloved public library. The city funds the operation of the library, he said, adding that it funds the vanilla ice cream. The Friends & Foundation, though, provides the chocolate sauce, whipped cream and nuts, he added.

The library hosts 119,000 visits per year, which ranks it No. 1 in California on a per-capita basis, and hosts 400 to 500 events per year for preschool and school students, teens and adults, he said. In the current year, the Friends & Foundation contributed $100,000 for library programs.

He also recognized a number of people in the audience, including Rep. Mike Thompson, Supervisor Diane Dillon, St. Helena Mayor Alan Galbraith, Napa Valley Poet Laureate Beclee Wilson, Library Director Chris Kreiden, the groups board of directors and those who served on the committee for the Bookmark Napa Valley 2016.

During his introduction of the first of the four authors, Laura McBride, Whitehurst said the Friends & Foundation held a reception Saturday night at Orin Swift for the authors. After it was over, he said he hoped they would be OK in downtown St. Helena.

Then, Whitehurst joked, he got a call about 2:15 a.m., from Anas Cantina. He was told to come get your people, they are standing on stools, singing We are four little lambs who have lost their way. I wouldnt be surprised if there was something in the police log.

McBride thanked Whitehurst for the introduction and, referring to the story about the call from Anas Cantina, said, Nothing he said was true.

Later, Cara Black commented, It was really fun to go to the St. Helena Library last night and have Chris introduce me to Elsie (the Library Cat). I Facebooked it, but I dont know if Elsie will answer me.

Stel said that when Napa Bookmine was setting up she was surprised at the large stack of books. Several of the authors books sold out during the evening. The bookstore sold $2,700 worth of books.

Stel added she has wanted to host such an event for a long time, and with four different authors, she said, I thought it was a blast.
RLS Middle School eighth-graders are raising money for a field trip like no other.

Students are planning a tour of Washington, D.C., on June 14-18 to cap off their study of U.S. history.

About 20 students are signed up for the trip, and about half of them still need a lot of help to get to their fundraising goal, said Jennifer Marinace, eighth-grade English teacher.

I dont want it to be a trip for only those kids whose parents can afford to pay, said Marinace.

The D.C. trip is optional and happening after school is out for the summer, unlike the annual trip to Yosemite.

Eighth-graders will have just studied U.S. history and World War II and read The Diary of Anne Frank, so it will be an ideal time for them to visit landmarks like the Capitol, the White House, Colonial Jamestown and Williamsburg, the Smithsonian museums, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and all of the capitals monuments and memorials.

There will be two fundraisers in February: a Parents Night Out baby-sitting event and a bake sale.

The Parents Night Out will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11. For $25 per child, RLS students with baby-sitting certificates and adult supervision will entertain, feed and play with kids while parents enjoy a few hours to themselves. Tickets are available at RLS in advance or at the door. For details email jmarinace@sthelenaunified.org" href="mailto:jmarinace@sthelenaunified.org" target="_blank">jmarinace@sthelenaunified.org.

Students will also sell cakes donated by the Culinary Institute of Americas cake decorating class. The cakes are being sold for a suggested donation of $20. Cakes will be available Fridays, Feb. 18, Feb. 25 and March 3. Students will pre-sell some cakes, as well as sell cakes at after-school events and in front of local businesses. For details email jmarinace@sthelenaunified.org.
Located amid mountain greenery in the hills east of St. Helena, Pacific Union College might appear to be a world away from the demographic diversity that is a hallmark of California.

Appearances are deceiving. According to U.S. News & World Report, this Seventh-day Adventist school of fewer than 1,600 students is the second-most diverse national liberal arts college in America.

This is our most distinctive ranking, said college President Heather J. Knight, noting that PUC has received diversity honors four years in a row.

PUCs student body last fall was 28 percent Latino, 25 percent Caucasian/non-Latino, 21 percent Asian, 9 percent black, nearly 2 percent Pacific Islander, with roughly 14 percent multi-racial or unknown, Knight said.

I think were a national model for how do you have wonderful unity along with wonderful diversity, said Knight, who is both PUCs first female president and first black president.

A key to the schools diverse makeup is the fact that 81 percent of students are Seventh-day Adventists, which is a global church with the vast majority of its 18 million members located outside the U.S., Knight said.

In the U.S., Adventists are the most diverse Christian denomination, according to the Pew Research Center, she said.

Juan Hidalgo, a senior from San Diego, said he experienced culture shock when he arrived at the Angwin campus as a freshman. Just walking around PUC on day one, I would hear four or five different languages.

He grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood. Now when I go to a place of mostly Hispanics, I think, Where is everyone else? said Hidalgo, whose girlfriend at PUC is from Pakistan.

Nic Miller, president of the Student Association, remembers seeing a whole lot of color going on up here when he grew up in Angwin and attended the colleges elementary school.

At many colleges with diverse student populations, students self-segregate by color and ethnicity. That doesnt happen at PUC, Miller said. Those dividing lines dont exist on campus.

Knight noted that PUC is a residential school, with 74 percent of students living in dormitories. Theyre living together. Theyre studying together, she said.

What happens outside the classroom is important, to interact with people from different backgrounds. It enriches, Knight said.

PUC cites the diversity of its student body as a recruitment tool. A lot of parents want diversity when theyre looking at a campus, Knight said. They want children exposed to what the real world is like.

Student leader Miller said a shared Adventist faith helps create an atmosphere for acceptance between diverse populations that may not exist at larger, secular colleges.

Those dividing lines dont exist on campus. Of course everyone brings different cultures to the table, but theyre not frowned upon, theyre embraced, he said.

In this way, students do live in a bubble, Miller said. After four years enjoying the social harmony at PUC, I think for a lot of people it is a maybe a shock when they leave PUC and see the social barriers that exist.

Diversity isnt PUCs only drawing card. The school promotes the rigor of its academic programs and the success that graduates have in graduate school.

The college is also wont to mention that in 2011 Newsweek listed PUC as among Americas most beautiful campuses.
The revolution was Monday. It was not televised.

The seeds of the revolution were sown Friday afternoon when Lord Dunmore visited the Colonial kitchen at the St. Helena Elementary School and met Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Patrick Henry and a few others he called rebels.

A few hours later, standing at the top of the stairs in the school library, he read a proclamation from King George III and announced that as of Monday, the colonists in Virginia would be taxed.

Lord Dunmore, portrayed by St. Helenan John Wilson, was dressed in his finest Scotland kilt as he met Jefferson, portrayed by Zantos Segura. Running the Colonial kitchen was fifth-grade teacher Terilynn Buchanan.

Fifth-graders have been studying Colonial times since the beginning of January, and last week they dressed in period clothing and became the real-life men and women from the 18th century.

Napa Valley Poet Laureate Beclee Wilson said she began the program on Thursday, Jan. 28, by reciting a poem she had written for the occasion and interviewing four of the students.

Each child in the fifth grade has chosen and studied a real person: from slaves to free slaves to people like the Randolphs and George Washington to the early signers of the Declaration of Independence, she said.

The study focused on Virginia and on Friday, the fifth-graders spent time going through four stations: archaeology, which involved digging in the dirt and finding artifacts; learning the three Rs in a schoolhouse; preparing three Colonial Williamsburg recipes in Buchanans kitchen; and learning about newspaper printing. They also learned how to do the Virginia Reel dance and about Colonial carpentry from St. Helenan Michael Hanna.

Back to the taxes and the revolution. On Friday, Buchanan said, We want the kids to have an understanding of what Colonial life might have been. We hope they get a connection, because were going to tax them next week. The American Revolution will be coming to St. Helena. Were going to tax them for their use of pencils and papers, so they can relate to the idea of a tea tax, a stamp tax and a boarding tax for the (English) soldiers. Hopefully, they will have a better understanding of taxation without representation.

Wilson as John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, said he was the new royal governor of Virginia, having previously been the governor of New York. Obviously, Im a Scotsman, he said. Im chief of the Clan of Murray of Scotland and Ive been appointed by King George III.

As the kings representative, Wilson said he rules the colony of Virginia. We have a House of Burgesses, which has elected members from the various areas of Virginia, he said. Both Jefferson and Washington are members of the body, which passes laws for the Virginia colony. But, Wilson said, If those laws get out of hand or I do not approve them, I can dissolve the House of Burgesses and impose my own laws and rules, although he added he was subject to King George III and Parliament.

Wilson said he had just arrived in the American Colonies (Lord Dunmore was appointed Sept. 25, 1771), and was appointed because his predecessor (Norborne Berkeley, the Fourth Baron Botetourt) died prematurely.

In the 1770s, schoolteachers taught for approximately six hours a day, said fifth-grade teacher Janelle Renker. The subjects were the three Rs  reading, riting and rithmetic  and the primary book was the New England Primer, one of the first textbooks printed. Teachers also used games to help children learn, including Shut the Box, a probability game for arithmetic, and Mancala, a traditional counting game that Renker called the oldest game in history. She added that it was also used by African-Americans, who did not go to school.

For spelling, there was an ABC game of dice that had only 24 letters, because in Colonial times the alphabet didnt include the letters J and U.

Renker said a typical classroom would have a fireplace or stove where students would gather for warmth. The parents or kids were responsible for carrying the wood to school and if they didnt bring the wood, they werent able to learn in a warm environment, she said.

In Buchanans kitchen, students were split into groups to make one of three typical dishes from a book of Colonial Williamsburg recipes: miniature ham relish turnover, turkey and homemade noodle dumpling soup, and cardamon sugar cookies.

The idea is that the colonists would use the leftover ham and leftover turkey in the kitchen for another meal, Buchanan said. The cardamon cookies were made just at Christmas, because the spice cardamom was very hard to come by. You had to get it from India. It was called the Queen of Spices.
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A 38-year-old Massachusetts man has been ordered to stay away from Taylor Swifts vacation home on the Rhode Island shore.

Dayum, Taylor Swift sure is in demand.yet another trespassing situation with her Rhode Island compound occurred.and this happens roughly around the same time she had to get a restraining order against someone else. Sure hope they've beefed up her security! Full story below regarding this particular situation:

"The Westerly Sun reports that Daniel Cole of Brewster, Mass., was summoned before a state judge Friday, after police say he ignored previous warnings to not trespass at Swifts mansion in the Watch Hill section of Westerly.

Cole pleaded not guilty to trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. A Wakefield District Court judge issued a no contact order and released Cole on personal recognizance.

Westerly police say Cole blocked the driveway to Swifts home with his pickup truck Dec. 9 and was escorted off the property. Police say he returned Dec. 21 and struggled with police while refusing to leave."

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In an interview to NEWS.am, ArtakApitonian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Sweden and Finland, talks about Armenia-Sweden and Armenia-Finland bilateral relations, Armenian Embassys daily routine.

Mr. Ambassador, the Embassy of Armenia to Sweden started its operationonly two years ago. It would be interesting for readersto learn about the essential conditions of building bilateral relations from the perspective of a newly opened embassy. How would you describe the current relations between Armenia and Sweden?

The establishment and advancement of bilateral relations is generally along-term, consistent and multi-layered process. In order to have good relations,its important to have deep knowledge of all processes in the country,understand the underlying causes and possible consequences for the interests of Armenia. When it comes to the relations withSweden, I should note thatour bilateral tiesembraced extensive development alreadyduring the first years of Armenias independence. Swedish diplomats had an active role in the international efforts of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,Sweden has been a long-time donor of development projects in Armenia up to 2010, and we hadextensive bilateral exchanges.

As between persons, likewise between states, the good relations cannotendurefor a long time without corresponding efforts. In that sense, the establishment of our Embassy has without doubt raised our cooperation to a new level.

Currently, the relations between our countries have sustainable dynamics of development, with a high level of political dialogue characterized by mutual trust and confidence. Sweden is a key country of northern Europe,the development of close cooperation with which has a great importance also for Armenias relations with the EU. Sweden is one of the initiators of the EU Eastern Partnership program, isplaying an active rolewithin EU and UN, and is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group.Last but not least, every success in the Capital of Scandinavia always has a multiplicative effect.

I think Iwont be mistaken to say that such interest is mutual between our countries taking into account the establishment of the Swedish Embassy in Armenia duringthe same period of time. Is there anycooperation between the two embassies?

Its obvious that Sweden also attaches great importance to strengthening the relations with our country. We have wonderful relations with my all Swedishcolleagues accredited to Yerevan and meet regularly either in Armenia or during their visits to Stockholm. Of course,the priorities of both embassies are different, however Im glad that we have managed to establish similar approachesto the issues on the agenda, which allows us to solve problems more effectively.

Which are currently the main prioritiesofthe Embassy?

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, the bilateral agenda in political, economic and humanitarian areas has gradually expanded, bringing new substance into our long-term ties.

Our bilateral political agenda is characterizedby an active dialogue and high-level visits and contacts. During the previous year three meetings were held between the President of Armenia and the Prime Minister of Swedenwithin various international forums. TheArmenian Minister of Health and the Ministerof Diaspora Affairs visited Sweden during this year. Swedish Minister for Higher Education and Research also visited Yerevan in May, combining participation to the 4thPolitical Forum of Bologna process with bilateral visit. Thesevisitshighlighted thepotential projects of cooperation in corresponding sectors. This year the political dialogue will be even moreintensive.

We have taken steps for the establishment ofdecentralized cooperation between the municipalities of our countries. The prospects of cooperation between the Uppsala county and the Lori region have been already markedduring the visit of the Governor of Uppsala Mr. Peter Egardt to Armenia in May 2015. Efforts are also being taken to establish such relations with other major cities and provinces of Sweden.

I am happy to point out that there are also very positive developments in the field of inter-parliamentary cooperation. This year the Swedish-Armenian Parliamentary Friendship Group was reestablishedat the Swedish Riksdag, which is chaired by the Deputy-Speaker of the parliament, our compatriot Mrs. EsabelleDingizian. The Friendship Group is planning to visit Armenia in the nearest future.

In which manner has the bilateral politic dialogue affected the trade and economic relations?

When it comes to bilateral trade and economic relations, there is still plenty of work to do. Currently, there are number of famous Swedish IT, mining, and cosmetics companies established in Armenia. There is a growing interest within the Swedish companies to expand their presence in the Armenian market. With that understanding, in the past few years almost all high-level visits were accompanied by arrangement of meetings with the Swedish companies interested in the Armenian market. It is not less important to have the presence of Armenian products in the Swedish market. That is why the Embassys priorities in the field of economic relations will be focused on the arrangement of various business-forums during this year. We are also working on the formation of an appropriate legal framework.

Its gratifying that the Swedish government has resumed its assistance to reform projects in Armenia. In that framework projects will be implemented in the spheres of environmental protection and sustainable development, energy security and promotion of women entrepreneurship. Already this year, through the channels of the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership Foundation (E5P), where Sweden is the biggest donor, around 1.9 million Euros were granted for the construction of energy-efficient and secure outdoor lightning network in Yerevan.

There are numerous evidences confirming that our people had contacts with each other already in early middle ages. In the 16-17th centuries, the trade route connecting Sweden to the Middle East due to the activity of Armenian merchants was usually called The Armenian Route. There have been many diplomats and scientists of Armenian descent throughout the Swedish history. This kind of historical ties bear valuable material for the Embassys activities in the field of culture. What projects are being implemented in that field?

I agree that the historical ties between the Armenians and the Swedes have many interesting episodes with an extensive research material. This is a subject that we have begun to investigate with the joint efforts of both Swedish and Armenian researchers. Armenians played a significant role in the establishment and strengthening of ties between Sweden and the Middle Eastern countries. In the late 17th century, the Armenian merchants from New Julfa played an important role in the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations between Sweden and Persia. The Armenian dragomans and diplomats made a significant contribution to the development of relations between Sweden and the Ottoman Empire. There we have family MouradgeadOhssonwhich was granted Swedish noble title for the merits before the Kingdom. Their coat of arms is still kept in Stockholm House of Nobility occupying its rightful place among 600 Swedish noble families. One of the most valuable European studies of the Ottoman Empire was carried out by Ignatius MouradgeadOhsson.Unfortunately, his name is undeservedly forgotten within us.

On these days at the Stockholms Royal Armoury, which is located in the Royal Palace and is anattractive place for locals and tourists, there is an ongoing exhibition dedicated to the Armenian-Swedish connections during the medieval ages. One of the main artefacts of the exhibition is thetrade agreement signed between the Armenian merchants of New Julfa and the Swedish King Carl XI at the end of 17th century, which was stipulating number of privileges for the Armenian merchantsin Sweden. The exhibition will be kept open during the entire 2016 and there will also be several seminars about the Armenian history, culture as well as about the Armenian-Swedish connections. There will also be storytelling of Armenian fairy tales in Swedish for the children and youth.

In general, the embassy had a comprehensive cultural and educational activities. Numerous concertsof classic music, lectures, academic exchanges, exhibitions and publishing of books.However it should be kept in mind that most of the activities during the last year were dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Bearing in mind the important role of books in the Swedish society, we highly prioritize the publicationof Armenian classical and contemporary literature in Swedish. I am pleased to inform that Swedish publishers have a great interest in Armenian literature, and next year we hope to have several publications. We are also planning to organizejoint concerts of classical music andwork towards the enhancement of educational exchanges.

The Swedish side also takes active steps to increase bilateral exchanges in the cultural and educational fields.It is almost one year since Armenia was included in the Swedish InstitutesCreative Forceprogram, which provides good opportunities for the arrangement of joint Armenian-Swedish projects in the cultural field. Besides this, Armenian studentsare again giventhe opportunity to receive scholarships from the same Swedish Institute for studies at the leading universities in Sweden.

As you mentioned, during this year,the majority oforganized cultural events were dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Please provide us with information about the different arrangements in that area and how you assess Swedens participation in the organized memorial events in Armenia?

This year, the Embassy, the Armenian communities in Sweden and various Swedish organizations together organized around fifty events dedicated to the Centennial of Armenian Genocide. I will only mention the biggest and most important ones among them.

One of the unforgettable events was the ecumenical commemoration ceremony at the StorkyrkaCathedral of Stockholm, which was attended by the leaders of all Christian denominations of Sweden including thePrimate of the Swedish Church Archbishop Antje Jackelen. The Swedish Government was also officially represented during the ceremony.

On the same day, the Armenian community organizes a demonstration in one of the central squares of Stockholm, attended by thousands of people and marchto the Embassy of Turkey. Thousands of Armenians from all over Sweden came to Stockholm to participate in the commemoration events of April 24th.

In April, there were two commemoration events organized at the Swedish parliament attended by many parliamentarians, ambassadors accredited to Sweden, political and public figures.

On the initiative of the municipal authorities of Orebro and the Armenian and Assyrian communities living there, the first memorial monument dedicated to the victims of the 1915 Genocide was consecrated in May.

In August,the Armemuseumof Stockholm hosted thephoto exhibition Armen T. Wegner- eyewitness of the Armenian Genocide. The three-month long exhibition received an overwhelming coverage from leading Swedish press and attracted thousands of visitors.

This year, Armenia for the first time participated in Scandinavias largest International book fair in Gothenburg. The Armenian pavilion was dedicated to the Armenian Genocide showcasingSwedish, Finnish, Turkish, English and German books on the issue. Within the framework of the fair,the Embassy and different Swedish organizations held number of discussions, seminars and book presentations on the Armenian Genocide.

Sweden was represented in the memorial events in Armenia by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the Swedish Church was also represented. Swedish genocide scholars attended the Global Forum Againstthe Crime of Genocide, held in Yerevan.Saying that,we must take into account the bilateral relations between Sweden and Turkey and the fact that Sweden actively advocates Turkeys membership in the EU, the two countries have strong economic and cultural ties. Every year around 7% of the Swedish population or every 14th Swedespend their vacation in Turkey.

How would you assess the coverage of the Centennial commemorationsby the Swedish media?

There have been more than hundred publications in the central and local press,numerous radio and TV-programs throughout the year. On 23-24 of April,Swedish Radio held round-the-clock broadcasting of programs about the Genocide. And not a single publication putting under question the term Genocide. I think, this fact speaks for itself. Today we can undoubtedly say that the Swedishsociety has extensive knowledge about the Armenian Genocide, which, I think is a major achievement. Moreover, as the most striking case of discrimination, ithas an important place in the political discourse.

How did the memorial events affect the Armenian community in Sweden?

The Coordinating Committee of the Centennial commemoration events in Sweden deserves only praising. The arrangements involved greatorganizational work, which were carried out in Stockholm and in other major cities of Sweden. In my opinion, all this had a dual effect. On the one hand,it united the community-based organizations, institutions and individuals around the organizational work throughout Sweden and brought new vital energy into community life. On the other hand,they showed the Swedish society that the relatively small Armenian community in its unity and hard work canundertakeinitiatives that even the largest communities are not able to shoulder. In that sense,the philosophy of the Centenary commemoration, which briefly can be characterizedas remembrance and rebirth, was completely vitalized in the Armenian community of Sweden.

For the Armenian community,last year was remarkable also by the consecration of the first ArmenianChurch in Sweden and whole Scandinavia in November 2015, which surely will become one of the most important cradles for the unity of local community.

Finally, I would like to ask you to present the current state of the Armenian-Finnish relations, given that since November 2014 you are also accreditation as the Ambassador of Armenia to Finland?

The Armenian-Finish relations are also developing in the atmosphere of friendship and partnership established during the previous years. Ever since, the accreditation of the Embassy, we are putting active efforts to enhance our bilateral relations in all possible areas. I try to go to Finland once a month or once every two months for visits and meetings.

We have an active political dialogue between the countries. In the comingyearswe are going to organize high-level visits, parliamentary and public exchanges. There are active contacts between the Foreign Ministers of our countries. Last November, we had political consultations between the Foreign Ministriesin Helsinki. I am pleased to note that the parliamentary cooperation between our countries is gaining a new momentum, which was even more vitalized by the establishment of the Finland-Armenia Friendship Group at the Finnish Parliament on December 2, 2015. We will soon organize visits of the Friendship Groups to Yerevan and Helsinki.

The Armenian community in Finland is quite small but notable by its unity and presence of significant number of intellectuals which allows to successfully implement any program. On April 11, 2015,the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra gave a concert at the Tampereconcert hall, the largest classic hall in Scandinavia. With this concert, the APO launched its international tour dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The concert had a great success with a full hall, won high appraisal of the Finnish public and attention in the press and media. Within the framework of the concert, an exhibition Armenian Genocide and the Nordic Responsewas showcased in the hallway. The exhibition was dedicated to the Scandinavian missionaries who saved thousands of Armenian refugees during the Genocide. The support and active participation of the local Armenian community during the organization of the concert was invaluable.

Mr. Ambassador,allow me to ask our final traditional question. What would you advise to thoseyoung people who have chosen or would like to choose theprofession ofdiplomat?

The history will judge our times and contemporary Armenian diplomacy depending on how we have strengthened the security of our statehood and reinforced its vitality, how we have solved the issue of Artsakh.The rest is derived from these main tasks and therefore it is extremely important to properly highlight the priorities. If not each step is directed towards the achievement of these goals, at least each step must prepare necessary grounds for achieving them. Having limited human and material resources, we cant allow ourselves their residual waste.

I must also add that I admire theyoung generation of independent Armenia, that harmonious cohabitation of commitment and pragmatism within them. I am confident that their arrival intoour diplomacy as well as other areasof life will bring completely new qualities.

H.E. Mr. ArtakAPITONIAN

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

of the Republic of Armenia to Sweden and Finland

Was born on August 26, 1971 in the village of Alashkert, Armavir Region, Armenia

Education

1987  graduated from the School No. 1 of Armavir (formerly Hoktemberyan) with merits.

1992graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University (Arabic Studies) with honours degree.

1991-1992  Advanced training at theInstitute Bourguibades LanguesVivantes, Tunisia

1993 graduated from theInstitute for Diplomatic Studies, Cairo (special diplomatic courses)

Professionalexperience

Since 1993, has been working within the apparatus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yerevan and abroad

1995-1997- Third Secretary, Embassy of Armenia in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Cairo

1997-1998 - Third Secretary, Middle East Department, Ministryof ForeignAffairs,Yerevan

1998- Advisor, Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN, New York

1999-2002Second Secretary, Embassy of Armenia in Lebanon, Beirut

2002-2005- Headof the UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yerevan

2005-2008 Counsellor,Permanent MissionofArmeniatotheUNOffices inGeneva

2008-2009- Counsellor,AnalyticalDepartment,Ministryof ForeignAffairs,Yerevan

2009-2013-Head of the Department of External Relations, Office to the President, Yerevan

2013,November26 appointedasAmbassadoroftheRepublicofArmeniato Sweden.Presented his credentialsto the King Gustaf XVI of Sweden onJanuary22,2014, becoming the first Armenian residentAmbassador to Sweden.

2014, November 6  appointedasAmbassadoroftheRepublicofArmeniato Finland.Presentedcredentialsto the President of Finland SauliNiinisto onNovember13,2014.

Foreign languages

English, Russian, Arabic

Married, with two daughters and one son
Erdogan once again raises issue of so-called 'Zangezur corridor'

Armenian and Iranian FMs to open Iranian Consulate General in Syunik province tomorrow

Abdollahian: Aliyev assured that he does not want border changes, Iran will prevent implementation of such idea

Iranian Foreign Minister in Yerevan supports '3+3' platform

Iranian Foreign Minister recalls Tehran's 'red lines' in regional issues

Mirzoyan: We highly appreciate Iran's principled position regarding territorial integrity of Armenia

UK imposes sanctions against Iran for alleged delivery of drones to Russia

Yerevan hosts meeting of Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in narrow composition

Armenian and Iranian Foreign Ministers meet in Yerevan in extended format

Charles Michel: EU energy deal possible, but difficult

Erdogan says Baku should demand 'compensation' from Yerevan

Pashinyan: EEU mechanisms are of great help, trade turnover between Armenia and Belarus has doubled

Yair Lapid: Russia-Iran relations are serious problem for Ukraine, Europe, and whole world

Amir-Abdollahian: Iran is against presence of foreigners in this region, both in Azerbaijan and Armenia

Pashinyan at EAEU meeting: Fundamental principles of world economic system in question

Iranian Foreign Minister's official visit to Yerevan begins

Macron says Germany should not isolate itself in Europe

EU begins deployment of mission on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Trump's son made fun of Zelenskyy's ability to ask West for money

EU to provide emergency aid for Armenia residents affected by recent Azerbaijan military aggression

Azerbaijan army units fire at Armenia positions

Mikhail Mishustin arrives in Yerevan

EU approves new sanctions against Iran over alleged drone deliveries to Russia

Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting begins in Yerevan

Baku calls OSCE mission to assess situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border 'private visit'

On fourth day of IRGC military exercises on border with Azerbaijan, artillery destroys planned targets

Liz Truss quits as UK Prime Minister

Turkey parliament to consider extending Turkish militarys mandate in Azerbaijan

Dollar falls, euro rises in Armenia

Russias Putin ratifies agreement on simplification of payments for goods transit within EEU territory

Stoltenberg: Almost all NATO countries have agreed to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance

Ombudswoman of Armenia: Azerbaijan prevents removal of remains of fallen soldiers

Zakharova: Matter of holding CSTO Collective Security Council meeting being worked out

Ombudswoman of Armenia: I received video materials from EU special representative about Azerbaijanis

Armenia Security Council chief, UK army general discuss cooperation in security

Armenia and Kazakhstan discuss bilateral military cooperation

Iran says U.S. and Israel won't be able to split the republic

201 bodies are identified of Armenia soldiers who died as result of September military aggression by Azerbaijan

Iran FM to arrive in Armenia today

Turkey, Azerbaijan presidents officially open international airport in occupied Artsakh territory

Armenia President visits several leading Bulgaria IT companies

Ruben Vardanyan: I will assume Artsakh State Minister position at beginning of November

Armenia PM on making EU observation mission permanent: I'm not sure about that

US State Dept.: Our ultimate goal is peaceful resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia, Qatar to collaborate in tourism sector

Turkey president travels to Azerbaijan

Bandits in Russia cut off Armenian man's hands, shoot him in legs

President of Armenia, mayor of Bulgarias Plovdiv discuss avenues for deepening of cooperation

Armenia has new customs attache at Upper Lars checkpoint on Russia-Georgia border

Karabakh official: Baku goes for gradual escalation, provocation of situation

Armenia to get 33mn grant from EU for police, migration service, business development in Syunik Province

Lacote: OSCE observation mission deployment will contribute to respect of Armenia territorial integrity

World oil prices going up

Russia extends flight restrictions at 11 airports

Newspaper: Karabakh delegation to head for Moscow, meeting with Putin considered probable

Newspaper: Azerbaijan aggression on September 13 paralyzes Armenia public administration for some time

Azerbaijan army opens fire towards Armenia positions at midnight

Retired US Air Force general is offered consulting job in Azerbaijan at rate of $5,000 a day

White House is puzzling over how to avoid meeting between Putin and Biden at G-20 summit

Eduard Aghajanyan: Once again I remind that Armenia was deprived of opportunity to protect rights of people of Artsakh

U.S. says that limiting Russian oil prices is not aimed at OPEC

OSCE sends mission to Armenia to assess situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Jeff Bezos warns that U.S. economy may face recession

Kiev says nearly 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged

Raisi: Iran will use all its capabilities and potential to end war in Ukraine

Qatar gets first pandas in Middle East

Armenian president delivers lecture at St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia

More than half of Britons think Liz Truss should resign

Bloomberg: Putin and Erdogan's cordial relationship arouses Western anger

Dutch government invests up to 3.5 billion in military procurement

Erdogan discusses latest developments in Ukraine with Zelenskyy

School in Paris expels student from class for denying Armenian Genocide

Germany would like to participate in EU observer mission to Armenia

U.S. is considering plan to co-produce weapons with Taiwan

Poland to buy K239 Chunmoo from South Korea

Air defense system repels several missile attacks by Ukrainian troops at Kakhovskaya HPP

Baku court does not definitively terminate criminal prosecution of Yunus spouses

Liz Truss has no plans to resign

CSTO countries agree on draft agreement on standardization of military equipment

EU countries agree to sanction eight people and organizations over Iranian drones

Congressman David Price meets with rector of Yerevan State University

Chairman of Amsterdam City Court visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan

ASPU supports process of unification of universities

Deputy Chief of Police on new draft law: 'Citizen of Azerbaijan' is extremely relative notion

Benny Gantz: Israel will not supply weapons to Ukraine

Saudi Arabia lifts ban on Turkish soap operas

Armenia lawyer arrested

Remains discovered during renovation of Ministry of Culture building in Tbilisi are transferred to Armenian Pantheon

Dollar goes up, euro falls in Armenia

IRGC special forces conduct helicopter operations on third day of exercises on border with Azerbaijan

MFA: France position on achieving Armenia-Azerbaijan peace is unchanged

Foreign Minister: Iran will not allow blocking its communications with Armenia

Kremlin: Russia does not intend to close borders amid introduction of martial law in four regions

EU mission delegation visits some border communities of Armenias Gegharkunik Province (PHOTOS)

Armenias Papikyan attends defense ministers assembly in India

Brusov university rector: Armenia education minister offered me a high position in new university, I declined

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
As part of the Emory Integrity Project, every incoming student will receive a copy of "I am Malala" over the summer before arriving at Emory.

"I Am Malala," the memoir of a young woman shot by the Taliban for speaking out for her right to education, will be read by all incoming first-year students as the Emory Integrity Project explores the theme of "Standing" for its inaugural year.

The Emory Integrity Project (EIP) is seeded by a $2.6 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation and described as a comprehensive effort to promote and develop a culture of ethics and integrity throughout Emory's undergraduate experience.

Each year, the project will address a theme related to some aspect of ethics and integrity, reflected in a new common reading program. The EIP unveiled its 2016-17 theme and the book selected for students Wednesday, Jan. 27, at a reception at the Center for Ethics.

Led by Center for Ethics Director Paul Root Wolpe, the EIP is a joint project of the center and the Division of Campus Life. Wolpe heads the EIPs faculty advisory project, and Emily Lorino directs the student advisory committee.

The theme of "Standing" encompasses "all of its associated ideas and terms  standing for, standing with, standing against, outstanding, upstanding, withstanding, what do you stand for, what dont you stand for, explained Wolpe, telling the audience that the theme was suggested by Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology Marshall Duke.

In revealing the theme, Wolpe displayed a word cloud with a variety of phrases and uses of standing.

It allows us to talk about a variety of different kinds of ways in which people stand up for things," Wolpe said. "It also allows us to have a conversation about the metaphor of standing, which is an ableist metaphor, so it brings in the question of why it is we tend to use ableist metaphors for those kinds of things.

So there are some really interesting ways we can use this word to explore many, many different areas of ethics and integrity," he said.

Book touches many themes

EIP faculty and student advisory committees selected I Am Malala as the common reading for the project's first year. Malala Yousafzai, a student in Pakistan, dared to speak out for her right to an education and was shot by the Taliban at 15 as she rode a bus home from school. She survived and continued to speak out for girls' education, becoming the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Every incoming student will receive a copy of the book over the summer before arriving at Emory and it will serve as the basis for a year-long series of discussions related to the theme of "Standing."

We hope to get lots of other students to read it, too. We hope to encourage faculty to include this book in their syllabi, in courses, where its appropriate and relevant. And were going to foster conversations about this book as we go on, especially in Campus Life and the residence halls, Wolpe told the reception audience.

Why this book? Because it allows such a broad array of kinds of conversations, he said, ticking off some of the topics, including adolescence, family, feminism, violence, geopolitics, immigration."

"This book touches so many different themes," Wolpe added, noting that Yousafzai was the same age as many first-year students when she wrote the memoir. "She wrote this when she was about 17, and it is beautiful," he said. "I think its going to be a wonderful vehicle for beginning the Emory Integrity Project.

'To be truly ethically engaged'

The Emory Integrity Project held a reception Jan. 27 to reveal the theme and common reading for the 2016-17 academic year. Speakers included Emory President James Wagner. Emory Photo/Video

Speaking at the EIP launch reception, Emory President James Wagner said the project came out of conversations that began in 2011, when Emorys aspiration to be a more ethically engaged community came to the attention of an executive vice president of the Templeton Foundation.

While I am proud, excited and encouraged about EIP, Wagner said, I think we should all feel a sense of responsibility with an organization like that  what a great opportunity as a university to show people something about what it could mean to be truly ethically engaged.

Provost Claire Sterk also spoke at the event, joining Wagner in praising the project.

I like that you are calling it the Emory Integrity Project because I think there is something really special about having the words Emory and integrity together in a sentence. I want to thank President Wagner, Sterk said.

Im very excited for everything thats ahead. I am delighted to watch how it evolves and be part of it," she continued. "Compared to so many other places, I believe, we provide unique opportunities and this project will provide a whole lot of opportunity here.

Wolpe noted that the Templeton Foundation gives three-year grants, and Wagner provided funding to extend the Emory Integrity Project to span five years.

It is because of that funding from the University that we could spend an entire year planning this, so that when it officially begins in September, we will have had an intensive year getting everything ready," Wolpe said. "It is going to  penetrate much deeper into the University because we had that year of work ahead of time."

Wolpe also noted that a student committee is suggesting strategies for the EIP's implementation and introduced a short film created by student Megan Freeman.

The film shows a variety of students explaining what integrity means and what a culture of integrity at Emory would look like, both through interviews and in phrases written on white boards.

I think its a wonderful basis for us to build on, Wolpe said of the film.

Robin Forman, dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, noted after the reception that the Emory Integrity Project dovetails well with the goals of undergraduate education.

"The faculty of Emory College are committed to providing a deeply engaging educational experience, and are extraordinarily creative in the ways that they turn every course into a true intellectual journey," Forman said. "I look forward to watching how they will respond to this new opportunity to introduce fundamental and challenging issues into their curricular and co-curricular offerings."
A $600,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. will make way for a new program at Emory University geared toward connecting high school students to theology and faith.

Emorys Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) will partner with Candler School of Theology to facilitate Emory IMPACT (Immersion in Meaningful Practices of Action, Community and Theology), a four-pronged approach designed to invite a wide range of Christian high school youth to deepen their spiritual lives and embody their faith in the world.

The four-year grant is part of Lilly Endowments High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore their religious beliefs and their concerns about contemporary challenges by studying theology and examining how faith calls them to lives of service.

The initiatives ultimate aim is to identify and cultivate a cadre of theologically minded youth who will become leaders in church and society.

Bridgette Young Ross, the universitys dean of the chapel and spiritual life, will head the program.

"Emory IMPACT reflects Emory Universitys belief that education can be a strong moral force in both society and the lives of its individual members, she says. It stands to play a critical role in developing a new generation of leaders with moral and spiritual grounding who can connect their convictions to their analysis of contemporary challenges and lead organizations with vision and creativity."

Emory IMPACT will build on the success of Candlers Youth Theological Initiative (YTI). Established in 1993, YTI has educated more than 1,000 youth from across the United States and around the world during its three-week Summer Academy, where participants wrestle with deep theological questions in a supportive community of peers and are taught by seminary students and Candler faculty.

Elizabeth Corrie, director of YTI and associate professor in the practice of youth education and peacebuilding at Candler, will serve as the faculty advisor to Emory IMPACT.

The program is designed to address current challenges that hinder young peoples exposure to theological education, including schedules that dont allow time for long-term summer programs; school-required service projects that lack engaged reflection; using social media in place of face-to-face relationships; and the frequent departure of young adults from religious communities.

Emory IMPACT hopes to scale these hurdles with four components:

Taste of YTI: Finding God in the City ,a four-day, five-night residential program on Emorys campus for rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders that will offer the opportunity to engage in intentional community, theological reflection and contextual learning in an abbreviated timeframe. The shorter time commitment will allow more young people to benefit from the YTI experience.

,a four-day, five-night residential program on Emorys campus for rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders that will offer the opportunity to engage in intentional community, theological reflection and contextual learning in an abbreviated timeframe. The shorter time commitment will allow more young people to benefit from the YTI experience. Praying with our Feet and Journeys of Faith and Reconciliation travel seminars that will engage rising 11th and 12th graders in the theological, ethical and practical dimensions of mission, service and peacebuilding in the United States and abroad. Praying with our Feet will draw on the Civil Rights history of Atlanta, Birmingham and Selma, as well as current movements for racial justice. Journeys of Faith and Reconciliation will examine the religious peacebuilding process among Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

and travel seminars that will engage rising 11th and 12th graders in the theological, ethical and practical dimensions of mission, service and peacebuilding in the United States and abroad. will draw on the Civil Rights history of Atlanta, Birmingham and Selma, as well as current movements for racial justice. will examine the religious peacebuilding process among Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Taking Faith to College, a one-day workshop to be offered multiple times a year at Emory, designed to engage youth in the theological, ethical and practical dimensions of the transition from high school to college and provide tools to aid the growth of their faith into adulthood. Participants in 9th through 12th grades will connect with campus ministers, learn about the role of religious life in college and engage in critically reflective, theologically rich conversations on various aspects of college life.

Emory will begin offering Taking Faith to College this fall. Other programs will launch in summer 2017.

Corrie believes that the OSRLs partnership with Candler and YTI will be critical to the new programs success. "Because this program will use pedagogical approaches similar to those that have been honed over 23 years at YTI," she says, "we have confidence that Emory IMPACT will help young people gain greater facility and interest in theological reflection in their lives, their local communities, current events and the larger issues we face in the church and the world."
Alumni Association awards textbooks, supplies

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Thirty-eight Southern Illinois University Carbondale students received textbooks and supplies from the SIU Alumni Association during a Jan. 19 ceremony on campus. The textbooks and supplies are valued at more than $20,000.

Since 2008, the Associations national board of directors has earmarked investment earnings to support the financial needs of current and future SIU students. The boards scholarship committee, with the assistance of SIUs financial aid office, identified textbooks and supplies as an area of extreme importance to fill gaps in funding for students.

Several years ago, the board wanted to contribute money specifically to help students with their educational expenses, Hazel Loucks, a national board of directors member and ceremony guest speaker, said. As you well know, students face many challenges during their college years, not the least of which is the question of how to pay for it all.

The awards go to students who demonstrate a financial need and have a GPA of at least 3.0. The scholarships are just one way the Association helps support students at SIU Carbondale.

A list of students who received the scholarships, along with their hometown and major are:

ILLINOIS

Assumption: Brock Ohl, senior, exercise science.

Barry: Amanda Powell, senior, integrated marketing and advertising.

Benton: Ethan Overture, junior, special education.

Biggsville: Benjamin Alexander, senior, agriculture systems and education with a specialization in agriculture education.

Carbondale: Malika Ashford-Smith, sophomore, electrical and computer engineering.

Carbondale: Malik Wilson, junior, civil engineering.

Carlyle: Hannah Stamps, senior, biomedical science.

Champaign: Emily Miller, junior, radiologic sciences.

Chicago: Erick Camper, sophomore, education.

Chicago: Vimarie Zayas sophomore, criminal justice.

Christopher: Brittany Hammond, senior, biological sciences.

DeKalb: Patrick Martin, junior, mechanical engineering.

Elgin: Samantha Hennig, junior, dental hygiene.

Evanston: Kiron Blackwood, junior, radio/television production.

Litchfield: Andrew Bergman, sophomore, business management.

Makanda: Tiffany Walker, third year, SIU School of Law

Maywood: Arishna Marshall, junior, exercise science and pre-medicine.

Mt. Zion: Sarah Scranton, senior, special education and elementary education.

New Athens: Renee Kinzinger, sophomore, agribusiness economics and accounting.

Newton: Garrett Webb, junior, agribusiness economics and crop/soil environmental management.

Paxton: Brittany Walder, senior, hospitality and tourism administration.

Plainfield: Sarah Kovac, junior, physics and mathematics.

Plainfield: Nicholas Tyrell, Plainfield, senior, economics.

Sparta: Shayla Brown, junior, psychology and Africana studies.

ARIZONA

Cottonwood: Daen Glover, senior, aviation management.

IOWA

Hedrick: Tiana Slaney, junior, business management.

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles: Phoenix Mason, second year, SIU School of Law.

COLORADO

Boulder: Mary Hall, senior, mechanical engineering.

INDIANA

East Chicago: Destiny Figueroa, junior, radio-television with a specialization in digital media arts and animation.

Fort Branch: Sandra Hick, second year, SIU School of Law.

MISSOURI

Arnold: Stephen Lopez, junior, accounting.

NORTH CAROLINA

Midway: Emily Shoaf, freshman, radiation therapy.

TENNESSEE

Nashville: Erica Pytleski, junior, business management.

UTAH

Orem: David Stoddard, second year, SIU School of Law.

ECUADOR

Quito: Rene Crespo Mijares, freshman, undecided.

NIGERIA

Jos: Paul Egbo, senior, aviation management.

Lagos: Saheed Obitayo, senior, geology.

SOUTH KOREA
Whos talking in the library?

Two prominent authors will visit UF the week of Feb. 8 and speak in the Judaica Suite (Smathers Library, second floor in Special Collections Grand Reading Room).

On Monday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m., Olive Senior will a selection of her poetry and fiction, and then discuss Dying to Better Themselves: West Indians and the Building of the Panama Canal. Her recent prize-winning book exposes a little known side of a major historic accomplishment.

The author of more than 16 books, Senior is one of the most recognized contemporary Caribbean writers, having won prizes for her fiction, poetry and non-fiction. She has worked internationally as a creative writing teacher and lecturer on Caribbean literature and culture. Senior is on the faculty of the Humber School for Writers, Toronto, and has taught in the writing programs at University of Toronto, St Lawrence University, Barnard College and Columbia University.

Her work in recording and disseminating the cultural heritage of Jamaica was honored in 2003 with the Norman Washington Manley Foundation Award for Excellence and in 2004 with the Gold Medal of the Institute of Jamaica. Seniors writing is represented in numerous anthologies worldwide and has been translated into several languages.

This event is sponsored by the George A. Smathers Libraries, the Department of English, the Department of History, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, MFA@FLA, Amherst College and the University of Miami.

The Judaica Suite welcomes Sidney Homan on Wednesday, Feb.10, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, Sidney Homan will present a lecture on Directing Shakespeare: A Scholar on Stage.

Homan is professor of English at the University of Florida and visiting professor at Jilin University in the People's Republic of China. An actor and director in commercial and university theatres, he is the author of some eleven books on Shakespeare and the modern playwrights. His A Fish in the Moonlight: Growing Up in the Bone Marrow Unit combines stories of his youth in South Philadelphia with his experience as artist-in-residence telling those stories to children on the bone marrow unit of his university's hospital.

He is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars, and was chosen as the University of Florida's Teacher/Scholar for 2014-2015. With his son Daniel, he has completed a novel about a German resistance group that attempts with a theatrical trick to overthrow Hitler.

Officially opened by President Bernie Machen on January 19, 2014, the Judaica Suite was designed by world-renowned architect, artist and UF alumnus Kenneth Treister.
PIA employees resumed their protest outside major airports across the country, which came as the federal government invoked the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, in the PIA for six months.

The Dawn reported that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Pervez George has requested private carrier 'Airblue' to schedule additional flights between major cities to accommodate passengers after cancellation of PIA flights.

PIA confirmed that all domestic and international flights scheduled for today have been cancelled from all the major ports of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, PIA Joint Action Committee (JAC) spokesman Nasrullah Khan said employees had resumed their protest outside all major airports in the country and there has been no change in their demands.(ANI)
Starting this week, Le Mill started retailing Kanes wide range of offerings including its cruise collection.

The 2016 resort collection is inspired by the seemingly child-like terrain of the love heart which is mixed with its graphic pop appeal.

The starting point was our Lovers Lace and it was a natural progression to the love heart as the icon and motif of this collection. The love heart seems so simple and pure, almost child-like, but powerful and graphic.

There are those two sides to this collection: something romantic and pure, almost church girl with those pastels, mixed with a powerful killer red and an idea of something seductive but also disturbing, Christopher Kane, the man behind the brand, said in a statement on Wednesday about their spring-summer 2016 collection.

Brand Christopher Kane was launched in 2006 with a design philosophy that is very abstract and personal.

--Indo-Asian News Service nv/rb/rd

( 197 Words)

2016-02-03-11:53:33 (IANS)
More than 6,000 police personnel have been deployed in thistextile city as part of security arrangements for the one day visit of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi tomorrow. The Prime Minhister will inaugurate an ESI hospital and later address a publicmeeting to kick start Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)' campaign for the forthcomingelections to Tamil Nadu Assembly. Police sources said the Prime Minister was expected to arrive at Peelamedu airporthere at about 14.30 hrs from Kozhikode . A five tier security arrangement has been made at CODDISSIA ground , where the Prime Ministeris scheduled to hold the public meeting. All types of vehicles, including two wheelers, entering the city were being thoroughly checked. Over 250 personnel from various intelligence agencies have been deployed. Five Inspector General rank police officers, two Deputy Inspector Generals, 23 groups of 35 SPs, 50 Assistant Commissioners of Police and DSPs, 3,000 law and order police, 1500 armed police, 1,000 personals from Tamil Nadu Special Battalion have been deployed , the sources added. A number of cameras have also been installed along the routes Mr Modi will travel and at vulnerable places In the city. The Prime Minister might take a short break in the Circuit House in between the two programme. He may interact with industrialists during the short break, police added. NI KS VV VS104 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-566853.Xml
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme as a gift of the previous UPA Government to the people and said they should defend it for themselves."MGNREGA is the gift of UPA to our people to assist them to fight poverty, ignorance and disease...UPA is not in power now..,..It is up to the people to defend this revolutionary programme", the Congress quoted Dr Singh as saying in a tweet post today.Dr Singh along with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also visited Bandlapalli village on Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the flagship programme of his previous government.Bandlapalli is the village from where Dr Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had launched the programme on February 2, 2006.UNI SS SV 1105 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-570528.Xml
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) National President Amit Shah today offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara at the hill shrine of Tirumala this morning along with his family members. Mr Shah worshipped the Lord during the VIP Break Darshan period. Earlier, he was received at the temple by the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials. After offering worship, he received the Lord's offering from TTD officials. Temple priests also blessed him with renditions from 'vedasirvachanam' inside the temple.UNI VV VV RSS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-570496.Xml
The company is engaged to wind energy solutions provider toIPPs, PSUs, Corporates, Utilities and Retail clients, an official release said here today.

The company has additionally signed an agreement for 24 MW withContinuum Wind Energy and is in advanced discussions for furtherrepeat orders from Continuum Wind Energy at the same site.

Continuum Wind Energy is majority owned by North HavenInfrastructure Partners I, a US USD4 bn investment fund managedby Morgan Stanley Infrastructure that focuses on long-terminvestments across the globe.

The 170 MW completed order comprised of manufacture, supply,erection and commissioning of 85 units of Inox Winds top rated 2 MWWind Turbine Generator with 100 meter rotor diameter and 92 meterhub height.

Inox Winds high performing 100 rotor diameter variant has beencertified to have Annual Energy Production up to 21 per cent higherthan its 93.3 rotor diameter product. Post commissioning, Inox Windwill also provide long term Operations and Maintenance Services tothe project.

The wind energy project which has commenced supply ofelectricity to the state of Madhya Pradesh will provide power to89,000 households and curtail 0.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxideemissions annually, it added.

UNI ST RB SM1259

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Talking to newspersons here, National Backward Class Welfare Association President and MLA R Krishinia said " we do not have any objection in providing funds to Kapus."

Objecting strongly to the inclusion of Kapus in BC list, Mr Krishanaih said this would be severely affect the existing BCs.

Ratio wise, Kapu representation was more in the Legislature then their population when compared to BCs, he also pointed out..UNI VV VV RSS

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In order to streamline and rationalise developmental funds of the state government, Arunachal Pradesh Governor J P Rajkhowa, had a review meeting at Raj Bhavan. The Governor yesterday reviewed the guiding principle and course of action for 13 Finance Commission (TFC) grants for forestry related activities and DoTCL grant, attended by G S Patnaik, Advisor (FPD), Principal Secretary Finance, Satya Gopal, Secretary Planning Sonam Chombay, PCCP (WL&BD), Dr Rabindra Kumar, Secretary to Governor Dr Joram Beda and Deputy Director, Department of Tirap, Changlang and Longding (DoTCL) Wangton Lowang. The Governor has insisted that the state infrastructure development fund (SIDF) projects will be reviewed and finalised by a committee under the chairmanship of advisor (FPD). Fund will be distributed rationally as per population, backwardness and special needs of the area, an official statement said today. Mr Rajkhowa expressed surprise that previous plan for SIDP fund distribution as per the Planning Department had excluded Anjaw, Namsai, Changlang, Longding and Kra Daadi districts. The TFC grant also came up for discussion. The Governor directed that the plan was approved by last High Level Monitoring Committee (HLMC) meeting should be implemented and no arbitrary changes should be made on the project on priority list. Deputy Director DoTCL Wangton Lowang informed the Governor about the development funds earmarked for districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding. The Governor has reviewed the number of projects and instructed that funds should be equitably distributed to all assembly constituencies, it added. UNI PB AD SA CS1450 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-570795.Xml
A laptop, mobile and five passports were seized from the luggage of a terror suspect, who was detained by the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) of Goa police at Vasco in south Goa. He was arrested on Monday following the alert sounded in the state by intelligence agencies the police is verifying whether he has any links with any terror outfit or not. Suspect Sameer Sardanha, a native of Dehradun, Uttrakhand was arrested under section 41 CrPC and was produced before the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Vasco for remand. The inspector General police (IGP) Sunil Garg said ATS and intelligence agencies were interrogating the alleged accused, but till now there was nothing has been report. According to sources, he came downed Vasco ten days back and stayed in the dormitory of the Vasco railway station, he had extended his stay and has not give na definite answer for the extension. He was frequently visiting Mumbai and Pune and also booked tickets from Vasco and Margao railway stations for different routes. When ATS tried to check his emails and access his work on the laptop he refused to give his password saying he has forgotten it, sources said. The lap top on which he worked till Monday has been sent to the cyber cell and the team has been working on it since yesterday.UNI SRN RB SA CS1424 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0411-570646.Xml
He died in Delhi at the age of 92, his son Sunil Jakhar said.

"He was a man of action and who used his discretionary powers while in office for the benefit of his people, especially farmers," an official statement quoting the chief minister said.

He said he had numerous opportunities to interact with him and gain from his wisdom.

The cremation will be held at his native village Panchkosi near Punjab's Abohar town at 11 a.m. on Thursday, said Sunil, who is a former Punjab Congress Legislative Party leader.

--Indo-Asian News Service vg/pr/bg

( 124 Words)

2016-02-03-15:17:34 (IANS)
Warning that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy would not be allowed to move freely in the state, CPI(M) politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan today demanded that Mr Chandy should resign in the wake of wide allegations against him in the sensational solar scam.Addressing media here, the Leftist leader reiterated that strong protests against Mr Chandy would be held in the assembly as well as outside till he is ousted from power, even though he has only around two-months of tenure left. ''If the Chandy government tries to suppress the mass agitation, it would only get further strengthened, he said adding that the revelations by Saritha S Nair, key accused in the sensational solar scam, further exposed the role of the Chief Minister and her close association with him.Though Saritha had raised serious allegations against the three close aides of Mr Chandy, so far they had not denied the allegation, which only proved that there was some truth in Saritha's revelations. He also said that the ruling Congress party should have also tried to look into the allegations against the Chief Minister and his close aides, adding that the allegations were not raised by either the CPI(M) or the media, but by a woman entrepreneur, who had not only lost her money but was allegedly physically exploited as well. Replying to a question, Mr Vijayan claimed that since the Congress party's public image had received a severe setback in wake of the Sarithas revelations, the party was planning to join hands with the BJP, which was trying to bloom a lotus for the first time in the state.However, people in the state would not allow this at any cost, the CPI(M) leader claimed.Regarding the contempt of court case against Kerala Cultural Minister K C Joseph, Mr Vijayan alleged that it was not an isolated incident of blaming court orders or judges and the move aimed at protecting the Chief Minister.When it was pointed out that a senior CPI(M) leader had faced such punishment from the court for his remarks against a judge about a court direction, he said I am justifying the leaders remarks as it was against the court order that prevented public meeting on the sides of road, which was violation of public rights.UNI CGV CJ JN 1458 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-570629.Xml
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Dr Balram Jakhar, who passed away at his residence in New Delhi this morning. In a condolence message the Chief Minister said, "In the death of Balram Jakhar the nation has lost a balanced and an experienced leader, an ardent exponent of clean and value based politics besides being an icon of farming community, who ever championed their cause at the highest pedestal. The Chief Minister called up Congress MLA and son of departed leader Sunil Jakhar over telephone to share his heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved family. Mr Badal shared his condolences with the members of the bereaved family and prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength and courage to them to bear this irreparable loss.UNI NC GS SA BL1511 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-570868.Xml
In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described him as a seasoned parliamentarian and a true and committed leader of farmers who raised his voice in the support of the poor throughout his life.

In his condolence message, the Chief Minister expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the members of the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul. UNI NC GS RSA CS1504

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-570885.Xml
"While this is an unfortunate setback, I am encouraged and grateful that my doctor said the procedure was a success. I am looking forward to attacking the rehabilitation process this afternoon with my team and working hard to get back out on tour as soon as possible," the 34-year-old Swiss maestro said on his Facebook page.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion also announced that he injured his knee a day after losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals last week, Sport24 reported.

Federer is the reigning champion in Dubai after winning the title for the seventh time last March. (ANI)
UM Motorcycles - the Indian arm of the American motorcycle maker, UM International, LLC along with Lohia Auto has finally entered India on Wednesday. UM Motorcycles in JV with Lohia Auto launched its much-awaited cruiser range 'Renegade' in 3 variants: Renegade Commando, Renegade Sport S and Renegade Classic at the Auto Expo 2016 on Wednesday. Rajeev Mishra, Director -UML, Juan Villegas, Global Director - Business Development, UM International, LLC, Ayush Lohia, Director - UML and Bollywood actor and motorbike enthusiast, Karan Singh Grover were present for the launch. Talking about UM Motorcycles' foray in India, Rajeev Mishra, Director - UML, said: "Seeing the potential of India as a giant motorcycle market, we are confident of not only steaming up the competition but also taking a decent chunk of the market. Our innovative products with an exhilarating design and embedded with the latest technology at an affordable price tag are an absolute novelty in the Indian market. For consumers who want something different, we have brought the perfect answer for them through our Renegade series of motorcycles. We are extremely excited to finally open stores in India and our products will be available in 50 dealerships across India to start with." The Renegade Commando is a low-slung cruiser powered by a 279 cc single-cylinder water-cooled engine developing 25 bhp at 8,500 rpm and 21.8 Nm of torque at 7,000 rpm, mated to a six-speed transmission. The motorcycle comes with wide handlebars and hydraulic telescopic front suspension and spring rear suspension, which is ideal for a cruiser-segment motorcycle. The Renegade Commando will be available at INR 1.59 lakhs across all showrooms in India (ex-showroom New Delhi). The Renegade Sport S model and Renegade Classic will also share the same engine as the Renegade Commando. The Renegade Sport S was much appreciated when it was showcased at the 2015 EICMA in Milan. The Renegade Commando and its sibling Renegade Sport S come with an electric start and have an air filter with paper element innovation. Six-speed synchronised mesh has been added for easy cruising. The front wheel has telescopic suspension while the rear wheel has dual shock absorbers. These motorcycles have a fuel tank of 18 litres with a kerb weight of 172 kg. The Renegade Sport S and the Renegade Classic are available at INR 1.49 lakhs and INR 1.69 lakhs respectively across India (ex-showroom New Delhi). Juan Villegas, Global Director - Business Development, UM International, LLC said: "There is a huge liking for cruisers in India, yet many are not available in the price range of INR 1.5 to 2 lakhs. With the Renegade cruiser lineup, we aim to close this gap and give people an opportunity to ride an affordable yet premium American product customised especially for the Indian roads in terms of ground clearance, wheelbase, suspension and seat amidst other changes. We are not only coming in with a unique proposition in India but also a unique product with unmatched style and quality." "There is going to be some serious competition now in the mid-segment motorcycle industry. The competition is going to steam up with UM Motorcycles entering the market and I am confident that the globally appreciated Renegade range of cruiser bikes are going to win the hearts of motorcycle fans and enthusiasts in India as well. I wish UM Motorcycles all the very best and hope to see more and more people cruising on the streets on these amazing motorcycles of automotive excellence," added Karan Singh Grover, Bollywood actor. "We have worked tirelessly to bring UM Motorcycles into India. We know that the market is ripe for its sublime products and are confident that our manufacturing expertise along with the innovation that goes into these motorcycles, Indian consumers are going to be delighted throughout the country. We promise to deliver on the global sales experience that UM International is known for," added Ayush Lohia, Director - UML. UM International in alliance with the UP-based Lohia Auto has invested Rs 250 crore for business expansion. Manufacturing is already underway at the Lohia Auto's Kashipur facility in Uttarakhand which will also support the Government's 'Make in India' initiative. Headquartered out of New Delhi in India, the company has started appointing dealers across India. This distribution network will continue to expand taking in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and towns going forward. Bookings for the Renegade series have opened at the Auto Expo 2016. (ANI)
Charging the MCDs with mismanagement of funds which were given by Delhi Government,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. Addressing media persons in Bangalore, Mr Kejriwal said that the government had paid all the money to MCDs. I understand the pain of the MCD workers who did not get their salaries, but what about the BJP people spreading garbage on streets? While BJP indulged in politics, we cleaned up the city, he said. Expecting that the crisis over the salary will be over now after release of Rs 693 crore to MCD, including loan of Rs 550 crore, Mr Kejriwal said, It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find Rs 550 crore for loan. Delhi government is facing Rs 3000 crore VAT shortfall. We had to postpone some of our present commitments to next year to manage this money. Earlier in the day, unrelenting MCD employees escalated their agitation against the Delhi government over non payment of salaries. Around 1.5 lakh MCD employees, including sanitation workers, teachers, nurses and doctors, are on the streets for over a week now for not having received salaries, arrears and other perks for past three months and blamed the AAP government for their grief. The agitating workers also blocked roads and dump garbage at various places as a mark of resentment. Protesters were today spotted bringing garbage in small trucks and then littering it on roads to cause inconvenience to people. UNI SM JW RSA 1633 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0271-571192.Xml
A woman was charred alive and 110 huts were gutted in a major fire accident at Rajiv Gandhi park near Bus stand here today. Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana, who visited the scene, told media that flames erupted suddenly in the colony in which the deceased Rama Devi (60) burnt alive. As many as 110 huts completely destroyed in the mishap. Blast of domestic gas cylinder is suspected to be the reason of the fire mishap. However the exact reason for the mishap and loss of property is being ascertained, he said. Some two-wheelers parked in the area were also destroyed in the fire mishap. City Mayor K Sridhar said that the victims would be temporarily accommodated in the nearby bus stand premises and they would be provided all needed essentials, the Mayor said.UNI DP KVV ADB1645 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-571322.Xml
Taking to micro blogging site Twitter the CM wished the veteran, "birthday greetings to Waheeda Rehman ji," Ms Banerjee twitted.

Born in 1938 in Chengalpattu (Tamil Nadu), Waheeda has worked in several critically acclaimed Bengali, Tamil and Hindi films. Some of her most appreciated movies include CID (1956), Guide (1965), Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Reshma Aur Shera (1971). She also worked with Satyajit Ray in the Bengali film Abhijan (1962).

"Thank you for the beautiful films. Many more years of happiness and health," Ms Banerjee wrote.UNI PC AKM SHS BD1627

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Taking serious note of the rising corruption and governments failure to curb such cases, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court called upon citizens to raise voice against the menaceand refuse to pay taxes by launching a non-cooperation movement if the government fails to control it. While hearing a case related to financial embezzlement of over Rs 385 crore in Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Vikas Mahamandal (LASVM), an organisation which was set up for the uplift of Mathangcommunity, a single bench of Justice Arun Chaudhari opined here yesterday that the taxpayers were in deep anguish and the government as well as those in corridors of power should understand their excruciating pain and anguish. ''The citizens have been suffering for over two decades in the state and it is the responsibility of the government to prove to taxpayers that eradication of corruption would not turn out to be a forlorn hope for them,'' said justice Arun Chaudhari who also passed several strictures on the Maharashtra government and Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) for overlooking embezzlement of funds for over Rs 385 crore in LASVM. The Judge asked director general of police (DGP) to find out veracity of such cases reported in newspapers and act immediately. Justice Chaudhai termed the corruption as a "hydra-headed monster", and said ''it is high time citizens came together to tell their governments that they have had enough.'' The Judge also rejected the anticipatory bail application of Pralhad Pawar, LASVM's district manager in Bhandara, accused of embezzling funds of Rs 24 crore meant for distribution amongst poor members of the Matang community who fall in the scheduled caste category. The court noted that Mohol (Solapur) MLA Ramesh Kadam was made LASVM chairman in connivance with managing director Shravan Bawane and BOM officers. Together, they allegedly withdrew crores of rupees by showing fake expenditure, disbursement of loan of subsidy, and grants, stated the court order.UNI RS RB SA GC1613 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0411-570996.Xml
One person was shot dead by some unidentified gunmen in Dimapur last night, police sources today said.The man, identified as Charlie Hansing (30), was shot by unidentified gunmen at Burma camp area in Dimapur town, police said. The shooting occurred around 2030 hrs when the victim was at a shop along with some of his friends. The sources, quoting initial reports, said three unidentified assailants opened fire at Hansing and fled from the scene. Hansing, who was hit by one bullet each on head and stomach, was rushed to the nearest hospital where he succumbed to injuries. The motive behind the murder could not be ascertained so far, the police said adding that investigations were on to identify and nab the attackers. UNI AS AKM JN 1753 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-571429.Xml
In a condolence message Capt Singh said, the death of Jakhar was a great loss to the country, the state and particularly the party.

The PCC president said, Jakhar was a towering leader whose loss will be felt for a long time in the party.

Capt Singh said he and the entire party stood by the bereaved family in this hour of grief.UNI NC RSA AS1736

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She was found missing this morning and the co-students were searching for her. A pair of slippers was noticed near the well, adjacent to the college campus.

When the cops found Divya's body inside the well, they sent it to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMC) hospital, for post-mortem. Injuries were traced on the face of Divya's body and her father Jayaraman is a coolie worker in Kothagiri.

Tension prevailed in Mettupalayam as this is the third incident of college girls committing suicide in the state.

Further details will be known only after the post-mortem. A case has been registered and investigation was, underway, police added.UNI KS KVV AK 1805

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The Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, here will host the Chennai leg of Ship of World Youth Programme from February 9 to 12. Director of the Institute Dr Latha Pillai said the programme was supported by the Japanese Government. The chartered ship Nippon Maru from Yokohoma in Japan, carrying 120 Japanese Participating Youth (JPY) and 120 Overseas Participating Youth (OPY) from Australia, Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Chile, India, United Mexican States, New Zealand,Russian Federation, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,United Republic of Tanzania and United Arab Emirates with 12 youth from each participating country, would dock at Chennai Port. Later, the International Youth delegates will participate in a focussed group discussions on six identified themes like Youth Entrepreneurship, Environment, Disaster Risk Reduction, Information and Media, Education and Community Development with experts in the respective fields and in an interactions with the student youth of RGNIYD.). The ship will cruise around the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka before returning to Tokyo on February 29 under the Next Generation Global Leaders Programme. In addition, this programme aims to establishe networks and promoting joint activities among youths around the world through endowing a practical opportunity for cohabitation and joint activity on the board of the "Ship for World Youth". UNI VV ADB1802 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-571583.Xml
The high-profile Bhilai gang rape-suicide case, in which the victim was a 21-year-old college student, has taken a new turn with a key witness working as staff nurse at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Hospital attempting to take her own life barely five days after the sexual assault victim hanged herself after losing hope of ever getting justice, as revealed by a suicide note. Sonal Mehera (26) injected poison into her body last night while on duty at the facility where a doctor and two constables raped the student in June 2014 and continued to blackmail the victim with an obscene multimedia messaging service message for over half a year until she mustered courage to lodge a police complaint. However, the woman committed suicide at her Khursipar residence. Police said that Meheras statement was recorded in January last year. Other staffers broke open a door and rushed her in critical condition to the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Sector 9, Bhilai. Though a suicide note was seized, the nurse did not mention the rape. Her last wish was that her remains be handed over to close friends Uma and Ishwari and not to her parents or other kin for last rites. The matter assumed political hues as the principal opposition Congress, which had blamed the regime for making the sexual assault victim run from pillar to post for lodging a complaint and fighting the case while under constant threat from the accused, today said that the suicide attempt placed a major question mark on the government.UNI SS AC RSA VN1820 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-571527.Xml
Police today arrested three more junior doctors, including Junior Doctors Association President of Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital (MKCG) on the charge of assaulting a journalist, an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of police and an auto-rickshaw driver. The Baidyanathpur police had arrested six medical students last night on similar charges. With the arrest of three more junior doctors the total number of arrest in the case went up to nine. The junior doctors had allegedly beaten up the journalist, the ASI and the auto rickshaw driver following an argument between the junior doctors and the family members of a patient of the hospital. UNI BD KK DJK RSA VN1840 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-571566.Xml
The state government has selected the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) for the 'Hagandari Mukta' award under 'Clean Maharashtra' campaign.

A release issued by KMC here today said that the state government has sent an official letter to this effect.

In Kolhapur, the civic authority impelled 16,000 families who had no access to toilets to construct toilet in their respective houses. Along with this attempt, KMC also constructed total 4,200 toilet blocks at 324 various places and also supplied eight mobile lavatories in city. Taking into consideration these works, the stategovernment has selected Kolhapur as a first city in the state to be free of open defecation.

Apart from KMC, 31 municipal councils have been selected for this award, while three municipal councils have been selected for 'Clean Campaign' award.

The award function will be held at Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratisthan in Mumbai this evening in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. KMC Mayor Ashwini Ramane and commissioner P Shivshankar will attend the function.UNI SSS SS DJK AS1836

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Welcome to the Purdue Agronomy/NRES Ambassador Blog. We are current students sharing the day in a life of a Purdue Agronomy or Natural Resources and Environmental Science student.
The deceased were identified as panchayat member Amarjit Singh (34) and travel agent Kulwant Kaur.

Police said that the body of the boy was found hanging with tree whereas the body of girl was recovered from the tubewell of the victim's brother.

All the senior officers from the district headquarter rushed to village Jalalabad and started investigation today.

Police investigation revealed that both the victims might have some dispute and their murders were committed by someone due to that dispute.

The girl was murdered with sharp edged weapon whereas the body of the boy was found hanging.

The bodies were sent to Moga civil hospital for post-mortem this evening.UNI XC DB RSA VN2001

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The Supreme Court today said the green technology should be used not just for the cremation ground in the vicinity of Taj Mahal, but also in the entire country to reduce pollution. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) uses green technology to reduce pollution.The apex court division bench, comprising Chief Justice (CJ) Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice C Nagappan, said this after hearing from senior counsel from the SC, Vijay Panjwani, advocate appearing for the CPCB, that the pollution-monitoring body has already approached the IITs in Delhi, Kanpur and Kharagpur for green technology for cremation grounds to reduce carbon emission.Mr Panjwani told the SC that the scientists at the pollution-monitoring body were hardly equipped to offer any green alternatives for traditional open air cremation by firewood.The CPCB told this to the SC, in pursuance of the December 14, 2015 order and direction of the apex court. In its order, the SC had asked the CPCB to "examine what alternatives are available for having regard to the scientific advances in terms of different alternatives for cremation of dead bodies".The court had asked the CPCB to examine the matter and submit a detailed proposal to it. The bench was also told that people generally prefer the traditional firewood cremation as a matter of belief, which was of high carbon emission. SC asked CPCB and Uttar Pradesh government to look for some green technology, if any, to reduce the carbon emission. It also had asked the authorities concerned to encourage the people to use electric crematorium by not charging them any money, when burning dead bodies. UNI XC RJ 2106 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0352-572065.Xml
Manipuri documentary film, 'Phum Shang', has won the Golden Conch Award for the Best Documentary Film at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Animation andShort Films (MIFF) 2016, which concluded here today.Swiss movie, 'My Name is Salt', and Indian entry 'Placebo' shared the Gold Conch award for the Best Feature length Documentary Film, an official statement here said. The 52 minute documentary 'Phum Shang', directed by Hao Bam Pabankumar, an alumnus of the Satyjit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkatta, critically examines the serious environmental problems faced by the Loktak lake. The largest fresh water lake in North East India characterised by its unique floating biomass, known as Phumdi, is today considered a dying lake due to unchecked human activity. Pabankumar won the Golden Conch Award and a cash prize of Rs three lakh. 'My Name is Salt', directed by Mumbai born, Zurich-based Farida Pacha, is a film about the journey of thousands of families to the Rann of Kutch to extract whitest salt in the world. Chandigarh-based filmmaker Abhay Kumars 96-minute movies 'Placebo' explores the stress and pressure faced by medical students. My Name is Salt also won the Best Cinematographer award for Lutz Konermann, while 'Placebo' won the award for Best Editor. 'Placebo' was also declared the Most Innovative Film in the competition section. Debanjan Nandys animation flick Chhaya bagged the first prize in the Animation Category of International Competition. Mumbai filmmaker Devashish Makhijas Agli Baar shared the Best Short Fiction Film honours with the UK entry Solo Finale by Ingo Putze. Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the Best Debut Film of a Director went to Far From Home by Denmark-based filmmaker Nitesh Anjan, it added.UNI ST SS RJ VN2113 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-572061.Xml
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev who started his Yog-Shivir in Andaman from today, said that he is very impressed with the beauty of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Addressing a large number of Yog followers and bureaucrats at his Yog Shivir this morning, Baba Ram Dev said the mesmerising beauty of these Islands is an example for rest of the country. In a press conference organised yesterday at Andamans historic Andaman club Ramdev, who is fascinated by the bounties of nature of these emerald Islands, said though he has travelled all over the country and worldwide, but never saw such pristine beauty. "I have been hearing about the Islands since childhood, then known as Kalapani. It is a dream come true for me to visit these Islands now", Swamiji said. The Islands have immense scope for development. Tourism, which needs to be tapped in the right earnest, has greater potential to take these Islands to the world map. There should be special provisions for further development of tourism here, so as to attract more tourists from abroad, he added. Referring to Yoga, he said yoga is a way to attain scientific lifestyle. It rejuvenates body, mind and soul, he said, urging one and all to practice yog for attaining better health. He said the sacrifices made by freedom fighters for the cause of Motherland has made these Islands a place of pilgrimage and the Cellular Jail is the mute witness of the gory sufferings meted to the freedom fighters. Every Indian must visit the National Memorial Cellular Jail, at least once in his lifetime, to pay their obeisance to the heroes of our freedom struggle, said Yog Rishi, Swami Ramdevji, who arrived here yesterday. About 'Achryakulam' to be set up in these Islands, Swamiji said that establishment of Achryakulam will be a real tribute to freedom fighters who were incarcerated in the Cellular Jail. 'Acharyakulam' will be a combination of vedic and modern education, he added. Ramdev is leading a yog shivir at Port Blair, which will continue till February 7 at the historic Netaji Stadium from 0500 hrs to 0730 hrs. UNI SKR AKM RJ RK2045 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-571952.Xml
Expressing deep pain over the Sunday incident on microblogging site Twitter, the minister said she has sought a report from the Karnataka government and asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure safety of foreign students.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the chief minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested," Sushma Swaraj said.

"I have asked the chief minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty. I have asked for immediate report from the Government of Karnataka," she said in her tweets.

According to media reports, a mob of residents allegedly attacked and stripped a Tanzanian girl after dragging her out of the car in which she was travelling along with her three friends. Her friends were also beaten up.

The incident took place after a woman was mowed down on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Sunday.

The reports also said that the 21-year-old woman narrated the incident to police officials on Wednesday.

--Indo-Asian News Service sid-ps/sd/vt

( 224 Words)

2016-02-03-22:57:33 (IANS)
The report, recently submitted to the Registrar (Cooperative Societies), revealed that the state government and the State Marketing Federation Ltd suffered a Rs 129.86-cr loss since the 2012-13 kharif season because of rampant irregularities, mismanagement and corruption in procurement and storage of paddy.

The inquiry -- conducted by Deputy Registrar Sunil Tiwari -- found that lakhs of tonnes of paddy were either missing from or lying spoilt at Devri, Suma, Alesur, Khamharia, Balodabazar, Bhatapara, Kashdol and Bhatgaon centres set up by the Federation to procure paddy from registered farmers at support price. Barring a few reported cases of graft and other inconsistencies, no action was initiated against erring officials of other centres with regard to loss of paddy worth over Rs 100 crore.

Making the document public at a press conference here, Congress Spokesperson and Chhattisgarh in-charge Mohammad Akbar and the partys state President Bhupesh Baghel demanded a CBI probe.

Alleging that a ruling BJP legislator and his brother were involved, the Congress leaders threatened to launch an agitation within and outside the Assembly in support of their demand for a federal inquiry and action against erring ruling party leaders, rice millers and others.UNI SS AC AY RJ RK2227

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Talking to reporters here in Vidhan Bhavan, Mr Vikhe-Patil claimed that the MGNREGA is the only scheme that gives cash to landless farm labourers as well as poor farmers in the present situation of acute drought in many parts of the state.

But this government was deliberately spending less to provide work to the needy, the senior Congress leader charged.

This has led to the migration of masses from rural areas to cities like Aurangabad, Mumbai and Pune, Mr Vikhe-Patil said and warned the BJP government (both in the state and at the Centre) that their policy of deliberately downgrading MGNREGA would be disastrous for the state.

Mr Vikhe-Patil alleged that the BJP-led state government was playing vindictive politics and trying to implicate Maharashtra Congress Committee president and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavanin the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

He said when the Governor had once rejected the permission to prosecute Mr Chavan, this government again recommended to the Raj Bhavan to allow prosecution of Mr Chavan in Adarsh case.

Asked about NCP leader and former MP Sameer Bhujbal's arrest by Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case, Mr Vikhe-Patil declined to comment saying the matter was subjudice. UNI XR SS RJ VN2302

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Four students, out of around 750 ndidates, who had appeared for the Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Course (IPCC) examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here in November last year, have passed in both groups. A total of 71 students passed in the first group, while 58 cleared the second group, said ICAI local branch chairman CA Pankaj Kalantri and WICASA chairman CA Alkesh Rawka said in a statement here today. The four students, who passed both groups simultaneously, are Aniket Gole (387), Smruti Sabnis (363), Manasi Pahade (361) and Heena Taneja (358, all marks out of 700), the statement added.UNI VKB SS RJ RK2244 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-572196.Xml
Hearing the bail petition of Shahaubddin, a single bench of Patna High Court presided over by Justice Jitendra Mohan Sharma, rejected the bail petition of the former RJD MP's counsel.

The court had yesterday reserved its judgement.

Shahabuddins supporters had allegedly abducted two brothers, Girish (23) and Satish (20), following a dispute with the duos father, Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chanda Babu, over possession of his shops in the main Siwan market.

While Girish and Satish lost their lives after they were drenched in acid, their elder brother Rajiv Roshan, who was also abducted, had managed to flee.

Roshan was later killed in June 2014, three days before he was scheduled to appear in the court to record his statement as an eyewitness after the Patna High Courts intervention in the case.UNI XC DH BM RJ RK2305

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-572167.Xml
Due to non-availability of VIPs to lay the foundation stone of Rs 2.5 crore Saria project in the Dr R P Govt Medical college (DRPGMC) at Tanda was put off for the third time on February 1 during the last six months. The project was funded by former Chief Minister and sitting BJP MP Shanta Kumar and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Viplov Thakur, contributing Rs 25 lakh each besides the Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) offered to pay Rs two crores for it. Resentment prevails among the people and attendants of the patients undergoing treatment in DRPGMC at Tanda for the failure of state government to lay the foundation stone of this multi-crore most needed Sarai project of public interest, for want of VIP. for the last more than six months now. The state government had decided to lay the foundation stone for the project on September 7, last year, but was postponed at last minute when Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was not available, despite the fact the BHEL Chairman had arrived in Delhi on way to Kangra to attend the function. In September 2015 again, the foundation stone laying program was put off for non-availability of a VIP for laying the foundation stone. It was again decided to lay the foundation stone of the project on February 1, 2016, when Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Shanta Kumar were to visit DRPGMC Tanda to attend different functions on the same day, but again the foundation stone laying was again put off because the BJP MP could not attend the function because he was indisposed. Sources close to Shanta Kumar said the BJP MP was ailing on the said day. Surprisingly, the Jindal Foundation, meanwhile, offered to construct the sarai for one hundred attendants of TMC patients and simply wanted land and approval from the state government. The philanthropic offer letter was also gathering dust in the offices of the high bureaucrats at Shimla for the last one year with no one in the government prepared to accept the offer for this humanitarian project. The attendants of the patients have to accommodate themselves in the corridors of the hospital both in summer and in the winter without any shelter for them in the college. Former HPSEB Executive Engineer P D Saini expressed shock over the state of affairs and demanded immediate attention of the government towards this public interest project and reiterated his offer of four kanals of his private land adjacent to the DRPGMC Tanda with market value of Rs two crores for the project. UNI XC DB RJ RK2254 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-571912.Xml
The Civic body of British Raj day capital town, facing shortage of pure water, decided to hold a seminar inviting national and international level experts to suggest resources and optimum use of present natural water. Talking to UNI here today, Shimla Municipal Corporation Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Tekinder Singh Panwer said that Civic body may have to face severe crisis of pure water in upcoming summer season and require to have a contingency plan as one of water supply scheme of IPH was found contaminated with sewerage water. National and International environmentalist, subject matter experts have been invited to attend the seminar. During the deliberation, delegates would give their suggestion to sort out the water crisis of Shimla town, to rid off the water borne diseases, and devising means to upgrading the facility to cope up with rising demand of drinking water in the town. They said that town was facing frequent outbreak of water borne disease since 2007 and specially jaundice as malfunction of sewerage treatment plants was contaminating the drinking water sources in the town. During investigation, it was found that management of STPs is faulty and untreated water is being mixed in drinking water sources, they added. Recommendations were made on each outbreak of disease, however, buck was being passed on MC Shimla to put the matter under carpet by the state government. The MC functionaries said that event would be held in the first week of March this year in which special experts would preside over the seminar, including world-renowned experts like Prof Dinesh Abrol and Prof Romi Khosla. Mr Panwar said that MC would hold the seminar in collaboration with Irrigation and Public Health, HP Pollution Control Board, Department of Environment, Department of Health, Indian Medical Council of Research(IMCR). Indian Virology Sciences Research Institute and various organisations of state and Shimla. They said that natural water of this town is equal to mineral water, however, loopholes in the management of water resources were rendering people with water borne diseases as the menace was causing fury in the town for some time. UNI ML DB RJ RK2250 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-571962.Xml
The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to give its opinion on a public interest litigation, challenging the decision of Haji Ali Trust to ban the entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the internationally famed Durgah here. As the issue is sensitive, a bench, headed by Justice V M Kanade, asked Advocate General Srihari Aney to submit arguments on behalf of the state on February 9, stating whether women should be allowed into the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. Today, when the PIL came up for hearing, the bench was told that the Advocate General was standing before another bench in some other matter. Hence, the PIL on Haji Ali Durgah was posted for arguments on February 9 when the Advocate General has been asked to argue on behalf of the State. The High Court had last month indicated that it would wait for the Supreme Court's ruling on entry of women in Sabarimala temple in Kerala before deciding on the plea in the case of Haji Ali Durgah here. The Judges had said both the matters were similar, involving the entry of women in the religious shrines and hence, they would like to see what view would the Supreme Court take on the issue before they give a ruling on the interim relief sought by the petitioner.UNI AAA SS RJ VN2337 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-572217.Xml
In his second leg of the two-nation South East Asia tour, he will leave for Thailand capital Bangkok.

Three MoUs were signed with Brunei to cooperate on defence, health and youth affairs and sports.

He also addressed the expatriates and lauded their contribution to the economic, health and educational fields in the host country.

Reports say e-Visa facility to the people of Brunei is expected to be rolled out very soon. (ANI)
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day after the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency. The virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and WHO officials expressed concern that it could hit Africa and Asia as well. Zika had been thought to be spread by the bite of mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, so sexual contact as a mode of transmission would be a potentially alarming development. Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case in Dallas from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The county department said on Twitter that the person was infected through sexual contact with someone who had traveled to Venezuela. The person infected did not travel to the South American country, county health officials said yesterday. The Texas Department of State Health Services was slightly more cautious in its assessment, saying in a statement, "Case details are being evaluated, but the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person is likely in this case." County authorities said there were no reports of the virus being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in the Texas county. A CDC spokesman confirmed the results of a test for Zika infection but said local officials investigated the mode of transmission. Previously, international health officials had noted one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission. But the Pan American Health Organization said more evidence was needed to confirm sexual contact as a means of Zika transmission. The medical literature also has one case in which the virus was detected in semen. The virus has been linked to microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains. The WHO has said the virus could infect 4 million people in the Americas. It said on Tuesday it launched a global response unit to fight the mosquito-borne virus. "Most important, we need to set up surveillance sites in low- and middle-income countries so that we can detect any change in the reporting patterns of microcephaly at an early stage," Dr. Anthony Costello said in Geneva. Costello is WHO's director for maternal, child and adolescent health. Twenty to 30 sites could be established worldwide, mainly in poor countries without robust healthcare systems. Brazil is the country hardest hit by Zika. In an address to a joint session of Brazil's Congress, President Dilma Rousseff said her government will spare no resources in mobilizing to combat the mosquito that transmits the virus. With no vaccine or treatment for Zika, efforts to curb its spread have focused on eradicating mosquito breeding sites. Brazil, which has 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly that may be linked to Zika, is scheduled to host the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August. Rousseff also said Brazil and the United States will enter a partnership to develop a Zika vaccine as soon as possible to stem the spread of the virus. The Pan American Health Organization said Zika was now spreading in 26 countries and territories in the Americas.VACCINE EFFORTS French drugmaker Sanofi yesterday announced that it has launched a project to develop a vaccine against the virus, the most decisive commitment yet by a major vaccine maker. The company said its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines division would use its expertise in developing vaccines for similar viruses such as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and dengue. Other companies also joined the race on Tuesday to develop a vaccine. The University of South Australia said it was working on a Zika vaccine with Australian biotech Sementis Ltd. US drug developer NewLink Genetics Corp said it has started a project to develop Zika treatment options. Experts have said a Zika vaccine for widespread use is months if not years away. Costello said the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus "are present ... through Africa, parts of southern Europe and many parts of Asia, particularly South Asia." Africa and Asia have the world's highest birth rates. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said on Monday it was "strongly suspected but not yet scientifically proven" that Zika causes microcephaly. The first Irish cases of Zika virus have been detected in two people with a history of traveling to a country affected by the mosquito-borne infection, the Health Service Executive of Ireland said. Chilean health officials said they have confirmed three cases in Chile of people infected with the Zika virus, all of whom were infected while traveling elsewhere in Latin America. An Australian state health service said two Australians were diagnosed with the virus after returning from the Caribbean, confirming the first cases of the virus in the country this year.REUTERS PS PR0425 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0352-570409.Xml
Australia's High Court threw out a challenge to the country's offshore immigration detention camps today, clearing the way for the deportation of dozens of infants born in Australia to detained asylum seekers. The court rejected a legal test case bought by an unidentified Bangladeshi woman that challenged Australia's right to deport detained asylum seekers to the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru. The Australian government said before the court ruling it planned to deport all of the roughly 250 asylum seekers detained in Australia back to Nauru. The detention centre on Nauru houses about 500 people and has been widely criticised by the United Nations and human rights agencies for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse. The Bangladeshi woman was on a boat intercepted by Australian authorities in October 2013. She was detained on Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, and then later sent to Nauru. She gave birth to a daughter after she was transferred to Australia for medical treatment in 2014 and has remained there with her child. Other families with children born in Australia in similar circumstances are now in line to be returned to the detention camps. Lawyers acting for the Bangladeshi woman had argued it was illegal for the Australian government to operate and pay for offshore detention in a third country. Children born in Australia to non-citizens or parents without legal residency are not entitled to citizenship until after their 10th birthday, and then only if they have lived most of their lives in Australia, according to the Department of Immigration. Under Australia's controversial immigration policy, asylum seekers attempting to reach the country by boat are intercepted and sent to camps on Nauru, about 3,000 km northeast of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea. A similar test case challenging the legal status of Australia's offshore processing operation in Papua New Guinea was rejected by the same court in June 2014. The ruling will allow Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to fulfil his pledge to deport the infants, as well as 54 children brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment and more than 150 adult family members.REUTERS PS PR0544 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0352-570421.Xml
The California Air Resources Board said late that Volkswagen AG submitted a recall fix plan for 3.0 liter diesel SUVs and cars that emit up to nine times legally allowable pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency and California said in November that the German automaker used undeclared auxiliary software to allow 80,000 Audi, Porsche and VW SUVs and larger cars to emit excess emissions. California had set yesterday deadline for VW to submit a plan to recall and fix the vehicles with engines that were designed by its Audi unit. "We are fully cooperating with the US authorities to make our V6 3.0L (diesel) engine compliant with regulations. After meetings between EPA and (California) and our technicians, we filed a recall plan," Audi of America spokesman Mark Clothier said yesterday.REUTERS PS PR0549 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0352-570422.Xml
Police in Australia investigating threatening phone calls that led to the evacuation of more than 30 schools in recent days said today they suspected the hoax calls originated overseas and were part of a sophisticated hacking system. The calls, which began last Friday, have made threats of bombs or shooters at schools in at least three states and the Capitol Territory. Occurring almost daily since, the calls appear to have been automated, stored on servers, and unleashed in batches over the Internet, according to authorities. The incidents follow similar hoaxes that have led to the evacuations of thousands of school children in Britain, France, the Netherlands and Japan in recent months. Australian authorities did not say whether the threats were linked. Police in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, said in a statement that there was no indication that the hoaxes were related to terrorism, and urged media to show restraint to minimise publicity for the perpetrators. "There is no evidence these are anything other than hoaxes designed to cause unnecessary disruption and inconvenience," the police statement said. "The threats appear to come from overseas with no credible evidence they could be carried out here."Australia, one of the largest contributors to the United State-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, is on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals.Authorities say they have thwarted a number of potential attacks, although there have been several "lone wolf" assaults, including several involving school-age teens. Police shot dead a Melbourne teenager in September 2014 after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers. In October of last year a 15-year-old boy was killed by police after he gunned down, at close range, a police accountant in Sydney. The recent threats are believed by authorities to involve a fairly high degree of technological sophistication.James Merlino, Education Minister in Victoria State, said that police were investigating whether some of the calls had been routed through hacked telecommunications equipment at a prestigious high school in a Melbourne suburb. "It may be that the hacking and the telecommunications are bouncing around the world and landing in this school," Merlino told ABC Radio on Wednesday. Nearly 4,000 children were evacuated after four secondary schools in Britain received hoax bomb calls last month. No bombs or suspicious objects were found, police said.REUTERS CJ GC1146 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-570609.Xml
The head of Swiss trading giant Trafigura's Beijing office was released on bail this week after eight months in detention, while a probe into alleged fraudulent oil trading continues, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Li Bo, a Singaporean national, was detained last June and has not been charged in the matter which relates to an alleged $32 million in losses by a private Chinese trader. Li was the second Trafigura employee to be detained after Chinese trader Qingdao United Energy filed a complaint to police, alleging it had suffered the losses through trade financing deals with Trafigura.Senior sources at Trafigura, a leading oil and metals trading house, say the matter is a commercial dispute and should not involve police or state prosecutors. Li was granted bail after his period in detention hit a legal limit, said one of the two sources, who was briefed by authorities. No charges have been laid against him, the source said. "Li's on bail but he is not allowed to leave the country and has to stand on call if authorities need him," the source said. The main face for the Swiss firm's Chinese oil business, Li was detained by police as he was preparing to fly to Singapore. Trafigura declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Cangzhou Police Bureau, the north China-based police authority in charge of the probe, could not be reached for comment. Trafigura's Beijing-based oil marketer Tian Meng was arrested in August 2014, but has also not been charged. Police last July asked prosecutors to charge Tian with contract fraud and fraudulently obtaining letters of credit. Trafigura sells crude oil to China from West Africa, South America and more recently, Russia. Its main counterparty is Unipec, the trading arm of China's top refiner Sinopec Corp . Since last year it has also marketed crude oil to independent refineries, which have been allowed import rights, while maintaining its fuel oil business. REUTERS CJ GC1237 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-570677.Xml
Ahead of the next presidential battle in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both saw victory in their razor thin contest in Iowa, while Donald Trump, though much mellowed, insisted his brand is doing great. In the Democratic race, edging out Sanders by the narrowest margin of just four votes (701-697) for the top spot in Monday night's Iowa caucuses, Clinton downplayed her rival's strong performance with young voters as her campaign spun it as a historic win. Clinton said she would win over the young with her plans for college affordability and student debt relief. But she also sought to lower expectations in next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, where polls have showed the neighbouring Vermont senator holding a lead. "I know that they tend to favour their neighbors. That's the pattern," Clinton told CNN. "Senator Sanders is a neighbour, but I think we will have a good contest." "I am so thrilled," said Clinton whose disastrous third place finish in 2008 in Iowa unravelled her first presidential bid. "My luck was not that good last time around, and it was wonderful to win the caucus, to have that experience." However, the Sanders campaign painted it as a fight against the establishment and the powerful Clinton Machine. "We went toe-to-toe with the establishment," Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN on Tuesday. "We're going to fight really hard in New Hampshire and then we're going to Nevada, to South Carolina, we're doing well around the country," Sanders himself said shortly landing in New Hampshire. Sanders, who trailed Clinton in Iowa by 30 points three months ago, told a raucous crowd chanting "Bernie, Bernie" that his campaign made stunning progress. "Nine months ago, we came to this beautiful state, we had no political organization, we had no money, we had no name recognition and we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America," he said. Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Trump acknowledged his decision to skip the last Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses may have led to his finishing second to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Still, Trump said he would make the same decision again, pointing to the $6 million he raised for veterans' charities. But the real estate mogul refused to concede any mistakes his campaign may have made in Iowa and said he was not concerned about how his runner-up finish in Iowa could affect the brand he has promoted throughout his career and campaign: that of a winner. "I think my brand is doing great," Trump told reporters. In the latest CNN Poll of Polls, Trump led Cruz 31 percent to 13 percent with third finisher Florida senator Marco Rubio at 11 percent. But given his clear victory over Trump in Iowa, Cruz campaign is expecting a significant uptick in polling and fundraising in the coming days. Taking a victory lap in New Hampshire, Cruz attributed his caucus win to a "grassroots army." Rubio too faces a key test with keeping the momentum alive after his third place finish in Iowa. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has already called it quits. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has gone home to Florida "for a change of clothes" after his fourth place finish in Iowa. Meanwhile, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Ohio governor John Kasich and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, are said to be trying to rally establishment-minded Republicans to their side in New Hampshire. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) --Indo-Asian News Service ak/vm ( 598 Words) 2016-02-03-13:09:34 (IANS)
China is extremely concerned by reports that North Korea plans to launch a satellite, the Foreign Ministry said today. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks at a regular briefing, adding that China called on North Korea to exercise restraint. Japan has placed its military on alert to shoot down any North Korean rocket if it threatens Japan. The launch could advance North Korea's long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.REUTERS CJ GC1302 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-570719.Xml
Iran calls for closer ties with Russia, Iraq and Venezuela on energy issues, RIA news agency quoted Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying today. "In the energy sector, Iran and Russia should feel no rivalry and must cooperate with each other," he said during a visit to Moscow. "Our position is that such countries like Iran, Russia, Venezuela and Iraq ... should have more contacts and consultations on the energy market." REUTERS SA BL1453 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-570965.Xml
The risk of open war between Russia and Ukraine is greater than it was a year ago and Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun an "information war" against Germany, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the German newspaper Bild.Poroshenko, who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday, said Russia had implemented "not one single point" of the Minsk accord, which includes a ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.Russia was building up its military presence on the border with Ukraine, he said."The danger of an open war is greater than last year," Poroshenko told Bild, in an interview published in its Wednesday edition. "Russia is investing a great deal in war preparations."Merkel pressed Putin by phone on Tuesday to use his influence to ensure that a ceasefire is upheld in Ukraine and that monitors from the OSCE European security organisation are granted free access to conflict areas, her spokesman said.Berlin is growing increasingly suspicious that Russia is trying to stir up trouble in Germany to try to weaken Merkel, who has taken a tough line on a crisis that was triggered when Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014.German officials say Moscow hopes to destabilise Europe and create a vacuum into which it can project its own power."Now Putin has opened an information war against Germany as well," Poroshenko said.The Kremlin has not commented on the accusation that it is pursuing a policy of misinformation in GermanyREUTERS CJ AS1416 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-570830.Xml
Former Soviet Central Asian Republic of Tajikistan has expressed serious concern over the ongoing concentration of over 5,000 gunmen along the Tajik-Afghan border of 1,344 kilometers."Our intelligence agencies are not only closely following the situation in the inhabited localities in this and other districts of Kunduz Province, but also took additional security measures by reinforcing the Panj border detachment," an anonymous spokesman for Tajikistans State Committee for National Security (SCNS) told Tass news agency in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital today.The spokesperson was commenting on the Afghan media reports about the appearance of several hundred armed foreign mercenaries in Afghanistans frontier Imam Sahib district. According to him, the militants include members of the Taliban movement, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat Ansarullah groups with dozens of Tajik natives. The SCNS spokespersons noted that Dushanbe neither "underestimated nor overestimated these groups danger" having sufficient forces to rebuff the attacks and also "having strategic military allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), primarily Russia." "Russias technically well-equipped 201st military base is located in Tajikistan, which is battle-ready, as evidenced by the results of the participation of its units in the joint large-scale exercises of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force along the Tajik-Afghan border last May," he said, adding that the Russian military delegation led by Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov was in Dushanbe today. The delegation will discuss with Tajik counterparts the situation in the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force responsibility zone in Central Asia and the implementation of the agreements reached earlier on the military and technical equipment of the countrys armed forces.Referring to the number of Tajik citizens taking part in combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, above all, as part of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the spokesman noted that Tajikistans competent authorities had relevant information on 900 people. According to various sources, some of them - from 150 to 250 - were killed in fighting against the government forces of these countries, he said.UNI XC SHS RSA 1513 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-571012.Xml
Japan put its military on alert today to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it, while South Korea warned the North it would pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead with a satellite launch that South Korea considers a missile test.North notified UN agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between February 8 and 25.North Korea has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments suspect that such launches are in reality tests of its missiles."We have defences ready to deal with all threats, but in view of the announcement I have put the Self Defense Force's Aegis destroyers and our PAC-3 units on alert and issued an order to shoot down any ballistic missile threat," Japan's defence minister, Gen Nakatani, told media briefing.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would work with the United States and others to "strongly demand" that North Korea refrain from what he described as a planned missile launch.Tension rose in East Asia last month after North Korea's fourth nuclear test, this time of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.A rocket launch coming so soon after the nuclear test would raise concern that North Korea plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to launch a strike against South Korea, Japan and possibly targets as far away as the US West Coast.North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit.South Korea said the North should immediately call off the launch, which is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the South's presidential Blue House said in a statement."North Korea's notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community," the Blue House said."We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price ... if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan," it said.'EXTREMELY CONCERNED'China, under US pressure to use its influence to rein in the isolated North, said North Korea's right to space exploration was restricted under UN resolutions.China is North Korea's sole main ally though China disapproves of its nuclear programme."We are extremely concerned about this," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a briefing."In the present situation, we hope North Korea exercises restraint on the issue of launching satellites, acts cautiously and does not take any escalatory steps that may further raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula."Reports of the planned launch drew fresh US calls for tougher UN sanctions that are already under discussion in response to North Korea's January 6 nuclear test.State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United Nations needed to "send the North Koreans a swift, firm message".A spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, said the agency had been told by North Korea it planned to launch the "Kwangmyongsong" satellite.North Korea said the launch would be conducted in the morning one day during the announced period, and notified the coordinates for the locations where the rocket boosters and the cover for the payload would drop.Those locations are expected to be in the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula west coast and in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines, Pyongyang said.South Korea told commercial airliners to avoid flying in areas of the rocket's possible flight path during the period.The launch is likely to be from the North's Tongchang-ri station near the Chinese border.US officials said last week North Korea was believed to be preparing for a test launch of a long-range rocket, after activity at the site was observed by satellite. REUTERS SA AS1525 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571059.Xml
Egyptian security forces killed two suspected Islamist militants during clashes in the upscale Cairo district of Maadi today, security sources said. Egypt is trying to clamp down on Islamist militants who stepped up attacks after the army toppled president Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. They have mostly targeted soldiers and police, but also attacked civilians. Although raids against militants are common in Egypt, they are rare in neighbourhoods like Maadi, a leafy suburb which is home to a large foreign community and some of Egypt's elite. Two police were wounded in the clashes and another two militants escaped with security forces in pursuit, security sources said. They said police had received information that armed militants were in the area. When security forces arrived, the militants opened fire and clashes ensued, the sources said. Weapons and explosives were found nearby, they said. REUTERS SA BL1549 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571124.Xml
He was accorded a warm and ceremonial reception at the airport by Thai officialsafter he flew down here from Brunei.

He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including a Minister of State, Members of Parliament and senior officials.

According to his itinerary, the Vice-President will have an audience with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and meet the Thai leadership including the Prime Minister.

Dr Ansari will deliver a speech at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in the Thaicapital on the topic 'From Look East to Act East: India's Partnership with Thailand and ASEAN'. He will also address the Indian community in Thailand at a reception hosted in his honour by the Indian ambassador to Thailand.

He is scheduled to visit Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand on Friday where the Governor of the province will host a banquet in his honour. Before departing for home on February 5he will also visit the Royal Development Study Centre on Sustainable Development.UNI SD JW RSA 1602

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-571088.Xml
Russia's Foreign Ministry said today it was deeply concerned about North Korea's decision to go ahead with a satellite launch."We must state that ... the North Korean side demonstrates an outrageous disregard for the universally recognised norms of international law," the ministry said in a statement.Pyongyang notified UN agencies yesterday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between February 8 and 25.REUTERS SA AS1606 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571160.Xml
Most flights by Pakistan's ailing national airline were grounded today, a company spokesman said, as striking employees disrupted operations to protest against a government privatisation plan. The strike is the latest in a months-long series of protests against the plan to sell off part of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), among companies the government has pledged to privatise under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal. The grounding of flights follows the deaths of two PIA employees and injuries to several others during clashes on Tuesday with security personnel armed with water cannons, tear gas and batons near the international airport in Karachi. The two men died of gunshot wounds, hospital officials said, though police and Pakistan's paramilitary force have denied opening fire on the crowd of several hundred as it marched toward the Jinnah International Airport in the southern city. "Most of the PIA flights are not being allowed to take off from any of the airports, domestic or international," said airline spokesman Danyal Gilani, although some returning international flights were being allowed to land. A spokesman for the protesters did not immediately answer telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment.PIA's management expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the deaths of its employees, Gilani said, and asked the government to launch an inquiry into Tuesday's incident. Since January 26, the strike has cost the airline about 1 billion Pakistani rupees ($9.6 million) in losses, he added. In a television interview last night, company chairman Nasser Jaffer said he planned to resign. "From this day on, my conscience does not allow me to stay as chairman of this organisation," the emotional Jaffer said on Dunya Television. "Two people lost their lives. I don't think anything worse than this could have happened." Once a source of pride for Pakistan, the loss-making carrier has been hit by frequent flight cancellations, and many of its aircraft have been cannibalised to keep others flying. Despite government attempts to allay fears the privatisation could lead to mass layoffs, sporadic protests have continued. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this week extended legislation to ban the airline's employees from striking for six months, the government said in a statement. The law specifies prison terms of up to a year, and an unspecified fine, for those convicted of infringements.Sharif vowed not to back down from the reform plan. "Action will be taken against those who have gone on strike," he told reporters yesteray. "I believe that any concession on this will be a disservice to Pakistan."REUTERS SA BL1612 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571203.Xml
The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern today at a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation. The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas yesterday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite. "This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is...This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters. For now the key to control the virus was eliminating mosquitos and wearing proper clothing. REUTERS SA BL1640 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571250.Xml
France sees proposals by a top European Union official to keep Britain in the bloc as a basis for discussion but within limits, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said today. "Two points are extremely important for France," Le Foll quoted Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius as telling a cabinet meeting. "We must stay within the current treaties and there can be no interference from non-euro zone countries in the euro zone." On Tuesday, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draft reform package to help keep Britain, an EU member but not a member of the currency area, in the bloc. REUTERS SA BL1752 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571522.Xml
Lebanon's army killed six gunmen and arrested 16 suspected militants, including a commander from the Islamic State group, in a raid in the town of Arsal near the border with Syria today, it said.An army statement said soldiers carried out a special operation against what it called a terrorist cell that was planning to attack army posts and kidnap people in Arsal.Another army unit stormed an IS-run field hospital in the same area and detained 16 militants, it said, including a man named Ahmad Noun who was described as a "dangerous terrorist".A security source said earlier that the army had arrested Abu Bakr al-Raqqawi, a local commander of the Islamic State group, and three high profile insurgents. It was not immediately clear if Raqqawi was Noun's nom de guerre.The source said the army had originally detained 27 people but has released 11 who were not related to the cell.Nusra Front and Islamic State fighters have staged regular incursions into Arsal from the barren hills just outside the town. They overran the town briefly in 2014 before withdrawing to the hills after clashes with the army.But security sources say that Nusra Front and Islamic State groups continue to have a strong presence in the town, where thousands of Syrian refugees live in dire conditions. They say sometimes the insurgents descend into the town at night to threaten or kill those who oppose them.Nusra Front freed 16 Lebanese soldiers and policemen in December in exchange for the release of jailed Islamists. It had captured the soldiers during the Arsal incursion in 2014.Islamic State is believed to still be holding nine soldiers it captured.REUTERS SA SB1811 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571589.Xml
Bulgarian prosecutors have charged four Ukrainians with attempted murder after a grenade attack on a former security agent in Sofia last October, a senior prosecutor said today.Deputy Chief Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov told a news conference that Roman Logvinenko, 47, the suspected of mastermind of the attack, was arrested and charged yesterday.The other three assailants were charged in absentia and red notices for their arrests were put on the international police agency Interpol."All four perpetrators are Ukrainian citizens," Sarafov said. "They have prepared for the hit for over a year and a half."Alexey Petrov, a former member of the Balkan state's anti-terrorist unit, escaped unhurt in the attack on his car in Sofia.Petrov, who was arrested and charged in 2010 for running a criminal gang that dealt in money laundering, racketeering, drug trafficking, bribery and tax fraud, described the shooting on his car as a mistake. He survived a previous attack in 2002.Bulgaria has been repeatedly criticised by the European Union for its poor progress in its fight against organised crime, failing to jail corrupt officials and overhaul its inefficient and graft-prone justice system. REUTERS SA AS1837 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-571692.Xml
Vice President M Hamdi Ansari today urged the government and business community in Thailand to avail of the opportunities, provided by a growing India. Noting that India ''is a bright spot with the highest economic growth amongst the larger emerging countries'', he said there was growing interest from across the world in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation with India. Both countries were engaged in transforming ancient lands into modern knowledge economies, he said, speaking at a banquet hosted by Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in his honour. He expressed confidence that Thailand would act as a bridge linking South East Asia to East Asia while India would be its springboard to West and Central Asia and to Europe.Foreseeing a promising future for India-Thailand bilateral relations, he said ''there is much untapped potential in our relationship and much to rediscover and learn from each other's culture, industry and society.'' Mr Ansari said, ''our talks earlier today have put in place a roadmap for further strengthening our economic cooperation and intensification of our collaborations in all areas.'' He said the challenges of this century were enormous and merits common understanding and joint efforts. ''Globalisation of terrorism, impact of climate change on humanity and the health hazards, which know no borders, require global action. The international community is grappling with issues, related to migration and integration of people,'' he added.MORE UNI SD RJ 2121 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-572064.Xml
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should refrain from using "ballistic missile technology," according to Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general. "The Secretary-General believes that it is important for the DPRK to refrain from using ballistic missile technology and to work for the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Xinhua quoted Haq as saying on Wednesday. At Tuesday's daily briefing, Haq confirmed that three entities of the world body -- International Civil Aviation Organisation, International Maritime Organisation and International Telecommunications Union -- were all informed by the DPRK of its intentions to launch an earth-observation satellite between February 8 to 25. --Indo-Asian News Service sku/ ( 128 Words) 2016-02-04-03:53:34 (IANS)
Ted Cruz has faced some criticism in his White House bid about his birth in Canada. But would some other famous people face the same scrutiny as Cruz, if they ran for President?

natural320

One debate over Cruzs eligibility centers on a clause in the Constitutions Article I, which reads, No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.

Since the words natural born citizen werent precisely defined in the Constitution, there has been a continuing debate over the presidential status of a candidate born overseas, and in some cases, a candidate born in the United States with at least one non-citizen parent.

The 14th Amendments Citizenship Clause is interpreted to automatically grant United States citizenship to anyone born on American soil with few exceptions, such as the children of foreign diplomats or foreign com. Still, there was a debate over Barack Obamas candidate status, since he was born in Hawaii with his mother as an American citizen.

Heres a quick look at 10 fairly well-known folks who could be eligible to run for President, now or in the future.

1. Nicole Kidman  The actress with the Australian accent was actually born in Hawaii, to two Australian parents who were students in Honolulu.

2. Amy Adams  Another well-known actress, Adams was born in Italy, where her American father was stationed in the military.

3. Mel Gibson  The actor was born in Peekskill, New York and moved to Australia when he was 12 years old.

4. Rep. Tammy Duckworth  Duckworth was born in Thailand in 1968. Her father was a Marine Corps veteran and U.S. citizen; her mother was from Thailand.

5. Joaquin Phoenix The actor was born in Puerto Rico to parents who were U.S. citizens.

6. Martin Lawrence The actor was born in Germany to U.S. parents who were in the military.

7. Sen. Michael Bennet The U.S. Senator from Colorado was born in India, where his father was stationed as an American diplomat.

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8. Sienna Miller  The actress was born in New York City, where her father was an American art dealer. She moved to England as an infant.

9. Andrew Garfield  The Spiderman actor was born in Los Angeles, but moved to Great Britain when he was three years old.

10. Bindi Irwn  The Dancing With The Stars winner is just 17 years old, and a few years away from any potential presidential run. Her mother, Terri Irwin, is from United States. In 2009, Terri Irwin changed her citizenship to Australian.

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Building sources of passive income will provide financial freedom when we are older and no longer working. Very often, people think about the amounts they would need every year and dismiss trying to even start earning passive income.

The trick to building it to a sufficient amount is to continuously add to it and reinvesting all the returns until a point that we accumulate enough to be able to survive an entire year on the annual returns of our passive income.

This shake-leg-and-collect-money dream very often remains a dream for most Singaporeans. But what we do today can make a significant impact on how well we can retire. Let us present five things everyone can do to start their passive income journey.

1. Invest In Stocks

Of course, you already knew this one.

The fact is that you have to put your money to work to earn more money for you. The question of where to invest then arises. The market is volatile and the oil & gas industry looks doomed. However, by constantly adding to and reinvesting money on strong blue-chip stocks via the STI ETF or REITs, you will be able to average your cost and grow your investments.

Read More: How Does ETFs Investing Really Work in Singapore?

2. Rental Income

This is one of the most commonly understood methods to receive passive income in Singapore. You buy a property and rent it out to collect income.

There are only two problems with this, 1) you have to live in one property, which means you need a to buy a second property and 2) properties in Singapore are crazily expensive.

The most logical ways to overcome this is to buy additional properties when prices are low (and if we can afford it), as we saw in 2001 and 2008. Or we should rent out a room in our properties, either through Airbnb or an agent.

However, people should note the extra stress and added costs associated with rental properties. You have to deal with agents and tenants to rent out your property, you have to fix anything that breaks in the property, you have to pay conservancy charges and property tax. And not forgetting stamp duty when you buy the property and also the agent fees when you rent out the property.

Story continues

Read More: Will Singapores Property Prices Continue Falling?

3. Bonds

Bonds are a good way to protect yourself from default risk of companies as it provides superior claims over stocks.

Strong bonds such as the Singapore Savings Bonds offer a rate close to 2.5% per annum if you save for the maximum 10 years or the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund which also returns close to 2.5% per annum. There are also corporate bonds that offer better returns. Do note that the higher the returns, the higher the risk usually.

Read More:: Wow! Bonds!

4. Peer-To-Peer Lending

This is a new financial product in the market that is quickly gaining ground. Essentially, you are the bank and you are lending to companies that require loans. The concerns here are that ordinary people cannot properly discern the risk associated with companies and that the companies who usually need this type of funding cannot attain loans from banks. This means that they are riskier companies.

Nonetheless, its an interesting and lucrative way to add to your passive income stream with returns of more than about 8.88% to 20% per annum via MoolahSense and 2.2% to 2.5% per month via Capital Match.

Read More: 3 Reasons Why Peer-To-Peer Lending Should Be In Your Portfolio

5. Annuities

Annuities are a fixed and regular sum that insurance companies pay to you for the rest of your life upon retirement. This is an extremely safe way to ensure you have passive income coming every month.

The thing is to ensure that you invest in these products young if you are considering it as the rate of compounding will be more evident. Also, these products are usually meant for people who do not have a very sophisticated understanding of the financial industry and investing.

The last thing to consider is that, and as with any insurance products, surrendering the policy will mean you forego a substantial amount of money which could be disastrous to your retirement plans.

Read More: Understanding A Retirement Product  AXA Retire Happy

There you have it, five ways to boost your passive income for your retirement. Before we end off, wed like to tell you about one additional way that you could add to your passive income. And no, were not going to sell you anything at this point! In todays digital age, creating Intellectual Property is fast becoming another way to generate passive income. Whether youre an app creator, a photographer, a writer or even just a reseller or selling your junk on eBay and Carousell, a digital platform can aid in your accumulation of passive income.

Tell us if you have other ways to earn passive income and continue following us on Facebook

Subscribe to our free e-newsletter to receive exclusive content not available on our website. Follow us as well on Instagram @DNSsingapore to get your daily dose of finance knowledge through photos.

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The post 5 Ways To Earn Passive Income In Singapore appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will pay back some of the public funds used to upgrade his private home, his office said Wednesday, attempting to end a two-year scandal that has plagued his government.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma and his family had "benefited unduly" from the work on Zuma's rural residence of Nkandla.

Among the supposed security upgrades were a swimming pool described as a fire-fighting facility, a chicken run, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre.

"To achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute... the president proposes that the determination of the amount he is to pay should be independently and impartially determined," said a presidential statement.

The exact sum will be determined by the treasury and police ministry, it added.

Zuma had previously denied any wrongdoing over the upgrades, with opposition lawmakers often disrupting his parliamentary speeches by chanting "Pay back the money!"

His change of position came ahead of a Constitutional Court hearing next week as opposition parties the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) unite in a bid to force him to refund the cash.

The upgrades were valued in 2014 at about 216 million rand (then worth $24 million, 22 million euros).

The DA vowed to go ahead with the legal case, despite Zuma's apparent climbdown.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane told journalists that Zuma had "done everything to undermine the work of the public protector and the constitution" over the Nkandla controversy.

All parties are jostling for advantage ahead of municipal elections due later this year that could see a fall in support for Zuma's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid.

Zuma's statement stressed that he "remains critical of a number of factual aspects and legal conclusions" contained in the damning public ombudsman report.

Story continues

The president, who has often been accused of allowing corruption to flourish since he came to power in 2009, is under pressure over South Africa's sharply slowing economy.

He will make his annual state of the nation address in parliament next Thursday.

The occasion descended into chaos last year when EFF lawmakers scuffled with security after interrupting him to protest over the Nkandla scandal.
Damascus (AFP) - An aid convoy on Wednesday entered a regime-besieged town near Syria's capital, at a time when the opposition is demanding a lifting of blockades at peace talks in Geneva, the Red Cross announced.

"We entered with medical aid to Moadimayat al-Sham and we are distributing food aid in the buffer zone" between regime and rebel forces, Pawel Krzysiek, spokesman in Damascus of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told AFP.

He said the joint convoy of the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was made up of 10 trucks loaded with food supplies and two with medical equipment and medicine.

Government forces imposed a siege on rebel-held Moadimayat al-Sham at the start of 2013, but conditions improved for its residents under a truce struck a year later.

But the United Nations in January re-classified Moadamiyat al-Sham as a besieged town with scant food supplies after the regime tightened access.

The United Nations has been struggling to deliver aid to about 480,000 people in besieged areas.

The UN Security Council, for its part, has adopted resolutions demanding an end to sieges imposed by both rebel and government forces as a weapon of war, but these have been largely ignored.

After mounting international outrage over the starvation of civilians, aid has been delivered since the start of the year to Madaya, another town under a regime siege, as well to rebel-besieged Fuaa and Kafraya.
Eras change slowlythen seemingly all at once. So now that Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has displaced Apple (AAPL) as the nations most valuable company, its tempting to declare the reign of Steve Jobs and Tim Cook officially over.

Not likely. A review of the most valuable companies of the last 50 years shows a lot of jockeying for the top spot, with some companies losing the mantle only to regain it a year or two later. The winds of change invariably sweep some companies aside for good, but well-run businesses also adapt and regain their footing. Heres the market capitalization of the nations most valuable company each year since 1968:

Note: Market values are for January 1 of each year. Source: S&P Capital IQ

Trends were all familiar with are apparent in the rankings. IBM (IBM) was a corporate powerhouse following World War II, expert in industrial technology such as the mainframe, followed by the personal computer. But IBM lost its way as Americas manufacturing sector waned and the service sector grew, and IBM forfeited the top spot for good in 1992.

Exxon became a huge energy conglomerate in the 1980s, merging with Mobil in 1999 to become a true giant, Exxon Mobil (XOM). With revenue more volatile than most companies its size, Exxons value soared during oil booms and fell during busts.

Microsoft (MSFT) rode the digital revolution to the top spot in 1999, then dropped back following the dot-com bust of 2001. The company proved its resilience, however, by reclaiming the No. 1 spot in 2003. Today, its the third most valuable company, behind Apple and Alphabet. Not too shabby.

General Electric (GE) reached the head of the class in 1994 thanks to its expansion into financial services. It repeated nine times. The same business line nearly undid the company during the 2008 financial wipeout, however, since GE ended up heavily exposed to bad debt, requiring federal aid to survive. GE is now much smaller, with a market value about 38% lower than its peak in 2001.

Exxon was a reliable profit machine from 2007 to 2012, as most of the world experienced a nauseating depression in stocks followed by a long bull market. But Silicon Valley claimed the top spot for the first time in 2011, when Apple briefly dethroned Exxon. The two companies jockeyed for No. 1 during the next couple of years, with Apple finally bumping Exxon decisively in 2013. (Since the numbers in the table above reflect market value on Jan. 1 of each year, they dont show month-by-month changes.)

Now its Alphabets turn. The search companys share price has soared by nearly 48% during the last year, while Apples stock has dropped by 19%. Both companies are enormously profitable, but investors seem to think Apples future growth will be limited, while Alphabet still has plenty of headroom. They may be right, but supervaluable companies dont fade easily. The reason they got to No. 1 is often the reason they get there again.

Rick Newmans latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.
Washington (AFP) - An armed US Predator drone crashed in Turkey on Wednesday after apparently suffering some kind of mechanical failure, military officials said.

Captain Lauren Ott of the US Air Force's Europe command said the drone went down in an unpopulated area of southern Turkey at around 1:40 am local time (2340 GMT).

"The aircraft was armed, but US military and Turkish officials were able to gain positive control over the ordnance and the crash site," she said.

"The initial assessment is that the aircraft experienced mechanical failure, but a more in depth investigation will be conducted to determine the exact cause."

The unmanned plane had been based in Turkey's Incirlik air base. US forces have been using the geographically key facility to launch drone and warplane strikes on Islamic State targets in northern Syria and Iraq.

The incident comes after the Air Force in October lost control of two armed Predator drones in separate incidents in Turkey and Iraq.

The Predators were both carrying air-to-surface Hellfire missiles when they crashed, but these were safely recovered along with the aircraft.

Initial military accounts blamed one of the crashes on a lost link and the other on mechanical failure.

Predator drones are primarily used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering, but can also be armed and carry out air strikes.
Oil cast a cloud over Asian markets again Wednesday after prices fell back below $30 a barrel, hammering energy firms once more and sending stocks deeper into the red.

With the euphoria of Friday's Bank of Japan stimulus but a distant memory, Tokyo led the regional losses followed by Hong Kong, where insurance giant AIA lost almost a tenth of its value at one point on fears China would tighten insurance rules.

Despite the turmoil at home China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) Wednesday offered to buy Switzerland's Syngenta for $43 billion, which would be a record overseas purchase by a Chinese firm.

The plunge in oil prices to 12-year lows has sent shudders through world markets, helping wipe trillions of dollars off share valuations and even raising fears of recession.

Crude resumed its downward trend this week, jettisoning most of the gains seen in a rally last week fuelled by hopes for OPEC-Russian talks on output cuts.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crashed more than 11 percent on Monday and Tuesday to fall back through the $30 level for the first time since January 21. Brent lost almost six percent in the same period.

On Wednesday early losses were pared on bargain-buying but dealers remain on edge ahead of a US report analysts warned could see a further increase in stockpiles. WTI was up 0.6 percent and Brent up 0.4 percent in late Asian trade.

Oil prices have crumbled about 75 percent since mid-2014, hit by a perfect storm of weak demand, oversupply, overproduction, a slowing global economy and a strong dollar.

After already taking a hit on Tuesday, regional energy stocks were buffeted again on Wednesday.

In Hong Kong, CNOOC shed four percent in late trade and PetroChina dived 4.1 percent while Kunlun Energy sank 2.8 percent.

Sydney-listed Santos lost 5.1 percent and mining giant BHP Billiton lost 4.4 percent while Woodside Petroleum fell five percent.

- 'Talk of recession louder' -

The losses followed other big guns in New York and Europe. BP fell 8.7 percent in London after it announced a loss of $6.48 billion last year and another 3,000 job cuts. Chief executive Bob Dudley warned: "We expect 2016 to be tough."

Story continues

BP's American rival ExxonMobil managed to stay profitable but reported a 58 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings and announced plans to slash its capital budget and suspend its share repurchase programme.

"The underlying fundamentals are deteriorating and the talk of recession is getting louder," Chris Weston, chief market strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd., told Bloomberg News.

"When you see BP coming out with disastrous results and when you see Exxon cutting back on expenditures again, you realise the implication weak oil has on economies.

Tokyo's Nikkei index sank 3.2 percent by the close, Hong Kong closed down 2.3 percent, Sydney ended 2.3 percent lower and Seoul shed 0.9 percent. Shanghai had slipped 0.4 percent by the end.

There were also losses across all other Asian markets.

In early European trade London slipped 0.2 percent, Frankfurt dropped 0.4 percent and Paris lost 0.1 percent.

Hong Kong-listed insurance giant AIA lost almost 10 percent at one point in the morning following a Bloomberg News report that China would clamp down on the purchase of overseas cover.

However, it halved the losses in the afternoon to end 4.9 percent down. Manulife, another Hong Kong-listed insurer, shed more than five percent.

Also in Hong Kong Lenovo, the world's biggest PC maker, plunged more than ten percent after posting its first fall in quarterly sales for six years in October-December, on the back of weak demand for mobile phones and computers.

ChemChina's listed units soared on the takeover news. Fertiliser firm Cangzhou Dahua soared by its 10 percent daily limit in Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed Guangxi Hechi Chemical also jumped 10 percent.

- Key figures around 0830 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 17,191.25 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.3 percent at 18,991.59 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,739.25 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,912.9

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0921 from $1.0917 on Tuesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 119.65 yen from 120.01 yen

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.8 percent at 16,153.54 (close)
Over the past 10 years, the Atlantic Ocean has soaked up 50 percent more carbon dioxide than it did the decade before, measurably speeding up the acidification of the ocean, according to a new study.

The paper published Saturday in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles, shows the large impact all of us are having on the environment, Ryan Woosley, of the University of Miami, said in a statement. Our use of fossil fuels isnt only causing the climate to change, but also affects the oceans by decreasing the pH.

Burning oil, coal, and natural gas for energy, along with destruction of forests, are the leading causes of the carbon dioxide emissions driving climate change. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from 355 parts per million in 1989 to just over 400 ppm in 2015.

Decreasing pH in seawater can harm the ability of shelled organisms, from microscopic coccolithophores to the oysters and clams that show up on our dinner plates, to build and maintain their bony exteriors.

RELATED: Blue Planet: The Fight to Save the World's Oceans

Researchers reported last year that acidification is also threatening to wipe out large populations of phytoplankton, tiny ocean plants that are at the base of food webs that support fish, dolphins, whales, and other marine life.

Climate change is altering ocean chemistry in other ways as well. Scientists announced on Tuesday that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet is not only releasing huge amounts of fresh water into the Atlantic Oceanslowing down an important heat-carrying ocean currentbut also may be carrying about 441,000 tons of phosphorous into coastal waters.

The meltwater picks up the mineral as it flows along the bedrock at the base of the ice sheet, which is continually pulverized by the weight and movement of the ice.

We find annual phosphorus input (for all of Greenlands outlet glaciers) are at least equal to some of the worlds largest rivers, such as the Mississippi and the Amazon, Jon Hawkings, a researcher at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.

Story continues

This phosphorous flow could increase as the great melt of the Greenland ice sheet continues, Hawkings and his colleagues believeand that matters because the mineral is a crucial nutrient in food webs.

They speculate that a richer supply of phosphorous in the Arctic Ocean could lead to increased plankton populations, which could help support more fish, birds, whales, and other marine mammals in both the Arctic and the sub-Arctic.

Those regions, however, are acidifying along with the rest of the world's oceans.

Related stories on TakePart:





 This Innovative Method Could Change the Future of Shellfish Farming

 10 Photos That Show Off the Beautiful Weirdness of Deepwater Corals

 Scary New Proof That We Have Seriously Screwed Up the Planets Oceans

Original article from TakePart
Australia's highest court Wednesday opened the way for hundreds of asylum-seekers to be transferred to a remote Pacific outpost, including women allegedly sexually assaulted there, when it dismissed a challenge to a hardline immigration policy.

The High Court case was brought by a Bangladeshi woman who arrived on an unauthorised boat and was dispatched to the tiny island republic of Nauru before being brought to Australia for urgent medical treatment during a pregnancy.

She sought a declaration that Australia's conduct in sending her to Nauru was unlawful in a challenge seen as a test case for more than 260 asylum-seekers, including 37 babies born in Australia and 54 other children, lawyers said.

But the court ruled six to one that the Australian government's arrangements for offshore detention on Nauru did not breach the law.

Canberra's tough immigration policy ensures that asylum-seekers arriving in Australia by boat are sent to Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Even if the detainees are subsequently found to be genuine refugees they are denied resettlement in Australia -- a policy designed to stop people-smuggling boats which has drawn international criticism.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the court had found the existing process "legally and constitutionally valid".

But he told parliament: "The people smugglers will not prevail over our sovereignty."

"Our borders are secure. The line has to be drawn somewhere and it is drawn at our border."

The Human Rights Law Centre, which brought the case for the woman, said the mother and her husband -- with a one-year-old baby -- were now terrified of being sent back to Nauru where some 537 asylum-seekers are currently housed. A further 922 men are held on PNG's Manus Island.

"The legality is one thing, the morality is another," said the centre's Daniel Webb.

Webb said that among the group at risk of being transferred to Nauru were women who had allegedly been sexually assaulted on the island as well as 37 babies born in Australia.

Story continues

"Ripping kids out of primary school and sending them to be indefinitely warehoused on a tiny remote island is wrong," he added.

- 'Risk of rights violations' -

Webb would not comment on the case of a five-year-old boy who was reportedly brought to Australia after allegedly being sexually assaulted on Nauru.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he was seeking more information on that case, but stressed it would be considered compassionately.

"We are not going to send kids into harm's way," the minister told Sky News.

"But we are saying very firmly that if you don't have a legitimate claim for refuge in Australia then we want to help you go back to your country of origin."

Australia has long defended its policy saying it has prevented the deaths of asylum-seekers at sea and secured its borders.

Under the previous Labor government, at least 1,200 people died trying to reach Australia by boat between 2008 and 2013.

But refugee advocates slammed the prospect of asylum-seekers being returned to Nauru, from where allegations of abuses, including rape, have arisen.

Sending vulnerable and abused people back to "where they will suffer indefinitely would be callous and cold", said Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia.

The UN children's agency UNICEF said returning minors to Nauru not only placed unreasonable pressures on the developing state but also put children at risk.

Amnesty International also joined the chorus of disappointment, saying those sent back would be at "real risk of serious human rights violations" in a place where many resorted to self-harm.

The Refugee Action Coalition called for protests around the country later this week after the court's decision which it said hid behind a legal technicality.

"It avoided the substance of the challenge by finding that the asylum-seekers on Nauru are detained by the Nauruan government," it said.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Following a successful debut in July, New York hosts its second menswear fashion week, with dozens of established fashion names as well as new designers showcasing their autumn/winter offerings - from slick suits to casual wear. New York Fashion Week: Men's, launched by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, runs until Feb. 4 and features designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, John Varvatos, Michael Kors and Malaysian-born, Brussels-based newcomer, Edmund Ooi. Ooi was among those kicking off the show on Monday, dressing models in turtle necks, duffel coats and rolled-up jeans for a collection called "Class of 2525". "It's basically a reinterpretation of a schoolboy in the future. So, when I was thinking about schoolboys, they don't really have uniforms these days but they still kind of have the same kind of clothes, all of them," he said. "So, I just took out all their clothes from their wardrobe, like what they're wearing these days and reinterpreted it for the future." Offering a more relaxed look, with T-shirts paired with loose trousers and coats, architect-turned-fashionista Carlos Garciavelez, focused on a more layered and baggy line. "This collection centers on the idea of a nomad going to the thermal baths in Switzerland," he said. "So, it's the idea of the explorer going to a spa ... of dressing and undressing. So we have a lot of kind of robes that are mixed in and out as outerwear." (Reporting by Reuters Television in New York; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Sanders in a scene from My Ex-Girlfriends Wedding Reception. (YouTube)



Most people following the candidates in the 2016 presidential race already know that Ben Carson made a cameo appearance in the 2003 Farrelly brothers comedy Stuck on You, playing a surgeon who performs an operation to separate conjoined twins Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.

But Carsons not the only 2016 candidate who has displayed comedic chops on the big screen.

Bernie Sanders assumed the role of a rabbi in My Ex-Girlfriends Wedding Reception, a 1999 low-budget romantic comedy starring Debbie Gibson and Dom DeLuise.

The Brooklyn-born Vermont senator, who appears in the trailer, plays Manny Shevitz, a rabbi who bores the guests at a Jewish-Italian wedding while waxing poetic about the Brooklyn Dodgers  and lamenting their move to Los Angeles.

Thats not the only film credit on Sanders resume.

He also made a cameo appearance in Sweet Hearts Dance, a 1988 dramedy starring Don Johnson, Jeff Daniels and Susan Sarandon (who has been out campaigning for Sanders 2016 presidential bid).

Sanders, who is uncredited, is seen dispensing Halloween candy to children after he was accused of being a bit stingy the year before.

The film was shot on location in Hyde Park, Vt., when Sanders was the mayor of nearby Burlington.

The same year, Sanders recorded a folk album that has been much discussed since he announced his bid for the White House.

All this could be fodder for Larry David, who unveiled his pitch-perfect Sanders impersonation on NBCs Saturday Night Live in October and hosts the show later this week.
Just a few years ago, managing a college endowment would surely have been one of the least desirable jobs in the world. After the crash, running endowments meant playing it safe while trying to pull off a recovery.

Today? If youre Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the chief investment officer of the University of California system, your life is a little more exciting. And a little more cowboy. Indeed, thats the case for most so-called institutional investors  the organizations that sit on big, big bucks, like pension and sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and endowments. In an economy thats gone from flailing to booming  especially in the tech world  such behemoths, known more for lumbering than agility, are diving into the fast-paced startup economy. In Bachhers case? Hes making a move that makes his job even more exciting, if not daring.

And did we mention hes doing it with a quarter of a billion (yes, billion) dollars?

The fund is bypassing the world of venture capitalists, the traditional middlemen in a lot of big-time investing circles, and has announced that its investing some $250 million of its $100 billion, picking companies to back on its own. The advantage: The endowment gets the intellectual property. In other words, an inside peek at the knowledge and research of a spunky startup that might be on the verge of, say, curing a disease. Those startups, meanwhile, are getting a pretty sizable backing that goes beyond the money; now they have access to a big research institution with patents aplenty.

Whats more, companies are staying private for longer, so its hard not to get antsy.

This is the du jour thing to do for institutional investors  to head straight for the companies themselves, says Josh Lerner, a professor at Harvard Business School and one of the foremost authorities on venture capital. Take a look at the business pages if you dont believe us: The Qatar Investment Authority, the countrys sovereign wealth fund, on an Uber financing round, for example, or Singapores government investing in the payment app Square.

Story continues

Of course, not every major institution is willing to take a big bet in the startup space, which is why many are co-investing with other money pros. In 2014, some 71 percent of private equity investors said they expected to increase co-investments, according to a report by investment giant BlackRock. (A measly 2 percent said they werent interested in upping their commitments.) Lerner points out thats some decent cost savings to the institution, now not saddled with a VC middleman fee. Theres a sense of frustration among huge private equity funds whove seen quite mediocre returns, Lerner says, in large part because of those fees. Whats more, the companies are staying private for longer, so its hard not to get antsy; anyone with a penny or two burning a hole in her pocket is sprinting to get in on even late funding rounds for private companies, hoping to squeeze in just before an IPO.

Even with all this happening, the venture capital industry is doing quite well; it hit a record high in 2013, which set it booming last year, raising $495 billion, according to a 2015 report by Preqin, which gathers data on assets and performance. But, ironically, such venture vertiginousness means money doesnt come as cheap as youd think, even if youre literally giving it away. Indeed, venture capital has been a very tricky place for large investments, Lerner says. Theyve suffered.

Co-investing isnt a guaranteed solution by any means, though. Co-investments can actually underperform, warns Ashby Monk, executive and research director of the Stanford Global Projects Center and a top academic on investing. And many would say its a risk theyre unwilling to take. Just ask John Powers, who recently stepped down as president and CEO of the Stanford Management Co. Its really asking for trouble, he says. Powers calls the hope of intellectual property benefits naive and a fantasy and points out that there are reasons to trust VCs: their ability to do research, hire full-time analysts, make smart connections and understand an entire space, to name a few.

In any case, investment is evolving  and it has to. The structures running the investment world are horse-and-buggy. They were built in an era of $20 million funds, says Lerner. Today, you can strike that m and replace it with a big fat b. Time for the Model T.

Related Articles
If Hillary Clinton wins the White House, her husband, Bill Clinton, will become the first First Gentleman in United States history.



But that doesn't mean the former secretary of state plans to leave all the traditional First Lady duties to her husband.



When it comes to picking out napkins for state dinners and other domestic, decorating and hostessing tasks, for example, Hillary tells PEOPLE, "I have ruled out my husband. I want him to help on the economy, I want him to help us get more good jobs with rising incomes. And as both President George W. Bush and President Obama did [with their spouses], send him on special missions because he's just unique in the world in being able to do things for our country."





Bill Won't Be Picking White House China: Why Hillary Clinton Won't Leave Traditional First-Lady Duties to Her Husband| 2016 Presidential Elections, politics, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton











Bill Won't Be Picking White House China: Why Hillary Clinton Won't Leave Traditional First-Lady Duties to Her Husband| 2016 Presidential Elections, politics, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton



"But I'm drawing the line at state dinners, picking out china or floral arrangements or anything like that," she adds, seeking the approval of her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, "Don't you agree?"



"I agree. Yes, completely," Chelsea replies, telling PEOPLE she'll also be steering clear of any design-related responsibilities should her mom be elected president.



"I'm really happy to leave that to my mother," the former First Daughter says. "My grandmother gave very different gifts to both my mother and to me. I inherited her love and I like to think at least some aptitude in cooking and baking. My mother definitely inherited, and I did not, her amazing sense of color and sensibility. So certainly my mother is much more equipped for that job than I am."





Bill Won't Be Picking White House China: Why Hillary Clinton Won't Leave Traditional First-Lady Duties to Her Husband| 2016 Presidential Elections, politics, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton



For more of our exclusive interview with Clinton and her daughter Chelsea, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE Friday and come back to people.com for full video.



Hillary was also asked about what kind of role her husband would play in the White House during a Democratic debate in South Carolina last month: Would it be more of a " kitchen table role" or a "real policy role?"



"It'll start at the kitchen table and we'll see where it goes from there," the Democratic hopeful said to laughter.



"I'm going to have the very best advisers that I can possibly have," she continued. "And when it comes to the economy and what was accomplished under my husband's leadership in the '90s, especially when it came to raising incomes for everybody and lifting people out of poverty more than any time in history, you bet I'm going to ask for his ideas, I'm going to ask for his advice, and I'm going to use him as a goodwill emissary to go around the country and find the best ideas we've got."
By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Investigators believe a bomb probably caused the onboard explosion that forced an Airbus A321 to return to the Somali capital of Mogadishu for an emergency landing this week, U.S. government sources said on Wednesday. One man was killed by the blast on Tuesday on the Daallo Airlines plane, officials said. Local authorities north of Mogadishu said the body of a man, believed to have been sucked out through the hole in the fuselage made by the blast, was found in their area. The U.S. sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity that hard forensic evidence was lacking and no group is known to have claimed responsibility for the blast. There was no immediate comment from al Shabaab, the Somali Islamist group that has waged an insurgency against the Western-backed Somalia government. It has carried out regular attacks on officials, government offices and civilian sites. Daallo Airlines, which did not refer to a blast, said on its website that the "incident" that caused a hole in the fuselage happened 15 minutes into the flight. "Pilots managed to land the aircraft back (in) Mogadishu Airport safely and without any further incident. All passengers, except one, disembarked safely," it said, adding there was an investigation into "the cause of one missing passenger." Two passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries, it added. "The investigation goes on," Somali civil aviation director Abdiwahid Omar said on the state radio website. Local authorities said the body of a passenger was found in the Balcad area, about 30 km (19 miles) north of Mogadishu. A police officer at Mogadishu airport said the body of the 55-year-old man was being brought to the capital. "He dropped when the explosion occurred in the plane," the officer said. Daallo Airlines, the national carrier of the tiny Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, had previously said the plane had 74 passengers on board. Mohamed Hussein, an agent for Daallo, told Reuters on Tuesday that a "fire had erupted" on the flight. Images showed the plane with a hole in the fuselage over one wing. A source familiar with the investigation said flammable objects are not usually put in that place in an aircraft. Some reports suggested an oxygen bottle might have been involved, but safety experts say such bottles usually catch fire rather than explode. Photographs did not show significant damage to overhead panels where such bottles are usually kept. Experts have praised the actions of the crew in landing the plane with so few casualties. Daallo flies to several destinations in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, according to its website. (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Scott Malone and Valerie Vande Panne

BOSTON (Reuters) - Former Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger's longtime girlfriend could spend the rest of her life in prison for refusing to say whether anyone helped the couple during their 16 years on the run, a judge warned on Wednesday.

Catherine Greig, 64, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to contempt of court charges for refusing to cooperate with investigators pursuing anyone who may have aided the pair.

She is already serving an eight-year sentence in federal prison for identity fraud and harboring a fugitive during her years in hiding with Bulger, who fled Boston in 1994 after a corrupt FBI agent warned him that arrest was imminent.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor told Greig that federal law placed no limits on a sentence for contempt of court.

"There is no maximum. There is no mandatory minimum," Saylor told Greig, who appeared in court in a blue prison jumpsuit, her gray hair cropped short.

Bulger, 86, was found guilty in 2013 of murdering or ordering the killings of 11 people while he ruled Boston's underworld as the notorious leader of the "Winter Hill" crime gang in the 1970s and 1980s.

His run atop the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List" ended in 2011 when agents arrested the pair at their California apartment building.

Greig spoke little during the hearing, telling the judge she understood what he was saying and at one point blurting out, "I didn't ask for immunity."

The underworld's code of silence was a major theme throughout Bulger's trial. His attorneys admitted in their opening statements that their client was a mobster but repeatedly denied he had been an FBI informant, contending that he paid corrupt agents for tips but provided no information in return.

Saylor set sentencing for April 28. Greig's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said he would ask for leniency, noting that his client had worked to train service dogs for the blind while in prison and adding, "At 64, one day is punishment."

Story continues

Steven Davis, whose sister Debra Davis was among the people Bugler was accused but not convicted of murdering, said he hoped that Greig would break her silence.

"I wouldn't like to see her get life. I want her to talk," Davis said. "It's a shame she has to waste her life in jail."

The 2015 film "Black Mass" told the story of the gangster's rise to power and ultimate flight from the city.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The suspected and confirmed cases of newborns with abnormally small heads linked to the Zika virus in Brazil had increased to 4,074 as of Jan. 30 from 3,718 a week earlier, the Brazilian Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Of a total of 4,783 notified cases of the severe neurological condition called microcephaly reported since October, 709 were found to be negative, the ministry said. On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency over the rapid spread through the Americas of the mosquito-borne Zika virus that Brazilian authorities say is causing the brain defects in babies. Eight in every 10 of the microcephaly cases are in the poverty stricken northeast region of Brazil where the Zika virus was first detected in May. One-third of them are in the state of Pernambuco where doctors first suspected the virus was infecting pregnant women in the early stages of gestation and stunting the brain development of the fetuses. The link between the virus and the birth defects has not been scientifically established. Brazil's government has declared an all-out offensive to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the virus by biting people and breeds in stagnant water. There is no cure or vaccine for Zika at present. Earlier on Tuesday, President Dilma Rousseff said researchers in Brazil and the United States will join forces to develop a vaccine against Zika as soon as possible to stem the spread of the virus now found in 28 countries in the Americas. WHO officials on Tuesday expressed concern that it could hit Africa and Asia as well. The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Bucharest (AFP) - World number three Simona Halep revealed Wednesday that she has postponed a nose operation so she can play for Romania in this weekend's Fed Cup clash against the Czech Republic.

Halep said last month that she was to undergo surgery which would sideline her from the Fed Cup opening round as well as WTA events in Dubai and Doha.

"I have had some health problems for some time (nose, ears and stomach) and the doctors advised me to have surgery. But it's not urgent so I decided to postpone the operation and play in the Fed Cup tie," Halep said.

The Saturday and Sunday clash against the reigning champions will be staged in Cluj in the north-east of Romania.

"I don't know when I will have the operation. It is necessary and will help me a lot but at the moment I feel fine. The prognosis is good."

Halep lost her world number two spot to Angelique Kerber after the German stunned Serena Williams in the Australian Open final on Saturday.
London (AFP) - Prime Minister David Cameron will on Wednesday defend planned reforms to keep Britain in the EU before parliament, as European lawmakers begin negotiations in Strasbourg to avoid a so-called "Brexit" from the bloc.

EU president Donald Tusk unveiled proposals to avoid Britain leaving the 28-nation club on Tuesday, firing the starting gun on two weeks of tense negotiations to reach a deal at a summit later this month.

Tusk said Wednesday the proposed deal is "fair" for Britain and its 27 partners.

"The settlement that has been proposed is fair for the United Kingdom and fair for the other 27 members states," Juncker told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

They include a four-year "emergency brake" on welfare payments for EU migrant workers, protection for countries that do not use the euro and a "red card" system giving national parliaments more power.

Cameron said Tusk's plans showed "real progress" and made it likely that he would campaign to stay in the European Union in a referendum expected in June.

But he will likely face tough questions from British lawmakers, including eurosceptics from his own Conservative Party, who greeted the plans with scorn -- one of them even accusing the premier of "polishing poo".

They are also expected to be a hard sell for some EU states, which fear Cameron is winning too many concessions ahead of a February 18-19 summit.

Negotiations are set to begin at the European Parliament on Wednesday, before Cameron begins a charm offensive that will take him to Poland and Denmark on Friday then Germany next week.

"To be, or not to be together, that is the question which must be answered not only by the British people in a referendum, but also by the other 27 members of the EU in the next two weeks," Tusk said in a letter to EU leaders.

London's bid to transform its EU membership has added to turmoil in the bloc as it struggles with its worst migration crisis since World War II and the fallout from the eurozone debt saga.

Story continues

- Opinion polls split -

The British premier said Tusk's proposal showed he had "secured some very important changes".

"If I could get these terms for British membership I sure would opt in for being a member of the EU," Cameron said in a speech in southwest England.

But British eurosceptics were unconvinced, with London Mayor Boris Johnson, from Cameron's party, saying he had "doubts" about their effectiveness.

UK Independence Party head Nigel Farage dismissed Tusk's proposals as "pathetic," while conservative Steve Baker said the prime minister was just "polishing poo".

Opinion polls are split on whether Britons would back leaving the EU in their first vote on the subject since 1975.

Tusk's most controversial proposal is an "emergency brake" that would allow any EU state to limit the welfare payments migrants from other European countries can claim for up to four years after their arrival.

To pull the brake, states would have to prove an "exceptional situation" in which their welfare system and public services are overwhelmed, get approval from the European Commission and then from other bloc leaders in a majority vote.

Despite concerns in France, Tusk's plan also includes a "mechanism" by which the nine countries that are not in the euro can raise concerns about decisions by the eurozone.

But he stressed that the mechanism could not delay or veto urgent decisions by the 19 countries in the euro.

Britain will be further exempted from the EU's stated goal of "ever closer union" because of its "special status" in the bloc's treaties -- including staying out of the euro and the passport-free Schengen area.

The "red card" system would allow a group representing 55 percent of the EU's national parliaments to stop or change draft EU laws.

Although Cameron has only set a deadline of the end of 2017 to hold a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU, sources have said he is keen to push a vote through by June.

That would avoid the fallout from any new flare-up in Europe's migration crisis this summer and British eurosceptics becoming even more unruly.

burs/pdw/cah/psr
While the current awards season still has a month to go, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles is already placing a marker on next seasons calendar with Wednesdays announcement that the 2016 Britannia Awards will take place on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

At the 2015 ceremony, BAFTA Los Angeles honored Harrison Ford, Orlando Bloom, Meryl Streep, Sam Mendes, James Corden and Amy Schumer.

The 2016 Britannia Awards will mark the start of the BAFTAs awards season, which will be followed by the BAFTA Tea Party in January, and conclude with the EE British Academy Film Awards in London on Feb. 12, 2017.

Read More: BAFTA Britannia Awards: Stars Talk Awards Show, Honoree Amy Schumer on Red Carpet
Sofia (AFP) - In a fine balancing act, Bulgaria seeks to benefit from a spat between Turkey and Russia to revive weakened economic ties with Moscow -- its main gas supplier -- without offending Ankara, an important ally in the migrant crisis.

In a sign of thawing relations, Sofia last week hosted a meeting of the Bulgarian-Russian economic cooperation committee -- the first since the 2014 failure of the South Stream pipeline project.

The multi-billion-dollar plan had aimed to deliver Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea and the Balkans while bypassing conflict-ridden Ukraine.

But EU and NATO member Bulgaria, under pressure from both Brussels and Washington, ended up suspending the deal.

Reacting to the snub, Russia redrew plans to transport its gas via a new undersea pipeline called TurkStream. But these too were shelved after the downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet on the Syrian border in November.

Bulgaria -- the only bloc member to get almost all of its natural gas from Russia via Ukraine -- has now seized upon the row to propose yet another deal: building a depot that could channel Russia's gas to Europe via Bulgaria.

"We presented Moscow our project for building a new gas distribution centre that we are also coordinating with the European Commission," Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said last Thursday at the end of the bilateral talks.

Russia cautiously welcomed the proposal.

"What keeps us from being too optimistic at this stage is the fact that we are still awaiting the sorting-out of a series of technical questions with the European Commission," Deputy Justice Minister Sergei Gerasimov said after last week's bilateral meeting.

- 'Incredible pressure' -

In the short term, a rapprochement with Moscow could also help fuel Bulgaria's fledgling tourism industry.

Last summer, its Black Sea resorts were hit by a steep drop in Russian visitor numbers as the ruble slid along with oil prices.

Story continues

Gerasimov last week touched on the possibility of "diverting Russian tourists from Turkey" to Bulgaria.

Sofia, meanwhile, promised to ease its visa regime for Russians.

But Bulgaria is walking on thin ice as it seeks to also maintain good relations with Turkey.

Sofia notably counts on its southeastern neighbour to prevent an influx of migrants through their shared 275-kilometre (170-mile) porous land border.

"Regarding the downing of the Russian plane by Turkey (...) we showed that we are a loyal member of the EU and NATO," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said in early January.

However, he also admitted to being subjected to "incredible pressure" by both sides.

"Now that the two titans have clashed, they want us to say whether we are pro-Russian or pro-Turkish. We are neither pro-Russian nor pro-Turkish. We want to be loyal neighbours," he said.

- Putin 'loves us' -

During its 45 years of communist rule, Sofia was Moscow's staunchest ally and surveys indicate that many Bulgarians continue to feel strongly pro-Russian.

A poll conducted last March showed that 61 percent of participants maintained a positive attitude towards Russia, even at the height of the Crimean annexation crisis.

Experts point out that this "Russophile stereotype" was cultivated long before communism, finding its roots in Russia's liberation of Bulgaria from five centuries of Ottoman domination in 1878.

Moscow, meanwhile, has also been sending friendly signals in Bulgaria's direction.

Russian President Vladimir Putin included in his 2016 calendar a picture with his Bulgarian shepherd dog Buffy, received as a present from Borisov.

"Well, he loves us," said Borisov, grinning, as he commented recently on the photo.
[Kurdish fighters from the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) stand near the Tishrin dam, after they captured it on Saturday from Islamic State militants, south of Kobani, Syria December 27, 2015/REUTERS/Rodi Said]

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Canadian who said he fought alongside Kurdish forces against Islamic State in Syria has been detained while trying to enter Australia and told he will be deported, his father said on Wednesday.

Richard Somerville said his son Robert, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane airport on Tuesday after he told immigration officials he had spent seven months fighting alongside the Syrian Kurdish militant group YPG last year.

I havent seen my son in 20 years, Richard Somerville, who lives in Queensland, told Reuters. I was absolutely shocked when he called to say he was being detained."

Australian Border Force and Immigration Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The basis for the visa cancellation is at this stage unclear, Somervilles Melbourne-based lawyer, Jessie Smith, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It may have political undertones and could be contestable."

Australia introduced sweeping security reforms in 2014 over concern at the number of its citizens heading to Iraq and Syria to fight. About 110 Australians are estimated to be involved in the conflict.

It is illegal for Australian citizens to support any armed group in Syria and fighters face life in prison upon return.

The Syrian Kurds have established control over wide areas of northern Syria since the country erupted into civil war in 2011, and the YPG has become a major partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State.

Several foreigners, including Europeans and Americans, have joined the YPG but their numbers are dwarfed by foreign jihadist recruits to the other side.

Kurds in Syria and Iraq are backed by a U.S.-led coalition, including Australia, which has been bombing Islamic State in both countries.

(Reporting by Jarni Blakkarly. Editing by Jane Wardell and Nick Macfie)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago Public schools (CPS) will turn to layoffs and reduced pension contributions after its contract offer to teachers was rejected on Monday, school Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool said on Tuesday.

He said that officials at the nation's third-largest public school system are prepared to negotiate around the clock with the teachers' union, but that the district must take steps to plug a $500 million hole in the $5.7 billion budget and a $1.1 billion structural deficit.

"We do not want to do this," Claypool told reporters, referring to the planned cuts, which a school spokeswoman initially said would save $165 million for the current budget. A district fact sheet released later in the day pegged savings at $140 million. Claypool added that the top priority is to keep classroom doors open.

He also said the district intended to sell around $875 million of "junk"-rated bonds in the municipal market on Wednesday after a week's delay. Bond investors became skittish last week over proposed legislation backed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and fellow Republicans to take over the troubled school system and potentially allow it to file for municipal bankruptcy.

Claypool said the bond issue was getting "strong interest from investors" this week.

"I think we're sending a very strong signal here that we are righting the fiscal ship," he said, referring to the spending cuts.

Those cuts would end the school district's payment of most of teachers' pension contributions and would result in layoffs at schools, although Claypool said CPS would "do our very best to avoid teacher layoffs."

He did not specify the number of layoffs.

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey called cuts in the middle of the school year "an atrocity." He also questioned the legality of eliminating the district's so-called pension pickup for teachers.

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On Monday, a union bargaining team unanimously rejected a contract offer, raising the possibility of a strike.

Rauner on Tuesday heightened his attack on CPS, calling the contract rejection a wakeup call for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls CPS, and proof that the school district should be taken over.

If the mayor cant get a deal done with the teachers union, I guarantee you, we, working from the state, can get a deal done, Rauner told reporters.

Rauner said he has ordered the Illinois State Board of Education to begin compiling candidates the state could install on an interim basis to replace current school CEO Claypool.

Lets begin the process to review Chicago Public Schools to see where they qualify for state oversight. I believe they clearly already qualify based on my review," Rauner said.

A Rauner aide later said an actual takeover requires passage of the legislation, which top legislative Democrats oppose.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog, Mary Wisniewski and Dave McKinney; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Shumaker)
By Karen Pierog and Dave McKinney

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicagos troubled public school system on Wednesday had to slash the size of one of the biggest "junk" bond offerings the municipal market has seen in years and agree to pay interest costs rivaling Puerto Ricos in order to lure investors into the deal.

The Chicago Board of Education managed to sell only $725 million of an originally planned $795.5 million of tax-exempt bonds, and yields on the deal topped out at 8.5 percent, a massive premium relative to higher-rated debt sold in the U.S. municipal bond market and a clear indication of investors view of the depths of the districts fiscal woes.

Wednesdays sale came a week after the school system had to pull the deal in its first attempt at an offering amid worry by investors that the district could end up in bankruptcy.

The nation's third-largest public school system has become dependent on borrowing to bolster its budget, which is sinking under escalating pension payments, despite credit ratings that have dropped into the "junk" level.

The 8.5 percent yield for bonds due in 2044 with a 7 percent coupon was slightly below the 8.727 yield for 21-year bonds in the municipal market's last big junk bond sale - a $3.5 billion Puerto Rico issue in March 2014.

But the school district's so-called credit spread over the market's benchmark triple-A scale was wider at 580 basis points versus 514 basis points for Puerto Rico in 2014, indicating investors are demanding a stiffer penalty from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

"Its a Puerto-Rico grade yield and clearly signals that the district is on an unsustainable path," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

In contrast, a top-rated issuer's debt would yield only around 2.70 percent on Wednesday, according to Municipal Market Data's benchmark scale.

CPS officials said bond proceeds will reimburse the district's operating fund for out-of-pocket capital costs and free up $206 million by pushing out debt service payments. Portions of the deal to restructure variable-rate debt to fixed rate and finance-related interest rate swap termination fees were postponed.

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"Along with the tough cuts announced yesterday and earlier this year, the sale of these bonds will produce sufficient proceeds to mitigate our cash flow challenges through the end of the fiscal year," said CPS Senior Vice President of Finance Ron DeNard in a statement.

Late on Tuesday, the district tried to assure prospective investors that revenue pledged to pay off the debt could continue to flow to them should the school district end up in bankruptcy court in the unlikely event the Democratic-controlled Illinois legislature would pass a Republican-sponsored bill permitting the move.

Republican Governor Bruce Rauner on Wednesday condemned the district's second attempt at borrowing, but denied trying to sabotage the systems bond issue by publicly advocating bankruptcy for CPS.

The numbers dont lie, he told reporters. CPS has been a financial disaster for years. The balance sheet is stunningly bad. Now theyre looking at borrowing more money to cover operations."

(Editing by Grant McCool and Matthew Lewis)
Santiago (AFP) - A Chilean court on Wednesday ordered poet Pablo Neruda's remains be returned to his tomb, three years after they were exhumed to determine whether the Nobel laureate was assassinated.

Neruda died in 1973, just days after General Augusto Pinochet seized power.

Doubts have surrounded the cause of Neruda's death since his former driver claimed the poet was given a mysterious injection in his chest at the Santiago clinic where he was being treated for prostate cancer.

Neruda, who despite his illness had been planning to leave for Mexico to lead the opposition to Pinochet's regime, died hours after the injection. He was 69.

The cause of death was given as advanced prostate cancer, but in 2013 officials exhumed his body to determine whether he had been poisoned.

Chile's forensic medicine service ruled that "no relevant chemical agents" could be linked to his death.

But last May forensic scientists at the University of Murcia in Spain identified a massive Staphylococcus aureus infection in Neruda's remains, rekindling his family's suspicions.

The Chilean interior ministry said the strain of bacteria does not occur naturally and may have been grown in a lab.

Further test results are due next month.

With the three-year-old investigation ongoing, Judge Mario Carroza ruled it was time to return Neruda's remains from the forensic medical service in Santiago to his tomb at his former home in Isla Negra, on the central coast.

The remains will be returned on April 26.

The judge ordered forensic analysts to keep bone samples on hand for further tests.

Pinochet, who ousted Socialist president Salvador Allende in a coup, installed a brutal regime that killed some 3,200 opponents over 17 years.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it had "noted" an interview in which Pope Francis sent Lunar New Year greetings to President Xi Jinping, and called on the Vatican to be flexible in creating conditions for better relations. The Vatican, which has had no formal diplomatic ties with Beijing since shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949, has been trying to improve ties with China and its state-sanctioned Catholic Church. The main point of contention between Beijing and the Vatican is which side should have the final say in the appointment of bishops. Another stumbling block is the Holy See's recognition of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. While he was in South Korea in 2014, the Pope urged China to pursue a formal dialogue to benefit both sides. While flying to South Korea, his plane was allowed to cross Chinese air space, a first for a pope. In the interview in the Asia Times this week, the Pope did not mention difficult subjects like human rights, expressing his admiration for China and sending his best wishes to Xi and China's people ahead of next week's Lunar New Year holiday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he had "noted the relevant report". "China has always been sincere about improving Sino-Vatican ties, and have made many efforts in this regard," Lu told a daily news briefing. "We are still willing to have constructive dialogue with the Vatican based on this principle, meeting each other half way, and keep pushing forward the development of the process of improving bilateral relations. We also hope that the Vatican can take a flexible, pragmatic attitude to creating conditions for improving ties." Lu did not elaborate. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is extremely concerned by reports that North Korea plans to launch a satellite, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks at a regular briefing, adding that China called on North Korea to exercise restraint. Japan has placed its military on alert to shoot down any North Korean rocket if it threatens Japan. The launch could advance North Korea's long-range missile technology after its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6. (Reporting By Ben Blanchard; Writing By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Beijing (AFP) - China has set its growth target for this year at between 6.5 and 7 percent, the country's top economic planner said Wednesday, an acknowledgement that expansion will continue to weaken.

Global investors are closely watching the slowdown in the world's second largest economy, which has created turbulence in world markets.

In 2016 "downward pressure on economic growth still exists and will expand to some extent", Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press briefing.

"Business operations remain in a tough situation and risks in some areas are accumulating," he said, adding "but we are capable and confident to deal with the issues and challenges."

Xu said China would move to tackle chronic problems with overcapacity and underperforming "zombie" companies.

The announcement was the first time in two decades that the country has expressed its economic target in a range, instead of a single number, Bloomberg News reported.

The spread, said Natixis SA economist Iris Pang, "gives more room for policymakers to exercise their creativity to boost the economy", according to Bloomberg.

Chinese leaders have previously hinted that they might move away from strict growth targets. Last year Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing had "never said we must defend any target to the death".

Diminished growth, he said, is an inevitable consequence of the country's shift to a "new normal" of slower and more sustainable expansion following the double-digit growth of the past.

China's economy, a vital driver of global expansion, grew 6.9 percent last year, its weakest rate in a quarter of a century.

China's leaders -- who last year targeted growth of "about seven percent" -- are looking to transform the economy away from the investment and exports of the past to one more oriented towards domestic consumer demand.

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But the transition is proving bumpy and the growth slowdown has alarmed investors worldwide.

In recent months China has struggled to get a handle on plunging stock prices and increasingly anaemic economic indicators.

Manufacturing data released Monday, for example, showed activity contracting at its fastest pace in three years.

Beijing has set 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party's founding -- as the deadline for achieving a "moderately prosperous society", a goal that includes doubling income from 2010 levels.

Li has said the country should keep its growth at or above 6.5 percent over the next five years to achieve that goal.

But Yang Zhao, an analyst at Nomura, said the 2016 target would likely prove "too challenging" for the country to achieve.

"Because of strong headwinds and the lack of clarity on how the government will stimulate the economy, we maintain our forecast that real GDP growth will slow to 5.8% in 2016," he wrote in a research note.
When Civil War II erupts within Marvel's comic book universe, it'll bring one of the company's most high-profile characters up against a rising star, as Iron Man faces off against Marvel's leading lady, Captain Marvel.

Talking to the Washington Post, Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said that, as with the original comic book Civil War, Tony Stark will be leading one of the groups of heroes in this second conflict, but his opposite number will be the relatively unknown Carol Danvers, making a case for the more authoritarian aspects of the Marvel Universe.

"Theres a reason that Carol is a part of the opposition forces. It not only speaks to her character, but her new role in the Marvel universe," Alonso explained, referring to Captain Marvel's place in the fictional realm and not her upcoming solo movie, scheduled for 2019. "Shes the leader of Alpha Flight, which is Earths first line of defense from all incursions. As of today, she is a very powerful authoritative figure in the Marvel universe."

And once fans have a chance to read Civil War II, a far more recognizable character, as well.

It helps that she's available; while at least one Captain America has shown up in promotional art for the summer comic book event, it's emerged that Steve Rogers will be returning to the guise of the Star Spangled Avenger in May, which might mean he's too tied up in a different storyline while Civil War II unfolds and unable to reprise his role as Iron Man's opposite number this time around.

Alonso told the Post that, although Civil War II is timed to appear around the release of the Captain America: Civil War movie, "this was not like [the first] Civil War or [recent event series] Secret Wars, where we planned for a couple of years  Weve been planning this for maybe three or four months," he explained; it's not intended as a tie-in.

"The way we look at it, were telling a movie that may come out in 10, 15 or 20 years," he said. "We dont feel that pressure [to match the movies]. Were just having fun telling great stories."

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Civil War II launches on Free Comic Book Day, May 7.

Read More: Marvel's Free Comic Book Day Title Will Tease 'Civil War II,' New Wasp
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Wednesday over a report the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus. The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite. "We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters. "This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," he said, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal in 2008 and is suspected of having infected his wife. The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly. The United Nations agency, which is leading international coordination on the outbreak, said on Tuesday the virus could spread to Africa and Asia, which have the world's highest birth rates, as well as to southern Europe. In a statement on Wednesday to European member states, WHO said the risk of the virus spreading into Europe increases with the onset of spring and summer. "Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations," WHO's Europe chief Zsuzsanna Jakab said. "Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease. "A number of travelers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive. With the onset of spring and summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases." The WHO has not recommended travel or trade bans with affected countries, but says that it is drawing up advice to pregnant women. The WHO global response team will discuss the sexual transmission report among other issues at its daily meeting later on Wednesday, Hartl said. "There are many things we don't know about Zika," he said. "Lots of surveillance is needed ... We have our team set up and are sure there will be lots of progress quickly." For now, the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitoes and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Hartl said. Pfizer Inc, Johnson and Johnson and Merck & Co Inc said they were evaluating their technologies or existing vaccines for their potential to combat Zika. Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it had created a team to investigate how it might help make a vaccine, a day after Sanofi SA said it would launch a Zika vaccine program. (Reporting and writing by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Kinshasa (AFP) - Notorious Congolese warlord Germain Katanga was back in the dock Wednesday for crimes against humanity after completing a first 12-year sentence handed down by the International Criminal Court.

Smiling and relaxed, the former general nicknamed Simba the lion due to his alleged ferocity, entered the military court in uniform, warmly greeting senior officers before the trial began.

He and five others are accused of "war crimes, crimes against humanity and participating in an insurrectional movement" in Ituri near the Ugandan border, where some 60,000 people died in fighting between 1999 and 2007.

Katanga's defence lawyers called on the court to drop the charges during the three-hour hearing and denounced his "arbitrary and illegal detention".

Rights groups Human Rights Watch said he not been given sufficient time to prepare his case.

His prior ICC sentence for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity was reduced in November by the court based in The Hague, for good behaviour and after he voiced regret.

Katanga was only the second person to be sentenced by the tribunal since it began work in 2003 as the world's first permanent court to try war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He was brought back from the Dutch city to Kinshasa late last year to complete his term and had been scheduled to walk free on January 18. But Democratic Republic of Congo authorities announced they would keep him behind bars to prosecute for "other cases".

The 37-year-old was convicted by the ICC over a 2003 attack on the village of Bogoro that saw 200 people shot and hacked to death. He was acquitted of sexual slavery and using child soldiers.

- From warlord to general -

Congolese authorities have claimed that in Ituri he played a role in the killing of nine UN peacekeepers in the violence-torn northeastern region in 2005.

But there was no specific mention of that incident during Wednesday's hearing. The next court hearing will take place on February 19.

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Katanga headed the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri (FRPI), one of the many largely ethnic-based militias that fought for control of the gold-rich region.

He became a general in the DR Congo army in 2004 in exchange for disbanding the militia.

He was arrested however in 2005 and handed over to the ICC in 2007.

DR Congo itself, a country of more than 67 million people that is Africa's second largest, was torn by two wars between 1996 and 2003 estimated to have cost at least two to three million lives.

Its eastern provinces remain ravaged by conflicts between ethnic groups and local warlords over control of land and mineral resources.

Many atrocities such as rape, killing and enslavement have been committed, most of them unpunished until 2014 when the authorities began to take measures to end impunity.
Since moving to Singapore, I have noticed how part of the national persona involves having quite spirited opinions about where to find the best of any particular dish as well as regular food snapping (that is taking pics of your meal!) is a standard pastime. That said, at the risk of sounding cynical, with so much choice available, it is easy to see it all as same-same  until a Sassy Mama work dinner found us all crowded around a whitewashed table at Crab in da Bag.

Crab in da Bag is one of the East Coasts newest restaurant additions, and is bursting with delicious seafood, a super relaxed atmosphere, and all at wallet friendly prices too! And the best bit? You eat everything with your hands! The brainchild of former film producer A P Tan, Crab In Da Bag is nothing I have ever experienced before! The concept is a relatively simple one put your bib on and dig in! The crowd pleasing Louisiana-inspired Caboodle Boil is exactly as the name suggests it includes just about EVERY type of seafood item from their menu. Cooked in a titanic aluminum pot, the Southern Louisiana specialty is literally spilled onto your table, ready for you to dig in! The rest of the menu is up to you to season as you like, theres garlic butter (yes please!), ultimate curry (a must-try signature curry mix) or Crab in da Bags Caboodle Mix  a secret combination of local and Louisiana spices (how could we refuse?).

The Caboodle Boil3

So what did we Sassy Mamas dine on? We started with Crinkled Cauliflower (interesting!), Crispy Chewy Baby Squids (we loved the balance between the crispy and chewy), Louisiana Garlic Shrimps (to die for!), and Frizzled Silver Fish (my personal favourite). This was followed by the main event  Crab in da Bags famous Caboodle Boil. Three words OH MY GOODNESS! It was so good and lip-smacking delicious I struggled to contain myself! King Crab Legs, Sri Lankan Crabs, yabbies, prawns, sausages, corn and potatoes were all competing for our culinary attention, and lets just say its going to take quite a few 10km runs to work off this meal!

Somersby Garlic Prawns

But what inspired the extremely congenial Ms. Tan to bring this unique concept dining experience to our little red dot? She explained she just wanted to see people reconnect over good makan and engage in real conversation with each other Forget your phones and devices and just concentrate on the people you are with  if only for a meal! (they even provide little boxes to store your beloved phone in so you wont be inclined to use it whilst you are there!).

Will this Mama be back? Absolutely! In fact, Im just putting together my guest list now

Crab in da Bag

Block D, #01-25 Big Splash, 902 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449875

Tel: (+65) 6440 0083

Facebook page

Opening hours

Monday  closed

Tuesday to Friday 4pm-12am

Saturday to Sunday 12pm-12am

The post Crab in da Bag: eat-with-your-hands seafood on the East Coast appeared first on Sassy Mama Singapore.
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Five Czechs found in Lebanon on Monday following their suspected kidnapping last July may be flown back to Prague on a government plane by Thursday, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said on Wednesday. The five went missing when their abandoned vehicle was found near Kefraya in eastern Lebanon. They reappeared on Monday and are being held by Lebanese authorities. "We should be able to negotiate through our ambassador that the detained Czech citizens are released to us and we could despatch them home. It could hopefully happen during today or tomorrow," Zaoralek told reporters. The disappearance of the five, treated by Czech authorities as a suspected kidnapping, has been connected -- by media in both countries and a security source -- with the detention since 2014 of a Lebanese national in the Czech Republic. A Czech court has ruled that three men including Lebanese citizen Ali Fayad, charged in the United States with an attempt to sell ground-to-air missiles, cocaine trafficking and other crimes, can be extradited to the United States. The United States, the Czechs' ally in NATO, has accused Fayad of trying to sell arms and drugs to the Colombian guerrilla group FARC. A final ruling on the extradition is up to the Czech justice minister. The U.S. embassy in Prague had no comment. One of the missing Czechs was an attorney to Fayad, and his brother, who also went missing, was the driver of their car. "A letter was sent saying that the five would be released when Ali Fayad was released  he was an adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister," a Lebanese security source told Reuters. Zaoralek refused to comment on Fayad, and said it remained government policy not to make deals with kidnappers. A Czech legal firm representing Fayad has in the past denied any connection between he two cases. Fayad's lawyer said he visited his client on Tuesday afternoon in a Prague jail and has had no information about any ruling or his extradition or release. A spokeswoman for the Czech justice ministry said no ruling has been made on Fayad's extradition and she expected no decision in the coming days. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller in Prague and Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese province with a large Tibetan population has ordered shopkeepers to hand in portraits of the Dalai Lama, state-run media said Wednesday, quoting Beijing experts likening the Nobel laureate to executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sichuan in the southwest, which includes several ethnically Tibetan areas, set up a "law enforcement squad" of cultural bureau personnel, police and other officials to enforce the drive, reported the Global Times, which is close to the ruling Communist party.

The aim was to "crack down on pornography and illegal publications, which include portraits of the Dalai Lama" ahead of the Lunar New Year, it quoted Gou Yadong, director of the provincial publicity department, as saying.

People were more than welcome to put on show pictures of the country's past and present leaders, he added, referring to former heads of the ruling party.

The Global Times also cited Lian Xiangmin, of the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing, as saying that for Chinese people, hanging his picture was the same as displaying Saddam Hussein's image would be for Americans.

The former Iraqi leader was executed in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity, while the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace prize.

The move in Sichuan comes as Beijing steps up a campaign against the spiritual leader, who is still widely revered by Tibetans.

Beijing brands him a dangerous separatist, despite his repeated statements condemning violence, and in Tibet it tightly controls images of him as part of what many Tibetans see as official repression of their religion and culture.

China denies repression of minorities and says its massive investment in Tibet has brought development to a formerly poverty stricken region.

Some Tibetan areas in Sichuan had seen laxer enforcement in recent years, with business owners displaying his portrait in shops.
GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government will need to decide whether to return to peace talks adjourned by the United Nations envoy on Wednesday, its chief delegate said, accusing the opposition of pulling out because it was losing the fight on the ground. "The military developments on the ground were crucial. Notice that the (opposition) decision of withdrawal came after opening the road to Nubul and Zahraa," Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari said, referring to the Syrian army and its allies having broken a three-year rebel siege of two Shiite towns in northern Aleppo province. (reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; writing by Philippa Fletcher; editing by Gareth Jones)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Authorities in China's unruly far-western region of Xinjiang have reduced the sentences of 11 people jailed for threatening state security after declaring success of a de-radicalisation programme, state news agency Xinhua reported. Hundreds of people have been killed in violence in Xinjiang in the past few years. The government blames the unrest on Islamist militants who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan for minority Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people from Xinjiang who speak a Turkic language. Seven of the convicts had their life sentences reduced to jail terms ranging from 19.5 years to 20 years, including people convicted of instigating "secessionist activities" or participating in terror attacks, Xinhua said late on Tuesday. The other four had their jail terms cut by six months from initial sentences ranging from eight to 15 years, it added. A spokesman for the main Uighur exile group dismissed the report as "political propaganda". Xinjiang's governor, Shohrat Zakir, was quoted by Xinhua as saying the region's jails had been very successful in recent years at their de-radicalisation efforts, with a majority of convicts becoming law-abiding citizens. Efforts need to continue in this regard with a focus on those convicted for harming state security, he said. Xinhua said this had been accomplished by inviting religious leaders and scholars to talk to prisoners about "correct religious belief". One of those whose sentence was reduced was identified as Yushanjiang Jilili, the Chinese spelling for Huseyin Celil, a Uighur-Canadian jailed in 2007 for terrorism. China considers him a Chinese citizen. "My crimes caused serious damage to my country, Xinjiang, my family and children that can never be made up for," Xinhua quoted him as saying. In Ottawa, a Canadian official confirmed Celil's sentence had been reduced. Canadian diplomats have been unable to get consular access to Celil, who was deported to China while visiting relatives in Uzbekistan. Reuters was also unable to reach officials in Xinjiang for comment, or any family members of the convicts to verify their stories. Exiles and many rights groups say the real cause of the unrest is heavy-handed Chinese policies, including curbs on Uighur culture, and a dearth of economic opportunity, rather than any cohesive militant group. Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the main exile group the World Uyghur Congress, said news of the commutations was a "political propaganda tool" to cover up the government's use of the term extremist to repress the Uighur people. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Michael Martina and David Ljunggren; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel and Bill Trott)
In a speech that lasted almost 30 minutes, Judge Vonda Evans of Detroit laid into 47-year-old William Melendez, the former Inkster, Michigan, police officer caught on video beating an unarmed black man in January 2015.

Melendez was sentenced to 13 months to 10 years in prison Tuesday for his role in the attack on Floyd Dent, a 58-year-old black auto worker, that occurred during a late night traffic stop in the struggling Wayne County suburb last winter.

"The one image [from this trial] that stood out to the court was looking at Mr. Dent in his cell, shaking his head in disbelief of what had occurred to him," Evans said in a courtroom video published by local television station WJBK.

"If his conduct was indicative of what he was thinking, I would have thought this: 'What crime did I commit, being a black man in a Cadillac, stopped for a minor traffic offense by a group of racist police officers looking to do a nigger?'"

On Jan. 28, 2015, Melendez and his partner, John Zieleniewski, pulled Dent over for an alleged traffic violation. Upon finding that Dent was driving with a suspended license, the officers dragged him from his vehicle and onto the ground, where Melendez placed him in a chokehold and punched him 16 times in the head.

At least eight more Inkster police officers gathered at the scene, none of whom intervened to stop the attack. Dent was charged with resisting arrest and drug possession, the latter due to a baggy of cocaine that he alleged the officers planted on him.

The beating  which left Dent's face and shirt drenched in blood  was captured on a patrol car dashboard camera and went public soon after, prompting a criminal investigation. After his arrest, as he sat in a cell nearby, Dent reportedly had to listen and watch as officers made fun of him and cleaned his blood off their uniforms with disinfectant.

"If we don't invest in our police officers, we're going to see more incidents like the one that I'm presiding over today."  Judge Vonda Evans

Story continues

All charges against Dent were eventually dropped, and in May, he settled with the city of Inkster for $1.4 million.

Evans said her protracted speech by saying she wanted to give Melendez the "fairness and due process" he did not give his victim that night. She acknowledged the unique challenges that face police officers day to day, including high divorce, alcoholism and suicide rates, low pay and the persistent scrutiny of a public that often looks on them with hostility.

But she also criticized America's collective failure to properly train them, wondering aloud how far the money given to Dent in the settlement might have gone instead toward better police training. "If we don't invest in our police officers, we're going to see more incidents like the one that I'm presiding over today," Evans said.

It's questionable whether training would have done much good in this case. According to the Guardian, Melendez had long ago earned a reputation as one of the more volatile and violent police officers in the state of Michigan. He's been named a defendant in more than 12 federal lawsuits, "accusing him of planting evidence, wrongfully killing civilians, falsifying police reports and conducting illegal arrests," the report said.

"At least give me the satisfaction of knowing you're out there beating up niggers right now."  Text sent in March by then-Officer William Melendez

At one point during his 16-year tenure with Detroit police from 1993 to 2009, he received more civilian complaints than any other officer in the department. His fellow police nicknamed him "RoboCop"  a nod to the fictional cyborg police officer known for his merciless violence against criminals.

Tuesday marked the first time Melendez faced a jail sentence for any of his alleged crimes. The rest of the cases against him were either thrown out or settled out of court.

In one damning moment from the trial, Melendez and his partner were also revealed to have exchanged racist text messages a few months after attacking Dent. "At least give me the satisfaction of knowing you're out there beating up niggers right now," Melendez texted Zieleniewski in March, the Guardian reports.

"[Lol], just got done with one," Zieleniewski responded.

None of this was lost on Evans, who repeatedly emphasized the role of racism in the case in no uncertain terms. According to reports, Evans is known for her "unconventional" courtroom style, exemplified by her proclivity for fitted courtroom garb and a tendency to shout at defendants.

At a time when police violence in black communities like Inkster  which is 73% black  is sparking protests across the country, it's hard to imagine a more fitting admonishment than that delivered by Evans on Tuesday.

Or, as she put it so succinctly: "2015 ... how does this happen?"

Watch an excerpt of Evans' sentencing speech here:

Watch the whole sentencing video here. Evans' speech begins around 4:06:18:
LONDON (Reuters) - Civil wars crippling many Muslim states and fuelling a global refugee crisis are driven in part by major struggles within Islam that cannot be ignored, former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday. This "implosion" in many Muslim-majority countries has forced people from their homes in "unheard-of" numbers, said Miliband, now head of the New York-based humanitarian group International Rescue Committee. Miliband spoke at the international affairs think-tank Chatham House in London. He will take part in a major conference on Thursday in the British capital that aims to raise billions of dollars from donors to respond to the Syrian crisis. "More people are fleeing conflict, they're fleeing conflict significantly in Muslim-majority countries, so the implosion in the Islamic world, in Afghanistan, in the Middle East, is driving it," he said. Venturing into what he called "tricky territory", he added it would be dishonest not to report that his organization's work was increasingly focused on crises in Muslim-majority countries. "It seems to me there are big questions, big debates happening within Islam about the reconciliation of Islam to modernity, to democracy, of different segments within the Islamic tradition," he said. "To pretend that that's not part of the story wouldn't be right," he added, without elaborating. In several war-torn countries, militant Sunni literalists such as the Taliban and Islamic State are battling other Muslims who want the faith more adapted to the modern world or belong to a minority sect such as Shi'ism. Miliband added his analysis did not apply to the whole of the Muslim world, citing Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country, and Bangladesh as two examples of countries that did not fit into the narrative. "It's not right to pretend that all Muslim-majority countries are undergoing this implosion," he said. "But I think if you look at the story in South Asia over the last 30 years and the story in the Middle East over the last 20 years, then that's part of the story." Miliband said the Syrian crisis was a long-term issue, with large numbers of refugees likely to be living in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and other countries for many years, and this called for a change in the scale and nature of the response. Refugees were increasingly living in urban areas, he said, where the fact they are not separate from the general population creates new demands very different from those of refugee camps. Dozens of heads of state and government are due to attend the London pledging conference. The United Nations estimates that $7.73 billion is needed to meet Syrian humanitarian needs this year, with an additional $1.2 billion required by countries in the region. (This version of the story corrects paragraphs 2 and 3 to clarify number of countries in conflict) (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
So much for the humbling of Donald Trump.

After a remarkably muted (for him) response to finishing second in the Iowa caucuses behind rival Ted Cruz, the Republican presidential hopeful was back in full righteous rage mode Wednesday.

Trump fired off a barrage of morning tweets accusing Cruz of having "stolen" the Hawkeye State vote with underhanded tactics and demanded, yes, a rematch.

Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!

Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.

Trump cited reports the Cruz campaign had spread word that once-popular rival Ben Carson was pulling out of the GOP contest, just as Iowans headed to the caucus sites. (Cruz later apologized for what Carson condemned as "dirty tricks.")

During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz.

Continuing the tweetstorm, Trump also pointed to a much-criticized Cruz mailer mocked up to look like an official notice from election authorities and geared at shaming Iowans into voting for him.

Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a VOTER VIOLATION certificate to thousands of voters.

Trump had sounded a much softer, even humbler note after Cruz  who built a more advanced Iowa ground game and made a heavy play for evangelical conservative voters  nosed past him by about 3 percentage points in the Iowa race.

But Trump, a man not exactly famous for reminding people there's no "I" in "team," got even hotter on Twitter on Wednesday morning before deleting his initial Cruz missile and rewording it.

there he is! missed you, pal. pic.twitter.com/K8z9LXlYfR https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CaS0VDuWEAEhS6e.jpg:large

The Cruz campaign didn't immediately respond to the criticism from Trump, who holds commanding leads in polls of likely voters in next week's first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces killed two suspected Islamist militants during clashes in the upscale Cairo district of Maadi on Wednesday, security sources said. Egypt is trying to clamp down on Islamist militants who stepped up attacks after the army toppled president Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. They have mostly targeted soldiers and police, but also attacked civilians. Although raids against militants are common in Egypt, they are rare in neighborhoods like Maadi, a leafy suburb which is home to a large foreign community and some of Egypt's elite. Two police were wounded in the clashes and another two militants escaped with security forces in pursuit, security sources said. They said police had received information that armed militants were in the area. When security forces arrived, the militants opened fire and clashes ensued, the sources said. Weapons and explosives were found nearby, they said. (Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
That term is often used to describe Charleston, South Carolina, the major port of entry for most U.S. slaves during the 18th century. Starting in 1852, a depressingly large number of humans were auctioned at the Old Slave Mart:

Heres more from Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts, two history professors at California State University in Fresno, who emailed via hello@:

As authors of a forthcoming book on the memory of slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, we found both your documentary on the Whitney Plantation and your note about it, How Many Museums Are Devoted to Slavery?, fascinating. Since you invited readers who know of other good examples of slavery museums to write in, we thought we would clarify the history of the Old Slave Mart Museum, in Charleston. The unofficial website you quote inaccurately reports that the Old Slave Mart Museum (OSMM) has operated sporadically since 1938. In truth, the OSMM is not only the first slavery museum in the United States, it has operated for the better part of the past century.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
London (AFP) - Saracens and England wing Chris Ashton's appeal against a 10-week ban ruling him out of the Six Nations was adjourned on Wednesday, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced.

Ashton, 28, appealed after being banned for making contact with the eye area of Luke Marshall in Saracens' home European Champions Cup victory over Ulster on January 16.

An independent appeal committee convened in London on Wednesday to hear the appeal.

"The Appeal Committee ... heard submissions on behalf of Ashton from Saracens' legal representative, Chris Smith, and it also heard submissions on behalf of the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan," EPCR said in a statement.

"The hearing was then adjourned and the Appeal Committee expects to announce its decision tomorrow (Thursday, 4 February)."

England begin their Six Nations campaign away to Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Brussels (AFP) - The EU said Wednesday it had agreed on how to finance a three billion euro ($3.3 billion) deal to aid Syrian refugees in Turkey, in exchange for Ankara's help stemming the flow of migrants, after resolving a dispute with Italy.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had stalled on signing off on the deal because of questions about how the accord would work, but EU sources told AFP that Rome had given its approval on Wednesday.

Under the deal the European Commission, the EU executive, will contribute one billion euros to Turkey while the bloc's 28 member states will contribute two billion, the commission announced.

Germany is the country making the biggest contribution to the fund with 427 million euros, followed by Britain with 327 million and France with 309 million, EU sources said.

"I welcome the agreement by the Member States on the details of the refugee facility for Turkey," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said in a statement.

"The money we are putting on the table will directly benefit Syrian refugees in Turkey, helping to improve their access to education and healthcare in particular.

"I also welcome the measures already taken by the Turkish authorities to give Syrian refugees access to the labour market and to reduce the flows."

Turkey -- the main launching point for the one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Europe last year -- has promised to cut the flow of people as part of the deal agreed with the EU at a summit in November.

- Italian barbs -

The deal comes four days after Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks to break the logjam on the deal with Turkey.

Italy had questioned how much of the money should come from the EU budget, and how much control the bloc will have over how Ankara spends the funds.

Renzi has also traded barbs with Brussels about claims that Italy has been slow to set up so-called "hotspot" centres for registering and taking photos and fingerprints of newly arrived migrants.

Story continues

But in a diplomatic show of unity on Friday after Renzi repeatedly criticised "German dominance" in EU affairs, both leaders said that the migrant crisis can only be solved if the 28 members of the bloc work together.

Across Europe, debate has raged on how to handle the biggest wave of migrants and refugees since World War II, many of them fleeing the war in Syria.

In January alone 360 people drowned while making the risky crossing of the Mediterranean, while more than 3,700 died in 2015, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

Greece, where most of the refugees and migrants arrive, is under pressure from Brussels to improve its control of the EU's external borders, although Athens says there is little more it can do.

Italy and Greece were the main beneficiaries of an EU deal last year to redistribute 160,000 refugees around the bloc and ease the burden of frontline states, but only just over 400 have so far been relocated.
Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The EU on Tuesday urged Greece to take specific steps to check the flow of asylum seekers to its shores and protect the 28-nation bloc's external border.

The European Commission adopted a draft report published last week that said Greece had failed to protect the EU's external frontiers from the continent's biggest influx of refugees and migrants since World War II.

The EU's executive arm recommended Greece improve registration procedures, including making sure migrants are properly fingerprinted and their documents checked against various security data bases.

It also urged Greece to properly accommodate asylum seekers while they are registered, work towards deporting economic migrants who cannot be classified as refugees, and improve border surveillance.

If Greece fails to comply with the recommendations, Brussels could authorise EU member countries to exceptionally extend border controls within the Schengen area -- including with Greece -- for up to two years.

The Schengen area allows passport-free travel through 26 countries, most of them in the European Union, and is held up as one of the major European achievements.

"Our ability to maintain an area free of internal border controls depends on our ability to effectively manage our external borders," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said in a statement.

"Today we are proposing a set of recommendations to ensure that, at all external borders of Greece, controls are carried out and brought in line with Schengen rules," he said. "We will only save Schengen by applying Schengen."

The Commission specifically asked Greece to provide enough staff and fingerprint scanners to register migrants, as well as check their travel documents against Schengen Information System, Interpol and national databases.

"Border surveillance should be improved, including the establishment of a risk analysis system and increased training of border guards," the Commission said.

Story continues

Last week's damning report said Greece faces border controls with the rest of the Schengen passport-free zone in three months if it fails to act.

Based on an inspection at the Turkish land border and on several islands in the Aegean Sea, the EU found Greece was failing to properly register and fingerprint migrants.

The highly critical draft report by Brussels heaps pressure on Greece, the main gateway for the one million refugees and migrants who entered Europe last year.

In Athens, the government said the Greek army will increase its aid to the police and ports authorities in order fulfil the country's commitments to the European Union on welcoming asylum seekers.

"We have decided with the defence ministry, which had already managed the migrant influx, to reinforce the effort" to finish the facilities for migrants, government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili told a press briefing.

She admitted Greece was slow to set up the five migrant registration centres called "hotspots" on the Aegean islands because of "financial and administrative problems," but added they would be ready "in the time period agreed" with the EU.
New York (AFP) - Global stocks stumbled for most of the day Wednesday, but an afternoon rally in oil prices helped to lift key US indices.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 finished higher following a topsy-turvy session that also featured a big drop in the dollar versus other leading currencies.

"The turnaround was the big story today," said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management. "There are lots of cross-currents in the market."

Hong Kong stocks dropped 2.3 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 3.2 percent as a stronger yen hit exporters and falling oil prices in early trade reignited worries about the world economy.

Europe continued the downward drift, with London, Frankfurt and Paris all shedding around 1.5 percent and Milan losing 2.8 percent.

"Another down day in Europe, taking its cues from Asia as the demise of oil prices continues to suppress any real risk appetite," said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at traders London Capital Group.

US stocks too were in retreat much of the session, with the Dow plunging nearly 200 points at one juncture soon after a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed much slower-than-expected growth in the US services sector.

But sentiment changed with an afternoon rally in oil prices on renewed speculation of a potential OPEC meeting to discuss cuts in oil production.

The shift lifted ExxonMobil 5.2 percent, along with other industrials such as Caterpillar and Alcoa, which rose 4.3 percent and 8.8 percent.

The Dow finished up 1.1 percent, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.5 percent.

"There's been a reversal in oil so the industrials are outperforming," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

"It's been a clear rotation out of some of the tech winners into industrials."

- Alphabet/Google falls -

But shares of some of the biggest US tech companies dropped, including Amazon, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet, which lost 4.9 percent.

Story continues

As a result, Alphabet ceded its title of most valuable company after just one day back to Apple, which rose 2.0 percent.

US shares of Swiss pesticide and seed giant Syngenta rose 2.1 percent on news that China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) offered to buy it for $43 billion in what would be a record overseas purchase by a Chinese firm.

General Motors fell 2.5 percent despite reporting fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.39, a solid 18 cents above analyst expectations. Barclays cited worries the booming US auto market has peaked.

Yahoo dropped 4.7 percent as it reported an annual loss of $4.4 billion, announced it was cutting 15 percent of its workforce and suggested it could seek a deal to sell or merge the company.

- Key figures around 2200 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 16,336.66 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 1,912.53 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,504.24 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 5,837.14 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.5 percent at 9,434.82 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.3 percent at 4,226.96 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.9 percent at 2,896.63 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.2 percent at 17,191.25 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.3 percent at 18,991.59 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,739.25 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1111 from $1.0917 on Tuesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 117.81 yen from 120.01 yen
By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European lawmakers on Wednesday backed a compromise deal to reduce car emissions that will still allow vehicles to exceed official pollution limits, defying calls for more radical reform following Volkswagen's emissions-test cheating scandal. The vote, which narrowly rejected a proposal to block the compromise, had been scheduled for January, but was delayed by bitter arguments between members of the European Parliament and fierce lobbying. Volkswagen's admission in September that it cheated U.S. diesel emissions tests created a political storm in Europe where around half of vehicles are diesel. Diesel is particularly associated with emissions of nitrogen oxide linked to lung disease and premature deaths. The European Commission, the EU executive, had already begun trying to close a known gap between laboratory testing of new vehicles and the real world, where toxic emissions have surged to more than seven times official limits. However, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said in a position paper seen by Reuters that the Commission's reform plans were too challenging for current diesel models and could threaten the technology as a whole, jeopardizing jobs across the region. At a closed-door meeting in October, EU member states agreed a compromise -- now backed by the European Parliament -- that would cut emissions but still allow a 50 percent overshoot of the legal ceiling for nitrogen oxide of 80 milligrams/kilometer. Mayors from cities including Copenhagen, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Naples had urged the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, to reject the plan. "If such a decision would be confirmed, we fear that our commitment to reduce air pollution in cities will become meaningless," a letter from eight city mayors to members of parliament said. Green lawmakers and liberals also pressed for a rejection, saying the compromise was an illegal weakening of already agreed limits. "Unfortunately, clean air, fair competition and the rule of law did not get a majority today," Dutch Liberal politician Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy said. But the dominant center right grouping, the European People's Party (EPP), backed the compromise It said rejecting the plan would delay a reduction in vehicle emissions, as a new proposal would have to be agreed and the car industry would lack regulatory certainty to invest in cleaner technology. The European Commission welcomed Wednesday's vote as a step in the right direction and urged manufacturers to start designing vehicles "for full compliance with the legal emissions limit" when measured in real driving conditions. (Editing by Mark Potter)
Emotional-support-turkey

An emotional support turkey was spotted at San Francisco Airport, and we're not talking about a sandwich.

The turkey was seen going through security sometime last week by KTVU journalist Frank Somerville, who shared the story to his Facebook page.

See also: Little girl adopts turkey to save it from becoming Christmas dinner

According to the post, the turkey is an emotional support animal for a woman who lost her husband. The woman takes the turkey everywhere with her, and it even sleeps with her at night.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time an emotional support turkey has been spotted assisting a person on an airplane. Just a few weeks ago, a turkey was spotted flying high in the sky, though it is unclear if this is the same jet-setting therapy pet.

12661852_1065501730179820_4311454321581164701_n

According to the FAA, emotional support animals may be brought on a flight if it "is found to be medically necessary for the passenger traveling with the animal." Additionally, the animal must have the proper documentation "permitting the animal to accompany the passenger in the cabin as a service animal."

But just because it's allowed by the FAA, doesn't mean that other passengers will throw you some side-eye during all of that gobbling.

Additionally, individual airlines have noted that they do ban animals that are not cats or dogs, citing safety concerns.

[H/T:SFGate]
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday it was joining a criminal investigation of lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, exploring whether laws were broken in a crisis that has captured international attention. Federal prosecutors in Michigan were working with an investigative team that included the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General and the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit said. An FBI spokeswoman said the agency was determining whether federal laws were broken, but declined further comment. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy met with officials and community leaders in Flint and told reporters she could not give a timeline for fixing the problem. She said the agency was examining where it may have fallen short, but declined to address the criminal probes. The city, about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched the source of its tap water from Detroit's system to the Flint River in April 2014. Flint switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did. Lead is a toxic agent that can damage the nervous system. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who extended a state of emergency in Flint until April 14, has repeatedly apologized for the state's poor handling of the matter. The ability to seek criminal charges under U.S. environmental laws is limited, according to Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a former federal prosecutor. Prosecutors would need to find something egregious like a knowingly false statement. "You need something that is false to build a case," he said. Simply failing to recognize the seriousness of the situation would not rise to that level, Henning added. In Washington, Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, Democrats from Michigan, pushed for $600 million in aid, mostly in federal funds, to help Flint replace pipes and provide healthcare. Senator James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who chairs an environmental committee, said an agreement to help Flint was close and would be a combination of revolving funds and other aid. Money from a revolving fund is like a loan, with the money going to the recipient and then being repaid so there is no net cost to U.S. taxpayers. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said aid to Flint must not add to U.S. budget deficits for "what is a local and state problem." U.S. Representative Candice Miller, a Michigan Republican, proposed an emergency bill to provide $1 billion in funds to be used to replace Flint's water pipes. The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the Flint crisis. The head of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Keith Creagh, will apologize for its handling of the case, and an EPA water official will tell the committee that reforms must be enacted to prevent a repeat, according to advance testimony. The committee on Tuesday evening subpoenaed Flint's former emergency manager, Darnell Earley, to appear at the hearing, CNN reported, citing a committee staffer. But Earley's attorney said the subpoena was not issued in time for his client to testify, according to CNN. (Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, Serena Maria Daniels in Flint, David Bailey in Minneapolis and Tim Gardner and Richard Cowan in Washington; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Grant McCool, G Crosse and Dan Grebler)
By Sue Britt

FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) - Residents of Ferguson, Missouri, jammed a meeting on Tuesday to weigh in on a proposed agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to reform the city police department after the 2014 shooting of a black teenager by a white officer.

The fatal shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson exposed tension between the city government and the largely black community outside St. Louis. Ferguson erupted into violent protests in 2014 after a grand jury chose not to indict the officer.

It was one of a series of highly publicized killings of black men, mostly by white police officers, that set off a nationwide debate about the use of police force, especially against minorities.

In the meeting at City Hall, Ferguson resident John Knowles said he had a problem with the Department of Justice singling out the city.

"I think it's wrong that the city of Ferguson is bearing the brunt for a countywide issue," Knowles said.

More than 100 people were prevented from attending the meeting when the meeting room reached its 120-person capacity, leaving many grumbling in a parking lot.

"Out-of-towners don't belong here," Ferguson resident Maryellen Moylan shouted toward the door. "This is not right. We don't have representation. We demand representation."

The Justice Department's sharply critical report last year documented discriminatory actions by Ferguson police and the municipal court system, especially against blacks.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the Ferguson Police Department would be required to give its officers bias-awareness training and implement a strong accountability system.

The department would have to ensure that police stop, search and arrest practices do not discriminate on the basis of race or other protected characteristics.

The settlement would also require the city to change its municipal code, including sections that impose prison time for failure to pay certain fines and an ordinance used against individuals who do not comply with police orders.

Ferguson's City Council plans to vote next Tuesday on whether to accept the agreement. Two more public meetings are set for Saturday and next Tuesday, and written comments will be taken before the vote.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago and Sue Britt in Ferguson, Mo. Editing by Dan Grebler and Peter Cooney)
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The first Irish cases of the Zika virus have been detected in two people with a history of traveling to a country affected by the mosquito-borne infection, the Health Service Executive (HSE) of Ireland said on Tuesday.

The two individuals, whose cases are unrelated and neither of whom are at risk of pregnancy, are currently well and fully recovered, the HSE said in a statement.

"The finding of Zika cases in Ireland is not an unexpected event as many other European countries have reported cases as a result of travel to affected areas," the statement said.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Miami (AFP) - Authorities in Florida suspended the upcoming execution of a death row inmate, after the US Supreme Court found problems with how the state sentences people to death.

The southeastern US state's high court suspended until further notice the lethal injection of Cary Michael Lambrix, scheduled for February 11, it said in an order.

It was the first such move by court officials since the US Supreme Court last month declared Florida's capital punishment system unconstitutional since the state was not guaranteeing the people's right to an impartial trial on whether the death penalty is imposed.

Unlike other US states, Florida state law allowed a jury to recommend execution, or not, but it left the deciding authority with the judge.

Lambrix, 55, was convicted of the 1984 murders of a man and a woman. He has always maintained his innocence.

His lawyers sought the stay of execution as Lambrix marked more than three decades on death row.
Copenhagen (AFP) - Four men, held in connection with twin gun attacks in Copenhagen last year, were on Wednesday charged with a terror offence, the justice ministry said.

"Justice Minister Soren Pind decided today to charge four men with complicity in an act of terrorism over the attack on the Copenhagen synagogue in February last year," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the trial would get underway on March 10.

On February 14, 2015, a Danish national of Palestinian origin opened fire on a cultural centre in Copenhagen which was hosting a debate on freedom of expression.

A Danish filmmaker was shot dead in that attack.

The 22-year-old assailant Omar El-Hussein then killed a 37-year-old Jewish man outside a synagogue before being shot dead in an exchange of fire with police.

Five suspected accomplices aged from 19 to 31, were arrested in the aftermath of the attacks.

Four were charged Wednesday and the fifth was released from custody last month.

The targets of the Copenhagen attacks, the freedom of expression debate centred around cartoons of the prophet Mohammed and a synagogue, drew comparisons with the jihadist attacks in January last year when the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket were targeted.
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday Britain could not expect to win a veto on euro zone policies and he also ruled out a further round of negotiations over reforms aimed at keeping the country in the European Union. The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draft reform package on Tuesday to persuade Britain, an EU member but outside the common currency, to stay in the bloc. Tusk offered Britain a way to slow down euro zone legislation that it objects to but he was careful not to offer London any veto rights over euro zone decision-making. "A country outside the euro zone cannot have a veto over countries in the euro zone," Hollande said after talks in Paris with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. Hollande said there could not be "new adjustments" to the package on offer at an EU summit on the issue set for Feb. 18-19. "There will be corrections if necessary (but) not new negotiations. We have reached a point that will give the British the necessary assurances," the French leader said. Earlier, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Paris saw Tusk's proposals as a basis for discussion, but within limits. He did not say explicitly whether France approved or disapproved of the proposals. EU officials believe Tusk's proposals would withstand legal challenges and that they do not require amendments to the bloc's treaties, which would be difficult to achieve among its 28 EU states. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry and Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Ingrid Melander and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Brian Love and Gareth Jones)
PARIS (Reuters) - France's Foreign Ministry voiced concerns on Wednesday about reports North Korea is preparing a ballistic test, urging the country to avoid moves that could fuel tensions in the region. The ministry said that a test would be a violation of international obligations and would merit a firm response from the international community. "We call on North Korea to abstain from any gesture that would risk further increasing regional tensions and to fully and immediately implement United Nations Security Council resolutions," the ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Alison Williams)
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande ruled out on Wednesday Britain getting a veto over euro zone policies as London negotiates an EU reform package to keep the country in the bloc. On Tuesday, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draft reform package to persuade Britain, an EU member but not a member of the currency area, to stay in the bloc. "A country outside of the euro zone cannot have a veto over countries in the euro zone," Hollande said after meeting in Paris with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Ingrid Melander)
(This version of the February 2nd corrects paragraph 2 to show Switzerland is not a task force donor; no other changes) ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Funding for a multinational force to combat Boko Haram's deadly Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa remains well short of its target, an African Union official said on Tuesday. So far donors, including Nigeria and France, have pledged about $250 million to fund the 8,700-strong regional force, the African Union's Peace and Security Council said after a meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss funding. The talks followed the militia's latest attack, which killed at least 65 people in northeast Nigeria on Saturday. The $250 million includes both previous pledges and those made during Monday's conference, said Orlando Bama, communications officer for the African Union's Peace and Security Council. He did not give further details. That covers just over a third of the $700 million budget announced for the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) last year. The task force -- to be made up of regional African militaries -- has yet to mobilize. Instead, national armies are tackling Boko Haram individually, but they often cannot follow the insurgency across the region's long, porous borders. The region threatened by Boko Haram is one of the poorest in the world, and all the countries in the task force, barring Benin, are oil producers whose budgets have been battered by falling prices. Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and driven more than 2 million people from their homes during its six-year insurgency. Regional armies from Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon mounted an offensive against the insurgents last year that ousted them from many positions in northern Nigeria. The United States has also sent troops to supply intelligence and other assistance. But progress has been slow. "The answer lies in there being political will and the capability to back the force," said Imad Mesdoua, at Africa Matters consultancy in London. "This has been a regular problem with multi-national task forces in Africa." (Reporting by Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa and Edward McAllister in Dakar; writing by Edward McAllister; editing by Katharine Houreld)
Officer Ryan Davis with police K-9 Jethro, who was shot three times while attempting to apprehend a burglar inside a grocery store in Canton, Ohio, on Jan. 9, 2016. (Photo: Canton Police Department via Facebook)

Should killing a police dog be punished more severely than killing another animal? Theres a movement underway by animal welfare advocates to increase the penalties for K-9 murders: Last month alone, five police dogs died at the hands of criminals around the country.

Were only in February and were already equal to all of 2015. Theres really been a troubling increase in canine officers being killed. Its a spike. Its very unusual to see so many K-9s killed in such a short period of time, Steve Weiss, a New York police lieutenant and director of research for the Officer Down Memorial Page, said in an interview with Yahoo News.

On Sunday, a 5-year-old German shepherd named Aren was stabbed to death while trying to apprehend a suspect for the Port Authority of Allegheny County Police Department in Wilkinsburg, Pa.

Our thoughts and prayers are with K-9 Aren's partner, Port Authority police officer Brian O'Malley and the entire Port Authority Police Department, the Pittsburgh Police K-9 Unit said in a Facebook post.

On January 9, a 3-year-old German shepherd named Jethro was shot three times while attempting to apprehend a burglar inside a grocery store in Canton, Ohio. He was rushed to Stark County Veterinary Emergency Clinic and underwent surgery but succumbed to the gunshot wounds the following day.

Outraged by the death, several people, including Kristy Arvin of Massillon, Ohio, launched petitions calling for harsher consequences for K-9 killers. As of Wednesday, her change.org petition had garnered 14,993 supporters. Thomas Fuehrer of Bethlehem, Pa., initiated a similar petition, arguing that charges against K-9 killers should carry greater weight.

Arens killer was shot dead during his confrontation with law enforcement but Jethros suspected killer was captured and arrested. Some animal-rights advocates are concerned that, even if convicted, his penalty may be too light.

Police K-9 Jethro. (Photo: Canton Police Department via Facebook)

Under Ohio Revised Code 2921.321, killing a police dog is considered a third-degree felony and could result in a maximum of five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

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David Lou Ferland, executive director of the United States Police Canine Association, the oldest and largest police-dog organization in the country, explains that the penalty for killing a police dog differs based on its affiliation.

It depends on the dog. Federal law will protect the federal dogs. State law protects the other dogs. Not all states have the same laws to protect dogs. If it was a city dog that was killed, it depends on the state in which the dog was working, Ferland said in an interview with Yahoo News.

For federal cases, killing a law enforcement dog is considered a class B felony  carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. This would apply to K-9s with agencies like the FBI or U.S. Marshals.

Whoever willfully harms any police animal, or attempts to conspire to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not more than one year. If the offense disables or disfigures the animal, or causes the death of the animal, the maximum term of imprisonment shall be 10 years, reads the Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act of 2000.

Leighann Lassiter, the animal cruelty policy director for the Humane Society, said that most states consider animals, including police dogs, personal property. Therefore, she said, penalties are typically assessed in terms of the value of the property lost  taking into account various costs such as purchasing and training the K-9.

In Massachusetts, anyone who willfully tortures, torments, beats, kicks, strikes, mutilates, injures, disables or otherwise mistreats, a dog or horse owned by a police department will face a maximum fine of $500 and/or up to 1 years in prison.

Police K-9 Aren with Port Authority police officer Brian O'Malley. Aren was stabbed to death on Jan. 31, 2016, while helping to apprehend a suspect for the Port Authority of Allegheny County Police Department in Wilkinsburg, Pa. (Photo: Pittsburgh Police K9 Unit via Facebook)

Last year, Tennessee passed House Bill 1291, known as Arons Law, which upgraded killing a police dog, fire dog, search and rescue dog or police horse to a minimum Class E felony.



A source told Yahoo News that legislators in Ohio are considering increasing protections for police dogs and police horses, and we will most likely see a bill to address this issue in the next week.

Lassiter said the Humane Society would welcome any bill that provides meaningful penalties for harming or killing a K-9.

These dogs are on the frontlines for law enforcement and protecting their human partners, protecting the community, searching for missing persons. Theyre not just involved in getting criminals and sniffing for drugs, Lassiter told Yahoo News.

They are a huge part of the these police departments and other officers look at them as one of [their own] even if the law doesnt see it that way. They deserve to be recognized for that under the law.

According to Weiss, the Officer Down Memorial Page started a separate section on K-9 deaths after receiving numerous requests.

The bond is probably not that dissimilar from the bond that an officer has with a human partner except there just isnt that social aspect, he said. Any pet owner knows they can sense when you have fear or happiness  the dogs feed off that. The bond is a strong one.
By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A 72-year-old man convicted of murdering a convenience store manager in a 1979 robbery in Atlanta's suburbs was executed in Georgia early on Wednesday, corrections officials said.

Brandon Astor Jones, the oldest inmate on the state's death row, died by lethal injection at 12:46 a.m. at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

He accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement, the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement.

Jones' death was delayed nearly six hours following a flurry of appeals by his attorneys. The U.S. Supreme Court late on Tuesday denied Jones' request for a stay of execution.

His execution was the fifth this year in the United States, and the first of two scheduled this month in Georgia, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors capital punishment nationwide. Texas, Alabama and Florida executed inmates last month, the center said.

The Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his petition to commute his sentence to life without parole.

Jones was the second man executed in the shooting death of Roger Tackett, 35, inside a convenience store in June 1979, according to court testimony.

Jones was arrested in the store, along with co-defendant Van Roosevelt Solomon, by a police officer who heard four gunshots, according to a Georgia Supreme Court case synopsis.

Jones later told another officer, "There is a man in the back - hurt bad," court records said. Police found a badly wounded Tackett in a locked storeroom.

Solomon, also convicted of murder, was executed in 1985. Jones had spent decades appealing against his death sentence.

A federal district court overturned his death sentence in 1989 because a trial judge had allowed a Bible in the jury deliberation room, finding it could have improperly influenced jurors to base their decision on scripture instead of the law.

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Another jury again sentenced Jones to death in 1997. Jones had continued to appeal the verdict, saying his trial lawyers failed to introduce evidence of his history of mental illness and childhood sexual abuse.

Jones, who declined to request a last meal, was to be offered instead the standard prison menu of chicken and rice, rutabagas, seasoned turnip greens, dry white beans, cornbread, bread pudding and fruit punch, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The execution came about two weeks before the planned execution of convicted murderer Travis Clinton Hittson, set for Feb. 17.

(Writing by Letitia Stein, Reporting by Sandra Maler, Andrew Hay, Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is carefully examining an "ambitious package" of proposals presented this week by European Council President Donald Tusk to keep Britain in the EU, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. "President Tusk, in close agreement with the European Commission, yesterday presented an ambitious package which responds to the main demands of (British) Prime Minister (David) Cameron," spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters. "We are now looking at the package in all its details," he said, adding Germany would try to play a constructive role in the forthcoming negotiations. (Reporting by Paul Carrel and Madeline Chambers; Editing by Caroline Copley)
RIYADH (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said a Syrian military offensive had weighed on U.N.-mediated talks to end the war in Syria, adding he saw the next opportunity for negotiations at the Munich Security Conference next week. "It has become increasingly clear in recent days the extent to which the Geneva talks have been burdened by the Syrian army's military offensive near Aleppo," Steinmeier said on the sidelines of an event in Riyadh. He said the next opportunity for common action with regional players would be at the Munich Security Conference, which takes place Feb. 12-14. The Geneva talks have been paused until Feb. 25. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Caroline Copley; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Paul Lienert and David Shepardson

DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co <7267.T> is expanding its recall in North America of late-model vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata air bags, in a move that could affect around 2.3 million vehicles.

The Japanese automaker sent dealers in the United States a letter last Saturday, informing them of its intent to recall about 2 million Honda and Acura vehicles over air bag problems, a Honda dealer said on Wednesday. Automotive News had reported the upcoming recall earlier on Wednesday.

Honda spokesman Chris Martin confirmed it told dealers it was recalling an estimated 1.7 million Honda brand vehicles. The dealer notice reviewed by Reuters said the driver's "airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment." A person briefed on the matter said the recall was expected to include about 300,000 Acura vehicles, Honda's luxury brand, in the United States.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday it had received a recall notice from Honda but that it would not be made public until Thursday.

In Canada, the country's top safety regulator said on Monday Honda was recalling more than 269,000 cars in that country, including the 2016 Acura ILX, because the driver's air bag inflator could rupture and send metal fragments into vehicle occupants.

Most of the reported vehicles being recalled in the United States are the same models as those in the Canadian recall.

Honda has previously recalled more than 6 million vehicles in the United States since 2008 to replace Takata inflators that could rupture. Of the nine U.S. deaths connected with those inflators, eight have come in Honda vehicles.

Honda's action indicates the continuing Takata recalls may not be over.

On Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey urged NHTSA to recall all cars with Takata inflators. The senators estimated that 24 million such vehicles remained on U.S. roads.

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On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Bill Nelson said "the never-ending flow of piecemeal recall announcements" on Takata air bags "needs to end."

Asked about a broader recall, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters on Tuesday that NHTSA's investigation "has not been closed. There is still ongoing work. ... We will continue to take action as we deem appropriate."

Through December, NHTSA had recalled 23 million potentially defective Takata inflators in about 19 million vehicles. Two weeks ago, Takata agreed to seek the recall of a further 5.1 million driver-side inflators.

(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney)
By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Barack Obama's veto of legislation that would have dismantled his signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act. At least a two-thirds vote of the House was needed to knock down Obama's veto; the Republican-majority House fell short by more than three dozen votes. The vote was 241-186, and ends consideration of the bill; the Senate will not take it up. The widely expected outcome was the latest chapter in the lengthy clash between Republicans and Democrats over the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." Republicans have been vowing to gut the law since 2010, when the then Democratic-majority Congress passed the landmark program designed to provide healthcare for millions of uninsured Americans. The House has voted to dismantle Obamacare dozens of times, but Republicans could not get a repeal through the Senate until late last year, when they used a procedural maneuver denying Democrats' ability to block the legislation. Obama vetoed the bill last month; it was the eighth veto of his presidency, and none have been overridden. Republicans were anxious to show they had done everything they could to take down Obamacare, which they say has raised insurance costs and reduced health care choices. They said Tuesday that this was not the end of the story. "The end of Obamacare is coming," predicted Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. "When a Republican president takes office next year, we know we can get this passed ... Obamacare can be gone once and for all." Such a scenario assumes, however, that the Republicans capture the White House in November elections, and maintain their majorities in the Senate and House as well. Democrats mocked Republicans, saying they were proposing to deprive millions of their health insurance without a replacement. About 11.3 Americans have signed up this year for insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. "While we have voted as of today 63 times to dismantle it, how many times have we voted to replace it? Zero! Zero times to replace it!" declared Representative Chris van Hollen, a Democrat. The bill also would have taken funds away from Planned Parenthood, another target of Republican criticism after undercover videos showed the women's healthcare provider discussing the use of fetus parts for research. Two anti-abortion activists behind the filming of the videos were indicted by a Texas grand jury last month, while the jury cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Andrew Hay)
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced a measure to privatize the national air traffic control system by placing it in the hands of a new private nonprofit corporation run by airlines and other stakeholders.

The long-anticipated measure would transfer air traffic operations and 38,000 government employees from the Federal Aviation Administration to the nonprofit, in a bid to reduce flight delays, speed the adoption of next-generation technology and insulate the system's funding from congressional gridlock.

But Democrats and other critics warned that the move could lead to a costlier, less-efficient system controlled by the airline industry. They vowed to unveil a rival plan for targeted reform that would protect air traffic control from congressional politics by making its funding mandatory.

"Our system is incredibly inefficient, and it will only get worse as passenger levels grow and as the FAA falls further behind in modernizing the system," said U.S. Representative Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Shuster, who expects to send the legislation to the floor of the House next week for a possible vote, said the plan is modeled on private air traffic control operations in other countries, including Canada and Britain.

The bill won ready backing from the Airlines For America, a leading industry trade group, and the main air traffic controllers union.

But its future was unclear ahead of the November election, when voters will determine which party controls the White House and Congress in 2017.

"We cannot support the proposal," said Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the committee's top Democrat, who said he was concerned about whether it would meet acceptable safety, national security and public interest standards.

Unionized commercial pilots also objected to the measure. Delta Air Lines Inc has already warned that it would lead to higher costs for passengers.

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Republicans anticipate a three-year transition from government to private control under the proposal. It is expected to reduce annual federal FAA spending from $14 billion to $3 billion, aides said. Lost tax revenue would be replaced by user fees. But those details have yet to be worked out by the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes.

Republicans said privatization is necessary to ensure greater efficiency and modernization, pointing to a recent Transportation Department report saying two decades of reform have failed to make the FAA more efficient.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis)
By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday called on his fellow conservatives to unify in an election year, warning them to refrain from the kind of infighting that frustrated and eventually drove out his predecessor, the more moderate John Boehner. Ryan, in remarks to Heritage Action, one of the influential conservative groups that vexed Boehner with constant demands for more spending curbs and smaller government, said divisions among Republicans played into the hands of Democrats. "Let's not fight over tactics. Don't impugn people's motives," said Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who took over the top post in the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives last October. But as he spoke, discontent was brewing among conservative Republicans in the House over the U.S. budget for the coming year. Late last year, more than 160 Republicans out of 246 voted against a two-year budget deal Boehner reached with the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. On Wednesday, Ryan did not mention Boehner by name. He urged conservatives not to use their disagreements, including over appropriations, as a litmus test for supporting each other. "It's fine if you disagree ... But we can't let how someone votes on an amendment to an appropriations bill define what it means to be a conservative," Ryan said. He cautioned conservatives against standing in "a circular firing squad." Heritage Action is an affiliate of the conservative Heritage Foundation research group. Boehner blamed such outside groups for pushing him into a 16-day government shutdown in 2013. He retired last September, weary from fighting with more conservative members who have increased their numbers in the chamber in the past few years. Ryan could soon see Republican unity tested over decisions on fiscal policy, also a theme in the campaign for the November presidential election. The budget deal reached late last year exceeded strict spending caps by $80 billion over two years, to pump up defense and domestic programs. It is to be used as a framework for budget and appropriations legislation this year. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus did not vote for it. Ryan, trying to allay concerns, hosted the Freedom Caucus in his office Tuesday evening for "'budget and beers,'" a spokeswoman said. Freedom Caucus member Representative John Fleming of Louisiana said the meeting was cordial, with Ryan listening to the group's objections to higher spending. "We didn't walk out with any agreements," Fleming said. Also on Tuesday, Obama and Ryan had their first formal meeting as they search for areas where they may be able to overcome policy differences. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Grant McCool)
Two U.S. congressmen have asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address concerns that a program to sell mortgages to investors in bulk auctions is harming homeowners.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., requested a briefing on the program in a Feb. 1 letter to HUD secretary Julian Castro.

The letter cites the Center for Public Integritys investigation of the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP), a HUD program to sell mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to the highest bidder. The story outlined consumer protection shortcomings in the DASP system. The story was co-published on The Atlantic.

Brown is ranking member on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Cummings is ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Several recent reports indicate that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) may be selling nonperforming loans for properties located in some of our most vulnerable communities to hedge funds and private equity firms via quarterly auctions without sufficient protections for homeowners and neighborhoods, the letter reads.

Over 98,000 mortgages have been sold through DASP with the stated goal of helping homeowners to avoid foreclosure while also getting troubled loans off the FHAs books. The Center investigation revealed that the mortgages were sold for as little as 41 percent of their value and that only 16.9 percent of DASP mortgages avoided foreclosures.

This story is part of Finance. The latest investigations about U.S. financial reform, corporate accountability and consumer finance. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.

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In the letter, Brown and Cummings ask HUD several questions:

Are homeowners notified of the status of their mortgage before the sale and are they informed of their inclusion in the program? (According to lawyers the Center spoke to last fall, most borrowers learn their loan was sold well after the initial auction  if they become aware at all  after the mortgage has been stripped of FHA protections.)

How does HUD ensure required loss mitigation procedures are being followed before the sale? (The Centers original report explains that HUD relies on banks to self-report the loans status without checking with the homeowner.)

What protections are provided to homeowners after their mortgages are sold through the program? (Several borrowers reported to the Center that they were repeatedly denied opportunities to negotiate for more affordable loan terms, including terms that would have been available had the mortgages stayed under FHA protection.)

What data does HUD provide to the public about the program? (At the time of the Centers investigation, HUD did not provide or seem to collect detailed information about the mortgages after auction.)

What percentage of mortgages are sold to nonprofits? (The Center reported only 2 percent of sales went to nonprofits as of September 2015.)

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Many of these questions we have been trying to get answers to for a long time, says Alys Cohen, a staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. FHA is supposed to work for homeowners, not just the lending community.

Cohen adds, The bottom line is lenders still say these sales are a way to get rid of loans that have no other options but we know many homeowners that are trying to save their homes are having their loan sold without any notice.

HUD has continued to sell mortgages through DASP after the Center for Public Integrity report. The latest sale took place on Nov. 18, 2015 and put 7,787 mortgages on the auction block. Mortgages were grouped into 24 pools, two of which were bought by nonprofits, according to a post-sale report. Seventeen pools went to the investors at Bayview Acquisitions, LLC. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who together hold the rights to many more mortgages than FHA, have followed with similar sales.

This story is part of Finance. The latest investigations about U.S. financial reform, corporate accountability and consumer finance. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.

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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.
By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Hundreds of people fled a conflict-hit area of southeast Turkey's largest city of Diyarbakir on Wednesday, taking advantage of the lifting of a curfew to escape any further clashes between security forces and Kurdish militants. A Reuters witness said people left the city's Sur district with suitcases, televisions and carpets loaded onto pick-up trucks and handcarts, deserting an area damaged heavily in fighting since a curfew was declared there a month ago. "It's always the ordinary people who suffer," said Mehmet Ceylan, 45, carrying a bundle on his back. "I've lived in Sur for years, and I've never witnessed a scene like this." Hundreds of militants and security force members have been killed since July when a ceasefire collapsed, triggering the worst violence in two decades and wrecking hopes for a peace deal in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 since 1984. The chief district administrator's office in Sur on Wednesday declared the lifting of a week-old curfew in Sur's western parts. However, the eastern side remained under a round-the-clock curfew. The state says the curfews, also in place elsewhere in the southeast, are imposed so police can remove barricades, explosive devices and ditches set up by the PKK, deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union. Security forces killed five PKK fighters in Sur and another seven in the southeastern town of Cizre on Tuesday, bringing the militant death toll in the two towns to 670 since December, the army said in a statement. It said two soldiers died from their wounds on Wednesday after fresh clashes in Sur. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said it had not been able to communicate for three days with a group of people, some wounded, trapped in a basement in the southeastern town of Cizre, under curfew since mid-December. At least six of the 31 people in the building, which has largely collapsed, have died over the past two weeks and others are seriously wounded, the HDP said on Wednesday. The government has denied its security forces are preventing ambulances from reaching the building and has accused militants of firing on emergency workers. Separately in Istanbul, unidentified gunmen opened fire late on Tuesday on the premises of an Islamic association, killing one man and wounding three others, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. It followed a similar attack on Monday, when two people were killed and seven wounded in an Istanbul suburb after armed assailants fired on a teahouse. Police detained six people in connection with the first shooting, Anadolu said. It was not clear if the attacks were politically motivated, but they tapped into concerns that violence may spread to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. In the western Aegean region, two leftist militants were detained on Tuesday in possession of guns and explosives, media said. Anadolu said one of them was identified as a perpetrator in the 1996 assassination of a member of the Sabanci family of leading industrialists. (Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley and Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans and David Dolan)
By Marton Dunai MISKOLC, Hungary (Reuters) - Thousands of Hungarians protested on Wednesday against reforms of the education system by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's center-right government that they consider oppressive and heavy-handed. The protesters say the reforms are yet another example of what they see as Orban's authoritarian style of leadership that has drawn criticism from the European Union and the United States as well as human rights groups within Hungary. The Orban government, in power since 2010, took control of schools from local authorities three years ago and a central body now regulates all aspects of education, down to procuring chalk for rural elementary schools. It has significantly increased teachers' workload and set a new curriculum using textbooks the critics say contain factual errors and promote very conservative views on issues such as homosexuality. "The government does not want educated, creative people but dumb automatons who are easy to control," said one protester, Marta Baliko, a retired teacher in the eastern town of Miskolc, epicenter of opposition to the reforms. "Teachers have been drained by the high number of classes and by the uniform textbooks," she said. Teachers at the Otto Herman Secondary School in Miskolc ignited the nationwide protests last month when they drew up a petition addressed to the Hungarian people demanding the government reverse its reforms and restore schools' autonomy. "The entire education system is in danger," they wrote. "Everything is chaotic. Teachers are insecure, desperate and often apathetic." The petition has drawn the support of more than 30,000 people and more than 10 percent of all schools in Hungary. "RADICAL CENTRALIZATION" The government, which cited the need to save money among its initial reasons for its overhaul of education, said it was beginning a series of consultations over the issue. A think-tank attached to the ministry overseeing education acknowledged some of the problems in a recent study, saying no other EU country had introduced such a "radical centralization" of schools. Protesters staged marches in a dozen Hungarian towns and cities on Wednesday, though the rally in Miskolc where people carried torches and chanted slogans was the largest. However, the protests are unlikely to unsettle Orban's ruling Fidesz party, which leads all opinion polls, said analyst Peter Kreko at the Political Capital Institute. Orban has bounced back from previous popular protests, for example in 2014 against a planned tax on Internet data. His tough stance on Europe's migrant crisis has further bolstered his support, especially in the absence of an effective opposition. "Orban communicates well on popular subjects such as the refugee crisis and this drowns out policy mistakes even when they have an acute effect on everyday life," said Kreko. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Riga (AFP) - Iraq's Sunnis must be given a greater role in the political process of the war-torn country in order to prevent the possible rise of organisations even more extreme than the Islamic State (IS), an Iraqi tribal leader told AFP on Wednesday.

"There is no doubt we must remove and defeat IS. But the absence of any political solution or national reconciliation will pave the way for more radical groups to emerge - some possibly even more radical than IS," Sheikh Jamal al-Dhari, a leader of the mixed Sunni and Shiite al-Zoba tribe, said in an interview.

The 50-year-old has set up Peace Ambassadors For Iraq (PAFI), an organisation aimed at overcoming his country's bloody sectarian divide between the Sunni minority and politically-dominant Shiite majority.

Al-Dhari says he launched PAFI last year in the Latvian capital Riga to coincide with Latvia's stint as rotating president of the European Union and so forge contacts with Western diplomats.

"Sunnis are caught between the brutality of IS and the violence of Tehran-backed (Shiite) terror groups.

"At the same time, the (Shiite-led) Baghdad government has disenfranchised Sunnis from joining a full political process.

"So, it's not about drawing Sunnis away from IS; it's about creating a climate that brings Sunnis back into a reformed political process."

Al-Dhari has proposed a five-point national reconciliation plan.

It would put an end to job quotas for Sunnis and Shiites, boost anti-corruption efforts and investment in a non-sectarian army, fully review the Iraqi constitution and finally, launch a national reconciliation process overseen by the United Nations.

According to PAFI, the al-Zoba tribe comprises both the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, and with around six million members is among the largest in Iraq, a country of 33.4 million people.

Born in Baghdad's Abu Grahib district, the sheikh says he fought in the elite Republican Guard during the Iran-Iraq war, but was jailed in 1987 after being accused of disloyalty to the Ba'athist regime of then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, himself a Sunni.
Dublin (AFP) - Ireland on Wednesday urged men to wear a condom during sex for one month after returning from a country affected by the Zika virus, as Britain said returning travellers cannot donate blood for a month.

Britain's health agency last Friday had already warned that travellers should practice safe sex.

"Zika virus can be passed between sexual partners in the man's semen. This is especially likely if he developed symptoms of Zika virus disease," read a statement from the Health Protection Surveillance Agency, the specialist diseases agency in predominantly Catholic Ireland.

The statement also warned that anyone with symptoms which could be due to Zika such as fever, headache, aches, rash or itchy eyes should practice safe sex for six months following the start of his symptoms.

Britain's National Health Service Blood and Transplant agency said in a statement it would implement from Thursday a 28-day on blood donors returning from Zika-affected countries as a "precautionary measure".

"The safety of the blood supply is paramount and it is important we implement any precautionary blood safety measures agreed here as a result of an increasing prevalence of infectious diseases found around the globe," a spokeswoman said.

The warnings about the fast-spreading Zika outbreak came following a US case of sexual transmission identified in Texas on Tuesday, confirming that the virus is not just spread by tropical mosquitoes.

There had been two previous suspected cases of sexual transmission in 2008 and 2015.

Britain had warned on Friday that "a small number of cases of sexual transmission of Zika virus have been reported and in a limited number of cases the virus has been shown to be present in semen, although it is not yet known how long this can persist".

"The risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus is thought to be very low," Public Health England said in a statement.

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It advised condom use for male travellers returning from Zika-affected areas "if a female partner is at risk of getting pregnant or is already pregnant".

The statement said this should be for 28 days for travellers with no symptoms and six months "following recovery if a clinical illness compatible with Zika virus infection or laboratory confirmed Zika virus infection was reported".

The World Health Organization has declared the spike in serious birth defects in South America an international emergency and launched a global Zika response unit.
Dublin (AFP) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Wednesday called parliamentary elections for February 26 in a poll that could see disillusioned voters turn away from established parties to back political mavericks.

Ireland's two rival parties that have taken turns leading Irish governments since 1932, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, have seen their combined dominance among voters recede as support for independent politicians, new parties and anti-austerity groups has risen.

"I am seeking a dissolution of Dail Eireann (parliament) today with the election to be held on February 26th," Kenny, who was elected in 2011, tweeted before going to President Michael Higgins for formal authorisation.

"Five years on we still have many challenges and the job is not yet finished, but working together we have made real progress," he added in a video message.

"Ireland is now clearly moving in the right direction."

The eurozone nation has the highest economic growth rate in the European Union -- 7.0 percent in the first nine months of last year -- but many voters are disillusioned after years of sacrifices and a financial crisis that has discredited Ireland's elite.

- Vote for 'stability'? -

Polls indicate the current coalition government led by Fine Gael's Kenny with junior party Labour will struggle to gain the minimum 80 seats required to form a majority for a second term.

The vote follows an election in Portugal that returned a fragile ruling alliance, and political deadlock in Spain since a December election returned no clear majority.

Kenny and Labour leader Joan Burton insist that a vote for their parties is the only way to ensure "stability" and protect economic growth.

But both parties, particularly Labour, have seen an ebb in support in polls.

This could mean Kenny cobbling together a coalition with an assortment of small parties and independent politicians, leading a minority government, or holding another election.

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Some commentators have even raised the idea of an unprecedented pact between the old adversaries Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, whose differences date back to the opposing sides of the 1920s Irish Civil War.

"Even though Election 2016 will deliver the most anti-establishment and pro-independent results ever, a Fine Gael and Fianna Fail coalition is still the most likely outcome," Noel Whelan, a former Fianna Fail advisor, said in a blog for betting company Paddy Power.

"Government doesn't come more party-dominated or more establishment than that!"

- 'Real earthquake election' -

Ireland's last general election in 2011 delivered an earthquake result in which voters stripped Fianna Fail, long Ireland's largest party, of all but a nub of their seats in response to a brutal property crash and recession on their watch.

Since then the Sinn Fein party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, has risen to become one of the most popular parties in opinion polls as it has positioned itself as an anti-austerity force.

Newly-formed groups that could benefit at the expense of traditional parties range from the left-wing Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit group, to the Social Democrats, to right-leaning Renua Ireland.

Karen Green, a 45-year-old hospital worker from Crumlin in Dublin, said she had been politicised by the fight against new water charges that became a rallying point for anti-austerity groups, sparking huge protests and collective refusals to pay.

"It was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm in my forties and I've seen two recessions and I've never seen anything like it," Green said.

She now hopes to help left-wing candidates "shake up" Ireland's lower house, Dail Eireann.

Much will depend on whether the trends indicated in polls are borne out, if support for Sinn Fein translates into seats, how badly Labour fares and whether voters might quietly return to Fianna Fail under leader Micheal Martin.

According to Queen's University Belfast politics lecturer Muiris MacCarthaigh, 2016 could be Ireland's real "earthquake" election.

"A plethora of small parties, alliances and independents have now emerged across the political spectrum," MacCarthaigh wrote in an analysis.

"Agreeing a common programme for government is likely to take a lot longer than the week it took in 2011, and the potential that a diverse coalition of interests may not serve a five-year term is a distinct possibility," he said.
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Italian student from Britain's Cambridge University who went missing last week in Cairo is likely dead, the Italian foreign ministry said on Wednesday. It said that it was still waiting for official confirmation from Egyptian authorities about the fate of Giulio Regeni, 28, who disappeared on Jan. 25, the five-year anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Tensions were high in Egypt in the run-up to the anniversary, with police detaining activists and warning people not to demonstrate. No significant protests took place. "The Italian government had learnt of the probable tragic end to this affair," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued in Rome. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni had expressed his deep condolences to Regeni's family, the statement said. An Egyptian security source said the interior ministry would not comment on the case until the conclusion of its investigation. The Italian foreign ministry did not give any indication of how the student might have died or whether his body had been found. Italian news agency Ansa said his body had been found in a ditch in a Cairo suburb but gave no further information. A friend of Regeni said he disappeared after leaving his home in an upper middle class area to meet a friend downtown. Last year, Islamic State militants kidnapped a Croatian man from the outskirts of Cairo and later beheaded him, but such incidents are rare and there was heavy police presence in downtown Cairo when Regeni went missing. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli and Crispian Balmer in Rome; editing by Grant McCool)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani on Wednesday ordered ballistic missile defense units, including Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and Patriot missile batteries onshore, to be ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatened Japan. Japan's decision to put its military on heightened alert comes after North Korea told the United Nations it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week, a move that could advance Pyongyang's long-range missile technology following its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6. South Korea said earlier on Wednesday that the planned satellite launch was really a plan to launch a long-range missile and warned that the North will pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead. (Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo, Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Michael Perry)
Tokyo (AFP) - Japan said Wednesday it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on its territory, after Pyongyang announced it planned to launch a space rocket this month.

"Today the defence minister issued an order" to destroy such a missile if it "is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani issued the order, citing the "possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a 'satellite' within coming days," the statement said.

The order will be carried out by Japan's ballistic missile defence system, which includes PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, and similar SM-3 systems aboard warships, the ministry said.

The order will be effective until February 25, it added, the end of the launch window announced by Pyongyang that begins on February 8.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan authorities are holding three trucks carrying food aid on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP) at the border with Somalia because of suspicions the supplies could fall into the hands of militants, a senior regional official said on Tuesday. The WFP said the trucks had all the required paperwork from Kenyan authorities and that the U.N. agency carefully monitors its shipments to make sure it reaches its intended recipients. The Somalia-based al Shabaab group has launched frequent attacks in neighbouring Kenya since late 2011 when Nairobi sent soldiers across the border to fight the militants. Mohamud Saleh, regional coordinator or the top government official in the North Eastern region, said the vehicles were held on Monday in Mandera county along the border, awaiting reassurances from WFP Somalia that the food aid would not fall into the hands of the militants. "We were a bit suspicious about where this food was going, because the last time we got information they took food across, the food was taken over by the terrorists, al Shabaab," he told Reuters by phone. "The food was meant for the most vulnerable in Somalia, those affected by drought, but I'm told it went into the hands of al Shabaab. We are a bit concerned." Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by more than two decades of conflict in Somalia, and more were forced out of their homes by a 2011 famine. Basic public services are lacking and there is limited access for humanitarian aid. Challiss McDonough, senior regional spokeswoman for the WFP in Nairobi, said they were working with Kenyan officials to resolve the "unfortunate misunderstanding". "The three WFP-contracted trucks stopped in Mandera had all the required paperwork from Kenyan authorities," she told Reuters, adding the organisation monitors its food aid shipments to ensure they only help the vulnerable. Al Shabaab banned WFP from areas it controls in Somalia in 2010, she said. Saleh said the trucks will be released as soon as the WFP reassures the government the food will only get to the intended recipients. "We want them to assure us the food goes to the right place because we don't want our enemies to be fed by food from our territory," he said. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Humphrey Malalo)
Paris (AFP) - Kevin Magnussen was on Wednesday confirmed as a Renault driver as the French manufacturer unveiled their 2016 car on their return to Formula One.

The 23-year-old Danish driver, who finished second on his 2014 debut in the Australian Grand Prix, joins the team after being let go by McLaren in October.

He replaces Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado and links up with British former GP2 champion and F1 rookie Jolyon Palmer, 25.

Suppporting Magnussen and Palmer as reserve driver will be French teenager Esteban Ocon, GP3 champion last season.

Renault are back in F1 after taking over the Lotus team 10 years after Fernando Alonso won his second title for them in 2006.

"Since 1977 Renault has won 12 world titles (drivers and constructors) in F1," recalled the car giant's boss Carlos Ghosn at the unveiling at its Technocentre at Guyancourt outside Paris.

Renault relinquished its team to Lotus in 2008 to concentrate on supplying engines, rattling off eight world titles between 2010 and 2013 with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.

But the manufacturer felt that despite all that success they weren't being properly rewarded.

"If we only supply engines, we invest a lot but the benefits are few," explained Ghosn.

"The reason that we've returned is first of all marketing. In the next few years, the growth of our group will come from emerging markets like China, India and Brazil, where F1 is one of the most popular sports.

"We must use our presence in F1 to stimulate sales."

Renault's RS16 car will be predominately black with flashes of yellow to mirror the company's corporate image.

Team principal is Frenchman Frederic Vasseur with experienced engineer Bob Bell as chief technical officer.

"We have the budget, the talent, the people. Renault is back to win," said Jerome Stoll, Renault Sport Racing president, at the unveiling which was transmitted live back to the team's English base at Enstone.

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Ghosn echoed that sentiment, declaring: "We are starting with a handicap but we believe we have the talent, the desire and the necessary experience to catch up."

The French firm's return as a full team comes after the acrimonious split with Red Bull which garnered four drivers' world titles in a row but ended after Renault had become angered by the Austrian team's criticism of their engines in 2015.

In taking over Lotus, Renault are essentially buying back the team they had sold to Genii Capital in 2009 and which was renamed Lotus F1 Team for the 2012 season.
Brussels (AFP) - At least 2,297 journalists and media workers have been killed in the last 25 years, with Iraq ranking as the most deadly country, the International Federation of Journalists said Wednesday.

Journalists lost their lives in targeted killings, bomb attacks, in the cross-fire and kidnappings in wars and armed conflicts across the globe while others were killed by organised crime barons and corrupt officials, the IFJ said.

Some 112 journalists and media professionals were killed last year alone, although the peak year was 155 killings in 2006, it said.

"At least 2,297 journalists and media staff have been killed since 1990," the report said.

With just one out of 10 killings investigated, the IFJ said failure to end the impunity for killings and other attacks on media professionals only fuels the violence against them.

"This milestone publication charts the trajectory of safety crisis in journalism and bears witness to the IFJ's long running campaign to end impunity for violence against media professionals," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said in a statement.

"These annual reports were more than just about recording the killings of colleagues," Boumelha said.

"They also represented our tribute for their courage and the ultimate sacrifice paid by journalists in their thousands who lost their lives fulfilling the role to inform and empower the public," he added.

The following countries accounted for the highest numbers of killings: Iraq (309), the Philippines (146), Mexico (120), Pakistan (115), Russian Federation (109), Algeria (106), India (95), Somalia (75), Syria (67) and Brazil (62).

In 2015, ten journalists and staff died in France when jihadists attacked the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, meaning France shared the top spot with Iraq and Yemen last year for media killings.

Since 1990, the Asia Pacific region registered the highest death toll at 571, followed by the Middle East with 473 killings, the Americas at 472, Africa at 424, and Europe with 357 dead.

The IFJ called on government officials, security and military officers and others who deal with them to respect their independence.

It urged "governments to comply with their international obligations by investigating journalists killings and bringing those responsible to justice, thus deterring future violence."
By Fedja Grulovic and Kole Casule IDOMENI, Greece/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia restored rail transport for migrants coming across its southern border with Greece on Wednesday, potentially alleviating a growing backlog caused by protests either side of the frontier. Trains had been halted for several days as taxi drivers blocked the tracks to protest at police directing migrants first to trains and buses for their journey north to Serbia, en route to western Europe. Traffic has been disrupted on the Greek side as well by farmers protesting over pension reforms that Athens is planning to implement to satisfy the country's international creditors. It was unclear how the taxi row was resolved, but an official at Macedonias national railway said a train had left the border town of Gevgelija in the morning. One train left this morning. At this point, the railway is closed due to some maintenance, but we expect another train will leave this afternoon, Kire Dimanoski, director of passenger traffic at the railway, told Reuters. Dozens of buses packed with migrants, many of them refugees from the Syrian war, have spent several days parked at petrol stations on the main highway running north from Greece to Macedonia. Some set out on foot for the border, where makeshift camps are at full capacity on either side. They included many women and children, who the United Nations says now account for up to 60 percent of all those arriving by boat and dinghy from Turkey. More than 1 million people fleeing poverty, war and repression in the Middle East, Asia and Africa reached Europes shores last year, most heading for Germany. More than 62,000 arrived in Greece last month. Balkan states along the route have begun denying passage to all those not coming from conflict regions of Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. Police chiefs of Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia met in the Macedonian capital Skopje on Wednesday to discuss how to tighten measures at their borders. Macedonias Goran Savovski told reporters they had agreed that those without valid travel IDs would not be allowed through, further filtering the flow. We have stated today that persons without travel documents, with fake passports, and those who cannot document their country of origin, will not be allowed to transit on this route, he said. (Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
By Emily Stephenson and Emily Flitter EXETER, N.H./MILFORD, N.H. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, emerging from the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa as the leading Republican mainstream contender, portrayed himself in New Hampshire on Tuesday as the party's best hope to recapture the White House. But Rubio, 44, a U.S. senator from Florida, faces a strong field of establishment rivals in next week's New Hampshire primary after his stronger-than-expected third-place finish in Iowa behind front-runners Ted Cruz, 45, and Donald Trump, 69. "If I am the nominee, we are going to beat Hillary Clinton and it won't be by the flip of a coin," Rubio told supporters in Exeter, New Hampshire, taking a jab at the close Democratic race in Iowa between Clinton and challenger Bernie Sanders, where some precincts were decided on a coin flip. Other more mainstream Republicans including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, are expected to do better in New Hampshire than in Iowa and vie with Rubio to become the establishment favorite. Cruz and Trump also headed to New Hampshire as the presidential race shifted to the second nominating contest in the state-by-state battle to pick nominees for the Nov. 8 election to replace Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump told a news conference before a rally in Milford, New Hampshire, that he felt "a tinge" of disappointment at losing to Cruz in Iowa.. The billionaire businessman also picked up an endorsement from former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. Cruz told New Hampshire supporters he was like former Republican President Ronald Reagan, urging the state to help ensure his nomination by giving him a win in the Feb. 9 primary. "Every day from now until Election Day here in New Hampshire, I'm going to continue asking for the men and women of New Hampshire to make that same fateful decision yet again so that we can reignite the promise of America," Cruz said. Cruz, a conservative U.S. senator from Texas, beat Trump in Iowa's Republican caucuses with the help of the state's large bloc of evangelical Christians, but he might struggle to finish on top in New Hampshire, where Republican voters have a more secular and libertarian streak. Cruz apologized to rival Ben Carson over an email his campaign sent on Monday night implying Carson was dropping out of the race and his Iowa backers should switch to Cruz. "This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr. Carson," Cruz wrote. The campaign for Carson, who finished fourth in Iowa, said the retired neurosurgeon had accepted Cruz's apology but that the incident was the sort of "dirty trick" politics that Carson was trying to fight. The Democratic presidential contenders, Clinton and Sanders, also headed to New Hampshire after their close duel in Iowa, where the former secretary of state narrowly edged out the insurgent U.S. senator from Vermont. Vermont borders New Hampshire, and that proximity may give Sanders an advantage in next Tuesday's primary. Clinton's razor-thin margin was the smallest in Iowa Democratic caucus history. Concerns about the income gap and economic insecurity have helped Sanders, 74, a self-described democratic socialist who came from far behind in polls to throw a scare into the front-runner in Iowa. Clinton, 68, acknowledged she had to try harder to win younger Democrats, who backed Sanders in Iowa in large numbers. "Im going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first-time voters, who have to make a tough decision, she told CNN. The two Democrats also renewed a days-old battle over when and where to have more face-to-face debates, and were still talking about potentially meeting in a televised debate on Thursday night in New Hampshire. 'HARD SELL?' On the Republican side, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who dropped out of the race in December, said a recent hardening of Rubio's position on immigration and the strength of his anti-abortion stance might cost him. Running to the right to win Iowa is going to be a hard sell here in New Hampshire, Graham, a supporter of Bush, told Reuters in Rindge, New Hampshire. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio said he was the candidate to unite the Republicans in the November election, when the party hopes to regain the White House after Obama's two four-year terms. "People realized on the Republican side that we cannot afford - this country cannot afford - to lose this election, and that I give the party the best chance not just to unify our party but to grow it," Rubio told ABC's "Good Morning America" from Manchester, New Hampshire. The fluent Spanish speaker hopes to win back some of the Latino vote the party lost in recent years as it toughened its stance on immigration. A foreign policy hawk, Rubio advocates a tough approach to Iran, the Islamic State militant group and other U.S. foes. Iowans who supported Rubio at the caucuses said they responded to his relatively positive message and viewed him as the candidate most likely to beat Clinton should she be the Democratic nominee. Worries about issues such as immigration and terrorism have fueled the campaigns of Trump and Cruz. Christie on Tuesday accused Cruz and Rubio of lacking executive experience for the job of president. What do they do exactly in the United States Senate? They talk and they talk. They are not responsible for doing anything, Christie said at his campaign's New Hampshire headquarters in Bedford. Opinion polls of Republicans show Trump leading nationally and in New Hampshire. But the state has a long tradition of bucking trends in presidential primaries. Trump, the outspoken real estate magnate who dominated the Republican race for months, broke an unusual silence of more than 12 hours on Twitter after his defeat in Iowa. "Because I was told I could not do well in Iowa, I spent very little there - a fraction of Cruz & Rubio. Came in a strong second. Great honor," he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday where he has regularly posted scathing criticism of his opponents. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Mohammed Zargham and Megan Cassella in Washington, Ginger Gibson and John Whitesides in Iowa; Writing by Alistair Bell and John Whitesides; Editing by Frances Kerry, Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)
By Donna Owens

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A Maryland man whose 2000 murder conviction was thrown into question by the popular "Serial" podcast was in court on Wednesday to argue he deserved a new trial because his lawyers had done a poor job with his case.

Adnan Syed, 35, appeared in a prison jumpsuit in a courtroom packed with family members, supporters and the producer of the podcast. He is serving a life term for the murder of his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in Baltimore in 1999.

The killing was the subject of "Serial" in October 2014. The podcast, released by public radio station WBEZ in Chicago, has been downloaded more than 68 million times, CBS reported last year.

On the first day of a hearing expected to run through Friday, defense attorney C. Justin Brown asked Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch for a new trial for Syed. He said Syed had "ineffective assistance by trial counsel" before his conviction.

State prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah rejected the defense's claims. "He strangled with his own hands an 18-year-old girl," he said, adding the evidence was overwhelming.

Asia McClain Chapman, a high school classmate of Syed, testified that Syed's former lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, who died in 2004, never contacted her about a potential alibi.

Chapman said she had told prosecutors she had seen Syed at the library the day of the murder. She shared the information with the "Serial" producers, she said.

Under cross-examination, Chapman said she visited Syed's family members to tell them about seeing him.

"They said he was having trouble remembering what he did that afternoon ... between getting out of school and going to the mosque," she said.

Evidence introduced included letters Chapman had written Syed offering to share information with authorities.

A ruling in May from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals allowed Syed to call Chapman as a witness. The court returned the case to Baltimore City Circuit Court for post-conviction proceedings.

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Welch in November ordered a hearing to look into questions raised by Brown over cellphone tower records that prosecutors used to show that Syed was at the site where Lee was buried.

Syed's lawyers have said in court papers that phone company AT&T indicated when it provided the data that incoming calls could not be used to determine location, but prosecutors used records on incoming calls to convict him.

(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone, Marguerita Choy and Peter Cooney)
Thousands of dead seabirds have washed up on Alaskan shores over the past nine months. And while a dead bird washing ashore is a fairly common occurrence, these large numbers are leaving scientists concerned and confused.

Nearly 8,000 common murres (Uria aalge) were found along the shores of Whittier, Alaska, in early January. Over the New Year's holiday, Alaska experienced four days of gale-force winds from the southeast that resulted in dead birds washing ashore, said Robb Kaler, a wildlife biologist for the Alaska branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Scientists have known for some time that the key to surviving strong storm winds is having an energy reserve, according to an expert at Tufts University, and Kaler and his colleagues think that the common murres were not finding enough food this season, which may be why so many didn't make it through the storm.

In cases like these, experts typically measure the number of dead birds per kilometer, said Julia Parrish, a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle and executive director of the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), which is one of the organizations studying areas where these birds are washing ashore, alongside the USFWS and the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC). For the Whittier survey, the final measurements came to approximately 4,600 birds per kilometer, Parrish told Live Science. [5 Mysterious Animal Die-Offs]

The common murre is "one of the most abundant and widespread seabirds in Alaska," Kaler told Live Science in an email. While other dead seabirds are being reported on Pacific shorelines, current reports indicate that about 99 percent of the animals are common murres, Kaler said.

Seeing a dead seabird on the beach is not altogether unusual, especially during September and October, when the birds are leaving their breeding colonies, Parrish said. However, dead common murres started showing up in Alaska in March.

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"This is really weird, because that is the beginning of the breeding season," Parrish said. "That's when [seabirds] are [usually] fat and sassy."

What's going on?

So far, the NWHC has examined 100 bird carcasses, and most of the birds seem to have died due to starvation, Kaler told Live Science.

"While we know murres are starving," Kaler said, "we do not understand the mechanism."

There is a chance that saxitoxin, a toxin related to paralytic shellfish poisoning, or domoic acid, a toxin that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning, could be responsible for some of these deaths, he said. But both of these toxins are difficult to detect in birds that have nothing in their stomachs or gastrointestinal tracts, which was the case with most of these animals, Kaler said.

In the past, seabird die-off events  in which thousands of birds die in a short period of time  have been associated with strong El Nino events, Kaler said. In 1993, there was another die-off of common murres recorded in the northern Gulf of Alaska, where scientists found about 3,500 dead or dying common murres along the shoreline over a period of six months. Scientists calculated that over that period, about 10,900 bird carcasses actually made it to shore, according to a 1997 study published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Because researchers were able to monitor only a small fraction of the beaches in Alaska, that study's scientists projected that the actual final death count in 1993 was at least 120,000 birds.

With this most recent event, "[w]e assume the die-off is connected to one of the largest oceanographic-atmospheric events, known as 'The Blob,'" Kaler said. This event is the presence of a large area of water that falls well above the average temperature usually observed in the North Pacific, he said. "We do not know how [that] this relates to El Nino or climate warming, but we believe they are factors," Kaler said.

The USFWS also noted in a recent bulletin that common murres have turned up at locations as far inland as Fairbanks, Alaska, where the birds have been seen swimming in rivers and lakes. Wildlife biologists consider this to be unusual behavior, since common murres are seabirds and so don't usually show up so far inland, Parrish told Live Science.

Additionally, while the die-off has been most visible in Alaska, similar events affected seabird populations in Washington, Oregon and California during the months of September and October, Parrish said.

What does this mean?

The behaviors of seabirds are often indicators of what is happening in the marine system, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Current estimates of the common murre death toll in the recent die-off have suggested that more than 100,000 birds have probably died over the past nine months, and dead birds are likely to continue showing up through the spring, Kaler said.

It is important to note that this high death count doesn't mean that common murres are in danger as a species. There are an estimated 2.8 million common murres in Alaska, Parrish said. This means that current estimates of the die-off account for only approximately 3 percent of the total common murre population in the state.

That's not to say that the appearance of large numbers of dead birds on beaches isn't of concern, Parrish said. Scientists are speculating that this event indicates a species struggling to deal with altered circumstances, he said.

"When there are heat waves during the summertime, you always hear about mortalities in the inner city [from people who don't have air conditioning] and [so] they just have to deal with" the heat, Parrish said. "None of these birds have air conditioning."

Follow Elizabeth Newbern @liznewbern. Follow Live Science @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.
Dopson (Telfair County Sheriff's Department)

The mayor of a small town in Georgia has been charged with impersonating an officer after he was pulled over while driving a marked police cruiser, officials said Tuesday.

John Dopson, the mayor of Jacksonville, Ga. (pop: 140), was driving a Jacksonville police cruiser when he was stopped by Telfair County deputies on Monday afternoon.

According to the sheriffs office, Dopson refused to take state-administered blood and urine tests because he knew it would show positive for weed.

He was subsequently charged with driving under the influence of drugs and booked into the county jail.

Apparently Dopson had been routinely using a police cruiser as his personal Uber for some time.

The sheriffs office said it had received numerous complaints related to the daily personal use of a marked and equipped city of Jacksonville patrol car by an individual who possesses no law enforcement authority.

Investigators said they obtained at least three statements from individuals who witnessed Dopson operating the patrol vehicle with its blue lights activated.

One claimed Dopson followed her in the marked patrol car and activated its blue lights in order to effect a traffic stop. Another witnessed Dopson pursuing a vehicle on U.S. Highway 441 with the blue lights fully activated. And local law enforcement officers routinely observed Dopson using a marked and equipped patrol car as his primary means of personal transportation.

Although flattered by Dopsons obvious fascination of real law enforcement officers and the services we provide related to public safety, we cannot allow this type of illegal and very dangerous activity to continue, the sheriff's department said in a statement posted to its Facebook page. Our families here in Telfair County, as well as [those] who pass through our community, must have complete confidence in the professionalism and integrity of our local police services. Persons in immediate danger or who are otherwise in distress will commonly seek refuge or police assistance by approaching a marked patrol car. Therefore, private citizens pretending to be law enforcement officers can very quickly find themselves facing a dangerous situation, a situation which they are not adequately trained or equipped to handle.

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NBC News reported that Dopson was appointed mayor late last year even though he has been awaiting trial since last March on a felony aggravated assault charge, according to state court records.

The sheriffs department added: Citizens should have confidence a marked police cruiser will be operated by a legitimate law enforcement officer and not just someone with access to a police car, living out some childhood fantasy.
By Ben Klayman

DETROIT (Reuters) - A group of academics and activists on Wednesday called on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to establish a compensation fund for victims of Flint's lead-contaminated drinking water, with one member of the group proposing the state set aside at least $1 billion.

The group of 200 professors and advocates, which calls itself the Experts of Color Network, said in a letter to Snyder the fund would pay for claims, health screenings and treatment for those in Flint affected by the crisis.

The group, which is focused on building wealth for minority communities, did not say how big a fund was needed for Flint's roughly 100,000 residents, most of whom are African American or Latino.

One co-signer, Rudy Arredondo, president of the National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, told Reuters it should be "at a minimum $1 billion."

Snyder's press secretary, Dave Murray, did not directly address the fund proposal when asked for comment. He said the governor was looking at a variety of ways to address health concerns in Flint.

"Health care  both immediate and long-term  is an important part of the plans," he said.

The call for the compensation fund came the same day U.S. lawmakers criticized environmental officials at a Washington hearing for not acting sooner about the contaminated water.

Flint, a city near Detroit, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched the source of its tap water from Detroit's system to the Flint River in April 2014.

The city switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did. Lead is a toxic agent that can damage the nervous system.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Andrew Hay)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Most flights by Pakistan's ailing national airline were grounded on Wednesday, a company spokesman said, as striking employees disrupted operations to protest against a government privatization plan. The strike is the latest in a months-long series of protests against the plan to sell off part of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), among companies the government has pledged to privatize under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal. The grounding of flights follows the deaths of two PIA employees and injuries to several others during clashes on Tuesday with security personnel armed with water cannons, tear gas and batons near the international airport in Karachi. The two men died of gunshot wounds, hospital officials said, though police and Pakistan's paramilitary force have denied opening fire on the crowd of several hundred as it marched toward the Jinnah International Airport in the southern city. "Most of the PIA flights are not being allowed to take off from any of the airports, domestic or international," said airline spokesman Danyal Gilani, although some returning international flights were being allowed to land. A spokesman for the protesters did not immediately answer telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment. PIA's management expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the deaths of its employees, Gilani said, and asked the government to launch an inquiry into Tuesday's incident. Since Jan. 26, the strike has cost the airline about 1 billion Pakistani rupees ($9.6 million) in losses, he added. In a television interview on Tuesday night, company chairman Nasser Jaffer said he planned to resign. "From this day on, my conscience does not allow me to stay as chairman of this organization," the emotional Jaffer said on Dunya Television. "Two people lost their lives. I don't think anything worse than this could have happened." Once a source of pride for Pakistan, the loss-making carrier has been hit by frequent flight cancellations, and many of its aircraft have been cannibalized to keep others flying. Despite government attempts to allay fears the privatization could lead to mass layoffs, sporadic protests have continued. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this week extended legislation to ban the airline's employees from striking for six months, the government said in a statement. The law specifies prison terms of up to a year, and an unspecified fine, for those convicted of infringements. Sharif vowed not to back down from the reform plan. "Action will be taken against those who have gone on strike," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I believe that any concession on this will be a disservice to Pakistan." (Reporting by Krista Mahr in Islamabad and Syed Raza Hassan in Karachi; Writing by Krista Mahr; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's accounting watchdog came under further political pressure on Wednesday to undertake a full, independently supervised investigation into the auditing of HBOS's accounts by KPMG [KPMG.UL] before the bank collapsed in 2008. The Financial Reporting Council said last month it would undertake an initial enquiry into how KPMG and its staff audited HBOS before it went bust at the height of the financial crisis. That announcement followed calls for a full probe from Andrew Tyrie, chairman of parliament's Treasury Select Committee, who on Wednesday intervened again to detail the conditions he wanted for the FRC enquiry to "command public confidence". "This work is long overdue. Furthermore, the process by which the FRC has reached this decision, as well as the approach it plans for its preliminary enquiries, both raise a number of concerns," Tyrie said in a letter to the FRC and released to the media. The FRC, which had no immediate comment, looked at aspects of KPMG's accounts of HBOS during 2013, but found no grounds to take matters further. In his letter, Tyrie asked why the FRC was still only looking at two elements of the HBOS audit rather than undertaking a broader review. He said a review of the HBOS collapse by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority published last November had benefited from independent supervision. "What provision will be made for independent and external oversight of the FRC's enquiries into the auditing of HBOS ?" Tyrie asked what deadline the FRC was working to, and whether the findings will be published in full. "The Treasury Committee will be keeping a close eye on the progress of these enquiries and the extent to which they are able to command public confidence," Tyrie said. The FRC is also likely to be questioned by the committee, he added. KPMG has said that a thorough review of the HBOS audit was in the interests of the audit profession, shareholders and society as a whole. HBOS had to be rescued in a government-engineered takeover by Lloyds Banking Group, which subsequently needed a 20 billion-pound taxpayer bailout of its own. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday condemned Pyongyang's plan to launch a rocket, calling it "a serious provocation" that would violate UN Security Council resolutions.

The remark by the hawkish Japanese leader came after North Korea gave a shipping warning to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that it would launch an earth observation satellite between February 8-25.

"If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious provocation," he said in parliament.

"The reality is that it is a launch of a ballistic missile," Abe added, rejecting Pyongyang's insistence its space program is purely scientific in nature.

Separately, Japan has deployed PAC-3 surface-to-air missile defence systems in at least three bases in Tokyo and its environs, Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters Tuesday.

Nakatani added that the ministry "is taking every necessary measure" to address contingencies linked to a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea.

During previous recent launches Japan's military has issued orders to shoot down any rocket or debris that threatens its territory.

Nakatani, however, refrained from confirming whether a so-called destroy order had been issued.
The hunt is on! NASA has begun a quest to select its next big instrument to study the cosmos.

Observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope have revolutionized humanity's view of the cosmos. And upcoming projects, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the WFIRST-AFTA mission  which the agency aims to launch in 2018 and the mid-2020s, respectively  promise to make big discoveries of their own.

But what will happen after that? What kind of space telescope does NASA aim to build a few decades from now? The picture is getting a little clearer: Earlier this month, the space agency announced that it is forming four working groups to investigate possible concepts for a large-scale space mission that would likely launch in the 2030s. [The Most Amazing Views of the Cosmos from Hubble]

One of the four mission concepts is focused on direct imaging of the surfaces of exoplanets, to potentially search for signs of life. The other three concepts are for space telescopes built to detect specific wavelengths of light: the ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared range, similar to what Hubble sees; X-ray light; and far-infrared light. The space agency is now accepting applications from scientists to join one of the four groups. Paul Hertz, director of NASA's astrophysics division, delivered a town hall talk at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Florida earlier this month, in which he announced the formation of the groups and put out a call for applications.

The groups will put together a report that will show what kind of science each concept could accomplish, what capabilities it would have, what limitations exist for building it, and how each space telescope would benefit the entire astronomy community. Much of the potential science that each mission could accomplish was written about at length in NASA's 2013 Astrophysics Roadmap: "Enduring Quests, Daring Visions: NASAAstrophysics in the Next Three Decades."

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Here is a brief description of each of the four mission concepts and what they hope to accomplish.

The habitable exoplanet imager mission

Scientists have indirectly identified about 2,000 planets outside Earth's solar system using the Kepler Space Telescope and other instruments. Now, scientists want a way to look directly at exoplanets that aren't too far from Earth. A direct-imaging planetary telescope could potentially reveal the atmospheres and surface conditions of alien worlds, and would search for signs of habitability or even bio-activity (yes, alien life), according to Bertrand Mennesson, an exoplanet scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who is helping to lead this mission concept group.

The so-called "HabEx" mission would "help assess the prevalence of habitable planets and [the] possibly of primitive life in our galaxy," Mennesson told Space.com in an email. HabEx would also allow scientists to look at the atmospheres and surface conditions on all kinds of planets, including ice giants, gas giants and rocky planets, around various types of stars and in various solar system arrangements.

Such a telescope would also capture images of young planetary systems in the early stages of formation, providing a look at solar system evolution across the galaxy. Direct imaging of exoplanet atmospheres has already been demonstrated from the ground, Mennesson said.

Large ultraviolet, optical and infrared (LUVOIR) telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope, with its 7.9-foot-wide (2.4 meters) primary mirror, has revolutionized how humans see the cosmos. Imagine what a space telescope with a 39-foot (12 m) mirror could do.

There have been many proposals in the astronomy community for a 26- to 39-foot (8 to 12 m) telescope that collects light in the ultraviolet, optical and infrared wavelengths, as Hubble does. One of the most recent such proposals has been named the "High Definition Space Telescope," (HDST), but the general concept is called LUVOIR (Large Ultraviolet Visible Infrared). (The $8.8 billion JWST has a 21.3-foot-wide (6.5 m) mirror and will collect light mostly in the infrared, with some capability in the optical range.)

"LUVOIR could study the formation of stars and planets in our galaxy, map the evolution of galaxies, illuminate the birth of the first stars in the universe and probe into black hole environments," said Aki Roberge, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is helping to lead the group for this mission.

A LUVOIR telescope could also have some overlap with an exoplanet direct-imaging instrument such as HabEx, and would be able to characterize the atmospheres and surfaces of a wide range of planets, potentially identifying signatures of life. These capabilities are discussed extensively in an HDST report that was published in 2015.

"There will likely be a greater emphasis on astrophysics capabilities in the LUVOIR study than in the HabEx study, though both will be looking hard at exoplanet capabilities," Roberge told Space.com in an email. "LUVOIR may enable a broader range of exoplanet observations. The two teams aim to collaborate on the overlapping science and technical aspects as much as we can." [The Strangest Alien Planets]

X-ray surveyor mission

The X-ray universe has already revealed itself to be a strange and beautiful place, through observations (and jaw-dropping images) taken with various space telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory and NASA's NuSTAR mission.

All of these telescopes have helped scientists study a wide variety of fascinating cosmic objects, including supernovas (exploding stars), black holes (and the disks of matter that swirl around them), galaxies and mysterious dark matter. [Photos: The X-Ray Universe Revealed by Chandra]

A new X-ray surveyor could provide insight into how matter behaves in some of the cosmos' most extreme environments, such as the region around a black hole, proponents say. It could provide a look at the birth and growth of the first supermassive black holes in the universe, and would allow scientists to look at how galaxies have formed and evolved over the lifetime of the universe (13.8 billion years). This backward glance would also reveal a look at the evolution of the larger structure of the universe according to the NASA Astrophysics Roadmap, and NASA scientists working with the concept group.

The X-ray surveyor would look out to the edge of the visible universe, allowing scientists to observe how galaxies have formed and evolved over the lifetime of the universe (about 13.8 billion years). This backward glance would also reveal a look at the evolution of the larger structure of the universe.

If NASA does end up building the X-ray Surveyor, the mission would provide orders of magnitude more sensitive than any other X-ray mission, the scientists said.

Far-IR surveyor mission

All the stars in the universe collectively radiate an incredible amount of visible light, but scientists now know that as much as half of that starlight is blocked by dust clouds, and then reradiated as infrared light.

"If you don't do things in the infrared, you're missing half the picture, effectively," Kartik Sheth, a program scientist in the astrophysics division at NASA Headquarters, told Space.com.

With a next-generation far-infrared space telescope, scientists could study how stars and planets form by studying in detail the nurseries where these cosmic babies come to life. Infrared observations are also especially good for identifying the chemicals present in distant cosmic objects. This could mean looking for water in newly forming solar systems.

The vast majority of elements in the universe are made by stars (which means that "we are made of starstuff," as the late astronomer Carl Sagan famously said). A next-generation far-infrared telescope could study stars at various stages of their life cycles to reveal when and where different elements are being made. Effectively, such an instrument would provide scientists a list of ingredients in many cosmic objects, advocates say.

The far-infrared mission concept would look at a range of wavelengths that fall between what will be observed by JWST and the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which is coming online in Chile. This particular range of light gets distorted by Earth's atmosphere, which means scientists must put an infrared telescope into space to capture them properly. The instruments on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope that captured light in the far-infrared range have all shut down (although a few shorter wavelength instruments are still operational). Following Spitzer's retirement, there will be no space observatories studying the far-infrared wavelength range. The only other observatory operating in this wavelength range is NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which is a modified Being 747 aircraft that can fly to altitudes where the Earth's atmosphere is significantly thinner. It is currently the largest airborne observatory in the world.

"The far-infrared community has not had a space-mission like Hubble or Chandra that has continuously operated for a long time," Sheth said.

Which mission will be selected?

NASA invests in missions of various sizes, such as the Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope, or the Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). But the four mission concepts being reviewed by the newly announced working groups will be large-scale missions that follow in the footsteps of Hubble, JWST and WFIRST-AFTA (whose name is short for Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets). Missions of this size take decades to complete, which is why NASA is starting the process now, even though any of these missions might not begin operating until the mid-2030s or 2040, Hertz said.

The decision about which, if any, of these concepts becomes a reality will likely be strongly influenced by a group outside of NASA. Every 10 years, the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council puts together a committee to talk about what priorities the astronomy and astrophysics communities should set for the coming decade. The committee then releases a report, known as the "decadal survey," that makes specific recommendations for the next 10 years. Past surveys have recommended current NASA projects including JWST and WFIRST-AFTA. NASA typically follows the recommendations set by this survey.

The four concept groups will work to provide the decadal committee with all the information they need to make a decision about which mission concept should become a reality. One of these mission concepts may inform NASA's next big mission to explore the cosmos.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Nigeria, reeling from the oil price plunge that has slashed vital revenues, has asked the African Development Bank for a $1 billion loan to help fund an increased budget deficit, the AFDB said on Tuesday. The bank said it was considering the loan to Africa's largest economy and oil producer, where the drop in crude prices has hit growth, and that an appraisal mission would visit soon to work with authorities. Nigeria is planning to borrow as much as $5 billion to help fund a deficit due to the slump in global oil prices, which have also sent its naira currency into a tailspin. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said this week Nigeria had held exploratory talks with the World Bank and looked at options to borrow from the AFDB and China Exim Bank. Earlier this month she said that about $4 billion might come from international institutions and the remainder from eurobonds. Nigeria expects a budget deficit of 3 trillion naira ($15 billion) in 2016, up from an initial 2.2 trillion naira ($11 billion) estimate. The budget, presented by the president at the end of last year, is sitting with parliament, which aims to pass it at the end of this month. At 6.08 trillion naira ($30.6 billion), it is a more ambitious budget than under the previous administration and will see capital expenditure tripled compared to 2015 to about 30 percent of the total. ($1 = 199.00 naira) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Julia Payne; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Miami (AFP) - Children who suffer from severe malnutrition are routinely given antibiotics as part of their medical treatment, but a study Wednesday found the practice offered no boost to their nutritional recovery.

Therefore, the authors of the research say the World Health Organization should reconsider its 1999 guidelines, especially given mounting concerns about the overuse of antibiotics and the rise of superbugs across the globe.

"Our results from Niger were surprising, as they challenge the current WHO recommendations and a recent well-conducted trial from Malawi," said lead author Sheila Isanaka, assistant professor of nutrition at Harvard University.

"It's an exciting step forward though, as we hope that this new evidence will motivate a deeper review of current recommendations and the evidence on which they are based."

The study in Niger involved nearly 2,400 children, aged six months to five years, who were suffering severe acute malnutrition.

The children were randomly assigned to receive amoxicillin as part of their treatment, or a placebo.

Researchers defined recovery as regaining appetite and displaying a weight-for-height score that met a previously established WHO scale by the end of eight weeks, as part of a program to give the children better nutrition and medical care.

Overall, 64 percent of the children in the study recovered. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups: among the children who received amoxicillin, 66 percent recovered, while 63 percent recovered in the placebo group.

Those who took the antibiotic recovered a bit faster -- in 28 days on average, compared to 30 in the placebo group.

A total of 13 children died -- seven in the amoxicillin group and six in the placebo group.

"This finding challenges the view that routine antibiotic therapy is always necessary or beneficial," said the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Eliminating routine antibiotic use could make treating malnutrition simpler and cheaper, and also encourage "responsible antibiotic stewardship," said the study.

Severe acute malnutrition affects about 34 million children under age five worldwide.

The WHO's recommendations that all such children be given antibiotics to reduce the risk of death came in 1999, when there were as many as five times fewer children affected globally compared to today, and before concerns about antibiotic overuse were widespread, the study authors said.

The Niger study was funded by Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

A previous randomized trial in Malawi found that amoxicillin significantly reduced the risk of treatment failure (by 24 percent) and death (by 36 percent), when compared to a placebo.

However, that study did not assess children with HIV separately from children without the virus and "it was not possible to confirm a benefit among children without HIV infection," said the New England Journal of Medicine report.

Most of the children in the Niger study did not have HIV.
By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea notified U.N. agencies on Tuesday that it plans to launch a satellite later this month, which could advance the isolated country's development of long-range missile technology. Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 in defiance of United Nations sanctions, and last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit. Western and Asian experts have said that launch was part of an effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and countries including the United States and South Korea are seeking fresh sanctions after Pyongyang's latest nuclear test last month. "We have received information from DPRK regarding the launch of earth observation satellite 'Kwangmyongsong' between 8-25 February," a spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency, told Reuters by email late on Tuesday. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea is believed to be making preparations for a test launch of a long-range rocket, U.S. officials said last week, after activity at its test site was observed by satellite. Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise. The country has shown off two versions of a ballistic missile resembling a type that could reach the U.S. West Coast, but there is no evidence the missiles have been tested. The North is also seen to be working to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile, but many experts say it is some time away from perfecting such technology. The International Telecommunication Union, another U.N. agency, told Reuters that North Korea had informed it on Tuesday of plans to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years, in a non-geostationary orbit. It said the information provided by North Korea was incomplete, and that it was seeking further information. The North detonated a nuclear device on Jan. 6, calling it a successful hydrogen bomb test, although this assertion was met with scepticism by U.S. and South Korean officials and nuclear experts. They said the blast was too small for it to have been a full-fledged hydrogen bomb. Earlier on Tuesday, China's envoy for the North Korean nuclear issue arrived in the capital Pyongyang, the North's KCNA news agency reported. (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul and Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Jack Kim and Nobuhiro Kubo SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - International pressure grew on North Korea to call off a planned rocket launch, seen by some governments as another missile test, while Japan put its military on alert to shoot down any rocket that threatens its territory. North Korea notified United Nations agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25. Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme, although the United States and other governments suspect such rocket launches are tests of its missiles. Japan's defence minister, Gen Nakatani, told a media briefing on Wednesday he had issued an order to shoot down any "ballistic missile threat". Tension rose in East Asia last month after North Korea's fourth nuclear test, this time of what it said was a hydrogen bomb. A rocket launch coming so soon after would raise concern that North Korea plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to launch a strike against South Korea, Japan and possibly targets as far away as the U.S. West Coast. North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit. South Korea warned the North it would pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead with the launch. "North Korea's notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for (U.N.) Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community," the presidential Blue House said in a statement. Russia's Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang was demonstrating "an outrageous disregard for the universally recognised norms of international law," while France said the launch would merit a firm response from the international community. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea not to use ballistic missile technology, which is banned by Security Council resolutions. 'EXTREMELY CONCERNED' China, under U.S. pressure to use its influence to rein in the isolated North, said Pyongyang's right to space exploration was restricted under U.N. resolutions. China is North Korea's sole main ally, though Beijing disapproves of its nuclear programme. "We are extremely concerned about this," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a briefing on Wednesday. "In the present situation, we hope North Korea exercises restraint on the issue of launching satellites, acts cautiously and does not take any escalatory steps that may further raise tensions on the Korean peninsula." Reports of the planned launch also drew fresh U.S. calls for tougher U.N. sanctions that are already under discussion in response to North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test. A spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency, said it had been told by North Korea of the plan to launch a satellite. The Washington-based North Korean monitoring project 38 North said commercial satellite images of North Korea's Sohae launch site taken on Monday showed activity consistent with preparations for a launch within North Korea's given timeframe, but no indications that this was imminent. North Korea said the launch would be conducted in the morning one day during the announced period, and gave the coordinates for the locations where the rocket boosters and the cover for the payload would drop. Those locations are expected to be in the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula's west coast and in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines, Pyongyang said. South Korea told commercial airliners to avoid flying in areas of the rocket's possible flight path during the period. (Additional reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Dean Yates and Jonathan Oatis)
Washington (AFP) - Seven years into his presidency, Barack Obama will make his first trip to an American mosque on Wednesday, offering a high-profile rebuttal of harsh Republican election-year rhetoric against Muslims.

Obama, whose grandfather converted to Islam, will make the short trip to the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque, where he will meet community leaders and deliver remarks.

He has visited mosques in Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt as president, but has yet to visit one of America's 2,000-plus places of Islamic worship.

In 2009, a freshly elected Obama traveled to Cairo to call for a "new beginning" with the Muslim world.

Much of Obama's foreign policy agenda has focused on improving ties with Muslim nations, from making a nuclear deal with Iran to ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the effort has been stymied by continued confrontation with jihadist groups and military strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

His latest effort to ease interfaith relations comes as a shrill election debate has sullied America's image abroad and jihadist attacks in San Bernardino and Philadelphia threatened to shatter post-9/11 religious solidarity at home.

Six days after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, then president George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, declaring "Islam is peace."

Today, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has wooed conservative voters by demanding a ban on Muslim immigrants, while frontrunner Ted Cruz has advocated Christian-only admissions and championed "Judeo-Christian values."

"We're seeing all this right wing anti-Muslim hate. It's the perfect time for him to come," said Riham Osman of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group.

- Law-abiding Americans -

The White House is keen to offer an image of America that stresses the country's secular tradition and contrasts with Republicans' "divisive rhetoric."

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White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama will "affirm the important role that Muslim Americans play in our society" and argue that "law-abiding Americans should be able to worship God in the manner that they see fit."

"And they shouldn't be subject to ridicule or targeting by anybody, let alone somebody who aspires to leading the country," Earnest added.

"We have seen an alarming willingness on the part of some Republicans to try to marginalize law-abiding, patriotic Muslim Americans, and it is offensive."

Obama is also likely to restate his case that organizations like the Islamic State group pervert Islam and do not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

The United States is home to around 3.3 million Muslims.

Around 81 Muslim-Americans were involved in violent extremist plots in 2015, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

But Obama is expected to call on Muslim leaders to help tackle radicalization.

"We know that there are extremist organizations like ISIL that are seeking to use social media to radicalize vulnerable members of the population," said Earnest.

"Certainly the leaders in the Muslim community have a strong interest in preventing that from happening."

That does not sit so well with members of the Muslim community.

"I know national security will come up in the speech just because of the climate of today," said Osman. "I wish he wouldn't."

"It does upset me a little bit that it is his first time coming to visit a mosque, and there will be kids there who have grown up in this post 9/11 era and their faith is constantly linked to national security and extremism."
Baltimore (AFP) - Barack Obama offered an impassioned rebuttal of "inexcusable" Republican election rhetoric against Muslims Wednesday, on his first trip to an American mosque since becoming president seven years ago.

Obama, whose grandfather converted to Islam, made the short trip to the Islamic Society of Baltimore to call on Americans not to be "bystanders to bigotry."

Invoking the Prophet Mohammed and hailing the tolerance shown by American political icons from Thomas Jefferson to Dwight Eisenhower, Obama hit out at anti-Islamic sentiment that is "not who we are."

"We've heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country," he said, lauding Muslim-Americans as sports heroes, entrepreneurs and the architect who fashioned Chicago's dizzying skyline.

His comments came as a shrill election debate has sullied America's image abroad, and as jihadist attacks in San Bernardino and Philadelphia threatened to shatter post-9/11 religious solidarity at home.

Six days after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, then president George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, declaring "Islam is peace."

Today, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has wooed conservative voters by demanding a ban on Muslim immigrants, while frontrunner Ted Cruz has advocated Christian-only admissions and championed "Judeo-Christian values."

Obama took on such comments, and asked Christians to see "an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths."

He also criticized the media and Hollywood, which he said portrayed Muslims in a narrow way.

"Our television shows should have Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security," he said.

- 'Thank you' -

Obama has visited mosques in Malaysia, Indonesia and Egypt as president, but this was his first visit to one of America's 2,000-plus places of Islamic worship.

Story continues

In 2009, a freshly elected Obama traveled to Cairo to call for a "new beginning" with the Muslim world.

Much of Obama's foreign policy agenda has focused on improving ties with Muslim nations, from making a nuclear deal with Iran to ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the effort has been stymied by continued confrontation with jihadist groups and military strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Obama restated his case that organizations like the Islamic State group pervert Islam and do not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

The president offered "two words that Muslim-Americans don't hear often enough, and that is 'thank you'."

But he also called on Muslims to help tackle radicalization.

"How do we defend ourselves against organizations that are bent on killing innocents?" he asked.

"It can't be the work of any one faith alone. It can't be just a burden on the Muslim community, although the Muslim community has to play a role."

That message is a vexed one for members of the Muslim community, including audience member Riham Osman, who works for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group.

"I know national security will come up in the speech just because of the climate of today," she said ahead of Obama's remarks.

"It does upset me a little bit that it is his first time coming to visit a mosque, and there will be kids there who have grown up in this post 9/11 era and their faith is constantly linked to national security and extremism."

Around 49 percent of all Americans think "at least some" US Muslims hold anti-American sentiments, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

The United States is home to around 3.3 million Muslims.

Around 81 Muslim-Americans were involved in violent extremist plots in 2015, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
By Estelle Shirbon DOVER, England (Reuters) - Stand on top of the white cliffs of Dover on a clear day and you can see the French coast and the constant traffic of ferries crossing the Channel, binding Britain and Europe through the flow of people and goods. Seen through many British eyes, the famous cliffs conjure up a different vision, that of a fiercely independent island nation with a nearly thousand-year history of repelling would-be invaders from the continent just 33 km (21 miles) away. The tension between these two facets of British identity goes a long way to explain the country's tetchy relationship with the European Union, which will come to a head in a looming referendum on whether to withdraw from the bloc. "We're a fairly insular lot. There's a degree of suspicion towards the continent," said local resident Iain Callum, enjoying a cup of tea and a sandwich at a clifftop cafe. "We should keep a little distance. I don't want to be a European." Holidays in Europe are commonplace while food and wine from the continent have never been more popular, yet only 15 percent of Britons feel European and that number has barely moved for decades, the annual British Social Attitudes Survey has found. "We have the character of an island nation - independent, forthright, passionate in defence of our sovereignty. We can no more change this British sensibility than we can drain the English Channel," Prime Minister David Cameron has said. The national psyche was marked by Britain's imperial past, which forged ties with far-flung corners of the globe, and by the defining experience of World War Two, historians say. The "Blitz" - when Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speeches galvanised the nation as Nazi Germany sent warplanes from occupied France to bomb British cities - looms large in the collective memory. "Our sense of ourselves as a nation is still so much shaped by the Churchillian moment of 1940, standing alone for freedom when the rest of the continent was either defeated and occupied or fascist," said Oxford professor Timothy Garton Ash. Furthermore, Britain has stuck with the same political system, a parliamentary monarchy, since 1689, unlike most other EU members, which have experienced dictatorships, revolutions, changes of constitution and other upheavals far more recently. The weight of all that history causes many Britons to chafe at perceived EU interference in national affairs. "There's a sense of 'we won the war and now people in Brussels want to tell us we can't have straight bananas'," said Sue Jones, a Dover town councillor, referring to EU regulations often portrayed - rightly or wrongly - as meddlesome and absurd by the largely eurosceptic British press. "HISTORIC MISTAKE" With Cameron saying the referendum could be held within a few months, immigration is a top issue for voters due to an influx of workers from poorer EU states in eastern Europe over the past decade and the refugee crisis that overwhelmed the bloc in 2015. This is a subject that touches the sovereignty nerve. "It's about self-government, controlling our borders. It is literally the white cliffs of Dover," said Garton Ash. Cameron has been negotiating with EU partners to try to introduce restrictions on state benefits for new EU migrants, but that is not good enough for eurosceptics like Callum. "I don't see why he has to ask permission from the EU for these things. I'm sorry, but it's our business," he said. Such reluctance about the EU goes back a long way. In the very early days of European integration, Britain kept itself apart, declining to join the six-nation European Coal and Steel Community, forerunner of the EU, when it was launched in 1951, driven by a desire for lasting peace between former foes. Britain, which unlike most of the continent suffered neither Nazi rule nor foreign occupation, saw things differently. "Part of the dynamic behind the European Union was to overcome the past. We didn't feel that need. We're proud of the past. That's a great difference in psychology," said Vernon Bogdanor, a history professor at King's College London. Ten years later, with the Empire almost gone and economic growth lagging behind that on the continent, the picture looked very different, and Britain applied in 1961 to join what was now called the European Economic Community. But the application was vetoed twice, in 1963 and 1967, by French President Charles de Gaulle, who feared Britain would act as a conduit for U.S. influence which he did not want, and said "insular and maritime" Britain would not fit in the club anyway. It was not until 1973, after de Gaulle had left office and died, that Britain finally joined the Common Market, as it was usually called then, but according to some pro-EU experts it was already too late for Britons to feel at home in the club. "It was a great historic mistake that we didn't join at the start because we would have seen it as our venture as much as the French and the Germans'," said Roger Liddle, Prime Minister Tony Blair's adviser on European affairs for seven years. "By 1973, the idea had been established that this was a Franco-German club which we were having to beg to join." BRITISH BEEF In 1975, Britain held a referendum on membership, with 67 percent voting to stay in and 33 percent voting to leave. Historians say this was an unequivocal but unenthusiastic outcome, reflecting no popular passion for Europe but rather a pragmatic economic choice encouraged by the leaders of both main parties, a decisive factor in those more deferential times. In any event, the referendum did not settle the issue. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have been dogged at different times by internal divisions over Europe, while public scepticism has been encouraged by an increasingly hostile press. In a famous example from 1990, the top-selling Sun newspaper ran the headline "Up Yours Delors" in a front-page attack on then European Commission President Jacques Delors. The Social Attitudes Survey has been tracking opinion on Europe since 1983. It has always found a majority in favour of staying in, but with a significant dose of eurosceptic sentiment that gets stronger at times when the public perceives Britain is failing to stand up for itself in Brussels. Two public opinion turning points came in 1984, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher secured a rebate on Britain's contribution to the European budget, and 1996, when EU ministers banned exports of British beef because of mad cow disease. The former caused support for staying in the bloc to surge, while the latter provoked a dramatic and long-term rise in euroscepticism. Since 1996, more than half of the British public have either wanted to leave the EU altogether or to reduce the bloc's powers, according to the survey. "We need to bring back our own laws. Our parliament should be making our laws, not people over there in Brussels," said John Cowdrey, another Dovorian on a tea break in the clifftop cafe, as he gestured towards the continent across the sea. Despite his frustration, Cowdrey said he would vote to stay in because it would be better for Britain to have a say in European affairs than to be left out in the cold. "We are part of Europe. There's no getting away from it," he said with a sigh. (editing by David Stamp)
(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc, Johnson and Johnson and Merck & Co Inc said they were evaluating their technologies or existing vaccines for their potential to combat Zika, a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne disease linked to birth defects. A number of drug developers and universities are attempting to produce a vaccine for Zika, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international health emergency. But scientists and experts have said producing a safe and effective vaccine will take time. "Pfizer is currently analyzing its existing vaccines portfolio in response to the Zika outbreak to see where we might be able to play a role," Pfizer spokeswoman Sharon Castillo told Reuters in an email. Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Wednesday it had created a team to investigate how it might help make a vaccine, a day after Sanofi SA said it would launch a Zika vaccine program. Meanwhile, the first known case of virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson and Johnson's Janssen unit, said the company is currently evaluating if any of its available technologies could be directed to address Zika. "At this stage, it is premature to say how long this might take or speculate on the outcome," Stoffels told Reuters in an email. Merck, which helped develop the first successful Ebola vaccine, said late on Tuesday it was working with public health partners to see how its expertise could be useful. (Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
By Ludwig Burger and Arno Schuetze

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Syngenta will not have to pay a considerable break-up fee in case the planned 43 billion Swiss franc ($42.14 billion) buyout of the Swiss seeds and pesticides group by ChemChina fails, two people familiar with the matter said.

While this potentially leaves the door for peers like Monsanto or BASF to top ChemChina's offer worth roughly 470 francs a share, the people said that Syngenta was not actively soliciting counter bids.

Earlier on Tuesday people familiar with the matter said that China's state-owned ChemChina was nearing an agreement to buy Syngenta.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News. Photos: courtesy of the families (5), Getty Images.

The parents of Flint, Mich., are the most recent and visible initiates into the world of lead poisoning, a lifelong and life-changing diagnosis.

It is a surprisingly large club. Half a million children are thought to have lead poisoning in the U.S., or 1 in 38. The sources of their poisoning are such things as wall paint before 1978 (when leaded paint was banned), soil contaminated by auto fumes before 1996 (when leaded gasoline was fully eliminated) or, as in Flint, lead that leached into the water supply from improperly treated pipes.

Whatever the origin, the lead makes its way into the bloodstream and then to the brain, where it causes permanent damage. The younger the child the more vulnerable the brain, but beyond that sweeping truth lies a broad swath of possible outcomes. Learning issues? Motor problems? Language delays? Lowered IQ? Tendency toward violence? All are possible. Nothing is certain.

There are well-documented and convincing links between lead exposure to the young brain and behavior and learning issues later in life, says Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and dean for global health at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Still unclear, however is how much lead and what effect in which children.

Recently we are learning that lead is toxic at very low levels that we used to think were safe, Landrigan says. It is impossible to predict the exact effects in any one child, meaning all parents can do is intervene early and never know for certain whether the struggles and stumbles in their childs life are actually due to lead.

Learning issues? Motor problems? Language delays? Lowered IQ? Tendency toward violence? All are possible. Nothing is certain.



Thats the hardest part, says Christine McNeil of Laconia, N.H., mother of 18-month-old James Jr., who is at the start of the journey. Her son was diagnosed with high lead levels at his 1-year-old health check six months ago. Were doing all the things we can do, and Im glad for something to do, but we have to wait and see what this means as he grows up.

Story continues

Wait  and turn to each other, in the way parents do when they carry the same burden. In that spirit, the McNeils are one of a cluster of families who have shared their lead-laden stories with Yahoo News. Together they illustrate what many Flint parents will face over the coming months, years and decades, long after the public outrage has ebbed and the spotlight has moved on.

Diagnosed eight months ago: James McNeil Jr.

James McNeil Jr. (Photo: Courtesy of the McNeil family)

Christine McNeil was pregnant when she moved into the upstairs apartment of a two-family home in March 2014 with her husband, James, and their three school-aged children. The rental was not a palace of a place, but it seemed clean, and the McNeils felt lucky to afford it on what she earned as a Walgreens customer service rep, and what he brought home driving for a limousine service.

Their son, James Jr., was born in July 2014, and as the months passed Christine became increasingly worried that he wasnt doing what babies his age should do. First, he lost his appetite  hed been eating two jars of baby food and an 8 oz bottle at each meal and then, as if overnight, he just stopped eating. His crawling was off too. He did crawl, but it was weird, kind of lopsided, Christine says. And as he neared a year, he wasnt making any of the usual sounds that lead to talking.

At every monthly check Id say to the doctor, Somethings wrong, this isnt right, Christine says. But I was told, No, dont worry, hes perfect.

Then came his 1-year checkup on July 13, 2015, with the finger-prick test that is common but not universal at that age. Lead is measured in micrograms per deciliter of whole blood. Doctors agree that no number is safe, but a threshold for urgency has been established, and while for years the CDC has said that anything less than 10 is safe it lowered that four years ago to 5. There is no predictive chart that says a level of x leads to an outcome of y, nor is there any equation that determines whether long-term exposure at lower levels is any more or less damaging than shorter-term exposure at higher levels, but it is clear that the higher the number, the louder the alarm.

James Jr.s number was 14.

That triggered a visit from the New Hampshire Department of Health, whose agents arrived with whats called an XRF gun, a handheld device that can be aimed at anything  walls, bedding, toys, dishware, clothing  and immediately determines the presence of lead.

The highest levels were in the room where the baby was sleeping. Christine McNeil





The highest levels were in the room where the baby was sleeping, Christine says. So now his crib is in what used to be the dining room.

In the seven months since he was diagnosed, the McNeils have done almost everything they can think of to reduce the levels of lead in their sons blood. They give him vitamin C, which can bind with lead, and they give him copious fluids, in the hope of flushing the substance from his system. His numbers have dropped  to 9.6 last month and 8.7 this month, but are still above the current acceptable amount.

The things they have not done are move (they do not have the money it would require, Christine says) or bring in a lead abatement company (her landlord has applied for state funds to cover the cost of that work but the application has not been approved.) So instead, they continue to live in the home that poisoned their son, addressing the complications as they develop (he has made some progress on speech with the help of a Medicaid-funded therapist) and watching nervously for others. Most recently, they notice he has started biting his siblings or hitting himself when he becomes frustrated.

Is this the beginning of something or just a normal stage for a toddler? Christine asks. From now on, I guess thats the question.

Diagnosed four years ago: Rylie Kung

Leslie Kung could not move out either.

She and her husband, Bradley, bought their 100-year-old house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2011, when their younger son, Rylie, was not quite a year old. They took out a mortgage for the $70,000 purchase price and one of the many papers they signed at closing was a disclaimer saying they were responsible for whatever lead hazards might exist in the home.

Rylie Kung, left, and his siblings. (Photo: Courtesy of the Kung family)

You wouldnt have looked at it and thought lead house, Leslie says. It was in move-in condition. It was not a house of horrors.

A few months after they settled in, she began to notice changes in Rylie. He had been a calm and snuggly little guy who gave hugs to everyone and smiled all the time, Leslie says. Sometime afterward he started having nightmares, hed wake up screaming that a dog was going to bite him. A finger-prick test at an appointment with a doctor in their new neighborhood soon found lead levels of 22.

As with the McNeils, these numbers brought visits from health department workers. Unlike the McNeils, they found the visits felt hostile, Leslie says. They said they would come inspect us every three or four months, and we had to show that wed made improvements to the home. Told us 'You need to put on a mask, put on some gloves, get the kids out of there, wet it down and scrape off the paint then vacuum it up, she says. Telling a family with small children and a low income and no childcare to remediate on their own was ludicrous.

But remediate they did, as best they could. Brad Kung is a carpenter and his father owns a small home-improvement company, so the couple did some of the work themselves and went $35,000 into debt to do the rest. First they took the attic down to bare studs and built a bedroom and bathroom with lead-free materials where the family of four slept and bathed. Once they had a new place to sleep work began on the downstairs, replacing windows and stripping paint, while trying to keep the children away from the dust. They could not afford anyplace else to live, and werent able to sell their house with its history of lead. They applied for state abatement funds numerous times, but were invariably rejected.

Rylies levels went down. The visits from the city slowed. The Kungs added a daughter, Kaeli, to the family, and when tested before her first birthday, her blood levels measured at 9. The visits from the city began again. Rylie developed behavioral problems like tantrums and impulse control at home and at school. He stopped making eye contact, and would often repeat the same phrase over and over. Not for nothing is lead poisoning often misdiagnosed as autism. Kaeli, meanwhile, has never had any symptoms at all.

Telling a family with small children and a low income and no childcare to remediate on their own was ludicrous.  Leslie Kung





The stress took a toll on Brad and Leslie and they separated in 2014. Without her husbands income, she now qualifies for abatement funding. Both children are now below the safety threshold of 5, but Leslie well knows that this does not undo damage already done. Its not as if you have a cup filled with water and then you manage to pour a little out, and you pour a little out, and you pour a little out, and one day the cup is clean and dry and empty, she says. Its like theres a cup full of dye. Even if you pour it out the stain remains.

So when she thinks of the future, its with awareness that she cant yet gauge the depth of that stain. I know the possibilities, she says. There might be social deviance and violence and arrest records. We havent gotten there yet. And I also have heard stories from people whove had a lead-poisoned kid in the '70s, the '80s, and this one is a doctor, a missionary, a Rhodes Scholar. So you never know.

Diagnosed 10 years ago: Avi and AJ Rubin

In the summer of 2005, Tamara and Len Rubin decided to have the exterior of their Portland, Ore., house repainted. They were planning to refinance the $600,000 home, and thought the appraisal would be higher with a new coat of paint. So they hired a contractor whose $18,000 bid was by far the highest, but who justified his price with the fact that he was certified in lead-safe work practices.

Avi and AJ Rubin (in the arms of their older brother Cole) in 2005 when they were exposed to lead fumes during the painting of their family's home in Portland, Ore. (Photo: Courtesy of the Rubin family)

The Portland house was the ninth one Tamara had owned. She bought, renovated and then sold properties, not professionally, but avocationally. This was the first time she had overseen a project with a young baby in the house, however  her third child, Avi, was 7 months old when the painting began  so she was willing to spend some extra money to keep him safe. I knew there was lead paint, she says. I also knew there were ways to handle it.

A lawsuit several years later would prove that the contractor was in fact not certified as he claimed and did not use safe practices. He removed the paint with an open-flame torch, sending fumes into the house, Tamara says. Both Avi and 3-year-old AJ became sick, suffering from vomiting and diarrhea that went on for months. The doctor kept saying, They dont have a fever, just keep them hydrated, Tamara recalls. Finally she demanded a battery of tests. AJs blood levels were 4. Avis were 16.

You have to move out of your house immediately, she remembers being told. Your baby has lead poisoning.

Unlike the McNeils and the Kungs, the Rubins did have the money with which to evacuate. Taking only the clothes they were wearing, they first spent time in a hotel, then with her mother in California, then in a long-term rental made of brand-new construction materials. They spent $20,000 to replace the soil in the backyard, $2,500 on a cleaning company, thousands more to replace all the air vents, the roof shingles, the front porch. The total remediation bill came to $200,000. And even after the property passed several tests for lead, Tamara found she couldnt stomach the thought of moving back in. So the house was sold at a loss.

Though a whiz at math, the visual cognition part of Avi Rubin's brain seems to have been damaged, and the fifth-grader reads at a prekindergarten level. 



The health problems that had begun in the first house followed to each new one, however. Both Avi and AJ had intestinal issues for a year. (Their older brother, Cole, was at sleepaway camp the summer the house was painted and didnt get poisoned," Tamara says. And her youngest, Charlie, was born in 2008, three years after.) AJ, now 13, has learning issues requiring some classroom accommodations, and suffers regularly from abdominal migraines, but since his brain was more developed when exposed to lead, his symptoms are relatively mild.

Avi, now 11, is far more affected. Though he has an IQ of 130, and is a whiz at math, his visual cognition seems to have been damaged, and the fifth grader is reading at a pre-kindergarten level. A violent toddler, he is slowly learning self-control, his mother says, but it took years to find a school with a special needs classroom that could teach him aurally rather than visually. Also, the school had to have been built after 1978 to ensure it did not have any lead paint.

The family is pretty much broke, Tamara says. Both she and her husband were employed as IT consultants when Avi was born, but left their jobs during the recession. Len now takes care of the boys full-time, which is the only way to get Avi the services he needs. Tamara runs a nonprofit, the Lead Safe America Foundation, and has produced a film, MisLEAD, about lead poisoning, but is seeking funding to have it completed and distributed.

This week she traveled to Flint, where she showed her rough cut of the film to an audience of several dozen, mostly local parents worried about their children, and she plans to return next week to speak to a town hall meeting of more than 1,000. The question shes asked most often after these events: What can we expect for our childrens lives? she says.

Diagnosed 20 years ago: Sam and Bethany Hamilton

Samuel Hamilton was 2 years old in 1994 and his sister Bethany had just turned 1 when their family  parents Jamie and Paul, five children altogether, two dogs  rented half of a two-family home in St. Louis so Paul could be closer to his work as a financial analyst.

Samuel Hamilton was diagnosed with lead poisoning in in 1994, at the age of 2. (Photo: Courtesy of the Hamilton family)

Soon after the move, the two youngest children went for their yearly check-ups, and when Jamie described their older urban home, the doctor decided to run a lead screen as a precaution.

Bethanys level came back at 16. Sams was 36.

The health inspector arrived with his XRF gun and determined that a major flood in the city months before they moved in had caused water to seep into the plaster behind the brick facade of the house. The front wall of their apartment was crumbling from within, leaching lead dust into the air. They frantically put all their possessions in storage and moved in with Pauls father, who didnt have much room, but there was no place else for us to go, Jamie says.

A lawsuit followed, and the Hamiltons settled for $100,000, which was the limit of the landlords insurance, and was divided by the court between Bethany and Sam. It was clear from the start that Sam had been more severely affected, and over the years his days were filled with visits with every kind of therapist: fine motor, speech and language, anger management. Though the Hamiltons had homeschooled their other children, she realized she did not have the training needed to teach Sam, and they placed him in a private school where the students had such diagnoses as autism and Tourette syndrome. Sam was its first case of lead poisoning. Tuition was $13,000 a year.

When Sam was 12, Jamie had a conversation with his teachers that haunts her still. Sams future, they told her, would be difficult because he looks so normal. His brain damage is invisible, his problems will surprise people, they will expect him to operate on a normal level, and when he doesnt, that will cause problems.

It has. Over the years, Jamie says, the friends he managed to make have drifted away, unable to relate to Sam, who had trouble reading facial expressions, understanding inferences and understanding jokes. With the onset of puberty, he became angrier and more difficult to control, often punching holes in his bedroom walls and throwing things out of windows during outbursts. When he was 16, he announced he no longer wanted to take his medication  Ritalin, Focalin, and other ADHD drugs  because, he said, I just want to be normal, and normal people dont take all these things. When he was 18, he did stop the medication, and three months later attempted suicide, swallowing a bottle of caffeine pills, then begging his parents to take him to the hospital because I dont want to die.

When I got older, I came to terms with the fact that I am different and I need help. This is what life is like for me. Samuel Hamilton

He refused to apply for Social Security benefits now that he was an adult  Im not doing that, I want to have a job like everyone else  and found work as a YMCA lifeguard through a family friend. But when he overheard someone speaking in a derogatory way about Bethany, who is now a college student, he punched him, and was dismissed. He got another job, organizing carts at a grocery store, but he became angry when told he was taking too many breaks, and he lost that position too. He was increasingly belligerent and slothful at home, and finally his parents made the hardest decision two people could make in their entire life, Jamie says, and gave him an ultimatum.

If you are not willing to get yourself together and you continue to threaten your mom and I, we are going to have to ask you to move out, Paul told him.

Fine, he answered. I dont need you anymore. He crammed some clothes in a backpack and stormed out.

For months, they heard from him sporadically. He had found a job folding clothes at JCPenney. He had found an apartment with some others who worked there. Then one morning, Jamie found him sleeping in the hammock behind the family house, covered with bugbites, looking as though hed been living on the streets  which he had.

When they finally deciphered his story, the Hamiltons realized one of Sams apartment mates had decided to break into the JCPenney and Sam had helped by supplying the black face paint the young man had used as a disguise. The others told him if I didnt do it I would be kicked out, he told his parents, and where would I go? So I helped them.

He was charged as an accessory and given two years' probation. The arrest led to an epiphany. When I was younger, I just wanted to forget I had been lead poisoned and just live a normal life, I didnt want to be different than anybody else, he said in a phone interview. But when I got older, I came to terms with the fact that I am different and I need help. This is what life is like for me.

Samuel Hamilton, second from left in back row, at his brother's wedding last September. (Photo: Courtesy of the Hamilton family)

He applied for Social Security benefits, entered a vocational training program and hopes eventually to work with people with developmental disabilities, autism, things like that, because I can relate to them. But he has no hope of getting such a job, he knows, until his probation is no longer on his record, which wont happen until September, assuming he doesnt get into any more trouble.

For now, he does his chores around the house, attends therapy and vocational classes, applies for jobs he assumes he will not get and waits. His parents wait too.

Can he ever move out and live on his own? It would have to be someplace where he had assistance to make sure hes taking his medication, sleeping at night, doing his dishes, doing his laundry, Jamie says, her latest version of the question shes been asking since he was diagnosed: What comes next?

Says Sam: I have heard about what happened in Flint, Michigan, and it makes me feel really bad for the kids and everyone over there and stuff. They are going to have to grow up and they are going to have problems, maybe worse problems than I have.

It's not easy having lead poisoning and growing up with it, he says. All the people in Flint, my heart goes out to them.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's police watchdog has recommended that suspended national commissioner Riah Phiyega should face criminal charges for defeating the ends of justice, local media reported on Tuesday. Phiyega, the top-ranking police official when police killed 34 striking workers near Lonmin's Marikana mine four years ago, was suspended by president Jacob Zuma last year pending an inquiry into allegations of misconduct. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate announced in parliament that a recommendation for Phiyega to be charged with defeating the ends of justice had been handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority, 702 Talk Radio reported. A commission was set up in 2012 to investigate the Marikana incident. The directorate's spokesman Robbie Raburabu told ENCA television news: "The allegations are that the (required) information was not provided to the commission" by Phiyega. Reuters was not immediately able to contact Phiyega for comment. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
One of the promises made at the beginning of Monsantos biotech revolution some 20 years ago was that planting crops genetically engineered to withstand weed killer applications would dramatically reduce the amount of chemicals farmers used. So why are we virtually drowning in herbicide today?

An analysis published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe finds that, rather than herald a bright future where farmers had to rely less on chemical herbicides, broad adoption of Monsanto GMO crops designed to withstand the herbicide glyphosate appears to have instead led to a chemical deluge. Today, glyphosate, which Monsanto markets under the brand name Roundup, stands as the most widely and heavily applied weed-killer in the history of chemical agriculture in both the U.S. and globally, according to a statement released by the Environmental Working Group responding to the findings.

Indeed, the analysis finds that use of glyphosate has skyrocketed 15-fold since Monsanto introduced its line of Roundup Ready crops in 1996. Although the chemical herbicide has been around since the mid-1970s, some 75 percent of all glyphosate applied to crops during the history of its use has been sprayed in the last 10 years. That equates to 2.4 billion pounds sprayed in just the U.S. from 2004 to 2014, the equivalent of 436 million gallons of Monsantos Roundup PowerMax formula.

Put in another, more Web-savvy way, the Environmental Working Group translates that mind-boggling amount as enough to fill some 3 million kiddie pools a foot deepwhich, put end to end, would span the country.

It wasnt supposed to turn out this wayat least not according to the vision Monsanto sold farmers a generation ago. The problem with glyphosate was that it had a nasty tendency to kill crops along with weeds, but Monsanto said it had neatly solved that problem with its line of patented GMO crops. Because those Roundup Ready crops were engineered to thrive even when doused with glyphosate, farmers could use the potent herbicide to kill pesky weeds, in less amounts than they might with other types of herbicides.

Story continues

That's what happenedat first. But within a decade, something unexpected occurredor rather, it was unexpected only if you believe it never dawned on the experts in life sciences at Monsanto that it might happen. Farmers began reporting that certain weeds appeared to have developed a resistance to glyphosate. Instead of using less herbicide, now some farmers were being forced to use much more to combat a growing epidemic of monster weeds.

Why does all this matter today, even beyond the staggering amount of glyphosate thats being applied to American cropland and the broken promises of the agrochemical industry that the deluge represents?

For starters, last year the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, made big news when it classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen, raising significant concerns about the safety for the farmworkers around the world who are charged with applying massive amounts of the herbicide to fields, as well as the health of agricultural communities where use is heaviest.

Second, rather than take a long, hard look at whats happened in the 20 years since Monsanto sold farmers on the companys trademarked crop system, the big agrochemical giants are instead rolling out a new generation of GMO crops coupled with newly formulated chemical combos.

Despite the withdrawal of the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency late last year, Dow remains committed to getting its Enlist Duo system to market, while Monsanto is developing Xtend, or what might be dubbed Roundup Ready 2.0. In an effort to combat the scourge of super weeds, both companies have developed powerful herbicides that pair more chemicals withyou guessed itmore glyphosate.

Related stories on TakePart:





 Monsanto Sues to Keep Weed Killer off Californias List of Carcinogens

 Feds Used Monsanto-Funded Studies to Decide Monsantos Weed Killer Is Safe

 Doctors and Environmentalists Are Fighting for a Ban Against Monsanto

Original article from TakePart
By Megan Cassella WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz apologized to Ben Carson on Tuesday over an email his campaign sent on Monday night that implied Carson was about to drop out of the race and that his Iowa backers should be urged to vote for Cruz instead. A staffer for Cruz sent the email after rumors began circulating that Carson would return to Florida following Iowa's caucuses on Monday rather than go straight to New Hampshire or South Carolina, other early voting states in the state-by-state nominating contests for the Nov. 8 election. "The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week," the email read, according to CNN. "Please inform any Carson caucusgoers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz." Carson said he was simply leaving Iowa to avoid a winter storm and to get fresh clothes before continuing his campaign on Wednesday. The retired neurosurgeon, who said his fourth-place performance in Iowa would have been better had the email never been sent, criticized the move as "a dirty trick" and said the Cruz campaign should face some kind of consequences. "What this does is makes me more determined than ever to try to save our country," Carson said on Fox News on Tuesday. In an apology released on Tuesday afternoon, Cruz, who won the Iowa Republican caucuses, categorized the email as a regular update the campaign would send to grassroots leaders. But the U.S. senator from Texas acknowledged another email should have been sent once Carson clarified he was not dropping out. "This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr. Carson," Cruz wrote. Carson accepted the apology, his communications director, A. Larry Ross, said in a statement later on Tuesday. "This incident further demonstrates that we need an individual who is not a politician to lead and to heal our nation, not someone driven by ambition," Ross said, adding that Carson would continue his campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said he would not interfere in the situation. "You take them at their word for it, and you move on to the next state," he said on CNN. The question remains whether the dispute will hurt Cruz, a favorite of conservative evangelicals looking to win over Carson supporters should Carson drop out. Dartmouth University political scientist Linda Fowler said it could hurt Cruz if other candidates start to pick up on the interaction and say: "There's a reason why nobody likes Ted Cruz, and here it is." (Reporting by Megan Cassella, Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Peter Cooney and Cynthia Osterman)
By Megan Cassella WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz apologized to Ben Carson on Tuesday over an email his campaign sent on Monday night that implied Carson was about to drop out of the race and that his Iowa backers should be urged to vote for Cruz instead. A staffer for Cruz sent the email after rumors began circulating that Carson would return to Florida following Iowa's caucuses on Monday rather than go straight to New Hampshire or South Carolina, other early voting states in the state-by-state nominating contests for the Nov. 8 election. "The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week," the email read, according to CNN. "Please inform any Carson caucusgoers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz." Carson said he was simply leaving Iowa to avoid a winter storm and to get fresh clothes before continuing his campaign on Wednesday. The retired neurosurgeon, who said his fourth-place performance in Iowa would have been better had the email never been sent, criticized the move as "a dirty trick" and said the Cruz campaign should face some kind of consequences. "What this does is makes me more determined than ever to try to save our country," Carson said on Fox News on Tuesday. In an apology released on Tuesday afternoon, Cruz, who won the Iowa Republican caucuses, categorized the email as a regular update the campaign would send to grassroots leaders. But the U.S. senator from Texas acknowledged another email should have been sent once Carson clarified he was not dropping out. "This was a mistake from our end, and for that I apologize to Dr. Carson," Cruz wrote. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said he would not interfere in the situation. "You take them at their word for it, and you move on to the next state," he said on CNN. The question remains whether the dispute will hurt Cruz, a favorite of conservative evangelicals looking to win over Carson supporters should Carson drop out. Dartmouth University political scientist Linda Fowler said it could hurt Cruz if other candidates start to pick up on the interaction and say: "There's a reason why nobody likes Ted Cruz, and here it is." (Reporting by Megan Cassella, Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Emily Stephenson HENNIKER, N.H. (Reuters) - Campaigning for the Republican nomination at November's U.S. presidential election took a nasty turn on Wednesday with billionaire businessman Donald Trump accusing rival Ted Cruz of fraud as the field of candidates narrowed ahead of next week's New Hampshire primary. Rand Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky with a libertarian philosophy, pulled out of the Republican race and CNN said conservative Rick Santorum also was quitting. Both candidates did poorly in Monday's Iowa caucuses, which were dominated by Cruz's defeat of Trump. The real estate mogul went on Twitter on Wednesday to accuse the conservative Texas senator of stealing his victory in Iowa. Cruz's team hit back by telling Trump to seek help for addiction to the social media site. The two men are going head-to-head for voters in New Hampshire, where Cruz's evangelical Christian credentials will not be as helpful as they were in Iowa. The primary will be a referendum on Cruz's appeal to Northern Republicans, a breed he is not used to courting. Opinion polls show Trump with a roughly 20-point lead in New Hampshire. Former reality TV star Trump called for the nullification of Cruz's Iowa victory or a new vote in the state, which holds the first nominating contest in the presidential election. "Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump said in a series of tweets. "That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!" Trump referred to an email that Cruz's campaign sent on Monday that implied another Republican candidate, Ben Carson, was about to drop out of the race and that his Iowa backers should be urged to vote for the Texan instead. Cruz later apologized for the email. "TWITTER ADDICTION" Trump also accused Cruz's team on Twitter of sending out a mailer designed to look like an official electoral document to scare Iowa voters into turning out at the caucuses. The accusations against Cruz were the latest aggressive tactic from Trump, who has courted controversy with his attacks on other candidates and by urging a ban on Muslims entering the United States and branding Mexican immigrants as criminals. President Barack Obama visited a mosque near Baltimore on Wednesday, declaring that attacks on Islam were an attack on all faiths in a move to counter rhetoric from Trump and other Republican candidates that have alienated Muslims. The Cruz campaign said Trump's fraud complaint was a cry for attention after the senator came from behind in the polls to beat him on Monday. "Reality just hit the reality star - he lost Iowa and now nobody is talking about him, so hes popping off on Twitter," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said in a statement. "There are support groups for Twitter addiction, perhaps he should find his local chapter." A Tea Party fiscal hawk, Cruz won support in Iowa from much of the same conservative Christian constituency that helped Santorum to victory in the Iowa caucuses during the 2012 presidential campaign. Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, has failed to take off in this campaign. CNN, citing unidentified sources, said he planned to suspend his run for the White House later on Wednesday and would endorse another candidate. Earlier on Wednesday, Paul became the second Republican to drop out of the race since the Iowa caucuses, behind former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. "It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," he said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty." (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey in Washington and Roberta Rampton in Maryland; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Bill Trott; For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, Tales from the Trail http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/; Click here for a graphic on 2016 candidates and their poll results: http://tmsnrt.rs/1QHZulM)
Santorum smiles during a campaign stop at shooting range in Boone, Iowa, on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Carlson/AP)

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is dropping out of the race for the White House, he confirmed via a statement in which he threw his support behind Marco Rubio.

So thankful & grateful for your support. Just not our year. So today please join me in supporting @marcorubio, he posted on Twitter on Wednesday evening.



After a dismal performance in the Iowa caucus  receiving only 1 percent of the vote, resulting in zero delegates  there had been speculation that Santorum might withdraw his candidacy for the Republican nod.

His campaign struggled to find its footing within the overcrowded GOP field  especially with media-savvy real estate mogul Donald Trump and breakout contender Texas Sen. Ted Cruz vying for the top spot.

Rubio solidified his credentials among conservatives with a third-place finish in Iowa. He garnered 23 percent of the vote, just one percentage point behind Trump.

A Santorum aide had told the Washington Post earlier Wednesday that he was scheduled to make two major announcements on Fox News. He is expected to discuss the end of his campaign and which of his rivals earned his endorsement.

Santorum was also a candidate for the GOPs presidential nomination in 2012. He won Iowa with 24.6 percent of the vote but ultimately lost the partys nomination to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Earlier Wednesday, libertarian-minded Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul also announced that he was suspending his presidential bid. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee withdrew his candidacy Monday night.
This story first appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

This week's Rights Available titles are riding two hot  but very different  trends in Hollywood. First, is a new YA novel from Alexandra Bracken, who penned the The Darkest Minds series and also the new Star Wars novelization (featuring the witty title Star Wars: A New Hope The Princess, The Scoundrel and the Farm Boy). Also getting attention this week is a newly discovered memoir from an African American convict who lived during the 1800s. Written in 1858 and discovered in 2009, Haunted Convict is Austin Reed's story of multiple imprisonments in New York state beginning at the age of 12. The early reviews praising the book's "haunting eloquence" and Reed's "lyrical passionate voice" could position this as the next The Birth of the Nation. This week's titles:

Passenger (Disney Hyperion) by Alexandra Bracken

Agency: ICM

The author of the popular YA series The Darkest Minds moves from telekinetic to time-traveling teens, centering her latest, which debuted at No. 1 on the Times YA list, on a violin prodigy who is swept up in a time-hopping, dangerous adventure.

The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict (Random House) by Austin Reed, Caleb Smith (editor)

Agency: APA

A memoir from a black prisoner in the 1800s would seem a hard sell, but after the success of The Birth of a Nation and with stellar early reviews, this true-life tale, which was only discovered in 2009, is getting lots of buzz.

Read More: Rights Available! Two War-Themed Books Up for Grabs
Des Moines (United States) (AFP) - Man of the moment Marco Rubio hit the ground running, eager to capitalize on his strong Iowa showing and convince US voters he is the singular Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

The charismatic senator from Florida did not win Monday night's Iowa caucuses but he definitely exceeded expectations. Arch-conservative senator Ted Cruz came in first, while Rubio finished a strong third, just a percentage point behind Donald Trump.

Barely after midnight, Rubio was on the ground in New Hampshire, preparing for a manic one-week sprint to the state's primary on February 9 and declaring himself capable of uniting the fractious Republican Party.

"When I'm our nominee I will bring the party and the conservative movement together. I will unify us so we can win," he told about 700 people packed into the Exeter town hall.

Rubio begins what he called "the greatest eight days in American politics" as the undisputed leader among the four more traditional candidates.

"He outperformed them 10 to one," Cary Covington, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, told AFP of his establishment rivals John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie.

"That is very important to the Republican Party establishment, (because) they're looking for someone to rally behind."

The establishment largely finds Trump and Cruz objectionable, with concerns that the party will lose the general election if one of the two wins the nomination.

"They didn't know who was going to put a challenge to the two, and Rubio is providing an answer," Covington said.

Rubio raced out onto the campaign trail early Tuesday, pressing the flesh at an airport diner and making other stops in the small state that holds the political spotlight for the next week.

Cruz is also in the Granite State, polling in second place after Trump, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average. But Rubio is only a point or so behind, and Cruz may actually face a tougher road there than his rival.

Story continues

Cruz won Iowa because of his ability to draw conservative evangelicals, his bread and butter voters, to the caucuses.

The first and second states on the primary calendar have dramatically different electorates and "history suggests that momentum doesn't carry over from Iowa to New Hampshire," said Fergus Cullen, a former Republican state chairman in New Hampshire.

If Iowa is among the most evangelical of US states, New Hampshire is the opposite, with a more secular streak, Cullen said.

That provides better odds for those in the crowded establishment lane.

With billionaire frontrunner Trump, whose entire brand is all about winning, seen as suffering a setback in Iowa, Rubio has emerged with mainstream momentum.

But that leaves him with a figurative target on his back and New Jersey Governor Christie, who has spent week after week campaigning in New Hampshire, was already launching political grenades.

In Bedford, he slammed Rubio as "the boy in the bubble" whose handlers keep him to his scripted speech and away from reporters and who "ran away from his own immigration bill when it got too hot."

- 'Turn America around' -

Rubio insisted he remains the best opportunity for Republicans to snatch back the White House, and that embracing Trump's divisiveness or Cruz's extremes will lead to four more years of a Democrat at the helm.

"This sense of frustration and anger that you feel is justified, because not only has Barack Obama taken us in the wrong direction, but to be frank, leaders in either party have not done enough to stop it," Rubio said.

If he is the nominee, "we're going to beat Hillary Clinton and we're going to turn America around."

Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner facing a fierce challenge from anti-billionaire Bernie Sanders, downplayed the prospects of a Hillary-Marco general election showdown.

"I'm not thinking that far ahead," she told CNN. "My time frame is next Tuesday," the New Hampshire primary.

Cullen, who last week endorsed Kasich, said that despite Rubio's uplifting oratory and rags-to-political-riches personal story, his is not the most optimistic message.

"Rubio has gotten angrier as the campaign progressed," warning about an increasingly dangerous world, he said.

"Kasich is betting there's a significant number of American voters who think the world isn't going to hell."

Next week it will be New Hampshire voters who determine whether Rubio indeed is carrying major momentum deeper into the race.
Moscow (AFP) - A Russian opposition party on Wednesday demanded a formal investigation into Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov after he posted a video of its leader in the cross hairs of a sniper scope.

A video posted Monday on Kadyrov's popular Instagram page showed former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the Parnas party leader, along with his deputy targeted in the sights of a sniper rifle.

"Today we submitted a request to the Russian security services (the FSB) asking them to open a criminal investigation into Ramzan Kadyrov for threatening the life of a public figure," Parnas lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told AFP.

The party submitted a similar request to the powerful Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, Prokhorov said.

Another opposition party Yabloko has also written to investigators and President Vladimir Putin calling for Kadyrov to be prosecuted for "extremism."

The footage used in Kadyrov's post was filmed by LifeNews, a sensationalist television channel known for its close links to security services.

It was shot last month in the French city of Strasbourg as Kasyanov and his deputy Vladimir Kara-Murza went to meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), including one dedicated to slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

Kadyrov wrote on Instagram that Kasyanov had gone to France to raise money for the Russian opposition.

Instagram deleted the video, prompting an indignant response from Kadyrov who claimed this was a breach of free speech.

Kasyanov, who served as prime minister from 2000 to 2004, said President Vladimir Putin should be held accountable for Kadyrov's threatening video.

Kara-Murza told AFP he and Kasyanov considered Kadyrov's Instagram post a "direct incitement to murder."

"This is a genuine threat," said Prokhorov, recalling Nemtsov's assassination just steps from the Kremlin in February 2015.

Kadyrov, a former insurgent who is now devoted to Putin and rules his North Caucasus region with an iron grip, has threatened Kremlin critics on several occasions in the past.

Last month, the Chechen leader penned a lengthy diatribe against Putin's critics in pro-Kremlin daily Izvestiya, calling them a "gang of jackals" who "dream of destroying our state."

The remarks caused uproar public criticism of Kadyrov, prompting Chechen authorities to organise a mass rally in support of their leader.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned about North Korea's decision to go ahead with a satellite launch. "We must state that ... the North Korean side demonstrates an outrageous disregard for the universally recognized norms of international law," the ministry said in a statement. Pyongyang notified U.N. agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
LONDON (Reuters) - In the last few years, superheroes of all kinds have faced a wide range of villains in countless action adventure movies. Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds says "Deadpool", Marvel's anti-hero about to hit cinema screens, is redefining the genre. According to the movie's synopsis, the film tells the story of former Special Forces agent turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who undergoes a rogue experiment to treat his cancer. The operation leaves him scarred but also with powers that allow him to heal quickly and Wilson, soon Deadpool, seeks revenge on the man who carried out the experiment. With plenty of dark humor, violence and offensive language, the film has an "R" rating for the big screen. "It is a game changer for superhero movies. We're standing at the intersection of a kind of like superhero apocalypse. We have all these movies coming along and they're all very, very serious and ... very gritty and dark," Reynolds told Reuters. "Deadpool is kind of the opposite of that. He takes nothing seriously and I think that's fun. It's a nice refreshing change of pace," he said. "You still have all the intense action, you have a movie that deals with themes that are a little bit more adult than necessarily some of the Marvel movies that have come along." The movie, directed by Tim Miller, also stars "The Transporter Refueled" actor Ed Skrein, "Silicon Valley" actor T.J. Miller and "Homeland" actress Morena Baccarin. "You're in a great position where this movie is going to open up the R-rated landscape to superhero films. That's great," T.J. Miller said. "Deadpool" hits cinemas worldwide from Feb. 9. (Reporting by Jane Witherspoon; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
By Amy Tennery (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on Wednesday imposed a new policy banning staff from tweeting from its official Twitter account on their personal devices, a day after the bank apologized for an employee's unauthorized tweet dismissing the Iowa caucuses as irrelevant. On Monday night, as results were coming in from the Iowa caucuses, a San Francisco Fed staffer used the bank's confirmed Twitter handle @sffed to send a tweet deriding the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest. The employee thought they were sending the message from their personal Twitter account. The tweet was deleted, but not before Zero Hedge, an independent, anonymous blog about financial markets and economics, captured a screen grab of it and posted it to its site. "Rick Santorum won #Iowa in 2012," the tweet read. "Rick Santorum didn't win...anything that matters. Iowa is...Iowa." The San Francisco Fed tweeted out a two-part apology Tuesday afternoon. "Last night an employee mistakenly tweeted from the Banks account. The tweet was deleted b/c it doesnt represent the Banks views," the San Francisco Fed tweeted. "We apologize for this mistake; we are reviewing our policies & practices to ensure that this does not happen again." In an email to Reuters on Wednesday, a bank spokesman said that under its policy, employees will only access the Fed's account with bank-issued devices. The spokesman declined to comment on whether the employee who sent the tweet was disciplined in any way, saying that "it would be inappropriate to comment on personnel matters." The San Francisco Fed is among the most prolific tweeters of the 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve System. With 7,287 tweets issued under its handle, the bank's volume trails only the Federal Reserve banks of St. Louis (@stlouisfed), which has more than 16,400 tweets under its name, and Richmond (@RichmondFed), which has 9,836 tweets using its handle. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was the Republican victor in Iowa, while among Democrats, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 will be the next contest for candidates vying to represent each party in the November presidential election. (Additional reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker)
DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi court has commuted the death sentence against a Palestinian poet convicted of apostasy, to eight years' jail and 800 lashes, his lawyer said. Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the religious police in 2013. His conviction was based on evidence from a prosecution witness who claimed to have heard him cursing God, Islam's Prophet Mohammad and Saudi Arabia. He was also prosecuted for the contents of a poetry book he had written years earlier. Rights campaigners say he was targeted for speaking out on political and social matters. Fayadh's lawyer, Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, said that while the new court ruling had commuted the execution, it had reconfirmed Fayadh's guilt for the crime of abandoning his Islamic faith. "The accused is sentenced to a punishment of eight years in jail and 800 lashes divided into installments, 50 lashes for each installment," the ruling said, according to al-Lahim on a Twitter posting. A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's justice ministry could not be reached for comment. Human Rights Watch said the new sentence was still inappropriate. "No one should face arrest for peacefully expressing opinions, much less corporal punishment and prison," said Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for the rights group. "Saudi justice officials must urgently intervene to vacate this unjust sentence." Fayadh had initially been sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes but an appeal process led to that being increased to death after a judge ruled that defense witnesses' testimony was ineligible. Saudi Arabia's justice system is based on sharia, or Islamic law, and its judges are clerics from the ultra conservative Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam. In the Wahhabi interpretation of sharia, religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy incur the death penalty. Liberal writer Raif Badawi was flogged 50 times in January last year as part of a sentence for blasphemy of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, prompting an international outcry. Badawi remains in prison, but diplomats have said he is unlikely to be flogged again. After a case has been heard by lower courts, appeals courts and the supreme court, a convicted defendant can be pardoned by King Salman. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, Editing by Nick Macfie and Robin Pomeroy)
Around 8:00 a.m. this morning, a pop-up art installation was placed on Melrose Avenue: A sink for "white" Hollywood and another crummy one for "colored" Hollywood.

The street artist known by the moniker "Plastic Jesus" placed the two sinks  meant to be a reproduction of French photographer Elliott Erwitts 1950 photo "Segregated Water Fountains"  at Melrose and Stanley, outside the Urban Outfitters.

In the piece titled "Elliott Erwitt's Hollywood 2016," the sink for "white" Hollywood, in addition to a champagne bottle and a credit card with what appears to be a cocaine-like substance, features an Oscar  obvious commentary on zero nonwhite actors being nominated for the honor in acting categories for the second year in a row.

This is not the first time the street artists' work has made headlines for giving a slap in the face to Tinseltown. Last year, just days before the Academy Awards, a life-size Oscar statuette snorting lines of cocaine was placed on Hollywood Boulevard at La Brea Ave., making local and national headlines.

"America is still racist. Especially the media," the artist told The Hollywood Reporter about the new piece. "The visibility of Hollywood and the celebration of the Oscars should show how the U.S.A. has embraced diversity. Clearly it hasnt."

Plastic Jesus, who does not disclose his real name, says he moved to L.A. almost 10 years ago. He said he chose to mirror Erwitts picture to ask the question: "Have we really moved on as far as we could?"

"Its a very graphic portrayal of the racism during segregation. Shocking in its brutal simplicity," he says of the photo.

Read More: Behind the Coked-Out Oscar: Artist Wants to Shatter Hollywood's Glossy Exterior
Everything about Katie McGinty is kinetic energy; All is calm, then suddenly shes here, her neon blue power suit flashing by as she shakes hands and talks shop. I barely have time to pick up my notebook before shes past me, zooming into the crowded ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where a hundred or so steelworker union members applaud. Im hopping mad, McGinty tells them, mad about low wages, bad health care, outsourced jobs. Then she turns her crosshairs on the absent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, whose job shes gunning for: You can run, but you cannot hide.

The election is still months away, but McGinty is one of many insurgent Democrats who will challenge Republicans across 25 states nationwide in 2016. The Democrats, who have to defend only 10 seats, hope to take back a majority of the U.S. Senate by picking up four. Whip-smart and unrelentingly optimistic, McGinty is a former White House environmental adviser to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the former head of Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection and married to a climate analyst who studies the positive impact of green energy on the economy. She touts her record as a wind-and-solar proponent who also accepts the natural gas industry (if taxed and regulated). I view environmental challenges as economic opportunities, McGinty says, from stump to stump.

Shes caught in the same tug-of-war as the rest of the state, between the environmental concerns some have voiced about fracking  and the promise of jobs that it provides for the state.

McGintys race is one of the best chances for Democrats, writes Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball politics blog, because the state is more Democratic than the nation as a whole. While the race will favor the incumbent, McGinty could ride a Hillary Clinton wave  think Pennsylvania headlines proclaiming First Female Senator, First Female President  and, in that case, Toomey will be in real trouble, Kondik says. In purple Pennsylvania, the red rural regions and blue cities add up to a confusing mix: The state has backed the Democratic presidential candidate every year since 1992, but narrowly elected Toomey to the Senate in 2011. (Toomeys campaign did not respond to a request for comment.)

Theres something muddying Pennsylvania waters, which might get a spot or two on McGintys campaign: hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process by which natural gas is produced from the earth. Just two years ago, McGinty served as a managing director overseeing green business initiatives at an energy consulting firm thats a member of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. In plainspeak, shes caught in the same tug-of-war as the rest of the state, between the environmental concerns some have voiced about fracking  critics say it pollutes water supplies  and the promise of jobs that it provides for the state. (Oil and gas extraction and pipelines currently employ about 12,000 in the state, according to Rob Altenburg, director of the PennFuture Energy Center, and industry estimates have that rising with further investment.) The states business interests make any attempts to ban fracking a political minefield for candidates, so most, like McGinty, focus on making the process safer or deciding how to tax it, says Keystone College political scientist Jeff Brauer.

Katie McGinty Alvaro Tapia Hidalgo

Her critics call Katie McGinty an establishment pick in an era bent on anti-establishment fervor.

Source: Alvaro Tapia Hidalgo for OZY

Away from the ballroom to where its quieter, McGinty sits with me, and I ask if her fracking views put her in an uncomfortable middle ground (some would say crossfire) between the gas giants and green activists. No, no, its very healthy, the tall brunette demurs. That debate is what our democracy is about. Shes all about that glass being half-full: for instance, the ramifications of her low finish (fourth out of nine candidates) in her 2014 run for governor? People responded positively, she declares, thanks to her refusal to engage in the politics of destruction.

Keystone Colleges Brauer says thats a rosy outlook. Shes never won a race in her life, he says, and is perceived as an establishment pick in an era bent on anti-establishment fervor. Republicans are quick to point to the budget crisis that exploded under the governor while McGinty was chief of staff, which was still happening when she resigned to start campaigning. Thats her legacy, says Megan Sweeney, communications director for the states Republican Party.

A chuckle isnt ever far away, a kind of what can you do? gesture that the 52-year-old calls a coping mechanism for the chaos of being born the second youngest of 10 kids. McGintys father, a Philadelphia cop, and mother, a restaurant hostess, sent her to Jesuit schools, where her love for science led to her majoring in chemistry at St. Josephs University and law at Columbia University, before heading to the White House. She and her husband moved to India for a year in 1998, where they adopted their two oldest children, Tara and Alana, now 16 (their third child, Allie, is 14).

I get my Irish up, is McGintys catchphrase for when she gets worked up about an issue, from the national minimum wage (too low, she says) to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which, among other concerns, she says, doesnt protect U.S. patents overseas past five years. Offhandedly, McGinty plays often on her working-class mentality, saying that she likes to knock back a Miller Lite and considers culture to be a night watching Looney Tunes and the Three Stooges. Just as easily, she invokes the American dream: The secret sauce of what makes the country great is making sure that people still believe working hard will get them ahead.



This article has been updated to clarify McGintys role at an energy consulting firm.

Related Articles
(Screenshot of Politia Romanas Facebook page)





Mystery surrounds the reason why a Singaporean woman and her mother made a trip to Romania and became uncontactable for 10 days.



Family members told Chinese daily Shin Min on 1 Feb that Cheryl Yap Lay Leng, 25, and her mother Madam Foo Li Kheng, 61, departed for Romanias capital Bucharest on 22 Jan. They left without informing the rest of the family.

Romanias police force said the two were located in a commune called Vulturesti, and posted a photo of them on the national police forces Facebook page. The police confirmed they were not the victims of any crime. Vulturesti is located about two and half hours drive from Bucharest.

A news report on Romanian news site Libertatea said Yap was meeting a man she met online. Yap had with her four bank passbooks containing savings of at least S$40,000.

Yaps father, who gave his name only as Mr Yap, told the Chinese daily the only details he found out about the trip was when he saw his daughters credit card bill, which showed a return date of 16 April. He was also told by his daughters company that she did not apply for annual leave.

A Facebook friend of Yaps told the Straits Times that the two had been in contact with her, and that they were safe but declined to elaborate.
(Screenshot from ProTV)

The young Singaporean woman who travelled to Romania with her mother without informing the rest of her family has broken her silence.

Speaking to Romanian TV reporters, Cheryl Yap Lay Leng, 25, told Romanian news channel Pro TV that she came to Romanian to meet my boyfriend to work together on YouTube.

Both Donea and Yap are fans of Japanese anime. A YouTube channel believed to be created by Donea features several anime music videos and has over 150,000 subscribers.

According to Pro TV, Yap met a Romanian man online two years ago. The man, Alexandru Donea, invited Yap to visit Romania. Yap and her mother were staying with Donea and his parents, who do not speak English.

The video clip showed Yap and her mother being interviewed in Doneas home.

(Screenshot from ProTV)

Family members told Chinese daily Shin Min on 1 Feb that Yap and her mother Foo Li Kheng, 61, departed for Romanias capital Bucharest on 22 Jan. They left without informing the rest of the family.

Romanias police force said the two were located in a commune called Vulturesti, and posted a photo of them on the national police forces Facebook page. The police confirmed they were not the victims of any crime. Vulturesti is located about two and half hours drive from Bucharest.

A news report on Romanian news site Libertatea said Yap was meeting a man she met online. Yap had with her four bank passbooks containing savings of at least S$40,000.

Yaps father, who gave his name only as Mr Yap, told the Chinese daily the only details he found out about the trip was when he saw his daughters credit card bill, which showed a return date of 16 April. He was also told by his daughters company that she did not apply for annual leave.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African power utility Eskom does not expect to implement electricity cuts for the rest of the southern hemisphere summer and winter, its chief executive said on Thursday. "Eskom has stabilised and we don't anticipate load shedding for the rest of summer and winter," Brian Molefe told a news conference. The utility, which is battling an electricity shortage, had said in November that it does not expect to implement electricity blackouts until April 2016. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma proposed footing part of the bill for state-funded improvements to his rural home, some of which anti-graft authorities said benefited him personally in a report that triggered a political scandal. Zuma, who previously said he did not owe the state a refund, said he would allow the country's auditor general and finance minister to decide how much of the 250 million rand ($15 million) refurbishment he should pay back. The 2013 security upgrade, which included a cattle enclosure and amphitheatre, has been heavily criticised by the opposition and news media. It also risks damaging Zuma's governing African National Congress' showing in municipal elections expected after May, though the party has comfortably won every election since toppling white apartheid rule in 1994. Zuma had proposed the solution in order to "achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute", the presidency said in a statement late on Tuesday - a week before the constitutional court is due to rule on whether the president should reimburse the state. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said in a 2014 report that Zuma had "benefited unduly" from some of the refurbishments. UNDER FIRE With a crisis in Africa's most industrialised economy causing widespread hardship, Zuma has faced rising criticism of his leadership since he secured a second term in office in 2014. He came under fire in December when he changed finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand plummeting and alarming investors. The sacking of Nhlanhla Nene in favour of relatively unknown and untested David van Rooyen, who he then replaced with the experienced Pravin Gordhan, clouded Zuma's political reputation. Ratings agencies have warned of credit downgrades if Pretoria fails to keep prudent fiscal policies. The militant opposition left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), meanwhile, has repeatedly heckled Zuma in parliament over his refusal to reimburse the home improvements. It and the biggest opposition party, Democratic Alliance (DA), asked the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the president is liable, and a hearing has been set for Tuesday. Zuma's lawyers have proposed settling the case, according to the opposition parties, who say they want the hearing to go ahead. "President Zuma has a habit of backing down only when he's in a corner with absolutely nowhere else to go. He did that with the finance minister," NKC African Economics political analyst Gary van Staden said. "It's not going to help the ANC although they'll put a positive spin on it," he said, referring to the municipal elections. ($1 = 16.1483 rand) (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by James Macharia and John Stonestreet)
Montevideo (AFP) - South American countries vowed Wednesday to eliminate the mosquitoes spreading Zika, the virus blamed for brain damage in babies, after a US patient caught it by having sex.

With health authorities warning the mosquito-borne illness could infect up to four million people, ministers from 14 countries held emergency talks in Uruguay to plot their response to the growing crisis, with fears the virus could spread worldwide.

The country worst hit, Brazil, said it was sending more than 500,000 personnel out to clean up and advise people about the disease.

The health ministers gathered in Montevideo signed a declaration vowing to "design and execute education campaigns to control the carriers" of the virus.

The fever starts with a mosquito bite and normally causes little more than a fever and rash.

But scientists suspect that when it strikes a pregnant woman, it can cause her baby to be born with microcephaly, or an abnormally small head.

Since October, Brazil has reported 404 confirmed cases of microcephaly -- up from 147 in 2014 -- plus 3,670 suspected cases.

It has reported 1.5 million Zika infections.

Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Castro told reporters his country had deployed 522,000 personnel to prevent infections -- "the biggest such effort in Brazil's history."

Organizers of the Rio Olympics in Brazil in August have insisted Zika will not disrupt the Games.

- Sexual transmission risk -

Authorities in Texas on Tuesday said they had confirmed a case of the virus being transmitted between humans by sexual contact.

Dallas County officials said a patient was infected following sexual contact with someone who caught Zika in Venezuela.

Health authorities in Ireland urged men to wear a condom during sex for one month after returning from a country affected by Zika.

But in Mexico, one health official said more information was needed about the link between Zika and sex.

"We have to take this very cautiously. We have to wait for more scientific evidence," said Cuitlahuac Ruiz, director of epidemiology at the Mexican health ministry.

Story continues

British and Canadian authorities said returning travellers will be barred from donating blood for a month and three weeks respectively, underlining growing fears worldwide.

The South American officials gathered on Wednesday were reluctant to quantify the risk of sexual transmission.

"If that is confirmed, it will give a new dimension to the problem," said the head of the Pan American Health Organization, Carissa Etienne.

She said Zika was now present in 26 countries across the Americas.

"What worries the ministers is the speed with which Zika virus infections have spread," she told reporters on the sidelines of the talks.

"Their response to this problem will be to fight against the mosquito that transmits the virus."

Etienne said her organization provided $850,000 to help countries fight Zika but that 10 times that amount would be needed.

- Global Zika fears -

The World Health Organization has declared the spike in serious birth defects in South America an international emergency and launched a global Zika response unit.

Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and the US territory of Puerto Rico have all warned women not to get pregnant.

Health experts warn that Zika poses a massive threat to Asia.

Thailand confirmed that a man contracted the infection and Indonesia has also reported a domestic case -- as has Cape Verde off northwest Africa.

The WHO warned European countries to act early to stop Zika spreading.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the mosquito has "re-colonized" Madeira in Portugal and parts of southern Russia and Georgia in recent years after disappearing from the continent in the 20th century.

It has been spotted as far north as the Netherlands.

Indian drugs company Bharat Biotech said it was developing the world's first Zika vaccine and was ready to test it on animals.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi earlier said it had begun researching a vaccine for Zika, for which there is currently no specific treatment.
Seoul (AFP) - South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a stimulus package, including an extra six trillion won ($4.94 billion) in public spending, to bolster an economy struggling with falling exports and high youth unemployment.

The package, announced by the finance ministry, came as Asia's fourth-largest economy in Asia saw its exports plunge 18.5 percent on-year in January -- the sharpest decline for more than six years.

Exports account for more than 50 percent of the country's GDP, according to the World Bank.

"The government will mobilise all available means and resources in order to boost domestic consumption and exports in the first quarter to March and to help create new jobs," the ministry said in a press statement.

It will front-load government budgets and policy loans to businesses during the three-month period, injecting an additional 21.5 trillion won ($17.4 billion).

Public spending for the first quarter will be increased by six trillion won to 144 trillion won and lending by policy banks will be jacked up by 15.5 trillion won to 115.9 trillion won.

It will also extend until June a programme to cut consumption tax on passenger cars, which was set to finish at the end of December.

Domestic auto sales plunged 40 percent last month after South Korea rolled back a 1.5 percentage point cut in auto consumption tax.

"We expect the increased front-loading to push up growth by 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter", Deputy Finance Minister Lee Chan-Woo was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency on Tuesday.

"We have to keep the momentum alive in the first quarter so that the economy continues moving on in the following quarters", he said.

The Bank of Korea last month revised its GDP growth forecast down from 3.2 percent to 3.0 percent for this year, citing factors like the signs of a slowdown in China -- the South's biggest export market.

Last year, the South's economy grew at its slowest pace since 2012 as exports faltered in the face of a global slowdown and rock-bottom oil prices.

Exports for the whole of 2015 fell 8.0 percent -- the first contraction for three years.
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - Transit fees that Sudan charges its neighbour South Sudan will be based on prevailing crude oil prices, a move away from a fixed fee, South Sudan's petroleum minister said on Wednesday. In recent weeks, local media have reported of a growing standoff between Sudan and South Sudan over oil transit fees, with the south wanting a cut as the collapse in global oil prices mean transit costs sometimes exceeded the price of crude. Sudan previously charged South Sudan about $24.50 a barrel in transit fees. Benchmark Brent crude was trading around $33.30 per barrel on Wednesday. The official Sudan News Agency reported in late January that Sudan had offered a fee cut, but gave no details. The two countries' petroleum ministers met in South Sudan's capital Juba on Wednesday. When we negotiate on ... fees in particular, that thing would not be fixed ... It will fluctuate up and down depending on the prices of the crude globally," South Sudan Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau told reporters after meeting with his Sudanese counterpart, Mohammed Zayed Awad. Dau said the new fee would be agreed upon by a technical team in not less than one month. We have agreed in principle but we need the technical people to work on it and in a week to come we will reach the conclusion," Awad said, declining to give figures. Sudan lost most of its oil earnings when the south seceded in 2011 and is acutely short of revenue. South Sudan's crude production stands at about 165,000 barrels per day. (Writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Susan Thomas)
By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Two veteran Russian cosmonauts floated outside the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace experimental equipment that is testing how materials and biological samples fare in the harsh environment of space. Station flight engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Sergey Volkov left the station's airlock at 7:55 a.m. EST for what was expected to be a 5-1/2-hour spacewalk, a live broadcast on NASA Television showed. Among the cosmonauts first tasks was to cast off a flash drive into space, giving a ceremonial send-off to recorded messages and video from last years 70th anniversary of Victory Day, said NASA mission commentator Rob Navias. Victory Day commemorates the former Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. The flash drive eventually will re-enter Earths atmosphere and burn up. Malenchenko, who was making his sixth spacewalk, and Volkov, on his fourth, then collected samples from outside the airlocks hatch door and from a window. The swabs will be analyzed to determine how much residue from the stations steering thrusters has built up on the surfaces. Working 250 miles (402 km) above Earth, Malenchenko and Volkov made their way to the site of a seven-year-old science experiment holding plant seeds, bacterial spores fungi and other samples. The equipment was to be removed and replaced. The research is designed to test how well biological samples and various materials, such as coatings used on spacecraft, withstand the extreme temperature swings and high radiation of space. The station is a $100 billion research complex owned and operated by 15 nations. Rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts have staffed the orbital outpost since November 2000. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Paul Simao)
Madrid (AFP) - Spain's troubled flagship renewable energy giant Abengoa presented a recovery plan to its main creditor banks Wednesday, in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, a source close to the negotiations said.

The plan, approved by Abengoa's board last month, entails the sale of its assets in the biofuels sector which would lead to a one-third reduction in revenues compared to 2014.

It will now be examined by the banks, bond holders and KPMG auditing and advisory firm, which has been tasked by the banks, according to the source who declined to be named.

KPMG will look at the plan in detail and "propose an overall solution within 10 to 15 days", after which negotiations will begin, the source added.

One of Spain's leading lights in sustainable energy, Abengoa has been racing against the clock to avoid one of the country's biggest ever bankruptcies.

The world player in solar and wind power, biofuels and water management filed for protection from creditors in November and has until March 28 to find a solution to its colossal debt, which stands at nine billion euros at least.
By Emily Flitter LACONIA, N.H. (Reuters) - Marco Rubio finished third in Monday's Iowa caucuses, but his Republican White House rivals are attacking him as though he were the victor, and on Wednesday the U.S. senator from Florida peppered his speech with humble caveats that seemed designed to deflect the hits. As the 2016 candidates looked ahead to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has called Rubio "the boy in the bubble," suggesting he gives the same speech no matter where he goes. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is campaigning for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, said Rubio could not win a general election because of his positions on abortion and immigration. Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich both said the country needed an experienced commander in chief, in what appeared to be a jab at Rubio, a first-term senator. In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, two anti-establishment candidates, had dominated the polls in the state while Rubio lagged well behind. But on Monday, he racked up a surprisingly strong third-place finish, garnering the support of 23 percent of Republican caucus goers, just below Trump's 24 percent second-place finish. Cruz, a senator from Texas, won Iowa with 28 percent. Many pundits had predicted Rubio would struggle to get much above 15 percent to 20 percent in the state. Rubio struck a triumphant tone in his post-caucus speech. This is the moment they said would never happen, he said, adding that the people of Iowa had sent a very clear message. On Wednesday, though, he gave a cautious outlook on his prospects in New Hampshire and beyond. Rubio said he was leaving his fate in the Republican U.S. presidential primary contests in Gods hands, and added that he hoped his children would be proud of him "no matter how this turns out." I just want to do as well as we possibly can here in New Hampshire," Rubio told reporters. After emerging as the leading establishment candidate competing with Trump and Cruz, Rubio faces high stakes in New Hampshire. His elevated stature in the race has given his rivals added incentive to attack him. Some voters in the state seemed to be warming to him. Grace Freije, 63, of Bow, New Hampshire, said she had decided to support Rubio after gravitating earlier toward Christie. Steve McMahon, 65, said the same. "He's not a divisive person," McMahon said. "This guy's got the best shot at winning." (Reporting By Emily Flitter; Editing by Caren Bohan and Jonathan Oatis)
Wall Street struggling to gain footing as stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) react to a sluggish report on the services sector. Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co. joins us live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the markets.

To talk about some of the other stories that Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and Bobbi Rebell, television and multimedia reporter at Reuters.

The future of Yahoo and Alibaba

Following word yesterday that Yahoo (YHOO) would be looking at strategic alternatives for the company, CEO Marissa Mayer explains what might happen with Yahoo's stake in Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba (BABA).

GM riding high in U.S. and China

General Motors (GM) is traveling on the high road! America's biggest carmaker is reporting both fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped analysts' forecasts, and says it had its best full-year earnings ever. GM is riding the wave of lower gas prices, which are driving demand for big trucks and SUVs. Sales also jumped 14% in China.

Apple virtual reality

Apple (AAPL) meets Star Trek! You may recall the Star Trek holodeck where crew members in the sci-fi series could "get away" in a room that used virtual reality technology. The head of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab tells the Wall Street Journal that Apple employees are now spending more and more time there, leading to speculation that Apple is looking closer at virtual reality products.




I first saw the rumor in a tweet from Kenny Keil, a writer at Mad Magazine:

Of all the things to be creeped out about with Ted Cruz, I'm finding the 2 watches thing to be the most unsettling pic.twitter.com/boZ4ut6Mmt  Kenny Keil (@kennykeil) February 1, 2016

Scroll through the pictures, examine them, and when youre done quivering, ask yourself: Does Ted Cruz, the victor of the Republican Iowa caucuses, really wear two watches?

I had to find out.

Before we consider that question, though, permit a short interlude. In the grand scheme of things, it does not matter. Cruzs plans to abolish the Internal Revenue Service or repeal the Affordable Care Act are far more consequential than his choice of radiocarpal accessory. But elections encompass far more than policy, however radical or horrifying; they are also cultural and aesthetic spectacles. Not for nothing was George W. Bushs main inauguration-night gala dubbed the Black Tie and Boots Ball.

Recommended: Personal Stories of Abortion Made Public

And besides, two watches? The whole running-for-fifth-grade-class-president thing is really more Marco Rubios vibe.

So with the help of Alan Taylor, senior editor of our Photos section, I undertook a thorough investigation. It turns out that Ted Cruzs horological appurtenances are absurdly well documented.

Joe Raedle / Getty

Above, for example, is Ted Cruzs left-hand watch, photographed while the candidate was speaking last week in West Des Moines, Iowa. Also his belt and jean rivets, though they are tastefully shorn in bokeh.

Look further and the evidence seems compelling. Its not just the pictures in Keils tweet above that make the case. Examine the photo that leads this storyit sure appears that Cruz is a two-strapped contrarian.

Dave Kaup / Reuters

Yet further imagery appears to show that Cruz does not have a face on each strap. The Washington Post, in a story about candidate wearables last August, mentioned a Cruzian Fitbitwhen the Senates in session, its great, because youre walkingand this seems to be exactly what the second strap is.

Story continues

Brendan Hoffman / Getty

Joe Raedle / Getty

So there we go. Cruz is just wearing a Fitbit and a watch and trying to deal with the age-old circa-2013 dispute over how to wear both of them. If hes interested in combining both devices, I mightspeaking here purely as a tech reporterrecommend the Activite Pop, a watch that also includes a step counter. It would certainly have come in handy during his Iowa victory speech, a 32-minute address so ponderous that even Fox News cut away from it.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
London (AFP) - A strike at Britain's Japanese-owned Financial Times business newspaper was called off Wednesday, on the eve before it was set to go ahead due to a dispute over pensions.

It would have been the first such strike in 30 years at the newspaper, but was cancelled after discussions between advisory service Acas, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and management.

"During talks over the past two days at Acas in London with representatives of the NUJ and the FT, we have worked together to achieve a revised pensions offer," said a statement from the NUJ, the main journalists' trade union.

"As a consequence of the revised offer Thursday's strike has been called off."

NUJ members will vote on the proposal, which includes better terms for the longest-serving FT employees among other improvements, with a decision expected by February 15, the NUJ said.

The strike was called after journalists said management was refusing to honour pension agreements, after the newspaper was sold to Japanese media giant Nikkei.

Nikkei purchased the FT from British publishing company Pearson for $1.3 billion last July.
ADEN (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the home of the security chief of the Yemeni province of Lahej on Wednesday night, killing himself and wounding seven people, residents and a security official said. They said the security chief, Brigadier General Adel al-Halemi, was among those wounded in the attack in the al-Mindara district in the eastern part of the city of Aden. (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf, Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Alison Williams)
Zurich (AFP) - Swatch on Wednesday posted a 21-percent-drop in its annual net profit, as the world's biggest watch group was slammed by a strong Swiss franc and a struggling timepiece sector.

Last year, the Swiss watchmaker saw its net profit plummet to 1.1 billion Swiss francs ($1.08 billion, 990 million euros), dropping by more than a fifth from 2014, when it reported its weakest annual result in five years.

The company meanwhile said its operating profit slipped three percent to 8.4 billion Swiss francs last year, blaming especially "the ongoing unfavorable currency situation versus the still massively overvalued Swiss franc."

The value of the Swiss franc ballooned after the Swiss central bank in January 2015 suddenly stopped artificially trying to hold down its value against the euro, hitting exporters in the country hard.

Stripping out exchange rate factors, by contrast, Swatch said its operating profit dipped only 0.9 percent.

The results were largely in line with expectations of analysts polled by the AWP financial news agency, who had anticipated a net profit of 1.1 billion francs on an operating profit of 8.5 billion.

Following the announcement, Swatch saw its share price fall 1.24 percent to 334.70 Swiss francs in morning trading as the Swiss stock exchange's main SMI index inched up 0.46 percent.

Swatch, best known for its brightly coloured plastic-cased watches, meanwhile stressed that its all-important Watches and Jewelry unit had contracted just 0.8 percent in constant exchange rates -- less than the overall sector.

In 2015, Swiss watch exports shrank 3.3 percent to 21.5 billion francs, falling for the first time since 2009.

The 2015 slump was closely linked to a steep 9.1-percent fall in demand in Asia, the main market for Swiss watches, which absorbed exactly half of all the exports last year.

Exports to China have yo-yoed wildly in recent years, first raking in several years of double-digit growth before taking a hard hit following efforts to crack down on corruption in that country by banning extravagant gifts like expensive watches to public officials.

Story continues

The pro-democracy Umbrella protests that brought much of key watch market Hong Kong to a standstill in 2014 also hit Swiss watchmakers hard.

Swatch, which owns 20 brands including Breguet, Omega and Blancpain, however said it expected improvements ahead.

"Despite the ongoing challenging environment in various regions," Swatch said it expected to see "a sustainable development in sales in local currency in 2016, based on worldwide ongoing very good consumption demand for Swiss watches."

The company hailed especially signs of a pick-up in China, where it said it "expects growth of well over 5% in 2016 in local currency" this year.
Stockholm (AFP) - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday reported a record loss for 2015, blaming a tax on nuclear energy and sliding electricity prices.

The company's net loss came in at 19.8 billion kronor (2.1 billion euros, $2.3 billion), compared to an 8.3-billion-kronor loss the previous year, while sales eased one percent to 165 billion kronor.

"The major challenge in 2015 continued to be the impact that today's very low electricity prices have on Vattenfalls profitability and on the valuation of our assets," Vattenfall chief Magnus Hall said in a statement.

"Continued falling prices and a nuclear tax corresponding to SEK 0.07 per kilowatt-hour have put Swedish nuclear power in a critical situation," he said.

Vattenfall has had to write down over 36 billion kronor due to the early closure of two nuclear reactors in Sweden, which became unprofitable because of stringent safety requirements, and the depreciation of coal assets in Germany as a consequence of the German government's target to curtail energy production with high CO2 emissions.
BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - ChemChina, which agreed to acquire Swiss crop protection group Syngenta for $43 billion, will be on the lookout for more deals in that market as China strives to improve domestic food supply, Syngenta's chairman said on Wednesday.

"ChemChina has a very ambitious vision of the industry in the future. Obviously it is very interested in securing food supply for 1.5 billion people and as a result knows that only technology can get them there," Syngenta Chairman Michel Demare told analysts in a conference call.

There is "commitment to continue to invest in acquisitions but also whenever possible in organic growth. To continue to improve our market share presence and technology is something that indeed they are very committed to," he added.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
Geneva (AFP) - Syria's main opposition group will not return to peace talks until its humanitarian demands are met, chief coordinator Riad Hijab said Wednesday after the UN suspended negotiations in Switzerland until February 25.

The group "will leave Geneva tomorrow (Thursday) and will not return until the humanitarian demands are met or (we) see something on the ground," Hijab told reporters.

The High Negotiations Committee "came (to Geneva) because of these assurances. But the opposite happened," he said. "Nothing happened on the humanitarian front and the regime caused the political process to fail."

"Unfortunately whenever there is a political process that starts the regime feels threatened and uses these kinds of tactics," he said.

"The whole world sees who is making the negotiations fail. Who is bombing civilians and starving people to death."

In a separate news conference, chief government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari put the blame on opposition "preconditions" for the failure.

"Since its arrival... (the HNC) refused to take part in any serious talks with the (UN) special envoy," state news agency SANA quoted Jaafari as saying.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said earlier Saturday that the "temporary pause" was needed because there is "more work to be done, not only by us but the stakeholders," referring to outside powers embroiled in the conflict.

"It is not the end or the failure of the talks," he said.

The comments came after several days of fruitless talks during which de Mistura tried to coax the Syrian government and opposition into beginning six months of indirect talks.
Geneva (AFP) - The Syrian army secured a major battlefield victory Wednesday as Russia vowed no let-up in its aerial bombardment in support of the regime, putting further pressure on fragile peace efforts in Switzerland.

In a major blow to the rebels, a military source said that President Bashar al-Assad's army cut the last supply route linking opposition forces in the northern city of Aleppo to the Turkish border.

The source said the army had broken a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, and taken control of parts of the supply route.

The advance was helped by intense bombing by Russian aircraft in recent days throughout the area north of Aleppo city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The offensive is one of several the government has launched since Moscow threw its military might behind Assad on September 30.

The new advance added to doubts surrounding the already highly uncertain prospects for the launch of peace talks in Geneva.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura has been trying for several days to coax government and opposition representatives into indirect negotiations, so far to no avail.

Already on Tuesday, opposition figures in Geneva had expressed outrage at the Russian bombardment and had cancelled a planned meeting with de Mistura.

- Defiant Lavrov -

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he saw no reason for the air strikes to stop, while slamming "capricious" elements in the HNC and the smuggling of arms into Syria from Turkey.

"Russian air strikes will not cease until we truly defeat the terrorist organisations ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra," Russian agencies quoted Lavrov as saying in Oman.

He was referring to the so-called Islamic State, the extremist group which has overrun swathes of Syria and Iraq and has claimed bombings and shootings worldwide, and to Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch.

The opposition says the Russian strikes have almost entirely targeted other rebel groups, many backed by the West, Gulf states and Turkey, which shot down a Russian jet on its Syrian border in November.

Story continues

"Russia is using the political process as a cover to impose its military solution on the ground," Salem al-Meslet from the HNC said.

The hoped-for talks aimed at ending a civil war that has killed more than 260,000 people are part of a roadmap agreed by outside powers in November.

This plan foresees a nationwide ceasefire, an inclusive and non-sectarian government within six months, a new constitution, and free and fair elections within 18 months.

Since the conflict began in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad's iron-fisted rule, more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes -- many heading to Europe.

The tangled conflict has dragged in a range of international players, from Iran, Turkey and the Gulf states to Western nations and Russia. There has been a brutal crackdown on dissent and the economy is in ruins.

De Mistura said on Swiss television late Tuesday that if the UN-brokered talks fail, "all hope would be lost."

He also told the BBC that "the level of confidence between the two parties is close to zero".

The HNC wants Assad to allow humanitarian access to besieged towns, to stop bombing civilians and to release thousands of prisoners -- some of them children -- languishing in regime jails.

Damascus complains that the HNC has failed to present even a list of its negotiators and strongly objects to the inclusion within the Saudi-backed body of rebels that it and Moscow view as "terrorists".

One such figure is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who said in Geneva Wednesday he was "not optimistic".

"The problem is not with de Mistura. The problem is with the criminal regime that decimates children and with Russia which always tries to stand alongside criminals," he said, clutching a photo of a young boy he said was severely wounded by Russian air strikes.

- Hijab to the rescue? -

The HNC was on Wednesday locked in internal talks in a Geneva hotel -- barred to reporters since Tuesday -- to discuss its next steps, after a tense meeting the previous evening, an opposition source said.

The arrival however on Wednesday of Riad Hijab, the HNC's general coordinator, raised some hopes for progress.

"With Hijab here, the HNC can better demonstrate a unified position in representing the opposition," a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

An AFP reporter said de Mistura arrived on Wednesday afternoon at the hotel, with a second opposition source saying he was there to meet Hijab informally.
Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan on Wednesday approved a plan by its leading chipmaker to build a $3 billion plant in China using state-of-the-art technology, after easing curbs on high-tech investment in the mainland.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which in revenue terms is also the world's top microchip maker providing tailor-made services, plans to build the wholly-owned plant in the eastern city of Nanjing.

The Investment Commission announced its approval in a statement after a screening meeting.

Taiwan previously controlled such hi-tech investment on fears the island could lose its competitive edge to China, which still regards Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification -- by force if necessary.

It started easing the curbs five years ago as overall relations improved.

The latest relaxation came last September, with the aim of allowing Taiwanese companies like TSMC to compete with giants such as Intel and Samsung in the mainland market.

Under the new regulations, Taiwanese manufacturers will be allowed to open a total of three chipmaking plants which are more advanced than previously permitted.

But local chipmakers must still keep their Taiwan-produced technology a generation ahead of that made in mainland China.

TSMC chairman Morris Chang has said the plan for a 12-inch wafer fab and a design service centre in China was prompted by the rapid growth of the mainland semiconductor market.

TSMC said the new plant would be able to produce up to 20,000 12-inch wafers per month, and was scheduled to start volume production of 16 nanometre process technology in the second half of 2018.

The firm counts Apple among its clients and the likes of Samsung and Intel among its rivals.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, although ties have warmed since Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in the island in 2008.
By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's leading drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical is investigating ways in which it might help make a Zika vaccine, becoming the latest company to study vaccine options for the mosquito-borne disease sweeping the Americas.

Vaccine head Rajeev Venkayya said on Wednesday that Takeda, which is already developing a vaccine for dengue fever, had assembled an eight-person team to look into the practicalities of a vaccine for Zika, which belongs to the same virus family.

The company, which has been urged to help fast-track vaccine work by international health experts, will reach a conclusion on how to proceed in the next few weeks.

"We were contacted by several global health organizations about whether we would undertake anything in Zika because of our other vaccine programs in related diseases like dengue and chikungunya," Venkayya said in a telephone interview.

He declined to identify the organizations but said they were "the ones you would normally think of".

French drugmaker Sanofi on Tuesday announced that it had launched a project to develop a vaccine against the virus, the most decisive commitment yet by a major vaccine maker.

Several academic groups and biotech companies are also conducting early-stage vaccine research, while GlaxoSmithKline has said it is concluding feasibility studies to see if its vaccine technology might be suitable.

Venkayya, a previous biodefence adviser at the White House, said he was personally leading Takeda's eight-person team and would take the decision on how to proceed.

He added that partnership arrangements would be an important part of any successful Zika vaccine program and Takeda was most likely to play a role in manufacturing.

"We have manufacturing platforms that we use for other similar vaccines that are likely to be applicable here," he said.

"We would want to work with key organizations, such as parts of the U.S. government and other global health organizations working in this space, so that we are essentially part of a consortium."

The World Health Organization on Monday declared Zika and its suspected links to birth defects an international health emergency, spurring increased vaccine research efforts. But scientists and drugmakers still face significant practical hurdles in developing an effective and deliverable vaccine to protect at-risk women and girls.

(Editing by Susan Thomas)
New York (AFP) - Donald Trump launched a full-blown attack on Republican arch-rival Ted Cruz on Wednesday, accusing him of stealing victory in Iowa as the Texas senator bit back, rubbishing the mogul's presidential credentials and questioning his sanity.

Fighting back from second place in the Iowa caucus this week, Trump lashed out on Twitter, telling his six million followers that the evangelical conservative had only won the first vote of the 2016 election by fraud.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!" Trump wrote.

Cruz fired back a salvo several hours later. "Yet another #Trumpertantrum... @realDonaldTrump very angry w/the people of Iowa. They actually looked at his record," he wrote on his Twitter account.

Trump slammed Cruz for putting out a statement from Iowa saying that a fellow candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, was quitting the race, and "lying" to thousands of voters about Trump's policies.

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," Trump wrote.

On the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Cruz looked to capitalize on his momentum against the New York billionaire, who leads Republican polls in the Granite State.

"I wake up every day and laugh at the latest thing Donald has tweeted. Because he's losing it," said Cruz. "We need a commander in chief, not a twitterer in chief.

"We need someone with judgment and the temperament to keep this country safe. I don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button."

Trump has run a media blitzkrieg campaign, dishing out insults against his political rivals, Mexicans, women and Muslims, sucking the television air time away from every other candidate in the race.

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- Iowa loser -

But his Iowa tally -- in second place at just above 24 percent, marginally ahead of Senator Marco Rubio -- in the first vote raises serious questions about whether showmanship has a winning strategy.

A second hiccup, at the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday, would spell political disaster for the reality television star.

Cruz won 27.7 percent of the vote in the Republican caucus in Iowa, staking his claim to be the new standard bearer of the right.

Rubio, whose star has risen in recent weeks, took more than 23 percent, anointing him as the Republican establishment candidate of choice best placed to defeat presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Polls put Trump firmly ahead among Republican voters in New Hampshire, but analysts warn that anything less than a win there will further damage his campaign message that he is a winner.

Jeanne Zaino, a professor of political science in New York, said Trump's outburst -- just his latest -- was a strategic move designed to counter the narrative that he lost in Iowa and that his campaign is beatable.

"That's a huge component of Donald Trump's campaign. He's been campaigning saying he's a winner and all of a sudden he comes out of Iowa a loser," she told AFP.

She predicted that Trump would step up sharp attacks on Cruz and Rubio, the telegenic young senator, as the New Hampshire primary nears.

"It's strategic on his part and he's also trying to make sure that he takes some of the wind out of Cruz and Rubio's sails as he goes into New Hampshire, where he has been leading for some time, to make sure he comes out ahead in New Hampshire," she added.

The Cruz insult ensured once again that Trump headlined the media coverage of the Republican presidential election -- and again saving him from spending millions on campaign advertisements.

"He has said really outlandish things in the past and none of them have really hurt him in the polls. So I don't think this is going to hurt him so much and he's attacking someone whose not wildly popular even in his own party," said Zaino, in reference to Cruz.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Hamas on Wednesday buried two fighters killed in a tunnel collapse, as concern grows in Israel over the rebuilding of underground passageways that could be used for attacks.

The Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip said the two men killed in Tuesday night's tunnel collapse belonged to its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Hundreds of men, many armed and wearing balaclavas, took part in the funeral.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas's leader in Gaza, called the two men "martyrs" and praised "those who work silently underground for us to live in dignity on earth."

The collapse was the second such incident since last week. A tunnel collapse caused by bad weather on January 26 killed seven Al-Qassam militants.

Israeli concerns increased on Friday after Haniya, in comments at the seven men's funeral, highlighted the growth of new tunnels.

But Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, on Wednesday toned down the rhetoric with a statement on the Hamas website denying comments attributed to him that the tunnels had already reached into Israeli territory.

"The resistance tunnels are defensive tunnels for the protection of our people in the face of any Israeli aggression," he said.

Israel destroyed a large number of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, the third conflict to hit the Palestinian enclave since 2008.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that "if we are attacked from tunnels from the Gaza Strip, we will take very strong action against Hamas."
By David Alexander and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON/NAVAL AIR WEAPONS STATION CHINA LAKE, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday the Pentagon would seek a $582.7 billion defense budget next year and reshape spending priorities to reflect a new strategic environment marked by Russian assertiveness and the rise of Islamic State. Carter, speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, said the funding request was in line with last year's congressional budget deal, with a clear focus on five big challenges facing the U.S. military: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Islamic State. "Today's security environment is dramatically different than the one we've been engaged with for the last 25 years and it requires new ways of thinking and new ways of acting," he said. Carter's remarks came a week ahead of the formal rollout of the administration's budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, providing a preview of what remains by far the largest military budget in the world. He told reporters during a visit to a California naval base that the budget plan focused on higher-end weapons spending to maintain the U.S. military's competitive edge over countries like Russia and China, which are expanding their militaries. The proposal drew immediate fire from Republicans, who railed against President Barack Obama's failure to request more funding to defeat Islamic State. Carter told reporters the administration had budgeted $7.5 billion for an accelerated fight against the militant group, 50 percent more than this year, and would seek further war funding later if needed. He said the United States has used so many smart bombs and laser-guided rockets against the militants in Iraq and Syria that it is running low on the weapons and needs to invest $1.8 billion for 45,000 more. EUROPEAN TRAINING Carter said the Pentagon would ask for $3.4 billion to boost military training and exercises aimed at reassuring European countries concerned about Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has worried NATO allies with its strategic bomber flights. Obama said in a statement the request, a four-fold increase from last year's $789 million, would enable the United States to strengthen the U.S. military posture in Europe. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the move a "clear sign" of the U.S. commitment to European security. Carter also voiced concern about China's military intentions. Beijing has been rapidly developing missiles and other weapons that could force the U.S. military to operate farther from shore in the case of a conflict. "Key to our approach is being able to deter our most advanced competitors," he said. "We must have - and be seen to have - the ability to impose unacceptable costs on an advanced aggressor." To build upon the U.S. military's technological superiority, Carter said the Defense Department planned to invest $71.4 billion next year in research and development, much of it aimed at boosting strategic capabilities. The military has been developing drone aircraft and boats that are capable of swarming an adversary, preventing it from threatening U.S. warships and jets. He said the Pentagon also would spend $8.1 billion on undersea warfare in fiscal 2017 and more than $40 billion in the next five years. Carter later flew to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California to get updates on new high-end weapons being developed and tested there, including precision Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles built by Lockheed Martin Corp . He said the department would spend nearly $1 billion over the next five years to buy the new missiles. The Pentagon also plans to spend about $2 billion over the next five years to buy more Raytheon Co Tomahawk missiles and upgrade their capabilities, bringing the U.S. inventory of the missiles to above 4,000, Carter said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.; David Alexander and Roberta Rampton in Washington; and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay)
By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Criminal exonerations hit a record high in 2015 due largely to district attorneys in places such as Houston, Dallas and Brooklyn, New York, setting up units to review cases where the legal system may have acted unjustly, a report released on Wednesday found.

There were 149 known exonerations in 2015, where the exonerated defendants served on average more than 14 years in prison, said the report from the National Registry of Exonerations. That topped the previous recorded high of 139 in 2014.

The issue has gained attention because of the hit Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer," which suggests authorities planted evidence against two Wisconsin men convicted of murder, an allegation rejected by local law enforcement.

"There is a coming to terms that this is a regular problem, not just something that happens once in a while and unpredictably," said Samuel Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan and editor of the registry.

"But progress so far is a drop in the bucket."

Among those exonerated, 58 had been convicted of homicide, including five people who had been sentenced to death, it said. About three-quarters of the homicide exonerations included official misconduct, it said.

Another large group involved drug possession. Many times people held in custody falsely confessed to a crime to avoid a trial where they faced much longer sentences, the report said.

Texas was the top state for exonerations, propelled by conviction integrity units set up in its most populous counties. The state known for its tough approach on crime has also been a national leader in prosecutorial reform.

"For the integrity of the system, it is the right thing to do," said Inger Chandler, head of the Harris County District Attorney's Conviction Review Section, where there were 42 exonerations in 2015.

Over the past few years, the county that includes Houston has been reviewing cases where there were convictions for felony drug possession but where lab testing, often coming after a guilty plea, showed there were no drugs.

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Texas had 54 known exonerations in 2015, followed by 17 in New York and 13 in Illinois, the report said.

There are 24 district attorney offices nationwide with offices to review convictions, with Brooklyn also among the exoneration leaders in the past several years, the study said.

"We have turned the corner in dealing with wrongful convictions. Theres a lot more to do, but its just a matter of time," the report said.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Dustin Volz and Julia Edwards

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. gun traders are setting up new websites to arrange deals after Facebook Inc barred private gun sales on its platform.

With gun rights and safety registering as a hot-button issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail after several mass shootings last year, Facebook said on Friday it would no longer allow users to arrange private gun sales via the site.

Reaction was swift among some Facebook gun trader groups, hundreds of which are based in the United States. Some of them immediately began advertising other gun-dealing websites.

In a chat room outside Facebook on the Firearms Enthusiasts Club website, users complained their gun trading groups had been deleted from Facebook and urged others to spread the word about their site.

"I just lost Cheap Guns Minnesota which had close to 18,000 members," said a user by the name of "The Guard Dog." "So PLEASE spread the word about this site to every group in EVERY state."

The administrator of the Facebook group Central Florida Gun Talk changed its name to Central Florida on Monday and directed the group's 2,055 members to another site outside Facebook set up quickly in response to the ban.

Another Facebook user posted that the gun community had "grown dependent on Facebook" and the ban "will backfire" by forcing gun traders to unmonitored sites where users share less information about themselves.

Facebook users contacted directly by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.

Monika Bickert, Facebooks head of global policy management, said in an interview that gun group administrators were notified of the new policy ahead of its enforcement.

"We have to spend a lot of time thinking through new policies," she said, noting that 80 percent of Facebook's 1.6 billion users reside outside the United States and Canada.

Bickert said Facebook will rely solely on user reports when deciding which posts, groups and accounts to delete or restrict. The company gets about a million user reports a day, she said.

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Bickert said Facebook's community operations team decides whether to remove reported content including terrorist activity, cyber-bullying and nudity, in addition to private gun sales. The team works in offices around the world and has subject matter experts fluent in dozens of languages, Bickert said.

But it is challenged sometimes by having "a very limited picture." She said, "The context in the actual post may be unclear. It may be hard to tell what they are expressing [and] we aren't seeing what they're saying offline."

The gun policy change came as Facebook pushes further into e-commerce and underscores social media firms' challenges in managing content to weed out violent extremists, criminals and other bad actors without being too restrictive of free speech.

The National Rifle Association declined to comment.

Given Facebook's and Instagram's popularity, "its really significant for them to say, 'not on our platform,' said Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for the Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety.

Licensed gun dealers are still able to advertise firearms on Facebook that lead to sales off the network.

(Additional reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jason Szep)
By Devika Krishna Kumar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped 6 percent on Wednesday, snapping a two-day rout, after investors took advantage of a weaker U.S. dollar and shrugged off data showing a unexpected large surge in U.S. crude inventories to record highs.

Comments by Russia's Foreign Minister reiterating the major producer's willingness to meet if there was consensus among the OPEC and non-OPEC members, also reignited hopes of a deal to trim output and helped to boost prices as much as 7 percent.

The dollar index (.DXY) tumbled to an over seven-week low amid growing scepticism that the Federal Reserve would be able to hike U.S. interest rates again this year and after data showed the U.S. services industry grew more slowly than expected last month. [USD/]

Brent futures (LCOc1) rose $1.95, or 5.9 percent, to $34.67 a barrel by 1:12 p.m. EST (1812 GMT), after rising as high as $34.93. U.S. crude futures (CLc1) rose $1.96, or 6.5 percent, to $31.84, after touching a high of $31.95.

"We're getting the rally in crude oil from the pounding that the dollar is taking," said Robert Yawger, senior vice president of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA.

"There is a little bit of spec activity involved in that too. The market has a tendency as of late here to draw in spec position when we trade below $30," he added.

In the last year, speculators had racked up the largest short, or bearish, position in crude oil in history and part of the current volatility in the price has come as a result of some of those positions being closed.

The markets shrugged off government data showing U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rose to record levels last week. Crude soared 7.8 million barrels higher, topping analysts' expectations for a rise of 4.8 million barrels, as imports jumped and refiners trimmed throughput. [EIA/S]

"People say 'I think the market has bottomed, there's no place else to go but up from here' - I don't agree with that premise. I think we will make new lows before we start moving up higher - there's just so much oil out there you don't know what to do with it," Sal Umek of the Energy Management Institute in New York said.

"The bears are controlling the market, the bulls are only going to go in and try to get a little bit here and there."

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Keith Wallis in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(Reuters) - Federal pipeline safety regulators on Tuesday urged operators of underground natural gas storage facilities to shore up efforts to prevent leaks like the one that has devastated a Los Angeles area community. The recommendations from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are not formal regulations, but are the agency's first step toward addressing what some view as a lack of oversight of underground gas storage fields. "This states our expectations for how a facility should be managed and operated," agency spokeswoman Artealia Gilliard said. The agency is working to propose new regulations that would address the safety of underground gas storage facilities, Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez said in a statement accompanying the so-called advisory bulletin. The bulletin, which will be published in the Federal Register, reminds storage field owners to comply with state regulations and urges them to implement best practices developed by the American Petroleum Institute. Most underground gas storage facilities are regulated at the state level, but those storing gas to be transported across state lines falls is overseen by PHMSA. The agency has never written rules for gas storage despite two decades of sporadic calls for regulation and at least two accidents. A natural gas storage well at Southern California Gas' Aliso Canyon facility sprung a leak in October, forcing thousands of residents from their homes and spewing massive amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The leak, which revealed the weak oversight of underground natural gas storage facilities, has yet to be contained. Southern California Gas is a unit of Sempra Energy. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Grant McCool)
(WASHINGTON)  A planned missile launch by North Korea would be "an unmistakable slap in the face" for those arguing against more sanctions in response to its recent nuclear test, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Tuesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel's comments appeared to be directed at China, the North only major ally. He was speaking after North Korea notified international organizations that it plans to launch an observation satellite into space between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25.

He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a U.N. ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilizing behavior.

The U.S. has been pushing for the imposition of sanctions following its Jan. 6 nuclear test. China, the North's main trading partner and source of economic assistance, has condemned that test, but is more reluctant to impose sanctions. Beijing has traditionally be concerned that putting the squeeze on its unpredictable neighbor could destabilize it.

Secretary of State John Kerry sparred with his Chinese counterpart on the issue in Beijing last week, and discussions are continuing among U.N. Security Council members on how to respond to the actions by North Korea, which already faces sanctions under multiple resolutions imposed since 2006 when the North conducted its first nuclear test.

"We share the view that there needs to be consequences to North Korea for its defiance and for its threatening behaviors. Our diplomats are in deep discussion in New York about how to tighten sanctions, how to respond to violations," Russel told reporters.

"But I would say that yet another violation by the DPRK of the U.N. Security Council resolution, coming on the heels of its nuclear test, would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling edged up on Wednesday helped by expectations of hard currency inflows from offshore investors into local Treasury debt. At 0829 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,465/3,475, slightly up from Tuesday's close of 3,470/3,480. "The market anticipates some flows into today's auction," said Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank. Traders say importers are delaying new shipments orders until after a general election on Feb. 18, further offering support to the shilling through lower demand for dollars. The central bank was scheduled to release results of a Treasury bill auction, where a total of 175 billion shillings ($50.40 million) worth of debt of all tenors was on offer, later on Wednesday. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Duncan Miriri)
LONDON (Reuters) - UK prosecutors have extradited a British company director almost a decade after he fled to South Africa to avoid a jail sentence for fraud-related offences, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Wednesday. Raymond Nevitt was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail in 2008 for masterminding a 3.5 million pound ($5 million) fraud to deceive creditors such as IBM and Barclays into financing the Ravelle Group, which sold second-hand computer parts to the PC maintenance industry. The 51-year-old, who prosecutors said led an extravagant lifestyle and owned a Ferrari and three BMWs, absconded after being convicted in a linked SFO case in 2006. He went into hiding for five years in Cape Town before being arrested by South African authorities last May, who found 28 mobile phones among his possessions. Having contested the extradition, he is now due to appear at a court in Manchester, northern England, later on Wednesday. Extradition proceedings are in the spotlight for the SFO, which is weighing its options after four Germans and one Frenchman did not heed requests to appear in a London court last month to be charged with alleged financial benchmark rigging in one of its most high-profile prosecutions. The SFO, which could request a European Arrest Warrant as a precursor to attempted extradition, has said it will announce its strategy on March 18. Some lawyers have warned that Germany, in particular, has high hurdles for such procedures. ($1 = 0.6918 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; editing by Susan Thomas)
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's economy minister abruptly tendered his resignation Wednesday citing overwhelming corruption that stifled his efforts to enact measures essential to returning growth to the cash-strapped state.

Aivaras Abromavicius's shock departure laid bare divisions within pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko's cabinet and highlighted the uphill battle the former Soviet nation faces in accepting transparent practises needed to join the EU.

"Today, I made the decision to submit my resignation from the post of minister of Ukraine's economic development and trade," the Lithuanian-born minister told a hastily-arranged press conference.

"The reason is the sharp escalation in efforts to block systemic and important reforms."

Abromavicius and US-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko were appointed in December 2014 as part of Poroshenko's efforts to bring new blood into the war-shattered country's attempts to return to growth.

His resignation was greeted with instant alarm by Ukraine's foreign investor and diplomatic communities.

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt called Abromavicius "one of the Ukrainian government's great champions of reform".

"It is important that Ukraine's leaders set aside their parochial differences, put the vested interests that have hindered the country's progress for decades squarely in the past, and press forward on vital reforms," Pyatt and eight other Western ambassadors added in a joint statement.

Concorde Capital economist Oleksandr Parashchiy called the announcement "a worrying signal for foreign investors".

The resignation comes in the midst of growing parliamentary displeasure with Poroshenko's cabinet and infighting between political interests tied to business tycoons.

- Fight over money -

Abromavicius alleged that powerful figures were "trying to establish control over financial resources -- first and foremost those of the Naftogaz (state oil and energy company) and the defence industry."

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"I refuse to work in such a system," the 40-year-old former fund manager said.

The graft-riven country of about 40 million has been one of Europe's worst economic performers since winning independence in 1991.

A January report by Transparency International showed Ukraine ranking 130th out of 168 countries and territories surveyed for its 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Abromavicius's resignation must still be approved by parliament at a hearing that may come as early as Thursday.

Poroshenko himself failed to mention Abromavicius during morning remarks devoted to the appointment of a new regional governor.

But Kiev media reports said he met Abromavicius later Wednesday in a seeming effort to change his minister's mind.

- Bitter rivalries -

Some of Kiev's more acrimonious battles have been waged between billionaires linked to Poroshenko and those of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk -- a hawkish leader who delivered passionate speeches atop barricades during Ukraine's 2014 pro-Western revolt.

The two worked closely and in seeming harmony in the heady days that followed Ukraine's break from Russia's historic embrace.

But bitter rivalries have since surfaced and Yatsenyuk's own place in the government no longer suits some of the more outspoken members of the president's team.

Mikheil Saakashvili -- a former Georgian president who fought a brief 2008 war with Russia and currently serves as governor of Ukraine's historic Odessa region -- said he spoke to Abromavicius on Tuesday and knew that something was wrong.

"Aivaras and I both work on the council of state enterprise reforms," Saakashvili wrote on Facebook.

"And I would like to confirm that all our initiatives aimed at changing the leaders of state enterprises are being blocked personally by the prime minister at the suggestion of Igor Kononenko," he claimed.

Kononenko is deputy head of Poroshenko's parliamentary faction and known in the Ukrainian media as a "grey cardinal" who implements the president's political will.

His alleged ties to the prime minister underscore the complexities of Ukraine's shaky ruling elite.

Yatsenyuk himself accused the economy minister of "running from the field of battle" and falling under the influence of those "who want to bring back the past".
Geneva (AFP) - Talks aimed at securing peace in Syria were suspended Wednesday as President Bashar al-Assad's regime secured a major battlefield victory against rebels and his ally Russia vowed no-let up in air strikes.

The United States and France condemned the Russian bombing around Syria's second city of Aleppo, with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius accusing the government and its backers of "torpedoing the peace efforts".

After failing over several days to get peace negotiations off the ground in Geneva, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura announced a suspension of the talks.

"I have indicated from the first day I won't talk for the sake of talking," he told reporters.

"I therefore have taken the decision to bring a temporary pause (until February 25). It is not the end or the failure of the talks," he added, saying "more work" was needed, including from outside powers embroiled in the complex conflict.

Backed by external powers embroiled in Syria's war, the negotiations are seeking to end a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people and fuelled the meteoric rise of the extremist Islamic State group.

But the main opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said it would not return to Geneva until its the regime alleviates the dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Syria.

The UN announcement came as Syrian troops, helped by days of Russian air sorties, cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border.

Syria's pre-war commercial capital has been divided between loyalists in the west and rebels in the east since fighting erupted in the northern city in mid-2012.

Assad's forces, aided by Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah and other militias, encircled Aleppo from the west, south and east, and have advanced from the north since last week.

- Supply route cut -

On Wednesday, the army broke a three-year rebel siege of two government-held villages and took control of parts of the supply route, a Syrian military source told AFP.

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The offensive is one of several the government has launched since Russia threw its military might behind Assad, adding to support from Iran, on September 30.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he saw no reason for the air strikes to stop until the "terrorists" are defeated.

"The regime forces have done in three days in Aleppo what they had failed to do in three years, thanks mainly to Russian support," said Rami Abdel Rahman of Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since the conflict began in March 2011, more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes, many of them heading to Europe. The UN said last month some 487,000 people were living under siege, among 4.6 million people in so-called "hard-to-reach" areas.

De Mistura's brief is to coax both sides into six months of indirect "proximity talks" envisioned under a November roadmap proposed by outside powers, but problems beset the Geneva gathering from the outset.

The HNC arrived several days late, and reluctantly, insisting on immediate steps to allow aid to get through to besieged cities, a halt to the bombardment of civilians and the release of thousands prisoners.

Riad Hijab, HNC chief coordinator, said late Wednesday the group "will not return until the humanitarian demands are met or (we) see something on the ground".

"The whole world sees who is making the negotiations fail, who is bombing civilians and starving people to death," Hijab told reporters, adding the Russian-backed advances showed the government was not genuinely interested in peace talks.

- 'Asphyxiate Aleppo' -

The US State Department said the Russian air strikes were harming attempts to secure peace.

"It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored," said State Department spokesman John Kirby.

France's Fabius in a statement condemned "the brutal offensive by the Syrian regime, with the support of Russia, to encircle and asphyxiate Aleppo".

He said France supported de Mistura's decision to halt the talks to which neither "Assad's regime nor its supporters apparently want to contribute in good faith, thereby torpedoing the peace efforts".

World leaders will take stock of the suspended Geneva talks when they gather in London on Thursday for a donor conference to help Syrians and neighbouring countries affected by the crisis.

The Syrian government delegation in Geneva, meanwhile, complained that the Saudi-backed HNC was disorganised, had not named its negotiators and contained individuals it considered "terrorists".

One such figure is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who arrived in Geneva late on Monday.

Bashar al-Jaafari, chief government negotiator, blamed the suspension on opposition "preconditions" and said de Mistura announced the break only because the HNC was about to leave.
London (AFP) - The US and France have accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of undermining talks to end Syria's civil war, which were suspended hours before donors were due to meet Thursday to raise aid for the conflict-torn country.

French French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius accused Damascus and Russia of "torpedoing the peace efforts" by launching an offensive near Aleppo, and said world powers would hold "in-depth consultations" on their actions at the conference.

The UN paused the fruitless peace negotiations on Wednesday as the Syrian government said it had cut a key supply route to Syria's second city from the Turkish border with the help of Russian air strikes.

It is one of several regime offensives since Moscow began bombing in September, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he saw no reason to stop until the "terrorists" are defeated.

The talks had been tipped as the most important push so far to end Syria's bloody five-year conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people and forced half the country's population from its homes.

But they stalled before any progress had been made, with the main opposition umbrella group saying it would not return to Geneva until the regime agreed to end bombardments and allow aid into besieged cities.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said discussions would resume on February 25, insisting this was "not the end or the failure of the talks" and calling on all players to work harder to make them a success.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Syrian government's push to grab territory as negotiations were meant to be getting underway proved the regime was not serious about the talks.

"The continued assault by Syrian regime forces -- enabled by Russian air strikes -- against opposition-held areas... have clearly signalled the intention to seek a military solution rather than enable a political one," he said.

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- 'Biggest humanitarian crisis' -

The suspension of the talks came as donors were due to gather in London with the aim of raising $9 billion in aid for Syria and to help its neighbours cope with millions of people that have taken refuge on their soil.

Ahead of the start, Britain pledged 1.2 billion (1.6 million euros, $1.74 billion) in aid, to be spent between 2016 and 2020, to address what Prime Minister David Cameron called "the world's biggest humanitarian crisis".

Some 4.6 million Syrians have fled to nearby countries -- Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt -- while hundreds of thousands have journeyed to Europe in the region's biggest migration crisis since World War II.

"With hundreds of thousands of people risking their lives crossing the Aegean or the Balkans, now is the time to take a new approach to the humanitarian disaster in Syria," Cameron said.

Aid from the conference will be targeted at helping the economies of Syria's neighbours, creating jobs for refugees and citizens of their host countries. It will also go towards food, shelter, medical care and rebuilding health facilities in Syria itself.

Organisers have already agreed that participants should at least "double" their contributions from 2015, when they raised $3.3 billion.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende said there was a "moral imperative, human imperative" to act.

"It's a lost generation if we're not successful tomorrow," he said ahead of the conference.

- Talks scuppered -

De Mistura's brief at the Geneva discussions was to coax both sides into six months of indirect "proximity talks" envisioned under a November roadmap, but problems plagued his efforts from the outset.

The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) arrived several days late -- and reluctantly -- insisting on immediate steps to allow aid to get through to besieged cities, a halt to the bombardment of civilians and the release of thousands of prisoners.

Riad Hijab, HNC chief coordinator, said late Wednesday the group "will not return until the humanitarian demands are met or (we) see something on the ground".

The Syrian government delegation in Geneva, meanwhile, complained that the Saudi-backed HNC was disorganised, had not named its negotiators and contained individuals it considered "terrorists".

One such figure is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who arrived in Geneva late on Monday.

Bashar al-Jaafari, chief government negotiator, blamed the suspension on opposition "preconditions" and said de Mistura announced the break only because the HNC was about to leave.
A summit with Southeast Asian leaders that President Barack Obama is hosting later this month is "not anti-China," a State Department official said.

The meeting will bring leaders from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Californian resort of Sunnylands on February 15-16.

"This summit is not about China. It's about the US and ASEAN," US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel said in an interview with the AP, Reuters and AFP news agencies.

"This is not about China, this is not anti-China."

The US administration has focused on bolstering ASEAN as a counterpoint to Chinese regional power.

"This is the culmination of a seven-plus-year investment the United States has made first and foremost in the Asia pacific region, but also in ASEAN in particular," Russel said.

"I think it demonstrates that the rebalance has reached cruising altitude," he added, referring to the Obama administration's focus on its "pivot" toward Asia since 2009.

Several ASEAN states are embroiled in an increasingly bitter spat with China over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

The US says it takes no position on ownership of the various reefs and islets under dispute, but insists freedom of navigation in the vital shipping lane must be maintained.

"This set of challenges in Southeast Asia, particularly the disputes over land features and maritime entitlement in South China Sea isn't a zero-sum game, this is not a proxy war between China and the United States," Russel said.

"This is a direct challenge to the question of whether the countries in the region and the claimants in the South China Sea, and particularly China... would be guided by the universal principles and the rule of law."

He insisted that Asia was "not certainly a battleground for big powers' competition."
The premium tech device brand that was once part of Sony is set to venture into the smartphone market. But rather than go with an Android-based handset, Vaio is poised to unveil a Windows 10 phone at a special event on Thursday.

Usually in the days leading up to a smartphone or tablet unveiling, the news is focused on what to expect in terms of processing speeds or trick camera features.

But the questions that this event is raising are more to do with longevity. Can Windows-powered smartphones hold on long enough in their current guise to make owning one worth it to the average consumer?

Windows Phone handset sales are falling, fast. Microsoft's latest figures show that the final quarter of 2015 amounted to just 4.5 million sales. That's better than Blackberry but way behind the 74.7 million iPhones Apple sold over the same period.



Despite good design, very good internal components and phenomenal camera capabilities, Microsoft has struggled to attract top developers and therefore the best apps to its ecosystem. There is still no standalone Gmail app for the handsets, for instance.

And unlike other types of computing devices, which are about processor speeds, multitasking and offering productivity and digital content for relaxation, smartphones are all about the apps. So trying to convince someone to take a chance on a handset that doesn't officially support Instagram or Snapchat is going to be a tough sell.

However, the tech community was equally dismissive of Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet-cum-notebook when it first launched but it is going from strength to strength and spawning a host of imitators in its wake. As a result there is belief that if Microsoft has the same amount of time to perfect its handsets, then they will also find a market.

To address the apps issue, Microsoft has simplified the development process so that a Windows 10 desktop app also works on its phones, tablets and the Xbox, but progress is slow.

Which means that for now, for consumers at least, Windows Phone handsets are a pocket PC rather than a device for accessing apps. Potentially phenomenal for productivity on the go or for setting up a work station on the fly' -- connect one to a keyboard and monitor and it becomes a Windows 10 PC -- but not for staying on top of social media updates.
Philippine lawmakers failed Wednesday to pass a crucial bill aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, igniting fears of fresh violence.

President Benigno Aquino, whose six-year term ends in June, had lobbied hard for the passage of the bill, which would have granted the nation's Muslim minority an autonomous southern homeland.

However he was unable to muster enough support in the lower house of Congress to even secure a vote by Wednesday, the final day of parliament before it adjourns ahead of national elections in May.

Failure to pass the bill means it can not be passed under Aquino, who is limited by the constitution to a single term, with no certainty over whether his successor will even pursue a peace deal.

Asked if the failure to pass the bill could spark violence, chief government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told AFP: "That's the danger, that's why we are taking steps, calling for sobriety."

The nation's largest Muslim rebel group, the 10,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), signed a peace accord with Aquino's government in 2014 to end its struggle for independence, which began in the 1970s.

Under the accord, the rebels would have only given up their arms after the law was passed creating the autonomous homeland and a regional government was elected. The vote was meant to take place alongside the May general election.

After the collapse in 2008 of the last attempt to seal a peace deal with the MILF, hardline rebels raided Christian farming villages, triggering fighting that left more than 400 people dead and 600,000 displaced.

Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said Wednesday the rebel leadership was working hard to avoid a repeat, and vowed to continue working for peace with Aquino's successor.

He told ABS-CBN television there could be a feeling of "repression" within the MILF ranks, but the leadership was countering with "massive engagement".

Story continues

"We just explain to them that here lies the problem in the peace process. We will never cease engaging in the peace process," he told ABS-CBN television.

Most political analysts say Aquino lost lawmakers' support for the autonomy bill after a police raid in MILF territory last year killed a Malaysian bomb maker on the United States' list of most-wanted "terrorists".

However the raid led to a day of intense fighting with the MILF and other rebels that left 44 police commandos dead.
Last week, after reading Kevin Drums endorsement of Hillary Clinton at Mother Jones, I wondered why a progressive would assign so little import to her hawkish foreign policy instinctsand why her rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, gets so little credit for his prescient opposition to the Iraq War, his aversion to interventionism, and the longer odds against him starting a ruinous war of choice.

Many Hillary Clinton endorsers should grapple with the same question.

There is no issue bigger than war and peace. The stakes are as high as the $6 trillion that the Iraq War cost, the 4,500 American soldiers it killed, the part it played in the rise of ISIS, and the ISIS fighters who filled the power vacuum in Libya. Going forward, Hillary Clinton wants the United States to pursue regime change in another Middle Eastern country. Bernie Sanders does not. Both their records and their plans for the future are hugely different.

Recommended: The 2016 Presidential Cheat Sheet: Rand Paul and Rick Santorum Drop Out

Yet Clinton endorsers treat these differences as if they are unimportant.

A comparison is instructive. Heres The Nations well-argued case for Bernie Sanders:

On foreign policy, Clinton is certainly seasoned, but her experience hasnt prevented her from getting things wrong. Clinton now says that her 2002 vote to authorize George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq was a mistake, but she apparently learned little from it. Clinton was a leading advocate for overthrowing Moammar El-Gadhafi in Libya, leaving behind a failed state that provides ISIS with an alternative base. She supported calls for the United States to help oust Bashar al-Assad in Syria, an approach that has added fuel to a horrific civil war. She now advocates a confrontation with Russia in Syria by calling for a no-fly zone. Her support for President Obamas nuclear agreement with Iran was marred by an explicit rejection of better relations with that country and bellicose pledges to provide Israel with more arms. If elected, Clinton will be another war president at a time when America desperately needs peace. Sanderss approach is different and better. The senator hasnt talked as much as we would like about global challenges and opportunities, and we urge him to focus more on foreign policy. But what he has said (and done) inspires confidence. An opponent of the Iraq War from the start, he criticizes the notion of regime change and the presumption that America alone must police the world. He rejects a new Cold War with Russia. He supports the nuclear-weapons agreement with Iran, and he would devote new energy to dismantling nuclear arsenals and pursuing nonproliferation. He has long been an advocate for normalizing relations with Cuba and for reviving a good-neighbor policy in the hemisphere.

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Compare that to the New York Times endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The newspaper did not ignore foreign affairs. It praised some of Clintons work as secretary of state. But it spent just two sentences on issues pertaining to her war record:

Mrs. Clinton can be more hawkish on the use of military power than Mr. Obama, as shown by her current call for a no-fly zone in Syria and her earlier support for arming and training Syrian rebels. We are not convinced that a no-fly zone is the right approach in Syria, but we have no doubt that Mrs. Clinton would use American military power effectively and with infinitely more care and wisdom than any of the leading Republican contenders.

Neither Iraq nor Libya were even mentioned. And even though its endorsement was aimed at the Democratic race, the Times only averred that Clinton would be more careful and wise than leading Republicans, but failed to draw a care and wisdom comparison with Sanders. Its hard to imagine a more conspicuous evasion of a hugely relevant contrast.

Recommended: This Is Reagan's Party

That evasion is all the more dubious given that a Clinton or Sanders administration would be severely constrained by Congress in its domestic-policy agenda yet comparatively free to act in the realm of foreign affairs. Indeed, either president would frequently have the option to act without telling the public. And Clinton takes a broad view of executive power while showing disdain for transparency.

Nonetheless, the New York Times is hardly alone in writing as if this hugely consequential realm where presidents have extraordinary power isnt worth dwelling on.

The merest gesture toward it is often treated as sufficient.

Joan Walshs endorsement of Hillary Clinton, for The Nation, spends more time analyzing an arguably condescending question the candidate got at a townhall meeting than her interventionist impulses. The lengthy pieces entire discussion of foreign policy: Im supporting Clinton, joyfully and without apologies. Thats not the same as without reservations; I continue to wonder whether shell be more hawkish on foreign policy than is advised in these dangerous times. Im concerned that shes too close to Wall Street; I really wish she hadnt given those six-figure talks to Goldman Sachs. But I genuinely believe shell make the best president.

How can an endorser wonder whether the candidate theyre supporting will initiate another dumb war, note that reservation, but say no more on the subject? Being unadvisedly hawkish in a dangerous geopolitical time doesnt sound like a minor flaw! The answer, I think, is that all of Clintons endorsers operate in a political culture where it is normal to underestimate the costs of bygone foreign-policy mistakes, to misperceive where presidents are likely to make their most consequential decisions, and to underweight the potential downsides of foreign-policy actions.

Recommended: The Impossibility of Rand Paul's Candidacy

Consider that foreign-policy isnt even mentioned in some endorsements.

In Salon, Amanda Marcotte published her reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton. Neither foreign affairs nor national-security policy are mentioned once. She praises Sanderss domestic agenda, but argues that he will never be able to get it through Congress:

The problem is that Sanders is actually in this to win it now, and that is where I get off the train. Not that I think hed be a failure as president  the job is mostly about appointing judges and filling bureaucracies with the right people, all of which Im sure he is capable of handling  but because Clinton is just better equipped for it. The presidency is an executive office. Clintons more pragmatic approach to politics means shes more suited to that work, which is about executing the existing law in ways that best get you closer to liberal goals. The job isnt about passing single-payer healthcare. Its about running the health and human services department. Sanders has failed to persuade me that he really, truly gets the difference, and so I cant, in good conscience, support nominating him over Clinton. My other concern about the Sanders campaign is that its focus on impossible goals might backfire. Effecting change is not about making really big promises and posturing about how youre more socialist than thou. Its about organizing, lobbying, working with others and, yes, compromising. Its about running for and winning offices on the local and state level.

That analysis elides the fact that acting as commander-in-chief is a rather large part of being president. And it casts Hillary Clinton as the pragmatist who is less likely to focus on impossible goals that might backfirethis despite her bet that the U.S. military could bring Iraq from regime change to democracy, the spectacular backfire of her Libya invasion, and her conviction that the U.S. can pursue a political revolution in Syria and fight ISIS simultaneously, despite Russian opposition. Shouldnt every Clinton endorser at least grapple with the plausibility of those goals and the likely consequences should her hawkishness backfire again?

Comparing their foreign-policy records, Sanders is the pragmatist, while Clinton is the only one who has repeatedly watched long-shot initiatives wreak havoc.

Of course, a neoconservative or a liberal interventionist might protest that I am wrong; that the senators who favored the Iraq War cast the right vote given what they knew; that the Libya intervention was necessary; that America should ignore Vladamir Putin and oust Bashar al-Assad while fighting ISIS; and that U.S. drone strikes kill more terrorists than they create, not vice-versa.

Those Democrats should absolutely vote for Hillary Clinton.

What confounds me is an election cycle where even liberals and progressives who are disdainful of the Iraq War, hostile to the military-industrial complex, dubious of the drone wars efficacy and morality, ideologically committed to transparent government, and allergic to neoconservatism are championing Clinton. If they did so on the grounds of electability, like Dana Milbank, Id understand their logic. What vexes me are substantive endorsements by non-hawk Clinton supporters who proceed as if war just doesnt rank very high among substantive issues.

Thats exactly backwards.

I disagree vehemently with a lot of Bernie Sanderss beliefs. Id rather have seen Rand Paul elected president. Better yet, Id love to reanimate Friedrich Hayek and stick him in the Oval Office (birth certificate be damned). But Ill vote for Sanders over Marco Rubio, or Chris Christie, or Jeb Bush, because those men are much more likely to start a dumb war of choice that costs billions and needlessly kills tens of thousands.

With that in mind, I ask Clinton endorsers (like the Times, Drum, Walsh, and Marcotte): Am I assigning too much weight to foreign policy, or are you assigning too little?

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Nate Raymond and Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co said on Wednesday it had agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle claims that it engaged in mortgage fraud, resolving a major U.S. lawsuit brought in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan in 2012 accusing Wells Fargo, the country's largest mortgage lender, of engaging in misconduct in originating and underwriting government-insured mortgages.

The lawsuit, brought by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office, was among a series of cases against banks following the financial crisis stemming from mortgages insured through a program by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Several lenders including Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and Deutsche Bank AG have resolved similar lawsuits over FHA-insured loans, paying hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.

Wells Fargo said the settlement was reached on Feb. 1 and would also resolve claims by the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (http://1.usa.gov/1JXUnNe)

The 2012 lawsuit accused Wells Fargo of engaging in a "reckless" mortgage origination and underwriting practices from 2001 to 2005.

It also said Wells Fargo had failed to report more than 6,000 loans from 2002 to 2010 that did not meet requirements for insurance under the Federal Housing Administration and failed to properly review early payment defaults.

Beyond naming Wells Fargo as a defendant, the civil lawsuit named Kurt Lofrano, a vice president at the bank accused of playing a "critical role" in not reporting the loans to government officials.

It was not clear if the settlement applied to Lofrano. But a letter filed later on Wednesday by lawyers who work with Bharara said the deal resolves "all claims in this matter."

The letter said the full agreement was still being drafted and needed to be approved by Justice Department officials. The parties plan to provide a status report to the court by Feb. 17, the letter said.

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A spokesman for Bharara declined comment.

The case is U.S. v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-07527.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian and Tom Brown)
New York (AFP) - Wells Fargo will pay $1.2 billion to settle a US lawsuit that accused it of improperly certifying loans for a federal mortgage insurance program, the bank said Wednesday.

Wells Fargo said it had reached an agreement in principle with the US Department of Justice and other US agencies on allegations the bank improperly certified Federal Housing Administration loans from 2001-2010.

The agreement resolves an October 2012 US lawsuit against Wells Fargo that charged that the bank's improper certifications meant it should not have received federal insurance proceeds when loans defaulted.

Wells Fargo said it would reduce its 2015 earnings by $134 million, or three cents per share, to $22.9 billion.

Shares of Wells Fargo fell 3.2 percent to $46.91 in morning trade.
The first congressional hearing on the Flint crisis: The House Oversight Committee will seek answers about when officials first knew that water in the Michigan city was contaminated with lead. Darnell Early, the official at the center of the scandal, has reportedly declined to testify. Separately, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is expected to propose $30 million in state funding to help Flint residents pay their water bills.

A record number of exonerations in the U.S.: The National Registry of Exonerations says 149 people were exonerated last year, an all-time high. Fifty-eight of them were exonerated in homicide cases. You can read the report here. Update: More here

Australias asylum policy ruled legal: A court rejected a challenge to the countrys practice of holding asylum-seekers at a camp on Nauru, the Pacific island nation. Immigrant-rights groups, who say the conditions on Nauru are poor, criticized the decision, which is seen as a victory for the governments tough stance on asylum-seekers. Update: More here

Obama visits a mosque: The presidents visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque is his first as president to a Muslim house of worship in the U.S.

News from last night here.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Paris (AFP) - The widow of top chef Benoit Violier reopened his acclaimed Swiss restaurant Tuesday, only two days after his apparent suicide sent shock waves through the culinary world, reports said.

Brigitte Violier, who ran the restaurant with her 44-year-old husband, reportedly gathered the staff Monday and decided the show had to go on.

"I reserved a table quite a while ago for Tuesday lunchtime," a diner at the Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville at Crissier -- hailed as the best in the world only two months ago -- told Swiss newspaper 24 Hours.

"They called me and explained that Madame Violier wanted the restaurant to keep going and asked me if I would be there to support them.

"I found that very courageous," he added.

Violier was found dead with his hunting rifle by his side at his home near Lausanne in Switzerland on Sunday. The couple have a 12-year-old son.

In the less than four years he and his wife ran the restaurant, they earned the maximum three Michelin stars and it was also named the "best restaurant in the world" by the French-based La Liste in December.

In 2013, Violier had been crowned chef of the year by the prestigious Gault & Millau guide.

- Last interview -

In his last interview -- given only four days before he died -- Violier appeared in good spirits, although he did express worry that his success would not last.

He told the French daily Liberation that stars in guides did not matter to him. "It's all about clients coming back," he said in the interview published Tuesday.

"I hope that it lasts. With 54 employees you have only three months' grace," he said, referring to the waiting list for a table. "You have always to remain concentrated.

Amid rumours that Violier's deputy Franck Giovannini would now lead the kitchen, Swiss industrialist Andre Kudelski told 24 Hours that the baton must be passed to those that the great chef trusted.

"That which was built by Benoit Violier was built to last. It is extremely important to put our trust in those that he trusted," he added.

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This is not about money, this is "a human question, about people and families", Kudelski told the daily.

Violier claimed never to have heard of La Liste -- set up by the French department of foreign affairs as a counterweight to the British-based World's 50 Best Restaurants guide -- until AFP contacted him to tell him he that was top of their ranking.

- Disdain for star system -

Such was his disdain for the star system around which the world of haute cuisine revolves, that he made little play of his victories on his restaurant's website.

"The starification of our profession has gone too far," he told Liberation.

Friends and colleagues said Violier may have been affected by the sudden death six months ago of his mentor Philippe Rochat, whom he succeeded at Crissier in 2012.

Unlike the top French chef Bernard Loiseau, who killed himself in 2003 after losing a star, Violier appeared to have no financial problems and owned his own restaurant.

Business was brisk, with former Spanish king Juan Carlos and ex-German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder among those drawn to sample his signature game and seafood dishes such as turbot with Maltese oranges.

The cook's life-long passion for hunting had led him to write a 1,000-page encyclopaedia of European game birds.

The son of winemakers from western France, he narrowly escaped death as a child when a bottle of sparkling wine blew up in his face.
By Brendan O'Brien

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Seven Muslim workers at an eastern Wisconsin manufacturer have been fired after disregarding a break policy that did not allow them to pray at the times dictated by their faith, the company said on Wednesday.

The terminated workers were among 53 Somali Muslims who walked off the job on Jan. 14 after Ariens Company, a tools and equipment maker in Brillion, Wisconsin, began requiring them to pray only during the two 10-minute breaks provided to them during the day, the company said in a statement.

The seven workers were fired for taking unscheduled breaks, while 14 others have resigned since the walkout. The 32 Muslim employees who came back to work were following the break rules, the company said. Muslims are required to pray five times a day - at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening.

"We would have liked for more of the employees to stay, however, we respect their faith, we respect the work they have done for Ariens Company and we respect their decisions," the company said.

The former employees are working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations to determine their next steps, which could include legal action against the company, said Jaylani Hussein, the organization's executive director.

"It came out of nowhere and the company did not want to listen to some suggestions and options to make the current breaks more flexible to align with the prayer schedule," he said.

Ariens, which has 1,500 employees worldwide, has set up designated prayer rooms for Muslim workers in Brillion, the company said. Brillion is about 25 miles south of Green Bay.

The company said letting the workers pray during unscheduled breaks disrupted production schedules. In certain circumstances, workers can be prohibited from praying during unscheduled breaks if it causes an "undue hardship" for the business, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Nearly 200 workers, mostly Somali immigrants, were fired from a Cargill Meat Solutions [CARGIL.UL] facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado, on Dec. 31 after staging a walkout to protest what they said were insufficient prayer accommodations.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Peter Cooney)
In June 2014, a worker at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee was surprised to find U.S. nuclear secrets inside a trash bag marked for disposal along with standard rubbish. Taking a closer look, the worker found 19 more documents in the bag that were either marked classified or were later determined to contain information that should have been labeled secret.

A dozen more bags of trash sat nearby, awaiting transport to an open landfill where Y-12 workers routinely dump garbage with no bearing on national security. When employees of Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services, Y-12, LLC, the contractor responsible for running the site at that time, poked inside two of these additional bags, they found more top-secret documents.

(They) then decided not to search any additional containers because they were, given the prior results, presumed likely to contain additional classified information, a preliminary notice of violation issued Feb. 2 by the Energy Departments enforcement arm said.

Many of the records discovered that day detailed how the departments employees and contractors worked with nuclear explosive materials, such as highly-enriched uranium, housed at the Y-12 complex. But it quickly got worse: Further investigation by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees such work, led officials to conclude that nuclear secrets had been thrown away with lax security at the Tennessee plant for more than 20 years.

In a letter dated Jan. 28, 2016, Frank Klotz, head of the NNSA, informed David J. Richardson of Charlotte, North Carolina, the president of Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services, Y-12, LLC, that the company was being cited for three violations, even though B&W was replaced as the managing contractor at Y-12 on July 1, 2014. The company had failed to appropriately label classified information, failed to protect and control classified information, and had so feebly assessed its own performance that it left national defense secrets susceptible to theft by adversaries for years, according to NNSA's notice of violation.

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The mix of violations involved actual or high potential for adverse impact on the national security, and a significant lack of attention or carelessness with the potential to harm national security, the NNSAs notice said. Jud Simmons, a spokesman for BWX Technologies, the parent company of Babcock and Wilcox's government operations unit, responded in a statement to CPI that "there was no compromise of classified information" in the incident that sparked the investigation. "While still serving as the contractor at Y-12, we implemented an effective corrective action plan that was accepted by the customer," Simmons said. "We believe that the NNSAs decision to not impose a civil penalty is appropriate."

Klotz threatened to fine Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services, Y-12, nearly a quarter-million dollars. But after negotiating with Richardson and his staff on April 9, 2015, at the companys corporate office in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Klotz forgave the $240,000 in proposed fines.

The company had suffered enough, Klotz decided. He noted in his letter to Richardson that the NNSA withheld bonus money from Babcock & Wilcox in fiscal year 2014 for numerous safeguards and security issues, including deficiencies in B&W Y-12s information security program, and said that as a result no additional fines would be imposed.

More than a year before the enforcement action, NNSA gave Babcock & Wilcox a rating of good on its annual performance review in a category including its control of classified information. That earned the company an extra $10.6 million in fiscal year 2014, 74 percent of the bonus available in that category alone. In all, for its performance at Y-12 in fiscal year 2014 B&W received $44.7 million in bonuses  78 percent of the potential rewards.

But the new violation notice makes clear that despite getting a grade of good from the NNSA, the classification division at Y-12 appeared to struggle at its job.

When the Energy Department investigated the items plucked from the trash, it determined some of the documents had never been reviewed by the staff responsible for making classification decisions. Those that had been reviewed were erratically categorized, according to the NNSAs notice of violation to Babcock & Wilcox. Some were marked at higher or lower classification levels than the information warranted. Others were designated classified when they held no sensitive information, according to the notice of violation.

The documents that genuinely did contain high-consequence secrets were vulnerable to theft throughout their journey from the nuclear site and at the disposal location for unclassified waste. And they were not destroyed beyond recognition to assure they wouldnt be recovered, as the Energy Department requires, according to the notice of violation. Since 2005, they were transported by a truck driver without clearances to an unprotected landfill; before then, it's unclear where they went, but the notice says that no special precautions were taken even then for discarding the classified material.

The driver may stop for overnight rest breaks, during which the truck may be left unattended, the notice of violation said. Devices attached to some of the waste packages to detect any tampering were not checked on arrival. So B&W Y-12 would not know whether any [tamper-indicating devices] had been tampered with or missing, the notice of violation said.

When investigators from the NNSA interviewed workers whod handled the classified records that were discovered in the trash, some said they commonly disposed of documents  including those that referenced work with nuclear materials  in the unclassified waste stream.

Some workers indicated that this process for discarding work-related paper had always been in place (i.e., for over 20 years) until discovery of the security event, the notice of violation said.

Many of the workers investigators interviewed mistakenly believed the waste was trucked off to a dump approved for disposal of classified material and guarded to prevent theft. But since 2005, the loads were taken to a landfill thats not approved for classified material.

Protection of nuclear materials and secrets at Y-12 has been under scrutiny since July 28, 2012, when an 82-year-old nun and two more peace protestors penetrated the security perimeter and advanced far enough to scrawl graffiti on a storage vault full of weapon-grade nuclear materials.

This story is part of Up in Arms. National security-related events, reports and findings that deserve more attention. Click here to read more stories in this series.

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The guard force responsible during the 2012 security breach at Y-12 had faked its way through proficiency drills by obtaining details of mock sieges in advance, according to a report by the Energy Departments Office of Inspector General.

Many of the NNSAs contractors have struggled to appropriately identify and protect classified information. The Energy Departments office of inspector general reviewed a sample of 231 documents from various sites in the nuclear weapon program in 2014. Sixty-five percent of them had been incorrectly classified, with both under-classification and over-classification prevalent, according to the inspector generals report.

The notice of violation against Babcock and Wilcox was one of five issued by the NNSA against contractors at nuclear weapon sites during the last five years. Two of these were issued last year, when NNSA accused Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia of losing control of classified information.

A Sandia scientist had widely presented nuclear weapon design secrets during public appearances between 2003 and 2011. Numerous versions of his presentation had been stored on unprotected computer networks at the lab that were easy to access by people on-site, including foreign nationals.

Los Alamos violation involved the disappearance of unspecified classified matter that was supposed to be shipped to another nuclear site in Nevada, but five years later hadnt arrived. Contractor staff at Los Alamos told investigators the item had probably been destroyed, but the NNSA regarded the explanation as implausible, and the mysterious item remains missing.

This story was co-published with the Daily Beast.

This story is part of Up in Arms. National security-related events, reports and findings that deserve more attention. 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.
Aden (AFP) - A provincial police chief in southern Yemen was among the casualties of a suicide bomb attack on his convoy in the port city of Aden late Wednesday, a security official said.

Colonel Adel al-Halemi was wounded and a number of other people killed or hurt when the assailant blew up his vehicle near the Lahj police chief's home in Aden, the official said, without giving more details on the casualties.

The attack follows a string of killings and bombings against government targets in loyalist-controlled southern Yemen, with many of the attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition have since July recaptured Aden, Lahj and three other southern provinces from Shiite Huthi rebels who seized large parts of Yemen, including Sanaa.

More than 5,800 people have been killed since the coalition launched an air and ground war against the rebels in March, according to the United Nations.
Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna has issued a notice confirming that its design lead, Stefano Pilati, is stepping down.

In a statement to the press, Zegna Group's CEO Gildo Zegna thanked Stefano for his contributions and wished him well in future endeavors.

Pilati, formerly Creative Director at Yves Saint Laurent, joined the luxury menswear label in January 2013, assuming responsibility for both its ready-to-wear and couture collections.

He cited a wish to "focus on other projects that I had put aside in order to achieve our common goals with Zegna Couture," as well as a conclusion that his own mission "had been fulfilled" as reasons behind the decision.

Earlier in the week, rumors suggested that the difference between Pilati's couture-like designs and Zegna's core customer needs may have motivated a parting of ways; a move to Parisian house Lanvin was said to be on the cards.
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Health experts are bracing for Zika virus to spread to the United States by April or May, borne by a mosquito that craves human blood, feeds during the day and lives under beds and inside closets. Until now, the best weapon against disease-carrying mosquitoes in the United States has been outdoor pesticide fog sprayed by truck and airplane. But health experts fear the typical approach will do little to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika. Controlling that mosquito requires pesticide sprayed under beds, on the walls and in closets, said Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, who studies disease transmission patterns of mosquitoes at Emory's School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Sciences. "We know fogging is not effective," Vazquez-Prokopec said. Though there could be localized U.S. outbreaks, most likely along the Gulf Coast, federal officials said they hope the wide use of air conditioning, window screens and regular garbage collection will mitigate the risk. The World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency this week after evidence linking the virus to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that can cause unusually small heads and permanent brain damage. Brazil has reported 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly. The outbreak is now affecting at least 25 countries and territories, most of them in Latin American and the Caribbean, and could infect up to 4 million people in the Americas, according to the WHO. More than 30 people in the United States have been confirmed to have Zika after traveling to an affected country. There has been one report of transmission within the United States, but experts believe that will increase as the weather warms up, the local mosquito population multiplies and many more travelers return to the country. "All it takes is one of those individuals who arrives back in the United States at the stage where they have virus in their blood," said Scott Weaver, an expert in mosquito-borne viral diseases at the University Texas Medical Branch's Galveston National Laboratory. At that point, he said, a single mosquito biting the affected person could spread the disease to others. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday the risk of transmission now is "quite low," but as temperatures rise, "we want to make sure that we have got a strategy to try to limit the spread of this disease when that happens." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a control program for Zika, which will likely involve public education about eliminating breeding sites and spraying to kill mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes, especially in areas experiencing outbreaks, said spokesman Tom Skinner. Until then, the CDC is circulating guidelines developed for combating chikungunya, a close cousin to Zika carried by the same types of mosquitoes. Local health departments are also sorting out their approach to fight Zika.. "If it's going to happen, I think it will happen in the warmer months, likely in April and May," said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Zika thrives in impoverished areas, spreading widely in garbage-filled neighborhoods and in homes and apartments with no screens on the windows, conditions that are present in many Gulf Coast communities in the United States, Hotez said. THE VECTORS The Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika also transmits dengue fever and chikungunya. Aedes aegypti is mostly found in southern parts of the United States, such as the coastal regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Experts believe it arrived on slave trade ships from Africa, spreading yellow fever in port cities, including a 1793 outbreak in Philadelphia that wiped out 10 percent of the city's population of 50,000. Unlike Aedes aegypti, most mosquitoes common to North America feed at night and live in wooded areas. Recent research suggests the pest may be adapting to colder temperatures. David Severson at the University of Notre Dame discovered a population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that has spent the past four winters underground in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood Aggressive abatement involving indoor and outdoor fogging and breeding ground eradication between 1947 and 1970 nearly wiped out Aedes aegypti. At the time, the mosquitoes were the source of yellow fever in across the Americas. But budget cuts and the development of an effective yellow fever vaccine ended eradication efforts, and Aedes aegypti populations rebounded. Scientists believe Aedes albopictus, or the Asian tiger mosquito, also is capable of spreading Zika. This aggressive biter arrived in the United States in 1985 and has replaced Aedes aegypti in some places. Its range includes at least 32 U.S. states as far north as Illinois and Pennsylvania and in pockets as far west as California. Aedes albopictus breeds in small containers of water, bites during the daytime and lives near population centers. A less picky eater, it also feasts on pets and wild animals. Researchers in Brazil are studying whether the Culex species, a carrier of the West Nile virus commonly found in many southeastern U.S. states, might carry Zika, which could explain the rapid spread in Brazil. These mosquitoes rest in the daytime and bite at dusk or after dark. PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM All of this poses a challenge for U.S. health departments, which have faced pressure to reduce mosquito abatement activities amid budget cuts and increasing concerns over exposure to pesticides. "The current methods we have have some shortcomings," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat. "We're going to need to work in future on identifying better options." Brazil's government has mounted a door-to-door campaign and has authorized public health officials to enter properties by force if necessary. Health workers search for potential breeding spots and in some areas use indoor foggers, applying pesticides that stick to walls. "That is not going to fly in the United States," said Joseph Conlon, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association, which represents researchers, public health officials and pesticide makers. There are no pesticides registered by the Environmental Protection Agency for indoor application, Conlon said. Instead, abatement will likely focus on typical breeding sites, from birdbaths to potted plants, dog bowls, tin cans, tires and other places likely to become inundated with water. "Our best bet is to remove the breeding habitats," he said. "It's a lot harder to do than you would think. People don't want to change their habits," he said. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington, Ben Klayman in Detroit, Leticia Stein in Tampa and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Girion)
Zika virus is "now spreading explosively in the Americas," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said on Thursday (Jan. 28), and 3 million to 4 million people in the Americas could be infected by the virus this year alone, according to the latest WHO estimates.

However, U.S. officials have said that the virus is likely to cause only small outbreaks in this country.

Officials' main concerns about the virus are over its possible links with two severe conditions: microcephaly, which is a birth defect that causes a baby to be born with a small head and brain and face lifelong cognitive impairments, and Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes leading to paralysis in children and adults.

To understand how the Zika virus spreads to new regions, and how researchers can tell whether a region is likely to experience large outbreaks or small ones, Live Science asked the experts what sequence of events has to happen in order for the virus to become established in a new region. Here's what they said:

How exactly do mosquitos spread the virus?

The Zika virus is spread by certain species of mosquitoes in the Aedes genus, most often the species Aedes aegypti. For local transmission to occur in a new region, for example in the United States, a female A. aegypti mosquito in the United States would have to bite a person who became infected with the Zika virus abroad, and then came to the U.S. The person would have to have active virus in his or her blood. Then, that same female mosquito would need to bite someone else, and expose that person to the virus.

Humans who are infected with Zika have sufficient amounts of the virus in their bloodstreams to infect a mosquito that bites them for anywhere from three to 12 days after they are initially infected, said Laura Harrington, a professor and chair of the entomology department at Cornell University in New York, who has studied the Aedes aegypti species of mosquitoes. [Zika Virus FAQs: Top Questions Answered]

Story continues

After that bite, it can take approximately 10 to 15 days (depending on the outside temperature) before the female mosquito can transmit the virus to the next person, Harrington said.

Slightly more than 30 cases of the virus have been reported to date in the United States, all of them considered "travel-related," said a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Americans who have contracted the virus were infected while traveling overseas, but there have been no cases of Zika virus being transmitted inside the United States to a person who has not been traveling, which would be called local transmission.

The mosquito can't immediately infect another person, because the virus typically first enters the mosquito's gut when the insect bites someone, Harrington said. From there, the virus infects the mosquito's gut tissue and a variety of other organs, taking days to make its way to the mosquito's salivary glands, from where the virus can be injected into the next host that the mosquito bites, she explained.

But once a female mosquito has the Zika virus in her salivary glands, and is capable of transmitting it to humans, the insect is able to do so for the rest of its life, Harrington told Live Science. Her research has found that such a female mosquito tends to live about 15 days.

Parts of the United States, especially the southernmost states, have A. aegypti mosquitos. This species is considered aggressive, prefers to bite people during the day, and can live both indoors and outdoors. People cannot catch the Zika virus by being around an infected person. [The 9 Deadliest Viruses on Earth]

Only two countries in the Americas  Canada and (continental) Chile  do not have the species that can spread the virus, according to the WHO.

Another unique quality of this mosquito species is that it feeds once every other day on human hosts, which is more often than other mosquito species do.

"This is really unusual and significant, because it leads to much greater potential for this mosquito to infect the people it feeds on, more so than any other mosquito," Harrington said.

A. aegypti has the ability to use human blood for both energy and egg production, and that makes this mosquito more fit, Harrington said. And a fitter mosquito means that it can live longer, breed more and infect more people with the Zika virus.

Concerns about U.S. spread

Some infectious disease experts say it's only a matter of time before the continental United States sees small outbreaks of Zika that involve local transmission of the virus on U.S. soil.

So far, the CDC has issued an interim travel advisory that currently affects 24 countries and territories where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. These locations are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Samoa, Suriname, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

But local transmission of Zika virus will probably happen in the U.S. this spring or summer, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The Gulf Coast of the United States is especially vulnerable to the spread of Zika virus as warmer weather approaches from May through September, when mosquitoes are most active, Hotez said. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

The Gulf Coast  which runs from western Florida, through the southern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas  has two Aedes species of mosquitoes known to carry the Zika virus, as does Tucson, Arizona, Hotez said.

The extreme poverty in some locations along the Gulf Coast may make individuals in this region more prone to a Zika outbreak, he said. Some residents might lack screens on their windows and doors to protect against mosquitoes, and some areas have inadequate garbage collection, meaning discarded tires and containers may become reservoirs for standing water that attract mosquitoes to breed, Hotez told Live Science.

He said his overwhelming concern with the Zika virus relates to its possible link to the cases of microcephaly showing up in some babies born to mothers in areas of Brazil, Hotez said.

The exact mechanism for how the virus may lead to this birth defect is not known. However, one plausible explanation is that the virus gets into a pregnant woman's blood after she has been bitten by an infected mosquito, is transferred to the placenta, and then invades and damages brain cells in the developing fetus, Hotez said.

The United States will continue to see an increase in cases of Zika virus that are travel-related, and some of those infected people will be pregnant women, predicted Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.

He said he also suspects the U.S. will very likely get some "bursts of localized transmission," of Zika virus, however, not widespread transmission of the infection.

"We have the Aedes species of mosquito in the U.S.," Schaffner said, and local transmission is most likely to occur in Southern states, he predicted.

But Schaffner said that it is very unlikely that Zika virus will establish itself in the same way that it has rapidly spread in South and Central America. "People in the U.S. spend more time indoors in air conditioning than people do in Central America and the Caribbean," he said. (Using air conditioning is a preventive strategy recommended by the CDC to limit mosquito exposure.)

However, tracking the virus' spread is going to be difficult because many people who become infected do not develop any symptoms, Schaffner noted. About 80 percent of people infected with Zika virus get no symptoms. And people who do develop symptoms typically have mild ones, such as fever, rash, joint and muscle pain, red eyes and headaches. These symptoms may last a few days to a week.

"It's basically a transient illness, but the two central nervous system complications  the microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome  are both serious consequences that are extremely concerning," Schaffner said.

Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
UTC head: Look for opportunities during recession

The Executive Directors presentation focused on Trinidad and Tobagos current economic climate and what it means for the consumer and organisations in their day to day operations and decision making.

The theme was titled, Challenges, Shifting Priorities & Opportunities That Will Confront Households & Firms in 2016. The impact on the economy of a continuing drop in energy prices will have a ripple effect, said Chinapoo, but organizations need to shift priorities and consumers need to recognize the myriad of opportunities that they can capitalize on during an economic downturn. Dont let a good downturn go to waste, Chinapoo said, because it forces both companies and consumers to make tough decisions. He outlined these opportunities, which included creative out of the box thinking and generation of new business ideas to deal with accelerated change and reduction of wastage. For organisations, Chinapoo stressed that this was the time to look at what opportunities will arise in a downturn. Turn a recession into an opportunity, he said, as he urged companies to take a look at their production process and new markets. Can you form backward linkage operations? Is there an opportunity for food processors to become involved in agriculture and manufacturers in the production of raw material? The economic downturn brings you back to basics, while you may not be able to control what happens with the economy, you can control your environment, stressed the Executive Director.

He referred to Jamaica who turned the downturn in sugar production into a lucrative rum producing industry.

For us at the Corporation, we launched the Calypso Macro Index Fund, with a 35 percent stake in energy companies, this was the time to buy, he said.

Referring to the phenomenon known as Dutch Disease that plagues energy-producing countries who suffer when prices fall, Chinapoo said the remedy was economic diversification. Regional economies are likely to benefit from lower energy prices as well as a strong economy. As a result, tourism is likely to improve in the region and manufacturers have to be positioned for this pick-up. Leaders, the UTC Executive Director, said must do two things in this current economic environment: Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be and retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the dif
Children watch as dad murdered, mom chopped up

The mayhem took place on Monday night in the quiet Cascade area.

Anthony Henry, 35, of Upper Cascade dodged bullets as he was attacked by two men armed with guns and cutlasses. He was chased down and when he fell, was shot numerous times as he lay on the ground. Henry lay bleeding as his wife Anika Kwanza was fighting off the same men and was being chopped.

The bloodshed, police said, began at nine oclock when Henry, a father of four, had just parked his car and was heading to his Upper Cascade home in the company with his wife and their two children. The family was later ambushed by two masked men, armed with firearms. They shot at Henry, hitting him in the head and upper body. Kwanza was grabbed and beaten with a concrete block. The men also dealt her chops about the body. All this happened while the two children screamed out for help.

Residents who heard the gunshots and the screams of the children, contacted the police. Officers responded and came across the men rummaging through items they took from their victims.

On being challenged by the officers, the bandits opened fire and ran. A shootout ensued and the men escaped by running up a hill and into nearby bushes.

Police conducted a search of the area with assistance from a National Security Helicopter. The killers remain at large.

Henry and Kwanza were rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital but the man succumbed to his wounds while en route.

Kwanza underwent emergency surgery and remains warded in critical condition.

The traumatised children are in custody of close family members.

Henry was yesterday described by friends and relatives as a quiet person.

Kwanzas mother Gloria Smith said the incident was like reliving a nightmare. Her son, Brian Smith died last November following an altercation with soldiers. The murder toll for the year now stands at 47.
51 Degrees burglar jailed

While his pleas were heard by Magistrate Cheron Raphael, he was nonetheless sentenced to two concurrent terms of six and four years hard labour because of his criminal record for larceny. Deodath Danny Ramjit, also known as Ryan Kelly, was sentenced for two previous acts of larceny, in 2013 and 2015, which also took place at the Cipriani Boulevard nightclub as well as the Town Restaurant, located in the same building. He appeared before Raphael in the 11th Magistrates Court. Ramjit was also charged with breaking into both establishments, between January 27 and 28 and stealing almost $2,000 worth of cigarettes from the nightclub and 468 bottles of alcohol, valued at $99,082, from the restaurant downstairs. Those charges were laid indictably hence he was not called upon to plead. However, Ramjit pleaded guilty to stealing a 42 inch LG flat screen television, belonging to Jenna Sharma, from the Town Restaurant, on March 19, 2013.

He also admitted to robbing the 51 Degrees Nightclub on July 27, 2015, of six bottles of Johnnie Walker Black scotch whiskey; 27 cartons of Du Maurier and assorted Dunhill cigarettes as well as an Apple Ipad 2, belonging to the clubs bar manager Sharon Roberts.

Those were the offences for which he was sentenced by Magistrate Raphael who told the repentant man he was being sentenced because of his criminal record of three prior convictions for larceny. He also has two previous convictions for possession of an apparatus.

Three times you came for breaking and entering and you are before this court again. You are not a man of previous good character and you say you want to change your life but you must deal with the consequences of your acts, Raphael said, adding that a strong message had to be sent that the breaking into business places and homes will not be tolerated. Moments earlier, Ramjit, who was unrepresented in court, said that two days ago, God had spoken to him and told him to tell the truth. When told the maximum penalty for the first larceny charge, for which he pleaded guilty, is ten years with hard labour, Ramjit said he was a family man who really wanted to change his life.

Facts relating to the offences for which Ramjit was jailed, were then read out in court. Ramjit returns to court on March 1 to answer the two most recent charges of breaking into both the 51 Degrees club and the Town Restaurant. He will also return to court on four outstanding warrants in his name.
PNM councillor to appear in court today

The incident allegedly happened on November 18, on the outskirts of San Fernando in a residential area where the women are neighbours.

Reports are that the two drove high end vehicles and on the day the councillor is alleged to have reversed from her yard and collided with her neighbours car.

An argument ensued and according to reports, an attempt was made to mark the spot where the accident took place with paint but a struggle ensued during which time the businesswoman claimed paint was thrown on her by the councillor who later twisted her arm. Persons are said to have witnessed the incident and video footage also obtained.

The matter was later reported at the San Fernando Police Station.

During investigations, it was alleged that the councillor did not have her insurance certificate in her possession at the time of the incident and was told to return with it, but never did. On December 10, the complainant went before a Justice of the Peace and obtained summons which he issued on the same day. Sgt Motilal and PC Mathura of the San Fernando Police Station investigated the matter.
GIRL, 5, IN SEX VIDEO

In the latest incident of sexual abuse against minors, police have seized a cell phone containing an explicit video of a five-year-old girl performing oral sex on the 31-yearold boyfriend of her mother. The man, a security guard, is on the run. The shocking content of the video was discovered by the childs mother on Sunday night at her Rio Claro home after the boyfriend left his cell phone unattended in a washroom.

The womans brother, who found the cell phone was attempting to play a game when he discovered the child in a sex video. Confused at first by what he saw, the shocked youth gave the phone to his sister (the five-year-old childs mother) and they both viewed the video.

The woman, sources said, screamed and collapsed as she saw her daughter performing oral sex on her boyfriend.

Newsday understands that when the hysterical woman confronted her boyfriend, he dashed out of the house and remains at large. A report was made to the Rio Claro Police Station and the cell phone handed over to officers. Officers of the Child Protection Unit were alerted and they took the five-yearold child to be examined by a doctor.

The little girl was interviewed and told police that the man, whom she called uncle, showed her how to perform oral sex on him and promises her snacks as a reward. Uncle, she told investigators, warned her that she would be punished severely if she told anyone about what she had done. It remained unclear how many times the child was abused by the predator.

The childs mother and the man began dating a few months ago and the suspect began visiting the womans home thereafter. He began sleeping over sometimes and was said to have developed a close relationship with the five-year-old.

Police sources revealed the woman trusted her boyfriend enough to leave him unattended with the child as she ran errands. The woman told police she did not have a home address for the man, saying only that he lived somewhere down south. The two met while on the job, as security guards.

On Monday, the woman and her daughter began receiving counselling and officers of the Victim and Witness support Unit are to continue speaking with the two. Yesterday, police from Eastern Division began the search for the suspect. They are also working closely with officers of the Cyber Crime Unit and TSTT to assist them in getting an address for the suspect.

GIRL FEARS UNCLE Newsday understands that the little girl appeared confused over the entire situation and began crying saying she is afraid her uncle would be angry with her if she told of what they were doing. She has not attended school this week and is being closely monitored by her mother.

Yesterday, officers of Eastern Division said they are treating the incident with the highest priority and intend to arrest the suspect, whom they described as a sexual predator. Sources called on parents to pay particular attention with their children and not to trust boyfriends or stepfathers with minors.

They added that the era of calling family friends and visitors, uncle and aunty, must come to an end as innocent, naive children automatically view these persons as friends of mommy and daddy and a person whom they can trust.

Last Friday, a 55-year-old grandmother was charged with three counts of serious indecency against her seven-year-old grandson. The woman has been placed on $70,000 bail after appearing in court on Monday. Police and officials from the Child Protection Unit are also investigating the alleged sexual abuse of a one-year-old child in Biche.

They are are also investigating an incident in which a 15-year-old girl, via a video, stated she had been in a sexual relationship with her father and later, her uncle. The teen is pregnant and expected to give birth at any time. Her whereabouts and that of her uncle remain unknown.

The man has professed his love for his niece and said he is not afraid of the police or being arrested.
Glenda goes after gangs

For the year, 47 murders have been committed.

Rowley said one of the main functions of newly-appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Glenda Jennings- Smith - a former assistant commissioner of police - will be to implement anti-gang legislation.

Her job would be to make full use of the anti-gang legislation to ensure....that that piece of legislation is used to protect us from those who would overthrow our communities, Rowley said, hours after Jennings-Smiths appointment was announced.

He was speaking at a function held at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) headquarters at South Quay, Port-of-Spain.

The Anti-Gang Act was passed in 2011 outlawing gang activity. While it was passed with the support of both sides of the House of Representatives, criticism arose when the legislation was implemented during a state of emergency that year. At one stage, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC, appeared in court to discontinue a series of charges brought under the legislation citing a lack of evidence.

Rowley also said Jennings- Smith will be in charge of a series of social initiatives and made a plea to each citizen to take a young person under their wings. Wherever you are, mentor one boy, mentor one girl, Rowley said.

We will put the programmes in place where you will be able to participate.

The intention is to eradicate and to suppress the general destructive behaviour of criminal conduct in Trinidad and Tobago. The Prime Minister said there will be a number of outreach programmes involving the participation of the Coast Guard, Police, and the general community in order to direct people away from a life of crime.

The Government will begin to re-invest in the youth camp programme, and to expand the mentorship programme, he said. Rowley assured the State will deploy all of the resources at its disposal to see persons face justice in court.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to providing all the resources available to root out persons who have taken the position that they can commit those (criminal) acts, the Prime Minister said. It is a great pity that in this time of shortage we have to divert our resources to treat with national security. But, he added, this was necessary as, If you do not have personal safety nothing else matters. Of the recent addition of Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses to the Security Ministry, Rowley said the Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security would function in relation to, work permits, immigration issues, and treating with our foreign contacts.

This, he said, would free the Ministry of National Security to deal with operation and response
Tranquillity schoolboy, 15, missing

He is a Form Two pupil of Tranquillity Government Secondary School. Pierre is slim build, 6-feet tall, of African origin, with a short hairstyle. He was last seen wearing a navy blue fishermans hat, grey T-shirt, black three-quarter pants, black shoes, and holding a Jansport book bag. Anyone with information on the missing schoolboy Curtis Pierre is asked to contact the police at 555, 999, 911 or any police station. .
498 Arcelor Mittal workers face axe

Ramkumar Narinesingh, Second Vice-President of the SWU, said layoff notices were being distributed to the workers at the gate of the plant as they left and as other workers arrived for their shift. He anticipated that by today all the affected workers would have been notified.

According to the union, the company sent a letter requesting a meeting last Friday but the union responded with a proposal that the meeting take place this Friday instead. However, the company reportedly said if the meeting did not take place by noon yesterday it would begin the lay-offs. The union said that at 12:15 pm it received the notice of impending lay-off of the workers with a list of names attached. The union says it will consult with its legal representative regarding its next course of action.

Narinesingh said a matter in which the union took the company to the Industrial Court alleging that Arcelor Mittal had committed an Industrial Relations Offence in a previous lay-off was still before the court and the courts instructions were that the status quo should remain the same until the matter is determined
Vendors feel disrespected

Vendor Marissa Francis said vending was the only thing she knew. I vending my whole life.

This business passed down from my mother to me. In 2006, when the government organised for vendors to sign up for the programme to sell on Charlotte street, the real vendors of Charlotte Street did not know anything. It was vendors from all over the place went to register when we, the real vendors, didnt know anything. We had to go up to the city corporation because it was a big issue at the time until they get all the vendors into their respectable places.

I come from the days when police used to kick down your goods, locking you up, sometimes you spend two days in the police station and you cant even see a magistrate like you do a big crime, them is the days of vending I from. Until Mr Tim Kee came and blatantly disrespected us by putting it in the papers that we have to move. He didnt come to us or send a paper to the vendors in black and white saying this is how it will go down, Francis said.

She said the vendors were told they posed an obstruction if there there was a fire on Charlotte Street, as the fire appliances would not be able to navigate the street properly because of confined space.

That is a fib because a couple of years ago Nahous building burn down on Charlotte Street and the vendors didnt ply their trade for two weeks because the fire was continuously relighting.

We gave them two weeks to put out the fire and they never deducted anything from our rent. We pay them their $1,200 or $600 a month as the case may be, we paid the rent, she insisted.

Francis claimed during a meeting, Tim Kee said during a recession, business owners burned down their buildings. What it is a business owner burning down his building have to do with us the vendors? It has nothing to do with us. For all the poor people who dip their finger in ink to vote for the PNM, all we getting is blatant disrespect.

I find they could deal with us in a better way, we is not no dog in nobody back yard, she said. President of the Charlotte Street vendors, Junior Lewis was expected to deliver a letter to Rowley today highlighting the vendors grievances
Repairs soon to caved-in road near Childrens Hospital

In an emailed statement from the Urban Development Company of TT, (Udecott), the special purposes state agency responsible for overseeing works at the hospital, noted that the slippage was as a result of excavation works (digging) for a retention pond near to the slope. A decision was made to defer those repairs to the dry season, as dry conditions are best suited for such works, Udecott stated, adding repair works are to commence shortly. Former Prime Minister and Siparia MP, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, under whose administration the still in operational hospital was constructed, expressed the hope that the PNM administration would not use the collapsed road as further excuse for not opening the hospital.

There was some excavation works taking place which caused the collapsed of that road. I hope the government does not continue to neglect that site, the hospital which is totally complete, Persad-Bissessar told reporter during annual Carnival celebrations at Bhupsingh Childrens Play Park at Derrick Street, Penal yesterday.

It is a fully equipped, state of the art hospital and I trust that a few meters of this road that is caved, does not give the government further excuse for delaying the opening of that hospital, she said, adding, It is not as it appears to be when the reports first came that something that it was done under the Partnership. Two things have happened, five months have gone and the government has not taken full possession of the site, has not taken the maintenance of the site and I am very concerned that things will start happening like what happened with the HDC houses where they were unoccupied, people went in and we have banditry and so on taking place, she said.
Fire victims plead for help

On Monday afternoon, a fire of unknown origin which claimed the life of pensioner Michael Lochan, 80, completely destroyed the two-storey house at Southern Main Road, La Romaine which she shared with her husband Hilman Ben-Shaul Burke, 50, and their five children.

The room for the couples unborn daughter was already prepared with crib, playpen and baby clothes and Thomass suitcase was packed and ready for the hospital, the traumatised woman told Newsday yesterday. Also destroyed was the family-run business on the premises Little Bs Mini Mart , an upholstery shop currently undergoing some changes and a Mercedes Benz valued at $150,000. Total losses have been estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At present, the pregnant woman and her family are temporarily housed at the La Romaine Community Centre, Lucky Street, La Romaine and being looked after by village council members Pearl Mitchell and Elizabeth Scipio.

The Penal/Debe Regional Corporation has donated mattresses for the family. We have been left with just the clothes on our backs and barefeet, a still shaking Thomas told Newsday yesterday. Two of the children were in school when the fire started  she and the other were at home asleep.

She continued: I always watch the news and see these things happening to other people and always say if it should happen to me, you grabbing this, you grabbing that and I couldnt.

It just didnt work. Thomas said she was asleep and it all seemed a dream until she woke up and realised she couldnt breathe. The Tobago woman said she came from Tobago nine years ago for a better life but the road has not been easy.

I was down this road already and here I am today having to start all over again. Her children Shaul, 11, Gabriel, nine, Nathaniel, seven, Aliyah, five, are all students of the La Roamine Government Primary School  they lost their uniforms and books in the blaze. Her other daughter is three-year-old Soriyah.

Burke, who is the head of the Hebrew Israelites community in Trinidad said he and his family need the help to re-start their lives.
Chief Photographers sister dies

Ena started her career at the Trinidad Guardian working under then chief photographer Rudy Taylor and became one of the first female media photographers.

Over the years, she distinguished herself and won several photographic media awards.

She also freelanced at the Trinidad Express and eventually joined her mentor Therese Mills (now deceased), former Chief Executive Officer and Editor in Chief of Newsday.

The Newsday family takes this opportunity to express heartfelt condolences to the Jadoo family on the passing of Ena.
Family values slipping away

Berkley was yesterday addressing both primary and secondary school students at the Candlemas service held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Abercromby Street, Portof- Spain.

He said since the family unit cannot control and hold it together, the church has to play an important role in trying to keep the family unit stable, and also try to keep citizens informed, trained and responsible.

Since the family seems not to be able to hold it together, since the schools receive from the home and the home is not holding it together, the church has to do its bid to try to bring balance.

Where in the past there were many things the church took for granted, because it received almost what you might call a finished product from the home and schools, he continued, but now there are some deficiencies, some dysfunctional activities, and other challenges, and so the church has to do more to try to keep the family unit stable and try to keep citizens informed, trained and responsible. Therefore, when the family is unstable, it puts a strain on the training.

Those who can afford it will have an assistance to help them with their families, and what we have is a sort of breakdown of those values which kept families together, he said.

Bishop Berkley also emphasised that the church plays an important role in family lives.

He explained that while you have parents trying to instil training, manners, respect, the school re-enforces it, and with the church involvement, it will be able to hold it together.

The Church is seeing what is happening in society, having persons coming to us, having various challenges with good communication and good relationships and community living, it is our duty to hold it together as a church,he emphasised.
DT calls for Clico disclosure

In a statement, DT described itself as an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation incorporated in this country, committed to advancing transparency on all matters of public interest.

DT recalled that on August 10, 2015, then Finance Minister Larry Howai appealed a court ruling that was made on July 22, 2015 in favour of Afra Raymond, which required him to publish the details relating to the CL Financial bailout which had been requested by Raymond under the Freedom of Information Act. The group said the 2009 collapse and subequent State bailout of the CL Financial group represented the most widespread Caribbean episode of improper financial conduct leading up to colossal losses.

Since then, DT noted the change in Government on September 7, 2015.

Saying the population needs greater transparency on the CL Financial bailout, DT called on Finance Minister Colm Imbert to act in the public interest and comply with the courts ruling.

DT said one of the things which Imbert should provide is an update on the status of the Commission of Inquiry into CL Financial and the Hindu Credit Union (HCU).
Caroni Swamp, is important

The Minister made this observation in a message to commemorate World Wetlands Day which is celebrated internationally yesterday. The resources of the Caroni Swamp are important to a number of stakeholders including neighbouring rural communities who utilize the wetlands diverse resources to provide opportunities for job creation and income generation through hunting; commercial and subsistence fishing; recreation and ecotourism; and education and scientific pursuits, she said.

As this countrys second largest wetland and the largest mangrove swamp, Robinson-Regis said the Caroni Swamp has a rich diversity of flora and fauna and is an important nursery for marine and freshwater fish species.

Some 190 species of birds (20 of which are endangered species) have been reported in Caroni Swamp. The swamp also supports 10 species of reptile, 60 species of crustacean and marine animals, 30 species of mammals and 70 species of plants.

This wetland is also an important habitat for a number of the countrys endangered species including our national bird the Scarlet Ibis, Silky Anteater, Crab- eating Raccoon or Mangrove Dog and the Cascabel Dormillon or Cooks Tree Boa. Robinson- Regis observed that the Caroni Swamp, Nariva Swamp and the Buccoo Reef Bon Accord Lagoon Complex are all identified as Ramasar sites. The adoption of the Convention on Wetlands took place on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in the Caribbean and the most varied plant and animal diversity of TTs wetlands. Nariva is an important habitat to resident and migratory waterfowl and the only remaining wetland site in the country with populations of the anaconda, the West Indian Manatee, the white-fronted capuchin and the reintroduced blue and yellow macaw. The Swamp also supports one of only two communities in Trinidad of the Moriche Palm. The Buccoo Reef and Bon Accord Lagoon Complex are the best example of contiguous coral reef, seagrass beds and mangrove swamp in Tobago. It consists of a large shallow reef lagoon bordered by the Bon Accord Lagoon and mangrove swamp landward and an arc of five reef flats.
Jennings-Smith sworn in

Dillon was speaking to reporters at the Office of the President in St Anns yesterday, following President Anthony Carmonas appointment of former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), now Toco/ Sangre Grande MP, Glenda Jennings-Smith as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security. Jennings- Smith said she would be meeting with Dillon this morning to discuss her duties and that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has already elucidated certain things that are in store for me. Last week Wednesday, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, was appointed a Minister in the ministry by Carmona, acting on Rowleys advice.

The same advice led to Jennings-Smiths appointment yesterday.

Dillon, in a statement issued on January 29, identified migration, border security, immigration and transnational organised crime, particularly with respect to counter terrorism and human trafficking, as some of Moses new responsibilities.

In the case of Jennings- Smith, she has had extensive training in the policing and social impact of the gang culture and police outreach programmes, which she will use to assist (Dillon) in these and similar programmes and the overall outreach activities of the uniformed services, the ministry stated.

Newsday yesterday asked if the specific skill sets and experience of Moses and Jennings- Smith would see them speaking about issues of national security related to their fields.

Dillon said no, explaining that Government is taking a collective approach in treating with issues of national security. (Moses) is not just going to be talking about international affairs and so on. The entire security apparatus is going to speaking. You will see, based on the collective experience thats brought to bear by each of us, theres a strong team that will be working in terms of shaping the security environment of TT, the National Security Minister stated.

Earlier during the appointment ceremony, PM Rowley said he was pleased to report that human resource needs at the top of the structure of Governments response to crime is now in place. Rowley explained that with Moses and Jennings- Smith now on location in the Ministry of National Security, the support they will provide to Dillon will allow the minister to focus on the imperative of putting in place the structure for information-gathering, the management structure, the audits of the various units, as well as to deploy them, and to work with the management of the Coast Guard, the Defence Force, the Police and the general public.
Ministry must get act together

But a deaf support NGO says the Education Ministry must improve the services for the deaf students.

Two Form Four students, Dominique Lovell and Karisha Samaroo, had been without their interpreter since November last year, and were attending classes without being able to understand what was happening in their classes.

The plight of the students was brought to the attention of Newsday by deaf support NGO We Care Deaf Support Network (DSN). Yesterday We Care DSN reported that the interpreter had resumed duties on Monday.

Dominiques mother Ann Marie Lovell told Newsday that was she happy that her daughter and Karisha could now understand what was being taught in their classes. I am very, very happy.

I know that now things will start to happen, she said.

Lovell said the interpreter will try to assist the students with the backlog of teaching that they had lost.

Back in 2012 when her daughter entered the school they did not have the promised interpreters and the situation was only rectified after the situation was taken to the media.

The following year three Deaf form three students  Moesha McIntosh, Sarah Bissessar and Kezia Anderson  remained at home for weeks after their interpreter quit and until a new one was hired. We Care DSN President Qushiba La Fleur, speaking during a telephone interview yesterday, said that with deaf education on a whole the (Education) Ministry does not understand how important sign language interpreters, and special education teachers are for the children.

I think Student Support Services need to get their act together, she added.
What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames

news
Ash Carter, the Pentagon chief, said the US has ambitious plans for military spending on sophisticated weaponry for fiscal year 2017. These were partly designed with China in mind.

Were making all these investments that you see in our defense budget that are specifically oriented towards checking the development of the Chinese military, Carter said.

To stave off Chinas increasing military power, including its ship killing missiles and electronic warfare, the $582.7 billion defense budget request calls for major spending on cyber security, more firepower for submarines, new robotic boats and underwater vessels as well as new missile interceptors to be installed on American warships.

In his speech, Carter said both Russia and China were developing weapons and ways of war that seek to achieve their objectives rapidly, before  they hope  we can respond. The military spending was aimed at placing a higher priority on the threats posed by both powers, he said.

$71.4 billion will be spent on military research and development in 2017.

The Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) is doing a lot of the weapons research.

First is a project focused on advanced navigation. What the SCOs doing is taking the same kinds of micro-cameras, sensors, MEMS [microelectromechanical systems], and so forth that are littered throughout our smartphones and everything today, and putting them on our small diameter bombs to augment the existing target capabilities on the SDB. This will eventually be a modular kit that will work with many other payloads, enabling off network targeting through commercial components, small enough to hold in your hand like your phone, and cheap enough to own like your phone.

Another project uses swarming autonomous vehicles in all sorts of ways and in multiple domains. In the air, they develop micro-drones that are really fast, really resistant. They can fly through heavy winds and be kicked out the back of a fighter jet moving at Mach 0.9, like they did during an operational exercise in Alaska last year, or they can be thrown into the air by a soldier in the middle of the Iraqi desert. And for the water, theyve developed self-driving boats which can network together to do all kinds of missions, from fleet defense to close-in surveillance, without putting sailors at risk. Each one of these leverages the wider world of technology. For example, the microdrones use a lot of commercial components and are actually 3-D printed and the boats build on some of the same artificial intelligence algorithms that long-ago and in a much more primitive form were on the Mars lander.

There is a project for gun-based missile defense, where were taking some of the same hypervelocity smart projectiles that we developed for the electromagnetic gun. Thats the railgun. And using it for point defense. By firing it with artillery, we already have in our inventory, including the five-inch guns on the front of every Navy destroyer and also the hundreds of Army Paladin self-propelled howitzers. In this way, instead of spending more money on more expensive interceptors or on new platforms, we can turn past offense into future defense  defeating incoming missile raids at a much lower cost per round and thereby imposing higher costs on an attacker. In fact, we tested the first shots of the hypervelocity projectile out of a Paladin a little over a month ago, and we also found that it significantly increases the Paladins range.

And the last project I want to highlight is one that were calling the arsenal plane, which takes one of our oldest aircraft platform and turns it into a flying launchpad for all sorts of different conventional payloads. In practice, the arsenal plane will function as a very large airborne magazine, network to fifth generation aircraft that act as forward sensor and targeting nodes, essentially combining different systems already in our inventory to create holy new capabilities.

The defense budget invests over $8.1 billion in 2017 and more than $40 billion over the next five years to give us the most lethal undersea and any submarine force in the world. It buys more advanced maritime control aircraft. And it not only buys nine of our most advanced Virginia-class attack submarines over the next five years; it also equips more of them with the versatile Virginia Payload Module, which triples each submarine platforms strike capacity from 12 Tomahawk missiles to 40.

The US is investing more in cyber, totaling nearly $7 billion in 2017, and almost $35 billion over the next five years. Among other things, this will help to further DODs network defenses, which is critical; build more training ranges for our cyber warriors; and also develop cyber tools and infrastructure needed to provide offensive cyber options.
The US Navy (USN) is assessing how best to recapitalise its fleet of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers (CGs) and eventually Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), the naval staffs surface warfare head told IHS Janes on 7 January that he is seeking modular weapons and radar systems to provide long-range offensive punch, as well as multilayered defensive capability.

Rear Admiral Peter J Fanta, director of surface warfare (N96), said that the USNs future surface combatant effort must glean lessons from ongoing warship programmes, and build upon new concepts and technologies being introduced on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) destroyer.

The US Navy is preparing to build Flight III destroyers, the latest version of the Arleigh Burke class that has been under construction since the 1980s, and just began at-sea tests of the first of the Zumwalt class stealth destroyer, a design conceived in the late 1990s. The US Navy is also planning for next generation surface warship designs, dubbed the Future Surface Combatant, currently scheduled to begin procurement in 2030.

Open Architecture and Modularity defined

Open architecture (as defined by Admiral Fanta) means the Navy owns the data rights and can hire somebody to go build a new system using those data rights. They know the interface points, they know how those machines talk to each other. They say This is your spec, go write these specs or go write this software into your code so it plugs into mine and they dont have to spend a billion dollars changing your code every time they want to upgrade the ship.

Modularity (as defined by Admiral Fanta) means not necessarily plug-and-play modules but being able to upgrade when technology allows me to upgrade at a reasonable rate. They can describe the next set of weapons, sensors, engineering components, hull designs that all allow them to go build that next ship. Thats more what they are going for than a particular hull design. They are looking for a family of ships that can do more than one thing, because every time they build a single-mission ship it tends to get decommissioned before its life expectancy. Thats really what this capabilities-based assessment and analysis of alternatives and everything else the Navy doing is driving us to.

Fanta wants an air defense commander ship with a radar capable of handling threats with enough missile capacity  and what those missiles are will be developed over the next 10-15 years, it doesnt have to be the current ones  to allow me to defend the sea base, whether thats with a carrier or an expeditionary strike group or group of oilers or whatever. To defend the sea base and conduct counter-ballistic missile, anti-shoot cruise missile and provide an offensive strike for that carrier or by itself. But everything in that sentence is completely within the capability of a slightly larger DDG 51, or destroyer-cruiser-size hull.

Its the number of cells, the number of weapons. Not just hard-kill systems but also directed-energy weapons, whatever is coming down the road. Whether thats lasers, particle beams, rail guns, whatever comes down the road 15 to 20 years from now is really what were going to have to satisfy. That means a power system that can handle it. It will have to be a hard kill, soft kill, directed-energy plus kinetic weapons blend. Enough power so when the power density gets there I can have directed energy for defensive purposes as well as the offensive long-range punch theyll probably get off kinetics. As well as enough reserve power to handle jamming and electromagnetic warfare and everything else they do.

Fanta is not designing something that looks like a ship. He is designing something that looks like a box in the water and he is adding capability. Frankly whatever the naval and architects tell me that that hull shape should look like is what he is willing to go with. He is not stuck to a particular hull shape or tumblehome or traditional hull, square, round, fat, thin. He wants to know what its supposed to do, how much it should carry and what capabilities should it have in there. And then the naval architects will design around it.

Fanta wants a family of surface-to-surface missiles. He want them on everything he can bolt them onto. He wants a missile that goes over 100 miles a missile that goes over 200 miles, a missile that goes over 400 miles, a missile that goes over 700 miles. Thats his ultimate goal. They can be dual-purpose missiles, can attack surface targets and land targets.

SOURCES  Janes, Defense News
If someone were to be asked about self-driving cars 20 years ago, they probably wouldnt be able to say much. Now, these cars are the prime example of what kind of cars are seen today. While self-driving cars are convenient, they arent the safest to use. Big car companies, such as Tesla and
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Norfolk has grown, but some of the needs and wants havent kept up with the growth. A proposed half-percent sales tax would get the city caught up with many of those needs and wants with safety, streets, sports and recreation.
Swedish authorities are seriously considering threats against Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom after an Israeli journalist wished her death following her criticism when she called for investigations in Israels killing of Palestinians, reports say.

There are security people looking at this issue and we have no more comment than that, Kristian Brangenfeldt, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Minister said.

Last week Israeli journalist Zvi Zameret wrote in the Hebrew language paper Makor Rishon that he wished Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom would have the same fate as former Swedish UN diplomat Count Folke Bernadotte murdered in Israel in 1948 by an Israeli militia.

Bernadotte was sent by the UN Security Council to mediate Israel-Palestine conflict in 1948. He angered Israelis when he recommended the withdrawal of Israeli forces and return of Palestinian refugees. He was later killed in Jerusalem in September 1948.

Foreign Minister Wallstrom last month irked Israel after she accused Jerusalem of frequent and mass killings of Palestinians and called for an independent probe into the killings to hold those responsible accountable.

It is vital that there are thorough, credible investigations into these deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability, Wallstrom had said.

Israel reacted angrily, condemning Wallstrom for her comments deemed outrageous, immoral and stupid. The Israeli Foreign Ministry manned by Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that it would ban Wallstrom and her deputy from travelling to Israel.
Egypt and Russia have signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding meant to boost trade and industrial cooperation between the two countries.

The accords were signed at the end of the tenth Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission session on trade, economic and scientific cooperation held in Cairo.

Some of the major agreements provide for the establishment of Russian industrial zone as part of the Suez Canal development project, the supply of up to 10 airplanes by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft to Egyptian private carrier Leisure Airlines, and the setting up of factories for construction materials and air conditioners.

An Egyptian source said the possibility of establishing a joint venture along with a third company that would see Egyptian Leisure acquire a total of 45 Sukhoi SSJ-100s over three years to transport Russian tourists to Egypt is also being considered.

Agreement was also reached to develop investment cooperation with the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the joint Russian-Egyptian-UAE Fund with the aim of funding Russian projects in Egypt.

Russian Minister of Trade who led his countrys delegation to the joint commission works said Russia will also assist in the construction of Egypts first nuclear power plant in Dabaa. Russias assistance could begin as early as 2018, he said.
An Algerian court on Tuesday handed prison sentences to six people, ranging from 18 month suspended sentence to 6 years in prison plus fines, in a corruption case involving the countrys state-run oil firm Sonatrach.

Seven defendants were acquitted while four companies, including Italys Saipem and the German Funkwerk, were also sentenced to fines ranging from 34,000 to 42,500. The two foreign firms were implicated in the case for allegedly having secured contracts fraudulently from Sonatrach executives.

The defendants in the so-called Sonatrach 1 case included the president of the board of the Algerian-German group, Al Reda Ismail Mohamed Jaafar, who was given a 6-year imprisonment sentence, the companys vice president, Belkacem Bourmediene, who was handed five-year jail term, and former Sonatrach CEO Mohamed Meziane, who received a five-year suspended sentence and a 17,000 fine.

Mohamed Mezianes son, Reda Meziane, was sentenced to 6 years in prison. His Paris apartment was confiscated and his bank accounts seized for money laundering. His brother, Bachir Fawzi Meziane, was handed a 5-year sentence term.

Another vice-president of the group, Benamar Zenasni, was acquitted after he spent six years in detention.

The defendants were tried for corruption, squandering of public funds, money laundering, influence peddling, illegal awarding of contracts and hiking of contracts prices.

Sonatrach is the largest oil and gas company in Algeria, an OPEC member which is the second-largest supplier of gas to Europe after Russia. The North African Nation relies heavily on its oil and gas sales, which account for 95 percent of exports and 60 percent of the state budget.

Press reports have said bribes worth $5 billion were paid in 2006 during the construction of a 1,200-kilometer east-west highway which runs through northern Algeria.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika considered the highway one of his flagship projects but the press has branded it the scandal of the century.

Sonatrach is under investigation in the context of another trial, involving among others former Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, who is close to President Bouteflika.
Moroccan security authorities Tuesday succeeded in disrupting plans of seven extremists to join IS in Libya.

The seven alleged militants, from Marrakech, Laayoune and Boujdour, were arrested as they were attempting to go to Libya through the Moroccan-Mauritanian border.

According to a statement released by the Interior Ministry, the alleged terrorists were trying to cross to Libya with the help of members of the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed separatist group fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. The Polisario members are known for their activities in trafficking and organized crime, the statement said, adding that the suspects had initially planned to join ISIS ranks in Syria and Iraq before they changed their mind and set course to Libya.

The arrested people were planning to get arms and carry out ISIS style terrorist acts, the statement said.

Moroccos Interior Ministry revealed last month that it had arrested three IS agents having connections with Moroccans fighting in the ranks of the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.

The suspects were planning to carry out attacks with bladed weapons and robberies to get funds to finance their trip to Isis camps.

Morocco came under the spotlight few days prior to the arrest of the three agents after its security forces netted a Belgian fugitive of Moroccan origin linked to the Paris terror massacre of last November.

Morocco has become a leading country in the fight against terrorism and extreme violence. Its newly formed Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, dubbed Moroccos FBI, succeeded in foiling several terrorist attacks and proceeded to the dismantling of several terror cells.

Morocco is praised worldwide for its counter extremism strategies based on a global approach including prevention, anticipation, education, rehabilitation, eradication of terrorism roots and international cooperation.
News, notes, and observations from the James River Valley in northern South Dakota with special attention to reviewing the performance of the media--old and new. E-Mail to MinneKota@gmail.com
Confira o preco do seguro para o Chevrolet Onix

Saiba quando voce gastaria com o seguro do carro mais vendido do Brasil
The familiar emergency alert system, the one where we in the U.S. occasionally hear a radio or television broadcast interruption that...
Every Thursday night, HGTV's Selling New York rides along with boutique brokerages CORE, Gumley Haft Kleier and Warburg as they try to sell fabulous properties fabulously. Here, our recap of how the NYC real estate industry is portrayed to the world, penned by Molly Reisner.

Selling New York isn't just about showing us paupers what palazzos are up for sale in our fair city. It's also about the self-fulfillment of people with gobs of assets! This week we met a handsomely rich bachelor looking to expand from his Greenwich Village playboypen to a townhouse a bit to the west. Why? He wants to be ready for "the next level" in his life...even though he never even admits to having a girlfriend. Over in Unfairytale #2, a hard-working broker does his golly-dangest to help a seemingly straightforward client flip her fancy Upper East Side condo for a profit AND get her a new apartment she can renovate and flip. Paging 2006. 2006, do you read?

If last night's episode were a cocktail, its ingredients would include:

-2 shots Big, Vague Dreams

-3 tbsp Ambivalence

-1 oz Safe Flirtation

-2 dashes Crushed Commission

-1 splash Mini Disco Ball (will make sense later, promise)

-garnish with slice of Fantasy Wife (see above)

Serve with bitters and a smile! Grab something tastier (mmm, gimlet anyone?) and let's recap-ture some of last night's momentous moments!

CRISIS #1: BACHELOR NEEDS WEST VILLAGE BUNK FOR IMAGINARY CHILDREN!

Tonight we're headed to the haute Pierre Hotel with the Kleier clan: matriarch Michele, and her two wheelin' and dealin' Executive VP daughters, Samantha and Sabrina. Pourquoi? There's a Humane Society benefit going on to raise awareness of the very inhumane practice of puppy mills. Down with the mills! Clad in LBDs (that's Little Black Dresses) showing off their tanned decolletage, the ladies meet n' greet with Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society prez and superhero to animals everywhere:

After enough charity chit-chat, Sam mentions "everywhere you go there's a potential client!" And wouldn't you know, the gals spy a good friend of theirs who just might need their brokering brawn:

Sam and Sab click-clack on over to "their favorite bachelor," Ari Ackerman, who is conveniently standing alone waiting for them. Ari is the successful owner of Bunk1, a summer camp clearinghouse, and business is brisk, Sab tells us (READ: the dude is exploding with money). The sisters are jazzed to see Ari and the feeling is mutual...because Ari just so happens to want to look at real estate. They plan on meeting at his Greenwich Village apartment the next day, which Sam is excited to see because it's a 3 bedroom converted into a 1 bedroom bachelor bonanza. If they're such good friends, why has she never been to his apartment before? AnyIbetbothsistersmadeoutwithhimintheir20sways...

Off to his apartment they go at 65 West 13th Street, which he might not want to leave if Padma unpacks her pots. "Well hello, hello" Ari slickly greets the ladies, and then he gives them a tour of where the magic happens:

Wait, there are two toothbrushes in the bathroom?! Then things must be getting serious with Ari and his never-so-much-as-hinted-to-existing-girlfriend who he's planning this entire real estate decision around. Over some glasses of red, Ari shoots vaguely from the hip, telling the sisters he's ready to embrace family life and look for his West Village dream house thantcan accommodate Bunk Ackerman. The only hitch? Sam is a little worried that it might be hard to find the perfect place since there's limited inventory.

Off the trio go for their big day of townhouse shopping. Sam and Sab first make a stop with Ari at leafy-lined 56 Bank Street . Well dip me in '90s has-beens! This is the same townhouse we suspect Courtney Love peeped last year! Brown Harris Stevens broker Rebecca Daniel welcomes the buyer and the Kleier klatch to the $5.75 million elegant abode. Lordy, how does Ari afford such luxury? He must be charging canoe loads of cash for helping freaked-out parents stay in touch with their mosquito-swatting kids. So, will Ari say "I do" to this 2,880 sq. ft. 2BR/2BA brick beauty?

Hmm, judging from his comment to the sisters that "the tub is perfect for the 3 of us," methinks this townhouse is just another stranger in the night. Though Sam seems game to jump right in:

And did you catch that comment about the master bedroom being fit for a king and now Ari "just needs to find his queen?!" Aha! That tells me nothing. I think this whole episode is meant to torture his unworthy-of-being-mentioned significant other into thinking he's maybekindaserious about her. The verdict from the camp connoisseur? He thought the space was warm but it didn't "overwhelm" him, and he felt like it was the townhouse version of his current apartment.

Onward to the next townhouse! The second showing of the day is "around the corner from Magnolia Bakery," near West 11th Street and Bleeker. Is proximity to overpriced cupcakes a selling point these days? Yes it is! Elliman broker $7.45 million dollars of livin' large. It's nearly $2 million more than the last one, but it seems that money is no object with Ari. Plus, with 3800 square feet and 4 bedrooms, it's a lot more room for his future children to play color war in. I'll let the townhouse do the boasting:

The "juliet" balcony in the master bedroom is the perfect place for Ari to serenade his wife with a campfire ghost story, or ring the curfew "lights out in 10 minutes" bell for his kids. Even this unbonafide bachelor admits the vibe is romantic, and in his words, "romantic = babies." So true. But not even the bi-leveled "WOW" room with it's high ceilings and extra kitchen are enough to make Ari close the deal. Outside, he tells Sam and Sab that the townhouse didn't feel cozy, and more like a place he'd live when he becomes a grandfather to little Ella and Benji (you know he's named them already).

Sab and Sam are understanding towards their friend, and clearly have strategized their next move when they bring him to Townhouse #3 at 152 West 13th Street with an architect in tow. Sam explains that this building was a single family home split up into 3 apartments, and having an architect on board will help Ari envision the space as one, 4000 sq. ft. 4 bed/4 bath home, custom renovated to his liking. Architect Evan Tribus is all about keeping the townhouse classic, but adding some modern touches. The eager group goes inside one of the apartments for a look around the $7 million handyman special.

Evan calculates that renovation costs run about $500 per square foot, so that's another $2.2 million tacked onto the $7 million. Plus it'll take 1.5 years to complete. That's totally enough time for him to woo this lovely woman walking by with her dog! They could fall in love over their love of dogs and hatred of puppy mills. ARI SHE'S THE ONE!

But no, he lets her just breeze on by like he doesn't even want a wife. Ari agrees that this townhouse is a good base to build something he loves, and that he'd have to renovate any townhouse to some degree, but for now he has to "sleep on it."

Will Ari say yes to the townhouse address? The group catches up over white wine at the only place south of Central Park that the Kleier family feels safe?the West Village offshoot of Madison Avenue/Hamptons cafe Sant Ambroues?to discuss Ari's thoughts, which are that he "didn't fall in love" with it, and it'd be too much work. And then he drops the big one: He wants to expand his search beyond Manhattan! Sab and Sam can't deny that Westchester and Connecticut offer more house for the money. This fact makes Sab reach for another glug of disappointment:

In the end, Ari toasts to "spending more time together and finding the perfect place" with his gal pals. Sam jokes under her breath that "that's the only upside to this." A text box informs us that a couple weeks later, they're still on the hunt together for Ari's soulmate house. Here's to Ari making his dream wife and dream life come true. L'chaim!

CRISIS #2: ASPIRING UPPER EAST SIDE FLIPPER IS A FLIP-FLOPPER!

Our second story stars CORE's Kirk Rundhaug and his client, Ruth Katz. Kirk explains that he met Ruth a year and a half ago when he helped her downsize after a divorce to a place at the glassy Lux 74 on the Upper East Side. Once inside, Kirk presses PH in the elevator, so you know we're going to see something fab and not small at all. It's 2,372 square feet bathed in white decor with pops of color on the walls. The $4.95 million apartment looks like a high-end lounge for people that don't spill stuff. Ruth gives Kirk a tour of her home, letting him know about all the bells and whistles she's outfitted it with. Aquarium! White painted floors! Custom kitchen! Care to get your eyeballs white-washed with this dazzler?

I'm sure you caught the $2,500 heated and air-conditioned doghouse on the balcony, but it deserves a photo:

In my neighborhood that's called a $1,400 a month sublet! Kirk proclaims this "the next best penthouse on the market." So why does Ruth want to sell? She thinks she can make a career of beautifying homes with her trademark sense of chic, and then flip 'em like pancakes for a profit. For the right price, she'd be willing to sell everything in the apartment, and start decorating something new from scratch. Kirk is amped to be repping Ruth, because two giant sales are in his court. The sale of the PH and then the sale of Ruth's new apartment. Ka-ching! Twice!

Now that Ruth's on board to sell her penthouse, Kirk hires Nico the tattooed photographer to take professional photos. As Nico snaps away on his camera, Kirk has Ruth sign an exclusivity contract with him. After all, he is spending lots of moolah on presenting the apartment as insanely high-end so she can make a flipping profit. And what better way to show off the property than with that ancient Selling New York tradition, the broker party?

But first! Kirk wants to show Ruth a potential apartment for her next move. She seems eager to try this whole flipping business and claims "I'm not scared of the process." Broker and client head on over to The Laurel on East 67th Street. They're ushered into a $4.12 million unit with nearly 2,000 square feet of brown wood floors and white walls for Ruth to get artsy. Envision all the white leather loungers that can fit in here:

The 3 bed/3 bath enjoys breathtaking views of the 59th Street Bridge and beyond. Here, Ruth tries that "Look, the 59th Street Bridge is in the palm of my hand!" trick:

Ruth finds the place "stunning" and appreciates the expensive appliances in the kitchen since she is admittedly a "top of the line girl." Kirk pumps up Ruth's' excitement by telling her that her interior design will "make all the difference in the world" in terms of bringing value to the apartment. Work it, Kirk! Daddy needs a new khaki suit! Though Ruth does fess up to the camera that she doesn't really want to leave her current home (What? Then why is she putting it on the market?) but sees how she could "paint her vision" at The Laurel.

Well, that's a red flag Kirk completely missed. Oh well, on to the liveliest party happening on the Upper East Side! Caterers are furiously chopping veggies and fruit for the influx of brokers flooding Klub Katz. As the wine flows, Kirk circulates the crowd, asking brokers if they have any customers in mind that might be interested. Suave CORE boss Shaun Osher cruises by, pleased with the turnout and Kirk's sales strategy in general (gold star!).

Meanwhile, Ruth blurts out that everyone there is telling her she's "crazy to sell" because the apartment is so amazing. When a small disco ball is turning in the corner and spitting out a trippy light show, it's hard not to see everything as amazing:

The party produced interest because next we hear Kirk's voice on Shaun's cell, telling him that there's an offer! Good news! And what do we see? An Audi-vertisement as Shaun paces around his Audi listening to Kirk. Jarring product placement but effective, because that car looks just as badass as the O-Dog:

Unfortch, Kirk also tells Shaun that Ruth has cold feet and no longer wants to sell. Motherflipper! After the pictures and the party and everything! Shaun threatens to take away Kirk's gold star but then Kirk tells Shaun he's going to talk some sense into her. Shaun drives off in his stylish Audi, which is now available at your local dealership.

Where was I? Oh! Ruth completely wasting Kirk's time and destroying his dreams of a mega-commission! Kirk hustles over to Ruth's to get her to change her mind. She says she "wasn't expecting this to happen so fast." Kirk counters that if you want to flip, the right time is when you have a flippin' buyer. Ruth tells Kirk he's done a fantastic job, but she's not ready to let go. He agrees (SO RELUCTANTLY) to take the property off the market. Outside, Kirk vents to the camera about how this whole ordeal is annoying and laments his lost $300,000 of commish.

"Everything for nothing," he says completely disheartened. But wait! The magical text box from the future reveals that 2 months later, Ruth put her apartment back on the market and she's using Kirk again. Here it is! Huzzah! Now someone just needs to buy the flippin' place for Kirk to have his happy ending.

Episode grade: Fancy pads, but no deals? Sorry, but that's only worth 2.5 out of 5 cackling Kleiers!



 Selling New York coverage [Curbed]




Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

A man was slashed with a blade after boarding the 3 train in East New York, Brooklyn, on Monday afternoon. This was the eighth slashing attack to take place in the subway system so far this year, reports the Post, a total that nearly triples the number of incidents compared to this time last year.

The attacker apparently spilled coffee down the back of Steve Jean Baptiste, who was waiting on the platform for a Manhattan-bound train shortly after noon. Wanna fight? the man said  reportedly unprovoked  after hed dumped his drink on Baptiste. Both men ended up boarding the same train car, and before they reached the next stop, the attacker drew a knife and swiped it across Baptistes chin, leaving him with a deep gash on his face.

The assailant, 37-year-old Stephen Brathwaite, was arrested a few stops later at Utica Avenue, taken into custody, and indicted on assault charges Tuesday morning. Police also retrieved the knife, which rode the subway for a couple more stops after its owner was caught. The victim, Baptiste, was treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though Gothamist reports his wounds left him in substantial pain.

The recent string of underground slashings has put subway riders on high alert  even if the attacks are random and likely unrelated. For example, a 27-year-old man was cut in the face Sunday morning at the 110th Street station after an argument with stranger; earlier that week, a 71-year-old woman was sliced with a knife on a downtown D train  that attacker was caught after a tip from his girlfriends grandmother. It is alarming to people, Joseph Fox, the chief of the New York Police Departments Transit Bureau, told the Times last week. Everyone sees themselves in that place.

On Monday, the Guardian Angels started patrolling the trains. This is the first time in more than two decades (1994, to be exact) that the safety group will keep up regular day and night shifts on the subways.

The NYPD also amped up its police presence on the subways cars and platforms last week in response to the uptick in these crimes. Commissioner Bratton, however, called the rash of slashings an aberration during an interview Monday with the John Gambling Show on AM 970. Well deal with it, Bratton explained, and as we go forward in the year those numbers will decline.

Bratton also talked about a plan the NYPD had reportedly floated internally last week of keeping career criminals off public transportation. If the plan sounds a little sticky, thats because its probably illegal. Still, Bratton stressed there should be a way to protect riders against these types of brutal assaults. Some of the career recidivist criminals use the subways to prey on victims, the commissioner said. We must find some way of excluding them from the subways as a condition of their parole.
Does Bernie Sanderss massive support among young Iowans spell trouble for Clinton down the road  maybe even in November? Photo: Erik S. Lesser/Corbis

Anyone covering the Iowa caucuses live could not help but be impressed by the size and enthusiasm of Bernie Sanderss younger supporters. They showed up very early in the downtown Des Moines caucus site I covered, and fought Hillary Clintons well-tempered organization to slightly better than a draw in one of her strongholds. The Des Moines airport Tuesday morning was Bernie Country, as young volunteers for Sanders decamped back out to their many homes. But as the entrance polls showed, the Pied Piper appeal of this 74-year-old self-identified socialist wasnt a largely out-of-state phenomenon like the orange-hat hordes that flooded Iowa for Howard Dean in 2004.

As Eric Levitz noted in the wee hours of Caucus Night, Sanders won the under-30 portion of caucus participants by an astonishing 70 points, 84 to 14. Thats unprecedented, best we can tell. Barack Obama, the model for Bernies campus-based youth-mobilization effort in Iowa, won only 57 percent of the under-30 crowd in Iowa, albeit against more opponents.

Unfortunately for Sanders, his overwhelming strength in this one demographic was fully offset by his weaknesses elsewhere. There was, in fact, a direct correlation of age to likelihood to caucus for Hillary Clinton, who lost those aged 30 to 44 by a 37/58 margin, but then won the 45 to 64 cohort 58/35 and those 65 and over by 69/26. And as Ron Brownstein observes, older folks tend to show up:

[W]hen it comes to piling up votes, one of these demographic advantages is much more useful than the other. Across all of the 2008 contests, according to [Gary] Langers calculations, voters older than 45 cast fully 61 percent of Democratic votes, while those younger than 45 cast 39 percent. Thats an advantage for Clinton. And its a slightly worrisome note for Sanders  a cloud passing on an otherwise sunny day  that young voters cast a slightly smaller share of the total Iowa Democratic vote in 2016 than 2008.

And Sanderss potential weakness in postNew Hampshire primaries was evidenced by his nearly two-to-one loss in the small segment of Iowa caucus participants who were not white.

What Brownstein calls the Grand Canyonsized generation gap in the Democratic nomination contest is likely to significantly erode Hillary Clintons advantage among women, much as Barack Obamas appeal to African-Americans did in 2008. But in the later primaries, in both the South and big states like New York, California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, minority voter support for Clinton will, unless something changes, significantly erode Bernies advantage among younger voters as well.

The question in the long run is whether these disparate intraparty bases of support will hang together in a general election on behalf of the eventual nominee. Certainly similar cleavages in 2008 did not keep Barack Obama from assembling what we now know as the Obama Coalition of young and minority voters and certain categories of women. Since young voters are the most marginal electoral participants of them all, Team Clinton should be especially worried that under-30 voters wont turn out for her in a general election. Indeed, some Republicans fantasize about stealing the youth vote behind a candidate like Marco Rubio, with his whole new-generation, aspirational message (offset, to be sure, by a Reagan-era economic outlook and a Cold War zest for militarism). This is another reason Hillary should be careful about letting her competition with Bernie Sanders become too savage.
Not so fast, Rubio. Photo: Scott Olson/2016 Getty Images

While Marco Rubio didnt place first, or even second, in the GOP Iowa caucus, his team was not shy about embracing the argument that he was the contests true winner. Any candidate other than the top three finishers in Iowa are dreaming right now and shouldnt stay in, deputy campaign manager Rich Beeson declared during a Tuesday conference call with Rubio supporters.

As New Yorks Jonathan Chait wrote, after going months with no clear alternative to Cruz and Trump, there are signs of a party edifice consolidating behind Rubio already  but the other Establishment candidates arent going to give up without a fight. As Rubio enjoyed his new Establishment favorite status on Tuesday, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and John Kasich plotted to thwart his ascent, hopefully in next weeks New Hampshire primary.

All three candidates have been focusing on New Hampshire for some time, and theyre attempting to paint Rubio as a latecomer who hasnt gotten to know voters there. Christie took the most aggressive stand against Rubio. Maybe hell do more than 40 minutes on a little stage telling everybody his canned speech that hes memorized, the New Jersey governor told reporters on Tuesday. This isnt a student council election, everybody. This is an election for president of the United States. Lets get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble.

Kasich issued a general call for the race to take a more genteel tone, saying, People ought to take down negative ads and tell the people in the last week what theyre for. His own campaign didnt take his advice. Two days ago the Kasich super-pac New Day for America made a preemptive attack against Rubio, noting that he voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. After complaints from the Kasich campaign that ad was pulled, but aides still took jabs at Rubio on Tuesday. While [Rubio] has a unique political talent he hasnt really done the New Hampshire campaigning. Hes not had a heavy schedule, hes not had a heavy ground game, Kasich chief strategist John Weaver told Politico.

Bush took a different tactic, hammering Rubio (and Cruz) for being too young to be commander-in-chief. The former Florida governor, who is 62, said at a town-hall meeting in Rindge that 44-year-old Rubio and 45-year-old Cruz are a lot like President Obama: Theyre gifted in how they speak, but what about their life experience? Is there something in their past that suggests they have the capability of making a tough decision? According to the Washington Post, Bush will underscore that point in the coming days by campaigning with his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Rubio fired back at Christie with a few Trump-esque barbs, noting that the governor, did very poorly yesterday and sometimes when people get disappointed they react poorly. But generally, hes attempted to take the high road, saying Tuesday on CNN that hes not running to beat up on other Republicans. At a town hall in Exeter, New Hampshire, he painted himself as the one candidate who can unite the two factions in the GOP, promising, If Im our nominee I will bring our party and the conservative movement together. I will unify us.

Behind the scenes, Rubios taken a much more aggressive stance against the other three Establishment candidates. The New York Times reports that just minutes after the race was called on Monday night, Rubios team was calling and texting their donors and trying to convince them to switch sides. His effort may be working; on Tuesday morning the Bush campaign held two conference calls with top donors and finance officials, and according to one participant they acknowledged that many donors were likely to back Rubio if Bush doesnt perform well in New Hampshire. Have you ever heard the phrase rattle of death? the person told Politico.

While Iowa made Rubio the biggest immediate concern for Bush, Kasich, and Christie, they reserved a bit of hostility for each other too. Despite the concerns expressed in Tuesdays call to supporters, Bush spokesperson Tim Miller suggested that the former Florida governor can keep battling Rubio for the Establishment for weeks. Christie and Kasich have no organization or appeal after New Hampshire, he said, whereas Jeb is third in South Carolina and has the best team on the ground for a caucus in Nevada.

Rubio has several points on Bush in Nevada, and Trump or Cruz will almost certainly win all of those states, but Miller is right: The battle for the Establishment vote isnt over yet.
A view of the planes interior. Photo: Anadolu Agency/2016 Anadolu Agency

Authorities are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that blew a hole in a Daallo Airlines passenger jet, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu on Tuesday. The blast occurred shortly after takeoff on a flight headed for Djibouti.

Awale Kullane, Somalias ambassador to the United Nations, posted video that shows oxygen masks hanging from overhead and a large hole in the side of the plane. We just heard a loud noise and couldnt see anything but smoke for a few seconds, when visibility returned we realized quite a chunk of the plane missing, he said.

Photos of the damage to Daallo airlines taken after the emergency landing. Two passengers were injured. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/2A5XTyOajm  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) February 2, 2016

There were 74 people on board, and two were injured. There are reports that locals saw a burned body fall from the plane, but the airline has not confirmed that there were any fatalities.

Pilot Vladimir Vodopivec said he thinks the explosion was caused by a bomb. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well, he said.

No group has claimed responsibility, and Daallo CEO Mohammed Ibrahim Yassin said its too early to tell what happened. He acknowledged that some onboard think there was an explosive device on the plane, but he said, The Civil Aviation (Authority) thinks differently.
Can he hit the trifecta? Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For the third straight cycle, the Republican caucus in Iowa was won by the candidate who built a ground game targeting conservative Evangelicals. And like Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012, Ted Cruz benefited from a higher-than-expected percentage of caucusgoers who fit that description (60 percent in 1980, 57 percent in 2012, and a booming 64 percent this year, according to entrance polls).

Huckabee was ultimately felled by a lack of money and by conservative competition in the key states of South Carolina and Florida that allowed John McCain to win both states. Santorum was similarly undercut by Newt Gingrich in early primaries but, like Huckabee, also suffered from an inability to win many voters outside the Evangelical camp.

Cruz managed to dispose of both Huckabee and Santorum (who just folded his campaign today) after Iowa, along with Rand Paul (who also quit today), which gives him more running room on the movement-conservative right than either previous caucus winner enjoyed. Hes also much better financed than the perennially cash-strapped Huck was in 2008, and has a broader donor base than Santorum (heavily dependent on Foster Friess, a single super-pac donor) in 2012. But Cruz, too, could be constrained by the size of the Evangelical vote in upcoming states; he ran a poor third in Iowa among non-Evangelical caucusgoers.

So its worth a good look at the calendar and where white Christian soldiers do and dont dominate. Fortunately, Geoffrey Skelley of Larry J. Sabatos Crystal Ball looked at past exit-poll data to tabulate estimates of the Evangelical percentage of Republican primary and caucus participants by state, and correlated it to the 2016 calendar. New Hampshire famously has a relatively small Evangelical electorate (21 percent), as does Nevada, which caucuses on February 23 (24 percent, though this number could be supplemented by outsize LDS participation). But from the February 20 South Carolina primary through March 15, there are nine states (South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and North Carolina) with an estimated white-Evangelical percentage of the GOP electorate over 60 percent, and another four (Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri) that come in over 50 percent. Thats quite a potential hunting ground for Ted Cruz. But hed better bag the limit, since after March 15 there are only four states, none of them all that large, with estimated white-Evangelical majorities of the primary vote: Indiana, West Virginia, Montana, and South Dakota.

Cruzs path to the nomination, then, requires a favorable combination of three factors: (1) big and consistent wins in the states with Republican electorates most like Iowa (Huck ran out of gas before many of them voted, and Santorum lost in some of the larger Evangelical-heavy states like Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina); (2) a favorable landscape of surviving opponents for as long as possible, whether its multiple Establishment candidates or Rubio and Trump blasting away at each other; or (3) a breakout by Cruz into other demographics making him competitive in less Evangelical states.

Just as nobody might have guessed the hypertraditionalist Catholic Rick Santorum would have become the Evangelical favorite in 2012, it seems strange that someone of Cuban descent born in Canada would be the leading candidate among white conservative Evangelicals this time around, with challenges in and beyond this constituency from another Cuban-American and Donald Trump. But thats how the little cracker crumbles, as Trump might say.
Photo: Freudenthal Verhagen/Getty Images

Think of an entrepreneur, and you probably imagine a risk taker. Its someone who had the guts to quit their day job to become fully devoted to their passion. Its throwing caution to the wind! Its dancing like no ones even watching! In other words: This person is decidedly not the comparatively cautious and timid you, stuck in your steady day job that delivers a steady paycheck.

And yet the evidence points in exactly the other direction, argues organizational psychologist Adam Grant in his new book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. The book explores what separates the conformists from the nonconformists, and his research revealed one rather surprising factor about the risk-taking tendencies of those who start their own businesses. Entrepreneurs  or others whove found success in some creative, off-the-beaten-path pursuit  are more likely to be risk-averse, in direct contrast to the reckless dreamers many often imagine them to be.

Consider the findings, for instance, of a 14-year study of entrepreneurs, in which a pair of researchers tested whether their participants fared better by keeping or leaving their day jobs. In a study period spanning 1994 to 2008, they followed about 5,000 American entrepreneurs who either did or did not keep working at a day job, controlling for each individuals financial need. The entrepreneurs also took personality surveys, which, not surprisingly, found that those who did quit tended to be risk takers with spades of confidence; in contrast, those who kept their jobs were far more risk averse and unsure of themselves.

But in the end, it was the more cautious individuals who came out on top, the researchers found. Those who kept working in their day job had about 33 percent lower odds of failure than their more confident counterparts who quit to pursue their business venture full-time.

Obviously, starting some creative or business venture does involve risk. Its just the way the most successful of the self-employed handle that risk that seems to make the difference. Grant uses a metaphor introduced about 50 years ago by University of Michigan psychologist Clyde Coombs, that of the stock portfolio. In the stock market, you protect yourself by playing it safe in other investments, he writes. Coombs suggested that in their daily lives, successful people do the same thing with risks, balancing them out in a portfolio. When we embrace danger in one domain, we offset our overall level of risk by exercising caution in another domain.

Real-life examples of this idea abound. Take Sara Blakely, who came up with the idea for Spanx at the age of 27; she sold fax machines full-time for two years while she worked on the side to develop her product. In the creative realm, there is the writer T. S. Eliot, who stayed in his London bank-clerk job three years after publishing The Waste Land; even when he did finally leave that job, he took up another one at a publishing house, to provide stability in his life, writing poetry on the side, Grant writes.

Similar to the day-jobs study, a different survey asked entrepreneurs and traditionally employed adults to choose between the entrepreneurial venture that was most attractive to them. The choices were these, Grant writes:

a. One that made $5 million in profit with a 20 percent chance of success.

b. One that made $2 million in profit with a 50 percent chance of success.

c. One that made $1.25 million in profit with an 80 percent chance of success.

Here again, the actual entrepreneurs in the study most often chose the relative safety of option C. As Grant explains it, [i]f youre risk averse and have some doubts about the feasibility of your ideas, its likely that your business will be built to last. If youre a freewheeling gambler, your startup is far more fragile.

Stories and statistics like these poke some holes in the notion of the free-spirited entrepreneur, which on the one hand is no fun, because we love the heroic story of the person who risks it all in pursuit of a dream, Grant told Science of Us. Its so much more fun to tell the story of how Bill Gates had such a grand vision for Microsoft that he drops out of college. Forget about the year he spent selling software, the financial support from his parents, and the fact that he took a leave of absence from school instead of dropping out. The storys much more romantic without those pieces.

And yet Grant says that its precisely that vision of recklessness that keeps too many of us from pursuing an unconventional path ourselves. We look at their choices and say, Well, I could never do that, he continued. And we kind of see their choices as involving risks that we wouldnt take. When, in fact, if we did a better job of getting inside their heads, [wed see] the actions theyre taking are not that risky.

In a weird way, it reminds me of the lessons learned from the psychologists who study those who participate in extreme sports, like BASE jumping. You know  that super-fun sport that involves hurling yourself off some high-altitude cliff, trusting a flight suit modeled after the physics of a flying squirrel to prevent you from falling to your death. Stick with me here. A lot of these people are highly intelligent people, methodological and systematical, Eric Brymer, a psychologist at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, told Science of Us last May. True, their preferred form of recreation is inherently risky. (Very much so!) But the most devoted and serious among them avoid the reckless thrill seekers like the plague, instead spending months or even years studying and meticulously planning their next jump, in order to make it as safe as it can possibly be. Then  and only then  they take the leap.
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images/2013 Getty Images

Now that all combat roles in the military are officially open to women, top officials in the Army and the Marines are starting to make noise about opening the draft to women.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Army General Mark A. Milley and Marine Corps Commandant General Robert G. Neller argued that as women graduate into military roles previously reserved only for men, they should also register for Selective Service.

Senator, its my personal view that, based on this lifting of restrictions  every American whos physically qualified should register for the draft, General Neller said, according to the Washington Post.

I, uh  huh. Yeah, Im not gonna be able to sign up? Because of my period! Yeah. My period. Sorry!
Theres more to life than books, you know, but not much more.The Smiths


I honestly can't wait to see this tbh. The hype's gotten to me!

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Same. I hope we are not disappointed.

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finally got around to the movie in your icon. loved it.

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"these fucking kids i swear..." Satanism feels so tryhard. Why the black clothes and the inverted crox? I feel like Lucifer would be rolling his eyes all the time with these kids like"these fucking kids i swear..."

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mte, makes me think of



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Lmao pretty much

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Wake up! Satanism is everywhere!

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what would be your suggestions for an ideal satanist aesthetic?

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women with an inherent social distinction who set the standards for style and appearance, epitomizing southern hospitality with a cultivation of beauty and grace, but even more with a captivating and magnetic sensibility. belles of the ball at times depicted as coy, in actuality can command attention with the ease of a hummingbird relishing a pastoral bloom

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A normal person, probably. Which doesn't mean someone who dress all black isn't normal but the inverted crox, the weird names and other parafernalia are too much.

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Satanists are just angry kids rebelling against their Christian parents so they have to go above and beyond to prove to them that they're into this shit.

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Aww, he looks so cute in this. Kinda like the Beast from the Disney movie. Bored, fluffy Satan.

And look at the people lounging and the couple on the mountain top enjoying the view. They're like "don't beat yourself up, Satan. We are very happy with the new jacuzzi you installed in the grotto of grief".

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lol my ex from a few years ago had an upside down cross tattoo. I didn't have the heart to tell my lovely church-going parents about it

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Edited at 2016-02-03 04:39 pm (UTC)

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here's a really interesting piece about them : the thing about actual satanists is that they're essentially hedonistic atheists. they do NOT believe in satan or even in the supernatural, and mostly just provocatively reject religious (christian in particular) ideals, which is basically the reason behind all their theatrics - inverted crosses, sexualized rituals, etc. basically to piss off / shock christians. a lot of it is still ridiculous imo, but the reasons / ideology behind it are more logical than people give them credit for.here's a really interesting piece about them : http://www.believermag.com/issues/201511/?read=article_mar

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For the most part the Satanic Temple in Detroit doesn't actually believe in or practice Satanism IRL, they just do it to draw attention to issues re: the separation of church and state, and to advocate religious freedom for all.

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Sounds like a goth raver kid's name.

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Satanism is everywhere!



Go listen to Rachel Platten- Stand By You. The song is blasphemy.



Songs on the radio are about sex, partying, drugs and living a crazy lifestyle filled with choas and paranoia.

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i blame lady gaga & rihanna.



Edited at 2016-02-03 03:57 pm (UTC)

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Madonna did it first.

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Wait is Rachel platten singing about Satan when she says "stand by you"? OMG her image is so wholesome I never would have guessed tbh

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I've already embraced Sagan tbh



Oh wait



Nvm



I misread

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I really want to hear your thoughts once you see it!

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Sameeee!!!

Horror is my favorite genre ever,and im more excited about this movie than last year (when i was excited about watching It Follows)

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idc if I have to go alone, I'm seeing this movie opening night.

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lmao what in fresh hell ... i would go see poetry slam if he and alcohol were promised to be there though negl. last time i got interviewed by a news reporter on camera i temporarily forgot how to speak slovene, in comparison this is fucking amazing

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But I'm always annoyed this statue is inaccurate



Edited at 2016-02-03 04:16 pm (UTC) I went into this post hoping someone would link to this.But I'm always annoyed this statue is inaccurate #freebaphometsboobs

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lmao YAS!! I love this.

I dunno Satan's pretty cool..

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oh my god. why is that guy so extra like that.

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apparently he's an actor and this is his thing

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the lone tear he manages at he end... flawless performance

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the girl in the background with her resting bitch face is killing me lmao

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LOL fuckkkkkk

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This guy is too much. lol

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lolllllll this shit kills me EVERY time

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yes I came in here just for this!!!!



Satan's pretty cool!

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Wicca has nothing to do with Satanism. I'm not surprised they call themselves witches tho because Satanism is basically former Catholics rebelling against Christianity not an actual religion but like Christians they appropriate other cultures and religons.

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This! I think there's a lot of ignorance and that a lot of people conflate Satanism and Wicca. They couldn't be more different.



Edited at 2016-02-03 04:38 pm (UTC)

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This isn't about Wicca. That's not the only type of witchcraft that exists.

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wiccans arent the only ppl that can call themselves witches lol

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Not today, Satan.

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I'm so excited for this movie and The Green Room. Both look intense af and I can't wait.

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Green Room looks soooo fun, i cant wait for that one either

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I'm sure I'll be disturbed after but idgaf this looks so good. I want to see it in theaters but I'm still a bit scared lol. Still can't wait to see this!!

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This is hilarious to me, mostly because my friend's awful wife will flip her shit. She hates horror movies. I kid you not, if we're all seeing a movie at the theater and they show a preview for a horror movie she closes her eyes, covers her ears and starts humming loudly. Now some of you might say, well she's scared, why are you being an asshole? To which I'd answer, she was nervous to read the Harry Potter books because there were spells and she was afraid if she read them they would come true. Anything with a hint of witchcraft or Satanism or the devil or demons and she loses her shit like because that piece of entertainment exists it will cause real evil to occur.

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because there were spells and she was afraid if she read them they would come true



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Me too, Jay. Me too.

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there were spells and she was afraid if she read them they would come true



if only. there are so many useful ones

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You should whoop her upside the head

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You should definitely sneak into her bathroom and paint upside down crosses in lipstick on her mirrors.

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Haha, in fundie parlance reading or watching anything about ~evil is "opening a door" for demons to get you. I'd ask why random people making up a totally fake story and then putting on some costumes to act it out - while not believing in Satan and thinking it is all totally fake - would have any power or connection to the spirit world (like, why would simply looking at Tim Curry in a devil costume somehow summon devils or make you more likely to be possessed by devils?), but I never really got an answer, just "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE IN SATAN TO LET HIM INTO YOUR LIFE"



Which okay, but if that's the case I really doubt that Satan is restricting himself to only sinking his claws into people who have watched a horror movie first.

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Lord. I WISH the spells in Harry Potter could come true. This woman sounds nuts, does she not understand fiction?

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lol i have a friend similar to that...she was at my house and a crimson peak commercial and she covered her ears and jumped up and down begging my boyfriend to change the channel. jfc

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almost sounds like my mom lol

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christwire is satire

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Fifty-seven years after the birth of founding member Lol Tohurst, and the crude complex is still exploring whether The Cure for low oil prices islow oil prices.

Last nights API report had a considerably bearish tilt, yielded a solid build of 3.8 million barrels to crude stocks, while Cushing stocks edged up also. It was the gasoline build of 6.6 million barrels, however, which stole the (bearish) show.

This huge build came amid a drop in refinery utilization, and although demand was likely dinged by inclement weather, especially in the Northeast (h/t winter storm Jonas), weaker gasoline demand of late is waving a red flag about the state of the broader economy.

It continues to be rough sailing for the oil majors, as Exxon swiftly followed BPs quarterly earnings with an equally challenging set of results. Exxon posted its weakest annual results in over a decade. Although in contrast to BP it was able to book positive annual earnings, the $16.2 billion seen was a halving of last years level. Chevron said it will cut spending by $9 billion this year, while Exxon is slashing spending by 25 percent  or $7.9 billion.

As capital expenditures are cut, oil majors are instead looking to weather the storm and maintain their dividends by borrowing mo money. BPs net debt increased by almost $5 billion last year to $27.2 billion, while Chevrons total debt increased by nearly 40 percent last year. Shell hasnt cut its dividend since World War II, but its will is going to be severely tested, especially after S&P cut its credit rating on Monday to its lowest ever. Related: How Soon Could A Sustained Oil Price Rally Occur?

(Click to enlarge)

From one troubled area to another, we take a look at Nigeria. Africas top oil producer is holding talks with the World Bank for a loan to help plug its largest ever budget gap. Nigeria depends on oil for virtually all of its export revenue, and for two-thirds of its government revenue. Hence, as its budget deficit is projected to widen to 2.3 percent of GDP this year, it is seeking loans to fund its spending efforts to boost growth. Compared to some oil exporters, its budget deficit looks fairly minor. Related: Security Woes Threaten OPECs Second Largest Producer

As we can see from our ClipperData, Nigerian crude exports were above 2 million barrels per day in January. But just as exports pop above this level again, fears of terrorism are rising up once more in the Niger Delta.

An amnesty in the Niger Delta region has been in place for the past seven years, but the cutting of multi-million dollar contracts by President Buhari to former militant commanders has caused a resurgence in friction. These contracts were paid to commanders to guard the pipelines they once attacked. Related: Russia Cries Dyadya (Uncle), Is Saudi Arabia Listening?

But after the anti-corruption agency recently charged a former militant commander of money laundering, a number of pipelines were bombed last weekend. Although crude theft is not as rife as it once was, 250,000 bpd of Nigerian production is already stolen each day. The economy would be crippled by a resurgence of violence  and a drop in oil production  especially in the current low oil price environment. India, Netherlands and Spain are its largest destinations; these three account for ~45 percent of its total crude exports:

By Matt Smith

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Experts at Johnson Matthey said last month that platinum is likely to post a bigger-than-expected supply deficit for 2015.

And news this week suggests that platinum production could be hit even harder than these observers are predicting.

That comes from the worlds number three platinum-producing nation, Zimbabwe. Where the government is making a strong move against the worlds second-largest platinum mining firm, Impala Platinum.

Local press reported Monday on statements from Impalas Zimbabwe operating subsidiary, Zimplats. Which noted that the company could be at risk of losing half of its land holdings in the country, following an edict from national authorities. Related: Iran Looking To Ramp Up More Than Just Oil Production

Zimplats said that the firm received a letter from the government on December 28, requesting the release of 27,948 hectares within the firms mining license area  amounting to almost 50 percent of the total ground belonging to these operations.

This matter actually dates back to March 2013  when the Zimbabwe government had originally decreed that Zimplats lands should be returned to the state because they arent being fully utilized.

Zimplats subsequently appealed the decision, with the issue then remaining unresolved over most of the past two years. Related: Is The Saudis Market Share Strategy Still Feasible?

But this latest news suggests the government has now decided to enforce the ruling  putting at least some of Zimplats operations here at risk. The company said it has reiterated its objections over the land grab to the government and is seeking constructive dialogue to resolve the issue.

All of which makes it appear that Zimplats production could be in jeopardy. With this move likely to deal a major blow to any remaining investment confidence Impala management holds in Zimbabwe, even if the companys mines are able continue, following the loss of the acreage.

Any reduction in output could be very significant for the market, given that Zimplats accounts for over half of Zimbabwes yearly production of 400,000 ounces of platinum and 320,000 ounces of palladium. Watch for more news on the resolution of this issue over the coming weeks.

Heres to a rock and a hard place

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Energy companies arent the only victims of the persistent plunge in oil prices. Now the plastics industry is beginning to take a hit.

South Koreas biggest chemical company, LG Chem, is abandoning plans to build a $4.2 billion plastics complex in Kazakhstan, citing rising costs for such a facility and the low cost of oil.

Nearly five years ago, LG Chem had agreed to build the plastics complex near Atyrau in western Kazakhstan in a 50-50 joint venture with Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries (KPI). The state-owned KazMunaiGas Exploration Production owns 51 percent of KPI, and the privately owned Kazakh company SAT owns the remaining 49 percent of KPI.

The complex had been designed to produce as many as 840,000 metric tons of ethylene per year and 800,000 tons of polyethylene per year. Since it agreed to the joint venture in Kazakhstan, though, LG Chem has decided it should invest in more promising ventures elsewhere.



Related: Fundamentals For Oil Still Bearish, But Sentiment Is Shifting

The Kazakhstan project lost its luster because of a steep increase in facility investment amid growing uncertainty, the Korean chemical company said in a statement on Jan. 26. On a business front, LGs top management reached a consensus that it wasnt promising.

LG Chem also said it would scrap a plan to invest in polysilicon, a key part of solar cell manufacturing, due to declining market conditions. That project, already in limbo since it was first announced in June 2011, would have involved the construction of a $408 million plant to produce 5,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year.

The joint venture between LG Chem and Kazakhstan was to help the Kazakh government develop its petrochemical industry. The complex near Atyrau was to have processed ethane, a component of natural gas, and process, or crack, it into ethylene. The project was to have been owned and operated by KPI.



Related: Japan And Iran Could Keep a Lid On Oil Price Rally

The project was to have been constructed in part by the Chinese petrochemical giant Sinopec. The Sinopec stage would have included a plant capable of producing 500,000 tons per year of polypropylene to be bought and exported by Sinopec alone. But negotiations between Sinopec and KPI broke down in August 2014 and Sinopec abandoned the project.

LG Chem has no option but to invest in businesses that are more promising and have growth potential, according to C.S. Song, the director of LG Chems public relations office. The money that will be saved from the exits will be used to strengthen the companys strength in electric vehicle batteries, filters and agricultural chemicals, which weve identified as new revenue streams.



Related: This Could Be A Big Setback For Irans Oil Export Plans

The company says its now particularly interested in the market for energy storage systems, which underpin much of renewable energy technology. For example, in December 2015 it agreed to supply high-wattage batteries to the U.S.-based AES Energy Storage.

LG Chem also is a leader in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market, supplying batteries to 20 automakers around the world, including Hyundai-Kia of South Korea, Ford and General Motors in the United States and Audi, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo in Europe.

By Andy Tully of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Ann Jones writes an abrasive essay about how life in the US might be a lot better if politicans started paying attention to how the Scandanavians run their governments. Her experience living in beautiful Norway is compared to how things are done here, in the US. Although many points Jones made are valid, she never talked about how to pay for the quality of life she described in her article about Norway. In fact, the Noriwegans pay plenty in taxes and therefore, they deserve every benefit they receive. As Hillary Clinton said (and Jones criticized her for it), "We are the United States of America...." Of course, I envy the Europeans for their egalitarian governments where "socialist" isn't a curse word. Neverthelless, I also agree with Hillary Clinton, we cannot be Denmark or Norway....we simply can't. Of course, I did enjoy this article by Ann Jones, but I only agree with about half of what she supported in her essay.

Norway's flag - an egalitarian government where everyone conributes, via shared wealth, to the quality of life.









Obviously, most American have no idea what it's like to enjoy living in Europe; but we also have no intention of paying the percentage of income in taxes, like the Noriegans, to earn the same benefits.) An article by Ann Jones describes living in Norway was published in The Nation . (

After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward.

Heres Why.

A crash course in social democracy from "The Nation"

Years ago, Jones faced up to the

of reporting truths about Americas disastrous wars, and so she left Afghanistan for another mountainous country far away. It was the polar opposite of Afghanistan: a peaceful, prosperous land where nearly everybody seemed to enjoy a good life, on the job and in the family.

Jones writes, .... they didnt work muchnot by American standards, anyway. In the United States, full-time salaried workers supposedly laboring 40 hours a week actually average 49 , with almost 20 percent clocking more than 60. These people, on the other hand, worked only about 37 hours a week , when they werent away on long paid vacations. At the end of the workday, about four in the afternoon (perhaps three during the summer), they had time to enjoy a hike in the forest, a swim with the kids, or a beer with friendswhich helps explain why, unlike so many Americans, they are pleased with their jobs.

Often, I was invited to go along. I found it refreshing to hike and ski in a country with no land mines, and to hang out in cafes unlikely to be bombed. Gradually, my war-zone jitters subsided and I settled into the slow, calm, pleasantly uneventful stream of life there.

Four years on, thinking I should settle down, I returned to the United States. It felt quite a lot like stepping back into that other violent, impoverished world, where anxiety runs high and people are quarrelsome.

In fact, writes Jones, she had come back to the flip side of Afghanistan and Iraq: (back) to what Americas wars have done to America.

Where I live now, in the homeland, there are not enough shelters for the homeless. Most people are either overworked or hurting for jobs; the housing is overpriced, the hospitals crowded and understaffed, the schools largely segregated and not so good. Opioid or heroin overdose is a popular form of death, and men in the street threaten women wearing hijabs. Did the American soldiers I covered in Afghanistan know they were fighting for this?

DUCKING THE SUBJECT

One night I tuned in to the Democrats presidential debate to see if they had any plans to restore the America I used to know. To my amazement, I heard the name of my peaceful mountain hideaway: Norway. Bernie Sanders was denouncing Americas crooked version of casino capitalism that floats the already-rich ever higher and flushes the working class. He said that we ought to look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people.

He believes, he added, in a society where all people do well. Not just a handful of billionaires. That certainly sounds like Norway. For ages, theyve worked at producing things for the use of everyonenot the profit of a fewso I was all ears, waiting for Sanders to spell it out for Americans.



But Hillary Clinton quickly countered, We are not Denmark. Smiling, she said, I love Denmark, and then delivered a patriotic punch line: We are the United States of America. (Well, theres no denying that.) She also praised capitalism and all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families. She didnt seem to know that Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians do that too, and with much higher rates of success.



The truth is that almost a quarter of American start-ups are not founded on brilliant new ideas, but on the desperation of men or women who cant get a decent job. The majority of all American enterprises are solo ventures having zero payrolls, employing no one but the entrepreneur, and often quickly wasting away.





Sanders said that he was all for small business too, but that meant nothing if all of the new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent. (As George Carlin said, The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.)



In that debate, no more was heard of Denmark, Sweden, or Norway. The audience was left in the dark. Later, in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Sanders tried to clarify his identity as a democratic socialist. He said hes not the kind of socialist (with a capital S) who favors state ownership of the means of production. The Norwegian government, on the other hand, owns the means of producing lots of public assets and is the major stockholder in many a vital private enterprise.



I was dumbfounded. Norway, Denmark, and Sweden practice variations of a system that works much better than ours. Yet even the Democratic presidential candidates, who say they love or want to learn from those countries, dont seem know how they actually work.





WHY WERE NOT DENMARK

Proof that they do work is delivered every year in data-rich evaluations by the United Nations and other international bodies. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments employment to quality-of-life matters like education, health, life expectancy, voter participation, and overall citizen satisfaction. Year after year, all the Nordic countries cluster at the top, while the United States lags far behind. In addition, Norway has



What makes the Scandinavians so different? Since the Democrats cant tell you and the Republicans wouldnt want you to know, let me offer you a quick introduction. What Scandinavians call the Nordic model is a smart and simple system that starts with a deep commitment to equality and democracy. Thats two concepts combined in a single goal because, as far as theyre concerned, you cant have one without the other.



Right there, they part company with capitalist America, now the most unequal of all the developed nations, and consequently a democracy no more. Political scientists say it has become an oligarchy, run at the expense of its citizenry by and for the superrich. Perhaps youve noticed that.

Proof that they do work is delivered every year in data-rich evaluations by the United Nations and other international bodies. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments annual report on international well-being, for example, measures 11 factors, ranging from material conditions such as affordable housing andIn addition, Norway has ranked first on the UN Development Programs Human Development Index for 12 of the last 15 years, and it consistently tops international comparisons in such areas as democracy, civil and political rights, and freedom of expression and the press.What makes the Scandinavians so different? Since the Democrats cant tell you and the Republicans wouldnt want you to know, let me offer you a quick introduction. What Scandinavians call the Nordic model is a smart and simple system that starts with a deep commitment to equality and democracy. Thats two concepts combined in a single goal because, as far as theyre concerned, you cant have one without the other.Right there, they part company with capitalist America, now the most unequal of all the developed nations, and consequently a democracy no more. Political scientists say it has become an oligarchy, run at the expense of its citizenry by and for the superrich. Perhaps youve noticed that.

In the last century, Scandinavians, aiming for their egalitarian goal, refused to settle solely for any of the ideologies competing for powernot capitalism or fascism, not Marxist socialism or communism. Geographically stuck between powerful nations waging hot and cold wars for such doctrines, Scandinavians set out to find a middle path. That path was contestedby socialist-inspired workers on the one hand, and by capitalist owners and their elite cronies on the otherbut in the end, it led to a mixed economy. Thanks largely to the solidarity and savvy of organized labor and the political parties it backed, the long struggle produced a system that makes capitalism more or less cooperative, and then redistributes equitably the wealth it helps to produce. Struggles like this took place around the world in the 20th century, but the Scandinavians alone managed to combine the best ideas of both camps while chucking out the worst.



In 1936, the popular US journalist Marquis Childs first described the result to Americans in the book Sweden: The Middle Way. Since then, all the Scandinavian countries, and their Nordic neighbors Finland and Iceland, have been improving upon that hybrid system. Today in Norway, negotiations between the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise determine the wages and working conditions of most capitalist enterprises, public and private, that create wealth, while high but fair progressive income taxes fund the states universal welfare system, benefiting everyone. In addition, those confederations work together to minimize the disparity between high-wage and lower-wage jobs.

As a result, Norway ranks with Sweden, Denmark, and Finland as among the most income-equal countries in the world, and its standard of living tops the charts.



 So heres the big difference: In Norway, capitalism serves the people. The government, elected by the people, sees to that. All eight of the parties that won parliamentary seats in the last national electionincluding the conservative Hyre party now leading the governmentare committed to maintaining the welfare state. In the United States, however, neoliberal politics puts the foxes in charge of the henhouse, and capitalists have used the wealth generated by their enterprises (as well as financial and political manipulations) to capture the state and pluck the chickens.



Theyve done a masterful job of chewing up organized labor. Today, only 11 percent of American workers belong to a union. In Norway, that number is 52 percent; in Denmark, 67 percent; in Sweden, 70 percent. Thus, in the United States, oligarchs maximize their wealth and keep it, using the democratically elected government to shape policies and laws favorable to the interests of their foxy class. They bamboozle the people by insisting, as Hillary Clinton did at that debate, that all of us have the freedom to create a business in the free marketplace, which implies that being hard up is our own fault. (Woah...wait a minute....this is not what she said....!)





In the Nordic countries, on the other hand, democratically elected governments give their populations freedom fromthe market by using capitalism as a tool to benefit everyone. That liberates their people from the tyranny of the mighty profit motive that warps so many American lives, leaving them freer to follow their own dreamsto become poets or philosophers, bartenders or business owners, as they please. FAMILY MATTERS





Consider the Norwegian welfare state. Its universal. In other words, aid to the sick or the elderly is not charity, grudgingly donated by elites to those in need. Rather, it is the right of every individual citizen. That includes every woman, whether or not she is somebodys wife, and every child, no matter its parentage. Treating every person as a citizen frees each one from being legally possessed by anothera husband, for example, or a tyrannical father.



Which brings us to the heart of Scandinavian democracy: the equality of women and men. In the 1970s, Norwegian feminists marched into politics and picked up the pace of democratic change. Norway needed a larger labor force, and women were the answer. Housewives moved into paid work on equal footing with men, nearly doubling the tax base. That has, in fact, meant more to Norwegian prosperity than the coincidental discovery of North Atlantic oil reserves. The Ministry of Finance recently calculated that those additional working mothers add to Norways net national wealth a value equivalent to its total petroleum wealthcurrently held in the worlds largest sovereign-wealth fund, worth over $873 billion. By 1981, women were sitting in parliament, in the prime ministers chair, and in her cabinet.



American feminists also marched for such goals in the 1970s, but the big boys, busy with their own White House intrigues, initiated a war on women that set the country back and still rages today in brutal attacks on womens basic civil rights, healthcare, and reproductive freedom. In 1971, thanks to the hard work of organized feminists, Congress passed the bipartisan Comprehensive Child Development Bill to establish a multibillion-dollar national daycare system for the children of working parents. In 1972, President Richard Nixon vetoed it, and that was that. In 1972, Congress also passed a bill (first proposed in 1923) to amend the Constitution to grant equal rights of citizenship to women. Ratified by only 35 statesthree short of the required 38that Equal Rights Amendment was declared dead in 1982, leaving American women in legal limbo. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, obliterating six decades of US social-welfare policy as we know it, ending federal cash payments to the nations poor, and consigning millions of female heads of household Maybe our politicians dont want to talk about the Nordic model because it shows so clearly that capitalism can be put to work for the many, not just the few.Consider the Norwegian welfare state. Its universal. In other words, aid to the sick or the elderly is not charity, grudgingly donated by elites to those in need. Rather, it is the right of every individual citizen. That includes every woman, whether or not she is somebodys wife, and every child, no matter its parentage. Treating every person as a citizen frees each one from being legally possessed by anothera husband, for example, or a tyrannical father.Which brings us to the heart of Scandinavian democracy: the equality of women and men. In the 1970s, Norwegian feminists marched into politics and picked up the pace of democratic change. Norway needed a larger labor force, and women were the answer. Housewives moved into paid work on equal footing with men, nearly doubling the tax base. That has, in fact, meant more to Norwegian prosperity than the coincidental discovery of North Atlantic oil reserves. The Ministry of Finance recently calculated that those additional working mothers add to Norways net national wealth a value equivalent to its total petroleum wealthcurrently held in the worlds largest sovereign-wealth fund, worth over $873 billion. By 1981, women were sitting in parliament, in the prime ministers chair, and in her cabinet.American feminists also marched for such goals in the 1970s, but the big boys, busy with their own White House intrigues, initiated a war on women that set the country back and still rages today in brutal attacks on womens basic civil rights, healthcare, and reproductive freedom. In 1971, thanks to the hard work of organized feminists, Congress passed the bipartisan Comprehensive Child Development Bill to establish a multibillion-dollar national daycare system for the children of working parents. In 1972, President Richard Nixon vetoed it, and that was that. In 1972, Congress also passed a bill (first proposed in 1923) to amend the Constitution to grant equal rights of citizenship to women. Ratified by only 35 statesthree short of the required 38that Equal Rights Amendment was declared dead in 1982, leaving American women in legal limbo. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, obliterating six decades of US social-welfare policy as we know it, ending federal cash payments to the nations poor, and consigning millions of female heads of household and their children to poverty, where many still dwell 20 years later. Today, even privileged women, torn between their underpaid work and their kids, are overwhelmed.





freeing women in the workforce to enjoy both their jobs and their families. (Well, Jones is a little too nostalgic with this imagry...)



Paradoxically, setting women free made family life more genuine. Many in Norway say it has made both men and women more themselves and more alike: more understanding and happier. It also helped kids slip from the shadow of helicopter parents. In Norway, both mother and father in turn take paid parental leave from work during the childs first year or longer. At age 1, however, children start attending a neighborhood barnehage (kindergarten) for schooling spent largely outdoors. By the time kids enter free primary school at age 6, they are remarkably self-sufficient, confident, and good-natured. They know their way around town, and if caught in a snowstorm in the forest, how to build a fire and find the makings of a meal. (One kindergarten teacher explained, We teach them early to use an ax so they understand its a tool, not a weapon.)



To Americans, the notion of a school taking away your child to make her an ax wielder is monstrous. Yet though its hard to measure, its likely that Scandinavian children actually spend more quality time with their non-work-obsessed parents than does a typical middle-class American child being driven by a stressed-out mother from music lessons to karate. For all these reasons and more, the international organization

DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT



This little summary just scratches the surface of Scandinavia, so I urge curious readers to Google away. But be forewarned: Youll find much criticism of all the Nordic-model countries. Worse, neoliberal pundits, especially the Brits, are always beating up on the Scandinavians, predicting the imminent demise of their social democracies. Self-styled experts still in thrall to Margaret Thatcher tell Norwegians they must liberalize their economy and privatize everything short of the royal palace. Mostly, the Norwegian government does the oppositeor nothing at alland social democracy keeps on ticking.



Its not perfect, of course. It has always been a carefully considered work in progress (and expensive too!). Governance by consensus takes time and effort. You might think of it as slow democracy. Even so, its light-years ahead of us. (In the opinion of Ann Jones.) Things happened very differently in Norway. There, feminists and sociologists pushed hard against the biggest obstacle still standing in the path to full democracy: the nuclear family. In the 1950s, the world-famous American sociologist Talcott Parsons had pronounced that arrangementwith the hubby at work and the little wife at homethe ideal setup in which to socialize children. But in the 1970s, the Norwegian state began to deconstruct that undemocratic ideal by taking upon itself the traditional, unpaid household duties of women. Caring for children, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled became the basic responsibilities of the universal welfare state,Paradoxically, setting women free made family life more genuine. Many in Norway say it has made both men and women more themselves and more alike: more understanding and happier. It also helped kids slip from the shadow of helicopter parents. In Norway, both mother and father in turn take paid parental leave from work during the childs first year or longer. At age 1, however, children start attending a neighborhood barnehage (kindergarten) for schooling spent largely outdoors. By the time kids enter free primary school at age 6, they are remarkably self-sufficient, confident, and good-natured. They know their way around town, and if caught in a snowstorm in the forest, how to build a fire and find the makings of a meal. (One kindergarten teacher explained, We teach them early to use an ax so they understand its a tool, not a weapon.)To Americans, the notion of a school taking away your child to make her an ax wielder is monstrous. Yet though its hard to measure, its likely that Scandinavian children actually spend more quality time with their non-work-obsessed parents than does a typical middle-class American child being driven by a stressed-out mother from music lessons to karate. For all these reasons and more, the international organization Save the Children cites Norway as the best country on earth in which to raise kids, while the United States finishes far down the list, in 33rd place.DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR ITThis little summary just scratches the surface of Scandinavia, so I urge curious readers to Google away. But be forewarned: Youll find much criticism of all the Nordic-model countries. Worse, neoliberal pundits, especially the Brits, are always beating up on the Scandinavians, predicting the imminent demise of their social democracies. Self-styled experts still in thrall to Margaret Thatcher tell Norwegians they must liberalize their economy and privatize everything short of the royal palace. Mostly, the Norwegian government does the oppositeor nothing at alland social democracy keeps on ticking.Its not perfect, of course. It has always been a carefully considered work in progress (). Governance by consensus takes time and effort. You might think of it as slow democracy. Even so, its light-years ahead of us. (

Labels: Ann Jones, Hillary Clinton, Norway, The Nation
The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

Perhaps you've seen the video, the one where State Senator Alberta Darling doesn't know she's on camera and says, "I think that (Milwaukee County Executive Chris) Abele's having a primary with Chris Larson; it's putting a little bit of pressure on him right now. I think after April we'll see more effort put toward our initiative."

The "initiative" she's referring to is the so-called Opportunity School Partnership Program (OSPP), written by Darling with State Representative Dale Kooyenga, which authorizes Abele, through a commissioner of his choosing, to select failing Milwaukee Public Schools to takeover from MPS. I have written about this many times, but if you're not familiar with the issue, you can start here.

The commissioner Abele selected is Demond Means, current superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville school district. Means is a Milwaukee native, MPS graduate, strong advocate for what he calls "traditional public schools" and vociferous opponent of private school vouchers. He has current family ties to MPS and has long been recognized as an expert in closing the "achievement gaps" between white and minority (and rich and poor) students.

Means held a listening session on the OSPP, with the intention of connecting, he said, with parents and families most likely to have children in the lowest-performing schools in MPS. He wanted their input on what should happen in those schools and in any schools that he might bring under his oversight as the OSPP commissioner.

Darling's on-camera comments caught people's attention because Abele and Means both have insisted that their aim is to do as little as possible to disrupt MPS. The spirit of the law, though, is clearly to start peeling away buildings, students, equipment and possibly staff  but certainly funding  away from the district.

Abele has suggested the extent of the OSPP schools under his watch would be schools with three- or four-year-old kindergarten students, which would feed better-prepared youngsters into MPS's kindergarten programs. Abele has also said that he would not take any MPS properties.

During the listening session, Means would not commit to those exact, limited terms. But he made clear repeatedly that the original intent of the OSPP law  to move dozens of schools out of MPS and into the hands of other operators, leaving MPS decimated and perhaps bankrupt  was not his intent at all. He made sure we understood what a takeover is. It's "when you usurp the authority of the elected school board," he said, and "take their funds" and "disenfranchise the employees."

After the listening session, Means told me he knows that's what the law says he is supposed to do. "When you read it," he said, "it was written that way, so what I want to do with the development of the (request for proposal, seeking a partner to operate a school under his leadership of the OSPP) is to skirt that so that my definition (of a takeover) is not materialized, because that would hurt MPS.

"I don't want to hurt MPS. That's the last thing I want to do."

As for Darling's implication that after the April election, assuming Abele wins, Abele and Means will turn the heat up to 11: "Albert and Dale don't speak for Demond Means," Means said. "They don't speak for me. I have worked closely enough with the County Exec to say they don't speak for him."

"The way this plays out is the vision Chris and I put together," he said, assuring everyone that the publicly stated plan is the plan going forward. He added later, "I'm a Christian man; I'm not going to lie about anything."

Still, once the session got to the listening part, more than one speaker accused Means and (though he was not present) Abele of lying about their plans. But let me back up a minute.

Means started the session with a presentation, which opened with a recapitulation of his qualifications for the position. Just as he started getting into some specifics of how the law authorizing the OSPP worked, the Overpass Light Brigade walked in to interrupt with a "NO TAKEOVER" display.

Means' last words before the interruption? "I won't do anything to harm the people committed to the Milwaukee Public Schools as employees, or the system itself."

I couldn't help but note the irony as it happened on Twitter. I understand why protesters were there: They subscribe to the very reasonable (from my standpoint) "not one school" line of thought. The number of taken over schools, they say, should be zero. That the law exists at all is an affront to democracy, an usurpation of local control and an insult to everyone in the public school system who works, day in and day out, with the neediest of Wisconsin's children. It is unconscionable that two suburban legislators have hijacked what by rights should be a Milwaukee responsibility.

If I had my preference, the OSPP would not be a thing at all, and Darling, Kooyenga and their ilk would be helping MPS by fully funding the district's needs and helping the families in our city's (and state's) poorest zip codes.

But that's not reality. Reality is that OSPP is a thing, and reality is that Abele has agreed with the protesters: not one school.

It's also hard to argue that Means is far off from the protesters' call for "NO TAKEOVER." Even before he was interrupted, as part of his bona fides, he explained, "If you told me seven months ago that I would be working on this legislation, I would have told you that there was no way. I was one of the most vocal critics of what was happening with state funding in K-12 education."

"It's surreal to believe that I am a part of this world," he said. But when Abele called him, "I though about it long and hard. I accepted the opportunity because I felt I could not continue to sit on the sidelines as children and their dreams fail in our city. I said, 'I want to be part of the solution.'"

Means called what's happening in MPS a crisis on par with what happened with Flint, Michigan's water system. And he insisted that the solution was not to gut MPS or take over any authority that rightly belongs to another. "I want to be clear," he said, "there is only one superintendent in Milwaukee. And you have an amazing superintendent in Dr. Driver. I would never do anything to hurt the work she is doing."

After the protest, when it became clear that the bulk of the audience was not there for dialogue so much as they were to give Means an earful, he abandoned his presentation and just listened. Again and again, speakers accused Means of lying, giving credit for honesty instead to Darling, the woman who has Milwaukee's well-being as her last priority.

This baffles me. I mean, literally, I have no way to describe just how disturbing it is that otherwise smart people are taking Darling's word over that of Means, people who don't consider her biases or that she is likely engaged in simple fantasy.

This is not to say that the crowd didn't make any good points. They did, from challenging Means' reading of the law (he said he was obligated to "take over" at least one school every year, though the law does not say that) to reasonable questions about what Means' budget was. For the record, Means says he's currently doing this without a salary, in what I can only imagine is already an unbelievably small amount of free time.

The crowd also drew unfavorable to comparisons to the way takeover and recovery districts had been run around the country, to which Means responded he had studied what happened in New Orleans and Tennessee, among other places, and had no intention of replicating those disasters here.

Finally, there were repeated reminders for Means, who grew up on 38th and Center, what kind of challenges urban students and families face. I give Means a lot of credit for keeping his composure while an almost entirely white parade of speakers presumed to tell him what it is like to grow up poor and black in Milwaukee.

In the end, this is probably the most upsetting thing about Means' listening session. Despite setting out specifically to hear from the parents of families of the children struggling in the city's most challenging schools, his target audience was not there.

This is perhaps emblematic of many of the problems within MPS: Where we (and our students) most need families to engage, they are unavailable.

In the parking lot after the event, Means went on to say that he wasn't sure whether there'd be another listening session like this one. I don't blame him; he's not reaching his intended audience and taking, instead, a tremendous amount of flak from people who ought to be cheering his stance against legislative Republicans' destruction of public education.

Still, he told me, hearing from the protesters was helpful. "I get it. I understand why people are nervous, and so what I will continue to do with this RFP process is try to craft in a way where it doesn't exacerbate the concerns."

He said, "I'm trying to develop an RFP that would avoid some of the angst that's in the community."

I hear him, and I am encouraged by his commitment and tenacity. But is anyone else listening?
Saehee Chang is sitting on the floor beating a wooden, hourglass shaped drum called a Jang-gu, counting the rhythm out loud. A class of nearly 30 fourth graders count and beat their drums along with Chang, learning about her culture through a traditional form of Korean drumming.

Chang, a Korean-American, came to the United States in 1981 at 12 years old. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, but lived in Vietnam and Nairobi, Kenya for much of her youth. Chang said that this experience developed her interest in cultural education and led her to start her business, Korea Konnect, in 2009.

Korea Konnects goal is to connect American and Korean culture through traditional Korean drumming and cooking.

Chang said that she struggled with her identity while growing up. She felt too Americanized to be accepted by fellow Koreans and too Korean to be accepted by fellow Americans. She now considers her cultural background an asset in her teaching.

"The fear of 'the other' is eliminated if people have a basic cross-cultural education," Chang said. "The first question students ask me is, Are you Chinese? I use it as an educational tool and conversation starter about culture. These students really want to learn."

When Chang began college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she started to investigate her own heritage. She said that this is when she fell in love with the traditional Korean style of drumming called Poongmul and decided to spend a summer in Korea to learn the art.

One way that Chang connects her culture to her students is by mixing Poongmul with the rhythms of traditional drumming from other countries.

"Drumming connects everybody. Theres no culture that doesnt have drumming and percussion," Chang said.

One of the many groups that Chang works with is the Young Scientists Club at the Washington Park branch of the Urban Ecology Center.

Erick Anderson, the centers community programs coordinator, said that Chang has a natural ability to engage with kids in a positive way.

"Ive never seen kids get interested in trying new foods that they would normally find gross. We have kids fighting over who gets to eat the vegetables," Anderson said.

Chang has taught at several MPS schools as well as at community centers and the Milwaukee Public Market. Most recently Chang began a drumming residency at Starms Discovery Learning Center, 2035 N. 25th St.

Dr. Janice Pugh, a fourth-grade teacher at Starms, said shes glad her students get the chance to learn from Chang. "The experience is exciting because they are learning about a different culture and learning the language of another culture," Pugh said.

In addition to teaching drumming and cooking classes, Chang offers translation and interpretation services to Korean-Americans who are struggling to understand medical, legal and educational systems in the United States. She said that she can relate to them because she has been in their shoes.

Chang also makes homemade Kimchee, a Korean-style slaw, and sells it to local farmers markets. "For me, [selling Kimchee] wasnt about making money," Chang said. "It was really about getting to know the farmers and the vendors and talking to market goers and how everybody is so excited about food."

Everything she does comes from her love for people, Chang said. "People are so fascinating. I think through my drumming, my food, my language, I really engage with them and they really want to learn about me.

"I feel like I have a purpose in life. Im not changing the world but Im making a small difference."
Isn't something serious at stake here? For some people, raising the minimum wage, or expanding Social Security, or Medicare-For-All (all of which Hillary opposes) are matters of life and death. Some people are offended by the very idea of their life being decided by a coin toss.





EVERY TIME!



Suppose someone counted wrong. Suppose someone was dishonest? Suppose what they determined was a tie, actually wasn't.



The good people who run the Democratic Party in Iowa insist that we shouldn't worry, that the party establishment is fair, and good, and honest. Ask Debbie Wasserman Shultz!



Back to the coin toss issue. Hate to mention it (and risk being called a conspiracy theorist) but the probability of rolling six coin tosses in a row in Hillary's favor is quite low, one and a half percent to be exact. In other words there is a 98.5% chance that this should not happen.



But it happened in Iowa last night, and the Main-Stream-Democrat-Bowl-of-**** (the one that Lewis Black claimed was not so different than the Republican-Bowl-Of-****), as well as the main-street media and their pundits assure us that there is no question of foul play. They infer that by asking questions we are sore losers. Huh?



Bernie Sanders has called on the Democratic Party to release a raw vote count in Iowa. He called on officials to take the unusual step of revealing the voter totals: "I can only hope and expect that the count will be honest," he said. To no one's surprise, the Iowa Democrats have refused his small request.



One of the metaphors Bernie has repeated over and over again to describe our corrupt oligarchy is: "Heads They Win, Tails You Lose."



In Iowa, this is no metaphor; this is no cheap joke. It's reality.


Reprinted from Smirking Chimp

High drug prices have been big news lately. Some of this has been due to straight out price gouging by the likes of Martin Shkreli, everyone's favorite young punk hedge fund tycoon and potential convict. However the more common problem stems from the exorbitant price charged for important new drugs like the Hepatitis C drug Solvaldi.

Gilead Sciences, the patent holder for Solavldi, has a list price for this drug in the United States of $84,000 for a three-month course of treatment. The company argues the drug is worth the price since it can cure people of a debilitating and potentially deadly disease.

While the drug clearly has great value, that does not necessarily justify its high price. After all, the firefighter who rescues your family from a burning house has also provided a service of enormous value, but she doesn't expect to get paid millions of dollars for her work.

The issue with Sovaldi is actually very similar to the issue with the firefighter. It doesn't actually cost anything like $84,000 to manufacture the drug and deliver it to patients. We know this for certain because there are generic manufacturers in India that can produce high quality versions and sell them profitably for $200-$300 per treatment. This means that Gilead Sciences may be charging a price that is more than 300 times what is needed to cover the manufacturing and distribution of the drug.

The justification that Gilead Sciences and other drug companies offer for their prices is the need to recoup their research costs. They argue they need the monopoly provided by patent protection so that they can charge prices high enough to cover both the research costs on successful drugs and also all the money spent researching drugs that failed.

There are serious questions about the industry's actual research spending. Much money goes to marketing, since the industry has enormous incentive to promote the sale of a drug selling for 300 times the cost of production.

There is also much money that goes to copycat research, since monopoly pricing gives competitors an incentive to get a share of the rents enjoyed on a breakthrough drug like Sovaldi. This can lead to lower prices in a world where the government is granting patent monopolies, but this duplicative research would generally have little value if drugs were sold in a free market.

And much of the research is often done on the government's nickel. Many important new drugs, including Sovaldi, rely heavily on research that was funded by the government through the National Institutes of Health.

There is a better route. If the government actually paid for the research, not just at the early phases but through the clinical testing and FDA, then there would be no reason for patent monopolies. Drugs could be sold in a free market just like toothpicks and plastic cups. We wouldn't have big problems debating whether Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurers should pick up the tab if the next major cancer drug cost $200 a treatment instead of $200,000.

There are various mechanisms through which the government can finance research. It could offer a prize for promising new drugs and buy up the patent rights, as some economists like Joe Stiglitz has proposed.

An alternative is to pay for the research upfront. This can be done through the private sector with companies bidding for long-term contracts to conduct research in major areas. An advantage of this route is that a condition of the funding could be that all the results are made fully available to other researchers and the public as soon as practical. This should lead to more rapid progress since science advances most quickly when it is open.

Of course no one is going to switch from the current system to an alternative overnight. Any alternative would have to be tested and demonstrate its superiority. An obvious way to phase in a move to the direct funding system would be to have publicly funded clinical trials. If the government paid for the trial of a promising drug, after first buying up the patent rights, it could then make any new drug available at the free market price once it was through the FDA approval process.

An additional advantage of going this route is that all the clinical test results would be fully available to other researchers and physicians so that doctors could determine if a particular drug is likely to be useful to specific patients. For example, the trials may have evidence that a drug is not especially effective for older people or for those taking arthritis medications. While a pharmaceutical company selling a drug for a markup of 10,000 percent may not be anxious to highlight such evidence, a company that is paid exclusively to conduct clinical trials has no motivation to conceal data.

This is where Bill Gates comes in. With the current gridlock in Washington, which is likely to persist even after the election, we are not going to see any action on financing research any time soon. However a wealthy philanthropist certainly could pick up the cost of financing the clinical trials of several promising new drugs.

According to recent research by an economist with close ties to the drug industry, the total cost of all three phases of the testing process comes to a bit over $300 million, counting the costs of going through FDA approval. If we accept his assumption on failure rates, this would imply costs of roughly $1 billion on average to get at a drug through the approval process. If we allow $500 million to $1 billion for the purchasing the patent rights to promising compounds, we have a total tab of $1.5-2.0 billion, which is well within the resources of the Gates Foundation and in fact several other charitable foundations and wealthy individuals.
There used to be a fable, commonly imposed as fact on school children in the United States, that in Columbus's time nearly everyone believed the Earth was flat. Fortunately, this untruth has been quietly abandoned, although some still repeat the mistake by crediting instead the Greeks. History professor Jeffrey Burton Russell notes, for example, that with few exceptions, "No educated person in the history of Western civilization from the third century BC onward believed that the Earth was flat," a position that improves upon the former and is no doubt true, yet it still betrays a Western bias. It fails to acknowledge that aboriginal and ancient people, spanning far back into the last Ice Age, knew the Earth was spherical. They knew that the nature of creation itself was cyclical (or vorticular). They acknowledged, revered, and cultivated knowledge of universal law, and evidence of their seemingly impossible technical manifestations -- the Great Pyramid being among the most widely recognized with many others gaining recognition -- lies in ruins around the Earth -- the implications largely ignored by experts who can't adequately explain them within academically accepted contemporary models.

The Hopi Indians of Arizona, a Puebloan tribe, represent the oldest continuous Indian group in the current United States and, contradicting professional opinion, claim they did not come to this continent across the Bering Strait but north from South America, according to Oswald "White Bear" Fredericks, who I met twice as a teenager through a high school anthropology teacher. White Bear was the primary Hopi consultant for Frank Waters' Book of Hopi, a common title in university libraries. During our current period of history, the Bear Clan supersedes all other clans in authority and serves as the tribe's historians. It is their function to preserve the knowledge and memory of the Hopis' migrations and history, so White Bear proved to be an unusually valuable source. Even if representatives of the Western world can't prove that his startling claims are true -- such as his assertion that technological civilizations have previously arisen and fallen, or that beings from other habitable planets have visited Earth -- it must be conceded that they are at least ethnographically true. That is, it's true that the Hopis believe these things, and it might benefit us to sincerely consider what White Bear is saying:

"Out of the long story of the Hopis arises a warning for you," White Bear tells us. "Perhaps this warning will not come too late."

Essentially, White Bear describes a succession of cycles, over vast periods of terrestrial time, of the development and destruction of human societies. Mankind progresses for a long period -- a golden age -- then progressively loses touch with his true "spiritual" nature through egoism and avarice, and this disharmony eventually manifests in the three-dimensional realm as natural disasters, conflict, wars, environmental degradation, and disease. In the Western view, these things happen to us, but in the Hopi worldview, spirit and form intimately intertwine, so man's disharmonious (evil) deeds take form in the physical environment as crises.

White Bear, with the help of his wife, Naomi, prepared an informative document that the couple provided to occasional visitors--including, apparently, Josef Blumrich, the NASA engineer who published a book in German called Kasskara und die Sieben Welten (Kasskara and the Seven Worlds), which has not been translated into English. "This is the history of my ancestors and the clans which came to this continent," the document begins. "The continent on which my people lived for a long time sank in the sea and people had to leave it. They had to leave it and go to a land in the east to make a new beginning."

White Bear describes Kasskara as a continent in the Pacific Ocean that sank. He said that Hawaii is a remnant of their original motherland, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is the last remaining of several islands that helped Kasskaran refugees cross the vast expanse of ocean to South America. Kasskara was sinking at around the same time as the submergence of Atlantis, although Atlantis went down quickly, White Bear said, due to its heavier negative karma. Because Kasskara's offenses were not as serious, the retribution they suffered was lighter and the destruction happened more slowly. The population had time to flee.

White Bear felt it was important and necessary to inform the world about the Hopis' history and the previous cycles of advancement and destruction the world has undergone, but he was heavily criticized by some Hopis who believed that he should not have revealed these truths to the masses. White Bear had said, "It is time to speak about our people and to tell you who we are and why we are here in the hope that somebody one day will understand us. Even if it is me who speaks here it is the knowledge of the Hopis that you will know. Out of the long story of the Hopis arises a warning for you. You will understand later what I want to say when I tell my story,"This is why I speak now. That concerns us all. Perhaps this warning will not come too late."

According to White Bear, mankind lived in two other worlds (Tokpela and Tokpa) before emerging into the Third World, which included Kasskara and Atlantis, and then into our present Fourth World. These successive "worlds" generally correspond to various continents and time periods during which the Hopi's antecedents were granted protection by some very interesting beings they call "Kachinas," otherworldly beings with physical bodies that helped them survive planetary cataclysms and directed their migrations. The Kachina dolls known to tourists are simply representations meant to familiarize Hopi children with the various Kachina entities so they don't fear them during ceremonies.

In the First World, the "Taiowa" divinity created the human being and all things in this universe. He gave us brains and the capacity for knowledge. "He gave man all he needs in his life, and he gave him the laws and duties in this universe, which man must obey," White Bear said. He explained that the First World was destroyed by fire because people had become malicious. But his people -- those who in more recent times became the Hopis -- survived the destruction because they had been selected to preserve the knowledge through time. The Second World was destroyed by ice. Once again, his people survived and arrived in the Third World," the third continent. All these and later events are still alive in Hopi ceremonies.

The Third World: Kasskara

"The name of the Third World was Kasskara. Few people today know the significance of this very old word. I learned it from Otto Pentewa (a Hopi elder), who remembered it as the 'mother ground,'" White Bear said. "We also call it 'the country of the sun' because we like to refer to the sun and the soil which keep us alive."

Kasskara was a continent situated mostly south of the equator with a small portion in the north, White Bear said, and is probably identical with what we today call Lemuria, or Mu. "It was a very beautiful country. Compared with today, it was almost a paradise. We worked, but we did not need to work hard. Since our beginnings in the First World we had followed the plan of our Creator and cultivated our food ourselves," White Bear said. "In these times we had chosen corn as our principal food, and we brought it to the Second World and we continued to live with it in the Third World. When you see our corn think of the fact that the Hopis have had it since very old times, since the First World."

White Bear explained that the knowledge the Hopis seek and that was given to them relates to plants and animals. They could communicate with them. They had scientific knowledge but did not use it to manufacture objects that hurt people:

"People then had respect for one another. The clans had their own bosses, but they had in common a respected spiritual leader. In the life of the Hopis there always was a clan which had supremacy for a certain time in order to ensure that we fulfilled well our obligations and responsibilities--like our good behavior in life," White Bear said. "When we inherited this world, the Clan of the Bow held the leadership. For this reason the tribe chief of the Clan of the Bow was Kasskara's sovereign."

At the beginning all was well in Kasskara. Much later the men gradually began to lose the respect for one another; initially a few, then more and more. "As you see we are exactly like other men. I can compare that with what occurs today in the organizations: people want to have some rank and power; they want their share," White Bear said. "The same thing happened at Kasskara."

Atlantis

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Reprinted from Palestine Chronicle

By Friday, January 29, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeq had spent 66-days on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Just before he fell into his third coma, a day earlier, he sent a public message through his lawyers, the gist of which was: freedom or death.

Al-Qeq is 33-years of age, married and a father of two. Photos circulating of him online and on Palestinian streets show the face of a bespectacled, handsome man. The reality though is quite different. "He's in a very bad situation. He fell into his third coma in recent days, and his weight has dropped to 30 kilograms (66 pounds)," Ashraf Abu Sneina, one of al-Qeq's attorneys, told Al Jazeera. Al-Qeq was arrested under yet another notorious Israeli law called the "administrative detention" law.

Ominous predictions of al-Qeq's imminent death have been looming for days with no end in sight to his elongated ordeal. Unfortunately for a man who believes that the only tool of defense and protest he has against apartheid Israel is his body, the Red Cross and other international groups took many days to so much as acknowledge the case of this news reporter who had refused food and medical treatment since November 24, 2015.

Al-Qeq, works for Saudi Arabia's Almajd TV network and was arrested at his home in Ramallah on November 21st. In its statement, issued more than 60 days after he entered into his hunger strike, ICRC described the situation as "critical," unequivocally stating the reality of Al-Qeq's "life being at risk." On January 27, the European Union also expressed its view of being "especially concerned" about al-Qeq's deteriorating health.

Under the "administrative detention" law, Israel has effectively held Palestinians and Arab prisoners without offering reasons for their arrests, practically since the state was founded in 1948. In fact, it is argued that this law which is principally founded on "secret evidence" dates back to the British Mandate government's Emergency Regulations.

After Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in 1967, it clutched at straws in its desperate efforts to find whatever legal justifications it could for holding prisoners without trials. These efforts were eventually articulated in the Israeli Law on Authorities in State of Emergency in 1979.

This law was some sort of compromise between the internal intelligence (Shin Bet), the state and the court system, with the ultimate aim of providing the facade and apparent backing of a legal cover for what is considered in international law and most country laws as illegal. The Shin Bet was thus allowed to use whatever coercive measures -- including physical and psychological torture -- to exact "forced" confessions from Palestinian prisoners over the course of six months, renewable by a court order without trial or charges.

Khader Adnan, 37, from Jenin, was held under administrative detention law for years. Israeli intelligence had no evidence to indict him of any particular charge, despite accusations that he was a valued member of the Islamic Jihad organization. He was set free on July 12, 2015.This occurred only after he too resorted to undergoing several hunger strikes, and two particularly long ones: early in 2012 a hunger strike lasted for 66 days, and another, in May 2015, lasted for 56 days.

Each time, Adnan reached the point where death, as is the case for al-Qeq, was also becoming a real possibility. When we asked him what compelled him to follow that dangerous path twice, his answer was immediate: "repeated arrests, the savagery of the way I was arrested, the brutality of the interrogation and finally the prolonged administrative detention" -- without trial.

Administrative detentions are like legal black holes. They offer no escape routes and no rights for the prisoner whatsoever, but wins the interrogators time to break the spirit of the prisoner, forcing him or her to surrender or even admit, under torture, to things that he or she never committed in the first place. "It is our last and only choice," says Mohammed Allan, 33, from Nablus, who underwent a hunger strike for so long that it resulted in brain damage, and nearly cost him his life.

"When you feel that all the doors are sealed, and you stand there humiliated and alone, knowing in advance that the court system is a charade, one is left with no other option but a hunger strike," he says.

"First, I made my intentions clear by refusing three meals in a row, and by sending a written note through the Dover (Hebrew for a prisoner who serves as a spokesperson for a prison ward)... Then, the punishment commences. It is like a psychological warfare between the prison authorities, state and legal system apparatuses against a single individual," which, according to Allan lasts for 50-60 days.

"Almost instantly, a hunger striker is thrown into solitary confinement, denied access to a mattress and blanket and other basic necessities. Only after six weeks or so, do Israeli prison authorities agree to talk to lawyers representing hunger strikers to discuss various proposals. But within that period of time, the prisoner is left entirely unaided, separated from the other prisoners and subjected to an uninterrupted campaign of intimidation and threats. Mental torture is far worse than hunger," says Allan.

"You cannot even go to the bathroom anymore; you cannot stand on your own; you are even too weak to wipe the vomit that involuntarily gushes out of your mouth into your beard and chest."

Allan almost died in prison, and despite a court order that permitted prison authorities to force-feed him (a practice seen internationally as a form of torture), doctors at Soroka hospital refused to act upon the instructions. In mid-August 2015, Allan was placed on life support when he lost consciousness. His severe malnutrition resulted in brain damage.
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Who even remembers the moment in mid-February 2003, almost 13 years ago, when millions of people across this country and the planet turned out in an antiwar moment unique in history? It was aimed at stopping a conflict that had yet to begin. Those demonstrators, myself included, were trying to put pressure on the administration of George W. Bush not to do what its top officials so visibly, desperately wanted to do: invade Saddam Hussein's Iraq, garrison it for decades to come, and turn that country into an American gas station. None of us were seers. We didn't fully grasp what that invasion would set off, nor did we imagine a future terror caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but we did know that, if it was launched, some set of disasters was guaranteed; we knew beyond a doubt that this would not end well.

We had an analysis of the disaster to come and you could glimpse it on the handmade signs we carried to those vast demonstrations (some of which I recorded at the time): "Remember when presidents were smart and bombs were dumb?"; "Contain Saddam -- and Bush"; "Use our might to persuade, not invade"; "How did USA's oil get under Iraq's sand?"; "Pre-emptive war is terrorism"; "We don't buy it, liberate Florida"; and so on. We felt in our bones that it was no business of Washington's to decide what Iraq should be by force of arms and that American imperial desires in the Greater Middle East were suspect indeed. And we turned out to make that point so impressively that, on the front page of the New York Times, journalist Patrick Tyler referred to us as the planet's second superpower. ("The fracturing of the Western alliance over Iraq and the huge antiwar demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion.")

Of course, this vast upsurge of global opposition would prove to be right on the mark, while all the brilliant policymakers and pundits in Washington who beat the drums loudly for war were desperately wrong. And yet the invasion did happen and, in its disastrous wake, we, not they, were wiped out of history. None of us would be consulted when the retrospectives began. No one would want to hear from those who had been right about the invasion (only officials and "experts" who had been dismally wrong). In the process that pre-war movement of ours would essentially be erased from history.

Mind you, we knew that, whatever we did, George W. Bush was bound and determined to invade Iraq. As I put it that February, "I'm not a total fool. I know -- as I've long been writing in these dispatches -- that this administration is hell-bent for a war. The build-up in the Gulf during these days of demonstrations has been unceasing. I still expect that war to come, and soon. Nonetheless, I find myself amazed by the variegated mass of humanity that turned out yesterday... The world has actually spoken and largely in words of its own. It has issued a warning to our leaders, which, given the history of 'the people' and the countless demonstrations of the people's many (sometimes frightening) powers from 1776 on, is to be ignored at the administration's peril."

On that, unfortunately, I was wrong. We were indeed ignored and it didn't prove to be "at the administration's peril" (not in the normal sense anyway). The large-scale antiwar movement barely made it into the war years. There were a couple of massive demonstrations still to come, but as time went on, as things got worse, as the situation in Iraq devolved and those millions of demonstrators were proven to have been unbearably on the right side of history, the antiwar movement itself essentially disappeared, except for scattered veterans' groups and heroic protesters like the members of Code Pink.

At a time when Americans should have been in the streets saying hell no, we better not go, the Bush administration and then the Obama administration were repeating the same militarized mistakes endlessly, while turning the Greater Middle East into a charnel house of failure. Today, as Pentagon officials prepare for their next set of forays, interventions, drone assassination campaigns, and special ops raids in, among other places, Libya -- and what could possibly go wrong there? -- next to no one is pressuring or opposing them, next to nothing is in their way. As a result, TomDispatch regular Ira Chernus's latest post on what's missing from the missing antiwar movement in America couldn't be more timely. Tom

America's New Vietnam in the Middle East

A Civil War Story About the Islamic State Might Spark a Peace Movement

By Ira Chernus It was half a century ago, but I still remember it vividly. "We have to help South Vietnam," I explained. "It's a sovereign nation being invaded by another nation, North Vietnam." "No, no," my friend protested. "There's just one Vietnam, from north to south, divided artificially. It's a civil war. And we have no business getting involved. We're just making things worse for everyone." At the time, I hadn't heard anyone describe the Vietnam War that way. Looking back, I see it as my first lesson in a basic truth of political life -- that politics is always a contest between competing narratives. Accept a different story and you're going to see the issue differently, which might leave you open to supporting a very different policy. Those who control the narrative, that is, are likely to control what's done, which is why governments so regularly muster their resources -- call it propaganda or call it something else -- to keep that story in their possession. Right now, as Americans keep a wary eye on the Islamic State (IS), there are only two competing stories out there about the devolving situation in the Middle East: think of them as the mission-creep and the make-the-desert-glow stories. The Obama administration suggests that we have to "defend" America by gradually ratcheting up our efforts, from air strikes to advisers to special operations raids against the Islamic State. Administration critics, especially the Republican candidates for president, urge us to "defend" ourselves by bombing IS to smithereens, sending in sizeable contingents of American troops, and rapidly upping the military ante. Despite the fact that the Obama administration and Congress continue to dance around the word "war," both versions are obviously war stories. There's no genuine peace story in sight. To be sure, peace activists have been busy poking holes in the two war narratives. It's not hard. As they point out, U.S. military action against IS is obviously self-defeating. It clearly gives the Islamic State exactly what it wants. For all its fantasies of an apocalyptic final battle with unbelievers, that movement is not in any normal sense either planning to attack the United States or capable of doing so. Its practical, real-world goal is to win over more Muslims to its side everywhere. Few things serve that purpose better than American strikes on Muslims in the Middle East. If IS launches occasional attacks in Europe and tries to inspire them here in the U.S., it's mainly to provoke retaliation. It wants to be Washington's constant target, which gives it cachet, elevating its struggle. Every time we take the bait, we hand the Islamic State another victory, helping it grow and launch new "franchises" in other predominantly Muslim nations. That's a reasonable analysis, which effectively debunks the justifications for more war. It's never enough, however, just to show that the prevailing narrative doesn't fit the facts. If you want to change policy, you need a new story, one that fits the facts far better because it's built on a new premise. For centuries, scientists found all sorts of flaws in the old notion that the sun revolves around the Earth, but it held sway until Copernicus came up with a brand-new one. The same holds true in politics. What's needed is not just a negative narrative that says, "Here's why your ideas and actions are wrong," but a positive one that fits the facts better. Because it's built on a new premise, it can point to new ways to act in the world, and so rally an effective movement to demand change.

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The Zika virus has been sexually transmitted in Texas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today, after a case of Zika showed up in a patient in the Dallas area. This virus is carried by mosquitoes, but also via blood transfusion and sexual relations in humans. The CDC advises not to have sexual relations with people returning from areas where there is a Zika outbreak, such as Venezuela and other tropical places.





Zika poses a terrible risk to the developing fetus. Birth defects in babies, such as malformation of the brain, are caused by this virus. It is said that this virus is spreading quickly to over 24 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) expects 3 to 4 million Americans to become infected in the next year. The WHO plans to soon provide guidance on sexual transmission, with a "focus on the male sexual partners of women who are or who may be pregnant".





The patient in Texas was not the first case of Zika virus reported in the US, though he was recently diagnosed as the first case of Zika being acquired in the US. The man contracted the virus after having had sexual relations with a woman who had just returned from Venezuela, infected with the virus. In 2008, a Colorado woman contracted the virus after her microbiologist husband returned from Senegal. In French Polynesia, Zika virus is shown to test positive in men's sperm and urine, even if it is not detectable in their blood stream.







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The US government is now considering bringing back the pesticide DDT to combat this mosquito borne disease. In the 1930's, DDT was used almost exclusively as a pesticide to battle mosquitoes in the US. DDT and its residues washed into nearby waterways, where aquatic plants and fish absorbed it. Birds like Bald Eagles were poisoned with DDT when they ate the contaminated fish, putting them on the endangered species list by 1940. Studies show that this pesticide killed fish and birds, and made bird eggs so fragile that they would break during incubation, or fail to hatch altogether. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, by 1963, only 487 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained.





Other fish eating birds were also adversely effected by DDT. According to Stamford University, birds that consume fish have a higher level of contamination per pound than the actual fish does.





"If Peregrine Falcons feed on the seabirds, the concentration becomes higher still. With several concentrating steps in the food chain below the level of fishes (for instance, tiny aquatic plants crustacea small fishes), very slight environmental contamination can be turned into a heavy pesticide load in birds at the top of the food chain. In one Long Island estuary, concentrations of less than a tenth of a part per million (PPM) of DDT in aquatic plants and plankton resulted in concentrations of 3-25 PPM in gulls, terns, cormorants, mergansers, herons, and ospreys."





DDT is a recognized carcinogen by the World Health Organization, stating this pesticide causes proven toxic levels to build up in the human body. In the US however, where we manufacture DDT for export, the US EPA regards DDT as a "probable" carcinogen. Around the world DDT is known to damage the reproductive system in humans and reduces reproductive success.





A 2007 study published in the scientific journal, "Environmental Health Perspectives", concludes that American women exposed to high levels of DDT before mid-adolescence had a five-fold increase in risk of developing breast cancer. Other scientific studies indicate that DDT increases the risks of pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, biliary tract cancer, breast cancer, testicular and prostate cancers. DDT is considered to effect white men more than women or people of color.





But those who wish to bring back DDT, have a lot of support. This pesticide was touted as having saved many lives during WWII, killing mosquitoes and preventing Malaria. DDT is most known for eradicating Malaria in the USA.





Now, as legislatures are considering the bringing back of DDT, Environmentalists who are opposed are being attacked as "environmental zealots". Scientist and Technology Magazine states,





"The ban on DDT is responsible for a menticide which has already condemned one entire generation to a dark age of anti-science ignorance, and is now infecting a new one." The magazine goes on to say,





"The DDT ban does not only affect tropical nations battling malaria. In the wake of the DDT ban, the United States stopped its mosquito control programs, cutting the budgets for mosquito control and monitoring. Exactly as scientists had warned 40 years ago, we are now facing increases of mosquito-borne killer diseases like West Nile fever, dengue, [and now the Zika virus]."
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Last week was a busy week on the campaign trail for the presidential candidates of both parties providing new and/or additional insights less on the policies of the candidates and more on their character. And in several instances it wasnt pretty.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)

I dont like Mr. Cruz. I havent ever liked Mr. Cruz. When I look at him, hear him speak, and listen to his arguments I am reminded of former President Richard Nixon (R). It is not his policies with which I disagree  for the most part, there is no material difference amongst the Republican candidates with the exception of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)  it is him. He is a small-minded man given to petty grievances and demagogic and personal attacks  it is no wonder that he is universally disliked in the United States Senate. He rivals former President Bill Clinton (D) in parsing words and dissembling the truth. He is a divisive character in a time in which we need healing. Basically, he is Barack-Obama-on-the-right.

In the latest Republican primary debate on FOX News, with Donald Trump boycotting the debate, Mr. Cruz had the opportunity to demonstrate leadership  to stand above the fray  and he failed. In answer to the very first question regarding the absence of Mr. Trump, Mr. Cruz engaged in a mocking, mean-spirited attack on Mr. Trump (no slouch at personal attacks himself). Later he accused the FOX News moderators of encouraging attacks on him by the other participants and threatened to leave the stage. I recognize that both of these were Mr. Cruzs lame attempts at humor but they were more descriptive of the real Mr. Cruz. First, Mr. Cruz spent the first six months of the primary campaign trying to cozy up to Mr. Trump  primarily to avoid attacks by Mr. Trump but more in an attempt to succeed to Mr. Trumps supporters should Mr. Trump falter. His attacks now are contrived and duplicitous. Second, Mr. Cruz waited until Mr. Trump was gone and could not defend himself to launch his attacks  it was a cowardly thing to do. And third, while Mr. Cruz may find his remarks humorous, a real leader engages in self-deprecating and situational humor, not personal attacks. (For all of his attempts at wrapping himself in the cloak of President Ronald Reagan (R) Mr. Cruz missed the whole concept of Mr. Reagans use of humor.)

Mr. Cruz won the Iowa caucuses based on a superior organization (ground game). But while Iowa gives us a first glimpse at voting patterns it has failed to produce an eventual Republican winner in decades. (That is the result of its structure and the relatively low turnout when compared to the total registered voters. Now it is on to New Hampshire with an open and more traditional primary. If Mr. Cruz fares well there, then Republicans should worry. Based on character, Mr. Cruz will not only lose to Ms. Clinton but could well hand the Senate back to the Democrats.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)

Ms. Clinton, who sought to minimize her opportunity for visible mistakes and criticism during the primary season by using the Democrat National Committee (DNC) to limit the number of debates and place them opposite more popular television events, is now, in the face of declining poll numbers, trying to increase the number of debates in hopes of repairing her damaged reputation and stopping the insurgency of Sen. Bernie Sanders (Socialist  VT). But all of that may be to no avail given the disclosures last week. The Wall Street Journal noted:

[State] Department spokesman John Kirby said 22 documents containing highly classified information will be excluded entirely from the release of Mrs. Clintons archive [the documents transmitted, received and/or stored on Ms. Clintons private email account and server]. So far, more than 1,300 have been redacted, with portions blocked out, due to the presence of classified information, but this is the first example of emails being entirely withheld from public release. [Bracketed words supplied].

The WSJ also reported that the State Department will now launch its own investigation into these and other reports deemed classified and that further disclosure will be delayed during that investigation. The delay is likely to last through the Democrat primary season. How convenient! Of course, Ms. Clinton immediately called for a full release of all of the documents  something she has done previously and something she knows will not happen because her former colleagues at the State Department and the Obama administration will continue to cooperate in stonewalling information about Ms. Clintons tenure as Secretary of State.

We are all left to speculate as to the content of these documents but what we know with certainty is that they are fresh evidence of Ms. Clintons continuing lies about the use of her emails and servers. Given the Obama administrations willingness to lie and withhold evidence in other matters we are also free to speculate that the information being withheld has less to do with national security and more do with Mr. Obamas complicity in one or more of the international disasters (i.e. The Russian reset, the Syrian red line, Benghazi and the ouster of Libyas Muammar Gaddafi) or Ms. Clintons involvement in a pay for play scheme involving foreign governments and enterprises and the Clinton Foundation.

And while the mainstream media dismisses Ms. Clintons email scandal as mere misdemeanors which subject her to a fine at worse, they are wrong as usual. A good prosecutor would charge Ms. Clinton and her aide Huma Abedin with conspiracy to commit misdemeanors which is a felony and punishable by prison time. All a conspiracy requires is a demonstration of agreement to commit the crime (misdemeanor or felony) and an act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Ms. Clinton and Ms. Abedin (along with others) agreed to install and use Ms. Clintons private email account and server for the receipt and delivery of State Department information including classified information. They then installed it  agreement and acts in furtherance of the agreement. There are a myriad of other acts by Ms. Clinton and/or Ms. Abedin in furtherance of this conspiracy including instructions to strip designation and source information from official documents and send them as if they were unclassified documents.

The Clinton scandals are the best argument for any Republican who becomes President to retain Gov. Chris Christie (assuming he himself is not the winner) as Attorney General with instructions to fully prosecute the Clintons and end over two decades of influence peddling by Americas newest crime family  Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton as Protector of Women

Democrat presidential primary contestant Hillary Clinton has wrapped herself in a form of feminism in which she, and she alone, defines the struggle of women in America. As a part of that, Ms. Clinton appears to be the sole arbiter of who is a sexist, and who it not. One of her first targets during this campaign season has been Republican presidential primary contender Donald Trump. (For the rest of the Republican field, dont worry, Ms. Clinton will get around to you if you rise in the polls sufficiently to realistically challenge her for what was to be her coronation.)

But Mr. Trump, never one to take a criticism lying down, has fired back by reminding America of the predatory sexual practices of Ms. Clintons husband, former President Bill Clinton.

If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the womens card on me, shes wrong!

The so-called womens movement  yet another legitimate cause, suborned now as an arm of the Democrat party  quickly rose to the defense of Ms. Clinton by noting that she too was a victim of Mr. Clintons sexual dalliances  the cucquean. (Oh, for Petes sake look it up  I had to.) But thats not true  Ms. Clinton, at the very least, was an enabler.

During last weeks Republican presidential primary debate, several of the candidates  all men  tried to crystallize the criticism of the Clintons and their parts in the abuse of women. Sen. Rand Paul (R-TN) noted:

But I do think her position as promoting womens rights and fairness to women in the workplace, that if what Bill Clinton did, any CEO in our country did, with an intern, they would be firedThe thing is, [Hillary] cant be a champion of womens rights at the same time shes got this that is always lurking out there, this type of behavior. So it is difficult.

Ben Carson asked whether we have any moral standards.

But leave it to Carly Fiorina to put the proper perspective on it. Ms. Fiorina noted that if her husband had acted as Bill Clinton did he would have been gone a long time ago. And thats the point. Ms. Clinton chose power over fidelity, power over humiliation and power over right. Ms. Clinton recognizes that without Mr. Clinton she is nobody. She has no independent accomplishments. On her own she has been fired for lying and withholding evidence from the Watergate Committee and has failed the bar examination for Washington D.C. It is only through Mr. Clinton that Ms. Clinton has achieved importance.

She did not just tolerate Mr. Clintons serial sexual predatory practices, she actively participated in the subsequent denigration of his accusers right down to embracing the term bimbo eruptions as an excuse for Mr. Clintons frequent predatory acts. From Gennifer Flowers who Ms. Clinton described as trailer trash to Monica Lewinski who she described as a narcissistic loony tune Ms. Clinton chose power over the protection of women. When asked whether Paula Jones should be believed concerning her accusations against Mr. Clinton, Ms. Clinton responded:

Well, I would say that everybody should be believed at first until they are disbelieved based on evidence.

Thus implying that Ms. Jones should not be believed based on facts. Unfortunately, the facts indicate that the Clintons paid Ms. Jones $850,000 in settlement of those accusations.

And add to that the fact that the Clintons have accepted millions of dollars from foreign governments who treat women as mere chattels and you again realize that money and power trump everything for which Ms. Clinton claims to stand. There are hundreds of women who are true champions of womens rights and womens issues  Hillary Clinton is just not one of them.
A few months ago it was the directive that nurses had to declare their white privilege before attending to their patients. NOW The Medical Board of Australia draft code of conduct that will apply to all Australian doctors requires doctors to be culturally safe and comply with a patients beliefs about gender identity and sexuality, with no provision given for a doctor to differ in their professional judgements. .We are concerned with the possible interpretation of culturally safe, that it should not impact on good health outcomes and good medical practice, the group has stated. We are concerned that respectful practice is significantly different to respectful of the beliefs and cultures of others and that this change also could impact on good health outcomes. Respect for a patient does not equal respecting cultural beliefs and practices that may be antithetical to good medical practice. Other possible areas of conflict rel
Under the plan, up to 1,000 British troops would form part of a 6,000-strong joint force with Italy  Libyas former colonial power  in training and advising Libyan forces. British special forces could also be engaged on the front line.



With an initial foothold in Libya intentionally designed to last, it will inevitably be expanded, supporting US AFRICOM operations throughout the rest of North Africa.

As has been explained by geopolitical analysts since 2011, terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and their various rebrandings are far from being the Wests true adversaries. Besides being funded, armed, and backed by the Wests closest and oldest Middle Eastern allies  particularly the Saudis and Qataris  these terrorist organizations serve a two-fold purpose. First, they serve as a mercenary army with which the West fights targeted nations by proxy. Second, they serve as a pretext for direct Western military intervention when proxy war fails or is not an option.

As of 2011, literally these very same terrorists were organized, armed, funded, and provided with NATO aircover to overthrow the government of Libya. From there, they were rearmed and shipped to NATO-member Turkey where they then invaded northern Syria, and more specifically Idlib and the pivotal city of Aleppo.

The administration has said that the previously hidden CIA operation in Benghazi involved finding, repurchasing and destroying heavy weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, but in October we reported evidence indicating that U.S. agents  particularly murdered ambassador Chris Stevens  were at least aware of heavy weapons moving from Libya to jihadist Syrian rebels.

There have been several possible SA-7 spottings in Syria dating as far back as early summer 2012, and there are indications that at least some of Gaddafis 20,000 portable heat-seeking missiles were shipped before now.

On Sept. 6 a Libyan ship carrying 400 tons of weapons for Syrian rebels docked in southern Turkey. The ships captain was a Libyan from Benghazi who worked for the new Libyan government. The man who organized that shipment, Tripoli Military Council head Abdelhakim Belhadj, worked directly with Stevens during the Libyan revolution.

The Business Insiders mention of Abdelhakim Belhaj working directly with Ambassador Stevens is particularly important. Belhaj was quite literally the leader of US State Department-listed foreign terrorist organization, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)  Al Qaeda in Libya. Despite his obvious ties to Al Qaeda, he was openly backed by the US during the 2011 Libyan War, and afterward, was posing for pictures with US senators including Arizona senator John McCain in the aftermath of NATOs regime change operations. LIFGs leader, Abdelhakim Belhadj, is now reportedly also a senior leader of ISIS in Libya.

Herridge reported that one of the alleged leaders of ISIS in North Africa is Libyan Abdelhakim Belhadj, who was seen by the U.S. as a willing partner in the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Now, its alleged he is firmly aligned with ISIS and supports the training camps in eastern Libya, Herridge said.

Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazineNew Eastern Outlook.

Up to 6,000 troops are being sent to invade and occupy Libya, seizing oilfields allegedly threatened by terrorists NATO armed and put into power in 2011. The London Telegraph, almost as a footnote, reports of a sizable Western military force being sent in on the ground to occupy Libya in an operation it claims is aimed at fighting the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). In its article,  Islamic State battles to seize control of key Libyan oil depot , it reports:One would suspect a 6,000-strong foreign military force being sent into Libya would be major headline news, with debates raging before the operation even was approved. However, it appears with no debate, no public approval, and little media coverage, US, British, and European troops, including Libyas former colonial rulers  the Italians  are pushing forward with direct military intervention in Libya, once again.The Mirrors  SAS spearhead coalition offensive to halt Islamic State oil snatches in Libya , claims the Wests 6,000 soldiers face up to 5,000 ISIS terrorists  raising questions about the veracity of both the true intentions of the Wests military intervention and the nature of the enemy they are allegedly intervening to fight.Military doctrine generally prescribes overwhelming numerical superiority for invading forces versus defenders. For example, during the the 2004 battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah, the US arrayed over 10,000 troops versus 3,000-4,000 defenders. This means large, sweeping operations to directly confront and destroy ISIS in Libya are not intended, and like Western interventions elsewhere, it is being designed to instead perpetuate the threat of ISIS and therefore, perpetuate Western justification for extraterritorial military intervention in Libya and beyond.This was first illustrated with the very inception of Al Qaeda in the 1980s where it was used as a proxy force by the US and Saudis to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. In 2001, the presence of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was used as a pretext for a US invasion and occupation that endures to this very day.It is clear that the West is not fighting ISIS, but instead, has clearly both created it and is intentionally perpetuating it to help justify its military and geopolitical maneuvering across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and advance its aspirations toward regional and global political, military, and economic hegemony.The very same technicals  armed trucks used in combat  bearing the Libyan rebel insignia, have literally just been painted over by images of ISIS flag, like props on a Hollywood set being used in a bad sequel. With the US-British and European intervention in a destroyed Libya overrun by terrorists  a Libya we were promised by NATO was bringing brought peace, stability, freedom, and democracy with its 2011 intervention, we see fully the danger of entrusting other nations to a similar fate wrought by Western intervention  most notably Syria.
PIA Chairman announced his resignation

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Nasser Jaffer announced on Tuesday evening that he has resigned from his post following the death of two PIA employees during a clash with security personnel in Karachi earlier in the day.



He announced this while talking to Dunya TV. I have resigned from the post, said the PIA chairman while in tears.



He expressed grief over the deaths of the PIA employees and lamented at the events which lead to their deaths. "My conscience doesn't allow me to head the organisation anymore," he said.



Jaffer said he was abandoning ship because the people were not willing to accept his advice anymore. The PIA chairman said that he has sent his resignation to the prime minister.



"Fearing the backlash of the protests I had repeatedly requested Joint Action Committee chief Sohail Baloch to resolve the matter through dialogue, but in vain," Jaffer said.



He urged the protesting employees to hold dialogue with the government, "they will listen to your demands".



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said protesting employees of PIA will be fired from service and can be sent to jail for an year.



Talking to reporters during his visit to a coal power plant in Sahiwal, the premier went on to say that airline employees working during the strike will be given special rewards for their service.



Nawaz accused PIA workers of politicising the privatisation issue by resorting to strikes, adding that such acts were costing PIA Rs100 million per day.



In a move to stall the strike, Nawaz had already enforced the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 1952 for six months, barring protesting members of the PIA from participating in any union activity.



"Any person found guilty of an offence under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to a fine," the legislation reads.



Earlier in the day, two protesters died after sustaining bullet wounds when law enforcing agencies tried to disperse protesting PIA employees at Karachi Airport's Jinnah Terminal.



As news of the deaths of two PIA employees spread, the national flag carrier's flight operations across the country began shutting down in solidarity with protesters, officials said.



Yesterday, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid had also made clear that strict action will be taken against protesting employees.



Let me make clear that those who continue the strike will be treated as enemies of PIA and Pakistan and they will end up losing their jobs, he stressed.



Employees of the national carrier had threatened to go on a strike from Tuesday because of what they called the governments refusal to accept their main demand of calling off the organisations privatisation plan.



Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while expressing views on the situation in Karachi, said criticising security forces without evidence is unacceptable as they risk their lives while saving people and maintaining peace.



The interior minister expressed grief over the loss of lives while maintaining that the responsibility of securing public property does not only fall upon security agencies but upon the general public too.



"Those protesting must explain that under what law they created difficulties for the common people by suspending flight operations and damaging public property," he said.



Earlier, Deputy Inspector General East Kamran Fazal said bullet casings were collected to ascertain who opened fire on the protesters. He claimed the bullets were not fired by policemen.



"We instructed our personnel not to handle the protesters violently. We are trying to find out who initiated the clash," he said.



"No Rangers personnel has fired to control the protest at Jinnah Terminal today," Rangers Public Relations Officer said in an official statement.
Senate took the issue of BOL TV

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday took up the issue of BOL TV, which was not allowed to start its transmission last year, and directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman to become a party in the case.



A representative of BOL, Faisal Aziz Khan, informed the committee at a meeting presided over by Senator Kamil Ali Agha that the Ministry of Interior had issued the licence for the channel and then suspended it.



Because of the decision, thousands of employees lost their jobs and have been running from pillar to post to get their rights. Mr Khan said. Pemra chairman Absar Alam said the incident took place before his appointment in November 2015.



I have been only informed that the licence for the BOL TV was fake. I have twice written letters to the government seeking information but no reply has been sent to me, he said.



Senate body informed that ministry of interior issued licence for the channel and then suspended it

Senator Farhatullah Babar wondered how it was possible for the ministry to issue a licence for the channel and then withdraw it.



Senator Saeed Ghani also expressed concerns over the matter and said why the licence was suddenly suspended.Chairman Kamil Ali Agha directed the Pemra chairman to become a party in the case to ensure justice for the employees.



The Pemra chief assured the committee that he would look into the matter and would submit a report to the committee at its next meeting. It may be noted that the employees of BOL TV have not been paid their salaries for 10 months.



The committee directed the managing director of Pakistan Television (PTV) to improve reporting and ensure impartiality in the coverage of parliament sessions.



The committee was discussing a point of order raised by Mohammad Usman Khan Kakar during the Senate session on January 15 regarding the coverage of the upper house by the state-run channel.



Mr Kakar had alleged that PTV only covered statements of the treasury benches and did not give coverage to other members, which was discrimination. The matter was referred to the standing committee for consideration and report.



The PTV managing director, Mohammad Malick, said it was not correct that the opposition was not given a proper coverage.



We cover proceedings of parliament live on PTV National; however, we also telecast the policy statements of ministers and replies of the opposition leader on PTV News, he said.



We cannot give all the time of PTV News to cover parliament proceedings. Parliament can run its own channel and PTV is ready to support it in establishing such a channel, he said. The chairman said the committee had never asked for full time on PTV News for parliament.



We are just saying that whatever time PTV gives to the parliament proceedings, there should be no discrimination. The chairman Senate has also reservations over the coverage by PTV. He said there was also a need to improve the PTV reporting. It should also be ensured that there is no partiality in coverage, Mr Agha said.



Senator Farhatullah Babar said policy statements by ministers were shown on PTV News but when the opposition replied to the statements, they were not covered by PTV.



It is our right to be covered. The chairman Senate has directed to stop the coverage of ministers statements without his approval because only ministers are being covered on PTV News, he said.



Mr Kakar said even on PTV National, the opposition members were given coverage after midnight. It may be noted that on January 25, a similar issue was raised in the Senate standing committee on rules of procedure and privileges. Mr Malick adopted a similar stance and made the members speechless. The members then started praising Mr Malick and his policies but on Tuesday the situation was totally different for the PTV boss.
Two PIA employed killed during strike

KARACHI: The killing of two protesting employees of the Pakistan International Airlines in a clash with security forces here on Tuesday sparked widespread agitation and caused a complete suspension of the national flag carriers flight operations across the country.



While the two victims lost their lives because of bullet wounds and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the PIA employees categorically blamed the Sindh Rangers for the killing, neither police nor the paramilitary force took responsibility for the shooting.



The incident also put the federal government, which had enforced the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1952, in the PIA for six months, in an awkward position as PIA employees in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other cities suspended their work and brought flight operations to a standstill as soon as they got the news of killing of their colleagues in Karachi.



In Lahore, PIA employees said that no demonstration or suspension of flight operations was planned, but the killings in Karachi left them with no option but to go for a complete strike. Now we will shut down the flight operations across the country and show the government our strength and unity. Now our demand is not only to stop privatisation of PIA but also bring to justice those involved in the killing of two employees, said an employee.



In Rawalpindi, a rally will be taken out against the Karachi killings on Wednesday.



Funeral prayers for the two employees will be offered outside the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.



In a late-night development, a senior airline official told Dawn that PIA Chairman Nasser Jaffer had tendered his resignation.



The JAC had on Monday announced that it would bring the flight operations to a standstill from Tuesday morning as part of their protest against the proposed privatisation.



Hundreds of employees, including women, gathered at the PIA headquarters near Karachi airports old terminal to defy the essential services act and lodge their protest against the proposed privatisation.



The peaceful protest turned violent when PIA workers started marching towards the Jinnah Terminal and policemen in riot gear used a water cannon, lobbed teargas shells and baton-charged them in a bid to stop their march towards the airport.



Rangers also joined the police and resorted to baton-charge to disperse the protesters who also scuffled with law-enforcers to make their way to the airport.



During the scuffle some shots were fired that caused panic and fear among the workers, said JAC leader Chakar Shah. Later, we found several people lying in a pool of blood.



The wounded were taken to nearby medical centres and later shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, but two of them were pronounced dead.



We received four persons with gunshot wounds and two of them died, said Dr Seemin Jamali, the head of the JPMCs emergency unit.



She said that the dead were identified as aircraft engineer Saleem Akbar and Inayat Raza of the PIAs communications department.



She said that those who suffered injuries due to baton-charge and teargas shelling were released after treatment.



Captain Sohail Baloch of the JAC blamed the Sindh Rangers for carrying out firing on unarmed protesters.



When they [Rangers troops] came here our workers welcomed them. But they crossed all limits. We can accept baton-charge, use of water cannon and even teargas shelling but how can we accept straight firing on our workers, he told reporters in the evening.



A spokesman for the Sindh Rangers promptly denied his allegation and said the soldiers were only assisting police maintain law and order.



A senior Karachi police officer, DIG Kamran Fazal, also denied the involvement of police in the firing and promised to hold a transparent investigation.



Captain Baloch vowed to continue the protest and warned that the PIA operations would be affected.



The PPP-led Sindh government condemned the killing of the two employees and announced Rs2 million each as compensation.



Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah met the JAC leaders and offered to mediate between them and the federal government. The JAC mandated him to play a role and to stop the proposed privatisation as they were ready to talk to federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Ishaq Dar as well as Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq since they are reasonable people and have a key to settle the issue.



A statement issued by the Chief Ministers House said: The CM spoke over phone to Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq during a meeting with the JAC leaders and conveyed him a message for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to settle the issue amicably.
Welcome to my book blog created 2012 of books I read and review. I exhausted space on my other blog, Pat's Posts. Better to separate my readings from my writings. Eventually I will display my entire library here. I am in the process of moving some reviews from the other blog here as well. The design of this blog has been a work in progress, slowly, bear with me...
. One of the moderators from the UKDN detecting Forum (one "Puffin") decided it would be a good idea for the benefit of any met...
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
House committee rejects proposed science and humanities standards

By Clark Corbin|Idaho Education News



BOISE  A pending rule covering new science and humanities standards is in limbo, after the Idaho House Education Committee complained about the public input process surrounding the creation of the standards.



Committee Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, led Tuesday mornings effort to reject the rule.



The rule addresses numerous academic standards, including science standards pertaining to the age of the Earth, the creation of the universe and global warming.



The State Board of Education approved the rule containing the standards on Aug. 13. Written comments were accepted through Oct. 28, according to state documents.



DeMordaunt told fellow committee members that more public input was needed on the front end of the rulemaking process. He stopped short of saying that existing laws and rules were violated, and said it appears legal notice for public comment was provided.



As I look at this rule and drill down with the parties involved, I feel we can do a better job than what weve done in terms of getting feedback from our citizens with regard to this, he said during the meeting.



After the meeting, DeMordaunt told Idaho Education News that he and other committee members simply preferred a more robust comment process.



It is my belief that this wasnt done in the best way possible, DeMordaunt said. It doesnt mean they werent good standards. But before we ever talk about content, weve got to be assured the process is open, transparent and invites the public participation.



Neither DeMordaunt nor other committee members complained about the public input process regarding a suite of unrelated rules they addressed Tuesday.



And committee members barely mentioned the content of the standards. However, Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, said language that says human activities have significantly altered the biosphere was troublesome to some people.



Significantly? Clow said. Compared to what?  I think you could write standards without using some of that terminology and still have appropriate science standards.



After the meeting, State Board of Education spokesman Blake Youde said board members and the State Department of Education adhered to all public comment and notification guidelines during the rulemaking process. The issue, Youde told Idaho Education News, is that several people attempted to provide input after the public comment period closed.



According to state documents, a group of 15 Idaho science teachers met in March and May 2015 to review and revise the science standards.



The fate of the rule now rests with the Senate Education Committee. If the Senate committee approves the rule, the standards can still be adopted. If the Senate committee kills the rule, then it is dead for the session, and existing standards would remain in place for 2016-17.



If the Senate kills the rule, Youde says the State Board and State Department of Education would likely begin the rulemaking process all over again, although a specific course of action is not yet determined.



In other action Tuesday:



Computer science initiatives. The House voted 66-2 to pass a computer science initiative pushed by DeMordaunt.



Through House Bill 379, DeMordaunt hopes to develop a set of computer science standards, create an online repository of educational materials and foster partnerships with industry leaders, state officials and educators.



DeMordaunt, who owns a software company, said he is concerned students lack the tech skills necessary to satisfy hiring demands within the expanding software and technology sectors.



The new computer science initiative would be based out of the states STEM Action Center. DeMordaunt estimated the initiative would cost $94,300 out of next years budget, enough money to hire one full-time employee and cover administrative costs.



Rep. Heather Scott



Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, and Rep. Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton, were the only House members to vote against the bill.



Neither lawmaker explained her vote, but while the bill was being considered Scott asked DeMordaunt two questions about whether industry leaders were developing the computer science standards.



DeMordaunt told her he supports creating nationally recognized computer education standards that are developed collaboratively with local industry leaders.



During a committee hearing last week, 13 business leaders and educators spoke in favor of the bills passage, while nobody opposed it.



The bill next heads to the Senate for consideration.



Gear Up Idaho Scholarship. Members of the House Education Committee followed the Senates lead and partially rejected a pending rule that pertains to the Gear Up Idaho Scholarship.



Committee members on Tuesday said they were concerned about fairness issues with how student grade point averages are calculated when selecting scholarship winners. The rule would have clarified that unweighted GPAs on a four-point scale are used to partially determine scholarship recipients. That means that students who pass rigorous Advanced Placement courses do not get to use a weighted five-point scale on their scholarship applications, as many lawmakers felt they should.



Those who favored a weighted GPA scale said the rigor of coursework should be considered when the scholarship is awarded.



Now that both chambers have rejected a portion of the rule, it is essentially dead for the session.



But that doesnt mean there will be any changes in how the scholarship is awarded  at least not for now. Tracie Bent, the State Board of Educations chief planning and policy officer, told lawmakers that there is no fair way to calculate weighted GPAs between school districts across the state. Many districts offer AP courses, but many others do not, and state officials have so far been unable to develop a compromise.



Idahos current practice involved awarding the scholarship based on unweighted GPAs, and that practice will continue until state officials develop a solution, Bent said.



In that regard, rejecting the rule amounted to essentially sending a message to the State Board of Education, rather than bringing about an immediate policy change.














The University of Pennsylvania MFA Forum (also known as the PennDesign MFA blog) is a resource for current students enrolled in UPenn's MFA program as well as for alumni and other artists. Announcements of events, lectures and exhibitions, as well as student, alumni and faculty activities are an important part of this blog's mission. The University of Pennsylvania MFA Forum is independently run by students. To write for the blog, please email





chiara.no.artist@gmail.com







Richard Hogan (MFA '16)

MFA Forum Author
Media Report : During a stormy session at the Scottish Parliament , former top judge Lord Brian Gill - who twice refused to face a Holyrood probe on judges secret wealth, connections & links to big business - demanded MSPs close proposals to require judges to register their interests as called for in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary . Video footage of Lord Gills stormy evidence session with MSPs can be viewed here: Evidence of Lord Gill before the Scottish Parliament 10 November 2015

The proposals, backed by cross party MSPs during a debate in the Parliaments main chamber on 9 October 2014 - Debating the Judges - call for the creation of a publicly available register of judicial interests containing information on judges backgrounds, their personal wealth, undeclared earnings, business & family connections inside & outside of the legal profession, offshore investments, hospitality, details on recusals and other information routinely lodged in registers of interest across all walks of public life in the UK and around the world.
WT1190F reentry on Nov. 13, 2015. The breakup of space debris object WT1190F after it entered Earth's atmosphere near the coast of Sri Lanka at a steep 21-degree angle and high 6.5 miles per second speed relative to the atmosphere. Daytime video taken from a G450 aircraft in a mission sponsored by the International Astronomical Center in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency. Video obtained by a team from Dexter Southfield, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the SETI Institute in collaboration with NASA. Credit: Dexter Southfield, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the SETI Institute, in collaboration with NASA.

The dramatic fall reentry of a piece of space debris has served as a dress rehearsal for researchers who observe small asteroid entries and impacts.

The object, tagged as WT1190F, reentered Earth's atmosphere near the coast of Sri Lanka on Nov. 13, 2015. The researchers' video evidence was revealed in a special session on aerothermodynamics of meteor entries during the recent American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum and Exposition meeting in San Diego.

"This object entered much like a small asteroid, creating a 12-second long meteor," said lead author Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. "We observed the sequence in which WT1190F broke apart at 37 miles altitude, and then tracked more than 18 fragments."

Jenniskens teamed with Mohammad Odeh, director of the International Astronomical Center (IAC) in Abu Dhabi, to lead a veteran team of NASA- and European Space Agency (ESA)- supported scientists in the mission. The airborne observing campaign was sponsored by IAC and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency, who chartered a G450 business jet to bring the team to the view the entry while airborne.

"All teams were successful in collecting data," said Odeh. "We managed to dodge the clouds that hampered the observers on the ground and had a prime view of the entry from an altitude of 45,000 feet."

The team was supported by astronomers worldwide, who tracked the object in space and reported their observations to the Minor Planet Center, the clearinghouse for asteroid observations. Orbit dynamicists at NASA's Center for near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies hosted at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, then calculated the exact time of the entry to an accuracy of 0.1 seconds.

"This space debris object entered the atmosphere at an angle of 20.6 degrees and had a speed of 6.5 miles per second relative to the atmosphere at 62 miles altitude," said Davide Farnocchia of JPL. "The tricky part in predicting the place and time of impact was to account for the weak but important push of the sun's radiation pressure on this artificial, mostly hollow, object of unknown shape."

As expected, the best observations were made in the hours before reentry, when the small one-meter sized object became relatively bright, but was also quick and hard to track in telescopes.

"An astronomer in the United Kingdom recorded a rapid flicker that showed WT1190F spinning once every 1.5 seconds," said Jenniskens, who recorded a wide-angle view of the entry onboard the aircraft. "When WT1190F entered Earth's atmosphere, it showed a similar flicker from how it broke apart."

The research team used a variety of techniques to study the entry, including high resolution imaging, photometry and spectroscopy. The IAC team collected visible photometric observations, while a team from the Institute of Space Systems from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, collected near-infrared broadband photometric data. A team from Dexter Southfield in Brookline, Massachusetts, recorded the breakup in a color video and obtained spectroscopic signatures at the time of peak brightness, despite the bright background of the daytime sky.

"One fragment showed the distinct broad-band emissions of the titanium oxide radical and emission from hydrogen," said Ron Dantowitz of Dexter Southfield.

Jenniskens suspects that this data points to a disrupting titanium tank with some residual fuel. These and other clues may help identify the nature of this still unidentified object.

The UAE Space Agency team tracked the fragments the longest in the daytime sky using a monochrome camera. They tracked two objects down to 22 miles in altitude, where the objects left their field of view.

"It is possible that what was left of those fragments fell in the Indian Ocean," said Darrel Robertson, a contractor with the Science and Technology Corporation working at NASA's Ames Asteroid Threat Assessment Project. He had applied tools used for asteroid impact calculations to find that certain artificial objects can survive mostly intact even in these conditions.

The success of the mission has given Jenniskens new confidence that a future asteroid impact can be observed if the team is able to respond quickly enough.

"It won't be easy. For small asteroids of a few meters in size, we will probably get only a few days of warning," he said.

Explore further Spectacular breakup of WT1190F seen by airborne astronomers
Saturn's B ring is the most opaque of the main rings, appearing almost black in this Cassini image taken from the unlit side of the ringplane. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

It seems intuitive that an opaque material should contain more stuff than a more translucent substance. For example, muddier water has more suspended particles of dirt in it than clearer water. Likewise, you might think that, in the rings of Saturn, more opaque areas contain a greater concentration of material than places where the rings seem more transparent.

But this intuition does not always apply, according to a recent study of the rings using data from NASA's Cassini mission. In their analysis, scientists found surprisingly little correlation between how dense a ring might appear to bein terms of its opacity and reflectivenessand the amount of material it contains.

The new results concern Saturn's B ring, the brightest and most opaque of Saturn's rings, and are consistent with previous studies that found similar results for Saturn's other main rings.

The scientists found that, while the opacity of the B ring varied by a large amount across its width, the mass - or amount of material - did not vary much from place to place. They "weighed" the nearly opaque center of the B ring for the first timetechnically, they determined its mass density in several placesby analyzing spiral density waves. These are fine-scale ring features created by gravity tugging on ring particles from Saturn's moons, and the planet's own gravity. The structure of each wave depends directly on the amount of mass in the part of the rings where the wave is located.

Some parts of Saturn's B ring are up to 10 times more opaque than the neighboring A ring, but the B ring may weigh in at only two to three times the A ring's mass. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

"At present it's far from clear how regions with the same amount of material can have such different opacities. It could be something associated with the size or density of individual particles, or it could have something to do with the structure of the rings," said Matthew Hedman, the study's lead author and a Cassini participating scientist at the University of Idaho, Moscow. Cassini co-investigator Phil Nicholson of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, co-authored the work with Hedman.

"Appearances can be deceiving," said Nicholson. "A good analogy is how a foggy meadow is much more opaque than a swimming pool, even though the pool is denser and contains a lot more water."

Research on the mass of Saturn's rings has important implications for their age. A less massive ring would evolve faster than a ring containing more material, becoming darkened by dust from meteorites and other cosmic sources more quickly. Thus, the less massive the B ring is, the younger it might beperhaps a few hundred million years instead of a few billion.

This image is cropped from a panoramic view of Saturn's main ring system, and includes the names of major ring features. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

"By 'weighing' the core of the B ring for the first time, this study makes a meaningful step in our quest to piece together the age and origin of Saturn's rings," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "The rings are so magnificent and awe-inspiring, it's impossible for us to resist the mystery of how they came to be."

While all the giant planets in our solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) have ring systems of their own, Saturn's are clearly different. Explaining why Saturn's rings are so bright and vast is an important challenge in understanding their formation and history. For scientists, the density of material packed into each section of the rings is a critical factor in ascribing their formation to a physical process.

An earlier study by members of Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer team had suggested the possibility that there might be less material in the B ring than researchers had thought. The new analysis is the first to directly measure the density of mass in the ring and demonstrate that this is the case.

The B ring is the brightest of Saturn's rings when viewed in reflected sunlight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Hedman and Nicholson used a new technique to analyze data from a series of observations by Cassini's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer as it peered through the rings toward a bright star. By combining multiple observations, they were able to identify spiral density waves in the rings that aren't obvious in individual measurements.

The analysis also found that the overall mass of the B ring is unexpectedly low. It was surprising, said Hedman, because some parts of the B ring are up to 10 times more opaque than the neighboring A ring, but the B ring may weigh in at only two to three times the A ring's mass.

Despite the low mass found by Hedman and Nicholson, the B ring is still thought to contain the bulk of material in Saturn's ring system. And although this study leaves some uncertainty about the ring's mass, a more precise measurement of the total mass of Saturn's rings is on the way. Previously, Cassini had measured Saturn's gravity field, telling scientists the total mass of Saturn and its rings. In 2017, Cassini will determine the mass of Saturn alone by flying just inside the rings during the final phase of its mission. The difference between the two measurements is expected to finally reveal the rings' true mass.

The study was published online by the journal Icarus.

More information: "The B-Ring's Surface Mass Density from Hidden Density Waves: Less than Meets the Eye?" M. M. Hedman & P. D. Nicholson, 2016, Icarus, DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.01.007 Journal information: Icarus "The B-Ring's Surface Mass Density from Hidden Density Waves: Less than Meets the Eye?" M. M. Hedman & P. D. Nicholson, 2016,
Like elsewhere around the globe the use of drones in the Netherlands is booming

Dutch police are turning to a phalanx of winged predators to solve the problem of unauthorised drone flights in restricted areas such as airports and over crowds: eagles.

Police officers, who are looking for the best way to intercept unauthorised drones, are conducting tests with the birds of prey together with a specialised Dutch company called Guard from Above, a police spokesman said on Wednesday.

"It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem," Dennis Janus said.

"We use the birds' age-old hunting instinct to intercept and neutralise drones," he told AFP.

Police released video footage of the tests, which shows an eagle in flight firmly grasping the drone with its talons before landing a few metres (yards) away.

The eagles are trained by Guard from Above, which describes itself as the "first company in the world that uses birds of prey to intercept drones."

Like elsewhere around the globe the use of drones in the Netherlands is booming.

"For obvious security reasons, you can't fly a drone just anywhere," said Janus, adding that it is forbidden to fly drones in airports or over large crowds.

"If a drone falls on somebody it could kill," Janus added.

Dutch police are using eagles to deal with unauthorised drone flights in restricted areas such as airports and over crowds

Police are also testing a method to "hack" a drone's controls or to catch it in a net carried by another drone.

The test using birds of prey is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, and will examine the raptors' reaction to crowds.

An eagle brings down a drone for Dutch police

Explore further Researchers conduct study to determine impact of using drones to study birds

 2016 AFP
EU lawmakers wave through plans to allow diesel car makers to exceed pollution limits, in a big victory for the auto industry after the Volkswagen scandal

EU lawmakers on Wednesday waved through plans to allow diesel car makers to exceed pollution limits, in a big victory for the auto industry after the Volkswagen scandal.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU's 28 member states, announced the new limits in October as the VW scandal raged, part of plans to adopt more realistic pollution monitoring based on real road conditions instead of laboratory tests.

But the proposals contained major loopholes for car-makers that were negotiated secretly by experts from member states, angering environmentalists who reacted with a major push to block the new limits at the European Parliament.

MEPs voted 323 in favour of leaving the loopholesknown as "conformity factors"with 317 MEPS voting against them. There were 60 abstentions.

The commission has been accused of ignoring evidence that Germany's Volkswagen was massively cheating to pass pollution tests, a revelation made by US regulators.

It said in an email that it welcomed parliament's green light, hailing it as a much needed transition to tougher "real-driving" pollution tests.

"By better reflecting the actual level of emissions in real driving conditions, these tests will reduce the net amount of air pollution emitted by diesel cars," commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said in an email.

The commission said Wednesday that a raft of reforms announced last week would tighten the screws on pollution.

Europe's auto industry, which employs 12 million people, insisted the new limits were unprecedented.

"This regulation will be a major challenge for the industry, with new and more stringent testing standards that will be extremely difficult to reach in a short space of time," said Erik Jonnaert, head of the Brussels-based car lobby ACEA .

"However automobile manufacturers welcome the much-needed clarity, and are eager to move forward by implementing the new testing conditions as soon the regulation is adopted," he said.

Under the commission's plan, from September 2017 new diesel models would be allowed to exceed the EU's official nitrogen oxide limit by more than double.

From 2020, the discrepancy would fall to 50 percent more than the limit, indefinitely.

Legal experts at the European Parliament had argued ahead of the vote that the allowances were illegal.

"It is intolerable to learn that after the Volkswagen scandal, the member states and the commission conceded to the sirens of the auto industry in allowing it to exceed European anti-pollution limits," said MEP Karima Delli of the Greens group.

Explore further EU lawmakers blast plans to ease diesel pollution limits

 2016 AFP
In order to know the level of an area's exposure to environmental contaminants, scientists can analyse metal concentrations in the organs of animals, who become environmental bioindicators. An example of this is the first study on red foxes in Galicia, which reveals low levels of cadmium, lead and zinc in northwestern Spain.

Some metals, if present in high concentration, can be toxic for the environment and living things. Lead and cadmium, for instance, in addition to having no biological function, are fatally toxic at low concentrations. In order to measure the presence of these metals in a specific place, scientists analyse their accumulation in the internal organs of animals, who act as natural bioindicators.

For the first time, a team of Spanish scientists has examined data from a group of 250 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Galicia between 2003 and 2011 to understand the region's environmental situation and to compare the results with those obtained from other specimens in Europe. The results have been published in the journal 'Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry'.

The novelty of this study is that it accounts for factors that may influence contaminant levels, such as the sex or age of the animals, which until now had not received a great amount of attention in ecotoxicology.

"The fox is a good species for biomonitoring studies, because as it submits to collection by trapping, it is possible to collect large numbers of specimens without sacrificing them," SINC was told by the paper's main author, Marcos Perez Lopez, a researcher at the University of Extremadura (Caceres).

"Moreover, in foxes it is easy to assess the effects of endogenous variables, such as sex or age, to establish comprehensive environmental biomonitoring programmes, allowing long-term monitoring of the levels of heavy metals in the area," the expert adds.

Differences by age and region

The researchers analysed the concentration of cadmium, lead and zinc in the foxes' livers and kidneys, discovering that there was little difference between males and females. However, they did observe higher concentrations in older specimens.

One of the researchers' conclusions was that levels of these elements in the foxes' internal organs were within the European average, and in the case of lead were even lower than levels recorded in other countries such as Switzerland, Poland or Italy.

"It is interesting to see that levels are lower than in other areas of Europe, traditionally subject to more intense industrial activity; this would confirm that the ecosystems studied through the biomonitoring of foxes in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsular, at least for the contaminants analysed, are in a very good state environmentally," Perez Lopez observes.

The results also uncovered differences within Spain as a whole: data from red foxes in Galicia were compared to data recorded in Andalusia, and it was discovered that cadmium levels were higher in northwestern specimens than those from the southern area. Lead levels were also higher.

"To a great extent, this reflects the composition of the soil, and in that sense it may indicate that natural areas of the south contain fewer metal contaminants than those in the north, in no case reaching dangerous levels," explains Perez Lopez.

Galicia, out of harm's way

One explanation for all of these metals accumulating in animal organs comes down to human actions. A fox may eat other animals which have been wounded by hunters' bullets, absorbing the lead contained in the ammunition.

Foxes and other mammals are at greater risk from the accumulation of toxic elements due to their high position in the food chain. However, the scientists point out that red foxes in the northwest of Spain do not present a worrying level of these metals in their organs.

"The results demonstrate that the area studied generally has low levels of contaminant metals, which indicates that there is not a high level of toxicological risk, at least for these contaminants, if they remain within these parameters," Perez Lopez concludes.

Explore further Nightly human-fox encounters in West Vienna

More information: Marcos Perez-Lopez et al. Bioaccumulation of cadmium, lead and zinc in liver and kidney of red fox ( ) from NW Spain: influence of gender and age , Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry (2015). Marcos Perez-Lopez et al. Bioaccumulation of cadmium, lead and zinc in liver and kidney of red fox ( ) from NW Spain: influence of gender and age ,(2015). DOI: 10.1080/02772248.2015.1107065
Hepatitis E virus-like particles can be modified so that molecules such as LXY30, which binds to cancer cells, can be attached to them. Credit: Marie Stark/UC Davis

UC Davis researchers have developed a way to use the empty shell of a Hepatitis E virus to carry vaccines or drugs into the body. The technique has been tested in rodents as a way to target breast cancer, and is available for commercial licensing through UC Davis Office of Research.

Hepatitis E virus is feco-orally transmitted, so it can survive passing through the digestive system, said Marie Stark, a graduate student working with Professor Holland Cheng in the UC Davis Department of Molecular and Cell Biology.

Cheng, Stark and colleagues prepared virus-like particles based on Hepatitis E proteins. The particles do not contain any virus DNA, so they can't multiply and spread and cause infections.

Such particles could be used as vaccines that are delivered through food or drink. The idea is that you would drink the vaccine, and after passing through the stomach the virus-like particles would get absorbed in the intestine and deliver vaccines to the body.

But the particles could also be used to attack cancer. Stark and Cheng did some tinkering with the proteins, so that they carry sticky cysteine amino acids on the outside. They could then chemically link other molecules to these cysteine groups.

They worked with a molecule called LXY-30, developed by researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is known to stick to breast cancer cells. By using a fluorescent marker, they could show that virus-like particles carrying LXY-30 could home in on breast cancer cells both in a laboratory dish and in a mouse model of breast cancer.

Results of the study are published in the journal Nanomedicine.

So perhaps one day, cancer patients might drink their medicine and UC Davis-designed virus-like particles carrying anticancer drugs will home in on their target.

Explore further Advances in electron microscopy reveal secrets of HIV and other viruses

More information: Chun-Chieh Chen et al. Chemically activatable viral capsid functionalized for cancer targeting, Nanomedicine (2016). Chun-Chieh Chen et al. Chemically activatable viral capsid functionalized for cancer targeting,(2016). DOI: 10.2217/nnm.15.207 Information about licensing the technology can be found at: https://techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/NCD/24218.html. Journal information: Nanomedicine
For Immediate Release

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is calling on world leaders to prioritize Syrias shattered health system by creating mechanisms for thousands of displaced medical professionals to temporarily practice in neighboring countries. PHRs call comes in light of this weeks conference of donor governments meeting in London to discuss response to the Syrian crisis.

PHR released a paper calling on donor governments attending the conference to convene the governments of Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey as well as private donors, representatives from key international organizations and medical groups, to ensure Syrian health professionals who have fled the country can practice medicine and alleviate some of the burden on health infrastructures in the neighboring countries.

Regulations that prevent Syrian doctors and other skilled Syrian health professionals from practicing in neighboring countries unnecessarily exacerbate suffering and have consequences far beyond the immediate needs of the Syrian refugees, said Donna McKay, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights. To be sure, authorities anywhere have a legitimate interest in regulating who is allowed to practice medicine in their territory. But the scale of the Syrian crisis and massive unmet health needs of Syrian refugees demand at least a temporary solution.

Medical workers who have not been able to practice  or those who fled without completing their training  are missing education and losing skills that will be crucial to rebuilding Syrias now decimated health care system. Regulatory roadblocks can be lifted without military action or UN Security Council agreement. This must be a priority.

Limiting Syrian medical professionals ability to practice medicine is one of the dire consequences of the Syrian governments massive five-year assault on doctors and medical facilities. Estimates indicate that more than half of Syrias 30,000 doctors have fled  and as health care professionals are killed or driven out, entire communities are left without any medical care.

According to PHRs data, 2015 marked the worst year on record for attacks on medical facilities in Syria, with government forces responsible for most of the more than 100 attacks. Between March 2011 and November 2015, the latest month for which data is available, there were 336 attacks on 240 medical facilities, 90 percent of them committed by Syria and its allied forces. In the same period, 697 medical personnel were killed, with Syria and its allies responsible for 95 percent of the deaths. PHR tracks these findings in an interactive map, which includes photographic and video documentation of these crimes. In November, PHR released a report detailing the Syrian governments attacks on health care, Aleppo Abandoned: A Case Study on Health Care in Syria.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.
For Immediate Release

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today called on the Turkish government to immediately allow access to medical care which has been blocked by its security forces in the southeastern part of the country.

A recently released video appears to show security forces killing unarmed civilians who were attempting to help the injured in the town of Cizre. As the Turkish government has stepped up its campaign against Kurdish insurgents, civilians in Turkeys Kurdish cities are increasingly in the line of fire. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey has reported a number of cases of medical care being denied.

Access to health care is blocked both by the government refusing to allow ambulances to access and transport the wounded or ill and by the imposition of a 24-hour curfew that makes it impossible for people to travel to hospitals and clinics. PHR said the Turkish government must ensure people can access medical facilities; that medical transport and personnel are allowed safe passage; and that all sick and wounded civilians and combatants can receive care.

In southeastern Turkey, there are credible allegations of Turkish security forces deliberately targeting civilians, some of whom are attempting to help the wounded, said Dr. Vincent Iacopino, PHRs medical director. It is critical that Turkey abide by international norms that require unrestricted access to health care for the sick and injured.

As part of the curfew imposed in the area, the Turkish government is also cutting delivery of water and electricity, both critical to the provision of basic health care. Water scarcity at home increases the risk of illnesses, and is compounded by the fact that security forces are not allowing people to leave their homes to seek care.

Sources in southeastern Turkey have described the severe consequences on the civilian population of the attacks, round-the-clock curfews, and restrictions on the mobility of medical and rehabilitation staff. PHR supports calls by Turkish activists for international monitors to ensure adherence to international norms regarding security operations, including safeguarding health services and health workers in conflict situations.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.
TimBar POP Displays Will Now Incorporate the Shelfbucks Platform to Redefine In-Store Merchandising, Allowing Brands to Rapidly Measure and Adjust In-Store Campaigns for Greater Shopper Impact

AUSTIN, TX(Marketwired  Feb 2, 2016)  Shelfbucks Inc. , the leading in-store SmartDisplay and SmartShelf marketing platform for retail stores and brands, today announced it has finalized an agreement with TimBar Packaging & Display. TimBar will now incorporate the Shelfbucks platform into its customer point-of-purchase (POP) displays, enabling brands and retailers to actively measure, manage and improve the effectiveness of in-store promotional merchandising campaigns.

The agreement builds upon the expanding Shelfbucks in-store ecosystem, making SmartDisplays available to consumer brands that Hanover, Pa.-based TimBar serves in retail stores throughout the U.S.

The new TimBar SmartDisplays will incorporate the Shelfbucks platform into brand POP merchandising, providing consumer packaged goods companies and retail partners with real-time, measureable data on when and where displays are installed within retail stores. SmartDisplays also provide detailed data on performance against marketing goals, enabling brands to adjust their campaigns to maximize sales.

Shoppers browsing a product area may interact with TimBar SmartDisplays using their smartphones to immediately access product content, promotional offers, ratings and reviews and other relevant product information provided via the Shelfbucks SmartDisplay platform.

TimBars partnership with Shelfbucks delivers entirely new, high-value marketing insights for our customers, said Mike Heneghan, vice president of sales for TimBar Packaging & Display. Our launch of SmartDisplays is another forward step in TimBars commitment to helping our customers by delivering the most advanced solutions to their merchandising challenges. We are proud to be joining the Shelfbucks industry ecosystem to drive important digital capabilities for the industry.

Erik McMillan, CEO of Austin-based Shelfbucks, added: Brands and retailers are realizing the importance of raising in-store marketing to a higher level through data-driven merchandising decisions and mobile media at the point of purchase. To achieve this, Shelfbucks is partnering with TimBar, one of the industrys leading POP display companies, to create a vast digital ecosystem that enables brands and retailers to measure campaign performance with incredible scale and accuracy, while directly engaging with customers for bigger basket sizes and greater product sales. Our Certified Partners like TimBar are making this a reality for their customers today, while helping our industry realize new growth opportunities for the long term, Mr. McMillan said.

TimBar and Shelfbucks will jointly roll out in-store SmartDisplays this year.

About TimBar Packaging & Display

TimBar Packaging & Display develops in-store merchandising solutions that promote consumer products and enable brands to reach more shoppers. Our retail packaging and customized displays strategically combine color, design and compelling messages to elevate and sell more products. TimBar Packaging & Display was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Additional information is available online at www.timbar.com .

About Shelfbucks

Shelfbucks is the leading in-store SmartShelf and SmartDisplay platform. Brands and retailers already execute brilliant in-store marketing; however, there is an opportunity to take it to the next level by leveraging digital capabilities to measure and improve success. Were programs executed? Can you identify successful programs and areas for improvement? Can mobile media at the point of purchase grow baskets and increase conversion? Shelfbucks enables retailers and brands to activate, engage and convert in-store shoppers by measuring real-time in-store shopper demand and delivering personalized special offers, coupons and expert content to shoppers iPhone or Android smartphones. Shelfbucks helps retailers and brands build a loyal relationship with in-store shoppers, while increasing category sales, profit, and return visits. Additional information on Shelfbucks is available at www.shelfbucks.com . Watch industry leaders speak on digital coming to the in-store experience @ www.shelfbucks.com/faqs . SmartShelf and SmartDisplay are trademarks of Shelfbucks Inc.
LOS ANGELES, CA(Marketwired  Feb 2, 2016)  Verifi , Inc., the leading provider of payment and risk management solutions for card-not-present merchants , today announced that they have been appointed to the Americas Advisory Board (AAB) of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC). Verifis Senior Vice President for Business Development, Rick Lynch, will occupy the board seat on behalf of the Company.

Launched in 2000, the MRC is the global forum for ecommerce, fraud prevention and payment professionals. MRC members include senior executives from leading consumer brands whose mission is to combat fraud within the card not present (CNP) and payments spaces. The MRC is a nonprofit organization and its Americas Advisory Board members contribute their expertise to guide MRC programs and member activities within their respective regions.

The MRC is thrilled to welcome Verifi to our American Advisory Board. With the common goal of making eCommerce more efficient, safe and profitable, Verifi will be a strong asset and advocate of the MRC. Rick Lynch has a wealth of eCommerce experience and knowledge and his contributions will be invaluable as our membership continues to grow. Verifi has been an active member and sponsor to the MRC and we look forward to strategic collaboration with Rick in this new role.  Danielle Nagao, CEO, Merchant Risk Council

Rick Lynch joined Verifi in 2006 as its first employee and currently serves as Senior Vice President. Leading the Business Development team, his focus is on establishing key strategic partnerships for Verifi with a broad range of banks, service providers and consultants throughout the payment industry. Rick holds more than 17 years of experience in the payment industry, across numerous revenue and risk/operational roles.

Verifi is the creator of the award-winning Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network (CDRN). The CDRN network processes hundreds of thousands of cases monthly and provides merchants and issuers with unmatched protection, preventing chargebacks through near real-time collaboration for both fraud and non-fraud disputes. CDRNs patented closed loop process integrates directly with top card issuers and redirects customer disputes from the issuer to the merchant for resolution, before they escalate and become chargebacks. As a result, merchants are more aware of and responsive to their customers, while avoiding costly fees, fines or penalties. At the same time, issuers ensure their cardholders satisfaction through timely resolution of disputes, as well as lowering their operating expenses.

Ricks appointment to the MRC Board is a further step in our commitment toward improving the payments ecosystem, said Matthew Katz, CEO of Verifi. Our missions are aligned; both Verifi and the MRC seek to resolve and minimize costly fraud for issuers, merchants and cardholders in a seamless and cost effective manner.

Prior to joining Verifi, Rick helped launch Cardinal Commerce Corporation, where he served as Director of Marketing, Director of Sales, and Director of Business Development. He is active within the Electronic Retailing Association where he established the ERAs Payments Committee.

Rick has presented at the industrys most influential industry events, including the Direct Response Forum (DRF), CNP Expo, and MRC, He has published a number of articles in payment industry periodicals, including Transaction Trends, Transaction World and The Green Sheet.

Verifi provides complete end-to-end services for merchants and issuers including its pateneted chargeback prevention solution (CDRN), chargeback representment, decline salvage, fraud prevention tools, an international payment gateway and award winning CDRN for merchants and issuers. The company serves a broad and growing base of customers ranging from early stage to Fortune 500 Merchants and top tier Issuers.

About Verifi

Verifi, an award-winning provider of end-to-end payment protection and management solutions, was founded in 2005 to help merchants effectively manage the payments challenges they face every day. Verifi helps merchants safely process payments , combat fraud, prevent and resolve costly chargebacks , as well as increase billings and keep loyal customers . Our best-in-breed solutions and white glove support are trusted by a wide range of industries from emerging companies to the Fortune 500. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, we process more than $20 billion transactions annually and currently serve more than 8,900 accounts globally. For more information, visit: www.verifi.com .
Latest News Update





Govs. John Kasich and Chris Christie, along with ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, are in a "death struggle" in New Hampshire to salvage their presidential prospects with mainstream GOP voters and donors, political strategists say.All three essentially bypassed Iowa  where conservative evangelicals dominate  to concentrate on social moderates and independents voting in the Granite State's Feb. 9 primary,Former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen calls the contest "an existential death struggle between Kasich and [Florida Sen. Marco] Rubio, and Christie and Bush.""They don't have to beat [Donald] Trump, they don't have to win New Hampshire, but they have to beat each other," he tells the Times. "If you finish third in that bracket, how can you possibly persuade mainstream Republicans and donors around the country that you are showing strength and they ought to consolidate around you?", Trump dominates first pale, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kasich are tied for the No. 2 spot, followed by Bush, Rubio and New Jersey's Christie."There are people we need to finish ahead of, and we intend to do that," senior Kasich adviser John Weaver tells the Times. "We want to clear out some people that we compete with for activists and donor support around the country."And while the candidates, it's voters who'll ultimately decide."I kind of favor the politicians who are acting governors or have been governors," Amy VanSplunder, who is as yet undecided on her vote, tells the Times. "I think they have a lot more experience governing in office, rather than someone who gets elected to the House or the Senate."Her husband Tim, a former retired Air Force colonel, dismisses Trump's unconventional and dominant campaign."I think he is a pompous ass," he tells the Times. "People like the fact that he says what he thinks, but I don't know how you can get anything done poking your finger in everyone's eyeball."
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HUDSON FALLS | Sherrie Sue Storlie, 67, of John Street, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 at home.

Born March 22, 1948, in Glens Falls, she was the daughter of late William and Margaret Ann (Barrows) Gonyea Sr.

Sherrie attended Hadley-Luzerne High School and in November 1965, she married Wayne Storlie Sr.

Sherrie was a homemaker, who brought up four perfect angels, her son and daughters. During her life, she attended Corinth Wesleyan Church and was a 4-H leader when her children were young. She was an animal lover, especially cats. Sherrie was a huge Elvis Presley fan and loved listening to his music. She was young at heart and always taught her children good basic morals. Faith was important to Sherrie and she sent her children to Sunday School. Sherrie was a fighter and struggled with her illness. She was a wonderful wife, loving mother, devoted grandmother and great-grandmother. Sherrie will be missed by her family and her friends.

Besides her parents, Sherrie was predeceased by her brother, Joseph Gonyea Sr. and her sister, Margaret Peggy Chapman.

Survivors include her husband, Wayne Storlie Sr. of Hudson Falls; her four children, Wayne Storlie Jr. and his wife of Winchester, Kentucky, Sandie Fuller of Glens Falls, Cheryl Owen and her husband, Jon, of Winchester, Kentucky and Cathie Storlie of Hudson Falls; her seven grandchildren, Andrea Storlie, Tyler Storlie, Chris Fuller, Albert Joey Fuller, Tobey Fuller, Lynn Becknell and Ashley Becknell; one great-grandson, Jameson Montgomery Garland; her brother, William Gonyea and his wife, Rebecca, of Spartanburg, South Carolina; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends may call from noon to 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 5 at Carleton Funeral Home, Inc., 68 Main St., in Hudson Falls.

Funeral services will follow the calling hour, at 1 p.m., at the funeral home, with the Rev. Flossie Gage Bates, officiating.

Burial will take place at 11 a.m., Monday, Feb. 8, at Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, Duell Road, Saratoga.

Memorial donations in memory of Sherrie may be made to American Parkinson Disease Association, 35 Parkinson Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305 or SPCA of Upstate New York, 588 Queensbury Ave., Queensbury, NY 12804.

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.carletonfuneralhome.net.
DEAR ABBY: I recently decided that I wanted to help an infertile couple conceive by becoming an egg donor. Im well-educated and have a job I love. I understand the commitment both time-wise and emotionally. I am now part of a registry, and I could be selected for a donation at any time.

Like other young women, I am dating. However, I am conflicted about whether to tell my dates about my involvement with egg donation and if so, how. I understand that this is extremely personal, but at the same time I could have genetic offspring out there. Can you advise?

HELPING OUT IN BATON ROUGE

DEAR HELPING OUT: I do not think it would be appropriate to share this information with any man you are seeing casually. However, if a relationship becomes serious, you should discuss it. A way to start the conversation would be to say, Its said that the most meaningful gift a person can give is a gift of self. Well, I have taken it literally.

DEAR ABBY: My 22-year-old daughter, a recent college graduate, is back living at home. She has been bringing her boyfriends home and having sex in her room. I have a real problem with it. There are younger children living here. My husband is not aware of what goes on behind her closed doors at night. How should I handle this?

STILL UNDER MY ROOF

DEAR STILL: If you prefer not to involve your husband in this, have a private chat with your daughter and tell her you are not comfortable with her entertaining her boyfriends in your home in the manner you have described. Tell her that if she wants to have sex, she should do it elsewhere  but not under your roof with younger children nearby. Because its your home, your rules should apply.

DEAR ABBY: My girlfriend of two years was offered the opportunity to travel to Nepal for a month-long stay. Leading up to the trip I tried not to be jealous, but I did say some childish things like, Youre leaving me for a mountain? However, before she left, I told her I knew it was a great opportunity and that she should enjoy herself.

She emailed me a couple of nights ago about how she and two of her male guides went to a bar together where she got drunk. They plan on going to the club again later during the trip.

I trust my girlfriend, but I cant help but worry that she may be taken advantage of. I didnt mention my concerns and even encouraged her to go and have fun. But am I wrong to feel worried? Am I being insecure?

LEFT AT HOME IN FLORIDA

DEAR LEFT AT HOME: Youre not wrong to feel worried. Under the circumstances, its only normal. Does your girlfriend drink at home? And if she does, how does it affect her? At high altitudes the effects of alcohol can be magnified.

Its one thing to be open-minded and quite another to be so open-minded your brains fall out. Rather than encourage her, you should have warned her to be careful because what she did was risky. As for feeling insecure, at this point youre entitled to feel that way.
TICONDEROGA | A truck driver from Pennsylvania was critically hurt Tuesday morning when the tractor-trailer he was driving veered off Route 74 and hit an embankment, police said.

The driver, Frank J. Pasqua, 53, was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont, by helicopter after the 10:15 a.m. crash near Corduroy Road. He suffered burns when the westbound truck burst into flames after it crossed the center line and went off the left side of the road, according to Ticonderoga Police.

His condition was not immediately available, but police said he was considered critically injured.

The cause of the crash was under investigation but no other vehicles were listed as being involved.

State Police, Essex County sheriff's officers, firefighters from Ticonderoga, Chilson and Schroon Lake and the Ticonderoga and Lamoille, Vermont, rescue squads assisted at the scene.
FORT EDWARD | Two Washington County women were charged with grand larceny this week for allegedly receiving thousands of dollars in public assistance to which they weren't entitled, police said.

Silvia Espinosa, 32, of Cambridge was accused of receiving $1,845 in assistance to which she wasn't entitled by failing to report all of her household income, police said.

April Rabine, 30, of Fort Edward was accused of failing to report all of her household income when receiving public assistance, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. She was accused of illegally receiving $5,500 in public assistance.

Both were charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, and released pending prosecution in Fort Edward Town Court.

The Sheriff's Office and county Department of Social Services investigated the cases.
Carrie Woerner has barely started her second year in the state Assembly, and Republicans are trying to make sure it will be her last representing the 113th District.

Two Republicans have already declared their intent to challenge her in the November election, and a Republican committee has her in its sights as well.

It appears as though Chris Boyark of Mechanicville, a 15-year member of the Saratoga County Republican Committee, will be the endorsed candidate against Woerner, a Democrat from Round Lake. He also has the approval of the Mechanicville, Stillwater, Malta and Saratoga Springs committees.

The full Saratoga County committee will vote Feb. 29, and Boyark said his figures show he already has a majority of the votes. Washington County Republican Committee officials have said they plan to make their recommendation after Saratoga votes.

They said they would vote in March, Boyark said.

The other Republican candidate, Gerard Moser of Malta, a graduate of Queensbury High School and Adirondack Community College, has already said he will force a primary with Boyark.

The state Republican Assembly Campaign Committee is continuing to take shots at Woerner. The group started criticizing her as soon as she took office for not immediately voting to oust Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver after he came under investigation for corruption.

After Silver was charged, Woerner joined her Democratic colleagues in opposing his return to the speakers position.

It started out that Carrie Woerner had zero tolerance for corrupt public officials, but then voted to empower Sheldon Silver as her political boss while he was under federal investigation for corruption by the FBI, the committee said in a recent statement. To add insult to injury, after Silver was arrested, Carrie Woerner said she was committed to reserving any judgment.

A recent statement from Arnie Rothschild, spokesman for the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, is critical of Woerners votes so far this year on ethics reform.

No other Assembly member has mastered the say one thing, but do another routine more than Carrie Woerner, Rothschild said in the release. The most recent shameless example came earlier this month, as she voted down 17 good-government reform measures that would have made the Assembly more open, accountable and transparent. Two of those measures she voted against were term limits for legislative leaders, including her political boss, and broadcasting committee meetings.

Woerner sees it differently.

The place to start is that I am supportive of legislation, no matter which party brings it forward, as long as it would achieve its goal and not have unintended consequences, she said Wednesday. The (Republican-sponsored) legislation I voted against is the same legislation they have been putting forward for decades that they say will solve corruption.

I have read it, and I did not think it would be effective, she said.

Woerner said Tuesday she voted against a Democratic bill on family leave, also because of the unintended consequences she believed it would have.

So even though it was my partys bill, I voted against it, she said.

Woerner said in the past, she has voted for pension forfeiture and closing loopholes.

I have a track record in supporting stronger ethics reforms, and I will stand on my record, she said.

Open meetings

Woerner will hold a community town hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Moreau Community Center, 144 Main St., South Glens Falls, and another Feb. 18 in the Greenwich High School Media Center, 10 Gray Ave., Greenwich.

She will host a town hall event from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 21 in Hartford Town Hall.

Constituents who cannot attend these events but would like to meet with Woerner can call 455-5404 to schedule visits at her Fort Edward and Saratoga Springs offices.
GLENS FALLS  When City Historian Wayne Wright heard TD Bank was closing its downtown Glens Falls office, he inquired about obtaining an original historic map of Glens Falls he had seen many times at the bank.

The city owned a replica of the map, but it would be great to have an original, he said.

The bank donated not only the map, but a whole collection of maps and historic artwork dating back to the banks original ownership by First National Bank of Glens Falls.

The collection includes 19 framed prints of Hudson River watercolor scenes, published by Henry I. Medarey.

The prints, unlike the map, were not commonly seen by routine bank customers.

They were all on the upper floors  on the second and third floors. They were in the upper offices, Wright said.

The prints will be hanging soon in various hallways and offices around Glens Falls City Hall, Wright said.

City Court Judge Gary Hobbs has already selected four prints to hang in the City Court/Common Council chambers on the third floor.

TD Bank closed its downtown Glens Falls branch office Jan. 29 and consolidated it with TD Banks branch office at 54 Quaker Road in Queensbury.

TD Bank still has a drive-through downtown banking operation on Maple Street.

The white bank building, as the 237 Glen St. bank building had been known for decades, has a long history in downtown.

First National, one of two early banks in Glens Falls, was established in 1853.

The white marble building on Glen Street was constructed in 1915 and renovated in 1959, according to a 1990 book by Joseph E. Barnes, Profiles in Banking: A History of First National Bank and its Years of Service to the North Country.

The other early bank was Glens Falls National Bank and Trust, which still has its headquarters and an office downtown.

First National Bank of Glens Falls changed its name to Evergreen Bank and in 1999 was sold to a company that is now part of TD Bank.

TD Bank is offering the Glen Street building for sale.

Edward Bartholomew, president of EDC Warren County, has said another bank would be an initial recruitment target for the building.

Bartholomew said Tuesday he expects TD Bank to give its permission in a couple of weeks for him to discuss a marketing plan.

It may be a bank again, Wright said. First National is gone forever.

Wright said the maps and artwork TD Bank donated to the city are a reminder of First National Banks one-time close connection with the city.

Several of the banks early presidents served in state and local government, he said.

Charles Cool, the citys first mayor, was on the banks board of directors for many years.

A lot of the presidents of that bank were involved in the city.  Its just amazing, he said.
Construction of a pedestrian bridge over Halfway Brook is in doubt after a breakdown in communication between Queensbury and Glens Falls over terms of an agreement to open the citys lower watershed property in Queensbury for public recreation.

I have no interest in building a trail any longer, Queensbury 4th Ward Councilman William VanNess said Monday at a Town Board workshop meeting.

Town Supervisor John Strough said the town objects to some of the terms the city Common Council ratified recently, including a requirement that the town pay half the citys property taxes on the property.

Parts of the agreement are reasonable, and parts of the agreement are unreasonable, Strough said.

Strough said he never agreed to some of the provisions.

Glens Falls Mayor John Jack Diamond, contacted Tuesday, said the city is not willing to negotiate changes to the agreement.

The licensing agreement has been approved and weve moved it on to John. Its up to John now to sign it, he said. This is our land. Its not about a negotiating issue.

The agreement would allow the town to develop a public recreational trail between Aviation and Peggy Ann roads on city-owned watershed property.

The plans include town construction of a pedestrian bridge over Halfway Brook as part of the trail.

State Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, arranged a $100,000 state grant for trail development, and the town would pick up any additional cost.

Strough said he did not agree to the town paying half of the citys property taxes, which would cost the town $14,178 annually for the preferred trail route, or $5,510 annually for an alternative route with a much steeper incline.

Strough said residents of Glens Falls and other nearby municipalities would use the trail, not just town residents.

Asking us to pay half the taxes isnt fair, he said.

David Klingbiel, a lawyer for the city Water and Sewer Department, said in a presentation to the city Common Council on Jan. 12 that the agreement had been negotiated with Strough.

But Strough said the final version was not released to him before the Common Council vote.

During the preliminary discussions, we took some of Johns input into the licensing agreement, Diamond clarified Tuesday.

On Jan. 14, Strough praised the agreement as a harbinger of renewed intermunicipal cooperation.

Im already building a bridge in my head, he said at the time.

Strough said Monday he was disheartened when he received a copy, about a week later, of the agreement the Common Council ratified, and discovered it contained provisions he considers undesirable.

You can see how frustrated I am, Strough told Town Board members on Monday.

Among his objections is a requirement for a management plan and town liability to apply to the citys entire lower watershed, not just to the land around the trail.

Caretaking of our trail, Im fine with that, Strough said. But caretaking of the entire watershed is not reasonable.

Diamond said the city cant consider one small part of the watershed land in isolation.

First and foremost, we have an obligation to provide a pristine level of water quality to the taxpayers of the city of Glens Falls. That is our ultimate responsibility, he said.

Diamond said city officials studied recreation agreements from other municipal watershed land, including a 90-page New York City document.

Diamond said its important to have an agreement that can be a model for opening other areas of city watershed land for recreation.

This really lays the groundwork for future opportunities with recreation, he said.

Strough also objects to the makeup of a recreation land management committee, with four representatives, including the chairman, coming from the city, and three representatives from the town.

Strough said that makeup assures the city wins any disputes about the trail system.

The town can get outvoted every single time, he said.

Strough said the committee should be modeled after the Glens Falls-Queensbury Memorial Day Parade Committee, which has equal representation from the city and town and co-chairmen from each municipality.

Diamond downplayed that objection.

I think that we are all capable of working collectively together. This is not about Queensbury, not about Glens Falls, he said.

Strough also objects to a one-year term for the agreement, instead of 20 years, as he proposed.

Queensbury 2nd Ward Councilman Brian Clements said it appears the city purposely included stipulations it knew the town would not accept, because city officials do not actually want the trail developed.

Queensbury 3rd Ward Councilman Doug Irish said it appears the city backed off its promise of intermunicipal cooperation once the town approved Just Beverages application to draw water from city watershed property for its packaging operation in Glens Falls.

Diamond said city officials are sincere about intermunicipal cooperation.

We could have dismissed this from the beginning, he said. We are trying to accommodate and meet the town of Queensbury with a concept of recreation.
Many years ago my mother had a baby, and that baby was me. My mother loved me with her whole heart. Then she had a miscarriage. She and my d...
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Nii Osah Mills hailed Finland for its excellent forest cover, which has being well managed from generation to generation; and that Ghana could learn from it.He said the example of Uruguay, a small country in Latin America, which used 15 years to turn its forest cover from zero to becoming a timber exporting nation, shows that there is so much more to do to save Ghanas forest cover.The possibilities are there for us and it shows that there is so much more that we as a country could do in the forestry sector, than we are doing.I have been given information about Germany and how much it rakes in as revenue annually from its forestry sector.On the other hand Ghana is constantly losing its forest cover and the challenge is constant and we have a lot more to do to stop it, he said.He said somehow Ghana has to be able to get a hard core group of people like they have in Finland, where generations guard the forest that their parents have planted and they only go to make it better.And they probably spend their whole life literally guarding it. Where are we going to get such people in this country?We have to nurture our children; that is let the children grow up with a kind of love for the forest.You can plant a forest but if there is no one dedicated to keep it, it will go away, the Minister said.Nii Osah Mills said at the turn of century, Ghana had 8.2 million hectares of forest cover, which has within 15 years dwindled now to 4.6 million of hectares, stating that that is a large difference.If within 15 years, Uruguay can go from nothing to making significant revenues from forest products, so can Ghana. So we have to reverse this trend. We have to regenerate the forest. We have to somehow get that dedicated cadre of the youth to buy into forest plantation, buy into ownership of forest and to literally guard the forest with their lives, he said.On his part, Mr Anttonen lauded the excellent relationship between the two countries.He said Finland has not got big mining companies as other European nations, but has several good technology providers.He said Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world; with three fourths of the land area, some 23 million hectares (76 per cent) under forests.On how Finland has been able to maintain an excellent forest cover, he said their forest model merge both conservation and economics, in which generations come and go and they maintain the forest in a better shape than they met; adding that the forest sector in Finland provides livelihood for many people and has a very bright future.Mrs Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, the Finland Ambassador to Ghana and Nigeria, said the aim of the visit was to promote strong trade and economic cooperation; for a win-win situation for both countries.Mrs Edith Hazel, Ghanas Ambassador to Denmark and Finland, said Ghanaians were interested in getting investors into the Ghana, which is also a win-win situation.Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in-charge of mining, called for the promotion of technical and economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to San Jacinto police, the intruder tried to gain forced entry by smashing a door with an ax at a house in the 1400 block of Chase Street at about 11 a.m.

Joe Milspa said he heard the noise and approached the door with his handgun. That was when he suddenly saw an exterior glass window of the home shatter, followed by the suspect attempting to crawl into his home through the window, said Sgt. Craig McDonald of the San Jacinto Police Department.

Milspa, who is a World War II veteran and lives alone, immediately fired one round at the intruder. I could have shot him right in the head between the eyes. But I didnt want to do that. I would have been in trouble, Milspa said.

The burglar was not hit. But he did take off running, leaving behind his ax and several other items, police said.

Milspa, who worked as a mechanic for the Los Angeles Police Department for 21 years, said he has had the gun for decades and still goes to the shooting range.
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In an exclusive interview with Pulse Business, the executive director of the Importers and Exporters Association, Samson Awingobite said the implementation of the ECOWAS tariffs means that some of Ghana's custom duties must be reduced while others must be removed completely.

" We are petitioning the Ministry of Trade, the Chief of Staff, and the even the ECOWAS Parliament on Ghana's need to fully comply with the ECOWAS Common Tariff Regime."

Related Stories: >

The Ghana Union of Traders Association- GUTA in collaboration with the Importers and Exporters Association identified the 0% import duty on Pharmaceutical products, 0% on social goods, 5% on Raw Materials for production, 10% on materials for polishing , 20% for consumer products like TV sets, 10% for rice imports, and 35% for agricultural and tomato based produce as well as cosmetics.

Samson Awingobite tells Pulse Business that the government is not respecting and abiding by the negotiated tariffs as agreed upon by the ECOWAS Parliament.

" Whereas the ECOWAS Common Tariff Regime stipulates a 10% import duty on rice, Ghana is charging 20%. It must be a flat 10% in accordance to the stipulations."

Again, the Executive Director of the association also sees the need for a drastic reconsideration of the country's import tax levies if Ghana is to be at par with her Francophone counterparts who charge relatively cheaper rates.

" Our Francophone counterparts like the Ivorians do not charge levies like the National Health Insurance Levy and the Value Added Tax as part of their import charges. This means that government will have to streamline those charges charges too."

Apparently, government's refusal to streamline these charges after the country is opened up to these West African Countries, will mean that the Ghanaian market will be flooded with cheaper imports from Cote d'ivoire and other neighbouring countries, killing the operations local businesses.

Additionally, government is likely to loose revenues as importers are likely to clear their goods through the ports of counterpart West African Countries with cheaper import duties, according to Mr. Awingobite.
He has a Lovers share Love programme this Valentine's Day where individuals and couples can show love by joining a trip to rural villages in the Volta region to feed them, teach, learn and help build and inspire the vulnerable.

People who go along will be able to help feed those in need by assisting in cooking and serving the meals.

The programme will also include sightseeing and soul-searching with packages ranging from day trips to overnight stays in hotels.

Amoo Addo and his group of volunteers spend their Saturdays visiting various vulnerable communities around Ghana for the Share Your Breakfast programme where they use donated goods to serve nutritious meals.

The February 13 - 14 event will commemorate the essence of love, he said.

He started Food for All Ghana last year, inspired to stop food wastage and feed those in need. He approaches companies for donations and over the past year has been feeding those in need through though Ghana.

He has a three prong approach to halting food waste and ensuring everyone gets to eat. Theres the free breakfasts and soup kitchens which make use of donated foods, a farming programme designed to help the vulnerable help themselves through sustainable crop and livestock farming, and thirdly, a forum for stakeholders within the food industry to combat supply inefficiencies within the food supply chain.

Amoo Addo was selling tickets for the Valentine's trip and asking for donations to redistribute including cash, clothing, books and food.
The Coalition, in October 2015 suspended its nationwide strike in relation to the salary arrears following pleas from its mother association, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives' Association and government to rescind their decision while payment process continued.

"January we were expecting that they will pay us, but nothing came. So we've been working on it. We've been going to the Ministry of Health, we've been going to Controller; We talked to the Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, he gave us the assurance that he will ensure that the money will be paid. But ending January nothing was showing like that. So we have planned to embark on a strike."
According to the Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives, numbering around 7000, in spite of ''round table discussions, promises and reassurances'' by the Ministry of Employment and Labour relations to have all of them paid by December 2015, only 30 percent of its members have been paid so far.

The development is taking a huge toll on health workers at various hospitals in Accra.

When Pulse.com.gh visited the Ridge Hospital in Accra few of the senior nurses at the Theatre recovery ward were busily putting in efforts to control the situation.

One of the senior nurses who spoke to Pulse.com.gh on basis of anonymity said even though they are beginning to feel the effects of the strike action, they are managing with the situation.

She wondered why government is yet to respond to the demands of the aggrieved nurses.

"We the seniors, we are also on it. We were promoted and up until now, we have not been put on a scale, but we are working. So we are pleading with government, they should do something about it."

The striking nurses at the hospital, numbering over 100, account for about 70 percent of the workforce at the hospital, as they do the greater part of work.

Their daily work routine include the personal care and hygiene of the patients.

One of the aggrieved nurses at the Ridge Hospital, Dorcas Essel told Pulse.com.gh, that even though she fears for the patients as the senior staff alone cannot take care of all of them, she has no choice than to strike.

She believes that is the only language that will push government to respond to their demands.

"It is not that we don't care for our patients. We do care but the thing is, as we are caring for our patients, what about us. Do the government also care about us?", Dorcas asked.

However, at the Adabraka polyclinic, health workers were yet to feel the impact of the strike by junior nurses.

A senior nurse, who preferred to remain anonymous told Pulse.com.gh, that they are yet to receive official communication from the aggrieved nurses about their strike action.

The aggrieved nurses, numbering over 30, she said, forms majority of the workforce at the health facility.

She believed government should respond quickly to their demands to avert any serious challenge at the facility.

"As at now, everything is okay...It is a big challenge. When a nurse is hungry and there is no money, how do you expect them to give off their best. It is a big challenge. Something must be done. Some of them, we give them money for transport. It is not good," she said.
The Senior Staff Association, led by Charles Offei-Palm, had called for the removal of the Chief Executive of the hospital, Dr. Gilbert Buckle, after passing a vote of no confidence him.

They have accused him of mismanaging the hospitals internally generated funds and paying what they termed needless judgement debts.

But, the Hospital Board in a letter dated December 23, 2015, addressed to Mr Offei-Palm, described his attitude as one that shows "disregard for the hospital's policy and procedures for media engagement".

The letter also accused Mr Offei-Palm of "acting in a way that tends to tarnish the corporate image of the hospital and bringing the name of the hospital into disrepute."

See more:Korle Bu Staff call on CEO to resign

The development has however angered members of the Senior Staff Association to sue the management.

Members of the Association are praying the court to declare the disciplinary procedure against them null and void.

They want the court to "restrain the defendants, their agents etc from convening a board meeting of any kind and decide on recommendations or matters submitted to them by the Disciplinary Committee in relation to alleged misconduct perpetrated by the plaintiffs."

"Restraining the defendants, their agents etc from awarding any sanctions orally or in writing against the plaintiffs or in their personal capacities by way of warning, suspension, freezing of salary, dismissal or any other sanction of whatever description prescribed by the code of conduct of GHS."

See related: Korle Bu closes down OPD

They are also seeking the court to declare a perpetual injunction "restraining the defendants from victimizing and harassing executive of plaintiffs in the discharge of their normal duties at KBTH."

"A declaration that the entire proceedings of the purported disciplinary committee hearing should be quashed."
John Dumelo on his Twitter handle on January 28, 2016, said although he had nothing against Nana Addo, he did not expect him to win the election in November.

In an interview on Accra-based Kasapa FM Wednesday morning, the movie star said some anonymous people keep forwarding life threatening messages to him since he tweeted on Nana Addo.

"I keep on receiving threatening messages from anonymous persons. They are threatening my life...so many things for making a statement. But I give everything to God. They are issuing the threats on social media, anonymous phone calls and things," he said.

See also: Hannah Tetteh endorses John Dumelo's acting prowessHe added that " I think it has not gotten to the point of reporting to the security yet. I am a very security conscious person. Wherever I go I just have this security thing around me. I just dont stay at a particular place at a time. The truth is that even most of the time I am not in Ghana and when I am in Ghana people really dont know where I live and people dont know my movement and whereabouts... so I take it very serious but at the same time I have a very security conscious mind. So, I think I will be okay for now."

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hannah Serwaa Tetteh who doubles as the Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya West constituency, has lauded John Dumelo.

The minister who took to social media described John Dumelo as a really talented actor.
Charged with possessing of firearms without lawful excuse, Dagblenu pleaded not guilty.

The Court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh remanded him into lawful custody to reappear on February 16.

The adjournment was to enable prosecution to conduct further investigations.

Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Stephen Adjei told the Court that the complainants were officials of Ghana Immigration Service stationed at Aflao in the Volta Region. Accused person lives in Ivory Coast.

On January 27 at about 5:10pm, while the complainants were on duty, they spotted the accused crossing from Lome to Aflao as was a pillion rider carrying a sack.

The Immigration Officers stopped the accused person and the motor rider.

Dagblenu and the exhibits were sent to the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations.

Prosecution said the accused person told the Police that he bought the guns from a blacksmith in a town called Savelou in Benin.

He was transporting them to Ivory Coast to be used by his colleague farmers to protect their farms from animal that usually destroyed their farm produce.
Read more: Two economic pitfalls Ghana must avoid in 2016

Mr. Pokus tenure at the helm of the Chamber coincided with the period of Ghanas most tumultuous political history, thus creating huge difficulties for business in general, but even more so, for the mining industry, which was dominated by big multinational companies, with massive investments in the country.

Those formidable challenges notwithstanding, Mr. Poku is credited with creating the opportunity for the Chamber to work amicably with key regulatory authorities and the political leadership.

His effective leadership role created the foundation that helped build the reputation of the Chamber in advocating for policies that were beneficial to the economy in general and the mining sector in particular.

In this sense, Mr. Poku played a significant role in steering the growth of one of the most important sectors of the economy at a crucial time in Ghanas political and economic history.

The Chamber of Mines, currently under the leadership of Mr. Sulemanu Koney, organized the maiden edition of the Mining Industry Awards GMIA 2015 at the plush Alisa Hotel on 3 December 2015 to honour, among others, its past CEOs.

Mr. Poku was honoured at the event, alongside other past CEOs of the Chamber, including Mr. John Bentum-Williams, Ms Joyce Aryee, and Tony Aubyn.

Mr. Sam Poku, a proud Akora (1960 Year Group), is a polymath and a true patriot who has spent his entire career in service to this nation in various capacities. Currently in his 70s, Mr. Poku works as the CEO of the Business Council for Africa-BCA (GH) and is married to Mrs Mary Yvonne Poku, with six children and 11 grandchildren.
The presentation of the vehicles, including saloon cars, pick-ups and buses, follows concerns raised about the adverse effects inadequate vehicles were having on the operations of the agencies.

This is to enable the national security agencies to carry out their mandate more effectively, the President said, adding, As we all know, we face many security threats, and as we are in a particularly sensitive election year, it requires us to support the security agencies to deliver on their mandate.

Read more: Ghana tightens border security over Burkina Faso attack

The National Security Council Secretariat received 26 of the vehicles, while the Bureau of National Investigations had 58 vehicles and 30 motorbikes.

The Narcotics Control Board had 42 vehicles and 20 motorbikes, while the Ghana Prisons Service received 57 vehicles, including 10 buses, and 20 motorbikes, the Ghanaian Times has reported.

According to President Mahama, the Prisons Service was considered in view of the urgent need to address its mobility deficiency that had led to situations where prisoners were conveyed in commercial vehicles.

Tuesday's presentation, he explained, constituted the first phase of the allocations, adding that the second phase would benefit other security agencies, including the Ghana Armed Forces, Police and Fire Services.
Chief of Adaklu Waya, Torgbui Lablulu Tegbeza, said the nomadic herdsmen take advantage of the absence of the farmers to cause havoc to their crops.

This especially takes place during funeral days and when the herdsmen are confronted by the farmers they [nomads]challenge them to produce evidence of those who were responsible of the animals, he said.

He said they lacked potable drinking water so they had resorted to using unhygienic and polluted sources of water from the Tordze stream.

The inhabitants, he said, shared the water with cattle of the Fulanis who had destroyed the aquatic life.

Some children who spoke with the GNA indicated the situation was alarming and affecting their education.

They, therefore, appealed to the government to go to their aid.
The public agitation against hikes in tariffs, levies and taxes seems not to end, as two groups on Tuesday raised red flags and threatened various protests if the government did not review the current tax regime.

GHANAS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK POSITIVE  IMF

The International Monetary Fund has passed a vote of confidence in Ghanas economy, forecasting that the current pains of stabilizing the economy will begin to yield good fruits next year.

PRESIDENT PRESENTS VEHICLES TO FOUR SECURITY AGENCIES

The government on Tuesday presented 253 vehicles to four security institutions to facilitate their operations.

2 SHOT DEAD AT AGOGO

Two people have been reportedly killed at Asante-Akyem Agogo in the Ashanti Region in a renewed clash that erupted between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers in the area.

A-G HOT OVER SMARTTYS DEAL

Pressure group Occupy Ghana has given the Attorney General one week ultimatum to provide information on the infamous 3.6 million bus rebranding transaction involving Smarttys Management and Production Ltd, owned by actress Selassie Ibrahim.

CREATE JOBS  ITALIAN MP TELLS MAHAMA

The Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, yesterday made a passionate appeal to African governments to respect human dignity by creating avenues for their people to get jobs to do.

BOST PERKS UP TOR: ONE MILLIONS BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL DELIVERED FOR PROCESSING

A vessel carrying one million barrels of crude oil belonging to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company Limited (BOST) arrived at Tema Port on Saturday and will be processed by the Tema Oil Refinery under a tolling arrangement.

ELECTION 2016: POLICE VISITS NPP, NDC

The Accra Region Police Command on Tuesday paid a courtesy call on the regional executives of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

REVIEW GHANAS BAD DEAL WITH ENI  NPP TELLS ITALIAN PM

The opposition New Patriotic Party has called on Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who is on a two-day visit to Ghana, to prevail on ENI, a state owned conglomerate, and the government of Ghana to review some terms of an oil deal between the entities, in order to maximize mutual benefits.

4 YEMENIS ENTER GHANA WITH FAKE PASSPORTS  COURT ORDERS POLICE TO ENSURE PROMPT PROSECUTION

An Accra Circuit Court has called on the police to ensure that the trial of four suspects from Yemen, who allegedly entered into Ghana with fake Emergency Entry Visas and French passports, proceeds in earnest.

AGAMS HOLDINGS BREAKS SILENCE OVER LOAN REPAYMENT

Agams Holdings, the parent company of Rlg, Craftpro and Asongtaba who were implicated in reports of investigations into the GYEEDA scandal, has broken its silence over the question of whether or not it has refunded monies it woes the government, with interest.

TWO CHINESE ARRESTED FOR MANUFACTURING FAKE DETERGENTS

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the Ghana Police have arrested two Chinese for the manufacturing and distribution of fake/counterfeit So Klin detergents into the Ghanaian market.

IMPORT DUTIES INCOME DROPS

Governments revenue from import taxes has fallen short of expectation for the fourth consecutive year, amid a slowdown in import trade following the introduction of an avalanche of import duties that have been met with disgust by traders.

TERKPER COMMITS TO IMPROVE MACROECONOMIC DATA

Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Seth Terkper has expressed governments commitment to turn to the International Monetary Fund and other donor partners to enhance its ability to churn out reliable macroeconomic data and derive the most out of that data.

AIRLINES RECOVER FROM EBOLA SHOCK
She said even though the EC has put out its timetable for the election, it has not yet rolled out programmes on public education to sensitise voters on what to expect at the polls.

But, in an interview with Pulse.com.gh, the acting Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Christian Owusu Parry said IEA should exercise some restraint, as the EC is already embarking on a few internal programmes the public might not be aware of.

"We have already set in motion some of the activities. And for now, all that we are doing is internal. We are going according to the programme. And I know the IEA is aware of the programme we are following," he said.

"We have started procuring the items that we will need for registration of voters, and that is the major activity we are going to have this year. We have also started the process of recruiting officials that we will use. And we have demarcation issues to address, and so we are looking at them. And these processes happen internally, and that is why the public may not be hearing about us," he explained.

Mr. Parry added that the EC will start educating the public by the close of February, "because we are going to have some changes in the laws governing elections in this country."

"In CI.72, due to the supreme ruling on the issue of NHIA cards, we are amending the provisions to reflect that. And then we are looking at how we can ensure that people who come to the registration centre are actually qualified to go through the process," he said.

Responding to claims that there might be some financial constraints and other challenges that are hampering the commissions work, Mr. Parry said "As for financial issues, yes of course we didn't get all the budget that we submitted for the 2016 elections but that is no reason why we will not engage with the public."

On the issue of the voters' register, Mr. Parry said the Commission will continue to engage with the political parties "to have a more suitable way of cleaning and auditing the register."
The minister who took to social media described John Dumelo as a really talented actor.

In a tweet, she said, "I think you are a really talented actor & do a great job, just got back from Addis & was watching your film on Kenyan Airways."

John Dumelo has come under heavy criticism from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for stating that flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo will lose the 2016 general election.

John Dumelo on his Twitter handle said although he had nothing against Nana Addo, he did not expect him to win the election in November.

"I have nothing against Nana Addo but I only see one person Being sworn in come January 2017 and it's not him(Nana)," Dumelo tweeted.
According to BBC, the hole in the plane's side appeared shortly after take-off from Mogadishu at 10,000ft (3,048m), a colleague of one of the passengers.

The Daallo Airlines flight, bound for Djibouti, was carrying about 60 people on board, a police officer at the scene told the Bloomberg news agency.

Some reports say a fire broke out shortly after take-off.

Somalia's ambassador to the UN Awale Kullane was onboard the plane, and posted a video on Facebook of passengers sitting calmly while oxygen masks hung from overhead.

"Onboard Jubba/Daalo Airlines this morning, while it was on air for a few minutes we just heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds, when visibility returned we realised quite a chunk of the plane [was] missing," he posted.

Somalia's Minister for Air Transport, Ali Ahmed Jama said an investigation was launched into the cause of the fire.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union which was consummated on Dec. 24, 2006 in Anambra had been blessed with three children.

Obianuju was also accused of frequent fighting and infidelity by her husband.

"Since 2008, I have noticed that my food was being laced with poison, which has resulted to my deteriorating health; as I am standing here, I'm sick.

"Usually, I travel a lot. On one occasion when I returned home; I noticed that the centre table in our home had broken; when I asked my daughter how it happened, she told me that one uncle broke it.

"This means my wife brings other men into our matrimonial home whenever I travelled because my daughter knows all her uncles.

"She goes out at will without my permission, she does not listen to me as her husband and I don't love her anymore, Agina said.

However, the respondent denied all the allegations leveled against her by her estranged husband.

"My husband has diabetes and hypertension; and he keeps eating those foods that the doctor warned him to desist from.

"Please tell me why he won't be sick always.

"I stayed with him at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for four months looking after him but he did not listen to the doctors advice.

"So, how has his disobedience become my fault.

"He married me a virgin; so why will I start sleeping around now, why will I bring men into the house where my children are staying with me.

"He abandoned me and the children for four years when he travelled to Angola and he wasn't sending money from there for our upkeep.

"My family members took care of my children and I throughout the period, she said.

The president of the court, Adegboyega Omilola, referred the couple to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) office for possible settlement.
Justice Muktar Abimbola said that the marriage had broken irretrievably on the ground that the couple had lived separately for more than three years.

Abimbola said that section 16 (1) of the Matrimonial Courses Act empowered the court to dissolve a marriage without even considering any other factor if the couple had lived separately for a period of three years.

He said that the couple had been living apart since July 3, 2012, which was more than three years and thereby dissolved the marriage.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adeyemi had earlier informed the court that he got married to Wuraola on June 7, 2012 at the Registry of Olorunda Local Government in Osogbo.

Adeyemi told the court that his wife was troublesome and prayed that the marriage be terminated.
Airlines and hotel chains say it is too early to tell if the Zika epidemic is affecting bookings. But some "babymooners" - parents-to-be taking last-hurrah vacations - have backed out of trips and changed itineraries.

"There's been a lot of cancellations," said Lauren Machowsky, a travel advisor at New York-based SmartFlyer. "Some people are freaked out."

Machowsky, who is herself expecting a child and called off a planned vacation to Anguilla, said she is redirecting a lot of people to Florida and pointing clients to travel warnings issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"I refer them to the CDC website and say, 'Listen, this is my experience. I was going away and had to cancel,'" Machowsky said.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an emergency because of evidence that the mosquito-borne virus is linked to a spike in birth defects in Brazil. The current outbreak has spread to at least 25 countries and territories, most of them in the Americas. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to areas with an active Zika outbreak.

Parenting website babycenter.com asked pregnant readers with plans to travel to Zika-affected areas if they would change course. About half of 1,118 respondents said they planned to cancel, and 27 percent said they were keeping their plans. The rest were undecided.

New Hampshire-based travel agent Darcy Allen, of Travel by Darcy, said she's had a handful of cancellations and estimated 80 percent of her babymoon clients are avoiding Mexico.

"It's certainly a factor in deciding where they want to go," said Allen.

In another sign of Zika's impact on travelers, sales of trip cancellation insurance have surged among people booking Latin American vacations, RoamRight, a top U.S. provider, told Reuters on Monday.

Newlyweds hoping to start a family also are cautiously evaluating honeymoon options, said New Jersey-based Mindy Gilbert of My Vacation Lady.

"I have been asking personal questions like, 'Are you pregnant? Do you plan on conceiving,' - something I've never asked before," she said.

One couple that had hoped to spend their honeymoon in Mexico's Riviera Maya is now waiting to see how the virus situation develops, she said.

Several travel agents said they were steering clients toward Europe and Hawaii.

Ilonka Molijn, founder of Netherlands-based BabyMoon Travel, said visiting Mexico and the Caribbean was not a huge draw for her clients before the Zika outbreak, but now "there isn't any interest in it at all."

Concerns are extending beyond babymooners and honeymooners.

Florida-based Travel Planners Inc owner Marieanne Syverson said 70 percent of her clients in January - only a small portion of whom were honeymooners - had asked about Zika. A few are rethinking their plans, she said, but she's had no cancellations.
Mrs Maryam Masha, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), said that the meeting was to identify the problems affecting the respective states in the zone.

The meeting is to have direct access to the affected communities and to understand their needs and concerns and how they can be harmonized,Masha said.

She explained that the meeting would also serve as the first step in understanding the real situation of the affected states and how to address them.

According to the special adviser, the gathering was also meant to validate the process of meeting with the concerned parties, private sectors, civil society and government.

She further explained that for the successful implementation of the assessment, it was very important for the government and International bodies to work as a team with the affected state governments.

Mr Tom Hockley, representative of European Union, said that the union, UN and the World Bank were partnering with the Federal Government in assessing the level of damage and assistance needed for the states.
The military successes is coming few days after the insurgents ransacked Dalori villages killing over 100 people according to villagers.

But a statement issued by Colonel M A Anka, Media Coordinator of Operation LAFIYA DOLE said the military recorded huge successon Tuesday.

"Troops of 25 Task Force and Civilian JTF on routine operation to clear Ajigin had contact with Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT), in process several insurgent were killed, while 50 motorcycle and 3 vehicle were captured and destroyed. At the end of the clearance operations unspecified number of locals who were held hostage by the Boko Haram terrorists were rescued," the statement said.

The military officials disclosed that own troops along Damboa Chibok road arrested some unknown vigilantes, one of whom claimed to be the Village Head of Kopchi in company of 42 others claimed to be operating around Madagali general area, Six among the 42 were apprehended for carrying AK 47 rifles and 15 Magazines.

"When accosted the suspects claimed that they are in Damboa to identify a suspected Boko Haram member arrested in Kaya village. They are presently in custody undergoing interrogation," the statement added.

"On the 24 January 2016 at Chukun Gudu, troops on a clearance operation had encounter with BHT. During the encounter insurgents were dislodged in the process, one killed while several others sustained gunshot wound, 2 double barrel gun, 4 x 9mm rounds, 1 solar panel, Mechanic tools were recovered. Also, troops of 103 Battalion on clearance operation along Kawuri in Maimiari village intercepted ,17 BHT suspects, in the process elderly women and children from the village to IDP camp in Konduga."

"In another development troops of 151 Task Force Battalion on a fighting patrol along Banki Junction to Ngurosoye and Bulamanjari villages destroyed Telecom mast hoisted with Boko Haram flag. The troops are currently maintain blocking position against fleeing terrorist in the general area."

According to the Military statement, troops of 112 Battalion and AHQ Special Group conducted fighting patrols along Gardawaji, Adashe, Mijigine, Manawci, Sigafariya Bula Goma, Mafa, Dikwa and Kala Balge and during the operation they had contact with BOko Haram along Boboshe and Mowa Kasuwa.

"In the process 56 Boko Haram fighters were killed. Items recovered include 8 AK-47 rifles, 3 RPG 7 tubes, 1 GPMG, 1 MPGP, 1-60mm motar, 1 grenade, 3 motor bombs, 18 motor cycles and vehicles were destroyed. Also, 520 hostages were rescued and brought to IDP Camp in Dikwa. Troops also intercepts 2 suicide bombers trying to infiltrate Maiduguri through Muna Dalti 100 meters ahead of our troops and CJTF checkpoint. The suicide bombers were halted but refuse to stop, in the process the bombers blew themselves up. No causality was recorded on our troops and civilian JTF. The area has been cordoned while aggressive search is going on in the general area," the military said.
The aircraft was said to have been travelling into the state from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Read the companys official statement below:

Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today that one of its helicopters, was involved in a water landing near Lagos at about 10.25 a.m. local time on return from an offshore platform.

The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C++, had departed on a routine crew transfer flight offshore with nine passengers and a crew of two.
The President stated this on Wednesday in his speech at the parliament of the European Union in Strasbourg, France.

He said, It may interest you to know that in a recent meeting I had with parents of the Chibok Girls, I assured them that government would not rest until all the girls are rescued alive and reunited with their families.

I remain fully committed to this pledge.

Since my assumption of office in May last year, we have re-organised the Nigerian Armed Forces and repositioned them to deal decisively with the Boko Haram terrorists.

Indeed, all the Local Government Areas that were hitherto under the control of the Boko Haram terrorists in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States in the North-Eastern flank of Nigeria, have been recaptured.

The Internally Displaced Persons are gradually returning to their communities. The Federal Government is committed to rebuilding schools, hospitals and other vital infrastructure destroyed by the fleeing terrorists.

Currently, the activities of Boko Haram have been reduced to the Sambisa Forest and their capacity to launch major offensives has been degraded.

Boko Haram has now resorted to attacking soft targets such as markets, mosques and churches using innocent under-aged hapless children to detonate locally made Improvised Explosive Devices.

On April 14-15 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in Chibok town, Borno State by dangerous sect, Boko Haram.

Efforts of the military and the government have not yielded any positive result since the kidnapping, and according to multiple reports, the whereabouts of the girls are still unknown.
In a fresh application dated January 11, 2016, and filed through his lawyer, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), the ex-NSA urged the court to bar the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from prosecuting him.

He said the EFCC had no legal standing to prosecute him and his co-accusers after it disobeyed the court order which granted him bail on December 21, 2015.

The application was filed before Justice Peter Affen, over the 22 counts of fraud filed against him and others including a former Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, and a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.
Corruption under Jonathans government has been a major subject of discussion in recent times after it was alleged that officials misappropriated funds meant for Nigerias waragainst Boko Haram.

The discovery was made by a special panel constituted by Buhari to investigate arms purchases in the country from 2007-2015.

Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki is at the fore of the investigations and is alleged to have supervised the alleged laundering of the funds which were meant for the procurement of arms.

He was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 1, 2015 and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (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 Jonathans party, Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
He made the call during a visit to the Abuja office of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Nigeria, Mahmud Muhammad Al-Mahmud.

The fight against graft requires the collaborative support of all and sundry, most especially the international community, for it to be won, Magu said.

The EFCC boss stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is determined to recover all the money looted in the country and laundered abroad by corrupt leaders.

He added, I have come to seek your support and cooperation just as we had in the case of , , among others to get the mission accomplished.
We learned that the bungalow where the bomb detonated was being used as a hide out for kidnappers some months ago. But a combined unit of soldiers and police invaded the place and arrested the suspects, a police source said.

So recently, somebody hired the building and just this afternoon, decided to burn refuse in the compound. He set the refuse on fire and went out to buy something.

Immediately he left, the bomb exploded. He was not aware that the kidnappers, who once used the house, had left some bombs behind, the source added.
Oladosu, who resides at No.74 Akindoye St., Ejigbo, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of stealing and obtaining money under false pretences before an Ikeja Magistrates' Court, Lagos.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Raji Akeem, told the court that the accused committed the offences between Jan.1, 2008 and July 2015 at a company situated at No. 19/21 Town Planning Way, Ilupeju, Lagos.

"Oladosu collected the money from four clients with the promise that he would pay the money into their policy account with the company.

"Instead of remitting the money into the company's account as promised, he converted it to his own personal use.

"When the company noticed that the accused had stopped remitting such monies, he was reported and apprehended by the police, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 312 prescribes a 15-year jail term for offenders.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Ibori was released on January 22, 2016, after completing his jail term at Her Majestys Prison in Bedford, United Kingdom.

According to PM News, the ex-governor was re-arrested over fresh charges bordering on the confiscation of his assets, which were estimated at about 250million pounds. It was reported that hearing would commence on the case in June.

The 57-year-old politician had been jailed for using UK financial institutions to launder hundreds of millions of pound sterling believed to have been stolen from Delta State while he served as governor.
It was gathered that Buses were provided to transport the IDPS and their belongings to places declared safe by the Nigeria Military within their local Government of origin. NEMA mobile clinic and medical team provided medical care while excavators were provided to dig trenches in the new locations to make them more fortified.
This was revealed to newsmen by the Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr. Martins Kure-Abeshi, in a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Interior.

Abeshi said I just arrived from abroad yesterday (Monday) and met this case.

As I am talking, yesterday in the evening, the company that employed those expatriates, after my discussion with them, they are to be responsible for their air tickets.

As I am talking now, I am sure they have been flown out.

Adding that It is against the law of the land. So their first employer complained about these expatriates, so it is an offence they have committed and we have ordered their deportation.

When we conduct our operation and discover that someone who is not a Nigerian is living in this country illegally, he will be repatriated. That is on our own part, they have to go.

There is another another angle to it. If he is a worker, working in a company and we discover that he does not have papers to stay in this country, he has committed an offence against the state, the company that the expatriate is working will give us money, buy ticket or whatever is their responsibility.

Before anybody takes an appointment here as an expatriate, the organisation will write to immigration that they are taking immigration responsibility for that expatriate.

If that expatriate commits any offence against the company and they want to remove him, that company must provide ticket so that the person is removed from this country, the NIS boss said.
News reports had it that Biafra supporters had hijacked the ship, Leon Dias on Friday, January 29 and threatened to blow it up if the groups leader, Nnamdi Kanu wasnt released.

In response however, IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Emma Powerful has denied that the group is involved.

He said:

Many people are sympathetic to the Biafran actualization cause because of the treatment meted to the entire Biafran land comprising the former Eastern Region.

Many groups are also rising up to speak against the treatment meted to the IPOB leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu who at present is being incarcerated in Kuje prison, and they can use any style to make their demand felt by the Federal Government but no IPOB member has a hand in it.

MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, also dissociated the group from the alleged hijacking.

Madu said:

I am aware that a militant group sometime gave the Federal Government twenty one-day ultimatum to release Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, failing which they threatened that they will do what will surprise the Nigerian government. May be it is the group, I do not even remember their name but I heard or read about that threat.

You know that a lot of groups are springing up from the old Eastern Region to agitate for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and as far as they are fighting for Biafra, we cannot disown them, but they have their own style which I think the Federal Government of Nigeria understands easily. If you are not violent, they will not understand and they will ignore you. So, we support the group if that is what they have actually done.

We in MASSOB are not involved in violence, that is why they do not take us serious. They believe we are illiterate job seekers that are frustrated in life and decided to demand for Biafra. They think that our own is to demonstrate peacefully and they will shoot and kill us and go into jubilation that they have dealt with us, but now, they have seen their match. We support the people if they have actually done that.
Notice of the suspension is contained in a letter signed by the Secretary of the emirate council, Alhaji Yunusa Garba, made available in Dutse.

The letter quoted Garba as saying the suspension was in a response to the state government's directive to suspend the District Head because of his ongoing trial in court with Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

According to him, a copy of the letter has been sent to Birninkudu Local Government Council to keep it abreast with the development.

Reacting, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdulkadir Fanini, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Lamido's son was suspended along with the District Head of Kiyawa, Alhaji Aminu Wada, for the same offence.

Fanini said that their suspension was due to their trial by EFCC in the Federal High Court Abuja.

He added that the trial of the two district heads were criminal in nature and it was clearly stated in civil service rule 04301 and that of rule number 04412 that such person should be suspended from office.

He denied the speculation by people that the action was politically-motivated, pointing out that the suspension was in order.
ALSO READ: undefined

Here we go;

1. John is not just an actor, he is also an entrepreneur. He manages a real estate company, and partners an IT firm.

2. On April 1, 2014, he became the first Ghanaian celebrity to hit one million followers on Facebook. In October 2015, his followers grew to 3million.

3. Dumelo studied at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he studied Civil Engineering.

4. Born on February 3, 1984, the actor is the last and only boy of three children.

ALSO READ: undefined

5. An actor and business man, John Dumelo is also a philanthropist and founder of the John Dumelo Foundation.

In 2013, the actor donated school supplies including pencils, exercise books and erasers to over 100 pupils of the St. John Of God Catholic School in Cameroon.

6. In December 2015, the actor was given a royal title in Bamenda, a town in Cameroon.
Speaking in Abeokuta at a ceremony, marking the 40th anniversary of Ogun State, Buhari said he was not used to working as hard as Obasanjo worked, but he tolerated him for that long anyway.

He said, He tolerated me because God knows and he knows that I am not used to working as hard as he used to, but he allowed me to last that long and allowed me to work.

If you go into records, that government made so much investment and infrastructural development in the petroleum industry. Two refineries were built, Warri and Kaduna. More than 20 depots were built; more than 3,500 pipelines were laid; and we were exporting refined products of 100,000 barrels per day. But what do we have today?

He also commended the state Governor, Ibikunle Amosun for his people-oriented programmes and prayed that people of the state would continue being lucky to have a governor that would look after them.

I have previously, on commissioning of some projects, expressed my gratitude to the governor of Ogun state for inviting me and identifying me with his success"

On my commissioning in January 1963, my first posting was to Abeokuta, where 2nd infantry battalion Nigerian army used to be. We were living in wooden flats, which were built in the last war and I was here for some time before I was posted to Lagos.

But today if you drive me around Abeokuta and you ask me where the barracks is, I assure you that I will get missing. I wont be able to remember Lisabi Club where we use to sit, those of us who use to drink Fanta and listen to music.

Your programmes are certainly people-oriented. We have commissioned roads, schools and legal complex headquarters, where I met justices and I made an observation to the governor that women were more than men. I am just wondering that gentlemen, the ladies are taking over in very important profession.
The governor made the comments on Tuesday, February 2, 2016, via a statement released by his media aide, Lere Olayinka.

It reads:

Conservatively, about $1 million goes into every of the foreign trips and the way the President is going, foreign trips alone might gulp 20 percent of the Federal Government budget and that will be disastrous for the dwindling economy of the country.

It is even more worrisome that while the economy is already in shamble and insecurity pervades the land with Boko Haram burning Nigerians, including children alive in the North East, our President is busy globetrotting.

From available records, in June 2015 alone, the President travelled to Niger Republic, Chad, Germany and South Africa. Also in 2015, the President travelled to United States of America in July, Benin Republic in August, Ghana and France in September, India in October, Iran, France and United States of America in November and in December, he travelled to South Africa, Benin Republic.

This year alone, President Buhari has travelled to the United Arab Emirate, Kenya, Ethiopia and he is leaving for France and United Kingdom today to spend four days abroad.

In most of these trips, about $500,000 is spent on estacode, transportation, accommodation, honorarium, media coverage, contingency and other expenses on accompanying Presidency officials.

The Presidential Air Fleet, which includes fuelling of the planes and allowances for crew members as well as the Presidents estacode per night and those of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his aides is said to be in the range of $500,000.

Out of his eight months as President of Nigeria, two months have been spent outside the country, and one wonders how a country like Nigeria can progress with its president spending the better part of his time abroad.

Mr President is therefore advised to focus more on governing Nigeria from home because foreign countries wont solve our problems for us. He should fulfil his promise of leading the fight against Boko Haram from the front. Most importantly, the President should pay more attention to the ailing economy of the country while he carries on with genuine fight against corruption.
Mbaka, was recently transferred from Christ The King Parish to Our Lady Parish in Emene, a suburb of Enugu, said the only thing he demanded from President Muhammadu Buhari was good governance.

When eventually I met Buhari when I went for prayers at Aso Rock, what I demanded from him was good governance for Nigeria. I didnt ask him to give me one kobo. One kobo of Buhari has never entered my hand, the priest told journalists.

He was hosted by the President at the Villa on December 18, 2016.

Thank you very much for what you have done and said.

It brought you out to the whole country as a man of courage. It was honest and well delivered.

It has gone into the records as one of the best concerns expressed from the pulpit, not because it favoured me and my party, the All Progressives Congress, but because it was good for the country, the President said.
Oyagbola made this known in a press statement as quoted by Funso Aina, PR and Protocol Manager in Corporate Services Division of MTN Nigeria.

This follows the closure of its telecom facilities in the state via an Ex-Parte court Order taken against MTN regarding a tax claim of N458,585,783.12 allegedly owed the Ondo State Board of Internal Revenue Service (OSBIRS) in Pay As You Earn (PAYE); Withholding Tax (WHT); Development levy, Business Premises and Education Endowment taxes.

Oyagbola also stated, in the statement, that MTN also provided all the relevant assistance required through direct engagement, meetings and production of documentation (including 3rd party contracts) which were made available to the Internal Revenue Board and its consultants.

Speaking further, Oyagbola added that the action in court instituted by the State government leaves MTN duty bound to file relevant processes in addition to instituting an action at the Tax Appeal Tribunal.

She however refrained from commenting further on the matter, saying, In view of the pendency of the matter before the courts, I am unable to comment on same. We are however particularly concerned about the impact on our customers, the good people of Ondo State and other States, who will not be able to enjoy good services on both their voice calls and data as a result of this action.
The WFP said the trucks had all the required paperwork from Kenyan authorities and that the U.N. agency carefully monitors its shipments to make sure it reaches its intended recipients.

The Somalia-based al Shabaab group has launched frequent attacks in neighbouring Kenya since late 2011 when Nairobi sent soldiers across the border to fight the militants.

Mohamud Saleh, regional coordinator or the top government official in the North Eastern region, said the vehicles were held on Monday in Mandera county along the border, awaiting reassurances from WFP Somalia that the food aid would not fall into the hands of the militants.

"The food was meant for the most vulnerable in Somalia, those affected by drought, but I'm told it went into the hands of al Shabaab. We are a bit concerned."

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by more than two decades of conflict in Somalia, and more were forced out of their homes by a 2011 famine. Basic public services are lacking and there is limited access for humanitarian aid.

Challiss McDonough, senior regional spokeswoman for the WFP in Nairobi, said they were working with Kenyan officials to resolve the "unfortunate misunderstanding".

"The three WFP-contracted trucks stopped in Mandera had all the required paperwork from Kenyan authorities," she told Reuters, adding the organisation monitors its food aid shipments to ensure they only help the vulnerable.

Al Shabaab banned WFP from areas it controls in Somalia in 2010, she said.

Saleh said the trucks will be released as soon as the WFP reassures the government the food will only get to the intended recipients.
Report said Pope Francis and a campaigner for ISIS rape survivors are also on the nomination list.

According to a Nobel watcher and head of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, Kristian Berg Harpviken, the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has also been tipped for an award, alongside Colombian peace negotiators, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.

Speaking to Reuters, Harpviken claimed to have sighted a letter submitted by an unidentified US nominator who proposed Trump for his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat weapon of deterrence against radical Islam, Isis, nuclear Iran and Communist China.

Although thousands of people are eligible to submit nominations for the Peace Prize, Harpviken did not believe Trump has a chance of winning.
Finding Peace of Mind: Discover These Five Places in Europe to Unwind
The two Democratic presidential hopefuls campaigns took aim at Pahrump in the last week.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez made a stop in town Tuesday morning, campaigning for Hillary Clinton the morning after the Iowa Caucus.

Perez spoke to Clinton supporters at the Hillary Clinton Campaign Headquarters and spoke with media in attendance, in his just over half an hour appearance.

Im very optimistic because we have a remarkable operation out here and frankly equally, if not more importantly, we have a great message that resonates the diverse communities here in Nevada, Perez said. She (Clinton) has a proven track record of success on such a range of issues that are kitchen table issues here in Nevada.

On Monday in the Iowa Caucus, Clinton narrowly defeated fellow Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders in the caucus vote 701-697. The vote was labeled a virtual tie because of how close the margin was, but Perez said having any sort of lead was a win for Clinton.

They said that if there were 170,000 or more participants that Bernie would win, and there were more than 170,000 participants and Hillary Clinton won, he said. You look at the union participation, that was a huge factor that worked for her. Look at voters that care the most about health care, which was Senator Sanders signature issue and they went for Hillary by something like 20 percent.

Perez explained that stopping in smaller towns like Pahrump is key to reaching as many of the voters as they can, not caring about population size.

Clinton believes in an every county strategy in Nevada and in every state. Thats why she had a remarkable ground operation in Iowa, in New Hampshire and here in Nevada, he said. Pahrump is a hugely important part of this state. Whats remarkable in coming here today, the 50 or so people that I met in that room, they really reflect America. Theres remarkable diversity in Pahrump. Racially, age, we have young organizers, retired veterans, we have African-Americans, white retirees. In short, Pahrump kinda looks like America and Nevada looks like America.

I think that Hillary Clinton is going to do great here.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders campaign team also made their presence felt in town as they opened an office last week.

The Pahrump office, which opened Jan. 28, will be linked into the Sanders campaigns statewide network of volunteers working in Las Vegas, Henderson, Reno, Carson City, Elko, Winnemucca and Fernley.

During the kickoff celebration, many of Sanders supporters met with key campaign staff to discuss plans for Pahrump Valley in the coming weeks and obtained advice on how to best organize their local communities as precinct captains in the lead-up to the all-important Nevada caucus on February 20.

We have had an astonishing growth in the number of volunteers all over the state and we know that people in Pahrump are also feeling the Bern, which is why we are opening an office here, said Joan Kato, state director for Bernie Sanders in Nevada. His message about wealth inequality and universal health care, for instance, are issues resonating with Pahrump families and we want them to organize and continue growing.

The community is welcome to stop by the Sanders campaign office, located at 2201 E. Postal Drive.

I encourage people in Nye County to caucus for Bernie Sanders, Kato said. Those that are under the age of 18 on February 20 can also caucus, so long as they turn 18 before November 8.

Nye County residents can find out out their caucus location at https://caucus.nvdems.com/.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
Scores of residents, veterans and invited dignitaries enjoyed mild temperatures under sunny skies for the new Pahrump Valley Veterans Clinics greatly-anticipated groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, Congressman Cresent Hardy, and a representative from Senator Harry Reids office were among the federal delegation who traveled to Pahrump for the 11 a.m. ceremony.

Heller noted the sheer tenacity among veteran groups over the years, who saw the project through from the beginning.

The veterans have called me, texted me, emailed me, and my job is to answer back and today is a success story, he said. I know this is been a very frustrating process, and when I got elected in 2006, this was one of the first things that I worked on. Its a pleasure for me to be here and to be a part of this groundbreaking.

Heller made sure to note the groundbreaking ceremony does not close the chapter on the effort.

We want to make sure the veterans of Nye County are getting the health care that they want, need, deserve and earned, he said. This doesnt mean that our job is over. Standing here today and turning over a little dirt, doesnt mean that my job is over or your job is over or our job is over.

Hardy called the ceremony a milestone, after what has been a very long process.

Hardy also said he too, expects to hear concerns from all veterans as construction continues on the $12.1 million 10,000 square-foot facility.

It takes a lot to get things done and I appreciate the patience the veterans have had in Pahrump, he said. What I appreciate more, is the lack of patience the veterans have had. It pushes us very hard to make sure we fulfill our obligations as a delegation. I want you to know that every delegate within this state has been behind you and pushing for this.

Prior to her remarks, Peggy Kearns, director of the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, noted the view from what will be the entrance of the facility.

That is a beautiful view of Mount Charleston and that will be the view out the front of your clinic, she said.

Kearns also spoke about the timeline when in 1999, the Southern Nevada Healthcare System opened the Pahrump VA Clinic at the Pahrump Medical Center.

At the time, the number of local veterans using services was upward of 650.

Operations were moved from that facility to a nearby location in 2001, while planning for the present 4,800-square-foot facility along Calvada, began in 2002.

We moved into that location in February 2003, and were able to accommodate twice as many veterans, she said. But in many respects the facility was already too small when it opened, as we expanded services and the veterans population at the time had grown to nearly 1,500.

At present, Kearns said the Calvada clinic serves a population of roughly 2,400 veterans, which is at its capacity.

When this new state-of-the-art 10,000-square-foot facility opens, our Pahrump medical team will be better equipped to provide high-quality care to current and future veterans for many years to come, she said.

Also speaking during Fridays program was Katherine Miller, a representative from Gov. Brian Sandovals office.

Governor Sandoval has worked very closely with the Veterans Administration to make sure that this has come to pass and he also looks forward to providing the best possible wellness and benefits to all of the veterans in the Pahrump area, she said.

Robert Bob Herbert, senior policy adviser and director of appropriations for Senator Reid, said getting to the groundbreaking was a long journey.

I worked for Senator Reid for 20 years and this project has had more fits and starts than anything Ive worked on, Herbert said Its just awesome that its finally coming to fruition and Senator Reid is extremely happy that this is finally moving in the right direction.

The ceremony was also attended by state Sen. Pete Goicoechea, Assemblyman James Oscarson, Nye County Commissioners Butch Borasky, Frank Carbone and Dan Schinhofen, and County Manager Pam Webster.

The Colorado-based Neenan Company will build the 10,000-square-foot community-based outpatient clinic at 220 S. Lola Lane, adjacent to Desert View Hospital.

Neenan is partnering with government real estate specialist WD Schorsch LLC / Pahrump VA LLC for the government lease-back project, according to its website.

No timeline on construction was available.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com
Some corporate folks, seeking to deal with the blow dealt to Nevada rooftop solar power generation by the Public Utilities Commission, are planning to use a ballot measure.

With support from solar firms, a group called No Solar Tax PAC was created to place a measure on the ballot by petition. (The petition has been posted on the secretary of states website and readers can find it at http://tinyurl.com/hkuap78.)

Turning to the ballot is the worst way to make law, to the point that Californias ballot petition industry has made that state a national bad example. There are a couple of different ballot petitions in Nevada, and theyre both problematic. Im going to offer two ballot measures, both sponsored by Jim Gibbons, as evidence of the unintended consequences that accompany ballot measures.

Gibbons ran his first campaign for governor in 1996, and he used an initiative petition as a campaign gimmick. Gibbons lost his run for governor, but the initiative petition was approved by voters. It requires supermajorities in the legislature or a vote of the public to raise taxes.

The first time thereafter that a major tax hike came up was in 1999. Labor and management got together to stick the public with a sales tax increase to pay for infrastructure construction in local communities, thus creating business for businesses and jobs for labor unions. But because of the newly required supermajorities, it was uncertain that it could pass the legislature. For one thing, the original proposal benefited only one end of the state. So to make sure the needed number of legislators would vote for the bill, more infrastructure construction was authorized for the OTHER end of the state.

Thus, a law intended to make tax increases difficult to pass ended up raising spending levels. (Legislative lawyers later claimed that the legislative supermajority requirement could be avoided if the legislature authorized local governments to do the actual tax raising, but that could have prompted a court fight. Besides, by the time the lawyers came up with their scheme, the proposal had already been expanded to include both ends of the state.)

The second Gibbons ballot measure dealt with education. Approved in 2006, it required the legislature to approve school funding before other parts of the budget. It was wholly toothless. There are an amazing number of ways to technically comply with it while doing nothing for education. But a couple of weeks ago we discovered one thing it DOES do.

When the legislature enacted the new state program that pays parents to take their children out of public school, they paid for it with legislative-approved school funding. When parents sued to stop the program, State Judge James Wilson ruled that the new law reduces the amount the lawmakers had approved for schools, and that breached the provision in the Gibbons initiative petition that authorizes sufficient public school funding. By tapping public school funding for non-public school purposes, it made the public school funding insufficient  and thus unconstitutional.

No one ever foresaw this angle on the initiative petition.

Making law is a difficult, many-faceted job. The legislators themselves sometimes fail to anticipate all angles of their measures, but not as often as backers of ballot measures.

An initiative petition seeks to pass a new law. A referendum petition puts an already existing law up for a public vote. The No Solar Tax PAC is proposing a referendum. It seeks to repeal the Public Utilities Commissions action on solar rooftop by repealing the sections of the net metering law that authorized the PUC action.

But No Solar Tax PAC is a special interest political action committee. How do we know theyre not also trying to repeal language having nothing to do with the current controversy? What is the possibility that everyday voters can read the petition with its verbiage about cumulative capacity requirements and marginal demand costs and know what theyre voting on?

In addition, there is a provision in Nevada referendum law that says once a state law has been approved by referendum, it can never again be changed except by another vote of the public. There could be a long line of public votes in this arcane and ever-changing area of law ahead.

Ballot measures should be a last resort, and in this controversy players have turned to it as a first resort.

Dennis Myers is an award-winning journalist who has reported on Nevadas capital, government and politics for several decades. He has also served as Nevadas chief deputy secretary of state.
Deere & Co. employees recorded more than 104,500 hours of volunteer support to community organizations around the globe last fiscal year  surpassing their 2014 efforts by 21 percent.

"It is important for Deere and its employees to support the many organizations that help enhance communities around the world," said Mara Downing, director of Corporate Citizenship and Global Brand Management.

In a news release, Deere reported that the company recorded 82,000 hours of volunteer support in fiscal 2015.

Downing said Deeres citizenship efforts focus on three key areas  long-term solutions for world hunger, education and community development.

Among the efforts was the packaging of 1.4 million meals for local food banks in the United States by about 5,300 Deere employee volunteers, an initiative that took place in recognition of World Food Day. In Germany, another 300 employees packaged 6,000 food parcels for area food banks in four Deere communities there.

In addition, 1,800 Deere employees volunteered for the United Way's Day of Caring in the Quad-Cities, including employees from its world headquarters in Moline.

The equipment maker's citizenship efforts include a global employee volunteer program and grants made both from its philanthropic organization, John Deere Foundation, and through corporate contributions. The company's grants are made mostly in communities where John Deere employees work and live.

In fiscal 2015, the company and foundation contributed $28 million across 12 countries, Downing said.

"In total, we estimate our investments in citizenship activities helped improve the lives of more than 15 million people across the globe, she said.
Nothing was going to stand in Elizabeth Beck's way of choosing who she thinks should be the next president  until her Bettendorf caucus site was not handicapped- accessible.

The 79-year-old Bettendorf woman, who uses a walker because of severe back problems, planned to participate in the Republican caucus at the Masonic Lodge on Grant Street. But she was held back by a set of stairs.

"This was going to be my first caucus," said Beck, who moved to Iowa from Wisconsin in 2002. But when she reached the facility, it was a split level building with interior stairs going up and down that she and her walker could not climb.

"People were trying to help me out," she said Tuesday. "They had a chairlift, but it was inoperable. I was fighting back tears after I went through all that to get down there."

Judy Davidson, Scott County Republican Party chairwoman, had no comment because the party had not heard about the situation.

Representatives of the Masonic Lodge could not be reached for comment.

Richard Bauer, Scott County election supervisor, said caucuses are functions of the political parties, which chose the sites, and the Auditor's Office has no jurisdiction.

"They do not have to follow the same rules as we do,'' he said.

For elections, Bauer said each polling place must fill out an accessibility survey form and pass a site visit to make sure it is handicapped-accessible. Bauer said he takes a wheelchair along on the visit to test if a person in a wheelchair could get out of their car, to the building and to the polling place.

"Sometimes our standards are stricter than the standards a facility has to meet for their standards," he said, adding that some of the rural polling sites must make adjustments in order to make the accessible for a day.

According to Bauer, the Masonic Lodge is not a county polling site.

For Beck, it was the latest difficulty she has had in trying to vote since moving to Bettendorf. "Every time I've tried to vote, they have sent me all over town (to other polling sites). I don't remember if I've gotten to vote."

Ahead of caucus night, she called the auditor's office to "get the lowdown." She received her voting a card days earlier and thought ''It (not voting) was not going to happen this time."

Beck, who wanted to caucus for Donald Trump, said she is most concerned about the lack of concern over not following the American with Disabilities Act.
A 54-year-old Davenport is facing multiple sexual abuse charges after police say he sexually assaulted six victims under the age of 12 over a period of years.

Donald Lee Simms of 2615 Telegraph Road is charged with three counts of second-degree sexual abuse and three counts of indecent contact with a child. He was being held in the Scott County Jail without bond.

According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Detective Aric Robinson, the investigation began Nov. 20. All of the events took place at Simms' residence.

Robinson's affidavit said the indecent contact charges claim that Simms touched the clothing covering the children's private areas. The second-degree sexual abuse charges claim that he touched the children under their clothing, along with other acts.

Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Indecent contact with a child is an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of up to two years.
A Davenport man has been charged with assaulting two men, one with a knife, during a fight at a Davenport bar last month.

Mark T. Hudson Sr., 22, has been charged with assault causing serious injury, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and assault causing bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor.

Police were called at 10:50 p.m. Jan. 16 to the Hawkeye Sports Bar & Grill, 4646 Cheyenne Ave., for a large fight involving about 20 people.

Officers found five people who had suffered injuries from the fight. Three of those people were stabbed with an unknown object.

According to an arrest warrant filed Wednesday, Hudson assaulted a man by hitting him in the face and head with his face. The man suffered a cut, which bled, to the left side of his forehead.

Hudson also assaulted another man with a knife, according to the affidavit. The man sustained an about 6-inch cut on the right side of his neck and a cut artery that caused substantial bleeding and required emergency surgery, according to the affidavit.

Davenport Police Capt. Brent Biggs said detectives are continuing to follow up on the investigation and that additional arrests are possible.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Davenport Police at 563-326-6125 or submit an anonymous tip via the department's mobile app, CityConnect Davenport, IA.

Hudson was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in July 2013 after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court, Davenport, to being a felon in possession of a weapon. He was placed on supervised release in April.

He also has a felon in possession of a firearm conviction in Scott County.
Up until the end, Alan Egly was speaking up about issues he considered important for a better Quad-Cities.

His last letter to the editor of the Quad-City Times was published Dec. 31, just a month before he died Sunday in home hospice. He was 85.

Egly's lifetime work was as the director/trustee of two Quad-City philanthropic foundations, always marshaling money toward the underserved and underrepresented. From 1979 to 1987, he was minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Davenport, and he was a tireless advocate for many social issues.

A quick review of Quad-City Times files shows Egly speaking up for acceptance of lesbians, gays, transgender and bisexual people in all facets of society, helping to create an emergency shelter for homeless teens, leading a Jewish Holocaust education committee and working to decriminalize assisted suicide.

He also was involved in Quad-City health initiatives, a fight to keep a gambling casino off the Davenport riverfront, welfare reform and a one-time anti-hate coalition.

Rabbi Henry Karp, of Temple Emanuel, Davenport, worked with Egly on early "In from the Cold" projects to raise money for the area's homeless.

"He was a profound warrior in the cause for social justice," Karp said. "He was a real force in our community for goodness and justice."

As the 27-year executive director of the Doris and Victor Day Foundation, of Rock Island, Egly directed millions of dollars in grants toward programs emphasizing human needs such as emergency assistance, affordable housing, legal aid, child care, job training, scholarships and education.

"He was always looking at programs and organizations in terms of how they would help the underserved and the underrepresented," said Dave Geenen, who has succeeded Egly as the foundation's director. Egly retired in 2014.

"That was most important to him. He cared for the underdog."

The foundation was founded in 1965 to fulfill the Days' vision of making Rock Island a better place, and through the years it also awarded grants toward the creation of Winnie's Place, an emergency shelter for women, and the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bettendorf.

Personally, Egly and his wife, Pat, were a force for stability in their east-central Davenport neighborhood, restoring a Queen Anne-style home at 7th and Iowa streets after their move to the Quad-Cities from Brooklyn in 1978.

Through the years, they bought and fixed up homes on their street to rent out as quality apartments, said Marion Meginnis, a friend of the Eglys.

"They did a wonderful thing, very quietly," she said.

Theirs was a blended family, and they also were parents to foster children.

Egly was a trustee for the Rauch Family Foundation, also in Rock Island. In 2014 he was named the city's honorary "Citizen of the Year."

"He was a real voice of compassion and tolerance, especially at a time of such intolerance and anger out there," said Mark Schwiebert, former Rock Island mayor who served with Egly on the Rauch Foundation. "He was really a voice for our time."

Egly's reach extended across the entire Quad-Cities, even the nation.

He was a founding board member of the Quad-City Contributors Council, a private advisory panel that attempts to guide groups that want to raise money for a given project.

"He was a passionate leader and advocate for diversity, inclusiveness and the rights and needs of all those disadvantaged in the communities that he served," said Dana Waterman, director of the Contributors Council.

Egly also was instrumental in the current organization of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, a nonprofit that collaborates with individuals, families, nonprofits and corporations to shape the region's future through philanthropic partnerships.

"He was the one who suggested that the (former) Davenport Area Foundation change its name and serve a broader purpose," said Susan Skora, past director. "And he backed that up with a grant for operations in the early days of that effort."

Egly also tackled philanthropic challenges on the national scale, helping to establish the Association of Small Foundations. Today the Washington, D.C.-based group is known as Exponent Philanthropy, whose member foundations control a combined $71 billion in resources and make grants worth an estimated $4 billion annually.

"Last week Alan shared these words with family and friends," Henry Berman, current president of Exponent Philanthropy, wrote in an email. "'I've had a good life. I have loving friends and family. I hope that I made a dent in this world and that I have helped make it a better place.' "

"Alan made more than a dent," Berman wrote.
CLINTON, Iowa  Clinton County Sheriff Rick Lincoln said his office is not affiliated with a fundraising organization called the United States Deputy Sheriffs' Association.

Lincoln said residents have called his office saying they are getting phone calls and mailings seeking funding. A resident received a packet in the mail containing a calculator, planner and pen set plus a check for $2.50.

"Our sheriff's office has never received any benefit from this organization, either in equipment or training," Lincoln said in a news release. "Citizens are encouraged to research this organization on their computer using the Charity Navigator website."

He said the Clinton department is associated with and benefits from the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies Association.

"If a citizen of Clinton County desires to make a donation to support law enforcement, please support the Iowa State Sheriff's and Deputies' Association Institute," Lincoln said. "The ISSDA donations also help one or two children from Clinton County to attend the YMCA camp in Boone at no charge to them."

Lincoln said the U.S. Deputy Sheriffs' Association has done fundraising in Clinton County previously, but local law enforcement has "never benefited from those local donations."

If residents have questions about making donations, Lincoln suggested they call their local sheriff's office.
SPRINGFIELD  A lot could happen in the presidential campaign before Illinois primary voters head to the polls March 15, but supporters of the top finishers in Monday's first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are sounding an optimistic tone about their candidates' chances in the weeks of voting to come.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished ahead of Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The Democratic race, meanwhile, was a photo finish, with Illinois native and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont by a nose.

Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, will appear on the March 15 primary ballot as a delegate candidate for Cruz in the 15th Congressional District.

While Trump, the national front-runner, "thought he was going to cruise to victory," Rose said, the Texas senator now has momentum carrying him into the next round of voting, beginning with Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

"He's a consistent conservative, and it's a consistent conservative message that folks are responding to," Rose said.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Phil Hare of Rock Island didn't cross the Mississippi River to attend the caucuses, but he worked the phone from his dining room table to encourage voters to get out and caucus for Sanders. Hare is a delegate candidate for the Vermont senator in the 17th Congressional District.

Hare, who was in Congress from 2007 to 2011, said he worked with Sanders on veterans issues and supports his stances on raising the minimum wage, reining in big banks and other issues.

Despite Clinton's well-developed network of support in Illinois and elsewhere, Hare said he's "cautiously optimistic" about Sanders' chances here and in other states.

"What I think he's done is proven that you don't have to have multimillion-dollar super PACs pumping money in like everyone else has," Hare said.

Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and a Clinton delegate candidate in the 13th Congressional District, said the slim margin isn't a cause for concern but rather a reflection of "a heated primary based on issues, not based on personal insults."

"I believe that shows that the Democratic Party is alive and well today," Manar said.

He noted that Clinton is the first female candidate to win the Iowa caucuses.

"That speaks, I believe, to Secretary Clinton's campaign and to the depths of her candidacy and why I think she will make an excellent president when elected," Manar said.

Those who will appear on Illinois primary ballots as delegate candidates weren't just watching the Iowa caucuses unfold on TV.

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, covered the Iowa caucuses from 1976 to 2008 as a reporter at the Des Moines Register.

In many previous campaigns, the parties' nominations have been all but wrapped up by the time Illinois voters head to the polls, Yepsen said, but given Monday's results, things could be different this year.

"This time there's a real possibility that the race could mean something," he said.
Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a plan to revamp the way the state buys goods and services, changes he says would save taxpayers more than $500 million a year and free up money for higher education and other services.

Funding for universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students has become the latest crisis point in a budget impasse that's now in its eighth month, and Rauner offered procurement reform as a possible way to provide money. He has threatened to veto a bill Democrats passed last week that would fund community colleges and grants through the Monetary Award Program because he says there is no way to pay its $721.5 million price tag.

Meanwhile, Comptroller Leslie Munger is urging fellow Republican Rauner and Democrats in the General Assembly to adopt a balance budget, saying the state will be $6.2 billion further in debt by the end of the year if that doesn't happen.

Standing with lawmakers Tuesday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Rauner said the state's procurement rules  many of them created in the wake of scandals surrounding now-imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich  are a tangle of red tape that can triple or quadruple the time it takes to make purchases and cost the state millions.

"Procurement has been one of the largest sources of waste and abuse in our state," Rauner said. "It's frustrating, the level of incompetence and inefficiency in the system, and we really need to change this as quickly as we possibly can."

The governor's office says the proposal would give colleges and universities more purchasing flexibility, allow vendors to more easily fix mistakes in their registration with the state, and put one chief procurement officer in charge of the process rather than the current four, among other changes. It also would require the auditor general to review the state's procurement every two years.

Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, is the House sponsor of the bill. He said state university presidents have been critical of the current rules.

"Such changes would help them substantially," said Brady, whose district includes Illinois State University. "Our state universities are at a crisis point  in fact, they've crossed the crisis point  and they are looking for help, a lifeline."

Universities backed the Democratic bill that Rauner has said he will to veto.

Republicans offered an alternative plan that would fund universities at 80 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015. It would also fund community colleges at 90 percent and fully fund MAP grants. But the $1.7 billion in funding would be tied to a measure giving Rauner new authority to shift money around in the budget.

Republican Sens. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Dale Righter of Mattoon last week proposed instead tying the funding to procurement reform.

In response to questions about whether Rauner supports that idea, the governor's office sent an email highlighting the following comment from Tuesday's news conference:

"What we can't do is spend money we don't have. That's not an option. We have got to stop spending money we don't have. If we get structural reform, it will free up resources to be able to put into our schools and our human services, where it belongs."

Munger said at a news conference in Chicago that the state is going to spend $1.2 billion more than last year in the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services due to court orders and consent decrees. Coupled with $5 billion in lost revenue from the partial rollback of the temporary state income tax increase, that will drive the state $6.2 billion further into debt.

"Illinois must pass a budget, and we must reclaim our controls over spending and revenue," Munger said. "We must stop the financial bleeding and start healing."
Cold and dry weather returns to the Quad-Cities for the rest of the week with no chance of snow in the immediate forecast.

A storm system moving from up from Missouri into Iowa and Illinois this morning will pull in blustery and cloudy conditions with temperatures in the lower 30 degrees, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Cousins said.

Today's high is expected to reach 35 degrees before sinking to an overnight low of 14 degrees and a wind chill that feels like it is zero, he said.

Saturation left over after Tuesday's sleet and rain may cause minor traffic concerns. "There could be slick spots," Cousins said.

Not even an inch of rain or sleet fell, but because the ground was frozen the moisture just sat on the surface. Cousins said today will not be as damp as Tuesday.

Temperatures are forecast to climb slightly into the weekend but may not reach 40 degrees. Thursday may be partly sunny with a high in the lower 30s followed by Friday's high in the mid 30s and Saturday's high in the upper 30s.

It is supposed to be mostly sunny this weekend, but there is another potential storm system Sunday night into Monday, Cousins said.

"There is no precipitation in the forecast," he said. "It's mainly clouds turning colder once the system moves through."

The forecast continues the unseasonable weather the Quad-Cities mostly experienced in January. Usually the area would see an average of 9.4 inches of snow the first month of the year. Only 1.5 inches fell this January. And the average temperature of 22.4 degrees was 1.6 degrees above normal.
Jobs, or the preservation of prime farm ground?

The Scott County Planning and Zoning Commission has come down on the side of jobs  or at least the possibility of talking about jobs  by recommending changes in the county's comprehensive plan.

The changes would provide a defensible rationale for "spot" zoning, making it possible to rezone prime farmland to industrial in unincorporated areas of Scott County, provided the project had significant economic impact, as measured by jobs and taxes paid.

The vote on Tuesday was 6-1, with farmer Hans Schnekloth the lone vote opposed. But once the comprehensive plan measure passed, he voted with the rest of the commission in recommending a corresponding change in the county's zoning ordinance to create an "I-F," or industrial floating zone.

Before casting his vote, Tony Knobbe, a retired banker who grew up on a farm, said he has tried to think what is in the best interest of the entire community, noting that there are "conflicting factors within our own goals."

"I understand the sacredness of farm land," he said. "I cry when I see it taken for other uses."

But, he added, "I feel I owe it to the citizens of Scott County to at least put ourselves in a position to be able to consider a plant," or some large-scale economic development project.

Several farmers in attendance, including Jerry Mohr and Kent Paustian, a former member of the commission, said they were disappointed by the vote but not surprised.

The commission's recommendations will now go to the Scott County Board of Supervisors for the final say. The board was driving force behind their consideration in the first place.

Impetus for the change occurred in June 2013 when the board of supervisors told the commission that it was interested in "addressing the economic development objectives and language in the comprehensive plan," according to the commission's minutes.

This was a year after the commission denied a request from Egypt-based Orascom Construction Industries to rezone 318 acres of farmland for a $1.3 billion fertilizer plant in unincorporated Scott County.

During the controversy that pitted those supporting economic development against those wanting to preserve prime ag ground, county officials realized that even if the rezoning had been approved, it probably would not have survived a court challenge given current wording in the county's comprehensive plan, Tim Huey, Scott County planning and development director, has explained.

To fix this, and at the board of supervisor's request, Huey suggested the new I-F zoning classification.

Before Tuesday's vote, the commission held six public hearings on the proposal, five in various areas of the county. Response among the rural population was overwhelmingly negative, while development directors spoke in favor of it.

A reason farmers such as Paustian aren't surprised by the vote is that they have watched membership in the planning and zoning commission change since 2012.

Commission members are appointed by the board of supervisors and, by law, at least four of the seven members must live in unincorporated areas of the county. Although that remains the case, Paustian and others who provided a strong farm voice  Katherine Ion, Gary Mehrens and Allan Kluever  have been replaced.

Kluever resigned, but then one by one, the others were not reappointed by the supervisors even though they were willing to continue serving, each told the Quad-City Times.

With the exception of Schnekloth, those who resigned or were not re-appointed were replaced with people more representative of a business background.

Two others who were serving at the time of the Orascom proposal  Clayton Lloyd, retired community and economic development director for the city of Davenport, and Carolyn Schiebe, executive director of the Eldridge-North Scott Chamber of Commerce  remain on the board. A seventh, Linda Rivers, resigned.

The board of supervisors will hold a public hearing before its vote, but a date has not been set.
On Monday, the CEO's of corporations , small and large business owners, police chiefs, city leaders, government employees and farmers attended the Iowa Caucuses.

The helped will select the next president who will probably appoint four Supreme Court justices who will rule on labor laws affecting workers. They will select the next executive who will enforce immigration policy or not, prosecute crime and lead our military as well as execute agricultural policy.

Again, the sinister elitism and downright undemocratic process of the Iowa Caucus reared its ugly head. The people most affected by the selection of the chief executive have no voice in this process. Sure, farmers will caucus for candidates supporting ethanol because they're are free at 7 p.m. on a February night . The majority of factory workers, truck drivers, active duty military, railroad workers, cops, firemen and nurses working second shift will have no voice. They pay taxes to the state of Iowa and the federal government. They are forced to buy the ethanol but have no vote.

"Taxation without representation" was a battle cry that launched the founding of this country. We who are not of the professional class, who work, have no representation.

It is time to end this tyranny of voter suppression by both political parties and allow the votes of every Iowa worker to be heard. It is time to end the caucus and enact voting procedures that allow for everyone to participate. By allowing every Iowan to vote, we will make Iowa a more representative state rather than a coronation by the elite and the special interest.

Mark Riley

Davenport
DES MOINES  The anticipated annual showdown on school funding moved a step closer Tuesday when the Democratic-majority Senate Education Committee voted along party lines for a 4 percent increase in state aid to K-12 schools for fiscal year 2018.

Without comment, the Senate Education Committee approved Senate Study Bills 3064 and 3065. SSB 3064 would boost categorical funding supplements by 4 percent, and SSB 3065 would set the percent of growth used to calculate local school districts budget by 4 percent.

I dont think we need debate here, Chairman Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said. There will be plenty of opportunity out on the floor.

Quirmbach has warned that anything less than 4 percent will underfund schools. That limits opportunities for students and undermines the states economic future.

By law, the fiscal 2018 school aid number should be set within 30 days of the governor making a recommendation. The House GOP and Gov. Terry Branstad want to change the law. Branstad has not made a fiscal 2018 recommendation.

The Senate Education Committees funding proposal for 2018 comes as the Legislature still is trying to resolve school appropriations for fiscal 2017.

The Republican-controlled House has approved a 2 percent increase, or nearly $81 million, in fiscal 2017. That is not only half what Democrats are proposing, but it's also below Branstads proposed 2.45 percent increase.

That issue is in a conference committee.

House Republicans say that although 2 percent is not a big increase, it is appropriate in light of the states financial realities. House Education Committee Chairman Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City, said the $134 million that would go to base school budgets and the third year of the states education reforms would take 88 percent of the new money that House Republicans say is available to spend next fiscal year.

House Democrats argued the 2 percent increase would short-change students and raise local school property taxes.

Quirmbach and Rep. Patti Ruff, D-McGregor, earlier released results of a survey of 257 school superintendents that found 88 percent favored a 4 percent increase in state aid to K-12 schools. Only three favored the 2 percent option.
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He started dabbling in photography as a college student and soon this became Ranits most passionate hobby. His continuous research,experiments on Pictorial Photography leads him to his teachers Mr. Benu Sen , MFIAP,FRPS ) the then President of the P.A.D and Prof. Biswatosh Sengupta , MSTAT, MCA, two stalwarts of Indian Photography, to enhance more technical knowledge on this field of Pictorial Photography. Their profound knowledge and guidance helps him to build up the base of confidence in ' How to handle Pictorial Photography'.Since 1985, his work was appreciated locally and later he went on to gain acceptance and won several awards for his work at various International Salons around the world recognized by F.I.A.P ( Federation Internationale de l'Art Photographique ), UNESCO, PSA, etc..
Its the end of a 38-year era for the Belle Fourche Public Library with the retirement of Pat Engebretson as of Jan. 31.

But the torch has been turned over to a 30-year veteran at the library, new Librarian Wanda Nelson, who has been childrens and assistant librarian.

Engebretson brought the library into the digital era with access to e-books and 10 computers available to the public.

That progress will continue, Nelson said.

The first thing I will be working on is getting the library automated, she said at last Thursdays retirement open house at the library for Engebretson.

At the retirement open house, Mayor Gloria Landphere presented Engebretson a certificate recognizing her years of service and contributions to the community.

I wish Pat all the best in her retirement and welcome Wanda to her new position, she said. I know Pat will be a wonderful resource for her.

The library not only has reference and recreational reading, it also has resources for historical and genealogical research.

There is an array of Belle Fourche and Butte County history as well as histories from other areas of the state.

Newspaper microfilm includes Belle Fourche and Newell Valley Irrigator, and there is an index to obituaries from Belle Fourche newspapers.

The library also has microfilm on South Dakota census records from 1860 to 1930.

Engebretson not only has had charge of the collected books and now electronic resources, but also for regular special reading programs for children and adults.

Each year, for example, the birthday of Dr. Seuss has been celebrated by Pat in the Hat.

Summer reading programs for both adults and children also are a local tradition.

The librarys special programs also have included book signings by regional authors  and was one of the first to recognize neighboring Wyoming author Craig Johnson whose modern western mystery novels later became cable television and Netflix video programs.

Johnson made a special trip to the Belle Fourche Library for a reading of his latest Christmas short story and to honor Engebretson on her impending retirement.

Engebretson and some other Belle Fourche people also were immortalized on one of Johnsons Longmire series of mystery novels.

The library has extensive services with book check outs, interlibrary loans, videos, DVDs, childrens programs, magazines and newspapers, books on tape and CD, and a special collection of South Dakota genealogy in large print.
The pitch to be included in a television series first came to Jim Evridge a couple of years ago on a cold-call. Matador Content wanted to come in to his shop with cameras for two days to see if there was a story there.

Evridge initially thought, "No way. I don't watch television, I don't want to be on television, and we don't have time for it."

But persistence prevailed, and Matador Content called two more times and then later just barged in.

"One thing led to another, and this led to us having a 20-person camera crew land here in the shop and out on field jobs to film with us all summer," Evridge said. "The experience of making the show was aggravating for us at times, but we enjoyed it overall."

Two familiar Belle Fourche faces, including Evridge, will soon air on National Geographic in the series Big Fix Alaska: Long Gone on the Yukon.

Evridge and Austin Gillette both live in Anchorage, Alaska, and work for Jim's Equipment Repair LLC. It's Alaska's only industrial engine machine shop and leading industrial engine re-manufacturing facility, according to Evridge.

Evridge left almost 40 years ago and has lived in St. Onge, Sturgis, Belle Fourche, and Rapid City.

Austin Gilette graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 2000 and left for Alaska six years ago.

Evridge and his crew believe the show does an excellent job in capturing their story.

"It's informative and entertaining," he said.

Gillette's father, Kurt Gillette, flew out to Anchorage a few weeks ago to see his son, Austin, and his brother-in-law, Evridge, for the show.

"It's pretty cool for two Belle Fourche guys to be on National Geographic," Kurt Gillette said.

On the show, Evridge is known as "Doc Brown of his trade because of his unorthodox linguistics and unusual methods of fixing machinery."

Gillette "is called the MacGyver of the shop since he has been known to fix anything and everything thrown his way," according to National Geographic's website in reference to the show.

Big Fix Alaska follows the mechanics at Jims Equipment Repair as they fix three large machines out in the fields. It airs Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. Mountain time.

The company's staff varies from about 15-24 employees seasonally in the 13,000 square foot shop. The shop sits on three acres of land in anchorage.

"Austin and myself say hello to all in Belle Fourche and South Dakota," Evridge added.

Evridge and Kurt Gillette said there most likely will be a second series and potentially more.

Evridge's business can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Jims-Equipment-Repair-LLC-163262707027310/timeline or online at http://www.jimsequipmentrepair.com/.
A development group interested in constructing a new hotel passed the final hurdle Monday that will allow them to break ground this spring.

The Chadron City Council voted three to one, with one abstention by Miles Bannan, to approve tax increment financing for Chadron Hospitality, LLC. The groups plan is to build a 70-room Holiday Inn Express on Ash Street. The new hotel is slated to open in spring of 2017.

Their request for $800,000 in tax increment financing brought opposition from other motel owners and some residents  both city and rural  who said Chadron Hospitality should be required to build the hotel without tax increment financing.

Tax increment financing (TIF) freezes the property valuation at the pre-construction value for up to 15 years, and the property owners pay taxes on that value. During that time, Chadron Hospitality will be able to use the funds they would have paid on the post-construction valuation to pay off the TIF. After the TIF is paid off, or when the 15 years expires, the property valuation will be on the tax rolls at its post-construction value and the property owners will pay taxes on that full amount.

The project represents a $7 million investment.

Hotel and inn owners Russ Milton, Sandy Gulbranson, and Bonnie and Kevin Hahn told the council Monday that granting the TIF is equal to financing their competition with public funds. Gulbranson said TIF should be used for low-income individuals wanting to start a business, adding that a new hotel could hurt those already here.

What about the rest of us? Are we going to close up shop? she asked.

Andy Curd presented the council with the signatures of 169 people opposed to using present or future property tax dollars to assist businesses that compete with others in town. The signatures, he said, come from residents of Chadron and rural Dawes County, and he urged the council to vote against TIF even if it meant that Chadron Hospitality backed out of the project.

Something will get built there sooner or later, he said.

State law that governs TIF includes a but-for clause, meaning that government entities are not supposed to approve TIF requests unless they are economically unsustainable without it. Mike Works with Chadron Hospitality has said that without TIF, the project would not proceed. Several individuals Monday indicated they believe Chadron Hospitality could afford the project without TIF. Bonnie Hahn gave the council a proposed hotel budget based on information in Chadron Hospitalitys TIF application and redevelopment plan. Those numbers, she said, show that he does not need TIF.

Don Berg, the owner of Taco Johns, also spoke out against TIF, saying he would love to see a hotel in that location, but that they can do it the same way I did. Levi Grant, a former city council member who now sits on the citys Planning Commission, said TIF should not be used to help a business that will compete with an existing business in Chadron; instead, those businesses should have to do it the American way.

Dawes County Commissioner Vic Rivera said this TIF project would create unfair competition, adding that the Dawes County taxpayer would get the short end of the stick as it would increase valuation and taxes in the county with no returns. Dawes County taxpayers, he said, should have a voice in how their tax dollars are spent.

Several of the group who opposed the TIF approached the county commissioners last week seeking their support in opposing the financing. At that meeting, Curd said every property owner should pay their fair share. Rural residents pay more than city residents, he said, adding that if the TIF was approved rural residents would have to make up a disproportionate amount of funding for governmental entities while the valuation of the hotel property was frozen during TIF.

The commissioners chose to stand silent on the issue. Chairman Jake Stewart noted that this TIF project will not force rural residents to pay more in taxes because it is inside the city limits and is a commercial property, which does not influence agricultural valuations. As for the freeze on valuation, he explained that the county does not budget based on what it could get in property taxes, but on what it actually will receive, so there will be no shortfall to make up.

Curd contended that rural residents are subsidizing those in the city, but it was later pointed out that rural residents also get a break that those in the cities do not: agricultural valuations are at 75 percent of market value, while valuations for commercial and residential properties are at 100 percent of market value.

The issue caused a split in the Dawes County Travel Board as well, with board member Annette Trylick saying she would not submit a letter asking to be reappointed to her expired term unless the Travel Board retracted its support for the hotel TIF project. She owns the Bunkhouse Motel.

The opposition also cited Sen. Al Davis recent column, published in The Chadron Record, in which he said there are problems with the states TIF laws that need to be addressed. Many constituents apparently contacted Davis, and he submitted a letter to the city council noting that his column was not in any way addressing Chadrons TIF decision.

I learned recently from a metropolitan senator that the Omaha suburbs were beginning to use TIF for the construction of new housing developments. It was because of that comment that I wrote the column on TIF. Housing developments generate no additional immediate revenue for the community and generate no significant job creation once the subdivision is complete. However, these projects do contribute to additional needs at the local school district because housing is usually connected to additional students.

The hour of public comment on the issue Monday included supporters of the hotel TIF, as well. Deb Cottier, executive director at Nebraska Northwest Development Corporation, said the hotel will bring with it additional payroll, an increase in sales and lodging taxes and increased visitor spending. Tye Pourier, co-owner of Big Bats, said he understands both sides of the issue.

I know about competition, he said, referencing the construction of Maverik. I didnt want Maverik, but I wasnt going to let them beat me.

The hotel will be a good thing for Chadron, he said, and TIF is a tool that is available and they meet the criteria.

Kerry Bailey of Edward Jones said there are points to be made on both sides, but said misconceptions have contributed to the controversy. For example, he said, its a misconception that agricultural people will see a spike in valuations or taxes from the hotel project. The site is inside the city limits and zoned commercial, he said.

Sometimes just because the facts arent what we want to hear doesnt mean the facts arent true, Bailey said.
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument will host an evening of dark sky viewing starting at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 6, 2016. Rangers will take you on a tour of the solar system and far off celestial worlds with telescopes and through constellation lore. Meet at the visitor center, which will also be the warming hut where you can warm up with hot cocoa and astronomical treats after standing in the cold.

As we kick off the National Park Services Centennial celebration, star gazing in wide open country with crystal clear skies is a great reminder of what makes national parks so wonderful, says Agate Superintendent James Hill.

Children are also encouraged to learn more about astronomy, light pollution, and other fun dark sky topics by working on the Junior Ranger Night Explorer program. They can earn a special, limited edition patch by the time they leave the Monument.

For more information, especially on the day of the stargazing delight if the sky is overcast or the weather inclement, please contact the Monument at (308) 436-9760 or (308) 668-2211.

Agate Fossil Beds protects almost 3000 acres with over four miles of hiking trails accessing riparian areas along the Niobrara River, mixed grass prairie and rocky outcrops. The trailhead for the 2.7 mile roundtrip Fossil Hills Trail is at the visitor center and the trailhead for the one mile roundtrip Daemonelix Trail is at the small parking lot at the west end of the Monument immediately to the east of Highway 29.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is located just 22 miles south of Harrison, or 34 miles north of Mitchell, Nebraska, on State Highway 29, then east on River Road for three miles to the visitor center. The visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Labor Day until Memorial Day. Admission is free. The parks two trails are open from dawn to dusk. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/agfo or visit Agate Fossil Beds on Facebook and Twitter.
Even though I support the intent of House bill 1067 that seeks to amend the "Any Willing Provider" health insurance initiative that South Dakota voters passed in November 2014 by a 62-38 percent margin, this attempt at changing the law in the Legislature is not good government.

First off, I opposed the Any Willing Provider initiative here and in my blog because it basically requires all health insurers in the state to offer only policies that will pay for the cost of health services charged by, literally, any willing provider in the state.

The initiative was dubbed "Patient Choice" by its supporters, who maintained that by forcing insurance companies to cover costs charged by any health-care provider, consumers aren't forced to pick from a limited insurance company-approved list of providers. That, of course, is true.

However, in the bigger picture it was really a bill that denied a very important choice for many consumers. Individuals lost the ability to opt for a policy that limited its payment coverage to a pool of providers approved by their insurer, which provides services at costs lower than those of providers outside the pool. With fixed costs established ahead of time, theoretically at least, the cost of insurance in such a "closed" plan should consequently be lower than the cost of insurance in an "open" (any willing provider) plan.

To me this is a critical choice that consumers should be able to make. HB 1067 aims to reinstate that important choice. It does require insurers  in keeping with the original law  to offer at least one plan that will pay for services performed by any willing provider. To that extent, it keeps the intent of the original law intact. Unfortunately, though, it does so by way of a process that stinks: The notion of legislatively tinkering with a law passed by voters just doesn't stand muster.

Our Legislature, by doing so, is effectively telling us that what we accomplished at the polls doesn't matter because our government can change what we did by legislative fiat. So while I support the intent, I abhor the method.

Even though I strongly opposed the backers of the original bill (Patient Choice For South Dakota) I really have to agree with their public statement of a week ago that "this bill is an attempt to subvert the legislative process and ignore the will of the people ... by Sanford Health or their dozens of lobbyists."

Is there a way to right this voter-initiated law? Certainly. It's the way by which it became a law in the first place: take it back to the voters. No doubt the effort to do so by lobbying and otherwise cajoling elected officials into bending to their will is much more cost-effective than starting a voter-directed campaign, but I don't see any other option.

We strive for government of the people, by the people and for the people. Let's try to keep it that way in South Dakota, shall we?
Sakhalin ex-governor Khoroshavin to stay jailed till late February

MOSCOW, February 3 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court has upheld a lower courts decision to extend until February 27 the detention of former governor of the Sakhalin Region, Alexander Khoroshavin, who stands charged with taking bribes, RAPSI reported from the courtroom on Wednesday.

Khoroshavin complained about conditions of detention. Defense asked to release him from jail.

Investigators announced in March 2015 that Khoroshavin and several other officials were arrested for allegedly taking a $5.6 million bribe to secure a contract to build a power unit for the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk thermal plant.

Khoroshavin asked earlier either to place him under house arrest or to release him on 5-million-ruble ($64,200) bail, but the motion was dismissed.

Last April, Khoroshavin was charged in another criminal case with taking a bribe of at least 15 million rubles ($192,500) for providing credits on advantageous terms to one of the local businessmen. He pleaded not guilty.

In January, the third criminal case was opened against Khoroshavin. According to investigators, he took 27 million rubles ($346,500) in bribes from candidates for the positions in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Duma in 2014.

President Vladimir Putin dismissed Khoroshavin from his post due to loss of trust in March 2015.
Moscow court extends detention of performance artist Pavlensky accused of vandalism

MOSCOW, February 3 (RAPSI)  The Tagansky District Court in Moscow has extended the detention of Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who allegedly attempted to burn the doors of the Federal Security Service building, until March 6, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Wednesday.

The artist was absent from court because he is undergoing psychiatric examination at the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow.

Earlier, the Moscow City Court denied 1 million-ruble ($13,000) bail to Pavlensky.

Pavlensky was arrested on November 9 along with several other people who claim to be journalists that were invited to the artists performance. On November 10, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow ordered the detention of Pavlensky. He stands charged with vandalism on grounds of ideological hatred and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

Pavlensky is known for a number of controversial performances.

In July 2012, he sewed up his mouth and stood at the Kazan Cathedral with a poster in support of Pussy Riot.

In May 2013, Pavlensky lay down on the ground in front of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly naked with barbed wire around his body.

In November 2013, also naked, Pavlensky nailed his scrotum to the Red Square pavement near the Lenin Mausoleum.

In October 2014, he staged an eccentric stunt on the roof of the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow by cutting off one of his earlobes.

Last February Pavlensky and his accomplices burned car tyres, waved Ukrainian flags and banged sheet metal with sticks in a show of solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Ukraine. The performance was held near the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg.
Moscow student accused of attempting to join ISIS to undergo sanity exam

MOSCOW, February 3 (RAPSI) - Varvara Karaulova (Alexandra Ivanova), a student of the Moscow State University who stands charged with attempting to join the Islamic State militants in Syria, will undergo a mental examination, her lawyer Sergei Badamshin told RAPSI on Wednesday.

She has been put in the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow, the lawyer said.

Karaulova, the second-year student of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Moscow State University, allegedly decided to join the Islamic State and secretly started off for Istanbul on May 27.

On June 4, she was arrested near Turkey's border with Syria along with 13 other Russian citizens when attempting to cross into the territory occupied by Islamic State militants.

On June 11, she returned to Russia under escort of Interpol employees.

Her detention recently was extended until March 27.

If convicted, Karaulova faces up to ten years in prison.

The Islamic State is currently one of the major threats to global security. Over three years, these terrorists have managed to seize large areas of Iraq and Syria. The organization is also attempting to spread its influence to North Africa  particularly, Libya. The area controlled by ISIS covers up to 90,000 square kilometers.
Yellowstone County needs nearly double the six presiding judges sitting in District Court to more effectively manage and resolve cases.

Thats according to the 2014 Montana District Court Judicial Weighted Caseload Study.

The study, done by the National Center for State Courts with the Montana Supreme Court, calculates on average how much time cases in different categories take to adjudicate.

The study showed the 13th Judicial District, which covers Yellowstone County, has the most cases of the district courts in the state, with 8,890 filings in 2013.

The study took the number of filings and how long each case would take to adjudicate, and calculated Yellowstone County would need 11 judges to balance the workload.

Thats is almost double the six judges already serving the county. The state as a whole needs 15 new judges, according to this study.

Judge Greg Todd, who sat on the judicial workload assessment advisory committee, said projections for Billings crime only continue to increase, and as crime rises, so will the need for qualified and dedicated judges.

Todd said he has already seen the effects of lack of staffing, with the rise of speedy- trial motions.

The next-highest number of filings was in District 4, home to Mineral and Missoula counties, which had 6,127 filings. The third highest was Cascade County, which had 5,505 filings.

The 21 districts had 52,449 filings in 2013, which includes cases on everything from child abuse and neglect to civil matters.

Judge Ingrid Gustafson said by the last week of May, Yellowstone Countys District Courts had already reached more than 180 child abuse and neglect cases for 2015. The previous high for a full year was 266 in 2013. At this rate, the court will have doubled the number of child abuse and neglect cases handled by the end of the year, Gustafson said.

Gustafson said it is common for crime statistics to go through highs and settle back down, so it is hard to tell whether this is a general spike, or a jump that Billing judges should expect to continue.

But she said she cant see a reason for the sudden increase.

We didnt have any catastrophic event in Billings, Gustafson said.

Child abuse and neglect cases are the second-most time consuming for judges, only topped by drug and other treatment court referrals.

Throughout, the child abuse cases and neglect cases have been the most intensive, Todd said.

The rising amount of time-consuming and high-intensity neglect cases isnt the only place the judges are feeling the pinch.

Judge Russell Fagg said he will often have 15 to 25 criminal trials scheduled for one Tuesday, and if one trial happens, the rest will be canceled.

Fagg said he faces the same problem in civil court. Family cases vary, but things like custody cases can still stack on top of each other, maybe four or five on any given family court day.

Fagg said the reality is that justice delayed is justice denied, and the more the schedule gets double- or triple-booked, the more likely the judges are to miss something. He echoed Todd in the frustration with the number of motions he must work on during a week.

The more balls you have in, the more likely you are to drop them, which is what happens, Fagg said.

Fagg said getting five new judges is unrealistic, and not fiscally responsible, but even one or two more judges would help.

Gustafson said most judges now are just getting the work out the door. But to keep up with new judicial practices and better handle mental health and addiction cases, the judges need to have more time.

Court Administrator for the Montana State Court Beth McLaughlin said with staffing and hiring, a new judge would cost the state $1.1 million over two years. Considering the entire report asked for 16 new judges for the state of Montana, the judicial system will probably continue to stay understaffed by the studys standards.

The question of getting a new judge is also stalled by a lack of room in the courthouse. The judges now must share a courtroom because there are six judges and only five courtrooms. The question of additional office space for the judges is not the purview of the state Legislature, which turned over the right to the county in the early 2000s.

The courthouse has already taken steps to help clear out the number of cases on the judges plates, including dissolving the position of court administrator previously held by Becky Bird, and creating a new full-time position of standing master, who assists judges in processing cases.

While standing masters are not full judges and cannot preside over jury trials, they have the ability to do work judges wont have time for, including early intervention in child and neglect cases  the most time-consuming type of case.

Fagg said the judges have spoken with the Yellowstone County Commission, and they are working on a plan to get two new judges within the next five years.

The 2015 Legislature also passed House Bill 430, which put together an interim commission to study potential redistricting, possibly changing the area judges preside over to make it more even. Todd will join the commission in its efforts.

The bottom line is our 13th Judicial District has always needed the most judges, Todd said.

In 2009, the judges asked the state for six new judges statewide and received three. Yellowstone County received one, Judge Mary Jane Knisley, who joined the court shortly after the additional judge was granted.

McLaughlin said having just finished with this years legislative session, there is no way to know how the next Legislature will handle the need for new judges. The question of whether to add new judges came too late in the legislative session to make it a priority this year, McLaughlin said, but she agreed there is a clear need in Yellowstone County and across the state, for more judges.
HELENA  A newly appointed panel will consider whether to redraw Montanas judicial districts for the first time in more than 80 years.

Legislative leaders, Montanas chief justice and other legal institutions picked the seven members of the Judicial Redistricting Commission ahead of a July 31 deadline.

Montana has 22 judicial districts. They have been split, but not redrawn, since 1929.

A state Supreme Court review last year identified major discrepancies in judges workloads from one district to another. Overall, the review found Montanas 46 district court judges and four standing masters are meeting the caseload and travel demands of more than 65 people.

Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick said he proposed appointing the commission to fix the uneven workloads and speed up court decisions in backlogged areas.

Im a lawyer, and Ive had cases in some of these really busy districts. And the cases were not decided in a timely manner, and thats not good for clients, the Great Falls Republican said. They need to be able to move on with their lives.

Fitzpatrick sponsored the proposal on behalf of the Supreme Court.

The commissions tasks were written broadly to allow for a variety of outcomes, Fitzpatrick said. Research by the panel and legislative staff over the next two years could result in legislative proposals to scrap the current district lines, reallocate judges and funding in the current districts or add more judges.

Montanas Legislature and governor would have to approve the panels recommendations.

Initially its just going to be an examination to see if judicial redistricting is something that should be done, Chouteau County Clerk Rick Cook, a member of the commission, said. Im going into this with a very open mind.

Republican leaders appointed Sen. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, and Democratic leaders chose Rep. Nate McConnell, D-Missoula. Chief Justice Mike McGrath appointed district court judges Ray Dayton and Greg Todd. Clerks of District Court chose Cook; the Montana Association of Counties picked Madison County Commissioner Dave Schulz, and the State Bar chose Emily Jones.

The group will receive $20,000 in state funding over the next two years to pay for their time and travel.

Commission members have not yet set a schedule. Dayton said they will likely hold their first meeting in September.
Back in 2009, a Polson man named Paul Wencewicz created an invitation-only online bulletin board where members advertised and traded sexually explicit images of young girls.

He called it Kingdom of Future Dreams, and housed the physical server on the remote Isle of Jersey, one of the United Kingdom's Channel Islands.

On it were thousands of pictures of girls as young as 4 years old posing with sex toys  one with the word "slut" and "hurt me" written in red on a girl's abdomen with a knife in the picture.

After a tip in 2011, FBI agents and officers from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force obtained a search warrant for Wencewicz's house, and through their investigation identified dozens of other suspects and the existence of a second bulletin board called the Dark Moon.

Agents were able to crack Wencewicz's highly complex encryption in 2013.

On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana announced the conclusion of a multi-agency, multi-year international investigation of the two bulletin boards involving the exploitation of hundreds of children. The stings that brought down the child porn rings were called Operation Kingdom Conqueror and Operation Moon Runner.

The investigation resulted in the conviction of 21 defendants  all men ranging in age from 25 to 67  across the United States.

The last of the defendants, 31-year-old Shawnston Beaudoin of Kennesaw, Georgia, was sentenced Thursday to 17 years and six months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with lifetime supervised release.

Wencewicz, 49, received a sentence of 18 years and four months in the Bureau of Prisons, with lifetime supervised release. He must also pay $29,859 in restitution.

The sentences of the other defendants ranged from 15 years to 18 years and four months, and all include supervised release.

***

U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael Cotter said the investigation involved more than 100 local, state and federal agents operating on two continents, and the execution of 60 search warrants.

"Between 2009 and 2012, Wencewicz and other members of the conspiracy sexually exploited hundreds of little girls around the world and the U.S. by trading appalling and revolting images and videos of them while expressing perverse sexual glee while looking at them," Cotter said. "Agents were able to identify the locations of some of the most egregious members and the task force agents executed search warrants on these targets."

Cotter said the Dark Moon bulletin board had data anonymization and encryption to conceal the members' locations, and administrators configured it to purge the IP addresses of members.

"These men are dangerous," Cotter said. "Some had images of girls even younger than 4. Their sexual perversions are horrific."

One defendant, 49-year-old Tony Gustafson of Hastings, Nebraska, had sadistic images in his collection that included the image of the girl with the words written on her abdomen. He was sentenced 16 years and eight months in prison. Many of the images showed children being abused with foreign objects, Cotter said.

"Some of the posts and comments the members would make on the board were equally as depraved," he said. "Some of the defendants had also committed prior hands-on offenses against children."

Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirly, Massachusetts, previously assaulted a 12-year-old girl. He also told investigators he abused a 4-year-old child.

Ian Nosek, 44, of Charlottesville, Virginia, had a history of taking pictures of the pubic area of girls in swimming pools, which he would then post.

Beaudoin admitted to producing child pornography and previously assaulting girls.

"These operations were a cooperative effort between the the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation, the Helena Police Department, Homeland Security Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force," Cotter said. "It's our duty to protect children with the coalition of team players we have in this room, and we will continue to do so. This was a remarkable piece of work to bring the men to justice who have exploited these young children."

He specifically pointed out Jimmy Weg, a Helena-based computer forensics expert, for his crucial help with the case.

Maureen Cain of the U.S. Department of Justice said investigators are still working to determine their identities of the victims, which at this time are unknown. The people who made the pictures also have not been identified.

And, she said, there is still an investigation into who created the Dark Moon bulletin board.

"Today's sentencing closes a chapter in the continuing fight to bring justice to those who prey upon our children," said Eric Barnhart, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office. "The 21 men convicted for their roles in the Kingdom of Future Dreams and the Dark Moon bulletin boards traded on the misery of children. Children that were subjected to horrific sexual and emotional abuse. Each time these men distributed those photos or videos, those victims were re-victimized.

"Those of us who have looked into the eyes of these victims can see the light that shines so brightly in so many kids shines less brightly in theirs. Some things are stolen from these children, and men like these 21 are the ones that do it. But it's a testament to how much we value our children that when the worst happens to them, it brings out the best in law enforcement. It was a fantastic effort, both domestic and abroad. All previous rivalries and jurisdictions and past grievances were swept aside. It is a fantastic outcome. The battle will continue. I'd like to say that the war is won, but unfortunately there is more out there."

***

In addition to Beaudoin and Wencewicz, the men who were convicted of conspiracy to advertise child pornography are:

 Scott Long, 55, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Steve Humiston, 58, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $29,859 in restitution.

 Phillip Morris, 43, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Tony Bronson, 55, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced to 18 years and eight months in prison and 10 years supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Jeffrey Woolley, 55, of Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Charles Crosby, 45, of Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 John Johnson, 59, of Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Joseph Purificato, 25, of Mount Vernon, Missouri, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 10 years supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Nosek was sentenced to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Robert Krise, 67, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 John Merchberger III, 48, of Dayton, Maine, was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

 Daniel Brown, 27, of Taylors, South Carolina, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervised release.

 Marc Edoria, 24, of Sacramento, California, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 10 years supervised release.

 Gustafson, 49, of Hastings, Nebraska, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison and lifetime supervised release.

 Ryan Hatfield, 26, of Mount Washington, Kentucky, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 10 years supervised release.

 David Woods, 37, of Corfu, New York, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 15 years supervised release.

The following defendants were convicted at trial of participating in a child exploitation enterprise and conspiracy to advertise child pornography:

 Joshua Petersen, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 restitution.

 Grovo was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison and lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $29,859 in restitution.

 Richard Pitts, 28, of Cathedral City, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute child pornography and was sentenced to seven years in prison and 15 years of supervised release.
HELENA  Changing the regions judges in Montana serve doesnt look like the best way to help districts where judges have more work than they can handle.

Thats what a commission formed to look at judicial redistricting said at a meeting Tuesday.

On paper, the numbers seem dire  Billings needs five or six more judges, Missoula needs almost three.

In other regions, like the wide district that serves Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell and Wheatland counties, a full judge isnt needed.

That what an annual weighted caseload study by the National Center for State Courts shows, though the commission said its heard from judges that they dont necessarily agree.

I dont know that most of the judiciary is broken, said commission member and Judge Ray Dayton of in the 3rd Judicial District, covering Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties. My personal view is we dont need to redistrict for anything thats wrong with the vast majority of the judiciary in Montana. But Missoula needs a judge, Billings needs judges.

The 2015 case weight and filings study shows some districts need more judges, like 2.66 new judges needed in the 1st District, which covers Lewis and Clark and Broadwater counties, and 2.14 judges in the 8th District, Cascade County. But some like the 7th District, which covers Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Richland and Wibaux counties, only need 0.47 new judges. The total adds up to 21.2 judges needed across the state.

The weighted part of the study means that it not only looks at the number of cases filed, but also other work judges must do and annual travel, like for a judge who has to visit five courts in five counties to hear cases.

Dayton said that while Billings needs judges, it isnt asking for six new ones and might not have the room for them.

I didn't hear a clamoring for X number of judges, he said. I dont need 0.33 judges in the 3rd Judicial District. ... I havent seen anything that indicates to me (redistricting) is necessary. But it doesnt change the need of Missoula, Great Falls, Billings to have more resources.

***

Dayton wants a legislative response, in the form of more money for the judiciary branch.

He said that while the judiciary is one-third of the Montana government, its budget makes up less than 1 percent of the total state budget. The judicial branchs budget  which includes the state Supreme Court and district court operations, as well as the law library, clerk of the Supreme Court and supervision of the water court  is $107.614 million for the 2016-17 biennium, while the state budget is $12.134 billion.

Rep. Nate McConnell, D-Missoula, said adding a new judge costs about half a million dollars for the judicial pod, which covers related costs like assistants.

Were not going to get that much funding from the Legislature, even in a pie-in-the-sky hope, he said. There isnt going to be a push for 22 more judges and I dont think anyone is going to expect that.

The Legislature will more likely look at options like adding standing masters, he said.

But that doesnt mean the commission wont look at options for redrawing some district lines.

Commissioners raised the point that they might face problems if they asked the 2017 Legislature for money without first showing redistricting wasn't the best option.

Sen. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, floated the idea of moving Meagher and Wheatland counties, which are in District 14 with Golden Valley and Musselshell counties, to District 6, which includes Park and Sweet Grass counties.

Im not saying thats a perfect scenario, but I am saying distance traveled between White Sulphur Springs and Livingston is actually shorter than the distance traveled from White Sulphur Springs to Roundup, and the judge lives in Roundup.

There are areas of the state where you dont add much, you dont lose much and youve at least examined the data in front of you, she said.

Judge Gregory Todd pointed out that the change would leave a very small district of Golden Valley and Musselshell counties, but itd be too much for the already too-busy Yellowstone County District Court system to absorb.

***

Commission members must submit any proposals for redrawing lines by Feb. 12. The proposals will be available for review and can be commented on by the public at the commissions next meeting, which isnt scheduled yet.

The state last drew judicial districts in 1929, though they have been split since then  the last time in 1999 to separate Big Horn, Carbon and Stillwater counties from Yellowstone County to create the 22nd District.

The commission can make recommendations to the 2017 Legislature, but it will not adjust current district boundaries. Because those current boundaries are set in law, they can only be changed by the Legislature through a bill.
HELENA  Montana's copper barons bought and sold public office like any commodity a century ago. That legacy looms large in what could become the most expensive governor's race in state history.

The race pits a wealthy businessman against a well-connected incumbent governor with well-heeled friends. The Montana election also is expected to get national attention, generating outside groups' interest  and money.

Rick Aarstad, a senior historian at the Montana Historical Society, doesn't think times have changed much since the era of the Copper Kings. There is no longer the blatant vote-buying that was rampant in those days, he acknowledged, but money is once again playing an oversized role in today's politics.

"It's beginning to look like the gilded age of the 1890s," Aarstad said. "Whoever had the biggest war chest would win the election."

Gov. Steve Bullock won the 2012 election in a race that combined for $5.2 million in spending. By some accounts, this year's race could nearly double that amount.

Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Nancy Keenan predicted $9 million in direct contributions to Bullock and his likely Republican opponent, Bozeman entrepreneur Greg Gianforte. She based that on Bullock's fundraising prowess, the personal fortune of Gianforte, who sold his company, RightNow Technologies, to Oracle for $1.8 billion and the national attention the race will receive.

Money from political action committees and so-called dark money from politically motivated nonprofits also is expected to pour in. Gianforte put a spotlight on the role of outside money when he announced his bid for governor last month by pledging to refuse PAC money.

"Our pledge is very clear: Our campaign is not going to accept any special interest money. We've called on Gov. Bullock to do the same," Gianforte said.

Since forming his exploratory committee last summer, Gianforte has raised more than $570,000 as of the end of 2015, none of it from PACS, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state. Bullock has amassed $1.2 million in donations since 2014  only $68,214 from self-identified political action committees.

The governor scoffed at the PAC challenge coming from a candidate who could self-fund a multimillion dollar campaign.

"It's disingenuous and silly," Bullock said. "If he wants to say he'll limit the expenditures that he makes funneling his own wealth into the campaign to $1,300, then we'll have that discussion."

Bullock was referring to the limits imposed by state law on contributions from individuals donating to a gubernatorial campaign.

No law prevents Gianforte from dipping into his personal fortune. According to tax returns Gianforte voluntarily released, he reported income of $220.5 million between 2005 and 2014.

Gianforte's pledge does nothing to stop outside money from aiding his campaign with independent expenditures by political committees or nonprofits, said Robert Saldin, a political science professor at the University of Montana.

"This does not necessarily mean others can't put up ads supporting Gianforte," Saldin noted.

Gianforte sidestepped questions about whether he would call on outside groups to refrain from spending funds on his behalf, saying his pledge referred only to his campaign.

Democrats point out that Gianforte is already benefiting from outside groups, including AegisPAC, a group with ties to the billionaire Koch brothers and that is helping Gianforte drum up support. The Democratic Governors Association, which Bullock chaired in 2015, will no doubt try and dig deep for one its own.

It's that independent spending by outside groups, not direct campaign contributions by PACs, which should be watched closely, said Jonathan Motl, the state's commissioner of political practices.

"That's the arena Montanans should be keeping an eye on when it comes to this 2016 gubernatorial race," he said. "Both sides, Republican and Democrat, are going to have substantial independent expenditures."
BILLINGS  Montanans have spent more than $600,000 on presidential campaigns, and the financial front runner, by a long distance, is Republican Ben Carson.

Carsons $166,985 in Montana contributions led the pack in 2015, according to records reported Monday by the Federal Election Commission. Republican Marco Rubio was second with $122,078. They were the only two candidates in six figures out of the 19 to which Montanans have donated.

Carson and Rubio are also the only two candidates to visit the state in recent years.

Carson was here at least once, and that was last year up in Kalispell for a religious meeting that he had, said Will Deschamps, an unofficial in-state contact for the candidate and former Montana GOP chairman. I was told he had 1,100 people there.

Carson was also in Billings in 2014 to campaign for Republicans U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke. Federal Elections Commission data show Carsons donations are more widely distributed across the state than any other candidate, but much of his support comes from Billings, Kalispell and their surrounding counties.

Montanans also donated to Carson 1,180 times  more than to other candidates, though some people donated more than once.

Deschamps said Carsons team tried to barnstorm Billings and Missoula late last year, but a trip to Israel by the candidate ended those plans.

Rubio swooped into the Big Sky area at the end of December for a last-minute campaign stop that was very successful, said Mark Baker, one of several campaign organizers for Mitt Romney in 2012 who are now campaigning for the Florida senator.

We were fortunate to get him out to Montana right at the end of the year and had phenomenal success, Baker said. We had a phenomenal quarter, built a lot of support in the state, and of course Steve Daines was early to endorse Sen. Rubio. I think he was the second sitting senator.

Individual donations to Rubio number 132.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz raised the third most in Montana with $94,446. Cruz has 811 individual donations, with some repeat donors. His Montana team did not respond to inquiries for this article.

Cruz's financial support was strongest in the greater Bozeman area and in Billings and its surrounding counties.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, was a distant fourth in donations with $64,908. Sanders had 10 donations of $1,000, including $4,000 from two Montana donors who contributed twice. Most of Sanders' 792 individual donations were for $50 or less.

The average donation is for around $27, thats the national average donation, said Andy Boyd, a Sanders supporter in Bozeman who is helping gather the 500 signatures needed to get Sanders on the Montana primary ballot. He just raised $20 million through 700,000 donations. And, he has received over 3 million individual donations since he started.

Nearly $60,000 of Sanders' Montana donations came from Bozeman, Missoula and the counties surrounding those communities.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right behind Sanders with $60,081 in Montana donations. A Democrat, Clintons individual donations numbered 329, with seven donors giving more than $2,000 each. Most of Clintons individual donations were less than $150.

Clintons donors were clustered in the Missoula region, followed by the greater Bozeman and Billings areas.

Former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has raised roughly half of what Clinton has in Montana, enough to secure sixth place. The greater Bozeman area was the strongest for Bush, followed by the Billings region.

Donald Trump has raised only $5,104 in Montana, enough to place him 11th. Half of Trumps Montana money came from the Billings area.

There were nearly five times as many Montana donations to Republican candidates than there were to Democrats.
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Sagarmatha Network Pvt. Ltd. is the organization dedicated in the field of printing, publishing service since 2001. As part of media, we've been publishing Review Nepal, an English medium weekly registered at District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu with registration number 130-162-163 and reviewnepal.com as an online digital newspaper, with registration number 849-075-076 at Department of Informational and Broadcasting (DIB) from Kathmandu, Nepal since 2003.
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Mostly, the Rude Pundit doesn't give a shit what you have to say, but, if you have to say it, you can write to Lee Papa here: rudepundit(at)yahoo(dot)com
Many mercenaries killed in Taiz





TAIZ, Jan. 29 (Saba)  A large number of the Saudi aggression mercenaries were killed in scattered areas of Taiz province, a military official said on Friday.



The army and popular committees dominated Sowida area and purged it of the aggression hirelings, who incurred a number of dead and wounded, the official explained.



The missile and artillery forces targeted gatherings of invaders and mercenaries in Mashraf Mountain in Wazeia area and some others in Ahyoq area, killing and injuring 14 of them, the official said.



He pointed out that the army backed by the popular committee foiled an attempt by the aggression mercenaries to infiltrate into Misrakh district.



The operation resulted in burning two of the armored vehicles, killing a number of the hirelings and wounding some others, the official added.



BA



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[30/January/2016]
The Indian Express

Even as Indian higher education faces its toughest challenge a the inclusion of hitherto excluded groups a the public university is becoming insecure, narrow-minded and conservative

Written by Satish Deshpande

Caste and class inequalities expectedly translate into grossly unequal endowments of social and academic capital, but unlike in privatised education, these inequalities do not produce a hierarchy of segregated institutions.

Why has Rohith Vemulaas comet-like passing moved so many, breaching all the usual barriers? Perhaps the answer lies in the deep dread of comets we have inherited from our ancestors, of the dhoomketu as an ancient omen of impending disaster. We think we weep for the single soul who scorched our skies, but in truth, our anguish is for the bigger catastrophe that is being foretold. The larger calamity here is that the institution in which Rohith committed suicide a the Indian public university a is also trying to do the same.

Before explaining how and why this is happening, it may be useful to ask if it matters. After all, if no one really misses HMT watches, telegrams or Modern bread today, what difference would the passing of the public-sector university make? Unfortunately for us, the public university is more important now than ever before. It is the critical site where the future of the social justice agenda will be decided, and the fate of this agenda, in turn, will decide whether we have any future at all as a democratic republic.

If this seems exaggerated, consider the following: Inequalities have grown sharply in neoliberal India, with the wealthiest 1 per cent owning more than half the nationas wealth, while the poorest 50 per cent own less than 5 per cent. There is a strong caste dimension to this inequality a not one of the 55 dollar-billionaires that India boasts of are from the alowera castes, but these same castes form a disproportionately high share of the poor by any definition. Now that the atrickle downa thesis has been disowned by its own devotees, how is this growing, continually reproduced inequality going to be redressed? Given our failure to redistribute land and our inability to even tax wealth adequately, higher education is the only significant resource for social mobility that we can hope to offer the have-nots.

The good news is that formal access to higher education has expanded exponentially. Between 1991 and 2013-14, total enrolment in higher education has increased 6.5 times (from 49 to 323 lakh); the number of universities has nearly quadrupled (184 to 723); and the gross enrolment ratio for the 18-23 age group has almost tripled (from 8.1 per cent to 23.9 per cent). The bad news is that the bulk of the expansion has been in private colleges, which now account for 65 per cent of the enrolment and 75 per cent of the institutions at this level. Rampant corruption is the bane of this segment, with extortionist fees and fake institutions, like the one in Tamil Nadu that goaded three young women to commit suicide last week. Such rackets flourish because of political protection a every aspiring neta owns a college or three, and aeducationista is now the most common occupation listed by our parliamentarians. In the absence of genuine philanthropy, privatised education deepens inequalities because, effectively, it only offers a choice between the fraudulent and the prohibitively expensive.

But the really bad news is that the burden of our hopes must perforce rest on an institution that seems to be rapidly self-destructing a the public university. Its crisis is precipitated by three main factors: First, the secession of the vocal elite who can afford first-world fees, and who no longer care about Indian institutions. Second, the manoeuvring of global and local private players entering the lucrative Indian market for higher education, who may be indirectly or directly undermining state institutions. Third, the cumulative erosion of governance structures for which politicians and academics must share blame, which has resulted in ad hocism, incoherence and sheer lack of care in policymaking. Autonomy has become a shield for the arbitrary authoritarianism of pliant academic administrators eager to implement every whim of the regime in power. The overall impact is that the public university is shrinking in stature; instead of the confident, open and liberal institution that it once was, it is becoming insecure, narrow-minded and conservative.

In the midst of the broader crisis, Indian higher education faces the toughest challenge in its 155-year history, namely the inclusion of hitherto excluded groups. The combined effect of reservations and economic and demographic change has radically diversified a student body that used to be relatively homogeneous, being mostly from the auppera and adominanta castes. Caste and class inequalities expectedly translate into grossly unequal endowments of social and academic capital, but unlike in privatised education, these inequalities do not produce a hierarchy of segregated institutions. Political interventions like the 93rd constitutional amendment have ensured that even the elite segment of public higher education a which used to operate under a kind of tacit caste apartheid a is now integrated. Tensions are highest in elite public institutions where the already entrenched castes (who enjoy the luxury of believing they are casteless) bitterly resent the breaching of their erstwhile monopoly. It is also here that the intangible yet yawning gap between formal access and substantive inclusion is most clearly felt and most zealously guarded. The rhetorical question asked by the guardians of this gap a aAfter getting admission, fellowships and facilities, what more do atheya want?a a points to the truth that access can be unilaterally enforced but inclusion cannot, because it requires the recognition of the other.

The elusive nature of this recognition and the myriad subtle ways in which it can be intentionally withheld are very hard to describe, but Rohith evokes them eloquently in his fragmentary writing. Eliciting and nurturing such recognition is a or should be a the main mission of the public university today. Institutions that refuse to even try are effectively killing themselves as centres of learning. The body lives on in buildings, campuses, salaries, fellowships or degrees, but the soul a the whole that aspires to be more than the sum of its parts a is gone.

We can truly share something only when we acknowledge others as full owners, when we concede that howsoever different they may be from us, their claims to ownership are no different from ours. If we cannot share our universities, we will soon be unable to share our nation.

Deshpande, co-editor of aBeyond Inclusion: The Practice of Equal Access in Indian Higher Educationa, teaches sociology at Delhi University
From: Jennifer Abou < jennifer_abou@yahoo.com >

Sent: Tue, Feb 2, 2016 1:09 am

Subject: I WILL LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU



Dear One,



How are you today ? l hope fine. Mine is not too good due to my suffering condition here in Dakar Senegal. My name is Miss Jennifer Diallo Abou, I am (23) years old, single and never married, 5ft 8 inches tall, 55kg weight, black hair and brown eyes,l am from Liberia in West Africa and presently l am residing in a church Orphanage home here in Dakar Senegal as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country some years ago. I lost my both Parents during this deadly Political War. That Damaged Thousands of innocent Souls in Liberia. My family was among the first target of the rebels because my Late father was a Successful business and also a politician supporting the Present Government when the problems was about to start. Due to this all the members of my family was Murdered in a cold Blood and our family house was set blazed. Iwas lucky and escaped death because i was in bordering when this deadly incident took place. It is only myself who is alive now and l managed to make my way to a nearby country Senegal where l am staying now and never pray or think to step my legs in that bloody country called Liberia. I am a girl who loves to give people happiness always despite what the circumstance might look like most of my hobbies are reading novels, jogging, listening to music, cooking, watching TV and movies.I like honest,sincere and trustworthy people, but i hate dishonest, cheaters, and irresponsible peoples.

I would like to know more about you. Your likes and dislikes, your hobbies and what you are doing presently. I will tell you more about myself in my next mail. Attached here is my pictures. Hoping to hear from you soonest. Yours forever



Jennifer Diallo Abou







































From: Jennifer Abou < jennifer_abou@yahoo.com >

Sent: Tue, Feb 2, 2016 11:02 am

Subject: Darling, I want to inform you after this transfer into your account



My Dear, How are you today ?

As I told You on my last mail that i lost my family in the war that broke out in my country, My late father Dr. Wilson Diallo Abou was a contractor and international business man. I resident in the church hostel in Dakar Senegal, as a result of the civil war that fought in my country I did not have any other person that could be able to help me out,The only person i have now is. Rev Father Emmanuel George in St John Catholic Church.His office telephone +221-76-560-27-88

Here in the Orphanage home where i am leaving now in women's hostel.You can call me with his office telephone number, he will send for me from hostel to come to his office to receive your call.I have my late father's deposit certificate and death certificate because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in a leading financial institution, which he used my name as the next of kin, the amount in question is $4.7 Million Dollars. I want to inform you after this transfer in your account, you will help me to prepare my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you.I need your information's such as !!!

Your Full Names . . .

Age . . . .

Address . . . .

Telephone . . . .

I humbly waiting for your mail from you,

Kisses and continue to dream about me

yours in love

Jennifer Diallo Abou





From: Jennifer Abou < jennifer_abou@yahoo.com >

Sent: Wed, Feb 3, 2016 8:15 am

Subject: Darling please contact the bank for confirmation and possible transfer



Hello my dear.



I hope you are keeping fine today, As for me, i am not looking fine over here. Really it sounds some how depositing such a big trust to some body that you have never seen in person but one thing you ought to understand is that any body who is into difficult situation of mine may be looking for help from every angle and when i come in contact with you i was some how felt relaxed saying with you that God has answered my fasting and prayers.I was moved. I appreciate your acceptance to assist me to my request as regards to the money and this has made me to get the bank informed in a mail about you, i introduced you to them. I see you as a very nice person whom i can lean upon for trust and support for life, I see you as very responsible, competent and mature enough to assist me to direct my life to a positive direction in life. Please i have not told any one except you about the existence of this money and i will like you to please keep it secret to other people because since it is money i feel all interest will be on it. Remember i trust you that is why i am giving you all this information. I have informed the bank about my plans to take and transfer this money and the only thing they told me is to look for a very responsible person who will stand on my behalf as a trustee to this money due to my refugee status and the laws of this country. I have to use this chance to let you know about it,i have decided not to continue staying over here any more, i would like to use this chance get you introduced to the bank as my partner and the person who will be standing on my behalf as regards to this money.In this regards i will like you to contact the bank immediately with their contact information below; please tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me transfer my $4.7 million US dollars



ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

Transfer Manager: Sir Philip Hampton

Address: HQ INST,36/42 St Andrew's Square, Edinburgh

Tel : +44-703-5954-539

Fax : +44-703-5970-624



rbsofscotlandtransfer@aol.co.uk

rbsoflondon@aol.co.uk



Informations about the deposit code are as follows :



Name of depositor- - - Dr.Wilson Diallo Abou

Nationality- - - - - - - - Liberia

Next of kin- - - - - - - - Miss. Jennifer Diallo Abou

Amount deposited- - - -( $4.7 Million USD)

Account Number- - - - BLB43483002/QB/91/A

Swift code- - - - - - - - -RBSG 8045



Or you send your full information for reconfirmation so that i will forward it to bank to make the transfer to your given account in your country.



1.FULL NAME. . . . . .

2.HOME AND OFFICE ADDRESS. . . . . .

3.TELEPHONE NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



I was well known in the Orphanage Home here with Choir Master Because i am a Leader in the Church Choir and the real name my parents called me is Miss Jennifer Diallo Abou. The name of the manager for foreign transfers as i was informed is Mr. Philip Hampton by the time you contacted them on Fax or email. Please try and contact them now to confirm this and as well on how possible to transfer the4.7 million US dollars deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. My dear, i am glad that God has brought you to see me out from this situation and i promise to be very grateful and will equally need you in every area of my life plus investing this money since i am still too young and inexperienced to comfortably manage my life for now.I have map out 5% for every expenses you will make before this transfer and 15% for all your good effort towards my freedom.As i told you before, this Orphanage Home is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible.Please make sure that you contact the bank so that after the transfer you will send some money from my late father money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. I feel i can make it to join you as soon as you are through with this transfer or you can come down to meet me over here and see how you will assist me to join you.I don't think i will regret being with you in your country, i feel it's so better for me to be with you than to be over here, i have made my decision not to continue staying in this country or west Africa. i hope you approach this issue as yours, and give an urgent attention, because i am not in good condition and i want to be free in all my life; i so much trust you and i will like you to maintain the trust i have got in you.Honey please keep this transaction secret this is a very huge amount of money. iwill not like people to know about this fund because i am afraid to loose my life or the money.I will be waiting to hear from you soonest.

Yours inlove

Miss Jennifer Four million Seven hundred thousand USA dollars, deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin/beneficiary, to your account in your country.Here is the contact, just send an email to the bank in London.Note.This Is the contact information of the bank is as follows: and i would like you to contact them today for this fund and ask them how this fund will transfer into your account as my foreign partner, Let them know that it's Miss Jennifer Diallo Abou, Instructed to transfer this fund into your account. Below are the bank contact informationsROYAL BANK OF SCOTLANDTransfer Manager: Sir Philip HamptonAddress: HQ INST,36/42 St Andrew's Square, EdinburghTel : +44-703-5954-539Fax : +44-703-5970-624Informations about the deposit code are as follows :Name of depositor- - - Dr.Wilson Diallo AbouNationality- - - - - - - - LiberiaNext of kin- - - - - - - - Miss. Jennifer Diallo AbouAmount deposited- - - -( $4.7 Million USD)Account Number- - - - BLB43483002/QB/91/ASwift code- - - - - - - - -RBSG 8045Or you send your full information for reconfirmation so that i will forward it to bank to make the transfer to your given account in your country.1.FULL NAME. . . . . .2.HOME AND OFFICE ADDRESS. . . . . .3.TELEPHONE NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I was well known in the Orphanage Home here with Choir Master Because i am a Leader in the Church Choir and the real name my parents called me is Miss Jennifer Diallo Abou. The name of the manager for foreign transfers as i was informed is Mr. Philip Hampton by the time you contacted them on Fax or email. Please try and contact them now to confirm this and as well on how possible to transfer the4.7 million US dollars deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. My dear, i am glad that God has brought you to see me out from this situation and i promise to be very grateful and will equally need you in every area of my life plus investing this money since i am still too young and inexperienced to comfortably manage my life for now.I have map out 5% for every expenses you will make before this transfer and 15% for all your good effort towards my freedom.As i told you before, this Orphanage Home is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible.Please make sure that you contact the bank so that after the transfer you will send some money from my late father money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. I feel i can make it to join you as soon as you are through with this transfer or you can come down to meet me over here and see how you will assist me to join you.I don't think i will regret being with you in your country, i feel it's so better for me to be with you than to be over here, i have made my decision not to continue staying in this country or west Africa. i hope you approach this issue as yours, and give an urgent attention, because i am not in good condition and i want to be free in all my life; i so much trust you and i will like you to maintain the trust i have got in you.Honey please keep this transaction secret this is a very huge amount of money. iwill not like people to know about this fund because i am afraid to loose my life or the money.I will be waiting to hear from you soonest.Yours inloveMiss Jennifer



From: Jennifer Abou < jennifer_abou@yahoo.com >

Sent: Thu, Feb 4, 2016 7:55 pm

Subject: Darling please send an email to the bank



Hello my darling,

How are you today ? I hope you are doing fine over there in your country. Darling i am a second year medical student before the incident that lead to my being in this place. I am hoping to further my education in this career. I am not married, i do not have boyfriends and don't have children or a lover. Darling please send an email to the bank for the transfer, tell them that you are my trustee partner and that you want to help me to transfer my late father funds into your own account over there in your country as i have already contacted the bank to make the claims but the director told me to look for a foreign trustee partner whose account will be used to handle the transfer due to my refugee status. I have introduced you to the bank as my trustee partner that will help me for the transfer so contact them so that we can know the possible way of the transfer so that after the transfer you can from the funds to send me some money to secure my traveling documents and my air ticket to come over your country and start up my life with you because my condition in this camp is very bad.



Darling please i am waiting to read your lovely mail as soon as possible regarding that you have contacting the bank.



Thanks and God bless you,

Yours in love, Jennifer







If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
Im really humbled and honoured and appreciative to the Presbyterian Church throughout Ireland for entrusting this role to me. As someone who has received Gods great love for Christ I will be able to share it north and south of the border.

If the church is not for its non-members, its not fulfilling its mandate.

I have a dog, I love my labra-doodle and its a privilege to be able to have a dog. Id hate for someone to tell me I was unable to enjoy a pet. But with every privilege comes responsibility. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing but there are responsibilities.

Some of the people I admire most and respect most are same-sex attracted. And its vital that people hear that. There is no place for homophobia 

Speaking this morning, moderator-designate of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Rev Frank Sellar reflected on Tuesday nights vote at which he won the nominations of eighteen of the denominations nineteen presbyteries.Franks hopes for the coming year include extending what he describes as the three privileges of his calling as a minister: to pray with and for people; to pastor people often at the most fragile moments of life; and to proclaim the gospel in all its fullness. Hell continue to do that, but with a wider than usual set of people. And Frank is keen that groups and organisations that mightnt normally invite a moderator will approach him during his year of office that begins with the week of General Assembly in June.Currently minister of Bloomfield Presbyterian in East Belfast on the corner of Cyprus Avenue and Beersbridge Road, Frank sees that the people he is fortunate to pastor also have significant front line roles in society. He aims to encourage, enable, strengthen and enliven people for their ministry in areas he could never be directly involved in himself.Frank also led the Adelaide Road congregation in the heart of Dublin city centre for 17 years. The church building was renovated to better serve the local community, offering childcare provision, and working with refugees and asylum seekers as well as offering practical assistance to the unemployed.Asked more generally about the churchs response to refugees, Frank was delighted by the work of the International Friendship Centre on the Lisburn Road which works with people from 30 different countries and gives vital support.It is not them who benefits from us so much as us benefiting from them was how Frank described families from overseas in his own congregation. Having asked Frank on Sunday about the week ahead, one man in his congregation promised that I will be praying and fasting for you. This was an example of bringing the light of Christ from other parts of the world and contributing to our society here.Asked about the continued lack of resolution around victims and legacy issues, the moderator-designate said he while he was glad that A Fresh Start has broken the deadlock but was disappointed that legacy issues remain. He expected the denomination to continue to work publicly and behind the scenes to bring about agreement.While Frank accepted that the label of conservative evangelical was a good description of his style of faith, he would prefer to be seen as a gospel radical.Asked for his opinion on the court appeal that was beginning half a mile away across Belfast, Frank commended Peter Tatchell for being big enough to acknowledge his change of opinion on the matter of the decorated cake that Ashers Bakery refused to supply.News stories over the last year have sometimes been accompanied with the suggestion that Christian rights are being corroded in Northern Ireland. The East Belfast minister explained:Should members of the clergy be allowed to be gay?He named Vaughan Roberts  Church of England cleric and director of Proclamation Trust  and Ed Shaw as clergy he admired. For Frank it was important to note that these figures he admired have chosen to place their sexuality under the authority of the Lord Jesus and live under the parameters the Bible sets. He repeated that it is vital to say that as people so often make the simplistic assumption that Christians hate those in the LGBT community and affirmed his belief (aligned with PCI General Assemblys agreed policy) that marriage is between a man and a woman.Frank was heartened by the strong attendance at the denominations recent conference looking at significant historical events in 1916. The Rising and Somme impacted society and shaped our consciousness. While inevitably the majority of our members are pro-union, there are many north and south who are pro-republican. He was hugely impressed by the conference contribution of Minister Heather Humphries TD (who worships in a Presbyterian congregation in Monahan) and is responsible for the Irish Governments commemoration. The 1916 Rising was in Franks opinion a significant event thats worth commemorating though he distinguished commemoration from celebration.Taking over as moderator in June, Frank sees it as a privilege to represent the church at Somme memorial events which will have a poignancy given that two of his great-uncles were killed in the First World War.Also - Belfast Telegraph and News Letter coverage.
Hello beauties, welcome to Asoebi fashion Friday!! We refuse to let you go into this weekend without looking glamorous and fabulous in your...
Despite an escalation in the number of homicides over the last 13 months that rivals any in 
First, note that this is NOT a blog....it's a collection of essays similar in nature to what the Greek Plutarch attempted to write.





Second: NO, there will be no Facebook connection to the essay collection. Besides the negativity with FB, there is just too much potential in the future for censorship with FB.





Third, this log of essays is written by an American (not a German). If you are a German seeking commentary written by a German, on Germans....look elsewhere.





Fourth, I will offer wit and sarcasm on Germany, Germans, Germanology, German political figures, German TV, German beer, German food, German humor (or lack of), German habits, German weirdness, German news, German autos, German brilliance, German stupidity, German customs, German Nazis, German history, and German stubbornness.





Fifth (new), the essays are not about ethnic pathways to your grandfather or great-grandmother who was German. It relates present day Germans. If you are trying to get some understanding to your ancestor who packed up and left sixty years ago from the old 'homeland', then this blog is probably not for you.





Final note: I generally only delete comments that are spam-related, or hype over pure Nationalist Socialist agendas. I generally won't support one-sided arguments/agendas. I also don't think accusations of racism or nationalism are generally proven, and can reflect poorly upon the person making the accusations.

I was one of those Americans who did over twenty years of military time....married a German....and eventually returned as a retiree.I'm one of the few who stood under the German umbrella.....paid German taxes for some years.....German social security.....and felt the various pains like Germans.So, this is my all-purpose commentary essay, designed for non-Germans mostly (and those Germans who accidentally discover it). I tend to put German culture into the spotlight of sarcasm, wit and humor. I'm simply pointing out the richness and craziness of life in Germany, which even some Germans can't understand.The amusing thing is that I'm merely repeating the exercise that Mark Twain performed in 1880, when he published "A Tramp Abroad". Various comments were dished out on the Germans....which apparently did not trigger any wars, chaos, climate change, or ill feelings.
 "Do sex offenders deserve a scarlet letter on their passport?" | Main | "American Exceptionalism in Probation Supervision" 

February 3, 2016

Return of GOP jedis trying to keep sentencing reform efforts going in Congress

Last week via this post titled "GOP empire striking back against federal sentencing reform efforts in Congress," I noted this Politico article highlighting that a "cadre of conservative Republicans" were starting to line up against congressional statutory sentencing reform efforts. The title of this post continues the galactic metaphor as a way to view these notable new press accounts of significant GOP voices trying to keep federal sentencing reform efforts moving forward:

From the New York Times here, "Senator John Cornyn Aims to Sway Fellow Republicans on Criminal Justice" From Politico here, "Republicans press for criminal justice overhaul" From BuzzFeed News here, "Koch Continues To Push Criminal Justice Bill As Momentum Fades On Hill"

Because lots of folks on both the left and right sometimes seem to think that the Koch brothers can use their massive wealth to "buy" legal reform, I will here highlight the first part of the BuzzFeed piece:

The momentum for criminal justice legislation is slowing down on Capitol Hill, but hundreds of miles away, Charles Koch  one of its biggest supporters  continued to aggressively make the case for it to pass this year, even as the billionaire becomes the face of one of the sticking points. The issue weve been working hard on is criminal justice reform, so if somebody makes one mistake, non-violent, it starts with this question: Do you have right to run your own life as long as you dont violate the rights of others and youre not bothering anybody? Koch said to donors on Sunday at the winter meeting of the political network affiliated with the industrialist brothers, which drew about 500 attendees. Kochs comments on the issue were part of an hour-long presentation on what he calls Framework for Free Society, which the billionaire believes will put the country back on the right track. He views changes to the criminal justice system as a crucial component of the framework. You smoke a joint or violate some regulation  get arrested, put in prison and then come out, cant get a job, so this destroys opportunities and makes the community less safe because you go in  and werent really criminals  and you are trying to get a job, so you steal if you cant, he said. In addition to Koch himself advocating for looser sentencing laws, attendees also received a closed-door briefing on the issue Sunday morning, according to a schedule provided to donors. BuzzFeed News was one of six news organizations to accept an invitation to cover parts of the networks meeting after agreeing to certain ground rules. The largest-ever gathering of the Koch brothers political network this past weekend came as the path forward for criminal justice legislation  a high priority for the networks donors  becomes increasingly uncertain in a presidential election year.

February 3, 2016 at 11:59 AM | Permalink

Comments

"You smoke a joint or violate some regulation  get arrested, put in prison"

I've been working in the justice system for years. Never have I seen a person put in prison for smoking a joint (unless, they were violating probation). But, don't let facts get in the way of an attractive argument!

Posted by: ... | Feb 3, 2016 1:39:39 PM

His heart is good, but he sounds a bit on the weak side.

Posted by: MidWestGuy | Feb 3, 2016 6:24:05 PM

I like how the headline paints the GOP as the saviors when they are fighting with other republicans.

Posted by: Paul | Feb 3, 2016 7:52:45 PM

Post a comment
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.




Thanks to @DavidCamposSF and @HillaryRonen for introducing legislation to stop mid school year educator evictions! pic.twitter.com/BVUUPyLLn0  UESF (@UESF) February 2, 2016

Supervisor David Campos this morning introduced new legislation with the goal of providing teachers and parents of young children additional protection in San Francisco's harsh housing market. The proposed legislation would make it harder for property owners to evict teachers and parents under no-fault evictions during the school year, and Campos sees it as an important step in protecting San Francisco families.

"Our housing affordability crisis is now causing a worker shortage in many industries," the Supervisor wrote this morning on Facebook. "Nowhere is this more urgent than in our schools where we are experiencing record teacher vacancy rates and a substitute teacher crisis."

As explained by the Chronicle, the new law, should it pass, will protect tenants who work in public or private schools (this includes janitors and cafeteria cooks) and parents with kids under 18 from all no-fault evictions "except for mandated seismic repair and the Ellis Act" during the academic year.

"The legislation I am introducing today will stop landlords from evicting teachers, other school employees, and families with children during the school year," continued Campos on his Facebook post. "Our teachers and children deserve stable learning environments."

Carolyn Goossen, a Legislative Aide in Supervisor Campos's office, told SFist that the bill will be held 30 days before being scheduled for vote by a committee. As such, it should be voted on "likely sometime around end of March."

Lita Blanc, president of the Teacher's Union, spoke to the Chronicle about how she believes this proposed legislation may help SF teachers.

We support anything that will help our educators stay in San Francisco, and this legislation is a small step in that direction."

Campos himself seems to agree that this is only a step, and not a complete solution, telling the paper that [what] this proposal does is it tries to stop the bleeding.

But not so fast says Andrew Zacks, an attorney for Small Property Owners of San Francisco (a property owner advocacy group).

The idea that teachers need protections is easy, but why is that something that is the problem of individual small-property owners rather than the community as a whole? he told the Chron. This is stupid, its illegal, and its a waste of time.

Looks like Campos is going to have another fight on his hands, not unlike last year's fight over the Ellis Act payout cap.

Related: Housing Prices Plus Teacher Shortage Equals Bigger Teacher Shortage

Adding Roommates Made Easier, Evictions Made Harder After Board Of Supervisors Vote
#SF mayor Ed Lee on federal voluntary review of #SFPD pic.twitter.com/XeKvUOS6hT  Jonah Owen Lamb (@jonahowenlamb) February 1, 2016

News broke on Sunday that the Department of Justice would conduct "[a] comprehensive review of policies & procedures of San Francisco Police Department," and today we learn a little more about the nature of that review, which may come as a disappointment to some who clamored for it.

First, to clarify, though the review is related to the Department's use of force and in part prompted by the December 2nd killing of Mario Woods in the Bayview, it will not specifically examine his death.

Per a press release, what becomes clear is that this is not a civil rights investigation like the ones the Examiner notes were launched in Ferguson, Mo., or Chicago. What the SFPD will receive instead is a "review of the San Francisco Police Department... conducted by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services through its Collaborative Reform initiative."

The COPS review, as it's called, is a collaborative one conducted between the DoJ and the SFPD. And, as the Ex quotes COPS Director Ronald Davis, his organization is not an enforcement arm of the Department of Justice.

Overseen by the DoJ, COPS will employ a Technical Assistance provider to develop findings and recommendations. While in many cases multiple Technical Assistace providers are used, Hillard Hientze, a Chicago-based consulting firm, is the sole company awarded the contract in this instance.

Our process is voluntary so theyre not enforced in a court of law, said Davis. They are absolutely enforceable in the court of public opinion, which can be just as powerful as a court of law.

Many had requested a DoJ review, from Mayor Lee to Chief Suhr themselves to the Board of Supervisors and Attorney John Burris, who represents the family of Mario Woods. But some, like Board of Supervisors President London Breed, still want to see more.

What Im asking for is specifically an independent investigation into the shooting of Mario Woods, she noted. This doesnt hurt but, well see what happening... theres a lot of community distrust with the department, and we have to figure out a way to rebuild that trust, and I dont know what this is gonna do to help with that.

Former federal DoJ trial attorney Aaron Zisser was also critical of the COPS review, telling the Examiner that it does not have the teeth that a Justice Departments Civil Rights Division investigation might.

The New York Times writes that the review will take 18 to 24 months to complete, and that despite the voluntary nature of the review, "if San Francisco fails to make changes quickly enough... the Justice Department could sue to force an overhaul, as it has done in nearly two dozen cities in recent years."

The Chronicle quotes Supervisor John Avalos as also critical of the voluntary review process. The Civil Rights Division really should be taking charge here, he said. This is a civil rights issue. Are we seeing a pattern in the San Francisco Police Department of quickly justifying officer-involved shootings as within policy? Do we see that people of color get disproportionate treatment with the use of force compared to others? Those are things I think are worth investigating.

John Burris, however, isn't pessimistic. "[The review] can have teeth is the truth of the matter," he tells SFist. "It depends on the political will of the police chief and the mayor, because there will be an assessment. I spoke to the head of the division, and he told me that, though it's true they don't have enforcement policy, what they've found is that if the city in question is committed to an inward look at itself, then it can be a very positive thing for a city. At the end of the day, the accountability is up to the political leaders of the town, and if they're really interested in changing the [police] culture."

Previously: Following Fatal Shooting Caught On Video, Department Of Justice Announces 'Comprehensive Review' Of San Francisco Police Policies
Many of us snickered when we learned that the giant Verizon ad emblazoned on Embarcadero Center was (Planning wish-washery aside) against the law, then cheered when it went down. But you know who wasn't cheering? The Super Bowl Host Committee, which might be on the hook with the phone company for over a million bucks.

The ad, which City Attorney Dennis Herrera says was in violation of 2002's voter-approved Proposition G, was the result of an honest misunderstanding," the host committee and Verizon claimed, reports the Chron. But since it was a misunderstanding that involved Verizon giving the host committee $2 million, don't expect it to end there.

According to Matier and Ross, "Verizon reps were said to be fuming over the public relations snafu and are telling the host committee that they want a partial refund of the estimated $2 million cash and in-kind deal they agreed to as the major sponsor of Super Bowl City."

And how much of that will they get back? That's up to the presumably hustling negotiators on both sides. As host committee spokesperson Nathan Ballard says, Of course they are going to want to pay less...but we are trying to work out a way so that everyone wins."

Hey, Nate, the ad's down, so I think everyone who matters already did.

Previously: HA! That Big Verizon Wrap Ad At Embarcadero Center Is Illegal, City Demands Its Removal

Photo Du Jour: Farewell, Illegal Super Bowl Ad
Two more presidential candidates have left the 2016 field, which has dropped from a combined 15 Republicans and Democrats to 11. Republican Rand Paul on Wednesday morning suspended his campaign, in order to focus on running for re-election to a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky. Later Wednesday, CNN reported that Republican Rick Santorum would end his campaign.

The Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the presidential nominee selection system, have again served the function of winnowing the field. Two others announced they would end their campaigns on Monday, shortly after the caucuses wrapped that evening. Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Martin O'Malley were the first to drop out.

That means the last two winners of the Iowa GOP caucuses, Santorum in 2012 and Huckabee in 2008, are now out in 2016.

The Iowa caucuses were won by Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Paul finished fifth in Iowa with 4.5 percent and Huckabee was ninth with 1.8 percent. There are now nine Republicans still running, with the top tier including Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.

O'Malley finished third in the three-candidate Democratic field, which now consists of Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Paul has a libertarian bent to his Republicanism. He had campaigned in Sioux City most recently on Jan. 7, when he said, "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."

Santorum, known for his social conservatism, campaigned extensively in Iowa, visiting each of Iowa's 99 counties and making nearly 300 stops statewide, including a Jan. 30 stop in Le Mars.
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City attorney Jim Carlin is running for the Iowa House District 6 legislative seat in 2016, which creates a Republican battle for the position.

I am very concerned about the kind of future my grandchildren will have. I think we all want them to have the same freedoms, values, education and opportunities weve had or better," Carlin said in a release.

Three people are now running for the position that will be opened in 2017, with the decision by state Rep. Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City, not to run for another term.

Jacob Bossman, regional director for U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and a former Woodbury County Republican Party official, also is running for the open seat this year. A June 7 primary vote will determine if Bossman or Carlin will be the party's nominee.

Perla Alarcon-Flory, a Sioux City School Board member, is the Democrat running for the District 6 position. The district includes the Morningside area of Sioux City, Sergeant Bluff, Bronson and Salix areas.

Carlin has worked as an attorney in Sioux City for 23 years. He is a U.S. Army veteran, member of the Woodbury County Republican Partys Central Committee and a school board member of Siouxland Community Christian School in Sioux City.

As a small business owner, I face similar challenges and concerns as those in our community. This understanding will drive what I do and decisions I will make as state representative in Des Moines," Carlin said.

"I'll use common sense and fight to make sure our state has sound budgeting practices to spend only what it has, the same way we all do in our homes.
Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar.

Steve Byrne: Comedian Steve Byrne has risen through the ranks to become one of the industrys most innovative and sought-after performers. Catch him at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 111 Third St. 8-11:30 p.m. Must be 21 or older to attend. Tickets, $16.05-$26.75, are available at www.hardrockcasinosiouxcity.com or by calling 844-222-7625.

YMCA 130th anniversary: One of Siouxland's largest & oldest non-profits will celebrate their founding in 1886. Anyone with a Y connection or story is invited to attend this celebration 10-11 a.m. at Norm Waitt Sr. YMCA, 601 Riverview Dr., South Sioux City. Light refreshments will be served. Call 402-404-8439 for more information.

First in the Nation: The State Historical Museum of Iowa traveling display explores the history of the Iowa caucuses from the State Historical Museum of Iowas extensive political collection. On display through Feb. 13 at Morningside College Hickman-Johnson-Furrow Learning Center, 1501 Morningside Ave. Visit www.morningside.edu for more information.
Whoever wins the nominations, the most successful campaigns of 2016 provide us with a clear picture of where the center of gravity is today in both parties and, hence, where America is going.

Bernie Sanders, with his mammoth crowds and mass support among the young, represents, as did George McGovern in 1972, despite his defeat, the future of the Democratic Party.

That Hillary Clinton has been tacking left tells you Sanders is winning the argument. Should she avoid indictment in the email scandal, and win the nomination and the election, Clinton would be a placeholder president.

Yet, should Sanders win the nomination and election -- highly improbable -- he would become a frustrated and a failed president.

Why? Consider what he has on offer.

Free college tuition and universal health care, a breakup of the big banks and a reform of the tax code to make the Fortune 500 and the millionaires and billionaires pay for it all. Soak the rich!

Sound socialist economics, but this is the formula that turned Puerto Rico and Illinois into the booming showcases they are today. Moreover, unless Sanders swept both houses of Congress and won a 67-vote, veto-proof majority in the Senate, his agenda would be dead on arrival on Capitol Hill.

Yet there are areas where the Sanders agenda overlaps that of Donald Trump and other Republican candidates. Bernie is an anti-interventionist, anti-nation-building, anti-empire leftist of a breed common in the Labor Party after World War II, when the British Empire was liquidated, Churchill notwithstanding.

Moreover, Sanders is no free-trade globalist of the Davos school. He opposed NAFTA, GATT and MFN for China. Like Trump, he backs a trade policy that puts American workers first.

Thus, on both trade and foreign policy, there is common ground between the rebellions in the Democratic and Republican parties, even as Clinton has ideological allies among the GOP free-traders and neocons of the Bush I and II presidencies.

But while difficult to see how Sanders captures the nomination and wins in November, the rebellion in the GOP is larger, stronger and deeper. In every national or state poll, anti-establishment candidates command a majority of Republican voters. Which presents a problem for the establishment.

The Beltway elites may succeed in blocking Trump or Ted Cruz. But the eventual nominee and the party will have to respect and to some degree accommodate the agendas of the rebellion on immigration, border security, trade and anti-intervention, or face a fatal split.

We have been here before.

After Richard Nixon lost to JFK in 1960, the Goldwater movement arose to capture the party. While it went down to a legendary defeat, those who wrote off 1964 as the temporary insanity of the radical right, and walked away from the nominee, were the ones who were history.

Nixon incorporated the conservative movement into his New Majority. Ronald Reagan reveled in the Goldwater title of Mr. Conservative and welcomed into the party the rising Moral Majority.

But it was the dismissive stance of Bush I toward the populist revolt in his party, and his indifference to concerns about illegal immigration, border security and the export of U.S. factories and jobs that brought Ross Perot into the '92 race, and cost Bush his second term.

Today, the Republican leadership faces another insurrection. Either it will find a way to accommodate this rebellion, which is not going away after 2016, or it will find itself suffering the fate of the Rockefellers and Romneys, the establishment leaders of the 1960s.

While Sanders is an ideologue who has been on the far left of the political spectrum all his life, instinct, more than ideology, explains Trump. His success comes of having seen, felt and given voice to the broad anger of Middle America.

The old GOP agenda -- roll back the Great Society, reduce the size of government, cut capital gains taxes, reduce marginal tax rates, balance the budget -- this is not the red meat of the Trump rallies.

Populism, patriotism, nationalism, defying political correctness and dissing the establishment and the elites that monitor PC are where it's at. And there are reasons for such populist rage.

Put bluntly, the nation seems almost everywhere on an unsustainable path. Mass immigration, legal and illegal, continues to alter the face of America. Obama doubled the debt, and the deficits are rising again.

Abroad, we are apparently going to keep troops in Afghanistan for generations, send more to Iraq and Syria, bring down Assad but keep ISIS and al-Qaida out of Damascus, confront Beijing over the Spratley and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, build up U.S. forces in the Baltic states and Poland, send weapons to Ukraine, sanction Vladimir Putin for Crimea, repudiate the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions -- all to be done while our NATO, Arab and Asian allies helpfully hold our coat.

The next president, be it Trump, Cruz, Clinton or Sanders, either will be the last president of an old era, or the first president of a new era.
On Wednesday, January 13, 2016 4:28 AM, Mrs Arslan Nafisat Kayihan Mahzun <princessnayal.namtabal@yahoo.com> gripped by a Rapunzel moment from Airplane, pulls the plug on North Korea's internet and laughs hysterically all the way to Dearborn MI for a toilet paper looting escapade, and then got around to wrote:



The faithful believe that the return of Bloom County heralds in a new age of snorting the banana, devil bunnies devil bunnies. It's an Opus thing when Bill the Cat dons a bed pan under a storm trooper helmet and Trump toupee, and farts The Gong Show theme music in accapella.





I want you to read this letter very carefully and i must apologize for bringing this massage to your box without any formal massage training due to the urgency confidential of this issue. I am happy to say you don't know me and probably wouldn't care to after you see what I do to milkshakes and sneezes at my job in a McDonalds in Chicago.



How are you? Why am I asking? I don't know because truly I don't care. But I hope you're up on your Metamucil shots and you're regular, I guess. I have the honor this week to be Princess Mrs Arslan Nafisat Kayihan Mahzun, am of the queendumb of Hellarythighs Land, a country so screwed up that msnbc thinks we should be president because we have fat thighs as the special at KFC this month. Be that as it may in Chappaquitthat, I was browsing online about your country when I found your email and I decided to use the following picture as a basis for contact you.



I am writing this mail to you with heavy tears In my eyes because the toilet seat dropped on my winkee -- my body doesn't always adapt well to the roles I'm supposed to play -- and now my neck is as long as ET's. That's gonna leave a mark. I want to tell you this because I don't have any other turtleneck sweaters for a neck that looks like a goose funnel. Do you?

I married to Mr.Melik Mahzun who was an Olympic champion once and started eating Wheaties and now he is Caitlyn Jenner with a winkee too. 'Cept he didn't catch his in a toilet seat. Bastard. He was a researcher in anal sex with goats in an effort to repopulate dodos in CNN's foreign bureau because there's not yet enough stupid there, before he died in the year 2015 of colon dry heaves. We were once discussing marriage for eleven years until we saw a picture of Hellary in a thong and he died after a brief and very violent illness that lasted seconds after his mind scrub failed to purge that image from his mind's eye. Since his death I decided not to eat twatwaffles or work for anyone that emails pictures of genital humidors to Bill Clinton at 3am.





When my late husband was alive he gave speeches about the benefits of painful rectal itch to Scams Without Borders, hindquartered at the Democrap National Committee (Debbil Washingmachine Schmuck, chairpoison) and presently he still has several speeches that were scheduled and not as yet delivered. One you heard from the fauxtus on this past Tuesday delivered before Congress with all the audible raspberries edited out. Only way you could hear the words.





Recently, I suffer from that toilet seat/winkee injury. My Doctor told me that i am condemned to looking like a cross between Debbil Washingmachine Schmuck and Jar Jar Binks due to it and the cancellation of my hellthscare by Obolascare. The one that really disturbs me most is that image of Hellary in a thong. Having known my condition I decided to hand you over to the IRS for failure to not laugh at the image of my goose neck after the toilet seat/winkee thing, you douchenozzle.



I want you to take 30 Percent of the fauxtus sotu speech, edit it in Liechtensteinian, and send it to 70% of the monkeys at the Chicago Zoo. This will in some totally non sequitur way not be helping people in the street and organage. I am doing this so that God will forgive my sins and forget about that night at the strip club in DC with goats, Josh Earnest and an armadildo.



As soon a s I receive your reply I shall foul myself repeatedly in shock.



I await your quick and prompt reply with a marginal Depends in place.





Thanks

Princess Arslan Nafisat Kayihan Mahzun

Stupor Volunteer of Hellary for Prison 2016

"Only term she's fit to serve" -- Bill Clinton

I don't imagine that I'm terribly popular in hellaryland just now...or with a scammer in Burkina Fatso.

Another scammer trots out a well worn scam template.Another scammer gets edited.Another chance to piss off Hellary's stupor volunteers.And my pet rock, Seymour, had nothing to do with this one."PHFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!!!!"Guess he so wanted to edit this one.Anyway, meet someone that, at least in the pre-intro of her email, was listed as a "princess" when contacting my scambaiting character:Oh, it is SO time for an edit h'yar:
Tanks are few and far between now in NATO countries, the report said. Germanys arsenal of about 2,200 main battle tanks in the Cold War has declined to roughly 250. Britain, meanwhile, is planning on pulling out its last brigade headquarters left on the continent.

With only light infantry units at the ready in the Baltics, U.S. and NATO planners are also worried about the continued Russian arms buildup in the exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania, and Moscows intention to build a new air force base in Belarus, just south of the Polish-Lithuanian border.

The war games run by Rand underscored how U.S. and NATO forces lack the vehicles and firepower to take on their Russian adversaries, which have maintained more mechanized and tank units. NATO ground troops also lacked anti-aircraft artillery to fend off Russian warplanes in the Baltic scenario.

By and large, NATOs infantry found themselves unable even to retreat successfully and were destroyed in place, the report said.

The Special Ops/Small Wars/Transformationalist mafia have destroyed US ground power. Our allies trying to "remain relevant" followed our lead and did the same.

I've pounded the table enough on this subject. Replace NATO infantry with Company Landing Teams and Russian firepower with their Chinese counterparts and you have the same result.The result? Current military leadership designed the wrong force for future threats. The Pentagon did the cool thing (especially the Marine Corps which is especially irritating) and now our enemies are licking their chops waiting to pounce.
Courses:

Introduction to International Studies INTL 201

Middle East Studies INTL 247

African Studies INTL 211

Islamic Movements INTL 332

Sociology of the Middle East INTL/SOC 483

Sociology of Africa INTL/BST 372

Foundations of Global Studies INTL 390

Work and Labor (Seminar) 407

Development, Urbanization and Work (Seminar) INTL 407

Human Rights and International Studies (Seminar) INTL 407

Think-Tanks, International and Non-Governmental Organizations INTL 399



China in the Middle East and Africa INTL 399
There are many fitness goals out there that we desire. Some of us want to be leaner and others wish to put on muscle mass. The thing is, for you to achieve your fitness goals, you need to
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Young muslim woman doing selfie with catholic friend. (Stock photo)

ROSEDALE, Md.

(Feb. 2, 2016)U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday joined members of the Maryland Muslim community at Masjid Bait-us-Samad mosque for a conversation about strategies for overcoming challenges to building cultural awareness and community unity."Our communities thrive when residents have respect and empathy for everyone around them, and those qualities are built through ongoing conversations," said Senator Cardin. "Lately, there has been far too much inflammatory and inappropriate rhetoric about our Muslim neighbors emanating from the presidential campaign trail, which is why I feel that now is an important time to join together with leaders from across Maryland's Muslim community to discuss shared concerns.""It is energizing to sit down with our political leaders to discuss the important issues surrounding the religion of Islam," said Sean Stinnett, President of the Maryland Muslim Council. "It is the hopes of the Maryland Muslim Council that we will continue these type of dialogues, while educating non-Muslims on the contributions the Muslim community have made towards our society."In the wide-ranging forum with Muslim leaders from throughout the state, Senator Cardin discussed numerous domestic and international issues, ranging from ways to reduce radicalization and hate in the U.S. to the promotion of stability abroad, specifically in the Middle East. Several participants and Senator Cardin spoke passionately about the need to combat the Islamic State and to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria, while alleviating the ongoing refugee crisis. Noting that he supported President Obama's overall strategy in Syria and that he believed the solution to the country's current conflict was not completely military in nature, Senator Cardin called for expedient regime change and an inclusive process that involves all stakeholders to determine the country's future direction. Senator Cardin advocated a similar approach to promoting U.S. national security in the future."To me, ensuring our national security starts with protecting core American values of democracy, inclusion and tolerance," said Senator Cardin. "It is critical that we never stop working to create a society in which all minorities are ensured full participation in every facet of lifepolitically, economically, educationally, culturally and beyond. It is absolutely essential for us to have a functional government and society that everyone from all walks of life is as involved and represented as they would like to be."Senator Cardin underscored this point by discussing the need to immediately end the use of discriminatory profiling in the law enforcement process. "Profiling is ridiculously costly, completely unnecessary and patently un-American," said Senator Cardin. "As I have done in the past Congresses through the End Racial Profiling Act and BALTIMORE Act, I will continue to work to advance a legislative solution that forever outlaws the use of discriminatory profiling by law enforcement.""The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is thankful for Senator Ben Cardin's courage to stand up with the American Muslims during these troubling times. We believe we have found a partner with whom we can work to make our country safer," said Dr. Faheem Younus, President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.Several participants asked Senator Cardin to offer his thoughts on ways to overcome stereotypes and fear of Muslims in America. " Muslim Americans contribute a great deal to the strength and well-being of communities across this country. It's vitally important that we do a better job of showcasing the wealth of positive stories of individual Muslims in our communities," said Senator Cardin. "We need to see more stories about the Muslims who do things like serve in our military, notch significant medical advances and teach our children. They are out there and they are making this country a better place every single day. We need to ensure that the true contributions of America's Muslim community are fully understood by as large a number of people as is possible."
ANNAPOLIS

Sen. Steve Waugh, R-Calvert and St. Mary's, spoke at the rally. (Photo: Rachel Bluth)

(Feb. 2, 2016)Gun advocacy groups and several state lawmakers held a Second Amendment protection rally in Annapolis on Tuesday."We're showing there's grassroots support," said John Mountjoy, vice president of advocacy group Maryland Shall Issue. "The goal is to communicate to our legislators to respect our rights."Representatives from these groups voiced their support of the protection of the Second Amendment to the dozens of people in attendance at the rally, also known as "2A Tuesday.""It's not the guns that kill people. It's the crazies that kill people. I don't know what some of those people over there are thinking," state Sen. Wayne Norman Jr., R-Cecil, said as he pointed to the state capitol building.Much of the rally centered around a hoped-for repeal of 2013's Firearm Safety Act, which put more restrictions on firearms sales in Marylandnow among the most stringent states for gun purchases, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.Delegate Susan McComas, R-Harford, described Maryland as a gun-phobic state.For Second Amendment enthusiasts like Dan Pollock of Prince George's County, a lot of the question boils down to safety."As an elderly person, at 75, I am too vulnerable," Pollock said. "I have a black belt, but I don't want to rely on it."The battle over gun rights has been one of the most controversial debates nationally in the past few years.The rally Tuesday was just one part of an entire day planned by the advocacy groups to express their goal to defend their Second Amendment rights. Participants planned to meet with their legislators in the House and Senate office buildings."The whole goal is to tell our folks to come lobby here and have their voices heard," Legislative Director of the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association Michael Doherty said."Go find your delegate and talk to them about this issue," Doherty said.Shannon Alford, Maryland Liaison for the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm, said supporters were there to show they haven't given up on gun rights."We want to make sure that the elected officials in Annapolis know that we aren't going home, that they have essentially awakened a sleeping dragon."Alford takes issue with the fact that the law requires a permit to exercise a constitutional right, which she says is a "huge infringement.""Anyone would raise all kinds of clamor if they tried to license your ability to vote," she said.Kerrie-Anne Sutton, 19, a student at Anne Arundel Community College and member of Maryland Shall Issue, said gun ownership is important to students and young people, especially young women who may need to protect themselves."People believe that we're so young we can't understand the risks and how dangerous it is, and I've made it a point to come out here and learn," she said.
ANNAPOLIS

PRESS RELEASE: ENVIRONMENT, BUDGET LEADERS INTRODUCE BILL TO MAKE CHICKEN COMPANIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR MANURE IN MD.



The Poultry Litter Management Act Would Correct Unfair Burden Placed on Farmers, Taxpayers



February 2, 2016



(Annapolis, MD) Environment and budget committee leaders in the Maryland General Assembly are among more than 50 legislators who have thrown their support behind The Poultry Litter Management Act. The bill, introduced today in the Senate and House, would require poultry companies to take responsibility for manure produced by their chickens. Farmers would still be able to keep and use any manure for which they have a state approved plan.



"My constituents in Baltimore, like many Marylanders, are paying to reduce pollution from sewage plants and polluted stormwater runoff. It's only fair that big chicken companies be responsible for their waste," said Senator Joan Carter Conway (District 43), Chair, Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. "I'm looking forward to this bill being heard in my committee."



"This bill is about corporate accountability, and it's about fairness. Big chicken companies have the necessary resources and the responsibility to dispose of their own waste, just like other industries," said Senator Richard S. Madaleno (District 18) Vice-chair, Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. "Everyone must do their part to mitigate pollution into our state's iconic natural treasure."



Poultry companies own the 288 million broilers produced in Maryland each year, as well as the feed and most aspects of production. Yet the companies don't have to pay to clean up the chickens' manure. Instead, chicken companies require farmers who grow the chickens under contract to dispose of the birds' litter at their own expense, with subsides from taxpayers to transport some of the manure.



Maryland faces a growing problem of excess chicken manure that can't be used as fertilizer, as well as rising costs for disposing of, or using the manure. Last year, Governor Hogan created regulations that allow farmers to spread chicken manure only in the amount that can be used by crops. The Maryland Department of Agriculture has estimated about 228,000 tons of excess manure are currently applied to crop fields in Maryland. Phosphorus from the excess manure is polluting local creeks, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.



The amount of extra manure on the Shore is also increasing because new chicken houses are being built200 new houses have been permitted for the Delmarva Peninsula.



"We are facing a growing mountain of chicken manure on the Eastern Shore that pollutes our water and threatens public health. This bill will result in better disposal of chicken waste and go a long way to improve local waterways and restore the Chesapeake Bay," said Delegate Clarence K. Lam, MD, MPH (District 12), a member of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.



"Maryland taxpayers and farmers are on the losing end of a rigged gameburdened with hundreds of tons of poultry litter to dispose of each year. This bill would change that," said Delegate Shane Robinson (District 39), also a member of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.



Advocates say asking corporations to take full responsibility for their waste won't put them at a competitive disadvantage, but will put them on a level playing field with other industries that dispose of their own waste.



Some farmers prefer to use manure rather than chemical fertilizers. The bill requires the poultry company to pick up only excess manure that the farmer does not have the ability to use under a nutrient management plan or approved alternative use plan.



Agriculture is the single largest source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland waterways. About 44 percent of the nitrogen and 57 percent of the phosphorus polluting the Bay comes from farms, and much of that comes from animal manure. A recent U.S. Geological Service Water report found the rivers of the Eastern Shore have concentrations of phosphorus that are among the "highest in the nation" due to agricultural operations.



This pollution causes algae blooms that threaten public health; kill underwater grasses; harm aquatic life like blue crabs, oysters and fish; and create an enormous "dead zone" in the Bay. Toxic algae blooms, like those that recently occurred in Toledo, Ohio, are on the rise here.



Other Senators co-sponsoring the legislation include: Benson, Feldman, Guzzone, Kelley, King, Lee, Manno, Nathan-Pulliam, Pinsky, Ramirez, Raskin and Young.



Other Delegates co-sponsoring the legislation include: Barnes, Barron, Carr, Cullison, Ebersole, Fennell, Fraser-Hidalgo, Frush, Gilchrist, Haynes, Healey, Hettleman, Hill, Hixson, Holmes, Howard (Carolyn), Kaiser, Kelly, Korman, Kramer, Lafferty, Luedtke, Moon, Morales, Morhaim, Oaks, Pena-Melnyk, Platt, Robinson (Barbara), Rosenberg, Sanchez, Smith, Tarlau, Turner, Valerrama, Vaughn, Waldstreicher, Washington (Alonzo), Washington (Mary) and Young.



###



The Poultry Litter Management Act has strong support from a growing coalition of organizations, including Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Sustainable Business Council, Food & Water Watch and the Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition (Anacostia Riverkeeper, Assateague Coastal Trust, Audubon Naturalist Society, Blue Water Baltimore, Center for Progressive Reform, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Clean Water Action, Environment Maryland, Environmental Integrity Project, Gunpowder Riverkeeper, League of Women Voters of Maryland, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, Potomac Riverkeeper, Sierra ClubMaryland Chapter, South River Federation, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, West/Rhode Riverkeeper).

(Feb. 2, 2016)Maryland legislators and contract farmers hired by companies to grow chickens are proposing the Poultry Litter Management Act that would require major animal agriculture companies to pay the cost of properly disposing excess manure on their contract farms.It's a fairness issue, it has an adverse impact on our environment and we need to clean it up, said Sen. Joan Carter Conway, D-Baltimore, and those individuals who are making the mess need to clean up the mess.The bill, SB496, is a response to what many environmentalists describe as major chicken companies getting a free ride as they produce around 228,000 tons of excess manure in the state each year but are not mandated to pay for the environmental costs of moving that waste.I dont know if people realize that the 300-plus million chickens raised annually on Marylands Eastern Shore create more waste than everyone else who lives in Maryland, said Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery, lead sponsor of the bill.Julie DeYoung, a spokeswoman for Perdue Farms, pushed back against the notion that the companyan animal agriculture business based in Salisbury that contracts with 265 poultry producers in the staterequires their contract farms to pay to dispose poultry litter.For nearly 15 years through our Perdue AgriRecycle organic fertilizer facility, we have been the only poultry company in the Chesapeake Bay region that provides an environmentally responsible alternative to land application, DeYoung wrote in an e-mail. Those who claim that Perdue is putting the responsibility for poultry litter on our farmers are choosing to ignore this fact.The cost of removing the manure, and subsequent runoff into the Chesapeake Bay, has traditionally been shifted to contract farmers and taxpayers, lawmakers and environmental advocates said Tuesday.Since 1999, more than $5.6 million from taxpayers have been used to move excess manure off contract operations that are unable to handle the animal waste, according to a report from the states Department of Agriculture. This includes $2.8 million alone for major chicken processor Perdue since 2008, according to the states Department of Budget and Management.Maryland taxpayers have contributed $767 million to clean up the bay since 2004, according to a report from the Maryland Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee.Former contract farmer supports the bill, Farm Bureau doesntCarol Morrison, who was previously a poultry farmer spoke in favor of the bill. Morrison said she is now an independent farmer who produces fresh eggs, which she sells to Whole Foods in Annapolis.She also acknowledged that she had once been part of the problem, largely because the company for which she worked backed her into a corner and effectively made her solely responsible for waste disposal. However, Morrison subsequently explained that as a contractor the company owned the chickens, not her.Were not taking away any fertilizers or valuable things that farmers use for growing tools.Responding to the proposal, Katie Ward, communications specialist for the Maryland Farm Bureau, declined to comment on the bill directly, but said, We do believe the concept is premature.We are only in the first of a two-year analysis provided in the [Phosphorus Management Tool] regulations to determine the extent of the need to find new uses for poultry litter. Early analysis from the Maryland Department of Agriculture shows fewer acres will be impacted than originally presumed.We also urge all concerned stakeholders to put time and effort into developing and supporting alternative use technology, Ward said. That is what we should be spending our time on in 2016.
ANNAPOLIS (Feb. 2, 2016)As Paul Brown walked to work as a security officer in Baltimore one morning, he felt dizzy.



Stopping along the way, he lost consciousness. He thinks he could have better dealt with his clogged arteryand the triple-bypass surgery he needed to fix itif had been allowed enough time off of work.



Brown told his story at a news conference in Annapolis Tuesday, standing in front of dozens of elected officials, union representatives and reporters.



I had to ignore my bodys advanced warning that there was a heart attack was in my future, said Brown, who only gets one paid sick day per year. I believe that it wouldnt have got that bad if I had the time to get those symptoms treated.



Advocates say this isnt a problem only for Brown. More than 700,000 Maryland residents do not receive any paid time off when they get sick, according to Working Matters, an advocacy group campaigning for compensated sick days.



Senate Majority Leader Catherine Pugh, D-Baltimore, is introducing a bill that would allow full-time workers to earn an hour of paid time off for every 30 hours they work, earning up to 7 days of paid time off.



We have it, here in the state of Maryland, as legislators, Pugh said. If we get sick, we still get paid, so all were asking is that we do for others what we do for ourselves.



Delegate Luke Clippinger, also a Democrat from Baltimore, is introducing a similar bill in the Maryland House. He said people on the lowest end of the income scale, the bottom quartile, are most affected by a lack of sick leave.



The people who are the most vulnerable, the most subject to difficulties when economic times get rough, 75 percent of them dont have sick leave, Clippinger said.



A majority of Maryland residents73 percent like the idea of paid sick leave, but that number drops dramaticallyto 12 percentif the sick leave means a reduction in benefits, according to a 2016 poll by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies. Working Matters cited a 2015 University of Maryland-Washington Post poll that said nationally, 83 percent of people support paid time off for sick days.



House Majority Leader Nicholaus Kipke, R-Anne Arundel, said that mandating paid sick leave hurts small businesses, which operate on very small margins, the most.



The small businesses that need employees to show up, the abuse of that benefit hurts. They experience additional costs, Kipke said.



Kipke said that instead of helping working families, these bills actually reduce their employment opportunities.



Clippinger disagreed, saying that when businesses dont have to train new employees because old ones get sick and leave, it actually helps the economy.



The legislation would only apply to businesses that have more than 10 employees.



Marsha Dabolt, 54, works for a greeting card company. She doesnt get any sick leave, and she says missing work means not being able to buy food that day, not paying the babysitter or not being able to put gas in the car.



Im sick and tired of the people who are against this saying were not worth it, saying we are replaceable. Were not, Dabolt said.



Erin Yeagley is the political liaison of UFCW local 1994a union that represents some government employees in Montgomery and Prince George Counties.



She said that even people who have paid time off are affected by those who dont. Yeagley said parents send sick kids to daycare if they dont have time off, and restaurant workers prepare food while ill if they are worried about losing their jobs.



The whole society will be healthier when people can stay home and take care of themselves while theyre ill, Yeagley said.



Last year, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce opposed a bill for paid time off, but this session, Vice President of Programming and Communications Jessica Palmeri said she has not seen the bill.



CNS Correspondent Connor Glowacki contributed to this report.
Democrats for President as Game of Thrones: Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley. (Caricature by DonkeyHotey with Flickr Creative Commons License)

WASHINGTON

(Feb. 2, 2016)Former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalleys dismal finish Monday in the Iowa caucuses convinced him to end his presidential bid even as the Democrats were still counting votes. He had hoped to emerge as the alternative to Hillary Clinton, but instead ran into the Bernie Sanders buzzsaw.OMalley has been left to dry, he just hasnt caught fire in any way, said Geoffrey Skelley, a political analyst at the University of Virginias Center for Politics. OMalley never really has had any moment in the polls where he has looked strong.Clinton and Sanders dominated the Iowa caucuses Monday, nearly splitting the vote at 49.9 percent and 49.6 percent, respectively, while OMalley polled a paltry 0.6 percent of the votes.He couldnt get to the right of Hillary and he couldnt get to the left of Bernie Sanders, Maryland Senate President Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, told reporters at the State House in Annapolis.When he announced his candidacy last May, OMalley thought he saw an opening, Skelley said. Clintons decision to run had discouraged many other potential Democratic candidates from entering the race.I think (OMalley) got into the race knowing that it was unlikely that a lot of major candidates were going to run, Skelley said. There was a thinking that, Now I have a chance to break through here.But neither the synthesis of his message on his campaign signsRestore the American Dreamnor his polished debate performances seemed to connect with Iowans. Even playing guitar and singing at some stops did not budge his Iowa poll numbers, which stayed in the single digits and peaked with a Real Clear Politics poll average of 6.3 percent at the end of the first week of January.OMalley wrote a letter to supporters on his campaign website announcing the suspension of his campaign.Together we all stood up for working people, for new Americans, for the future of the Earth and the safety of our children, OMalley said. We put these issues at the front of our partys agendathese are the issues that serve the best interests of our nation.OMalley hoped his achievements as governor in Marylandhe oversaw the legalization of same-sex marriage, the repeal of the death penalty and a major overhaul of the states gun lawswould gain traction with voters and the more liberal members of the Democratic Party, but that never came to pass, according to analysts.[OMalley] is an establishment Democrat that tried to run as an outsider, an anti-establishment campaign that has hurt him, said Todd Eberly, coordinator of Public Policy Studies at St. Marys College of Maryland.Instead, Bernie Sanders filled the role of Clintons chief rival, snatching up the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Sanders surprise emergence prevented OMalley from rising in the polls, Skelley said.Bernie Sanders has become the other person in the race, Skelley said.Another problem for OMalley was his inability to raise money compared to his competitors.By the end of 2015 OMalley raised only $4.6 million and accrued $535,000 in debt, according to a campaign analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that monitors campaign spending. Sanders and Clinton dwarfed OMalleys fundraising efforts, collecting $74.3 million and $112 million, respectively, by the end of 2015.Despite struggling to raise money and being so far behind in the polls, OMalley stayed in the race longer than many political observers expected.If you have the presidential bug, then youre going to hang around for as long as you can, Skelley said.Analysts said OMalleys poor showing at the Iowa caucuses was not his fault. To the contrary, OMalley was warmly received at Democratic events, said Dennis Goldford, political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines.OMalley was appealing in a way to their heads, not their hearts, Goldford said. Sanders certainly captured the hearts of a lot of supporters, certainly young ones.While the Washington Post reported that OMalley said he has no interest in a Cabinet position in another administration, Skelley and Eberly think there is a chance for OMalley to run again in 2020 if Clinton doesnt win this election.While O'Malley could use the exposure from his campaign as a springboard for future presidential elections, Skelley suggested that other more prominent Democratic candidates, such as a sitting governor or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., could overshadow him.
ANNAPOLIS (Feb. 2, 2016)Maryland delegate and emergency-room physician Dan Morhaim, D-Baltimore County, is co-sponsoring two bills that would expand access to an unlikely pair of hotly debated products with potential health risks: medical marijuana and raw milk.



Advocates and opponents packed into the Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee room on Tuesday to discuss those bills and other legislation.



The medicinal cannabis bill would add nurses, dentists and podiatrists to the states list of health care providers who can certify qualifying patients for medical marijuana.



The healthcare providers targeted by the bill can already prescribe drugs more dangerous than cannabis, like opioids, for conditions like infected teeth or plantar warts, said Maryland Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Darrell Carrington.



With our over-reliance on opiates, this is going to be a wonderful alternative for these providers (and) for their patients who struggle with opioid addiction, Carrington said.



Lawmakers legalized growing and dispensing marijuana for medical purposes in 2014, but Marylands marijuana commission has not yet issued licenses to grow, process or distribute the drug.



Raw milk has proven to also be a divisive health issue.



Currently, raw milk is only legal for sale as pet food in Maryland. Without the pasteurization process that eliminates potentially harmful pathogens, the milk has led to health concerns about whether it is fit for human consumption.



But talk to someone in favor of legalizing its sale and they might tell you the drink is nutritious and antimicrobial, and therefore it does not need to be pasteurized.



I can tell you firsthand, I know thousands of families who get raw milk from out-of-state and theres not one recorded illness from it, said Liz Reitzig, a raw milk advocate from Prince Georges County.



Though Morhaims bill would not put raw milk on supermarket shelves, it would allow farms to sell the drink directly to anyone who invests money in the cow or herd that produces the milk.



Because this bill specifically acknowledges the consumer ownership of livestock, this is the perfect way to do it. It requires the consumer to be actively involved and a participant in the raw milk production and the farming methods, Reitzig said.



The House committee also heard a bill that would allow minors to consent for medical care related to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, including vaccinations and medications for diseases such as HIV, which can cause AIDS.



Some teenagers may be hesitant to discuss sexually transmitted diseases with their parents, and prevention cannot always wait for a minor to broach the subject with an adult, said Dr. Susan Chaitovitz, president of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a Frederick pediatrician.



As the world of healthcare is shifting to a preventative model, adolescents rights to consent are around treatment but not around prevention, she said. If you can consent for treatment of chlamydia or HPV, wouldnt it make logical sense to allow you to consent to the prevention of those same diseases?
Brandon Wible and Tyler Insley from the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department were awarded the Loyal Order of Moose Valor award by the Patuxent Lodge. (Submitted photo)

HOLLYWOOD, Md.

The Patuxent Moose Lodge, located in Hollywood, presented two local firefighters, Brandon Wible and Tyler Insley from the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, the Loyal Order of Moose Valor award. The valor award is given to any local or state police officer, firefighter, or paramedic that has gone above the call of duty.The Hollywood Fire Department was requested to support two other fire departments in a fully engulfed house fire. Wible and Insley were inside the house conducting search and rescue operations when their oxygen supply dipped below the safe level. While exiting the house, they heard a distress call from two other firefighters who had become disoriented in the fire and subsequently lost their way out. Both Wible and Insley searched until they found the two other firefighters and brought them out to safety.Every year local Moose lodges reach out to the community and receive several nominations for acts of valor. The nominations go through a selection board and are forwarded to the state level. The state then goes through an additional review and forwards their nominations on to Moose International. The final overall winner is awarded a free vacation.Find out more about the Patuxent Moose Lodge at lodge2393.moosepages.org
Among upcoming LGBT events are SAGE and Friends Miami, and the AQUA Family BBQ. These events raise awareness with local leaders and promote community building in Miami. The Miami metro area ranks as the 17th most populous LGBT area with 4.2 percent of residents who identify as LGBT, according to a 2012-2014 Gallup poll.

On Feb. 6, the NYC-based Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE) will host SAGE & Friends/Miami 2016. The event will be held at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables on Feb. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. The highlight of the event is The Pioneer Award, which recognizes LGBT older adults who have paved the way for equality and the allies who have supported such efforts.

This year's award will be presented at the event to Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz. Young housewives when they met in 1959 in Brooklyn, Ruthie and Connie became fast friends, community leaders, and in 1974, more than thatthey fell in love, according to a press release from SAGE.

Struggling with both internal and social homophobia, the women left their marriages for one another. They sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits in 1988 and won in 1992. They established a PFLAG chapter for retirees in their new Florida home and were the subjects of the critically acclaimed documentary, "Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House."

On Feb. 7, the Aqua Foundation for Women (AFW), which serves and supports the LBT community in South Florida through grants, scholarships and initiatives, will host the LGBT Family BBQ. The event is sponsored by Olivia Travel, Jackson Health System, Elizabeth F. Schwartz, Rotella & Hernandez, LLC and Coca-Cola.

The event, which will be held from noon-4 p.m. at Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, will feature complimentary food and drinks, in addition to activities for kids, including face painting and a bounce house. Although the event is free, RSVP is requested via EventBrite: www.Eventbrite.com/e/aqua-lgbt-family-bbq-tickets-20746134246
The National LGBT Task Forces annual Creating Change conference is often grounds for controversy and this years conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, was no exception. The most contentious event on its schedule was a reception organized by A Wider Bridge (AWB), a group that foster relations between the State of Israel and the LGBT community, with representatives from Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance.

This did not sit well with many activists who view Israel as an apartheid state that persecutes Palestinian Arabs, and they pressured the Task Force to cancel the AWB program. This led to protests from queer Jews and other supporters of Israel, which led Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey to reschedule the event.

Not surprisingly, the AWB program never took place. More than 200 noisy protesters gathered outside the hall where the reception was to be held, forcing the organizers to once again cancel the event. As protesters entered the room, the Open House reps were escorted out a back door to ensure their safety.

They accused Israel of racism; held up signs announcing there is No pride in apartheid; and chanted controversial slogans, including one proclaiming that From the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, Palestine Will Be Free (a slogan used by Hamas to declare the impending doom of the Jewish State). Though there were reports of altercations between protesters and guests, no arrests were made. The protest finally ended when a Hilton staff member threatened to close the conference.

Many activists on the left view A Wider Bridge as a propaganda arm of the Israeli government and accuse it of pinkwashing; that is, exploiting Israels pro-LGBT record to distract others away from the Jewish States harsh treatment of Palestinians.

For several years the Israeli government has attempted to use propaganda about the freedoms some LGBTQs in that country have as a cover for their increasingly brutal rule over Palestinians, read a statement from Chicagos Gay Liberation Network. Black Lives Matter Chicago took time off from demanding the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel to protest this event, linking the plight of Palestinians with that of African Americans.

On the other hand, AWB Executive Director Arthur Slepian defended his group. Smelling a whiff of anti-Semitism, Slepian argued that the idea that Israeli queers would be disenfranchised because of something that their government does is disgraceful. Theyre saying that their lives as LGBT people are not valuable stories because of the actions of their government.

Israel is far from perfect. Its policies against the Palestinians, especially by the current right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who apparently learned his politics from his friends in the U.S. Republican Party) are deplorable.

And I do not agree with those who, like Slepian, think that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic. However, for all its faults, Israel is the most gay-friendly country in the Middle East. In spite of the influence that homphobic, Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have over Israeli society and government, homosexual acts were legalized as far back as 1988, when many American states still enforced their sodomy laws. Israeli lesbians, gay men and bisexuals were given the right to serve openly in the Israel Defense Forces at a time when the U.S. military still had dont ask, dont tell. (Protesters would argue here that the IDF is only enlisting LGB people to help in its anti-Palestinian campaign.)

Israel is the first country in Asia to recognize co-habitation between lesbian or gay male couples. Same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt children. And while same-sex marriages are not performed in Israel, it recognizes those marriages performed elsewhere. Tel Aviv, the gay capital of the Middle East (according to Out magazine) is one of the gay-friendliest cities in the world. Meanwhile, other Middle Eastern countries actively persecute its LGBT people, some going so far as to execute both men and boys for committing homosexual acts.

Does A Wider Bridge promote Israeli propaganda? Of course it does, but no more than any other organization connected with any other country, including the United States. The State of Florida has a dismal record when it comes to its treatment of minorities, LGBT people included. Does this mean that promoters of LGBT tourism in Key West, Fort Lauderdale or Orlando should be barred from queer conferences? One can criticize the policies of the Israeli government, as I often do, and still support the Jewish State. On the other hand, there is a thin line between shouting anti-Israeli slogans and wishing to wipe it off the face of the earth. This is a line that LGBT activists should not cross.
Ted Cruz walked into the lobby of the Des Moines Marriott Downtown late Sunday evening in a slow yet deliberate pace. His months long effort to engage Iowa caucus goers was coming to an end and Cruz, the freshman U.S. Senator of Texas, did not break stride as he passed a lobby packed with journalists and political operatives.

I think Cruz has got this, said Kyle Hackel, an analyst from the nonpartisan PolitiGuide.

Hackel was indeed profound as Cruz captured the most support among Republicans in Monday nights caucus. Hackel and his business partner Julian Rudolph had been in Iowa for a week following the candidates and handing out copies of PolitiGuide, an informative book that explains the issues at hand from each partys perspective.

Gay marriage certainly played a part in Iowa. In the run-up to the caucus, Cruz shared a stage in Iowa City with reality television actor Phil Robertson of the Duck Dynasty program. Robertson urged the crowd to back Cruz and used his microphone time to condemn gay people.

Calling gay marriage evil and wicked to wild cheers, Robertson went on to say it, We have to run this bunch out of Washington, D.C. We have to rid the earth of them.

Cruz ran all of the Republicans out of Iowa, capturing 28 percent support, eight delegates and forcing one-time front-runner Donald Trump to concede defeat.

In terms of money spent per vote though Trump was the clear winner spending only $300 per vote compared to Rubio who spent $600 per and Cruz spending $700 per.

My experience in Iowa was a great one. I started out with all of the experts saying I couldnt do well there and ended up in 2nd place. Nice, Trump tweeted. Trump finished with 24 percent support and seven delegates.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida placed third, garnering 23 percent support and collecting seven delegates. Matt Peterson, a Rubio supporter from Michigan canvassing the Iowa State Historical Building, said he was working for the Miami man because of his story of coming from a working class background.

He knows what its like to live paycheck to paycheck, Peterson said.

Meanwhile, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee threw in the towel, failing to inspire voters, but leaving the race with fond memories of appearing on stage with embattled Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.

Obviously the voters are sick of me and I need to acknowledge that, Huckabee said Monday.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont were virtually identical in the running, both candidates received the most support with former Maryland Governor Martin OMalley suspending his campaign after generating little interest.

The U.S. campaign heads to New Hampshire next with a primary election slated for Feb. 9 in the small New England state. Sanders and Trump held polling leads going in but at least one challenger is not giving up. Recent polls in NH have Trump up by as much as 24 points while polls show Sanders up as much as 33 points setting expectations high for both candidates.

Show time is over, said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Sunday night at Wellmans Pub in West Des Moines, Iowa. Its game time now. We are not electing an Entertainer-in-Chief, we are electing a Commander-in-Chief.
Lesbian

Ellen Page Challenges Hollywood's Double Standard on Homosexuality

(EDGE) In a recent interview with Elle U.K., actress Ellen Page argues that there is a double standard in Hollywood when it comes to homosexuality and the roles LGBT people take on, The Guardian reports.



Page, 28, said she is often asked if she fears she will be pigeonholed to gay roles after coming out in February 2014.



"Zachary Quinto is out and he stars in one of the biggest blockbuster franchises ['Star Trek']," she told Elle magazine. "I have four projects coming up -- all gay roles. People ask if I'm concerned about getting pigeonholed. No one asks: 'Ellen, you've done seven straight roles in a row, shouldn't you shake it up and do something queer?"



Page told the magazine that her six-year struggle to bring her gay rights film "Freeheld," starring Julianne Moore, to the big screen helped her come out two years ago.



"It was part of it," she said. "What blows my mind is how my own personal journey paralleled the development of that movie. It felt wildly inappropriate to be playing this character as a closeted person. Coming out was a long process, though."



Gay (This can be moved over to Briefs if need be, and replaced with the Intersex story.  Just thought it was worth highlighting since its something weve been following.)

Gay Veteran Kicked Out of Army Receives Honorable Discharge

(AP) An 82-year-old Ohio veteran is receiving an honorable discharge a half century after the Army kicked him out for being gay.



Donald Hallman of Columbus requested a reversal of his 1955 "undesirably" discharged status after President Barack Obama repealed the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" rule in 2010.



Hallman is scheduled to appear with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, at a news conference Friday in Columbus.



Hallman served from 1953 to 1955 and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany.



Brown's office says an estimated 100,000 Americans have been discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation since World War II.

Brown co-sponsored federal legislation to help service members discharged solely due to their sexual orientation correct their military records and receive reinstated benefits.

Bisexual

You Tuber Starts Bye-Biphobia Campaign

(SFGN) Rachel Whitehurst, 23, from Seattle has launched the #ByeBiphobia campaign on YouTube with four episodes and thousands of viewers so far, according to the Daily Mail.

As an out bisexual woman, my sexuality is constantly being questioned by other people, says Whitehurst in the first episode of the series, titled Stop Proving Your Sexuality.

Whitehurst received a surge of positive feedback from viewers when she went on to say that its not necessary to have had sexual experiences with men and women to know that one is bisexual.

Whitehursts second episode deals with coming out as bisexual, a decision of hers that many questioned because she has a boyfriend. But Whitehurst says she believes that staying in the closet and not being true to yourself will only hurt you in the long run and no matter the struggles you will be happier out.

Her third episode deals with the negative stereotypes of bisexuals as promiscuous and hyper sexualized. Episode four is a Q&A among Whitehurst and her viewers. All episodes can be found by searching #ByeBiphobia.

Transgender

Federal Court to Hear Arguments in Transgender Restroom Case

by Larry O'Dell

(AP) A federal appeals court will hear arguments in a Virginia transgender student's lawsuit challenging his school's restroom policy.



The hearing before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set for Wednesday morning. A ruling is expected several weeks later.



Gloucester High School junior Gavin Grimm was born female but identifies as male. In December 2014, the School Board barred Grimm from using the boys' restrooms. The board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom.



Grimm says the policy is stigmatizing and discriminatory. The U.S. Justice Department has taken Grimm's side, but a judge ruled against him in September.

Intersex

Chilean Officials Oppose Gender Assignment Surgery on Infants

(SFGN) The Chilean government issued a document to the Ministry of Health expressing opposition to the unnecessary normalization treatments of intersex children including irreversible genital surgeries until they are of a sufficient age to make decisions about their bodies, the Washington Blade reports. The document was supported by the Undersecretary of Health Jaime Burrows and Undersecretary of Assistance Networks Gisela Alarcon.

Chilean LGBT rights advocate, Camilo Godoy Pena, says the document contains specific recommendations for each branch of the countrys public health system, including the creation of an advisory board of endocrinologists, psychiatrists and other specialists to determine each specific case in the best interest of the child. Godoy lauded the document as the first example of clear instruction on the treatment of intersex children.

From this point forward there is a concrete tool to use to enforce the human rights of a group of people who have been made invisible, wrote Godoy on Facebook. For decades they have been victims of violence, torture and ignorance.
2MASS J16281370-2431391 ESO

The international team, led by Stephane Guilloteau at the Laboratoire dAstrophysique de Bordeaux, France, measured the temperature of large dust grains around the young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth.

This star is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust  such discs are called protoplanetary discs as they are the early stages in the creation of planetary systems. This particular disc is seen nearly edge-on, and its appearance in visible light pictures has led to its being nicknamed the Flying Saucer.

The astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the glow coming from carbon monoxide molecules in the 2MASS J16281370-2431391 disc. They were able to create very sharp images and found something strange  in some cases they saw a negative signal! Normally a negative signal is physically impossible, but in this case there is an explanation, which leads to a surprising conclusion.

Lead author Stephane Guilloteau takes up the story: This disc is not observed against a black and empty night sky. Instead its seen in silhouette in front of the glow of the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula. This diffuse glow is too extended to be detected by ALMA, but the disc absorbs it. The resulting negative signal means that parts of the disc are colder than the background. The Earth is quite literally in the shadow of the Flying Saucer!

The team combined the ALMA measurements of the disc with observations of the background glow made with the IRAM 30-metre telescope in Spain [1]. They derived a disc dust grain temperature of only -266 degrees Celsius (only 7 degrees above absolute zero, or 7 Kelvin) at a distance of about 15 billion kilometres from the central star [2]. This is the first direct measurement of the temperature of large grains (with sizes of about one millimetre) in such objects.

This temperature is much lower than the -258 to -253 degrees Celsius (15 to 20 Kelvin) that most current models predict. To resolve the discrepancy, the large dust grains must have different properties than those currently assumed, to allow them to cool down to such low temperatures.

To work out the impact of this discovery on disc structure, we have to find what plausible dust properties can result in such low temperatures. We have a few ideas  for example the temperature may depend on grain size, with the bigger grains cooler than the smaller ones. But it is too early to be sure, adds co-author Emmanuel di Folco (Laboratoire dAstrophysique de Bordeaux).

If these low dust temperatures are found to be a normal feature of protoplanetary discs this may have many consequences for understanding how they form and evolve.

For example, different dust properties will affect what happens when these particles collide, and thus their role in providing the seeds for planet formation. Whether the required change in dust properties is significant or not in this respect cannot yet be assessed.

Low dust temperatures can also have a major impact for the smaller dusty discs that are known to exist. If these discs are composed of mostly larger, but cooler, grains than is currently supposed, this would mean that these compact discs can be arbitrarily massive, so could still form giant planets comparatively close to the central star.

Further observations are needed, but it seems that the cooler dust found by ALMA may have significant consequences for the understanding of protoplanetary discs.

Notes

[1] The IRAM measurements were needed as ALMA itself was not sensitive to the extended signal from the background.

[2] This corresponds to one hundred times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. This region is now occupied by the Kuiper Belt within the Solar System.

More information

This research was presented in a paper entitled The shadow of the Flying Saucer: A very low temperature for large dust grains, by S. Guilloteau et al., published in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.

The team is composed of S. Guilloteau (University of Bordeaux/CNRS, Floirac, France), V. Pitu (IRAM, Saint Martin dHres, France), E. Chapillon (University of Bordeaux/CNRS; IRAM), E. Di Folco (University of Bordeaux/CNRS), A. Dutrey (University of Bordeaux/CNRS), T.Henning (Max Planck Institute fr Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany [MPIA]), D.Semenov (MPIA), T.Birnstiel (MPIA) and N. Grosso (Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France).

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).

ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

The Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimtrique (IRAM) is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the worlds most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the worlds most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the worlds largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become the worlds biggest eye on the sky.
TO INFORM about the current state in the Slovak education sector, the Initiative of Slovak Teachers (ISU) has sent a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics.

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The unfavourable and constantly worsening conditions in education resulted in an all-out strike of teachers who are asking the government to fulfil their demands.

Neither the government nor the Education Ministry respond to these requests during the strike, with some schools even reporting about bullying teachers by founders of schools and headmasters, which we consider violating the constitutional right to strike and non-democratic practices, ISU wrote, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

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Meanwhile, the teachers continue striking, though their total number keeps falling. While on February 1 nearly 9,300 teachers protested, on February 2 it was some 8,600. The number of participating schools is 700, the same as on February 1.

The Education Ministry informed that 58 schools (or 0.86 percent of total number of schools) were closed on February 2, down from 111 on January 29.

Read also:

Read also: Teachers on strike form human chains Read more

Parliamentary session

About 200 teachers, pupils and their parents gathered on February 2 also in front of the parliament, carrying drums, whistles, rattles and bells. They voiced their dissatisfaction with governments alleged inactivity concerning the teachers situation.

Demonstrators chose this venue due to the extraordinary session of the parliamentary education, science, youth and sport committee. In reference to the series of Smers billboards saying We protect Slovakia, people were carrying banners saying Do you protect Slovakia from education?. Other banners read Its not only about salaries, Well endure and Were fighting for better education in Slovakia.

We wanted to make their session more pleasant, so they can hear that the street isnt empty, said Lubos Sibert of ISU, as quoted by TASR.

Another teacher Viktor Krizo said that it is time for politicians to show what they can do for the teachers and their sympathisers. After all, theyre paid out of our taxes, he added, as reported by TASR.

The extraordinary parliamentary committee session was convened by its chairman Mojmir Mamojka. Education Minister Juraj Draxler, representatives of ISU and the Teachers Union chair Pavel Ondek were present as well.

Those that were present arrived at a conclusion that the teachers salaries and financing of education will be dealt with after the general election on March 5. Committee members called on all political parties that run in the election to publicly declare their commitment to approve a national education programme for 2016-2020, TASR wrote.

Meanwhile, the public supported teachers demands. About 8,000 people have already signed a petition to this purpose. Miroslav Pagac even opened an account to which people send money to support teachers. People have already collected more than 12,000, the Sme daily reported.

The money will go directly to the teacher donors choose, Sme wrote.
THE NURSES who have handed in mass resignations declared their willingness to reach a compromise in order to prevent further damage in the health-care sector.

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Mr Minister, we want to make an agreement, and we want to make an agreement ... the nurses are ready to hold talks on a compromise proposal, said head of the nurses and midwives trade union (OZSaPA) Monika Kavecka, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

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The nurses trade union continues to hope for an agreement that will be attained after a constructive dialogue entailing the willingness of both camps to reach a compromise, she continued.

On behalf of Slovak patients, were awaiting a step forward from the Slovak government, said Kavecka, as quoted by TASR.

Such a deal might only concern the approximately 600 nurses who have followed through with their resignations, while a different solution would apply to all other nurses, admitted head of the chamber of nurses and midwives (SKSaPA) Iveta Lazorova.

We have yet to receive a concrete proposal from the nurses representatives, Health Ministry spokesperson Peter Bubla said, as quoted by TASR. Naturally, if that happens, well be happy to learn more about it. At any rate, the door for talks at the Health Ministry remains open.

Such a compromise proposal is now being forwarded to the nurses concerned, said Kavecka, who stopped short of saying when it might be tabled in preparation for talks with the ministry.

She was reluctant to discuss its terms with journalists, but admitted that the nurses are ready to settle for a lower salary rise than initially sought.

Salaries arent the single most important thing here, Kavecka added, as quoted by TASR. By contrast, the nurses stick to their requirement concerning a solution to address understaffed hospitals.

Lazorova said she is confident there is sufficient funding in the sector to accommodate their demands. Both organisations also noted that it's difficult to replace the nurses at the hospitals most affected by the mass resignation drive.

They also warned that more nurses and midwives  specifically 120 of them  are to leave their jobs, specifically at hospitals in Trencin, as well as in Martin, Dolny Kubin and Trstena (all in Zilina Region).
BRATISLAVA Forest Park was listed among the top 10 holidays among the trees.

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Though spread across different continents, time zones and temperature ranges, these 10 destinations all offer a chance to slip away into a realm of clean air, chattering wildlife and nature at its most spectacular, reads the travel website of the British Daily Telegraph.

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Slovakia has a swath of forest on the northern edge of its intriguing capital, the website states.

Bratislava Forest Park, located at the foothills of the Small Carpathians range, is home to 10 square miles of forest, where hiking trails meander below heavy boughs and 50 bird species, including falcons and buzzards, haunt the branches. Deer run in the undergrowth, unfussed that they are on the outskirts of a city, the website reads.

It was listed among destinations like the Amazon rainforest, Borneos jungles to the UKs Sherwood Forest.
PRESIDENT Andrej Kiska is leading a campaign that seeks to urge the public to go to the polls for the general election on March 5 while also putting the spotlight on the education and health-care sectors.

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The head of state is making a series of trips to all of Slovakias regional capitals this week, where he is meeting representatives of the regional authorities. He is set to conclude the tour by paying a visit to Nitra.

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Im convinced that the education and health-care sectors should be in the foreground of the election campaigning, Kiska said on February 2, as quoted by the TASR newswire. This is what should be up for discussion and voters should ask every single political party in clear terms about their proposals and timeframe thereof for moving things forward.

Kiska has also launched a website www.verejnaobjednavka.sk that translates literally as Public Order, with some more as yet unspecified initiatives set to be rolled out shortly.

In order for politicians to feel pressure ahead of the election, public order is needed, hence the website, according to the president. The site, which was created for the president as an individual by an advertising agency, has the appearance of an online store from which people are able to order specific measures in health care and education.

The site attracted some 10,000 shares from the public in 24 hours after it was made public, said Roman Krpelan, head of the Presidents Office press department. The cost of the website and that of related activities on social networks is to amount to some 4,000 per year, and is to be covered by Kiska from his own pocket.

I hope that people will go to the polls and that each political party will consider these to be their own priorities and will make it clear as to what they intend to do in these areas after the election, the president said, as quoted by TASR.

Kiska called his campaign non-political, rejecting notions that it might be directed against any particular parties. Nor is Kiska seeking to ultimately set up his own party, according to his statement.
SLOVAKIA supports convening the NATO-Russia Council, but this doesnt mean that well return to what was in place before the annexation of Crimea, said Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak.

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An open dialogue is needed, and when necessary it must also be critical, said the minister, who is currently on an official visit to Kiev. At the same time the first point on the agenda of the council must be Ukraine, he stressed, as reported by the TASR newswire.

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg indicated last week he is considering restoring the operations of the Council, which were suspended in June 2014 over the crisis in Ukraine. At the same time he confirmed reports that ambassadors of the 28 NATO countries should meet Russian permanent representative to NATO Alexander Grushko in late February or early March.

Lajcak also stressed it is necessary to secure thorough implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Slovakia insists on establishing peace and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine, noted the minister, as reported by TASR.

Read also:

Read also: Foreign minister takes humanitarian aid to Ukraine Read more

Despite the ceasefire, clashes between pro-Russian separatists and government forces have been occurring in eastern Ukraine. Individual points of the Minsk Agreements, adopted in February 2015, should have been implemented by the end of the year. The agreements should have culminated in the restoration of Kievs full control over its borders with Russia, but as virtually no point of the agreements has been carried out to the full, the meeting of its stipulations has been postponed to the end of 2016.

Lajcak also supported Ukraines European aspirations during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin, and praised the fact that the economic part of an association agreement entered into force as of January 1.

We view it as a step in a good direction, Lajcak said, as quoted by TASR. It could help both Ukraine and the EU.
TWO non-governmental organisations turned to Prime Minister Robert Fico, asking him to adopt systemic measures regarding state IT solutions.

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Ethics watchdog Fair-Play Alliance (AFP) and Slovensko.digital platform ask the ministries of interior, transport and education to stop and re-assess four big IT projects worth altogether 300 million that are currently underway. The projects may be overpriced and they may result in purchasing disadvantageous solutions, the SITA newswire reported.

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The ministries again chose the path of procuring big IT projects which are carried out quickly, lack corresponding public studies and bind the state for many years, according to AFP.

Making decisions on such huge amounts seems to be irresponsible and flippant, AFP head Zuzana Wienk said, as quoted by SITA. There is a risk that we build skyscrapers en masse, though we could build only five-storey buildings or a neighbourhood of small houses.

Though we are starting a new programming period, it seems we have not learned from mistakes from informatisation projects carried out during the previous period, said Jan Hargas of Slovensko.digital. He pointed to the missing documents that should accompany the projects.

It seems to us that the IT purchases by ministries are uncoordinated and that the informatisation does not have a master, Hargas said, as quoted by SITA.

Slovensko.digital plans to prepare studies of the projects that would determine whether we need big centralised solutions or if several smaller solutions would be better.

It is necessary to publish the studies and enable discussion which would show whether the objections of experts are relevant, Lubor Illek of Slovensko.digital said, as quoted by SITA.

The projects in question concern the system of construction at the Transport Ministry costing 44 million excluding VAT. According to NGOs, there already is an alternative solution to effectively deal with the construction agenda which the state already bought and financed via EU funds. Another project procured by the Transport Ministry is called Atlas of Passive Infrastructure and should cost 48 million excluding VAT. The Czech Republic has a similar project, whose price amounts to one tenth of the sum planned by Slovakia, NGOs said.

They also pointed to Edunet project procured by the Education Ministry to install internet connections for all schools. There is, however, only one company with nation-wide internet coverage in Slovakia, according to NGOs. Moreover, also small companies would be able to secure better and cheaper internet connections.

The last project concerns the system and operation of automatised fines procured by the Interior Ministry, which should cost 140 million excluding VAT. It should last 16 or 21 years. The project, however, lacks any study which would confirm its advantageousness and secure financing from EU funds, as reported by SITA.

Both NGOs thus sent a letter to Fico, asking him to adopt systemic solutions to prevent the projects from being overpriced and the potentially useless investments. They also call on the government to appoint one institution which would be responsible for state IT projects. Moreover, they ask for not allowing the procurement without quality studies which would compare alternative solutions and would be a subject of public discussion, SITA wrote.
SLOVAKIA will mount a thorough legal defence against a Polish firm's complaint about the ban since 2014 in the Slovak Constitution on water exports other than in consumer packaging and for humanitarian ends, Environment Minister Peter Ziga said after the cabinet session on February 3.

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The RTVS public TV and radio channels reported that the European Commission has initiated legal proceedings against the Slovak Republic in this respect over creating obstacles to the free movement of goods. Its a standard process that the Commission starts against any country concerning infringement. We will defend ourselves with all means, said Ziga as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that he was not concerned about potential fines.

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The minister pointed out that Legnave, the Polish company behind the lawsuit, has wanted to draw water from Slovakia to its homeland via a pipeline and package it in plastic bottles since 2011.

We're not standing in their way, Ziga said. They could do the same thing on the Slovak side: create wealth, pay taxes and employ people. In this we would even support it... But to have someone drill on Slovak soil, export water through the pipeline abroad and there do with it whatever they please, thats not happening.

Minister believes that in the future other European countries will adopt similar legislation. Itll be a serious problem not only in Europe but across the world. Since we have some reserves and theyre not evenly distributed across Slovakia, we need to protect them for future generations, Ziga opined.

Water does not count as common goods, it is a strategic raw material which deserves to be protected in the Constitution, minister summed up, as cited by the SITA newswire.
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Sanders strong performance in Iowa will allow him to continue his effective fundraising campaign, Rosenberg noted, as he heads into next weeks New Hampshire primary as a heavy favorite.

"Sanders raised more money last month than Hillary Clinton did, not counting the PAC [political action committee] money," Rosenberg explained.

The presidential election expert warned, however, that the Sanders victory in Iowa, while impressive, must be kept in perspective and not overblown.

"The number of actual delegates that are going to be representing the state of Iowa is about one percent of all delegates," Rosenberg noted. "Iowa is a big deal because its the first real taste testing besides the polls, but it is more symbolic than real."

The Sanders campaign, Rosenberg argued, also has an extensive network of "ground game" activities in all of the upcoming primary states that are just as strong as Clintons, although the former Secretary of State might be able to garner more African American support in the south of the United States.

George Washington University Political Management Professor Christopher Arterton told Sputnik that Iowa represented a very strong showing by a challenger against what many believed to be the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the US presidency, although it does not necessarily deal a fatal blow to Clintons campaign.

"Where this was supposed to be six months ago, a kind of cakewalk, if you will, for Hillary Clinton, right now it appears as though its going to be a fairly long slug in order to win the nomination," Arterton added.
Reacting to global overcapacity, market prices for crude benchmarks slid to a 12-year low in mid-January, dipping below the historic level of $30 per barrel.

Canada Not Invited to OPEC, Non-OPEC Countries Talks on Oil Market Situation

Canada has not been invited to a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with oil producing states outside the cartel, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Natural Resources told Sputnik, amid speculation about possible talks on stemming the decline in oil prices.

Over recent weeks, officials from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing states have spoken of a possible meeting to address declining oil prices, which have caused significant financial problems for some states.

"The Government of Canada has not received an invitation to take part in an upcoming OPEC meeting," Cathy Khoury said.

Canada has no knowledge of the potential meeting's objectives or possible outcomes, the spokeswoman added.

On Monday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Venezuela's Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino discussed the possibility of holding oil consultations with OPEC members and non-cartel countries. Russia has emphasized its willingness to join the meeting should it be scheduled.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Austria and Russia will jointly lobby in favor of the implementation of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline project, as it is beneficial for both Moscow and Europe, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukaev said Wednesday.

"We have discussed today the existing problems, and have agreed upon the way we will jointly promote the project, which definitely is a project of common interest that increases the level of energy security in Europe, and this is a game, in which all parties win," Ulyukaev said following a meeting with Austrian Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner.

The Nord Stream 2 is a proposed gas pipeline that would pass under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, to provide an additional route for Russian gas to be delivered to Germany. The pipeline could provide up to 55 billion cubic meters of direct gas supplies from Russia.
Austrias OMV oil and gas company is one of five European energy firms Russias Gazprom signed a shareholder agreement with in September, allocating each a 10-percent stake in the Nord Stream-2 project.

OMV and Gazprom signed a separate agreement on the terms and conditions of a possible asset swap, giving the Austrian firm a 24.98-percent stake in a project to develop two units at an oil, gas and condensate field in north-central Russia.

OMV CEO Rainer Seele, who is among the Austrian business leaders accompanying Mitterlehner on the trip to Moscow, has suggested that an asset swap agreement with Gazprom could be finalized this summer. He called on EU member states to back the project, stressing the need to convince the European Commission that Nord Stream-2 was in Europe's interests.

The Nord Stream-2 project plans to use the original Nord Stream pipeline for 86 percent of the route before branching off. It is estimated to provide up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas directly to the German coast through the Baltic Sea.
"These notes are in high demand among criminal groups who engage in the physical transportation of cash due to their high value and low volume. The Commission will work with the European Central Bank, Europol and other relevant parties on this matter to assess whether any specific action is necessary in this area."

The commission cited the "need for a strong coordinated European response to combatting terrorism" in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in the European Union and beyond when announcing the plan, which aims to cut off resources that terrorists use to travel, buy weapons and explosives, plot attacks and spread propaganda online.

"We want to improve the oversight of the many financial means used by terrorists, from cash and cultural artifacts to virtual currencies and anonymous pre-paid cards, while avoiding unnecessary obstacles to the functioning of payments and financial markets for ordinary, law-abiding citizens," Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said.

The 500 euro note was introduced with the rest of the euro currency in 2002 to replace the large denominations that were issued by some central banks, for example in Germany and Italy, where people often preferred cash to electronic payments.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The European institutions do not provide freedom outside Europe's dominant ideology, Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a member of the European Parliament from the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group, told Sputnik France.

"Europe keeps talking about freedoms. But we ascertain that this freedom is a mere empty sound, as those who oppose either European institutions or the vision and single-mindedness governing these institutions do not have a right to this freedom. For them, freedom is to think what everyone else thinks. This is managed freedom, used solely for propaganda purposes," Schaffhauser said.

Millions of people are suffering because foreign states, including the United States, are bent on destabilizing Europe, Schaffhauser said, adding that Ukraine has failed in terms of the rule of law and democracy.
Despite government officials saying that some of the proposals may be "beneficial", Poland, under the Law and Justice Party (PiS), perhaps poses the greatest risk to the proposals, which need the support of all 28 member states in order to be ratified.

Poland has been vocal in its opposition to any changes that may discriminate against Poles working in the UK, with prime minister Beata Szydlo saying that the government was "analyzing the latest proposal thoroughly".

President Andrzej Duda was equally coy, saying that the plans need to be put under further scrutiny.

"Free movement of workers and services is a fundamental value of the European Union," he told Reuters.

"There is a clause [in the deal] saying that in the case of a sudden influx of wage migrants some payments could be curbed. We will see what the interpretation [of the clause] is."

Hungary

Polands concerns are likely to be shared by Hungary, with Polish and Hungarian foreign ministers to meet later this week to coordinate their positions on the matter.

While happy about efforts aimed at winning back powers from Brussels  Hungary, like Poland, is concerned about any changes that may impact against and discriminate its own citizens working in the UK.

"While Hungary supported Britains effort to cut down on the abuse of its social system, the government opposes any discrimination in benefits among workers hailing form the EU," Hungarys foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Slovakia

Slovakia represents the third of the group of central and eastern European member states expected to be closely examining the EU-UK proposals.

The country shares many of the same concerns as Poland and Hungary, worried that any changes to welfare benefits may discriminate against Slovakian citizens.

Pres @JunckerEU wants the UK to remain in #EU on the basis of a fair deal, @eucopresident's proposal is fair for the UK & for 27 MS #UKinEU  EPP (@EPP) February 3, 2016

France


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Over 60 migrant children have died in the Eastern Mediterranean while attempting to cross from Turkey into Greece, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.

"64 children have died at sea on the Eastern Med route to Greece since Jan 1," IOM wrote on its official Twitter account.

The Eastern Mediterranean migration route passes through Turkey, across the Bosphorous strait and the Aegean Sea into Greece.
However, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday:

"We, together with Saudi Arabia, will continue to support [the] moderate opposition in Syria."

His admission throws into doubt any possibility of trust being built up among any participants in the negotiations.

They were already stumbling after de Mistura conceded that the negotiations would take place on a day-by-day basis with different parties attending separately, as round-table talks were not possible. De Mistura told Swiss television RTS.

"If there is a failure this time after we tried twice at conferences in Geneva, for Syria there will be no more hope."
The report says the British government has chosen to turn a blind eye and allow the PMSCs to regulate themselves which has allowed them to increasingly exploit legal loopholes, not just on land, but also in the maritime industry. Major oil corporations interested in asset protection at sea are a popular hit with UK PMSCs.

Back to Iraq

This isn't the first time War on Want have addressed PMSCs' activities in the region. In 2006, three years after the invasion of Iraq, the UK-based charity published a groundbreaking report on the role private mercenaries played in the occupation, political destabilization and human rights abuses in the country.

"At that time, with the companies operating in a complete legal vacuum, we made an urgent appeal for a ban on PMSCs in conflict zones, strict public scrutiny requirements and an end to the revolving door between senior defense and security officials and the industry," John Hilary said.

And after Iraq, British PMSCs really took off. Andy Bearpark, the Director General of the British Association of Private Security Companies, said:

"In Iraq in 2003 and 2004 money was basically free. That meant contracts were being let for ridiculous amounts of money  millions and millions of dollars of contracts being pumped into the industry. The industry exploded in terms of the volume of business on the back of Iraq."

'Supporting' the Oil & Gas Sector

Perhaps the biggest market for British PMSCs in Iraq is the provision of security for private corporations seeking to invest in the country  mainly the oil and gas industry, with the likes of BP, Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and others using private mercenary services.

Companies like Aegis Defence Services for instance, see Iraq as their largest area of business where they've been "operating in support of the oil and gas sector for over two years".

These services include "a full security service including Command, Control and Information, Mobile, and Static Security Services on major oilfields for international oil companies as well as oil service providers," as well as intelligence operations to draw up "personality profiles," examine "legal and regulatory obstacles" and look "into the very heart of the Iraqi political and commercial establishment," according to War on Want.

African Hotspots

Iraq, however, isn't the only country to witness a sharp increase in private mercenary activities  northern and western Africa has equally become a hotspot for British, as well as international PMSCs.
In a letter to International Development Secretary Justine Greening, the committee called on the UK government to withdraw opposition to an independent international investigation into Saudi military action in Yemen, saying it was "unthinkable" to trust a Saudi-led inquiry to be objective.

"It is a longstanding principle of the rule of law that inquiries should be independent of those being investigated. Furthermore given the severity of the allegations that the Saudi-backed coalition has targeted civilians in Yemen, it is really unthinkable that any investigation led by coalition actors would come to the conclusion that the allegations were accurate," committee chairman Stephen Twigg wrote.

The committee was critical of the governments claim that the Saudis had not breached humanitarian law as a result of its intervention, while MPs were scathing of the UKs decision to dramatically increase arms sales in recent times.

"We received evidence that close to 3bn worth of arms licences have been granted for exports to Saudi in the last six months. This includes 1bn worth of bombs rockets and missiles for the three-month period from July to September last year  up from only 9m in the previous three months," the MPs said.

"We need an independent, international fact-finding mission to uncover the truth. Until then we should cease selling arms to Saudi Arabia [] All parties to this conflict should review their obligations under international law and undertake to put civilians and humanitarian work above other interests."

'Very Significant' Intervention

The intervention from the International Development Select Committee follows similar concerns previously raised by members of the European Parliament and a leaked UN report, which stated that Saudi Arabia was in breach of humanitarian law in Yemen.

Andrew Smith, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) told Sputnik the committees involvement was "very significant", given that it involves criticism from David Camerons own MPs.

"I think this is very significant. Its clear that theres a growing opposition to the Saudi bombardment of Yemen, which is having a terrible humanitarian cost. I think the fact that politicians from all sides of the House of Commons have united on this message is a very good sign. Its also a sign that theres public opposition to it as well."

Mr Smith noted the UKs long history of supporting and arming Saudi governments, saying that he was hopeful it would bring about a change in wider national policy.

"This isnt just about stopping arms sales now, its about stopping arms sales going forward as well, ensuring that it doesnt lead onto business as usual."

"I think the government is likely  particularly in the short term  to use its usual line about how rigorous and robust its arms exports supposedly are, when nothing could be further from the truth. I think in the long term with the more pressure coming from the select committee, more pressure coming from NGOs, more pressure coming from the wider public, the more likely there is to be change."
It is worth noting who the sponsors of this 'profound' research are. Among the centers recent donors are:

 Lockheed Martin, an American global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technologies company and one of the major contractors to the US Army and Special Operations Forces;

 Raytheon, a major American defense contractor with a concentration on weapons and military and commercial electronics;

 The US Department of Defense;

 Sikorsky Aircraft, the US military aircraft manufacturer and leading defense contractor;

 Bell Helicopter, manufacturer of military aircraft;

 Textron Systems, aerospace and defense developer and manufacturer.

Interestingly enough, Raytheon has won Polands missile defense tender. The American maker of the Patriot missile will now supply its medium-range missile defense system to the country by 2017.
"We are deeply disappointed by the resignation of Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Aivaras Abromavicius, who has delivered real reform results for Ukraine, said a statement posted on the official website of the Swedish embassy in Kiev.

"It is important that Ukraine's leaders set aside their parochial differences, put the vested interests that have hindered the country's progress for decades squarely in the past, and press forward on vital reforms," the authors of the statement concluded.

The statement was signed by the ambassadors of the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Lithuania.

Earlier, the Ukraines Minister of Economy Aivarus Abromavicius announced his resignation, citing increased attempts at the political level to block vital reforms carried out by his agency.
Tremblay cited an article by Mehmet Cetingulec published in June 2015 , which detailed a parliamentary question tabled by a deputy from Turkeys main opposition party, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP).

Ali Ozgunduz asked Turkey's interior minister about allegations that certain militants had been brought to Turkey and given military training with the purpose of suppressing popular protests and opposition movements such as the Gezi Park protests in 2013.

"The media have recently reported that Jamal Maarouf, a Free Syrian Army leader who fought in Aleppo and had the complete support of the [Turkish] government, has crossed into Turkey together with most of his 14,000 armed elements. This lends credibility to the allegations," Ozgunduz said.

In addition to increased domestic activity, the MIT has expanded its foreign intelligence service, a move which mirrors that of other countries in the region such as Israel and Iran, Tremblay wrote.

"Would it be wise for Turkey not to invest in foreign intelligence gathering and analysis while its neighbors and allies are expanding their reach?" she asked.

MIT has increased its intelligence-gathering abroad without corresponding increases in Turkish foreign and defense ministry activity in many countries, particularly Iraq and Syria.

"As Turkey closes down certain embassies and pulls its diplomats from sensitive locations  in a sense, diminishing the global outreach of its Foreign Ministry  the MIT continues to develop networks and connections in these and other countries that do not have official or friendly relations with Turkey."


GENEVA (Sputnik)The Russian Aerospace Forces cannot be criticized for targeting terrorist positions in crisis-torn Syria, Syrian opposition figure Qadri Jamil said Wednesday.

"If Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam fully sever ties with Jabhat al-Nusra and guarantee to fight it as a terrorist organization, then they will not be the targets of bombings on all sides. That is why you cannot blame the Russian Aerospace Forces for the bombings, they are bombarding terrorists, Jabhat al-Nusra," Jamil told RIA Novosti.

Ahrar ash-Sham, a Sunni Islamist and Salafist coalition comprising up to 20,000 fighters, is said to be aligned with the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group. Jaysh al-Islam is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
"From a historical perspective, Toledo is a city of great importance. The city is famous for the fact that through its history, three cultures  Islamic, Christian and Jewish, managed to coexist on its territory. Toledo is an example of the mixing and convergence of cultures. It is also possible to cite the city as an example of a center of civilizational development, and of cultural tolerance."

"Considering what we see happening in Sur at the moment, it is especially strange to listen to the prime minister's statements," Turkeri noted.

Currently, Sur faces heavy fighting, with the military using heavy equipment and subjecting the district's Kurdish civilian residents to 24-hour curfews.

In one way, Turkeri lamented, comparing 15th century Toledo with 21st century Sur is appropriate. "During the Middle Ages, Toledo was the center of the Spanish Inquisition. Many of the city's Jews were burned in the inquisitorial bonfires. From this perspective, the harassment faced by the population of Jewish neighborhoods in 15th century Toledo is not unlike what the inhabitants of Sur are forced to go through today."

"According to the court of the Inquisition, too, Jews were forbidden to go into the streets of the city. But in Toledo's case we are talking about the end of the 15th century."

Unfortunately, the journalist suggested, the current Turkish government will not be able to save and rebuild Sur's historical and cultural heritage, and any comparisons to Spain's Toledo are inappropriate. "At the moment, in the course of military operations, Sur is facing the deliberate targeting and destruction of everything, including its historical heritage. What kind of reconstruction work in the near future the prime minister is talking about, I simply cannot fathom."
Alkaya explained that the petition contains a simple message  if the government is unable to fulfill its duty and save those people, it shouldnt prevent others from mounting a rescue effort.

"A man with a conscience cannot remain indifferent when he sees how injured people are being denied the most basic medical attention, and in so doing sentencing them to a painful death; how the bodies of the civilians killed during fighting can lie in the streets for weeks as people are unable to bury them. Only people completely devoid of compassion and conscience can look upon this impassively," he said.

Orhan Alkaya also remarked that hes not afraid of any consequences of backing the petition.

"One of the primary goals of a totalitarian dictatorship is to instill a sense of pathological fear among the populace, which is exactly what happens here. No, Im not afraid of the consequences of my actions, and why should I? A man has only one life and he can live it with honesty and dignity or not. This is a choice that each and every one of us has to make," he said.

Ankara continues to bombard the Kurdish town of Cizre in southeastern Turkey and has shown no indication that it intends to resolve the crisis peacefully. At least 19 injured people remain trapped in a dilapidated apartment building in the town. Meanwhile, the authorities appear unable or reluctant to provide medical aid to the survivors and to retrieve the remains of those who were killed during the siege.

The Turkish government has been stepping up its military operations in the mainly Kurdish areas located near Turkeys borders with Syria and Iraq since December. Erdogan has vowed to continue the military campaign until the area is cleansed of PKK militants.
"At the same time, the ball is in our court. It's as if America is telling Russia: 'if you agree, respond in kind; otherwise, prepare to make serious concessions." Asked what kinds of concessions Washington has in mind, Kremeniuk answered bluntly: "Guarantees from Moscow that it will renounce an active foreign policy. Moreover, the concessions, according to Washington, demand Crimea's return to Ukraine. As Russian officials have repeatedly said, such conditions are unacceptable to us."

For his part, Sergei Markov, the director of the Moscow-based Institute of Political Studies, emphasized that Secretary Carter's speech "indicates that the arms race will accelerate, but does not necessarily imply the use of weapons. As we see today, the main attacks against Russia are applied not on the battlefield, but using the instruments of hybrid warfare, including blows against the economy, finance, technology and information."

At the same time, the political scientist noted, "it's vital to understand that an arms race would benefit the American economy. The US military-industrial complex is very skilled at creating new technologies, and works to ensure the transfer of these technologies from the military industrial complex to the civilian economy. As a result, large investments in the US military-industrial complex are one of the most effective ways to stimulate economic growth."

"For Russia, this means increased military tension in northeast Europe. However, this is not a region facing a level of instability which could easily lead to an outbreak of military conflict. Consequently, tensions here, unpleasant as they may be, should not be taken as a serious threat. A much more dangerous situation presents itself on Russia's southwestern borders  in Ukraine, Moldova, and further south, in Georgia and the Caucasus. This is where efforts should be made to neutralize threats, including those from the United States."

For his part, Yuri Rogulev, the director of the Center for the Study of the USA at Moscow State University, suggested that it's highly likely that Secretary Carter's announcement was made for internal consumption, in view of the American election cycle.

Recalling the tried and true American political tradition of working to convince voters that the party in office is doing an adequate job protecting America against 'Russian aggression', the analyst noted that ultimately, "Carter needs to demonstrates that the Democrats have taken the initiative on military spending."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Schrems is an Austrian privacy activist who campaigns against privacy violations, including violations of European privacy laws, and alleged transfer of personal data to intelligence agencies such as the US National Security Agency.

"A couple of letters by the outgoing Obama administration is by no means a legal basis to guarantee the fundamental rights of 500 million European users in the long run, when there is explicit US law allowing mass surveillance," Schrems warned in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Schrems pointed out that the European Court in Luxembourg had clearly stated the United States had an obligation to ensure privacy protection by means of domestic law or international commitments, but statements about the new agreement issued so far remained vague about details.
Commenting on the implications of the visit, and the true significance of the Bavarian official's scuffles with federal politicians, Vladislav Belov, the head of the Center for German Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Europe, told Russia's Svobodnaya Pressa newspaper that the visit is simply an indication of German pragmatism.

"It's worth remembering that that Horst Seehofer is not only the Bavarian prime minister and the Chairman of the Christian Social Union, but a member of the ruling coalition which formed following the elections of 2013. There's such a thing as the CDU/SCU union, and Seehofer is the leader of one of the parties forming the German government. Therefore, Seehofer's visit is not just a visit by a Bavarian politician, but a visit from a representative of the coalition government, and should be seen as such."

At the same time, the analyst noted, Bavaria "has always had its own point of view  it's called the 'Free State of Bavaria' after all. It has its own traditions, its own position. Bavaria not only criticizes Chancellor Merkel, but is also looking for independent solutions to problems."

One of the largest problems facing the state at the moment, and arguably Seehofer's biggest area of disagreement with the federal government, is not Russia, but the refugee crisis. Here, Belov notes, "Bavaria has its own interpretation of the laws concerning refugees, and by law can restrict the flow of migrants and introduce border controls."

Furthermore, "Bavaria is one of the locomotives of the German economy. It is there that large companies such as BMW and Siemens are based. They are interested in the easing of sanctions in relation to Russia. As a representative of Bavarian business, Seehofer is naturally in favor of milder sanctions."

For its part, the analyst notes, "Moscow will probably try to use Seehofer's position to discuss the problems that exist in relations with Germany as a whole. Political contacts at the highest level between our two countries are frozen, and not on the initiative of Berlin, but that of Brussels. Nonetheless, working contacts remain, and have never stopped. Meetings between ministers continue."

"This," Belov suggests, "is the context in which Seehofer's visit must be seen, instead of presenting it as some sort of scandal. This is just a continuation of a working dialogue, which never stopped, despite sanctions and Berlin's rigid position."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Developing close relations with Russia remains a foreign policy priority for Iran, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said Wednesday.

"Our relationship is presently developing in all areas, and the current period can be characterized as one of the most important and effective. And the result will be seen for many years," Sanaei stated during a round-table discussion at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.

The lifting of sanctions against Iran has given new impetus to Iranian-Russian relations and "will become a new basis for their development," he stressed.
Commenting on the prime minister's remarks, Piotr Naimski, the undersecretary of state of the Polish chancellery charged with strategic energy infrastructure, noted that in 2022, the contract between Polish energy company PGNiG and Russian energy giant Gazprom for the supply of 10.2 billion cubic meters of gas per year will expire, and that a pipeline connecting Poland to the Norwegian shelf is an "obvious goal."

"In 2022, the contract with Gazprom will expire. This is a moment toward which we will be looking to diversify [gas] supplies," Naimski explained. At the moment, Russia supplies about 10.2 billion cubic meters to Poland, covering over 60% of Poland's 16 billion cubic meters-worth of consumption.

For her part, responding to Szydlo's comments, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg noted that "discussing common commercial interests is certainly exciting, as is the possibility of joint gas projects. However, in Norway, such decisions are not taken at the political level. This issue should be dealt with by commercial stakeholders, as was the case with the construction of the LNG terminal in Lithuania, where talks were held with Norwegian companies."

Over the past two years, Poland has attempted to take measures to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies, opening an LNG terminal in the northwestern city of Swinoujscie last year. However, as critics soon discovered, the Qatari gas to be supplied to Poland via its Swinoujscie terminal will be significantly more expensive than Russian supplies, and Warsaw may end up canceling the contract.

Commenting on Warsaw's plans for obtaining gas from the north, Sergei Pravosudov, the director of the Moscow-based National Energy Institute, told Russian newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa that effectively, Poland already has the opportunity to buy gas from Norway.
According to the media outlet, Saudi officials believe  and must convince Washington  that they have some leverage over Moscow: by cutting oil production Riyadh may possibly raise oil prices and thus save the day.

In light of this, it seems quite possible that Riyadh will make an attempt to use its oil price card in order to pressure Russia into stepping aside and abandoning the Syrian President.

However, the question arises whether Russia will swallow the bait.

"It would be a huge change, and to me, this is an unlikely scenario," Angela E. Stent, former US senior national intelligence officer who focused on Russia, told The New York Times, commenting on the issue.

At the same time, it is not in Riyadh's interests to reduce its oil production right now, experts argue:

"Cutting production is a gamble for Saudi Arabia. It will probably push the price of crude higher, but what if the price doesn't go as high as the Saudis need it to? The answer: Saudi Arabia loses some credibility as a market player and may not get what it wants out of the Russians," Shane Ferro and Michael B. Kelley of Business Insider emphasize.

They draw attention to the fact that even if Russia agreed to negotiate Riyadh's conditions, there is another Saudi Arabia's oil-extracting rival who does not show any signs of flexibility  Shiite Iran. By cutting its oil output Riyadh would play directly into Tehran's hands.

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs analysts insist that such a cut would be self-defeating for Saudi Arabia and OPEC, since it would ease pressure on non-OPEC shale oil producers.

"The past week featured headlines suggesting that OPEC producers and Russia would meet in February to discuss a potential coordinated cut in production. Despite the sharp bounce in oil prices that these headlines generated, we do not expect such a cut will occur unless global growth weakens sharply from current levels, which is not our economists' forecast. This view is anchored by our belief that such a cut would be self-defeating given the short-cycle of shale production and the only nascent non-OPEC supply response to OPEC's November 2014 decision to maximize long-term revenues," Goldman Sachs' new report reads.

While Mike Whitney views speculations regarding Saudi's ability to curtail the oil price slump as an attempt to blackmail Russia, it is clear to him that Riyadh does not really possess any leverage over Moscow.

Saudi Arabia is apparently bluffing, but either way it is unlikely that Moscow will buy into it.
"Turkish media is now under severe pressure from the authorities, with the agenda shaped by the government. Mr. Arinc's statements were actually very multifaceted, and covered a number of acute problems facing Turkish society today. Each of these issues needs to be considered separately."

"Today," Gunay noted, "everyone seems to have forgotten that just last year, while he was in office [as deputy prime minister], Arinc raised questions about the Consensus at Dolmabahce. Why, at that time, did it not cause such a commotion within the cabinet of ministers, and from the president?"

"Some wondered why [Arinc] felt the need to talk about these issues right now. I personally believe that there is a serious need to do so. In a situation where Turkey essentially faces a quiet form of martial law, they can and should be discussed. Look at what is happening in the country. Every day, we hear of new trials and proceedings. Journalists are being arrested for reporting on events; judges are arrested for their decisions, and prosecutors for doing their job."

"How can one talk about the formation of a healthy, free society, and the establishment of a modern constitution, if the country doesn't have a free press?", the former official complained.

"In an environment where those who express views which different from the political mainstream are declared criminals and traitors, it is impossible to create a Basic Law, based on mutual respect for all members of society, the desire for dialogue and problem solving by peaceful means. To do this, it would first be necessary to prepare the ground for a free, civilized atmosphere for dialogue in society," Gunay emphasized.
Furthermore, Hof and his associates believe that Bashar al-Assad is "the single greatest obstacle to a united front against Islamic State [ Daesh ]," Giraldi notes.

According to the retired CIA officer, the antagonism toward Damascus could be rooted in the US neoconservative pro-Israel agenda. American neocons, supported by Tel-Aviv, have long been seeking to subvert the Syrian regime.

Remarkably, although Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians is usually cited as a justification for armed intervention, these incidents increasingly look as if they were fabricated for political purposes.

Giraldi refers to the fact that independent observers claim the 2013 Ghouta attack was a staged "false flag" operation carried out by Syrian rebels aided by the Turkish intelligence service.

In April 2014 Pulitzer-prize winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the Turkish government was behind the infamous sarin attacks blamed on Bashar al-Assad.

In October 2015, Turkish Republican People's Party CHP deputies, Eren Erdem and Ali Seker, told journalists that despite all evidence, an investigation into Turkey's involvement in the procurement of sarin gas was derailed by Ankara.

"Wiretapped phone conversations reveal the process of procuring the gas at specific addresses as well as the process of procuring the rockets that would fire the capsules containing the toxic gas. However, despite such solid evidence there has been no arrest in the case. Thirteen individuals were arrested during the first stage of the investigation but were later released, refuting government claims that it is fighting terrorism," the parliamentarians said as cited by Todays Zaman.
GENEVA (Sputnik)  Earlier on Wednesday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura decided to postpone the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva until February 25, as many preparatory issues, including humanitarian aid access to besieged areas in Syria, remained unresolved.

"Unless there is the improvement of humanitarian conditions in accordance with the UN resolution 2254, we are not talking about our participation [in the new series of the talks scheduled for February 25]," Mohamed Alloush, a representative of Jaish al-Islam said.

The head of the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee, Riyad Hijab, said on Wednesday that the Riyadh-formed delegation at intra-Syrian talks in Geneva would leave the negotiations on February 4 and would not return until there is "progress on the ground" in Syria.
Rather than the primary focus being on Syria and Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the threat posed by Daesh in Libya, where a NATO bombing campaign had overthrown the government of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Becker is joined by journalist and political analyst, Hafsa Kara to talk about what led to the growth of Islamic State in Libya, especially in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the role of Democratic frontrunner Hilary Clinton in the overthrow of the government, and what the U.S had in mind when it decided to conduct a regime change operation there.

In the second segment, Becker talks to Robert McCaw from the Center on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) about President Obama's first ever visit to a U.S. mosque today in Baltimore. Despite the appeals of many Muslim American organizations to Obama to visit a mosque for several years now, we ask why it is only now in the final year of his administration that Obama has made the decision to visit an Islamic place of worship.

Finally, the the U.S. announces a major escalation against Russia in its new military budget for central and eastern Europe. Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Security explains his organization's opposition to the massive growth of both the U.S military and NATO expansion.
Despite the persistent economic woes, Russia's agriculture seems to "be rebounding briskly", Weir said, attributing the growth to a comprehensive program of subsidies aimed at promoting private farming.

The program was introduced in 2012 and includes "low-cost loans, controlled prices for fertilizers, support for producers of domestic farm machinery, and state financing for other vital elements of agricultural infrastructure", according to Weir.

He said that all this "clearly had an impact" and that Russia, which previously was one of the largest importers of chicken and pork from North America, became a net exporter of pork for the first time in history in 2015.

"Russian agricultural exports were [worth] 20 billion dollars last year, more than the country's arms sales, and are expected to grow this year," Weir said.

Separately, he pointed to the sanctions adding to the revival of traditional Russian cuisine and the favorable environment for Russian producers of "old ingredients like beets, cabbage, buckwheat, tvorog (Russian-style cottage cheese), and kefir (a yogurt drink)."

In addition, Weir mentioned his interview with Soviet military officer-turned- businessman Andrei Davidov, who currently runs his own cattle farm in the nearby city of Kaluga in central Russia. According to Weir, Davidov "now has about 150 Hereford cattle at his cattle, which he butchers himself, and he makes a comfortable living supplying a supermarket chain and a couple of restaurants" in Kaluga.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  It is erroneous to seek "behind-the-scenes" motives in the Kremlin alarm over the alleged rape case of a Russian-speaking teenage girl in Berlin, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

The 13-year-old girl has been reportedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted in the German capital by a group of immigrants. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope on January 26 that Germany's migration problems would not lead to an attempt to cover up what was really happening for some internal political reason.

"It is precisely this fact that explains such attention and it would be absolutely wrong to seek here some behind-the-scenes plans," Peskov told reporters, commenting on Berlins accusations against Moscow of exploiting the alleged sexual attack for propaganda purposes.
"They [Russian lawmakers] already sanctioned me. I believe it is a badge of honor," he said on Tuesday, adding that he believed more Russian citizens should be added to the US sanction list.

"I think it is important that we keep sending that messagethat if you continue to misbehave, we will continue to impose sanctions," McCain said.

The Magnitsky Act allows the US Treasury to apply sanctions on Russian citizens alleged to be responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, while he was in pre-trial detention in Moscow. Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who alleged corruption at the highest levels of the Kremlin, died of heart failure while in custody in 2008.

The US list of sanctioned Russian citizens includes 39 individuals.

On the issue of broader economic sanctions against the Russian people, McCain indicated that a number of European nations are looking for a way to end the economic penalties.

"I think there is clearly a lot of conversation amongst the Europeans about lifting the sanctionsThere are many countries that are looking for the exit sign," he said. "I have been hearing it for months, that there is enormous pressure in a lot of countries, particularly Germany, to lift the sanctions."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  After a heavily redacted section on "a couple of thoughts" on a memo, Kerry references former Indian Prime Minister Manomhan Singhs visit to Afghanistan as a "very significant event."

"Class: SECRET Reason: 1.4(B), 1.4(D)  Declassify on: 05/27/2036," reads the header of Kerrys email to Clinton dated May 19, 2011, and released by the State Department on January 29.

The closing part of the email reads "Sent from my iPad."


MOSCOW (Sputnik)In January 2010, the Citizens United ruling by the US Supreme Court abolished a ban on corporate campaign spending, allowing corporate entities and labor unions to spend money on candidates' campaigns for federal office. Only the ban on direct payments to candidates has been retained.

"The erroneous ruling gives legal bribery a chance to prevail because almost all the candidates whether they are honest or not, and whether they are Democratic or Republican, depend on these massive infusions of money from very rich people in order to have money to campaign," Carter said in an interview on BBC Radio 4.

While some candidates, like current Republican forerunner Donald Trump, can spend their own money on campaigns, others require up to $100-200 million just to get a nomination from the Republican or Democratic parties, Carter said.
Notwithstanding many commonalities between Moscow and Beijing, however, there are reasons to believe that the current status of the ChinaRussia relationship will remain an axis of convenience, two American national security experts have concluded in their article for The National Interest magazine.

This representation acknowledges that while both Putin and Xi have developed a stronger connection, which now recognizes each others core interests, it nonetheless fails to raise the relationship to one of alliance status, the authors further state.

The authors unconvincingly assert that China and Russia share little in the way of a future vision, but rather their relationship is built upon achieving their own individual aims.
To date, there has been no known vaccine against the Zika virus, which is thought to pose the greatest risk to fetuses as it is suspected of causing severe brain damage in newborns known, as microcephaly.

The company, located in Hyderabad, has developed two vaccines against the virus as part of the Make in India program. Trials on animals and humans are yet to be conducted, Ella said, adding that the company has already turned to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for help.

The ICMR is set to examine the vaccine and determine the feasibility of further research, the council's Director General Soumya Swaminathan said, according to the report.

The Zika outbreak started in Brazil in spring 2015. It has since spread across Latin America, allegedly causing several deaths. The first case of the Zika virus in Europe was confirmed in Denmark in January, followed by Sweden and Germany.


MUSCAT (Sputnik)Russia is prepared to take part in a meeting with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and oil producing states outside the cartel, should such talks take place, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"If at any moment consensus is achieved among all oil producing countries on the necessity of the meeting, we will, of course, be prepared to take part," Lavrov told reporters during a visit to Oman.

It is unlikely that anyone understands the current state of the energy market, Lavrov said, stressing the importance of monitoring the unfolding situation and exchanging opinions. Russia is engaged in these activities alongside both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, he added.


TUNIS (Sputnik)The number of Russian tourists who visited Tunisia in 2015 fell nearly fivefold from the previous year, after a number of terrorist attacks in the North African country, Russia's envoy to Tunis, Sergei Nikolaev, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"The number of Russian tourists in Tunisia decreased from 250,000 in 2014 to 53,000 in 2015, that is a terrible drop," Nikolaev said, stressing that safety is a priority for Russian tourists.

Tunisia's Ambassador to Russia Ali Goutali said in mid-January that the terrorist acts "significantly" tarnished the country's tourism sector, contributing to a 1.8-percent drop in its 2015 year-on-year economic growth.
AUL Represents State Legislators in Historic Supreme Court Case, Fights to Protect Health and Safety Standards for Women Vulnerable to Abortion Industry Abuses

"At every turn, the abortion industry fights health and safety standards that offer real protection to women, going to court to keep profits high and standards low," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest



Contact: Kristi Hamrick, 202-289-1478, press@aul.org



WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Americans United for Life, the nation's leading advocate of protecting women's health through commonsense legislation, filed an amicus curie (friend of the court) brief today, along with co-counsel the Bioethics Defense Fund, in the most significant abortion case before the Supreme Court in decades, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, formerly known as Whole Woman's Health v. Cole. On the brief, AUL represents legislators from across the nation and demonstrates to the Court that state efforts to protect women through reasonable health and safety standards must be upheld for reasons of common sense and medical reality. "At every turn, the abortion industry fights health and safety standards that offer real protection to women, going to court to keep profits high and standards low and ignoring the severe medical risks to women exposed to the reality of abortion in America," said AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. "AUL's legal team is proud to stand with men and women from across the country  more than 460 Republicans and Democrats  who are working to protect life in law in their states."



"This historical case provides an important opportunity for the Supreme Court to affirm its support of laws that protect women's health," Dr. Yoest noted. "After more than four decades of the abortion industry's recalcitrant opposition to meaningful oversight, the Supreme Court must unequivocally affirm that it meant what it has said as far back as Roe: States may regulate abortion to protect a mother's health."



The case, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, involves Texas House Bill 2, a measure enacted in 2013 with a number of life-affirming provisions. Placing profit above women's health, abortion providers challenged provisions requiring them to meet the same health and safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), as well as to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. In June 2015, the Fifth Circuit upheld the provisions, and abortion providers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in their continued effort to avoid compliance with the commonsense requirements.



AUL has been active in this case since its inception. In addition to providing expert consultation on the constitutionality of HB 2 before and after it was enacted, AUL filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Texas Legislators.



AUL's current brief, (available on our website later today), was filed on behalf of more than 460 public officeholders from states with provisions similar to the Texas health and safety standards. The brief demonstrates that the Supreme Court has promised "wide discretion" to state lawmakers in the regulation of abortion and gives significant deference to legislative determinations as to the medical necessity for enacting health and safety regulations. Here, both the legislative record and the evidence before the trial court confirm that the State of Texas acted in the best interest of women, and the Supreme Court must uphold HB 2.



For more on the health risks of abortion for women, click here.



Americans United for Life (AUL) is the legal architect of the pro-life movement. We are accumulating victories, building momentum, and advancing a culture of life in America. Our vision is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. The first national pro-life organization in America, AUL has been committed to defending human life since 1971.
Er is iets heel griezeligs aan de gang in Nederland. Dat wij geleidelijk aan in een totalitaire 'democratie' wegzinken wordt steeds ...
February 3, 2016 John Miley Greetings. In this issue: Flat sales of PCs spell bargains for buyers. The market for semiconductors. Superfast home Internet service. What to make of Apple stock? A Good Time to Buy a PC With sales of personal computers largely flat this year amid slack demand and the shift to a variety of mobile devices, buyers will be in the driver's seat, with an abundance of high-quality new computer models to choose from. Businesses looking to upgrade PCs in coming months should find plenty of bargains. More firms will consider 2-in-1s, where touch screens detach from the laptop keyboard to turn into a tablet. Powerful productivity apps in the works will make work chores simpler on touch screens. Tablets designed for professionals, including Apple's iPad Pro and Microsoft's Surface, will grow more popular with businesses. Over the next few years, touch screens will move from a cool feature to a must-have for many businesses. "It's like the scene in Indiana Jones: You must choose, but choose wisely,'" says Rhoda Alexander, director of broadband media at IHS. Those with money to spend will find a slew of top-notch laptops, 2-in-1s and all-in-one desktops, with new features such as enhanced security, biometrics and better-looking displays. Many of the latest PCs come with Intel's new chip design Skylake, which improves performance and enables thinner designs. Most folks are due for an upgrade because the average PC is ancient by historical standards; many are more than five years old. Alexander notes that standout premium models include Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga, HP's Spectre x360 and Dell's XPS 13. (Continued below.) Advertisement: Safe Ways to Double or Triple Your Cash Yield  Let Kiplinger's Jeff Kosnett show you how to generate as much as 5%, 6%, even 7% a year right now.



This 1-hour webinar is only $29.99. Don't miss out on the practical, proven techniques to boost your spendable investment income! In the sluggish marketplace, desktops and laptops will take the biggest hit, hurting top makers Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus and Acer. Still, sales this year will shape up to be a lot better than the 10% decline suffered in 2015. "I think parts of the PC market are starting to stabilize," says Ian Ing, a semiconductor analyst at MKM Partners. Ing notes demand picking up in North America for new models. Other bright spots include surging sales of PC tablets, such as Microsoft Surface, and Apple seeing its computer sales on the rise. The Outlook for Chips The semiconductor industry will barely eke out a small sales gain this year. Global sales hit $333.7 billion last year, according to Gartner, and they'll tick up just 1%-2% in 2016. The outlook for semiconductor sales will move in tandem with global growth throughout the year (so an upgrade or downgrade in global GDP will be reflected in chip sales). Chip makers are crossing their fingers that a new product will jump-start growth, but they'll be out of luck in the near-term. All the likely candidates  virtual reality headsets, wearables and other connected gizmos  just don't have enough oomph to make up for the loss in traditional categories such as PCs. (Here's a list of the top chip sellers.) All eyes will be on mobile phones, which make up a big slice of chip sales. Mobile chip makers profiting from smartphone sales include Qualcomm, ARM and Samsung. Intel, still struggling with mobile, is working feverishly behind the scenes to win a contract with Apple for cell modems. Mobile phone shipments worldwide are expected to see paltry growth of just under 3% for 2016, according to Gartner. But growth could be worse if China's growth slows much further or new phones don't catch on quickly. A key to growth for mobile chips: The success of new iPhones and Samsung Galaxys. Technology in the Pipeline The future remains bright for chip technology as the industry pours money into research. Spending on global semiconductor research and development was a whopping $56 billion in 2015, according to the market research firm IC Insights. The investment was led by Intel's $12 billion, followed by Qualcomm, Samsung and Broadcom; each spent more than $2 billion. Among the promising advances: A new memory chip from Intel and Micron that harnesses a breakthrough design and will be used in data centers. Prototype chip designs that will pack billions more transistors on each chip. New chips designed for artificial intelligence. And a bigger push by chip makers and software companies into quantum computing. Better times will return in 2017 for the electronics industry. PC sales will likely see stronger growth in 2017, aided by companies upgrading to Windows 10 and buying new computer fleets. Semiconductor sales will benefit from the stronger PC market, as well as from growing sales in areas such as autos and data centers. Longer term, a number of promising trends figure to lift the market, including the rollout of next-generation 5G wireless networks, a bigger push to cloud computing and swifter adoption of technology for the Internet of Things. The electronics industry, including companies that make chips, computers and mobile phones, could hit pay dirt with a number of breakout products in the next three to five years. A New Competitor for Home Internet? A new start-up plans to deliver superfast home Internet via wireless technology. The company, Starry, wants to compete with dominant home broadband providers by eliminating costly wiring to homes or apartments and passing on the savings to consumers. The service will use special antennas attached to outside walls that collect Starry's wireless broadcast. Questions linger on the effectiveness of Starry's proprietary technology and how much it will cost. But there's no doubting the potential of high-speed broadband using a section of airwaves  called millimeter wave  that Starry plans to use. That particular spectrum has huge bandwidth capacity over short distances and will play a big role in upcoming 5G networks. More companies will launch similar wireless tech, but federal regulations stand in the way. "We're definitely at the point where firms can start deploying the technology," says Gus Hurwitz, assistant professor of law at the University of Nebraska College of Law, who closely follows the issue. "The Federal Communications Commission is the only thing holding back millimeter wave fixed wireless today." Starry has been in touch with the FCC, but it's likely regulators won't be quick to cut red tape, even though European and Asian countries are moving quickly to use the airwaves for 5G. Hurwitz notes that the most exciting impact, once the tech is unleashed, could be in hard-to-reach rural areas. Tech Tidbits Four companies in the tech & telecom arena made Kiplinger's list of "Solid Stocks for a Shaky Economy." During economic downdrafts or broad stock market declines, Alphabet, American Tower and Oracle "should be more stable and suffer less collateral damage than weaker rivals."

During economic downdrafts or broad stock market declines, Alphabet, American Tower and Oracle "should be more stable and suffer less collateral damage than weaker rivals." Curious about what to make of Apple stock? My colleague Daren Fonda, associate editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, takes a look, making the case that "Apple's Stock Is Becoming Too Cheap to Ignore." From the article: "Few stocks are as confounding as Apple. The world's most valuable company  worth $521.7 billion  is hauling in some $50 billion in revenues every three months. It sits on $216 billion in cash and securities. And it earned a record $18.4 billion in the three-month period that ended December 26, 2015. No other company comes close to numbers that titanic. Yet Apple's gargantuan size may be its greatest obstacle." Sincerely,



John Miley

jmiley@kiplinger.com

@johntmiley View the archive of past Alerts issues Copyright  2016, The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

1100 13th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005
One after-effect of the 2014 50-Day War between Hamas and Israel was an Israeli government promise to develop and add additional detection capabilities to the existing security fence around Gaza. This was mainly to detect new cross border tunnels Hamas was certain to build after war. Israel has known of Hamas use of tunnels since 2004. Until 2009 most of the tunnels were for smuggling people and goods from Egypt to Gaza. But in 2014 Israel became aware that Hamas was building many more tunnels into Israel as part of a major terror and kidnapping operation. During the 50 Day War Israel found and destroyed dozens of tunnels before leaving. In order to calm down the thousands of Israelis living near the Gaza border Israel promised to make additions to the Gaza security fence to prevent (or greatly reduce the possibility of) any future Hamas tunnels into Israel. Work has not yet begun on the anti-tunnel features, in part because it was soon discovered that this effort would cost about $700 million. The Defense Ministry kept telling those living or working near the Gaza border that the project was delayed because of more urgent defense needs. But recently local civilians reported (and recorded) the sound of tunneling under building near the Gaza border and demanded action. The media jumped all over this but so far the military says it has investigated each report and so far has found no tunnels. So far this year Hamas has admitted losing at least nine of its men in tunnel construction accidents.

To further increase anxiety along the Gaza border there is a new tunnel warfare course the army is giving to troops. This is justified by the extent to which anti-Israel Islamic terror groups have adopted the use of tunnels to get into Israel and shelter their forces when attacked by Israel. Thus the Israeli Army is now giving all their combat troops training in detecting, destroying and fighting in tunnels. To facilitate the training of over 100,000 active duty and reserve troops the army is spending several million dollars to build ten tunnel training facilities. In addition to realistic sections of tunnel, where troops can also use their weapons, there is also a highly detailed computer simulator for planning and carrying out a combat operation against an enemy tunnel.

All this tunnel anxiety began in 2014 when Israel made it clear that one of the primary objectives of the 50 Day War with Hamas was to find and destroy all the tunnels Hamas had dug into Israel over the previous few years. This could only be accomplished if Israeli troops were inside Gaza and able to search for the places where the tunnels start. Over the years Hamas has learned how to dig tunnels that were virtually undetectable on the Israeli side. This meant going deep enough to avoid detection by ground penetrating radar or acoustic sensors. This makes it more expensive and time consuming to build tunnels but Hamas diverted much foreign aid (cash and building materials) to the tunnel effort and continues to do so.

Before the ground invasion Israel had been searching for the Hamas tunnels but had only found four of them after two years of searching. In early 2014 Israeli troops found one that was 1,800 meters long and extended 300 meters into Israel. Hamas dismissed this find as a tunnel that had been abandoned because of a partial collapse. But the Israelis said the tunnel had been worked on recently and equipment, like generators, was found in it. The tunnel was lined with reinforcing concrete and was 9-20 meters (30-63 feet) underground. Three of these tunnels were near the town of Khan Younis and apparently part of a plan to kidnap Israelis for use in trades (for prisoner or whatever) with Israel. Israeli intelligence knew Hamas leaders were discussing a much larger tunnel program, involving dozens of tunnels. Most tunnels had no exits in Israel and those were created just before the terrorists were to use them for a nighttime raid into Israel to kill and kidnap. Available tunnel monitoring equipment was slow and often ineffective if there was no one actively working on the tunnel below or if there was no exit (yet) on the Israeli side. Hamas had been building and stockpiling these tunnels for at least two years and most of the completed ones could only be detected inside Gaza, where their entrances were. These were also hidden, at least from aerial observation. Israeli intelligence had discovered some of these entrances by detecting the Hamas activity around the entrances (entering and leaving, removing dirt). Hamas tried to hide this activity and Israel knew this meant they probably succeeded in some cases. Thus before the Israeli troops went into Gaza recently, commanders had lots of information of where to look. Israeli combat engineers had been trained to destroy the tunnels, which was not easy because Hamas had booby-trapped some of them. Israel suspected there were over fifty of these tunnels and troops remained inside Gaza during August 2014 until all of the tunnels into Israel were found. This effort also included collecting information on how they are built and how they could be detected from the ground or air. If Israel knows where a tunnel is, before they destroy it they can run some tests with their sensors and that knowledge will make it more difficult for Hamas to build new tunnels. Israel eventually found 31 tunnels from Gaza to Israel and improved their detection capabilities.

Since the war ended in August 2014 Hamas has gone back to building more tunnels. Hezbollah in Lebanon was inspired by the Hamas use of tunnels and is now digging them under the Lebanese border into Israel. So Israel is taking the threat seriously and training most combat troops to deal with it is part of the response.
LABELLE, FL. -- A young male was an apparent murder victim at the Port LaBelle Inn this morning, presumably from a handgun bullet. On scene ...
Brief of the Case

Authority for Advance Rulings held In the case of Dow AgroSciences Agricultural Products Ltd, Mauritius that the Article 13 of the Indo-Mauritius DTAA which deals with the taxation of capital gains is not applicable in the present case. The reason is that the applicant does not have a PE in India. There is no material on record brought forth by the Revenue that the applicant has a PE in India. It was suggested that the presence of DAS India itself should be taken to be PE. We do not think that such a broad proposition can be pressed in service for the finding that the applicant has PE in India. No material has been brought before us to that effect. Hence there would be no question of any taxation of Indian Law on the capital gains arising from the proposed transfer of shares of DAS India by the applicant to the DAS Singapore.

Facts of the Case

The applicant is a company incorporated in Mauritius and it is a part of Dow group of companies. Dow Agrosciences India Private Limited (DAS India), a company incorporated in India, is a part of Dow Group and is engaged in manufacturing and trading of pesticides and insecticides. The Applicant had acquired 61,836,990 shares of Rs 10 each in DAS India for an amount of Rs. 618, 369, 900, during the period sep.1995 to January, 2005. The applicant proposes to transfer these shares in favour of a Dow Group Entity Singapore. This transfer is pleaded with an objective of the group re-organization.

DAS Mauritius proposes to contribute shares held in Dow India as its capital in DAS Singapore. By virtue of this, DAS India would become 100% subsidiary of DAS Singapore. The Applicant also state that it does not have an office, or employee or agents in India and hence no permanent establishment in India as per Article 5 of the India Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. It is reiterated by the applicant that it is not required to maintain any books of accounts in India as prescribed in Section 211 of the Companies Act, 1956 and further it is not required to comply with the propositions of Section 594 of theCompanies Act, 1956 relating to companies incorporated outside India provisions and establishing of places of business in India.

The applicant raised the followings questions  Whether investment held by applicant in DAS India would be considered as capital asset under Sec.2 (14), Whether capital gains arising from the proposed transfer of shares of DAS India by the Applicant to DAS Singapore would be subject to tax in India, whether the gains arising to the Applicant from the proposed transfer of equity shares of DAS India will be taxable in India in the absence of a Permanent Establishment of the Applicant in India and in light of the provisions of Article 7 read with Article 5 of the India Mauritius DTAA, whether the Applicant would be liable to pay minimum alternate tax under the provisions of section 115JB, Whether if the proposed transfer of shares by the Applicant to DAS Singapore is not taxable, whether the provisions of section 92 to section 92F of the Act relating to transfer pricing would still be applicable, whether the sale consideration receivable by the Applicant should suffer any withholding tax as per section 195 and whether if the proposed transfer of shares of DAS India is not taxable in India, whether the Applicant is required to file any return of income under section 139.

Submission of Applicant

As regards the first question, the applicant pleads that its investment in DAS India as a capital asset. In support of this proposition, the applicant relies on Instruction No. 181-1-89-IT (AI)dated 31.8.1989 or Instruction No.1827 and Supplementary Circular No.4/2007 dated 15.6.2007 issued by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). It is reiterated that considering the accounting test and intention test as also quantum test and further relying on G.Venkata Swami Naidu and Company vs. CIT [1959] (35 ITR 594)(SC) as also Raja Bahadur Kamakhya Narain Singh vs. CIT [1970] (77 ITR 253) (SC) as also the Ruling of this Authority in Praxair Pacific Ltd. AAR 855 of 2009. The equity shares held by it in DAS India should be considered as capital asset and not stock in trade.

As regards the 2nd question it is suggested that capital gains earned by the applicant would not be liable to tax in India by virtue of Article 34 of India- Mauritius DTAA read with section 90(2) of the Act since the assessee is a tax resident of Mauritius. In its submissions, the applicant has referred to the provisions of section 9(1)(i), as also the provisions of DTAA between India and Mauritius and more particularly Article 13(4). It is also pointed out on the basis of reported decisions in : (1) UOI vs. Azadi Bachao Andolan 2003 263 ITR 706 (SC) and (2) CIT vs. Paul Kulangal Chettiyar 2004 267 ITR 654 (SC) that where the provisions of DTAA are more beneficial the applicant could be able to avail of the same. The applicant also pleads that the CBDT Circulars are binding on the Revenue Authorities and as per the case law referred to above and some other decisions by the Delhi ITAT, there would be no liability for the capital gains.

The applicant has also relied upon the quoted decision of Azadi Bachao Andolan [2003] 263 ITR 706 wherein the Honble Supreme Court declared that treaty shopping is not taboo. The applicant has also relied on the decision of AAR in ETrade Mauritius Limited (324 ITR 1) which also reiterates the principles of treaty shopping. The other decisions relied upon by the applicant are M/s. Sanofi Pasteur Holding SA (354 ITR 316), Castleton Investment Ltd. (AAR No.999 of 2010) (252 CTR 131), Deere & Co. (337 ITR 277), Ardex Investments Mauritius Limited (AAR) (340 ITR 272), Armstrong World Industries Mauritius Multiconsult Limited (AAR) (349 ITR 303). In Ardex Investments Mauritius Limited it is clearly mentioned that mere investment through a Mauritian company cannot be viewed or characterized as objectionable treaty shopping, when investments have been held for a period 10 years and the arrangement has not come all of a sudden. If setting-up Mauritius Company is with an eye on the DTAA, it by itself will not make it a tax avoidance arrangement.

Submission of Department

The Revenue contended that the applicant is a shell company in Mauritius. It is then contended by the Revenue that nothing has been brought on record to suggest in support of the applicants plea that it does not have a PE in India. The Revenue then pleads about there has been a scheme to avoid the payment of income-tax in India. A reference then is made to the observations of the Honble Supreme Court in Azadi Bachao Andolan case and Vodafone International Holdings BV case. It is again reiterated that the whole scheme of the transfer of shares in favour of Singapore, amounted to a scheme to avoid payment of taxes.

Held by AARs

The AAR held that this is a transaction which began almost 20 years back, could not have been a scheme to avoid the payment of taxes. The shares were acquired 20 years or as the case may be 18 years, 14 years and 10 years back. For a substantial cost of about Rs.61 crores and if they are sought to be now transferred to a Singapore concern which is the own subsidiary of the applicant, it cannot amount to a design or a scheme to avoid payment of taxes in India. The investment made in the DAS India was with the prior approval of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). The subsequent investment also were with the approval of RBI and hence it cannot be said the shares were acquired with a view to sell in future through the Mauritian company and thus to avoid the taxes on possible capital gains.

Further Singapore is one of the upcoming countries in Asia-Pacific region in the opinion of the applicant and therefore, the Dow group contemplated to shift the share holding of DAS India from Mauritius to Singapore. All this exercise is also more than 5 years old from the date of the last acquisition of the shares. Thus, it cannot be said that the proposed transfer of shares was amounting to a scheme to avoid payment of taxes in India. It was clearly for the business considerations. We, therefore, reject the contention of the Revenue that this amounting to a scheme to avoid payment of taxes in India.

As regards the contention raised by the Revenue that the applicant has a PE in India, the applicant has produced a Tax Residency Certificate and also a declaration in the AAR application itself that it has no PE. Nothing has been brought by the Revenue that there is a PE in India. We therefore, do not hold that the applicant has a PE in India in the absence of any inputs which could have been provided by the Revenue. We accept the reiteration by the applicant that the applicant does not have an office or employees or agents in India and has also made declaration to this effect. The applicant has also reiterated that unless it has a PE in India, profits arising to applicant from the sale of equity shares of DAS India would not be liable to tax in India particularly because of DTAA between India and Mauritius.

We do not accept the contention of the department that DAS India has not declared and distributed dividends since 2004 and therefore, to the extent of accumulated profits, sale proceeds should have to be assessed in India. We ignore this contention as it is not relevant. Considering the other factors like investment function made 20 years back etc., we are of the clear opinion that there is no scheme for the tax avoidance. We also do not accept the contention of the Revenue that it is a colorable device.

Capital Asset

In their application and during the debate the applicant has pointed out that these shares could not be held to be stock in trade. It is pointed out that in so far the intention test is concerned; the objection was not to trade the shares which the applicant had in DAS India. It is also pointed out that the acquisition is from 1994and obviously the intention was to hold these shares as investment. It is also pointed out that there has been no transaction in relation to the sale of these shares and the proposed transaction is the only transaction. Considering the whole long subject, we are of the opinion that these shares have to be held as capital asset.

Capital gain taxability in India

As per the provision of Article 13 of the Indo-Mauritius DTAA which deals with the taxation of capital gains arising to the resident of contracting state would suggest that clause 1 and 3 are not applicable in the present case. Considering the nature of the assets (equity shares in an Indian Company) being transferred, even clause 2 will not be applicable for the simple reason that the applicant does not have a PE in India. There is no material on record brought forth by the Revenue that the applicant has a PE in India. It was haltingly suggested that the presence of DAS India itself should be taken to be PE. We do not think that such a broad proposition can be pressed in service for the finding that the applicant has PE in India. No material has been brought before us to that effect.

Further, the applicant has already pointed out that the applicant company is 100% subsidiary of the parent company and DAS Singapore has been incorporated 100% subsidiary of the appellant and this has been done to achieve the objective of proposed restructuring. The applicant proposes to contribute shares in DAS India as its capital in DAS Singapore. However, the shares of DAS India are held by the applicant and after the proposed transfer they will be held by DAS Singapore in its own capacity and as a representative of DAS LLC. The applicant, therefore, plead that DAS LLC cannot be regarded as a beneficiary of transfer of shares.

We have taken a view that such company which is a Mauritian company would be fully entitled to the benefit of Article 13(4) in our Ruling dated 10.10.2015 in AAR No.995 of 2010 in the case of JSH Mauritius Ltd. The factual circumstances were almost extremely similar if not identical. There also it was a Mauritian company which was gaining by the transfer of shares of the Indian company. There would be no question of any taxation of Indian Law on the capital gains arising from the proposed transfer of shares of DAS India by the applicant to the DAS Singapore.

Application of Sec.115JB

This question of applicability of section 115JB had arisen earlier before this Authority in case of Castleton Investment Ltd. AAR No 999 of 2010 where this Authority had held that the sub-section applies to all the foreign companies/firms. However, that judgment was appealed against before the Honble Supreme Court by way of Civil Appeal No.445 of 2013. The said appeal is stated to have been disposed of by the Honble Apex Court by its Order dated 30.9.2015 in favour of the appellant therein on the basis of a statement made before the Honble Court to the effect that government did not press to apply section 115JB to FII and FPIs for the period prior to 1.4.2015. It was pointed out that a Circular dated 2.9.2015 was issued by Govt. of India and the same was filed before the Honble Supreme Court and a statement was made by the Attorney General for India that the said Circular would be followed. The said Circular clearly mentions that the FIIs/FPIs having no PE/place of business in India would not be covered by section 115JB. In fact, a press release dated 24.9.2015 was also pressed in service. In the press release, it was clarified that with effect from 1.4.2015, the provisions of section 115JB would not be applicable to foreign company if the foreign company is a resident of a country having DTAA with India and such foreign company does not have a PE within the definition of the term in relevant DTAA or to the foreign company which is a resident of a country which does not have a DTAA with India and such foreign company is not required to seek registration under section 592 of the Companies Act, 1956 or section 380 of the Companies Act, 1956. It is clear that the present applicant is clearly covered as it is a company in Mauritius, which country has DTAA or as the case may be DTAC with India. Again we have already given a finding that the applicant does not have a PE in India. As such we answer this question in favour of the applicant holding that there will be no applicability of section 115JB to the applicant.

Applicability of transfer pricing provisions

It has to be borne in mind that unless the transaction is taxable in India, there would be no application of Sections 92 to 95. Section 92 is not an independent charging section and would be applicable only if there is any chargeable income arising from the international transaction. In the present case even though the proposed transfer of shares could result in income/capital gain from the international transaction since this income is not chargeable to tax in India in accordance with Article 13, there will be no question of the applicability of section 92 to 92F. The applicant rightly relies on the 3 Rulings: Dana Corporation [2010] (227 CTR 441) (AAR), M/s. Praxair Pacific Limited (326 ITR 276) and Vanenburg Group B.V. vs. CIT (289 ITR 464).

Applicability of Section 195

The capital gains earned out of proposed transaction is not taxable there will be no question of the applicability of section 195 of the Act. As per the Ruling of the Honble Supreme Court in Transmission Corporation of AP Ltd. vs. CIT 239 ITR 587.

Filing of return u/s 139

The applicant relying on the Rulings of this Authority in FactSet Research Systems Inc. reported in (317 ITR 169) and Vanenburg Group B.V. vs. CIT AAR No.727 of 2006, submitted that he is not required to file any tax return. The law laid down in the judgments of Factset Research Systems Inc. and Vanenburg Group BV vs. CIT was not considered in the Castleton judgment (AAR No.999 of 2010), so also the judgment of the Federal Court in Chatturam vs. CIT was also not considered in Castleton judgment, we, therefore respectfully disagree with the Castleton judgment in so far the applicability of section 139(1) of the Act to the present applicant and answer the question in negative.

Accordingly, application disposed of.
Smelt are in the Cowlitz River. Hopefully, theyll still be there on Saturday, the only day this year when dipping has been approved at this point.

Gulls and eagles swooping above the lower Cowlitz indicate that smelt have been present there the past few days.

On Monday, commercial fishermen found good numbers of smelt in the Columbia River from Longview to Astoria, according to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Joe Hymer.

Seals and sea lions in the Columbia are another sign of smelt. Though a spring Chinook was reported caught off Prescott Beach this week, its too early for the bulk of that run, which also attracts pinnipeds.

Smelt returns in 2016 are expected to be smaller than in 2014 and 2015, and WDFW is setting seasons conservatively. Smelt have been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 2010.

On the Cowlitz, smelt fishing with dip nets from the riverbank will be allowed only from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday. Each dip-netter may retain 10 pounds of smelt (about  of a five-gallon bucket) per day with no more than one days limit in possession. No dipping is allowed from boats.

Biologists base their run size estimates partly on dipping success. Depending on how good dipping is on Saturday, another day might be considered.

Even though smelt sometimes head into other Columbia River tributaries such as the Lewis, all other waters in Washington remain closed to fishing for smelt.

At this point, Oregon hasnt set a smelt season for the Sandy River for 2016, but the state may open a season on short notice if the smelt appear there.

Commercial smelt fishing is allowed 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays through Feb. 25 in the Columbia downstream of the mouth of the Lewis River.
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John M. McClelland III has deeper Longview roots than most: His grandfather and father ran The Daily News for the first half-century of its existence. His cousin, Ted Natt, ran it for nearly a quarter century after that.

And McClelland, 70, worked on the papers feature staff for about 13 years. Over time, he became a city historian of sorts, even writing a column called Longview Revisited. He still enjoys gathering in the basement of Longview Community Church for 23 Club meetings to talk, and learn, about his unusual hometown.

Throughout its good times and bad, the city is a survivor, he says. Its residents, no longer able to depend on just forest products and a largely unskilled labor force, are adapting through education and retraining, he says. And Lower Columbia College is one key.

The community college must do everything possible to turn out young men and women with either the skills or at least the potential to obtain skill in order to make a living, he says. The days are past when the citys droves of uneducated blue collar workers could support a family.

A 1963 graduate of R.A. Long High School, McClelland then spent a year in the Peace Corps in Peru, then taught English in there, where he met his wife, Pauly.

With a young family ready to settle down in the states, he was determined to avoid the city of his dad and granddad.

Ill never come back to Longview, he thought.

He wanted a cosmopolitan lifestyle, maybe work in the State Department or write for an international wire news service.

But after serving in the military, studying journalism at the University of Washington, working at newspapers in Port Angeles, Wash., and Albany, Ore.  as well as four years at Longview Fibre Co.  McClelland realized: Never say never.

He came to appreciate Longviews unique history. It is one of Americas very few planned cities built from scratch with private money. He also appreciated the citys open, welcoming attitude, which he said many communities lacked. He settled back in Longview in 1974.

R.A. Longs planned city got off to a bumpy start. The Great Depression hit six years after the city was born. Longs grand vision never quite materialized. But the young McClelland grew up in the bustling post-WWII years. On the back of old-growth timber, Longview grew.

It looked like it was never going to stop, he said. But by the 1970s, most of the valuable old growth was gone. The wood products industry, while never abandoning Longview, had changed. Fewer jobs. Far fewer low-skill jobs.

Longview didnt lay down. It adapted. The Mint Farm, where the city built an industrial park, is an example of how the city is diversifying, McClelland says.

I could never have imagined anything like that, as a young man in the mill town, he said.

And LCCs steady expansion is preparing a workforce for more changes in a global economy.

Culturally, McClelland says, weve come light years. He notes Longviews thriving symphony, theater and concert scene.

It takes my breath away, he says.

He also noted Longviews geographic advantages: on a river, a rail line and a key highway; not far from major cities and the Cascade mountains.

But its the people of his beloved hometown that boost his optimism.

I see the entire county as more open and enlightened than it was during my youth, he says.

And the weather IS NOT THAT BAD, he says. You dont have to shovel rain.
Nathan Jordan lives on a tight budget. He and his wife, Shasta, have five children and live in a 4-bedroom home on Beech Street in Longview. Jordan is on disability and his wife is between jobs, so they use Cowlitz PUDs Pay as You Go system, which allows customers to track daily electricity use and pay in smaller chunks.

We used to pay between $3 and $6 a day. Now its jumped between $10 and $30 a day, Jordan, 32, said Tuesday. His friend, Crystal Clark, said her bill also spiked to last month, from about $70 to $200.

Thousands of unhappy Cowlitz PUD customers like Jordan and Clark have taken to Facebook to complain about suddenly spiking PUD bills. They question the accuracy of the utilitys automated meters, ask why electricity costs continue to rise  and wonder why PUD executives make six-figure salaries.

Theyve started an online petition calling for the removal of digital meters and a 5 percent rate reduction. And theyre planning a protest Friday to draw attention to their concerns. About 3,600 individuals are part of a Facebook group raising objections to recent bills.

I just want them to be held accountable for what theyre doing, Jordan said. Theyre gouging us.

Cowlitz PUD officials say customers are feeling the effects of a relatively cold winter and rising utility rates. They say theres been no abnormal spike in customer complaints. They said they havent found any widespread errors in their billing system or meters. However, they said they will check additional meters and work with individual customers to identify problems.

Last winter was warmer than this one, PUD officials point out. Decembers average low temperature was 38.9 degrees, a degree cooler than the year before; Januarys average low was 37.45 degrees, two degrees colder than January 2014, according to records from the Longview water treatment plant.

Last winter was like early summer. Peoples bills were pretty flat, said PUD General Manager Steve Kern. An electrically-heated house, especially if its not relatively new, or does not have higher amounts of insulation, you can see those bill easily triple (during the winter.)

Another factor is that Cowlitz PUD commissioners voted to increased rates by 7.5 percent in September, based on a recommendation from a citizens panel.

The PUD has little control over its power costs. It buys 90 percent of its electric from the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal power marketer. BPA last year raised its power rates by 7.1 percent and its transmission rates a 4.4 percent. Cowlitz PUD said it had to pass those costs on to its own customers.

In addition, falling natural gas prices deflated the energy market. So income from the PUDs Central Washington wind farms is down, and the utility is losing $1 million a month. The utility built the wind farms in response to voter-approved clean-energy initiative, which mandates use of renewable power. That also drove rates up.

Some customers, though, suspect new digital meters are inaccurate. The PUD installed 48,000 digital meters across Cowlitz County between 2007 and 2011. The Smart Meters track and automatically radio energy usage back to the utility. But theyve been controversial.

In 2011, officials with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in California said some Smart Meters misread electricity usage when their internal temperature went over 100 degrees, CBS News reported. About 1,600 customers got a $25 to $40 refund.

Cowlitz PUD says its Smart Meters are 99 percent accurate. Kern said the data goes through multiple check and balances, such as comparing current usage to the typical usage at a residence. A PUD worker is sent out to check suspect units. Fewer than 100 meters were replaced last year, the utility said.

Some PUD customers noticed in documents that they were billed for 390 to 399 days instead of 365 days in one calendar year. Royce Hagelstein, PUD auditor, said those customers are pulling numbers from the utilitys web portal, which has been tallying days inaccurately. But the portal has nothing to do with the billing system and is not driving bills higher, he said.

Hagelstein said he recalculated all December and January residential bills and did not find any errors.

Kern encouraged anyone with a problem to contact the utility directly.

But many customers arent satisfied.

This whole thing is frustrating and it doesnt make sense, said Patrick Steehler, 49, of Longview. If enough people question it, maybe theyll actually look into it.
Woodland police and the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Narcotics Task Force Tuesday arrested two Woodland residents on suspicion of possessing and delivering narcotics, according to a press release from the Woodland Police Department.

Albert C. Kloehn, 67, was arrested on suspicion of delivering a controlled substance in a school zone and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Pamela S. Benberg, 50, was arrested on suspicion of delivering a controlled substance in a school zone and possession of a controlled substance.

Officers, aided by the Washington State Department of Corrections and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seized four grams of methamphetamine along with $665 in cash and packaging materials.
CHICAGO  A couple of first-generation college grads recently wrote to The Ethicist advice column in The New York Times Magazine with a familiar moral quandary:

We are struggling with choosing a public school for our son, who will enter kindergarten this year. ... Do we let our neighborhood kids and our own values down by fleeing to a higher-testing public school in a richer part of the city? Or do we let our son down by sending him to the neighborhood school, which we fear will not put him on solid educational footing?

The Ethicist responded: You dont owe it to all the other children in your neighborhood to give their interests the same weight as their parents do. Your special obligations are to your own child. ... And what you owe is not heroic commitment, turning the school around by your own efforts.

Predictably, some commenters on the article were disappointed with this advice. They wondered what it would hurt to take a chance and see how it goes; maybe try to make a difference for all the kids at the school.

Trust me, it hurts.

My husband and I were that same couple, years ago. Thinking we could make a difference, we chose to put our sons into our local school  in a district whose student body was nearly 70 percent low-income and had performed so poorly for so long that it had been taken over by the state.

We believed that what we did at home  reading to our kids nightly, modeling good study habits, providing enrichment activities like traveling and extracurricular music, swimming and martial arts classes  would easily overcome any challenges associated with attending a failing school district.

And we committed to elevating the system.

We attended parent meetings, filled out school-improvement surveys, kept in close touch with teachers, principals, administrators and the district superintendents to address issues from poor teaching to nightmarish transportation (our older son, on his first day of kindergarten, was brought home by the police because of the inept school-bus system).

We complained about the junk food served every day for breakfast and lunch, we donated money for programs and scholarships. I ran (unsuccessfully) for the school board.

All that effort amounted to nothing.

Our kids sat in classes with children whose parents simply didnt have the social capital, income, savvy or time to make a difference in what happened at school. Year after year, instead of getting better, the district  located in a community with a fair amount of middle-class families who started jumping ship for private schools after the second grade  just stayed bad.

The stories my children told after school were outrageous. Teachers who showed videos most days, out-of-control classrooms, kids tossing off insouciant one-liners like: You didnt actually expect me to do my homework, did you? Middle school brought fights, gang activity and an increased police presence.

When it was time for my older son to start high school  the very school I had taught in for a year and knew prepared no more than 24 percent of its graduates to be college ready  we fled.

It took a move of less than half a mile to a neighborhood with significantly more expensive homes to get my sons into one of the best public high schools in our state.

Last week, however, I learned how long the effects of a poor educational environment in the early years linger.

My younger son  who benefited from a better school starting in seventh grade, but at the end of eighth 8th grade was so behind that I had to pressure his counselors not to place him in remedial freshman English classes  is underperforming compared to his high school, district and state peers in both English and math, according to the results of his latest standardized test scores. Luckily, hes doing well in his classwork.

Good intentions and even good actions are not enough to transform a poorly performing school into one that can provide an adequate education for your kids. School systems take decades to turn around  and require a long-term investment plus local and state political pressure to act  while our childrens formative years fly by.

Its sad, but do not be ashamed to send your kids to the best school you can possibly afford. Youll likely regret it if you dont.
KALAMA  Two months after clearing a major zoning hurdle, what could be Kalamas first marijuana growing operation may be hitting a legal stonewall.

Two individuals and two couples who live near a proposed 10-acre pot farm and processing center have sued the city and the proponent, claiming that the rezoning move necessary to grow marijuana was illegal and that they werent properly notified about it.

The firm, All Natural Products, LLC, was founded by Frank Giese, a contractor from Sultan, Wash. Giese and nine investors want to build the farm on undeveloped land owned by Rochester businessman Robert Laymon.

All Natural Products has applied for state licenses to grow and process pot in Kalama. In addition, the project will need a city business license and building permit, and likely will have to submit to a city environmental review.

Giese said hell move forward despite opposition from the six residents, who worry that the farm will increase traffic, stink up the area, increase crime and drive down property values in the rural residential neighborhood. The neighbors also argue that allowing an industrial project next to a residential area violates the spirit, and perhaps the letter, of the citys comprehensive land use plan.

We had hopes that everyone would embrace us, Giese said Tuesday. Noting, though, that the vote on Initiative 502 to legalize recreational marijuana was close, We cant expect everyone to be happy, he added.

On a 3-2 vote Nov. 18, the Kalama City Council approved Gieses request to rezone the 10-acre parcel  located a mile north of the Todd Road freeway exit  from commercial to industrial. Marijuana cannot be grown in a commercial zone.

The six plaintiffs claim they were not notified of this citys planning commission meetings about the rezone request, as required by law with any property owner within 300 feet of a potential rezone. None of the six are on the citys mailing list of notices about planning commission meetings.

Vancouver-based lawyer Mark Erikson, who is representing the plaintiffs, called the lawsuit an attempt to stop an industrial use next to a residential area. He notes that industrial zones typically pollute, draw more traffic and lower property values. Whats more important is (the city) violated the comprehensive plan and violated my clients right to comment.

Kalama City Administrator Adam Smee declined to comment on the lawsuit, but he said that dealing with proposed pot operations is a learning experience.

Our goal is to be a professional organization that follows the code of the state ... and respects both property rights of the owners and the neighbors. In a situation like this, with I-502, you have a new land use, he said. Theres not a lot of precedent on how to balance competing property rights.

City Clerk/Treasurer Coni McMaster said the list of property owners who were mailed meeting notices was based on land records at the county assessors office. Under city law, if those records werent accurate at the time the city mailed the notices (typically done 10 days before a hearing), failure to notify those landowners doesnt invalidate the rezone discussion. (All the plaintiffs but one  John Schmit  have owned their land near the proposed pot farm for at least a year.)

Giese said he plans to grow several marijuana strains meant for medicinal purposes. To start, he plans to grow pot only in the summer, when greenhouses are not necessary. He said he will use a carbon filtration system and chemical odor absorbent, but theres debate about how well those control odors.

Giese estimated hell spend at least $200,000 to get the operation started. It will employ 12 to 14 people, he said.

I believe theres a lot of misinformation about the industry and what we do. We actually reduce crime by taking a portion of the cannabis off the streets and putting it in the legal market, he said.

Vicky Close, who lives near the dirt road leading to Laymons property, is on the list of notices the city sent out about planning commission meetings. Close, though, said she never received the notices, but learned about the last meeting from a neighbor. Though shes opposed to recreational marijuana, shes becoming more accepting of medical marijuana. She said she isnt bothered by Gieses plan and his not a party to the rezone lawsuit.

If youre my neighbor, as long as it doesnt affect me, Im fine, she said.

Travis Buck, owner of Advanced Septic Consulting Inc. in downtown Kalama, is not involved in the lawsuit and doesnt live near the proposed pot grow, but he opposes the rezone anyway. In addition to the nearby residents concerns, Buck says hes worried the city will relegate responsibility for policing the business to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Theyve given themselves no real ability to enforce laws, Buck said. Its (the citys) job to take care of making sure the citizens are taken care of in case their property values are screwed up because theyve changed the zoning.

Buck said citizens should get to vote on whether grow operations should be allowed in city limits.

Smee said there will be more opportunity for public comment when the city does an environmental review once Giese submits a development application.

Ultimately, if a business meets state requirements, it will get a state license, said Brian Smith, a spokesman for the state Liquor and Cannabis Board. But the board encourages marijuana business owners to smooth out disagreements with neighbors, he said.

Giese said hed like to have such a discussion.

Thats all I would ask, that they dont impose (their opinions) on other people, he said. Were in a legal, legitimate business.




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www.gofundme.com/team-uzunov-blog







Help fund the TEAM UZUNOV war chest to keep on fighting to provide top investigative reports and videos. Any donation is welcome.
Between January 2003 and September 2006, out of 138 letters to the editor that I sent to the Financial Times before I placed them on this blog they published these 15 . Not bad! Thank you FT!Unfortunately, since then and until the very last day of the decade, out of some 1.000 letters that you can find here, FT published none, zero, zilch. Of course FT is under no obligation whatsoever to publish any of my letters and of course one should not exclude the possibilities that my letters might have quite dramatically gone from bad to worse yet one wonders.My usual suspects are:1. Someone in FT with a delicate ego feels his or her importance diminished by giving voice to a lowly non PhD from a developing country daring to opine on many issues of developed countries.2. That FT has some sort of conflict of interest with the credit rating agencies that makes it hard for them to give too much relevance to someone who considers they have been given too much powers.3. The FT establishment had perhaps decided there were only macro economic problems and not any financial regulation problems, and wanted to hear no monothematic contradictions on that.4. That FT feels slightly embarrassed when someone repeatedly asks the emperor-is-naked type question of what is the purpose of the banks and realizing this was something FT should have itself asked a long time ago.5. It is way too much oversight for FT to handle.6. Or am I just supposed to be a living example of one half of the Financial Times motto, namely that of "without favour"Which one do you believe is closest to the truth?
tech2 News Staff

Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the announcement during an earnings call for parent company Alphabet, which is now the most valuable company in the world. The Verge stated that this is seventh billion-user service for Google, which also includes Search, Chrome, Android, Google Play, Maps, and YouTube.

https://twitter.com/gmail/status/694290964559429632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

May last year, the company had 900 million users also opted the new Google Inbox to all users. Gmail had more than doubled its user base since 2012, when the number stood at just 425 million.

According to a previous report, in what appears to be a bit strange, Google had also begun to redirect its Gmail users to its experimental Inbox service. Users are reporting a pop-up message that reads, Thanks for trying Inbox! To make it easier weve updated Gmail to redirect you here, followed by two buttons, Turn it off or OK.

Recently, Facebook-owned mobile messaging service WhatsApp has also reached the milestone of one-billion users, with 42 billion messages being exchanged daily, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced. Founded by Ukrainian immigrants to America Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, WhatsApp was acquired by social media giant Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. WhatsApp waived its annual subscription fee because it has not worked well.
tech2 News Staff

Microsoft is ready to shell out about $250 million to acquire UK-based Swiftkey, the predictive keyboard maker, reported the Financial Times earlier today. Microsoft has confirmed the deal through its blog.

The Financial Times also reported that founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock who set up the company in 2008, will each make more than $30 million from the deal.

It would appear that, in essence the deal would be redundant for Microsoft, which has its own keyboard app called Word Flow -- albeit available only on Windows Phones. But Microsoft is interested in the predictive technology that powers the SwiftKey app. Harry Shum, Executive Vice President, Technology and Research at Microsoft said in his blog, "This acquisition is a great example of Microsofts commitment to bringing its software and services to all platforms. Well continue to develop SwiftKeys market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio. Moreover, SwiftKeys predictive technology aligns with Microsofts investments and ambition to develop intelligent systems that can work more on the users behalf and under their control."

Shum also mentioned they will reveal in due time how the company plans to integrate SwiftKey technology with its own Word Flow technology for Windows. He also mentioned in the blog post how the new technology, talent and market position that SwiftKey brings to Microsoft will help futher demonstrate the company's intentions to bring key apps and technologies to platforms from Windows to Android to iOS.
tech2 News Staff

Telecom giant Vodafone has announced the launch of 4G services in Delhi NCR today. The company is offering free upgrade to 4G for customers along with high speed 4G SIM. In addition, it is offering three months of free access to mobile TV, movies via HOOQ and Hungama Play, and music through Vodafone Play service, reports the Economic Times. The report also adds that 4G roll-out will be done in a phased manner, along with the 2G and 3G networks that the company continues to improve.

Vodafone had already begun the roll-out of 4G SIMs last month as it prepared for the official launch of the service.

Apoorva Mehrotra, Business HeadDelhi& NCR, Vodafone India, said at the time of the 4G-ready SIMs launch, Before we step into the next generation of telecommunications, we want to make the transition to 4G to be smooth and seamless for our 10 million customers in Delhi & NCR. We want them to be 4G-ready so that they can start experiencing the benefits of high speed mobile internet services as soon as they are launched commercially. Hence, this facility to upgrade to 4G-ready SIMs in advance. We are excited and fully geared up to launch our 4G services on the superior 1800 MHz band in Delhi & NCR very soon.

Vodafone has already launched its high speed 4G services in Kerala and Mysuru in Karnataka. The 4G roll-out will continue to major metros like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, to be launched by March 2016.
Motorola, or should we say 'Moto by Lenovo' has been trying to find its spot ever since brands such as Xiaomi, Asus and Lenovo entered the Indian market. The Moto G was their thing, it was a smartphone and a product category that Motorola came up with, the budget smartphone that offered the perfect balance of specs and value in a package that seemed pretty much perfect.

Today, there are more than a handful of brands who are vying for that space, the same category that helped Motorola through tough times. In fact, the Motorola Moto G is touted as the most successful Motorola smartphone of all time.

Motorola recently launched Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition with an improved chipset, better resistance to dust and quicker charging at Rs 12,499. So is the smartphone that comes with minor upgrades worth paying for, instead of the standard Moto G?

Build and Design: 7.5/10

There's nothing new in here that would make the Turbo Edition stand out from the standard Moto G (3rd Gen). In short, it is pretty much the same stuff with a few upgrades when it comes to water-resistance. The body is entirely of plastic with metal buttons on the right side that jut out of the body.

The front of the device, similar to the older Moto G packs in a speaker at the bottom with top area packing in the receiver and front-facing camera (with the proximity and ambient light sensor squeezed between them).

Things remain unchanged on the back as well with a centered elongated patch that contains the camera, dual-tone LED flash and the typical Motorola logo placed on a dimple.

Open the back cover and things have changed to an extent. No the battery is not removable, but the Turbo Edition comes with an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating while the older Moto G came with just IPX7. What this means is that the smartphone is not just waterproof upto 1 metre, but dust proof as well. For those who are unaware, the '6' in the rating stands for 'Totally protected against dust' while the '7' stands for 'Protected against the effect of immersion between 15cm and 1m' and yes, an IP68 rating also exists!

Overall, the quality is top notch and the grippy rubberised texture of the back cover, along with the heft and colour selections of the smartphone, felt a lot better in the hand as compared to the Moto G that felt a bit cheap and plasticky.

Features: 8/10

Since the Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition looks very similar to the Moto G (3rd Gen) it indeed all boils down to the hardware and software tweaks, something that Motorola seems to have focussed on.

We get a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touch display, which is the same as the older Motorola Moto G , sporting a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and pixel density of 294ppi. Behind it sits the only differentiator that separates the Moto G Turbo Edition from the Moto G 3rd gen, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset. The octa-core chipset is clocked at 1.5GHz and is a step up from the earlier Snapdragon 400 and recent 410; this is paired with 2GB of RAM. Also another upgrade that came along with the new processor was the Adreno 405 GPU. Onboard storage is limited to 16GB and yes the Turbo Edition does support microSD cards of up to 32GB in capacity.

Motorola also seems to have packed in the same 13MP camera with a dual-tone LED flash as on the Moto G3, which is once again paired with a 5MP f/2.2 camera.

On the connectivity front you get 4G and 3G bands, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, LE and Micro USB v2.0 port for charging and data transfers. Also added on board is an FM Radio.

Display: 7/10

Considering its launch price of Rs 14,499, we did expect something better from Motorola. But the company seems to have packed in the same old stuff from the Moto G (3rd Gen), which results in a not so great first impression when you power it up. The display is an IPS LCD module with a 1280 x 720 pixel array with protection coming from a layer of Corning's Gorilla Glass 3.

It is pretty average and while it gains plenty of points for brightness it looses them all with its low pixel density and lack of sharpness. While text looks crisp, it is the icons that loose sharpness with edges that appear to be slightly blurry (shown in the image above). The casual user may not notice this, but Motorola could have done justice to this G upgrade by simply adding a Full HD Display. Viewing angles are fine and things do not get worse coming from the Moto G (3rd Gen) so we will not be deducting any points either.

Software: 7.5/10

Motorola always went with the stock Android philosophy and with the Moto G Turbo Edition, that tradition continues. The software is based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and is what we would call, an almost stock version of Android that comes with limited Motorola tweaks and a few app additions like Help, Migrate and Moto. The customisations are far and few and according to us is what keeps the UI running smooth without any hiccups.

What you also get with any other Motorola smartphone are additional software features like Assist, Actions and Display. In short, these are those features that work in the background and respond when needed (just like OEM customisations should).

Assist works by helping users out in situations where they are unable to access their phones, by reading text messages aloud or mentioning the name of the caller while driving. Actions are basically gestures that you can perform with the device like waving your hand over the display turn it on, or wave your hand to silence an alarm. Also present among the customisations is Motorola's Quick Capture functionality that goes from a powered-down display to the camera viewfinder in a mere two seconds, at the flick of your wrist. While we did find this feature useful, there were plenty of instances where camera turned on by mistake and this eventually forced us to turn the feature off.

Performance: 7.5/10

As expected the Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition does show a slight bump in the numbers when compared to the standard Moto G (third gen). Overall performance of the device is smooth, and as with other Snapdragon 615 chipsets, the smartphone did heat up upon extended gameplay. However, the smartphone handed the heat well, with the only area getting hot while holding it horizontally was the front of the device, with little or no signs of the textured back warming up, that would otherwise make it uncomfortable to hold.

Talking about games, the Turbo Edition ran casual games smoothly and surprised us with great performance on intensive 3D games like Dead Trigger 2 on Medium settings. Real Racing 3 was not up to the mark (thanks to the lack of optimisation on the developer's part) but Asphalt 8 Airborne ran smoothly without any hiccups thanks to the Snapdragon 615 and the Adreno 405 GPU.

Call quality was good and the caller on the other end could hear us clearly. The same can be said about the front-facing speaker, which was loud enough to stand alone by itself as a music player. Audio quality in terms of music was again pretty much on par with the rest of Motorola devices out there, with the only problem being the useless bundled headphones.

Camera: 7/10

The camera performance of the Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition was better than we had expected. The smartphone packs in the same hardware as compared to what you get on the standard Moto G. However, Motorola seems to have made some software tweaks that results in some great-looking images.

PS: Image samples have been resized here. To check the full resolution, please click on the images

The 13MP camera delivers a sufficient amount of detail for a smartphone at this price tag. Daylight photos look impressive and pack in plenty of detail. The HDR mode also does a commendable job in bright situations.

Close ups is where the Turbo Edition excelled and we managed to get a couple of images with plenty of detail and very little noise. Video recording quality was at par with the competition and maxed out at 1080p at 30fps. The video recording mode did a good job with low light shooting as well.

All of the images however showcased a blue tinge and this was visible in both images and video no matter how different the shooting scenarios were. Making things worse for what would be some great optics, is the lack of manual controls on the camera's interface.

The only manual feature available was the touch to focus and ability to change the exposure, which was of no use thanks to the better HDR mode. The 5MP selfie camera however did a great job at producing great looking selfies.

As with every other smartphone in this range it all boils down to low-light performance.

The Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition produced some share worthy images, but it would only make sense to share these on Instagram as the level of noise in these image ruined every low light shot. What did however survive the wrath of Motorola's weird image processing algorithms were images clicked in dimly lit conditions, but again, the Moto struggled to lock focus resulting in blurry images.

Battery Life: 7.5/10

The Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition packs in a non-removable Li-ion 2470 mAh battery, which is the same as is on the older Moto G. We did expected better when it came to battery life thanks to the octa-core setup, which technically should help with battery life, but the results were similar to what we got with the standard Moto G.

Still then, it got us through a whole day of WhatsApp, some casual gaming, two emails accounts on sync and some calls but we had to plug it in by the end of the day. On a work day, users would not need to plug it in. However, those who love to click photos and play 3D games will be looking for a power outlet by the end of the day.

Eitherways, Motorola has packed in a TurboPower Charger which charges the phone quickly and it gets the job done. The downside to that charger is that it comes with a fixed cable and the same cannot be unplugged for use as a data cable.

Verdict and Price in India

The Motorola Moto G Turbo Edition stands a bit taller than the Moto G (third edition) launched earlier last year. One can think of the Moto G Turbo edition as a more refined or polished version of the trusty Moto G, that is now priced to compete at Rs 12,499.

At this range, Motorola has managed to distance the Moto G Turbo Edition from its very own Moto X Play. While this is a good thing, the Turbo Edition certainly fell short of our expectations and we strongly felt that the Turbo is what the Moto G3 should have been to begin with.

The problem with the Turbo Edition lies in the fact that there is a very tiny bump in terms of performance and features that would fail to entice a buyer who is looking for a Moto G3 (since the G3 is priced at Rs 9,999). At the same time neither will a Moto G3 user upgrade to the Moto G Turbo Edition, because it is not a big deal. What would be a better upgrade for those looking to buy a phone under Rs 20k, would be the Moto X Play, that is now priced at a slightly higher Rs 16,499 on Flipkart for the 16GB version, making it a much better deal with a Full HD Display, a 21 MP camera, 3GB of RAM and let's not forget that 3630 mAh battery!

Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.
Japan vows to `destroy` North Korea rocket

Japan\'s Aegis-equipped destroyers have set to sea off the West coast ahead of the North\'s launch .

Al Jazeera News :Japan vowed on Wednesday to shoot down any missiles or rockets fired over its territory after North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite in the coming days."Today the defence minister issued an order" to destroy any projectiles if "confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory", the defence ministry said in a statement.North Korea on Tuesday informed international organisations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between February 8-25. Last month, North Korea announced it tested a hydrogen bomb - the reclusive country's fourth nuclear test.Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett said Japan's defence systems were being mobilised for the North's launch, noting Aegis-equipped destroyers were set to sea off Japan's west coast."Japan's military has been put on alert. Japan is saying it will - if any parts of this rocket come down in various stages in Japanese territory - they will shoot them down if necessary," Fawcett reported. South Korea, meanwhile, said Pyongyang will pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead with what the international community sees as a long-range missile test.In Seoul, the presidential office said North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.South Korean and US officials said North Korea's move would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic missile activities."We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range rocket launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences ... as it would constitute a grave threat to the Korean peninsula, the region, and the world," South Korean official Cho Tae-yong said in televised remarks.In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top American diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of the North's planned launch.He said it would strengthen the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilising behavior.North Korea has spent decades trying to develop nuclear weapons along with a missile capable of striking the mainland United States.North Korea's last long-range rocket launch in December 2012 was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures.
UN scrambles to sustain Syria talks; Russia vows to crush 'terrorists'

Reuters, Geneva :

The United Nations strained to keep faltering Syrian peace talks alive on Wednesday as Damascus tried to press home gains against rebels and its ally Russia said its air strikes would go on until "terrorists" were defeated.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura announced the formal start on Monday of the first attempt in two years to negotiate an end to a war that has killed 250,000 people, caused a refugee crisis in the region and Europe and empowered Islamic State militants.

But both opposition and government representatives have since said talks have not in fact begun, and fighting on the ground has raged on without constraint.

De Mistura acknowledged on Tuesday that a collapse of the Geneva talks was always possible.

"If there is a failure this time after we tried twice at conferences in Geneva, for Syria there will be no more hope. We must absolutely try to ensure that there is no failure," he told Swiss television RTS.

The opposition cancelled a meeting with him on Tuesday afternoon, accusing Russia of putting the process at risk with an "unprecedented" bombing campaign on Aleppo and Homs.

Rebels described the ongoing assault north of Aleppo as the most intense yet. One commander said opposition-held areas of the divided city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the government and allied militia, and appealed to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons.

"How can you accept to enter a negotiations when you have unprecedented military pressure? The Russians and regime want to push the opposition out of Geneva so the opposition bears the responsibility for the failure," said a senior Western diplomat.

Despite calls from the U.S. and its allies for Moscow to stop the bombing during the peace process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country had no intention of ending its campaign.

"Russian strikes will not cease until we really defeat terrorist organisations like Jabhat al-Nusra. And I don't see why these air strikes should be stopped," he said at a news conference in Oman's capital Muscat.

Diplomats and opposition members said they were also taken by surprise when de Mistura called for immediate efforts to begin ceasefire negotiations despite there being no official talks or goodwill measures from the Syrian government.

The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless the government stops bombarding civilian areas, lifts blockades on besieged towns and releases detainees.

"The level of confidence between both sides is close to zero," de Mistura told the BBC late on Tuesday.

"A ceasefire for me is essential. In fact it is the test that shows the talks are successful," he said, urging Russia and the United States to work with other major powers to bring it about.

The opposition tentatively said it would resume meetings with de Mistura on Wednesday.

Its chief coordinator Riad Hijab, who diplomats say is a unifying figure for the fragmented opposition, is expected to arrive in Geneva later in the day.

De Mistura called on Monday for the International Syria Support Group, which brings together major powers who back and oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to tackle the issue of ceasefires immediately. The group is scheduled to meet in Munich on Feb. 11.

Opposition delegate Nazir Hakim said a general ceasefire in the current climate was "unrealistic".

"Regarding a ceasefire, we have pragmatic ideas and we talked with the Americans who head the Syria support group and we look forward to discussing these ideas at the meeting on February 11," Lavrov said.

The attack north of Aleppo that began in recent days is the first major government offensive there since Russian air strikes began on Sept. 30.

The area safeguards a rebel supply route from Turkey into opposition-held parts of the city and stands between government-held parts of western Aleppo and the Shi'ite villages of Nubul and al-Zahraa, which are loyal to Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence in the country, said Russian and Syrian war planes carried out dozens of air strikes against the rebel towns of Hayan and Hreitan in northern Aleppo on Wednesday.

A pro-government source in the area said that the army and its allies were around two km from Nubul and Zahraa, which have been under rebel siege for around three years.

Senior Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamed Alloush, representing Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army), a major rebel group, said he was not optimistic given the events on the ground.

"Our answer will come in two days," he told Reuters without elaborating.




Dozens killed in Yemen as army moves towards Sanaa

Al Jazeera News :

Battles intensified on Wednesday northeast of Yemen's capital as forces loyal to the president backed by Saudi-led coalition air strikes killed more than 40 Houthi fighters.

Days of clashes continued as the Houthi rebels and their allies who control Sanaa were on the defensive about 60km from the capital in the Fardhat Nehim area, pro-government sources told Al Jazeera.

Fardhat Nehim is a strategic region leading to the Sanaa, and government forces continue to capture villages after making territorial gains since last week.

Dozens of rebels and six government forces were killed in fighting overnight on Wednesday. Yemen's army also captured 30 Houthis in Fardhat Nehim, where the rebels have a base, and troops were surrounding the fighters' camp.

Five civilians were also killed when artillery shells hit residential areas, the Associated Press news agency quoted tribal elders as saying.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014, when Houthi rebels, allied with troops loyal to a former president, captured large swaths of the country, including Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition launched an air campaign against the rebels in March 2015. Since then, more than 5,800 people have been killed.

More than 80 percent of Yemenis are in dire need of food, water and other aid, according to the United Nations.

In the southern port city of Aden, fighting erupted on Tuesday night between government forces and al-Qaeda fighters after authorities set up roadblocks as part of a security plan.

In Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which is under a Houthi siege, artillery strikes killed three civilians and wounded 14 others as fighting broke out, officials told AP.

Air strikes also hit around the capital, at one point setting a weapons depot ablaze for several hours.




President urges journos to contribute to continuation of democracy

President Abdul Hamid addressing the biennial general meeting of Dhaka Union of Journalists at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city on Wednesday.



Expecting that the government will give due attention to their salary disparities following the announcement of new pay scale, President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday urged journalists to contribute to the continuation of the country's democratic march forward.

"Mass media is the fourth estate. The nation expresses its unrevealed hopes, expectations and desires through it. The media fulfill the duties by telling which executive and other branches overlook or do not give proper attention," he said.

The President made the statement at the inaugural session of the biennial conference of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city.

This is why, President Hamid said, mass media workers also face displeasure of others. "But this is an important job and in absence of it democracy remains incomplete. So, the mass media is very important for nation building."

"Mass media and democracy are complementary to each other, and one cannot be complete without another. When democracy flourishes, the mass media also flourish," he observed.

Abdul Hamid went on saying, "So you'll have to work with devotion and sincerity for the continuation of democratic march forward. You must keep it in mind so that individual, institute or the nation does not fall victim to unnecessary harassment for your any report."

He also urged the journalists to give priority to national interest in telecasting and publishing news, rather than giving priority to the issue of publicity and expansion of newspapers or channels.

Mentioning that journalists feel a sense of disparity after the announcement of pay scale for government employees, Abdul Hamid hoped that the government would give proper attention to it and their problems will be solved soon.

"I can assure you, as the President, my door is open for you always. I must do which is possible on my part," the President said. The present time is dubbed as an age of information revolution, but it has downside too, he observed adding that the challenge is now to use this ever-expanding technology for the welfare of people with responsibility. "The role of media men is very important in this regard."
Plan for universal education

Gordon Brown :

The Sustainable Development Goals, which the international community adopted in September, include a commitment to provide every child with access to free primary and secondary education by 2030. Finding the additional $20 billion per year, or more, that will needed to deliver on this commitment is one of the central objectives of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity.

The commission was established last September by the Norwegian prime minister, and co-convened with the presidents of Malawi, Chile, and Indonesia and the director-general of UNESCO. Its members, including five former presidents and prime ministers, three former finance ministers, six Nobel Prize winners, and three of the world's most successful business leaders - Jack Ma, Aliko Dangote, and Strive Masiyiwa - will report their findings to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the co-conveners in September. On January 24, we met in London to chart the way forward.

The challenge is daunting. Some 60 million primary-school-age children have no access to formal education. Of the roughly 590 million who are attending school, some 250 million - roughly two in five - are failing to learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. And some 60% of school pupils in developing countries do not meet basic mathematics standards.

If current trends persist, by 2050, children in most regions of the world will receive, on average, ten or more years of schooling - up from three years in 1950. Some countries in Africa, however, will lag far behind, with just 3-4 years of schooling on average. If we maintain a business-as-usual approach, it will take more than a hundred years - well into the twenty-second century - before every child is provided with an opportunity to complete his or her schooling.

Even as education levels play an increasingly important role in economic growth, the funds needed to raise them have failed to materialize. International development aid for education has fallen by nearly 10% in recent years - and government spending in low-income countries has failed to make up the difference.

In 2002, education accounted for 16% of total domestic spending in poor countries. Today, the figure is just 14%. Meanwhile, outlays for health increased from 9% to 11% of total spending. And, to make matters worse, in many of the countries with the greatest need for education - including Pakistan and Nigeria - governments are spending too little on it (sometimes as little as 2% of national income).

Nor is the money - when it is made available - spent equitably. In low-income countries, almost half of all education funds are spent on the most educated 10% of children. Very little trickles down to street children or boys and girls in remote rural areas, conflict zones, or urban slums.

According to UNESCO, the ratio of pupils to qualified teachers in the Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, and South Sudan is more than a hundred to one. And those teachers receive little support, encouragement, or feedback.

Good teachers are undoubtedly the key to quality education; but they can do only so much if they are not provided with skilled supervision, a well-organized curriculum, and access to technology.

The phrase "universal education" will mean nothing if it does not apply to children living in huts, hovels, and refugee tents. When war or disaster strikes, the international community rightly mobilizes funding for food, shelter, and health care. All too often, however, financing education is only an afterthought. With refugees spending more than ten years away from home, on average, this neglect cannot be allowed to continue.

Fortunately, progress is being made in this area. In an exciting experiment in Lebanon, schools have been put on double shifts in order to accommodate the country's Syrian refugee population. Local children attend in the morning, and in the afternoon, Syrian refugee children study in the same classrooms.

The program has been a stunning success, providing schooling for some 207,000 children who might otherwise have been deprived of an education. And plans are underway to expand the program to cover one million children in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. The biggest obstacle to what would be a spectacular achievement - as is so often the case - is a shortage of money.

It is to support efforts like this one that the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity was formed. UNICEF leader Anthony Lake, UNESCO head Irina Bokova, and Global Partnership for Education Chair Julia Gillard have lent their support to a platform for the provision of education in emergencies, a proposal that I hope will be formalized at the World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey in May. And it is my goal that by the end of the year we will also have a timetable to provide primary and secondary education to every child in the world - and the funding with which to achieve this most important of objectives.

(Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, is United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity).



Courtesy: Project Syndicate
Mahathir's son resigns as state chief amid PM scandal

Press TV :

The son of Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad has resigned as a state chief minister in what is seen as a move by Prime Minister Najib Razak to eliminate rivals. Mukhriz Mukhriz, 51, announced his resignation as head of Kedah state on Wednesday following a push from the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) to oust him, local media reported. He was considered among potential future nominees for prime minister. His chances have, however, been affected by his father's ongoing criticism and call for resignation of Najib over a festering funding scandal. The Malaysian government has been embroiled in a scandal for more than a year after reports indicated that a sum of four billion dollars is reportedly missing from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, also known as the 1MDB fund, earmarked for investment in economic and social development projects in Malaysia.

Najib, who founded 1MDB in 2009, became embroiled in the scandal after documents were leaked last year suggesting USD 681 million deposited into his personal accounts may have come from entities linked to 1MDB.

The Malaysian prime minister and 1MDB deny that the USD 681 million involved the investment company's money but Najib's critics, including Mahathir, said the premier should step down and face trial.

Last month, Malaysian Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing, saying the money was a private donation from the Saudi royal family.

Apandi said on Saturday that his office will cooperate with Swiss authorities in the investigations. 1MDB is mired in a 42-billion-ringgit (USD 10.1-billion) debt and has been selling its assets to clear it.

Following the scandal, Najib reshuffled his cabinet to oust a number of his critics, such as his deputy and the attorney general.
Gold smuggling on rise at airports

Shah Alam Nur :

The gold smuggling through the country's three international airports has intensified, as the airports have no surveillance equipment.

The three airports are used as bridge for smuggling of gold into the neighbouring countries.

Though the customs intelligence, Detective Branch of Police and Airport Armed Police (AAP), have strengthened their surveillance at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), gold smugglers sneak through a number of loopholes.

Apart from airport's 12 gates, there are some small points through which smuggled gold consignments are missing

from the airport with the help of some dishonest employees of Bangladesh Biman Airlines and Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB), said an intelligence officer posted at HSIA preferring not to be named. Besides, absence of security equipment like 'in-built heavy luggage scanners' in conveyor belts, vehicle scanners in 12 exit gates and 'mega body scanners', are making the smuggling easy, the intelligence officer said. The gold is smuggled into the country from different countries in the Middle East alongside, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand through airways. Portions of the smuggled gold are smuggled out to neighbouring India, while the gold traders and other sectors in Bangladesh use the remaining portion.

Thirty gold smuggling syndicates, including seven foreign ones, are involved with bringing gold consignments illegally, while about 200 employees of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are involved with the incidents of gold smuggling, according to an intelligence report.

Seven of the syndicates are active at HSIA, three at Shah Amanat International Airport (SAIA) and one at MAG Osmani airport, the report added. As vigilance is limp at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, the smugglers find it easy to use those airports for releasing their gold consignments. According to Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID), more 1,000 KG of smuggled gold had been seized by different government agencies at three international airports and different other places of the country in last one year.

Besides, over 500 officials and employees of Bangladesh Biman, Civil Aviation Authorities and different other government agencies posted at the airports had so far been arrested for their reported involvement in smuggling activities. Smuggling of gold into Bangladesh has increased in recent years, Moinul Khan, Director General of CIID told The New Nation on Wednesday. He said, "The seizure of the huge quantity of smuggled gold proves that we are active against the gold smuggling activities as well as against the smugglers."

He said, "We are able to estimate only the quantity of the seized gold. But it is not possible to estimate the amount of smuggled gold, which could not be checked." He said the gold smuggling has increased as Indian gold traders have been using Bangladesh as transit route for smuggling since 2013 when the Indian government hiked the import duty on gold three times, eventually to 15 percent. When his attention was drawn to gold smuggling through international airports, Chairman of CAAB Air-Vice Marshal M Sanaul Huq admitted that gold smuggling is now a big concern. CAAB along with other agencies are trying to control it, he said adding that they have started the process of forming the Aviation Security Force (AvSec) under CAAB to prevent various crimes using the airways, including gold smuggling.
Youths find a new source of inspiration

Abir Rayhan :

A large number of people from all walks of life swarmed on Wednesday, the 3rd day of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. Continuing for only three days, month long book fair have already turned itself as a crowdy one like every year.

Earlier, organizers expressed hope that they were expecting book fair to reach its climax soon. While visiting book fair on Wednesday, it was seen that a number of book lovers had gathered to buy books. Some of them came there with their family members and some with their friends. Most of them were teen aged. Dhaka University student Sabbir Hossain was rambling with his friends. He said, habitually we met at TSC everyday. Now, Boi Mela is our new destination'.

63 new books arrived yesterday. The new books, include 13 Story, 12 Novel, 4 Article, 10 Poetry, 2 Rhyme, 2 Dissertation, 6 Child Literature, 1 Biography, 1 Volume, 1 Excursion and 1 History. Paris Thekey Bolchhi of Dilder Hossen published by Vasha Prokash, Bijon Nil Joley of Mashud Ahmed, Shera Dosh Golpa of Imdadul Haque Milon and Shera Dosh Golpa of Hasan Azizul Haque published by Anna Prokash and Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita of Sheikh Hasina published by Agami Prokashoni drew buyers' eyes. Amid participation from Slovakia, Morocco, Taiwan, UK, India, China and Bangladeshi poets, a day-long International Poetry Festival was held at Bangla Academy premise on Wednesday morning.

Ambidexter writer Syed Shamsul Huq presided over the function while British poet Joe Winter expressed an article in 'Bangla and World poem'. A fascinating cultural festival was held on the main podium of the academy.

At 4:00 pm, a discussion titled "Bangla Academir Hirokjoyanti: Gobeshona Karjocrom, Oteit Thekey Bartaman'' will be held today (Thursday) at the main podium of the academy. Dr. Moniruzzamzn will preside at the function, while Professor Abul Ahsan will present the keynote. Professor Monsur Musa, Bhuiyan Iqubal and Aminur Rahman Sultan will participate in the discussion.


No GSP, no Ticfa: Tofail



Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Wednesday told Parliament that the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) with the United States would not be effective until restoration of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladesh.

"The Ticfa will not be effective until we get back GSP facilities," he said replying to a supplementary question from treasury bench MP Shamim Osman (Narayanganj-4).

Tofail said, there might be political reasons behind not restoring GSP despite Bangladesh's fulfilment of all the conditions for getting the GSP facilities.

"We've met all the 16 conditions for getting the GSP facilities in the United States market and there is no logical reason for not getting back the GSP," he said.

The Commerce Minister said that the US representatives in recent three meetings admitted that Bangladesh made tremendous improvement in ensuring worker safety.

"But they said that Bangladesh has to do more without mentioning in which sector we should improve. We don't know what more improvement we have to make," he added.

In June 2013, the US suspended the GSP for Bangladesh that resulted in brining back tariff on some of Bangladesh's exports to the US markets under the programme.
Child abduction on rise: Rowdy protest in Keraniganj

SM Mizanur Rahman :

Child abduction has marked a sharp rise in recent days creating panic among the people across the country.

The prime reason of kidnapping is to realise ransom, followed by murder. Once the ransom is paid, the victims are killed so that their abductors cannot be identified, said officials of human rights organisations.

According to the information gathered by human rights organisations, in January 2016, at least 29 kids were murdered. Of them, four were murdered after abduction, bodies of six children were recovered after missing and three killed by their relatives. The rest 16 kids were killed either by criminals or their classmates, the human rights organisation added. Apart from the common people, leaders and workers of different political parties were killed and made disappeared.

Abdus Shahid Mahmood, director of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, and Mostafa Sohel, executive director of Bangladesh Manobadhikar Bastobayan Sangstha, voicing deep concern about the 'sharp rise' in abduction said that the criminals in most cases remained untouched or got bail due to poor chargesheet, other offenders were thus encouraged to commit such heinous crimes.

They said, an international risk-consulting firm, UK-based Control Risks, has put Bangladesh 7th among the top 10 countries where kidnappings are most frequent. "It's a matter of concern and shame for the nation."

"Children are increasingly at risk of being kidnapped," Abdus Shahid Mahmood said, adding records showing an alarming rise in child abductions across the country.

He said most kidnappings were committed with the participation of close relatives, friends and neighbours.

"Creating public awareness about risks to children would prevent opportunities for kidnappings. It was easier for a relative or a friend than a stranger to have access to a child. In most cases, the children are lured away with chocolates or food," he added.

Mostafa Sohel said, people are worried about the incidents, as its position was going down in different international indexes.

"The families of the victims claim that from the time the members of law enforcement agencies are making the arrests since then the victims are disappeared or their bodies are later found," Mostafa Sohel said.

The latest victim M Abdullah, 11, a class five student, whose body was recovered from a plastic drum at a house in Mugarchar area in Keraniganj Upazila four days after his abduction.

Even after payment of the Tk two lakh as ransom through bKash, the criminals murdered him. It triggered resentment and concern among the locals.

Earlier on January 30, bodies of three children were recovered from Tangail and Rangpur. All three kids had been kidnapped and were later murdered.

The dead are Shakil Miah, 11, son of Delwar Hossain; Imran Hossain, 12, son of Abu Bakkar from Char Chowhat village in Dhamrai upazila of Dhaka; and Rahimul Islam, Rawnak, 4, son of Mosaddek Hossain Ranga from Adarshapara area in Rangpur city.

On Wednesday, local people staged demonstration and set fire to a house owned by the main accused Motahar Hossain in connection with Abdullah murder and abduction cases at village Mugarchar.

Hundreds of people took to the streets, holding banners and photos of the victim M Abdullah who had been kidnapped and killed - as they chanted "Death to the Motahar and his gang members."

"We came out of the street to raise our voices for justice and to condemn the act of abduction and murder of boy in our locality," said one of the organisers of the protest.

When Food Minister Quamrul Islam went to Badal Miah, father of victim M Abdullah, at Mugarchar village to convey his sympathy to bereaved family, he assured them of submitting charge sheet within 15 days.

Slain Abdullah's father Badal Miah and mother Rina Begum demanded justice.

"We want punishment to the criminals, who abducted and murdered our son," victim's parent told the minister.


Guilty cops must get visible punishment

JS body blasts Home Ministry: None should be harassed in name of search

Sagar Biswas :

A parliamentary watchdog has asked the Home Ministry to ensure 'tough and visible punishment' to guilty policemen - responsible for extortion and other harassment on innocent people -- for the sake of image regaining of the law enforcement agency.

The parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday, in its meeting held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, heavily came down on ministry concerned for its failure to check criminal and unsocial activities of some police members.

The JS body observed that a few members of the police force have made the entire police department controversial, which had earned huge reputation at home and abroad for successfully tackling "terrorism, militancy and other organized crimes".

Officials of the Jatiya Sangsad told The New Nation yesterday that the JS body categorically blamed the Home Ministry for not taking any visible action specifically mentioning illegal activities of some police officials in Dhaka and other districts.

The meeting also observed that the some police personnel were involved in conspiracy with an intension to tarnish the internationally gained image of police force.

In this backdrop, the committee recommended the ministry concerned to take extra precaution so that none is harassed during search of his body or luggage, the officials said.

"The police force has done several good jobs. But some police officials are now involved in criminal activities. The parliamentary committee has suggested to ensure exemplary and visible punishment of the guilty policemen. We have cautioned the department as none could tarnish its image," Abu Syed Al Mahmud Swapon MP said after the meeting. On January 9 night Sub Inspector of Mohammadpur police station Masud had allegedly tried to extort money from Bangladesh Bank communications wing official Golam Rabbi by detaining him and threatening to book him as a drug addict.

An Inspector of Dhaka South City Corporation [DSCC] Bikash Chandra Das was severely beaten by Sub Inspector of the Jatrabarhi Police Station Arshad Hossain on January 15. A girl student of ASHA University who is also wife of a Jubo Dal leader was harassed by a Sub Inspector of Adabar police station on February 1. Not only that there were more such incidents in other districts, including Chittagong and Barisal.

Drawing the above examples of police harassment, the committee recommended to monitor the 'search procedure' by senior police officials, sources said.

Confirming the matter, another member of the parliamentary committee Md Fakrul Imam MP said, "The JS body has asked the police force to conduct search operation efficiently, without harassing any innocent person. The entire police force must not shoulder blame of such misdeed committed by a few of its members."

Raising specific allegation against a police official for beating guardians of students in Chittagong, a member of the committee preferring to remain anonymous said, "We cannot allow the situation to continue. A conspiracy has cooked up to tarnish image of police. So, we have urged the concerned officials to remain cautious about it." The meeting also put emphasis on "community policing" to discharge duties with more responsibility, he said, adding, "In recent cases, we have observed that some police personnel were suspended or withdrawn instantly after such incidents. But no action was taken after that finally."

A media release issued by Jatiya Sangsad yesterday said that the JS body recommended to follow specific police guidelines during employment of drivers. It also asked the transport owners to come forward along with police department to maintain security of Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

Presided over by committee chairman Tipu Munshi, the meeting was also attended by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former State Minister of Home Shamsul Haque Tuku, Faridul Haque Khan, Abul Kalam Azad, Abu Syed Al Mahmud Swapon, Fakrul Imam and Kamrun Nahar Chowdhury.

Inspector General of police AKM Shahidul Hoque, Director General of Coast Guard Rear Admiral M Makbul Hossain, Senior Secretary to Home Ministry Dr. Md. Mozammel Haque Khan and other officials concerned were also present in the meeting.


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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!
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.

What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?

Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.

Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property  there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:

You get to see exactly what will happen to your money

When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.

Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.

A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.

You find out about potential major repairs

Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.

If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.

You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on

One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.

Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.

You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for

While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.

This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.

Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.

You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price

If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.

You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.

You can sell your home faster and for more money

If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.

In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.

Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.

Your home will hold its value longer

As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.

When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.

You can make smart decisions about property investments

Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.

If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.

There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.

If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage

If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.

They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.

You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors

If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.

For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.

You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition

Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.

You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.

Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.

As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
Travel to Scotland, Italy, Spain, Ireland and the Canadian Rockies
"A little fill here and there may seem to be nothing to become excited about. But one fill, though comparatively inconsequential, may lead to another, and another, and before long a great body may be eaten away until it may no longer exist.

Our navigable waters are a precious natural heritage, once gone, they disappear forever," wrote the Wisconsin Supreme Court in its 1960 opinion resolving Hixon v. PSC and buttressing The Public Trust Doctrine, Article IX of the Wisconsin State Constitution.
KSN&C is intended to be a place for well-reasoned civil discourse...not to suggest that we dont appreciate the witty retort or pithy observation. Have at it. But we do not invite the anonymous flaming too often found in social media these days. This is a destination for folks to state your name and speak your piece.

It is important to note that, while the Moderator serves as Faculty Regent for Eastern Kentucky University, all comments offered by the Moderator on KSN&C are his own opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Regents, the university administration, faculty, or any members of the university community.

On KSN&C, all authors are responsible for their own comments. See full disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
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.
Dear Abby: I recently decided that I wanted to help an infertile couple conceive by becoming an egg donor. I'm well-educated and have a job I love. I understand the commitment both time-wise and emotionally. I am now part of a registry, and I could be selected for a donation at any time.

Like other young women, I am dating. However, I am conflicted about whether to tell my dates about my involvement with egg donation and if so, how. I understand that this is extremely personal, but at the same time I could have genetic offspring out there. Can you advise?

-- Helping Out in Baton Rouge

Dear Helping Out: I do not think it would be appropriate to share this information with any man you are seeing casually. However, if a relationship becomes serious, you should discuss it. A way to start the conversation would be to say, "It's said that the most meaningful gift a person can give is a gift of self. Well, I have taken it literally."

Dear Abby: My 22-year-old daughter, a recent college graduate, is back living at home. She has been bringing her boyfriends home and having sex in her room. I have a real problem with it. There are younger children living here. My husband is not aware of what goes on behind her closed doors at night. How should I handle this?

-- Still Under My Roof

Dear Still: If you prefer not to involve your husband in this, have a private chat with your daughter and tell her you are not comfortable with her entertaining her boyfriends in your home in the manner you have described. Tell her that if she wants to have sex, she should do it elsewhere -- but not under your roof with younger children nearby. Because it's your home, your rules should apply.

Dear Abby: My girlfriend of two years was offered the opportunity to travel to Nepal for a month-long stay. Leading up to the trip I tried not to be jealous, but I did say some childish things like, "You're leaving me for a mountain?" However, before she left, I told her I knew it was a great opportunity and that she should enjoy herself.

She emailed me a couple of nights ago about how she and two of her male guides went to a bar together where she got drunk. They plan on going to the club again later during the trip.

I trust my girlfriend, but I can't help but worry that she may be taken advantage of. I didn't mention my concerns and even encouraged her to go and have fun. But am I wrong to feel worried? Am I being insecure?

-- Left at Home in Florida

Dear Left At Home: You're not wrong to feel worried. Under the circumstances, it's only normal. Does your girlfriend drink at home? And if she does, how does it affect her? At high altitudes the effects of alcohol can be magnified.

It's one thing to be open-minded and quite another to be so open-minded your brains fall out. Rather than encourage her, you should have warned her to be careful because what she did was risky. As for feeling insecure, at this point you're entitled to feel that way.
BENTON  The former bookkeeper for the Pinckneyville Rural Fire Protection District pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in Benton to mail fraud related to a scheme in which she stole more than $450,000 in taxpayer funds.

Tammy Kellerman, 53, of Pinckneyville pleaded guilty to a four-count information charging her with defrauding that municipal entity between 2004 and 2013, according to a news release from James Porter, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

Throughout that time period, Kellerman regularly used the U.S. mail to send unauthorized checks drawn on the fire district's bank account to pay her personal credit card bills and other expenses and, thereafter, made false accounting entries to conceal her thefts, the release stated.

Former clerks plead guilty to theft, official misconduct MARION  The remaining two of three former Williamson County Circuit Clerk employees accused

Sentencing was set for May 24 at 9:30 a.m. in Benton. On each count, Kellerman faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration. She also will be required to make full restitution to the fire district. Kellerman will remain on bond pending sentencing, Porter's office reported.

In August, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that Kellerman had been charged in Perry County Criminal Court related to the same alleged crime. At the state level, she was charged with one count of theft of government funds of more than $100,000, a Class X felony punishable by a minimum of six years in prison, as well as four counts of filing a fraudulent Illinois income tax return and computer fraud, both Class 4 felonies punishable by up to three years in prison.
Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a plan to revamp the way the state buys goods and services, changes he says would save taxpayers more than $500 million a year and free up money for higher education and other services.

Funding for universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students has become the latest crisis point in a budget impasse thats now in its eighth month, and Rauner offered procurement reform as a possible way to provide money. Hes threatened to veto a bill Democrats passed last week that would fund community colleges and grants through the Monetary Award Program because he says theres no way to pay its $721.5 million price tag.

Meanwhile, Comptroller Leslie Munger is urging fellow Republican Rauner and Democrats in the General Assembly to adopt a balanced budget, saying the state will be $6.2 billion further in debt by the end of the year if that doesnt happen.

New GOP proposal would tie higher ed funding to procurement reform A day after Democrats in the General Assembly approved a bill to fund community colleges and

Standing with lawmakers Tuesday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Rauner said the states procurement rules  many of them created in the wake of scandals surrounding now-imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich  are a tangle of red tape that can triple or quadruple the time it takes to make purchases and cost the state millions.

Procurement has been one of the largest sources of waste and abuse in our state, Rauner said. Its frustrating, the level of incompetence and inefficiency in the system, and we really need to change this as quickly as we possibly can.

The governors office says the proposal would give colleges and universities more purchasing flexibility, allow vendors to more easily fix mistakes in their registration with the state, and put one chief procurement officer in charge of the process rather than the current four, among other changes. It also would require the auditor general to review the states procurement every two years.

Cullerton urges Rauner to sign higher education bill Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he wants to give Gov. Bruce Rauner a cooling-

Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, is the House sponsor of the bill. He said state university presidents have been critical of the current rules.

Such changes would help them substantially, said Brady, whose district includes Illinois State University. Our state universities are at a crisis point  in fact, theyve crossed the crisis point  and they are looking for help, a lifeline.

Universities backed the Democratic bill that Rauner has said he will to veto.

Republicans offered an alternative plan that would fund universities at 80 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015. It would also fund community colleges at 90 percent and fully fund MAP grants. But the $1.7 billion in funding would be tied to a measure giving Rauner new authority to shift money around in the budget.

Republican Sens. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Dale Righter of Mattoon last week proposed instead tying the funding to procurement reform.

Future of Rauner-backed pension proposal unclear Extending an olive branch to Democrats amid Illinois seven-month budget impasse, Republican

In response to questions about whether Rauner supports that idea, the governors office sent an email highlighting the following comment from Tuesdays news conference:

What we cant do is spend money we dont have. Thats not an option. We have got to stop spending money we dont have. If we get structural reform, it will free up resources to be able to put into our schools and our human services, where it belongs.

Munger said at a news conference in Chicago that the state is going to spend $1.2 billion more than last year in the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services due to court orders and consent decrees. Coupled with $5 billion in lost revenue from the partial rollback of the temporary state income tax increase, that will drive the state $6.2 billion further into debt.

Illinois must pass a budget, and we must reclaim our controls over spending and revenue, Munger said. We must stop the financial bleeding and start healing.
A lot could happen in the presidential campaign before Illinois primary voters head to the polls March 15, but supporters of the top finishers in Mondays first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are sounding an optimistic tone about their candidates chances in the weeks of voting to come.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas finished ahead of Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The Democratic race, meanwhile, was a photo finish, with Illinois native and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont by a nose.

State Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, will appear on the March 15 primary ballot as a delegate candidate for Cruz in the 15th Congressional District.

While Trump, the national front-runner, thought he was going to cruise to victory, Rose said, the Texas senator now has momentum carrying him into the next round of voting, beginning with Tuesdays New Hampshire primary.

Governor calls for purchasing changes to free up money Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a plan to revamp the way the state buys goods and services, cha

Hes a consistent conservative, and its a consistent conservative message that folks are responding to, Rose said.

Although the past two GOP winners of the Iowa caucuses  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in 2012  didnt go on to win the nomination, Rose said, Barack Obama didnt exactly sputter out after upsetting Clinton on the Democratic side in 2008.

Clinton avoided a repeat of 2008 with her narrow win over Sanders.

State Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and a Clinton delegate candidate in the 13th Congressional District, said the slim margin isnt a cause for concern but rather a reflection of a heated primary based on issues, not based on personal insults.

I believe that shows that the Democratic Party is alive and well today, Manar said.

Cullerton urges Rauner to sign higher education bill Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he wants to give Gov. Bruce Rauner a cooling-

He noted that Clinton is the first female candidate to win the Iowa caucuses.

That speaks, I believe, to Secretary Clintons campaign and to the depths of her candidacy and why I think she will make an excellent president when elected, Manar said.

Those who will appear on Illinois primary ballots as delegate candidates werent just watching the Iowa caucuses unfold on TV.

State Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, a delegate candidate for Rubio in the 18th Congressional District, was at a Republican caucus site at a suburban Des Moines church. He was there to give his pitch for the Florida senator before the votes were cast.

It was awesome to be a part of it and to see the participation of voters at a grassroots level, Barickman said. Families brought their kids to the precinct. All the candidates or their surrogates, like myself, have an opportunity to make a pitch, and I think a number of voters show up undecided.

His pitch was that Rubio has an aspirational message of optimism that attracts all sorts of voters to his conservative message, he said.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Phil Hare of Rock Island didnt cross the Mississippi River to attend the caucuses, but he worked the phone from his dining room table to encourage voters to get out and caucus for Sanders. Hare is a delegate candidate for the Vermont senator in the 17th Congressional District.

Hare, who was in Congress from 2007 to 2011, said he worked with Sanders on veterans issues and supports his stances on raising the minimum wage, reining in big banks and other issues.

Future of Rauner-backed pension proposal unclear Extending an olive branch to Democrats amid Illinois seven-month budget impasse, Republican

Despite Clintons well-developed network of support in Illinois and elsewhere, Hare said hes cautiously optimistic about Sanders chances here and in other states.

What I think hes done is proven that you dont have to have multimillion-dollar super PACs pumping money in like everyone else has, Hare said.

Springfield attorney Kent Gray, a Trump delegate candidate in the 18th Congressional District and the businessmans Illinois campaign director, said he wasnt permitted to speak with the media about the results.

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, covered the Iowa caucuses from 1976 to 2008 as a reporter at The Des Moines Register.

In many previous campaigns, the parties nominations have been all but wrapped up by the time Illinois voters head to the polls, Yepsen said, but given Mondays results, things could be different this year.

This time theres a real possibility that the race could mean something, he said.
CHICAGO  Gov. Bruce Rauner used his executive powers Wednesday to establish a privately run and funded economic development corporation that'll take over a state agency's role in luring new business to Illinois, despite concerns from top Democrats about transparency.

Rauner, a former private equity investor, signed an order pitching the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corporation as a way to make Illinois more competitive for jobs. The nonprofit group will be funded by private funding, and Rauner estimated donors were prepared to chip in "millions" of dollars.

The state's commerce agency would still have oversight and would have to approve any incentives the corporation offers.

Governor calls for purchasing changes to free up money Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a plan to revamp the way the state buys goods and services, cha

"That entity will recruit superstar leaders from the business community whose job is to sell, market, creatively promote, and negotiate incentives for the state of Illinois to bring businesses here," Rauner explained at the signing in Chicago.

The Republican, who campaigned on the idea that Illinois should be run more like a business, said it's too hard for the commerce department to promote the state on its own because of bureaucracy and red tape. Rauner said the corporation would draw on private sector resources with proper checks and balances in place, though the executive order offered scant details on exactly how the private-public partnership would be run.

The move bypasses the Democrat-controlled Legislature where lawmakers had taken up Rauner's privitaization idea, but his representatives objected to the requirement of a review after three years. Rauner, already locked in a months-long budget standoff with legislative Democrats, said Tuesday he didn't want the plan to "die in three years" or be subject to "political games."

House Speaker Michael Madigan's spokesman Steve Brown said that wasn't the case and raised questions about issues in other states.

"You wonder what kind of fresh loopholes are in this new order and why he ran away from any kind of oversight," Brown said.

Senate President John Cullerton's spokesman John Patterson said the main concern was public accountability as the governor moved "forward on his own."

Cullerton urges Rauner to sign higher education bill Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he wants to give Gov. Bruce Rauner a cooling-

More than a dozen states have public-private partnerships for economic development. The idea comes to Illinois as the state faces criticism from top executives and other states for not having an environment conducive to doing business. Illinois has the nation's worst-funded pension system, low credit ratings and billions in unpaid bills. Also, Rauner and legislative Democrats haven't agreed on a spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Illinois officials said they liked corporation models in Ohio, Texas and Michigan, but were wary of Wisconsin's, which has been has been fraught with problems since it was created in 2001. The issues have included high turnover in key management positions, not recovering loans made to troubled companies, and giving out $126 million without a formal review.

Future of Rauner-backed pension proposal unclear Extending an olive branch to Democrats amid Illinois seven-month budget impasse, Republican

Rauner said transparency issues had been addressed in Illinois: Board members will be subject to a conflict of interest policy and donors will be publicly disclosed. He added Tuesday that board meetings will be public and the corporation subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jim Schultz said a board of volunteers will oversee the Chicago-based corporation, which will employ roughly 20 to 30 people at first.

Rauner told reporters he wasn't sure if he'd be on the board but he planned to be "very involved."
Terri Bryant has been down this road before, but the view of the landscape has charged remarkably.

In 2012, the state representative from the 115th Legislative District was on the ballot as a Newt Gingrich delegate. She didnt go to the Republican National Convention that year. This year she is on the March 15 ballot as a delegate for Marco Rubio.

Her chances might be better this year, but what makes the landscape so different is the process itself.

There are two ways you can become a delegate, she said. You either seek out the candidates campaign, or they look for you.

Four years ago, she sent out feelers to the Gingrich camp, pitching her credentials and lobbying for a place on the ballot. Her efforts paid off. Unfortunately for her, that did not lead to a trip to the big show.

This year the experience has been a different story.

With so many candidates in the field, they all went out looking for strong delegates, she said. She didnt have to lobby. I was contacted by three different camps. I wasnt drawn to any of them until Rubios people contacted me.

Why the Illinois Primary matters Suddenly its become serious. After months of jockeying, joking, and polling potential voter

She felt most aligned with the junior senator from Florida, one of the candidates whose campaign gained momentum Monday from the Iowa caucuses.

Bryants experience illustrates the process that is used to select most delegates for the national conventions, but its not a universal tale. Each delegate finds a different route to the ballot. And once on, a delegates chances depend entirely on the strength of his or her preferred candidate.

***

Illinois has whats called an indirect primary, meaning voters dont vote directly for a presidential candidate; they vote for delegates aligned with a candidate. Each of the candidates has a slate of delegates pledged to vote for them at the convention. The delegates are identified by candidate on the ballot.

Not surprisingly, the Democrats and Republicans do things a little differently. Actually, they do things quite differently. The rules governing these things  including the number of delegates and the demographic makeup of the delegates  are established by the national parties.

The Republican primary is pretty cut and dried. Each congressional district in the state has a slate of three delegates and three alternates per candidate, and voters are asked to vote for three delegates and three alternates. Those are the votes that count.

Also on the Republican ballot is a presidential preference vote or beauty contest, which has no binding effect on the outcome of the election. Historically, the beauty contest was meant to serve an advisory function at the conventions, but its little more than a curiosity today.

The Democrats dont use a beauty contest, and they use a far more complicated formula for choosing delegates.

Illinois delegate candidates encouraged by Iowa caucus results A lot could happen in the presidential campaign before Illinois primary voters head to the p

With the rules set by the Democratic National Committee, each congressional district has a different number of delegates, based on the results of the last presidential election, and the turnout of Democratic voters. The 12th Congressional District, for instance, is allotted six delegates while the 15th gets four, primarily because the 12th had a stronger Democratic showing than the 15th in 2012.

While only the designated number of delegates can be selected, each candidate can field a slate of many more delegates. In the 12th, Bernie Sanders has seven delegates on his slate, for example. If he sweeps the district, one of them would be out of luck. In contrast, there is a full slate of six delegates pledged to Hillary Clinton in the 12th, and four for Martin OMalley.

The winning Democratic delegates are not necessarily the ones who get the most votes, because the party has placed a priority on gender equality. Therefore, each congressional district sends an equal number of male delegates as female delegates.

***

In addition to the delegates chosen in the congressional districts, each party will send a number of unpledged delegates to the convention.

Demetra DeMorte of Peoria is a member of the Republican National Committee in Illinois. As such she is an automatic delegate to the convention. She is not pledged to any specific candidate.

The delegates (elected by ballot on March 15) are bound to vote for their candidate for the first ballot, she said. She spoke by phone from Iowa, where she was watching the returns Monday evening. If the vote goes to a second round, there can be delegate drift, and thats when it can get interesting.

DeMorte was not predicting more than one ballot at the convention. It's much too early for that sort of speculation. But she has the luxury of casting her vote on the first ballot for whomever she chooses.

So whos her candidate?

"I dont have one, she said, diplomatically. And then she laughed.
To the Editor:

Charles Krauthammer is a brilliant and gifted man. He graduated with his class from Harvard in 1975 despite being paralyzed from an accident during his freshman year. As chief resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, he noted and published findings concerning a variant of manic depressive disease as it was then called. He also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 as a columnist for the Washington Post.

The man is recognized as one of the most influential conservative writers in America. Thats why its so sad that Krauthammer buys into the Great Conservative Lie. In criticizing President Obamas State of the Union Address in this newspaper on January 17, he calls him spent and implies that he is a failure.

Krauthammer clearly realizes that after declaring that they will make sure he fails, conservatives obstructed, to the point of shutting down our government, every effort of President Obama to address the problems that face our country. They even opposed successful health care reform modeled on their design. Like the Republican Party, Krauthammer points the finger at the president with three pointed back at himself. He ridicules Obama for asking us to put aside enmity and division and embrace our commonality. Krauthammers is a sad perspective.

Dont ever forget that Charles has the easiest job our society offers: critic. And, if your columns are always the same, and you assume your readers are stupid, like Krauthammer and his predecessor in The Southern, Ann Coulter; youre a cheap critic.

Tom Vaughn

Mulkeytown
Suddenly its become serious. After months of jockeying, joking, and polling potential voters, the Iowa caucuses on Monday signaled a new phase in the election cycle. The dress rehearsals are over now; its show time. Were counting votes now.

Already two candidates  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on the Republican side and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley on the Democratic side  have dropped out of the running. A fact that shows how significant the caucuses are.

Iowa always gets an inordinate amount of attention during presidential election years. Everyone knows that. But the caucuses  over-weighted or not  have the effect of shaking the branches. And they provide valuable momentum to the candidates who show well.

Voice of the Southern: The man, the message, the evolution Bruce Rauner campaigned for and was elected governor in 2014 by positioning himself as an ou

Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton won the caucuses, but Marco Rubio  who finished third just behind Donald Trump  and Bernie Sanders  who was behind Clinton in a photo finish  all gained steam. The other candidates, we would hope, are probably reassessing their campaigns.

As we said, its suddenly become serious.

Until now, weve kept a curious eye on the candidates as they rose and fell in the polls and stumbled through debates and speeches. Warm-up acts, really. Watching the campaigns progress was like watching a slow-moving circus train approach. Weve been mostly amused by it. But all the while weve been standing on the tracks, and that train will be upon us soon enough.

March 15 is the Illinois Primary, which seems like a long way away. And, in a sense, it is. Between now and then, well have New Hampshire and South Carolina, Super Tuesday and a gauntlet of primaries and caucus across the United States and the territories. By the time we cast ballots, half the states will have already voted, and its guaranteed the field of candidates will be substantially culled.

Rauner's policies linked to failed strategies Gov. Bruce Rauner was right to use his State of the State address on Wednesday to focus on e

So why should we care about the Illinois Primary? Well, for one reason, this Illinois Primary, unlike so many previous presidential primaries here, might actually matter on the national level.

The candidates couldnt be further apart  from party to party and even within the party. Sanders is suddenly looking like a viable candidate. One long-time political observer in Jackson County called him a change agent, and its possible he and Clinton will still be battling six weeks from now.

The Republicans have been trying to deal with the Trump factor from the start. Hes not going to go anywhere soon. But even if he goes, there will be a fight for the soul and future of the party as Cruz and the Tea Party muscle their way to the convention. We could have a floor fight in Cleveland come June.

The long chain of racism When Chris Rock walks to the podium on Feb. 28, the whole nation should be watching. Thats 

So stay tuned. It will be exciting and it will be entertaining. And it will be more than that.

Some people have grown cynical about government and politics. They dont vote because there is a pervasive feeling that it doesnt matter. But this is what democracy looks like in America. It might not be pretty, but its how we do things.

And thats the main reason why we should care about the Illinois Primary.

As long as the stakes are as high as they are  were only talking about choosing the next leader of the free world  this thing is immensely important. It behooves us to pay attention, and to either get or stay engaged.
SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Town Council hired a new clerk on Monday night during its regular monthly meeting.

Sandra Sims of Pine Hill was hired to replace former town clerk Susie Dyches, who resigned effective Jan. 4.

Prior to accepting the position with the town, Sims was employed as general manager of Arby's restaurant in Orangeburg for 15 years and also worked with Stone Forest Industries for many years before the company relocated to Florida.

I am looking forward to a little slower pace, she said.

Council voted to hire Sims in public session following an 18-minute executive session to discuss personnel.

Also during the meeting, financial information that included the net salaries of some of the town's full-time employees, along with one former employee's Social Security number, were distributed with the evening's agenda.

According to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, the exact salaries of public employees earning $50,000 or more annually are public information. However, the salaries of public employees earning less than $50,000 only can be released to the public in $4,000 ranges.

During Monday's council meeting, the net salaries of former Springfiled police chief Terry Logan, former town clerk Susie Dyches and newly hired Police Chief Robert White were released. White's Social Security number was also included in the information that was made public in the document.

When The Times and Democrat correspondent questioned the legality of releasing those salaries and the Social Security number, Mayor Edward Furtick said, I would tell you that we are pretty much rookies at this and we may have made a mistake. But given your input, we will look into it and make a recommendation.

Councilman Robert Mitchell Phillips said he thought when state jobs were advertised that the salary was given, but Furtick replied that when state jobs are advertised, they usually provide a salary range and not the specific salary.

May I say something on that?" Councilwoman Lydia Lackey asked. "What they are talking about is the gross salary. What is on here is a net salary. That is what the difference is. You dont reveal the gross.

Furtick said, Well research it. Well do a better job. Were just getting started here. We will make a few mistakes.

In other business:

Furtick noted that a question had arisen about a $2,500 check issued by the town. He said those funds had been transferred from the cemetery fund to the general fund.

Alana Gleaton, Miss Springfield Teen 2016, discussed her charitable platform as a contestant, including donating items to the victims of last year's historic flooding, providing gifts to a family at Christmas and donating items to the Helping Hands ministry. Gleaton said she will also donate the $200 she recently earned at a pageant to the 2016 Springfield Frog Jump and Egg Striking festival.
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will be in Orangeburg on Friday, Feb. 12 as part of a three-day visit to South Carolina.

The Ohio governor is the first GOP presidential candidate to announce an Orangeburg stop in the 2016 election, but the county will probably see a number of other candidates as the campaign progresses, according to Orangeburg County Republican Party Chairman Jim Ulmer.

Some 30 to 40 percent of the Republican votes in the primary will be cast in the Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg areas, and thats where candidates usually their focus efforts, he said.

But every vote counts, Ulmer said.

Just a few votes from rural areas could win the election for a candidate, he said. As Congressman Joe Wilson has said a number of times, Orangeburg County Republican votes made the difference in getting him elected to Congress the first time.

Orangeburg is right in line geographically for candidates to drop in as they travel along Interstate 26 from one geographic region to the next, according to Ulmer.

Kasich was one of 12 candidates in Mondays Iowa Republican caucuses, winning 1.9 percent of the vote. He ranked eight, just above Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie, who both had 1.8 percent of the votes.

The candidate says he wants to help restore prosperity and safety to the nation and that he has the experience to do it. According to a press release from his campaign, Ohio turned an $8 billion shortfall into a $2 billion surplus under his leadership while cutting $5 billion in taxes and creating more than 400,000 private sector jobs.

Before running for governor, Kasich served in the U.S. House where he was chair of the budget committee and on the House Armed Services Committee which implemented President Ronald Reagans national security agenda.

Kasich has also been an investment banker and a best-selling New York Times author.

He will visit the Dukes Bar-B-Que at 789 Chestnut Street at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12. A ticket is not needed, but the campaign is asking people who want to attend to visit Kasich-Orangeburg.eventbrite.com to RSVP and find additional information.
South Carolina State University will recognize those who have fought injustice during the 48th Orangeburg Massacre Commemoration Ceremony on Monday.

The event will feature keynote speaker the Rev. Joseph Darby, presiding elder of the Beaufort District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

On Feb. 8, 1968, South Carolina State students Henry Smith and Samuel Hammond, along with 19-year-old Wilkinson High School student Delano Middleton, were killed when South Carolina Highway Patrol officers fired shots into a crowd of students protesting the whites only policy of All-Star Bowling on Russell Street.

Twenty-eight other students were wounded during the incident, which has come to be known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

The incident is remembered each year at the university. This years ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, in Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium.

As a minister and civil rights activist, Darby is committed to a life of service. A fourth-generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Darby served four congregations in the midlands of South Carolina, including the historic Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston.

A life member of the NAACP, Darby has held statewide leadership roles in the association and currently serves as first vice president of the Charleston Branch NAACP.

Darby co-authored the 1999 national NAACP resolution for economic sanctions that led to the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag from the dome and legislative chambers of the South Carolina Statehouse.

Darby is a sought-after political commentator who has appeared on local, national and international media outlets, including CNN and the BBC.

The theme of Mondays program, Social Change Inspires Freedoms, seeks to empower attendees to stand up against injustice to help make positive changes for others, whether locally or globally.

In keeping with the events theme, the university will recognize Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers Jr. and the Orangeburg Chapter of the NAACP as recipients of the 2016 Smith-Hammond-Middleton Social Justice award.

This year marks the second that the university will present the award to an individual or organization that has demonstrated a commitment to using their influence to eliminate injustices.

Sellers, president of Voorhees College, will be acknowledged for his long-standing commitment to social justice.

The Orangeburg branch of the NAACP will be honored for its ongoing work to eradicate racial discrimination more than a century after the organizations founding in New York.

The program will also feature community leaders including Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler and Orangeburg County Development Commission Chairman Kenneth E. Middleton.

University Interim President Dr. W. Franklin Evans and Claflin University President Dr. Henry Tisdale will both deliver a response following Darbys speech.

The S.C. State University Brass Ensemble and Claflin Universitys Concert Choir will perform at the program.

The program will conclude at the Orangeburg Massacre Legacy Plaza with the lighting of the memorial flame, which will be lit by family members of the deceased victims.

The ceremony is free and open to the public.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell has issued a warning concerning pharmacy break-ins.

A bulletin issued by the State Law Enforcement Division informed Orangeburg investigators that pharmacy break-ins have been happening not only in Orangeburg County but also surrounding areas, including Lexington and Bamberg counties.

SLED issued the alert on Wednesday after it was contacted by the South Carolina Pharmacy Association.

The Pharmacy Association informed SLED they had received a number of calls from pharmacies across the state, Ravenell said. In turn, SLED asked that every law enforcement agency be aware of the concern. I want to make the community aware of this concern as well.

OCSO investigators were called to R&J Drugs in North on Jan. 18 after the Savannah Highway pharmacy had been burglarized for a second time. The first R&J burglary happened only a day earlier.

If anyone sees anything or anyone acting suspicious  particularly after hours  contact law enforcement immediately by calling 911. If anyone has information on the suspects, contact the sheriffs office at 803-534-3550 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
In an election cycle thats already been one of the most unpredictable in American political history, conventional wisdom took it on the chin again Monday. Heres six things the political class had wrong about Iowa:

1. Big turnout helps Donald Trump

According to the experts, big crowds and long lines meant Trumps new, non-traditional Republicans  and maybe some crossover Democrats  were showing up to caucus for the billionaire. Even Ted Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe thought big numbers would mean a big night for Trump. As it turned out, the GOP turnout was huge  ABC News estimated more than 180,000, compared to the 2012 record of 121,354. But the voter surge seemed to help Mondays winner, Cruz and third-place finisher Marco Rubio more than No 2 Trump.

2. Trump wont be able to handle losing

Flanked on stage Monday night by his wife and adult children who took on more high-profile roles in the campaign in recent days, Trump was subdued, obviously, as befits a poll-spouting frontrunner who underperformed miserably. But even Democrat Paul Begala, commenting on CNN, said Trump showed humility in conceding to Cruz, in a speech that Begala called great. There were no snarky late-night tweets from @realDonaldTrump, and the New York developer assured Iowans he was honored to finish second and would be back: I think I might come here and buy a farm. I love it!.

3. Polls not perfect but generally reliable

Not in Iowa, not on Monday. Not only were the polls horribly off in predicting the GOP winner, most also missed the momentum shift that was taking place in both the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders race and the Cruz-Trump tilt. Cruz was not plummeting. Clinton was not opening up a lead. Concession prize for pollsters: Marco Rubio was gaining momentum, but even there, surveys underestimated his surge. The Real Clear Politics average had the Florida senator at just under 17 percent in Iowa. Rubio actually finished the night at 23 percent  nipping at Trumps heels.

4. If you dont back ethanol, you dont win Iowa

Just a week or so ago, Cruzs opposition to Iowas federal ethanol subsidies was being cited as the biggest reason for his drop in the polls. The states Republican Gov. Terry Branstad warned voters it would be a big mistake for Iowa to support the Texas senator, and Trump told crowds that Cruz will destroy your ethanol business 100 percent. With about half of the states corn crop going into ethanol production, questioning the subsidies has traditionally been the third rail of Iowa politics. But Cruzs strategy wasnt based on ethanol. It was based on evangelicals.

5. Evangelicals willing to settle this time

Over and over in the days leading up to Mondays vote, pundits explained Trumps lead in the polls among Iowa Republicans as a sign that, this year, the values voters were willing to settle. Turns out evangelicals, who in years past have faithfully rewarded candidates who put faith front and center in their campaigns  Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012  still want one of their own in the White House. God matters in the Hawkeye State, and no one cites more Bible verses or offers up more hallelujahs than Cruz, who referenced Psalm 30:5 in his lengthy victory speech, telling cheering supporters frustrated by eight years of the Obama administration that, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6. The GOP is a party of old white men

For one night, at least, the Republican Party looked more diverse than the Democrats, where two retirement-age career politicians, Sanders and Clinton, were deadlocked atop the Iowa results. By contrast, three-fifths of the states Republicans lined up behind a black surgeon  Ben Carson, who finished with 9 percent  and one or the other of the two young Cuban-Americans in the race, the 45-year-old Cruz who won with 28 percent, or the 44-year-old Rubio, who garnered 23 percent. Both men are sons of first-generation immigrants.

To be fair, there were a couple of things the conventional wisdom got right.

1. Dont skip the debate

Some on Team Trump were quick to call the billionaires last-minute decision to skip the final Republican debate before Mondays caucuses another brilliant, unconventional move that would pay off for the candidate. More experienced observers warned that Iowans take their first-in-the-nation status seriously and predicted voters might punish Trump. In hindsight, certainly looks like the Trump stunt backfired.

2. Organization matters

Again, Iowans are serious about their caucus. Its complicated, time-consuming and expensive. Candidates who put in the effort, as Cruz did (hes been visiting and criss-crossing Iowa for three years), tend to do better. Candidates who dont, or who find themselves with less experience at building an Iowa operation, like Trump? Not so much.
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"...V'aila ha'mishpatim asher tasim lif'nai'hem..." (21:1) "...and these are the ordinances which you shall place before them..." Over forty years ago I studied in the yeshiva of the Gaon haDor Rav Moshe Feinstein z'l. During my second year there, we studied the difficult tractate of Yevamos. This covers the laws pertaining to the responsibilities incumbent upon a man who had a married brother who died childless. During the winter zman. I recall coming across a fascinating passage in one of the commentaries known as the Meiri (Rabbeinu Menachem from the House of Meir, who lived in Spain until the early 1300s). In that passage, he explained a midrash which comments on the famed story of Shlomo HaMelech who was asked to judge and determine who was telling the truth about a small child. In the "Book of Kings" (Melachim I 3:16) we learn of the two women, both of whom had given birth to sons, only one of whom survived. Each woman now claimed that the surviving son was hers. Solomon sat in judgement, and was able to bring out the truth. The episode is well known. The deeper issues involving such a dispute have been the topic of many interpretations. This week, ibn Shu'aib, also of Spain during the same general era, cites the same midrash as the Meiri, and interprets it in similar striking fashion. The midrash says that these two women were actually "yevamos" - women whose husbands had died. Then the midrash says that they were "a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law." First, ibn Shu'aib deduces a compelling reason for the midrash to reveal these hidden details. Then, he works with them: If these women had both lost their husbands yet each one had given birth to a child, regardless of that child's subsequent death, the Torah frees them to remarry as they wish, and there is no longer any mitzvah for them to "have yibum" with their respective brothers-in-law. If so, why did they now have to bring the surviving son before the king to resolve their dispute? What was the issue, other than a matter of who would raise the child? ibn Shu'aib reasons that it must be that the mother-in-law gave birth first. Then, the husband of the daughter-in-law died. This would mean that the new born child of the mother-in-law was the brother of the deceased husband, and thus the brother-in-law of the daughter-in-law. Since the daughter-in-law's late husband had still been alive when his little brother was born and then this man died, his widowed wife now had a brother-in-law to make yibum. The practical problem was that since he was still an infant, the widow would need to wait for him to mature and to grow up, at which time he could perform the mitzvah of yibum and marry her. She would be much older by that time, as well as much older than the man, the brother-in-law, who would marry her through yibum. However, she was meanwhile pregnant. Once she would give birth to a son, even after the death of her husband, she would no longer need yibum, since he late husband would then have had a living descendant. Tragically, however, that woman's child died within 30 days of the birth. That creates a problem in halacha, for which the only solution is for her to get chalitza instead of yibum. Her little brother-in-law would grow up, but not be able to marry her. He would only be able to perform the chalitza ritual to free her to marry someone else. When the widow realized this, she was not keen on waiting single for so many years, only to have to go through a chalitza when the little brother-in-law matured. So, she in essence "kidnapped" him, took her dead child and put him next to her sleeping mother-in-law, then claimed that it was her son who was alive, which would then mean that her late husband had left a viable descendant and she did not require yibum or chalitza. Moreover, the prospective (false) brother-in-law, she reported, was dead. A double dispensation. Solomon suggested that the only way to resolve the overt dispute between the two women was to slice the child in half and share the remains. The real mother, the mother-in-law of the worried daughter-in-law, could not face such a tragic solution and insisted that her daughter-in-law just take the child and allow him to live. However, the daughter-in-law refuses to take him and opts to have him dissected per the king's recommendation. Why was this? Beyond the fact that her reaction revealed to Solomon that she could not be the real mother - for what mother would agree to have her child killed? - ibn Shu'aib suggests that the daughter-in-law could not deal with the thought of living with a child who was in fact the man she was supposed to marry. Her distress at this point led her to the most irrational decision to let him be killed. ibn Shu'aib asks, why didn't she just kill him herself when she first realized that she was going to be stuck, the night that her own child died? That would have freed her of all complications. ibn Shu'aib proposes that she was afraid of being caught, and moreover, murder feels worse to most people than setting someone up to be killed by someone else. And with this interpretation, we see deeper into the Talmudic mind of ibn Shu'aib, talmid of the Rashba. Good Shabbos. D Fox
We highly value the role of Azerbaijan in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor and the ongoing work on the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Latvian President Raimonds V?jonis said in his interview to The Business Year magazine.

Latvia, as a firm supporter of strengthening the relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, believes that the cooperation in the framework of the Eastern Partnership should be continued, he added .

/By Azertac/
/By Azernews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani products may fill the free space in Russian market as the latter banned import of many products from the EU and Turkey.

The president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce has invited Azerbaijani business community to review the Russian market and to keep in focus the import substitution of those goods, which are now lacking in the Russian shelves.

Sergey Katyrin expressed hope that Azerbaijan will occupy those niches in the trade that were freed, especially given the strained relations between Ankara and Moscow.

There is a prospect of growth in this area. First are agricultural products, fruits and vegetables as well as food products. The potential in the development of high-tech industries and equipment production can also be noted, he told Moscow-Baku information resource.

Azerbaijan and Russia enjoy great potential for the development of bilateral trade, said Katyrin.

I am confident Russia and Azerbaijan have not exhausted their possibilities in trade. In my opinion, cooperation should be developed more intensively. The prospects are enormous, he stressed.

Praising he measures taken by the Azerbaijani leadership to strengthen the economy, Katyrin stressed the importance of reducing the VAT on some goods.

I also want to note that the reduction of VAT on a number of important products is quite the right thing. Flour or bread is number one goods in the country. If the tax burden for entrepreneurs is weaken, it is also quite a wise move. Note that the small and medium businesses can quickly recover and grow, he said

Katyrin believes as soon as there is a change of the tax burden, the business community immediately positively responds to this.

He specially noted that today it is important to negotiate the extension of the presence of Azerbaijani businessmen in the Russian market.

Today, when niches in Russian market are freed, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs need urgently to come to our market and sign long-term contracts that guarantee delivery and fixed prices, he said.

The president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce invited the delegation of Azerbaijan for negotiations, to work out all the procedures.

The trade turnover between the two countries was not the highest in 2015. The figure amounted to $1.85 billion last year, of which $416.77 million fell on export to Russia, according to the Azerbaijan State Customs Committee.

The trade turnover between the strategic partners for the first time exceeded $4 billion in 2014.

Russia became very interested in Azerbaijani products especially food products after escalation of ties first with the western countries and then with Turkey.

Today, Azerbaijan has sufficient recourses and infrastructure to boost export of agricultural products and relevant negotiations were already held in Azerbaijan and Russia.
/By Azernews/

By Nigar Orujova

Chinas largest energy company POWERCHINA expressed interest in alternative energy sector of Azerbaijan, the country not only rich in hydrocarbons, but also rich by other natural resources.

The nation enjoys huge alternative energy sources especially solar, wind and thermal energies. Within next five years, Azerbaijan plans to build up to 100 facilities for alternative energy.

Currently, the share of alternative energy in the total energy production in Azerbaijan exceeds 7 percent. By 2020, the country plans to increase this figure up to 20 percent.

The Chinese company expressed a special interest in implementing joint projects together with the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. The delegation of the company has already visited Azerbaijan to assess its alternative and renewable energy field.

Stressing that Azerbaijan is the most attractive country for investments in the region, the Chinese delegation voiced readiness to begin implementation of joint projects in the field of alternative and renewable energy sources in the near future.

During the visit, the delegation also got acquainted with alternative energy sites including the factory for the production of solar panels AzGunTex, Gobustan experimental polygon and solar power station in Pirallahi island.

The company also held a working meeting to discuss plans on the future joint activities with the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources.

The Power Construction Corporation of China provides comprehensive and full-range of services from planning, investigation, designing, consulting, civil works construction to M&E installation and manufacturing services in the fields of hydropower, thermal power, new energy and infrastructure.

By late June 2015, POWERCHINA had total assets worth $70.4 billion and 200,000 employees. The company performed 1,565 overseas projects in 110 countries. The annual revenue in 2014 was $ 42.4 billion.

Today Azerbaijan is open to foreign investment especially in non-oil sector and the alternative energy is of special interest in the country.

Last year, investment in alternative energy development in Azerbaijan exceeded 63 million manats ($39.2 million), of which almost 35 million manats ($18.7 million) was invested in the development of solar energy, as most of the countrys potential in this area is accounted for by solar energy, with an estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

In addition, wind power accounts for 4,500 megawatts energy potential, 1,500 megawatts for biomass, and 800 megawatts for geothermal energy. The remaining 350 megawatts is the potential for small hydroelectric power plants.

In total, about 800 million manats ($498 million) has been invested in this sector in Azerbaijan since 2000.

The country plans to cooperate in this area with neighboring Georgia and Turkey, as well as Germany.
/By Azernews/

By Nigar Orujova

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route continues to enlarge as Lithuania expressed its interest to join the promising project.

Ukraine and Lithuania have signed a memorandum of joining the Viking container train to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route that will transport goods from China to Europe, Ukrainian media quoted Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as saying on February 2.

He noted the need to cooperate with European partners on this issue.

The fact that Lithuania has showed its interest and we've signed a preliminary memorandum of joining this New Silk Road with the Viking train means that as part of our cooperation with the European Union, as part of the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement not only Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China will join the route, but also EU members. The Viking from Klaipeda will also receive a chance to ship its goods directly to China bypassing Russia," Yatsenyuk said

The combined transport train Viking has started running from 2003. The project participants include Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria. The total length of the route from Ukrainian Ilyichevsk  Minsk (Belarus)  and Draugyste in Lithuania is 1,753 km.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine signed a protocol on the establishment of competitive preferential tariffs for cargo transportation on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route on January 14, 2016.

Next day, Ukraine sent its first test train on the route Ukraine-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan-China via the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The train reached China on January 31.

Meanwhile, Yatsenyuk instructed the Infrastructure Ministry to explore the possibility of reducing the length of the train flight on Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to 10 days and reduce the cost of transportation, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers reported.

The Prime Minister noted the importance of reducing the travel time of the experimental train.

This train was on road for 15 days, but after we will analyze all technical and methodological component of the passage of the train, we need to reduce this time, he said. If we can make this train to reach the destination in 10 days, it will further enable us to compensate the costs for the new transit path and accelerate the delivery of Ukrainian goods.

Currently, shipping of one container to its final destination costs in an average $5,500, which is slightly more expensive than the standard transit routes through Russia, he said.

However, Ukraine has no alternative route now. The country was forced to seek alternative routes for delivering its goods to consumers following tensions with Russia. In this regard, the Trans-Caspian Route is of significant importance for Kiev.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route enjoys an opportunity to become attractive and profitable for consignors from European countries. This route will transport approximately 300,000-400,000 containers by 2020, bringing hundreds of millions of manats in profit to Azerbaijan.

Growing interest in the transport infrastructures passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to make the country a major transport hub in the region.

Azerbaijan, which is located in the center of this route, is keen to create favorable conditions to increase the importance of the route.
/By Azernews/

By Laman Sadigova

Irans cities of Tehran and Tabriz will host exhibitions of famous Azerbaijani artists.

This was stated by Iran's cultural attache in Baku Ibrahim Ibrahimi.

He said Iran and the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts reached an agreement to hold joint workshops at the Iran Academy of Painting and Sculpture, as well as to hold joint workshops of artists from the two countries.

He also noted that rector Omar Eldarov has voiced readiness to develop further relations with the Iranian academic centers.
Three notable pairs of mother-daughter writers suggest writing ability can be passed down through generations. For Mothers Day, Jane Ciabattari investigates.

The art of novel writing isnt often a family business. The combination of talent and perseverance required, plus the good fortune to be published, are rare indeed. Even rarer are literary generations of mothers and daughters. But there are three notable pairs of mother-daughter novelists throughout literary history who share the gift of language and the same storytelling talent  and suggest that talent can be inherited, either through natural ability or through careful nurturing. An author mother can be a path opener or a role model for her daughter, or both, and help shape her literary destiny.

Mary Shelley s mother Mary Wollstonecraft died of an infection only days after her daughter was born. But her maternal legacy was strong. Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792, is a fundamental feminist document arguing for educating women to become equal partners to men.

In Wollstonecrafts novel Mary: A Fiction, written in 1788, a young single woman is adventuresome enough to travel abroad, but ends up back in the English countryside, visiting the sick, comforting the poor and educating the young. The last lines of the novel reflect the limits of a womans life at the time: Her delicate state of health did not promise long life. In moments of solitary sadness, a gleam of joy would dart across her mind  she thought she was hastening to that world where there is neither marrying, nor giving in marriage.

Mary Shelley showed an early interest in writing and noted that she was the daughter of two persons of distinguished literary celebrity. (Her father was the philosopher William Godwin.) Because of her parents influential intellectual circles, she had opportunities to explore her talents early on.

While still in her teens, Mary Shelley ran off to Europe with a friend of her fathers, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who later became her husband. On a dare at a gathering on Lake Geneva hosted by their neighbor Lord Byron, she began to write the horror story that became Frankenstein.

Wollstonecrafts influence on her daughters work appears in the themes of birth and creation central to her great gothic novel. In an ironic reversal, given her mothers death after childbirth and her own series of miscarriages, Shelley confers the power of giving life upon a man, the scientist Dr Frankenstein  the modern Prometheus.

Finding feminism

Hilma Wolitzer was 44 when she published her first novel, Ending, a raw portrayal of a young wife and mother struggling to keep grief at bay as her husband lies in hospital dying of cancer. It was 1974, at the height of the second wave of feminism  a time when Mary Wollstonecrafts Vindication of the Rights of Women was being revived. Wolitzer captured the voice of her generation of women  urgent, intimate, searching: I found myself lying in the middle of the bed on those strange new nights, like someone staking claim to territory in a wilderness.

I started writing short stories in my thirties, after my children were grown, Hilma tells BBC Culture. I knew no other writers. We lived in the suburbs. [But] I was invited to Bread Loaf [Writers Conference in Vermont ], where I met John Gardner.

In nine novels, filled with rare insights and moving scenes shot through with moments of beauty, Wolitzer has chronicled the juggling acts women face when combining marriage, family, work and friendship. Her most recent, An Available Man (2013), ranges from melancholy to wry wit as the male narrator, a 62-year-old science teacher, enters the new world of dating after his wifes death.

She was changed by feminism, says her novelist daughter, Meg Wolitzer. Her writing was empowered by the Womens Movement. To have a mother be able to do what she wants is wonderful, inspiring.

Hilma Wolitzer only became a writer in middle age. By contrast, she exposed Meg to writing early and discovered she was a natural writer with a gift for language.

I started writing in college, Meg says. I was very affected by my teachers  John Irving, John Hawkes and Mary Gordon. While an undergraduate at Brown, Meg wrote her first novel, Sleepwalking, about a trio of death girls at Swarthmore obsessed with Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and a fictionalised poet named Lucy Asher. It was published in 1982.

Meg married and had children after her own writing career was established. Like her mother, she has often focused on family and relationship in her work. She has written with sophisticated wit about confronting family legacies (The Position, a hilarious take on the lasting effects of a couples Joy of Sex-style manual on their children), the sacrifices creative women make when they support husbands whose ambitions mirror their own (The Wife), taking time off to raise children (The Ten-Year Nap), and, in a modern take on Lysistrata, the power of sex withheld (The Uncouplings). Her effervescent ninth novel, The Interestings (2013), follows a group of six friends, who meet as teens at an artsy camp the summer Nixon resigned, through four tumultuous decades.

Meg says she values her early exposure to the daily solitude and persistence of a writer at work: Seeing my mother working at it, you see what its like to make a life of writing, the necessary aloneness of being a writer. Most writers dont have a writer parent so they dont get to see it first hand and all its problems. Its like being a royal taster.

Run the world, girls

In 2006, Kiran Desai became the youngest woman to win the UK s Man Booker Prize with her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss, a multicultural, postcolonial, immigrant tale distinguished by its exuberant narrative and fluid prose. The head of the Booker judges, Hermione Lee, noted, "I think her mother would be proud. It is clear to those of us who have read Anita Desai that Kiran Desai has learned from her mother's work. Both write not just about India but about Indian communities in the world.

Her mother Anita was indeed a groundbreaker, Kiran tells BBC Culture. She was one of the first Indians writing in English being published abroad. I do see a link between her and what is now a vibrant scene. It's changed dramatically in my lifetime.

Anita Desai, who was born in the hill town of Mussoorie to a German mother and Bengali father, began writing as a child. Since 1963 she has published seventeen novels  elegant, austere elegiac books that explore the lives of individuals, especialIy Indian women, circumscribed by societal limits. She has been shortlisted three times for the Man Booker (in 1999 her Fasting Feasting, two interwoven family novellas set in Indian and Massachusetts, was official runner-up), and she was longlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize for The Zigzag Way, in which the descendant of a Cornish miner traces his roots in Mexico during the Day of the Dead.

Kiran Desai was raised in India until 14 and went to high school and college in the US . She wrote her first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (1998), in which a hermit lives in a guava tree for years and offers up oracular commentary to the passing villagers, while in graduate school.

Mother and daughter often work in the same house. They spent this past winter writing in Mexico . I seek her counsel more as I grow older, says Kiran. The writing life has exacted a growing toll. I was unprepared for the psychological cost of a slow, solitary life of writing books that are always, each one of them, a gamble. Writing school may teach craft, but a writer has to learn to be psychologically tough.

Kirans acknowledgement of Anitas role in her life as a novelist might serve as a motto for these mother-daughter pairs:

It is wonderful to have the example and advice of a mother with a superb mind and matchless dignity. I know it hasn't been an easy life, but it was one that was necessary to her. I followed her sense of discipline until it became my own.

/By BBC/
/By Azernews/

By Aynur Karimova

The development of bilateral relations in various areas was high on the agenda of talks held between President Ilham Aliyev, who was on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, and Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The two officials met in an expanded meeting in Dubai on February 2.

The sides stressed the successful visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to Azerbaijan.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said he was deeply impressed by development processes in Azerbaijan.

You have a beautiful country, beautiful people. I witnessed this during my visit to Azerbaijan, he noted adding that the first European Games were excellently organized in the country.

President Aliyev thanked Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for warm words and said Azerbaijan has become a venue for international events, expressing his confidence that the Islamic Solidarity Games to be held in the country next year will contribute to international cooperation.

President Aliyev also congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the economic development of the UAE, including Dubai, saying he witnessed the country's outstanding success during his current visit.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum touched upon the global economic crisis and sharp decline in oil price, highlighting what the UAE was doing in this regard.

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan is also carrying out large-scale measures related to global processes. In particular, substantial work is being done in the country to define a new economic model, the president said adding that it will cover a broad range of economic areas.

President Aliyev also hailed the activity of the Joint Economic Commission, saying it contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, including in the field of investment making.

The head of state said there are good opportunities for developing the cooperation in the field of tourism as well, and added that the development of tourism is a key priority for Azerbaijan.

The construction of high-class airports and the establishment of tourism infrastructure in regions contributed to the growth of tourism flow, President Aliyev said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hailed high quality of Azerbaijan-made agricultural products, stressing the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable exports from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

President Aliyev also said there are good opportunities for the UAE companies to participate in infrastructure and water supply projects in Azerbaijan, as well as in the ongoing construction of a sea port, establishment of a free economic zone, and investment making projects in the country.

The sides noted that friendly ties between the people of Azerbaijan and the UAE contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Prospects for expanding the cooperation in the fields of production, industry, logistics and air transportation were discussed during the meeting as well.

Later, President Aliyev and Vice President and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum participated at the signing of documents between Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the UAE Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi signed an agreement on institutional cooperation on sea transportation and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

Azerbaijan and UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.
/By Azernews/

By Laman Sadigova

Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the OSCE Minsk Group, which hasnt achieved progress in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the whole period of its activity, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said February 2.

The recent statement by the OSCE co-chairs deeply frustrated Baku, making doubtful the true will of the mediators to solve the long-lasting conflict.

Baku sees the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs spreading a statement on reviewing a report in the PACE on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan at the PACE winter session as a pressure on other countries, the minister said.

The mediators attempted to counteract the discussions of two reports on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict at the PACE session.

"We remind the Assembly, as well as other regional and international organizations that the Minsk Group remains the only accepted format for the talks," the co-chairs said.

"We appreciate the interest of members of the Assembly, but urge not to take steps that could hurt the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group or hamper the continuation of the negotiations."

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry brought its dissatisfaction to the attention of the co-chair countries' foreign ministries.

I have sent letters to the foreign ministers of Russia, France and the US and brought Baku's position to their attention, Mammadyarov said. Azerbaijan has a sovereign right to raise any issue at international platforms and nobody has the right to interfere in its sovereign affairs.

Baku has repeatedly criticized the inefficient activities of the 'trio' of international mediators representing the U.S., Russia and France.

The organization does not take any efficient step to change the current status quo in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and tries to preserve the resolution of the problem under its monopoly. The recent statement by the mediators was regarded in Baku as an attempt to prevent any outside initiative to positively affect the conflict.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 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.
The role of Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus has been discussed at an international forum in Tbilisi, Georgia. The forum titled Prospects of democratic and economic development of Georgia was attended by PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who briefed the participants on the priorities of the economic policy and regional cooperation between the countries. Deputy Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Georgia Dursun Hasanov, Head of the EU Delegation in Tbilisi Janos Herman, ambassadors of the US, Germany, Turkey and other countries also participated in the forum.

The panel sessions focused on regional and cross-boundary cooperation, energy and technology, ICT sector, logistics projects, international transport. The speakers pointed out that energy and transport projects implemented with the participation of Azerbaijan and Georgia paved the way for overall development not only of the region but also the eastern and western countries.

The discussions also revolved around ethnic conflicts in the South Caucasus and their negative impact on regional development. The participants underlined that unresolved, frozen conflicts impede sustainable development and stability in the region. Speakers urged the international community to promote settlement of conflicts in the South Caucasus.

Addressing the event, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Mikheil Janelidze said Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Georgia and its major supplier of energy.
/By Azernews/

By Aynur Karimova

The energy-rich countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf  Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates  have voiced interest in further developing bilateral relations in various fields.

Azerbaijan and UAEs high-ranking officials have focused on the development of relations between the two countries at different levels during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs official visit to the UAE on February 1-2.

President Aliyev and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Emir of Dubai held an expanded meeting on February 2.

The sides discussed the prospects for expanding the cooperation in the fields of production, industry, logistics and air transportation.

Azerbaijan and the UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The two countries have a lot of similarities. In particular, Azerbaijan is the most stable and liberal country in the South Caucasus region, while the UAE - in the Middle East region.

Being a federation of seven states (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Quwain), the UAE has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East's most important economic centers.

Azerbaijan and the UAE are considered most tolerant countries of the regions they are located. Though traditionally conservative, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. Azerbaijan, with a population of over 9.6 million people, is a model of tolerance in the world.

Deepening cooperation

During the top-level meetings President Aliyev hailed the activity of the Joint Economic Commission, saying it contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, including in the field of investment making.

The tourism sector is one of the main areas of cooperation between the two countries. The officials from both sides have stated that tourism in both countries is increasing.

The head of state said there are good opportunities for developing the cooperation in the field of tourism as well, and added that the development of tourism is a key priority for Azerbaijan.

The UAE has diversified its economy to become a regional trading and tourism hub. Today Baku, the pearl of the Caspian Sea and Dubai, the pearl of the Gulf, are the two centers preferred by the majority of tourists.

President Aliyev also said the construction of high-class airports and the establishment of tourism infrastructure in regions contributed to the growth of tourism flow.

President Aliyev went on to add that there are good opportunities for the UAE companies to participate in infrastructure and water supply projects in Azerbaijan, as well as in the ongoing construction of a sea port, establishment of a free economic zone, and investment making projects in the country.

Dubai is considered one of the centers of the biggest man made ports of the world.



Port Rashid, with the largest amount of shipping capacity among all the ports in Dubai, is the most efficient and the leading port in the whole of the UAE.

The Jebel Port, also known as the Mina Jebel Ali, is the world's largest man made harbor, and is also the biggest port in the Middle East.

Thus, the UAE enjoys huge experience in the port construction and it can share this experience with Azerbaijan, the country which is constructing its own port - the new Baku International Sea Trade Port ferry terminal in Alat, 40 miles south of Baku.

The estimated transshipment volume for the new port complex is up to 10 million tons of cargo and 40,000 TEU containers at the first stage, up to 17 million tons of cargo and 150,000 TEU containers at the second stage, and up to 25 million tons of cargo, and 1 million TEU containers at the third stage of the project. In addition to the logistics center, a free economic zone is planned to create in this area in the future.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hailed high quality of Azerbaijan-made agricultural products, stressing the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable exports from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

Azerbaijan's high-quality agricultural products enjoy popularity and are in demand in neighboring countries. Despite the fact that the South Caucasus nation has an access to the traditional markets, it intends to look for new markets for its agrarian goods.

In this regard, the UAE's interest in Azerbaijani products, is of significant importance for Baku to gain new markets in the Middle East region.

The sides also noted that friendly ties between the people of Azerbaijan and the UAE contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Azerbaijan and UAE, the two nations which established diplomatic relations in 1992, have long-standing and successful cooperation within international organizations such as the United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.

One of the milestones of President Aliyev's UAE visit was signing of documents between Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Following the expanded meeting, President Aliyev and Vice President and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum participated at the signing ceremony.

Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the UAE Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi signed an agreement on institutional cooperation on sea transportation and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on agenda

Prior to the meeting with the Emir of Dubai, President Aliyev was in the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi where he met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in an expanded format.

The two countries officials exchanged views on the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Yerevans territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.

President Aliyev said that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied by the Armenian armed forces, with more than one million Azerbaijanis becoming refugees and IDPs. He stressed the importance of settling the conflict in compliance with the international law and within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The president thanked the UAE for supporting the adoption of the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the UN General Assembly, saying Azerbaijan also backed the UAE' position within the UN and other international organizations.

The sides hailed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, and discussed the issues of further expansion of cooperation in the political, economic, trade, investment and other fields.

As part of the UAE visit, President Aliyev visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the grave of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which is located on the grounds beside the mosque, as well as the building of famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Thus, President Aliyev's visit to the UAE will pave the way for further development of Baku's ties with this Middle East country's emirates, as well as for increasing flow of investment and tourists from the UAE to the Land of Fire.
Air Astana two of Europes leading airlines, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, have today deepened their cooperation by signing a codeshare agreement for flights between Astana and Paris operated by Air Astana. Effective for flights from 11th March 2016, this three times a week service will now carry the marketing code of both KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France. This agreement enables passengers from across KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France worldwide networks to be able to purchase tickets and travel seamlessly to and from the Kazakh capital.

To facilitate this closer cooperation and expected growth in transfer traffic, the airlines have also executed baggage and passenger transfer agreements; and the operations of Air Astana flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport have been transferred from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2a, effective 11th March 2016 for more convenient connections of passengers to the Air France  KLM network.

Air Astana operates three flights a week between Astana and Paris, Charles de Gaulle on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using Boeing B757-200 aircraft, configured with 16 Business Class, 12 Economy Sleeper Class and 108 Economy Class seats.

We are delighted to strengthen the cooperation with KLM and Air France as part of our bilateral partnership growth strategy. The Agreement adds the Kazakh capital to the KLM and Air France network and at the same time makes its easier for global travelers to fly with Air Astana to and from our home base using the Paris hub. We believe that Air France and KLM passengers will enjoy Air Astanas award winning 4 Star services. These first steps pave the way for a strong and long term cooperation between the three carriers commented Peter Foster, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Astana.

Guillaume Glass, General Manager Russia & CIS AIR FRANCE KLM: We have a track record of building successful partnerships with international carriers that broaden our global network. The co-operation with Air Astana is another milestone in our unique global flight network to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This strategic step will deliver significant benefits to our business and provide our customers with exclusive travel opportunities. Plus we will strengthen our presence in Kazakhstan in the capital city, which will hold the Expo-2017.
The Danish government has extended the border controls between Denmark and Germany until February 23.

We are extending the temporary border controls in the same fashion as before, by using random checks, announced the immigration and integration minister, Inger Stjberg.

This is the second time since they were put in place on January 4 that the government has extended the controls. The second extension had been put in place until February 3.

It is necessary to prolong the border controls, said Stjberg. The Swedes have introduced border controls and carrier liability, so we risk seeing a very large accumulation of refugees and migrants.

Stjberg met earlier this morning with the Swedish justice and migration minister, Morgan Johansson, who joined her at todays press conference.

This has been and remains a very dramatic situation, said Johansson. We are constantly working together to find solutions.

Johnson thanks Denmark for acting quickly and constructively in connection with the introduction of the Swedish ID checks.

Stjberg met earlier this morning with the Swedish justice and migration minister, Morgan Johansson, who joined her at todays press conference.

This has been and remains a very dramatic situation, said Johansson. We are constantly working together to find solutions.

Johnson thanks Denmark for acting quickly and constructively in connection with the introduction of the Swedish ID checks.

There have been 1,400 requests for asylum in Denmark since the beginning of the year, according to the Immigration and Integration Ministry.

Most of the asylum-seekers are from Syria, with Afghanistan and Iraq also featuring prominently.

The government expects that between 15,000 and 25,000 people will seek asylum in Denmark this year.

The EU allows member states to introduce border controls for up to six months.

Under Schengen rules, a member country must face a serious threat to public policy or internal security to impede movement with border controls.
The main Syria opposition coalition, the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), says it will not attend a planned meeting with the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Press TV reported.

"There is no meeting with (Staffan) de Mistura," planned for Tuesday afternoon, HNC member Farah Atassi told reporters outside of the UN headquarters in the Swiss city of Geneva, where the Syria peace talks are going on.

"We presented the demands that we wanted to demand. At this moment, there is no reason to repeat ourselves with de Mistura," she added.

The gathering was to be the opposition delegation's second meeting with the Swedish-Italian diplomat as part of the UN-brokered peace Geneva negotiations aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

United Nations spokeswoman Khawla Mattar also confirmed that there would be "no other meetings today" in Geneva with de Mistura.

Earlier in the day, the UN envoy held talks with the Damascus government delegation. The meeting came one day after de Mistura announced the beginning of peace talks proper in the Swiss city of Geneva.

Following the event, however, Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, who has represented the Syrian government in the peace talks, said the negotiations are still in a preliminary phase and called the opposition "not serious".

The ongoing Syria talks are to be held in an 18-month timetable under a resolution unanimously approved by the UN Security Council.

Adopted on December 18, 2015, the resolution calls for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and the formation of a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian government within six months as well as UN-supervised free and fair elections within 18 months.

Some 17 nations - including the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran - held several rounds of talks last year in the broadest international push to end the crisis in Syria.

The foreign-sponsored Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011, has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people, and displaced almost eight million others.
/By Azernews/

By Aynur Karimova

Iran and Germany are deeply interested in closer bilateral relations as the nuclear Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has opened a new window to Tehran-Berlin ties.

This was stated by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a joint press conference following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on February 2.

Steinmeier said his second visit to Tehran in three months focused on good issues, as well as those which are a source of concern.

"I am confident the JCPOA made the world and region safer, and for the years to come narrowed prospects of nuclearization of the region," he said expressing his satisfaction over the deal reached between Iran and the world powers in Vienna last summer.

Touching upon the regional crises, the German FM called for a change in the conditions so that bloodshed can be stopped and a political solution can be achieved.

"It is why we say that JCPOA is important," he said adding that it is not a secret that there are differences over the settlement of the Syrian crisis. "We shall act upon the understanding reached under UN supervision so that it will result in negotiations between the Syrian government and its opposition."

Steinmeier, who will also pay a visit to Saudi Arabia on February 3, believes that Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two countries that can contribute to the settlement of crisis in Syria. He also expressed confidence that Germany's likely mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not necessary.

The German FM will also held a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and discuss the issue of Rouhani's next state visit to Europe, as well as Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on
Head of Cairo International Airport Mohamed Said announced on Tuesday the purchase of two explosive detecting devices at a cost of 18 million Euros ($19.6 million) to boost security measures around the airport, according to Ahram Online news website.

Said explained that the devices will be located at outside checkpoints that inspect all vehicles and cars prior their entry to the airport. For the past months, airport officials have been taking numerous measures inside and outside the airport aiming to increase security measures.

In November, new x-ray baggage scanners were installed in the departure hall of the airport.

The new measures were put in place following the 31 October crash of a Russian plane in Sinai which killed all 224 people on board.
Ankara hopes to win the arbitration hearing on the Russian gas price, a source in the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources exclusively told Trend Feb. 3.

The source also said the court has already made a number of preliminary conclusions on Turkey's claim, but refused to disclose any details.

Earlier, the International Court of Arbitration passed a judgment in favor of Turkey over a long-term gas dispute between the country and Iran.

Moscow and Ankara agreed to reduce the Russian gas price a year ago, but in exchange for permission to build the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. However, the price was not reduced. Turkey filed a lawsuit to the International Court of Arbitration on Oct. 27, 2015.

In accordance with two contracts signed with Turkey, Russia is committed to annually supply 20 billion cubic meters of gas to the country.

The first contract to supply Turkey with 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas was signed in 1997, and will expire in late 2025.

The second contract for the supply of four billion cubic meters of gas was signed in 1998 and expires in 2021.

In 2014, Turkey was the second largest importer of Russian gas after Germany  Ankara purchased 27.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom.

Turkey imports 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Azerbaijan on the basis of a take or pay contract. Turkey also buys gas from Iran.

Ankara also has agreements with Algeria and Nigeria for the supply of 4.4 billion cubic meters and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year, respectively.
Irans president Hassan Rouhani has underlined that Tehran and Berlin should plan for long-term cooperation.

Rouhani made the remarks during a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on Feb. 3, ISNA news agency reported.

The two parties also underlined necessity of a common fight against terrorism and extremism in the Middle East region.

Rouhani further hailed Germanys positive and constructive role during the nuclear talks with the P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany), saying the two countries should enjoy the post-sanction period opportunity to boost the cooperation.

Top German diplomat, for his turn, expressed Berlins readiness for expanding ties with Tehran in various areas including political, economic, cultural and academic.

Speaking after meeting with Rouhani, Steinmeier said he had told the Iranian president he was welcome to visit Germany the next time he comes to Europe.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Steinmeier arrived in Tehran Feb. 2 for two-day visit.

The top German diplomat also met with Irans Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, as well as his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

Mutual ties, economic cooperation, as well as latest regional developments, including Syria crisis and the recent tension between Tehran and Riyadh were discussed during the visits.

Steinmeier will depart Tehran for Riyadh after holding talks with Iranian senior officials.

/By Trend/
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Dubai-based Nakheel, one of the worlds leading developers, today reported a net profit of Dh4.38 billion ($1.19 billion) for the financial year ending December 31, 2015, representing a 19 per cent increase on last years net profit of Dh3.68 billion ($1 billion).



The 2015 financial results highlight yet another year of strong performance by Nakheel, reflecting the execution of a carefully planned business strategy that continues to contribute to the overall strengthening of the real estate sector in Dubai and in laying the foundation of a robust and a sustainable business, the company said.



"Delivering better financial performance year-on-year has been made possible by the ongoing support from customers and investors, the Government of Dubai, Nakheels board of directors and other stakeholders," it said.



While development remains Nakheels core business activity, the plan to increase cash-generating assets of the business is also paying dividend with combined revenues from retail and residential leasing increasing their overall share in the company revenues in 2015 compared to 2014.



With its first hospitality asset  the ibis Styles hotel at Dragon Mart, operated by Accor  commencing operations earlier this week, Nakheel is well on course to diversify its revenues from various real estate sectors, it added.



During the financial year 2015, Nakheel handed over 847 units to customers across its Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan, International City, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park and Jumeirah Heights communities. Nakheel has delivered around 9,700 units between 2010 and 31 December 2015. Strong demand across retail and residential leasing ensured that all the assets and units currently operational are occupied and increasingly in demand.



Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: We are pleased to announce yet another year of strong financial performance. Nakheels profits have steadily improved from Dh0.96 billion in 2010 to Dh4.38 billion in 2015, reflecting our strong commitment to deliver to our customers who have placed immense trust and confidence in Nakheel.



2015 saw the completion of Dragon Mart 2, the first phase of expansion at Dragon City which, in subsequent years will contribute significantly in diversifying our revenue streams. In 2015, Nakheel awarded new contracts to the tune of Dh8 billion for various projects currently under development, including The Palm Tower, Deira Islands Night Souk, Warsan Souk and the Circle Mall. These are expected to contribute significantly to the local economy and further strengthen the local real estate market," Lootah said.



Our strategy to have a more diversified business is taking shape. Our first hotel has opened, Dragon Mart 2 is now operational, and we expect to complete and start operations at the first phase our Ibn Battuta Mall expansion in 2016. These projects will contribute to our recurring revenue which is expected to grow in subsequent years as more projects are completed, making Nakheel a key player in the Dubais retail, leasing and hospitality businesses," he said.



Our trade creditor Sukuk is due to mature in August 2016 and Nakheel is well-placed to honour this financial commitment from its own internal resources, which will successfully conclude the last of any restructuring-related matter. In conjunction with this major undertaking, we will continue to build on our improved performance in 2016 and implement our growth plans, Lootah added. - TradeArabia News Service
Omans Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has signed an agreement with the Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company (Ooredoo) to partner and engage in knowledge sharing on the managerial and technical side.



The MoU was signed by Maitha bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Greg Young, CEO, Ooredoo Oman.



The partnership includes working together on various events, providing ground support as when and required, and leverage each others strength in enhancing the experience and making the event more attractive to the target audience. The two parties will also work towards increasing the attendance to workshops, conferences and events of either party through shared contacts and invitations.



The MoU also details how the two parties will cooperate in providing advanced telecommunication services at competitive prices for the tourism sector. Another important aspect of the partnership is conducting training sessions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) working in the tourism sector.



Al Mahrouqi said: The Ministry of Tourism works is constantly working towards improving the services provided by the tourism sector and utilise the Ministry expertise in implementing new programs. We strive to improve our ways of working and using the latest technology is one way of doing this.



This is why we have partnered with one of the leading telecommunication company, Ooredoo, through this MOU. We would continue to partner with more organisations and work together to develop our community and the tourism sector in the Sultanate.



One of the highlights of this MOU is the assistance we would be providing in training and enhancing the skills of employees working with SMEs in the tourism industry, as well as enhancing the communication service offerings to the tourism sector, both from a technology and an economic standpoint, she added.



The MOU with the Ministry of Tourism is an affirmation of the importance of the touristic destinations that the Sultanate is enriched with. We gladly use this as an opportunity to make it more convenient for tourists to enjoy Oman and reduce any hurdles, said Young.



Through this partnership, we will support the activities of the Ministry as well as implement the technical and health and safety training programs. We would also like to strengthen our investments in the local human capital and increase the local efficiency.



The strategy that we adopt with the government is based on the mutual benefits one derives in building an enriching work environment. We aim to our share knowledge and expertise in order to establish best working practices. We hope that our products, efforts and dedication here at Ooredoo will help the Sultanate in achieving the growth we set out to realize, he added. .  TradeArabia News Service
Thailand, one of the world's top rice exporters, has signed agreements to sell 300,000 tonnes of rice to Iran worth 4.3 billion baht ($120 million), the Thai commerce ministry said on Wednesday.



Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn said four memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed in a deal that would see white and jasmine rice exported to Iran.



The agreements were signed between three Thai and four Iranian private firms, she said.



A Thai trade delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak is in Iran this week to seek trade opportunities following the lifting of sanctions against Tehran.



The Thai Rice Exporters' Association said last week that Thailand would negotiate the rice sale during the visit.



Most of the rice is 100 per cent B grade white rice, according to the ministry.



The grain is quoted at $350 per tonne (1,000 kgs) but could be around $425 per tonne with sea freight charges included, said Phaiboon Kuonsongtum, a rice trader in the delegation.



"It's a good sign that the Thai government acted quickly and sent a trade delegation to Iran, as Iran was a big market for Thai rice," said Phaiboon, adding that Iran used to import up to 800,000 tonnes of Thai rice per year before sanctions were imposed.



Chutima Bunyapraphasara, the Thai commerce ministry's permanent secretary, said Thailand had asked Iran's health ministry to send officials to inspect the quality of the grain.



After the inspection, Iran will issue a document allowing the import of Thai rice, she said.



Chutima said shipment of the grain would start in six to eight months.  Reuters
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) plans to invest more than $10 billion in three key hydrocarbon projects, a report said.



The three ventures include the Rabab Harweel Integrated Project (RHIP), the Yibal Khuff integrated oil and gas facility, and the Budour integrated project, all of which are on track for implementation, PDO managing director Raoul Restucci, was quoted as saying in the Oman Observer report.



These are very large investments, which will probably total in excess of $10 billion over the next 5-10 years, he said.



Work on the power plant at RHIB, including the foundations and the wells, is very advanced, he noted.



As many as 12 Local Community Contractors (LCC) companies are working to prepare the site. There is good progress overall, good integration, and good safety; we will deliver on target, he added.



At Harweel, PDO aims to harness part of Rababs sour gas to inject as miscible gas to produce oil from Harweels sour oil reservoirs, the report said, adding that at Budour, plans for the first-ever use of water injection in a sour oil field were being reviewed.
Oil rose on Wednesday, paring earlier losses after fresh comments from Russia about its openness to talk with Opec over output cuts helped revive hope among investors that the world's largest producers could act to boost prices.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-Opec members to meet, "then we will meet".



This helped push the price of oil, which had been set for a third day of declines after data on Tuesday showed another big build in US inventories, off the day's lows.



Brent for April delivery rose 40 cents to $33.12 a barrel by 0930 GMT, pulling away from a session low of $32.30. US crude futures rose 46 cents to $30.34, off a session low of $29.40.



"Is there going to be a meeting between Russia and Opec? That is a supportive factor in this rally that we've seen in the last one hour," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said.



"(Oil-producing) countries are at the brink of default ... so the situation is dire."



Cash-strapped Nigeria and Angola are discussing potential financing from the World Bank, which, together with the International Monetary Fund, is in talks with Azerbaijan.



The 70 percent drop in the crude price over the last 18 months has hit the budgets of oil-dependent nations such as Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia and some Gulf nations.



Demand for oil, particularly in Asia, proved robust last year, but not enough to absorb near-record supply and ballooning inventories of unwanted crude.



US crude stocks rose by 3.8 million barrels to 500.4 million in the week to January 29, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed.



"The (global) inventory situation is going to get worse in the second quarter as we hit the peak refining rate at the end of this quarter," Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, said.



A rebalancing between oil demand and supply will not come until mid-2017, Morgan Stanley said in a note.



"Despite the myriad announcements of capex cuts, production has yet to respond enough to rebalance the market," Morgan Stanley said.



Goldman Sachs in a note on Monday said volatility in the oil price, which is at its highest since the collapse of failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, could reach 100 percent as storage capacity comes under pressure. -Reuters
Leading exhibition organiser dmg events will launch its Hotel Show brand in India this year as the countrys tourism and hospitality industry is forecast to grow at fast pace.



Government investment in attractions and infrastructure; the rise of emerging tourist destinations including Goa and Jaipur; and launch of the new e-tourist visa is creating worldwide demand to visit India.



The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) says India has the potential to become the worlds number one tourist destination; and forecasts its travel and tourism sector will generate $42.8 billion by 2017; while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that the country is set to retain its newfound status as the worlds fastest growing economy (2015) in 2016 as well.



The Food & Hotel Show New Delhi 2016 will take place from November 3 to 5 at the Pragati Maidan in the capital city, at a time when TOPHOTELPROJECTS reports 34,076 hotel rooms are under construction in India, while The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) says an additional 100,000 hotel rooms are required to meet demand.



Geoff Dickinson, CEO of dmg events, said: The market is right and the time is right for The Food & Hotel Show New Delhi. India has witnessed a remarkable increase in its international tourist arrivals with Government initiatives including the e-tourist visa (eTV) making it easier to travel to the country. The effect of the eTV scheme has been significant with a reported 1,040 per cent increase in tourists using an eTV throughout 2015 compared to 2014. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India has the potential to become the worlds number one tourist destination with overall demand growing at 10.1 per cent annually.



In the latest update to WTTCs Economic Impact research, it forecast that South Asia will be the fastest growing travel and tourism region in the world with 7.7 per cent growth in 2015; heavily stimulated by the growth in India. India ranked 11th in the world for international tourist arrivals and fourth in the most preferred travel destination by The Lonely Planet in 2015. TOPHOTELPROJECTS reported 190 hotel projects under construction in India as of October 2015.



Momentum is expected to continue as it is reported a total 150 countries will have access to the new e-tourist visa by March 2016; and India will remain in the top 3 of the list of fastest growing tourist destinations in the world in projections made by the WTTC until 2023.



The 200,000 hotel rooms in the Indian market must increase by some 50 per cent to meet demand according to reports, so this is an ideal time for us to bring a highly successful international forum for hospitality buyers and decision-makers where they can source latest products, gain essential information through our Vision Conference programme, and network, added Christine Davidson, group event director, dmg events hospitality portfolio.



The Hotel Show, which has been running successfully in Dubai for 16 years, is the largest and most comprehensive hospitality supply event in the Middle East and Africa with conference forums spanning technology, security, design, interiors, HORECA, FM, lighting, furnishings and more.  TradeArabia News Service
PHOENIX  A House panel voted Tuesday to make it easier for liquor stores to move closer, or next door, to schools and churches.

On a 5-3 vote the Committee on Rural and Economic Development agreed existing law, which requires a buffer of at least 300 feet, should be scrapped.

Under HB 2373, that buffer would not apply to stores of at least 4,500 square feet  as long as liquor sales comprise less than half their business and they also offer fresh produce for sale.

Several neighborhood activists objected.

We need your help to protect our children and places of worship, said resident Jeff Spellman.

Lawmakers who supported the change were more swayed by comments of lobbyist Mike Williams, who crafted the legislation. He represents Circle K Corp. as well as other convenience stories.

The approval of HB 2373 was actually one of two losses Tuesday for neighborhood groups. The same panel also approved HB 2182, which would remove existing limits on how often small beer and wine shops can conduct tastings for customers.

Both measures now go to the full House.

Williams told lawmakers his clients have no interest in moving next door to traditional churches.

The problem, he said, is new congregations pop up in rental spaces in places such as strip malls.

What were talking about is grocery stores and food stores that are having a hard time, Williams said.

He conceded part of the reason Circle K wants the change is that it is abandoning some of its smaller, older stores in favor of newer, bigger ones.

Lawrie Fitzhugh, one of the neighborhood activists, said there are studies linking the proximity of where liquor is sold and underage drinking. And she cited a 2011 study done by Arizona State University showing police responding to a high number of calls at Circle K stores.
The United States and Mexico, increasingly two countries that are part of one community, must start thinking binationally at a regional level, a top Mexican official said.

Thats part of a new reality in this century, said Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Mexican secretary of foreign affairs. We have to start thinking more about what we can do from an integrated perspective and less about what two different countries with two different ideas would do separately, she said.

The secretary, who visited Tucson on Tuesday, met with representatives of the Mexican community, business leaders and local government officials, as well as with Gov. Doug Ducey.

She noted not only Arizonas strong economic relationship with Mexico  which includes Mexico being the states No. 1 trading partner, and Mexican tourists spending more than $2 billion here every year  but also the cultural ties that bind the region.

This unity should be promoted and strengthened, she said, as North American countries look to become more integrated to increase their competitiveness and productivity.

Part of that integration is freer mobility for people in North America, Ruiz Massieu said, so Canada, the U.S. and Mexico can benefit from a shared human resources pool.

Already Canada is planning to eliminate a visa requirement for Mexican visitors. She said that in the U.S., student exchanges are a good place to start exploring that idea.

The more you foster the understanding between peoples, and that understanding is fostered through academic mobility, through tourism, the more it will be easily recognized that we need to have people moving about freely, she said.

As part of her visit to Tucson, Ruiz Massieu officially inaugurated the Mexican Consulates new offices at 3915 E. Broadway, which opened in March. The consulate is a model, she said, both in terms of the building space and the incorporation of best practices developed throughout the consular network.

The consulate is also home to the newly launched Center for Information and Assistance to Mexicans, a call center that handles everything from inquiries about missing immigrants to passport requirements.

The profile for our communities has changed in recent years, and we have been forced to adapt, she said.

Along with the traditional services provided by the consulate, its role has expanded to providing education, training and other ways to empower the community, Ruiz Massieu said.

This includes pushing for eligible Mexican permanent residents to become U.S. citizens, as well as for eligible U.S. citizens to receive dual nationality, which dovetails into the philosophy of North American mobility.
Tucson micro- and craft-brewing company Ten Fifty-Five opened a call for investors Tuesday, just ahead of its third birthday.

Its been a wild ride for sure. We had happily underestimated Tucsons demand for craft beer, said co-founder and owner Chris Squires.

The current location, 3810 E. 44th St., is in an industrial area near South Dodge Boulevard. Beer production and a tap room are nestled into the 1,800- square-foot space, just down the road from another Tucson beer icon, Nimbus Brewing Co.

Its kind of funny, when we opened the space where we are now, we did not account for much sales on premise in our tap rooms. Squires said.

We didnt think people would be able to find us, much less want to. But within six months we had to knock out a wall and expand into the space next door.

The expansion continues as Ten Fifty-Five plans to open an 11,000-square-foot facility at 127 S. Fourth Ave., hoping to increase production five to six times.

The space will include brewing and seating, food service and an outdoor patio with picnic tables and areas for games like bocci ball, Squires said.

However, it is all in the very preliminary stages, as the company must meet its nearly $2 million investment goal before going further.

Squires said he and co-owner John JP Vyborny always intended to end up downtown but wanted to gain experience and build product recognition first.

We always knew that this is where we wanted to go. We didnt think we had the means or experience, but I think the Tucson market has evolved, and so have we, he said.

An investment information portal is at Invest.1055brewing.com, where interested parties can get an overview of operations and register for access to the investment agreement. Investors must be Arizona residents, which was a legal condition of the offering the owners chose, but also dovetails with the local focus of the company, Squires said.

One of Ten Fifty-Fives best-known brews is the XOXO Coffee Stout, made with local Exo Roast Co. coffee.

Last year, the brewery made an Our Valentine of all Arizona-grown ingredients, the first brew of its kind, to Squires knowledge. It was no easy task, as the hops and barley used in beer like it when its wet and cold, and were none of those things, Squires said. But, with the help of Marana-based BKW Farms and friends and family picking wild hops in the White Mountains, Squires said the experimental brew made quite a splash.

Keeping the current space running for just such experiments is definitely in the plans, Squires said, especially as there is currently no set timeline for opening downtown. Squires said construction alone will take at least six months but cant begin until investment needs are met.

Its been a long process, Squires said. The owners started looking for buildings two years ago. This is unquestionably a big step up, but Tucson is ready.
Brenda Frye, an assistant astronomer at Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, will discuss 'The Building Blocks of the Milky Way' at Friday's free meeting of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association. The discussion will include how galaxies grow and evolve over time; starting out as small and faint fragments, growing and evolving over time. The free event starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Steward Observatory Lecture Hall, room N210, at 933 N. Cherry Ave. on the UA campus.

If you go

Astronomy magazine along with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association  will host the fourth annual all-day sky watching party at Pima Community College (PCC) East Campus, 8181 E. Irvington Road) from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13,

TAAA will have several solar telescopes during the day to safely view the sun to include sun spots, solar prominence, and other solar activity. During the evening (starting about 6 p.m.), the nonprofit association will have about 10 telescopes to observe some amazing solar system and deep-sky objects, to include: the moon; planets Uranus and Jupiter (late evening); Orion's Nebula (a star nursery) and other gas clouds; Andromeda Galaxy (2.5 million light years away); double star systems; star clusters; and other celestial objects.

Objects will also be displayed on a monitor for those with difficulty viewing through a telescope. Observing will take place near the PCC Observatories on the south side of the campus. The PCC observatories will also be open for viewing.

This is a free event. Learn more about TAAA or the sky watching event at tucsonastronomy.org.
was born June 1, 1964 and passed peacefully on January 28, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona, where she was born and raised. She remained a loyal Arizonan all her life. Carrieanne is survived by her father, Gary F. Boggs of Tucson; mother, Maureen A. Neurath of Tucson; sister, Coreen L. Malone of Ridgecrest and numerous aunts and uncles. She was the faithful wife of Seth A. Slaughter of Chandler and mother of Seth A. Slaughter Jr., Ashley A. Slaughter, and Sarah A. Slaughter of Chandler. Carrieanne graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School in 1983 and also attended the University of Arizona. She was an established member in 4H, an avid photographer, a dutiful humorist, and an incredible chef. Throughout her endeavors she remained a humbled artist whom loved her family and always strived to place a smile on the faces of everyone she encountered. A Celebration of Carrieanne's life will be held at Most Holy Trinity Parish on Friday, February 5, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. with reception to follow. A private family burial will take place at the Holy Hope Cemetery after the conclusion of the reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Peppi's House, TMC Hospice, or your favorite charity in memory of Carrieanne. Arrangements entrusted to DESERT SUNSET FUNERAL HOME.
97, passed away on January 23, 2016 at Peppi's House at TMC, in Tucson. Harold came to Tucson with his wife, Wannietta and daughter, Jocelyn in 1943 to find relief from Tuberculosis. After finding his first paying job at J.C. Penny he became one of the first x-ray technicians in Tucson. He then aspired to become a Dentist and went to the UofA and then on to the Univ. of Calif. Dental in San Francisco. Upon graduation with honors he returned to Tucson to establish his practice. He soon branched out to Nogales and not only succeeded in private practice but performed dental procedures pro bono for a great many indigent children in Arizona and Sonora. At retirement he spent many hours volunteering at St. Elizabeth Clinic and St. Alban's Episcopal Church. During his various careers he received many acknowledgements for service and accomplishments. He was preceded in life by his wife, Wannietta, whom he loved and admired greatly. He is survived by his daughter, Jocelyn Clark (Don) and granddaughter, Renee Clark Jordan (Patrick). A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 3738 N. Sabino Canyon at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2016. In lieu of flowers, at the wishes of Dr. Coffman, donations may be made to St. Alban's Episcopal Church. Arrangements by HUDGEL'S SWAN FUNERAL HOME.
A man was found shot in a car at a shopping center on the city's south side Tuesday morning.

The man was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

Shortly before noon, police received a 911 call reporting a possible shooting in the 5600 block of South Nogales Highway, which is at the corner of East Drexel Road, Dugan said.

On the northwest corner in a shopping center parking lot, officers found a man inside a four-door sedan with gunshot trauma, said Dugan. The man is in his 20s, he said.

Homicide detectives were investigating the case. No further information was released.
Phoenix has long looked at Tucson as an unusual town.

Now they know its worse than that  were satanic.

As you may have heard, Tucson lawyer Stu de Haan asked to give the invocation at a Phoenix City Council meeting on behalf of his claimed faith, Satanism. The capital citys administration went ahead and scheduled him to perform it before the Feb. 17 meeting.

But after word about the satanic invocation got out last week, all hell broke loose. The Phoenix City Council held an emergency executive session Tuesday, Feb. 2, to discuss legal options for preventing such an outrage. But their effort is doomed.

Thats because de Haan and his co-religionists at The Satanic Temple have outfoxed the Phoenicians.

The trick here is that these Satanists are people with a scary name but praiseworthy beliefs. The first of the groups seven tenets, for example is this: One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.

Another: Ones body is inviolable, subject to ones own will alone.

Far from supporting evil acts, de Haan and the temple are largely dedicated to working on the separation of church and state. My reading is thats the primary reason for the temples existence. Having a satanic faith allows them to bring issues to the fore that otherwise can be avoided.

When we talked Tuesday in his downtown Tucson office, de Haan, 35, noted that Phoenix has, in the past, allowed a secular humanist to do the invocation. No one complained till now. That has left him and the temple, he believes, in a win-win situation.

Theyre either going to let us go forward, which Id be happy with, or theyll do whats constitutionally correct and theyll stop it (the invocation) altogether, which Id also be happy with, he said.

In fact, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has gotten involved, sending a letter on Monday to Mayor Greg Stanton.

Government prayers are an all or none proposition: either allow every sect in or stop the prayers altogether, they said.

Stanton acknowledged their right to give an invocation but also said, I strongly disagree with this groups message, which raises the question of whether he has any idea what their message is. De Haan said the invocation would largely be based on the groups seven tenets.

This is probably the most potentially offensive of those: The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own.

In other words, the groups beliefs dont bear much resemblance to what most of us think is represented by the red guy with a long tongue and forked tail.

The issue theyre bringing up, though, hits us right here at home.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors and the Tucson City Council hold invocations before their meetings. This practice at Pima County goes back to 1993, while the citys invocations existed in the 1970s if not before.

Both the council and the board have long lists of people who may perform invocations, and each entitys practice is to rotate among them. Almost everybody on both lists represents a Christian church of one stripe or another, but there is a handful of rabbis, an imam, a Buddhist and an Oodham official.

A Wiccan  far more representative of Tucson than a Satanist  has performed a city council invocation.

De Haan said he wasnt aware the Tucson governments held invocations before making the request to appear before the Phoenix City Council. He said hes happy with the choice because of all the attention his planned appearance is generating.

In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that elected government bodies may allow religious invocations before their public sessions  essentially saying its OK as long as they keep the prayer short and the message broad.

Prayer that reflects beliefs specific to only some creeds can still serve to solemnize the occasion, so long as the practice over time is not exploited to proselytize or advance any one, or to disparage any other faith or belief, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority.

I wouldnt expect de Haan to proselytize. While he insists he has a sincere religious belief in Satanism as defined by this temple, the real point here seems to be to prove a point.

And it is a good one  not just about religion in government but also about the rights of minorities.

Either let our voices be heard, or dont do this in a government function, he said. Its all or none.

And as true in Tucson as it is in Phoenix.
The Pentagon will delay until 2022 its plan to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet, a mainstay at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Tuesday.

During a preview of the Pentagons fiscal year 2017 budget request, Carter said the final retirement of the A-10 Warthog would be deferred until 2022, as it is replaced with F-35 Joint Strike Fighters squadron by squadron.

Carter spoke at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., about the Pentagons formal 2017 budget request, due out next week.

The proposed retirement of the A-10 has been a contentious issue in Congress. Lawmakers for the last two budget years have blocked the Air Forces plan to retire about 300 remaining A-10s  including more than 80 in three squadrons at D-M  by 2019.

A-10 supporters including Arizona Sen. John McCain, R-Phoenix, and Rep. Martha McSally, a Tucson Republican and former A-10 combat pilot, have argued that there is no ready replacement for the A-10 for persistent close air support, and that retiring the plane would put American troops at risk.

Davis-Monthan supporters also worry that mothballing the A-10 would remove a major mission from D-M and make it more vulnerable to future closure. D-M pumped an estimated $973 million into the local economy in 2014.

In a news release, McCain called Carters announcement a credit to the brave airmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and military installations across the country who are providing unmatched close-air support in critical missions throughout the world.

McCain said the plan to replace the A-10s squadron by squadron will avoid a capability gap as we confront a complex array of conflicts and crises.

Further details on the new A-10 retirement timetable were not immediately available. Earlier Air Force plans called for the A-10s at Davis-Monthan to be replaced by a smaller number of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters by 2019.

McSally said the A-10 has been instrumental in the battle against Islamic State militants, in Europe where it was deployed to reassure and train U.S. allies amid increased Russian aggression, and in South Korea to counter North Korean belligerence.

But she noted that even 2022 represents an early retirement date for the A-10, after the Pentagon spent about $1 billion on upgraded electronics and stronger wings to keep the Warthog flying until 2028.

No other plane can perform the tasks for which the A-10 is uniquely suited, and no other weapon system we have has the same ability to protect troops lives on the ground, McSally said in a prepared statement.

Ill continue to lead the fight to ensure we keep the A-10 until a suitable alternative yet to be identified is developed, tested, and proven to do the mission.

Carter also said that as part of its $582.7 billion fiscal 2017 budget, the Defense Department is requesting $7.5 billion, 50 percent more than in 2016, to deal with the accelerated military campaign against ISIL.

Of that, he said $1.8 billion will go to buy more than 45,000 GPS-guided smart bombs and laser-guided rockets.
PHOENIX  An outpouring of passion against the proposed 515-mile SunZia power line project greeted the Arizona Corporation Commission Tuesday, with about 25 speakers arguing that it was environmentally destructive and economically unjustified.

This is a poorly thought out project and I havent seen need for it, said Robert McClure, a Scottsdale resident and longtime property owner in the unincorporated community of Cascabel, which the projects two power lines would pass near in the lower San Pedro River valley. Its clear that without government mandates and subsidies for wind power, this project would be totally uneconomical.

I have a lot of problems with long transmission lines, McClure added. Its much better to have power generation close to consumption. Id much prefer to see solar thermal plants built close to Phoenix.

McClure was one of many speakers who criticized both the Obama administration, for giving the project fast-track approval, and SunZia for pushing the project through the remote lower San Pedro valley, where little development now exists save for a few hundred homes and an underground natural gas pipeline.

About 75 people packed the commission hearing room. The commission will most likely vote on the project Wednesday, Feb. 3, after hearing from the transmission company proposing it, and from intervenors opposing it, as they debate various conditions aimed at making the power lines more environmentally friendly.

A handful of speakers Tuesday endorsed or at least didnt oppose the project, including three county supervisors, a state legislator and officials of two local natural resource conservation districts operating in the San Pedro area.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department, which has not taken a stand on the pipeline, just signed an agreement with the power line company in which SunZia Transmission LLC agreed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on various mitigation efforts and to protect far more acreage than the power line construction destroys.

The states Residential Utility Conservation Office, which represents electricity consumers, endorsed the project. David Tenney, the utility offices director, told commissioners that the power lines would allow utilities to purchase power on the open market at lower costs, ensure reliability of electricity service and be built without its cost being passed on to ratepayers.

Its been through a lot of study and time and been through an extensive state and federal process, said Tenney of the project.

SunZia Transmission wants to build the twin, 135-foot-tall, 500 KV pipelines from Lincoln County, N.M., through southern Arizona en route to the Pinal Central substation south of Coolidge. It has said the power lines will allow renewable wind energy now stranded in less populous New Mexico to be sold in far more populated Arizona and California, and will help Arizona utilities meet tough new federal air quality rules.
PHOENIX  State lawmakers voted Tuesday to make sure theres someone left to run the government if the roof caves in  literally  during the next State of the State address.

The proposal by Sen. Judy Burges, R-Sun City West, would require that the secretary of state, attorney general or treasurer be taken somewhere else  at least 25 miles away  the next time theres an event that normally would include all of them plus the governor. The absent official would be returned to the Capitol only after the event was over and the states chief executive safe.

Burges said theres nothing unusual about SB 1156. She said it tracks the current practice during the annual State of the Union address.

At the federal level, after the president and vice president, the line of succession passes to the speaker of the House and president pro-tem of the Senate. That is then followed by members of the Cabinet, based on when each agency was created, starting with the secretary of state and ending with the Homeland Security secretary.

Historically, one member of the presidents Cabinet is purposely absent each year during the State of the Union address.

All this does, she said, is take the same precautions at the state level.

The measure was crafted by Lyle Rapacki of Sentinel Intelligence Service who said he has handled security services for corporate and other private officials.

Rapacki told members of the Senate Committee on Federalism, Mandates and Fiscal Responsibility he began thinking about the issue several years ago when there was a credible threat of a terrorist attack in Phoenix around the time of the State of the State message. That annual speech by the governor occurs in the House of Representatives chambers, with not just all 90 lawmakers but also other statewide elected officials in attendance.

What in the world would happen if the roof caved in? he asked.

Theres no continuity of government in the state because all the leaders would be wiped out, Rapacki continued. Thats just absolutely appalling to me.

SB 1156 would set up a rotation among the next three in line, with each in turn taken by the Department of Public Safety three hours ahead of any event to a safe and secure location that is at least 25 miles away from the seat of government.

Members of the committee seemed to like the concept. But they suggested there are flaws in the way its crafted.

Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, said she sees no reason for rotation. Barto said it should automatically be the secretary of state, as first in line, who stays away.
About Me Michael Dickens A northerner by birth, a southerner in spirt, a midwesterner at heart ~ and alive and well and living on the cusp of Washington, D.C. in Mount Rainier, Maryland. View my complete profile

My Blog Archive eclectic
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh police has destroyed documents related to the deployment of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel on the day Hashimpura massacre was allegedly carried out, it has been revealed.

Support TwoCircles



On May 22, 1987, as many as 42 unarmed Muslim men were killed in cold blood in Hashimpura by members of Uttar Pradeshs Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).

The Hindu reports a letter written by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Meerut shows the documents related to the deployment of PAC were weeded out on April 1, 2006, at a time when Tis Hazari court was hearing the case.

In the letter to the Crime Branch of the State Crime Investigation Department (CID), the SSP said it was now impossible to make available documents related to the deployment of the PAC personnel on the day that the massacre was allegedly carried out.

However, the letter gave no reason for the documents being weeded out.

Your office has asked to make available the records of deputation and deployment of PAC personnel during the alleged massacre of the residents of Hashimpura Mohalla, to Zafaryab Jilani. It is brought to your notice that all the details of the case were weeded out on April 1, 2006. Hence, it is impossible to make them available, said the letter signed by the Meerut SSP on January 30.

A senior official said the documents were required as the State government had appealed against the acquittal of the accused.

The massacre in 1987 was followed by a criminal investigation, a Commission of inquiry, court hearings in two states and depositions by scores of people, including five survivors who were thrown into a river and left for dead.

On March 21, 2015 Delhi trial court acquitted all the 16 PAC personnel from the case sighting lack of evidences. An appeal against these acquittals is pending before Delhi high court.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Mumbai: Citys crime branch received a setback when a local esplanade court in the city acquitted all five persons who were arrested soon after serial blasts in Mumbais local trains in July 2006.

Support TwoCircles



Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mahesh R. Natu on Tuesday held that the crime branch failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted Irfan Sayed, Najeeb Bakkali, Firoz Ghaswala, Mohammed Ali Cheepa and Imran Ansari.

In its crack down after serial blasts, Crime branch had arrested these persons for being members of banned organisation SIMI and alleged them to be involved in unlawful activities.

Court examined total eleven witnesses and acquitted all accused due to lack of evidences to prove their association with banned organization and their indulgence in any unlawful activities.

After acquittal, defence lawyers Ishrat Ali Khan, Tahwar Khan Pathan, Jamal Khan, Satyaram Gaud and Aftab Qureshi claimed that the police falsely implicated these men and planted articles that were shown to have been seized from the accused.

Speaking with TwoCircles.net, Advocate Tahiwar Pathan who represented accused said, It was a false case, these persons were never involved in any unlawful activities. We argued on some of the technical faults in the case and obtained their acquittal.

Elaborating the technical error that he pointed to court, he said, Sections of UAPA requires sanction from central government for prosecution of accused and this sanction was missing in this case, they (police) had secured this sanction from state government and not the central government.

Maulana Nadeem Siddique, secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, Maharashtra (Mahmood Madni group), expressed satisfaction over the acquittals and said, This increases our resolve to continue to defend falsely implicated Muslim people in terrorism cases.
Missing Poker Player Richard Cole's Body Found in Amsterdam Canal

February 03 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor Chad Holloway

Family and friends of Richard Cole, who went missing on Monday, Jan. 25, are mourning as the body of the 30-year-old British man from Gloucestershire was found in Amsterdam.

According to the BBC, Cole's body was pulled from Herengracht canal after a search utilising sonar equipment.

A police investigation is underway to determine how Cole's body ended up in the water, with other reports suggesting foul play. Cole was believed to have been drinking with strangers before disappearing around 2 a.m. GMT on Monday, Jan. 25.

Cole had been travelling from Copenhagen to Assen via Amsterdam. The Thorbeckepleim area of the city was his last known location. Cole's Las Vegas-based girlfriend, Alicia Marie, was the last known person Cole contacted.

Speaking to the BBC, Marie said: "He had been out with some people he had just met, which is common for Richard as he is very friendly. I just said to be careful, please go home, get a cab. We got off the phone and I texted him a picture of his address to show his cab but it never went through."

Richard Cole with his girlfriend Alicia Marie

Marie attempted to contact Cole via text messages and Apples Facetime but was unable to reach her boyfriend.

"I imagine that he turned off his phone or his phone died. Throughout the night, when I was at work, I tried to Facetime him and I tried to text him, but nothing went through."

Cole's brother, Lee, who had been in Amsterdam distributing flyers and visiting Cole's last known location, identified the body while the rest of his family have been in contact with the British Consulate.

Anyone who saw Cole on Monday night or may have any information about Cole are urged to contact their local police force or comment on the Help us find Richard Cole Facebook page so the information can be passed on to the Dutch authorities.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!

Sharelines A body pulled from an Amsterdam canal is that of missing British poker player Richard Cole.

Police launch investigation into Richard Cole's death.
The largest airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the flag carrier of the Emirate of Dubai , Emirates , has announced that it will ...
You do not need to be currently enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard to apply for the UNGMS. However, if not currently enlisted, we highly recommend that you contact cadet recruiting prior to going to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Please contact Mike Ivy at mike.ivy@ung.edu for more information.

Please note: UNGMS recipients now may enlist as an 09R (Officer Candidate), which eliminates the requirement to attend Basic and Advanced Individual Training. They must meet Georgia Army National Guard entry requirements and must meet officer contracting requirements within 12 months of signing the 09R agreement.

The University of North Georgia Military Scholarship is worth $85,000+ over four years.

The state of Georgia offers 42 scholarships per year to Georgia high school seniors who attend the University of North Georgia and commission as officers in the Georgia Army National Guard after graduating with bachelor's degrees. The scholarship pays for your room, meals, tuition, books, uniforms, and fees. In addition, you receive National Guard weekend drill pay, GI Bill, pay for attending Army basic and advanced training, and Army ROTC contract pay (beginning of sophomore or junior year, if offered a contract to commission as a lieutenant). You may also be eligible for an enlistment bonus and monthly GI Bill kicker.

Effective 1 January 2019, the following cadets will be considered non-deployable for both Continental United States Missions and Missions Outside of the Continental United States:
Fusion Launches Unified Communications Community with TMC

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By TMC

By TMC

Norwalk, CT  February 3, 2016  TMC (News - Alert), a global, integrated media company helping clients build communities in print, in person and online, announced today that the Unified Communications Community, sponsored by Fusion, has been launched as the newest addition to the TMCnet Online Community program.





The Unified Communications (News - Alert) Community is a comprehensive resource for enterprises seeking up-to-the- minute information on communications solutions for the enterprise, including cloud-based voice, unified communications, cloud connectivity and other advanced cloud services. Visitors to the Unified Communications Community include decision-makers from businesses of all sizes seeking timely, authoritative and relevant information on cloud-based communications technology, industry trends, and services. Interested visitors to the site will encounter a full complement of data sources, including feature articles, industry news, white papers and podcasts.

The Unified Communications Community can be found at: https://unified-communications.tmcnet.com/

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The Tea Horse Road. It's been called the lesser-known little brother of the colossal Silk Road that linked China with Central Asia, Western Europe and Africa.

But the Tea Horse Road - the 1,400-mile route that connected tea-growing Sichuan province with the 12,000-foot-high Tibetan capital of Lhasa - just got a little older, thanks to modern science.

Tea, which has been used in Buddhist rituals for centuries, does not grow in Tibet. But what does grow there is something the Chinese needed desperately right up through the mid-Qing Dynasty - their superbly bred rugged little Nangchen horses. With lungs adapted to the thin air of the plateau, they turned into powerhouses in lower altitudes and were in constant demand.

Until now, tea was believed to have first arrived in Tibet as part of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) Princess Wen Cheng's dowry on her betrothal to Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in 641.

But a research team from the UK and China has found evidence that not only was tea being drunk in China earlier than previously thought, it was being transported along the Tea Horse Road centuries before Princess Wen Cheng's wedding.

The first known written reference to tea is from 59 BC, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. And the earliest physical evidence of tea was from China's Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD).

The research team recovered plant remains from two burial sites: the tomb of Liu Qi, fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty who died in 141 BC, north of Xi'an, and a second-century AD Gurgyam cemetery in Ngari district, Tibet.

In the emperor's tomb, among macrofossils of foxtail millet and rice, they found apparent plant leaves gathered into dark brown brick shapes.

In the Tibet tomb, along with a wooden coffin and well-preserved skeleton, they found pieces of silk with the woven Chinese characters for "King and Princess", ceramic and bronze vessels, a golden mask and in one ceramic bowl, what appeared to be plant residue.

"The small plant leaves from both samples show several morphological features that match those of tea," the study's authors write.

But looking like tea wasn't enough, they had to prove it was tea. Using chromatography and mass spectrometry they identified caffeine (a good start but caffeine is in lots of things - coffee, cola, cacao and gurana, to name a few), but only tea also has the amino acid theanine, and only one species of tea (Camellia sinensis) has it in the quantities both samples showed.

Along with a third test, the scientists were able to "confirm physical evidence for tea being imported to Xi'an in the first century [BC] and westwards to Tibet by the second century [AD]."

The tea that was pressed into moulds with sticky rice water, dried into 6-pound bricks and carted the treacherous route to Tibet - crossing windswept tundra, icy rivers, perilous mountain passes - was probably not the cream of the crop and over the years drinking it evolved into what's called yak butter tea, a staple of the region to this day.

It's rare that one study kills two birds with one stone - that tea was being drunk a lot earlier than previously believed and that the Tea Horse Road was active centuries earlier too.

As study co-author Dorian Fuller, professor of archaeobotany at University College London, told National Public Radio, "The identification of the tea found in the emperor's tomb complex gives us a rare glimpse into very ancient traditions which shed light on the origins of one of the world's favorite beverages."

Next to water, tea is the world's most favorite beverage, consumed by more than two-thirds of the world's population, according to the study.

Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com.
Xiaomi: No handset sales in US, yet Updated: 2016-02-03 10:11 By PAUL WELITZKIN in New York(China Daily USA)

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi Corp said on Tuesday it has not entered the US market, following reports that a small carrier was marketing Xiaomi devices online.

"There are no plans to sell smartphones through any authorized distributors in the US," Xiaomi told China Daily in a statement.

Earlier pcmag.com posted a report that said US Mobile, a carrier that uses T-Mobile's network, was selling the Xiaomi Redmi 2, the Mi 3 and the Mi 4 along with a model from Chinese company Meizu Technology Co Ltd.

I didnt think it was authorized, Anthony Scarsella, a research analyst with IDC of Framingham, Massachusetts, said in an interview. Apparently US Mobile has pulled off the devices.

Scarsella said it was unlikely that Xiaomi, known for its direct sales to consumers and use of social media to promote it products, would enter the US market in this manner.

I think (Xiaomi) will eventually enter the US market, Scarsella said. They have great products and good marketing. But they still have to clear some hurdles like the direct sales method and patent and technology issues.

Meizu, based in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, also told China Daily it hadnt authorized handset sales to US Mobile.

Xiaomi and Meizu devices were not seen on US Mobile's online shop on Tuesday.

Beijing-based Xiaomi launched an online store in the US last year, but it only offers a small selection of accessories such as earphones and fitness bands.

Gao Yuan contributed to this report
Chinese artist Shi Kai (left) presents his artwork to Jim Cheng (right), director of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, at Columbia University's Faculty House on Tuesday in New York. Inspired by the Chinese hexagram and seal-cutting style, Shi created the painting illustrating Columbia Universitys motto In Thy Light Shall We See Light. Along with the painting, Shi brought his new book Contemporary Deconstructive Analysis of Journey to the West, and offered his interpretation of the Monkey King for the Year of the Monkey. The book will be shelved in the East Asian Library. "We wish to provide a refreshing perspective for Columbia students and people who love Chinese culture to reinterpret Chinese classics," said Jake Jia, president of Hanfeng Art, which held the event on Tuesday. "China has shown its hard power  Anbang Insurance bought Waldorf Astoria. What about our soft power? If you go to the museums in the city, how many art pieces you see are created by Chinese artists? And how many of them are contemporary artists?" asked Jiajia Jin, CEO of COCA Art New York, a non-profit art organization dedicated to promoting US-China communications through art. "We need to all work together to promote art exchanges, starting from New York City, expanding beyond, and going all the way back to China." HEZI JIANG / China Daily
Pakistan sets up 10,000-man force to protect Chinese interests Updated: 2016-02-03 20:54 By Wang Xu(chinadaily.com.cn)

Islamabad is to set up a special force of around 10,000 designated troops to protect Chinese people and enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a visiting senior Pakistan diplomat told China Daily on Wednesday.

Syed Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the prime minister on foreign affairs, revealed the establishment of the force in reply to Beijing's security concerns over its increasing number of citizens in the country involved in more than 210 projects, including 14,000 engineers and technicians.

"We have decided to create a special force of highly trained military people who will be specially equipped and have special organizations in concerned ministries backing them," Fatemi said. "Their task will be to provide the necessary safety and security for Chinese working in Pakistan and the Chinese companies and industries set up there."

The special assistant added that the move demonstrates the Pakistan government's strong commitment and willingness and further steps would be taken if needed.

He added that there are regular consultations about the issue with China, and any problems raised will be addressed.

The CPEC is an on-going $46 billion project invested by China which will expand Pakistan's infrastructure by linking its southwestern port city of Gwadar to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in China via a vast network of highways and railways. Concerning potential division of opinion among local leaders over the routing of CPEC, Fatemi argued that Pakistan had reached a national consensus and "to say there is controversy is wrong".

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called a meeting in January to address concerns of various parties over CPEC routes, Fatemi said.

Before the meeting, local media reported that political parties in Pakistan are divided between support for different routes. The opposition is voicing concerns over the PML-N, the ruling party, favoring the eastern route of the corridor that runs through its stronghold, Punjab, while lawmakers of the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa region, (the western route) have urged the government to include other provinces in the mega project.

In the end, the meeting decided to construct the western route on a priority basis.

The CPEC will bring about a visible transformation in Pakistan and the fact that all areas of the country want to benefit from it is understandable, Fatemi said, but determining which projects should go to which areas means you have to look at the objective conditions, he added. The basis for this decision-making should be the scientific evaluation, he pointed out. "It is a decision made by technical people with scientific knowledge and understanding," Fatemi said.

"No one can make a point by saying: 'I'm from a particular area so I want the road to go next to my house'. Of course, all political parties want to push their agenda, all political leaders have their ideas, but everyone is fully supportive of this project at the end of the meeting and everyone is deeply appreciative of China's assistance for undertaking this massive transformation which according to the experts is going to bring about a win-win situation for nearly 6 billion people in the region," he said.

Regarding the mega project in the port city of Gwadar, the diplomat said China will not only upgrade the facilities but also build an international airport as well as a hospital and a university in the industrial zone around the city. China last year acquired a lease on more than 2,000 acres at Gwadar port for 43 years to construct the first Free Economic Zone in the area. Saying the land area and the lease is very likely to be extended in the future; Fatemi emphasized the 23-year tax exemption policy for enterprises in the industrial zone. It will increase China's production by lowering its costs, but in the end it is the people living there who will benefit from the projects, Fatemi said.
San Francisco mayor promises a boost to affordable housing Updated: 2016-02-03 11:49 By Lia Zhu in San Francisco(China Daily USA)

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee pledged that providing affordable housing is his top priority for the city during his second four-year term, which started this year.

"We've heard it from every corner of the city from every economic level, particularly working-class people as well as low-income people," Lee said at a roundtable meeting with Chinese media in his office on Tuesday. "We need to build, rehabilitate and preserve more of the affordable housing, and we need to make sure that the houses can respond to the crisis that people, who are teachers, essential workforce people, are experiencing."

Lee said he and his administration had spent more time and resources on reducing housing costs and that the affordable housing project would bring "direct positive impact" on thousands of people.

San Francisco has become increasingly unaffordable for many of its longtime residents and working-class people as an influx of Silicon Valley wealth floods the city.

The median home value in San Francisco is above $1.1 million. San Francisco home values have gone up 13.6 percent over the past year, and Zillow predicts that they will rise 3.7 percent within the next year.

A recent report by Zumper also revealed that San Francisco is the most expensive city in the US when it comes to renting homes. The average cost for a one-bedroom apartment reached a record $3,530 in the city in August 2015.

In November 2015, Lee announced his intention to use Proposition A, a $310 million bond for affordable housing, to construct and renovate 30,000 units of affordable housing over the next four-year mayoral term. He won re-election on Nov 3, and the proposition was approved, handing the city its biggest single pool of funds to build and preserve subsidized apartments.

"I'm very confident that in the next four years, I will complete 30,000 new homes in San Francisco and guarantee that over 50 percent of them will be affordable to middle-income as well as lower-income people," he told the reporters.

He said that affordable housing is connected to his next priority: getting more homeless people to leave the streets. An experimental "navigation center" has helped 250 homeless people move into permanent housing with support services since March 2015.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Victim's girlfriend testifies in NY cop trial Updated: 2016-02-03 11:49 By Jack Freifelder in New York(China Daily USA)

The night of Nov 20, 2014, is still fresh in Melissa Butler's mind.

Her boyfriend, Akai Gurley, came over to the seventh-floor apartment she shared with her family to watch television and she was busy braiding his hair, a chore she did every three weeks.

"Around 11 he decided to leave, but the elevator wouldn't work when we left, so we decided to take the stairs," Butler said. "The door [to the stairwell] opened and slammed against the wall, and then a shot went off.

"We ran down the stairs to the fifth floor where [Akai] collapsed," she said while choking back tears. "He was conscious, but couldn't talk. His eyes were bloodshot red. I told him, 'Stay with me, I'm getting help.'"

Butler said initially she did not know that Gurley was hurt, but then she saw "a bullet wound" and realized that Gurley's "chest was bleeding with a puddle forming behind him".

The fifth day of testimony in the manslaughter trial of Chinese-American NYPD officer Peter Liang in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Akai Gurley, 28, featured testimony from the victim's girlfriend as well as details on police training and the use of firearms.

Video from the scene of the crime and the 911 call placed at the time of the shooting were also played for the jury. Several people in the audience began to cry as the 911 call was played, including Butler.

Butler testified that she met Gurley at a store in East New York in January 2011. The two began dating shortly thereafter.

She told the jury on Tuesday that she tried both chest compressions and breathing into Gurley's mouth as she received instruction from a neighbor [Ms Lopez] who was on the phone with an EMS unit.

"I kneeled on the floor in a puddle of his blood and urine," Butler said. "Ms Lopez brought me a towel. I followed the instructions she gave me."

Detective Joseph Agosto, an NYPD firearms expert, testified that basic training at the Police Academy requires an officer to familiarize themselves with their service weapon.

Beyond practice at the gun range, a series of tactical training missions are used to prepare officers for what they might see in the line of duty, Agosto said. That training includes a "stress inoculation" program complete with simulations of real-life scenarios, he added.

But, as in all cases, an officer must still identify "probable cause" for the use of their firearm, he said.

The defense has suggested that Liang's gun was defective, CBS News reported.

Liang's trial began Jan 25 with opening statements from both sides.

Prosecutor Marc J. Fliedner said that Liang acted recklessly in discharging his firearm in a darkened stairwell, and in failing to help Gurley.

After the shooting, neither Liang nor his partner Shaun Landau did anything to help Gurley, not even administering CPR or any other emergency aid, Fliedner told the jury.

Rae Koshetz, a defense attorney for Liang, said in her opening argument that her client committed no crime, adding that the gun went off accidentally.

Detective Leonardo Pino, a 30-year member of the NYPD, testified that training in CPR, including the proper techniques for chest compressions and airway breathing assistance, and basic first aid instruction is given to all officers.

Officers are told early on in their training that they are required to assist anyone injured during a police investigation, Pino said.

"As a police officer, we have to render reasonable aid," Pino told the court.

On cross-examination, Rae Koshetz, a defense attorney for Liang, asked Pino if the term "reasonable aid" is ever defined in the policeman's patrol guide issued to new recruits.

"No," Pino replied.

Both sides agree that while Liang was on patrol on Nov 20, 2014, at Pink Houses in East New York, he discharged his gun and a bullet, said to have ricocheted off the wall of the stairwell, killed Gurley.

Court documents presented by the prosecution said that Liang and Landau argued for two minutes over who would report the shooting and waited nearly 20 minutes before calling in an "accidental fire".

The trial will resume on Thursday. Liang faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Liang, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree manslaughter in February 2015, did not look at the witness stand during Butler's testimony. He sat flanked by his attorneys on Tuesday at State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

More than 100 people were sitting in on the trial.

Liang had been on the force 18 months before the incident.

jackfreifelder@chinadailyusa.com
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PA Coalition for Children and Families. PA Families Separated by the Government. Corruption and Abuse of Power by Children and Youth Services. News around Berks County. Proud member of the Trump Family Preservation Team
Singapore Airlines's low-cost brand Scoot will launch services to India from March, Scoot's India head Bharath Mahadevan said on Wednesday.

We plan to launch one route in March end and two in May. We will have 3-4 weekly frequencies from Singapore and destinations include both cities served by other airlines from the group and new cities as well," Mahadevan told Business Standard.

Scoot, which began operations in 2012, will become Singapore Airlines' fourth brand to operate flights to India. The brand flies wide-body Boeing 787 planes with 335 seats and will be the second low-cost airline after AirAsia X to operate wide-body aircraft to India.

At present Singapore Airlines and its two other brands  SilkAir and Tigerair  fly to India. Scoot's entry will result in some capacity adjustments and reduction of Tigerair flights to India.

"With the launch of our flights Singapore Airlines group will connect fifteen destinations in India. This will be second only to Air India which flies on international sectors from more cities," he added.

Singapore Airlines is a network carrier and carries a large percentage of its traffic onward to Australia, New Zealand and other destinations in South East Asia. It has a large corporate business too.

Scoot offers business class seating but charges economy class passengers for meals and luggage.

Mahadevan aims to attract the leisure and Visiting Friends and Relative (VFR) segment. "Our competition will be both Air India and Jet Airways. At present only about 15 per cent of passengers travel onward beyond Singapore and we aim to increase it to 40 per cent. Passengers from India will be able fly on Scoot to Singapore and onward on Singapore Airlines network," he said.
With Myanmar's new Parliament beginning session, the US has hailed the development as a "very important step forward" but cautioned that impediments to realisation of full democratic government remain.

"Millions of people around the country, including many voting for the first time, elected their representatives on the 8th of November of last year," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference, during which he "congratulated" all the elected members of the new parliament of Myanmar, which the US still calls as Burma.

The session yesterday marked a historic turnaround for the National League for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's Democracy party, which for years was suppressed by the military.

The party won 80% of the elected seats in general elections in November for the upper and lower houses, qualifying it to form a government.

"This outcome is a testament to the courage and sacrifice shown by the people of Burma over many years, including more than 100 former political prisoners who will now take their seats in Burma's parliament," he said.

"The seating of this parliament is a very important step forward in Burma's democratic transition, although of course there remain important impediments to the realisation of full democratic and civilian government," he added.

The US, he said, is encouraged by the commitment of Myanmar's political leaders to work together in the spirit of national unity and reform.

Kirby said the US is hopeful that this will continue throughout the transition period and beyond.

"We stand ready to support the new government and remain committed to assisting the people of Burma in their pursuit of democracy, development, and national reconciliation," he said.

"We look forward to providing support for these new parliamentarians as well as all the people in this country seeking to promote democratic practices in the coming years," Kirby said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an public health emergency on Monday, a rare move that signals the seriousness of the outbreak and gives countries new tools to fight it. An outbreak of the Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, was detected in Brazil in May and has since moved into more than 20 countries in Latin America, including two new ones announced Monday: Costa Rica and Jamaica.

The main worry is over the virus's possible link to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and, in the vast majority of cases, damaged brains. Reported cases of microcephaly are rising sharply in Brazil, ground zero for the disease, though researchers have yet to establish that Zika causes the condition.

At a news conference in Geneva, Margaret Chan, the director general of the WHO, acknowledged that the understanding of the connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly was hazy and said that the uncertainty placed "a heavy burden" on pregnant women and their families throughout the Americas. She said the emergency designation would allow the health agency to coordinate the many efforts to get desperately needed answers.

Officials said research on the effects of Zika in pregnant women was underway in at least three countries: Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador. "The evidence is growing and it's getting strong," Chan said. "So I accepted, even on microcephaly alone, that it is sufficient to call an emergency. We need a coordinated response."



But the agency stopped short of advising pregnant women not to travel to the affected region, a precaution that US health officials began recommending last month. Some global health experts contended the WHO's decision was more about politics than medicine. Brazil is preparing to host the Olympics this summer, and any ban on travel, even just for pregnant women, would deliver a serious blow to the Brazilian government.

"I think there was a political overtone," said Lawrence O Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. "If it were my daughter and she was pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant, I would absolutely warn her off of going to a Zika-affected country, and the WHO should have said that".

The current outbreak of Zika has taken the world by surprise. The virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda, and for years lived mostly in monkeys. But last May in Brazil, cases began increasing drastically. The WHO has estimated that four million people could be infected by the end of the year. The rapid spread is because people in the US have not developed immunity, public health experts say.

Health officials in the US, however, say the risk of a major homegrown outbreak is low because mosquito control programms are systematic and effective. They cite a related virus, dengue, which is also transmitted by mosquitoes but has not spread very much since first appearing locally a few years ago.

An emergency designation from the WHO can prompt action and funding from governments and non-profits around the world. It elevates the agency to the position of global coordinator and gives its decisions the force of law. It could also help standardise surveillance of new cases across countries - something that Dr David L Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who chaired the emergency committee, said was critical to getting control over the virus.

The global health agency is trying to strike a balance between alerting the public and scaring it. Zika symptoms are mild or even non-existent in most people. Over reaction could have the effect of punishing countries that are experiencing epidemics, experts say, for example, through restrictions on travel, trade or tourism that could hurt economies.

The thrust of Monday's meeting - which was held by teleconference and included presentations from officials of the affected countries - was a renewed emphasis on research to determine whether Zika can cause microcephaly. Dr Heymann said afterward that he could not discuss the evidence that was presented in a confidential meeting. But he underscored that committee members were mostly concerned that the research efforts, unfolding in multiple countries, were not coordinated.

"The research needs to be pulled together instead of different groups doing different things in their own corners," Dr Heymann said in a telephone interview. He added that the committee members were "pretty unanimous" in their decision to recommend emergency status.

Dr Chan said new case control studies on the connection between Zika and microcephaly will start in the next two weeks. "Can you imagine if we do not do all this work now and wait until all the scientific evidence comes out, people will say why didn't you take action?" said Dr Chan, who is trying to cast the agency as a global leader to revive its reputation after a faltering response during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

But many health experts said Monday's announcement lacked details, and they expressed concern that it would not jolt the agency into action. Among the most urgent needs, experts said, were aggressive efforts to control the populations of mosquitoes that spread Zika and know no boundaries.

"They should have presented a specific list of interventions and the most obvious one is mosquito control," said Dr Peter J Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "This is their window of opportunity."



If no action is taken, he said, a country like Haiti, which has very little public health infrastructure and nearly non-existent mosquito control, could be facing "tens of thousands of cases of microcephalic babies seven to nine months from now."



The WHO has declared a public health emergency three times since 2007, when it first established the procedure: in 2009 for the influenza pandemic; in 2014 when polio seemed resurgent; and in August 2014 for Ebola. Many experts applauded the decision to add Zika to the list.

"This makes it formal," said Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. "If there is a ministry of health anywhere that hasn't awakened to this problem, this will do that."



The last time the WHO declared a public health emergency was when Ebola was tearing through West Africa. But the agency was strongly criticised for its tardiness in declaring Ebola an international emergency, and many global health experts said it was unlikely that the agency's director, Dr Chan, would let that happen again.

"The WHO took a very serious hit to their reputation," said Dr Ron Waldman, a professor of global health at the Milken School of Public Health at George Washington University. "They do have to be mindful of the politics, but they have to get the science right, too. They don't have much room for slip-ups."



Still, there are major differences between Zika and Ebola, the most significant being that thousands of people died of Ebola, while Zika is not known to be fatal.

But some experts said there were enough indications of a link between Zika and microcephaly that global health agencies should act more aggressively.

"This is not a curveball out of nowhere," said Dr Michael T Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, adding that there were cases of microcephaly in French Polynesia, where Zika struck in 2014. "Clearly something is going on."

2016 The New York Times News Service
Pakistan has replaced Bangladesh to emerge as the largest buyer of Indian cotton in the October-December 2015 quarter on the back of a sharp decline in its domestic availability due to widespread crop damage from whiteflies.

Data compiled by the Textiles Commissioners office under the textiles ministry showed Pakistan imported 1.66 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) of cotton from India during the December 2015 quarter. This works out to 47 per cent of Indias overall fibre exports to the tune of 3.52 million bales in the period under review. In the same quarter last year, Indias total cotton exports stood at 1.93 million bales with Pakistans contribution coming in at 0.38 million bales.

Encouraged by a significant jump in exports in the first quarter of the current season, the ministry has raised cotton export forecast of the current season to seven million bales for the full year of 2015-16, over 21 per cent increase from last years level of 5.77 million bales.

The prevailing trend in cotton exports is likely to continue for the rest of the year due to crop damage in Pakistan. Indias cotton exports to other countries are also likely to remain significantly up this year, said Textiles Commissioner Kavita Gupta on the sidelines of the second Cotton Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday.

With 0.86 million bales, Bangladesh slipped to the second position in Indias cotton export destinations. Bangladesh imported 2.3 million bales of Indian cotton last year.

According to Gupta, a third of crop in Pakistan was damaged, forcing the countrys textiles mills to import cotton from India to meet their consumption demand. Against 2.3 million tonnes (equivalent to 13.53 million bales) of cotton output last year, Pakistan is set to witness 1.54 million tonnes (9.03 million bales) this year. India transports cotton to Pakistan primarily through the Wagah boarder.

Meanwhile, global equation is also changing due to a slowdown in demand from China, which constituted 24 per cent of Indias overall cotton exports in 2014-15. This year, Chinas share is likely to decline with an estimated offtake of 1.2 million bales against last years 1.68 million bales.

A study by the Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) says Chinas cotton import might fall 40 per cent this year to 6.35 million bales (1.08 million tonnes) owing to the fall in consumption and lower domestic cotton prices. If the pace of its imports remains steady, Vietnam might overtake China as the largest importer of cotton in 2015-16. Cotton import by Vietnam for the first four months of 2015-16 totalled 327,000 tonnes, while those of China were at 247,000 tonnes.

According to ICAC, Vietnams cotton import would rise 17 per cent to 6.47 million bales (1.1 million tonnes) this year. Similarly, imports by Bangladesh are estimated to increase 12 per cent to 6.35 million bales (1.08 million tonnes). Consumption in both Vietnam and Bangladesh is increasing steadily thanks to lower production costs. While both these countries produce cotton, the quantity is very small, making them rely on imports to meet demand.

Meanwhile, the Cotton Advisory Board under the ministry of textiles has forecast Indias cotton output would hit the lowest in three years at 35.2 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) in 2015-16 on crop damage in major producing states Gujarat, Karnataka and Punjab.

This years estimated cotton output shows a decline of 7.39 per cent from the previous years 38 million bales and a marginal decline from 35.9 million bales reported in the crop year 2012-13.

The Cotton Advisory Board estimates lower cotton output due to ballworm pest attack on standing crop in Gujarat; lower yield due to drought in Karnataka; and crop damage due to whiteflies in Punjab.
What do we do to keep the lights on?, asks Andrews Daniel Andrews at a press conference on Thursday asked "what do we do to keep the lights on?" once coal fired power stations close before insisting his government had a plan to address the question.

Were on our own: Flood levee divides Victorian town Residents on the wrong side of Echuca's "great wall" have voiced their frustrations about being left "on our own" as the Victorian town braces for rising flood levels.

Palaszczuk responds to review into Australias COVID-19 response Speaking at the Housing Summit in Brisbane on Thursday, Ms Palaszczuk was asked to weigh in on the independent review into Australias COVID-19 response.

Went too far: Dutton takes aim at Andrews in response to damning COVID-19 report The Opposition Leader has defended the former government's actions in Australia's coronavirus pandemic response while taking aim at Victoria for its lockdowns, which led to Melbourne being the longest locked down city in the world.
Slain girl talked of online boyfriend

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP)  A 13-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom was stabbed to death by a Virginia Tech student, and another freshman already charged with hiding the body was more deeply involved, authorities said Tuesday. A neighbor said the seventh-grader told friends she would sneak out to meet her boyfriend David, an 18-year-old she met online through the Kik messaging app.

Nicole Madison Lovell was killed Wednesday, the same day she vanished, by David Eisenhauer, a freshman at Virginia Tech now jailed on charges of kidnapping and murder, Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt said Tuesday.

The prosecutor also announced Eisenhauers classmate, Natalie Keepers, will face a more serious charge of being an accessory before the fact to first-degree murder, in addition to helping to dispose of the body. The new charge could mean a life sentence if convicted.

Plane forced to make landing in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  An explosion and fire blew a gaping hole in a commercial airliner, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Mogadishus international airport late Tuesday, officials and witnesses said.

The pilot said he thought it was a bomb. An aviation expert who looked at photographs of the hole in the fuselage said the damage was consistent with an explosive device.

Two people were slightly injured as 74 passengers and crew of the plane were evacuated after the plane made a safe landing. It was unclear if all the passengers were accounted for.

The plane, operated by Daallo Airlines, was headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

South Korea warns North not to launch

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea today warned of searing consequences if North Korea doesnt abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

The Souths harsh rhetoric comes less than a month after the Norths defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the U.N. work on strong new sanctions against Pyongyang.

North Korea on Tuesday informed international organizations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between Feb. 8 and 25, and if North Koreas past patterns are any clue, angry warnings by its neighbors and Washington probably wont dissuade a coming launch.

The launch declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Koreas disputed claim on Jan. 6 to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the countrys fourth nuclear test.

Syria allows aid

into rebel-held area

GENEVA (AP)  The Syrian government allowed aid into a rebel-held area near Damascus on Tuesday in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture after U.N.-mediated indirect peace talks got off to a rocky start in Geneva.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered 14 trucks of aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the al-Tal suburb, said Damascus-based ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek. He told The Associated Press the delivery included food and hygiene kits for some 3,500 families as well as 25 metric tons of bulk food.

The Syrian opposition had demanded that aid be allowed into 18 besieged areas throughout the country and that Syrian and Russian forces halt the bombardment of rebel-held areas ahead of the talks, which officially began Monday.
HAWKEYE  A Hawkeye man was arrested after he allegedly attacked a woman Monday afternoon.

Fayette County sheriffs deputies said Christopher James Gruver, 43, was brandishing a claw hammer until he was disarmed by bystanders. The attack took place around 4:30 p.m. Monday near 20271 V Avenue, and Gruver fled after losing the hammer.

Authorities later arrested Gruver for going armed, stalking, domestic assault and serious assault. He was also arrested for driving while suspended and an outstanding warrant for fourth-degree theft.

2nd Waterloo

teen detained

WATERLOO  A second person has been arrested in connection with the January robbery of a clothing store.

Police said Karina Mayra Duran, 17, acted as the getaway driver for her boyfriend, who entered Platos Closet on Crossroads Boulevard with a revolver and a gold mask and was detained earlier.

Duran, of Waterloo, was taken into custody Monday for first-degree robbery in the Jan. 17 holdup. She was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail, and her bond was set at $50,000. She has been charged as an adult.

Police had taken Anthony Torres, 15, of Waterloo, into custody the day after the holdup for first-degree robbery. His case is being handled in juvenile court.

According to court records, Torres entered Platos Closet at about 6:30 p.m., showed a handgun and demanded money. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

During the investigation, police found Torress cell phone behind the store, and when they searched his Lincoln Street home they found a large amount of money in his room. A car parked at the address contained a mask and clothing that matched the robber.

Police allege Duran was aware of the robbery and drove Torres from the scene in a Chevrolet Cruze.

Teen sentenced in invasion

WATERLOO  A second teen has been sentenced to prison in an April home-invasion robbery where the 69-year-old resident was bound to a chair with duct tape.

Dacarious Terrell Burkett, 18, was sentenced to two 25-year prison sentences Jan. 11 after pleading guilty to first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. He can serve the sentences concurrently, and because he was 17 at the time of the incident there are no mandatory minimums before he can be considered for parole.

Authorities said Burkett and Marcus Terell Pendleton broke in to a home on Dawson Street, tied up the woman inside and threatened to make her drink bleach and threatened to kill her. They took jewelry, a TV and food and left in her car.

They identified with the help of a surveillance camera that was posted downtown near where they parked the vehicle.

Pendleton was sentenced to two concurrent 25-year prison sentences in December.
DES MOINES -- The Iowa index of leading economic indicators decreased one-half of 1 percent to 105.6 in December 2015, with only two of the eight components experiencing positive changes, according to the state Department of Revenue. The Iowa Leading Indicators Index has dropped for 12 consecutive months, with the magnitude of the drop reflected in the annualized six-month change of negative 4.4 percentage points in December.

Revenue agency officials say December was the eighth month where the index had met the two key metrics that when seen together are considered a signal of a coming contraction. Seven of the eight components (agricultural futures profits index, inverted average weekly unemployment claims, diesel fuel consumption, Iowa stock market index, the national yield spread, new orders index, and residential building permits) experienced a decrease of greater than 0.05 percent over the last half a year, while average manufacturing hours and experienced a six-month change of more than 0.05.

Although the weakness is stemming largely from Iowas agricultural sector and spillovers into manufacturing, the persistent widespread weakness across the index components in December continues to suggest future softness in Iowas economy, according to DOR officials.

Sparse legislating

The combination of a winter storm packing blizzard conditions in Iowa and the aftermath of a raucous night of political caucusing  including a cliffhanger finish on the Democrat side  resulted in what effectively was a snow day at the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday. There were many empty desks with the Iowa House convened at 10 a.m. and the Iowa Senate held an abbreviated gathering at 1 p.m. Most committees and subcommittees that were scheduled in both chambers were cancelled due to spotty attendance. Legislature leaders are hopeful more legislators who stayed in their home districts from Monday nights precinct caucuses will be able to return to Des Moines for Wednesdays session.

Long-range transportation

The Iowa Department of Transportation and Iowa Transportation Commission have begun updating the long-range transportation plan for Iowa. The plan provides a framework for how future investments should be made to Iowas multimodal transportation system. DOT officials are seeking public comments via an interactive survey to gather feedback on potential investment areas and strategies for Iowas multimodal transportation system.

The survey and information concerning the plan is available online at www.iowadot.gov/iowainmotion/index.html. Interested individuals can use the survey to provide their reactions to different investment areas and strategies, and also submit comments and suggestions regarding Iowas transportation system.
Iowa doesnt pick nominees. It eliminates candidates.

Sometimes that happens quickly: On Monday night, Democrat Martin OMalley and Republican Mike Huckabee announced immediately they were out.

Sometimes it happens more slowly. Iowa Republicans just sent a strong signal to New Hampshire and national Republicans only two candidates remain viable: Ted Cruz, who finished first with 28 percent of the vote, and Marco Rubio, who as of this writing is in third place with 23 percent, just barely behind Donald Trump.

Is it an absolutely definitive signal? No; in politics unlikely things can always happen. But no candidate has been a hopeless also-ran in the Iowa caucuses and rebounded to come anywhere close to a presidential nomination, and theres no reason to expect Rand Paul, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie or Rick Santorum to seriously contest the nomination after this point. Santorum at least will probably drop out this week. Some of the rest may join him, wait until after New Hampshire, or even stay in longer, but their realistic chances are over. The same with Ben Carson, who did somewhat better but was never really viable to begin with.

Donald Trump? We dont know whether his polling numbers elsewhere will fall off as the campaign goes to other states, nor do we know whether losing in one place will destroy his message of being a winner. Both seem very possible, but well have to wait and see. If not, however, his overall unpopularity among Republicans still severely limits his chances as the field narrows further. Certainly, hes going to need more than a quarter of the vote (what he received in Iowa). Put it this way: To win, Trump needs this to be an everything is different this time election, and Monday was strong evidence the normal political rules apply.

Well see now how New Hampshire Republicans react to the signals coming from Iowa. Will moderate and mainstream conservatives jump on the Rubio bandwagon? Will Ted Cruz pick up serious support? It certainly wouldnt be surprising if support for Bush, Kasich and Christie dips. Either way, national Republicans will almost certainly react to the signal from Iowa by pouring resources into the Rubio campaign.

One more thing on the Republican side. If almost no Republican party actors want Trump to win, and a majority also dont want Cruz to win, will they put pressure on Bush and other also-rans to stop attacking Rubio?

Put it all together and one can say: Yes, Iowa only eliminates candidates, but if were down to only two with a plausible chance at the nomination, well, thats a lot of eliminating.

Theres less to say on the Democratic side. Hillary Clinton squeezed out a very narrow victory over Bernie Sanders. Nothing much changes. The Sanders showing was impressive, and theres no reason to expect his big lead in New Hampshire to dissipate, but theres still little reason to expect him to win the nomination.

All that said: Theres a long way to go  49 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and more. Again, something unexpected can happen on either side. But tonight was a step away from this time its different on both sides. And that suggests  but certainly doesnt prove  the rest of the race will be predictable as well.
The former College Square Hy-Vee Building has sat vacant for so long, many in that area just assumed it would remain that way. So word last week a prospective business tenant has plans for the building is great news, and we certainly hope it pans out.

As reported last week, Jon Davis, owner of Slumberland Furniture, has proposed locating a 40,000-square-foot furniture store, a 3,000-square-foot restaurant and 15,000 square feet of retail space in the building.

This large structure has sat vacant for a decade in one of the areas largest business districts. Adding a tenant there, with multi-business prospects, is a godsend  especially with the College Square malls current struggles in keeping tenants and securing new ones.

Any time we see reuse of a building, thats great, said Stephanie Houk Sheetz, interim Cedar Falls community development director. All the infrastructures in place, and its very cost effective from a public standpoint. I know he is putting quite an investment into that building. Its very exciting to see that investment happening on University Avenue.

Davis is purchasing the old Hy-Vee building from GK Development, the Illinois firm that previously owned College Square.

There are a couple of ironies here. Many business owners along University Avenue in Cedar Falls have been nervous about the affects of the upcoming reconstruction of the roadway, especially when it comes to roundabouts.

That reconstruction and one roundabout in particular figured significantly in Davis plans.

Davis stated initially he was not a supporter of roundabouts. However, the access for his relocated store and the reconstructed road will be major assets.

Suffice it to say that was a key ingredient in this happening, Davis said. The Boulder-University intersection will be a key access point to the entire mall.

Davis also noted the business was landlocked in its ability to grow at its current location, and the deteriorated condition of University Avenue in front of the store is an additional challenge.

Another twist is Slumberland Furniture originally opened in Black Hawk Village, near the College Square area, in 1969. Fifteen years ago, the company consolidated its former Waterloo and Cedar Falls stores, and has been operating out of the former Muellers furniture store space at 4020 University Ave. in Waterloo.

The move to College Square would be a bit of a homecoming.

Its really cool, Davis said. My dad (Dick Davis) started the store in 1969 where Chuck E Cheeses is. Were almost back where we started. Its kind of fun.

The city planning staff has recommended approval of the project, with conditions  including a landscaping plan.

We are looking forward to seeing this plan come together in this important business area of Cedar falls, and are hoping a reconstructed University Avenue can spur more growth in the future.
Column exceptions

GARY DLASK

CEDAR FALLS  I agree with Fred Abrahams premise in his opinion piece titled Keeping America safe easy on Jan. 24 that war is different than terrorism. However, I take exception with several conclusions.

He apparently agrees with President Obama that terrorists dont threaten our national existence. Really? He continues by saying the obsession with ISIL is a distraction from the real issues. These issues, according to Mr. Abraham, are income inequality, climate change and the concentration of power and wealth in so few hands.

The crazies in the Middle East and North Korea would like to see ISIL get its hands on a nuclear device. And if it is somehow detonated in downtown Manhattan your so-called bigger problems wont mean a whit.

Study candidates

VELMA FLAUCHER-FALCK

CEDAR FALLS  When I was a child, nearly every Saturday, my siblings and I attended a matinee movie in either Independence or Oelwein. There were news reels showing the buildup to World War II and then the war itself. They made an impression on me I will never forget.

Adolph Hitler ranted and raved his hate for segments of society while his followers cheered and thrust out their arms in a heil Hitler. Little blond-headed girls carried him bouquets of flowers, which I couldnt understand. Soldiers marched the goosestep and tanks rolled down the streets as they took over town after town. There were prison camps full of starving people and crematories. Bulldozers shoved the bones of millions of people, mostly Jews, into mass graves.

Then there were the war pictures. I was 11 when the war ended. Hitler was the product of incest and had a very destructive childhood. He was irrational and mentally unstable. There were those who resisted Hitler and books have been written about their efforts to assassinate him. When listening to political ranting, make an effort to find out the truth behind that politicians words. You may wish you had.

Stroh thanks

JIM DOLAN

WATERLOO  Over the years we have been fortunate in Waterloo to have folks willing to invest in the future of our city. To mention a few, Vern and Donna Nelson, Jim Walsh, the Young family and many others.

Now a gentleman by the name of Ben Stroh has stepped up to the plate for our community. He is responsible for the new complex out near Crossroads and now is considering the long overdue construction of a new Logan plaza.

Mr. Stroh, thank you. I hope you are very successful in this new venture. We the people of Waterloo are the main beneficiaries of your actions. Again, thank you, Mr. Stroh.
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EDITORIAL





We do not forget where we come from: The late great actor, theatre director and playwright Walter L Muparutsa (1941-2012), pictured above, mentored WIN-Zim during a partnership with Global Arts Trust from 2011 until his death









Welcome to our 95th issue of the WIN Newsletter, the first for this year which by divine providence, comes at a time when our blog, this blog, has been nominated for Outstanding Online Media award at the 15th edition of the National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA). Whats more? Our Founder & Director Beaven Tapuretas Herald column called Bookshelf (every Wednesday in the Herald) has also earned him a nomination for the Outstanding Journalist (Print Media) award. We say congratulations to all the 15th NAMA nominees in different arts and culture disciplines. Somewhere in this newsletter there is a full list of this years nominees. Please enjoy the newsletter to the last line!.





THE YOUTH PERSPECTIVE





With

Mimi Machakaire





2016: The Year of Progress





Happy New year everyone! Hope you got a good rest and a lovely holiday but now, a month into the year, its already back to work and school for some!

Lets get ourselves ready for 2016 and beyond. Life is about growth and with age comes intellectual maturity or wisdom. Its important that we must realize sooner that time is rolling by - the sooner we realize this, the better. Its time we start writing out our goals and actually taking action to accomplish them. Here are some guidelines I gleaned for fellow young people out there, especially writers:





"We aim above the mark to hit the mark." - Ralph Waldo Emerson





Yes its hard to make a move but keep the future in mind and you will go places. One suggests creating a vision board, that is, you look for a clear piece of cardboard, search for pictures that represent the goals you have in mind, turn it into a collage and stick it onto your wall to act as a reminder of what youre working for. Place it somewhere where you know you cant miss it and every day think and say to yourself: I MUST GET THERE.

People with goals succeed because they know where they're going." - Earl Nightingale



Someone also said that that the key for you to define your career goals is to establish a plan, strategy for your achievement, including a timeline, and follow up with this plan. You need to put these thoughts in writing and keep a journal of your observations regarding what "things" appear to be working for you, what things are not working, so that you can build a good foundation for making changes, corrections to your plan as you go. In this process you will use the vacation planning as an example: you need to go from point A to point B. You can jump in the car, without a map and go for it. You may or may not reach your destination but lack of planning will lead to disappointment. So, draw a timeline for your job expanding for the next 3 years (or more or less depending on your speed) and walk in time to identify the steps you need to take today, tomorrow, the next week, month and year that will put in position to achieve these goals. Pick that unfinished manuscript and start planning now!





"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." - Fitzhugh Dodson







So lets make this the year of progress as youths we need to be there for each other and encourage each other in whatever we may do because if we dont then who will? Keep writing and oh dont let that book on your table gather dust!



(Mimi Machakaire is the author of the novel Princess Gangster. She now resides in Lesotho)









HARARE OPEN BOOK CLUB INVITES YOU







Flashback: Some members of the Club enjoying the novel In Dependence by Sarah Ladipo Manyika





The Harare Open Book Club will be held on February 11 at a venue to be announced soon. The club meets in the evening at 6pm.

According to Dr. Sunanda Ray, who one of the brains behind the regular reading meetings, the club this time is reading The Palm Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola. Dr. Sunanda also said all are welcome even those who havent read the book. This is exciting moment indeed for bookworms who want to enjoy the evening drifting along a story by one of Africas best writers.





" When Amos Tutuola's first novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, appeared in 1952, it aroused exceptional worldwide interest. Drawing on the West African (Nigeria) Yoruba oral folktale tradition, Tutuola described the odyssey of a devoted palm-wine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure. Since then, The Palm-Wine Drinkard has been translated into more than 15 languages and has come to be regarded as a masterwork of one of Africa's most influential writers....Amos Tutuola (20 June 1920  8 June 1997) was a Nigerian writer famous for his books based in part on Yoruba folk-tales. Despite his short formal education, Tutuola wrote his novels in English. His writing's grammar often relies more on Yoruba orality than on standard English." ( http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32265.Amos_Tutuola )



Previous book club session

(Photos courtesy of Dr. Sunanda and for more information about how and when the club meets, please email: sunanda28@hotmail.com)







A SHONA POEM





By

Yeukai Mapingure





Nhamo



Nhumbu yazvarwa Rufaro rwakavaputira amai

Zuva nezuva vachiteura kuMusiki

Kuti Nhamo uyu aizorarama upenyu hweuchi nemukaka

Ikava mhiko naNyadenga

Nhamo achikura Rudo rwakati unondizivirepi?

Baba pakichini ndokukanda mumwe mudiwa

Nhamo ndokuzoguta musi wafa Amai



Nyika nemwoyo ye vanhu zvakava gwenga

Ko yeumwe nhamo ingaregererwe sadza?

Senhunzi yapinda musvutugadzike Nhamo aidzingwa

Nhamo akava bhanditi ramainini

Imbwa inodya zvaraswa pataundishipi

Izwi raamai vake

Zuva nezuva airiteerera



Mwari vakati ndinokuda Nhamo

Kuvavengi, nyadzi dzikakunda rufu

Nemudiwa wake Nhamo ndokupinda mutsvitsa.



Musi we muchato

Waingonzwa vachiti, Mwana wangu iyeye!

Mwana wedu iyeye, tinomuziva akakurira muno.





Manyepo ayo!







(Mrs. Yeukai Mapingure was born in Gweru in 1985. She attended Wadzanai Primary School in Kambuzuma, Harare and proceeded to Queen Elizabeth High for her lower and upper six. She is a member of WIN-Zimbabwe and her poetry appears in the anthology Flowers of a Dry Season (Forteworx Press). She is interested in writing about challenges faced by teenagers and married people. Mrs. Mapingure is mother to a promising budding writer, her daughter Nyasha Miranda (insert) aged 5 years, who always makes sure she accompanies mother to literary events. At a writers workshop on curriculum review held in Harare, young Nyasha perfectly sang the national anthem. )







NEW WRITER TACKLES HOMOSEXUALITY

















The blurb of Not in Zimbabwe goes like this:





Tongai Bindu is determined to tie the knot with a man yet his mother is a government minister and his father is a pastor. The recipe for disaster unsettles his parents who now fear for their leadership positions. Apart from plunging his sister and girlfriend into heartbreaks, his abominable behavior finally jeopardize the ZIM-ASSET Presidential Input Scheme benefiting small scale farmers. The cat has to be let out of the bag for the law to take its course but minister Maviss political muscle is a threat even to the cops. Pastor Bindu has to make sure his church is kept in the dark or else. At the same time, minister Mavis has to ensure by all means the beans is not spilled to the President and government, otherwise.





Authors Biography





oetry, nonfiction and quotes. Not in Zimbabwe is his debut novel. Visit the following link to read a review of Chitsimes book: When Cupid's Arrow Strikes An Abomination Born in Zaka in 1988, Chitsime J Milton holds a bachelor of Social Work honors degree from the University of Zimbabwe. Apart from fiction, he writes p





Get your copy,taste it and have your say!





ITS NAMA FEVER AGAIN!









Press Release

(Published on February 1, 2016, by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe)





15TH EDITION NAMA NOMINEES





The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) is pleased to announce the list of the nominees for the 15th Edition National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) to be held in Harare on 13th February 2016 at the 7 Arts Theatre in Avondale.

In a bid to enhance entries, NACZ appointed a team of both individual and institutional Monitors who kept an eye on excelling artists throughout the year. These monitors submitted reports to NACZ, which reports were used by adjudicators together with the submitted entries. A panel of independent Adjudicators, guided by a set selection criteria, was appointed to preside over all the submissions. Nominees and winners were selected for each award category. For the 15th Edition of NAMA, 1 104 entries were submitted, from which the nominees were selected from.

Monitors were appointed on the basis of their knowledge of specific arts disciplines and that they were in constant touch with arts products from the genre of their expertise. Their role was to see to it that deserving and excelling work was considered by the adjudicators.

After the closing date, (30th November of each year) NACZ appointed independent team of adjudicators who assessed all entries. The general observation by adjudicators was that there was an increase of entries hence adjudicators had a wide range of product selection. Adjudicators also acknowledged the rise in entries from across the country which they applauded as very encouraging as it gave another dimension to the quality and style.

In addition, adjudicators said there was a tremendous improvement in the quality of music videos, a marked improvement in entries of exhibitions as both public and private galleries actively participated in NAMA for the purpose of promoting the artists that exhibited in their galleries as well as a general improvement in the quality of submitted entries. The college of adjudicators however, appealed to the arts sector to ensure the NAMA entries must be in formats that are compatible with current technology and also challenged the dance sector to be more creative and come up with new, exciting and unique works in dance. The eight NAMA categories that were adjudged are,

 Dance

 Film and Television

 Literary Arts

 Media

 Music

 Spoken Word

 Theatre

 Visual Arts

 Promoters





NACZ therefore would like to thank all those that entered for the 15th Edition of NAMA for making it a success. It is the participation of the artists and stakeholders that make NAMA and indeed the whole arts activities a success.

NACZ launched the inaugural National Arts Merit Awards in 2002. NAMA is the forum where NACZ recognizes outstanding achievements within the arts sector. By rewarding excelling artists, NAMA stimulates more interest in the arts and raises the profile of the same. The awards are a means of encouraging creativity and excellence in the quality of the arts, making Zimbabwe a force to reckon with on the region and international arena.

In addition, the awards aim to inspire artists to strive for higher and original forms of creativity and provide an opportunity for arts disciplines to jointly market and publicize the arts locally, regionally and internationally.





15th NAMA NOMINEES





1. LITERARY ARTS AWARDS



Outstanding First Creative Published Works

Shower of Poetic Vistas by Shumirai Nhanhanga [Zimbabwe Women Writers]

Chaotic by Samantha Chihuri [Ess Tee Publications]

Who will Feed my Birds by Tshengina Ndlovu [Multi-Media Box]





Outstanding Childrens Book



Tsuro naGudo: Misi yese Haifanani by Daniel Mutendi and Wilbur Kandiero [DanTs Media]

The Mystery of the Waterfalls Thief by Tatenda C Munyuki [Darling Kind]





Outstanding Fiction



Dzinonyandura by Rabson Shumba [263 Nhetembo]

Textures by John Eppel & Togara Muzanenhamo [AmaBooks]

Ties that Bind by Phillip K. Chidavaenzi [New Heritage Press]

The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah [Faber and Faber]





2. DANCE AWARDS



Outstanding Male Dancer



Sean Mambwere M & M Dance Factory

Mehluli Dube Umkhathi Theatre Works

Mclntosh Jerahuni Tumbuka Dance Company





Outstanding Female Dancer



Timikha Fisher Breakthrough Productions

Chaleen Chimara Dance Trust of Zimbabwe

Sibonisiwe Sithole IYASA





Outstanding Dance Group



Tumbuka Dance Company

IYASA

M & M Dance Factory





Outstanding Choreographer



Mclntosh Jerahuni Tumbuka Dance Company

Sean Mambwere M & M Dance Factory

Maylene Chenjerayi Tumbuka Dance Company

Stanley Wasini Tumbuka Dance Company





3. VISUAL ARTS AWARDS



Outstanding 2 Dimensional Work



Kunababa Kunedzimba Dzakawanda by Anthony Bumhira

Shadows from the Past by Boarding Dzinotizei

Tears of a Woman by Mavis Tauzen





Outstanding 3 Dimensional Work



Vhukonani by Israel Israel

Happy Elephant by Farai T. Tandi

Mothers Day by Rufaro Murenza





Outstanding Mix Media Work



The Dog and the Bone by Johnson Zuze

Kusina mai hakuendwe (Xenophobia Pain) by Forbes Mushipe

In my Grandmothers Jacket by Israel Israel





Outstanding Exhibition



Agostinho Neto Curated by Raphael Chikukwa at National Gallery of Zimbabwe

Between Dreams and Realities Curated by Jimmy Saruchera at Koa-Vah Gallery

Mutations and Permutations: A Situationist Proposal Curated by Raphael Chikukwa at NGZ





4. SPOKEN WORD AWARDS



Outstanding Poet



Philani Nyoni

Barbra Anderson

Freedom Nyamubaya





Outstanding Comedian



Sam Farai Monro aka Comrade Fasto

Victor T Mpofu aka Doc Vikela

Michael Kudakwashe





5. THEATRE AWARDS



Outstanding Actress



Nyaradzo Nhongonhema in Chimbwido the Girl of War

Priviledge Mutendera in Where There is a Will

Musa Sibanda in The Taking

Chiedza Mlingo in Ananias and Sapphira





Outstanding Actor



Gift Chakuvinga in The Taking

Tafadzwa Hananda in Chimbwido the Girl of War





Outstanding Theatrical Production



The Taking by Homegrown Arts

Ananias and Sapphira by Charles Munganasa

Chimbwido the Girl of War by Stanley Mukuwe





Outstanding Director



Memory Kumbota for The Taking

Charles Munganisa for Ananias and Sapphira

Stanley Makuwe for Chimbwido the Girl of War





6. FILM AND TELEVISION AWARDS



Outstanding Actor

Anthony Tongani in Ngozi

Nick Zemura in My Lady

Tinashe Nhukarume in Through the Night 2





Outstanding Actress



Paula Ndlovu in Journey Home

Chipo Mbizvo in Mwanasikana

Fortune Perezu in My Lady

Outstanding Music Video



Breaking Through by Kudzai Chikomo ft. Admire Kudita

Jerusarema by Willard Slimaz Makombedze ft. Jah Prayzah

Huyai Tinamate by Charles Mawungwa ft. Hope Masike

Ndomira Pamuri by Andy Cutta Sobhuza ft. Janet Manyowa





Outstanding Screen Production - Full Length Film



My Lady directed by Michael Zemura

Mwanasikana directed by Beauty Nakai Tsuro

Far from Yesterday directed by Blessing Chinanga et al.





Outstanding Screen Production - Short Film



The Christening directed by Tswatswa I. Mutasa

Jane the Ghost directed by Learnmore Sibanda





Outstanding Screen Production (TV)



Tonight with Zororo directed by Nqobizitha Mlilo & Zororo Makamba

Wenera directed by Eddie Ndlovu

Zambezi News directed by Kevin Hansen

The Maid directed by Shupai Kamunyaru





7. MEDIA AWARDS



Outstanding Journalist Print



Beaven Tapureta - The Herald

Vasco Chaya - Daily News

Mbongeni Msimanga - Sunday News

Tony Mhonda - The Patriot





Outstanding Journalist TV



Sifiso Mpofu - ZBC

Josephine Mugiyo - ZBC

Andrew Neshamba - ZBC





Outstanding Journalist Radio



Sifiso Mpofu - ZBC

Josephine Mugiyo - ZBC

Tichaona Meza - ZBC





Outstanding Online



Zimbojam

Writers International Network (WIN)

Panorama

Three Men on a Boat





8. MUSIC AWARDS



Outstanding Female Musician



Hope Masike

Selmor Mtukudzi

Tariro negitare Chaniwa

Agatha Murudzwa





Outstanding Male Musician



Wallace Chirimuko aka Winky D

Mathias Mhere

Mukudzei Mukombe aka Jah Prayzah

Kelvin Kusikwenyu aka Killer T





Outstanding Album



Gafa Life by Wallace Chirimuko aka Winky D

Jerusarema by Mukudzei Mukombe aka Jah Prayzah

Glory to Glory by Mathias Mhere

Ngoma Ndaimba by Kelvin Kusikwenyu aka Killer T





Outstanding Song



Ebenezer from Ebenezer - Tirimunyasha by Rev. Togarepi Chivaviro

Eriza - from Jerusarema by Mukudzei Mukombe aka Jah Prayzah

Tirikuda Kumbofarawo by Kelvin Kusikwenyu aka Killer T

Disappear from Gafa Life by Wallace Chirimuko aka Winky D





1. SPECIAL AWARD



Outstanding Promoter



Danchip Investments t/a Legends Sports Bar

X-MO SQUAD

CHIPAZ Promotions

SIMMAD Entertainment





LISBON CHIGWENJERES POETIC MUSINGS





(Report by WIN-Zimbabwe)









Lisbon Chigwenjere





A few years ago we used to know him by his stage name Babamukuru. Whenever he performed his popular poem which has the repetition Ndini ndamubata, he would send the audience in frenzied ululation.

Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere has now assumed another stage name and this time he has dedicated his all to his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in his new name, The Lords Poet, that his passion is explained.

Last month, the Lords Poet has been busy finalizing publication of his new Christian poetry anthology titled Days of My Youth. As we speak now, the anthology could be close to reaching its readers. The anthology was co-edited by his twin brother Liberty Chigwenjere and prolific novelist and recently NAMA nominated Phillip K Chidavaenzi.





Days of my Youth resounds with Lisbons spiritually powered poetic musings. His eye is alert, his heart profound and full with wisdom. As a young person, he seeks to inspire his fellows and thus dedicates his message to every young person/who is yet to discover his/her purpose/to those young people who/like Paul of Tarsus/ are not ashamed of the Lord Jesus.

The book is divided into three sections, that is, Faith, Love and Patriotism. Each poem is guided by a Bible verse that aptly captures and accompanies the spiritual idea in the poem. Exciting are the different perspectives which the theme of youth is looked at.

In the poem My Triumphant Life, you hear the voice of an older person reflecting on the well-utilized days of youth, celebrating his/her faith-based victory. Every young person wishes to live longer and to one day declare, as the personae in the poem, that:





I have conquered, I have defeated, I have subdued

I have overcome challenges and them I have chewed. (My Triumphant Life)





The poems give hope, encouragement and guidance to young persons who may be bogged down by different conditions in their lives. Not only youths will enjoy the poems in this anthology but children as well. How sweet it will be for a parent to recite Lisbons poem Little Nicole to a child. The poem, in very friendly and loving words, encourages a child to obey his/her parents so that faith and happiness will be theirs in the future.

Lisbon gets meditative, deeply meditative in the poem Still Small Voice. As said before, Lisbons minds eye is alert and aware of the times. The issue of gender-based violence has affected every aspect of life. In the poem For Tanya, a woman is being praised and advised to stand strong because

Out of your belly flow rivers of living waters

You are the greatest woman that ever been born

They will celebrate you when you are gone

Tanya, let no man despise thee because a woman thou art





The love poems are controlled, and every boy and girl who reads these poems is likely to become suddenly aware of the temporary nature of uncontrolled desires which many a time have led to the fall of youths. Although Lisbon inspires true love, he wants the love to not only be earthly but to go beyond and assume no earthly qualities, thus he reminds young people and adults as well:

In heaven we will be single

We will not mix and mingle

There will be no husband and wife (Single in Heaven)





No doubt Lisbons gift of poetry has risen to another level in quality and theme. This collection testifies how deep his belief in the emancipation of humanity through Jesus Christ is.

Born a twin in 1983, Lisbon is currently at the Midlands State University where he is studying for a degree in Politics and Public Management. His Christian poems have appeared in various international journals and anthologies. A passionate youth leader, Lisbons vision is to inspire young people to remember their Creator in the days of their youth.

Indeed, no country can survive without conscious youths!









AUTHOR SELF-PUBLISHES SECOND BOOK





Cover of Wakanonoka Kuipingudza, a self-published book by Onias Murambidzi whose first book was a Shona play titled Makadenha Rukato which is about the liberation struggle.





Onias Murambidzi has a second book and it is titled Wakanonoka Kuipingudza. WIN caught up with Murambidzi and from the brief chat, we bring you two important questions which WIN asked the author:





WIN: What is the plot of your second novel?





Murambidzi: It is a story about a poor family that lacks cohesion with the extended family. Tapesana has one and only daughter Tambudzai. Tambudzai grows up isolated from other close relatives. Her father Tapesana who could not get any advice from relatives, does not explore and address weaknesses of his daughter until she became mature enough to be married. Having noticed that it is not proper to let her without proper marriage guidance, he instructs his wife to Mai Tapesana to brief the daughter a few hours before the marriage but it was too late. This results in a weak marriage between Tambu and Shayamano her husband. Their marriage breaks. The daughter later reforms but the damage is already done. In short, children need proper guidance in their lives.





WIN: How have readers received your first book, a play Makadenha Rukato?





Murambidzi: From the day Makadenha Rukato was read/serialized on Radio Zimbabwe, the book has made certain progress. It was also reviewed in the Heralds Bookshelf column and many people came to know about my book. The book increasingly became popular when I was interviewed on ZBC TV by presenter Terrence Mapurisana. I have sold a number of copies now to local readers. The Congress Library of America also bought a few copies. I can say the response has been overwhelming for a debut.





Get your copy,taste it and have your say!









HOUSE OF HUNGER POETRY SLAM

















Energetic performance poet Odreck Nyika (above in red shirt), who is also a member of Win-Zimbabwe, will be taking part in the House of Hunger poetry slam on Saturday February 6, 2016.













THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING!
































































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If youre looking to try out an online casino, there are several things that will help you make a decision. Heres what you should look for when choosing an online casino

 Are they regulated? A lot of the larger ones have licenses issued by the authorities in their respective regions, so its worth checking this first.

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The players used to play the game slot online in the land based casinos in the past time. But now with time after the invention of the online casinos players play the game slot online. Online platform provide the players with the convenience in playing and even better winning. Even after keeping a good percentage of the profits, they distribute good funds to players.

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Betway:

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Feb 3, 2016 | By Benedict

Cyfuse Biomedical has been carving out its reputation as a biomedical innovator for a few years now, with its one-of-a-kind Regenova 3D printer ranking highly in our rundown of the Top 20 3D Bioprinters last year. Unlike most 3D bioprinters currently used for research purposes, the Regenova does not make use of scaffolds and fluids to ensure the correct placement of each cell. Instead, the Cyfuse Medical 3D printer uses an array of needles on which aggregates of cells called spheroids are skewered into their required position, like microscopic pieces of meat on tiny upright kebabs. These cells begin to interact organically and, once fully self-organized, can be freed from their needle supports, leaving a complete section of tissue. This technique has been labelled the Kenzan Method, Kenzan meaning needle array in Japanese.

According to Cyfuse Biomedical, the Kenzan Method offers notable advantage over other 3D bioprinting techniques, reducing cell damage and increasing viability. Its much gentler approach eliminates high-velocity liquid flow, which can damage cells and yield low cell numbers. Thanks to the elimination of this factor, the technique is suitable even for the most delicate primary cells, which are often of the highest physiological relevance.

The 3D bioprinting technique, which used needles made of stainless steel with a diameter of 100-200 micrometers and pitch of 300-400 micrometers, is able to sculpt biological patterns within a range of ~10x10x10mm at 500um resolution. Printed tissues are then able to be fused together to create larger constructs. Each tissue is precisely designed using the Regenova-specific B3D 3D design software, which allows users to manipulate the patterns of spheroids in a precise, controlled manner.

Cyfuse Biomedical and Cell Applications, a provider of primary cells, has until now been offering its services exclusively within Japan, but today announced the immediate availability of the Kenzan Method in North America through a pay-per-service bioprinting model. The two companies will offer their unique bioprinting services to scientists in both the US and Canada for research use. Cell Applications will offer more than one hundred types of human and animal primary cells, with nearly 900 possible configurations, to its North American customers, with additional cell types also offered through the companys custom services program.

"In addition to customized cell isolation and assay services, Cell Applications is now able to provide researchers with an integrated cell-engineering solution that utilizes our expansive primary cell bank and the innovative Kenzan bioprinting method," said James Yu, Founder and CEO of Cell Applications. "Having the Regenova 3D Bio Printer at our San Diego headquarters with our vast array of primary cells is a powerful combination. We're very pleased to offer researchers an end-to-end, customized solution for creating scaffold-free, 3D engineered tissues that reduce costs by minimizing the lengthy processes typical in pharmaceutical drug discovery."

"The Regenova 3D Bio Printer, combined with Cell Applications' comprehensive, high-quality primary cell bank, offers researchers streamlined access to a nearly limitless selection of three dimensional tissues including those mimicking blood vessels, human neural tissue and liver constructs," added Koji Kuchiishi, CEO of Cyfuse Biomedical. "The collective strengths of both our companies will serve the growing demand for viable engineered tissues and accelerate scientific discovery in North America, taking us one step closer to making regenerative medicine a reality.

The Kenzan Method has already been used by researchers to create blood vessels, nerve, and functional liver-like tissues, but its creators foresee it being used for further 3D printed organic structures such as cardiac muscle and pancreatic islets, as well as spinal cord, urologic, trachea, skin and digestive tissues for regenerative medicine research. A successful implementation of the Kenzan Method in the US and Canada could bring researchers one step closer to creating fully bioprinted human organsAs well as propelling the Regenova 3D bioprinter further up our Top 20 3D Bioprinters chart.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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Feb 3, 2016 | By Kira

We have reported on our share of superfast or high-speed 3D printers, purporting to utilize all types of novel 3D printing technologies, from Lubricant Sublayer Photocuring (LSPc), to C-CAT (Carima-Continuous Additive 3D Printing Technology), to FLD (Fast Layer Deposition), and of course the more common SLA and DLP 3D printing techniques. Some stand up to their claims of balancing high speeds with high quality, while others have generated more skeptics than believers.

The latest high-speed 3D printing technology comes from the 3D printing technology research and development center of the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led by Ling WenXiong. By building off on CLIPa subset of DLP 3D printing brought to light by Carbon3D back in early 2015the Chinese researchers have managed to reach 3D printing speeds of 600mm/h. To put that speed into perspective, FJIRSM claims to have pulled a 3D object measuring 60mm high from the resin tank in as little as six minutesa feat that would require roughly 10 hours using traditional SLA 3D printing techniques.

In conventional SLA (stereolithography) 3D printers, an ultraviolet laser is focused into a vat of photopolymer resin. Following pre-determined patterns across the surface of the vat, the UV laser hardens the resin layer by layer, building up a solid and highly accurate 3D objectthanks to major 3D printer manufacturers such as FormLabs, SLA 3D printing is becoming more and more common, however it is still considered quite complex and time-consuming. Similarly, DLP (Direct Light Deposition) 3D printing builds 3D objects in a vat of photopolymer resin, but using a light projector shining up through the transparent bottom of a resin container.

In March 2015, US company Carbon3D proposed Continuous Growth Surface Technology (CLIP), a new DLP-related 3D printing process that grows smooth, layerless 3D objects within the resin vat at speeds 25-100 times faster than traditional 3D printing. The secret to CLIP 3D printing is a special window at the bottom of the vat that is transparent to UV light. UV light shines through the window, causing the resin to solidify, while leaving an oxygen-permeable membrane below the resin, creating a dead zone of around ten microns thick where polymerization cannot occur (high oxygen levels prevents polymerization). This allows for the 3D object to emerge continuously, in a single, smooth and solid piece, from just above the dead zone, and at speeds reaching 500mm/h.

Illustration of the FJIRSM's new DLP 3D printing technique

Though the FJIRSMs technique builds on CLIP 3D printing technology, its innovation was to include a semi-permeable transparent element to the bottom of the resin tank that is fixed to the illumination path of the light source. This semi-permeable transparent element has a higher-than-average oxygen transmittance rate, and therefore allows more oxygen or air to be used as a curing inhibitor, widening the dead zone and preventing the 3D object from attaching to the window. This high-speed, continuous additive manufacturing method can therefore reach printing speeds of up to 600mm per hour (1 cm per minute) or more.

While 3D printing has not yet reached blink-and-you-might-miss-it speeds, time is money, and both consumers and manufacturers will constantly be on the lookout for increasingly fast additive manufacturing technologies that will increase their throughput, productivity, and profit. 'Continuous growth' 3D printing appears to be one of the more viable solutions and will likely be receiving more attentionand therefore more advancesas it gains traction amongst 3D printing researchers and developers.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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Gaurav wrote at 9/18/2017 3:13:04 PM:why oxygen inhibition is necessary in DLP printingAlex wrote at 2/4/2016 1:03:51 PM:Actually Carbon3D stole the technology from Carima. Please dont comment if you don't know the real truth.Red wrote at 2/3/2016 6:36:53 PM:Congratulations, they managed to recreate Carbon's patented IP.




Feb 3, 2016 | By Tess

Just a week ago, 3D printing company Stratasys announced it was introducing a series of educational modules aimed at teaching students and educators the ins and outs of 3D printing technology. The promotion of STEM education through 3D printing tutorials has evidently caught on, as another major player in the 3D printing industry, Dremel, has officially launched its own 3D printing ecosystem, Dremel Dreams, to easily and comprehensively integrate additive manufacturing technologies into the classroom.

The Dremel Dreams program includes ten curriculum-based lesson plans, corresponding 3D model kits, and a Dremel 3D Idea Builder printer, which was specifically designed for safe use in the classroom. Each of the lesson plans was developed in collaboration with curriculum experts at Florida State University to fit as seamlessly as possible into already existing school programs.

Using the 3D specific lesson plans when we study alternative energy gives my students the opportunity to enhance their understanding of abstract concepts, says Susan Nichol, a teacher at Holmes Junior High School in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. The Dremel 3D Idea Builder is a plug-and-play tool for my classroom that enables students to test and explore 3D printing as independent thinkers.

Having a 3D printer in the class is just the first step, however, so the tutorials and model kits are imperative to introducing the technology to young students. For teachers perhaps unfamiliar with 3D printing processes and digital design, Dremel is offering a webinar training program with tutorials to help them begin to bring the technology into their classes. If any other inquiries arise about the digital 3D printing ecosystem, the company has also made one-on-one customer support available, either via telephone, Skype, online chat, or email.

The 3D printing ecosystem is not only helping to introduce students to additive manufacturing at a young age, but is also encouraging young generations to learn and educate themselves by seeing and more importantly, doing. The lesson plans devised for Dremel Dreams therefore not only get students involved with 3D printing, but also teach them about the tools, devices, or parts they might be creating, from a gear, to a geometric puzzle.

For the Dremel Dreams program, Dremel has partnered with 3D modeling software Autodesk to provide a user friendly interface for students to dive into 3D design and engineering. The modeling platform will allow students and teachers to easily navigate 3D modeling to create objects and tools to ultimately 3D print.

Dremel has also included HPs Sprout desktop 3D scanning solution as an additional workstation so that kids can not only design objects, but 3D scan them, modify them, and 3D print them easily and efficiently.

Partnerships with like-minded organizations, such as Autodesk and HP, enable us to deliver unparalleled STEM experience for teachers and students, says George Velez, manager of Dremel 3D Education. The 3D printing technology is important, but equally important are the resources and support we provide for educators.

The Dremel Dreams lesson plans and corresponding 3D model kits come already loaded onto the Idea Builder 3D printers SD card, allowing for the lessons to be conducted from any SD compatible computer.

Using 3D technology takes what we learn in class to a whole new level, says Chaidan Leshinski, a 5th grade math teacher at Joseph Sears School. Incorporating this type of technology into their learning allows them to make connections from what they are learning in class to the greater world around them.

As the current young generation of students are already proving they can do incredible things with 3D printing technologies, we can only begin to imagine what they will be doing in ten to twenty years, especially as the technology becomes more and more integrated into their learning.

For more information on the Dremel Dream Program and to see it in action, check out the video below:

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Feb 2, 2016 | By Kira

Ourobotics, the Irish 3D bioprinting company behind the Revolution multi-material 3D bioprinter, has won first place in the inaugural SVOD (Silicon Valley Open Doors) Europe startup competition, hosted by Google at its European Headquarters in Dublin. Founded by scientist and engineer Jemma Redmond, Ourobotics has developed an affordable, reliable and modular 3D bioprinter with a unique re-tooling system that can handle ten 3D printing materials or more in a single 3D bioprinted structure, and can thus be used to for human tissue engineering, pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology, 3D printed bio-textiles and more.

The aim of the SVOD competition is to connect the most promising Central and Eastern European technology startups with investors and experts from Western Europe and Silicon Valley. The event was attended by over 450 delegates with representatives from over 50 venture capital funds in attendance, and Redmond found herself competing against 25 equally ambitious startups, including Israeli project Recast and the Ukraines Wishround, which took second and third place, respectively.

As the winner of the coveted top prize, Ourobotics proved that there is multifaceted and definite interest in the booming 3D bioprinting market, and that the Revolution 3D Bioprinter offers as much potential as its name suggests. As the winner, Redmond will now attend and present at the next American SVOD conference, taking place on May 25th, where she will have the opportunity to connect with even more potential investors. Ourobotics also took home a $5,000 Google Adwords checque to help promote the business.

Ourobotics founder Jemma Redmond accepting part of the SVOD Europe first place prize

The conference was really helpful, not only did we win, but we also received a lot of great adive and introductions. Its definitely worthwhile for any startup company to attend, said Redmond.

It was fantastic that, in a competition based purely on the merit of business and technological advantages, our winner is a female founder from Ireland. Her project beat off stiff competition from 25 Startups from across Europe to win the prestigious competition, said Anna Dvornikova, founder of SVOD Europe.

Redmond entered 3D bioprinting after studying applied physics nano-bioscience. She started by building 3D bioprinters on her kitchen table, funding herself throughout university in order to experiment with creating models of tumors in gelatin, tumors, reproductive tissues and more. Yet as the SVOD Europe competition has confirmed, Redmond is today is the founder and engineering genius behind one of the most promising 3D bioprinting startups in the world.

The Ourobotics Revolution 10+ material 3D bioprinter

I have been working with on biomaterial research and the bioengineering techniques associated with it since 2009, and Jemma was the first person that I met with the potential to revolutionize the 3D bioprinting industry, said Stephen Gray, Ourobotics Co-Founder, bioengineering PhD, and postdoctoral research associate at Professor Roger Kamms Lab, based between biological engineering at MIT and SMART Centre Singapore. The woman is a creative engineering genius. Indeed, both Gray and Redmond have quite a bit in store for the 3D bioprinting industry, including a particularly exciting and upcoming announcement regarding a new Ourobotics 3D bioprinter model (stay tuned for those details).

The first SVOD Europe competition, whose theme was Myth vs. Reality, was held at Google Europe HQ in Dublin between January 27th and 28th, with the support of key sponsors Almaz Capital Partners, PWC, and Google. The next SVOD Europe conference will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2016.

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Linda Braune in New Politics:

In his newest book, historian Greg Grandin provides background to Herman Melvilles classic Benito Cereno, an 1855 short novel about a slave rebellion. Reflecting on this story written almost two centuries ago, Grandin opens up space for further research by those investigating the Black Atlantic. Melvilles novel told the story of a concerned and liberal sea captain, Amasa Delano, who boarded the slave ship San Dominick and encountered a deferential slave, Babo, caring for his slave master who had taken ill. Delano was moved by the humble slaves concern for his master, the ships captain. Not until the end of that day does Delano realize that he had been deceived and that the slaves on the San Dominick had revolted and had actually taken charge. Babo was not a deferential slave, solicitous toward his sick master, but rather was the revolts ringleader! When Delano discovers the true circumstances, he directs his armed team of sailors to round up the rebels, and a fight ensues. The Melville narrative is extraordinary, ironic, and liberatory, and Grandins book provides some remarkable background material to the novel. Benito Cereno had been based on actual events recorded in the non-fictional Delanos 1817 journal. Grandin provides a context for grasping this late eighteenth- to early nineteenth-century revolutionary era, reflecting a whole period of slave rebellion. However, three special contributions by Grandin deserve explication here: his emphasis on the Muslim influence on the slaves, the brutality of the free-enterprise seal-hunting industry, and the harsh march of slaves over the Andes.

First, one of Grandins striking contributions is his situating the real and the fictional Amasa Delano, and fictional Babo, within a revolutionary history and alerting his readers to the Muslim background of many West African slaves. Grandin reports that some estimate as many as 10 percent of over twelve million African slaves taken to America were Muslims (195). Grandin shows us, in fact, that when Protestant Delano meets Babo, he is possibly not confronted with a Christian slave, but a Muslim one, a Muslim brother of those who rose up and fought for a decade to acquire Haitian independence in 1804.

More here. (Note: At least one post will be dedicated to honor Black History Month throughout February)
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IMGCAP(1)]Are you too small to endure?

There are approximately 14,000 multi-partner CPA firms in the U.S. and yet, according to Accounting Todays 2015 Top 100 Firms survey, only 100 firms had revenues of at least $33 million; the median revenue was approximately $70 million. The statistics are staggering.

We have many small CPA firms in this country serving the mid-market and, regardless of size, in this slow-growth economy many firms are finding it difficult to organically grow their audit and tax practices at an acceptable rate (say, 6 to 8 percent per annum). Without healthy profitable growth on both the top and bottom lines, any firm will struggle and ultimately die.

So here is the question we ask you to ask yourself and your partnersis your firm too small to endure? If your answer to this question is either maybe or yes, in our opinion you have to decide which strategic path your firm needs to follow. There are basically two alternatives: go big or go deep.

Either path will result in what we refer to as building a sustainable brand. Deciding which path is right for your firm starts by answering these tough housekeeping questions:

 Do you have the wrong mix of client service partners and staff?

 Is there enough emphasis on firm growth and profitability?

 Is your firm autocratic?

 Is there sufficient leadership?

 Is there too much, or too little, partner autonomy?

 Do you have enough superstars?

 Do you have too many unproductive partners?

 Are the partners on the same page strategically?

 Is your firm too eager to accept any and all clients?

 Does your firm have enough capital to invest in the future?

The answers to these questions will help you decide which strategic path is realistic for your firm. The next step is to look outward.

Going Big

We often hear the phrase bigger is not necessarily better. But the marketplace places a lot of importance on size and brand awareness. Therefore, bigger is better because the bigger your firm is, it is likely that you are building an impressive client list and many impressive partners and staff.

Impressive client lists and impressive partners and staff help you attract high-quality people and new clients and effectively serve your existing clients.

What does the competitive landscape in your geography look like? Is there an opportunity for your firm to become a clear alternative to the Big Four firms or to the Next Six? Is there an opportunity for you to gain market share with larger, complex clients?

Getting Deep

In your marketplace, is there an industry niche (say, commercial real estate, retail or technology) that cries out in need of a specialty firm with market distinction? Small firms that have deep industry expertise usually generate excellent livings for their partners. Industry specialization sells with clients, prospects and your partners and staff. So what does the competitive landscape in your geography look like? Is there an opportunity for your firm to be the go to firm for a particular industry?

Once you preliminarily decide which strategic path might be appropriate for your firm, there are eight steps to tackle, summarized below:

1. Start with strategic planning, implementation and accountability. Go off-site with a professional facilitator and have a partner retreat, the best way to kick off a strategic plan. Create a vision statement and do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. Burn the plan and tactics into each and every partners annual goals. This is the best way for you to achieve effective implementation.

2. Develop a sound, basic governance and economic model that enables you to establish an executive board for effective governance and a senior leadership operating team for the day-to-day operational oversight. Limit equity partnerships to those who consistently help to perpetuate the firm and build enterprise value. Avoid the temptation of the upside down partner/staff pyramid. Use insightful management tools that will enable successful execution.

3. Attract, develop and retain first-class partners and remember an effective HR function is critical to your future partner pipeline. Senior managers and laterals have to see a quality firm, one that has a strategic plan to transition to a sustainable brand. Your highest-performing partners must become true owners and not merely employees. Thats easier said than done as you grow.

4. Develop a performance management and compensation plan that drives the desired behavior. The focus needs to be first on the firm, second on the line of business or office, and third on individual performance. Evaluate performance through a consistent approach thats integral to communications and execution. The plan should be viewed as a way of running your firm, rather than merely as a means of rewarding partners.

5. Attract, develop and retain marquee clients through industry, consulting and technical specialization. Industry specialists, consulting specialists and technical specialists are integral to your growth. Marquee clients are credential builders that provide CPA firms with the market permission to grow with scale. Specialists and marquee clients are prescriptions for providing distinctive service that brings value beyond compliance needs. This is the way your firm will stand out from your competitors.

6. Develop value-added deliverables that are by-products of your annual compliance services. Demonstrate that your CPA firm provides not only superior service but also a value-add. Ask clients what they want from their relationship with you and then exceed their expectations.

A client service plan sets standards established by your clients that will serve as precise indicators of your value-add. Owners want to increase their business valuation and their working capital. You can demonstrate that your firm can help by delivering a memorandum identifying EBITDA and working capital improvements. Communicate your observations not only to senior management but also to investors. Theyll be blown away by your firms distinctiveness.

Family-owned businesses can truly benefit from a process that allows the owners to define their strategy, direction and priorities. A client situation review will help your firm focus on client challenges and how your firm can provide solutions.

7. Consider your firms national and geographic reach. Arguably there are 11 U.S. financial centers that are absolutely necessary to handle growing companies. Without them (if not all, then at least one or perhaps two), you are not a player.

Global reach, an important vehicle that strengthens your firms capabilities, is first obtained through membership in an association. Ultimately, if you are looking to go big, you need one global brand. International business centers in the U.S. are the vehicles to establish a firm or office focus on international business and a means to developing skills and credentials.

8. Make it real through persistent and consistent leadership. Every word the CEO says, every action taken, has tremendous impact not only among the partner ranks but also throughout the firm.

Being a leader is very much like being a parent. You need to be persistent and consistent in your words, actions and principles.

Dom Esposito, CPA, is the CEO of Esposito CEO2CEO, LLC. Voted one of the most influential people in the profession for two consecutive years by Accounting Today, he has authored a book, published by www.CPATrendlines.com , entitled 8 Steps to Great which is a primer for CEOs, managing partners and other senior partners. Dom welcomes questions and can be contacted at desposito@espositoceo2ceo.com or (203) 292-3277.
As accounting firms continue to address the incoming Millennial workforce and, therefore, the future of their business, diversity is becoming an issue ranking just as high as compensation issues or technology trends.

Big Four firm EYs Discover EY program, now in its tenth year, addresses diversity head-on, by inviting minority accounting students from all over the country to a three-day program in Manhattan to not only show them what their futures can be at the firm, but inside the profession overall.

AN ESSENTIAL PROGRAM

Ken Bouyer, the director of inclusiveness recruiting for EY Americas, knows firsthand the power of a program like Discover. He initially joined the firms assurance practice in 1990, and previously served as Americas director in the advisory services practice. He is also a member of the National Association of Black Accountants, and has been a pioneer in bringing diversity leadership to the firm.

This has been a signature program for us, said Bouyer, in an interview following his keynote at this years event, which was held early last month. We have 170 or so people in the program now, where in 2006 it was maybe 50 or so. Its evolved.

Through a hands-on approach that features professionals interacting directly with prospects, students can get a good grip on what the profession can offer them after leaving college. They get a chance to see role models and people who have been in this profession for so long, continued Bouyer, to show them this is a great profession, to come to EY, and have a tremendous career. If you look at the number of underrepresented minorities thinking about and coming to accounting, its still low. We have to continue to invest in programs like this.

Its a process that looks to utilize the pipeline approach that the American Institute of CPAs has started to embrace, as laid out in its 2015 report, Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits: to start awareness of the profession in junior high, before moving to high school and realistically exploring the opportunities minority students can expect to studying accounting in college.

To introduce a kid whos interested in studying engineering [to] think about professional services  thats why this program is so powerful, thats why it does build a pipeline, Bouyer said. A majority of those students will come intern with us and ultimately become professionals. Were building a pipeline.

A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

During the tenth year of the Discover program, student interest in EY is growing, as the personal quality of the recruiting the firm employs is winning many undergrads over.

Erika Vargas, a junior studying accounting at Auburn University, got her first impression of the firm from attending its Diversity Leadership Conference in Charlotte, N.C., and knew it was where I wanted to be. This summer, shell be interning in EYs Atlanta office, and the difference-maker, she said, has been the way EY as a firm sought to stay in touch.

A lot of the people who reach out to you want to help you, she said. I can see a lot of mentors in the long run. After I went to Charlotte, I still talk to people there. [With] recruiting events on campus, you meet all these different people from offices that even though you wont be working with them, youll still have connections to them.

The approach seems to be working: 77 percent of students accept internships based off the Discover program, according to Bouyer. If we dont give underrepresented students an early internship opportunity, another company will certainly try to hire them. So for us, this investment of two to three years in their growth  we have to do this early.

I knew a little about the firm, but just a bit more locally, said Vargas. Now I think [Discover] really opened up my eyes about how big the firm is and how many people from different backgrounds work here as well.

THE ADVANTAGE OF DIVERSITY

Some may say that an emphasis on diversity can be secondary  a nice, but not mandatory, feature. Bouyer, however, said that its more necessary than that.

First, I would just say diversity [is a response to] the shifting demographics of this country and the globe, he said. We need to be a firm that represents those demographics. Second, when you think about serving global clients  something we do every single day we bring a diverse thought and perspective to our clients. When were solving their problems, we have a fresh perspective and view that makes sense for them, that helps us as a firm continue to grow.

Bouyer said that 36 percent of EYs present campus hires are from minorities. In contrast, the same figure hovered around 10 percent back in 1994. On campus, were hiring over 10,000 people a year  full-time and intern  so every year, our underrepresented and minority numbers continue to increase. These investments pay off, he said. Its a long road, it takes a lot of peoples efforts, but were committed and were seeing great results.

Another initiative geared toward minority students, dubbed EY Unplugged, flies in underrepresented new hires to New York for two days of open, honest conversation, with firm leaders discussing their journey within the firm and giving early-career advice to their juniors. For me, to be the first person to have a professional job in my family, I didnt have that guidance and advice on how to navigate and become successful, said Bouyer. So we pull them in and have that conversation their first year and its so powerful.

THE FUTURE INCLUSION

With a focus on the changing racial demographics in the U.S. and abroad, Bouyer said that EY is already planning for the next decade of diversity and inclusion. In the early 1990s, it was probably more focused on ethnic minority talent and women, he said. Now, were focused on veterans, people with disabilities, people within the LGBT community. As this program continues to grow, it will become more diverse. As the world around us changes, so will this program.

And that will draw in talent to take the reins in the future. I think coming here has emphasized the opinion that I had [of the firm] in a positive way, said Vargas. Ive met a lot of people that dont have the same background as I do, and it makes you want to learn more about them, why theyre here, and how they made it here. Now I know [that], Im more excited to do my internship, stay in the long-run, and hopefully be one of the [people] speaking [on stage] in 25 years.
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said Tuesday he has suspended processing of electronic and paper tax returns from 16 Liberty Tax Service franchise locations due to a high volume of questionable returns received, on top of seven Baltimore-area Liberty locations that he suspended processing last week.

Some of the suspicious characteristics detected on the tax returns included business income reported when taxpayers did not own a business, refund amounts requested much higher than previous year tax returns, inflated and/or undocumented business expenses, dependents claimed when taxpayer did not provide required 50 percent support or care, and inflated wages and withholding information.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan also issued a complaint last week seeking an injunction against another Liberty Tax Service franchisee in Detroit, Craig M. Comer, who manages five Liberty stores, claiming he filed hundreds, if not thousands, of fraudulent income tax returns.

Liberty told Accounting Today it is cooperating with the Maryland investigation, and that the franchisee in Detroit is no longer part associated with the company.

"Liberty Tax has a robust compliance program, and we expect our franchisees to make sure that their offices comply with all federal and state tax requirements," said Jim Wheaton, general counsel, chief compliance officer and vice president of legal and governmental affairs at Liberty Tax. "Since we learned of Maryland's concerns late last week, we have provided all requested information to the state, and have devoted significant efforts to looking at the offices identified last Thursday. We offered additional training to our franchisees' employees in Maryland earlier this week, and will do so again in the coming days. We will also address any concerns with the offices Maryland identified to us this afternoon. We have had a cooperative and productive relationship with the State of Maryland in the past, and expect to work with them to address their current concerns. In fact, we have offered to meet with them at their convenience, and look forward to the opportunity to work with the state to protect the public and meet the needs of each of our customers and the state."

Of the Detroit case, Wheaton said, "Were looking at that concern, which relates to prior tax seasons, but the person who was the subject of that injunction lawsuit last week is actually no longer a franchisee. They disposed of their stores last year and theyre no longer on our system. So while were certainly looking at it and taking it seriously, that franchisee is not a franchisee in the Liberty system any longer."
The Share the Load campaign for Ariel has bagged quite a few awards at different awards platforms. The campaign by BBDO India goes beyond the product benefit of stain removal and clean clothes and address the issue of gender inequality at homes. The campaign won in all the three categories that it had entered in, in the recently held Effies India Awards 2015, pocketing two Gold Effies and a Bronze Effie.

In conversation with Adgully, Josy Paul, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India, and Rajat Mendhi, Vice President  Planning, BBDO Mumbai, speak at length about the thought process behind the campaign, pushing the benchmark even higher, the stress on empathy and authenticity in every work that the agency does and more. Excerpts:

Ariel Share the load

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tsAMNvt2qg

AG: Prior to the Effies 2015, the Ariel Share The Load campaign has won at various awards platforms. Were you expecting the campaign to put up an equally strong show at the Effies 2015?

JP:We got a 100 per cent conversion. BBDO Mumbai had sent only three entries for Effies 2015 and all of them won  two Golds and one Bronze.

Even before the awards, to be honest, when we first came out with the campaign in January last year right up till March-April, we were very sure about the campaign, about its effectiveness. Not too many people would have commented about it then, but while working on it, we could feel the energy in the idea. The truth about the product is that it stands for best in class cleaning and stain removal, but that was not enough. We needed to find a social, cultural tension point to where this product could add value, beyond just its performance, at an emotional level. Thats where when we came up with the idea of is laundry only a womans job. When we put that down, we knew we had something very powerful and research further underlined it  when we put that hypothesis into research, we found 87 per cent men believed that laundry is really a womans job. That is when Ariel decided to challenge this inequality at home and Share the Load suddenly created a lot of buzz, especially in social media. A lot of influencers wanted to step forward and be part of this. And that automatically created a lot of interesting ideas that led to almost a long tail of different things that happened. Thats why it won at Integrated, because it wasnt just about one film, the film was the trigger. The film that we started off with showed two women talking about how wonderful things are today for women and how they are achieving things, when suddenly we see the son asking his wife if she had washed his shirt. The contradiction was a nice new provocation, if I may use that word, to the society. The way we look at it is that these provocations are for a greater good and really push in a more progressive attitude. And I think that seemed to have resonated really well and we saw growth in equity, in consumer connect.

Before all the awards, we knew that we had found something that could create huge energy in society. And you will see that a lot of our work has that energy. Its not just a creative piece of work, its not just about effectiveness, its about change.

AG: After this campaign, how do you push the benchmark even further?

JP: That is a big challenge, but I think if you forget about merely cracking the next one and think about how you can truely create change, where the brand plays an essential role in that change. The moment you look at it from the lens of change you automatically have an answer to what you are going to do next. Unfortunately, I cant reveal that yet, it is still a work in progress.

AG: Effies is the first of the major industry awards of the year. How do you see this setting a precedent for the industry?

JP:I think the good thing about what happened at Effies is that it starts the year on an effectiveness platform. So while it is a look back of the year before, it is wonderful to see that you start the year discussing what really helps brands do well. Thats a good signal to have it in January. Its like a new year resolution, it makes everybody say Im going to be more effective this year, I really want to do something where the benefit is there very clearly for brands. It feels like a good signal for the year ahead, a year of effectiveness, if I may say so.

AG: Going forward, what major developments can we look forward to from BBDO this year?

JP: While it is an important question, you see that a lot of work that we do, they are like brand movements. And in the case of brand movements, you cant just say that this is what you are going to do. Its like a news channel, here we are creating news for our brands and that is dependent on the spirit of that time and what is going on at that time. We respond to that and try and make a difference. So it is very difficult for me to say that this is what we are going to do. It depends on what is going to happen in the society and that will tell us what we are going to do. We respond to what is here and now. Of course, we are going to look at amplifying our brand messages in a way that consumers relate to and want to engage with. And that has always been our purpose.

We are going to create more acts and not just ads that we would be talking about all the time. We are looking at creating greater empathy in our work because we find that in todays world thats what people want; in a world where there is so much disconnection because of too much connection, the need for empathy is at its highest. It you look at a lot of our work and I am sure that the work that has been winning for other people, its the empathy of that message where everybody connects to it  that is something that we would want to up in our work. The other thing that we would like to up in our work is the authenticity. Its things like these that makes the year so exciting for me. I cant put numbers to it, I cant state that this is our grand plan, but its really the seeds in our work thats important for us  empathy and authenticity. If we can do that in our work and people look at our work and say Thats so true, we will feel weve been awarded even before any awards season.

Rajat Mendhi, Vice President  Planning, BBDO Mumbai

AG: On winning at the Effies.

RM: The Effie India Golds for the Cannes Glass Lion winning Ariel Share the Load campaign underlines our belief that the best work works best. At BBDO we believe that creativity works best for our clients and the brands that we work for. Ariel Share the Load has won big in creativity awards, effectiveness awards like the Effies and WARC, etc., which proves that the creative work works really well. Its a validation for us when we get a Gold at an effectiveness award.

AG:How does BBDO ensure the balance between creativity and effectiveness in the work that it does?

RM: At the end of the day, we are in the business of helping brands grow, so creativity for the sake of creativity just doesnt work. Whatever we do needs to deliver results for the client. What we believe is work that really shines through in terms of creativity does that. To ensure that our work stands out, is noticed and works strongly for the client, we look at how we can couch our clients messages or the brand messages into a larger social-cultural context which allows people to talk about it, to interact with an idea and get involved in it.

In the case of Ariel, the message that we wanted people to understand was that Ariel is a product that delivers great stain removal, but we couched that with the larger context of removing the stain of inequality at home. It made our message more relevant to people and created an environment where people could speak about the message, spread it and made them relate to the brand more, which in turn led them to buy the brand.

AG:While strategising on the campaign for Ariel, how did you come up with the idea of highlighting the issue of gender inequality at home?

RM:As we do for most of our brands, we start off with understanding the core of our brand and what it stands for. From what we had seen about Ariel in the past, we found that Ariel as a brand had already stretched its boundaries in terms of portraying men doing laundry that pushed certain stereotypes forward. We looked at what the message needed to deliver, which was one-wash stain removal and secondly, it was so easy that anyone could do it. Putting those two things in perspective, we looked at a larger social context that a message like this could play out in.

Shanta@adgully.com
16th CMSAF speaks with intel Airmen

A former chief master sergeant of the Air Force spoke with members of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center when he visited Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Jan. 29.



Retired Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy told Airmen about what his career was like, what is happening with enlisted performance reports, and what the budget is looking like these days.



"I look out at you and say, We're going to be OK, Roy said. We are going to have some bumps, but you are on the ground doing it every day. There are some challenges as I said, but I think we are ready for them.



Roy gave some insight on how he got so far in his career. When speaking of his accomplishments and regrets, he mentioned that nothing he did could have been completed without his team.



"You are only one person, he said. You can only be successful if you have a good team. Setting the priorities up front made the world of difference in my mind. As a team, we sat down and talked about what we were going to tackle. I couldnt have gotten where I am without the support of those around me.



"Be sure to thank someone in your life that supports what you do. Thank them for the sacrifices they make every day."



Following his speech, Roy took some questions from the audience. He gave answers for a variety of topics, but many questions were directed toward the new EPRs.



"There are obviously a lot of changes with the evaluation system, Roy said. Every time you do that there is a bump."



Despite the bumps in the system, he placed the primary importance on feedback. With well-conducted feedback, the system will take care of itself.



"Under the old system, were you getting and receiving appropriate feedback? Roy asked. How do you expect someone to grow if you don't come up with a plan? You as a leader, as a supervisor, are responsible for doing that. Are you sitting down with Airmen and giving them feedback?"



He reiterated his point by pushing the idea that a relationship is what is needed to provide good, constructive feedback. A supervisor and his Airmen must have a healthy understanding of each other for the constructive part to take place.



"It is all about relationships, Roy said. Being a supervisor every day is all about relationships. It is not a text, not a tweet; it is face-to-face. There is nothing more important than face-to-face with Airmen."
Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail! Format for print or mobile Africa: Fraudulent Trade & Tax Evasion AfricaFocus Bulletin

May 26, 2014 (140526)

(Reposted from sources cited below) Editor's Note "The fraudulent misinvoicing of trade is hampering economic growth and potentially resulting in billions of U.S. dollars in lost tax revenue in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, according to a new report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC- based research and advocacy organization. The study -- funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark -- finds that the over- and under-invoicing of trade transactions facilitated at least US$60.8 billion in illicit financial flows into or out of the five African countries between 2002 and 2011." This report is particularly significant in that it addresses the major source of illicit financial flows as estimated in previous reports by GFI and others. Unlike direct corruption through bribes to a customs official or other government official, or money-laundering through direct deposits in tax havens, trade misinvoicing is built into the trade system itself. The sums, as estimated by GFI for these five countries, represent huge losses in taxes to both African countries and their trading partners. Notably, the illicit financial flows due to trade misinvoicing included flows both out of and into the country, allowing multiple forms of tax invasion for both buyers and sellers, and depriving governments of tax revenue both in Africa and in other countries. The ultimate destination and ownership of the missing funds retained by those involved in these transactions is unclear, and much of it could end up in tax havens in third countries. The system is complex, but promoting greater transparency and control is essential for development in Africa, and for governments everywhere to have the resources to meet essential public needs. Governments in rich countries as well as in Africa are increasingly aware that transparency, particularly about the real ownership of shell companies and the real value of trade, is essential to the sustainability of government services. This AfricaFocus Bulletin includes brief excerpts from the tax release on the report released by GFI and from the report, as well as a short article by GFI staffer Brian Leblanc. The full press release, report, and other background are available on the GFI website (http://www.gfintegrity.org). For a YouTube video with a very clear presentations of the general issue of illicit financial flows by Raymond Baker of Global Financial Integrity, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzCQJWkK6z0 The key African network focusing on these issues is Tax Justice Network Africa (http://www.taxjusticeafrica.net/). You can sign up for their listserv, which contains relevant updates as well as coverage in the African press, at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/afritax For an overview, see the special issue of ACAS Bulletin "Africa's Capital Losses: What is to be Done?" at http://concernedafricascholars.org/bulletin/issue87/ For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on illicit financial flows and related issues, visit http://www.africafocus.org/debtexp.php For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on trade, visit http://www.africafocus.org/tradexp.php ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++ African Countries Lose Billions through Misinvoiced Trade Fraudulent Trade Transactions Channeled at Least US$60.8 Billion Illegally in or out of 5 African Countries from 2002-2011 Tax Loss from Trade Misinvoicing Potentially at 12.7% of Uganda's Total Government Revenue, followed by Ghana (11.0%), Mozambique (10.4%), Kenya (8.3%), & Tanzania (7.4%) Global Financial Integrity http://www.gfintegrity.org [Global Financial Integrity (GFI) is a Washington, DC-based research and advocacy organization, which promotes transparency in the international financial system as a means to global development.] May 12, 2014 Copenhagen, Denmark / Washington, DC - The fraudulent misinvoicing of trade is hampering economic growth and potentially resulting in billions of U.S. dollars in lost tax revenue in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, according to a new report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization. The study -- funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark -- finds that the over- and under-invoicing of trade transactions facilitated at least US$60.8 billion in illicit financial flows into or out of the five African countries between 2002 and 2011. "It is deeply disconcerting that illicit financial flows are taking such a serious toll on the economies of Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda," noted Mogens Jensen, Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation. "Denmark has for several years supported Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda in fighting poverty and promoting economic growth and job creation. These efforts are clearly at risk of being undermined by fraudulent trade transactions which rob the people of these countries of funds that could otherwise have been used for investments in infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and other much needed public services. I hope that the study can help the governments in their efforts to curb illicit financial flows." "Trade misinvoicing is stymieing economic growth and likely decimating government revenues in these countries," said GFI President Raymond Baker, a longtime authority on financial crime. "The consequences are simply devastating. The capital drained from trade misinvoicing means that local businesses in Uganda and Tanzania have less money to grow their companies and hire more workers. The potential revenue loss from trade misinvoicing means that Ghana has less money to spend on healthcare, Kenya has less money to devote to education, and Mozambique has less money to invest in infrastructure. Trade misinvoicing is perhaps the most serious economic issue plaguing these countries." Titled "Hiding in Plain Sight: Trade Misinvoicing and the Impact of Revenue Loss in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda: 2002-2011," the study estimates that, collectively, trade misinvoicing may have cost the taxpayers of these five African nations US$14.39 billion in lost revenue over the decade. The potential average annual tax loss from trade misinvoicing amounted to roughly 12.7% of Uganda's total government revenue over the years 2002-2011, followed by Ghana (11.0%), Mozambique (10.4%), Kenya (8.3%), and Tanzania (7.4%).1 Authored by a team of GFI experts, the analysis reviews the components and drivers of trade misinvoicing in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, it estimates the potential impact on tax revenue for each government, it analyzes the policy environment in each country, and it provides general policy recommendations as well as specific suggestions tailored to the circumstances in each nation. Policy Recommendations Based around two themes -- greater transparency in domestic and international financial transactions, and greater cooperation between developed and developing country governments to shut down the channels through which illicit money flows -- the report recommends a number of steps that can be taken by these five countries to ameliorate the problem of illicit flows of money into and out of the country. Among other steps, GFI recommends that: Governments should significantly boost their customs enforcement, by equipping and training officers to better detect intentional misinvoicing of trade transactions;

Trade transactions involving tax haven jurisdictions should be treated with the highest level of scrutiny by customs, tax, and law enforcement officials;

Government authorities should create central, public registries of meaningful beneficial ownership information for all companies formed in their country to combat the abuse of anonymous shell companies;

Financial regulators should require that all banks in their country know the true beneficial owner of any account opened in their financial institution;

Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda should actively participate in the worldwide movement towards the automatic exchange of tax information as endorsed by the G20 and the OECD;

Kenya and Uganda should follow the lead of Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania in joining and complying with the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI); and

Government authorities should adopt and fully implement all of the Financial Action Task Force's anti- money laundering recommendations. "It is our view that this is just the beginning of the conversation surrounding trade misinvoicing and illicit flows in these countries," added Mr. Baker, GFI's president. "Our analysis makes it clear that more research can and should be done to further identify areas for improvement. It's our desire to work constructively with the governments of Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda to meaningfully curtail the scourge of illicit financial flows." Methodology GFI Chief Economist Dev Kar and GFI Junior Economist Brian LeBlanc developed robust economic models that highlight the drivers and dynamics of illicit flows in both directions for each of the five countries analyzed. Nevertheless, GFI cautioned that their methodology is very conservative and that there are likely to be more illicit flows into and out of these countries that are not captured by the models. "The estimates provided by our methodology are likely to be extremely conservative as they do not include trade misinvoicing in services or intangibles, same-invoice trade misinvoicing, hawala transactions, and dealings conducted in bulk cash," explained Mr. Baker. Key Findings of the Report Ghana Over the decade: US$7.32 billion flowed illegally out of the country due to trade misinvoicing;

US$7.07 billion flowed illegally into the country due to trade misinvoicing;

US$14.39 billion in illicit capital flowed either into or out of the country due to trade misinvoicing;

Gross illicit flows were pegged at 6.6% of the country's GDP;

Gross illicit flows roughly equaled ODA provided to the nation;

The under-invoicing of exports amounted to US$5.1 billion;

The under-invoicing of exports was the primary method for shifting money illicitly out of the country;

The under-invoicing of imports amounted to US$4.6 billion;

The under-invoicing of imports was the primary method for illegally smuggling capital into the country;

Tax revenue loss from trade misinvoicing potentially totaled US$3.86 billion, averaged US$386 million per year;

Tax revenue loss from trade misinvoicing roughly equaled 11.0% of total government revenue. [press release continues with similar estimates for the other four countries] Excerpt from GFI Report "Hiding in Plain Sight" I. Understanding Trade Misinvoicing Trade misinvoicing refers to the intentional misstating of the value, quantity, or composition of goods on customs declaration forms and invoices, usually for the purpose of evading taxes or laundering money. Other reports use the term trade 'mispricing' to describe this phenomenon, but this term is less accurate since it does not include manipulations to the quantity or composition of the goods. There are four basic categories of trade misinvoicing: import under-invoicing, import over-invoicing, export under-invoicing, and export overinvoicing. Most trade misinvoicing is done with the knowledge and approval of the seller and the buyer in the transaction. The two parties, if they are not part of the same company, will agree to the misinvoicing and how they will settle the transaction outside legal confines, often through a deposit into another bank account. Each sub-category of trade misinvoicing offers particular advantages to the parties involved. Export under-invoicing involves under-reporting the amount of exports leaving a country in order to evade or avoid taxes on corporate profits in the country of export by having the difference in value deposited into a foreign account. Similarly, export over-invoicing involves over-stating the amount of exports leaving a country, which often allows the seller to reap extra export credits. Companies or individuals may also be using this form of trade misinvoicing to disguise inflows of capital, so as to avoid capital controls or anti-money laundering scrutiny. On the import side, traders often under-report the amount of imports in a transaction in order to circumvent applicable import tariffs and VAT, which could be significant depending on the tariff and tax regime and the good. When an importer over-reports their imports, they are often doing so in order to legitimize sending out additional capital under the guise of legal trade payments. Import overinvoicing disguises the movement of capital out of a country. This could be a work-around for capital controls, and a company may be able to subtract that input value from its year-end revenue report to the government, which would lower the amount of taxes it owes to the government. An increasing volume of international trade occurs within corporate groups. The OECD estimates that roughly one-third of global trade is these types of intra-firm transactions among subsidiaries of multinational enterprises. The value on invoices for these transactions is referred to as the transfer price. The practice of intentionally misquoting these values is known as abusive transfer pricing. Trade Misinvoicing, or How to Steal from Africa The little-understood practice of misinvoicing or re-invoicing relies on legal grey areas and financial secrecy and costs the continent dearly. Brian Leblanc 9 May 2014 http://thinkafricapress.com / direct URL: http://tinyurl.com/opwkohk Lately, the media has been replete with stories about how Africa is losing billions of dollars a year through a process called "trade misinvoicing." The concept of trade misinvoicing is simple: companies and their agents deliberately alter the prices of their exports and imports in order to justify moving money out of, or into, a country illicitly. The practice is very common in Africa. To name just a couple instances, it has allegedly been used to avoid paying import duties on sugar in Kenya and to shift taxable income out of Zambia and into tax havens abroad. The amount Africa loses to trade misinvoicing is astounding. Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based think tank, estimates that $286 billion worth of capital was extracted out of Africa using this process over the past decade. Between 2002 and 2011, due to illicit financial flows, sub-Saharan Africa lost 5.7% of it's GDP, a 20.2% increase. Of these illicit financial flows, 62% were due to misinvoicing. The good news is the issue of trade misinvoicing has found its way to the forefront of development talks. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former South African President Thabo Mbeki are just a few African heavyweights who have been trying to urge the international community to begin addressing the problem of illicit financial flows and trade misinvoicing. It's not just "poor governance" Whereas the impact of trade misinvoicing is becoming well known, exactly how it is done is not entirely understood. This is a problem, considering the extremely technical nature of the issue. If public policy decisions are going to be implemented to address trade misinvoicing, a firm understanding of its mechanics is absolutely necessary. To start, the biggest myth associated with trade misinvoicing is that it is entirely explained by corruption and poor governance. Not only is this a false narrative, but it has no readily implemented solution. It also puts the onus entirely on the country being impacted, and fails to acknowledge the role the West plays in facilitating such transactions. The truth behind trade misinvoicing is that it is a two-way street. The global shadow financial system, propped up by tax havens and financial secrecy, is equally responsible for the propagation of trade misinvoicing in Africa. This system of offshore banks, anonymous accounts, and shell companies is largely created by developed countries in the West. This isn't to say corruption doesn't play a role. Yes, it may be easy in many African countries to pay a bribe to a customs official to get them to look the other way when a company is attempting to misinvoice a trade transaction; however, the advent of tax havens has made this largely unnecessary. Why get your hands dirty when there is an easier, less-obviouslycriminal means available? To quote Raymond Baker, the President of GFI and a member of the UNECA High Level Panel on Illicit Flows: "onthe -dock trade misinvoicing like this simply doesn't happen." How it works How do companies misinvoice trade then? One of the most widely used processes is called "re-invoicing," which sidesteps quid pro quo bribery and corruption and utilizes legal grey areas and financial secrecy to do all the dirty work. Instead of defining re-invoicing myself, here is a word-for-word definition given by a company (operating out of a tax haven) which exists specifically to assist companies who wish to misinvoice trade. In fact, a simple Google search of "re-invoicing" produces hundreds of results of companies openly advertising such practices. Here is just one example: "Re-invoicing is the use of a tax haven corporation to act as an intermediary between an onshore business and his customers outside his home country. The profits of this intermediary corporation and the onshore business allow the accumulation of some, or all, profits on transactions to be accrued to the offshore company." In other words, companies have sent the process of trade misinvoicing offshore. By the time the goods reach the docks, the prices have already been manipulated. No need to pay a bribe. The process can be extremely lucrative for the actor doing the misinvoicing. Although the price varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, many re-invoicing companies often only charge a 2% commission fee on the profits shifted in such a manner. Additionally, tax haven jurisdictions generally have little-to-no corporate taxes, which makes the proceeds from re-invoicing tax-free. Compare that to a 35% corporate tax rate in many African countries and you can understand the appeal of shifting capital through re-invoicing. Let's assume the following scenario: imagine a hypothetical Zambian exporter of copper arranges a deal with a buyer in the United States worth $1,000,000. Now, let's assume that the Zambian company only wishes to report $600,000 to government officials to circumvent paying mining royalties and corporate income tax. First, the Zambian exporter sets up a shell company in Switzerland which (because of anonymity) cannot be traced back to him. By doing so, any transaction the Zambian exporter conducts with the shell company will look like trade with an unrelated party. Thus, even if the Zambian government suspects some wrongdoing, it will be very difficult, or impossible, to tie the Zambian exporter to the shell company in Switzerland. Second, the exporter then uses the shell company to purchase the copper from the exporter in Zambia for a value of $600,000, $400,000 less than the true value of the copper. An invoice that shows receipt for the $600,000 copper sale is then forwarded on to Zambia tax collectors. Third, the shell company in Switzerland then re-sells the copper to the ultimate buyer in the United States for the agreed-upon $1,000,000. The importer is instructed to make a payment to the shell company, and the goods are sent directly from Zambia to the United States without ever even passing through Switzerland. Thus, the Zambian exporter lowered its taxable revenue from $1,000,000 to $600,000. The remaining $400,000 remains hidden in Switzerland where it is untaxed and unutilized for development purposes. How to stop it Under the international standard of the arm's-length principle, the price of a good sold between two related parties must be comparable to what the price the good would have been sold for had the two parties been unrelated. If not, such as in the above example, tax and customs officials have the authority to ignore the declared price and assess taxes and tariffs based instead on the arm's-length price of the good. Zambia adopted the arm's-length principle in 1999, but does that mean trade misinvoicing is a thing of the past for the country? Not in the slightest. Many of these transactions occur through anonymous shell companies, hiding the fact that two companies may be related. Even if a Zambian government official detects that a particular trade transaction is misinvoiced, there is no way for that government official to see through a shell company to identify its beneficial owner. Therefore, there needs to be a multilateral effort to disclose the beneficial owners of shell companies operating in tax haven jurisdictions. Until then, companies will continue to hide behind them to misinvoicing trade offshore. Misinvoicing is not just a sharp business practice, but a way of spiriting out of the continent billions of dollars that should be put to work in social and economic investments. Until something is done about the network of offshore jurisdictions and financial secrecy at a global level, Africa will struggle far harder than it should have to in order to achieve social and economic development. AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin, or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org
A testimony of one of the most notorious Al Qaeda theoreticians Abou Saad al-Ameli: Tindouf camps will strengthen the ranks of Al Qaeda and will play a key role in the region through the liberation of the Islamic territory and the making up of Mujahideen to serve as a nucleus for the coming Caliphate.

This collective book just released by the Japanese Nihon Hyoro publishing house deals with one of the thorniest issues: that of the refugees of the Tindouf camps. As the title Behind the Scenes: Exploring the Tindouf Camps from Inside says, this is an internal immersion in the lives of the camps populations, touching many important aspects of the problem such as international law, security, ideology, structure of power as well as psychological aspects related to post-trauma stress caused by sequestration, forced displacement, indoctrination and by the harmful environment of this area.

The legal aspect that deals with the international protection of refugees tells a lot as to how international protection is denied to the Sahrawi refugees. Actually, international law emphasizes the obligation for each State to ensure the safety of all persons living on its territory, including those living in refugee camps. These camps are generally monitored by the UNHCR.

A scrutiny of the obligations of the host country and of the UNHCR with respect to these populations and the reality on the ground shows clearly that there is a wide gap between the provisions of international law on the protection of refugees and the reality in the Tindouf camps. And, ultimately, it proposes the enforcement of the United Nations obligations to avert any failure of the initial mission to protect the camps refugee populations and to end its non-civilian and humanitarian character.

This blurred situation triggered another phenomenon, namely the embezzlement of humanitarian aid to the benefit of the Polisario, as revealed in the draft article on The responsibility of the State in internationally wrongful acts. Both foodstuffs and pharmaceutical goods destined to the camps populations were subjected to diversions.

This act is deemed a crime against humanity in the same way as extermination. This act is defined by the International Criminal Court as an intentional act deteriorating the living conditions of a population.

International legislation focuses on the responsibility of a State in any criminal act perpetrated on its territory. It incurs responsibility and is liable of complicity in case it helps facilitate such criminal act.

It is therefore the Algerian States duty to protect the Tindouf camps populations since the Polisario is a non-state entity. The requirements of good governance require an audit of humanitarian aid and without such audit, the beneficiaries of the aid would be committing a characterized breach of international law.

This book also lays emphasis on the security aspect and the possible collusion between the Polisario and Al-Qaeda. Actually, this Chapter is based on different sources.

In addition to official reports, reports by experts and think tanks, and records of certain intelligence departments, including Japans Public Security Intelligence Agency, administered by the Ministry of Justice, the study reveals, for the first time, some al-Qaeda documents outlining the recruitment process of Polisario fighters by Al-Qaeda, and the groups infiltration plan of the Tindouf camps with the aim to convert the Tindouf camps into a Jihadist frontline or a backup for the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate.

It goes without saying that the turmoil which erupted in the Maghreb and Middle East region contributed to the destabilization and collapse of some States, like Libya. Some members of the Polisario had then seized the opportunity to engage in the fighting alongside the supporters of the ousted Khadafi regime.

The testimony of Al Qaeda theorist Abu Saad Al-Ameli largely concurs with this. He confirms the infiltration of the Tindouf camps by the terrorist organization two years before the outbreak of the protest movements.

The book also sheds light on the links between the activities of some people from the Tindouf camps and the arm and drug traffickers and the terrorist groups operating in the Sahel region. It is within this area that Mokhtar Belmokhtar has established bonds for a long time and it is from this area that he led several terrorist attacks and kidnapping operations, including the Ain Amenas attack.

Finally, this chapter identifies, while surveying the history of the Polisario, a list of incidents involving the separatist organization. As it turns out, the organization has toned-down its use of violence but it has never discarded violence as an option because it is part of its ideological substance.

This security aspect was enriched by two studies: the first deals with the concept of human security in the Tindouf camps, the second covers the developments of the Sahara issue and the new security challenges in the Maghreb-Sahel region.

Regarding the first study, focus was laid on the concept of human security as a methodological analysis framework. This approach aims to present a comprehensive but specific aspect of the limits of peace and individual and collective stability of the Tindouf camps populations.

Indeed, human security is a concept that goes beyond the traditional concept of security policy. It focuses on individuals and their safety through fundamental rights, which are the right to freedom and dignity, the right to live in a secure environment and the right to exercise a political, social, religious and economic activity within each and every society, while secured from organized violence.

However, looking at the reality in the Tindouf camps shows clearly that the populations daily life is far from meeting the minimum requirements for dignity and respect for human rights. This situation is the immediate result of the stiffening of the Algerian and Polisario strategies. This human insecurity is a fertile breeding ground for risks and asymmetric threats (organized crime, connections to Sahel-Sahara terrorist networks) operating in the vicinity of the Tindouf camps.

As for the second study on this security aspect, emphasis was placed on the complexity of threats in the Maghreb-Sahel region and the need to find a settlement to this long-lasting conflict.

Actually, this conflict is the first stumble block to Moroccan-Algerian security cooperation, which has become a strategic imperative in an environment weakened by the protest movements and regional security reconfiguration.

The lack of consultation between the two countries increases the risk of collusion between terrorist networks, illicit trafficking and organized crime in the Tindouf camps.

If Morocco has proposed an initiative to appease tensions and try to avoid the mishap of the creation of a failed state, it is clear that the deadlock deprives the region of the opportunity to set up a new regional security mechanism likely to meet the new geopolitical and security reconfiguration, and to enable the two countries to position themselves in the prospect of a new regional cooperative security.

On the other hand, this book reveals another study on the memorial construction built up of the history of the Polisario. This organization has tried to create a history that it describes as revolutionary and authentic.

Recalling the conditions under which Maghreb States have recovered their independence, the readjustments of their borders as well as the poisonous and unstable climate of the Cold War is quite edifying.

So, in this Cold War era, these countries were forced to follow either the imperialist camp, as was the case of Morocco, or the socialist camp as did Algeria. And this shows that the creation of the Polisario is the result of a recent conflict having a regional and international dimension. Therefore the built up of a memorial history of this entity, that is the result of the Sahara conflict, may be likened to a mere sham.

The socio-political analysis of the transformation of the power structure in the Tindouf camps reveals that this structure has been established and sustained on the basis of the historical domination of the Rguibate Tribe, and this despite the claiming of a revolutionary ideology.

The perpetuation of the domination of tribal unity imposes a type of relationship based on nepotism and cronyism. In these circumstances, the camps populations are not treated on the same footing, a fact that fuels discontent among the different Rguibate factions and regularly triggers conflicts between them. The decision-making structures within the Polisario are not spared and suffer from this discriminatory reality because the structures are dominated by members of some well-known families.

The inhuman conditions in which these people have been living since the start of the conflict have created several types of traumas that impacted their psycho-social behavior. Because of these traumas, some developed post-traumatic symptoms. This is what has been revealed by the findings of a field study that covered 74 Sahrawis who left the Tindouf camps between 2000 and 2015 and are currently living in Morocco.

Among the findings of this study, it is relevant to note that the returnees born in Morocco have intensive post-traumatic symptoms at the memory level with more condensed approaches regarding the perception of time, issues of separation, alienation and even abandonment than those born in the camps.

The persons born in Tindouf have been schooled according to a system based on anti-Morocco propaganda and unfailing allegiance to the Polisario and Algeria. This propaganda work also includes a construction process, by dint of evidence, of a so-called national Sahrawi identity.

Furthermore, the study shows that women who were sequestered in the camps have been subject to double violence: physical violence (harassment, rape, slavery) and systematic violence through imposed ideology.

The book consists of eight chapters as follows:

Chapter I : International Law and the requirements for the protection of refugees: the case of the Tindouf Camps, by Abdelhamid El Ouali, Professor of International and humanitarian law at Hassan II University, Casablanca

Chapter II : International responsibility: the Polisario and Human Aid embezzlement, by Shoji Matsumoto, Professor of International law and comparative law at Sapporo Gakuin University, Hokkaido

Chapter III : Highlighting connections between Polisario Front and Al Qaeda? by El Mostafa Rezrazi, International Expert and Visiting Professor of Crisis Management at Sapporo Gakuin University, Hokkaido

Chapter IV : Right to human security in the Tindouf Camps, by Rachid El Houdaigui, Professor of International Relations at Abdelmalek Saadi University, Tangier

Chapter V : The evolution of the Sahara issue and the new security challenges in the Maghreb-Sahel region, by Adil Moussaoui, Professor at Mohammed V University, Rabat

Chapter VI : The Polisario, history of a memorial construction built up, by Khalid Chegraoui, Professor of African Studies at the Institute for African Studies, Mohammed V University, Rabat

Chapter VII: The structure of power and generative forces in the Tindouf camps: from Tribalism to Authoritarianism, by Kei Nakagawa, Professor of Political Sociology at Hagoromo University and Visiting Professor at Meiji University, Tokyo

Chapter VIII: indoctrination and post-traumatic stress among the community coming back from the Tindouf camps, by El Mostafa El Rezrazi, Abdeslam Dachmi (Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of Clinical & Pathological Psychology Laboratory at Mohammed V University, Rabat), Zineb Ouazani Chahdi (Clinical Psychologist at Moulay Abdallah Oncology Hospital, Rabat) and others
Pakistans high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, called up Anupam Kher on Tuesday and offered him a visa to travel to Karachi, after the Bollywood actor said he was denied one.

Kher, though, declined the offer, saying hes already taken up other assignments on the dates that he had planned to visit Pakistan to attend the Karachi Literary Festival for which hed been invited.

Kher had said on Tuesday he was the only one of 18 people denied permission to attend the Karachi event. The actor suggested that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you, Basit tweeted.

Replying to him, Kher tweeted, Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately Ive given away those dates now.

The Pakistan high commission in Delhi had said Kher had never submitted a visa application and so the question of issuing or denying him a visa did not arise.

In a tweet on Tuesday night, the Pakistani envoy had said, @AnupamPkher sorry Sir I dont know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport.

Ameena Syed, the spokesperson for KLF, said in Karachi that the organizers had been advised by the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi to tell Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued a visa.

Dear @abasitpak1, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didnt apply for visa, Kher said in a tweet on Tuesday night.

Taking a dig at Anupam Kher over visa issue, the Congress on Wednesday said if the poster boy of tolerant India is so keen to go Pakistan, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi can talk to his friend Nawaz Sharif to facilitate the visit.

If the #posterboyof tolerant India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said in a tweet.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh also questioned the uproar by Mr. Kher over the denial of visa, asking if it is not mandatory for an individual to file for a visa application.

Anupam Kher has himself confessed that he hasnt filed an application in Pakistan Embassy. Then Arnab (Goswami) and Anupam what is the fuss about?(sic), Mr. Singh tweeted.
In a major breakthrough, intelligence agencies have claimed to have arrested the main facilitator of the attack on the Bacha Khan University that left about 20 people dead and several others wounded, credible sources said.

According to them, Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as Terrorist A, was arrested in Nowshera last week.

He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away, the sources said.

He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification, said the sources, requesting they not be identified.

In his initial statement, according to the sources, the alleged facilitator who is in his early 30s said the planning of the attack on the university had been in works for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of the militant commander Khalifa Omar Mansoor alias Omar Naray.

He said he had surreptitiously made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and taken the footages in a memory chip to Omar Naray, but the plans had been dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. He said that he was the one who had made the video of the four attackers with Khalifa Mansoor and that was the reason why the Abdul Wali Khan University was mentioned in the video.

He said Khalifa Mansoor had provided him Rs1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition for the attack. The plan to attack the Abdul Wali Khan University was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.

According to the sources, the suspect said he had brought with him two attackers while the other two were already with another facilitator, Riaz, in Charsadda. He identified the four attackers, including an Afridi, one from Orakzai, one from Swat and one from South Waziristan.

Waheed met Baitullah Mehsud in 2008 and has since been associated with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. He had fled to Karachi where he was involved in extortion. He did his matriculation from Karachi and had lived there in the past as well. He is fluent in Urdu.

According to the sources, Waheed returned to his native town of Amankot in Nowshera about nine months ago and established contacts with Khalifa Mansoor. He had been to Afghanistan a few times to coordinate attacks. The alleged facilitator also provided the names of people from whom he had procured arms and ammunition.

With the arrest of the main facilitator, security agencies had completed the ring of all facilitators of the Charsadda attack. Five other suspects identified as facilitators in the attack are already in the custody of security agencies.
The petitioner, a Sitamarhi in Bihar advocate named Thakur Chandan Singh, has recently sued Lord Rama and his brother Laxman, for insulting Sita without verifying facts. He stated in his petition that the Devi was exiled (given vanvasa) for no fault of hers. It was a hypocritical order from Lord Rama. How can a man become so cruel to his wife that he sends her off to live in a forest? The court heard the case and asked the petitioner that if suppose Rama is found guilty then to whom the court should punish?

Chandan has claimed that injustice towards women has began in Treta Yug (When Lord Rama ruled Ayodhya), and said that until the women from Treta Yug are not given justice, women in Kalyug wont get it either. Not surprisingly, the incident has left the social media in splits.

If you refer Ramayana, then Shri Rama never doubted his wife but it was the people of Ayodhya began to talk on this subject. The main objection of people regarding Sita, was that Raavan had approached her in the form of a Bhikshuk and as a Brahmin he was perfectly eligible to do that, and Sita who disobeying crossed Laxman Rekha and had gone to Raavan. When Rama fought with Raavan and won the battle and acquired Sita again, there was confusion created regarding the role of Shri Rama in Agni Pariksha order given to Sita. The question still remains to answer, whether Shri Rama supported or opposed the Agni Pariksha.

However, Ram is not called Maryada Purushottam just to mark a respect towards him. He always respected the existing tradition (Maryada) of that time. Shri Rama respected the citizens. He respected the peoples talks. He declared that Sita had to pass the Agni Pariksha test so that he could accept her again. Laxman strongly opposed this. Yet, the victorious army chief insisted that Agni Pariksha was the only thing which could make him accept her. Sita agreed and after the satisfactory completion of the ritual Agni Pariksha, Shri Rama gladly accepted her back as his wife.

Rama had ordered Agni Pariksha not because he had personally doubted Sita but the demands of his praja and dharma as a king he said Sita to take a test. He knew that she is innocent but he had to show his praja (subject) that unlike his father, he was not a slave to a woman. It was an act of sacrifice for him as well. He also suffered a lot and lived an ascetic life thereafter.

Returning back to Ayodhya after killing Raavan, Rama was coroneted as King of Ayodhya. Shri Rama was the king who had inherited the throne of great King Dasrath, which was subsequently and ably ruled by Bharat on behalf of Shri Rama. They had an efficient system of obtaining feedback from the public on the basis of which laws were made for the welfare of the public when these brother and their dynasty was so particular about people of kingdom and their opinion.

Our king might accept a wife who had stayed in another mans home but not me, on hearing a washer man this sentence questioning the purity of the Queen of Ayodhya, Lord Rama decides to send a pregnant Mata Sita to the forest. Rama is the ideal king and for a modern reader, this might be seen as heights of stupidity and absurdity. A modern reader would want Lord Rama to stand by his wife and defend her and not to fall for the irresponsible prattle of his foolish prajas. If Lord Rama had sent the washer man questioning the purity of Mata Sita to prison, he would be performing the duty of a husband, but if he had done that then will he be performing the duty of a King? Lord Rama could have beheaded the washer man on the spot, then there were whole praja those were questioning the same, will he be able to behead all those? If he then Lord Rama would have been given the title of a dictator! Would we worship such a Lord Rama today?

In fact, if you believe in Ramayana then you might know that Rama suffered more than Sita. He was lonely in the huge palace. He was always immersed in the thought of Sita. He had to bear the voidness created by Mata Sitas departure. He was filled with remorse  a husband who had to send his pregnant wife away. But Rama did his Dharma, he upheld the accepted standards of ideal kinghood.

Leaving Rama and Sita, there are thousands & thousands of cases in the history of India where husband abandoned wife who were raped or abused by sighting this incidence in Ramayana. If story was such that Shri Rama had accepted Mata Sita irrespective of Agni Pariksha results then the teaching would have been more powerful. Anyway, wasting time of judiciary on mythological issues is not fair. Moreover, if someone is found guilty, whom should the court punish? Now, defining the facts can change the present?
Police have seized thousand of fake champagne bottles in a workshop near Padua, Northern Italy, with counterfeiters looking to pass off sparkling wine as Moet & Chandon.

Police found 9,200 bottles of prosecco and a machine used to make the metallic wrappers that cover the top of the bottles.

Eight people face charges but no one has been taken into custody, police said.

According to police, in addition to already-labelled bottles, which would have fetched about 350,000 euros ($380,000), further 40,000 labels were recovered which, if used, could have taken the illicit earnings to more than 1.8 million.

The system was very detailed and specialised, said Lieutenant Colonel Luca Lettere, noting that police were investigating whether the people involved had counterfeited other luxury goods.

They chose champagne because it can be sold for such a high profit. Buying prosecco for one or two euros, they can put it on the market for 35 or 40 euros, he said.

We absolutely cannot rule out that other goods may be involved, he added.
Japan said on Wednesday that it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on its territory, after Pyongyang announced it planned to launch a space rocket this month.

Today the defence minister issued an order to destroy such a missile if it is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for a launch as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a direct challenge to the international community.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a serious provocation and clear violation of Pyongyangs international obligations.

The warnings came a day after the North announced a February 8-25 window for the launch, ostensibly aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesdays announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an international community already struggling to come up with a united response to last months nuclear test.

Its a classic move, said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

While waiting for a full response for the nuclear test, you might as well sneak in a rocket launch. The North tends to do these things in pairs, Delury said

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.

 Egregious violation -Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs slammed what he called yet another egregious violation of UN resolutions.

This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose tough additional sanctions, Russel said.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of 7:00am-midday Pyongyang time (2230-0330 GMT).

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.
An Update on the "Islamo-Christian"

"Islamo-Christian" promoters of the Jihad -- beginning with the Jihad against Israel -- include a few "Palestinian" Presybterians who have carefully burrowed within, and risen within, the bureaucracy of the Presbyterian Church in America (no names here, but you can easily find them out), and Naim Ateek, who comes to delude audiences of Christians about the "Palestinian struggle" even as the Christian population of the "Palestinian" territories has plummeted, since Israel relinquished control, from 20% to 2% -- out of fear of Muslim "Palestinians." Nor, of course, do Michel Sabbagh and his ilk pay much attention to the situation of Christians in the Sudan, or Indonesia, or Pakistan. Why would they? It would get in the way of their promotion of the Islamic attempt not only to reduce Israel to the dimensions that will allow them to go in for the final kill, but to seize control of the Holy Land. What, after all, do you think would happen to that Holy Land if Israel were to disappear? Do you think the Christian sites would be as scrupulously preserved? As available to pilgrims? Would Christians walk around Jerusalem if it were under the rule of Muslims with quite the same feelings of security that they do now?

The above is, in full, an article I wrote and published here at Jihad Watch in 2005. Since I wrote it, the Christian communities of Iraq (Chaldeans, Assyrians) and Syria (Melkites, Orthodox, Roman Catholics) have been decimated; the Coptic community in Egypt been under continuous assault, and not only during the hyper-Islamic regime of Morsi; and Christians and churches have been attacked in Pakistan, the Philippines, and Indonesia by Muslims. And Muslim terrorists attack Infidel Christians in Dar al-Harb itself, in Paris and London and Amsterdam and Madrid and Moscow, as they have in New York, Washington, Boston, Fort Hood, and San Bernardino. Given the past decade of Christian victims of Muslim despoliation and delirium -- and with the list above I was just getting started -- one might have assumed that the "Islamo-Christian" was no longer to be found. But just the other day, Gregory III Laham, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and All the East, surfaced to solemnly declare: "We, the Arab Christians, always defend Islam and our Muslim brothers -- no one defends Islam like the Arab Christians do." Robert Spencer took the good Gregory to task, pointing out that this classic encapsulation of the dhimmi phenomenon had never won the Melkites any special favors, and that they had suffered just as much from Muslim aggression when they parroted this kind of nonsense as they would have had the good Gregory tried verbally to smite the Muslims hip and thigh. Perhaps, Spencer suggested, the time for dhimmitude had long passed, it never having panned out, and it was time for assorted patriarchs of the East to try a different and truer tack -- what, after all, did the Melkites at this point have to lose? How much worse could their situation be under the Muslim thumb than it already is? Perhaps, if he could break with the past, and come to his senses, the Melkite bishop might recognize his first duty: to warn his own flock, and to warn other Christians too, about Islam. A second Christian who has had nothing but good things to say about Islam is one Craig Considine. He's a mere lean lecturer in sociology, not so grand as Gregory, but even more obtuse. Not being an ethnic Arab, he doesn't fit the strictest definition of the "Islamo-Christian," but as a declared Christian (Roman Catholic) working full-time to defend and promote Islam -- and to accuse Israel, unsurprisingly, of every possible crime -- he deserves a place in the pantheon here. Craig Considine's studies -- he's been burning the midnight oil for years -- have revealed to him that "Christians and Muslims share a similar 'jihad.' This 'jihad' is one of non-violence, the love of humanity, the perfection of the soul, and the search for knowledge." This will come as a surprise to any Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus who, at many different times and in many different places, have been on the receiving end of that Muslim "non-violence, love of humanity, perfection of the soul, and search for knowledge." It came as a surprise to me. It no doubt comes as a surprise to you. And as I can add nothing to Robert Spencer's dismemberment of Considine, readers are directed to this death on the installment plan here and here and here and here . The ability of people to deny an unpleasant reality can be impressive. Look at Patriarch Gregory. Look at Craig Considine. Be suitably impressed.
Fierce Battles in Southeast Turkey Hedge in Assyrians

The Virgin Mary Church is 'indispensable' to Christianity (photo: World Watch Monitor). One of the oldest churches in the world sustained damage last week in the intensified fighting between the Turkish government and Kurdish separatists. Rocket-propelled grenades destroyed a portion of the wall surrounding the Virgin Mary Church in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on 28 Jan. The Syriac Orthodox church is 1,700 years old. Fr. Yusuf Akbulut, the priest of the church, was sheltered with his family at his home, located on church grounds, during the attack. Violence has engulfed Diyarbakir's Sur district, the location of the church, since early December. The government issued an evacuation order on 26 Jan. due to pitched street battles between armed militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkish forces. Fr. Akbulut, who has overseen the church for 23 years, initially refused to evacuate. He and his wife remained in the building until 28 Jan., saying he feared the church would be levelled in an aerial bombardment if left empty. "We wouldn't have left the church. But when we looked [on the street] and saw that land mines and rockets were exploding non-stop, we knew that we couldn't stay," he told World Watch Monitor. "Our house was shaking and we thought it would collapse." The power, electricity, and water were cut off. It was time to flee. Fr. Akbulut dialed 155, the police emergency line. He was told that his neighbourhood was a no-go area, barricaded off to civil authorities. The operator gave him instructions on how to escape. They stepped out on the street cautiously, with Fr. Akbulut waving a white flag. Nobody was there. Whole buildings were collapsed, reduced to piles of rubble. "It was like a war zone," he said. Fr. Akbulut and his family are staying in a hotel for the foreseeable future. Ongoing clashes in the church's neighbourhood prevent their return. But controversy has followed him. He has fended off reports from the Turkish media that his church had indirect involvement with the PKK. Turkish newspapers claimed on 30 Jan. that a cache of ammunition and explosives was found on the site of Virgin Mary Church. Fr. Akbulut said that he knew nothing of this cache while he was there, and that it was likely deposited after he fled. Syriac leaders blasted the reports for insinuating that their church could have any link to violent terrorism. "We know the goals of these reports, which are hateful and completely made up," announced Evgin Turker, president of the Federation of Syriac Foundations. "After the news came out, threats against us started to rain down." Turkish Protestant church leaders have condemned the PKK violence, raging for the past two months, issuing a joint call for the state to show justice and mercy to its citizens. In early January, a 12-person delegation came to Diyarbakir to issue a statement calling on both sides to seek a peaceful solution. "We came to beg all parties to take steps towards peace to escape from this spiral of violence," said Ihsan Ozbek, leader of Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches. The pastors met with the district governor, Huseyin Aksoy, and Diyarbakir mayor, Gultan Kisanak. The violence in Diyarbakir has engulfed other Christian fellowships. Members of Diyarbakir Protestant Church, located directly across the street from the Virgin Mary Church, couldn't hold regular services in their building for two months. They met in an alternative site throughout the winter but resumed their meetings in the church three weeks ago. When the attacks started last Wednesday, three members of the church in the building immediately fled. Following the advice of the Turkish security forces, they also waved white flags. Protestant pastor Ahmet Guvener, a friend of Akbulut, called the priest repeatedly to convince him to flee the neighbourhood. "The bombs started going off every hour. We called Father Yusuf multiple times to try to get him and his wife to leave," Guvener told World Watch Monitor. Guvener and Fr. Akbulut both said none of the attacks specifically targeted their churches, which are caught in the ongoing violence between the Turkish military and the PKK. Fierce fighting has escalated across southeastern Turkey since the end of a two-year ceasefire in July 2015. Youth members of the PKK declared self-rule over large parts of Sur, digging trenches and building barricades to keep authorities out, according to Al-Monitor. A military statement in the official Anadolu Agency said Turkish forces have so far killed 500 PKK fighters in the southeastern town of Cizre and 149 in Sur since December. According to the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), the government has imposed curfews on many predominantly Kurdish towns and cities. To date, at least 161 civilians, including dozens of children, have died in the violence. An 'indispensable' holy site for Orthodox Christians Fr. Akbulut was insistent that he stay in the church as long as possible, even at the risk of his own life. He considers the church indispensable for his congregation, and for Syriac Orthodox Christianity at large. "I would not be able to live with myself if I abandoned the church," Fr. Akbulut told the Assyrian International News Agency. "It is a symbol for us Assyrians and a symbol for all Christianity. This is a holy place." The church is of enormous importance to Eastern Orthodoxy, having produced theologians and patriarchs in the early centuries of Christianity. It holds relics such as a piece of the cross and the bones of the apostle Thomas. The Virgin Mary Church was recently renovated with funds collected from the Syriac diaspora in Europe. Artisans and masons restored the church's mosaics, hand-carved walnut tree doors, stone and brick walls, and silver lanterns. Fr. Akbulut leads a congregation of 40 members. He speaks Syriac, a language closely related to Aramaic, the language of Jesus and his disciples. The congregation represents a tiny remnant of Syriac Christianity, an ancient Eastern Rite Church still found in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.
February 2, 2016

The closure imposed on Ramallah on Feb. 1 and its partial lifting a day later are telling in terms of disagreement between Israels top military brass and the political echelon on how to deal with the lone attacker intifada that broke out in October. Since that time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been pressed to restrict the movement of residents in Palestinian towns in the West Bank in a bid to prevent them from getting into Israel and carrying out terror attacks. In the aftermath of the Jan. 31 shooting at a roadblock near Bet El by Amjad a-Sukari, a Palestinian police officer, the IDF has been forced, for the first time during this intifada, to impose a closure on Ramallah.

For months, the IDF chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, has staved off demands from the political echelon to impose a closure on the territories, arguing that the damage would far exceed any benefits. It would be a bitter mistake to impose closures and blockades on the territories. This would be counterproductive for Israel, Eizenkot said Jan. 18 at a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), adding that the Palestinian population should be given hope and the possibility to make economic ends meet.

In view of the current situation, the closure of West Bank towns could deal a lethal economic blow to Palestinian residents as well as the Palestinian Authority (PA). Based on what the chief of staff has said, as well as recent security reviews submitted to Cabinet ministers by Israels defense chiefs, the IDF and Shin Bet contend that the dire economic situation in the territories was the main catalyst for the current intifada. The working premise is that while such measures as closure could encumber potential assailants to a certain extent, their economic ramifications would encourage many more Palestinians to join the cycle of violence.

The IDF finds itself in a bind. On the one hand, it opposes closures, but on the other hand, it has yet to devise an alternative operational response to present to the government for curbing attacks. In his INSS address, Eizenkot candidly acknowledged that there had been no early warnings about the stabbing attacks that individual Palestinian assailants have been carrying out. Weve had 101 such incidents, and we were unable to provide any early warnings whatsoever, Eizenkot said. That being the case, the IDFs problem is much more difficult than that. Not only does it lack early warning intelligence to help it avert such attacks, it also has no specific targets to go after to deter or stamp out the phenomenon.

After the Bet El shooting, which Israelis view as a deterioration in the situation due to the assailants affiliation with the Palestinian security forces, the IDF has come to the realization that it cannot stave off pressure much longer from the political echelon, especially from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to shift from pre-emptive measures to a more proactive and offensive posture  to wit, from a policy of restraint to a policy of reaction. This is how the closure of Ramallah came to be.

In Israel, there is currently an odd reversal of roles between the political and defense establishments. The government gave the order to impose a closure on Ramallah despite the disinclination to do so by the IDF, which is supposed to develop military solutions to curb the wave of terror. The IDF, or more precisely, its chief of staff, is taking on the role of the responsible adult, trying to refrain from collective punishment that could result in a serious deterioration of the situation. It is the military that is using discretion rather than government ministers, who continue to clamor for an iron-fisted approach against West Bank Palestinians regardless of the price Israel would have to pay down the line.

In mid-January, a similar dispute arose between Netanyahu and the IDF concerning the entry of Palestinian workers into the settlements. After the murder of Dafna Meir in Otniel and a series of other terror attacks in the area, the prime minister declared Jan. 19 that Israel would not hesitate to ban Palestinian workers from entering the settlements. A few hours later, a directive to this effect was given to the IDF; it remained in effect for only two days.

The Central Command did an assessment of the situation, at the end of which it informed the political echelon that measures would be taken to prevent potential terrorists from entering the settlements. One such measure  so long as the politicians agree to undo the sweeping directive  is to vet anew all the work permits issued to Palestinians. The IDF estimates that the thousands of Palestinians working in the settlements, mainly in agriculture, drive a significant portion of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Palestinian security source said that the person championing a lenient approach toward the Palestinian economy, and who is very worried about its potential collapse, is Maj.-Gen. Yoav Poli Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories. From Mordechais perspective, promoting and maintaining the Palestinian economy is a paramount Israeli interest. Accordingly, the way the IDF should confront the intifada is not by implementing military measures, but by improving the Palestinians standard of living and giving them hope.

How long can the IDFs policy of containment and restraint last? How long will Eizenkot and Mordechai be able to withstand the pressure from Netanyahu and his ministers? The answer depends on what develops with the intifada. It depends on whether forces from Palestinian organizations join it and stoke more violence or whether it peters out over time, and the IDFs policy of restraint proves itself.

That a Palestinian police officer perpetrated an attack has restricted the IDF top brass's room to maneuver in their dialogue with Israels political establishment. The closure of Ramallah following the Bet El attack has sent a message not only to the PA, but to the IDF as well. Netanyahu has given the chief of staff and the coordinator of government activities in the territories one more extension to fight the intifada by employing limited civilian measures, but their time is running out.
February 2, 2016

Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Irans Expediency Council and onetime close adviser to the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, has once again stirred up controversy in Iran with his recent comments in defense of Khomeinis grandson, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini.

Hassan Khomeini, the most prominent living relative of Ayatollah Khomeini, was recently disqualified by the Guardian Council to run in the Assembly of Experts elections. The Assembly of Experts serves for eight years and is in charge of electing the supreme leader in Iran. Khomeini, who contends he never received the text message informing him to take the written exam, has decided to appeal the Guardian Councils decision.

Perhaps trying to influence public opinion or the Guardian Council, at a Feb. 1 ceremony for the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeinis return to Iran from a 15-year exile, Rafsanjani discussed Hassan Khomeinis disqualification and perhaps in the strongest language yet, criticized the Guardian Council for the decision.

They did not give approval to a figure who is similar to his grandfather Imam [Khomeini], Rafsanjani said. Without addressing the Guardian Council directly, he added, Where did you receive your qualification? Who gave you permission to judge? Who gave you the podium of Friday prayers and state television?

Rafsanjani said, If not for Imam, Imams movement and the will of the people, none of this would be here. Of the Guardian Councils decision, he said, They gave a bad gift to Imams household at a time we should all be congratulating each other and, God willing, God will forgive you.

Rafsanjani also said that rather than having the Guardian Council review 12,000 candidates for the parliamentary elections and then claim they ran out of time and were unable to qualify all of the individuals, there should be a more open process. Let the people choose, he said. Public opinion makes less mistakes, and if they do make mistakes, they can make up for it [in future elections], but if we impose elections on them, mischief and things similar to that will come about.

Rafsanjanis defense of Khomeini is no surprise. The two, along with President Hassan Rouhani, can be considered to be part of the moderate camp in Iran. They are critics of the countrys hard-line policies and generally receive the support of the Reformists. Rafsanjanis harsh tone against the Guardian Council caught headlines and was criticized by hard-line media.

Nasim Online published unconfirmed reports that the conservative Combatant Clergy Association would eliminate Rafsanjanis name from their election list as a result of the comments he made.

Regarding Rafsanjanis comments that people are indebted to Imam and Imams household, Javan Online, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote that when it comes to the law, no one is indebted to Ayatollah Khomeini or his household. The article continued that if anyone is indeed indebted to Ayatollah Khomeini, it is Rafsanjani and Khomeinis household.

Kayhan newspapers top story was, An attack on Imams path under the cover of defending Imams household. According to the editor of Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, Rafsanjanis criticism has more to do with his disappointment that, contrary to his desires, he will not be able to control the Assembly of Experts by filling the important body with allies.
February 3, 2016

TEHRAN, Iran  Tension seems to be escalating further between Tehran and Riyadh after the Jan. 2 storming of the Saudi Embassy and consulate by a number of extremists in Iran. Although the administration of President Hassan Rouhani has distanced itself from the attackers, the Saudi regime was quick to cut diplomatic relations with Iran and call on its Arab allies to follow its lead. Attempts to de-escalate the situation have so far failed. Even the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers shaking hands on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week did little to help the two regional rivals come closer over their differences, including the Syrian crisis.

For decades, the two oil-rich countries have been competing for a larger share in the politics of the Middle East, to spread their ideological influence throughout the region and to play a key role in pricing oil as a crucial development tool. That particular power is gaining more significance as crude hit a 12-year low last week, putting overwhelming pressure on the oil-based economies of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia ran a budget deficit of $98 billion in 2015 and is on track for an $80 billion deficit this year. Falling oil prices coupled with international sanctions have also left Iran with a budget deficit of at least $8.3 billion in the Iranian fiscal year ending March 19. Yet neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia seem willing to compromise despite the looming consequences of their dispute.

In reaction to Riyadh shutting down its embassy in Tehran and severing commercial ties, Iran banned all trade with Saudi Arabia. Almost all observers in Iran believe that the value of this activity is too trivial to hurt the Iranian economy. Indeed, bilateral trade stood at a mere $215.1 million in the nine months leading up to Dec. 21. Irans trade with other Arab states that have followed Saudi Arabias lead in cutting relations is also not significant. For instance, Irans trade with Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia  the four other countries that have cut trade relations with Tehran  was as low as $145 million collectively.

The United Arab Emirates, however, is an exception among Irans Arab trade partners. Despite pressure from Riyadh to cut relations with Iran, Abu Dhabi only moved to downgrade diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic. The UAE was a major trade partner of Iran while the nuclear-related sanctions were in place, and still is to this day. Iran-UAE trade exceeded $44.1 billion in value in the nine months leading to Dec. 21. The value of goods exported from Iran to the UAE in the last Iranian fiscal year accounted for 11% of total Iranian exports, while the value of those imported by Iran from the UAE accounted for 23% of total Iranian imports. These figures suggest that it would be hard for Iran to replace the UAE with any other regional partner, such as Turkey or Oman, as suggested by some traders, in the short run.

Hossein Salimi, chairman of the Iranian and Foreign Joint Venture Investments Association, told Al-Monitor that although trade with Saudi Arabia and the Arab states that have followed its lead is too small to be meaningful, the UAE is a significant partner whose role in the Iranian economy cannot be ignored. He said Iran is also a lucrative market for the UAE.

Economic factors shape political preferences, he noted, adding that the UAE is unlikely to sacrifice its economic interests for a political dispute between Tehran and Riyadh.

Asked whether the mounting Iranian-Saudi tension could disappoint European investors, he said the West is familiar with the regional political developments and differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia that have existed for years. The attack on the Saudi Embassy cannot affect the European appetite for investment in an untouched market like Iran, Salimi said, referring to Rouhani's reported signing of a contract to buy 114 Airbus planes during his trip to France.

Salimi further argued that regardless of what happened in Tehran on Jan. 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Iran to deepen economic cooperation despite the risk of Beijings expanding ties with the Islamic Republic infuriating Riyadh. In this vein, Salimi said that it appears that only Iranian hajjis might be affected by the rising tension with Saudi Arabia. Indeed, Hossein Askari, a former Iranian adviser to the Saudi minister of finance, told leading Iranian economic daily Donya-e Eqtesad on Jan. 26 that the halting of hajj pilgrimages from Iran could be hurting the Saudi economy more severely than Irans ban on trade with the country. However, he insisted that the Iranian-Saudi dispute will in the end result in a lose-lose situation.

Sadegh Zibakalam, a political analyst and professor at Tehran University, also believes that incidents like that at the Saudi Embassy are harmful as they imply that foreigners are not safe in Iran. The foreign policy dictated by radical figures in Tehran must openly be criticized so that a bunch of hard-liners wont be able to threaten national interests, he said in a Jan. 26 interview with Donya-e Eqtesad. Unlike the majority of traders and business analysts in Iran, Zibakalam considers the attack on the embassy to be damaging to the Iranian economy, as it will increase risks to investment.

Salimi disagrees. He told Al-Monitor that such political tensions have a temporary impact on Irans economic relations with the world, although he admitted that multinational banks have not yet responded to his organizations call to resume trade with Iran. He said, They prefer to wait for a year or so before making any decision, but small European banks have already agreed to trade with Iran. Part of the big banks hesitancy may be due to fear of punishment by the United States as some of them were already punished for their financial ties with Iran while the country was under sanctions.

Iran is widely seen as the worlds biggest untapped emerging market since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Neither Europeans nor Arabs are likely to choose to miss the opportunity to gain a share of business with Iran in the coming years. Given the seemingly insignificant impact of the cut in Iranian-Saudi trade and in the absence of bilateral political dialogue, perhaps finding a multilateral resolution to the myriad Iranian-Saudi competitions in the region, including in Syria, could be a turning point in the relations between the two countries. Until then, it appears that the cut in commercial ties is unlikely to compel political engagement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
February 2, 2016

The headlines shocked Sara Masry: Hard-line protesters had stormed Saudi diplomatic compounds in Iran. The alert came to her cellphone during a brief stay in the Saudi city of Jeddah while visiting family and friends. Masry, 25, wasnt just another rightly distressed Saudi citizen; she had spent the past 18 months studying toward a masters degree in Iranian studies at the University of Tehran.

Saudi-Iranian relations were already tense, but Masry sensed that things were about to escalate. I was upset and disappointed; I felt this development was going to set everything back between the [two] nations. At the same time, I knew a section of Iranians werent representative of all Iranians. Its just another thing that is allowing this stereotype of Iran to blossom. It destroys any potential for rational discussion or common ground, Masry told Al-Monitor.

This is exactly the premise of her popular blog, A Saudi in Iran. Masry has written extensively about her various encounters with Iranians as a means to break Arab stereotypes of the country. As the political scene got more and more tense over the past few years, I felt theres just one narrative of Iran  and its mainly a political one. Theres no disconnect between political and human aspects ... politics is one thing, but from my [Iranian] friends  the people I know  other things I see on social media is not how Iran is, she said.

Masry said this view is mutual. In her telling, many Iranians see Saudi Arabia solely as a puritanical Wahhabist state. Confronting these mirroring stereotypes was what compelled her to move to Iran in the first place. I felt going there would be the ultimate thing, to see it in person and actually live there and at the same time [see] how people react to me as a Saudi. Obviously theres this whole thing between Saudi Arabia and Iran  or Arabs and Iranians. I felt like this is something that should be put to the test. I was really happy with the results that I got. She added, Its very important that we tap into our common ground and stop viewing each as the other.'

Initially, Masry didnt intend to write a blog. It took her about eight months before A Saudi in Iran came into fruition. This was not only because she was busy settling in, but because her Iranian friends were vehemently against such an initiative since blogging in the Islamic Republic can sometimes land you behind bars.

Its not always OK in Saudi Arabia either; it obviously depends on the topic. Im staying far away from anything political. I was a bit worried at first, but if everyone is too scared, nothing will change. I wanted to be an alternative voice. So I just sucked it up. Im having a great, life-changing experience. I have a unique insight and vantage point, so I might as well use it, she said.

The most common question Iranians asked Masry while in Tehran was, Why are you here? This very question later became the title of one of her blog entries.

Since most Iranians only interact with Saudis during the hajj pilgrimage, Masry said some people she encountered were surprised to find a lone Saudi woman in Iran. This prompted her to explain that not all Saudi families are conservative, as others give their daughters independence. Masry said, Then they say, But Ive never seen a Saudi woman with her face uncovered [without niqab]. I say, Its not true. The majority in Saudi Arabia dont cover their faces, just certain cities. And theyre like, Really? You can just tell they had no idea.

Masry said she gets similar reactions in Saudi Arabia when she brings up Iran. Any Saudis I meet, they do a double-take after I tell them I lived in Iran. Suddenly they ask all sorts of questions. Whats it like there? What are the people like? Then I get, I had so many good friends in America that were Iranian and we were so close. I hear that so much. Its kind of like a qualifier that you have to say because of how bad things are and how many stereotypes are flying around. Masry added, I wouldve never imagined going to Iran. Its kind of like a Narnia, something they cant imagine  thats how polarizing it is [right now].

Despite the stereotyping, Masry said she hasnt experienced any discrimination from Iranians. On the contrary, she said that she enjoyed Iranian hospitality even when her hosts were made aware of her nationality.

The cut in relations between Tehran and Riyadh has left Masry in limbo in Saudi Arabia, and her studies in Iran at a standstill. Saudi Arabia has issued a ban on travel to Iran. Meanwhile, some of Masrys family members have reservations about her returning. As a result, she said she is unable to complete her last semester or dissertation research. She left many belongings at her apartment in Tehran, but that what hurts her most is being unable to say a proper goodbye to her local and foreign friends in Tehran.

People are telling me to wait it out or maybe ask them [University of Tehran] to defer. Im in contact with the faculty, but the thing is that its a bit hard to put my life on hold, especially since theres no indication of when things will [get] better.

Masry said shell miss the walks back from university, the snowcapped Alborz Mountains and traveling with her friends. Someone recently left Masry a comment on her blog, Not very long ago, the French and the Germans saw each other as their sworn enemy. Today, as a German, I speak French, I have friends over there who I like very much, and I am genuinely mystified as to why it has taken so long for us to finally get along. Maybe, in the not too distant future, Saudis and Iranians will get along just as well, appreciate each other, and be the next example of how friendship and cooperation are so much better than mistrust and confrontation. Perhaps history is a reminder of how things can change for the better  but also for the worse.
February 2, 2016

A new poll of Iranians taken just before the landmark nuclear deal went into full effect shows strong support for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and closer ties with Europe, but negative views of the United States.

The poll was conducted Dec. 29 through Jan. 15 by the University of Maryland working through an intermediary. It canvassed by telephone 1,012 Iranians above the age of 18 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%.

According to an advance copy shared with Al-Monitor, 82% had a favorable opinion of Rouhani and 78% liked Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led the negotiations with the United States and five other nations that culminated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The poll also found that 59% of Iranians want supporters of Rouhani to win upcoming elections for a new parliament.

The warm feelings toward the president reflected widespread Iranian approval of the JCPOA, which lifted European, UN and some US sanctions against Iran on Jan. 16 in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program. According to the poll, 72% back the deal and 80% approve of better relations with Europe.

The United States, however, was not popular. While other recent polls have shown majority support for closer ties with the United States as well as Europe, in this survey, 71% had an unfavorable view of the United States. One reason may be concern about the survivability of the nuclear deal under President Barack Obamas successor: Only 34% of those polled had confidence that the United States would carry out its obligations under the JCPOA, a drop of 11 points since a previous University of Maryland poll in August.

And while Rouhani remains popular, less than half of those polled (47%) said the Iranian economy is improving, 10 points less than in August. Those who strongly backed the nuclear deal dropped from 43% in the prior poll to 30%, a reflection of a more realistic view of what sanctions relief might entail.

The low regard for the United States could also be tied to continuing US economic sanctions against Iran. According to the poll, a plurality of 44% believes that while some US sanctions will be lifted over time, many will remain. At the same time, 65% of Iranians said they did not expect the United States to impose new sanctions to replace those lifted under the JCPOA.

The survey said 67% of those polled said it was very likely they would vote in the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections; 63% said economic issues were the most important for the new parliament to address. Only 1% listed the lack of civil liberties in Iran, perhaps a reflection of Iranian understanding that the parliament has limited powers in this regard compared with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A majority of Iranians said they were expecting significant foreign investment and economic growth as a result of the JCPOA, although many thought progress would take at least a year.

According to the survey, Russia, China, Germany and France  all eager to expand their economic relations with Iran post-sanctions  were all far more popular than the United States, which retains many restrictions on US business with Iran. Only Britain and Saudi Arabia were less popular, with approval ratings of 26% and 11%, respectively. While the US government was extremely unpopular, 53% of Iranians said they had a positive view of the American people.

The most unpopular entity for Iranians among those listed in the poll is the group that calls itself the Islamic State. Of those polled, 98% had a very unfavorable view of IS.

Most Iranians in the survey also backed their governments support for groups fighting IS and other Sunni militants, including Kurds, Shiite militias, Hezbollah, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Houthi rebels in Yemen. Despite recent estrangement with Hamas, 70% of Iranians polled backed Iranian government ties to Hamas. A majority of 63% said Iran should send its own military personnel to fight in Syria. The top reasons: to fight terrorists and prevent them from entering Iran.

These findings contradict a poll done just a few months earlier by Zogby Research Services, which was conducted face to face. In that survey, only 19% said Iran should be the dominant player in the Middle East. More than 40% said Iran should not be involved militarily in regional conflicts at all and should instead focus on developing peaceful relations based on equality with other countries.

The discrepancy could reflect concerns among those polled by telephone that their views would not remain confidential and a desire to say what they thought their government would like to hear. Khamenei has inveighed against the United States since the JCPOA was signed and warned that the United States cannot be trusted to live up to its commitments.

At the same time, 80% in the University of Maryland-commissioned poll backed Irans participation in negotiations to try to end the war in Syria.
February 2, 2016

There are about 2 million Palestinians in Jordan, and the kingdom treats them as two different groups. The first arrived in Jordan after the 1948 war. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines them as refugees, and they have Jordanian citizenship.

The second group arrived after the 1967 war. Defined as displaced persons who came from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, they do not enjoy full citizenship and hold a temporary Jordanian passport that must be renewed every two years. They cannot work in state institutions, but only in the private sector without official work permits from the government.

These Palestinians are only allowed to study in public universities, where they enroll within a parallel education system for foreigners. In this context, thousands of Palestinian students who do not have a national ID or Jordanian nationality are treated as foreign students and pay university fees in US dollars instead of the Jordanian dinar, like Jordanian students. This extra cost further adds to the financial problems of Palestinian students, who cannot afford to enroll in private universities.

The Jordanian state started distinguishing between refugees (who have Jordanian citizenship) and displaced persons (who hold a temporary passport) after Jordan's late King Hussein bin Talal announced the disengagement between Jordan and the West Bank at the request of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988.

On Jan. 9, Jordanian media outlets reported that the Jordanian government had decided Jan. 6 to collect work permit fees from the 1967 Palestinians, who number around 110,000 workers. The fees value amounts to 180 dinars ($250) per person.

However, on Jan. 23, Jordanian Labor Minister Nidal Qatamin announced that the decision to collect fees had been revoked following a number of objections. Meanwhile, the living conditions of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza in Jordan keep deteriorating.

Although the Jordanian government rescinded, the decision to require work permits for Palestinians remained, especially for the later-arriving Gazans.

A Labor Ministry source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, The decision resolves a legal problem, as it allows Palestinians holding temporary passports in Jordan to work legally. Prior to the decision, they were prevented from officially working in the private sector and those who did were considered to be in violation. This decision came to legally regulate their work and preserve their financial rights.

Jordanian researcher Nadia Saad Eddin wrote a report in 2013 about the status of Palestinian workers in Jordan. In her report, she stated that the Palestinians have to abide by legal restrictions, which have resulted in high poverty and unemployment rates among this population in Jordan. This group is not allowed to work in the Jordanian government or engage in some professions such as dentistry, agricultural engineering, accounting, pharmacy, tourism and banking.

Also, according to Saad Eddin, the private sector offers few work opportunities, while Palestinians have to gain security clearance before taking up any job. The criteria are based on both the internal regulations of the Jordanian syndicates and the conditions of the Jordanian Interior Ministry.

In this regard, Palestinian Ali Salem from Jordan's al-Zarqa camp told Al-Monitor, This decision is unacceptable. I have been living in Jordan for over 40 years; how is it possible to treat me like any other worker coming from China or the Philippines? I consider Jordan to be my second home after Palestine.

The Jordanian decision has been widely rejected. In an article published in the Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustour Jan. 10, Jordanian author Omar Kallab said that as Gazans in Jordan support their families in the Gaza Strip, this decision further burdens them and their families.

Yasser Yzaatreh, another renowned Jordanian author, wrote in his article for Ammon News Jan. 14 that the decision is absurd, as Gazans in Jordan are treated as foreigners who come to Jordan for work only.

Many Gazans in Jordan are questioning the fairness of treating them as foreign migrant workers when their situation is completely different. Palestinians who have been residing in Jordan since before 1967 are permanent residents, while migrant workers come and leave according to their job requirements, staying in Jordan for only a few years. Does this mean those who carry temporary passports will be forced to work in professions reserved for foreigners and penalized if they work in other professions? Although there are no official lists of the fields they are allowed to work in, Palestinians have been living in Jordan for so long that they know which fields they can enter and which they cannot.

Ahmed Awad, director of the Phenix Center for Economic Studies and Informatics in Amman, told Al-Monitor, Jordans decision reflects a negative radical change in Jordan's policy toward Palestinians. There are 300,000 Gazans and 500,000 Palestinians from the West Bank in Jordan. According to this decision, [Palestinians who are able to work] would have to get a work permit to be able to work legally. The decision includes dozens of professions in the Jordanian private sector, such as the medical field, engineering and accounting. This puts Palestinians in the same category as other foreigners living in the kingdom.

Awad added, If Palestinians are forced to get work permits, they could [choose] not to and work illegally; employers would also exploit them and deprive them from social security benefits. All this would force them to migrate and seek other job opportunities abroad.

On Jan. 14, Khamis Atiyeh, the second deputy speaker of the Jordanian Parliament, demanded that the Jordanian labor minister revoke [the decision requiring] work permits for Palestinians, as they have been living in Jordan since 1967 and cannot return to their country due to the Israeli occupation.

Remarkably, the Palestinian Authority remained silent and did not intervene, although the decision affects Palestinians in Jordan. Perhaps it wanted to avoid tension with Jordan in light of the deterioration of the countries' ties following the Jordanian-Israeli agreement on Oct. 25, 2014, to install cameras inside Al-Aqsa Mosque. The agreement was signed by Jordan and Israel without the PA's involvement.

Al-Monitor tried to contact Palestinian officials for comment on the Jordanian decision, but they refused to share an official position out of fear of harming the PAs relations with Jordan. However, Jordanian author Oraib al-Rantawi, who has strong ties with the PA, wrote in a Jan. 25 article that the Jordanian governments decision to require work permits for the 1967 Palestinians has placed a group that had been living in Jordan for decades in the same category as foreign expats.

Rantawi further stated that the decision has stirred anxiety, uncertainty and instability among Palestinians without any convincing political, economic or security justification.

Issam Adwan, head of the Hamas-affiliated Refugee Affairs Department in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, Jordans decision means that Palestinians have become strangers to the kingdom, and this is unacceptable. In 1966, the Arab League issued a decision binding Arab states to treat Palestinians as local citizens. The [Jordanian] decision reflects discrimination, as a large part of Jordanians that have Jordanian nationality are from Palestinian origins. It could also harm the social cohesion in Jordan [and create a rift] between a Palestinian working without a permit and another who needs one.

Is it possible that Jordan  which accommodates 1 million Syrians and 1 million Iraqis  is unable to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who carry temporary passports, even though they have spent more than 48 years there? Jordan should treat them as Jordanians and grant them their full rights, because forcing them to obtain work permits is not an act worthy of Jordan, Adwan added.

Palestinian and Jordanian circles continue to call on the Jordanian government to retract the decision. The Palestinian camps in Jordan are overpopulated, and poverty and unemployment run rampant. The crisis between Palestinians in Jordan and the Jordanian authorities may be aggravated, which could raise new issues that both sides could do without in light of the escalating security tensions among Jordans neighbors, such as Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
February 2, 2016

For more than 52 years, Palestinians completing 12th grade have faced a stressful, life-changing experience. Their admission to university has depended on how they do on a single, national exam. The tawjihi, the comprehensive matriculation exam designed to test knowledge and ability, has been a source of incredible pressure for students, their families and communities at large.

Young Palestinians cram for weeks before the exam and often lose sleep trying to be as prepared as possible, learning by heart the information that might be on the test. The results determine whether a student will be admitted to medical school or qualifies to study engineering. Thus, the test has become a huge part of Palestinian life.

Sabri Saidam, Palestinian minister of education and higher education, told Al-Monitor that he wants to revise the tawjihi, which he believes covers too much material and is based on rote memorization. In doing so, Saidam seeks to reduce the pressure on students and their families while also better evaluating students abilities.

In a comprehensive interview with Al-Monitor, Saidam, who was appointed in August 2015, also wants to use changes to the controversial test to introduce a much more effective education system. The test results often determine people's future and ultimately can bring great benefits to their families or keep them in poverty. Scholarships are available to students who get high grades. This [testing] system divides society on the basis of the results of the tawjihi, which does not allow the students to express themselves and does not provide any space for analysis or interactive learning, Saidam explained.

Saidam graduated in 2000 from the Imperial College London with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, and in 2004, he took an intensive course in human development at Oxford with the United Nations Development Programme. He now intends to introduce a totally new educational system in Palestine, stating, What we have done in the new system is combine various educational systems, such as the British A level, the IB [international baccalaureate] and the American SAT system as well as the traditional system.

Saidam, a former minister of telecommunications and leader in the Palestinian National Internet Naming Authority, the e-government initiative launched in 2004, said he also wants to bring automation to the testing and grading process. This is a new approach where the tests are totally computerized and each student will get a different set of questions. This should also automate the correction of the exams. We are working on creating a bank of 10,000 digitized test questions, Saidam said.

The youth unemployment problems facing Palestine and the Arab region is high on his agenda. We know that if you improve the educational inputs, this will be reflected in outputs, especially at the higher educational level, Saidam said. He also wants to suspend or cancel certain specializations that are not needed in todays job market or ones that have reached their limit. He noted, for example, that there is a glut of dentists in Palestine.

Saidam was born in 1971 in Damascus. His father Mamdouh, had been a Fatah Central Committee member, and his mother, Jamila, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The education minister was himself a member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, until he was sworn in as the youngest Palestinian minister of education at the age of 44.

Saidam said he resigned from Fatah after being chosen to lead the ministry, because he wants to keep partisan politics out of the national consensus government led by Rami Hamdallah. I wanted to avoid any mixing of political action and service-related work, and therefore the decision was biased toward work. Also, the level and amount of responsibility made it next to impossible for me to juggle the two positions. Nevertheless, I am still a bona fide member of the Fatah movement, for which I am proud, he said.

In addition to changes to the tawjihi and the educational system, Saidam has introduced extracurricular activities for students through an open education day on Saturdays. He explained, A hundred Palestinian schools, in cooperation with the private sector, will be providing 15 extracurricular opportunities in what we are introducing as unrestricted activities. We will be teaching drama, poetry, robotics, programming and sports. The goal is to broaden the horizon of the students.

Palestines youngest and tech-savvy minister has even more ambitious plans for the youngest Palestinians, including getting rid of their heavy schoolbags. We have other challenges, like a digitization program for grades 3 through 6. We want to replace the schoolbag with tablets, Saidam said.

The full text of the interview follows.

Al-Monitor: You are planning to revolutionize the tawjihi, the high school matriculation exam. What led you to this decision, and how do you plan to implement it?

Saidam: Technology has developed a lot around the world, and along with this, we have seen a change in educational methodology. Palestine, which has always boasted educational accomplishments among the best in the developing countries, now needs to review its educational system and to raise the level of knowledge. We know that if you improve the educational inputs, this will be reflected in outputs, especially at the higher educational level. Therefore, it is important to merge vocational training with technical training and with general education. All this must necessarily be reflected in the tawjihi, which has remained the same for 52 years. During this period, this high school testing system has become a calcified system.

Al-Monitor: What do you mean by this term?

Saidam: It means that the [tawjihi] depends more on rote memorization and reading comprehension skills. The test produces high levels of stress and social pressure and feeds into a class system. This system divides society on the basis of the results of the tawjihi, which does not allow for the students to express themselves and does not provide any space for analysis or interactive learning. This is why Palestine has chosen to focus more on the character of the students in order to bring out in them leadership and creative skills and to give them an opportunity to initiate ideas within a team and to learn how to better manage time, in addition to keeping the reading part of the test within a limited scope so that students can reflect on their knowledge and accumulated experiences.

Al-Monitor: So the tawjihi will continue, but the questions will change?

Saidam: No, the tested topics will be reduced a lot, and instead, the students will have two years to achieve what we call accomplishment portfolios. These portfolios cover a variety of topics, and teachers choose them based on the student's character and abilities. When the student reaches the 12th grade, he decides which portfolio he wants to be tested on, and this portfolio will include mandatory and basic subjects. So if the student is studying a science, math or engineering stream, he will have to take some scientific subjects. What we have done in the new system is combine various educational systems, such as the British A level, the IB [international baccalaureate] and the American SAT system as well as the traditional system.

In order to reduce the pressure on students, we will stop making the test results public, as local newspapers annually compete on publishing the names and grades of passing students. Every student will have a number and can personally check his results on the ministrys website. We are also planning to create a question bank. This is a new approach where the tests are totally computerized, and each student will get a different set of questions. This should also automate the correction of the exams. We are working on creating a bank of 10,000 digitized test questions. Obviously, it will need to be organized in terms of knowledge areas and evaluations so that there is fairness. Calculating the results will also need to be digitized, and we need to provide all schools with the necessary technical facilities, which should all be centrally networked.

Al-Monitor: Wouldnt it be easier if universities considered entrance exams in addition to the grades of the last four years, instead of just this one test?

Saidam: The problem is that such tests are costly for universities. We will continue to supervise the tawjihi; this will not change. What we want to do is reduce the pressure that is a killer to creativity. This change is happening in parallel with our efforts to change the curriculum, and we are still studying how the subject sections will change. Do we continue the scientific, literary, agricultural and commercial streams, or do we allow the student an opportunity to choose from a wide-ranging assortment of programs?

Al-Monitor: What can be done to raise the level of research and critical thinking among Palestinians?

Saidam: This is of course our goal. Our accomplishment portfolios and the freedom that will be given to students to choose will mean that they will be tested on critical thinking, interactive education and even learning through games.

Al-Monitor: Youths constitute the majority of the population of Palestine and, therefore, are among the highest unemployed. How will these changes in the educational system improve the unemployment problem plaguing Palestine and Arab countries?

Saidam: We are now discussing in the Palestinian Higher Education Council this particular issue, and that is why we want to reduce some of the unnecessary specialization or suspend those topics that are not needed in the job market. For example, we have a glut of dentists in our society these days. We need to teach our students skills that they can use to get a job.

Al-Monitor: You come from a technical and IT [information technology] background. What is happening on this front in the educational system?

Saidam: This is a huge challenge for us. We need to intensify Palestinian energies, especially in areas such as robot making and [developing] applications for mobile phones. To do this, we are working hard on investing in human resources. Palestinians are not happy with the level we are at in this area. People are yearning for a lot in this area but are never satisfied.

Al-Monitor: When you became minister of education, you resigned from Fatah's Revolutionary Council. Why did you resign, and do you think there is a conflict of interest between the two?

Saidam: The goal was to allow the national consensus government to do its work outside the political sphere, which was left to the various political factions led by Fatah. I wanted to separate my partisan role from this pivotal role. So I wanted to avoid any mixing of political action and service-related work, and therefore the decision was biased toward work. Also, the level and amount of responsibility made it next to impossible for me to juggle the two positions. Nevertheless, I am still a bona fide member of the Fatah movement, for which I am proud.

Al-Monitor: Gaza is part of the Ministry of Educations work domain, even though the Palestinian government has no power in Gaza. What have you done to deal with the problems of education in Gaza?

Saidam: We are back into building schools in the Gaza Strip, and we have been doing the standard tests in Gaza, including the tawjihi, for some time. We accredit programs and universities and license institutions in a centralized manner. But all other issues have a political meaning. For example, Al-Aqsa University  which is a government university  has been making changes that the ministry is not happy with. We have tried a few times to reach some understandings, but we have not succeeded. So [in Gaza], some areas fall prey to political polarization, while in service-related areas, things are moving smoothly despite major challenges and political differences. Since the last Cabinet reshuffle in August 2015, we have not had any Cabinet member visit Gaza. But there are some positive signs coming from the various attempts at reconciliation from different sources. But Palestinian society has for some time stopped putting any hope in talks and prefers instead to see results rather than declarations.

Al-Monitor: International donor funding to Palestine has been reduced in recent years. How has that affected the Ministry of Education, and what are your priorities for funding when you are forced to make budget cuts?

Saidam: When the Palestine Liberation Organization started joining various international organizations, such as the International Criminal Court in April 2015, this caused a drop in international funding, from $1.2 billion to $680 million annually. This, of course, was reflected in the budgets of the ministries. In our field, this caused a setback in school expansion and other projects, but the overwhelming community desire for education in Palestinian schools has ensured that the Ministry of Education allotment is one-fifth of the entire budget. This is an unprecedented amount of money being earmarked for education. Still, we were affected in that the development budget was cut back, even though the number of our people and our teachers is increasing annually, which means we need to build more schools and add more classrooms.

Al-Monitor: What are the major problems facing your ministry [vis-a-vis] the Israeli forces?

Saidam: When this school year began, we had decided beforehand that this would be the year for development, but we have quickly found ourselves in the middle of crises and confrontations. While we are insisting on the theme of development, we have added another theme  crisis management. This is a sensitive issue, as we are trying to keep the educational process going despite the fact that children are being targeted in cold blood and arbitrary summary judgments are being carried out while schools and universities are being regularly raided by the Israeli army. We are convinced that the occupiers wont engage mercifully with education. Despite all these challenges, we insist on moving on with our goals.

Al-Monitor: A landmark, US-funded report has shown that Palestinian textbooks dont vilify Jews. Whats your opinion? Will this report end the constant claims that Palestinian textbooks incite children to violence?

Saidam: So many things have been blamed on the Palestinian Authority in regard to so-called incitement in textbooks. This was a feverish campaign [waged] from different fronts, but the report has contributed to shedding light on the reality of things. Another book, by Nurit Peled-Elhanan, was published in Israel examining how Palestine is referred to in Israeli textbooks. This book also contributed to exonerating the Palestinian curriculum in the face of the continued attacks. They always try to shift the debate and put the ball of incitement into the Palestinian court.

Al-Monitor: You participated in the Tajaawob on Wheels project by the Tajaawob NGO [nongovernmental organization], which had the aim of bringing officials closer to the people, where you traveled throughout Palestine. How has that experience influenced your work?

Saidam: The experience was very enriching. It was a huge discovery for me to meet with people on the ground and learn about all the challenges that we are facing. I can say, as minister of education, that I take my job to teach and to learn seriously, and I learned about the needs and saw the discipline [of the people] at the same time. I tried to encourage people to work despite the difficult conditions and to impress on them the concept of steadfastness in the face of occupation. This was a unique experience, standing with our people and supporting them in their time of need. It was also great for me to understand that I should be careful not to limit my knowledge to the office, but to also go into the field.

Al-Monitor: What are the next steps by the ministry to encourage youths to persevere in their education, keeping in mind the current circumstances?

Saidam: Our schools will start opening Saturdays for open activities. A hundred Palestinian schools, in cooperation with the private sector, will be providing 15 extracurricular opportunities in what we are introducing as unrestricted activities. We will be teaching drama, poetry, robotics, programming and sports. The goal is to broaden the horizon of the students. While this is an elective program, we also want to use it to help teachers financially. We have other challenges, like a digitization program for grades 3 through 6. We want to replace the schoolbag with tablets, certify electronic education and help pass a number of laws that will encourage creativity and improve the educational environment while increasing the efficiency of our teachers.
February 2, 2016

Turkeys strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to have launched a campaign for a new constitution so he can shape the kind of presidential role he wants for himself.

Erdogan and his allied media have been harping for some time on the message that the parliamentary system in Turkey has become obsolete and must be replaced by a presidential system. Naturally, Erdogan has fully mobilized his Justice and Development Party (AKP) for that goal.

Erdogan is perfectly blunt about his goals and generously offers clues that eliminate the need for speculation. In a Jan. 28 speech in Ankara before representatives of civil society organizations that support him, Erdogan once again described the constitutional framework he wants for the regime, labeling it a Turkish-style presidency.

According to Erdogan, the spirit of the new constitution should be based on the logic of "harmony and balance between powers instead of strife between powers  mutual support instead of antagonism."

The question of executive rule has to be the core of efforts toward a new constitution. With the "absolute stability environment" that the presidential system will ensure, he says, Turkey will be protected from terror-related risks.

All these remarks clearly reveal that Erdogan aspires to an authoritarian constitutional regime, to say the least. If Erdogan had been aiming at democracy, he would not have labeled and rejected the separation of powers as "strife among powers." He is advocating a concept that sidelines the control and balance mechanisms of democracies.

This is beyond dispute: A regime in which executive power is key to the balance of powers, and all the executive powers are concentrated in the hands of the president, is nothing more than a dictatorship. Moreover, the "absolute stability" Erdogan refers to is a concept foreign to democracy but indigenous to dictatorships.

Erdogan calls his authoritarian presidency regime indigenous and national. In his Jan. 28 speech, he used that label when he said, The Turkish constitutions that have been written so far were  governed with imported commodities, with imported logic.  The constitution that will be based on our own traditions of governance will be a Turkish-style constitution.

Anyone who knows Turkeys history will tell you concepts such as democracy, separation of powers, state of law, supremacy of law, human rights, equality, pluralism and the rest are imported from the West. The only governance tradition not imported from abroad but purely native comes from Turkey's former sultan rulers  despotism, absolutism and patriarchy.

If Erdogan is not referring to democracy when he talks about "Turkeys established governance tradition," todays reflection of that tradition cannot be anything less than an authoritarian regime.

In crafting the constitutional framework he needs, we assume Erdogan will respect the valid clauses of the current constitution. Erdogans AKP does not have a three-fifths parliamentary majority to get the presidential constitution amendment approved and submit it to referendum. In such a vote, the AKP would have to ensure that all its deputies would vote for the amendment, while acquiring the support of at least 14 deputies from opposition parties.

If those 14 opposition deputies cannot be found, the only way to find a parliamentary majority for the amendment would be to take the country to an early election. Of course it will not be easy to lead this country, which went through two general elections in 2015, to a new election without convincing reasons.

We can surmise that Erdogan's regime will follow this type of scenario in the coming days:

First, Erdogan, his media and government spokesmen will ramp up the campaign to persuade Sunni conservative voters that the presidential regime is urgent and vital. The moment public opinion polls indicate those voters perceive the presidential regime as a historical and unavoidable necessity, the campaign for an early election will be launched.

The regime will justify the need for an early election with the allegation that opposition parties are clogging up the country's progress. As such, a new blessing is needed from the voters.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu indicated in a Jan. 26 speech before parliament that he does not favor early elections. Davutoglu said, There are those who are trying to confuse minds with baseless speculation about early elections. Let me state openly and clearly that Turkey, which achieved democratic stability in the Nov. 1 elections, has no need for an early election today.

We are aware, however, that Davutoglus words do not mean all that much, given Erdogans dominant power. If Erdogan persists in taking Turkey to a presidential system, the only way to avoid an early general election is to seduce 14 opposition deputies to support the constitutional draft. Therefore, a new voting process in 2016 appears likely, whether for a constitutional referendum or an early election.

One of the most prominent elements of the Machiavellian game that will be played until the Turks go to the voting booth will be the threat of terror and chaos.

Fear of chaos was the top factor that enabled the AKP to recover in the Nov. 1 elections the parliamentary majority it had lost in June. It's the same threat that prompted Sunni conservative voters to restore the AKP to power Nov. 1. An important pertinent signal came from Islamist daily Yeni Akit, an ardent Erdogan supporter, in a Jan. 28 article titled Either presidency or chaos.

Leaving aside the Islamic State (IS) terror that has not yet become a permanent feature, the only element that keeps the chaos and terror threat alive is the war that was launched July 24 against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Reaching an agreement with the Kurdish movement could mean loss of nationalist votes that the government wants in a referendum or elections. That could also mean more votes for the Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). But in an early election, Erdogans goal is to push both the opposition Nationalist Action Party and the HDP to below the 10% election threshold. If that is secured, then all the seats they would have won will be accrued to the next-strongest party  the AKP. That of course would guarantee enough seats for the AKP to get a constitutional amendment.

It is impossible for the ongoing war to bring about a military solution to the Kurdish question, given the regional power level the PKK has reached and its strategic depth in Iran, Iraq and Syria. Moreover, the battle is not being waged to solve the Kurdish issue; it is being waged to gain a presidential system.

The war is creating its own realities. In some towns where the Kurdish movement is truly powerful, Turkey's use of tanks and artillery to overcome the resistance is generating destruction similar to that in Syria. Kurdish civilians are being collectively punished with extreme human rights violations that leave them no choice but to emigrate. It will not be easy to manage the massive social and political costs this disaster entails.

Moreover, it is impossible to treat this war separately from the Syrian crisis that could turn the Turkey-Russia cold war to a hot strife at any moment. Turkey, with its own hands, is pushing the Kurdish movement to Russia and now risks losing control of its Kurdish issue because of the raging war in the southeast.
February 2, 2016

On the evening of Jan. 29, the now retired politician Bulent Arinc, the longtime deputy prime minister and parliament speaker of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), appeared on a CNNTurk talk show with remarks that sent shock waves through Turkish politics. He spoke on various issues, from the failed peace process with Kurdish separatists to the witch hunt on the parallel state, to the trolls who demonize people on behalf of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In all such issues, he never openly opposed Erdogan, let alone denounced him. Yet, still his remarks were perceived as a vehement protest against the presidents growing domination of the ruling AKP and Turkeys overall political system.

One particular issue in which Arinc clearly differed from Erdogan dealt with the behind the scenes of the controversial Dolmabahce Agreement between the AKP government and the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democracy Party (HDP) declared in February 2015. This was a major step forward in the then-active peace process between Turkey and the armed and outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but Erdogan had strangely condemned this deal, suggesting he was not informed about it, inflicting a major blow on the peace process that he himself had initiated two years before. But now, on CNN Turk, Arinc said that Erdogan knew about the details of the meeting from the beginning.

This was more than enough to incite the wrath of the pro-Erdogan camp. On social media, the very trolls he criticized for smear campaigns began a new campaign to condemn him as a traitor. Hilal Kaplan, an ardent pro-Erdogan columnist for the staunchly pro-Erdogan daily Sabah, ridiculed him as Lawrence of Manisa. (This was a play on words on Lawrence of Arabia, as Arinc is from the province of Manisa.) The next day, pro-Erdogan newspapers such as Star, Aksam and Gunes came out with headlines condemning Arinc for treason and speaking in the language of the terrorists. Finally, Erdogan himself commented on Arinc, during his visit to Latin America, calling him only this person, and blaming him for dishonesty.

All this would be less of an affair had Arinc been a less prominent name in the AKP universe. Yet the AKP, in fact, is in part a creation of Arinc himself, as he was the one who spearheaded the reformist movement in the Islamist movement dominated by the late Necmettin Erbakan in the late 1990s. Ultimately Abdullah Gul became the leader of this movement, with Arincs critical support, and the two men, who were later joined by Erdogan, founded the AKP together in 2001. No wonder that for years people spoke of the founding trio of the AKP, which was Erdogan, Gul and Arinc. The charismatic Erdogan was only the first among equals.

Yet, over the years Erdogans domination over the AKP grew, and finally both Gul and Arinc found themselves, along with their supporters, pushed aside. That is why today both Gul and Arinc are retired, and pro-Erdogan trolls often advise them to shut up, stay aside and respect the power of the Chief  a term used lately for Erdogan by his admirers. (One Erdogan admirer openly declared their ideology as Erdoganism.)

Arincs break with Erdogan and the Erdoganists is a new rift in Turkish politics, but it has been brewing for a long time. During the witch hunts on Turkeys secularist general and their allies  the "Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases, which marked the 2009-12 era  Arinc was the only name in the AKP who criticized the oppression, such as the detention of journalists for months and even years. (Meanwhile, Erdogan was giving his full support to what he would later condemn as a conspiracy against the military.) During the Gezi Park protests of June 2013, Erdogan condemned the anti-government demonstrations as an international conspiracy and coup attempt, while both Arinc and Gul tried to establish dialogue with the protesters. After the break with the Gulen movement, Arinc opposed the parallel state like all other AKP members, but also opposed what turned out to be a witch hunt on the entire Gulen movement, including its schools, charities and kindergartens. All in all, one can say he proved to be more moderate and principled than many other people in his party.

More recently, right before his retirement on Nov. 1, Arinc had dared to criticize Erdogans domination on the AKP. We were a party of us, Arinc said in another breaking interview published in September. But now we have turned into a party of me.

Therefore, it may be fair to say that the current rebellion of Arinc against Erdogan, as some in Turkey see it, is only the latest drop of water overflowing the cup. Moreover, since the earth-shattering interview of Jan. 29, several prominent names in the AKP have declared their support for Arinc. They include former Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, who had spearheaded the legal reforms for European Union accession in the better era of the AKP, and former Minister of Education Huseyin Celik. While word has it that former President Abdullah Gul also is in agreement with Arinc, Gul so far has been silent.

In that sense, the Arinc rebellion seems to be the much-belated outburst of the much-speculated silent opposition within the AKP. But what is it likely to achieve?

At this stage, probably not much. Erdogan has accumulated such colossal power  an enchanted electorate, a media empire, innumerable devotees in every institution  that his opponents cant achieve much other than getting themselves branded as traitors. But it is possible that this disturbance in the AKP may plant the seeds of future political change, especially if Erdogans next ambition  a new constitution with a super-presidency  accumulates more opposition within the ruling party, or if a new center-right political party emerges.

Finally, one may wonder what the government  the prime minister and his Cabinet  is thinking about all this controversy. Both Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus have remained utterly silent on the Arinc affair. People speculate that perhaps their hearts are with Arinc, but that they cannot afford to jump into the traitors category overnight.
February 3, 2016

Every year since 2009, the prominent Sabanci Foundation has been naming Turkeys Change Makers winners. The foundation then releases the extraordinary stories of unique people who contribute to social development. The awards are given in categories of civic participation, economic development, education, environment, health and social justice. On Dec. 15, Dogruluk Payi (Share of Truth), Turkeys first and only political fact-checking website, was announced as the fourth Change Maker of the seventh season.

An initiative of the Dialogue for a Common Future Association, Dogruluk Payi was launched in June 2014. Its young founders were concerned about Turkeys polarized culture and the truthfulness of political statements.

Dogruluk Payi founders Baybars Orsek and Ferdi Ferhat Ozsoy met during their internships in Washington, in the summer of 2011. While observing American politics, they came across the concept of fact-checking. The politicians were constantly using factual arguments in their speeches and there were organizations such as PolitiFact that fact-checked those statements. Thats when we got the idea. This was definitely a critical approach to polarized and tense political rhetoric, Orsek told Al-Monitor.

The aim is to work objectively and independently from political influences and make political actors in Turkey more responsible, while at the same time provide a reliable source for the voters to obtain factual information. The staff is made up of three people who work full time and four part-time editors. Most of them have graduate degrees in political science or economics. None of them have a background in journalism, which, according to the founders, ensures a scholarly approach  one of the crucial elements of Dogruluk Payis neutrality and independence.

Every day around 5 p.m., project coordinator Batuhan Ersun sends approximately 10-15 different statements from Turkeys daily agenda to the editors for their consideration. They pick the statements based on their expertise and fact-check them. They first check the source of the statement and then consult open sources, both primary (main news agencies) and secondary (research, nongovernmental organizations, etc.). If necessary, the editors reach out to the available pool of experts and share the fact-checked results with the other editors for peer review. The project coordinator receives the information back, after which he does the final checks before releasing the results to the public. They share results on a daily basis with the public via their website, an email list and social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. A politicians statement is rated as having one of the following degrees of truth: wrong, far off, medium, close and correct.

So far, the group has examined 561 statements by 179 political actors in Turkey, finding that only approximately 26% were accurate. For example, Dogruluk Payis analysis of 60 statements by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shows a medium accuracy share overall. An analysis of 45 statements by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as 39 statements by opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu also show a medium accuracy.

Most of the claims that Dogruluk Payi examined were in the fields of growth and employment. For example, the latest analysis confirmed the accuracy of the statement by Republican Peoples Party member of parliament Kadim Durmaz that one out of four jobless people is a university graduate, and that 12.1% of university graduates are without a job.

As a fact-checking organization, we dont have the capacity to cover all political statements. Our scope is mostly limited to either questionable statements or statements that draw public attention. This approach undeniably pushes us to look for more false statements, said Orsek. For example, last weeks most-read analysis by Dogruluk Payi was related to the fact-checked fake stories published in several pro-government media outlets that claimed some 75 academics at universities in the United States had been arrested after the academics asserted 9/11 had been an inside job.

Additionally, Orsek explained that elections that have followed one after another in Turkey in the last two years might be the cause for the very low percentage of politicians truthful statements. In elections, politicians might be more likely to use statements without strong factual background in order to mobilize and/or energize their constituencies, he said.

In general, the founders are content about the fulfillment of their goals after the latest elections Nov. 1. The team set a monthly goal of covering 30 statements and/or special reports to publish. When asked about the responses of the public and whether people are suspicious of the groups independence, Orsek confirmed that his team welcomes all feedback from the public and emphasized that it receives overwhelmingly positive reactions. Both followers and politicians say were covering a great space in the political sphere in Turkey. They often use our results as reference to answer some claims on social media.

But there have been negative reactions, as well. On the one hand, Dogruluk Payis team has been accused of working as foreign agents, while on the other hand, they were accused of secretly working for the Turkish government. Turkey is known for notoriously low levels of interpersonal trust, and Orsek shares another typical question from the incredulous and doubtful public: They say, Whos going to fact-check your results? And we reply, You should.

One of the most important pillars of Dogruluk Payis work is providing results to politicians whose statements get fact-checked.

Orsek explained that editors are doing their best to inform the public and to put pressure on politicians. Moreover, there have been a number of cases where the politician or someone from his office replies back with additional data and requests consideration of a change in the grading of the published analysis. Orsek added that though they have received harsh criticisms from the politicians questioning their expertise and even legitimacy in the early days, even those politicians have started to respect their fact-checked analyses that show false statements.

The teams essential goal is to contribute to a society that demands truth and accuracy from Turkish politics and actors involved in it, and make Dogruluk Payi Turkeys reference page for politics. Orsek believes the team has been at least partially successful with the aim of introducing fact-checking to Turkish media. He describes the three pillars of the groups other goal: informing the electorate about issues that concern it before the elections, making politicians aware that their statements are being fact-checked by a nonpoliticized organization, and providing data-driven and policy-based content for traditional media to cover politics.

Honestly, at first we had given more importance to the visibility in traditional media, Orsek said. We may have overvalued TV coverage, which we had before the elections, for reaching out to more people. Currently, the team is more focused on producing its own content suitable for new media platforms such as podcasts, infographics, storytelling videos and other smart, sharable and informative contents. Who knows, maybe one day we will have our own media network, totally operating on the Internet, Orsek said.

Judging by the ever-increasing number of followers on Dogruluk Payis social media channels, and regardless of the negative critiques, grateful citizens continue with their overwhelming support. Dogruluk Payis commendable effort for bringing nonpartisan, objective, factual information to Turkish politics makes this endeavor deserving of all the praise it gets.
Sloss Furnaces

Sloss Furnaces is shown in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, Aug 1, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

(MARK ALMOND)

A new exhibit on Sloss Furnaces and the art that comes from it will open in downtown Birmingham Thursday.

"Sloss Furnaces: Then and Now" will open at the Alabama Power Archives Museum Thursday at 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. during Birmingham Art Crawl, covering from the history of Sloss to its modern metal art.

The Museum is part of Alabama Power's downtown Birmingham corporate headquarters. To get to the museum, enter through the main entrance at 600 North 18th St. ask for a pass from the front desk. The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays starting Friday through May 6.

The exhibit will include the Furnace's history as well as a focus on the Sloss Furnaces Metal Arts Program. The program was founded in 1985 and teaches metalworking, pattern making, casting and welding, and forging sculpture. Art from the program artists-in-residence and students will be on display and for sale, with proceeds going to the artists.

"Sloss Furnaces is more than a landmark or museum," Sloss curator and historian Karen Utz said in a statement. "It represents the character and spirit of the South's industrial heritage."

The cost of the exhibit is paid for by Alabama Power's shareholders, not customers, according to Alabama Power spokeswoman Allison Westlake.
On March 9, 1886, Birmingham residents were greeted with a report in The Birmingham Age newspaper declaring the city's first Mardi Gras a success. A headline said: "German Mardi Gras: King Carnival Captures the City and the Scene is Witnessed by a Large Crowd."

It was the first time the city held a Mardi Gras celebration, complete with parades and masked balls, which had been a tradition in the port city of Mobile since 1703, with a break for the Civil War. The 1886 Birmingham event was sponsored by the local German Society.

The Birmingham Age article said: "Yesterday the morning trains brought large crowds to the city, and by noon the streets were thronged with residents and visitors." The article went on to give descriptions of floats and of the attire of the carnival king, L.L. Schwartz. Schwartz was the owner of the New Orleans Clothing House and wore a royal purple costume and jeweled crown.

Birmingham, a city founded just 15 years earlier, had quickly become the industrial hub of Alabama and counted among its residents many newly wealthy families. It seemed the perfect site for the quirky but ritualistic celebrations that come with Mardi Gras.

Despite the success of that first event, the Magic City did not host its next Mardi Gras for another decade, according to historian James L. Baggett, who wrote an article on the history for Birmingham Magazine. Perhaps the reason for the inexplicable delay was as simple as the need for an organization to host it.

In 1896, a host appeared in the form of Emil Lasser, owner of Birmingham's Cosmopolitan Hotel. Lasser and some friends and associates founded the Birmingham Carnival Society to organize a new Mardi Gras in an effort to increase tourism.

The society determined that the person chosen as festival king each year would be known as Rex Vulcan for the duration of the celebration. A queen would also be chosen. Events included the parade and several masked balls.

But Baggett said weather didn't cooperate in central Alabama. It was so cold in 1896, the royal court wore coats over their costumes for the parade. Still, 30,000 to 40,000 people came out to watch.

In 1899, a massive blizzard struck the South three days before the parade, leaving a foot of snow on downtown streets.

"On Fat Tuesday, thermometers registered nine degrees below zero and the carnival was cancelled," Baggett said of the 1899 event.

A parade was held in 1900, this one a night, but the enthusiasm had waned. Baggett wrote: "One Birmingham resident of the time observed, 'Every February when the Mardi Gras was held, the weather seemed to behave its very worst, and it was really for that reason the carnival committee called it off.'"

According to Bham Wiki, royalty of Birmingham's Mardi Gras celebrations were:

1886: King L.L. Schwartz, Queen Ada Solomon

1896: Rex Vulcan I was Erwin Schillinger, Queen May Clare Key Milner (possibly Mary Claire Milner?)

1897: Rex Vulcan II B.M. Allen, Queen Momie Terrell

1898: Rex Vulcan III M.A. "Bert" Porter, Queen Susie Martin

1899: Rex Vulcan IV Henry Milner, Queen Mary Claire Milner

1900: Rex Vulcan V Ed Wilcox, Queen Elizabeth Shelly

1901: Balls only; no parade

In recent years, some Birmingham residents have made efforts to revive a parade. Several events are held in the city, mainly for charitable groups. For instance, the Mystic Krewe of Apollo hosts a masked ball each year at Boutwell Auditorium, the Beaux Arts Krewe holds a debutante ball as a fundraiser for the Birmingham Museum of Art, Crestwood North holds a neighborhood parade, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute hosts an annual Mardi Gras fundraiser, according to Bham Wiki.

Tuscaloosa's Mardi Gras

The city of Tuscaloosa also has a group of carnival clubs - such as the Harlequins, the Mystic Krewe of Druids, the Masquers, and even Fifty Frolicsome Fools - that host annual events, including balls and a fundraising Jazz Brunch.

Tuscaloosa hosted a larger celebration, with parades and balls, in the early to mid-20th century but Mardi Gras events were cancelled for the duration of World War II. If you have additional information on Tuscaloosa's Mardi Gras history, email kkazek@al.com.

Elsewhere in Alabama

Mardi Gras parades are held in Huntsville and Decatur, with less elaborate floats but with large crowds and enthusiastic krewes. This year, the Huntsville parade is at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 6. Decatur's Carnegie Carnival features a series of downtown events and parades Feb. 6.

Join al.com reporter Kelly Kazek on her weekly journey through Alabama to record the region's quirky history, strange roadside attractions and tales of colorful characters. Find her on Facebook or follow her Odd Travels and Real Alabama boards on Pinterest.
A Leesburg man is in jail in Georgia along with another man in connection with a string of armed robberies in four counties.

The Chattooga County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office announced in a release that Jake Lee Skuse, 26, of Leesburg, has been charged with armed robbery, methamphetamine possession and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Also facing charges is James Tyrone Carmichael, 42, of Rome, Ga., on two counts of armed robbery, along with meth possession and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More charges are likely.

According to a news release, investigators responding to a tip went to the Carousel Inn in Trion, Ga. Motel guests were evacuated and a room was placed under surveillance. Then police entered the room and arrested the men for possession of methamphetamine.

Inside the room, authorities said, were items associated with armed robberies that have occurred in Chattooga, Walker, Floyd and Whitfield counties in Georgia. A gun found in the room also matches the description of one used in several of the robberies.

The two men inside, however, tried hard to get out, Sheriff Mark Schrader said.

"It appeared that during the time we were waiting for the search warrant, the occupants attempted to burrow their way from one room to another," Schrader said. "Their attempt, however was thwarted by a block wall".

Investigators said they are not certain that each robbery was committed by the same men, and they are still attempting to locate other people of interest.
Alabama is tied for seventh among states with the most defendants exonerated of crimes in 2015, according to a report from the National Registry of Exonerations released today.

The report, "Exonerations in 2015," states that there were 149 people exonerated last year, which is the most since the group began tracking exonerations in the late 1980s. That also includes a record of 58 defendants exonerated in homicide, or more than one a week, according to the group.

Of the 58, five were on Death Row. That includes Anthony Ray Hinton in Alabama.

Texas led the nation with 54 exonerations, followed by New York with 17, Illinois, 13, Alaska, 6, North Carolina and California with five each, and Alabama , Connecticut and Wisconsin with four each. Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia had three exonerations each. Six states had two exonerations each and a dozen had one each. The federal system had three exonerations and Guam had one.

"Increasingly, prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys are acknowledging the systemic problem of wrongful convictions," Michigan Law Professor Samuel Gross, editor of the National Registry of Exonerations and the author of the report stated in a press release. "That's a welcome change," Gross said, "but it's just a start. We've only begun to address this problem systematically."

Gross said in an interview with AL.com most of the information for the report came from news accounts, interviews with lawyers and prosecutors, and court records.

The four men exonerated in Alabama are: Hinton, Beniah Alton Dandridge, Evan Lee Deakle, and Frank Sealie.

Dandridge

Beniah Alton Dandridge spent 20 years in prison for a murder before his exoneration and release in October. Dandridge was released after a fingerprint match that led to his conviction turned out to be wrong.

Beniah Alton Dandridge, right, joins Equal Justice Initiative Executive Director Bryan Stevenson in a call for authorities to investigate credible claims of wrongful convictions. Authorities released Dandridge last week after he served 20 years for a murder he did not commit.

Dandridge was convicted of intentional murder in the 1994 slaying of 71-year-old Riley Manning of Montgomery. Dandridge was sentenced to life in prison in 1996.

Investigators said fingerprints in blood found on a bathroom wall at the crime scene matched Dandridge. But a few days after the murder, another man, David Sudduth, driving Manning's truck was arrested by Florida police. Sudduth later pleaded guilty to capital murder and is serving life without parole.

Sudduth implicated Dandridge in the crime, but would later, after Dandridge's conviction, give a sworn statement saying that Dandridge was not involved. Besides the fingerprints, prosecutors relied on a jailhouse informant who testified against Dandridge but later admitted he lied in exchange for a lighter sentence for a pending felony charge.

Deakle

Evan Lee Deakle Jr. was arrested in April 2014 by police in Mobile County after his 14-year-old step-granddaughter accused him of sexually assaulting her, according to the registry.

On Sept. 28, 2015, a jury acquitted Deakle of sodomy and convicted him of second-degree sexual abuse, according to the registry.

But weeks after the conviction the girl brought new allegations against her father. After an investigation by the Sheriff's Office and the Alabama Department of Human Resources, no charges were filed because her account was proven false in several respects, one of which was that her father was out of state at the time she said she was assaulted in their home. After being confronted with the evidence, the girl admitted she had lied about her father, according to the registry.

The results of the investigation were turned over to the Mobile County District Attorney's Office. The prosecution informed Deakle's attorney who then filed a motion to vacate the conviction. The motion was granted in October 2015. On December 10, 2015, prosecutors dismissed the charge.

Hinton

Anthony Ray Hinton was freed from Alabama Death Row in April 2015 after prosecutors retested the gun in his capital murder case. Hinton had won a retrial because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled his trial attorney could have hired a better firearms expert than the visually impaired civil engineer who had testified on Hinton's behalf.

Prosecutors told a judge they wouldn't re-try Hinton for the 1985 slayings of two fast-food managers because the new testing couldn't match crime scene bullets to .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver found in Hinton's house.

Hinton had been convicted and sentenced to death for the Feb. 25, 1985 shooting death of John Davidson, an assistant manager at a Southside Mrs. Winner's, who was forced into the restaurant's cooler and shot twice in the head. He also was convicted in the July 2, 1985 death of 25-year-old Thomas Vason, an assistant manager at a Captain D's in Woodlawn, who was forced into a cooler and shot twice in the head.

The conviction was based largely on the prosecution's gun experts and the eyewitness testimony of a surviving restaurant manager in a July 26, 1985 shooting and robbery of a Bessemer Quincy's night manager. But Equal Justice Initiative argued in its motion for dismissal that Hinton had a "powerful alibi" for that night, with co-workers confirming he was at work 15 miles away at the time. Hinton was not tried for the Quincy's shooting.

Sealie

Frank Sealie, who had faced the prospect of being a prisoner the rest of his life for his conviction in the 2012 shooting death of a Brighton street vendor, walked free in March after the prosecutor in the case took the rare step of having investigators take a second look at the evidence.

Sealie in 2014 had begun serving a life without parole sentence.

Soon after Sealie was sentenced Assistant Bessemer Cutoff Jefferson County District Attorney Lane Tolbert asked investigators to take a new look at the case. Two key eye witnesses in the case backed off their statements and said they couldn't be sure Sealie was in the car during the drive-by shooting.

"That is absolutely admirable," Gross said of Tolbert's decision. "I think prosecutors should always be doing that."

"The role of prosecutors is not just to win, but to see that justice is done," Gross said.

Conviction Integrity Units

If Alabama had conviction integrity units to review claims of innocence, the state might find "a bunch more" innocent defendants behind bars, Gross said.

Harris County in Texas is home to one of the 24 conviction integrity units set up around the nation in some prosecution offices. Those offices are aimed at investigating claims of innocence by defendants.

But the report included some criticism of the units.

While a large chunk of the exonerations reported came from those conviction integrity units, 90 percent came from just four counties - Harris and Dallas counties in Texas, Brooklyn in New York and Cook County in Illinois.

Half of all CIUs have not been involved in any exonerations and four others have worked on only one, according to the registry.

Reasons for exonerations

The report states that 27 exonerations in 2015 were for convictions based on false confessions - more than 80 percent in homicide cases, mostly by defendants who were under 18 or had intellectual disabilities or both, according to the report. Three-quarters of the homicide exonerations included known official misconduct, such as concealing evidence of the real criminals or allowing witnesses to testify falsely, according to the report.

More than two-thirds of the defendants exonerated in homicide cases were people of color, including half who were African American, according to the report.
Luke Bresette Plaque.PNG

Luke Bresette Memorial Plaque

(Birmingham Airport Authority)

The likeness of a little boy killed when a sign collapsed at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport three is now a permanent part of the facility.

Authorities today unveiled a memorial in honor of 10-year-old Luke Bresette. The plaque is already in place on the upper level in the east ticketing lobby. "We are appreciate of the Bresette family for collaborating with us on this memorial and allowing us to honor the legacy and memory of their son, Luke,'' Al Denson, Birmingham Airport Authority President and CEO Al Denson said in a prepared statement.

Luke died on March 22, 2013 when a multi-user flight information display fell on him and several family members as they were traveling home to the Kansas City area after a Spring Break vacation in Florida. Luke's mother, Heather Bresette, and two younger brother were hospitalized with serious injuries and released several days later.

The display that fell and three others like it were removed in the days and weeks after the accident. In June, 2013, the family filed a lawsuit against contractors of the project, citing negligence that caused the wrongful death of Luke and pain and suffering.

A confidential settlement in that case was reach a year later. Luke's father, Ryan Bresette, spoke out after the agreement was finalized. "The outpouring of love and support is what aided us to get out of bed each day and continue on,'' he said that day. "We embarked upon this part of our journey in an effort to get to the truth and to assign responsibility. "

The plaque inscription was written by the Bresette family, said Toni Herrera-Bast. That inscriptions read: "In memory of Luke Alexander Bresette. In life, he taught us to live each day to the fullest with strong faith and forgiveness in our hearts. With his passing, we are reminded to value every single day with our children and to live like Luke."

The family's attorney, Tim Dollar, released this statement to AL.com: "The family is extremely grateful for the Airport Authority for this memorial and is hopeful that it will accomplish the objective of first honoring his short life, but also of reminding everyone to remember the need of focusing on safety to prevent future tragedies like this one."
A two-vehicle crash near Cullman claimed a life Monday morning.

The crash occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Alabama 157 approximately two miles north of Cullman. Alabama State Troopers report a 2010 Volkswagen struck a 2013 Jonway moped.

The moped's driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers identified him as Michael Hurgeton, 43, of Summertown, Tennessee.

The Volkswagen's 18-year-old driver was not injured.

Troopers did not release any other information on the crash. They are still investigating.
The Alabama Attorney General's Office has announced the indictment of a Florence attorney in a rape case from 2011.

Donald Tipper (Lauderdale County Detention Center)

A Lauderdale County grand jury has indicted Donald Glenn Tipper, 65, on one count of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sodomy. The alleged crime occurred on Aug. 19, 2011.

Tipper was indicted on Monday. He turned himself in Tuesday afternoon and was released shortly after on a $100,000 bond.

Authorities are not yet releasing further information about the case other than to say the victim was an adult female. He was never arrested prior to the indictment.

If convicted, Tipper faces a maximum penalty of 10 to 99 years or life in prison for each of the charges, which are class A felonies.

The case is being prosecuted by assistant attorneys General Bill Lisenby and Stephanie Billingslea of the Attorney General's Criminal Trials Division.

It was investigated by the Florence Police Department and Special Agents of the Attorney General's Investigations Division.

Tipper could not be reached for comment.
Florence police have arrested a high school employee on accusations of a sexual relationship with a student.

Lorie Earwood (Florence Police Department)

Lorie Gean Earwood, 45, was the nurse at Florence High School until her arrest Tuesday. Police and the school system confirm she volunteered her immediate resignation at the time of her arrest.

Earwood is charged with two Class B felony counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19 years and two Class A misdemeanor counts of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19 years.

She was booked into the Lauderdale County Detention Canter on a $22,000 bond.

Police said the student is an 18-year-old female senior at the school. Police received information about the alleged relationship on Monday.

The Florence Police Department and Lauderdale County District Attorney's Office investigated and obtained an arrest warrant on Tuesday.

Earwood surrendered to police through her attorney.

"Throughout this investigation, the Florence City Schools have been fully cooperative, and swift acting. I can't emphasize enough that both the school system and the Florence Police Department consider the safety of the children in this community the priority. The disheartening facts of this case withstanding, I commend the school administrators, and our detectives for their diligence, persistence, and professionalism throughout this investigation," said Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler in a press release.

"While the investigation is still ongoing, we believe this case is isolated to one staff member and one student. However, there is only one person responsible for these actions. That person is Lorie Earwood, and she has been charged, will be held responsible, and will have to provide an account for her behavior," he said.

Florence City Schools Superintendent Janet Womack gave the following statement: "Once I learned of the allegations yesterday, we began working closely with the Florence Police Department and Chief Tyler. We met with the employee today where she offered a resignation effective immediately. We announced a called board meeting for 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for the board to approve the resignation. We consider the person no longer an employee of Florence City Schools as of today."

Earwood's worked at the school for about 10 years, Womack said.
Limestone County deputies say an Ardmore man endangered his three young children when he was drunk Friday evening. Deputies say he left them in the vehicle while he ran off into the woods.

Timothy Smith (Limestone County Sheriff's Office)

The vehicle was stopped in the middle of a northbound lane of Alabama 251. It was right by the home of Robert Berry, who made the 911 call.

Berry said he saw the driver inside when he got home at about 5:30 p.m. but didn't notice any children at first. He suspects they were lying down in the backseat.

Berry said there was another car stopped right behind this one. He said he later learned it ran out of gas.

The driver got out, and Berry immediately suspected he was drunk.

"He was stumbling around all over himself," he said.

Berry said he told the man to get back in while he called for help. He said the man opened a rear door and acted like he might be getting in but then ran off down the road into the woods.

About this time, a vehicle traveling southbound almost hit the vehicle, Berry said. That's when a little girl jumped up in the backseat and yelled 'Where's my daddy?'"

"You talk about terrifying somebody," he said.

He soon saw all three little girls inside. They were 4, 5 and 7 years old.

He called 911. Meanwhile, his brothers helped direct traffic until authorities arrived. They are Kenneth Berry, Zachery Bingham and Danny Berry.

Berry said the 911 operator advised him to leave the children inside the car and try to calm them until deputies got there. He said they were visibly scared as he talked to them while keeping an eye on the spot their father ran.

He said Limestone County deputies arrived about a half-hour later. An off-duty Alabama State Trooper and a good Samaritan got there first.

Deputies report they moved the children to safety.

They said they found the father lying down in the nearby woods. He was identified as Timothy Smith, 29.

Investigators said Smith's speech was slurred and deputies could smell alcohol on his breath.

A mostly empty bottle of vodka was reportedly found inside the vehicle.

Smith was arrested and charged with public intoxication and reckless endangerment.

The children were released to their grandparents, then later returned to their mother.

Berry said the mother called the next day to let him know the children were all right but "they just would not let her out of their sight."

Smith is being held in the Limestone County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
Hes regarded as one of the most disliked men in Washington.

Hes been described by a Speaker of the House of Representatives  a member of his own party  as a jackass. And former presidential candidate John McCain, senator of Arizona, called him wacko.

Yet Texas Senator Ted Cruz has taken those insults and worn them as a badge of honour. He believes this shows hes not part of the Washington elite, that he is an insurgent fighting the conservative battle.

READ MORE: Cruz takes down Trump to win Iowa caucuses

After a little over three years in the Senate, he decided to run for president. And after his win in Iowa, and his organisation in southern states, he stands a chance of securing the nomination.

Many outside the US wont know who he is. Many inside will know the name, but very little else.

Rafael Edward Cruz was born in 1970 in Calgary, Canada. While his mother is an American citizen, his father was a Cuban immigrant. His place of birth led Donald Trump to suggest he was ineligible to run for president. The argument in his defence is that he was born an American, via his mother.

The family moved to Texas and in high school there, Ted, as he liked to be known, became interested in public speaking. It was a talent he took to the elite Princeton University, where he won the US national speaker of the year award in 1992.

Off-the-charts brilliant

After graduating with a degree in public policy, Cruz went on to Harvard Law School where he became editor of the universitys prestigious Law Review. Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz said Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant.

He went on to clerk for William Rehnquist  the then chief justice of the US Supreme Court  before moving on to a Washington law firm, where he represented the National Rifle Association and other prominent Republican clients.

Cruz worked on the 2000 presidential campaign of George Bush as a policy advocate and was heavily involved in the drafting of the legal arguments that followed that controversial election.

He was appointed to the US Justice Department before being made solicitor general of Texas. He argued before the Supreme Court nine times, saying there was a concerted effort to seek out and lead conservative fights with the cases chosen.

In 2012 he ran for the Republican nomination for an open Senate seat in Texas against the better known and much better-funded lieutenant governor of the state.

With the backing of Sarah Palin and prominent conservative names, he won the nomination easily, by 14 points.

It was, the Washington Post said, the biggest upset of 2012  a true grassroots victory against very long odds.

In the election against the Democratic contender, he won with more than a million votes to spare.

Reagan heir

In his time in Washington, hes become known as a hard-charging, hard-headed conservative. He once delivered a 21-hour speech on the floor of Senate trying to strip funding from the health programme thats become known as Obamacare.





It led to a 16-day shutdown of the US government. And to plunging approval ratings for Republicans.

When he tried to engineer another shutdown last year, his own party worked against him.

There is an old joke that is regularly resurrected in Washington: Why do people take an instant dislike to Ted Cruz? It saves time.

It is interesting that not one senator or governor has backed his presidential bid.

And its thought that the party is deeply worried any Cruz administration would be packed with right-wing activists and people from right-wing think-tanks, given hes much more tied to the ideology than the Republican Party itself.

While he fashions himself as an heir to the Republican totem, Ronald Reagan, if he won the nomination and then the White House, he would be much more conservative than his idol ever was.

He believes Republicans win the White House when they have a real conservative for their candidate. And this time round, he thinks it can only be him. No matter what anyone else says.
Still too few answers to the many pressing questions about the mysterious disease stalking countries in the Americas.

Carnival is under way in Brazil, but in Recife there is nothing to celebrate for hundreds of families caring for children with microcephaly, and for more pregnant women whom tests show are about to give birth to a baby with the same congenital defect.

It was in December, while on holidays in Brazil, that I first heard of the possible link between a new mosquito-borne virus called Zika and a birth defect called microcephaly.

By January, the number of reported cases had skyrocketed, especially in the hot and humid northeastern state of Pernambuco.

So, we went to see for ourselves what was happening.

At a rehabilitation centre, we found 70 mothers holding their newborn babies, all of them diagnosed with microcephaly.





It was heart-breaking to see how so many of the mothers had dressed their baby girls with large, colourful headbands and bows, that only partially disguised their visibly smaller than normal heads.

Children born with microcephaly have smaller brains, which usually limits intellectual and motor skill development.

On this day, the mothers were waiting for their children to be checked by ophthalmologists for possible scarring of the retina, which doctors are finding in more than 40 percent of cases of babies born with microcephaly.

We do not know for sure if this is another consequence of the Zika virus, but we suspect it is, Dr Natalia Ventura told me.

The vast majority of these children will have permanent disabilities, so it is extremely important to start rehabilitation right away.

When I picked up three-month-old Daniel, a beautiful baby boy, I immediately noticed that his arms and legs were unusually stiff.

Yes, this is common for babies with microcephaly. His legs and arms hurt, so I have to massage him, Cassia Carneiro, Daniels mother, told me.

I had no idea that my baby could be in danger when I was pregnant and caught Zika.

Now, my biggest concern is to find someone who can take care of the baby so I can return to work. But no one wants to look after him when they discover he has microcephaly, which also causes seizures.

They say it is too much responsibility.

Rumours and speculation

One month later, Ive returned to Recife to find that even more babies are being born with microcephaly, as well as hearing and sight defects.

The virus has now spread to 22 other countries in the Americas, as fast as the rumours and speculation associated with Zika.

Is it true that the virus can be spread by sexual contact? Does the virus remain dormant in the body even after the symptoms have passed?





When is it safe to have children after being infected?

Are young children infected with Zika after birth also at risk of suffering brain lesions?

And why is it taking so long to scientifically prove or disprove that the virus is in fact responsible for the alarming rate of birth defects?

I went to Sao Paulo to talk to the scientists who have been leading the investigation into the virus, which was discovered in Africa and Polynesia decades ago, but is new to the Americas.

Very little is really known about it. A Zika Network, or taskforce, has been set up with 300 researchers from Brazils top universities, especially the University of Sao Paulo, where I meet Professor Jean Pierre Schatzmann Peron.

He is an epidemiologist at the Institute of Biomedical Science and has been experimenting with mice with young since December, to try to establish the link between Zika and newborn babies.

He says he and his team have barely slept since the experiments began.

We have no time to waste, he said.

Mice are not the same as humans, but they provide an important guideline, or indication, of what the virus is capable of doing. From a scientific point of view, we are just beginning. It is not something you can establish overnight.

RELATED: Zika virus facts you need to know

I ask if it is possible for a woman to pass the virus onto her unborn child if she becomes pregnant weeks, or months or years after she has become infected.

Yes, it is possible, he replied.

We simply do not know where the virus goes after it leaves the bloodstream, which occurs very quickly. It could go to the liver, or to another organ, as happens with chicken pox, for example. There is so much we do not yet know. Nothing can be confirmed or discounted at this point.

Peron also told me he believes the number of reported cases of microcephaly in Brazil  more than 4,000  has been overestimated, because very small newborns are sometimes misdiagnosed.





But this does not minimise the very real spike in the number of brain defects we are seeing, nor the need to urgently determine what is causing it.

That is exactly what Professor Margareth Caputto also tells us when we visit her in her laboratory.

She is a biochemist who has been experimenting for years with genetically modified male mosquitos.

She says she and her team have created a new one that can basically sterilise the female mosquito, so that it cannot produce larvae. It should be ready for wide use within the year, she hopes.

Genetically modified mosquitos are not the silver bullet that will eliminate dengue, chikungunya and now Zika, which are all carried by the same type of mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, she said.

But it is a powerful weapon against an urban mosquito that the world can live without. Its a kind of war. If you have this war, you dont send just the soldiers, you need to send the entire army that you have. The army, navy, everything. The tanks, the bombs  everything.

She says an integrated control strategy is needed, that includes genetically modified mosquitos, programmes to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, insecticides and vaccines.

There is no single solution, Caputto said.

I then went to speak to Jorge Kalil, the director of the Butantan Institute, a world-renowned biomedical research centre with an impressive record for discovering vaccines, most recently, for dengue fever.

Dr Kalil tells me they are working against the clock to create a Zika vaccine.

There is no time to lose because this virus could potentially have devastating consequences for an entire generation, if it is proven to provoke birth defects. It can spread far beyond the Americas, so it is an issue for the entire world, he says.

But Dr Kalil is optimistic. We have been working for decades unsuccessfully to find a vaccine against HIV, but I believe we will soon be successful in the case of Zika, because it is related to the dengue virus, and here we have already created a vaccine.





This hopefully should make it easier to decode the Zika virus in order to do the same, but just how quickly he cannot say.

I mention that we have just heard reports that a person in Texas is believed to have been infected with Zika through sexual contact with a person who caught the virus in Latin America.

Is it possible, I ask?

That is surprising, but not impossible.

However, it would be very rare, because the Zika virus remains a short time in the bloodstream and in a low concentration, which would make it difficult for it to be passed on through semen, for example. In any case, the link has not been established.

Can a child who is infected by a mosquito suffer brain lesions, as social networks are suggesting?

We dont know that for sure either, he concedes, adding that funding for more research is urgently needed.

So, as I fly back to Recife to meet more mothers at the Rehabilitation Centre, to see how they learning to care for their babies with microcephaly, I cant help but lament that for them and the world, there are still so few answers to so many pressing questions about this mysterious disease.
American consumers and cattle ranchers upset by WTO ruling that means US meat loses its country of origin labels.

Amarillo, Texas  Shoppers in the meat aisle of a Texas supermarket peruse a variety of beef, one of the trademarks of their state.

Product of the USA, read the stickers on the packages. Texans are proud of their beef, and proud of the ranchers who produce it, according to Mary Foster, a 45-year-old mother of two who is doing her weekly shopping.

But recent rulings by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the corresponding response from the United States Congress have made the mandatory labelling of the meat products country of origin, known as Country of Origin LabelIng (COOL), a thing of the past.

On December 21, a WTO tribunal allowed Canada and Mexico, two of the US closest neighbours, allies and competitors in the beef industry, to implement $1bn in retaliatory tariffs in response to the US COOL law.





COOL passed Congress in 2002, but faced major opposition from multinational cattle producers and other cattlemen organisations, and was not implemented until 2008.

It required that any meat  beef, pork, chicken, or lamb  sold in the US display the animals country of birth, regardless of where it was processed, on the packaging.

The decision to repeal COOL came after a protracted battle arbitrated by the WTO that began in 2008 and resulted in Congress attaching the repeal in a last-minute $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill.

It was signed into law by President Obama, and mandatory labelling of origin country came to an end, to the ire of consumer rights groups.

A loss for consumers

Jean Halloran, the director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, a nonprofit organisation that champions consumer rights across a wide spectrum of industries, told Al Jazeera that the repeal of COOL was a worrying development.

Recently, President Obama was speaking in support of his [Trans-Pacific Partnership] agreement, and he said these types of global trade agreements and organisations, like the WTO, would have no effect on our consumer protection. But in the case of the beef and pork industry, we just witnessed a huge blow to consumer protection, Halloran explained.

Halloran worries that the WTO decision could set a dangerous precedent that would motivate other meat and produce-supplying nations to bring disputes against the US in order to further wear away at country of origin labels.

Its an important bellwether for the future right to information of US consumers, and certainly a worrying development, Halloran concluded.

Thomas Gremillion, the director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), an association of nonprofit consumer organisations that was established in 1968 to advance consumer interest, shared similar concerns as Halloran.

He went further, saying the ruling subjugates transparency to an unaccountable foreign tribunals cost-benefit analysis.

Gremillion explained that the WTO had no protocols against conflict of interest when choosing arbiters and that the trade organisation was not accountable to American voters, 90 percent of whom favoured COOL in a 2013 survey conducted by CFA.

While the move might be making few waves now, The next time theres an outbreak of mad cow disease, or some new food safety crisis emerges in a foreign beef-supplying country, consumers will definitely feel the loss of COOL, he said.

Additional Costs

One of the groups that headed the opposition to COOL from the outset was the Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA).

Were supportive of consumers right to know, Ross Wilson, the TCFAs president and chief executive, told Al Jazeera during an interview at its Amarillo headquarters.

Wilson said that there is no documentation showing that COOL incentivised the purchase of US beef, and points to a 2012 Kansas State University study that found demand for covered meat products has not been impacted by COOL implementation.

The United States Department of Agriculture still has safety protocols for imported meat, Wilson stressed.

Though TCFA lists several subsidiaries of Cargill, a multinational meat-packing corporation, as industry associates, Wilson said that big cattle money did not play a role in its position on COOL or its support for the US cattle industry.

We represent between 25 and 30 percent of fed cattle produced in the US. Its very much in our best interest to protect the people we represent.

The TCFA president cited an example in which a cow could be born in Mexico, then brought to the US, where it would spend most of its life.

In spite of this, it would still be labelled as Mexican, meaning that COOLs designation of US-only beef was unfair and needlessly expensive.

TCFA drew the line because this was a system that brought no benefit and additional costs that consumers had to bear, Wilson concluded.

READ MORE: GMO labelling debate grows in the US

Not Rocket Science

COOL is entirely necessary for US cattle producers to compete against cattle producers around the world, and thats obvious. Its not rocket science, Bill Bullard, the head of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), told Al Jazeera.

R-CALF USA, based in Montana, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the US cattle industry, which represents thousands of cattle producers on both national and international trade issues.

Bullard applied a classic capitalist argument to the situation: With COOL, consumers drive the competitive marketplace, and competition occurs. Without COOL, no competition occurs. Packers can unilaterally decide from what source the cattle comes, and sell it to the unsuspecting consumer.

The R-CALF USA president is a rancher himself and fears that the repeal of COOL is an effort by multinational corporations that slaughter and package beef in the US to make domestic cattle nothing more than a part of the international supply chain.

[Multinational corporations] and groups that advocate for them say that beef is beef, regardless of where its born  they want cheaper sources of livestock, Bullard continued.

If they can unilaterally decide where the meat comes from [based on economic profitability], and sell it to unsuspecting customers here, then how can the US beef industry continue?

READ MORE: Trans-Pacific Partnership deal to cut trade barriers

Follow Creede Newton on Twitter: @ CreedeNewton
Korinth, Greece  Yiorgos Saraptsis prunes his hectare of kiwi vines diligently, making sure that each plant has just a few long tributaries into which to channel its strength when spring comes. He explains how most of the buds will have to be plucked before they fruit, so that the remaining kiwis reach market size.

It is labour-intensive work, but since Saraptsis owns less than a hectare in the shadow of Mount Olympus in northern Greece, he is happy to do it himself, bringing his unemployed son to help at harvest time. Even so, he says, new taxes and social security contributions that the government plans to enforce will make even this low-overhead concern non-viable.

Those who have up to two hectares are finished, he says. You have to be a big landholder to survive. I made $11,000 from my hectare last year. My income tax and costs claimed half of that. If I didnt work the land myself Id pay even more for labour. So whats left?

For Saraptsis, the issue is not one of survival. His second son is a manager in a large supermarket chain, and he himself has a pension he can live off.

But for many farmers across Greece, the issue is existential. For 10 days they have blockaded highways with their tractors in a bid to draw attention to it, and they are threatening to march on Athens.

Athenians are mostly dismissive. They point to the fact that farmers were once a pampered constituency. Two decades ago they paid no social security, and until two years ago their tax was only six percent. But if austerity came late, it came swiftly.

Farmers income tax doubled two years ago to 13 percent. When Syriza was elected last year, it promised to relieve them of a crisis-era property tax. Instead, it doubled their income tax again, and eliminated their diesel subsidy. It also raised sales tax on seeds, livestock feeds and pesticides from 13 to 23 percent. All this increased the capital farmers need to set aside to stay in business.

The reason for this debacle was that after locking horns with its creditors in the eurozone for six months, Syriza capitulated to punitive terms for a third, $93bn bailout loan. Among other things, it agreed to cut social security spending by almost $2bn a year  one percent of GDP.

This was the spark that set the tinder alight. Farmers currently pay a flat annual fee of between $780 and $1,300 a year to the Agricultural Insurance Organisation. The government now says that they should pay 27 percent of their income, which amounts to thousands of dollars even for the poorest farmer

The government is asking us to pay 26 percent income tax, plus all of next years taxes up-front. Its tripling our social security contributions and keeping the property tax it was going to abolish  this is a struggle for survival, says Rizos Maroudas, the head of the Larissa farmers union in central Greece. Well end up on the dole, or as serfs on our own land.

Desperation creates strange bedfellows, and the proposed social security reform has now brought farmers closer to urban professionals, who are threatened with similar measures. Both plan to demonstrate in a general strike the civil service has called for Thursday.

If it aint broke, dont fix it

Greek agriculture is worth about $7.2bn, or 3.8 percent of the economy. That alone makes it socially and politically important, because it employs an estimated 700,000 people full time; but it is a strategically important piece of the economy, because most of its value  $5.2bn  came in export revenue last year, accounting for a fifth of all foreign income, according to the Panhellenic Exporters Association. That capital is key to paying Greeces onerous debt, because the only way to export capital is to import it.

Moreover, agriculture has proved surprisingly resilient. In the face of last years global slowdown, Greek exports fell by 21 percent. Agricultural exports fell by only 6 percent. However, farmers now fear that the governments measures will undermine their competitiveness.

Magazine: Greece through the eyes of the homeless

At the very least, they want more of their expenses deducted from taxable income. If the government wants to see me as a business, then I should have the benefits as well as the disadvantages of that, says Dimitris Dimitriadis, the head of the eastern Mani farmers union in the Peloponnese. For instance, if I invest in a tractor, the government allows me to offset 10 percent of that cost per year for five years . So it recognises only half the expense.

He points out that the government subsidises new jobs in other industries for six months. If all this applies to businesses, why doesnt it apply to me?

The government counters that it will spend more than $11bn in European Union subsidies on farmers over a seven-year period, but farmers like Dimitriadis believe that policy adheres to an outdated model of spoon-feeding.

Last year I got 1,100 euros [$1,200] in subsidies, says Konstantinos Panayotopoulos, who grows raisins and olives on 10 hectares in Korinth. I need to invest 70,000 [euros] in next years crop. Who cares if were in Europe? I dont care for subsidies. Do they want us to produce? Then leave us alone.

End of an era

Panayotopoulos is in his 70s, and an example of the fact that Greek farmers rarely retire. This explains why they are unimpressed by the governments argument that their pension will rise from about $400 to about $500 under the new regime.

Agriculture minister Vangelis Apostolou, the agriculture minister, has dismissed any notion of withdrawing the social security reform. Thats like asking us to blow our agreement with creditors sky high, and put our country back in danger of leaving the eurozone  even the European Union, he said on January 24.

At issue, he says, is the fact that the government will spend as much as $3.7bn topping up the Agricultural Insurance Organisation, or OGA, this year.

Eighty percent of the money [contributed by the state to OGA] goes to people who are not farmers, counters Dimitriadis. The Roma are paid out of OGA, so are people with family benefits and so are paraplegics and returnees from the diaspora. If OGA has a million enrolments, only 400,000 are truly farmers.

Many farmers are afraid that the new policies, unless drastically revised, will lead them off the land.

Long read: Inside Greeces resurgent anarchist movement

Much of the economy depends on agriculture and it will suffer. You can already see the effects in the shops and businesses of Larissa, says Yiorgos Roustas, a journalist who covers agriculture in the plain of Thessaly, Greeces breadbasket.

But the main effect is that small landholders wont survive. Most of the farmers at roadblocks are in this group. Theyre the ones who supplement their farming income with income from another profession. They will have to quit and sell their farms for a song, he says.

The Greek states economy has been ruled by small and medium-sized enterprises for all of its 200-year history. It is they who still generate 90 percent of employment. Austerity struck the urban economy first, and shuttered a quarter of a million businesses  a third of the total. Millions more are thought to be moribund. It may now have the same effect on the rural economy.

Asked whether he is worried that his two sons will sell the kiwi farm, Yiorgos Saraptsis, shrugs. For as long as I am alive, I will work it, he says. After that, they can do what they like.
From fighting neo-Nazis in Stockholm, to being featured in the Hunger Games soundtrack and helping refugees in Lesbos.

Just a few weeks ago, 29-year-old Damien Ardestani, who is better known as XOV, was on stage in Berlin playing to an audience of more than a million.

Standing in the centre of the stage, looking out towards a seemingly endless crowd of cheering concert-goers, it felt a long way from the Greek island of Lesbos and the refugee crisis unfolding along its shores.

But humanitarian worker is as much a part of Ardestanis identity as recording artist and performer, and his Instagram account, with its images from the studio, the stage and the shores of Lesbos, testifies to these intertwined personas.

The plight of those on the beaches resonates with Ardestani, who came to Sweden from Iran with his family as a one-year-old infant fleeing the Iran-Iraq war. He grew up in Tensta, a suburb of Stockholm with a large immigrant population.

Tensta is an amazing place, he says. Its a melting pot of different cultures.

His childhood was a happy one.

I was raised by my mother, he explains. My dad was a drug addict and I havent had any connection with him for 10 years.

My mother did a great job raising me. I was a happy child.

I didnt know what being rich was and I didnt know what it felt [like] to have a father or siblings.

But he did have a second family of sorts  a Swedish couple with children.

I would go and spend the weekends with them every other week. It was my mothers quest to integrate me into society and for me to feel part of a family with children, he explains. The children were like my siblings.

In Tensta, most of his friends were of different nationalities. Visiting them, he says, felt like visiting another part of the world  replete with its own type of food, dancing and music.

It was the music that really appealed to him.

Becoming XOV

He recalls how, as a child, he used poetry as a way to express himself.

I was nine years old [when] I wrote a poem as part of a school assignment. It was about a palm tree that was extracted from its roots and placed in a cold environment.

It came from a place within me. I didnt know at the time the deep meaning of it. But my teacher recognised that it was a metaphor and it symbolised my broken family tree, he says.

The poem was published in a childrens book.

Kids tend to express themselves very creatively. This is something we see in Lesbos a lot with kids trying to express what they have gone through.

He started writing music when he was 11 and was in multiple bands.

I was very successful for a while when I was 17 and 18, but I got lost in the money-making  and I forgot about the music for a while.

I was constantly chasing money and status. I felt that these were the two things that I never had and I thought that having money equates to happiness, he says. I was wrong.

By the time he was 24, he was the chief executive of a company he had founded. He had everything he thought he wanted. But he was miserable.

I left that position, took all my money, borrowed from my mother and started a record label. At the time I was very cocky. Everything I touched turned to gold.

But it did not last.

READ MORE: From Eritrean child soldier to Swedish parliamentarian

The record label and many bad choices from my end led to my bankruptcy, he says. I went from having everything  success, status and money  to nothing.

He left it all behind and moved into a cabin on an island in Stockholm. There, he began to put the pieces of his life back together and to make the music he loves.

When I lost everything, that was when I found myself, he says.

He wrote Lucifer, the track that got him signed by a record label and attracted the attention of recording artist Lorde.

She contacted him via Twitter to say that she loved Lucifer. She was curating the soundtrack for the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and wanted to include his music in the movie.

I didnt think it was real at first, he laughs. [I] thought it was a joke!

One day, on my way out from an event in central Stockholm with my friends, this group of neo-Nazis came from nowhere. I was jumped by this neo-Nazi who started to hit me with his fist. He knocked out all my front teeth. I was 13. by Damien Ardestani, the artist XOV

His life took a turn for the better.

I started touring, and had a lot of success all over Europe, he says.

But getting to where he is now has not always been easy, and when he remembers his teenage years, a sometimes dark picture emerges.

Fighting neo-Nazis and feeling rootless

As a teenager, fights with neo-Nazi gangs were common. But one would scar him for life.

One day, on my way out from an event in central Stockholm with my friends, this group of neo-Nazis came from nowhere, he remembers.

I was jumped by this neo-Nazi who started to hit me with his fist. He knocked out all my front teeth. I was 13 at the time.

It took several years of surgery to fix his jaw.

Growing up in Sweden, I had this constant feeling of being rootless: I couldnt identify as a Swede, and I couldnt identify as being Iranian.

I didnt feel that I could say I am Swedish. It was not accepted. It is not like in America where people from all over the world can say I am American. Its not like that in Sweden. So I couldnt identify.

I had never been to Iran since my family escaped, so I was not really that Iranian. I couldnt identify as Iranian, he reflects.

That is when you see many kids get into violence and lose direction, he says.

Today, he identifies as Swedish because he believes Sweden formed him. But, he adds, I am very proud of my Iranian heritage.

It worries him to witness racism on the rise in Sweden and to see neo-Nazis on the streets again.

Right now its the worst period I have ever felt in Sweden, he says. The refugee crisis highlighted how Sweden has not been able to cope with the influx in a good way, and the right wing propaganda has taken advantage of that.

In Lesbos I work with families. All we see are women and children. They are the victims; they are the ones suffering from all the propaganda. You are building propaganda and opinions to punish these women and children.

He fears that if an election were to be held in Sweden today, the country would vote for the far-right Sweden Democrats [SD].

I dont think these people are racist, they are just scared. And that, he says, means that the propaganda is working.

But he also acknowledges the way that failed integration and segregation has left many youngsters feeling like outsiders.

RELATED: Seeing Swedens race problem for what it is

Tensta was one of the areas that saw riots in 2013. Ardestani does not excuse the behaviour of those who set fire to cars and buildings but he does understand how the young people there can feel frustrated.

You always feel like you are not part of society, like I did. I didnt feel like I belonged. It led to frustration. I understand where the frustration comes from, but I condemn the way they [express] it.

Its a two-way thing, he says. You cant blame it all on the Swedish system. These kids need some middle ground, and society needs to acknowledge and address the root of the integration problems.

I wish I could take them to Lesbos so they can appreciate the support system that is available to them, he adds.

I AM YOU

His first trip to Lesbos came about because journalists would focus on his refugee background and ask him for his views on the unfolding crisis.

I wasnt satisfied with my answers and I felt that I needed to learn more about what was happening, he says.

A meeting with Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director of Human Rights Watch, led to him boarding a plane to Lesbos  at the centre of the refugee crisis.

He went with a close friend, Rebecca Reshdouni.

He describes what they saw there as crazy and chaotic.

I expected to see ambulances, professional people, he says. [But] we realised that there were many volunteers just like us.

So as boats came we had to jump in and help. It was like take this baby and we had to jump in the water and just do that. We ended up volunteering during those five days.

I witnessed so much trauma  unconscious babies, pregnant women, one even had a miscarriage, he says.

It was intense and we didnt sleep.

On their flight back home to Sweden, Ardestani and Reshdouni felt compelled to do something about what they had seen. They decided to start a volunteer initiative called I AM YOU.

The name was chosen because, he says, we are one, regardless of ethnicity, skin colour and [our] lot in life.

He turned his release party for his latest album into a fundraiser, to which he wore the same trainers that he had worn on Lesbos.

Within a week, the organisation  a non-profit group that coordinates volunteer relief operations at Europes borders and, specifically, on the Greek islands  was up and running.

It provides carefully selected volunteer teams with special skills.

Since October it has had permanent volunteers on site.

Finding balance and a voice

But balancing his career and humanitarian work can be tricky.

I have to cancel many things, argue with people and explain why I need to be in Lesbos, he says. But this is something I have to fight for.

Finding the balance is the biggest challenge in my life, he reflects.

Every trip to Lesbos leaves him with more haunting images to remind him of how important the work his team carries out is and why he must always talk about it so that the world does not forget.

I remember the face of this little girl in a lifejacket, sitting on the beach with an emergency blanket around her, he says. She moved me; she was part of a family that I pulled off a boat.

She was Syrian. She had this confused  look on her face  She would go from crying to having this confused look. Her family wasnt there to comfort her.

It saddens him that some people think of refugees as a burden.

I am a refugee myself. If it wasnt for Sweden letting me in I wouldnt be the successful recording artist that I am today.

Refugees are an asset to society in the long-term with the correct mechanism in place and integration policy.

It is important to differentiate between those who abuse the vulnerable and their victims, he says.

There are women who are escaping sexual attacks and ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]. There are abused boys, women abused by smugglers, horrific stories we hear every day.

I need to be the voice of all these people  and to ensure that their stories are told.

I need to reach people with my music. Music is who I am; the artist that I am is a reflection of my life.

And he is confident that this wave of refugees will contribute to the continent he calls home, just as he did.

There are so many people like me that made it despite the odds that were stacked against them. There are no excuses, you have to do it. Get up, stand up, do the work and prove people wrong. Have confidence and make it.

There are so many successful immigrants in the world. Find these stories, get them and get inspired and just do it. If I can do it with my background then all the others can do it too.

You can follow Fatma Naib on Twitter @FatmaNaib
La Guajira, Colombia  The survival of the Wayuu, the largest indigenous community in Colombia, is under threat. Thousands of children have died and more lives are in danger as a result of the exploitation of land and misallocated water resources.

In 2011, the Cercado Dam was built by the government with the intention of providing water to nine municipalities. But, the dam drained the Rancheria River, the Wayuu peoples only nearby source of water. Now, the Wayuu must walk for more than three hours to wells that are often polluted with bacteria and salt, causing severe diarrhoea.

Around 400,000 Wayuu live in La Guajira, a peninsula in northern Colombia. It is a remote and impoverished part of the country.

They live below the poverty line and struggle daily to survive in their harsh surroundings. It is an environment that is being made ever more brutal by years of drought that has stymied agricultural.

In 2015, Colombian media published a report by the Defensoria del Pueblo, a Colombian human rights organisation, denouncing the avoidable deaths of so many Wayuu children.

According to Shipia Wayuu, a Wayuu organisation, 4,700 Wayuu children have died in the past five years.

A glimmer of hope came in December, when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights publicly stated that the Colombian government must take measures to protect the human rights of the native Wayuu community and to stop the avoidable deaths of its members.
By embracing Islam, Hispanics are reclaiming the history of Al-Andalus, stripped from them by slavery and imperialism.

On January 30, Latino Muslim leaders from around the United States gathered in Houston, Texas, for the opening of IslamInSpanish, a spacious, state-of-the-art community centre. As children bounced around in an inflatable castle, hundreds sat under an awning decorated with flags from across Latin America, listening to community elders describe just how historic this occasion was for Latino Muslim history.

This is a dream come true. Never did I think I would see this happen, said Nahela Morales, the outreach coordinator for the centre, describing how she had moved to different parts of the country looking for a Spanish-speaking Muslim community and had finally settled in Houston.





Speaking in Spanish, English and Arabic, Mujahed (Jaimie) Fletcher, the founder and chief executive of IslamInSpanish, explained how the centre grew out of his own efforts, more than a decade before, to create material on Islam for his Colombian family who wanted to understand the faith that he had embraced as a 22-year old.

Reminiscent of Cordoba

After the cutting of the ribbon, the audience were given a tour of the centre. Upon entering, visitors see the name Centro Islamico emblazoned, against a backdrop of blue, green and orange azulejo tiles.

ALSO READ: The vilification of Muslims in world sport

Red arches reminiscent of the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba adorn the walls of one hall. The centre boasts different sections  a mosque, an Andalusian museum, an information showroom, a lounge and a sleek multimedia studio.

Latino converts to Islam have been part of the US religious landscape since the 1930s, since the founding of Nation of Islam, when Puerto Ricans in the northeast began joining Elijah Muhammad's movement. by

One of the visitors was Imam Ramon Omar Abduraheem Ocasio, a pioneer of Latino Muslim community, who flew in from New York for the occasion.

What these activists have put together in Houston is exponentially more impressive than anything Latino Muslims have ever had before. Beyond the stunning physical structure, the most impressive thing is the high calibre of Latino activists that have converged here  educated, resourceful, dedicated.

Latino converts to Islam have been part of the US religious landscape since the 1930s, since the founding of Nation of Islam, when Puerto Ricans in the northeast began joining Elijah Muhammads movement.

In fact, the earliest literary reference to Latino Muslims occurs in Puerto Rican poet, Piri Thomas classic memoir Down These Mean Streets (1967), about growing up in Spanish Harlem in the 1930s and 1940s.

Spanish Harlem

The author recounts hearing the call to prayer for the first time while in prison: One night I was sprawled out on my bed cell hearing something that I had been hearing for a long time every night. But tonight I just listened to it harder: Akkahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

Thomas would eventually embrace Islam, but no longer practise it after his release from prison.

Most of the early Hispanic American converts tended to be Puerto Ricans on the East Coast, who would be exposed to the faith through their geographic and political proximity to African Americans. One of the earliest Latino Muslim groups to appear was the Banu Sakr, which formed in Newark in the mid-1970s, influenced by the Black Power movement.

In the late 1980s, the Alianza Islamica was launched in East Harlem, by a cluster of Puerto Rican converts. The Alianza had an activist mission, providing social services and neighborhood security.

The next Hispanic Muslim community to form appeared in the early 2000s in Union City, New Jersey  a city that according to the Census Bureau is 85 percent Hispanic. Since 2002, the North Hudson Islamic Education Center has been sponsoring an annual Hispanic Muslim day, a street fair where residents are invited to meet with local Hispanic Muslims and to hear Muslim scholars from Latin America.

One feature that these communities have in common is an adulation of Muslim Spain, and a claim that in embracing Islam, Hispanics are reclaiming the history of Al-Andalus that was stripped from them by slavery and imperialism. The Islamic centre in Houston also has a return to roots narrative.

ALSO READ: Fuelling Islamophobia in the US

Fletcher has long travelled around the country speaking about Muslim influences in Latin American culture.

The Latino Muslim community is growing at a time of rising anti-Muslim political discourse... by

Until now, many Latinos were not aware of the legacy of their Muslim forefathers, this programme allows them to connect to Islam spiritually through their newly found cultural connection, he says.

Fletcher and his colleagues speak to students about mudejar architecture, the scientific achievements of Islamic Spain  inventions such as the astrolabe  and Arabic linguistic contributions to the Spanish language.

Islam in Spanish helped me not only in my spiritual development, but also made me part of a community and a global citizen, said Jaleel, a Mexican-born convert, who addressed the gathering.

Cultural closeness

Others spoke about how they simply feel more comfortable in a Hispanic Muslim environment.

I like [IslamInSpanish] very much because the Latino Muslim community is more open, said Edwin, who came in from Cleveland. Women and men sit together. There is a cultural closeness which is very important.

The Latino Muslim community is growing at a time of rising anti-Muslim political discourse, from figures such as Trump  who target Muslims and Hispanics  but also from Latino political candidates like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. An FBI outreach official was present at the opening of IslamInSpanish, promising that law enforcement would do its best to protect this vulnerable community from threats and hate crimes.

The Hispanic population is not immune to Islamophobia, but remember Cruz and Rubio are also anti-Hispanic immigration, says Melvin Reveillon who organises Hispanic Muslim Day in northern New Jersey.

The majority of Hispanic Muslims are the only Muslims in their families. Not only do we face the stigma of being associated with extremism, but we are also seen as defectors, people who abandoned Christianity and family tradition. So all the more reason to have more Latino dawa (outreach) centres  across the country  to counter media propaganda.

Hisham Aidi is a Harlem-based writer. He teaches at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Are peace talks with the Taliban part of a national agenda or a nationalist plot by the Afghan government?

At least 20 people were reportedly killed and 25 wounded in Tuesdays suicide bombing outside a police station in Kabul, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

Over the past eight months in Afghanistan, it seems as though that every time there has been mention of peace talks, there has been an attack of some sort carried out by the Taliban. These attacks continuously remind us that we are extending our hands in peace to people who do not understand  and are not interested in  peace.

With the consistent drive for fruitless diplomacy, it is worth questioning who stands to gain from peace talks with one of the most brutal terrorist regimes known to the world. It is certainly not Afghanistan  after all, it is Afghans who suffer the wrath of this terrorist franchise, created by foreign powers and used as a business to profit from wars in economically paralysed nations such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.





When in power from 1996-2001, the Talibans policies and atrocities were no less brutal than those of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria and Iraq today. Unfortunately, the memory of Taliban brutalities is downplayed by the global media, Western governments and other Muslim countries, which have a stake in the resurrection of the Taliban for their own geopolitical interests.

Soft language

When it comes to Afghanistan, we have to question who is gaining the most from the peace talks with the Taliban within our country. It is certainly not the ethnic or religious minorities  whether the Tajik, the Uzbek or the Hazara  who suffered ethnic cleansing under Taliban rule.

Indeed, it would be highly unlikely to hear anyone from any of the minority groups calling the Taliban their brothers.

ALSO READ: Afghanistan War must end but not at any cost

The use of soft language, such as brothers, is akin to charming a venomous snake. This approach did not work for the administration of former President Hamid Karzai, but neither has the approach taken by the current Ashraf Ghani administration.

Ghani refrains from calling them 'brothers' but he allows people in his administration to sideline minorities by pushing for diplomacy with the Taliban and legitimise them in Afghan politics. by

Ghani refrains from calling them brothers but he allows people in his administration to sideline minorities by pushing for diplomacy with the Taliban and legitimising them in Afghan politics.

All the while, the Taliban continues to terrorise Afghanistan. From the latter half of 2015, we have faced a string of unprecedented, back-to-back attacks under the National Unity Government  some aimed specifically at killing Shia Hazaras  leading to the biggest protest the country had seen in decades.

It is fair to ask: Are peace talks with the Taliban a national agenda or a nationalist agenda for the Afghan government? Undoubtedly, there are nationalist Afghans who are pro-Taliban sitting in the West and lobbying for peace talks.

These Afghans are nothing but Taliban apologists who think along narrow ethnic lines. By pushing for peace talks, their endgame is to maintain their ethnic dominance in Afghanistans future politics  even at the cost of choosing a brutal Islamic regime to rule over the rest of the country.

Racism and ethnic divisions

As an Afghan writer coming from a minority ethnic group, I take enormous risks in raising the subject of racism and ethnic divisions that have existed in Afghanistan historically.

Most people are afraid to talk about racism in Afghanistan openly because of the threats and risks to personal safety that come from the pro-Taliban nationalist elements within the country.

Gone are the days when leadership of Afghan politics was determined by an assumed majority ethnic group without any statistical evidence. For example, during my work at the United Nations in Kabul, the most educated group of Afghans were the Hazaras  yet, we do not see parity in their ethnic representation when it comes leadership positions in ministries.

Even today, the subject of ethnic divisions remains highly contentious. Peace talks with the Taliban will not bring the nation closer to a lasting peace, especially at a time when new forces of terror are emerging across the country, notably groups claiming allegiance to ISIL in northern areas.

ALSO READ: Afghanistan and the Taliban need Pakistan for peace

Cleansing the bloody hand of a terrorist group through peace talks while the other hand is drenched in the blood of Afghan civilians does not mean that Afghanistan should turn a blind eye to their atrocities  even if pushed by the West or by other Muslim countries to do so.

From where we stand today, the upcoming quadrilateral peace talks with the Taliban seem more of a declaration of defeat in the war on terrorism by the West and a compromise by the Afghan government, where the only winner is terrorism and anyone who supports it through proxy channels.

The solution is to empower the minorities and other victims of radical groups. Ethnic Hazaras and Afghan women, for instance, should be among those at the forefront of the negotiation process as they have the most at stake.

Shuja Rabbani is an analyst of Afghan affairs currently based in Dubai. He is the son of the late former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
High Court rules in favour of governments policy to detain asylum-seekers in offshore prisons, sparking an outcry.

Australias High Court has ruled that the governments offshore detention of refugees is legal, sparking an outcry from the UN and human rights groups.

The verdict, announced on Wednesday, paves the way for 267 asylum-seekers currently in Australia to be deported to the Pacific island of Nauru.

The group includes 39 children as well as 33 babies who were born in Australia.





The legal case was brought by a Bangladeshi woman whose lawyers said her imprisonment on Nauru had been funded, authorised, procured and effectively controlled by the Australian government, without the constitutional power to do so.

Reacting to the decision, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the courts decision was significant.

The government will keep Australias borders secure and stop drownings at sea, he said, continuing the official line that offshore processing acts as a deterrent for asylum-seekers looking to make the dangerous crossing to Australia from Indonesia or beyond.

The [government] has acted decisively to stop the criminal trade, added Turnbull.

The United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, however, issued a statement saying that the ruling has no bearing on Australias moral responsibility or its obligations to protect the rights of children in accordance with international human rights law.

It is unreasonable for the Australian government to shift responsibility for this group of children and families with complex needs to a developing state in the region, the statement said.

READ MORE: Australia running out of countries to send its refugees

UNICEF Australia is also concerned for children who were born in Australia but who may be transferred to Nauru on the basis of a decision by the minister for immigration and border protection.

The current offshore immigration network is a system in crisis and is creating crisis for affected children and families.

Amnesty International weighed in on the decision, saying all asylum seekers on Nauru suffer the effects of harsh living conditions.





Despite the High Court decision in this case, Amnesty International calls on Prime Minister Turnbull to do the right thing and permanently close the centre on Nauru and relocate the asylum-seekers held there into our community, said Graham Thom, Amnesty Australias refugee coordinator.

The Nauru processing centre puts vulnerable people at risk and operates with an unacceptable lack of transparency.

On social media, Australians also called on the government to allow the refugees to stay in Australia, using the Twitter hashtag #LetThemStay.

The government had also passed retrospective legislation in an attempt to hold off the challenge. In June 2015, laws were passed with bipartisan parliamentary support that made the funding of the centres legal.

In October 2015, only two days before the High Court was due to hear legal arguments in this current case, the Nauru Centre was opened, allowing asylum-seekers free movement around the island.

The asylum-seekers were no longer officially detained, thereby distancing the Australian government from any claims of illegal detention.

The first of the 267 asylum-seekers could be deported to Nauru as soon as this weekend.

Additional reporting by Anneliese Mcauliffe
Arab coalition air strikes back pro-government forces advance towards the capital with 40 Houthi fighters killed.

Battles intensified on Wednesday northeast of Yemens capital as forces loyal to the president backed by Arab coalition air strikes killed more than 40 Houthi fighters.

Days of clashes continued as the Houthi rebels and their allies who control Sanaa were on the defensive about 60km from the capital in the Fardhat Nehim area, pro-government sources told Al Jazeera.

Fardhat Nehim is a strategic region leading to the Sanaa, and government forces continue to capture villages after making territorial gains since last week.

Dozens of rebels and six government forces were killed in fighting overnight on Wednesday. Yemens army also captured 30 Houthis in Fardhat Nehim, where the rebels have a base, and troops were surrounding the fighters camp.



Yemen faces humanitarian crisis

Five civilians were also killed when artillery shells hit residential areas, the Associated Press news agency quoted tribal elders as saying.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014, when Houthi rebels, allied with troops loyal to a former president, captured large swaths of the country, including Sanaa.

The coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia coalition launched an air campaign against the rebels in March 2015. Since then, more than 5,800 people have been killed.

A spokesperson for the coalition said that Yemeni rebels and their allies have killed or wounded 375 civilians in Saudi border regions since last March.

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told AFP news agency that 375 [civilians] were killed and injured, including 63 children.

More than 80 percent of Yemenis are in dire need of food, water and other aid, according to the United Nations.

In the southern port city of Aden, fighting erupted on Tuesday night between government forces and al-Qaeda fighters after authorities set up roadblocks as part of a security plan.

In Taiz, Yemens third-largest city, which is under a Houthi siege, artillery strikes killed three civilians and wounded 14 others as fighting broke out, officials told AP.

Air strikes also hit around the capital, at one point setting a weapons depot ablaze for several hours.
Appeals court orders retrial for 149 charged with lynching officers in attack on Kerdassa police station in August 2013.

An Egyptian appeals court has overturned death sentences issued to 149 people charged with lynching 11 police officers in August 2013, according to a report in the state-owned Al Ahram newspaper.

The court also ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which occurred following the armys removal of Mohamed Morsi as president.

The attack left 13 officers dead near Cairo on August 14, 2013, the day police shot and killed hundreds of demonstrators in the capital.

However, 34 others in the same case who were not in custody could not legally be granted a retrial as they were sentenced to death in absentia.

The 183 individuals, mainly supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood group aligned with Morsi, had been found guilty of an attack on a police station on the western outskirts of Cairo in apparent retaliation for the polices deadly raids on protest camps on the same day.

IN PICTURES: Egypt Revolution  18 days of People Power

A widely seen video from the scene  at the Kerdassa police station in Giza province  showed dead and injured police officers sitting lined up against a wall as they were abused by a crowd.

Only one of the police stations staff survived.

Two civilians caught up in the attack were also killed.

After their murder, the policemens bodies were mutilated, with one doused in acid and another scalped.

The initial ruling in February 2015 came amid a series of death sentences in mass trials that were criticised internationally, as the government cracked down on Morsi supporters.

The grounds for the appeals court ruling were not immediately available, but the court has overturned hundreds of death sentences over the past year.
Diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian conflict have been plunged into a fresh crisis with the UN special envoy announcing a temporary suspension of talks in Geneva between the opposition and the government.

Following a meeting with the oppositions Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC) in the Swiss city on Wednesday, Staffan de Mistura fixed February 25 as the date for resuming talks.

This is not the end and not the failure of the talks. They both came and they both stayed  and both sides insisted on a political process, he said, referring to the government and opposition delegations.

The meetings in Switzerland are part of a process outlined in a UN resolution last month that envisages an 18-month timetable for a political transition, including the drafting of a new constitution and elections.





Earlier on Wednesday, quoting information from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the opposition accused the Syrian government and Russia of killing at least 300 civilians since the launch of the so-called Geneva III conference on January 29.

Speaking after de Misturas announcement, Riyad Hijab, the HNC head who joined the opposition team in Geneva just hours earlier, announced that the delegation would leave and not come back until there was a change on the ground and an end to ongoing air strikes.

The opposition will only talk about a ceasefire when there is a political transition that does not involve [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, he said.

The HNC is fully ready to join efforts with the international community to implement anything that can lead to the transitional governing body. We ask the international community to put pressure on the Syrian government and its allies to end the violence in Syria.

Hijab said the opposition expects the government to lift the sieges, allow humanitarian aid, release prisoners and end all attacks and air strikes on the Syrian people.

Speaking for the government, Bashar al-Jaafari, Syrias ambassador to the UN, criticised the HNC team for coming four days late and refusing to participate in the indirect negotiations with de Mistura.

He called the HNC representatives statements childish and accused them of wanting to leave on the orders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

READ MORE: Syrians under siege left with no hope: UN official

Jaafari further suggested that de Mistura announced the suspension of the talks to justify the oppositions decision to leave.

Earlier, Farah Atassi, an HNC member, told Al Jazeera the Syrian people were being subjected to increased violence in the country amid the talks in Switzerland.

We are being targeted on the ground in Syria, politically and through the media, she said.

We came here to end the suffering of the Syrian people. Our presence here is a message to the international community: We will not back down from our demands. We call on the friends of Syria to pressure the Syrian government and Russia to end their air strikes before any negotiations take place.

Before he announced the pause, De Mistura had said the Geneva meetings would start with proximity talks and were expected to last for six months, with government and opposition delegations sitting in separate rooms and UN officials shuttling between them.

The immediate priorities are a broad ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and halting the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, the UN said in a statement.

On the ground, there has been no let-up in fighting despite the peace negotiations in Geneva.

Syrias official news agency SANA reported that government forces cut off on Wednesday a supply route for rebels in Aleppo province.

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: The shifting lines in Syria

The army and armed forces units operating in Aleppos northern countryside, in cooperation with groups of popular committees, broke the siege imposed on Nubul and Zahraa towns by terrorist organisations, SANA said.

The Syrian government launched a major offensive from the north of Aleppo and captured several strategically important towns on Monday.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 16 air strikes in Aleppo had been conducted since Wednesday morning.





The monitoring group also said battles were taking place in the northern suburbs of Aleppo.

According to an SNHR report released on Tuesday, 30 people were killed in Aleppo, 16 in Deir Az Zor, eight in Damascus suburbs, four in Deraa, two in Idlib and one in Raqqa.

The HNC has condemned the Aleppo offensive, saying it showed that Assads government was not committed to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Riad Nassan Agha, an HNC delegation spokesman in Geneva, urged the international community and the UN on Tuesday to take measures in order to deter Russia and the Syrian government from committing further crimes against the Syrian people.

The Geneva negotiations are meant to develop a road map to end the nearly five-year conflict that has resulted in more than 250,000 Syrians being killed.

The conflict has also displaced millions more and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing as refugees to Europe.
At least 13 killed in Anbars provincial capital as armed group continues counter-assault against Iraqi forces.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) continued their counterattack against Iraqi forces in Ramadi, killing at least 13 soldiers in fresh shelling on Wednesday.

Weeks after the Iraqi government declared that Anbars provincial capital had been recaptured from ISIL, the armed group attacked Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) positions in the north and east of the city.

In the eastern suburb of Shujirayah, where ISF troops have attempted to clear about 300 ISIL fighters, at least nine soldiers from the armys 8th Division were killed by shelling, military sources told Al Jazeera.





Meanwhile, in Abu Risha village in Ramadis north, an ISIL artillery barrage killed four soldiers and wounded two more.

Suicide bombing

The shelling came a day after an ISIL suicide car bomber killed at least 18 Iraqi soldiers in an attack in the town of Al-Bu Dhiaab, just a few kilometres north of the city centre.

The Iraqi army declared Ramadi liberated in late December after a major offensive reclaimed government offices in the city centre.

But since then, Iraqi forces have faced continued attacks from ISIL and fierce resistance in areas it holds in Ramadis suburbs  with dozens of Iraqi soldiers killed in attacks last week.

Shujirayah is considered one of the last strongholds for ISIL fighters in the city, and Iraqi forces are conducting door-to-door operations, trying to clear the 300 fighters believed to be holed up there.
Three Palestinian men shot and killed by Israeli police after shooting incident that left a female police officer dead.

Three Palestinian men have been shot and killed by Israeli police after a shooting incident, which left a female police officer dead and another injured in occupied East Jerusalem.

Police said the Palestinians were armed with guns, knives and explosives, and opened fire at Israeli authorities at the Damascus Gate on Wednesday.

Two Israeli female police officers were injured during the shooting and transferred to a hospital, where one of them later died, officials said.

The incident Wednesday was the first time that three Palestinians have been killed in the same place since the surge in violence which began in October.

The Palestinian healthy ministry confirmed the deaths of the three Palestinian men.

Reports identified the three men as Ahmed Abou Al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Mohammed Nassar, all 20 years old.

The Israeli female police officer who was killed was identified as 19 years old Hadar Cohen.

Al Jazeeras Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Ramallah, said the three men were from the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank.

This underscores the despair in the occupied Palestinian territories. When you speak to young Palestinians, they say the violence is in response to what they say are decades of Israeli occupation, he said.

He said the Israeli government, for its part, blames the Palestinian Authority for inciting people on the streets.

Wednesdays incident comes just two days after a Palestinian was shot dead after an alleged stabbing attack in the West Bank.

Three Israelis were wounded in Mondays shooting.

Last Sunday, a Palestinian police officer was killed after allegedly opening fire on Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near the illegal settlement of Beit El in the West Bank.

Protests against Israels ongoing occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, have become increasingly violent in recent months.

Since October 1, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 170 Palestinians, including bystanders, unarmed demonstrators and attackers.

At least 27 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians.
Japan vowed on Wednesday to shoot down any missiles or rockets fired over its territory after North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite in the coming days.

Today the defence minister issued an order to destroy any projectiles if confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory, the defence ministry said in a statement.

North Korea on Tuesday informed international organisations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between February 8-25. Last month, North Korea announced that it had tested a hydrogen bomb  the reclusive countrys fourth nuclear test.

OPINION: Dont expect China to ice North Korea

Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett said Japans defence systems were being mobilised for the Norths launch, noting Aegis-equipped destroyers were set to sea off Japans west coast.

Japans military has been put on alert. Japan is saying it will  if any parts of this rocket come down in various stages in Japanese territory  they will shoot them down if necessary, Fawcett reported.

South Korea, meanwhile, said Pyongyang will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with what the international community sees as a long-range missile test.

In Seoul, the presidential office said North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

South Korean and US officials said North Koreas move would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic missile activities.





We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range rocket launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences  as it would constitute a grave threat to the Korean peninsula, the region, and the world, South Korean official Cho Tae-yong said in televised remarks.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top American diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of the Norths planned launch.

He said it would strengthen the argument for the international community to impose real consequences on North Korea for destabilising behaviour.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop nuclear weapons along with a missile capable of striking the mainland United States.

North Koreas last long-range rocket launch in December 2012 was seen as having successfully put the countrys first satellite into orbit after a string of failures.
President condemns inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslims during visit to Islamic Society of Baltimore.

President Barack Obama has made his first visit to a US mosque and condemned inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans, as he tries to counter increasing levels of bias against the community.

Obama arrived at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday. Its campus contains a mosque and school that runs from kindergarten through 12th grade.

So often, Muslim Americans are targeted and blamed for the acts of a few, Obama said in an address following a meeting with representatives of the community.

An attack on one faith, is an attack on all faiths.

Weve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country, he said, lauding Muslim-Americans who were sports heroes, entrepreneurs and members of the US military.

Earlier, the president met with participants including university chaplains, community activists and public-health professionals.

One of the participants, Ibtihaj Muhammad, has qualified for a spot on the US Olympic Team for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

READ MORE: Muslim Americans and US liberal values

She will make history as the first US Olympian to compete in a headscarf.

It is the kind of effort that Muslim-Americans said they have been waiting for from Americas political and religious leaders.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals in the months following the Paris attack and the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California.

A severed pigs head was delivered to a mosques doorstep in Philadelphia. Someone attempted to set fire to a mosque in Southern California.

In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Robert McCaw, a CAIR spokesperson, said that in 2015, the Muslim community saw unprecedented number of attacks on individuals and houses of worship.

Republican criticism

Meanwhile, some Republicans have criticised Obama for not linking attacks like the one in Paris to radical Islamic terrorism. Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Trump have voiced that concern.

Obama has said he refuses to describe the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other such groups that way because the term grants them a religious legitimacy they do not deserve.

In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo.





In a speech at Cairo University, he declared that the US would never be at war with Islam.

America and Islam are not exclusive, he said, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

Attendees at the Baltimore mosque are predominantly of Turkish heritage, although immigrants of other nationalities also participate, according to Akbar Ahmed, an Islamic studies specialist at American University who has researched mosques around the US.

Obama left it literally to the last to visit a US mosque, Ahmed noted, but better late than never.

Al Jazeeras Patty Culhane, reporting from Baltimore, said Obamas critics in the Muslim community have called the visit as too little, too late.

For student Mohammad Abou-Ghazala, it is not what the president says, but what his government does that matters.

Weve had mosques tapped, mosques infiltrated, weve had fake converts coming in, he told Al Jazeera.

It creates an entire environment of mistrust in the one place Muslims are supposed to feel totally at ease, which is the mosque.
Officials blame high-calorie diet and sedentary urban lifestyle as half the population is deemed overweight or obese.

Kuala Lumpur  Malaysias health minister has given warning that the country is in the midst of an obesity epidemic, with almost half the country overweight or obese.

New figures  published on Wednesday  show that almost 18 percent of the country, or more than five million people, can be classed as obese. A further 30 percent are overweight.

Like so much of the developed world, waistlines have been expanding, but it is the rate at which the kilos have been going on that is alarming the government.

Twenty years ago only 4.4 percent of Malaysians were considered obese. A decade later that had jumped to 14 percent.

S Subramaniam, the health minister, told Al Jazeera the Southeast Asian countrys very culture is part of the problem.

We are very multicultural and we have a great variety of foods and the culture of eating is part and parcel of daily life, he said.

The type of food we eat is very high-calorie, and we have to concede we eat more food than we need.

INSIDE STORY: Can the global march of obesity be stopped?

Many traditional Malaysian dishes are enriched with high-calorie ingredients such as palm and coconut oil.

A favourite Malaysian sweet  kuih  is made from glutinous rice, sugar and coconut oil.

Obesity is normally gauged on a percentage scale of the Body Mass Index or BMI. That is calculated by a persons weight in kilos divided by their height in metres squared.

A BMI between 18.5 to 25 is considered normal. Between 25-30 is overweight and over 30 obese.

E-Siong Tee, the president of the Malaysia Nutrition Society, says the key to getting Malaysians to slim down is through education.

I think the solution must be in educating the young people now for example primary school children, he says.

If we educate the 10-year-olds and the 11-year-olds now, they will become adults later on and 20 years later they will be healthier adults. Less obese, less overweight and healthier Malaysians.

For his part, Subramaniam says that in addition to the amount of food being consumed, people are leading a more sedentary lifestyle and their jobs do not involve any activity.

People need to become more calorie-conscious about the foods they put in their mouths.

Nor does the urban lifestyle in Malaysia encourage activity.

Town planning is often focused on the car and more roads than pedestrian areas. People here prefer to drive than use their own two feet.

Subramaniam says people need to walk more and drive less.
Partnership could create a single market between 12 countries that have a combined population of 800 million.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is expected to usher a new era of trade in the Asia Pacific region and the Americas following its signing in a ceremony in New Zealand on Thursday.

The TPP, as it is called, is a controversial free trade pact between five countries in North and South America and seven states in the Asia Pacific region.

The agreement aims to lower or eliminate tariffs on most goods and services, as well as regulate some trade laws.

The agreement could create a single market, much like the European Union.

READ MORE: Pacific Rim free trade deal comes with high price

The 12 countries have a combined population of 800 million.

The countries include the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru in the Americas, as well as Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand in the Asia Pacific.

They represent around 40 percent of global gross domestic product.

In the New Zealand capital Auckland, winemaker Tony Soljan said he believes his family can grow after the introduction of the deal.

An estimated 60 percent of Soljans wine is exported.





If the negotiations open up the markets, its up to the businesses and us as a winery in New Zealand to actually go in there and sell ourselves, sell our product. It makes us more competitive, he told Al Jazeera.

But critics say the deal could encourage companies in the US, for example, to move jobs to lower-wage countries.

They also say people have no knowledge of the potential effect of the deal, because negotiations have been done in secret.

Opponents also say nations will lose their sovereignty because they will need to change laws to accommodate the agreement.

But those signing the deal say thats nothing new.

Every agreement that countries enter into means that they must change their own laws. We have a very successful, high-quality free trade deal with China. In that we gave up the right in our parliament to charge duty on many Chinese goods when they come into New Zealand, Todd McClay, New Zealands trade minister, told Al Jazeera.

Signing the treaty does not create legally binding obligations.

Those will come with ratification, as long as two years away, and opponents say they will use that time to try to stop the deal.
Hebron, occupied West Bank  Israeli forces showed up at Ahmad Azzahs house in the southern West Bank city of Hebron late last year with a clipboard and a roll of small white stickers.

That was the day he became a number, he said.

My family got the number six, Azzah told Al Jazeera. They took all our identity cards and registered us, just like our neighbours, and gave us a number.

Azzah and his family live in Tel Rumeida, a neighborhood in Hebrons H2 sector under full Israeli control. On November 1, a month after a renewed wave of violence surged through the occupied West Bank and Israel, the neighbourhood was declared a closed military zone. Then, a new system was introduced under which residents were given a number on their ID cards, and only those with a number were allowed in or out. The system remains in place today, the Israeli army confirmed.

To get in and out of Hebron more easily, some Palestinians have started using a dirt footpath on the edge of Tel Rumeida that is not usually guarded by Israeli soldiers.

READ MORE: In Hebron, even the kids have numbers

They already treat us like animals here, but now we live like prisoners too, Azzah said. When I sit outside my house in the courtyard, I am sitting under metal fencing installed by foreign volunteers to protect us from settlers throwing things on our heads, and if I want to leave to buy some bread and milk for my family, or to go to school and back, I have to cross through checkpoints with my new special number; they dont ask for my name, just my number. This is our life here.

Muhannad Qafesha, a student at Hebron University and a resident of Tel Rumeida, said that he often uses the footpath rather than risk being held for hours at the checkpoint.

Right now the checkpoint is closed, Qafesha told Al Jazeera on a recent morning, motioning to the red X above the electronic turnstile built at the main northern entrance to his neighbourhood. So if I were poor or had a lot of groceries or something, I would be stuck here waiting for the checkpoint to open so I could go home.

They gave us numbers and built this checkpoint to try to make life unbearable, so all the Palestinians would leave this area and the settlers could take over Hebron completely. by Muhannad Qafesha, Tel Rumeida resident

As he spoke, Qafesha hailed a taxi to take him to an open stretch of hillside on the southern border of Tel Rumeida  a ride that costs around $4. With an average daily wage of around $25 for West Bank workers, according to data from the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, this is an unaffordable prospect for many.

It really does become expensive, but its a 15-minute drive  much too far for most people to walk, Qafesha said. Especially since the taxi cant take you the whole way; the rest of the way is walking through the mud.

The taxi dropped Qafesha off in front of an industrial yard. He walked down a hill, through a car park and up dilapidated steps on the side of a hill.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Al Jazeera that it is illegal for people who have not been registered in their system and received a number to enter Tel Rumeida from any route. Human rights group BTselem says that Israeli forces have been known to threaten anyone caught attempting to use the footpath to enter Tel Rumeida, particularly if they are not residents of the neighbourhood.

READ MORE: Children of Hebron  Everyone is afraid

It took Qafesha about 25 minutes to walk from the secret entrance of Tel Rumeida to the checkpoint.

If this was really for security reasons, as the soldiers say, why is this possible? he asked. Why are not all the entrances sealed off with checkpoints? Its because it is not for security at all; it is for intimidation. They gave us numbers and built this checkpoint to try to make life unbearable, so all the Palestinians would leave this area and the settlers could take over Hebron completely.

Just outside the checkpoint, a young man carried his belt in his hand after Israeli soldiers searched him. He complained that an Israeli settler could leave and come back with his car if he wants, explaining that no one here will ever check him for anything.

According to BTselem, many Palestinians have refused to participate in the number system at the Tel Rumeida checkpoint, in protest at a system many believe is unfair. Their only alternative point of access into and out of the neighbourhood is the dirt footpath.

While an Israeli army spokesman confirmed to Al Jazeera that the number system was still in effect, he would not comment on how much longer it would remain that way.

We dont know how long this will last. They tell us they will re-evaluate the system [soon], but who knows? This could go on for a very long time, Qafesha said. What I do know is the people here will not abandon their homes and give them to the Israelis. It is our duty in Hebron to stay and persevere through this.
Explosion blew a hole in commercial airliner, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Mogadishus airport.

Investigators were examining the cause of an explosion that blew a large hole in the fuselage of a commercial aircraft, forcing an emergency landing minutes after take-off in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

An aviation expert who looked at photographs of the hole said that the damage was consistent with an explosive device, the AP news agency reported on Wednesday.

Two people were slightly injured late on Tuesday as 74 passengers and crew of the airliner were evacuated after it made a safe landing, Ali Mohamoud, a Somali aviation official, said.

Awale Kullane, Somalias ambassador to the United Nations, was on board the plane, Reuters news agency reported. He posted video of the incident on Facebook.

The airliner belonged to Dubai-based Daallo Airlines and had just taken off from Mogadishus Aden Adde Airport on its way to Djibouti. Aviation website www.airlive.net said the explosion occurred on flight D3159, an Airbus A321.

I think it was a bomb, Vladimir Vodopivec, 64, the flights Serbian captain, was quoted as saying by the Belgrade daily Blic.

Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport, Vodopivec said.

Officials at Somalias civil aviation authority said on Wednesday that they had found no evidence so far of a criminal act, and a preliminary report will be issued later this week.

John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board, agreed that the damage caused looked like it was from a bomb blast. We dont know a lot, but certainly it looks like a device, he said.

Only two causes could explain the hole seen in photos circulated online: a bomb, or a pressurisation blow-out caused by a flaw or fatigue in the planes skin, said Goglia.

The photos appear to show black residue around the peeled back metal suggesting an explosive device went off, Goglia added.

Al-Shabab has operated in Somalia since 2006 and continues to launch deadly attacks against military and civilian targets in the country, as well as in neighbouring Kenya, which deployed its army to fight the armed group.

Its fighters have never claimed responsibility or been accused of targetting commercial aviation.
Refugees sent back to Sudan say they are being pursued by authorities there, and hope to flee again.

Amman  In 2013, Nour Issa and Ahmed Hakim, both in their 20s, fled Sudans war-torn Darfur region to Khartoum, and then flew to Jordan.

But last December, hundreds of Sudanese refugees, including Issa and Hakim, were arrested and taken to Ammans Queen Alia International Airport for deportation. The move came after the men and women, mostly from Darfur, held protests for weeks outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters in Jordan against perceived discrimination.

The UN agency contested the governments decision, but Jordanian authorities reportedly said that asylum conditions did not apply in these cases, saying that the group came to Jordan seeking medical treatment. During protests at the UNHCR offices, though, several people told Al Jazeera that they were seeking refugee status. Jordan is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, despite acting as host to more than two million refugees.

Hakim, who was briefly jailed upon his return to Sudan, says that he and other returnees deported from Jordan are now being detained and pursued by Sudanese authorities, leading them to again seek asylum abroad.

READ MORE: Jordan deporting 800 refugees back to Sudan after protest

Meanwhile, Issa  one of the few refugees who escaped the mass deportation  left Jordan for Chad in January after keeping a low profile in Amman for a month, fearful of being arrested or deported to Sudan.

Before coming to Jordan, Hakim was a restaurant worker near the Sudanese border with Chad. I left because the government and Janjaweed militias attacked and burned our villages on suspicion that we were insurgents. They killed my brother, Hakim told Al Jazeera, referring to the Sudanese government-backed militia that has carried out attacks against the local population throughout the war in Darfur.

I by Ahmed

and keep my head down. We were totally submissive  as they yelled slaves, rebels, and other racist slurs at us.]

Life was hard for Hakim and other Sudanese refugees in Amman. Unable to work legally, some also suffered from racially motivated attacks. But despite the hardships he faced in both Darfur and as a refugee on the streets of Amman, Hakim says that the day he returned to Sudan was the worst day of my life.

The Sudanese police acted aggressively upon their return at the airport in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, he said. They said to us  Why did you leave Jordan, and how? Where are you from in Darfur? What is your political affiliation? Which rebel group do you support?

I was then asked to get into a van with five other [refugees] and keep my head down. We were totally submissive  as they yelled slaves, rebels, and other racist slurs at us, Hakim said. Racism against the mostly black population of Darfur by the predominantly Arab central government has been cited as a cause of the ongoing conflict there.

The Sudanese police held Hakim for four days. Finally, a guard allowed an acquaintance of his to pay for his release.

They said, Dont be in Khartoum in 24 hours. Im still hiding here, Hakim said. He is now considering fleeing to South Sudan or Egypt.

READ MORE: On the streets of Sudan  dreaming of riches and apples

Before the war and his subsequent journey to Jordan, Issa worked at a supermarket in Kabkabiya, in North Darfur, while also studying. He cut his studies short when he fled his country.

He remembers the unpleasant events of December 16 in vivid detail: On the day of the deportation, many police cars and buses arrived and woke us up  they took us to the bus and tied our hands behind our backs. We asked them where they were taking us, and they said to the camp, Issa told Al Jazeera.

But it soon became clear to Issa that they were being sent home, after authorities took their passports.

[At a holding facility near the airport] they gave us water, mattresses and blankets  but when people noticed [what was happening] they started shouting and screaming, Where is the UNHCR? The Red Cross?' Violent clashes with police broke out at this point, and tear gas was used, he said.

Some women and children were taken to the hospital before the deportation after having been exposed to the tear gas. It was then that Issa, who volunteered to escort a victim to the hospital, escaped back to Amman. Now in Chad, he ultimately hopes to make it to Europe.

Al Jazeera was unable to reach several of the refugees who were deported, as their phones were turned off and their social media accounts inactive. Similarly, Issa says, he lost touch with many of his friends after the deportation.

I spoke with some when they first got to Sudan, but after that I havent spoken with them, he recalled. They said, Dont come here. Its hell, and your life will be in danger.'
Government offensive intensifies around Syrias largest city, threatening to cut off rebel supply routes in the north.

A Syrian military offensive backed by heavy Russian air strikes threatened to cut critical rebel supply lines into the northern city of Aleppo, as peace talks in Switzerland appeared to be in jeopardy on Wednesday.

The government attack north of Aleppo that began in recent days is its first major offensive there since Russian air strikes began on September 30.

Rebels described the assault as the most intense yet, with activists reporting that 45 civilians have been killed. One commander said that opposition-held areas of Syrias largest city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the government and allied militia, appealing to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons.



Syria: Indirect talks begin in Geneva

Chances of achieving a ceasefire at talks in Geneva appears to be receding as the government, supported by Russian air power, advances against rebels, some of them US-backed.

The refugee crisis and spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group through large areas of Syria, and from there to Iraq, had injected a new urgency to resolve the five-year-old Syria war.

On Tuesday, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, called on Moscow to stop the bombing during the peace process. We are beginning the talks, we are at the table and we expect a ceasefire, he said after a meeting in Rome of countries opposed to ISIL.

But Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said at a news conference from Oman on Wednesday that Russia would not stop its air strikes on Syria until we defeat terrorist organisation like al-Nusra [Front].

The area around Aleppo safeguards a rebel supply route from Turkey into opposition-held parts of the city and stands between government-held parts of western Aleppo and the Shia villages of Nubul and al-Zahraa, which are loyal to Damascus.

The supply routes were not cut but there is heavy bombardment of them by the jets, said a commander in the Levant Front rebel group who gave his name as Abu Yasine. The Russian jets are trying to hit headquarters and cut supply routes.

READ MORE: Syria offensive blamed for putting peace talks at risk

The Russian jets had been working night and day for three days, he added, and reiterated the rebels long-held demand for anti-aircraft missiles to confront the assault.

If there is no support, the regime could besiege the city of Aleppo and cut the road to the north, said Abu Yasine, whose group is one of the rebel movements that have received military support from states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, funnelled via Turkey.

Advancing government forces seized the village of Hardatnin some 10km northwest of Aleppo, building on gains of the previous day, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring body.

Another rebel commander said that he had sent reinforcements to the area.

We sent new fighters this morning, we sent heavier equipment there. It seems it will be a decisive battle in the north, God willing, said Ahmed al-Seoud, head of a Free Syrian Army group known as Division 13.

The Russian intervention has reversed the course of the war for Damascus, which suffered a series of major defeats to rebels in western Syria last year before Moscow deployed its air force as part of an alliance with Iran.








Health ministers from Mercosur-member countries gather in Uruguay a day after US reports its first case of the illness.

Brazil has more than 4,000 suspected and 400 confirmed cases of microcephaly among newborn babies, the countrys health minister says, with many strongly suspected of being caused by the Zika virus.

The announcement came as health ministers from Mercosur-member countries gathered on Wednesday in the Uruguay capital of Montevideo for the first regional conference on the Zika outbreak.

Marcelo Castro confirmed that experts from the US would arrive in Brazil to carry out a high-level meeting during which we will determine the first steps and the agenda for developing this vaccine.

Brazil is taking effective measures on various fronts, he said.

One of them, which is the most important in terms of the future, is an agreement with various and diverse laboratories for the development of a vaccine.

READ MORE: The Stream  Understanding the Zika threat

Despite the high number of suspected microcephaly cases among Brazils newborn babies, however, a large number are expected to be false positive results.

Al Jazeeras Teresa Bo, reporting from Montevideo, said dealing with the Zika virus was not just a health issue for the affected countries but also a political, social and economic one.

Governments are advising their citizens not to travel to affected areas, she said.

For example, Brazil is a holiday destination. Over two million Argentines are on holiday this year to Brazil alone. It is also hosting the Olympics. So stopping people from travelling there is going to have an economic effect.

Also, the Zika outbreak has opened the debate about abortion in Latin America where it remains illegal in many countries.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Monday, meaning that its 194 member states must now work together to investigate the cause of the problem.





This is the fourth global health emergency declared by the WHO since the system was established in 2005, and is a way for the UN health body to force its members to act in the interests of global public health.

The virus, which may be connected to thousands of birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators are exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted.

On Tuesday a person in Texas was declared infected with the Zika virus, possibly through sexual intercourse, in the first case of the illness being transmitted in the US.

The unidentified person had not travelled abroad but had sex with a person who returned from Venezuela and contracted Zika, Dallas county health officials said on Tuesday.

READ MORE: Zika virus facts you need to know

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveller was infected with Zika.

A Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa reportedly infected his wife back home in 2008, and Zika was found in one mans semen in Tahiti.

Its very rare but this is not new, Zachary Thompson, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services, told WFAA-TV in Dallas.

We always looked at the point that this could be transmitted sexually.

The CDC said it would issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant.
Its like a prison, like Guantanamo Bay, the one America built in Cuba, says Faisal. As he sits in a refugee detention centre on an island in the middle of the Pacific, his dream of starting a new life in Australia is fading.

Many refugees fleeing war and persecution dream of starting new lives in Australia, but recently any who try to travel there by boat instead end up on shores far away in Papua New Guinea.

More than 3,500km away from Faisal, his sister Samar waits by the phone in her Sydney home. When he calls, he tells her he has no news of when he will be released.

This is the life of more than 1,000 men detained behind the barbwire fences of Australias refugee processing centre on PNGs remote Manus Island. Most of them are fleeing countries like Iran, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. They are detained for months or years while their claims are being processed, after which they are either sent home or to a third country.

It is difficult to gain access to the detention facility  where refugees live behind high fences and appear to be housed in shipping containers. Tensions are high. Detainees are frustrated over long waiting and processing periods.

Earlier this year, frustration at the camp exploded into violence. Riots broke out over two days and were brutally put down by PNG police. At the height of the violence, Reza Berati, a 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker, was killed.

The Australian government insists sending asylum seekers to Pacific Islands for processing deters refugees from risking their lives on dangerous sea journeys. For the more than 60,000 Manus islanders, hosting the refugee processing centre

promises job opportunities and increased Australian aid.

But at a nearby village, angry locals are calling for the detention centre to be shut down. According to Ruth Mandrakamu, the mayor of the provincial capital, Lorengau, the centre is breeding resentment and animosity.

We are not benefitting in the way we should be, she says. I just want to make sure the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea bring something permanent here for the local people.

The Australian government recently announced that their resettlement policy in PNG will be revised. But it provides little information of its plans for the Manus Island detention centre or the refugees held inside. What is clear is that many locals staunchly oppose accepting refugees into an already impoverished nation.

101 East travels to the remote Manus Island in Papua New Guinea to investigate Australias controversial detention policy and the lives it continues to affect.

This film was first broadcast on Al Jazeera English in October 2014.

FILMMAKERS BLOG

By Aaron Fernandes

It was late 2013 when I first visited Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and watched plane loads of asylum seekers arrive at the islands tiny airport. The plane bringing them had an Australian flag on the back tail fin but was otherwise unmarked, filled with people escaping countries like Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

I wondered what the refugees impression of Manus Island might be. In good weather, they might see it as an idyllic tropical paradise: long stretches of turquoise water, palm trees and locals walking barefoot along the roadside. In the rainy season however, winds howl off the Pacific Ocean and bend palm trees sideways, as monsoonal rains flood unsealed roads for days.

But the refugees didnt have long to form an impression. They were taken straight to a detention camp for background checks that can take months or even years. Their intended destination was Australia, but the government has made it clear they will never get there.

Why should I go there and clean up Australia's rubbish? Give us proper training so we can participate. I would rather live my life fishing and hunting, not working for Australia's loose change. by Manus Island local

Immigration policy is a hotly contested issue in Australia. Elections have been won and lost based on a political partys ability to articulate a clear and increasingly tough set of policies. Efforts to stop the boats resonate strongly with an increasingly fearful electorate.

But in my years as an Australian living in Papua New Guinea, I seldom heard about how my countrys policies were impacting local Melanesians living on Manus Island. One woman told me how difficult it was to find a job on Manus before the refugee centre opened. Even though they are paid only $2-$3 per hour, in poverty stricken Manus island, it is better than no job at all.

But as I delved deeper, I found a growing sense of agitation among locals. Why should I go there and clean up Australias rubbish? one man told me. Give us proper training so we can participate. I would rather live my life fishing and hunting, not working for Australias loose change.

It was extremely difficult to find out what is happening inside the detention centre on Manus Island. Everywhere I went, I encountered a strict culture of secrecy imposed by the administrators of the camp. Officials from the Australian department of immigration followed me to communities and warned locals about speaking to journalists.

But the signs of growing tension are inescapable. In February, riots at the camp left 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati dead. Two Papua New Guinean nationals were charged with his murder.

The death of a second asylum seeker, Hamid Khazaei, after his leg became infected in the detention centre, only added to the difficulty of reporting there.

The Australian government has not sent any refugees to Manus since January; yet it continues to build facilities on the island. Exactly what it intends is anyones guess. Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrisons office refused to answer questions for this programme.

In the meantime, the Australian government has found another developing country willing to resettle refugees in exchange for increased aid  Cambodia. But it might look to Papua New Guinea as an example, where the arrangement is increasingly causing resentment due to unmet expectations.
As oil prices plunge to their lowest levels in a decade, the two major producers could reach a deal.

With oil prices plunging to their lowest levels in a decade, a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia could take two million barrels a day off the market.

Less than two years ago, a barrel of oil cost more than $100. Since then, it has fallen to around $30.

That is the business story. But it is also a political story.

The last time oil prices dropped so low and stayed there was during the 1980s, when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Some Russians see history repeating itself. There is talk in the Kremlin of a US-led conspiracy and economic warfare by NATO.

Fifty percent of Russias government revenue comes from oil and gas. For every dollar fall in the oil price, Russia loses around $2bn in revenue.

It is not just Russia that is feeling the pinch.

Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries have seen their revenues slashed, but with lower production costs have more margin for manoeuvre.

A cut in production would drive up prices, but can Russia and Opec overcome their mutual suspicion and do a deal?

Presenter  Peter Dobbie

Guests:

Anastasia Nesvetailova  political economist, City University, London

Sean Evers  Gulf Intelligence Oil, Dubai

Mikhail Krutihin  RusEnergy Consulting, Moscow
A health care reform expert told students and community members the government should provide health care Tuesday night.

Jonathan Oberlander, the chair of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke about the positive and negative aspects of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He spoke to about 80 students and community members in Pugh Hall.

He said Obamacare has insured 11.6 million Americans as of January, but the system has many flaws.

The Affordable Care Act is unaffordable for a lot of Americans, he said. Its a major issue going forward.

Obamacare expanded Medicaid, insurance typically given to pregnant women, children and the disabled, to include Americans who didnt qualify for it, Oberlander said. But many states didnt adopt Obamas plan.

Oberlander said the government should care for the poorest.

I say with great regret and sorrow that the state of Florida has failed this moral test, he said. The state of North Carolina has failed this test, and so have a lot of other states.

He said Americans dont sign up for Obamacare because of political parties inability to explain the complex system.

People look at the law through blue and red glasses, Oberlander said. And they see the same thing very differently, and they interpret it differently.

He said the presidential race will determine the laws fate. If a Democrat wins, Obamacare will move forward. If a Republican wins, however, it will be challenged.

I think we got a lot of unexpected twists and turns, he said. I dont think we know the answer right now, but were going to find out real soon.

Caroline Nickerson, a UF history and East Asian languages and literatures junior, said she thought Oberlands assessment of the law was realistic and non partisan.

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I thought that he laid out some really grim facts with optimism at the same time, the 21-year-old said.

Jonathan Oberlander, professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses the details of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and health care reform to a full audience at the Bob Graham Center on Tuesday. "Maybe the most important thing to understand about the Affordable Care Act is that, in a fundamental way, it is incremental," Oberlander said. "Yes, it is ambitious  it does things that we have never done in this country before."
After deliberating at 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Florida Supreme Court delayed the Feb. 11 execution of Cary Michael Lambrix.

Lambrix was 22 when authorities charged him with the murders of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983.

After more than 30 years on death row and several appeals, the 55-year-old inmate still says he acted in self-defense.

After the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in Hurst v. Florida on Jan. 12, the state Supreme Court ruled that Floridas death penalty system violated the constitution.

Unlike the systems in other states, Floridas judges could previously override the jurys decision.

With Mondays decision to indefinitely delay Lambrixs execution, the state will now decide whether the national ruling can be applied retroactively to cases that have already been decided.

Teresa Reid, a UF professor in the Levin College of Law, said Florida now has several options.

Among them, Reid said Lambrix and the 388 other inmates on death row may either face a retrial or have their sentences reduced to life in prison.

Prior to Tuesdays decision, Lambrix reflected on his future in a written letter to the Alligator.

Whether I win or lose this Hurst case, it wont change the fact Ive been wrongly convicted of a crime that never happened, he wrote.

Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo.

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UFs Student Senate chambers were heated Tuesday night when senators debated replacement seats.

After passing two resolutions and approving a Council of Advisors position, senators went into three rounds of pro/con debate between senators Alex Everitt, District D, and Jonathan Frish, Murphree, and defended their nominations as senators.

Ive seen things change; Ive seen the univeristy change, and I see this as an opportunity in senate to be able to give back to not only District D, but also the community of the University of Florida, Everitt said.

Senators against Everitts nomination argued his nomination favored Impact Party.

It demonstrates a clear party bias, said Sen. Praveen Varanasi (Access, District D), referring to Everitt running with Impact in the Fall elections. Its important as a Senate that we come to terms with the fact that we represent the students.

Sen. Kylie Werk (Impact, District A) said the debate around his nomination was because of party politics.

I feel like saying hes not deserving of this seat because its party politics is stupid, Werk said.

Jonathan Frishs spot as a replacement senator for Murphree Hall was also debated.

Both replacement senators were approved at the end of the meeting.

Passed:

Resolution supporting the grand opening of the Reitz Union expansion by unanimous consent

Passed:

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Resolution supporting the establishment of the Gator Emergency Medical Response Unit by unanimous consent

Kelsey Abbey approved for Council of Advisors

Contact Melissa Gomez at mgomez@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @MelissaGomez004.
The recent trend of clicker questions in lecture halls has caught on to the point where they are now used in just about every general education course. While the most conventional form at UF is through H-ITT clickers, professors will also use websites such as Learning Catalytics and Top Hat to allow students to answer questions posed in class.

According to Lee Dye, a former science writer for the Los Angeles Times, clicker questions are used because they allow teachers to pose questions and get immediate feedback from the entire class, and none of the students need to worry about exposing their ignorance. However, anyone who has ever used a clicker knows this is not the case.

Instead of clicker questions being a true representation of what students know, results to clicker questions just show the ability of students to find the right answer. As soon as time begins to answer a question, it becomes a mad scramble for students to seek out the minority who actually may know what they are doing. A consensus is then met in that one- to two-minute interval, resulting in a display screen showing the majority of the class answering correctly. This yields a false notion that, because the majority of the students got the clicker question right, that must mean the majority of students understand the course material.

The skewed mentality on clicker questions arises because clickers arent being used for their intended purpose. Many professors include clicker questions as 5 to 10 percent of students final grades, hindering professors from getting a clear view of what students know. At Montana State University, two researchers studied the correlation between the effectiveness of clicker questions gauging student understanding and including clicker questions as a part of final grades. After directly comparing classrooms where clicker questions counted as a grade and classrooms where they did not, the two researchers stated many instructors use clicker questions to stimulate classroom discussion and to spark interest in their students, but we conclude from our analysis of the conversations that the use of a high stakes rubric for grading responses will not lead to an increase of frank discussion among the students.

Another problem is that clicker questions are the sole reason students go to lectures. Arguing whether clicker questions should be used brings up another argument  namely, whether it is more important students attend class or understand course material. The reality is, some learn better on their own. Clicker questions force students to attend class lest they lose points, treating college students like high school students. However, there is a big difference between high school and college: College is expensive. Professors do students no favors believing clicker questions directly lead to students coming to class, which indirectly leads to students attaining the material and therefore passing. This is a market-driven society. Although some students may walk the line of whether they genuinely want to understand certain material, almost all are rather certain they are not going to waste money spent on education by failing classes. College students are given the responsibility to feed themselves and get out of bed in the morning. They should also be granted the ability to decide whether they want to miss a day or two and not be punished by measly clicker points because they made their own decisions as adults.

Audience participation programs shouldnt be eradicated from the lecture hall setting; they should simply be used for their intended purpose. Clicker questions are meant to be used for professors to receive feedback on what students dont understand, but professors cant get a clear gauge of student understanding when clicker points are a factor in grading. Professors want to help students understand, but they cant if they dont know with what material students are confused. If professors were able to get a clearer representation of what students dont understand through ungraded clicker questions, they could then help students more constructively in lecture halls. Maybe then students will attend class because they want to, not because they have to.

Joshua Udvardy is a UF chemical engineering freshman. His column appears on Wednesdays.
If you, our fine readers, are anything like us in the Alligator office, you probably found yourselves glued to your computers and/or TV screens Monday night, eagerly anticipating/dreading the results of the Iowa caucus. As we all now know, evangelical and all-around bad human being Ted Cruz won for the Republicans with 27.6 percent of the vote and eight delegates, garbage-person and self-proclaimed winner Donald Trump came in second, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had a surprise boost in support and finished third.

On the other side of the American political spectrum, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders found themselves in a historic and nail-bitingly close race to declare outright victory in Iowa; as anyone who stayed up into the wee hours Monday could tell you, as the numbers fluctuated between 2- to 3-percent margins of victory for Hillary before finally settling on an almost comically small 0.2 percent, keeping track of the count proved just as anxiety-inducing and compelling as anything on Breaking Bad or The Sopranos. This Iowa Democratic battle may very well have set a new standard for what constitutes a close call.

Before the Iowa caucus  the first of the 2016 presidential election  began in earnest Monday evening, blogs and social media were lit with statuses, think pieces and articles wrestling with pragmatism, idealism and feasibility regarding Sen. Sanders presidential bid. Hamilton Nolan of Gawker published an article titled Idealists Wont Vote For Idealistic Candidate Because He Cant Win Because They Wont Vote For Him. In the post, which more or less lays out its whole thesis right there in the title, Nolan criticizes progressives who have pledged to vote for Hillary under the premise her ascension to the presidency is a foregone conclusion. Here we have the worlds only scenario in which idealists are able to immediately make their beliefs a reality, Nolan writes. Unfortunately, the belief in this case is the idealist candidate will lose. Nolan concludes by saying Yes, it is true: the idealist candidate will lose if all of the idealist voters do not vote for the idealist candidate Vote for the candidate you agree with.

Nolan has a point. The American two-party system has managed to not only disenfranchise considerable portions of the American populace, but it has rendered most of, if not all, Americans disillusioned as well. There is a popular idiom that goes better the devil you know than the devil you dont; American politics has become a living embodiment of this regrettable mentality. Scores of American voters have become polarized to the point where theyll vote along party lines and ignore whether their preferred candidate actually has their best interests at heart. Regardless of which party ends up assuming a seat, more often than not, common people end up getting screwed.

With both the Florida primary and the general election creeping up on us, expect to see many editorials on the matter. For the time being, make sure you are registered to vote by Feb. 16 for our states March 15 primary election. Even if you arent feeling the Bern and somehow believe Hillary Clinton  a former director for Wal-Mart who regularly charges $275,000 in speaking fees  has your best interests at heart, dont let your frustration with the way things are keep you indoors. Hell, vote for Trump for all we care (but really, please dont).

As Monday night illustrated, the 2016 election is going to be a very close race; whether you are letting idealism, frustration or a false sense of pragmatism guide your vote, just make sure it is cast.
Bankers know they likely should cull the vendor herd because regulators are increasingly focusing on how they manage those relationships, but doing so could also put them in a better position to compete.

At least that's the hope at Suffolk County National Bank in Riverhead, N.Y. The company has consolidated several vendor relationships to a single very deep one with Fiserv  it is in the middle of a core conversion and is taking on additional five solutions from the giant bank technology firm.

Being in the New York metropolitan area means competing against the biggest banks in the country, said Denise Chardavoyne, chief information officer for the $2.1 billion-asset commercial bank. The move to streamline its vendor list was intended to improve its digital capabilities and free up its technology staff from mundane tasks related to its lattice-style technology so it could be better situated to go up against the big boys.

"Our clients expect real-time, integrated banking services," she said. "We are in a better position to achieve short and long-term objectives of focusing on innovation; previously we had to dedicate a lot of staff and support to vendor management."

Suffolk's predicament is common  customers are demanding better technology, but bankers are consumed with core legacy issues, including having a long list of vendors associated with trying to bridge that gap.

"We're in a two-speed world," said Nitin Rakesh, chief executive of Syntel, an outsourcing firm that provides automation solutions. "Customers want things done in digital time, not in legacy time, and banks have to figure out a way to navigate the divide."

Banks are going about solving this issue in myriad ways. Some are looking to add vendors like Syntel, while banks like Suffolk are overhauling their core system and deepening their relationship with one vendor. Others would say that adopting a service-oriented architecture is the way to go, because it gives the bank the ability to address some of the core issues while making it easier to pick best-of-breed solutions.

Suffolk began to take steps two years ago as many of its existing vendor contracts were set to expire around the same time. It knew it wanted to have better digital banking and a simplified IT environment, Chardavoyne said.

When adding new solutions from different vendors, "they would be layered on the core, creating a complex technology environment," she said. "It made rolling out new products and services quickly difficult."

Ultimately, Suffolk chose Fiserv last year. Before the conversion, Suffolk's relationship with Fiserv was limited to a wire transfers product. The company declined to disclose its former core provider or the number of vendors it has shed.

The results so far include more standardized processes and the hope for widespread efficiency gains thanks to the reduction of manual processes, Chardavoyne said.

"We have a lot more automation, which allows our employees to focus more on the customer and less on the back office mechanics," she said.

Customers also get uniformity in their experience.

"We want to present the same look and feel across all channels to the customer," she said.

The ability to strip out costs and provide an even experience to customers is driving more banks to go with one vendor, said Eric Jones, Fiserv's senior vice president of product management.

"It's primarily driven by two key factors: a desire for efficiency and tighter integration across solutions, and a focus on enhancing the digital experience for the bank's customers," he added.

And with community banks facing continuing headwinds in keeping up with regulatory and compliance burdens, this trend toward IT consolidation will continue even further, said Jeffery Smith, a lawyer at Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease.

"As community banks weather the current storm they are in, with reduced earnings and margins repressed, there are many opportunities to consolidate backroom operations and reduce costs," he said.

In fact, Smith said we may see this trend extend beyond just technology platforms to an industrywide sharing of services, such as sharing credit analysts and accounting firms, among community banks.

"It might be something you see sponsored by a trade association," he said. "IT consolidation and sharing of services helps community banks be more customer-focused instead of worrying about the back room all the time."

Streamlining the IT environment can also help institutions better manage and plan strategic roadmaps for future growth, as employees spend less time on manual processes, said Regina McNeill, senior vice president of market analytics and strategic planning at Origin Bank in Ruston, La. The bank recently implemented a cloud-based strategic planning software platform from the Atlanta-based vendor AchieveIT to streamline their disparate reporting systems and reliance on manual Excel spreadsheets.

"Now we're better focused on where we're headed, and making three-year plans," McNeill said. "It enables us to be forward-thinking rather than always thinking about where we are."

Robert Barba contributed to this story.


MidWestOne Financial Group in Iowa City, Iowa, has hired a new chief financial officer.

Katie Lorenson will join the $3 billion-asset company on Aug. 31, when CFO Gary Ortale plans to retire, according to a Tuesday news release.

Lorenson, 35, joined MidWestOne in May, when the company acquired Central Bancshares in Golden Valley, Minn. Lorenson had been Central's CFO since 2011. She previously worked at accounting firm McGladrey, in its financial institutions practice.

Ortale has been CFO of MidWestOne and its banking subsidiary, MidWestOne Bank, since 2009. He joined in 1987 as controller and has also been chief risk officer and treasurer.


Americans are rightly concerned about their current and future economic well-being. For several years, middle class household incomes have seen little overall growth, and tepid growth in hourly wages has meant that the purchasing power of incomes for some families has actually declined. A consequence is that too many Americans live largely paycheck to paycheck. Although on the macro level, there has been some deleveraging of debt on the part of households since the 2008 financial crisis, debt remains a significant problem for many. It is not therefore surprising that polls show that Americans are deeply worried about their ability to sustain their standard of living, let alone pass on a better standard of living to their children.

In this political season, exposure to debates on economic policy for most Americans centers around what the presidential candidates in both parties have said about the economy and about what their economic plans will be, if elected. In this regard, all of the Republican candidates have proposed tax plans of one form or another that either reduce marginal tax rates on businesses and individuals or, in the case of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, would replace the income tax all together with a national consumption tax. Differences among those advocating reform to the income tax are largely in matters of degree, focusing on how much rates can be reduced, what deductions and tax credits should be retained, and how flat tax rates should be. The common thread is that these reforms are necessary to incentivize work by allowing people to keep and spend more of what they earn, which will generate economic activity and job creation.

As for the Democrats, both Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also want to adjust taxes. Both say that income inequality is a serious national problem that the federal government needs to address through the tax system. Specifically, taxes should be raised on higher income earners in order to pay for additional government services that will principally benefit the middle class. Details, of course, differ between the two candidates respecting the extent of the additional services and the degree to which tax rates should rise, but the overall aim of their respective programs rests on a common belief that tax rates are too low on many higher income Americans.

The presidential candidates proposed tax reforms, having now entered the public discourse, regrettably focus almost exclusively on short-term considerations. Not surprisingly, presidential candidates seek to appeal to what they perceive as the current desires of voters. What this has meant is that consideration of a crucial variable is missing from the public discussion, namely the impact of tax policies on capital accumulation.

Capital accumulation is essential to long-run growth and rising standards of living. As most every student learns in the first week of an introductory economics course, a nations production possibilities -- that is, its total potential output -- at any given point in time are determined by its endowment of natural resources (including labor), current technology, and its capital stock. At full employment of all of these factors, there is a near-infinite range of alternative mixes of final goods and services that can be produced. Each of these mixes of goods and services, however, resides at a frontier. With all resources fully employed, no more goods and services can be produced in the aggregate. A boundary has been reached. Thus, at full employment, the only way by which the output of any single good or service can be increased is to take resources away from the production of other goods and services. That is to say, the cost of consuming more of one good or service is less consumption of other goods or services.

At first glance, the concept of production possibilities seems to suggest that standards of living are fixed in place or, possibly worse, must decline over time because of depreciation of the capital stock. In fact, experience tells us that this result need not be the case. New natural resources can be discovered, the labor force can increase through immigration and natural population growth, technology can advance, and the capital stock can expand. It is the last of these on which tax policy can have the most significant impact.

To see why, consider that plant and equipment wear out over time. Some plant and equipment may also simply become obsolete with the introduction of new technology. If the capital stock is not replaced as it depreciates, production possibilities must necessarily decline to the extent not compensated by increases in the stock of other productive factors. In the modern economic world, however, sufficient amounts of such compensation are highly unlikely. Therefore, just to maintain current production possibilities, it is essential that some of a nations productive factors be devoted on an ongoing basis to replacing the capital stock that is wearing out. What this means is that some amount of the production of final goods and services for current consumption must be sacrificed in order that resources can be diverted to producing capital goods. In other words, a nation must consume less in the present and save more in order to sustain its capacity to produce.

Carrying this fundamental principle one step further, it becomes clear that, to grow (i.e, to expand its production possibilities over time), a nation not only must replace its depreciating capital stock, but it must accumulate capital at an even greater rate. Of course, to do so means that still more sacrifice of current consumption is required. Hence, society must save even more in the present.

Taxes on savings and investment discourage both and thus slow long run growth. So, for example, taxes on business income, capital gains, and income from dividends and savings accounts reduces the returns on capital, makes capital less desirable to accumulate, and thus slows expansion of a nations production possibilities boundary. Hence, such taxes rob future generations of goods and services that otherwise would have been forthcoming. When taxes on saving and investment are claimed by the political class to be necessary to pay for additional government services, it is simply a claim that current needs are of higher priority than future needs. More bluntly, it is a claim that future generations be damned.

In this regard, of the proposed tax reforms offered by the candidates, Senator Sanders and Mrs. Clintons rob the future the most. Their proposals specifically aim to feed current gluttony for government services at the expense of capital accumulation. Although considerably better in that they reduce marginal rates across the board, the Republicans tax proposals nonetheless would continue to tax income from saving and investment. With the possible exception of former Governor Huckabees national consumption tax (flawed in other respects), none can be genuinely called pro-growth. None fully replaces the anti-growth tax system that has hindered the U.S. economy for way too long.

At bottom, little or no economic growth can occur without capital accumulation. Taxes that discourage saving and investment slow capital accumulation and thus adversely affect long run growth potential. Surely during this political season, at least one member of the political class can muster the courage to explain the importance of capital accumulation and make clear that every new government service promised today robs the future. But I am not holding my breath.

Mr. Gebhard is a lawyer and economist residing in Arlington, VA.
Just before the big blizzard hit I spent a couple of days at Parris Island, the Marine Corps east coast basic training base with a group of fellow educators. The Marines took us down there to give teachers, counsellors, and administrators a sense of what they are about, in hopes well direct qualified students their way. The Marine Corps has been making Marines for a long time, and they are quite good at it. A bigger challenge seems to be just finding enough qualified recruits to keep things going, this despite the fact that the country has never been bigger and while the Marines and the rest of the military are shrinking. In a way, this mirrors the countrys own difficulty in choosing a president among a throng of contenders, of whom none in the top tiers have any military experience.

Of course, if we had a draft this likely would not be an issue. But weve not had a draft for nearly a half-century, really dont require one for military reasons, and ought not have one unless such a need is very clear. Nor do the Marines want one. The Corps has mostly been a voluntary service during its lifetime, which is part of the reason it is justifiably regarded as an elite force, and likes its recruits to arrive willingly.

By the same token, I am not of the opinion that military service ought to be a prerequisite for the presidency. Certainly, there is no legal qualification in that regard, and service in uniform hardly guarantees that a president will be any good, even on matters of national security and military policy, e.g., James Earl Carter. On the other hand, our last two presidents without any military experience (Clinton and Obama) can hardly be considered in the top ranks of presidential history.

Marine Corps basic training remains an extremely tough and challenging experience for a young man or woman. I was in the Army, but the Marines are something else again, which is no secret within the military or without. A Marine who finishes his enlistment and wants to reenlist in another service (Army, Air Force, or Navy) does not have to go through basic training again. A soldier, airman, or sailor who wants to become a Marine does, just like any recruit out of high school. But despite the challenges of Marine Corps basic, the vast majority of recruits survive it and graduate to become Marines after 13 difficult weeks. That the Corps requires this of all Marines, whether they choose to become an infantryman or a cook, is as much about testing and building character as it is ensuring that in an emergency, any Marine can effectively pick up and use a rifle.

In contrast, when choosing presidents, character seems to matter less and less. Barack Obama, a man of distinctly unremarkable character, having lived a life largely devoid of what usually counts as significant sacrifice or accomplishment, handily defeated opponents who easily eclipsed him in that regard (including a Vietnam war hero.) The same could be said of President Clinton, a man who loathed the military and prevailed over a pair of World War II combat veterans.

In an environment in which national service is an afterthought (if even that) to most young people, the real challenge for the Marines is finding qualified candidates for basic training. In addition to the problem of penetrating a distracted and self-absorbed youth culture with the Marine ideological triad of duty, honor, and commitment, is the problem that even among the youth interested, 71% are not physically or mentally qualified to become Marine recruits. To get to Parris Island a recruit has to score sufficiently high on the ASVAB (military aptitude test), pass a basic physical, meet relatively modest physical fitness guidelines, be a high school graduate, be free of legal or substance abuse problems, and not possess disqualifying tattoos. The Marines can and do grant waivers to potential recruits who fail to meet all of these prerequisites but the challenge remains. Newly-minted staff sergeants are routinely assigned billets outside their chosen Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and the most difficult and dreaded is recruiting -- though also the most career enhancing for those successful at this difficult task.

Of course, this is just one of many issues facing the military today, and Americas national security in general, but the front running candidates from either party hardly pay very serious attention. On the Democrat side the issue is almost completely ignored in any meaningful way, by an uninterested socialist on the one hand, and a former incompetent secretary of State who cant escape the shadow of her own malfeasances. The Republicans are better, generally vowing to strengthen the armed forces in order to smash ISIS, though without clarifying exactly how that will happen, or the fiscal and military problems associated with any such campaign. Cruz, Rubio, and Bush sound the most knowledgeable, but none fills me with great confidence.

For example, we also got to visit the Beaufort South Carolina Marine Air Station, where several fighter squadrons are based. We spoke with a few pilots who had just returned from flying missions against ISIS from the Persian Gulf with a dwindling number of F-18C fighter aircraft that had obviously seen better days. Those aged and hard-worked jets are nowhere near replacement, as the Corps slowly incorporates the problem plagued F-35. The Marine aircraft are not even the latest F-18 model, that being the F-18E which the Pentagon might have procured in greater numbers in lieu of the super-expensive F-35 (which any F-18 and many foreign fighters can outmaneuver.) Where do the candidates from either party stand on that issue? How do we carpet bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age when the planes and pilots are increasingly under pressure, and there is little realistic relief in sight, given potentially disastrous procurement decisions, and increasing recruiting pressures?

Such discussion is almost nowhere to be found in the debates, probably in part because the candidates themselves are ill equipped to deal with the subject, while the rest of the country, mostly without direct military experience, or even contact with active duty service people, sees these matters in abstraction, without considering the very real human, material, and financial burdens that taking on foreign enemies entails. Would a few candidates with military experience make a difference? It is hard to say, but the disconnect between the military and our political classes and the general populace has perhaps never been greater.

Thats why the Marines took us down to Parris Island in the first place, giving special priority to educators without military experience. I and a few other veterans got waivers to go only because few enough non-veteran teachers signed up (or bowed out) so that the Marines felt that wasting a trip on us former servicemen would be on balance worthwhile. That in itself is a kind of commentary on the social/military/political issues the country faces today. Unfortunately, so far those issues have hardly earned the attention of the presidential candidates from either party, or the voters that will ultimately elect one of them commander-in-chief.
Perhaps NAACP now stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Cursing and Profanity. Don Harris is the white head (yes, he really is white, and reminiscent of a pustule, and, unlike Rachel Dolezal, even identifies as white) of the Maricopa County Chapter of the NAACP. Hes also very concerned about injudicious use of language, which is why he was on hand to try to collect the scalps of six Desert Vista High School girls who lined up to spell the word ni**er, with letters and asterisks emblazoned on their shirts, on their recent picture day. The girls were suspended for a complete school week, but this wasnt good enough for left-wing activists.

Change.org circulated a petition reading, [The girls] punishment was 5-days suspension. This hurtful use of a racial slur is a complete disregard for the dignity of the black community in Arizona and across the nation and the punishment does not fit the total ignorance and cruelty of the crime[[*]].

And despite the picture having been taken without the schools knowledge, the petition continued, We demand the resignation of the school's principal, Christine Barela, immediately for deeming this 5-day vacation from school an acceptable punishment.

Yes, the girls and their principal should be drawn and quartered and their body parts scattered in the far reaches of the realm. Thatll show em!

So Harris, the white head, participated in an event last week in the Tempe Union High School District to discuss why the powers-that-be didnt go medieval on the girls. But after the meeting, The American Mirror writes, while participants were speaking with the media, he was caught on camera saying Channel 12 reporter Monique Griego had nice t[**]s.

Hey, I think Howard Stern has just found his next guest.

But heres where it really gets amusing. When Phoenixs New Times called the NAACP office to ask about Harris remark, he replied, "The meeting was over. I apologize if anyone was offended. I could have said nothing. I'm really f*****g sorry." Maybe thats how little Don learned to apologize at home. Caught with his hands in the cookie jar? Im really @#$%&! sorry, ma!

Harris wasnt done, though. Since hed pledged $5,000 for the n-word effort (whatever that means, in practical terms), the New Times, being politically correct itself, asked if an effort should be made to eradicate sexist language. Here was his response, as the paper relates it (Ive cleaned it up):

"I'm going to slash my wrists," he spews. "Better yet, I'm going to throw myself out of a f*****g window, except I'm on the first floor I'm one of the best god****d people in the state." "They've seen me now, they've seen what I've done. I've given up my law practice. I'm down here six, seven days a week. That's what my commitment is. I support NOW, the women's organization  god***n!  are you sh*****g me? Are you going to write this up?"

Now, I very much like Harris first two propositions. Instead of following such a course, however, something else is more likely; as the New Times amusingly put after mentioning that the vulgarian abruptly hung up the phone, No doubt he's back working to eradicate an offensive word (not, however, in the service of the NAACP; he resigned shortly after the scandal).

To be clear, I dont come at this from a politically correct perspective. Rather, the operative principle here is common decency, the kind George Washington (who never used profanity) and our grandparents generally exhibited. For instance, the aforementioned Mirror ran the very clever headline, OMG: NAACP leader uses F-word to apologize for using T-word after N-word meeting. Well crafted, but I could respond, Writer uses Gods name in vain to criticize NAACP leader for using F-word to apologize for using T-word after N-word meeting. And thats the point: what should our social standards for speech be?

The problem with the politically correct thought police is not that they use social pressure to stifle some speech; again, whether its stigmatizing the use of profanity or something else, every group does that.

The problem is that the PC code is almost entirely wrong, quite stupid and allows for great contradiction.

Leftists descend to the very nadir of inanity, sometimes objecting to terms and names such as black hole, niggardly, Easter eggs, Christmas Trees and crippled as they rail against microaggressions and stigmatize substantive speech (safe areas and speech codes). And they sometimes do it via profanity-laced tirades that would make a drunken sailor blush. They have things backwards. Niggardly and other legitimate terms relate qualities and concepts; profanity is simply verbal violence and ugliness.

Of course, some will roll their eyes at my Gods name comment and, as one respondent who emailed me years ago mockingly put it, Little Lord Fauntleroy standard. But note that I grew up in the Bronx and have heard it all  I also ultimately saw through it all. Moreover, arent such comments reminiscent of when leftist Bill Maher said about a decade or so back that the Boy Scouts should be tolerated because the squares need some place to go? Wed do well to remember C.S. Lewis observation: In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. Id add, we mock virtue and are surprised when vice reigns supreme.

That the respondent in question was no liberal illustrates an important point: more and more conservatives today are using profanity publicly, with it appearing even in commentary as they play the caboose to the engine of liberalism. That is to say, it apparently means nothing to them that it is liberals who mainstreamed vulgar language; theyre more than happy to embrace and defend yesterdays liberals cultural norms and scoff at those who object, coarsening society along the way. This gets at the true relationship between the processes known as liberalism and conservatism, as G.K. Chesterton so colorfully explained:

The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected. Even when the revolutionist might himself repent of his revolution, the traditionalist is already defending it as part of his tradition. Thus we have two great types  the advanced person who rushes us into ruin, and the retrospective person who admires the ruins.

The reason this two-step-dance process of national death occurs is simple: reference to taste and not Truth. This is illustrated perfectly by Harris. Its not surprising he thinks hes one of the best people in his state and polishes up his credentials by saying he supports NOW; this is reminiscent of Bill Clinton and ex-Senator Bob Packwood, both of whom supported feminism publicly and abused the feminine sex privately; it also reflects research showing that while leftists rail against greed in principle, theyre defined by it in practice. They seem to believe they can indulge their beloved personal corruption and then expiate it with public displays of faux virtue.

More to the point, however, is that they exemplify that modernist mistake of self-deification. A person who believes in Truth (by definition absolute) uses it as his yardstick for morality. Now, when he looks around at others, he sees that they pale in comparison to this perfect standard.

But so does he.

Thus, he realizes that he and his fellow man truly are brothers in sin, both needing salvation, and can honestly say But there for the grace of God go I. But what about when someone is a relativist and doesnt believe in Truth? What is his yardstick for behavior?

Its usually himself. Not believing there is an objective standard for morality  and thus not really believing in morality, properly defined  the only yardstick he has left is emotion. This is why, as this study shows, most Americans make what should be moral decisions based on feelings.

This often leads to great arrogance and contempt for others. Having a behavior standard reflecting your emotions is just another way of saying it merely reflects you. This makes it easy to view yourself as perfect, for its relatively hard to be out of conformity with yourself. A yardstick never fails at being three feet long.

Yet since no one is a carbon copy of you, others will always fail to measure up to your truth the way you do. So you look in your ethereal mirror and see this font of virtue, and you look down on the Lilliputians below and see vice. And you have thus put yourself in the place of God and have reduced others to disobedient children in need of your guidance and discipline.

This explains the infamous superciliousness of those we call leftists, but remember that many conservatives are just a bit behind the twisted curve. Its sadly amusing to ponder a film such as Idiocracy (whose creation itself reflects descent into idiocracy), which portrays a degraded, vulgar, dystopian future, and think that all and sundry are making it prophetic. And if we havent yet destroyed ourselves and are still doing the two-step dance of civilizational death in 30 years, its easy to imagine conservatives shouting @#$%&! and @#$%&! and @#$%&! at those who point out that theyre politically and linguistically just like yesterdays Hillary Clintons.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com
One of the extraordinary developments in the current presidential campaign is that the front runners on both the Democrat and the Republican side are emphasizing their opposition to the "special interests". Given that the world is rapidly becoming a more dangerous place, and that our unemployment rate (when we include those who have dropped out of the official statistics) is so high, one would expect this issue to be on the back burner.

A central belief of Bernie Sanders, who is running a surprisingly effective campaign, is that our economy is rigged by the wealthy, in such a way that the average person gets short-changed. As Bernie's website puts it: We are talking about a rapid movement in this country toward a political system in which a handful of very wealthy people and special interests will determine who gets elected or who does not get elected.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump claims his political rivals are indebted to special interest groups, whereas he, a billionaire, doesnt need to take money from anyone.

Hillary Clinton will not be outdone: We have to end the flood of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections, corrupting our political system, and drowning out the voices of too many everyday Americans."

The problem with these candidates who promise to fight the special interests is that they are creating more special interests, which will be even more uncontrolled.

Take Bernie Sander's promise to give free college to all. When you see the students cheering Bernie, what do you see if not a new special interest group? After all, who is going to pay for their free years at college?

The fundamental question is all too often ignored: Who defines the public interest?"

To Trump its simple. He believes it is in the public interest to force companies to build factories here, not abroad. So when Ford decided to build a plant, originally planned for Tennessee, in Mexico, it was obvious to Trump that any politician who didnt punish Ford must be a tool of special interests: I said what would Jeb do, and Hillary. And by the way all the politicians... because theyre all controlled, one hundred percent. So, hell say, I dont really want to let the plant be there, I want it built in the United States. We say oh we have a great president. But then what happens? He gets a call from one of his fundraisers. And they say Jeb, you cant do that. You had Ford make contributions to you. You had other people make contributions to you. And they want it to happen...

But an article in the Wall Street Journal suggests why Ford chose Mexico. Other companies (BMW, Audi, Kia) are also passing over the American south and building in Mexico, and not only because of lower wages. For Audi, a crucial factor was trade. "Mexico has 10 free-trade arrangements encompassing 45 countries -- counting EU members separately -- plus other trade deals in Latin America and the Asian Pacific, according to the governments trade office. In contrast, the U.S. has free-trade agreements with 20 countries, mostly smaller economies such as Chile, Jordan and Panama. So a policy that goes against Trump's instincts, of having free trade agreements with most of the world, is boosting the Mexico option for all these car companies.

So is it in the public interest to force our companies (such as Ford) to have a disadvantage relative to Kia, BMW, Audi, and others? At the least, the whole issue is open to debate.

Or take the coal industry. In June 2015 coal lobbyists made a last-ditch appeal to the Obama administration to loosen its strict proposed limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Is this a case of a greedy industry using money to distort the wise Obama decision to cut down on greenhouse gases before global warming spins out of control? Or is a case of a beleaguered industry that provides a necessary product, fighting for the jobs of its workers, and only trying to defend itself from draconian rules based on iffy computer models that will destroy it and in the process drive up the costs of energy for those least able to afford it? In this case a special interest may be in the public interest.

And where does the public interest lie on ethanol? Cruz won in Iowa despite coming out against the ethanol mandate, a stand that led him to be denounced by Iowas popular governor. Americas Renewable Future, the pro-ethanol group led by the Iowa governor's son, Eric, ran a radio ad against Cruz: Politicians like Ted Cruz support subsidies for big oil, but want to end support for ethanol. Cruz backs policies that threaten rural Iowa and thousands of jobs. So who is fighting the special interests? Cruz, who wants to stop all subsidies to all types of energy, or Eric Branstad, who wants to increase the income of Iowa farmers and produce a product that supposedly reduces our dependence on foreign oil?

To many environmentalism seems obviously in the public interest, but Owen Paterson, who was British secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, wrote this on July 20, 2014 in The Telegraph:

"I leave the post with great misgivings about the power and irresponsibility of -- to coin a phrase -- the Green Blob. By this I mean the mutually supportive network of environmental pressure groups, renewable energy companies and some public officials who keep each other well supplied with lavish funds, scare stories and green tape I soon realized that the greens and their industrial and bureaucratic allies are used to getting things their own way. I received more death threats in a few months at [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] than I ever did as secretary of state for Northern Ireland."

Proponents of the public interest eventually create groups with a very private interest in taking the public's money. Take the beyond reproach (when it comes to the media) take-care-of-refugees lobby. Organizations such as International Rescue Committee, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Church World Service, World Relief, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and many more contractors receive hundreds of millions of tax dollars from the State Department (DOS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as foundation grants, to bring in migrants designated as refugees by the UN High Commission for Refugees. They have become a formidable lobby for taking in large numbers of Muslims from war-torn countries of the Middle East. Given the European experience, that this is in the public interest is a debatable proposition.

In conclusion, the concepts of "special interests" and public interest" are muddy. The kind of ham-fisted approach that some of our candidates want to take to limit what they define as special interests may do more harm than good. As conservatives have often suggested, if our government is not in the position to do people favors, then people won't seek favors from government. A smaller government, limited to the powers enumerated in the constitution, would help to achieve that worthy goal.
Once again, I am forced to confess that I am a bad person, for I am taking pleasure in the travails of others. Even worse, jealousy may well be a factor (hanging head in shame).

You see, when a lefty internet billionaire announced he was committing $250 million to a left-wing internet publishing outfit, I was a tad peeved, having launched American Thinker on a shoestring and a prayer. It didnt help that the marquee voice of the outfit was Glenn Greenwald, an old acquaintance/sparring partner of mine dating back to the dawn of the internet. Glenns a smart guy, sociable in person, but he has gone hard left in the years since we knew each other.

The website that eventuated from this lavishly funded partnership is called The Intercept, and it first blazed its way to fame as a vehicle for publishing the stolen secrets of Edward Snowden. Since then, it has burned through a series of prominent editors and writers who have left in disgust.

The Intercept's initial masthead (since replaced, like several editors in chief).

But now, The Intercept has been busted and has officially apologized for the worst of sins: publishing made-up quotes from interviews that just happen to serve its left-wing agenda. Ashe Schow reports in the Examiner:

Intercept reporter Juan Thompson was fired last month for fabricating quotes in his articles and creating fake email accounts to impersonate sources. (snip) The Intercept has retracted one of Thompson's stories completely (but has left it up on the website with a note) and made corrections to others. The retracted story involved Scott Roof, the alleged cousin of Charleston, South Carolina shooter Dylann Roof. Dylann made headlines in 2015 when he murdered nine black churchgoers in an attack motivated by racism. Thompson claimed he spoke to Scott about the shooter. Scott allegedly told Thompson that "Dylann was normal until he started listening to that white power music stuff" and "he kind of went over the edge when a girl he liked starting dating a black guy two years back." During their investigation, editors for the Intercept spoke to members of the Roof family, who said they had never heard of a cousin named Scott.

In another story, about Black Lives Matter activists being blocked from a Donald Trump rally, Thompson invented quotes and people. He gave the full name of one of his sources, who told The Intercept that she was not at the rally, was not a Trump supporter, and never spoke to Thompson. The Intercept also couldn't verify the existence of a BLM activist who allegedly provided a quote to Thompson.

Pierre Omidyar, who made his fortune by founding, and then selling eBay, has not exactly covered himself in glory. It is supposed to be fun being a lefty billionaire  you get to be rich and escape criticism from the left. But it turns out that journalism is a lot of work and tricky to manage. Maybe he finally will decide that this lavishly funded left-wing internet stuff isnt worth the trouble.
As they circle the drain, Western societies increasingly start to seem like parodies of real civilizations. Its as if, to twist Shakespeares famous line, all the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players in a really bad comedy that wont get past its first season. The latest chapter is a Finnish anti-rape video that, writes Jihad Watchs Robert Spencer, teaches women that all they have to do to keep from being raped is turn around, hold out their hand in a halt gesture and say Stop!

The video, shown below, portrays a woman being approached from behind by a man who appears to be a native Finn (maybe Huck Finn?), because, as we all know, Finnish men have suddenly decided to start preying on their women. The fact that the rising rate of sexual assault and concern about it coincide with the influx of Muslims into Finland is purely coincidental, I tell ya.

In the video, the woman holds up her hand, assertively shouting, Stop! or No!, and the alleged rapist backs off, completely cowed. Of course, I cant speak Finnish, so Im taking Spencers word for it on whats being related in the video. But other possibilities do suggest themselves. Perhaps the women is...

using a Jedi mind trick: No, you dont want to rape me. You dont want to rape me. You dont want to rape me, prompting the miscreant to back off, confused and repeating, trance-like, I dont want to rape you.

is saying, Ive told you thrice already, I dont have the time!

is telling her boyfriend, No, Sven, Im not going to show this video to the authorities and back up your claim youre a Muslim migrant just so you can get more government benefits!

is stating, I dont care if youre going to visit San Francisco. You cant borrow this purse.

is protesting, Dont tell me where to go, that I shouldnt walk into the Arab section. Thats patriarchal and Islamophobic!

When the woman performs her arm movements, she also reminds me of a stewardess (if this offends people who now insist on the term flight attendant, good!) giving the pre-flight explanation of how to use the inflatable life jacket under your seat. And, interestingly, the kind of people likely to accost a woman in Finland can also be voted most likely to bring down an airplane.

It appears that Nordic countries are competing hard for the Darwin Award. Sweden currently is the top contender, but the others arent giving up on the race to the bottom. And whether its Sweden, Norway, or some other land that reaches the nadir first, its not unreasonable to say theyre all Finnished.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com.
This is a huge embarrassment for German publicly funded journalism, but it explains a lot as far as how and why some stories are reported.

The former head of German public broadcasting, Dr. Wolfgang Herles, revealed that the network reported stories and suppressed others based on what the government wanted. The reporters would write the news geared "to Ms. Merkels liking."

Breitbart:

We have the problem that  now Im mainly talking about the public [state] media  we have a closeness to the government. Not only because commentary is mainly in line with the grand coalition (CSU, CDU, and SPD), with the spectrum of opinion, but also because we are completely taken in by the agenda laid down by the political class. Worse than the mainstream, government controlled and poll-tax funded media in Germany just agreeing with the ruling coalition, the stations actually took orders on what was and was not to be reported on. He said: the topics about which are reported are laid down by the government. There are many topics that would be more important than what the government wants. But they, of course, want to deflect attention away from what doesnt happen. Yet what doesnt happen is often more important than what does happen  more important than gesture politics. While these orders are sent to media companies from unspecified places in the government, they are communicated to individual journalists by news executives using a new-speak jargon. Dr. Herles explains that while there are, in fact, instructions from above, when the editor in chief of ZDF communicated these instructions to his juniors he would merely say reporting should be framed in a way that serves Europe and the public good. There would be no need to add in brackets that this actually means it should be reported to Ms. Merkels liking, as they would be understood as the true meaning. Today, one is not allowed to say anything negative about the refugees said Dr. Herles, concluding: This is government journalism and that leads to a situation in which people no longer trust us. This is a scandal. There has been very little reporting of the comments in the German media, and what there was has been critical of the remarks. Focus reported the comments of one centre-left media figure, Der Freitag newspaper editor Jakob Augstein who when asked whether there had ever been such instructions from above, said: No, I deny vehemently there has ever been commands from the top

The overt control of public broadcasting in Germany by government certainly explains a lot as far as why the New Year's story about the hundreds of complaints by women who say they were molested by refugees never saw the light of day. But methinks the mainstream German press protests too much.

They may not receive "commands" from the government, but they apparently bow to pressure on how to report certain stories. When hundreds of women across Germany are molested and the authorities are successful in covering it up, there has to be some collusion with all media, not just public broadcasting. The story didn't break until January 4, and it was not reported by public broadcasting until the 6th.

In the U.S., we have self-censorship  a biased, politically correct version of news that is beholden not so much to government as it is to an ideology. In our case, the government's views on issues like race and conservatives dovetail with the bulk of mainstream media opinions. Government doesn't have to order the media to slant a story a certain way. They already know what to print or say.

Both government control and ideological liberal control are betraying the truth  a truth these institutions owe the citizens.
An elementary school in Minnesota will no longer celebrate Valentine's Day and other traditional American holidays because the mostly foreign-born student body might not feel "included" in the festivities.

Washington Times:

Principal Scott Masini of Bruce Vento Elementary School, whose student body is overwhelmingly nonwhite, explained in a letter to parents that he is ending the schools celebration of dominant holidays until we can come to a better understanding of how the dominant view will suppress someone elses view, the Star Tribune reported. One of the concerns that I have, Mr. Masini wrote,  is whether or not this practice is encroaching on the educational opportunities of others and threatening the culture of tolerance and respect for all. He concluded that the school needed to find a way to celebrate holidays thats inclusive of our student population. The ban includes Valentines Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mr. Masini acknowledged that the decision might be unpopular for some and said school administrators would be happy to discuss the decision with concerned parents, the Star Tribune reported. Because Saint Paul Public Schools is a diverse district that is filled with families from around the world we strive to respect all cultures and all students, a statement from St. Paul schools said Thursday. We recognize that not every student celebrates or participates in some or all holidays. We have a board policy that discourages programs and festivities that celebrate observances unless they are required by law. Bruce Vento school is 52.3 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 35.4 percent black, 6.9 percent Hispanic, 4.3 percent white and 1 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, the Star Tribune reported.

There's a solution to this dilemma: allow students to celebrate the traditional holidays from their home country while acknowledging they now live in America by learning about and celebrating traditional American holidays.

That's the "melting pot" theory of assimilation that worked brilliantly for about 200 years. It has now been completely abandoned in favor of multiculturalism that pushes the notion that it's more important for immigrants to maintain their cultural identification than assimilating into American ways. It has been augmented by theories of diversity and inclusion that demonize American traditions while allowing immigrants to develop over-sensitivity to anything that isn't part of their cultural heritage.

American holidays are "dominant" because the immigrants live in America. The stupidity of insisting otherwise only holds the new arrivals back, hurting their chances to make a better life for themselves and their children. If that point isn't plain enough for the principal and the school board, they should be forced to attend a remedial American history course.
In June 1998 a local pilot flying over the remote South Australian desert discovered an enormous drawing of an Aboriginal man hunting with a throwing stick made on the desert floor, about 60 km west of the town of Marree. The figure is 4.2 km tall with a perimeter of 28 km, making it one of the single largest geoglyph in the world. The figure is so huge it can only be seen in its entirely from above 3,000 feet.

Unlike many geoglyphs found around the world which were created by ancient civilizations, Marree Man is recent, carved into the landscape not more than 18 years ago. The figure was created by scraping off vegetation and soil, possibly by a GPS-assisted bulldozer, which experts estimate must have taken between four and eight weeks to complete. It was created in such secrecy that there is not one witness who could attest to its creation. Thanks to its remoteness, nobody had heard or seen anything, nor anyone has assumed responsibility for it. To this date, it remains one of the world's great unsolved modern mysteries.

Photo credit: Peter Campbell/Wikimedia

When it was discovered, the outline of the figure was 20-30 cm deep and up to 35 meters wide. Assuming the bulldozer was 2.5 meter wide, this would require up to 14 passes. A quick calculation reveals that the bulldozer would have covered 400 kilometers and used up more than 300 liters of fuel. It was a herculean effort.

The figure is so beautifully drawn and such well-proportioned that the artist must have used a computer to superimpose the figure over an aerial or satellite photograph of the site, and adjusted to fit the geography. He (or she) must have then mapped out the latitude and longitude coordinates, and then using expert surveying skills plotted the outline over the terrain with the aid of a hand-held GPS device. Stakes could have been placed every hundred meters or so.

The creators, however, made the mistake of not digging the outline deep enough, for there is a layer of white chalk material slightly below the red soil. If the outline was dug to this depth and the white chalk layer exposed, it would have made the figure more permanent. Because this wasnt done the image is gradually eroding away through natural processes. By December 2015, the figure had become undetectable when viewed on Google Earth.

An image from NASA showing Marree Man from space. Inset is an outline of the man. Photo credit: news.com.au

During the initial investigation of the site, several items were found in a shallow pit near the figure containing a satellite photo of the figure, a jar containing a small flag of the United States, and a note which referred to the Branch Davidian cult who were infamous for being attacked in the Waco raid in 1993. The police also found one track entering and one track exiting the site.

Following the discovery, several anonymous press releases were sent to the media suggesting that the Marree Man was created by people from the United States. Certain styles on the press release such as the use of feet and inches instead of metric units, and phrases such as "your State of SA", "Queensland Barrier Reef" and local Indigenous Territories", that are not used by Australians indicate foreign authorship. Some believe that the style was a deliberate ploy to mislead.

Another fax purporting to be from the artist himself addressed the figure as "Stuart's Giant", so sometimes the Marree Man is also called by that name.

The plot thickened when in January 1999, another anonymous fax tipped officials of the presence of a plaque buried 5 meters south of the nose of the figure. Sure enough, a plaque was found, bearing the American flag, an imprint of the Olympic rings, and a quote from the H.H. Finlayson book, "The Red Centre", taken from a section of his book describing the Aborigines hunting of wallabies with throwing sticks. The quote reads:

In honour of the land they once knew. His attainments in these pursuits are extraordinary; a constant source of wonderment and admiration.

Photo credit: www.hows.org.uk

Theories are abound of the Marree Mans origins. Some say it was a parting gift from American servicemen based at the Australian Space Research Institute at Woomera. Others believe it to be the work of Australian Defence Force. Their vehicles, including a bulldozer, were allegedly seen in the area but the ADF denies it. Another potential suspect is Bardius Goldberg, a Northern Territory artist who was known to be interested in creating a work visible from space. When questioned about it, Goldberg refused to either confirm or deny that he had created the image. A close friend said Goldberg disclosed that he was given $10,000 to create the giant man. But before further investigation could be made, Goldberg passed away.

One South Australia's daily newspaper called for the figure to be made permanent by excavating the outline down to the white chalk layer. But some members of the Dieri tribe, whose lands lie east of Marree complained of harm and exploitation of the Dreamtime, calling for the image to be erased and for the artist to be prosecuted. When the tribe took legal action to stop charter flights and vehicles visiting the site, the local government closed the site. The Environment minister called it "environmental vandalism", and the South Australian chief of Aboriginal affairs said it was nothing more than "graffiti". While ground access to the site is prohibited, its still possible to take the aerial route.

Left: Aerial view of the fading mystery drawing Marree Man in 2002. Right: The same figure in 2001. Photo credit: news.com.au

Sources: Wikipedia / www.cairnsunlimited.com

Also see:
If you have been keeping up with the Canadian mobile news lately, you know that the Big Three  Rogers, Bell and Telus  along with their discounts brands  Fido, Koodo and Virgin  have raised prices at least $5 to $10 per month. Other reports will tell us that while Canadians are receiving fast service, they are also paying more than other developed countries. This means it is more important than ever to choose your plan wisely and deciding what you do with your current smartphone  take it with you or sell it. Sphere, an online cell phone trade-in service has been kind enough to compile an infographic that compares the price of phone plans from some of the most popular Canada-wide carriers. Sphere wants to help you sell or recycle your old cell phone by providing you with free shipping and packaging materials, along with making the process fast and efficient, [they] strongly believe that [they] can change the way that we, as Canadians, deal with upgrading our devices. Lets take a look at their infographic and see just how the Canadian carriers stack up against one another.

For those that want a bare-bones plan with no data, you are bringing your phone and Wi-Fi is your best friend, the monthly prices range from a low $20 with Chatr (they use Rogers towers) to $35 for the Big Three, Fido, Koodo and Virgin. In-between we have Wind and Mobilicity for $25 a month. The Fido plan even throws in 100MB of datajust in case you need a little. There are some plans where you can stay away from paying for data and still get a phone in the process. Sure, it is going to cost you more adding a phone to the deal, but it could be a way to finally trade-up from a flip-phone to a phone with some brains to it. Typical phones in this price range are a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime and a Moto G  nothing real fancy, but solid starter phones. Rogers has the worst phone selection in this price range, while Koodo and Virgin offer more flexibility via their Tabs. Wind is cheapest at $30 per month and for a better selection of phones, Koodo is $39 and Virgin tops out at $45.

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If you are what they call a medium user, there are plans for you as well. Sphere grab some plans without a phone that were right around 1GB of data  you may stream a video now and then, but for the most part, you just want to have a little data reserve when you are away from your Wi-Fi. Wind comes in at only $30 a month  Wind and Mobilicity ($45) are actually unlimited data, but slow it down after you reach your allotted 2GB with Wind and 6GB with Mobilicity. All of the other plans are 1GB and range from $40 at Chatr and a high of $75 at Bell. So you think of yourself as a medium user, but you need a phone on your plan? The carriers are more than happy to sell/discount you a phone so you can scream through that 1GB of data. Koodo and Wind have you pay for your phone on a Tab so the monthly rate can vary based on the device you purchase. Also, you would have to add $10  $15 a month for an iPhone 6S and Wind does not carry them. Wind is cheapest at $40 a month while Rogers and Bell top out the list at $75 per month.

Now let us look at a heavy user, and I am not talking about somebody that likes desserts  we are looking at a power user that needs connected 24/7, always on the go and is not familiar with the term Wi-Fi. This chart shows plans as close to 5GB of data Sphere could find and pricing is for those that will Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The cheapest plan is Wind at $34 and the most expensive is Bell at $100. Rogers at $90 and Fido at $95 both give you two years of Spotify Premium for free with their plans. For the power user that wants a brand new phone to help go through all of their data, Sphere has a listing for that. At $44, Wind is once again the winner, but you have to make sure they cover your area and have a device that suits your needs. The most expensive plans are $100 a month at Rogers and Bell, with Fido topping the list at $110. Again, if you want an iPhone 6S, look to add an additional $10 a month to these prices.

Check out the Sphere Cell Phone Plan Comparison tables in the infographic  with prices rising all of the time, maybe it is time for a change and check out Sphere to recycle or purchase your smartphone.
The website of California startup Eyefluence is anything but subtle. What if you could rethink human communication? What if you could perceive, peruse, and process information in milliseconds? What if you could accelerate intelligence at the speed of sight? What if, indeed. Its an incredible proposal, to be sure. An MIT researcher decided she wanted to take a whack at it, so to speak. Its one thing to play the arcade game Whac-A-Mole by swinging around an oversized mallet; its far easier to whack those moles virtually, controlling the mallet with just your gaze. This is what Rachel Metz, senior editor for MITs Technology Review publication, said of her trip to Eyefluences offices in Milpitas, California, where she got to play with a gizmo that might just be the future of virtual reality, or at least a big part of it. The gizmo in question was Eyefluences own eye tracking software, for use in virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality applications. Eyefluences own website is full of taglines and marketing buzz, with lines like Todays slow and clumsy tap, swipe, nod, point, and talk methods for controlling HMDs have been holding back a market ready for phenomenal growth. The Eyefluence iUi takes eye-tracking to the next level. featured prominently. The bottom line, though, is that we are, literally and figuratively, staring into the eye of a revolution of a revolution. Many are already predicting that VR, even given its flawed form, is a piece of the future puzzle of human-technology interaction. With this new interface breakthrough, that puzzle piece may fall into place that much quicker.

Eyefluence is not the only eye-tracking game in town, but according to their website, they might just be the first to market with the breakthrough tech. Theyve combined the expertise of biologists and technologists to really nail down all of the subtle nuances of eye tracking, but with a bit of a twist. Eyefluence is putting the overall experience above all else during development, saying, Unlike anything previously envisioned, our entire technology stack is fully integrated with UX at the core. With our Top-Bottom-Top design method, development of our user interface, eye-tracking algorithms, hardware configuration, and circuit board design begins and ends with the user experience. If Metz experience was anything to judge by, theyve done a phenomenal job.

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Current control methods for VR are just a bit immersion breaking. Googles own Cardboard solution can be controlled via a button on the headset, head tracking and a Bluetooth device like a keyboard or game controller. In some applications, this works just fine; this writer, in fact, happens to absolutely love playing Sony PSP games with Cardboard and a Sony PS3 controller. There is a serious lack of immersion, however, that you encounter with more diverse applications. Competitor Oculus plans to attempt to remedy this with their own controllers, though their headsets will ship with a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller for the time being. HTC, meanwhile, has wandlike controllers for the Vive that, while a bit more natural than a game controller, are still far from ideal. One firm, known as Gest, is creating a solution that can track individual finger movement to allow things like typing, gaming and other diverse operations using a variety of gestures, but even this doesnt mimic the way youd use your hands in a natural setting. For the most part, it seems like a better choice for the time being would be to get the hands completely out of the equation until a completely different, perhaps full body, solution can be dreamed up. With what Eyefluence is cooking, that could be exactly what happens.

Imagine for a second, a future where Eyefluence hit the market first and really took off, as well as the burgeoning Internet of Things movement. Their sensors are on just about every AR and VR product. You wake up in the morning and put on your glasses. With a quick glance at the time in the upper right corner of the heads up display thereon, the weather and your schedule for the day greet you. As you sit up and climb out of bed, you grunt to the glasses, Whats for breakfast?. After a few milliseconds pause to connect with your fridge and figure out whats inside, you see before you four panels. One says, Salty, another Zesty, another Fruity and another Healthy Request. You gaze at Fruity and are presented with recipe cards for crepes, fruit waffles and even exotic fruit-based ramen noodles. You eyeball the noodles on a whim and the card expands, sitting neatly on the right side of your field of vision as you cook. Imagine going about your entire day that way. Thats just one possible application of Eyefluences upcoming technology.
Google often uses the Chrome beta for introducing more underlying features aimed at developers, as well as new features for the stable version that need testing before they actually make their way into the stable version used by the public. For example, Google brought in a new security panel for developers back in the Chrome 48 beta, and Chrome 49 beta is aiming to bring in more developer-focused tools and functions. For end users, the more interesting version of Chrome will be the upcoming Chrome 50 which is set to introduce a bunch of material design UI styling, and although it isnt officially available in Chrome just yet, you can actually check it out as of now.

As for the Chrome 49 beta, things like improved background sync will be introduced into the mix which will allow websites and developers to schedule a sync for anything that happens on a web page that a user might be browsing until the next time an internet connection becomes available. As Google notes in their example, if a user sends off an email and then leaves the page before the notification that the email has been sent pops up, chances are that the email would be lost, causing the user to have to resend the email. The improved background sync API is going to improve network reliability so these things shouldnt be as much of an issue.

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Also with this release of the Chrome beta, Google is pushing some CSS custom properties. Using this, developers can alter any data within CSS files with less effort as they can now define property variables in CSS without using external frameworks. Also new in regards to CSS, developers can control the loading method for fonts which Google boasts will improve the speed of page loads. Other new changes and tweaks include Keygen and application/x-x509-user-certs, an improvement to JavaScript with 91% support for JavaScriptES2015 Feature support thanks to the new V8 engine in Chrome, and a large handful of other tweaks like more strict protection for secure cookies, changes to the Event.timeStamp and interaction with the GET parameters of URLs is now simpler for developers. As stated most of these changes are geared towards developers, but end users will see the benefits of these additions through optimization once Chrome 49 hits stable.
Data, continues to be an extremely hot topic and there has been a number of reports coming through in the U.S. on data, privacy, security and where the line between these concepts should be drawn. This is not just a battle in the U.S. though, as across the pond and in wider Europe, a debate has been raging for months in regards to the access of European Citizen Data by U.S. companies like Google. In fact, the last few months have seen the debate evolving to extremely important discussions on how the future of EU citizen data is to be processed. This was due to the old Safe Harbor framework deemed no longer valid. A move which has now slowed down the level of data between Europe and the U.S.

Since then though, finding a mutually beneficial agreement has been hard to come by with the two camps finding it difficult to come to an agreement. An issue which only two weeks ago saw a delay occur, with the end of January being suggested as a deadline for the talks to come to a feasible conclusion. On that note, the EU Commission has today announced that they have agreed with the U.S. a new framework focused on protecting EU citizen data. The crux of the new framework is that EU citizen data will be more strongly guarded during transmission to U.S. companies. In particular, it will require U.S companies to take a stronger stance and be more obligated to ensure protection of European data. A move which will also see the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce looking to more actively monitor and enforce the regulations.

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While the new framework still permits access to information and data needed to comply with U.S. law, authorities will have to abide by clear conditions in requesting the information. Not to mention, EU citizens will gain the right to complain or obtain further information about access to their data through a new and independent Ombudsperson. However, the EU-US Privacy Shield, as it is being called, is still someway away from becoming firm. The agreement in principle has been made, although, it still needs to pass through various hurdles before it can be established as an enforceable and lawful agreement.
One of the biggest features of the most recent iteration of the iPhone was its pressure sensitive screen. The hardware is hardly different compared to the one of its predecessor, but according to Apple, this feature, which they call 3D Touch and other smaller features change everything. Actually, the first device to include a pressure sensitive display was the Huawei Mate S, which runs Android. While Huawei and Apple introduced some uses for such screens, it is up for developers to introduce new features for this type of screens. Now, Google has updated its app on iOS to version 12.0 and besides the typical bug fixes and stability improvements, the company has added a new feature supporting 3D Touch.

Once the app gets updated, when users hard press on the Google App icon, they will now get the chance to press a new button that is labeled Im feeling curious and it will provide them a fun fact. Users will be able to read a random question from a variety of topics and its respective answer. These answers are found on university websites, government indexes, Wikipedia, About.com and History.com and each of them includes a link to the source, in case they want to read more about it. Theres even a button below the answer called Ask Another Question, in case they found the given fact uninteresting or their thirst for knowledge wasnt satisfied. This is actually not a new feature, as it can be accessed on Googles search engine by typing terms such as fun facts, random facts or Im feeling curious. This feature is also accessible from the Google Now App on Android either by typing or speaking one of the aforementioned terms. Still, for iOS users, this is a very convenient and easy way to access Googles list of fun facts.

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Pressure sensitive displays are expected to be present in some flagship devices along the year, so we will have to see how this technology gets ultimately used. Google might even be thinking of ways to implement it on the Android operating system, so the next version might be controlled a little different than it does today.
Lenovo is one of the largest China-based smartphone manufacturers, and tech companies in general. This company has been around for quite some time, and is not exactly limited to China as far as sales go. Lenovo sells their products all around the world, and India is actually one of their biggest markets for smartphones. The company has sold quite a few units in India last year, and it seems like they intend on improving their business in the country even further, read on.

The company has said quite recently that more than half of their devices sold in India this year will be manufactured in the country as well. Lenovo is manufacturing their devices at the Tamil Nadu facility (in collaboration with Flextronics), and the company is referring to their Moto and Vibe Android smartphone sub-brands. Outside China, India is the only country where we are manufacturing both Moto and Lenovo phones. We intend to enhance our manufacturing capabilities in India and in 2016, more than half of the smartphones we sell here would be Made in India, said Sudhin Mathur, Lenovo Indias Director of Smartphones. As some of you might know, India is actually proving incentives to manufacturers which opt to manufacture smartphones in India. They get various benefits which make manufacturing devices in India very feasible to them. A number of manufacturers which are not based in India actually manufacture devices in the country, and that is benefiting not only them, but India as well.

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Lenovo is actually a big deal in India, according to Canalys & IDC, Lenovo is the third largest smartphone company in India, and only Samsung and Micromax are in front of Lenovo. We will continue with both the Moto and Vibe brands. While Moto will focus on flagship experiences, Vibe will be our challenger brand (to other brands), added Mr. Mathur. Now, as you might know, Lenovo actually owns Motorola, and is basically selling both Vibe and Moto devices in the country, as already mentioned in this article. Well, Lenovo has recently released the Moto X Force in the country, and it remains to be seen what will come next. Either way, Lenovo is expected to make further progress in India this year, but well see what happens.
There has been lots of talk over the last few weeks regarding the next upcoming event, MWC, which is due to take place in Barcelona. While a sheer majority of the talks revolve around Samsung and the expected arrival of the Galaxy S7, they will not bet the only company in attendance or releasing a new smartphone, or even, releasing a new flagship smartphone for that matter. Earlier this month, LG did begin sending out invites to their MWC event and those invited came with the Play Begins tagline. Not to mention, reports also detailed that LG would be unveiling a major smartphone at the event.

All of this, of course, did immediately point to LG unveiling the next in line G smartphone, the LG G5. Although, that did seem to be a little up in the air with no real or firm confirmation coming through. In fact, some reports over the last few weeks have suggested that what is supposed to be the LG G5, might not be called the G5 anymore. That however, now looks not to be the case.

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LG has just began teasing their MWC press event which is scheduled for Feb 21st and the teaser shown above does clearly note that the LG G5 will be in attendance. In fact, the new teaser comes clearly touting that Feb 21st as LG G5 Day. As this is the same day that Samsung are expected to be announcing the Galaxy S7 (and S7 Edge), it cant be helped to believe that there is a small statement being made with the LG G5 Day remark. Either way, LG does now seem to have confirmed that come Feb 21st, along with the Galaxy S7, we will also be seeing the latest G series smartphone from LG being unveiled. One, which if the rumors of a complete design-change, along with a removable base where the battery simply slides out are true, could prove to be an extremely interesting device. With the press event set for 2pm (local time) on Feb 21st, we wont have too long to find out everything about the LG G5.
As many of you know, MediaTek has already announced their upcoming Helio X20 flagship processor. Now, the companys deca-core SoC isnt available just yet, but according to a leaked roadmap, it will be available before the end of March. That being said, new rumors surfaced yesterday, reporting not only that the Helio X20 overheats, but that HTC, Xiaomi and Lenovo all gave up on using MediaTeks chip. This Taiwan-based company was swift to officially comment on this, and basically deny these rumors, read on.

MediaTek decided to address this issues on the companys official Weibo (Chinese social network) page, and they basically denied any allegations that Helio X20 overheats. The company has also elaborated on how the chip will function by saying that it will switch to only 8 cores (this is a 10-core SoC) if the temperature increases. The chip will basically use eight Cortex-A53 cores, while it will shut down two Cortex-A72 cores. The company has also added that the Cortex-A72 cores are quite energy efficient, while it is also worth mentioning that the mass production of these chips has already commenced, so their release is right around the corner. What about the HTC, Xiaomi and Lenovo rumor Ive mentioned in the previous paragraph? Well, the company did not elaborate on that, but given that the info came from the same source which stated that the Helio X20 overheats well, its up to you whether you want to believe that or not.

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The Helio X20 processor is the worlds first deca-core processor with a tri-cluster design. This processor features eight Cortex A53 cores, half of those cores are clocked at 2.0GHz, while the other half runs on 1.4GHz. The chip also features two Cortex-A72 cores which run at 2.5GHz. Helio X20 will face the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 out in the market, even though this chip will be inferior to both of those offerings, both on paper and in benchmarks. Dont get me wrong though, Helio X20 looks quite promising, and it seems like it will be a really powerful SoC, but well see what happens once first Helio X20-powered devices start rolling out.
One word I always think of when someone mentions the word Android is customization. Android has always been a go-to platform if you wanted freedom, no matter how funny that might seem written down. Android always allowed for way more customization that other mobile platforms, which is something quite a few people appreciates. Let me take 3rd party keyboards as an example considering thats exactly what were here to talk about. Android lets you replace your stock keyboard with a 3rd party option since I can remember, while iOS for example, received that functionality 1-2 years ago, approximately.

That being said, there are tons of 3rd party keyboard options out in the Play Store, like TouchPal, Go Keyboard, Fleksy etc., but SwiftKey is quite probably the most popular 3rd party option. This keyboard has been available on the Play Store since I can remember, the company has been founded back in 2008, and a first beta hit Android Market back in 2010. A rumor surfaced quite recently, claiming that the company will be acquired by Microsoft, and it seems like that rumor was spot on. Both Microsoft and SwiftKey have confirmed that fact earlier today, the Redmond giant acquired SwiftKey for $250 million. We love SwiftKeys technology and we love the team that Jon and Ben have formed. We believe that together we can achieve orders of magnitude greater scale than either of us could have achieved independently, said Harry Shum, Head of Microsoft Research. This is what Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, co-founder of SwiftKey, had to say: Microsofts mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is to enhance interaction between people and technology. We think these are a perfect match, and we believe joining Microsoft is the right next stage in our journey.

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For those of you who dont know, SwiftKey is currently available on both Android and iOS, and both Microsoft and SwiftKey confirmed that the app will continue its growth on both of those platforms, that its here to stay. SwiftKey joins Microsofts ranks as one of many applications on the Google Play Store. Microsoft has not only acquired, but also developed a ton of apps for Android, and if you visit their page in the Google Play Store youll get to see them yourself. Now, the acquisition of SwiftKey probably means Microsoft plans to incorporate that keyboard in their Windows 10 platform for mobile devices, though we still dont have any details regarding that.
Google Fiber is something that everyone wants. Lets face it, for $70/month you get gigabit internet in both upload and download speeds. Speeds that for the most part are unheard of from ISPs (until later this year), and especially at that price. Google Fiber has been offering a free version of Fiber where you get 5Mbps speeds for free, you just pay for installation. Now they are giving away Fiber to those in public housing in the markets where they already have Google Fiber  which currently sits at 9, with 11 more that they are exploring right now. This was actually announced back in July, when Fiber partnered with the Obama Administration, as part of the Presidents mission to get internet connectivity to everyone in the US.

The announcement today includes more details about Fiber being given away, this includes some upgraded components for Fiber. Pre-wired jacks that are inside buildings as well as free network boxes which will allow connections to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Fiber also announced that they have hooked up 1,300 families in about nine different properties in Kansas City, which was their first market for Google Fiber. Google Fiber hasnt disclosed the number on properties in the other markets where they have rolled out Google Fiber.

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Google Fiber is one of the more expensive businesses under Alphabet. While we learned that it cost a ton to keep the search engine going, it costs a ton to put up Fiber internet in the US as well. Not to mention the fact that they are giving away Fiber for free (although its not gigabit internet, but slower speeds), it means its going to cost the company even more. Google Fiber started out as a plan to make home internet a bit more competitive, as well as increasing speeds for everyone. Since Fiber first rolled out in Kansas City, weve seen ISPs like Comcast and AT&T begin to roll out much faster internet, and Comcast is rolling out 2Gbps plans later this year (starting with Atlanta and Nashville). This shows that Google has succeeded in bring better speeds to customers, even if they arent their own customers. Something we can all appreciate. Although wed all love to get 1Gbps speeds for just $70/month.
On Tuesday, OpenSignal released their report regarding data speeds, and latency for the four carriers. Now this report used data that was gathered using their own apps from customers like you and I who use their app to do a speed test. Its a crowdsourced report and showed that T-Mobiles network was the fastest, albeit by less than a megabit. To celebrate that report, T-Mobile today launched a few new data plans for families. The biggest one being the ability to get 4 lines of Unlimited LTE data for just $150 per month. Thats the lowest price ever offered by anyone. Technically its $50 for each line but the fourth line is free.

There are a few other choices included in todays announcement. Families can also get two lines for $100 per month which gives each line 10GB of LTE data each month. Or you can do four lines with 10GB of LTE data each for $120/month. This, along with the four for $150 can also have more lines added on for just $30. The limit is 12 lines however. Its a pretty fantastic deal when you think about it. These deals are available for those that are current customers as well as those looking to switch over. Theres no requirement for switching to these new plans (i.e. no number porting, turning in old phones, etc). Also, T-Mobile is allowing customers to stack this with their half-off smartphone event that they launched earlier this week.

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T-Mobiles CEO, John Legere stated in the companys press release Last year, I told you wed massively expand our LTE coverage, and we did. I promised wed compete nearly everywhere with Verizons LTE network, and win. And thats exactly what real-time, crowd-sourced studies are now confirming.

Of course, in addition to getting all this extra data at even lower prices, customers will also get plenty of Uncarrier features including Music Freedom, Simple Global, Simple Choice, Binge On and many other features that help to extend your data and also cut out the fees that other carriers charge. Especially when traveling to Canada and Mexico, where you will get 4G LTE data for free. This plan is a limited time deal, but T-Mobile has not mentioned when the deal will be ending, so you may want to jump on this quick before its gone.
Xiaomi is one of the two largest China-based smartphone manufacturers at the moment. This Chinese company is constantly battling with Huawei over market share in China, and is looking to branch out in the future as well. Xiaomi is currently selling their accessories in the US, but as many of you know, their smartphones arent available. A couple of days ago, US Mobile, a US-based carrier, has listed three Xiaomi-branded devices on their website. This resulted in quite a bit of reaction online, and tons of press coverage, some consumers were quite happy this has happened, and everyone immediately assumed US Mobile partnered up with Xiaomi, well it turned out that wasnt the case.

Xiaomi has denied partnership with US Mobile yesterday, and the carrier removed product pages from their site. Xiaomi has flat out said that US Mobile is not authorized to sell their devices, and that Xiaomi-branded phones wont be available in the US that soon. It was just a matter of time before US Mobile reacts to this, and the company has released their official statement recently: Heres where we created a better experience for our customers. By partnering with third-party distributors who sell and ship the devices, US Mobile is able to offer our customers warranty and support on the devices locally in the US. Very simply, customers can call US Mobiles 24/7 Customer Support team with any service related issue or send the phone back to US Mobile for repairs. One more thing worth mentioning here is the fact that these devices did not support US LTE bands. Now, pretty much everyone assumed that US Mobile wont be listing these devices on their site again, but it seems like they will. US Mobile released the following statement: We will continue to work with our enabling carriers to try to certify these phones on their network. There is a process that we will have to make these phones go through. If we are successful, we promise to enable our distributors to offer these phones on our marketplace again.

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So, all in all, it seems like US Mobile is trying to certify the devices before they offer them to consumers again, which essentially means we might see them available for sale once again soon, presuming the certification process doesnt create any additional problems. Now, it is also worth mentioning that US Mobile also listed one of Meizus devices along with the Xiaomi-branded phones, the Meizu M2 Note. This handset has also been removed from US Mobiles site, but it seems like US Mobile plans to bring that one back as well, as soon as it gets certified.
Mr Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop arrested again

Evergreen State College police says Mr Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop, 34, assaulted one of their number. Mr Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop has been charged with first-degree assault (two counts), third-degree assault, third-degree malicious mischief and malicious harassment.

On Feb. 16, Mr Jeffrey Drew Wilschke  that being Mr Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bops former name  will appear in court.

Jeff says he legally changed his name to Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop in 2011.

In 2012, Mr Zopittybop-bop-bop was arrested on marijuana and weapon charges in Wisconsin. He was also arrested in 2013 on drug charges in Iowa.

Anorak

Posted: 3rd, February 2016 | In: Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Transfer balls: Pep signs for Man City but is 90% Chelsea

On February 1, Manchester City manager Manuel Pelligrini told the Press hed know for ages that Pep Guardiola was replacing him next summer. That news came as shock to Chelsea fans who seeking information about their clubs next boss turn to the Daily Star and Daily Express.

110% balls.

Anorak

Posted: 3rd, February 2016 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Beijing, February 3 - The spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday that Beijing was working to foster better relations with the Vatican when asked about a recent interview Pope Francis gave to Asia Times. In the interview, the pope said the world should not to fear the rapid rise of China, among other things. "We are aware of this important article," the spokesperson said. "The Chinese side has always been sincere in wanting to improve Sino-Vatican relations. "In order to do this, we'd like to have this constructive set of significant principles and meet half way for the improvement". The pope's interviews was published amid a reported rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing over the appointment of new bishops in China.


(ANSA) - Rome, February 3 - Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan on Wednesday voiced the hope that an EU response on Italy's request for budget flexibility for the refugee emergency should be given "soon so as to avoid having uncertainty that does not help growth". He spoke at a meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at an Aspen forum in Rome. Padoan stressed, however, that the government's budget plans would not change and were based on "structural reforms and public investment" to accelerate a sluggish recovery from one of Italy's longest postwar slumps.

He also said Italy had the "right" to budget flexibility thanks to the structural economic reforms the government has implemented.

"Italy is requesting a more flexible management of fiscal policy on the basis of rules that Europe set, not ones that we are inventing," Padoan said during a meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at an Aspen forum.

There has been tension between the Commission and the Renzi government in recent weeks over several issues.

The Commission has said it will say in the spring whether it has granted Italy's request for flexibility in the application of the EU's budget laws for spending related to asylum seekers

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday the EU executive will not pursue "stupid austerity policies" when it assesses member States' budgets.

"It's right for the Commission to examine the State budgets as stipulated by the treaties," Juncker said. "It will conduct its role without following stupid austerity policies. There is plenty of flexibility to permit balances that respect the rules".

Juncker also said Italy was willing to make its contribution to three billion euros in EU aid to Turkey in exchange for cooperation on the refugee crisis.

"The three billion for Turkey must be made available," Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "We all have to respect our commitments. Even the Italian government has said it is willing (to contribute). This is positive and I welcome it". The Commission had criticised Italian Premier Matteo Renzi's executive for allegedly holding up the aid package.
(ANSA) - Enna, February 3 - A judge in Caltanissetta ruled that the medical school set up in the Sicilian city of Enna by Romania's University Dunarea de Jos of Galati is legitimate.

The courses providing a university degree to healthcare professionals is promoted in Enna by the local Proserpina Fund.

The civil court judge ruled against the Italian education ministry, which had filed an appeal, saying the courses organized by the Romanian university and the fund are legitimate under EU treaties.


(ANSA) - Strasbourg, February 3 - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday said Italy was willing to make its contribution to three billion euros in EU aid to Turkey in exchange for cooperation on the refugee crisis.

"The three billion for Turkey must be made available," Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "We all have to respect our commitments. Even the Italian government has said it is willing (to contribute). This is positive and I welcome it". The Commission had criticised Italian Premier Matteo Renzi's executive for allegedly holding up the aid package.

There has been tension between the Commission and the Renzi government in recent weeks over several issues.

The Commission is set to say in the spring whether it has granted Italy's request for flexibility in the application of the EU's budget laws for spending related to asylum seekers.

Juncker said Wednesday that the EU executive will not pursue "stupid austerity policies" when it assesses member States budgets. "It's right for the Commission to examine the State budgets as stipulated by the treaties," Juncker said. "It will conduct its role without following stupid austerity policies. There is plenty of flexibility to permit balances that respect the rules".

Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Wednesday that Italy was only asking for European Union rules to be respected by requesting flexibility in the application of budget rules. "Italy is requesting a more flexible management of fiscal policy on the basis of rules that Europe set, not ones that we are inventing," Padoan said during meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at an Aspen forum.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 3 - Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Wednesday Italy is entitled by basic European Union rules to the budget flexibility it is demanding for the cost of coping with the Mediterranean refugee crisis. And, as Italy stressed the calculation of those costs should be backdated to the start of the exodus from Libya, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed Italy's OK to contributing to a three-billion-euro aid package for Turkey's assistance to Syria refugees.

Italy emerged as the fourth-biggest contributor to that fund Wednesday, behind Germany, Britain and France.

Juncker also said there would be an end to what he called "stupid austerity".

Padoan said that Italy was only asking for European Union norms to be respected by requesting flexibility in the application of budget rules. "Italy is requesting a more flexible management of fiscal policy on the basis of rules that Europe set, not ones that we are inventing," Padoan said during a meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at an Aspen Institute forum in Rome.

Padoan voiced the hope that an EU response on Italy's request for budget flexibility for the refugee emergency should be given "soon so as to avoid having uncertainty that does not help growth". Padoan stressed, however, that the government's budget plans would not change and were based on "structural reforms and public investment" to accelerate a sluggish recovery from one of Italy's longest postwar slumps.

Juncker, for his part, hailed the fact that Italy was willing to make its contribution to three billion euros in EU aid to Turkey in exchange for cooperation on the refugee crisis.

"The three billion for Turkey must be made available," Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "We all have to respect our commitments. Even the Italian government has said it is willing (to contribute). This is positive and I welcome it". The Commission had criticised Italian Premier Matteo Renzi's executive for allegedly holding up the aid package.

There has been tension between the Commission and the Renzi government in recent weeks over several issues.

The Commission is set to say in the spring whether it has granted Italy's request for flexibility in the application of the EU's budget laws for spending related to asylum seekers. Juncker said Wednesday that the EU executive will not pursue "stupid austerity policies" when it assesses member States' budgets. "It's right for the Commission to examine the State budgets as stipulated by the treaties," Juncker said. "It will conduct its role without following stupid austerity policies. There is plenty of flexibility to permit balances that respect the rules".

Italy expects the European Commission to respect rules on budget flexibility for spending related to the immigration crisis, EU Affairs Undersecretary Sando Gozi on Wednesday told the Lower House's political commissions, presenting the country's 2016 European agenda.

"Italy, once it confirmed its OK to the fund for refugees in Turkey, clarified that the exceptional event cannot only concern a part of the Mediterranean", Gozi said.

"Expenses in managing the migration flow" from North Africa - specifically the upsurge i arrivals from Libya since the start of the crisis there following the 2011 war - "need to be evaluated according to the same rules and the same interpretation", he added.

A deal reached Wednesday by the EU's 28 ambassadors on the three billion euros of aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey envisages a billion euros coming from the EU budget and the other two from member states according to their GDP. Italy's contribution will be 224.9 million euros, the fourth highest after Germany with 427.5 million, the UK with 327.6 million and France with 309.2 million. Spain is fifth with 152.8 million.


(ANSA) - Vatican City, February 3 - Pope Francis told Mexican State news agency Notimex he wants to be instrumental to peace in Mexico in an interview on his upcoming visit to the country, scheduled on February 18-22.

The pontiff said he wanted to be an "instrument of peace" together with all the Mexican people.

"The Mexico of violence, of corruption, of drug trafficking is not the Mexico our Mother" of Guadelupe wants, said Francis, adding he was going to Mexico "to pray with you so that the problems of violence and corruption are solved".

The Virgin of Guadelupe is Mexico's patron saint.

He went on to say that he was travelling to the Central American country "to call on you to fight each day against corruption, against war, against division, against organized crime, against human trafficking", stressing that "each day we must fight for peace, not war".

Peace is a "handicraft, an everyday job" that can be seen "in the way in which I educate a child or the way I caress a child", continued the pontiff, noting these were "all seeds of peace".

Also, peace "is born from tenderness, from comprehension", he noted, stressing that dialogue is "the key word for peace" - "dialogue between leaders, with the people and within the people".

The pontiff also stressed the importance of dialogue within families and across city districts, and urged "to be open to talk to others, to listen to the reasons of others and let ourselves be corrected".

Asked whether dialogue with a criminal was possible, the pontiff replied that, "we can dialogue with those who can change a criminal's heart".

He then urged not to "become part of any network that, in order to make money, turns me into a lifelong slave in an internal war and takes away my freedom as peace gives freedom".

"We have the same Mother, let's talk with Her for a moment", said the pontiff, encouraging to ask to Virgin of Guadalupe for "peace of the heart, the family, the city, the whole country". In the interview, the pontiff also said he had travelled to Mexico twice already, proclaimed his devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe.


(ANSA) - Rome, February 3 - Italy expects the European Commission to respect rules on budget flexibility for spending related to the immigration crisis, EU Affairs Undersecretary Sando Gozi on Wednesday told the Lower House's political commissions, presenting the country's 2016 European agenda.

"Italy, once it confirmed its OK to the fund for refugees in Turkey, clarified that the exceptional event cannot only concern a part of the Mediterranean", Gozi said.

"Expenses in managing the migration flow" from North Africa "need to be evaluated according to the same rules and the same interpretation", he added.

Earlier on Wednesday European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Italy was willing to make its contribution to three billion euros in EU aid to Turkey in exchange for cooperation on the refugee crisis.

The Commission had criticised Italian Premier Matteo Renzi's executive for allegedly holding up the aid package.

The Commission is expected to announce in the spring whether it has granted Italy's request for flexibility in the application of the EU's budget laws for spending related to asylum seekers.


(ANSA) - Brussels, February 3 - Italy has given its OK to a three-billion-euro fund for refugees in Turkey and expects the European Commission to free its spending since the beginning of the Libya crisis from deficit constraints in return, Italy said in a statement attached to its decision Wednesday.

European Affairs Undersecretary Sandro Gozi earlier echoed this by saying Italy expects the European Commission to respect budget flexibility rules with regards to its spending on the migrant emergency.

"At the same time as it confirmed it would OK the fund for refugees in Turkey, Italy made it clear that this exceptional event cannot affect just one part of the Mediterranean," Gozi told the Lower House EU policies committee.

"Spending on managing the migratory flow from North Africa must be assessed with the same norms and the same interpretation," Gozi told lawmakers.


(ANSA) - Cairo, February 3 - Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al Sisi said he would give his "personal attention" to the case of a missing Italian student, Giulio Regeni, who was reported missing in Cairo last month, Industry Minister Federica Guidi said on Wednesday.

Guidi is in Cairo with a delegation of Italian entrepreneurs.

"I was able to immediately talk about it in a private meeting with the president", said Guidi.

"I expressed to the president all the concern not just of the family" but also of the "Italian government", Guidi told Italian State broadcaster RAI, adding the head of State had assured her of his "personal attention".

Regeni, a PhD student, went missing in Cairo on January 25, the day of demonstrations marking the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

About a dozen people were reportedly arrested in the Egyptian capital that day.

An Egyptian security source told ANSA on Tuesday that the student is not being held by Egypt.


(ANSA) - Rome, February 3 - Italian and United States space agencies are in talks on a possible joint asteroid mission, Italian Space Agency (ASI) chief Enrico Flamini said Wednesday.

His statement came after Luxembourg announced it is working on legislation for the exploitation of raw materials on asteroids.

"Such legislation has already been approved by the US Congress and it's not surprising that other countries are starting to organize in the same direction," said Flamini.

Asteroids are highly likely to have valuable raw materials, he explained.

Flamini added that Italy can contribute its technological know-how to create a living environment in outer space as well as tools to sample and analyze minerals.

Whether the future asteroid mission will be carried out by robots or humans, its objective will be to "bring a significant quantity of mineral samples back to Earth," he concluded.


Egypt ready to sign contracts, says Italian minister After meeting with President Sisi

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 3 - President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi has said that Egypt is prepared to sign a number of contracts and tenders, Minister for Economic Development Federica Guidi told Italian state broadcaster RAI on Wednesday. "I cited some possible contracts," she said after a meeting with the Egyptian head of state and enterprises from an entrepreneurial mission underway in Cairo, "which may be signed soon." She answered a question on whether the meeting had discussed a possible Italy-Egypt summit to be held in the near future in Egypt that "we agreed to work together even in the next few months. We have some enterprises that have a historic presence in Egypt" and others with contracts that have been activated for potential projects. On the project for the development of the Suez Canal area, the minister said that it was "one of the large opportunities that Egypt offers". (ANSAmed).




BEIRUT - The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, on Wednesday announced a ''temporary suspension'' of Geneva talks aimed at ended the five-year war in the Middle Eastern nation.

Resumption of contacts for the talks has been set for February 25. In speaking to journalists, De Mistura underscored several times that it was only a ''temporary'' suspension, saying that on Thursday he would probably be in London to take part in an annual conference of donor nations for the Syrian crisis, underscoring the need to bring humanitarian aid to the civilian population. The talks were to have begun on January 25, but so far the delegations of the government and opposition groups have simply spoken separately with De Mistura on procedural issues to start the talks. The UN envoy's statement was broadcast live on Al Jazeera. He stressed that the talks would have to achieve results and that determination as well as realism were required.
Over 20 southern Italy SMEs arrive in Albania and Kosovo ICE initiative 'to broaden markets'

(ANSAmed) - TIRANA, FEBRUARY 3 - Over 20 SMEs from southern Italy have arrived in Albania and Kosovo in search of new markets.



As part of an initiative by the Tirana office of the Italian Trade Commission (ICE), which promotes Italian enterprises abroad, firms from the Calabria, Campania, Sicily and Puglia regions will be presenting their projects beginning February 4-18 in three Albanian cities and from 6-14 February in five shopping centers in Kosovo. ''Albania could represent a concrete hope for these firms, which have never before exported their products to this market,'' the ICE director for Albania and Kosovo, Gabriella Lombardi, said. The SMEs work in sectors ranging from clothing to home furnishings and lighting. ''Southern Italy is close to Albania not only geographically, and therefore I think it is natural to try to further strengthen economic and trade relations,'' Italian ambassador Alberto Cutillo said. Italy is Albania's top trade partner with a 37% market share (over 2 billion euros). Trade with Kosovo is steadily rising and is currently at over 300 million euros (11% market share). (ANSAmed)
Greece to strike on Thursday against pension reform Tsipras cornered by creditors and trade union rage

(by Patrizio Nissirio) (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 3 - The road ahead of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his pension reform is narrowing ever more, crushed between international creditors' demands and rising anger by large sections of Greek society worn down by extensive sacrifices and an endless crisis. Following strikes and sector protests (including road blocks by farmers), on Thursday the largest public and private sector trade unions ADEDY and GSEE will be holding a general strike. All public transport will be halted - including ferries - and journalists will be going on strike, though only until tomorrow morning in order to be able to cover the protests. The professionals, craftsman and merchants union GSEVEE as well as the Trade and Enterprise Confederation (ESEE) will be taking part, as will lawyers, public notaries, gas station owners, doctors and pharmacists. The maritime transport sector will be on strike until Saturday morning. Greek social security is on the verge of collapse, well beyond any sustainability limit. The employees fund IKA has a billion-euro deficit, the freelance professionals one a 540-million-euro deficit and there is a 6-billion per year contributive gap for the social security and pension system. The legislative and organizational chaos - with 930 different pension systems within the IKA - has led to 22% of Greek pensioners currently at risk of poverty. Pensions have ben reduced 11 times since 2010 by an average of 41%. Tsipras's reform calls for a unification of systems and their rationalization, as well as greater contributions from employees and freelance professionals - which is what has sparked the current protests: unions say that an increase in contributions and other taxes will result in some categories giving 75-80% of their earnings to the state coffers. The 1.5% increase in contributions is not approved of by representatives of the county's international creditors (EU, ECB, ESM and IMF) either, who would prefer a larger cut to pensions (which the prime minister has repeatedly said will not happen) and higher taxes for the highest income brackets. Tsipras is forced to walk a fine line, with only a slight majority in Parliament and the migrant crisis absorbing a great deal of political energy and economic resources. The next few days and weeks will be decisive for his government, and some are already speaking about the possibility of early elections.



(ANSAmed).




Riyadh street name 'Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi' remains in place Teacher writes to town council to get it changed

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 3 - Complaints about a street named 'Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi' in the Saudi capital have failed to result in a change to it.



Though the street was named in honor of a Muslim jurist from many centuries ago, most now associate the name with the head of the Islamic State (ISIS) and it is difficult to find references to the former on Google. The Sabq newspaper reported that a Saudi teacher named Ahmad Al-Hakami had sent a complaint to the town council suggesting that a change be made to prevent mistaking it for homage paid to the terrorist leader, but that the only reply was that the authorities in charge would look into it. ''It seems that it's a mere name resemblance, but if you Google the name, you only get to the notorious ISIS leader,'' Hakami told Sabq. (ANSAmed).




ANSAmed - Tomorrow's events in the Mediterranean

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 3 - The following are the main events scheduled in the Euro-Mediterranean area for tomorrow: LONDON - Conference on the Syria humanitarian crisis with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini.



ATHENS - General strike called by the main trade unions to protest against the pension reform.



CAIRO - Mission by an Italian economic delegation led by minister of Economic Development, Federica Guidi.



TUNIS - The first edition of the film festival "Premiers Gestes.



Jeune cinema de Mediterranee", continues (to february 10).



(ANSAmed).




BRUSSELS - The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on Wednesday authorized 3 billion euros in EU funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey, diplomatic sources said. The legislative text agreed on Wednesday morning will have to be approved by the European Council's budget committee. COREPER will in the afternoon continue discussion on the issue, focusing on some technical deails prior to its official approval. Some legal and technical issues raised by five or six member states are said to be under debate. A working group will discuss the issues with an aim of making the agreement official at the meeting in the afternoon. The accord envisages envisages a billion euros coming from the EU budget and the other two from member states according to their GDP.

Italy's contribution will be 224.9 million euros, the fourth highest after Germany with 427.5 million, the UK with 327.6 million and France with 309.2 million. Spain is fifth with 152.8 million. Italy's reluctance to OK the package allegedly without clarification of how it was to be paid out had caused friction with Brussels.
Libya: Tobruk Parliament convening Monday for minister list Shorter than the one with 32 ministers rejected last month

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 3 - The Chamber of Representatives (HoR), the Libyan parliament, will convene in Tobruk, on Monday, to "examine the national ''accord government'' presented by premier designate Fayez al-Sarraj, reported Emirati station "24" quoting a HoR spokesperson.



The reference is to the new list of ministers expected to be much slimmer than the one with 32 names rejected by parliament last month.



The new list, Sarraj is drawing, aims to give Libya a united government, also essential to coordinate military intervention against Isis. (ANSAmed).




Sanchez starts talks for new Spanish government Socialist leader wants coalition without Popular Party

(ANSAmed) - MADRID, FEBRUARY 3 - Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, tasked on Tuesday evening by King Felipe VI with trying to form a new Spanish government, began initial talks on Wednesday with the leaders of political parties in parliament. The PSOE chief was given the task after outgoing prime minister and Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy gave up after a first attempt, since his party does not have a majority.



Sanchez, who on Wednesday met with the leaders of Izquierda Unida (2 seats out of 350 in Congress) and the Canary Islands nationalists (1), said that he would try to form a government ''of change''. Analysts say that his mission is seen as nearly impossible, given crossed vetoes of the main parties and parliamentary fragmentation following the December 20 elections. Outgoing foreign minister Garcia-Margallo has called the coalition that Sanchez wants to form - excluding the PP, which has an absolute majority - ''a Marx Brothers joke''. The Socialist leader has asked for a month prior to going before Congress. (ANSAmed).




MOSCOW - Russia does not see any reason to halt its operation in Syria, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, quoted by Tass. Moscow - he added - will put forward pragmatic proposals for a ceasefire in Syria, in Munich.



"I can't see any reason why we should halt our aerial operations until the terrorist shall be defeated'', said Lavrov.



The foreign minister - reported Interfax - replied to the request made by Syrian regime opposers in Geneva.



Yesterday, during negotiations, US Secretary John Kerry said he ''expected'' a ceasefire and ''full humanitarian access'' on the basis of the UN resolution ''also voted by Russia''.


Three day Dubai summit to shape future governments 100 speakers talking technology and smart public administration

(ANSAmed) - NAPLES, FEBRUARY 3 - "Shaping Future Governments" will be the theme running through the World Government Summit 2016, the largest forum in the world attended by government representatives, international organisations and academics to discuss the future of government, global innovations and the development of services in the private sector.



The summit will take place in Dubai from February 8 until February 10: research and studies on the main global challenges such as the future of education, economy, technology, healthcare, public administration, the environment and the management of human resources in the job market, will take centre stage.



Debate sessions will be attended by over 100 speakers from all over the world, among them Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank; Jose Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) ; Kathy Calvin, President and Managing Director of the UN Foundation; Jan Eliasson, Vice Secretary of the UN; Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive President of the World Economic Forum; Nabeel Al Araby, Secretary General of the Arab League; Abdul Latif Al Zayani, Secreatary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. "Even after the end of the three-day event - said Ohood Al Roumi, executive vice-president of the organising committee - and during the whole yea,r we will continue to work on a series of initiatives and research, a testament to the fact that the World Government Summit is an organisation that intends to play an active role and is always searching for innovative solutions for services at the disposal of governments and public administrations''.



During the summit, his Majesty Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of UAE and Sovereign of Dubai, will open the Museum of Future Government Services, a presentation of new technologies supporting governments.



Another pivotal moment will be the exhibition "Edge of Governments" allowing 15 governments to share their experiences and know-how regarding new revolutionary technologies.



One of the sessions, chaired by Tim O'Reilly, Founder of O'Reilly Media, will focus on the future of government work and will explore what the meaning of the new generation of ''smart'' governments really stands for.




UN envoy suspends Syria peace talks until 25/2 'Temporary suspension'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 3 - The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, on Wednesday announced a ''temporary suspension'' of Geneva talks aimed at ended the five-year war in the Middle Eastern nation.



Resumption of contacts for the talks has been set for February 25. In speaking to journalists, De Mistura underscored several times that it was only a ''temporary'' suspension, saying that on Thursday he would probably be in London to take part in an annual conference of donor nations for the Syrian crisis, underscoring the need to bring humanitarian aid to the civilian population. The talks were to have begun on January 25, but so far the delegations of the government and opposition groups have simply spoken separately with De Mistura on procedural issues to start the talks. The UN envoy's statement was broadcast live on Al Jazeera. He stressed that the talks would have to achieve results and that determination as well as realism were required. (ANSAmed).




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Elmo, Big Bird and Abby Cadabby are teaming up with the Defense Department to support thousands of military families as they transition to civilian life, according to Transition to Veterans Program Office officials.On Jan. 27, the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, launched a website devoted to helping families cope with the changes associated with transitioning into civilian life, the officials said. Sesame Workshop includes several videos for children and adults, an activity book called My Story, My Big Adventure Activity Book, and other resources that military parents can use to help their families communicate through the transition process, the officials said.The products are intended to increase the ability of parents to communicate with young children in age-appropriate ways and create awareness among transition service providers of the importance of including the whole family, particularly children, when addressing transitions for active duty service members, the officials said. The products are available online and will be distributed through a variety of networks where military families and children are present, both on and off military installations, the officials said.We are grateful to Sesame Workshop for their efforts to assist our transitioning military families, said Susan Kelly, the director of the DODs Transition to Veterans Program Office. Transitioning out of the military can be challenging for families, and we hope these products will help ease that transition.The DOD has worked with the Sesame Workshop in the past to use Sesame Streets familiar characters to help preschool-aged military children understand aspects of military life, such as the deployment of a parent, moving to a new home, and the injury or even death of a parent, the officials said. Previous examples of resources that have been developed through this collaboration between the Sesame Workshop and the Department of Defense can be found through Military OneSource , the officials saidThe latest collection of resources about the transition of military families comes through collaboration with the National Center for Telehealth and Technology of the Defense Centers for Excellence, along with personnel from DODs Transition to Veterans Program Office and the Military Community and Family Policy office, the officials said.The department assisted the Sesame Workshop in conducting research on this effort by organizing focus groups in 2015 with transitioning families at installations across the nation, including Fort Riley, Kansas; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virgina; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina; Vandenberg AFB, California; Miramar AFB, California; Camp Pendleton, California; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, New York; the officials said.According to the Sesame Workshop, focus group responses indicated that transition-related challenges, such as finding employment and adjusting to a change in family roles, could increase anxiety in military children, possibly resulting in academic or behavioral challenges, the officials said. The workshops materials emphasize communication throughout the transition process and underscore the benefits of making new friends and maintaining a positive attitude through change, the officials said.Rosemary Williams, the deputy assistant defense secretary for military community and family policy, said the long-standing working relationship with Sesame Workshop has great benefits for military families.Their unique ability to translate difficult topics into language easily understood by children and trusted by their parents is most unique, Williams said. These fun and engaging products will only help military families as they adjust to new changes with the same resilience that marked their service to our nation.The products can also be found at the Sesame Street for Military Families website and through a mobile app available for Apple and Android users under the same name, the officials said.
Final GPS IIF satellite moves to next processing phase toward launch

When a space vehicle is loaded with 320 pounds of hydrazine, the 45th Space Wing's Airmen-led GPS processing team knows they are in their final stages toward launching a premier capability to the warfighter.



All of the intricate processing steps from delivery of the satellite to launching into orbit are part of their standard operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. But, its a bitter sweet moment when the team reflects on the extensive years of history they have processing GPS systems for the Air Force.



"GPS II processing at the Cape started while the Shuttle program was here, when the Air Force was still launching Delta IIs and the Cold War was still going on," said Capt. Trung Nguyen, the field program manager for GPS IIF at the 45th Launch Support Squadron. "The GPS processing program has been a staple at the Cape. There are engineers and technicians here who worked on the first GPS II block satellite. Some have launched over 20 satellites. Some have been with the program since 1989."



The 45th LCSS processing team received its 12th and final Air Force GPS IIF model on Oct. 8 and unpackaged it in the NAVSTAR Processing Facility, where successful functional tests of the system made sure the satellite operates as expected when it is in orbit next month. The team is currently in the next phase of preparation for launch at the DSCS Processing Facility where major milestones occur, such as fueling.



"The NPF portion of the campaign lets the customer know that the satellite they paid for works," Nguyen said. "For this final mission, we executed the functional testing like we've always done."



Before they began tests, the team unpackaged the satellite and watched Air Force contracted partners give it a good shake down to ensure the satellite didn't suffer any inadvertent deviations during its transportation from the factory, delivery and transition into the NPF. A team carrying flashlights inspect every nut and bolt to make sure things are in order.



"Just because it looks like the final one, it is not exactly the same; each spacecraft is built by hand and thus is a little different from every previous unit," said Scott Chappie, the lead Air Force responsible engineer for GPS IIF-12, who has processed the previous four satellites that launched.



The Air Force team mounts the satellite to a test stand where an extensive suite of electronic tests are performed to verify the functionality and performance of each unique space vehicle. This process in the spacecraft control room can take up to 10 days with an Air Force mission responsible on station 24/7 to monitor the data received from a variety of cables plugged into the satellite. They don't install batteries until they know everything is operating as expected.



During this functional testing, proper operation of the subsystems is demonstrated, and the test procedure is designed to detect any malfunctions or failures that may have an impact on the satellite while in orbit.



"We also take a photo of every inch of the space craft in case we need to refer to it to trouble shoot something while it is in orbit," said Chappie, who has worked in military space for 20 years before coming to the Cape Canaveral AFS last year. "This forces us to look at every piece again. It is an extremely detailed procedure designed by the contractor - what to do, in what order and what tools are needed."



The closer the team gets to launch day, the higher the value of the satellite. This means there is less room for risk as they move forward. The Air Force team provides independent mission assurance to constantly monitor all launch site processing and assess the risk of those operations on spacecraft mission success.



In the final processing phase at the NPF, the space vehicle propulsion system is pressurized to the maximum expected operating pressure using gaseous nitrogen, which verifies that the reaction control system is working properly without any leaks in a simulated fueling test before it is transported and unpackaged at the DSCS Processing Facility.



Although the GPS moved to another location to continue processing, the control room remained at the NPF and is in contact with the satellite through every other phase of processing until the moment the rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral AFS.



The DSCS Processing Facility is configured to handle fueling operations safely with minimum personnel in the trench-lined hangar bays. Once fueled up and ready, the satellite can be mated to United Launch Alliance's Ground Transport Vehicle and encapsulated in the payload fairing. During this time, multiple electrical tests occur to ensure that all electrical paths are still operating nominally. Then the satellite will be transported to the Vertical Integration Facility, where it is mated to the top of an Atlas V rocket.



"We are here to protect the interests of the warfighter in this critical national asset," Chappie said. "We verify the satellites functionality and performance before we commit to launch."



T-minus two days from launch the integrated team is on console ready for power configuration to launch. Using fiber optic cables they can test their ability to communicate with the satellite. On the day of launch, they are ready to assist with any situation that may come up with close eyes on the telemetry data.



Following the completion of the processing and launch of the last of the GPS IIF Block spacecraft, the Air Force team looks forward to launching the GPS III spacecraft, which are already being built at a contractor factory.



Compared to other spacecraft, GPS IIF-12 is a modest size platform weighing in at 3,600 pounds, Chappie said. Although the design is impressive, the engineer said the impact it has is astonishing.



"That space craft is going to touch the lives of hundreds of millions if not billions of people on a daily basis," he said. "It not only vastly increases our military's position, navigation and timing capabilities all over the world, but so many people and business activities have also come to depend on GPS. This is a stunningly, successful program -- the way the Air Force conceived it and the way they continue to manage and implement the program."



Members of the mission assurance team, ranging from young military officers to career enlisted troops to seasoned civilians, look forward to the Atlas V's scheduled launch with GPS IIF-12 on board Feb. 5.



Once the satellite is on orbit, it communicates with the GPS Master Control Station, operated by the 50th Space Wing's 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. This squadron is responsible for monitoring and controlling the GPS as a 24-satellite system, consisting of six orbital planes, with a minimum of four satellites per plane. There are currently 40 vehicles in the GPS constellation.



GPS satellites serve and protect U.S. warfighters by providing navigational assistance and timing standards for military operations on land, at sea, and in the air. Civilian users around the world also use and depend on GPS for highly accurate time, location, and velocity information.
Comms program hits 100,000 hours of warfighter connectivity

A program managed here to ensure warfighters can stay connected despite differing networks and austere environments recently reached a significant milestone and is also on a path to keep moving forward.



The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) program reached 100,000 combat flight hours Jan. 30. The system, which provides coalition interoperability among air, space and surface systems by forwarding and translating voice and data across disparate networks, began operating in theater in 2008.



In 2015 alone, the system flew on more than 1,500 combat missions and 21,000 combat flight hours.



"For more than seven years now, BACN has been deployed supporting warfighter critical communication needs," said Maj. Gen. Craig Olson, the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks program executive officer. "This capability has revolutionized the way we think about communications, providing strategic agility to DOD and coalition partners through increased interoperability and range extension for ground, air and space forces."



BACN began as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration in 2006 to meet the challenges associated with operating in mountainous regions with limited line-of-sight, and in 2009 became a Joint Urgent Operational Need program to support Operation Enduring Freedom. It currently operates on two airborne platforms: one manned, the E-11A aircraft; and one remotely piloted, the Global Hawk Block 20s.



According to program officials, BACN provides the warfighter a high-altitude relay, providing reliable, dynamic communication links. Its myriad abilities include: an extended range of voice and tactical data networks; data exchange and translation across TDNs using various message standards and systems; voice communications interoperability between disparate radio systems; and unification of separate TDNs into a seamless, larger network.



The group operating the system in theater realizes the benefits BACN provides.



"BACN has been instrumental in extending communications and enhancing situational awareness throughout Afghanistan," said the contracting officer's representative for the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron. "The missions range from support for troops in contact to enabling strikes against key targets. BACN is a key part of the C2 backbone."



They also realize the significance of the milestone.



"The entire team in country is proud to have contributed to passing the 100,000-hour milestone for the BACN program," said the 430th EECS commander. "Having the E-11As overhead on a 24/7 basis has provided important radio bridges and datalink extensions to the warfighters on the ground and in the air. We are happy that we can support the ongoing efforts of the entire Freedom's Sentinel and Resolute Support missions."



And the program office is working to ensure this support can continue. In December, they released a notice of contract action. They intend to award a sole source follow-on contract for operations and support to Northrop Grumman Corp. for operating and maintaining the BACN system payloads. The work is expected to begin in January 2017 and may continue through January 2021 in optioned intervals of no more than 12 months each. Work will include continued payload operations and maintenance, periodic software upgrades and providing spares and repair parts.



"Achieving 100,000 combat flight hours for a program with JUON origins is an incredible milestone which highlights the importance of this capability," Olson said. "BACN has become a true force multiplier, and it is laying the foundation for the future of aerial layer networking. The BACN team and I are excited about the future of the program and we are ready to support this warfighter requirement for as long as it's needed."



(Editor's note: Names from expeditionary units were not included for security reasons.)
Incorporating various observations and assessments from the first year under the new enlisted evaluation and promotion systems, the Air Force is making several adjustments for year two to ease execution and strengthen processes.In 2015, the Air Force began execution of the new enlisted evaluation and promotion systems with the goal of ensuring performance as the main factor when promoting or evaluating Airmen. The new systems also increased a commanders opportunities to identify top performers and clearly indicate an Airmans promotion potential to the boards.Enlisted performance reports available for review by senior NCO evaluation boards will decrease from the previous 10 to five years beginning with the calendar year 2016 master sergeant evaluation board. This change allows an increased focus on recent performance and compliments implementation of restricted stratification and forced distribution rules that also emphasize recent performance.With the change from reviewing 10 years of reports decreased to five years, the Air Force is also transitioning to a single-phase process for the upcoming master sergeant evaluation board.Starting with the 2016 promotion cycle, the master sergeant evaluation board will be condensed into a single-phase process in which all weighted factors and board scores are combined into one score for each Airman. Accordingly, this single-phase approach will eliminate the EPR points as a separate weighted factor similar to senior and chief master sergeant evaluation boards.After going through the first master sergeant evaluation board in 2015, we were able to assess our capacity to review all eligible Airmen. We now know our systems, facility and annual board schedule can support boarding all eligible technical sergeants, said Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly, the director of military force management policy. This adjustment allows every technical sergeant a chance to have their performance reviewed on its own merit directly by the board.Under these adjustments the master sergeant evaluation board will review all eligible technical sergeant selection folders containing each Airmans evaluation brief, EPRs closing out within five years of the promotion eligibility cutoff date (PECD), and all decorations received over the Airmans entire career. Any Article 15 received within two years of the PECD and recommended for placement in the selection folder by a commander will also be visible.Another announced adjustment for 2016 is the continuation of the previously-planned reduction in points associated with time-in-service and time-in-grade. For calendar 2016, the multipliers for calculating total TIS and TIG points will be reduced again by another one-third, impacting the 2016 E-5, E-6, E-7, E-9, and 2017 E-8 promotion cycles. The Air Force will again conduct analysis on the impact of this change and determine if future reductions to completely eliminate the TIG and TIS weighted points from the Weighted Airman Promotion System will continue in calendar 2017.Finally, beginning in calendar 2016, EPR point calculations for promotion to grades E-5 and E-6 will be based solely on an Airmans last three forced distributed reports in their current grade. This adjustment provides an equitable method for transitioning from the legacy to the new system. Accounting for legacy EPRs, if in current grade, is accomplished by considering and factoring them into an Airmans promotion recommendation. This allows a clean break under the new Forced Distribution system where no points are awarded for legacy EPRs.For more information about senior NCO evaluation board processes or other adjustments related to enlisted evaluation and promotions, visit the myPers website
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Indonesia: Government Set to Open Several Sectors to Foreigners in boost to FDI

Indonesias government is set to open several sectors including wholly owned cold storage, sugar factories, and rubber manufacturing to foreigners. The authorities stated that the cold storage industry, in particular, will be opened without any regional restrictions. This should help the fishing processing industry as there is a lack of cold storage facilities.

While the industries will be opened for 100 percent investment, certain conditions will be imposed. For example, foreigners will be able to own sugar and rubber manufacturing companies as long as they source 30 percent of raw materials from local farmers.

These moves come hot on the heels of the governments recently allowance of 100 percent foreign ownership in local e-commerce businesses. Foreign investment in retail including departmental stores, supermarkets and minimarkets is still being discussed.

Thailand: Companies Lay Off Workers to Comply With Labor Law

Several companies in the seafood processing sector have laid off workers due to labor regulations which were imposed on 13 January prohibiting the employment of workers under 18 years of age. Seafresh Group, as well as other suppliers that supply to several retailers in the US and European markets, have made moves to comply.

In their defense, many companies have complained that employees falsified their age. In the case of Seafresh, the local government instructed the company to perform a dental check for workers who were suspected to be under 18 years. However, human rights activists have stated that this may not be a reliable method.

The moves largely come as a response to regulators in the US and Europe which recently placed Thailand on a watch list for human trafficking. It is suspected that workers are brought in from Myanmar and Cambodia to provide low cost labor for many industries. Authorities in Thailand have denied that exports to the US, Europe and Australia were made using forced labor.

Myanmar: Government Allows Foreign Investment in Condos

On January 22nd, authorities within Myanmar passed the Condominium Law which allows for 40 percent foreign ownership in high-rise buildings. The law defines condominiums as being at least six floors on plots exceeding 20,000 square feet.

While foreigners can invest, they are not allowed to manage the condominium, which has created confusion. In addition, while condo owners will have shared ownership of both land the building, existing laws in the country prohibit foreign entities from owning land.

The Ministry of Construction will give further details on the Condominium Law including the number of floors, apartments, and parking lots required; as well as the materials to be used, and security and safety measures of the buildings. While the development will increase foreign investment, companies should wait for clarification from the government to mitigate any regulatory hurdles later on.



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.

Manufacturing Hubs Across Emerging Asia

In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we explore several of the regions most competitive and promising manufacturing locales including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Exploring a wide variety of factors such as key industries, investment regulations, and labor, shipping, and operational costs, we delineate the cost competitiveness and ease of investment in each while highlighting Indonesia, Vietnam and Indias exceptional potential as the manufacturing leaders of the future.

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.
by Christopher Sharma

About one million Nepalese migrants work in Malaysia. A third of them have asked to return home because of problems related to the currency crisis, insecurity and because they suffer torture. Nepal, however, still "suffers from the earthquake and the Indian embargo" and Kathmandu does not know how to re-employ migrants. Kuala Lumpur will not issue regular contracts, while calling for more women workers "who end up in the sex trade."

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - About 300 thousand Nepalese immigrants who work in Malaysia have asked the authorities in Kathmandu to be repatriated due to continuous torture, personal insecurity and economic crisis. But the motherland has denied the return of their citizens, fearing repercussions on the national economy.

The government says it is unable to re-employ the workers and would lose the huge sums come from their remittances.

Ministry of Finance official, Baburam Marasini, said: "The simultaneous return of such a large number of people would have a serious impact and would plunge Nepal into an alarming situation".

According to data Apex Development Bank, the maximum financial institution of the country, about 4.1 million Nepalese work abroad and earn 1.8 billion rupees a day [about 15 million euro - ed.] A third of this amount comes from Malaysia, with nearly one million Nepalese.

Kedar Bogati, director general of the Division for foreign labor, says: "Migrant workers are facing unusual problems in Malaysia recently. There is great insecurity, the collapse of the currency and episodes of torture in the workplace.

The administrator also reports that the country of Southeast Asia represses their cultural traditions and religious practices. Social activist, Rajan Karki, confirms: "Malaysia pays the migrants half the agreed fees. There is also a deep cultural problem, since most Nepalese are Hindu but forced to practice Islam and to follow the dictates of the Islamic faith. "

Bogati then adds that Nepal "faces different problems and social instability due to the earthquake of last April and the Indian embargo on goods exports ', in force since the Constitution was adopted. These are the main reasons "why Kathmandu has denied the return, which would create even more confusion."

Finally, the director points out a certain inconsistency in the attitude of the Malaysian government. On one side it is reluctant to sign regular contracts with migrants, on the other it recently called for more women workers. This is because, report news sources, thousands of Nepalese women and girls are employed as domestic servants, but then are forced into prostitution. If they resist, they are raped and forced to have unwanted pregnancies.
Marking World Week for Inter-religious Harmony, youth groups have organized various charitable activities. PIME missionary: "The prisoners take turns to sleep, there are not enough beds. Thanks to the meeting with young people they experience dialogue and witness from inside their cells".

Zamboanga (AsiaNews) - A group of Christians and Muslims are making visits to Zamboanga prison, one of the most crowded in the Philippines, to educate inmates to dialogue and tolerance, calling them to witness from within their cells.

This is one of many initiatives organized for World Week for religious harmony (Feb. 1-7), an initiative sought by the UN in 2010 to celebrate the coexistence of different religions.

Fr Sebastiano D'Ambra - PIME missionary and founder of Silsilah, a group for interreligious dialogue - explains that in Zamboanga (Mindanao) the initiative is significant because it is one of the most multicultural cities in the Philippines (40% of the population is Muslim).

"We have a busy schedule - says the missionary - every day there are meetings and activities. The first day we discussed the document A Common Word, the letter that 138 Muslim leaders addressed to Benedict XVI in 2007, which is essential and is a veritable Magna Carta of dialogue. "

Alongside the work of Muslim and Christian leaders, who will alternate throughout the week, says Fr. D'Ambra, "every day is dedicated to one activity in particular: a blood donation, a visit the sick in the hospital, a visit to the hospices ...".

"Yesterday morning in particular - continues the priest - a group of Muslim and Christian youths went to Zamboanga prison, known for drug crimes. The young people met the detainees and asked them about their concept of harmony. They were then invited to make drawings and write stories and songs with the theme of peace among religions. It's nice to see people in those conditions experience these concepts. The prisoners are called to testify what they saw inside their cells. Many of them are in isolation and can not get out. "

The conditions in the Zamboanga prison are difficult: "There are 1,500 men and 300 women - says Fr. D'Ambra - and the prison is overcrowded: prisoners must take turns sleeping because there are not enough beds. Often, then, people spend even two or three years in prison before trial because there are very few judges and a backlog of cases to be heard. We wrote them a letter inviting them to do everything possible to resolve this situation".

"Beyond the problems that exist in Mindanao - says the missionary - in this Harmony Week we want to tell positive stories to communicate to the people the message of hope. Let us put aside the problems, not to forget them, but to focus on how we can build harmony. Both those who believe and those who do not believe can do something for the common good. "
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - "He embraced the fate of Cambodia, living in contact with people. He knew how to be a man of God to others, a true shepherd to his people, while building a good relationship with us missionaries ":This is how Fr.Franco Legnani, a priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), describes Msgr. Emile Destombes, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh from 2001 to 2010, who died on January 28 at the age of 80. Fr Legnani, today in Rome as rector of the PIME General House, lived in the Asian country for 20 years and personally knew the former apostolic vicar. He was among the first to return after the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge "and - he added - because he knew the Khmer language very well, he started to search the streets and roads for Christians discouraged and dispersed by the persecution of Pol Pot."



The funeral of Mgr. Destombes was held Saturday, January 30. It was presided by the current Apostolic Vicar Msgr. Olivier Schmitthaeusler, who in his homily stressed his predecessors "trust in God and man". A trust in others that the violence of the Khmer Rouge was unable to touch. Indeed, he experienced firsthand the tragedy "of a people who had adopted him and to which he had agreed to generously donate his life."



Msgr. Olivier recalled the words that the former vicar used to say in the days when the bloody Maoist revolutionaries, led by Pol Pot, made their entrance into the capital: "We remain, whatever happens." A faith nurtured and sustained by prayer, especially that of Charles de Foucauld "which he liked to recite every day" and that supported him in his last days "when health was slowly deteriorating."



Following the example of St. Paul, he was able to transform the Cambodian Church into a "missionary" reality, which allowed her to "put down roots" despite persecution, violence, massacres. "Msgr. Emile served Cambodia and his Church with joy and sense of humor - added Msgr. Olivier  living his mission as a service ".



Fr. Legnani shares these sentiments, adding that Msgr. Destombes left two great legacies to the Church in Cambodia: "The desire in her heart - she says - a faith that had the face of Cambodia, bringing the salvation and hope of the Gospel into the lives of the Cambodian people. He had a heart of a shepherd, who harbored love and affection for his people. I particularly remember a picture of the bishop, with miter and pastoral staff, his face was happy ... happy! ". And yet, the bishop leaves the faithful "his pastoral soul ", his being "missionary, his love for his people, his heart like that of Jesus ... we can say that he successfully combined the heart of Jesus and the heart of a Cambodian".



"Msgr. Destombes was extremely simple - recalls the PIME missionary, among the first to leave for Cambodia - he lived in a small room full of books; there was always a candle and a copy of the Gospel in the Khmer language on his desk. He loved to read, pray, meditate the Gospel in the local language. This aspect impressed me a lot, because usually the missionaries have a Bible in their native language. While he used a Gospel in Khmer language to embrace his people. " Working closely with him, said Fr. Legnani, "I saw in this man a heart of a shepherd, always happy, serene, content to be in touch with his people."
The data released by the National Cancer Centre in Beijing reveals an overall decrease in mortality rate, but an increase in cancer diagnosis. In 2015, 2.8 million deaths. Lung cancer is the most common, with pollution and active smoking among the first causes.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More than 7,500 people a day died of cancer in China in 2015, while there were 12 thousand new diagnoses of cancer per day. The alarming figures were published by the National Cancer Centre in Beijing.

Chen Wanqing, one of the researchers, said that the overall death rate is decreasing compared to 2006, but there was a 78% increase in deaths due to cancer. This, according to experts, is due to the growth and aging of the population.



In total, last year there were 4.3 million new positive diagnosis and 2.8 million cancer deaths. The most common is lung cancer, which is also the leading cause of death in China. Added to its causes is air pollution and the continued growth of active smokers (more than half of Chinese men smoke). Even domestic pollution (with coal heating and biomass fuels) is among the leading causes of lung infections.

Among men, the most common cancers (besides in the lungs) are the stomach, esophagus, liver and bowel cancer. Among women the most common is breast cancer (15% of the total), lung and bronchus, stomach and intestinal cancer.



According to the researchers, the individuals most at risk are the poor and those living in rural areas, where often the soil and water are contaminated. The preventable cause of death for most common cancer, experts say, is chronic infection (stomach, intestines, etc.), which is responsible for 29% of deaths.



Chen Wanqing and colleagues analyzed data from 72 local registries, covering 6.5% of the Chinese population. It is a very large information pool, when compared with that available only a few years ago, which covered less than 2% of the citizens.
Pakistani authorities are pursuing a broad strategy to counter Islamic terrorism, detaining thousands of people, seizing hate speech material, freezing bank accounts, and closing religious seminaries. Law enforcement agencies have also gone after extremist groups money and the media tools they use to spread radical ideas.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Pakistani authorities have shut down 182 madrassas (Islamic seminaries) since the deadly Peshawar school attack in 2014 that killed 134 children and 9 adults.

Part of the strategy includes choking terror financing. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has so far frozen Rs 1 billion (US.5 million) in 126 accounts linked to banned militant groups. Law enforcement agencies have also recovered around Rs 251 million (US$ 2.4 million) in cash.

The government has placed the names of 8,195 people in the fourth schedule* and 188 on the Exit Control List** whilst the movement of 2,052 hard-core militants has been restricted.

The madrassas that were closed are located in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (whose capital is Peshawar) because of their involvement in promoting extremism and other suspicious activities, the government-operated Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.

The action was taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) put in place after militants affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan carried out the massacre at an Peshawar army school in December 2014.

The government has also registered 1,026 cases and arrested 230 terror suspects. Sixty-four organisations were banned whilst the United Nations outlawed 74 groups.

The activities of some organisations are also constantly monitored and their activists have been placed under surveillance.

Finally, with regard to hate speech, the Pakistani government seized 1,500 books and other hate material, and sealed 73 shops.

Law-enforcement agencies have also registered 2,337 cases of hate speech and material and arrested 2,195 people.

* The fourth schedule restricts the movement of a person placed on the list from the place of his permanent residence without seeking prior permission from police.

** The Exit Control List is a system of border control under the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance. Anyone on the list is banned from leaving Pakistan.
Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Saudi court has overturned the death penalty against the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, who had been sentenced for apostasy. He will have to serve eight years in prison and receive 800 lashes, in 16 separate sessions. The previous verdict had raised a wave of international protests; in recent weeks hundreds of writers, authors, intellectuals and artists launched initiatives for his release.



The Palestinian poets lawyer Abdul Rahman al-Lahim, reports that the court of Abha in the south-west of the country, has also decided that his client must sign a declaration of repentance, which will be published in the official media.



Fayadh, 35, has always vehemently denied the charges, claiming that another man fabricated false charges against. His defense is ready to submit a new appeal and apply for his release and full acquittal.

The poet of Palestinian origin - was born in Saudi Arabia to refugee parents - he was arrested in August of 2013, after a Saudi citizen accused him of fomenting atheism and spreading blasphemous ideas. He was released the next day, but arrested again in January 2014 and charged with apostasy.



Activists and international NGOs claim that the charges are related to his art and to his collection of poems - Instructions Within, published in 2008 - in which according to the indictment calls into question the dictates of religion and spread ideas related to atheism.



The Riyadh authorities have also indicted him for violating the law against online crime and of taking pictures of women in public with his cellphone. The death sentence dates back to 17 November 2015.



Saudi Arabia applies a strict vision of Islamic law, which provides for the death penalty for a wide range of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy. Last year, the Executioner executed at least 153 people. This year executions seem to be increasing, given the fact that since 1 January a total of 58 people have been executed. The last two beheadings took place yesterday, the people executed were a Saudi citizen and an Ethiopian immigrant, sentenced to death for murder.
by Fady Noun

A miracle in Phoenix, Arizona, has been attributed to the intercession of the hermit of Annaya, Lebanon. The day after visiting a holy relic associated with the saint, Dafne Gutierrez woke up with very itchy eyes and feeling a lot of pressure on her head and eye sockets. In the glow of a nightlight, amazed, she cried out to her husband, "I can see you. I can see you".

Beirut (AsiaNews)  A blind woman has been healed in Phoenix, Arizona, thanks to the intercession of Saint Charbel (Sharbel) Makhlouf (8 May 1828-24 December 1898). Thus, the reputation of miracle worker of the hermit of Annaya (Lebanon) is spreading around the world, or at least, wherever fate has taken the Maronites, scattered by the winds of their turbulent history.

The city of Phoenix, capital of the US state of Arizona, has been the scene of one of those amazing miracles whose secret only Saint Charbel knows: the healing of a Hispanic American woman, 30-year-old Dafne Gutierrez, mother of three, who had lost her eyesight to Arnold-Chiari malformation.

Phoenix is a city with a large Lebanese community, mostly Maronite. The local Maronite church is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Masses are celebrated in three languages: Arabic, Spanish and English. Saint Joseph Maronite Catholic Church is the hub of one of the 36 Maronite parishes in the United States, divided between the two big dioceses of New York and Los Angeles.

The relic of Saint Charbel, who has toured the various parishes since early October 2015, consists of a bone sample kept in a cedar chest. This pilgrimage marks the 50th anniversary of the beatification of the great Lebanese. The pastor of Saint Joseph, Wissam Akiki, had publicised as much as he could the relatively short visit (15-17 January 2016) the relic had to make in his parish, which coincided with a retreat for priests in the presence of the Maronite Bishop of Los Angeles, Mgr Elias Abdallah Zeidane.

Diagnosed with ArnoldChiari malformation at the age of 13, Dafne Gutierrez over the years developed papilledema (swelling of the optic disc swelling) at the end of the optic nerve. Surgery to correct the malformation had proved unhelpful. In the fall of 2014, she lost the use of her left eye, which had gradually weakened a year earlier. In November 2015, the right eye was also lost, which plunged her into total darkness that even sunlight failed to break when she looked at it directly. A medical report eventually concluded that her blindness was irreversible and that she required permanent medical assistance. Ms Gutierrez even envisaged moving to a residence for the blind, so as not to be a burden on her family.

Over the weekend of the 16th and 17th January, motivated by Fr Akikis posters, relatives encouraged Ms Gutierrez to ask for healing. One of them took her to the priest on Saturday, 16 January. "I put my hand on her head, then on both eyes, and I asked God to heal her through the intercession of St Charbel, the clergyman said with much fuss. On Sunday, Dafne and her family attended Mass and then went home.

On the morning of the 18th, the inexplicable healing occurred. Around 5 am, Dafne woke up with severe itching in the eyes and the feeling of pressure on her skull and eye sockets. She awoke her husband, who detected a strong burning smell in the room. He switched on the light, but then switched it off very quickly, at his wifes request because it bothered her. Then in the glow of a nightlight, she told him, amazed, that she could see. "I can see you. I can see you with my own eyes," she said. At the same time, she felt a strong pressure on the skull and eyes, like after an operation. She put her hand to her head, on the right side, as if there were an injury. One can imagine the rest. "I cannot believe it. I did not want to close my eyes, she said. My children were shouting: Mom can see! God healed mom!

"Three days later, an ophthalmologic examination noted the miraculous healing. By then, five doctors had already examined Dafne Gutierrez, including one ophthalmologist of Lebanese origin, Dr Jimmy Saade. The healing defies scientific explanation.

According to her doctor, he had not seen such healing in his forty years of practice. "No way! No way! he kept repeating, as he read the report in front of him. The optical disc, the report said, shows no sign of the Papilledema. To avoid any doubts, a complete medical check-up is underway to understand better the case and fully document the inexplicable nature of the healing. The goal is also to verify whether the miracle includes the correction of the malformation causing blindness, as suggested by the feeling of pressure Dafne Gutierrez feels on the skull "as if it were part of an operation."

Popular faith does not have such scruples. News of the healing of a blind woman in Phoenix spread like wildfire and made it on US and Mexican regional TV channels. As a result, thousands of visitors began arriving at Saint Joseph Church, whose pastor wisely set aside a special intercession day on the 22nd of each month, like in Annaya, since the amazing healing of Nohad El Shami (22 January 1993).

After touring the United States, the reliquary of St Charbel, was brought back to the Maronite Diocese of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles, following two final stops in Detroit, where the local Chaldean community honoured it, and Miami (Florida).
By Sylvi

Special to the Post

I was ecstatic to hear that a new location opened up near Metrotown.

Service was very slow but our food arrived almost instantaneously once we were able to put our order in with the waitress.

Chinese fried donuts wrapped in egg pancake: the Chinese fried donuts were soft and doughy. The egg pancake is more like an egg crepe with some pork floss. This dish lacked seasoning and needed a sauce.

Bean curd mushroom roll: The bean curd roll was crispy and wasnt greasy, but again, lacked seasoning. The sweet and sour sauce wasnt brought to our table until we had already eaten half of it.

Stewed duck leg in brown sauce: The duck meat was a little dry and tough, the sauce was a little too sweet and the flavour of the sauce did not seep into the duck.

Steamed pork soup dumplings: They were bite sized pockets of soupy goodness. The skin wasnt too thick and the pork was juicy.

Noodle soup with beef: The noodle soup had a clear broth that lacked the concentrated braised flavour that it should have. The noodles were a little overcooked and soft, but the beef was tender and flavourful.

Pan-fried radish slice cake: They were more like pastries. The warm flaky pastry was filled with daikon and a bit of bacon and dried shrimp.

Overall, we were disappointed with Dinesty. Shanghainese food should be very flavourful, however, the dishes we tried were bland. Other than the pork soup dumplings and the pan-fried radish slice cake, everything lacked seasoning. We probably wont be back any time soon as there are better Shanghainese restaurants in the area.

Sylvie is an opinionated Vancouverite foodie on the lookout for good eats. Read more of his reviews at alpacalunchfortwo.wordpress.com.

DINESTY DUMPLING HOUSE

4501 Kingsway, Suite 104, Burnaby, BC
His rapid breathing told Salima something was wrong with her newborn baby. Within 36 hours Kaden was rushed by helicopter to hospital in Vancouver. He had a hole in his heart. It seemed surgery was the only option.

Thankfully, medication closed the hole, but it took six weeks to fully heal. After two months in the hospital, his parents were able to take their baby home.

Kaden was diagnosed with apraxia  a speech disorder. Without immediate intervention, he faced the possible severe developmental and learning challenges.

The costs for speech and language therapy is expensive. Kadens family didnt know how they were going to pay for it.

Then they discovered Variety - The Childrens Charity.

Variety helps families financially across B.C. with children who have special needs. Since 2010, Variety has distributed more than $18 million in funding to families and organizations in B.C.

At Variety, we believe kids with special needs are champions, and were inspired by their courage and determination, says Kristy Gill, Varietys executive director.

Variety helped to pay for Kadens speech and language therapy, and after two years, he said his first word. It was mom.

Today Kaden is a happy and healthy nine year old. As one of Varietys Kid Champions, he regularly fundraises for the charity.

On February 13 and 14 hell be working alongside White Spot Executive Chef Danny Markowicz in a special Valentines Day Brunch cooking segment of Varietys 50th annual Show of Hearts Telethon on Global BC.

For more information, visit variety.bc.ca.
Commonly Violated Workplace Laws

Trending News: The Surprisingly Common Ways Your Employer Screws You Over

Why Is This Important?

Because it's surprisingly easy to be taken advantage of.

Long Story Short

Via WTOP, U.S. News & World Report has a list of five ways employers may try to get one over on you, despite being against the law. They're all pretty common, and your employer may not even realize they're illegal.

Long Story

The relatively cushy status of the American worker is a big reason why some people argue that we no longer need labor unions. Years ago, those unions fought for some of the protections we enjoy now, including the 40-hour work week and child labor laws. We're a little healthier and more sane for it, but that doesn't mean your employer won't attempt to squeeze more out of you in ways that violate labor laws. Washington's WTOP recently published a U.S. News & World Report list of the five most common violations, and they're all pretty familiar. If one of these things hasn't happened to you, you probably haven't been in the workforce very long:

Forbidding Salary Discussions: This is a big one. I once worked at a place where this was considered a "fireable offense," and I bet you have too. Unfortunately, from a legal perspective this just isn't true for most workers. Discussing pay is a big part of how workers organize, and thus preventing it is a form of union-busting. Dish about your salary all you want. Pretending you're not an "exempt" employee (when you really are): Being an "exempt" employee means that you're not eligible for overtime pay. The law was originally meant to protect production level workers, ensuring they got paid overtime for their work while executive, managerial, administrative and professional workers were exempt from the overtime requirements. The classification depends both on the nature of your job and how much you make, and until recently the salary threshold for being exempt was super low. President Obama recently raised the threshold to just over $50k per year, however, meaning a lot more people now qualify for overtime pay. Do some research and see if you qualify the next time you're asked to stay late. Asking (or even allowing) you to work off the clock: Simply put, it's illegal to do work you're not getting paid for as a non-exempt employee. It's actually illegal for you to do it of your own volition, and it includes things as simple as answering emails after you've clocked out. Using independent contractors like employees: If you're following the current backlash about "gig" employers like Uber, you're familiar with this concept. It's fine for an employer to contract labor to offset some costs  but if the employer dictates when, where and how the contractor works (thus removing the "independent" part), the government says they're employees and must be handled as such. That means paying the contractor's payroll taxes, something true independent contractors usually have to do on their own. Taking action when you complain about work on Facebook: Similar to no. 1, punishing you for griping to friends and coworkers about your job on social media effectively limits organization, making it illegal. Workers have the right to come together to discuss working conditions, even if all they want to do is complain. There's a difference between complaining and making malicious, false or bullying statements, however. The latter are not protected under the law.

This all gets more complicated if you work in a state with "at-will" employment, meaning employers can terminate you at any time for any reason not protected by law. That means that while they can't fire you for talking about your salary with your coworkers, they can (and will) be on the lookout for another reason  any reason  to show you the door. Plenty of people get let go for "poor performance" when there's really something else afoot.

None of these things are as simple as they seem, so do your research before raising an issue with your manager. The article says that bringing violations to your manager's attention is probably the best course of action, provided you frame your intentions as being helpful  it's possible that your supervisor isn't even aware that what he's asking is illegal.

Thus concludes today's example of why it's important to know your rights.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Can I really bring this up with my boss without getting canned?

Disrupt Your Feed

This is why it's important that we maintain strong labor unions.

Drop This Fact

The earliest recorded strike occurred in 1768 when New York journeymen tailors protested a wage reduction.
The partnership developed is much more than simply a sponsorship. Lawyers will engage directly with the cast of Gaybies, a political play as part of the festival.A celebration of queer arts and culture, performing arts producer and artistic director of MELT Queer Fest Adam Gardnir, said the support of a major law firm means a great deal to the community.Our colleagues at the firm are enlightened thinkers, passionate citizens and wonderful collaborators, he told Australasian Lawyer.This partnership is very special for both Brisbane Powerhouse and Herbert Smith Freehills.It shows how interesting corporate sponsorship can really be, with face to face connections between artists, partners, employees and clients.It also points out that no longer are we just interested in logos and signage footprint. While visibility remains central to all of our efforts, this collaboration blazes the trail for detailed, complex, meaningful engagements with the most contemporary of corporations.Gardnir said that with adoption under review by the State Government and following the recent announcement of the expungement those with criminal records of homosexuality, Queensland has many complex issues happening in the sector.The legal profession is central to these occasions and many more in terms of broader human rights around the globe, he said.Queenslands nomination for Australian of the Year was a Trans Military Officer and marriage equality seems to be in the papers every day now.Were seeing advocacy lead by partners, employees and clients across the nation. In Brisbane, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the front of this charge.Inspiringly, a great many law firms are moving to publicly support LGBTI communities.Having launched their Australian LGBTI Network back in 2013, Herbert Smith Freehills partner and Brisbane LGBTI champion Peter Smith said the firm said it has a long-standing commitment to supporting diversity, supporting Sydneys iconic Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.In our Brisbane office, and in our offices all around the world, we value the diversity of knowledge, experience and perspective of our people and we remain committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive and respectful - where all our people can bring their whole selves to work, and thrive, Smith said.
The High Court has rejected a challenge against the lawfulness of the governments role in offshore detention in Nauru.



The court has found that the Commonwealths conduct was authorised by law and by section 61 of the constitution.



The case by 267 asylum seekers was led by a Bangladeshi woman in detention, who was brought to Australia for treatment after she experienced health issues during her pregnancy. She brought a challenge to avoid being returned to detention after giving birth to her daughter in Brisbane.



Her lawyers argued that the government had funded, authorised, procured and effectively controlled her detention but was not authorised by a valid Australian law and infringed constitutional limits on the governments power.



The plaintiff is not entitled to the declarations sought, the court said in its majority decision.



Justin Gleeson SC disputed assertions during proceedings that the government was effectively responsible for the detection of people it transferred to Nauru because it paid for their temporary visas and funded the processing centre.



According to the Guardian, two significant changes were made after the case was initiated. The government pushed retrospective legislation through the parliament to shore up its offshore processing powers.



The detention facilities on Nauru also moved to an open centre arrangement, allowing Australia to argue the woman bringing the case would not be being returned to detention if she was sent back to the island, The Guardian reported.
New airline routes between Australia and China are offering people more choice than ever before whether they are tourists, business travellers or students, it is claimed.A new direct route three times a week service from China Southern Airlines from Shenzhen to is set to boost tourism and trade and making Sydney Airport the gateway to Australia for people travelling from China, according to officials.Hong Kong Airlines has announced year round flights from Hong Kong to the Gold Coast and Cairns that will begin in April with a twice weekly service, increasing to three times a week in July."The new China Southern Airlines service will deliver tourism benefits to Sydney and boost trade by providing a direct route to the major financial, technology and manufacturing centre of Shenzhen," said Sydney Airport managing director and chief executive officer Kerrie Mather"Sydney Airport is the gateway to Australia for Chinese passengers and has the most Chinese long haul routes of any airport in the world, with six mainland Chinese airlines providing direct services to nine mainland Chinese cities," he pointed out.According to China Southern managing director Australia and New Zealand Louis Lu Shenzhen is an important city for trade between Australia and China. "We are committed to providing service that is of high quality and exceptional hospitality, but also provides an affordable way to travel, not just to Guangzhou and now Shenzhen, but onwards to 195 destinations in 40 different countries," he added.It comes at a time when more Chinese travellers that ever are visiting New South Wales. Official figures show that in the year to September 2015, the State saw more than 536,000 Chinese arrivals."Whilst Chinese arrivals from Australia's fastest growing and most valuable inbound tourism market continue to grow at double digit rates, it's critically important that aviation capacity and access keep pace with demand. China Southern's continued expansion of their Australian operations, with their new Shenzhen to Sydney service, is great news for Sydney and for Australian tourism," said Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan.Sydney Airport expects to see more than 430,000 Chinese passport holders during the peak January to March Lunar New Year period, when the airport will receive 74 flights per week from mainland China and 121 flights per week from greater China including Hong Kong and Taiwan.Queensland Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones said that the new flights to the Gold Coast will attract visitors from many major ports across mainland China to Hong Kong and on to Queensland, as well as thousands of Hong Kong residents heading to the Gold Coast and Cairns."The new year round service will open the door to as many as 13,000 extra travellers to the state each year, generating up to $32 million in overnight visitor expenditure. We continue to work with international airlines, Tourism Australia, major airports and regional tourism organisations to increase the number of incoming flights from major global ports to Queensland," said Jones.Li Dianchun, chief commercial officer of Hong Kong Airlines, said that the new flights will enhance the cultural, tourism and business exchange between China, Asia and Australia.
Hi,My boyfriend James (applicant) and I (partner sponsor) are finalising our de facto partner visa application, appying online here in London. We're doing this ourselves (without the help of an agent) in order to save some cash, but does mean we have a few points we'd like to clarify before we submit!For anyone else applying for 309 via the UK:1) What documents if any did you get certified - and who by? We've read what seems to be conflicting instructions (perhaps to do with how paper applications differ to online applications) but don't know what we need to get certified, or by who (keen to avoid anything that isn't necessary). We have three or four statements from my friends - all Australian citizens - that they have signed and dated, but were these signatures meant to be witnessed by a notary?2) We've taken the risk of getting both the medical and police check completed up front - has anyone else done this, and had to re-do them at a later date?3) For my personal statement (as sponsor) I've drafted 1500 words broken into sections like history of our relationship, financial aspects, the nature of our household and social context etc (hopefully ticking all the boxes), referencing various evidence we're submitting. James' statement will be very similar indeed, as he'll be addressing the same aspects and referencing the same documents - is this how you did it? It's not too much duplication?4) As a sponsor, how much information do you need to give about future plans - do I need to demonstrate I have the funds to support him for several months if he were to fail to find work, for example?Any thoughts on the above and your own experiences would be hugely appreciated! Thanks very much and best of luck to everyone else in the processShelly
A host of new SUVs, sedans, performance cars and hybrids are on show in Delhi, with cars from Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata, and many more.

This years Auto Expo is the biggest in its history, with SUVs and crossovers playing a prominent role as manufacturers display their upcoming cars to the Indian market. These are the main talking points, segment by segment.

SUVs

Some might say that the compact sedan segment has had its day in the sun, and if thats so, whats clearly taking over from it is the compact SUV. Maruti, Hyundai, Tata and Honda each showed off their intent to enter this segment with the Vitara Brezza, HND-14 Carlino concept, Nexon and BR-V, respectively. Then, of course, one of the pioneers of the compact SUV segment, the Renault Duster, was given a facelift and a new AMT gearbox. Maruti also showed the Ignis, and Chevrolet the Beat Active, which arent compact SUVs, but are both really attractive cross hatchbacks.

A little further up the ranks are a couple of more premium SUVs, the Hyundai Tucson, Volkswagen Tiguan and Nissan X-Trail, all of which aim to find that sweet spot in the Rs 17-30 lakh range, between mainstream and luxury. Hot on their heels, however, is the all-new, more spacious, front-wheel-drive BMW X1 and punching a little higher is Mercs answer to the BMW X3, the handsome and plush new GLC. But when youre talking about SUVs, it doesnt get much more hardcore than Jeep, which is finally launching in India this year, and showed its first two models, the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler Unlimited.

In the realm of ultra-luxury SUVs, you could go one of two ways. Theres the Range Rover SVAutobiography, the ultimate expression of luxury from JLR, or then theres the Mercedes-Benz G500 4x4 with its jacked-up suspension and yellow paint, that simply spits in the face of established luxury. Not left-field enough for you, how about the Mahindra XUV Aero  a concept car that shows us what M&M thinks a coupe-SUV should be.

What is likely to be one of the biggest launches of 2016  the brand new Toyota Innova Crysta MPV came with a few surprises, namely a more powerful diesel engine option, and the promise of a petrol variant.

Sedans

Much like Auto Expo 2014, this edition of the motorshow had its share of compact sedans as well. Volkswagen set the ball rolling with the reveal of the nice-looking Polo-based Ameo in the run up to the Auto Expo. The compact sedan thats been developed for India is expected to be positioned as the premium offering in the segment and will be priced higher than rivals.

On the other hand, we can expect keen pricing for the production version of Tatas Kite 5. Basically, the sedan version of the soon-to-be-launched Zica hatchback, the Kite 5, at least in concept form, looks rather attractive. The same can also be said of the Chevrolet Beat Essentia which is a sedan version of the next-gen Beat. Designed largely in India, the Essentia that's expected in our market in 2017 will be a crucial car for Chevrolet as it seeks to increase sales.

At the other end of the sedan spectrum, there was a lot from the luxury carmakers. Audi showcased the India-bound latest A4, Jaguar launched the XE and showed the XF and BMW launched the luxurious all-new 7-series.

Performance cars

Leading the pack of performance showstoppers was the Audi R8 V10 Plus which was launched at Rs 2.47 crore, with a 610bhp 5.2-litre V10 plonked on the back. Next up, the Nissan GT-R finally arrived on Indian shores and the carmaker announced that it will launch its flagship performance offering in September this year.

More than 50 years after it was first unveiled, the Ford Mustang made its way into the country with an official launch planned in the second quarter of 2016. The US carmaker aims to create a niche in India by giving the country its first ever muscle car.

Interestingly, Volkswagen has decided to launch the Polo GTI in India in three-door guise. Scheduled to go on sale in September 2016, the hot hatch could be priced above the Rs 20-lakh mark.

Jeeps entry into the market also included the Grand Cherokee SRT, which features a potent 6.4-litre V8 petrol under the hood making 461bhp and will be out for the BMW X5 following its launch.

Hybrids

The national debate that arose in light of Delhis air pollution levels has prompted a strong focus on electric and hybrid vehicles. What makes this newfound emphasis on hybrids especially intriguing is that manufacturers are re-introducing vehicles to the Indian market in hybrid configuration  three of five hybrids unveiled at the 2016 Auto Expo fit this bill.

The Nissan X-Trail, the Volkswagen Passat GTE and the Honda Accord are all coming back to India after hiatuses of varying durations, and all of them get hybrid powertrains, at least in a variant. The X-Trail, back after two years, will come in a hybrid-only configuration while the VW Passat and the Honda Accord will be offered with hybrids as variants.

Homegrown automaker Mahindra was visibly very gung-ho about electric vehicles. Its first move was the unveiling of the revised Formula E racecar, followed by the unveiling of an all-electric version of the Verito, christened the E-Verito, which will go on sale in March 2016. Mahindra also showed a race-spec version of the e2o Reva, called the e2o Sport.

Also unveiled was a new generation of the original hybrid: the Toyota Prius.

Bikes

Two-wheeler makers also put their best wheel forward at the 2016 Auto Expo with a few notable unveilings and launches dominating proceedings. Leading the charge was the Akula 310 concept sportsbike from TVS. The Indian motorcycle manufacturer also unveiled two other concepts  the RTR-based X21 and the Entorq 210 motor scooter.

Also notable was the launch of classic British cafe racers, the Triumph Bonneville and Bonneville T120. Priced attractively at Rs 6.9 lakh and Rs 8.7 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively, Triumph just might be onto something here. The Bonneville Thruxton R was also revealed, though its launch will take place only in a few months.

Yamaha launched its middleweight streetfighter sportsbike, the MT-09. However, the adoption of the CBU route makes it pricey, at Rs 10.2 lakh.

Benelli unveiled four India-bound motorcycles: the Tornado 302, the TRK 502, the BX 250 and the TNT T 135. Honda finally raised the curtain on its mystery-shrouded Navi. A mix between a motorcycle and a scooter, the curious Navi shows Honda's creative side. The Japanese manufacturer also unveiled its Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin, a widely popular adventure tourer, and announced that it will be brought into India in CKD form.

The SR 150 scooter from Aprilia was also a mix between a scooter and a motorcycle, but not in the way the Navi is. It combines the performance of a motorcycle with the convenience of a scooter, and aggressive styling.

The BMW G 310 R was a silent unveil, but it created ripples nevertheless. The essence of the unveiling of the G 310 R is that it brings brilliant BMW technology to more people.

UM finally made its India entry with two entry-level cruisers  the Renegade Commando and the Renegade Sport S. Hero, Suzuki, Indian and Mahindra Two Wheelers were at the 2016 Auto Expo too.

Show report by Gavin D'Souza, Nikhil Bhatia, Nishant Parekh and Siddhant Ghalla

Delhi Auto Expo 2016 - live blog

MEDIA DAY TWO:

Click here for the gallery from around the show

1630 - The final press conferences have come to a close, with the biggest news from the final flurry coming from Renault with the Duster facelift that gets a new automatic gearbox.

And that draws to a close our live coverage of the 2016 Auto Expo, but stay tuned for plenty more news, galleries and videos to come from us.

1530 - The Toyota press conference is underway, and the fourth-generation Toyota Prius is on show to the public. Managing director Naomi Ishi has used the press conference to reveal the manufacturer's impressive target of reducing CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050.

1445 - More on those Triumph bikes, our reporter Siddhant Ghalla said that a third bike was unveiled without actually being there. The original plan was to fly it to the Auto Expo, but it's been held up in customs.

1430 - It's not cheap, but it is a lot of fun. Would you be tempted to part with Rs 20 lakh for a VW Polo GTI? It's on show at VW's stall.

1400 - Triumph has launched two bikes: the Triumph Bonneville Street Twin and the Bonneville T120. Prices have been announched, too, and they're cheap. The iconic British Cafe Racers cost Rs 6.9 lakh and Rs 8.7, respectively. Tempted? Take a look through our full bike gallery.

1330 - Although Maruti has said the Baleno RS will go on sale this year, the model on show is still described as a concept car.

1315 - And here's the detals: Ignis and Baleno RS due during the festive season this year via Nexa dealerships.

1245 - The Maruti press conference is underway; the Ignis concept and Baleno RS are set to be showcased.

1215 - Our video team have been hard at work running up and down from stall to stall to bring you the very best coverage from the showfloor. See the fruits of their labours here: Tata Hexa first look, Sachin Tendulkar on the BMW 7 Series, and Volkswagen's Jurgen Stackmann.

1200 - In case you missed it yesterday, Datsun unveiled the Go-Cross concept - get full details here.

1130 - Roland Folger, Mercedes-Benz CEO, has been talking to our reporter Nishant Parekh. He spoke about diesel, BS-VI, and the market for AMG models. More to follow.

1100 - Fiat is showing a host of new metal, including a Punto-based crossover that will go on sale in the third quarter of this year. At the Mahindra stall, the SsangYong Tivoli crossover - already on sale overseas - is being shown.

1030 - Our reporters on the ground are saying it's been designed in-house by Mahindra but built by Pininfarina.

1000 - And the covers are off! A big reveal from Mahindra as the XUV Aero makes its debut, and the manufacturer has hinted it could actually make production: "With your help we can launch this car; we need your feedback."

0930 - Gavin D'Souza is one of the early birds hanging around the Mahindra stall, and he's snapped this picture of the XUV Aero under cover.

"It seems Mahindra's decided to do its own X6. At least as a concept. Wraps off soon," he says.

0900 - We're back for the second media day and it promises to be another big one. It's still very cold in this press room, but Scania and JBM press conferences will get us nicely warmed up, before a scorcher from Mahindra & Mahindra.

MEDIA DAY ONE:

1900 - Audi and BMW draw proceedings to a close, but not before we get an eyeful of one of the most popular cars at this year's show; the new Toyota Innova.

We'll be back tomorrow morning from 9am to bring you all the action from every press conference.

1820 - Such is the scramble to get the best picture here, one of our reporters saw someone scrambling on top of an A3 Cabriolet's bonnet to get a shot of the Audi stall.

1815 - Sachin Tendulkar is set to unveil the BMW 7-series, which is priced from Rs 1.1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore. The X1 has been shown, too, get full details of it here.

1800 - There's a final flurry of press conferences from Nissan, BMW and Audi. We've seen the X-Trail on show, and heard that the GT-R is hitting the market in September.

1730 - More on those Kwid concepts now, with the Climber and Racer showing off-road and performance-focussed versions of the hatchback. There's also a chance that some of the feautres seen in both concepts could make it into future production models.

1715 - Away from new cars, our editor Hormazd Sorabjee has spoken to Maruti Suzuki president and COO Toshihiro Suzuki who had some interesting things to say about the challenges of making low-cost small cars return big profits. Read what he had to say here.

1645 - Would you like news of another SUV? Of course you would, here's more on the Honda BR-V, and here's a video of us driving it.

1630 - Remember when Jeep was set to enter the Indian market in 2014? Well, now it's actually going to happen, this year. The Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and hot 237bhp Grand Cherokee SRT will go on sale in the middle of this year, first in metros then in Tier I cities.

1600 - The SUVs keep on coming. The Mercedes GLC is on show, as is the Tata Hexa. One is a bit more expensive than the other, though.

1515 - Two very interesting Kwid concepts have been on display. Full details to come. And India's very first indigenous hot hatch is strutting its stuff at the Tata stall. The Bolt Sport gets 108.5bhp (let's call it 109bhp) and can cover 0-100kph in 12 seconds. India-made hot hatches still have a bit of work to do, but then, you have to start somewhere.

1430 - The Hyundai Tucson is already on sale overseas but is coming to India, and now Volkswagen is also bringing a foreign SUV to this country. The Tiguan is expected here in 2017.

1415 - From the comments

m.m. karthik asks: When will the Tata Zica be launched? And when will booking be started?

Its not been confirmed by the manufacturer, but we expect it to be launched in the middle of this month. However, the entire marketing campaign has been hit by the news that Tata is changing the cars name because of the association with the Zika virus, so plans may change. It's still carrying the Zica name at the Auto Expo, though. Stay tuned.

1400 - Our man Gavin D'Souza is at the Honda stall awaiting the unveiling of the BR-V, which is a "crossover utility vehicle" rather than an "SUV". Whatever that means.

1345 - There's a few cars actually launching today, including the Jaguar XE which will enter the ultra-competitive executive sedan segment. It's on sale in India now, priced from Rs 39.9 lakh, click here for full info.

1315 - Mercedes is taking the time to show off an eclectic collection of its range, the most eye-catching being the G 500 4x4. The most important for India, though, is the GLC SUV which is making its debut in the country. More information to follow.

1300 - Big one from Tata as the Nexon compact SUV comes out from under the covers. It's trying to steal some of the thunder from the Vitara Brezza.

1245 - Honda, meanwhile, has shown an electric variation of the most popular motorised vehicle ever sold. The Honda EV Cub is based on the Super Cub and previews an electric scooter with a detachable battery to allow users to take it out and charge at home - nifty.

1230 - Plenty of bike news coming thick and fast. DSK Benelli have shown four models all set to reach India. Read about them here.

1200 - It's lunchtime, so sit back and watch our video coverage of the Auto Expo. Click here to see the Vitara Brezza.

1145 - Round-up of what's on at Hyundai's stall: Genesis, Tucson, HND-14 compact SUV.

1125 - It's kicking off at the Suzuki bike stall. Security had to be called after a scramble for the press kits made the big advertising board fall down.

1115 - More from Chevrolet now: the Beat Activ is another Beat-based concept and previews the next-generation hatchback which will launch in 2017. And the production-ready all-new Spin MPV has been showcased.

1105 - More on the Honda Navi (which stands for New Additional Value for India. Catchy, right?). It's priced from Rs 39,500 ex-showroom Delhi and has been designed entirely in India, read more about it here.

1100 - We love the Renault Kwid - we just named it our Car of the Year - and now it's set to receive some engine and gearbox updates. Buyers will be able to get a 1.0-litre petrol engine alongside the 800cc option, and it'll get an AMT gearbox as well. Will it make our favourite car of the past year even better?

1045 - Get involved and ask our reporters any questions you have on the new metal on show. Use the comments section on this article, tweet us @autocarindiamag or get in touch on Facebook.

1030 - Lest we forget, it's not all about cars at the Auto Expo, there's also a load of two-wheelers being shown for the first time. Check out our picture gallery on the Honda Navi - a mix between a motorcycle and a scooter, according to our reporter Siddhant Ghalla who was at the press conference.

1020 - For anyone tired of compact-SUVs and compact-sedans, Isuzu has shown a decidedly non-compact pick-up at its stall. The second-generation D-Max will go on sale for around Rs 15 lakh, which is a lot of car for the money.

1010 - More from that General Motors press conference now, and Chevrolet has shown a thinly veiled concept of a Beat-based compact sedan. A production version is set to follow in 2017, here's what we know.

1000 - SUVs, SUVs, SUVs: there's a pretty clear theme developing from this year's Auto Expo. Now Hyundai has unveiled a concept hinting at a future production SUV model to join its line-up. Click here for more on the HND-14 Carlino.

0945 - The big news from yesterday was VW showing off its new Ameo compact sedan that's been tailor-made for the Indian market. We're bursting at the seams with Ameo news - read the news story here, flick through the photo gallery here, and watch our video of it here.

0930 - We've got a constant stream of live pictures coming in from all of the press conferences, follow our live gallery to keep up to speed with it all.

0915 - The Hyundai Tucson looks like it's headed to India, and it could get here as early as September this year.

0900 - Over at Isuzu, the big off-road D-Max pick-up has been shown. It'll be built in India, priced from around Rs 15 lakh.

0845 - Our reporter Gavin D'Souza has been getting hands on with Maruti's new compact SUV: "Dash of Vitara Brezza all too familiar, but decently put together. Cabin is very spacious."

0830 - All eyes on General Motors and Hyundai now, more SUVs and concepts on the way

0815 - Compact SUVs are going to be a common sight at this year's Auto Expo, but will any be able to upstage the Brezza? We've got more pictures from the unveiling here.

0800 - The first press conference of the 2016 Auto Expo is underway and Maruti Suzuki has taken the covers off one of the biggest cars at the show: the Vitara Brezza compact SUV. Click here for full details on it.

Mahindra XUV Aero concept

The concept car previews a future XUV500-based SUV with coupe-like styling to pitch it in a class dominated by high-end luxury offerings like the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

A production version could be Mahindras flagship model, positioned above the XUV500, and the concept car will show a new infotainment system to be used in future models.

Maruti Suzuki

The Maruti Vitara Brezza SUV, the carmaker's first compact SUV, is set to be positioned below the S-Cross in its range. It borrows features of its styling  like its sloping roofline  from the bigger Vitara SUV, which is sold overseas. The Vitara Brezza will be under four metres long and is likely to be be powered by Marutis 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrol engines, as well as the 1.3-litre diesel. The Vitara Brezza SUV will face competition from the Ford EcoSport and Mahindra TUV300 in the segment.

Baleno RS

The concept car will show a warm version of the premium hatchback, powered by the new 110bhp 1.0-litre Boosterjet engine with extra styling tweaks to give it a sporty look. The Boosterjet engine will be introduced in the standard Baleno, which was spotted testing with the engine recently.

Ignis concept

The small crossover was unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo motor show and will make its debut in India at the Auto Expo as a thinly-veiled concept form. It features a large grille with LED headlamps and flared wheel arches, and a production model could be launched later this year, but theres no official confirmation yet.

New Mercedes GLC SUV



The all-new GLC SUV closely resembles the C-class sedan from the outside and inside, where the GLC gets a luxurious cabin with rotary air vents and a touchscreen infotainment system. It will enter the Indian market with two variants of the 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel engine  the 168bhp 220d, and 201bhp GLC 250d.

Mercedes GLC250d review

S-Class Cabriolet

The drop-top version of Mercedes luxury flagship sedan is the same length as the car its based on and the roof can be extended or folded away in 20 seconds at speeds up to 60kph.

Nissan X-Trail Hybrid SUV

The previous generation of X-Trail was discontinued in India in 2014 because of low demand, but Nissan is bringing back the SUV with sleeker styling and a plusher cabin and will price it around Rs 32-35 lakh. The SUV will be powered by Nissans 2.0-litre diesel engine mated to a CVT gearbox. Theres a lot of interest in this segment, and the X-Trail faces competition from the cheaper Hyundai Santa Fe and Honda CR-V.

Renault Duster facelift

The popular Duster is set to receive a facelift and new AMT gearbox option, and its already been spotted testing in India ahead of its debut at the Auto Expo 2016. The Easy-R AMT gearbox was chosen over the DCT gearbox available outside of India because it proved to be significantly cheaper for the buyer. Cosmetic tweaks are expected to include a reworked bumper and grille as well as modified headlamps. The launch is expected sometime around March or April.

SsangYong Tivoli crossover

The Mahindra-owned manufacturer could unveil the Tivoli crossover at the Auto Expo ahead of its India launch. Already on sale overseas, the Indian model will get Mahindras new engine family from the KUV100 compact SUV, with a 1.6-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel, but the price is yet to be confirmed. This vehicle was recently seen in India on tests.

Tata Nexon-based Osprey compact SUV

The compact SUV, known internally as Osprey, has been spotted testing and is based on the Nexon concept showcased at the Auto Expo in 2014. The production version is thought to draw heavily from the styling of the Nexon and will see the introduction of Tatas 110bhp 1.5-litre diesel engine. The launch is not expected before the end of this year.

Tata Zica -based compact sedan

The The Zica-based compact sedan will replace the Tata Indigo eCS and could be priced around Rs 4 lakh when it goes on sale this year. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and 1.0-litre diesel engine will be carried over from the Zica, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, and other features from the hatchback version of the Zica such as Bluetooth, sat-nav, dual airbags and ABS are expected to be carried over. When launch, it will face competition from other compact sedans such as the Honda Amaze, Maruti DZire, Hyundai Xcent and Figo Aspire.

All-new Toyota Innova

A hugely important car for Toyota, the second-generation Innova features thoroughly updated styling and an improved interior. The MPV, which has been a very successful model for Toyota in India, also gets an all-new 2.4-litre diesel engine

Volkswagen Ameo

The Polo-based compact sedan has been developed specifically for the Indian market. It will share cosmetic and mechanical bits from the Polo and Vento and will be built at VW's plant in Pune and is likely to be priced above the Honda Amaze.

Volkswagen Tiguan SUV

The second-generation Tiguan is the first SUV to be based on Volkswagens MQB platform, shared with the Skoda Octavia. Its likely to be powered by a 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Volkswagen Passat GTE

The all-new Passat will reach India later this year and Volkswagen is showcasing the car as a plug-in hybrid version. It has a 50km electric-only range, and with its 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, a combined range of 1,001km.

Also read: Blog: Tracking two decades of Auto Expo

Auto Expo 2016: An overview

Being jointly organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the latest edition of the Auto Expo will be held at the India Exposition Mart Ltd (IEML) in Greater Noida from February 5-9, 2016.

We had reported in October than SIAM was preparing enclosed permanent structures at the venue to increase the total air-conditioned permanently covered floor space. The total floor space has been increased by 37,240 sq. metres (six new halls) over and above the already available eight halls, taking the total floor space to around 79,000 sq. metres.

The Auto Expo 2016 is expected to see an increase in visitors with SIAM calculating a 20 percent rise compared to the previous edition. The number of exhibitors for the event has also risen to over 65 exhibitors from last year's count of 55.

Participating brands

The major automotive brands to be present at the Auto Expo 2016 will include Ashok Leyland, Audi, BMW, Datsun, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda cars, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar Land Rover, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, Scania Commercial Vehicles, SML Isuzu, Tata Motors, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, VE Commercial vehicles, Volkswagen India and more. From the two- wheeler industry, the major brands to be present include Hero MotoCorp, Yamaha, Mahindra Two-Wheelers, Piaggio Vehicles, Suzuki Motorcycles, Triumph Motorcycles, TVS Motor Company and more. There will also be new entrants such as Abarth, BMW Motorrad, Jeep, DSK Benelli, Indian Motorcycles and many more. However, Bajaj, Volvo and Harley-Davidson will not be participating in the expo this year.

The 2016 Auto Expo will also exhibit high-end bicycles, tyres and tubes, products from oil companies, Automotive Design and Technology, Engineering and IT for automobile companies, institutions, universities, auto insurance companies and media and auto portals/magazines.

In addition, there will be a pavilion dedicated to classic cars and areas for activities such as safety riding and driving simulators.

Accessibility

The venue will be accessible through six entry points with CISF handling the security. There will also be free shuttle services available from the nearest metro station, which is the Botanical Gardens, Noida city centre and Pragati Maidan with as many as 160 DTC busses being pressed into service. Furthermore, there will also be an smartphone app available to help navigate through the various exhibits at the venue.

Network connectivity

The venue will provide Wi-Fi and internet coverage along with telecom companies having being asked to provide special towers to avoid network congestion at the venue.

Tickets and timings

Ticket bookings for the expo are already open on the Auto Expos official website www.autoexpo-themotorshow.in and www.bookmyshow.com. The tickets are priced at Rs 300 for general public hours during weekdays (1pm - 6pm), and Rs 400 for weekends (10am - 7pm). For visiting during business hours on weekdays (10am - 1pm), tickets cost Rs 650. However, business hours ticket holders will also be able to enter the venue during public hours, until 6pm.

Free home delivery is offered on bookings of 3 to 10 tickets made before December 31, 2015. Otherwise, home delivery charges of Rs 75 per booking will be levied. Home delivery will not available for tickets booked online after January 25, 2016. Delivery starts from January 15, 2016, or the tickets can be collected from counters located at parking lots near the venue.

Hospitality

The Auto Expo will also have a food court which gets an extra 1,000 sq. metres over the one at the previous expo. The food court will hold 60 food stalls, 20 kiosks and multiple food trucks offering an assortment of cuisine from international brands and prominent local restaurants and outlets. Two restaurants run by the Taj and Radisson Hotels have also been arranged for at the venue.

Like in 2014, this year's Auto Components Show  one of the biggest exhibitions of automotive components, technology and services  will take place from February 4 -7, at Pragati Maidan.
Suzuki Motor Corporation President and COO, Toshihiro Suzuki says the market structure in India puts pressure on margins.

Marutis dominance in the Indian market commanding 47 percent market share is the envy of the auto industry. Yet, unlike the big global automakers that enjoy good sales in key markets like the US, China and Europe, Suzuki has a very small global presence and its fortunes are strongly hinged on India. Is it a risk to be heavily dependent on a single market where margins are low? Speaking exclusively to Autocar India, Toshihiro Suzuki, President and COO, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) says, Having a big market share in India is the strength of Suzuki, and we want to continue to enhance our marketing and service capability in the country to make our brand stronger. No doubt, increasing profitability is a challenge in India, but ever since we built the first plant here in 1983, Maruti Suzuki has been growing along with the Indian auto industry.

Suzuki is cautious about a full-fledged thrust into the premium or luxury-end of the car market, where margins are typically fatter and instead, will be focussing on its core competence at the lower end. We would like to further strengthen our fundamentals and build on the foundations of what we had laid earlier. In order to get more Indian customers, we want to enhance our capabilities in products, sales and service. We want to further increase the value we provide and by doing so, we want to take it to a situation where we are able to get a premium and better profits, but yes, its a challenge, says the Suzuki president.

Toshihiro Suzuki also feels that policies and regulations in the auto industry need to be stable, referring to the sudden ban on diesel cars above two-litre in Delhi. Whenever regulations like this are being chalked out, it has to be done strategically. Policies have to shaped in a step-by-step way. In case of diesel, any abrupt decision will adversely impact the manufacturer, and it becomes difficult to comply with norms. This also causes inconvenience to customers and theres a possibility it would adversely impact the nation as a whole.

Suzuki says that despite the challenges, Maruti is on course to hold on to its market share and produce two million cars in India by 2020.
All-new 2.4-litre and 2.8-litre diesel engines; 2.7-litre petrol possible too. Launch in mid-2016.

The India-spec Innova was recently displayed at the 2016 Auto Expo. Called the Innova Crysta, this is arguably the most awaited launch of the year, and the big MPV is all set to continue its reign in a more spacious, more powerful, more luxurious and more stylish avatar.

The differences between the current Innova and the new one are immediately apparent and the styling is a huge step up from the current model. The fascia is clearly influenced by recent models like the Toyota Corolla Altis and the new Camry. Road presence is enhanced by the new, large hexagonal grille with two wide chrome slats on the top that flow into the headlamps. The side still retains a van-like shape, but Toyota has now livened that up with tweaks such as the shape of the glass area, which kinks upwards sharply after the rear doors.

The interiors have received a huge upgrade, replete with dual-tone upholstery, generous amounts of faux-aluminium trim and woodgrain on some variants. Higher trims will receive leather upholstery and captains chairs too. Other features that make this a more upmarket offering are a dual-zone climate control, LED mood lighting and a cooled glovebox. All variants will receive a 7.0-inch infotainment touchscreen system, though features such as navigation, voice command recognition, Bluetooth telephony and SD card support will likely only come on top trims.

Where it really gets interesting is in the powertrain department. The new Innova will receive a 45bhp bump in power, owing to an all-new 147bhp, 2.4-litre GD series engine that replaces the current 102bhp, 2.5-litre KD series unit. This will be offered with a five-speed manual gearbox, but there will also be an Innova Crysta variant with a six-speed automatic gearbox. This one, however, will use another all-new diesel engine - a 2.8-litre GD-series motor with an as-yet-unspecified power output. And, to make matters even more interesting, Toyota is seriously looking at bringing in a petrol variant in the light of the recent diesel scandal in New Delhi. This car will use the 2.7-litre, four-cylinder VVT-i petrol motor from the Toyota Prado SUV sold in Indonesia.

We know the Crysta will be a fair bit more expensive than the current car owing to the new equipment, interior, engine and quality levels, but Toyota is still trying hard to keep costs in check. It's aiming for a seriously high amount of localisation, as much as 98 percent, with the new engines too being localised here. The Innova Crysta is sure to benefit from the popularity of its predecessor; in fact, the new suffix 'Crysta' might even be a hint that the old car will continue to be sold alongside at a lower price point. With a new and more powerful diesel engine, the option of an automatic, and the long feature list, the king does not seem to be ready to step down from its throne as yet.

Also read:

Auto Expo 2016: complete coverage

Toyota Innova first look
The Enzo is just one of the high-octane gems whose owners fled the country due to less-than-legal reasons, leaving these exotics behind. One of the just 400 units produced by Maranello, the machine was discovered back in 2012. Meanwhile, it was impounded by the Dubai police.With the country's law enforcement having the most ferocious supercar fleet in the world, the authorities normally auction off vehicles such as this Ferrari, but for now, the retired halo car must remain in custody.That's because the Enzo is the topic of an Interpol investigation that has to do with its British owner.A 2002 model, the Enzo has attracted tons of bids, as Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Traffic Department at Dubai Police, explains.The car remains in limbo as there is a legal dispute about it. Recently an American man, who is interested in buying rare cars, offered us Dhs6 million [EUR1.63 million or EUR 1.48 million] for it, but we cant do anything with it for the moment, the Colonel told local media outlet 7DAYS It seems the owner acquired the 651 hp (make that 660 PS) Enzo back in 2011, running away shortly after that.The only side of the news that's not cringe-worthy has to do with the fact that the Enzo has now been taken away from the extreme sun, being stored in a warehouse.Things aren't simple, though, as multiple parties claim ownership of the Prancing Horse, including the owner of the dealership that sold it. Since the car is now marked as bought with stolen assets, this V12 has some waiting to do before it can return to the road.
NEDC

Since the publics attention is shifting towards the so-called real world driving emissions, the Italian-American company has promised to test all of its future models in this proposed cycle and to publish the results. The company will do this ahead of the term requested by the European Unions legislation.Furthermore, FCA has decided to update its Euro 6 calibrations with new data sets to improve emission performance in real driving conditions. The corporation is doing this voluntarily, free of charge for the customers, and without a mandate or a request by any regulatory authority, unlike VW and the now-famed Dieselgate scandal.Starting April 2016, owners of FCA-built vehicles sold on or after that date will be offered improvements on their Euro 6 engines. These improvements are voluntary and do not constitute a recall campaign since theres nothing wrong with those engines in the first place.Fiat Chrysler Automobiles simply figured out a way to reduce real driving emissions of those cars and will offer a solution to their owners. The company has also pledged to continuously improve its diesel engines emission performance.The corporation wants to expand the application of the Active Selective Catalytic Reduction technology to other diesel engine families in its range starting the second quarter of next year. The change comes significantly sooner than the applicable legislation requires.Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is not the first carmaker to announce it will voluntarily publish real world driving emissions and consumption figures for its vehicles. Opel, the German company owned by General Motors, has promised to do the same with its new cars. These decisions are acts of transparency from carmakers, who feel that customers are dissatisfied with current emissions and fuel consumption testing procedures.As some of you may remember, those tests are done in a laboratory, and are hard or impossible to match in real world driving because of loopholes existent in thetesting procedure.
Whats the embarrassment, you ask? Simple answer. To qualify as a tank, a vehicle must have functional tracks instead of wheels. The Hamas creation has fake tracks, which don't even touch the ground, and it features wheels. Big wheels, indeed, but still wheels instead of working tracks.Furthermore, the official Twitter account of the Israeli Prime Ministers spokesperson for Arab media, Ofir Gendelman, claims that the vehicle is made of wood and points out the fact that it does have wheels.The moral of this story is that you should never show off your customized vehicle on the Internet (or in real life, for that matter) and claim it is something else. Because somebody will point out that you are lying. Another thing to learn from this story is that making false claims on the Internet is less harmful than terrorism, so the guys at Hamas could keep doing that instead of attacking innocent people, for whatever reason.Just today, an attack took place in Jerusalem, at the Damascus Gate. A young police agent, only 19 years old of age, lost her life protecting tourists. She was a border police officer and had only been drafted two months ago. We are mentioning this because the Hamas terror group praised the attack at the Damascus Gate, of which they claimed to be an important turning point, Times of Israel reports.The attack involved three people who possessed firearms, knives, and an improvised explosive device. Fortunately, they did not get the chance to detonate the IED, but they attacked the two border police agents who requested their IDs. One of the two border control agents was the 19-year-old woman, who was fatally shot. The Hamas terror group stopped short of taking credit for the attack.
The report originally published by CarBuzzard turned out to be right on the money . Thirteen years after it was established as a youth-oriented automotive brand, the Scion brand will be absorbed by Toyota. The parent company from Japan tries to sugarcoat the situation with a happy-go-lucky statement that goes like: This isnt a step backward for Scion; its a leap forward for Toyota. Right, and pigs fly...Besides the emphasis on genuinely creative ads focused on youth customers, Scion will be remembered as the brand that sold badge-engineered Toyota models. The fact of the matter is that young people have come to appreciate the traditional attribute of the Toyota brand. Reliability is the most important attribute in a car for 20 to 30-year-olds. The cool factor and sportiness follow in a close second and third in their priorities list for a daily commuter.From August 2016, all Scion models will undergo a rebadge process. The FR-S, iA, and iM will live on as Toyotas. The tC, on the other hand, will end production in August. The Scion C-HR Concept that debuted at the L.A. Auto Show will be marketed as a Toyota when it enters production in the near future. What else did Scion leave after its untimely death?Twenty-two team members are left, employees who have been given the opportunity to apply for new positions at Toyota Motor Sales headquarters in Torrance, California. Regional representatives of the Scion brand will assume different responsibilities in Toyotas sales offices. Scion has had some amazing products over the years and our current vehicles are packed with premium features at value prices, declared Andrew Gilleland, Scion vice president.Amazing products and premium features at value prices didnt cut it. Were saddened by the loss of the Scion brand, yet something had to give. With 1,092,675 cars sold from 2003 until the end of 2015, Scion has always been a dead man walking compared to the growth of sales posted by Toyota in the same interval.
The two exhibits are called Kwid Climber and Kwid Racer. These show cars preview the Kwids development potential. The model was launched in India only four months ago, but it has already achieved 90,000 orders.Before we elaborate on the subject, lets take a look at the two concepts based on the Kwid. As mentioned, the first of them is called Kwid Climber and showcases a more off-road approach to the crossover. From a compact footprint to high ground clearance, the Kwid Climber seems to have all the qualities expected of an off-road model. Naturally, the designers added a set of big bumpers, protective side moldings made of blacked-out plastic, along with a set of diamond-effect wheels.For a more striking look, the Kwid Climber has a Flame Orange body color with electric blue wheel arch extensions. The design team chose this approach to draw the viewers eyes to the new design features and to enhance the aggressive look of the crossover. So far, no word on whether the Kwid Climber features a four-wheel drive system.The second concept shown by Renault in New Delhi is the Kwid Racer. The car features aerodynamic improvements, 18-inch alloy wheels, a set of low-profile performance tires, racing seats, and a roll cage. The body is painted in metallic blue, and the front bumper has large air intakes, along with generously sized spoilers.Renault has no plans to build production versions of the two concepts shown in New Delhi. However, the Kwid is rumored to be launched in Europe sometime next year. The company has yet to confirm these rumors, as Renault stated that it would not offer this model in the EU. Since car companies change their minds from time to time, it is best to wait and see, without making any bets.Aside from the two exhibits, Renault also launched the 1.0-liter SCe engine in New Delhi, along with an automated manual gearbox, the Easy-R, both destined for the Kwid model.
CVT

Renault revealed the Talisman in July 2015. Half a year later, the Korean version of the midsize sedan lands between the SM5 (known as the Latitude in Europe) and the full-sized SM7.Based on the demands of the typical South Korean driver, Samsung has fitted the SM6 with an exclusive lineup of engines and gearboxes that set it apart from the European counterpart.The SM6 is set to set a new standard for Koreas midsize sedan market, said Renault Samsung CEO Francois Provost during a media debut event held at Hanseo Universitys Flight Education Center in Taean County, South Chungcheong Province. He hopes it will catapult the company to the number 3 spot in the market.We have video footage of a more recent driving event that suggests the SM6 packs a 2-liter GDI, the 1.6-liter turbo GDI engine, the 2-liter LPLi, and the 1.5-liter diesel engine.No, we haven't taken those names from a Hyundai press release, but the GDI engines are indeed naturally aspirated. It was a real pain in the backside to try and understand the Koreans, but we think we got the big picture.The 1.6 Turbo GDI engine produces 190 PS and 26.5 kg-m of torque (260 Nm). That's 10 hp less than the Talisman, but the 7-speed EDC gearbox is the same.The 2.0 GDI is a naturally aspirated engine with 150 PS and 20.6 kg-m (202 Nm) of torque, still connected to the 7-speed EDC. Things get really weird with an LPLi engine that we can only presume runs on natural gas. It produces 140 PS and slightly less torque, being connected to aLastly, the SM6 1.5 diesel has not been detailed because it arrives later in 2016. However, Samsung officials already promise consumption numbers that have never been seen in this class.Lastly, it's worth noting that the digital dash and huge R-Link system have been kept. However, the SM6 doesn't have the all-wheel steering system of the Talisman.
TDI

Yesterday was the deadline for Volkswagen to present a proposed fix for its V6engines. Unlike its proposition for the 2.0-liter TDI engines, the repair for the 3.0-liter V6 TDI units was not published. Furthermore, no details of this plan were released.As most of you already know, the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency discovered in November that the 3.0-liter V6 TDI engines used by Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen models made since 2009 used three emission control systems that were undisclosed, Automotive News informs.Lab tests revealed that one of these systems was the now infamous defeat device, designed to trick emission tests by employing a more Eco-friendly running mode during testing. Naturally, the affected cars were trained to figure out when they were being tested so they would not have to run in this mode for a long time.However, we know for sure that the Volkswagen Group has pledged to fully cooperate with US authorities on finding a fix for its diesel engines.The officials at Audi, the brand responsible for the development of the 3.0-liter V6 TDI unit, will revise the emission control software. After all, one of three emission systems of the 3.0-liter V6 TDI unit is under scrutiny, so two should be changed while the third is eliminated.Since the unit is used by Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi, the three emission systems could refer to the three versions of the same power plant, which would imply that not all V6 TDI units made after 2009 are affected.Either way, the fix for the V6 TDI engines could not involve only software changes, but we cannot know for sure until the proposition is published. According to regulators, around 85,000 vehicles sold in the United States of America are fitted with affected V6 TDI engines.
GA pilots will have affordable Wi-Fi in their airplanes within about three years and much greater access to space-based services thanks to a $3 billion investment by a Virginia company. Starting in April, Iridium will launch the first of 72 new communications satellites that will, among other things, increase the speed of its Internet signals fiftyfold. The full constellation of satellites will be in a 495-mile polar orbit by 2017 giving worldwide coverage for a host of communications services, including global Internet at speeds up to 1.4 mbs. CEO Matt Desch said that while that is slow by broadband standards, its exponentially faster than the satellite services currently available and the increased capacity of the satellites will allow affordable onboard Wi-Fi at speeds (likely around 100 kbs) useable by phones, tablets and computers. He said the signal availability will allow hardware makers to create a portable device that will sit on the glare shield (or a picnic blanket on top of a mountain) and work as an Internet hotspot. That will do an awful lot for the GA pilot, said Desch. He said text, data, tracking and other real-time services will also be possible and developers will have a field day with the new capabilities.

GA will be a tiny user of the overall service, which is fundamental to a new aircraft tracking system that will ensure aircraft cant go missing. Iridium has partnered with Nav Canada to create the tracking system, which is being sold to air traffic services providers all over the world. The FAA hasnt yet committed to the system, which will allow controllers to keep tabs on any aircraft, anywhere in the world. That means the spacing for aircraft flying over areas not covered by radar can be dramatically reduced and more direct routes can be flown. Desch said the FAA is pondering participation and he hopes the agency is ready when the satellites are. He said the biggest part of Iridiums business is asset tracking for companies keeping an eye on their goods. Desch said he wanted to be sure GA can make use of the system because of his own strong links. Hes a TBM 700 owner-pilot and an AOPA board member. The GA market is very important to me.
A gaping hole opened in the side of an Airbus A321 jet operated by Daallo Airlines, shortly after it departed from the Mogadishu airport in Somalia this morning, headed for Djibouti. Early reports said there was a loud noise, just minutes after takeoff, and at least two passengers were injured. A third passenger appears to have fallen from the plane. A body was found shortly after the plane landed. Passengers said they heard a bang, and some reported flames or smoke, and then a hole opened in the planes side. I dont know if it was a bomb or an electric shock, but we heard a bang inside the plane, passenger Mohamed Ali told The Associated Press. The crew was able to circle back to the airport and land safely.

This video, posted today on YouTube, appears to show the interior of the airplane as the crew maneuvered back to the airport. Daallo Airlines is a Somali-owned airline, based at Dubai Airport Free Zone. The airline operates scheduled services in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
3 February 2016 15:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

The referendum on constitutional amendments that took place in Armenia on December 6 caused a big scandal, as the government was accused of fraud and falsification.

Despite numerous public protests against this initiative, the authorities remained deaf, going towards its goal to retain the power.

In fact, the parliamentary system is accepted in many democratic countries and has dozens of positive sides. However, considering Armenian realities, it is difficult to speak seriously about success. Indeed, any system can be misinterpreted if it is used for private interests. Armenia, a nation famous for corruption, human rights violations and aggression towards its neighboring countries, is a shining example of this.

A number of violations have been fixed during the referendum as fundamentals of parliamentary system forming in Armenia were established through fraud.

As it turned out, in many cities the number of voters exceeded the amount of the population.

Local media reports that despite authorities are trying to present the vote as transparent and fair, the obtained data demonstrate the opposite.

City Population Voter Participant Aragatsotn 103.000 115. 000 61.451 Ararat 208.000 218. 000 144.452 Armavir 213.000 230. 000 127.701 Gegarkunik 182.000 188. 000 98.993 Lori 182.000 238. 000 110.54 Kotayk 209.000 235. 000 123.44 Shirak 196.000 230. 000 95.171 Sunik 112.000 109. 000 69.786 Vayotsdzor 41.000 47. 000 27.327 Tavush 100.000 109. 000 52.883 In total 1. 54 million 1.72 million 907.862 million

People's Party leader Stepan Demirchyan said that before the reforms the authorities consistently stated that the adoption of the reform will be done to ensure appropriate standards of democratic electoral processes. However, the miracle did not happen and the outcome of the referendum was rigged.

The countrys population feels no confidence in the government as it is ready for any steps to achieve its goals.

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3 February 2016 13:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Joschka Fischer

The start of 2016 has been anything but calm. Falling equity prices in China have destabilized markets worldwide. Emerging economies seem to have stalled. The price of oil has plunged, pushing petroleum producers into crisis. North Korea is flexing its nuclear muscles. And in Europe, the ongoing refugee crisis is fomenting a toxic tide of nationalism, which threatens to tear the European Union apart. Add to this Russias neo-imperial ambitions and the threat of terrorism, and comets streaking across the sky may be the only thing missing from a picture of a year shaping up to be one of prophetic doom.

Wherever one looks, chaos seems to be ascendant. The international order forged in the fires of the twentieth century seems to be disappearing, and we have not had even the faintest glimpse of what will replace it.

It is not difficult to put names to the challenges we face: globalization, digitization, climate change, and so forth. What is not clear is the context in which the response will come  if at all. In which political structures, by whose initiative, and under which rules will these questions be negotiated  or, if negotiation proves impossible, fought over?

Political and economic order  particularly on a global scale  does not simply arise from peaceful consensus or an unchallenged claim by the most powerful. It has always been the result of a struggle for domination  often brutal, bloody, and long  between or among rival powers. Only through conflict are the new pillars, institutions, and players of a new order established.

The liberal Western order in place since the end of World War II was based on the global hegemony of the United States. As the only true global power, it was dominant not only in the realm of hard military power (as well as economically and financially), but in nearly all dimensions of soft power (for example, culture, language, mass media, technology, and fashion).

Today, the Pax Americana that ensured a large degree of global stability has begun to fray  most notably in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula. The US may still be the worlds strongest power, but it is no longer able or willing to play the role of the worlds policeman or make the sacrifices needed to guarantee order. Indeed, in a globalized world, with ever closer integration in terms of communication, technology, and  as we have recently seen  the movement of people, the centers of power are diluted and dispersed; by its very nature, a globalized world eludes the imposition of twentieth-century order.

And yet, while a new global order may inevitably emerge, its foundations are not yet indiscernible. A Chinese-led order seems unlikely. China will remain self-absorbed, focused on internal stability and development, and its ambitions are likely to be narrowed to control of its immediate neighborhood and the surrounding seas. Furthermore, China lacks, in nearly every respect, the soft power that would be indispensable if it were to try to become a force for global order.

Nor are these times of turbulent transition likely to end in the emergence of a second Pax Americana. Despite Americas technological dominance, there would be too much resistance by regional powers and potential counter-alliances.

In fact, the main challenge of the coming years is likely to be managing Americas declining influence. There is no framework for the retirement of a hegemon. While a dominant power can be brought down through a struggle for domination, voluntary retreat is not an option, because the resulting power vacuum would endanger the stability of the entire system. Indeed, overseeing the end of Pax Americana is likely to dominate the tenure of Americas next president  whoever that might be.

For Europe, this raises an equally difficult question. Will the decline of Pax Americana, which has served for seven decades as a guarantor of Europes internal liberal order, unavoidably lead to crisis, if not conflict? Rising neo-nationalism across the continent seems to point toward such a scenario, with appalling implications.

The bleak prospect of European suicide is no longer unthinkable. What will happen if German Chancellor Angela Merkel is brought down by her refugee policy, if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, or if the French populist Marine Le Pen captures the presidency? A plunge into the abyss is the most dangerous outcome imaginable, if not the likeliest.

Suicide, of course, can be prevented. But those who are happily chiseling away at Merkels position, the UKs European identity, and Frances Enlightenment values threaten to undermine the ledge on which were all standing.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: Welcome to the twenty-first century

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3 February 2016 11:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Peter Tase

As we take a look back in history, one of the greatest tragedies in the latest century is the Khojaly Massacre orchestrated by the Armenian Army that killed at least 613 ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on February 25-26, 1992, during the War of Nagorno-Karabakh: 63 of them were children, 106 of them were women and 70 were old people. Eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both of their parents, 130 children lost only one of their parents, 657 men became disabled, and 1275 were captivated and the fate of 150 captivated men is still unknown.

For Mr. Tale Hasanov, Editor in Chief of the European-Azerbaijan Information Center: the current history has witnessed many bloody events. But to live horrors of Khojaly tragedy where women, old men and children were savagely killed and to bear this, is out of the human will. Only we, Azerbaijanis could live that tragedy. Because we are the nation who witnessed many tragedies throughout history

Such a conflict has become one of the longest conflicts in modern history and has been protracted for over two decades due to repeated military exercises, constant provocation maneuvers undertaken by the Armenian Army in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, including its region of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding territories that are occupied by Armenia; and propaganda warfare that Armenian government has led against Baku and its democratically elected government of President Ilham Aliyev.

Armenian military provocations have been more frequent in the border areas with Azerbaijan, and even worst, the bloody shadows of the Khojaly Massacre hunt until today the Azerbaijani civilians, farmers who live in their ancestral land, nearby Nagorno-Karabakh, where they continue to be attacked and killed by Armenian reconnaissance forces that intentionally violate the ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry Officials in Baku, only on January 30th, 2016, the Armenian Armed Forces have broken the ceasefire over 128 times, attacked the defense positions of Azerbaijan Armed Forces in the line of contact.

These sporadic but consistent shootings have taken place on numerous positions on a border that is almost 100 miles long. Additionally, on November 22, 2015, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire against the following neighboring villages: Gulustan of Goranboy district; Chilyaburt, Gizil Oba of Terter district; Shikhlar, Shuraabad, Bash Gervend, Kengerli, Yusifjanli, Merzili, Javakhirli, Garagashli of Aghdam district; Kuropatkino of Khojavend district; Horadiz, Garakhanbeyli, Gorgan, Ashagi Veyselli, Ashagi Seyidahmadli of Fizuli district and Mehdili of Jabrayil district. The positions of Azerbaijani Army were also hit by the Armenian heavy weapons located in the districts of Goranboy, Fizuli and Khojavend. In front of all these armed provocations, Azerbaijani military forces were obliged to respond by fire until the Armenian provocateurs would refrain from shooting. Moreover, Armenia has implemented a decades long blockade to the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, thereby causing economic hardships to this dynamic region of Azerbaijan. In front of such a belligerent attitude that continues to erupt out of Yerevan, the International Community has taken a passive role towards solving this armed conflict and to impose sanctions against Armenia for occupying the territory of one of its neighbors, Republic of Azerbaijan.

What kind of bilateral negotiations do we expect from the political elite that rules Armenia today? Which is the same government that defends and protects these monstrous acts of criminals who have committed the most horrific crimes against humanity and have barbarously killed hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians by using horrendous massacres.

The protracted and bloody war, which begun in the late 1980s due to Armenias territorial claims against its Southern Caucasus neighbor, left thousands of Azerbaijani civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the neighboring regions as internally displaced persons who are accommodated in more than 1600 refugee camps across 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani civilians in other regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have the same fate of being expelled and relocated in Azerbaijan while living in very difficult conditions, refugee camps, tents and wagons.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled. The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions demanding the urgent Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but unfortunately they have not been enforced to this day.

In February 2016, the international community will commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, however it is unfortunate that Yerevans leadership continues to flex its muscles as well as its belligerent foreign and defense policies continue to be the same as in the late 1980s. To set the record straight, the Armenian president refuses to accept and regret these massive atrocities committed in Khojaly against the innocent civilians of the Republic of Azerbaijan. To conclude there is no other expression that describes the Armenian attitude better than what George Santayana, a XX century American philosopher, said in his first volume of The Life of Reason: those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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3 February 2016 10:32 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Foreign Minister of Greece Nikos Kotzias on February 3, Azertac state news agency reported.

President Aliyev expressed confidence that Kotziass Baku visit would be important in terms of the strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Hailing ties between Azerbaijan and Greece, the head of state noted that during the visit the issues related to the further development of the cooperation in a number of fields would be discussed.

Recalling the official visits of two Greek presidents to Azerbaijan and his two official visits to Greece, President Aliyev described this as a good sign of relations. The head of state stressed the importance of developing bilateral ties between the two countries even further.

Noting that Azerbaijan and Greece have a long history and unique culture, Kotzias said the two countries` peoples shared a number of common values, and underlined the significance of effectively using this potential for further development of relations.

They exchanged views over the development of bilateral ties between the two countries in a variety of fields, the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other issues.

During the Baku visit, the Greek official also met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov. Following the meeting, the ministers held a press conference.

Mammadyarov highlighted the existence of beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Greece. The Minister also said they discussed bilateral and regional cooperation.

The discussions also focused on issues related to bonds within the European Union and cooperation in the field of energy.

Greece believes that Azerbaijani gas will reach Europe in the next two-three years, Kotzias said at a briefing after talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart.

Greece plans to receive Azerbaijani gas and has already resolved all issues related to the infrastructure. We hope that we will get Azerbaijani gas in the coming years, he said.

The official further noted that Greece considers it important to use the TAP project and to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

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3 February 2016 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

The development of bilateral relations in various areas was high on the agenda of talks held between President Ilham Aliyev, who was on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, and Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The two officials met in an expanded meeting in Dubai on February 2.

The sides stressed the successful visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to Azerbaijan.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said he was deeply impressed by development processes in Azerbaijan.

You have a beautiful country, beautiful people. I witnessed this during my visit to Azerbaijan, he noted adding that the first European Games were excellently organized in the country.

President Aliyev thanked Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for warm words and said Azerbaijan has become a venue for international events, expressing his confidence that the Islamic Solidarity Games to be held in the country next year will contribute to international cooperation.

President Aliyev also congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the economic development of the UAE, including Dubai, saying he witnessed the country's outstanding success during his current visit.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum touched upon the global economic crisis and sharp decline in oil price, highlighting what the UAE was doing in this regard.

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan is also carrying out large-scale measures related to global processes. In particular, substantial work is being done in the country to define a new economic model, the president said adding that it will cover a broad range of economic areas.

President Aliyev also hailed the activity of the Joint Economic Commission, saying it contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, including in the field of investment making.

The head of state said there are good opportunities for developing the cooperation in the field of tourism as well, and added that the development of tourism is a key priority for Azerbaijan.

The construction of high-class airports and the establishment of tourism infrastructure in regions contributed to the growth of tourism flow, President Aliyev said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hailed high quality of Azerbaijan-made agricultural products, stressing the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable exports from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

President Aliyev also said there are good opportunities for the UAE companies to participate in infrastructure and water supply projects in Azerbaijan, as well as in the ongoing construction of a sea port, establishment of a free economic zone, and investment making projects in the country.

The sides noted that friendly ties between the people of Azerbaijan and the UAE contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Prospects for expanding the cooperation in the fields of production, industry, logistics and air transportation were discussed during the meeting as well.

Later, President Aliyev and Vice President and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum participated at the signing of documents between Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the UAE Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi signed an agreement on institutional cooperation on sea transportation and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

Azerbaijan and UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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3 February 2016 14:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the OSCE Minsk Group, which hasnt achieved progress in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the whole period of its activity, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said February 2.

The recent statement by the OSCE co-chairs deeply frustrated Baku, making doubtful the true will of the mediators to solve the long-lasting conflict.

Baku sees the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs spreading a statement on reviewing a report in the PACE on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan at the PACE winter session as a pressure on other countries, the minister said.

The mediators attempted to counteract the discussions of two reports on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict at the PACE session.

"We remind the Assembly, as well as other regional and international organizations that the Minsk Group remains the only accepted format for the talks," the co-chairs said.

"We appreciate the interest of members of the Assembly, but urge not to take steps that could hurt the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group or hamper the continuation of the negotiations."

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry brought its dissatisfaction to the attention of the co-chair countries' foreign ministries.

I have sent letters to the foreign ministers of Russia, France and the US and brought Baku's position to their attention, Mammadyarov said. Azerbaijan has a sovereign right to raise any issue at international platforms and nobody has the right to interfere in its sovereign affairs.

Baku has repeatedly criticized the inefficient activities of the 'trio' of international mediators representing the U.S., Russia and France.

The organization does not take any efficient step to change the current status quo in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and tries to preserve the resolution of the problem under its monopoly. The recent statement by the mediators was regarded in Baku as an attempt to prevent any outside initiative to positively affect the conflict.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 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.

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3 February 2016 17:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

The energy-rich countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf  Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates  have voiced interest in further developing bilateral relations in various fields.

Azerbaijan and UAEs high-ranking officials have focused on the development of relations between the two countries at different levels during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs official visit to the UAE on February 1-2.

President Aliyev and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Emir of Dubai held an expanded meeting on February 2.

The sides discussed the prospects for expanding the cooperation in the fields of production, industry, logistics and air transportation.

Azerbaijan and the UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The two countries have a lot of similarities. In particular, Azerbaijan is the most stable and liberal country in the South Caucasus region, while the UAE - in the Middle East region.

Being a federation of seven states (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Quwain), the UAE has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East's most important economic centers.

Azerbaijan and the UAE are considered most tolerant countries of the regions they are located. Though traditionally conservative, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. Azerbaijan, with a population of over 9.6 million people, is a model of tolerance in the world.

Deepening cooperation

During the top-level meetings President Aliyev hailed the activity of the Joint Economic Commission, saying it contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, including in the field of investment making.

The tourism sector is one of the main areas of cooperation between the two countries. The officials from both sides have stated that tourism in both countries is increasing.

The head of state said there are good opportunities for developing the cooperation in the field of tourism as well, and added that the development of tourism is a key priority for Azerbaijan.

The UAE has diversified its economy to become a regional trading and tourism hub. Today Baku, the pearl of the Caspian Sea and Dubai, the pearl of the Gulf, are the two centers preferred by the majority of tourists.

President Aliyev also said the construction of high-class airports and the establishment of tourism infrastructure in regions contributed to the growth of tourism flow.

President Aliyev went on to add that there are good opportunities for the UAE companies to participate in infrastructure and water supply projects in Azerbaijan, as well as in the ongoing construction of a sea port, establishment of a free economic zone, and investment making projects in the country.

Dubai is considered one of the centers of the biggest man made ports of the world.



Port Rashid, with the largest amount of shipping capacity among all the ports in Dubai, is the most efficient and the leading port in the whole of the UAE.

The Jebel Port, also known as the Mina Jebel Ali, is the world's largest man made harbor, and is also the biggest port in the Middle East.

Thus, the UAE enjoys huge experience in the port construction and it can share this experience with Azerbaijan, the country which is constructing its own port - the new Baku International Sea Trade Port ferry terminal in Alat, 40 miles south of Baku.

The estimated transshipment volume for the new port complex is up to 10 million tons of cargo and 40,000 TEU containers at the first stage, up to 17 million tons of cargo and 150,000 TEU containers at the second stage, and up to 25 million tons of cargo, and 1 million TEU containers at the third stage of the project. In addition to the logistics center, a free economic zone is planned to create in this area in the future.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hailed high quality of Azerbaijan-made agricultural products, stressing the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable exports from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

Azerbaijan's high-quality agricultural products enjoy popularity and are in demand in neighboring countries. Despite the fact that the South Caucasus nation has an access to the traditional markets, it intends to look for new markets for its agrarian goods.

In this regard, the UAE's interest in Azerbaijani products, is of significant importance for Baku to gain new markets in the Middle East region.

The sides also noted that friendly ties between the people of Azerbaijan and the UAE contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Azerbaijan and UAE, the two nations which established diplomatic relations in 1992, have long-standing and successful cooperation within international organizations such as the United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.

One of the milestones of President Aliyev's UAE visit was signing of documents between Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Following the expanded meeting, President Aliyev and Vice President and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum participated at the signing ceremony.

Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the UAE Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi signed an agreement on institutional cooperation on sea transportation and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on agenda

Prior to the meeting with the Emir of Dubai, President Aliyev was in the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi where he met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in an expanded format.

The two countries officials exchanged views on the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Yerevans territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.

President Aliyev said that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied by the Armenian armed forces, with more than one million Azerbaijanis becoming refugees and IDPs. He stressed the importance of settling the conflict in compliance with the international law and within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The president thanked the UAE for supporting the adoption of the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the UN General Assembly, saying Azerbaijan also backed the UAE' position within the UN and other international organizations.

The sides hailed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, and discussed the issues of further expansion of cooperation in the political, economic, trade, investment and other fields.

As part of the UAE visit, President Aliyev visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the grave of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which is located on the grounds beside the mosque, as well as the building of famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Thus, President Aliyev's visit to the UAE will pave the way for further development of Baku's ties with this Middle East country's emirates, as well as for increasing flow of investment and tourists from the UAE to the Land of Fire.

--

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3 February 2016 16:38 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry announced on February 3 that the OSCE mission will hold a monitoring on the contact line of troops near Ashagi Veysalli village of Azerbaijan`s Fuzuli region on February 4. The monitoring will be held in accordance with the mandate of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

The monitoring will be held on the Azerbaijani side by field assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg, Jiri Aberle, Simon Tiller and representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group, Colonel Tuncay Sevim.

On the opposite side, the monitoring will be conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, his field assistants Yevgeny Sharov, Hristo Hristov and representative of the OSCE High-Level Planning Group, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Nepokritikh.

The situation on the contact line between Azerbaijan and Armenia has remained tense as the Armenian armed forces shattered ceasefire a total of 121 times over the past 24 hours, the Ministry reported in its morning statement.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. This war killer more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis and nearly 1 million were displaced.

The sides to the conflict currently hold talks based on the renewed Madrid principles, which envisage return of occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, ensure the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence, future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, etc.

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3 February 2016 15:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

Chinas largest energy company POWERCHINA expressed interest in alternative energy sector of Azerbaijan, the country not only rich in hydrocarbons, but also rich by other natural resources.

The nation enjoys huge alternative energy sources especially solar, wind and thermal energies. Within next five years, Azerbaijan plans to build up to 100 facilities for alternative energy.

Currently, the share of alternative energy in the total energy production in Azerbaijan exceeds 7 percent. By 2020, the country plans to increase this figure up to 20 percent.

The Chinese company expressed a special interest in implementing joint projects together with the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. The delegation of the company has already visited Azerbaijan to assess its alternative and renewable energy field.

Stressing that Azerbaijan is the most attractive country for investments in the region, the Chinese delegation voiced readiness to begin implementation of joint projects in the field of alternative and renewable energy sources in the near future.

During the visit, the delegation also got acquainted with alternative energy sites including the factory for the production of solar panels AzGunTex, Gobustan experimental polygon and solar power station in Pirallahi island.

The company also held a working meeting to discuss plans on the future joint activities with the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources.

The Power Construction Corporation of China provides comprehensive and full-range of services from planning, investigation, designing, consulting, civil works construction to M&E installation and manufacturing services in the fields of hydropower, thermal power, new energy and infrastructure.

By late June 2015, POWERCHINA had total assets worth $70.4 billion and 200,000 employees. The company performed 1,565 overseas projects in 110 countries. The annual revenue in 2014 was $ 42.4 billion.

Today Azerbaijan is open to foreign investment especially in non-oil sector and the alternative energy is of special interest in the country.

Last year, investment in alternative energy development in Azerbaijan exceeded 63 million manats ($39.2 million), of which almost 35 million manats ($18.7 million) was invested in the development of solar energy, as most of the countrys potential in this area is accounted for by solar energy, with an estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

In addition, wind power accounts for 4,500 megawatts energy potential, 1,500 megawatts for biomass, and 800 megawatts for geothermal energy. The remaining 350 megawatts is the potential for small hydroelectric power plants.

In total, about 800 million manats ($498 million) has been invested in this sector in Azerbaijan since 2000.

The country plans to cooperate in this area with neighboring Georgia and Turkey, as well as Germany.

__

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3 February 2016 13:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

The European Union supports reforms and works aiming to ensure economic diversification in Azerbaijan and follows with interest the developments in the privatization, EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Malena Mard said.

The ambassador made the remark at a meeting with the Caspian Energy delegation headed by Natalya Aliyeva, the president and editor in chief of the Caspian Energy International Media Group

In this respect, European companies can play an important role, Mard said. The European companies are operating here to demonstrate their experience that Azerbaijan could use in practice.

Mard stressed that the EU is the biggest investor in Azerbaijan and noted the high potential for cooperation of European companies with Azerbaijani businesses.

Azerbaijan and the EU enjoy very close relations that develop from year to year, she added.

The ambassador also stressed that the Southern Gas Corridor is a priority for the EU. We hope to get Azerbaijani gas in 2020. Moreover, according to available information, the implementation of TANAP project is ahead of schedule.

The official further noted that the EU is also working with the Azerbaijan Culture and Tourism Ministry and provides recommendations on specific areas of tourism development. In addition, the EU has a joint project with the State Committee on Statistics, which also contributes to economic reforms.

The ambassador outlined the great potential of cooperation in agriculture, and output of high quality products to the European market. The close cooperation in this direction is underway with the Agriculture Ministry, she added.

Azerbaijan has high-quality products, but it is necessary to accelerate the work on the development of distributorships, she said.

The meeting also discussed different topics of cooperation within the Caspian European Club (Caspian Business Club) and Caspian Energy International Media Group, the possibility of expanding the contacts on the information level.

At the end of the meeting Mard has given an exclusive interview to the Caspian Energy, in which she had raised the possibility to develop bilateral relations, boost economic and investment cooperation, and spoke about the prospects of development of the energy market, the tourism sector and energy cooperation.

The EU is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan. The share of European countries in Azerbaijan's foreign trade amounted to 46.8 percent in January-October 2015, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. Some 30.51 percent and 59.23 percent of Azerbaijani import and export account for the share of the EU countries respectively.

__

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3 February 2016 12:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijani products may fill the free space in Russian market as the latter banned import of many products from the EU and Turkey.

The president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce has invited Azerbaijani business community to review the Russian market and to keep in focus the import substitution of those goods, which are now lacking in the Russian shelves.

Sergey Katyrin expressed hope that Azerbaijan will occupy those niches in the trade that were freed, especially given the strained relations between Ankara and Moscow.

There is a prospect of growth in this area. First are agricultural products, fruits and vegetables as well as food products. The potential in the development of high-tech industries and equipment production can also be noted, he told Moscow-Baku information resource.

Azerbaijan and Russia enjoy great potential for the development of bilateral trade, said Katyrin.

I am confident Russia and Azerbaijan have not exhausted their possibilities in trade. In my opinion, cooperation should be developed more intensively. The prospects are enormous, he stressed.

Praising he measures taken by the Azerbaijani leadership to strengthen the economy, Katyrin stressed the importance of reducing the VAT on some goods.

I also want to note that the reduction of VAT on a number of important products is quite the right thing. Flour or bread is number one goods in the country. If the tax burden for entrepreneurs is weaken, it is also quite a wise move. Note that the small and medium businesses can quickly recover and grow, he said

Katyrin believes as soon as there is a change of the tax burden, the business community immediately positively responds to this.

He specially noted that today it is important to negotiate the extension of the presence of Azerbaijani businessmen in the Russian market.

Today, when niches in Russian market are freed, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs need urgently to come to our market and sign long-term contracts that guarantee delivery and fixed prices, he said.

The president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce invited the delegation of Azerbaijan for negotiations, to work out all the procedures.

The trade turnover between the two countries was not the highest in 2015. The figure amounted to $1.85 billion last year, of which $416.77 million fell on export to Russia, according to the Azerbaijan State Customs Committee.

The trade turnover between the strategic partners for the first time exceeded $4 billion in 2014.

Russia became very interested in Azerbaijani products especially food products after escalation of ties first with the western countries and then with Turkey.

Today, Azerbaijan has sufficient recourses and infrastructure to boost export of agricultural products and relevant negotiations were already held in Azerbaijan and Russia.

__

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3 February 2016 15:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Orujova

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route continues to enlarge as Lithuania expressed its interest to join the promising project.

Ukraine and Lithuania have signed a memorandum of joining the Viking container train to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route that will transport goods from China to Europe, Ukrainian media quoted Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as saying on February 2.

He noted the need to cooperate with European partners on this issue.

The fact that Lithuania has showed its interest and we've signed a preliminary memorandum of joining this New Silk Road with the Viking train means that as part of our cooperation with the European Union, as part of the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement not only Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China will join the route, but also EU members. The Viking from Klaipeda will also receive a chance to ship its goods directly to China bypassing Russia," Yatsenyuk said

The combined transport train Viking has started running from 2003. The project participants include Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria. The total length of the route from Ukrainian Ilyichevsk  Minsk (Belarus)  and Draugyste in Lithuania is 1,753 km.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine signed a protocol on the establishment of competitive preferential tariffs for cargo transportation on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route on January 14, 2016.

Next day, Ukraine sent its first test train on the route Ukraine-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan-China via the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The train reached China on January 31.

Meanwhile, Yatsenyuk instructed the Infrastructure Ministry to explore the possibility of reducing the length of the train flight on Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to 10 days and reduce the cost of transportation, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers reported.

The Prime Minister noted the importance of reducing the travel time of the experimental train.

This train was on road for 15 days, but after we will analyze all technical and methodological component of the passage of the train, we need to reduce this time, he said. If we can make this train to reach the destination in 10 days, it will further enable us to compensate the costs for the new transit path and accelerate the delivery of Ukrainian goods.

Currently, shipping of one container to its final destination costs in an average $5,500, which is slightly more expensive than the standard transit routes through Russia, he said.

However, Ukraine has no alternative route now. The country was forced to seek alternative routes for delivering its goods to consumers following tensions with Russia. In this regard, the Trans-Caspian Route is of significant importance for Kiev.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route enjoys an opportunity to become attractive and profitable for consignors from European countries. This route will transport approximately 300,000-400,000 containers by 2020, bringing hundreds of millions of manats in profit to Azerbaijan.

Growing interest in the transport infrastructures passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to make the country a major transport hub in the region.

Azerbaijan, which is located in the center of this route, is keen to create favorable conditions to increase the importance of the route.

__

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3 February 2016 18:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan restored the license of the NBCBank on February 1, which was revoked on January 26.

The CBA has made such a decision due to the NBCBank's plans to consolidate with other banks operating in the country, Trend reported on February 2.

In this regard, a protocol of intents has been signed between the banks.

"NBCBank has appealed to the CBA, informing it about a desire to consolidate with other banks, as well as to carry out measures for improving the financial situation, ensuring fulfillment of the obligations, as well as restoring the capital position," the CBA reported.

The bank started implementing overdue obligations before its clients and creditors through additional capitalization of the bank.

"Given this fact, as well as the relevance of consolidation process to the strategy of development of the banking sector, a decision on termination of the license of the NBCBank was annulled. The bank will operate under the strict control of the CBA until the full completion of the consolidation process," the CBA said.

A source in the banking sector of Azerbaijan told local media that the NBCBank intends to merge its assets with Parabank and Dekabank, which merge for consolidation in April, 2016.

However, Parabank told day.az that they have no information about such a merger, while Dekabank has denied such a consolidation.

The NBCBank told day.az that the protocol of intents has already been signed, but did not reveal the names of merging banks.

A source in the CBA told local media that the third party of the consolidation is not Dekabank, but is Kredobank.

This is not the first case of consolidation. Azerbaijani AGBank and DemirBank earlier signed a protocol of intent about merger.

Meanwhile, the Caucasus Development Bank, which is active in the Azerbaijani banking sector, will discuss its merger with other banks on March 20 as well.

The bank reported that the shareholders will have an extraordinary meeting at the request of the Supervisory Board of the Caucasus Development Bank.

The Caucasus Development Bank intends to merge with Gunay Bank and Atrabank, Trend reported earlier.

The Caucasus Development Banks license was revoked upon a decision of the CBA on January 27.

The decision on the revocation of the Caucasus Development Bank's license was taken because the total capital of the bank did not correspond to the CBA's minimum requirement of 50 million manats ($31.13 million).

"The Caucasus Development Bank could not fulfill its obligations to creditors and failed to manage its current activity reliably and prudentially," the CBA said.

Since the beginning of 2016, the CBA has terminated the licenses of Texnika Bank, the Caucasus Development Bank, Atrabank, Gandja Bank, Bank of Azerbaijan, United Credit Bank and NBCBank. The license of the seventh bank - Texnika Bank - was revoked on February 2, 2016.

Currently, 37 banks have licenses for banking activity in Azerbaijan.

The consolidation of banks is likely to lead to financial recovery of the banks as this process is in the interests of both owners and clients of banks.

The consolidation will also allow stable banks, which have deliberately decided to merge, to increase their share in the market and to gain more revenues. This strategy would be more correct if targets growth of profit and market share.

The International Finance Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development support the consolidation of banks in Azerbaijan, regarding it as a way leading to financial recovery of the banks.

Azerbaijan has experienced good examples of consolidation of banks earlier.

For instance, UniBank was formed by the merger of two commercial banks in 2002 - MBank and Promtexbank, where the EBRD acquired a 15-percent share, and 8.3333 percent is owned by the German Investment Corporation DEG.

Bank of Baku merged with IlkBank in 2005.

Depositors to receive compensation

Preliminary amount of compensation, which will be paid by the Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund for the return of deposits in three bankrupt banks (the Bank of Azerbaijan, the Gandja Bank and the United Credit Bank), will amount to 28.83 million manats ($17.95 million).

Azad Javadov, the Executive Director of the ADIF, told journalists on February 3 that even if the rest liquidated banks [their total number is seven] are declared bankrupt, the ADIF will have enough money to pay out compensations.

The volume of insured deposits at Texnika Bank is 79.34 million manats ($49.39 million), the Atrabank  7.56 million manats ($4.71 million), while the Caucasus Development Bank has insured deposits worth 1.52 million manats ($0.946 million), according to preliminary data.

It is easy to calculate that even if these three banks are declared bankrupt, the total amount of reimbursable contributions will be slightly more than 117 million manats ($72.83 million), while the fund has 132 million manats ($82.17 million), the head of the fund said.

Javadov noted that in case of shortage of money, the fund will attract a loan from the CBA.

He went on to add that the funds to the depositors of the Bank of Azerbaijan will be fully paid within 10 days. To date, the ADIF has paid out over 9 million manats ($5.6 million) to more than 430 investors of the Bank of Azerbaijan.

The ADIF will also pay 1.5 million manats ($0.934 million) to the 378 insured depositors of the Gandja Bank, according to Javadov.

Furthermore, the depositors of the United Credit Bank will be able to appeal to the ADIF for payment of compensation since February 9.

--

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3 February 2016 11:47 (UTC+04:00)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has pledged to support for entrepreneurs and the countrys private sector.

President Rouhani said the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan (JCPOA) has removed obstacles against the progress of Iranian nation.

The international sanctions imposed by the West against Iran over its nuclear program were effective, Rouhani said in a live televised interview with the state-run TV IRIB1.

Saying that the world is interested in doing business activities with Iran, he added that Iran's delegation on his recent trip to EU comprised of industry leaders, senior managers and strategists from the private sector.

He said that Iran has been hosting many trade delegations over the past year adding Asian states such as China and India are of high importance for Iran.

Saying that Iran should depend on non-oil exports, he added that the administration will not pay-off the prices of Airbus aircraft from oil revenues.

Our strategy is no longer one of the past to sell oil and import end products, but rather to attract foreign investment, he added.

There is no restriction against entrepreneurs from the US to do business activities in Iran. Iran would like to cooperate with the world, Rouhani said.

However, we will not forget those friends who helped us in sanctions era, he added.

He further called for luring foreign investment in the sectors of tourism, aviation and transport in Iran.

He touched upon recent tensions between Turkey and Russia and called on Moscow and Ankara for calming down and resolving the tensions.

Rouhani addressed the nation on the occasion of the "Ten Days of Dawn" celebrating the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution when the revolution leader Ayatollah Khomeini returned to the country after almost 15 years of exile.

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3 February 2016 12:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

Iran and Germany are deeply interested in closer bilateral relations as the nuclear Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has opened a new window to Tehran-Berlin ties.

This was stated by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a joint press conference following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on February 2.

Steinmeier said his second visit to Tehran in three months focused on good issues, as well as those which are a source of concern.

"I am confident the JCPOA made the world and region safer, and for the years to come narrowed prospects of nuclearization of the region," he said expressing his satisfaction over the deal reached between Iran and the world powers in Vienna last summer.

Touching upon the regional crises, the German FM called for a change in the conditions so that bloodshed can be stopped and a political solution can be achieved.

"It is why we say that JCPOA is important," he said adding that it is not a secret that there are differences over the settlement of the Syrian crisis. "We shall act upon the understanding reached under UN supervision so that it will result in negotiations between the Syrian government and its opposition."

Steinmeier, who will also pay a visit to Saudi Arabia on February 3, believes that Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two countries that can contribute to the settlement of crisis in Syria. He also expressed confidence that Germany's likely mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not necessary.

The German FM will also held a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and discuss the issue of Rouhani's next state visit to Europe, as well as Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on February 3.

--

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3 February 2016 13:23 (UTC+04:00)

A new structure for fighting illegal migration will be created at the Turkish Interior Ministry, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said, TRT Haber TV channel reported.

Ala said that the ministry will appeal to the cabinet of ministers of Turkey for approval of the new structure.

It is also provided to increase penalties in order to fight illegal migration in Turkey, he said.

Currently, Turkey is hosting more than two million Syrian refugees on its territory. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread across the provinces and cities of Turkey.



In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Ankara has so far spent $8 billion to upkeep the Syrian refugees.

---

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3 February 2016 15:29 (UTC+04:00)

Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has urged the country's Supreme National Security Council to stand against arrogance and confront those, who remain idle to it, the leader's official website reported.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks at a meeting with the secretary, deputies and members of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, on February 3.

Without giving names, Khamenei hinted at some people in Iran, who do not tend to stand against the arrogance.

The supreme leader further added that the Council must deal with enemies trying to destabilize the country, with use of modern methods.

Khamenei urged the members of the Supreme National Security Council to consider the various issues of economy, politics and culture in making decisions.

He called on the Council members to follow the thoughts of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Rouhollah Khomeini adding that security is one of most vital needs of a society.

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3 February 2016 17:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

Iranian businesses are ready to invest in the Georgian economy, but the visa regime implemented by the Georgian government is the main obstacle to this, said Mahmoud Davari, Head of the Georgian-Iranian business development center.

The official noted that the Iranian entrepreneurs mainly interested in the agriculture sector.

"We want to rent 2,000 hectares of land to grow wheat and maize for export to Iran. These products are in high demand in Iran. In addition, we are ready to bring to Georgia 100,000 tourists from Iran, but the visa regime prevents us," said Davari, Vestnik-Kavkaza reports.

He further noted that the best thing is to return to the visa-free regime, as it was before.

If this is not possible, then at least to make simplifications of visa regulations to give the Georgian-Iranian business ties a prospect for development. We ask the Georgian government to consider this question, he said.

---

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3 February 2016 16:26 (UTC+04:00)

Ankara hopes to win the arbitration hearing on the Russian gas price, a source in the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources exclusively told Trend on February 3.

The source said the court has already made a number of preliminary conclusions on Turkey's claim, but refused to disclose any details.

Earlier, the International Court of Arbitration passed a judgment in favor of Turkey over a long-term gas dispute between the country and Iran.

Moscow and Ankara agreed to reduce the Russian gas price a year ago, but in exchange for permission to build the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. However, the price was not reduced. Turkey filed a lawsuit to the International Court of Arbitration on October 27, 2015.

In accordance with two contracts signed with Turkey, Russia is committed to annually supply 20 billion cubic meters of gas to the country.

The first contract to supply Turkey with 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas was signed in 1997, and will expire in late 2025.

The second contract for the supply of four billion cubic meters of gas was signed in 1998 and expires in 2021.

In 2014, Turkey was the second largest importer of Russian gas after Germany  Ankara purchased 27.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom.

Turkey imports 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Azerbaijan on the basis of a take or pay contract. Turkey also buys gas from Iran.

Ankara also has agreements with Algeria and Nigeria for the supply of 4.4 billion cubic meters and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year, respectively.

---

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3 February 2016 17:48 (UTC+04:00)

The US is too big, commercially, diplomatically, and militarily for Iran to avoid, Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, former official in US departments of state and defense told Trend.

At the same time, Pipes dismissed the idea that Iran's doctrine of the West minus the United States supported by local conservatives, can be a successful approach.

The mentioned doctrine was initially put in place by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the early 1990s. The doctrine, which envisaged Iran's cooperation with the entire West, excluding the US, has since then been followed by all Iranian administrations. Ayatollah Khamenei even has banned any talks with the US beyond the nuclear issue.

Iran and the P5+1 group have reached a nuclear agreement, which was followed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal), lifting international, nuclear-related sanctions off Iran.

Following a breath of fresh air, Iran set its sight to expanding its economic reach, inviting more investors to the country and making its presence felt on the world arena.

While Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the country is open for economic ties with the US, as well as doing business with the US entrepreneurs, Pipes doesn't see this happening any time soon.

"Many U.S. sanctions remain in place, as well as a general concern about the stability of Iran and the security of American visitors," Pipes said.

Another issue that Iran has been battling for a long time is the human rights, which is a sensitive issue for the US.

Answering the question about the US possibly sacrificing its principles, such as human rights, for economic interest in ties with Iran, Pipes voiced several obstacles for that to happen.

"There's a permanent tension between interests and morality, one that is never resolved," Pipes said. "That said, Iran is a small market and a major abuser of human rights, so I think the outcome here is quite clear."

According to last year's reports, Iran's human rights record is far from good, having the highest execution rate in over a decade (United Nations special rapporteur's report).

The mentioned report said Iran executed 753 people in 2014 (the highest total recorded in the past 12 years). The number was up from 687 in 2013.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
 

       3.0 (      -       -         ): editor [at] bahrainmirror.com
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Borough Markets Roast restaurant in London has been announced as a sponsor for the British Pie Awards 2016.

As part of its sponsorship, the restaurant, known for its British dishes, will add the winning pie to the menu at Roast.

The latest of more than 20 sponsors to support the event, Roast will join industry organisations such as Quality Meat Scotland and the Vegetarian Society, as well as national producers and suppliers, including flour specialist Heygates and Brook Food Processing Equipment.

Stuart Cauldwell, head chef at Roast and British Pie Award judge, said: Working with the British Pie Awards is such a perfect-fit for us, as the event celebrates one of Britains most traditional and popular dishes. Im looking forward to finding a pie suitable for our menu, whether that be hot, cold, sweet or savoury.

The pies are judged by more than 100 pie aficionados, from TV chefs and food critics to food writers and enthusiasts, including Charles Campion, Andy Bates, Rachel Green and Neil Davey.

There are 20 classes for pie producers to enter, including this years Speciality Class, where entrants must bake a pie fit for her Majesty The Queens 90th Birthday.

The pie awards take place from 9-11 March, during British Pie Week, which runs from 9-13 March. The closing date for entries is 22 February.
A man who crashed his car into the gates at MacDill Air Force Base as well as another vehicle at a different location Monday afternoon has been arrested.

According to Tampa police, Andres Alvarez, 44, was found passed out behind the wheel of a blue Maserati after he pulled it into a parking lot at MacDill Avenue and Marcum Street.

An off-duty police officer witnessed Alvarez driving erratically on MacDill Avenue, at one point crossing over into opposing traffic, and directed officers to his location.

Officers at the scene determined that Alvarez had been involved in a hit-and-run accident at Bayshore Boulevard and Alline Avenue West earlier in the day and had fled. They also identified the vehicle as the same one that had crashed into the gates at MacDill prior to the hit-and-run.

Alvarez has been charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and leaving the scene of a crash with injury.


From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Mon, Feb 1, 2016 10:55 am

Subject: I would like you to help me to transfer





Hello My dearest,

Firstly , how is every thing over there in your country, i believe that you are in good health and the atmosphere over there in your country is very nice today ? Mine is a little bit warm over here in Tambacounda Senegal.

My Name is Jessica Abdelf rom Libya in North Africa, i am 23 years old but age doesn't matter in a real relationship, I am from (Libya,) 5.2ft tall, fair in complexion single, (never married) and presently i am residing here in Tambacounda as a result of the war that happened in my country which i was escaped to this country Senegal were i am under (Alliance missionary home). My late father MAJOR GENERAL, (ABDEL FATTAH YOUNES ). My late father He held the rank of Major General and the post of Minister of Interior, but resigned on 22nd February 2011 to defect the rebels in Libyan civil war. My father was killed by members of an anti-Gaddafi military on 28th July 2011. When rebels anti-Gaddafi military troupe attacked our house one early morning killing my parents , now you see i loss my lovely and beautiful mother that love me, it's only me that is alive now, due to i have already gone to school before the rebels attack our house, I managed to make my way out with the help of UN to Senegal where they called Alliance missionary home right now, as i am talking to you, i am in country called (Senegal in Tambacounda) where i am leaving now as a refugee under the care of a Rev.Patrick Devine, who is the priest of the ( Tambacounda Roman Catholic Church (Senegal) here in the missionary home, he has been very nice to me since I came here but i am not living with him rather i live in the female's hostel because the camp have two hostels one for men the other for women,

Please do not be offended for this message that comes from me please, its just that i don't know what else to do, because my situation here in Alliance missionary home is giving me a great concern, therefore, i will like you to consider my situation as an orphan, and be kind with me, as i am putting the whole of my trust on you with out fear or doubt, although i don't know who you are before, but i believe that with God Allah all things are possible and you can not betray me at the end.I have communicated to you because of my difficult and painful situation here called missionary home, am just like one staying in the prison and i hope by Allah grace i will come out here soon with your help and support of Allah. I don't have any relatives i can go to because i have no place to find them, all my relatives ran away in the middle of the war the only person i have now is the Rev Patrick Devine , who is our guardian here in this missionary home, he has been very nice to every body in the camp, Here in this missionary home I am sending you email through the church office computer at the Rev Farther office. Because here we don't have any right or privilege and access to any thing be it money, phone, computer, or whatever because it is against the law of this place.I will like to Hear Your Voice,pls Call me through this Revrend Telphone Number, + 221.778013575 Pls I want to go back to my studies because I only attended my first year before the tragic incident that lead me being in this bad situation and painful condition. Darling Please listen to this because it's a secret, even no one knows about it except you that am sharing about this, when my late father was alive he deposited some amount of money in one of the leading banks in Europe which he used my name as the next of kin, the total amount, is US 6.7M (Six Million Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars). So I will like you to help me to transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet you in your country. I kept this secret to people in the camp here the only person that knows about it is you and me. I have my late father's deposit certificate here with me, which i will send to you later, after contacting the bank



For your own information, i want you to view this news information about killing of my late Father, story through BBC WORLD NEWS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14336122 So i will like you to keep it to yourself as secret and don't tell it to anyone because i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it.

Remember i am giving you all this information due to the trust i deposed on you. I like honest and understanding people,truthful and people that have vision, hardworking and God fearing person. My favorite language is English and i speak English very fluently. Meanwhile i will like you to write me again like i said, i have a lot to tell you.

Have a nice day and think about my condition here to help me out of here to join you to build a happy home together.

Attached here is my pictures for you, Awaiting to hear from you soonest

Thanks and remain blessed. with lot of love Yours. Jessica Abdel







From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Tue, Feb 2, 2016 10:46 am

Subject: My dear, contact this bank







My Dear Love,

I wouldlike to touch & see you face to face, please try to call me by 14:00 GMT with the reverend phone number which I gave to you, I will be waiting for your call, I want to inform you that before i contacted you, I saw your profile that you matched mine and you are the type of person i am looking forward to spend the rest of my life with you,



Note I am not going to give your love to another man you will satisfy me, needless of looking for another person. Please i have not told anyone except you about the existence of this money and i will like you to please keep it secret to other people because since it is (MONEY) all eyes will be on it. I confide you dear that's why i am giving you all this information. My love is for you and only you alone, you can call the Reverend around 14: 00GMT, i will be there waiting your important call. Notice: I have already informed the bank about my plans to claim this Fund and the only thing they told me is to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf due to my refugee status and the laws of this country. You will have 18% of the total money helping me and the remaining money will be managed by you in any business of your choice. Therefore, i will like you to contact the bank immediately with this information, tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me transfer my $6.7million dollars deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. Theinformations of the bank are as follows,

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC LONDON

customers_departmentcares@gmx.com nelsonsmith_rbs@aol.co.uk

Next of Kin, JESSICA Abdel

Name of Depositor, Mr ABDEL FATTAH YOUNES

Account Number. . RBS745008901546/QB/91/A

Office Telephone number +447045798722

Fax Number . . . . . . . . +4470319447051

The name of the transfer officer is Mr Nelson Smith



Contact them now on how to transfer the $6.7 (Six Million Seven Hundred Thousand US Dollars)deposited by my late father which i am the next of kin. Honestly I am happy that God has brought you to see me out from this execrable situation which am passing through and i promise to be kind and will equally need you in every area of my life Including investing this money since i am still too young to manage it.As i told you before, this camp is just like a prison and I pray always to move out from here as soon as possible. Please make sure you contact the bank so that after the transfer you can send some money from that money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. Please once you have contacted the bank try to inform me, Hoping to hHear from you immediately you contacted the bank,

thanks and God bless you,

Your baby Jessica Abdel

From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Fri, Feb 5, 2016 10:50 am

Subject: Please contact this bank





Copy this message below and sent it to the bank,



Dear Mr. Nelson Smith,

I am the foriegn partner of miss Jessica Abdel, i want to know the posibilites of transffering his late father money which is deposited in your bank to my own bank account, please write me back and tell me your bank proceedure of transffering the money into my own account, i wait to hear back from you soon,

Mr . . . . .email. . . . . . .

customers_departmentcares@gmx.com , nelsonsmith_rbs@aol.co.uk

Office Telephone number +447045798722

Fax Number . . . . . . . . +4470319447051 Yours Jessica









From: customers department < customers_departmentcares@gmx.com >

Sent: Fri, Feb 26, 2016 10:23 am

Subject: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC london



Royal Bank of Scotland PLC london, Registered in Scotland no,90312,36 st Andrew Square Edinburgh Eh2 2yb United Kingdom Tel: +447045798722 .

Fax: +447017029533 . DATE, FEB, 26,2016.



FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION Dear Sir Madam

I have Been Directed by the Director of Foreign Operation Wire Transfer to Write You in Respect to Your Mail which we Recieved,Actually we have Earlier been Told about you by the young lady, MissAbdel,that she wishes you to be her trustee/representative for the claim of her late father's deposit with our bank.



Mr. ABDEL FATTAH YOUNES is our late customer with account No. RBS745008901546/QB/91/A, substantial amount (US\$6,700,000.00) of deposit with us. Hence you have been really appointed as a trustee to represent the next of Kin. However, before our bank will transact any business concerning the transfer of the fund with you, we will like you to send the followings: 1. A power of attorney and affidavit of oath permitting you to claim and transfer the fund to your bank account on her behalf. Note:This Power of attorney must be endorsed by a Senegalese resident lawyer (since the money is originated from Africa and the girl is currently residing in Senegal). 2. The death certificate of late Mr.ABDEL FATTAH YOUNES(Her deceased father) confirming the death. 3. A copy of Deposit Certificate of the account issued to Mr. ABDEL FATTAH YOUNESby our bank. Note: the above are compulsory and are needed to protect our interest, yours, and the next of kin after the claims. These shall also ensure that a smooth, quick and successful transfer of the fund will be make within 48hours at reception of these documents. Also you have to send your bank account information which will facilitate the transfer of this fund as soon as this documents are been provided. Therefore, You have to present these documents to our bank to enable us wire the fund (US\$6,700,000.00 ) into your account. We promise to give our customers the best of our services. Should you have any question(s), please contact the Foreign Transfer Officer, Mr. Nelson Smith on the above address for more clarification and directives. Yours Faithfully,

Mr. Nelson Smith

(Foreign Operation/Wire Transfer Dept)

From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Sat, Feb 27, 2016 9:44 am

Subject: Contact this lawyer





My Dearest, Good day. With all joy and happiness i am writing to you again. So pleasant to see the interesting news from the bank. On seeing this mail, i felt happy that soon i will depart from this camp and join you over there for a better life immediately the transfer is done. To be sincere, i can't wait to fly over there and see you face to face and as well, thank you for the good work you are doing for me. I really thank God for all his marvelous work.

I clearly understand the bank requirements. Among these documents requested by the bank, what is available for now is my father's death certificate and bank deposit certificate, i thought these will be the only thing the bank will demand from us. For the power of attorney and affidavit of oath which must be endorsed by Senegal resident lawyer, i have called the attention of reverend Patrick Divine and he gave me a lawyer's contact who will do the documents. The lawyer is registered in the United Nations camp here and also a member of Senegalese Bar Association. We have negotiated with him (barrister Leonard Mogane) and he agreed to produce the documents for us. He requested that you have to contact him for further negotiate because your name will appear on the document since you are my legal partner. The lawyer;s contact is as follows Barrister Leonard Morganne Chambers Association. (Senior Advocate) Principal Partner (ESQ) 100 Ave d e Medina, Dakar, Senegal . +221-775995265

Please my dear, you have to contact the lawyer for immediate production of the documents. The reverend have spoken to the lawyer about this papers and its uses, so all you have to do is to send an email to him or call him and tell him that you are my partner and wait for his response. I will be grateful to hear your discussion with the lawyer.Please try keep every information about this transfer to yourself, don't let it get to the hearing of bad people which may effect us negatively, please protect every news about this. I love you so much. H ave a lovely time. Yours lovely Jessica Abdel







From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Mon, Feb 29, 2016 11:21 am

Subject: My darling, try to contact the lawyer. .



how are you doing my dear ? hope your doing good. my dear am not in any relationship with anyone since the demise of my parents and am not a flirt i confide that your matured and faithful that is my reason of disclosing my secret to you. please my dear since your eager to help me out try to contact the lawyer which reveren patrick directed us to, please contact him so that he will start to process this documents required from the bank i believe that once we get rid of this from him the money will be transfered to your account i will then come down to your country to start a new life with you. please hear my cry and help me out i have to read from you once you contacted him your baby jessica From: jessica abdel < jessicaabdel@hotmail.com >

Sent: Fri, Mar 25, 2016 4:31 pm

Subject: I told him to send you your certified bank check of $200,000







GOOD NEWS FROM JESSICA

I am pleased to inform you about my success in getting those funds transferred under the cooperation of a new partner from Paraguay I am currently in the Paraguay for my studies here in the Paraguay Meanwhile, I will not forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me in transferring my late father funds that we raised this in some way. i know you try a lot but maybe because of finance situation that is why i compensate you for your effort on me,Now you need to contact the Rev.Father who used to be a good father to me when I was in Dakar, Senegal, his name is Rev Father Patrick Devine and his email address is as follows rev_partrick10devin@yahoo.com +221778013575 I told him to send you yourcertified bank check of $200,000 US dollars which I prepared and kept for your compensation for all efforts and attempts to assist me in this matter. I appreciate your efforts at that time very much. so feel free to contact the Rev Father and instruct him where to send you the bank check. Please let me know immediately you received so we can share our after all the sufferings at that time. At this point, I'm very busy here because of my studies and some project and the investor has to hand, finally, remember that I had forwarded instruction to the Rev Father on your behalf to receive that check. So do not hesitate to contact him and he will send the bank check to you without any delay. Please do not forget to inform me as soon as the check received Take care and God bless you goodbye for now. your friend Jessica



If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
Hillsborough county commissioners are learning more about what the county is doing to monitor and track the Zika virus.

Six new cases of Zika virus were confirmed in Florida this week. Out of nine total cases, two of them were reported in Hillsborough County.

The World Health Organization recently declared the spread of the Zika virus to be a global public health emergency. Zika has been linked to reports of birth defects in Brazil.

Commissioner Al Higginbotham says more funding for mosquito control may be needed if the Zika virus is found in local mosquito populations.

If we need to increase funds to address the Zika virus, we are certainly going to do that," Higginbotham said.

Hillsborough County is monitoring for the Zika virus the same way it track other mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile. Test kits are deployed to "hot spot" areas where mosquito populations are higher.

Chicken coops are used to house sentinel chickens, which are then tested for viruses. The county also deploys helicopters, airboats and trucks to release chemicals, killing off mosquito populations that could be trouble for Floridians.

W are battling mosquito control through the reports of citizens," Higginbotham said. "We have traps that are sent to hotspots. We have sentinel chickens in coops that are tested for viruses. In particular we are now watching for the Zika.

So far the Zika virus has not been discovered in any mosquitoes across the state.

If further tests come back positive, county commissioners could increase its budget for Mosquito Control. Right now, the county spends $2.4 million on mosquito control, a pot of money that is supplemented by funds from the Air Force.

The first budget workshop for Hillsborough County's new fiscal budget is scheduled for mid-February.


Gov. Rick Scott has directed the state's surgeon general to declare a public health emergency in four counties with confirmed cases of Zika.

Currently a total of nine travel-related cases of the Zika virus have been identified in Florida, including two cases in Hillsborough County.

Zika is a mosquito-borne illness that has been linked to birth defects in Brazil. The World Health Organization recently declared a global public health emergency in response to the spread of the virus.

Under the executive order, which Scott signed Wednesday, State Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong is directed to declare a public health emergency in Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Lee and Santa Rosa counties.

"Although Floridas current nine Zika cases were travel-related, we have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state," Scott said, adding that the state Department of Health will continue to be in communication with county health clinics, hospitals and the Centers for Disease Control.

The executive order also authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to issue a mosquito declaration in the affected counties, with special attention paid to residential areas, and directs the Florida Department of Health to make its own determinations as to resources and information needed to fight the spread of Zika.


The film crew that followed Robert Patillo for four days was more a blessing than a nuisance.

The 67-year-old owner of Patillo's Bar-B-Q recently received publicity he says is long overdue - 104 years to be exact.

The century-old restaurant, now in its fourth generation of ownership, is being honored by Southern Foodways Alliance, a Mississippi organization that studies the diverse food cultures of the South, at a March food and wine festival in Charleston, S.C.

The organization hired 1504, a studio that specializes in narrative content development, to follow and interview Patillo as he started his week at Sunday Mass.

The resulting video will be shown at a dinner during the food and wine festival, where Patillo will cook his signature barbecue for about 150 guests, said Melissa Hall, assistant director of Southern Foodways Alliance.

Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn first alerted the organization to Patillo's after writing an in-depth piece about Patillo's heritage and the beef sausage links that float in a pool of grease, commonly known as "grease balls."

The Texas Monthly article came out in November, several months after Vaughn visited Beaumont to give a lecture on Texas barbecue at the McFaddin-Ward House.

During his lecture, Vaughn told the crowd that Patillo's, at 2775 Washington Blvd., was one of his favorite places. After that, business started picking up.

"It's long overdue," said Patillo, sitting in his restaurant last week.

Patillo spoke with most of the customers who walked through the door. He's seen generations of families come through there.

They're not just customers, Patillo said. They're the soul of the restaurant; they're family.

Rodney Fuller, 57, has been a regular at Patillo's Bar-B-Q in the Pear Orchard neighborhood for more than four decades.

"When I was 12 years old, I used to mow yards, and when I got paid, first thing I'd ride my bicycle over here to get a chipped beef sandwich," he recalled while stopping to pick up his lunch order Friday.

He still gets the chipped beef sandwich, and now frequently picks up a bag filled with multiple orders after introducing friends and co-workers to the establishment.

Lately, newcomers have been arriving at the doors of the small, wooden building.

The other day it was two travelers from Sweden and a couple from Nebraska.

He credits the new business not just to publicity but to God.

Patillo is a devout Catholic who goes to Mass every morning at St. Andrew's before coming in to work.

"(God) picked this time to send business to me when it's a hassle to get over here," Patillo said, referring to construction along Washington Boulevard.

Patillo grew up in the restaurant he now runs.

As a child, he did his homework in a back room while his father cooked and his mother waited on tables.

He working under his grandfather when he was 13, for $3 a day.

"He'd work my butt off," Patillo said.

The recipes came long before his parents, dating to his great grandmother, Roxie Patillo.

Roxie Patillo learned to cook from her mother, who worked for the McFaddin family.

Hall said family restaurants usually tend to close by the third generation, which is one reason Patillo's really stuck out to the Southern Foodways Alliance.

The organization was also impressed that sausage is the restaurant's most popular item. Barbecue joints don't typically survive by relying on hard-to-make links, Hall said.

"Having a business model that requires 500 links of sausage a day, that's extraordinary," she said.

MHeath@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/mheath31
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If all goes to plan, one day Corpus Christi will be the home of the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere.

Yes, the south Texas city that gave the world Eva Longoria, Selena, and Whataburger might have another tourist attraction on its hands.

The Corpus Christi Cross Project has been working for three years to make the cross a reality. On Sunday afternoon the project broke ground on a site off Interstate 37 in Northwest Corpus Christi, on the Abundant Life Fellowship campus.

Various Corpus dignitaries were at the groundbreaking ceremony. A message from Governor Greg Abbott in support of the cross was read by Representative Todd Hunter.

Eventually there will be a 210 feet tall (about 19 stories) cross on that plot of land for all to see. It will be visible to planes flying into Corpus Christi International Airport and be able to seen five miles away by land and double that by air.

According to Pastor Rick Milby of Abundant Life Fellowship the idea for Corpus' cross came to him after seeing the sizable cross near Houston's own Sagemont Church near I-45 and the south side of the Beltway.

That cross, erected in Feb. 2009, is 170 feet tall.

Soon after seeing that cross in June 2013 and entering into talks with Sagemont Church, Pastor Milby began work on his own cross. The project is being bankrolled by supporters who would like to contribute funds to make it a reality. Those who donate large sums will have their contributions noted on pave stones at the foot of the cross.

Milby has said the price tag for the cross should be $1 million, of which over $142,000 has already been collected.

In the beginning the cross was only to be 150 feet tall but as the plans evolved it rocketed to 210 feet. The cross will be made of steel plating and reinforced by a concrete and steel base which goes down 48 feet below grade. Hurricane force winds shouldn't be an issue, it seems.

"The cross is so massive and so tall it will have a two foot deflection at the top, it will actually sway in the wind two feet back and forth," Milby told Corpus outlet KRIS-TV.

Texas has a love affair with giant crosses it appears. There are others in Groom and Ballinger, 190 feet and 100 feet respectively.

In Downtown Houston there is a large, building size white illuminated cross on the side of the St Joseph Professional Building that can be seen by travelers going south on I-45.

For now a small wooden cross, just a few feet tall, stands where the Corpus Christi Cross will eventually tower over I-37.

It wont be the tallest cross in the world, though, as that cross is located in Madrid, Spain and is 495 feet tall.
Randy Edwards

After speaking to the district attorney and the Texas Ethics Commission, a Jefferson County constable seeking re-election said he would use tape to cover the listing of his county-issued email address on up to 1,500 of his campaign signs.

Precinct 1 Constable Nick Saleme said the email address was included on the signs following a "mix up" at printing companies. Saleme said he did not notice it was listed before he gave the yard signs to a campaign staffer for placement.
The former Port Arthur city employee accused of selling old water meters as scrap metal for personal gain was indicted Wednesday on five counts of theft by a public servant, the district clerk's office said.

Robert Lee Leblanc, 57, former head of the water meter department, was arrested in early January. A probable cause arrest affidavit says he took old water meters that were to be auctioned by the city and sold them to local scrap yards, pocketing the profit.
SAN ANTONIO  The wife of a San Antonio Police Department officer who nearly lost his life in a hit-and-run crash on New Years Eve was driving the SUV that slammed into him, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

Diana Marileen Lopez, 26, was arrested in Laredo on Tuesday on a third-degree felony charge of failure to stop and render aid. Her arrest comes a month after the crash that left Ernesto Vasquez critically injured on the North Side just before the turn of the new year.
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A 15-year-old girl was found dead at an industrial site Tuesday in Alice, Texas, after being missing for a few days, and police believe she may have died from a fall.

Details are still scarce in the ongoing investigation, but an initial autopsy report indicated Aydia Benavides suffered head trauma from a possible fall from a silo at the industrial site in the 2100 block of Industrial Boulevard in Alice, about 45 miles west of Corpus Christi, Lt. Jason Childers said Wednesday in an interview.

Police received a call at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday regarding a deceased girl, later identified as Benavides, found on the property of a former oilfield company.

Alice Police Chief Rex Ramon told the Alice Echo News-Journal Benavides body was discovered by three Baker Hughes employees.

RELATED: Affidavit: Man forced 15-year-old girl into prostitution at San Antonio motel

Benavides was transported to the medical examiners office in Corpus Christi, where an autopsy will be performed, according to Kiii News.

She was reported as a runaway on Friday by her mother, having last been seen at Alice High School at about noon that day, Childers said.

He said police believe she fell from a silo at the industrial site where her body was found, and that she died at the scene. There was no sign of a struggle, but more information is expected to come from the autopsy.

RELATED: Reward offered for details in shooting death of Texas State University student

An Amber alert was not issued in this case, Childers said, because her case did not fit certain criteria that needed to be met for one to be issued. Such criteria includes an abduction or kidnapping, and knowledge of imminent risk of bodily injury or other harmful factors.

A woman alleging to be the victims stepmother posted a statement on Facebook, describing Benavides as her beautiful angel.

RELATED: Affidavit: Men filmed rape of 15-year-old, took selfies and posted to Facebook

Our babygirl is now our guardian Angel and even though she was taken from us in such a senseless way we will always carry her with us in our hearts, the woman said on Facebook.

A GoFundMe account has been setup by someone to cover funeral expenses.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission may eliminate payment updates for ambulatory surgery centers next year, according to an ASCA report.

Here are five key notes:

1. MedPAC approved a recommendation to eliminate ASC payment updates in 2017 as well as recommendations that ASCs report cost data.

2. While eliminating ASC payment updates, MedPAC recommended updating inpatient and outpatient hospital payments in 2017, projected at 1.75 percent.

3. For 2016, CMS updated the annual payment by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers. The update was 0.8 percent with a multifactor productivity adjustment at 0.5 percent. The MFP-adjusted CPI-U update factor was 0.3 percent. The rate increase was less than HOPDs, but more than the MedPAC proposed rate increase of 0 percent.

4. Beginning in 2016, CMS excluded codes for services provided on the covered ancillary services list that aren't provided ancillary and integral to a covered ASC surgical procedure. The codes removed included SRS treatment services CPT codes.

5. At this point, MedPAC's recommendations aren't binding on Congress. HHS and Congress's final decisions on payment are typically released in the fall and could differ from MedPAC's recommendations.
Doctors United Surgery Center in Houston hosted a United States Congressman earlier this year, according to an ASCA report.

Here are five key notes about the visit:

1. Gene Green (TX-29) visited the surgery center. Rep. Green is a ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

2. During the meeting, Rep. Green met with the ASC's staff to discuss key issues facing the industry. The ASC's OR manager, Judy Faber, and Administrator Eileen Berkowitz sat down with Rep. Green along with United Surgical Partners International Vice President of Government Affairs Milla Jones.

3. The group specifically discussed the need for ASC payment update alignment with the hospital outpatient department updates as well as the Electronic Health Fairness Act of 2015, which exempts patient encounters performed at ASCs from counting toward meaningful use of EHR until there is a certified EHR technology for ASCs.

4. Rep. Green also toured the facility as part of the educational visit. The surgery center is a USPI center with 94 percent patient satisfaction. Keith Schauder, MD, is the medical director.

5. ASCA has resources to assist facilities with Congress member tours. For assistance in facility tours, contact Danielle Kaster at dkaster@ascassociation.org or 703-345-0260.
More than 60 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 and another 673 rural hospitals across the nation are vulnerable to closure, according to a report from iVantage Health Analytics, a firm that compiles a hospital strength index that is based on data about financial stability, patients and quality indicators.

Here are five things to know about the financial struggles many rural hospitals are facing, according to iVantage.

1. The 673 rural hospitals vulnerable to shutting down are located across 42 states.

2. Southern states have especially high rates of vulnerability when compared to their total number of rural facilities. States in this region with high rates of vulnerability include Mississippi (79 percent), Louisiana (58 percent) and Georgia (53 percent).

3. Sixty-three percent of the hospitals vulnerable to closure are located in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

4. Sixty-eight percent of the hospitals vulnerable to closure are critical access hospitals.

5. If the 673 vulnerable hospitals were to shut down, 99,000 healthcare jobs in rural communities would be lost, and it would result in an estimated $277 billion loss to the GDP.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Oklahoma hospital abruptly closes

Tufts Medical Center reports $15.4M operating loss

Bristol Hospital operating income narrows to $532k
Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health will decommission its Center for Rehabilitative Medicine in Waco, Texas, this summer, as the health system works to streamline services, according to the Tribune-Herald.

The center's services will be moved to Waco-based Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center. To make the move possible, part of Hillcrest Medical Center's pediatric wing will be renovated to house the 20-bed rehabilitation center. The renovation and relocation process will cost approximately $800,000, according to the report.

"This is not an easy decision," Hillcrest Medical Center President Glenn Robinson told the Tribune-Herald. "This building holds a lot of good memories. It's not only where I began to work at Waco, but many people were born here, children and grandchildren were born here. It carries those emotional ties. We want to be very respectful of that."

From 1920 until 2009, the 600,000-square-foot building served as a major hub of what was then known as Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.

Mr. Robinson told the Tribune-Herald that nurses will be offered jobs at other Hillcrest facilities after the Rehabilitative Center ceases operations.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Oklahoma hospital abruptly closes

Tufts Medical Center reports $15.4M operating loss

Bristol Hospital operating income narrows to $532k
After five years at the top, Apple is no longer the world's most highly valued public company. Alphabet, the newly reorganized parent company of Google, now claims that title, reports CNBC.

As of 9:45 a.m. EST Tuesday, Alphabet's market capitalization was $547.1 billion, passing Apple's $529.3 billion, according to the report.

Google hasn't been more valuable than Apple since 2010, according to the report, and at that time, both companies were worth less than $200 billion. Apple became the world's most valuable company in 2011, when its $337.2 billion market value surpassed Exxon's $330.8 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-09/apple-rises-from-near-bankruptcy-to-become-most-valuable-company

According to the CNBC report, Google was more valuable than Apple from 2004 to 2008, but Apple started seeing massive growth following the release of the iPhone in 2007.

The latest Google/Apple valuation switch began in July 2015, CNBC reports. From July to the end of the year, Google's shares grew 44 percent, and Apple's fell 16 percent.

Editor's note: Various reports indicated different market capitalization and market value numbers for the two companies. Bloomberg reported Alphabet's market capitalization at $531 billion and Apple's market value at $523.9 billion. This news release cited Alphabet valuation of $546.8 billion and Apple's market capitalization at $530.9 billion.

More articles on health IT:

The 3 things Google's Larry Page and Epic's Judy Faulkner have in common

Cerner Data Center breach compromises NCH Healthcare employee data

40 hospitals with innovation centers
The following hospital and health system CEO moves were reported by Becker's Hospital Review in the last week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.

1. Lamar McBride was promoted to CEO of Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital in Johnstown.

2. Venice (Fla.) Regional Bayfront Health named John McLain CEO.

3. Michael Perry, MD, president and CEO of Freeport, Ill.-based FHN healthcare system, will retire, effective Dec. 31, 2016. Dr. Perry will be succeeded on January 1, 2017, by Mark Gridley, LPN, who is currently executive vice president and COO.

4. Dan Otero, chief administrative officer of Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, N.M., will leave his post to become CEO of Lordsburg, N.M.-based Hidalgo Medical Services.

5. Mountain View Regional Hospital in Casper, Wyo., appointed Bill Perkins CEO.

6. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health appointed COO Kevin Fusco as acting president and CEO to step in for the late Nabil El Sanadi, MD.

7. Erie County Medical Center Corp. in Buffalo, N.Y., appointed Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., PhD, as the corporation's new CEO.

8. Kevin Manemann was named CEO of St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare, one of the largest physician practice management organizations in California.
Biddeford-based Southern Maine Health Care plans to lay off 18 employees this week, a hospital official said, according to a report from The Journal Tribune report.

Here are five things to know about the layoffs.

1. The layoffs represent less than 1 percent of the organization's total workforce.

2. Employees affected by the layoffs are in administrative or management roles, including three employees at the hospital's Sanford, Maine, campus, as well as others at locations across York County, Maine, according to Sue Hadiaris, senior vice president and chief planning officer of SMHC.

3. The number of affected employees was 18 as of Feb. 2. However, that number isn't concrete and could decrease this week, Ms. Hadiaris told The Journal Tribune.

4. Ms. Hadiaris said SMHC is implementing the layoffs to adjust its annual operating budget, which is currently about $260 million, and make sure the organization is able to meet the needs of the communities it serves, according to the report.

5. SMHC plans to work with affected employees on finding similar positions within SMHC or Portland-based MaineHealth.

More articles on leadership and management:

CMS findings could put Theranos at risk of losing certification: 10 things to know

Professional dancer who lost leg during Boston Marathon bombing will run it again

Nancy Pelosi says Democrats not behind Sanders' tax hikes for healthcare
Numerous health insurers have recently outlined concerns about the Affordable Care Act exchanges. But the executive director of California's marketplace said UnitedHealth Group should take responsibility and stop assigning blame to the federal law, according to NPR.

"Instead of saying, 'We screwed up,' they said, 'Obamacare is the problem and we may not play anymore,'" said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, the state's health benefit exchange. "It was giving an excuse to Wall Street and throwing the Affordable Care Act under the bus."

ACA exchange problems are nothing new for UnitedHealth. In November, the insurer threatened to leave the exchanges due to financial losses. Mr. Lee, a former official in the Obama administration, said UnitedHealth only has itself to blame for its $475 million loss on individual policies in 2015, according to the report. For 2016, the insurer estimated a loss of $500 million on individual policies.

UnitedHealth only recently joined Covered California, as Mr. Lee welcomed the insurer into the marketplace for 2016.

However, now UnitedHealth is "driving me bonkers," Mr. Lee said, according to the report. It has "fed this political frenzy that Obamacare doesn't work. It's total spin and unanchored in reality."

Time will tell whether the insurer will return to Covered California for 2017, and both sides will be analyzing the decision. "United will be looking at what their prospects are in California," Mr. Lee said. "We will be looking at United as a plan to see if they offer good value for Californians. It's going to be determined on both ends."

More articles on payer issues:

Is CMS Google's next takeover target?

Future structure of Humana is 'still to be defined'

Aetna expresses 'serious concerns' over ACA exchanges
The three rules of real estate are: location, location, and location. Apparently Google believes this as well. Google is now penalizing you, or rewarding you, based on your practice address. Google My Business maps (known as the Three-Pack) are now at the top of localized Google search results and one that can knock you out of the results for your service line.

Since Google first launched, SEO and marketing companies have claimed they can get you in the first position of the first page of Google search results. They did this by knowing the search metrics Google looks for, and adding keywords to meet those metrics. The common wisdom said if you had "Spine Surgeon Atlanta " as part of your title, part of your meta data, and part of your content, then you would most likely show up for that term. And this was true, for the most part, until recently.

One of our clients, Dr. Plas T. James, has enjoyed being on the first page of Google for the phrase "Spine Surgeon Atlanta". Today, the first three results are SpineCenter Atlanta, Emory Spine Center: Heller John MD, and Emory Spine Center: Rhee John MD. These results are all encased in a Google My Places box with a small map at the top of the box, and three listings with a "More places" button at the bottom. The traditional search results are now located BELOW this box. If you're on a standard laptop, this means the results are now "below the fold", or off screen! Dr. James is still high on the standard search results, but further down than we'd like.

What magic did SpineCenter Atlanta and Emory do to get the top spot? They met one or more of Google's three criteria for ranking of local results: Relevance, Distance, and Prominence.

 Relevance takes all of the traditional search metrics - keywords, titles, meta data, and a host of other metrics - and scores your site based on how it applies to the search term.

 Distance, is relevant to the term you used in your search. In our query for "spine surgeon atlanta", Google decided we meant near the geographical center of Atlanta, and factored that in.

 Prominence is theoretically both online and offline factors. Links to your website, how long its been around, mentions of you and your website in articles online, as well as offline fame. Emory is a well known university, so Prominence factors heavily in its favor. Spine Center Atlanta is located near the center of Google's search calculation, so it got featured.

And the two doctors pulled from Emory and prominently featured? Pure luck. In fact, these doctors haven't claimed these Google My Business profiles shown in the Three-Pack. You can tell because their names are backwards in the results and, when clicked, Google has a link prompting you to "claim this business".

If Google were really focused on distance, it would have used the State Capitol of Georgia, which is the exact geographical center of Atlanta and featured those doctors nearby. But this combination of Relevance, Distance, and Prominence now works against doctors who might live near the center of a search, but haven't optimized their web presence. Our client, Dr. James, is still near the top of search results but isnt in the first three positions where are now occupied by maps.

When we search for "Spine Surgeon Dunwoody", Dr. James is first in the Google My Business map results, as his office is technically just outside the core Atlanta area as determined by Google, as well as in the first position of true search results. So how is Dr. James supposed to draw patients from a wider area and market to them effectively?

The answer came in the mail Friday. It was a mailer (paper!) from Google. I actually received two, one for me (I'm considered a business, just like you), and one for my actual business. The nice card inside reads "How to get your business to show up on Google". And when you open up the card the answer is "Run an Ad".

Coincidence that the traditional SEO results have been pushed down, and a massive ad campaign from Google has begun? I don't think so. Google is now making it more difficult for you to market to patients outside of your exact location (as perceived by Google) through a pure optimized strategy. If you want to show up in metro searches, fire up the checkbook and get those Pay per Click dollars running.

There are other steps you can - and should - take to show up in the top of localized search results:

 Make sure you have your address on your website. A graphic of your address doesn't count; it must be actually text you can select.

 Use a consistent format for your address. Google doesn't use Suite, Ste, or anything other than a pound (#) sign for secondary addresses. You aren't required to do this, just be consistent.

 Make sure everything about you online has this exact address. Check rating sites and update them. Check directories and update them. Check your NPI listing and update that.

 If you have more than one location there are extra steps you need to take. More on that in a future article or contact us at info@voxmd.com for a free review.

 Look at the map for your city and state in Google and click the Map link. You will see a pink outline of what Google considers your area. Like Dr. James, who is in the Atlanta Metro Area but practices in Dunwoody according to Google, you may be considered outside of the city area as you understand it.

To assess the damage to your practice by the Google Three-Pack and create a plan to fix it, feel free to ask us for an assessment at info@voxmd.com, or follow these steps:

 Open a new window and make sure you are NOT logged in to Gmail.

 Search for yourself in the following two formats: city, state specialty AND specialty city, state.

 Use variations of city and state. If you are in New York City, use New York, NYC, and Manhattan. You want to use terms people in your area use to ensure your showing up where you are actually located. You also want to check if you show up in other areas nearby. Google recognizes neighborhoods as well if they are well known. Tribeca is recognized, Germantown is not because there are thousands of them.

 Use variations of your service line such as orthopedic, spine, back combined titles such as "surgeon, surgery, doctor, specialist.

 Look at the Google search suggestions as you type. Google will drop down a list of recommendations, and these are based on use. If they show up, it means they're being used and Google likes the terms better than what you're typing.

 As your results show, write down the search parameters you used and whether you show up or not in the maps. In some instances, there won't be maps shown.

 Also note whether you are in the search results below the maps!

You need to know how this Google change has affected you. It may be for the best, or it may be for the worst. You can optimize your online presence to ensure you show up or you may need to consider investing in a paid search campaign.

Dick Pepper is President of VoxMD, a medical marketing and technology company, and creator of PracticeRate, a reputation management and marketing tool. Visit VoxMD at http://voxmd.com, and feel free to ask questions at info@voxmd.com.
The last 10 years have seen an immense growth in outpatient spine. This article briefly discusses some of the challenges, thoughts and observations on this growth. The growth has been driven by several top line factors including (1) surgeons becoming much more comfortable with outpatient spine including younger surgeons initially training up with outpatient spine; (2) patients becoming less scared of outpatient spine surgery and more concerned regarding hospital based infections; and (3) payers becoming more willing to allow spine cases to move from hospitals to ASCs. There remains pushback from payers as to the amount of spine surgeries in total and from hospitals as to the movement of surgeries out of hospitals.

1. From 2005 to 2015, there has been a movement to a place where nearly 45 percent of all spine cases done on an outpatient basis. This compares to approximately 5 percent in 2005, according to the Society for Ambulatory Spine surgery.



2. The total number of spine cases per year is nearly 650,000 to 700,000. Of these, approximately 280,000 to 300,000 are done on an outpatient basis. [Lumbar decompression and anterior cervical fusions, for example, are most commonly performed in the outpatient setting.]



3. The drivers of outpatient spine include several different factors. These include (1) lower cost per case in an outpatient setting; (2) improved technology; (3) younger doctors who grew up on outpatient spine immediately out of (or in) their residencies and fellowships; (4) patient preferences for performing surgeries where they are in and out; (5) significant improvements in anesthesia; and (7) great improvements in postsurgical pain management.



According to data published by NeoSpine founder Richard Wohns, MD, outpatient single-level cervical discectomy and fusion, average facility fee for the ambulatory surgery center is $28,365. The implants cost $1,800 and total bills charged are around $30,165. The average insurance payment is $11,065 and average patient copay was $1,122.



4. Medicare also has been a newer driver of outpatient spine. Recently, in 2014 and effective in 2015, Medicare approved nine different codes that could be used for outpatient spine procedures in the surgery center. This was the first time this was done.



The nine new procedure codes on the ASC payable list in 2015 include:

[Neck spine fuse & remov bel c2 (22551)] Neck spine fusion (22554) Lumbar spine fusion (22612) Neck spine disc surgery (63020) Low back disc surgery (63030) Laminectomy single lumbar (63042) Removal of spinal lamina (63045) Removal of spinal lamina (63047) Decompression spinal cord (63056)



5. Payers have been very ambivalent about outpatient spine in surgery centers. This has often been due to the fact that hospitals fought very hard with payers to keep those cases at hospitals. Thus, there has been some reluctance for spine surgeons to push hard to move cases to surgery centers. More recently, we have seen some of these payers relent. For example, one surgery center that was cut off from outpatient spine for years finally signed a contract with a Blue Cross entity that will now allow them to do a great deal of the cases in the surgery center. This reflects a significant change from years ago.



6. There are also a great number of spine practices and spine surgery centers that are doing business on a cash or out-of-network basis. The patient may still bill the payer for reimbursement. However, on the upfront situation, the surgery center accepts cash or out-of-network. This has been a model for success in several different practices and centers.



The Orthopedic Surgery Center of Orange County in Newport Beach, Calif., for example, practices price transparency by listing all-inclusive prices for 54 procedures, including six spine procedures. The charges include:

Minimally invasive discectomy, laminectomy, laminotomy: $14,225

Two-level MIS discectomy, laminectomy, laminotomy: $16,200

Single-level MIS lumbar fusion with overnight stay: $30,000

Two-level MIS lumbar fusion with overnight stay: $38,000

MIS discectomy and/or fusion with overnight stay: $31,500

7. Another interesting statistic about outpatient spine relates to the fact that it's estimated that inpatient costs are approximately five times those of outpatient costs. A study published in Surgical Neurology International reports outpatient single-level cervical disc arthroplasty was 84 percent less than inpatient cervical disc arthroplasty and 62 percent less expensive than outpatient single-level cervical anterior discectomy with fusion using allograft and plate.



Thus, there has also been great movement driven by the difference in cost to doing procedures in surgery centers versus hospitals.



8. Finally, surgeons have a great ability to be the leaders in projects and bundles. They need enough infrastructure and strength to be able to lead on such projects. Spine surgery costs drastically vary, which impacts spine-focused bundled payments. A 2014 study published in Spine reported 30-day bundles range from $11,180 to $107,642. The post-discharge care accounted for 4 percent to 8 percent of the overall costs in 90-day bundles. The largest portion of the bundled cost were hospital payments; 76 percent of the bundle went toward hospital payments on average. Bundled payments are beginning to catch on among large companies as well. Wal-Mart established bundled payments for six specialties, including spinal surgery, in 2013.



As to bundled payments, the surgeon has (1) great control over implants; (2) the time spent in the operating room; (3) time under anesthesia; (4) length of stay; and (5) recovery time. Thus the surgeons are in a great spot to engineer the actual savings and cost-savings of doing a case in a surgery center versus in a hospital or elsewhere. The surgeons are also in a great place to be in charge of the evolution of the management of the total cost of the procedure.



9. Outpatient spine is also growing due to the evolution in recovery care settings. More and more states are more flexible about allowing patients to go home or go to a different venue for recovery care time. It is not so much that payers are increasingly paying for those. Often they are paid for out of the surgery center bundle or the surgeons' bundle. However, more and more states are more permissive about a patient being released to a hotel, a home or some other place where they will have postsurgical care.



The state of Florida is one example of the expanding legislation. Legislators have attempted multiple times over the past few years to extend surgery center patient stays. Earlier this year, bills in the Florida House and Senate were introduced to allow ASCs to keep patients up to 24 hours as well as 72 hour stays at recovery care centers.
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Businesses in Northern Ireland are putting off key investments amid uncertainty ahead of a vote on whether the UK should exit the EU, the head of Danske Bank has said

Businesses in Northern Ireland are putting off key investments amid uncertainty ahead of a vote on whether the UK should exit the EU, the head of Danske Bank has said.

Kevin Kingston was speaking as the bank saw its profits soar to 140m for 2015 - up 40% on the same period a year earlier.

He said: "Anything which makes trade with Europe more complex and more difficult has to be bad news."

Profits were once again buoyed heavily by so-called writebacks - additional cash clawed back from loan impairments.

But when taking that out of the equation, Danske still saw strong profits of 85m. That was up from 65.5m in 2014.

Its overall income increased by 4%, up to 217.5m for the full year.

But Mr Kingston reiterated the message from Danske's overall chief executive Thomas Borgen, that its Northern Ireland arm is not up for sale.

Meanwhile, mortgage lending increased, buoyed by a strengthening housing market here with borrower confidence on the rise.

There were around 235m worth of approvals during the year, driven by home movers, rather than first-time buyers.

"Mortgages is a big growth area for us, and we are putting a lot of interest into growing that market share," Mr Kingston said.

Lending at the bank increased for the first time since the recession.

Both loan values and deposits increased during the period. Loans rose to 4.3bn, up 2%.

But deposits, the amount of cash being paid into Danske accounts, also rose by 5% in 2015.

Danske has also been reducing its costs and overheads over the last few years. In 2015, it was no different.

It reduced its staff numbers to 1,450 - down from 1,500 in 2014 - and slashed its branch numbers by more than half since 2005.

"Our lending book was up 2%, year-on-year," Mr Kingston said.

"That is really significant for us. That's the first time we have seen our lending book grow since the recession.

"For the first time, we are seeing more borrowing than repayment. Equally, our deposits were up 5%. The relationship between those two figures is an important one.

"There were a lot of businesses making money, earning, with discretionary power, that they were leaving in their bank account, that wasn't being spent."

Overall, a surge in the first half of the year helped deliver Danske its positive results, according to Mr Kingston. As for business lending, there was an upsurge in confidence, helping loan levels rise.

But profits for Danske are unlikely to remain as high over the next year or two, as writebacks become less a part of its numbers.

"We are through the vast majority of it (writebacks) at this stage. I would expect it to reduce significantly this year, and I would doubt it would be significant in the 2016 accounts," Mr Kingston said.
Galway-based medical devices firm Creganna is to be sold for $895m (622m)

Galway-based medical devices firm Creganna is to be sold for $895m (622m).

The global investment firm Permira, which bought Creganna in 2010, is to sell the firm to TE Connectivity, a sensor and connector manufacturer. The deal is an all-cash transaction.

Creganna has become a large global manufacturer of medical devices for the minimally invasive vascular surgery market. According to Permira, Creganna has grown its revenue from $131m (91m) to $249m in the last six years.

Creganna was founded in Galway in 1979 by Ian Quinn and counts Helen Ryan as a former chief executive. It has design and manufacturing facilities in the US, South America, Europe and Asia.

"We are very proud to have worked with Creganna to develop its business into high growth markets, expand its global footprint, enhance its technical capabilities and deepen its customer partnerships over the past five years," said Mike Garland of Permira.

"We wish Creganna every success with its new strategic owner TE Connectivity."

Chip Hance, CEO of Creganna Medical, said: "We are pleased to be joining TE Connectivity to continue our journey to become the leading supplier of minimally invasive medical device delivery and access solutions for interventional medicine.

"With Permira's support, we have been able to focus our efforts on critical markets, make the necessary investments and achieve strong results over the last few years."
Northern Ireland construction giant McAleer & Rushe has landed a 26m deal to build a major new hotel at Stansted Airport.

The Co Tyrone-based firm will develop Europe's largest Hampton by Hilton alongside property firm Urban&Civic.

Urban&Civic secured planning permission to build a new 45m 357-bed hotel, which will have direct terminal access to London Stansted Airport.

Peter Devlin, contracts developer with McAleer & Rushe, said the firm has "established itself as the 'go-to' contractor for airport hotels because of our ability to provide design-led solutions for challenging locations".

"We look forward to building a long term relationship with Urban&Civic and are very pleased to continue our on-going partnership with Hilton".

McAleer & Rushe has also built Hampton by Hilton hotels at London Gatwick Airport, the Hilton Waterloo and also its Bournemouth hotel.

Northern Ireland is set to get its first Hampton by Hilton hotel, when work starts on a new development in Belfast city centre.

Last month Lord Rana's Andras House was given the green light for the 179-bedroom hotel.

Last year McAleer & Rushe landed several valuable contracts, including hotel developments.

In September, it completed two major hotel projects in Aberdeen in a deal worth close to 30m.

Aside from hotels, it's also behind two new student housing developments planned for Belfast city centre.

That would bring 1,200 new rooms to the city, alongside 300 construction jobs.

Meanwhile, a new survey has shown growth in the UK's construction sector slowed in January to its weakest level for nine months.

The Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index weakened, dropping by almost three points.

The downbeat report said that aside from the pre-election slowdown recorded last April, this latest reading was the lowest since June 2013. This data comes after the same survey reported the sector picked up from a seven-month low in December.
Shortcross gin, 39.95. Made at the Northern Irish craft gin distillery, Rademon Estate, using botanicals like fresh apple, elderberry and wild clover. Available in many local off-licences and online at Masterofmalt.com.

The distillers of Shortcross Gin at Co Down's Rademon Estate have launched a limited edition cask-aged Shortcross Gin.

But it won't be easy to get hold of. Only 460 limited edition 40 bottles are being released for sale - 300 through JN Wines in Northern Ireland and the Republic and 160 bottles to be sold at Fortnum and Mason in London.

Barrel-aging white spirits has not been in fashion since the 18th and 19th centuries, but this year could see a resurgence as the East London Liquor Company has also announced four experimental bottlings for 2016.

The cask-aged Shortcross Gin was carefully rested in French oak casks from the Chateau de La Ligne in Bordeaux that had previously contained the Chateau Cuvee Prestige wine.

The casks were hand-picked by Head Distiller David Boyd-Armstrong with the help of the chateau owner, Terry Cross of Wine Geese fame.

Mr Boyd-Armstrong said: As the distillery has grown and developed we have been experimenting with ageing spirits in a variety of different casks and I am delighted with the results of this Cask Aged Shortcross Gin."

He said the gin is 44% proof and "exhibits the key Shortcross characteristics" of being juniper-led with citrus and floral notes, but now adds an abundance of bright summer berries with notes of rose petals and vanilla, combined with lightly toasted oak and velvety tannins.

Gin lovers here can buy it from the JN Wine Store in Crossgar, online at JNWine.com and at off licences across Ireland which purchase stock directly from JN Wines.

Fortnum and Mason will feature it as the Spirit of the Month throughout February, where the trademark copper foil on the Shortcross Gin label has been replaced with Fortnum and Masons iconic duck egg blue.

The launch of the new Shortcross Gin follows news of the distillery laying down the first casks of a new Irish Malt Whiskey, the first bottles of which are expected to be released in summer 2018.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong at the distillery David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong who make ShortCross gin Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong bottling their ShortCross gin Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong bottling their ShortCross gin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong at the distillery

And there are plans to open a visitor centre at Rademon Estate, just outside Downpatrick, later in 2016.

Gin writer Olivier Ward of Gin Foundry has created a signature White Negroni serve - pouring the cask-aged Shortcross with Belsazar White Vermouth and Suze (bitters) over ice, garnished with grapefruit peel.

He said: "The more delicate profile of dry vermouth, along with the bittersweet gentian notes of Suze, really augment this cask-aged Shortcross Gins individualities.

"Both the gin and the cocktail are respectful twists on what most people are accustomed to, while delivering equally unique and memorable flavours. Try it, you wont be disappointed."
The Portaferry Hotel is set to re-open this month.

Well-known local business owners Cahal and Mary Arthurs, whose family run a butchers, Dumigans Bar and The Ferry Grill in the town, will be at the helm of the new operation.

The Arthurs expect to open the hotel in mid-February.

Cahal Arthurs said: Our family has run businesses in Portaferry for over 50 years. We are passionate about the development and regeneration of the town and feel that the re-opening of the Portaferry Hotel is central to the prosperity of the town.

Our vision is that the Portaferry Hotel will be a family-focused business and a hub for the community and an exciting new option for people visiting the area. We want to create a destination hospitality offering that will attract visitors to the town, whilst also giving local people access to quality food and service on their doorstep."

Quality food will be at the heart of the Arthurs strategy to reinvigorate the hotels offering, with plans to focus on developing a bar food menu and quality and affordable Sunday lunches.

Mary Arthurs added: Were very excited and are busting with enthusiasm and plans to breathe new life into the Portaferry Hotel. We hope to create a destination boutique hotel that will be built on a firm family-focused ethos.

Living nearby and working in Portaferry, we know the importance of the hotel, as well as the need for investment in the town. We want to work with other local businesses, particularly local food and drink suppliers, to create a business that supports and grows the local economy, as well as providing employment for people in Portaferry.

We want to play a role in rebuilding the reputation of Portaferry and restoring confidence in the local community. As business owners, we understand the importance of supporting fellow small businesses. We need to support each other; we shop locally ourselves wherever we can and we hope that our commitment to the local area will be rewarded by local people supporting the hotel.

James Sinton, Director of North Down Leisure, property landlord said: The Arthurs bring great local knowledge, along with a proven track record in running businesses in the town. We wish them every success in developing their vision for the business and look forward to the hotel opening to the public in the coming weeks.
A Londonderry label printing firm is creating 21 jobs as part of a 1.4m investment aimed at growing its export market.

Nuprint Technologies, based in Springtown Industrial Estate, supplies more than 400m labels a year to a wide range of industries including food and drink, engineering and pharmaceutical packaging.

Its labels appear on well-known brands like McGees Butchers, Draynes Milk, Utterly Butterly dairy spread and Ruby Blue vodka. It also supplies specialist "clean room" labels for Seagate's plant in Malaysia.

Turnover this year is expected to hit 3.4m, with exports accounting for around 30% of sales. Nuprint's business in the Republic has grown by a third in the past year due to increased demand from the food and drink sector.

Managing director Gavin Killeen said: "We are focused on diversifying our product offering to make the most of opportunities in the flexible packaging and technology sectors. To do this we have introduced new manufacturing technologies and boosted our capability across a range of labelling activities."

The company currently employs 34 people and eight of the new jobs are already in place. They include managerial and production roles, as well as three higher level apprenticeships. The investment is supported by Invest NI, which has offered the company 279,000 to help with its expansion plans.

"Capital investment has a big impact on cashflows and assistance like this allows us to accelerate our growth," said Mr Killeen. "We work closely with the North West Regional College and we've done a number of technology collaborations with Ulster University.

"Nuprint has undergone a business transformation and it's all down to its people, thanks to upskilling, training and development. People from the shop floor are now as highly trained and qualified as any graduate."

Founded in 1984 by leading businessman Dr Alan McClure, Nuprint began as a specialist supplier of labels to the clothing industry for big names such as M&S, Fruit of the Loom, Burberry, Thomas Pink and Harrods. After the textile industry in Northern Ireland contracted in the late 1990s with the closure of Desmonds and other manufacturers, Nuprint was bought over in 2000 by a South African firm, International Trimming and Labels PLC (ITL).

The company diversified into the food and drink sector and in 2003, the current owners, Dr McClure and Gavin Killeen, were able to buy the company back.
Family-run Northern Ireland furniture firm Starplan has said it may open more stores after a five-fold increase in profits to nearly 500,000.

The company was founded by Mervyn Wilson - who remains as managing director - in Dungannon in 1972.

As well as its factory showroom in the Co Tyrone town, it also has stores in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Coleraine, Bangor and Portadown.

In the 12 months to April 30 2015, the business reported turnover of 16.1m, compared with 17m the year before.

However, pre-tax profit soared from 77,580 to 483,177.

A strategic report by the company's directors filed with the accounts described the performance as "satisfactory".

It added: "The directors are committed to long-term creation of shareholder value by increasing the group's market share through organic growth, including new branch openings."

But the report added that performance in the sector could be hit by factors including the "housing market and demographic trends".

Financial performance at the company has fluctuated since the housing market imploded in 2008.

A recent pre-tax profits low came in the year to April 30 2009, when pre-tax profits were just 30,166. That was down from a high of 789,648 a year earlier.

But from 2010, when pre-tax profits reached 41,646, the profitability of the firm has improved, in line with steady growth in the housing market.

Its stores in England include Wednesbury in the West Midlands, as well as Solihull, Stoke, Warrington and Bolton.

Mr Wilson has reminisced how he started out with a furniture showroom in 1972.

But he concluded that goods weren't being made to a high enough standard, and opened his own factory in 1978.

"After 40 years in business my original priorities and vision haven't changed, but lots of other things have," he writes on the company's website.

"We now have a 150,000 square foot purpose built factory, with state-of-the-art European machinery and a workforce of 150 people (we don't employ outside contractors).

"We are now one of the leading direct-sales bedroom furniture companies delivering to over 15,000 homes in the UK every year.

"However we are still very much a family business who will always put the customer first."

Meanwhile, Sainsbury's has vowed to create a "world-leading" as it tabled an improved 1.3bn offer for Argos owner Home Retail Group. The supermarket giant said its proposed cash-and-shares deal - valuing Home Retail Group at 161.3 pence per share - would create the UK's largest non-food store worth 6bn. But the sale of DIY arm Homebase to Australian firm Wesfarmers is said to be a condition of the deal. There are 13 Sainsbury's stores in the province, and around 20 Argos. It is expected to relocate some Argos stores into Sainsbury's supermarkets as concessions.

483,177

Pre-tax profits to April 2015 compared to 77,580 previous year
British Airways has announced it will be resuming direct flights from London to Iran, after nuclear sanctions imposed on Tehran were lifted last month.

Passengers will be able to fly direct from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Tehran from 14 July 14, when the six-weekly service will launch.

The service from Heathrow Terminal 5 will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777.

The flights are available to book from 3 February and will increase to daily flights in the near future.

Return fares to Tehran start from 384 for economy class, 728 for Economy Plus, 2163 for Business and 3763 for First class.

The airline suspended the direct flights in October 2012 when British Midland International (BMI) became part of British Airways and the route was no longer deemed to be commercially viable.

A re-launch of the flights was hinted at last month when Chief Executive Officer, Willie Walsh, said on 18 January, BA was close to reaching a decision on the reinstatement of Tehran services.

Neil Cottrell, British Airways head of network planning, said: Iran is a large and growing economy and Tehran is a brilliant business city so we are incredibly excited to be adding another gateway to the Middle East for our customers.

The recent lifting of sanctions opens up exciting new prospects for Iran as a tourist destination and with its rich heritage, unique architecture and world-class food its unsurprising Tehran is tipped to be a popular destination for 2016.

The Nuclear sanctions imposed by US, UN and EU on Tehran were lifted in January, a move which Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said would open new windows of engagement with the world and allow the country to make an economic leap and development.

Until now, only Iran Air offered direct flights between the UK and Iran.

British Airways has a long history of flying to Tehran and offered the first scheduled flights between London and the Iranian capital in 1946.
Many people with arthritis believe that changes in the weather affect the level of pain they experience

Scientists are investigating if the weather really does affect those who suffer with chronic pain.

Doctors from the University of Manchester have launched Cloudy with a Chance of Pain, the world's first smartphone-based study to investigate the association between pain and the weather.

Although there is currently no scientific evidence to support the relationship, many people with arthritis believe that changes in the weather affect the level of pain they experience.

The study will take place over a year with researchers carrying out a formal analysis with a view to using the information to generate "pain forecasts" in order for people to plan their weekly activities.

Participants need to be over the age of 17 and suffer with arthritis or chronic pain.

They can download the uMotif app which will be used to record their symptoms each day - whilst local weather data is automatically collected using the phone's GPS.

Even people who do not have pain are being urged to participate by browsing through the data and submitting their own ideas and theories about the association.

Dr Will Dixon, director of the University of Manchester's Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, and honorary consultant rheumatologist at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, came up with the idea.

He said: "This question has been around for more than 2,000 years, but it's only now with widespread modern technology that we have the ability to answer it."

He hopes the big citizen science which is being supported by Arthritis Research UK, uMotif in London, and the Office for Creative Research in New York, will disclose patterns and relationships in the data to come up with the best possible conclusion.

For more information visit CloudyWithaChanceofPain.com

You can also follow the project on Twitter @CloudyPain.
Three-month-old Daniel, who was born with microcephaly, undergoes physical therapy at the Altino Ventura foundation in Recife, Brazil.

The World Health Organisation has declared an international emergency over the virus (AP)

Donors who have travelled to countries affected by the Zika outbreak cannot give blood for a month after returning home, officials have said.

NHS Blood and Transplant said that "safety of the blood supply is paramount" as it imposed the 28-day ban on blood donation to ensure that the virus is not passed on.

Blood services across the UK have agreed to implement the measure as a precaution.

When a person gives blood they are asked a series of questions including their recent travel history. The NHS already has a series of "deferrals" in place for people returning home from areas a ffected by tropical illnesses - including a number of countries at the centre of the current outbreak. This list has now been extended to include all countries affected by the Zika outbreak.

"The safety of the blood supply is paramount and it is important we implement any precautionary blood safety measures agreed here as a result of an increasing prevalence of infectious diseases found around the globe," an NHS Blood and Transplant spokeswoman said.

"Travel to most of these countries already brings a blood donation deferral of at least 28 days. A 28 day deferral for travel to areas with a tropical virus risk and a six month deferral for travel to malarial areas exists."

The news comes as the World Health Organisation warned that European countries where Aedes mosquitoes are present could be at risk.

According to mosquito maps found on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control website, the Aedes aegypti mosquito which carries the virus is established in Georgia, part of Russia next to the Black Sea, and Madeira.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, said: "Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease.

"A number of travellers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive. With the onset of spring and summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases.

"Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations. As there is no vaccine or treatment for Zika virus disease, we must protect the European Region by stopping the disease at its source.

"I urge European countries to act early in a co-ordinated way to: control the mosquitoes, including community engagement in eliminating mosquito breeding sites and planning for insecticide spraying and killing of larvae in case of outbreaks; inform people at risk, especially pregnant women, about preventing mosquito bites; enhance surveillance and ensure laboratory detection of Zika virus disease and its neurological complications; and step up research to understand Zika virus disease and develop diagnostic tests and vaccines."

On Monday WHO declared an international emergency over the virus and its link to birth defects.

Zika has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil. Colombia has also seen a rise in the number of patients diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder which can cause paralysis.

WHO officials have predicted as many as four million people could be infected with the virus this year.

Meanwhile two adults have been confirmed with the Zika virus in Ireland. The cases - the first of their kind in the country - are unrelated to each other and both patients are said to be currently well and fully recovered.

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A midwife whose negligence contributed to the death of a baby in Antrim Area Hospital has been struck off more than a decade after he died, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

Evelyn McFadden was finally struck off yesterday after it was established that her lack of care placed both baby Paul O'Neill and his mother Olivia at an "unwarranted risk of harm".

Her actions during the night of his birth in Antrim Area Hospital on November 5, 2005 "decreased" baby Paul's chances of survival, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing said.

The little boy, who was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, died as a result of the "catastrophic negligence" by the lead midwife Heather McComish.

However, the investigation into what happened that night was only triggered after a second baby - five-day-old Matthew White from Antrim who was also cared for by Ms McComish - died a year later.

"We would not have known the truth about the catalogue of errors that night had baby Matthew not passed on," Paul's aunt, Cathy Bell said.

An inquest was held into his death in 2007, but it has taken over 10 years for the two midwives to be disciplined for their role in contributing to the death of the four-day-old.

The original inquest found the midwives failed to spot a drop in Paul's heart rate through the cardiotocograph (CTG) and had they contacted a doctor earlier during the labour, it would have improved the chances of baby Paul surviving.

Ms McComish was struck off last June by the NMC.

A final NMC hearing was held in Belfast yesterday regarding Mrs McFadden, who had helped monitor Olivia during the birth.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph Olivia said: "This is justice, but it will never end for me. It hasn't ended a chapter for me, I don't think it ever will.

"You are always counting down. Is this ever going to be over? It's been over 10 years and people said to me before today I would get closure at the hearing, but I'll never get closure."

A poignant statement read at the hearing on behalf of Olivia, a full-time mum, said: "It has taken over 10 years to reach where we find ourselves today.

"Paul was my firstborn, a much wanted child, who never had the chance to experience anything other than a hospital cot and being wired up to machines.

"We missed seeing him take his first step, deciding which school he would attend, but we will have our memories from those few short days.

"On the night Paul was born we trusted the staff in Antrim Area Hospital to carry out their professional duties. They were found wanting."

And, in astonishing words of kindness, Olivia (38), who was supported by her sister Cathy and Paul's grandmother Vera Heaney, accepted that Mrs McFadden had demonstrated "compassion" after her son's death.

"Do we believe the very serious actions and failings of Mrs McFadden deserve to have her struck off? No we don't, because despite the unacceptable, very serious failings of that night, Mrs McFadden did show some humanity and compassion by sending a card."

During the hearing, which McFadden didn't attend, it was revealed that she had accepted that she had placed both the baby and the mother at "unwarranted risk of harm".

It was read out that McFadden, who retired in 2008, had expressed deep remorse over the death of baby Paul and was aware of the impact his death had on the family over 10 years.

A police investigation had been launched into the incident, but the Public Prosecution Service decided it wasn't in the public interest to pursue criminal charges.

The NMC had also previously apologised for the length of time the process had taken.

Olivia and her partner Paul (senior) have since gone on to have three children, all born at Antrim Area Hospital. But Olivia says her son's death still has a huge impact on her family.

"Paul is always talked about, my other three children [Conor (8), Katie (5) Ronan (3)] know all about him and they will as they grow up.

"I suffered, and I'm still suffering. There are friends who had babies the same time as Paul. I see their kids running around and there are some of my friends who can't be around me."

She added: "I'm thankful for what I have now, but nothing would replace Paul. I suppose I look at my own and think, do you look like him? The what ifs? They are hard."

Olivia also voiced her frustration that no representatives of the Northern Trust attended the hearing.

"I really did think that somebody from the Trust would have been here. It has been going on so long.

"I would just like to think that lessons would be learned. This should never have happened in the first place."

Her sister Cathy (54), from Newtownabbey, added: "During these last 10 years we have wanted justice for Paul. We are glad a decision has been taken by an independent panel with all the information in front of them. They have taken the decision to strike this nurse off. We accept that decision. I think in terms of public interest they are right."

She said they would now want a face to face meeting with the Trust.

Cathy added: "If we can just make sure that this never happens again. This was a catalogue of errors, it should never have happened in a hospital. Paul shouldn't have died."

A spokeswoman for the Northern Trust said: "The Trust wholeheartedly apologises to Ms Bell and her family for the distress caused. The Trust has previously offered to meet with Ms Bell and her family and is happy to meet with them again at any stage should they wish to do so.

"The Trust does not routinely attend NMC hearings."
Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness have urged for a rethink on the EU referendum date.

First Minster Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have joined with their counterparts in Scotland and Wales to urge the Prime Minister David Cameron to hold off on holding the crucial EU referendum to avoid it clashing with local elections.

The Prime Minister David Cameron is intent on holding the crucial poll, it's believed, on June 23. He has said he wants a gap of at least six weeks after local votes.

However, a date is yet to be set.

Alongside the Northern Ireland leaders, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones have urged the Conservative leader to reconsider the date.

They fear the crucial poll will intervene with local government elections.

The Assembly elections will be held on May 5.

They first ministers said a June plebiscite "risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required" and called on Mr Cameron to "commit to deferring the EU referendum at least until later in the year".

It follows after a group of cross-party MPs also argued against holding the vote in June.

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The Prime Minister rejected the demand, committing to a gap of at least six weeks after the May 5 elections before holding the referendum - leaving open the possibility of a vote on June 23 or 30.

Speaking in Prime Minister's Questions he said it would be "pretty odd" if, having voted for a referendum there was a debate about not having one.

The letter to the PM said: "We believe that holding a referendum as early as June will mean that a significant part of the referendum campaign will necessarily run in parallel with those elections and risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required.

"Furthermore, it will be virtually impossible for the political parties in our respective territories to plan effectively for, and where appropriate work together on, the referendum campaign while our own elections are in progress.

"We believe that the European referendum is of vital importance to the future of the whole United Kingdom and the debate leading up to it should, therefore, be free of other campaigning distraction."

Mr Cameron insisted that voters would be "perfectly capable" of coping with two separate ballots.

He was urged to rule out a June referendum by the SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson.

Mr Cameron said: "There is no agreement, so no date has yet been fixed for the referendum."

He said former first minister Alex Salmond had called for a six week gap between the May contests and the referendum "and I can guarantee that won't happen".

The Prime Minister added: "I do respect the former first minister of Scotland who said six weeks was what was necessary.

"I also respect the electorates of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the basis that I think people are perfectly capable of making up their minds in a local election or in a Scottish parliamentary election, or in a Welsh assembly election and then, a period of some weeks afterwards, making up their mind all over again on the vital question of the European Union."

He told MPs: "This House has voted for a referendum. It would be pretty odd if, having voted for a referendum we then spend ages debating about not having one."
General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

General manager of Ashers and son of the owner Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy arrive at the court Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

The Ashers bakery appeal case has been dramatically adjourned today following intervention by the Attorney General.

John Larkin QC's lawyer raised legal issues with the court regarding discrimination and equality legislation.

The Attorney General has made a last-minute request to make representation in the case about any potential conflict between the region's equality legislation and European human rights laws.

After a short hearing Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan agreed to adjourn the appeal until May 9 where it will sit for four days.

He told the court it was "most unfortunate this issue has only arisen two days before hearing".

"Although we have all tried to see if we could proceed with the case given the amount of work that has been done.

"It seems to us that it is simply not possible to do that without running into some risk of fairness in the hearing.

"We are not going to proceed with the hearing today" he said.

Senior judges in Belfast decided to adjourn Ashers' challenge to the ruling after being told of issues about the lawfulness of sexual orientation regulations in Northern Ireland.

Before the hearing in May the Court of Appeal will sit again in March to hear legal arguments on the compatibility of the regulations with European human rights law.

They will also decide whether it raises a devolution point which opens the door for Attorney General John Larkin QC to become involved in the case.

Sir Declan said it was simply not possible to continue at this stage without risking any unfairness to the proceedings.

The Christian family run bakery is appealing the ruling of the high profile case which was heard over three days last March.

A judge at Belfast County Court said Ashers Bakery run by the McArthur family acted unlawfully by declining an order from gay rights activist Gareth Lee.

Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, had wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the slogan Support Gay Marriage for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia in May 2014.

He paid in full when placing the order at Ashers' Belfast branch, but said he was stunned when - two days later - the company phoned to say it could not be processed.

Ordering the bakers to pay agreed damages of 500, the judge said religious beliefs could not dictate the law.

Today the Equality Commission, which monitors compliance with the region's anti-discrimination laws, took the landmark legal action on behalf of Mr Lee, said it was "very disappointed" that the matter was not able to proceed.

Speaking outside the court ahead of today's hearing Daniel McArthur outlined his reasons for the appeal - saying they took issue with the "message on the cake and not the customer".

He said: "We are looking forward to having the ruling of the Lord Chief Justice overturned.

"We believe the County Court got the original ruling wrong.

"Ashers does not discriminate against anyone. We took issue with the message on the cake not the customer.

"And as a family we believe we should retain the freedom to decline business that would force us to promote a cause with which we disagree.

"As Christians we can't simply switch off our faith as we enter the workplace in the morning.

"To be a Christian at all is to strive to live for Christ in every corner of our lives."

"We served Mr Lee as we would any other customer we were simply unwilling to endorse this campaign for a new law that so clearly goes against what the bible said about marriage

"And for that we have been punished."

He added: "As Christians, we are law abiding citizens and we expect the law to protect us as much as anybody else.

"We hope that the judicial system will now make the correct decision and protect our freedom to carry out our work without being forced to violate our consciences.

"As a family we have found the whole process very difficult. We would rather not be here today. We knew we had to appeal not only for ourselves but on the behalf of other family businesses who could be forced to endorse or promote views with which they disagree,.

"Today we appeal to the Lord Chief Justice and colleagues to overturn the county court ruling, we appeal to them to recognise there is a big difference between refusing to serve someone because of their sexual orientation or political opinion and choosing not to endorse those ideas."

Outside of the courtroom Mr Lee has not spoken publicly about the case - he arrived at court accompanied by the Equality Commission's chief commissioner, Dr Michael Wardlow.

Dr Wardlow said it was not an attack on religious freedom.

He sad: "There has been a lot of misinformation in the media that somehow this is about closing down religious expression, that faith has to be left at the door of the workplace and that is not true.

"Religious freedom is enshrined in the legislation. The problem is although freedom to believe is absolute, freedom to express that belief is always limited, because if by expressing that belief you discriminate against others then the law must intervene.

"So this is not simply about some form of religious intolerance or closing down of Christian expression because in all of this the other person who has a right in this, who seems to have been forgotten, is Gareth.

"So I would like this to be seen for what it is - this is about if you enter into the public domain and choose to trade as a commercial enterprise you are ruled by the laws of the land."

During the hearing Mr Lee sat in the front row of the public gallery beside representatives of the Equality Commission.

Three rows behind were Ashers directors Karen and Colin McArthur with their son, the firm's general manager Daniel McArthur, and his wife Amy, plus Simon Calvert from the Christian Institute, which has garnered public support and financial backing for the bakers.

Outside the court, Mr Calvert spoke on behalf of the McArthur family.

He said: "The court has adjourned the hearing essentially because of the importance of the issues at stake. The Attorney General has raised a number of issues. We were neutral as to whether those issues came in but the court wants to hear them.

"It just confirms that this is a really important case and the court and all the parties want to make sure all the issues are properly rehearsed in court and we will be back on May 9 to do that."
Police have stepped up patrols and warned parents to know what their children are up to after reports of pre-arranged fights over social media in the Lenadoon and Suffolk areas of west Belfast.

Police dealt with youths attacking each other in the area on Monday night close to their Woodbourne station.

They said two groups of up to 30 young people were involved.

Residents took to social media to voice their anger over the ongoing pre-arranged fights.

"Seriously this is not on, it's not just about messing about, it's about respect for people living here," said one commentator.

The Great Andersonstown Safer Neighbourhood Partnership said it was "beyond a joke" police had to be called despite the incident taking place on their doorstep.

Policing Chief Inspector for West Belfast Anthony McNally said: We received two reports of two groups of up to 30 young people gathering and engaging in anti-social behaviour in the Lenadoon and Suffolk areas.

We are dealing with a crowd from Suffolk and one from Lenadoon who are involved in hand to hand fighting right outside... Posted by Greater Andersonstown Snp on Monday, 1 February 2016

"Police officers attended within five minutes and dispersed the groups, liaised with community representatives and remained in the area.

We will continue to monitor reports of antisocial behaviour and respond appropriately, including focusing patrols in specific areas over the coming days, but once again, I would urge parents and guardians to make sure they know where their children are, what they are doing, and to talk to them about the danger of getting caught up in the moment and the possible outcomes they could face if they are found committing any offence."

He added: "I would also like to remind young people there are consequences when you get involved in this type of behaviour. What might seem like fooling about can often result in a criminal record which can affect travel, education and employment opportunities in the future. It is really important that young people understand this.

Chief Inspector McNally also called on local communities to report antisocial behaviour to their local police.

He said: It is only with information from the local community that we can build an accurate picture of the issues and concerns in your neighbourhood and put an appropriate response in place.

If you are aware of antisocial behaviour in your area please contact your neighbourhood policing team on the non-emergency number 101 and let us know so that we can respond and find ways to address problems.
Little Flower girls school on the Somerton Road in Belfast

Two north Belfast secondary schools have taken their campaign against amalgamation to Stormont.

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) has proposed closing Little Flower girls' school on the Somerton Road and St Patrick's, Bearnageeha on the Antrim Road to create a new co-ed school operating across a split campus.

The Development Proposal - which is now on Education Minister John O'Dowd's desk - envisages a new Catholic 11-19 co-educational post-primary school with an enrolment of 1,300, admission number of 195 and with a sixth form of 325 pupils to be established by September 2017.

However this has prompted a furious reaction from supporters of the schools.

More than 1,600 have signed a petition against it.

A spokesperson for the concerned parents group of Little Flower School told the Belfast Telegraph if the plans go ahead children will be removed from the school.

"The people of north Belfast deserve a choice," the spokesperson said.

"We think our right to choose a single sex Catholic school is being removed.

"Little Flower is a good school, we just had a great Education and Training Inspectorate report, our principal Jim McKeever won principal of the year at the Blackboard awards - if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

"We know that if these plans go ahead people will withdraw their children from the school, we will vote with our feet.

"Mercy College is going to be made co-ed too, so there will be no choice for parents in north Belfast.

"This will force our children to sit the unregulated transfer tests because the grammar schools will be the only way to get them into single sex schools, or else having to get buses to other part of the city.

"If you are a parent in north Belfast and want your daughter to go to a single sex Catholic school, she will have to go to the Falls Road."

The spokesperson said the Little Flower parents are convinced that single sex education is best for their daughters.

"We have looked at a lot of research about co-ed schools that proves they have an adverse effect on the learning ability of girls between the ages of 11 and 14," she said.

"Girls education suffers, co-educational schools are not as successful for girls.

"Research has also proved that amalgamated split site schools experience a dip for a number of years after, which they say can last up to five years - that can be the entire secondary education of one of our kids.

"Yes we need sustainability in schools, but our school has a full roll, the best GCSE results of all the non grammar secondary schools in north Belfast and an intake of 110 last year."

SDLP MLA Alban Maginness presented the petition on behalf of the concerned parents to the Assembly.

"These are two very good schools, but the idea of having single sex is something that people do want and it will maintain a choice within the Catholic sector in north Belfast.

"It is reflected in the controlled sector in north Belfast where you have two very good schools in the Boys Model and the Girls Model which are both single sex schools.

"Also in the Catholic grammar sector you have St Malachy's for boys and Dominican College which is all girls. The idea is to maintain them as single sex schools.

"It all makes sense when you look at it."

Mr Maginness said the fact 1,600 have signed the petition against the proposal to dissolve both Little Flower and St Patrick's and form a new co-ed school reflects the depth of feeling against it.

"It is a large number of people expressing opposition," he said.

"This is just concerned parents, nothing political about it. They are expressing their very genuine concern.

"I think if you are going to have a consultation you need to listen very carefully to what people are saying.

"I was honoured to bring the petition to the Assembly and was very happy to do so.

"People's concerns need to be articulated."

The public consultation launched last November has now finished and the decision now rests with Education Minister John O'Dowd.
Boys as well as girls should be vaccinated against the HPV virus to protect them against some types of cancer, according to an article in a leading medical journal.

Northern Ireland's MPs are being urged to support the extension of the HPV vaccine to teenage boys.

Currently only girls aged 12-13 are vaccinated against Human papilloma virus - a very common sexually transmitted infection that can cause a range of cancers (cervical, vaginal, vulval, penile, anal, and oral) as well as genital warts.

Thursday marks World Cancer Day and the charity Cancer Focus Northern Ireland has appealed to MPs to support an Early Day Motion at Westminster, calling for adolescent boys to be given the vaccination.

The charity is also asking the Health Department at Stormont to introduce the measure.

The primary sponsor of the Motion is South Antrim MP Danny Kinahan and six other local MPs have already supported the call.

Gerry McElwee, Head of Cancer Prevention at Cancer Focus NI, said: "Extending the HPV vaccination to include adolescent boys is the optimal way to reduce preventable HPV related cancers.

"With every year that passes, 12,000 more boys in Northern Ireland are left unprotected against HPV-related diseases. That is unacceptable."

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is considering whether to extend the national vaccination programme to all adolescent boys, but Cancer Focus NI says it will not report until 2017 at the earliest. Implementation would be unlikely to happen until 2020, which the charity said would leave another 60,000 boys in Northern Ireland unprotected.

Mr McElwee said momentum on the issue was growing.

North Belfast MLA Paula Bradley has hosted a roundtable meeting on HPV at Stormont and the Assemblys All Party Group on Cancer has discussed the issue.
Martin McGuinness said the plan tells him retailers are crystal clear how they think government should act

Radical reform of business rates and the establishment of a dedicated town regeneration team should be among the key priorities for political leaders during the next mandate, businesses have said.

Launching a five-year economic plan, the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) also called for action on red tape, the development of a cross border retail forum, new enterprise zones and further infrastructure investment.

NIIRTA chief executive Glyn Roberts said: " Retail is the largest contributor to our private sector economy but our members still feel that there are too many barriers to business in place.

"We are calling for the Executive to take our proposals on board and to work to secure retail's rightful position as a key partner for growth in a new, more efficient private sector led Northern Ireland."

The economic programme outlines some 97 recommendations, setting out policy priorities for each of the nine new Executive departments, which will be established after the Assembly election in May.

Mr Roberts added: "In our economic programme for government we outline detailed proposals for a radical reform of business rates, new enterprise zones, city deals, more BIDs (business improvement district) and investment in infrastructure.

"Action on addressing the high business costs, a coordinated plan to tackle red tape and creating a more vocational and professional education system are all key priorities in our plan."

Also at the launch in Belfast's multimillion-pound Titanic visitors' centre was Stormont's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

He said politicians were left in no doubt about traders' demands.

The Sinn Fein MLA said: "The focus must not be on violence or riots on the street but on bread and butter issues which improve people's lives. I am encouraged unemployment rates have dropped by 11,000 in the last year.

"Through the new structure we will be better placed to defend core public services, attract foreign direct investment, support indigenous businesses and create new jobs for all our people.

"We must be lean, agile and responsive in a world where change is rapid and relentless. The plan being launched tells me our retailers are crystal clear about what it thinks government should do."

Over 100 people including Kevin Kingston, chief executive of Danske Bank and Nigel Milton, director of external affairs at Heathrow Airport, were at the event.
An appeal by Christian bakers at the centre of the so-called "gay cake" discrimination battle has been adjourned for three months.

It follows a last minute intervention by Northern Ireland's top legal advisor John Larkin QC.

Last year Ashers Baking Company, run by the McArthur family, was found to have discriminated against a gay customer for refusing to bake a cake with a pro gay marriage slogan.

Two days had been set aside for the appeal but proceedings at Belfast's High Court were dramatically halted after it emerged the region's Attorney General wanted to address any potential conflict between the local equality legislation and European human rights laws.

Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, who was due to hear the high profile case with two other senior judges, expressed frustration but said the case could not go ahead at this stage.

He said: "It is most unfortunate this issue has arisen only two days before this hearing.

"Although we have all tried to see if we could proceed with the case given the amount of work that has been done.

"It seems to us that it is simply not possible to do that without running into some risk of fairness in the hearing.

"We are not going to proceed with the hearing today."

A lawyer representing Mr Larkin told the court the Attorney General wanted to address the "devolution issue" and to explore whether there were any incompatibility issues between the local laws and the UK's obligations under the Human Rights Act.

Adjourning the case until May, Sir Declan told the packed courtroom it was important that the case progressed to hearing "expeditiously".

The Northern Ireland Equality Commission, which monitors compliance with the region's anti-discrimination laws, took the landmark legal action on behalf of Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist and member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space.

It was heard at Belfast's County Court over three days last March.

Mr Lee had wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the slogan Support Gay Marriage for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia in May 2014.

He paid in full when placing the order at Ashers' Belfast branch, but two days later the company phoned to say it could not be processed.

District Judge Isobel Brownlie found Ashers directly discriminated against Mr Lee who had been treated "less favourably", contrary to the law and ordered them to pay agreed damages of 500.

Judge Brownlie said religious beliefs could not dictate the law.

At the appeal, Mr Lee sat in the front row of the public gallery of the Nisi Prius courtroom beside representatives of the Equality Commission.

Three rows behind were Ashers directors Karen and Colin McArthur with their son Daniel McArthur, the firm's general manager, and his wife Amy,

Simon Calvert from the Christian Institute, which has garnered public support and financial backing for the bakers, was also present as were Democratic Unionist MLAs Paul Givan and Edwin Poots, a former Stormont health minister.

The hearing, which lasted less than an hour, was dominated by complex legal argument around how the so-called "devolution issue" could be handled.

Robin Allen QC, representing the Equality Commission, said it was up to the court to decide whether to "salami slice" proceedings.

He added: "I dive into these waters with some degree of trepidation."

However, Sir Declan said there was a danger of "losing track" of the argument if the case was split in two with representation from the Attorney General being heard at a later stage.

He added: "We all have life jackets on."

Outside the court, Mr Calvert spoke on behalf of the McArthur family.

He said: "The court has adjourned the hearing essentially because of the importance of the issues at stake. The Attorney General has raised some new issues. We were neutral as to whether those issues came in but the court wants to hear them.

"It just confirms that this is a really important case and the court and all the parties want to make sure all the issues are properly rehearsed in court and we will be back on May 9 to do that."

Meanwhile, Dr Michael Wardlow - chief commissioner with the Equality Commission, expressed disappointment at the delay.

He said: "We came here today for this very important case and we were looking forward to hearing the arguments.

"We are very disappointed that at this very late stage another argument has come in and that has to be resolved.

"The reality is it could take months."

The case has been adjourned until May 9.

A statement from the Attorney General's office said the issues had arisen from Mr Larkin's consideration of the original ruling.

It added: " The Attorney General takes no position on any factual matter in dispute between the appellants and the respondent; his interest concerns the relationship between certain statutory provisions relied on in the County Court judgment and the constitutional law of Northern Ireland."
Ian Paisley says electronic surveillance already substitutes for physical barriers and exists for security reasons

A multibillion-pound electronic surveillance system operating on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic would not change if Britain exited the EU, Ian Paisley has said.

Every vehicle number plate is read and the number of crossings noted to protect security, according to the North Antrim MP, as part of an electronic barrier extending around the limits of the UK.

The senior Democratic Unionist said : "The current Northern Ireland border is not a soft border, the current Northern Ireland border is an electronic border.

"Every single vehicular movement on the border, every single person movement on the border, is electronically recorded.

"So for example ... y ou can have an electronic readout of the people who cross the border, the number plates which cross the border, the multiple crossings those number plates make."

Opponents of Brexit have raised concern about the reintroduction of physical barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic in the event of a withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Paisley said electronic surveillance already substituted for physical barriers and was done for security reasons.

"It is a multibillion-pound operation, probably one of the most advanced border movement management systems in Europe. It is quite similar to Switzerland in many ways."

Almost a quarter of a million border movements were managed in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Mr Paisley added: "There is a very highly priced and expensive border operation, there is nothing to suggest that that would change in any way on Brit exit."

He is a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs at Westminster, which is conducting an inquiry into the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland.

Queen's University Belfast witness Dr Cathal McCall noted the surveillance was done across coastal limits of the UK and acknowledged extensive information sharing between the Garda and PSNI.
George Osborne has said the UK-wide tax rate will go down to 18% by 2020

Brexit could have a "huge impact" on large firms' plans to establish bases in Northern Ireland once corporation tax is cut, an academic said.

In the short term it would create added complexity, and could slow down the flow of investment in the first couple of years, according to Professor Neil Gibson, director of the Economic Policy Centre at the University of Ulster.

He gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs at Westminster which is investigating the impact of any UK exit from the EU on Northern Ireland.

Mr Gibson said: "An exit vote would weigh on traders' considerations in the short term, I would not underplay the impact on Northern Ireland, having made its biggest policy choice ... in the first two years not much is happening.

"There would be added complexity under a new arrangement ... they were not able to fully articulate how that would look.

"In the short run just the particular timing of that would have different implications. It would be a factor in those firms' decisions.

"If there were to be an exit vote, the ability to make those positions clear would be absolutely paramount, to happen almost immediately, because otherwise it would have a huge impact."

As part of last year's Fresh Start political deal, the date for a tariff reduction in the business levy, to 12.5%, will be April 2018, matching the Republic of Ireland in an effort to compete for investment. Currently the rate is 20%.

Advocates of a lower rate of tax on business profits in Northern Ireland point to a potentially transformative impact on a local economy that shares a land border with a jurisdiction - Ireland - where the tax is only 12.5%.

Business leaders envisage tens of thousands of new jobs and prosperity for all.

But critics claim reducing the local rate so significantly from the UK's would damage public spending, as it would see the Treasury cut an estimated 300 million off the Executive's annual funding from the rest of the UK to offset the loss in revenue. It could also help encourage businesses in the UK to relocate.

The Chancellor has announced that the UK-wide rate will come down to 18% by 2020.

While narrowing the gap would mean less of a reduction in Treasury funding known as the block grant, it would also diminish the advantage for Northern Ireland over the rest of the UK in attracting big businesses to invest.

Local economist Eamonn Donaghy has recently suggested that the cost of implementing the lower rate of tax could be as little as 100 million per year by spreading the early years costs, so the impact on the block grant would be much lower than initially forecast.
Lorries over 7.5 tonnes will soon be banned from Hillsboroughs narrow streets

The quiet reaction to the news that lorries will be banned from one of Northern Ireland's most picturesque villages stood in stark contrast to the thundering traffic disrupting the rural tranquility.

Opinion was more mixed than might be expected after the successful campaign to drive trucks out of Hillsborough, with most villagers preferring to stay tight-lipped or giving a guarded welcome to the decision.

It was clear that some were concerned about the economic impact on the historic village.

Other said officials should have considered alternative ways to reduce congestion in the area.

Situated close to Lisburn, the village centre contains significant Georgian architecture, as well as the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle.

Residents had claimed the village's streets often shudder to the sound of heavy goods vehicles taking a short-cut.

Local professional dry cleaner, Brenda Bradford, who works at The Laundry Room, was among the few who welcomed the change in legislation.

"The lorries fly down that road. There are cars parked on a corner at the bottom of the hill and the street is so narrow that the lorries have to slam on the brakes," she said. "This is the best decision for my safety and other people's safety too.

"There's also a fold right on the corner, so there's quite a few elderly people around and they would find it quite scary.

"The volume of traffic, never mind lorries, is dire. It's a really busy place.

"Customers have told me that the traffic would put them off coming out in their cars or even walking about."

Geoff Gowan, who lives in the village, said the traffic congestion left the area a "very dangerous place".

He added: "You have the school at Ballynahinch Street that causes a lot of traffic, so they had to deflect a lot of big lorries coming in from the countryside in to the village."

"Primarily I think it's a good thing if they want to do that for the village. I wouldn't want to take away from someone's employment though," he said.

"There's always congestion at the bottom of the hill, it's very dangerous."
A Brexit will spell disaster for Northern Ireland farmers and leave everyone in the region paying more for agri-products, Stormont's agriculture minister has warned.

Michelle O'Neill told the Assembly a potential loss of billions of euro of European farm subsidies if the UK exited the EU was unlikely to be replaced by the Government in London.

However, DUP MLA Gregory Campbell challenged the minister and said talk of "nightmare" scenarios was hindering a rational debate on the issue of whether the UK should stay or go.

Outlining her views on Brexit during Assembly question time, Ms O'Neill said the future outside the EU was an uncertain one, claiming the impact of exit would be "disastrous". Echoing comments by Martin McGuinness, she said in the period 2014-2020 the agriculture and rural sector in Northern Ireland was set to receive 2.53bn (1.9bn) from Europe.

"We don't know what the future holds, we don't know what a post-Brexit situation looks like. And without any of those certainties it is very difficult for anyone to make a rational choice in terms of going forward, she said.

"I think 2.53bn is significant and speaks volumes in terms of what it means to our economy, what it means to the agri-food sector and what it means to everybody - because if farmers aren't subsidised to produce food then all consumers will be paying more for food, which we will have to import from other countries."
A west Belfast was jailed for assault charges against his baby daughter branded as "appalling" by a Crown Court judge.

A Nigerian man accused of identity fraud in a bid to stay in Northern Ireland fled his native country to avoid possible execution over his sexuality, the High Court heard.

Wasiu Adeleke was arrested in Belfast after spending four years at large and allegedly trying to gain bogus documentation, prosecutors said.

It was claimed he tried to pass himself off as a Greek national in a bid to get a UK driving licence.

The 47-year-old, with an address at University Street in Belfast, faces charges of fraud by false representation, attempted fraud, failing to observe immigration restrictions and possessing an identity improperly obtained.

Adeleke was first assessed as being in the UK illegally after being held by the PSNI in August 2011, the court heard. He was released on Secretary of State's bail in November that year.

Prosecution barrister Kate McKay said he then failed to comply with release conditions and was only re-arrested in December 2015. During that period he allegedly used false identity documents and worked for a cleaning firm in Belfast.

Defence counsel Michael Boyd said Adeleke had been living in Belfast, carrying out menial jobs to survive, since his asylum application was refused.

Mr Boyd said his client arrived in Dublin in 2010 and travelled to Northern Ireland a year later. The barrister said: "He left Nigeria because he is bisexual and that's apparently enough to have you killed in Nigeria, or seriously beaten by fanatics who take exception to something like that."

Refusing bail, His Honour Judge Lynch identified a risk of flight. He told defence counsel: "The fundamental problem here is your client removed himself from the system for an extended period of time in order to forge his life in this jurisdiction."
A Sinn Fein MLA must pay an Ulster Unionist MP nearly 50,000 compensation for falsely implying he had harassed and shot people, a High Court judge ordered today.

Mr Justice Stephens ruled that Phil Flanagan's untrue tweet about political rival Tom Elliott's conduct during his previous career as a soldier was grossly defamatory.

The "baseless" allegation was aggravated by Mr Flanagan's failure to publish an apology until the former UUP leader took him to court, he held.

The judge said: "To state that a senior politician, who had been the leader of a political party in Northern Ireland, was responsible for harassing and shooting people during his service with the UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment)... is a most serious libel."

Deciding that the comments merited 75,000 in damages, the judge reduced that figure by 35% to reflect steps since taken by Mr Flanagan, including his ultimate apology and offer to pay damages.

He awarded 48,750, but put a stay on any payout until Mr Flanagan resolves his legal action with insurers used by Assembly members over a refusal to indemnify him.

Mr Elliott, the Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, sued over the contents of a tweet back in May 2014.

At the time he had just been interviewed on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.

Mr Flanagan, a Sinn Fein representative at Stormont for the same constituency, then took to social media about the UUP politician's appearance.

He tweeted: "Tom Elliottt talks to Stephen Nolan about the past. I wonder if he will reveal how many people he harassed or shot as a member of the UDR."

The posting was seen by 167 of Mr Flanagan's followers, six of whom re-tweeted the comments before they were taken down within an hour.

But Mr Elliott said he was alerted to the contents by a number of sources, including victim's campaigner Ann Travers, whose sister Mary was murdered by the IRA in 1984.

Arlene Foster, his former party colleague and current First Minister and Democratic Unionist leader, was among others who contacted him.

Legal action culminated in the acceptance of an offer to make amends. That involved Mr Flanagan recognising the defamatory and baseless allegations, formally apologising and agreeing to pay compensation and costs.

In court last month an agreed statement was read out in which Mr Flanagan accepted his tweet was untrue, wholly without foundation and apologising for all offence caused.

It ended with Mr Elliott declaring himself fully vindicated and his reputation restored.

The Sinn Fein MLA also gave an undertaking to publish the statement on his Twitter account.

Although Mr Flanagan offered no evidence, Mr Elliott told how he served in the UDR from 1982-1992, and then with the Royal Irish Regiment for another seven years.

Asked for his reaction on learning of the tweet, he said at last month's hearing: "I was astonished, I was shocked and in many ways disappointed."

Mr Elliott added: "I needed to have concerns for my security.

"If people were to believe I shot or harassed people when I was a member of the UDR that was going to have an impact on me but also my family as well."

Ruling on the level of compensation today, Mr Justice Stephens said the appropriate award was sensitive to the limited publication of the defamatory statement.

Although he stressed the gravity of the libel, he held that the UUP representative would be less affected than others with no experience of dealing with "the heat of political debate".

Mr Elliott was not "shunned, pilloried or ostracised", having been elected as MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, the judge added.

He also ordered Mr Flanagan to pay costs of the libel action.
Hillsborough residents are delighted at the proposal to restrict vehicles over 7.5 tons from the village. This is a conservation area where all the houses date from the late 1700s and are built - as they all were at that period - without foundations. Every time a large lorry passes our door the whole house shakes and at times conversation is impossible.

Not so long ago we set out to count the number of HGVs passing by. Between 6.30am and 8am we counted 90 large lorries going up the Hill. We spent some time talking to haulage companies and, as a result, Mulgrew and PRM both agreed to stop their drivers using the village as a rat-run away from the A1. This has been a great help and we are very grateful to them. It also demonstrates that other companies could easily do the same. But we are still plagued with huge lorries that travel through the village for no other reason than to save a few minutes on their journeys.

At times the volume of traffic passing through Hillsborough is such that it is impossible to safely cross the road. There is, believe it or not, not a single pedestrian crossing in the town and villagers believe that it is only a matter of time before there is a pedestrian fatality on Lisburn or Main Street.

Traffic density means that large vehicles often have to mount the pavement in order to maintain a two-way flow of traffic. I have frequently seen young mothers with buggies forced to walk in the roadway because pavements are blocked.

The vast majority of heavy vehicles using the village are doing so not because they have to but because it is convenient. Sooner or later someone will die to save a driver a few minutes or a haulier a few pounds and that is unacceptable.

Finally we are all hugely grateful to our MLA, Brenda Hale, who has driven this proposal forward in the face of inexplicable intransigence.
Convicted criminals have gained qualifications in computing, cooking and art in prison, the Department of Justice said

More than 10 million people are in prison around the world after a surge in the number of female inmates, according to a new study.

Researchers said at least 10.35 million individuals are held in penal institutions, including pre-trial detainees, those on remand or offenders who have been convicted and sentenced.

However, the total could top 11 million if the unknown numbers held in detention centres in China and North Korea were included.

The prison population in England and Wales - 85,843 at the time the data was compiled in October last year - was the 16th highest in the world.

This is the third highest total in Europe behind Turkey and Russia, and the highest when compared with the other 27 EU member states.

As a rate of the population - 148 prisoners per 100,000 people - England and Wales was 102nd globally out of a total of 223 countries and territories for which data was available, and 19th in Europe.

Scotland and Northern Ireland, which were listed separately, had prison populations of 7,692 and 1,607 respectively which were 107th and 149th in the world, according to the report.

Their respective prison population rates - 143 per 100,000 for Scotland and 87 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland - were 109th and 159th globally.

Experts said that since around the year 2000, the world prison population has grown by almost 20% - compared with an estimated 18% growth in the general global population over the same period.

The rise appears to have been driven in particular by a sharp increase in the number of women and girls behind bars.

The female prison population has jumped by 50% since the start of the century, according to the report published by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London. This compared with an 18% increase in the number of male inmates.

As a result, the proportion of women and girls in the total world prison population has risen from 5.4% in around 2000 to 6.8%.

Roy Walmsley, who compiled the World Prison Population List, said: "It is of great concern that there are now over 10.35 million people held in penal institutions throughout the world.

"What is of greater concern is that the world prison population continues to rise, and to rise very sharply in some parts of the world.

"This should prompt policymakers in all countries to consider what they can do to limit the numbers in custody, given the high costs and disputed efficacy of imprisonment and the fact that prison overcrowding is widespread.

"The disproportionate rise in the female prison population is particularly shocking."

The US (2.2 million), China (1.65 million plus an unknown number in detention) and Russia (640,000) were listed as having the highest totals of prisoners.

Countries with the highest prison population rates were the Seychelles (799 per 100,000), the US (698 per 100,000), and St Kitts & Nevis (607 per 100,000).

Figures were not available for three countries - Eritrea, North Korea and Somalia.
Adam McCormack was described as a model student who will be sorely missed

Friends and family have paid tribute to a "bright, beautiful and funny" Belfast teenager who died suddenly in his sleep.

Adam McCormack (15) passed away last Friday morning at his home in the Belvoir area of the city.

The teenager was a Year 11 pupil at Breda Academy. Principal Matthew Munro said yesterday that the whole school was saddened to hear of his death.

"Adam was a much loved member of our school community who could be relied upon to bring a smile to the faces of his friends, fellow students and staff. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time."

Pupils have made a memory tree and filled a book of condolence, and Mr Munro said four lads at the school had offered to complete Adam's joinery coursework for him.

"He was liked by everyone," the principal said.

A member of staff at the school Adam was "a model student who will be sorely missed" and another added that he was "a really lovely, considerate young man."

The school will be closed today as a mark of respect and to allow staff and students to attend his funeral service.

His family paid tribute to the teenager in family notices yesterday. His parents Lynn and Gary said: "We are sad within our memory, lonely are our hearts today, for the one we loved so dearly, has forever been called away. We think of you in silence, no eye may see us weep, but many silent tears are shed when others are asleep. Loving and kind in all your days. Sincere and true in heart and mind, beautiful memories you left behind. God bless, Mum and Dad."

His sister Jourdan said: "Gone is the face we loved so dear, silent is the voice we loved to hear, too far away for sight or speech, but not too far for thoughts to reach, sweet to remember him who once was here, and who though absent is just as dear. Goodnight beautiful brother, uncle. Jourdan and Maisie."

Brother Matthew added: "The years may wipe out many thing, but this they'll wipe out never, the memory of those happy days spent together. Goodnight brother/uncle. Love Matthew, Danielle and Riley."

The local community have come together to offer support to his parents, siblings and wider family circle.

Milltown Baptist Church, where Adam's funeral service will be held this morning, posted: "Adam's quirky personality and humour will be greatly missed. Our hearts are breaking today by this news. He was one of a kind and had the ability to brighten up anyone's day. Not enough good words can be said about him."

The Belvoir Area Residents Group said: "Adam was a pleasure to know. Such a bright, beautiful, funny boy who put a smile on everyone's face."

Adam was a member of a local church youth group called Dreamscheme NI. Following the news of his death, they said: "We are devastated by the news of the sudden passing of Adam McCormack, who was loved by everyone in Dreamscheme. Adam was a very special young man, and we will all miss his unique humour and friendship." The group came together on Friday night to release sky lanterns and to make collages with messages and memories of their time with Adam.

Over the weekend, friends took to social media to remember the teenager. One friend posted: "Such a smart, loving, funny guy. He will be deeply missed. Never a dull moment when he was around."

Another friend said: "There wasn't a time I was with him when he didn't make me laugh with his sense of humour and cheeky wee comments. My heart is breaking, we lost one amazing young man. "Adam's funeral service will take place at Milltown Baptist Church at 11.30am today, followed by a committal at Roselawn Crematorium.
The Welsh Assembly became the first part of the UK to bring in an opt-out system for organ donation

A lack of evidence-sharing between the four nations of the UK means part of the country could be "missing out" on policy solutions, a new report has said.

The creation of the Scottish Parliament and devolved assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland "radically changed the nature of the British state", it added.

But the lack of sharing of best practice between the different parts of the United Kingdom has hindered its potential as a "policy laboratory" where different approaches to tackling common problems can be tested out.

The new report on devolution was produced by the Alliance for Useful Evidence and the Institute for Government, in partnership with the Carnegie UK Trust.

Since 1999 the different parts of the UK have developed their own policies.

Both Scotland and Wales have brought in free prescriptions, Scotland benefits from free personal care for the elderly and has no tuition fees for its university students while Wales has become the first part of the UK to bring in an opt-out system for organ donation.

The report said this transfer of power between the nations " provides us with a wonderful opportunity to develop and share innovative and creative approaches to social policy", but also claimed the UK had "failed to live up to this promise of becoming a 'living laboratory' for policy exchange and development".

It complained that " learning across the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales governments remains ad hoc, and there appear to be few formal structures in place to support evidence exchange amongst civil servants across these jurisdictions".

In addition, systems to encourage the sharing of performance data are " relatively underdeveloped" while " cultural differences in political control and policy style between the four governments may also limit the appetite for learning and sharing".

The report stated: " As a result of this lack of evidence exchange, all parts of the UK may be missing out on social innovations that could result in more effective, and cost-effective, approaches to tackling shared policy challenges."

While it accepted there " are no easy answers to sharing evidence across the UK", it made a number of recommendations, including the creation of a What Works Centre in Northern Ireland to look at different policies, in line with similar centres in England, Scotland and Wales.

Ministers should encourage government officials to " develop close relationships with counterparts in other governments", it added, while performance data should be made more consistent across the different parts of the country.

Report lead author Akash Paun said: "Political and cultural differences, and the absence of joint research and performance data in areas like education and healthcare, limits learning between the four governments."

Jonathan Breckon, head of the Alliance for Useful Evidence, said: "We know all too well that there are no easy answers to sharing evidence across the UK yet steps must be taken to find a more deliberate and sustained way of developing smarter policy making."
West Belfast rally held following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye) ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Gerard Fitzpatrick at west Belfast rally held following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye) ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

West Belfast rally held in support for pensioners following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

West Belfast rally held in support for pensioners following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

West Belfast rally held following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye) ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

West Belfast rally held following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye) ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Several hundred people have attended rally in Albert Street, west Belfast following attacks on vulnerable older people in the community.

Last week 76-year-old Maureen Shepherd was attacked near Ardmoulin Avenue as she got off a bus.

Ms Shepherd was left with a broken jaw, cheekbone, nose and eye socket and serious facial bruising.

Police said: "The next thing she remembers is being on the ground and an unknown male standing over her. A Nokia phone and money (Euros) was stolen."

Gerard Fitzpatrick, a community activist who helped organise Wednesday night's event, said the rally is to show "the tiny minority behind the attacks that people are prepared to stand up to them".

Money is also being raised so that vulnerable people can purchase panic alarms and other items such as front door chains and bolts.

Mr Fitzpatrick said there is anger in west Belfast about what has happened. "The attack on Maureen Shepherd was the last straw," he said.

Expand Close West Belfast woman Maureen Shepherd (76) was left with a broken jaw, cheekbone, nose and eye socket and serious facial bruising / Facebook

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Whatsapp West Belfast woman Maureen Shepherd (76) was left with a broken jaw, cheekbone, nose and eye socket and serious facial bruising

During the rally Mr Fitzpatrick read a message from Ms Shepherd to the crowd.

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to everyone who attended this evening it means a great deal to see the amount of support from both sides of the community.

"I am overwhelmed by the messages, cards, presents and flowers from everyone. I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart and can only pray that this attack will be the last.

"I hope that all the old and the vulnerable in our areas will be safe."

Ms Shepherd was returning from a trip to the hairdressers when she was attacked last Friday at around 7.30pm. She said she "went out like a light" after being hit.

When she came round her attacker was standing over her.

Expand Close Gerard Fitzpatrick at rally in west Belfast rally held in support for pensioners following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye) Kevin Scott / Presseye / Facebook

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Whatsapp Gerard Fitzpatrick at rally in west Belfast rally held in support for pensioners following attacks on vulnerable older people ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

"I thought he was helping me, I said will you help me son?. I thought he was going to help me. I tried to get up and I looked and he was over me and he took my money out of the purse and just threw the purse.

Ms Shepherd said she is now terrified of going out.

She told UTV: "Scumbag. He wouldnt like his own mother to be left like this. Ill never go out again, never. My nerves are away. I feel terribly scared. Even opening the door now, Ill be afraid."

Police said the attacker is described as being of thin build, about 5'11' tall and was wearing a grey hooded top and black scarf around his face.

A fortnight ago, Florence Slane (78) was attacked as she returned home from a pensioners' day out at Devenish Court. Ms Slane suffered a fractured wrist.

In other crimes in the area, youths have forced entry to homes and smashed car windows.

The PSNI have said that they are stepping up patrols in the area.

Chief Inspector Anthony McNally said: "These are some of the most vulnerable people in our society and thats nothing any of us want to see. So, its very much about making sure that we have effective investigations and reassure the public.

"We saw the terrible visible injuries that were inflicted upon Maureen in the last few days and thats abhorrent and nobody wants to see that so we will carry out investigations to the highest level we possibly can."

Sinn Fein MLA Fra McCann said people need to stand together to ensure that these attacks become a thing of the past.
Health officials are on alert after the first cases of the dreaded Zika virus were detected in a man and woman in Ireland. Stock image

Health officials are on alert after the first cases of the dreaded Zika virus were detected in a man and woman in the Republic of Ireland

The Republics Health Service Executive (HSE) stressed last night that both people have fully recovered, although they remain under medical supervision.

Both had travelled to a Zika affected country.

The explosive spread of the virus, which is linked to birth defects, has led the World Health Organisation to declare an international emergency.

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The first confirmed Irish cases of the virus were made after the two people went to their doctors after feeling unwell with possible symptoms. The woman was not pregnant.

Meanwhile, a pregnant woman from Co Armagh who spent thousands of pounds on a dream holiday has revealed how fear of Zika led her to pull out of the trip.

A few weeks ago, Hannah Sewell (29) booked and paid 3,800 for the holiday of a lifetime to Las Vegas and Cancun, Mexico in March  but never expected she would be pregnant or that there would a terrifying virus in the Americas.

There is no treatment or vaccine for the mosquito-borne virus, linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil.

There is no way I was going to go over there and put my baby in any danger, she told the Lurgan Mail.

The holiday was booked long before I discovered I was pregnant, but now as an expectant mother this is money my partner and I cant afford to lose.

The Craigavon mum-to-be struggled at first with her holiday firm to get a refund on her 10-day trip  but was eventually told her money will be refunded in full.

The news comes as the first known case of the Zika virus being sexually transmitted in the United States has been reported.

A patient in Texas was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a Zika-affected country.
Existing safeguards are good enough to protect Ireland's blood supplies from the Zika virus, health chiefs have said.

Under current rules, donors who have been to tropical regions are barred from giving donations for three months while a 12-month deferral is in place for those who have been in malarial regions.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said anyone who is confirmed with the virus will be barred from donating for six months.

"Therefore existing deferral policies are adequate for protecting the blood supply from Zika virus," a spokeswoman said.

The IBTS said it has always operated on the basis of restrictions on blood donations based on regions rather than naming specific countries.

It also said the regions have traditionally been selected based on where blood-borne diseases are endemic, such as some parts of the tropics.

Zika is believed to be spread by the Aedes mosquitoes, which usually bite during the morning and late afternoon/evening hours, and is the same insect that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

A man and woman in Ireland who contracted the Zika virus have made a full recovery, health chiefs have said.

The cases - the first of their kind in the country - are unrelated to each other and both people have a history of travel to a Zika-affected country.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said the newly-discovered Zika cases in Ireland are "not an unexpected event" as many other European countries have reported cases as a result of people travelling to affected areas.

Health chiefs have urged Irish people who fall ill within two weeks after returning from an affected area to seek medical help.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre issued specific advice regarding implications of Zika virus transmission to a number of relevant groups including the IBTS.

The World Health Organisation has declared an international emergency over the virus, which is linked to birth defects in Brazil and the Americas.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the new Dail will sit again on March 10

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has announced on Twitter that a general election will be held on February 26.

Mr Kenny informed the Dail he was seeking its dissolution but only revealed the date of the poll in a video message posted on the social networking site.

He made the announcement before travelling to President Michael D Higgins's official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, to formally ask him to dissolve the 31st Dail.

The new Dail will sit again on March 10 after what will be one of the shortest general election campaigns in Irish political history.

In his video message, Mr Kenny fired the opening salvo of the three-week campaign by stating Ireland was on the verge of collapse and its international reputation was in tatters when he came to power five years ago.

"Five years on we still have many challenges and the job is not yet finished, but working together we have made real progress," he said.

"Our public finances are back on track, the economy is growing again - faster than any country in the EU - 135,000 more people are back at work, and there is no more bailout, no more troika and no more dead banks.

"Ireland is now clearly moving in the right direction."

Mr Kenny's centre-right Fine Gael party and his junior coalition partners Labour are hoping to be returned to power, with a key message of their campaign being stability during the economic recovery.

Labour leader and Tanaiste Joan Burton said the coalition was a "very united" government that had turned the country around.

"The real test of any government is whether they leave the country in a better place and I will say with the Fine Gael-Labour Government we have definitely done that," she said.

"We inherited a ruin and we rebuilt it."

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin attacked the Taoiseach for not allowing anyone else speak in the Dail before its dissolution, saying he had hoped to pay tribute to veteran party colleagues not seeking re-election.

"I thought it was it was a shabby end to a shabby government," he said.

"I presumed I would get that opportunity, but people saw the Taoiseach made a speech and ran out of the house - it just didn't look well in terms of the national parliament conducting its business."

Mr Martin accused Fine Gael of regressive policies which he said suited only the wealthiest in society.

"Fine Gael don't care about people who need housing, people who need proper access to healthcare - they just look after the top 20," he added, signalling his party's campaign would focus on homelessness, healthcare, education and crime prevention.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also criticised the Taoiseach's closing of parliament as a "pathetic end to a pathetic government".

"Fine Gael and Labour have presided over some of the most reprehensible policy decisions ever made by a government in this State, and they have brought chaos to the lives of ordinary citizens," he said.

"They cut child benefit, the back to school allowance, the respite care grant, 1.5 million home help hours, and they abolished the bereavement grant.

"They promised a new health service. Instead, last year, we saw the highest number of patients on trolleys since records began and we have the worst A&E waiting times in Europe.

"The aim of this government, if re-elected this time around, is to privatise healthcare."

Mr Adams said for the first time since the foundation of the State, there is an opportunity for "real change".

"The choice is between two visions for Irish society," he said.

"A Fine Gael led government that will deliver more of the same unfairness and inequality, or a Sinn Fein led government that has a plan to deliver a fair recovery for all citizens, and put stability back into the lives of the average family."
Picture posed by a model: people continued to be housed in the home despite claims of abuse

Some healthcare workers responsible for people with disabilities being kept in a foster home where rapes allegedly occurred are still employed by the state, it has been revealed.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said three people with authority for a woman, known as Grace, being kept in the home in the south-east 14 years after admissions stopped had since left the public service.

But director general Tony O'Brien told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that other staff involved in her care are now working for Tusla: the Child and Family Agency, others are in the HSE, and he is powerless to discipline them while criminal investigations continue.

Five files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions over the scandal but no criminal charges ordered.

"What I am not going to do is give them a get out of jail free card by putting something into the public that everyone wants to read, that I have read, that is horrendous and if I put it out there one thing is for sure - no-one will be convicted, no-one will be disciplined," Mr O'Brien said.

"This is a terrible situation. I have no agenda of seeking to defend what went wrong but I do have an obligation of creating the conditions for justice to be done."

A commission of investigation into the scandal has been ordered by the Government.

The committee heard some of the people who lived in the foster care home suffered sexual abuse and rape, including with implements, physical abuse which led to some ending up hospital with bruising and at least one had no belongings or finances.

One of the alleged perpetrators is dead, the committee heard.

"This involves allegations of abuse and neglect of the most egregious nature," Mr O'Brien said.

John Deasy, PAC vice chairman, said: "It was probably some of the worst, or the worst examples of abuse that I'd ever come across."

Forty-three families received written apologies for having a relative placed in the home while another three people connected to the home on records could not be traced. Many of the former residents cannot speak.

Whistleblowers have revealed the woman known as Grace stayed in the facility until 2009 - 14 years after other foster children under the care of the then South East Health Board were removed amid concerns over the risk of abuse.

The HSE further compounded the controversy after it emerged the agency did not apologise to Grace and her family even though it told a parliamentary committee it had.

That did not happen in December 2015 when the HSE said it did, which Mr O'Brien apologised for and said was due to miscommunication and was unintentional.

The HSE also stands accused of "despicable" treatment of the whistleblowers over the last six years when they first raised concerns about the home.

The committee heard the Brothers Of Charity stopped sending people with disabilities to the foster home in 1990 amid concerns of abuse but the HSE continued its associations up until 2013 even though admissions stopped in 1995.

A second woman, identified only as Ann, who is now 35, was first placed in the home when she was 12 and she was one of nine private placements.

The committee heard she remained there until November 2013 on a part-time basis under a private arrangement her family had with the foster mother.

The HSE did not tell her relatives about the allegations of sex abuse.

Mr O'Brien claimed gardai were responsible for explaining the dangers to the family.

Mr Deasy said: "It's morally disgraceful. That's the issue that is at the centre of all this."

Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein deputy leader, said: "The onus was left on the family to make the call.

"That's a derogation of your duty. Irrespective of what the family thought, there was a responsibility on the state."

Mr O'Brien said he had concerns about similar historical cases in other parts of the country but that the HSE did not have any live lines of inquiry about abuse in other state run care homes.

"Only a fool, a complete fool, would sit here and say to you that there can be no concerns that similar things happened in the past in other parts of the country," he said.

The PAC sought details on how much money would have been paid to the foster mother for taking in the 47 people but the HSE did not have the figures.

John McGuinness, PAC chairman, said he had been told the foster mother in the home would have earned 70,000 euro (53,000) in disability allowances for Grace.

He also claimed that when the woman was moved to new care in 2009 she had no belongings, no documentation and no money.

During at times heated exchanges between the politicians and HSE officials, the HSE was accused of stonewalling after Mr O'Brien repeatedly warned gardai had advised that details of two internal reports on abuse at the home - the Devine and Resilience reports - could not be revealed.

But he admitted liability on behalf of the HSE.

"Where harm has occurred... as I see it there is no conceivable defence. There's no corporate interest in seeking to defend," Mr O'Brien said.

In his final day in the PAC chair, Mr McGuinness called for new whistleblower laws to be made more powerful.

"I think it's proven that it now needs to be strengthened as the whistleblower more often than not ends up in the iron mask, silenced in an office with no work and the culture that allows that to happen needs to be rooted out," he said.

Announcing the inquiry Taoiseach Enda Kenny said words do not exist to adequately describe the revulsion felt at the alleged abuse and failure.

"Grace, because of her condition, was silent. But by her treatment and her abandonment she was silenced," he said.

"Those who left her to her fate, pressed the mute button on her young life and appalling experience.

"Above all, they pressed that mute button on her dignity, her humanity, on her civil and human rights, on her innate worth as an innocent, precious, fragile life on this earth."

Mr Kenny said good foster parents are heartbroken over the scandal.

"I believe there is a resonance, that the last days of this administration should concern itself with such matters," he said.

"Because they are the very matters, of doing not what is correct, but as I said in my first day here as Taoiseach, of doing what is right.

"With this commission we will seek to do right by Grace, and all the young people and adults, who have been similarly treated."
President Michael D Higgins, sitting next to Taoiseach Enda Kenny, sign an order dissolving the Irish parliament and starting the 2016 general election campaign at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin

Champions of plain-speaking have devised a dictionary to help voters with the onslaught of political jargon over the coming weeks.

Within moments of the general election being declared, the airwaves were swamped with cliches and buzzwords, including the new favourite "fiscal space".

In response, the National Adult Literacy Agency (Nala) has pulled together a "plain English guide" to the way politicians and political commentators speak to us.

It explains well-worn phrases during every election campaign that are often misunderstood, such as the hustings, tallyman and marginal seat.

Inez Bailey, director of Nala, said politics is awash with terms that many people do not understand.

"That's why we wrote this guide - to help people to better understand what is being said," she said.

"We hope that the guide will help more people get involved in political activity and the general election."

Ms Bailey urged political parties to use less jargon and be more aware of the issues faced by one in six adults with literacy difficulties in Ireland.

"While political jargon allows politicians to talk about issues in a quicker, coded way, it can also act as a real barrier for people accessing information," she added.

Here is a selection of some of the terms from Election 2016: Plain English guide to political terms:

:: Bandwagon effect - The tendency for a popular candidate or proposal to gather even more support simply because they appear to be winning; also called the "snowball effect".

:: Canvassing - Trying to win votes by contacting voters directly, for example by going door to door.

:: Quota - The number of votes that a candidate needs to win a seat under the proportional representation (PR) system.

:: Single transferable vote - A system of voting where several seats are available in a constituency. A person votes for their preferred candidate, and any unused votes for that candidate (for example, if they already have enough to be elected) are transferred to other candidates in the constituency until all seats are filled.

:: Swing voter - A person who votes, but whose support can switch from one political party to another, depending on the issue at stake.

:: Tallyman - A person who attends the counting of votes and, by watching the process, carries out an unofficial count of the ballot papers as the official count progresses.
SwiftKey co-founders Jon Reynolds (left) and Ben Medlock, who are set to become multi-millionaires after their firm was bought by tech giant Microsoft for a reported 174 million.

The SwiftKey app has been downloaded from the Google Play Store more than 10 million times (SwiftKey/PA)

Two Cambridge graduates who quit their day jobs to develop a predictive keyboard powered by artificial intelligence are set to become multi-millionaires after their firm was bought by tech giant Microsoft in deal reportedly worth 174 million.

SwiftKey was set up in 2008 by Jon Reynolds and Dr Ben Medlock and their app is now used on 300 million devices every day.

The company has also worked with Cambridge-based Professor Stephen Hawking, helping the scientist and author to upgrade his communications, applying predictive language software to his system and enabling him to speak faster and continue to give lectures.

Mr Reynolds and Dr Medlock said in a statement: "We're excited to announce an important milestone on SwiftKey's journey. As of today, we have agreed to join the Microsoft family."

Microsoft's executive vice president of technology and research, Harry Shum, said of the deal: "We love SwiftKey's technology and we love the team that Jon and Ben have formed.

"That's why today I'm excited to welcome the company's employees to Microsoft. We believe that together we can achieve orders of magnitude greater scale than either of us could have achieved independently."

Dr Medlock studied computer speech and sciences at Cambridge and the pair used his knowledge of natural language patterns and artificial intelligence to create the SwiftKey system, which predicts what a user is typing based on their previous writing habits - finishing words for them so they can write faster.

It started as a side project as both men worked full-time elsewhere following their graduation, with Mr Reynolds in the Civil Service, working on the sale of the High Speed 1 Channel Tunnel rail line.

After founding the company, the pair's first SwiftKey app launched on the Android platform in 2010, supporting seven languages, and quickly took off. It has since been downloaded from the Google Play Store more than 10 million times, and has topped the download rankings in 47 countries.

The app was described as a "revolution" in typing and communication, being named Best Startup Business at the 2012 Guardian Innovation Awards, and coming third in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 - a list of Britain's best private technology companies - in 2014.

Today the app supports more than 100 languages, has been incorporated into many apps as the default keyboard, and is pre-installed on many smartphones as the default typing tool.

Offices have been opened in San Francisco and Seoul, South Korea, alongside the headquarters in Southwark, south London, with the company now employing more than 160 staff.

In 2014 the app was launched on the iPhone, and it was downloaded more than a million times in the US alone in its first time on the iOS App Store.

Since its launch, SwiftKey says its predictive technology has saved users nearly two trillion keystrokes on their devices and more than 23,000 years of combined typing time.

Their statement added: "Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is to enhance interaction between people and technology. We think these are a perfect match, and we believe joining Microsoft is the right next stage in our journey.

"Eight years ago we started out as two friends with a shared belief that there had to be a better way of typing on smartphones .

"We've come a long way since then; today hundreds of millions of people around the world, and many of the leading mobile manufacturers, rely on our language prediction technology. Our users have saved an estimated 10 trillion keystrokes across 100 different languages, which adds up to over 100,000 years of reclaimed typing time.

"Our number one focus has always been to build the best possible products for our users. This will not change. Our apps will continue to be available on Android and iOS, for free. We are as committed as ever to improving them in new and innovative ways.

"We owe a lot to the invaluable input of our users, including our 130,000-strong VIP community and the many thousands of others who have been with us since the start. Their energy, honest feedback and eagerness to share our products have been the driving force behind our growth.

"At times like this people tend to focus on founders. However, the heart of our company is the awesome team who chose to share this journey with us. We want to take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication and hard work. We never would have come this far without you."
Ian Murray described the deadline as 'arbitrary' ahead of a debate on the negotiations in the House of Commons

Labour is to urge the UK and Scottish governments to ditch the looming deadline for a deal on more powers for Scotland and remain at the negotiating table until an agreement can be reached.

The Scottish Government has set a February 12 deadline for an agreement on the funding that underpins the Scotland Bill, the law designed to deliver on "the vow" of more powers in the final days of the independence referendum.

The UK Government said "there are still some difficult issues to resolve" but it is confident of reaching an agreement.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney said there is still a "considerable way" to go and warned he could advise Holyrood to reject the Bill.

He said a February 12 deal is essential to give Holyrood time for scrutiny ahead of the dissolution of parliament for the Scottish Parliament elections in May.

Labour described the deadline as "arbitrary" ahead of a debate on the negotiations in the House of Commons.

Labour's Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, who will lead the debate, said: "Neither the UK nor Scottish Government negotiators should walk away until we have the new powers secured.

"Over the past few days we have seen the negotiations descend into a blame game. People across Scotland will not understand that after the negotiation for more powers, this deal could fall apart at the last minute.

"Labour will use our debate today to get answers from the UK Government about the progress of the negotiations, the sticking points and what needs to be done to find a deal."

In a Holyrood briefing on Tuesday, a spokesman for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister have been absolutely clear that we are not bluffing.

"They have said they will not sign up to something which would result in a locked-in systemic disadvantage to Scotland's budget that would cost billions of pounds cumulatively over the next few years.

"Trying to take party politics out of it, and I know you can never do that, to actually be apolitical about it: no Scottish Government of any political stripe or persuasion should be prepared to sign up to a deal like that. It would be a dereliction of duty as a minister."

A UK Government spokesman said: "Yesterday's talks, the eighth round of discussions between the UK and Scottish governments, have shown yet again our willingness to engage with and listen to the Scottish Government's concerns.

"We have agreed to speak again in the coming days and, while there are still some difficult issues to resolve, we remain confident that a deal can be reached that is fair to Scotland and fair to the rest of the UK, now and in the future."

Labour's motion calls on Parliament to express its regret that no agreement has been reached and the "complete lack of transparency with which negotiations have been conducted".
Ian Domingo wearing a pin badge presented to him to commemorate his grandfather's service in the Gallipoli campaign

Pin badges have been returned to the grandson of a fallen Gallipoli soldier whose luggage was mistakenly taken from a train.

Ian Domingo had been visiting London to take part in the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in which his grandfather was killed when his suitbag containing badges commemorating service was taken from the Virgin service from Euston.

Elaine Higgins had by sheer coincidence attended the same remembrance ceremony and had travelled back in the same carriage as Mr Domingo but had unwittingly picked up the wrong suitbag and simply put it back in her wardrobe.

Mr Domingo, from Dumfries, contacted British Transport Police (BPT) to report it missing and an appeal was launched to track down the missing bag.

Mrs Higgins from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was tipped off by friends about the missing suit and badges adding she was left "dumbstruck" upon looking in her wardrobe.

Mrs Higgins, whose 18-year-old son Aled Jones was killed in Bosnia in 1996, had attended the remembrance ceremony as part of her involvement with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA ) Bereaved Families Support Group.

She said: "I immediately felt for Mr Domingo as I had been wearing Aled's medals at the ceremony but took them off my suit - I knew what it would have felt like.

"I was dumbstruck for a moment when I unzipped the bag and then went to tell my husband we had Mr Domingo's suit. I was mortified for him, especially as I knew it had the medals on. We'd just picked it up and put it straight in the wardrobe, not even thinking to check the contents."

She added that she felt obliged to meet Mr Domingo in person to "apologise" adding "we can laugh about it now they're reunited but it must have been awful for him thinking he might not see it or the badges again".

They both praised the work of BTP and the lengths investigating officer Pc Gez Cooper went to get the suit returned.

Mr Domingo said: "I knew straight way from speaking to Pc Cooper that he would leave no stone unturned trying to find my suit. I really can't thank him enough. He went to so much trouble for me."

Pc Cooper added: "It's all in day's work - as a BTP officer the railway is our community and we care about the people who use it."

The Gallipoli land campaign against Turkey was one of the major engagements of the First World War, involving more than 400,000 British and around 140,000 Commonwealth and Irish servicemen.

At dawn on April 25 1915, waves of Allied troops launched an amphibious attack on the strategically important peninsula, which was key to controlling the Dardanelles straits, the crucial route to the Black Sea and Russia.

But the plan backed by Winston Churchill, then first lord of the Admiralty, was flawed and the campaign, which faced a heroic defence by the Turks, led to stalemate and withdrawal eight months later.

Around 58,000 Allied troops died, including 29,500 from Britain and Ireland, over 12,000 from France, 11,000 from Australia and New Zealand and 1,500 from India.
Shakespeare's Globe's touring production of Hamlet will be performed at The Jungle camp in Calais

Shakespeare's Globe has staged a performance of Hamlet in front of dozens of refugees and migrants at "the Jungle" camp in Calais.

The London-based theatre company took its world touring production of the Bard's timeless tragedy for a one-off performance at the sprawling site in northern France.

A synopsis translated into languages including Arabic and Farsi was handed out for the crowds before the play, along with bags of popcorn.

One refugee called Abdul, 20, from Afghanistan - who has been camped at "the Jungle" for seven months, said: "It's good. It's making people happy here."

The show was part of the Globe to Globe tour, which has also seen performances staged at refugee camps in Jordan, Djibouti and the Cameroon.

It was held in conjunction with the Good Chance theatre and performance project, which is based at the Jungle camp and offers art, theatre and music events.

Dominic Dromgoole, Shakespeare Globe's artistic director, said the performance was an example of "the ground-breaking tour's ability to reach displaced people across the world".

He said: "The sheer scale of the refugee crisis demands a response, however small.

"It's a great privilege to play for displaced people in Calais. As a theatre company, the only gesture we can offer is this - a show that we hope speaks to the human spirit at its greatest and its darkest moments."

Tom Bird, the executive producer of Shakespeare's Globe, said: "We are entertainers and there is a lot of boredom as well as a lot of need here.

"If we can give two hours of entertainment and diversion then it's worth doing."

Some 4,000 migrants and refugees who have fled war, poverty and persecution from countries including Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea are camped at "the Jungle".

Many are seeking a new life in Britain, while along the coast near Dunkirk some 2,500 migrant and refugees are living in squalor in flimsy tents and ankle-deep mud at the Grande-Synthe camp.

The two-year Globe to Globe tour of Hamlet started on April 23 2014 - the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.

Sixteen men and women from the production are travelling across the seven continents performing in a range of atmospheric venues.

So far, Hamlet has been performed in more than 150 countries to more than 100,000 people and travelled more than 150,000 miles.

It was performed in Bhutan, Nepal, South Korea and Japan among other countries last year, and the performances are largely free of charge for local audiences.

In October 2014, Unesco patronage was granted to Globe to Globe Hamlet in recognition of the tour's engagement with communities and its promotion of cultural education.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has announced on Twitter that a general election will be held on February 26.

The Taoiseach informed the parliament he was seeking its dissolution but only revealed the date of the poll in a video message posted on the social networking site.

Mr Kenny made the announcement before travelling to President Michael D Higgins's official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, to formally ask him to dissolve the 31st Dail.

The new Dail, or lower house of parliament, will sit again on March 10 after what will be one of the shortest general election campaigns in Irish political history.

In his video message, Mr Kenny fired the opening salvo of the three-week campaign by stating Ireland was on the verge of collapse and its international reputation was in tatters when he came to power five years ago.

"Five years on we still have many challenges and the job is not yet finished, but working together we have made real progress," he said.

"Our public finances are back on track, the economy is growing again - faster than any country in the EU - 135,000 more people are back at work, and there is no more bailout, no more troika and no more dead banks.

"Ireland is now clearly moving in the right direction."

Mr Kenny's centre-right Fine Gael party and his junior coalition partners Labour are hoping to be returned to power, with a key message of their campaign being stability during the economic recovery.
Legal experts say a Supreme Court ruling on an estranged lesbian couple's dispute over their seven-year-old daughter will have implications for children taken abroad during parental tug-of-love battles.

Supreme Court justices heard that one woman was the youngster's biological mother and sole legal parent and the second woman considered herself a de facto parent.

Their relationship broke down in 2011, more than three years after the girl was conceived by IVF treatment and born.

The girl had been taken to Pakistan by her biological mother in early 2014 and the second woman launched legal action - asking judges to order the youngster's return to the UK.

A High Court judge and Court of Appeal judges concluded they did not have the jurisdiction to make such an order because the girl was not habitually resident in the UK when legal proceedings were launched.

But five Supreme Court justices have overturned those decisions by a three-two majority.

They ruled on Wednesday that the girl had been habitually resident in the UK and allowed an appeal by the second woman.

The case will now return to the High Court where a judge will make decisions on what happens next.

Supreme Court justices heard that a court in Pakistan would be unlikely to consider the case "because of the strength there of negative attitudes towards that sort of adult relationship".

Lawyers raised fears that the little girl would be in a legal limbo with no judge able to decide what was in her best interests.

A lawyer representing the second woman said the Supreme Court had clarified the law relating to a child's "habitual residence".

Maria Wright, who works for Freemans Solicitors, added: "The consequence of the Supreme Court's decision is that the English court can properly consider what is in (the child's) best interests and, if appropriate, order contact or (the child's) return to England."

Other specialist lawyers echoed her views.

"The decision is significant for a number of reasons. Quite apart from being the first international abduction case involving the child of a same sex couple, the ruling will prevent children being in a legal limbo when they are taken abroad by one of the parents," said Peter Morris, a family lawyer at law firm Irwin Mitchell.

"This makes it unlikely that one parent can act unilaterally and bring about an immediate change to a child's habitual residence and avoid proceedings by abducting them.

"At a time when the number of international relationships is increasing, the decision is to be welcomed."

Joanna Farrands, a partner at law firm Barlow Robbins, added: "This is a fantastic outcome showing that the interests of the child must be the focus in international parental disputes.

"This outcome is a positive development for children who have lived in multiple countries. It shows that if an abducting parent unilaterally removes a child from the UK they will not immediately lose their residence in England and Wales. "

She added: "Pakistan appears to consider homosexuality as 'abnormal sexual behaviour', therefore the only recourse for the remaining parent was through the jurisdiction of England and Wales."

The second woman said she was "relieved".

"It has been a very long process to get to this result, and I am delighted that someone will now be able to look at what is actually in (the child's) best interests," she added.

"I very much hope that (the child) and I will now be able to see each other again."

Judges heard that the second woman was a British woman of Indian ethnicity - and the girl's biological mother a British woman of Pakistani ethnicity.
The medical notes of Lord Lucan which show that he had surgery on his nose prior to his disappearance

Nearly 42 years after the discovery of his blood-splattered car on the Sussex coast sparked a mystery that became an enduring national obsession, Lord Lucan has been declared dead after a High Court judge granted his death certificate.

The ruling by Mrs Justice Asplin after a hearing lasting barely 60 minutes allowed the son of the moustachioed peer, who disappeared following the murder of his childrens nanny, to inherit his fathers title as the 8th Earl Lucan.

But any hope that the formal declaration under the newly-introduced Presumption of Death Act might draw a line once and for all under the question of what happened at 46 Lower Belgrave Street - the Lucan family home in central London - on 7 November 1974 and thereafter appeared forlorn.

The new earl, George Bingham, 49, who had applied for the death certificate to be issued, insisted after the hearing in central London that the case continues to be a mystery and his father remains innocent.

He was speaking shortly after Neil Berriman, the son of Sandra Rivett, the nanny who Scotland Yard believed at the time had been bludgeoned to death by Lord Lucky Lucan after mistaking her for his estranged wife Veronica, emerged from the court to say he believed he had new evidence to suggest the aristocrat was alive as recently as 2002.

Mr Berriman, who had been adopted prior to his mothers killing and only learned her identity eight years ago following the death of his adoptive mother, declared that he had in recent weeks seen an internal Scotland Yard document indicating that the peer lived long after his supposed suicide in 1974.

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The 48-year-old builder claimed the initial investigations into his mothers death had been tainted by police corruption, adding: This is closure and a time to move on for [George Bingham] and his family. I can understand that he wants to move on with his life but for me this is something, at this moment, that cannot happen.

He added: Maybe the police know more than they let on. But at the end we have to get to the truth and justice for Sandra. A horrible death, a young woman beaten - my mother. There is no getting away from the fact that whatever happened that night, Lord Lucan is guilty of something in my eyes.

Ms Rivett, 28, had gone down into the basement of the Belgravia house to make a cup of tea when her killer attacked her with a length of lead piping wrapped in a bandage and placed her body in a canvas mail sack. When Lady Lucan, who was estranged from her husband, went to investigate she too was attacked but managed to escape, running while covered in blood to a nearby pub.

Lady Lucan named her husband as the attacker and an inquest declared him the murderer of Ms Rivett a year later.

The whereabouts of the 7th earl, a professional gambler and a fixture in Londons louche netherworld of clubs and monied aristocrats, has been a subject of high speculation and low drama ever since the night of the killing.

After driving to Newhaven in a Ford Corsair, stopping off to speak with a friend and write two letters, Lucan disappeared. Some, including his son, believe that the peer died that night, probably taking his own life by drinking heavily and sinking a borrowed boat.

Among the more outlandish versions of his suggested suicide was an account that Lucan shot himself at the Kent zoo owned by his high-rolling friend John Aspinall and asked that his remains be fed to one of its resident tigers.

But the alternative theory that Lucan used powerful connections to escape abroad to a life in luxurious but anonymous exile has lingered potently with sightings in the intervening years from Australia to Ireland and Mozambique to Paraguay. His rediscovery in Goa in 1996 caused a flurry of excitement until it was discovered that the man in question was not Lucan but a lifelong hippy known as Jungly Barry.

Although the 7th earl had been previously declared legally dead in 1999, his son argued that the declaration had not proved death for all purposes, including his right to accede to his fathers title.

Mr Bingham, a former merchant banker who was married last month to a Danish heiress, confirmed he would be taking up his earldom immediately and underlined that the death of his former nanny, whom he described as a lovely lady, remained unexplained.

He said: It is still a mystery what happened. We do not know how this lovely lady died in 1974, but Neil lost a mother and I lost a father. We still do not know how he met his end.

And as a British person, I still prefer to consider a person innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nonetheless I am very pleased with the result that we achieved today.

The new earl and Mr Berriman shook hands in court and Ms Rivetts son said she wished Mr Bingham good luck before adding that he nonetheless considered his new title a bit tainted.

During the hearing Mr Berriman had been asked to produce the Metropolitan Police document to which he had referred. He declined, saying it was not yet possible before adding outside court that he hoped his own enquiries would end the Lucan mystery in 12-14 months time..

The Yard said that, like all unsolved murders, the killing of Ms Rivett remained an open case.

Independent
The officers were attacked in the Anfield area of Liverpool

A 22-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault after a "petrol bomb" device was thrown at police officers in Liverpool.

Merseyside Police said that the man from Anfield has been taken to a police station to be interviewed.

Inquiries are still ongoing into the incident which happened in Townsend Lane, Anfield on Tuesday.

Four officers were injured in the attack and required hospital treatment for minor burns.

The incident took place after a warrant was executed shortly before 4pm at an address in Lampeter Road in which a man made his way on to the roof of the nearby Dockers Club in Townsend Lane.

As the officers cordoned off the area in a bid to speak to him and persuade him to come down, they were assaulted.

Officers have been conducting house-to-house inquiries as well as studying CCTV.

It was believed that three officers had been injured but police have since confirmed that a fourth officer was also hurt.

Three were taken to hospital with leg burns and a fourth with facial injuries. They are all hoping to be on duty today.

Merseyside's police commissioner Jane Kennedy condemned the attack as "shocking" and likened the violence to using a gun or knife.

She said: "This shocking attack on police officers who were simply trying to secure the safety of the public is intolerable. I regard the throwing of a 'petrol bomb' as being in the same category as shooting a gun or using a knife. All can kill and all can cause serious and sometimes horrific injuries."

She added: "I will do everything in my power to support Merseyside Police in bringing to justice anyone who resorts to such violence, in particular where it is directed against police officers going about their lawful duty."

Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland said the incident highlighted the dangers that officers face every day, adding that they put "themselves in harm's way to deal with dangerous situations".

She said: "Police are on the front line every day protecting our communities and this incident serves as a reminder of the very real dangers that police officers face to keep us all safe, day in, day out.

"Acts of violence against our officers such as this will not be tolerated and we will make every effort to bring those people responsible to justice."

A 25-year-old man, from Anfield, has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A controlled drugs.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Merseyside Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
David Cameron has said he is "happy to be judged" on the outcome of his renegotiation of Britain's EU membership, amid Eurosceptic claims that it falls short of manifesto pledges to ban migrant benefits and restore British sovereignty.

The Prime Minister faced criticism from the Tory backbenches as he set out proposed reforms in the House of Commons, with Jacob Rees-Mogg complaining that the "thin gruel" on offer had been "further watered down", while Sir Bill Cash claimed Mr Cameron had "bypassed" his principles and promises.

Mr Cameron acknowledged that further work will be needed to s ecure reform in an "intense" round of negotiations ahead of the February 18 EU summit, but told MPs the plans put forward by European Council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday were the strongest ever achieved on freedom of movement rules.

Mr Cameron said: "I believe we are making real progress in all four areas but the process is far from over. There are details that still need to be pinned down and intense negotiations to try and agree the deal with 27 other countries.

"It will require hard work, determination and patience to see it through but I believe that with these draft texts and with all the work we have done with our European partners Britain is getting closer to the decision point."

He later told Sky News: "I am very happy to be judged on what we set out in our manifesto and what we've achieved."

Mr Cameron added: "There are the issues that Britain has had the biggest trouble with in Europe - that it's too bureaucratic, it's too much of a political union, there's not a fairness between eurozone and non-eurozone countries, and also the problems of migration.

"All those four issues are addressed, to an extent, by the negotiations that we look like we will be able to achieve with further hard work."

Mr Cameron said he had "sorted" two welfare pledges, to deny EU migrants unemployment benefit and require them to return home after six months if they do not find a job. And he said that, while he had not secured a ban on child benefit payments to offspring abroad, it would be paid at local rates rather than the more generous UK level. And he said that, having promised to ban migrants from accessing welfare for four years, he had achieved "four years until full access".

"I would say judge me on those things," he said. "They are substantial, they are meaningful. They are not the final word, but I think they do make a difference, particularly on this key value that we don't believe in something for nothing."

In Strasbourg, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker hailed the draft deal as "fair for the UK and fair for the other 27 member states".

But he risked antagonising Eurosceptics by saying that the euro "remains the currency of the EU", and that a proposed emergency brake on migrant benefits will be "limited in time" and would apply only in "exceptional circumstances".

And former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt angered British MEPs by claiming the UK would be a "dwarf" if it votes in the forthcoming referendum to leave the EU.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox predicted up to five Cabinet ministers will back Brexit in the referendum, and warned that the Prime Minister risks creating a lasting split in the Conservative Party if he tries to gag them from speaking out any longer.

Boris Johnson - tipped as a possible leader of the Brexit campaign - stayed on the European fence, but has said that there is "a lot more to do" before he can back the Tusk reforms and said the PM was "making the best of a bad job".

Mr Cameron defended his decision to allow Cabinet ministers to campaign on both sides of the referendum debate once the renegotiation is complete, telling Sky: "To pretend that businesses or families or political parties all have to be on the same side on this, I don't think is right."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confirmed that Labour remained committed to keeping Britain in the EU but dismissed Mr Cameron's renegotiation as a "Tory Party drama".

"For all the sound and fury, the Prime Minister has ended up exactly where he knew he would be, making the case to remain in Europe, which was what he always intended despite a renegotiated spectacle choreographed for TV cameras over the continent," he told the House of Commons.

Mr Cameron is expected to seek opportunities to discuss the EU reform package with the prime ministers of Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Slovakia in the margins of Thursday's Syria donors' conference in London, said Downing Street.
NHS programmes to help people quit smoking could be hit by public health grant cuts

Reductions to council's public health grants are "cuts to the NHS in all but name", council leaders have said.

The Local Government Association warned there would be a "major impact" on many programmes for smokers, overweight people and drug users among others.

The comments follow a survey conducted by Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) on cuts to English Local Authority public health grants.

Almost four fifths (78%) of directors of public health who responded to the poll said that the cuts would "have a detrimental impact on health".

Many also said they would be reducing or abolishing services such as weight management or smoking cessation programmes.

Commenting on the poll, Izzi Seccombe, spokeswoman for community wellbeing at the Local Government Association, said: "Devolving public health to local government was a positive step, and councils have embraced these new responsibilities. However, as ADPH's analysis shows, the significant cuts to public health grants will have a major impact on the many prevention and early intervention services carried out by councils.

"These include combating the nation's obesity problem, helping people to stop smoking and tackling alcohol and drug abuse.

"Given that much of councils' public health budget goes to pay for NHS services like sexual health, public health nursing, drug and alcohol treatment and health checks, these are cuts to the NHS in all but name. And it will put further pressure on other NHS services.

"We need to move away from a focus on treating sickness to actively promoting health. Investing in prevention ultimately saves money for other parts of the public sector by reducing demand for hospital, health and social care services and ultimately improves the public's health."

The poll comes ahead of the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Public Health annual public health conference in London today.
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow took issue with Drew Hendry

Speaker John Bercow has criticised an SNP MP's "quite extraordinary behaviour" in the Commons.

Mr Bercow took aim at Drew Hendry after the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey left the chamber before exchanges on a topic he raised were completed.

Mr Hendry was the first MP to ask a question during international development questions.

He questioned International Development Secretary Justine Greening about her department's preparations for the UN world humanitarian summit.

But Mr Bercow spotted Mr Hendry was no longer in his place in the chamber minutes later - as MPs continued to discuss the issue.

Mr Bercow told MPs: "Where is Mr Hendry? The fella has just asked a question and he's beetled out of the chamber.

"We've still got exchanges on that question. I know he's a new member but he must learn.

"A member must not ask a question and then leave. There are continuing exchanges upon that matter and I'm sure the honourable gentleman is at least as interested in the opinions of others as he is in his own opinions.

"Quite extraordinary behaviour."

An SNP spokeswoman said: "Drew Hendry apologised to the Speaker but explained that he left the chamber to vote in a deferred division."

Deferred divisions took place in the "no" lobby of the Commons between 11.30am and 2pm.

This type of vote involves MPs completing and returning a ballot paper rather than filing through the voting lobbies.
Alcohol-related deaths in Northern Ireland have doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study. Picture posed

Alcohol-related deaths in Northern Ireland have doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that in 2014 there were 8,967 alcohol-related deaths registered in the UK.

Scotland reported the highest numbers for both men and women, followed by Northern Ireland.

According to the ONS, for every 100,000 people in Northern Ireland, 20.3 people died due to alcohol in 2014.

This is twice the figure recorded in 1994 of 11.7.

However the alcohol-related death rate in 2014 wasn't the worst, and there has in fact been a decline in recent years.

The peak came in 2007, with 26.5 deaths per 100,000. It was also established that the majority of deaths (65%) were still among men and that the worst affected age group in 2014 was 55-64 year-olds.

For women in Northern Ireland the average rate has remained largely steady over the last 20 years.

In 2014, 8.5 women per 100,000 died due to alcohol related deaths compared to 7.2 in 1994.

In January, the Belfast Telegraph reported that in 2013 alone, 236 people in Northern Ireland were registered as having died from an alcohol-related death - 172 men and 64 women.

Yesterday the Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, said people needed to weigh up the risk they were taking every time they had a drink.

Making the comments at a science and technology committee at Westminster she said: "I would like people to make their choice knowing the issues and do as I do when I reach for my glass of wine and think, 'Do I want my glass of wine or do I want to raise my risk of breast cancer?'."

Her comments were echoed earlier this year by the Chief Medical officer for Northern Ireland who issued new guidelines for alcohol consumption.

Dr Michael McBride overturned official advice from 1995 after new evidence emerged showing the increased risk of developing cancer because of drinking as well as the harm of binge drinking.

Speaking at the start of January he said: "Many people drink alcohol, and most do so in ways that do not significantly put them at risk of alcohol related harm, but new evidence has emerged on the potential risks and benefits from alcohol consumption."

The new advice covered three areas: weekly consumption, single episodes of drinking and drinking while pregnant.

Dr McBride said there was no proof to show any safe level of alcohol during pregnancy.

Men were advised to cut their weekly amount down from 21 units to 14 which for the first time is the same limit for women.

Tom Smith, director of campaigns at charity Alcohol Concern, said: "These latest figures show that alcohol-related deaths are back on the rise and have almost doubled in the last 20 years.

"The figures also highlight the dangers of middle-aged drinking, with the highest number of alcohol-related deaths among 55 to 64-year-olds.

"We continue to face extremely high levels of health harms caused by alcohol, and it continues to be the leading risk factor for deaths among men and women aged between 15 and 49 years in the UK. Unless we start taking this seriously and acknowledge the health risks that too much alcohol can cause the situation will only get worse."
Water bills are to increase by an average of two pounds across England and Wales over the next year

Water bills are to increase by an average of 2 across England and Wales over the next year, despite a recent damning report that found households have been paying too much for their supply.

The average household water and sewerage bill will reach 389 - an increase of 2 or "less than 1%" compared with the previous year, Water UK said.

Regulator Ofwat, which drew harsh criticism from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last month for consistently overestimating companies' costs when setting price limits - leading to higher bills for customers, said the announcement was in line with its "tough 2014 price review".

Water UK said the increase would help water companies invest 44 billion over five years in better services, greater resilience and environmental improvements.

Water UK chief executive Michael Roberts said: "For just over 1 a day, households across the country can have access to high quality water services day and night.

"Water companies understand the pressures on customers' pockets and are committed to keeping household bills as low as possible while still investing in vital improvements.

"Through continued efficiency improvements, the water industry is set to lower prices for households by 5% on average in real terms between 2015 and 2020."

Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross said: "We challenged companies to listen and respond to their customers' priorities. Where they didn't step up, we stepped in.

"Our challenge led to an additional 3 billion of savings for customers. As well as keeping bills down, we also pushed companies do to even more to improve service.

"Companies will only build trust and confidence with their customers if they deliver. They need to be clear and open about how they are performing. Those who deliver can expect fair returns, while those who fail to meet their customers' expectations will be hit in the pocket."

Last month, the PAC said many householders would be "appalled" to learn that their water bills - which averaged 396 last year - could have been smaller if Ofwat had adopted a different approach to setting limits to the amount companies can charge customers.

The committee of MPs said Ofwat, which was set up to protect the interests of consumers - many of whom have no choice over who supplies their water, had consistently overestimated companies' financing and tax costs when setting price limits.

As a result, companies made windfall gains of at least 1.2 billion between 2010 and 2015 from bills being higher than necessary.

Consumer Council for Water chief executive Tony Smith said: "We are pleased that the rise in bills for 2016-17 is less than 1%, but it is still an increase.

"Affordability is still a concern for many low-income households who are already struggling to pay. Our research shows that one in eight customers in England and Wales are already finding it difficult to afford their water bill."
Aid agencies are calling for a new, multi-billion pound deal to help the millions of refugees displaced in Syria's bloody civil war

International Development Secretary Justine Greening says the world has a "historic opportunity" to draw up a new deal to help Syrian refugees fleeing their country's brutal civil war.

Aid agencies are gathering in London ahead of a major international funding conference on Thursday hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway and the United Nations.

The UN is appealing for 7.7 billion US dollars (5.4bn) to fund aid operations for the millions of people displaced in Syria and the neighbouring countries over the coming year.

It comes after last year's UN appeal for 2.9 billion US dollars (2bn) was 60% under-funded.

Addressing a Syrian civil society conference at the Royal Society in central London, Ms Greening said tomorrow's conference is "a critical moment for us to step up our efforts and help those affected by the Syria crisis".

She said that the UK has pledged more than 1bn in aid - its biggest ever humanitarian response to a crisis.

But she said more needs to be down and called for the international community to come together to scale up their aid effort.

Ms Greening said: "What we have done so far just isn't enough. So this conference can and must galvanise significant new funding from around the world to not just meet the immediate needs of people caught up in this crisis, but to meet the longer term needs as well.

"Tomorrow we have got to see an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis."

She said the time had come for "the world to step up" and that tomorrow's conference "is a historic opportunity to galvanise the funding".

She added: "I truly believe that tomorrow the world can offer an alternative vision of hope for the Syrian people."

US president Barack Obama spoke on Tuesday by phone to David Cameron, and told the Prime Minister that the US will soon announce "significant new contributions" to assist Syria's humanitarian crisis.

The White House said US Secretary of State John Kerry would announce the aid at the summit.

Both leaders are calling for better access for humanitarian aid to reach Syria.

A coalition of more than 90 aid agencies and humanitarian organisations - including Oxfam and Amnesty International - is pressing for governments to go further with a new, multi-year funding plan.

They also calling for measures to enable neighbouring countries - such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon - to allow refugees to work and to ensure they have access to essential services such as healthcare and children's education.

Former foreign secretary David Miliband, who now heads the International Rescue Committee, said: "Syrians are facing a war without law and a war without end.

"The latest harrowing scenes from the besieged town of Madaya and the rising pressure on neighbouring states need to spur political leaders to act.

"The relentless suffering of the Syrian people should be a global call to action for humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering and for political action to bring the war to an end."

The meeting comes as King Abdullah of Jordan - which has seen an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees - warned his country could no longer cope with the pressures of accepting so many people.

"Sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst," he warned in a BBC interview. "The psyche of the Jordanian people, I think it's gotten to boiling point."
One of the most specific goals of the conference is to get all refugee children back to school by the end of the 2016/17 school year (AP)

An aid convoy is en route to a besieged rebel-held town near Damascus, but Syria's opposition has said such deliveries are meaningless while government troops launch an offensive on Aleppo.

The convoy heading to Moadamiyeh is the second humanitarian aid delivery to rebel-held areas near the capital in as many days, a spokesman for the International Committee for the Red Cross said.

Pawel Krzysiek told The Associated Press that 12 trucks carrying food, medicine and medical equipment were expected to arrive later in the day.

The humanitarian situation in the town worsened towards the end of last year after the government choked off the last access point. Opposition activists and residents say there are dozens of cases of severe malnutrition in Moadamiyeh.

The aid delivery appears to be a confidence building gesture on the part of the government after UN-mediated indirect peace talks got off to a rocky start in Geneva this week.

The Syrian opposition had demanded that aid be allowed into 18 besieged areas throughout the country and that Syrian and Russian forces halt the bombardment of rebel-held areas ahead of the talks, which officially began on Monday.

The latest aid delivery is a "positive development", said Basma Kodmani, a member of the opposition's negotiating team in Geneva, but "it is way below what we are hoping to see happen".

On Wednesday, pro-government fighters continued their offensive north of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, in an attempt to besiege rebel-held neighbourhoods. If the government succeeds, it will be one of the biggest blows to insurgents since they captured large parts of the city in the summer of 2012.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops and pro-government forces were fighting "fierce battles" north of Aleppo.

The Observatory and another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, said hundreds of people have fled areas north of the city because of intense air strikes by Syrian and Russian warplanes.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the army is advancing against "dens of terrorists" in Aleppo, and that troops had retaken the nearby village of Oweinat.

Kodmani described the offensive as a "horrible development", saying the message the government is trying to send to negotiators is "there is nothing to negotiate. Just go home".

"We're not going home," she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Yet Syrian opposition figure George Sabra told AP that Riad Hijab - a former Syrian prime minister who now heads the opposition's High Negotiations Committee, the largest opposition bloc - will arrive in Geneva, after which the opposition will hold meetings on whether to continue or leave the indirect peace talks.

"We should take a decision in the coming two days," Mr Sabra said.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has shuttled between the government and opposition delegations in Geneva. On Monday, he formally declared the start of what he calls "proximity talks" between the two sides, which would have the two delegations seated in separate rooms.

The talks are aimed at ending a war that has killed 250,000 people, displaced millions and left much of the country in ruins. The last round of talks broke down in 2014.
South Korea has warned of "searing" consequences if North Korea does not abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket. (AP)

South Korea has warned of "searing" consequences if North Korea does not abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

South Korea's rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after North Korea's defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the UN work on strong new sanctions against the country.

North Korea informed international organisations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between February 8 and 25.

The launch declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Korea's disputed claim on January 6 to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country's fourth nuclear test.

A launch would be seen as a snub by North Korea of its only major ally, China, whose representative for Korean affairs landed in the country for talks on Tuesday.

South Korean and US officials said the launch would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic activities.

"We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range missile launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences for it as the launch would constitute a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world," senior South Korean presidential official Cho Tae-yong said.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of North Korea's planned launch. He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a UN ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilising behaviour. He called for the imposition of tough additional sanctions.

Mr Russel said a launch "would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," in an apparent reference to China.

China urged all sides to show restraint over North Korea's announcement of its launch plans, and expressed scepticism over the US calls for tough new sanctions.

"We hope all sides show restraint and take prudent action to avoid any moves that may increase the tensions on the (Korean) Peninsula," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a regularly scheduled news briefing.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons along with missiles capable of striking the mainland United States.

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. North Korea also told international agencies before that launch of its plans.

Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said North Korea informed the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Telecommunication Union of its launch plans.

"Right now, we're carefully monitoring developments and are in close touch with the interested parties and the international organizations," Mr Haq said at UN headquarters in New York.
A gaping hole in the plane forced it to make an emergency landing at Mogadishu's international airport. (AP)

The pilot of a passenger plane that was damaged in an explosion from a suspected bomb over Somalia has described how the crew jumped into action to fly the plane back to Mogadishu airport.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Serbian captain Vlatko Vodopivec said he and others were told the explosion that created a hole in the passenger cabin was caused by a bomb, though civil aviation authority officials said they had found no evidence so far of a criminal act in the blast on the Airbus 321 jetliner.

"It was my first bomb; I hope it will be the last," the pilot said. He said the blast happened when the plane was at around 11,000 feet.

"It would have been much worse if we were higher," he added.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in Balad, an agricultural town about 18 miles north of Mogadishu, said residents had found the dead body of a man who might have fallen from the plane.

Daallo Airlines said all passengers except one got off the plane safely. It previously said the plane carried 74 passengers.

Abdiwahid Omar, the director of Somalia's civil aviation authority, told the state-run Radio Mogadishu that authorities were not sure if the body found in Balad was the missing passenger.

A mobile phone video taken on board the plane pans from passengers, some wearing oxygen masks, in seats toward the back of the airliner in flight, and then swivels to the empty front area with a hole in the side of the cabin.

There is a loud sound of rushing air. The video was taken by Awale Kullane, Somalia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

The passengers at the back appear calm. A child wearing an oxygen mask attached to the overhead compartment sits quietly. Near the hole, oxygen masks dangle and sway from overhead compartments.

"When we heard a loud bang, the co-pilot went back to the cabin to inspect the damage and I took over the commands as the procedure demands," the pilot told AP, adding that the engines and hydraulics functioned normally so he had no problem flying the aircraft back to Mogadishu.

"Smoke came into the cockpit, but it was mostly concentrated in the back of the aircraft," he said. "The stewardesses did a great job calming down the passengers and following the emergency procedure."

He said the crew included an Italian co-pilot and two Greek, two Kenyan and one Bosnian flight attendant.

Investigators moved the plane from the runway to a private hangar. Foreign technical experts were involved in the inquiry, said Ali Mohamoud, an aviation official at the Mogadishu airport.

Two passengers on board the flight that was headed to Djibouti said they heard a loud bang that left a hole in the passenger cabin.

Mr Kullane, who recorded the video, said on Facebook that he "heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds". When visibility returned he realised "a chunk" of the plane was missing.

"I think for the first few seconds and minutes ... I was terrified and most people were terrified," he later said. "Of course we give credit to the pilot who landed that plane."

An official investigation is under way and a preliminary report will be issued later this week, officials said.

Daallo Airlines said in a brief statement posted on Facebook that the Airbus A321 was operated by Hermes Airlines.

Hermes Airlines is based in Athens. Its main business is providing planes on a "wet lease" basis, meaning it leases insured planes staffed and serviced by its crew to other carriers. Hermes' fleet includes four A321s, one Airbus A320 and one Boeing 737, according to its website.

Somalia faces an insurgency perpetrated by the Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which is responsible for many deadly attacks across the nation.
Ukraine's government has fallen under scrutiny after its economy minister resigned, saying the leadership routinely blocked his reform efforts.

The country's minister of economy Aivaras Abromavicius said he and his team could no longer drive forward much-needed reforms and were met with resistance on their efforts from government leaders including members of President Petro Poroshenko's party.

"My team and I have no desire to be a front for blatant corruption or puppets for people who want to take control over state funds as they did in the old government," Mr Abromavicius told reporters at a press conference in Kiev. "It wasn't just a lack of political will. (They were) actively seeking to paralyze our work in the government."

Mr Abromavicius, a Lithuanian native and former investment banker, advocated deregulation and wide-scale privatisation in Ukraine. He was appointed as the finance minister 14 months ago along with a cadre of other political-newcomers from the private sector including finance minister Natalia Jaresko, an American.

Their appointments were cautiously viewed as indicators that the new government would go through with long-overdue economic reforms.

However, the changes to Ukraine's government remain largely cosmetic and oligarchs still maintain huge sway in its decisions.

As he announced his resignation, Mr Abromavicius said Ukraine needed a total reset of power.

"We know how Ukraine ended up in the condition that it's in today. It's not just Yanukovych, it's the total lack of reform over 20 years," he said in a reference to ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

A group of 10 ambassadors, including those from the US, UK and Canada, expressed their disappointment at Mr Abromavicius' resignation in an open letter.

"During the past year, Mr Abromavicius and his professional team have made important strides - implementing tough but necessary economic reforms to help stabilise Ukraine's economy, root out endemic corruption, bring Ukraine into compliance with its IMF programme obligations, and promote more openness and transparency in government," the ambassadors wrote.

Mr Abromavicius said that Igor Kononenko, a Poroshenko ally in Ukraine's parliament, put pressure on the economy ministry to appoint his allies.

Mr Kononenko told Ukrainian TV channel Espreso that Mr Abromavicius' comments were false and his resignation "emotional".

Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said they would investigate Mr Abromavicius' accusations against Mr Kononenko.

Mr Abromavicius' predecessor, Pavlo Sheremeta, resigned after spending under a year in office over frustrations with the slow pace of reforms.
Marissa Mayer announced that Yahoo is laying off about 1,700 employees, but some shareholders believe she should lose her job (AP)

Yahoo is laying off about 1,700 employees in a shake-up likely to determine whether chief executive Marissa Mayer can save her own job.

The long-anticipated purge will jettison about 15% of Yahoo's workforce along with an assortment of services Ms Mayer decided are not worth the time and money that the Internet company has been putting into them.

The cost-cutting is designed to save about 400 million dollars (277 million) annually to help offset a steep decline in net revenue this year.

Ms Mayer also hopes to sell some of Yahoo's patents, real estate and other holdings for up to 3 billion dollars (2 billion).

Products to be dumped include Yahoo Games, Yahoo TV and some of the digital magazines that Ms Mayer started as chief executive.

She will also close offices in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan.

In an apparent concession to frustrated shareholders, Ms Mayer also said Yahoo's board will consider "strategic alternatives" that could result in the sale of all the company's Internet operations.

Analysts have speculated that Verizon, AT&T and Comcast might be interested in buying Yahoo's main business, despite years of deterioration.

Ms Mayer expressed confidence that her plan to run Yahoo as a smaller, more focused company "will dramatically brighten our future and improve our competitiveness, and attractiveness to users, advertisers, and partners".

But s ome of Yahoo's most outspoken shareholders, such as SpringOwl Asset Management, have already concluded that Ms Mayer should be laid off, too.

Ms Mayer, a former rising star at Google who helped that company eclipse Yahoo, defended her performance.

"Yahoo is a far stronger, more modern company that it was three-and-half years ago," she said.

Even after the mass firings are completed by the end of March, Yahoo will still have about 9,000 workers - three times the roughly 3,000 people that SpringOwl believes the company should be employing, based on its steadily declining revenue.

"We would like to see a higher stock price, and we think Marissa and her current management team have become a hindrance to that," said Eric Jackson, SpringOwl's managing director.

Yahoo's revenue has been shrinking through most of Ms Mayer's reign, even though she has spent more than 3 billion dollars buying more than 40 companies, while bringing in new talent and developing mobile applications and other services designed to attract more traffic and advertisers.

The decline has persisted while advertisers have been steadily increasing their digital marketing efforts. Most of that money has been flowing to Google and Facebook - two companies once far smaller than the now 20-year-old Yahoo.
If we had a law allowing women, pregnant as a result of rape, to have abortions, they'd be queueing up to claim rape in order to qualify.

That's one implication of the Department of Justice's decision to appeal against last November's High Court ruling by Mr Justice Horner, upholding the view of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) that European law gives women in the north a right to abortion in cases of rape, incest, or fatal foetal abnormality.

Justice Minister David Ford accepted the ruling as far as fatal foetal abnormality is concerned, but wants to overturn it insofar as it refers to rape. He says he fears that a lack of "legal certainty" on this score could lead to "abortion on demand".

We know from experience that there will be further appeals, injunctions, judicial reviews. The tangled mess is unlikely to be cleared up by the courts anytime soon, or, on present indications, by politicians anytime ever.

The prevailing nervousness about taking hold of the issue comes through in Ford's efforts to explain his apprehension that allowing abortion in cases of rape might inadvertently give carte blanche to abortion in any circumstances at all.

The Department of Justice's 2014 consultation paper declared that: "It is relatively easy to say that we need to address cases where pregnancy has been the result of rape, or incest, but there are other situations which need to be considered in order to cover all possible circumstances ... The situations in which women and girls may become pregnant as a result of criminal offending behaviour extend beyond the scope of the offence of rape, or incestuous sexual activity."

Limiting the right to abortion to cases of rape, or incest, would leave other justifiable cases out of account and could have other unintended consequences, too. So let's ditch rape and incest as reasons for allowing abortion altogether.

The consultation observes that the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act remains the basic piece of legislation: "However, it is case law regarding the interpretation by the courts of this legislation which has created the current framework for abortions in Northern Ireland."

The paper refers to the 1938 Bourne case, in which a London court acquitted a doctor who had provided a termination for a 14-year-old girl gang-raped and made pregnant by a bunch of soldiers. The court interpreted the 1861 Act to mean that abortion was legal if carrying the pregnancy to full term would "make the woman a physical, or mental, wreck".

But, strangely, the consultation paper makes no mention of more recent cases in courts closer to home. In 1993, the High Court in Belfast ruled that a 14-year-old made pregnant by her boyfriend and who was threatening to abort the foetus herself, or commit suicide, was entitled to an abortion, because carrying the pregnancy to full term would render her "a physical, or mental, wreck".

In 1994, a mentally disabled woman was given the right to an abortion, because of the potentially disastrous implications for her well-being of carrying the pregnancy forward. In 1995, the courts allowed abortion because of the disturbed state of mind of a pregnant 16-year-old in the care of the state.

Factoring in the broad precedents set by the 1993, 1994 and 1995 interpretations of the, should, as it stands, dispense with fears of dangerous consequences following from difficulty in defining rape and incest.

Irrespective of who will agree, or disagree, with their findings, the courts are well-capable of interpreting whatever law, or regulation, is put in place. Ford's difficulty is self-inflicted.

The debate on abortion is commonly conducted in terms which are casually insulting to women - mainly male politicians and functionaries discussing what limits to set on women's right to sovereignty over their own bodies, peppering their pronouncements with references to "vulnerable" women in "tragic" situations deserving of our "genuine compassion". The concept of strong women asserting their rights seems alien.

What's left out is the idea that when a woman finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy and considers the implications for herself and consults her own conscience, then it is she who must decide what to do. To say otherwise is simply to say that women can't be trusted.

Others may have opinions, to which they may be entitled, about what a woman with an unwanted pregnancy should do, and she may, if she likes, listen to their views, but in the end the choice must be hers.

To exclude this proposition from debate is from the outset to deny women any agency in a matter which intimately affects them and them only. It makes a mockery of the notion of women's rights.
Representatives from Google appeared in front of the Home Affairs Committee to speak about their efforts to combat online extremism

Google will deliver links to anti-radicalisation websites to those who search for extremism-related words, the company has told a government committee.

The pilot scheme was announced at a meeting of the Home Affairs Committee by Google executive Anthony House, who appeared alongside representatives from Facebook and Twitter to give evidence to MPs over his company's efforts to combat extremism.

Speaking about the strategy, House said it was "extremely important" that those searching for potentially harmful things are also able to "find good information."

He said it is important that "when people are feeling isolated, that when they go online, they find a community of hope, not a community of harm."

Extremists like Isis primarily use the internet to spread their propaganda in the West, and it has been claimed that a number of the roughly 700 Britons who have gone to join the group in Syria were radicalised online, particularly on social media.

House also said that Google was working hard to remove extremist content from its services. As the Telegraph reports, he told the committee that the company had removed 14 million extremist videos from YouTube in 2014 alone.

Speaking to the paper, a Google spokeswoman said the search results project involved offering grants to anti-extremism groups and NGOs, which they can use to ensure that links to their websites appear in the AdWords advertising sections that usually appear at the top of Google results pages.

For example, someone searching for the term 'join Isis' could be directed to a link to the website of the Quilliam Foundation, the counter-extremism think tank.

The committee also grilled the internet giants on their more direct efforts to shut down extremism on their networks. Nick Pickles, Twitter's UK public policy manager, said his company employs over 100 people to deal with any inappropriate content posted by Twitter's 300 million active users.

Google and Facebook declined to tell the committee how many employees deal with extremist material.

Independent
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Von: By JULIAN REICHELT and PAUL RONZHEIMER

BILD: Mister Poroshenko, you have just returned from a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Has Germany abandoned Ukraine because of the refugee crisis?

Petro Poroshenko: No, on the contrary! The fact that we had such an intensive meeting today shows the priority that Ukraine has for Germany and the whole of Europe. Everyone knows: if Russia threatens Ukraine and also has its sights on other states, this concerns the global security of Europe. Russia is still not implementing the Minsk Agreement, but is increasing the number of its troops in Ukraine.

Lesen Sie auch

BILD: How serious is the danger of open war?

Poroshenko: More serious than last year. Russia has not implemented a single point of the Minsk Agreement. Instead, we can see 8,000 Russian soldiers with Russian commanders in our country, new military sites directly along the border, and constant military trainings. Russia is investing a lot in these war preparations. And we are not getting any explanations for this.

BILD: Do you need more weapons from Germany to defend yourself?

Poroshenko: We are open to this possibility and we are advocating it, because this concerns the security situation in Europe. We should all support each other more in order to be prepared for everything. The primary solution is a diplomatic one. Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande play a very important role in the de-escalation process. Exactly one year ago, in February of 2015, we met in Minsk after the Kramatorsk tragedy when a Russian multiple rocket launcher shelled houses of civilians more than 50 km away from the frontline. No explanation was received afterwards.

Lesen Sie auch

BILD: At the same time, an increasing number of politicians are approaching Putin and regard him as a partner because of the war in Syria. What do you think about that?

Poroshenko: For me it is clear that, if you take a look at what is happening in eastern Ukraine, you cannot support lifting the sanctions against Russia. Europe must not become the victim of Putins blackmailing because of the assumption that there can be no solution to the Syria question without Putin. Everything that is happening in the world is directly or indirectly linked to Russias aggressions. It is therefore also a matter of our values that we keep up the sanctions. Russia wants to divide the countries of Europe; that is its aim. We must not allow for that to happen. Even from an economic point of view: the Russian market is not the same as it used to be a few years ago. Europe has become far less dependent on the Russian market.

Auch interessant

BILD: In an interview with BILD, Putin has said that borders are not important for him. What does that mean for Ukraine?

Poroshenko: First of all, congratulations to the journalists he said that to! So far, Putin has always acted according to this attitude, but never publicly admitted to it. We in Ukraine know that he does not accept our borders. His statement is therefore rather directed at everyone in Europe, meaning that it can happen to anyone. Putin does not accept any red lines and can annex other countries under the pretense of the alleged discrimination of Russian minorities. You in Germany also have Russian minorities

BILD: There was a big discussion in Germany about the Lisa case

Poroshenko: Everyone knows about it now because of Russian propaganda! For Germany, this is new, a shocking instance of propaganda. For one and a half years now, Ukraine is familiar with the lies that are repeated by the Russian media until people start to believe them. Putin has now also started the information war against Germany. This is Russias hybrid war. We all have to fight it together, because the truth is on our side. That is why establishing European TV channel broadcasting in Russian language is a right decision. They need to receive alternative opinions except those presented on Russian state channels.

Lesen Sie auch

BILD: In your country, you also have to fight against the corruption. There is massive criticism that reforms and the fight against corruption are not effective.

Poroshenko: We have implemented many reforms, in the police, in the fight against corruption, in the army, in decentralization process, in economy as whole, but of course we want faster progress. But please do not forget that we have been suffering from a war for one and a half years now. Without the war, without Russian troops in the east of Ukraine, we would already have made much more progress with our reforms.


For Immediate Release, February 3, 2016 Contact: Lori Ann Burd, (971) 717-6405, laburd@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Targets EPA's Failure to Release Public Records on Toxic Herbicide WASHINGTON The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to provide public records regarding its approval of Enlist Duo, a pesticide blend thats highly toxic to a wide spectrum of terrestrial and aquatic plants, birds and mammals, and has significant adverse effects on human health. Photo courtesy EPA. This photo is available for media use. The EPA has yet to fully comply with a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Center two years ago seeking information about the EPAs decision to register the pesticide cocktail. Todays lawsuit seeks full public disclosure of those documents. The public has a right to essential information to illuminate why the agency made the decision to approve this dangerous pesticide cocktail in light of its potential environmental and human-health impacts, said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center. After two years of stalling, sending only heavily redacted records, and ignoring our appeal for information, EPA has left us with no choice but to go to court to obtain the records on this deadly chemical. Enlist Duo is a toxic combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D created by Dow AgroSciences for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops designed to withstand being drenched with the potent herbicide cocktail. Despite this the EPA registered Enlist Duo for use in 15 states, claiming Enlist Duo would have no effect on endangered and threatened species. The Center submitted the Freedom of Information Act request to understand and assess EPAs decision. The EPA needs to be fully transparent about how and why it approves these toxic herbicides, which pose a serious threat to people and wildlife, to be sprayed on vast acreage of our food crops, said Burd. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 990,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, February 2, 2016



Contact: Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org Analysis: California's New Gas-storage Rules Weaker

Than Petroleum Industry's Own Suggested Practices Fracking Could Continue in Storage Wells Without Industry-recommended Safety Measures LOS ANGELES Emergency gas-storage rules proposed by California officials in response to the catastrophic Aliso Canyon leak are even weaker than the petroleum industrys own recommended practices for gas-storage wells, according to a new analysis released by the Center for Biological Diversity. Operators could even continue fracking these old storage wells without performing industry-recommended monitoring for gas leaks caused by such high-pressure injections. The emergency rules, currently under consideration by the states Office of Administrative Law, could go into effect as early as this Friday. These dangerously weak rules dont even measure up to the oil industrys own minimal safety suggestions for gas-storage wells, said Maya Golden-Krasner, an L.A.-based attorney with the Center. Despite a massive gas leak thats driven thousands of people from their homes, Gov. Browns regulators wont even force gas-storage operators to follow their own industrys recommended practices  let alone take the strong measures needed to truly protect Californians from these dangerous facilities. Allowing companies to continue fracking these old, corroded wells puts people and the state in serious danger. The only expert document cited by the states Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources as the basis for these emergency regulations is the American Petroleum Institutes list of recommended practices for gas-storage wells  and state officials are not even following all of the industrys recommendations. Among the ways in which Californias gas-storage rules would be weaker than industry recommendations: Fracking without monitoring: The regulations appear to allow operators to continue fracking gas-storage wells without performing post-fracking inspections and testing recommended by API. The APIs gas-storage handbook, for example, suggests that the operator should inspect adjacent active and plugged wells during or following a stimulation or hydraulic fracturing treatment to verify integrity maintenance when a well located within the reservoir area and buffer zone is being treated at pressures exceeding maximum storage reservoir pressure. There is no such requirement in the states proposed regulations.

The regulations appear to allow operators to continue fracking gas-storage wells without performing post-fracking inspections and testing recommended by API. The APIs gas-storage handbook, for example, suggests that the operator should inspect adjacent active and plugged wells during or following a stimulation or hydraulic fracturing treatment to verify integrity maintenance when a well located within the reservoir area and buffer zone is being treated at pressures exceeding maximum storage reservoir pressure. There is no such requirement in the states proposed regulations. Poor annular gas monitoring for leaks: Californias proposed regulations also fall short of APIs recommendations for monitoring for the presence of annular gas  one problem behind the current leak from the Aliso Canyon well. The proposed regulations would limit testing annular gas pressure to find leaks  in which gas escapes the well casing  to when a well . . . is not being used for production  while the API handbook suggests no such limitation. The Center suggests production be limited to pipe only.

Californias proposed regulations also fall short of APIs recommendations for monitoring for the presence of annular gas  one problem behind the current leak from the Aliso Canyon well. The proposed regulations would limit testing annular gas pressure to find leaks  in which gas escapes the well casing  to when a well . . . is not being used for production  while the API handbook suggests no such limitation. The Center suggests production be limited to pipe only. Corrosion monitoring and evaluation: The API handbook recommends corrosion monitoring as part of routine well integrity monitoring, but Californias proposed regulations just require corrosion monitoring protocols be included in yet-to-be-developed risk management plans. Fracking is commonly used in Aliso Canyon gas-storage wells and has occurred near SS-25, the leaking well spewing thousands of tons of methane into Los Angeles neighborhoods, according to official state documents. These rules wont keep us safe, Golden-Krasner said. Gov. Brown should immediately halt fracking in gas-storage wells and send his officials back to drawing board to craft strong safety regulations that go far beyond the petroleum industrys weak recommendations. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 990,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, February 3, 2016 Contact: Aletris Neils, Conservation CATalyst, (602) 717-2406

Randy Serraglio, Center for Biological Diversity, (520) 784-1504

Chris Bugbee, Conservation CATalyst, (305) 498-9112 New Video Shows America's Only Known Wild Jaguar Video of Arizona's Jaguar Is First Ever to Be Released to Public TUCSON, Ariz. Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity released new video today of the only known wild jaguar currently in the United States. Captured on remote sensor cameras in the Santa Rita Mountains just outside Tucson, the dramatic footage provides a glimpse of the secretive life of one of natures most majestic and charismatic creatures. This is the first ever publicly released video of the jaguar, and it comes at a critical point in this cats conservation. The video is available for media to embed and use on our Facebook page or for download. The camera project is part of ongoing efforts to monitor mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona for endangered jaguar and ocelot. Chris Bugbee, a biologist with Conservation CATalyst, has been collecting data on the Santa Rita jaguar for the past three years (formerly through the University of Arizona). Studying these elusive cats anywhere is extremely difficult, but following the only known individual in the U.S. is especially challenging, said Bugbee. We use our specially trained scat detection dog and spent three years tracking in rugged mountains, collecting data and refining camera sites; these videos represent the peak of our efforts. These glimpses into his behavior offer the keys to unlocking the mysteries of these cryptic cats said Aletris Neils, executive director of Conservation CATalyst. We are able to determine he is an adult male jaguar, currently in prime condition. Every new piece of information is important for conserving northern jaguars and we look forward to building upon on these data so that we can collectively make better decisions on how to manage these fascinating and endangered cats. Jaguars have always occurred in Arizona and yet we know so little about them in the northern portion of their range. Arizona should be poised to harbor and protect both jaguars and ocelots as they continue to disperse out from Sonora, said Bugbee. Just knowing that this amazing cat is right out there, just 25 miles from downtown Tucson, is a big thrill, said Randy Serraglio, conservation advocate with the Center. El Jefe has been living more or less in our backyard for more than three years now. Its our job to make sure that his home is protected and he can get what he needs to survive. El Jefe, as he has come to be known in Tucson, has been photographed repeatedly by remote sensor cameras in the Santa Ritas over the past few years. He is the only verified jaguar in the United States since Macho B was euthanized as a result of capture-related injuries in March 2009. Jaguars are solitary cats that only tolerate each other for reproduction, said Neils. But a huge conflict is brewing that threatens to destroy El Jefes home. A Canadian mining company is pushing to develop a massive open-pit copper mine right in the middle of the big cats territory. The mile-wide open pit and 800-foot-high piles of toxic mine waste would permanently destroy thousands of acres of occupied, federally protected jaguar habitat where this jaguar lives. Clearly, the Santa Rita Mountains are a vital part of this cats home range, said Bugbee. This jaguar has been photographed in every month of the year in these mountains  there are more than 100 detections of him in the Santa Ritas since 2013  how could anyone argue the importance of these mountains? The Rosemont Mine would destroy El Jefes home and severely hamstring recovery of jaguars in the United States, said Serraglio. At ground zero for the mine is the intersection of three major wildlife corridors that are essential for jaguars moving back into the U.S. to reclaim lost territory. The Santa Rita Mountains are critically important to jaguar recovery in this country, and they must be protected. Conservation CATalyst and Center experts are available for interviews and field trips to the area. Background

In October the rare cat was named El Jefe, which means the boss in Spanish, after a vote by Tucson school kids and others. The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity has been working for decades to save jaguars in the United States, with the hope that El Jefe will soon be joined by more jaguars that wander up from Mexico. In 2014 the Center secured more than 750,000 acres of federally protected critical habitat for U.S. jaguar recovery. Jaguars  the third-largest cats in the world after tigers and lions  once lived throughout the American Southwest, with historical reports on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the mountains of Southern California and as far east as Louisiana. Jaguars disappeared from their U.S. range over the past 150 years, primarily due to habitat loss and historic government predator control programs intended to protect the livestock industry. The last verified female jaguar in the country was shot by a hunter in 1963 in Arizonas Mogollon Rim. This research builds upon a three-year project (2012- 2015) from the University of Arizona surveying jaguars and ocelots throughout southern Arizona and New Mexico. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 990,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Conservation CATalyst is a Tucson-based nonprofit organization specializing in conducting scientific research on cats that are in conflict with people.
What is that old saying about repeating a lie often enough? George Monbiot is having a bit of rant in the Guardian today on the subject of (alleged) fossil fuels subsidies. It's the usual nonsense that redefines everything that greens are against as a "subsidy".

In his support, our George cites the IMF:

Already, according to the International Monetary Fund, more money is spent, directly and indirectly, on subsidising fossil fuels than on funding health services.

If you follow the trail through his link you end up at the IMF's website and a working paper by Coady et al. However, before you read it, it's hard not to notice the disclaimer, in bold, which reads:
The Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF), in partnership with Facebook Incorporated, YMCA and Hapaweb Solutions, will this year celebrate the World Safer Internet Day on 9 February.

About 850 students will participate in this year's celebration, which is being organised under the theme: "Play Your Part for a Better Internet." It is meant to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile devices, especially, among children and young people.

The Safer Internet Day (SID) is organised and celebrated on the second day of the second week of the second month, each year. The online safety landscape has evolved over recent years, from a focus on creating a 'safer' internet, to creating a 'better' internet.

On Safer Internet Day, thousands of people join to participate in events and activities to raise awareness of online safety issues, right across the globe. In Ghana, the celebration will include a Quiz and Spelling Bee competition amongst four selected schools in Kumasi, whose students would be provided with educational resources by Facebook.

TeamGISF will also engage other schools in an awareness campaign. In championing a better internet, this year's theme aims to encourage people to play their part in making the most of the positive opportunities offered online, while giving them the resilience, skills, knowledge and support they need to navigate any online risks they may come across.

Akua Gyekye, Public Policy Manager, Facebook Africa, expressed her delight in promoting a safer and better internet for the Ghanaian digital citizenry. Whether we are children and young people, parents and careers, educators or social care workers, or indeed, industry decision makers or politicians, we all have a role to play.

Emmanuel Adinkrah, CEO of Ghana Internet Safety Foundation, expressed delight at the support of Facebook Inc. towards this year's celebration, and encouraged stakeholders to help support the child online protection initiative.

Adinkrah said all plans are in place, and the participants will experience the expectations of a safe and better internet. "Whether we are children and young people, parents and careers, educators or social care workers, or indeed industry, decision makers or politicians, we all have a role to play," he said.
One of Malawi private radio stations, Star Radio has re-branded to Timveni Radio following the purchase of the financially struggling radio station by Timveni Child and Media Organizations.

The organisation also owns Timveni Television which is one of the few stations running on full programming basis.

"Timveni bought Star Radio in August 2015 to fulfill its goal of reaching out to as many youths as possible so that they be able to have a platform where they can realize their rights and participate fully in the national agenda," said Timveni Child and Media Organisation Public Relations Manager Ernest Makanda

"To achieve this, we applied for a radio and TV licence so that it could have platforms to achieve its vision and mission. In 2012 Timveni was granted a TV licence and immediately rolled out on the digital platform and later purchased Star Radio," said Makanda, adding that we the current setup, the radio will maintain all the Star employees but will only add some for quality output.

Makanda said although some radio stations have youthful programs, Timveni radio will be "entirely for youth as it is working with the youth groups established by the organization in all the district's in the country."

"Timveni radio is more you focused, professional and has on board a creative, innovative and matured team to make the station the listener's choice and a strategic business partner. We will have a well researched, provocative, matured and professional programmes that are aimed at providing a platform for young people to participate in the national agenda through expressing their views on issues that concern them and engaging with other stakeholders to address all the issues," he said.

The radio is currently expanding its signal coverage a cross Malawi in order to reach out to a wider audience.

The Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation uses radio and television to give a voice to Malawi's young people, especially girls, on children's rights.

The goals of the project are to help young Malawians make a difference in their own lives, create awareness about children's rights, and build the capacity of children/youth to increase their meaningful participation in advocating for the realisation of their own right.

Initiated in 2006 by Plan Malawi with funding from Plan Sweden and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Timveni was launched as a Child and Youth Media Organization in 2011.

In 2012, Timveni was granted permission for its own child-run, child-focused television channel.

Until 2012, The Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation focused on using radio as its principal media outlet, broadcasting on Malawi national radio.

A 30-minute programme focusing on children's concerns airs once a week on national radio.
As societal acceptance and support of the rights of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people continue to accelerate worldwide, we are also seeing an upsurge in the interest being shown by marketers towards reaching these lucrative consumer sub-segments.

In recent years, many brands across a wide range of product and service categories - including alcoholic beverages, travel, personal care, automotive, financial services and pharmaceuticals - have invested significantly in targeting LGBT consumers.

While the field of LGBT marketing is well over two decades old, it remains a relatively untapped concept in many countries worldwide, including South Africa. This is despite the fact that 2016 will mark 20 years since the approval of South Africa's Constitution (the first in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation), in addition to 10 years since the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the country - which, at the time, made South Africa the fifth country in the world (and to date, the only country in Africa) to implement marriage equality for all of its citizens.

One of the key advantages as South African marketers, however, is that we have the opportunity to learn from the successes (and conversely, the failures) of international brands in their attempts at engaging the LGBT market over the years. Indeed, we have also witnessed a number of local success stories in recent times, with a variety of brands (including Budget Car Rental, Lovoka Vodka, Ster-Kinekor, Club Travel and Exclusive Books) having made more concerted and fruitful efforts at targeting LGBT consumers.

Nonetheless, there is still much to be learned in this regard.The key question is: What do we need to bear in mind (and avoid), as marketers, when trying to attract the so-called "Pink Rand"? To this end, let's now examine one of the most frequent marketing blunders encountered by global and local brands with regards to targeting the LGBT consumer.

Exclusion

It is surprising to note how many brands have been slow to realise the latent impact and value of the LGBT market on their turnover and profitability. According to the recently released "LBM Gay Consumer Profile" (an in-depth and independently audited overview of the local gay and lesbian consumer landscape by boutique marketing and advertising agency Lunch Box Media), around 57% of gay and lesbian consumers in South Africa feel that they are being ignored by marketers.

It is also worth noting that the same study (congruent with similar studies undertaken in other countries) found these consumers to have a substantially higher-than-average disposable income. Thus, by not targeting LGBT consumers, many brands are essentially overlooking a sizeable demographic with significant spending power. Considering the gay and lesbian population specifically, recent estimates indicate that the total in South Africa currently sits at around 5 million people. Put into perspective, this equates to a consumer base roughly the size of the total combined populations of Cape Town and Pretoria!

The key is to be LGBT-inclusive, where relevant. Simultaneously, however, it is also crucial to avoid falling into the trap of "inclusive exclusion": the belief that reaching LGBT consumers incidentally through mainstream media and general market campaigns alone is enough to engage them and ensure their business and loyalty. While this may be true in some cases, global studies consistently suggest that taking the time to craft well-targeted and relevant LGBT-specific communication and activations can go a long way towards showing awareness of (and sensitivity towards) their specific needs and issues.

A report by Toronto-based agency RIVET Global suggests that with the negativity, social marginalisation and prejudice often faced by LGBT people (even in more accepting and liberal societies), these individuals are increasingly paying attention to brands that appear to be allies. ANZ New Zealand Bank's "GAYTMs", which debuted during the 2015 Auckland Pride Festival, are a good example in this regard. Rather than just paying lip service to LGBT consumers, the tactical ATMs actually served to benefit the city's LGBT community, with proceeds from the use of non-ANZ customer cards being donated to OUTline, a local counselling and support service for LGBT individuals.

At the end of the day, regardless of whether we are targeting straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people in our marketing and communication, we need to remember one fundamental point: we are talking to real human beings for whom real human truths resonate; real people with real lives, who essentially want and expect the exact same things out of life that all other people do.
"Storytelling has the power to make people forget their reality and - whether it's film or television - for those 30 minutes or two hours, you can learn someone else's story." - Terry Pheto

Short-film series 21 ICONS has featured the 19th icon of its third season: 34-year-old, Terry Pheto who is best known for her role as the leading actress in the 2006 Oscar-winning Foreign Language Film, Tsotsi.

She is also the award-winning producer of the critically acclaimed Ayanda which has been picked up by Selma director, Ava DuVernay, for international distribution.

Pheto has been selected for 21 ICONS South Africa Season 3 for the strides she has made in her career in recent years as well as the impact and contribution she has made to the South African film and television industry. Pheto has also started producing her own work with the goal of pushing the agenda of women in film and broader society. In 2015, she was chosen as a juror for the International Emmy Awards.

Born in Evaton township in 1981, at the age of 10 she had her first stint in the spotlight when she was cast as Nzwaki in a school play - a musical tribute to bid farewell to her then headmaster.

She says, "It was at that moment that I realised you can become someone else. It's possible and there's power in that, there's power in being able to be someone else and just forget about yourself and I was hooked from then."

Pheto was raised in a shack until she was 19 and after matriculating from high school she studied Information Technology for two semesters but was unable to complete her studies for financial reasons.

"I wasn't able to go to the best schools, but that has never stopped me from learning every day from every person that I meet. The minute you stop learning, you might as well die," she notes.

Pheto convinced her mother to let her pursue her lifelong dream to become an actress. She moved to Soweto to join the Soweto Community Theatre Group and two months later she was discovered by talent scout Moonyeenn Lee.

After a year of auditions she was cast as the leading female role in Tsotsi directed by Gavin Hood. The film won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards.

Pheto was 24 and looking back she reflects on how attending the ceremony was surreal and admits that she was star struck, "It was the most out of body experience, the most incredible thing that anyone can ever experience."

In 2010, Pheto spread her wings and started a production company called Leading Lady Productions and produced her first film, Ayanda, in 2014 - 10 years after her debut in Tsotsi.

Her first role model was her mother and she explains the importance of being an individual that other women can look up to; "I never had anyone in the industry who was a mentor. No one told me anything when I was starting out. I want to be that person to someone younger than myself."

She has been chosen as one of the first South African artist ambassadors for Save the Children South Africa which aims to ensure that every child, especially the most vulnerable, attain the right to education, survival, protection, development and participation.

About the portrait

For the portrait 'Leading Lady', Van Wyk describes the visual elements, "A beaded "Oscar" laying to her right - a reference to her starring role in the Academy-Award winning film Tsotsi - Pheto, clad in a tuxedo, is photographed seated in an empty theatre leaning toward the camera. Her expression strong and focused, Pheto is depicted as a formidable force within the film industry, a resilient woman whose grit has seen her rise from township theatre performer to South Africa's leading lady."

On the future of South Africa she says, "Knowing that with all the scars we have, there's still hope, there's still love, and there's still a need for us to be present and to stand up for what's right."

She concludes by saying, "You can be whoever you want to be. You have to believe in and trust yourself. If you can imagine it, there is no reason why you can't have it. There is room for all of us to chase our dreams."

View the video

About 21 Icons Season 3

The short film-series documents the conversations between Gary Van Wyk as the photographer and filmmaker and the icons. Each short film provides insight into both the subject and photographer's creative approach to the portrait.

Behind each portrait lies a carefully planned concept that captures not only the essence of each icon visually, but also in spirit and in terms of their unique legacy.

Season three of 21 ICONS South Africa is proudly sponsored by Mercedes-Benz South Africa.

Social media:

21 Icons engages with the public through:

Twitter: @21Icons

Website: http://www.21icons.com

Mobisite: www.21icons.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/21Icons

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/21ICONS/

iTunes App Store: http://tinyurl.com/lf3cfzm

Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/ovtcy45
A source sent us an eyewitness written report of last week's "Sharia 101" talk by Jeff Baumann in St. Cloud. According to the meeting notes, the group--which calls itself "Peace in St. Cloud"--is planning to invite a stridently anti-Muslim Christian evangelical:

The group is inviting Usama Dakdok to town towards the end of May to talk. Usama is an anti-Muslim preacher with the Straight Way Ministries who grew up in Egypt as a Coptic Christian. His videos include such charmers like, Every Muslim is a Demon! [links added]

Should Dakdok accept the invitation and the group follow through with its plans, the visit won't be Dakdok's first visit to Minnesota this spring. According the Worldview Weekend Conferences webpage, the preacher will speak at rallies in Bloomington (April 3) and Duluth (April 4), before moving on to a rally just over the river in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on April 5.

Dakdok spoke in Austin and Rochester in 2011, but gained notoriety in Minnesota after speaking engagements in Bagley and just over the river in Grand Forks provoked protest and conflict. Recent appearances in Bemidji, largely attended by elderly people, went on without protest according to a Forum Communications staff writer's report, 'Islam is a barbaric, savage cult,' Usama Dakdok tells crowd in Bemidji.

Dakdok's provocative talks in Grand Forks earned a place in the Washington Post story, Trumps effect on Muslim migrant debate reverberates in heartland, which looked at Grand Forks after the appearance of Nazi graffiti on, and firebombing of, the Juba Cafe.

The Star Tribune's Maya Rao reports in St. Cloud comes to grips with clashes between immigrants, longtime locals that "Peace in St. Cloud" is planning confrontations:

If theyre challenged, ask Is this Muslim-only or is this a public facility?  said Baumann, adding that someone should bring a video camera to make sure that it has an effect.

Baumann encouraged people to go to interfaith dialogues and public talks on Islam in Mankato, Brooklyn Park and, next week, at St. Cloud State University. Baumann said that people should go to the foot-washing station at the SCSU student union and use it to make a scene. The station was installed in 2001 after a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while washing her feet at a bathroom sink.

Our witness's notes were a bit more detailed about the action planned for this afternoon:

The group also intends to disrupt the event on February 2 nd being put on at SCSU and featuring CAIRs Jaylani Hussein talking about Islamophobia. They have planned a direct action for this. Baumann strongly encourages PISC members to try to wash their feet in the foot-washing basin at Atwood. He hopes this will lead to a confrontation where Muslim students try to keep the elderly, white Christians from using what is a public facility. He hopes that images of Muslims yelling at PISC members for trying to wash their feet in the foot washing basin will prove to the media and the state that it is a de facto Muslim-only space paid for with tax money, and an example of creeping Sharia law.

NOTE: Because of the blizzard, Jaylani Hussein's talk has be rescheduled:

The decision on the part of "Peace In St. Cloud" to invite Dakdok, while insisting that their guests' inflammatory assertions about Islam and refugees suggests that the group is more interested in stirring the pot than promoting peace.

Unpaid volunteer St. Cloud Times columnist A.J. Kern has also announced a bid for Congress, challenging Tom Emmer for the endorsement. Someone has to bring the good times in the Sixth when former congresswoman Michele Bachmann almost lost the district to DFL hotel guy Jim Graves.

Worldview Weekend Rallies in Bloomington and Duluth

The Worldview Weekend Conference webpage lists two Dakdok speaking engagements at rallies in Minnesota in early April. The first is billed as "St Paul" but is in fact being held in Bloomington on April 3 :

Time: 5:30pm to 9:00pm

Location: Marriott Bloomington

2020 American Boulevard East

Bloomington, MN 55425

The second rally is in Duluth on April 4 but the place has yet to be announced; the location for the LaCrosse event is also TBA.

Dakdok's "Truth About Islam" online radio show is part of Christian conspiracy theorist and Ted Cruz/David Barton critic Brannon Howse's stable of Christian talk radio talent. Right Wing Watch's posts on Howse suggest that this branch of anti-Islam activists also have problems with Mormons, Glenn Beck, the New Apostolic Reformation, prophetic evangelicals, the Seven Mountains Movement and so much more.

Dakdok and Howse appear together at all three events.

But the pseudo-scholarship that Dakdok offers should allow the "Peace In St. Cloud" group to probe their butt-hurt about the rejection of their "facts" by the unfeeling progressive masses.

Earlier Dakdok appearances in Greater Minnesota and Grand Forks

Bagley 2013-2014

In Bagley schools deny anti-Islamic speaker, the Grand Fork Herald reported:

Protesters gathered outside the Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Bagley to decry the message of Usama Dakdok.

Originally slated to speak at the Bagley High School from Sunday through Tuesday, Dakdok's location was shifted to the church. The school had received calls from people who disagreed with Dakdok's anti-Islamic message. "We asked to change the venue to the church because the speaker did not appear to coincide with school district policy," said Steve Cairns, superintendent of Bagley Public Schools. "The appropriateness of the conversation appeared to be more in tune with the church." Cairns said that after changing the venue, calls from community members both supporting and criticizing the decision were received. Dakdok spoke at Calvary Evangelical Free Church on Sunday and Monday before a full house, according to a representative of the church, with about a dozen protesters outside. Pastor Rick Moore could not be reached for comment. "That's why we needed the school," Dakdok said. "We needed more room." Dakdok describes himself as an Egyptian-born Christian who was taught Islam in a government school in Egypt. He came to the United States in 1992 and has since been preaching his ministry in an effort to "reach out to the Muslim people with the word of Jesus Christ." Dakdok does not believe his message is inappropriate. He said he only speaks the truth and his ministry, The Straight Way of Grace Ministry, "teaches truth, not hate." The Council on American-Islamic Relations disagrees. CAIR is an American Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. CAIR-MN claims Dakdok's message, if delivered in an educational facility, would violate the district's harassment and violence policy and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "By spewing his hate-filled views in a school auditorium, Mr. Dakdok would have created the perception that his bigotry has the endorsement of educational authorities," Lori Saroya, executive director of CAIR-MN, said in a news release. . . .

But the next year, the tables turned, though the divisiveness remained, MPR's John Enger reported in In Bagley, tension over religion and free speech, Muslims and Christians:

For the last year and half, Bagley has been the center of a struggle over religious rights and freedom of speech -- a struggle which has focused unwanted attention on the small northern Minnesota town. When a Muslim speaker came to the Bagley area to talk about his culture and faith, longtime residents later invited a touring speaker who railed against "the disease of Islam." To help allay fears about those who practice the faith, half a dozen Muslim teachers and advocates from the Twin Cities are headed to Bagley this Saturday to mingle with locals. "A lot of people in Bagley haven't really met any Muslims," said Lori Saroya, executive director of the Minnesota branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We want them to see that we're just regular Minnesotans." Saroya hopes the picnic will put to rest the months of strife sparked innocently enough, in a church basement more than a year ago. Northern Exposure to Lifelong Learning, a community education program based in Bagley brought in Owais Bayunus, a Muslim speaker to talk about his religion. He spoke in the basement of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. A small crowd showed. He would have come and gone with very little notice, if one member of the audience had not been confused by a few things he said. Tammy Godwin thought the teacher wasn't clear on who exactly qualified as an "infidel" according to the Quran. She is a evangelical Christian but makes a hobby of researching other religions to see how they differ from her own. Hoping for clarification, she wrote an email to Usama Dakdok, a Christian who grew up in Egypt and now tours the United states speaking against Islam. "I had no idea it would turn into the circus it did," she said. She corresponded with Dakdok for a few weeks and found his arguments against Islam very compelling. She invited Dakdok to speak in Bagley in October of last year and rented the Bagley high school auditorium. But days before he arrived in his RV, CAIR got wind of the event. Its members sent some letters to the Bagley School District demanding the event be cancelled and district Superintendent Steve Cairns called off Dakdok's speech. Instead, he spoke at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Bagley, where Godwin is a member for three nights and a few hundred people. Outside, there were protesters with signs. From Dakdok's first visit tension in the community escalated. Lawyers at the Liberty Council working on behalf of Dakdok sent a letter to the Bagley School District demanding he be allowed to speak in the high school auditorium based upon his First Amendment right to free speech. In June the district relented and Dakdok spoke for another three nights. He was met by larger crowds and even more protesters, including local Rev. Scott Morey who leads three small Lutheran churches in the area. . . .

The presentation is remembered now mostly for one incident. The Star Tribune's Jennifer Brooks reported in Anti-Islam speeches in Bagley decried:

A controversial preacher was scheduled to speak again in Bagley, Minn., Monday night about his belief that Islam is a dangerous cult, despite protests and appeals to the local school district to ban the event from school grounds. With the wisdom God gave me I know how bad the disease of Islam is, Usama Dakdok told the Bemidji Pioneer last week, after the school district reversed course and allowed him to rent the Bagley High School auditorium for his three-day event. A Muslim woman who attended one of Dakdoks speeches over the weekend reported that she was harassed by the speaker and his audience, prompting renewed calls for the district to shut down the event. We support freedom of speech, and that freedom includes the right to peacefully listen to even hate speech without fear of being set upon by an angry and threatening mob, Lori Saroya, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota, said in a statement Monday. CAIR, a civil rights and legal advocacy group for Minnesota Muslims, described the speech as a hate event. People were yelling at the Muslim woman, Get out and You werent invited,  the CAIR news release continued. The woman, who had participated in a protest outside the venue before the Sunday speech, walked into the auditorium carrying a protest sign, said Bagley Police Chief Larry Peterson, who was called to the school before the speech started and stayed for the duration. One side of the coin said she was looking for a seat. The other side of the coin said she was protesting, Peterson said. But nothing got physical. No threats. No mob, Peterson added. It was just a discussion initiated by both parties and both parties were participating. ...

Read the rest at the Strib. Dakdok spoke again in Bagley in 2015.

Grand Forks

In Anti-Islam Christian speaker Usama Dakdok draws protests, crowds in GF; to speak in Bagley Wednesday night, the Grand Forks Herald reported:

Outside of the Empire Arts Center Tuesday, the sidewalk was filled with more than 150 people standing silently in the afternoon sun. They had marched north on North Fourth Street before turning left toward the theater and filling nearly an entire block. As cars drove by, some people stood and smiled with their hands in their pockets. Others stood holding cardboard signs promoting peace, love and coexistence with quotes from the likes of Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr. . . . Dakdok pulls short passages from both the Bible and Quran and then puts them next to each other to draw his conclusions, one of which was "Allah is Satan" in the opening minutes of his speech. He employs similar strategies in the Frequently Asked Questions section: of his website, www.thestraightway.org, which he said he writes the answers to himself. One entry states "Allah desires to fill hell with humans." He also said that President Barack Obama, as well as his entire family, is Muslim, citing a portion of the Quran that says Muslims can lie about their faith.

Well then. The speaker returned twice in the fall. In early September, the Herald reported that Dakdok back for rebuttal, protesters not. Those who might have protested were at an "event organized by social justice advocates at St. Paul's Episcopal Church to counter Dakdok's event and to promote diversity and compassion" scheduled for the time of the rebuttal.

The meeting is described in Local leaders to hold meeting in response to anti-Islam event.

Unfortunately, some local leaders made the tactical fumble described in Local leaders look to shut down hate speech after anti-Islam speaker visits again, which to concerns about the suppression of free speech. While city council member Bret Weber defended his actions in No one is questioning Dakdok's right to speak, the damage was done and the inflamatory speaker returned for one more 2015 appearance.

His third visit generated headlines like Bjerke, Dakdok team up for freedom of speech event and Council member defends anti-Islam speaker Usama Dakdok, says college is 'dangerous' for free speech. (More dangerous than Iran or North Korea, though we don't think we need to fact-check than hyperbole).

Are Dakdok's St. Cloud hosts hoping for another Grand Forks?

Bluestem suspects that the presumptive Dakdok hosts are hoping for the bone-headed reaction prompted by anti-refugee, former Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of California member Ron Branstner scheduled appearance at the Granite VFW post (the post was not a sponsor). The event was cancelled, but another anti-refugee speaker talked.

This prompted a protest first scheduled to be at the VFW, but moved to another location. Regardless, the damage was done: the anti-refugee organizers looked like victims. It was a real-world version of feeding the trolls.

Let's hope that who see Dakdok's interpretation of Islam as error-filed as his claim that President Obama is a Muslim instead spend some time documenting why yelling "Every Muslim is a Demon" is total malarky in advance of his appearances in Bloomington, Duluth and St. Cloud.

Censorship isn't the American answer--criticism is. We can only imagine the whining that those promoting Dakdok's divisive demonizing (literally demonizing) will have about their "free speech rights" when confronted by a few solid factsheets.

Or by the fact-checks that the local paper conducts.

Don't demand that Dakdok not speak. By all means protest. Point out the weaknesses and falsehoods in his claims--and question the need of the "Peace in St. Cloud" organizers to provoke anything but harmony.

Photo: Dakdok in Bemidji.

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Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said yesterday that a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate Hillary Clinton for ...something.

Cornyn implied that the only reason Hillary Clinton hasn't been charged with a crime is because the White House has influenced the investigation of her email server.

"I believe that Secretary Clinton has likely violated multiple criminal statues," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Monday. Cornyn said Attorney General Loretta Lynch should name a special counsel to counter the "apparent inability of the White House to resist the temptation to try to influence or at worst obstruct the current investigation."

Another possible explanation is that Hillary Clinton has not actually broken any laws and Justice Department officials aren't planning to file charges against Clinton because there's nothing to charge her for. The good news is we don't indict people based on beliefs.

We expect a Republican president would say and do many terrible things, but for me one of the gravest concerns is what they would do to the Justice Department.

Multiple GOP presidential candidates have vowed to prosecute Hillary Clinton for crimes to be determined and it's easy for me to imagine them using the department to enable rather than reform abusive police departments across the country. Moreover, the Justice Department under Eric Holder declined to defend several laws based on constitutional grounds, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, but there's no doubt in my mind a future Republican president would appoint an attorney general whose idea of jurisprudence is strangled by their personal beliefs.

Republicans know a thing or two about politicizing the Justice Department because they've done it before.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened an investigation of the Flint water crisis where an as yet unknown number of people have been poisoned by state officials who told them their water was safe to drink.

Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Detroit, told the Free Press Monday that federal prosecutors are working with a multi-agency investigation team on the Flint water contamination matter, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, EPA's Office of Inspector General, and EPA's Criminal Investigation Division." [...] Jill Washburn, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, confirmed Tuesday the FBI is involved in the investigation but would not say when that involvement began. "Our role is to determine whether or not there have been federal violations," Washburn said.

The Detroit Free Press speculates that the FBI's involvement may prompt some witnesses to invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify before Congress during hearing schedule for this week.

I have strong doubts that Governor Rick Snyder will ever be held accountable, but someone should be. It seems abundantly clear that state officials were well aware of the problem given that they shipped clean water to state employees over a year ago, but local residents were not advised to stop using their water until just recently. Officials did not even take steps to provide locals with water filters or bottled water until recently.

Emails obtained by various sources have revealed that the Snyder administration severely downplayed the threat posed to children.

Emails released by the office of Gov. Rick Snyder last week referred to a resident who said she was told by a state nurse in January 2015, regarding her sons elevated blood lead level, It is just a few IQ points. ... It is not the end of the world.
To my dismay, there will be no more "dumbass live streams" of Rand's campaign for at least the next four years.

Rand son of Ron has officially dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty," Paul said in a statement. "Although, today I will suspend my campaign for President, the fight is far from over. I will continue to carry the torch for Liberty in the United States Senate and I look forward to earning the privilege to represent the people of Kentucky for another term."

Rand is still ready and willing to "fight for the cause of liberty" unless, of course, you're a minority, gay, or pregnant.

Rand son of Ron tarnished his image and his campaign before it was even officially launched by wedding himself to the anti-choice movement. Rand also toured colleges where he told students that we don't need laws against discrimination in the workplace because they should leave their sexuality at home.

Liberty!

Before officially launching his campaign, Rand also went to enormous lengths to paint himself as a warhawk who would take the fight to Syria and ISIS in ways President Obama and Hillary Clinton never will. Unfortunately for him, nobody believed it. Moreover, he muddied his own message with a long series of contradictory speeches and policy positions.

As insincere as I believe him to be, Rand son of Ron was and still is the only Republican presidential candidate to even broach the subject of criminal justice reform, but he also abandoned that platform after discovering Republican primary voters do not care about Black Lives.

The Rand Paul Libertarian electorate simply doesn't exist and it never will but I certainly expect he will run for president again.
The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels.



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Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case in Dallas from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The county department said on Twitter that the person was infected through sexual contact with someone who had traveled to Venezuela. The person infected did not travel to the South American country, county health officials said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services was slightly more cautious in its assessment, saying in a statement, "Case details are being evaluated, but the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person is likely in this case."

Authorities said there were no reports of the virus being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in the Texas county.

A CDC spokesman confirmed the results of a test for Zika infection but said local officials investigated the mode of transmission.

Previously, international health officials had noted one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission. But the Pan American Health Organization said more evidence was needed to confirm sexual contact as a means of Zika transmission. The medical literature also has one case in which the virus was detected in semen.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains.

The WHO has said the virus could infect 4 million people in the Americas. It said on Tuesday it launched a global response unit to fight the mosquito-borne virus.
A 10-year-old Afghan boy who was declared a hero after fighting the Taliban has been shot dead while on his way to school, officials said on Wednesday.

The deputy police chief of the province, Rahimullah Khan, said the boy, Wasil Ahmad, was killed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern Uruzgan province.

The boy had fought Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions, Khan said. Photographs on social media showed 10-year-old Ahmad holding an automatic weapon and wearing uniform and a helmet.

Khan said that unknown gunmen he referred to only as insurgents had killed the boy near his home.

Ahmad's uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district, Khan said.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International says both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

In a report presented to the U.N. Security Council's working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based group said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan Local Police for reasons that included a sense of fulfilling filial duty, patriotism and honor.

But the main reason was poverty, it said in the June 2015 report.

It said that in May last year it found that half of ANP check posts in Tirin Kot "were staffed with visibly younger officers" who all admitted they were under 18 years old.

"They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing check points and engaging in combat for the last few years," the report said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boy's death with his family, the government and the Taliban, who have been waging war for 15 years.

Spokesman Rafiullah Baidar said that local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege following the death of his father in fighting.

"Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his father's death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents," Baidar said.

The Associated Press
A court in western China has reduced the sentences of 11 Uighurs convicted of terrorism and endangering state security, including a naturalized Canadian preacher previously serving a life term.

The new duration of Huseyin Celil's sentence has not been announced, but the decision was lauded by activist John Kamm, who has pressed for Celil's release on behalf of the Canadian government.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday that sentences of 11 Uighurs at Xinjiang's First Prison were commuted but did not specifically name Celil, whose sentence in 2006 drew sharp criticism from Ottawa.

Four prisoners, including a man convicted of contacting the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and setting up militant training bases in Afghanistan, saw lengthy prison terms reduced to six months.

The Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China's far western Xinjiang region. The group has complained of cultural and religious suppression as well as economic marginalization under Chinese rule.

Xinjiang, resource-rich and strategically located on the borders of central Asia, is crucial to China's growing energy needs. Analysts say that much of the proceeds of Chinas energy boom have gone to the Han Chinese, stoking resentment among Uighurs.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press




SEOUL (AFP): North Korea on Tuesday confirmed it was planning an imminent space rocket launch -- a move the US immediately condemned as "another egregious violation" of UN resolutions following Pyongyang's nuclear test last month.



The North sent formal notifications to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), of its intention to launch an earth observation satellite between February 8-25.



The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang over its latest nuclear test, condemned the launch plan.



This is "yet another egregious violation of (North Korea's) obligations," said Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific Affairs.



"This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose...tough additional sanctions," Russel said.



Although Pyongyang insists its space programme is purely scientific in nature, the United States and its allies insist such space launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland.



UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and sanctions were imposed after its last rocket launch in December 2012.



If the notified launch goes ahead, it would be a further slap in the face of the international community which is struggling to find a united response to the January 6 nuclear test.



"North Korea is defying the UN Security Council, it's defying its... neighbour China, it's defying the international community," Russel said.



The North's notification to the IMO said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of between 7:00 am-midday Pyongyang time.



The dates suggest a launch aimed at coinciding with the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.



There had been widespread speculation in recent weeks regarding an imminent rocket test, after satellite images showed increased activity at the North's main Sohae satellite launch station.



Since early 2013, North Korea has been upgrading the Sohae launch complex to handle larger, longer-range rockets with heavier payloads, but most experts say Pyongyang is still years from obtaining a credible ICBM capability.



"North Korea is still a long way off from being able to strike the US mainland," Siegfried Hecker, one of the foremost authorities on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme, said in a recent interview.



"It has only had one successful space launch. It needs a lot more, but it has made a large effort in that direction," Hecker said.


Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 03/02/2016 (2451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER  The University of British Columbias finance committee has voted against selling off the schools fossil fuel holdings, saying it would go against their fiduciary duty.

The finance committee, part of the schools Board of Governors, made the recommendation Wednesday to keep fossil fuel stocks as part of the universitys $1.4-billion endowment, while also creating a $10-million sustainability fund to promote environmental goals.

George Hoberg, a forestry professor and faculty co-ordinator for the schools divestment campaign, said he was disappointed by the decision and the reasons given for making it.

As a member of the UBC faculty for 27 years Im deeply disappointed that the decision departs so far from the universitys stated aspirations to be a leader in sustainability, said Hoberg.

Last January, faculty members at UBC voted 62 per cent in favour of selling off the universitys fossil fuel investments within the next five years. A year earlier, students had voted 77 per cent in favour of divesting from fossil fuel holdings.

Alex Hemingway, head of the student divestment campaign, said he was disappointed those votes were ignored and that there had not been more consultations.

Its very frustrating that UBC has chosen to ignore the decisive referendum votes of both the students and faculty here, he said.

Hemingway said the UBC divestment campaign will hold a teach-in about divestment on Feb. 9, and plans to continue to put pressure on the Board of Governors on divestment ahead of the Feb. 15 meeting where a final decision will be made.

The Board will also vote at the meeting on whether to approve the proposed sustainability fund, which would hold low carbon investments that meet best practices for environmental, social and governance factors.

Wednesdays decision by UBC follows the lead of the University of Calgary, McGill University in Montreal and Dalhousie University in Halifax, all of which earlier decided against divestment.

Last December, a University of Toronto advisory committee recommended that the university divest from fossil fuel companies that blatantly disregard efforts to halt climate change. University president Meric Gertler is expected to make a final decision on divestment by the end of March.

Concordia University in Montreal was the first university in Canada to adopt a partial divestment policy in December 2014, which only applies to a $5-million fund representing a fraction of the schools $130-million endowment.
Hundreds of people fled a conflict-hit area of southeast Turkey's largest city of Diyarbakir on Wednesday, taking advantage of the lifting of a curfew to escape any further clashes between security forces and Kurdish fighters.

A witness said people left the city's Sur district with suitcases, televisions and carpets loaded onto pick-up trucks and handcarts, deserting an area damaged heavily in fighting since a curfew was declared there a month ago.

It's always the ordinary people who suffer, said Mehmet Ceylan, 45, carrying a bundle on his back. I've lived in Sur for years, and I've never witnessed a scene like this.

Hundreds of Kurdish fighters and security force members have been killed since July when a cease-fire collapsed, triggering the worst violence in two decades and wrecking hopes for a peace deal in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 since 1984.

The chief district administrator's office in Sur on Wednesday declared the lifting of a week-old curfew in Sur's western parts. However, the eastern side remained under a round-the-clock curfew.

The state says the curfews, also in place elsewhere in the southeast, are imposed so police can remove barricades, explosive devices and ditches set up by the PKK, deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

Security forces killed five PKK fighters in Sur and another seven in the southeastern town of Cizre on Tuesday, bringing the death toll among Kurdish fighters in the two towns to 670 since December, the army said in a statement. It said two soldiers died from their wounds on Wednesday after fresh clashes in Sur.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said it had not been able to communicate for three days with a group of people, some wounded, trapped in a basement in the southeastern town of Cizre, under curfew since mid-December.

At least six of the 31 people in the building, which has largely collapsed, have died over the past two weeks and others are seriously wounded, the HDP said on Wednesday.

The government has denied its security forces are preventing ambulances from reaching the building and has accused militants of firing on emergency workers.

Separately in Istanbul, unidentified gunmen opened fire late on Tuesday on the premises of an Islamic association, killing one man and wounding three others, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

It followed a similar attack on Monday, when two people were killed and seven wounded in an Istanbul suburb after armed assailants fired on a teahouse. Police detained six people in connection with the first shooting, Anadolu said.

It was not clear if the attacks were politically motivated, but they tapped into concerns that violence may spread to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.

Wire services
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This article was published 03/02/2016 (2451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  Changes are coming to Torontos fashion week  including the name of the event.

Beginning on Monday, Canadas biggest style showcase will be rebranded simply as Toronto Fashion Week, complete with a new website and social media handles. The name change comes following the end of a six-season deal with World MasterCard as the Toronto events title sponsor.

The event will also see the addition of a fresh slate of homegrown talent on the calendar, a reconfigured space, and an effort by organizers to bring more consumers into the fold.

Models walk the runway for the Sid Neigum collection during Toronto fashion week in Toronto on Monday, March 23, 2015. Changes are coming to Toronto's fashion week ??? including the name of the event. Beginning on Monday, Canada's biggest style showcase will be rebranded as Toronto Fashion Week, complete with a new website and social media handles. Fall-winter collections are slated to be unveiled next month.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Fall-winter collections are slated to be unveiled next month.

IMG Canada operates Toronto Fashion Week in collaboration with IMG Fashion, which has fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, Moscow, Sydney and Tokyo within its portfolio.

While organizers are hoping to find additional sponsor support, they dont foresee any impact on staging the upcoming Toronto event.

We really want the focus to be on the designers and on the industry, said Catherine Bennett, senior vice-president and managing director of IMG Fashion Events & Properties.

We are looking for partners that understand the industry, and thats the need for constant evolution, and also the unique opportunities within that market.

With the elimination of the smaller studio space used, all collections will be showcased on the main runway.

One of things that were offering designers is the ability to do fashion presentations in the fashion environment where they can reach potentially more people and a greater audience. Theyre able to reach also the consumer audience thats in that environment, said IMG Canada director Carolyn Quinn.

The feedback has been that theyre really interested in doing a runway show but cant necessarily fill the space with the right people. It seems a bit daunting. The runway room fits 800 people, so the opportunity to do multiple designers in one show is something that theyre very interested in.

Bennett said Toronto was one of the first markets where they had success with having consumers attend shows, which are typically targeted towards buyers, media and others within the industry.

Theyre hoping to boost attendance among everyday fashion fans who will be able to check out several newcomers to the Toronto Fashion Week calendar. Among them: bridal and womens ready-to-wear designer Christopher Paunil, fine jewelry designer Daniel Christian Tang, Montreal designer Marisa Minicucci and Toronto-based womenswear brand Jennifer Torosian.

Previous Fashion Week favourites slated to showcase new lines include: award-winning Alberta-born, Toronto-based Sid Neigum; leather goods retailer Rudsak; Montreal labels Soia & Kyo and UNTTLD; Toronto-based womenswear brand Mikhael Kale; Edmontons Malorie Urbanovitch; and eveningwear specialist Stephan Caras.

 Follow @lauren_larose on Twitter.
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This article was published 03/02/2016 (2451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL  The company behind the proposed Energy East Pipeline ramped up its Quebec charm offensive on Wednesday, announcing a deal to create more than 120 jobs if the project proceeds.

TransCanada (TSX:TRP) is hoping it can woo Quebecers to get on side with the multibillion-dollar pipeline after it signed an agreement with power equipment manufacturer ABB Canada to build 22 electrical houses in the Montreal region.

But Energy East will be a tough sell in Quebec. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre along with more than 80 other municipal leaders recently rejected the pipeline over environmental concerns, accusing TransCanada of arrogance.

John Soini, president, Energy East pipeline project, and Nathalie Pilon, President and CEO, ABB Canada, shake hands at a news conference in Montreal on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 following the signing of a major supply agreement. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

John Soini, the new president of Energy East, made sure to deliver the majority of his announcement in French, despite difficulty speaking the language.

His presence Wednesday was part of what the company calls its new approach toward convincing Quebecers that the $15.7-billion pipeline project is in the provinces best economic interests and that TransCanada cares about citizens concerns.

For me, its all about listening, Soini said, adding that Quebecers should expect to see him more often. Its all about being in the community. Im happy to be here and to spend time here. Im not a big-city guy. Im not a stuffed suit.

TransCanada plans to build a pipeline from Albertas oilsands that would wind its way through Montreal and ending in Saint John, N.B.

The project would ship 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and allow Albertas crude  which is currently landlocked  to be exported to international markets other than the United States.

While Coderre has voiced his concerns with Energy East, he has also signalled he is open to changing his mind if TransCanada does its homework.

Soini said the agreement announced Wednesday, which would create 120 temporary jobs, is contingent on Energy East getting sanctioned. The deal with ABB Canada  a division of ABB Group in Switzerland  is also expected to create another 90 spinoff jobs outside the Montreal area, TransCanada said.

The electrical houses that would be built under the deal are prefabricated structures that contain electrical and automation equipment for powering pump stations along the pipeline.

Getting the green light for Energy East will likely take more than promises of temporary jobs, however.

Environmental activists continue to push governments to stop further development of the oilsands. They argue that any new pipeline will increase global oil supply and therefore increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Jeff Gaulin of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, who attended Wednesdays announcement, said world oil demand will increase for some time and pipelines have been proven to be the safest way of transporting it.

Youre never going to win an argument with someone who says, No more oil, and politicians who take that view are unlikely to ever support a pipeline, Gaulin said.

Louis Bergeron, Energy Easts vice-president for New Brunswick and Quebec, said he appreciates that in order to have this project accepted TransCanada needs to show Quebecers there is more in it for them.

Coderre mentioned several times that we have to do our homework, Bergeron said. So I think today what were saying is that we are doing it. We have a lot more coming up and its my job to make sure we satisfy this principle that the Quebec government requested for us to maximize the economic benefits of this project.

The federal government will have the final say on whether Energy East proceeds.

In January, the Liberals announced they were extending the National Energy Board review process by several months, which will likely postpone a decision until well into 2018.

The energy board released a statement Wednesday saying it has asked TransCanada to consolidate and repackage its application for the pipeline to make it easier for experts and the public to navigate.
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This article was published 03/02/2016 (2451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says her department will look into the cases of about 1,000 residential school students who have been disqualified for compensation by a technicality.

The minister made the commitment Wednesday in the House of Commons after the federal Liberal government came under fire during question period.

We have learned that 1,000 victims of sexual and physical abuse from the residential schools had their cases thrown out on a flimsy legal technicality, which is that children who were abused in institutions run by the government are not, somehow, eligible for compensation by the government, NDP indigenous affairs critic Charlie Angus said in question period.

This travesty was conjured up in the Department of Justice.

The issue centres on an administrative split created when the federal government took over the operation of some residential schools and left other institutions in the control of religious leaders.

It is estimated about 1,000 students who attended the federally operated institutions were found ineligible for compensation because of the split.

Bennett said she will have officials review the issue.

I have asked my department to look into this, and we are going to look into it in a very serious manner right now, she told the Commons.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus commitment to restore the relationship with Canadas Aboriginal Peoples is a double-edged sword for residential school survivors, Angus said later in an interview.

It does give the impression to Canadians that this dark chapter is over, he said.

If those positive words are not matched by a change in the operating culture of government, then the survivors are continuing to be denied their basic right to restitution for the horrific crimes they endured.

The government does not need to study the administrative split, Angus added.

They need to say for those people who were denied justice that they will get justice, he said.

Thats how you make things right. Thats how we move on and thats how Canadians know that this chapter is closed.

It is the federal government who failed the children and the federal government needs to explain why theyre continuing to fail, Angus noted.

Residential schools operated in Canada from the 1870s until 1996.
An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday overturned death sentences for 149 people accused of killing policemen in a mob attack on their station, a judicial source said.

The court ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which killed 13 policemen near Cairo on Aug. 14, 2013, the day police shot dead hundreds of demonstrators in the capital.

The initial ruling in February 2015 came amid a series of death sentences in mass trials that were criticized internationally, as the government cracked down on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The court had also sentenced 37 people to death in absentia, but they would have to hand themselves in for a retrial.

The grounds for the appeals court ruling were not immediately available, but the court has overturned hundreds of death sentences over the past year, to the relief of rights advocates and frustration of some in the government who have urged fast track executions.

Seven people have been executed for political violence since Morsi's ouster, including six who were convicted of belonging to an insurgent group.

The military overthrow of Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, ushered in the worst domestic bloodshed in the country's modern history.

Morsi ruled for only a year, deeply dividing the country, and his removal was met with escalating protests by those who favored the Morsi-supporting Muslim Brotherhood.

On Aug. 14, 2013, less than two months after Morsi's overthrow, police broke up two protest camps in Cairo, killing about 700 protesters.

Morsi's supporters around the country attacked police stations, killing dozens of officers, and torched the churches of Coptic Christians.

Morsi himself is facing several trials and has already been sentenced to death in one case.

Several leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood movement, including its chief Mohamed Badie, have been sentenced to either death or lengthy jail terms.

The movement has been blacklisted as a "terrorist organization" and its assets confiscated. It was also long repressed by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose downfall was one of the major episodes of the Arab Spring.

The police crackdown that initially targeted Morsi supporters was later widened to include secularist and leftist leaders and activists.

Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse
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CAPE DORSET, Nunavut - The parents of a baby who died in questionable circumstances in a Nunavut community say they want a formal coroner's inquiry into their son's death.

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A video of a bolt of lightning coming out of the blue to strike just feet away from a woman on a beach has gone viral - for two reasons.

The obvious one is the woman's dramatic near-death experience with a lightning bolt. The second is her boyfriend's garbled reaction after it happens which some people think is hilarious.
Scientists, in the right place at the right time, have captured extremely rare footage of a remote sub-Antarctic volcano erupting.

While sailing around Heard Island on a research program, the crew of RV Investigator filmed the eruption of one of Australia's volcanoes.

The Big Ben volcano found on the island is one of only two active volcanoes within Australia's territories, and they have loaded exclusive footage online of an eruption.

Mike Coffin, the chief scientist on board the Investigator, said: "We saw vapour being emitted from the top of the volcano and we saw lava flows coming down the flank of Big Ben.

"We have learned that lavas flow over the top of glacial ice at the top of the mountain, and then they appear to descend beneath the ice at some point down the volcano.

"So there is a strong interaction between glacial ice and molten lava on Big Ben."

Eruptions are usually only seen by satellite due to the remote location of the volcano, so to see this is very rare indeed.

Mike continued: "There are very few ships that come to this part of the world, the last one that landed on Heard Island was in 1987, so it was nearly 30 years ago."

H/T: Reddit.
As Arctic Council delegates convened for a three-day environmental working group meeting in Sweden on Monday, representatives of 15 NGOs released a letter calling on the Councils eight member states to pursue a ban on heavy fuel oils in the region.

The risks to the marine environment, the climate, and public health are too great to permit the continued use of [heavy fuel oil] in Arctic shipping, the letter says.

Cargo shipping in the Arctic region has increased in recent years as firms take advantage of shorter routes that are usually clogged by sea ice. Some of these ships are powered by or are transporting heavy fuel oil, which the letter asserts is a grave environmental threat to the Arctics delicate ecosystem.

As opposed to other fuels, such as diesel, heavy fuel oil does not evaporate when spilt. When it mixes with seawater, it actually expands in volume.

Coupled with its viscosity and tendencies to sink and stick to anything it comes into contact with, cleanup effort becomes insurmountable, the letter says. The problem is more acute in Arctic waters because of lower species diversity as well as reduced growth and reproduction rates for its biota. More damage can occur, more quickly and with longer lasting effects than in other climates.

The letter also details the risks of black carbon  a soot-like particulate that forms as a byproduct of burning heavy fuel oil. Studies have shown that black carbon may be hastening the melting of sea ice, and also contributes to the degradation of air quality.

When a human being breathes that, its essentially breathing soot, said Conrad Schneider, Advocacy Director for the Clean Air Task Force and one of the letters signatories. It not only affects the lungs, but it can penetrate the deepest reaches of the lungs and enter the bloodstream and cause problems in the cardiovascular system as well.

Approximately 4 million people live in the Arctic, and many remote communities continue to rely on traditional subsistence to survive.

Austin Ahmasuk of Kawerak, the non-profit arm of the Bering Strait Natives Association, said a spill of heavy fuel oil would have devastating effects on indigenous communities who rely on marine resources to maintain their way of life.

Of all the spills that could occur, heavy fuel oil is a pretty significant one, Ahmasuk said. Its the most difficult one to clean up. In this part of the world, where there is so little oil spill response capability, you compound that.

In terms of local communities, theyre going to bear that brunt if and when theres an oil spill, said Sue Libenson, spokesperson for San Francisco-based nonprofit Pacific Environment, which helped produce the letter.

The Arctic Council is made up of representatives of eight member states (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States), and organizations that represent the indigenous Aleut, Athabaskan, Gwichin, Inuit, Saami, as well as indigenous communities in Russia. The United States is currently chair of the council.

In 2011, the European Parliament also called for a ban on heavy fuel oil in the Arctic.

The International Maritime Organization, a body of the United Nations, banned heavy fuel oils in the Antarctic in 2010. Ultimately, it is that organization which would ban the fuel in the Arctic.

A spokesperson for IMO said by email: Proposals to apply the same mandatory requirement in the Arctic have not so far been agreed by all member states, but there is a recommendation in the Polar Code to apply the same regulation on voluntary basis. To have the mandatory requirement in the Arctic, Parties to [the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ship] need to put forward the proposal for discussion.

I think the Arctic Council can basically be an advocate at the [International Maritime Organization], pushing for tighter regulation of [heavy fuel oil], said Andrew Hartsig, Arctic Program Manager at the Ocean Conservancy, who also signed the letter. If they came together and pushed for it, I think it would be a relatively straight forward effort to get the [International Maritime Organization] on board.

In November 2015, an oil spill in the North Pacific covered nearly 2.5 miles of Russias Sakhalin Island shoreline with oil. The spill occurred in waters free of ice and in close proximity to a port, yet response was still stymied by severe weather, the NGO letter says. If a similar event had taken place in the Bering Strait or comparably remote and under-equipped area, a timely response would likely have been infeasible. And even if it were eventually mounted, a cleanup attempt would have been minimally effective at best.

In 2011, a record-breaking 33 ships passed through the Northern Sea Route, which stretches along Russias northern coast and passes by Alaska via the Bering Strait. By 2013, that number had risen to more than 70, though dropped to 31 in 2014. 2015 data are not yet available.

People now see shipping as a problem, Hartsig said. When I first started this in 2008, very few people were talking about shipping. But now, partially because of the setback in the oil and gas industry up here, shipping is on the tip of more peoples tongues than oil and gas in the Arctic.

Yes, theres been an increase, Ahmasuk, who lives in Nome, Alaska, said. However, we are not the Strait of Hormuz. We are not the Panama Canal. We are the Bering Strait. The actual nature of the increase is modest.

Ahmasuk added: But its dramatically different than it was 15 years ago.
Existing safeguards are good enough to protect Irelands blood supplies from the Zika virus, health chiefs have said.

Under current rules, donors who have been to tropical regions are barred from giving donations for three months while a 12-month deferral is in place for those who have been in malarial regions.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) said anyone who is confirmed with the virus will be barred from donating for six months.

Therefore existing deferral policies are adequate for protecting the blood supply from Zika virus, a spokeswoman said.

The IBTS said it has always operated on the basis of restrictions on blood donations based on regions rather than naming specific countries.

It also said the regions have traditionally been selected based on where blood-borne diseases are endemic, such as some parts of the tropics.

Zika is believed to be spread by the Aedes mosquitoes, which usually bite during the morning and late afternoon/evening hours, and is the same insect that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

A man and woman in Ireland who contracted the Zika virus have made a full recovery, health chiefs have said.

The cases  the first of their kind in the country  are unrelated to each other and both people have a history of travel to a Zika-affected country.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said the newly-discovered Zika cases in Ireland are not an unexpected event as many other European countries have reported cases as a result of people travelling to affected areas.

Health chiefs have urged Irish people who fall ill within two weeks after returning from an affected area to seek medical help.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre issued specific advice regarding implications of Zika virus transmission to a number of relevant groups including the IBTS.

The World Health Organisation has declared an international emergency over the virus, which is linked to birth defects in Brazil and the Americas.
Kenneth OBrien has been laid to rest after his funeral in Dublin earlier.

Mourners were urged to remember the 33-year-olds life, rather than the manner of his death.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith

Political Reporter

Tanaiste Joan Burton has urged the public to re-elect the current coalition if it wants what she says is the economic recovery to continue, saying "we inherited a ruin and we rebuilt it".

The Labour leader made the call for votes moments after a symbolic parting of ways between her and Taoiseach Enda Kenny outside Government Buildings at 10.30am this morning.

Speaking to reporters as Mr Kenny was driven away to Aras an Uachtarain to formally inform President Michael D Higgins he is dissolving the Dail for a Friday February 26 election date, Ms Burton said Fine Gael and Labour should be returned to power.

"The real test of any government is whether they leave the country in a better place and I will say with the Fine Gael-Labour Government we have definitely done that. We inherited a ruin and we rebuilt it.

"Yesterday's unemployment figures are down to 8.6% from a high of over 15%, that is a real indication people all over Ireland are getting back to work.

"That's happening not just in city areas but right across the country," she said, adding the coalition has been "a very united government".

Despite opposition accusations the way in which Mr Kenny informed the Dail of the election this morning Ms Burton defended the Fine Gael leader.

The formal move has been criticised as no vote was taken, no opposition statements were allowed and the Dail was not informed of the date of the vote, leading one TD joking outside "sure Alan Kelly's going to decide that" as he is Environment Minister and must formally sign the legislation.

However, responding to Sinn Fein claims the Dail proceedings "a pathetic end to a pathetic Dail", the Labour leader said what Mr Kenny did was "exactly right" and was "exactly how it is outlined", before noting ex-taoiseach Bertie Ahern "dropped into the Dail" to do it in previous years.

Asked if the parting of the Government parties this morning is her last photo-call outside Government Buildings, Ms Burton noted this week is Seachtain Meabhdh Bhride and that she takes inspiration from this.

"She was a very powerful woman and role model in early Irish history. I'm delighted to be the first woman leader of Labour, the response is strong and I'm very confident we will re-elect this Government.

"It's been a great privilege to have served in Government, to have been Tanaiste, and it's now in the hands of the people," she said.

Ms Burton will attend a Labour party briefing this afternoon before travelling with candidates in their constituencies.
A 37-year-old man set to be prosecuted for the murder of a Belfast mother-of-three has been detained in Dublin on a European arrest warrant.

The Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland said it had decided to prosecute a suspect for the murder of Jennifer Dornan.

Raymond ONeill was arrested by gardai in Dublin on Wednesday and later appeared in an extradition court in the city. He was remanded in custody until later this month.

Ms Dornan was found stabbed to death in her burning house in Hazel View in the Lagmore area of west Belfast last August.

ONeill, who has a previous address in Summerhill Walk, Dunmurry, is to be prosecuted for murder and arson.

PPS assistant director Marianne OKane said: Senior prosecutors, from both the PPSs Serious Crime Unit and Appeals and International Section, have worked closely with the PSNI investigating team over recent months to expedite the prosecution decision in this case and commence extradition proceedings.

PSNI Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: We will be seeking this mans extradition to Northern Ireland as part of our investigation into Jennifers murder.

We have been working closely with the Public Prosecution Service to ensure this matter is expedited as quickly as possible.
By Daniel McConnell Political Editor

This is not the end, Enda Kenny said as he and Tanaiste Joan Burton shook hands awkwardly in front of the assembled media on the steps of Government Buildings today.

Joan and Enda have endured rather enjoyed their working relationship, with the body language suggesting the two could barely tolerate being in each others company.

Enda, having exercised his prerogative in finally deciding to end the 31st Dail, got in his nice black BMW and went off to the Aras, leaving Joan behind to address the media.

Joan, as we know, is not one to readily pass up an opportunity to speak.

Earlier on, Enda had annoyed the Opposition by making his swift announcement to the Dail and leaving before they got a chance to respond.

He then took to Twitter to announce the election date which, as expected, will be Friday, February 26.

I am seeking a dissolution of Dail Eireann today with the election to be held on February 26th.https://t.co/R5JnwC3XFB  Enda Kenny (@EndaKennyTD) February 3, 2016

Within minutes, the myriad of parties, alliances and independents had taken to the airwaves to give us a first taster of what they will be saying in order to convince us, da pee-pull as Enda says, to vote for them.

There was a lot of talk of the so-called fiscal space which in layman's terms is how much more money parties want to spend between now and 2021.

While the prudent economists insist there is only about 3.2bn extra to spend, the political parties seemed to think they have up to 12bn to spend.

All sounds very auction politics, one thinks.

In a nutshell, this was the sales pitch from the parties and independent groupings:

1. Fine Gael

Fine Gael are promising stability and to keep the recovery going. They have a three-step plan - not a five-point plan mind, but a three-point plan.

Dull as dishwater, but they hope even if people dont like them, they will feel compelled to vote for them.

2. Labour

Labour are promising to provide balance, hoping voters will agree that too much Fine Gael is not in anyones interests.

Leader Joan Burton also delivered quite the spanking to her deputy Alan Power is a drug Kelly who she described as an obedient employeecolleague.

3. Fianna Fail

Fianna Fail are saying they can deliver fairness, but gave precious little detail of how they would do it. Instead they went on the attack.

4. Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein, in a well-trained mantra, are promising to tax the rich and reward the poor. They insist their policies are fully costed but many remain to be convinced of that.

Also for Gerry Adams and Co, the shadow of Good Republican Thomas Slab Murphy looms large following the description of him as a mass murderer in a BBC Spotlight programme.

6. Independent Alliance

Shane Ross Independent Alliance have attacked the lack of reform in the Dail and the continuation of what it calls crony appointments by the Government. The loose alliance of TDs are unable to promise much by way of specifics.

Ok, stay with us, not quite through the lot of them, but almost.

7. Renua

The Lucinda Creighton Party, sorry I mean Renua Ireland, have been brave in pushing their 23% flat tax policy which they insist is backed up and verified by KPMG.

She, I mean, sorry they deserve credit for offering up a genuinely brave policy which will force a debate on tax, but they have yet to shake the image that they all sit to the right of Donald Trump.

She said they would be looking to get 10 seats, but the pundits give them less than half of those.

No, we're not done yet, still a few more to go through.

8. Anti-Austerity Alliance/People for Profit

The Anti-Austerity Alliance/People for Profit/ Tirade Before Breakast grouping focused their message on the anger people feel. Paul Murphy beat the anti-water drum hard and it is clear that is his pitch to the electorate.

They hope to get at least seven seats in the upcoming election. As the old saying goes, the first item of the agenda for the left is the split, but the alliance believe they can resolve any differences to remain together during the life time of the next government.

9. The Social Democrats

The Social Democrats, who dont have just one leader but three  Stephen Donnelly, Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy - also had an interesting pitch.

They are not promising to cut taxes like everyone else is. They instead want you to have better services in your hospitals and schools. Prioritising the delivery of intangible services down the line is a much harder sell than straightforward tax cuts, and while it is a more mature approach, the jury is out as to whether it is a wise strategy.

But as the campaign gears up, anyone fancying a late entry into the race has until Thursday February 11 to throw their name in to the hat, we were told.

Former Fianna Fail ministers Conor Lenihan and Noel Dempsey were spotted in Leinster House in the past couple of days. Could they be eyeing up a surprise return?

And this was day one.

Only three more weeks of this. Oh boy.
By Elaine Loughlin, political reporter

With the election campaign now in full swing we will be hearing a lot more about the fiscal space, fiscal deficit and long-term economic plans.

To guide voters through the mire of jargon the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) has produced a plain English guide to political terms ahead of the general election.

Inez Bailey, Director, NALA said: Politics is awash with terms and phrases that are beloved of commentators and politicians alike. Thats why we wrote this guide  to help people to better understand what is being said. We hope that the guide will help more people get involved in political activity and the general election.

We also encourage political parties to use less jargon and to be more aware of the issues faced by the 1 in 6 adults with literacy difficulties in Ireland. While political jargon allows politicians to talk about issues in a quicker, coded way, it can also act as a real barrier for people accessing information, she said.

Sample of terms in the guide:

Bandwagon effect: The tendency for a popular candidate or proposal to gather even more support simply because they appear to be winning; also called the snowball effect.

Canvassing: Trying to win votes by contacting voters directly, for example by going door to door.

Dark horse candidate: An almost unknown contestant in an election who achieves unexpected support.

Floating voter: A person who is undecided about how to vote in an election or referendum; a voter who doesnt always vote for the same political party.

Front runner: A candidate who is likely to win an election or be nominated by their party to take part in an election.

Gerrymander: Deliberately dividing a constituency in a way that gives an advantage to one political party or to particular voters.

Hustings: Public meetings in the run-up to an election where candidates outline their policies as part of their election campaign.

Incumbent: A person who currently holds a post or office.

Landslide victory: An overwhelming majority of votes for one candidate or party in an election.

Marginal seat: A seat held by a political party by a very narrow margin and, so, at risk of being lost.

Mudslinging: The practice of saying negative things about an opponent during a political campaign; also known as dirty politics.

Quota: The number of votes that a candidate needs to win a seat under the proportional representation (PR) system.

Returning Officer: A person who supervises the counting of votes during an election or referendum, and who certifies and officially announces the results.

Single Transferable Vote  STV: A system of voting where several seats are available in a constituency. A person votes for their preferred candidate, and any unused votes for that candidate (for example, if they already have enough to be elected) are transferred to other candidates in the constituency until all seats are filled.

Spin: Public relations (PR) activity, for example press releases or interviews, or a way of presenting information that aims to enhance the public image of a person or group, such as a politician or their party, at the expense of a political opponent or the opposition party.

Swing voter: A person who votes, but whose support can switch from one political party to another, depending on the issue at stake.

Tallyman: A person who attends the counting of votes and, by watching the process, carries out an unofficial count of the ballot papers as the official count progresses.
People gather as they are evacuated from the camp. Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters

Warned by activists of the impending evacuation, many of the camp residents left before the police action began. Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters

Authorities have said that the residents of the camp would be rehoused. AFP

A resident of the camp holding a toddler stands in her makeshift shack during the evacuation. Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty Images

Authorities said that the camp had to be evacuated because it was insecure and unsanitary. Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty Images

The Roma had been living along an unused railroad track since last summer. Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty Images

Citing sanitary concerns, French police on Monday cleared a sprawling slum-like camp along disused railroad tracks on the edge of Paris that housed hundreds of Roma.

Activist groups say some 400 people had been living in makeshift shelters at the site, known as La Petite Ceinture, but many had left before police moved in. The remaining residents left in a calm atmosphere Wednesday morning.

Thousands of Roma, also known as Gypsies, live in shantytowns around France, often without water or electricity. They routinely face discrimination and evacuations.

Between 10 and 12 million Roma are estimated to live in Europe, the Council of Europe notes. They are amongst the most deprived of all communities, facing daily discrimination and racial insults, living in extreme poverty and exclusion from the normal life that other people take for granted  going to school, seeing the doctor, applying for a job or having decent housing, the Council says.

A 2010 pledge by the European Union to improve Romas living conditions in member countries has gone ignored by subsequent administrations, advocates say.

Amnesty International urged authorities in Paris to find a lasting housing solution and said those expelled would become homeless in mid-winter  or just build a new camp elsewhere. The rights group has routinely criticized countries for not providing safe shelter to Roma or abiding by international human rights law in their treatment of Roma.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
More than 260 asylum seekers face being deported from Australia to Nauru after Australias highest court rejected a challenge to the legality of the governments refugee policy.

A Bangladeshi woman, who cannot be named, had gone to the High Court to challenge the legality of Australia paying the tiny Pacific nation to detain asylum seekers who attempt to reach Australian shores by boat.

The woman had been sent to Nauru in January 2014 but was brought back to Australia in August 2014 because for medical help due to pregnancy complications.

She had a child and then gained a court injunction preventing her return to Nauru pending her court challenge.

A total of 267 asylum seekers, most of whom came to Australia for medical treatment or to support a family member who needed treatment, have gained injunctions preventing their return to Nauru until the case was settled.

But a majority of the seven judges ruled the agreement in operation between the two countries since August 2013 was legal.

The governments policy is never to resettle in Australia any refugee who attempts to reach the country by boat.

The parliament passed retroactive laws last year to firm up the legal basis of the Nauru deal.

Refugee and rights advocates have appealed to the government to let the 267, including 91 children, stay.

The legality is one thing, the morality is another, said Daniel Webb, director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, which handled the case against the government.

It is fundamentally wrong to condemn these people to a life in limbo on a tiny island. The stroke of a pen is all that it would take our prime minister or our immigration minister to do the decent thing and let these families stay.

Mr Webb said the plaintiff was reduced to tears when told she had lost the case.

My hope is that common decency and basic compassion prevails and that these babies and their families have an opportunity at life somewhere safe, he said.

Immigration minister Peter Dutton said before the ruling that the government acted in the best interests of asylum seekers brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment.

Were not going to send people into harms way, he told Sky News television.
European countries are being warned to act now to try to reduce the risk from the Zika virus.

It is being spread by a particular type of mosquito, which the World Health Organisation has said will be present in some European countries as the weather gets warmer.
A plane has had to make an emergency landing after an explosion ripped a hole in its fuselage.

The flight had just taken off from Somalia's Mogadishu airport.
Members of a notorious family who have made their neighbours lives hell with over 300 incidents of anti-social behaviour have escaped jail for breaching a court order designed to stop them misbehaving.

Over the years theMembers of a notorious family who have made their neighbours lives hell with over 300 incidents of anti-social behaviour have escaped jail for breaching a court order designed to stop them misbehaving. family  father Michael, 69, matriarch Jane Beard, 52, and daughters Trudie, 28, and Ellen, 22  have caused untold misery to their neighbours at various properties in Gloucester in England.

In the past they have been imprisoned for breaching court orders designed to curb the misery they cause to those around them.

At a hearing last month Michael, Trudie, Ellen and Ellens former boyfriend Robert Edwards were convicted of breaching an interim injunction made in October last year banning them from shouting, causing a nuisance or making rude gestures to neighbours at their former flat in Russell Street.

That injunction was further extended to cover all of the city of Gloucester and attached to it was a power of arrest, so police could take immediate action if trouble flared.

3 members of the Birch family from Gloucester have been given suspended sentences in court today. pic.twitter.com/tfb6cRCtm8  BBC Inside Out West (@InsideOutWest) February 3, 2016

This was the latest in a string of actions taken against the family by both Gloucester City Homes and more recently Project Solace, an anti-social behaviour partnership. They include two evictions, 12 injunctions and three prison sentences.

Following their eviction from the flat in December, the Birch family were squatting behind a disused building in the city centre, next to a supermarket car park.

They returned to Gloucester County Court on Wednesday to hear whether they would be jailed again  with Michael Birch unsuccessfully seeking an adjournment because he was unable to get a solicitor and had missed last months court hearing because he was in hospital.

He told District Judge David Hebblethwaite: I was in the hospital on my death bed  thats why I couldnt attend. They were all with me. I have only got four months to live.

The court heard that Michael, Jane and Trudie had been temporarily housed in a bungalow in Stroud  specially adapted for wheelchair users Michael and Jane - but were having to leave by the end of this week and could be homeless again.

Youngest daughter Ellen and her former partner Edwards were both homeless and living in Gloucester.

'I just want to get out of town now.'

Trudie, her parents carer, told the judge: We are glad to move from Gloucester and get in no more trouble with this.

The neighbours are fine with me  no problems at all. We want a new start in Stroud away from Gloucester.

We do not want to come back to Gloucester and go to prison for it. We want to try our best and put it all behind us.

Michael added: I want to thank all the people that got us this move. I love it there. I am not coming back to Gloucester.

All I want to do is stay out of prison and live a normal life. I will admit that I am very sorry for all the trouble I have caused. I just want to get out of town now.

My partner has offered to marry me at the end of the year on my 70th birthday and I dont want to be parted from her.

Passing sentence, the judge said there had been no further breaches of the injunction since it was extended to cover the whole city.

Now you have moved out of Gloucester it is disappointing to hear that the accommodation in Stroud is only available for a few more days, he said.

There are no mitigating factors but you do have a history of disobeying court orders and this is not the first time you have been in court for breaching court orders.

For the time being you are no longer in the city of Gloucester and you appear from what you said in court today to want to make a new start.

I have to be wary of your propensity for you to cause trouble to neighbours so perhaps a custodial sentence should be made. But on the other hand you have moved away from the city.

The trouble seems to have occurred when you have all been housed together as a group and being separated may be helpful to all of you behaving yourselves.

Taking all of the factors into account I am going to suspend the prison sentence. The six weeks custody will be suspended for 12 months.

The family previously caused hell for neighbours in Byron Avenue, Podsmead, before being evicted last year. They then moved to a property in Russell Street.
Republican Senator Rand Paul is dropping his 2016 campaign for US president.

Campaign spokeswoman Eleanor May confirmed the move to The Associated Press.

Mr Paul and his appeals to reject American political dynasties and to take our country back was ultimately overshadowed by billionaire Donald Trump.

The son of former Republican Ron Paul was elected in the conservative tea party-driven wave of 2010 and often disagreed with Republican leaders.

Mr Paul notably opposed the US governments use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists.
Officials at Somalias civil aviation authority say they have found no evidence so far of a criminal act in an explosion on a plane which took off from Mogadishus airport and returned for an emergency landing.

The Somali government has said an investigation is under way.

Ali Mohamoud, an aviation official at the Mogadishu airport, said that investigators moved the plane from the runway to a private hangar. He said that foreign technical experts were involved in the inquiry.

Two passengers on board the flight said they heard a loud bang, suggesting an explosion that left a hole in the fuselage.

The plane, operated by Dubai-based Daallo Airlines and headed to Djibouti, was forced to land minutes after taking off from the airport on Tuesday.

The pilot said he thought the blast was caused by a bomb.

Awale Kullane, Somalias deputy ambassador to the UN who was on board the flight, said on Facebook that he heard a loud noise and couldnt see anything but smoke for a few seconds. When visibility returned passengers realised quite a chunk of the plane was missing, he wrote.

A preliminary report will be issued later this week.

Although Mr Mohamoud said there were only two injuries, there were unverified reports that a person fell out of the hole.

Daallo Airlines said in a brief statement posted on its Facebook page that the Airbus A321 plane was operated by Hermes Airlines. It said the plane experienced an incident shortly after take-off.

The Aircraft landed safely and all of our passengers were evacuated safely. A thorough investigation is being conducted by Somalia Civil Aviation Authority, the Daallo statement said.

Hermes Airlines is based in Athens, Greece. Its main business is providing planes on a wet lease basis, meaning it leases insured planes staffed and serviced by its crew to other carriers. Its fleet includes four A321s and one Boeing 737, according to its website.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in Balad, an agricultural town about 18 miles north of Mogadishu, said residents had found the dead body of an elderly man who might have fallen from a plane.

I think it was a bomb, said the Serbian pilot, Vladimir Vodopivec, who was quoted by Belgrade daily Blic. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well, the 64-year-old pilot said.

Somalia faces an insurgency perpetrated by the Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which is responsible for many deadly attacks across the nation.
De Mistura met with Syrias primary opposition bloc, the Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC), on Monday and Wednesday. He met with delegates from Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government on Tuesday.

The meetings in Switzerland are part of a process outlined in a U.N. resolution last month that envisages an 18-month timetable for a political transition in Syria, including the drafting of a new constitution and elections.

Before de Mistura announced the temporary pause in negotiations, he had said the Geneva meetings were expected to last six months, with government and opposition delegations sitting in separate rooms and U.N. officials shuttling between them.

"The immediate priorities are a broad cease-fire, humanitarian aid, and halting the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)," the U.N. had said in a statement.

Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the U.N., blamed the pause on the HNC, telling reporters Wednesday that the "opposition's delegation came four days late and rejected to participate in the indirect negotiations with U.N. Special envoy for Syria."

The HNC had initially boycotted the talks, but changed course after being promised that their participation would lead to a cease-fire.

Farah Atassi, an HNC member, told Al Jazeera that opposition delegates were angry that Syrias military and its ally Russia have continued to bomb civilian areas in opposition-held territory despite the negotiations.

"We are being targeted on the ground in Syria, politically and through the media," she said. "We came here to end the suffering of the Syrian people. Our presence here is a message to the international community: We will not back down from our demands. We call on the friends of Syria to pressure the Syrian government and Russia to end their airstrikes before any negotiations take place."

Citing reports from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), a UK-based watchdog, the HNC accused Syrian and Russian forces of killing at least 300 civilians since the Geneva III conference began on Jan. 29.

The Syrian government launched a major offensive from the north of Aleppo and captured several strategically important towns on Monday. Syria's official news agency SANA reported that government forces on Wednesday cut off a supply route for rebels in Aleppo.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 16 airstrikes in Aleppo had been conducted since Wednesday morning. The monitoring group also said battles were taking place in the northern suburbs of Aleppo.

The HNC has condemned the Aleppo offensive, saying it shows that Assad's government is not committed to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

HNC spokesman Riad Nassan Agha urged the United Nations on Tuesday to take measures in order to "deter Russia and the Syrian government from committing further crimes" against the Syrian people.

"These barbaric attacks are designed to put pressure on the oppositions negotiating delegation and to make a mockery of the political process currently under way in Geneva and the international community that sponsors it," Agha said. "We came to Geneva to prove to the world that we are serious about finding a political solution at a time when the Assad regime, Russia and Iran escalate attacks on the Syrian people."

Like Russia, Iran is a backer of the Assad government.

The Geneva negotiations are meant to develop a "road map" to end the conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 Syrians.

The war has also displaced millions more, and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing as refugees to Europe.
Criminal exonerations hit a record high in 2015 due largely to district attorneys in places such as Houston, Dallas and Brooklyn, New York, setting up units to review cases where the legal system may have acted unjustly, a report released on Wednesday found.

There were 149 known exonerations in 2015, where the exonerated defendants served on average more than 14 years in prison, said the report from the National Registry of Exonerations. That topped the previous recorded high of 139 in 2014.

The issue has gained attention because of the hit Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer," which suggests authorities planted evidence against two Wisconsin men, convicted of murder, an allegation rejected by local law enforcement.

"There is a coming to terms that this is a regular problem, not just something that happens once in a while and unpredictably," said Samuel Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan and editor of the registry. "But progress so far is a drop in the bucket."

Among those exonerated, 58 had been convicted of homicide, including five people who had been sentenced to death, it said. About three-quarters of the homicide exonerations included official misconduct, it said.

Another large group involved drug possession. Many times people held in custody falsely confessed to a crime to avoid a trial where they faced much longer sentences, the report said.

Texas was the top state for exonerations, propelled by conviction integrity units set up in its most populous counties. The state known for its tough approach on crime has also been a national leader in prosecutorial reform.

"For the integrity of the system, it is the right thing to do," said Inger Chandler, head of the Harris County District Attorney's Conviction Review Section, where there were 42 exonerations in 2015.

Over the past few years, the county that includes Houston has been reviewing cases where there were convictions for felony drug possession but where lab testing, often coming after a guilty plea, showed there were no drugs.

Texas had 54 known exonerations in 2015, followed by 17 in New York and 13 in Illinois, the report said.

There are 24 district attorney offices nationwide with offices to review convictions, with Brooklyn also among the exoneration leaders in the past several years, the study said.

"We have turned the corner in dealing with wrongful convictions. Theres a lot more to do, but its just a matter of time," the report said.

Reuters
SINGAPORE: US oil may test a resistance at $87 per barrel, a break above which could open the way towards...
Yahoo is laying off about 1,700 employees and shedding some of its excess baggage in a shake-up likely to determine whether CEO Marissa Mayer can save her own job.

The long-anticipated purge, announced Tuesday, will jettison about 15 percent of Yahoo's workforce along with an assortment of services that Mayer decided aren't worth the time and money that the Internet company has been putting into them.

The cost-cutting is designed to save about $400 million annually to help offset a steep decline in net revenue this year.

Mayer also hopes to sell some of Yahoo's patents, real estate and other holdings for $1 billion to $3 billion.

Products to be dumped include Yahoo Games, Yahoo TV and some of the digital magazines that Mayer started as CEO. She will also close offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Mexico City; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Madrid and Milan. The company closed its offices in China last year.

In an apparent concession to frustrated shareholders, Mayer also said Yahoo's board will mull "strategic alternatives" that could result in the sale of all the company's Internet operations. Analysts have speculated that Verizon, AT&T and Comcast might be interested in buying Yahoo's main business, despite years of deterioration.

Mayer expressed confidence that her plan to run Yahoo as a smaller, more focused company "will dramatically brighten our future and improve our competitiveness, and attractiveness to users, advertisers, and partners."

Shareholders have questioned whether she has figured out how to revive the Internet company's growth after three-and-half years of futility. Yahoo's stock shed 34 cents to $28.72 extended trading after details of Mayer's latest turnaround attempt came out. The stock has fallen by more than 40 percent since the end of 2014 as investors' confidence in Mayer has faded.

"The investment community has given up on this becoming a resurrection story," said Douglas Melsheimer, managing director of Bulger Partners, a technology banking and consulting firm. "At this point, it needs to be managed for maintenance or very slow growth. Marissa is more of a visionary whose background lends itself to a more ambitious strategy. I don't think she is the one to navigate the company through job cuts or a restructuring."

Ken Goldman, Yahoo's chief financial officer, said he got a "neutral" reaction after talking to some investors following Mayer's presentation. He also acknowledged that both Mayer and he had made some mistakes that they are now trying to correct with this overhaul.

Some of Yahoo's most outspoken shareholders, such as SpringOwl Asset Management, already have concluded that Mayer should be laid off, too.

Mayer, a former rising star at Google who helped that company eclipse Yahoo, defended her performance.

She also lashed out at reports that Yahoo spent $7 million on its holiday parties in December, labeling the figure as an "untruth" that is more than three times the actual cost of the festivities.

Yahoo's revenue has been shrinking through most of Mayer's reign, even though she has spent more than $3 billion buying more than 40 companies, while bringing in new talent and developing mobile applications and other services designed to attract more traffic and advertisers.

The decline has persisted while advertisers have been steadily increasing their digital marketing efforts. Most of that money has been flowing to Google and Facebook  two companies once far smaller than the now 20-year-old Yahoo Inc.

Yahoo's fourth-quarter report provided fresh evidence of the company's deterioration. After subtracting ad commissions, revenue plunged 15 percent to $1 billion compared with the previous year  the biggest drop since Mayer became CEO in July 2012. Things continue to look bleak, as Yahoo forecast a net revenue decline of 12 to 17 percent this year.

The Sunnyvale, California, company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $4.4 billion, reflecting the eroding value of its services. The amount included a $1.2 billion hit for acquisitions made under Mayer, including a $230 million decrease in the value of blogging service Tumblr, which the company bought for $1.1 billion in 2013.

The Associated Press
LAHORE: While there is no let up in the spread of dengue, the Punjab government has increased the number of beds for...
Hilda Venancio Silva, 38, with her son, Matheus, who has microcephaly. Donna Bowater for Al Jazeera America

Hilda Venancio Silva, 38, only found out her son had microcephaly as she went into labor.

It dropped like a bomb on top of us, the mother-of-three said, from her home in Recife. My husband and I were totally desperate.

But, thank God, we are overcoming it with much love, much affection, much unity, which is what we have to offer to Matheus. It wasnt planned but God wanted to send him.

She said she would have never opted for an abortion even if it were available.

There are two paths to follow: either the path of assuming responsibility or the easy path, she said, adding: Abortion, for the government, is the easier way.

Yet abortion remains illegal in Brazil with three exceptions: where there is risk to the mothers life, in cases of rape or when the baby has anencephaly, in which the skull does not form and the chance of survival is low.

Since the outbreak of Zika, there have been concerns that mothers have turned to illegal terminations when they fear they have the virus.

Pro-choice campaigners and doctors said that while some women were able to afford a private doctor to carry out a clandestine termination, those who could not were at greater risk of a botched abortion.

"Those who can afford to will be able to find a clinic. Those who dont may run the risk of submitting to an alternative intervention that could put the woman at risk of infection or even death, said Dr Maria Luiza Bezerra Menezes, the president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Pernambuco state.

According to the Study Group on Abortion (GEA), unsafe abortions are the fifth leading cause of maternal mortality in Brazil, with 200,000 women hospitalized in 2013 as a result of complications from terminations.

Diniz will take her proposals, including the right to abortion in cases of microcephaly, to court in March.

We call it a Womens Rights Action, she said. Why do we call it Women's Rights if eliminating the mosquito concerns us all? Because the mosquito has metamorphosed into a scenario of public health tragedy, whose main victims are women and their children.

On Friday, the Brazilian government announced it would extend its disability income support to mothers of children with microcephaly.

But Diniz dismissed this as an empty gesture: The government is playing with the ignorance that people have about Brazilian public policies.

We already have a social security benefit policy that is called Continuous Protection Benefit (BPC), in which all people with severe disabilities can have access to a minimum wage. The government is not giving anything new.

Those who work with children given up for adoption said the financial burden of a disabled child was often the main reason parents put them into state care.

Meanwhile, sex education in Brazilian schools has been found to be piecemeal and inadequate, taught in an improvised manner with government leaders disputing which aspects to prioritize.

A government health report found the rate of teenage pregnancies has remained constant since 2000, with around one per cent, or 30,000 of mothers aged 10 to 15.

While the report also indicated more women were having children in their 30s, a trend for teenage pregnancies remained prevalent in the northeast, where more than one in five mothers were aged 20 or under.

To be honest, I never had any education about it, Venancio said.

While she used birth control pills  which have been subsidized by the government since 2007  until she wanted to have children, she said she had to seek out information on family planning herself.

In the past, it was a taboo to talk about it, she added. I think it's important. Today's young people have children early, either through lack of information, or through stupidity.

But if you have greater clarification, who is to say it would not better?

To Venancio, three-month-old Matheus is a treasure, regardless of his microcephaly.

We just have to learn with him, more each day, she said. As the saying goes, 'theres not special children, there are special parents.' And we were chosen to care for him.

But for her husband, his sons impairment represents a more profound injury.

My family was disgraced by the government and its inefficiency in fighting a disease, said Jober Alves Silva.

My family was amputated by the government, an incompetent government. My family is over.

In the meantime, women must await the decision of the Supreme Court.

Diniz said she was worried about how long this might take and the impact this would have on the epidemic, given the Supreme Court deliberated for eight years over whether to allow women the right to abort babies with anencephaly.

It is a discussion about the neglect of the state, damage caused by the state to women and how we can repair a historical damage taking care with how women think is the best way to raise a family, with exercising maternity care for their reproduction, she said.

And as for Maria, there is now a court process under way to try to find an adoptive family for the little girl, but her disability means she is less likely to find a new home.

We have a serious problem in Brazil with talking about disability, Ribeiro added, who has left the childrens home to work for Crianca Feliz, a project that works with vulnerable young people on the streets of Recife.

We need campaigns to show the happiness these children can bring, because otherwise, they will stay in the shelter.
LAGOS: More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to...
In a speech at last years Re:Publica conference in Berlin, software designer and privacy advocate Aral Balkan asked a provocative question: If slavery is the business of buying and selling physical human bodies, what do you call the business of selling everything else about a person that makes them who they are apart from their physical body?

Balkan was referring to what Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff calls surveillance capitalism, the business logic pioneered by companies such as Google and Facebook that has made our personal data the defining natural resource of the 21st century. Consumers have caught on to this trend: A new Pew poll found that 91 percent of American adults agree that consumers have lost control over how companies collect and use their information.

Theres also a deeper, more disturbing dimension to Balkans question thats best illustrated by a sequence from the British sci-fi series Black Mirror.

The vignette begins with a woman preparing to undergo a mysterious medical procedure. Moments later, she awakens in an empty white room. A man  communicating with her through a small egg-like device that sits on a kitchen table  tells her the operation was successful. But like in every episode of the series, the horrible truth quickly comes into view.

It turns out the purpose of the womans operation was to create a perfect digital copy of herself, one sharing all her memories, emotions and personality. The woman weve been watching in the white room isnt the woman, but her simulacrum. She was created, the man explains, to be a digital concierge for the real womans high-tech home  making her food, scheduling her appointments, anticipating her every desire. When she protests, the man  a kind of futuristic home technician  manipulates the egg device to torture the simulated woman, making her experience months of sleepless solitary confinement in a few moments.

The storys most frightening theme, however, is that simulating humans has consequences for the people being simulated. Later in the episode, police extract a confession from another character by copying him and emotionally manipulating his simulated self inside a virtual environment, which the doppelganger believes to be real. The implication is that anyone in this future can be copied, analyzed and interrogated without their consent.

This particular example of simulated life is, admittedly, a far-fetched dystopian fable. But its chillingly prescient in the age of Big Data. Through mass surveillance and data mining, its fair to say that anyone who uses the Internet or owns a smartphone is having copies made of their digital identity on a daily basis. Advertisers record our every click and track our physical location as we browse the Web, and data brokerage companies such as Acxiom and Experian then assemble this and countless other personal information (ethnicity, sexual preferences, credit score, family history) into an ersatz simulacrum  a digital shadow invisible to us but accessible to marketers and other unknown entities.
LONDON: Liz Truss said on Thursday she would resign as British prime minister, brought down just six weeks into the...
TEHRAN: Iran has once again rejected allegations that it has supplied Russia with weapons "to be used in the war in...
NEW DELHI: A panel of Indias top court said on Thursday it was divided on a decision to allow hijabs in classrooms,...
Tokyo: Japan put its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it, while South Korea warned the North it would pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead with a satellite launch that the South considers a missile test.

North Korea notified UN agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between February 8 and 25.

South Koreans watch a TV news program on North Korea's rocket launch plans at Seoul Railway Station on Wednesday. Credit:AP

North Korea has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space program by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments suspect that such launches are in reality tests of its missiles.
Protesters are expected to rally outside the High Court in Canberra as it rules on the legality of offshore detention on Wednesday morning.

Lobby group Get Up has organised a series of Snap Action rallies across the country as a landmark ruling is handed down on whether the federal government has power under the constitution to detain people in Australian-funded detention centres at Nauru and Manus Island.

Asylum seeker advocate Meg Clark reacts to the High Court's decision regarding allowing asylum seekers, including Australian born children to remain in Australia, at the High Court. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Canberra's Refugee Action Committee said Canberra residents were among those gathering about 11am to protest the deportation of 267 asylum seekers, including 37 babies born in Australia.
Canberra's greyhound racing community will come under additional scrutiny as the RSPCA launches a campaign to ban the sport indefinitely.

The group has called on the ACT government and newly installed Racing and Gaming Minister Mick Gentleman to show leadership, rather than waiting for other governments to introduce a ban.

Greyhounds competing at the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club. Credit:Melissa Adams

RSPCA chief executive Tammy Ven Dange said evidence presented to a special commission of inquiry into NSW greyhound racing found up to 17,000 greyhounds were killed each year.

Last year, an ABC Four Corners investigation showed footage of piglets, rabbits and possums being mauled and used as live bait for greyhounds to increase their performance on the track.
As markets focus on a volatile oil price and worry about China's slowing growth, some pieces of good news slide under the radar.

The Australian economy is undergoing a seismic shift and there are some indicators giving some insight into the new normal of today's marketplace.

Year-on-year falls have occurred six times within the last thirty years, to no great detriment of the market.

1. Banks trump rocks

Where once we were enamoured with minerals and rocks, in the last four years, investors are more likely to hold stocks exposed to the domestic cycle, particularly the banks, and defensive plays rather than mining stocks.
About this Blog

This blog is currently subject to a short break - we'll pick up the action again in a little while.






The baby is one of 37 facing immediate deportation from the Wickham Point detention facility near Darwin to Nauru as a result of the decision. The Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has made clear his determination to enforce a "robust" approach.

The test case was run by the Human Rights Law Centre on behalf of a Bangladeshi national who was sent by the Australian government as an "unauthorised maritime arrival" to Nauru, then brought to Australia in August 2014 for medical treatment along with her baby daughter.

The Herald accepts it can be justified for adults, but there is no moral justification for punishing children for the "sins" of their parents. Continuing to subject children to inhumane and dangerous detention conditions because their parents, not them, have made the risky decision to flee persecution or economic hardship, is a moral blight on the nation.

So Australia's offshore detention regime at Nauru and Manus Island is legal, a majority of the High Court has ruled. But is it moral?

True, the federal government in response to widespread outrage has belatedly worked to reduce the number of children held in detention, from nearly 1000 in mid 2014 to 174 at the end of last November. Of those still in detention 104 were held in closed immigration detention facilities in Australia and 70 in the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru. A further 331 children were in community detention in Australia.

But even one child exposed to harm by Australia's border protection policies is one child too many. The accumulated evidence is damning, that in sending the babies and another 50 older children back to Nauru, as well as about 160 adults who were mostly brought here for medical treatment, the government is exposing them to even greater harm.

Rat infestations, extreme heat, poor access to water and insufficient health screening are only the start. Add to that the impact of living in close proximity to adults with mental illness, the threat of sexual assaults which are reported with shocking frequency, and prolonged uncertainty about the future. It is no wonder the Human Rights Commission's inquiry found that "children on Nauru are suffering from extreme levels of physical, emotional, psychological and developmental distress".

Transferring children to Nauru regardless of whether this was in their best interests put Australia in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the commission concluded.

The Bangladeshi woman argued that it was not lawful for the Commonwealth to restrain her liberty and enter into contracts allowing her detention offshore. The High Court, in a majority verdict, disagreed. It found that a memorandum of understanding between the Commonwealth and Nauru on the processing of asylum seekers was authorised under the constitution, and the arrangements for processing asylum seekers on Nauru were legal under the Migration Act.
Released to coincide with the Year of the Monkey, this Hong Kong-Chinese co-production  a sequel to the 2014 blockbuster The Monkey King, also directed by Cheang Pou-soi  takes our familiarity with the source for granted rather than wasting time setting up the plot.

Chinese filmmakers never seem to tire of adapting the 16th century novel Journey to the West, a classic which, from a Western perspective, appears to enjoy a cultural status somewhere between Homer's The Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz.

Within a few minutes, the young monk, Xuanzang (William Feng)  the character sometimes known as Tripitaka  is dispatched on a quest to retrieve a collection of ancient Buddhist scriptures, accompanied by three comic magical companions: the pig-faced Bajie (Xiao Shen Yang), the blue-skinned Sha Wujing (Him Law), and last, but not least, Sun Wukong (Aaron Kwok), the impulsive, buffoonish Monkey King himself.

The Monkey King 2 takes viewers on a new journey.

The journey format gives the filmmakers a lot of leeway, allowing for frequent lavish fight sequences set against fantastical backdrops (the choreography is by Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung). If the storytelling lacks a certain finesse, there's no shortage of spectacle: dragons and other digitally generated monsters, hordes of sword-wielding skeletons, and uncanny transformations that sometimes confront the heroes with doubles of themselves.

Taking over the role played by Donnie Yen in the previous series instalment, Kwok makes the most of his background as a dancer, though whether you find his limp-wristed capering funny is a matter of taste. Like much in the film, his performance seems geared above all to pre-teen viewers, who may well identify with Wukong's vengeful yet playful nature: striking intimidating poses one moment, giggling and blowing raspberries the next.

There's an authoritarian subtext here if you choose to look for it: Wukong is the archetypal rebellious subject who must be brought into line and discouraged from using his individual judgment. On the other hand, no effort is made to deny the allure of the elegantly evil White Bone Spirit (Gong Li) who lives in an ice palace with a trio of handmaidens, makes flowers wilt at her touch and yearns for immortality as a demon.
Their ship has sailed without them and they are far from the sea, but the seafarers of the MV Portland have no intention of packing their sea chests and disappearing quietly.

They and their union, the Maritime Union of Australia, have established a tent "jobs embassy" outside Canberra's Parliament House, where they are arguing that if they can be so easily replaced by a low-paid foreign crew on a foreign-flagged ship, other Australians should fear for their jobs.

"These Australian seafarers have been told they have no right to work in their own country," the MUA's assistant national secretary, Ian Bray, told a crowd rallying at the tent embassy on Wednesday.

The seafarers' voices got a boost when Opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese declared the federal government had corrupted democracy by circumventing national legislation that requires coastal shipping to use Australian crews being paid Australian wages.
An asylum seeker slated to be deported from Australia after the High Court ruled in favour of offshore detention has begged the Australian government to let her son stay behind, saying she believes he is Australian.

Naomi*, an Iranian Christian who was intercepted in a boat on the way to Australia almost three years ago, said asylum seekers in detention in Australia were despairing after the High Court ruling.

"Please keep our innocents," she said through an interpreter.
Australian air force patrols flying over the South China Sea are now being routinely challenged by the Chinese military in a sign of the growing stranglehold Beijing has over the strategically vital waters.

The Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, said on Wednesday that Australian surveillance patrol flights over the regional flashpoint had increased "slightly" and the RAAF would continue doing so as was its right under international law.

A People's Liberation Army J-11 fighter on exercises over the South China Sea. Credit:China Military Online

In a wide-ranging interview, Air Marshal Davies also said the RAAF would be stretched if asked to carry out sustained bombing raids in Libya on top of the campaign in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State terror group.

Those remarks came after Washington flagged the need to tackle the Islamic State's growing presence in Libya and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she would "listen" to discussions about a possible greater coalition effort in the oil-rich, north African country. But Ms Bishop reiterated that Australia was already making a significant contribution to the fight against Islamic State and it was up to other countries to do more.
The prophecy is more than seeing into the future. For the prophecy sees without the element of time. For the prophecy sees things as they were, as they are, and as they always shall be.
The federal government would take over TAFE funding from the states under a radical plan to be presented to the states and territories at a high-level meeting in March.

Under the Turnbull government proposal, obtained by Fairfax Media, TAFE fees would be deregulated and TAFEs would receive the same levels of funding as private colleges in a bid to increase competition in the sector.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Vocational, Education and Training Minister Luke Hartsuyker. Credit:Stefan Postles

States could provide some top-up funding for TAFE, but only enough to ensure "competitive neutrality" with private providers under the shake-up, which would transform the vocational education and training (VET) sector.
Australian politicians who support sending children back to Nauru should consider "if their daughter or wife was trying to bring up a baby there", a leading paediatrician says, claiming GPs on the island missed potentially fatal illnesses in children.

David Isaacs, a Sydney-based paediatrician, said asylum seekers and refugees on the remote island faced hot, humid and uncomfortable conditions.

"The families are in desperate straits really," he said.
Okay that's it from me for the day. What happened?

the government maintains it has not reached a decision about whether or not to increase the GST ;

maintains it has ; several government MPs expressed their concerns about the wisdom of increasing the GST ;

expressed their about the wisdom of increasing the ; the government is also refusing to say what will happen to the 267 people affected by yesterday's High Court decision on offshore detention ;

is also refusing to say what will happen to the affected by yesterday's ; pressure is increasing on the government to allow the people to say with churches saying they will offer people sanctuary and the Human Rights Commission releasing a troubling report on the effects of immigration detention on children ;

saying they will offer people sanctuary and the releasing a troubling report on the ; the government's building watchdog legislation has passed the House of Representatives but been sent off to a Senate committee for investigation;

has passed the but been sent off to a for investigation; which may or may not stymy the government's plans for an early election.

It feels like there was never a holiday, doesn't it?

My thanks to Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen for their super work and to you for reading and commenting.

You can follow me on Facebook.

Alex, Andrew and I will be back on Monday. We hope to see you then. Until we meet again, good night and good luck.
Sophisticated, unknown hackers based outside Australia are believed to be behind the waves of bomb threats sent to schools across the country.

Schools across NSW were targeted for the fourth consecutive school day on Wednesday, including schools on the Central Coast and a northern beaches school, Mona Vale Public, that was also targeted last week.

Since Friday, dozens of schools in NSW, Canberra, Victoria and Queensland have received the same automated phone message warning of a device on school grounds.
An alleged cannabis-growing operation has been busted on a remote fire trail north-east of Canberra.

Cannabis plants, leaves and thousands of cannabis seeds were seized during a raid on a house on the Guineacor Fire Trail at Bannaby, north of Goulburn, last Thursday, NSW police said.

A man will now face drug and firearm charges in Goulburn Local Court after he was caught growing cannabis on his Bannaby property. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Police said they also found a single-barrel shotgun and two rifles when they executed a search warrant on the property.

A 39-year-old Albion Park man will face a string of drug and firearm offences when he appears before Goulburn Local Court next month.
Organ donations have reached a record high in New South Wales, surpassing targets to jump 25 per cent in two years.

NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service figures released on Wednesday show there were 127 deceased organ donors in 2015 - 25 donors more than the previous record set in 2013.

The number of donors, who allowed a total of 379 organs to be transplanted, also exceeded the set target for 2015.

Health Minister Jillian Skinner credited her government's move to a national Australian Organ Donor Register, scrapping that of the Roads and Maritime Service's service, and the placement of donation specialists in targeted hospitals.
A Canadian war veteran who fought with a Kurdish militia against the Islamic State risks deportation after being detained on arrival in Australia.

His Queensland-based father fears any order would mean his son, who was visiting for the first time in 20 years, would never be able to return to the country.

Detainee Robert Somerville's Melbourne-based lawyer, Jessie Smith of Stary Norton Halphen, said the 28-year-old had been detained after failing to fill out immigration forms with the name he'd been given when fighting in Syria.

It's common for foreign fighters who join YPG (people's protection unit) groups such as the Lions of Rojava to be given a Kurdish "nomme de guerre".
Brisbane City Council employees who are victims of domestic violence will be entitled to an additional 10 days' leave a year.

The new scheme passed through council on Tuesday, in the penultimate meeting of the current council term.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says council employees will be entitled to 10 days' leave a year to deal with domestic violence issues. Credit:Chris Hyde

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the council's policy brought it in line with the state government, which last year introduced an identical scheme for public servants.

"It is staggering to think that police in this state have something like 60,000 call-outs a year on matters to do with domestic violence," Cr Quirk told the chamber at City Hall.
A 15-year-old plan to preserve land for an alternative to the congested Pacific Motorway, a plan quietly dumped by the previous Queensland government, is back on track.

The plan to preserve the land needed for the $500 million four-lane road project from Coomera to Jacobs Well had been removed from the then-evolving 2015 Gold Coast City Plan by the previous LNP government in May 2014, which Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate described as "an extremely retrogressive step" in a letter to then-Transport Minister Scott Emerson on May 5, 2014.

South-east Queensland's mayors raised the issue recently, highlighting a recent funding bid for the future road called the Inter-Regional Transport Corridor.

"The proposed project would provide an alternative north-south route to the Pacific Motorway between Stapylton-Jacobs Well Road and Nerang-Broadbeach Road," it says.
The former leader of Brisbane's Anglican church, Peter Hollingworth, admits he poorly handled a complaint of sexual abuse by a priest and has apologised to the victim.

Giving evidence to a royal commission hearing in Hobart on Wednesday, Dr Hollingworth said his failure to take action against then-priest John Elliot heightened the distress for a victim, a man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth fronts the royal commission.

"I want to make an apology to (the victim) and to all the members of his family for the way which his complaint of abuse against John Elliot was handled when it was first referred to me as archbishop of Brisbane in 1993," Dr Hollingworth said.

Dr Hollingworth was head of the Brisbane diocese from 1990 to 2001 and went on to become governor-general until 2003 when he stepped down over the church's handling of the abuse allegations.
The Palaszczuk government's plan to overhaul youth justice laws, including removing the Newman government boot camp orders, has been met with approval from the legal and community sectors  but the government has still drawn fire for not addressing Queensland's policy of sending children to adult prisons.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath promised a review of youth justice in Queensland during the election, following the former LNP's changes to the act, which included boot camps, naming and shaming and removing the principle of detention as a last resort.

Queensland is the only state in Australia to treat 17-year-olds as adults in the justice system. Credit:Andrew Meares

Ms D'Ath's legislation, due to be debated in the coming months, will remove boot camp orders as a sentencing order  a move which follows her decision not to continue with boot camps, following an averse Auditor-General report on the effeteness versus cost of the policy, once again prohibiting identifying children dealt with under the youth justice act, as well as removing breach of bail as an offence children can be charged with.

Minors found guilty of crimes for which no conviction was recorded will have those findings inadmissible from any adult court matters, while detention as a last resort will be reinstated, along with Children's Court of Queensland, the sentence review jurisdiction.
An animal rights group has offered a reward for information about those responsible for running down and killing 17 kangaroos on Brisbane's outskirts.

The RSPCA is appalled by the incident that left a 100-metre stretch of road at Wacol, west of Brisbane, littered with kangaroo carcasses.

The RSPCA has appealed for witnesses after the 100-metre stretch of road was littered with dead kangaroos. Credit:Bill Vickers/Twitter

The animals were discovered on Monday morning on Grindle Road, between the women's and men's prisons.

On Wednesday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals offered up to $5000 as a reward for information that leads to the identification and conviction of those responsible for the deaths.
A government delegation will head to the Queensland community of Aurukun in a bid to prevent further outbreaks of social unrest.

Extra police have been flown into Aurukun on western Cape York on several occasions over the past year after riots broke out, and some teachers left in November after a weekend of violence that saw a man killed and a police car shot at.

Aurukun on western Cape York has seen numerous riots over the past year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Treasurer Curtis Pitt, Police Minister Bill Byrne and Housing Minister Mick de Brenni will visit the community on Thursday, hoping to find solutions to head off further outbreaks of violence.

Mr Pitt said the community faced many complex and pervasive challenges.
Animal activists have called for a ban on cattle being ferried across Bass Strait after more than a quarter of a shipment died during a trip from Tasmania to Victoria last weekend.

Two hundred head of cattle were shipped from Tasmania to Port Welshpool in Gippsland but 59 died during or shortly after the trip.

There are calls to ban cattle being shipped across Bass Strait following the deaths of 59 animals Credit:Michele Mossop

Some of the cattle were put down under orders of government officials upon arrival in Victoria due to injuries sustained on the boat.

The high mortality rate has prompted animal activist groups to call for a full suspension of all cattle being transported from the island state.
Melburnian Matthew Graham  known online to his paedophile disciples as "Lux"  felt his status grow with each move he made to boost his horrific internet empire.

He later told police he was not a paedophile himself but felt "power within the community"; he told them he became popular. People deferred to him and asked for advice. He was important. To gain further respect he often assumed the identity of an American paediatrician with access to children.

An artist impression of Matthew Graham. Credit:Joe Benke

Graham, 23, has admitted 13 charges of child pornography, child abuse and "hurtcore" (sexual torture) relating to a network of sites he set up on the darknet, a hidden internet only available with the right software.

He ran the sites between 2011 and 2014, beginning when he was just 18 and a VCE student at Epping Secondary College in the northern suburbs. He operated from his bedroom in his parents' house in South Morang using various overseas servers. He was arrested in 2014 after a joint FBI/Victoria Police probe.
The man accused of fleecing Nene King of more than $40,000 asked the former magazine queen for "many thousands of dollars" but was not seen by his partner making unauthorised cash withdrawals from her accounts, a jury has been told.

Larry Sutcliffe told a County Court jury on Wednesday that between 2007 and 2009 his then partner, Colin Hahne, asked Ms King for money to cover legal fees over a court case involving one of his businesses, as well as money for his private health insurance and for his parents' farm.

Nene King in her office at Woman's Day in 1999. Credit:Brendan Esposito

Mr Sutcliffe said Ms King also bought the couple gifts, including clothing, a $10,000 car for Mr Sutcliffe and a $6000 watch for Mr Hahne.

"He hocked it two weeks later," he said of the watch.
Fire authorities have urged Victorians not to be complacent about the threat of bushfires over coming weeks despite recent rainfall, and warned that the baking heat will return.

Emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley said the state was moving into "a really dry period", while the month that traditionally was the worst for bushfires in Victoria had only just started.

February is the month of highest bushfire danger. Credit:Justin McManus

While the first week of February will deliver relatively benign temperatures for Melbourne and southern Victoria, temperatures will hit the high 30s in the state's north early next week.

A run of at least five hot days over 30 degrees commences on Thursday, for locations including Benalla, Swan Hill, Mildura and Wangaratta.
She left her house at midnight on Wednesday, shoving a nightstand against her bedroom door and leaving with a water bottle and a Minions blanket. Her body was found in North Carolina, right across the Virginia line. Virginia Tech students David Eisenhauer and Natalie Keepers have been arrested in connection with the death of Nicole Madison Lovell. Credit:Blacksburg Police Department via AP A Virginia Tech engineering student has been charged with her abduction and killing. We still don't know what evidence led police to 18-year-old David Eisenhauer, a track star from Columbia, Maryland, who ran for Virginia Tech. A second arrest Sunday was just as shocking. Natalie Marie Keepers, 19, is accused of helping Eisenhauer get rid of Nicole's body. She's an engineering student from Laurel, Maryland, who once interned at NASA. Troopers prepare to search the Duck Pond in Blacksburg, Virginia as part of the investigation in the death of Nicole Madison Lovell. Credit:Edmee Rodriguez

Police told Nicole's mom, Tammy Weeks, that they think the sweet-faced girl met Eisenhauer online. The details of that are still unclear, but here's what we know for sure: Nicole led an active, imaginary life online, meeting people on Kik, a messaging app that has been the bane of law enforcement officials for the past couple of years. Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt, left, and Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson at a press conference on January 30. Credit:Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP The app grants users anonymity, it allows searches by age and lets users send photos that aren't stored on phones. It's popular with tweens and teens - and predators.

Nicole's mother Tammy Weeks cries as she speaks to reporters in Blacksburg, Virginia. Credit:AP "Unfortunately, we see it every day," said Lieutenant James Bacon, head of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department's child exploitation unit. That unit caught a State Department senior counter-terrorism official, Daniel Rosen, trying to arrange a tryst with a child using Kik. He pleaded guilty to stalking and voyeurism and is serving a 32-month prison sentence. And he hasn't been the only one using this app to hunt victims. Nicole Lovell was believed to have met her alleged killers online. Credit:Blacksburg Police Department "Kik became the latest thing," Bacon said. "It's attractive to predators because of its anonymity. You can make a Kik account and you can make yourself out to be anyone you want to be."

And because Kik is based in Canada, law enforcement officials have had a tough time getting the company to cooperate on cases, Bacon said. This shadow world may be where Eisenhauer met Nicole, police told her mother. "It was some off-the-wall site I never heard of," Weeks said in an interview with The Washington Post. In the digital age, any parent can be Tammy Weeks. Smartphones have made it easier to keep tabs on our children - and much, much harder. Teens have been outmanoeuvring their mothers and fathers for decades. Back in my day, we told our parents that we were spending the night at Melanie's house when we were really at the Echo and the Bunnymen show an hour away, Ferris Buellering our way through adolescence. But a lot of times, our parents won, because they caught us sneaking out. Or they called Melanie's mom.

This world? The predators aren't just hiding behind the Galaga machine at the arcade. They're in our kids' pockets, in their backpacks, in their bedrooms. It's not okay to play the Luddite. Bumbling dad with the remote control only the kids can figure out needs to die along with dad jeans. Know your kids' digital lives. Prowl their email, their laptops and their phones. "Have your kids' passwords," Bacon said. "Have a working idea of how to use your kids' phone. Mum and dad bought it for them, for crying out loud. They need to know how to use it." Remember iPhone dad? He's the poor guy who had a two-year legal battle in Dallas after he was arrested on a property-theft charge for taking away his daughter's iPhone when she used it in a horrid way. He was right. Be like iPhone dad.

Bacon said he tells parents to never let their kids have in-depth, online conversations with strangers. If your kid has crossed the line, ask your phone carrier to have your kid's phone mirrored to your phone. "Every text, every picture they send, Mom and Dad can see on their device," he said. My kids hate it when I do that. Too bad. Not long ago, I was going through the search history on my 11-year-old son's laptop. Nerf guy, Lego, Nerf, Cats vs. Cucumbers, Curves. Wait! Curves? I clicked on that one, my stomach lurching at the thought of a porn conversation with my tween.
The customer is always right, the saying goes. But if you're rude, don't expect that maxim to apply universally  as one man found out.

Earlier this week, Stewart Alsop, a San Francisco venture capitalist, shared that his order of a Tesla Model X was cancelled after he wrote a blog post that criticised chief executive Elon Musk for starting a company event late.

Alsop titled his late September post, "Dear @ElonMusk: You should be ashamed of yourself."

"For you to stand up at 8.52pm and not even acknowledge that you have wasted your own customers' time was insensitive and poor judgment," Alsop wrote.
London: To Karl Marx it was the opium of the masses, to others it is the meaning of life itself.

But religion really can make people more content, figures from Britain's national happiness index suggest.

People with no religious affiliation report lower levels of happiness, satisfaction and self-worth than those who do, according to the Office for National Statistics' wellbeing research program.

Yet, conversely, non-religious people also report lower levels of anxiety than adherents to the main faiths.
Police have not said what happened to Lovell after she disappeared from her home on Wednesday or revealed a motive for the slaying. They have not detailed exactly how Eisenhauer met Lovell or the nature of their relationship. Two Virginia Tech students have been charged over the death of Tammy Weeks. Credit:Tammy Weeks Weeks spoke at length about her daughter, who she called "Coley." Lovell had a liver transplant as an infant and "fought for her life," finally coming home from the hospital after her first birthday. "She tried to live a normal life," Weeks said. But then Weeks said Lovell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and spent six months in a coma after developing acute respiratory distress syndrome. Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson speaks during a news conference on January 30. Credit:Matt Gentry

"At this point, we almost lost her for the second time," Weeks said. Medical experts and physicians told Weeks that her daughter had a one per cent chance of survival, but Weeks said "Coley once again beat the odds." Tammy Weeks spoke in hushed tones about her daughter's health struggles. Credit:Allen G. Breed Lovell loved pandas, music, dancing and dreamed of being on American Idol one day. As she spoke, Weeks began to tremble. She placed her hand to her chest.

"Nicole touched many people through her short life," Weeks said, before walking away from the podium, close to sobbing. "I can't do it." A day earlier, the two Virginia Tech students facing charges related to the teen's death made initial court appearances. David Eisenhauer, 18, of Columbia, Maryland, allegedly abducted and killed Lovell. Authorities say Keepers helped dispose of her body. An arrest warrant, revealed Monday included a brief statement Eisenhauer had given to authorities: "I believe the truth can set me free." Weeks said police told her Eisenhauer and Lovell met online, and that Eisenhauer used his relationship with Lovell to abduct and kill her. Lovell went missing on Wednesday, after Weeks said she pushed a nightstand against her bedroom door and apparently climbed out a window that was found open. Her body was discovered on Saturday afternoon near the Virginia-North Carolina border.

Weeks had previously said her daughter needed to take daily medication for her liver transplant and she had been bullied at school. Police have not said whether either of those issues played a role in her death. Eisenhauer was arrested early Saturday at his dorm at Virginia Tech and charged with abduction and first-degree murder. On Sunday, police arrested Keepers and charged her with felony counts related to helping dispose of Lovell's body. Both were engineering students. Virginia State Police divers searched a pond on the Virginia Tech campus on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday looking for evidence related to the case. Officials declined to say what that evidence was, but said they were done searching the pond. At the court hearing Monday, a judge set March 28 hearings for both defendants. Neither has entered a plea yet. Weeks was not the only one remembering Lovell on Tuesday.

Blacksburg area resident Jane Lillian Vance once taught at Virginia Tech, where she met a student in her class named Morgan Harrington. In 2009, Harrington disappeared during a Metallica concert in Charlottesville. She was missing for more than 100 days, when her body was discovered in a field. Vance was inspired by Morgan's life to join the national non-profit Save The Next Girl, founded by Harrington's parents, to advocate for young women who have gone missing. Now Vance has been touched once again by the disappearance and death of one of her students. As an instructional assistant at Blacksburg Middle School, Vance was acquainted with Nicole Lovell, a 13 year-old seventh grader. "Nicole was very cheerful and innocent 13-year-old who was full of kindness and wept at cruelty," Vance said. "She was a very innocent girl. I'm not saying naive. I'm saying a cheerful and undefiled child. She was a good-hearted little girl." Vance said that she saw Lovell in the hallways. In a column she wrote in the Virginia Tech student newspaper, Vance described her as a "a little mountain angel," who wore pink and brown cowgirl boots but now will never outgrow them.
A former student at the University of Bristol whos a renowned news report in Hong Kong is hitting the headlines himself after winning an international award.

Kenneth Ng King Tsun, who graduated with a masters in International Development in 2010, was awarded an Education UK Alumni Award for professional achievement.

Now working as a political journalist, Kenneth hosts a weekly talk show called On the Record  one of the most respected and popular news programmes in Hong Kong.

Hes established himself as a successful political journalist in Hong Kong, and has covered elections in Hong Kong and Taiwan, controversial political reform, and international affairs.

Kenneth says that the interaction among professors and classmates enhanced his critical thinking and broadened his vision  crucial in developing his skills as a journalist.

He said: The interaction among professors and classmates has undoubtedly enhanced my capability of critical thinking and has broadened my vision, which are crucial for being a good journalist.

Studying in the UK is a unique experience. I have had an opportunity to learn from and with the brightest people I have ever known. Ive also made great friends from around the world, diving into new cultures and exploring diverse knowledge.

The winners were announced at a ceremony held at the exclusive China Club in Hong Kong, with Kenneth being awarded the Professional Achievement Award, given to alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary leadership and achievements in their professional industry.

The Education UK Alumni Awards celebrate the achievements of alumni from UK universities who are now living in Hong Kong and have gone on to achieve success in their professional careers.

The awards aim to demonstrate the impact that a UK education can have upon individuals and countries around the world, as well as to inspire others to reach their potential by studying in the UK.

At the awards ceremony in Hong Kong, all three winners of the Education UK Alumni Awards Hong Kong said their UK education had broadened their vision and equipped them with the skills which are crucial to their successful careers.

Robert Ness, Director of British Council Hong Kong and chair of the Hong Kong judging panel, said: The awards are all about honouring the success of individuals whose achievements here in Hong Kong have been influenced by their experience of studying at a UK university.

We celebrate with them and congratulate them not only on their impressive professional successes but also in their capacity as 'ambassadors' for UK higher education.
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The Big Easy is coming to Williamsburg!

Brooklyns biggest Mardi Gras party is bouncing into music venue the Hall, with four days of jazz bands leading up to a Bourbon Street-style bash and foodie feast on Feb. 9. The New Orleans Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil on Fat Tuesday will have a heaping helping of bumping jazz from the Jambalaya Brass Band and Cajun cooking that embodies the soul of Mardi Gras, said the Halls head chef.

With the food, music, and Mardi Gras decorations, its trying to bring some of that spirit to New York  nothing more, nothing less, said Michael Psilakis, known for the modern Greek food served at his MP Taverna outposts. For this event, he experimented with a wide variety of traditional New Orleans-style food and drinks to match the music and the revelry required for a real Mardi Gras party.

The goal is to create a platform for people to enjoy themselves and to reach a state of kefi  thats a Greek word that means a state achieved in a somewhat utopian blend of music, friendship, alcohol, and food, he said.

Accordingly, the kitchen will serve a wide variety of classic New Orleans dishes, but the highlight is a crawfish plate with a pound-and-a-half of crustaceans shipped directly from Louisiana and served with the traditional corn on the cob and red bliss potatoes. For drinks, Psilakis and his krewe will also mix up Hurricane cocktails and their own take on a Bourbon street classic: the crawgator daiquiri, a heady blend of rum and a half-dozen tropical and citrus fruits.

Dinner and a show: The Jambalaya Brass Band will play three 45-minute sets for diners and dancers for the Halls Mardi Gras party on Feb. 9. Photo by Stefano Giovannini

Visitors can burn off some of that food when the seven-piece Jambalaya Brass Band takes the stage. The outfit follows in the tradition of New Orleans second line brass bands, which play celebratory music at the end of funerals, designed to lift the spirits of the people. The up-tempo, bouncing brass is irresistible, said the bands leader.

Its a joyous noise, you walk in and its so joyous you have to dance  its a celebration of life, Ric Frank said.

The band will play a mix of originals, traditional New Orleans jazz, and modern takes on the genre by artists like Trombone Shorty and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

During the run-up to Fat Tuesday night, the Hall host New Orleans psychedelic legend Dr. John and the Nite Trippers on Feb. 5 and 6, and a Zydeco Lundi Gras party on Feb. 7.

New Orleans Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil, at the Hall [470 Driggs Ave, between N. 10th and N. 11th streets, (718) 3874001, www.theha llbro oklyn.com .] 6 pm2 am. $15 ($35 with crawfish platter).

Doing it right: A Southern-style crawfish boil and jazz from the Jambalaya Brass Band at the Hall in Williamsburg is the perfect way to celebrate Mardi Gras in Brooklyn. Photo by Stefano Giovannini
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76th Precinct

Carroll Gardens-Cobble HillRed Hook

Body wash heist

An apparently dirty shoplifter stole $55 worth of body wash from a Smith Street drugstore on Jan. 31, according to police.

Employees told cops the thief walked into the store near Warren Street around 4:30 am. He grabbed 10 bottles of body wash, skipped the checkout line, and fled in a cab, police said.

Teen fights muggers

Two punks beat up and robbed another teen on Hoyt Street on Jan. 22, but their take cost one a fat lip, police said.

The victim told police he was near Butler Street around 9:30 am when the dastardly duo approached and asked him what he had in his pockets. One took out a knife and showed it to the victim, but instead of emptying his pockets, the victim punched the knave in the face, stated officials.

The two troublemakers overwhelmed the victim though, punching him and then knocking him down, police said. His iPhone fell out of his pocket during the fight, and one of the perps grabbed it, then they both fled, police said.

Purse-snatcher

Some cad stole a womans purse out her shopping cart at a low-cost Scandinavian furniture retailer on Beard Street on Jan. 31, authorities said.

The woman told police she was shopping at the store near Otsego Street around 6 pm when she left her bag in the cart momentarily. She came back to the cart and her purse was gone, along with her credit cards, drivers license and car keys, police reported.

 Dennis Lynch
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The citys recent deal to halve the number of sightseeing choppers clattering across the East River is a cop out that doesnt take enough copters out, say Brooklyn Heights residents.

Pols are hailing the reduction as a win for waterfront residents, but locals say that is all spin  theyll still have to put up with frequent cacophonous copters, and the bargain may have undercut their efforts to nix the flights altogether.

I dont think its a win for the people, I think its a big loss, said Heights resident Craig Abruzzo, vice president of anti-tour-chopper group Stop the Chop.

The citys Economic Development Corporation  which owns the Heights-adjacent Manhattan heliport where the joyrides take flight, and reaps $2.9 million a year in rent  unexpectedly announced the closed-door compromise with operators on Friday, in an effort to preempt a bill currently under consideration by Council that would scramble the eggbeaters for good.

Under the accord, operators will halve the 60,000 annual tours that leave the heliport by January next year, scrap all flights on Sundays and over Governors Island within two months, and provide regular reports on nearby air quality, according to the corporation.

But for Abruzzo, that just means helicopters will now only buzz past around every five minutes Monday to Friday, rather than every few minutes every day of the week, he said.

It sounds good on paper but if you look at the numbers, they were just so horrible before and now theyre just reasonably horrible, he said.

Local pols who backed the total ban nevertheless celebrated the settlement  bill co-author Councilman Carlos Menchaca (DRed Hook) among them  with some claiming they are still committed to completely axing the autogyros in the long run.

For the first time in years, we can say that some steps are being taken to reduce helicopter traffic, said a joint statement from a coalition of city leaders including Councilman Steve Levin (DBoerum Hill), Brad Lander (DPark Slope), and state Sen. Daniel Squadron (DBrooklyn Heights). We will continue to advocate to stop the chop once and for all to ensure relief for our communities with a full ban.

But many Heights residents  who have been fighting the rotocopter racket for years  feel blindsided by the secretive negotiations, and believe the deal was hammered out with only the two parties interests in mind, according to the leader of a local civic group.

They are very disappointed about this agreement, said Peter Bray, president of the influential Brooklyn Heights Association. We feel the community position on these helicopter operations was ignored in any negotiations between the city elected officials and the helicopter industry.

And Abruzzo, who says his high-profile activist group also had no idea about the deal, worries it could thwart the momentum of the movement for good.

I think people will think the issue is resolved and that makes it harder for the people affected to make any progress, he said.
UK band Eagulls are gearing up to release their second album. It doesn't have a name yet, or a release date, but the band have shared a song from it, "Lemontrees." This is a more textured production than anything on their debut album, fueled by a tom-heavy drum pattern that wouldn't have been out of place on a Chameleons album. It's a promising first taste. Listen below.



---
by Rob Sperry-Fromm

photo: Full of Hell at Saint Vitus in 2013 (more by Fred Pessaro)



The collaboration between The Body and Full of Hell is coming soon after being talked about for what felt like for forever. They've released a new song from One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, which comes out March 25 via Neurot (pre-order), called "The Little Death."

Those expecting brutality here will not be disappointed. The screeching noise of The Body colliding with the furious grind of Full of Hell essentially renders the concepts of "notes" or "discernable sounds" more or less irrelevant. This is a blistering wash of fury, punctuated by drum and vocal breaks, thundering breakdowns, and pervaded by a general air of insanity. You can stream it below.

The Body and Full of Hell will tour Europe together in April. Before that, FOH will be in NYC to play Music Hall of Williamsburg on 3/11 with Pig Destroyer, Dropdead, and recent additions Cloud Rat and Mother Brain. Tickets for that show are still on sale.

The Body have their own new album on the way too.

Stream "The Little Death" (via Spin) and check out tour dates for Full of Hell and FOH/The Body below...



---

Full of Hell -- 2016 Tour Dates

2/03 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK @ 89TH ST COLLECTIVE

2/04 LITTLE ROCK, AR @ VINO'S

2/05 EVANSVILLE, IN @ SORTIE

2/06 COLUMBUS, OH @ THE SUMMIT

2/07 MORGANTOWN, WV @ 123 PLEASANT ST

3/11 BROOKLYN, NY @ MHOW w/Pig Destroyer, Dropdead

--
Another episode of The Bachelor, another shocking exit from one of the girls. In week 5, the pressures of the competition turned out to be too much for Jubilee. Ben Higgins said goodbye to the adopted war veteran and Jubilee ended her search for love in Mexico City. Jubilees exit isnt exactly surprising but it is upsetting. Jubilee was one of the few women in the competition who was interesting and appealing without qualification. Ben might have just made a huge mistake eliminating her so soon.

Jubilees Story Feels Unfinished





The chances of Jubilee becoming the next Bachelorette feel even more distant now. Thats a shame though because it feels like there is so much left unsaid with Jubilee. Granted its hard to imagine now watching Jubilees whole journey on the show why she even agreed to be on it. Still thats what made Jubilee so exciting, she felt so different from the other girls.

Jubilee was a bit of a mess, sure, but it was different kind of mess from the other crazy girls on The Bachelor. Theres no comparing Jubilees insecurities about The Bachelor experience to Olivias worries about her legs. Youve got to imagine being the only African-American woman in a sea of blondes who look and sound nothing like you, the pressure was on for Jubilee. She didnt respond well to do it. Her story is still given such a unsatisfactory end.





The Bachelor Poll: Should Ben Take Back Olivias Rose? >>>

I dont really blame Ben for breaking up with Jubilee and sending her home. Its sad but you could see that the writing was on the wall. It just seemed pretty rushed in the way that it happened. Who knows how long Ben and Jubilee were actually talking and what it was edited down to for the show. While watching though it felt like Jubilee opened up about her problems, Ben didnt know how to handle them and set her packing. It was almost like an afterthought. Given how many layers Jubilee had and how much Ben appreciated them it seems cruel to give her such an unceremonious end.

Jubilee Didnt Belong on The Bachelor

Now there are some harsh realities to the Jubilee situation. To speak quite plainly, Jubilee did not belong on The Bachelor. Theres definitely a difference between knowing what a reality show is about and actively experiencing it day to day. Jubilees biggest problem with the experience on The Bachelor was that other women were also dating her boyfriend. This is pretty much the basis of the entire franchise. Its understandable issue but its also pretty ridiculous when you look at the situation in context.

Jubilees feelings of being lost in ocean of peroxide are sad. To anyone who has felt different or out of place, its even relatable. Its also at the core of what The Bachelor is about, none of this is normal. Jubilees reaction to the process showed that it wasnt for her at all. Jubilee might want to find love and she may have been really attracted to Ben. Jubilee just didnt belong on The Bachelor with all that entails.





The Good, the Bad and the Believable from The Bachelor Week 5 >>>

I still think Ben could have broken up with Jubilee in a more graceful way. It seem overly harsh and unforgiving the way he let her go. You do have to respect Ben for acknowledging that it wasnt just going to work out between them. Jubilee would only get more uncomfortable on the show and Ben would form other connections with other girls. Its good that Ben (and to a lesser extent Jubilee) recognized this wasnt working and cut it off before things got even more complicated. Its just a shame that Jubilee was one of the few genuinely compelling women left in the competition for Bens heart and now shes gone.

But what do you think? Should Ben Higgins have tried to make things work with Jubilee? Was it her time to go? What did you think of Jubilee on The Bachelor? Did you enjoy her or did you find her to be every bit as much a mess as Olivia or Lace?

The Bachelor season 20 airs Mondays at 8pm on ABC.





(Images courtesy of ABC)
Turning off Niagara Falls could yield insight on how waterfalls carve canyons, UB expert says

Geologists could map the rock face beneath the falls to study erosion since 1969, when the falls last went dry

It seems strange to me to shut it off, to treat it like a spigot that they can just turn on or off. But if their intention is to do that, there are definitely studies that we could do. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Its not every day that you get to turn off a major waterfall.

But if New York State carries through with plans to temporarily shut down part of Niagara Falls for the purpose of replacing bridges, it could create a rare opportunity for geologists to study how waterfalls erode the land beneath them, says Marcus Bursik, chair of geology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.

Niagara Falls is actually a collection of three waterfalls, and two could go dry under current proposals: the American Falls and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls.

You could make a very detailed map of what the topography of the rock face looks like beneath the falls using drones equipped with laser-mapping technology, Bursik says. You could then compare it to what the rock face looked like in 1969, the last time this part of the falls was dry.

A study of this kind could help scientists better understand the mechanisms by which Niagara Falls and other waterfalls carve away the land beneath them, causing the waterfalls to recede.

This erosive process has caused Niagara Falls to retreat about 7 miles since its formation some 12,000 years ago, moving from the Niagara Escarpment at Lewiston, New York to the falls current location, Bursik says.

The opportunity to map the rock face beneath a powerful waterfall is rare: The American and Bridal Veil Falls last went dry in 1969, when engineers diverted water from them to study erosion. At that time, Bursik says, sections of the rock beneath the falls were bolted to slow further deterioration. Turning off the falls again would enable scientists to assess how those reinforcements held up.

Still, that doesnt mean Bursik is advocating for a shut down.

He has studied the falls as well as the plume of mist that rises from Niagara Falls famous Horseshoe Falls, and he has great appreciation for the falls as a natural wonder.

So despite the tantalizing research possibilities, he is not keen on the idea of switching the falls on and off at will.

Its supposed to be the wonder of the world, Bursik says. It seems strange to me to shut it off, to treat it like a spigot that they can just turn on or off. But if their intention is to do that, there are definitely studies that we could do.
Senators have begun their winter session with a one-week postponement of the Law on Giving in Payment, at the request of the banks' representatives, who claimed that they did not have enough time available to study the amendments.

Deputy Daniel Zamfir, the initiator of the law, explained: "Today (ed. note: yesterday), even though it was supposed to go up for debate in three commissions of the Senate, the law of giving in payment was postponed on claims that the banks have not formulated an opinion, even though I have submitted the amendments two weeks ago. Obviously this is a tergiversation, an excuse to stall for time so they can intensify their pressures against the parliamentarians and to continue the blackmail with the killing of lending.

It's like in a war, when various strategies are being devised. Except the war started by banks is one against Romanians, and these postponements only make people get even more bitter when it comes to them! They are arrogant, cynical, and they show contempt when it comes to the needs and particularly the suffering of people!

Dear bankers, if you didn't get it yet, you are the ones killing lending, because you have destroyed the relationship of trust between banks and customers, because there are corrupt banks, there are banks that have abusive terms in their contracts, you have humiliated in all this time those who have tried to restructure their loans, in short, you have brought to their knees the ones who were supposed to be considered partners and off whom you made huge profits".

Cristian Dan, the administrator of the Group of CHF borrowers, told us: "If the banks' defenders have said that they did not study the amendment, they are pathetic. I am sure those amendments were studied the second they were made public. If it is true that the debate of the law has been postponed because of that, then I am sorry for people in the legal commission, who shouldn't have postponed anything, considering that this law is being awaited like a lifeline by many borrowers. What I can see is stalling. This is what is driving people crazy".

Following yesterday's decision by senators, unhappy bank customers have sent a letter to the Romania Parliament, called "We are people, not numbers!", which we reproduce below:

"I am a Romanian citizen, I am citizen x. I am a bank debtor and I am at the end of my rope. I have a CHF denominated loan and I am anxiously awaiting for the promulgation of the law of giving in payment. I am writing to you because I can not bear the situation I find myself in anymore, I want for this abuse that I am being subjected to by the bank to stop. I want for this economic, moral and physical genocide which the banking system has been practicing for years against the population to end. A population which elected you!

I am writing to you because I see that the things that hurt me, that are killing me slowly, every day, have become the subject of postponement. Because I notice the huge pressure which the banking system is making to hijack the law, to make it inapplicable to the mere citizen, to me.

I am writing to you because it is you that I have voted for, and not the representatives of the banking system, I am asking you for the law of giving in payment to be passed in the version that was proposed by Mr. deputy Daniel Zamfir, taking into consideration the amendments proposed by him, without any further changes, as quickly as possible! Do not give in to the huge pressure and the blackmail of the banking system, prove that you support people, not banks!

I am writing to you because I can not take this huge humiliation anymore! For more than a year, the law of conversion is lying inside drawers, a law which people need, which I need. Please speed up the talks concerning this law, it is unacceptable for people to continue dying in Romania because of an abusive banking system, that rife with problems, that respects nobody and nothing, simply to profit off people who are continuously abused. Give us back our trampled dignity and our European status, we are people, not serial numbers that generate profit!

And please take my letter into account. There are many like me, and there will be even more. And there is a God!

With hope,

Citizen x

Customer abused by banks".

Deputy Daniel Zamfir hopes that the request for reexamination sent to the Parliament by president Klaus Iohannis for this normative act will be passed by the senate by the end of February.

Daniel Zamfir yesterday said that the amendments which he has formulated when it comes to this law which is currently undergoing reexamination in the Parliament there is at least the one in which the notion of "individual" is replaced with "consumer": "The term individual is replaced with consumer precisely to exclude the professionals from this law. According to the Civil Code, they are individuals that take out loans to develop businesses. So, in order to make it unequivocal, real estate brokers, real estate developers that have taken out loans for business do not benefit from this law. The giving in payment applies to every loan, including mortgage backed consumer loans. Giving in payment applies to everything that a mortgage has been set up for".

President Klaus Iohannis has told the Parliament at the end of last year the request to reexamine the law concerning the extinguishment of loans by the giving in payment of properties, claiming that this project is welcome, but that the version adopted by the parliament, could create "difficulties" instead of helping borrowers.

The version that was sent to the Parliament was also criticized by NBR governor Mugur Isarescu who was saying, in the beginning of January, that senators and deputies must take into account, when reexamining the law of giving in payment, the recommendations received, including from the European Central Bank, so that the law would protect only those with home loans and not other types of borrowers.
Few contestations are as confusing in today's India as those over free speech. Populist mobilisation, theories of liberalism, realpolitik, and class and community conflicts intersect and overlap here. Even those who agree on the ends - the creation of an accepting public sphere, with multiple voices, and lively dissent - disagree vehemently on the means. They do so for various reasons - because of the contours of specific hurts that speech could inflict, because India's concrete conditions might make free speech for all difficult to enforce, or because they imagine that when voices are free those voices with privilege may speak loudest. Thus, whenever speech is controlled to avoid "hurting sentiments", the response - whether in support or condemnation - can appear cacophonous.

Given the multiplicity of reasons for disagreement, and the ways in which they lie at angles to each other, developing rounded theories of what underlies this disagreement is difficult. We should all be grateful that three professors of English in prominent Indian universities - Rina Ramdev, Sandhya Devasan Nambiar, and Debaditya Bhattacharya - have edited a volume that attempts to delineate how "hurt" is felt and constructed, what "sentiment" might mean and where it comes from, and how Indian politics and the nature of its media shape the creation and response to "hurtful" speech.

In Sentiment, Politics, Censorship: The State of Hurt, the editors assemble 19 essays - along with their own preface and introduction - from writers who are academics, journalists, artists, lawyers, and activists. By and large, all the essays are worth reading - although some of them don't quite fit into the book's larger project. (A chapter on Delhi University teachers' protests against the semester system has been shoe-horned in with the flimsy justification that administrators accused teachers of "hurting" the ethos of the university.)



Given the varied standpoints and the argumentation of the writers, it would not be profitable to summarise or to categorise the essays here. Some do stand out - and not necessarily those most closely related to the supposed theme. For example, Mushirul Hasan's attempt to trace the history of "hurtful" accusations against Muslims spends a great deal of time on examining what lies behind the anti-Muslim statements of, say, Nirad Chaudhuri and V S Naipaul, although nobody has asked for Chaudhuri to be banned or pulped of late. Nevertheless, that chapter is one of the highlights of the volume. Some essays that do pretend to be on point, however, such as Soumyabrata Choudhury on M K Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and the idea of "anathema", are so poorly argued and speculative in their reasoning that the editors should have said their dogs ate those particular manuscripts.

Disjointed and often contradictory approaches to free speech, as I said, aren't surprising. It's worth listening to all the various arguments, though it does become tiresome when essays contradict themselves. In a tribute to the confusions the subject engenders, the editors accomplish the feat of internal contradiction in their own introduction. A few pages of it are dedicated to an ill-judged and poorly argued screed against Penguin for abandoning Wendy Doniger; and those pages are swiftly followed by a discussion of the bad laws that Penguin had cited, providing a persuasive case for why Penguin was, in fact, helpless in the face of "the law's failure to safeguard the voice of reason."



In fact, one aspect of free-speech disputation that the volume largely fails to sufficiently address at the level of theory is the question of "platforming" - are rights infringed when certain arguments or individuals are denied platforms from which to speak? Does that infringement differ when the platform is provided by a private-sector publisher, a private university, a publicly-funded institution, or a state-authorised textbook? The controversy a few years ago over whether a cartoon by Shankar, that some read as showing Jawaharlal Nehru whipping Ambedkar, should have been included in a state textbook comes up repeatedly. The contours of understandable "hurt" in the Dalit response to that, and the arrogance of the academic dismissal of that hurt, are described well. But the larger question is: Do theories of free speech and legal prohibitions have a bearing on what was (and should indeed be) a political decision about what should be taught? This question is barely asked, let alone answered.

As I said, it is important to listen to various viewpoints on the issue; but it is equally important to do so purposefully. The purpose, surely, is to identify those constraints and insecurities which most clearly lead to the shrinking of the public sphere - a process the editors describe as a "definite tightening of spaces for possible articulation of dissent [that] has been steadily gaining a certain manufactured traction in public discourse". In fighting "the deep forces of the irrational that drive the daily force of democracy", as they elegantly put it, one must know also which arguments and concerns are to be ignored, which are irrelevant, and which are disengaged from concrete reality. As it happens, listening to everyone, and reading this book, can help you identify those, too.

SENTIMENT, POLITICS, CENSORSHIP

Rina Ramdev, Sandhya Devesan Nambiar, Debaditya Bhattacharya (editors)Sage Publications278 pages; Rs 895
French automaker Renault showcased two concept cars, the Kwid Climber and the Kwid Racer at the Auto Expo 2016. The company also showcased the Kwid 1.0 litre SCe and the Kwid Easy-R. The companys Indian design studios in Mumbai and Chennai have designed the concept cars. Kwid is a great success and has revolutionised the compact hatchback segment, living true to our promise of creating a new era in automotive history, said Sumit Sawhney, CEO and managing director, Renault India. It has generated unprecedented success in its category and has won the hearts of customers. The company has sold more than 100,000 units of Kwid, its small car, since the India launch about four months ago. Renault will also start exporting Kwid to other markets in south Asia and also make India an export hub for the small car. It also plans to export the model to Africa at a later stage. The company plans to enhance production from 8,000 units a month to 10,000.

Source : BS Motoring
Tata Motors, which showcased its future range of passenger vehicles at the Auto Expo 2016, promises to introduce new products every year. The product line-up at the expo features the new sporty compact sedan (project code named Kite 5), the production ready, lifestyle SUV- Hexa in automatic and manual variants, compact SUV  Nexon and the personalised editions of the new passenger vehicles from Tata Motors. The new hatchback has been showcased publicly for the first time at the Auto Expo 2016. While it carries the Zica label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced after a few weeks, ensuring all necessary consumer/ branding and regulatory aspects are addressed, and the launch will take place thereafter. Tata Motors has partnered with Jayem Automotives for developing performance and special vehicles. The partnership will bring alive the next level of personalisation with performance enhancement kits as well as design modifications. At the Auto Expo, the first product from this partnership, a sporty hatchback, is on display. According to Mayank Pareek, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, the company is focused on bringing to its consumers the most exciting and dynamic, youthful, high-performance vehicles that should be segment-defining in style and features. The new range of Tata Motors vehicles showcased here at the Auto Expo will offer our customer a more robust choice and at the same time, redefine our passenger vehicles for the modern customer looking for stylish technology in the cars of their choice. Taking customer experience to the next level, the Tata Motors Smart Hub has displayed the #madeofgreat pavilion which will host a special Fantastico Arena, designed to provide a fun and exciting customer experience with various engaging activities. These include an interactive design experience of customising the new stylish Zica, and using a visualiser and interactive zones to know more about the new Revotron and Revotorq engines. There will be an immersive sound experience powered by the Harman infotainment system for visitors interested in car acoustics and a dynamic virtual driving experience of the Zica. Besides the interactive zones, Tata Motors has lined-up a series of games for Lionel Messi fans to virtually engage with him at the Expo and win exclusive #madeofgreat merchandise. The Tata Motors Smart Hub also has interactive product pods for personalised customer engagement. Once registered at the hub, all visitors will get a Zica virtual drive gear with smart code which will enhance the engagement levels. In addition, visitors can also explore the entire hall through a virtual walkthrough of the hub.

Source : BS Motoring
The Baltic Dry Index, the benchmark for dry bulk shipping freight, has fallen to as low as 300 points, sparking fears of vessels being laid off, if trade deteriorates further.

In 2008, the index had crossed the 11,000-mark. It started falling because of Chinas significantly reduced presence in the international dry bulk segment. For the last few months, it fell week after week.

While agents claim that ships could soon be docked as there was hardly any freight to carry, most shipping did not comment on the matter.

The laying-up of ships has already started in the Far East. As shipping is an international business, India will obviously be affected, said Captain Anoop Sharma, managing director, Essar Shipping. He added his company was doing better than its peers as its other business segments were doing well.

Shipping Corporation of India, Great Eastern Shipping and Essar Shipping are the leaders of the domestic market.

If this trade climate prevails, ship owners will have no option but to shut down vessel operations. I dont see that situation too far away. Maybe in the next three to six months, owners may have to take such a call. Currently, however, vessel owners continue to look for business, said shipping agent Daniel Chopra, also the managing director of Mumbai-based Elektrans.

The index has been on a continuous fall since August last year following Chinas economic slowdown that led to the devaluation of their currency, which actually set the strong bearish tone for the bulk trade market, not just in the Asia-Pacific region, but across the globe. Since early this year, the index has touched new lows and was at 310 on February 2 from a high of 1,222 on August 5, 2015.

China, the worlds largest importer and exporter of several commodities, is now only importing sugar in a big way. A slowdown in its economy indicates grim trade climate across world.

If owners lay-up vessels, it would be the first time since the second half of 1980, Chopra said.

BDI had hit an all-time high of 11,793 on May 20, 2008. Since then, the index has been volatile, stuck in a trough for a longer-than-stipulated period and never reaching the peak number again.

Docking vessels because of the falling BDI and drying up of business maybe a last resort for the shipping companies, feel some agents. Shutting down of vessel operations is not a solution to the problem; it is just a stop-loss measure for shipping . Such decisions may not be taken in haste, said another shipping agent, who did not want to be named.

Keeping vessels idle also involve a significant cost, said the agent, so the shipping will consider that option only when all others had been exhausted.

State-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the countrys largest shipping company with significant exposure in the bulk segment, would be in a difficult position as most of its 17 bulk vessels have signed spot contracts. With falling freights, we will have to look at other options to keep vessels deployed and employed on water, said an official of the company.

Essar Shipping has a 50:50 break-up between the two segments, with long-term contracts varying between two and five years.

Compared to our peers, we are slightly in a better position as we have internal cargo handled and we are also in long-term contracts. This insulates us from the current sharp fall in Baltic, said Captain Anoop Sharma, managing director, Essar Shipping.

The tanker segment, which has been a saving grace for companies dealing in bulk, continues to lend support to the business for companies having exposure in both segments. Shipping agents are of the view that SCIs tanker business would, to some extent, offset the losses made in bulk.

The outlook for the Baltic Dirty Tanker index (for crude oil) and the Baltic Clean Tanker index (for petroleum products) is bullish, as these indices record the peak demand season from October. The tanker segment is doing reasonably well, as a fall in crude oil prices has encouraged countries to stock the commodity, leading to higher engagement of VLCCs (very large crude carriers), said Sharma.
Maximum number of search queries for automobiles on Google came from cities other than four metros  Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata  while Bengaluru, the IT capital of India, emerged top with maximum searches in 2015.According to Google's search results, overall searches for automakers and models grew 40% in 2015, across the desktop as well as smartphone platforms. The four metros accounted for around 35% of all search results while the remaining emerged from smaller cities and towns. Interestingly, search interest around 'used cars' also saw a strong pickup during the year, with a growth of over 200% over the previous year.City-wise, while the maximum number of search queries in the segment were originated from Bengaluru, it was closely followed by Delhi. Among the non-metros, the second highest search results were recorded from Pune, followed by Hyderabad.

Interestingly, both these cities recorded more searches than Kolkata.

Search interest was driven by Tier II and tier III cities. Tier II cities showed 30% growth in search queries.

In run up to the Auto Expo, Google search results during the past 30 days showed that Maruti continued to capture the top slot in terms of search interest closely followed by Mahindra & Mahindra. Both the brands had a strong lead over other auto majors such as Honda, Tata, Hyundai, Renault, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Based on the early data available for 2016, searches around this year's Auto Expo are almost double when compared to the previous Auto Expo in 2014. New launches and announcements from automakers is expected to further fuel search interest over the next few weeks.
Colgate-Palmolive(India) Limited has inaugurated its first ever toothbrush production unit of India in Sri City on Wednesday. The plant was set up with an initial capacity to produce 220 million pieces of tooth brushes a year, at an investment of Rs 450 crore.

The company has recently signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh government to invest an additional Rs 450 crore for expanding the operations at Sri City, a large private business and industrial park located near Tamil Nadu borders.

The company proposes to expand the unit for increasing the annual production capacity to 600 million pieces of toothbrushes in future, according to a statement.

"I am happy to inaugurate Colgate's very first toothbrush production unit of India in Sri City. For the past eight decades Colgate has been serving India with its high quality oral care products.

The strong relationship and the trust of generations of consumers, built over decades of operations in India, made Colgate as 'most trusted brand' for the past five consecutive years," said Fabian T Garcia, chief operating officer, global innovation and growth, Europe/South Pacific, of Colgate-Palmolive at a function organised at the site.

The present unit was commissioned in a building of 16,000 square meter area in 19 months, which was built in a 25 acre land acquired by the company in Sri City.

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited was incorporated in the year 1937 as a fully-owned subsidiary of its US-based parent company Colgate-Palmolive. The Indian subsidiary is involved in the production of various kinds of consumer products in the categories of oral care personal care, household care, surface care and skin care products.

A number of senior company officials and representatives from the state government have attended the event. Sri City industrial park managing director Ravindranath Sannareddy said they feel honored to have Colgate-Palmolive's very first toothbrush unit in India at Sri City.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on Tuesday allowing the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) to lay down natural gas pipelines across seven districts in Tamil Nadu, the public sector major has decided to implement the project on a 'fast-track' mode.

The project was already delayed by two years, causing a Rs 300-crore loss to the company. Now, the Rs 3,300-crore project would cost another Rs 1,000 crore, according to industry sources.

The pipeline project has now become a political issue, especially in light of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. According to sources, some organisations that oppose the project are also exploring legal options.

The 925-km Kochi- Koottanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru pipeline passes through Kerala (505 km), Tamil Nadu (310 km) and Karnataka (60 km). GAIL said pipeline had already been laid along 200 km at a cost of Rs 685 crore. On Tuesday, the apex court had dismissed the Tamil Nadu government's objections and allowed GAIL to lay down the pipelines in the state. The Tamil Nadu government had argued the pipelines would affect the livelihood of about 5,500 small farmers.

Upholding the Madras High Court judgment, which was challenged by the state government, the SC observed that Tamil Nadu had no technical expertise or legal authority to ask GAIL to change its pipeline route. GAIL in a statement said: "It (the SC ruling) is a heartening development. GAIL will work in close coordination with the Tamil Nadu government to restart the pipeline laying work of the 310-km long stretch passing through the state."



When contacted, company spokesperson Jyoti Kumar declined to comment on the loss from the project and whether the project cost would now escalate because of the delay.

The company plans to resume the project and complete it in 36 months. The project was originally started in 2012. Of the total project, only 50 km has been completed in Ernakulam (Kerala).

In support of the farmers, the Tamil Nadu government had asked GAIL to stop the project, while giving the option of laying pipelines along the National Highway. GAIL, however, rejected this offer saying it was not possible to change route.

"Upon completion, the project will provide access to modern and clean fuel critical for economic growth and quality of living for citizens, farmers, and industry. Today, there is not much awareness about the project among the farmers and we will focus on that," said Kumar.
Maruti Suzuki can boast of having a major share in the domestic market. It may, however, face a capacity constraint later this year., managing director and CEO, discusses with Ajay Modi the rising competition in the entry-level segment and the error in S Cross pricing among others. Edited excerpts:We have some room to produce more from the existing capacity of 1.5 million units by improving productivity and minor fine-tuning. We are reaching the summit of capacity utilisation. Model-wise, some shortage may happen but we wont lose volume.

Competition is turning aggressive. How does Maruti plan to protect market share?



We are not here to just maintain market share. Our focus is to keep on expanding. We are charging to get additional market share. Over 50 per cent buyers are not our customers. That is why we brought Nexa, to increase volumes.

Nexa sells two products. One (Baleno) has a waiting period, while for the other (S Cross) you offer high discounts. What went wrong? The contribution of the 1.6-litre variant of S Cross is tiny. Will you look at phasing it out?



The price positioning was not correct. That is why we have revised it. We have to consider whether we need to keep producing S Cross with a 1.6-litre engine. If the demand remains small, we need to think about it.

Vitara Brezza has been locally developed and conceptualised. What will be the role of the Indian R&D?



The upcoming Rohtak research & development (R&D) centre will focus on developing more products faster. We needed development facilities closer to Indian market. Testing products in Japan takes lot of time, and that can be reduced. It is not easy to develop locally or globally. Both India and Japan has to chip in. Some part will be done in India and some in Japan. But in future, I see 100 per cent development work being done in India.

How is Maruti preparing to meet BS-VI norms by 2020?



It is possible, given the availability of technology. But the time to prepare for this change is less. We need components. We need to make model-wise adjustments. European and Indian market conditions are different and local adjustment is required before replicating the European norms. Component suppliers will be facing difficulties, as they need to cater not just to Maruti but to other players as well.

Alto continues to do decent volumes. But, competition is rising. Does it need a change in strategy?



Alto is an important model and the segment is critical for us. We need to continuously develop new products in that segment, even though competition is rising.

We have to bring products in that segment.

What is the status of the launch of light commercial vehicle?



The market condition for LCVs is not good and we have slightly delayed. But we hope that sometime this year, we will kick off. We are not expecting an immediate nationwide launch. We do not have enough knowledge. We will experiment in select areas and then expand.

Cars are being blamed for pollution and there has been events like odd even experiment and Supreme Court ban on some diesel vehicles. How do you see these?



Even though the banning is being done, older diesel vehicle continue to run. Older vehicles are much more polluting. BS-II, III vehicles emit high particulate matter. We need to also look at pollution from commercial vehicles and two wheelers to tackle the issue.
After success in the southern region, the global talent solutions venture from HCL Technologies, HCL Talentcare, now plans to engage with colleges in the central and northern parts of the country.

HCL Talentcare selects graduates from various colleges and makes them employable by training them on the required skills. The six-month full time training is provided on its residential campuses in Hyderabad and Chennai.

After a successful foray into the talent solutions space with its courses in Information Technology (IT), the company is venturing into other domains like banking and sees tremendous potential in the markets in north India.

We are now going to reach out to colleges from various cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore and many more cities in the next couple of months, said Vijay Iyer, Chief Business Officer, HCL Talentcare.

We not just plan to make 20,000 graduates employable by 2018 but also place them into jobs in some of the known in the country, added Iyer.

The training courses are Young Engineer Program (YEP) for engineering graduates and Young Graduate Program (YGP) for non-engineering graduates.

At the end of the program the students are provided assured job opportunity in known global organisations.
JM Financial on Wednesday reported a 35 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 117 crore for the quarter ended December 2015 and a 16 per cent rise in revenues at Rs 426 crore mainly due to a rise in its investment banking business. Its Total Income during the December quarter was Rs 426 crore. Concerns about growth in China emerged as the dominant factor contributing to volatility in the global markets. It appears that global risk will continue to pressure foreign inflows in the medium term. The operating performance of Indian has also been under pressure on account of global commodity meltdown, currency fluctuations, and high indebtedness of large companies, said Nimesh Kampani, chairman of JM Financial Group. More, the slippages of standard advances to NPAs (non-performing assets) by the banks are also a worrying factor, said he. India continues to remain a bright spot among emerging markets, driven by expected increase in private consumer demand and foreseeable traction in the investment climate as the government is committed to revive the same, said Kampani. The company said its fund-based and asset management businesses have continued to demonstrate steady growth this quarter and it remains focused on the asset quality of its lending portfolio, reflected in lower NPAs at 0.21 per cent.

Its main stay the investment banking business continues to grow with a robust deal pipeline and several mandated transactions under execution. The AUM of its wealth management business stood at over Rs 23,386 crore as on December 31, 2015.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain's largest government-owned lender, has scrapped a sale process for its onshore Indian banking operations. The Edinburgh-based lender "concluded that it is not feasible to sell the business in its entirety," it said in an e- mailed statement Wednesday in response to Bloomberg queries. RBS will now consider other options, which may include winding down the remaining Indian operations or selling individual parts of the business, according to the statement. Most of the bank's roughly 600 employees in the South Asian nation would ...
The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp, like most players, faced a bumpy ride recently due to a stress in rural economy. Pawan Munjal, the company's chairman, managing director and chief executive officer, talks to Ajay Modi and Karan Choudhury about the sector outlook, challenges and Hero's growing focus on expanding scooter share.

What is the outlook for the two-wheeler as well as motorcycle segment this year, given the weakness in the past two years?



In the last couple of quarters the numbers have not been very encouraging for the entire industry. At that level clearly the economy is slow, more so in the rural sector as bad monsoons has really taken a toll. The scooter segment is doing much better than motorcycles, in growth terms, but in the recent past even scooters have slowed down a bit. Thankfully for us, we launched two new scooters last year and have gained a fair amount of market share.

Do you think there should be something in the Budget to give a push to rural consumption?



I would really hope so. The government should give a special focus to the rural sector to improve things.

The Supreme Court has temporarily banned certain diesel vehicles in markets like Delhi, but the numbers coming out of an IIT-Kanpur study indicate that even two-wheelers are a major contributor to pollution. What is your stand on emission?



We have constantly been in dialogue with the ministries' concerned on emission norms. Clearly, there is lot of pressure from the ministry to revisit the norms but we as a company will work towards the norms that gets finalised by the ministry. There is a lot of work to be done and we have already started doing it. Any tighter norms means you need to put additional devices on the engines, so the costs will go up. Similarly, safety issues surrounding anti-lock braking system (ABS) would add on to costs, especially in the entry-level range which are bought by common man, it would be very difficult for the consumer to be paying much higher. We are working on reducing these costs at our R&D centre. We will come forward with the solutions to whatever the government decides.

Whatever is happening in the rural market in the past few quarters...does that mandate a change in the strategy for a two-wheeler player like you in terms of exploring new segments?



I believe there is tremendous scope in the rural market as the penetration is much lower as compared to its urban counterpart. However, as a nation there is a lot more that needs to be done in the agriculture sector as even after so many years after independence, farmers have to rely on monsoons year after year. Those are the things that need to be done to bring about a change.

What are your growth plans for the scooter segment?



We are continuing to work on a range of scooters and would be unveiling a couple of more products in that range. Work is also going on in the R&D Centre over the current line-up, changes to further boost their sales as well. We are setting ourselves in this direction and we will be doing more work in this area.

There are lot of players getting aggressive in the two wheeler segment. Will you be able to defend your market share?



The reason to come up with new products, new styles, innovations, especially in areas where we are not traditionally strong such as premium segment is to gain and maintain our market share. We are working on products which are being developed completely in-house.

What is your growth strategy for overseas market?



We have the second plant which is under construction right now in Bangladesh. As soon as it starts production we would be concentrating more on the South east Asian market. From the Colombia plant that was opened last year we plan to expand presence in neighbouring countries.
Complaints of alleged corruption against AIIMS director went missing from the Central Vigilance Commissioners office, resurfaced later and was then forwarded to be supervised by one of the accused officers  the chief vigilance officer (CVO) of the health ministry.

Raj Narayan, head of Delhi-based Janhit Abhiyan, sent two sets of complaints to the Central Vigilance Commissioner, K V Chowdhary, in July 2015 alleging the director of AIIMS, M C Misra, and others had indulged in corruption in two departments  the trauma centre and the surgery department. Misra had headed both departments then. He also alleged that the CVO of the health ministry, who also officiates as the CVO of AIIMS, protected the AIIMS officials and the Central Bureau of Investigation did a shoddy investigation.

When he did not get any reply, Narayan in September 2015 used the Right to Information (RTI) route to seek the status of the complaints and the action taken. He wanted details of all complaints of corruption filed with the CVC against the director of AIIMS.

The commission replied the information was not readily available and would require too much manpower to be collated. It also said the information was exempt from disclosure as it pertained to a disciplinary case of a third person.

On two specific complaints Narayan had made, the CVC said, As per our records, your complaint dated 06.07.2015 and 16.07.2015 has not (sic) received in the Commission. Hence, no information is available. In his appeal, Narayan produced postal department records showing the complaints have been received by the central vigilance commission. The CVC then said it had received the complaints and these were being processed. The appellate authority ordered that the CVC provide answers to a specific query on the two complaints within 15 days.

Narayan later received a CVC response that pre-dated the appellate order. The December 12, 2015, letter said: Your complaint has been duly examined by the Commission and  forwarded to the CVO AIIMS for necessary action. As such while no further report is required to be sent to the Commission the authorities concerned are required to look in to the matter and take action as deemed fit.



The chief vigilance commission and the commissioner did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard. AIIMS has earlier said in the cases that it has followed all procedures of the CVC and no wrong had been committed.

The CVO AIIMS comes under the supervision of the director of AIIMS. At present the CVO health ministry, a joint secretary ranking officer, who the complainant had also accused of working with the director of AIIMS, also officiates as the CVO of AIIMS.

The CVC supervises the Central Bureau of Investigation in its anti-corruption investigations against government officers.

The two cases, in which the complainant alleged corruption involving the AIIMS director, were examined by the CBI. The central investigating agency prepared separate reports on the two cases acknowledging wrong-doing. In both it did not register cases of corruption but asked the CVO of health ministry to act which forwarded the cases to AIIMS CVO  being the same official.

In the case of alleged corruption in the Trauma Centre, the director of AIIMS, M C Misra in parallel had constituted a departmental inquiry by his subordinate specifically against the store manager in October 2014. The store manager was exonerated stating no wrongdoing had occurred.

In the surgery department case involving himself, reacting to the CBI report, the director of AIIMS constituted an internal committee of his subordinates to look at if illegal purchases had been made. The results of this committee have not been made public.

AIIMS, responding to the story on the CBI reports and the follow up action by the authorities had earlier said, Statutory compliances of CVC guidelines are being ensured. A joint secretary in the (health) ministry holds charge of the post of CVO AIIMS. The CVO has not pointed out any procedural lapses in the handling of corruption cases in AIIMS.



The parliamentary standing committee on health, speaking on the appointment of CVO health ministry (a supervisory position over the AIIMS operations) as CVO of AIIMS (a position subordinate to the AIIMS director) has said, The committee is perturbed to note that despite unravelling of corruption cases at AIIMS at regular intervals, the ministry has done away with the regular chief vigilance officer's post at AIIMS and the role of anti-graft officer of AIIMS has been assigned to a joint secretary and CVO in the ministry of health and family welfare. The committee, therefore, strongly deprecates the non-serious approach of the ministry towards tackling such a large number of cases of corruption at AIIMS and recommends that the ministry should quickly move towards appointing a regular chief vigilance officer of unblemished credentials at AIIMS."
Political rivalry took a backseat on Wednesday as central ministers batted for Congress-ruled Karnataka, inviting global businesses to invest in the southern state.

The stage was set at Invest Karnataka, the state's jamboree to showcase opportunities and attract investment, for commitments of over Rs 3 lakh crore from global investors.

Top business leaders such as Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons; Anil Ambani, chairman, Reliance Group; Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro; and N R Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys, were all presented at the summit, promising investments in the state.

The biggest commitment came from Sajjan Jindal of the JSW group, who promised to invest Rs 35,000 crore over the next three to four years in the state. Adani committed Rs 20,500 crore to boost electricity generation in the power-starved state. His company would add 1,600 MW of thermal power in Udupi and 1,000 MW in solar generation.

Ambani announced opening an aerospace research unit named after his father Dhirubhai Ambani in Bengaluru. Premji said Wipro would add over 25,000 people in new centres in Bengaluru, adding to its existing workforce of 55,000.

Infosys would set up a new centre in Hubbali, its fourth in Karnataka.

Union ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party - Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar and Venkaiah Naidu - articulated the advantages the state offered to prospective business, such as educational institutions, human resource, a strong base in technology, the cosmopolitan culture in Bengaluru and the start-up boom.

"We may be (from) different parties but we are all working for the welfare of India," said Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu.

But, they were also acutely aware of the infrastructure hurdles in the state, such as Bengaluru's gridlocked roads that often cause interminable snarls, lack of national highway connectivity, and power blackouts that have forced companies to declare deferred holidays for their factories.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recalled a plea last month from Premji and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to ease the traffic problems in Bengaluru, which records an average vehicle speed of 5-10 kmph at most places. "I'm trying to solve this problem. I know this is a very difficult task. If the Karnataka government can share land acquisition costs, we can help with the projects," Gadkari said. "Karnataka is the growth engine for the development of country. We believe in sabka saath, sabka vikas (with everyone, growth for all)."



Finance Minister Jaitley asked Karnataka to also focus on manufacturing jobs and grow at two to three per cent faster than the country. "We cannot allow federalism or democracy to become an obstacle. Easier decision making, quick passage of laws all factors are going to attract investment. Investors look at regions which they feel have progressive policies," he added.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also handles the finance portfolio, reciprocated to Jaitely, saying, "A visit to Bengaluru could not have come at a better time as you prepare for your third Budget."



In 2000, Karnataka was the first to launch an investor meet, an event replicated by other states such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, to showcase investment opportunities. The state has a history of voting in a party that is in the Opposition in the Centre. In 2010, when the United Progressive Alliance was in power, Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yeddyurappa conducted a global investors' meet.

Several business leaders spoke of investor stress. "Karnataka has always been about hi-tech, aerospace, IT, biotechnology and the electronics industry. It remains the place that is easiest to justify making an investment. It has human capital, growing infrastructure but there is stress because of the growth," said Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.

The Tatas had to pull out of a venture in 2000 to build the Bengaluru international airport because of bureaucratic and political pressure.

Infosys Chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy asked the government to make Bengaluru a more liveable place, with reduced congestion and easy commuting easy.

"My request to minister (R V) Deshpande and the chief minister is to help us make Bangalore more liveable, provide whatever infrastructure facilities are needed to ensure that there is access to educational facilities for industry professionals and for their children. Make commuting easy, have adequate healthcare facilities and leisure given that Bangalore contributes 38 per cent of IT industry contribution to the country," he said.
The predominantly Soviet and Russian weaponry that Indias military fired, flew and sailed since the late 1970s has gradually made way for equipment from the United States, France, the UK and, now, even Israel. Yet, in the field of helicopters, Russia reigns supreme.

On Wednesday, Moscow announced delivery of its final batch of three Mi-17V-5 medium lift helicopters, completing delivery of a $3-billion contract for 151 Mi-17V-5 helicopters.

With these delivered, the Russian Helicopters plant in Kazan is gearing up for another impending $1.1-billion contract for supplying 48 more Mi-17V-5 helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Meanwhile, in December 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin agreed that Russian Helicopters would build and supply at least 200 Kamov-226T light helicopters for India. That contract is currently being negotiated.

Russia dominates the global helicopter market with rotorcraft renowned for their ruggedness and low cost. According to Russian Helicopters, 8,500 of its choppers are in service worldwide, in over 100 countries. As on 2014, Russian Helicopters built 24 per cent of the worlds military helicopters; 35 per cent of all combat helicopters; and 50 per cent of the medium-heavy transport helicopters.

Last year, for the first time, India signed contracts worth $3-billion for American helicopters  including 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook multi-mission heavy lift helicopters. These would be delivered over the next three years.

Even so, in terms of sheer numbers, Russian Mi-series helicopters have always been the backbone of the IAF chopper fleet. Starting from the 1960s, the IAF bought 110 Mi-4 helicopters, then 128 Mi-8, and finally 160 Mi-17s, totalling up to almost 400 helicopters. In addition, the IAF will now operate almost 200 Mi-17V-5s.

India also bought one squadron of the heavy-lift Mi-26 helicopter, which will soon be replaced by the Chinook CH-47F. The IAF also operated two squadrons of Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, which the Apache AH-64E will replace.

Besides the IAF, the Indian Navy has also been a big user of Russian helicopters. A range of naval warships, including the new aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, embarks the Kamov-28 and Kamov-31 helicopters, which carry out anti-submarine operations and airborne early warning respectively.

Encouragingly, the biggest competitor to Russian Helicopters for Indian military orders is Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The Indian aerospace giant has built four successful light helicopters  the Dhruv Advanced Light helicopter; the Rudra, a Dhruv fitted with weaponry; the light combat helicopter; and the coming light utility helicopter. Once these are fully inducted, Indias military will fly more than 600 indigenous choppers.

The Mi-17V-5, is a more powerful version of the Mi-17 that entered service in the 1980s, with better avionics and night flying ability. The new helicopter is being used to transport troops; supply Indian army outposts on the remote Himalayan border that are unconnected by road, and even transport VIPs.

In 2008, India had signed a contract for 80 Mi-17V-5s; followed by three additional contracts in 2012-13 for 71 more helicopters.

Russian helicopters fly in the Mi-17V-5 in ready-to-assemble kits, and Indian technicians put them together at the IAF depot in Chandigarh.
Union skill development and entrepreneurship minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, today said India in past 65 years had spent generously on education and kept neglecting skill development, which has today resulted in a huge shortage of skilled workforce, needed by the industry.

In past 65 years we have spent most of our time talking about education. Lakhs and crores were spent in education and we thought imparting skill was part of education. But skill development did not happen and it remained neglected. Academics is different from skill development and we have to understand that. In India we today even dont have entry-level skilled manpower which the industry demands highly, said Rudy.

Rudy said till the present government came to power, there were 24 different ministries doing skill development under 70-odd schemes. There was no structure and no framework for skill development. The biggest challenge before my ministry is to bring convergence of all these schemes. For Skill India mission to succeed we need active participation of the state governments. We at the Centre can only create a sample or a dummy, the states have to take that forward to the nook and corners, he said.

Citing an example, Rudy said Rajasthan recently had to hire a group of technicians from Peru as India, despite having such a large workforce, lacked skilled people for that particular job. More than engineers, the industry needs entry-level skilled workforce. We have to take skill development on a mission mode, he said.

Rudy also called upon the industry to participate actively in Skill India mission to create a sound pool of skilled workforce. He was in the city to take part in a conference on skill development, organised by Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), the leading trade and industry body of North East.

As compared to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea where 55%, 68% and 96% of the total population is skilled respectively, the Indian figure is just 4.5%. And I can say for Northeast, this figure would be much less, said Rudy.

A study done by FINER on skill development in Northeastern states found that lack of skilling models that are workable and can be practiced is one of the major factors hindering the skill development practices in the region. It said although many agencies were doing skill development through various approaches, yet most of them lacked innovation and were not scalable.

The minister said under the Skill India mission, North east would get enhanced priority. He said Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) would be set up in all the districts of the region soon. By March you can see the effects of Skill India mission in Northeast. We are planning to set up ITIs in all the districts and also other skill development institutes in the region as per need. Rudy asked the industry of the region to actively participate in skill development of the region and recommended one member each for all the 40 Sector Skill Councils from FINER. The minister also proposed to restructure NSDC and include FINER as a member.

We plan to engage with the Union skill development ministry in a large scale in coming days. We also plan to sign a memorandum of understating with the ministry to make our plans for skill development in the region more workable, said Amit Jain, vice chairman of FINER.
Paper companies fear a sharp increase in dumping from China and Indonesia after the United States imposed countervailing/anti subsidy duty of 5.82% -131.12% in June last year on import of paper from China and Indonesia. This has renewed concerns of further dumping of paper by these countries into India, which is a growing market for them.

In the past four years, imports of paper and paperboards have risen at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% in value terms from Rs 7,152 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 12,351 crores in 2014-15). Also in value terms, such imports have grown 7% to 2.3 million tonnes in 2014-15 from 1.8 million tonnes in 2010-11.

A large quantity of paper and paperboard is being imported at significantly lower costs under the aegis of FTA. Under the India-ASEAN FTA, import duties on most of the paper and paperboard have been progressively reduced, and from a base rate of 10%, basic customs duty is now non-existent. As per the FTA entered into with South Korea, there is regressive reduction in basic customs duty and it will be zero in the year 2017. At that time, imports are likely to rise further.

Indian manufacturers have invested heavily in creation of new capacities. In the last five years, over Rs 20,000 crore have been invested by paper industry in new capacities. The industry is effectively poised to partner Make in India but are beset with low capacity utilisation in view of excessive imports which have been steadily rising, industry body Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said in a statement.

Paper manufacturers have urged the government to exempt paper and paperboard from preferential treatment under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to protect the interests of local players.

In a pre-budget submission to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, IPMA said, Keep paper and paperboard products in the Negative List to withdraw preferential treatment to exporters in the best interest of local producers while reviewing the existing FTAs and formulating new FTAs.



India is a wood fibre-deficient country, with the domestic demand-supply gap in wood widening annually. Currently, the wood and bamboo demand of the countrys pulp and paper industry is around 11 million tonnes against availability of 9 million tonnes per annum. The demand is expected to increase to 15 million tonnes by 2024-25.

On account of the significant demand-supply gap in respect of the primary raw material for the industry, the cost of wood has risen exponentially over the past few years. Mill-delivered cost of wood in India is between $175-200 per tonne against $100 per tonne in other Asian countries



Meanwhile, paper and paperboard is being preferred in modern retail as it is fully bio-degradable and is environment-friendly. Manufacturing of a few grades of paper/paperboard attract excise duty of 12.5% as against 6% for most other grades.

Paper needs to be promoted for packaging in place of synthetic materials as paper is not only biodegradable but made from sustainable and regenerating raw materials, said Sanjay Singh, President IPMA.
A day after the Delhi government opposed Centre's possible assent to commercial planting of GM mustard, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and some farmer associations joined the debate, demanding the National Democratic Alliance government not give its nod and instead make bio-safety test results public.

Business Standard had earlier reported that the government planned to secretively assess the release of the herbicide-tolerant variety of mustard developed by Delhi University (Click here to read the story). The meeting agenda, deliberations and bio-safety data have not been placed in public domain till date.

On February 2, the Supreme Court asked the Attorney-General to reply to a contempt notice alleging that the government was going ahead with the clearance to GM mustard in violation of court orders that had asked for public disclosure of bio-safety data on the crop that emerged from previous field trials. The petition had also alleged that, in the process of trials and clearances, the government had not ensured zero-contamination from GM mustard fields as required by the courts.

Many green groups have consistently opposed the introduction of GM crops, citing lack of information in the public domain, conflict of interest of some members on the clearance committee and allegedly unsafe technology being introduced in India.

The farmers unions had collectively said: The government is pushing unneeded, unwanted and unsafe GMOs on the farming community. They noted that the state governments of all major mustard-growing states in India, including Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, had opposed GM mustard earlier. They also expressed concern over the secretive processes adopted by the regulators and not releasing bio-safety data in the public domain.

While Bihar chief minister had earlier written to the central government opposing the move, D Raja, Member of Parliament for the CPI, in a letter - to the environment minister on February 3 - demanded that the bio-safety data be made public. He noted there were many other non-GM hybrids of mustard which provided greater yield but it was not clear why the government was promoting a technology that had traits of terminator seeds of herbicide-tolerant variety which many governments and expert committees had opposed.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue K N Govindacharya, along with Abhishek Joshi, had also written to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar opposing the introduction of GM mustard. They said they took strong objection against, and deep concerns with regard to, the secretive and hurried processing of GM mustard "environmental release" application and possible approval of GM mustard, adding the NDA government had repeatedly asserted "transparency & accountability" as major "pivots" of its governance policy and these were seen to be grossly violated in letter and spirit.

Earlier the Delhi government had said Delhi University had conducted the trials in the Capital without the mandatory approval of the state government. It said it was opposed to the introduction of GM mustard in Delhi as committed in its manifesto but the government was on the verge of illegally giving it clearance, without consulting the states.
Once in each President's five-year term in office, he or she carries out a "naval fleet review", a deliberately public assembly of the entire fleet, except for warships on essential patrols. Behind the ceremonial pomp and show lies a simple strategic signal: "Here is our fleet; it is ready for war."



In earlier days, fleet reviews were "a prelude to war or an explicit show of force to deter adventurism by a potential adversary", says Raghavendra Mishra of the National Maritime Foundation. Possibly the first ever fleet review was held in 1415, when British monarch, Henry the Vth, inspected his navy before embarking on war with France.

The Indian Navy, however, waves away the notion of sinister purpose behind the International Fleet Review (IFR) that begins in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, and continues for five days through Monday (February 4-8).

"The idea of a Review was perhaps conceived as a show of naval might or an inspection of readiness for battle at sea. It still has the same connotation, but assembling of warships without any belligerent intentions is now the norm in modern times", says the IFR's official website.

The Indian Navy has earlier organised ten fleet reviews since independence, with the first one in 1953. Yet, this one is only the second "international" review, featuring navies from all over the world. Like for the first international review in Mumbai in 2001, the aim behind this international review, is to signal the Indian Navy's emergence as a pre-eminent power that sets the agenda in the northern Indian Ocean.

Among the 54 navies taking part, there is a tacit acceptance of this regional primacy, and a shared belief that this is in the common interest. Participating this year is practically every major navy in the world, including the People's Liberation Army (Navy) of China.

"54 navies are participating this year, compared to 29 in 2001; and 24 foreign warships are here, exactly the same number as in 2001. During the review, 24 foreign naval chiefs are visiting Visakhapatnam, and some 4,000 foreign sailors", says the navy's spokesperson.

In addition, 75 Indian warships will participate in the review. These include both the navy's aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and Virat, and almost all its major capital warships - destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

The Pakistan Navy is not participating. The navy spokesperson said an invitation had been sent to Islamabad through diplomatic channels, but evoked no response.

The main event will be the presidential fleet review on Saturday morning. President Pranab Mukherjee will receive a ceremonial 21-gun salute and a guard of honour before boarding the Presidential Yacht. He will then review the warships, weaving between them as they remain anchored to their precisely determined spots in the sea off Visakhapatnam harbour. Each ship will have their crew on the deck in spotless white uniforms, presenting a salutation as the president passes.

Along the way, the President will witness operational demonstration, including a daring display by marine commandoes, and a "steam-past" by a detachment of warships.

There will also be fly-past, featuring 45 naval aircraft, including the latest carrier-borne MiG-29K strike fighters, the navy's new Boeing P8-I maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Kamov-31 helicopters.

For the residents of Visakhapatnam, there will be a concert by foreign navy bands on Saturday, and a city parade on Sunday along the seafront RK Beach Road. This will feature naval operational demonstrations, marching contingents from visiting navies, and cultural displays by visiting sailors.
5th Edition of the Status Paper on Government Debt released; Overall liabilities of the Central Government are on a medium-term declining trajectory with the Governments debt portfolio characterized by prudent risk profile . .

Since 2010-11, the Central Government has been bringing-out an Annual Status Paper on Public Debt that provides a detailed analysis of the overall debt position of the Government of India. This is the Fifth Edition of the Status Paper being released today. .

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This paper enhances transparency by providing a detailed account of debt operations and providing an assessment of the health of the public debt portfolio on internationally accepted debt performance indicators. The Paper also includes some developments in debt markets since last Status Paper, such as issuance of non-standard maturity dated paper and issuance of 40 year paper etc. The overall liabilities of the Central Government are on a medium-term declining trajectory with Governments debt portfolio characterized by prudent risk profile. Government is primarily resorting to market linked borrowings for financing its fiscal deficit. Conventional indicators of debt sustainability, i.e. level and cost of debt, indicate that debt profile of the Government is comfortably placed in terms of sustainability parameters of public debt and consistently improving. .

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The Status paper is available on the Ministry of Finances website www.finmin.nic.in .

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Centre to contribute Rs. 1 lakh Crore for the development of road infrastructure in Karnataka. . .

The Central Government will contribute Rs one lakh crore for the development of road infrastructure in Karnataka. In addition Rs. 200 crore will be spent on developing four light houses in the state in PPP mode. Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport& Highways and Shipping has assured that the Government of India will extend all support to the Government of Karnataka for the development of infrastructure in the state. Shri Gadkari was speaking at the inaugural function of Invest Karnataka -2016, a three day global investors meet organised by the Karnataka Government in Bengaluru today. He said that road projects worth Rs.60,000 crore will be started in Karnataka before December this year and projects worth another Rs 40,000 crore will be taken up next year. Talking about the traffic problem of Bangalore city, Shri. Gadkari said that he will hold a meeting with the Transport Minister of Karnataka today to come out with some solution . .

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Shri Gadkari further said that the capacity of the New Mangalore Port will be doubled with a development project of Rs. 10,000 crore. He said that the approach of the government is to attract more investments by which more number of jobs can be created and poverty can be eliminated. The Government of India under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi is working as Team India in realizing the vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas the minister added. .

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Converting Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited, Jaipur into an independent Central Public Sector Enterprise . .

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for delinking Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited (REIL), Jaipur, from its parent company Instrumentation Limited (IL) and turn it into an independent Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Department of Heavy Industry. .

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Government of India will buy IL shareholding of 51% (62,47,500 shares of face value of Rs.10 each) at book value of Rs.77.09 per share, a fair valuation which comes to Rs.48.16 crore, as on 31.03.2015. .

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This will result in conversion of REIL in to an independent CPSE with greater autonomy to capitalize on the available business opportunities and freedom to approach capital markets for its expansion. It will help REIL to attain a level of growth commensurate with its potential. .

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Background: .

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REIL was incorporated in 1981, with an initial authorized and paid up capital of Rs.40 lakh, as a Joint Venture company of IL and Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation, Jaipur (RIICO). .

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Creation of a supernumerary post in the rank of Air Marshal in Indian Air Force for a period of seventeen months for abiding by the Orders of Honble Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), New Delhi . .

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today gave its approval for creation of a supernumerary post in the rank of Air Marshal in Indian Air Force for a period of seventeen months from 01 December, 2014 to 30 April, 2016 for abiding by the Orders of Honble Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), New Delhi. The creation of the supernumerary post isover and above its sanctioned strength of Air Marshals in the Aeronautical Engineering branch, to enable the Ministry to consider seeking approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet on promotion of AVM Sanjay Sharma, in accordance with the proceedings of Review Special Promotion Board -2014 in compliance with the directions of the Hon'ble Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), New Delhi. .

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The creation will make certain the execution of the Orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. After the sanction and subsequent to approval of Review Special promotion Board -2014 by ACC, AVM Sanjay Sharma will be considered for promotion to the rank of Air Marshal retrospectively from 01 December, 2014. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurates the MAGIC" process lab at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune . .

The Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated a unique MAGIC [Modular, Agile, Intensified & Continuous] Process Lab at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) Pune last evening. While inaugurating the facility he announced that The MAGIC processes and plants will bring about a paradigm shift in the way in which Indias Fine and Specialty Chemicals industry will operate in the future. Over the past three decades, the global fine and specialty chemicals industry has shifted manufacturing base from the western world to countries like India and China. The MAGIC processes developed in CSIR-NCL can radically change currently practiced process technologies into modern processes that are cleaner, greener, safer, compact, scalable and economical. As a result, the MAGIC processes have the potential to transform the country into a global powerhouse in this important sector, thus enabling the country to increase its contribution to global production of chemicals from the current levels of 3 to 5% over the next few years."He consequently called upon the Indian chemical Industry to work closely with this National facility to realize this goal. .

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Dr Harsh Vardhan interacted with the leadership of CSIR-NCL in the morning. Dr. Girish Sahani, DG-CSIR initially briefed the Minister of all the new programmes initiated by the CSIR for the benefit of the country. Welcoming the Honble Minister, Dr Vijayamohanan, Director, CSIR-NCL, said that CSIR-NCL is strongly committed to using its strengths in sciences and engineering to deliver impact making technologies. Giving a brief overview of the history since its inception in 1950 and some of the recent achievements of the laboratory, Dr. Vivek Ranade, Deputy Director, CSIR-NCL mentioned that the focus of CSIR-NCL is to explore chemical and related sciences at the most fundamental level while at the same time it will continue to translate new and known science innovatively to applications in industry and society. .

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While addressing the staff at CSIR-NCL, Dr Harsh Vardhan commended CSIR-NCLs efforts in providing effective solutions to key problems of national relevance. He extolled the laboratory for its enormous contributions to the growth of Indian chemical and allied industries in the areas of dyestuff, agrochemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fine and specialty chemicals, catalyst and tissue culture. He further added that the laboratory has set global standards by licensing patents and technologies to large multinational companies such as General Electric, Sabic, Solvay, DuPont and Celanese. He lauded CSIR-NCLs performance in consistently filing the largest number of patents among all Indian academic and industrial R&D organizations, and publishing the second largest number of papers in peer reviewed international scientific journals of repute in the country. However, the Minister cautioned the CSIR-NCL staff by saying that though past contributions are important, scientists should constantly endeavor to think out-of-the-box and innovate. He emphasized that scientists should pursue new research areas which could meet the countrys needs as well as put her ahead in selected technology domains. .

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The exhibition in the MAGIC Lab displayed the products and processes developed under the MAGIC program. The Minister saw various chemical products and processes for key reactions like nitration, diazotization, alkylation, esterification and hydrogenation carried out in the MAGIC reactors. Many of these processes have been translated to industry and are at various stages of commercialization. This would lead to significant benefits for small and medium scale chemical industries across India in terms of profitability and environmental impact. The products developed under the MAGIC program such as intensified metallic reactors (commercialized by Amar Equipment), tubular glass lined reactors (developed in collaboration with GMM Pfaudler) and reaction calorimeter were also displayed. The Minister lauded these efforts as being truly globally competitive and reflecting Governments Make in India and Innovate India spirit. .

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The Minister also visited stalls that exhibited industrial scale process technologies developed and licensed by CSIR-NCL. These included MAGIC lab, ENSEL technology, a globally competitive technology for manufacturing biodiesel using heterogeneous catalyst which has been licensed to Benefuel LLC (an American company). The recipient of CSIR Technology Award of 2015, ENSEL is CSIR-NCLs breakthrough double-edged technology for transesterification of seed oils and etherification of glycerin. Another technology on display was a low pressure process for manufacturing para-amino phenol, a key ingredient of the generic drug, paracetamol. A new and first of its kind unique process for dimethyl carbonate using a homogenous catalyst developed under the NMITLI (new millennium Indian technology leadership initiative) program of CSIR in collaboration with IIT Mumbai and Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Ltd (DFPCL) was also on display. .

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In the exhibition set up at the Polymers and Advanced Materials Laboratory, Dr. Harsh Vardhan witnessed a live demonstration of indigenously developed 1 kW Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) system, a clean energy generation device developed by CSIR in partnership with industry for applications in back-up power supply for telecom towers (with Reliance Industry Ltd), residential and small office spaces (with Thermax) and transportation sector (with KPIT and TVS Motors). He remarked that the PEMFC technology is in line with Indias commitment to the recently concluded COP21 Paris agreement and that licensing of technology for making components of PEMFC to SMEs is in the true spirit of Prime Ministers Make in India initiative. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan showed special interest in the stall that displayed CSIR-NCLs contributions to the area of affordable healthcare such as development of life saving drugs Amlodipine besylate and Asomex, which have been commercialized by Emcure, development of porous polyethylene implants for reconstructive surgery of maxillofacial bones, which is commercialized by BioPore Surgicals, development of novel resorbable silk-based bone graft implants, bone fixation screws and membrane based oxygen-enriched air generation system, which are licensed to start-up companies created by CSIR-NCL scientists, and the novel expandable biliary stents being developed in collaboration with a biotech start-up company. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan lauded CSIR-NCLs efforts in developing ultrafiltration based water purification technologies for making affordable potable water, which have been licensed to Membrane Filters India Ltd and Technorbital Pvt. Ltd. He showed special interest in Jaldoot which supply potable water at the doorsteps of houses in many villages in Maharashtra. It also delivered potable water to villages hit by natural calamities such as the devastating cyclone in Orissa in November 1999, earth-quake affected areas in Gujarat, floods and landslides in Uttarakhand in 2014 and floods in Chennai in 2015. .

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Dr Harsh Vardhan also visited the stall showing CSIR-NCLs efforts in skill development and outreach activities. The laboratory offers 80 PhD degrees every year in important research areas such as healthcare, energy, drinking water, environment, crop and nutrition and strategic sectors. CSIR-NCL also offers specialized technical training programs to industry personnel. The laboratory has trained as many as 2000 young engineers and scientists working in areas of polyolefins, engineering plastics, fine and specialty chemicals, etc. The Minister praised CSIR-NCLs outreach activities through its Exciting Science Group in which scientists from the laboratory interact with students from Government and Municipal schools and demonstrate to them how chemistry is important in every walk of life. The goal of this activity is to nurture a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for Science and Mathematics among school children, which is in sync with the goals of the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan". Some of the school students who were mentored by scientists and research students of CSIR-NCL have gone on to win prizes in various Olympiads and National Science Fairs. .

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Dr Harsh Vardhan appreciated the activities of Venture Center, which is CSIR-NCLs technology business incubator. NCL was the first CSIR laboratory to establish an incubation center for creating and nurturing start-up companies. NCL Venture Center is today Indias largest scientific business incubator with 36 start-up companies housed in its facilities. The Minister remarked that translation of NCLs science through entrepreneurial ventures is an excellent example of the Prime Ministers recently launched Start-Up India initiative. He hoped that CSIR-NCL and NCL Venture Center can together enable and hand hold Start-Up India movement in CSIR and elsewhere. .

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The Minister reviewed the activities of CSIRs Unit for Research and Development of Information Products (CSIR-URDIP) and expressed the happiness on the progress made in the area of patent Informatics and felt that each scientific agency should make use of patent informatics for picking the winners from portfolio of R&D projects. He was happy to see the use of modern computational and analytical tools to drive the drug discovery from leads obtained through traditional knowledge. He appreciated the information infrastructure being created by CSIR-URDIP through repositories and portals which help to establish research communities and networks. He lauded the spirit of Intrapreneurship prevailing in the institute. .

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CSIR - National Chemical Laboratory (http://www.ncl-india.org), Pune India is a research, development and consulting organization with a focus on chemicals and materials. It has a successful record of research partnership with industry. NCL is a flagship laboratory of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR, http://www.csir.res.in) which is the largest network of publicly funded research institute in India. The NCL Venture Center (www.venturecenter.co.in) is a non-profit technology business incubator hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India. .

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India - Brunei ties can bring greater prosperity to our people and Peace in the Region: Vice President . . Addresses University of Brunei Darussalam . .

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari said that the time has come for taking our partnership to a higher level in order to bring greater prosperity to our peoples and peace and stability in the region. He was addressing the University of Brunei Darussalam, in Brunei today. .

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The Vice President mentioned the historical and cultural linkages between Brunei and India that led a strong and abiding relationship. He said that India was among the first to welcome Brunei in the comity of nations when it became independent in 1984 and that His Majesty, the Sultan, enjoys the highest esteem in the hearts and minds of the Indian people. .

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The Vice President said that the sustained economic growth in India has made India one of the most dependable long term energy markets in the world and energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities. India imports crude oil worth US $1 billion from Brunei making India third largest importer for Brunei. However, as demand expands, the opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbon to India continues to grow, he added. .

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Referring to the economy, the Vice President said that India's growth offered space to move beyond the typical seller-buyer relationship in the energy field with the potential to diversify and add value in the hydrocarbon export chain. Therefore, he said that India is keen to work with the Government of Brunei in setting up a fertilizer plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilizers to meet agricultural requirement in India while generating additional revenue streams and creating local employment. .

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The Vice President invited investments from Brunei in India's infrastructure and manufacturing sectors by mentioning programmes such as Make in India, and Digital India; the creation of 100 Smart Cities and massive road and railways up-gradation and expansion projects. The Vice President thanked Brunei for the assistance and cooperation that has been extended for Indias Space Programmes through the Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand Station of ISRO in Brunei which was a crucial component in Indias spectacular success in deploying the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars. The Vice President also mentioned Information Technology as an area where India had made rapid strides and in which India would be keen to share its experience and expertise with Brunei. The Vice President also made note of the contributions of the Indian community in Brunei in various fields. .

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The Vice President said that India and Brunei cooperate closely on several issues in international bodies, including in the UN and the Commonwealth. He appreciated the understanding of Brunei in India's enhanced role at the United Nations and for its candidature for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. .

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Highlighting the threat from the 'scourge of terrorism, the Vice President said that it had become a challenge for all peace loving countries and that India was determined to combat this menace with strong cooperation from like-minded countries. India would be keen to expand its cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information, he added. .

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Following is the text of the Vice President's address: .

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"It is a pleasure for me to be in your beautiful country and to interact with this august audience at the University of Brunei Darussalam. .

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I bring with me the greetings and good wishes of the Government and the people of India. .

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I am grateful to His Majesty the Sultan and the people of Brunei Darussalam for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality accorded to my wife and me and members of my delegation. .

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Under the enlightened rule of His Majesty, your nation has made great progress. Today Brunei is indeed 'the Abode of Peace' and has become an example of a tolerant society. .

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The historical and cultural linkages between Brunei and India have roots dating back to the 3rd century. These have given us the confidence to forge a strong and abiding relationship in modern times. .

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India was among the first countries to welcome Brunei in the comity of nations when it gained full independence in 1984. Since then we have shared warm and friendly relations. The visit of His Majesty to India in 1992 and 2008; and again in 2012 for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi, helped strengthen our ties. His Majesty enjoys the highest esteem in the hearts and minds of the Indian people. .

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My visit is a reaffirmation of the importance that India accords to its relations with Brunei and our keen desire to further deepen and intensify out relations. .

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The sustained economic growth in India, driven by a youthful population with rising aspirations, makes India one of the most dependable long term energy markets in the world. Energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities. At present India imports crude oil worth US $1 billion from Brunei. Though India is the third largest importer for Brunei, the total import from Brunei is only a fraction of Indias global crude imports of more than US $112.748 billion in 2014-15. .

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As India embarks upon a sustained high growth trajectory, the energy requirements in India are increasing. This offers Brunei an opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbon to India. .

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The growing Indian economy also provides us with an opportunity to move beyond the typical energy seller-buyer relationship. There is tremendous potential to diversify and do value-addition in the hydrocarbon export chain. .

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In this context, India is keen to work with the Government of Brunei in setting up a fertilizer plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilizers to meet agricultural requirement in India. This will generate additional revenue streams and create local employment and thus be mutually beneficial to both the countries. .

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The Government of India has embarked upon an ambitious infrastructure development policy. Flagship programmes such as Make in India, and Digital India; the creation of 100 Smart Cities and massive road and railways up-gradation and expansion projects have opened several avenues for making profitable investments in Indias growing infrastructure sector. We are keen to welcome investments from Brunei in Indias infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. .

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We are grateful for the assistance and cooperation that has been extended by Brunei for Indias Space Programmes through the Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand Station of ISRO in Brunei. The station was a crucial component in Indias spectacular success in deploying the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars. We look forward to continuing our cooperation in this area. .

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Today, the 10,000 strong Indian community of professionals like doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and skilled personnel is contributing to the economy of Brunei. We are grateful to His Majestys Government for the support extended to the expatriate Indian community in Brunei. .

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The quality of our professionals is a testimony to the strength of academic Institutions in India. This is another area for us to collaborate. We would welcome more exchanges of students, teachers and researchers from the academic institutions in Brunei, including this University. Such exchanges would augment our people to people contacts. We are also keen to work with Brunei to expand mutual tourism by enhancing connectivity and streamlining our visa and travel document requirements. .

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Information Technology has been an area where India has made rapid strides in recent years. This can be an area for enhancing our mutual cooperation and India would be keen to share its experience and expertise in the field of Information Technology in accordance with the wishes and requirements of the people and government of Brunei. .

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As trading economies, both India and Brunei have an interest in maintaining the safety of sea-lanes and maritime security. For some years now, Indian naval ships have been visiting Brunei and your ships have also participated in some of joint exercises. This has laid the grounds for deepening our cooperation in the defence sector, including by training of defence personnel in various fields. We would also be open to exploring closer cooperation with Brunei in other areas of mutual interest such as coastal security and disaster preparedness and relief. .

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India and Brunei cooperate closely on several issues in international bodies, including in the UN and the Commonwealth. We appreciate the understanding of Brunei in India's enhanced role at the United Nations and for its candidature for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. .

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India and Brunei share common perspectives on several global issues, including that of climate change. India has a long history and tradition of harmonious co-existence between man and nature. Human beings here have regarded fauna and flora as part of their family. This is part of our heritage and manifest in our lifestyle and traditional practices. We represent a culture that calls our planet Mother Earth. It is therefore natural for India to be at the forefront of dealing with managing the adverse impact of climate change in the spirit of common but differentiated responsibilities. .

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The scourge of terrorism is a challenge for all peace loving countries of the world. We are determined to combat this menace with strong cooperation from like-minded countries. We would be keen to expand our cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information. .

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Both our countries have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of our shared Asian neighbourhood. The scope of Indias engagement with East and Southeast Asia has grown steadily in the last two decades. We seek to promote not only mutually beneficial bilateral relations, but also to work institutionally with regional partners and foster a climate that is conducive to stability, security and economic development in our region. .

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It is to the great credit of the ASEAN countries that they have led the way in cooperation and integration, not only among themselves, but also in the broader region. For India, it is an article of faith of our Look-East policy that ASEAN must remain central to the future evolution of regional mechanisms, which must be open and inclusive. We share your vision and aspirations for the region and we applaud your march towards an ASEAN Economic Community. .

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We value the support extended by Brunei in making India a full dialogue partner of ASEAN and in the ongoing India-ASEAN FTA negotiations. It reflects Brunei's understanding of the "Look East" policy of India, which is aimed at integrating India's multifaceted relations with ASEAN and beyond. Similarly, the decision at the 3rd East Asian Summit at Singapore last November on the Nalanda University initiative is deeply appreciated. .

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Last year with the advent of a new government, we upgraded our policy towards South-East and East Asia from 'Look East to Act East' to indicate Indias resolve to move with a great sense of priority and speed to intensify our cooperation in security, trade, investment, connectivity and capacity building and strengthening people-to-people linkages with the ASEAN Countries. .

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Our new Make in India initiative opens up new vistas for investments from ASEAN into India. These include sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure. The India-ASEAN Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment will also unleash large potential for mutual investment. Similarly, we will also encourage our businesses to seize the investment opportunities presented by an economically integrated ASEAN. .

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Enhancing connectivity between India and ASEAN in all its aspects - physical, institutional and people-to-people, is a key strategic priority for us. Our North-Eastern region is our land-bridge to the ASEAN.v Our excellent bilateral ties with our ASEAN partners, which are largely "sans irritants," have laid a strong foundation for our Act East Policy. As ASEAN engages in charting out its post-2015 roadmap, India is also working on drafting the ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-2021, to translate the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership Vision into concrete action for greater progress and prosperity of our peoples and countries. .

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We in India are thankful to Brunei for playing a constructive role in deepening of Indias engagement with ASEAN. As Brunei prepares for greater integration into the ASEAN community, India will continue to steadfastly support Brunei in assuming its rightful place in the comity of nation, as a dependable friend and partner. .

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The time has come for taking our partnership to a higher level in order to bring greater prosperity to our peoples and peace and stability in the region. .

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We in India are confident that our relationship will continue to prosper and develop. .

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I thank you for inviting me today. .

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Long live India- Brunei friendship." .

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MSP for Copra for 2016 season . .

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for Copra for 2016 season. The decision is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). CACP, which is an expert body, takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, cost of conversion of copra into coconut oil, the likely effect of the Price Policy on the rest of economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of production resources like land and water, while recommending MSPs. .

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The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of Milling Copra" has been increased to Rs.5950/- per quintal for 2016 season from Rs. 5550/- per quintal in 2015. Also, the MSP for FAQ of Ball Copra" has been increased to Rs.6240/- per quintal for 2016 season from Rs. 5830/- per quintal in 2015. The MSP of Copra is expected to ensure appropriate minimum prices to the farmers and step up investment in Coconut cultivation and thereby production and productivity in the country. .

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The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) would continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the Minimum Support Prices in the Coconut growing states. .

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Besides increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Copra, Government has taken several other farmer friendly initiatives over the last one year. These, inter-alia, include the following: .

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A new crop Insurance scheme for farmers welfare, namely, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been introduced under the scheme, there will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%.There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. .

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Government has also created portal on crops insurance in order to keep farmers better informed. .

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A Scheme to issue Soil Health Card to every farmer has been introduced. Soil health management in the country is being promoted through setting up of soil & fertilizer testing laboratories and implementation of organic f Government has also framed guidelines under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) to promote organic farming and develop potential market for organic products. .

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The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, has been launched with the objective of creating sources of assured irrigation. .

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A dedicated Kisan Channel has been started by the Doordarshan to address various issues concerning farmers. .

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An initiative is being taken to set up a National Agriculture Market (NAM). This would enable farmers to overcome the impediments in marketing of agricultural produce and get better price discovery. A common e-market platform is being created and would be provided free of cost to the States/UTs that undertake to introduce a single license for trading in the whole state, a single point levy of market fee and permit e-trading Government is also encouraging formation of Farmer Producer Organisations. .

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President of India confers the Honorary Rank of General of THE Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri . .

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Honorary Rank of General of the Indian Army on Prakhyata Trisahkati-Patta General Rajendra Chhetri, Chief of the Army Staff, Nepalese Army, for his commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering Nepals long and friendly association with India, at a special Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (February 3, 2016). .

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The citation read out on the occasion says General Rajendra Chhetris selfless service, sincere devotion and commitment to excellence are in keeping with the finest traditions of Military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself and the Nepalese Army. Throughout his exemplary career, General Chhetri has demonstrated dynamic leadership and outstanding professionalism. General Rajendra Chhetri has contributed to promote the existing bond of friendship, based on goodwill and mutual understanding, between Indian and Nepalese Army as well as other armies of the world. In recognition of his commendable Military prowess and immeasurable contribution to further fostering the long and friendly association with India, President of India is pleased to confer the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri". .

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Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Manohar Parrikar, Minister of Defence; General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Army Staff; Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Air Staff; Vice Admiral P Murugesan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Defence Secretary, Shri G Mohan Kumar. .

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Terrorism is a crime against humanity, says Shri Rajnath Singh . . Appropriate legal and structural frameworks to fight against the menace of terrorism being created in the country, says Union Home Minister . . Shri Rajnath Singh addresses the International Conference on Counter Terrorism at Jaipur . .

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh addresses the International Conference on Counter Terrorism, organized by India Foundation at Jaipur today. .

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Following is the text of the Home Ministers address. .

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Today much of the world is grappling with the scourge of terrorism and its dangerous consequences. Terrorism is seeking to destabilize the geo-political order in several parts of the world. It is doing so in pursuit of an insane interpretation of faith and philosophy that is violently anarchic and allergic to diversity which is the essence of humanity and its habitat. .

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I firmly believe that Terrorism is a byproduct of a perverse mind. This perversion has no love for human beings or the humanity. Terrorism has no religion because religions do not allow crimes against humanity. Simply put, Terrorism is a crime against humanity. .

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Unfortunately, while the world acknowledges the threat of terrorism, there is no consensus even on the definition of terrorism. The UN has adopted numerous resolutions to fight terrorism. All these resolutions amply show the resolve of the world. Sanctions stipulated by UN Security Council resolutions are often rendered ineffective by vested interests of some countries in the absence of a consensus definition of terrorism. .

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The challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy. They make perverse distinction between good and bad terrorists. When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating bands of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons and weapon systems of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult. .

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So long some countries continue using terrorists as instruments to promote their geo-political agenda, the fight against terrorism will lack due resolve. The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no good terrorist. .

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As we struggle to arrive at a consensus on relatively simpler issues such as definition of terrorism, terror groups are becoming deadlier by the day. From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco terrorism and bio terrorism. Use of dirty bombs also cannot be ruled out. Modern weapons, technology, and communications are being used by terror groups to enhance their lethality and impact. .

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Revolution in technology including the information technology has brought marked improvement in quality of life of the people. Ironically it has also given unprecedented destructive power in the hands of the terrorists. Now they also operate in small nodes, widely dispersed, invisible and connected through digital networks. Never before in the human history, small groups of non-state actors could have access to so much destructive power. .

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We are a country full of diversity with multi lingual, multi religious and multi ethnic society. These conditions are actively utilised by anti-national elements and other enemies to foment trouble in our country. To counter such threats we need to undertake sound preventive and responsive security measures. Most of the terrorist attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil. If Pakistan takes concrete action against terrorists on its territory it will not only improve the bilateral ties between both the countries but also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region. The government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organizations. .

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For India Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a tectonic shift. Mumbai terror attack in 2008 brought terror across the seas to our economic capital causing large number of casualties on innocent civilian population. Likewise in the recent attack on Pathankot air base, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and also cause large scale casualties, thus taking the dynamics of terror attack in India a notch higher. However, it goes to the credit of our security forces and intelligence agencies that they not only prevented any damage to our capabilities and assets but also achieved it with minimum casualties to own security personnel. .

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Security Forces also ensured that there were no casualties to families including trainees from friendly foreign countries. For such a brave act they deserve the highest accolades. .

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I can say this with conviction as terror attacks in the past on air bases of other countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka had led to major damages to their air assets including large number of casualties. .

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After the Pathankot terror attack the government is reviewing its Counter Terror strategy. We are now formulating an effective strategy which would help in preventing our country from such terror attacks in future. We are fully equipped and prepared to deal with Cross border terrorism or any kind of terrorism. We are working on a National Security Strategy aiming to achieve seamless coordination between all the agencies. .

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We had advance intelligence input on Pathankot. It helped our security agencies in neutralizing the possible impact of this terror attack. .

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Proper assimilation, analysis and timely sharing of intelligence inputs hold key to any successful strategy against terrorism. The government is increasing its capabilities in this area as well. We are also stepping up vigil at our international borders and strengthening our border infrastructure to ensure fool proof security in the border areas. .

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Terrorism is hydra-headed monster fed by a massive supply of funds through different routes. We need to put a plug on the flow of funds to curb terrorism. Drug trafficking, hawala transactions and supply of counterfeit currency are some of the known sources of terror funding. It is a big challenge to cut the supply lines of terrorist organizations and their activities. There has to be global strategy and better coordination among likeminded nations against terrorism, if we want to disrupt the supply of funds to terror activities.

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Given the ever increasing threat of terrorism in India, our National Security Strategy is now aiming at creating an environment which provides full opportunity for unhindered growth and development to every section of the society. We are also looking forward to create appropriate legal and structural frameworks to fight against the menace of terrorism. We want to insure that all terror related cases are thoroughly investigated and followed up properly and regularly in the courts. Our guiding principle while handling terror related cases should be Koi Begunaah Fanse Nahi, Aur Koi Gunahgaar Bache Nahi" .

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We also solicit and appeal for full cooperation on issues pertaining to National Security from opposition too because we need to rise above partisan politics on issues of national importance. .

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Lack of consensus on matters like National Security will adversely affect the countrys national interest. .

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It is a cause of grave concern that the Cyber World is being exploited by terror groups such as DAESH or ISIS to radicalise the gullible youth of our country. Since many security experts and intellectuals are present here, I appeal to all of you to use the word DAESH to mention ISIS in future because this terror organization is seeking legitimacy through the word Islamic State. The Cyber world is also enabling Lone Wolf Attacks across the world. Exploiting the power of internet and ideological motivation, terror groups like DAESH and Al Qaeda have already flooded the internet with literature pertaining to bomb making and suicide attacks which present a risk of emergence of DIY (Do it Yourself) Terrorists. India also needs to be mindful of this possibility. .

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We have adopted a multi pronged strategy against the attempts to radicalize the youth of the country. On the one hand we have successfully de-radicalised our youth and on the other hand our security agencies have also taken action certain individuals for their links and association with terror organizations. The security experts believe that Indias strategy against radicalization is far more positive and effective than other countries of the world. .

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We are hopeful and firmly convinced that together we can neutralise any threat to our country. We also would like to assure various dignitaries and participants from friendly foreign countries that India stands firmly behind the International Community in the fight against terrorism". .

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Union HRD Minister confers Bal Shree Awards 2013 . .

The Union HRD Minister Smt Smriti Zubin Irani conferred the National level Bal Shree Awards 2013, on 62 talented children at New Delhi today. While speaking on the occasion, she called upon National Bal Bhawan to treat Swachchata (cleanliness) as a festival. Appreciating the soulful rendering of a song yeh Bharat Desh Hai mera... by a special child and Bal Shree awardees, she added that the festival of Swachchata could be celebrated through the respective district level Bal Bhawans by organising groups of children to visit villages around their Bal Bhawans to spread the message of cleanliness through their performances in the form of art and dance. .

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She was of the view that with the help of such children India can begin a new chapter and a new chain in its culture and tradition. She further suggested that the contributions of the Gurus of the talented children in the area of performing art need recognition. In this context, she also said that a meeting of Gurus could be convened to take their ideas and views as to how we can further enhance the creativity and skills of the talented children. .

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The Minister also praised the initiatives taken by her Ministry, like Kala Utsav where the performances of children was utilized to spread the messages of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. She also appreciated Seema Darshan initiative where school children visited the border areas for having the feel of the life of soldiers in those areas. .

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The Union Minister conferred the Plaque, Citation, Kisan Vikas Patra of Rs 15000/- each and books and CDs worth Rs1500/- to the Bal Shree awardees. The Union Minister congratulated all the awardees, their parents and their Gurus and teachers. 62 winners of 2013 National Bal Shree Camp were selected through a meticulous selection process under four streams of National Bal Shree Honour viz Creative Performance, Creative Art, Creative Scientific Innovations and Creative Writing. 18 children have been awarded in Creative Arts, 15 in Creative Performance, 19 in Creative Writing and 10 in Creative Scientific Innovation stream of 19th National Bal Shree. .

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The Bal Shree awardees of Creative Arts presented to the Union HRD Minister a painting created by them and the Creative writing awardees presented to her a poetry written by them on the topic Clean India from the eyes of the Youth. .

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The Chairperson of National Bal Bhawan, Smt Shallu Jindal quoting the Union Minister said that art can be engaged in spreading peace. The art performance by children can bring about a considerable change in the society as art can cross boundaries. It is also up to the elders to guide the path of children. .

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Also present on the occasion were Dr S.C. Khuntia, Secretary School Education and Literacy (SE&L), other senior officials of Ministry of HRD, National Bal Bhawan and the parents/relatives of Bal Shree awardees. .

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Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. HARSH Vardhan appeals to the scientific community to synergize professionally . .

The Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan made a fervent appeal to the scientific community to synergize professionally to make India achieve a superpower status in the field of scientific research..

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan was addressing a gathering of scientists and students at the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune today. .

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'Bigger dreams are more productive than big labs', said Dr Harsh Vardhan. Citing the examples of Sir JC Bose, Sir CV Raman, Dr Meghnad Saha and others, Dr Harsh Vardhan made a mention of the great achievements of Indians in the past. 'Now we have state-of-the-art laboratories and we need to work in coordination,' said Dr Harsh Vardhan. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan pointed out that India ranked third in the world in nanotechnology research and sixth in papers published. This, he said, could be bettered with synergistic efforts between scientists. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan highlighted the fact that various research institutes were working on similar areas at different levels of achievements but there needed to be coordination and cooperation between them. .

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'Development of technology of social relevance and welfare is more relevant than just developing and patenting it,' said Dr Harsh Vardhan. He elaborated his point by citing how Sir Bose made the crescograph available to the society instead of patenting it. .

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Citing the example of the success of the polio vaccine campaign in India, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that he first conceived the idea in 1993 and it was successfully implemented in Delhi and later received support in Pune. .

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'With the start-up culture being supported by the Government of India, this was the most opportune time to conceive and execute technologies of social relevance,' said Dr Harsh Vardhan. .

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Dr. Harsh Vardhan appreciated the contributions made by the late Prof. SP Agharkar, the founder-director of ARI, in establishing the Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science. At ARI, Dr Harsh Vardhan visited the research facilities and took keen interest in its research achievements. Dr DR Bapat, President, MACS in his presidential remarks mentioned how the coordinated projects in agriculture had improved the crop production in India. .

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A convicted stock trader was ordered released from a California halfway house, becoming the first person to benefit from the US Supreme Court's decision last month to clarify insider-trading law. The US Court of Appeals in New York said Tuesday that Doug Whitman, 58, founder of Whitman Capital LLC, will be temporarily freed before he finishes his two-year sentence while under the supervision of a facility in Sacramento. Whitman had asked to be released because, he says, his conduct may not be illegal if the US Supreme Court rules in another case in a manner that's favorable to ...
Twenty-four out of 1,941 stock funds: That's how many managed to avoid this year's carnage. After a far-from-stellar 2015 for equities, almost no one was prepared for such a rough start to 2016. As shares worldwide have plunged eight per cent, the only funds in positive territory were those lucky enough to focus on utilities and other industries deemed defensive - those seen as more immune to an economic slowdown. Less than a repudiation of investing skill one month into the new year, the data show the pervasiveness of losses in global markets where $6.5 trillion has been erased. ...
Shares of Crompton Greaves has tanked 24% to Rs 127, also its 52-week low on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the company registered consolidated net loss of Rs 107 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 (Q3FY16) against profit of Rs 274 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

During the quarter, the company recorded Rs 410 loss on account of provision made against loan given to subsidiaries including loss on sale of Canadian operation. It made profit of Rs 426 crore on sale of land at Kanjurmarg, Mumbai against Rs 278 crore in previous year quarter, Crompton Greaves said in a statement.

Net sales of the company during the quarter under review too declined by 14% to Rs 2,068 crore from Rs 2,409 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

In a separate filing, the Avantha group company said that K N Neelkant will take over as the CEO and Managing Director of the company with effect from February 3 as Laurent Demortier will step down from the post.

The company further said that Madhav Acharya will join as member of its board as Executive Director Finance in addition to being CFO of the company, from April 1, 2016.

At 09:44 AM, the stock was down 22% at Rs 131 on the NSE as compared to 0.71% decline in Nifty 50. A combined 19.96 million shares representing 3% stake of the company changed hands on the NSE and BSE.
DERIVATIVE STRATEGIES



COAL INDIA: SELL



TARGET: Rs 309



STOP LOSS: Rs 323



SELL COALINDIA FUTURES @ 319, TARGET 309, STOPLOSS OF 323

[MACD SELL VOLUME JUMP + BELOW 50 & 100 DMA]



ONGC: SELL



TARGET: Rs 208



Stop Loss: Rs 221



SELL ONGC FUTURES @ 217.80, TARGET 208, STOPLOSS OF 221

[STOCHASTICS SELL + RISE IN VOLUME + BELOW MOVING AVERAGES] Disclaimer: This report has been prepared by Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Limited (GBNPP), here in after referred to as GBNPP. GBNPP, a publicly listed company, is engaged in services of retail broking, credit, portfolio management and marketing investment products including mutual funds, life and general insurance and properties. Each recipient of this report should make such investigation as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment in the securities of companies referred to in this report (including the merits and risks involved). This document is not for public distribution and has been furnished to you solely for your information and must not be reproduced or redistributed to any other person. Persons into whose possession this document may come are required to observe these restrictions. Opinion expressed herein is our current opinion as of the date appearing on this report only. While we endeavor to update on a reasonable basis the information discussed in this material, there may be regulatory, compliance, or other reasons that prevent us from doing so. Prospective investors and others are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not predictions and may be subject to change without notice.
After the Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his New Moti Bagh bungalow, the leader described it as a NDA regime-linked political vendetta.

Chowdhury said that while he understood that the bungalow was not his paternal property, the eviction was a reflection of the NDA's eccentricities.

"This bungalow has been given to me after the High Court's intervention because for long I have been the victim of the NDA government's eccentricity. The 14, New Moti Bagh, was given to me under allocation 083. Rent was charged. What does it mean? It was given to me by the government," he told ANI.

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"Later on they retreated from their commitment and then gave me another bunglow, I e. C1/99. When I inspected the bungalow, I found that it was occupied by another person - Prabha Rao, Additional Secretary. Then, where shall I go? They asked me to put my paper in. I put the paper in after collecting some data. But it was not given to me, which was complying with the status which they are arguing now," he added.

He further said that it was after this that he moved the court.

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"By the intervention of the court, the house committee and Venkaiah Naidu told the court that these are available with us. So, the government decided to allot it. But at that time, it was in a dilapidated condition. Meanwhile, I went to my constituency. But before going there I made a strong plea for a joint inspection of CPWD officials. And accordingly I made a proposal to house committee chairman," he said.

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Complaining about not receiving any communication after sending the letter, Chowdhury said, "But sorry to say that I have not got any response from him. Three letters I have given. Last letter was on January 19. It is clearly substantiated that I had no intention of retaining my earlier bungalow. Because that bungalow is not my paternal property. The bungalows are simply treated by me as a transit camp. But at least a courtesy was expected from the government and from house committee."

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"Meanwhile, when I was away from Delhi, a letter was sent to my residence, that on February 1, I would be evicted from my residence. On January 31, I came back to Delhi and I found out that government is planning to evict me. Immediately I moved court, the court dismissed my plea. I again moved court and the court stayed. And today the court again said that I have to vacate the bungalow. Okay. I am evicting," he added.

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Authorities had on Monday disconnected water and power supply to the bungalow occupied by Chowdhury. According to Directorate of Estates, the Congress MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and had been given sufficient time to vacate the New Moti Bagh bungalow to which he was not entitled to.

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Chowdhury is the Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad.
After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide in the Hyderabad Central University, was not a Dalit, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram expressed similar sentiments.

"The Hyderabad student who had committed suicide was not a Dalit. If two groups fight in an institution, it is the right of University to take action," Oram said.

Earlier, Sushma had said that as per her knowledge, Rohith was not a Dalit and by calling him a Dalit student, the whole case has been raised a communal incident by some people.

Rohith, a PhD student at the university, committed suicide by hanging himself in his room.

He was among the six research scholars, suspended by the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) in August last year in connection with an alleged attack on an ABVP leader.

The HCU has already revoked suspension of the four students, following uproar over Vemula's suicide.
Reports of Arbaaz Khan and his wife Malaika Arora Khan's separation have been pouring in for a week and they took a serious turn when Arbaaz's picture of celebrating sister-in-law Amrita Arora's birthday in Dubai came online.

Malaika's absence in the picture and the news that she has shifted out of their house with son Arhaan pointed the couple is ending their 17-year marriage.

The couple has not made any official statement yet, but it seems that Arbaaz has decided to make fun of these divorce reports instead of giving a formal response.

The 48-year-old actor has taken a unique way to express his answer to the divorce rumours.

He recently shared his dubsmash video on the iconic song 'Kuch Toh Log Kahenge' on his Instagram handle.

"Some people need to mind their business, stop talking and writing bullshit and concentrate on their own miserable lives," Arbaaz captioned the video.
As the MCD staffers strike entered its eighth day on Wednesday, Delhi's Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi described the evolving situation as alarming.

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He was speaking as MCD workers took to the streets in East Delhi's Nirman Vihar.

Bassi expressed hope of ending the stalemate.

"Garbage heaps highlight the indispensability of our sisters & brothers keeping Delhi hygienic. Things turning alarming. Wish stalemate ends," wrote Bassi in a tweet.

Earlier, Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung recommended that the Aam Aadmi Party city government extend 'conditional' loans or grants to the civic bodies so they can pay salaries to their employees.

North and East Corporation employees, including sanitation workers, doctors, teachers, nurses, paramedical staff and engineers are on strike, protesting against delay in payment of their salaries.
The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday filed an FIR against some unknown persons in connection with the assault on a 21-year-old Tanzanian student.

The Tanzanian student was beaten and then stripped by a group of locals in Bengaluru after they assumed she was part of an incident in which a Sudanese man had run over a local woman.

"This girl arrived at the spot 30 minutes after the accident from a different route. They saw the mob attacking the guy, who had caused the accident, the girl had no connection with him," Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Adviser, All African Students Union told the media here.

Kaweesi further said the victim was assaulted in the worst possible manner.

The incident took place on Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru on Saturday night after a Sudanese ran his car over a 35-year-old woman resulting in on the spot death of the woman.

The Tanzanian student was travelling in another car, a Wagon-R, along with four others. The young woman, who arrived on the spot around 30 minutes later, was dragged out of the car and paraded naked after being stripped by the mob.

The victim told the police in her complaint that when she tried to get on a bus in order to escape the assault, people on the bus pushed her back towards the mob.

Earlier, the local residents set fire to two cars belonging to the African students, who studied in local colleges in Ganapathinagar on Hesaraghatta Road.
Even as US media reported a rare case of the Zika virus being "transmitted through sex, and not through mosquito bite", Bharat Biotech International Limited on Wednesday claimed to have developed Zika vaccine.

Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Dr. Krishna Ella told ANI, "We have been working on Zika vaccine for last more than 15 months. The reason we are working, because we have been working on Chikungunya vaccine. We have made a vaccine, which is under clinical trial. We have got two patterns. So, we thought if Chikungunya comes to India, then what is next. So, naturally the same mosquitoes, which transmit Chikungunya, is likely to bring Zika. That's how we started working on Zika vaccine."

"We have developed the vaccine and pro vaccine candidate. We filed a patent in July 2015. Probably, this was the first patent filed in July 2015, as nobody has filed before that," said Dr. Ella.

When asked what sort of help his company received from the Government in developing vaccines, he said, "We are going to ask for some Government help, we don't want any money from the Government, but we want the Government help us on the strategy on the regulatory issues, and the clinical trial issue. If they can help us, we can make it faster."

When asked how global market would react to it, he said, "We are not interested in what people think and do, and all that, what we believe in the public heath point of view. A major philosophy of our company is to work on neglected disease. Usually multinationals work on a product which got a global demand, but we work on neglected disease, which is more regional specific. We believe in it and we work on that only."

The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) claimed a patient in Dallas was infected after having sexual contact with an infected individual, who returned from a country where Zika virus is present.

The World Health Organisation on Monday had declared it an international emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne virus.

The Indian government had also issued guidelines on Tuesday, following epidemic in Brazil and in other South American countries.
Asserting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) owe it to Jammu and Kashmir to continue their alliance in the state, the Congress on Wednesday said that it was not wise to have 'political instability' in a sensitive border state.

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"PDP-BJP need to continue with their alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. They created it in the first place and it becomes their responsibility to the state to continue with it. J&K is a sensitive border state and it is not wise that BJP is trying to create political instability in such a place," Congress leader PL Punia told ANI in Ranchi.

He also called on the BJP and PDP to sort out their differences and come to a unanimous decision over forming a government in the state.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, meanwhile, told ANI in Jammu that the PDP and BJP need to come to a concrete conclusion for the sake of the state's development.

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"The PDP and the BJP have to decide when they will or won't form the government. This is the time when there should be an elected government in place. Development work should start now as there is no snow, so infrastructure and construction work can begin," Azad said.

Amid the see-sawing developments over government formation, the BJP has asserted that they were in favour of continuing their alliance with the PDP.

"We are largely in the favour of the alliance being continued. Prime Minister Modi and Mufti sahab had a vision for the state and we want to continue it. But the constitutional right here is that the PDP has to choose their leader and the Governor has to take the next step towards government formation, only after that can we (BJP) take any concrete decisions," BJP leader Nirmal Singh told the media.

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He added that no official assurances have been made to the Centre and said that the BJP has asked 10 more days from the Governor to respond.

However, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who met Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra yesterday to discuss the government in the state, said that Centre should initiate some confidence building measures which will create a good environment for the new government.
In an incident that could have been a major mishap, a light stand crashed onto a stage amid a college fest in Delhi, injuring a student.

The student was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

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The incident took place at the Deshbandhu College in Kalkaji area of the capital.
At least 18 fighters of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have been killed in a drone strike on Afghanistan's Paktiya province.

Afghan officials confirmed that the Pakistani Taliban was killed in the latest strike by an unmanned aircraft in the Pak-Afghan border areas.

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The Express Tribune reported that the militants were heading to the border region in Afghanistan when the drones rained down missiles on them in Gomal district.

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The militants killed were from South Waziristan,14 men from the Mehsud tribe and four from the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.
State-owned natural gas processing and distribution company GAIL (India) has termed the Supreme Court's ruling on its Kochi-Kottanad-Bangalore-Mangalore Pipeline project as a 'heartening development'.

GAIL accepts it with humility and will work in close coordination with the Government of Tamil Nadu to restart the pipeline laying work of the 310 km long stretch passing through the state of Tamil Nadu, a statement from the company said.

GAIL (India) Limited, the youngest Maharatna PSU, is committed and deeply engaged in creating the national Gas infrastructure which is the backbone for economic development of the country.

GAIL will continue to work closely with the Government and people of State of Tamil Nadu to execute this project in a time-bound manner. On completion, the project will provide access to modern and clean fuel critical for economic growth and quality of living for citizens in the state, the statement further read.
Australia all-rounder James Faulkner has been ruled out of the ongoing three-match Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand with a hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old complained of stiffness while bowling that worsened when he had to bat during Australia's humiliating 159-run loss to New Zealand in the opening one-day international at Eden Park on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Marcus Stoinis has been roped in to replace Faulkner in the 14-man squad, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Faulkner was the latest to join the already injury-ravaged squad ahead of the World Twenty20, where Australia will play their first match against New Zealand on March 18 in Dharamsala.

While skipper Aaron Finch, who injured his hamstring during the series against India, is racing the clock to be fit for the T20 format's pinnacle tournament, pace bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been ruled out of the event due to their respective injuries.
Asserting that India and Brunei have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of the Asian neighbourhood, Vice President M. Hamid Ansari has said that both countries need to foster a climate that is conducive to stability, security and economic development in the region.

Speaking at the University of Brunei Darussalam here yesterday, Ansari said 'scourge of terrorism' is a challenge for all peace loving countries and called for strong cooperation among like-minded countries to counter the growing menace.

"The scourge of terrorism is a challenge for all peace loving countries of the . We are determined to combat this menace with strong cooperation from like-minded countries. We would be keen to expand our cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information," he said.

"The scope of India's engagement with East and Southeast Asia has grown steadily in the last two decades. We seek to promote not only mutually beneficial bilateral relations, but also to work institutionally with regional partners and foster a climate that is conducive to stability, security and economic development in our region," he added.

Stressing on maritime security, Ansari said that joint naval exercises between India and Brunei have led to deepening of cooperation between both countries in the defence sector and the coastal security.

"As trading economies, both India and Brunei have an interest in maintaining the safety of sea-lanes and maritime security. For some years now, Indian naval ships have been visiting Brunei and your ships have also participated in some of joint exercises," he said.

"This has laid the grounds for deepening our cooperation in the defence sector, including by training of defence personnel in various fields. We would also be open to exploring closer cooperation with Brunei in other areas of mutual interest such as coastal security and disaster preparedness and relief," he added.

Ansari also lauded ASEAN countries for leading the way in cooperation and integration for broader interest of the region.

"For India, it is an article of faith of our Look-East policy that ASEAN must remain central to the future evolution of regional mechanisms, which must be open and inclusive. We share your vision and aspirations for the region and we applaud your march towards an ASEAN Economic Community," he said.
LDRA Technology Pvt. Ltd (a subsidiary of LDRA Ltd. UK), the leader in standards compliance, automated software verification, source code analysis and test tools, today launched their new initiative for the Indian market - the LDRA Competency Centre (LCC) at the IESA Vision Summit 2016.

The LDRA Competency Centre (LCC) was launched by LDRA founder, Dr. Michael Hennell. During his industry keynote session titled "Safe and Secure Designs for Global Markets Access - A Perspective to Make in India" at the IESA Vision Summit 2016, Dr. Hennell said, "Make in India is a great initiative by the Indian government, but getting international safety certifications is a major bottleneck for Indian products to enter developed markets."

"The lack of a local ecosystem and skill shortage are the major challenges that India faces when it comes to 'Make for the World'. LCC is an initiative which addresses the current skill gap in the embedded industry in India and aims to help Indian companies achieve international safety standards," added Dr. Hennell.

LCC is a world-class training facility for developing safety and security skills and it offers a one-stop solution for building and maintaining a competent workforce for safety- and security-critical industries such as Aerospace, Defence, Nuclear, Automotive, Industrial, Medical, Rail, Security and others.

Shinto Joseph, Operations and Sales Director, LDRA India, said, "LCC stands third in a series under LDRA's Certification Ecosystem Development Program (CEDP) that focuses on the overall development of the safety critical market.

Addressing skill challenges at academic, industry and regulatory areas is one of the major focus areas under CEDP. The first two initiatives under CEDP, i.e. LDRA Academic Alliance Program (LAAP) and Embedded Safety and Security Summit (ESSS) have been successfully supported by all stakeholders within the industry and we look forward to their continued patronage.
Pakistan intelligence agencies have said that they arrested the main facilitator of the attack on the Bacha Khan University that left around 20 people dead and many others wounded.

According to the Dawn, intelligence agencies said that Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as "Terrorist A", was arrested in Nowshera last week.

Sources said that he planned to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border to Torkham.

In his initial statement, according to the sources, the alleged facilitator who is in his early 30s said the planning of the attack on the university had been in works for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of the militant commander Khalifa Omar Mansoor alias Omar Naray.

He said he had surreptitiously made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and taken the footages in a memory chip to Omar Naray, but the plans had been dropped because of heavy security in the two places.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday conferred the Honorary Rank of General of the Indian Army on Prakhyata Trisahkati-Patta General Rajendra Chhetri, Chief of the Army Staff, Nepalese Army, for his commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering Nepal's long and friendly association with India, at a special Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

The citation read out on the occasion says "General Rajendra Chhetri's selfless service, sincere devotion and commitment to excellence are in keeping with the finest traditions of Military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself and the Nepalese Army".

"Throughout his exemplary career, General Chhetri has demonstrated dynamic leadership and outstanding professionalism. General Rajendra Chhetri has contributed to promote the existing bond of friendship, based on goodwill and mutual understanding, between Indian and Nepalese Army as well as other armies of the world. In recognition of his commendable Military prowess and immeasurable contribution to further fostering the long and friendly association with India, President of India is pleased to confer the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri," it added.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Manohar Parrikar, Minister of Defence; General Dalbir Singh, Chief of the Army Staff; Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Air Staff; Vice Admiral P Murugesan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Defence Secretary, G Mohan Kumar.
A Ranchi bound plane was delayed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Wednesday after the authorities got an anonymous call about weapons in the aircraft.

The airport authorities deplaned all the passengers from the Go Airways aircraft and conducted a thorough search before granting it a security clearance for take-off.

The origin of the anonymous call is yet to be ascertained.

Last Wednesday, multiple bomb scares in Kathmandu bound flights from Delhi had halted the operations of Jet Airways and Air India flights.

Both flights were checked by bomb disposal squads in Delhi.
Saritha Nair, the prime accused in the solar scam, on Wednesday said that she would submit evidence before the judicial commission which would prove Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's involvement in the matter.

"I am going to submit some digital evidence, which will prove the interest of Oommen Chandy in our team solar and team solar cases. His involvement will also be revealed. I am going to submit this evidence in a sealed cover," Nair told ANI.

She, however, refused to divulge the details of the evidence against Chandy.

"I cannot reveal what kind of evidences I am submitting before the Judicial Commission. There are some documentary and some digital evidences," she said.

Nair maintained her earlier stand that she had paid a bribe of Rs. 1.9 crore to Chandy in connection with a policy on renewable energy.

"We bribed money to him regarding renewal (renewable) energy policy formation but nothing happened. So, we asked him to refund our money. He agreed to pay back but till date nothing has happened," she said.

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Meanwhile, high decibel protests and demands from the Opposition for Chandy's resignation over his alleged involvement in the scam are growing by the day.

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The scam relates to the duping of several persons by the two prime accused - S. Saritha Nair and Radhakrishnan -- who had promised to install solar power panels for them.

Deposing before Justice Sivarajan Commission, which is probing the solar scam, Nair had accused Chandy and his Cabinet colleague Arayadan Mohammed of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.9 crore.

The Chief Minister spent nearly 11 hours on January 27 being questioned by the inquiry panel. He has refused to take a lie-detector test as suggested by Nair's lawyer.

The case took a political turn with the arrest of one of Chandy's close personal aides, who has alleged links with the accused. Two other employees in his personal staff are also under the scanner in connection with the scam.
Time has come for political parties to give 33 percent tickets to women in elections, Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament of India asserted, while advocating stronger representation of women in diplomacy at a special session co-hosted by the Ananta Centre and the High Commission of Canada with South Asian Women Parliamentarians earlier today.

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The initiative was aimed at building a dialogue between women MPs from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal and creating awareness on the challenges to increased participation of women in political and economic spheres.

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"Qualities are neither feminine nor masculine, and yet there exists a glass ceiling beyond which women cannot grow. They are systemically kept out of decision making processes. Conflict resolution is one area where they need to play a role. I feel that when you bring a women into decision making, you are not empowering women, but the society itself. The time has come for each recognized party to give 33 percent tickets to women in elections. Any party that does not give 33% ticket to women must not be allowed to contest," said Lekhi.

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"Women are worst affected in conflict situations, and hence we must have more women in international discussions," said Chandrani Bandara Jayasinghe, Member of Parliament and Minister (Sri Lanka)

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"Afghan women are very vulnerable due to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan. Women can be agents of peace and drive change with their resilience," asserted Naheed Farid, Member of Parliament (Afghanistan).

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"Women are more focused on seeking consensus and promoting agenda for peace. They are naturally equipped with diplomatic skills, including negotiation and decision-making. Women diplomats have access to rural and conservative households, and can bring out voices of other vulnerable women. Diplomacy of the 21st century must be one of equal representation," said Chhaya Sharma Pant, Member of Parliament (Nepal).

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"Across South Asia, we see that economic independence of women is very important for social and political empowerment. In the context of terrorism, women can play a very important role if they are part of diplomacy, as they are good negotiators. Women are empowered in the corporate sector and businesses, but we need more women in public life, in politics and government. I feel women are not trusted with senior ministerial positions," said Maiza Hameed, Member of Parliament (Pakistan).

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The regional tour of the Women Parliamentarians involved programmes in Colombo and New Delhi. In New Delhi, the delegates engaged and interacted with think tanks, women's organizations, students and the media - deliberating on topics ranging from women in international affairs to economic independence and empowerment through skilling, among others.

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Ananta Centre is an independent organization registered under the Indian Trust Act. It focuses on leadership development and encourages frank and open dialogue on the most important issues facing Indian society, to help foster its transformation.

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The Centre also engages civil society, business, governments and other key stakeholders on issues of importance to India's development, foreign policy, strategic affairs and security.
Nepal Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) Chairman Mahantha Thakur has said that the ongoing agitation in the Terai region would not be halted until the government addressed the demands of the Madhes-based parties.

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He made the statement during a press conference, reports The Kathmandu Times.

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The TMDP Chairman said that the blockade at the border check points will not be lifted until the government brings clear view regarding demarcation of federal boundaries.

Thakur said that the Government was trying to defame the ongoing agitation by portraying it as anti-nationalist.

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He added that United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) would made public more protest programmes in the next meeting.

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Thakur accused the government of publicising wrong information against India at the International level and made it clear that they were not against the dialogue.
Asserting that tolerance on the issue of terrorism must be frankly exposed, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Wednesday said India is in touch with Pakistan on the Pathankot attack probe.

"India is in touch with Pakistan (on the Pathankot attack probe) and will remain so," he said while speaking at the Counter-Terrorism Conference 2016 here.

Jaishankar said naming and shaming must be carried out relentlessly in case of perpetrators and supporters of terrorism.

"The broad sense of responsibility is still not there fully in International communities, even amongst nations who are themselves victim of terrorism," he added.

Following the deadly attack on the Indian Air Force in Pathankot on January 2, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had assured of a thorough and fair probe into the same.

He had also asserted that the attack on the Pathankot air base in Punjab dented the dialogue process between Pakistan and India.

President Pranab Mukherjee, who inaugurated the conference yesterday, said that terrorism was undoubtedly the single gravest threat that humanity was facing at present.

"Terrorism is a global threat which poses an unprecedented challenge to all nations. No cause can justify terrorist acts. It is imperative that the world acts in unison against terrorism, without political considerations. Therefore, there is a need to take a resolve to not justify terrorist means whatever the reason or the source," he said.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has welcomed Pep Guardiola appointment as Manchester City next manager.

Guardiola, who would leave his current club Bayern Munich at the end of this season, reportedly signed a three-year deal of more than 15 million Euros a year to take over Manuel Pellegrini from next summer.

Van Gaal had worked with Guardiola when the Dutchman was in charge of Barcelona and had also appointed the latter as captain at Camp Nou.

Jubilant with the decision, Van Gaal was quoted as saying by goal.com, "He is my former captain so I am very pleased to see him. And I can speak Spanish so it is very convenient for me!"

Pellegrini, who guided City to Premier League glory in the 2013-14 season, had announced that he would leave the Etihad on June 30.

City, which are currently second in the league standings, will next lock horns with surprise leaders Leicester City on Saturday.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asserted that the nation would stand by Pakistan if the latter is committed to take action against terrorists.

"Our government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations. For India, Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a tectonic shift," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said while addressing the valedictory session of Counter Terrorism Conference 2016 here.

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"Most of the terror attacks emanate from Pakistan. Pakistan has to show some sincerity and take action against terrorists operating from its soil," he added.

The Home Minister also asserted that the advance intelligence input on Pathankot helped the security agencies in neutralising the possible impact of the terror attack.

"We are working on a Security Strategy aiming to achieve seamless coordination between all the agencies," he added.

Home Minister Singh also pointed out that after the Pathankot terror attack the government is reviewing its Counter Terror strategy, adding that the government is fully equipped and prepared to deal with Cross border terrorism.

"We are now formulating an effective strategy which would help in preventing our country from such terror attacks in future. We are fully equipped and prepared to deal with Cross border terrorism or any kind of terrorism," he added.

Asserting that the terrorism is a 'byproduct of a perverse mind', Home Minister Singh, said: "Today much of the world is grappling with the scourge of terrorism and its dangerous consequences."

"The challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy. Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster fed by massive supply of funds through different routes. It is a big challenge to cut these supply lines," he added.

The Home Minister further said that the world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no 'good' terrorist.

"From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco - terrorism and bio terrorism," he added.

Home Minister Singh also pointed out that India is full of diversity with multi lingual, multi religious and multi ethnic society.

"These conditions are actively utilised by anti- elements and other enemies to foment trouble in our country," he said.

"To counter such threats we need to undertake sound preventive and responsive security measures," he added.
Crompton Greaves slumped 22.77% to Rs 129.05 at 9:32 IST on BSE after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 107.03 crore in Q3 December 2015 as against net profit of Rs 274.29 crore in Q3 December 2014.

The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 2 February 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 235.26 points, or 0.96%, to 24,303.74.

On BSE, so far 20.34 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 2.16 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 152.80 so far during the day. The stock hit a low of Rs 127.65 so far during the day, which is also a 52-week low for the counter. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 203.50 on 5 January 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 2 February 2016, sliding 13.84% compared with 6.20% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 1.97% as against Sensex's 7.61% fall.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 125.35 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Crompton Greaves' consolidated net sales declined 14.18% to Rs 2067.80 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.

In a separate announcement after trading hours yesterday, 2 February 2016, Crompton Greaves said that with effect from 3 February 2016, Laurent Demortler will be stepping down as the CEO and Managing Director of the company. From the same date, 3 February 2016, K. N Neelkant will take over as CEO and Managing Director of the company. From 1 April 2016, Madhav Acharya will join as a member of the Board of the company as Executive Director Finance in addition to being the CFO of the company. Norberto Santiago will remain as the CEO of the international Automation business and will report to the international board of the company.

Meanwhile, the company further added that its board of directors received a definitive offer for the purchase of selected power businesses in Europe, the USA and Indonesia. After due discussion and deliberation, the board decided not to accept the offer in its current form.

Crompton Greaves is a global pioneering leader in the management and application of electrical energy. It provides electrical products, systems and services for utilities, power generation and industries. The company is organised into three business groups: power, industrial, and automation.

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DLF rose 2.57% to Rs 95.75 at 10:35 IST on BSE after consolidated net profit rose 24.4% to Rs 163.95 crore on 43.3% rise in total income to Rs 2980.73 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.

The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 2 February 2016.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 230.61 points or 0.94% at 24,308.39

On BSE, so far 11.12 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 15.52 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 96.80 and a low of Rs 92.40 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 179 on 4 February 2015. The stock had hit a record low of Rs 90 on 20 January 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 2 February 2016, falling 23.14% compared with 6.20% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 21.32% as against Sensex's 7.61% fall.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 356.65 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

DLF's consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 50% to Rs 1379 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.

DLF said that Q3 December 2015 bottomline includes a one-time gain on account of sale of land by DLF Home Developers to two joint venture companies formed with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. It also includes revision in construction budgets, primarily due to fundamental specifications upgrade and reassessment of cost to completion, the company said. Net debt stood at Rs 21396 crore as on 31 December 2015, a reduction of Rs 1124 crore from Q2 September 2015.

DLF said that the company witnessed continued leasing interest in its commercial properties with demand being stable. Since, substantial portion of existing stock has been leased out, the company has initiated a new development viz. Cyber Park at a prime location on NH-8, adjacent to Cyber City in Gurgaon. The company has also recently opened up its retail property viz. Mall of India, Noida, which in NCR continues to be one of the largest retail destinations, DLF said. Residential markets remain soft and outlook is expected to remain lackluster in the medium term, the company said.

In December 2015, DLF Home Developers (DHDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of DLF and GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, had entered into a joint venture to invest in two upcoming projects located in Central Delhi. The entire funds amounting to Rs 1990 crore were received in Q3 December 2015.

DLF is one of the biggest real estate development companies in India. DLF is primarily engaged in the business of development and sale of residential properties and the development and leasing of commercial and retail properties.

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India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a stable outlook on the auto ancillaries sector for FY17. This is based on the expectations of healthy demand from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), continued momentum in sector exports and a likely increase in demand from non-auto segments (mainly defence, railways and aerospace) along with a marginal improvement in profitability and a stable credit profile. Ind-Ra expects the sector revenue (volume) to grow by 10%-12% in FY17.

Ind-Ra expects exports from the sector to grow at 12%-15% in FY17 driven by the increased focus of major sector companies. However, rupee movement against key currencies such as Chinese renminbi, Thai baht, euro, US dollar would impact export competitiveness. Import continues to exceed exports for the sector and grew at a CAGR of 11.1% over FY10-FY15. Imports from China and Thailand sharply increased in FY15 year-on-year by around 20% and 17%, respectively.

Declining demand in the domestic market could also lead to some of the countries pursuing an aggressive export strategy and an increase in import pressures in FY17.

Ind-Ra expects the operating margins of sector companies to improve by 50-100bp FY17 driven by operating leverage. Benign raw material prices are likely to have a limited positive impact on the profitability of sector companies due to the pass-through agreement with OEMs. Capex is likely to be limited in FY17 for sector companies, as current capacities are sufficient for the medium-term. New project announcements in the sector reduced by three-fourths in FY15; while projects outstanding halved at FYE15.

Sector companies continue to show strong credit metrics marked by low leverage and high interest coverage. Liquidity is likely to remain comfortable across the sector in FY17 with the majority of companies reporting strong cash flow from operations and even positive free cash flows. Thus, the credit metrics of sector companies are also likely to remain stable in FY17.

The agency has also maintained a Stable rating Outlook on sector companies for FY17. Ind-Ra's analysis indicates that within its rating universe, around 88% companies were either affirmed or upgraded during 2015 (2014: 70%) reflecting the credit strength of these companies.

OUTLOOK SENSITIVITIES

Aggressive Expansion Plans: A significant uptick in capex announcements in FY17 on the back of favourable policy decisions as well as higher demand expectations from both auto and non-auto segments could strain the cash flow and stretch the credit profile of sector companies resulting in a negative sector and rating outlook.

Auto Demand: Weaker-than-expected growth in domestic auto sales could negatively impact the financial profile.

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Sales rise 3.76% to Rs 5099.49 crore

Net profit of Tata Communications declined 79.83% to Rs 21.89 crore in the quarter ended December 2015 as against Rs 108.53 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2014. Sales rose 3.76% to Rs 5099.49 crore in the quarter ended December 2015 as against Rs 4914.51 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2014.5099.494914.5114.9016.30597.62721.866.86175.6321.89108.53

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Fourteen people were on Wednesday sentenced to jail for various offences related to a 2014 explosion at a factory in China in which 146 people were killed.

The sentences ranged from three to seven-and-half years for the crimes of causing a major labour safety accident or dereliction of duty, Xinhua reported citing a publicity official of Suzhou city.

The owner and top managers of Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Co. Ltd., local fire-fighting officers and supervisors, and officials in charge of work safety supervision and environmental protection in Kunshan city were among those jailed.

The 14 stood trial in five different courts in Jiangsu province which announced the separate verdicts.

The blast occurred on August 2, 2014 at a wheel hub polishing workshop, killing 146 people and injuring 114 others.

The direct economic loss caused by the blast was estimated at 350 million yuan ($53.2 million), according to the official.

Investigators found that the explosion occurred after metal dust in the workshop ignited.
Elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) held on Tuesday recorded 45.27 percent turnout, officials said on Wednesday.

According to GHMC commissioner and special officer Janardhan Reddy, 33,60,543 voters out of 74,23,980 cast their votes in 150 divisions.

The turnout was slightly better than the 42.92 percent recorded in 2009 when the first election was held after Greater Hyderabad was created with the merger of surrounding municipalities and villages with the city.

In 2009, 23.98 lakh voters out of 56.99 lakh had exercised their franchise.

In the elections held on Tuesday, the highest turnout of 67.4 percent was recorded in Rajendernagar division. Vijayanagar colony division recorded the lowest percentage of 33.98.

Counting of votes will be taken up on Friday. GHMC officials have made elaborate arrangements for counting.

The process will begin amid tight security at 8 a.m. at 24 places in the city. All results are likely to be declared by afternoon.

This was the first GHMC election after the formation of separate Telangana state.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is expected to emerge as the largest party in the 150-member body. The exit polls conducted by various Telugu television channels have given 70-80 seats to the TRS, which had no representation in the previous body.

The ruling party is likely to have post-poll alliance with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) to have their candidates as mayor and deputy mayor. The exit polls predicted that MIM may get 35-40 seats.

The TDP-BJP alliance is expected to get 25-30 seats, while the Congress is likely to win only 10-12 seats.

In the previous body, the Congress shared power with MIM.
Around 40 percent of Australian grandparents believe they should be reimbursed for looking after their grandchildren, SAID a new survey.

The research study, released on Wednesday by the Australian Seniors Insurance Agency (ASIA), asked the nation's grandparents if they should receive payment -- either from their child (the parent) or the government -- and almost two-fifths (37 percent) agreed.

Australian grandparents, on average, care for their grandchildren for 16 hours a week, and most do nOt receive -- or even ask for -- a cent for their troubles.

ASIA spokesperson Simon Hovell said the figure of 37 percent was probably underselling the number of grandparents who felt some form of compensation was fair.

"There is a stigma around asking for money," Hovell told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.

"It's reasonable to assume that there is a percentage of grandparents who would like to be paid, but feel uncomfortable asking for it."

The survey, which involved more than 1,000 participants, also asked grandparents about other sacrifices they had to make as their children could not afford paid childcare.

In order to care for their grandchildren, 75 percent of grandparents lived closer to their own kids, 58 percent forwent recreational activities, 42 percent put travel plans on hold and 30 percent changed their work arrangements, according to the research.

It is estimated 937,000 Australian parents are collectively saving almost $90 million each week by using their parents for free childcare.

In 2015, the Australian government's National Commission of Audit recommended the country follow the lead of the Britain and create welfare payments for grandparent care givers.

However, the idea did not receive the support for Australia's Treasurer Scott Morrison, who recently made it clear he has no plans to incorporate it into the 2016 budget.

"For those who are doing the normal thing like my parents do and a lot of peoples' parents do then, no, the government isn't considering that," Morrison said in October 2015.
Cinematographer Sudeep Chaterjee says if he had got more time for "Bajirao Mastani", he would have shot the movie in a bigger and better manner.

Chatterjee denied that the film took two years to make as suggested by reports.

"We shot for 217 days, the shooting was spread a little over a year. We shot from October to October (2014-15). A film of this scale requires that kind of time. I think we were short of time. I wish we had a little more time to shoot, we could've shot aspects little bigger and better," he said.

A lot of things he created for the film were from his imagination as very little historical references for the Peshwa era was available.

But he visited the interior regions of Maharashtra, to understand the architecture.

"Bajirao Mastani" was the second time Chatterjee collaborated with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after the Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Guzaarish".

The two had first met on the sets of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "1942 - A Love Story", where Bhansali was an assistant director, and Chatterjee was an apprentice to ace cinematographer Binod Pradhan.

"I don't think any other director gives me the freedom that Sanjay gives. He has this wonderful approach where he narrates the film to me. We spend a lot of time just talking about the film," he said.

He said Bhansali would talk about the music, characters and numerous other aspects of the film with him and would ask how he visualised those factors into the film.

After intense discussions, they would make numerous changes, sometimes even as the sets are built and even after the shooting would start.

Chatterjee is eager to work with Bhansali again and considers him one of his "most favourite directors".

"The process is so dynamic, that's the fun of working with Sanjay. The collaboration is very enriching, there is a lot of positivity in that because continuously you feel that you're creating something that matters. You feel there is somebody who is like a true artist, who is standing by you. It's a great atmosphere to be in." he said.

Chatterjee won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography for "Chak De! India" and has also worked on films such as "Iqbal", "Kaminey", "Baby" and "Dhoom 3" among others.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Wednesday said the country has no biased foreign policy towards any country.

"Though Cambodia is a small and poor country, it has independence and sovereignty. As a nation with its good morals, culture and civilization existing for thousands of years, we do not choose a country over another," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Namhong's remarks came after some critics and analysts commented that Cambodia has closer ties with China than the US.

"I told US Secretary of State John Kerry during a recent meeting that Cambodia is a friend of China, but Cambodia also wants to be a close friend of the United States," said Namhong, who is also deputy prime minister of the country.

As for relations with China and Japan, he said Cambodia does not prefer one to another because the two countries have the same level of comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation with Cambodia.
A Canadian national who allegedly fought against the Islamic State (IS) terror group alongside Kurdish forces has reportedly been detained while trying to enter Australia on Wednesday and will be deported, the media reported.

Robert Somerville, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane Airport on Tuesday after he told immigration officials that he had fought alongside the Syrian-Kurdish militant group YPG for several months in 2015, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Australian authorities believe that Somerville is a friend of Australian anti-IS fighter Ashley Dyball who was arrested and extradited from Germany last year, but was subsequently released after being questioned by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

"They were very curious about what he did in Syria and how he was, his character, and I answered truthfully that he was a good guy and he was doing good work," Somerville said.

It's believed Summerville's visa had been cancelled because he failed to disclose the Kurdish nickname he was given by fellow YPG fighters despite there being "no legal document with a different name for me".

Australian immigration officials did not immediately comment.

Sommerville's Australian lawyer Jessie Smith believes that his pending deportation may be contestable as the exact basis of the visa cancellation "at this stage is unclear".
A combination of a carbon tax on food and sugary drinks could lead to health benefits, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and raise up to 3.6 billion in revenue, says a research.

A tax on soft drinks can result in significant health improvements to the population, the researchers said, adding that a well designed carbon tax could be an important addition to policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our study demonstrates that a food carbon tax could have meaningful effects on greenhouse gas emissions without harming health," said lead researcher, Adam Briggs from the University of Oxford in Britain.

The researchers modelled different tax scenarios to investigate the environmental, health and economic effects of such a cess.

The results predicted a decrease in the purchase of beef, lamb and other meats. There was, however, a predicted increase in purchases of pork and poultry, the findings, published in the journal BMC Public Health, said.

All scenarios predicted delayed or averted deaths mostly from heart disease and cancer, which the researchers attribute to increased fibre intake and changes to fat consumption, the study showed.

The scenarios predicted an increase in consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and a decrease in purchases of cream, cheese and eggs, further resulting in more deaths being delayed or averted.

All scenarios also predicted a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of between 16.5 and 18.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The scenarios that did not include subsidies for low emission food generated revenues of 3 billion and 3.4 billion, the higher figure being due to the additional sugary drink tax.
Buyers from 54 countries interacted with sellers and exhibitors at the Coir India 2016 meet here on Wednesday that is expected to generate business deals and export orders worth Rs.250 crore.

It was the third day of a five-day show-piece meet that brings together buyers and sellers involved in the coir industry, an official statement said.

Wednesday saw some 160 buyers from 54 countries as well as 260 registered settlers and exhibitors dealing with an array of coir products, including geo-textiles, interact for possible business deals.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien described Coir India as a "success story" which, he said, had helped promote and preserve Kerala's largest cottage industry.

"India has the best quality coir and coir products in the world. The one-to-one interactions over the past several years have helped bring this to the world's knowledge," he said.

Kurien called for "greater modernisation, better technology, intensive research and consistent marketing, especially in the domestic market" in order to keep Indian coir products ahead of the competition.

Abdul-Hameed Saeed, a first-time delegate from a business group in Saudi Arabia which has been importing coir products for over 20 years, said he expected to procure coir fibre this year.

This is the sixth edition of the biggest international event on coir and natural fibre products. The event ends on Friday.
The CPI-M central leadership would decide about the party's electoral alliance with the Congress in the forthcoming West Bengal assembly polls during its three-day politburo and central committee meetings in New Delhi from February 16, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said here on Wednesday.

"The CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) politburo would meet in New Delhi on February 16 before the two-day central committee meeting on February 17-18. These meetings would decide the party's electoral pact with Congress in the ensuing West Bengal assembly elections," Yechury told reporters before leaving here for New Delhi.

He said "The politburo and central committee meetings would finalise the electoral strategies of the CPI-M in the upcoming Bengal elections."

Yechury came here on Tuesday to address a seminar, organised in connection with the centenary celebrations of former Tripura chief minister Dasaratha Deb, a father figure of the communist movement in Tripura.

The two-day West Bengal CPI-M state committee meeting would be held in Kolkata on February 12-13 to finalise the party stand on the alliance with Congress, a senior CPI-M leader said in Kolkata, adding that the state committee's decision would be conveyed to the CPI-M central committee.

The term of the 294-member West Bengal assembly ends on May 29 and elections are likely to be held before that.

A Congress delegation from West Bengal led by State party chief and Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on February 1 in New Delhi and discussed the possibility of forging an alliance with the Left Front in the state.

The majority of the Congress leaders in West Bengal, including Chowdhury, favour an electoral alliance with the CPI-M.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will take a final call on an electoral alliance with the Left parties in West Bengal.

However, three senior West Bengal Congress leaders -- Manas Bhuniya, Deepa Dasmunshi and Abhijit Mukherjee -- advocated that the party go it alone at the hustings.

The Tripura Congress leadership, however, opposed the move to work out an electoral deal with the Congress.

"The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) led by the party's state chief Birajit Sinha in its recent meeting discussed the issue and decided to strongly oppose the move," state party spokesman Tapas Dey said.

He said: "If the Congress allied with the CPI-M, then the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) would get the electoral benefit both in West Bengal and Tripura. We have communicated our decision to party high command Sonia Gandhi."

Former CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat recently said: "First, let the West Bengal CPI-M state committee come up with concrete proposals then the central committee would take the final decision."

Top CPI-M leaders in West Bengal including former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and politburo members Surjya Kanta Mishra (currently state party chief and opposition leader) and Mohammad Salim have openly asked the Congress to side with the Left in its battle with the Trinamool.
The striking municipal employees of Delhi on Wednesday refused to call off their strike even as the Delhi government announced a loan of Rs.551 crore to two municipal corporations for payment of their salaries.

The striking employees said the funds given by the government were not a permanent solution to the crisis.

"Our strike will continue. The amount announced by the Delhi government is like a drop in the ocean. We had demanded Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to arrange Rs.5,000 crore either from Delhi or the central governments," Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha president Sanjay Gehlot told IANS.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced Rs.551 crore loan for payment of salaries to striking workers.

"We are giving Rs.551 crore to the North and East municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers," Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment for his throat problem at a naturopathy centre.

United Front of MCD Employees president Rajesh Mishra too said the "strike will continue".

"Giving loan to the civic bodies to clear the salaries bill is not a solution. We want a permanent solution to the problem. The three corporations should be merged," Mishra told IANS.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the government and others regarding an indefinite strike by municipal doctors and nurses since January 29.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also sought responses from the north and east municipal corporations by February 10 on a public interest litigation that called the strike as "arbitrary and illegal".

Those issued notice regarding the strike by doctors and nurses of hospitals and dispensaries run by the north and east municipal corporations are the municipal corporation doctors association, resident doctors association and nurses association.

The PIL by Youth Bar Association of India through advocate Sanpreet Singh Ajmani said the doctors were on strike for the last more than 72 hours and the patients were "victimised" as a result.

After municipal corporation sanitation workers went on a strike over the non-payment of salaries, doctors and nurses too called for an indefinite strike on January 29.

The plea sought direction to the striking doctors and nurses to call off their strike and demanded stern action against them. It said that as per a high court order, the strike by doctors was illegal and infringed on the fundamental rights of patients.

"By holding continuous strike for more than 70 hours, the doctors and nurses are causing constant harassment, acute mental and physical agony to the poor and innocent patients and their families," said the plea.

The lawyer said media reports put the number of strikers at around 5,000 resident doctors, 2,000 senior doctors and 8,000 nurses.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has six major hospitals - Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Giridhar Lal Maternity Hospital, Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital, Balak Ram Hospital and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis.

The NDMC also has 15 polyclinics, eight obstetrics units, 33 dispensaries, 79 maternity and child welfare units, seven chest clinics, 11 mobile clinics, six school healthcare clinics and three post-mortem examination centres, said the plea.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation has a major hospital, Swami Dayanand Hospital, in Shahdara, apart from one respiratory diseases hospital, eight maternity homes, 22 maternity and child welfare units, one polyclinic, one leprosy clinic, seven dispensaries, two chest clinics, eight mobile dispensaries, two school healthcare clinics and eight mobile medical units.
A suspected recruiter for subversive groups deported from Saudi Arabia was arrested here early Wednesday by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad and Telangana Police, officials said.

Abdul Aziz alias Gidda was produced before a magistrate here who permitted the Telangana Police to take him away on a transit remand. He was later taken amid high security on a train to Hyderabad.

Aziz was accused of making fake passports and recruiting the youth for terror organisations.

ATS officials told IANS that a case of forgery of passports was lodged against Aziz in Telangana and that he helped youngsters involved in terror plans to sneak into India on fake passports. He is also accused of conspiring to blow up a temple in Hyderabad.
An ongoing photo exhibition marking Bangladesh's 40 years of bilateral relations with China has attracted record number of high profile visitors, including academics, governments officials, diplomats and politicians.

US Ambassador in Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, among other dignitaries, was also seen visiting the photo exhibition, Xinhua reported.

The exhibition of many rare and hitherto unseen photographs, which opened in capital Dhaka on Monday, has been jointly organised by the Bangladesh-China People's Friendship Association (BCPFA) under the sponsorship of the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.

In all, 59 photos depicting historical events and memorable moments are on display at the exhibition.

The photos in the exhibition include many rare photos like one showing Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's first visit to China in 1996. Her subsequent visits are also on display in the exhibition.

China and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations on October 4, 1975.

"I think this is very important from various points of view. This is a celebratory event. We're celebrating the 40 years of Bangladesh-China relations," said Munshi Faiz Ahmad, chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (ISIS).

"This only shows that the bond of friendship between people of Bangladesh and China have been very long standing. And these pictures will definitely have great impact on the further strengthening of ties, friendship and cooperation between our two countries," said Ahmed, who earlier served as ambassador of Bangladesh to China.

Acting president of BCPFA Mohammad Bashirullah said the photo exhibition has paved the way for many to know about the long-term historic relationship between Bangladesh and China.

"Through this our relationship of friendship will surely be strengthened."

Echoing a similar view, BCPFA secretary General Shahriar Zaman Sumon said: "I firmly believe that by doing this kind of activities, we will be able to enhance our friendly bonding between two countries."

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang also expressed similar optimism.

"We have some photos of historical moments and memorable events between Bangladesh and China. We hope through this exhibition, mutual understanding will be further enhanced, and we can get more strong support from public to make sure our relations will get closer and closer, developing from strength to strength," he said.

The photo exhibition has enthralled many local and foreign visitors.

Tanveer Raza, associate professor at Jiujiang University in China who stayed in the country for eight years, said he is very happy to see this Bangladesh-China photo exhibition because it reminded him of his very interesting life in China.

"We see development of Bangladesh China friendship on our own eyes. We found that Chinese people are very happy to meet people from Bangladesh."

"I want to mention that last year. I won photo exhibition contest in China where I showed life style of foreigners in China. Photo speak many words and they help us to better understand life of a country and develop good friendship," he said.

HT Imam, political adviser of Bangladeshi prime minister, inaugurated the exhibition and said Bangladesh-China relations stand on mutual respect for sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and non-interference.

"China has stood by us on many occasions," he said. "We're committed to further promoting our comprehensive partnership of cooperation with China."

Such exhibition of recorded historic moments will surely help to further boost the bilateral ties.
Union minister Maneka Gandhi's enunciation of an "alternate point of view" that a foetus be tracked from conception to save the girl child has been welcomed by many experts while others are skeptical about it.

Inaugurating the All India Regional Editors' Conference in Jaipur on Monday, the minister said: "There is an alternate point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus made known to parents and if it happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system will help ensure that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female."

She also said that this issue needs further debate and had requested the media for suggestions.

The national capital's sex ratio recorded in the 2011 census was 866 females to 1,000 males. But according to the government's birth and death registration report for 2013, the ratio improved slightly to 895:1,000. The average for the whole country was 940:1000 in 2011.

"It is an excellent new approach to the problem. It is a different view and a new line of thought as compared to previous thought. Some states have shown that trends are reversing and there is an increase in female ratio. It is not that the previous method is wrong," Dr. Neerja Bhatla, professor of Obstetrics and gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told IANS.

"But to implement the idea it would demand huge infrastructure, logistics and several other parameters. They have to track each and every pregnancy and births in the country, track manpower required for ultrasound, track all the data, adhar cards and how the system works. This is a huge task but nothing is insurmountable. It is about how much we need, when and how. This is about men, money and management. It requires a lot of thinking," she added.

Bhatla also added that looking at the country's narrow health-care budget and the prevailing budget crunch to deal with many diseases, including cervical cancer, it is going to be a huge challenge for the government.

"It is also for the government to decide whether it is to br implemented in the whole country or only in those states where reverse trends have not been seen," she added.

Nitisha Sharma of Inaya Foundation, a NGO, said the suggestion would not "practical" in a state like Rajasthan, which suffers from a skewed sex ratio - 883 girls for 1,000 boys. Girls in the desert state, which is the largest in term of area, are considered a liability.

"Girls are not welcome in parts of the state. If you look at the sex ratio it has shown further drop. The sex ratio which was 909, 10 years back, declined to 883 in the last census. In these circumstances the move in state like Rajasthan does not seem practical.

"Look what happens with sex determination tests. It is illegal, still it is going on. So if gender determination tests are to be allowed then it has to be in a proper way and method with proper planning, polices and regulations so that the girl child is not killed in the womb," Sharma told IANS.

Haryana and Punjab are two states which have been notorious for female foeticide among all states in the country in the past nearly three decades.

"This will open a pandora's box all over again. With strict laws and monitoring, sex determination tests were not being done openly. If these are allowed again, people with go in for sex determination and then try to find excuses to abort the girl child," Dr. Preeti, a gynaecologist in Chandigarh, told IANS.

Five northern states, Haryana (12 districts), Punjab (11 districts), Jammu and Kashmir (five), Uttarakhand (two) and Himachal Pradesh (one) and union territory of Chandigarh (one) account for 32 worst districts in the country in terms of female foeticide.

Out of the 100 worst districts in India for sex ratio, Haryana accounted for 12 districts. Neighbouring Punjab has 11 districts among the worst 100.

"If sex determination tests are allowed, strict monitoring will have to be done to track the girl child. Otherwise, the foeticide problem will continue," Geeta Kumar, a social activist in rural area of Haryana's Sirsa district said.

Haryana, which is at the bottom among all states in sex ratio, recently drew comfort from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast where he mentioned that Haryana had been able to slightly reverse the reducing sex ratio.

Haryana's sex ratio stood at just 879 females per 1,000 males as per the 2011 Census. The state claimed last month that, for the first time in over a decade, the sex ratio had crossed the 900-mark. The sex ratio, as per claims of the Haryana government, now stands at 903. This is still far lower than the national average of 940 females per 1,000 males.

Given Haryana's track record in sex ratio, Modi had chosen Haryana to launch the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' (save girl child and educate her) campaign from Panipat in Haryana on Jan 22 last year to counter the adverse sex ratio.
Scholars and social scientists from India, Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan gathered here on Wednesday lauded the contribution of various poets and writers to the spread and acceptance of Persian language, which enriched the composite culture of this country.

The discussions among experts were part of a three-day conference on various dimensions of the Persian language and its promotion by Mughal emperor Akbar.

The event has been organised by the Institute of Persian Research of Aligarh Muslim University in collaboration with the Indian Council of Historical Research and the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, New Delhi.

AMU vice chancellor Lt. General Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) said since art and literature face no boundaries, the Persian culture and language flourished in India and still continues to do so in many ways.

Delivering the keynote address, renowned historian Professor Harbans Mukhia said even though the Persian language and literature reached its zenith during Akbar's reign, the Persian influence in India can be traced even before the Mughal period.

In his inaugural speech, former Allahabad University vice chancellor Prof. Naimur Rahman Farooqi said tolerant and benevolent policies of Akbar and his patronage of learning made possible the conditions in which the Persian literature and culture flourished.

Farooqi said Persian poetry occupied a special place in medieval times as the most popular vehicle of literary expression with the Muslims, both in the Mughal dynasty in India and the Safavid dynasty in Iran.

Prof. Talat Ahmad, vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, said the Persian culture and literature got a lot of encouragement during Akbar's rule.

"From becoming an official language of the Mughal empire to becoming popular with the common people, the Persian language became instrumental in recording events and translating epics," said Talat Ahmad.

He pointed out that Mughal court historian Abul Fazl translated into Persian many outstanding Sanskrit works such as Kishan Joshi, Ganga Dhar, Mahesh, Mahanand, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Atharva Veda, Lilawati and Rajatarangini.

Prof Azarmi Dukht Safavi said emperor Akbar launched a movement led by Abul Fazl to preserve Persian in its original form.
A former senior political advisor in China's Liaoning province was on Wednesday under trial in a lower court on bribery charges.

A court in Heilongjiang province began hearing the case of Chen Tiexin, former vice chairman of the Liaoning provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Xinhua reported.

From 2008 to 2013, Chen took bribes of cash and goods worth a total amount of 23.7 million yuan ($3.6 million) when he was secretary of Chaoyang city Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

He helped companies or individuals offering the bribes with construction projects, bank loans and promotions. Chen admitted the charges and confessed in court.

Chen was expelled from the CPC and dismissed from public office in October 2014 following an internal party investigation, before the Harbin city procuratorate filed the lawsuit against him.
One Direction star Harry Styles has split from the band's management team, Modest Management, to sign with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)'s Jeffrey Azoff for a solo career.

"We wish Harry the very best. It has been a real pleasure working with him," Modest execs Richard Griffiths and Harry Magee said in a statement to Billboard on Monday, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"Harry is a total gentleman, and we know our good friend Jeffrey Azoff will look after him. We look forward to sharing some great wine with them next time we are in LA."

Styles' new team is preparing to launch his solo career early next year. Back in December last year, he registered four songs "Already home", "Coco", "Endlessly" and "5378 miles" to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The tracks were co-written with Snow Patrol's guitarist John McDaid and songwriter Gary Go.

There's still a debate whether One Direction's hiatus is permanent or temporary.

Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson decided not to renew their contract after wrapping their tour in October 2015.

Zayn Malik has already left the group first and is in the middle of promoting his solo career.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from a government bungalow in south Delhi's Moti Bagh neighbourhood.

Chowdhury, a Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad, had approached the high court after the authorities on Tuesday disconnected water and power supply to the bungalow occupied by him.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also denied his plea to give some time to shift to an alternate accommodation.

Chowdhury has alleged "vendetta" by the central government.

The Directorate of Estates has said that the former UPA minister has been allotted another house on Humayun Road. It said the alternate accommodation was allotted more than one year ago, after Chowdhury was re-elected from Murshidabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

The Directorate of Estates has also claimed that it had granted sufficient time to Chowdhury - a four term parliamentarian - to vacate the ministerial bungalow.

Chowdhury's counsel told the bench that his representation to the Chairman of Housing Committee of Lok Sabha was pending.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Wednesday mourned the death of former Lok Sabha speaker and Congress veteran Balram Jakhar.

He died in Delhi at the age of 92, his son Sunil Jakhar said.

"He was a man of action and who used his discretionary powers while in office for the benefit of his people, especially farmers," an official statement quoting the chief minister said.

He said he had numerous opportunities to interact with him and gain from his wisdom.

The cremation will be held at his native village Panchkosi near Punjab's Abohar town at 11 a.m. on Thursday, said Sunil, who is a former Punjab Congress Legislative Party leader.
Our early ancestors managed to evolve and journey across the earth by exchanging and improving their technology, researchers say after analysing Blombos Cave in South Africa.

The team looked closely at spear points made of stone as well as decorated ostrich eggshells to determine whether there was an overlap and contact across groups of Middle Stone Age humans.

"We are looking mainly at the part of South Africa where Blombos Cave is situated. We sought to find out how groups moved across the landscape and how they interacted," said Christopher S Henshilwood, professor at University of Bergen (UiB) and University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

The pattern they noticed is that when demographics change, people interact more.

"For example, we have found similar patterns engraved on ostrich eggshells in different sites. This shows that people were probably sharing symbolic material culture, at certain times but not at others," added Dr Karen van Niekerk, a UiB researcher and co-author.

This sharing of symbolic material culture and technology also tells more about Homo sapiens' journey from Africa to Arabia and Europe.

Contact between cultures has been vital to the survival and development of our common ancestors Homo sapiens.

The more contact the groups had, the stronger their technology and culture became.

"Contact across groups and population dynamics makes it possible to adopt and adapt new technologies and culture and is what describes Homo sapiens. What we are seeing is the same pattern that shaped the people in Europe who created cave art many years later," Henshilwood explained in an article published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Since its discovery in the early 1990s, Blombos Cave, about 300 km east of Cape Town, has yielded important new information on the behavioural evolution of the human species.

The cave site was first excavated in 1991 and field work has been conducted there on a regular basis since 1997 and is still ongoing.

Blombos contains Middle Stone Age deposits currently dated at between 100,000 and 70,000 years, and a Later Stone Age sequence dated at between 2,000 and 300 years.
Police have launched a manhunt for suspects who allegedly attacked and stripped a Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru following a road accident, a top police official said.

"We have registered a case of riot and arson against the accused on victim's statement in which she reported of being assaulted in a mistaken identity by a mob on the outskirts of the city," city police commissioner N.S. Megharik told reporters here on Wednesday.

Denying reports in a section of media that the victim was also molested, Megharik said the African woman had admitted being only assaulted by a frenzied mob after her three male friends deserted her at Soladevanahalli where the car in which they were travelling was burnt.

"The incident occurred because the mob mistook the victim's car being involved in a road mishap on same night (January 31) when a 20-year-old drunken Sudanese national (Mohammed Ahad Ismai) ran over a woman fatally. We arrested him after he was rescued from a raging mob," Megharik said.

Police did not register a case soon after the road mishap and the mob attack, as the victim was not in the city for two days since Sunday.

"We have formed special teams to trap the culprits and render justice to the victim who declined to file complaint against the accused fearing attack again.

The victim's friends told police that on Sunday the furious mob had pulled them out of their car, assaulted them and molested her in which her clothes were torn.

Meanwhile, the city-based Tanzanian youth association decided to seek its embassy's help in registering an assault case and booking the culprits.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj described the attack as "shameful" and expressed deep pain over the Sunday incident on microblogging site Twitter.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the chief minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The minister sought a report from the Karnataka government and asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure safety of foreign students.
A three-day 'IAS Week' would be held here in the Uttar Pradesh capital during March 18-20, an official announced on Wednesday.

UP IAS Association chairman Rakesh Bahadur said a delegation of officials called on Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav earlier in the day and sought his consent for organising the annual event.

"The chief minister approved the dates after which we have begun the preparations," he added.

Though an annual event of IAS officials in the state, it was discontinued for five years, during the Mayawati regime as the then chief minister did not allow it.

It was, however, in 2013 that Akhilesh Yadav okayed the event and it restarted.
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) have developed a satellite-based fog monitoring system with the ultimate goal of integrating the fog information to air, rail and vehicular transportation management to ensure safe travel.

"The Indo-Gangetic Plains covering northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh is subjected to dense haze/fog during winter months severely impacting on air, rail and vehicular traffic," Ritesh Gautam, assistant professor at the IIT's Centres for Resources Engineering and Climate Studies, told IANS in an email.

"We have developed this system for monitoring and dissemination of fog information to government agencies and also to the general public."

Formerly a research scientist at the Climate and Radiation Laboratory of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in the US, Gautam said the fog monitoring system was developed with the help of his students Reema Chourey, Dinesh Patil, Sarwar Rizvi and Manoj Singh.

According to Gautam, the system uses in-house developed software to automatically process data from the NASA satellites (Terra and Aqua MODIS) and produces daily maps of fog and low cloud regions for the Indo-Gangetic Plains at a moderately high resolution.

He said his team was presently testing retrievals and processing of fog-related parameters from geostationary satellites, such as India's own INSAT satellites, "for near-real time continuous monitoring of fog, water vapor and aerosols over south Asia".

"This satellite monitoring system is quite complex but I am glad that we have developed the capability and are moving forward," Gautam said. "It can also be used to monitor dust storms, biomass burning events, cyclones and monsoon clouds."

In addition to datasets obtained from both polar orbiting and geostationary satellites, the IIT team is also working on integrating surface-based meteorological and pollution related measurements, he said.

According to Gautam, his team has also analyzed spatial and temporal variation and trends of fog occurrence frequency over the entire Indo-Gangetic Plains along with trends in pollution for the winter season (December-January).

"We have found a highly interesting trend where the long-term satellite data analysis suggests a statistically-significant increasing fog frequency trend over the eastern parts of the Gangetic Plains (parts of Bihar and West Bengal)," Gautam said.

"This is in sharp contrast over the western regions of the Gangetic Plains (such as Delhi), where a decreasing trend in fog frequency is found."

The upward trend in fogginess over eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains is found to be strongly coincident with upward trend in pollution, suggesting that increasing winter-time pollution over this region could be linked to increasing fogginess.

While the focus of media is mostly centered over Delhi, Gautam said the increasing fog over eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains was not usually reported.

However, long term analysis of satellite data by the IIT team has found that "most of northern India is subjected to severe and persistent fog and pollution haze events during the winter months".

(K.S. Jayaraman can be contacted at killugudi@hotmail.com)
India has agreed to allot a site for a second Russian-built nuclear power plant in the country after Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, according to a senior official of Russia's atomic energy corporation.

Evgeni Griva, director general of Rosatom (South Asia), who has just taken charge of his post in Mumbai, told IANS in an interview during a visit here that India has agreed on allocating a site for a second nuclear power project in India by Rosatom.

"An agreement has been reached on the allocation by the Indian party of one more site for the construction of six new nuclear reactors of Russian design," Griva said. "We hope to get more detailed information about the site as soon as possible," he said.

The Russian official said this was as per the agreement between both countries on nuclear cooperation reached in December 2014, which provides for Rosatom setting up nuclear plants at various locations in the country in the future.

Four reactors are envisaged for Kudankulam, the first of which is already operaional, while the second is to be commissioned later this year. The construction units 3 and 4 has been delayed owing to doubts amonng foreign suppliers about India's nuclear damage liability laws.

Griva said the contract for delivering equipment for units 3 and 4 had been signed and initial permits obtained.

"On September 7, 2015, Atomenergomash Holding, the power plant division of Rosatom, signed the comprehensive delivery contract for reactor equipment for power units 3 and 4," Griva said.

"The permit for excavation works and foundation pit preparation has now been obtained from the Indian regulatory body," he said.

"The first and most important contract has also been signed - the delivery contract of long-lead equipment and priority delivery equipment from the Russian Federation. Besides, the top priority design is practically completed," he added.

The Indian government last year launched an insurance pool of Rs.1,500 crore ($220 million) which is mandatory under the country's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND).

Clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the right to recourse against suppliers in case of accident, provoked concern among industry and led to the creation of the insurance pool.

Under the pool, set up by state-run General Insurance Corp and other non-life state-run insurers including New India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance, as well as private insurers, policies offered will be a nuclear operators liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers' special contingency (against right to recourse) insurance policy.

On the second unit at Kudankulam, Griva said its assembly had been compkleted.

"The hot-run stage is completed. The physical launch is scheduled by the Indian party (Nuclear Power Corporation of India) for mid-2016," he said.

Noting that the operational first unit at Kudankulam had already generated close to 7,000 million units of electricity, Griva said: "This is the world's first nuclear power plant which has implemented and successfully operated the tightened security measures post-Fukushima."

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is equipped with state-of-the-art safety mechanisms with unique features that make them foolproof.

In an interview to IANS earlier, Denis Kolchinskiy, chief project engineer of SPbAEP, the developers of the AES 92 nuclear reactor installed at Kudankulam, had said modern Russian designs - developed over a decade - have an optimised balance of active and passive safety systems to provide two layers of protection.

The key to preventing an apocalypse in the event of a core meltdown, said Kolchinskiy, is the "molten-core catcher" - a mandatory safety system included in the Kudankulam project's basic supply package.

(Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in)
India and Thailand have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes for communication and commerce, India's Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday.

"As maritime neighbours, we have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes of communication and commerce," Ansari said at a banquet hosted here in his honour by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"Our resolve to strengthen our bilateral engagement in the areas of security and defence will help the region as a whole and promote greater regional economic integration and connectivity," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ansari arrived here on a three-day visit to Thailand at the official invitation of Prime Minister Prayut.

It is the first visit by an Indian vice president to this southeast Asian nation in 50 years and is the second and final leg of his visit to southeast Asia, the first of which took him to Brunei.

He said cooperation between India and Thailand, both bilaterally and in the rubric of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), encompassed diverse areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, science and technology, education, and cultural exchanges.

"People-to-people contacts at various levels are the lifeblood of our friendship. I am pleased that our two countries have taken important steps in the pursuit of closer cooperation, stronger connectivity and greater commerce," the vice president said.

He also said Thailand was an important policy of India's Act East policy.

Stating that both the countries were engaged in transforming into modern knowledge economies, he said: "India is a bright spot with the highest economic growth amongst the larger emerging countries.

"There is growing interest from across the world in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation with India. I would urge the government and business community in Thailand to avail of the opportunities provided by a growing India."

Ansari said there was a promising future to the bilateral relations between India and Thailand.

"With its unique geographic location, Thailand can be a bridge linking southeast Asia to east Asia; while India can act as your springboard to west and central Asia and to Europe," he said.

"Our talks earlier today have put in place a roadmap for further strengthening our economic cooperation and intensification of our collaborations in all areas."

He said that as India and Asean would mark the 25th anniversary of their dialogue relations, New Delhi looked forward to working with Bangkok under the framework of Asean.

"We shall strive to strengthen the India-Asean partnership, as also the Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation," the vice president said.

He said the challenges of the 21st century were enormous and merited common understanding and joint efforts.

"Globalisation of terrorism, impact of climate change on humanity and the health hazards which know no borders require global action. The international community is grappling with issues related to migration and integration of people," Ansari said.

"Our cultures with a civilisational heritage of peace, pluralism and co-existence can offer lessons and lasting solutions," he stated.
India is keen to expand its cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday, the third day of his visit to this southeast Asian nation.

"The scourge of terrorism is a challenge for all peace loving countries of the world," Ansari while delivering a speech at the University of Brunei here.

"We are determined to combat this menace with strong cooperation from like-minded countries. We would be keen to expand our cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information," he said.

According to Ansari, energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities.

"At present India imports crude oil worth $1 billion from Brunei. Though India is the third largest importer for Brunei, the total import from Brunei is only a fraction of India's global crude imports of more than $112.748 billion in 2014-15," he said.

He said that with India's growing energy requirements, Brunei has an opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbon to India.

Stating that the growing Indian economy also provides an opportunity to move beyond the typical energy seller-buyer relationship, the vice president said: "In this context, India is keen to work with the government of Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilisers to meet agricultural requirement in India."

He also lauded the contributions of the 10,000-strong Indian community of professionals like doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and skilled personnel to the economy of Brunei.

"The quality of our professionals is a testimony to the strength of academic institutions in India. This is another area for us to collaborate. We would welcome more exchanges of students, teachers and researchers from the academic institutions in Brunei, including this university," Ansari said.

He also said that information technology was another area in which India would be keen to share its experience and expertise with Brunei.

Ansari said that both India and Brunei have an interest in maintaining the safety of sea-lanes and maritime security.

"For some years now, Indian naval ships have been visiting Brunei and your ships have also participated in some of joint exercises. This has laid the grounds for deepening our cooperation in the defence sector, including by training of defence personnel in various fields."

He said that India and Brunei shared common perspectives on several global issues, including that of climate change.

"India has a long history and tradition of harmonious co-existence between man and nature. Human beings here have regarded fauna and flora as part of their family," he said.

Stating that both India and Brunei have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of the shared Asian neighbourhood, he said the scope of India's engagement with east and southeast Asia has grown steadily in the last two decades.

"It is to the great credit of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries that they have led the way in cooperation and integration, not only among themselves, but also in the broader region," he said, adding that for India, this was an article of faith of its Look East policy.

Stating that India valued Brunei's support in making India a full dialogue partner of the Asean, Ansari said New Delhi's Look East policy was aimed at integrating "multifaceted relations with Asean and beyond".

"Last year with the advent of a new government, we upgraded our policy towards southeast and east Asia from 'Look East' to 'Act East' - to indicate India's resolve to move with a great sense of priority and speed to intensify our cooperation in security, trade, investment, connectivity and capacity building and strengthening people-to-people linkages with the Asean countries," he said.

The vice president also said that the 'Make in India' initiative has opened up new vistas for investments from Asean countries into India, including in sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure.

"Enhancing connectivity between India and Asean in all its aspects - physical, institutional and people-to-people - is a key strategic priority for us. Our northeastern region is our land-bridge to the Asean," he said.

"As Asean engages in charting out its post-2015 roadmap, India is also working on drafting the ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-2021, to translate the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership Vision into concrete action for greater progress and prosperity of our peoples and countries," the vice president stated.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is developing world's first vaccine for Zika virus, which has been declared as public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.

The vaccines and bio-therapeutic manufacturer on Wednesday announced that it is working on ZIKAVAC vaccines for Zika infection.

The company, which claims to be working on the vaccine for one-and-half years, has informed both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the government of India about the status of its project.

Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech, told reporters that the pre-clinical trials for the vaccine will start in a week or two.

The company has filed global patents for both inactivated and recombinant vaccines.

He said the company was ready to partner with Latin American countries like Brazil for the vaccine development. Some Latin American companies have already shown interest in partnering with it for human trials.

"It depends on the regulatory system in the country," he said when asked how long it would take for the vaccine to hit the market in India. Ella said that if the government declares Zika as a national emergency and takes an aggressive stand, the vaccine can be developed in less than two years.

Sumathy, director, research and development, Bharat Biotech, who is heading the vaccine development, said they started the work on this along with the development of vaccine for Chikungunya but the work was progressing at a slow pace.

She said with the virus spreading fast to Latin America and the WHO declaring it public health emergency, they will now speed up the project.

The inactivated vaccine has reached the stage of pre-clinical testing in animals. The pre-clinical trials may take two to five months while human trials will take another four to five months.

Ella pointed out that Zika is now present in 23 countries. Brazil, the hardest-hit country, has reported around 3,530 cases of the devastating birth defect called microcephaly in 2015 that are strongly suspected to be related to Zika.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day. The mosquito-transmitted infection is related to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile virus.

Bharat Biotech has invested over $150 million since inception to build its portfolio of vaccines including ROTAVAC, the first vaccine from the developing world

It has successfully commercialised Typbar TCV, typhoid conjugate vaccine. Chikungunya Vaccine will be entering phase 1 trials shortly.
Gurpreet, an Indian woman allegedly kept at a refugee camp in Germany along with her eight-year-old daughter by her in-laws, will reach India on Thursday morning, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday.

"Gurpreet and her daughter will reach New Delhi from Frankfurt by flight AI 120 at 9.35 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) morning," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The swift action by the external affairs ministry came following a video posted by Gurpreet, hailing from Faridabad in Haryana, on Tuesday in which she claimed that she was hoodwinked into going to Germany by her husband's family where she and her daughter were kept in a refugee camp.

"I request the Indian government to take me to India... I will give the full details of what happened to me once I reach India," she said in Hindi in the video.

Following this, Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday that the authorities were in touch with Gurpreet's father and that the external affairs ministry has got the full report from the Indian embassy in Germany.

On Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj also lauded the efforts put in by India's Ambassador in Germany Gurjit Singh and Consul General in Frankfurt Raveesh Kumar.

"We have brought Gurpreet and her eight-year-old daughter from the refugee camp to our consulate in Frankfurt," Sushma Swaraaj tweeted on Wednesday.

"Outstanding job done by our @AmbGurjitSingh and Raveesh Kumar our Consul General in Frankfurt," she added.
Former telecom minister A. Raja on Wednesday apprised a court here that he had informed the then prime minister Manmohan Singh about the law ministry's opinion on referring the 2G spectrum allocation process to an empowered group of ministers (EGoM).

Raja's counsel Manu Sharma told Special Judge O.P. Saini that he had informed Singh about everything, including the law ministry's opinion to refer the matter of processing applications for 2G spectrum to an EGoM and the department of telecommunications' (DoT) view that the law minister's note was out of context.

Advancing final arguments in the case, Sharma said Manmohan Singh, who was the only authority to convene an EGoM, did not see any need to convene it and the matter rested there.

Defence counsel said Raja wrote three letters to Manmohan Singh and "the final letter written by Raja in which he had given the entire details was vetted and studied in depth by then senior prime minister's office (PMO) official Pulok Chatterji. The prime minister said it was okay. Had it not been okay, things would have been different".

Denying the prosecution allegation that Raja misled the then prime minister, defence counsel said the allegation that Raja's decision was unilateral was untenable.

The final arguments will continue on Thursday too.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, while advancing final arguments in the case, said Raja misled the then prime minister on policy matters related to 2G spectrum allocation.

According to the CBI, Raja was biased in allocating the 2G mobile airwaves and operating licences to telecom firms, causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.

The court framed charges on October 22, 2011, against 14 accused and three companies under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

All the accused, including Raja, are out on bail.
Actress Deepika Padukone, who has left for Canada to shoot for Hollywood film "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage", says she is looking forward to shooting with action hero Vin Diesel.

Bollywood's 'Mastani' Deepika says he is a "very generous" person and hopes to have fun during the shooting schedule.

"In the few two or three interactions that I have had with him (Vin Diesel), he is just a very warm person. He is very generous among most of my co-stars that I have worked with. I think it will be a fun experience working with him," Deepika said of her maiden foreign project at an event here.

She was in the national capital on Tuesday to attend NDTV Indian of the Year 2015 awards ceremony, in which she was named Actor Of The Year.

Deepika left for Canada on Tuesday night after the event.

Her "Bajirao Mastani" co-star and rumoured beau Ranveer Singh shared the news about the actress flying off to shoot for her maiden Hollywood project.

In the third instalment of the film, Diesel is back as Cage who returns to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence in the movie, which also stars Nina Dobrev, Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Rose, Jet Li and Tony Jaa.

"xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" is expected to release in 2017.
Karnataka on Wednesday rolled out a red carpet for global investors to invest in the state and make best use of its resources to create thousands of jobs and generate wealth.

Showcasing the southern state's strengths and resources at the global investors meet (GIM) here, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the World Economic Forum had identified Karnataka among top four innovation hubs worldwide and Bengaluru was ranked as the fourth largest global tech cluster after Silicon Valley and Boston in the US, and London.

"Karnataka is a $120-billion economy. Let us make it a $700-billion economy by 2035. If India aspires to grow at nine per cent, let us aspire to grow at 10 per cent," the chief minister said at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day GIM at the Bangalore Palace grounds.

Asserting that the state had high technology and skilled workforce, Siddaramaiah said 400 of the Fortune 500 firms had made the state their home and continue to invest in the state, especially in IT, biotech, science and technology, aerospace and start-ups.

"Bengaluru is the hub for IT, biotech, science and technology, aerospace and start-ups. Our rich talent pool, ability to envision future and make it happen through technology will attract investments from global and domestic firms," he said.

Seeking funds for the state in the upcoming union budget for 2016-17 to facilitate growth, he said the state government had come out with several polices to strengthen industrial growth across the state.

"We have resolved to strengthen industrial growth across the state through polices spanning industries, IT, textiles, agri business and food-processing, tourism and start-ups in IT, biotech and manufacturing sectors," he said.

In this context, the chief minister told the gathering -- that included central ministers, India Inc representatives, international delegates and investors -- that a global agency had ranked Bengaluru among the 20 start-up eco-systems in the world.

"We have taken a number of measures to promote ease of doing business across the state. We are also exploring an industry-government partnership entity to promote a host of services under the 'Invest Karnataka' brand," he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a Rs.551-crore loan to pay out pending salaries of striking workers of two civic bodies of Delhi and sought a CBI inquiry into financial irregularities in all the three municipal corporations of the national capital.

The workers, however, said the announcement of a loan was not a permanent solution to their crisis and they would continue with their strike, now eight days old.

"We are giving Rs.551 crore to the North and East municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers," Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment for a throat problem at a naturopathy centre.

Employees of Delhi's three civic bodies - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation - have been protesting the non-payment of their past few months' salaries and wages.

They have directed their ire at both the Delhi and central governments for the past eight days, and have gone on strike, affecting the city's schools, hospitals and sanitation.

The striking employees said the funds being offered by the Delhi government as a loan to two of the three civic bodies are not a permanent solution to the financial crisis facing them.

"Our strike will continue. The amount announced by the Delhi government is like a drop in the ocean. We had demanded Lt.Governor Najeeb Jung to arrange Rs.5,000 crore either from Delhi or the central governments," Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha president Sanjay Gehlot told IANS.

The Congress slammed the Aam Aadmi Party's city government, saying Kejriwal was trying to take undue credit.

Of the Rs.551 crore on offer, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation will receive Rs.314 crore whereas the East Delhi Municipal Corporation will get Rs.237 crore.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will also be paid Rs.142 crore against the stamp duty bill, Kejriwal said.

"It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find Rs.550 crore for loan. The Delhi government is facing Rs.3,000 crore shortfall in value added tax collection," Kejriwal said soon after making the loan offer.

"We had to postpone some of our present commitments to the next year to manage this money," he tweeted.

Kejriwal also demanded a CBI inquiry into "massive scams" in three municipal corporations of Delhi, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said his government did not owe any money to the civic bodies, as claimed by them.

The chief minister said the AAP government has allocated extra funds to the three civic bodies in the current fiscal compared to the previous year.

"The BJP, which ruled the MCD for 10 years, is responsible for its poor financial situation. Funds given to civic bodies have been diverted. Where has the money given to the MCD gone?" he asked.

"It is a classic case of financial mismanagement and corruption. A Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry should be ordered to probe the financial irregularities in the municipal corporations," Kejriwal demanded.

Kejriwal said a joint front of 19 unions of the municipal employees has called for dissolving the three civic bodies and bringing them under the Delhi government.

He said doctors of Delhi's municipal hospitals have requested the Delhi government to take over these hospitals to improve their functioning.

"Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will see the legal viability of the suggestions for bringing the MCD-run hospitals under the Delhi government," Kejriwal added.

On Wednesday, thousands of civic workers blocked major roads, including east Delhi's arterial Vikas Marg, leading to traffic jams and inconvenience to commuters.

The striking sanitation workers staged demonstrations even on the National Highways skirting Delhi.

Hospitals and schools run by the civic bodies were also affected as doctors, other hospital staff, teachers and school employees joined the protest.

Hitting out at AAP government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a statement said, "Earlier in June 2015 during MCD employees' strike, Kejriwal government played dirty and tried to provoke them. Today again, the CM has announced loan to the corporations to take advantage of the sensitive issue."

Slamming the AAP government, the Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said that Kejriwal should tell why he gave only Rs.2,457.84 crore out of a total budget of Rs.41,129 crore to the MCDs, that was just 5.9 percent.

"The previous Congress governments had given Rs.3,128.16 crore to the corporations that is 9.36 percent of the total budget of Rs.33,436 crore in 2012-13," Kumar said in a statement.
The main facilitator of the terrorist attacck on Pakistan's Bacha Khan University, a media report said on Wednesday.

Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as "Terrorist A", was arrested last week in Nowshera area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the university is located, Dawn online reported.

"He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away," a source said.

"He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," said the anonymous source.

Waheed, who is in his early 30s, said the planning of the attack that left at least 20 people killed and many others injured had been going for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of the Tareek-e-Taliban Pakistan group's militant commander Khalifa Omar Mansoor alias Omar Naray.

He said he had surreptitiously made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as possible targets and taken the footages in a memory chip to Khalifa Mansoor but the plans were dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. Khalifa Mansoor provided him Rs.1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition for the attack.

The plan to attack the Abdul Wali Khan University was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.

Waheed said he brought two attackers while the other two were already with another facilitator, Riaz, in Charsadda.

He identified the four attackers, including an Afridi, one from Orakzai, one from Swat and one from South Waziristan.

Waheed met the TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud in 2008 and has since been associated with the outlawed group.

Waheed had fled to Karachi where he was involved in extortion. He did his matriculation from there and had lived there in the past as well. He is fluent in Urdu.

According to the source, Waheed returned to his native town of Amankot in Nowshera about nine months ago and established contacts with Khalifa Mansoor.

He had been to Afghanistan a few times to coordinate attacks. Waheed also provided the names of people from whom he procured arms and ammunition.

With the arrest of the main facilitator, security agencies had completed the ring of all facilitators of the Charsadda attack.

Five other suspects identified as facilitators are already in the custody of the security agencies.
A Maoist guerrilla was killed in a gun battle with police in Jharkhand's Khunti district on Wednesday, police said.

Police said that following a tip-off a raid was carried out at a village at Torpa block of Khunti district, around 70 km from Ranchi. There were eight members of the banned Maoist group People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI).

A Maoist guerrilla was killed while others managed to flee the place following a gun battle with police.

A rifle, live cartridges and other things were seized from the killed Maoist.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 22 districts of Jharkhand.
plays an important role in its coverage of portraying Muslims as terrorists, says a study.

Exposure to news stories which are anti-Muslim in nature was driving people's attitudes and perception that Muslims are inherently violent, the study said.

A series of studies conducted by the researchers from the Iowa State University in the US have predicted more support for the presidential candidates taking a strong anti-Muslim stand.

Political conservatives and people who most strongly identify with their "fellow Americans" were more supportive of war against Muslim countries and civil restrictions of Muslim Americans, the study revealed.

The level of support that participants expressed for restricting the freedom of Muslim Americans was very high, the findings showed.

"The influence of negative stories as well as a separate link we found between political conservatism and anti-Muslim sentiments and beliefs, both suggest that US political candidates who were willing to take very strong anti-Muslim stands would get a lot of support from the most active and vocal conservatives," said Craig Anderson, professor at Iowa State University.

Two studies measured exposure to news stories portraying Muslims as terrorists. In an additional study, participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three news clips, which portrayed Muslims in a negative, neutral or positive light.

Participants also were questioned about their perceptions and support for military or political action.

However, the researchers were encouraged by how participants responded to the positive story about Muslim Americans.

The researchers asserted that the positive story reduced participants' view of Muslims as aggressive. And they were less likely to support military action and civil restrictions for Muslims.

Journalists can make a difference by actively seeking out positive stories about Muslim Americans, the researchers pointed out in the study published in the journal Communication Research.

And when covering on Islam-related terrorist attacks, the reporters should talk with Muslim Americans about their opposition to such actions, they added.

Also, Muslim Americans can help erase negative stereotypes by speaking out and being more visible in their communities, the researchers concluded.
To shed the "anti farmer" and "pro-industrialist" image of the central government, the ruling BJP has decided to reach out to farmers through four rallies to be addressed by Prime Minister Naredra Modi.

The "Kisan Mahasammelan" rallies -- in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh -- will be held before presentation of the General in the upcoming session of parliament.



Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

"'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' (Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme) is going to prove a milestone for the farmers of the country. So, it needs to be popularised among the farmers," BJP general secretary Arun Singh said.

"In an effort to popularise this ambitious scheme, prime minister will interact with the farmers of the country through his rallies," he added.

Modi's first rally will be held in Sehore (Madhya Pradesh) on February 18 and second in Bargarh (Odisha) on February 21. These rallies will be followed by two rallies in Karnataka on February 27 and in Uttar Pradesh on February 28.

Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme, approved by the union cabinet recently, gives insurance cover against crop loss due to natural calamities, and has lower premium rates.

Singh also said such rallies will be organised in all states thereafter.

"Before each rally, party will organise 100 'Chaupal Pe Charcha', a programme in tune with 'Chai Pe Charcha', which the BJP had organised during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls campaign in each district of the state," he said.

"BJP leaders and workers will interact with the farmers during the discussion and will inform them about the crop insurance scheme and other schemes related to farmers launched by the government," he added.
The US space agency NASA on Tuesday said its new rocket for deep space mission, the Space Launch System (SLS), will carry 13 small satellites along with an uncrewed Orion spacecraft during its first flight in 2018.

The main objective of the SLS first mission, which will fly just beyond the Moon, is to evaluate the integrated system performance of Orion and the rocket prior to the first crewed flight, Xinhua reported.

"The SLS is providing an incredible opportunity to conduct science missions and test key technologies beyond low-Earth orbit," Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development, said in a statement.

"This rocket has the unprecedented power to send Orion to deep space plus room to carry 13 small satellites -- payloads that will advance our knowledge about deep space with minimal cost," Hill said.

For its first flight, the SLS rocket will be configured for a 77-ton lift capacity, but it eventually will provide an "unprecedented" lift capability of 143 tons, which will enable missions even further into our solar system, including such destinations as an asteroid and Mars.

The small satellites, known as CubeSats, which will fly to deep space as secondary payloads, will pave the way for future human exploration in deep space, including the journey to Mars, as most launch opportunities for CubeSats are limited to low-Earth orbit, NASA said.

Four of the 13 small satellites will be used to study the Moon, such as looking for water ice, hydrogen and other resources on our nearest space neighbour, said NASA.

One small satellite called Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, will perform reconnaissance of an asteroid, take pictures and observe its position in space.

One small satellite known as BioSentinel will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep space radiation on living organisms over long durations in deep space.

Another one, CuSP, will serve as a "space weather station" to measure particles and magnetic fields in space, testing practicality for a network of stations to monitor space weather.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was greatly concerned about a plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite later this month.

"We have to state that by intending to violate the requirements of the UN Security Council once again, the DPRK shows defiant disregard of the universally recognised norms of law," Xinhua quoted an online Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday.

The statement added that Russia called on the DPRK to seriously consider the consequences of openly acting in opposition to the community and "to assess realistically the full costs of such short-sighted moves."

A UN spokesperson said on Tuesday that three UN organisations have been informed by the DPRK of its plans to launch an Earth-observation satellite between February 8 and 25.

South Korea and Japan condemned this plan on Wednesday on suspicion that Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, was in fact intending to test a long-range ballistic missile.

Also on Wednesday, China expressed its serious concern about the plan and said it hoped the DPRK would exercise restraint and deal with the issue prudently so as to avoid a possible escalation of tension.
Police on Wednesday booked MIM leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi and arrested three activists of the party for attacks on their political rivals during elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Tuesday.

Hyderabad police have booked Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother and party leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in three different incidents of attacks on political rivals.

The Owaisi brothers and others were booked for unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation and other charges.

Police said three people were arrested based on the video footage of the incident that occurred near Mirchowk police station in the old city wherein the Congress party's Telangana unit president Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior leader and legislator Mohammed Ali Shabbir were attacked.

Asaduddin Owaisi with his followers had come to the police station, taking objection to the presence of the Congress leaders, who were there to seek release of their party activist Mohammed Ghouse.

Deputy Commissioner of Police V. Satyanarayana said they were questioning the accused, who will be produced before a court on Thursday.

He said Asaduddin Owaisi was an accused in the case, which has been registered on a complaint by Congress leaders.

Police took action after analysing the evidence and screening the video footage.

The DCP said two teams were working to conduct the investigation and gather evidence.

Police also booked Akbaruddin Owaisi, MIM leader in the Telangana assembly, for the alleged attack on a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jangammet division, also in the old city.

The police officer said an investigation was taken up after BJP candidate Mahender lodged a complaint against the MLA at Chandrayangutta police station.

Another case was booked against Asaduddin Owaisi on a complaint by Mubashiruddin Khurram, a reporter of Urdu daily Siasat, who was injured in an attack by MIM workers.

Meanwhile, another MIM legislator Ahmed Balala, who was arrested on Tuesday for the attack on the son of Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali, was released on bail by a city court.

A separate case against Balala was booked on a complaint by Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjadullah Khan Khalid, who was also injured in an attack.

In another incident in Langar Houz, MIM workers allegedly attacked their rivals belonging to the TDP and the BJP.

Director General of Police Anurag Sharma and Hyderabad Commissioner of Police Mahender Reddy reviewed the cases booked against MIM leaders in connection with various incidents of violence.

The opposition parties have demanded immediate action against MIM leaders for the attacks.

Leaders of Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and BJP held a meeting to condemn the attacks and seek immediate action.

The delegation led by Leader of Opposition Jana Reddy also met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to demand strong action against MIM leaders.

They said since the governor has law and order powers in the joint capital of Hyderabad under section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, he should invoke the same to intervene in the matter as the TRS government is not taking any action.

The Congress party also wrote to Election Commission of India, urging it to derecognise MIM and disqualify Owaisi brothers from contesting elections.
The Pakistani government has "criminalised legitimate dissent" while attempting to push through its privatisation plan, said a daily which rued the death of three employees of the national carrier PIA during a protest in Karachi.

An editorial "Death and an airline" in the News International said that the best measure of the strength of a democracy is the government's tolerance of dissent. "But once again what we have seen is a callous disregard for the norms of a healthy society."

Just a day after legislation was enacted effectively outlawing strikes by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees for six months, protesting workers in Karachi were struck against with baton-charge, water canons and teargas as the protestors tried to make their way to the airport.

In the confusion and chaos that followed, three protestors were killed and many injured including media personnel.

"Both the Rangers and police have denied using lethal force, but the three employees were killed by gunshot wounds and suspicion has fallen where it tends to fall in such circumstances."

The daily said that before the debate over the merits of privatisation is held, though, it needs to be made clear that the use of force and the violent language used by some government officials a day before were hardly justified, and workers unions should not have the right to peaceful protest taken away from them.

"In trying to push through its privatisation plan, the government has criminalised legitimate dissent and the prime minister too is now threatening the strikers with jail and job loss."

The various PIA unions have long been blamed for the airline's financial woes. "It is certainly true that the national carrier has one of the highest employees-to-aircraft ratios, and that political parties have used PIA as a way of giving jobs to their own workers, but this easy explanation overlooks decades of mismanagement."

The daily went on to say that after "overreaction and the three deaths that must be inquired into, we have reached an impasse where reasoned dialogue will be difficult".

It added that the worry now is "...politics will come in the way of investigating what transpired. It took only two days for an already bad situation to be worsened through a needless escalation".
A court here on Wednesday framed charges against suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) member and Pakistani national Arshad Khan for planning terror strikes in India.

Arshad Khan, who is lodged in the Kolkata jail in connection with the kidnapping of shoe baron Partha Roy Burman in 2001, was presented before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh via video conferencing.

The court framed charges dealing with criminal conspiracy and under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

After he pleaded not guilty and sought trial, the court fixed April 1 for recording of the statement of prosecution witnesses.

The court last month framed charges against suspected LeT operatives Mohammad Shahid and Mohammad Rashid, Abdul Subhan and his aide Asahbuddin.

Shahid and Rashid were arrested from Haryana's Mewat district in December 2013 by Delhi Police and a charge sheet was filed against them in May 2014.

Later, police arrested the other three accused and filed a supplementary charge sheet against them.

According to police, Abdul Subhan's name surfaced during interrogation of the two youths from Mewat.

In the charge sheet, police said Subhan was the main conspirator in the case and conspired with the others to carry out terrorist acts in Delhi and other parts of the country.
Vatican City, Feb 3 (IANS/AKI) Pope Francis, in lighter vein, has said he feels "rather like a mother-in-law" when called upon to give guidance.

"I feel rather like a mother-in-law giving advice on what should be done," the Pope said on Tuesday.

Asked what advice he had for families in the world's second largest economy, where work pressures can separate parents from their children, Francis said: "I would suggest a healthy realism."

"First, I must be reconciled with reality. I don't like it, I am against it, it makes me suffer, but if I don't come to terms with it, I won't be able to do anything. The second step is to work to improve reality and to change its direction," he stated.

In the landmark interview, Francis also sent Chinese New Year's greetings to the Chinese people and President Xi Jinping, the first extended by a Pope to a Chinese leader for the lunar new year in 2,000 years.

--IANS/AKI

py/vm
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was on Wednesday discharged from the PGIMER here following recovery from chest infection.

Badal, 88, was admitted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on January 23 after he suffered from chest infection and complained of discomfort.

"A team of doctors examined him thoroughly and decided to discharge him from the hospital as his chest infection has almost cleared and he is fine now," a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said here.

However, the doctors advised Badal to "refrain from vigorous travelling and exposure to intense cold wave".

Badal was advised to rest and restrict the visitors who call to enquire about his well being.

The chief minister did not receive visiting French President Francios Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their trip to Chandigarh on January 24.

Modi specially went to the PGIMER to call on the ailing Badal, who is the oldest chief minister in the country.
Rebel rocket fire killed at least 11 people and wounded many more in Syria's southern city of Daraa on Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.

The rockets were launched by the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and slammed into government-controlled districts of Daraa, said SANA.

The attack came a week after the Syrian army, backed by allied fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah, captured the key town of Sheikh Miskeen in the countryside of Daraa.

The contested city, which has seen previous battles between the rebels and the Syrian army, constitutes a supply line for the rebels who are operating in Daraa, the birthplace of Syria's nearly five years of conflict.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its nod for the holding of the Make in India function at Mumbai's Chowpatty beach on February 13 that will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the prime ministers of four other countries.

The apex court bench comprising Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice Arun Mishra gave the go ahead after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court that functions would show case India and it culture.

He said that function was a matter of country's pride as it would be attended by delegates from 56 countries.

Attorney General Rohatgi told the court that if stopping the holding of the function at Chowpatty by the High Court was correct, then why hold Republic Day parade at India Gate.

As the counsel for the high court appointed committee urged the court that functions should be held under its gaze as it would impact the movement of the traffic, the attorney general said that the function was being organised by the Maharashtra government and the Centre and they will take care of everything.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the green technology that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is seeking for cremation of bodies should be for the entire country and not just for the cremation ground in the vicinity of Taj Mahal.

The apex court bench, comprising Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice C. Nagappan, said this as senior counsel Vijay Panjwani, appearing for the CPCB, told the court that the pollution-monitoring body has already approached the IITs in Delhi, Kanpur and Kharagpur in its quest for green technology for cremation grounds to reduce carbon emission.

Informing the court that CPCB has not yet succeeded in finding any technology that is pollution-free or effects reduction in the emission of carbon particles from an open air cremation using firewood, Panjwani said the scientists at the pollution-monitoring body were hardly equipped to offer any green alternatives for traditional open air cremation by firewood.

The CPCB's response came in pursuance to the December 14, 2015, direction of the court asking it to "examine what alternatives are available having regard to the modern technology and scientific advances in terms of different alternatives for cremation of dead bodies".

The court had asked the CPCB to examine the matter and submit its proposals to it.

The court had also asked the Uttar Pradesh government to "present a comprehensive plan for improvement in crematorium/cremation area including the use of proposed Green Cremation System and use of technology to reduce the emission of carbon".

The apex court's direction on December 14, last year, came in the course of the hearing in the wake of a letter by one of its judges Justice Kurian Joseph, seeking the apex court's intervention in protecting the monument from the carbon emission.

Justice Kurian Joseph, during a visit to Taj Mahal last year, had noted the damage being caused to the historic monument from the smoke emitted from the cremation ground, located barely 300 metres away.

He brought this to the notice of the apex court and sought its intervention through his letter dated October 1, 2015.

Initially, the apex court toyed with the idea of shifting the cremation ground to some other location or doing away with traditional open air firewood cremation by replacing it with electric crematoriums. But the Uttar Pradesh government expressed difficulties in adopting either of the two options.

The court was told that people prefer traditional firewood cremation as a matter of belief.

While asking CPCB and the Uttar Pradesh government to look for some green technology to reduce, if not eliminate, carbon emission, the court had asked the authorities to encourage the people to opt for electric crematorium by not charging them any payment.

Meanwhile, the court permitted the laying of three approach roads to Taj Mahal with red sand stone instead of granite.

The court gave its nod after counsel appearing for the Uttar Pardesh government informed the court that during a meeting of the authorities with officers of the Archaeological Survey of India it was felt that red sand stone would go with the totality of the monument instead of granite in making the road.
South Korea on Wednesday warned a harsh price against North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch after Pyongyang's notification of its plan to launch a satellite.

"If North Korea pushes ahead with long-range missile launch, it will pose a significant threat to peace and security in the region and the world as well as on the Korean peninsula," Xinhua quoted Cho Tae-Yong, the first deputy chief of the presidential security office, as saying.

Cho said Seoul sternly warns a harsh price which will come from the international society against Pyongyang.

North Korea reportedly informed the International Maritime Organisation on Tuesday of its plan to launch a satellite, named Kwangmyongsong, sometime between February 8 and 25.

South Korea's presidential national security council held an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to discuss how to deal with North Korea's missile launch plan, and Cho made an announcement of the country's official stance after the meeting.

Seoul strengthened monitoring of the possible launch of Pyongyang's long-range ballistic missile after its claim on January 6 that it tested its first H-bomb.

Pyongyang has test-fired long-range missiles months before or after its previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

North Korea launched the three-stage Unha-3 rocket, carrying what it called a Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, on December 2012, two months before its third atomic bomb test. At the time, Seoul and Washington called it the test-launch of long-range ballistic missile, violating the UN Security Council resolutions.
With a high alert at several air bases in the country's western sector post-Pathankot attack, shoot at sight orders have been issued against trespassers at 20-odd bases in the sector, a senior Indian Air Force officer said on Wednesday.

This comes as the IAF is scaling up security at its 54 major air bases across the country following an audit of security at air force stations by a committee.

The audit was ordered following the January 2 terrorist attack on the IAF base at Pathankot town in Punjab in which seven security personnel were killed. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in the gun battle that lasted almost three days.

A senior IAF officer, aware of the audit report, said an air force base on high alert functions as if it is at war.

"When there is a high alert, the guards are authorised to shoot a trespasser without a warning," the officer said.

"The local administration is informed about it and signage and boards are also put up," the officer said.

Explaining further, another official said that the decision depends on the wisdom of the personnel guarding the station perimeter.

"Usually, the guard first tries to identify the trespasser... Whether the person is unarmed, what is the threat perception etc.," said an official.

"Under normal circumstances, the guard would first fire warning shots. But at high alert, the trespasser can be shot at sight," the official said.

Following the attack at Pathankot, most air bases in the western sector continue to be on high alert.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed an upgradation of security at all the 54 major air bases across the country, following an audit that was undertaken in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack, an IAF official said.

The cumulative cost of the whole exercise, as estimated by the IAF officials, can be to the tune of Rs.5,400 crore to Rs.8,100 crore, with an estimated cost per base ranging from Rs.100 crore to Rs.150 crore.

The audit was ordered following the January 2 terrorist attack on the IAF base at Pathankot town in Punjab, which left seven security personnel killed. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in a gun battle which lasted almost three days.

A senior officer of the IAF, who did not want to be named, said it has been decided that "smart fencing" and other changes to strengthen security will be taken up at all 54 major air bases across the country.

The officer said while security audit is a regular feature, the IAF was so far planning to go with the up-gradation of the bases in phased manner, as it is an expensive proposition, costing Rs.100 to Rs.150 crore per base.

However, after the Pathankot terror attack, the Narendra Modi-led government asked the IAF to present a collective proposal for all the major air bases.

The official added the exact cost of the whole plan, however, would be known later.

"The proposal sent to government includes smart fencing for the bases, and removal of encroachments along the boundary of the bases and other things," the official said.

Asked if there was any finding on how the terrorists entered the Pathankot base, the official said: "The probe is on... They could have taken cover in the vegetation, or used the darkness." He added that the dense vegetation along the boundary walls of the base is not being cleared.

The officer also said the IAF is seeking cooperation from state governments to implement the rules on leaving buffer space around air force bases, which varies from 100 metres to 900 metres depending on the base.

Asked about the Hindon air base on the outskirts of the national capital, the officer said almost 60 percent of the work on constructing the boundary walls is completed. But encroachment was a major issue, he added.

The IAF is also raising additional squadrons of Garud commandos, the special force of IAF.

According to plans, at least 10 more squadrons of commandos will be raised, consisting of about 1,000 personnel each.

"Government has sanctioned additional units of Garud commandos. Training is going on," the official said.
Sunny Deol, who is awaiting the release of his forthcoming film "Ghayal Once Again", says his choice of work is not driven in any way by his sons Karan and Rajveer.

Asked if his sons play a role in the way he chooses his projects, Sunny told reporters here: "No, not really. That has never been neither I have with my dad... We are all basically together but at the same time we are very individual with each other."

The 58-year-old actor's elder son Karan is prepping for his launch into filmdom. And Sunny hinted that after the release of the "Ghayal" sequel, he will launch his son.

"Karan is doing very well. He is waiting for my film to release and after 'Ghayal Once Again', I will talk about my son's debut. That is the next thing I will be doing," said the "Ghatak: Lethal" star.

Produced by veteran actor Dharmendra, "Ghayal Once Again", which will see Sunny playing a media personality, also stars actors Soha Ali Khan and Tisca Chopra.

The film, which is releasing on Friday is high on action, which is co-ordinated by Dan Bradley, who has done action for films like "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bourne Identity".

-*-

Had been egging on director for 'Fukrey' sequel: Ali Fazal

Actor Ali Fazal, who will be seen in the sequel of "Fukrey", says the movie's team had been urging director Mrigdeep Singh Lamba to make another "masterpiece".

"Fukrey" came out three years ago and featured actors Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha.

Sharing his excitement about the sequel, Ali said in a statement: "Oh I am thrilled to hear about this... I think in our own ways, we have been egging Mrig to bring out another masterpiece.

"So finally some ideas came together and 'Fukrey Part 2' has come into being. I think we begin in August, so I am trying to wrap up all my movie work before that and have enough time to prep for the second part."

-*-

Aditya didn't have to read 'Great Expectations' for 'Fitoor'

Aditya Roy Kapur says director Abhishek Kapoor didn't want him to read "Great Expectations" for "Fitoor", which is based on the Charles Dickens book.

"Abhishek wanted me to play Noor according to his vision of the character and did not want me to read any book or watch any film before the release of our film," Aditya said in a statement.

Abhishek wanted to pass on his vision of Noor to Aditya so that the "Aashiqui 2" actor could deliver the director's version of the character rather than the one from the book.

Co-produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Abhishek Kapoor, "Fitoor" is all set to release on February 12. It also stars Katrina Kaif and Tabu.
Weeks after several faculty members of AIIMS protested a doctor's removal for allegedly misbehaving with a patient in 2015, its administration on Wednesday said several other complaints, including of harrasment, were pending against him.

The complaints include using objectionable language during ward assessment.

The AIIMS administration has also said that Kuldeep Kumar, during his stint with the institution as assistant professor in the medicine department, was writing and disseminating objectionable e-mails against senior professors and heads of the departments.

The AIIMS on January 10 terminated services of Kuldeep Kumar of the medicine department for allegedly misbehaving and manhandling a patient in September last year.

After the incident, a committee was set up under head of the department S.K. Sharma to conduct an inquiry. It decided in late January to terminate Kuldeep Kumar's contract with the AIIMS.

Following support from some of the faculties, Kuldeep Kumar also sat on a protest outside the director's office on Wednesday.

The Central Administrative Tribunal recently issued a notice to the AIIMS administration, questioning the inquiry process before the doctor's removal.

The statement issued by the AIIMS administration said Kuldeep Kumar also had several complaints of frequently harassing junior residents of his department while making various presentations in the department.

"Many patients and staff members have complained against his behaviour," said the statement issued by the administration.
A leader of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress was arrested and sent to custody for the illegal possession of a gun in Jalpaiguri district, police said on Wednesday.

Rabiul Islam was arrested from Mal in the district on Tuesday night, and was on Wednesday presented before a court which sent him to police custody for five days.

Islam's arrest follows that of Naren Chakraborty, a Trinamool leader of Burdwan district who was arrested for trying to board a Chennai-bound flight at the airport here with an unlicensed revolver and three rounds of cartridges on Sunday.

Chakraborty was arrested under the Arms Act on Sunday evening after he was caught by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) posted at the check-in point of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
The condition of veteran All India Forward Bloc leader and state party secretary Ashok Ghosh continued to be critical on Wednesday, doctors said.

Ghosh, the Left Front leader in West Bengal, was rushed to a city hospital on Tuesday and put on ventilator support.

Ghosh, 94, was admitted to the hospital following lower respiratory tract infection.

"He continues to be on ventilator support. His condition is critical but under control," said a doctor.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Left Front chairman Biman Bose were among those who visited him to the hospital and inquired about Ghosh's health.

Ghosh has been a long-time state general secretary of the party founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Ahead of the next presidential battle in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both saw victory in their razor thin contest in Iowa, while Donald Trump, though much mellowed, insisted his brand is doing great.

In the Democratic race, edging out Sanders by the narrowest margin of just four votes (701-697) for the top spot in Monday night's Iowa caucuses, Clinton downplayed her rival's strong performance with young voters as her campaign spun it as a historic win.

Clinton said she would win over the young with her plans for college affordability and student debt relief.

But she also sought to lower expectations in next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, where polls have showed the neighbouring Vermont senator holding a lead.

"I know that they tend to favour their neighbors. That's the pattern," Clinton told CNN. "Senator Sanders is a neighbour, but I think we will have a good contest."

"I am so thrilled," said Clinton whose disastrous third place finish in 2008 in Iowa unravelled her first presidential bid.

"My luck was not that good last time around, and it was wonderful to win the caucus, to have that experience."

However, the Sanders campaign painted it as a fight against the establishment and the powerful Clinton Machine.

"We went toe-to-toe with the establishment," Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told CNN on Tuesday.

"We're going to fight really hard in New Hampshire and then we're going to Nevada, to South Carolina, we're doing well around the country," Sanders himself said shortly landing in New Hampshire.

Sanders, who trailed Clinton in Iowa by 30 points three months ago, told a raucous crowd chanting "Bernie, Bernie" that his campaign made stunning progress.

"Nine months ago, we came to this beautiful state, we had no political organization, we had no money, we had no name recognition and we were taking on the most powerful political organization in the United States of America," he said.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Trump acknowledged his decision to skip the last Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses may have led to his finishing second to Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Still, Trump said he would make the same decision again, pointing to the $6 million he raised for veterans' charities.

But the real estate mogul refused to concede any mistakes his campaign may have made in Iowa and said he was not concerned about how his runner-up finish in Iowa could affect the brand he has promoted throughout his career and campaign: that of a winner.

"I think my brand is doing great," Trump told reporters.

In the latest CNN Poll of Polls, Trump led Cruz 31 percent to 13 percent with third finisher Florida senator Marco Rubio at 11 percent.

But given his clear victory over Trump in Iowa, Cruz campaign is expecting a significant uptick in polling and fundraising in the coming days. Taking a victory lap in New Hampshire, Cruz attributed his caucus win to a "grassroots army."

Rubio too faces a key test with keeping the momentum alive after his third place finish in Iowa.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has already called it quits. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has gone home to Florida "for a change of clothes" after his fourth place finish in Iowa.

Meanwhile, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Ohio governor John Kasich and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, are said to be trying to rally establishment-minded Republicans to their side in New Hampshire.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Global software major Wipro Ltd will hire 25,000 more techies in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, its chairman Azim Premji said on Wednesday.

"We will add 25,000 more IT jobs in Karnataka where we already employ over 55,000 people and are expanding each of our businesses," Premji said at the state's global investors meet (GIM) here.

The city-headquartered Wipro group has global IT services, consumer care and lighting, aerospace and healthcare systems business with the US-based GE, among others.

"We are endorsing the fact that Karnataka is a very hospitable and a very progressive state to investors," Premji said at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day mega event at the Bangalore Palace grounds.



ALSO READ: Tata pitches for investing in Karnataka

Admitting that Bengaluru had its infrastructural constrains, he said the city was a source of best technical talent, nice weather, strong science background and cosmopolitan nature.

"I hope Karnataka continues to invest in infrastructure to be one of the fastest growing states in the country," Premji added.
Aden, Feb 3 (IANS/WAM) Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has praised the Arab Coalition, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for supporting Yemen and showing "a shared destiny and pan-Arab national unity and cohesion".

Hadi said: "Our closed ranks, common goal and shared destiny constitute our effective weapon that made our heroes on various fronts even more resolved to defeat these rebel gangs that hijacked the state and abused its great capabilities and gains."

Hadi on Wednesday congratulated the commanders on the victories of the national army and pro-government Yemeni National Resistance, backed by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, against the rebel Houhti militia and forces loyal to now-ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh around Sanaa.

Earlier on Wednesday, the government army and allied forces advanced to close in on Yemen's capital city after they regained control of a number of military posts in Naham (or Nihm) district including the strategic Furdat Naham military base.

--IANS/WAM

py/dg
Bajaj Finserv posted mixed results for the December quarter. Weak profitability of its general insurance business due to the Chennai floods impacted consolidated earnings. Net profit fell short of Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 473 crore, despite growing at a healthy clip of 26 per cent over a year to Rs 437 crore. Good traction in general insurance as well as lending (Bajaj Finance) businesses though enabled the company to grow its income from operations by 26 per cent to Rs 2,395 crore, ahead of expectations of Rs 2,217 crore.

Lending business (45 per cent of its sum-of-the-parts, or SOTP, valuations) continued to post good show in the December quarter. Its assets under management (AUM) growth, earnings growth as well as asset quality remained healthy. AUM growth of 41 per cent was led by strong all-round growth in lending to consumer, commercial, small and medium enterprise as well as rural segments. The company's leadership position in the niche consumer durables segment distinguishes it with most of its peers and provides high scope for growth. At 1.29 per cent, the gross non-performing assets remain minuscule.

In this backdrop of good show in lending business and improving prospects across most of them, a majority of analysts remain positive on Bajaj Finserv and expect upsides of 18 per cent from the current levels.
Lenovo has one more worry to add to slowing growth: trouble in China. The tech group's revenue fell eight per cent to $13 billion in the three months to December on the back of cooling demand for smartphones and personal computers. Even though it is slashing costs, competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei and Xiaomi spells further trouble for margins.

The hardware giant is feeling the squeeze from a shrinking global PC market. Revenue from computers, which make up 62 per cent of the total, fell 12 per cent year-on-year to $8 billion in the quarter. Currency swings further squeezed profitability in Lenovo's core business: pre-tax income tumbled 18 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Lenovo is still struggling to establish itself in the smartphone business. The group's mobile division - which absorbed Motorola in 2014 - hit its self-imposed milestone by breaking even, after excluding certain charges. But Lenovo is selling fewer phones and losing market share: shipments in the quarter fell 18 percent compared with the same period of 2014.

Aggressive cost-cutting may be the one bright spot. Last August, the company announced plans to slash $1.35 billion from annual expenses. The restructuring is already yielding results: quarterly operating expenses were down 15 per cent year-on-year, allowing the group to report a much-need increase in earnings.

Troubles at home are mounting, though. China accounts for less than a third of the company's total revenue, but over half of pre-tax profit. While Lenovo's smartphones have so far failed to gain traction with Chinese consumers, the company still commands 40 per cent market of the domestic PC market.

That makes it a target for the likes of rival Xiaomi, which is gearing up to enter China's premium notebook market this year, according to analysts at Maybank Kim Eng. Competition is already evident in Lenovo's pre-tax profit margin in China, which fell to 4.7 per cent in the most recent quarter - a full percentage point lower than a year ago.

After a 10 per cent share price drop on February 3, Lenovo's market value is now just $9.5 billion, less than twice the combined $5 billion in cash and stock that it splashed out on Motorola and on IBM's low-end server business in 2014. In the absence of top-line growth, it's hard to see investors regaining much confidence.
When senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represents the Sahara Group, filed an application seeking the Supreme Court's permission to sell some assets of the group, including four aircraft, the surprised judges wondered if these aircraft were in Lucknow. Chief Justice of India T S Thakur suggested these be used by the lawyers who are handling the case. "One each for you, Dr (Rajeev) Dhawan (another lawyer representing Sahara), amicus curiae (Shekhar Naphade) and Mr (Arvind) Datar (lawyer representing the Securities and Exchange Board of India)," said Thakur.
The governments decision to introduce a centralised system for appointing consultants from multilateral agencies in all ministries and in the NITI Aayog could be an example of faulty implementation of sensible ideas. A clear delineation of the role of consultants does seem necessary given that the Central Vigilance Commission has stated that the scope of work entrusted to consultants is often not defined properly, or they are allowed to experiment with impractical ideas resulting in unwarranted costs. Replying to a recent RTI (Right to Information) application, the health ministry said it had 363 consultants and a large number of them were being paid by health-related international agencies as well as external aid agencies. It is not clear if there are issues of conflict of interest in such appointments. There is also the commonly held belief that some ministries indeed play fast and loose with taxpayers money in their use of consultants.
Countries across the world are de-industrialising at much lower levels of development. And India is no exception. While successive governments have tried to arrest the decline in manufacturing, success has so far been elusive. But can the National Democratic Alliance's ambitious Make in India initiative succeed where others have failed? Can India reverse the decline in manufacturing? And if it does succeed, will it generate enough jobs to pull out millions of those currently employed in low productive jobs in agriculture?



With wages in China steadily rising and the Boston Consulting Group's estimates that the hourly cost of manufacturing in India is 92 cents, while in China it is $3.52, many argue that India should focus on building its manufacturing capabilities in labour-intensive industries, especially those that are likely to be vacated by China.
While the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005 gave daughters equal rights in property, a recent Delhi High Court ruling has done away with the gender discrimination that existed as the Hindu Succession Act was clear on whether a woman can be karta. Based on ancient scriptures, the Hindu Succession Act deals with the intestate succession among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.

The high court ruled that the eldest woman member of a family can be its karta. A unique position carved out by Hindu customs and ancient texts, karta means the manager of a joint family. Until now, only men were allowed to be Karta in a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).

The position of a karta is a powerful one, for this person controls, and is also a custodian of, the finances in an HUF. The karta borrow money for and on behalf of the family. S/he can spend money for the family without being accountable. The karta also has a say in the partition of the family. He or she can even gift away the movable properties of the family.

The Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005 gave women equal rights of inheritance, making them coparceners. The karta usually is the eldest coparcener. The logical extension of the law implies that women can also assume the position of a karta, says lawyer Mala Goel, who was part of the Delhi High Court case representing the oldest surviving female child of a Delhi business family against a younger male cousin.

Malhar Majumder, a certified financial planner, says that usually, an HUF is dissolved if theres no male coparcener to take over, and there are many families at present that face this issue. This judgment will save many such HUFs, and will let women an equal opportunity to save tax. This, however, was a case of inheritance. Theres still need clarity on whether women can now start an HUF and whether Income Tax will recognise it, says Majumder.

According to lawyers, married women can become the Karta as marriage does not alter the right to inherit the coparcenary. But, they say it is still not clear if her children would retain the same right in the family of her father.

Before the recent Delhi High Court ruling, there have been divided opinions on women as a karta in an HUF. Courts have ruled in favour of women being a karta only under certain circumstances. For example, if a male karta passes away and theres no adult male member in the family to take his position, the wife can assume role of a karta until a male member becomes an adult.

HUF has been a subject matter of litigation as many wealthy families transfer assets to it for taxation purpose.

Vijay Dhingra, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, explains that HUF is a good tax-saving tool as it is regarded as a separate legal entity under the tax law and also assessed to tax separately as a distinct legal person. This implies that a person can file two income tax returns  one in a personal capacity and one in the name of the HUF, says Dhingra. Amarpal Chadha, tax partner at Ernst & Young says that if a person has transferred a rental-yielding property to an HUF, the rent received is taxed under the HUF separately. This gives the benefits to a person of dividing his taxable income between two entities and, hence, he can claim double deductions and expenses in both capacities, thereby reducing his total taxable income and tax liability substantially.
Around 18 employees of a private pharmaceutical firm were hospitalised after they complained of of running nose, dry eyes and headache, following a pest control treatment in their office, police said today.

The employees were admitted to a private hospital in suburban Charpok this morning and condition of four of them is stated to be serious, police said.

The employees of the firm, located in Charkop, complained of running nose, dry eyes, reddening of eyes and headache after a pest control treatment was done at the firm yesterday, a police official said.

Yesterday, some of the employees experienced discomfort till 5 PM, the closing time of the office. This morning, when they arrived at the office, they complained of similar things and were admitted to the hospital, they said.

Prima facie, police said the windows and doors of the firm had been kept shut after the pest control was done.

"We have recorded the statements of the employees. No case is so far registered in this connection and we are waiting for medical reports of the employees", the officer said.

According to police, concerned company authorities will be questioned.

Police said four of the employees were discharged today.
Two persons were today killed when the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck near Samaspur in Chunar area here, police said.

While Dilip (28) and Rajit (40) died on the spot, three others travelling in the SUV sustained injuries and were referred to Varanasi for treatment, they said.

All the five were residents of Chandauli and were on their way to Vindhyachal shrine, police said.
A convict in the Naroda Patiya riot massacre case of 2002 was today granted bail by a local court in a case of alleged marital rape filed by his wife.

Metropolitan Magistrate M F Khatri granted regular bail to Suresh Langdo on a security deposit of Rs 25,000 while not accepting the rape charge after going through the medical report of the victim.

Langdo was sentenced to 35 years in jail along with 31 other convicts, including former BJP Minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babubhai Patel alias Babu Bajrangi, for the riot in Naroda Patiya here, where nearly 100 people were killed by a mob in aftermath of the Godhra train fire.

Last month, his wife filed a police complaint alleging Langdo had sexually assaulted her whenever he was out on parole. Based on the complaint, police lodged an FIR against him under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural offences).

Langdo was in last month for allegedly assaulting a woman journalist who had gone to interview him. He was out on one-month parole granted by the Gujarat High Court.

The journalist later filed a complaint after which police booked him under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by sharp weapons).

He was arrested by Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) late last month and sent to Sabarmati Central Jail.
Authorities in Jamaica say three people have been killed at a rural bar in the popular tourist area of Montego Bay including an 18-year-old female bartender.

Police said today that two other people are in serious condition. They said the shooting occurred late yesterday when armed men apparently walked up to the bar and opened fire.

No one has been arrested.

Jamaica has the world's sixth worst homicide rate with about 45 killings per 100,000 people last year.
Seven policemen, including the SHO of Hindoli police station, were injured after they were attacked by a gang of criminals in a forest in Basni area here, police said today.

SHO Ajeet Meghwanshi and six other police personnel were injured when they were attacked by a gang of Kalbailiya tribe with sticks, iron rods and axes yesterday afternoon in Basni area where they had gone to nab the gang following a tip off, Bhushan Yadav, SP, Bundi said.

While SHO Meghwanshi's hand was fractured, the other six sustained minor injuries following which the police team had to flee from the spot, he said.

Meghwanshi informed about the incident to district headquarter following which a special police team was sent to the spot, Yadav said, adding that the special police team arrested Ramraj Meena, the leader of Kalbailiya gang, and five other other members of the gang.

The five other accused have been identified as Rajaram Meena, Durgesh Meena, Ram Sukh Meena, Gaganand and Mangal Maru and they will be produced in the court today, said Iqbal Hussain, ASI at Hindoli police station.

Ramraj Meena, leader of the gang, had been convicted of murder and is operating the Kalbailiya gang which has been carrying out robberies on highways, besides thefts for the past several months, Yadav said.

The six accused have been booked under sections 307, (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 332 and 333 dealing with voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty, 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 147 (rioting) of IPC, Yadav said, adding that attempts are being made to nab the other members of the gang.
Nine students of a state run medical college and hospital in Berhampur on the charge of assaulting four persons, following which some junior doctors stayed away from work.

Of the nine students of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital arrested yesterday, three were junior doctors and others under-graduate students, police said.

They allegedly assaulted a photo-journalist, attenders of a patient and an auto-driver, in connection with 'poor' treatment of a patient in the hospital on Friday night, police said.

In protest against the arrest, some junior doctors stayed away from duty from last night, while MBBS students boycotted their classes.

The students also gheraoed Baidyanath Pur police station and the residential quarter of college principal AK Dandapat till late last.

Superintendent of the medical college AK Behera said medical services were not affected due to boycott of duty by the junior doctors.

Adequate forces are deployed in different locations, while patrolling was intensified, said SP (Berhampur) Sarthak Sarangi.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today sought two or three days' time to shift to the new, smaller accommodation allotted to him on Humayun Road here after the Delhi High Court refused to stay his eviction from his ministerial bungalow at New Moti Bagh here.

Authorities had started the eviction process yesterday and disconnected the water and electricity connection to the New Moti Bagh bungalow.

Chowdhury, a former UPA minister, moved court against the eviction order and attempted to get it stayed by Delhi High Court which, however, did not interfere with the disconnection of utilities and ordered status quo till February 3 morning when it was going to hear the matter.

"Since his petition has been dismissed, he has written to us seeking two-three days' time for shifting his belongings to his new house on Humayun Road," said a senior Urban Development Ministry official.

The Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad, who is also the chief of West Bengal Congress Committee, has been allotted a type-VI bungalow at C-1/4 Humayun Road.

According to the Directorate of Estate, Chowdhury was overstaying at the 14, New Moti Bagh residence for 19 months since the cancellation of his allotment on June 27, 2014 by the Urban Development Ministry after he had ceased to be a Minister in the Union Council of Ministers.

As a Member of Lok Sabha, Chowdhury is entitled to a Type- VI accommodation. He was allotted an alternative accommodation at C-1/99, Moti Bagh, by the House Committee of Lok Sabha in January, 2015. However, the new allotment was not acceptable to him.

Subsequently, he was allotted an independent bungalow at C1\77, Moti Bagh (Type-6B) on June 1, 2015, but that too was not accepted by the MP.

Chowdhury was again allotted a bungalow at C-1/4, Humayun Road, on November 3, 2015 and, after inspection and certification by CPWD, was requested on December 23, 2015, to vacate the Type-8 bungalow and move into the Humayun Road bungalow within 15 days to avoid accumulation of damages and contempt of court.

A reminder was also issued to NDMC for disconnection of water and electricity connection to the New Moti Bagh house.

Chowdhury moved high court against eviction on January 29 this year and the same was dismissed by the High Court on February 1, 2016.

Chowdhury yesterday filed an LPA (Letter Patents Appeal) before another bench against the order of a single bench which was dismissed today.
The Madras High Court today issued notice to the state government on a petition filed by senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan challenging the appointment of advocates allegedly owing allegiance to AIADMK as members of Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission.

When the matter came up before Justice R Subbaiah, Advocate General A L Somayaji, who appeared on behalf of the state, submitted that the appointments had already been made.

The judge then directed the AG to file the counter by March 4 and issued notice to the advocates and the public service commission.

Appearing on behalf of Elangovan, a former MP, senior counsel P Wilson argued that the constitutional trust that was reposed on the Chief Secretary "has been breached for political reasons".

The petitioner submitted that the institutional integrity and transparency in the appointment of advocates eere given a go-by. The main criteria in the appointments was their allegiance to the AIADMK party, the petitioner alleged.

The advocate, who were appointed as members of TNPSC, have no experience in administration, the petitioner claimed.

Elangovan sought declaration of the appointments as illegal, ultra vires and violative of the Constitution and various directives of the Supreme Court.
The Agriculture Ministry is in talks with the Finance Minister over the issues related to inter-state taxes on farm produce for smooth implementation of an online national agri-market.

The issue assumes importance in view of the pending GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill, which aims to facilitate an uniform tax levied on goods and services across the country.

"We are speeding up the work for setting up an online agriculture market. There are concerns related to inter-state taxes and levies. We are discussing with the Finance Minister on these issues," Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said at an Assocham event here.

Sharing details on the sidelines, the minister said the inter-state levies charged on movement of farm produce need to be addressed for efficient functioning of a common e-agriculture market.

The government is working towards integrating 200 mandis by March-end, another 200 will be connected to the online platform in 2017 and the rest by 2018, he said.

The Centre has received proposals from states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana and Maharashtra for developing necessary infrastructure in wholesale markets. A strategic partner for implementing the national agri e-market has also been identified, he added.

The online national agri-market is the need of the hour as farmers are deprived of fair share of prices because of the current mandi system, which is characterised by inefficient physical operations, excessive crowding of intermediaries, fragmented market chains and low scale.

In July 2015, the Cabinet had approved setting up of an online national agriculture market with a budget of Rs 200 crore. The platform seeks to integrate 585 wholesale markets across India with an aim to provide more options to farmers to sell their produce.

On farmers' participation in commodity futures market, the minister said they are not in a position to participate because most farmers do have enough marketable surplus and ready cash to meet the margin requirements.

"Therefore, while the commodity exchange must be strengthened and developed, the physical market should undergo major transformation first as the fundamentals have to be sound. Only then will farmers be empowered to participate and benefit from the commodity exchanges," he said.
An aid convoy today entered a regime-besieged town near Syria's capital, at a time when the opposition is demanding a lifting of blockades at peace talks in Geneva, the Red Cross announced.

"We entered with medical aid to Moadimayat al-Sham and we are distributing food aid in the buffer zone" between regime and rebel forces, Pawel Krzysiek, spokesman in Damascus of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told AFP.

He said the joint convoy of the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was made up of 10 trucks loaded with food supplies and two with medical equipment and medicine.

Government forces imposed a siege on rebel-held Moadimayat al-Sham at the start of 2013, but conditions improved for its residents under a truce struck a year later.

But the United Nations in January re-classified Moadamiyat al-Sham as a besieged town with scant food supplies after the regime tightened access.

The United Nations has been struggling to deliver aid to about 480,000 people in besieged areas.

The UN Security Council, for its part, has adopted resolutions demanding an end to sieges imposed by both rebel and government forces as a weapon of war, but these have been largely ignored.

After mounting international outrage over the starvation of civilians, aid has been delivered since the start of the year to Madaya, another town under a regime siege, as well to rebel-besieged Fuaa and Kafraya.
Algeria's parliament meets from today to consider a package of constitutional reforms that authorities say will strengthen democracy but critics have denounced as window dressing.

Analysts say the reforms are meant to address longstanding public grievances in the North African nation, and possibly to prepare for a smooth transition amid concerns for the health of 78-year-old leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The president and his inner circle have held a firm grip on power since 1999 and, as the end of his rule appears to close in, there are fears of instability in the mainly Muslim country of 40 million, a key energy producer.

Dominated by Bouteflika supporters, Algeria's lower and upper houses are expected to adopt the reforms on Sunday, after the full package is presented by Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal tomorrow.

The main political reforms will see the reintroduction of two-term limits on the presidency - lifted in 2008 to allow Bouteflika to run for a third time - and a provision requiring the president to nominate a prime minister from the largest party in parliament.

An independent electoral commission will also be established, the roles of women and youth will be recognised and freedoms of assembly and the press will be explicitly guaranteed.

The Amazigh language spoken by the indigenous Berber population will also be recognised as official, alongside Arabic.

The reforms "strengthen freedoms and enshrine the separation of powers and the principles and values of the Algerian people," Ahmed Ouyahia, Bouteflika's chief of staff, said last week.

Critics disagree, saying the reforms are little more than a show and will do little to reduce the influence of the powerful elite, including Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN) party and army generals, who dominate the country.

"This constitutional reform project does not have the concerns of Algeria at its heart but only the current political regime which it is designed to protect," said Ali Beflis, a former prime minister who ran against Bouteflika in 2004 and 2014.

The Front of Socialist Forces (FFS) opposition party, whose 30 lawmakers have said they will boycott the vote on the reforms, said the project was "nothing more than the continuation of the tradition of constitutional violence against the Algerian people".

John Entelis, an Algeria expert at Fordham University in the United States, said the reform package was clearly designed to address public concerns.
Pune-based startup Allygrow Technologies today said it has acquired Germany-based AE Automotive Elements GmbH, a high end product development firm, and engineering services arm of US-headquartered Ranal, a specialised manufacturing engineering services provider.

The acquisitions are in alignment with the company's aggressive growth strategy to become a pure play engineering research and development services (ERDS) provider with end-to-end capabilities and significant global footprint, a company release said.

Allygrow was founded by Prashant Kamat with USD 20 million funding led by Zodius Capital in August 2015.

"The investments in the two companies will help us build upon the complementary strengths of each entity and create a comprehensive service portfolio spanning across concept engineering to manufacturing support for customers globally," Kamat said.

"Furthermore, in terms of top line, these acquisitions have enabled Allygrow to attain revenue of around USD 15 million mark in less than six months, manifesting in the fast-track growth we are committed to.

"Our aim is to reach USD 100 million in revenue over the next 4 to 5 years and gain impetus in areas such as aerospace, medical technology and embedded space," he added.

Equirus Capital advised Allygrow on both the transactions.

"The engineering services space is seeing good traction globally and Allygrow, with its vast management experience in this space is perfectly poised to benefit from these acquisitions," Equirus Capital Managing Director Ajit Deshmukh said.

Zodius Senior Managing Director and Chief Executive Neeraj Bhargava said, "We are highly excited investors and we look forward to rapid growth and the Allygrow team building a truly world class global company."



Ranal has its delivery centres in US (Detroit) and India (Bangalore and Pune).

Allygrow Technologies is focused on core engineering design, development and manufacturing engineering services for the automotive, aerospace, hi-tech, medical devices and heavy industries.
South Korea and Japan today echoed US warnings that a harsh price would be exacted from North Korea if it went ahead with a planned rocket launch just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for a launch as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a "direct challenge" to the community.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a "serious provocation" that represented a clear violation of Pyongyang's obligations.

The warnings came a day after the North announced a February 8-25 window for the launch, ostensibly aimed at putting an earth observation satellite into orbit.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and yesterday's announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month's nuclear test.

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.

Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific Affairs slammed what he called "yet another egregious violation" of UN resolutions.

"This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose... tough additional sanctions," Russel said.

"North Korea is defying the UN Security Council, it's defying its... Neighbour China, it's defying the international community," he added.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of between 7:00 a.m-midday, Pyongyang time.

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The South Korean government statement urged Pyongyang to call off the launch immediately or pay a "heavy price" for threatening regional peace and stability.

North Korea successfully placed a satellite in orbit on a three-stage Unha-3 rocket in December 2012.
Puducherry Assembly Speaker



V Sabapathy today paid homage at the statue of former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu C N Annadurai (known as Anna among his admirers) on the occasion of his 47th death anniversary here.

Welfare Minister P Rajavelu, Electricity Minister T Thiagarajan, Local Administration Minister N G Panneerselvam, legislators and delegates of different wings of the ruling AINRC were among those who paid homage at the statue.

Volunteers and leaders of different wings of the Puducherry unit of the DMK also paid tributes.Workers and delegates of the various units of the AIADMK were among others who paid homage.

(Reopens MES3)



In Puducherry, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy along



with MLAs and members of the ruling Congress today paid homage at the statue of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founder and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu CN Annadurai, here.

Cadres and leaders of different wings of the DMK and AIADMK also paid tributes to Annadurai.
Delhi Police have registered an FIR in connection with a threat letter purportedly sent by ISIS to All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman M S Bitta.

The letter, which was purportedly sent by the Jammu and Kashmir unit of ISIS, was delivered to Bitta's residence on Talkatora Road here, following which the matter was reported at the North Avenue police station on Monday, a police officer said today.

On the basis of the complaint, the police registered an FIR yesterday under sections 506 and 507 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and took up investigation, he said.

Bitta's personal secretary, who filed the complaint, told police that apart from Bitta, Vinod Bhardwaj, national general secretary of the front, and other members have also been threatened by in the letter.

Last month, BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain had received threat letters purportedly sent by the ISIS.
Ariana Grande has previewed another brand new song on Instagram.

The 10-second snippet came with nothing but a small heart emoji in the caption, reported Ace Showbiz.

On it, Grande's heard singing, "Is it love, is it lust, is it fear, but it's hard to breathe when you're touching me there/ Hard to breathe when you're kissing me there."



Grande's new album, currently named "Moonlight", is expected to be released later this year.

Recently, she revealed in a tweet that she might change the record's title. Later during a visit to "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", she gave further explanation about the change.

"A really long time ago I was convinced that it was going to be called 'Moonlight' because its one of my favorite songs that we did for the album," she had shared.
Syrian troops and allied militiamen blasted their way into two Shiite villages in northern Syria today, breaking a long-running rebel siege during a major offensive, Syrian TV reported.

The government advance angered the opposition, further undermining prospects for peace talks underway in Geneva. The two villages, Nubl and Zahra, are located in the middle of opposition territory.

They have been blockaded by rebel groups for around three years, with the army occasionally airdropping food and other assistance.

Their capture would mark a major victory for government forces, which have made significant advances in Aleppo province in the past few days, severing a key supply route linking rebels in Aleppo city to the Turkish border.

Today, pro-government fighters continued their offensive north of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, in an attempt to besiege rebel-held neighborhoods. If the government succeeds, it will be one of the biggest blows to insurgents since they captured large parts of the city in the summer of 2012.

The Aleppo advances cast a further shadow over indirect peace talks in Geneva.

Basma Kodmani, a member of the opposition's negotiating team, described the offensive as a "horrible development," saying it sends the message that "there is nothing to negotiate. Just go home."



"We're not going home," she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Syrian TV said the siege of Nubl and Zahra was broken by the army and Shiite militias known as the Popular Defense Committees. The Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV also reported the advance and showed exclusive footage of the fighting on the outskirts of the villages.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that monitors the conflict through activists on the ground, said the Syrian army was one kilometer away from the two villages.

Meanwhile, an aid convoy headed to a besieged rebel-held town near Damascus, but Syria's opposition said today that such deliveries are meaningless given the situation in Aleppo.

The convoy heading to Moadamiyeh is the second aid delivery to rebel-held areas near the capital in as many days, a spokesman for the International Committee for the Red Cross said.
An Arunachal Pradesh BJP MLA today questioned in Supreme Court the delay on part of the Congress in moving the Gauhati High Court against Governor J P Rajkhowa's decision to advance the assembly session in the political crisis-hit state without the then Chief Minister's consent.

"On December 9, the Governor took the decision and Congress Party approached the High Court on December 15 after the resolution to remove the Speaker (Nabam Rebia) was passed. The government has lost majority was also proved," the counsel for BJP MLA Tage Taki told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice J S Khehar.

If such a "grave" mistake was committed by the Governor then why did the then ruling party allow the matter to "precipitate" further and move the court at the last minute, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the lawmaker, said.

The constitutional head of state had discretionary power to summon the assembly without consulting the council of ministers if he had reasons to be convinced that the Chief Minister had lost majority support in the House, Singh told the bench that also comprised justices Dipak Misra, M B Lokur, P C Ghose and N V Ramana.

The Nabam Tuki government, which had initial support of 47 MLAs in 60 member house, allegedly lost the confidence motion by 33 votes in the assembly session held in a community hall in the state capital of Itanagar.

The court, which is considering pleas against imposition of President's Rule in the state, yesterday resumed hearing on earlier petitions seeking examination of constitutional schemes on the scope of discretionary powers of the Governor.

The bench is also examining the authority of Arunachal Pradesh Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa as to whether he can advance the assembly session without the aid and advice of the Chief Minister and his council of ministers.

The court would tomorrow resume hearing on the petitions seeking examination of powers of Governors.

Congress party, which has 47 MLAs seats in the 60-member assembly, suffered a jolt when 21 of its lawmakers rebelled. Eleven BJP MLAs backed the rebels in the bid to upstage the government. Later, 14 rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified.

The Governor then called assembly session on December 16 in which Deputy Speaker revoked disqualification of 14 rebel Congress MLAs and removed Rebia from the post of Speaker. This sitting was held in a community hall.
The Zika virus has been transmitted sexually, top US health authorities have confirmed, fueling fears of the rapid spread of the disease blamed for a surge in the number of brain-damaged babies.

With concern growing that an outbreak sweeping Latin America could spread much farther, health authorities in Texas said they had confirmation of the virus being transmitted by sexual contact and not just tropical mosquitoes.

That is a troubling prospect for the United States, Canada and Europe, where Zika had so far only appeared in travelers returning from affected areas.

"The patient was infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from a country where Zika virus is present" this year, a Dallas County statement read.

The county subsequently tweeted that the virus was contracted from someone who had traveled to Venezuela, and that a second case of Zika imported from Venezuela has also been documented.

Dr Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later Tuesday confirmed in an email the case of sexually transmitted infection reported earlier in Texas.

Someone who visited Venezuela and was infected there developed Zika symptoms as did their sexual partner who never left the United States, he said on Twitter.

Last month, the CDC said it was aware of one reported case of sexual transmission of Zika and one case of the virus being present in a man's semen after it disappeared from his blood.

Zika, which was first identified in Uganda in 1947, causes relatively mild flu-like symptoms and a rash.

But there is growing alarm over an apparent link between the current outbreak and both a rise in birth defects and a potentially crippling neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, have reported a surge in cases of microcephaly -- which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads -- since the Zika outbreak was declared in the region last year.

The virus is spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, whose habitat is concentrated in the tropics -- giving temperate countries an apparent reprieve.
Assam is likely to lose about Rs 9,000 crore in the financial year 2015-16 due to change in the Centre's economic policies and funding pattern towards the state, the state Assembly was informed today.

Replying to a query by AGP MLA Phani Bhusan Choudhury during Question Hour, state Planning and Development Minister Ajanta Neog said, "The total anticipated loss of Assam will be around Rs 9,000 crore in 2015-16 due to change in central policies."



Giving details, she said the state would get Rs 4,051.64 crore less due to delinking of a few central schemes and it has to bear an additional burden of Rs 2,951 crore due to change in funding pattern, among others.

"The Plan allocation for 2015-16 was fixed at Rs 25,406 crore, comprising Rs 20,127.79 crore of central share and rest of the state. However, only Rs 6,357.94 crore has been released by the Centre till mid-January," Neog said.

If the Centre does not release the entire money within the specified fiscal, then it would not not be released in the next year, she said.

The minister said the Centre had released only Rs 12,533.18 crore in 2014-15 out of its share of Rs 17,568.83 crore of the total Plan outlay of Rs 18,000 crore.

"So there is no money left from the Centre regarding the last fiscal and we have fully utilised the entire fund," she added.

Neog said earlier the Planning Commission used to give specific guidelines regarding Plan allocation and preparation of the state budget.

"Since NITI Aayog was formed, there have been no guidelines and we kept Rs 25,000 crore under Plan section in 2015 in anticipation of getting it. But, delinking of schemes and curtailing of the Special Category status has affected our financial position," she added.
At least 2,297 journalists and media workers have been killed in the last 25 years, with Iraq ranking as the most deadly country, the International Federation of Journalists said today.

Journalists lost their lives in targeted killings, bomb attacks, in the cross-fire and kidnappings in wars and armed conflicts across the globe while others were killed by organised crime barons and corrupt officials, the IFJ said.

Some 112 journalists and media professionals were killed last year alone, although the peak year was 155 killings in 2006, it said.

"At least 2,297 journalists and media staff have been killed since 1990," the report said.

With just one out of 10 killings investigated, the IFJ said failure to end the impunity for killings and other attacks on media professionals only fuels the violence against them.

"This milestone publication charts the trajectory of safety crisis in journalism and bears witness to the IFJ's long running campaign to end impunity for violence against media professionals," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said in a statement.

"These annual reports were more than just about recording the killings of colleagues," Boumelha said.

"They also represented our tribute for their courage and the ultimate sacrifice paid by journalists in their thousands who lost their lives fulfilling the role to inform and empower the public," he added.

The following countries accounted for the highest numbers of killings: Iraq (309), the Philippines (146), Mexico (120), Pakistan (115), Russian Federation (109), Algeria (106), India (95), Somalia (75), Syria (67) and Brazil (62).

In 2015, ten journalists and staff died in France when jihadists attacked the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, meaning France shared the top spot with Iraq and Yemen last year for media killings.

Since 1990, the Asia Pacific region registered the highest death toll at 571, followed by the Middle East with 473 killings, the Americas at 472, Africa at 424, and Europe with 357 dead.

The IFJ called on government officials, security and military officers and others who deal with them to respect their independence.
German luxury car maker Audi plans to expand its footprint in India by adding more showrooms and 'touch points' in non-metro places this year.

"We are taking care of the customers. We are building the network," said Joe King, Head Audi India.

Audi, this year, would add three showrooms to its network of 42 showrooms, at present, in the country, he said, adding that the company has "identified the locations".

He further said the company has 90 touch points and they would continue to grow. "We would add another 15 per cent in it (touch points) this year. It would have used care facilities and service facilities," he said.

On company's growth in India, King said there is lot of potential as the premium luxury car segment contribute only one per cent in India while it is around 10 per cent in China.

"India is a strategic market for Audi for global prospective because we think that premium in India would grow at much higher percentage. We are positioning ourselves to have a sustainable, solid and profitable growth for a long term," he said. He, however said in India Audi has 33 per cent market share in the premium segment.

"I think that numbers may change here and there. I think positively. We want to keep growing and we have been able to do that...As long as we take care of our new customers, the numbers would be there where they are. January has started well," King said.

When asked whether Audi would catch up its German rival Mercedes in sales this year, King said: "I think that would be our expectation".

Audi reported sales of 11,192 units in India for 2015 with 3.14 per cent growth over the previous year. Mercedes- Benz sold 13,502 units in India last year.

On India leapfrogging to BS VI emission norms directly from BS IV by April 2020, Head of Sales Overseas AUDI AG Terence Bryce Johnsson said its a big step forward.

"It's a great way to go and ultimately the consumer would be benefited. We waste a lot of money on maintaining and developing engine for variety of standards around the world. The more we can simplify and quicker we can bring the emission to the best level of technology, then we have better environmental conditions for the consumers. I think its a great move," he said.

In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government has decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS-V altogether.
Australia's highest court today opened the way for hundreds of asylum-seekers to be transferred to a remote Pacific outpost, including women allegedly sexually assaulted there, when it dismissed a challenge to a hardline immigration policy.

The High Court case was brought by a Bangladeshi woman who arrived on an unauthorised boat and was dispatched to the tiny island republic of Nauru before being brought to Australia for urgent medical treatment during a pregnancy.

She sought a declaration that Australia's conduct in sending her to Nauru was unlawful in a challenge seen as a test case for more than 260 asylum-seekers, including 37 babies born in Australia and 54 other children, lawyers said.

But the High Court ruled six to one that the Australian government's arrangements for offshore detention on Nauru did not breach Australian law.

Canberra's hardline immigration policy ensures that asylum-seekers arriving in Australia by boat are sent to Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Even if the detainees are subsequently found to be genuine refugees they are denied resettlement in Australia -- a policy which has drawn international criticism.

The Human Rights Law Centre, which brought the case for the woman, said the mother and her husband -- with a one-year-old baby -- were now terrified of being sent back to Nauru where some 537 asylum-seekers are currently housed. A further 922 men are held on PNG's Manus Island.

"The legality is one thing, the morality is another," said the centre's Daniel Webb.

Webb said that among the group at risk of being transferred to Nauru were women who had allegedly been sexually assaulted on the island as well as 37 babies born in Australia.

"Ripping kids out of primary school and sending them to be indefinitely warehoused on a tiny remote island is wrong," he added.

Webb would not comment on the case of a five-year-old boy who was reportedly brought to Australia after being sexually assaulted on Nauru.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he was seeking more information on that case, but stressed it would be considered compassionately.

"We are not going to send kids into harm's way," the minister told Sky .

"But we are saying very firmly that if you don't have a legitimate claim for refuge in Australia then we want to help you go back to your country of origin."



Australia has long defended its hardline policy, saying it has prevented the deaths of asylum-seekers at sea and secured its borders.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today expressed grief over the demise of veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, who passed away at New Delhi this morning.

In a condolence message, Badal said the nation has lost a balanced and an experienced leader, who was an ardent exponent of clean and value based politics, besides being an icon of farming community, who ever championed their cause at the highest pedestal.

He said Chaudhary Balram Jakhar was a seasoned politician, an able administrator, a true Parliamentarian and above all a fine human being with the rare qualities of head and heart, who served the country in various capacities.

Describing death of former Union Minister as a colossal loss to the country in general and a huge 'personal loss' particularly, Badal recalled his warm and cordial ties with the Jakhar family since long, which were still persistent even in the second generation.

Punjab Chief Minister also called up Congress MLA and son of departed leader Sunil Jakhar over telephone to share his heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved family on the death of one of the greatest sons of soil.

Badal also declared a holiday in all the government offices, boards/ corporations, public sector undertakings for the rest of the day as a mark of respect to the departed leader and directed the state administration to accord full state honours during Balram Jakhar's cremation.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in his condolence message described Balram Jakhar as a seasoned parliamentarian and a true and committed leader of farmers who raised his voice in the support of the poor throughout his life.

Chaudhary Balram Jakhar was elected as MLA to the state assembly in 1972 and remained Deputy Minister of Cooperation, Irrigation and Power.

In 1977 he became the leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha during which he was accorded Cabinet rank by the then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

He was elected Member Parliament (MP) from Ferozepur in 1980 after which he was elected as Lok Sabha Speaker which he continued till 1989, after his election from Sikar (Rajasthan) in 1985.
A right-wing organisation today demanded permission for performing 'puja' "from dawn to dusk" at Bhojshala monument in Dhar district on February 12, days after the ASI issued an order mentioning the schedule for Hindus and Muslims for paying their obeisance.

The ASI order has allowed Muslims to offer prayers at the structure between 1-3 PM and Hindus to perform puja from sunrise to 12 noon and from 3.30 PM to sunset on Basant Panchmi which is falling on a Friday.

"We demand that we should be granted the permission to offer 'puja' from dawn to dusk continuously on 'Basant Panchami'. Maintaining law and order in Dhar is a responsibility of state government. It was not binding on government to follow the order of ASI," 'Bhoj Ustav Samiti' convener Vijay Singh Rathore told PTI.

Basant Panchmi is the Hindu festival that highlights the coming of spring.

ASI is responsible only for the protection of the monument and is not empowered to pass a "diktat" on the worship schedule, he said.

"If government wants a permanent solution to the issue, it should, with determination, take a proper step before time regarding the 'puja' on February 12," Rathore said.

Tension has been brewing in the district since last one month in run-up to the festival as members of both the communities could not arrive at a mutually agreeable solution over paying obeisance as per their respective faith at the protected archaeological structure.

Hindus consider Bhojshala as the temple of Goddess Waghdevi (Saraswati), whereas Muslims treat it as Kamal Moula mosque.

According to the ASI order, "In the ancient protected monument Bhojshala/Kamal Moula Mosque, both puja and namaz will take place on February 12, Basant Panchmi festival. The order is effective for that day only."



In the past too, tension had prevailed in Dhar city whenever 'Basant Panchmi' festival fell on a Friday and once it forced the administration to impose a curfew to conduct namaz at the designated time.

As per the order, issued by ASI Director General Rakesh Tiwari on January 20, "Hindus will perform puja from sunrise to 12 noon and from 3.30 PM to sunset on the day of the festival, while Muslims will offer namaz between 1-3 PM".

Entry in the Bhojshala premises will be free for both communities on 'Basant Panchmi'.

In the normal course, Hindus are allowed to perform puja on Tuesdays and Muslims offer namaz on Fridays. The structure is open to all on rest of days.
Demanding CENVAT exemption for 5-star and inverter ACs in the Union Budget, a top official of air-conditioner maker Blue Star today said such a move by the Union Finance Ministry will help people shift to eco-friendly ACs.

"It is in the interest of the government to exempt tax because with more people buying inverter and 5 star ACs, power requirement will go down and so will pollution," Blue Star Executive Director B Thiagarajan told reporters here.

He said cost of such ACs were high and if the volume went up, prices would go down by 30 to 50 per cent.

"The issue is with affordability. People should be able to buy them. Right now in India, only 10 per cent market is of inverters, while in China it is 75 per cent," the official said.

Another point he raised was of foreign brands competing with Indian companies.

"How will the domestic market grow? For 'Make in India' our products have to be cheaper, otherwise we will not be able to compete with China," Thiagarajan said.

The company estimates that the AC market would grow by 15 per cent in the coming fiscal and their own market share would increase to 12 per cent from 10.5 per cent.

For Blue Star, their 50 per cent of sales comes from tier three, four and five cities and towns.

"In northern India, our market share is 7.5 per cent. It is because it is a very price sensitive market, demand for windows ACs and weak distribution network. Now we are increasing our focus in the north," he said adding they want to be the number one player in the inverter segment in India.
A British peer who disappeared over 40 years ago after his children's nanny was found dead in his London home was officially declared dead by a UK court today.

Lord Lucan, who is also believed to have escaped to India and lived a "Jungle Barry" in Goa - among many conspiracy theories linked with his disappearance in 1974 - was finally granted a death certificate under the UK's Presumption of Death Act which came into effect in 2014.

The court application had been made by his son, George Bingham, so he could inherit his father's title as 8th Earl of Lucan. The title could not have passed on until a death certificate was issued.

Justice Asplin said in her ruling: "I consider it a straightforward matter that the court must make the declaration that is sought in this case. I am happy to make that order".

"I am very happy with the judgment of the court in this matter. It has been a very long time coming," George Bingham said outside the court.

Lucan had disappeared after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered on November 7, 1974.

Bingham's application for a death certificate had faced opposition from Rivett's son, Neil Berriman.

However, that opposition was withdrawn giving way to today's decision, which Berriman described as "closure".

Lucan's car was found abandoned and soaked in blood at Newhaven in East Sussex, around 65 miles south of London, days after the nanny's murder and an inquest jury had declared him her killer a year later.

The mystery of the wealthy peer's vanishing act has triggered years of speculation.

Even though he was officially declared dead in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, besides India.

There is one theory that he committed suicide by drowning in the English Channel soon after his disappearance.

Lucan would be 81 if he were still alive today.
The Union Cabinet today approved the creation of a supernumerary post in the rank of air marshal in the Indian Air Force for 17 months which will enable a senior officer to get promoted after being overlooked earlier.

The period of seventeen months is from December 1, 2014 to April 30, 2016 and the decision has been taken following an order by the Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), New Delhi.

The decision will enable the Defence Ministry to seek approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet for granting promotion to Air Vice Marshal Sanjay Sharma in accordance with the proceedings of Review Special Promotion Board-2014, as directed by the Armed Forces Tribunal.

After the sanction and subsequent to approval of the Review Special promotion Board-2014 by the ACC, Sanjay Sharma will be considered for promotion to the rank of Air Marshal retrospectively with effect from December 1, 2014.

Sharma had approached the Tribunal alleging that his annual reports were moderated and thereby brought down in merit vis-a-vis other officers considered for promotion.

He claimed Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, who in December 2013 chaired the Special Promotion Board for the year 2014-15, had differences with him on official matters.

The Bench had last year directed the Defence Ministry and the Air Force to reconsider the petitioner's case for promotion after deleting the review carried out by the Senior Reviewing Officer.

It had said that in case Sharma makes the grade, he would be deemed to have been promoted to the rank of Air Marshal in the relevant Board and will be entitled to all consequential service benefits.
California's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the company behind a massive natural gas leak near Los Angeles that has forced thousands to leave their homes.

The suit, made public yesterday, alleges that Southern California Gas Company violated state health and safety laws by failing to promptly contain the leak that was detected in October, and to report it to authorities.

"The impact of this unprecedented gas leak is devastating to families in our state, our environment, and our efforts to combat global warming," Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement.

"Southern California Gas Company must be held accountable."



Harris added that the methane spewing from a broken pipeline at the company's Aliso Canyon facility in Porter Ranch would severely impact California's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The leak, the biggest in California's history, has forced nearly 4,500 families living in the affluent Porter Ranch area to relocate, while some 1,200 additional households are in the process of doing so.

Repeated efforts to stop the leak by pumping liquid and mud down the stricken well have failed, and the gas company is drilling a relief well to intercept and plug the damaged well.

The operation is expected to take until late February or March.

The lawsuit filed by the attorney general seeks unspecified civil penalties and follows similar action taken in December by the Los Angeles city attorney.

Many Porter Ranch residents have also joined a class action suit against the gas company.
British Prime Minister David Cameron urged MPs today to unite behind his drive to agree a series of European Union reforms at a Brussels summit next month ahead of Britain's EU membership referendum.

"Let's fight this together," Cameron said as he defended a series of draft proposals put forward by the European Council president yesterday that have angered eurosceptics from his own Conservative Party.

"I do believe that with these draft texts... Britain is getting closer to the decision point," he said in a parliamentary debate on the issue.

Cameron did not give a timing for the referendum but, asked about June 23 -- which has been mooted in British newspaper reports --he said the date would not be too soon after regional elections planned for May 5.

The British leader was responding to a joint letter from the first ministers of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales asking for the referendum not to be held in June because of their own elections in May.

He faced criticism from leading eurosceptic MPs including John Redwood and Bill Cash, as well as London mayor Boris Johnson -- a political ally who has expressed doubt on the proposals from Brussels.

"We've got a lot more to do on this," Johnson told SkyNews ahead of the debate



"The prime minister is making the best of a bad job. Let's wait and see when this whole thing is agreed and try and see what it really means. Every bit of it," he said.

Cameron said the proposals, which cover sovereignty powers of EU member states, protection for non-eurozone states and curbs on welfare payments for EU workers, were "the strongest package we've ever had."



"I believe we are making real progress in all four areas, but the process is far from over. There are details still to be pinned down," he added.

"The question is not could Britain succeed outside the European Union. It's how we would be most successful," he said.
Faced with a shortage of affordable housing, Canada today said that it is considering putting Syrian refugees up at military bases.

Canada has welcomed 15,685 Syrian refugees from UN camps in the Middle East since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were sworn in last November, and expects to take in 10,000 more this month.

But several Canadian cities have asked for a break in the large influx of asylum seekers until they find suitable accommodations for the new arrivals.

Immigration Minister John McCallum described the housing problem as "significant, but manageable."



He said the other cities and towns have stepped up to fill a part of the gap, while several real estate developers offered their rental or condo units for use.

As a last resort, McCallum said, two military bases in Kingston, Ontario and Valcartier, Quebec stand ready to take in refugees.

"We have not stopped (nor) slowed down at all in the arrival of (refugees) at the airports. They're still arriving in large numbers as scheduled," McCallum told a press briefing.

"To the extent that we're unable to settle those who keep coming in large numbers quickly enough, we may have to recourse to the military bases and that was always a part of the plan," McCallum told a press briefing.

"I think, the fact we have not yet needed them is perhaps a good sign. But we are quite likely to need them before the exercise is completed," he added.

The Canadian military has made 6,000 beds available to accomodate the refugees.
Farmer unions, including BKS, today demanded that the Environment Ministry cancel the meeting of the regulatory body GEAC scheduled for February 5 to discuss the much-debated genetically modified (GM) mustard seed.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)had met once last month to hear views of the technology developer Deepak Pental, a scientist at the Delhi University.

The Environment Ministry has received a proposal for commercial cultivation of a GM hybrid variety of the mustard plant developed by the university's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP).

"Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar is allowing GEAC to hold its meeting to process the GM mustard application on Friday (February 5). It makes us wonder what and wherefrom is the need and pressure emerging from," said a joint statement issued by 13 farmers unions.

They said the meeting has been scheduled despite opposition to the GM mustard by major crop-growing states, including BJP-rules ones, it said.

"They (states) have also expressed concern about the secretive processes adopted by the regulators and for not putting out bio-safety data in the public domain. The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre's regulators on a contempt petition," the joint statement added.

They demanded that the secret meeting of the regulator be cancelled immediately by the minister.

Farmers' unions included Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), All India Kisan Sabha, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), Telangana Rythu Sangham, Tamil Nadu Farmers Association and All India Krantikari Kisan Sabha, among others.

They held that the developers of GM mustard hold several patents relating to the product and are free to sell these IPRs to any large corporation.

"There is also the question of native seed varieties being contaminated by GM mustard. Foreign genes related to male sterility and herbicide tolerance will then affect the crop of non-GM growers also," the statement said.

They argued that there are many farmers in North India who take up bee-keeping, along with mustard cultivation, and scientific evidence on GM mustard shows that bee population would get affected too. This would "lead to losses in both mustard and honey production for these farmers".

The unions also complained that while there are many extant farmers' varieties waiting to be registered with the Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers Rights Authority, public and private sector varieties are being prioritised for the purpose.
A cattle trader was shot dead by unidentified miscreants at Kharta village under Kairo police station of Lohardaga district, police today said.

The victim was identified as Bullu Sahu, a resident of Sathawe village, was a cattle trader.

Soon after he returned from a weekly market in Bhandara, Sahu left home informing the family members that he had to pay Rs.35,000 to someone last night but did not return, police said.

However, the body of Sahu was found in a ditch, which the local residents also identified.
A special CBI court in Lucknow has convicted three persons for smuggling huge quantities of fake Indian currency notes and sentenced them to undergo seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

The court has convicted Gulshan Jahan, Imrana and Mohammed Rashid for possession of fake currency to the tune of Rs 8 lakh and sentenced them to undergo seven years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs. 1.30 lakh each, CBI Press Information Officer R K Gaur said today.

He said the agency had registered a case against the said accused persons alleging that some residents of district Malda (West Bengal), were smuggling huge quantities of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) from neighbouring Bangladesh and the said FICN was to be supplied to Gulshan Jahan resident of Tanda, Rampur.

It was alleged that she was involved in its circulation and onward delivery to unknown persons at Rampur and Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh).

"CBI conducted raids which led to recovery of Rs three lakh (approx) from the possession of Gulshan Jahan; three lakh from Imrana resident Moradabad and Rs two lakh from the possession of Mohd. Rashid resident Rampur, when they were intercepted at platform of Lucknow Railway Station," he said.

Gaur said FICNs in denomination of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 recovered from the said accused persons were seized.

"During interrogation, they had admitted incriminating facts regarding the involvement of other co-accused persons and they had brought the seized FICNs from Malda against the exchange of original currency notes of Rs. 3.44 lakh (approx) at the rate of Rs 43,000 for one lakh, for further circulation and onward delivery of the same to some unknown person at Rampur," he said.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the central government will contribute Rs 1 lakh crore in next two years for road development in Karnataka.

"For road development in Karnataka, from our side, we will contribute Rs 1 lakh crore in next two years," he said at the three-day long Global Investors Meet--Invest Karnataka-2016, which was inaugurated here.

"..We have also decided to expand the capacity of New Mangaluru Port with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore," he said.

Earlier, the meet was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Unfazed by allegations against him in the solar scam, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today challenged opposition parties to prove the charges against him and said he will quit public life "if there is one per cent truth" in the allegations.

"Truth will come out. People of the state will know what really happened," he told reporters here after a cabinet meeting.

"I will quit public life, if there is one per cent truth in the allegations," he said.

Terming as 'undemocratic' the CPI(M)-led LDF's move to attack the government in the Assembly over the allegations, Chandy said, "Opposition has become nervous due to the popularity of the five-year rule of the UDF and there is no threat to the government."



Hitting out at the LDF for taking up charges levelled by Saritha S Nair, prime accused in the solar case, Chandy said, "Those who go after the charges made by a person with no credibility will only disgrace themselves."



Chandy said the government would soon take a decision on conducting a probe into the conspiracy behind the charges levelled by the solar accused against him and others.

Saritha, deposing before the Justice Sivarajan Commission, had alleged that bribe of Rs 1.90 crore had been paid to a close aide of Chandy and Rs 40 lakh to Power Minister Arayadan Mohammed for helping her 'Team Solar Company'. Both have denied the allegations.

Chandy maintained that the state has not incurred even a rupee's loss due to the scam and that no undue concession had been given to the Team solar company. Government took all legal steps to bring before law the culprits behind the fraud after it came to light, he asserted.

Chandy also flayed CPI(M) on the attack on former diplomat and state higher education council vice-chairman T P Sreenivasan by activists of that party's students wing SFI, and said, "CPI(M) will have to pay heavy price for that."



On the charge that two Congress leaders Benny Behanan, MLA, and Thampanoor Ravi, both CM's confidants, had tried to influence Saritha, Chandy said, "The matter is before the Commission. Let it take a decision. Not only that, both leaders have reacted to the charge of Saritha."



Saritha had produced an audio tape containing telephone conversation purportedly between the two leaders and her on the issue.

Meanwhile, LDF leaders met Governor Justice P Sathasivam



and urged him not to deliver the customary policy address of the government in the House in the wake of solar and bar bribery scams rocking the government.

In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, LDF said, "We painfully submit that this state has never in the past passed through such deplorable situation of legal and moral breakdown."



Talking to reporters after meeting the Governor, Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said they asked the Governor not to deliver the policy address.

The session commences on February 5.
China's Foreign Ministry today called for all sides to show restraint over North Korea's announcement that it plans to launch a rocket in defiance of UN sanctions.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also expressed skepticism over calls by the US for tough new sanctions against North Korea over its January 6 nuclear test.

"We hope all sides show restraint and take prudent action to avoid any moves that may increase the tensions on the (Korean) Peninsula," Lu told reporters at a regularly scheduled briefing.

Lu's comments come as US diplomats are urging China to use its political and economic influence with North Korea to compel it to stop such actions.

China has pushed back against US calls for tougher sanctions. Foreign Minister Wang Yi argued during a visit last week by US Secretary of State John Kerry that sanctions are not an end unto themselves and any new UN resolution should not provoke new tensions.

Maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is the shared responsibility and common interest of all parties, Lu said.

"China will engage in contact and coordination with each related side, and play a constructive role in maintaining the peace and stability of the peninsula and this region," he said.

North Korea's announcement came during a visit to Pyongyang by China's top envoy to North Korea, Wu Dawei. That could be seen as a snub to Beijing, North Korea's most important ally which, nevertheless, has been unable to restrain Pyongyang's actions.

Lu said only that Wu was in Pyongyang for the purpose of "exchanging views with the North Korea side over the current situation of the Korean Peninsula.
China has proposed to set up a major trade centre worth around USD 450 million here for exporting Chinese goods to the South Asian markets including India besides converting the Nepalese capital into an international business hub, according to a media report today.

The proposed town, spreading over 100 hectares of land, will house hotels, restaurants, a hospital, an orphanage, a swimming pool and factories as well as residential complex.

Under the proposal submitted by Shenzhen's Association for Regional Economic Cooperation, a China town will be established here within two years from where Chinese goods can be exported to markets of South Asian countries including Nepal and India, Nepal's Nagarik News, a national daily, reported today.

The cost of the project is estimated to be around three billion Yuan (USD 450 million), or 50 billion Nepalese Rupees.

The proposal was forwarded by Shenzhen province of China last week to Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation for approval.

"China's Shenzhen province has sister-city relationship with Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation. With the establishment of the China town, India's vast market will be open for Chinese goods via Nepal. This will also help promote trade and business for Nepal," Administrative Chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation Rudra Singh Tamang said.

As per the plan, goods aimed for home use as well as industrial purposes will be manufactured in the industrial town. The complex is designed mainly to have easy access of India's huge market for Chinese goods. China's export quality goods will also be available in the town, the report said.

"We are studying the proposal and the matter will be decided after consulting with the concerned government body," Tamang said.

Both Nepal and China will have to enter into an official cooperation agreement before starting the project. As per the plan, the business-cum-industrial complex will be established within 15 km distance from the centre of Kathmandu.

Currently, daily 1,500 to 2,000 Nepalese youths leave the country in search of foreign jobs. The construction of the project also aims to arrest the trend of Nepalese youths going abroad in search of lucrative jobs, the report said.
A court in western China has reduced the sentences of 11 Uighurs convicted of terrorism and endangering state security, including a naturalised Canadian preacher whose life term had been sharply criticised by Ottawa.

The official Xinhua Agency characterised the sentence reductions for the Uighurs at Xinjiang's First Prison as a sign that authorities in the restive western region were making progress de-radicalising Islamist militants and separatists using a softer touch.

The rare move of clemency, announced after the prisoners took courses and repented their crimes last week, comes at a time when the Chinese government is tightening its grip over the region, expanding its security campaign and ordering cultural assimilation projects and religious restrictions that members of the Turkic-speaking Uighur minority have deemed oppressive.

Among the 11 prisoners with reduced terms is Huseyin Celil, a preacher from Ontario whose life sentence in 2007 sparked a diplomatic row between China and Canada. After fleeing China and gaining refugee status in 2000, Celil lived in Canada until he was arrested in Uzbekistan and extradited to China.

China refused to recognise his Canadian citizenship and convicted him of organising on behalf of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement militant group.

Aside from the reduction of life sentences to fixed terms, four prisoners, including a man convicted of contacting the ETIP and the Taliban to set up training bases in Afghanistan, saw their lengthy prison terms reduced to six months, Xinhua said in a report on Monday.

The new duration of Huseyin Celil's sentence has not been announced, said San Francisco-based activist John Kamm, who has pressed for Celil's release on behalf of the Canadian government since 2009.

But Kamm lauded the decision, telling The Associated Press today that commuting Celil's sentence represented "a step in the right direction" and should prompt other Xinjiang prisons to consider mass clemency.

The Canadian Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress exile group, called the commutations a "political propaganda tool" meant to divert attention from Beijing's repressive policies.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar have expressed grief over the demise of veteran Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar.

"Dr Jakhar had maintained high democratic values in his long life and his tenure as Madhya Pradesh Governor will always remain memorable," Chouhan wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.

"The death of former Governor is an irreparable loss to the country. We have lost a farmer's messiah and a true leader in him," Chouhan further said.

Tomar, Minister for Steel and Mines, said "Dr Jakhar in his capacity as Lok Sabha Speaker, Madhya Pradesh Governor and Member of Parliament had taken long lasting steps for raising their stature,".

Jakhar also served as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed to the establishment of Parliament Museum.

The veteran Congress leader passed away in New Delhi today at the age of 92.

Jakhar had served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009.
Maharashtra Congress has demanded "immediate resignation" of Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena leader Snehal Ambekar over the fire at the Deonar dumping ground.

"While Mumbai was grappling with a catastrophic tragedy, the Mayor (Ambekar) was busy blowing up tax payers money on a junket. This is the height of irresponsibility, after the citizens were already a victim of mis-governance and corruption of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria said.

"We demand that she (Ambekar) should step down from the Mayor's post claiming moral responsibility for not being there when Mumbaikars were suffering due to the ill-effects of smog caused by the Deonar fire incident," he said.

"Ambekar's term as Mumbai Mayor is the one loaded with mis-governance and corruption," he alleged.

Meanwhile, Yashodhar Phanse, Shiv Sena corporator and BMC's standing committee chairman termed the Congress demanding mayor's resignation as a "publicity stunt".

He demanded that the Congress corporators should instead resign for not visiting the dumping ground even when they were in the city.

"Our trip (to Andaman-Nicobar) was pre-planned. But, as soon as the mayor and (Shiv) Sena corporators came back from the trip, we were on the ground helping people.

"But, the Opposition was not a part of the trip. They should answer why did they not visit the site and help people instead of indulging in publicity stunts? We want the Congress corporators to resign for being insensitive towards the plight of the people," Phanse said.

Eleven corporators from the BMC's Standing Committee and 22 from the the Public Works Committee along with the Mayor had been on an all-expenses-paid tour, from January 28 to February 1 to the Andaman Nicobar islands to 'study their water-storage facilities and drainage system'.

Parts of the megapolis have been engulfed in a thick blanket of smog since Thursday due to the fire and other reasons, including a drop in temperature and vehicular pollution.

Power is shared by the Shiv Sena and BJP in the Mumbai civic body.
Congress MP Vincent H Pala today urged Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan to request the Centre for speeding-up examining of the VAB (Village Administration Bill), which seeks to empower traditional village headmen.

Pala has also sought the Governor's support and cooperation towards development of the state in term of air and railway infrastructure and connectivity.

"I had requested him (governor) to urge the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at his level to speed up the process of examining the KHAD (Village Administration) Bill, 2015, passed by the KHADC," Pala told PTI after calling on the governor in the evening.

"He (governor) had informed that he had sent the bill, that was aimed to empower the traditional village chief, to the MHA and now waiting for the ministry to return it back."



Stating that the matter is not in Governor's hand at the moment, Pala informed that earlier at his level, he had also taken the initiative to meet the officials of the ministry on the matter.

When asked, the MP said that he had also discussed on issues relating to development of airport in the state.

"I have requested for his cooperation towards development of air connectivity in the state," he said.

Sharing the views of the governor, Pala said, "He had expressed that air and railway connectivity in the state is very much needed and it is high time people of the state realize the importance of welcoming such development.
Congress today targeted BJP alleging poor implementation of MGNREGA under the NDA dispensation even as it lauded party vice president Rahul Gandhi for taking efforts to make the rural job scheme launched by the erstwhile UPA government a "nation-wide" programme.

"The scheme has been languishing as employment rate has come down to half ever since the Narendra Modi government has assumed office. We had ensured minimum 100 days of employment for poor every year but the number has come down to 39 days now," AICC spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

Surjewala made the remarks during a meeting organised by party's Delhi unit to celebrate 10th anniversary of the programme.

The meeting was also attended by Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, AICC in-charge of the state unit PC Chacko and other office-bearers.

Surjewala said that initially MGNREGA was launched in 200 most backward districts and in the second phase, it was implemented in 130 additional districts in 2007-2008.

"But the scheme was introduced in all districts of the country on April 1, 2008 on the suggestion of Gandhi," he said.

Maken called MGNREGA the "world's first and largest" social security scheme which helped make a dent on poverty in rural areas.

He also slammed BJP for opposing the scheme initially but allegedly seeking to claim credit for it.

The leaders also paid homage to senior Congress leader and former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jhakhar who passed away here today at the age of 92.

"Shri Jhakhar was one of the senior party leaders who spent his entire life in fighting to protect interest of farmers. In every sense, he was the protector of the farmers. In his death, Congress has lost one of the greatest patriots," Maken said in a message.
A judge has ordered Bill Cosby to attend a second deposition and respond to questions in a lawsuit filed in California by a woman accusing the comedian of sexually abusing in the 1970s when she was underage.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D Karlan ordered Cosby to attend the half-day deposition and pay the costs of conducting the second round of sworn testimony.

Cosby must provide a valid legal objection to any questions he refuses to answer, including invoking his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination, Karlan said.

The ruling came as Cosby fights bicoastal legal battles. He appeared yesterday in a Pennsylvania courtroom where his lawyers sought a dismissal of criminal charges against him. In Santa Monica, California, his lawyers argued that he shouldn't have to sit for another deposition in the civil case.

Another legal case was dropped yesterday when model Chloe Goins stopped her federal lawsuit accusing Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. No explanation for the dismissal was given and her attorney did not return an email message seeking comment.

The upcoming deposition involves a lawsuit by Riverside County resident Judy Huth, who claims the comedian forced her to perform a sex act on him at the Playboy Mansion in the early 1970s when she was 15.

Cosby's lawyers have denied her accusation and accused her former attorney of attempting to extort the comedian.

It is unclear what questions Cosby refused to answer when he was deposed in October. Karlan has sealed court filings describing the October deposition and conducted part of yesterday's hearing in chambers.

Huth's current attorney, Gloria Allred, said after the ruling that she felt vindicated in seeking more sworn testimony from Cosby, but she would not elaborate on what answers she was seeking.

Huth was recently deposed in the case, and Cosby's lawyers say they will bring a similar motion to compel more answers from her.

Karlan ordered Cosby's second deposition to occur by the end of February. His attorney, Randa Osman, said it would be a hardship for the 78-year-old to travel to Los Angeles for the session. He was previously deposed in Boston.
A Delhi court has denied bail to two persons, including an army personnel, arrested for allegedly supplying sensitive documents to Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.

The court dismissed the bail applications of former army personnel Munawwar Ahmad Mir and Farid Ahmad, who was serving as constable in 17, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry division of the army.

"Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and gravity of offence, role of accused persons and modus operandi adopted in commission of crime and pending investigation, no ground for grant of bail is made out. Hence, bail applications of accused are dismissed," Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal said.

Munawwar and Farid had sought bail claiming that they have been falsely implicated in the case. Munawwar and Farid said they are in custody since December 4 and 6, 2015 respectively and the probe was already complete and claimed that provisions of the Official Secret Act does not attract against them.

Crime Branch of Delhi Police opposed the bail pleas saying the investigation was still pending and the issue of national security was involved and the accused were active participants in the alleged offence.

Besides Munawwar and Farid, the other arrested accused in the case are BSF head constable Abdul Rasheed, Mohd Sabar, a teacher by profession, and Kafaitullah Khan alias Master Raja, a resident of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Police said Munawwar and Farid were allegedly involved in supplying information relating to country's national security to ISI and they were involved in anti-national activities.

Regarding Farid's role, the agency said he allegedly used to provide information to ISI in the form of CD and pen drive.

While Farid was arrested from Darjeeling in West Bengal, Munawwar and Sabar were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir.

Detailing the roles of the accused, the police had said Farid, whose unit is now posted in Darjeeling, had access to sensitive information when he was posted at Jammu and he was allegedly supplying the documents to ISI operatives through Kafaitullah.

The police also said that the other two accused were also in touch with Kafaitullah and they were supplying documents through e-mail.

Kafaitullah was arrested in connection with the case at New Delhi Railway Station while he was on his way from Jammu to Bhopal on November 26, 2015. Rasheed was arrested from Jammu on the basis of Kafaitullah's interrogation.

The police had earlier told the court that charges under Official Secrets Act have been slapped against all of them.
The resignation of Y S Dadwal as an advisor to the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh has been accepted.

Dadwal, appointed as advisor to the Governor J P Rajkhowa after imposition of President's rule in the state, had initially applied for leave due to health ground and it was granted by the Governor.

However, Dadwal changed his mind and sent his resignation letter to the Home Ministry and it was accepted by Rajnath Singh, Home Ministry spokesperson K S Dhatwalia said.

Earlier, a report from Itanagar said, quoting a statement of Arunachal Pradesh Raj Bhawan, that Dadwal has gone on leave for ten days on health grounds with permission to avail holidays for another four days as requested.

Dadwal, a former Commissioner of Delhi Police, was appointed on January 26 as advisor to the Governor.

B D Sharma, who recently retired as chief of SSB, has been appointed as advisor to the Governor in place of Dadwal.

G S Patnaik, an IAS officer of 1980 batch, who was appointed along with Dadwal, would continue to discharge his duties as advisor to the Governor.

The Centre brought the state under President Rule on January 26 and kept the Assembly under suspended animation after more than a month of political turmoil and in the midst of a raging battle in the Supreme Court.
A Chinese province with a large Tibetan population has ordered shopkeepers to hand in portraits of the Dalai Lama, state-run media said today, quoting Beijing experts likening the Nobel laureate to executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sichuan in the southwest, which includes several ethnically Tibetan areas, set up a "law enforcement squad" of cultural bureau personnel, police and other officials to enforce the drive, reported the Global Times, which is close to the ruling Communist party.

The aim was to "crack down on pornography and illegal publications, which include portraits of the Dalai Lama" ahead of the Lunar New Year, it quoted Gou Yadong, director of the provincial publicity department, as saying.

People were more than welcome to put on show pictures of the country's past and present leaders, he added, referring to former heads of the ruling party.

The Global Times also cited Lian Xiangmin, of the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing, as saying that for Chinese people, hanging his picture was the same as displaying Saddam Hussein's image would be for Americans.

The former Iraqi leader was executed in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity, while the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace prize.

The move in Sichuan comes as Beijing steps up a campaign against the spiritual leader, who is still widely revered by Tibetans.

Beijing brands him a dangerous separatist, despite his repeated statements condemning violence, and in Tibet it tightly controls images of him as part of what many Tibetans see as official repression of their religion and culture.

China denies repression of minorities and says its massive investment in Tibet has brought development to a formerly poverty stricken region.

Some Tibetan areas in Sichuan had seen laxer enforcement in recent years, with business owners displaying his portrait in shops.

"At present the two sides have reached a roadmap to find a



solution based on political parameters and guiding principles. They have also reached the important consensus that they are committed to an equitable, reasonable solution acceptable to the two sides," he said.

"China would like to work with India to work relentlessly onnegotiation process and find a solution that is equitable, reasonable to all parties," Geng said.

Last year China also protested the visit of then American Ambassador to India, Richard Verma to the area.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

While China claims Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet, India asserts that the dispute covered Aksai Chin area which was occupied by China during 1962 war.
Danish prosecutors charged four men today with assisting terrorism for allegedly helping a lone gunman who last year killed two people in attacks in Copenhagen.

Justice Minister Soeren Pind said the men were charged with assisting Omar El-Hussein with the killing of a Jewish security guard outside Copenhagen's main synagogue on February 15 with a handgun.

Prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas said the men were charged with assisting someone to commit a terrorism act. She said in a statement that the charges relate to the "terror murder of Dan Uzan" and the attempted murder of two police officers posted outside the synagogue.

She said she believes the men provided "various forms of assistance" in the hours after El-Hussein's first attack on February 14 on a free speech event where he killed a Danish filmmaker, and "encouraged him to commit the attack by the synagogue and thus contributed to terrorism."



The four were not charged with assisting the February 14 crime.

Pind said today the trial was set to start March 10. If found guilty, the men who cannot be named under a court order, face up to six years in jail.

Defense lawyer Michael Juul Eriksen said his four clients have pleaded not guilty.

El-Hussein was killed during a shoot-out with police on February 15.

It has never been established whether El-Hussein, whose parents were Palestinian, had been radicalized, although in September 2014 prison authorities warned the Danish security agency that he was "at risk of radicalization."



The 22-year-old had served time for a stabbing on a Copenhagen commuter train before the shooting.
Infrastructure firm Dilip Buildcon has once again approached market regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offer (IPO) for various corporate requirements, including repayment of loans.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares aggregating up to Rs 430 crore and offer for sale of 11.36 lakh shares held by its promoters -- Dilip Suryavanshi and Devendra Jain -- and private equity fund BanyanTree Growth Capital, according to its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

In March last year, the company had filed draft papers with the regulator in order to raise Rs 650 crore through an IPO.

It had received approval from Sebi in June 2015, but the company decided to withdraw the DRHP last month and file fresh papers. It, however, didn't disclose the reasons for the withdrawal.

"... The company recorded a resolution at the board meeting held on January 23, 2016, and has decided to file a fresh DRHP with Sebi in order to raise funds through IPO by fresh issue of shares amounting to Rs 4,300 million (Rs 430 crore," the company said.

The funds from the IPO, Dilip Buildcon said, will be used for repayment and pre-payment of certain portion of term loans to meet working capital requirements and other corporate purposes.

It's one of the leading private sector road-focused EPC contractors in India.

The company has completed construction of 51 road projects in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Also, it has expanded its presence to nine more states -- Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Axis Capital Ltd, IIFL Holdings, JM Financial Institutional Securities and PNB Investment Services are the book running lead managers to the issue. Link Intime India Private Ltd is the registrar to the issue.

The company has received 'in-principle' approval from BSE and NSE for the listing of the shares, the draft document said.

In 2016, so far a total of five companies filed draft papers with the regulator to raise fresh money through IPO.

Among those filed are Advanced Enzyme Technologies, Ujjivan Financial Services and Thyrocare Technologies.

Thomas Cook backed Quess Corp has also approached Sebi for an IPO to mobilise Rs 400 crore.
Disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been appointed to the supervisory board of a bank owned by Ukraine's second-richest businessman Viktor Pinchuk.

Kiev's Kredit-Dnipro Bank said the decision to accept Strauss-Kahn and five others to the advisory body was taken on Monday and goes into immediate effect.

It added that Strauss-Kahn would serve as an independent committee member who does not represent shareholders' interests.

Pinchuk is the son-in-law of former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma and is believed to have holdings worth $1.43 billion (1.29 billion euros), according to Forbes magazine.

Strauss-Kahn led the International Monetary Fund from 2007 until his forced 2011 resignation over rape charges in a New York hotel.

The scandal derailed the Frenchman's presidential ambitions even though it was later dismissed in court.

Straus-Kahn made one of his first post-resignation public appearances in Kiev when he spoke to students on the personal invitation of Pinchuk.
International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organisers of tomorrow's annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater generosity this time around, despite a record request of close to USD 9 billion for 2016.

The expectations are partly based on the reframing of the aid debate over the past year, following the chaotic migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe.

Donor countries trying to slow the influx would arguably serve their own interests as much as lofty principles of international solidarity if they give more and spend in smarter ways to improve refugees' lives and ease the burden on Middle Eastern host countries.

"I do think the European experience will have sharpened minds," Guy Ryder, head of the International Labor Organization, told The Associated Press while visiting Jordan, one of the struggling host countries. "And I don't think that's a bad thing if it leads to action (tomorrow), as I hope it will."



The stark reality of a drawn-out conflict requiring more ambitious long-term aid plans has also sunk in.

Fighting between Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and those trying to topple him has only intensified over the past year, and the latest long-shot attempt at UN-brokered peace talks got off to an acrimonious start in Geneva over the weekend.

Attempts to broker a cease-fire and political transition deal for Syria are further complicated by the involvement of world and regional powers facing off on opposite sides of the conflict.

Tomorrow's donor conference, to be held in London, is co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations. World leaders and representatives of dozens of countries have been invited, along with officials from international organisations, aid agencies and civic groups.

The total aid requirement to be presented in London amounts to nearly USD 9 billion, including a UN-coordinated appeal by dozens of aid agencies for USD 7.73 billion and a USD 1.23 billion request by regional host governments.

The latter is a small portion of the massive economic support sought in the coming years by countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which host nearly 4.6 million Syrian refugees.
A 22-year-old Delhi University student was severely injured when a light stand came crashing down on a group of performers during a college festival here.

The incident happened yesterday, when a light stand collapsed on a group of stage performers during a fashion show at Deshbandhu college in south Delhi.

The victim, Utkarsh Dahiya, a BCom Programme student of Aurobindo college, was among those participating in a fashion show at the host college's annual fest 'Sabrang', when the incident occurred.

An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident. A 40-second video capturing the incident has gone viral.

"A case has been registered and the organisers are being questioned," said DCP (South-East) MS Randhawa.

According to Utkarsh's family, he has suffered serious nose injuries and is in the ICU at a private hospital in Noida.

"As soon as the accident took place, Utkarsh was rushed to a nearby hospital from where he was referred to Noida. He has suffered injuries to his nose bone and is in ICU at the moment," his uncle Sahdev Singh told PTI.

Meanwhile, the college authorities have claimed they did not arrange for the logistics for the programme and are looking into the matter.

"We had rushed the student to the hospital and informed police about the accident. We are also trying to find out how the accident took place. The college has no role in making logistical arrangements for the fest. We outsource the work for light and stage setup," Deshbandhu Principal Ajay Kumar Arora said.
Agitated over their recent results, Delhi University students today staged a protest against the relative grading system in undergraduate courses under the newly implemented Choice Based Credit Scheme (CBCS).

According to students, the new marking system does not take individual performances into account and grades are awarded on the basis of the average score of the class.

"When we are awarded absolute marks (in terms of percentage), we are aware of our performance. But when we are awarded grades that too relatively, there is no way a student can ascertain his performance," said Shreyasi Batra of Jesus and Mary College.

After the first semester results were out, it was found that under the relative grading system introduced in undergraduate courses, students will now have to score more than 100 per cent marks to get the top O (outstanding) grade in some subjects.

The examiners will now have to convert absolute marks into letter grades and grade points through a UGC-devised formula.

The Executive Council members of the varsity have also raised objections, saying the relative grading system was neither placed before the statutory bodies nor was it notified to the colleges before the results were declared.

A group of students, along with the members of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), today staged a demonstration in North Campus demanding re-evaluation of the current results and review of the new grading system.

The students also submitted a memorandum of demands in this regard to Dean of Students Welfare Gurpreet Tuteja who was not available for his comments on the issue.

The CBCS, which was mandated by UGC last year to be implemented by all varsities, was adopted by Delhi University after a series of confrontations with a section of teachers who argued the system was flawed and the students will end up being used as guinea pigs for the experiment.
As part of its expansion plans, online logistics firm The Porter is looking to foray into tier-II cities in the next six months.

The Mumbai-based company will utilise the USD 5.5 million fund it received from Sequoia Capital to expand business, Head Expansion at The Porter, Sadhanandhan N, said.

"Last year, we received funding of about USD 5.5 million from Sequoia (Capital) for expansion. Over the next six months we will be looking at expansion in tier-II cities like Coimbatore, Pune," he told PTI after launching its services here.

Chennai is the fifth launch pad for the company after serving customers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru.

In Chennai, the company has roped in 200 vehicles targeting 400 trips per day, he said.

The minimum charge for a Tata Ace vehicle will be Rs 250 for two km and Rs 18 will be charged per hour for transporting goods within Chennai, he added.

The firm has about 200 employees and around 800 vehicles connected to its platform.
The agitating MCD staff today refused to call off their strike even as the mayors of the north and east Delhi municipal corporations said they will accept the loan extended by the AAP government as a grant only.

"We do not want any loan. We want a permanent solution for timely payment of our salaries and other dues as well as unification of the three municipal corporations. Till these demands are met, we will continue the agitation," said Rajesh Mishra, president of United Front of Municipal Corporation Employees.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced extending a loan of Rs 551 crore to north and east Delhi municipal corporations facing financial crises to enable them pay salaries to their striking employees. He also announced release of Rs 142 crore of stamp duty to north corporation.

"The loan amount announced by Kejriwal is too little to solve the problem. The Central government should also come forward to end the crisis. We will continue our strike unless some concrete measure is taken to meet our demands," said Sanjay Gehlot, president of Swatantra Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukt Morcha.

The mayors of north and east Delhi said they will accept Rs 551 crore as a "grant" only because Delhi government is yet to pay Rs 3,000 crore to the municipal corporations under the Third Delhi Finance Commission.

"The loan being extended is blackmailing by Delhi government because East Delhi Municipal Corporation is not able to pay any interest. We will take it as a grant since we have not been paid as per the recommendations of the Third Delhi Finance Commission," said East Delhi Mayor Harshdeep Malhotra.

North Delhi Mayor Ravindra Gupta attacked Kejriwal for alleging financial bungling by the BJP-ruled MCDs.

"Payment of salaries of employees is our first priority. We will treat the loan offered by the government as a grant because it has failed to settle our dues," he added.

Gupta said he was not against a CBI probe into the functioning of the MCDs but an investigation should also be conducted into the allegations of graft against the AAP government.

A demonstration will be held at the Civic Centre and effigies of AAP and BJP will be torched tomorrow. Besides, a protest will also be staged in Geeta Colony, said the strikers' leaders.

The Commissioners of the east and north Delhi municipal corporations appealed to the striking employees to call off their protest in the interest of people of the city and said they are in the process of getting funds for their salaries till January.
French engineering firm Egis Group today said it has won a contract from Vindhyachal Expressway for operation and maintenance of a part of NH 7.

"The concession company VEPL has awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of the National Highway 7 to Egis for three years," the company said in a statement.

The work is on the highway's 73 km toll motorway connecting main city of Rewa and Hanumana town in Madhya Pradesh.

Under the contract, the Egis will collect toll, do route patrolling and incident management and routine maintenance of a section of the stretch (40 km) with one toll plaza of 6 lanes, it said.

Egis said in addition to the National Highway 7, it is in charge of the operation and maintenance of four other motorways -- NH 47 in Kerala (64 km), NH 93 in Uttar Pradesh (82 km), NH 8D in Gujarat (124 km) and the State Highway 1 in Telengana (72 km).

"This new operating contract strengthens the position of Egis to contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of India," it said.

The French firm operates on more than 2,400 km of motorways across the world, with 39 km of tunnels used by 1,200,000 vehicles on daily basis.

Egis also implements and operates the most modern electronic toll collection solutions -- toll systems, congestion charging, national per kilometre charging, interoperability solutions etc.

The group offers engineering, project structuring and operations services. In engineering and consulting, its sectors of activity include transport, urban development, building, industry, water, environment and energy.
Death sentences of 149 activists of the banned Muslim Brotherhood were revoked today by an Egyptian appeals court which also ordered a retrial in the case in which the defendants were accused of killing 13 policemen and attacking a police station in 2013.

The Muslim Brotherhood activists were accused of killing 11 policemen, attacking a police station in Kerdasa, torching police and private vehicles, possessing weapons among other charges in 2013 following the dispersal of Rabaa and Nahda Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins, which left many Islamists dead.

An appeals court ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which killed 11 policemen here on August 2013.

The initial ruling came in February 2015 amid a series of death sentences in mass trials that were criticised internationally.

The court had sentenced 149 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death and 34 others sentenced to death in absentia. The court also sentenced a child to ten years in prison, while two people were acquitted.

Seven people have been executed for political violence since ex-president Mohamed Morsi's ouster, including six who were convicted of belonging to an Islamist militant group.

Since Morsi's ouster, the Egyptian government has been cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters, which left thousands in jail, and hundreds facing trials on various charges.

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie and 100 other leaders were sentenced in June to death for escaping prison in 2011.

Badie and Morsi were also sentenced to life in prison in an espionage case.
The full bench of Election Commission arrived here today to review preparedness for the upcoming assembly election and will hold talks with top state officials and political leaders in this regard.

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and Election Commissioners A K Jyoti and Om Prakash Rawat will hold meetings with Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson, Director General of Police T P Senkumar, political leaders, district collectors and other officials tomorrow.

Polls are scheduled to be held in the state in two months time as the term of the present assembly ends in mid-May.
The Eastern Naval Command is all geared up to host the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Bay of Bengal off Visakhpatnam coast which begins tomorrow, a mega event that will witness participation from nearly 50 countries.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Vice Admiral Satish Soni said the command is fully prepared to conduct the four-day event with participation of foreign and Indian ships and foreign chief of the naval staffs from various countries.

Talking to reporters on Board INS Sumitra after the rehearsal of the IFR yesterday, the Vice Admiral said 50 countries have already confirmed their participation and 90 ships, including 24 warships from foreign countries and 24 foreign naval chiefs will take part in the Fleet review.

He said 70 to 75 helicopters of various types, including hawk jet fighters, will exhibit their talent and demonstrate in the Bay of Bengal.

Supreme Commander of the armed forces, President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on Presidential yacht, INS Sumitra after inspecting the guard of honour which will be presented by 150 naval personnel on IFR on February 6.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parikar, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimham, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Cabinet ministers, state Cabinet ministers and chief ministers of more than 10 states, all chiefs of armed forces, Chief of naval staffs, retired chief of staffs and a host of delegates across the country will also take part in the fleet review.

Soni said the VIPs would review the fleet of participating Indian and foreign ships which will be anchored in six columns and the naval personnel standing on anchored ships on both the sides of Sumitra would salute the President in the traditional manner.

He said the Indian Navy is organising the event for the first time in the east coast here and second time in the country. The first IFR was organised in Mumbai in 2001.

During the rehearsals yesterday, the helicopters of Indian Navy, coast guard exhibited their talent including the rescue demonstrations by the naval personnel form a Chetak helicopters that thrilled the audiences.

The main idea of conducting the IFR is to unite the navies through ocean - the main theme of the Navy, Soni said, adding that the exercise would strengthen the friendship between friendly countries.

Vice Admiral Soni inspected the arrangements being made



at the beach road. The galleries on beach road accommodate 20,000 spectators and the beach sands 1.5 lakhs people.

According to a statement issued by the ENS, evening of February 7 will witness the operational demonstration followed by the International City Parade which would include marching contingents and bands from the Army, Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the gathering and also release a book on the maritime heritage of India.

Chief Minister Naidu tomorrow would lead citizens in paying homage to the martyrs of the 1971 war at the War Memorial in a solemn wreath laying ceremony at RK Beach.

He will also inaugurate a maritime exhibition tomorrow, one of the biggest events of its kind which will showcase various entrepreneurs in the maritime domain.

On February 7, a two-day international maritime conference would be inaugurated by Defence Minister Parikkar on the theme 'Partnering together for a secure maritime future', the statement said.

The activities of IFR will conclude on the evening of February 8 with a joint international band concert at the naval officers institute followed by a closing ceremony.

City Police Commissioner Amit Garg told reporters on Monday that elaborate security arrangements have been made with 15,000-strong police force deployed at event venues.

Police have prohibited all non-governmental agencies, organisations and individuals launching Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones in the city from January 27 to February 9.
The nine-day long agitation by a group of Endosulfan affected children and their mothers here demanding immediate disbursal of compensation to them, ended today with government agreeing to most of their demands.

The protesters from Kasaragod, the northernmost region of Kerala, had come here to stage a sit-in in front of the secretariat to press the government to agree to their demands, including compensation and writing off their loans.

An agreement with regard to the compensation and rehabilitation package was arrived at a meeting in which Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, MLAs of the affected region and doctors, besides leaders of the action council of the agitation, participated.

Later briefing reporters, Chandy said a maximum compensation of up to Rs 3 lakh will be given to the affected and steps would be taken to write off the loans of the families of victims by February 8.

The affected persons will be categorised in three sections and a compensation of up to Rs 3 lakh will be provided, he said. A three-member committee has been formed to identify the beneficiaries to be included in the list, he said.

The compensation amount will be given to not only those who were disabled but also those suffering from various diseases in the affected regions.

Five medical camps will be held at the end of this month and government doctors working in the affected areas will be given an additional Rs 20,000 per month, the chief minister said. This was in view of complaints that doctors were reluctant to work in the region.

A new list incorporating the names of 610 more persons affected by Endosulfan will be added to the existing list.

Over 80 Endosulfan affected children and their mothers had participated in the sit-in.

As Achuthanandan announced that the strike was being called off following the government's decision.
Essar group today announced the sale of its Equinox Business Park, comprising 1.25 million sq ft office space, at prime Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to realty firm RMZ Corp for about Rs 2,400 crore.

This could be the biggest office space deal in the country as Godrej Properties in September had sold 4.35 lakh sq ft commercial space at Bandra-Kurla Complex for Rs 1,480 crore.

"Essar and RMZ Corp announce the signing of definitive agreement in connection with acquisition of Equinox Business Park, a 1.25 million sq ft office space prominently located in Mumbai's prime CBD at Bandra-Kurla Complex for approx Rs 2,400 crore," Essar group said in a statement.

Commenting on the transaction, Essar's Anshuman Ruia said the business park is being sold as part of the strategy to monetise non-core assets.

"This transaction fits in with the Essar's strategy of successfully building businesses and actively managing the portfolio of assets to create and deliver value. This is in line with the present objective and focus of Essar to monetise non core assets and deleverage the balance sheet," Ruia said.

Essar's Executive Director (M&A) Sudip Rungta said the Equinox Business Park, being developed by the Essar group firm Equinox Realty Holding Ltd, has 4 towers comprising 1.25 million sq ft of office space.

Out of four towers, three are completely leased out, while one tower having about five lakh sq ft of leasable area has just been completed and is yet to rented out, Rungta told PTI.

The business park houses tenants including Nissan Motors, Acropolis, Crompton Greaves, Gilbarco Aegis, Lafarge and alike besides the offices of Essar.

"We are confident that with this acquisition we will extend our core businesses into the growing markets with a world-class development opportunity in the heart of one of Mumbai's major regeneration zones," Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp Corporate Vice Chairman Manoj Menda said.

This is the latest in a series of large office space buyouts by RMZ Corp who have created a portfolio of rent-yielding commercial assets in India, the statement said.

RMZ holds 20 million sq ft of core assets under management and is accelerating towards achieving a five-year growth plan of 80 million sq ft, anchored by Qatar Investment Authority.

Nayyar said a smaller crude distillation unit has been



mothballed to operate Stanlow as an optimised single train site, adding USD 0.4 per barrel to margin and saving USD 0.10 a barrel in operating expenses.

"The crude basket was stretched by reducing the proportion of light crudes and introducing medium density crudes, while sources were diversified by including African and grades," he said. "Condensates were introduced into the diet in 2015, with all of these moves resulting in a lowering of the crude basket cost by about USD 1.4 per barrel."



Essar has invested significantly in Stanlow, with the total equity invested at USD 694 million (including acquisition) and an additional USD 545 million incurred through capital expenditure.

Stanlow is one of the largest refineries in the UK, with the current optimised configuration giving a 196,000 bpd operating capacity and Nelson Complexity of 10.7. It produces 33 per cent petrol, 57 per cent kerosene and diesel and 3 per cent fuel oil



In a pioneering first crude inventory monetisation, Essar in July 2012 entered into a deal with Barclays Bank, which purchased the stocks of crude oil and petroleum products at Stanlow site and supplied the refinery with crude on a daily basis as required.

"This transaction, the first of its kind in Europe, helped the drive for more efficiency by reducing costs, reducing capital employed and reducing risk from crude price volatility," he said.

When Barclays exited the commodity business, new long term arrangements were signed in July 2015 with J Aron & Company for inventory monetisation and Lloyds Bank Plc.

Nayyar said Essar will invest about USD 137 million in project 'Tiger Cub' which will see major improvements to key units at Stanlow to deliver further reduction in crude costs and improved yields across the product slate.

"Project Tiger Cub, and the additional works undertaken during the major block turnaround in 2018 will drive a further USD 2 per barrel in margin improvements," he said.
Four suspected members of the Basque separatist organisation ETA accused of planning missile attacks in 2001 on a plane carrying then prime minister Jose Maria Aznar were acquitted today.

The four faced prison terms of up to 72 years each if convicted of the charges that included "attempted terrorist killings" and "belonging to an armed organisation" at Madrid's National Court.

The court said in a statement that they could only prove that one of the accused, Luis Ignacio Iruretagoyena Lanz, known as "Suny", belonged to ETA but they acquitted him as he is already serving time in neighbouring France for the same crime.

"Suny" is suspected of having recruited the other three accused, but the court found that there was no evidence of their participation in the alleged plans and acquitted them too.

ETA is blamed for more than 800 killings in its campaign of bombings and shootings to create an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France.

In October 2011 it declared a "definitive end to armed activity" but it has yet to formally disband or disarm.

The four were accused of plotting three attacks against Aznar's plane in the northern Basque Country as he campaigned for regional elections.

But these allegedly failed as the missile launchers were defective.

Aznar, who served as conservative Popular Party prime minister between 1996 and 2004, was frequently an ETA target.

He survived an ETA car bombing in Madrid in 1995 when he was leader of the opposition. The car's armour plating protected him but one woman was killed and another 15 people were wounded.
The EU has urged Greece to take specific steps to check the flow of asylum seekers to its shores and protect the 28-nation bloc's external border.

The European Commission adopted a draft report published last week that said Greece had failed to protect the EU's external frontiers from the continent's biggest influx of refugees and migrants since World War II.

The EU's executive arm yesterday recommended Greece improve registration procedures, including making sure migrants are properly fingerprinted and their documents checked against various security data bases.

It also urged Greece to properly accommodate asylum seekers while they are registered, work towards deporting economic migrants who cannot be classified as refugees, and improve border surveillance.

If Greece fails to comply with the recommendations, Brussels could authorise EU member countries to exceptionally extend border controls within the Schengen area -- including with Greece -- for up to two years.

The Schengen area allows passport-free travel through 26 countries, most of them in the European Union, and is held up as one of the major European achievements.

"Our ability to maintain an area free of internal border controls depends on our ability to effectively manage our external borders," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said in a statement.

"Today we are proposing a set of recommendations to ensure that, at all external borders of Greece, controls are carried out and brought in line with Schengen rules," he said. "We will only save Schengen by applying Schengen."



The Commission specifically asked Greece to provide enough staff and fingerprint scanners to register migrants, as well as check their travel documents against Schengen Information System, Interpol and national databases.

"Border surveillance should be improved, including the establishment of a risk analysis system and increased training of border guards," the Commission said.

Last week's damning report said Greece faces border controls with the rest of the Schengen passport-free zone in three months if it fails to act.
European nations should offer a chance to refugees to be their citizens and invest in their education which could help solve problems plaguing "ageing Europe", former Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou said here today.

"As far as refugees are concerned, we should give them a chance to become European citizens by investing in their education. It can help the problems of ageing Europe," Papandreou said while delivering a lecture at "D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas" organised by the state government.

He said by investing in refugees, including those from Syria, one should see opportunity to rebuilt our society.

"Creating opportunities for them is what should be our approach. We should invest on the human beings. At the end, we are all citizens of the world," he said.

Papandreou said the refugees should be allowed to experience the nature of democratic societies.

Referring to Syria refugee crisis, he said, "People who are leaving Syria don't want to go back and they are looking for freedom and opportunities for future. Europe can try and invest in them (Syrian refugees)".

Citing the situation in India where Bangladeshi immigrants have been settled, he said, "Not all, but some (refugees) will return back to their homeland some time. Bangladeshi who came to India due to various crisis after living here have gone back and set up their businesses in the hometown".

The Greek politician said the ongoing troubles in Syria are due to a "proxy war".

"If international community do not sit together and see the common vision for Syria, we will have more refugees from that country," he added.
Exasperated at being subjected to repeated security checks, a Jet Airways passenger created a bomb scare at the IGI airport here, forcing security agencies to book Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on another flight to Chennai.

Jet Airways flight 9W-821 to Chennai, scheduled to take off at 6.45 am from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Monday, was grounded after a passenger allegedly claimed he was carrying a "bomb" and will "blow up" the aircraft, sources in the CISF said today.

The businessman, who had been subjected twice to security checks, got exasperated when asked to open his bag for the third time.

"The passenger, who is into business and was travelling with a Chinese exporter, was carrying with him some metallic item and had undergone two security checks. When he was asked to open the baggage again, he got irritated and told the CISF personnel that he was carrying a bomb and will blow up the aircraft," they said.

The personnel of Special Protection Group (SPG), which provides security to the Prime Minister, former prime ministers and their immediate family, overheard the conversation. The airline staff and SPG then informed the control room about it.

Not taking the threat lightly, "a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was formed to assess the threat perception. All the passengers, cargo and baggage were deplaned and a thorough search was carried out," sources in the Central Industrial Security Force, which guards the airport, said. The claim later turned out to be a hoax.

Priyanka was, meanwhile, booked on another flight, which departed for Chennai at 7.35 am.

At around 7.25 am, the threat was declared as "non-specific", they said.

"The passenger was taken to police station for intense questioning by the city police and other security agencies. He was let off in evening after the authorities became sure he posed no threat," sources said.
Slamming the Centre for pushing "unwanted and unsafe" GM mustard crop, around 50 farmers unions including RSS-affliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) today expressed concern over the "secretive" process adopted by it.

Claiming that the government is moving in a "hurried" fashion on the issue, CPI National Secretary D Raja also shot off a letter to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar urging the latter to ensure that the regulator does not proceed further.

In a joint statement, the Unions also demanded that Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar cancel the scheduled meeting of the regulatory body for transgenics on February 5 and warned they will resist environmental release approval of any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in the country.

"All major mustard growing states in India, including BJP-ruled states, heeding to citizens voices and scientific advice, have come out against GM mustard. They have also expressed concern about the secretive processes adopted by the regulators and for not putting out biosafety data in the public domain.

"Despite all of this, Prakash Javadekar is allowing Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to hold its meeting to process the GM mustard application on Friday (Feb 5). It makes us wonder what and wherefrom is the need and pressure emerging from," the statement said.

The farmer unions said the government is pushing "unneeded, unwanted and unsafe" GMOs on the farming community when "viable and feasible" alternatives that are "safe, affordable and farmer-controlled" are already available.

They said that in the case of mustard there are non-transgenic hybrids already available in the market, in addition to high-yielding varieties.

"New agro-ecological approaches like System of Mustard Intensification (SMI) are out-yielding these unsafe solutions significantly, ensuring vastly-increased profitability for farmers, if yield is a concern in the first instance.

"Such alternatives are not however being invested upon by the government, probably because of collusion with the seed and chemical industry. The experience with Bt cotton, which has not addressed the issue of farm crisis or reduced the number farm suicides, is another example," they said.

The farmers unions maintained that this year lakhs of



farmers in Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana suffered due to whitefly and pink bollworm attack on Bt cotton and alleged the seed companies are going scot-free without being made accountable for the losses.

They said developers of GM mustard hold several patents related to the product and are obviously free to sell these Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) to any large corporation despite "wearing the garb" of public sector scientists.

"The fate of the government in the case of GM mustard will be that of an unwanted land ordinance that the government pressed for again and again, uncaring of the public mood and demand.

"The unions will resist any environmental release approval of any GMO in the country with all their strength, and work towards real solutions that will support farm livelihoods," they said.

Raja, meanwhile, said that reports suggested that the GEAC is about to meet on February 5 and take a decision on commercialisation or environmental release of Delhi University GM Mustard hybrid DMH11.

He said his party has resisted the entry of GMOs into the country's food and agriculture as tansgenci technology is "unsafe, carries its own political economy of taking away farrmers's sovereignty, jeoppardizes our national food security and is clearly risky for our farm livelihoods."



"I write to you to ask the government to first share all the data on this GMO in the public domain.

"I also request you to intervene and ensure that the regulators do not proceed further - this cannot be treated as a routine administrative process and should be treated as a matter of policy and political decision making by the government since the matter has huge implications for our environmental and public health as well as food and livelihood security," Raja wrote in his letter to Javadekar, a copy of which he also sent to Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Italian automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today said it will launch the Jeep brand in the country during the middle of the year with two products, both in diesel and petrol variants.

The company, which had initially planned to debut Jeep in India with just diesel engines, now plans to launch Grand Cherokee and Wrangler Unlimited in both the versions.

Fiat changed its plans after India came up with new regulations regarding the diesel engines due to pollution concerns.

"We will enter India with two products this year and we will also manufacturing locally next year... India market will be a big part of our growth as we move from here. We are looking to become a serious volume player," Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Director - Jeep Product Marketing Jim Morrison told PTI.

This year, however, the company will import the completely built units of the vehicles and start local manufacturing next year.

On sales network, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles APAC President and MD Kevin Flynn said: "In the first phase we will set up dealership network in seven cities and increase it to 10 just before we start local manufacturing next year. After that we will look at expanding dealership network to tier 1 cities."



The dealer network would be set up in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin.

In the next phase it will open dealership in Kolkata, Lucknow and Chandigarh, the company said.

The company has already announced investment of USD 280 million in the country in its manufacturing joint venture with Tata Motors to support production of Jeep model.

It will convert the Ranjangaon plant to manufacture Jeep models from next year.

When asked if the brand has been late in entering in the thriving SUV market in India, Morrison said: "We are entering at the perfect time. Indian market has been growing.. Decision to enter now was mostly about connection between volumes associated with local production."



He said the company is looking at selling two million units globally by 2018 and "India will play a big part in our growth." Jeep sold 1.2 million units globally last year.

On launching petrol engines he said: "Originally we had planned to bring in only Diesel engines but due change in regulations we have adapted and we will introduce 3.6 litre VC petrol engine."



Initially the company will sell Diesel engine vehicles only and petrol engines will be introduced soon after.
India's first woman chief of a paramilitary force, Archana Ramasundram, today dedicated her appointment as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to the women of the country and said she would work for increasing their representation in the force.

The 1980 batch Indian Police Service officer of Tamil Nadu cadre was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by SSB troops at the force headquarters here as she took charge of her new post today and donned the 'khaki' uniform with the paramilitary insignia.

Ramasundram, who was the Director of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in her previous posting, is the first woman chief in over six-decade-long combined history of the five paramilitary forces -- Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo- Tibetan Border Police and SSB.

A resident of Uttar Pradesh, Ramasundram holds two masters degrees, one each in arts and science.

After taking charge, the new SSB DG told reporters: "I will always remember this day in my life and I wish to dedicate it to the women of India."



The 58-year-old said, "Leadership quality is more important than gender for tackling challenging assignments" and she would work on increasing the representation of women in the force.

"Wherever I have worked earlier, I have tried to do the same work, but differently. I will try doing the same here and also see how can we increase the representation of women in the force and also in an overall manner," she said, adding there is no dearth of talent among women and they only need an opportunity to prove themselves.

Ramasundram, who was appointed as SSB chief Monday after the Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared her name for the job, said a "good beginning" has been made in these forces were women are nominated to take charge at the top.

Noting she belonged to middle class family, the new SSB chief said if women have faith in themselves they can achieve anything.

(REOPENS DEL35)



Soon after the traditional welcome by senior SSB



officials, Ramasundram was briefed about the duties and current deployment of SSB along the Nepal and Bhutan borders and other units in the internal security grid of the country.

The SSB guards the 1,751 km-long Indo-Nepal and 699 km- long Indo-Bhutan borders apart from rendering a variety of tasks in the internal security domain.

The new DG, who was away in Bhopal for a conference when the government order for her appointment was issued, arrived late last night.

The officer, who retires in September next year, was in in 2014 over her appointment as Additional Director in CBI. Her appointment was challenged in the Supreme Court after which she was moved to NCRB as its chief.

She earlier served at the Centre as CBI Joint Director. She was Additional DG of Crime Branch-CID in Tamil Nadu. During her tenure, Tamil Nadu raised all women police stations and an all-women commando unit.
Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan army general who vanquished the LTTE, today joined the ruling coalition amid indications that he may be inducted as a minister soon.

65-year-old Fonseka, whose Democratic Party signed an agreement to join the ruling United National Front for Good Governance, said he has "nothing to hide" and was willing to face a war crimes inquiry.

"I have always said that I am ready to face any inquiry," Fonseka told reporters here. "We have nothing to hide. I feel that the allegations must be investigated."



The country's first five-star Field Marshal, Fonseka, is expected to become a member of parliament next week and a minister, sources said.

Today's developments come within a year of the change in government in Sri Lanka that was earlier ruled by former strongman Mahinda Rajapkasa, with whom Fonseka had a fall-out.

His comments about a war crimes inquiry come ahead of a visit to the island by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner (UNHRC) Zeid Raad Al Hussein this week.

The UNHRC has asked for an investigation into human rights abuses by Fonseka's troops and the LTTE during the final phase of the nearly three decade-long war that ended in 2009.

Sri Lanka has opted for a domestic inquiry while Hussein has asked for an international investigation.

The government is under pressure from the Sinhala- majority nationalists not to allow an international investigation.

The former general had a fallout with Rajapaksa, under whom he had served, following which he was charged in a number of cases, ranging from corruption to engaging in politics in uniform.

He was also sentenced to 30 months in jail after having mounted a failed bid to unseat Rajapaksa in his January 2010 re-election.

Fonseka, who was nearly assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber in 2006, was pardoned by Maithripala Sirisena days after he assumed office as the new president last year. All ranks and medals denied to Fonseka by the Rajapaksa regime along with his pension were restored.
The collapse of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip has killed two militants from Hamas's armed wing, officials said today, as concern grows in Israel over the rebuilding of tunnels that can be used for attacks.

The collapse last night was the second such incident since last week. A tunnel collapse on January 26 killed seven militants from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said a local commander was among the two members killed in the collapse in the area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas's chief in Gaza, has vowed to continue building tunnels that have in the past been used to stage attacks against Israel and store weapons.

Israel destroyed a large number of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, the third conflict to hit the Palestinian enclave since 2008.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that "if we are attacked from tunnels from the Gaza Strip, we will take very strong action against Hamas.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and briefed him on the law and order situation in the state.

"We discussed the law and order situation. The discussion was fruitful," Parsekar told PTI over phone from Delhi.

The chief minister's meeting with Singh yesterday attains significance against the backdrop of the recent threat received by State Secretariat on January 13 through a postcard purportedly signed by terror outfit ISIS.

Parsekar, however, refused to divulge whether the discussions were surrounding the threat.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg termed the letter threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as a "hoax".

"We have investigated the letter which was written in broken English. It seems to be a prank," Garg said even as the state Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) continued to interrogate a Dehradun-based youth at Vasco who was found "suspiciously loitering" at the Vasco railway station, yesterday.

The youth identified as Sameer Sardana was arrested under section 41 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The ATS is still interrogating Sardana who was found with a laptop at the railway station where he was seen since January 22.
Government has appointed Aruna Sethi as head of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS).

Sethi is the first lady ICoAS officer who has achieved this laurel, a Finance Ministry release said today.

The appointment comes into effect from February 1, it said. Currently, she is the Principal Adviser (Cost).

She has held important portfolios at various ministries including Consumer Affairs, Corporate Affairs, Finance, Commerce and Industry and Defence, said the release.

ICoAS is one of the six organised accounting services of the Government of India.

Office of Chief Adviser Cost is one of the divisions functioning in the Department of Expenditure. It is a professional body staffed by qualified Cost/Chartered Accountants, the release said.

This Office is responsible for advising the Ministries and Government Undertakings on cost accounts matters and to undertake cost investigation work on their behalf.
The Delhi government is examining legal aspects of taking over hospitals from civic bodies as a "permanent solution", Deputy Chief Manish Sisodia said today after an MCD doctors' association, which is participating in the ongoing strike, approached the former in this regard.

The move comes after the Municipal Corporation Doctor's Association requested that either the Delhi government or the Centre intervene "urgently" to bail out the MCD from the financial crisis so that salaries of all employees are paid immediately.

"The government is examining the legal aspects of taking over the hospitals which come under North and East Municpal Corporations. We are seriously considering the doctors' demand," Sisodia said.

In a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the association cited the "precarious financial situation of MCDs" and suggested that health services (except public health) may be taken away from them and be run "by the Delhi or central government as a permanent solution to our problems."



The association also alleged that no interest was shown by the Lt Governor and MCD authorities despite repeated representations to resolve their issues.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attempted to end the municipal strike by offering a loan of Rs 551 crore to two BJP-ruled civic bodies to pay salaries to their employees who refused to relent and decided to continue the stir till a "permanent solution" to their problems was found.
Greece was hit with a blackout today as the country's journalists walked off the job over a controversial pension reform, a day before a general strike on the same issue.

The 24-hour labour action is directed against government plans to lower the maximum pension to 2,300 euros (USD 2,500) a month from 2,700 euros currently and introduce a new minimum guaranteed basic pension of 384 euros.

The leftist administration of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also wants to merge pension funds and increase social security contributions by both employers and staff.

The plan has been criticised by a wide array of professional classes, from lawyers and engineers to sailors and farmers, and Greek unions have called a general strike -- the third in as many months -- tomorrow.

The farmers have formed protest hubs at dozens of locations on Greece's national highways, intermittently blocking traffic with tractors over the past two weeks.

Yesterday the farmers blocked passage of freight trucks into Bulgaria and Turkey, causing long lines on the respective borders.

Greece must save 1.8 billion euros from state spending on pensions under a three-year bailout signed with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in July.

The Tsipras government has warned that the nation's pension system will soon collapse without the reform, which is expected to be put before parliament for a vote later this month.
Halle Berry is the first and only African-American woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress and she said the fact that no other woman of colour has won in the category since then is "heartbreaking."



The 49-year-old actress had given an emotional acceptance speech about the importance of her Best Actress win for "Monster's Ball" when she became the first black woman to win the award.

Berry said 15 years back she felt sure that her victory was a big win for all actors and actresses of colour, reported ABC .

"Honestly, that win almost 15 years ago was iconic, it was important to me, but I had the knowing in the moment that it was bigger than me," the X-Men star said during a panel at the 2016 Makers Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

"I believed that in that moment, that when I said, 'The door tonight has been opened...,' I believed that with every bone in my body that this was going to incite change because this door, this barrier, had been broken.

"And to sit here almost 15 years later, and knowing that another woman of colour has not walked through that door, is heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking, because I thought that moment was bigger than me. It's heartbreaking to start to think maybe it wasn't bigger than me. Maybe it wasn't. And I so desperately felt like it was," Berry said.

The diversity issue has become a hot topic in recent weeks after Academy Awards voters failed to nominate a single African-American or minority actor at this year's Oscars.

The actress has joined actors such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, George Clooney, and Spike Lee, who have all spoken out about diversity in Hollywood.

Berry also noted that she believes that Hollywood is not producing "truthful" films because of the lack of diversity onscreen.

"As filmmakers and as actors, we have a responsibility to tell the truth. And the films, I think, that are coming out of Hollywood aren't truthful. And the reason they're not truthful, these days, is that they're not really depicting the importance and the involvement and the participation of people of colour in our American culture.
The dreaded Haqqani network remains the most capable threat to US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, planning and executing high-profile attacks, the top American General in the war-torn nation has said.

Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John F Campbell, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said the al-Qaeda has been significantly weakened, but as evidenced by the recent discovery of its camp on the southern border, the group is certainly not extinct.

"The Haqqani network remains the most capable threat to US and Coalition forces, planning and executing the most violent high profile attacks in Kabul," he said.

Haqqani network, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks against Western and Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul.

Campbell said 70 per cent of Afghan territory is under government control, while Taliban controls only two per cent.

"Of the 407 district centres, eight (or two per cent) are under insurgent control. We assess that another 18 (or 4 per cent) are under what we call insurgent influence," he said.

Often, these district centres are in remote and sparsely populated areas that security forces are not able to access very often in force, he noted.

Additionally, at any given time there may be up to 94 district centres (around 23 per cent) that we view as "at risk," he said.

While over the last eight years the Afghan security forces have made advancements, beginning as an unorganised collection of militia and developing into a modern security force with many of the systems and processes of an advanced military, a lot needs to be done, he said.

"Capability gaps still exist in fixed and rotary-wing aviation, combined arms operations, intelligence collection and dissemination, and maintenance," he said.

One of the greatest tactical challenges for the Afghan security forces has been overcoming the Afghan Air Force's extremely limited organic close air support capability.

"Admittedly, we began building the Afghan Air Force late and are constrained by the time it takes to build human capital," he underscored.

Of the view that reconciliation is the path needed to obtain a negotiated settlement and end the conflict in Afghanistan, Campbell said current reconciliation efforts are an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned initiative.

Noting that it has been over a year since the formation of the National Unity Government, Campbell said it has faced institutional and political difficulties, yet it can lay claim to some meaningful reform and progress during its first year.

"The unity government may be fragile, but it is holding despite being challenged, it is making continued progress, and building momentum to create an increasingly viable future," he said.
The Haryana government today finally completed the proceeding of demarcation of forest land around 1200 acres in Mangarbani falling under the Gurgaon-Faridabad corridor.

Confirming this news, M D Sinha the conservator of forest Gurgaon range said that demarcation was completed on scientific method based on water and green zone and entire proceedings was supervised personally by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Under the calculation, 677 acres land of Mangarbani has been identified as complete forest area while 500 meter surrounding to is has been earmarked as buffer zone covering approximately 1200 acres land



"It was much awaited long standing demand of local villagers and environmentalists from last20 years to declare Mangarbani area as protected zone and no construction zone and Haryana CM has taken firm decision on it and started the proceedings of demarcation from March 2015," Sinha said.

The completion of demarcation has been appreciated across environmental fraternity considering Mangarbani is the only virgin forest land available in entire NCR region.

The initiative of the current Government of Haryana to conserve the Mangarbani in the Aravalli hills, is a step in the right direction and is very welcome, said Lt.Col SS Oberoi, legal activist.
Shimla police today arrested a man from Sonepat in Haryana in an alleged sexual assault case here last week.

According to the police, the accused had come here along with a girl from Sonepat on pretext of taking her to Jaipur, on January 30. Both stayed at a hotel where he sexually assaulted the girl.

They later went back to Sonepat where the girl narrated the ordeal to her parents, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, DW Negi said.

The parents of the girl then came here and lodged a complaint against the man who was today arrested under Sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, Negi said.
Haryana and the Province of Ontario in Canada today signed an MoU aimed at enhancing commercial ties across key sectors.

The MoU was signed by Managing Director, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Sudhir Rajpal and Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade, Helen Angus, in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, and Premier of Prince Edward Island, Wade MacLauchlan.

The two sides decided to designate nodal agencies for timely and effective communication of matters of common interest, an official spokesman said.

Khattar said this was the first time that such nodal agencies have been designated.

He said that the Haryana government will be organising 'Happening Haryana Global Investors' Summit-2016' in Gurgaon on March 7 and 8 to attract investors to the state and extended an invitation to the Ontario premier for the meet.

Khattar said the agreement inked by the two sides would help facilitate knowledge transfer in areas such as museum development and cultural preservation.

Collaborations would be encouraged in the fields of knowledge transfer, education and skill development, start-up ecosystem, food processing, science and technology, low carbon development and aerospace, the chief minister said.

Under the MoU, domestic information seminars, 'or webinars', would be organised to create awareness and educate companies in Haryana and Ontario on doing business in each other's market.

The MoU also states that the Haryana and Ontario governments will coordinate on and lead trade missions with focus on priority sectors to help companies gain access to the partner market.
Madras High Court today disposed aPIL by S Sivaraman, an advocate seeking a direction to Home and Health Secretary to constitute a Special Investigation Team to probe the recognition and affiliation granted to SVS Naturopathy, Homeopathy and Yoga Medical College, Villupuram, where three girls committed suicide.

Disposing the petition, the First Bench Comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sunderesh said



The authorities concerned may look into the representation in respect to the same within a reasonable period of time.

Sivaraman, submitted that the Government had granted recognition for institution in 2008 without following the rules and regulations. The college has been running without proper infrastructure, he submitted.

He said the authorities had failed to do their duties and acted for the college after getting some "extraneous" consideration.

Stating that Chief Minister had issued a statement that the case regarding the death of three students was entrusted to CBCID and to protect the interest students in the institution would be transferred to Government college after getting necessary approval from concernd authorities, he said the statement also revealed lack of procedures were followed while granting approval and affiliation to the college.

Due to the unfortunate incident of suicide of three students, the petitioner filed the PIL seeking constitution of Special Investigation Team to go into the issue of illegal recognition and affiliation granted to it by the authorities and to take action for dereliction of duties.

The authorities concerned may look into the matter within a reasonable period of time, the judges said.
The Bombay High Court today asked Maharashtra government to give its opinion on a public interest litigation challenging the decision of Haji Ali Trust to ban the entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the historic Durgah here.

As the issue is sensitive, a bench headed by Justice V M Kanade asked Advocate General Srihari Aney to submit arguments on behalf of the state on February 9 stating whether women should be allowed into the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.

The Supreme Court is seized of a matter about entry of women in Sabarimala temple of Kerala.

This is also for the first time that the state has been asked to give its views on women's entry into a shrine.

Today, when the PIL came up for hearing, the bench was told that the Advocate General was on his legs before another bench in some other matter. Hence, the PIL on Haji Ali Durgah was posted for arguments on February 9 when the Advocate General has been asked to argue on behalf of the State.

The HC had indicated last month that it would wait for the Supreme Court's ruling on entry of women in Sabarimala temple in Kerala before deciding on the plea in the case of Haji Ali Durgah here.

The judges had said both the matters were similar involving the entry of women in the religious shrines and hence they would like to see what view would the Supreme Court take on the issue before they give a ruling on the interim relief sought by the petitioner in the Bombay High Court.

The PIL in Bombay High Court has challenged the decision of Haji Ali Trust to ban the entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the Durgah.

The petition had sought interim relief by way of allowing women into the sanctum sanctorum at the Durgah until the matter is finally decided by the court.

In the Supreme Court, a petition has sought entry for



all women and girls in the Sabarimala temple which, as a practice, does not allow girls after attaining puberty to enter the premises. The temple, however, allows only those women to enter who have reached the menopause stage.

The apex court had on January 11 questioned the age-old tradition of banning entry of women of menstrual age group in the Kerala temple, saying this cannot be done under the Constitution.

In the Bombay High Court, a petition raised a similar issue -- that of ban imposed on entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali Durgah. It prohibits women irrespective of their age.

The trustees of Haji Ali Dargah had told the HC earlier that entry of women in close proximity to the grave of a male Muslim saint is considered a grievous sin in Islam.

The HC had then asked the trustees to reconsider their decision, following which the Trust met and reconsidered their stand while taking the same view of banning entry of women in the Durgah.

The Haji Ali Trust argued that the bar on entry is meant to protect women from "uncomfortable situations" and is restricted only to the sanctum sanctorum.

The petitioners, however, claimed that gender justice is inherent in the Quran and the norm at the Dargah contravenes the Hadiths which say that women are not prohibited from visiting tombs.

The restriction emanates from "a very conservative and extremist Salafi ideology" and in future "there may be an order banning the entry of women in the Durgah complex and banning the non-Muslims wholly," the petition argued.

Raju Moray, the petitioners' lawyer, contended that at other Durgahs or shrines women are not banned.

Women can enter the sanctum sanctorum at the historic Makhdoom Shah Durgah in suburban Mahim, he noted.
Hindustan Copper today reported 50 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 5.29 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, mainly on account of lesser income.

The public sector enterprise under the administrative control of Ministry of Mines had recorded a net profit of Rs 10.59 crore for October-December quarter of the previous fiscal, as per a BSE filing.

Company's total income from operations during the quarter under review fell to Rs 203.76 crore from Rs 241.31 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The expenses declined to Rs 210.93 crore from Rs 244.70 crore in the year-ago period.

India's only vertically integrated copper producer manufactures metal right from the stage of mining to beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal into downstream saleable products.

The PSU markets copper cathodes, copper wire bar, continuous cast copper rod and by-products, such as anode slime, copper sulphate and sulphuric acid.

More than 90 per cent of its sales revenue is from cathode and continuous cast copper rods.

Hindustan Copper's mines and plants are spread across four operating units, one each in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Shares of the company were trading 3.45 per cent down, at Rs 47.55 apiece during afternoon trade on BSE.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today launched 110 cc bike NAVI at the Auto Expo here as it aims to cross 50 lakh unit sales in the country this year aided by the production at its fourth plant in Gujarat.

"With India having the world's youngest population, it is imperative for Honda to connect with youth. NAVI will take forward Honda's fun DNA in India," HMSI Senior Vice-President Sales and Marketing YS Guleria said.

The company plans to introduce six new models in the country, of which it launched NAVI today.

"2016 will be a historic year for Honda. Led by increased capacity with fourth plant we will cross the threshold of 5 million two-wheeler sales in India for the first time," HMSI President & CEO Keita Muramatsu told reporters.

"We are confident that Honda's 6 new models led by NAVI will reinvent two-wheeler mobility in India," Muramatsu said.

Bookings for the NAVI, which is priced at Rs 39,500 (ex-showroom Delhi) starts from today while the deliveries would begin from April onwards.

HMSI also unveiled its 1000 cc superbike CRF1000L Africa Twin which the company expects to launch at a later stage.

Besides, the company unveiled refreshed versions of four models - CD 110 Dream, Dream Neo, CB Unicorn 160 and scooter model Dio.

Company's fourth plant, which will start operations on February 17, will be the world's largest scooter-only plant with an annual production capacity of 12 lakh units.

Overall, this will take company's cumulative production capacity to 58 lakh units per annum.
French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday said there should be no further changes to the proposed reforms to keep Britain in the EU when the plan is discussed at a summit in Brussels in two weeks.

"We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union. The compromise that has been found will likely allow us to find solutions to problems that until now seemed difficult to resolve. But at the European Council (summit), there can be no new adjustments...(or) new negotiations," Hollande told reporters after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The proposals unveiled by European Council President Donald Tusk to avoid a "Brexit" notably includes a so-called "emergency brake" that would allow an EU state to limit the welfare payments that migrants from other European countries can claim for up to four years after their arrival.

The plan also includes a "mechanism" by which the nine countries that are not in the euro  including Britain  can raise concerns about decisions by eurozone nations, though Tusk has sought to reassure countries such as France that this would not amount to giving non-euro states a final say on such matters.

"We have reached a point that should give Britons the reassurances needed while respecting European principles," Hollande said in the statement.

But he reiterated there "can be no veto by countries outside the eurozone" on eurozone policies.

The proposed deal will be presented to all the 28 EU leaders during a crunch February 18-19 summit in Brussels.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said Tusk's plans showed "real progress" and made it likely that he would campaign to stay in the EU in a referendum expected in June.
In the backdrop of the outrage over the suicide by Rohith Vemula, the HRD Ministry has expedited the process of releasing fellowship to research scholars to ensure any delay does not lead to student unrest, according to official sources.

Officials said UGC had, in a bid to encourage research scholars, a year ago hiked the amount of fellowships, but many in the student community were unhappy because this increased amount was not reaching them.

Last month, some students of the Institute of Chemical Technology had brought to the notice of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that though their scholarship had been increased, the actual amount received by them was much less.

Following this, Irani had convened a meeting of UGC and AICTE officials and said the money will be transferred to the students within a week.

Recently, UGC had also put a notice on its website informing students that all fellowships and scholarships will be released shortly. It also gave an e-mail address for the convenience of students who face any problem.

Since the number of students who receive the fellowships is quite large, the ministry is keen that the funds are distributed among students as smoothly as possible, the senior official said.
Hundreds more American troops are serving in Iraq than the Pentagon has previously stated, an official said today in an acknowledgement underscoring the sensitivity of US deployments to the war-torn nation.

Officially, the Pentagon has long said about 3,500 American troops are stationed in Iraq to train and equip local security forces, primarily so they can fight back against Islamic State jihadists who control large parts of the country.

But the Pentagon today quietly increased that official accounting to 3,850 troops. Then, Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said it was "fair to say" there are hundreds more troops than even that number.

The troop presence is tiny compared to the height of the Iraq War, when the United States had nearly 160,000 in-country troops during the "surge."



But the Iraq War officially ended at the end of 2011 and the United States pulled its combat troops from the country.

Additionally, when President Barack Obama in 2104 launched a US-led coalition to bomb IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria, he said there would be no American boots on the ground.

Military officials have gotten around this pledge by insisting the US forces are not present in a combat role.

Warren said the additional forces were a normal consequence of troop rotations, where outgoing soldiers overlap with those coming in to relieve them.

"There's that continuous churn of people coming in, checking on things and moving out," Warren told Pentagon reporters in a video call.

"Additionally, there's personnel here that are part of a turnover. So, there's always going to be some overage there."



Still, the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter have for weeks telegraphed the need for extra coalition troops to fight the IS group.

"Just to remind everybody, we have 3,700 boots on the ground in Iraq today, and we're looking to do more. We're looking for opportunities to do more," Carter said Tuesday, though he added the focus remained on "enabling" local forces.

Additionally, the Pentagon has in recent months said it was sending about 50 special operations forces to work with anti-IS fighters in Syria, and dozens more elite commandos from a "specialized expeditionary targeting force" are in Iraq to work alongside local Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces battling the IS group.

The US military is facing similar challenges in Afghanistan. There, despite more than 14 years of US involvement, the security situation remains fragile and Afghan forces are struggling to lead the fight against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

President Barack Obama in October announced that 9,800 US forces would remain in Afghanistan through most of 2016 -- backtracking on an earlier pledge to pull all but 1,000 US troops from the country.
Intelligence Bureau today grilled a man arrested against the backdrop of ISIS threat after he was found loitering suspiciously at Vasco railway station near here.

"He was interrogated by intelligence bureau officials. Anti-Terrorism Squad is also questioning him. We have not found anything related to terror at least till now," Inspector General of Police, Sunil Garg told reporters here.

The man, identified as Sameer Sardana (46) hailing from Dehradun, was apprehended by the police and ATS yesterday.

Police found five laptops in his possession and have sent them to cyber crime cell for examination.

Sardana was booked under section 41 of the CrPC which deals with preventive arrests.

According to police, Sardana was living in a railway dormitory, 35 kms from here, since January 22 and has been extending his stay.

He was questioned after he was constantly seen sitting on railway platform and busy on laptop for hours together, police had said.

Goa Police are on alert after the letter purportedly written by ISIS, threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, was received on January 13 by the state secretariat, which was handed over to the ATS.

Police had detained a Syrian, a Nigerian and a Yemeni last week for overstaying and they were probed from the terror angle.
An illegal arms dealer was arrested from southeast Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan and a large haul of arms and ammunition were recovered from his possession, police said.

The 33-year-old accused, identified as Savinder Kumar, is a resident of Meerut and allegedly started trading in illegal arms around 18 months ago. He initially used to source his consignments from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, DCP (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said today.

He soon started his own pistol manufacturing and assembling unit at his native place with the help of Dhanbad-based gun manufacturers whom he had met earlier, police said.

Acting on a tip off, the police laid a trap in Sarai Kale Khan area yesterday and arrested Kumar when he arrived there in a car.

As many as 50 pistols and 100 magazines were seized from his vehicle, police said.

"It is the biggest haul of illegal pistols in the national capital in the past few years. The police are now trying to track down some of the associates of Kumar," Kumar added.
India will host a high-level IMF conference on Asia's economic performance next month that will explore the next stage of policy challenges in the region to maintain growth while boosting jobs and reducing inequality.

To be co-hosted by the Indian government, the three-day conference from March 11-13 in New Delhi will take stock of Asia's strong economic performance, its increased resilience to shocks, and the region's economic policy challenges.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde would address the conference.

"Advancing Asia provides a forum for Asia-Pacific leaders to discuss a region renowned for its economic successes over the past decades," Lagarde said.

"As Asia's advanced, emerging market and developing economies move to the next stage of success, they face the key challenge of how to maintain and enhance the region's high growth record while boosting jobs, reducing inequality, accelerating infrastructure and human capital development and implementing other growth-enhancing reforms," she said.

"I am very pleased to cooperate closely with the Government of India on this conference that will explore how the region can meet these policy challenges through investments in the future," Lagarde said.

Key topics to be discussed at the conference will include the most effective drivers of growth; income inequality, demographic change, and gender; infrastructure investment; climate change; managing capital flows; and financial inclusion, a media release said.

Advancing Asia follows the Asia 21: Leading the Way Forward conference, a conference held in Daejeon, South Korea in 2010, where leaders gathered to discuss the region's role in a global economy recovering from the Global Financial Crisis.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) today suggested Jharkhand to improve the rate of conviction in cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

"As against the national average of 23.8 per cent, the conviction rate in Jharkhand is only 2.08 per cent. This should be improved upon," NCSC chairperson P L Punia told a press conference here.

Though Jharkhand was not among those states to be worried about atrocities, Punia said there were 292 cases of atrocities under the Act in 2010, which rose to 883 cases in 2014 with charge-sheet being filed in some cases, while others were closed after police investigation.

Efforts should be made by the department concerned to dispose off such cases in which charge-sheet has been filed, he said.

Noting that the Commission reviewed with the officials in Jharkhand for the first time since the state's creation, Punia said the information given to the Commission on various issues was "insufficient".
After alerting the country against against 'lone wolf attacks', Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today underlined the threat posed by the 'Do it Yourself' breed of terrorists who gain information in bomb-making and suicide attacks over the internet to perpetrate terror acts.

"Exploiting the power of internet and ideological motivation, terror groups like DAESH and al Qaeda have already flooded the internet with literature pertaining to bomb making and suicide attacks which present a risk of emergence of 'DIY' (Do it Yourself) terrorists.

"India also needs to be mindful of this possibility," Singh said while addressing the second edition of counter-terrorism conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with government of Rajasthan here.

He said the prowling illegal information and activities in the cyberspace was also acting as an "enabler" for 'Lone Wolf attacks' across the globe.

A lone wolf terrorist is one who indulges in violence in support of some group, movement or ideology but works alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group.

He also urged the security establishment and those associated with it to use the word DAESH while identifying the acts and terrorists of the ISIS.

"It is a cause of grave concern that the cyber world is being exploited by terror groups such as DAESH or ISIS to radicalise the gullible youth of our country. Since, many security experts and intellectuals are present here, I appeal to all of you to use the word DAESH to mention ISIS in future because this terror organisation is seeking legitimacy through the word 'Islamic State'," he said.

DAESH is an acronym for the Arabic phrase al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) but the terror group shuns using this name to identify itself.

The Home Minister said India has undertaken multiple steps and strategies to combat against the radicalisation of its youth by this terrorist ideology.

"We have adopted a multi-pronged strategy against the attempts to radicalise the youth of the country. On the one hand we have successfully de-radicalised our youth and on the other hand our security agencies have also taken action against certain individuals for their links and association with terror organisations.

(REOPENS DEL 66)



"The security experts believe that India's strategy against radicalisation is far more positive and effective than other countries of the world," he said.

He reiterated India's commitment to the world to jointly tackle terrorism.

"We are hopeful and firmly convinced that together we can neutralise any threat to our country. We also would like to assure various dignitaries and participants from friendly foreign countries that India stands firmly behind the international community in the fight against terrorism," he said.

It has been resolved in the past to take a calibrated policy jointly with central and state governments to deal with the threat of ISIS in the country.
Praising India's climate change initiatives in the run-up to the Paris summit, an eminent American expert has said the implementation of renewable energy targets has the potential to "drastically shift" global markets.

"The implementation of the renewable energy targets set as a part of the Paris Agreement by countries like India and China has the potential to drastically shift global markets," Andrew Steer, president and CEO of World Resources Institute, said during a Congressional hearing.

The ambitious goals set by PM Narendra Modi on solar energy is driven by economic development of the country, Steer told members of Committee on House Science, Space and Technology during a hearing on Paris Summit on Climate Change.

"China invested twice as much in solar capacity in 2015 as the United States, and is on track to become a superpower of the low-carbon economy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased India's solar power capacity goal for 2030 from 20 GW to 175 GW," Steer said.

For comparison, the US has only about 25 gigawatts of solar capacity, he told the lawmakers.

"Prime Minister Modi didn't make this decision because he's a member of Greenpeace. He did it because it makes the most sense for India's economic development," Steer said.

At the same time as investment in renewables is surging, demand for high-polluting fuels such as coal is stalling globally and even declining in fast-growing economies like India, where imports dropped by 34 per cent in 2015, he said.

India's decision to increase its renewable electrical capacity to 40 per cent of total installed electrical capacity by 2030, builds on PM Modi's earlier commitment to increase solar power to 100 gigawatts by 2022 -- 30 times the current level and five times above the previous renewable energy target, he added.

This renewable energy target will require aggressive domestic action, as it significantly exceeds current policy scenario projections notable, given India's per capita emissions are only one-third of the global average, he said.

"India is continuing to rapidly decrease the cost of solar, with a further seven per cent reduction in tariffs this year. The total installed cost for solar in India dropped by more than 20 per cent in 2015 alone," Steer said.

Testifying before the committee, Vice president of US



Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Eule said that India, which is one of the world's biggest geeenhouse gas (GHG) emitters, has committed to reducing its GHG emissions intensity by 33 per cent to 35 per cent between 2005 and the 2030s, about one third of which was met by 2010.

"We estimate that if it meets this goal, its emissions will grow from about 3 billion TCO2 in 2010 to about 5 to 6 billion TCO2 in 2030 at jump of at least 80 per cent.

Importantly, India's INDC is conditional on financial and technology assistance that it estimates could run to USD 2.5 trillion out to 2050," Eule said.

In the meantime, he said, India announced that it intends to double domestic coal output over the next five years to fuel economic expansion.
Former Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou today appealed to India to take the lead in stopping proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world.

"I would like to see India on the forefront to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons. India should call for the end of nuclear weapons," Papandreou said addressing a lecture during "D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas" here organised by state government.

The former Greece PM, who was instrumental in brokering peace with Turkey, said the countries that have nuclear weapons should take lead in stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

He said India being a nuclear nation, which has emerged as a global player, can do this.

Papandreou expressed apprehension that nuclear weapons may fall in hands of "irresponsible people and this will be a major threat".

"We need to go for de-nuclearisation especially when in the middle-east," he said.

"We have created huge capabilities for our societies which can be a threat, if misused in future. What we need today is a moral standing for the current generation to come on how to use and not misuse the power," Papandreou added.

He said India has a longer, deeper experiment with multiplicity of language and culture.

"India's model needs to be protected and nurtured. The country is becoming a global player just not simply because of size of population, but because of the deep democratic culture it has got," the former PM said.

He said India has a long tradition of non-violence which goes beyond Mahatma Gandhi.
India and Thailand today laid a roadmap for further strengthening bilateral ties including in defence as the two countries expressed their shared interest in securing international sea lanes, amid flexing of muscles by China in the South China Sea.

Hamid Ansari, who flew into this southeast Asian country as the first by an Indian Vice President in half a century, held talks with Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and said he sees a "very promising future for our bilateral relation".

Ansari said there is much untapped potential in the bilateral relationship and much to rediscover and learn from each other's culture, industry and society.

"With its unique geographic location, Thailand can be a bridge linking South East Asia to East Asia; while India can act as your springboard to West and Central Asia and to Europe.

"Our talks earlier today have put in place a roadmap for further strengthening our economic cooperation and intensification of our collaborations in all areas," he said.

Amid China's territorial claims over the strategic South China Sea that has been contested by over half a dozen countries with overlapping stakes, Ansari expressed India and Thailand's "shared interest in the security" of international sea lanes.

"As maritime neighbours, we have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes of communication and commerce. Our resolve to strengthen our bilateral engagement in the areas of security and defence will help the region as a whole and promote greater regional economic integration and connectivity," he said.

In a speech at a banquet hosted by premier Prayut in his honour here, Ansari termed challenges of this century as "enormous" which merit common understanding and joint efforts as he pointed out that "globalisation of terrorism, impact of climate change on humanity and the health hazards which know no borders require global action".

"The international community is grappling with issues related to migration and integration of people," he said, adding: "Our cultures with a civilisational heritage of peace, pluralism and co-existence in can offer lessons and lasting solutions."



Ansari, who arrived on his two-day visit here at the invitation of Prayut, is the first visit by an Indian Vice President to Thailand after a gap of 50 years.

Earlier in the day, Ansari said India and Brunei, from



where he flew into Thailand, have an interest in maintaining the safety of the sea-lanes in the region. Brunei, along with other ASEAN members like Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, has been also staking claims in the South China Sea.

His comments on security of international sea lanes come amid flexing of muscles by China, that claims the South China Sea and 90 per cent of the islands including major shipping lanes that dot it.

The SCS is a major shipping lane. Over half of the world's commercial cargo passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways.

Cooperation, both bilaterally and in the ASEAN rubric, encompasses diverse areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, science and technology, education, and cultural exchanges, he said.

"People-to-people contacts at various levels are the lifeblood of our friendship. I am pleased that our two countries have taken important steps in the pursuit of closer cooperation, stronger connectivity and greater commerce," he said.

More than one million Indian tourists who visit the 'Land of Smiles' every year see the indelible imprint of our shared heritage - epitomised by the timeless message of Lord Buddha and the shared lore of the Ramayana, he said.

Terming India and Thailand as natural partners, linked by history, geography and the close contacts between our two peoples, he said his visit, the first at by an Indian Vice President in 50 years, is a manifestation of the desire "we have to deepen the flow of ideas, people to people contacts and bilateral trade between our lands".

Appreciating the Thai government's commitment to imparting greater momentum to the relations between the two countries, he said: "My visit is taking place at a time when our bilateral relations can be described as excellent. We greatly appreciate the role of His Majesty the King in nurturing these relations; just as the idea of Buddhism, though germinating in India, has been nurtured in this land."



He said Thailand is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and a valued partner and New Delhi admires the way Thailand has brought progress to its industrious people by making great strides in socio economic development.

"We are both engaged in transforming our ancient lands in to modern knowledge economies. India is a bright spot with the highest economic growth amongst the larger emerging countries.

"There is growing interest from across the world in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation with India. I would urge the government and business community in Thailand to avail of the opportunities provided by a growing India," he said.

Ansari added that Prayut's scheduled visit to India this year will further enhance this "vibrant and mutually beneficial" cooperation.

"Next year, India and ASEAN will mark the 25th anniversary of their Dialogue Relations. We look forward to working with you under the framework of ASEAN. We shall strive to strengthen the India-ASEAN partnership, as also the BIMSTEC and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation," he said.
A 47-year-old Indian-American woman in the US state of New Jersey has been arrested on charges of murdering her mother-in-law in their residence.

Tasneem Diwan was arrested on Friday, a day after she allegedly struck her mother-in-law Safia Diwan, 73, in the head numerous times with an unknown object in their New Jersey home, law enforcement officials said.

According to a police statement, East Windsor police responded to the residence on the evening of January 26, after receiving an emergency '911' call.

Upon arrival, police found the victim lying dead in the residence. An autopsy indicated the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

The police said there was no forced entry to the home.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier has set Diwan's bail at USD 1 million.
The three Mi-35 Indian multi-role helicopters donated to Afghanistan have made a big difference in the offensive against militants in the war-torn country, the outgoing commander of US forces in Afghanistan has said.

"They do have three Mi-35s (sic) - really Mi-24s and Mi-35s from India. They'll have a fourth one coming in pretty soon that will add to their inventory as well and that'll make a great difference," Gen John Campbell told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan yesterday.

The Mi-35, a comprehensive upgrade of the Mi-24, is a versatile helicopter gunship with troop carrying capabilities.

Campbell, who has commanded US and forces in Afghanistan for the past 18 months, is expected to retire. Lieutenant General John Nicholson has been chosen by President Barack Obama to replace Campbell.

In January, three multi-role Mi-35 attack helicopters donated by India were inducted into the Afghan Air Force, giving the country's security forces a much-needed lethal teeth against militant groups like the Taliban.

The Indian gift to Afghanistan has been hailed by the people and government of Afghanistan, and also by the US.

Campbell's remarks on India's donation of attack helicopters came in response to a question from Congressman Rob Wittman who wanted to know about the capabilities of the Afghan Air Force.

The three helicopters were handed over to Afghanistan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kabul in December last year. The fourth helicopter is expected to be delivered soon.
A 32-year-old Indian-origin man left with serious brain injuries following a deadly road accident in the UK will get two million pounds in damages.

The High Court in London has ordered two million pounds (19.7 crore Rupees) to be given to the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

He worked as an agricultural worker here. He currently lives in Birmingham, but now plans to move back to India.

"He is not the man who arrived in the UK and as a result of the terrible injuries he has sustained, he will face a life in India which will be much less satisfactory," Justice Mitting said in his ruling at the Court on Monday.

The details of the compensation package will now be worked out forthe agricultural worker, who was employed as a fruit picker when he suffered serious brain damage and multiple broken bones when the bus he was travelling in was hit by a truck on a foggy highway in March 2012.

His barrister, Paul Bleasdale, told the Birmingham Mail that his client was "disappointed with the result of the negotiations and does not believe the compensation package is sufficient".

Jasminder Singh Dhesi, the driver of the bus, pleaded guilty to being drunk when his vehicle, carrying 34 passengers, broke down three times and was hit by the truck while broken-down for the third time.

A passenger Liaquat Ali and truck driver William Mapstone both had died as a result of the crash.

Dhesi, 53, was jailed for six years in 2013 after he admitted causing two deaths by dangerous driving.
The Indo-US Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Cooperation will meet here later this month to discuss design and construction aspects of India's next indigenous aircraft carrier - Vishal.

A top US Navy officer, currently on a visit to India, expressed satisfaction with the progress in talks on the aircraft carrier project.

The joint working group had last met along the eastern coast of US on August 12-14, 2015.

"We are making very good progress. I am very pleased with the progress to date and optimistic (that) we can do more in the future. That is on a very solid track," chief of US Naval Operations John Richardson told reporters here today.

India, which has always used "ski-jump" at the end of the flight deck to fly the planes off its carrier, is interested in US's electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS).

This means that the aircraft will gain its take-off velocity through an electromagnetic rail gun instead of the conventional steam-driven catapults.

The US Navy's latest carrier, the 100,000-tonne USS Gerald R Ford, which will be commissioned later this year, is the world's only carrier featuring EMALS.

"All of those things are on the table. There are possibilities," Richardson said when asked about EMALS for India.

The Indian team had visited aircraft carrier Ford, currently under construction at Newport Shipbuilding in Virginia, and received briefs on US Navy management of aircraft carrier programmes.

They had also met with senior Pentagon officials, and toured the US Navy's research and development facilities for aircraft carrier launch and recovery systems as a first step to exploring opportunities for cooperation.

The Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation, co-chaired by US Navy's Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers, Rear Admiral Tom Moore, and India's Controller for Warship Production and Acquisition, Vice Admiral G S Pabby, is part of the larger Indo-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
Iran and Germany agreed on the need to cooperate against "terrorism" today as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the latest official to visit Tehran since the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the two countries could "cooperate on resolving regional and international issues, especially on fighting terrorism", the official IRNA agency reported.

"The flow of arms and financial resources to terrorism must be stopped," Rouhani said.

Steinmeier's visit comes after a landmark deal between Tehran and world powers to limit Iran's nuclear programme in return for lifting international sanctions against it came into force last month.

The German foreign minister will next visit Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf kingdom severed all ties with Iran last month after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran and consulate in second city Mashhad following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric.
Japanese commercial vehicle maker Isuzu today unveiled adventure utility vehicle D-MAX V-Cross at the Auto Expo here, which would be manufactured from April at its Sri City plant in Andhra Pradesh.

The company said it will soon make India a global hub for vehicle parts and components.

Powered by a 134 hp, BS-IV compliant, high pressure Common Rail Fuel Injection diesel engine, D-MAX V-Cross is a second generation pickup and is currently available in Europe, Australia, Thailand and South America.

On price of the model, Isuzu Motors India Senior General Manager Shankar Srinivas said: "We have indicative price at this moment... It is approximation and we have not finalised. Isuzu D-MAX V-Cross will be Rs 15 lakhs off-showroom."



On sales projections, Srinivas said the initial expectations are not very high as this is a greenfield space. "We would launch it subsequently early this year."



Isuzu Motors India Managing Director Naohiro Yamaguchi said: "The pickup market in India is expected to grow manifold and Isuzu has laid a strong emphasis on offering a range of its latest D-Max products. We have sensed intense anticipation for a thoroughbred Adventure Utility Vehicle among Indians".

Isuzu, which is investing Rs 3,000 crore in India, would start the production of the vehicle by April.

"India is gaining huge significance in the global arena, thanks to the fast moving economy and thrust on various growth factors," said Isuzu Motors Japan Chairman and Representative Director Susumu Hosoi.

He further added India will soon become Isuzu's global hub for vehicle parts and components.

On the capacity of new units, Isuzu Motors India Deputy Managing Director Shigeru Wakabayashi said: "Our new manufacturing plant would have an initial capacity of 50,000 units. We have already tied up 100 key suppliers for our operations".

He further added that India's pickup market is expected to grow and Isuzu would be one of the leading player with strong global expertise.

The company has also expanded its dealership network to 27 locations is looking to increase it further.
Acknowledging that across the US it is a time of concern and fear for Muslims, US President Barack Obama today reiterated his commitment to "freedom of religion" and asked his countrymen to show that America truly protects all faiths.

"The best way to fight terrorism is to show the US does not suppress Islam and refute lies to the contrary," Obama said in his historic address to Muslim community from a mosque in Baltimore, Maryland.

In his first visit to a mosque inside the US, Obama referred to the recent political rhetoric against Muslims in the country, where Christians are in majority, and said that the Americans cannot be silent bystanders to bigotry against any faith.

"I know that in Muslim communities across our country this is a time of concern and, frankly, a time of some fear. Like all Americans, you're worried about the threat of terrorism, but on top of that, as Muslim-Americans, you also have another concern, and that is your entire community so often is targeted or blamed for the violent acts of the very few," Obama said in his address to the Muslim American community.

"An attack on one's faith is an attack on all our faiths," Obama said as he mentioned recent attacks against Muslim community and also cited those of Sikh-Americans who looks like them. Americans must speak up when any group is targeted, he added.

"We have to respect the fact that we have freedom of religion," he said.

At the same time, the US President asked the Muslim community to reject extremism and terrorism.

Pushing back at critics who say he should talk about "Islamic terrorists", he said that, "We shouldn't play into terrorist propaganda."



"As we protect our country from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the rhetoric of terrorists themselves," Obama said, adding that groups like Islamic State militant group are desperate for legitimacy.

"We must never give them that legitimacy," he said.

In an apparent reference to recent political rhetoric, he opposed the idea of religious profiling.

"Engagement with Muslim Americans communities must never be a cover for surveillance," he added.

"As we go forward, I want every Muslim American to remember that...Your fellow Americans stand with you," Obama said and assured the young Muslim Americans: "You are not Muslim or American. You are Muslim and American."



Muslim political leaders "have to push back on the lie" that the West represses Muslims, Obama told the Muslim community leaders.

"This is not a clash of civilisations between the West and Islam," he said and asked American-Muslims to show they're faithful to Islam and also part of a pluralistic society in the US.
British funnyman James Corden has been tapped to host this year's Tony Awards in New York.

The "Into The Woods" star, who hosts "The Late Late Show" in America, will return to the Beacon Theatre, where he won a Best Leading Actor Tony in 2012 for his performance in "One Man, Two Guvnors", to front the Broadway prizegiving in June, reported Guardian.

"James is one of those rare performers whose gifts translate perfectly to both the Broadway stage and the television screen," said Charlotte St Martin, president of the Broadway League.

"The last time he was at the Tonys, he went home with one. We think he'll have even more fun as host."



Corden, who previously fronted the Brit Awards in London, will succeed Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, the co-hosts of last year's (15) Tonys.
Jamia Millia Islamia has suspended a professor, who had sent a representation to President Pranab Mukherjee alleging irregularities in the university's functioning, on account of "misconduct".

Professor Obaid Siddiqui said the order he received last night stated the varsity has initiated disciplinary proceedings against him and that he has been suspended for three months.

"I have also been restrained from travelling outside Delhi during the period without taking prior permission of the competent authority," Siddiqui, the former director of Jamia's mass communication centre, said.

Jamia Spokesperson Mukesh Ranjan said: "The professor has been suspended on account of allegations of misconduct as per provisions of the Jamia Act and in the best interest of the university. The circumstances under which the decision has been taken will be conveyed to the varsity's Executive Council."



The professor had sent a petition to the President, who is Visitor to the university, alleging financial and administrative irregularities in the varsity's functioning and objecting to the introduction of 5 per cent seats for wards of Jamia Millia Islamia employees despite Delhi High Court having quashed a similar arrangement in 1997.

Siddiqui, had earlier this week sought police protection alleging he has been threatened with dire consequences for sending the representation.

The varsity had earlier said, "It was improper on Siddiqui's part to approach the President without articulating his concerns before the university authorities.
Japanese police today said its special unit that deals with alleged espionage arrested an ethnic Korean resident on suspicion of fraud  as local media reported he was acting as a spy for North Korea.

Japan is particularly sensitive to North Korean espionage activities in the country as operatives from and with links to the country have been blamed for abductions of Japanese citizens who were taken there to serve as language teachers for its spies.

Japan also has a large population of residents with Korean nationality, the descendants of people from the Korean peninsula who either immigrated to Japan or were brought as forced labourers when Tokyo controlled the region as a colony from 1910-1945.

The 49-year-old man was arrested yesterday by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police public safety department -- which deals with crimes linked to spies and violent political and religious groups -- spokesman Kazufumi Suzuki told AFP.

Suzuki offered a phonetic rendering of the man's name but had no romanised spelling, which was reported as Pak Chae-Hun by Kyodo News agency.

Pak's nationality was registered as "Korean", meaning he has ancestral roots on the Korean peninsula, according to Suzuki.

He added that Pak is suspected of using a credit card which he obtained illegally to make purchases from an online shopping company in Tokyo, Suzuki said.

Pak is a former associate professor at the pro-Pyongyang Korea University in Tokyo and was engaged in espionage activities aimed at spreading North Korean ideology in South Korea and China, Kyodo reported.

He is suspected of having purchased six computer equipment items online, the report said, adding that police found written instructions and encrypted e-mail messages from North Korea's spy agency on his confiscated computer.

Other local media carried similar reports, saying Pak was active in South Korea from around 2000 when he was recruited by Pyongyang's intelligence agency known as "Bureau 225".

North Korean spies have long been believed to be active in Japan.
Around 240 students from various countries would be arriving here next week by a Japanese ship to take part in the 'Next Generation Global Leaders Programme' aimed at providing cultural exchange and sharing of knowledge.

The ship carrying 120 Japanese students and an equal number of students from various other countries including Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Latin Amercia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates, would reach Chennai Port on February 9, a PIB release said.

The students would participate in the seven-day on-shore programme and 34 on-board training sessions including seminars, cultural programmes among others.

As part of the trip, they would visit the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development at Sriperumbudur near here and take part in the programme organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, it said.

The pupils would also visit the famous Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai, besides participating in group discussions on youth entrepreneurship, environment, disaster risk reduction, the release added.
Senior JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak today questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that reservations would not be scrapped, saying it reflected "double standards" as RSS was opposed to it.

"On one hand RSS is laying stress on review of reservation. On the other hand, you (Modi) are saying that reservation would not be scrapped. Its a double standard," Rajak, a close associate of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said in a letter to the PM.

While RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had pitched for review of the reservation system last year, Modi ruled out scrapping of reservation at a public meeting in Coimbatore yesterday.

"You are giving such statements in furtherance of Dalit vote bank politics knowing very well that your government does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha. Hence, you are not in a position to do anything significant on this count," Rajak, a Dalit leader, said in the letter.

"Your prolonged silence on the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stressing on the need for review of reservation policy for Dalits reflects that your current statement is not from the heart, but merely from the mouth," he said.

Rajak said he was not questioning the tears shed by the PM over death of Dalit student Rohith Vemula.

He said if the PM is sensitive, he would probe Vemula's death by someone who is kind towards downtrodden and remove HRD minister Smriti Irani and Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

To prove his credential to Dalits, the PM should provide reservation to the community in private sector and implement reservation for SC and ST in promotion immediately, Rajak said.
Giving Up on the Future? : Both Germany and Japan now transfer money, on net, from the young to the old. Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary, The Economist reports, do the same.



The instrument of this transfer? Well, the elephant in the room: those nations entitlement programs  their versions of our Social Security.







Taking from the young to give to the old, on the other hand, is not just counter-intuitive. It stifles innovation, entrepreneurship, progress itself.



What drives the trend? It is complicated. But the politics behind redistributionist programs is the main culprit: The elderly vote more than the young, who have more distractions, and politicians are thus all too eager to give them goodies. And while individually the elderly would like to direct more resources to their young relatives, when they act in politics they face a kind of tragedy of the commons. They cannot prevent others from living off the state, so they might as well do themselves. As my generation, the infamous Baby Boom, retires, the demographics turn Social Security against societys main purpose: building a future. The culture refocuses on retirement . . . preparing for death.



Another way  on top of growing debt and increasing regulatory burden  were leaving our kids with less than we had.



This is Common Sense. Im Paul Jacob.

------------------

Paul Jacobs is author of Common Sense which provides daily commentary about the issues impacting America and about the citizens who are doing something about them. He is also President of the Liberty Initiative Fund (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge Foundation. Jacobs is a contributing author on the ARRA News Service.

Tags: Paul Jacob, Common Sense, giving up, the future, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks! by Paul Jacob, Contributing Author : Both Germany and Japan now transfer money, on net, from the young to the old. Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary,reports, do the same.The instrument of this transfer? Well, the elephant in the room: those nations entitlement programs  their versions of our Social Security. John O. McGinnis , George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University, explains how unnatural the direction of the transfer is. Normally, societies give more to the young than the young can ever repay. Remember the truism, the children are our future? Families, McGinnis explains, exemplify this principle. Socially too, the intergenerational flow of resources is what creates civilization as each generation receives benefits from the previous one.Taking from the young to give to the old, on the other hand, is not just counter-intuitive. It stifles innovation, entrepreneurship, progress itself.What drives the trend? It is complicated. But the politics behind redistributionist programs is the main culprit:As my generation, the infamous Baby Boom, retires, the demographics turn Social Security against societys main purpose: building a future. The culture refocuses on retirement . . . preparing for death.Another way  on top of growing debt and increasing regulatory burden  were leaving our kids with less than we had.This is. Im Paul Jacob.------------------ Posted by Bill Smith at 11:00 AM - Post Link
Three Palestinians armed with a gun, knives and explosives attacked Israeli police outside Jerusalem's Old City today, leaving at least two officers seriously wounded and the attackers shot dead, police and medics said.

The attack occurred at the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City. Security forces were searching the area for possible accomplices.

According to Israeli authorities, the Palestinians were approached by border police. One showed an ID, but a second drew a gun and began shooting.

Officers opened fire and killed the attackers, police said.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted in October. Most of the attacks have been stabbings, although there have also been occasional shootings.

The violence has killed 25 Israelis, as well as an American and an Eritrean, according to an AFP count.

At the same time, 164 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks but others during clashes and demonstrations.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today announced the constitution of a cabinet sub-committee to recommend political reservations for Kapu community which has been agitating for quota in jobs and education under the Backward Class (BC) category.

"The already set-up Justice Manjunath Commission will submit its recommendations to government on reservations for Kapus in job and educational institutions. However, the six-member cabinet sub-committee will decide the quantum of political reservation on the lines of BC reservations (for Kapus)," Naidu told reporters after the cabinet meeting here.

The CM said the reservation for Kapu community won't affect the reservation of other constituents of the Backward Classes.

He also appealed to BC members to think positively on backwardness of the Kapu community and the government's policy to promote the socio-economic and political status of Kapus.

An agitation by Kapus for reservation under BC category turned violent at Tuni in East Godavari district on Sunday.

The agitators, who had gathered at the town to attend the public meeting addressed by Mudragada Padmanabham, pelted the engine of Ratnachal Express train with stones and also attacked police personnel before ransacking the railway station. Four bogies of the train were also set ablaze.
The Delhi government will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today and alleged a situation was being created through the ongoing municipal strike to prepare grounds for imposition of central rule in the capital.

Speaking from Bengaluru, where he is undergoing naturopathy treatment, Kejriwal alleged there were "massive scams" in three BJP-ruled municipal corporations and demanded a CBI inquiry into them. He said his government does not owe any money to the civic bodies.

Besides a loan of Rs 551 crore, Kejriwal said Delhi Government is also releasing Rs 142 crore to the North Delhi Municipal corporation as sought by it by way of stamp duty last week.

"An impression is being created as if Delhi Government is responsible for the financial mess in the MCDs which have been ruled by BJP for the last 10 years. There are huge scams in MCDs. A situation is being created through the strike of the municipal workers to show that there is a crisis in Delhi.

"The Modi government has dictatorial tendencies. Someone told me they are trying to create a situation to impose President's Rule in Delhi the way they imposed it in Arunachal Pradesh," the Chief Minister said.

Exuding confidence about winning next year's municipal polls, Kejriwal said situation in the MCDs is such that they should be dissolved and fresh elections be held immediately.

He said joint front of 19 Unions of MCD Employees have called for dissolving the civic bodies and bringing them under Delhi Government.

The strike by the sanitation staff of municipal bodies demanding payment of dues entered the eighth day today, crippling the garbage disposal system. They have been joined by teachers, doctors, nurses and contractors of the civic bodies.

Demanding a CBI probe into the affairs of MCDs, Kejriwal said "If CBI could probe us then why not the MCDs. We had ordered inspection of accounts of the civic bodies but they refused to cooperate."



The Chief Minister said his government has allocated double the amount of funds to the three civic bodies in the current fiscal compared to the previous year which, he alleged, has been diverted.

The Chief Minister said it was with "great difficulty"



that his government has arranged Rs 551 crore for extending the loan even though the government was facing a shortfall of Rs 3,000 crore in VAT collection.

"We had to postpone some of our present commitments to next year to manage this money," Kejriwal said.

The decision to extend the loan was taken at a meeting between MCD commissioners and representatives of the Delhi Government. The amount has been given to enable the MCDs to pay salaries to the employees till January 31.

"Where did the money go? As Manish Sisodia says there has been a major salary scam. Money has been stolen. House tax revenue, toll tax revenue, advertising revenue, electricity tax everything has been stolen. It is a classic case of financial mismanagement," said Kejriwal.

Alleging graft, he said the East Delhi Municipal Corporation only collected Rs 12 crore as advertising revenue in the current fiscal.

"It should have been at least 20-25 times more. There is a scam here also. Illegal hoardings are owned by BJP leaders. Employees have lost their faith in MCDs. Doctors have written to us seeking that their services be transferred to Delhi government. I have asked Sisodia to examine the proposal." Kejriwal said.

On BJP's demand for implementation of the recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission, he said the Delhi Government would accept it only if the panel's recommendation for handing over the DDA is accepted by the Centre.

"The Fourth finance commission report was not implemented last year when Delhi was under President's rule. Nor were the Municipal reforms funds released.

"We are ready to implement the Fourth Finance Commission report only when the Centre hands over the DDA to us as recommended by the same report. Municipal reform funds are only for the purpose of reforms. It cannot be paid to corporations under loss.

"If salary is not paid to me for two months even I will be in distress. People have made up their mind. AAP will win whenever polls are held next," said the Chief Minister.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has urged Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to introduce Shatabdi train service between Kurukshetra and Mathura to facilitate easier travelling for tourists and pilgrims.

In a letter to Prabu, he said, Haryana government has taken up the development of Kurukshetra as a part of the Krishna Circuit in a big way with the support of the Union Tourism Ministry.

While Mathura in Uttar Pradesh is the "Janam Bhumi" of Lord Sri Krishna, Kurukshetra in Haryana is the "Karam Bhumi" where he gave the message of the Bhagavad Gita to the world, the Chief Minister said.

There is a huge potential for domestic and international religious tourism between Kurukshetra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. However, there is no direct train connectivity between the two places which puts thousands of pilgrims and tourists at a lot of inconvenience, Khattar said.

The pilgrims visiting one site are usually also keen to visit the other. Therefore, introduction of a new Shatabdi train between these two places would boost tourism in the region, he said.

Khattar also urged the Railway Minister to increase the frequency of operation of the Garib Rath train, which connects Chandigarh and Ajmer, to daily basis.

This train now runs three days a week, that is, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from Chandigarh, and on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday from Ajmer.
Global investment firm KKR will invest up to Rs 150 crore in two luxury housing projects being developed by Sunteck Realty Ltd in Mumbai.

Mumbai-based developer Sunteck Realty today said it has signed a definitive agreement with KKR, under which KKR's investment vehicles would provide up to Rs 150 crore (USD 22.4 million) of funding to Sunteck's housing projects 'Signia Isles and Signia Pearl' in Mumbai.

Commenting on the investment, Sunteck Realty CMD Kamal Khetan said: "We are excited to enter into a relationship with such a major and experienced global investor like KKR and attract this strategic investment."



"We see appealing acquisition and growth opportunities in today's market and believe Sunteck can leverage its brand and execution strength - and that of its partners - to explore large acquisition opportunities in the near future," Khetan said.

Sunteck Realty has a development portfolio of about 25 million square feet spread across 24 projects and 4 rented assets.

"We are delighted to have partnered with Sunteck. KKR's investment in Signia Isles and Signia Pearl is the beginning of our relationship with the group," said Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India.

"Sunteck has a strong reputation and execution track record in Mumbai, where we see compelling residential and commercial real estate investment opportunities. We look forward to deepening our relationship with the group to explore more of these opportunities in the future," he said.

Located in leading business district Bandra Kurla Complex, the luxury developments are Sunteck's flagship projects and landmark residential developments in the city.

With anticipated openings in 2016, the two projects have garnered interest from high-profile tenants including national industrialists, senior executives of leading financial services firms and corporations, and Bollywood personalities.
Kolkata Port Trust is hoping for an early approval from Cabinet for the Rs 12,000 crore Sagar deep sea port.

"The project has received feasibility approvals and we are expecting a Cabinet approval soon. Though a date is not finalised, but the foundation stone ceremony could take place in third or fourth week of February," KoPT Deputy Chairman (Haldia) Manish Jain told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to come for the ceremony along with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, officials said.

"The Prime Minister would be coming shortly to lay the foundation stone and work will start by March," Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari had said during the Bengal Summit.

He had said that technical and feasibility studies for the Sagar port project are complete and work is likely to start in March.

KoPT and West Bengal inked a joint venture agreement to develop the port with 74 per cent and 26 per cent stake, respectively.

The Centre is planning to approach the Japan International Cooperation Agency for a soft loan for the port, dredging and for building a 27 kms long rail-road connectivity, including a bridge over River Muriganga for evacuation of cargo.

The road-cum-rail bridge project would be taken up by the National Highway Authority of India, Jain said.
Labour Ministry will partner with organisations like Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), Uber, Monster and Quikr to exploit the potential of National Career Service project.

Under the project, an information and communication technology based platform -- www.Ncs.Gov.In -- for providing employment services to public was launched last year.

The ministry will ink MoUs with Uber, Monster, Quikr, TechMahindra, Buzzmatic Ventures and GoldFish on February 5, the ministry said in a statement.

These strategic interventions will enhance career and employment opportunities, offer counselling and guidance for career development, among others, the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the national career service portal, to nation on July 20, 2015.

The MoU with ISF will facilitate quality jobs to be made available on the NCS from leading private placement organisations.

The pact with Uber will provide micro-entrepreneurship opportunities to drivers who register on the NCS portal as Local Service Providers.

The agreements with Monster, Quikr, TechMahindra would offer jobs opportunities to NCS registered users.

The partnership with Buzzmatic Ventures will provide career guidance to youth through multimedia content from industry leaders.

GoldFish will meet the requirements of industry for retired and experienced professionals who are available for work.
Madras High Court today ordered to



impleade various ministries and South Indian Sugar Mills Association as respondents on a petition by the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association in Cuddalore District seeking to quash the notification by the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise and Home restricting allotment of molasses for production of ethanol for Sugarcane industries.

While admitting the petition the First Bench comprising of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh called for the records from the concerned authorities in this regard.

The association challenged the order in so far as it orders the production of only 50 lakh liters of ethanol and thereby allots a mere 17,000 MT's of molasses and conversion of 10,00,000 barrels of impure spirit by eight distilleries, which fell short of the share of 20.18 crore liters of ethanol allotted for Tamil Nadu by the Centre under Ethanol Blending Programme.

The association contended that the above order was arbitrary and unreasonable restriction on the allotment of the molasses for the production of ethanol is in violation of Article 14 and 19(1)(g) of Constitution of India.

The order of restricting the centrally allocated amount of 20.18 Crore liters adversely impacts the sugarcane growers.

The distilleries attached to sugar mills are capable of producing more than 27 Crores liters of alcohol and the same can cater to the needs of potable alcohol for the local IMFL. Hence the petitioner prayed the Court to quash the order restricting the production and also to issue fresh order for the production of more ethanol by allotting more quantity of molasses and other by-products for the welfare of the sugarcane farmers.

The bench directed Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Agriculture and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to file their counter within four weeks.
Pakistani authorities have arrested the main facilitator of the gruesome attack on Bacha Khan University that killed 21 people, mostly students, while he was trying to slip across the border to Afghanistan, a media report said today.

Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as 'Terrorist A', was arrested in Nowshera last week by intelligence agencies, the Dawn reported, citing "credible" sources.

"He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away," they said.

"He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," said the sources, requesting anonymity.

The alleged facilitator, in his early 30s, said in his initial statement that the planning of the attack on the university was going on for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of militant commander Omar Mansoor.

Mansoor, mastermind of the Peshawar school carnage and a commander of the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the January 20 assault on Bacha Khan University (BKU).

Waheed said Mansoor had provided him Rs 1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition.

Waheed is also reported to have said that he secretly made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and took the footages in a memory chip to Mansoor, but the plans were dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. He said he was the one who had made the video of the four attackers with Mansoor and that was the reason why the Abdul Wali Khan University was mentioned in the video, according to the report.

The plan to attack that university was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.

Meanwhile, addressing a meeting last night, Deputy Inspector General of Police Mardan Division Saeed Wazir also said that militants initially had planned storming Wali Khan University in Mardan but later selected BKU deeming it a soft target and to increase causalities.
Noting that youngsters across the country want to begin their careers in this tech city, IT czar N R Narayana Murthy today asked the government to help in making it more liveable.

"The reality of my (IT) industry is that the youngsters, both from within Karnataka and other parts of India, all want to be in Bengaluru," Murthy said at the inauguration of Invest Karnataka 2016 here.

Despite efforts to convince youngsters to start their careers in cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru as well as places like Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore and Nagpur, he said "the reality is that our youngsters want to work in Bengaluru."



"Therefore I request Minister (Industries) Deshpande and the Chief Minister to help us make Bengaluru more liveable, provide whatever infrastructure facilities are needed to ensure that there is access to...Educational facilities," he said.

Murthy also requested the government to make commuting easier and provide healthcare facilities.

Pointing out that Bengaluru contributed 38 per cent of the IT industry's contribution to the country's GDP, Murthy said it translated to somewhere around USD 35 billion, including USD 28 billion in terms of exports.

"Karnataka has already done a very good job, so the expectations from Karnataka are even higher, and I believe that with proper intervention from government of Karnataka, this industry has potential to add even greater value to the economy of Karnataka," he said.

Recalling Karnataka government's support in starting Infosys, Murthy said, "I must show my sense of gratitude to government of Karnataka for making Infosys what it is today."



"It is Karnataka where we have three development centres, in Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Mysuru. Right now, we are in the process of building the fourth one in Hubballi," he added.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress state news agency introduces on the air of Lratvakan.am all that you will read, hear and see on todays news.

Summary of Ministries activities is continuing today, on February 3. Armenian Minister of Economy Karen Chshmarityan will talk on the implemented work of 2015. He will also refer to the economic, regional developments and the ensuing economic opportunities.

Economic topic will continue but over agricultural direction. Agrarian-Peasant Union of Armenia Hrach Berberyan will refer to prospects for increased exports and the creation of projects on corporations.

Regional topics are various in upcoming news. Expert in Iranian studies Vardan Voskanyan will talk on Armenia-Iran cooperation in the context of regional developments. Artsakh War Hero, Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan will refer to Karabakh conflict, PACE and the discussed anti-Armenian reports.

Forensic experts and stakeholders are focused on the subject of errors.

February 4 is World Cancer Day. The goal is to attract public attention to this global problem, to its prevalence and danger.

Yerevan State choreographic will be provided college with musical instruments.

Music and art school students will get new instruments in the frames of the opening ceremony.

More on these and other topics is available on armenpress.am. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
A leading Malaysian politician relinquished his post as a state chief minister today in what is widely seen as the latest move by scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak to purge potential rivals.

Ruling party politician Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former longtime premier Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as head of Kedah state following an internal party push to oust him, Malaysian media reported.

Mukhriz had been mentioned among potential future contenders for prime minister but his fortunes have flagged due to his outspoken father's ongoing campaign to oust Najib over sensational corruption allegations.

Malaysia has been seized for more than a year by reports that huge sums of money were diverted from a state-owned investment company closely linked to Najib.

The affair escalated last July when it was revealed that Najib had received payments of USD 681 million to his personal bank accounts.

Both Najib and the investment company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), strongly deny that the USD 681 million involved 1MDB money.

Mukhriz, 51, is the latest top figure in the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to suffer in the fallout.

After the Najib payment was revealed, he reshuffled his cabinet to sack several members including his deputy prime minister, who had called for transparency, and the attorney-general, who was heading investigations.

A new Najib-appointed attorney-general last week declared the premier clear of any wrongdoing, claiming the payment was a legal "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

That story is widely disbelieved in Malaysia, and the move to exonerate Najib has sparked accusations of a conspiracy to subvert justice to protect Najib.

Authorities in Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong also are looking into money flows related to 1MDB.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed grief at the death of veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar.

"Saddened at the passing of Balram Jakharji. In my first term as Member of Parliament, as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, he was always very encouraging," Banerjee said in a statement.

Jakhar passed away at his residence in New Delhi today at the age of 92.

Jakhar served as Deputy Minister Cooperation, Irrigation and Power in Punjab between 1973-77 and then as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly between 1977 and 1979.
A man deported from Saudi Arabia has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS and Telangana police at the Lucknow airport.

Abdul Aziz, deported from Saudi Arabia after undergoing an eight-year jail term for possessing a fake passport, was arrested at the airport as soon as he arrived here by a flight from Jeddah yesterday, IGP (Law and Order) Bhagwan Swarup said today.

A native of Hyderabad, Aziz is also wanted for alleged conspiracy to plant a bomb in a temple in Telangana, he said.

Although there are no inputs so far of his being linked to any terrorist group, since he had been to Bosnia and Chechnya in the past, he might have come in contact with terrorists there, he said.

"Aziz was arrested in Hyderabad in 2001 in connection with a fake passport case and later in 2003-2004, he was arrested in Saudi Arabia while trying to go to Iraq with the help of a fake passport," the IGP said.

After completion of his jail term, he was deported to India yesterday and was arrested as soon as he arrived here, the IGP said, adding that he was taken on transit remand by the Telangana police today.
A 26-year-old man who was heading to Lucknow apparently to settle a dispute with his in-laws, has been arrested from the Anand Vihar ISBT and a pistol recovered from him, police said today.

Satyawan was arrested yesterday after he tried to evade the frisking process. When a police team overpowered him, they found a country-made pistol in his possession, DCP (East) B S Gurjar said.

During interrogation, it emerged that he was headed to Lucknow to settle some dispute between him and his in-laws, police said.

It is suspected that he had planned to kill them. Satyawan has been arrested under relevant sections of the Arms Act, police added.
Manipuri movie "Phum Shang" has won the Golden Conch award for the best documentary film (up to 60 minutes) at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Animation and Short Films, which ended today here.

Swiss drama "My Name is Salt" and Indian entry "Placebo" shared the Gold Conch award for the best feature length documentary film.

52-minute long "Phum Shang", directed by Hao Bam Pabankumar, who is an alumnus of the Satyjit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata, presents the serious environmental problems faced at the Loktak lake.

Pabankumar also won a cash prize of Rs 3 lakhs.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao was the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony.

Rao said he wished to see a dedicated one-hour time slot in Doordarshan for documentaries and short films, apart from screening of these films in school.

"I urge our minister for education and culture to look into screening of documentaries and short films in schools and colleges in the state...I am sure, exposure to good short films will make the learning informative and entertaining," he said.

"I urge the authorities to fix a one hour time slot in DD for the screening of best short films... I also feel film appreciation courses should be provided in our universities and I would seek the cooperation of film division and film and television institute of India," Rao added.

Maharashtra Culture Minister Vinod Tawde said he wants to encourage young filmmakers to try different subjects.

"These talent needs backing from government. Instead of helping feature films, I would like to help documentaries and short films," he added.

Veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, who was the guest of honour at the event, said documentary and short films are difficult to make as compared to commercial cinema.

"Films in commercial cinema are very glamorous to make. These are the difficult ones. Animation films are also very difficult to do, takes a long time to create that... I think all the encouragement needs to go there... We have come a long way and seem to be going better all the time."



MIFF brand ambassador and actor Jackie Shroff along with Mukesh Sharma, director general, Film Division of India were also present.

"My name is salt", helmed by Mumbai born, Zurich based



Farida Pacha, is about the journey of thousands of families to the Rann of Kutch to extract whitest salt in the world.

The movie also won the best cinematographer award for Lutz Konermann.

Chandigarh-based filmmaker Abhay Kumar's "Placebo" explores the stress and pressure faced by medical students.

Besides the Gold Conch award, the drama also won the award for best editor and was declared the most innovative film in the competition section.

Debanjan Nandy's animation film "Chhaya" bagged the first prize in the animation category of international competition.

Mumbai filmmaker Devashish Makhija's "Agli Baar" shared the best short fiction film honours with the UK entry "Solo Finale", by Ingo Putze.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the best debut film of a director was given to "Far From Home" by Denmark-based Nitesh Anjan.

The international jury comprised prominent documentary makers Don Askarian from Germany, Jesper Andersen from Denmark, Mathiue Roy of Canada, Siddharth Kak and Gitanjali Rao.

Mike Pandey, Uma DaCunha, Biju Dhanapalan, Audrius Stonys (Lithuania) and Jane Yu (Taiwan) are the members of the National Jury.

MIFF 2016 screened over 385 films under sections like international and national competition, MIFF Prism, Indian Premiers, Jury retrospectives, Animation and award winning films, Children's documentary films, North East package, FD and PSBT (Public Service Broadcasting Trust) films and homages.
Two days after a probe was iniated into police action against a group of protesters outside RSS office here, Delhi Police have failed to identify two men who were caught on camera thrashing the agitators with police personnel.

Today we questioned several protesters and also some police officials who were seen standing close to the two unidentified men in civil dress. However, none of them has so far been able to identify the two men, a police source said.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Central) S K Gautam, who has to submit a report on the incident to Police Commissioner B S Bassi, said the two are yet to be identified but the process is on.

In the video which brought to light police brutality against the protesters, the two were seen walking close to policemen and having small talk.

Yesterday, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had summoned top brass of Delhi Police and directed them to promptly probe the incident.

Delhi Police came under severe attack from various quarters after a video of some policemen thrashing a group of students, including women, during a protest on January 30 over Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide went viral on social media.
Microsoft said today that it has acquired British-based software keyboard maker SwiftKey, stating that it would be integrated with the tech giant's "intelligent systems" for mobile devices.

SwiftKey makes keyboard applications which are used on nearly 300 million Android and Apple devices, replacing the default interfaces with a more efficient one.

The price was not disclosed but media reports said Microsoft paid $250 million.

SwiftKey, which uses artificial intelligence to help make keystrokes more intuitive and efficient, expands Microsoft's efforts in the domain.

"In this cloud-first, mobile-first world, SwiftKey's technology aligns with our vision for more personal computing experiences that anticipate our needs versus responding to our commands, and directly supports our ambition to reinvent productivity by leveraging the intelligent cloud," said Microsoft executive vice-president for research and technology, Harry Shum.

"SwiftKey estimates that its users have saved nearly 10 trillion keystrokes, across 100 languages, saving more than 100,000 years in combined typing time."



Shum said Microsoft would continue to make the service available on "all platforms," and not only those just operated by Microsoft.

"We'll continue to develop SwiftKey's market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio," he said.

SwiftKey founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock said in a blog post that "joining Microsoft is the right next stage in our journey."



"Eight years ago we started out as two friends with a shared belief that there had to be a better way of typing on smartphones," they wrote.

"We've come a long way since then; today hundreds of millions of people around the world, and many of the leading mobile manufacturers, rely on our language prediction technology," the post read.
MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and his MLA-brother Akbaruddin have been booked for allegedly assaulting a Congress MLC and a BJP candidate during Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls and police arrested three persons in connection in one of these cases.

While Asaduddin was booked for his alleged involvement in the attack on Congress MLC Shabbir Ali yesterday, a case was filed against Akbaruddin after his followers allegedly assaulted M K Mahender, a BJP civic poll candidate, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) V Satyanarayana said today.

Asaduddin is the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, while his brother is the MLA from Chandrayangutta here. "Based on CCTV footage, three persons were today arrested in connection with the case wherein the Congress leader was allegedly attacked," the DCP said, adding further probe is on.

Ali, Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council, had yesterday filed a complaint against Asaduddin and his followers for allegedly attacking him in Mirchowk area.

Mirchowk and Chandrayangutta Police registered cases against the Owaisi brothers and others under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation), among others.

Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ali alleged MIM party workers led by Asaduddin attacked them. A vehicle belonging to Reddy was damaged too. Ali said he suffered injuries below the right eye and on other body parts.

Mirchowk Police Inspector Y Yadgir Reddy said they have also received a complaint from an Urdu daily reporter alleging Asaduddin and his followers attacked him yesterday. Police registered a case and a probe is underway.

Yesterday, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Congress workers clashed during the civic polls and police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them.

The trouble started when Congress candidate Mohammad Gouse and MIM MLA Pasha Quadri got into a heated argument in Mirchowk in old city, stronghold of the regional party, following which they were briefly taken into police custody.

Reddy and Ali then reached Mirchowk Police station, where Gouse was kept in custody. Asaduddin also reached there at the same time. According to police, they resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse the agitated party workers, who led by their respective leaders, gathered outside the station.

Meanwhile, another MIM MLA Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala, arrested yesterday after he and his associates allegedly assaulted MBT (Majlis Bachau Tahreek) candidate Amjadullah Khan in Malakpet, was today granted bail.
A Chinese journalist who disappeared while seeking asylum abroad turned up today, telling his wife by phone he voluntarily returned to China for an investigation, in the latest case of Beijing's increasingly strong reach beyond the mainland for wanted people.

He Fangmei said she spoke with her journalist husband, Li Xin, when she was summoned to a police station to receive his call. She said he told her his return was voluntary, but that she believes he was forcibly brought back and spoke against his own will.

Several people believed to be wanted by Chinese authorities have disappeared over the past year while overseas or in Hong Kong, and some critics allege that Chinese agents are abducting them without proper authorisation to bring them to the mainland for interrogation.

"Beijing used to take into account foreign governments and respect other countries' laws, but in tandem with its rising strengthen in economy and expanding political influence, Beijing is becoming more overt in its operations and feels it can lord over some neighboring countries," veteran dissident Hu Jia said.

Li fled China in October and told the AP in an interview from India that he left because he had been forced to spy on fellow journalists, and that he wanted to stop. He later sought shelter in Thailand before disappearing January 11.

"He won't tell me where he is in China, but asks me to stay rested and live my life. He asks me not to contact any outsider for it does no good to him or me," the wife said in voice and text message exchange with AP from the Henan province town of Xinxiang. "But I know that's the pattern, and Li completely spoke contrary to his own will."



Local police reached by phone said they had no knowledge of the case.

The case shows the "growing length of the Chinese government's long arm beyond its borders" in cracking down on dissenters both at home and abroad, said Maya Wang, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Last October, a publisher of the Hong Kong gossip publishing house Mighty Current vanished from his apartment in Pattaya, a Thai beach resort. Gui Minhai resurfaced in January on China's state broadcaster CCTV, where he said he returned to China to turn himself in for an old crime.

Four other members of the publishing house also disappeared one by one. The last one was Lee Bo, who was believed to have been picked up while in Hong Kong, although he has sent notes to his wife that claimed he returned to the mainland voluntarily.

Pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmakers and human rights activists allege they were abducted by Chinese agents, and that any such detentions in Hong Kong violates the territory's autonomy under the "one country, two systems" model.
Mizoram Governor Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma today suggested farmers in the state should simultaneously take up horticulture, animal husbandry and fishery for higher success in farming.

Inaugurating the three-day Regional Agri-Fair organised by the Central Agriculture University (Imphal) at the campus of the College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry at Selesih near Aizawl, Sharma said farming in the state has all along been organic and should be continued.

"Though Mizoram terrain and soil are not very conducive for growing paddy, there is a huge potential for horticulture," the Governor opined, adding the climate was ideal for growing different kinds of fruits and vegetables.

All North Eastern states and Tamil Nadu participated in the fair.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has maintained records ahead of the presidential elections, to the extent available, of statements and actions taken by Presidential candidates on Armenian American concerns.Armenpress provides the records of some of the 2016 Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates:

In the records of one of the next US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton it is mentioned how she signed April 2005 letter to President Bush urging him to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In 107th(2001-2002) and 108th(2003-2004)Congresses she was a cosponsor of the resolutions on reaffirming support of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and anticipating the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 (the Proxmire Act) on November 4, 2003. In 109th Congress (2005-2006) and 110th Congress (2007-2008) she was a cosponsor of the resolution calling on the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide. As Secretary of State, she spearheaded U.S. leadership for the failed Turkey-Armenia Protocols, signed on October 10, 2009 in Zurich Switzerland. In June, 2014, Clinton would reminisce about the experience in her memoire, Hard Choices. Again as Secretary of State, she visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia stating that it was only in a private capacity. In January, 2012 during Town Hall meeting with State Department staff, Secretary Clinton referred to the Armenian Genocide as matter for historical debate. In February 27, 2012 over 60 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary Clinton rebuking her claim that the Armenian Genocide is a matter for historical debate.

The ANCA has no record of statements or comments by Donald Trump on Armenian American concerns. There are reports; however, that Trumps corporation does business with Azerbaijani oligarchs who lobby against Armenian American priorities.

Jeb Bush received the prestigious Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church  Eastern US Friend of Armenians Award at the 2013 Diocesan Assembly. As Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush issued an Armenian Genocide proclamation on April 7, 2006. As the son of then sitting vice-president and president-elect, George H. W. Bush, Jeb Bush and his son, George, traveled to earthquake stricken Armenia on December 24, 1988 to participate in the AmeriCares shipment of medical supplies, clothes, and toys. That shipment was the first time the U.S. provided humanitarian assistance to the Soviet Union.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is in the list of the candidates who mostly supported Armenians.From 1995 to 2012, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1991  2007) and U.S. Senate (2008-present), Bernie Sanders has, at various times, supported Armenian Genocide legislation, Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, and efforts to secure Turkeys return of confiscated Armenian and other Christian Churches.

The ANCA has no record of any proclamations or statements made by Governor Christie in support of Armenian American concerns. On February 26, 2012, he did issue a letter commemorating the Khojaly Massacre.

Republican Ted Cruz is a cosponsor of Armenian Genocide Legislation (S.Res.140). On April 27, 2015, Senator Cruz cosponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.140), spearheaded by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO). The resolution currently has 21 cosponsors. On April 18, 2015, Sen. Cruz issued a statement marking the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, which was presented at the Armenian Genocide commemorative event and rally at the Texas State Capitol.

Activities of other US candidates can be found here.
A nine-year-old boy suffered severe burns and his vision was seriously affected when a mobile phone exploded while he answered an incoming call on the device while it was on charge-mode.

A class four student, Dhanush attended the call at his home at Maduranthakam near here when the mobile phone was getting charged on January 29 night, hospital authorities said.

No sooner had he attended the call, it exploded, resulting in severe burns to his right hand, face and eyes.

The parents took the boy to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital and later to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for treating his burn injuries.

Doctors said the boy had suffered first and second degree burns on his hand and face.

Subsequently, he was admitted to the Government Ophthalmic Hospital here. While the right eye's cornea was damaged, the globe of the left eye was ruptured.

"The intensity of the blast not only damaged his right cornea it also ruptured the globe of his left eye, the right hand that was used by the boy to hold the phone suffered serious burns," Director, Regional Institute of Ophthmaology and Government Ophthamic Hospital, Dr Waheeda Nazir told PTI.

She said a patch was grafted from a cadaver donor cornea on the boy's right eye and the left eye was sutured to shape up the globe.

"It (blast) also led to formation of cataract on his right eye, he is now doing fine, he would have to be in hospital for three more weeks," she said to a query.

The boy's vision on his left eye now extends between four to five metres and as regards right eye, she said there are "more (procedures) to be carried out, we can comment on it only later.
The Narendra Modi dispensation is a "Thumbs Up" government which always "wants to have a blast", Congress said today, taking a dig at it ahead of the start of the Make in India week programme in Mumbai.

The Congress also hit back at Modi for his veiled attack on the party at a public meeting in Coimbatore yesterday during which he had said a "campaign of lies" has been let loose on the issue of dalits under a "deliberate conspiracy" to disintegrate the country, saying he has acted more like a BJP leader and a "pracharak" than as Prime Minister since taking office.

Party spokesman Ajoy Kumar accused Modi of focusing on attacking his political opponents instead of fulfilling the promises made to the people.

"It is a Thumbs Up government. Everyday it wants to have a blast (Kutch toofani ho jaye),"party spokesman Ajoy Kumar told reporters, taking a jibe at its "penchant for event management".

He said the Digital India campaign was launched with much fanfare but its ambitious outlay was halved "within no time" and now only one fifth of the amount originally estimated has been set aside for the scheme.

"They just want to do event management each time. They have a penchant for it," he said.

He also rejected the Prime Minister's accusation of Congress letting loose a "campaign of lies" on the issue of dalits.

Kumar said remarks by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and some other BJP leaders on the issue of reservation were "not conducive" to spreading harmony in the society.

In Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu yesterday, the Prime Minister had ruled out scrapping reservation and made a veiled attack on Congress for its "campaign of lies".

"Earlier they tried to instigate farmers. That did not succeed.....Now in the name of dalits, lies are being spread. Wherever they go, whenever they go, they utter lies. They repeat the lies on top of their voice. A campaign of lies has been let loose to mislead and fool dalits." Modi had said.
India today blamed Pakistan for most of the terror attacks in the country but said it would stand by the neighbour if it takes action against terrorists operating from there.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said if Pakistan takes concrete action against terrorists on its territory it will not only improve bilateral relations but also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region.

"Most of the terror attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil.

"The government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations," he said addressing the second edition of counter-terrorism conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with the government of Rajasthan.

The Home Minister said for India, Mumbai (26/11) and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a "tectonic shift".

The Mumbai terror attack in 2008 brought terror across the seas to country's economic capital, causing a large number of casualties among the innocent civilian population.

"Likewise, in the recent attack on Pathankot air base, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and also cause large-scale casualties, thus taking the dynamics of terror attack in India a notch higher," he said.

Singh said the challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy.

"They make perverse distinction between 'good' and 'bad' terrorists. When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating bands of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons and weapon systems of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult," he said.

The Home Minister said so long as some countries continue using terrorists as instruments to promote their geo-political agenda, the fight against terrorism will lack due resolve.

"The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no 'good' terrorist," he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar while addressing the conference said India was in touch with Pakistan after the Pathankot attack and dialogue between the two countries on the terror assault would continue.

"Since Pathankot attack happened, we have been in touch with Pakistan. We have been in touch at my level and the NSA level because only by remaining in touch, we can expect them to progress on the basis of information which we have provided to them," Jaishankar told the Counter Terrorism Conference.

He said the NDA government is trying to eliminate



"bureaucratic procedures" to pave way for smooth flow of business in the country.

He said the government is mulling to give security clearance to foreign investors at the time of entry.

"We have minimised bureaucratic hurdles or bureaucratic procedures as part of the ease of doing business in India. We will have to do some more improvement in that direction.

Earlier security clearance for investors that come from outside was for three years. Now it has been made for 10 years. I want, and will try that it should not be for ten years. Once they (foreign investors) get security clearance there should not be any more (security) clearances," he said.

According to him, India received USD 15 billion FDI in 2015-16 and stood as one of the most attractive destinations for investments.

Singh said he too will be leaving for USA next month and the one of the main agendas of his visit would be a dialogue on homeland security.
The mother of a man convicted for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has started a public petition campaign in Sri Lanka seeking the release of her son from a jail in Tamil Nadu.

Vetrivel Somini, mother of Murugan who has been in jail after his conviction in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, said she is aiming to get one million signatures for the petition to seek the release of her son and six others.

Somini, who lives in Sri Lanka's Kilinochchi, the former administrative capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said she hopes to submit the petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murugan, a resident of Pallai in Kilinochchi, has been in jail for the last 25 years.

Somini said there were examples when world leaders had pardoned convicts accused of grave crimes and so she expects her son to be given clemency.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out Rajiv's assassination on May 21, 1991 in Sriperumbudur.

The LTTE had killed Rajiv to exact revenge for his decision to send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka under the 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.

Dampening hopes of release for the killers of Rajiv, India's Supreme Court in December had ruled that the Centre has "primacy" over states' right to grant remission and referred the issue of clemency for the assassins to a three-judge bench.
The Bombay High Court today rapped Maharashtra government and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for failing to implement a Government Resolution on measures to be taken to keep beaches secure.

"It is shocking that 14 students, of which 10 were girls, died after drowning two days back at the Murud-Janjira beach. There is no system in place. There were no warning signals, no lifeguards and no watchtowers," a division bench of justices N H Patil and G S Kulkarni said.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO Janhit Manch on the issue of beach safety.

In 2006, the high court had passed certain directions following which on September 8, 2006, the government issued a resolution on the issue.

"The government is yet to implement the resolution. You (government and civic body) have a resolution directly on the issue but still nothing has been done. Ask the city collector why the resolution has not been implemented," the court said.

"There are so many beaches in the city itself like Juhu beach, Gorai beach, Aksa beach and so on. There is so much crowd in these places especially children. With no system in place how does the government propose to avoid such incidents (drowning)," the bench said.

Giving the example of how Goa has deployed beach police also known as coastal police at their beaches, the court said the Maharashtra government should also consider the same.

The court posted the petition for hearing on February 12 and asked both government and corporation to say why the resolution has not yet been implemented.
The National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) today said the Jharkhand government should ensure reservation to people under the SC category proportionate to its population.

"The SC population in Jharkhand is 12.09 per cent, while reservation is (covered to) only ten per cent. It should be proportionate to its population," NCSC chairperson P L Punia told a press conference here.

"Another serious matter," he said, "is more than 50 per cent of women belonging to SC, are illiterate."



The three-member Commission suggested the government to take steps in increasing the number of residential schools and hostels, he said.

"Scholarship should be given to all students under SC category as it is the only source for children to study," Punia said.

The government and private institutions should also ensure admission of such students free of cost in courses like B.Tech, MBA and LLB, Punia added.
Congress today accused the NDA government of "re-branding" or changing nomenclature of pro-people and development-oriented schemes of the previous UPA government to take credit.

Citing the case of MNREGA, Congress leader and former union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the BJP leadership had initially criticised it tomalign the UPA government but the Modi government had to make a U-turn andwas forced to celebrate its 10 years of completion because of the remarkable success and achievements of this scheme and its popularity amongst the rural poor.

"Congress always launched pro-people and development- oriented schemes in the country and the BJP-led NDA government is only re-branding those schemes or changing nomenclature to take credit," said Azad, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Referring to MNREGA scheme launched by the UPA government, he said it is unique in the world andhas beenrecognized by the World Bank as the biggest job source on the globe. Addressing a party rally here to celebrate 10 years of the launch of MNREGA, he said the scheme was aimed at providing right to job to the rural poor and its success lies in the fact that around 13 crore households in the country covering a population of around 65 crore had availed of the benefit when the UPA-II relinquished its office in 2014.

Azad said Congress president Sonia Gandhi had "great concern" for the people in rural areas and villages and the MNREGA scheme was the result of the emphasis of the UPA leadership to uplift the rural poor andto ensure development in villages.

He said some states did not initially implement the scheme inits right spirit but it has resulted in providing jobto the people in their own villages and areas and checked the migration of labour especially from states like Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan to other states in the country for the livelihood.

Azad said the UPA government had laid emphasis on the health, education, connectivity of villages and jobs besides power projects based on nuclear energy, hydel and solar power. Results of these initiatives are visible in the country, he said, adding initiatives of the UPA-II in power sector would bring remarkable results in near future. He said lacks of schools were opened in each and every corner of the country, while under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), health care facilities had been extended. He asked the Congress leaders and workers to educate the masses and make them aware of the schemes of the Congress party.
Barcelona and Brazil's star striker Neymar suffered a fresh legal blow when Brazilian prosecutors filed a tax fraud and forgery case against him.

The 23-year-old and his family have denied any wrongdoing over alleged irregularities in his superstar signing for Barcelona in 2013.

But hours after he gave testimony in Spain in one case, a new front opened up as federal prosecutors in Brazil launched proceedings against him and his father.

Investigators in both countries suspect Neymar's family and the club hid the real value of the deal under which Barcelona signed him from Brazilian side Santos.

Barcelona valued the transfer at about 57 million euros ($62 million), but Spanish authorities think it added up to more than 83 million euros.

Brazil's federal prosecution service accused the player, full name Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, and his father of forging contracts to pay less tax.

It made the same accusations against his father and two senior FC Barcelona management figures: the club's current president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell.

A federal court must now decide whether to admit the charges and put them on trial.

Last September, Brazilian authorities froze $47 million worth of the player's assets pending investigations.

The federal prosecution service said in a statement the charges related to "tax evasion and forgery," which cost the state "millions" in lost taxes.

- Selfies at court -



====================



Wearing jeans and sunglasses, Neymar seemed relaxed as he arrived at Spain's National Court in Madrid with his father Neymar da Silva Santos, who was also called to testify before an investigating judge.

The player signed an autograph in front of a group of photographers before giving the thumbs-up and entering court, where he stayed an hour and a half.

He made no comment when he left, but took a multitude of selfies with young supporters.
The National Green Tribunal has summoned officials of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana government for their failure to curb illegal sand mining on the floodplains of river Yamuna, already banned by the green panel.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed all concerned officers of Haryana and UP, head of the Irrigation Department, Zeology and Mining, member secretary of pollution control board and police to appear before it on February 5 and apprise it about the actual status of mining.

It also asked Environment Ministry to inform it about the quantum of illegal mining being carried out and its impact on ecology and environment of the river bed.

"Are there temporarily and/or privately made bridges after Greater NOIDA but before Mathura on Yamuna? If the answer is affirmative under whose permission and who has built it and the reason therefor?



"Were any JCBs seized by the state of Uttar Pradesh or Haryana or by any other Authority? The names and particulars of parties who have indulged in illegal mining, building of unit(s) using of JCBs and heavy machinery for mining. What is the age of bridge," the bench asked the Ministry.

The NGT issued notices to four contactors -- De-krish Builders Private Ltd, NCR Realteck Private Ltd, Ajay Pal Singh and Naveen Singh --to show cause to why action be not taken against them for indulging in sand mining.

The matter was listed for next hearing on February 5.

On November 2 last year, the Tribunal had prohibited sand mining saying "no mining activity, both legal and illegal, should be carried out on the banks of river Yamuna" and also constituted a committee of senior officers of both states to file their status report on mining.

The green panel was hearing a plea alleging that some private firms were engaged in the activity and a temporary bridge was made on the river obstructing its natural flow.

NGT Bar Association, in its plea, had alleged that the land mafia was indulging in illegal sand mining on either side of banks of Yamuna at Gautam Budh Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad area of Haryana.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Delhi Chief Secretary and Commissioners of the three municipal corporations of Delhi over non-payment of salary to primary school teachers.

The Commission has taken cognizance of a complaint by school teachers alleging that non-payment of salary by the municipal corporations has put them on the verge of starvation.

Allegedly, the primary teachers of MCD schools have no money to pay school fee of their children, to buy food and medicines, said an NHRC statement.

The Commission has sought an action report in the matter within four weeks.

Around 12,000 teachers of MCD schools have joined the municipal employees strike which entered its eighth day today.

"All the 1,100 schools are closed resulting in complete boycott of teaching and mid-day meal related work by thousands of teachers. We are also talking to our colleagues in South Delhi Municipal Corporation to join the strike," said Ram Niwas Solanki, General Secretary of Nagar Nigam Shikshak Sangh.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Republics President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on January 3 on appointing Georgi Kutoyan Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia (RA), the Department of Mass Media and Public Relations of the Armenian Presidents office informed Armenpress.

By another decree of Serzh Sargsyan, Georgi Kutoyan was relieved of his post of the Assistant to the RA president.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari asked the international community today to help end the turmoil in Libya, warning that it was creating a "strategic time bomb" for Africa and Europe.

In a speech to the European Parliament, Buhari said the situation in lawless southern Libya was particularly alarming as it was creating a flow of arms affecting Nigeria and other countries.

Buhari is fighting to end a bloody six-year insurgency in Nigeria by Islamist group Boko Haram, which is estimated to have caused the deaths of 17,000 people and forced more than 2.6 million others to flee their homes.

In the past year the group has extended its reach beyond the borders of Nigeria, stepping up attacks in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Libya has been gripped by chaos since the 2011 revolution that topped dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with two rival administrations currently holding sway and the Islamic State group on the rise.

"I must express our serious concern about the alarming situation in southern Libya which is becoming a strategic time bomb for Africa and indeed Europe," Buhari told MEPs in the French city of Strasbourg.

"The ungoverned south of southern Libya has become a (...) arms bazaar which threatens the security of the Sahel region as well as the north Africa region and beyond.

"We must therefore intensify our efforts to find a lasting solution to the Libyan crisis."



The EU and UN have been backing efforts to form a national unity government in Libya but this has been beset by problems.

Since 2014 Libya has had two governments and parliaments, with the recognised authorities based in the eastern city of Tobruk and a militia-backed authority in Tripoli.

In mid-December, only a minority of lawmakers from both sides signed a UN-backed deal to unify the government in the oil-rich North African nation.
At least nine persons were today injured in a clash that broke out between two groups over the appointment of an Imam at a mosque at Doheli village here, police said.

The incident occurred at the village under Purkazi police station area when the two groups confronted each other over the Imam's appointment, Superintendent of Police, City, Deepak Gupta said.

The verbal confrontation later turned into a full-fledged clash in which fire arms, sharp weapons and batons were used by both the groups, leaving nine persons injured, The SP said.

The injured have been admitted to the district hospital, Gupta said, adding a case of rioting has been registered and 20 persons, including the Imam of the mosque, have been arrested.

Security has been heightened at the village, the SP said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today expressed grief over the death of veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar.

In his condolence message, Kumar described Jakhar as a prominent leader, an efficient administrator and a social worker.

His death will impact not only politics but also the social arena, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office here said.

Kumar prayed for the family of the veteran leader.

Jakhar, 92, passed away today.
Search queries for the auto segment surged 40 per cent in 2015, driven by traffic from non-metros as well as people looking for used cars, a report by Google today said.

"The overall increase combining both desktop and smartphone grew by 40 per cent in 2015. Searches were split equally with 50 per cent of all searches driven by desktop users and the rest through smartphones," Google said in a statement.

Also, Bengaluru emerged as the city with maximum search queries for automobiles, closely followed by Delhi, it added.

Interestingly, search interest around 'used cars' also saw a strong pickup in 2015, growing over 200 per cent compared to the previous year.

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata contributed about 35 per cent of all search results around automobiles, while the remaining 65 per cent search results emerged from smaller cities and towns.

"Search interest was driven by Tier II and III cities. While 30 per cent growth in queries came from Tier II cities, 25 per cent search queries were from Tier I cities. The rest 45 per cent of search queries were from Tier III or smaller towns," it said.

Based on the early data available for 2016, searches around this year's Auto Expo have almost doubled compared to the previous edition in 2014.

New launches and announcements from automakers are expected to further fuel search interest over the next few weeks, Google said.

In the run up to the Auto Expo (basis search trends over the last 30 days), Maruti captured the top slot in terms of search interest, followed closely by Mahindra & Mahindra.

Among the show-stoppers expected this year, Ford Mustang emerged as the most searched model among auto enthusiasts followed by the Audi R8, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Range Rover Evoque and the Nissan GT-R.
Amid growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US poll campaign, President Barack Obama's visit to a US mosque for the first time during his presidency is aimed at assuring the large Muslim-American community of their religious freedom, according to a top White House official.

"I think the President is quite interested in making sure that we're affirming the important role that Muslims play in our diverse American society, and certainly affirming their right to worship God in a way that's consistent with their heritage," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday.

Obama is expected to spend several hours at a mosque in Baltimore, near the American capital, during which he would hold talks with eminent American-Muslim leaders and listen to their grievances if any.

"They (Muslims) shouldn't be subject to ridicule or targeting by anybody, let alone somebody who aspires to leading the country," Earnest said on the eve of the first visit of the US President to a mosque in the country.

"It certainly true that we've seen an alarming willingness on the part of some Republicans to try to marginalise law-abiding, patriotic Muslim Americans," Earnest said.

Earnest highlighted that Obama has talked a lot about how important it is for the government to have an effective partnership with leaders in the Muslim community.

"We know that there are extremist organisations like ISIL that are seeking to use social media to radicalise vulnerable members of the population," he said.

Certainly the leaders in the Muslim community have a strong interest in preventing that from happening, Earnest said.

Talking about the anti-Muslim rhetoric coming from some Republicans, he said, "It is offensive.It's not just offensive to the President.I think it's certainly offensive to a lot of Muslim Americans. I think it's just offensive to a lot of Americans who recognise that those kinds of cynical political tactics run directly contrary to the values that we hold dear in this country."



"And I think the President is looking forward to the opportunity to make that point," Earnest said in response to a question.

Earnest said the President's remarks at the mosque are going to be focused on national security.
US President Barack Obama has waded into the boiling debate over Britain's European Union membership, telling Prime Minister David Cameron his country was best served inside the 28-country bloc.

Obama spoke with Cameron by phone and "reaffirmed continued US support for a strong United Kingdom in a strong European Union," according to the White House.

Obama's intervention comes as Cameron attempts to secure face-saving concessions from Brussels, ahead of an expected UK referendum on EU membership in June.

Washington has long backed Britain playing a central role in the world's largest economic bloc, warning the "special relationship" could be at risk if Britain were to leave.

Cameron also favors EU membership, but has called for a series of changes to EU rules, in a bid to placate factions of his deeply skeptical Conservative Party.

EU president Donald Tusk earlier unveiled his proposals to keep Britain in the club, firing the starting gun on weeks of negotiations.
Amid growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US poll campaign, President Barack Obama today made his first visit to a mosque as part of his effort to assure the religious minority of their safety and security and celebrate religious diversity of the country.

However, Obama was greeted by two protesters as his motorcade rolled up to the Islamic Society of Baltimore.

"They were holding three signs, oddly, calling on Obama to not find Hamas," a White House pool report said.

A third protester with a bullhorn was also outside the fence of the Islamic Center.

Soon after arriving at the mosque, Obama held a round table with eminent Muslim community leaders.

Obama's mosque visit in the vicinity of the national capital comes amid increasing backlash against the Muslim community in particular the anti-Islam rhetoric coming from the Republican presidential candidates.

"We welcome his visit. Our organisation has advocated it for quite some time. It's an especially important gesture given the divisive climate we have witnessed in this election year," Rabiah Ahmed of the Islamic Society of Baltimore told PTI.

In a White House blog post, Rumana Ahmed, advisor at the White House said this is an important moment.

"Unfortunately, the recent political discourse is antithetical to the basic tenants of what America represents. Politicians and pundits are negatively associating millions of Americans with a small fraction of terrorists," she said.

"The Muslim Americans who teach our future generations in the classroom, who take care of us in the doctor's offices, who inspire us on and off the field, who protect us on the frontlines of war -- these are the people who have always reminded me proudly, that yes, I am Muslim and American. In this country, I don't have to choose," Ahmed said.
Orient Cement today reported a net loss of Rs 13 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, mainly due to finance and depreciation costs related to a new plant in Karnataka.

The CK Birla group company had a profit of Rs 31 crore in the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

"As this is the first quarter in which the new Greenfield plant in District Gulbarga (Karnataka) has been operational, the company has booked finance costs and depreciation on this new investment of around Rs 2,000 crore, resulting in a net loss of Rs 13 crore," the company said in a statement.

The statement said the company has reported volume growth of 2.2 per cent YoY and net sales of Rs 351 crore.

The firm had reported a net sales of Rs 383 crore in the corresponding quarter a year-ago.

About the new facility it said, "The new capacity is still under stabilisation, but is already breaking even at the EBITDA level and is expected to achieve cash break-even in the coming months."



The new capacity gives the company access to new markets in Karnataka besides strengthening its position in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Orient Cement said, "The quarter ended December 31 has seen a continuation of the challenging market conditions from the previous quarter. Our volume growth of 2.2 per cent versus the same quarter last year has coincided with a very low price environment in our core markets, especially in Maharashtra."



He said the costs related to the commissioning of new integrated unit at Chittarpur have affected operating and net profit numbers in this quarter.

"The Company expects, along with the rest of the Industry, for demand to pick up in the coming months. Various projects for housing, roads, irrigation, metros as well as new initiatives like 'Smart Cities' & 'Swachh Bharat' should lead to improved demand for cement in Telangana, AP and Maharashtra", he said.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 142.70, down 0.90 per cent from previous close on the BSE.
Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province has become a hotbed for proxy wars for regional and global powers pursuing a grand strategy as he accused foreign forces of supporting terrorism in the state, army chief Gen Raheel Sharif said.

"Foreign adversaries are more than eager to exploit any opportunity to destabilise Pakistan by harbouring, training and funding dissidents and militants," he told a seminar on peace and prosperity in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, yesterday.

He said that terrorism and militancy were being supported by foreign forces and facilitated by insiders.

Gen Sharif said issues in Balochistan were complicated by the foreign interference across a porous border spanning hundreds of kilometres. "This is a battle that we all are fighting, and we shall continue to fight till peace prevails across the width and breadth of the province," he added.

Gen Sharif said the law enforcement agencies and the people of Balochistan had defended the integrity of Pakistan with unflinching resolve.

He noted that law enforcement agencies had carried out over 2,400 intelligence-based operations in Balochistan since August, 2014 during which 204 lives were lost.

"The fact is that in the current security situation diverse and divergent interests have created complex problems in the province," he added.

He said that lack of developed infrastructure, extreme poverty, poor educational and health facilities, and rampant unemployment lend credibility to the complaints of the aggrieved section of society.

"I understand that use of force brings nothing but destruction, distress and suffering, often to those who had no part in it. Involvement of the people and state institutions, therefore, is the correct way forward for the prosperity of Baluchistan," he added.
Hafiz Saeed, alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and leader of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group, today praised the deadly attack on the Pathankot air base last month, that left seven dead. He encouraged further violence in his speech.

Addressing a rally of around one thousand people in the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir region, Saeed said, "800,000 Indian troops are committing genocide on Kashmiris. Don't they have a right to carry out Pathankot style attacks for their defence?"



Saeed, who remains a free man, also lauded Kashmiri militant leader Sayed Salahuddin, who heads the United Jihad Council (UJC) that has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"You have only seen one attack on Pathankot. Matters could easily escalate."



Crowds at the rally shouted slogans including "The war will continue until the liberation of Kashmir" and "We are ready for jihad."



Indian officials believe another group -- the Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) -- was behind the siege.

Saeed's freedom and his frequent calls for jihad against India irk New Delhi, which considers JuD -- a UN designated "terror organisation" -- to be no more than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. There will be some ideas over cooperation format between the Republican Party of Armenia and ARF within one week. Secretary of the ARF National Assembly faction Aghvan Vardanyan told the journalists about this. The cornerstone of our activities is making qualitative changes in our country. We are ready to engage in qualitative changes by our participation and activities. If we see there are opportunities to bring into life our ideas, we never avoid responsibility, Armenpress reports, Vardanyan mentioned.

Referring to the announcement made by the head of the ARF faction Armen Rustamyan, that the authorities are discredited, Aghvan Vardanyan mentioned that the strain of the last three days was mostly caused by the journalistic community. It seems that everything is in its place again. If you have followed the speeches of Republican figures, you will see that everything is smooth. Lets not focus on all that. It is obvious that any government in an unfavorable country loses reputation, and it has no alternative. But Armen Rustamyan made that announcement in the context of logical analysis, but his words have been presented out of the context, about which he made clarifications yesterday, the MP stated.

To the question if Armen Rustamyans announcement may negatively impact on negotiations with the authorities, Aghvan Vardanyan answered, We continue our works in the same way, Aghvan Vardanyan said, expressing discontent over the fact that the journalists try to display the process as a bargain for portfolios.
The Pakistan government should explain on what grounds actor Anupam Kher was denied a visa to travel to that country, BJP today said while noting that India has been "liberal" in granting visas to Pakistani artistes.

"Why has Pakistan singled out and discriminated against the noted Bollywood artiste. The Pakistan government should clarify as well as rectify its mistake," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

The Indian government has been liberal in granting visas to Pakistani artistes visiting and performing in India and has been liberal in granting visas to them.

Exchange of artistes helps promote peace and improves ties among people, he said.

BJP also questioned the silence of 'intellectuals' active in the intolerance debate "after being so vocal in the past".

"It is surprising that so-called pseudo-secular brigade which was so vocal at the instance of Congress and its partners in the past, have suddenly turned silent now," Sharma said.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit called up Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he had applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.

Pakistan High Commission officials said Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Kher was denied a visa by the Pakistan government to attend the festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Taking a dig at Anupam Kher over visa issue, Congress today said if the "poster boy" of "tolerant" India is so keen to go Pakistan, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi can talk to his "friend" Nawaz Sharif to facilitate the visit.

"If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said in a tweet.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh also questioned the uproar by Kher over the denial of visa, asking if it is not mandatory for an individual to file for a visa application.

"Anupam Kher has himself confessed that he hasn't filed an application in Pakistan Embassy. Then Arnab (Goswami) and Anupam what is the fuss about?(sic), Singh tweeted.

The veteran actor had last year taken out a rally against a protest march over growing "intolerance" in the country.

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you."



Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.
Three Palestinians armed with automatic weapons, explosive devices and knives killed an Israeli security officer and seriously wounded another in Jerusalem today before police shot and killed the attackers, police said.

It was one the most brazen attacks in nearly five months of near-daily Palestinian assaults, mostly stabbings, on Israeli police, soldiers and civilians. Israel has struggled to contain the violence, despite sending troops to secure cities, expanding police powers and toughening punishments for attackers.

Today's attack took place after Israeli paramilitary border police officers on a security patrol noticed three people who aroused their suspicion near the Old City's Damascus Gate, a central shopping area for Palestinians as well as a main tourist draw, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

The officers stopped them, and as they began checking one of their ID cards, the other two drew guns and knives and attacked two female officers. One of the officers, identified as 19-year-old Hadar Cohen, later died, police said.

Police officers opened fire and killed the three Palestinians. They then defused the explosive devices they were carrying.

"The weapons indicate that a combined attack was prevented by officers who protected city residents with their own bodies," Samri said in a statement.

Police identified the Palestinians as two 20-year-olds and one 21-year-old from the area of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Associated Press video from the scene showed throngs of police officers weaving through a crowd of Palestinians and a row of police cars with sirens blaring. A police spokesman sent reporters a photo of a group of officers standing around a pool of blood near the gate.

Since mid-September, 27 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. At least 154 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire, including 109 Israel said were attackers. The rest have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

Israel says the violence has been fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustrations stemming from nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation.

It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's attack was carried out by a militant group.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack as "heroic," lauding the assailants' ability to reach Jerusalem despite a maze of Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. The group stopped short of claiming responsibility.
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) here has formed a committee to probe allegations of "casteist" remarks against students belonging to the SC and ST community and has asked for a report within three weeks.

The committee was set up after a group of students, including those from SC and ST community, approached authorities alleging that "ill will" and "hatred" against them was being spread by some of their peers after they protested over Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide.

In letters to the Social Justice Ministry and the Tribal Ministry, 17 students have complained against certain social media posts that first appeared on January 18.

The students subsequently threatened legal recourse stating that due to the "prevailing tension" they are not able to focus on studies.

Anurag Mishra, IIMC OSD, refused to comment when asked about the allegations.

However, a faculty member said that a five-member committee, including representatives from the students' side, was formed yesterday in a meeting where "both the grieving parties were heard out". It has been given three weeks time to submit a report on the issue.

The IIMC, run by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, will hold its annual convocation on February 5.

When contacted, one of the students who has been complained against, said that "personal revenge" was being taken against him "misusing" constitutional protection granted to SC and ST community people.

"I have apologised for the post although initially I was not ready to do so. In the region where I come from, words I used in the post are not regarded offensive at all. A propaganda has been unleashed against me," the student said.

The complainant students have told the authorities that "comments are being passed and remarks made loud" when they pass through the corridors in the college and hostels since they raised the matter.

"In the campus there is an air of worry...We hereby expect proactive action by our able faculties to ensure harmony and amicability on campus as assured," they wrote.

"We would beg to request a slot in the academic timetable to be allocated for sensitising of all the students by experts in the field of Caste/Tribe reality and affirmative action, to promote amicability and inclusivity on campus," they added.

Last month, a group of students had organised a protest meet inside the campus over the suicide of Hyderabad University Dalit student Rohith Vemula.
Police cleared a sprawling slum-like camp along railroad tracks on the edge of Paris that housed hundreds of Roma, citing sanitary concerns.

Activist groups say some 400 people had been living in makeshift shelters at the site, but many had left before police moved in. The remaining residents left in a calm atmosphere this morning.

Thousands of Roma, also known as Gypsies, live in shantytowns around France, often without water or electricity. They routinely face discrimination and evacuations.

Amnesty International urged city authorities to find a lasting housing solution and said those expelled would become homeless in mid-winter or just build a new camp elsewhere.

The site belongs to the national railway authority SNCF, which refused to comment. Paris police said the camp was cleared over hygiene and safety concerns, namely the use of makeshift heaters that could spark a fire.
Hailed as one of the finest specimens of European architecture, construction of the Patna High Court building, which turned hundred today, was pursued with "unfailing vigour" despite the Great War which otherwise had thrown a spanner in the building of the New Capital of young Bihar.

Built in a neo-classical style based on a Palladian design, the grand building was formally inaugurated in an impressive ceremony on February 3, 1916 by Viceroy Lord Charles Hardinge, who had also laid the foundation stone of this august institution on December 1, 1913.

"...The financial situation resulting from the war has made it necessary largely to reduce the expenditure on our new capital; and the construction of the Secretariat and other buildings has been in consequence been postponed or retarded.

"But, it was recognised that whatever else might suffer, nothing should be allowed to delay the establishment of the Provincial High Court. The construction of the building was therefore pushed on with utmost expedition....," said Sir Edward Gait, the then Lt Governor of Bihar and Orissa in his speech on the occasion.

Incidentally, Lord Hardinge had played an instrumental role in creation of the province of Bihar and Orissa carved out of Bengal, with Patna as the new capital, the announcement for which was made in the 1911 Delhi Durbar by King George V.

The site for the new capital, christened the New Capital Area (informally New Patna) was chosen just west of the Bankipore railway station (old Patna station) and the new area was laid out in a planned manner by its chief architect J F Munnings, whose other grand contributions to the architectural fabric of the city include the Government House and the Secretariat.

In laying out the court on the historic Bailey Road, Munnings was assisted by A M Millwood, and the two architects gave birth to an iconic landmark that has practically remained unchanged in these 100 years, weathering floods, several quakes including the killer 1934 temblor.

The two-storeyed building is spread out in a U-shape and has a pedimented portico behind which rises a high dome over the central hall of the imposing structure.

"The British Government, even under the distractions of



this troubled time (First World War), pursued with unfailing vigour the aim which it has always proposed to itself as one of the fundamental objects of all good government - the desire to facilitate the administration of justice to all its subjects," Lord Hardinge said in his inauguration speech.

Constructed by Calcutta's Martin & Co., the Viceroy was presented an ornate ceremonial "key to the Patna High Court" by the company on the occasion as a symbolic way of opening the court.

Soon after the building's opening, a Letters Patent was issued by King George V on February 9, 1916 constituting the High Court of Judicature at Patna. The formal session of the High Court began with its first sitting on March 1 the same year.

The first judges of the Patna High Court were Chief Justice Edward Maynard Des Champ Chamier and six other puisne judges including three Indians -- Justice Saiyid Shurfuddin, Justice Basant Kumar Mallick and Justice Jwala Prasad.

Former judge of Patna High Court and author of 'Patna High Court: A Century of Glory' justice (retd) S K Katriar says, "Both foundation-laying and opening ceremonies of the court were grand. And, Lord Hardinge possibly became the first Viceroy to participate in both functions."



And, grand occasions they were indeed as the Viceroy arrived in Bankipore (Patna's civil station) in a special train and later visited the function site in a ceremonial procession escorted by Behar Light Horse volunteers.

Old pictures archived at the court museum shows the chosen site was surrounded with tall palm trees when the construction began. Some of those trees can still be seen around the periphery of the building, which is considered till date a celebrated work of architecture, and now a veritable city landmark, with Patna Women's College's equally beautiful building right opposite to it, complementing its look.

The main building with its red-coloured mansard roof punctured by dormer window is now basking in the glory of its 100 years, standing tall as a magnificent symbol of dispensing impartial justice in the province which has been through easy times and turbulent times including the country's partition and the Emergency era.

The court's main building houses the grand Marble Hall, one of the high-points of its architecture, while the wrought-ironwork on its main entrance (for judges) to the lobby and the British-era lifts add to the old-world charm.
As political uncertainty continued, Congress today said it is high time that an elected government is put in place in Jammu and Kashmir and asked PDP and BJP to come out with a concrete solution.

"It will be a mutual decision of PDP and BJP whether to form a government or not. Congress has no role to play," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters here.

Azad said people of J&K need a government for development and it is high time that an elected government is put in place.

He asked PDP and BJP to come out with concrete solution on government formation for the sake of the State's development.

PDP and BJP ran a coalition government for 10 months before the demise of then Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed on January 7.
All domestic and international flights run by Pakistan's ailing flag carrier were cancelled today as the country-wide strike by PIA employees opposing the government's privatisation move entered the second day.

Pakistan International Airlines workers' unions went on strike yesterday while the pilots joined in the evening after three workers were shot dead during clashes between security forces and PIA staff at Karachi's international airport.

At least 12 others were injured in the clashes.

A PIA official said that all domestic and international flights were cancelled as pilots and airport staff were not available to handle the cargo and the passengers.

Four major airports - Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport and Peshawar's Bacha Khan International Airport - saw a huge rush of passengers due to flight cancellations.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is trying to convince private airlines to operate additional flights to make up for the flights cancelled.

The government has already invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act ((ESMA) for six months, banning all protests. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday threatened to sack the protesting workers, but it appears to have had no impact.

PIA Joint Action Committee (JAC) spokesman Nasrullah Khan said employees would continue to boycott work until government takes back the bill passed on January 21, converting the national flag carrier into a public limited company and accepts their four-point demand.

The bill provides the government with an option to enter into an agreement with "a strategic partner" by selling up to 36 per cent shares.

The government plans to split the PIA into two companies and sell the control of its core business to a global airline.

PIA has been running into losses for years and government says it was not possible to turn around it with the current system of management.

Last week, the government postponed its privatisation after token protests by PIA employees. It, however, said that it will go ahead with the privatisation plans of the PIA, which has total losses and debts of around 254 and 300 billion Pakistani Rupees (USD 2.8 billion).

Launched in 1955, PIA presently has a workforce of around 14,700 with a ratio of around 390 employees for one aircraft, the biggest in any airline.

Officials and analysts say the airlines has been bleeding losses and has accumulated debts. In the last six years around 5,700 employees were hired during the tenures of the Pakistan Peoples Party and PML-N of Prime Minister Sharif.
A blast that ripped a hole in a commercial airliner shortly after take-off from Somalia's capital was probably caused by a bomb, the pilot who landed it safely claimed today.

The plane, operated by Daallo Airlines and flying from Mogadishu to Djibouti with 74 passengers, safely made an emergency landing yesterday. Police said two people onboard were injured.

The Serbian pilot has said he thought the blast, which ripped the fuselage from inside to out, had been an explosive device, according to reports in the Serbian newspaper Blic.

Pilot Vladimir Vodopivec, 64, told a friend he thought it was "a bomb", without giving more details.

Photographs show a large hole - about a metre in diameter - just above the engines on the right wing, with streaks of soot on the plane.

Vodopivec added that the blast did not damage the navigation systems, and while cabin pressure was lost, he was able to guide the plane back safely to land at Mogadishu airport.

Video footage taken after the blast showed people having moved to the back of the plane with emergency oxygen masks dangling down as wind rushed around the main cabin, although most people appeared fairly calm.

"The passenger plane made an emergency landing soon after it took off yesterday, and there was a damage on one side of the aircraft over the right wing," Somali police officer Mohamed Ise said.

He added it was not clear what had caused the explosion and fire and that investigations were being carried out.

"Passengers were terrified," said Abdiwahab Hassan, an airport official.

The plane "experienced an incident shortly after take- off," operator Daallo Airlines said in a statement.

"The aircraft landed safely and all of our passengers were evacuated safely," it added. "A thorough investigation is being conducted by Somalia Civil Aviation Authority."



Mogadishu airport is heavily fortified and adjoins the capital's main base of the African Union mission to Somalia, the 22,000-strong force backing the government in the battle against Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab insurgents.

The insurgents have lost ground since being routed from Mogadishu in 2011 but continue to stage regular shooting and suicide attacks.
For the second time, a Pakistani court today sought a larger bench to hear a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer after the plea was last heard nearly three years ago.

A Lahore High Court (LHC) two-member division bench, headed by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan and constituted by chief justice Ijazul Ahsan, conducted the hearing of the petition, nearly 85 years after Singh's execution by the colonial government.

Justice Mahmood, however, referred the case to the chief justice for constitution of a larger bench after petitioner Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi argued that a three-member bench had awarded death sentence to Singh, and therefore, a larger bench not less than five members should be formed to hear the plea.

After the hearing, advocate Qureshi - also chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation - told PTI that the court had accepted his plea to constitute a larger bench for hearing of the plea.

"Under the law only a larger bench comprising more than three members could undo the decision of the three-bench member that had awarded death sentence to Bhagat. We have also requested the LHC for regular hearing of the case," he said.

Last hearing of the petition was held by Justice Shujaat Ali Khan in May, 2013 when he referred the matter to chief justice for the constitution of a larger bench.

The chief justice then formed the two-member bench that held its first hearing today.

In the petition, Qureshi said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India.

Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931, after being tried under charges of hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government.

He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".

The petitioner further said Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Sikhs but also Muslims and that the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah had paid tribute to him twice during his speech in the central assembly.

"It is a matter of national importance and should be fixed before a full bench," he said and pleaded the court to set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with state award.

Earlier in 2014, the Lahore police had provided the copy of FIR to the petitioner on the court's order. Singh's name was not mentioned in the FIR of the murder of British police officer John P Saunders for which he was handed down the death sentence.

(Reopens FGN13)



Eighty-three years after his hanging, Lahore police searched through the record of the Anarkali police station on court's order and managed to find the FIR of Saunder's murder.

Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4:30 pm against two 'unknown gunmen'. The case was registered under sections 302, 1201 and 109 of the Indian Penal Code.

Petitioner Qureshi said special judges of the tribunal handling Singh's case awarded death sentence to him without hearing the 450 witnesses in the case. Singh's lawyers were not given the opportunity of cross-questioning them, he said.

"I will establish Bhagat Singh's innocence in the Saunders case," he said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia Armen Yeritsyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Seyyed Kazem Sajjad on February 3. Armenpress was informed about this from the MTAES Armenia.

Congratulating Seyyed Sajjad on the occasion of being appointed as the Ambassador, Minister Yeritsyan introduced the services and functions of the MTAES, outlining the sectors through which the ministry can foster Armenian-Iranian cooperation. The Minister also introduced his visit to Republic of Iraq, mentioning that the discussion of the issue of Iraq-Iran-Armenia highway is underway.

Expressing gratitude to the Minister for cordial reception, Ambassador Seyyed Kazem Sajjad mentioned that he aims to deepen cooperation between Armenia and Iran in all spheres.

The sides agreed to organize mutual visits of relevant officials of the two states aimed at deepening cooperation in seismic protection, rescue operations and prevention of natural and man-induced disasters. The sides also agreed to deepen cooperation between cities and provinces.
The first-ever Maritime India Summit (MIS), which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, will showcase about 200 projects with an investment potential of USD 6 billion, an official said today.

"In the first-ever maritime summit, we will showcase some 200 projects from all the ports, which has a USD 6 billion investment potential.

"It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14," Deputy Secretary at the Shipping Ministry, Abhishek Chandra, said here at the first roadshow for the event.

Earlier, there were plans to hold roadshows overseas, but due to paucity of time, it was restricted to five cities in the country, he added.

The government has reached out to at least 30 countries to explore opportunities at the summit, Chandra said.

The summit would be held in Mumbai from April 14-16.

Republic of Korea has consented to be the partner country for MIS-2016 and would participate with delegations of maritime companies and government officials.

Chandra said the summit would highlight projects from the country's ports and offer incentives to domestic and international companies to invest in the domestic maritime sector.

He said the projects which will be highlighted include three greenfield major ports in Maharashtra, Sagar Islands (West Bengal) and Colachel (Tamil Nadu) and the Sagarmala project, among others



"We will have 27 projects showcased in the maritime summit. This is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase new upcoming projects along the Bengal coast line and draw the attention of potential national/international investors to build maritime infrastructure of international standards in eastern India," Haldia Dock's Deputy Chairman Manish Jain said at the roadshow co-organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Kolkata Police today sent notice to Mohammed Sohrab in connection with the Red Road hit-and-run case in which his younger son Sambia Sohrab, the prime accused, and two of his friends were arrested.

Mohammed Sohrab, a former RJD MLA and stated to be a Trinamool Congress leader now, and his elder son Ambia Sohrab have been absconding since the January 13 mishap in which an IAF officer was killed.

A city court had earlier issued a look out notice for both Md Sohrab and Ambia.

"Kolkata Police personnel went to Md Sohrab's residence in central Kolkata and delivered the notice," a senior police officer said tonight.

Tomorrow, a Test Identification Parade (TIP) will be held at Presidency Jail to identify the driver of the Audi that mowed down the young IAF official 21-year-old Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud on January 13.

The arrested trio, Sambia and friends Sonu alias Shahnawaz Khan and Johnny, have been booked under IPC sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 212 (harbouring offender) and 427 (mischief causing damage).
President Pranab Mukherjee today conferred honorary 'General of the Indian Army' rank to Nepalese Army chief General Rajendra Chettri who is on a six-day official visit to India.

The honour was given for his military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering Nepal's long and friendly association with India, at a special investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan here, a press release issued by the President's office said.

"General Rajendra Chhetri's selfless service, sincere devotion and commitment to excellence are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect distinct credit upon himself and the Nepalese Army.

"Throughout his exemplary career, General Chhetri has demonstrated dynamic leadership and outstanding professionalism," reads the citation.

General Rajendra Chhetri has contributed to promote the existing bond of friendship, based on goodwill and mutual understanding, between Indian and Nepalese Army as well as other armies of the world, it said.

"In recognition of his commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to further fostering the long and friendly association with India, President of India is pleased to confer the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army on General Rajendra Chhetri," the citation said.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Air Staff, Vice Admiral P Murugesan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar, the release said.

Chettri began his visit to India on February 1. It is his first visit abroad after assuming the top Army post in September last year.
Activists of a little known Hindu outfit today held a demonstration outside a multiplex here screening adult comedy film "Mastizaade".

The protest, however, was called off after authorities volunteered to delete the scenes that were deemed "objectionable" by the outfit, police said.

The protesters tried to force their entry into the multiplex but were stopped by the security personnel of the commercial establishment.

Police claimed the timely arrival of its personnel at the venue averted a clash between the protesters and the private security.

The protesters were demanding removal of certain scenes from the movie, a spokesman for the organisation told reporters.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Narinder Bhargava said the protesters left the premises after the cinema management assured the scenes they had objected to will be deleted.

No case has been registered by the police in this connection.

(REOPENS DES50)



Activists of Shiv Sena (Punjab) today staged demonstration in front of theatres in Phagwara against the screening of "Mastizaade" for "hurting" religious sentiments of Hindus.

Led by party leader Rajesh Palta, the protesters forced management of local cinemas to discontinue the shows and removed posters of the adult comedy film displayed in different parts of the city.

He claimed they had already warned of a protest if the film was screened with the "objectionable scenes", which he said had hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.

"We had demanded the removal of these scenes before the film's release in Punjab but it was not done. Hence, we protested. We will again protest and won't allow its screening in its present form," Palta said.

The activists have demanded strict action against the entire film unit.
Over 500 people, wearing black clothes and pollution masks, today held a demonstration here, seeking a probe into the fire at Deonar dumping ground and resulting smog.

The protesters shouted slogans condemning the 'apathy' on Deonar dumping ground issue.

The air quality in Mumbai continued to remain in the 'very poor' category for the sixth consecutive day since the Deonar fire broke out, a meteorological official said.

The protesters took out a march from Deonar to Chembur naka. They carried posters highlighting the problem of uncontrolled dumping and the thick smog persisting across the eastern suburbs in the megapolis and sought an inquiry into the fire.

Municipal schools in central Mumbai's Shivaji Nagar and Deonar, which were closed for two days last week due to smog caused by a recent fire at the Deonar garbage dumping ground, reopened on Monday.

Parts of Mumbai have been engulfed in a thick blanket of smog since Thursday due to the fire and other reasons, including a drop in temperature and vehicular pollution.

On Friday, the fire at Deonar dumping ground led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down 74 schools run by it, as the smoke from the ground veiled the area causing breathing difficulties.

Schools in M-ward including those in Chembur, Deonar, Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd, Baiganwadi, were closed for two days last week.
Indian IT security firm Quick Heal will invest Rs 100 crore in next three years in brand building specially to attract business organisations.

"We will invest Rs 100 crore in brand building campaign over period of next three years. In last fiscal, we invested Rs 28.8 crore in branding. Now we will focus more on enterprise segment," Quick Heal Managing Director and CTO Sanjay Katkar told reporters here.

The company is launching initial public offer on February 8 through which it expects to raise Rs 250 crore.

Quick Heal has fixed the price band at Rs 311-321 for the IPO which involves a fresh issue of equity shares by the company.

Post the public offer, promoters of the company will be left with around 73 per cent stake and investor Sequoia Capital with around 5 per cent stake and rest will be held by minor shareholders including employees of the company, an associate of JP Morgan, which is advising Quick Heal on IPO, said.

Katkar said that the company will invest Rs 40 crore in upgrading its laboratory to boost research and development activities from the raised funds.

"We have seen consistent growth in our revenue. In India we command leadership position with 30 per cent market share. Compared to foreign security solution provider, we have have set up 64 offices across 36 cities in India to provide technical support to our customers," Quick Heal Executive Director Abhijit Jorvekar said.

Another Rs 20 crore will be spent by the company to purchase, develop and renovate its office premises in Kolkata, Pune and New Delhi and rest will be used to meet general corporate needs, Katkar said.

"We are seeing good traction in enterprise segment. Banking and Finance sector is major contributor followed by education. We are seeing demand in government also picking up under 'Make in India' initiatives," Katkar said.

The company has operations in Japan, Kenya, Dubai and United States. It is also exploring opportunities in Africa.
An association of engineers of Railway today accused two national-level unions of not supporting their demands for higher salaries and better grade.

West Central Railway Engineers Association (WCREA) slammed All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) for not taking up their issues with the Government.

"It is disappointing that the two federations are not taking up our issues with the Railway Board in a meeting scheduled for tomorrow," V K Badghaiyan, Organising Secretary General of All India Railway Engineers Federation (AIREF) to which WCREA is affiliated, told PTI today.

He said 80,000 Railway engineers were getting a very low wage and being deprived of better grades since a long time.

WCREA Divisional President Pradeep Bhargava and Divisional Secretary AK Sharma, in a statement, said Railway engineers were getting poor salaries.

"Our two-day protest to press for our demands is underway at Jantar Mantar in Delhi since yesterday," they said, the association will intensify their stir if the demands are not met.
Shelling by Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels in the heavily contested western city of Taiz struck a museum housing rare manuscripts and the possessions of a deceased ruler.

Activist Reham al-Badr, who inspected the National Museum in Taiz, told The Associated Press today that Shiite rebels have routinely shelled the district where the museum is located, which is defended by local fighters.

She says the museum was struck Sunday.

The interior walls of the building were torched black and the museum was filled with rubble and twisted metal.

Al-Badr, who visited the museum earlier today, says it housed a collection of watches, guns, swords, gifts from foreign visitors and manuscripts belonging to Imam Ahmed, who ruled until the 1960s.

Houthi spokesmen declined to comment.
Expressing anguish over growing corruption in government machinery and corporations, the Bombay High Court said that it's high time citizens come together to fight this menace and can refuse to pay taxes if this "hydra-headed monster" is not eliminated.

The HC also asked the Director General of Police to probe and book those responsible for misappropriation and embezzlement of public money in various corporations, while hearing a case relating to a scam of Rs 385 crore which rocked the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Vikas Mahamandal--an organisation that was set up for welfare of the Matang scheduled caste community--in which sitting BJP MLA Ramesh Kadam emerged as the kingpin.

"If the same loot continues, taxpayers may resort to a 'non-cooperation movement' and refuse to pay taxes," observed Justice Chaudhari of Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.

"Do taxpayers pay the money to the government for such kind of acrobatics ? To eradicate the cancer of corruption, the "hydra-headed monster," it's now high time for citizens to come together to tell their governments that they have had enough of this miasma of corruption," the High Court observed.

Echoing public sentiment on the issue, the court observed "let the government as well as mandarins in corridors of power understand the excruciating pain and anguish of tax payers who have been suffering for over two decades in the state of Maharashtra. There is an onerous responsibility on those who govern to prove to taxpayers that eradication of corruption would not prove for them a forlorn hope."



Coming down heavily on Kadam and his accomplices, including bank officials who tweaked rules, the court stated "it shocks one and all as to the shameless manner in which the taxpayers' money is being swindled, misappropriated and robbed by such unscrupulous holders of the posts."



The money was meant for upliftment of Matang community but instead Kadam, along with the Managing Director of Sathe Mahamandal and Bank of Maharashtra officials, looted the tax payers' money, it said.

Kadam is accused of misappropriating over Rs 130 crore from the funds of the Mahamandal.

"How this huge amount of Rs 385 crore will come back is a million dollar question," the court said while noting that taxpayers are forced to merely look at this grim situation.

Earlier yesterday, the HC also rejected the anticipatory



bail application moved by Prahlad Pawar, the manager of Annabhau Sathe Mahamandal at Bhandara, who is charged with misappropriation of Rs 24.69 crore by transferring the amount in the name of bogus beneficiaries.

The court also wondered why various unions of central and state government employees, whether politically affiliated or otherwise, who demonstrate demanding higher wages, do not condemn, outcast or protest against their colleagues involved in corruption.

On the contrary, they provide support to such tainted persons, it observed and hoped that police machinery would ruthlessly act against such scamsters.
Angry over refusal of bail, an undertrial prisoner, facing murder charge, today slit his wrist inside the sessions court in Surat, police said.

Jagdish Kanthariya got angry when Additional Sessions Judge J P Gadhvi rejected his interim bail plea, said G A Sarvaiya, Inspector of Umra Police Station in Surat, around 200km from here.

"As soon as the Judge pronounced his order, Kanthariya shouted 'he wants justice' and slit his wrist with a blade. We rushed him to Civil Hospital. He is out of danger now. He will be shifted to jail after he recovers," said Sarvaiya.

Talking to mediapersons in the hospital, Kanthariya said he is lodged in Surat's Lajpore jail for the last 10 years in connection with a murder case.

The 36-year-old said he has been applying for interim bail for the past several months as he wanted to get married.

Kanthariya claimed his mother is very ill and he needs to get married so that his wife takes care of her.

About his courtroom act, Kanthariya said he just wanted to tell the Judge that reasons behind his bail plea are genuine. He claimed his plea had been rejected several times by the Gujarat High Court as well as Surat sessions court.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Aram I Catholicos hails the discovery and publication of any document referring to the estates belonging to the Western Armenian and Cilician Churches. Armenpress reports the Catholicos mentioned about this in an interview with HASK monthly periodical.

Such documents greatly contribute to national claims and particularly to our activities implemented on legal platforms. It is necessary to note that our approaches referring to these issues must be consistent and comprehensively observed, away from casual approaches, rapid comments and emotional expressions, His Holiness said.

He highlighted the activities implemented on legal platforms. In his words, the Armenian claims will remain romantic and rhetorical unless based on precise legal grounds.

We do not forget that our claims are political, but we must not neglect its legal component. To our conviction, we must start from our estates, giving priority to estates belonging to the Church and nation as the first concrete step towards Hay Dats legal proceedings. All of the Treaty of Lausanne, legal principles and scope of activities of the European Court of Human Rights, and the international laws in general give us some opportunities. We filed a lawsuit in Turkey demanding to return Sis Catholicosate considering all the aforementioned, Aram I Catholicos added.

He stated that there are numerous documents in that relation. He informed that the list of the estates is preserved in the archive of the Catholicosate, with all the supporting documents. Referring to the future steps, the Catholicos mentioned that soon a consulting meeting will be organized with lawyers.

Director of the National Archive Amatuni Virabyan informed that it is planned to publish a book in the current year where documents referring to the estates of Western Armenian churches will be presented.
French car major Renault today said it will develop India into a exports hub and start shipping its small car Kwid to Saarc countries in the coming months.

Besides, the company will also export the auto parts of Kwid to Brazil by the end of the month.

"After that we will export Kwid to the Saarc countries such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka. If the demand is right then we will also export the car to Africa," Renault's Chairman of Africa-Middle East-India Region Bernard Cambier told PTI.

When asked about the time frame, he said the export to the Saarc countries will start in the coming months, while export of auto parts to Brazil will begin by the end of this month.

To gear up for the demand, Renault is expanding its facility for Kwid and will increase the capacity from the present 8,000 units per month to 10,000 units, Renault's India Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said.

"KWID is a great success and has revolutionised the compact hatchback segment, living true to our promise of creating a new era in automotive history. It has generated unprecedented success in its category," he added.

Renault today said it has sold more than 100,000 units of the small car in the next two months.

On the firm's market share in India, Sawhney said after the launch of Kwid, the firm's share is between 3.5-4 per cent and it is on track to achieve a market share of 5 per cent by 2017.

On the success of Kwid, he said: "I think for Kwid we should not see the success here. Renault is trying to understand the Indian market. So the first thing it has done is build a strong foundation in India. We have a technology centre, which has over 5,000 people, two design centres and a large facility."



Kwid is the first product developed on Renault-Nissan alliance's global CMF-A platform, he added.

"In fact, Renault is the first foreign carmaker to develop a car (Kwid) with over 98 per cent localisation. This is our way of contributing to 'Make in India'," he said.

Sumit Sawhney said Renault wants to replicate the success of Kwid with the current assets it has in India.

On Indian market, Cambier said India market is one of the biggest in the world. The market is three million, which will grow to five million by 2020 and the long-term forecast is eight million by 2025.

"It will also be one of the biggest markets in the world like China and it is key for global manufacturers, like us, to be successful in India to be successful globally," he added.

On the design and requirements for the Indian market, Renault Senior Vice President (Corporate Design) Laurens van den Aacker said: I think India for us is a very challenging market. Customers have big aspirations and for us in design terms and it is important for us to create a aspirational product, and the price has to be right."



The idea of Kwid is a "game changer" he said adding that by bringing in the concept of a small SUV, Renault created an aspirational product. In India, at the moment, a SUV is the most aspirational vehicle.

"In the small segment there was no such car and I think, we could create a new concept in the small car segment," Aacker said.
The United Nations says it has received reports of three humanitarian workers killed by an airstrike on the outskirts of Aleppo in Syria.

The deputy spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that officials do not think the three workers killed Wednesday were UN personnel.

Farhan Haq did not say who launched the airstrike. He says the UN's humanitarian agency is "extremely concerned about the intensification of fighting and its impact on the civilian population" after reports of more airstrikes in Aleppo governorate in recent days.
Re-establishing European borders as a result of the migration crisis could cost France more than 10 billion euros per year, according to a study published today.

The vast influx of refugees and migrants has seen calls grow for Europe's borderless Schengen zone to be abandoned and tougher immigration controls imposed.

But a study by France Strategie, a government-linked think tank, said the impact on trade, tourism and transport would trigger losses of up to two billion euros per year in the short term, not including the cost of implementing the new controls.

Half of that loss would come from a loss of tourists, the study said, while up to 10,000 people who commute across the border could lose their jobs.

"In the longer run, widespread permanent border controls would decrease trade between Schengen countries by a factor 10 per cent to 20 per cent," the study said.

If stringent border checks continued for a decade, the annual costs would rise significantly with France seen losing 0.5 per cent of GDP in 2025 - more than 10 billion euros.

Across the same period, the Schengen zone as a whole would lose 0.79 per cent of GDP, equivalent to a loss of 110 billion euros, the study estimated.

That is not all - foreign investors may be discouraged and financial flows disrupted, though the study said such factors were tricky to evaluate.

The Schengen area was set up in 1995, allowing passport- free travel through 26 countries, most of them in the European Union, and is held up as one of the major European achievements.

But in recent months, faced with an unprecedented surge in migrant and refugee numbers from the Middle East and Africa, several countries including France have reimposed temporary controls.

The EU has put pressure on Greece - the arrival point for most migrants - to strengthen its border and registration process.

If Greece fails to comply with the recommendations, Brussels could authorise EU member countries to exceptionally extend border controls within the Schengen area - including with Greece - for up to two years.
The philanthropic group Rockefeller Foundation has announced a USD 130 million fund to reduce global food loss and waste.

The US-based group said the fund will mainly help sub-Saharan Africa to reduce post-harvest loss over a period of seven years.

Mamadou Biteye, head of the Rockefeller Foundation's Africa office, blamed the food losses on poor harvesting techniques, poor storage and lack of infrastructure.

This Rockefeller event was held today on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit that is taking place in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is currently facing a drought that led to widespread crop failure and now threatens lives.
Another Union Minister today claimed that Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide at Hyderabad University, was not a Dalit and parties should stop politicising his death for their own gains.

"There is no question of this being a Dalit versus non-Dalit issue as Rohith and his family are an OBC. They belong to the Vaddera caste. Now it is being said that his mother is a Dalit which is correct," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said.

"But Rohith was born in 1990 and as per the facts that have emerged from the investigations, Rohith got his certificate made in July 2014 which states that he is a Dalit. So, the certificate was made after almost 25 years and he was living with his father till then," he said.

"So, the question here is why didn't he get a certificate made before that and why he got a certificate made now?" he alleged.

Earlier, Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Jual Oram had claimed that Vemula was not a Dalit.

Gehlot alleged that Congress and other parties were politicising Rohith's suicide for "their own gains".

"Before Rohith's suicide, nine more students committed suicide on the same campus. Why didn't those become a big issue?



"All these political leaders - Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and others - who are rushing to Hyderabad after Rohith's suicide, I want to ask them where were they when nine other students from the University committed suicide and those had happened during UPA's rule," he said.

Gehlot charged that Rohith and the organisation he was associated with were involved in "anti-national" activities and had condemned the execution of Yakub Memon who was involved in 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts.

"ABVP (BJP's students wing) objected to their activities, following which 30-40 boys had roughened up Sushil Kumar. Later, five students, including Rohith, were expelled," he said.

"We will ensure they get justice," the minister said.

Gehlot said that "a judicial inquiry has been initiated by the government into his death and whoever is found guilty will be punished."



He said that it was sad that efforts were being made to give his suicide a caste angle and disturb country's atmosphere.

Rohith's family members have refused to accept an ex-gratia amount of Rs 8 lakh and the government will ensure that they get justice, he said.

Gehlot today presented the Dr Ambedkar National Merit Awards to the meritorious students of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe students of Secondary and Senior Secondary School Examinations of year 2015.
Russia said today it would press ahead with its bombing campaign in Syria until "terrorist organisations" such as the Islamic State group are defeated amid the latest international push to end the conflict.

"Russian air strikes will not cease until we truly defeat the terrorist organisations ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Oman, referring to the IS and Al-Nusra Front jihadist groups, Interfax agency reported.

"And I don't see why these air strikes should stop."



Lavrov also named as a condition for halting Russia's bombing campaign in Syria "shutting down smuggling across the Turkish-Syrian border."



Russia has accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of helping IS through illegal oil trading, claims Ankara has strongly denied.

Russia's intensive bombing in support of regime forces in Syria has threatened to derail high-profile peace negotiations that began in Switzerland this week.

The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee has voiced outrage at an ongoing government offensive backed by Russian air power and called for a halt to air strikes against civilians, among other demands.

Lavrov slammed "capricious people" in the Syrian opposition delegation, saying they were "starting to put forward preconditions" that had not been previously agreed, state agency RIA Novosti reported.

The opposition delegation's demands "have nothing to do with the main principles of the Geneva Communique, Vienna documents and a United Nations Security Council resolution," Lavrov said, referring to key documents in the Syrian peace process.

"I think that expecting preconditions in the form of ultimatums will help solve problems is a short-sighted and futile policy," Lavrov said, quoted by Interfax.

He also criticised Turkey's role, saying it "single-handedly prevented" the powerful Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party from joining the talks.

In a message apparently aimed at Western powers, Lavrov said he hoped "those with decisive influence" on the Syrian opposition would work to "ensure the start of the intra-Syrian dialogue without preconditions.
Russia's Defense Ministry says a Russian military adviser has been killed by mortar fire in Syria.

The ministry said in a statement that the officer was fatally wounded Monday by mortar shelling from the Islamic State group. Today's statement, carried by Russian agencies, said the officer was helping train the Syrian military in using Russian weapons.

It didn't identify the officer or specify where he died.

The officer's death is the third combat casualty the Russian military has suffered since it launched its air campaign in Syria four months ago.

A Russian pilot whose warplane was downed by a Turkish fighter at the Syrian border was shot dead by militants as he descended by parachute. His crewmate survived, but a Russian marine was killed during the rescue mission.
South American health ministers launched emergency talks today on fighting the fast-spreading Zika outbreak after a US case of sexual transmission of the virus, which has been blamed for brain damage in babies.

Ministers from 14 countries including the two reportedly worst affected, Brazil and Colombia, gathered in Uruguay to coordinate their fight against the mosquito-borne illness which authorities fear may spread worldwide.

Arriving at the meeting in Montevideo, Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Castro told reporters his country had deployed 522,000 personnel to prevent infections by cleaning up and advising the population.

He called it "the biggest effort in Brazil's history."



Brazil has reported 1.5 million cases of infection by Zika, more than any other country.

The fever starts with a mosquito bite and normally involves little more than a fever and rash.

But scientists suspect that when it strikes a pregnant woman, it can cause her fetus to develop microcephaly -- a condition which causes the baby to be born with an abnormally small head.

Since October, Brazil has reported 404 confirmed cases of microcephaly -- up from 147 in 2014 -- plus 3,670 suspected cases.

Doctors have also linked Zika to a potentially crippling neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Alarm bells rang on Tuesday when authorities in Texas said they had confirmation of the virus being transmitted by sexual contact and not just tropical mosquitoes.

Dallas County officials said a patient there was infected following sexual contact with someone who had returned to the United States after contracting it in Venezuela.

The World Health Organization has declared the spike in serious birth defects in South America an international emergency and launched a global Zika response unit.

Officials in India worry it could be next, noting that the Zika and dengue fever-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in its teeming cities.

Cape Verde off northwest Africa has also detected a case of Zika.

The WHO today warned European countries to act early to prevent the spread of Zika.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the mosquito has "re-colonized" Madeira in Portugal and parts of Southern Russia and Georgia in recent years after disappearing from the continent in the 20th century. It has been spotted as far north as the Netherlands.
Scientists in Germany flipped the switch today on an experiment they hope will advance the quest for nuclear fusion, considered a clean and safe form of nuclear power.

Following nine years of construction and testing, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald injected a tiny amount of hydrogen into a doughnut-shaped device then zapped it with the equivalent of 6,000 microwave ovens.

The resulting super-hot gas, known as plasma, lasted just a fraction of a second before cooling down again, long enough for scientists to confidently declare the start of their experiment a success.

"Everything went well today," said Robert Wolf, a senior scientist involved with the project. "With a system as complex as this you have to make sure everything works perfectly and there's always a risk."



Among the difficulties is how to cool the complex arrangement of magnets required to keep the plasma floating inside the device, Wolf said.

Scientists looked closely at the hiccups experienced during the start-up of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland more than five years ago to avoid similar mistakes, he said.

The experiment in Greifswald is part of a world-wide effort to harness nuclear fusion, a process in which atoms join at extremely high temperatures and release large amounts of energy that's similar to what occurs inside the sun.

Advocates acknowledge that the technology is probably many decades away, but argue that once achieved it could replace fossil fuels and conventional nuclear fission reactors.

Construction has already begun in southern France on ITER, a huge international research reactor that uses a strong electric current to trap plasma inside a doughnut-shaped device long enough for fusion to take place.

The device, known as a tokamak, was conceived by Soviet physicists in the 1950s and is considered fairly easy to build, but extremely difficult to operate.

The team in Greifswald, a port city on Germany's Baltic coast, is focused on a rival technology invented by the American physicist Lyman Spitzer in 1950.

Called a stellarator, the device has the same doughnut shape as a tokamak but uses a complicated system of magnetic coils instead of a current to achieve the same result.
A district education official today alleged that he was "abused and assaulted" by Gurgaon deputy commissioner T L Satyaprakash at the Mini Secretariat in Rajeev Chowk here, a charge denied by the IAS officer.

Bupendra Singh Yadav, Section Officer (Finance) of the District Education Department, alleged that the IAS officer called him to his cabin and "dragged me holding my shirt collar and threatened to slap me". "He also abused me verbally," Yadav said.

He alleged that he had to face the wrath of the IAS officer after he refused to entertain "requests" of a local BJP leader.

Satyaprakash, however, denied the allegations and said, "I did not manhandle Bupendra Singh Yadav. I only rebuked him for irregularities in work."



"I am going to recommend to the senior authority to terminate Yadav from his duty," the deputy commissioner said.

(Reopens CES4)



Later in the evening during a meeting with top officers of Kolkata Police, Kumar stressed on the need to concentrate on steps to cut down on crime against women in the city.

Kumar in his first meeting with the top officers including Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners of different divisions also emphasised to having a strict vigil which, he felt, would reduce crime in the city, a top source in Kolkata Police told
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Government, considering the situation in gas and electricity market, has applied to the Russian Federation for the revision of the gas price supplied to Armenia. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Yervand Zakharyan told about this at the National Assembly, answering the question of independent MP Khachatur Kokobelyan. As for now I can only say that the negotiations are underway. I can provide no more details, Armenpress reports, Zakharyan stated.

He added that everything will be clear only after the negotiations are over. The Minister did not answer the question referring to possible gas price.
The recent terror attacks in Afghanistan shows the significant security challenges in the war-torn country, the White House has said stressing that US and NATO troops are committed to train Afghan forces to fight the extremists.

"I think this is just the latest illustration of how Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place. The security challenges in that country are significant, particularly when you consider an attack like this on police officers," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

The US and NATO allies have committed to stand with the Afghan people and the Afghan national security forces as they take full responsibility for the security situation in their own country, he said.

"That was a responsibility that they assumed a little over a year ago, and it has proved to be a challenging task. Afghanistan is a big country, and there are extremists with a lot of skill that have sought to take the fight to those security forces," Earnest said.

"But what we have seen is a willingness on the part of those security forces, even when sustaining losses, to fight for their country," he added.

Citing the example of Kunduz, where extremists overrun Afghan national security forces that were protecting the city and Afghan forces were forced to flee the city, Earnest said what they did was they reorganised and acted quickly, with the support of the US and our NATO allies, to within a couple of weeks, retake the city.

"So that is an indication of a couple of things. One is, it's an indication that additional training and equipping of Afghan national security forces is needed. And that is the first pillar of the ongoing mission of US troops and NATO troops that are still in Afghanistan," he said.

"But the second thing it illustrates is that it illustrates the commitment that the Afghan national security forces have to fighting for their country. And that's a good thing, and that bodes well for their long-term ability to fight extremists and eventually secure their country," Earnest said.
Security experts today while expressing grave concerns on rising influence of ISIS laid emphasis on collective global efforts to fight against the terror.

Speaking at different sessions of the counter terrorism conference- 2016 here, the experts narrated how the terror has affected their countries and region and said there is no good or bad terrorism.

Amrullah Saleh, former head of national Directorate of Security- Afghanistan, presented a comparison of ISIS and Taliban and said that there are many similarities between the two organizations and they must not be seen differently.

"Both ISIS and Taliban have similarities, they have committed act of hate against history by destroying historic monuments.

They massacred and exploited people, their concept of governance is similar and both born out of the state collapse," he said.

Saleh said that after the intervention of US post 9/11, the military regime brought prosperity in Afghanistan as compared to the Taliban rule but still the forces have not been able to defeat Taliban.

He urged the other countries to cooperate with Afghanistan in stability of the region.

Tao Tao, Deputy Secretary General of Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament, said that international communities should cooperate and member states should honour and implement the UN resolution against terrorism.

He said the terrorism is not confined to a particular region and has spread its reach across the globe.

"Terrorism is not confined to middle east. It has crossed regions. Their (terror organisations') connections are trans borders therefore international cooperation and coordination is immensely needed. The situation require more coordinated efforts by the global community," he said.

For China, he said the country has capability to fight against the terror and to safeguard its interest.

"Counter terrorism is high on the security agenda of China. We lay stress on cooperation by neighbouring countries," he said.

"China and India face terrorism. It has become major issue for security and fighting together is one of the important areas between the two countries," he said.

Former Army chief Gen (retd) V P Malik accused Pakistan for terrorism and said that its former President General Parvez Musharraf used to say that "(terror) groups are the first line of defence for Pakistan.

"We should stop such kind of things," Malik said, while



suggesting that regional centers should be set up to monitor activities of terror organizations.

He said that such centers were needed for creating data base, intelligence sharing and joint interrogation.

Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation of USA narrated how terrorism has affected the USA and terror attacks increased in recent years there.

Talking about Pakistan, Curtis said that Pakistan should act on terrorism and on evidences provided by India with regard to terrorists attacks in India.

"Now onus is on to Pakistan to act against terrorists groups. After Mumbai attack, Pakistan was slow (in acting against terror organsiations) and we have seen no response from Pakistan," she said.

In another session, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Shahriar Alam presented how his government was tacking the issue of terrorism.

"We follow zero tolerance policy against terrorism. We have banned terror organisation created legal framework," he said.

Alam said that religious leaders have been involved in his country to highlight the affects and impact of terror activities and focus was also on educating students and youths through He also said that no single country can contain the terrorism and it needs a global cooperation.

"India suffered more from terrorism and the way to peace for Bangladesh was also not smooth. We, Bangladesh and India have good relations and good cooperation," he said.

Christian Wagner from Germany said, "no country is immune from terrorism and no longer safe from terrorism despite surveillance, profiling and all."



Former Navy Chief of Sri Lanka Jayanth Colombage talked about the LTTE, its impact and role of Tamil Diaspora in funding and facilitating the organisation.

Cabinet Minister, Prime Minister's department of Malaysia also expressed concern on spread of the terrorism and the need to work closely.
Security at all 17 police stations in this border district has been tightened, a senior police officer has said, a move that comes in the backdrop of the Pathankot airbase attack.

Superintendent on Police Rajeev Pachar yesterday said that an additional guard will be posted at the entrance of every police station that has been so far manned by one sentry.

These sentries will be armed with SLR rifles, he said.

The police stations here generally keep revolvers and rifles but soon they will be armed with LMGs, he said.

Suspected Pakistani spies were nabbed from Jaisalmer recently.
Two unidentified motor cycle borne youth allegedly fired at Shiv Sena leader Amit Arora here at Basti Jodhewal late this evening.

Arora was rushed to the local CMC Hospital where his condition is stated to be serious, police said.

ACP Satish Malhotra said two bullets hit Amit near his neck.

However the assailants managed to escape after committing crime, he added.

Police said investigations are underway.
A court today convicted and sentenced six men to life imprisonment for the killing of a PMK functionary in violence at Marakkanam near here which had led to a political storm in Tamil Nadu nearly three years ago.

Violence had erupted on April 25, 2013 between workers of the PMK, a party dominated by Vanniyars, a most backward community (MBC), and villagers - some of them Dalits - off Marakkanam near here. At that time, the PMK workers were on their way to Mamallapuram for a party meet.

In the violence which saw torching of buses, shops and some hutments, two men, Selvaraj and Vivek, both PMK functionaries , were found dead.

It was alleged by PMK that both were murdered and the case was transferred to CB-CID on May 12, 2013 by the state government following a political storm in Tamil Nadu.

In the case related to Selvaraj, the second Additional District Court Judge, Tindivanam, P Selva Muthukumari, today found six men guilty of murder and other offences.

M Manikandan and V Raghu were convicted of murder and rioting and E Senthil Kumar, S Parinathan, M Raju and M Sekar were convicted of murder and rioting with deadly weapons.

All of them were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. For rioting, they were sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Asked on evidence that helped secure conviction for the accused, Additional Public Prosecutor, N Ganesh Gandhi, said a mobile phone played a key role.

"We proved that the mobile phone of the deceased was in the possession of the first accused Manikandan and he had used it and it was among the key evidences that helped secure conviction for the accused," he told PTI.

In all, 42 witnesses were produced by the prosecution, out of whom some had turned hostile, he said.

Also, 72 documents and eleven material objects, including weapons were marked as exhibits, he said. The case related to Vivek, another victim, is pending.
A blast on a passenger airplane punched a hole in the side of the fuselage soon after take off from the airport at Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said today.

The airplane, operated by Daalo Airlines and flying from Mogadishu to Djibouti with around 60 passengers, landed safely.

Two passengers were slightly injured, police said.

"The passenger plane made an emergency landing soon after it took off yesterday, and there was a damage on one side of the aircraft over the right wing," Somali police officer Mohamed Ise said.

He added it was not clear what had caused the explosion and fire and that investigations were being carried out.

"Passengers were terrified," said Abdiwahab Hassan, an airport official.

Photographs show a large hole -- about a metre in diameter -- ripped in the side the plane just above the engines on the right wing, with streaks of soot on the plane.
A newly elected woman BDC member has lodged an FIR accusing the son of a Samajwadi Party MLA of threatening her against contesting the upcoming Block Pramukh election.

Sunita Yadav lodged an FIR at the Tindwari police station against Vivek Singh, son of SP MLA from Baberu, Vishambar Singh Yadav, yesterday alleging that he along with a relative barged into her house in Mungesh village on Monday night, Circle Officer Prabhat Kumar said today.

She alleged that besides snatching her certificate of election as a Block Development Council (BDC) member, they threatened her against contesting the election of Block Pramukh, the CO said.

Efforts are on to arrest the culprits, the CO added.

Meanwhile, Sunita alleged that the FIR was lodged by the police only when the villagers blocked Banda-Fatehpur road against the incident.

"Police was called when the MLA's son was present in my house but they chose to stay away," she added.
South Korea warned today of "searing" consequences if North Korea doesn't abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

The South's rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after North Korea's defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the UN work on strong new sanctions against the North.

North Korea yesterday informed international organisations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between February 8 and 25, and if North Korea's past patterns are any clue, angry warnings by its neighbors and Washington probably won't dissuade a coming launch.

The launch declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Korea's disputed claim on January 6 to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country's fourth nuclear test.

A launch would be seen as a snub by North Korea of its only major ally, China, whose representative for Korean affairs landed in the North for talks yesterday.

South Korean and US officials said the launch would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic activities.

"We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range missile launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences for it as the launch would constitute a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world," senior South Korean presidential official Cho Tae-yong said in televised remarks.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of the North's planned launch.

He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a UN ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilizing behavior. He called for the imposition of tough additional sanctions.

Russel said a launch "would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," in an apparent reference to China.

China urged all sides to show restraint today over North Korea's announcement of its launch plans, and expressed skepticism over the US calls for tough new sanctions.

"We hope all sides show restraint and take prudent action to avoid any moves that may increase the tensions on the (Korean) Peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a regularly scheduled briefing.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons along with missiles capable of striking the mainland United States.
A commemorative statue to honour the memory of first Indian indentured labourers' arrival to South Africa in 1860 will be erected at a popular beachfront point here soon.

The Durban City Council has budgeted almost five million rands (USD 308,380) to build the heritage monument in memory of those who arrived on the steamship Truro after an arduous journey from India.

Logie Naidoo, the Speaker of the eThekwini council under which the City of Durban falls, saidthe statue would be erected on the popular tourist attraction of uShaka Beach, close to where the Truro, the ship from Madras carrying the first 342 indentured Indian laborers, landed in 1860.

Naidoo said there were also plans to erect a lifesize statue of Nelson Mandela close to the Indian heritage statue, with the two then becoming a fitting legacy for the role that South African Indians also played in fighting for the iconic leader's release from the prison after serving 27 years as a political prisoner and then becoming the country's first democratically elected President.

The erection of a statue was first suggested at the turn of the century by Indian leaders and was scheduled for launching in 2010, but was delayed due to lack of funding.

The project will now be funded by the Heritage Directorate of the Office of the provincial Premier, which has transferred the money to eThekwini Municipality to implement the project.

Today there are 1.4 million South Africans of Indian origin, largely descendents from the many who arrived in a series of boat trips to work in the sugar cane fields for white landowners after the indigenous Zulu community did not provide enough labour, viewing it as a menial task.

Most of the first settlers from poor villages across India were lured with promises of good employment and payment which would allow them to be repatriated with savings they could take back to their families.

In reality, the working conditions were harsh, and at the end of their tenure, most labourers opted for the choice of getting a small piece of land rather than returning to India.

The forebears of today's South African Indian community have been lauded for decades for having the foresight to build schools, temples and mosques to ensure the educational and cultural survival of their descendants, who today have a literacy level of 100 per cent.

Many Indian citizens have also excelled in professional fields where they play leading roles despite being a minority which was also affected by pro-White apartheid era laws which restricted their movement and progress.

The Council expressed hope that these achievements would be reflected in the way that the artist commissioned for the memorial statue will interpret the role that the Indian community has played in the struggle for freedom as well.
Union HRD Minister Smiriti Irani today asked National Bal Bhawan authorities to rope in children to create awareness about the 'Swachh Bharat' initiave at the local level through art and cultural programmes and celebrate cleanliness as a festival.

"I have requested Bal Bhawan authorities if they can celebrate cleanliness as a festival and in every district, Bal Bhawan teams can spread this message through art and inspire our children," Irani said at an event where 'Bal Shree Awards- 2013' were conferred on children for excellence in fields of performing arts, visual arts, creative writing and scientific innovation among others.

Later, the Minister told reporters since Bal Bhawan has centres in every district, she hoped the message of 'Swachch Bharat' initiative could be spread across the country through them.

The HRD Ministry is working with the Urban Development Ministry to carry forward the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign. Recently, UGC and CBSE had asked institutions to administer a cleanliness pledge to students and make them an active stakeholders in making India clean.

Noting some differently-abled children were among the awardees, Irani suggested a conference of teachers should be held to discuss how the talent of "children with special needs" can be developed.

During her interaction, Irani also said because of the



prevailing 'No Detention policy', "learning outcomes have been constantly falling".

Referring to recent reports about Bihar toppers not being able to answer questions, she said probably this was also one of the manifestations of the same issue.

To a question about the recent reports about Bihar state board exams, she again referred to the same policy.

Under the No Detention policy, which came into force during the previous regime, children are not failed till class VIII and various states have written to the HRD ministry to revoke it.

Irani's comments criticising the policy come at a time when the ministry is learnt have sought legal opinion on the issue.

Responding to a question on the inadequate standard of education in Amethi, from where she had contested the last Lok Sabha poll against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Irani said she has asked the Bhim Rao Ambedkar University in Lucknow if it is possible for people of the area to provide low cost quality education.

"The way things have come out in Amethi as per a research survey, it is an indication that for years this area has been ignored education-wise," she said.

The Ambedkar University has set a satellite campus, she said, adding admissions are expected to begin from June.

To another question, pertaining to Delhi where AAP is in power, Irani said it was the only state government which has not finalised its higher education plan under the Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

"Delhi is probably the only state government, whose higher education plan we have not received," she said.

Referring to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) she said from next year Law and Medical colleges will also be ranked by her ministry.

She said during the process of ranking, when institutions uploaded date, there were cases where irregularities were detected and appropriate action would be taken.

(Reopens DEL 74)



When asked whether her ministry plans to start a Vedic and Sanskrit board, Irani replied three different commissions had recommended it.

She said experts need to propose a pathway, only then such a decision can be taken.

Referring to a question as to why a panel of names including HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh to head the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad ( IIM-A ) was not accepted by HRD ministry, she said it had the right to assess valid reasons adding that such issues are often dealt at Joint Secretary level.

Responding to a question about the mushrooming of coaching centres, Irani said the IITs have assured in writing that the JEE exam will be based on Class XII level curriculum alone and thus the pressure on children to join such centres will be reduced.

She said states have been advised to create a transfer policy regarding teachers who have primarily taught only in urban areas and are reluctant to go to rural areas.

She said her ministry hopes to launch a programme 'Vidyanajali' in June under which ordinary people can contribute in schools.

She also claimed that the present government was much ahead of the UPA government in terms of grievance redressal with regard to scholarships and also granting scholarships.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Quite important issues, which will be submitted to the National Assembly in the form of bills, have been subject of discussions of the anti-corruption council adjunct to the Government during the first year of its operation. Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan told about this at the National Assembly, answering the question of independent MP Edmon Marukyan. Legislative initiatives were born as a result of those discussions, which are already introduced to the Government and soon will be submitted to the National Assembly, Armenpress reports, the Minister stated.

She added that the council has just elaborated its Strategic Plan 2015-2018. As for now, we have taken quite serious measures, and I would like to detail on one of them. Particularly, journalists have often raised the issue that some officials publish false information in their position statements. To solve this problem we have elaborated a legislative initiative and submitted it to the Government, which determines administrative responsibility for such cases. But now we discuss the issue of making amendments also in the criminal code, as it is possible that in such cases necessity of criminal responsibility may occur, the Minister stated.

Hovhannisyan mentioned that their intentions are fair and urged the MP not to inseminate distrust towards the council among public.

The MP also stated that the council has received $750 thousand from the USAID, but no significant step has been taken in fight against corruption. In an interview with Armenpress Armenian Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan clarified that the Government has not yet received the sum. She informed that the sum will be directed at involving independent experts.
Switzerland today said it had not given any funding to military operations against Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist insurgents, after a senior African Union official said it was among donors to an intervention force.

Boko Haram, facing the heat of a military onslaught in Nigeria, has stepped up cross-border attacks in Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the past year, while continuing shooting and suicide assaults on markets, mosques and other civilian targets within Nigeria itself.

At a donor conference in Addis Ababa on Monday, AU Peace and Security Council chief Smail Chergui said Switzerland had contributed to funding for the force battling Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin.

"As a neutral actor in conflict situations, Switzerland has never given financial support to military interventions and will abstain from doing so in the future," the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement said Switzerland had given nearly $12 million to alleviate the suffering of people affected by the Boko Haram crisis, but claims of it was funding the military force were "incorrect".

"Switzerland's action in the Lake Chad region consists solely and exclusively in the financial support to the major humanitarian agencies," it said.

Donors at the meeting in the Ethiopian capital pledged $250 million for the fight against Boko Haram, with major contributions made by Nigeria, Britain and the European Union.
Syrian opposition chief Riad Hijab arrived in Switzerland this afternoon, his grouping said, in a move that could rekindle troubled UN-brokered peace efforts.

Hijab, a former Syrian premier who defected in 2012, went straight to a Geneva hotel to meet other members of his High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

A reporter said that UN envoy Staffan de Mistura also arrived at the hotel, with an opposition source telling AFP saying he was there to meet Hijab informally.

Hijab's arrival was seen as a potentially positive sign because of the weight he carries with the HNC, a Saudi-backed opposition alliance that is opposed to President Bashar al- Assad.

The Syrian government accuses the HNC of being "not serious" and of containing figures from armed rebel groups whom Damascus and its backer Russia consider "terrorists".

One such person is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam, in Geneva since Monday and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator.

"The problem is not with de Mistura. The problem is with the criminal regime that decimates children and with Russia which always tries to stand alongside criminals," Alloush told reporters today, clutching a photo of a young boy he said was severely wounded by Russian air strikes



De Mistura said on Monday after his first formal talks with the HNC that a hoped-for six months of indirect talks between the government and the opposition had begun.

But this declaration proved to have been premature, with the chief government negotiator rejecting that this was the case and the HNC cancelling a meeting with de Mistura yesterday in anger at Russian air strikes in Syria.

"With Hijab here, the HNC can better demonstrate a unified position in representing the opposition," a Western diplomat said in Geneva on condition of anonymity.

"This is a very complicated process and it's going to require all the actors to remain in constant dialogue," the diplomat said.
The UN special envoy for Syria announced today a "temporary pause" until February 25 of troubled talks in Switzerland aimed at ending the country's brutal civil war.

"I have concluded frankly that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but the stakeholders," Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva.

"I have indicated from the first day I won't talk for the sake of talking. I therefore have taken the decision to bring a temporary pause. It is not the end or the failure of the talks," he said.

"Both sides indicated they are interested in having the political process started. I have already fixed a date for the next talks of 25th February."



His comments came after several days of fruitless talks aimed at starting indirect negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition.

The hoped-for six months of indirect "proximity talks" are part of an ambitious roadmap agreed by outside powers embroiled in the conflict in November in Vienna.

The opposition umbrella group High Negotiations Committee (HNC) only reluctantly arrived in Geneva on Saturday, a day after representatives from President Bashar al-Assad.

The HNC was insisting on immediate steps including humanitarian aid getting through to besieged cities, a halt to the bombardment of civilians and the release of prisoners.

It was also outraged that while in Geneva a major offensive by the Syrian army and allied militias was happening on the ground near Aleppo, backed by intense Russian air strikes.

In a major blow to the rebels, a military source said Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad's army had cut the last supply route linking opposition forces in Aleppo to the Turkish border.

The government delegation meanwhile complained that the HNC was disorganised, had not named its negotiators and that the body contained individuals it considered "terrorists".

De Mistura said he was asking for the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) of outside countries to convene "as soon as possible."



The almost five-year-old civil war has killed more than 260,000 people, forced millions from their homes and sucked in a host of regional and global powers.
The head of Syria's main umbrella opposition group, former Syrian premier Riad Hijab, will arrive in Switzerland today to join troubled peace talks, a spokesman for the group said.

The expected arrival of High Negotiations Committee (HNC) general coordinator Hijab comes as the biggest diplomatic push to date to end the almost five-year-old war hangs by a thread, with formal talks yet to begin in earnest.

His arrival was seen as a potentially positive sign, with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad's government complaining that one of the reasons the talks cannot start is what it calls disarray among the HNC.

"With Hijab here, the HNC can better demonstrate a unified position in representing the opposition," a Western diplomat said in Geneva on condition of anonymity.

"This is a very complicated process and it's going to require all the actors to remain in constant dialogue," the diplomat said.

Hijab, Assad's prime minister for a few months in 2012 before defecting, was chosen in December as general coordinator of the HNC, a group formed the same month in Riyadh with Saudi and US backing.

Damascus, and its political and military backer Russia, strongly object to the inclusion within the HNC of armed groups, some of them hardline Islamist groups, seeing them as "terrorists".

One of these is Mohammed Alloush, a member of the powerful Army of Islam armed rebel group and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who arrived in Geneva on Monday.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Monday that indirect negotiations had begun as foreseen in a November roadmap agreed by the many outside powers embroiled in the brutal war.

But chief government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari yesterday said the talks were "still in the preparatory stage" and the HNC cancelled a planned meeting with de Mistura yesterday afternoon.

The HNC expressed outrage at a regime offensive near Aleppo backed by what it called "unprecedented" air strikes by Russian jets, with monitors reporting some 320 raids since Monday morning.
The Syrian opposition's chief negotiator in peace talks in Geneva said today he was "not optimistic" about strained efforts to end the nearly five-year war ravaging his country.

Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of the powerful Army of Islam rebel group, told journalists that those pressing to form a unity government with regime members were "delusional."



"Whoever wants us to go into a unity government with these thugs who kill children is delusional," he said, minutes before heading into a meeting with the main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

The HNC was in internal talks today morning to discuss its next steps, after a similar and tense meeting the previous evening, an opposition source said.

Asked what the grouping would discuss today, Alloush clutched a picture of a young boy who he said had been severely wounded by Russian air strikes in Syria.

"The problem is not with (UN envoy Staffan) de Mistura. The problem is with the criminal regime that decimates children and with Russia which always tries to stand alongside criminals," Alloush said.

His appointment as chief negotiator has been controversial. Syria's government and Russia regularly refer to the Army of Islam as "terrorists."



Alloush, a stocky man in his 40s, also said Kurdish forces fighting jihadists in northeast Syria were "a branch of the regime."



He told reporters the HNC would be taking a decision "in two days" but did not specify what that decision was.

HNC head and former Syrian prime minister Riad Hijab is set to arrive in Switzerland today, an HNC spokesman said, in a potential sign of fresh momentum after talks faltered yesterday.

The UN-brokered talks in the Swiss city are aimed at ending Syria's war, which has killed more than 260,000 people.
A Tanzanian woman student was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car here, prompting the authorities of the East African country to raise the matter with the Indian government.

Reacting to the incident, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, "We are deeply pained over the shameful incident" and that she has spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and requested him to ensure stringent punishment to the guilty.

The 21-year-old Tanzanian, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management course, was dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends.

The car was stopped by the mob shortly after they reached the accident spot on Sunday night, according to All African Students Union in Bengaluru.

She was stripped by a section of the mob and pushed out of a slow-moving bus that was passing by as she tried to board it to escape,the Union's Legal Adviser Bosco Kaweesi told reporters here. Three others were also beaten up.

Official sources in New Delhi said the High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry about the reported attack, requesting it to take necessary legal action against the guilty.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru," Swaraj tweeted.

"I have asked the Chief Minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty," she said in another tweet.

Swaraj said Siddaramaiah informed her that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested.

The sources said the Joint Secretary in MEA's East and Southern Africa Division has spoken to the High Commissioner of Tanzania and expressed regret over the the unfortunate incident.

The Tanzanian Embassy requested the government to ensure safety and security of all African students in India.

The Joint Secretary told the Tanzanian High Commissioner that the Ministry is in regular touch with the authorities in Bangalore and that the state authorities have said they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

According to the Bangalore police, the complaint by the Tanzanian girl was filed only today even though incident happened on Sunday.

Kaweesi said she had no connection with the accident and alleged the police "was not so helpful" when they were approached.

Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said that after the accident, which claimed the life of a 35-year old woman, the driver of the car was assaulted and he was taken to hospital.
Power discom Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited has signed an MoU with the Smart Grid Canada and Center for Urban Energy, Ryerson University, Canada for sharing latest trends in smart technology in the distribution sector.

"A tripartite MoU was signed here for sharing latest trends in the smart technology in the distribution sector, co-innovation in the area of renewable energy including energy storage, electric vehicle charging, joint research & development in the areas of Smart Grid technologies and sharing of best practices through process and result benchmarking," an official statement said.

Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne and High Commissioner of Canada to India Nadir Patel were present at the function where the MoU was signed between Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power-DDL, Iuliana Calin, Director, Smart Grid Canada; Mohamed Lachemi, Vice Chancellor and Interim President, Ryerson University, Canada.

"Tata Power-DDL will closely work with them for implementing their learning on advance Metering infrastructure, especially in smart metering and time of the day metering," the statement said.

"The collaboration will help Tata Power-DDL in working together towards designing the solution for addressing the complexities like expanding its roof top solar landscape to 400 MW by 2024.

"With renewable energy as part of the power portfolio, the electrical grid would become complex and needs to be dealt with greater focus with respect to its planning and design so as to optimally use the network assets and renewable resources," it added.
Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata today pitched for investing in Karnataka, saying it is a centre of high technology, including IT and aerospace.

"I am speaking with great past experience, and I have been in the state and have been interacting with the state. Karnataka definitely is one of the major places one should look at in making investments here," Tata, the former chairman of conglomerate Tata Group, said.

Speaking at the inauguration of Invest Karnataka Global Investors' Meet here, Tata said he was not making such a statement on the basis of promises but on the basis of his own experience.

Karnataka still remains a centre of high technology - be it aviation, aerospace, IT, Biotechnology and the electronic industries. "It also has human capital," he added.

The veteran industrialist also said the country had great deal to offer as it was having a huge market and considerable skills and capital.

He also said, "the future of India will depend on future of investments and coordination of business in high technology.
Thousands of teachers, students and parents in several cities in Hungary protested today against the government's centralization of the education system and the increasing overburdening of pupils and educators.

A torchlight march under steady rain in the eastern city of Miskolc drew some 5,000 people, including trade unions, demonstrating against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies of increasing direct state control over ever more aspects of Hungarian life.

Protesters said the current system is taxing students with superfluous, mandatory content and increasing teachers' administrative duties, favoring factual knowledge over "real learning."



"I want to talk with the children and educate them, not just teach them," said Magdolna Nagy, who teaches history in the nearby city of Tiszaujvaros. "Students, parents and teachers ... Experience the same oppression every day. The future of our children and of Hungary is at risk."



Teachers also complained about the lack of choice in textbooks and about new evaluations they must undergo that do not take into account their past achievements.

"The changes introduced by the government since 2010 have turned the clock back on education policies by 100 years," said Laszlo Mendrey, head of the Teachers Democratic Union. "The present education system reflects the future of the country."



Mendrey said that higher wages in the education sector had mollified some of the discontent, but that increases in the number of mandatory classes taught and the longer working hours neutralized the pay increases.

Reacting to today's rallies and plans for others, authorities promised to cut teachers' administrative burdens and launch consultations with teacher, parent and student representatives.

An analyst said that the government is trying feverishly to placate dissatisfied teachers, fearing it could lead a wider wave of demonstrations and discontent.
Bharathiar University and South India Textile Research Association have entered into an agreement to promote activities like research and innovation in textiles.

The MoU signed by the Department of Textiles and Apparel Design with SITRA will pave way to various activities like students' research, computer applications in textiles, besides imparting practical knowledge and development of self-employment, a University release said today.

Registrar of the University, Dr KG Senthilvasan and senior officer of SITRA Power Loom Centre signed the agreement, it added.

The MoU, which was signed recently, also envisaged conduct of seminars, conferences and other activities for betterment of students and society as well, it said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. On February 3, Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

As Armenpress was informed from the central information department of the office of the Artsakh Republic President, the meeting addressed a number of issues related to the situation along the contact line between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan armed forces.
Three persons, were today killed allegedly by a gang of unidentified dacoits, in Taadborgaon village in the district, police said.

The incident took place in the wee hours today when around four to five dacoits attacked the house of one Subash Pathade with the aim to loot it, Sub Divisional Police Officer (SPDO), Parbhani, Devidas Patil said.

When they were unable to find any money or valuables, they allegedly started beating Subhash (52), his wife Shantabai (48) with an axe, following which they died on the spot, the officer said.

After this, the dacoits attacked the house of the Phulpagare family in the neighbouring area to loot valuables and axed 60-year-old Bhaurao Rajaram Phulpagare to death.

Two other family members - Suryabhan and Parvatibai, sustained injuries after they were beaten by the dacoits, he said.

The injured have been admitted to the civic hospital here and a case under relevant sections of IPC is registered at the Manwat police station and efforts are on to nab the absconding accused, Patil added.
As India and the US hold fresh talks on three contentious defence foundational agreements, a top American military official today batted for the pacts, saying these are an opportunity for deeper collaboration and cooperation in the key sector.

"I think there is a shared understanding that these agreements have value. They provide structure for exchange. I think they provide opportunity for enhanced cooperation," said the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the US military, Admiral John Richardson.

Interacting with a select group of journalists here, the officer said there is a shared understanding to put in place these agreements.

"There is a very dedicated effort to put everything into place. So, we are optimistic about closing some of these arrangements," he added.

The American side had raised the issue of signing of the Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during the recent visit of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the US.

While the previous UPA government had refused to sign these, sources said that Parrikar has asked the US to address India's concerns over these agreements for holding further talks, particularly on CISMOA and BECA.

Richardson arrived here yesterday on a five-day visit to help deepen maritime partnership between the two countries.

He said enhanced collaboration and cooperation is being pushed from the very top in both governments.

"To do this, to take advantage of this window of opportunity, these agreements can be part of that. So, I think there is a sense of optimism that we might be able to get some things done," he said.

Talking about the Joint Working groups on Aircraft Carrier and jet engine technology, he said that both sides are making good progress.

Asked if the US will continue to help India if it chooses nuclear propulsion for its next aircraft carrier, he said it was a hypothetical question.

Though India has still not decided on this matter, navy



officials here have indicated that they may go for nuclear propulsion.

Richardson said the two sides are collaborating and sharing lessons gathered from undertaking the design and building of an aircraft carrier.

Talking about what he described as China's aggressive posturing in the Indian Ocean, he said that Beijing should make its intentions clear.

Richardson welcomed a larger role for India in the region and the world, saying the country can become an exporter of security.

During his visit, the officer will meet key national security officials here to discuss navy-to-navy relations and opportunities for further technical and security cooperation.

He will then travel to Visakhapatnam to participate in the Indian Navy-hosted International Fleet Review, which will have participation from 50 countries through visiting warships, tall-masted ships, and chiefs of navies.

"A central line of effort for CNO is to expand and strengthen our network of partners," a statement by the American Embassy said.
The top UN human rights expert has called on the 12 nations considering to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership to resist it as its current form "is fundamentally flawed" and the massive trade agreement must be ratified to conform with fundamental principles of international law.

"The TPP is fundamentally flawed and should not be signed or ratified unless provision is made to guarantee the regulatory space of States," said Alfred de Zayas, the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

"Trade agreements are not 'stand-alone' legal regimes, but must conform with fundamental principles of international law, including transparency and accountability," de Zayas said.

"Should the TPP ever enter into force, its compatibility with international law should be challenged before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)," de Zayas added.

The appeal from the UN rights expert comes just before 12 trade ministers from the Pacific Rim countries gather in Auckland, New Zealand on February 4 to sign the TPP-a central pillar of US President Barack Obama's trade policy involving the US, Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, and Brunei Darussalam.

The agreement will strengthen the position of investors, transnational corporations and monopolies at the expense of the public, and will impact negatively on labour standards, food security, health and environmental protection.

In a statememt on February 2, the UN rights expert expressed concern that, despite "enormous opposition by civil society worldwide, twelve countries are about to sign an agreement, which is the product of secret negotiations without multi-stakeholder democratic consultation."



Civil society activists and critics have argued that among other problematic features the TPP will re-write global rules on intellectual property enforcement covering trademark, copyright and patents adopting far more restrictive copyright measures than currently required by international treaties.

In November last year, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan voiced "some very serious concerns" that the massive trade deal covering almost 40 per cent of the global economy could limit the access to affordable medicines and generics -an impact that would severely affect the world's poorest.

Leaders of India's USD 15 billion pharmaceutical industry had echoed Chan's concern about patent protection and generics.

Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that India is preparing to deal with the adverse impacts of TPP and the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) will have "serious bearing" for countries like India who are not a part of the trade deal.
As India embarks on a sustained high growth trajectory, its increasing energy requirements offer Brunei an opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbons to New Delhi, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said.

India, he said, is also keen to work with Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here.

Delivering a speech at the University of Brunei on the topic 'India-Brunei: Partners in Peace and Prosperity', Ansari said, "The growing Indian economy also provides us with an opportunity to move beyond the typical energy seller-buyer relationship. There is tremendous potential to diversify and do value-addition in the hydrocarbon export chain."



In this context, he said India was "keen to work with Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilisers to meet agricultural requirement in India," adding that this will generate additional revenue streams and create local employment.

Ansari said the historical and cultural linkages between Brunei and India dating back to the third century have "given us the confidence to forge a strong and abiding relationship in modern times."



He thanked Brunei for its assistance to and cooperation with India's space programmes through the Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand Station of ISRO in Brunei.

"The station was a crucial component in India's spectacular success in deploying the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars," he said.

Expressing keenness in attracting investments from Brunei in infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, Ansari said government's flagship programmes have opened several avenues for profitable investments.

"Our new 'Make in India' initiative opens up new vistas for investments from ASEAN into India. These include sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure. The India-ASEAN Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment will also unleash large potential for mutual investment.

He termed his three-day visit a "reaffirmation of the importance that India accords to its ties with Brunei and our keen desire to further deepen and intensify our relations."



Terming Information Technology an area where India has made rapid strides, he said this can be a field for enhancing mutual cooperation and "India would be keen to share its experience and expertise in the field of Information Technology in accordance with the wishes and requirements of the people and government of Brunei.

"We value the support extended by Brunei in making India a



full dialogue partner of ASEAN and in the ongoing India-ASEAN FTA negotiations. It reflects Brunei's understanding of the 'Look East' policy of India, which is aimed at integrating India's multifaceted relations with ASEAN and beyond.

Similarly, the decision at the 3rd East Asian Summit at Singapore last November on the Nalanda University initiative is deeply appreciated, he said.

Ansari noted the government's policy towards South-East and East Asia from 'Look East' to 'Act East' indicates India's resolve to move with a great sense of priority to intensify cooperation in security, trade, investment, connectivity and strengthening people-to-people linkages with ASEAN countries.

"Enhancing connectivity between India and ASEAN in all its aspects - physical, institutional and people-to-people, is a key strategic priority for us. Our North-Eastern region is our land-bridge to the ASEAN," he said.

"Our excellent bilateral ties with our ASEAN partners, which are largely sans irritants, have laid a strong foundation for our Act East Policy," he said.

India is working on drafting the ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-2021, to translate the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership Vision into concrete action for greater progress and prosperity.

The Vice President thanked Brunei for playing a constructive role in deepening of India's engagement with ASEAN. "As Brunei prepares for greater integration into the ASEAN community, India will continue to steadfastly support Brunei in assuming its rightful place in the comity of nation, as a dependable friend and partner.

India was among the first countries to welcome Brunei in the comity of nations when it gained full independence in 1984.

Energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities. At present, India imports crude oil worth USD 1 billion from Brunei.

Though India is the third-largest importer for Brunei, the total import from Brunei is only a fraction of India's global crude imports of over USD112.748 billion in 2014-15, Ansari said.

Referring to the 10,000-strong Indian community of professionals like doctors, engineers and skilled personnel contributing to the economy of Brunei, Ansari expressed gratefulness to the oil and gas rich nation's government for the support extended to the expatriate community.

"The quality of our professionals is a testimony to the strength of academic Institutions in India. This is another area for us to collaborate. We would welcome more exchanges of students, teachers and researchers from the academic institutions in Brunei, including this University.

"Such exchanges would augment our people to people contacts. We are also keen to work with Brunei to expand mutual tourism by enhancing connectivity and streamlining our visa and travel document requirements," he said.
India's growing economy and increasing energy needs offer oil and gas-rich Brunei an opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbons to it, Vice President Hamid Ansari said today and underlined that there is "tremendous potential" for collaboration in the sector.

India, he said, is also keen to work with Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here.

Delivering a speech at the University of Brunei on the topic 'India-Brunei: Partners in Peace and Prosperity', Ansari said, "The growing Indian economy also provides us with an opportunity to move beyond the typical energy seller-buyer relationship. There is tremendous potential to diversify and do value-addition in the hydrocarbon export chain."



In this context, he said India was "keen to work with Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilisers to meet agricultural requirement in India."



This, Ansari said, will generate additional revenue streams and create local employment.

Energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities. At present, India imports crude oil worth USD 1 billion from Brunei.

Though India is the third-largest importer for Brunei, the total import from Brunei is only a fraction of India's global crude imports of over USD 112.748 billion in 2014-15, Ansari said.

He said the historical and cultural linkages between Brunei and India dating back to the third century have "given us the confidence to forge a strong and abiding relationship in modern times."



He thanked Brunei for its assistance to and cooperation with India's space programmes through the Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand Station of ISRO in Brunei.

"The station was a crucial component in India's spectacular success in deploying the Mangalyaan in orbit around Mars," he said.

Expressing keenness in attracting investments from Brunei in infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, Ansari said government's flagship programmes have opened several avenues for profitable investments.

"Our new 'Make in India' initiative opens up new vistas for investments from ASEAN into India. These include sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure. The India-ASEAN Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment will also unleash large potential for mutual investment."



He termed his three-day visit a "reaffirmation of the importance that India accords to its ties with Brunei and our keen desire to further deepen and intensify our relations.
Donald Trump went on the offensive today, accusing Republican rival Ted Cruz of stealing victory in Iowa as he sought to burnish his standing ahead of next week's primary voting in New Hampshire.

The real estate mogul made the sensational accusations on Twitter, telling his six million followers that the first-time senator from Texas had committed fraud in the first caucus of the 2016 US presidential election.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!" Trump wrote.

He criticised Cruz for putting out a statement saying that a fellow candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, was quitting the race, and accused Cruz of lying to thousands of voters about Trump's policies.

"Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified," Trump wrote.

The accusations, the latest in a long line of Trump insults aimed at his rivals, come in stark contrast to his gracious concession speech in Iowa on Monday, saying he was "honored" to finish second.

His tally -- just above 24%, for second place after Cruz and just ahead of Senator Marco Rubio -- in the first vote after months of wall-to-wall media coverage raises serious questions about whether showmanship has a winning strategy.

A second hiccup, at the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday, would spell political disaster for the billionaire.

Cruz won 27.7% of the vote in the Republican caucus in Iowa, staking his claim to be the new standard bearer of the right.

Rubio, whose star has risen in recent weeks, won more than 23%, anointing him as the Republican establishment candidate of choice best placed to defeat presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Polls put Trump firmly ahead among Republican voters in New Hampshire, but analysts warn that anything less than a win in Tuesday's primary will further damage his campaign message that he is a winner.

Jeanne Zaino, a professor of political science in New York, said Trump's outburst was a strategic move designed to counter the narrative that he lost in Iowa and that his campaign is beatable.
The Russian military says Turkey has violated an international treaty by barring a planned Russian surveillance flight.

Defense Ministry official Sergei Ryzhkov says the Turkish military has refused to allow the mission intended to monitor the areas near Turkey's border with Syria and air bases used by NATO warplanes.

Ryzhkov accused Turkey of creating a "dangerous precedent of uncontrolled military activities" by breaching its obligations under the Open Skies Treaty.

The agreement allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of its three dozen participants, which include the US, Russia and Turkey.

Ryzhkov said today that Turkey denied permission for the flight after Russian inspectors had already arrived.

Russia-Turkey ties have remained tense after a Turkish fighter jet downed a Russian warplane at the border with Syria in November.
Personnel of District Intelligence Branch of the District Executive Force, Kohima today arrested two persons for smuggling 180 kgs of contraband ganja, the police said.

The arrest and seizure was made while the police were checking a SUV at Pfuchama village area at around 1 AM, said Atu Zumvu, PRO, Kohima Police.

The two accused persons have been identified as Pavei Makho and Winner J, from Tadubi under Senapati district of Manipur.

In this connection a case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was registered for conducting further investigation at the Khuzama PS, the police said.
One ultra was today killed in an encounter with the security personnel and rebel group "People's Liberation Front of India" (PLFI) at Kisutoli Bagicha of Naxal-hit Khunti district, police said.

The encounter took place when the security personnel were on search operation in the Naxal-hit areas of the district, said Superintendent of Police, Anish Gupta.

Further search operation was on, he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged North Korea to drop plans for a rocket launch that would be in violation of a UN ban on missile technology.

"The secretary-general believes that it is important for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to refrain from using ballistic missile technology and to work for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

North Korea has notified three UN agencies that it plans to launch an earth observation satellite as early as Monday, just weeks after its fourth nuclear test.

The announcement drew a strong response from the United States and Japan, while China, Pyongyang's ally, expressed concerns that North Korea was preparing to flout UN rules.

The UN spokesman recalled that UN resolutions barring North Korea from developing missile technology "are of course international law."



Ban yesterday met with the director of the International Maritime Organisation in London to discuss the planned rocket launch after it received a notice from North Korea.

A former South Korean foreign minister, Ban was due to raise the issue again in talks at the IMO later today, said Haq.

The UN Security Council is working on a new sanctions draft resolution to punish North Korea after it carried out a nuclear test on January 6, but a US-drafted text has run into resistance from Beijing.

UN diplomats have described the US-drafted resolution as ambitious and strong, but there has been little progress in persuading China to back the measures over the past several weeks.

It remained unclear whether North Korea's latest announcement will nudge China closer to the tougher US stance, diplomats said.

The council has imposed four sets of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.

There are 20 North Korean entities and 12 individuals on the UN sanctions blacklist, which provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
Let it be light between us,brothers and sisters from the Earth.Let it be love between all living beings on this

Galaxy.Let it be peace between all various races and species.We love you infinitely.

I am SaLuSa from Sirius

Channel:Laura/Multidimensional Ocean

     ,        .   

      .        -

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:Laura/Multidimensional Ocean
The UN special envoy for Syria has warned that if troubled peace talks in Switzerland failed, then "all hope would be lost".

"A failure is always possible, particularly after five years of horrible war," Staffan de Mistura said yesterday on Swiss television channel Radio Television Suisse.

"But if there is a failure this time, after two previous meetings in Geneva on Syria, then all hope will be lost," de Mistura said.

De Mistura is trying to coax representatives of the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition umbrella into indirect peace talks.

The negotiations have, however, after several days, failed to move beyond the preliminary stage, with chief government negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari on yesterday saying the opposition was "not serious".

The main opposition umbrella group on yesterday cancelled a planned meeting with de Mistura, angry at what it called "unprecedented" Russian air strikes in support of regime forces near Aleppo.
US crude stayed below $30 per barrel in Asia today as oil price losses deepened on expectations US petroleum stockpiles will rise further and exacerbate the already oversaturated global market.

A rally last week driven by speculation that Russia and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would reach an agreement to slash output in the oversupplied market has fizzled out amid scepticism such a deal would be reached.

Traders are expecting more bearish news when the US Department of Energy releases its weekly inventory on commercial crude stockpiles later Wednesday, with analysts expecting the inventories to rise.

An increase typically means softer demand in the world's top oil consumer.

At around 0340 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in March slid 18 cents, or 0.60 per cent, to $29.70 and Brent crude for April dipped to $32.58 a barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.43 per cent.

WTI closed at $29.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, the first time the benchmark settled below $30 since January 21.

"With a build of about 4.0 million barrels expected, that's another event that traders are expecting could push oil prices down," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said, referring to the closely-watched US inventory data.

"Some of the selling that we are seeing today is in anticipation of the larger than expected build tonight," he told AFP.

McCarthy added that hopes pinned on coordinated action between Russia and Opec to slash output have now faded.

"The stepping away from the idea that there might have been cooperation between suppliers is another factor that is weighing on the prices," he said.

"That shows the positioning of the market, that what was essentially a rumour was able to drive the price so much higher."



Russia announced Tuesday that it pumped a post-Soviet record amount of crude oil and condensate in January of about 18.9 million barrels a day, as it fights to hold onto market share. Opec in December rejected calls to trim output.
US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson is visiting India on his first trip to the country aimed at deepening bilateral maritime partnership, the Pentagon said.

Richardson will visit New Delhi and Visakhapatnam between February 2 to 6.

In New Delhi, Richardson will meet key Indian security officials to discuss navy-to-navy relations and opportunities to further technical and security ties, an official statement said.

The admiral would then travel to Visakhapatnam to participate in the Indian Navy-hosted International Fleet Review, which will have a participation from 50 countries with visiting warships, tall-masted ships, and heads of navies.

The International Fleet Review is being promoted as the Indian Navy's premier international engagement event for 2016.

While in Visakhapatnam, he will meet with sailors from USS Antietam (CG 54), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, and USS McCampbell (DDG 85), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, said the statement.

Noting that a central line of effort for Richardson is to "expand and strengthen our network of partners," the Pentagon said the visit to India and interactions with Indian and other navy leaders helps to deepen ties and expand shared maritime interests.
A summit with Southeast Asian leaders that President Barack Obama is hosting later this month is "not anti-China," a State Department official has said.

The meeting will bring leaders from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Californian resort of Sunnylands on February 15-16.

"This summit is not about China. It's about the US and ASEAN," US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel said in an interview with the AP, Reuters and AFP agencies.

"This is not about China, this is not anti-China."



The US administration has focused on bolstering ASEAN as a counterpoint to Chinese regional power.

"This is the culmination of a seven-plus-year investment the United States has made first and foremost in the Asia pacific region, but also in ASEAN in particular," Russel said.

"I think it demonstrates that the rebalance has reached cruising altitude," he added, referring to the Obama administration's focus on its "pivot" toward Asia since 2009.

Several ASEAN states are embroiled in an increasingly bitter spat with China over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

The US says it takes no position on ownership of the various reefs and islets under dispute, but insists freedom of navigation in the vital shipping lane must be maintained.

"This set of challenges in Southeast Asia, particularly the disputes over land features and maritime entitlement in South China Sea isn't a zero-sum game, this is not a proxy war between China and the United States," Russel said.

"This is a direct challenge to the question of whether the countries in the region and the claimants in the South China Sea, and particularly China... Would be guided by the universal principles and the rule of law."



He insisted that Asia was "not certainly a battleground for big powers' competition.
President Barack Obama has told British Prime Minister David Cameron that the US will soon make "significant new contributions" to support relief efforts in Syria and help in dealing with the crisis that has burdened Europe with a record number of refugees.

In a telephonic conversation with Cameron, Obama discussed the Syrian crisis and the resultant need for steps to improve humanitarian access and build confidence in support of the political process, the White House said yesterday.

The two leaders spoke about Syria ahead of a conference of donor nations in London tomorrow.

He informed Cameron that the US will be represented at the Conference by Secretary of State John Kerry, who will announce "significant new contributions to support relief efforts."



"Obama reiterated the commitment of the US to continue to support those displaced by the violence in Syria and elsewhere in the region, as well as to help alleviate the pressures in Europe created by the unprecedented inflow of refugees," the White House added.

In a November meeting in Vienna, world powers had agreed on a road map that foresees six months of intra-Syrian talks, leading to a new constitution and free elections within 18 months.

The conflict has dragged in a number of players -- from Iran, Turkey and the Gulf states to Western nations and, since late September, Russia.

Obama and Cameron also discussed Libya, where nations are struggling to determine how to address the Islamic State militant group's expansion.

The two leaders are urging an end to Libya's political stalemate.

"Finally, they noted ongoing efforts to resolve the political impasse in Libya," the White House said and added that "Prime Minister Cameron updated President Obama on his negotiations with European Union leaders to reform the United Kingdom's membership in the EU."



Obama told Cameron that the US supports the UK remaining in the European Union.
Veteran Congress leader Balram Jakhar, a former Lok Sabha Speaker and Agriculture Minister at the Centre, died here today after battling ailments for over the last six months.

Jakhar, 92, was suffering from brain hemorrhage last year after which he suffered from multiple ailments. His health deteriorated last week and he passed away this morning.

Jakhar lived with his son Sunil Jakhar, a former leader of opposition in Punjab, in a rented accommodation in Defence Colony, where he breathed his last at around 7 AM. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul visited his residence to pay their last respects.

The body of Jakhar is being taken to his native village Panjkosi near Abohar in Punjab where he will be cremated tomorrow morning, his family sources said.

Senior party leaders are likely to attend his last rites, Congress sources said.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi expressed their condolences over the demise of Jakhar, and hailed him as a "popular" leader, appreciating his contributions and pursuit of excellence in public life.

A champion of farmers' causes, Jakhar was Agriculture Minister in the P V Narsimha Rao government and a Lok Sabha MP for four terms. He also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh between 2004 and 2009.

Jakhar has the rare honour of having been elected unanimously twice to the office of Speaker, first in the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980 and then again in the eighth Lok Sabha in 1985.

He had also earned the rare distinction of being the only Speaker of Lok Sabha in independent India to have presided over two successive Lok Sabhas for their full terms from 22nd January 1980 to 18th December 1989.

As Speaker, Jakhar had contributed to the computerisation



of parliamentary works and establishment of Parliament Museum.

A Sanskrit graduate from Christian College, Lahore, Jakhar wore many hats in his long political career and was said to be close to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

A two-term MLA from Punjab, Jakhar served as leader of opposition in the state Assembly in the seventies, a post held by his son Sunil recently.

He was also the General-Secretary of All India Congress Committee for over two years between 1990 and 1992 and was made a member of the party's apex decision making body Congress Working Committee.

He has two books published to his credit "People, Parliament and Administration", and "New Horizons in Agriculture in India".

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Modi said he was a popular leader who enriched parliamentary democracy.

"Balram Jakharji was a popular leader who enriched our parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP," he tweeted.

Pranab Mukherjee said, "Sad to learn about the passing away of Dr Balram Jakhar, colleague and dear friend of long years. The nation will always remember his valuable contributions and pursuit of excellence in public life.
The Maharashtra government will soon hold a meeting with concerned government departments and stakeholders to resolve the issue of Deonar dumping site, Minister of State for Urban Development Dr Ranjit Patil said on Wednesday.

However, villagers in Taloja, Navi Mumbai have opposed the proposed shifting of the garbage disposal ground there.

"No village would want a dumping site near its periphery. I have heard that gram sabhas near Taloja are opposing the move of shifting of Deonar dumping zone in that area and are passing resolutions in this regard. Government will soon hold a meeting to resolve the issue," Patil said.

He admitted that the Deonar landfill site has already crossed its permitted capacity.

State Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya also said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was concerned about the issue and that it would be sorted out.

Kshatriya added that there were some proposals from industries to use the solid waste to generate power.

On Tuesday, Mumbai NCP unit president Sachin Ahir led party members in a demonstration against the continuation of the Deonar site, saying the issue has assumed alarming proportions.

"The previous Congress-NCP regime had constituted a committee comprising former BMC municipal commissioner Sharad Kale and experts like Ajit Jain and BMC officials. What action was taken on the findings of the committee?" he questioned.

Mumbai residents, particularly those in the Deonar region, have suffered from severe respiratory problems after a fire at the Deonar dumping ground created a blanket of smog that engulfed the city.
Philippine lawmakers failed today to pass a crucial bill aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, igniting fears of fresh violence.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino, whose six-year term ends in June, had lobbied hard for the passage of the bill, which would have granted the nation's Muslim minority an autonomous southern homeland.

However he was unable to muster enough support in the lower house of Congress to even secure a vote by Wednesday, the final day of parliament before it adjourns ahead of national elections in May.

Failure to pass the bill means it can not be passed under Aquino, who is limited by the constitution to a single term, with no certainty over whether his successor will even pursue a peace deal.

Asked if the failure to pass the bill could spark violence, chief government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told AFP: "That's the danger, that's why we are taking steps, calling for sobriety."



The nation's largest Muslim rebel group, the 10,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), signed a peace accord with Aquino's government in 2014 to end its struggle for independence, which began in the 1970s.

Under the accord, the rebels would have only given up their arms after the law was passed creating the autonomous homeland and a regional government was elected. The vote was meant to take place alongside the May general election.

After the collapse in 2008 of the last attempt to seal a peace deal with the MILF, hardline rebels raided Christian farming villages, triggering fighting that left more than 400 people dead and 600,000 displaced.

Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said today the rebel leadership was working hard to avoid a repeat, and vowed to continue working for peace with Aquino's successor.

He told ABS-CBN television there could be a feeling of "repression" within the MILF ranks, but the leadership was countering with "massive engagement".

"We just explain to them that here lies the problem in the peace process. We will never cease engaging in the peace process," he told ABS-CBN television.

Most political analysts say Aquino lost lawmakers' support for the autonomy bill after a police raid in MILF territory last year killed a Malaysian bomb maker on the United States' list of most-wanted "terrorists".

However the raid led to a day of intense fighting with the MILF and other rebels that left 44 police commandos dead.
Vodafone India today launched its high-speed 4G services in Gurgaon and will cover the entire Delhi-NCR region in a phased manner.

Vodafone has become the second operator to roll out 4G services in the NCR region. Bharti Airtel already offers such services in Delhi-NCR region.

Although the company did not share the number of 4G sites, but said in the current financial year till December, it has invested over Rs 800 crore in Delhi-NCR on infrastructure. Huawei is the 4G network provider for Vodafone in the region.

The 4G rollout across Delhi is likely to be completed by mid-year though the company did not disclose the exact timeline.

Vodafone has also launched 4G services in Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata.

ALSO READ: Vodafone deploys SON technology to reduce call drops

Vodafone India had acquired 4G (LTE) spectrum in 5 circles Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kerala and Karnataka in February 2014 auctions. These circles together contribute close to 50 per cent of the total data revenues for the firm.

Asked if Vodafone will be looking at spectrum trading and sharing to increase its 4G footprint, Chief Operating Officer of the company Naveen Chopra said currently the plan is to focus on the five circles.

Vodafone said its 4G service is built on a strong fibre backhaul and it is positioned to offer 2G/3G/4G services on its own network.

"Initial response from customers who have experienced our 4G services in Kerala, Karnataka, and Kolkata has been positive and encouraging," Chopra said.

Vodafone will increase the intensity of its 4G rollout to cover important metros Mumbai and Bengaluru shortly and testing in these locations has already commenced.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today said a meeting of Western Ghat-range states would be convened by this month to take a final call on demarcation of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the hills.

He said all state governments, except Tamil Nadu, have submitted their proposals regarding demarcation of ESAs.

Since Kerala and Tamil Nadu are heading for Assembly polls early this year, the Ministry will expedite the process and a meeting of all the Western Ghat range states -- Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- will be convened in February itself, he told reporters here.

"Tamil Nadu government has not given its proposal. Other governments have given the proposal which we are processing. We will have meetings of all the state governments in February itself. And we will have detailed discussions on the proposals...," he said.

The Minister said the government is for ensuring sustainable development without destroying national heritage in the hills. "We want to protect environment but also to ensure development. There should not be problem for the people," he said.

It was in 2010, the Environment Ministry constituted an expert panel headed by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil to identify ESAs in Western Ghats.

In its report, the Gadgil panel had suggested division of the hills into many ecologically sensitive zones, which were opposed by states.

Considering the concerns of the states, a panel under eminent scientist K Kasturirangan was constituted and it diluted the Gadgil panel declaring only 37 per cent (60,000 hectares) of hills as ecological sensitive.

However, some state governments including Kerala objected to the recommendations of the Kasturirangan panel report also.

Considering their demand, the Environment Ministry allowed ground verification by states itself.
By Zeba Siddiqui

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian biotechnology company Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday it was working on two possible vaccines to fight the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil.

The virus is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and WHO officials on Tuesday expressed concern that it could hit Africa and Asia as well. No vaccine has been developed so far.

One of the possible vaccines is "recombinant", which means it is created by genetic engineering, while the other was "inactivated", and will enter pre-clinical trials in animals in two weeks, Bharat Biotech managing director Krishna Ella told .

An inactivated vaccine is created by killing a pathogen in a way that its ability to replicate is destroyed, but the immune system can still recognise it.

Bharat Biotech's announcement came a day after France's Sanofi said it had launched a project to develop a Zika vaccine. On Wednesday, Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical also said it was investigating the possibilities of developing a vaccine for the disease.

Privately held Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, said it started work on the Zika virus a year ago, while developing vaccines for chikungunya and dengue. Zika is closely related to dengue and is spread by the same species of mosquito.

Bharat Biotech sells its vaccines for polio, hepatitis B, H1N1 and rabies, among others, to more than 65 countries, according to its website.

"They've got a lead, essentially ... it's certainly not a vaccine yet," said Soumya Swaminathan, the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body for biomedical research in India, funded by the health ministry.

Swaminathan said it was premature to comment on the two vaccine candidates, but the ICMR had put together a group of experts to examine their validity.

No cases of the virus have been detected in India yet, but the health ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines on the disease, including an advisory that travel to affected countries be postponed or cancelled.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By Ludwig Burger

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - China made its boldest overseas takeover move when state-owned ChemChina agreed a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta on Wednesday, aiming to improve domestic food production.

The largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, announced by both companies, will accelerate a shake-up in global agrochemicals and marks a setback for U.S. firm Monsanto, which failed to buy Syngenta last year.

China, the world's largest agricultural market, is looking to secure food supply for its population. Syngenta's portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds will represent a major upgrade of its potential output.

"Only around 10 percent of Chinese farmland is efficient. This is more than just a company buying another. This is a government attempting to address a real problem," a source close to the deal told .

Years of intensive farming combined with overuse of chemicals has degraded land and poisoned water supplies, leaving China vulnerable to crop shortages. The deal fits into Beijing's plans to modernise agriculture over the next five years.

"I was sent to the countyside at the age of 15, so I'm very familiar with what farmers need when they work the land. The Chinese have relied mainly on traditional ways of farming. We want to spread Syngenta's integrated solution among smallholder farmers," ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin told a media briefing.

With growth slowing at home, Chinese companies are increasingly looking abroad for deals that can boost their business and help them diversify. If completed, ChemChina's Syngenta purchase would be more than double CNOOC's $17.7 billion buy of Canadian energy company Nexen in 2012.

ChemChina last year bought Italian tyre maker Pirelli and last month said it would buy German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for some $1 billion.

Shares in Syngenta rose on of the deal, but at around 412 Swiss francs, were some way below the agreed offer price of $465 per share, equivalent to 480 francs, reflecting market concerns that the deal could yet stumble over regulatory hurdles and limited expectations of a counter-offer.

"Syngenta has never been valued so highly. Over the last few years the company has failed to demonstrate it can generate reasonable earnings on its own," Patrick Huber, a fund manager at Mirabaud Asset Management told .

"We will definitely tender our shares at the offered price. I can't imagine another bidder making a higher offer," Huber said, adding that although U.S. regulators may not block the deal, they could delay it.

REGULATORY ISSUES

Syngenta CEO John Ramsay, who described the ChemChina offer as "very appropriate and attractive", said he saw no major barriers and noted that ChemChina -- short for China National Chemical Corp -- had secure financing in place.

A source with knowledge of the deal said the funding would come from a range of Chinese players, as well as HSBC and China CITIC Bank International.

"I think the overall regulatory approvals will not be very challenging," Ramsay told Reuters, adding he expected antitrust regulators to acknowledge the limited overlap.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), whose mandate is U.S. national security, would not pose a major hurdle, Ramsay said.

Swiss regulators said their conditions were largely met by the terms of the deal, although they want Swiss retail investors to receive the ChemChina offer in Swiss francs and warnings to be given on foreign exchange risks.

Syngenta's board would still have to consider any rival offers, Ramsay said, although there are tough financial penalty clauses for both parties if they fail to deliver on the deal.

In a hint of what may be in store for the enlarged group, Syngenta's chairman said ChemChina will be on the lookout for more deals as China strives to improve its food supply.

"ChemChina has a very ambitious vision of the industry in the future. Obviously it is very interested in securing food supply for 1.5 billion people and as a result knows that only technology can get them there," Michel Demare said.

Syngenta is already the largest supplier of crop chemicals, excluding seeds, in China with a 6 percent share of a fragmented market, the group's chief operating officer Davor Pisk said.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Beijing is seeking to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption. China's combined consumption of pork, beef and poultry has grown by an average 1.7 million tonnes a year for the past decade, placing further stress on feed grain supplies.

Meanwhile, a global glut of corn and soybeans has depressed grain prices for the past three years, prompting U.S. farmers to reduce spending on everything from equipment to seeds and pesticides. The cutbacks, along with pressure from investors to bolster profits, have sent many of the world's largest agricultural companies scrambling to cut deals.

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co agreed in December on an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step towards breaking up into three separate businesses, a move that was seen as a trigger for further consolidation.

Syngenta was advised by Dyalco, the one-man business of former Goldman Sachs M&A head Gordon Dyal, alongside JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS while HSBC and China CITIC Bank International advised ChemChina.

(1 Swiss franc = $0.9824)

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields, Freya Berry, Lisa Jucca, Lawrence White, Elzio Barreto, Aizhu Chen, Oliver Hirt and Gavin Maguire; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Keith Weir)
By Ludwig Burger

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - China made its boldest overseas takeover move when state-owned ChemChina agreed a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta on Wednesday, aiming to improve domestic food production.

The largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, announced by both companies, will accelerate a shake-up in global agrochemicals and marks a setback for U.S. firm Monsanto, which failed to buy Syngenta last year.

China, the world's largest agricultural market, is looking for ways to secure food supply for its population. Syngenta's portfolio of top-tier chemicals, fertilizers and patent-protected seed varieties will represent a major upgrade of its potential output.

"Only around 10 percent of Chinese farmland is efficient. This is more than just a company buying another. This is a government attempting to address a real problem," a source close to the deal told .

Years of intensive farming combined with overuse of chemicals has degraded land and poisoned water supplies, leaving China increasingly vulnerable to crop shortages. The deal fits into Chinese government plans to modernise its agriculture over the next five years.

With growth slowing at home, Chinese companies are looking abroad for deals that can boost their businesses. If completed, the Syngenta acquisition would be more than double CNOOC's $17.7 billion purchase of Canadian energy company Nexen in 2012.

Shares in Syngenta rose on of the deal, but at around 412 Swiss francs, were some way below the agreed offer price of $465 per share, equivalent to 480 francs, reflecting market concerns that the deal could yet stumble over regulatory hurdles and limited expectations of a counter-offer.

REGULATORY ISSUES

Syngenta CEO John Ramsay, who described the ChemChina offer as "very appropriate and attractive", said he saw no major barriers and noted that ChemChina had secure financing in place.

A source with knowledge of the deal said the funding would come from a range of Chinese players, as well as HSBC and China CITIC Bank International.

"I think the overall regulatory approvals will not be very challenging," Ramsay told Reuters, adding he expected antitrust regulators to acknowledge the limited overlap.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), whose mandate is U.S. national security, would not pose a major hurdle, Ramsay said.

Swiss regulators said their conditions were largely met by the terms of the deal, although they want Swiss retail investors to receive the ChemChina offer in Swiss francs and warnings to be given on foreign exchange risks.

Syngenta's board would still have to consider any rival offers, Ramsay said.

But ChemChina, short for China National Chemical Corp., has agreed to pay about $3 billion in fees should it fail to meet all requirements for the deal, while Syngenta will owe ChemChina about $1.5 billion if the deal falls through for any reasons the Swiss group is accountable for.

"The discussions between our two companies have been friendly, constructive and cooperative, and we are delighted that this collaboration has led to the agreement," ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin said.

In a hint of what may be in store for the enlarged group, Syngenta's chairman said ChemChina will be on the lookout for more deals as China strives to improve its food supply.

"ChemChina has a very ambitious vision of the industry in the future. Obviously it is very interested in securing food supply for 1.5 billion people and as a result knows that only technology can get them there," Michel Demare said.

CHINA CALLING

ChemChina's move on Syngenta may be the biggest, but it is not the first as Chinese corporates shift offshore.

Similar deals include last year's buyout of Italian tyre maker Pirelli by ChemChina. In January, ChemChina announced the acquisition of German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for about $1 billion.

Beijing is keen to boost farming productivity as it seeks to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption. China's combined consumption of pork, beef and poultry has grown by an average 1.7 million tonnes a year for the past decade, placing further stress on feed grain supplies.

Meanwhile, a global glut of corn and soybeans has depressed grain prices for the past three years, prompting U.S. farmers to reduce spending on everything from equipment to seeds and pesticides. The cutbacks, along with pressure from investors and a desire to bolster profit, have sent many of the world's largest agricultural companies scrambling to cut deals.

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co agreed in December to combine in an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion in a first step towards breaking up into three separate businesses, a move that was seen as a trigger for further consolidation.

Syngenta was advised by Dyalco, the one-man business of former Goldman Sachs M&A head Gordon Dyal, alongside JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS while HSBC and China CITIC Bank International advised ChemChina. (1 Swiss franc = $0.9824)

(Additional reporting by Michael Shields, Freya Berry, Lisa Jucca, Lawrence White, Elzio Barreto, Aizhu Chen and Gavin Maguire; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Keith Weir)
By Krishna N. Das and Manolo Serapio Jr

NEW DELHI/MANILA (Reuters) - State-run company KIOCL is considering building an iron ore pellet complex in Iran at a cost of about $59 million and is in talks to sell more than 2 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material to the Gulf country now free from trade sanctions.

The potential Indian investment could offer cheaper supplies of processed iron ore to Iranian steel mills that, like most companies around the world, are having to contend with cut-price steel from an oversupplied China.

Companies such as KIOCL and aluminium maker NALCO, which is considering setting up a $2 billion smelter complex in Iran, hope that India's long-held ties with the Middle Eastern country would help them seal new deals.

India had remained one of Iran's top oil buyers during the Western trade curbs and is already in talks to buy more now that the sanctions have been lifted.

KIOCL Chairman Malay Chatterjee told on Wednesday that he discussed setting up a 1.1 million tonne beneficiation plant -- for ore purification -- and a 1.1 million tonne pelletising plant in Iran through a potential joint venture with a local company when he was there in Tehran late last year.

Further government-level talks could take place soon to pave the way for the project, which could cost abut 4 billion rupees ($59 million), he said.

KIOCL's commercial director, M.V. Subba Rao, flew to Tehran on Tuesday and to scout for more deals after selling 67,000 tonnes of ore pellets to Iran's Mobarakeh Steel Company last month.

"Rao will talk to Mobarakeh and other companies as we have the capacity to export up to 2.5 million tonnes of pellets a year," Chatterjee said. "There is enough demand in Iran, though everybody is facing competition from an oversupplied China (steel industry)."

Mobarakeh's managing director, Bahram Sobhani, said his company sources pellets from a variety of suppliers, including KIOCL, but declined to give details.

Keyvan Ja'fari Tehrani, head of international affairs at the Iranian Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association, said the country's steel mills are not aggressively chasing expensive foreign pellets because local steel production has been falling.

However, talks over KIOCL's proposed investment in an Iranian plant could be complicated by plans for two Iranian companies -- Gol-e-Gohar and Sangan Mines -- to start their own pellet production from March, which Tehrani said would add more than 5 million tonnes in supplies.

Iran used to import 7-8 million tonnes of pellets a year, with total demand of 28-29 million tonnes, but Tehrani said the new supplies could soon end the country's reliance on imports.

($1 = 68.0500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in NEW DELHI and Manolo Serapio Jr. in MANILA; Additional reporting by Maytaal Angel in LONDON; Editing by David Goodman)
By Keith Wallis

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil futures extended losses into a third session in Asian trade on Wednesday, as U.S. crude stocks last week surged to more than half a billion barrels and as Iran plans to boost exports from March.

Brent for April delivery had dropped 24 cents to $32.48 a barrel as of 0524 GMT, after settling down $1.52, or 4.4 percent.

U.S. crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell 22 cents to $29.66, having ended the previous session down $1.74, or 5.5 percent.

"Oil prices are coming off again. Prices are going to zig-zag for a while," said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.8 million barrels to 500.4 million in the week to Jan. 29, data from industry group, the American Petroleum Institute, showed on Tuesday.

Weekly inventory data from the U.S. government's Energy Information Agency is due on Wednesday.

"The (global) inventory situation is going to get worse in the second quarter as we hit the peak refining rate at the end of this quarter," Nunan said.

"(But) this has been so well documented that it's been built into prices. I do think we're close to the bottom and the bottom in prices will be this quarter."

Nunan forecast Brent would trade in a $25-$35 a barrel range in the first quarter, before slowly recovering over the rest of the year.

A rebalancing between oil demand and supply will not come until mid-2017, Morgan Stanley said in a note on Wednesday.

Implied crude stocks are set to climb by 1.1 million barrels per day this year, compared with an implied stock build of 1.3 million bpd last year, the note said.

"Despite the myriad announcements of capex cuts, production has yet to respond enough to rebalance the market," Morgan Stanley said.

Production numbers from Canada, Brazil and Russia all grew last year, with Russian output in December hitting the highest level since the 1980s, the note said.

The increase in stocks at Cushing has led to renewed fears of overflowing oil tanks at the key U.S. storage hub, causing the spread between prompt and forward U.S. crude oil futures to slump to an 11-month low, stoking fears of a further price rout.

Meanwhile, Iran is aiming for crude exports of 2.3 million barrels per day in the fiscal year beginning March 21, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

That is higher than the 1.44 million bpd Iran is expected to export in February and 1.5 million bpd in January, according to data on Iran's preliminary tanker loading schedules.

South Korea, which imported 5.7 million tonnes of crude from Iran last year, unveiled a set of stimulus measures on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Keith Wallis; Editing by Joseph Radford)
By Amanda Cooper

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on Wednesday, paring earlier losses after Russia reiterated its openness to talking with OPEC about output cuts, which helped revive hope among investors that the world's largest producers could act to boost prices.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members to meet, "then we will meet".

This helped push the price of oil, which had been set for a third day of declines after data on Tuesday showed another big build in U.S. inventories, off the day's lows.

Brent for April delivery was up 57 cents at $33.29 a barrel by 1141 GMT, pulling away from a session low of $32.30. U.S. crude futures rose 54 cents to $30.42, off a session low of $29.40.

"Is there going to be a meeting between Russia and OPEC? That is a supportive factor in this rally," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said.

"(Oil-producing) countries are at the brink of default ... so the situation is dire."

Cash-strapped Nigeria and Angola are discussing potential financing from the World Bank, which, together with the International Monetary Fund, is in talks with Azerbaijan.

The 70 percent drop in the crude price over the last 18 months has hit the budgets of oil-dependent nations such as Nigeria, Venezuela, Russia and even some of the richer Gulf nations such as Bahrain.

Demand for oil, particularly in Asia, proved robust last year, but not enough to absorb near-record supply and ballooning inventories of unwanted crude.

"Russia yesterday reported a rise in its oil production in January to just under 10.9 million bpd (barrels per day), which is a new high since the break-up of the Soviet Union," Commerzbank said in a report.

"This underlines the need for talks on coordinated production cuts, as OPEC also expanded its oil production in January to a multi-year high."

U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.8 million barrels to 500.4 million in the week to Jan. 29, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed.

A rebalancing between oil demand and supply will not come until mid-2017, Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Goldman Sachs in a note on Monday said volatility in the oil price, which is at its highest since the collapse of failed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, could reach 100 percent as storage capacity comes under pressure.

(Additional reporting by Keith Wallis in SINGAPORE; Editing by Dale Hudson)
The Reserve Bank of India's move to clean up balance sheets of commercial lenders is not aimed at reducing the risk-taking appetite of company owners, Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday.

"We should not in any way reduce risk-taking in the economy," Rajan said in an interview to ET Now television.

The central bank has been urging banks to proactively clean up their balance sheets, including accounting for potential stressed assets. Rajan said this exercise is intended to put key stalled projects back on track and was not meant to penalise promoters.



He also said that the central bank will not stand in the way of revealing the names of defaulters if there was a "public case" for it after the Supreme Court allowed regulators to do so.
By Keith Wallis

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures extended losses into a third session in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. crude stocks last week surged to more than half a billion barrels, stoking concern over global oversupply.

Milder weather forecast for the last eight weeks of the U.S. November-March winter heating season has further dampened demand hopes.

The front month contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 40 cents at $29.48 at 0035 GMT, after settling down $1.74, or 5.5 percent, in the previous session.

That came as U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.8 million barrels to 500.4 million in the week to Jan. 29, data from industry group, the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.

"The U.S. crude inventory is already at the highest levels since the 1930s," ANZ said in a note on Wednesday.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 141,000 barrels, the API said.

The increase led to renewed fears of overflowing oil tanks at the key U.S. storage hub, causing the spread between prompt and forward U.S. crude oil futures to slump to an 11-month low.

Traders fear that filling tanks to the brim could cause the next leg of a rout on distressed selling.

Meanwhile, Iran is aiming for crude exports of 2.3 million barrels per day in the coming fiscal year beginning on March 21, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

That is higher than the 1.44 million bpd Iran is expected to export in February and 1.5 million bpd in January, according to data on Iran's preliminary tanker loading schedules.

Russia is ready to implement further cooperation in the oil market with OPEC and non-OPEC countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday while on a visit to Abu Dhabi.

(Reporting by Keith Wallis)
By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and the United States are making progress in talks on the joint development of an aircraft carrier for India, the top U.S. navy admiral said on Wednesday, potentially the biggest military collaboration between them.

The two countries agreed to work together on aircraft carrier technology as well as jet engines during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to India last year in a strengthening of ties to balance China's expanding military power in the region.

The visiting chief of U.S. Naval Operations, John Richardson, said the two sides had held talks on a range of issues relating to the next generation Indian carrier from its design to construction.

A high-level U.S.-India joint working group is due to meet in New Delhi later this month, part of a series of meetings aimed at establishing broader cooperation on the design, development and production of the proposed Indian carrier.

"We are making very good progress, I am very pleased with the progress to date and optimistic we can do more in the future. That's on a very solid track," Richardson told reporters in New Delhi.

India inducted an old aircraft carrier from Russia in 2014 while an ageing British vessel is set to retire this year. It is building an indigenous carrier that is expected to enter service in 2018-2019.

But the navy also plans a third, its biggest carrier yet, for which it has sought U.S. assistance, especially state-of-the-art technology to launch aircraft.

Richardson said the electromagnetic launch technology that enabled a navy to fly heavier planes from a carrier was part of the discussions with India.

"All of those things are on the table, there are possibilities, its a matter of pacing, it's very new technology for us," he said.

China has one aircraft carrier and announced last month it is building another. The Pentagon said in a report last year that China could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years.

India's navy, which has long considered the Indian Ocean its area of influence, has been unnerved by Chinese naval forays in the region and its efforts to build port infrastructure in countries stretching from Pakistan to Djibouti on the African coast.

After years of neglect, the Indian government has approved the navy's plans for a dozen new submarines, six of them nuclear-powered. More than 40 warships are under construction.

(Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones)
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Wednesday over a report the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus.

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.

"We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told .

"This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," he said, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal in 2008 and is suspected of having infected his wife.

The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly.

The United Nations agency, which is leading international coordination on the outbreak, said on Tuesday the virus could spread to Africa and Asia, which have the world's highest birth rates, as well as to southern Europe.

In a statement on Wednesday to European member states, WHO said the risk of the virus spreading into Europe increases with the onset of spring and summer.

"Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations," WHO's Europe chief Zsuzsanna Jakab said. "Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease.

"A number of travellers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive. With the onset of spring and summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases."

The WHO has not recommended travel or trade bans with affected countries, but says that it is drawing up advice to pregnant women.

The WHO global response team will discuss the sexual transmission report among other issues at its daily meeting later on Wednesday, Hartl said.

"There are many things we don't know about Zika," he said. "Lots of surveillance is needed ... We have our team set up and are sure there will be lots of progress quickly."

For now, the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitoes and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Hartl said.

Pfizer Inc, Johnson and Johnson and Merck & Co Inc said they were evaluating their technologies or existing vaccines for their potential to combat Zika.

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it had created a team to investigate how it might help make a vaccine, a day after Sanofi SA said it would launch a Zika vaccine program.

(Reporting and writing by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
"With all my heart, I bless you and your people..."

In 1983 I was a newly-ordained priest. In November of that year, it was my privilege to be in Rome to take part in developing The Book of Divine Worship. During that time an invitation was extended to celebrate Mass with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in his private chapel. After we had said Mass, and in those few moments I had with the Holy Father, he told me that he remembered considering the request for my ordination, and he described how he came to an affirmative decision. For me, our brief conversation was an experience which will be treasured forever. At the conclusion of our time together, I asked him if I could take his blessing back to the people of my parish. His very simple words remain precious to me: "With all my heart, I bless you and your people." He then embraced me, and I knew that I was forever "home in my Father's house."
The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Wednesday at a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation.

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.



"This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is...This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters. For now the key to control the virus was eliminating mosquitos and wearing proper clothing.
By Deborah M. Todd and Abhirup Roy

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it would consider "strategic alternatives" for its core Internet business and cut about 15 percent of its workforce, even as it continues with its plan to revamp the business and spin it off.

The announcement is the strongest sign yet that the board and Chief Executive Marissa Mayer may be willing to sell the struggling Internet business - essentially websites, email and online search - under growing pressure from impatient shareholders.

In an interview with Reuters, Mayer said the company will entertain offers as they come but its first priority is the turnaround plan.

If it receives an offer this year, it was unlikely that the transaction would be completed before the 9 to 12-month timeline projected for the spin-off, she said.

"We would obviously engage but I think the one thing we're trying to do is set our shareholders' expectations in terms of complexity," Mayer said.

The planned restructuring announced on Tuesday includes the closure of offices in five locations, a paring down of its products, shifting more resources to mobile search, and the sale of some non-strategic assets such as real estate and patents.

Investors were not immediately impressed, sending Yahoo shares down 1.2 percent after hours. They have now fallen 36 percent over the past 12 months.

"We believe the strategic plan does not fully address the core issues which have destroyed shareholder value - poor capital allocation, bad strategic partnerships, out of control spending and a bloated workforce," said New York-based SpringOwl Asset Management, a shareholder which has called for changes at the company.

The web pioneer's revenue peaked in 2008 and while it still runs some of the world's most-read websites, it has been unable to keep up with Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc in the battle for online advertisers.

In the rejig of its business, it will focus on three main consumer platforms, Search, Mail and Tumblr, and four "digital content strongholds" in the form of News, Sports, Finance and Lifestyle.

The changes are designed to increase mobile, video, native and social advertising revenue 8 percent to $1.8 billion and cut operating costs by $400 million this year. It is also aiming to generate $1 billion to $3 billion in asset sales.

Mayer dismissed accusations of excessive spending, saying a report of a $7 million bill for Yahoo's holiday party was exaggerated by a factor of three.

Yahoo's adjusted quarterly revenue tumbled 15 percent to $1 billion after deducting fees paid to partner websites, as it struggles to keep its share of online search and display advertising.

Mayer proposed in December that Yahoo spin off its main business after it abandoned efforts to sell its Alibaba stake.

In the interview on Tuesday, Mayer said the company intends to group its stake in Yahoo Japan with the main business, but would be open to splitting it off depending on market feedback.

The company reported a loss of $4.43 billion, or $4.70 per share, in the quarter, due to a large write-down to account for the lower value of some units. That compared with net income of $166.3 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

Among the write-downs, the company took an impairment charge of $230 million for Tumblr, the social blogging site for which it paid $1.1 billion in 2013.

Excluding items, Yahoo earned 13 cents per share in line with expectations.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Deborah M. Todd in San Francisco; Editing by Stephen R. Trousdale and Edwina Gibbs)
The Karnataka government, which kicked off a three-day long 'Global Investors Meet', is looking to attract more than Rs 2 lakh crore worth of investment MoUs to be signed during the event. Chief Minister S. Siddaramaiah, speaking at the event, urged industry to look at the state as a partner for growth.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that states were competing with each other to attract investment and this was a sign of competitive federalism. Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari said that his ministry would invest Rs 1 lakh crore in developing the state's road infrastructure.

Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar said that his ministry was setting up a 13 lakh tonne urea fertiliser plant in Northern Karnataka and asked the CM to sanction land for the same. Siddaramaiah responded by saying that land was readily available for the project and they had already conveyed this to the Centre.

A panoply of industry leaders including Ratan Tata, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Azim Premji, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sajjan Jindal, Anil Ambani and others were present on the occasion.

Murthy walked down memory lane and recalled how KSFC and KSIIDC, two arms of government of Karnataka, extended a Rs 50 lakh loan to Infosys during its formative years even when multinational banks had refused to do so. He, however, requested the state government to address infrastructure needs at the earliest. He also said Infosys was setting up a campus in Huballi - the fourth city in Karnataka to have such a facility after Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said that his organisation already employed more than 55,000 people in the state and was looking to expand in all its areas of business operations. Sajjan Jindal who runs JSW Group, said his company was looking to make an investment of an additional Rs 30,000-35,000 crore over the next 3-4 years in addition to the Rs 60,000 crore investments it had already made over the years in the state.

Karnataka industries and tourism minister R.V. Deshpande said the state is looking to attract additional investments in areas of aerospace, automotive, pharma, machine tools, textiles, energy, agro food processing apart from its traditional strongholds of IT and BT. Several memorandum of understandings for likely investments are expected to be signed over the next two days.


European shares fell on Wednesday as weak earnings from some leading companies weighed on markets, although Syngenta surged after ChemChina made a $43 billion bid for the Swiss seeds and pesticides group.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which fell 2 percent on Tuesday, was down by 0.4 percent in early trading. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX 0.7 percent.

Finnish state-controlled utility Fortum slumped 8.9 percent after posting fourth-quarter earnings dropped more expected. Dutch telecoms group KPN also fell after reporting worse-than-expected core earnings.

However, Syngenta rose 6.8 percent after China's state-owned ChemChina said it buy the Swiss company for $43 billion, the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese company.

Luxury goods group LVMH also climbed 6.1 percent after reporting fourth-quarter sales grew more than expected, but watch-maker Swatch fell after it reported lower profits and sales.

Of the companies on the European STOXX 600 index that have reported earnings so far, 57 percent have beaten or met market expectations and 43 have missed, according to data from Thomson Reuters StarMine.

"It's been a very mixed bag on the earnings front. Personally, I think a lot of them have been quite disappointing," said Terry Torrison, managing director at Monaco-based McLaren Securities.

Both the FTSEurofirst and DAX are down about 10 percent this year. World stock markets in general have been hit by signs of a slowdown in China, the world's second-biggest economy and a major consumer of oil and metals.

The DAX is also some 20 percent below a record high reached in April 2015, but City of London Markets' trader Markus Huber said it might still be too risky to buy into European stock markets at current levels.

"Much lower prices might be needed in order for sentiment to turn and bargain hunters to be tempted back into the markets," Huber said. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
BDO have today released findings from their quarterly poll of business leaders regarding election concerns.



The BDO Optimism index is a quarterly survey of 350 Irish Businesses.

It has been conducted every quarter for over six years by leading market researchers Behaviour and Attitudes. Respondents are all Business owners, CEOs or leading Managers within the organisations.



When asked which political party best represents their needs, 31% of businesses said they were still undecided, and 14% said none of the parties. Thirty per cent of business owners said Fine Gael best addressed their business needs, Fianna Fail 7%, Labour 2% and Sinn Fein 2%.



Eighty per cent of company owners said they would like to see the next government make changes to employee related taxes, with 78% saying the next government needs to improve Irelands infrastructure.



A total of 50% of all businesses surveyed said Brexit is issue, an increase from the 35% who raised the issue as a significant concern in the previous BDO poll during the summer of 2015.

Difficulty securing credit and funding from financial institutions is still a problem for business despite the upturn in the economy over the past number of years, with 56% of those surveyed saying theyd like to see the next government address the issue.



Managing Partner of BDO, Michael Costello said, "It is clear that Irish businesses still face significant challenges, despite the economic growth we have enjoyed in Ireland over recent years. Issues beyond the control of any Irish government, such as the possibility of Brexit are an increasing concern as the debate within the UK over its future in Europe intensifies."

He added, "When it comes to political support for specific parties it appears that many business owners havent yet made up their minds. What will be of most interest to business owners is seeing the issues which concern them most, addressed by the political parties in the coming weeks."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
It was announced today that over 130 companies are embarking on a nationwide workplace fitness initiative to support their employees in becoming more physically active during the working day.



The Aviva Workplace Fitness Challenge has been developed by experts from Aviva, DCU, IT Carlow with the support of the Nutrition & Health Foundation to encourage companies and their employees to make small changes which could have a big impact on their overall health and fitness.

Companies participating in the challenge include Indeed, Storm Technology, Daft, Marks & Spencers and Salesforce.



As part of the initiative, over 40,000 people have downloaded the innovative Move Your MET fitness App since it was first showcased as a way of measuring fitness on RTEs Operation Transformation at the beginning of January.

The App allows participants to measure their current fitness levels, monitor how they are improving and benchmark themselves against the general population.



A MET score is a simple yet effective means of calculating cardiovascular fitness levels, with a higher score indicating a better level of fitness. For every 1 MET increase in your fitness level, your overall risk of a cardiovascular incident is reduced by 15% and risk of premature death is reduced by 13%.



The Aviva Health Workplace Fitness Challenge starts today and runs until Wednesday 16th March.



CEO of Aviva Health, James Parker says, "The programme isnt just about celebrating who is the fittest and fastest. We want to reach employees who arent as, inspiring them to think about their current level of fitness by measuring their MET and to take simple, attainable steps to become more active and healthier in the long-term.

"Many find it hard to find time in their hectic lifestyles and to keep motivated. Thats where we believe the workplace has a role to play and by creating a programme for all employees, we can encourage small changes to take place."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
The President of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), Jonathan Ortmans, visited Ireland this week to meet with key stakeholders in Irelands startup ecosystem.

With a mandate to create a global entrepreneurial ecosystem, GEN has been engaging with Startup Ireland since 2014, and especially following the successful Startup Gathering in 2015.



GEN's main focus is to connect startups, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, educators, investors and government leaders and members through networking events, mentoring sessions, competitions and knowledge-sharing initiatives.



The schedule for Mr Ortman's visit included meeting with the US Ambassador to Ireland Kevin OMalley, GEN Ireland, Startup Ireland, Cork innovates, Chambers Ireland, The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, IDA, CoderDojo, IITD and representatives from Dept. of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, as well as third level institutes.



Speaking this week, Mr Ortmans commented, "Startups are critical to every economy in the world. Not only do startups create almost two thirds of all jobs in the domestic economy, they are hotbeds for innovation and are increasingly important to larger corporations and multinationals.

"Our vision is to create a startup conducive ecosystem globally through the network of global entrepreneurship."



Cork innovates Project Director, Siobhan Finn added, "Todays visit by the President of GEN highlights a new chapter in the growth of Irelands startup sector, and moves us another step closer to our objective to becoming a world leading startup hub.

"We are committed to driving regionally balanced economic growth and it is very excited to be working closely with the Global Entrepreneurship Network on this agenda."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
Irish-owned Fintech company, TransferMate Global Payments, were celebrating this month after being named as winner of the 2016 BIG Innovation Award in the USA by Business Intelligence Group.



This is the first time the prestigious business award has been won by an Irish company. Hundreds of companies from all over the world applied to be considered for the accolade  previous winners of which include HP, Epson, Xero, Workday, Sandisk, and Santander Bank.



Organisations from across the globe submitted their recent innovations for consideration in the 2016 BIG Innovation Awards. Nominations were then judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions and provide feedback.



Transfermate were awarded for delivering the most innovative payment solutions to its expanding global client base.



Co-Founder of TransferMate Global Payments, Barry Dowling said, "We are extremely honoured to have our service and innovation recognised as a winner from hundreds of outstanding companies across the globe. We have worked really hard to create a software platform that delivers phenomenal cost and time savings to our clients.

"Transfermates vision is to connect businesses across the world when making and receiving international payments via one platform integrated with the companys accounting and treasury systems. Our goal is to disconnect costly and slow banks in the middle and to increase speed and access to funds for each company at minimal costs."



Source: www.businessworld.ie
McCann FitzGerald announced yesterday that they are increasing their investment and expanding their reach in the US market with the opening of a permanent New York office.

The new office will be located at Tower 45 at West 45th Street in the midtown district of Manhattan.



The Irish law firm has its principal base in Dublin with established offices in London and Brussels.

The new office will be headed by Gary McSharry, Corporate Partner, McCann FitzGerald. In recent years, Gary has acted for leading Irish and international public and private companies across a range of business sectors. He has particular expertise advising US clients, having already spent a number of years in New York.



According to Gary, "There is a growing demand for an Irish corporate law presence in the U.S., evidence of which is that many of the largest U.S. Corporate and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) transactions in the past twenty four months involving Irish companies.

"These deals required significant input from Irish corporate lawyers as well as U.S. lawyers. The natural next step is for McCann FitzGerald to open an office to satisfy both Irish and US client demand."



Managing Partner at McCann FitzGerald, Barry Devereux added, "McCann FitzGerald is excited to be expanding to the US market with the opening of our New York office. Significant economic recovery in both the US and Irish markets has driven increased demand for legal services, particularly in the areas of M&A, asset management, venture capital/private equity, and foreign direct investment.

"Opening a full working office in New York allows us to grow the services we offer clients and increase our focus on this important market."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
A Failte Ireland event tailored to improve online marketing in the tourism industry took place today at the Evolve event in Croke Park.



The operators included representatives from big players in the market such as Booking.com, Expedia and Lastminute.com.

The European online tourism market continues to grow year on year and is expected to be worth over 126bn this year.



This comes after recent research showed that Ireland lags behind other markets in terms of fully exploiting digital sales strategies.

In response, Failte Ireland has developed a suite of workshops focusing on the online travel industry to ensure that Irish tourism businesses fully realise their potential via online travel platforms.



Head of Business Development with Failte Ireland, Paul Mockler commented, "For the 21st Century traveller, if youre not online then youre not there. Failte Ireland believes that the tourism sector needs to embrace online sales platforms and Evolve Ireland is a central part of our wider strategy to develop stronger relationships with online tour operators which will in turn help to sell Ireland internationally."

Source: www.businessworld.ie


New York Republicans will be venturing upstate for the party's convention.

Ed Cox, chairman of the state GOP, announced Tuesday that this year's convention will be held March 3-4 at the Marriott HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo.

"We are thrilled to bring our convention to Buffalo this year," Cox said. "Western New York is critical to the lifeblood of our state, and despite the rhetoric of some elected officials, it is continuing to decline under the failed policies of Democrats in Washington and New York state.

"We are looking forward to an exciting convention and welcoming people from all over the state to the great city of Buffalo."

At the meeting, Republicans will designate a candidate to challenge U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Schumer, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year. He's seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

The presidential primary also will be discussed. Each GOP presidential campaign will have a representative on hand to deliver presentations.

Nick Langworthy, chairman of the Erie County Republican Committee, thanked Cox for bringing the state party's convention to western New York.

"I'm proud to help showcase the great Queen City and show our Republican leaders all that we have to offer," he said.
Photo courtesy Utah State Law Library.

LOGAN Utah State University student Ryan Wallentines work on Doctrine of Chances started as math research for his honors thesis, but last week he was able to present it to many at the Utah State Capitol, including several legislators.

Doctrine of Chances is a type of evidence used to show the unlikelihood a defendant would innocently and repeatedly be involved in similar suspicious situations. Wallentine mentioned George Joseph Smith, an English serial killer, as an example. Before Smiths arrest and execution in 1915, he married three women who were each later found drowned in a bathtub.

I think that case sums up, or illustrates it pretty well, Wallentine said. It was very unlikely that he would be in those circumstances innocently, multiple times.

Wallentine said he has been working to discover a threshold percentage in which Doctrine of Chances could be used as prosecution in rape cases, but said hes not quite there yet.

At the moment it is still kind of in process, he said. It is at a temporary conclusion stage where I have enough data and calculations to be able to come to some kind of conclusion, but it is by no way completely finished yet.

Wallentine said he first looked at studies that show what percentages of rapists are serial offenders. He then looked at statistics from RAINN, an anti-sexual assault organization, to calculate the chances of an innocent person being prosecuted, and then the chances they would be prosecuted twice.

The research Im doing isnt necessarily applicable to prosecuting more people but it applies most once theyre being prosecuted, he said.
President Albrecht is USU's 15th president and assumed his position in 2005.

Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht announced today [Feb. 3, 2016] that he will step down as president. He will remain in his role until a search for his successor is complete.

Albrecht announced the decision in a personal letter sent to the universitys faculty and staff.

The journey has been a truly remarkable one, he wrote. While I will miss the opportunity that has been mine to lead this very special place, I will also look forward to the satisfaction that will come in watching its successes under new leadership.

Announcing the decision now will allow the state Board of Regents and the USU Board of Trustees the necessary time to conduct a careful and thorough search for a new president, he said in the letter.

The fortunate person they select for the assignment will inherit stewardship over a university that continues a trajectory of ever-increasing excellence, Albrecht said. I am proud of the many things we have accomplished together that have accelerated that course.

Albrecht went on to list some of the highlights that to him were memorable, including:

<ul><li>Increasing access for students across the state through growth in the regional campus system</li><li>A highly successful first-ever comprehensive campaign</li><li>Record research program growth</li><li>Outstanding teaching, research and scholarly productivity of faculty</li><li>Student enrollment growth</li><li>Dramatic infrastructure changes with more than 30 new buildings in place both in Logan and at regional campuses</li><li>Student athlete successes both academically and on the playing field, and the move to the Mountain West Conference</li><li>Fulfilling a personal dream  creating the Caine College of the Arts</li></ul>

Albrecht extended his personal thanks in the letter to fellow administrators, faculty, staff, students, donors, community members and all the many people with whom he has been honored to work.

I absolutely understand that none of our achievements would have been possible without the truly remarkable group of people I have been privileged to have at my side, Albrecht said.

He reserved a special thanks for his wife, Joyce Albrecht, for her untiring support as First Lady even as she maintained her own successful career as a development professional.

None of this would have been possible without a loving and supportive spouse, he said. I have learned that the impact on families of these all-consuming jobs can be particularly great, so special thanks to Joyce for all she has done over these years.

Albrecht will retire after more than 10 years as president. He was named USUs 15th president and assumed his new position on Feb. 1, 2005.

Prior to being named president, Albrecht served as executive vice president and provost at Utah State. He also served as its dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences from 1998-2001.

Before arriving at Utah State, he was an administrator and professor at the University of Florida from 1993-98. He also served for 18 years at Brigham Young University (1974-92), including three years as academic vice president and associate provost. He began his career as an assistant professor of sociology at USU in 1970 through 1974.

Albrecht received his doctorate from Washington State University in 1970, a masters degree from Washington State University in 1968 and bachelors degree from Brigham Young University in 1966. All three degrees were in sociology.

<hr />

<span style=text-decoration: underline;><strong>President Albrechts letter to the campus community follows below</strong></span>

Dear USU Faculty and Staff,

I am writing this morning to share with our campus community my decision to step down as president of Utah State University. I have communicated this decision to USHE Commissioner Dave Buhler and to our governing boards and have indicated to them that I am willing to remain in the role until they have completed a search for my successor.

This week marks the 11th anniversary of my appointment. I want you all to know that occupying this office has been, for me, a truly extraordinary opportunity and privilege. It has been my desire to give my best each day and never to take the appointment for granted. I am the son of parents who did not have the chance for a college education. Yet, through great sacrifice, they made that opportunity available to each of their six children. Higher education opened doors to worlds I never otherwise would have imagined. This is one of the reasons I have been so passionate about our regional campus and distance education programs, and about the overall mission of a land-grant university like ours. It is easy to care about a place when its very existence is based on the principles of access and opportunity for all.

By making this announcement today, our Regents and Trustees will have the necessary time for a careful and thorough search for a new president. The fortunate person they select for the assignment will inherit stewardship over a university that continues a trajectory of ever-increasing excellence. I am proud of the many things we have accomplished together that have accelerated that course. For me personally, some of the memorable highlights include:

<ul><li>We successfully navigated one of the most difficult economic crises of our generation. In large part, we were able to sustain our core mission, continue to move the university forward, and protect the jobs of our university family.</li><li>We completed our universitys first-ever comprehensive campaign during which we more than doubled our initial campaign goal, named four of our colleges, greatly expanded student scholarships and faculty support, and enhanced our visibility and reputation as a university.</li><li>We have built a much more robust regional campus system, increasing access for students throughout the State. This has also included the highly successful merger with USU Eastern.</li><li>Our research programs across campus and at the Research Foundation have continued to flourish, and new levels of funding have been reached.</li><li>We have experienced continued excellence in the achievements of our faculty as reflected in outstanding teaching, research and scholarly productivity, and growing national and international acclaim.</li><li>Student enrollments have grown across the USU system, and the preparation and accomplishments of our students continue to increase.</li><li>Fulfilling a long-time personal dream, we created a new college  the Caine College of the Arts.</li><li>Our infrastructure, both in Logan and at our regional campuses, has been dramatically changed with the addition of more than 30 new buildings to house our teaching, research, student services, athletic, and other programs.</li><li>Our student athletes continue to reach new levels of success, both in the classroom and on the athletic field, and we have stabilized our athletic future by building needed facilities and through attaining membership in the Mountain West Conference.</li></ul>

We have also shared times of great sadness. The tragic van accident that claimed the lives of eight of our students and a member of our faculty stands out, but there have been other difficult incidents that have impacted the lives of our university family. I have greatly appreciated the many ways in which we have sustained one another whenever tragedy has occurred.

I absolutely understand that none of our achievements would have been possible without the truly remarkable group of people I have been privileged to have at my side. I extend my special thanks to Provosts, Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors, Department Heads, office staff, and so many others who work tirelessly to make this university the special place that it is. Throughout the journey, I have been fortunate to have an outstanding Chief of Staff whose talent, judgment, commitment, and passion for this university have been both unfailing and essential to so much of what has been accomplished. My gratitude also extends to our remarkable faculty, students, and staff, to generous donors (many of whom have become cherished personal friends), to supportive boards and higher education system leaders, and to so many friends and supporters in the beautiful Cache Valley that is our home. It has been an honor to work with each of you.

And for me, none of this would have been possible without a loving and supportive spouse. I have learned that the impact on families of these all-consuming jobs can be particularly great, so special thanks to Joyce for all she has done over these years. She has not only given untiring support to me, but has maintained her own successful career as a development professional. The two of us have often discussed, and occasionally even lamented, the loss of privacy in our personal lives. And while such loss clearly goes with the job, I must admit that a period of increased anonymity for us both has a certain appeal.

Another retiring president once observed that you should do the presidency and not try and become the presidency. One does that best, she noted, by always remembering who you are and by recognizing that the appointment is a passage, not a lifetime assignment. That means there is a time to step away and, for me, this feels like that time. The journey has been a truly remarkable one. While I will miss the opportunity that has been mine to lead this very special place, I will also look forward to the satisfaction that will come in watching its successes under new leadership.

Stan

Stan L. Albrecht

President
Will the Golden Pierogi go to Trevor Harmon once again?

That's the question heading into the Ukrainian National Club's sixth annual Pierogi Eating Contest. The contest takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the club, 125 Washington St., Auburn.

Contest sign-up begins at 12:30 p.m. There are two divisions: adults and children 12 and younger. The winners of the Golden Pierogi prizes will be those who can eat the most in eight minutes, but there will be prizes for all entrants.

The contest entry fee is $25 for the adult division and $20 for the children's. Pierogies, kielbasa, pigs-in-the-blanket and kapusta will also be available for takeout in limited supply, at a cost of $8. The event also includes a 50/50 raffle.

A Ukrainian vodka tasting will start at 1 p.m., as well.

This year's contest supports Hospice of the Finger Lakes.

Speaking to The Citizen last year, Harmon called the charitable dimension of the contest one of its biggest draws.

"For me, it's just more fun than anything," he said. "Usually a bunch of my friends come down and we like to support whatever charity it is."

Harmon has won the contest in 2015, 2013 and 2011, in addition to the Snapper's July Hot Dog Eating Contest several times. Last year, he ate 26 pierogies in eight minutes.

For more information, call (315) 253-5997.
Brexit negotiations: Tusk yields to Cameron's demands

Published on February 3, 2016

Story by euro topics

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Britain and other EU member states will have the right to deny welfare benefits to EU migrants for up to four years. The British government has responded positively to this and other proposals put forward by EU Council President Donald Tusk. But can they prevent a Brexit?

EU undermining one of its cornerstones - Handelsblatt, Germany

The EU's plan to allow member states to ban migrants from claiming benefits for up to four years is problematic, the liberal business daily Handelsblatt comments: "Cameron is preaching to the converted in other European capitals, including Berlin. German local councillors are just as keen to keep Romanians and Bulgarians away from their welfare coffers as London's mayor is. It's true that a growing number of migrants from the EU's poorhouses are cashing in on Hartz IV [German unemployment benefit], child benefit and social security. Some are doing this by exploiting loopholes in national social welfare legislation. It is the task of German legislators to finally close these loopholes.  But instead the EU prefers to undermine one of its cornerstones, the free movement of workers.  The EU is taking a considerable risk from a legal point of view. The European Court of Justice may well ban it from discriminating against EU foreigners in general in its social legislation." (03/02/2016)

British PM celebrates hollow victory - Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy

Tusk's proposals are a hollow victory for Cameron, the liberal business daily Il Sole 24 Ore observes: "There is a certain tragic absurdity to the fact that in these times of recurring crises the EU is being rocked to its very foundations.  The possibility of a Brexit is pushing it to the brink of the abyss, and all for the sake of a few reforms demanded by London. Are they any good? Some, perhaps. Indispensable? None of them, for no one. Not even for Britain and David Cameron, who for the second time has started off an awkward political row with remarkable unscrupulousness. The risk of a Brexit remains despite the reforms. And Cameron didn't even achieve his real goal: reconciliation between the EU agnostics and Eurosceptics within his Conservative Party. Fans of the EU are seldom to be found anyway among the Tories." (03/02/2016)

Eurozone is Europe's core - Liberation, France

For the European project to last it must focus on its core countries, the centre-left daily Liberation stresses: "This latest nervous breakdown reminds Europe's leaders that the myth of an EU advancing together is dead and buried. The heart of the common project is the Eurozone, which with 19 countries has reached its maximum size. The urgent task at hand is to integrate and democratise this entity - its survival depends on it - without paying further heed to the other member states. It is time for a Copernican revolution: a new treaty with 19 countries that creates a federal Eurozone, a 'Power Europe'. Only that can prevent Britain and its apprentice states from causing damage. While Germany stands at the ready, France is nowhere to be seen. And this absence is far more dangerous than a Brexit." (03/02/2016)

Only with Britain is the EU strong - Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland

Restrictions on access to welfare benefits for EU migrants will be painful for Poles but better than a Brexit, the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza believes: "After a Brexit the EU would be considerably weaker economically and politically - also vis-a-vis Russia. It would then concentrate even more on its core - the Eurozone. That would work to the detriment of countries that don't have the euro and consequently don't have a say in the most important decisions. And that includes Poland. For that reason it's good that Beata Szydo's government has also signalled its willingness to compromise on the question of migrant workers. ... Yes, Poland must endeavour to limit the negative impact of the reforms on Poles and other migrants to the UK. But at the same time it's better to forego certain rights to welfare benefits if it means protecting the EU from a Brexit." (03/02/2016)

Time to regain control over borders - Daily Mail, Great Britain

The compromise proposal does not go far enough, the conservative paper Daily Mail criticises: "Meanwhile, as the politicians posture, on the EUs southern borders the real threat to European stability grows more menacing by the day.  Germany, Sweden, and Denmark have seen violent demonstrations and across the continent there has been a surge in support for far-Right parties. Unless this tide of humanity can be controlled, the very existence of the EU is under threat. The only solution is to limit free movement and give individual nations back some control over their borders. So it is a damning indictment of the much-vaunted renegotiation, that these crucial matters werent even discussed." (03/02/2016)

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30 Countries, 300 Media Outlets, 1 Press Review. The euro|topics press review presents the issues affecting Europe and reflects the continent's diverse opinions, ideas and moods.

Story by euro topics
A newspaper ad in the Caller and Daily Herald on Jan. 9, 1916, announced the revival of the Rev. Mordecai F. Ham (left) and his chorister, William J. Ramsay. Both photos taken from the advertisement; Corpus Christi Central Library

Corpus Christi recorded 77 years of relatively uneventful existence  except for that bombardment of the city during the Civil War  before the arrival of the Rev. Mordecai Ham. But when he brought his revival to town, 100 years ago, on Jan. 9, 1916, he shook things up.

First Baptist Church invited the Rev. Ham to pitch his revival tent in Corpus Christi. Ham was a Baptist evangelist who was popular throughout the South and well-known to Texas. He came from a long line of Kentucky preachers and could quote Scripture by the yard.

Before he departed eight weeks later, the whole town was in a state of intense excitement. Half the town would not speak to the other half. Blows were exchanged in the street. Charges were hurled and countercharges hurled right back. Customers threatened merchants with boycotts. Normally respectable residents were arrested and charged with assault. Children, reflecting the views of their parents, fought in school. There were mass meetings, parades, sermons, court hearings and editorials, all fueled by the combustible mixture of sex, alcohol and religion. There was no noncontroversial ground in the city.

The revival started peacefully enough. The Rev. Ham's crew arrived and erected a huge tent at the edge of Lawrence and Water streets. It was called a tabernacle. The first sermons were conducted on Jan. 9, 1916, a Sunday. Because of the Rev. Ham's fame, many churches canceled their own services so their worshippers could attend the revival.

Given almost equal billing with the Rev. Ham was his director of music, the Rev. William J. Ramsay. The irreverent soon called them "Ham and Ram" and then it was just "Ham and"  much as a harried waitress would yell to the short-order cook for "Ham and!"

In the early days of the revival some of the Rev. Ham's sermons were reported in the Caller. But the newspaper quit reporting on the sermons when the evangelist began to preach about rampant sin and prevailing vice in Corpus Christi. Ham said the town was overrun with liquor houses, gambling dens and loose women or, in his Biblical description, whores of Babylon.

That January was intensely cold. But the tabernacle, with two stoves and hot sermons, stayed very warm. The Revs. Ham and Ramsay stoked interest in the services by making inquiries about certain residents and then making revelations at the meetings. Actual names were not used but the people were so well described that people knew exactly who was being pilloried.

One day as the Rev. Ham returned to the Nueces Hotel where he was staying one of the men whose sins had been laid bare struck Ham across the face with a leaded quirt, knocking off his glasses. (This man exposed by the Ham-Ramsay revival later committed suicide.)

Some men in town who didn't know one end of a church from another took exception to the quirting of the Rev. Ham and showed up at the evening service, carrying guns, to protect the evangelist. The whole city was fighting mad.

The Rev. Ham thundered, "When it comes to rotten conditions, Pompeii had nothing on Corpus Christi. I have traveled over Europe, North Africa, much of Asia, and many states of this Union, but I have never before heard of a man and four women sitting half a day at a beer table together perfectly nude."

In another sermon he preached: "Let me tell you fool sisters something. While you are chasing around after bridge parties and winning silk stockings ... some of your husbands are flying around with other women whose names are linked with theirs in whispers in the street. I could produce evidence that would precipitate a riot before morning."

In another sermon he said: "This is not a fight of Ham and Ramsay for victory over the opposing gang. It is a crusade for the deliverance of Corpus Christi from conditions so iniquitous that it is stinking in the nostrils of all Texas." The Rev. Ham stated that 1 woman out of every 5 in Corpus Christi was a prostitute, that 300 gambling halls and 40 houses of prostitution were operating in the city, that public officials allowed such unlawful conditions because they were blind or corrupt.

The revivalists were subpoenaed to appear before Justice of the Peace E.H. Miles and were questioned about their assertions of lawless conditions and official corruption. They said the comments were based on hearsay or on confessions which, as ministers of the gospel, they could not reveal.

There were two newspapers in town. One, the Caller and Daily Herald, took a stand to oppose the Rev. Ham. Its competition, the Times, was a keen supporter of the evangelist and printed his sermons.

John W. Stayton, editor of the Caller, finally had enough. On Feb. 29, the newspaper printed a full-page editorial to answer Ham's charges that Corpus Christi was sunk in the depths of depravity. "Further silence would be treason to the people," the editorial said. "There is a limit to the merit of patience. The good name of Corpus Christi has been dragged in the dust and prostituted beyond precedent. Its officials have been defamed. Its citizenship rebuked.

"Rev. M.F. Ham and his man of all work, W.J. Ramsay, made their debut in Corpus Christi on January 9 ... From the hour of their arrival they began their work splitting a quiet town into rival camps." The Caller editorial answered Ham's charges point by point. At the end of what must have been one of the longest editorials ever run in the newspaper, it said, "We believe such slander as that engaged in by these men, under the cloak of religion, is a menace to society. We cannot sit passively by while our city and its people are maligned."

The Rev. Ham said later that the editor of the Caller was too rotten to go to hell. The editor, Stayton, replied in the newspaper that that was fine with him, since it would mean that he wouldn't have to associate with "Ham and."

The Ham-Ramsay revival became mixed up in the prohibition campaign and that led to a dirty and ugly fight.

  

This is the first of two columns on the Ham-Ramsay revival and the Nueces County prohibition campaign of 1916.
AUBURN | The Auburn Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday to table consideration of plans to construct a cell tower on Allen Street near Case Avenue.

Board members have been asked for site plan approval for a 150-foot-tall Verizon cell tower as proposed by Crown Castle Communications, a company specialized in telecom infrastructure. The tower is targeted for a vacant Allen Street parcel owned by the Auburn Industrial Development Authority.

Crown Castle's proposal will be reviewed by the planning board during the group's next meeting on March 1. Senior Planner Steve Selvek said the applicant still needs to submit followup items for the application.

Around a dozen neighbors of the tower site attended Tuesday's meeting. The proposal, first brought before the board in October, has prompted neighbor concerns about property devaluation, among other worries.

Prior to the vote, board members considered a summary of findings from William Johnson, a consultant contracted to review the application.

Johnson, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, described Crown Castle's coverage needs from the site as reasonable, saying some existing area towers are overloaded. He also said disguising the tower is not recommended since the height is uncharacteristic with any stealth options, like a tree.

On the height, Johnson said Crown Castle's analysis shows only a roughly 120-foot-high antenna is needed to meet Verizon's needs, while the additional 30 feet is for potential co-location of other wireless carriers. He suggested the construction of a 120-foot-tall tower with a base designed to accommodate the extra height should others display a need to build upward.

The model is similar to another Verizon cell tower, also proposed by Crown Castle, progressing in Owasco. However, Crown Castle maintains the need for 150 feet, said Andrew Leja, the applicant's attorney.

He said Crown Castle does not believe the height presents a significant visual impact on the neighborhood, citing visual simulations presented to the board.

"From one end of Case Ave. to the other end of Case Ave., you can't see it because of the intervening tree cover," he said. "But from the middle of the street, there are a series of homes from which it is a feature on the landscape."
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Nursing program for veterans recognized

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board honored Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on Jan. 21 with a "Recognition of Excellence" award for The College of Nursing and Health Sciences' eLine Military Program.

Officials said the eLine Military Program's mission fills two needs in the state, a nursing shortage and civilian employment for military veterans. Often when individuals leave the military, their training and experience do not translate easily to civilian life, particularly those who served in a medical capacity as medics or corpsmen. Through this program, their hands-on experience can be given college credit and translate into the credentials needed or recognized in the civilian world.

The eLine Military Program started in 2010 and has repeatedly been recognized by the White House and the Department of Defense as a model that can be used by other nursing schools across the country. It is the recipient of the 2013 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) "Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award."

Del Mar students named to bands

Official said 18 students from the Del Mar College Music Department were named to the 2015-2016 Texas Community College Band Directors Association All-State Symphonic and Jazz Bands. The Del Mar students will participate during the annual Texas Music Educators Association Convention Feb. 10-13 in San Antonio. The students selected for the TMEA convention include: Joy Cho, flute; Lea Colchado, clarinet; Kevin Dardeman, percussion; Susanna Diaz-Lopez, French horn; Robert Esquivel, trombone; Steven Garcia, trumpet; Mary Heatherley, flute; Michael Hernandez, bass trombone; Kevin Lopez, clarinet; Jeremy Pansano, trombone; Tlaloc Perales, trumpet; Luz Romero, flute; Camilo Salinas, euphonium; Carlos Salinas, trumpet; Michael Solis, euphonium; Christina Villanueva, tenor sax; Aurelio Villareal, tuba; and Tessa Villarreal, clarinet.

Jazz Band students study under the direction of David Irving, professor of stage band and guitar, while assistant professor of music Abel Saldivar Ramirez directs the College's Concert Band.

Officials said the students participated in a lengthy audition process and submitted recordings that were in competition with other musicians from across the state. Professor of sound recording technology Paul Bissell and students majoring in the College's Sound Recording Technology Program assisted in producing the audition recordings by organizing and managing over 35 sessions for the competition. Information: www.delmar.edu/music.

Local students make Baylor dean's list

About 3, 500 Baylor University students, including the following of Corpus Christi were named to the Dean's Academic Honor Roll for the 2015 fall semester. To be named to the dean's list, a student must be an undergraduate with a minimum grade-point average of 3.7, while enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours.

Kristen A. Biggins, Hankamer School of Business

Andres Luke Camarillo, School of Music

Kayla Paige Garrett, School of Engineering and Computer Sciences

Christina Deborah Gray, College of Arts and Sciences

Christopher Ean Guerra, Hankamer School of Business

Elizabeth Cram Kirkland, Hankamer School of Business

Sarah Megan Marruffo, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences

Christine Elise Orrick, Hankamer School of Business

Jacalyn Mercedes Pinson, Hankamer School of Business

Aleeza J. Stephens, College of Arts and Sciences

Hadeel Walid Zaqzouq, College of Arts and Sciences

Port A student makes dean's list

Christopher D. Eggleston, Port Aransas native and mechanical engineering major at Iowa State University, was recognized for outstanding academic achievement by being named to the 2015 fall semester dean's list.

Students named to the dean's list must have earned a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours of graded course work.

Compiled by Natalia Contreras
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By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

Classes were canceled at Texas A&M-Kingsville's pharmacy school after officials received a warning call about an "unspecified threat."

An anonymous caller about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday recommended the Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy be evacuated, said Felipe Garza, chief of the A&M-K police department.

The building was immediately evacuated by A&M-K police and Kingsville police officers who happened to be on campus, Garza said. The Corpus Christi Police Department bomb squad and K-9 unit was called to assist in case there was an explosive device, he said.

After a search of the perimeter, officials did not find any suspicious items. After about three hours, teaching and administrative staff were allowed back into the building. The pharmacy school is located toward the center of campus at the intersection of Avenue B and University Boulevard, only a block from College Hall and two blocks from Javelina Stadium.

Officials continue to investigate who made the call.

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES Defendant Travis Magill on the first day of arguments doing his trial Tuesday.

SHARE GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Travis Magill is sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday at the 347th District Court. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Travis Magill is sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday at the 347th District Court. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Judge Missy Medary talks to a jury as Travis Magill is sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday at the 347th District Court. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Travis Magill is handcuffed after he was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday at the 347th District Court.

By Krista M. Torralva

Travis Magill was the father figure to his younger sister after he left their family.

Magill's confidant when his mother was imprisoned was an aunt who later committed suicide.

He turned to drugs and got jail time when he needed rehabilitation, his lawyer said.

His lawyer, Mark Stolley, pleaded with jurors Wednesday to show Magill, 24, mercy with their sentence for shooting two Corpus Christi police officers. Stolley asked for probation when the jury could have sentenced him to life in prison.

"The beauty of our justice system is its based on compassion. You can be that compassion," Stolley said.

The jury sentenced Magill to 45 years in prison after five hours of deliberation. They gave him 45 years for each of two attempted capital murder convictions, two years for the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and one year for the possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine. He was convicted of the four felonies Tuesday.

The sentences will run concurrently, and he will get credit for the nearly two years he's been in the Nueces County Jail. Magill previously rejected a plea deal for 50 years in prison.

Stolley said Magill plans to appeal.

Magill was on probation for a misdemeanor when he shot at officers Amador Gonzalez and Michael Scott Goodman on March 20, 2014, in the Country Club neighborhood. Magill fled in Goodman's Tahoe and was caught after he crashed in a utility pole at the intersection of Everhart Road and Congressional Drive. Hospital staff found methamphetamine in Magill's clothing.

"We know what happened the last time we put him on probation  four new felonies," Skurka said. "The best way to ensure protection of our community is to put him in prison for as long as you can."

Since being in jail, Magill was charged with having a deadly weapon in a penal facility after officers discovered a blade that he whittled in his cell.

Twitter: @CallerKMT
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By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

Three Mexican nationals were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for alien transportation and illegal re-entry after deportation, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Miguel Hernandez-Maldonado, 42, Manuel Garcia-Cabrera, 40, and Luis Diaz-Tinoco, 47, were found on a 27-foot fishing vessel off the coast of the Padre Island National Seashore in August. When Customs and Border Protection agents inspected the vessel, they found the three men and eight additional passengers who were in the United States illegally. Agents also found 530 pounds of marijuana wrapped in plastic.

All three men pleaded guilty in October, according to the release.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez-Ramos sentenced Hernandez-Maldonado to four years and nine months in prison, Garcia-Cabrera to two years in prison and Diaz-Tinoco to one year and one day in prison. All three will be deported after their release.
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I recently scanned through the military records of Confederate soldiers stationed at or near Corpus Christi during the spring of 1862 hoping to identify by name the two who were court-martialed and hanged just outside the city. They, along with four other soldiers stationed at Shell Bank Island, had failed in their attempt to commandeer a launch that would allow them to reach the U.S. blockader Arthur outside Aransas Pass.

Three of the deserters were shot by their guard "while trying to escape" (the official version), while one other did succeed in making a getaway. Identifying these men who died far from home and loved ones and who were denied a proper burial seemed the proper thing to do. Later this year, the Nueces County Historical Commission will place a marker close to the site of their hanging and impromptu burials, leaving a record of what happened there 154 years ago. Their deaths, however, did not have the desired effect of deterring other would-be deserters.

To the contrary, the soldiers' records I examined indicated a surprisingly large number of desertions that included a 12-year-old drummer in the 8th Texas Inf. Regiment  Pvt. Charles Vandervoort  who was placed under arrest twice during 1862; was absent on detached service April 30 and Nov. 20, 1863; and who deserted at Corpus Christi, on April 30, 1864. This boy was the youngest, and there were also deserters in their 40s and 50s. Following the hangings at Corpus Christi, there were no further military executions in Nueces County for the remainder of the war and in most cases deserters who were caught were allowed to return to their units, only to desert again at the first opportunity.

And all the while there was the larger war in progress, with more than 105,000 "Johnny Reb" deserters  1 out of every 9  compared with about 278,000 "Billy Yanks"  1 out of every 7. By the end of 1864 nearly half the Confederacy's fighting force was (by official count) absent from the army. Gen. Robert E. Lee admonished North Carolina troops in particular for their high rate of desertions, highly ironic in light of the bravery exhibited by units from that state.

But many of these soldiers had reached a breaking point after years of fighting, enduring wretched conditions, and, for many, fear for their families when regular communication became impossible. Some deserters returned to their units by choice, while others became bushwhackers, thereby becoming as much a threat to civilians as the northern foe.

And, too, there was conscription, which made the Civil War the first war in American history not fought solely by volunteers. "Rich man's war, poor man's fight" seems an appropriate adage considering that owners of 20 or more slaves were exempt from military service and there were other exemptions for those who could pay for them. (In the North a substitute could be "purchased" for $300.") And officers on both sides were allowed to resign at will, whereas enlisted men had no such recourse.

It may seem incomprehensible to find humor in such a serious matter, but writer Samuel Clemens ("Mark Twain"), who served for two weeks in a Missouri militia unit before skedaddling off to Nevada, made his own desertion into a humorous short story entitled "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed."
Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Interim superintendent of the Premont Independent School District Eric Ramos addresses teachers and staff of the school district on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. The Texas Education Agency sent a letter to the superintendent announcing the closure of the district. Ramos told staff it is not final.

SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Eric Ramos, interim superintendent of the Premont Independent School District, listens to feedback following a mock hearing with representatives with the Education Service Center Region 2 on Monday, November 30, 2015, as the district prepares for a hearing with the Texas Education Agency. Eric Ramos

By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times

The Premont ISD is sticking with its leadership.

Eric Ramos, who took the helm as interim superintendent in December 2014, was voted as the sole finalist for permanent superintendent position during a Tuesday night, special-called meeting.

"I don't see any difference other than the title," he said. "I'm excited for the challenge, have been since I got here."

There were no other applicants and Ramos will undergo a vetting period of 21 days before the board makes a hiring decision. The appointment was part of the terms approved by the board in December to allow a Texas Education Agency-appointed management team to oversee the board and direct the search for a permanent superintendent in order for the district to stay open.

Former Commissioner of Education Michael Williams opted to offer an abatement to the district Dec. 18 after a notice of the agency's intent to shut it down was issued Nov. 17. At that time, the district was informed its accreditation was revoked, and it would close July 1.

Former Banquete principal and curriculum director Gerald Mooney, and Doug Arnold, the TEA monitor who has watched over Premont ISD since May, were appointed as the district's management team in January. Neither could be reached for comment Tuesday.

The district's former superintendent, Ignacio Salinas Jr., took the position in 2013 and retired in December 2014.

Ramos has led the district ever since, but was not eligible for the position permanently until a certification for superintendent waiver was approved by TEA, which was finalized in December. The waiver is valid until June, Ramos said.

Ramos said his focus remains on a sense of urgency to improve academics at Premont ISD because spring tests will play a pivotal role in the fate of the district, which has received closure threats from TEA twice in the past five years.

If district officials don't comply with the team's directives or if the district receives poor preliminary academic or financial ratings, the commissioner will appoint a board of managers and the powers and duties of elected trustees will be suspended.

The commissioner may also appoint a new superintendent during the term of the board of managers.

"We had our first round of benchmarks," Ramos said. "Data shows more growth across the board but still just a little a short of where we need to be in the next couple of months. We are working really hard to get to that point."

Twitter: @CallerBetty

Premont ISD Superintendents

Leobardo Cano: January 2008  June 2011 (resigned)

Ernest Singleton: June 2011  May 2013 (retired)

Ignacio Salinas: May 2013  Dec. 2014 (retired)

Eric Ramos: Dec. 2014  Current
Leaders of the Auburn Police Local 195 released a statement Tuesday claiming a federal representative supports their stance in a longstanding dispute between the union and city officials.

Union leaders seek to restore the Auburn Police Department's disbanded Emergency Response Team. The squad was disbanded last May partly because of obsolete equipment  a roughly $33,000 cost, city officials estimated.

City and union representatives have debated whether new equipment can be bought with drug seizure funds allocated through the federal Asset Forfeiture Program. The program is managed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

DOJ representatives met with city officials Monday and Tuesday to discuss the APD's two Asset Forfeiture fund accounts, which have been frozen by the DOJ since last December due to undisclosed compliance issues.

During this time, union leadership stated they met with Brian Boykin, manager of the Equitable Sharing Program. Boykin stated to union leaders that purchasing new ERT equipment with the forfeiture funds is allowable at the discretion of Police Chief Brian Neagle, according to the union's statement.

City officials have maintained the equipment cannot be purchased with forfeiture funds, saying the program cannot replace items previously bought through the city's budget. The union claims this is not the case.

"Mr. Boykin stated that buying this equipment would in no way be considered supplanting the current budget," the union said in the statement. "Mr. Boykin stated that any purchase made from these accounts depends on how Chief Neagle chooses to prioritize what he wants to buy."

A DOJ representative declined to comment Tuesday when asked to verify the union's statement. City officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Neagle's conduct has been questioned by the union in recent months, culminating with a vote of no confidence by a majority of APD officers late last year.

The union's statement Tuesday claims Neagle used nearly $900 of Asset Forfeiture funds in 2015 to purchase awards in the form of customized coins.

"What is disturbing to Local 195 and our membership is the fact that Chief Neagle made the determination that using this money to buy 'challenge coins' was more of a priority than replacing outdated safety equipment," the union said in the statement.
The Special Criminal Court adjourned the matter to August 7, 2015.

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Hopes of seeing an early end to one of the two trials involving Yves Michel Fotso, the former General Manager of the defunct national carrier, Cameroon Airlines, Camair, at the Yaounde Special Court, SCC, now appear dashed. The court on Monday, July 27, 2015, rejected Fotsos request to have his bank accounts unfrozen. He is accused of embezzling FCFA 32.4 billion in the course of the liquidation of Camair in Phase II of the trial. The Special Criminal Court adjourned the matter to August 7, 2015.



Advocate General, Mr. Justice Omam Fils, had on July 2, 2015, rejected the request to unfreeze the accounts to enable Yves Michel Fotso fulfill the terms of a reimbursement deal reached with Camairs Liquidation Committee. The trial team was led by Mrs. Justice Virginie Eloundou, accompanied by Mrs. Justice Siewe Yvette and Mrs. Justice Hayatou Zakiatou. In reaction, one of Fotsos counsel, Frenchman Barrister Dominique Inchauspe, had argued that there was no legal basis for denying the request on the pretext that the accounts might contain proceeds from embezzled funds.



Barrister Inchauspe pointed out that before ordering the freezing of the said accounts, no investigation was carried out to ascertain the source of the money. In unfreezing the accounts, Yves Michel Fotso will be able not only to reimburse the amount he is accused of having embezzled, but also pay civil claims, Barrister Inchauspe argued. In a passionate tone, Fotso pleaded with the leading judge, Mrs. Justice Virginie Eloundou, to cause the unfreezing of his accounts, arguing that as the situation stood, only banks were benefitting  not the State that ordered the embargo. He said as a good citizen, he wanted to comply with the law setting up the Special Criminal Court by reimbursing what he allegedly embezzled and should be given the opportunity to do so.



On his part, Counsel for the State, Barrister Sama Francis Asanga, recalled that Yves Michel Fotso was charged in Phase II of the Camair Liquidation corruption trial for embezzling FCFA 32,444,316,370, not the FCFA 1.3 billion frozen in his accounts. The law is hard, but that is the reality, he pointed out. Another counsel for the accused, Barrister Antoine Mandeng, reacted angrily to suggestions by Barrister Sama Francis that the State reserved the right to demand losses caused it by the embezzlement. He pointed out that this was inconceivable because they had already reached a deal with the Camair Liquidation Committee for the reimbursement of the embezzled amount and losses.



According to Barrister Mandeng, the State is indivisible and there can be no question of Camair Liquidation Committee and the State seeking civil claims for the same matter. After the suspension of the sitting for about 20 minutes, the trial resumed only for Mrs. Justice Virginie Eloundou to announce that it had been adjourned to July 17, 2015; then later to July 27, 2015.

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The fast rise of shares actually did little to boost consumption, and the immediate decline will do little to change the way Chinese spend their disposable income. Consumer confidence has not been impacted significantly.

During times of downturn, the instinct to preserve status is the most overwhelming. As Chinese consumers pull back overall spending, brands may be able to maintain their importance, but they also run the risk of becoming commoditised. As our 'Meaningful Brands' research has shown with a weakened Japanese economy, people continue to look to companies to provide positive social and community benefits, but are less attached to how individual brands contribute to life, becoming increasingly more brand agnostic. Will this happen in China?

Icons of improved living standards

Chinas love affair with global brands has grown out of certainty and the trust. Here are some reasons why:

The certainty of quality products: The globalisation of consumer goods and increased competition has seen an increase in checks and balances. The benefit for consumers is that the media and government now question unsatisfactory products. In recent times we have seen everyone from fast-food companies like McDonalds to tire brands like Kumho questioned over safety practices.

An expectation of a great experience: Branded goods are desired more as an investment than for their inherent beauty or craftsmanship. Luxuries like Starbucks are successful because they are consumed outside of the home; Chinese people may not drink coffee at home but they will congregate at a store or carry a coffee in public.

Maintaining status: A lot has been written about Chinese consumers need for products to drive status. Indeed, they expect brands to do so. Our Meaningful Brands research in China reveals that 71 percent think that companies and brands should play a role in improving our quality of life. Technology goods are currently driving status with brands like Haier, Lenovo, Intel and JD.com featuring in the five 'most meaningful' brands.

Those that will win will be able to continually demonstrate that they are trusted, as 64 percent of people trust brands in China.

Impact across the rest of APAC

A weak China has arguably more impact across the region. Slow growth in many places across the world, which are heavily reliant on the import of resources to China, will impact consumer sentiment.

Developed APAC markets like Australia and Singapore already operate on strong functional outputs, where price and product quality are important factors in driving purchase. Here, 75 percent of consumers declare that they look for the best deals/special offers, while more than half strongly agree that they give little attention to the brand name of the product.

No wonder that across both markets Hypermarkets, like Coles and Woolworths in Australia and NTUC FairPrice and Giant in Singapore, feature highly among the most meaningful brands.

Even in developing Asia, Indonesia and India, the effect of China will see a cooling of commodity prices. This hit to GDP sees communities pull together in developing markets. Local pride is common among the most meaningful brands in these markets. As many as seven local brands appear in the top 10 in Indonesia, while people would care about the disappearance of an incredible 75 percent of brands in Indiadouble the global percentage.

As the economy becomes more uncertain, local brands in particular have the opportunity to deepen attachment with consumers.

What can brands do to stay more relevant?

For those that cannot compete on price or rely on ubiquity, it is important not only to discover what equity your brand drives out of its product but also to determine what effect the marketplace has, what personal benefits become important and the pull of the community in uncertain times.

Brands must make every connection count to gain trust as economic conditions throw up more functional challenges. While 68 percent of those in the Meaningful Brands survey want rewards and incentives, 57 percent want educational experiences and 53 percent want tools, services or apps that give them solutions.

To conclude, the reward for brands will be business outcomes. As the research indicates, more trusted brands receive a higher share of wallet.

Josh Gallagher is head of strategy in APAC for Havas Media
Charlie XCX, Demi Lovato, HyunA, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Tori Kellyall female artists born in the Year of the Monkey.

And all feature in an MTV Lunar New Year on-air promotion called Unleash the Monkey, which will air in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand until 14 February.

Our audience expects MTV to be creative, bold and unconventional," said Andrew Lo, head of creative, MTV and Comedy Central, Asia, Viacom International Media Networks. "We trust our fans appreciate this visual storytelling to celebrate some of the hottest female artists and perhaps, see the monkey in all of us as we enter the Year of the Monkey."

According to the release, the video was inspired by the concept of evolution, and showcases the primal nature of human origins and the process of metamorphosis from humans to monkeys, while weaving in elements of the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong.

While Ad Nut has no real clue who the female humans are, Ad Nut thought the creative was really very good, and was wondering if there was an all-male version of the festive message.

But the good folks at MTV already had an explanation for there not being one: The all-female lineup in the video challenges the stereotype of man as the conventional visual portrayed in the process of evolution.

Well then, Ad Nut demands an all-squirrel lineup to challenge the stereotype of monkey as the central character to this evolution theory the humans keep harping on about.

Ad Nut knows theres a squirrel hiding in everyones family treeone just needs to look real hard.

Also, Ad Nut can't embed the video so click the link to view it.
| BY Ricki Green |

Visit California has unveiled its latest Australian consumer marketing campaign with a new TV spot showcasing the states laid-back, anything-is-possible attitude and abundance of visitor experiences.

Airing in three bursts during January, February and March, the TV commercial, Dreamers  Board Shorts, encourages Australian travellers to Dream Big on their next California vacation. Qantas is returning as a key campaign partner and is promoting special deals and calls to action for travel to California during this period, extending the campaign reach through the airlines marketing channels.

Says Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit CaliforniaThe new commercial shows how our fun-loving, free-spirited vibe inspires visitors to follow their dreams here to California. Dreaming big is a unique state of mind that visitors can experience throughout the state, from flying like a superhero on a jetpack in San Diego to playing princess at a castle among the vineyards of Napa Valley.

In Dreamers  Board Shorts, January Jones joins a cast of iconic Californians enjoying a selection of big, bold and inspiring experiences. In addition to the Mad Men alum, Olympic snowboarder/musician Shaun White, history-making rock climbers Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell are featured along with Hollywood icon William Shatner.

One of the locations showcased in the commercial is Jones enjoying the pool at Terranea Resort, near Los Angeles  which was also the location of Channel Sevens Weekend Sunrise weather broadcasts last weekend. Presenter James Tobin broadcast live from the resort on Sunday at the very same spot the TVC was filmed.

People think Californians live in our own reality, says Jones at the start of the commercial, dressed in vintage and holding champagne next to a luxurious pool. From there, the commercial takes viewers on a journey to a number of uniquely Californian locations that showcase how far your dreams can take you in the Golden State.

California experiences and locations featured in the commercial include:

 January Jones enjoying the pool at Terranea Resort, near Los Angeles

 Richie Trimble riding his nearly 15-foot-tall bicycle in front of the world-renowned Golden Gate Bridge

 Jet packing over San Diego Bay

 Hanging out by a lighthouse on the Santa Cruz seashore

 Relaxing in a huge pool at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach

 William Shatner kidding around behind the scenes on a Hollywood set

 Walking through vineyards beside Castello di Amorosa in Napa Valley, a 107- room castle, complete with a moat and drawbridge

 Sterling Johnson making large bubble art at Morro Strand State Beach

 Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell rock climbing at Yosemite National Park

 Olympic Snowboarder Shaun White hitting the slopes of Mammoth Mountain

 Bob Burnquist skateboarding a floating halfpipe on Lake Tahoe

 Getting sized up by the giant Redwood Trees

 Kerri Walsh-Jennings people-watching along the Venice Beach boardwalk

 Grabbing a surfboard and catching waves in Malibu like Rob Machado
| BY Ricki Green |

Hugo Boss, the German premium fashion brand, has announced it has appointed SapientNitro, part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, as its new global digital lead agency. Together, both partners aim to enhance the omni-channel experience for consumers and redefine how content and commerce can be merged across channels.

Says Gerd von Podewils, senior vice president global communication at Hugo Boss: With SapientNitro, we have appointed a partner that represents our global approach to creating compelling brand experiences, driven by state-of-the-art technology. The ongoing digital revolution confirms our decision to transform from a vertically integrated retailer to a data- and experience-driven fashion brand, the multiple paths to purchase of todays customer.

Says Nigel Vaz, global chief strategy officer and SVP Europe at SapientNitro: The appointment of SapientNitro as Hugo Boss digital agency is an important moment for both partners. What was separated before  e-commerce and an exciting brand experience  will join forces in a unique and highly personalised hub page concept in the future. We will bring the brands strong, global, physical presence far closer to the increasing number of customers who experience fashion digitally.
| BY Lynchy |

Aussie expat Jeremy Southern, who has been ECD at Leo Burnett Vietnam since 2012, is set to join Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, Manila as executive creative director at the start of April, replacing fellow Aussie expat Andrew Petch, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

At Leos Southern (left) worked extensively across all the accounts and helped take the agency to three consecutive Campaign Asia Agency of the Year awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In addition, Leo Burnett Vietnam also won Campaign Asia Digital Agency of the Year 2014 and 2015.

Petch (below) joined Ace Saatchi & Saatchi in 2009. Andrew helped the agency achieve impressive gains including five Lions in Cannes 2013, Grand Lotus Roots Award at Adfest, Kidlat 2014 and 2012 Agency of the Year, 4As AOY 2013 Best in Creative, and Campaign Brief Asia Agency of the Year 2010 and recognitions from Clio, Spikes, One Show, D&AD, London International and AWARD.

Says Chairman Arthur Young, Jr.: The agency is grateful for Petchs contributions. As he pursues new opportunities, we wish him all the best.

Southern began his advertising career in Australia in 1994, and has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi, Euro RSCG, Young & Rubicam Adelaide, BBDO Sydney, Saatchi and M&C Saatchi Wellington, BBDO Dubai, and Ogilvy Dubai prior to joining Leo Burnetts office in Ho Chi Minh City.

Over the years, he worked on a number of the worlds most prestigious accounts including Coke, Pepsi, Mercedes, Emirates, McDonalds, VW, Volvo and Visa. In the process he has won numerous international awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD and One Show.

I am very excited about the opportunities presented by my upcoming job at Ace Saatchi, says Southern. Throughout my career, I have worked extensively with Filipinos in many different markets and I have found them to be extremely creative, hard working, loyal, and fun. And now finally, I get the chance to work with them in their own country. And I cant wait to start! The agency has long been noted for doing fresh and innovative creative work, and I look forward to help taking the agency to new heights of success.

Says Ace Saatchi & Saatchi COO Mio Chongson: We have the momentum from a strong business and consistent creative performance. With Jeremys work and leadership credentials, Im confident he will help take us to the next level.
| BY Ricki Green |

AdFest has announced that Tony Hertz is returning to Thailand this year to host his renowned workshop: Radio 4 Art Directors Beyond the Comfort Zone.

The session is a two-hour version of the acclaimed creative workshop that Hertz has conducted in 42 countries. It features a unique approach to radio, which helps creatives push their boundaries and break out of the ordinary, while at the same time using skills they already have. These skills are equally applicable to podcasts and digital media audio.

Says Hertz: There was no Radio Grand Prix at AdFest in 2014 or 2015. There were also no Gold Lotuses awarded in 2015, and no awards in nine categories. Agencies are more awards-conscious than ever before, and radio is still a significant advertising medium, so why is this the case?

Maybe its because theres been so much concentration on learning, polishing and advancing the new skills of the digital-online-mobile-social-content age, theyve forgotten that radio skills also need to move forward. The objective of this workshop is to help art directors and copywriters do exactly that.

Hertz remains the only winner of both Yellow and Black D&AD Pencils in Radio, and the only person to serve three times on the Cannes Lions Radio jury. He is based in Manila.

Radio 4 Art Directors Beyond the Comfort Zone will take place on Friday 18th March 2016 from 10:45am to 13:00.

Registration is free, however interested applicants must register in advance. You must be a registered delegate of AdFest 2016 to attend this workshop, which is open to a maximum of 30 delegates on a first-come-first-served basis.

To register, please download, complete the Registration Form (downloadable here) and send to krit@ADFEST.com. Please note that registration is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation notification from AdFest.
Cayuga County legislators are revisiting the idea of legalizing sparklers.

While fireworks are illegal in New York, the state gives counties the option to adopt a local law allowing certain "sparkling devices." As of December 2015, 35 counties have passed it.

Sparkling devices include hand-held or ground-based devices, and for counties where it's legal, retailers can sell them to those age 18 and over between June 1 and July 5, and Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Distributors must acquire a license to sell them.

Legislators will discuss the proposed local law during the Government Operations Committee meeting on Thursday night, and should it pass, will likely hold a public hearing during the March full Legislature meeting.

"I'm in support of it," said Legislator Ryan Foley, who is also the chair of the Government Operations Committee. "I know the county has the ability to help our local businesses, and it also provides people with additional freedoms to celebrate with families."

If the law is passed, it will take effect after it is filed with the New York Secretary of State. It is unclear how long the process would take, but Foley hopes it will be enacted in time for this year's Independence Day, should his fellow legislators agree to pass it.

The county Legislature had discussed the idea last year, but the motion to hold a public hearing on the local law was tabled at a January 2015 Judicial and Public Safety meeting and never picked up again.

"I know that there was opposition last year to it, but I'm not sure what the reasoning behind that was," Foley said. "I think it has a good chance of passing this year, but again, I'll wait to see how it turns out in committee."
SYRACUSE | Named after an Irish goddess of transformation and healing, Etain LLC is opening its most western medical marijuana dispensary in Syracuse Wednesday. The company, run by Amy, Hillary and Keeley Peckham, owns and operates two other dispensaries in Kingston and Albany with a manufacturing site in Chestertown.

"We're very excited to be able to offer people this medication," said Hillary Peckham, the chief operating officer of Etain.

With no signage outside yet, the newest medical marijuana dispensary is located on 2140 Erie Boulevard East near an auto body shop. The dispensary will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Etain will sell oil-based medical marijuana to patients with a recommendation from a doctor. Patients will enter the front room of the building where they will be asked to produce a driver's license, which may designate them as a medical marijuana patient, and the doctor's recommendation. Once they are cleared, the patient will enter the second half of the building to meet with a pharmacist.

Hillary said first-time users should expect a 30-minute appointment, where counsel will work out the best method for the patient to take the drug.

Currently Etain offers the oil in a few different ways. It can be used as drops, which go under the tongue or spread on a patient's gums. It can be inhaled as a vapor, taken as an oral spray or swallowed as liquid capsules. Hillary said patients take anywhere between 5 milligrams and 1 gram per day.

"We like to start slow and build up as they need," she said.

While there are no doctors on staff at Etain, the company works closely with patients' doctors to make sure other medications or conditions will not conflict.

Etain currently has 25 patients it serves among its two offices, and hopes to have more now that the Syracuse branch is completed. They expect to serve patients as far as Buffalo.

While the Peckhams are getting their business up and running, patients can expect to pay between $100 and $250 per product. They accept cash only, as the banking industry is not currently allowed to handle those kinds of transactions.

Hillary said she hopes the business will be able to lower prices in the future as the demand increases.

"I think the program will grow," Hillary said. "I hope people will recognize the benefits to patients."

Medical marijuana is considered by some doctors as a potential pain reliever or muscle relaxer for various conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy and severe spinal chord injuries, to name a few. The state approved its medical use in a law passed in 2014. Hillary Peckham said there were about 50 patients approved for treatment in the state when the program first started, and she believes that number has increased to about 500.

Amy Peckham, Hillary's mother, said Etain is in constant contact with the state Department of Health to make sure the product and patients are all accounted for.

"It's a young program, and they're still making rules," Amy said. "We're trying to adapt and respond."

Hillary Peckham and her family got into the business because Hillary's grandmother had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a nervous system disease that weakens the muscles. Hillary's grandmother was on about 20 different medications, and the side effects were trying. At that time, medical marijuana was not an available option.

Hillary, herself, has encountered difficulties with prescription medications after a hip surgery went wrong. She lost the use of her right leg for two years. Doctors prescribed her Percocet for the pain and Adderall to keep her focused and awake. She, too, was not able to see if medical marijuana would have been a better option.

"It was not a fun time," Hillary said about her time on the prescription drugs. "I believe in it (medical marijuana). I think it really is a great option. I think it's a new program. It's just education, education, education on the patient's side and on the physician's side."
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 12:26AM

Microsoft has just bought popular Android and iOS software keyboard maker SwiftKey for $250 million. Although SwiftKey gained its reputation for creating innovative predictive keyboards that make using software keyboards on smartphones more efficient, it seems that Microsoft is after possible Artificial Intelligence applications.

Once a paid app with 300 million users on Android and iOS, SwiftKey went for the premium model and has struggled to profit from a highly competitive segment of aftermarket predictive software keyboards. While it has yet to be formally announced, Microsoft will likely absorb the companys 150 employees around the world are expected to join Microsoft Research.

Source:9to5Mac
Land rent is available to people earning a household income of up to $160,000 (a little more if they have children). It allows people to rent the land instead of buying it, paying 2 per cent of the unimproved value a year to the government. If they buy the land in the future, they pay unimproved land value. But for Fluffy owners, the scheme is being changed. Fluffy owners who rent their land will have to pay market value if and when they want to buy it.
The Firemen's Association of the State of New York, a group representing volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel, released an economic study that says the state's volunteer fire service saves taxpayers about $3.87 billion each year in salary and benefits.

Should the state switch to a career-based fire service, the study suggests that 30,822 more firefighters would need to be hired, 1,300 new stations would need to be built or reconstructed and property taxes would rise on average 26.5 percent.

"Is there a cost savings because of volunteers? Absolutely," said Niel Rivenburgh, deputy director of the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office. "Do they save us a substantial amount of money? Absolutely. Are we challenged with some big challenges in the future? Absolutely."

Cayuga County officials have been discussing how best to get ahead of a decreasing number of volunteer firefighterssomething that has been an issue across the state and across the country.

Though there are substantial cost savings to having volunteers, departments are finding it more difficult to have enough people to answer the call. That's especially true during the workday.

While FASNY reported that it was able to increase the state's number of volunteers by 20,000 through a $4.2 million Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant, numbers are still lower than what they used to be, and FASNY was not awarded a renewal of the grant for 2016.

"The reality is, volunteers have been around forever and ever, and we want them to get in front of the crisis, which is losing people and the impact that that has," Rivenburgh said."It takes a village to raise a child, but it really takes a county that works together, a county of 27 fire departments, to deal with today's fires."
Research by Canberra MP and former ANU economics professor Andrew Leigh found the income share of the top one per cent has doubled while the share of the top 0.1 per has tripled over the past three decades.
All were brought back to Australia from offshore centres in Nauru or Manus Island, mostly for medical treatment but may be returned within a matter of days should the court find offshore detention is lawful when it hands down its ruling from 10.15am.
The four people lived in the same house and ate the mushrooms in the same meal. As little as five grams  or a teaspoon  of a death cap mushroom is enough to kill an adult.
Labor reintroduced offshore detention on Nauru and Manus Island in 2012. Two years later, the Australian Human Rights Commission found that the policies and practices pursued by both Labor and Coalition governments had been "in serious breach" of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
AUBURN | For third straight year, Central New York School Boards Association presented a fiscal report on where central New York school districts stand regarding state aid, but nothing much has changed  districts are still owed money promised a long time ago, forum participants said.

The forum was held Tuesday in Auburn's West Middle School auditorium, a building the Auburn Enlarged City School District has been forced to close. Dr. Rick Timbs, executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium, laid out the numbers for each school district.

Next, CNYSBA director Charles Borgognoni explained a step-by-step action plan to lobby legislators for each district's share of state aid. The action plan included a demonstration on how to use social media in this quest, including how to actually tweet at one's legislator by New York State's PTA president, Bonnie Russell.

Auburn Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo said he and other administrators, teachers, parents and students have been lobbying their legislators in Albany on a consistent basis. This included letter writing, visits to legislators' offices and bus trips to Albany. Three years ago, he said district advocates were able to get Albany to recognize they were a low-income school district, meaning it requires more state aid.

Timbs gave some background, telling the audience that in order to create an equitable funding stream, New York City schools took the state to court. After 13 years, the court awarded additional aid to the city's school districts in 2006, as well as other lower-income school districts in the state to fulfill an obligation to make sure those district's were getting enough money to educate their children. Central New York districts are among those that were supposed to get state aid under this decision, but the funds were frozen by the state.

In addition, with the financial crisis in 2007-08, a state budget shortfall resulted in the gap elimination adjustment, which reduced each district's state aid.

Timbs said school districts started using fund balances to offset these losses. Next, they looked to tax levies, but tax caps were eventually put in place to limit that funding source.

Tax cap is a blessing and a curse, Timbs said.

He explained that there isn't a school superintendent or board that wants to raise taxes, but schools have found themselves in the middle because of a shortfall in aid promised and no way to raise money at home. This was when programs and staff got cut to make up the difference.

Our buildings are absolutely packed. We put sixth-graders back in elementary school, Pirozzolo said.

We cut sections of physical education, we cut art for awhile and now are doing shared art programming. We cut music programs. There isn't fourth-grade instrumental in our district anymore. We have taken a big hit.

The point of the forum was for the association to explain to the 51 districts in central New York why they deserve this aid and how to go about obtaining it.

"Each Friday your legislators are in their home offices," Timbs said. "Starting this week, you have to show up weekly and speak to them about getting this aid from now until the middle of March, as this is budget season."
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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 []
Coca-Cola South Pacific launches Be More Fanta campaign

Coca-Cola South Pacific is asking its customers to embrace the fun side of life in its latest multi-million dollar Fanta soft-drink marketing campaign.

Named Be More Fanta, Coca-Cola South Pacific says the campaign is aimed at inspiring youth to embrace the playful, fun and vibrant side of life. Teenagers and Mums are the target audience and it kicks off Fantas 2016 strategy to bring the fun.

Coca-Cola South Pacific will be spending millions on TV, cinema, online, radio, outdoor advertisements and point of sale merchandising. Fanta packaging will also include illustrations encouraging consumers to take photos with the drink and share them through their social media accounts.

The campaign has already run in France where Coca-Cola said it enjoyed great success, reaching 6.5 million teens in the first two weeks.

Brand Manager for Fanta Ramona Spiteri said Fantas creative and playful history made the campaign ideal for the drink.

It also has a proven track record of success, having delivered significant growth since 2009 and is continuing to flourish, something we expect to build on in 2016.

In October 2015 Coca-Cola South Pacific launched a marketing campaign aiming to heavily align Fanta with Halloween in Australia.
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.
Coles choice of Murray Goulburn rattles Bega Cheese private label cheese business

Victorian-based dairy processing giant Murray Goulburn dairy co-operative will be replacing Bega Cheese as Coles private label cheese supplier from January 2017.

Bega Cheese has been providing cheese sold under Coles private label brands since 2012. The dairy producer now says it will now be turning to the booming infant formula market to help fill the profit gap.

The change in supply arrangements at Coles will see Bega Cheese redirect the related milk supply to other value added dairy products and markets including our rapidly growing infant formula and nutritionals platform, Bega Cheese said

The focus on higher value product mix and markets is consistent with the strategy of the business and will see a significant decrease in inventory holding for the company with up to $60 million of cheese inventory being realised as a result of the change of supply arrangements with Coles, Bega Cheese said.

Bega branded products will continue to be sold at Coles supermarkets and the dairy producer says it expects to manage the change in its business mix in a way which will sustain underlying financial performance and trajectory of the business.

Murray Goulburn given five year contract

Murray Goulburn (MG), which owns the Devondale brand, said it has been awarded a five year contract.

Todays announcement follows the landmark, ten-year partnership MG commenced with Coles in 2014 to supply daily pasteurised milk for Coles private label brands in Victoria and NSW, Murray Goulburn said.

The contract includes the supply of a range of Coles brand cheddar-style cheese including tasty, colby, mild and light cheese in blocks, shreds and slices for Coles supermarkets across Australia. The national cheese contract will generate approximately $130 million in additional sales per annum and importantly deliver a stable stream of profits to MG over the life of the contract, Murray Goulburn said.

About Murray Goulburn

The Murray Goulburn dairy co-operative was established in 1950 after a group of Victorian farmers joined together in hopes of getting better prices for their milk.

The co-operative now considers itself Australias largest dairy foods company. It sells a large variety of milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products under the Devondale and Table Cove brands. It also sells lactose-free dairy products through its Liddells brand. Approximately half of its products are exported overseas with the co-operative focusing on the emerging markets of China, South East Asia and the Middle East/North Africa.

Murray Goulburn floated on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in July 2015 in order to raise AUD$500 million in capital to fund its overseas expansion.
Charged with DUI

 Rikki Harvey, 35, of Phoenix was arrested and charged with reckless driving, aggravated DUI with a suspended license, aggravated DUI with a passenger under 15, felony endangerment and child abuse at 4:19 p.m. Friday.

 Cody Nation, 22, of Valliant, Okla. was arrested and charged with DUI at 2:08 a.m. Friday.

 Duane Al Yazzie, 42, of East Wintergreen Road was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI with a suspended license and aggravated DUI with a passenger under 15 at 12:52 a.m. Friday.

 Nanotine John, 24, of East Sixth Avenue was arrested and charged with extreme DUI at 11:47 p.m. Friday.

 Bradley Monroe Brown, 26, of East Mountain View Avenue was arrested and charged with extreme DUI at 2:15 a.m. Saturday.

 Taylor Edmund Benally, 31, of North Lantern Lane was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI with a suspended license at 8:41 p.m. Saturday.

City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest.
Runners & walkers dash around Delphi The Do It In Delphi Dash was Saturday morning with the 5K walk/run beginning downtown on the Courthouse Square. The...

Special prosecutor issues report on Liggett campaign The Comet sponsored a sheriffs candidate debate on Sept. 29. After the debate, Sheriff candidate and deputy Tony Liggett provided...

Delphi Council member Conner resigns post It has been an upward struggle for Delphi City Council member Gayle Conner to represent her constituents as witnessed at...
The Forest Service has announced plans to inject millions of additional dollars into northern Arizonas Four Forest Restoration Initiative to help accelerate work on the 2.4 million-acre forest health project.

Thats in addition to several other shifts the agency is making on how it offers up 4FRI logging and stewardship contracts to timber operators across the region.

Starting this year, the Forest Service plans to allocate an additional $10 million per year for 10 years to the four forests working on 4FRI, said Scott Russell, a Forest Service employee who is serving in a newly created 4FRI chief executive position. Thats a 40 percent increase over 4FRIs current $25 million budget.

The money will be used to hire and contract with dozens more workers to do everything from tree marking to botany surveys that are required before mechanical thinning, hand thinning or prescribed fire can move forward on forests within the project footprint.

The fact that a diverse group of players has been able to find common ground and move forward on the forest health initiative were big reasons that the Forest Services top brass decided to direct more money toward the project, Russell said.

The agency is looking to accelerate restoration all over the country and the places that have stakeholder support and a strong social consensus are places it wants to invest, he said.

Ramp up

With the new money, the Forest Service plans to hire 18 full-time staffers and contract with several internal agency teams that will help with tasks like determining average tree sizes and timber quality in a certain forest stand and creating a detailed plan for how a certain area should be thinned.

With the boost in resources, the Forest Service is aiming to, by 2019, double the acreage it prepares each year for commercial mechanical thinning as well as the acreage it readies each year for prescribed fire treatments.

In conjunction with ramping up its own 4FRI work, the Forest Service is aiming to speed up the pace that timber operators are cutting and removing trees from the forest. It's also going to offer more of that tree thinning work to local companies besides Good Earth Power AZ, the company that holds the largest 300,000-acre contract on the 4FRI project. The goal is to better create the economic boost to local industry that 4FRI originally promised to provide.

Our expectation is we would see industry working well together. That hasnt happened to the degree we hoped it would have, so we see an industry that's existing throughout northern Arizona and we're not fully utilizing their capacity to get the restoration work done, Russell said.

To that end, the Forest Services 4FRI team will steadily increase amount of acreage in timber sales and stewardship contracts that is offered to local timber operators. Those contracts however, don't necessarily require the removal of biomass like treetops, needles and branches, from the forest. Good Earth is obligated to remove that slash from the forest.

Up to now, the Forest Service has awarded 70 percent of its prepped acreage to Good Earth, leaving 30 percent that was put up for bid by other loggers. But in 2016, for example, nearly 70 percent of 4FRI acreage made available will be outside of Good Earths contract.

The reasons for the change have to do with Good Earths pace and style of work, Russell said. With the company failing to ramp up operations as quickly as it had originally proposed, the acreage made available to Good Earth has been piling up. The company has thinned just 12 percent of the 55,000 acres awarded to it over the past two and a half years, meaning it still has plenty of future work on its plate, Russell said.

In the meantime however, local loggers have become frustrated, saying Good Earth is being given more forest acres than it can cut while they struggle to stay afloat with the few other logging contracts the Forest Service offers up.

Good Earth also hasnt contracted with as many local trucking and logging businesses as the Forest Service would have hoped, so few other companies are receiving any benefit from Good Earths work in the forest, Russell said.

The agency recognizes their struggles, he said.

They're standing on the outside feeling forgotten, looking at Good Earth and saying, Can we have some of that? and we've heard them, he said.

Changing the model

In the longer term, the Forest Service will be taking a harder look at how to make its timber sales and stewardship contracts more economically feasible for local loggers, Russell said.

That might mean changing what type of thinning work and biomass removal is required in a contract or increasing the amount of valuable timber included in a contract that also calls for thinning less valuable trees, Russell said.

We're trying to make sure we package our offerings so they get our work done and its economically viable to industry, he said.

He added that the Forest Service will continue to listen to those in the timber industry to get suggestions on how to make its offerings more profitable, Russell said.

Despite the challenges, Russell was optimistic about the trajectory of the 4FRI project.

There is a national conversation around the agency and society about doing a better job of restoring our forests," he said. Its a national emphasis and we have positioned ourselves to be very competitive in that world and be on the verge of great things.
Toyota announced it will recall approximately 6,500,000 vehicles globally for faulty power window switches that may short circuit and potentially cause a fire.



2.7 million vehicles are in North America, 1.2 million in Europe and 600,000 in Japan, Toyota said on Wednesday. The recalled models built outside of Japan include the Toyota Camry, RAV4 and Highlander.

The fault was caused by inconsistent application of a sprayed-on grease on electrical contact points in the power switch. As a result, debris can accumulate where insufficient grease is applied and can cause a short-circuit. The switch assembly may then overheat and melt, potentially producing smoke and leading to a fire, Toyota said.

The automaker added that it isnt aware of any crashes caused by this fault. However, Toyota got one report of a customer in the United States receiving a burn on the hand, and 11 reports of burnt switch and door trim.

To fix the issue, Toyota dealers will inspect the switch and apply heat-resistant grease, with the operation estimated to take about 45 minutes. If the switch isnt operating normally, the internal circuit board will be replaced, the company said.

The recalled vehicles were built in Japan between January 2005 and August 2006, and August 2008 and June 2010. The list also includes cars manufactured outside of Japan between August 2005 and August 2006, and January 2009 and December 2010.

Story references: Bloomberg

PHOTO GALLERY
Hyundai has announced full pricing info on the i20 range in UK, which now includes the i20 Active compact crossover.



The cheapest version of the i20 Active costs 15,225 OTR and comes with standard items that include 17-inch alloy wheels, LED DRLs, unique bumpers, roof rails, rear spoiler, 20mm increased ride height, rear parking sensors and DAB radio.

Power comes from a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder T-GDi engine, with 100PS (99hp), which replaces the 1.4-liter 100PS (99hp), returns 58.9mpg UK (49mpg US / 4.8L/100km) and emits 110g/km of CO2.

Novelties on the rest of the Hyundai i20 lineup, for 2016MY, include the DAB radio and fresh 15-inch alloy wheels on the i20 SE, which add to a list that already includes rear parking sensors, cruise control, Bluetooth with voice recognition and air-con.

The Premium Nav, Premium SE Nav and Coupe Sport Nav models now get the TomTom Live traffic services at no extra cost, while cars finished in Iced Coffee, Stardust Grey and Passion Red come with a black interior, instead of the brown and beige ones.

The 2016 Hyundai i20 will arrive in showrooms across UK from March 3, 2016. Full pricing info is available below.

PHOTO GALLERY
These are the first photos of the facelifted 2017 Range Rover while undergoing some winter testing.



Our spies caught the big Range Rover wearing some camouflage in the usual areas destined for a light update, such as the front bumper and grille and the sides. The characteristic fake sills on the front doors could have been deleted for the facelifted version, but we cant tell for sure until the official reveal. A set of updated headlights and taillights might also be included in the final version.

The 2017 Range Rover is expected to feature a similarly updated cabin, with subtle new details and more personalization options. An array of JLRs recently-announced connected and autonomous tech systems will also debut in the updated Range Rover.

The large British SUV is getting ready for some interesting times in its career as the opposition is planning to flood the segment with competitors like the also British Bentley Bentayga and the Lamborghini Urus.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops

PHOTO GALLERY
A reliability survey carried out from the Organization of Consumers and Users with over 30,000 drivers participating found Honda finishing in the first place as the most reliable car brand.



The survey included over 178 different models with Honda receiving a reliability rating of 93/100 and with 79% of the participants saying that they would recommend one of Hondas models.

The Honda Jazz finished first in its vehicle category, followed by the Toyota Prius and the Renault Clio with the 1.1-litre petrol engine. Other models of the company were rated similarly in their perspective categories such as the Civic, CR-V and Insight which finished in the Top 10 of their segments.

The OCU survey was focusing on reliability and asked the participants if they experienced breakdowns in the past year and to find out what type of problems the drivers had experienced. According to the findings, one in three drivers had a breakdown during the last year, with 16% of them having a breakdown while driving. The most common cause for this is the failure of the electrical system, followed by the braking system and the engine electronics.

Reliability and quality are synonymous with the Honda brand, says Honda Motor Europes senior vice president, Philip Ross. The results of the survey highlight the importance of the quality commitments Honda has made to its customers. It is important for Honda to ensure that customers can experience the joy of owning a Honda vehicle and enjoy driving them with the peace of mind that the cars are among the least likely to experience breakdowns.

PHOTO GALLERY
If youve been keeping up with film trailers in the past week, chances are youve seen some of the commentary about Nine Lives, the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed movie that stars Kevin Spacey as a daredevil billionaire trapped in the body of a cat named Mr. Fuzzypants:

Produced by French company Europacorp, its part of a continued effort by European producers to make American-style English films that play across global markets. One of the most successful examples of this trend, so far, has been Studiocanals family film, Paddington, which grossed nearly $260 million worldwide.

Much of the recent discussion about Nine Lives has been centered around how ridiculous and awful it looks  fair points, of course  but we feel it deserves a mention on Cartoon Brew because its a movie that uses animation to bring to life its main star. According to this USA Today piece, about 20% of Mr. Fuzzypants scenes use animation, while the rest of his performance is portrayed by a rotating group of five Siberian cats.
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A proposal to put up an expensive light canopy on the 100 block of Main Street is expected to be revisited by Penticton council.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said some council members who supported it in the past want to look at the idea again.

City staff is doing a presentation on the downtown revitalization plan for the 100 and 200 block of Main Street at the next meeting, so it would be appropriate to talk about it then, he said.

In December, council approved spending an additional $125,000 for the downtown light canopy.

A previous decision was made to spend $398,000 on the canopy with plain white lighting. The extra cost would be for programmable colour lights that can produce images like the Canadian flag or the words "Go Vees Go."

Four councillors voted for it at the time.

Coun. Helena Konanz, who opposed spending the extra money, along with Jakubeit and Coun. Andre Martin, said then that she was opposed to spending the extra money at a time when the city was already working on a tight budget for 2016.

Subsequently, during discussions on the city's financial plan this week, council approved a 5.5. per cent tax increase for 2016.

"I think council is looking at it as a nice thing to have, but not a must have, because there are other priorities that require our attention, such as facilities and infrastructure," said Jakubeit.

The next council meeting is on Feb. 15.
Mildred Reser cannot believe shes 105 years old.

I know Im old, but I didnt know I was that old, she said with a laugh. When they told me I was 105, I couldnt believe it.

Her son, Loren Reser, a 73-year-old retired Northern Arizona University professor, arranged the candles on her German chocolate cake in the living room of the Brookdale Flagstaff Assisted Living and Alzheimers Care community.

Your cake doesnt lie! he said. Were getting a lot of use out of the 1 and the 0 candles!

Loren said Mildred, who turned 105 Tuesday, beat the familys longevity record. An aunt in the family lived to be 104.

However, he said there is no family secret to longevity, Mildred outlived Lorens father by more than four decades.

Shes the anomaly, he said.

Mildred, who was born in 1911, spent most of her time as a housewife and homemaker. She had two children: Loren and a daughter who died of breast cancer in 1974. She has four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, Loren said.

Mildred was born before the Arizona Territory became a state, lived through both World Wars, the Great Depression and was a child when women received the right to vote. However, Loren said some of his mother's most vivid memories are from living on a farm as a child.

In her room at Brookdale, the counter and table are covered with flower arrangements, gifts from family and friends from across the country, Loren said.

A bouquet of yellow roses, a gift from Loren, sits next to her.

Arent these the most beautiful flowers youve ever seen? she asked.

Mildred grew up in Springfield, Miss. Her father was a country doctor, and she had a large extended family, but no brothers or sisters. She came to live in Flagstaff with Loren about eight years ago, and has lived in the Brookdale community for about two years.

Brookdale Executive Director Lee Carlson said Mildred is one of 51 residents in assisted living in the facility, which also houses 20 memory care residents.

Carlson said last year Mildred received a birthday letter from President Barack Obama, and this year received one from Senator John McCain. At 105, Mildred is the oldest resident at Brookdale, though they have had residents over 100 years old before.

Carlson said the community usually hosts monthly birthday celebrations, but a 105th birthday is a special occasion. Mildred and Loren requested to keep the party small, so most of the attendees were Brookdale staff.

Among the attendees was Michele Lytle, a friend of Mildred and the former coordinator for Senior Companions, which pairs community volunteers with homebound or isolated seniors. All volunteers are over the age of 55, and Mildred has been paired with several companions while living in Flagstaff.

Lytle said Mildred likes her companion to read from the Bible with her, sharing a meal or doing crossword puzzles.

She likes to play cards, Lytle said. She has a favorite game and she teaches everyone how to play.
Photo: Google Maps

The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died following a standoff with police at Charlie Lake.

Mark Delawski, 33, was from Charlie Lake, a small community about eight kilometres west of Fort St. John.

About 11:45 a.m. Jan. 31, a family member of Delawski left the home and reported concerns to police. Delawski and a small child remained in the residence.

RCMP attended at the residence, but could not engage with Delawksi.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. members of the Emergency Response Team entered the home and found the child unharmed, but Delawski was dead.

The Coroners Service and the Independent Investigations Office continue to investigate the death.
Photo: Contributed - BC SPCA

A Slocan Valley man has been slapped with three counts of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Charges came just days after B.C. SPCA investigators seized 29 animals from property belonging to Joao (John) Vieira.

This is the fourth time Vieira has been charged with animal cruelty.

In all, nine sheep, seven goats, four horses, five large-breed dogs, two puppies, one cow and one rooster in various states of distress were rescued, according to SPCA officials.

Carcasses of dead horses, a bull and goat were also discovered on the property, located near Winlaw.

Chief prevention and enforcement officer Marcie Moriarty said Vieira has been the focus of several SPCA investigations in recent years and has three previous animal cruelty convictions.

He has also been charged four times with breaching conditions of his sentencing, the most recent charge coming yesterday for violating a ban on owning animals," said Moriarty.

She said the animals in question were being kept in overcrowded and inadequate conditions, were underweight and suffering from a range of medical issues, including parasites, abscesses, heart problems, infections, overgrown nails, dental issues and eye infections.

The livestock are now being cared for at foster boarding facilities in the Salmo Valley.

The dogs and puppies are in the care of the Kelowna SPCA, where they are on a protective hold and will receive ongoing veterinary care before being put up for adoption.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
WASHINGTON  Longtime Sanders resident Wayne Lynch was told in July that the water on his ranch contained dangerously high amounts of uranium, yet he is still using it.

Theres no other water source we have, Lynch said this week. Theres no other well that they could tap in to.

Lynch said the problem extends to the Sanders community, including nearby schools, which have no choice but to use contaminated wells.

People are always getting cancer, he said, naming his mother, an aunt and a grandmother among those who have been diagnosed with the disease.

Lynchs case was just one of the stories brought to Washington last week by Clean Up the Mines, a group that highlights the detrimental effects of abandoned uranium mines, especially those on and near reservations.

According to government data, there are about 15,000 uranium mines in the West, with 75 percent of those on federal or tribal lands.

Clean Up the Mines was in the District for a week, working to spread awareness of what it calls an environmental crisis. That included a Thursday protest outside the Environmental Protection Agency building.

The group demanded that the federal agency conduct studies on radiation levels in water supplies and move to clean up uranium waste. Group members met with about 10 EPA officials after their protest.

They listened to our frustrations, said Tommy Rock, a Navajo and member of Dineh No Nukes who was in Washington.

They didnt really say much  they just listened to us, he said.

It was Rock, a doctoral candidate in environmental sciences at Northern Arizona University, who tested the water near Sanders and found uranium levels of 47 parts per billion  well above the legal limit of 30 parts per billion.

The Sanders Unified School District draws water from wells where uranium levels have been tested at 37 parts per billion  forcing the district to rely on bottled water for its offices, schools and teacher housing, said interim Superintendent Dan Hute.

There is uranium. It is over the limit. Its been a mess, Hute said.

Except for the occasional donation, bottled water costs come out of the districts budget. Hute said the district drilled a new well, but it tested at about the same level of uranium as the old one. He said the school facilities board is considering a filtration system or a deeper well  but that could cause more problems because of arsenic levels in the area.

Hute is frustrated by what he sees as a lack of response by government agencies.

All theyre doing is talking about this, he said, but nobody is bothering to call my office. Its all being dumped in our laps.

Apache County Director of Public Health Chris Sexton said the state health department conducted a risk analysis for personal health effects from water contamination in the Sanders community, which he said has been an issue for the last year.

They advised small children not to drink the water or mix it with formula, he said, but the department concluded that adults were not at risk.

An Arizona Department of Health Services spokesman confirmed Tuesday that children under age 1 should use an alternative water source for drinking and for formula, but adults are not at risk if they drink the tap water.

In a written statement Tuesday, an EPA spokesman said the agency has already spent more than $100 million to address the highest-risk areas under a multiyear plan developed in 2007 to address uranium contamination at mining sites.

The federal effort has focused on identifying the most imminent risks first by addressing contaminated structures, water supplies, mills, dumps, and mines with the highest levels of radiation, said the statement, which added that the agency continues to work on the issue.

A statement from the EPAs regional office, meanwhile, said it has been working since last year to fix the problem of tainted water that is being delivered in Sanders by the Arizona Windsong Water System.

It said the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has given the water system until April 1 to bring quality into compliance with the 30 parts per billion standard, while the Arizona Corporation Commission last month terminated the systems certification, clearing the way for another supplier.

Efforts are underway with various stakeholder agencies to facilitate a change in water supplier for the residents of Sanders, Arizona, the statement from the regional EPA said.
PHOENIX -- The man who replaced a state utility regulator forced out over conflicts of interest has some conflicts of his own that likely will keep him from voting on key issues before the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Andy Tobin said Tuesday his son-in-law, Mike Coomer, is an "inventory specialist" for Solar City in Dewey. He said it's a low-level job that does not involve making policy for the company that builds and installs solar cells to generate electricity.

But Tobin acknowledged that company has been actively involved in fighting Arizona Public Service over the charges it wants to impose on customers who have solar. And similar fights over issues like "net metering" -- the requirement for utilities to buy excess power generated by customers -- are likely to spill into rate cases for other electric companies regulated by the commission.

And that, said Tobin, probably puts him on the sidelines during those debates and votes.

"From my perspective, the law is pretty clear," he said.

Tobin said commission lawyers have said he has what's legally termed a "remote" conflict of interest, one in which he would not personally benefit from any decisions he and the commission make. But Tobin said that still creates problems.

"While it's remote, it's still an issue that others can make an issue of," he said.

"I don't believe it's much of a conflict," Tobin explained. "But, having read the law, I can see where others can perceive it to be."

The biggest problem, he said, will be in cases where Solar City seeks to intervene in requests by utilities to hike rates and change charges for solar customers.

"If our attorneys say I am conflicted, I will not vote," Tobin said. He acknowledged that could result in some issues before the commission ending up in a 2-2 tie.

Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Tobin to replace Susan Bitter Smith.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich had filed suit to have her declared ineligible to serve on the commission because of her outside jobs, including lobbying for Cox Communications and serving as the executive director of the Southwest Cable Communications Association. Brnovich said while the commission has no authority over cable TV, many of these companies offer bundled phone service which is regulated.

Bitter Smith denied she was breaking the law but resigned anyway, saying the lawsuit and the publicity had become a "distraction" from the commission's work.

Tobin said he never mentioned his son-in-law's job to Ducey because "I didn't think it was much of an issue." But all that changed last week after Tobin talked with commission lawyers.

"They were concerned and we went back and read the statute," Tobin said. "And I have to agree with them."

But Tobin said none of this rises to the level of the allegations against Bitter Smith and he has no intention of quitting his new job. And Ducey press aide Daniel Scarpinato said the governor remains convinced Tobin is a good choice.

"It's not as if he was hiding anything," he said. And Scarpinato said Ducey still believes Tobin can play a valuable role on the commission even if he can't participate in rate cases involving electric companies.

"There's a lot of issues that the commission faces and the commission decides on that impact Arizonans, whether it's securities, whether it's water rates in some areas, whether it's railroad safety, whether it's where to put new infrastructure," Scarpinato said. And he said Ducey sees Tobin, who is from Paulden, as "an advocate for rural Arizona" on a commission whose other four members are all from Maricopa County.

But attorney Tom Ryan, who prepared the materials that Brnovich used to file suit against Bitter Smith, said naming Tobin was a mistake.

"It certainly gives the appearance of impropriety and shows a lack of due diligence on the party of the 9th Floor," he said, referring to the governor's office. Ryan said that, given the issues before the commission, Tobin was a bad choice.

"The emergence of renewable energies required a clean state for this appointment," he said, perhaps a retired judge who would fill out Bitter Smith's term and agree not to run again.

"Instead the state of Arizona gets a commissioner who has to recuse himself on one of the most important issues of our time."

Tobin said he has no intention of asking his son-in-law to quit his job.

"There's not a lot of jobs in rural Arizona," he said.

Ryan took a separate slap at both the governor and his appointee, calling Tobin "nothing more than the 9th Floor's political Spackle." He noted that Ducey has plugged in Tobin to head three separate agencies in the space of less than a year.
Turkmenistan looks to increase production capacity

03 February 2016

President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov, has called on relevant government ministers to consider possibilities of increasing cement production in the country, the Turkmen Altyn Asyr TV channel reported.



The move is expected to see the construction of mini cement plants in the country, with the head of the Turkmen state saying that the private sector should be provided with the necessary assistance to obtain loans for the establishment of these projects as soon as possible.

During the January-November 2015 period, Turkmenistan produced more than 3Mta of cement, exceeding the annual decline.





Published under
It may seem logical to think of school choice as referring mainly to charter and private schools as smaller and more specialized alternatives to mainstream district schools.

But as we reported last week, it works both ways in Flagstaff. FUSD is now offering a full menu of magnet programs in the middle and high schools that create smaller schools within a school. Test scores of students in the FUSD college preparatory programs match those of similar charter school programs, while enrollment in FUSD middle schools has stabilized and even grown. Student churn, which used to be mainly from FUSD to charters, has now become two-way as charter middle school students take advantage of more diverse course and extracurricular offerings at larger district high schools.

Yet lawmakers in Phoenix continue to look at school choice in not only one direction but also shift funds accordingly. One recent proposal is to issue tax-credit vouchers for private and religious schools.

These vouchers originally were enacted for students with special needs. But lawmakers have slowly expanded them to include foster children, children of members of the military, children attending a school rated D or F by the Department of Education and, most recently, children living on Indian reservations.

Now, theres a bill to issue vouchers for any child through the fifth grade, expanding them eventually through high school  potentially covering all 1.1 million Arizona schoolchildren.

We have to ask, however, why taxpayers are being asked to subsidize unaccountable private schools that can discriminate on the basis of religion or test scores while public schools go begging. If lawmakers were proposing to grow the pot of funds for public education above 49th place in the nation, at least public schools would be held harmless. But taxpayers have a right to know why they are footing the bill for certified teachers and special ed classes at public schools but also subsidizing private schools with none of those requirements  including any accountability to test scores.

And in the governors office, theres a fund of $24 million appropriated last year for grants to schools deemed excellent  without defining the term. From Gov. Duceys initial comments, he seems to be impressed with high median test scores at college-prep charter schools  a standard that doesnt determine how much extra value such schools are bringing to students who are already highly able and motivated. As we reported in recent weeks, there are plenty of teachers and principals recognized by the Rodel Foundation as exemplary who work in high-poverty schools where many students still struggle to master core concepts. Whats important, however, is the progress those students make against very tall odds  wed urge the governor to contact Rodel for more details on how it determines what makes a truly excellent educator and their schools.

At the very least, if lawmakers and the governor insist on parental choice as the bottom line for determining how public education funds are allocated, then they ought to level the playing field. Let mainstream publics have more latitude in noncredentialed hiring and limiting class and school sizes. Or, in the alternative, have any school receiving tax funds offer open enrollment that reflects the diversity of community in which it is located while meeting minimum teacher qualification and student achievement standards. The education of our children is both a community investment and a democratizing force, not simply a personal choice.
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Site: zorpia From: melc Date: Jan 13, 2016

Hi dear Happy New Year,

i see your profile here today and I will like to know you more, can we be friends? I'm waiting for your reply to my private id (melciecoulibaly1@hotmail.com) so that I can send my pictures and more about me OK













From: Melcie Coulibaly <melciecoulibaly1@hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:31:15 +0000 Subject: HAPPY NEW YEAR AND PROSPERITY MY BELOVED ONE PLEASE I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE

DEAREST ONE

firstly I thank you for your reaction to mine email; with the message, which I have sent to you through Zorpia.com. How was your night over there in your country, i believe you had a nice night and that the atmosphere over there in your country is very nice today? Mine is a little bit COLD over here in Dakar Senegal.

My name is Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly i am (24) but age doesn't matter in a real relationship, so i am comfortable with your age, I am from Libya in North Africa, 5.4ft tall, light in complexion single, (never married ) and presently i am residing here in Dakar as a result of the war that was going on in my country. Please I am writing this mail to you With due respect trust and humanity, i appeal to you exercise a little patience and read through my letter i feel quite safe with you in this important thing, i want to let you know about my condition.

My late father Dr. Ibrahim Coulibaly was a politician and the minister of petroleum in Tripoli (the capital of Libya) before the rebels attacked our house one early morning and killed my mother and my father in cold blood. It was only me that is alive now and I managed to make my way to a near by country Senegal where i am leaving now as a refugee under a Reverend-Pastor's care and i am using his computer to send these message to you.

Please Do not be offended for this message that come;s from me please, fair which to me obliged to put simple trust on you due to my situation here as the refugee and I shall demand most your conscientiousness after yours to know about me, I shall really grow fond we to have good in spite attitudes therefore I have this as a trust which i believe that you can not betray it at the end. I have communicated you because of my difficult situation here in this refugees camp; Its just like one staying in the prison and i hope by Gods grace i will come out here soon. i don't have any relatives now whom i can go to all my relatives ran away in the middle of the war the only person i have now is Rev Johnson Dabor, who is the pastor of the (CHRIST DE SAVIOR MISSION) here in the camp he has been very nice to me since i came here but i am not living with him rather i am leaving in the women's hostel because the camp have two hostels one for men the other for women. The Pastors Tel number is +221781661631 if you call and tell him that you want to speak with me he will send for me in the hostel.

As a refugee here i don't have any right or privileged to any thing be it money or whatever because it is against the law of this country. My love I want to go back to my studies because i only attended my first year before the tragic incident that lead to my being in this situation now took place. Please listen to this (please it's a secret, even no one knows about it except the Reverend that knows about it) i have my late father's statement of account and death certificate here with me which i will send to you latter, because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in a leading Foreign bank which he used my name as the next of kin, the amount in question is $2.7 (Two Million Seven Hundred Thousand Us Dollars) so i will like you to help me transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you.

I kept this secret to people in the camp here the only person that knows about it is the Reverend because he is like a father to me. so in the light of above i will like you to keep it to yourself and don't tell it to anyone for i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it. Remember i am giving you all this information due to the trust i deposed on you.

I like honest and understanding people, truthful and a man of vision, hardworking and GOD fearing people. My favorite language is English but i speak French very fluently. Meanwhile i will like you to call me like i said i have a lot to tell you Attached here is my picture. I will send you more in my next mail. Have a nice day and think about me. Awaiting to hear from you soonest.

Yours in love, Miss Meciel Ibrahim Coulibaly

From: Melcie Coulibaly <melciecoulibaly1@hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 12:51:05 +0000 Subject: MY DEAREST ONE, PLEASE CONTACT THE BANK WITH THIS INFORMATION BELOW

My Love One Good Day,

Thanks a lot for your response please I will also like to touch & see you face to face, please try to call me by 14:00 GMT with the reverend phone number which I gave to you, I will be waiting for your call,

Note: Please i have not told anyone except you about the existence of this money and i will like you to please keep it secret to other people because since it is (MONEY) all eyes will be on it. I confide you dear that's why i am giving you all this information. My love is for you and only you alone,You can call the Reverend around 14: 00GMT, i will be there waiting your important call. Notice: I have already informed the bank about my plans to claim this Fund and the only thing they told me is to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf due to my refugee status and the laws of this country.

My Love You will have 30% of the total money by helping me and the remaining money will be managed by you and me in any business of our choice. Therefore, i will like you to contact the bank with this information, tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me transfer my 2.7 million dollars deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. The Contact information of the bank are as follows,

Bank Name:.....Royal Bank Of Scotland plc London Email Address: (royalbankwirefundtransfer_bank@yahoo.co.uk) Emeil Address: (royalbankwire.fundtransfer@consultant.com) The name of the transfer officer is Dr Stephen Hester. Office Telephone number: +447045706684

This is my late fathers Account Details which he use my name as next of kin.

Account No: (RBS/0411786179421/LD/21/B) Name of Depositor: (Dr. Ibrahim Coulibaly) Amount Deposited: ($2,700,000.00 US Dollars) Next Of Kin Beneficiary: (Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly)

Honestly I am happy that God has brought you to see me out from this execrable situation which am passing through and i promise to be kind and will equally need you in every area of my life Including investing this money since i am still too young to manage it. As i told you before,this camp is just like a prison and I pray always to move out from here as soon as possible. Please make sure that you contact the bank so that after the transfer you can send some money from that money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. Awaiting to hear from you soonest!.

Yours forever in love, Miss Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly.

Received: from [41.83.194.222] From: "royalbankwire fundtransfer" <royalbankwire.fundtransfer@consultant.com> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 14:53:16 +0100 Subject: Sir/Foreign Operation/Wire Transfer Dept=RBS=

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC , LONDON....DATE...JAN...15...2016 BANKING AND FINANCE. TRANSFER OFFICER DR. STEPHEN HESTER. 5th FLOOR, CANNON BRIDGE HOUSE 20 GRESHAM STREET, EC2v 7JE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC. TELE +447045706684

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your request letter with demand transfer of inherited ($2.7 million UsD. Account No.RBS 04 I1786179421 LD 21B) with our bank institution as noted in the office of our international fund remittance department, DISCLOSURE OF ACCOUNT INFORMATION:

We have received a letter from her the inheritance in person of Miss Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly,,, with details of an account belonging to our deceased respective customer late, Dr. Ibrahim Coulibaly, which our verification department has confirmed accurate with our file record of the account involve.

REQUIREMENT FOR FUND TRANSFER APPROVAL: Though the disclosure of the account detail has been received, THE LIST DOCUMENT REQUIRED BEFORE THE TRANSFER:

(1) A Power of attorney (certified) and Affidavit Of Oath Permitting you to claim and transfer the funds to your bank account on her behalf. Note: This Power of attorney must be dully signed by Miss Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly since she in Senegal, and a Senegalese based lawyer as your witness, mandating you to make this claims and transfer on behalf of Miss Melcie Coulibaly. (Since the money is originated from Africa and the Girl is currently residing in Senegal).

(2) The Death Certificate of Late Dr.Ibrahim Coulibaly (Our late deceased Custormer) Confirming the Death.

(3) A Copy of deposited Certificate of the account issued Dr.Ibrahim Coulibaly by our bank.

(4) It is very important that you send to us your telephone number and a valid bank account details for the swift wire transfer of the fund into your account after the approval Required Documents, and a copy of your Passport Only Email Attached.

We advice that you suggest to us the manner and the method of the transfer preferable to you to enable us serve you better and your partner Miss Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly we heard that she is now in Dakar Senegal,

You are expected to provide the listed documents without any delay. Before the transfer will carry on. These shall also ensure that a smooth, quick and successful transfer of the fund is made. We promise to give our customers the best of our services. Should you have any question(s) contact foreign transfer officer Always at your service. +447045706684

DR. STEPHEN HESTER

From: Melcie Coulibaly <melciecoulibaly1@hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:08:58 +0000 Subject: MY LOVE CONTACT THIS LAWYER OK.

My Love.

l am very happy with you and i will be happiest girl to meet you over there as soon as you are through in this transfer, However thanks for your ability to help me to transfer my inheritance money to your position pending my arrival to meet with you, it shows you are a dependable and trustworthy man.

Listen, before i gave you information of my inheritance i have prayed and fasting and after my praying and fasting the Lord lead me to you, i have never told any body about this money the only people that knows about it is you and me and the Rev father, no one again knows about it (since my parent's are dead) So i will also advise you to please keep it to yourself, Now regarding the requests the bank needs from us, I have with me here the last statement of account (which i will give to the lawyer when he agrees to help us) and the death certificate, (which i will also give him attached here is the copies of the documents which i have here, so he can send them to you) I thought it's the only thing the bank will need from us but since they need the power of attorney and the affidavit of oath from the high court here in Senegal, i have informed the Reverend Father about it and he gave me the contact of this lawyer below,

He is a registered lawyer in the United Nations Camp here and he is also a registered member in (Senegalese lawyer Association) who will help in preparing the documents for us. Please i will like you to contact him through email and phone today,when your contacting him, tell him that you are my Foreign partner and you want him to prepare a power of attorney and also get the affidavit of support from high court here in Dakar Senegal and that he will do it in your name to enable the transfer of my money in ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND LONDON to the account in your country.His contact information are as follows, His Contact Information's Are As Follows,

BARRISTER OSCAR CUCUMBER CHAMBERS ASSOCIATION. Senior advocate Barrister Oscar Cucumber (Principal Partner).(ESQ) Address..No. 115 Leopold Seldar Senghor Airport Way -Dakar Senegal.). Office Telephone Number is +221776735648 Email address, oscarcucumberlawfirm@yahoo.com Email address, oscarcucumberlawfirm@gmail.com

Please my love, i will like you to make contact with this lawyer and ask him to help us to get this needed document by the bank to effect this transfer, as you can see that everything concerning this transfer is complete, please help me out to see that this lawyer get this document. My prayers are with you and i know that God will surely see us through. I will never forget you in my life, God bless you for me, waiting to hear from you, the response from the lawyer, Thank you for your concern, always put me in your daily prayers, Thanks and remain blessed.

Your Forever Love Melcie Ibrahim Coulibaly.

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:28:36 +0000 (UTC) From: Oscar Cucumber <oscarcucumberlawfirm@yahoo.com>

Subject: THE TOTAL COST OF THE LEGAL DOCUMENTS FROM BARRISTER OSCAR CUCUMBER.

OSCARCUCUMBER LAW CHAMBERS MEMBER OF UNITED NATION ATTORNEYS. RUE 114/15 GRAND MARINE DAKAR SENEGAL. P.O.Box 25674 DAKAR SENEGAL. Tel: +221776735648 Email: oscarcucumberlawfirm@yahoo.com oscarcucumberlawfirm@gmail.com LEGAL REPRESENTATION /01/2016 FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION MR. .

SEQUEL TO YOUR EMAIL ON HOW TO PREPARE A POWER OF ATTORNEY AND AFFIDAVIT OF OATH FOR YOU AND YOUR PARTNER THAT WILL ENABLE YOU TO STAND ON BEHALF OF YOUR PARTNER, MISS MELCIE COULIBALY, FOR THE TRANSFER OF HER MONEY FROM ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC, TO YOUR ACCOUNT IN YOUR COUNTRY FINLAND OR ELSE WHERE. I HAVE RECEIVED ALL YOUR INFORMATION WHICH WILL APPEAR IN THOSE DOCUMENTS.

MY LAW FIRM WAS MADE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE FOUR DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FROM YOU BY THE BANK BEFORE THE TRANSFER OF THE MONEY TO YOUR ACCOUNT. THE DEATH CERTIFICATE AND THE STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT LATE DR. IBRAHIM COULIBALY. WHICH YOUR PARTNER HAVE HERE SHE WILL HAND IT OVER TO ME ONCE THE REMAINING DOCUMENTS IS READY SUCH AS THE POWER OF ATTORNEY AND THE AFFIDAVIT OF OATH.

THE POWER OF ATTORNEY AND AFFIDAVIT OF OATH,

I WANT TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT, I HAVE REGISTER YOUR DOCUMENTS HERE FOR PROCESSING OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY AND THE AFFIDAVIT OF OATH.

IN REGARDS OF THE ABOVE IT WILL COST THE SUM OF ( 385 US DOLLARS ) FOR THE AUTHENTICATION OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY.

(240 US DOLLARS ) FOR THE SWEARING OF THE AFFIDAVIT OF OATH AT THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT HERE BEFORE IT BECOMES VALID.

(90 US DOLLARS ) FOR NOTARY STAMPING AT THE NOTARY OFFICE HERE. MY LEGAL PROCESSING FEE OF (200 US DOLLARS )

TOTAL NOW WILL BE (915 US DOLLARS EQUIVALENT ) TO GET EVERYTHING DONE.

THIS MONEY NEED TO BE PAID AT THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE DAKAR SENEGAL HERE BEFORE I COULD PROCESS AND PREPARE THOSE DOCUMENTS AND ENDORSE THEM. IF YOU WANT THOSE DOCUMENTS TO BE READY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE YOU ARE TO SEND THIS AMOUNT( 915 US DOLLARS EQUIVALENT ) WITH THIS MY INFORMATION BELOW THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OR MONEY GRAM TO DAKAR SENEGAL. IF I RECEIVED THE MONEY TOMORROW I WILL START WORKING ON IT.

YOU ARE TO SEND THE MONEY TO ME THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OR MONEY GRAM WITH MY NAME AND ADDRESS BELOW.

RECEIVER'S NAME: OSCAR CUCUMBER. MY ADDRESS: RUE 114/15 GRAND MARINE. COUNTRY SENEGAL. QUESTION: DD ANSWER: AA MTCN THE WESTERN UNION WILL ISSUE IT.

MAKE SURE YOU INFORM ME IMMEDIATELY YOU SEND THE MONEY SO THAT I WILL START THE PROCESSING OF THE DOCUMENTS WHICH WILL BE READY ONCE I RECEIVED THE MONEY.

I REMAIN YOURS SINCERE/ PRINCIPAL PARTNER IN SERVICE,

BAR. DR. OSCAR CUCUMBER. OSCAR LAW CHAMBERS, RUE 114/15 GRAND MARINE DAKAR SENEGAL. OFFICE NO: +221776735648

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2016 16:40:52 +0000 (UTC) From: Oscar Cucumber <oscarcucumberlawfirm@yahoo.com> Subject: FROM THE DESK OF BARRISTER OSCAR CUCUMBER LAW FIRM.

OSCARCUCUMBER LAW CHAMBERS MEMBER OF UNITED NATION ATTORNEYS. RUE 114/15 GRAND MARINE DAKAR SENEGAL. P.O.Box 25674 DAKAR SENEGAL. Tel:+221-776-735-648. Email: oscarcucumberlawfirm@yahoo.com oscarcucumberlawfirm@gmail.com LEGAL REPRESENTATION 16/01/2016 FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION MR. .

YOU CAN USE THIS MY SECRETARY INFORMATION BELOW AND MAKE THE PAYMENT.

ACCOUNT HOLDER....... ... CAMARA OUSMANE NAME OF THE BANK..... .... BANK OF AFRICA SENEGAL BANK ADDRESS.............. YOFF DAKAR SENEGAL ACCOUNT NUMBER............ 05007960000 BANK CODE..................... SN100 CODE AGC..................... 01022 RIB..................... 77 SWIFT CODE..................AFRISNDAXXX IBAN.......................... SN08 SN10 0010 2200 5007 9600 0077

MAKE SURE YOU INFORM ME IMMEDIATELY YOU SEND THE MONEY SO THAT I WILL START THE PROCESSING OF THE DOCUMENTS. I REMAIN YOURS SINCERE/ PRINCIPAL PARTNER IN SERVICE,

BAR. DR. OSCAR CUCUMBER. OSCAR LAW CHAMBERS, RUE 114/15 GRAND MARINE DAKAR SENEGAL. OFFICE NO: +221776735648 If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more....
"Anonymous speech has a long and vital tradition predating the Constitution (as in





the

), and at least in some circumstances it is constitutionally





protected.

514 U.S. 334, 341-57, 115 S.Ct. 1511,





131 L.Ed.2d 426 (1995)." Concurring opinion in Coffman.









Update: 10th circuit ruling today in Independence Institute case. More after I've read it.On January 23rd I noted that IJ is litigating an ambitious challenge to Colorado's system of semi-private prosecution of campaign finance cases. Complaint Today Hasen's Election Law Blog pointed me to a blog entry at More Soft Money Hard Law:that showed me the case has nuances I'd missed before.update: welcome electionlawblog readers.It turns out that Mrs. Holland was subject to a disclaimer complaint, as well as a disclosure issue.She hired a lawyer and ran up some $3500 in legal fees, which she then countersued to collect from the school board that was involved in the filing of the complaint. The complaint was withdrawn 2 days before a hearing, and she got only last minute notice of the dismissal. So far I do not have a link to her countersuit.Then, she got threats that if she didn't withdraw the request for attorney fees, she'd be hit with another complaint. She was, in a second complaint that re-claimed the first issues and, curiously, included a complaint under the federal disclaimer statute, although there was no federal candidate or issue involved in any way.I wonder whether that gives her standing to challenge the federal statute, which is unconstitutional under, but nobody's ever litigated it. [I do not count the failed express advocacy arguments raised inor.] Partly because I'm not sure you can get legal fees against the Feds the way you can against a state under 42 USC 1985. Is there a legal fee provision for a winning challenge to a federal statute?I suspect she doesn't have a justiciable controversy there, but I'd welcome the opinions of those who know more about it. Perhaps I'll post to the election law list.But she clearly has a justiciable controversy about Colorado's unconstitutional disclaimer statute.In 2000, the 10th circuit found that Colorado's disclaimer statute was unconstitutional under McIntyre, inon. Davidson involved the Colorado Libertarian Party and some people I knew there, back in the 80s, as some of the parties. So I was surprised anyone was trying to bring a disclaimer complaint against her, since it had already been struck down. http://www.plainsite.org/dockets/fil7kfkm/court-of-appeals-for-the-tenth-circuit/colorado-right-v-davidson/ p. 49.It turns out Colorado has re-enacted its unconstitutional disclaimer statute, section 107.5.This is similar to what Indiana did after, replacing IS 3-9-3-2 with 3-9-3-2.5.In addition, there are other disclaimer statutes at 108.3, and see also regulation 5.1.I found an (incompletely) annotated Colorado campaign finance statute online.That led me toI I is a think tank I visited when I was out in Denver last spring.In Coffman, I I had run some radio ads informing voters about a proposed amendment by initiative that would have amended The Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), a sort of Prop-13 kind of deal. One of the amendments, Prop C passed, while another, Prop D, lost, saving Colorado taxpayers 100 million. One of their enemies, a pro-tax group, filed a complaint saying I I needed to register as a political committee. I I brought a facial challenge to the statute, saying the "a major purpose" test was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. This is Jim Bopp territory; he's won some cases on major purpose tests. I I lost its facial challenge, but won administratively when the ALJ decided it wasn't a political committee.See also CEW v. Gessler http://www.commoncause.org/states/colorado/issues/money-in-politics/disclosure/court-opinion.pdf for some relevant discussion of the standard of review and related topics.I I tried to argue thatwas controlling, that Colorado's vague and overbroad regulation of political speech chilled their right to anonymous political speech. I think the court got it mostly right thatcovers, and upholds, disclosure whileis about,and strikes down, disclaimer requirements.So all this leaves me wondering if either IJ.org or the Independence Institute would be up for challenging Colorado's re-enacted unconstitutional disclaimer statute. or possibly these things could dealt with in an AGO, if there's someone with standing to request it. I'm also wondering if they would welcome my participation in such a challenge. I don't know if the best way to go about it would be a separate lawsuit, or to amend the current one to add the disclaimer issue. I don't know whether I I should seek to intervene, or permissively join as a plaintiff, or whether, because ofconcerns, it should stay out of the current litigation. I happen to know a lot about disclaimer litigation, but overall I know I'm not a very good lawyer. What works best for me is to partner up with people who are very good lawyers, so that I can contribute to an effort without all of it being on my shoulders. In the past this sometimes works out well, as in, or badly, as in. I've had some conversations about this stuff with both I I and Paul Sherman of IJ.org, without getting anywhere, but maybe it's time to renew those conversations.In, the Institute raised serious concerns about how Colorado's disclosure regime chills speech, but it lost. The Institute for Justice is taking a second bite at that apple, and as I said last month I'm not sure how that case will turn out; I could see it going either way.may be their best case, but it's not directly on point. InIJ lost in court but won the hearts and minds of the people resulting in legislative victories around the country.has gone sort of the other way.won in court but has been losing the battle for hearts and minds; many people think it's just fine to put people in jail for books and movies critical of Hillary Clinton. One of those people is Hillary Clinton, who has promised if elected to appoint justices to overturn CU. After the Iowa caucuses, she remains the front-runner.It is possible that the Colorado situation will get a legislative fix. The campaign finance act was adopted as a state constitution amendment via initiative, so I'm unclear how much discretion the legislature has to change the procedures, perhaps none. But then statutes and regulations were written to implement the act, and I think the disclaimer statute is part of those. The disclaimer statute could be fixed legislatively, but I don't see this as popular politically so it's unlikely. A lawsuit is needed. The lawsuit should be fairly easy; just point to Davidson, McIntyre, Talley, as well as such cases as Tattered Cover that found a right to anonymity under the Colorado constitution. But, as with Majors v Abell, it depends a lot which judges you get, and how they feel as well as how they think.CU has left a big hole of indeterminacy in disclaimer cases, although on its own terms it was only talking about speech by corporations, not the Mrs. McIntyres and Mrs. Hollands.The Institute could probably fund and win a case on Colorado's disclaimer statutes under McIntyre and recoup its losses in Coffman. When I talked to them last spring I didn't get a strong sense that they want to be litigating; they are a think tank and not an advocacy litigation team like IJ.I recently authored, but have not yet filed, a brief in a Mississippi disclaimer case which sets out these arguments in more detail. I will probably post a link to it here at some point once it is filed, or can provide copies on request.Miscellaneous link: Colorado's campaign finance manual.newspaper article in the paper the ads were printed in.the constitutional amendment goes on for multiple pages of lawyerspeak.One of the first things I noticed is that the "voluntary" limits, which double the size of allowed campaign contributions, would seem to violate Free Enterprise Club PAC v Bennett.So there might be multiple ways the Amendment could be vulnerable to a First Amendment lawsuit, and bringing up the possibility might be leverage in settling the current one. Perhaps some of this has already been litigated, I don't know.
Donations can be sent to BNC at Max Obuszewski, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212 . Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast [dot] net.
The National Park Service has announced $15 million in support of 69 projects in 63 parks, including $24,500 at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to replace outdated entrance signs at 12 major areas of the national park in Georgia and Tennessee, and to build a new primary entrance sign designed for group photographs. The funding will be matched with $49,200 from the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP.



Funding for the project is provided through the National Park Services Centennial Challenge Program to leverage partnerships to improve visitor services, support outreach to new audiences, and reinvigorate national parks while foraging connections with communities.

Congress provided $15 million for the Centennial Challenge projects, which will be matched by almost $33 million more from more than 90 park partners. The 69 projects total almost $48 million and are located at 63 parks in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and the U. S. Virgin Islands.As the National Park Service enters its centennial year in 2016, Congress and generous partners across the country are making exceptional investments to improve park facilities, enhance their accessibility and help more visitors, especially young people, discover our nations inspiring places and stories, said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Superintendent Brad Bennett is pleased to be able to implement this project: This private-public partnership project will help the park replace several damaged and outdated signs while providing a fresh welcome to the public during the 100th anniversary celebration of the National Park Service. With the support of the Friends, we invite local residents and visitors to discover and experience the many special places throughout this national park, from Chickamauga Battlefield to Lookout Mountain Battlefield, from Signal Point to Orchard Knob, and from Missionary Ridge to Moccasin Bend.Friends of the Park President Anthony Hodges said, "During the Centennial of the National Park Service, the Friends of the Park are pleased to assist with placing new signs at many of the units of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and to create a photo-worthy entrance in front of the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center."

President Hodges noted that this project is being funded through a generous gift from the estate of Shawn Johns who volunteered as a living historian in the national park for many years. Mr. Hodges continued, "Mr. Johns enjoyed sharing the stories of the soldiers who fought at Chickamauga and Chattanooga with visitors, and because of his gift, the Friends can assist the park in improving entrances to welcome the next generation of visitors."



"The signs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park have marked the way for visitors for many years. In this Centennial year visitors will truly be able to find their park and the many units associated throughout the area. In addition, a marquee sign will be produced and will serve as a great place to take photos as a lasting reminder of your park experience," officials said.



For more information about Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry has released its 2016 Legislative and Policy Agenda.

The agenda highlights 16 focused initiatives across the areas of Education and Workforce, Business Taxes and the Economy, and Business Regulation/Legal.

Each initiative represents a portion of the yearly work the Chamber will engage in to support, oppose, or amend legislation impacting small, medium, and large businesses across the state.

"The Chamber will follow the 2016 Agenda with an end goal of reducing employer costs, providing economic opportunities for all Tennesseans, and making Tennessee the best state in the nation in which to do business.



"The focus and goals of the agenda are based on a rigorous review of legislation filed by lawmakers and identifying their potential impact on Tennessees business community. The Chamber Board of Directors, with input from business leaders and local chambers across the state, then identified the positions that would most effectively advance principles of free enterprise and unimpeded economic growth.



"The Chamber diligently serves as the voice of Tennessee business in the State Legislature in educating lawmakers of issues affecting job growth and creation. As part of this process, the Chamber reviews all bills filed in the General Assembly for their impact on commerce and works to pass those beneficial to business and defeat those that pose a threat to Tennessees business climate. At the end of each two year session, the Chamber produces a statewide assessment of how each legislator fares in supporting business issues.



"The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry continues to be the strongest voice for job creators and manufacturers across the state," officials said.












Parade steps off Audio Article For the first time since 2019, marching bands, classic cars, dance troupes, scouts and politicians made their way along Midlothian Turnpike for the annual Midlothian Day Parade on Saturday, Oct....
In this Jan. 21, 2016, photo, empty bottles head to the wash rack at Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. Independent brewers in Colorado's booming craft beer industry are concerned that they may be squeezed out of future profits with the arrival of Anheuser-Busch InBev into the market. (David Zalubowski / AP)

Denver  In a former bakery south of downtown Denver, Matthew Fuerst makes beer flavored with ingredients like Hatch green chiles that he chops by hand. He saves money on heating bills by pushing up space heaters against his fermenting tanks and covering the tops with blankets. He's invited homebrewers who want to break into the industry to use his expensive brewing system to try making larger batches.

Fuerst is one of many transplants lured to Colorado by the state's reputation as a place where beer drinkers spend hours on breweries' sunny patios trying every imaginable twist on beer, often with dogs and kids in tow, a state whose governor is a former craft beer magnate who had an array of taps installed at the governor's mansion. But Fuerst fears that idyllic lifestyle is in danger now that the world's largest beer maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has staked a claim to Colorado's craft beer paradise.

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Fuerst worries InBev could use its distribution leverage and buying power to squeeze other craft beers out of liquor store shelves, discount its own craft beer line and buy up raw materials after its purchase last month of Breckenridge Brewery, which was part of the first wave of craft breweries to open in Colorado in the 1990s.

The purchase sent tremors through Colorado's thriving community of homebrewers and beer purists, who join beer lovers around the country dreading increasing corporate consolidation in the industry. "I think all of us know that if they could put us out of business they would and the actions that they're taking right now are a threat to us," said Fuerst, whose brewery is called Grandma's House.

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Terms of the Breckenridge deal weren't released. It follows InBev's acquisition of craft brewers Goose Island in Chicago and 10 Barrel Brewing Co. in Oregon in recent years and comes as the maker of Budweiser is trying to become even bigger by buying the world's second-largest beer maker, SABMiller, to create a company that would make nearly 30 percent of the world's beer.

The makers of Corona and Heineken as well as equity firms have also been acquiring and investing in craft beer, the only part of the United States beer market that's still growing. Craft beer has captured more than 10 percent of beer sales in recent years and, according to the Brewers Association trade group, the country now has over 4,100 breweries, the highest number since 1873. More than two breweries open every day across the country.

InBev says it's not trying to push any brewers out of business and frames the real battle as between beer and the growing wine and liquor market.

"Everyone that's putting great beers out there and has a story to tell is going to thrive," said Felipe Szpigel, president of The High End, InBev's craft beer line.

Eric Wallace, the co-founder of Left Hand Brewing, which, like Breckenridge, has spread far beyond Colorado since it opened 22 years ago, said he can't understand how a brewery that worked to bring back flavorful beer to the "scorched earth" left behind by mega brewers can turn around and join one.

"The fact that beer was being dumbed down over time, over decades is the reason that craft brewing was created and was born," he said.

There are also rumors that another of Colorado's original craft brewers, employee-owned New Belgium, could also be looking for a buyer. In a statement, founder Kim Jordan said its board "has an obligation to have on-going dialogue with capital markets" and that there is no pending deal.

Sitting in the tasting room of Breckenridge's new $36 million riverside brewery complex in Denver, which includes a farmhouse-style restaurant and a large patio where customers sometimes arrive by inner tube or bike, Breckenridge president Todd Usry said he once shared worries about corporate craft brewing. But InBev has assuaged them.

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"I found out they wanted to participate in craft, not take craft over," Usry said.

The reaction from beer drinkers has been mixed.

Andy Romero, 36, of Denver, who traveled across town recently to pick up some more of Renegade Brewing Company's limited supply of imperial milk stout made with peanut butter cups in refillable glass containers, said he likes to support mom-and-pop operations but he's not too worried about the Breckenridge sale.

"As long as the beer is good, I'm fine with it," Romero said.

But Michelle Massure, 31, a former Colorado resident who likes to visit her favorite breweries on visits from Houston, was horrified at the thought of a big brewer ever taking over the Strange Craft Beer Company, where she enjoyed a tulip glass of a cherry wheat ale that she said tasted just like cherry pie filling. Ten small sampler glasses of beer were lined up between her and some friends on a wooden table at the tiny brewery tucked into an industrial strip mall next to Interstate 25.

"I don't want the big guy to have everything," she said.

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Associated Press
Lathrop Homes, a historic but decaying public housing project on Chicago's North Side, would become a mixed-income riverfront community of more than 1,100 residences under a plan developers are expected to unveil Wednesday.

The complicated, controversial and long-awaited proposal combines environmental restoration, historic preservation and low-income housing on an isolated site amid gentrifying neighborhoods. And it's been a lightning rod for critics.

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Under the plan, developers would preserve 19 of 31 existing structures on the site, including a portion of the public housing units. It also would include new residential construction and retail development, and would open up access to the Chicago River with sloping banks, a kayak launch and a riverwalk surrounded by 11 acres of restored green space.

"People are going to be living here because they want to live here," said Jacques Sandberg, vice president of Related Midwest, one of three development partners selected by the Chicago Housing Authority in 2010.

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The redevelopment team also includes nonprofits Bickerdike Redevelopment and Heartland Housing.

Located at 2000 W. Diversey Parkway, Lathrop Homes is something of an island amid trendier neighborhoods such as Bucktown and Roscoe Village. The redevelopment plan envisions giving public housing residents amenities on par with their neighbors, while providing restored natural and recreational resources for the broader community.

The plan calls for 1,116 apartment units to be built over three phases, including 400 public housing units, 222 affordable units and 494 market-rate residences. Public housing residents would be scattered in every building throughout the development, and amenities  right down to dishwashers in every unit  would be in all apartments.

The exterior of the historic buildings would be restored to their Depression-era luster, while the buildings will be gutted and updated with modern amenities. New buildings would be designed to fit with the original architecture. The redevelopment is expected to cost several hundred million dollars, Sandberg said.

Completed in 1938, Lathrop Homes was one of the first public housing projects in Chicago, and among the last to be tackled as part of the Chicago Housing Authority's 2000 plan to transform the city's entire public housing stock.

Unlike more infamous public housing projects such as Cabrini-Green, where the last high-rise was demolished in 2011, Lathrop Homes had a lower profile and a much richer history. The development consists of brick row houses and smaller apartment buildings that created 925 public housing units in a campus setting.

Lathrop Homes, whose grounds were designed by noted landscape architect Jens Jensen, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, making restoration a priority for preservationists, and a challenge for developers.

Adding in the need to satisfy environmental concerns and the tastes of market-rate renters made the project "infinitely more complicated," Sandberg said.

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"The fact that it's a historic site  balancing our interest in preserving these buildings to the needs of delivering enough units, is a huge challenge," Sandberg said. "Designing buildings that complement the existing architecture but that herald a new beginning, addressing concerns of the neighbors in terms of access to the river and then doing a thoughtful job of the riverfront  I've never worked on anything as complicated as this."

Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, said her organization had significant input into the planned development, which she said would set a "new precedent for river edge development."

The overgrown and virtually inaccessible riverbank would be sloped back, with native vegetation planted along an adjacent trail. A new kayak launch would also help "drive people to the river," Frisbie said.

"Both the people that move into the community and the people that live nearby will be able to take advantage of the Chicago River in a whole new way," Frisbie said.

Frisbie said areas of the Chicago River that have been neglected become a "haven for wildlife," with everything from snapping turtles and herons inhabiting the banks along Lathrop. The redevelopment would preserve some of that habitat while opening up accessibility to people, she said, making the river a healthier ecosystem overall.

Public housing advocates may not be as easy to please, fearing gentrification will displace low-income residents.

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John McDermott, an organizer with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, said the redevelopment of Lathrop Homes falls short in one crucial aspect  it would eliminate more than half of the original public housing units on the site.

"Our greatest concern is that this plan would eliminate 525 of the 925 public housing units currently at Lathrop Homes," McDermott said. "Public housing units are especially precious and especially needed on the North and Northwest sides of Chicago."

Charlie Beach, president of Hamlin Park Neighbors, called the proposed redevelopment a "project of compromise." He said a mixed-income redevelopment would help connect Lathrop, its residents and its amenities to the larger community, bringing benefits to both.

"Our primary objective was to integrate it into the fabric of the neighborhood," Beach said.

While only 140 low-income families remain at Lathrop, it had more than 700 families when the CHA announced its transformation plan. The attrition of residents over 15 years as the redevelopment plan slowly evolved left holdouts clustered in nearly vacant buildings south of Diversey Parkway, pending the CHA's promise of new digs on their old stomping ground.

Joy Aruguete, chief executive officer at Bickerdike Redevelopment, a nonprofit community development corporation focused on low-income housing, said Lathrop residents have been cautious but receptive to the new plan.

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"I think the residents are rightfully skeptical," Aruguete said. "We've seen a shift from complete skepticism and fear, to thinking this could really happen and we are going to be able to move into a revitalized part of the site."

The proposal will be introduced at a community meeting Wednesday night and is expected to go before the city's Plan Commission Feb. 18. Ultimately it will need approval from the City Council, which the developers have targeted for March. If all goes as planned, the developers would finalize financing and break ground in the fall, with the first phase completed two years later.

The first phase of the project will be entirely rental apartments. Subsequent phases may include a mix of rental and condominiums, Sandberg said.

rchannick@tribpub.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation headquarters in Center City, Minnesota is seen in this 2008 photo. Hazelden co-funded a study with the American Bar Association that found high levels of alcohol abuse and depression among attorneys in the United States. (Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation )

A large new study showing high levels of alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety among U.S. attorneys aims to put data behind long-standing concerns about problem drinking in the high-stress legal profession, in hopes of propelling action.

More than a fifth of licensed, employed attorneys in the U.S. consume alcohol at levels consistent with problem drinking, according to the study, which was posted online this week in the Journal of Addiction Medicine and is scheduled to appear in the print edition mid-February.

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That compares with 12 percent of a broad sample of highly educated workers across various professions, the study says.

"This is a mainstream problem in the legal profession," said the study's lead author, Patrick Krill, director of the Legal Professionals Program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and a lawyer himself. "There needs to be a systemic response."

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The study, co-funded by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, was based on a sample of 12,825 U.S. attorneys who completed surveys assessing alcohol use, drug use and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.

It is the first major study in 25 years to quantify the prevalence of substance abuse among lawyers, whose workloads, office culture and unwillingness to seek help put them at high risk, Krill said.

"I haven't seen a professional population out there with a higher level of problem drinking," said Krill, who approached the ABA about doing the study in hopes of getting current and reliable data on the issue.

The study also found that 28 percent of attorneys struggle with some level of depression and 19 percent show symptoms of anxiety. In a prior study, published in 1990, 19 percent reported depression.

"This new research demonstrates how the pressures felt by many lawyers manifest in health risks," American Bar Association President Paulette Brown said in a statement, calling the findings "ground-breaking."

The study used several measures to identify problem drinking. One measure, based on three objective questions that ask how much and how often someone drinks, revealed that 36 percent of respondents had results consistent with hazardous drinking or possible alcohol abuse or dependence. That compares to 15 percent of physicians, a group whose substance use has been studied far more extensively, the study says.

Another measure was based on 10 questions that include subjective queries about whether drinking is affecting respondents' lives. Based on that measure, 21 percent of attorneys are problem drinkers.

Attorneys in the first 10 years of their careers have the highest incidence of problem drinking, reversing the prevailing wisdom that it gets worse the longer people are lawyers.

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For Robert, a Chicago attorney at a national firm who asked that his last name not be published for fear of professional repercussions, the study resonates personally.

Robert, 50, who has been in the profession 26 years, said he started drinking before law school but once he became a young lawyer it became a major part of his identity, as it was part of his firm's identity and his industry.

"There was a significant amount of pressure early on to fit in, and usually that is done through cocktails," he said. From entertaining clients to unwinding after a long day at work, there usually is a drink in hand, he said.

Robert said his drinking led to poor work performance, which led to depression, lying and anxiety. He said he was ready to kill himself. Instead, six years ago, he told family members what was happening and they helped him get into a recovery program. He has been sober since.

In a cutthroat industry where people are used to excelling, "there is inherent pressure on people to not show any weakness whatsoever," Robert said. "I want people to know that it's OK to have a problem and it's OK to be a human being."

To Chelsy Castro, clinical case and program manager at the Illinois Lawyers' Assistance Program, the data confirm what she sees every day. Though the drugs lawyers use to cope with stress have changed over the years, alcohol abuse has been consistent for a long time, she said.

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Castro attributes the problem to the competitive nature of the job, compassion fatigue and a fear of damaged reputations if the word gets out that they are struggling.

"With lawyers, it is a zero-sum game all of the time: One side has to win, and one side has to lose," she said. "So there is a lot of pressure to be perfect."

The Lawyers' Assistance Program, a nonprofit that provides free and confidential mental health and addiction services for lawyers, judges and law students, is working closely with local law schools and some law firms to bring the issue to the forefront and remove the stigma around seeking help, Castro said.

The organization, which was founded by the Chicago and Illinois bar associations but is now run by the Illinois Supreme Court, helps about 300 people a year through its support groups and counseling services, a sliver of the 90,000 attorneys in Chicago, Castro said. She said that gap is emblematic of the reluctance among lawyers to admit weakness.

Krill, who sees lawyers, law students and judges at Hazelden, said they don't seek help at early signs of a problem. And, unlike the general population of patients at Hazelden, who usually join the program when they start to suffer consequences in their personal lives, most of the attorneys he sees join when their firms have mandated they get help.

"It's a population that really prioritizes their career, and it is a career that has leverage to force them to be mindful of their health," he said.

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While some law firms are trying to be proactive, "on the whole, they don't pay adequate attention or give it enough resources or adequate messaging," Krill said. He said there needs to be greater focus on health and seeking help, and discouragement of dysfunctional coping mechanisms at law firms, where "heavy drinking is 100 percent normalized."

Dan Kotin, first vice president of the Chicago Bar Association, called the findings "very disturbing."

"Frankly, the number 21 percent is alarming because that suggests that 1 out of every 5 of us is suffering (from alcohol abuse)," he said. "Despite the fact that it is alarming, it shouldn't be shocking."

The Chicago Bar Association has the topic "at the top of the list" and is working on setting up initiatives to educate lawyers on impairment, anxiety and coping mechanisms, Kotin said. It also plans to better market a fund, called the Wolf Fund, established years ago by a benefactor to assist lawyers in need, which could be used by those wishing to go to rehab or seek counseling.

Linda Albert, a social worker who serves on the ABA's Commission for Lawyer Assistance Programs and who co-authored the study with Krill, said the messaging has to be consistent and constant to change the culture. Among the steps institutions can take are mandatory courses in law school on the importance of personal well-being, conversations about how to take alcohol out of marketing events, and comprehensive mentoring programs for young lawyers that address the challenges of debt, kids and other personal struggles.

"The results seem disheartening, but really it's a call to action for all of us," Albert said.

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aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com

Twitter @alexiaer
Toyota's U.S. auto financing arm, headquartered in Torrance, has agreed to pay restitution to black and Asian borrowers after federal regulators found those borrowers paid more than whites for their car loans. (Christina House / For The Times)

Toyota's financing arm will pay as much as $21.9 million to black and Asian borrowers who paid more for auto loans than whites, settling allegations of discrimination by federal regulators.

Toyota Motor Credit Corp. in Torrance had been under investigation by the Department of Justice and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2013. It had been targeted as part of a broad probe into auto lending practices that has led to similar settlements with other major auto credit companies.

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The agencies didn't find that Toyota Motor Credit discriminated directly, but rather that the automaker's dealerships increased interest rates more for black and Asian borrowers than for whites.

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Lenders like Toyota Motor Credit offer a base rate for buyers based on their credit-worthiness. Dealerships then are allowed to tack on additional interest -- known as a dealer markup.

Regulators didn't take issue with the markups themselves, but rather that dealerships added extra interest to loans for black and Asian borrowers.

"No consumer should be forced to pay more money for a loan because of their race or national origin," U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California said in a statement announcing the settlement.

Investigators found that black borrowers paid 0.27 percentage point more for loans than whites with similar loans and credit histories. Asian borrowers paid 0.18 percentage point more.

The extra interest meant that black borrowers, on average, paid as much as $200 extra over the course of their loans, while Asian borrowers paid $100 extra. It's not clear how many borrowers were affected, but the size of the settlement implies more than 100,000 borrowers.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, the Justice Department said Toyota knew that allowing dealerships to mark up loans created a "substantial risk of discrimination," but Toyota did not start monitoring markup disparities until 2014 -- the year after federal regulators started their probe.

Toyota Motor Credit has agreed to pay about $20 million in restitution to borrowers who took out loans from January 2011 to Tuesday.

The company also will set aside $2 million to compensate new borrowers until Toyota puts controls in place to prevent overcharging.

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The company said it would limit the amount of extra interest dealerships can charge. They had been able to add as much as 2.5 percentage points to a loan, but the dealer markup will now be capped at 1.25 points and just 1 point for loans longer than five years.

In a statement, Toyota Motor Credit noted that its actions in response to the probe were voluntary and that the company "does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, even perceived or unintentional, from its employees or business partners. This practice extends to fair lending practices."

The CFPB, a consumer watchdog created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, has taken similar actions against other auto lenders in recent years. In 2013, it fined Ally Financial, formerly General Motors' subsidiary GMAC, $18 million and ordered it to pay $80 million in restitution.

Last year, American Honda Finance Corp. and Fifth Third Bank, also big auto lenders, agreed to pay restitution over allegations of discriminatory lending.

james.koren@latimes.com

Twitter: @jrkoren

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Long a fixture on the fall cultural scene, the Chicago Humanities Festival is making a push into spring with its first-ever Spring Festival, devoted to the question of style.



Confirmed in the more than 20 programs scheduled for April 28 to May 1 are personages including actor Mary-Louise Parker, photographer Sally Mann, Internet aggregator Arianna Huffington and 94-year-old fashion icon Iris Apfel, the festival announced Wednesday.



"We've been doing more year-round programming the last couple of years, but they've been more one-off events," said Phillip Bahar, executive director. "This idea, we almost describe it as a mini festival in the spring."



The events will be mostly fashion-related but will delve into other matters of style  writing style, political style, even comedy style. The last, Bahar said, explains the appearance of "Cheers" actor George Wendt at the event.



In another sort of trial balloon, the festival is doing a one-day mini festival on May 15, in cooperation with MacArthur Foundation. "Our Cities: Art, Action, Urban Experience," brings together speakers on the urban experience as it simultaneously honors the 35th anniversary of the MacArthur Fellows program ("genius grants").



"We're looking at two different models we are playing with," Bahar said. "Since it's the first time out of the gate we'll see how they all work."



Members can buy tickets beginning March 1, the general public March 3. A complete schedule will be up March 1 at chicagohumanities.org/style.
The answer, I am pleased to report, is "yes," and that affirmative comes from someone who watches the show but is no longer much of a fan of the show. In recent years, I've grown weary of the plodding pace, the numbingly frequent reminders that the times are a-changing, and the heavy-handed script maneuvers such as Sunday's dinner visit to Downton by future Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at which he  guess what?  appeased and appeased and then appeased some more.
Steve Harvey will devote an episode of his talk show this month to discussing gun violence in Chicago, a show representative said.

The hourlong episode, taped Jan. 28 and tentatively scheduled to air Feb. 15, will be in the style of a town hall with an audience of people affected by gun violence. President Barack Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, whose roots are in Hyde Park, was interviewed via satellite, the "Steve Harvey" rep said. A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

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At least 50 homicides were reported in Chicago in January, the deadliest start to a year since at least 2000, which is as far back as publicly available city statistics go.

This is not the first time Harvey, who films his talk show at the WMAQ-Ch. 5 studios, has addressed Chicago violence. Tuesday's episode featured Spike Lee and the Rev. Michael Pfleger, of St. Sabina Catholic Church on the South Side, discussing the impact of Lee's movie "Chi-Raq," about South Side women who go on a sex strike to curb the violence between warring gangs.

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The movie, which was released in some theaters in December, is slated to be available this week on Amazon Prime.

"Steve Harvey" airs weekdays on WMAQ-Ch. 5 at 2 p.m.
"Alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant," CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said in a statement. "About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won't know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking. The risk is real. Why take the chance?" (Getty Images)

Consuming small amounts of alcohol normally doesn't carry a dire warning, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says millions of women could be putting their developing babies at risk because of their drinking habits.

An estimated 3.3 million women who drink are sexually active but not on birth control, according to a CDC report released Tuesday. And three out of four women who want to get pregnant don't stop drinking alcohol when they stop using birth control.

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The CDC warns that consuming alcohol during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, which encompass a range of behavioral, intellectual and physical disabilities. There is no known amount of alcohol that's safe to consume while pregnant, according to the agency.

"Alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant," CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said in a statement. "About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won't know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking. The risk is real. Why take the chance?"

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That's advice echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which issued guidance last year saying that no amount of alcohol is safe to consume at any point during a pregnancy. The organization noted that the odds of a child developing FASD increase by 12 times when a mother drinks during the first trimester, compared to not drinking at all.

AAP pointed to surveys showing that 8 percent of Americans drink while pregnant and another study showing "increased risk of infant growth retardation even when a pregnant woman's consumption was limited to 1 alcoholic drink per day."

A pregnant woman who drinks alcohol passes it along to her baby, which doesn't develop a liver until later stages of the pregnancy.

This kind of "why risk it?" warning to pregnant women has been criticized by some who say that telling women to completely abstain from drinking shames those who have an occasional drink. There are also disagreements over evidence showing the effects of very moderate drinking later in a pregnancy.

But the CDC warns that the risks are too high, especially given that most women don't know they are pregnant until they are four to six weeks along. The agency says women should stop drinking when they stop using birth control.

"Every woman who is pregnant or trying to get pregnant - and her partner - want a healthy baby," Coleen Boyle, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a statement. "But they may not be aware that drinking any alcohol at any stage of pregnancy can cause a range of disabilities for their child. It is critical for healthcare providers to assess a woman's drinking habits during routine medical visits; advise her not to drink at all if she is pregnant, trying to get pregnant or sexually active and not using birth control; and recommend services if she needs help to stop drinking."
Paul Carparelli, shown in 2010, was looking to rise in the ranks of the Outfit and become a made man after several bosses of the Cicero faction went to prison, prosecutors said. (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune 2010)

A reputed Chicago mobster was sentenced Wednesday to 3 1/2 years in federal prison for a series of extortion plots involving a team of bone-cracking goons who traveled the country to confront deadbeat businessmen.

In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman told Paul Carparelli it was clear from the hundreds of hours of undercover recordings captured by the FBI that Carparelli "took pleasure in the fear and discomfort of others."

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"These are crimes of violence, sir, not just of poor decision-making," Coleman said as Carparelli stood before the bench in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackled at the ankles. "The public safety is at risk."

The judge's sentence, however, was far below the more than 11 years originally sought by prosecutors, who argued that Carparelli was looking to rise in the ranks of the Outfit and become a "made" man after several bosses of the Cicero faction went to prison.

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In court Wednesday, Carparelli, 47, choked up as he apologized for his actions. He asked the judge for a moment to compose himself as he talked about embarrassing his young son. Carparelli said he's come to realize since his arrest in 2013 that he has "anger issues" and often can't control thoughts that "go straight from my brain to my mouth."

"Sometimes it seems like the anger wells up inside me," he said. "In short, my big mouth gets me into trouble."

With credit for the time he has already served in custody, Carparelli could be released in about two years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather McShain played excerpts in court from several conversations Carparelli held with his key enforcer, George Brown, a 300-pound union bodyguard and mixed martial arts fighter who was secretly cooperating with the FBI.

In one meeting, Carparelli could be heard laughing as Brown described a beating he purportedly administered at Carparelli's behest. In fact, the beating never took place because Brown was already working undercover for the government.

"They said they really did a number on his ribs," Brown said on the recording. "They are guaranteeing me that something broke."

"Good," Carparelli replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Carparelli pleaded guilty last year to five counts stemming from a series of extortion attempts involving deadbeat businessmen.

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In one case, Carparelli played a behind-the-scenes role in a plot to confront a business owner in Appleton, Wis., about a $100,000 debt. In a backroom at a Fuddruckers restaurant, Brown and two other mob toughs threatened the owner, who had offered to hand over a special-edition Ford Mustang as partial payment.

Asked where the car could be found, the victim was "shaking and stuttering" so badly that one of the enforcers grabbed his driver's license and wrote the address down himself, prosecutors said. At a 2014 trial in Chicago, the victim had trouble reading the complaint he had filed with police, telling jurors he was still shaking when he filled it out and that his handwriting was almost illegible.

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In addition to the extortion plots, Carparelli was caught on surveillance arranging for the beating of suburban car dealership owner R.J. Serpico  he wanted both his legs broken  for failing to pay back a $300,000 loan from Michael "Mickey" Davis, a longtime partner of reputed mob lieutenant Salvatore "Solly D" DeLaurentis.

At the center of the case were hundreds of hours of conversations between Carparelli and Brown that paint a colorful picture of Carparelli as a callous midlevel mob operative looking to move up the chain of command.

"This position doesn't happen all the time, George," Carparelli told Brown in a recorded call from 2011. "This is like a once-in-a-lifetime (expletive) thing, if this is what you want to do, if this is the way you want to live your life."

Carparelli's lawyers asked Coleman for as little as probation, saying in a recent court filing that the former pizzeria owner was "nothing but a blowhard" whose constant exaggerations of his mob ties "caused the government to believe he was a connected guy."

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"Mr. Carparelli is clearly a 'wannabe' who has watched 'The Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas' too many times," attorneys Ed Wanderling and Charles Nesbit wrote. He was simply playing a "role," they argued.

jmeisner@tribpub.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
Nine-year-old Stormi set out last month to sell cookies just like every other Girl Scout - with a sales pitch and a goal.

"I like to sell cookies because it's very nice to sell cookies," she told BuzzFeed News. Cookies, she said, "make people smile."

But when Stormi, who is transgender, started knocking on neighbors' doors near her home in downstate Herrin, one man turned her away, saying: "Nobody wants to buy cookies from a boy in a dress."

"It made me sad," Stormi told BuzzFeed News. "Because I'm a girl."

So, she said, she found a way to shut down her bully and sell more than 3,000 boxes of cookies.

In addition to raising funds for the Girl Scouts, Stormi wanted to donate cookies to local foster children - because she is one. She went into Illinois's foster care system about three years ago, her foster mother, Kim, told BuzzFeed, which did not use the family's last name.

Attempts to reach the family through the Girl Scouts this week were unsuccessful.

BuzzFeed reported that Stormi decided to join the scouts last year; she recently told her foster mother that she wanted to give cookies to other children in the system.

But, her foster mother said, last month's incident involving the neighbor was jarring.

"She was like, 'Why am I not good enough?'" Kim told the news site. "We just started talking and she decided she wasn't going to let him win."

Stormi started selling her cookies through the Girl Scouts's online portal, Digital Cookies, last week. She wanted people to choose the option "deliver in person."

"My troop plans to use the money to help us go on trips," she wrote online. "I have my own plans as well. At my request my family will donate boxes to local foster kids like me!"

She added: "I have learned that even though people can be mean I shouldn't give up!"

Supporters have rallied around Stormi's cause.

A New York-based comedy duo gave people who bought Stormi's cookies free admission to a show. A California multimedia musical agreed to donate a box for every ticket sold.

An LGBTQ support group in Idaho sent out a call for support, too. "While out selling cookies," a member from Idaho Falls Gender Community wrote, Stormi "was met with negativity, no orders, and even one less than kind person. . . . As a parent, this made me angry. As a parent of transgender children, this made me livid!

"I'm ordering all of my cookies from Stormi!"

Stormi's project ended over the weekend.

Transgender Girl Scouts have struggled to gain acceptance.

After a troop in Colorado admitted a 7-year-old transgender girl in 2011, several Girl Scout troops in Louisiana disbanded in protest and a California teen called for a boycott.

"Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. . . . is not being honest with us girls, its troops, its leaders, its parents or the American public," the teen said in a YouTube video, released by a Houston-based group called the "Honest Girl Scouts." "Girl Scouts describes itself as an all-girl experience. With that label, families trust that the girls will be in an environment that is not only nurturing and sensitive to girls' needs, but also safe for girls."

In 2015, a Girl Scouts troop in Washington was handed a $100,000 donation - as long as the girls agreed not to use the money to support transgender children.

The Girl Scouts of Western Washington returned the check.

"Girl Scouts is for every girl," Megan Ferland, the Girl Scout council's chief executive, told Seattle Metropolitan over the summer. "And every girl should have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout if she wants to."

As an organization, Girl Scouts of the USA supports LBGTQ children.

"Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority," the organization said on its website. "That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe."

Kim told BuzzFeed the support motivated Stormi to fight back against discrimination.

"This is something I have been trying to instill in her for years," Kim told the news site. "How worthy she is; who she is is okay. For her to be able to read all these messages that people are sending from around the world to support her, the love is just overwhelming."

Jay Strobel, spokesman for Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois, called Stormi's effort "amazing."

"She decided to donate boxes to something close to her heart - which is foster care," Strobel told The Post. "She took something that wasn't so pleasant and she turned it into a positive experience."

Stormi said donating Girl Scout cookies to foster children is a tradition she wants to continue.

"I want kids like me to know they are perfect just the way they are," she told BuzzFeed. "There are people all over the world that love you. Never give up because it does get better."
Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks to reporters in an Illinois Central Management Services storage facility with unboxed computers behind him Feb. 2, 2016, in Springfield. (Seth Perlman / AP)

SPRINGFIELD  Gov. Bruce Rauner said Tuesday he's directed his State Board of Education to begin a financial review of Chicago Public Schools and start a search for a new superintendent, even though legislation he wants to authorize a state takeover is dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled legislature.

"I thought we'd already addressed this," said Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "The law doesn't allow him to do that. So it's not going to happen."

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Rauner's actions are the latest in an effort to use the financial problems of the city's schools as leverage in his battle with Emanuel and legislative Democrats to end a stalemate that has pushed the state into its eighth month without a complete budget.

The governor's comments come a day after the Chicago Teachers Union rejected a four-year contract offer from the city, which the governor said should serve as a "wake-up call for the mayor and taxpayers in Chicago and around the state."

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"The mayor proposed an unaffordable contract, it was unaffordable, it was more kicking the can and getting by and he was pushing off the day of reckoning and the teachers union still rejected that," Rauner said.

Despite the political realities of a Democrat-run legislature unwilling to turn over control of the state's largest school system to a first-term Republican governor, Rauner said he is not deterred. He directed the state education board to prepare for a possible takeover anyway, with his office sending a memo asking education officials to identify someone who could serve as interim superintendent.

The governor also asked the board to determine whether CPS' financial situation is dire enough to designate the district as being in "financial difficulty" by the state. That distinction could limit the district's ability to take on new debt. The city has looked to borrowing to make ends meet, but it yanked a bond sale last week amid financial uncertainty. Emanuel was in New York City on Monday to try to calm investors.

CPS CEO Forrest Claypool dismissed Rauner's comments Tuesday while announcing $100 million in budget cuts and plans to eliminate the district's share of teacher pension contributions ahead of an effort to go back to market with the bonds.

"He did that press conference last week," Claypool said of the governor, saying "it's not a matter of agreeing" with Rauner's assertion that the state already has the legal authority to take over CPS.

"It's ridiculous, he does not," Claypool said. "Everyone knows he doesn't, and that was established last week when he did the same stunt."

Claypool said legislation that would allow a state takeover was a "simply a nonstarter" in the General Assembly, echoing Cullerton, the Senate president.

Meanwhile, Rauner tied any financial assistance to colleges and universities to his larger plan to cut government spending by overhauling how the state buys goods and services.

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Under a proposal unveiled Tuesday, Rauner argued that the state could save upward of $500 million a year if it streamlined its contracting process and cut down on bureaucracy put in place after the ouster of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The projections are based on savings the Rauner administration said other states experienced when making similar changes.

He said that money could then be used to pay for Monetary Award Program scholarships for low-income students and to keep colleges and universities running. Schools have been operating without help from the state since July 1.

The ideas come after lawmakers passed a bill last week that would free up $721 million for community colleges and the scholarships, commonly referred to as MAP grants. Rauner has said he will veto the bill because the state does not have enough money to cover the expense.

"We are in a cash crunch, and right now the General Assembly keeps passing more spending bills. We have got to fix the structural problem," Rauner said. "What we can't do is spend money we don't have."

Rauner accused Cullerton of playing political games after the Senate president announced he wouldn't send the legislation to the governor until Feb. 16 in the hope that Rauner would change his mind about the veto. That date is one day before the governor is set to give his second budget address.

A Cullerton spokesman said the Senate leader would consider the contract ideas but stood by efforts to release scholarship dollars.

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"We're just trying to give the governor the ability to honor his administration's commitments to these students," spokesman John Patterson said in a statement.

Juan Perez Jr. reported from Chicago.

mcgarcia@tribpub.com

jjperez@tribpub.com
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool takes questions from members of the media Feb. 2, 2016, during a news conference at CPS headquarters in Chicago to respond to the Chicago Teachers Union's rejection of a contract offer. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)

One day after the Chicago Teachers Union rejected a contract proposal from Chicago Public Schools, district officials said they would slash school budgets and stop paying the bulk of teachers' pension contributions  moves CTU's president quickly blasted as "an act of war."

CPS officials told reporters of their plans while announcing the district would make a fresh attempt Wednesday to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the school system's finances afloat.

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"Every one of us is disappointed by yesterday's outcome," Chicago Board of Education President Frank Clark said of the union's decision to turn down the district's proposal, which he nonetheless called the "foundation" of a potential deal.

"I believed this represented a compromise in the truest sense of the word," Clark said.

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District CEO Forrest Claypool said a CTU bargaining team's vote to reject the offer was "disheartening" and left the district with no choice but to cut student-based funding.

Claypool said he wanted the cuts to be implemented "as quickly as practicable," a directive that left principals scrambling to determine how the cuts will affect their schools. While Claypool said the cuts to school budgets would amount to $100 million, CPS later issued materials saying it would cut $75 million from school budgets this year, and that those cuts would be mitigated by the availability of $41 million in federal grant money.

"This was something I had hoped to avoid at all costs," Claypool told reporters of school budget cuts he said could affect teachers, support staff, school clerks and other workers.

"We'll do our very best to prevent teacher cuts, and we'll work with schools to keep class sizes small and prevent midyear disruptions, but it means school support staff will be disproportionately affected," Claypool said.

The practice of picking up a major share of pension contributions for teachers could end as soon as next month and would save $65 million this year, the district said.

CTU President Karen Lewis said the district's action was retaliatory and an attempt to coerce union members into signing on to a deal.

"We are certain that everyone who works in our public schools is facing a clear and present danger," Lewis said. The union scheduled a downtown rally Thursday afternoon to protest the district's moves.

"Due to their attack, we have no choice but to express our outrage at this latest act of war by rallying against CPS and the bankers who are siphoning off millions from our schools," Lewis said.

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The union said it will file a charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board over the district's move to end the pension pickup.

"The pension pickup has been paid to Chicago educators for more than 30 years since it first entered our contract," CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said. "We consider it a legal obligation, and we consider eliminating it unilaterally to be breaking the law  and we will act accordingly if they do that."

Despite the heated rhetoric, school and union officials suggested a deal to replace a contract that expired June 30 could still be reached. Talks have reached the final stage of negotiations that must take place before a teachers strike could occur. An agreement could still occur during the fact-finding process, which goes on for up to 120 days.

In the meantime, Claypool said in a letter to union officials that the district "could no longer stay its hand in implementing significant cost-saving measures."

Claypool said CPS would end the pension pickup for CTU's members "no sooner than 30 days" after Tuesday's letter. He pointed to a provision in the contract that expired June 30 that said the practice "will not constitute a continuing element of compensation or benefit" after the contract's completion.

The pension pickup  where CPS pays 7 percentage points worth of the 9 percent pension contribution required of teachers and many staff members  has been a point of contention for many months.

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Under the district's latest offer, CPS would winnow its share to 3.5 percentage points this year and phase the practice out by summer 2017. Last year, the district ended the pension pickup for its nonunion workers.

The district announced the cuts before a renewed effort to go to market on a long-planned bond deal, which school officials had put on hold last week. The district scaled back the size of the deal to $875 million. If the deal goes through, CPS is expected to pay extremely high interest rates because of its junk bond rating.

"We'll work with the market," Claypool said. "We may do more, we may do less depending on market conditions."

Claypool said concerns that the district couldn't find enough investors willing to buy its debt were "not correct," but did not elaborate on the reason for the delay.

"We have strong interest from investors, and we're going to go into market tomorrow," Claypool said when asked if the district had enough investors to advance the deal.

District officials said decisions on how to cut spending at schools would largely fall to the judgment of individual principals. Principals said they were briefed by district officials Tuesday on the terms of the rejected proposal to CTU and told they would get more details on how schools would be affected by cuts in the coming days.

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Principals interviewed Tuesday worried any teacher layoffs could require schools to reprogram their curriculum with only days' notice.

"We do not yet know what % cut each school will face," Ethan Netterstrom, principal of Skinner North elementary school, wrote in an email to parents.

"I wish I could tell you more at this time but we simply do not know yet," Netterstrom wrote. "We were told to expect more information in 48 hours."

Claypool said the district "would be thrilled" to reverse course on the planned cuts.

"I would be the happiest guy around if next week we had an agreement with the teachers union and we could rescind the process on these steps," he said.

"We do not want to take these steps. We're still hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the union, but we have reached the point where we can no longer delay taking the administrative actions necessary to realize these savings, given the threat to our district from this massive budget deficit."

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jjperez@tribpub.com

Twitter @PerezJr
First lady Michelle Obama, speaking during a panel discussion at the American Magazine Media 360 Conference in New York on Feb. 2, 2016, said daughters Sasha and Malia spend their time on their phones, "sharing Vines" like typical Generation Z teenagers. (Seth Wenig / AP)

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.

Topspin

It's Wednesday, Feb. 3, and first lady Michelle Obama seems to have loosened the social media rules once in place for daughters Malia, 17, and Sasha, 14.

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Addressing magazine editors and others at a conference in New York, Obama called herself a mom living with two girls from Generation Z, "teens with an attitude."

"I've got two of them in my house," she said. "So I know that the way they take in the world is very different from the way I did growing up. They're on their phones, and they're  what's this called, swiping? ... You're swiping, and they're sharing Vines. And they're laughing at stuff on their phones. They're not watching the evening news. They're not reading The New York Times. No offense, but they're not."

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Obama spoke to the American Magazine Media Conference about her "Let Girls Learn Initiative" to promote education for girls and young women around the world. (Katherine Skiba)



What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public events.

*Gov. Bruce Rauner will hold a morning event in Chicago to sign an executive order formalizing a relationship between the state economic development agency and the new Illinois Business and Economic Development Corp.

*The Chicago Teachers Union will hold a morning news conference to announce it is closing its Bank of America account in protest of financial deals the bank made with CPS.

What we're writing

*Rauner tries to jump-start dead CPS takeover push.

*CTU calls proposed CPS cuts "act of war."

*Alvarez with edge, but room for challengers, Tribune poll finds.

*Federal probe or no, Brown with lead in Circuit Court clerk race.

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*Chicago military folks could get housing protections.

What we're reading

*Time for women to register for the draft?

*Prosecutors: Wife killed husband with drug-laced drink.

*Faster Web connection coming to Chicago, cable company says.

*Looking back fondly on The Blizzard of '11.



From the notebook

*Illinois is spending even more than expected during the budget stalemate, according to Comptroller Leslie Munger, who projects $6.2 billion in overspending for the fiscal year that began in July.



That's because court orders and consent decrees are driving spending at two social service departments, forcing the state to write checks for whatever costs are required to maintain services at pre-budget stalemate levels, Munger said. Those court orders and consent decrees are what have kept money flowing for the past seven months while Rauner and ruling Democrats in the General Assembly are stalemated on the budget and the governor's agenda.



As a result, the Department of Human Services and Department of Healthcare and Family Services are on pace to spend $1.2 billion more than they did in the previous financial year, Munger said. Add to that the revenue that was lost when the state income tax began rolling back last January, and the total deficit, as calculated by Munger, is $6.2 billion.



The figure itself is not new. Rauner, in his budget proposal last February, pegged the deficit at $6.16 billion. But Munger's math doesn't account for the roughly 10 percent of state government services that aren't being paid at all because there's no authority to write the checks for those services. Those include payments for higher education, which cost the state about $2 billion last year.



"The bottom line is that the state cannot go bankrupt and that we cannot print money," said Munger, a Rauner appointee who is running in a special election this fall against Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza. "Taxpayers are going to have to pay this bill."



Meanwhile, the state's bill backlog currently hovers at $7 billion, and the comptroller's office already is one month behind on contributions to state retirement systems. But the bill backlog can be a misleading figure, since it can rise and fall depending on the time of year. With tax season approaching, more money will roll in for the state's checkbook in coming months. Munger said she expects to be current on the pension contributions by April. But Munger also has pegged the state's bill backlog at $10 billion to $12 billion by the end of June. (Kim Geiger)

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*Mental health expansion plan: Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, and a city workers union on Wednesday plan to call on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step up city mental health services in the wake of the controversy surrounding two police shootings.

The proposal comes after the release of the Laquan McDonald video and the police shootings of Quintonio LeGrier, a troubled 19-year-old college student, and Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old mother of five.



The ordinance calls on the city Health Department to enter contracts with three health care services providers that can be used by people with Medicaid and ensure adequate staff of psychiatrists at the city's six mental health clinics. It also calls on the Health Department to conduct mental health workshops in "communities disproportionately impacted by violence."



Emanuel in 2012 closed half of the city's 12 mental health clinics. Mental health advocates say many patients once served by the city have fallen through the cracks.



Late last month, Emanuel announced that the city would step up training for 911 operators and officers to try to help avoid violent encounters with mentally ill individuals.



The council referred Ervin's ordinance to the Health and Environmental Protection Committee chaired by Ald. George Cardenas, 12th. Cardenas said Tuesday he has yet to discuss the measure with the aldermen who back it, something he said "is odd, because they should have called me by now." (Hal Dardick)

*Slam Dunkin: Democratic state Rep. Ken Dunkin's primary challenger is lashing out over a half-million-dollar donation Dunkin is receiving from a group that is backing Republican Gov. Rauner's agenda.



"Republican Bruce Rauner's right-wing donors are fully in support of Rauner's Springfield agent, Ken Dunkin," said Juliana Stratton, a union-backed challenger to the Chicago officeholder.



"By accepting the support of a Republican group that takes such an extreme stand against better wages for our families and health care for those in need, Ken Dunkin has abandoned any illusion that he is still a Democrat," she said.



The Illinois Opportunity Project announced this week it was donating $500,000 to Dunkin's campaign. Among the group's leaders is radio talk show host and failed 2010 Republican candidate for governor Dan Proft.



Another Proft group, the Liberty Principles political action committee, recently received more than $1.8 million from the Turnaround Illinois PAC, which was co-founded by Rauner.



Dunkin has been under fire from unions and many of his Democratic colleagues for voting along with Rauner's wishes and denying Democrats their 71-vote veto-proof majority. (Rick Pearson)

*Cleanup in Aisle 5: Labor unions were forced to come to the rescue of their endorsed primary candidate in the 5th state Senate district, Democrat Patricia Van Pelt of Chicago.



On Monday, Van Pelt's primary opponent, former alderman and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Bob Fioretti, joined the lawmaker for a newspaper endorsement session at the Sun-Times.



"I nearly fell off my chair when Van Pelt said she wants city governments to be able to declare themselves right-to-work zones," Fioretti told supporters in an email.



"That means she's against unions, she's against the prevailing wage, she's against all the gains unions have gotten for us," Fioretti said.



On Tuesday, Van Pelt issued a statement saying, "I misspoke when I misheard a question on right-to-work zones. I clarified my answer with the (editorial) board immediately after the interview."



Van Pelt said she was "against all implementations of right-to-work in Illinois, including locally." Rauner's original agenda after winning office included legislation allowing local governments to set up their own "right-to-work" zones, free of any union bargaining requirements.



"Sen. Van Pelt is a strong voice for unions. She has stood with unions on issues that affect working families and has stated her opposition to wage-killing statewide right to work and local right-to-work zones. We strongly support her re-election," Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan said in a statement released by her campaign. (Rick Pearson)

*Transport workers for Raja: The Transport Workers Union has endorsed Raja Krishnamoorthi's candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Congressional District.



"Raja is a lifelong progressive and in Congress, he will be a strong advocate for policies that benefit American workers," Gwen York, the union's political representative, said in a statement.



Krishnamoorthi, a Schaumburg businessman, also has gotten labor endorsements from the Amalgamated Transit Union, the United Steelworkers, Ironworkers, Machinists, and Airline Pilots unions.



Krishnamoorthi is seeking the Democratic nomination in the west and northwest suburban district along with state Sen. Mike Noland of Elgin and Villa Park Village President Deb Bullwinkel. It's an open seat contest since current U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth is seeking the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination. (Rick Pearson)

Follow the money

*Illinois United for Change, a new independent expenditure PAC, reported taking in $100,000, in the form of $50,000 donations from former U.S. Senate candidate Blair Hull's company and something called 116 Windsor Drive LLC, which also has contributed $5,000 to Mayor Emanuel.

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*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash

Beyond Chicago

*Presidential race, Republican side: Deeper dive into Cruz's Iowa win over Trump.

*Presidential race, Democratic side: Clinton's Iowa win verified, but Sanders leads polls in New Hampshire.

*NSA looks at reorganization.

*Syria talks preview.
A strong majority of Chicagoans don't think the city's cops treat all citizens fairly and believe a cover-up "code of silence" is widespread in the Police Department, helping drive a record-low approval rating for Mayor Rahm Emanuel's handling of crime, a Chicago Tribune poll has found.

The survey's results illustrate a deep-seated distrust of the Chicago Police Department put in stark relief by a series of revelations about the death Laquan McDonald, a black teenager shot 16 times by white Officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014. Police dashboard-camera video showed McDonald walking away from police when he was shot, but police reports show six officers claimed the teen had moved or turned threateningly toward them.

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Prosecutors eventually charged Van Dyke with murder, but not until 13 months later, hours before the court-ordered release of the shooting footage. The chain of events led to weeks of street protests, calls for the mayor's resignation and a federal civil rights investigation into the Police Department.

The poll found a dim view of the Police Department across racial and ethnic lines. Only 20 percent of voters said they believe city cops treat all citizens fairly, including just 6 percent of African-Americans surveyed.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 (TRIBUNE)

Just 3 percent of Chicagoans said they don't believe cops use a code of silence to protect one another, while nearly two-thirds said they think such a code is a widespread problem.

The high-profile police problems have amplified Emanuel's previous struggles to gain Chicagoans' confidence on addressing violent crime, the poll found. Just 19 percent of Chicagoans approved of the mayor's handling of the city's crime problem, a number that dipped to 10 percent among African-American voters  both record lows for the mayor in Tribune polls.

The mayor's rating on crime was lower than his overall job approval, which stood at 27 percent. The Tribune reported Monday that the vast majority of Chicagoans don't consider Emanuel honest and trustworthy, don't think he was justified in withholding the McDonald video and don't believe his statements about the controversial police shooting.

While the survey indicated that voters view police shortcomings as systemic, a slight majority of Chicagoans said they were not confident that Emanuel would be able to address the problems.

"I think at this point, he just wants to save his job, so he will say whatever he can," said Chrystal Calvin, 42, a black poll respondent who lives in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the South Side, disapproves of the mayor's job performance on crime and disagrees with his handling of the McDonald case.

"He is not owning up to any real responsibility for the things that have happened," Calvin said before alluding to the emotion the mayor has shown since the release of the McDonald video. "The crying and all that  he's still not taking responsibility."

Record-low approval

The survey was taken during the midst of a particularly violent January, which included 51 homicides, the deadliest start to a year in Chicago since at least 2000.

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Getting a hold on Chicago's violent crime long has been an intractable issue for its mayors, including Emanuel. In recent years, the city consistently has led the nation in homicides, even though New York and Los Angeles have more people. And Emanuel has weathered a particularly high spike in killings in 2012 and a spate of high-profile shooting deaths involving young children and teenagers.

But through it all, Emanuel's approval rating on crime never has been lower than it is in the wake of the McDonald controversy. The 19 percent rating is down significantly from 34 percent approval in a January 2015 Tribune poll and a previous low of 30 percent in August 2014.

Disapproval runs deepest among voters who also give the mayor low marks for his overall job performance and want him to resign. The poll found that 94 percent of those who want the mayor to resign and 90 percent of those who don't approve of his overall job as mayor also believe he has fallen short on handling crime.

Among those who disagreed with Emanuel's withholding of the McDonald video, 82 percent disapproved of the mayor's handling of crime. And of those who didn't believe Emanuel's statements on the McDonald case, 87 percent didn't approve of the mayor's handling of crime.

James K. Nelsen, 80, a poll respondent who lives in River North and once supported Emanuel, falls into both of those groups.

"Rahm hid all that stuff. The kid should have never been shot," said Nelsen, who is white. "He was dead wrong for hiding that video. That was just about protecting votes. Now I just don't believe anything he says."

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Unfairness perception

Public outrage after the late November release of the shooting video led Emanuel to acknowledge that not everyone is treated the same by police.

"When African-American mothers, fathers and grandparents feel it is necessary to train their sons and daughters to behave with extreme caution when they are pulled over by police and have both hands visible on the wheel, what does that say?" Emanuel told the City Council in December in a rare speech. "We have a trust problem."

The new poll backs up that perception of unfairness across racial and ethnic lines. One in 3 white voters thought the police were fair to everyone while 53 percent said they were not. Twenty-three percent of Hispanics thought the police were fair to all, while 69 percent did not. Among African-American voters, only 6 percent said cops treat all citizens fairly while 85 percent said they don't.

Lonnie Morgan is in the latter group. The 63-year-old retired painter said he too often sees officers pull young black men out of cars as they just try to hang out in his neighborhood, Greater Grand Crossing.

"Too many of these officers look at this neighborhood and say, 'Oh, these are black people,' and they just don't care," said Morgan, a poll respondent. "They come out and have an attitude. You can look at them and they've got a nasty scowl on their face. They look at you like you are dirt."

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Susan K. Power, a 91-year-old Native American, said she doesn't notice a heavy police presence where she lives in South Shore.

"I've never met a police officer who didn't offer direction or try to help," said Power, a poll respondent who approved of Emanuel's handling of crime. "I feel we've gotten too critical. We have become so criminally minded that all we talk about is crime."

'Code of silence'

In his speech to aldermen, Emanuel also publicly stated for the first time that he believed a code of silence existed among Chicago cops to cover up wrongdoing. The mayor offered that assessment after the city released records in the McDonald case that showed police reports dramatically at odds with the footage.

Nine in 10 Chicagoans said they believed there's a code of silence in the department, with just 3 percent saying it didn't exist. Overall, 64 percent of voters said the code of silence is a widespread problem, while 26 percent said they believe it's limited to a handful of bad cops.

Among white voters, half said the code of silence was widespread, while 38 percent called it an isolated problem. Just 16 percent of black voters called the code of silence limited, with 79 percent saying it's widespread.

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Nelsen, from River North, said "there are corrupt policemen and we know that. Yes there is a code of silence. ... I know they back each other up."

Calvin, from Chicago Lawn, said she's lost trust in the police.

"They have God-like attitudes. They abuse their power," she said. "Now, I don't even call the police, because they will treat me like a criminal."

But poll respondent Michael Gillot, 30, criticized "a code of silence with citizens," saying "violence continues because residents don't want to talk to police."

Gillot, who is white and lives in Ukrainian Village, said he believes the code of silence among police is limited to a handful of cops and contended the public too often doesn't consider the tough situations police encounter.

"In every profession there are co-workers who will help you out," he said. "Chicago has always been a violent city. It's not the police scandals that made criminals or made it more violent. It's just the way it is."

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Split on confidence

With policing issues expected to be a major focus this year, voters were split on whether the mayor will be able to fix the vexing problems.

A majority of voters, 51 percent, said they don't have much confidence in Emanuel to address the policing problems, and among that group, 30 percent said they were "not at all confident." Forty-three percent showed some faith in the mayor to tackle the issues, but of them, only 12 percent said they were very confident in Emanuel to do so.

Among white voters, nearly 6 in 10 had some measure of confidence in Emanuel on the matter. That number was flipped among black and Hispanic voters, with 61 percent saying they had little confidence in the mayor.

Much like his predecessor, Emanuel repeatedly has blamed easy access to guns and lax gun laws as a main culprit in the city's high number of shootings. He's also called for tougher sentences for gun crimes.

The poll found that overall, 42 percent of voters said easy access to guns was the top contributor to Chicago gun violence, followed by 24 percent who said a lack of jobs and 13 percent who blamed weak sentences for crimes. Only 6 percent blamed ineffective policing. The survey was conducted by Research America Inc., featuring live landline and cellphone interviews with 985 registered voters from Jan 20-28. It has an error margin of 3.2 percentage points.

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Pamela Washburn said she worked as a police officer in a small town in Wisconsin many years ago. The 69-year-old poll respondent, who is white and lives in Lincoln Park, said the crime problem here was due to "so many guns and so many people who are totally unqualified to handle them."

Washburn said her own insight into what it's like to be on the streets fighting crime led her to disapprove of Emanuel's handling of it.

"I think Mayor Emanuel has wonderful instincts and is a truly caring person," Washburn said. "But I think he has not had much experience fighting crime. There are a lot of mayors who aren't handling crime well right now. He's certainly not alone in that."

Chicago Tribune's Rick Pearson contributed.

bruthhart@tribpub.com

lbowean@tribpub.com
Marco Rubio's surprisingly strong showing in the Iowa caucuses reshuffled the already intense competition here in New Hampshire among the Republican establishment candidates, leading some to sharpen their attacks on the freshman Florida senator ahead of next week's primary.

The sense of urgency was on display here Tuesday as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie belittled Rubio's toughness, intelligence and even his manhood.

"Maybe he'll do more than 40 minutes on a little stage telling everybody his canned speech that he's memorized," Christie said mockingly to reporters. "This isn't a student council election, everybody. This is an election for president of the United States. Let's get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble."

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, meanwhile, expanded his line of attacks beyond Donald Trump to now include Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the winner of Monday night's Iowa contest. Bush said at a town hall meeting in Rindge that Rubio, 44, and Cruz, 45, did not have the "life experience" to be president and questioned whether either had ever sacrificed his personal ambition for the public good.

For the past six weeks, the four mainstream candidates, which also includes Ohio Gov. John Kasich, have looked to New Hampshire as their proving ground. But the calculus of all four was changed by Iowa's results, which saw the three governors each end in low single digits while Rubio surged to within one percentage point of Trump, who came in second.

With only one week until the New Hampshire primary, and the potential of voters here to effectively eliminate some of them from the nomination battle, the stakes are high and the tone is increasingly confrontational.

"It is a dog-eat-dog, hand-to-hand combat up here," said Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire. "These guys are going to be scrapping it out until the final minute. At stake is a ticket out of New Hampshire."

In past years, New Hampshire Republicans have not followed the lead of Iowa in making their choices. Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire-based GOP strategist, said the dynamics of the race among the establishment candidates here could be affected by the order of finish in Iowa.

"I think this year is different," he said. "There are so many candidates this year that they are looking for help and I think Iowa did that last night."

That puts enormous pressure on Bush, Kasich and Christie. "The establishment candidates who have gone all-in in New Hampshire are making their last stand," said Republican strategist Steve Schmidt. "Bush, Kasich and Christie have to knock Marco Rubio down in New Hampshire and steal his spot for a rationale for their campaigns to exist."

But Dennehy said Rubio's performance in Iowa also heightens the stakes for the Florida senator here. "He has to push those [other establishment] candidates down to get into a strong second place showing," he said. "Third place just isn't good enough for him. You've got to show progress and momentum."

Rubio's advisers said they were optimistic he would be able to do just that.

"We're not sneaking up on anybody anymore," said a senior Rubio campaign official, who requested anonymity to talk about the post-Iowa environment. "Folks have figured out that Marco is a candidate who connects with voters and who closes strong. He's got momentum."

Rubio returned to New Hampshire early Tuesday morning, arriving before dawn and visiting a Manchester diner in the breakfast hour. He was upbeat and said he hoped to replicate his Iowa success in next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

When a supporter presented Rubio with some cigars, the son of Cuban immigrants responded playfully.

"Let's hide them, guys. I used to smoke a little cigar here and there," he said, adding he didn't want to be a bad influence on his young children but that a celebration may soon be in order. "Maybe we'll save them for Tuesday night," Rubio said, referring to the Feb. 9 primary.

Prior to Iowa, recent New Hampshire polls have shown Bush, Cruz, Kasich and Rubio in a statistical tie for second place, with Christie trailing a few points behind. Trump has long led the field by roughly 20 percentage points.

The finish in next Tuesday's primary is expected to help winnow the chaotic Republican field, affirming one or two establishment candidates as the consensus choices for party donors and other leaders when the nominating contest heads to a slew of southern states.

"One of them is going to emerge as the leader here," said Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard and Republican donor who campaigned with Christie on Tuesday in New Hampshire. "I think there will be a natural winnowing."

The establishment-friendly candidates are comforted by the fact that many New Hampshire voters tend not to settle on a candidate until days before the primary. Noting that time is running out, Kasich said to laughter at a town hall meeting in Newbury: "All you undecideds, knock it off!"

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a Kasich supporter who knows the state from his years at Dartmouth College, said that "New Hampshire attempts to be a place where presidential campaigns get launched. Iowa is important but when you look at the results over the last several elections, it tends to be New Hampshire winners who go on to the general election."

Bush, who has been humbled since falling out of the top tier of candidates last year, has labored to mount a comeback in New Hampshire. He is beginning what aides describe as an intense "dog fight" to finish second to Trump, whom they expect will win the primary.

Bush will lean on the popularity of his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush. They will appear together on the campaign trail in coming days, as will Columba Bush, Jeb's publicity-shy wife, who has been huddling privately with local residents.

A key component of Bush's strategy here is negative advertising, something for which his aides will not apologize. The campaign said Tuesday it was buying two-minute chunks of television air time for its toughest ad yet against Trump, part of a $4.5 million New Hampshire advertising blitz.

Kasich, meanwhile, vowed Tuesday to stay positive and called on his opponents to stop airing any negative ads and to urge their super PACs to do the same.

"I just think it will work for me by being positive and I wish all of them would just knock it off and let's just judge who's got the best program and the best plan and the best message and the most town halls," Kasich told reporters in Newbury.

But rivals complain the positive tone does not extend to Kasich's super PAC, or even to his own operation. Kasich's chief strategist, John Weaver, said that when Kasich is attacked, the campaign will respond in kind.

Of Rubio, he said, "I'm not going to go as far as Chris Christie, but Rubio's not somebody that likes the ad-hoc atmosphere of campaigns."

One thing all four campaigns agreed on is that it was anybody's game - and that New Hampshire voters are predictably unpredictable.

"New Hampshire Republicans are the most powerful people in the world right now, bar none," Christie said at a town hall meeting in Epping. "You're going to take this race from 11 candidates probably down to four or five.. . .Exercise it with great care."

Balz reported from Newbury, N.H. Ed O'Keefe in Rindge, N.H., and Sean Sullivan and Robert Costa in Manchester, N.H., contributed to this report.
Like a twisted, ugly car wreck that's impossible to ignore, a group of misogynist "pro-rape" men called the "Return of Kings" is planning a stunt Saturday, and  as much as I want to  I can't look away.

The group, led by prolific blogger and self-proclaimed "pick-up artist" Roosh Valizadeh, is calling for its followers in cities around the world to meet at a coordinated time  in Chicago, such a meeting is set for 8 p.m. Saturday somewhere near the Loyola University campus in Rogers Park. Students, local residents and school and city officials have all expressed their displeasure. (Update: The Saturday events have reportedly been canceled, but this is still important information.)

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Pictured is Roosh Valizadeh. (Bartek Kucharczyk / Wikicommons)

Valizadeh, who says he'll be hosting a similar gathering Saturday in Reykjavik, Iceland, may just be some kind of misguided social media performance artist, recklessly touting ideas without understanding their consequences. It's certainly not a unique phenomenon in today's media and political world, but I digress.

Rather than indulging the group's ludicrous (or as one colleague said, "sad, pathetic and dangerous") message, though, here is a list of resources that may help anyone encountering the sort of behavior Valizadeh seems to encourage. I hope this is as worthy of a "share" as the next Return of Kings meeting update.

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RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): The largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S. manages a national rape hotline that connects callers to trained staff members from sexual assault service providers in the caller's area.

National hotline: 800.656.HOPE (4673) or www.rainn.org

Chicago's rape crisis hotline:

Chicago metro area: 888-293-2080

DuPage County: 630-971-3927

South suburbs: 708-748-5672

Need more support?

Rape Victim Advocates (RVA) describes itself as "an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the healing and empowerment of sexual assault survivors through non-judgmental crisis intervention counseling, individual and group counseling, and medical and legal advocacy in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. RVA provides public education and institutional advocacy in order to improve the treatment of sexual assault survivors and to effect positive change in policies and public attitudes toward sexual assault."

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www.rapevictimadvocates.org

Lara Weber is a member of the Tribune Editorial Board. The views expressed here are her own.

@lweber
Cruz finished first on the strength of his appeal to evangelicals, who made up two-thirds of all caucusgoers. His success was not entirely the work of the Big Guy Upstairs. During the campaign, Cruz has done everything but run ads identifying him as "The Official Candidate of the Son of God."
Julia L. Gutierrez, 53, has been charged with murder after her husband was found dead by police officers responding to a request for a well-being check, officials said. (Kane County state's attorney's office; Linda Girardi / Beacon-News)

A Geneva woman was ordered held without bail Wednesday morning for the alleged poisoning death of her husband, and prosecutors disclosed a strikingly similar attempt in 2002.

Kane County Judge Robert Morrow issued the no-bail order after hearing how Julia Gutierrez, 53, allegedly placed six prescription sleeping pills into a smoothie for her husband, Eduardo, 53.

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Police said they found the man's body Thursday in their Geneva home, along with a note allegedly written by Julia, which read in part, "I love him so much, please forgive. God understands. I hope to see you in Heaven."

Prosecutors have said Julia also attempted to take her own life. She allegedly told police that she had been suffering from an "environmental illness" that had made life unbearable for both her and her husband.

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"I didn't want him to live to suffer," she allegedly told police.

Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams said at the Wednesday morning bond hearing that Geneva police responded to an incident at the Gutierrez residence in 2002. Julia, Sams said, had slipped as many as 10 prescription sleeping pills into a milkshake for Eduardo.

The husband was found groggy, but he recovered, Sams said.

A friend of Gutierrez told police in 2002 that Gutierrez had said in a phone call, "we went to sleep last night and we were not supposed to wake up," Sams told the judge.

There were, however, no charges filed in 2002, the prosecutor said. After the hearing, Sams declined to provide further comment on the 2002 incident. Geneva police could not immediately provide information about the incident.

Authorities think Eduardo Gutierrez died Jan 26. He had gone to lunch with a friend, and after coming home, he drank a smoothie laced with sleeping pills made by his wife, authorities allege.

Police came to their home on Crissey Avenue on Thursday after someone had requested a well-being check. They found Eduardo dead in the living room and Julia unconscious in an upstairs bathroom.

She was transported to Delnor Hospital and eventually brought to the Kane County Jail, where she is being held under a suicide watch.

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Julia reportedly told police, "I've been holding on all this time for him, but I couldn't do it anymore," Sams said in court.

Last week Julia had mailed $40,000 in cash and a $5,000 check to a Rock Island family with instructions that the family give the cash to charity and spend the check, the prosecutor said.

On Jan. 27, she deposited $9,000 in a bank account and sent another package, Sams said. Assistant Public Defender Julie Yetter said the money was for her brother as part of their parents' estate.

The judge ordered the jail to closely monitor any prescription drugs she may be taking. Her next court date is Feb. 11.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
A 59-year-old Cicero man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting two neighbors during an ambush on Monday, officials said.

Edward Wiencek, of the 3800 block of 61st Court, shot a 32-year-old man in the back and a 22-year-old man in the neck and shoulder, a Cicero town spokesman said Wednesday. Both remain hospitalized in critical condition, according to the spokesman.

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Wiencek was charged two counts of attempted murder with a firearm and two counts of aggravated battery, the spokesman said. Information about a motive was not available.

Officials said that Wiencek allegedly ambushed the two victims, firing five rounds from his gun as they were walking into their home. The suspect then went back to his car where he reloaded his revolver and returned to the scene. Cicero police, however, confronted him and he immediately dropped his weapon and surrendered, according to the spokesman.

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Wiencek was expected to appear in bond court Wednesday afternoon.

Joseph Ruzich is a freelance reporter.
Bobby Rush headlines the All-Star Blues Bash on Feb. 13 at Moraine Valley Community Colleges Fine and Performing Arts Centers Dorothy Menker Theater in Palos Hills. (Photo courtesy of Moraine Valley Community College)

Blues fans know the music often evokes passion in both performers and the audience. Some of the genre's finest are collaborating for quite the concert.

The All-Star Blues Bash features headliner Bobby Rush, co-headliner Joe Louis Walker, Chicago Blues Hall of Famer Wayne Baker Brooks and Shawn Holt, son of Magic Slim, on Feb. 13 at Moraine Valley Community College's Fine and Performing Arts Center's Dorothy Menker Theater in Palos Hills.

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"We're going to have some fun and just play the blues. I have my guitar and harmonica. We're going to play the music and demonstrate my legacy in the business," said Rush, 82.

"I'm proud to be here with guys like Brooks, Joe Louis Walker and all the younger guys who look up to me. I respect all of them. It's good music. We try to keep the groove alive, what the blues is, where it comes from and how we should keep it and embrace it."

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Rush is touring in support of "Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush," which was released in November via Omnivore Recordings. The four-CD boxed set features almost 100 tracks from more than 20 record labels plus mastering and restoration by Grammy Award winner Michael Graves.

"They picked a bunch of songs on this boxed set and some I thought weren't good enough to go on there. They mastered it so well that some of the stuff sounds better than when I recorded it," Rush said. "A lot of things I thought weren't anything at the time, 60 years ago, now sound good."

Named by Rolling Stone magazine as the King of the Chitlin' Circuit, Rush created what he calls folk-funk. The three-time Grammy nominee and Blues Hall of Famer has received multiple Blues Music Awards.

"We're going to teach the kids that blues ain't all as bad as people think it could be. It could be good. It could be bad but one thing, for sure, is it's the truth," said Rush, who is working on a full-length Rounder Records release that could be out in six months.

"I've been doing this for 63 years. The music keeps me going. What keeps me going most of all is I'm still enthused. Out of all the ups and downs I have in my life, I ask my God to keep me enthused," said Rush, who spent many years in Chicago including performing with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

"God had blessed me to do what I do and do it well enough to make some living in this world. Everybody likes my music. I'm so blessed to have that going for me. I'm so thankful."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

The All-Star Blues Bash

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When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13

Where: Moraine Valley Community College's Fine and Performing Arts Center's Dorothy Menker Theater, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills

Tickets: $40 for general public; $35 for seniors, students and staff

Information: 708-974-5500 or www.morainevalley.edu/fpac; www.bobbyrushbluesman.com

Etc.: features Bobby Rush, Joe Louis Walker, Wayne Baker Brooks and Shawn Holt
Mayor Jim Holland invites the state champion Hickory Creek Middle School cheerleaders to show off their moves Monday during the Frankfort Village Board meeting. Village officials honored the team for winning the Illinois Elementary School Association large team routine division state championship last month in Peoria. (Patrick Guinane / Daily Southtown)

A "high-end salon" can now offer massages and a fitness studio is slated to open in Frankfort under plans approved for the businesses by village trustees on Monday night.

Adryenne Hearne is opening a franchise of Orangetheory Fitness at 21000 S. LaGrange Road that will offer one-hour classes from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 6 to 11:30 a.m. on weekends. The company already had locations in Chicago and several suburbs, including Orland Park and Naperville.

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Leah Freeman received permission to offer massage services at Fuse Salon on the second floor of 28 Kansas St.

Trustee Mike Stevens said Frankfort allows other "high-end salons" to offer massages.

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Meanwhile, the former site of Dominick's grocery store could be home to a new business, officials said.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Mayor Jim Holland declined to provide details about the former grocery site but said the property at 19965 S. LaGrange Road is "closer" to gaining new life than it was in October when he first announced that a "quality business" was interested.

"The initial concept sounds good," Holland said. "We have to wait to see what the detailed plans are."

If the projects goes forward it will require a special-use permit, he said, which will provide opportunities for community input. The store, vacant since December 2013 when Dominick's folded, still is listed among available properties on a real estate site managed by Safeway, the parent company of Dominick's. Online county tax records give no indication the property has changed hands.

Trustees also got a visit from the state champion Hickory Creek Middle School cheerleaders, and Holland thanked the Frankfort Preservation Foundation for its gift of a 15-foot-tall decorative clock that was recently installed downtown.

Frankfort's new clock, which was installed Dec. 5 where White Street meets the Old Plank Road Trail, took five years of fundraising, said Harry D'Ercole, president of the preservation foundation. Holland thanked the foundation for the gift, which he said adds character to the downtown and hopefully will be a fixture for decades to come.

The aluminum and fiberglass installation is actually four clocks -- one facing each direction -- with "Frankfort" emblazoned above each face and the town's founding year of "1855" below. The piece cost about $23,000, D'Ercole said, and was inspired by a 60-foot clock tower a foundation member saw while visiting Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Patrick Guinane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
A firestorm of protest over a proposed Tinley Park housing development that will target low- and moderate-income renters has further stoked complaints of a lack of transparency on the part of village government.

During a sometimes raucous Village Board meeting Tuesday, an overflow crowd of close to 300 peppered the board with questions about The Reserve, a 47-unit apartment building planned for the northeast corner of Oak Park Avenue and 183rd Street, chiding the mayor and trustees for keeping residents in the dark about the project.

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Trustee Jacob Vandenberg said he would seek to have the village's Plan Commission delay a vote scheduled for its Thursday meeting that could give final approval to the three-story, $16.5 million development. That meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall.

Residents said they were unaware of the project's existence until seeing a recent Daily Southtown report from a late-January village Plan Commission meeting during which the project was discussed and tentatively endorsed by commission members.

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In the last few days, using social media, a group called Citizens of Tinley Park 3,000 residents opposed to the project, with members saying that apart from The Reserve, they hope the effort will open a new and lasting channel of communication between taxpayers and elected officials.

"We're here in the spirit of actually being helpful," Matt Coughlin, an organizer of the group, told board members.

With the actual council chambers filled to capacity, dozens more people crowded into the nearby Kallsen Conference Center, where the proceedings were displayed on a large screen.

A Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, submitted plans for the project in October, although preliminary discussions regarding the housing development between Buckeye and the village preceded that by several months.

Coughlin chastised board members for a "lack of governmental transparency," particularly worrisome due to the "volatile nature" of the housing project.

"Something is broken and it needs to be fixed," he said.

Other residents said the village already has an abundance of rental housing, and some said it could hurt already depressed resale values in the Eagle's Nest town home development directly north and east of the proposed apartments.

The Reserve was deemed by the Plan Commission to be in compliance with village criteria covering development in the village's Legacy District, which takes in much of the Oak Park Avenue business district and adjacent areas. Development codes, adopted in 2009, were intended, in part, to spur development in the village's downtown area.

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Because the Buckeye project conforms to the code, and the developer isn't seeking any variances or incentives from the Village Board, The Reserve won't be voted on by that board. That was upsetting to some trustees, including Vandenberg, who said he and fellow elected officials are "essentially cut out of the process."

"I don't believe the interests of the residents of Tinley Park are served," he said.

He and Trustee Michael Pannitto urged the board to consider a moratorium on new development within the Legacy District until the codes governing development there can be modified.

Vandenberg said he didn't "believe there is a need for a large influx of affordable housing in our community."

Buckeye had previously told the village it identified a need in Tinley Park for additional housing of this type, and that The Reserve would offer a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents ranging from $400 to $1,500. Similar to other rental properties, Buckeye performs background checks on potential tenants, including looking at their credit history and whether they have a criminal background.

In addition to Ohio, Buckeye has housing projects in Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, with pending projects in Pennsylvania, South Carolina and in Illinois, in downstate Pontiac.

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In October, the Illinois Housing Development Authority awarded Buckeye more than $1.2 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for the Tinley Park project. Housing developers such as Buckeye sell those credits, which buyers can use to offset their own federal income tax obligation, and money raised helps pay to build the development.

Mike Carpenter, who lives near where The Reserve would be built, told the board he paid a premium when he bought his home in the village more than 40 years ago.

"I do not want low-income housing 21/2 to 3 blocks from my house," he said.

Another longtime resident, Charlie Smith, said agencies such as Together We Cope are already at work meeting the needs of low-income residents, and, "I don't need Ohio to tell us what our needs are.

"I don't see anybody sitting on our sidewalks asking for money," he said.

Resident Joe Shourek asked board members to "do the right thing" and "don't let this happen."

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"We do not need buildings like this in our community," he said.

The problem, trustees said, is their hands are tied because they don't have a direct vote on whether the project goes forward.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"We don't have the right to tell them (Buckeye) they can't build here," Trustee Brian Maher said, noting the village could expose itself to a lawsuit if the project were blocked at this point in the process.

Asked by one resident where the trustees stood if they did have a say, Maher said that he was ambivalent.

"I can take it or leave it," he said.

Mayor Dave Seaman said that, "as of this day, I couldn't tell you" whether he supports the project.

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David Petroni, Buckeye's vice president of business development, told board members that his group had "precisely complied" with the process and wouldn't brook any "interference."

"We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said.

mnolan@tribpub.com
Elgin Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle shows land next to the Eastside Recreation Center the city is planning to covert to park space. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

Elgin is making plans to put federal grant money toward improvements to four smaller parks that serve neighborhoods holding low or moderate income housing.

Last week's City Council meeting included a hearing about using $750,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Unit Development Grant money on projects at Grolich Park, Wing Street Park, Trillium Park and Woodview Park. Another $15,000 in Community Development Block Grant money would be set aside for an emergency loan program for certain home repairs, with the money to be made available to income-qualifying applicants. And $35,000 of the grant money would be earmarked for administrative costs.

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At the meeting, Parks and Recreation Department Director Randy Reopelle noted Wing Street Park, which is more than five blocks east of Wing Park and not far from the intersection of Wing and Route 31, would be getting new playground equipment and other upgrades making it ADA compliant.

Elgin intends to make improvements to Trillium Park on the city's east side and to use federal grant money to pay for them. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

Monday Morning, Reopelle showed a 1.5 spot along the southwest front of the Eastside Recreation Center off Route 19 where the city hopes to use $270,440 in the grant money to create Woodview Park.

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"Our plan  once the grant is awarded and the City Council approves  is to put in a shelter and two playgrounds, one for children ages 5 and under, the other for those 6 and above," Reopelle said. "

Reopelle noted the park is a needed recreational opportunity for the housing developments near the center. It also will be used as part of camps and other programming run out the center, he said.

Close to the park location is a stocked fishing pond with a floating dock on it. Reopelle feels that feature may have been the sell that led to Elgin receiving an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Park and Recreation Facility Construction Grant of $1,841,100 earlier this decade which paid for the bulk of renovations made to the center. In October 2011, the city was one of 22 allotted money through the Illinois Park and Recreational Facility Construction Grant Program, which is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

With the Community Development Block Grant money and also on the east side, the city hopes to add an entryway into Trillium Park and a path there connecting to a path in place through a nearby wetland, as well as a reading area, some play features and interpretive signage, Reopelle said.

Marie Grolich Park on Elgin's west side is set for improvements using federal grant money to pay for them. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

The effort is projected to run $270,440 and would be a second phase of work at the park, which was dedicated last summer.

Trillium Park came about through the work and cooperation of Elgin's Parks and Recreation Department, Neighborhood Housing Services, Elgin Middle School's Science NERDS Club, PNC Bank, Habitat for Humanity of Fox Valley, Elgin Community Network and dozens of volunteers, including neighbors.

Habitat for Humanity bought two homes that had been abandoned on the lot, which is not far from Ellis Middle School. The homes were torn down to create the park along the 300 block of Illinois Avenue and Habitat for Humanity donated the land to the parks department.

The fourth location set for improvements is Marie Grolich Park on the city's near southwest side. The park land is along Souster Avenue between Ryerson Avenue and Willis Street. It borders Route 20 to its south.

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Reopelle said $153,250 in Community Development Block Grant money would be put toward paving an existing gravel path in the park and consolidating outdoor exercise training stations into a central location. This spring, the park already is set to receive $125,000 in playground equipment upgrades that are not being funded through the grant but through the department's budget.

Elgin Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle shows land near the Eastside Recreation Center the city intends to convert into Woodview Park. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

As for the work being planned that would use Community Development Block Grant money, Reopelle said if all goes well, pending approvals from HUD and then the City Council, projects could begin as early as this fall.

Councilwoman Tish Powell said using the federal grant money as such is an investment in what the city already has. Park maintenance is a big expense, she said, and using the grant money helps in a time of tight budgets.

"This also is a good way to reinvest in existing parks in traditionally underserved areas," Powell said.

Freelance reporter Gloria Casas contributed.

MDanahey@tribpub.com
Hinsdale Fire Department officials said the quick thinking of a boy saved the Zion Lutheran School from extensive fire damage from Monday.

Steve Tullis, the Fire Department's public information officer, said a boy activated the fire alarm at the school, at 125 S. Vine, at about 5:32 p.m. Feb. 1.

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He was a member of a traveling sports team that was practicing in the basement of the school, Tullis said. When the boy went to use the bathroom he saw smoke and smelled burning wood, so he pulled the fire alarm, Tullis said.

When firefighters arrived, people were evacuating the building, Tullis said.

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Firefighters searched the school and confirmed no one remained inside. In a second-floor room, which Tullis believes is used as a classroom, firefighters removed several ceiling tiles and saw flames between the drop ceiling and the roof.

Wiring and cables for utilities run above the ceiling.

"It appeared some of the wiring had frayed and shorted and started burning the wood rafters," Tullis said.

Insulated wires were burning and melting, he said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire with pressurized pump cans of water. They then used a thermal imaging camera to verify the fire had not spread beyond a 4-by4 foot space in the ceiling, Tullis said.

No injuries were reported. Tullis said it was a good thing the team was practicing.

"It's great they were there because the fire could easily spread through that space," Tullis said.

The firefighters did not need to break through the roof to extinguish the fire. The damage was estimated at $75,000, but could have been much worse, Tullis said.

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Firefighters from Oak Brook, Clarendon Hills, Pleasantview, Westmont, Argonne, La Grange Oakbrook Terrace and Brookfield responded and either helped with the overhaul efforts or manned the Hinsdale fire station, while the Hinsdale firefighters were at the school.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but appears to be accidental in nature, Tullis said.

Vine Academy, a private school, and other music instructors and tutors rent space in the building from the church. It is not clear whether lessons were held in the school Tuesday.

kfornek@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter@kfdoings
Considering that upwards of 100 FBI agents are working around the clock, discerning whether and how many unsecured emails were Top Secret, as well as the many other investigations into Hillary Clinton's possible illegal /criminal behavior as secretary of state; if a suggestion from the FBI that she be indicted goes unheaded by Obama's Democrat DOJ: Should someone be impeached by congress? 35.71% President Obama 64.29% Attorney General Loretta Lynch 0% Let it be; it's only our national defense 14 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!

The two front runners for their party's respective nominations both lost their bid in the Iowa Caucus, although the former New York Senator tried to claim victory (she still lost), before she literally bolted from the Hawkeye State. Republican front runner Donald Trump, Manhattan real estate developer, did at least lose (28% of the total vote to his 24%) to a hyper intelligent, and consistent Conservative Texas Senator, Ted Cruz. Hillary, instead, lost to a 74 year old Socialist, from a tiny New England state, who appears to spit when he talks.What was secondarily important from the nation's first primary, via caucus, after Hillary B's disastrous showing, was that Florida Senator Marco Rubio ran a very close third to Donald Trump's second (23% of the total vote cast). Senator Rubio is young, whip-smart, and, like the boldly intelligently Senator Cruz, is of Hispanic descent from Cuban parents. Marco is now being called the 'Establishment's Candidate', but Marco is far more conservative than many political neophytes give him credit as being, and any RINOs moving their support to Rubio now as their last best hope of taking the Republican Party to a more moderate posture, will eventually get their feelings hurt, and hurt real hard.Now back to Hillary, whose dwindling political persona born from her unnatural incapability of expressing truths while dealing with the reality of her public world; her natural plight of incessant lying should be the bane of the Democrat Party should Ms. Benghazi become their nominee. With the shroud of certain indictment, in a principled world, hanging over the growling, cackling pumpkin headed former secretary-of-state-for-sale, one must continue to remember that she is a Democrat, and the vast majority of elected Democrats are egregiously unprincipled people (I reference the Benghazi cover-up ). That is the reality of it, so, she may well be their nominee. All she has to do to be such, along with Socialist Bernie , is to promise the low-information Democrats that she will continue to carve up America, at home abroad, and re-distribute to effect the Socialist Democrat ideal of keeping give-it-away Liberals in office.Furthermore to currently accomplish this, the Democrats' president, Hussein Obama, is the most unprincipled man to occupy that high office in modern times, and a pretty fair liar himself . One need only watch how Hillary has promised the world, on the Democrat campaign trail, that she would unequivocally be Barack's third term if elected to know that she is pining hard for America's current Criminal-in-Chief to make the certain indictment to certainly melt away.It has often been my first-hand experience to hear from establishment RINOs within the Republican Party that Republicans should be more like Democrats, and should coalesce around our rare politically wounded people, who are deeply principled challenged; however, unlike the Democrats, we help destroy them, and that is good. It is the patriotic duty of a wise electorate to expect principled behavior from our elected representatives. Remember Richard M. Nixon. That poor man was taken down hard, with the guiding help of Republicans, for far less than America's current Liar-in-Chief committed in his first term ... far, far less.This could well be the nomination process to one of the most critical presidential elections in modern times: Principled Republicans seeking their party's nomination tear and one another to position themselves to lead the Executive Branch back from its deadly dark place, while Democrats struggle to protect Hillary B. Clinton's right to be America's first woman president.But thoughtless ladies, and other low-information Liberals, I must ask: Do you really want to be responsible for putting this lying, unprincipled Bitch in the People's office ... all the People's office? You well may feel this way if you do not have one good patriotic bone in your body. Possibly, you are like Bernie when he pronounced:For me, personally, I am not a Donald J. Trump fan. He was a Democrat, and acted like a rich unprincipled Democrat for far too long. But, if he is the Republican nominee, I will do my part to keep that lying Bitch, or the Socialist, who spits when he talks, out of this very important office at this very critical time.I've known many people from in, and around New York City, plus I keep my eyes wide open, so I well understand Senator Cruz's slight within his discussion of "New York values"; however, if Donald J. Trump is the last Republican standing, and it is his version of "New York values" versus Hillary B's criminal version of "New York values" ... well then, count me in for that fight on The Donald's side. He will have my full endorsement.If Donald J. Trump does not act in a principled and patriotic manner as the People's president, I will help take him down, and hard. That is the kind of Republican I am.
Melodie Gliniewicz, center, exits the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan on Feb. 3, 2016, with her attorney Donald Morrison, right, after a hearing during which she pleaded not guilty on charges related to her late husband's alleged thefts from the youth program he ran. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Melodie Gliniewicz pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning during her first court appearance before a Lake County judge on charges that connect her to her late husband's alleged thefts from the youth program he ran.

Gliniewicz, the widow of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, is accused of money laundering and misuse of charitable funds. She was indicted, turned herself in to the Lake County sheriff's office and released on $5,000 bond one week ago.

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Judge George Strickland read the indictments, which allege the money laundering and misuse of charitable funds occurred between 2012 and 2015. According to the indictments, Melodie Gliniewicz is accused of taking and disguising the source of the money allegedly stolen in the case.

Strickland explained possible penalties upon conviction to Gliniewicz, who stood silently in front of the judge during the hearing. Strickland said the charges are felonies that carry potential sentencing ranges from probation to a maximum of seven years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $25,000.

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Asked if she understood the charges, related sentencing guidelines and the importance of attending court dates, Gliniewicz responded that she did.

After entering the not guilty plea, Gliniewicz and her attorney left the courthouse without commenting. Her next court date was scheduled for Feb. 26.

A grand jury approved charges against Gliniewicz on Jan. 27, nearly five months after her husband was found fatally shot in a remote, marshy area of Fox Lake. A massive manhunt for three potential suspects followed the death, which authorities first believed was a murder while he was on duty. But in November, authorities announced that Lt. Gliniewicz killed himself and staged his death to look like a murder as it became clear his alleged crimes would come to light.

Melodie Gliniewicz is accused of being involved in the misuse of more than $10,000 from accounts that were supposed to support the now-defunct Police Explorers chapter her husband ran for many years. Detectives determined funds intended for the Explorers program  designed to give aspiring youths police experience in the field  were used by the couple to pay for a vacation in Hawaii and trips to Fox Lake Theatre, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, authorities said. Explorers funds were used for more than 400 restaurant charges, authorities said.

Previewing a potential defense to the charges, Melodie Gliniewicz's lawyers said in a statement that she was "a victim of her husband's secret actions."

After the indictment, authorities obtained a seizure order for money in five bank accounts associated with the Gliniewiczes or Explorers program.

JRNewton@tribpub.com

Twitter @JimNewton5
A demolition crew tore down a dormant bathroom near the site of a proposed lakefront concert series at Waukegan Municipal Beach. A city official said the work was unrelated to preparations for the festival. (Dan Moran / News-Sun)

Waukegan officials signed a confidentiality agreement this week with a company aiming to launch a Memorial Day weekend music festival at Municipal Beach, which an attorney for the company said will not include Ted Nugent.

Waukegan Mayor Wayne Motley initially listed the controversial Nugent as a possible performer when he announced the proposed concert series at the Jan. 4 city council meeting. Motley took back that report at the end of the meeting, saying no contracts had been signed.

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Randy Robinson, an attorney representing MC Vet Fest LLC., said Nugent has never been a candidate to perform at the inaugural event.

"That was so far off the mark," Robinson said. "There are no discussions with Mr. Nugent or ever will be with Mr. Nugent."

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Robinson declined to reveal what acts are under consideration, saying only that contracts are still being negotiated with a number of possibilities that he described as "family-friendly" entertainers.

"We're looking at acts that appeal to every race and ethnicity in the city," Robinson said. "We're very sensitive to that."

Residents expressed concern about Nugent during the Jan. 26 city council meeting, noting controversial comments the 1970s rocker directed at President Barack Obama.

Zion activist Clyde McLemore told the council that "as the chair of the Lake County Black Lives Matter movement, I will contact every chapter from California to New York, and we'll have the biggest protest in Waukegan you have ever seen" if Nugent performed at the lakefront.

At Monday's council meeting, aldermen voted unanimously to approve an agreement that will preclude the city from announcing any of the festivals headliners if and when deals are secured.

"They entered into a confidentiality agreement with us," Motley told the council. "We are not to divulge any of their business dealings, or who their performers will be, until such time as they make the announcement."

"But that doesn't mean that we're approving any performers," said 3rd Ward Ald. Gregory Moisio, who chairs the council's Judiciary Committee.

"We're not to divulge any of their trade secrets," Motley replied. "We won't discuss their business dealings taken up with us prior to signing a contract. We still have veto power over any acts."

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According to the six-page agreement, the city agrees not to discuss confidential information that includes things like business plans, marketing plans, contracts, customer lists and intellectual property matters.

The agreement states that artists will "be announced following signed document set," though it adds that the confidentiality does not extend to "information that is now or later becomes generally known in the industry."

Asked Tuesday if he could offer an estimate on when performers might be announced, Robinson stayed away from a time frame, but said "we're full-steam ahead and excited. We just want to be respectful of the artists that we're working with."

The agreement passed on Monday does include some new details on the proposed festival, stating that it would "also include a charitable connection (and) live broadcast over the Internet." Previously, city officials said they were reviewing plans for live concerts on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings of the holiday weekend, with a stage set up on the south end of Municipal Beach.

In a move apparently unrelated to plans for the festival, city crews demolished a shuttered beach house near the prospective location this week, saying its structure had become unstable.

"It had nothing to do with the festival," city spokesman David Motley said. "The aging and weathered bricks at the base of the building were crumbling to dust, and the structure was starting to lose integrity. It was determined that it would be best to (demolish) the building and start over again with a replacement building at another location at the facility in the near future."

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The beach house has been closed in recent years after budget cuts forced the city to end its lifeguard program during the recession. Since at least 2010, beachgoers have used portable toilets at the Sea Horse Drive facility.

danmoran@tribpub.com

Twitter: @NewsSunDanMoran
The 28th annual Gospel Extravaganza returns to North Central College this weekend, featuring a national recording artist as well as local singers and choirs.

The performance begins at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 in the college's Pfeiffer Hall.

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Headlining the evening will be Anita Wilson, a Grammy, Stellar and Dove award-nominated singer who hails from East St. Louis. Wilson performs a blend of urban contemporary music gospel and soul; as evidenced on her albums "Worship Soul" and "Vintage Worship."

The evening of music, worship and celebration will be hosted by North Central senior Johnny "Blaze" Arrington.

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Other performers include Danara Barlow, a 2015 North Central graduate, with Roosevelt Deal; Odell Ziegler, DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Voices of Praise and North Central senior Rachel West.

This is college chaplain Eric Doolittle's second year helming the Extravaganza.

"We've really been looking at the history of Gospel Extravaganza over the years," he said. "It's really had an amazing diversity of the ways that people have been brought in to perform and also the format. This year we're going back to the format that brings in a major artist to come and be a part of the scene here in Naperville, so that's how we reached out to Ms. Anita Wilson, who actually has roots in Chicago. We thought she'd be a great fit for us to celebrate local gospel music from Naperville and also the larger scene in Chicago."

He had heard about Wilson, a rising star on the gospel scene, from a friend of a friend.

"We're really looking forward to having her out here," he said. "She's really talented and really amazing."

He thinks that people will respond to Wilson because she's an established musician with the gospel scene, he said.

"One of the challenges for any gospel music celebration is that gospel is still a living tradition," he said. "So many people think of it historically with the old spirituals. We think Anita with her music really brings that up to date by blending both traditions. She is going to sing some of the old songs  her new CD is actually some gospel standards  with some of her newer stuff that she's done. I think it's a nice way to feel that connection, both with the history of gospel music to how it is being used nowadays."

Gospel music is both the roots of much of the American music tradition, from jazz to rock 'n' roll, he said.

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"It's really a big part of the history of most of popular music," he said. "I think it's important to know that, and it's also important to know it's got its roots in the church. It's a moving, living being. So many churches have modernized their music with contemporary worship music; even gospel churches."

Not only will Wilson be able to represent what is going on today in gospel music, Doolittle said, but so will the DuPage AME Church's Voices of Praise choir.

"It really reminds us this is part of the living faith and life of our local community and our local churches," he said.

In addition to the DuPage AME Voices of Praise  a group that has participated in the Extravaganza for several years  alumna Danara Barlow will perform accompanied by Roosevelt Deal, as will current students Odell Ziegler on piano and other current students.

Doolittle is excited about the representation of campus, community and Chicago talent, he said.

"I think it's a nice spectrum of folks who are coming," he said.

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The evening is hosted by Johnny Arrington, a student and spoken-word artist. The North Central students will kick off the evening, with the DuPage AME Voices of Praise slated around 8 p.m. and Wilson headlining, he said.

"The plan is, and we're really excited about this, to bring everybody back out onstage so that we can all join together," he said. "It's a nice moment to remind us that we are all sharing this tradition and this music."

Annie Alleman is a freelance writer.

Gospel Extravaganza

When: Feb. 6

Where: North Central College Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville

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Tickets: $15-$20

Information: 630-637-7469; Northcentralcollege.edu/show
Naturalist Barbara Vrchota shows her puppet Grover to the 4- and 5-year-old children who came to the Knock Knolls Nature Center in Naperville to learn about groundhogs Tuesday afternoon (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

There is a German legend that maintains if a particular member of the rodent family sees his shadow on Feb. 2, the end of winter is not far away.

That's a theory the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, based in Pennsylvania, puts to the test annually when their prized groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, is prompted to emerge from his cage and club members interpret the meaning of what he does  or does not  see.

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Despite sunny skies, and chilly temperatures, prevalent on this particular Tuesday, the jubilant verdict was rendered: "There is no shadow to be cast! An early spring is my forecast!".

Expectations for an early spring were predicted here in Naperville as well when the Knoch Knolls Nature Center offered 4- and 5-year-olds the chance learn more about the elusive groundhog, the only rodent in the animal kingdom to have a day named after him.

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The rainy weather forced the cancellation of outdoor activities on the trails, but didn't stop naturalist Barbara Vrchota from extolling on the habits of the groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, including what they do in the winter, what kinds of things they eat and why they're so busy in the summer. She was joined by her groundhog puppet pal, Grover.

"The reason the groundhogs come out now is because the males looking for females to mate with," Vrchota said. "In the summer, they eat everything from grass to vegetables to flowers. They are also called 'whistle pigs' because they make that sound when they are frightened or looking for a mate."

Parent Julie Dana, of Naperville, said she braved the inclement weather with her 4-year-old daughter Makayla because she believes in "keeping her daughter busy."

"We live only a half-mile from the nature center and we came here last month for a program they had on winter animals," she said. "Makayla attends pre-school, but I'm always interested in doing things that enrich her education."

Makayla listened attentively as Vrchota spoke about the groundhog's hibernation habits, during which its heart beat slows from 100 beats per minute in the summer to just 15 beats per minute in the winter. Children were asked to clap their hands with Vrchota 100 times to understand how slow just 15 would be.

"It's a lot of beats, isn't it?" Vrchota asked as children quickly became tired from clapping.

Angel Seitz, of Naperville, brought her 5-year-old daughter Maren because she had heard about Groundhog Day in preschool.

"I want to be a vet someday when I grow up," Maren said.

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Naperville resident Greg Wyland attended with his daughter Madison, 4, and shared his own belief on whether a rodent can predict the future of winter.

"I didn't tell Madison about the legend of the groundhog because I didn't want to spoil the surprise," he said. "For myself, I'm used to the weather here and it's usually not 'groundhog weather' in terms of seeing the sun. When I was a kid, I always wanted the snow to continue, I was always rooting on more winter."

Wyland said that as he's gotten older, he's come to expect that the passing of winter takes some time.

"I just always assume it's going to be six more weeks regardless," he said. "Around here, you have to wait until at least May before the weather is consistent."

David Sharos is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
Wael Farouk, who has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, will display his proficiency on the piano at the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra's "Bing Bang Boom!" concert Feb. 12 in Crown Point. (Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra / Handout)

The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra plans to serve up a Feb. 12 concert that is packed with bravado.

"Bing Bang Boom!" launches Valentine's Day weekend with the help of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's soaring "1812 Overture."

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The Auditorium at Bethel Church in Crown Point will host the symphonic evening, which will feature guest pianist Wael Farouk, who has taken his talents on international touring that landed him in destinations that include England, Russia, Japan, Colombia and Italy.

At his 7:30 p.m. Crown Point appearance, Farouk  born in Cairo, Egypt  will perform Sergei Prokofiev's adventuresome "Piano Concerto No. 1."

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The pianist noted that Prokofiev was a self-assured Russian composer.

"He was a very prominent young student," Farouk said. "He knew how talented he was."

Prokofiev debuted "Piano Concerto No. 1" in 1912 while studying at a St. Petersburg conservatory.

"It has majesty," Farouk said of the piece. "It has very poetic moments. It is not easy to play."

Still, Farouk said Prokofiev knew how to write for the keyboard: "He wrote five piano concertos."

The imposing aura of Prokofiev will add to the bold nature of a concert being presented in a church auditorium that is more intimate than the 3,400-seat Star Plaza Theatre, where the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra also performs.

A highlight of the Feb. 12 concert will be the grand sweep of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," which  according to program notes from the orchestra  has a lengthy official title: "The Year 1812, a Festival Overture to Mark the Consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior." The cathedral was in Moscow.

"I did '1812' in my very first concert at the Star Plaza, and we actually shook dust out of the rafters by the time we were finished," Kirk Muspratt, the orchestra's conductor and music director, said in a news release. "We all looked up, and we could see the little haze of dust coming down through the stage lights  really fun and mind blowing!"

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The Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus will contribute to the full-bodied presentation of the Tchaikovsky work.

"We'll have the full chorus with '1812'  something that is not always done, but the way that Tchaikovsky certainly wrote it," Muspratt said.

As for Prokofiev's concerto, its composer felt it ranked as his first fully mature work, according to information from the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.

Giving "Piano Concerto No. 1" his own distinct interpretation will be Farouk, who has appeared as a soloist with orchestras that include the Saint-Etienne National Orchestra, the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Manhattan Symphony.

Despite his success, Farouk thinks there are more musical directions in the piano to experience.

"There is a great deal to explore," said the 34-year-old Farouk, a Chicago resident who is on the faculty of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Farouk noted that Prokofiev, who died in 1953, had a Windy City connection: "He lived in Chicago for a while."

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Tchaikovsky, another famous Russian composer, will be well represented at the Feb. 12 concert. The orchestra will perform the composer's "Pathetique" symphony, which Muspratt said is his favorite Tchaikovsky piece.

The orchestra's performance will be preceded by a 6:15 p.m. pre-concert lecture by Muspratt that will center on the evening's concert. Ticket holders can attend the lecture.

Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer.

'Bing Bang Boom!'

Where: The Auditorium at Bethel Church, 10202 Broadway, Crown Point

When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12

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Tickets: $29, $49, $69; student tickets are $10

Information: 219-836-0525, www.nisorchestra.org http://www.nisorchestra.org
By law, employees in China are allowed at least one day off per week. Additionally, statutory annual leave exists for qualified employees.

The amount of statutory annual leave is generally based on an employees work experience/tenure.

Employers may extend paid annual leave as a benefit to their employees, but they need to specify the additional days in HR documentation, such as the employee handbook.

Here, we introduce Chinas paid annual leave and rest day system, as well as the rules for carrying over untaken annual leave to the next year.

What is the statutory minimum annual leave?

Paid annual leave for employees (including dispatched employees) in China is typically regulated in the Regulations on Paid Annual Leave of Employees (State Council Order No.514) and its implementation measures.

Employees who have worked at a company for one continuous year are entitled to five days annual leave. Thus, employers do not have to give leave to employees who have not yet worked for one full year.

Its important to note that the work tenure is not limited to the length of time an employee has worked for their current employer, but rather refers to their cumulative work experience with all previous and current employers.

Employers can calculate annual leave for newly hired employees as follows:

The amount of annual leave = (The number of days he/she will be working for the current employer in that year  365) x His/her total annual leave in the same year

In addition, paid annual leave does not include the countrys statutory rest days, public holidays and other additional holidays (e.g. maternity leave and annual visits to family).

Based on Chinese Labor Law, employees are entitled to at least one rest day per calendar week, which can be any day of the week.

Saturdays and Sundays are generally rest days in China. However, employers may arrange rest days according to their operation and production plan.

Employees may not take paid annual leave under the following circumstances:

Where an employee is legally entitled to a summer and/or winter holiday that is longer than their annual leave;

Where an employee takes at least 20 days of personal affairs leave and the salary is not deducted according to the regulations of the employer;

Where an employee whose accumulated working time is more than one year, but less than 10 years, takes sick leave of at least two months;

Where an employee whose accumulated working time is more than 10 years, but less than 20 years, takes sick leave of at least three months; and

Where an employee whose accumulated working time is at least 20 years takes sick leave of at least four months.

How to deal with employees untaken annual leave

In the case where an employee has not taken all of their paid annual leave in that year, and does not agree to carry over the untaken leave to the next year, the employer must compensate this employee with 200 percent of the employees average daily wage for each day of unused annual leave, in addition to their regular daily wage.

Employers can calculate an employees daily wage as follows:

Employees daily wage = Employees average monthly salary  21.75 days

Note that the average monthly salary does not include overtime payments.

Many foreign companies in China provide additional annual leave for their employees as a benefit. As this part of annual leave is not specified in Chinese labor laws, employers have the right to make internal HR rules regarding compensation schemes.

In practice, employees are generally required to use up their leftover annual leave from the previous year before a specific deadline set by the companys internal rules. If employees volunteer not to take the leftover annual leaves, they are usually required to sign a written agreement.

Employers are advised to write down these rules in the employment contract or the employee handbook to avoid any possible future labor disputes.

The amount of annual leave= (the number of days he/she will be working for the current employer in that year  365)  his/her total annual leave in the same year

This article was originally published on February 3, 2016 and has been updated with the latest regulatory changes.
Authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have commuted 11 offenders who were convicted of jeopardizing national security.

Seven of the severe offenders were commuted from life to jail terms ranging from 19.5 years to 20 years, according to a decision from the regional Higher People's Court announced at a meeting at Xinjiang's First Prison Monday.

Among these were principal criminals who instigated secessionist activities or participated in violent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang. "They jeopardized China's national security, disrupted social stability and caused heavy losses of lives and property," said Mutalifu Wubli, president of Xinjiang's Higher People's Court.

The other four prisoners had their jail terms shortened by six months from the initial 8, 13 and 15 years, according to the court's decision.

One of the convicts, Memet Tohti Memet Rozi, had close contact with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Taliban terrorist groups. Court investigations found he set up terrorist training bases in Afghanistan, where native citizens of Xinjiang were trained to become terrorists.

"I could not hold back my tears when I learned of the commution," said Memet Tohti Memet Rozi. "I had difficulty falling asleep for several nights."

He said he had woken up to his past ignorance and was determined to mend his ways. "I'm now split with all separatists and terrorists and will strive to become a law abiding citizen."

Yushanjiang Jelili, who joined the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the East Turkestan Liberation Organization, apologized for his crimes, which he said "brought unmendable damages" to his country, his hometown and his family.
A mosque in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region welcomed a special visitor on Tuesday when Premier Li Keqiang stepped into the main hall and chatted with a group of Muslims.

Premier Li Keqiang chats with a group of ethnic Hui people on Tuesday at the Najiahu Mosque in Yongning county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Pang Xinglei / Xinhua

The premier visited the Najiahu Mosque in Yongning county on the second day of his trip to Ningxia ahead of Spring Festival.

Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the mosque is one of the most historic in Ningxia.

It embraces a history of 492 years and has been refurbished many times, the most recent being in 2014, when it was enlarged. It is maintained by 4,500 Muslims in Yongning county.

Removing his shoes, Li stepped into the main hall and sat down with the Muslims to talk with them and learn about their lives and ideas.

He said he was delighted to visit the mosque and see that it had been refurbished well.

"There is a famous saying in Chinese that a harmonious family brings the prosperity of everything," the premier said as he began talking with the ethnic Hui people at the mosque.

"I am very delighted to see that the lives of local people in Ningxia have improved a lot."

Yang Faming, vice-president of the regional Islam Association, sat beside Li during the discussion.

At age 50, Yang is the association's youngest vice-president and has been studying the Quran for 34 years.

On hearing this, the premier encouraged him to combine his understanding of the Quran with the situation in Ningxia.

The region is home to the largest ethnic Hui community in China, which comprises 35.5 percent of the population in Ningxia. The ethnic Hui group is also one of China's largest such groups that believes in Islam.

Yang Zhibo, vice-president of the China Islamic Association, said he was pleased when he learned about Li's visit to the mosque and was excited about the government's encouragement for the care of ethnic groups in China.

He said he hoped the government would strengthen its efforts to tackle poverty in the northwest of the country, which is home to a majority of China's ethnic groups that believe in Islam.
More than 90 percent of Bachelor degree graduates from 75 universities overseen by the Ministry of Education found jobs in 2015, with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou the most favored cities, according to statistics of the ministry.

Annual employment reports released by these universities, most of which are leading ones in China, also show only two universities having seen employment rates below 90 percent for graduates with a master's degree.

The government's Internet Plus strategy and support for entrepreneurship have given rise to flexibility in seeking jobs, according to reports.

In Peking University and Tsinghua University, a total of 2,501 graduates chose flexible employment, including launching a start-up, an increase of 550 people over last year.

First-tier cities are still the top choices for graduates in 2015. Over 38 percent of Peking University graduates found jobs Beijing, Shanghai and better-developed coastal areas, while only 12.7 percent went to Central, Northeast and Western regions. Statistics from the Renmin University of China also showed a similar trend.

Reports add that financial services is the most popular sector for graduates from China's top universities. Nearly 21 percent from Fudan University and 11.1 percent of graduates from Renmin University of China landed in this sector.
The Chinese mainland will work to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and contain Taiwan independence, said Chinas top political adviser yesterday.

We will unswervingly uphold the principles and policies decided by the central leadership on Taiwan affairs, adhere to the one-China principle, firmly oppose and contain Taiwan independence separatist activities in any form, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and push forward the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, said Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference at an annual meeting of central and local officials in charge of Taiwan affairs.

In the past year, the central leadership has accurately assessed the cross-Strait situation, and actively boosted the development of relations between the two sides, he said.

The first meeting between cross-Strait leaders in 66 years, which took place in Singapore last year, was of great historical significance, Yu added.

The two sides have set up an institutional framework for communication and cooperation that will benefit people on both sides of the Strait, Yu said, adding: The peaceful development of cross-Strait ties is a correct path, and no one can resist that trend.

The mainland will increase exchanges with Taiwan parties and groups that uphold the one-China principle in an effort to safeguard the common political foundation shared by the two sides, said a statement issued after the meeting.
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An animated music video featuring a man dressed in waistcoat and trousers disco-dancing and rapping President Xi Jinping's signature "Four Comprehensives" slogan was made public yesterday.

Produced by Xinhua news agency, it's an attempt to explain Xi's strategy for China's long-term development.

The song explains how China will "comprehensively" build a moderately prosperous society, deepen reform, advance the rule of law and strictly govern the Communist Party.

The "Four Comprehensives" phrase was first coined by Xi in 2014.

The Chinese-language video, which also features tooting horns, a flying saucer and a giant fruit-filled wheelbarrow, begins with a countdown.

The ruddy-nosed and portly man, sporting a crew-cut, along with a giant-headed cartoon girl, repeatedly chant: "Say it with me, the four comprehensives, the four comprehensives."

"Prosperity is the goal, reform is the drive, rule of law is the guarantee, Party building is the key!" the chorus tells viewers.

"Everyone is equal before the law. Think your dad can protect you? No way!" it continues in a teasing tone.

The video, which lasts for more than three minutes, is packed with hallucinogenic imagery: a silver Rubik's cube floats in front of an undulating bullseye.

A baby monkey pops in and out of frame in reference to the Year of the Monkey, which begins on February 8.

"We have the Four Comprehensives, the Chinese dream is not far away!"

The cartoon ends with an ensemble including a construction worker, police officer, nurse and farmer all singing the "Four Comprehensives" chorus to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."

The video is the latest in a series of efforts that have employed catchy tunes to promote Communist Party ideology.

In December state television released a rap number featuring a tinny beat and clip-art mountains with lyrics that praised the "Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms."

Two months earlier the country's dry economic planning was given a chirpy theme song in a psychedelic animation that went viral.

It showed four cartoon characters traveling through a mint-green and fuchsia dreamscape atop lily pads, China's Great Wall and a Volkswagen bus, singing in English about the country's 13th Five-Year Plan.
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Zhao Liping, former police chief and senior political advisor of Inner Mongolia, has been charged with murder, bribery and possession of fire arms and explosives, said the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Wednesday.

Zhao was suspected of "intentionally causing the death of a person" and taking advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others, in addition to accepting large bribes, said the SPP in a press release.

Zhao had been police chief of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region before becoming vice chairman of the regional committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Prosecutors also charged him with illegal possession of fire arms and explosives.

Zhao was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and handed over to prosecutors in July after investigation by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
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Kenyan authorities are holding three UN World Food Programmed (WFP) trucks in Mandera County near the Somali border for allegedly ferrying food supplies to Islamist militants Al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa nation.

Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said Tuesday the security agents seized the trucks stashed with food items destined for Dolo in the Horn of Africa nation.

Shisia said WFP workers have started supplying food rations to the Al-Shabaab militants following a meeting at Bulla Hawa by Somali authorities.

"Following a meeting between Somalia National Army, Transitional Federal government officials and the Bulla Hawa community they agreed the Al-Shabaab also be given food rations from WFP, the government cannot allow this to happen as criminals who continue killing our people cannot be fed," said Shisia.

He said the government which has been fighting the insurgents in southern Somalia will not allow food to be supplied to the same militants whom its troops have been fighting.

Shisia said the lorries which were held on Sunday will continue being under police custody until WFP clarifies its position.

The government administrator said the government is yet to receive WFP position on the issue and that the trucks will continue being detained.

"We will need to get an explanation from the WFP as to who are to who sole beneficiary of the food programme before we allow it to get into Somalia," Shisia said.

The county boss disclosed that a truck that was in the same convoy and carrying a land cruiser was allowed to proceed to Dolo.

"We allowed the truck to proceed as this was not food, what we are doing is to deny our enemy benefit from the humanitarian assistance," Shisia said.

There was no comment from the UN WFP officials in Nairobi.

Kenya's security forces have intensified patrols along its porous border with Somalia after the Somali militants attacked its base in Gedo region, killing several soldiers.

The Kenyan military has confirmed the deaths, but did not give the number of those killed in the Jan. 15 attack, saying efforts to "consolidate" returns from the battlefield were still ongoing.

However, Al-Shabaab forces said that more than 100 Kenyan soldiers were killed and several others injured a statement that has been disputed by AMISOM.
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Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari, who is due in France on Tuesday, will call for a concerted global effort against terrorism at a special session of the European Union on Wednesday.

A presidency statement said Buhari, who is leading a delegation of Nigerian officials to the high-level meeting in France, will deliver an address at a special session of the EU parliament consisting of members of the executive and legislative arms of the regional bloc.

His speech will focus on terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the need for greater support from the European Union and advanced nations for their rapid resolution, the statement said.

Buhari, after addressing the special session at the EU summit, will join other world leaders at the Supporting Syria and The Region Conference scheduled to open in the British capital, London, on Thursday.

He will use the opportunity of his presence at the conference - co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations - to continue his push for more global understanding, collaboration and support for Nigeria and other countries in the frontlines of the war against terrorism who are striving to overcome its very adverse effects on affected populations, presidential spokesman Femi Adesina told Xinhua.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is currently feeling the heat of terrorism by Boko Haram. The terror group, which has spread its tentacles to neighboring countries including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, has abducted thousands of people and killed more since 2009.

The Nigerian government said it has "technically" defeated the ruthless Boko Haram group but the unrelenting fighters have continued to carry out attacks after attacks in the West African country.
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The battle to liberate northern Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group will be "difficult, bloody and long," the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq said on Tuesday.

Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren told a press briefing here that Mosul is the center of IS power and "we estimate between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters from IS in Mosul and some parts of Nineveh province."

Warren said that he believes the IS fighters will fiercely fight back and "there will be difficult battle, bloody battle and will be long one."

Warren pledged to free Mosul from IS militants, but he asked the people in militant-seized city to wait for longer time until the Iraqi troops will be ready carry out their major offensive, saying "it is difficult to say how long we need to free Mosul, but I would like to tell the people in Mosul you will be freed just hold on it will take time."

He also said that there is no plan to bring more troops in Iraq only if the Iraqi government asked for more troops, stressing that currently there are around 5,600 of the coalition troops; 3,600 U.S. troops and some 2,000 more from other international coalition countries, on the Iraqi soil, all of them were brought at the invitation of the Iraqi government to provide training support and advice to the Iraqi security forces.

Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces stunningly abandoned their weapons and posts and fled.
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has notified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its plans to launch a satellite later this month, media reports said Tuesday.

Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 3, 2015 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (R, front) inspecting the newly-built General Satellite Control and Command Center of the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) recently. [Photo/Xinhua]

The DPRK notified the London-based UN agency that it will launch an Earth observation satellite between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, according to a Yonhap report.

The DPRK also notified the the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union (ITU) of its plan, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The DPRK side has not yet confirmed these reports.
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Kenyan authorities on Tuesday warned against circulation of leaflets and messages of impending attack by Somalia's Al-Shabaab militant group in the country's northeast county of Mandera.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta inspects a gun mounted armored vehicle at General Service Unit Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have started withdrawing some of its non-local workers for fear of being attacked by the Islamist militants due to such hate messages being circulated on the social media.

He said the NGOs are withdrawing workers from Banisa, Takaba and Mandera East sub counties.

Shisia said the Al-Shabaab fighters, who last month killed dozens of Kenyan soldiers in the attack in southern Somalia, continue to change tact, noting that the messages were meant to create fear and despondency amongst NGO workers.

"We have noticed the militia have changed their strategy of attacks. Our security apparatus have also changed tack to confront them head-on," Shisia told journalists in Mandera.

Shisia said security officers manning hotspot areas including Fino, Omar Jillo, Dabacity, Lafey and Arabia have dominated the grounds and restored security.

"The dominance by our security agents might be the root cause of such messages in parts of social media," said Shisia.

The government administrator said security officers who on the ground are in firm control, and urged NGOs to seek the government's position before relocating workers.

He also called on residents to volunteer information that may lead to the arrest of Al-Shabaab and their sympathizers living in their midst.

Mandera county and other parts of northern Kenya have been subjected to successive explosive attacks by Al-Shabaab operatives following the onslaught by Kenyan soldiers on the militants in Somalia since 2011.
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Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova said Monday China has brought her agency new opportunities and new strengths.

Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), addresses a reception to mark the upcoming arrival of the Chinese New Year in Paris on Feb. 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

During a reception to mark the upcoming arrival of the Chinese New Year, which was organized by the Chinese delegation to UNESCO, Bokova thanked the Chinese government for its support to the United Nations cultural agency, especially for China's contribution in "advancing the empowerment of girls and women, promoting literacy in rural areas, and the establishment of a new prize for girls and women's education."

"Thanks to the leadership of China and many other member states, education, the sciences, culture, communication and information are integrated deeply into the new agenda, as enablers and drivers of sustainable development," Bokova said.

She also sent new year greetings to Chinese people.

More than 300 guests, including representatives from UNESCO member countries, attended the reception.
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Key members of the global coalition against so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh, gathered in a meeting on Tuesday, and pledged to step up military action against the group in Iraq and Syria.

Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2016 shows the ministerial meeting regarding the action against Islamic State group in Rome, Italy, Feb. 2, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Yet, they did not announce any immediate similar action in Libya to prevent IS militants to make further progress on the ground.

The 23-country ministerial conference was co-chaired by Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Relevant progresses have been made against Daesh, but the organization we face is very resilient and able to plan strategically, and we should not underestimate it," Gentiloni said.

"The Daesh has lost 40 percent of the territory under its control in Iraq, and 20 percent in Syria in recent months ... thanks to the joint commitment and resolve of all of us," he added at a press conference after the meeting.

Steps forwards were also being made in terms of cutting IS's access to financial resources.

The 23 ministers said in a final statement that they will "intensify and accelerate the campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria", expressing their determination to counter and push back Daesh's global ambitions.

Yet, the ministers did not mention any direct military action in the North African country of Libya in the immediate future.

"We follow with concern the growing influence of IS/Daesh in Libya, and will continue to monitor closely developments there", the final statement said.

"We will stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people," it added.

"In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity, and that will prevent Daesh from turning it into a stranglehold on the country's future," Kerry said.

Libya has big resources, and the last thing the world needs would be "a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue", according to the U.S. secretary.

"This means we need to push full speed ahead with training security personnel and we need to ensure there is a decisive military edge not just to clear territory but to create a safe environment for a government to begin to stand up and operate," Kerry added.

Italy's Foreign Minister also acknowledged there were "renewed activities" by IS in Libya and in Sub-Saharan African countries, and he stressed that "the coalition should improve its coordination".

Italy has repeatedly said it would be ready to take part, and even a leading role, in a military mission against IS in Libya, but only if strictly authorized by the United Nations (UN) and under request of a stable Libyan government.

Gentiloni reiterated the stance on Tuesday, saying "it is very comforting for us to see there was a great convergence here (among coalition's members) on the need to consolidate the negotiating process in Libya," Gentiloni said.

"Italy is ready to answer to a request from a new government in Libya on several issues, including security".

"Yet, the key point is that we need a political process going on, and a unity government with the full endorsement of the Libyan parties in the next two weeks. This is possible, and is what we are all working for," Gentiloni stressed.

Since early 2015, the increasing presence of IS in Libya has been a factor of major concern for the international community, and for Italy, whose most southern coasts lie only few hundreds kilometers from the North African country.

Libya has been engulfed in fighting between rival factions since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 after a NATO-backed military intervention, and two administrations have contended for the power since 2014.

A UN-brokered deal to form a national unity government was reached in December, but failed so far to gain approval from the two rival parliaments.
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Russia Tuesday imposed travel ban on five U.S. officials following the U.S. move to extend the so-called Magnitsky list that targets 39 Russian individuals on human right violations charges.

"We are publishing the list of five U.S. justice officials who are banned from entry to Russia in response (to) anti-Russian policies conducted by Washington," the Foreign Ministry said in an online statement.

"The decision of Barack Obama administration on the expansion of the so-called Magnitsky list delivers another blow to bilateral relations," the statement said.

Washington on Monday added five Russian individuals to the list of people under sanction of the 2012 Magnitsky Act.

The U.S. bill targeted Russian citizens allegedly responsible for the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009, who was described by the United States as a fighter against corruption among Russian officials.

In the statement, Russian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of spreading "baseless" and false information against Russia, as well as "unscrupulous campaign to discredit our country."

The ministry also criticized the U.S. for "racially-motivated arbitrary actions of the police" and its penitentiary system.

The Russian government has already imposed various sanctions in response to the Magnitsky list, including denying Americans adoption of Russian children.

Russia published its initial travel ban list of 18 U.S. citizens in 2013, which was called "Guantanamo list," and later barred another 12 Americans from entering the country in 2014.

Russia's relations with the United States deteriorated over Moscow's absorption of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. There have also been disagreements between the two countries on Syria issues.
About The Author

Mohammed Asrar is a auto enthusiast, blogger, author, and business person. In addition to being the founder of this website, Asrar is also a MBA graduate, holds a degree from Bangalore University. His personal interests beyond the automotive world lie in the travelling and photography.
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday spoke by phone with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss Syria and the upcoming Syria aid conference, the White House said.

Obama reiterated the commitment of the U.S. to continue to support those displaced by the violence in Syria and elsewhere in the region, as well as to help alleviate the pressures in Europe created by the unprecedented inflow of refugees, the White House said in a statement.

London Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region will be held on Thursday in London.

Obama informed Cameron that the U.S. will be represented at the Conference by Secretary of State John Kerry, who will announce "significant new contributions" to support relief efforts, and discussed plans relating to the Refugee Summit he will host at the UN General Assembly in September.

The two leaders also talked about the situation in Syria and the need for concrete steps to improve humanitarian access and build confidence in support of the political process.

In addition, Cameron updated Obama on his negotiations with European Union leaders to reform Britain's membership in the European Union.

Obama reaffirmed "continued U.S. support for a strong United Kingdom in a strong European Union," according to the statement.

European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday unveiled his proposals to retain Britain's membership in the European Union.

Cameron said the draft reform proposals have showed real progress in all four areas where Britain needs change but there is more work to do.
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Condemning in the strongest terms Saturday's "horrific terrorist attacks" attributed to Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, which resulted in a large number of dead and wounded, the United Nations Security Council Tuesday called on all States to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," the 15-member body said in a press statement, which condemned the attack on Dalori village, in restive Borno state.

According media to reports, Boko Haram, armed with machine guns, raided the village on Saturday, leaving more than 50 people dead and wounding dozens more.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. They stressed that those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard."

It expressed their deep condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured by "these heinous acts" and commended regional efforts, including through the Multi-National Joint Task Force, to combat Boko Haram.

Reiterating that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever, and by whomsoever committed, the Council reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, within the framework of international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday that the draft European Union (EU) reform proposals released by European Council President Donald Tusk have showed real progress in all four areas where Britain needs change but there's more work to do.

Cameron made the remarks on twitter soon after EU reform proposals had been released.

He later said in an interview with the BBC that the draft text delivers "substantial change" in Britain's relationship with the EU. He said there are "important things" still to be worked on, with "more detail to be nailed down" over the coming days.

He also acknowledged there is a negotiation with the rest of Europe in the offering but he said "real progress" has been made in his four main negotiating objectives.

The proposals released by Tusk will allow for an "emergency brake" on benefits for migrant workers to be imposed immediately after Britain votes in favor of remaining in the union.

Speaking at Siemens UK headquarters in Wiltshire, Cameron said: "Britain is better off, more secure, more prosperous, better chance of success for all our families and all our people inside this reformed European Union" if it can secure and improve EU reform proposals.

"We are never going to sign up to an ever-closer union, we are going to make sure we maintain our independence as a country and I think we will be able to argue the best of both worlds," he added.

British Home Secretary Theresa May, who has held a tough stance toward EU immigrants, said the proposals addressed key concerns of Britain about the "abuse" of EU free movement principles and the use of EU law to prevent the deportation of foreign criminals.

"It is encouraging that the commission has agreed with the UK that we should take action to address these two issues," she said in a statement.

"So we have made progress and negotiations continue ahead of the February council. As the Prime Minister has said, more work needs to be done, but this is a basis for a deal," she noted.

May's remarks have been seen as a boost for Cameron's campaign to let Britain stay in "a reformed EU."

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also hailed the proposals as "a major step forward."

"UK has taken major step forward on EU reform and crossed lines we were told were uncrossable," he tweeted.
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European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday unveiled his proposals to retain Britain's membership in the European Union.

According to a letter by Tusk to the members of the European Council, the proposal included the four areas of economic governance, competitiveness, sovereignty, and social benefits and free movement.

"I propose that member states discontinue the consideration of a draft legislative act where a number of national parliaments object to it on the grounds of subsidiarity, unless the concerns raised can be accommodated," he said.

Also on Tuesday, the EU side unveiled a draft decision of the heads of state or government concerning the British referendum issue.

According to the draft decision, the European Council could, by means of an implementing act, authorize the member state concerned to "limit the access of Union workers newly entering its labor market to in-work benefits for a total period of up to four years from the commencement of employment."

"The draft decision notes, in particular, the Commission's intention to propose changes to EU legislation as regards the export of child benefits and the creation of a safeguard mechanism to respond to exceptional situations of inflow of workers from other member states," said Tusk, adding that the approach, as well as the exact duration of the application of such a mechanism "need to be further discussed at our level."

"We need to fully respect the current treaties, in particular the principles of freedom of movement and non-discrimination. Therefore, the proposed solution to address the UK's concerns builds on the clarification of the interpretation of current rules, including a draft commission declaration on a number of issues relating to better fighting abuse of free movement," Tusk said in the letter.

Concerning economic governance, Tusk said that the draft decision of the heads set out principles to ensure mutual respect between the member states taking part in further deepening of the economic and monetary union and those which do not.

However, Tusk said the respect "cannot constitute a veto nor delay urgent decisions."

"To my mind, it goes really far in addressing all the concerns raised by Prime Minister Cameron. The line I did not cross, however, were the principles on which the European project is founded," said Tusk.

Tusk said European affairs advisors and permanent representatives will meet on Friday to have the first discussion of the proposal.

"The clear objective is to have an agreement of all 28 [member states] at the February European Council. To succeed we will all need to compromise. To fail would be compromising our common future," he said.
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Algerian security forces arrested 32 members of a terrorist group affiliated to Daesh, also known as Islamic State (IS) group, in the province of Boumerdes, local media reported, citing a security source.

According to the state-run Algerian newspaper El Khabar, detectives dismantled this group last week, saying it was composed of 28 men and four women. The source specified that it is the second terrorist group being dismantled within the past few weeks.

Detectives managed to get accurate information that the leader of the IS-affiliated group in Algeria is called Mohamed Merimi, alias Abu Miram al-Jazairi, and his wife was assigned the task of recruiting new members.

During the interrogation, the wife of Abu Miram affirmed that there are 32 people in the group.

The 32 members were trying to travel to fight in Syria with local Jihadist groups, the source said, adding that they were put under custody in a prison in Algiers pending trial.
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Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Syed Tariq Fatemi met with the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Dr Rashid Alimov in Beijing on February 2.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Syed Tariq Fatemi (L) called on the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Dr Rashid Alimov in Beijing yesterday.

Syed Tariq Fatemi said that Pakistan attached great importance to SCO, endorsed its aims and objectives and fully subscribed to the principles enshrined in its charter. Pakistan believed that SCO, its orientation, and its direction were in consonance with its own objectives of promoting peace, stability and development. Pakistan looked forward to enhancing connectivity and economic cooperation with SCO community, he added.

Fatemi expressed confidence that through united and cooperative efforts in combating terrorism, extremism, separatism, organized crime, counter narcotics and arms trafficking, the organization would play a positive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

Recalling the decision taken by Ufa summit to grant full membership to Pakistan, Fatemi said that Pakistan looked forward to playing an increasingly meaningful and positive role in the organization in fulfillment of its charter objectives.

Secretary General Alimov highly lauded Pakistans role as an observer in SCO and its activities. He said that Pakistan was an important country and had been playing an important role in regional and global affairs. He looked forward to Pakistans continued significant role in SCO and contribution in future.

Pakistan Ambassador Masood Khalid also attended the meeting.
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The head of the Syrian government delegation on Tuesday declined to agree with the United Nations(UN) representative that the new round of Geneva peace talks has been "officially" started, saying that they are still at a "stage of preparations".

Bashar al-Jaafari, the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to UN, speaks to the media at Palais des Nations for UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 2, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Bashar al-Jaafari, the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to UN and the head of the government team, told reporters that they are still waiting for the list of a clear agenda and names of participants.

Earlier on Monday evening, following a two-hour meeting with the Syrian main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told the press that intra-Syrian talks aiming to broker a lasting peace for the country at war since 2011 had officially started.

"As far as we are concerned, their arrival to the Palais des Nations and initiating the discussions with us is the official beginning of the Geneva talks," the diplomat stated.

However, after meeting with de Mistura Tuesday morning, the Syrian government's chief negotiator told reporters that they still don't know who the opposition delegation is and whom they will negotiate with.

The new round of Syrian peace talks was first announced as kicking off on January 29 in Geneva's Palais des Nations with the arrival of the Syrian government delegation, despite its opposition counterpart not being present in the Swiss city.

Later on January 31, the UN Envoy paid a "courtesy visit" to the delegation of the main Syrian opposition at their hotel in Geneva following their arrival in the previous evening.

After announcing the "official beginning" of the Geneva Intra-Syrian Talks on February 1, de Mistura also told reporters that his first immediate objective for the talks is to "make sure that the talks continue and that everyone is on board".
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Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (R) shakes hand with Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi (L) in Beijing on February 2, 2015. [Xinhua]

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi, who is currently on an official visit to China, in Beijing on February 2.

Yang and Fatemi discussed measures to enhance further collaboration between Pakistan and China on economic, commercial and political issues. They also discussed a range of regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

Yang expressed China's continued support for Pakistan's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Fatemi said exchange of high level visits is a regular feature of the special relationship between Pakistan and China. He stressed the importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has added a new dimension to Pakistan-China all weather partnership.

The two countries will focus this year on greater cultural exchanges and deepen people-to-people contacts in the context of the 65 year celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the same day, the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi also held consultations with his Chinese counterpart, Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The consultations between the two sides covered a wide array of subjects including bilateral cooperation, CPEC, as well as regional and global issues.
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A plane of Somalia's Daallo Airlines made an emergency landing Tuesday in the capital Mogadishu after it caught fire a few minutes after taking off, injuring two people, officials said.

The Daallo Airlines flight D3159 was en route to Djibouti from Somalia after a suspected bomb blasted a hole through the side of the board or fuselage just five minutes after the aircraft took off from Mogadishu airport, Air Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Ali Ahmed Jama said.

Jama said the government has launched investigations into the explosion, confirming that two passengers were injured while one was still missing.

"An explosion happened inside the Airbus D3159 belonging to Daalo Airline company, two people were injured, one is missing, but security forces have launched investigations to establish the cause," Jama told journalists late on Tuesday.

However, witnesses said at least one person was blown out of the aircraft by the impact of the explosion. Jama said the plane which was at between 10,000-14,000 feet was forced to return to Mogadishu's airport after a bang was heard on board, sparking fire.

"The pilot requested us to land and we accepted and later extended assistance to passengers," Jama said, adding that investigations are under way to determine the cause.

Ali Abdi Wardhere who was one of the passengers on board said the injured people were rushed to the AMISOM hospital while one passenger went missing.

"I was sleeping when the incident was happening, but running people woke me up amid fear and shock. The pilot did his best and brought us back. All the passengers were rescued apart from two people who were injured," Wardhere told Xinhua.

"The missing passenger is reported to have fallen and found in Bal'ad district in Middle Shabelle region, I thank the Somali government for how they managed to rescue," he added.

Sources said the missing person could be the one main suspect behind the blast as he was blown up by the explosion.

Daallo Airlines flies regularly between Mogadishu and cities including Djibouti and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
China Aid

(Fuqing, FujianJan. 8, 2016) Authorities in the neighboring Chinese coastal Fujian and Zhejiang provinces conducted a church demolition and two cross removals on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

A series of videos sent to China Aid shows officials in Fuqing, Fujian, demolishing Yulin Furen Christian Church on Wednesday for failure to register with the local government.

Previously, it was registered and approved, but not in recent years, an individual from the Fuqing Christian Association said. At this time, a real estate certificate is required for registration [in Fuqing]  [Therefore], we cannot just go register, even if we want to do so. There are still many [churches] that have not registered.

On Thursday morning, government personnel in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, forcibly demolished Nanhu Churchs and Wutian Dongzhuang Churchs crosses. Christians at both churches attempted to stop the officials, resulting in a scuffle and the detention of several church members. [Editors Note: A previous report incorrectly identified, Wutian Dongzhuang Church as Dongzhuang Church.]

It is the sub-district and city management [officials] that united to demolish [the crosses], a Wenzhou police officer said when China Aid called to inquire about the incident. We only maintained order.

China Aid exposes religious freedom abuses, such as those experienced in cases of forced demolitions, in order to promote religious freedom and rule of law in China.

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
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
Latin American Herald Tribune

 Bangkok  Chinese authorities have detained the highest-ranking pastor of Chongyi Church, Chinas largest official church since the Cultural Revolution, for protesting publicly against the forced removal of church crosses in the country, according to a statement by Christian NGO China Aid.

Gu Yuese, also known as Joseph Gu, was placed under residential surveillance in a designated location  commonly known as black jails  last Thursday, according to the U.S.-based Christian rights group China Aid.

His arrest marks a major escalation in the crackdown against those who oppose the forced demolition of crosses, says president and founder of China Aid Bob Fu in a statement. He will be the highest-ranking national church leader arrested since the Cultural Revolution.

The arrests happened 10 days after authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang forcefully removed the pastor from his position, supposedly for speaking out against the governments ongoing crackdown against Christians in the country since early 2014.

China Aid has exposed Chinese government violations of religious freedom, such as experienced by Gu.

Since the pastors arrest last Thursday, the organization has reported that six church crosses have also been forcibly demolished.

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
Crosses are often demolished late at

night by authorities with little warning,

such as this cross at Gulou Church in

Zhejiang in 2014.

(Photo: courtesy of Zan Aizong)

China Aid

Reported and written in Chinese by Qiao Nong. Translated by Carolyn Song. Edited in English by Ava Collins.

(Wenzhou, ZhejiangFeb. 2, 2016) Authorities demolished the crosses on three different churches in Chinas coastal Zhejiang province early Wednesday morning.

The three churches, Xiuyang Church, Waipu Church and Qingkeng Church, are all located in Wenzhou, which has been the center of a massive cross demolition campaign titled Three Rectifications and One Demolition, which began in early 2014. With these most recent demolitions, the totals rise to 18 crosses demolished in the past two weeks alone and approximately 1,700 demolished since the campaign began.

Members of Waipu Church and Qingkeng Church reported that nearly 100 government employees broke into their churches around 11 p.m. on Jan. 26 and removed the church crosses using electric drills and various other tools.

This was a secret destruction, like thieves would do. They did not give any reason, because all of the removals are secretive. No one saw them, an anonymous church member said.

The demolition at Waipu Church reportedly lasted until 4 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 27. Unlike previous demolitions, the officials did not use cranes to remove the crosses, and the tools used instead destroyed the churchs door and damaged the bell tower. Authorities also confiscated Waipu Churchs surveillance and video equipment.

These demolition personnel came suddenly, and many believers did not know [what was happening]. The last time, at East Gate Church in Pingyang County, they also came suddenly at 11:25 to demolish. Now, we all know that the storm of demolition will come again, but we do not know from which direction this violent attack will come, a Wenzhou Christian surnamed Wu told China Aids reporter.

A fourth cross demolition reportedly took place on the evening of Jan. 27 at a church located on Chipu Road in Wenzhou, though details of this event currently cannot be confirmed.

China Aid reports on events such as the widespread waves of cross demolitions in Wenzhou in order to expose religious freedom abuses and promote rule of law in China.

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
More homeowners are now looking to rent out their properties on a short-term basis, according to the latest figures from rental site Xiaozhu.com.

Younger owners in their 20s and 30s, especially, are deciding to earn from their investments by renting them when not being used, with some properties fetching as much as 520,000 yuan ($79,000) per year.

Chen Chi, a co-founder of Xiaozhu, said growth in what is being referred to as the "shared economy" in Chinathe peer-to-peer-based sharing of access to goods and servicesis driving the trend, and "transforming the accommodation industry" in the process.

"We are seeing more hosts from first- and second-tier cities renting out their apartments, and some are even renting out small commercial properties such as bookstores and flower shops they own," said Chen.

Not surprisingly, the big population centers of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen witnessed the strongest short-term home renting activity last year. But more owners from smaller cities are also gradually embracing the practice.

The typical temporary landlord is a white-collar worker aged 20 to 35, a profile that accounts for 60 percent of the total short-term tenancies being advertised on the website, said Chen. The study showed that women are more likely to be trusted as tenants and hosts than men.

Launched four years ago with a business model similar to the US rental-sharing website Airbnb Inc, Xiaozhu was listing 70,000 short-term rentals in 213 Chinese cities at the end of 2015, a 350 percent increase on the year earlier.

According to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International, Xiaozhu has become China's largest platform for private homeowners looking to rent out spare rooms too.

Wang Liantao, another co-founder of the website, said a growing number of Chinese now prefer to find a bed for the night from a home-renting platform, rather than book a traditional hotel room.

Rooms in people's homes offer a more local feel, as well as being cheaper and a nice way to make new friends.
Chinese mainland stocks may be tumbling at the fastest pace in seven years, but one part of the $5.2 trillion market is hotter than ever: initial public offerings.

The six mainland companies that took bids from IPO investors over the past two weeks attracted orders worth 7.1 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion), more than the value of Australia's entire equity market.

The offeringsthe first under new rules that allow investors to bid without making upfront depositswere oversubscribed by more than 1,800 times on average.

Now that IPO orders no longer tie up cash, the deals have turned into the equivalent of lottery tickets that only require buyers to pay if they hit the jackpot. Gains are seen as virtually assured because regulators have capped IPO price-to-earnings ratios at levels less than half the median valuation on mainland exchanges, a ceiling that led to average one-month returns of 383 percent last year. While odds of securing an allocation are minuscule, the prospect of outsized profits is proving hard to pass up as investors try to recover from last month's 23 percent plunge in the Shanghai Composite Index.

"Returns are guaranteed," said Wang Zheng, the Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management Co. "That's why everyone is so willing to participate in bidding and demand for new shares is so high."

The valuation capat 23 times earningsis one of many market distortions introduced by Chinese authorities in their effort to protect individual investors in one of the world's most volatile equity markets.

The government has also ordered State-linked funds to buy stocks, clamped down on futures trading and restricted stake sales by major shareholders.

"The 23 times P/E ratio is a line no one dares to touch now," Wang said. "The regulator will conduct 'window guidance' should anyone overstep it."

China's securities regulator said in December it would no longer require investors to pay upfront for IPOs, a rule that had been wreaking havoc on liquidity conditions in the nation's financial system. Almost every time a new batch of companies took orders over the past year, money-market rates climbed and the Shanghai Composite slumped as investors hoarded cash for their bids.

"The good thing about the new IPO system is that it won't cause wild swings in liquidity," said Wei Wei, an analyst at Huaxi Securities Co in Shanghai.

For the six deals priced under the new system, odds of getting an allocation were 0.05 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from exchange filings. That compares with about 0.5 percent under the old rules.
Logos of China UnionPay are seen on bank cards in this file photo illustration taken in Beijing Dec 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

UnionPay International,a subsidiary of China UnionPay, which is the biggest bankcard association in China, said that insurance has always been under its overseas restricted category, which has a limit of $5,000 per transaction conducted via bank cards issued in the Chinese mainland.

However, some merchants failed to follow the rule. "It's not a new policy. We just ask the merchants to follow the existing policy," UnionPay International told the Economic Daily, denying other media reports.

Bloomberg reported that UnionPay International is putting a limit on purchases of insurance products in Hong Kong using credit and debit cards issued by Chinese mainland banks beginning Thursday.

Each transaction made in Hong Kong through UnionPay cards to pay premiums will be capped at $5,000, but no daily limit was set for the number of total transactions, Bloomberg said on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

However, these reports led insurance stocks to plunge on the Hong Kong market. AIA, the largest insurer in Hong Kong, fell 6.47 percent to HK$38.30 by 10:30 am. Prudential was down 7.33 percent to HK$139.

Over the past few years, the insurance sector has become one of the fastest developing industries in Hong Kong. Mainland visitors have been flocking to Hong Kong to buy insurance products, which usually come with better service and allow risk diversification.

Purchases of insurance products by mainland visitors to Hong Kong reached HK$21.1 billion ($2.7 billion) during the first three quarters last year, following a 64 percent increase in 2014, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in Hong Kong.
Of 24 provincial-level governments that released this year's economic blueprint, 15 have lowered their growth targets.

The cut has left room for de-stocking and structural adjustments, Lian Ping, chief economist of the Bank of Communications, told Shanghai Securities News, adding that the country will likely aim a growth range of 6.5 to 7 percent this year.

Among all, Chongqing municipal sets the highest goal, aiming to extend its 10 percent growth despite a slowdown nationwide.

Here is a list of the top 11 provincial-level regions with their ambitious targets in 2016.

9. Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region

GDP target in 2016: 7.5 to 8 percent

GDP growth in 2015: 8 percent
A staff of an e-commerce division takes a nap at his desk at KSW Food Company's headquarters in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, at 5 am, on Nov 11, 2015. [Photo/IC]

China's financial services sector offers a better work-life balance compared with Internet-based technology firms in China, according to a research report.

The China Urban Smart Transportation Report 2015, which was released on Jan 20, says financial sector employees' work day ends hours earlier, compared with the Internet sector.

Jointly published by Didi Kuaidi, China's largest ride-hailing application, Watching Media and the First Finance Commercial Data Research Center, the report states those who work at Jinrongjie, a financial services cluster in western Beijing, mostly leave their offices for home between 5 pm and 6 pm.

But most of those who work in Xi'erqi Software Park, an Internet business cluster in northeast Beijing, finish their day as late as 11 pm. The report showed that employees of Internet firms tend to leave for home between 5 pm and midnight.

The report is based on data gathered from Didi Kuaidi, which processed 1.43 billion online requests for rides in 2015. The apps often receive requests from office workers at Xi'erqi Software Park between 9 pm and 11 pm, signaling long work hours, at Internet firms.

China's online search giant Baidu Inc is one of the Internet firms located in Beijing's Xi'erqi area. The report said that on average Baidu employees finish their daily work at 8:23 pm.

Baidu ranked fourth in long work hours among major Internet firms in China. The Beijing-based Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, a software company known for its antivirus software, topped the list with the average office hours ending at 8:35 pm.

On average, all of the employees at Baidu Inc, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, the top three among Internet companies, work past 8:15 pm.

Despite the long work hours, the Internet industry in China has been gaining popularity among jobseekers.

A report published in October 2015 by the China unit of LinkedIn, the world's largest online network of working professionals, showed that Internet-based technology companies are jobseekers' second-most preferred destination, after the financial services industry.

Wendy Mu, senior partner with Experis, a hiring firm, said China's Internet industry has very strong demand for talent due to fierce competition in the market and rapid development in technology.

"In China's Internet industry, people would know who is the best, who is the second-best, but there is no room for the third-largest player. Internet firms have high demands for its employees, that is why people often have long working hours there," she said.

But hard work often comes with better payment. Mu said that Chinese Internet companies have already beaten some well-known multinationals in salary and compensation packages. "An offer with 18-month salaries a year is often to be found in the Internet industry. They have other perks like stock options, which create a large number of millionaires or even billionaires in China," said the Shanghai-based Mu.

But for some jobseekers, there is more to the Internet industry than just money.

Zhou Tuo, who is about to graduate from the US-based Purdue University this summer, is eager to land a job in China's booming Internet sector. "I think Internet will be the infrastructure of everything, just like electricity. Working for an Internet firm means you get to know the most cutting-edge technology and the emerging business model. That excites me," he said.
An employee shows features of Baidu's mapping services, Jan 14, 2014.[Photo/CFP]

Search engine giant Baidu Inc is expanding its mapping services beyond China, to tap into the growing demand from Chinese tourists traveling overseas.

A spokesperson for the company said it had launched the desktop and mobile mapping service in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Singapore, in the hope of luring Chinese travelers away from using Google Inc's mapping function.

"Those four countries are receiving more Chinese tourists every year, so it makes a lot of sense for us to expand our service there," the spokesperson said.

The firm has timed the launch to coincide with Spring Festival which begins on Feb 8, one of the country's biggest tourist seasons, to help it gauge user reaction and use.

That information will be analyzed quickly to improve the service, the spokesperson said.

Nearly 6 million Chinese are expected to travel overseas during Spring Festival, with the above four countries among their top 10 destinations, according to the country's largest online travel agency, Ctrip.com International Ltd.

The expanded Baidu service will allow tourists to plan the most appropriate routes, and more services are expected to be added such as navigation and booking local restaurants.

Zhang Xu, an analyst from Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International, is confident Baidu will manage to poach Chinese users from Google.

"Most mainland tourists have been using Baidu Map for a while when they are at home.

"Once the service becomes available in foreign countries, it will become their top choice, as the Chinese-language version will hold great appeal to those who can't speak English," he said.

Baidu currently holds a 70 percent share of China's mapping service market, with 300 million monthly active users.

"But it still has a lot of homework to do to compete with Google in the global market, especially in terms of the accuracy of its maps," Zhang said.

Ma Ke, a 25-year-old travel enthusiast from Beijing, however, said she would not be using Baidu Map if the service fails to meet Google's quality.

Meng Jing and Wang Wen contributed to this story.
Customers buy computers at a store of Lenovo in Shanghai. [Photo/IC]

Lenovo Group Ltd posted a 19 percent growth in profit amid lower revenue gains in its third fiscal quarter, the world's largest personal computer maker said on Wednesday.

The Beijing-based company said its net income in the quarter that ended on Dec 31 stood at $300 million, beating analysts' estimates. However, Lenovo is still facing strong headwinds in various businesses.

Because of lackluster demand in the Chinese smartphone market, Lenovo's smartphone volume declined by 18.1 percent year-on-year in the past quarter, with 20.2 million units sold.

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's chairman and CEO, said the company will "build scale and efficiency" to accelerate growth in emerging mobile markets.

"We will also make breakthroughs in mature markets with innovative products and premium brands, and expand in the open market in China with a stronger product portfolio," Yang said.

Lenovo saw hyper shipment growth in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia. About 83 percent of its smartphones were sold outside China in its third fiscal quarter, compared to 75 percent in the second fiscal quarter, according to Lenovo.

The sluggish worldwide PC market, peaking handset sales in China and unstable currencies in major markets dragged down Lenovo's quarterly revenue by 8 percent year-on-year, the company said.
Lawmakers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will begin to draft a regulation against religious extremism this year, the top regional legislator said on Wednesday.

It will be China's first legislation targeting religious extremism, which has led to a number of terrorist attacks in the country in recent years.

"Drafting local regulations on anti-terrorism and eliminating religious extremism are the main focus of this year's legislative work, which will provide solid legal support for Xinjiang to combat terrorism and religious extremism," said Nayim Yassen, director of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Regional People's Congress. Nayim made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of the local people's congress in Urumqi, the regional capital.

Local lawmakers will also start to draft the practices for implementing the counter terrorism law in Xinjiang this year. They had already begun to draft local anti-terrorism legislation before the National People's Congress passed China's first counter terrorism law in December.

On Monday, Xinjiang announced that it will continue to intensify its strike-hard campaign against terrorism this year. Regional Party chief Zhang Chunxian said all anti-terrorism activities will be carried out in accordance with the law.

Nayim said Xinjiang lawmakers began to research the drafting of a regulation against religious extremism last year and have made "significant progress".

The spread of religious extremism is believed to have led to an increasing number of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of China in recent years. Last year, the regional legislature approved Urumqi legislators' decision to ban without delay full-face coverings in public. The legislators said such clothing is associated with religious extremism.

Xinjiang lawmakers also passed a regulation last year on improving ethnic unity. From Jan 1, behavior that damages ethnic unity will be punished in accordance with the regulation.
Surrounded by several dozen onlookers, workers toppled the G.D. Eastlick grain elevator in downtown Laurel on a nippy Monday night.

The demolition had been anticipated for months but took only a minute to complete on West Main Street next to the underpass. By 9:30 p.m., Laurel firefighters had sealed off the downtown underpass and two blocks of Main Street for workers at Montana Rail Link to complete the job.

Workers secured cables around the base of the abandoned, century-old grain terminal, which were attached to a bulldozer a few hundred feet west of the site. Another worker positioned the bucket of a front-end loader behind the elevator and pushed.

The foundation cracked, tin siding screeched and a handful of remaining birds fled their homes. The building, Laurels tallest, pitched over to the west with a dramatic crash, sending clouds of grain dust and other debris billowing into the air.

The crowd cheered.

That was impressive, said Laurel Fire Marshal Jason Shovar.

Work crews stayed until about midnight, and the site should be empty within weeks, he added.

The grain elevator was built in 1913, and is nearly as old as Laurel itself. Locals still tell stories of how relatives actually lived on the ground floor when they came to town in the 1930s, but its primary use was storage and transport for area farmers.

In later years, it was owned by an Internet service company, which installed antennae at the top. Recently, however, Shovar said the building was identified as a potential fire hazard that needed to come down.

Grain elevator in Laurel to come down next week LAUREL  The century-old G.D. Eastlick grain elevator downtown is scheduled to be torn down 

Montana Rail Link, which owns the property, is looking for a new tenant to possibly build next to the tracks. Officials there have not said what theyll do with the wood or the G.D. Eastlick sign, which remained on the building when it collapsed.

For many people, however, the grain elevator was a landmark to let travelers know they were entering Laurel. Onlookers braved temperatures in the teens and a light snowfall to get a last look at a piece of Laurels history.

James Heit, who now lives in Billings, arrived in mid-afternoon to ensure he wouldnt miss the elevators last moments.

The 48-year-old cable man filmed the demolition and cleanup and posted several videos to YouTube and to a Facebook group called You know youre from Laurel MT when.

He said he wanted to capture the moment for old friends who had moved away.

Its a dramatic change. The cityscape of Laurel is going to be changed forever. A lot of people have a lot of memories from there, Heit said.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan holds a news conference after the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee concerning the Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 1, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

GENEVA/LONDON - The World Health Organization on Monday declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health emergency as the disease linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil spreads rapidly.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told reporters an international coordinated response was needed, although restrictions on travel or trade were not necessary.

The emergency designation was recommended by a committee of independent experts to the United Nations agency following criticism of a hesitant response so far. The move should help fast-track international action and research priorities.

The WHO said last week the Zika virus was "spreading explosively" and could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas.

The agency was criticised for reacting too slowly to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa which killed more than 10,000 people, and has promised to do better in future global health crises.

The WHO's International Health Regulations emergency committee brings together experts in epidemiology, public health and infectious diseases from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
If I'd never visited China, I'd be more likely to now than ever.

Because it's easier than ever.

While dozens of cities started offering 72-hour visa-free visits to third-country transit travelers in recent years, the Yangtze River Delta enacted a 144-hour visa-free policy on Saturday - a week before Spring Festival.

This enables journeys through Shanghai, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

The implications are huge.

The vastest visa relaxation since New China's founding means you can cover vaster-than-ever chunks of territory without a visa.

"The land of fish and rice" - China's "land of milk and honey" - awaits.

Unlike under the 72-hour policies (which Shanghai and the two provinces' capitals adopted in 2013), they can get outside cities to see the mountain terraces they've long daydreamed of.

Real China.

Foreign visits to the region are sure to surge.

The news arrived as the country continues to lament an inbound-travel industry that has declined for years, while tourism props up a tenth of GDP.

During the period, China's outbound-travel has ranked among the global tourism industry's grandest triumphs. A primary propellant has been countries easing entry for Chinese.

While the gist is obvious, many foreign tourism authorities seem startled by the impact of easing Chinese entry.

Numbers blasted beyond forecasts.

One night last year, a Chinese friend asked to use our credit card to book a Palau trip for the following day - hours before she left.

It was the same week the country started considering halving flights from China to curb tourism influxes that could exceed native populations at certain times.

It was an impulse booking. Palau doesn't require Chinese to have visas.

China can learn from this - and try something similar in reverse.

Its tourism authorities should examine the outbound market to realize how visa relaxations can shape the inbound market.

That is, realizing visas' powerful hand in scripting itineraries.

Perhaps that's part of the intent behind Saturday's change.

Surely, it gives vim to the delta's allure.

While it's a step - arguably a leap - in the right direction, its greatest stumbling block may prove the transit requirement.

It forces foreigners from the 51 qualifying countries to spend more time and money to travel elsewhere before heading home.

Or to skip China entirely.

Go somewhere easier. Cheaper.

Some of our family's recent visitors from the US have repeated visits, citing the 10-year multiple-entry visa as a chief incentive.

Others from other countries, such as Swedish relatives, canceled, citing smog.

Pollution obscures China's offerings in every sense.

While the Swedish visitors canceled their trip because of asthma, our most recent US guest - a multimedia expert - lamented he couldn't shoot most sites through Beijing's haze.

That said, he explained that means he'll have to return to finish his Beijing in Motion series.

He plans to. Mostly since he already has the 10-year multiple-entry visa.
Five domestic airlines agreed on Monday to tackle air rage by blacklisting passengers who misbehave.

Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Spring Airlines will keep records of those who behave badly.

Such behavior will include attacks on check-in counters, forcibly occupying airplanes and fighting on board, according to a joint announcement by the carriers.

Passenger records will be shared throughout the country's civil aviation and tourism industries. Those who are blacklisted will face penalties such as being denied special seats, ticket discounts, or even service.

However, Li Xiaojin, head of Civil Aviation University of China's Air Transport Economy Institute, said, "Airlines do not have the right to limit passengers' travel rights."

Although air passenger blacklists have been adopted overseas, there is no legal provision for them in China, Li said, adding that this may lead to disputes.

Gao Nan, a 33-year old woman living in Beijing, said, "I totally understand the airlines' decision and, as a passenger, I don't want to be affected by air rage."

But Gao said the provisions for the blacklist should be decided by a third party rather than just the airlines.

It is the first time that a blacklist has covered most of the domestic civil aviation industry.

The five airlines and their subsidiaries handle more than 80 percent of China's air traffic.

The decision to introduce the blacklist comes after the China Air Transport Association adopted a new management policy to record uncivilized behavior by air passengers. The measure took effect on Monday.

The association has defined 10 categories of uncivilized behavior by passengers.

Zhang Wu'an, spokesman for Spring Airlines, China's largest low-cost carrier, said, "It will be more effective when the whole industry says no to air rage."

Spring Airlines introduced its own blacklist in 2007 and refused to provide service to some passengers who behaved extremely badly, Zhang said.

After the blacklist was adopted, air rage cases dropped, Zhang added.
The Chinese mainland will work to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and contain "Taiwan independence" activities, the nation's top political adviser said on Tuesday.

"We will unswervingly uphold the principles and policies decided by the central leadership on Taiwan affairs, adhere to the one-China principle, firmly oppose and contain 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities in any form, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and push forward the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations," said Yu Zhengsheng.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at an annual meeting of central and local officials in charge of Taiwan affairs.

In the past year, the central leadership has accurately analyzed and grasped the cross-Straits situation, and it has actively boosted the development of relations between the two sides, he said.

The influence of the first meeting between cross-Straits leaders in 66 years, which was held in Singapore in November, was felt around the world, Yu added.

The two sides have set up the institutional framework for communication and cooperation that has benefited people on both sides of the Straits, based on adherence to the 1992 Consensus and opposition to "Taiwan independence", since 2008, Yu said.

"The peaceful development of cross-Straits ties is a correct path, and no one can resist the trend," he added.

The mainland will increase exchanges with Taiwan parties and groups that uphold the one-China principle in an effort to safeguard the political foundation shared by the two sides, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Efforts will be made to promote economic integration across the Taiwan Straits, including industrial and financial cooperation, and to benefit as many small businesses, farmers and fishermen as possible.

More measures will be adopted to facilitate exchanges in culture, education, tourism and religion across the Straits, according to the statement.

The authorities also vowed a harsh crackdown on corruption among officials working on Taiwan affairs.

Gong Qinggai, deputy head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, has been placed under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations," the top anti-graft body said last month.
Prosecutors pay special attention to handling, allocation of funds and property confiscated from defendants

Efforts to stem judicial corruption and prevent miscarriages of justice have been stepped up by the nation's prosecutors, the top prosecuting body said on Tuesday.

According to Supreme People's Procuratorate statistics, national prosecuting departments protested 13,182 rulings in civil cases between 2013 and last year, issuing 17,843 suggestions for improvement.

Over the same time period, 52,814 comments on the conduct of trial judges were also made by prosecutors.

Such enhanced supervision shows that prosecutors have "performed their duty" to protest or issue suggestions about "mistaken verdicts and mediations", said Xiao Wei, spokeswoman for the SPP.

"If judges are found to be breaking the law, we issue suggestions in order for them to correct their behavior and if signs of criminal intent are found, the relevant judge is placed under investigation," she said.

Cases involving people's livelihoods, environmental protection, food and drug safety, traffic accidents and the loss of State-owned assets were all priorities for supervision, according to Lyu Hongtao, deputy director at the SPP's Civil and Administration Supervision Department.

More focus was also being paid to civil cases involving false claims, lending disputes, real estate ownership and the management of confiscated assets, Lyu said.

"We have attached special importance to supervising the courts' handling and allocation of funds and property confiscated from defendants," he said.

Since 2013, 578 such cases have been investigated by prosecuting departments, Lyu said, with unnecessary delays identified in 23 provinces' courts and outright corruption or embezzlement uncovered in another 17 provinces and regions.

A typical case involved a police officer surnamed Mao, who was found guilty of embezzling 1.85 million yuan ($281,170) of public funds and sentenced to five years imprisonment by a court in Yumen, Gansu province in July 2014.

He had transferred the money to his personal bank account between October 2010 and May 2012 while supposedly investigating a series of outstanding loans, the court heard.

The city's procuratorate issued a statement to the court, urging it to enhance education of police and judges and handle seized assets more carefully.

Lyu said his department will further safeguard justice by encouraging whistleblowers and strengthening its supervision of the courts.
Tianhe-2, the world's most powerful supercomputer, was developed by China's National University of Defense Technology and deployed at the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou. Long Hongtao / Xinhua

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, plans to double its fiscal expenditure on science and technology to incubate high-tech startups, seeking a new identity as an international hub of scientific and technological innovation, said government officials.

The foreign trade and commerce center saw year-on-year economic growth of 8.4 percent last year, bringing the full-year GDP to 1.81 trillion yuan ($275 billion), ranking third in China for the 27th consecutive year, according to a government work report released on Monday.

Guangzhou aims to have an average annual GDP growth rate of above 7.5 percent during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), Mayor Chen Jianhua revealed while delivering the work report at the opening of the city's annual legislative session.

"Given that traditional industries' power in driving economic growth is weakening, we are stepping up efforts to encourage scientific and technological innovation in order to push forward industrial transformation and upgrading," Chen said.

"We will increase R&D expenditure to 3 percent of GDP during the 13th Five-Year Plan and develop Guangzhou into a national central city in terms of innovation."

The figure was around 2 percent in 2014, according to Zhao Xiaoxi, director of the planning department at the Guangzhou Science Technology and Innovation Commission.

"Providing better leverage through increased fiscal expenditure, we want to encourage enterprises to invest more in R&D," Zhao said, adding that tax reductions and subsidies will be offered to new scientific institutes and high-tech startups.

Guangzhou has its eyes on biological medicine, computer science and intelligent manufacturing to fuel its economic growth. The city contains two-thirds of the universities and all the key national laboratories in Guangdong province, and hosts the world's fastest supercomputer Tianhe-2, according to Nanfang Daily.

The government is also building a corridor for scientific and technological innovation that links the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City and Guangzhou Science City in the north, Guangzhou International Bio Island and the higher education mega center in the middle, and the innovation park in Nansha district in the south.

The corridor can also extend southward to Dongguan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

"Guangzhou can be the leader of innovation in the Pearl River Delta, by linking the research platforms in Guangzhou, the innovation atmosphere in Shenzhen and the manufacturing base in Dongguan through the corridor," Li Lixun, a professor of city planning at Sun Yat-sen University, told Nanfang Daily.
President Xi Jinping helps make the dough for ciba, a glutinous rice delicacy that is a local Spring Festival favorite, during a visit to the village of Shenshan, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday. LAN HONGGUANG / XINHUA

President Xi Jinping targeted poverty alleviation efforts when he made a pre-Spring Festival visit to Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province.

The city was home to the first rural base set up by China's revolutionary forces nearly 90 years ago.

"Measures and work to alleviate and eliminate poverty must be precise. Policies should be made according to the (needs of) households and individuals," Xi said while visiting households in the village of Shenshan on Tuesday.

He began a three-day trip to the province on Monday and also visited Ji'an and Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi.

It was the president's third visit to Jinggangshan after trips in 2006 and 2008.

Thirteen households out of the 54 in Shenshan are still mired in poverty.

Alleviation efforts should be "spot on" and address the root causes, Xi said.

The president visited the home of villager Zuo Xiufa, who runs a household business producing arts and crafts products from bamboo.

Xi endorsed the family's efforts to prosper from bamboo and said he hoped the business would succeed.

He said that as China strives to achieve moderate prosperity, the old revolutionary base areas should move ahead simultaneously.

"No one should drop out," he told a huge crowd of villagers.

Xi triggered applause when he said the Party and the government would help everyone. He also delivered greetings for the upcoming Year of the Monkey.

Addressing provincial officials at a meeting, Xi called for the country's industrial structure to be optimized and upgraded.

He referred to measures such as nurturing emerging industries, developing modern service sectors, eliminating outdated production capacity and giving resources to new industries.

Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the China National School of Administration, said, "Poverty alleviation will be the most important of the top priorities in the next five years, otherwise expected moderate prosperity nationwide will be a blank check, or an empty promise."

Reform measures should be categorized before being announced, and while past policies focused on groups, they should now target individuals, Zhu said.
Several policies will be adopted by the Foreign Ministry to help the flow of personnel between China and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, a senior diplomat said on Wednesday.

The smooth flow of personnel is the basis for pushing the initiative forward, said Guo Shaochun, director-general of the ministry's Department of Consular Affairs.

"We'll focus on solving problems with issuing visas to outbound Chinese businesses travelers in 2016, Guo said at an annual news conference on consular affairs.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a vision put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to boost interconnectivity and common development along the ancient land and maritime Silk Roads.

Guo also said the ministry handled nearly 80,000 cases of consular assistance and protection last year, one-third more than in 2014.

Some Chinese companies were awarded projects in the region but personnel had been prevented from traveling due to visa problems.

Guo said these problems will be eased and the implementation of major projects will be guaranteed.

The ministry will make "concerted efforts" to discuss two-way business visa exemptions with some countries, and provide more convenient visa arrangements for major cooperation projects with some other countries, he said.

The ministry will also increase its ability to provide consular protection, Gao said.

Cao Yongfei, a marketing manager at China Tianchen Engineering Corp's branch in Turkey, said, "As an overseas businessman, security risks are a primary concern when we enter a new country or region.

"The main overseas business of Chinese enterprises is located in underdeveloped countries or regions, and the security risks in such countries are relatively high."

He said the ministry will help Chinese companies operating overseas to build up security and protection systems and encourage them to make full use of local security companies, international insurers and rescue organizations.

"In 2015, the ministry handled nearly 80,000 consular protection and assistance cases, including about 100 major incidents," Guo said.

He said that as of Tuesday, Chinese citizens could enter 53 destinations on their passports and obtain visas on arrival.

Kong Xuanyou, assistant minister of foreign affairs, said, "The 'value' of a Chinese passport has been steadily improved, and the holders' dreams of being able to travel freely abroad are gradually becoming true."

Hans Peter Fluckiger, first secretary at the Swiss embassy in Beijing, said China did "a great job" last year on consular work. Bilateral cooperation in this area had been improved largely by adopting mutual visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic passports in December.

Contact the writers at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn

What they say?
The Chinese mainland will work to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and contain "Taiwan independence" activities, the nation's top political adviser said on Tuesday.

"We will unswervingly uphold the principles and policies decided by the central leadership on Taiwan affairs, adhere to the one-China principle, firmly oppose and contain 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities in any form, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and push forward the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations," said Yu Zhengsheng.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at an annual meeting of central and local officials in charge of Taiwan affairs.
The Year of the Monkey is just around the corner. One of the most famous depictions of the monkey is the Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Efforts have been made over the years to pass on the adventures of the Monkey King, along with his mentor Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, to the younger generation through animations. Here is a history of such animation productions.

1941

DVD cover of Princess Iron Fan. [Photo/Mtime]

Princess Iron Fan

Director: Wan brothers

Release date: Jan 1, 1941

The film is based on an episode of Journey to the West, in which the Monkey King battles the vengeful Princess Iron Fan.

The film was made by the Wan brothers, namely Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan, Wan Chaochen and Wan Dihuan, one of the first batch of animators in China. This first animated feature film made in China took three years and 237 artists to make. It was a milestone for China's history of animation, and its influences were widespread. Abroad, it prompted the then-16-year-old Tezuka Osamu, a Japanese animator and father of many renowned works including Astro Boy, to get into animation when it was exported to wartime Japan in 1942.
Located in the heart of elk winter range in Montanas Madison Valley, the Madison-Wall Creek Wildlife Management Area is now about 10 percent larger thanks to a land transfer from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

This is a tremendously unique project because we not only protected and conserved important elk habitat but actually improved it after removing a 3,000-square-foot home from the site, said Blake Henning, RMEF vice president of Lands and Conservation. This is a classic example of a trophy house in the wrong spot. It was an intrusion on elk winter range but through creativity and partnership, we removed it and left behind open habitat for elk and other wildlife in perpetuity.

In late 2014 RMEF acquired 631 acres of grassy rangeland 24 miles south of Ennis immediately adjacent to the WMA. The entire southern edge of the property borders the existing WMA while the eastern edge borders Bureau of Land Management property that runs to the Madison River.

RMEF recently conveyed the property to FWP which paid $1.04 million to acquire the land. The money came from federal Pittman-Robinson and Habitat Montana funds.

This is such an exciting addition to Wall Creek considering everything and everyone that benefit, said Julie Cunningham, FWP area biologist. First you have the 2,000 elk that use the WMA as crucial winter range, then the hundreds of mule deer and antelope that migrate through and  of course  the hunters who will now have access to hundreds more acres of huntable public land.

RMEF oversaw a bidding process in 2015 that led to the removal of the house from the premises. FWP will use the remaining structures for management and administration purposes. The actual home site will be reseeded and a small man-made pond will be reclaimed.

In addition to preventing any subdivision, the transaction improves and enhances public access to the now 7,188-acre WMA. It also expands hunting and fishing recreational opportunities, further protects the Madison River watershed, and allows for more elk tolerance by helping to prevent game damage issues.
Wang Hui, secretary general of Beijing municipal commission of cultural exchanges, speaks at the press conference for the cultural event "Happy Chinese New Year - Charming Beijing" in Beijing on Nov 17, 2015. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Increasing numbers of Chinese tourists have traveled abroad in recent years, bringing Chinese culture and influences with them. The city of Beverley Hills, in the US state of California, recently kicked off a month long celebration to mark the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Local business leaders in California say their state is a favorite destination for Chinese visitors. For 5 consecutive years, the city of Beverly Hills has hosted events to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Last Friday, a special event kicked off a month of celebrations called "Happy Chinese New Year - Charming Beijing."

The event was a collaboration between various US and Chinese tourist organizations. Acts were brought in from Beijing to entertain the audience, among them dignitaries. A display of Chinese fashion and jewelry was also made available for guests to purchase.

Julie Wagner is CEO of the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau. She says the event is meant as a gesture of appreciation for local Chinese and Chinese visitors.

"It's our way of giving back to the local Chinese community. So many of them come and bring business to us and they stay with us and they shop with us and they bring people from overseas, family, friends and so it's just our way of saying, 'thank you so much' and it's a way for us to share the Chinese culture with the local Beverly Hills Community too."

Brand USA is an organization that promotes travel to the US. Its figures show 2.2 million Chinese visitors traveled to the US in 2014. Wagner adds that in 2014, Chinese visitors spent an average of 16 nights in California and spent over 2,000 US dollars there per person per visit.

Wagner expects 2018 will bring 1.8 million Chinese visitors to California alone.

The celebrations are also a good way to entice Americans to visit China.

"It's those things, the expressions of art, the expressions of drama, the expressions of writing and poetry that really bring people together. They evoke emotions that are universal. They are not unique to a particular country and although the expressions from the Chinese way of doing it, may be different from ours, I think we all learn from them and we all feel great about it."

Consul General Liu Jian of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles says he hopes these events will introduce to Americans the Chinese way of life.

"As countries, we are not only developing the economy, but culture is the bridge that connects two peoples, so I think that this is a very good practice, because now the Americans are well known in China through American English learning, but we hope that through those festivals and activities that more American people know China's history, China's culture and Chinese living."

The Year of the Monkey arrives on Feb 8 this year.
A Picasso painting under the hammer during the 2013 auction at Christie's in Shanghai. Provided to China Daily

A newly-revised regulation on art dealing, issued by China's Ministry of Culture on Tuesday, has eased restrictions on import and export of works of art.

The ministry has delegated management of the cross-border art trade to provincial governments.

Dealers now only need to obtain a standard business license. They must register with the cultural department, but no longer need to meet any extra departmental requirements.

Organizer of commercial exhibitions of imported works of art must provide information about content, but not other details such as budget, promotion plans and lease of the venue.

The approval time for cross-border deals will be reduced from 15 days to five, with a maximum of 15 days to approve an exhibition.

The regulation was first adopted in 1994 and revised in 2004 but, as the market expanded, failed to cover many key aspects of the industry, said Ma Feng, a senior official with the ministry. New articles will better regulate and supervise domestic auctions and appraisals, he said.

Auction houses must keep the original records of their transactions and documents of appraisal for at least five years so that consumers can backtrack if any dispute over authenticity occurs.

Dealers will be punished and fined if they withhold information or mislead buyers.

China's art market was worth about 215 billion yuan ($33 billion) in 2014, second only to the United States'.
A young woman makes a phone call with her mobile phone while driving her car on the 5th of November in 1999. [Photo/IC]

Late last month Leqing court in Zhejiang province sentenced a 22-year-old man to one year in prison with an 18-month reprieve and and ordered him to pay 200,000 yuan civil compensation for accidentally hitting a pedestrian while driving and trying to delete a game app on his cellphone.

According to official statistics, the use of cellphones while driving is the top reason for traffic accidents leading to death in Zhengzhou, Henan provincemore than those caused by speeding, overtaking from the wrong side and drunk driving.

Studies show that staring at a cellphone for 3 seconds while driving at a speed of 60 kilometers an hour is as dangerous as "blind driving" for 50 meters. In fact, the United States National Safety Council said in 2014 that mobile devices were involved in 26 percent of all vehicle crashes.

The call to make the use of cellphones while driving a crime is growing. Many netizens even say the use of cellphones while driving should be treated on par with driving under the influence. But before jumping to conclusions, we should analyze whether the proposed punitive measures are appropriate for the action.

First, the degree of danger posed by the use of cellphones while driving varies. For example, sending text messages, playing games or watching videos are considered very dangerous activities, while making phone calls with Bluetooth or using a cellphone as GPS is less dangerous. So they do not deserve equal penalty.

And second, while amending a law, it is advisable to be cautious and conservative. In China, if a person is incriminated or sentenced by a courtno matter whether he/she is imprisoned or finedhis/her reputation is greatly damaged. Many people find it difficult to get re-employed after serving a sentence; they are even discriminated against. Therefore, the law should be applied with utmost discretion.

According to the existing national traffic code, it is illegal to use hand-held phones while driving, and an offender could have 2 scores stuck off his/her license and have to pay a fine up to 200 yuan ($30.1).

But the rule has not been strictly enforced, because many such violations have gone unpunished. Perhaps not having a specific enforcement standard has something to do with it. For instance, a person is guilty of driving under the influence if the alcohol level in his blood is 20mg/100ml or above, for which he/she should be punished according to administrative rulesand if the alcohol level is 80mg/100ml or above, it would constitute a crime.

Compared with this rule, the use of cellphones while driving is more complex offense. Moreover, it is difficult to pinpoint the gravity of the offense and preserve evidence.

But that does not mean nothing can be done to stop people from using cellphones while driving. To begin with, the traffic code should be modified to differentiate the nature of the offense and impose punishments accordingly. Public transport and goods vehicle drivers should be totally banned from using cellphones while driving, because one mistake from them can cause very serious damage, with drivers in general being prohibited from sending text messages, playing games, watching videos, or reading news or messages on their cellphones while driving. Talking on the phone with Bluetooth, however, could be acceptable.

Besides, heavier fines should be imposed on offenders and more points should be deducted from their licenses to deter people from using cellphones while driving. And probationary drivers who violate rules should be barred from getting a permanent driving license to help novice drivers learn good driving habits.

Moreover, technology innovation can always play a part. For example, auto companies should be urged to design and install more updated and affordable driving assistance tools, even though some companies have developed voice tools to help phone calls made by drivers relatively safe. Also, better technology can help capture violations and record evidence more efficiently.

Finally, people, drivers in particular, should improve their safety awareness and realize that life is much more important than cellphones.

The author is a fellow at the research office of Shunyi Court in Beijing.
LI MIN/CHINA DAILY

For most Chinese people who work far from home, the Spring Festival holiday offers a rare time for a get-together with relatives and friends. This is also a good occasion for promoting social and interpersonal interactions.

Chinese people are famous for "scrambling with relatives and friends to pay the bill" for dinners in restaurants; normally, the elders are known to pick up the tab saying "it is my treat". But this seems to be changing, as Chinese people, particularly those born in the 1980s and 1990s, become more receptive to Western culture. The younger generations no longer detest sharing expenses. And even though not all choose to "go Dutch", an increasing number of them have become tolerant to such proposals.

However, it seems that "going Dutch" is not something all Chinese people can accept easily. The way a woman in Wuhan, Hubei province, recently reacted to going Dutch reflects how unpopular the concept of sharing the bill still is in Chinese society.

According to media reports, the woman surnamed Li, traditionally her brothers and sisters, who now have their own families, should take turns to pay for the annual family reunion dinner during the Lunar New Year, and this year one of her brothers should have footed the bill. But the brother proposed that all members of the big family, including the elders and children, pay their share for the dinner starting from this year.

She said that after the dinner, each diner paid about 100 yuan ($15.17) as part of his/her share and left the restaurant sullenly, regretting that the otherwise harmonious "family reunion dinner" atmosphere was ruined by the go-Dutch arrangement.

One wouldn't be mistaken for saying that the Wuhan woman represents many Chinese people's views or disapproval of the go-Dutch model. Many Chinese people, who cherish collective unity and love, and value kinship and camaraderie, believe the talk of "money" among family members, relatives and friends is uncalled for. Going Dutch at a family gathering is embarrassing, they say, because it could lead to alienation, instead of bringing them closer.

The controversy over going Dutch is not because some people have or do not have a sense of belonging when it comes to relatives and friends. What it essentially embodies is a different concept toward sharing expenses, which traditionally is considered demeaning.

But the "taking-turns-to-pay" model the Wuhan woman approved of is another kind of go-Dutch arrangement, although no one wants to admit it. For friends who have dinner together regularly, there is not much difference between everyone taking turns to pay and each paying his or her own bill, and the difference, if there is any, is only a more direct or indirect cost-sharing arrangement. So it is difficult to judge which is better.

As a matter of fact, sharing the bill is becoming increasingly popular in modern Chinese society, especially among young people in big cities. Aside from the dinners that friends have together, many young couples even choose to have separate bank accounts and go Dutch in their daily expenses. There is no evidence to show couples that choose such a lifestyle love each other less or their marriage is less stable than that of those who lead life according to established traditions.

An online survey shows 70 percent of the netizens do not detest going Dutch, although 77 percent Chinese disapprove of the "expense-sharing" model between couples. And according to a 2015 survey by a public opinion agency under Shanghai's bureau of statistics, nearly 30 percent of the respondents are not averse to going Dutch for household expenses.

No matter whether or not we accept it, going Dutch is only an expense-sharing arrangement that appears a bit different from the traditional Chinese cost-sharing model. The need for us is to make an informed choice.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.
Obstetric nurses in the Central Hospital of Enshi, Hubei province, take care of newborns at the hospital. [Li Yuanyuan / for China Daily]

China has formally introduced a national two-child policy. Most newspaper reports say the move is aimed at addressing the problem of the country's rapidly aging population. In late January, an article in China Daily, headlined "Two-child policy to add 30 m workers", was accompanied by a second-deck headline, "Scrapping one-child policy should help China ease challenges of aging society". The article quoted Yuan Xin of Nankai University, who suggested that the fertility rate would increase to about two children per woman by 2018 (up from about 1.3-1.5 today).

However, these demographic expectations from the policy reform need to be tempered somewhat. There seems to be a view among many that the "one-child policy" operates as a kind of pressure valve, holding down Chinese fertility. In this view, most of the couples are currently allowed to have one child, but would like to have more. As such, reforms mean that more children come "on stream" and, hence, create a better balance between "workers" and "older people".

This is wrong.

The first common misinterpretation is that there has been a national "one-child policy" in place since late 1970s. Rather, there have been myriad reforms since 1984 implemented at the prefecture level allowing a second child under certain conditions. In this sense, the 2015-16 reform is not the watershed the media has made it out to be in that the majority of parents with one child in 2015 were already eligible to have a second.

Second, and building on this notion of gradual reform, the evidence seems to suggest only a limited impact of the last national reform which, in November 2013, allowed couples even if one of them was the only child of his/her parents to two children. While 10-12 million extra births were anticipated over three-to-four years as a result of this reform, about 1 million couples had applied to have a second child by the end of 2014. Of these, less than half a million births actually transpired. Therefore, while even more people became eligible to have a second child, the vast majority of couples seem to have chosen not to.

This limited impact of the previous reform came as little surprise to those of us who have been studying Chinese fertility. This is because there is a misinterpretation that the policy is holding down fertility somehow. Surveys show that while many Chinese parents might like to have two children, they intend to have only one even if they are allowed to have more. The reasons for this will be familiar: high costs of education and housing relative to incomes; impact on career development (especially for women); wanting to invest more in the success of one child; fragile family arrangements (especially for the floating population); the burden of responsibility for caring for elderly parents and so on. All of these added to the fact that one-child families have been privileged by the State for the past three decades.

Furthermore, these concerns are generally more pronounced in cities and coastal provinces, which are precisely the areas which the two-child policy reform will affect the most. In other words, our research suggests that the people most affected by the move to a two-child policy are precisely those who are least likely to have a second child.

All of this suggests that the demographic response to the two-child policy will likely be muted, and China is likely to continue to age extremely rapidly.

This brings us to why the policy was changed. I would suggest the Chinese government well knew that these reforms would have a limited demographic impact, and that the fears over a stress on public services were unwarranted. In addition, cases of localized corruption and illegal practices were becoming an increasing source of embarrassment to the State. Finally, couples who have dreamed of a second child can have had their wishes granted.

Politically, the reform may be a huge success; but to truly tackle the economic, social and demographic challenges of its rapidly aging society, China will need to do much more than fix its broken pressure valve.

The author is an associate professor in Social Policy at the University of Oxford.
Chinese calligraphy, meaning, "Grand gathering of New Year shopping". [Photo/Xinhua]

It should shame domestic manufacturers that there are frequent stories in the media about Chinese tourists traveling to Japan and frantically purchasing ordinary goods.

The latest product being snapped up by Chinese visitors to Japan is condoms, a product that like previous objects of desire, such as toilet seat covers and electric rice cookers, do not require cutting edge technologies to make.

According to one Japanese condom maker that is battling a shrinking local market, some of its customers have run out of some of its prophylactic products due to the surging demand of Chinese tourists.

Mainland tourists have become big spenders overseas. But while their unhesitating purchase of such expensive goods as luxury watches, handbags and jewelry when on overseas trips are more or less understandable because of the higher prices of such luxury goods at home, their frenzy for such common commodities as condoms is not a manifestation of such cost-consciousness.

Instead, to a large extent, it reflects domestic consumers' doubts about the quality of the home-produced goods. When it comes to condoms, for instance, not only do domestic producers have a poor reputation among Chinese consumers, but they also worry about whether they are buying the real thing.

According to media reports, last April, Shanghai police seized 3 million fake condoms made of inferior materials. Two years earlier, the Ghanaian authorities confiscated 110 million condoms imported from China that were said to have holes and easily burst during sex.

With the continuous rise of Chinese people's living conditions, they have become more demanding about product quality. But the fact that Chinese tourists are buying condoms in Japan should be a loud slap on the face for Chinese manufacturers of prophylactics.

It should also serve as a profound reminder to Chinese companies that if they fail to make substantial efforts to raise their quality, domestic consumers will continue to cast a vote against them with their feet.
Passengers carrying luggages walk in snow outside a railway station in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, Jan 31, 2016. Railway transportation witnessed a travel peak as the Spring Festival draws near. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hiring A "boyfriend" for the Spring Festival holiday is proving a lucrative business for some dating agencies. Some agencies in Henan province, Central China, are charging up to 10,000 yuan ($1,519) for introducing and matching a seven-day "boyfriend" with a young woman looking to convince her parents that she has a prospective husband. Scol.com.cn says:

Whether it is "renting girlfriends" or "boyfriends", it has been popular with some young people at this time of year.

However, there have been incidences in previous years, where some girls have been cheated, as despite spending time and energy pretending to be someone's girlfriend, some did not get the money they were promised. Of even more concern, some women have been beaten, raped or murdered. Some young women have taken their complaints to court but it seems there is still no further protection for them. At this point, money cannot heal the damage.

Of course, sometimes men or women going back home for the holiday feel they have no other choice, knowing they face constant pressure from their parents and relatives wanting to know when they are going to get married and have children.

But renting girlfriends or boyfriends is not a good idea, as it is a practice that will only hurt parents when they discover they have been deceived and is also potentially dangerous. Why not tell the truth?
Jiang Jianqing, chairman of the board, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Christine Lagarde, managing director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Fang Xinghai, director-general, International Economic Department, Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs of China and Gary D. Cohn (L-R), president and chief operating officer, Goldman Sachs, arrive for the session 'Where Is the Chinese Economy Heading?' of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 21, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

There has been a great deal of anxiety recently among global investors and financial experts over the state of the Chinese economy. This appears to have reached its peak during the 2016 World Economic Forum at Davos, where George Soros opined that China is facing a 'hard landing' because of mismanagement of its currency and other factors, provoking a furious rebuttal in the pages of this newspaper and elsewhere in the Chinese media.

Other major Western media outlets such as The Economist and The Wall Street Journal have weighed in with negative forecasts of China's economy. Even Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, has warned its clients to withdraw from China because of the possibility of imminent economic collapse.

Now it seems that calmer heads in the Western financial community have begun to urge people not to succumb to unnecessary panic, given that the data do not warrant such an extreme reaction. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the UK's The Daily Telegraph has advised against what he calls the 'hysteria' which he believes has replaced rational debate both outside and within China.

Yet there still seems to be great confusion over the direction of China's economy among Western financial and economic experts. Some claim a devaluation of the yuan is imminent, others deny it. There appear to be almost as many versions of China's economic future as there are experts.

Thus the situation is one of turmoil, both in the markets but also in people's heads. Part of this disorder is generated by the difficult transformation that is currently occurring in China's economy, as this continent-sized nation of 1.3 billion attempts the inevitable shift from industrial production to a service economy that is unprecedented in human history in terms of size.

However, part of the problem is also now being enabled by an emerging climate of fear, at least in part generated by Western media and financial pundits.

Economics is unfortunately not a precise science, and is subject to the highs and lows of human emotions at least as much as it is to the influence of numbers. Many have noted that markets move up and down on waves of greed and fear.

The present wave of unjustified fear and the scaremongering it has entailed is indicative of three things. The first is that it is clear evidence that China is now the most significant driver of global economic growth. There is now a largely unspoken recognition in the West that what happens in China is going to affect the futures of the whole of humanity in the twenty-first century.

The second point is that this tacit admission of China's central significance to the world, delivered in a flurry of prognostications about China's economy, betrays the sense of misgiving that many in the West have about China's increasing global importance. Fear about China's economy also reveals an underlying anxiety that China is on the cusp of replacing the West as the dominant historical force of our time, and that this development, whatever its end result may turn out to be, is beyond the control of Westerners.

The third and last issue is that, in all probability, large Western financial institutions suspect that the global economy may be on a downward spiral because they know full well that they have not sufficiently reformed their practices since the 2008 meltdown, and that due to their continuing malpractice (well-documented and subject to fines for banks such as HSBC in the billions of dollars) there is likely to be another banking crisis on the cards before long.

In short, the 'panic' (if such it be) among financial pundits at Davos and elsewhere is indicative of a deep-seated mistrust of China, what it stands for, and where it is headed, as well as a desire to pre-emptively pass the buck if another crash comes.

Jeremy Garlick is lecturer in international relations at Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, University of Economics in Prague.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website.
Li Xinpei and her husband, Kong Shijie, at the Colosseum, Rome, when they first traveled to Europe in 2009. Photos Provided To China Daily

An elderly Chinese couple has faced rockets, police and cheek-kisses to backpack the world. Xu Lin reports.

"Bomb!"

Li Xinpei was confused when an old Israeli woman frantically repeated the English word to her.

The woman gestured.

"Bang! You die!" she said.

Li still didn't understand - and wondered why everyone in the vicinity had gathered under a bridge.

But the 69-year-old and her husband, Kong Shijie, joined the huddle when they saw someone stop their car and dash out.

They had no idea the people in Tel Aviv were hiding from Gaza rockets until she later saw photos of explosions in newspapers.

It was July 2014, a period during which Israeli-Palestinian tensions erupted, when the elderly couple visited Israel on their fourth overseas backpacking expedition.

They've traveled to 36 countries in Southeast Asia, Europe and North America over the past seven years, and recount earlier adventures in Li's 2013 book, Traveling the World to Lead a Different Life.

"I'm curious about the world," the retired executive of a Beijing company says.

"These bittersweet explorations have enriched me. We want to seize what days we have left before our health gives out."
SEOUL - The Republic of Korea on Wednesday warned a harsh price against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch after Pyongyang's notification of its plan to launch a satellite.

"If North Korea (DPRK) pushes ahead with long-range missile launch, it will pose a significant threat to peace and security in the region and the world as well as on the Korean Peninsula," said Cho Tae-Yong, the first deputy chief of the presidential security office.

Cho said that Seoul sternly warns a harsh price, which will come from the international society, against Pyongyang.

The DPRK reportedly informed the International Maritime Organization on Tuesday of its plan to launch a satellite, named Kwangmyongsong, sometime between Feb 8 and 25.

The ROK's presidential national security council held an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to discuss how to deal with the DPRK's missile launch plan, and Cho made an announcement of the country's official stance after the meeting.

Seoul strengthened monitoring of the possible launch of the DPRK's long-range ballistic missile after its claim on Jan 6 that it tested its first H-bomb.

Pyongyang has test-fired long-range missiles months before or after its previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

The DPRK launched the three-stage Unha-3 rocket, carrying what it called a Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, on Dec 2012, two months before its third atomic bomb test. At the time, Seoul and Washington called it the test-launch of long-range ballistic missile, violating the UN Security Council resolutions.
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  Scores of friends and relatives of former Albany County Attorney Richard Bohling have written letters asking a district judge to sentence him to probation and not impose prison time for his felony convictions.

A jury last fall convicted Bohling of four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one misdemeanor count of official misconduct.

Prosecutors with the Wyoming Attorney General's Office charged Bohling with using county funds to purchase cameras and other items for personal use. They said he brought the items back to his county office from his home only after investigators with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation had a county commissioner place a call to him purporting to alert him about a pending audit.

Bohling's legal team has argued that his prosecution was malicious. They charge that agents with DCI and other law enforcement agencies wanted to see him gone from office because he refused to endorse questionable investigation tactics.

Bohling's lawyers had argued that he purchased high-end camera gear because the photographs taken by law enforcement officers often were insufficient to secure convictions in cases including those involving domestic abuse. They argued that Bohling, who served as county attorney from 2002 through 2014, took the cameras and other items home because he worked around the clock and often handled cases there.

District Judge John Perry of Gillette had scheduled a sentencing hearing for Bohling for Wednesday in Laramie but canceled it on Tuesday because of recent heavy snows. A worker at the District Court Clerk's Office said Tuesday that the hearing may be rescheduled for later this month.

The Wyoming Attorney General's Office prosecuted Bohling. The office has filed a sentencing memorandum with Perry but it doesn't reveal whether the state will request prison time. Senior Assistant AG Christyne Martens, one of the prosecutors against Bohling, declined comment.

The Attorney General's Office will ask Perry to require Bohling to pay restitution as well as pay to cover costs of the prosecution and witness fees, its memorandum states.

Bohling could face up to 10 years in prison on each of the felony convictions. Bohling's lawyers have filed letters from 51 friends and relatives, all urging Perry to sentence him to probation and not impose any prison time.

Bohling's lawyers state that he already faces the loss of his law license and his civil rights, including the ability to own firearms.

"Nothing is more deterrent than the taking away of a lawyer's license to practice law," they stated.

Among those writing on behalf of Bohling was Casper District Attorney Mike Blonigen, a veteran prosecutor. Blonigen stated that Bohling was respected by his peers, a fact reflected by his election as president of the Wyoming County and Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

"I hope that when you sentence Richard you consider that he was a respected public servant who did his job well, despite often difficult conditions," Blonigen wrote.

Many of Bohling's relatives, including his parents Jim and Phyllis Bohling, also wrote letters.

"Please Judge Perry, we pray you will use your power to allow our son a sentence of probation so he can rebuild his life with his wife, his children, and grandchildren as well as the rest of his family," his parents wrote.

The Albany County Commissioners issued a statement in December condemning Bohling's actions and stating he deserved at least three to five years in prison, the Laramie Boomerang has reported.

"This has been extremely disruptive to the citizens of the County and many of the County employees," Commission Chairman Tim Sullivan and Commissioners Tim Chesnut and Heber Richardson stated in their letter. "All of the citizens of Albany County that have spoken to us are very distressed by the behavior of the former County Attorney obtaining cameras, lens, computer equipment for his personal use," the newspaper reported.
The Chinese were eager participants in the US merger-and-acquisition market last year and will likely be active again in 2016, according to experts involved in global M&A.

Both the value and volume of China's inbound M&A in the US was higher in 2015 than in 2014, according to Record Breaker: US M&A in 2015, a report from the White & Case LLP law firm and industry news provider Mergermarket.

China was involved in 60 US M&A transactions with a value of about $18 billion. While that represented about 1 percent of the $2 trillion M&A market last year according to the report, China was the fourth most active inbound acquirer in 2015 behind Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

"A lot of the (M&A) activity in the US last year including the transactions from China was due to confidence in the US market driven by an economy that continued to expand for the sixth consecutive year," John Reiss, global head of White & Case's M&A practice said in an interview on Tuesday.

Reiss also said that many buyers could obtain favorable financing, and corporate and private equity firms had amassed huge cash reserves that were available for investment.

He said China was an active buyer in many sectors of the US economy. He also noted that the Chinese feel more comfortable about making investments in the US.

"Historically the Chinese have had some trepidation about the US," Reiss said. "CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, interagency group that assesses the national security impact of foreign purchases of a US business) has been a factor in that, but now I think people understand that CFIUS is basically a fair process. Chinese companies recognize they are now welcome here."

Reiss believes that in 2016 the Chinese will remain an active participant in US M&A. "I think the Chinese are still attracted to the US market and I think we will see more deals from them this year," he added.

Already this year China's Haier Group said it would buy General Electric Co's appliance business for $5.4 billion.

Mergers and acquisitions also reached a record level in China last year, rising 37 percent year-on-year, a new report from global auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers showed. The report said 9,420 deals were completed during 2015, worth $733.7 billion, which marked an 84 percent increase in value.

PwC's latest figures showed that domestic strategic M&Asgrew strongly, driven by the economic transformation of the Chinese economy, sector consolidation, restructuring and inorganic growth strategies.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com
China is among the top-10 markets globally to watch this year for growth in the consumption of US alcoholic beverages, according to an industry trade group.

Despite being ranked the 20th largest import market for US distilled spirits, volume to China increased 20.4 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, bringing the projected total value of exports to the country for the year to $17.2 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). The organization bases its figures from the US government, which so far has released export numbers only through November.

"I think there's a lot of interest [in China] in whiskeys in particular - American whiskies such as bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and rye whiskey, which is a smaller category and one that's growing," Christine LoCascio, senior vice-president of international issues and trade at the DISCUS, told China Daily on Tuesday on the sidelines of an analyst and media event for the spirits industry in New York.

She said the US spirits industry is not seeing any measurable impact of China's slowing economy on exports."Chinese consumers continue to be fascinated by American spirits," LoCascio said.

Producers of US spirits saw revenue increase in 2015 by $950 million to $24.1 billion over 2014, and exports increased by 2.3 percent to 215 million cases, she said. But a stronger US dollar meant that exports were more expensive, and revenue declined 0.3 percent through November 2015. While US exports were up in 2015, LoCascio said overseas consumers are switching to less expensive US spirits brands.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com
As the 12 nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) prepare to hold a signing ceremony on Thursday in New Zealand, the potential benefits of the trade agreement are stirring a heated debate, at least in the US.

On Tuesday, the Peterson Institute for International Economics issued 10 essays arguing that the TPP, if ratified, would deliver significant economic benefits to the US and the 11 other participating countries from a sweeping liberalization of barriers on trade and investment.

"Trade has become a highly emotional and political issue, but it remains possible to provide nonpartisan economic analysis that fairly sets out the best estimate of the costs and benefit of the TPP overall and in specific areas," said Adam Posen, president of the Washington-based think tank.

According to the report, annual income gains generated by the TPP by 2030 will be $131 billion for the US, and account for 0.5 percent of US baseline GDP. The gains for the world will be $492 billion.

Besides the US, other TPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The report also projected large income gains for Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, but it said TPP is not generally expected to have large income effects on nonmembers, with gain for some and loss for others.

China, India and Thailand, which compete with TPP members for TPP markets, are listed as countries with tangible losses. The same is true for South Korea, because TPP will erode its advantage in the US market under their bilateral free trade agreement.

The report said the real income loss for China would amount to $18 billion a year by 2030, a figure that Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, described on Tuesday as "moderate income loss". He said Chinese officials are looking at the issue very carefully, but expressed that he doesn't know if and when China wants to join the TPP.

TPP was originally seen by many Chinese as a US scheme to curtail China's rise economically, but the attitude has evolved over the years, with Chinese officials expressing interest to better understanding the trade deal.

He Yafei, a former vice-foreign minister, argued that TPP could be a chance for China to stimulate its reforms. Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji used the country's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 as a way to boost domestic reforms.

In the US, the TPP remains a controversial issue. On Monday, economists at the Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute said that projections claiming TPP will boost economic activity in the US are "based on unrealistic assumptions".

They argued that the trade deal will likely lead to the loss of some 450,000 jobs from the US workforce while lowering GDP by more than a half-percentage point over the next decade and increasing inequality.

The signing in Auckland will be ceremonial. The legislatures in the 12 nations have yet to ratify TPP to make it legally effective.

Larry Summers, a former chief economic advisor for President Barack Obama, expressed pessimism last week that the TPP will be passed by the US Congress during the lame duck session later this year. He said the Republicans are unlikely to give Obama such "final legacy gift."

Presidential race front-runners in both parties, such as Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz all oppose the TPP.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee pledged that providing affordable housing is his top priority for the city during his second four-year term, which started this year.

"We've heard it from every corner of the city from every economic level, particularly working-class people as well as low-income people," Lee said at a roundtable meeting with Chinese media in his office on Tuesday. "We need to build, rehabilitate and preserve more of the affordable housing, and we need to make sure that the houses can respond to the crisis that people, who are teachers, essential workforce people, are experiencing."

Lee said he and his administration had spent more time and resources on reducing housing costs and that the affordable housing project would bring "direct positive impact" on thousands of people.

San Francisco has become increasingly unaffordable for many of its longtime residents and working-class people as an influx of Silicon Valley wealth floods the city.

The median home value in San Francisco is above $1.1 million. San Francisco home values have gone up 13.6 percent over the past year, and Zillow predicts that they will rise 3.7 percent within the next year.

A recent report by Zumper also revealed that San Francisco is the most expensive city in the US when it comes to renting homes. The average cost for a one-bedroom apartment reached a record $3,530 in the city in August 2015.

In November 2015, Lee announced his intention to use Proposition A, a $310 million bond for affordable housing, to construct and renovate 30,000 units of affordable housing over the next four-year mayoral term. He won re-election on Nov 3, and the proposition was approved, handing the city its biggest single pool of funds to build and preserve subsidized apartments.

"I'm very confident that in the next four years, I will complete 30,000 new homes in San Francisco and guarantee that over 50 percent of them will be affordable to middle-income as well as lower-income people," he told the reporters.

He said that affordable housing is connected to his next priority: getting more homeless people to leave the streets. An experimental "navigation center" has helped 250 homeless people move into permanent housing with support services since March 2015.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Max Baucus, the US ambassador to China, expressed New Year greetings to the Chinese people in a short video on Tuesday, four days before the Spring Festival.

"Xin Chun Kuai Le! Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy Spring Festival. May you be prosperous,)" said Baucus and his wife Melodee Hanes, which are traditional New Year wishes in China.

Hanes was dressed in red clothes and Baucus wore a red tie.

It's their second Chinese New Year in Beijing. Hanes said that they love to see all the festive red lanterns and firework displays as part of the holiday, and that people reunite with their families during the festival.

"We have enjoyed great adventures in this past year in China," said Hanes.

In the video, Baucus tried a hair cut in a traditional barbershop, took a train trip over night between Tibet and west China's Qinghai province, and visited the terra cotta warriors in Xi'an with Hanes.

Baucus and his wife traveled around China in 2015, learning elephant conservation efforts in south China's Yunnan province, celebrating the legacy of the Flying Tigers in Chengdu, southwest Chinas Sichuan province and supporting sea turtle conservation in south China's Hainan province.

"As we head into this New Year, I've got to tell you, I'm so optimistic about the future," said Baucus.
China 'seriously concerned' about DPRK satellite launch plan (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-02-03 17:00

BEIJING - China is "seriously concerned" about a plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite later this month, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.



Spokesperson Lu Kang told a press briefing that Beijing hopes Pyongyang to exercise restraint on the issue and deal with it prudently so as to avoid possible escalating tensions.



Three United Nations organizations have been informed of the plan of the DPRK to launch an earth-observation satellite between Feb. 8 and 25, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Beijing said on Wednesday that Washington is still "seeking excuses for more money from taxpayers to boost its military buildup" as US Defense Secretary Ash Carter named China as both a major challenge and competitor to his country.

Elaborating on the US defense budget next year, Carter said on Tuesday the budget plan focused on higher-end weapons spending to maintain the US military's competitive edge over countries like Russia and China, Reuters reported.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a Wednesday news conference in Beijing that China already announced plans last year to cut troop numbers by 300,000 and "it has always been a peace-loving country".

"China has not been, is not and will not be a threat or challenge to any country," Lu said.

However, the US has maintained a huge defense budget and its military expenditure even exceeded the combined budget number of the following eight countries, Lu said.

"The intention behind the relevant remarks by the relevant US official has long been known to all," Lu said.
President Michel Demare of Swiss agrochemicals maker Syngenta and Ren Jianxin (L) Chairman of China National Chemical Corp, address Syngenta's annual news conference at the company's headquarters in Basel, Switzerland Feb 3, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) offered Swiss agrochemical and seeds producer Syngenta AG more than $43 billion on Wednesday to acquire its entire stake, the biggest-ever acquisition deal by a Chinese company in global market.

This case, if successful, is another big Chinese move in Switzerland after Addax Petroleum, a former Geneva-based company, was sold to Sinopec in 2009 for $7.6 billion.

The takeover comes hot on the heels of China's shipping giant Cosco, which consolidated its hold over the Greek port of Piraeus in January, when it agreed to pay 368.5 million euros ($402 million) for a 67 percent stake to help boost Greece's moribund economy.

For ChemChina, the Swiss bid followed its announcement at the beginning of January that it bought Germany's KraussMaffei machinery supplier for 925 million euros ($1 billion), which is the biggest outbound investment from China into Germany.

In the latest deal, the two companies have agreed that the board of directors of Syngenta will unanimously recommend ChemChina's offer to purchase 100 percent of Syngenta's equity. The offer price is $465 per share in cash. The acquisition is subject to anti-trust reviews and approvals from relevant countries.

ChemChina will maintain Syngenta's operations, management and employees, including keeping its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It will further enhance Syngenta's reputation by continuing to invest in its agricultural solutions and innovation capabilities, he said.

Syngenta employs 28,000 people in more than 90 countries and regions. It has more than 2,000 people in China since it started business there in 1998.

The Swiss company has invested $360 million in China since 2000 to compete with established rivals from the United States and Germany.

While the acquisition is in process, China Daily talked with leading analysts, who all welcomed the deal.

Prof. Ruedi Nutzi, director of School of Business of University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

"Based on what we know so far about this agreement, ChemChina plans to allow Syngenta to operate quite independently within the ChemChina group and invest in Syngenta's future growth and development in China itself and in emerging and developing markets worldwide. Syngenta will be able to develop further and will no longer be a takeover candidate for its competitors. This will enable the company to make long term plans for its future success.

"ChemChina and other Chinese investors have been able to benefit from the stagnating economic situation in Europe. The economic problems which Europe has faced since the financial crisis have up to now not been solved. Chinese investors are in a strong position due to their large financial reserves and so can invest at this time. Investments such as this demonstrate that Chinese enterprises are now recognized as global players who are seen as serious partners in the international economy."

Dr. Fredrik Erixon, Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) in Brussels

"This is a huge deal and it will no doubt have an impact on the sector. The deal is a trophy for ChemChina, given the attempt by Monsanto to acquire Syngenta, and the benefit for Syngenta is that it will be getting much better opportunities to market their own innovation and products in growing markets in Asia, especially China of course. ChemChina get access to a new source of innovations and will be able to scale production in various markets in a better way than before.

China's mergers and acquisitions in Europe are increasing in numbers and volume, but there are not many deals of this size. Big company M&As are always tricky, and they are not by far guaranteed to be successful. Many of China's M&As are helpful to Europe's companies in getting better positions on markets where they have not been very successful."

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business-led association in Brussels

There have been many cases of Chinese companies' M&As in Europe since the beginning of the century. There have been a number of profitable deals, which not only raised the confidence of Chinese overseas activities in the developed world, but also supported the growth of European local economies in two ways: positive impact on local employment and access to the Chinese market.

This deal has also urged the European politicians to look at the big picture and long-term interest to make the beneficial economic cooperation bigger and bigger. The intention of ChemChina to buy Syngenta is a clear example of this and shows the growing interest of Chinese companies to invest in Europe.

China's bid for Syngenta, if successful, would give a capital boost to Syngenta and grant it improved access to the Chinese market, the biggest agricultural manufacturer in the world.

By keeping the management and the local employees in place, as happened in previous acquisitions by Chinese companies, local employment figures would remain unchanged or even increase.

Prof. Zhang Haiyan, director of Neoma's Confucius Business Institute in France

The ongoing take-over of Syngenta reflects the continuous efforts of ChemChina to boost its internationalization process. Since 2006, the company started to upgrade and expand its global value chain through a series of international M&As. Clearly, ChemChina has always targeted world-class companies in order to acquire cutting-Edge technology and managerial and innovation expertise.

This deal also confirms that despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy, the international expansion of Chinese companies continued to speed up. According to a recent study by Deloitte, Chinese outbound M&A deal volume increased by 25 percent in 2015 as compared to 2014, while the deal value increased by 70 percent during the same period.

Michael Smith, Vice-president at IHS Chemical, a company specializing in information analysis and consulting

"Syngenta gets additional capital and easier access into the extremely important Chinese agricultural market. ChemChina gets access to Syngenta's world-class biotechnology for seed development (increasingly important in order to feed the world's growing population) and access to new markets for Chinese products and services.

Germany has been the main target of Chinese investments in recent times. This makes perfect sense given Germany's strong industrial and technology base and large number of successful SMEs (small to mid-sized enterprises). These two factors also apply to Switzerland. The weak Euro has made buying in the Eurozone (not Switzerland) much more attractive."
An eagle clutches a drone before dragging it to the ground in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Researchers are testing the potential impact on the birds welfare. [Photo/Agencies]

Dutch police puzzling over how to remove drones that pose a public safety threat are testing a way to get the job done  by using trained eagles.

Its a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem, said Dennis Janus, spokesman for the Dutch national police.

The idea arose because amateur use of drones has boomed and police have begun to worry about unlicensed ones flying into off-limit areas around airports or over public events.

Possible solutions the police have studied include shooting nets at the offending drones, remotely hacking them to seize their controls, or taking them out with birds of prey.

People sometimes think its a hoax, but it has been very effective so far, Janus said.

Demonstrating the technique in a video released by police, a four-propeller drone hovers in the middle of a warehouse, colored lights flashing.

Released by her keeper, a white-tailed eagle glides straight toward the drone, clutches it easily in her talons and drags it to the ground.

Sjoerd Hoogendoorn from Guard From Above, a company that is working with police to develop the concept, said the birds must be trained to recognize the drones as prey.

They are rewarded with a piece of meat after each successful foray.

Their talons are strong and tough enough to seize most consumer-grade drones without injury from the blades, he said.

These birds are used to meeting resistance from animals they hunt in the wild, and they dont seem to have much trouble with the drones, he said.

The potential impact on the birds welfare is being tested by an external scientific research institute.

The real problem we have is that they destroy a lot of drones, Hoogendoorn said.

Another unknown factor is how the birds will fare in crowded situations, he said.

Police are expected to make a decision by the end of the year on whether to move ahead with using the eagles.
CASPER, Wyo.  A Casper man accused of attacking a man with a machete and injuring the victims hand pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Natrona County District Court.

Saul Mejia-Vasquez faces two counts of aggravated assault and battery.

Mejia-Vasquez, 35, entered his not guilty pleas with the help of a Spanish interpreter. He is being represented by public defender Jared Holbrook. Assistant district attorney Mike Schafer is prosecuting the case.

Police were called about 9:20 p.m. on June 27, 2015, to a home on South Wisconsin Avenue, according to court documents. They discovered the victim with a white T-shirt wrapped around his left hand. Blood was dripping through the shirt.

Medics were called to the scene and took the victim to Wyoming Medical Center due to the severity of his wound, the documents state.

When interviewed at the hospital, the victim told police he had been at his home spending time with friends. Mejia-Vasquez showed up with a machete and tried to instigate a fight with the group, according to the documents. The victim said he did not know Mejia-Vasquez.

The victim told police he grabbed the machete in an attempt to get it away from Mejia-Vasquez, the documents state. However, Mejia-Vasquez pulled on the machete, which cut the victims hand.

Officers discovered the machete in the grass near the South Wisconsin Avenue home, according to the documents.
A Non-Compete Agreement is a contract where one party agrees not to compete with the other. These agreements reduce the likelihood of someone using information you provide them to compete against you. Non-compete agreements are fairly common between Western companies and their more important employees and it is common for those Western companies to want similar such agreements with their China-based employees.

In China, non-compete () agreements between an employer and an employee are generally limited to senior management, senior technicians and other personnel with confidentiality obligations. China allows for non-compete agreements that prohibit high level employees from working for another company that competes with the employer.

China limits these non-compete provisions to two years or less after termination of the labor contract and it also requires the employer compensate the employee to maintain the non-compete requirement. There are a number of things to which an employer with a non-compete agreement should pay attention, but in this post we focus only on non-compete compensation. The most important thing employers must know about non-compete compensation in China is that the employer is required to pay this compensation after the employee leaves the company and a failure to do so means the employee ceases to be bound by his or her agreement not to compete.

Pursuant to the Judicial Interpretation IV of the Supreme Peoples Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Hearing Labor Dispute Cases (Judicial Interpretation IV), if there is an agreement between an employer and an employee regarding post-employment compensation for a non-compete provision, their agreement prevails. If the agreement is silent on the amount of post-employment compensation for the non-compete provision, the employer must pay the employee compensation at 30% of the employees average monthly salary in the 12 months before termination, or the local minimum wage, whichever is higher.

Before Judicial Interpretation IV, there was no statutory guidance (other than Labor Contract Law which does not say much) on the standard of non-compete compensation and locales dealt with this issue by coming up with their own rules. For example, Shanghai used to hold that if there was no agreement on the amount of post-employment compensation, the employer had to pay the employee 20% to 50% of the employees last monthly salary. In Jiangsu, the rule was different: the annual non-compete compensation had to be at least one third of the annual salary the employee received from the employer over the 12 months before leaving employment. Though Judicial Interpretation IV is supposed to supersede all the local rules, it is nonetheless advisable to check with the relevant authorities to figure out exactly what their standard as we still occasionally find local differences.

A literal reading of Judicial Interpretation IV would mean that even if the amount of compensation agreed to in a non-compete agreement between an employer and an employee is less than the local minimum wage, it is nevertheless valid and enforceable, because the 30% rule applies only when the non-compete agreement does not specify the compensation. But ex-employees could also argue that any amount less than the minimum wage is unfair and against public policy and thus should not be enforced. Some municipalities faced with this argument, including Shanghai have upheld the freedom to contract and ruled against the poorly paid ex-employee.

China employee non-compete agreements are legally complicated and foreign companies constantly get burned by them. For example, if you as an employer agree to a non-compete for, say two years (the maximum non-compete period you can impose under Chinese law), you must pay your ex-employee for two years after he or she leaves, and this is true even if you no longer care about the employee competing with you; otherwise you are in breach of your contract with what has now become your ex-employee. In our experience, about half the time foreign employers are better off not using a post-employment non-compete at all. The trick is figuring out which half your company falls in.

Another key to China employee non-competition agreements is to draft the non-compete provisions (in Chinese, of course) in a clear and easy-to-understand manner so that your employee cannot claim confusion and so that the specified non-compete compensation will not trigger a default compensation rate.
(Photo : Getty Images) China Communication Construction Company has honored its employees from abroad, highlighting its role in other nations.

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China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) has honoured ten of its best employees from overseas.





According to China Daily, Davlatbekova Madina is one of the ten who were recognized for their efforts in working for CCCC. According to state news agency, Madina happily brought her daughter to Beijing to witness the ceremony. She proudly spoke fluent Chinese during the interview with the state news agency.



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Madina has been working for the Tajikistan office of China Road and Bridge Corp., a subsidiary of CCC for 10 years. She heads the coordination work between the two offices.



The company recognized its 10 best foreign employees working in its overseas subsidiaries, including Madina, with others coming from Brazil, Germany, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Angola.



CCC is a state-owned transportation infrastructure group mainly engaged in the design and construction of transportation infrastructure, dredging and heavy machinery manufacturing.



The company has businesses spanning more than 120 economies across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, United States and Australia.



Madina has seen the impact of the firm's road construction projects in her country. She said that the projects have made a huge difference in people's lives. One road construction project involved connecting Uzbekistan and China.



She added that the new roads have greatly reduced travel time especially in winter when many routes can be blocked by heavy snow



Other foreign employees that were recognized in Beijing were Lutz Werner and Savannah Oliveira Kunz.



Werner joined the operations two years ago as director of the European center of procurement and logistics at Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery, a subsidiary of the CCCC. Like Madina, Werner is gratified with China's presence in Germany's infrastructure construction sector as the country shifts to increase the use of sustainable energy.



Meanwhile, Kunz, who hails from Brazil, joined Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co Ltd five years ago. She has assisted in ZPMC agreements in Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, U.S. and Canada.



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TagsChina Construction Company Ltd, Davlatbekova Madina, CCCC, expats, honor foreign employees, Brazil, Germany, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Angola, infrastructure, road constructions
(Photo : Getty Images/China Photos) A steelworker (above) does his job in a steel mill in China. The European Union (EU) has slapped anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel imports in an attempt to save thousands of jobs across the continent, but the leaders of the continent's steel industry claim the measures are inadequate.

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The European Union (EU) last Saturday slapped anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel imports in an attempt to save thousands of jobs across the continent, but the leaders of the Europe's steel industry claim the measures are an insult to European manufacturers.



Angry European steelworkers have accused China of flooding the continent's market with steel sold below production costs, and have scoffed at the 13 percent tariffs the EU has imposed on Chinese imports as a remedial measure.



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UK Steel director Gareth Stace said the EU's response to the deluge of China's low cost steel products into the European market is an indication that the European Commission -- the EU's executive body -- is oblivious to the severity of the European steel sector's problem.



Global Issue



"The Commission's decision to publish provisional duties at this very low level clearly shows that the scale of the crisis affecting the European steel sector has not fully registered with Brussels bureaucrats," Stace said.



China's steel sector produces half the world's steel: more than the United States, the EU, Russia and Japan combined.



There was a time when Chinese steel manufacturers could count on a huge domestic market for their products. The country's construction boom hit its peak in the last decade, when the demand for steel products such as those used to reinforce concrete -- called rebar -- appeared endless.



Now that the Chinese construction frenzy is over, however, European steel executives have asserted that China is unloading its oversupply on the continent's markets, and selling its steel beneath the cost of production.



China's top steel makers have denied the accusation, claiming that overcapacity is a global issue that will require some time to resolve.



"China does not encourage steel exports, and Chinese steel mills produce and sell their products in the fully competitive market," Zhu Guangsheng of the China Iron and Steel Association told Bloomberg in December. "To simply attribute the difficulties in one country or region to Chinese enterprises is not responsible."



"Slap in the Face"



The competition in Europe has nevertheless been brutal, and a number of European steel manufacturers -- unable to match the price of Chinese steel in the local markets -- have been forced to cut production or shutter their enterprises altogether. CNN reports that some 40,000 European steelworkers have lost their jobs in the past few years.



European Steel, an organization that represents regional steelmakers, has warned that lower priced Chinese steel is bound to swamp the European steel industry's export markets, as well.



"China should stop exploiting the export channel for its overproduction," European Steel director general Axel Eggert told CNN recently. "If this continues, EU mills will lose further market share, not only in the EU but also in their key export markets."



The EU argues that the new tariffs on imported Chinese steel -- which are said to guarantee the continent's steel sector what the Commission deems a 'reasonable profit' of 1.65 percent -- are part of a wider plan to save the industry.



But many European steelworkers and executives -- including UK Steel's Stace -- feel that the EU's corrective measures are puny, and far less persuasive than the measures taken by the United States.



"Basing the provisional duties on a so-called 'reasonable profit level' of 1.65 percent is a slap in the face for UK manufacturers of rebar, which has seen China taking more than 45 percent of the UK market from zero in as little as four years," Stace said.



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(Photo : Getty Images) In 2014, OSI was accused of repacking old meat and doctoring its production and expiration dates to avoid losses. After a long investigation, a Chinese court has sentenced 10 people, including OSI China's general manager, to jail and fined them up to 2.4 million renminbi ($364,875).

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Ten employees of American food supplier OSI Group have been sentenced to imprisonment and fined up to 2.4 million renminbi (US$364,875) by a Chinese court for reusing returned food products to avoid losses.



The ruling marks the end of a long-running investigation linking OSI to a food safety scandal which occured two years ago, where the reputations of fast food giants McDonald's and KFC were damaged.



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In mid-2014, a Chinese news channel discovered that Shanghai Husi Food Co., Ltd. was selling repacked old meat with doctored production and expiration dates. The company, which is owned by OSI Group, allegedly sold meat that was up to a year past its expiration date.



The Wall Street Journal reports that Yum Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, promised to cut its ties with OSI. However, McDonald's opted to stick with OSI, which has been its meat supplier since the 1950s. Other than the two giants, the meat scandal also affected other American food chains such as Burger King, Papa John's and Starbucks.



In a statement on Monday, the Shanghai Jiading People's Court stated that OSI China general manager Yang Liqun would be jailed for three years and deported. However, it is unclear whether Mr. Yang will serve his sentence in China or Australia. The nine others implicated in the case face shorter jail time and pay smaller fines.



Meanwhile, OSI has said that the ruling is unjust and that it will make an appeal, claiming that "a disgruntled former employee and two journalists staged the [TV news] report."



Following the scandal, sales of McDonalds and Yum have suffered, while OSI China has lost almost a billion dollars in revenue.



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TagsOSI Group, OSI China, China meat scandal, Mcdonalds, Yum! Brands, KFC, pizza hut
(Photo : Getty Image) During an inspection in December, China's Environmental Inspection Bureau found that pollution emission is a big problem in 59 cities in the country with nearly 650 companies caught excessively discharging air pollutants.

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During an inspection conducted by the National Environmental Authority in December 2015, it has discovered that nearly 650 companies in 59 cities are emitting excessive pollution. Due to this, the agency has vowed to implement more severe punishment this year in accordance with the latest air pollution control law.



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According to the head of the Environmental Inspection Bureau, Zou Shoumin, in December, during the team's monthly inspection, which targets companies that release air pollutants, the team found that excessive emission is a huge dilemma in the 59 cities examined. Of the 648 companies checked, inspectors discovered that 31 directly gave off pollutants in the air or did not comply to installing required facilities to lessen pollution.



The inspection covered the northeastern, central, southern, and northern regions, such as Guangdong, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Sichuan provinces.



Five of the polluting establishments provided heating services to Xianyang, Jilin province, Shaanxi province and Changchun.



Zou revealed that all polluting companies received "tough punishment." For instance, an iron mine company was fined for its pollution on a daily basis, amounting up to 4.82 million yuan ($733,000). Daily fines is stipulated in the Law on Environmental Protection as this is deemed one of the powerful tools.



From January to November, the ministry and local offices checked nearly 1.6 million companies across China. In the first 11 months of 2015, approximately 51,000 companies were exposed. Also, a total daily fine of 485 million yuan has been collected from more than 600 pollution-emitting companies.



The Law on Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution was implemented on Jan. 1. The deputy head of the Pollution Control Bureau Wang Jian stated that the agency will emphasize the role of local governments in protecting air quality and the tougher punishment for violators and polluters.



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TagsPollution, china, Law on Environmental Protection
HELENA  Montana's copper barons bought and sold public office like any commodity a century ago. That legacy looms large in what could become the most expensive governor's race in state history.

The race pits a wealthy businessman against a well-connected incumbent governor with well-heeled friends. The Montana election also is expected to get national attention, generating outside groups' interest  and money.

Rick Aarstad, a senior historian at the Montana Historical Society, doesn't think times have changed much since the era of the Copper Kings. There is no longer the blatant vote-buying that was rampant in those days, he acknowledged, but money is once again playing an oversized role in today's politics.

"It's beginning to look like the gilded age of the 1890s," Aarstad said. "Whoever had the biggest war chest would win the election."

Gov. Steve Bullock won the 2012 election in a race that combined for $5.2 million in spending. By some accounts, this year's race could nearly double that amount.

Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Nancy Keenan predicted $9 million in direct contributions to Bullock and his likely Republican opponent, Bozeman entrepreneur Greg Gianforte. She based that on Bullock's fundraising prowess, the personal fortune of Gianforte, who sold his company, RightNow Technologies, to Oracle for $1.8 billion and the national attention the race will receive.

Money from political action committees and so-called dark money from politically motivated nonprofits also is expected to pour in. Gianforte put a spotlight on the role of outside money when he announced his bid for governor last month by pledging to refuse PAC money.

"Our pledge is very clear: Our campaign is not going to accept any special interest money. We've called on Gov. Bullock to do the same," Gianforte said.

Since forming his exploratory committee last summer, Gianforte has raised more than $570,000 as of the end of 2015, none of it from PACS, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state. Bullock has amassed $1.2 million in donations since 2014  only $68,214 from self-identified political action committees.

The governor scoffed at the PAC challenge coming from a candidate who could self-fund a multimillion dollar campaign.

"It's disingenuous and silly," Bullock said. "If he wants to say he'll limit the expenditures that he makes funneling his own wealth into the campaign to $1,300, then we'll have that discussion."

Bullock was referring to the limits imposed by state law on contributions from individuals donating to a gubernatorial campaign.

No law prevents Gianforte from dipping into his personal fortune. According to tax returns Gianforte voluntarily released, he reported income of $220.5 million between 2005 and 2014.

Gianforte's pledge does nothing to stop outside money from aiding his campaign with independent expenditures by political committees or nonprofits, said Robert Saldin, a political science professor at the University of Montana.

"This does not necessarily mean others can't put up ads supporting Gianforte," Saldin noted.

Gianforte sidestepped questions about whether he would call on outside groups to refrain from spending funds on his behalf, saying his pledge referred only to his campaign.

Democrats point out that Gianforte is already benefiting from outside groups, including AegisPAC, a group with ties to the billionaire Koch brothers and that is helping Gianforte drum up support. The Democratic Governors Association, which Bullock chaired in 2015, will no doubt try and dig deep for one its own.

It's that independent spending by outside groups, not direct campaign contributions by PACs, which should be watched closely, said Jonathan Motl, the state's commissioner of political practices.

"That's the arena Montanans should be keeping an eye on when it comes to this 2016 gubernatorial race," he said. "Both sides, Republican and Democrat, are going to have substantial independent expenditures."
(Photo : Reuters) After 68 years, the last classic Land Rover Defender 4x4 rolled off production line at Range Rover's Solihull plane.

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Land Rover recently organized a farewell revelry as the company rolled out the last Defender in its famed Solihull production line. To mark the historic occasion, Land Rover invited around 700 former and current Solihull employees to reminisce the 68 long years of the production lines' history.



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Land Rover also displayed some of the first pre-production Huey Series I. The last vehicle to roll out of the production line, the Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top, was also presented and was driven by some of the attendees.



The last Defender model will be added into the Jaguar Land Rover Collection. Some market analysts speculate that the last model will surely appeal to collectors.



In a statement acquired by Vanguard, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr. Ralp Speth said, "Today we celebrate what generations of men and women have done since the outline for the Land Rover was originally drawn in the sand. The Series Land Rover, now Defender, is the origin of our legendary capability, a vehicle that makes the world a better place."



The Solihull farewell celebration also played host to more than 25 unique vehicles from Land Rover's long history. The vehicles went on a procession around the Solihull plant as a salute to the now historic landmark in the auto industry.



Since its debut in 1948 in the United Kingdom, at least two million Series Land Rovers and Defenders have been built the Solihull plant.



In 2015, a one-of-a-kind model of the Defender was built to commemorate the 200 millionth landmark. It was aptly named "Defender 2,000,000" and fetched 400, 000. One of the very first Land Rover fetched a price tag of 450 at the 1948 Amsterdam Auto Show.



The Solihull plant began full production of the Land Rover Series I in 1948. The shortage of steel brought upon by the Second World War did not deter the plant from reaching its full production capacity.



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Tagsland rover, Land Rover Defender, defender, Solihul Plant, Last Defender model, jaguar land rover
(Photo : Photo by China Photos/Getty Images) Thousands of Chinese police have been deployed to a railway station in Guangzhou to avert any rioting or stampede that may happen after more than 100,000 travelers got stuck at the station due to delayed trains.

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Chinese authorities declared a "level two emergency" after more than 100,000 travelers were trapped in and outside a railway station in southern China on Tuesday due to delayed journeys caused by freezing weather.



Most of the travelers were bound for home ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations next week when they were left stranded at the Guangzhou's main train station after 23 trains were delayed due to poor weather condition.



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Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were part of the people who surged into the railway station hoping to make it to their families to celebrate the Lunar New Year festivities on February 8, which will usher in the Year of the Monkey.



Freezing Weather



Freezing weather and snow have swept across the eastern and central China, delaying the 23 trains and leaving the travelers trapped in and around the station.



Photos of the mammoth crowd showed bodies packed together as people snaked their way through the train station. The severity of the delay prompted the Chinese police to declare a 'level two emergency'.



The local government has deployed 3,000 police officers to secure the area and prevent any untoward incidents such as a stampede or rioting.



Guangzhou police chief Xie Xiaodan and Chen Rugui, a senior Communist party leader, were also deployed to the area to maintain peace and order.



Too many people



"There are too many people and it is too crowded," one passenger told the Chinese state-run news agency CCTV.



The 40-day New Year travel rush from January 21 to March 3 has left millions of travelers scrambling to get home to be with their families in time for the Lunar New Year.



China's Ministry of Transport said it is expecting the travelers--mostly migrant workers--to make more than 2 billion trips this year in what is often described as the largest annual human migration on earth.



The ministry said most of the travelers are migrant workers working in factories at China's heartlands and areas surrounding Guangzhou.



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(Photo : Getty Image) A woman walks past a KFC restaurant in China. KFC has won an important lawsuit case against three Chinese firms.

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A Shanghai court on Wednesday fined three local Chinese tech firms for spreading false rumors about KFC fast food chain. The false rumor activities mainly included uploading doctored photos of deformed chickens on social media accounts and using it as propaganda against KFC.



The three accused Chinese tech firms are Yingchenanzhi Success and Culture Communication, Taiyuan Zero Point Technology and Shanxi Weilukuang Technology.



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Yuma Brand - the American company that owns KFC and Pizzahut chains across the world - sued these three tech firms in June 2015.



As per court orders, these tech firms will have to tender an officially apology and pay a combined fine of Rs 600,000 yuan ($91,191) to Yum Brand.



The Xuhui District People's Court on its official microblog account said the three firms had "damaged KFC's reputation" and "caused it economic losses" by permitting the allegations to be posted on their social messaging accounts.



Meanwhile, Yum officials in China welcomed the court's judgment and voiced hope that it will act as deterrence in future against companies using false rumors to undo its business.



Yuma's China spokesperson Cindy Wei in a mail to Reuters said, "We brought suit against these individuals for making false statements about the quality of our food and we are pleased with the outcome."



Yuma brands business in China, which is the company's second largest market, has been struggling in recent years. The company's profit has been under serious stress since the end of 2012.



While conventional business problems have been held responsible, many experts also label 'regular occurrence of food scandals over recent years' as main reason for Yum's falling business in China.



This judgment, however, has come as a shot in the arms of Yum Brand, as the company is desperately looking to revive its fortunes in the all important Chinese market by year end.



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Ed Young Jr. spearheads effort to get Christian messages on Netflix 03 February, 2016 by Tobin Perry , |

LOS ANGELES (Christian Examiner)Netflix viewers can now get more than entertainment from their monthly subscriptions. They can find Christian teaching from the on-demand video service.

Ed Young Jr., Steven Furtick, Joyce Meyer and Andy Stanley now all have teaching series available on the entertainment venue. According to a Religious News Service article, Young spearheaded the effort.

"I believe if Jesus were on planet Earth today in the flesh he'd be on Netflix."

"I believe if Jesus were on planet Earth today in the flesh he'd be on Netflix," Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, told RNS.

Young says he believes Christians must find ways to "appeal to the masses." The partnership with Netflix was one way to do that, he said.

Young's "Fifty Shades of They" five-part series, modeled his book by the same name, focuses on relationships. Young released a book of the same name last year. Furtick's four-part "#DeathToSelfie" focuses on Christian identity issues. Stanley's four-part series "Starting Over" centers on helping people recover after common mistakes in marriages, careers and personal lives. Meyers' series on "Winning Life's Battles" helps viewers deal with adversity.

Paul Huse, executive director of marketing for Joyce Meyer Ministries, says that Netflix didn't provide many guidelines for the content of the programs but did ask that they not include product promotion or invitations for viewers to make donations.

He told RNS it was an initiative that Meyer's ministry was pleased to participate in.

"More and more people are cutting the cord," Huse said. "Even though we're on six or seven cable networks, more people are moving away from that and we want to be where they can still access us."

David Clark, executive media director for Ed Young's Fellowship Church, noted that it had a two-year contract in which Netflix pays the church for the shows. Though he wouldn't say how much the church was receiving, he did say it was "nothing astronomical." He said it was a better arrangement than paying a typical cable TV station to broadcast the messages.

Young hopes that the partnership with Netflix will lead to more people hearing the gospel.

Stewart M. Hoover, director of the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told RNS that likely it'll be mostly Christian viewers who watch the shows on Netflix. He pointed out that evangelicals were among the first to adapt to radio, television and other technologies.

"Evangelicals tend to think that because they are in the public media they're going to cross over to more mainstream audiences, but evidence shows that they're mostly just preaching to the choir, and I think that will be the case here," Hoover said.

Netflix has a number of other Christian-themed shows in their system, including Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," "Ragamuffin" (based on the life of Rich Mullins), and Kirk Cameron's "Unstoppable."
Top generals recommend women for military draft 03 February, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Christian Examiner)  Women may soon have to register with the Selective Service System  the military draft  if Congress alters regulations about who is eligible for call up during a time of war.

On Tuesday, the Army and Marine Corps' highest ranking officers both said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the integration of women in the military that they favored the change, especially since the restriction on women serving in forward combat units was lifted in 2013. The military has also announced it will soon open all combat roles to women  even, presumably, special operations.

More than 9,000 women have already received the Combat Action Badge, a citation given to soldiers not assigned to combat roles but who have been in theater in an area of imminent danger. More than 1,000 women have also been killed or wounded in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since the War on Terror began.

Asked by Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-Mo.] if women should be subject to the draft, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told the Senate panel it was his "personal view, based on this lifting of restrictions for [combat roles], that every American physically qualified should register for the draft."

"Now that the restrictions that exempted women from [combat roles] don't exist, then you're a citizen of a United States," Neller said. "It doesn't mean you're going to serve, but you go register."

That sentiment was echoed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who said "all qualified, eligible men and women," between the ages of 18 and 26, should be required to register for the draft.

The politicians testifying, however, avoided a direct answer to the question. Navy Sec. Ray Mabus told the committee that there "should be a national debate" about the issue, but he sensed requiring women to register for the draft will "open up more recruiting" and increase the number of women interested in the Marine Corps.

Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy also said women registering for the draft should be part of the national debate. His answer drew a swift response from Sen. John McCain [R-Ariz.], who said, "You were asked your opinion."

Murphy then quietly offered a one word reply, "Yes."

The military draft ended by presidential order in 1975 as the Vietnam War drew to a close and for a few years no American had to register for it through the Selective Service System. The crisis with Iran in 1980 raised the possibility of war in Southwest Asia and the system was reactivated by President Jimmy Carter. At the time, Carter requested both men and women be required to register. However, when Congress provided funding for the Selective Service System, it did so only for males to be registered.

That decision was soon challenged by several men who believed their Fifth Amendment due process rights were violated because women were not required to register  an act, they said, of gender discrimination. A lower court sided with the men.

When the case, Rostker v. Goldberg, finally reached the Supreme Court in 1981, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote in a 6-3 decision that, since women were excluded from combat roles by military policy, there was no purpose in Congress authorizing their mandatory participation in the Selective Service System. The high court also held that the raising of armies  of whatever type  was solely under the "broad and sweeping" authority of Congress.

It is Congress that will now again deal with the issue of women and the military draft.

The purpose of the hearing Feb. 2 was not to discuss the draft, but rather to discuss full integration of women into the military. Currently, only 8 percent of U.S. Marine officers and enlisted personnel are female.

The Marine Corps has already conducted a $36 million study on the effectiveness of women in combat. That study  comprised of 300 men and 100 women volunteers  showed women were injured twice as often as men in combat-related tasks, that they found most combat-related tasks difficult to perform (including the removal of casualties under fire), and that they were generally less proficient in combat arms.

The Marine Corps then requested that some combat roles remain closed to women. However, the results of the study, as well as the request, fell on deaf ears at the highest levels. "I came to a different conclusion," Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said at the time.

Carter then ordered all combat roles open to women.

Murphy said in his opening statement that even with the challenges experienced by women in combat roles  unit cohesion, small numbers of female volunteers, higher attrition and injury rates among them  they can be overcome to "increase our overall readiness, thereby making us more combat effective."

Neller said the Marine Corps would continue to look for ways women could be integrated into combat roles that protect unit cohesion and the success of fighting units.

"Marines follow orders. In response to Secretary of Defense Carter's decision in December 2015, the Marine Corps is stepping out smartly to facilitate the integration of all qualified Marines into previously closed MOS's [Military Occupation Specialties]," Neller said.

Sen. McCain, chairman of the committee, expressed concerned that the military was being more political than practical and was not taking the time to assess the implementation plans for women in combat.

"I'm concerned the department [Department of Defense] has gone about things backward," McCain said. "This consequential decision was made and mandated before the military services could study its implications, and before any implementation plans were devised to address the serious challenges raised in studies."

Sen. Joni Ernst [R-Iowa], the only female veteran on the committee, said her concern was that the military not lower standards for women soldiers in order to meet quotas.

"We need to ensure we don't set men or women up for failure," she said. "We need to ensure that we're taking into account the impact this could have on women's health."
Look, I know theres no bigger cliche than a Christian critic sitting around identifying Christ figures at the movies. But in their latest, Joel and Ethan Coen show their hand so obviouslythe subtitle for the Ben Hur-like film-within-a-film, also called Hail, Caesar!, is A Tale of the Christthat Im either being trolled or baited. Ill bite.

Among many (many, many) things, Hail, Caesar! is a passion play: a canny bit of work on the Coens part, given this years proliferation of biblical epics both remade and reimagined. In just the next few months, that includes Risen, The Young Messiah, Last Days in the Desert, the Tyler Perry-hosted The Passion Live, and the ABC show Of Kings and Prophetsand, yes, a Ben Hur remake.

The Coens (being Coens) come at it as a farce, with about 18 different things rumbling beneath the surface. On its basic level, Hail, Caesar! is an affectionate celebration, mild critique, and winking pastiche of Hollywoods Golden Age, when studios owned actors contracts and shot everything from swashbuckling song-and-dance numbers to sword-and-sandal epics on the back lot. Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix, the executive in charge of production at Capitol Pictures (that name becomes important later). He goes to confession a lot (too much, his priest says wearily) for infractions like smoking a few cigarettes, answers to the never-seen studio head Mr. Schenck (pronounced "skank"), and is being wooed by Lockheed Martin in a job that might involve H-bombs but would still be easier than wrangling the cast of characters hes stuck with.

Those characters feel like what would happen ...

1
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.
HELENA  Changing the regions judges in Montana serve might not be the best way to help districts where judges have more work than they can handle.

Thats what a commission formed to look at judicial redistricting said during a meeting Tuesday.

The seven-member Judicial Redistricting Commission was created by HB 430 during the 2015 Legislature. It can make recommendations to the 2017 Legislature, but since boundaries are set by law, they may only be changed through the legislative process.

On paper the numbers seem dire  Billings needs five or six more judges, Missoula needs almost three. In other regions, like the wide district that serves Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell and Wheatland counties, a caseload study shows a full judge isnt needed.

That's what an annual weighted caseload study by the National Center for State Courts shows, though the commission said its heard from judges that they dont necessarily agree.

I dont know that most of the judiciary is broken, said commission member and Judge Ray Dayton, who is in the Third Judicial District, covering Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties. My personal view is we dont need to redistrict for anything thats wrong with the vast majority of the judiciary in Montana. But Missoula needs a judge, Billings needs judges.

The 2015 case weight and filings study shows some districts need more judges, like 2.66 new judges needed in the First District, which covers Lewis and Clark and Broadwater counties. Cascade County, the Eighth District, needs 2.14 judges. But some like the Seventh District, which covers Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Richland and Wibaux counties, only need 0.47 new judges. The total adds up to 21.2 new judges needed in the state.

The weighted part of the study means that it not only looks at the number of cases filed, but also other work judges must do and annual travel, like for a judge who must visit five courts in five counties to hear cases.

Dayton said that while Billings needs judges, it isnt asking for six new ones and might not have the room for them.

I didn't hear a clamoring for X number of judges, he said. I dont need 0.33 judges in the Third Judicial District.  I havent seen anything that indicates to me (redistricting) is necessary. But it doesnt change the need of Missoula, Great Falls, Billings to have more resources.

Dayton wants a legislative response, in the form of more money for the judiciary branch. He said that while the judiciary is a third of the Montana government, its budget makes up less than 1 percent of the total state budget. The judicial branchs budget, which includes the state supreme court and district court operations as well as the law library, clerk of the supreme court and supervision of the water court, is $107.614 million for the 2016-17 biennium, while the state budget is $12.134 billion.

State Rep. Nate McConnell, D-Missoula, said adding a new judge costs about half a million dollars for the judicial pod, which covers related costs.

Were not going to get that much funding from the Legislature, even in a pie-in-the-sky hope, he said. There isnt going to be a push for 22 more judges, and I dont think anyone is going to expect that.

The Legislature will more likely look at options like adding standing masters, he said.

But that doesnt mean the commission wont look at options for redrawing some districts.

Commissioners raised the point that they might face problems if they ask the 2017 Legislature for money without first showing redistricting wasn't the best option.

State Sen. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, suggested removing Meagher and Wheatland counties from District 14, which includes Golden Valley and Musselshell county, and add them to District 6, which includes Park and Sweet Grass counties.

Im not saying thats a perfect scenario, but I am saying distance traveled between White Sulphur Springs and Livingston is actually shorter than the distance traveled from White Sulphur Springs to Roundup, and the judge lives in Roundup.

There are areas of the state where you dont add much, you dont lose much and youve at least examined the data in front of you, she said.

Judge Gregory Todd, of Billings, pointed out that the change would leave a very small district of Golden Valley and Musselshell counties, but itd be too much for the already-too busy Yellowstone County District Court system to absorb.

Commission members must submit any proposals for redrawing lines by Feb. 12. The proposals will be available for review and can be commented on by the public at the commissions next meeting, which isnt scheduled yet.

The state last drew judicial districts in 1929, though they have been split since then  the last time in 1999 to separate Big Horn, Carbon, and Stillwater counties from Yellowstone County to create the 22nd District.
Ashers Bakery appeal suspended after dramatic intervention

The 'gay cake' case has been dramatically adjourned following a last minute intervention from Northern Ireland's Attorney General.

Ashers Bakery, owned by the McArthur family, was appealing a ruling after they refused to produce a cake with a "support gay marriage" slogan. They were fined 500 after a Belfast court ruled they had discriminated on the grounds of sexual orientation.

However their appeal was postponed after a late intervention from John Larkin QC, Attorney General in Northern Ireland, which raised a potential conflict between the region's equality legislation (which is not the same as the 2010 Equalities Act) and European human rights laws.

The lateness of the representation was "most unfortunate" said Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, who was presiding over the appeal.

"We have all tried to see if we could proceed with the case, given the amount of work that has been done. It seems to us that it is simply not possible to do that without running into some risk of fairness in the hearing. We are not going to proceed with the hearing today."

The hearing will be postponed until May and it is understood the questions surround the legality of Northern Ireland's sexual orientation regulations. It currently prohibits the refusal of services on the grounds of religion, race or sexual orientation.

The Court of Appeal will meet in March, ahead of the hearing in May, to hear the legal arguments on the compatibility of Northern Ireland law with European human rights law.

The court will also decide if any conflict raises a devolution point which would open up the possibility of Attorney General John Larkin QC to become involved.

After the announcement, Daniel McArthur, general manager of Ashers Bakery, said: "We were fully prepared for the hearing to go ahead and arrived this morning in full expectation it would do so. However, developments have taken place which are clearly out of our control due to the decision by the Attorney General to intervene. Clearly, our case raises matters of crucial importance if he has taken a decision to become involved.

"We have every confidence in our legal team and the arguments which were to be put forward and we had also clearly placed our trust, as always, in God. While the delay means it will be exactly two years to the day that the order was placed which led to the case, we are patient people and will now await the next stage in the process and remain confident that our case is right and just.

"We have said in the past that the case has been a source of some stress but it has also offered us great strength in each other and in God."

Speaking ahead of the appeal this morning, McArthur insisted Ashers Bakery did not discriminate and they had taken issue with the "message on the cake and not the customer".

"We are looking forward to having the ruling of the Lord Chief Justice overturned," he said before going into the High Court in Belfast this morning.

"We believe the County Court got the original ruling wrong. Ashers does not discriminate against anyone. We took issue with the message on the cake not the customer. And as a family we believe we should retain the freedom to decline business that would force us to promote a cause with which we disagree."

He added: "As Christians we can't simply switch off our faith as we enter the workplace in the morning.

"To be a Christian at all is to strive to live for Christ in every corner of our lives. We served Mr Lee as we would any other customer, we were simply unwilling to endorse this campaign for a new law that so clearly goes against what the Bible said about marriage. And for that we have been punished.

"As Christians, we are law abiding citizens and we expect the law to protect us as much as anybody else. We hope that the judicial system will now make the correct decision and protect our freedom to carry out our work without being forced to violate our consciences.

"As a family we have found the whole process very difficult. We would rather not be here today. We knew we had to appeal not only for ourselves but on the behalf of other family businesses who could be forced to endorse or promote views with which they disagree,.

"Today we appeal to the Lord Chief Justice and colleagues to overturn the county court ruling, we appeal to them to recognise there is a big difference between refusing to serve someone because of their sexual orientation or political opinion and choosing not to endorse those ideas."
Ashers' Bakery: The real loser here is a tolerant society

The co-author of the Law and Religion blog, Frank Cranmer, told me this morning that the Ashers bakery judgment would generate "more heat than light", certainly in the immediate aftermath.

Look at the tweets under the #ashers hashtag, and he's right. Is it a victory for freedom of speech and a defeat for the reactionary forces of homophobia? Is it a defeat for traditional Christian values and a victory for the godless hordes of liberalism? Both views are amply represented on social media.

Ashers' lawyers are considering an appeal and the judgment will be studied carefully when tempers have cooled. However, what's clear is that the real winner is not what is disparagingly called 'the gay lobby', but a law which is not fit for purpose when it has to deal with complex human convictions and motivations. And the real loser is not Ashers, but liberal, tolerant civil society.

This case reinforces calls already made by no less a person than the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, for a provision in law of "reasonable accommodation" for religious beliefs. (MLA Paul Givan is seeking to introduce such a law in Northern Ireland, where it will fail because of opposition by Sinn Fein and others.) The truth is that rights do compete, and it has been the repeated experience of people of a conservative religious faith that their rights don't count as much as those of others.

Gay people have every right to be provided with goods and services without suffering any kind of discrimination. But people of faith have every right to hold their convictions, and sometimes these convictions will bring them into conflict with the mainstream of society.

How society treats those who don't conform is a measure of its civilisation. Gay people have been on the wrong side of that divide for far, far too long. But in righting old wrongs we need to be sure that we don't perpetuate new ones.

This is not an argument for unfettered discrimination. But at the moment the law is too blunt an instrument to be able to make the crucial distinctions which society needs it to make. If it can be reformed and reshaped in a way that protects the rights of gay people but acknowledges the convictions of conservative people of faith, the attempt should be made.

If it fails: well, Christians in the UK might find life a little less comfortable, but Christianity is not wedded to Christendom. We will survive.

Follow@RevMarkWoods on Twitter.
Ashers manager: 'We don't think we've done anything wrong'

The family at the heart of the Ashers Bakery case have spoken of their disappointment at the outcome of the case brought against it by a gay rights activist.

Earlier today, Judge Isobel Brownlie said the bakery had discriminated against Gareth Lee when it refused to fulfil an order for a cake with a slogan in support of gay marriage.

General manager Daniel McArthur said: "We're extremely disappointed with the judgment. We've said from the start that our issue was with the message on the cake, not the customer and we didn't know what the sexual orientation of Mr Lee was, and it wasn't relevant either. We've always been happy to serve any customers that come into our shops.

"The ruling suggests that all business owners will have to be willing to promote any cause or campaign no matter how much they disagree with it. Or as the Equality Commission has suggested, they should perhaps just close down, and that can't be right.

"But we won't be closing down, we certainly don't think we've done anything wrong and we will be taking legal advice to consider our options for appeal."

He added: "We have learned a lot and been contacted by Christians from all over the world and that has been a very rewarding bonus from this experience.

"The fact is that because of the case we have had more opportunities to talk about our Christian faith and the Lord Jesus Christ and for that we can be very thankful to God.

"The loss of the case and the possibility of a financial penalty is disappointing but that is a small burden to bear as the case has provided us with an opportunity through which we have been able to speak about our faith and our beliefs. And for that we give thanks to the Lord."

Ashers was supported by The Christian Institute, which funded its defence.

The Institute's deputy director Simon Calvert said: "We are extremely disappointed at today's ruling against the McArthur family and Ashers Baking Company. It will also sadden all those who value freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.

"The judge decided that the McArthur family knew Gareth Lee was gay, but it has always been clear that the reason for declining the order was the message  not the customer. Ashers did not know the sexual orientation of Mr Lee and it is not relevant. The company is, and has always been, happy to serve everyone.

"Judge Brownlie recognised that there were competing rights in this case but has favoured sexual orientation over religious belief."

He added: "It appears that we are all now required by law to support same-sex marriage. What next? Will the Muslim printer now be obliged to print cartoons of Mohammed? Will the lesbian T-shirt printer now be forced to print T-shirts promoting traditional marriage? We should all consider the real concern and confusion that will result from this ruling."

McArthur, who was accompanied by his wife Amy at the three day court hearing in March and again today as the judgment was read out, thanked the Christian Institute and their legal team. He said: "Like so many others we just want to live and work in accordance with our religious beliefs. We know we took the right decision before God and we have no regrets about what we've done. God calls us to be faithful Christians, not only when things are going well but when people oppose us."

He added: "We do want to say thank you to the thousands of people who have supported and prayed for us, we're very grateful and certainly your prayers would be much appreciated as we move forward."

Peter Lynas, a former barrister and Northern Ireland director of Evangelical Alliance, said: "This judgment will cause great concern for all those in business. It turns out the customer is always right and businesses have no discretion in deciding which goods and services to produce. The law rightly protects people from discrimination, but it has now extended that protection to ideas.

"While it's absolutely vital to keep this case in perspective, this ruling will come as a shock to the vast majority of people who, polling shows, supported Ashers. While the case will hopefully be appealed, that will lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty and nervousness among business owners. It will no doubt lead to further calls to change the law."

He added: "It seems that religion has been effectively banished from the commercial sphere. Even the right to freedom of religion under the European Convention of Human Rights could not save the McArthurs."
Catholic priests are refusing to serve as bishops, says senior cleric

Catholic priests tipped for the office of bishop are declining the appointment, according to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR).

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops  the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of bishops  told NCR it was no longer "exceptional" for priests to decline to serve.

Asked about rumours more priests were declining the role, he said: "Yes, that's true. Nowadays you have people who do not accept the appointment."

He said the number was "not huge" and that priests decline for different reasons. Ouellet gave the example of a priest who was chosen, but said he had cancer. "It was a sign of responsibility not to accept the appointment," he said.

Others, he said, decline because of something in their past or because they think they cannot handle the responsibility. He said that in the latter case the Congregation of Bishops would normally insist that they accept the appointment because people are often not the best judges of their own abilities. However, said Ouellet, when a priest made "a decision in conscience", the Vatican respected it.

As well as appointing new bishops  in a process that requires papal approval  the Congregation also arranges five-yearly visits of bishops to Rome, where they meet with Pope Francis.

Ouellet told NCR the pope "has insisted on the pastoral quality of the bishops. That's very clear. It does not mean that they do not have to be masters of the faith because a bishops is, first and foremost, the first teacher of the faith in his diocese." However, "the capacity to relate to people, to establish dialogue, to start from the point where people are  this is a quality that is also requested", he said.

New bishops are required to attend an eight- or nine-day course in Rome involving both practical and spiritual input.

"The goal of these meetings is to learn their new identity  that they belong to the college of the successors of the apostles," Ouellet said. "It's an extraordinary moment of conversion for them."

The Roman Catholic Church has more than 5,000 bishops around the world and around 414,000 priests.
Desperate Syrian refugees need more help, say Churches on eve of donor conference

Four major UK Churches have called on governments to provide substantial new funding for Syrian refugees.

The call from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church comes on the eve of the 2016 international pledging conference for Syria, taking place in London.

The UK, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, and the United Nations will co-host the conference tomorrow aimed at raising significant new funding to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of those affected.

In 2015, following the last international appeal by the UN, only 43 per cent of the required funds were raised.

The UN has stated that a further $7.7 billion will be required in aid to help the vulnerable people in Syria and support Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, who host the vast majority of Syria's 4.6 million refugees.

Among those expressing concern about the situation is King Abdullah of Jordan, who said yesterday his country was at "boiling point" because of an influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The king told the BBC there was enormous pressure on Jordan's social services, infrastructure and economy.

"Sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst," he warned.

During the last few decades Jordan has welcomed Palestinians, Iraqis, and now so many Syrians that they make up nearly 20 per cent of the population.

King Abdullah said: "For the first time, we can't do it any more."

Warning that churches have been targeted even while full of worshipers on a Sunday, Dr Mary Mikhael, spokesperson for the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, said: "As the Syrian tragedy continues to unfold, the Christian community is deeply concerned about its future. Churches and ancient cathedrals in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and other places are being purposely targeted by armed groups, and many have been destroyed.

"Will Syria, once considered the cradle of Christianity, become empty of the nation's Christian community? This is our deep fear. Over 1.2 million Syrians have fled into nearby Lebanon and continue to endure unimaginable hardship. The Christian communities of Syria and Lebanon appeal for peace, justice and relief for the millions displaced and refugees."

John Ellis, moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, said: "We welcome the UK's commitment to aid for Syria, and our Government's initiative in hosting this international pledging conference in London. We want every refugee child in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to have the opportunity to attend school  but this aim, as outlined by the United Nations, needs funding."

Frances Guy, Christian Aid's head of Middle East region and the UK's former ambassador to Lebanon, said: "Let's remember the Syrians at the heart of this conference: the Syrians trapped inside besieged areas in Syria, and the Syrians who have managed to flee to places of relative safety inside Syria and in neighbouring countries.

"They all need basic humanitarian assistance and some stability in their lives. This means stopping the bombing, guaranteeing that aid can reach all those in need wherever they are and allowing those who have fled their homeland opportunities to contribute to the societies that are so generously hosting them, as well as provide for their own families in dignity."
'Gay cake' case: Appeal begins today, as Ashers Bakery insists it does not discriminate

A court appeal launched by Christian-run Ashers Bakery over the so-called "gay cake case" is due to begin today.

Daniel McArthur, general manager of Ashers, arrived at the High Court in Belfast this morning with his wife Amy to begin a two-day hearing. The couple are seeking to overturn a decision against them over their refusal to produce a cake with a "support gay marriage" slogan for LGBT activist Gareth Lee.

They were fined 500 after Judge Brownlie ruled their decision amounted to discrimination under laws which prohibit the refusal of services on the grounds of religion, race, or sexual orientation.

"Ashers does not discriminate against anyone," Daniel McArthur told journalists outside the court this morning.

"We took issue with the message on the cake not the customer. As a family we believe we should retain the freedom to decline business that would require us to promote a cause with which we disagree."

However the chief commissioner of the Equalities Commission, which launched the legal challenge on behalf of Lee, said Ashers Bakery had been discriminatory.

"One of the things the Equality Commission does is support people who we believe have been discriminated against," said Dr Michael Wardlow this morning. "When it raises a strategic issue, that allows us to challenge discriminatory practice and raise awareness of the legislation.

"In this particular case we believe this has happened. We hope today the three judges will agree and Judge Brownlie's ruling will stand."

The case was highlighted after prominent LGBT rights activist, Peter Tatchell, announced his support for the McArthurs' right to free speech.

"Much as I wish to defend the gay community, I also want to defend freedom of conscience, expression and religion," he wrote in an article for the Guardian.

A petition supporting the McArthurs was launched by their legal backers, the Christian Institute, in January and now has over 9,000 signatories.

The appeal will likely be heard for two days with a ruling delivered on Thursday.
Denise Juneau has won two statewide elections as a Native American woman.

As the 48-year-old congressional candidate ramps up her campaign against first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, she is matter-of-fact about her sexual orientation, making her Montanas first openly gay candidate running for federal office.

While Juneau introduced the woman she is dating at a fundraiser in Bozeman last week, she has been open for some time about her sexuality, without making a big deal of it.

State Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, said she was at the Bozeman fundraiser Saturday, which honored women in politics. She said Juneau spoke and told a story about how when Juneau first ran for state superintendent of public instruction, she told her parents, who asked When do we hit the road? to help campaign.

Juneau told the crowd Saturday that the first person she told she was running for Congress was her partner, who asked exactly the same question.

"It demonstrates how Denise feels about making sure she represents everyone," Dunwell said, adding it "speaks volumes about her."

Zinke was unavailable for comment Tuesday night, and his staff did not return email messages.

Montanans know and trust Denise, Juneau's campaign manager, Lauren Caldwell, told the Gazette State Bureau on Tuesday night. Her run for Congress is historic in many ways, which is why were seeing major endorsements and unprecedented excitement from every corner of the state. She's the first female American Indian to win statewide office  twice. Denise will be the first woman Montanans send to Congress in 75 years. Denise is proof that anyone can go from Head Start to Harvard, from a small town to the U.S. Capitol. In Congress, Denise will be an independent voice who puts all Montanans first."

David Parker, a political scientist at Montana State University, said Tuesday night, People who were going to vote for her are still going to vote for her, and people who werent going to vote for her still arent. But he added, Whats really important here is enthusiasm among young Democratic voters. Look at how younger voters feel about same-sex marriage, for instance. They are very strongly supportive. So now, she has a story to tell a group of voters that are otherwise hard to motivate.

He likened the situation to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, who is the first openly gay U.S. senator. He said it was transformative  she got huge turnouts in Madison, where the University of Wisconsin is located. So this could have an effect for Juneau in Missoula and in Gallatin County, he said.

Parker added that perhaps most importantly, Juneau will attract even more national attention as a candidate. By virtue of her policy positions and her status as a Native American and a woman, she has already benefited from endorsements like Emilys list; but she could also receive attention  and money  from groups supporting LGBT candidates.

She will have money to tell her story, he said, but added that shes running against a well-heeled incumbent in Zinke, who has shown big-time fundraising ability.

The seat is rated safe Republican right now by some national Congress-watchers, he said, although that could certainly change.

Social-media reaction to an earlier story regarding Juneaus sexuality was positive.

Former Missoula city council member Caitlin Copple Tweeted, @denisejuneau is making so much history!

Personally I dont care if Denise Juneau is LGBT or not, Helena writer Shawn White Wolf Tweeted. Shes still getting my vote.

An American Indian woman has never been elected to Congress.
Iran now able to access $100 billion of its frozen assets under nuclear agreement

Iran has announced that it has already gained access to the more than $100 billion worth of its frozen overseas assets as part of the nuclear agreement signed with world powers last summer.

"These assets have fully been released and we can use them," Iran government spokesperson Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said in comments posted on the website of state-run Press TV.

"Much of the money belongs to Iran's central bank and National Development Fund,'' he said, adding that Iran will not bring all the money back because it can be spent on purchasing goods.

According to Nobakht, much of the money that came from international sales of Iranian oil had been piling up in banks in China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey. Those countries have been holding the funds in escrow since tighter sanctions were implemented in 2012.

Central bank official Nasser Hakimi, meanwhile, said nine Iranian banks are now reconnected to SWIFT, a Belgian-based cooperative that handles wire transfers between financial institutions, according to Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.

Currently, reports say no foreign banks operate in Iran, and ATMs there are not yet linked to the global system.

With the lifting of sanctions and access to funds now, Iran is expected to have an economic breakthrough and sell crude oil more freely. Iran has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world, reports say.

Mohsen Jalalpour, the head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, said on state TV Monday that Iranian businessmen are already able to open letters of credit for transactions in other countries.

Iran's landmark deal with six world powers signed in July 2015 limit its sensitive nuclear activities for more than a decade in return for the lifting of crippling sanctions. But many peopleincluding Israeli officials, as well as those from Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emiratesbelieve Iran will use these funds to pay its terror proxies such as Hezbollah or the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which could in turn destabilise the Middle East.

Furthermore, officials and analysts fear that Iran could also use the money to develop its ballistic missile programme.
ISIS threatens terror attacks 'worse than 9/11 and Paris,' says Spain will 'pay dearly' for crushing Muslim rule

The Islamic State (ISIS) has threatened to carry attacks on the West "worse than 9/11 and last year's Paris massacre'' for a historical reason: To avenge Muslims who were expelled by Spain in Andalusia 500 years ago.

The warnings were contained in a new video released Saturday by the barbaric Islamic group.

The video, believed to have been filmed in Nineveh, shows a masked white man standing in the rubble of a building impacted by a military strike. He threatens to carry out atrocities on Westerners that will "make them forget September 11" attacks against the U.S. or the Paris massacre in November,'' Christian News reported.

The man reportedly shows his wrath towards Spain, which he says will "pay dearly'' for having crushed Muslim rule in ancient Andalusia, the southern Spanish region where the Moors ruled from 711 AD to 1492.

According to the Daily Mail, the man speaks "Cordoba and Toledo'' and says "the ancient land of Andalusia is Muslim and has not been forgotten."

Muslims had ruled in Spain for a time until they were chased out by Roman Catholic armies during the Spanish Inquisition. Many Spanish Jews who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism were expelled as well.

The Encyclopedia Britannica outlines that "[King] Ferdinand and [Queen] Isabella issued an edict on March 31, 1492, giving Spanish Jews the choice of exile or baptism; as a result, more than 160,000 Jews were expelled from Spain."

In 1502, Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros issued an order to rid Granada of Islamic rule. The region thus became the last Muslim territory to fall in Spain. "Muslims in Valencia and Aragon were subjected to forced conversion in 1526, and Islam was subsequently banned in Spain," Britannica says.

The long-haired masked gunman also brands the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq "imbecile miscreants" who will not be able to defeat the terrorist organisation.

The eight-minute propaganda production ends with the execution of five prisoners who are shot in the head by ISIS fighters. The men are dressed in orange jumpsuits and forced to kneel in the rubble, Christian News said.

In an earlier report published in an Arab language newspaper, al-Naba, the same long-haired masked man was described as having threatened an attack on Britain so horrific it will "turn children's hair white.''

The French-speaking man warned that U.K. will suffer "the lion's share'' of the slaughter it intends to do in Europe.
Man accused of posing as a priest and stealing from parishioners has been arrested

A man who has posed as a priest since the mid 1990s, calling himself "Padre" and celebrating sacraments, was arrested for grand theft on Tuesday, according to police.

Officers arrested Erwin Mena, 59, on Tuesday in Elysian Park in Los Angeles. He had stolen thousands of dollars from parishioners by selling fake trips to see Pope Francis last year, according to court documents.

A criminal complaint filed by the LA County district attorney's office said he has been charged with 22 felonies and eight misdemeanors, the LA Times reported.

In early June 2015, the pastor of St Ignatius of Loyola parish in Highland Park  where Mena had been posing as a priest for five months  reported him to police.

Before being arrested, Mena had avoided being caught many times. He would travel around, moving between parishes whenever the archdiocese caught wind of his behaviour, an affidavit by LAPD Detective Guevara said.

Despite having been on the list of unaurthorised priests and deacons since its creation in 2008, Mena had avoided repercussions for his actions until now.

When a priest arrives in a new diocese he must present his credentials, Sister Terry Davis, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Stockton, said.

"This request is accompanied by a letter from his bishop and identification that he is who he says he is. That has to check out before he operates."

Mena avoided this protocol by finding a parish that needed a substitute, according to Guevara. He was allowed to minister at the church without reference to the list, said spokeswoman for the LA archdiocese, Doris Benavides.

During his time posing as a priest, Mena allegedly extorted people out of thousands of pounds.

An organisation loaned him $16,000 to record and produce CDs about Pope Francis, Guevara said. In reality, investigators found that Mena had simply pirated a video which was filmed in Madrid.

He also got people to sign up to and pay for an imaginary trip to see Pope Francis when he was visiting New York and Philadelphia, Guevara said. Mena solicited between $500 and $1,000 from more than 24 parishioners and others.

One complainant, Michelle Rodriguez, gave Mena $900 in cash for the trip, having learnt about it from a close friend who knew Mena.

"We were thinking, 'Oh, we'll have this great time in New York. We'll see the Pope and it will be a great experience,'" said Rodriguez.

However, she became suspicious when Mena refused to give her details of the trip whenever she asked.

"He used us, he stole from us, and that's it," she said.

Some of Mena's alleged victims have been reimbursed by the archdiocese and any witnesses in the criminal case could be reimbursed after it is concluded, Benavides said.
Muslim migrants turn sex predators, victimising women in at least 6 countries in Europe; America warned

Alarm is sounding in at least six countries in Europe amid the waves of sexual assaults on women by hordes of Muslim migrants, an unexpected phenomenon that has caught European governments flat-footed.

The sexual assaults were initially reported in Cologne, Germany, on New Year's Eve. Similar attacks happened in other German cities such as Bielefeld, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart, reports said.

Authorities said more than 100 incidents of sexual assaults and robberies involving Arab and North African migrants and victimising local women were recorded in Cologne alone, according to WND.

Five other European countries reported similar attacksAustria, Finland, France, Sweden and Switzerland.

In Austria, police allegedly tried to cover up evidence of sex attacks in Vienna, Breitbart London reported on Friday.

In Finland, police told Agence-France Presse there was "widespread sexual harassment" at a New Year's Eve event involving about 1,000 migrants.

In France, two Afghan migrants were arrested after they attempted to rape passengers on a train in Paris, Le Parisien reported on Thursday.

In Sweden, at least nine women were molested by gangs of migrants in Kalmar.

In Switzerland, six women said were sexually harassed at a New Year's Eve event in Zurich, SWI reported on Thursday.

Commenting on the migrants' attacks, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico declared that "the idea of multicultural Europe has failed," the Telegraph reported on Friday. "The migrants cannot be integrated; it's simply impossible," Fico said.

Finnish authorities agreed with their German counterparts that the crime waves sweeping their countries were brought about by the arrival of refugees.

"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," Ilkka Koskimaki, the city's deputy police chief, told AFP.

Gunnar Norgren, a police officer in Kalmar, Sweden, made a similar assessment. "We have not really had this phenomenon before. Had it been a single report, someone being groped on the dance floor, then yes, they've happened, naturally. But ... this is something new," Norgren said.

The alarms being sounded in Europe are reverberating in the United States. Terrorism expert Brigitte Gabriel told WND and Radio America on Friday that Europe's crisis shows a glimpse of what would happen in the U.S. if it follows German Chancellor Angela Merkel's embrace of the Muslim migrants. Germany is now home to 1.1 million migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

"This is a preview as to what's coming into our own nation in the United States, once we start bringing and importing these refugees," Gabriel said.

"Remember, these refugees are coming from societies that have no respect for women," she said. "They treat women as property. They treat women as a subject to be used and abused. Men abuse their wives, beat their wives, rape their wives."

Gabriel pointed out that in Islamic countries, "there is no such thing as rape because the Quran gives the right to a man to do whatever he wants to his wife because she is his property."

"What we are seeing in Europe is the importation of a culture that is completely opposed to everything we stand for and believe in," she said, adding that the Muslim refugees looked at foreign women as something to be used, "especially if they are infidel women."
Obama condemns anti-Muslim rhetoric in first visit to US mosque: 'We are all God's children'

President Barack Obama gave a rallying cry in defence of religious liberty today during his first visit to a US mosque since he was elected president.

He spoke at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Maryland this afternoon, emphasising the importance of religious freedom and celebrating the contribution of Muslim Americans.

"This mosque, like so many across this country, is part of the American story," Obama told those gathered. "It's been part of this city for nearly half a century, serving thousands of families. A lot of Americans have never visited a mosque, and to those watching this today who haven't, think of your own church or synagogue, or temple, and a mosque like this will be familiar to you.

"It's where families come to worship and express their love for God and each other."

Obama praised the contribution of Muslims all across the US. "The first thing I want to say are two words Muslim Americans don't hear enough," he said. "Thank you".

"For serving your communities, for lifting up the lives of your neighbours and helping keep us strong and united as one American family. We are grateful for that."

The president acknowledged that for many Muslims, this was a time of anxiety and fear. "Like all Americans, you're worried about the threat of terrorism, but on top of that, as Muslim Americans, you also have another concern: your entire community so often is the target of blame for violent acts of the very few."

The media often gives a distorted impression of the Muslim community, he said, and it's time for Muslims to be better represented, both in the news and on television.

Obama also pointed to the "inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslims", which he said has "no place in our country".

Referring to letters he's received from Muslims saying that they have been made to feel like second-class citizens, he said this: "We're one American family". When any individual feels targeted because of their faith, "it tears at the very fabric of our nation," he added.

"We have to be honest and clear about it, tackle it head on and speak out."

People of all faiths must also reaffirm a "fundamental truth: we are all God's children, we are all born equally with inherent dignity," Obama said. "Christians, Jews and Muslims, we are all under our faiths descendants of Abraham, so mere tolerance is not enough. Our faiths summon us to embrace our common humanity... All of us have the task of expressing our religious faith in a way that seeks to build bridges rather than to divide."

Obama said that Islam has a long history in America, as many of the slaves brought over from Africa were Muslim. He also pointed to previous presidents having expressed the importance of religious freedom, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. He noted that Jefferson, like himself, was accused of being a Muslim. "I'm in good company," he joked.

"So this [the Muslim American community] is not a new thing," he said. "Generations of Muslims have helped to build our nation."

There are Muslims in the American army, in the emergency services and in homeland security, he said. "Muslims enrich our lives today in every way".

However, he also highlighted Islamist groups that have appropriated the faith for their own gain. "Even as the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims embrace Islam as a source of peace, it is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted interpretation of Islam," Obama said.

"This is the truth. Groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL are not the first extremists in history to misuse God's name  it's been seen before across all faiths. But right now there is an organised extremist element that draws from Islamic texts and twists them in an attempt to justify killing and terrorism".

The question for all of us, Obama said, is how to move forward "and keep this country strong and united, and defend ourselves against organisations that are bent on killing innocents".

People of all faiths and none must work together to combat extremism, he said. Muslim leaders must speak out against groups like Islamic State, but everyone must actively work to counter Islamophobia.

"If we're serious about religious freedom, and I'm speaking to my fellow Christians who remain a majority in this country, we have to understand that an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths," Obama said. "And when any religious group is targeted we have to speak up."

"We have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias... We have to be consistent in condemning hateful rhetoric and violence against everyone, including Muslims in the United States of America.

"None of us can be silent. We can't be bystanders to bigotry. Together, we have got to show that America truly protects all faiths."

This is vital in combating the rhetoric of extremists, who claim that Muslims must choose between their faith and their US citizenship, the president added. Speaking directly to young people, he warned them not to believe messages that tell them they have to choose between their identities. "If you're ever wondering 'how do I fit in here?', as President of the United States, I say you fit in here. Right here. [This is] right where you belong... you're not Muslim or American, you're Muslim and American".

Obama also addressed criticism he's received for not denouncing Islam as a violent faith in light of the rise of groups such as ISIS. "The best way for us to fight terrorism is to deny these organisations legitimacy, and to show that here in the United States of America we don't suppress Islam, we celebrate and lift up the successes of American Muslims," he said.

To do otherwise would be to "play into terrorist propaganda" he warned.

Speaking to American Muslims, he said: "To use a little Christian expression: let your light shine. Because when you do, you'll make it clear that this is not a clash of civilisations between the West and Islam. This is a struggle between the peace-loving overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world and a radical tiny minority".

"We've got to build trust and mutual respect, to keep our communities strong and united," he added.

Obama concluded with a call for unity across the US. "We are one family. We will rise and fall together. It won't always be easy, there will be times where our worst impulses are given voice, but I believe that ultimately our best voice will win out. And that gives me confidence and faith in our future," he said.

"After more than 200 years, our blended heritage, the patchwork quilt of America, is not a weakness, it's one of our greatest strengths and what makes us a beacon to the world... May God's peace be upon you, and God bless the United States of America."

Today was not the first time Obama has visited a mosque, having been to several during official trips abroad, but he has waited until his eighth and final year of presidency to visit a mosque in the US.

The aim of the visit, according to the White House, was to "reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values  welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference, and protecting our nation's tradition of religious freedom."

The White House described the visit as timely, particularly in the context of the anti-Islamic rhetoric present in the election campaign. However, some Muslim groups have voiced their frustration that it has taken Obama eight years to visit an Islamic place of worship in America.

"I do think it should have happened a long time ago," said Haroon Moghul, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

"I don't know why he has not visited a mosque before. If I'm being charitable, I would say it may just not have been a priority. Another reason is the optics may have caused him some grief, but that's precisely why he should have gone in view of the current climate."

There has been an increased number of attacks on US mosques and individual Muslims  who make up around one per cent of America's population  since the Paris attacks in November and a shooting in San Bernardino in December, according to advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"I don't think there's ever been this level of fear and apprehension in the Muslim-American community," said Ibrahim Hooper from CAIR.

"For some time, we've been asking for pushback. Perhaps this will start a trend."

Obama's visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque follows his visit to the Israeli embassy in Washington last week, where he warned of growing anti-Semitism.
Official prayers published in run up to Queen's 90th birthday

Prayers approved by the Queen herself have been published by the Church of England to celebrate the monarch's upcoming 90th birthday.

Two prayers have been published  in traditional and modern forms  to be used in services marking the national celebrations of the Queen's milestone birthday in April and June. Two graces have also been published for use at the start of more local celebrations, such as street parties.

The modern version of one says:

"Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen, receive our heartfelt thanks for all that you have given her in these 90 years and for all that she has given to her people.

"Continue, we pray, your loving purposes in her, and as you gather us together in celebration, unite us also in love and service to one another; through Jesus Christ our Lord."

One of the graces echoes the words Queen Elizabeth said in her first Christmas broadcast in 1952, after the death of her father George VI and ahead of her own coronation.

In her speech, she said: "Pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making, and that I may faithfully serve him and you, all the days of my life."

The grace reflects this in its words: "Gracious God, give our Queen continued wisdom and strength to carry out the promises she has made; and bless (this food, and) those who are gathered there, that, sustained by service for others, we may faithfully serve you, all the days of our life."

The Queen's 90th birthday will be celebrated around her official birthday in June and her actual birthday on April 21.

On June 10 a thanksgiving service will be held at St Paul's Cathedral followed by the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony the next day at Horse Guards Parade.

"The Queen has steered Britain through some challenging and difficult times over the past seven decades, providing the country with stability and wisdom," said the Bishop of Exeter, Robert Atwell, who chairs the Liturgical Commission which prepares liturgy for the Church.

"She is an inspiration to many people, young and old. The Queen's 90th birthday gives an opportunity not only to thank God for her service, but to celebrate the gifts of all older people in our society."

The Queen has a strong Christian faith, and in recent years has worn it more openly, as characterised by her recent Christmas messages.

This year she quoted John's Gospel in a message of hope amid the challenges facing the world: "It is true that the world has had to confront moments of darkness this year, but the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope, often read at Christmas carol services: 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.'"

Last year, she referred to the life of Jesus as "an inspiration and an anchor in my life." In 2011 she described Jesus as "neither a philosopher nor a general... but a Saviour, with the power to forgive."

Forgiveness, she said, "lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love."
Pastor Saeed Abedini denies wife's sexual abuse claims but admits their marriage is in 'great stress'

Pastor Saeed Abedini was finally released from his prison cell in Iran, only to be greeted by bad news when he got home. His wife Naghmeh filed a domestic relations case against him and refused to remain in his presence when he got to the Billy Graham Training Center in North Carolina.

"Last November, Naghmeh began to write about our marriage on her Facebook page and suspended her public advocacy for me. Her Facebook reports have been widely reported in other media outlets, raising questions about me, and the state of our marriage," Abedini said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. "As a prisoner in Iran I was not able to respond to her comments and accusations. I have chosen not to respond in the two weeks I have been back in America because I believe personal issues are best dealt with personally."

But now, Abedini would like to voice out his thoughts regarding the matter. He admitted that his marriage with Naghmeh is currently under "great stress," although he is optimistic about healing and restoration.

"I love my wife and want God's will for both of our lives," he said. Abedini even hailed her as a "hero" for being a single parent to their two children, all the while leading a crusade on his behalf.

However, Abedini said "much of what I have read in Naghmeh's posts and subsequent media reports is not true."

He requested for some privacy as they work on rebuilding their relationship.

Abedini admitted that he is a sinner and could not profess to be the perfect husband to Naghmeh. He is hopeful that with God's help, he will be able to achieve "victory" in his crumbling marriage.

"While I am far from perfect  as a man or as a husband, I am seeking every day to submit to God as He molds me into what He wants me to be," he said.
'The Bachelor' season 20 preview: Ben Higgins and the ladies go to the Bahamas in episode 6

This week on "The Bachelor," Ben Higgins surprised all the ladies at 4 in the morning to see how they all look like without any makeup. He also took Amanda out on a romantic date, and the two rode on a hot air balloon over the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico. Ben appeared to be impressed with how open Amanda was with him as she told him about her failed marriage. She also told him that she never had time to date because she is a mother.

On his blog for People magazine, Ben said that seeing those pyramids with Amanda from a hot air balloon "is a memory I am going to cherish forever." He also said that he loved how appreciative she was and the fact that she was able to open up about her divorce and insecurities made him admire her even more.

Many fans were surprised when Ben eliminated Jubilee from the competition, especially since they seemed to have a great connection on their first date. During the group date, Jubilee seemed more insecure and unwilling to participate as she told the camera that she gets jealous every time Ben holds some other girl's hand.

This week, Olivia offended Amanda when she said that hearing her story made her feel as if the single mother was on "Teen Mom." This isn't the first time that Olivia has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but Ben said on his blog that despite what the other women have been saying to him about Olivia, he "cannot be mad at a woman who prioritizes time with me and our relationship moving forward."

Next week, the group will be leaving Mexico and will be heading to the Bahamas. According to Reality Steve, Caila will have a one-on-one date with Ben and the two will go deep sea fishing.

For the group date, Ben picks Lauren B., Leah, Amanda, Becca, JoJo, and Lauren H. and they go swimming with pigs at the Exuma Grand Isle Resort and Spa. Later on in the episode, Olivia and Emily go on a two-on-one date with Ben and one of them gets eliminated right after.

"The Bachelor" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
UN announces start of Syria peace talks as government troops advance

The United Nations announced the formal start of peace talks for Syria on Monday and urged world powers to push for a ceasefire even as government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, launched their biggest offensive north of Aleppo in a year.

Government troops and allied fighters captured hilly countryside near Aleppo on Monday, putting a key supply route used by opposition forces into firing range, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Rebels said the offensive was being conducted with massive Russian air support, despite a promise of goodwill steps by the Syrian government to spur peace negotiations.

The opposition has said that without a halt to bombing, the lifting of sieges on towns and freeing of prisoners, it will not participate in talks in Geneva called by the United Nations.

"We are here for a few days. Just to be clear, only a few days. If there (is) no progress on the ground, we are leaving ... We are not here for negotiations, we are here to test the regime's intentions," Monzer Makhous, an official from the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee, told Reuters Television on arrival in Geneva.

Still, opposition delegates met in Geneva for two hours with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who said this session marked the official beginning of peace talks. The Syrian people deserved to see improvements on the ground and the opposition had a "strong point" in demanding goodwill steps, he said.

World powers, he said, should immediately begin talks on how to enforce a ceasefire: "There was a message ... that when the Geneva talks actually start, in parallel there should be the beginning of a serious discussion about ceasefires."

The Geneva peace talks mark the first attempt in two years to hold negotiations to end a war that has drawn in regional and international powers, killed at least 250,000 people and forced 10 million from their homes.

A senior US official returned from a fact-finding visit to northern Syrian territory held by Kurdish fighters, who have advanced against Islamic State militants with the help of US air support.

Attack

Opposition delegates agreed late on Friday to travel to Geneva after saying they had received guarantees to improve the situation on the ground. But the opposition says there has been no easing of the conflict, with government and allied forces including Iranian militias pressing offensives across important areas of western Syria, most recently north of Aleppo.

"The (latest) attack started at 2 a.m., with air strikes and missiles," said rebel commander Ahmed al-Seoud, describing the situation near Aleppo, once Syria's biggest city and commercial centre, now partly ruined and divided between government and insurgent control.

Seoud told Reuters his Free Syrian Army group had sent reinforcements to an area near the village of Bashkoy.

The British-based Observatory monitoring group said government forces were gaining ground in the area, and had captured most of the village of Duweir al-Zeitun near Bashkoy. It reported dozens of air strikes on Monday morning. Syrian state television also said government forces were advancing.

The fighting has created a new flow of refugees. A Turkish disaster agency said more than 3,600 Turkmens and Arabs fleeing advancing pro-government forces in northern Latakia province had crossed into Turkey in the past four days.

The death toll from an Islamic State suicide attack near Damascus on Sunday climbed to more than 70 people, the Observatory said.

Negotiation 'under escalation'

The opposition High Negotiations Committee indicated it would leave Geneva unless peace moves were implemented.

Bashar al-Jaafari, head of the government delegation, said on Sunday Damascus was considering options such as ceasefires, humanitarian corridors and prisoner releases.

But he suggested they might come about as a result of the talks, not as a condition to begin them.

The humanitarian crisis wrought by the almost five-year-old conflict has worsened as a result of the increased fighting. International attention has focused in particular on the fate of civilians trapped and starving in besieged towns.

The United Nations said on Monday the Syrian government had approved "in principle" a UN request for aid deliveries to the town of Madaya, under siege from government forces, as well as the towns of al-Foua and Kefraya, beset by insurgents. No date was given for aid shipments.

Opposition delegate Farrah Atassi said government forces were escalating their military campaign, making it hard to justify the opposition's presence in Geneva.

"Today, we are going to Mr De Mistura to demand again and again, for a thousand times, that the Syrian opposition is keen to end the suffering of the Syrian people," Atassi said. "However, we cannot ask the Syrian opposition to engage in any negotiation with the regime under this escalation."

Since the last Syrian peace talks took place in early 2014, militants from Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, have proclaimed a "caliphate" in swathes of Syria and Iraq, drawing a US-led coalition into the conflict with air strikes.

Brett McGurk, US envoy to the coalition, said he had visited territory held by Kurdish fighters in Syria over the weekend to assess the counter-Islamic State campaign.

The Kurds have proven the most capable allies of US-led forces on the ground in Syria. But their relationship with Washington irks US ally Turkey, which sees the Syrian Kurds as allies of its own Kurdish separatist militants. The Syrian Kurds have so far been excluded from the Geneva talks.

McGurk said he had discussed next steps in the Syria campaign with "battle-tested and multi-ethnic anti-ISIL fighters", and Washington backed an inclusive approach to the talks.

All previous diplomatic efforts have failed to stop the war.

A senior Western diplomat said the opposition had shown up in the Swiss city so as not to play "into the hands of the regime" by staying away.

"They want tangible and visible things straight away, but there are things that realistically can't be done now such as ending the bombing. It's obvious that that is too difficult. The easiest compromises are releasing civilians and children."
Vatican: Violence in the name of God is 'particularly heinous'

Acts of violence committed in the name of God are "particularly heinous and offensive", the Vatican said today.

A statement was released by the Holy See after Pope Francis' general audience in Rome. The comments were made in response to the Turkish historian Rinaldo Mirmara presenting the Pope with a copy of his new book on the Battle of Dardanelles (1657).

The Vatican celebrated the book, emphasising the importance learning from history. "The painful events of history should not be forgotten; instead they require careful examination and reflection so that they may lead to the healing and purification of memory, so necessary for reconciliation and forgiveness for individuals and peoples," it said.

The book highlights the importance of scholarly work as a means by which truth can be found and bridges of cooperation built through mutual understanding, the Vatican added.

"The memory of the suffering and pain of both the recent past, as in the case of the assassination of Taha Carim, Ambassador of Turkey to the Holy See, in June 1977, at the hands of a terrorist group, urges us to acknowledge the suffering of the present and to condemn all acts of violence and terrorism, which continue to cause victims today," the statement said.

"Particularly heinous and offensive is violence and terrorism committed in the name of God or religion."

The Vatican drew attention to the particular friction between Christians and Muslims in some parts of the world, recalling Pope Francis' statement during his visit to the Central African Republic last year: "Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters... Together, we must say no to hatred, no to revenge and no to violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself."

Instead of focussing on divisions, the Church should remember "brotherhood, solidarity, compassion and shared humanity and... reiterate their common stand against all violence," the statement concluded.
An overpopulation of squirrels in 1999 led to a series of big wins for a then-Billings West High senior, who would later return to her hometown a full-fledged pediatrician.

Erin Allen, formerly Erin Murphy, returned to Billings last fall with her husband, Nathan Allen, an emergency room doctor, and their three children. Now, she and her husband work for the same hospital that runs the Billings Clinic Science Exposition  the science competition she took first place at in 1999.

Ill never forget the day, Allen said, recalling when her calculus teacher's landline rang in class in 1999. The teacher goes over and answers it and goes Erin, its for you. For me? Why would I have a phone call?' And it was Mr. Grover calling, saying Congratulations, youre a mom! And I was like 'What?' And he goes You have babies!

Allen and classmate Jessica Dunn had completed an independent science project as part of George Grovers Biology II class. The two designed and conducted an experiment on the effectiveness of a contraceptive inoculation formula on rodents. The formula was designed for herd animals by Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, the founder of the Science and Conservation Center at ZooMontana.

Allen and Dunn began with 22 mice at the projects outset, and the call from Grover meant they had more. From the 22 mice the experiment began with, five were deceased by its finish, and only four out of the total 13 subjected to the vaccine were able to reproduce. All four mice in an unvaccinated control group reproduced as well.

The contraceptives success was limited, but the science behind the project was still strong  strong enough to take first place at the science expo and to earn them a first-place finish in the team competition at the 1999 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Philadelphia.

The idea for the experiment came from the work of Kirkpatrick. Allen and Dunn focused on rodents because they heard ZooMontana had been struggling with an overpopulation of squirrels, Allen said; they tested mice because of the rodents' short life spans and ease.

Its a lot easier to have cages of mice in your high school biology classroom than cages of squirrels," Allen said.

Allen and Dunn showed up with their project poster, which Allens mother still has, featuring charts, detailed explanations of results and methodology, and even hand-drawn illustrations by Dunn of their method of injection and the cellular effects of the solution.

The first-place finish at the Billings expo was a surprise for Allen, especially considering some of the other projects; one project Allen remembers today was by a girl from Butte who had conducted an experiment involving the Berkeley Pit.

The first-place finish in Philadelphia was an even bigger surprise.

Allen and Dunn traveled with their mothers and took a week off school for the event. Between presentations to judges traveling exhibit to exhibit, the two attended talks from keynote speakers and interacted with other students before the announcement of winners up on stage.

"Its sort of like Miss America-style where they say, 'In fourth place is this person, in third place is this person,' and so you just stand there waiting for your name to be called, Allen said. We were very shocked when we ended up winning.

Allen recalled strolling through the convention center and feeling like a very small fry in a big ocean, as she observed the high-caliber projects, many undertaken with assistance from major universities and organizations.

I dont think you expect your project to shine when other people have that, Allen said.

But Allen and Dunn weren't without their own help, Allen said. Grover and Kirkpatrick, as well as several other local physicians, supported the two girls, teaching them how to make slides and dissect mice, among other things. It's that kind of community support that led Allen and her husband to move back.

After the event Allen, Dunn and their mothers walked over to a nearby chocolate shop for a victory treat.

"We bought chocolate mice," Allen said. "Actually, our moms bought those for us as a joke. But yeah, that was how we celebrated."

Dunn graduated from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism and works as the director of human resources at Change Healthcare, a company providing analytic, software and technology-based solutions in health care. Dunn lives with her husband and two boys near Nashville, Tenn., Allen said.

Allen has always had an interest in science, she said, but didn't always want to be a doctor  although she said her mother might argue differently. Throughout her academic and professional career, Allen said balancing hard science with social science has been an important goal of hers.

In college at Rice University, Allen majored in anthropology with a focus on medical anthropology. "I think that was kind of a way to sort of marry the social science interests with the biology interests," Allen said.

"I think pediatrics has been able to provide that marriage for me, where there's lots of good, hard science behind it and sort of that logical thinking, but there's a lot of soft skills, too, in terms of being with kids, helping them grow and develop."
Weapons' sale rises in Germany amid crime surge triggered by influx of refugees

With concerns over the influx of migrants and surging crimes committed by these refugees, Germans are reportedly stocking up on firearms for protection, boosting the sale of various types of weapons by up to three times more.

For weeks, arms sellers and regulatory agencies have reported an increased demand for gun permits, and are selling three times as many alarm, gas and signal guns than the usual, according to WND.

The report comes just two months after the German website Focus said the nation was experiencing shortages of pepper spray.

"People no longer feel safe, otherwise they would not be buying so many products here," a seller in North-Rhine Westphalia told Deutsche Welle on Wednesday.

The rise in weapons sale is attributed to a slew of sexual assaults in Cologne, Bielefeld, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart on New Year's Eve when more than 100 sex attacks were reported in Cologne alone, said the businessman. The attacks, which targeted women, made international headlines and raised concerns about refugees among large segments of German society.

"Carrying arms is also necessary in Germany, because our police can no longer protect us from burglars," said an elderly man who applauded American gun rights, WND reported.

German authorities said only citizens with "spotless record'' could be issued the permit. They must also be over the age of 18, willing to pay $65 for a permit and have a clear record after a comprehensive background check on the purchaser.

A social-media expert from Cologne, meanwhile, said that the online search records for guns and other protective weapons corroborate the seller's claims.

"There has been an increase of at least 1,000 percent or more in Google search queries for gun permits since January," said Felix Beilharz.

Other European countries that are pining for American gun rights are Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. These countries are also struggling to cope with surging crimes since the arrival of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

Deutsche Welle said Germans are now lauding the U.S. for its Second Amendment rights now that Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to accept 1.1 million has backfired, WND reported.
Why evangelicals shouldn't vote as Christians

I've been uneasy about Ted Cruz for months, ever since I first realised the extraordinary positions he takes  in common with most of the other Republican candidates  on issues like climate change and healthcare. As someone who doesn't have a vote, the latter is arguably none of my business. The former certainly is: America's influence is vital in helping to limit global warming, and I'll take the almost universal scientific consensus any day.

I worry, too, about his personality. Never met him, don't want to, but to me he's clearly a street fighter for whom winning is more important than being right. No compromise, no negotiation, no reflectiveness, no generosity. You know your enemy and you take him out.

What alarmed me more than any of this, though, were the words he used in a speech after his Iowa victory. He said: "While Americans will continue to suffer under a president who has set an agenda who is causing millions to hurt across this country, I want to remind you of the promise of Scripture. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Iowa has proclaimed to the world, morning is coming."

Ridiculously unfair to Obama? Of course, though this is politics. Self-aggrandising nonsense? I'm sure Iowa is lovely, but "morning is coming" anyway, thank you.

But what ought to set alarm bells ringing for everyone who cares about Scripture and truth is the way Cruz co-opts the Bible for his campaign and twists the eternal, inspired words of Psalm 30 to refer to his own victory in a political skirmish.

This has been the hallmark of the Republican campaign so far: that the candidates have had to play for the evangelical vote by identifying their own visions and characters with what they believe evangelicals want. And the ones who've got the most votes have been the ones who've been best at it. They have, as Ed Cyzewski points out, succeeded in identifying their own political programme with a set of particular values held largely among the evangelical constituency.

In other words, they and their fellow culture warriors have corrupted faith. They've made it co-extensive with their politics and their culture. For a country in which the separation of Church and State is a constitutional requirement, that's extraordinary  and extraordinarily terrifying. It amounts to politicians declaring the content of a religious faith and committing themselves to a programme that enforces it. Listen to the rhetoric, and it's arguably not far off from the Christian version of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

This results from a fundamental theological error, and one that's taught and reinforced from evangelical and other pulpits everywhere. The assumption is that we should campaign as Christians on particular issues, and vote as Christians. We work out our discipleship as Christians by our action in society, and part of that is taking up particular positions on particular issues.

But it's not like that at all. We hold opinions as Christians only on the issues on which the Church has pronounced  its dogmas and doctrines. Our Churches might pronounce on other things, like the need to help refugees or to combat racism. We are wise to listen, though we may dissent; we might stretch a point and say, if we like, that as Christians we want our government to accept more Syrians into the country.

But when it comes to political programmes, we hold these views as ourselves. We might be Christians, but we don't speak for the Church, and the Church  or any wing or tendency of the Church, like evangelicalism  doesn't speak for us. We hold the views that we do because of our thinking, our conversation, our reading and the views of people around us. Our Christianity  the teaching of Scripture and the communal life of the Church, our prayers and devotions  is the lens though which all these things are focused and become a belief.

So our Christian faith critiques every kind of politics and every politician. It doesn't allow any system or individual to speak for it. It rejects with horror any attempt to appropriate it for unworthy ends. In Britain we've seen this quite nakedly expressed by the far-right Britain First's so-called 'Christian Patrol' through multi-religious Luton. For them, 'Christian' has become a term of exclusion, designed to set 'us' against 'them'. But no individual and no system is right, because none of them is the Kingdom of God. The best we can say is that some of them are less wrong.

To the extent that evangelicalism has been co-opted for political ends, it's been corrupted. Some of its representatives have been sucked into endorsing candidates by political operators ten times smarter than they are. Others don't realise how the language they use favours one side. They've lost sight of their calling, which is to preach Christ crucified.

This campaign will drag on for months, and candidates will continue to regard the evangelical vote as significant. They'll take Christians up a mountain and show them all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. "All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me," they'll say.

How will this temptation story end?

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
An expert guide to the womens watches  their history, aesthetic appeal and how to identify the pieces that should be on every collectors radar
February 3, 1998: On this day, George W. Bush was still governor of Texas, and hundreds of protesters and reporters from around the world were gathered outside Huntsville's Walls Unit, where inside, 38-year-old Karla Faye Tucker waited to be executed.

Fifteen years earlier, Tucker had admitted to one of the most gruesome crimes in Houston history, and she was about to become the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War.
First things first: you pronounce the name of the brand-new and unexpectedly charming Uyghur Bistro as wee-grr.

The Uyghurs are the Turkic-speaking Muslim population of Xinjiang province in northwestern China. Historically, this vast pastoral territory connected China to Central Asia and the Middle East along the old Silk Road trade routes. So its cuisine is a crossroads blend in which rice-based pilavs meet hand-pulled noodle stir-fries, while naan loaves consort with spicy charcoal-grilled kebabs and Chinese-style noodle soups.

All that and more can be found on the menu at Uyghur Bistro, the first Houston restaurant solely dedicated to this fascinating cuisine. (A defunct Chinese halal buffet that served meats butchered according to Muslim strictures, plus a couple of nearby Asiatown spots specializing in charcoaled Xinjiang-style kebabs  Xin Jiang BBQ and Chuanr, neither of them halal  are as near to the style as we've had.)

WATCH OUT: Two trendy restaurants end up on city's violations list

More Information Uyghur Bistro Address: 9888 Bellaire Phone: 832-795-9259. Hours: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Note: Cash only. See More Collapse

But Uyghur Bistro is Muslim-owned and operated, and it is serious about its cultural roots from the moment you walk in the door, where diners are greeted by colorful textile hangings and ceramics in the patterns and hues of Central Asia. With its dark ceiling beams and rich colors, the room is several cuts above the usual Asiatown decor. The welcome was warmer, too.

The food the noon I visited was good enough to leave me planning my next visit. The place was slammed with mostly-Asian patrons, many of them bent over steaming bowls of beef noodle soup, a specialty here. So busy was the kitchen that we were told the chef didn't have time to serve up an order of the lamb and root vegetable stew called qordaq.

But we got twin skewers of lamb kebab in short order, nicely charred and seasoned with the exuberant Xinjiang spice mix of cumin seed, red chili flakes, garlic and sesame, set off by a huge (but not obliteratingly so) pop of salt. The lamb was cut thicker and was juicier than its kebab counterparts at nearby XinJiang BBQ, the portion was larger, and the price for the pair about double Xin Jiang's.

By the way, don't bother trying to slide the kebab meat off the skewers with chopsticks. Proper technique is to hold the skewer parallel to the table in front of your mouth, whereupon you fasten your teeth around the chunk nearest the end and slide it off. Fun.

MAKE YOUR PLANS: Houston restaurants with Valentine's Day deals

I wish I could give advice about eating the very, very, very long hand-pulled wheat noodles here, but it is an adventure you must work through on your own. The laghman, as they are called  a Central Asian variation on what the Chinese call lamian  turned out to be thick and round and wonderfully springy strands, and they seemed to be endless.

I ordered the spicy laghman, tossed with a garlicky tomato broth along with shards of stir-fried lamb, napa cabbage, onion and split jalapeno pods. Nothing riveting or especially complex, but plenty good, and suited to showing off the texture of the splendid noodles. Be warned that if you try to share this dish, though, you are likely to end up with a hilarious flopping mess.

To cool things off, a simple plate of cucumber tossed with lots of chopped fresh garlic worked well. So did a small dish of yogurt (a staple food among the pastoral peoples of Central Asia) that was strewn with plumped golden raisins, some not-so-potent nigella seeds and a sprinkling of granulated sugar that worked surprisingly well to balance the flavors.

I could eat this Uyghur yogurt dish for breakfast or for dessert, too. Why it is listed on the menu under "drinks" I cannot say.

Nor can I say exactly what the deal is with the bread in the "Uyghur Meat Bread" dish. The meat proved to be a beautifully braised lamb shank, rosy at its core and fall-apart tender, with a gentle cinnamon/five-spice tinge to it. It rode astride four triangles of thick flatbread soaking in lamb broth, and the texture of the bread could generously be described as stodgy and inert.

Now, breads baked in clay-oven "tanours" are considered to be among the glories of Uyghur cuisine. I have hopes for the naan listed on the menu, but the Meat Bread's foundation reminded me of nothing so much as a thick, stale pita loaf.

So curiosity will bring me back to try the naan, among other things. Along with those endless noodles.

By the way, Uyghur Bistro is cash only for the present and  unlike XinJiang BBQ  it is not BYOB. Zabihah.com, the online halal restaurant guide, has posted a message from the management that specifies "no alcohol is allowed in the restaurant."

Be sure to call before you go. The posted hours of this very young establishment are not foolproof yet, as I found out one Sunday noon when it was supposed to be open, and wasn't.
For the second year in a row, School District 2 will need to hire a new chief financial officer.

Patricia Hubbard, who replaced then-CFO Leo Hudetz at the end of last school year, is returning to her native New Zealand to pursue a doctorate degree.

It was a really difficult position when it came through, she said. I really just couldnt turn it down.

Her departure leaves SD2 without an heir apparent, as Hubbard was when Hudetz retired. SD2 superintendent Terry Bouck said Hubbard informed the district she was leaving about two months ago, and that the district is likely to post the position toward the end of February.

Hubbard had already applied for the Ph.D. program when Hudetz resigned, she said, and wasnt sure if shed get in.

I would have never applied after I got this position, she said. It was really just horrible timing.

She lived in New Zealand until she was 7, then grew up in Montana.

Bouck said that he was a little stunned, but also happy for Hubbard. He did say that hiring a second CFO in two years isnt ideal.

When you dont have someone to step into that position immediately, I dont know if I would call it a concern, but it means were going to have to be very vigilant and thoughtful in posting it and hiring, he said. It was natural, bringing Patricia (Hubbard) up after Leo (Hudetz) retired.

School CFO is a wide-ranging position, Bouck said. The CFO is responsible for preparing elementary and high school district budgets and updating the districts five-year financial plan. They also need to be able to interact with the public and communicate effectively within SD2, he said.

In hiring, the district will prioritize previous accounting experience and experience as a CFO, as well as training in notoriously complex Montana school finance laws.

We want to be efficient with every dollar that we have, he said. School experience will be given less consideration.

He complimented Hubbards work with SD2, particularly her ability to manage competing interests.

Weve been lucky to have Patricia (Hubbard) and Leo (Hudetz), he said. If I could replicate either of them or get a mix, Id be a happy camper.
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River Oaks Theatre

2009 W. Gray, landmarktheatres.com

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S: New York playgirl Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) falls for a struggling young writer (George Peppard) in this classic romantic comedy.

Midnight Friday and Saturday

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

1001 Bissonnet; mfah.org

ALICE IN THE CITIES: A German journalist finds himself caretaker of a little girl after her mother abandons her. (German with English subtitles)

7 p.m. Friday

HEART OF A DOG: Artist Laurie Anderson directed this documentary that reflects on the deaths of her husband, mother, beloved dog and subjects such as family memories, surveillance and Buddhist teachings.

7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday

14 Pews

800 Aurora; 14pews.org

THE WINDING STREAM: Beth Harrington directed the documentary that focuses on the Carter family's journey from Appalachian foothills to international stardom.

7 p.m. Saturday

PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT: Heiress Peggy Guggenheim's colorful life included trysts, affairs and marriages with such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Marcel Duchamp as well as countless others. This documentary tells how, while fighting through personal tragedy, she built one of the world's most important collections of modern art.

7 p.m. Sunday

Aurora Picture Show

2442 Bartlett, aurorapictureshow.org

MOVING IMAGE EXPLORATION: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AURORA'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Young filmmakers and teachers will present and discuss videos created in hospitals, schools and community centers with the help of Aurora's professional media makers. Free.

11 a.m. Saturday

Discovery Green

1500 McKinney, discoverygreen.com

THUNDER SOUL: Members of a 1970s Kashmere High School jazz band reunite for a concert honoring their dedicated teacher and bandleader, Conrad O. Johnson Sr. Free.

7 p.m. Thursday

Asia Society

1370 Southmore, asiasociety.org/texas

SIZDEH (13): Directed by Houman Seyedi, this is a harrowing drama about a bullied 13-year-old Bemani, whose parents are divorced. With his world falling apart, a group of troubled older kids, led by an attractive female, provides refuge - or so it seems. (Farsi with English subtitles)

7 p.m. Thursday

Rice Cinema

6100 Main, film.rice.edu

I AM NOT ANGRY: The film depicts the bitter story of Navid, an Iranian Kurd university student, who has become "starred" - a term used in Iran for the university students who have been expelled from university because of their political beliefs or activities. (Farsi with English subtitles)

7 p.m. Friday

A GIRL WALKS ALONE AT NIGHT: In the Iranian ghost town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire. (Farsi with English subtitles)

7 p.m. Saturday
Patrisha McLean has agreed to dismiss the protection order made against her husband, "American Pie" singer-songwriter Don McLean, following an alleged violent incident that took place January 17th resulting in the musician's arrest. The couple do not plan to divorce, Taste of Country reports.

"I did not intend to define Don or our relationship based solely on the events recounted in the statement," Patrisha wrote on the singer's website. "Don has a big heart. He and I had many happy times in the 30 years of our marriage and what has recently transpired is unfortunate for all of us. I would ask everyone reading this to ignore the sensationalist, scabrous headlines and focus instead on the joy that Don, and his music, has given to so many for so long."

The statement notes that "Patrisha and Don have made an agreement to move forward and rebuild their lives."

The alleged domestic violence took place at the couple's Maine home in the early morning of the 17th. In documents filed to the Rockland District Court, Patrisha McLean accused her husband of a "violent temper," with verbal and physical abuse stretching back over three decades.

"For the first 10 years or so his rage was unfathomably deep and very scary," she wrote in the protection order. "On January 17th, Don terrorized me for four hours until the 911 call that I think might have saved my life."

McLean was arrested, charged with misdemeanor assault and bailed out, with the order to appear back in court on February 22nd. The musician did not enter a plea. Last Thursday, he issued a series of tweets promising fans he is "not a villain."

"This last year and especially now have been hard, emotional times for my wife, my children and me. What is occurring is the very painful breakdown of an almost 30-year relationship," he wrote. "Our hearts are broken and we must carry on. There are no winners or losers but I am not a villain. I may never recover from this but I will try and hope to continue to entertain you all as I always have. I ask God to give us the strength to find new happiness and I hope people will realize that this will all be resolved, but I hope I will not be judged in this frantic media environment."

This article originally appeared on Rollingstone.com: Don McLean's Wife Dismisses Protection Order Following Assault Charge
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Notorious Houston serial killer, and accomplice to the "Candy Man", Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. has a Facebook page that is drawing outrage from locals.

Henley, who has been imprisoned in Texas for more than 40 years, is currently serving six life sentences for his involvement in one of this city's most horrific crimes.

Henley was detained in 1973 after police were led to the site where he, his friend David Brooks and Dean Corll had buried at least 28 boys. The trio raped, tortured and murdered victims from 1970 to 1973, a series of killings that's now known as the Houston Mass Murders.

RELATED: 9 notorious crimes with ties to Galveston Island

Corll, dubbed the "Candy Man" for luring in boys with candies from his family's business, was murdered by Henley in 1973, shortly before Henley was apprehended.

Decades later, Henley has now resurfaced thanks to a Facebook page that he may be directing through another person.

Posts on Henley's Facebook page include photos of handwritten notes: a list of books and a three-page letter describing his life in prison. There are also photos of Henley's art and jewelry. A link to a Texas-based website lists the items as priced from $40 to $400.

One of Henley's posts reads:

Hatred is corrosive. Whether it is hatred of things or others or even oneself. Hatred eats at your insides and rusts your soul. Turn from hatred and choose to see beauty and love. This is not to say to look at life through rose colored glasses but to consciously acknowledge good.



It's likely Henley is providing the content for these posts with the help of someone he talks to or writes to frequently.

"Offenders do not have access to the Internet," Texas Department of Criminal Justice public information director Jason Clark says. "We've reached out to Facebook to let them know that we believe that a third party is operating a Facebook page for an offender, and I've asked them to take it down."

SEE ALSO: Texas homes still haunted by horrific murders

A Facebook representative hasn't responded to Clark's request, and an official review is being conducted. Clark notes that it's possible Henley may be providing content for the page.

Clark explains, "Offenders have the ability to mail letters out to individuals, so it could be that he's mailing letters to this person and this person is updating the page to make it appear as though that offender is updating the page."

Update: As of Thursday morning, Facebook reached out to Jason Clark, director of public information at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and notified him that the page would be removed.
Police have released a sketch of a suspect in a deadly stabbing last month at a Metro bus stop in northwest Houston.

The stabbing happened about 7 p.m. January 11 at 2200 Gessner near Hammerly, according to the Houston Police Department.

Police identified the victim as 53-year-old Frederick Williams.

Witnesses, police said, told investigators Williams and the suspect were at the bus stop when they got into an argument. During the confrontation, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Williams.

Police said Williams was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had been stabbed more than once.

The suspect ran away after the stabbing and was seen going into a nearby townhouse complex.

The man is described as being Hispanic and between about 20 years old and 30 years old. He was between about 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall. He had shoulder-length brown, wavy hair and what appeared to acne scars on his face. He wore a black, hooded sweater and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713 222-TIPS.
Two men and a woman have been accused in the shooting death of a 24-year-old man found in a bullet-riddled car last month in southwest Houston.

James Wallace Fields and Ashten Nichole Carter, both 23, and Christopher Demond Hollis, 21, are charged with capital murder after the victim was found about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 22 at 9800 Bissonnet, according to the Houston Police Department.
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Four public universities in Texas earned a coveted ranking this month, breaking into the top tier of research universities nationally.

Texas Tech, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas campuses at Arlington and Dallas were added to The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education list of schools with the "Highest Research Activity" -- a major achievement after years of additional state funding flowed into the schools seeking to reach the top tier.

The rankings, updated every five years, listed 115 universities in the top category.

The University of Houston, another Texas school working to boost its standing, earned the designation in 2011.

"Designation as a Carnegie Tier One university is not accomplished overnight," John Opperman, Texas Tech interim president, said in a statement. "It is the culmination of years of dedication to research, teaching and learning by our administration, faculty, staff and students."

More on Texas Tech: Where Texas universities stand in global rankings

Texas Tech has expanded research infrastructure and focused on faculty retention and recruitment in recent years, according to a statement from the school. The university also opened an Innovation Hub and Research Park and has partnered with industry on research projects.

The Carnegie ranking -- one of the most prestigious -- is updated every five years, based upon criteria including research expenditures, number of doctorate degrees awarded and the size of the university's research staff.

Texas Tech has increased the number of doctoral degrees awarded during each of the last five years, granting 332 in 2015 -- up from 243 in 2010, according to the university.

Rice University, Texas A&M and the University of Texas are other schools in Texas to achieve the status.
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Every day seems to bring more bad news about the Zika virus outbreak, which has now been declared a global health emergency. As numbers of cases in Texas mount  including a documented cases of sexually-acquired Zika  here's why you shouldn't panic.

1. Most Zika infections are mild or have no symptoms.

According to the CDC, only 20 percent of those who are infected with the virus will show symptoms such as fever, rash, joint pain or red, itchy eyes. Patients generally recover on their own within a few days.

"Most people who get Zika don't know they have it," said Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston. "If you do have symptoms, yeah, you may feel miserable for a week or so, but most people recover and they're fine."

Only a small percentage of patients will develop Guillain Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that causes weakness or paralysis in the arms and legs. The biggest risk is to unborn babies, which is why public health messaging has been targeting pregnant women.

2. Living conditions in the U.S. are less likely to result in a large outbreak.

Americans generally live in houses with windows screens and air conditioning that keep mosquitoes out.

"We can protect ourselves from mosquito bites, pretty much, not 100 percent but close," Troisi said. "Whereas in other parts of the world that is not the case."

There's more concern about poor neighborhoods which may have torn screens or people living in crowded conditions, allowing mosquitoes to spread the virus quickly. The mosquitoes that can transmit the Zika virus like to lay eggs in standing water near humans. Cleaning up trash, including old tires, cups or plastic containers, can keep mosquitoes from breeding.

3. Nearly all cases of Zika in Texas have been linked to travel.

So far all the Texans diagnosed with Zika had recently traveled to Latin America, except the Dallas County case, in which a traveler infected a sexual partner. If nobody in your family has traveled to affected areas of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central or South America, you're unlikely to be exposed to the virus anytime soon.

"We know of no Zika virus transmission here in the U.S. from our mosquitoes, that individual would have to travel to a country that has Zika virus transmission" to be infected, said Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of the Harris County Health Department.

4. We have effective mosquito control.

Harris County health officials trap mosquitoes year-round to watch for infectious disease, and have a variety of tools to reduce mosquito numbers including spraying, larvacides, hand-held foggers, even predatory mosquitoes that will kill their virus-carrying cousins.

"Harris County mosquito control program is one of the best in the nation, if not the world," said Dr. Nikos Vasilakis, assistant professor of pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. "If the Zika virus makes it into the mosquito population, I am confident that these guys are going to be the first ones to pick it up."



5. You can take steps to limit your exposure.

Using insect repellent containing DEET or picaridin, and wearing clothing that covers your arms or legs, can reduce the chance of being bitten by a mosquito. Condoms can prevent sexual transmission of Zika.

"We always remind people to take appropriate precautions when it comes to mosquito bites, and preventing themselves from getting bit by mosquitoes," Shah said. "And we always remind people to take appropriate sexual precautions from a number of other sexually transmitted infections, everything from STDs to HIV."

To read more Chronicle coverage about the Zika virus, visit HoustonChronicle.com/Zikavirus.
NASA scientists say we're going to be alright. But, yeah, it could be close shave.

Discovered in 2013, the 100-foot-diameter asteroid called 2013 TX68 buzzed us two years ago at a distance of 1.3 million miles. However, on March 5 the thing could zip by at a distance of 11,000 miles. The agency says that's it's best guess since it hasn't been tracking it for very long.

The agency writes:

Scientists at NASA's Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have determined there is no possibility that this object could impact Earth during the flyby next month. But they have identified an extremely remote chance that this small asteroid could impact on Sep. 28, 2017, with odds of no more than 1-in-250-million. Flybys in 2046 and 2097 have an even lower probability of impact.

The asteroid that blew up over Chelyabinsk, Russia, was a mere 65 feet in size. So, this one, NASA says, would make an "air burst with about twice the energy of the Chelyabinsk event" if it hits our atmosphere.

Again, as Paul Chodas a manager at JPL wrote us:

"Because of the short time it was seen, we can't predict precisely when the object will be closest to the Earth next month, or precisely how close it will approach our planet.

"But, astronomers did track this asteroid long enough in 2013 for us to know that it *cannot* impact the Earth next month. In fact, it cannot pass any closer than about 17,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) of the Earth's surface. The odds are that it will pass much farther away than that.

"The asteroid's trajectory is too uncertain to say whether or not it will be visible from North America, but we do know that the asteroid will pass the Earth above the ecliptic plane."

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.
Linda Dismore Diz Swift, a former Chevron scientist and executive, will speak twice in Billings this week about Montanas response to the federal Clean Power Plan.

Swift, a fourth-generation Montanan, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Royal Johnson Community Room at the Billings Public Library and again at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Elks Club, 934 Lewis Ave., as part of the League of Women Voters of Billings meeting. Lunch will be served for $10 before the Thursday talk.

Swifts roles in oil and gas exploration include research and corporate planning.

According to a news release from the League of Women Voters, she plans to speak on causes and potential solutions for climate change, including business opportunities.

In regard to the Clean Power Plan, Swift will help answer these questions: Why is reducing carbon emission so important? Why is Montana being hit so hard? Can free enterprise solutions  rather than government-imposed solutions  be used to reduce emissions and comply with the Clean Power Plan? What are the options for coal employees?
Shawn Hamilton, who portrays the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in "All the Way," Jan. 29-Feb. 21 at the Alley Theatre, dreamed of touring the country in the orchestra of Broadway musicals.

Instead, the Meyerland resident became an actor.

"My plan was to work under the stage, not on it," he explained.

The actor, whose birth name is Shawn Hamilton Brown, grew up in Kashmere Gardens, where framed photographs of King and slain President John F. Kennedy hung in most homes.

"I thought they were required," said Hamilton, who has played King three times before, in Hampton's "Appamatox", "Mountaintop" at Center Stage in Baltimore and the one man show "Dr. Kings Dream."

In "All the Way," he said, "This time, it's more about his strategy than his speeches."

The 2014 Tony Award-winning play concerns the first year of Lyndon Baines Johnson's presidency, when the former Texas senator was caught in the middle of warring factions while pushing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress.

King tried to appease other civil rights activists who were "dissatisfied with the pace of change," said Hamilton, while LBJ was hammered by conservatives in his own party who fought an end to segregation.

"Johnson was a really tough guy," said Hamilton. "Nobody could see it at the time, but he was certainly one of the most progressive presidents we've had.

"He did it better than anyone else; he out-Roosevelted (Franklin) Roosevelt.

"As LBJ predicted, his actions caused the Democratic Party to lose the South for a generation."

Hamilton attended Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Lanier Junior High and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he graduated in 1982.

He also graduated from the University of North Texas, the Yale School of Drama and a summer program in acting at New York City's Circle in The Square.

Hamilton performed in more than 20 productions at the famed Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was able to "cross over" into some roles that were traditionally played by white actors.

"I usually don't even get called in for roles unless they are specifically for black actors," he said.

"All the Way" is a co-production of the Alley and the Dallas Theatre Center, with DTC's artistic director, Kevin Moriarty, directing and the Alley's Brandon Weinbrenner, who lives in Montrose, as assistant director.

After closing in Houston, the troupe will perform the show March 3-27 in DTC's Wyly Theatre.

In the show, two dozen actors portray some of the 20th century's most dynamic political figures, as sketched by Robert Schenkkan, a Chapel Hill, North Carolina native who grew up in Austin.

Hamilton is married to Kristen Burke, the production stage manager at Houston Grand Opera.

They have a daughter, Shelby Elizabeth Burke Brown, who is 6.

Want to go?

For more information on "All The Way" go to www.alleytheatre.org/plays/production-detail/all-the-way.
When Barry Stiles hops in his pickup truck to visit his Houston work sites each week, the plastics engineer doesn't expect a smooth ride.

The reason, he said, are Houston's potholes, like the ones that he encounters around Westheimer, Waugh and Fairview in the Montrose.

"When you hit one, it's bad," said Stiles, founder and CEO of Houston-based Truegrid, which builds permeable parking lots and other surfaces using recycled plastic. "Some of the potholes are just nasty. They can break an axle, it seems, and it's definitely a problem in the city."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's plan to create a 24-hour turnaround for pothole repairs is welcome news in the Montrose, River Oaks and Meyerland areas, where dodging potholes is a cat-and-mouse game.

Turner spelled out his pothole plan in early January.

Under the program, potholes that are reported to the city's 311 information line will be accessed and addressed by the next business day, and repaired within 24 hours.

Last year, Houston City Council designated a $10 million fund specifically for street repairs to address the backlog. Each year, crumbling roads and bridges cost each Houston driver almost $1,900 in auto repairs, wasted fuel and accident costs, the mayor said.

City work crews have repaired 96 percent of reported street divots that were verified as potholes in the week since Turner announced the plan, the mayor said.

Houston City Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, whose District C includes Montrose, Meyerland, Oak Forest, University Place and half of Midtown, called the mayor's pothole plan a success so far.

"The pothole program, based on the queries we get, is great," she said. "It's doing what my constituents want done. They're tired of losing tires" and paying for auto repairs caused by pothole damage.

"While we're getting the potholes done, which is a Band-Aid measure, we'll be looking toward bigger fixes through the (City of Houston) Capital Improvement Plan," Cohen said.

Other high-trafficked roadways needing attention in District C include Montrose, Richmond, West Alabama and Braeswood in the Meyerland area.

Houston City Councilman Greg Travis, whose District G includes River Oaks, said he supports the mayor's pothole plan.

But he wondered whether the program was too ambitious.

"I think it's a good idea," he said. "I do think the 24-hour (timeframe) is bit ambitious. People would be satisfied if they knew the potholes would be filled within a week.

"If you don't meet that goal, people will think that you don't meet their expectations," Travis said. "They may think it's (pothole plan) a failure, when it's not a failure."

Pothole definition

The city has expanded its definition of a pothole to include divots measuring up to 25 square feet, placing additional pressure on the city to fix its lagging infrastructure.

Potholes previously were defined as holes measuring four square feet or less.

"Filling potholes is a short-term, temporary fix," Turner said.

"In the long term, some of these streets need to be repaved or reconstructed. But I think we all understand that when people are paying their money now, they expect to see results now."

City of Bellaire

Brant Gary, director of public works at the City of Bellaire, said officials are taking a proactive approach to pothole repairs in the city of about 17,000 residents.

"With us being under 4 square miles, we're in the process of implementing a block inspection program, to physically look at every block on a routine basis," he said. "Our goal is to get out, get a listing summary of issues, fix them and repeat the process."

Bellaire officials are nearing the end of an $8.4 million, bond-funded program to replace damaged streets, including parts of busy Bellaire Boulevard. The ambitious plan also includes specified blocks of Ferris, Glenmont, Howard, Nancy and Valerie streets, Gary said.
Authorities have arrested a 19-year-old man and charged him in connection with a recent Fort Bend County murder.

Deshaun Karone "DJ" Jones, of Houston, was arrested without incident at a Houston home by members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force, according to a Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office news release sent Tuesday.

Jones was booked into the Fort Bend County jail Tuesday morning, according to online jail records. He remains there on a $250,000 bond.

Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers had offered a cash reward Monday for information leading to Jones' arrest.

Around 8 a.m. Saturday, sheriff's office personnel responded to a call in Mission Bend, where they discovered 17-year-old Ali Abdelmaji had died from at least one gunshot wound suffered during a robbery several hours prior, authorities said.

Abdelmaji was living with a family in a nearby subdivision. Jones was identified as a subject connected to the murder investigation in a Monday news release.
Lake Houston Area Artists provides a home and opportunities for creative types to connect and learn from each other.

The group's goal is to encourage the development of local professional and amateur artists and to cultivate an appreciation for the visual arts through exhibitions, educational opportunities and community outreach.

Monthly meetings, held at Homewood Suites, 23320 U.S. 59 North in Kingwood, provide time for discussions, demonstrations by visiting artists and a show of members artwork.

Spokeswoman Linda Dumas said the organization was created in 1973 as the Humble Arts Association.

More Information At a glance What: Lake Houston Area Artists Details: http://lakehoustonareaartists.com or www.facebook.com/groups/lakehoustonareaartists/ See More Collapse

Later the name was changed to the Kingwood Art Society and then to Lake Houston Area Artists.

"We wanted to be more inclusive," Dumas said.

"We're basically open to anyone who wants to make the drive to meet us."

Members come from Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Huffman, Crosby, Porter and New Caney.

They all have the opportunity to show their work and to participate in annual competitions.

Lake Houston Area Artists sponsors two local juried art shows each year, one in the fall and the spring.

Membership in the organization also entitles them to join the Lone Star Art Guild, an umbrella organization made up of 18 independent art leagues located within a 200- mile radius of Houston.

Each year the Lone Star Art Guild hosts an annual convention, showcasing the works of winners of all of the local clubs.

Dumas, who lives in Kingwood, said that she particularly enjoys the camaraderie provided by the Lake Houston Area Artists year-round.

"After I went to a meeting and saw my first demo, I said that I wanted to be in this group and meet these artists," she said.

"I've been going ever since, and it's been a real blessing."

She said that the atmosphere at the meetings is inspiring.

"It's extremely gratifying to be regularly associating with creative people," she said.

"It makes you want to create more art."

Dumas said that she has made a number of friends through the group and she encourages artists of all abilities to consider joining.

"Everybody can find a place to shine," she said.

Sheila Bridges, who serves as the group's scholarship chair, agreed that the Lake Houston Artists Association is an ideal way to meet people and to enrich the community in other ways as well.

"I very much enjoy my art friends," she said.

"We have a common denominator. We enjoy the same things. It's a very welcoming group."

Bridges said the group has awarded $500 scholarships to art students at Lone Star College-Kingwood for several years.

The 2015 Scholarship Artistic Achievement was awarded to Hunter Story, a student at the college since 2013 who is studying graphic design and game design.

Scholarships come from membership dues as well as fundraising events such as the sale of art at shows, boutique resale of art supplies and books as well as a donation box.

Bridges said that the scholarship is based on a mastery of the composition, line, color and design.

"We're also looking for creativity," she said.

"We're looking for someone who is goal-oriented. They have to take art seriously and see how this will fit into their career."

Bridges said providing scholarships to area students is a rewarding venture.

"We watch these students bloom," she said. "It gives them a wonderful sense of validation."

Bridges said all the members look forward to helping a student each year.

"We really love art, every aspect of it," she said.

"We are so happy that we can pass that joy on. We just want to share and give back."
A career onstage might be nice work if you can get it, but Kingwood High School theater director Frank Chuter teaches students to embrace skills they can use offstage.

"A lot of individual growth happens from acting in a show," said Chuter, who directed the school's musical, "Nice Work If You Can Get It," which plays Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 8.

Chuter said, "How you say your next line is a direct reflection of what your scene partner does, so it's important that you connect, that you're observant and responsive.

"An actor has to listen, and that is a skill that makes anyone a better person and a better communicator."

More Information Want to go? What: "Nice Work If You Can Get It" Where: Kingwood High School, 2701 Kingwood Drive When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4-6, Feb. 8 Details: 281-641-6900, www.kingwoodtheatre.com See More Collapse

Agreeing with his father was the director's son, Frankie Chuter, a junior who portrays playboy Jimmy Winter in the 2012 Broadway musical.

"My dad gets on my nerves sometimes, but in all seriousness, he really teaches us a lot, not just about becoming a good actor, but becoming a better person," said the 17-year-old, whose mother, Carey Chuter, choreographed the show.

"She picks on me sometimes, too," said Frankie, "but she also knows my strengths and weaknesses as a dancer, and she's great about explaining the moves. She is very patient."

Assistant choreographers are students Sofia Malvaez and Liv Campbell, with Malvaez, a senior, also serving as dance captain for numbers performed to the music of brothers George and Ira Gershwin.

"Choreographing 'Fascinating Rhythm' is still a work in progress," said Malvaez, whose parents are Manuel and Jennifer Malvaez of Kingwood.

"I am really proud of 'Demon Rum' but it's a huge number and was such a challenge to choreograph."

The dance numbers required lighting designer Emily Lawrence to experiment with a number of colors and angles, explained the daughter of Dwight and Mary Lawrence of Kingwood.

"I was excited to find out we would be doing this show because I have always been fascinated by the music of the Gershwins and how it's so cheerful and upbeat," said the 18-year-old senior, who plans to study lighting design in college.

As an entry in the 14th annual Tommy Tune Awards, the show's seniors are eligible to apply for scholarships from the program's sponsor, Theatre Under the Stars in Houston.

The competition among Houston-area high school musicals will culminate in a Tony Awards-style ceremony April 19 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston.

Also applying for a Tommy Tune scholarship will be Sofia Pina, who co-stars as rough female bootlegger Billie Bendix.

The daughter of Jose and Katy Pina of Kingwood, she plans to major in vocal performance in college.

"My favorite song to sing in the show is 'Someone to Watch Over Me,'" said Pina. "My favorite dance number is "S Wonderful.' "

Several cast members said they won't be surprised if Jenna Redmond becomes the show's biggest scene-stealer in the role of the Duchess.

"Her comedic timing is priceless," said Frankie Chuter.

The daughter of Charles and Linda Redmond of Kingwood said she hopes to pursue musical theater as a career.

Joe DiPietro, the book writer for "Nice Work if You Can Get It," based its story on material by Guy Nolton and P.G. Wodehouse, who also helped pen the musical theater classic "Anything Goes."
Sometimes, all a show has to be is fun.

"We just want people to leave the theater happier when they get there," said director Bobby Linhart, explaining why the fine arts team at Houston Christian High School picked the musical comedy "Monty Python's Spamalot" for students to perform Feb. 4-6 in Dunham Theatre at Houston Baptist University.

Linhart also admits he's a longtime fan of the irreverent British sketch comedy troupe whose 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is the source material for the 2005 Broadway show.

"In middle school and high school, I always watched their TV series," said Linhart. "I loved the surreal slapstick comedy and the bizarre juxtaposition. It was very much like today's shows, "Family Guy," "The Simpsons" and "Saturday Night Live."

More Information Want to go? What: Houston Christian High School's "Monty Python's Spamalot" Where: Dunham Theater, Houston Baptist University, 7502 Fondren Road When: 7 p.m. Feb. 4-6, 2 p.m. Feb. 6 Details: 713-580-6000, www.houstonchristian.org See More Collapse

"We have a great group of guys this year, so we were able to cast the five male leads," he said. "They are silly and goofy and having a lot of fun."

The quintet, who comprise The Court of Camelot, include Daniel Baudin as King Arthur of Britain, Remy Garfield as Sir Lancelot, The Homicidally Brave, Ross Black as Sir Robin, The Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, Cole Little as Sir Dennis Galahad, The Dashingly Handsome, and Alex Dye as Sir Bedevere, The Strangely Flatulent.

The show includes flatulent Frenchmen, flying cows, killer rabbits, a legless knight and show-stopping musical numbers that include "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life."

As Lady of the Lake, Mary Caroline Johnson belts out the inspiring tune "Find Your Grail."

John Ousley, the school's fine arts director, said that Monty Python member Eric Idle wrote the show's music and lyrics with John Du Prez.

Performing the score will be a pit crew that consists of Kinsey Brown, Analis Chavez, Julia Davis, Laura Kobs, Claire Ogilvie, Yanran Qian, Savannah Robertson, Corey Sobell, Conner Smith, Hope Tang and Addakin Thomas.

Technical theater students built 90 percent of the production's sets, including a castle and an Excalibur resort in Las Vegas, "where there is tap-dancing and a Liza Minnelli impersonator," said Linhart.

"Monty Python's Spamalot" is Houston Christian High's entry in the 14th annual Tommy Tune Awards, a Theatre Under the Stars program that honors excellence in musical theater in a competition.

The year-long judging culminates in a Tony Awards-style ceremony to be held Musicals April 19 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston.

Last year, Houston Christian High's production of "Pippin" won two Tommy Tune trophies, for best costumes and best crew and technical execution.
The Lone Star College System plans to add a new career center in Tomball that will begin training students specifically for the oil and gas industry by late 2017.

Stephen Head, chancellor for the Lone Star College System, said the addition of the new center will help spur greater student enrollment and play a key role in bolstering the local workforce.

"Lone Star College works hand in hand with local industry to ensure our community has a properly trained workforce," he said.

The center will offer a number of expanded workforce programs and give students access to drilling equipment to simulate real-life experience - all designed to quickly prepare students for the workforce. "As far as we know, Lone Star College would be the only higher education institute with a working drilling rig," said Bill Van Rysdam, media relations manager for the Lone Star College System.

Other courses offered at the training center will include electrical technology, pipefitting, welding technology, drafting, industrial diesel and logistics management.

The Lone Star College System currently offers these programs at some campus locations, but the center will offer expanded access to these programs.

The Oil and Gas Training Center is one of several the planned centers either under construction or under development.

In April 2014, the Lone Star College System purchased 18 acres of land at the intersection of Humble Road and Texas 249, not far from the LSC-Tomball campus.

The land was purchased for $4.5 million with revenue from the 2013 bond referendum.

The money from the bond will be used primarily to prepare the infrastructure, construct a warehouse and a classroom building.

However, the bond does not cover the cost of the equipment.

As a result, the college system is seeking donations from a number of industry partners that could include provision for professional services, or equipment, or even facilities that could be used until the center is completed.

"We are working with about 10 to 12 different partners who were helping," Van Rysdam said. "At this point in time, we are not in a position to release the names of our partners as we are still working to finalize the agreements."

Lee Ann Nutt, president of Lone Star College-Tomball, said although the plans to build the facility have moved slowly, contacts in the oil and gas industries indicate the demand for a trained workforce will be in high demand again when the center is opened in 2017.

"This will allow us to build our center out during this downturn," she said. "All of our industry partners are telling us, 'we are just going to survive 2016, but in 2017 we will be back.' By the time it's up and running they will be looking for significant training again, so the timing is actually pretty good."
On Monday morning, the Yellowstone County jail held about 490 inmates, according to Sheriffs Capt. Sam Bofto.

The total included 85 women, 21 of whom didnt have a cell. Instead they were in an open space in the dayroom, partially curtained by shoulder-high canvas screens. Most of the other women were housed two per cell in cells built for one person.

Who are these 85 women, crowded together in a space designed for a maximum of 38 inmates? Most are nonviolent offenders who have failed repeatedly to take responsibility when courts previously gave them breaks. Records indicate the majority are involved with substance abuse.

According to public records, most of the women sleeping on day room cots were being held for felony parole violations or for failing to show up in court on multiple misdemeanor offenses. One jumped bail, one was accused of a fourth DUI offense and one was being held on $100,000 bond in connection with six burglary charges. Seven of the women on cots were being held for the Montana Department of Corrections on probation or parole violations.

At least nine of the women in cells were federal prisoners. Few of the 85 women were being held for violent crimes. However, two women were incarcerated on deliberate homicide charges, one other was accused of sexual abuse of children and one was held for felony partner or family member assault.

A week earlier, the jail set a record high with 101 female inmates. On Jan. 18, the Monday holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., the overall jail population hit a new, all-time high of 514 inmates for several hours, Linder said. Last October, the jail topped 500 inmates for the first time.

Remember: The jail was built to hold 286 inmates, it now has about 500. The womens unit was designed for 38; it now holds more than double its capacity.

Options on Feb. 9 agenda

The jail doesnt provide female inmates as much space, privacy and security as it provides males. Overcrowded conditions make work harder for the detention staff. Staff shortages and lots of overtime take additional tolls. Despite offering competitive salaries, the jail sees a lot of turnover.

The crowding problems have worsened since last June when Yellowstone County voters turned down a proposed 6-mill permanent levy that would have helped to fund construction of a $7 million women's unit, perform major maintenance on the 28-year-old jail and hire a few more detention officer.

Recognizing the need for new ideas, Sheriff Mike Linder and County Finance Director Kevan Bryan last week asked county commissioners to build a new $10 million, 148-cell womens unit. Bryan and Linder outlined several options that call for borrowing money and spending county funds, but no options that require asking taxpayers for more money, Bryan said. If the county borrows, it may be able to cover some debt service with revenues from housing state, federal and out-of-county prisoners.

The commissioners directed Bryan to present more detailed plans at the Feb. 9 board meeting.

Like the commissioners, we are interested in hearing more. Neither the commissioners nor other county residents are excited about spending money on the jail, but most recognize that maintaining a safe, secure jail is in the public interest. The jail must be secure for the community and safe for the people who are detained, as well as safe for the detention staff.

Land purchase planned

Meanwhile, the commission decided (with John Ostlund and Jim Reno in favor and Bill Kennedy opposed) to purchase 1.49 acres of land at 3150 King Ave. E across from the jail. The land, which appraised for $265,000, could be used for overflow parking.

There are good arguments both for and against buying that land. As Kennedy pointed out: The county already owns property that it isnt using in the 3300 and 3400 blocks of King Avenue East.

Reno said he supported the land purchase because Linder asked for it. Ostlund called it a good opportunity to help meet future jail needs.

Right now the jail doesnt even have cell space to meet present needs. The roof and other major systems are reaching the end of their useful life after decades of patches. Expanding interior space is at least as important as more parking space.
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BRIDGEPORT  Wielding the threat of dark magic, a suspect arrested in a drug probe kept an East Side neighborhood virtually captive, afraid to complain about him, police said.

Felix Cuba Delgado, who was already being sought by Massachusetts police for grave robbing, was arrested Tuesday afternoon  but officers werent prepared for what they found in his Hallett Street basement.

We found two human skulls and bones that appear to have come from the remains of two people, said Police Capt. Armando Perez. This was like nothing we had ever seen before.

Perez said they found altars throughout the first-floor apartment and basement, many covered in blood.

Delgado is a high priest in the Santeria religion and practices the dark arts, Perez said. People in the neighborhood are either from Puerto Rico or the West Indies, where this religion is practiced and they were afraid to say anything against Delgado for fear he would put a curse on them.

Along with the human remains, police found ominous carved figurines, candles, antlers, flowers, miniature coffins, bottles of rum, religious statues and chicken carcasses scattered about Delgados murky field-stone basement. Strange symbols depicting stars, the moon and a skull were also drawn in pale chalk on the cellars floor.

Delgado, 40, was charged with being a fugitive from justice, a felony, while police said they continue to investigate him for drug allegations. He was being held pending extradition to Worcester, Mass.

Perez said Tuesdays arrest was part of an initiative by the new Violent Crime Reduction Task Force responsible for the big marijuana bust on the citys West Side on Saturday.

Here again, we got some information and the task force acted on it immediately, he said.

Massachusetts authorities said Delgado is a suspect in the theft of bodies and body parts from a 112-year-old mausoleum.

Last month, a Hartford man, 32-year-old Amador Medina, was charged in connection with the grave-robbing incident.

Hartford police said Medina told them he, too, was using the bones, especially those of children, in ceremonies for Santeria, an African-West Indies religion that often involves the sacrifice of animals.
MINOT, N.D.  Milo Schmeichel lived along the Souris River in Minot for 40 years.

Hes no longer there as the sometimes confrontational buyout of his home and half-acre of land was finalized in mid-January.

Although he wasnt all that happy with the price he got for his home and land and argued with the city about appraisals and other property issues, he no longer has to worry about flooding  like during the citys worst-ever flood in 2011 that left water inside his home over the top of the doorways.

He wasnt alone in that flood that is nearing its five-year anniversary as more than 4,100 businesses and homes were inundated with the late June floodwaters causing the evacuation of 12,000 city residents.

Schmeichel  a contractor who was nearing retirement  tore down his home and moved into a manufactured house after the flood. Thats what he sold, along with the land and an unattached garage, to the city in the buyout.

His home is about the 230th to be purchased along the river that winds through the city, but there are hopes that more deals can be done in the coming months as glimmers of hope emerge in Minot that flood protection is finally getting closer.

For many, though, its been a difficult five years. Schmeichel said he cant retire yet because of payments on his new home in the southern hills of Minot, but he said theres not much you can do about it. You have to go along with your life  go with the flow. But I know Im a lot poorer now than before the flood.

There are a lot of people more disgusted with the city than I am (about the buyout procedures and federal regulations). But you have to go on with your life and make the best of what you are going to get. I lost some sleep over this, but I dont want to fight with the city anymore.

He loved his home along the Souris that curls from Canada through north-central North Dakota and back into Canada. The riverside lot had little wind, no close neighbors and a quiet seclusion away from the main roadways.

But Im just glad its over with, he said.

However, whats not over is the long road still ahead  but perhaps getting closer  for the city as it nears that fifth anniversary of the flood.

The forgotten flood

Despite being one of the worst in the states history, U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., calls it the forgotten flood.

Because of that, Minot Mayor Chuck Barney said hes not going to quit telling the story of the flood that destroyed parts of the city that has now grown from about 40,000 people in 2010 to 50,000 or more with the onset of the oil boom.

Barney plans to keep memories of the 2011 flood alive until the work is done to complete a greenway park area along the river, move city hall and housing to higher ground and get permanent flood protection walls and levees in place with a diversion ditch.

The citys big boost earlier this month  that raised spirits  was when it won a competitive federal grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for about $74 million to help in at least part of that work.

Barney said the city already has started a plan of action to use the funds. HUD gave the city 90 days to further develop what they want to do with the funds. However, theres been no official word yet either or how the city can use the HUD funds  with word expected by late February.

In the citys application for the grant, some of the Minot plan highlights were expanding on the home buyout program to increase the approximate 230 already purchased and move city offices out of the floodplain to downtown. The plan also calls fo moving the Minot State University art and nursing programs downtown and creating that green space along the river that will connect parks on the west and east side of the city and provide an area for higher water.

The mayor said there simply ecstatic over receiving the grant that Heitkamp said rose to the top after the Minot application was received and reviewed by numerous federal agencies and selected from 40 finalists including those from New York City and New Orleans.

Not bad for a small city, Barney said.

He said one of the keys, he thought, was that they held 67 community meetings to gather input and support for proposed projects.

It also didnt hurt that the states congressional delegation, including hometown native U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., have been working to keep the plight of Minot alive in Washington, D.C.

Barney and city manager Lee Staab have made numerous visits to the nations capital as they continue to pursue the federal dollars needed to finish projects. They always bring along a video of the flooding five years ago to help tell the story.

We know we have a problem out there (in D.C.) when some refer to our city as Mee-not, Barney said.

State funding has also been a big help, Barney added.

Whats next?

The next major effort is to secure funding to complete permanent flood protection  similar to whats in place in Grand Forks and advancing in Fargo  to prevent another disaster. A key to that is working with and securing funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or other possible federal sources.

Already underway is the first part of the plan from funds received earlier to protect the citys water treatment plant along the river. Barney said the work is already in progress and should be done by the summer of 2017.

Other permanent flood protection work almost completely designed and ready to go are floodwalls, levees and pumps. The work will stretch along the river from its bottom in the middle of the city to where hills take care of flood worries.

Barney said these projects are planned in three phases with a critical fourth phase needed to complete the protection.

The fourth phase includes a completion of the floodwalls and a diversion channel that will mean about 60 percent of the land flooded in 2011 is protected providing a major effect on flood insurance rates for many city residents.

City finance director Cindy Hemphill said the city is still looking for funding to complete the first phases of the project. Were about $40 million short, she said.

We continue to pursue funds from state, federal or anyone who wants to help, she said.

Well even take donations, she said, half in jest.

Hemphill hopes dirt can be turned in 2017 on the first floodwalls and levees, although work continues on the design and environmental assessments..

Then itll be time to work towards starting on the diversion ditch  also a key and final part of the project. Its hoped design work on that final phase can start before then.
HAMILTON  A former Butte Central High School band teacher pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and providing alcohol to others at a basketball tournament in Hamilton last March.

Scott L. Yorke, 27, entered an Alford plea on the sexual assault charge in Ravalli County District Court in Hamilton. Yorke claimed he had no memory of the incident due to an alcoholic blackout.

Yorke agreed to plead guilty to the felony sexual assault charge and misdemeanor counts of negligent endangerment and unlawful transactions with children as part of a plea bargain agreement that dropped additional charges.

Yorke was originally charged with four felonies and 12 misdemeanor counts.

He remains free on $100,000 bond.

More to come on this story as it becomes available today.
MISSOULA  A Missoula County Public Schools district investigation has determined a recent edition of a student newspaper violated board policy by including photographs of partially nude women perceived to be students and lewd and vulgar language.

The district has recalled all copies of the January issue of the Willard Wire, a publication created by students at Willard Alternative High School, which is distributed to all four public high schools in Missoula as well as to several businesses that advertise in the paper.

The issue featured a cover story on the Free the Nipple movement, and the cover photograph showed several topless men and women with red dots covering their nipples and their faces cropped out. An editorial inside by student Chase Boehmler was accompanied by a similar photo of a fully topless woman and man. Boehmlers editorial asked, among other things, why should gender define the appropriateness of your chest?

The district found that a separate, attributed article titled Misconceptions SLAMMED used lewd and vulgar language referencing sexual acts to make an argument in support of public breast-feeding.

"MCPS supports student voices and student exploration of challenging topics handled with respect to standards for civil and mature discourse," said Superintendent Mark Thane. "On a daily basis, our teachers work with students to develop critical thinking skills and explore challenging topics in a way that can further understanding and avoid polarization or discrimination."

The district concluded that the photos and the lewd language violated MCPS Board Policy 3221, which states that materials in school-sponsored publications may not be libelous, obscene, or profane and that school authorities may edit or delete material which is inconsistent with this policy.

Although issues of the Wire contain a paragraph stating the newspaper does not receive funding from the district and therefore has more editorial freedom, the district said the claim is false.

The Willard Wire is published by students attending the Journalism class at the Willard Alternative High School Program and is directly linked to district curriculum, the districts statement about the conclusion of the investigation said. In addition, the district found that Willard Wire is a district-funded publication and is therefore covered by the board policy. MCPS curriculum standards extend to those actively taking courses where publications are produced as well as the student audiences for the publications.

Student speech does have First Amendment protection, but it is different than that offered outside of the school, according to MCPS. The district cited three Supreme Court decisions as precedent in determining that students publications must align with district curriculum: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School (1969), Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) and Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988).

The editorial Free the Nipple is well reasoned and provides an avenue for reasonable discourse on a controversial topic, the districts statement said. It is the use of photographs of partially nude women perceived to be students that violates board policy.

Because school-sponsored publications are considered to be a part of curriculum, school staff are required to take an active role in making sure they are consistent with the curriculum.

The proper administrative or teacher response in these circumstances would be to delay the printing or not allowing the printing until the language can be corrected and the photos can be edited or replaced, Thane said. Those actions were not taken by the teacher of the course nor the principal.

Hatton Littman, director of technology and communications at MCPS, said Thane would comment Tuesday on whether the district intends to take disciplinary action against Lisa Waller, who advises the Wire staff, or Willard Principal Jane Bennett.
CASPER, Wyo.  What started off as a slow flu season is now finally starting to pick up.

According to the Wyoming Department of Health, cases of the contagious respiratory virus are becoming more frequent across the state.

"We know (flu season) is coming every year, but the timing, and how many (cases), which strains, (the) severity, all of those things can vary," Health Department spokeswoman Kim Deti said.

According to Deti, there have been 142 flu-related cases reported this season, a relatively low number. But of those cases, 78 were reported in the last two weeks.

"There are a couple (flu strains) mainly circulating right now," Deti said. "The good news is the strains that are circulating are actually good matches to the vaccine. Last year, the match to the vaccine wasnt as good, and we had a terribly severe flu season."

Flu season normally goes from October to May.

According to Dr. Tracy Murphy, state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, last year's severe flu season resulted in 29 influenza-associated deaths in Wyoming.

"An unusually high number for our state," Murphy said in a news release.

The most effective way to prevent the flu is by vaccination. The Wyoming Department of Health recommends that nearly everyone 6 months or older receive an annual flu shot.

Because we are not yet seeing widespread community transmission or the likely peak of activity, we want people to know its not too late for vaccination, Murphy said.
The olive green, linen-textured hard cover and blue lettering don't scream "Cougar pride" like you'd expect to see from a yearbook. But the 1966 edition of Houstonian, the yearbook for the University of Houston, doesn't have to be dipped in red and white to capture campus life of past Cougars.

Even at 50 years old, many of the photos in the 1966 Houstonian are surprisingly relevant, like the shorts and V-necks the track team had as uniforms. But others are just ... surprising.
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The anti-abortion activists indicted by a Harris County grand jury on charges they faked government documents in a video sting aimed at Planned Parenthood will turn themselves in this week.

But first, Sandra Merritt will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday in front of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, 1201 Franklin.

David Daleiden, 27, will report to authorities on Thursday.

"Planned Parenthood's self-interested political maneuvers will never silence free speech or the citizen press," Daleiden said in a statement.

Daleiden is director of the anti-abortion organization Center for Medical Progress and Merritt is an employee.

The organization used undercover videos filmed at a dozen clinics to accuse Planned Parenthood of selling body parts of aborted fetuses.

CASE BACKGROUND: Planned Parenthood cleared, but 2 indicted over videos

The grand jury found that wasn't the case and instead indicted the two activists.

Court documents alleged they used fake California driver's licenses when they showed up last April at a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic.

Tampering with a governmental record is a second-degree felony, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Daleiden also was charged with an additional misdemeanor under the same law that he accused Planned Parenthood of violating  the sale or purchase of fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood lawyers said the charge was the result of an email he sent in June offering to pay up to $1,600 per specimen of fetal tissue. The agency did not respond to the offer.

"The charges against David Daleiden are legally and factually baseless," said Peter Breen, a special counsel with the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm that has represented religious liberty cases.
The massive Crowne Plaza hotel on Kirby must replace 650 electronic room-door locks because they are "defective," according to a lawsuit filed last week.

The Jan. 29 petition said the key-card access devices were purchased from Secure Lox, a Richmond-based company.

"Numerous locks that the defendant sold to Crowne Plaza do not operate properly and fail to perform as defendant represented," the suits contends.

Houston lawyer Spencer Dunn, who is representing the hotel, said the locks were installed a decade ago and that needed replacements will cost more than $1 million. He added that visitors were not in danger because of the alleged malfunctions.

"They're taking steps to ensure guest safety," he said late Tuesday during a phone interview.

The lawsuit states that the Crowne Plaza "must replace the locks for 650 rooms," though Dunn said that not all of those have worked improperly.

"A good part of them do not function the way they should," Dunn said, though he declined to discuss specifics about the problem or when hotel officials discovered that something was wrong.

Secure Lox, which designs and manufactures magnetic-strip lock products, markets them as "functionally user-friendly and reliable," the suit said. "Numerous locks that the defendant sold to Crowne Plaza do not operate properly and fail to perform as defendant represented."

The petition, filed in Harris County District Court by hotel owner Metro Hospitality Partners, says the transaction violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act  the state's primary consumer protection law intended to guard against false or misleading business actions.

Dunn said the lawsuit was filed because the lock company was "not cooperating" with efforts to resolve the issue.

As of Wednesday morning, Secure Lox had not filed a response with the court, and a representative reached by phone said company officials were not aware of the lawsuit.

The hotel, near the Texas Medical Center, encompasses a large complex and includes two swimming pools. It's also very close to NRG Park, home to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo  which begins this month  and the stadium where the Houston Texans play.
North Dakotas at-large congressman wants conservative state voters to have their voices heard in the picking of the next president so hes launched an online presidential straw poll.

Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer announced on Wednesday a presidential preference straw poll for North Dakota that he says will compensate for the state GOP not sponsoring a caucus and having its 28 delegates being unbound to any candidate. The poll results arent binding to the delegates sent to the national convention, scheduled for July in Cleveland.

We have the largest field of candidates vying for the affection of every Republican in my lifetime, and I want all GOP activists to at least have the opportunity to express their preference for the candidate of their choice, Cramer said in a release.

The poll includes a tool requiring a North Dakota Zip code to vote and has a disclaimer tying those who vote to their intention to vote Republican in November. Cramer said he believes this will safeguard results from out-of-state voters.

The poll can be accessed at www.northdakotastrawpoll.com and will be active through the end of the month.
As Americans sort through their W-2s and other documents as tax season gets underway, federal authorities have busted a ring of six women accused of filing bogus tax returns and using more than 200 Houston area post office boxes to scam the U.S. government into sending them money.

Three of the women share the same two last names, according to court records, and appear to be sisters. One of the suspects was arrested in Houston this week.
SAN ANTONIO  Return of Kings, a group that promotes the legalization of rape, listed San Antonio as one of seven cities in Texas where sympathizers are planning to convene on Feb. 6 for an "International Meet Up Day," according to the group's website.

See: 'Return of Kings' cancels 'International Meet Up Day' after widespread criticism

It's unclear whether anyone will actually show up to the local event on Saturday, which is set to meet up "in front of main door of the Alamo" at 8 p.m.

More than 150 other sites in more than two dozen countries around the world are also on the list. Several of those places have launched protests against the group. Australia's top immigration official called an emergency meeting earlier this week to decide whether to allow the group's figurehead into the country.

RELATED: Offensive statements about women made by Return of Kings

The U.S.-based group's leader, Daryush Valizadeh, a self-proclaimed "pick-up artist," has published blogs calling for the legalization of rape on private property because he believes it would put a stop to rape.

From one of his posts:

"I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds... If rape becomes legal under my proposal, a girl will protect her body in the same manner that she protects her purse and smartphone. If rape becomes legal, a girl will not enter an impaired state of mind where she cant resist being dragged off to a bedroom with a man who she is unsure ofshell scream, yell, or kick at his attempt while bystanders are still around. If rape becomes legal, she will never be unchaperoned with a man she doesnt want to sleep with. After several months of advertising this law throughout the land, rape would be virtually eliminated on the first day it is applied."

Other Texas cities on the list include Austin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Houston and Nederland.

RELATED: Report: Texas Republican state Rep. on message board: "Rape is non-existent in marriage"

After news of the planned rallies spread Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott denounced the group as "pathetic" and called their views "disgusting" in a statement.

RELATED: Dallas teens forced 15-year-old to have sex with 6 men per day, according to police

According to instructions for attendees posted on the group's site:

"To identify your fellow tribesmen, ask the following question to a man you suspect is there for the meetup: Do you know where I can find a pet shop? If you are asked this question, answer in the affirmative: Yes, its right here. You can then introduce yourself and get details about where to proceed at 8:20. If you ask someone for the pet shop and they appear confused or actually try to direct you to a real pet shop, theyre not there for the meetup."

kparker@mysa.com

Twitter: @KoltenParker
For years, they've been called the "worst blog on the Internet," a "vile troll site," and were even dubbed misogynistic "garbage" by the Mayor of Ottawa on Wednesday. That's not enough to hinder Return of Kings, a group calling for the legalization of rape, in their quest for an International Meet Up Day with events in seven Texas cities.

Followers of the site, called "tribesmen," are scheduled to meet 8 p.m. Saturday in more than 150 cities including Austin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Houston, Nederland and San Antonio. The Houston meetup will be near the arch of the Sam Houston Monument.
AUSTIN -- Two additional men have been ordered removed from a state treatment center for offenders who have been classified as sex predators, the latest to exit the controversial program, officials said Wednesday.

Included is a man determined to be too mentally ill to understand or participate in the treatment program, a decision that could affect other offenders in Texas' civil commitment program.

It is the first time that mental instability has been used to determine on offender's continued participation in the program.

Officials with the Texas Civil Commitment Office said Devern Williams, 65, has been ordered by Montgomery County visiting Judge H.D. Black to be moved from the treatment center in West Texas to a state mental hospital because his condition makes him "unable to effectively participate and benefit from participation" in the program.

State Department of State Health Services officials have 30 days to take custody of him, officials said. In a ruling last Friday, Black said Williams is to remain in a state hospital until he recovers enough to rejoin the treatment program.

Williams is in the program for three sexual assault convictions involving women dating back to 1970. He completed his prison sentence, and has been in the program since 2006.

State records show he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, among other mental issues.

Separately, officials said Kenneth Wayne Fields, 55, who was in the program for aggravated sexual assaults in the late 1970s and the 1980s, was ordered released from the program altogether after experts determined he no longer had a behavioral abnormality that made him likely to commit new crimes.

Fields, who has completed his prison time and has been in the treatment program since 2009, was freed from a Houston lockup where he had been housed for a court appearance after state District Judge Michael Seiler signed the release order, according to officials.

Fields became the second person to be released from the program in recent days by courts that have increasingly scrutinized the participants after sweeping reforms were enacted by the Legislature last year to curb previous constitutional and operational problems highlighted in a series of stories by the Houston Chronicle.

Last week, the 9th Court of Appeals in Beaumont ordered Paul Keen, 83, an offender from Gillespie County, to be released from the program because he no longer had a behavioral abnormality -- a requirement to be included in the treatment program.
Ernest Krause, 98, beloved brother and uncle, fell asleep in death Jan. 15, 2016. He was born in New Leipzig to Charles and Louise Krause.

Ernest attended school in New Leipzig and later he and his brother, Leon, went to California for industrial-mechanic school. He served in the military nearly four years at Fort Sill, Okla., and in Europe. Back home in North Dakota, he drove a school bus and helped with construction of the Heart Butte Dam.

For 60 years, he was a caring and capable farmer, assisting his brother and nephews at the New Leipzig and Flasher farms. He was an avid reader and applied his knowledge to equipment operation and repair.

He had a cheerful, colorful personality and was always ready to lend a helping hand or entertain the kids with his stories.

He moved to Mandan in 2012.

He is survived by his brother, Leon (Helen); his sisters, Evelyn and Ruth; and many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.

He will be buried at the Lark Cemetery.
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Mexican authorities arrested three suspected assassins for a powerful drug cartel near the U.S.-Mexico border last week for multiple murder charges  including the February slaying of a former mayor.

Chihuahua state police captured Carlos "El Charly" Nivardhy Hernandez de la Rosa, an alleged leader of a local Sinaloa cartel cell, at a motel in Juarez, the Chihuahua attorney general's office announced Friday.

Investigators also nabbed Luis Fernando "El Tontin" Mendez Delgado and Daniel Andres "El Grande" Chavez Munoz, two suspected hitmen for the cell.

The three men were found in the motel room after two other men who were with them were killed outside of the motel, according to the office.

RELATED: The crazy reasons Mexican drug cartel leaders got busted  or killed

Authorities have tied the three men to five homicides in Juarez, just across the U.S.-Mexico border from the Texas city of El Paso.

Chavez and Mendez are suspected of shooting and killing Alberto Almeida Fernandez  former mayor of Villa Ahumada, a town roughly 77 miles south of Juarez  on Feb. 24 in a Sam's Club parking lot in Juarez.

RELATED: South Texas women very happy after 80 pounds of pot found in their car at border

Mendez allegedly shot the former mayor in the head before fleeing the scene, according to Chihuahua authorities.

Law enforcement officials have also connected the pair to the June 11 killing of David Flores Rodriguez and Oswaldo Martinez Silva inside of a restaurant called Vips.

Police believe the pair shot and killed Rodriguez and Silva over a drug debt, according to the announcement.

RELATED: You can now buy and sell illegal drugs in Texas without paying a state tax

Nivardhy is accused of fatally shooting Ismael Moreno Ramos and Jesus Daniel Morales de la Cruz and wounding a woman at a Juarez hotel.

Nivardhy believed Moreno was responsible for a robbery earlier that month during which gunmen stole a motorcycle that had a kilo of cocaine in a hidden compartment, according to authorities.

RELATED: Key member of Mexico's Gulf Cartel arrested near Texas border

A recently declassified DEA report shows that Chihuahua state is considered the Juarez Cartel's territory.

However, the city of Juarez is controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the DEA.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports
Sometimes the excitement about a project can prompt supporters to get ahead of themselves. This seems to be the case with the Energy and Environmental Research Center at Grand Forks.

The EERC has been awarded $35 million from the federal Department of Energy to drill 16,000 feet down into crystalline rock to learn whether the rock could suitably store spent nuclear fuels. They want to drill on 20 acres of state-owned land about 15 miles south of Rugby.

The drilling would provide the EERC with a chance to study rock thats 4 million and 6 million years old, the building block of the continent, John Harju, EERC associate research director, told reporter Lauren Donovan.

This is a big-time science project. There might be a handful of penetrations into deep crystalline rock, but none to this kind of depth  very rarely has a bore hole been attempted at these depths, Harju told her. He said the core samples from the boring would be a great addition to the states core library and studied by geologists for decades. There could be diamonds. We dont know what these rocks look like. The sheer exploration opportunity this affords is astounding, Harju added.

Its easy to understand Harjus excitement and the interest of others in the project. Its also easy to understand the concerns voiced last week at a presentation to the state Board of University and School Lands. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem questioned whether the project would open North Dakota to becoming a storage site for spent nuclear fuels.

Commissioners from Pierce County, where the sites located, complained they hadnt been consulted by the EERC. They indicated residents would have the same concerns about nuclear storage. On Tuesday, the Pierce County Commission placed a moratorium on deep bore hole drilling until a hearing can be held.

Harju blames the DOE for releasing information on the project before he could talk to Pierce County officials and residents.

The research project has the potential to provide researchers a look into the past. Thats good, but they didnt do their groundwork. While the area targeted belongs to the state, they needed to explain the project to county officials and residents in advance of their meeting with the state board. Its hard for someone to share the excitement in a project if its dropped on them without notice.

The concerns about nuclear fuel storage appear valid; its easy to see the federal government wanting to use the site if its suitable. Its a remote site in an area not heavily populated, thus less concern by other states and fewer people to protest.

Harju promises to show Pierce County residents and the state that the project is about science, not nuclear fuel. The governors also probably right when he said the issue could eventually go to the Legislature. Its a decision that deserves consideration from more than one state board or one county. Harju and other project supporters face an uphill battle for approval. This is a case, at present, where it looks like science should take a back seat.
THE LEAD: Shootout in San Antonio

From the San Antonio Express-News David Rauf this morning:

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer is holding a nearly $100,000 cash advantage over state Sen. Jose Menendez as the two San Antonio Democrats enter the final month of the Senate District 26 primary race.

New campaign finance reports released Tuesday cover the first three weeks of the year and provide the most recent snap shot of the money race between Martinez Fischer and Menendez. The two have now combined to raise nearly $770,000 since July 1 and have spent more than $386,000 -- a precursor to the big-spending bonanza that's set to unfold in the final 30 days of the race.

-- Meanwhile, Helen Madla, who is challenging state Sen. Carlos Uresti in the Dem primary, has launched a stinging ad that uses footage from the American Phoenix Foundation to argue that the senator has betrayed women. Uresti has voted against women and with Republicans 92 percent of the time, the ad says, as it shows Uresti at an Austin bar with a woman who is NOT Mrs. Uresti.

Welcome to Wednesday! There are 26 days until the Texas primary. As always, send us your news and predictions tobobby.cervantes@chron.com or follow me on Twitter @BobbyCervantes .

-- Dallas County reports sexually acquired Zika infection, by the Chronicles Markian Hawryluk. Authorities stressed, however, that transmission via mosquito bites still represents the greatest risk for the virus to spread widely in the United States. According to Dallas County health officials, a person was infected after sexual contact with someone who had recently returned from Venezuela, which has reported more than 4,700 cases of Zika.

More: Higher temperatures make Zika mosquito spread disease more, AP

-- SIREN: With water issues on tap, House committee looks at statewide solutions, by the Statesmans Asher Price.Anticipating a continuing tug of war over water  increasingly scarce in mostly dry, fast-growing Texas  a state House committee is examining the prospect of a statewide water grid. A proposal to at least study the issue was killed in the last legislative session, the victim of a struggle that generally pits rural lawmakers against their urban counterparts. For years the state has been riven by dispute between the water haves and have-nots, with an alphabet soup of river authorities, groundwater districts and state agencies grappling with how to meet the needs of growing cities.

-- From QRs Texas Energy Report: The Texas oil and gas industry touted its second-highest payment of taxes and public royalties in state history Tuesday  $13.8 billion in FY 2015 versus $15.7 billion the previous year  even as the financially ailing industry continues to search for tax breaks and exemptions during the bust. The industry, reeling from a 70 percent plunge in oil prices since summer 2014, knows that 2016 is off to a rough start and that economists predict no immediate relief in sight, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) said during his annual update of the industrys contributions to the Texas economy.

-- Cruz solidifies contender status, but much work remains after Iowa, by the Chronicles Brian Rosenthal and Dylan Baddour. Perhaps most daunting for Cruz, strategists say, is that he is still far behind Trump in national public opinion polls and has not proven that he can expand his appeal beyond his base as well as a more establishment pick such as Rubio. That factor that will become key as other candidates start to drop out of the race, they said.

-- The San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board has endorsed Golando, Farias, Bryon Miller and Minjarez in Dem House races. The domino effect from last years mayoral race  which attracted two lawmakers as candidates  and a couple of unrelated retirements have sparked an unusual number of legislative contests in Bexar Countys Democratic primary. In all, four Bexar County seats in the Texas House have resulted in contested Democratic primaries.

-- From the APs Allan Turner: For the second year in a row, criminal exonerations in the United States have reached a record level, with more than one in four stemming from Harris County drug convictions, a survey released Tuesday reveals.  On average, the study found, inmates exonerated last year had served 14  years behind bars.

-- Iowa shows polling is slippery business, getting more so, by the APs Nancy Benac. There are lots of specific reasons why some of the numbers were off in Iowa  a not-that-rare occurrence. And in general, election polls are trickier than most surveys, and polling in caucuses is tougher than in primary states. On top of that, the whole polling business is facing big challenges caused by people's increasing reliance on cellphones, declining survey response rates and growing difficulty in identifying likely voters.

-- Some money news from QuorumReport.com: Byran Hughes has $371,000 on hand, while Red Brown has $129,000 and David Simpson has $20,000  Byron Cook raised $37,000 with $687,000 on hand. Challenger McNutt raised $78,000 with $198,000 COH  Straus raised $156,000, has $8.5 million on hand. Sheila Bean raised $14,000. No new Jeff Judson report yet.  Wilks brothers contributed $200,000 to Texas Home School COalition PAC

SPEED READ

Houston police chief announces resignation, Houston Chronicle

DHS confirms that border apprehensions fell in January, San Antonio Express-News

7 Dems running for AUstin House seat differ on style, strategy, Austin American-Statesman

Austin clerk validates petition seeking election on Uber, Lyft rules, Austin American-Statesman

Rep. Joaquin Castro welcomes second child, The Dallas Morning News

Frullo edges Landtroop in most recent campaign contributions report, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Chente Quintanilla takes in large campaign haul, El Paso Times

Texas city to renounce 'whites only' cemetery restriction, USA Today

TAB pushes for more competition in title insurance business, Quorum Report

Even though hes a loser now, Donald Trump can still win. Heres how. The Dallas Morning News

Trapped an Emotional Look at Abortion Providers, Patients, Texas Observer

Texas Take: Clinton won, but is she winning? Houston Chronicle

Browning the GOP after Iowa, Houston Chronicle

Grieder: How Ted Cruz Won Iowa, Texas Monthly

Texas cedes No. 1 spot in small biz jobs rankings, The Dallas Morning News

In Iowa, late deciders and evangelicals sided against Trump, Associated Press

QUOTE TO NOTE

South Carolina is going to be a really important state for us. Its 60 percent evangelical vote. Were not ahead there right now. We hope to have another win there.

-- Rick Tyler, the Cruz campaigns communications director, on looking past New Hampshire

RACE TO 2016

-- How Trump let himself get out-organized, by POLITICOs Ken Vogel and Darren Samuelsohn. For months, Donald Trumps allies urged him to invest in the technology necessary to identify and mobilize his supporters, sources close to Trumps campaign told POLITICO, but the billionaire barely budged, apparently believing his star power would provide a new way to mobilize voters. By the time his campaign began investing in voter data and targeting analytics, his rivals for the GOP nomination  particularly Iowa winner Ted Cruz and third-place finisher Marco Rubio  had spent millions building sophisticated voter-targeting machines.

-- Rivals look to New Hampshire for a shot at breaking Trumps stride, by the NYTs Alexander Burns. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, having prevailed in Iowa, teased Mr. Trump for having attacked him bitterly on the way to an embarrassing loss. Jeb Bush released a commercial in which he called Mr. Trump a man of deep insecurity and weakness. Gov. Chris Christie sarcastically called him Donald the Magnificent. And former Gov. John H. Sununu of New Hampshire, an elder statesman of the state Republican Party, branded Mr. Trump a loser with a string of business failures behind him.

-- No stampede to Rubio on Capitol Hill, by POLITICOs Burgess Everett, After the Senate GOPs persona non grata, Ted Cruz, notched a commanding win in Iowa, there was growing sentiment Tuesday among Republican senators  a bellwether of the GOP establishment  that they need to coalesce behind a single candidate in the nominating contest to beat back Cruz and Donald Trump. But if Rubio was hoping for a stampede to his corner following South Carolina Sen. Tim Scotts key endorsement, it did not materialize on Tuesday.

-- Inside Clintons plans to bounce back in New Hampshire, by POLITICOs Annie Karni. On Tuesday, groggy campaign officials  fresh off a middle-of-the-night flight out of Des Moines  were not only downplaying their own chances of coming out on top amid polls showing Sanders on top by 20 or more points  they were lowering the significance of any victory here for Sanders, casting it as a nearly worthless inevitability for a nearly home-state senator.
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.
Its time to face the truth about Planned Parenthood  they never broke the law.

After last summers sting campaign against Planned Parenthood, politicians across the country attacked the organization on fabricated claims by the so-called Center for Medical Progress that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal tissue.

Recently, following an extensive investigation, a grand jury in Texas officially cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. Not only did the grand jury clear Planned Parenthood, but it took one step further and indicted those who created the highly edited videos. These people broke the law to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood in order to advance their extreme anti-abortion political agenda.

Its appalling and an incredible misallocation of resources that so many politicians, including two of our own, used this fabricated video to call for investigations and the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

Not only Texas but Florida, Ohio, Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and South Dakota have each cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing. Another eight states have declined to even investigate, citing a lack of any evidence to suggest wrongdoing.

As the dust settles and the truth comes out, it's become totally clear that the only people who engaged in wrongdoing are the criminals behind this fraud, and I am glad they are being held accountable as well as saddened that two of our congressional delegation swallowed the hoax without questioning the messengers.

I believe reason and good sense do exist, just not where politicians are more interested in pandering than good policy.
DEVILS LAKE -- Calling child care availability a critical local economic development issue, the Devils Lake City Commission is directing a local committee to draft a business plan to reopen a community child care center in a city-owned building.

The downtown building has been vacant for nearly a year after the Devils Lake Kids Preschool and Child Care Center closed last March.

"There's a serious need, especially for infants," Mayor Dick Johnson said.

The city may consider hiring a director and staff for a center, he said. The committee is expected to present its report within two months.

When Devils Lake Kids closed last year, local leaders attributed it to a variety of financial issues, including hiring and retaining staff, as well as rising utility costs.

"There's a building that's designed as a day care," Johnson said. "It was used as a day care. They couldn't make it cash flow."

The city also will investigate potential state and federal grants to help finance a center.

The mayor also said a couple of major employers in town have expressed interest in subsidizing a community-owned child care center, perhaps by providing annual grants.

"It's an economic development, quality of life issue. I think that employers have come to that understanding," Ramsey County Social Services Director Rhonda Allery said, adding child care availability has been an issue in Devils Lake and Ramsey County for most of the past decade.

"Devils Lake is in somewhat of a baby boom," she said. "There is a shortage of spots, to the point where private home day care providers cannot keep up with it."
In his 1951 poem Subway Rush Hour, the Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes sketched a portrait of an underground world, where people of all colors, ethnicities, and backgrounds are packed so tightly together that theres no room for fear. Late last weekin an effort to convince New Yorkers that the subways are safe despite a rash of recent stabbings and slashings on the transit systemNYPD commissioner Bill Bratton made a similar point. Its amazing anybody can assault anybody because you cant really move on some of those cars, he said.

Brattons attempts at reassurance clash with the growing sense among New Yorkers that the citys celebrated public-safety gains are increasingly under threat. Ten people have been slashed or stabbed so far this year on the subways. Overall, such crimes are up nearly 20 percent. Ill chop you up right on this f-ing train! 37-year-old Ras Alula Nagarit allegedly yelled at two women after bumping into them on a crowded platform in Brooklyn. The police arent here now. Youre trying to get help from the crowd. They cant help you! I can just chop you and they cant do nothing! The argument continued on the train, where Nagarit pulled out a machete and slashed one of the women on the hand.

After several slashings over the weekend, Bratton appeared on the John Gambling radio show, again trying to tamp down concern. This is New York and occasionally the media and police get focused on a series of incidents, and thats what happened here, the chief told Gambling. An hour later, cops arrested a 37-year-old schizophrenic who picked a fight with two strangers, slashing one in the face with a folding knife. SLASH AND SPURN, blared the front-page headline of Wednesdays New York Daily News: Just 1 hour after commish dismisses rash of random attacks as abberation, 10th victim in just a month is sliced on subway.

Subway crimes always strike a nerve with New Yorkers. As the Hughes poem reminds us, an underground train is an intimate, shared space. Theres no place to hide. The subway isnt Greenwich Village or Coney Island or Harlem or the South Bronx, said Transit Authority police chief James B. Meehan in 1981. The subway is all of those places . . . If a New Yorker lives in Brooklyn, he may not care about a crime that occurs in the streets in the Bronx or Queens, but if he rides the subway every day he cares very much if the same crimes occur in the subway anywhere in the city. In a real sense, the whole system is his neighborhood. Things got so bad in the 1980s that even MTA chief Richard Ravitch said that he wouldnt let his teenage sons ride the trains at night. The system lost hundreds of million riders over the course of that decade. But New Yorks reclamation of public order began in the subways.

Whats causing the surge in knife crimes now? Mayor Bill de Blasios progressive administration insists that it has nothing to do with the highly publicized move away from stop-and-frisk as a crime-prevention tool. The city has never been safer, de Blasio and his supporters say, and statistically speaking thats true. In every major categorymurders, rapes, robberiescrime remains down by massive percentages from the bad old days. Total crime is down by 80 percent since 1990. New Yorkers, though, are savvy enough to know that statistics never tell the whole story. And they dont mean much when someone pulls a knife on you in the subway.

Maybe, despite these reassuring crime numbers, the subway is becoming a more troubled space because bad guys (and the mentally ill) have gotten a message from the first two years of the de Blasio administration: go ahead and carry a knife or a gun, theres a new sheriff in townbut this one puts handcuffs on the cops. [Criminals] just dont fear us, a police officer told the Observer. They know were unlikely to stop and question people acting in suspicious ways. And were not. Its not worth getting called on the carpet and risking our livelihoods.

The outbreak of subway slashings and stabbings may have as much to do with the citys abysmal record of dealing with the violent mentally ill as it does with policing methods. What is abundantly clear, however, is that these crimes arent causeless; nor are they nothing to worry about. They are the proverbial canary in the coalminethe first sign that things may be turning ugly, at least underground.

Photo by Ed Yourdon
A campaign over whether to impose term limits on North Dakota lawmakers and the governor is a mismatch so far  at least financially. Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Term Limits, has contributed more than $810,000 in the past two years to get the ballot proposal before voters. Lawmakers and opponents complain they can't keep up with out-of-state interests. Opponent say there has been no time to organize and raise funds before the vote. Last month the North Dakota Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the measure should be placed on the November ballot.
The Iowa caucuses are a referendum on expectations. Look no further than the media coverage of Donald Trumps second-place finish on Monday night, which cast the billionaire as a loser despite drawing 4,000 more caucus votes than any GOP candidate before him. The problem? Ted Cruz attracted more27 percent of caucus goers compared to 24 percent for Trumpshattering the win-first, ask-questions-later persona that has framed Trumps campaign.

The media hype machine spit out other narratives as well. Among them: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who came in third, was a big winner. Unlike Trump, Rubio beat expectations. And inherently rosy reports of his newfound MarcomentumWe got the big mo!will be following him to New Hampshire on Tuesday.

Politics: Guy who finished 3rd won. Woman who finished 1st lost. One guy who finished 2nd lost; other guy who finished 2nd won #IowaCaucus  Manuel Roig-Franzia (@RoigFranzia) February 2, 2016

The caucus was undoubtedly good for Rubios campaign. But the momentum narrative is flawed analysis at best, vacuous horserace journalism at worstand especially so in highly volatile primary campaigns. The premise of todays revelations rely on yesterdays poor predictions of who is most likely to win. The media often oversimplifies how electoral victories could propel more victories, among voters or party elite. While the reporting entices audiences to stay interested, it also plays into campaigns hands by covering the winners in a positive trajectory.

in 2008 HRC was 3rd and that was a loss; in 2016 Rubio is 3rd and that is win-all about expectations  Greta Van Susteren (@greta) February 2, 2016

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To paraphrase a Politico story that was just one of many examples Tuesday: Rubios headed to New Hampshire with the windthe media, that isat his back.

Who sets expectations?

Momentum cant exist in a vacuum. And news organizations typically rely on polling to provide a general estimation of where candidates stand with votersto set expectations. Such data seemingly lends an air of credibility to pundits and daily news coverage alike.

The problem, however, is that primary polling is not all that predictive. As of Monday, the Real Clear Politics polling average pegged Rubios support at nearly 17 percent in Iowa, a distant third behind Trump and Cruz. Even the final Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll, a highly respected survey released Saturday, put Rubios support at 15 percent. He drew 23 percent when votes were tallied Mondaya very big night, as The Washington Post put it.

This is not that hard:

Polls in general elections = pretty good.

Polls in primaries = much less accurate.

Iowa caucus = especially tough.  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 2, 2016

The candidates role is to temper expectations, and Rubios campaign effectively followed the pattern. Various media across the political spectrum reported or commented on this pre-caucus expectations game. Yet several of them also covered Rubios performance in Iowa with a sense of surprise. The conservative National Review framed the night as if such bet-hedging should be left unchallenged: While Cruz may have won the caucuses, which he needed to do, Rubio did something his campaign considers more important: He defied expectations. Rubio and his team worked deliberately to keep expectations in check in the days leading up to the caucuses.

What does momentum mean?

Analyzing pollsand comparing them to actual resultsis an obvious place to start. But a more useful definition of momentum is also the more difficult topic to report on: money. Rubios victory in Iowa may help him consolidate support among the GOP donor class and party elites, making him a more viable general election candidate. But those changes are more subtle and difficult to quantify.

In November, journalists awarded Chris Christie the momentum tag after he picked up endorsements from the Manchester Union-Leader, former New Hampshire House Speaker Donna Sytek, and two business leaders from the state. But it didnt translate to a stable bump in the polls; after a month or so in double digits, hes back around 6 percent. Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post speculated that the Union-Leader endorsement has the potential to foster a storyline that Christie is the new comeback kid in the Granite State. That narrative doesnt seem to have stuck. Thats partly because voters are fickle, but also because momentum is often identified overzealously.

Whos had momentum in the past?

In 1972, when Democratic caucus results were buried on page 16 of The New York Times, front-runner Edmund Muskies victory was clouded by the unexpectedly strong showing by George McGovern, who earned 22 percent of delegates to Muskies 35. McGovern had just 3 percent in the most recent national Gallup poll at the time, the Times noted, and this supposed surge in Iowa helped propel him to the nomination and established the caucuses as a potential launching pad for underdogs. Four years later, results from Iowa had moved to the front page.

Gary Hart claimed the 1984 Democratic primary had become a two-man race after he finished 32 percent behind Walter Mondale in Iowa and just 6 percent ahead of McGovern. According to the Times, Hart had moved to front and center before the New Hampshire primary, attracting considerable press attention. He pulled off a surprise win there, in part fueled by his showing, overhyped or not, in Iowa.

Bill Clinton famously called himself the comeback kid in 1992 after climbing from a distant fourth in Iowa to runner-up in New Hampshire. News outlets latched on to the nickname. In truth, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin had his home state locked up from the start, and Clinton and others focused on New Hampshire. Comeback kid was remarkable spin for a candidate battling allegations of draft dodging, pot smoking, and infidelity, but it helped Clinton proceed to nearly sweep the Super Tuesday states.

In 2008, John Edwards slipped ahead of Hillary Clinton for a second-place finish in Iowa. Pundits called it a major setback for Clinton but not much of a boost for Edwards, who underperformed in New Hampshire and dropped out within a month.

A look ahead to New Hampshire

Rubio understands the momentum narrative. And he attempted to capitalize on it in his speech Monday night: So this is the moment they said would never happen, the third-place finisher said before supporters. For months, for months they told us we had no chance.

The strategy has born early fruit since Monday night. Many political scientists argue that candidates who defy media expectationsthink Trump in mid-summernot only gain an outsized share of media attention, but that saturation coverage in fact causes the candidates to perform better. Political journalists dispute this relationship.

Regardless, the early narrative around Rubios showing in Iowa cant hurt him going into New Hampshire. He now sits in a pack of four candidates hovering around 10 percent, far behind Trump. Rubios goal is to squeeze out the also-rans. And if the media lends momentum he could very well succeed.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

David Uberti and Danny Funt write for CJR. Uberti is a CJR staff writer and senior Delacorte fellow. Funt is a CJR Delacorte Fellow.
The story started when a grandmother called the Belleville News-Democrat in Southern Illinois. Her 14-year-old granddaughter had been gang raped, she said, but no one had been arrested, and no one had been prosecuted.

By the time News-Democrat reporters George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer started looking into the assault in 2010, five or six months had passed. The case had gone cold for law enforcement. But for the pair of investigative reporters at the mid-size McClatchy paper near St. Louis, Missouri, it was just the beginning of a three-year odyssey to find out why this and so many other rape and sexual abuse cases in southern Illinois were never prosecuted.

After months of searching paper court records in 32 different counties across the southern part of the state, the reporters discovered that during a nine-year period, from 2005 to 2013, 70 percent of sex crimes never made it to a courtroom even though victims were able to identify their attackers 95 percent of the time. Their findings were published in an award-winning multimedia series, Violation of Trust, one year ago this month that included the story of the 14-year-oldas well as a detailed account of how the reporters assembled the data (note: much of it through old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting).

Much has happened in the year since publication. In November, St. Clair County, where the News-Democrat is located, received a $1.95 million federal grant to, as the paper reported, allow prosecutors to more aggressively pursue domestic violence and sexual assault and advocate for the victims. The Illinois Attorney General in March assembled a task force to improve the investigation of sexual assaults in Illinois. At least two counties the News-Democrat investigated assigned prosecutors specifically to sex crime cases. Currently, the reporters are working on two follow-ups to their original investigation.

Last week, the News-Democrat learned that Hundsdorfer, Pawlaczyk and photographer Zia Nizami won the prestigious John Jay College/H.F. Guggenheim Excellence in Crime Reporting Award for the multi-part series. The runner up was The Guardian US, which shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2014 with The Washington Post. This is the second time the reporting duo won the award. They also took the top prize in 2010 for a series on treatment of prisoners at the Tamms supermax prison in southern Illinois, which closed five months after the paper published its investigation. For that story, the reporters also won a George Polk Award.

Both series were an extraordinary investigative effort for a newspaper the size of the News-Democrat, which has a daily print circulation of about 32,000 and an average of 707,350 monthly unique visitors in 2015.

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This is a place, a perfect storm for a couple of reporters whove had a very productive partnership, Pawlaczyk said of the News-Democrat.

Pawlaczyk is a full-time investigative reporter at the paper, with Hundsdorfer working with him when shes not on her regular beat reporting on courts. Even then, Hundsdorfer said, her colleagues willingly step in to cover for her. If Im in the throes of this, somebody has to go do my beat, she said. Somebody else just picks up, and its seamless. Were lucky that way.

The two still have to work their monthly weekend shifts and day stories like everyone else, but they also have the luxury of disappearing into their reporting, talking through leads and ideas in an attic of the newsroom where their boxes are stored. As a result, the paper has carved out a niche in investigative reporting that is almost unheard of for a paper of its size, in an industry of shrinking newsrooms and resources for time-intensive reporting.

We made watchdog reporting our priority, said executive editor Jeffry Couch, who has been at the paper for 12 years. We like it big and small. In recent years weve been doing even more investigating, reporting, writing, publishing on the same subject instead of holding it for a series. We think reader. We have to make decisions where to put our resources. We put them here.

Pawlaczyk and Hundsdorfer have been teaming up on investigations for 16 years. Beth and George or George and Beth. Thats what theyre called in the newsroom. They share bylines and responsibilities and trade off on who writes the lead even though Pawlaczyk is older, more experienced and the full-time investigative reporter. Hundsdorfer is quiet the introvert, as she describes herself. Pawlaczyk, who has been at the paper for 21 years, doesnt mind the spotlight, his reporting partner said. It just works.

The two first started working together 16 years ago. In 2006, they collaborated on their first award-winning series about children who had died in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The series won a National Headliners Award, a Casey Medal and Robert F. Kennedy grand award for domestic print.

Their editor, Gary Dotson, a senior editor at the News-Democrat who has overseen most of the major investigative projects in the past two decades, said he tries not to encumber his reporters with deadlines. He also encourages them to write smaller stories that lead to more stories instead of waiting to publish big series.

Its unusual in a newsroom this size to find reporters who pretty much have carte blanche getting the time they need to work these investigations and write these stories, he said. I just try to stay in touch with what theyre doing and when I see it starting to come together and gel then we start mapping out deadlines and timetables.

Mark Poepsel, assistant professor in the Mass Communications Department at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, said the Belleville paper is putting resources into the kind of reporting that makes it relevant to its readers. Its unusual, he said. Most news organizations claim they dont have the money to do investigative journalism. But Poepsel said its the only way for local journalism to survive.

People can get the national and international news just about anywhere, he said. News organization should be doing more in-depth and investigative work. I just call it real journalism. Its something really valuable to a community and something they arent going to get anywhere.

But its not easy work. At the end of the day, when many of their News-Democrat colleagues are headed home, Pawlaczyk and Hundsdorfer often are just getting started.

Beth and I will take off just as were leaving work and drive 150 miles to interview someone, he said. We work it 24-7 and you just got to go. Its the nature of the beast. We find that talking to people, going to places, really does reward you.

The Violation of Trust series was their most challenging story yet, he said, because of the difficulty in rounding up records. They then had to create a database because nobody, not even the FBI, tracks prosecutions of sex crimes. The various counties also had different ways of tracking the crimes, not always differentiating between felony sexual abuse and felony sexual assault. There were numerous other issues as well.

In Carbondale, a city clerk refused to turn over police investigative files because the smell of the pen from redacting information made her ill, she told the paper. She also claimed that she didnt have time. The paper challenged her refusal and got the records.

In the case of the 14-year-old who was raped, a sheriff said he couldnt get hospital records. Pawlaczyk, who already had them, gave the sheriff a copy.

Pawlaczyk said in looking at more than 1,000 redacted case files, they saw one botched investigation after another and heavy-handed interviewing by police who werent sensitive to what a rape victim had just been through. It was outrageous, he said.

Pawlaczyk said the pair worked on the stories for 14 months over a three-year period. In all, they sent out more than 100 requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information law.

It was worth it, said Hundsdorfer, who voluntarily underwent a rape examination and wrote about it to let readers know the process.

They were victims and nothing happened, Hundsdorfer said. Just to give them a chance to have a voice and see anything happen, thats probably the biggest benefit of what we did.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jackie Spinner is CJRs correspondent for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She is an associate journalism professor at Columbia College Chicago and a former staff writer for The Washington Post. Follow her on Twitter @jackiespinner.
A Chinese ship equipped with advanced sonar equipment will soon join the search for the Malaysian airliner believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean almost two years ago, an official said on Friday.

The Dong Hai Jiu 101 will leave Singapore on Sunday to join the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over a 120,000-square- kilometer (46,000-square-mile) expanse of deep seabed by late February, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said.

The ship brings the state-of-the-art Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), which some experts say is more accurate than standard 75 kHz side-scan sonar devises that have been used to scan most of the area searched so far.

With standard acoustic sonar, the image becomes less clear the farther a seabed object is from the equipment. But with SAS, the image remains sharp regardless of an objects distance.

Fugro Survey, the Dutch underwater survey company hired by Australia to find the Boeing 777, has defended its choice of sonar and maintains the search has been thorough.

Fugro search director Paul Kennedy has described SAS as developing technology with some questions about its reliability. Because the search was in such a remote region, Fugro opted for established technology with ready supplies of spare parts.

The Dong Hai Jiu 101 will join two Fugro ships, Furgo Discovery and Furgo Equator, which will continue to search with standard sonar equipment. The Fugro Discovery lost its sonar unit plus 4.5 kilometers (14,800 feet) of cable at the weekend when the ship towed the equipment into an underwater volcano. The ship was headed back to the Australian port of Fremantle to collect new cable to deploy with a spare sonar unit.

A fourth ship, Havila Harmony, is equipped with a maneuverable deep-sea drone that has been fitted with a camera and high-resolution sonar for searching difficult terrain and for taking a closer look at potential clues. The drone was also recently damaged when it struck a fish net but has been repaired.

The ProSAS-60 sonar equipment aboard the Chinese ship will be operated by marine services companies Phoenix International Holdings, based in Maryland, and Seattle-based Hydrospheric Solutions. Both companies gained experience searching for Flight 370 when they operated Go Phoenix, a ship which was contracted by Malaysia to take part in the search for eight months until June last year.

More than 85,000 square kilometers (32,800 square miles) of the search area have been scoured since late 2014. The Chinese ship is the first time China has agreed to share the financial cost of the search with Malaysia and Australia. Truss on Friday thanked China for the contribution.

Most of the 239 people aboard Flight 370 were Chinese.

The plane vanished on March 8, 2014, after mysteriously flying far off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Beijing. A wing flap found in July on the other side of the Indian Ocean when it washed up on Reunion Island is the only debris recovered.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A group of 124 Chicago police officers has cost the city $34 million in misconduct settlements since 2009, according to a newspaper report.

While the officers represent a fraction of the police forces roughly 12,000 officers, they are identified in nearly a third of the misconduct lawsuits settled since 2009. The Chicago Tribune reported one officer had seven lawsuits against him that were settled.

Unlike high-profile police brutality cases that have triggered federal investigations, most of the settlements involve less serious claims such as injuring arrestees during traffic stops, making false arrests and using racial slurs. The lawsuits have largely escaped City Council scrutiny because the settlements have been at or under $100,000. If theyre larger, aldermen must approve them.

Also, the Tribune found many of the incidents didnt occur in high crime areas as union officials have argued and officers were rarely disciplined.

A Chicago police spokesman acknowledged its been a decades-old problem.

There is no question the department needs to do a better job identifying officers with problematic behavior to hold them accountable and restore trust in the police, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Tribune.

He added that improving early intervention will be a focus of a new police accountability task force and U.S. Justice Department Investigation.

Federal authorities announced a civil rights investigation after the November release of a police video showing a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times in 2014.

The Tribune reports the vast majority of CPD officers, roughly 82 percent, arent named in any settlements.

Still, experts say the toll is greater than financial.

Defense attorney Terry Ekl, a former prosecutor, said that not punishing officers, even in less serious crimes, eats away at public trust in police, particularly in Chicago.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Litigation of wage and hour claims has risen 58 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to insurance research provider Advisen Ltd. With the governments expansion of employees entitled to overtime pay and the expanded definition of an employee, there is increased exposure of misclassification by employers, conclude the authors of Advisens latest white paper on the subject.

Last year, the Department of Labor issued a revised definition of an employee. In order for a company to determine whether a contract or temporary worker is an employee, the company must consider the workers investment in the business and the integrity of their role.

Though awareness of traditional exposures such as missed meal breaks has increased, the claims havent gone away, said Jessica Lindo, vice president of professional lines at Allied World. In fact, emerging risks like mobile workforces, outsourced labor, and social media have only added to the number of ways employers can run afoul of wage and hour laws.

According to the Allied World sponsored report, Industries employing large numbers of non-exempt workers and having many payroll rules of their own are, in fact, more susceptible to claims. These include services such as retail, restaurants and healthcare, as well as manufacturing, construction and technology.

Advisen data show the top states for frequency of wage and hour claims are Mississippi, West Virginia, Florida, California and Louisiana.

California remains the most problematic state from a Wage and Hour perspective, Lindo said. Advisen data show that 40 percent of all employment practices liability losses come from California, and the average value for these claims is more than $6 million  four times that of other states. This should be a major concern for employers with any significant number of employees based in the state, she added.

According to Advisen data, more than 20 percent of wage and hour cases cost in excess of $1 million, while around 50 percent cost employers more than $100,000.

NRLB Decisions Impact on Franchises

A case decided in August 2015 by the National Labor Relations Board expanded the joint employer definition to include businesses that use third party staffing agencies. It is expected that franchises will be included in the category, according to the Advisen paper. Previously, franchises had been insulated from labor laws.

This decision builds on the conversation around fissured industrieswhen large companies indirectly employ workers that produce their products and services. It is not just a policy or practice that needs to be evaluated, in some cases it is a whole business model, said Lindo. Franchises are most obviously impacted by this ruling, and with over 8 million U.S. workers employed in franchise businesses, this is not a negligible issue.

Arbitration and Waivers Cant Fully Mitigate Risk

Employers hoping to reduce wage and hour claims by having employees sign arbitration agreements and class action waivers need to be made aware that they may not stick. According to Advisen, some courts have overturned the agreements. And even if a class action waiver is successful, an employer still faces a slew of arbitrations with unhappy employees.

Due to this increased exposure, employers are relying more heavily than ever on class action waivers within arbitration agreements but even these arent foolproof, said Lindo. Recent court decisions have made clear that these agreements have significant variability in the protection they provide against employer liability.

Though employment practices liability policies typically exclude wage and hour claims, some Bermuda carriers offer stand alone policies.

According to Advisen, the policies cover defense costs and indemnity for:

Violations of FLSA and similar federal, state or local laws;

Misclassification of employees;

Inaccurate payment of wages;

Incomplete pay stub disclosures;

Donning and doffing claims;

Non-compliance with meal and rest-break requirements;

Failure to compensate off-the-clock work.

Covered losses include:

Pre and post judgment interest;

Statutory attorney fees;

Statutory liquidated damages;

Punitive and exemplary damages.

The policies, developed three years ago, have seen limits increase and retentions drop. This has allowed companies to blend the new coverage with employment practices liability policies currently in place, Lindo said. About half of W&H policies are now being blended into existing EPL programs.
Gov. Mary Fallin approved the use of nearly $1.4 million in state emergency funds Thursday for state agencies working to reduce the increasing number of earthquakes that have been linked to the disposal of oil and gas wastewater in Oklahoma.

Speaking at The Associated Press annual Legislative Forum, Fallin also said she will unveil a plan for teacher pay raises during her State of the State address next week.

The funds for earthquake research will come from an emergency account used to help the state deal with natural disasters such as tornadoes and flooding. The fund has a current balance of $10.5 million.

This is a critical subject to homeowners, to businesses and to the state of Oklahoma and our future, Fallin said. The goal is to develop better research, to have science-based, factual policies that are made in our state, so that we do no harm to our economy, but that we do address solutions that will help ease the number of earthquakes.

She said the money will go to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency that regulates oil and gas activity, and to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, to hire more staff and scientists and to upgrade information technology systems and monitoring equipment.

Oklahoma is facing about a $1 billion shortfall in next years revenues, and the governor called again for changes to the states budgeting process to rein in tax credits and expenditures and to reduce off-the-top money earmarked for specific state programs.

Fallin, who will release her proposed budget on Monday, also urged the Legislature to consider a second bond issue to pay for additional repairs to Oklahomas crumbling Capitol building.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Jeff Hickman said he expects a second revenue failure is likely to occur during the current fiscal year that ends June 30, which would prompt even deeper cuts to state agency budgets.

The Republican from Fairview said the Legislature may consider revising the current fiscal year allocations to agencies when it convenes next week, rather than waiting for a second revenue failure to be declared.

Hickman says doing so would give the Legislature more flexibility to target specific agencies for cuts, as opposed to mandatory across-the-board reductions.

The top Democrat in the Oklahoma House said he expects the state to have its worst-funded budget in at least a generation. Rep. Scott Inman, D-Oklahoma City, said its not fair of Republicans to blame all the states budget woes on the downturn in the energy industry.

We are in this situation in part because of oil prices, but in larger part because over the last decade of Republican majority rule in the House of Representatives, this Legislature has cut $1 billion worth of income taxes, Inman said. They have layered on hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax credits and exemptions, and they have reduced tax burdens for some of the wealthiest corporations in the entire world and told the citizens of Oklahoma that they can bear the costs of those financial decisions.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Google Inc. envisions a world where a blind man can get in his car alone and tell it to take him to the grocery store. California regulators say self-driving automobiles arent smart enough yet to zip around town without a driver ready to take the wheel.

The states Department of Motor Vehicles is finalizing regulations for the everyday use of autonomous cars with the goal of releasing them in the next year. They would require a licensed driver  and a steering wheel  just in case something goes wrong. Google says the rules limit the technologys potential.

Bryan Bashin, the 60-year executive director of LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco who uses a long, white cane to maneuver city streets, said a driverless car would be one of the biggest advances for the blind since talking computers or even Braille. It represents freedom from the hassles of public transit and makes suburban destinations attainable, he said.

Car and technology companies are closely watching Californias adoption of the rules, which could open the largest U.S. consumer market, 39 million people, to the new technology. It also will likely influence other states as they develop their own regulations. California has often been first to adopt policies later embraced by other states, including clean-air standards, legalization of medical marijuana and paid family leave.

The technology could revolutionize the way people get around, replace traditional cars, and transform roads and highways to accommodate them. Californias efforts coincide with the Obama administrations push to foster the industry, including developing federal guidelines and pledging a 10-year, $4 billion budget for research and infrastructure changes.

Six states, including Nevada and Michigan, and Washington, D.C., already have enacted legislation advancing the development of the cars, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures. The Golden State is the pacesetter.

California is the place that everyones watching and learning what to do and what not to do, said Bryant Walker Smith, assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law who has taught a course on self-driving cars.

Status Quo

Opponents say requiring a licensed operator in a self- driving car defeats the purpose of the technology. The state agency is holding a meeting in Sacramento on Thursday to gather input on the proposal from the industry and the public.

We need to be careful about the assumption that having a person behind the wheel will make the technology more safe, Chris Urmson, Googles director of its self-driving car project, said at the meeting. Its a generally understood problem with people monitoring for long durations of fairly robust technology. They do it poorly. Failures result from it.

Banning autonomous cars that can operate without a driver would be like banning minivans from carrying more than one passenger, said Matthew Schwall, director of field performance engineering at Tesla Motors Inc.

What youre doing is taking away one of the most compelling features, Schwall said. So fewer consumers would purchase these vehicles and manufacturers wouldnt invest as much in their development.

Safety First

California doesnt outright oppose allowing autonomous cars to operate without a human intervention, said DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez. Its just that vehicles without a driver and steering wheel havent been tested enough, she said.

We want to get there, Gonzalez said. Were definitely not against it. We just need to make sure that its safe.

Getting there could open up a massive market. The sale of autonomous car components is expected to grow from $42 billion in 2025 to $77 billion by 2035, according to Boston Consulting Group data. The cars could represent 25 percent of the worldwide market by 2035, the data show.

Google, Tesla, BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz, Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. are among 11 companies that have autonomous-vehicle testing permits, according to December data from the California DMV. Even Apple Inc. may be working on a driverless-car project.

A phase with a driver, at least to get started to see how things are happening, share data and collect experience, may be the way to ensure that the process is under control and that nothing regrettable happens, said Xavier Mosquet, a Detroit- based senior partner in the automotive practice at the Boston Consulting Group.

Some companies are already experimenting with the technology. Tesla this month unveiled features that allow a driver who has stepped out of the car to prompt it to open the garage door, park itself and shut down. Elon Musk, Teslas chief executive officer, predicts an electric car will drive autonomously from coast to coast within two years.

For California I see two good things  the regulator is coming up with solutions and they are not waiting or slowing things down, Mosquet said.

Approval cant come swiftly enough for Diane Starin, 57, a Sacramento resident who went blind as a toddler from cancer of the optic nerve. She gets around on public transit and hails cars through apps from Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.

I envision it drastically changing my life, she said. Everything from necessities to socializing, being out late at night and not worrying about how to get home. Its huge. Its just like someone getting a car who didnt have one.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Twin Cities entrepreneurs have developed a new premium-pour vodka made entirely from beet sugar produced in the Red River Valley. BET (pronounced "beet") Vodka is expected to hit liquor store shelves here within the next few weeks.

The vodka was developed by Ben Brueshoff and Jerad Poling, friends who met in 2013 at a Fulton Brewery networking event in Minneapolis.

Brueshoff said they immediately realized they shared a "pioneering spirit." They discussed the local craft beer market, but agreed it was becoming saturated. So, they decided to turn to spirits. Brueshoff said they wanted develop a spirit that was "different while maintaining a local element and story."

Poling, an avid home brewer and distiller, suggested sugar beets as the answer.

Poling and Brueshoff reached out to business development personnel at American Crystal Sugar Co. for advice and were excited about what they learned.

"In doing research, we discovered that Minnesota is the largest producer of sugar beets in the United States. And, it just so happens that sugar beets turn out to be a very pure and ideal base crop for the creation of alcohol," Brueshoff said.

"That's when we thought, 'Why is nobody making a vodka or any spirit primarily out of sugar beets given their abundance in the state?,'" Poling said.

They also took a deep interest in the story of Henry Oxnard, the man who pioneered a way to process sugar beets in the late 19th century. He is the inspiration for BET Vodka's motto, "Share the pioneering spirit."

"When we say 'Share the pioneering spirit' it is partly in reference to the literal sharing of our spirit, BET Vodka. But, digging deeper, it refers to Henry Oxnard as the original sugar beet pioneer and his spirit of industry," Brueshoff said. "Today we feel that everyone is a pioneer in their own way and with a unique story to share. When you come together for a drink of BET Vodka, those are moments when you share your pioneering spirit."

'Sipping' vodka

The business partners enlisted 45th Parallel to produce the vodka at its distillery in New Richmond, Wis. Poling said one reason was so he and Brueshoff would remain free to promote the brand.

"At this point, having our own physical distillery would require not only a lot of money, but it would require a lot of time and attention," he said. "I think it would probably take away from our goal of connecting people through our product."

BET Vodka retails for between $32.99 and $34.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Brueshoff describes it as a "sipping vodka."

"BET is a sipping vodka that can be enjoyed neat and our recipes highlight a 'less is more' mindset," he said. "That is, fewer ingredients that are easy for people to make and that highlight the nice profile of the vodka itself."

To view recipes or find out where BET Vodka is available, visit www.beetspirits.com.
CCSD discusses strategic plan The Clarence Central School Districts strategic plan centers around four priority areas this year: high quality teaching and learning experiences for all, safe and healthy learning environment, consistent and effective...

STEPPING BACK IN TIME STEPPING BACK IN TIME  History enthusiasts visited Town Park Clubhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 11, for presenter Greg Kinals talk on the 1950s with music.

Chick-fil-A aims to roost in Clarence Clarence might be getting a Chick-fil-A at the site of a former Applebees restaurant, at 5017 Transit Road. If approved by the town, the business would have an approximately 5,000-square-foot...
Leonardo DiCaprio Shunned by the American Lung Association for Vaping at SAG Awards

There has been a movement sweeping through Hollywood since the late 1990s to ban smoking in films that could be seen by adolescents. There are a few groups that have made it their mission to carry this over to the actors appearances themselves. Leonardo DiCaprio is feeling the full force of this attack after being seen smoking his e-cigarrette at the SAG Awards.

DiCaprio had a great night, and took home a SAG Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, The Revenant, which has also won 3 Golden Globes, and 2 Critics' Choice Awards. This is a time to rejoice for DiCaprio, who is looking to win his first Academy Award this year.

Unfortunately this year, Leonardo DiCaprio is being shunned by the American Lung Association for using his e-cigarette during the SAG Awards ceremony. According to the ALA, 'vaping' is regarded as bad as smoking tobacco, and although Leo's vaping wasn't technically illegal, the Association isn't too happy about it. They called Leo out, saying that his actions were, "deeply troubling". They also state that Leo's vaping exposes others to secondhand hazards that include cancer.

The interesting thing here is that Leo isn't breaking any Los Angeles laws. There is a ban on vaping in public places in Los Angeles, and according to the Los Angeles Daily News vaping is banned "at indoor workplaces, such as bars, nightclubs and restaurants...and public areas like farmers' markets, parks, recreational facilities, beaches and outdoor dining areas."



I find this situation to be a bit preposterous, but in the politically correct era that we live in today, it seems that no one is safe. There are some areas of an actor's life and actions that should be left up to the person, but when you are A-lister such as Leo, there is nothing off-limits to public ridicule.

The 88th Academy Awards is set to premier on February 28, 2016, The Revenant has garnered 12 nomintions.

 2016 The Classical Art, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

TagsLeonardo DiCaprio, Leonardo Dicaprio News, The Revenant, vaping, SAG Awards, 88th Academy Awards, Lottery, Alejandro G Innaritus, academy awards, Celebrity News, Celebrity Gossip, American Lung Association
Oil at Lake Rockwell

The Akron Water Supply Bureau's Lake Rockwell filtration plant helps serve over 300,000 Summit County residents with tap water.

(John Harper, cleveland.com)

AKRON, Ohio -- A decades-long spat over the water agreement between Hudson and the City of Akron may be nearing a resolution under Mayor Dan Horrigan.

Horrigan and Hudson officials agreed to resume water connections to customers in the city, with a revenue sharing agreement between the two cities still in the works.

Former Akron mayor Don Plusquellic had put new water hookups on hold last spring while demanding Hudson sign into a JEDD agreement with Akron, citing a handshake deal gone bad in the early 1990s, when Akron first started supplying water to Hudson High School.

Hudson was the only Akron water customer not to enter into a revenue sharing agreement with the city's joint economic development districts.

Appeal dropped against former Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta: Ohio's Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal by five Macedonia residents seeking to have former Mayor Don Kuchta removed, The News Leader reports.

Kuchta left office Dec. 1, when mayor-elect Joseph Migliorini took over, but the five residents continued pursuing the case to avoid a precedent that could prevent future mayors from being removed under state law.

The appellate court's dismissal reverts to a ruling by Summit County Probate Judge Eleanor Marsh Stormer, who ruled that the state law didn't apply to Macedonia's charter government, which says that mayors should be removed through a recall election.

Coyote sightings are up in Hudson, officials urge caution: Hudson spokeswoman Jody Roberts told the Hub Times that coyote sightings in the area becoming more common and urged residents to be aware, but not afraid of the wily canines.

"They can be problematic for small dogs and cats, so we recommend people don't let their animals off leash particularly during the spring and fall when coyotes are most active," Roberts told the newspaper.

Last week, Summit County Councilman Nick Kostandaras raised the issue of coyote encounters after two incidents, one in Twinsburg and one in Macedonia, in which coyotes allegedly killed small dogs. Kostandaras has promised to research potential legal remedies to control coyote populations in Northeast Ohio.

When Chapel Hill Mall was a berry farm: When were the "good ol' days" in Akron's Chapel Hill neighborhood? Akron Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer speculates that it may have been long before the currently troubled mall was erected off Howe Road.

"Before Macy's replaced Kaufmann's, before Kaufmann's replaced May Co., before May Co. replaced O'Neil's, before the mall opened in 1967, a young Bob Harvey picked berries on the big hill that was then an idle farm," Dyer writes.

Chapel Hill Mall's future has been thrown into doubt after Macy's and three other major retailers announced they were closing their stores at Chapel Hill.

Hudson fiber-optic Internet service starts this summer: With service anticipated in the coming months, Hudson's city owned fiber optic internet service has already signed up 160 downtown business customers, the Hub Times report.

Come this summer, Hudson businesses will have the option to purchase Internet not just from private companies like Time Warner and AT&T, but also a city-owned service called Velocity Broadband, which has promised speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second. (A typical home Internet connection is between 15 and 25 megabits per second).
STANLEY  Pipeline spills should become a smaller problem in North Dakota after new regulations are developed, a state official said Tuesday.

We shouldnt have large spills anymore. Thats my goal, said Kevin Connors, pipeline program supervisor for the Department of Mineral Resources.

Connors outlined the new state pipeline program to about 300 landowners, state officials and oil company representatives who gathered Tuesday in Stanley for a Northwest Landowners Association expo.

New rules on gathering pipelines being proposed to the Industrial Commission this month aim to reduce the number of small pipeline spills and eliminate large spills that go undetected, Connors said.

The rules, which the public will have the opportunity to comment on before they take effect next January, will emphasize better pipeline installation and more thorough third-party inspections.

Making sure these pipelines are installed properly is better than any leak detection technology out there, Connors said.

The Northwest Landowners Association, a grassroots group that promotes balancing the rights of landowners with oil and gas development, brought Connors and other state and industry officials together Tuesday to meet with landowners.

Chairman Troy Coons said the group has seen improvements in how state agencies and oil companies respond to landowner issues, including recent legislative changes that are leading to more robust pipeline regulations.

Theres definitely more that needs to be done, but they can see there are some changes, Coons said.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, one of three members on the Industrial Commission, said the commission strives to balance welcoming the oil industry while requiring companies to follow the rules and leave things better than when they came.

That is the delicate and very difficult and controversial balance that those of us on the Industrial Commission try to strike, he said.

Stenehjem defended the Industrial Commissions practice of suspending a large portion of fines for oil companies, pointing out that companies are often required to meet conditions that cost more to implement than the fines.

We would much rather impose a significant penalty, suspend a lot of it on conditions that are very important, and conditions that can make sure that were actually going to end up in better shape, Stenehjem said.

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, who also serves on the Industrial Commission, encouraged landowners to use the departments new pilot program designed to help resolve issues with pipeline reclamation.

Its working. Its helping. Its building bridges, and our companies are doing a better job of engaging the contractors and subcontractors and making sure theyll held accountable, Goehring said.

Several officials said improving communication between landowners and companies can resolve many issues, whether its a spill cleanup or pipeline reclamation.

We often act on behalf of landowners who have an issue, said Public Service Commission Chairwoman Julie Fedorchak. I have yet to have a company say were not going to do it, were not going to fix it. Quite frequently, they tell us they werent aware.

Kathy Johnson, who farms south of Arnegard, said many of the efforts outlined Tuesday, including improvements on pipeline reclamation, are a step in the right direction.

Now we know another avenue of who to contact, Johnson said.

Dennis Johnsrud, who farms near Epping, said hes been reluctant to allow new pipelines until issues with existing pipelines get resolved.

Its important that we come together and get some of it fixed, Johnsrud said.

Property owners are becoming more educated and better able to respond to challenges than they were in the early days of the Bakken development, Coons said.

This came on so fast, they didnt know about the proper leases and what to ask for, Coons said. It overwhelmed them, all of us.
AKRON, Ohio -- A convicted Akron gang member was shot in the chest Tuesday while driving with heroin in his car, according to police.

JuJuan Weems, 23, was driving about 1:15 p.m. at the corner of West South Street and Princeton Avenue when the shooting occurred.

He got out of his car, went to a nearby market and left the neighborhood.

Akron police found Weems' 2013 Ford Fusion in the 100 block of West South Street with several baggies of heroin on the driver's side floor of the car. They also found blood in the car, police reports say.

Weems took himself to Akron General Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the upper chest. Akron police were called to the emergency room.

A K-9 officer found two bullet casings in the road where the shooting happened. The dog also alerted that more could be in a nearby storm sewer, according to police reports.

No arrests have been made for the shooting. Weems was charged with two counts of fourth-degree felony drug trafficking.

Akron police officers are guarding Weems at the hospital because he has an outstanding warrant charging him with gross sexual imposition and sexual battery.

The sexual assault case stems from a Feb. 19, 2015 incident in which Weems is accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping 20-year-old woman.

Warrants were issued for his arrest in April.

Weems' criminal history extends to his childhood. He has convictions for drug trafficking and gun charges. He's also associated with the Chestee Block gang, a subset of Akron's V-Not gang.

He was charged in 2010 for shooting at a passing car. Investigators found he was still a member of the Chestee gang, known for drug dealing and wearing custom clothing with photos of dead gang members on them.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- City Council has taken no action, but neighbors made their presence known and their feelings clear Monday (Feb. 1) on a rezoning request for a Circle K gas station.

About 40 people showed up for Monday's (Feb. 1) meeting with at least 14 speaking out against the rezoning petition to take down two houses on the east end of Vandemar Street and make it commercial property.

Upon hearing of the turnout, Mayor Cheryl Stephens said she felt it would be "presumptuous for us to make a decision -- even to send it to our Planning Commission -- before we listen to our constituents."

City officials will also consider a public hearing on the request, allowing Circle K to do a presentation.

"And it's not mandatory that we make a decision," Stephens added during council's Committee-of-the-whole meeting. "We can just let it sit forever."

Even that doesn't sit well with some neighbors, who urged council to take a stand against the proposal.

But Vandemar resident Ian Griffith is pleased to see the neighborhood mobilizing since the rezoning petition was announced.

"It's not a good fit, especially one that eats two houses and a day care center," Griffith said. "This proposal doesn't invest in the community -- it divests it, and undermines a keystone neighborhood, increasing traffic and endangering our children."

Numerous residents pointed out that they have put a lot of money into their properties, including C.J. Nash, a former military chemist who also works in the petroleum field and bought the house directly across the street just over a year ago.

"The most contamination does not come from the large spills, it's the small spills and the vapors that collect over time, with sewers, water lines and basements being affected," Nash said.

David Kirbish, who lives nearby, said that the abandoned theater may be too far gone for a historic restoration.

"But this should be broader than a zoning issue," Kirbish said, adding that he understands the need for economic development. "But do we want a corporate gas station at one of the entrances to our city?"

Marcelo Atanasio, a neighborhood resident since 1982 whose family moved to Cleveland Heights in 1967, pointed out that there's already a corporate gas station "a stone's throw away" from the proposed site.

"Do we really want two houses torn down and extra traffic on a quiet residential street with a 'No Trucks' sign?" Atanasio said.

He suggested other sites, such as closer to the Severance Town Center or thee large vacant lot on the other side of the block at Glenwood and Noble roads.

Resident Rosemary Wiggins said the last time she approached City Council was when there was a proposal to put a chicken slaughterhouse at Glenwood and Noble.

"And I implore you again not to allow this proposal to go through either," she added.

Local activist Diane Hallum disputed earlier contentions by city officials that they could face some sort of legal action from the developers.

"They have no right to sue the city," Hallum said. "And for a city that promotes itself with a lot of talk about 'walkability' and 'livability,' it doesn't seem to include those who live on the north side of Mayfield Road."

Hallum recommended that the city buy the old Center Mayfield Theater to convert it to a youth center, since there isn't one on that side of town and kids can't safely walk or bike 2-1/2 miles down Mayfield to the Community Center.

Kay Dunlap said groups like the Noble Neighbors continue to work hard to "rewrite the script of the neighborhood," urging council to reconsider any proposals for another gas station and carryout in the area.

Other concerns included noise and light pollution, higher crime, lowered property values and potentially direct contradictions to city planning guidelines.

The site of a proposed Circle K at the old Center Mayfield Theater, with one of the houses that would be rezoned and torn down (far left).

A resident on Vandemar for 27 years, Ivory Jordan noted that the crime rate has gone down since 2012 and '13.

"And we do want business in the neighborhood, but a gas station selling beer and wine? That's crazy talk," Jordan said.

Longtime Vandemar resident Geri Blair warned council about losing neighbors, then losing the neighborhood.

"If Vandemar isn't broken, then why change it?" Blair asked. "And please, before you make the wrong decision, I want to extend an invitation for council to come to my house for dessert."

Stephens asked her how many hours notice she would need.

"Be careful what you wish for -- there are six of us," the mayor said.

During the public comment period, council also heard from two residents who asked the city to enact a pit bull ban, after recent attacks that included not only people, but other dogs in the neighborhood.

"I saw one attack a puppy on my street and now I'm afraid to go out my front door," Lillian Pyles of Carver Road said, adding that the owner tends to walk his pit bull late at night without a leash.

Her sister, Marjorie Pyles Hearst on Cambridge Road said she and her husband have experienced similar problems while walking their dog.

Stephens said council recognized these concerns last year and instructed City Law Director Jim Juliano to draft some proposed legislation that may be on the agenda for the next work session.

"If they're not controlling their animals, then you should nail them to the wall," Hallum said, recommending that the city take some of the proceeds from the quarter-percent local income tax hike and rehire a dog warden.

Councilwoman Melissa Yasinow said it was good to see and hear 17 residents speaking for nearly an hour at the council meeting to register their concerns with city officials.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The man who accused a Westlake detective of an April 2014 beating told a jury Tuesday that he was filled with a sense of dread as the accused officer led him to an unmarked SUV.

Teddie Abadie said he wasn't told that he was under arrest or for what charge. Instead, Abadie said that Robert Toth and his partner, officer Jeremiah Bullins, placed him in the backseat and peppered him with questions about an ongoing drug investigation.

During the drive, both Toth and his partner threatened to kill his Abadie's dog and said they were going to ransack his apartment in the Flats if he didn't tell them what they wanted to hear, Abadie testified.

"I had a feeling something really bad was going to happen," he said.

Toth stopped the SUV at one point and Bullins punched him in the chest, Abadie said. Toth kept driving until they got to a cemetery. Toth told him that he was going to take off his handcuffs off "so you can defend yourself."

Instead, Toth wrapped the seat belt around Abadie's neck three times and choked him for between 15 and 30 seconds, he said.

Toth, 49 of North Olmsted is charged with beating Abadie during an investigation into Sidney Booty, now a convicted drug dealer. Prosecutors also said Toth punched Abadie in the face, threw him to the ground and kicked him in the ribs before placing him in the SUV.

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Rice asked what officer hit him, he said Toth's name. Abadie refused to look toward Toth, who was wearing his police department dress uniform.

Much of Tuesday's testimony came from Abadie, who maintained his soft-spoken demeanor even as defense attorney Kevin Spellacy pushed him and sought to point out inconsistencies in prior statements to the FBI.

Spellacy did his best to live up to his opening statement and tried to portray Abadie as a drug-addled degenerate. He forced Abadie to discuss a side business that involved Abadie and his girlfriend performing sex acts for money on a webcam.

Abadie remained calm and said that while his memory is hazy on some details, the beating is still crystal clear.

"The best thing I can see in my mind is being plummeted to the ground when I see these set of facts," Abadie said.

He said that he was terrified, but more scared for beagle mix named Nugget, that both officers threatened to kill several times.

Rice played video surveillance from the Westlake city jail where Abadie can be heard telling a jail staffer: "I don't care about my freedom, but I care about my dog." He did not disclose any of the details of the events that are now at the center of the criminal charges against Toth.

The trial is expected to continue through the week.
ELYRIA, Ohio -- An Elyria woman led officers on a high-speed chase while acting as the getaway driver for a man accused of stealing steaks from Walmart, according to a police report.

Marla L. Bartolotta, 39, is charged with felonious assault, failure to comply, cocaine possession, complicity, resisting arrest, drug paraphernalia possession and driving under suspension in the chase that began early Tuesday on Ohio 57.

Ross Stahl, 39, of Elyria is charged with theft in the incident. Officers recovered four steaks he attempted to steal from Walmart, the report says.

Bartolotta appeared Tuesday in Elyria Municipal Court. Her case was bound over to the Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

A Walmart employee reported just after 12:30 a.m. that a man stole four steaks from the Chestnut Commons Drive store. The man ran out to the parking lot and toward a Ford Explorer, but it sped away before he could get inside.

Officers spotted the northbound SUV on Ohio 57 near Chestnut Ridge Road. The driver ignored the officers' order to stop and sped away, police said. The officers followed, and a State Highway Patrol cruiser soon joined the pursuit that reached speeds of up to 75 mph.

One Elyria cruiser and one State Highway Patrol cruiser were the primary cars involved in the chase. Other Elyria cruisers blocked traffic along the route, the report says. The SUV nearly crashed into an Elyria police cruiser that was blocking traffic on Bell Avenue at West River Road, police said. The officer in that cruiser swerved to avoid a crash.

The chase continued on several side streets before Bartolotta stopped her Ford Explorer outside a house on Mendel Court, the report says.

The driver got out and ran into the house, according to the report. Officers kicked in the door and arrested the driver in the kitchen.

Officers searched the car and found two glass pipes containing a white substance that field-tested positive for crack cocaine, the report says.

The Elyria Police Department's cruisers are not equipped with dashboard cameras so no video is available.
CLEVELAND, Ohio-- City Council continues this week to explore solutions to ensure that no home the city has already identified as a lead poisoning hazard harms another child.

Council members have suggested some fixes. So have non-profits and housing court officials who deal the issue.

Some ideas were prompted by The Plain Dealer series Toxic Neglect, on how the city might cure its legacy of lead poisoning.

Yet to come, however, are concrete proposals for changes or long-term solutions, such as routine inspections of rentals for possible lead hazards.

City Council's third hearing on the issue begins at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Here are five of the potential changes:

1. Revamp the rental registry

The city's rental registry may be a way to track landlords and generate revenue to bolster lead and housing code inspection efforts, according to council members and area non-profit groups.

But only about a third of estimated rental properties in the city are registered. Roughly 33,800 out of 91,000 units were registered this summer, according to city records and 2012 Census estimates.

Building & Housing Director Ron O'Leary said during a council hearing that the number of rentals in the city was unknown and a "moving target."

The city will now use a number of methods to identify properties that should be registered, including reports of tenant agreements from utility companies, monthly lists of landlords who file for eviction provided by Housing Court and county property records, O'Leary said.

The rental registry could bring in $ 2 million a year, money that could be used to pay for efforts to reduce and prevent lead poisoning, Environmental Health Watch Executive Director Kim Foreman told council during last month's hearing. She also suggested that the city make mandatory that landlords who register prove their rentals are lead safe.

The original intention of the registry and the $35 registration fee was to generate revenue to support inspections of rental housing but it hasn't been enforced.

The Plain Dealer, months ago, made a public records request to the city asking how much money the registry generated and where that money was spent. The city has not provided the information.

The city also has the option to file charges against landlords who fail to register properties, according to Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka, but that rarely happens.

2. Make lead hazard information publicly available

Federal, state and local laws require property owners to disclose known lead paint hazards when selling or renting a home. But little public information exists to help buyers determine whether properties have been identified as dangers.

Buyers can request a lead risk assessment, but it isn't part of routine inspections required by banks or lenders, and costs between $300 and $600.

An analysis of Cleveland lead inspection data and county property transfer records maintained by Case Western Reserve University's NEO CANDO shows that in a five-year period, roughly 140 properties the city identified as lead hazards were transferred to new owners.

About 60 of the properties were auctioned at Cuyahoga County Sheriff's sales and 80 more were transferred through other types of sales.

Cleveland, by law, requires property owners to fill out a form indicating whether the home they are selling was condemned or had code violations. Lead hazards aren't included on this city "Certificate of Disclosure" form.

That's something Building & Housing Director Ron O'Leary said he'd look into.

The disclosures not only help the city track mortgage and title companies that fraudulently flip real estate but could serve as a place for tenants and buyers to get information.

Cuyahoga County uses a different stop-gap measure to warn potential home buyers about lead hazards: by filing a document called an "affidavit of fact" with the county fiscal office, the county Board of Health makes lead hazards a matter of public record.

In the past five years, the board of health, which handles lead poisoning cases outside the city, has filed 61 such affidavits, according to John Sobolewski, supervisor of the county's lead poisoning prevention program. He said 14 of those affidavits were rescinded after the lead hazards were fixed.

Sobolewski said the affidavits aren't required by law but notify buyers and alert them of their responsibility to correct hazards.

"If they don't do their due diligence that becomes their problem," Sobolewski said in an email.

Housing Court Judge Pianka has used the process once, in a case where a woman who had a case in his court lost her property through a tax certificate foreclosure and the city's Building & Housing Department routinely files the affidavits of fact for homes that the city has condemned.

It hasn't used the process for unabated lead hazards though, city officials say.

3. Alert buyers at sheriff's sales to homes with lead hazards



Foreclosure, or sheriff's sales, are exempt from state laws requiring that lead hazards be disclosed to buyers. Properties are auctioned off "as is."

That isn't the case everywhere.

In Massachusetts, state regulations require a notification of lead-based paint hazards as a part of each sale - including foreclosure sales, according to Omar Cabrena, a department of health spokesman.

Each property buyer also has to acknowledge in writing that they understand that they will not have the opportunity for a lead inspection prior to the sale.

4. Use 'do not rent' orders

City council members asked during a December lead poisoning hearing about whether Housing Court could use "do not rent" orders to prevent homes known to be hazardous from poisoning additional children.

Pianka said he has that power. To exercise it, though, a city prosecutor must request the action and also must provide proof the home or apartment has been inspected, and that a code violation or hazard exists.

If a landlord were to be caught defying the order, he or she could be held in contempt of court and jailed for up to 30 days, or fined up to $250, he said.

City officials rarely request such actions in lead poisoning cases.

5. Declare hazardous homes a nuisance



The city can request that homes with lead hazards be declared a nuisance, given the proper evidence, Pianka said.

That happens about 25 times a year, mostly in cases of hoarding or similar health hazards. It's also been used occasionally in drug-related cases.

"It's quite a useful tool but it's not often used by the city," he said.

Cleveland's health code allows the city's Environment Commissioner to declare a property a nuisance and to abate or fix a hazard if a property owner does not, and to charge the cost of the work to the owner.

In extreme cases, a "nuisance" home can be handed over to a court-appointed caretaker, called a receiver, and be demolished at the order of the building director.
WHO declares Zika virus a health emergency

Dr. Angela Rocha examines three-month old Annika Vitoria, who has microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 29, 2016. Before last fall, medical reports of babies born with microcephaly were so rare in Brazil that only about 150 cases were registered each year in the entire country. Now Brazilian officials are now investigating thousands of them, and they say that the Zika virus is the cause. (Mauricio Lima/The New York Times)

(MAURICIO LIMA)

After a daylong meeting, the World Health Organization on Monday declared the fast-moving Zika virus a global health emergency, meaning it poses a threat of alarming proportions that requires immediate attention from governments and health officials.

Dr. Frank Esper, an infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals, said the WHO is acting with due haste to address a virus that, in many respects, remains a mystery. Zika has been linked to a marked increase in microcephaly, a shrunken skull that indicates slow brain growth in babies and may lead to neurological problems.

The virus, transmitted by a mosquito found in tropical regions, is spreading quickly in Central and South America, an area of the world where it had not appeared until last year. Esper said WHO's declaration of a health emergency will throw more research and resources at the problem and help to unravel some of the mystery surrounding its impacts.

Here's a Q & A with Esper on the next steps in the global fight against Zika:

What is the immediate effect of the declaration of Zika as a health emergency?

Esper: It marshals resources not just from the World Health Organization, but from the countries around the world. It mobilizes a lot from the standpoint of research and surveillance. There are surveillance spots all around the world where people are looking for Ebola and influenza. Now they can also marshal their resources and do the same for Zika virus as well.

What makes Zika a global threat?

Esper: Zika virus has been in the word for some time, but has only recently been introduced to the western hemisphere. That's why it's such a big issue right now. So what we have is an immunologically susceptible population. Where Zika was before, in Africa and some areas of Asia, it wasn't causing nearly as much of a problem. That population had an immune response to it. The recent spread, especially the quick spread in Central and South America, has opened peoples' eyes to the fact that this is a pretty extraordinary event that could lead to problems, not just in Brazil and Central America, but other places around the world.

How much do people in Northeast Ohio have to worry about Zika? What precautions should they take?

Esper: Right now, people should follow the CDC guidance. The CDC guidance is that we don't necessarily have to do anything right now, but there is a travel advisory to the affected areas. It applies to women who are pregnant or might become pregnant. In Northeast Ohio, we don't have to worry about the disease spreading here right now because it's February. There are not a lot of mosquitoes out there right now. And the particular mosquito that carries this disease does not like the cold at all. It stays in the tropics. But what's coming up right now is spring break, and people love to take their families to places like Mexico, Brazil, Belize and other areas that do have this virus. So they want to think carefully about that if they are pregnant.

What are the next steps by the WHO?

Esper: What they want to do right now is coordinate surveillance, mainly in South America to see how the virus is spreading. They also want to ensure that they have a good infrastructure for surveillance in other areas in the world, so that if this virus gets introduced they would be able to recognize it quickly. Obviously, from what's going on in Brazil and other areas of Central and South America, there's going to be a lot of investigation into these children who are exposed to this virus in utero and what are the best ways for us to treat these children. What kind of developmental issue, if any, will they have so we can watch out for them? What can we do for a mom who's exposed? What can we do to treat her before the baby is born?

What are the health ramifications for people who have contracted Zika?

Esper: Zika virus doesn't kill people. This isn't Ebola. This isn't pandemic flu. Zika virus is a concern for morbidity, not mortality. What we're worried about is the long-term ramifications for these infants. They have 80 years of life expectancy. How much of that is going to be cut short? How much is going to be affected by neuro-cognitive problems due to microcephaly? This is a substantial problem where we're talking about decades of issues from the outbreak that is going on right now.

In acting to declare an emergency so quickly, do you think the WHO was influenced by criticism that it was slow to react to Ebola in West Africa?

Esper: They're always going to be criticized for overreaction or under-reaction. They were criticized for a slow response to Ebola, but they were also criticized for over-hyping the problem of pandemic flu in 2009-2010. So unfortunately some of these agencies are in a no-win situation. They're always going to be criticized for something. From my standpoint, they are giving this problem the respect that it deserves.

What is microcephaly and what are its potential impacts on children?

Microcephaly is just a descriptive term. It means small head. That fact that the head is small is not the problem; it's what it represents that's the problem. When a baby is born with microcephaly, it's the brain that's the issue. The head is small because the brain is not growing. That's the problem we need to focus on, whether or not these children will develop neurologic problems later on in life. Will they have growth delay? Will they have learning disabilities? Will they have fine motor or gross motor problems? That's something we're probably going to know within the next six months.

Has the link between Zika and microcephaly been scientifically confirmed?

Esper: Absolutely not. It has not been established. But that's exactly what we will be looking at over the next several months and will have a good sense of it before long. Right now there is a very strong evidence because we've identified the virus in the brain of children with microcephaly. The World Health Organization and others are going to need really exquisite evidence to nail it down.
BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Philip and Adrienne Goldberg were tired of living with a kitchen stuck in the Reagan administration.

"Not that it was ugly. It was really dated," says Adrienne. The placement of the appliances was awkward, and there wasn't enough storage. Floor-to-ceiling curtains in the kitchen nook blocked view of the outdoors.

The Goldebergs' new kitchen, remodeled by contractor Frank Makoski of Makoski Construction and Remodeling in Chesterland, is much more comfortable and inviting. Often, they invite a couple to their home for pre-dinner cocktails before the four friends head to dinner. Guests gravitate to the updated kitchen, and they don't want to leave.

They prefer an evening spent sipping wine around the kitchen's two-tiered island, surrounded by lighted cabinets that highlight vases from the Goldbergs' travels. Or they'll gather around the granite table in the kitchen nook, with its artwork and floor-to-ceiling windows.

When Adrienne sees that no one is reaching for their coats, she'll say, "Take your shoes off; we'll cancel the reservations and get takeout."

The Goldbergs moved into this home 26 years ago. It was built in 1989 as a dream home for a family who briefly lived in it before the family was transferred. Several years ago, the Goldbergs and Makoski embarked on updating the home, room by room. In 2013, their focus was the kitchen and its adjoining kitchen nook.

The Goldbergs and Makoski spent five months brainstorming ideas for how they wanted the rooms to look and function. The planning took longer than the actual work, which was completed in three months. The homeowners declined to give their ages or say how much they spent on the renovation.

The new kitchen has a two-tiered island with a cooktop, custom cabinets and wine tasting area with a mini fridge. An expanded pantry has a coffee and breakfast bar. There's more cabinet space, counter space and room to cook.

The biggest challenge was achieving the changes without creating an addition. "Staying in the confined walls is a difficult challenge. I love difficult challenges," says Makoski.

Want to nominate a Cool Space?

Appliances were moved, and storage added. Space was taken from the adjoining laundry room to create a large pantry with a breakfast and coffee center. Countertops were made deeper, so they were easier to work on.

The oven and refrigerator, previously side by side, were separated. The old arrangement placed the least-used appliance (oven) next to the most-used appliance (refrigerator), says Makoski. "It's not an attractive look when you put them next to each other," he adds. The homeowners took this opportunity to replace some appliances.

In the old kitchen, the microwave was set into the upper cabinets. Now it's set into a lower cabinet and slides out with the push of a button.

A kitchen is more than appliances, and this remodeling job acknowledged that by emphasizing beauty and function. Now the homeowners' collection of vases, purchased during trips to Israel, Morocco and other locales, glow inside lighted, glass-front cabinets set above the storage cabinets. The effect is like having an art gallery inside a kitchen.

"It makes a lovelier kitchen," Makoski says. "We like it to be a little artistic."

To address the lack of storage space, Makoski designed a wall of custom cabinets, including special slide-out shelves to hold the toaster and coffeemaker. These small appliances, usually left out on countertops, are out of sight but easily accessed.

"I have a lot of space that I didn't have before," Adrienne says.

A new, two-level island replaced the old, one-level kitchen island. The new island has an upper buffet level for serving food, and a lower level for cooking on an electric cooktop. This arrangement keeps the messy parts of meal preparation partially out of guests' sight.

The island includes custom shelves for spices and pots, and seating on one end for causual nibbling. Custom drawers for spices and cooking utensils are stored below the kitchen island's cooktop and within easy reach.

The new island is roughly the same size as the old one, except that the new island is a bit wider on the end with the dining bar. The asymmetry is a good thing. "A rectangular top would be so unattractive," Makoski says. He also repositioned the island to create more space and allow easier access to the fridge.

Since the original kitchen shared its old tile floor with the home's first floor, changing the kitchen floor meant doing the same in the dining room, living room and entryway. Adrienne was more than ready to take the plunge.

"I couldn't change the kitchen and keep the ugly tile," she says. She replaced the outdated tile with new, large-square ceramic tiles all through the first floor.

The kitchen flows into a kitchen nook that has two-story windows and a sliding glass door on two walls.

During renovations, the sliding glass doors were replaced with energy-efficient glass and the old window shades banished. Now Adrienne and Philip, a local dentist, eat breakfast with a view of the backyard's pine trees. Artwork from local and regional artists decorates the kitchen nook's walls.

Adrienne is so pleased with her new kitchen, she can't pick out a favorite part. "It's gorgeous; it's functional," she says. "I have room for all my stuff - and I have a lot of stuff. It works as a whole."
LYNDHURST, Ohio -- During a raucous meeting on the eve of the city commencing its deer trapping program, three people were removed Monday (Feb. 1) from the overflow crowd in council chambers.

"I don't even know if the unruly ones were city residents -- I think our citizens were pretty well-behaved and polite," said Mayor Patrick Ward, adding that the honeymoon appears to be over one month into his new administration.

Council actually approved the deer management program last year for an overpopulation problem that residents have been bringing up for years.

At the time, the city administration was authorized to apply for a permit through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife to allow traps to be set and caught deer to be euthanized.

And the state gave the go-ahead last week.

"This is a long-identified problem, but people don't like the fact that we're going to trap the deer and euthanize them," Ward said.

He said that four traps have been set up around town and could be activated as early as Tuesday (Feb. 2).

With one uniformed officer stationed at the door of chambers and one plainclothesman in the audience, the three vocal opponents were escorted out of the chambers but allowed to remain in the upstairs hallway lobby.

Ward said that that Lyndhurst Fire Chief Michael Carroll also registered concerns about the number of people in chambers and whether it was a potential violation of city fire code capacities.

There were also about 65 people who attended a meeting on Sunday (Jan. 31) at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library, most of them to voice opposition to the deer culling program.

"We are extremely limited in what we can do," Ward said. "We can't conduct bowhunting on 10,000 square foot lots. And the way our method has been portrayed by the opponents is entirely inaccurate."

Ward was referring to the types of traps shown in videos by opponents, depicting a trap that collapses on the animal.

"The videos make it appear almost like a net, so that the animal has to be tackled before the captive bolt is administered," Ward said, explaining that is not the type of trap the city's specialist uses.

The bolt gun that is applied to the deer is the same type used on livestock in slaughterhouses, but there is no need to tackle the deer beforehand, Ward added.

"We are willing to listen to any alternatives," Ward said. "And we would like to put together a multi-faceted program. But we have to find something that works."

At least a dozen people spoke at Monday's council meeting, although some had to be cut off.

"We had a resident speaking, a doctor who has Lyme disease," Ward said, referring to the bacteria that can be transmitted by infected deer ticks.

"And some people just started screaming out because they didn't like what she was saying."

In another interlude that Ward said "speaks volumes about Lyndhurst residents," there was a local woman who got up to speak against the deer culling program.

"She's very passionate about the deer," Ward said. "But she also said, 'no matter what side of the issue we're on, can't we at least be polite?'"

Ward also read from a few emails he's been receiving, some impolite and some laced with obscenities.

"There's one that starts out with 'Dear Wildlife Annihilators,' and then goes from there," Ward said. "But we have another resident who's counted 17 deer in his backyard. How are kids supposed to be able to run around?"

He cited another instance of a dog that was head-butted by a mother deer protecting her fawn.

"The dog is old and deaf, but the doe saw it as a predator," Ward said. "The fact is that, in the past, these deer wouldn't be getting anywhere near this close to peoples' yards."

Ward said the perception that he is being inhumane shouldn't mean that he should be spoken to inhumanely.

"And if we're going to displease people, it will be by acting on the problem, rather than by doing nothing," Ward said.
Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer

A brief history of Cleveland's fatal wrong-way interstate crashes

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two drivers killed early Tuesday in a crash on Interstate 71 are the sixth and seventh victims of wrong-way interstate crashes in Cuyahoga County since 2011.

Reports provided by the State Highway Patrol show all but one of the five fatal crashes bear resemblance. They happened in Cleveland late at night or early in the morning and are believed to be the result of drunken driving.

In Tuesdays crash, police said 22-year-old Kenneth Urbanek is thought to have been under the influence when he drove the wrong way on Interstate 71 near West 140th Street and crashed into an SUV, killing himself and the driver of the SUV, Lakesha Brown.

Heres a look at four fatal wrong-way crashes that came before:

Next slide: Interstate 90 near West 98th Street

Don't Edit

Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department

Interstate 90 near West 98th Street

Jennifer Kearney was driving drunk about 1:30 a.m. July 1, 2011 when she drove the wrong way on Interstate 90 near West 98th Street and crashed into a motorcycle.

The former social worker hit the bike head-on, launching motorcyclist Kenneth Stith into the windshield of her Subaru Outback, according to a traffic crash report.

Stith, 54, died at the scene.

Kearney, who was a 27-year-old Westlake resident at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while under the influence. She was sentenced to three years behind bars.

Next slide: Interstate 90 near Neff Road

Don't Edit

Interstate 90 near Neff Road

Stefania Cigale was pronounced dead at MetroHealth following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 90 near Neff Road in Cleveland on the afternoon of September 8, 2012.

Cigale, 86, of Cleveland was eastbound in the westbound lanes. She struck three cars, according to a traffic crash report.

No one else was seriously injured.

It is unclear why Cigale ended up driving on the wrong side of the interstate.

Next slide: Interstate 480 exit ramp to West 130th Street

Don't Edit

Lonnie Timmons III, The Plain Dealer

Interstate 480 exit ramp to West 130th Street

Desiree Snyder, 22, of Parma was killed when a wrong-way driver on the Interstate 480 exit ramp to West 130th Street crashed into the car she was a passenger in.

A judge sentenced Julio C. Vargas, who was 40 years old at the time, to 15 years in prison for causing the April 5, 2014 crash.

Vargas was driving drunk, according to a traffic crash report.

Police said Vargas was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes about 11:50 p.m. when he collided head-on with the car Snyder was in.

Court records show Vargas had a history of driving under the inlfuence.

Next slide: Interstate 77 near Fleet Avenue

Don't Edit

Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer

Interstate 77 near Fleet Avenue

Driver Jerome Cook, 31, died from his injuries before he could be charged with vehicular homicide following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 77 in Cleveland.

Cook was northbound in the southbound lanes near Fleet Avenue about 4:15 a.m. March 30, 2014 when his car struck an SUV and caused a multi-vehicle crash, according to a traffic crash report.

Police believe Cook was driving drunk, according to a traffic crash report.

The driver of the SUV, Jack Dixon, 48, of Eastlake died in the crash.

Cook died May 8, 2014 while being treated at MetroHealth.

Don't Edit
St. Albert the Great

Kyle Cancian, 36, is accused of using bad checks to buy gift cards from two churches, including St. Albert the Great in North Royalton, then pawning the gift cards, according to court records.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 36-year-old North Royalton man is accused of scamming two local churches out of thousands of dollars last fall while he was free on bond on similar charges.

A grand jury on Monday charged Kyle Cancian with felony theft, forgery, passing bad checks and receiving stolen property charges. He will be arraigned Feb. 16, according to court records.

Cancian wrote more than $5,000 in bad checks to buy gift cards from St. Albert the Great Parish in North Royalton and St. Leo the Great Parish in Cleveland in September and October, according to court records.

Cancian wrote nine checks worth $3,050 to St. Albert's between Sept. 28 and Oct. 13, and seven checks worth $2,405 to St. Leo's, according to court records. He sold the cards to pawn shops.

The new charges arrived as Cancian was free on bond on similar charges.

Cleveland police obtained an arrest warrant in June charging him with posing as an employee at the Mariott Hotel where he once worked and ordering $2,900 in heating and cooling equipment from a local supplier.

A manager at the company learned that Cancian did not work for Mariott after billing the hotel, according to court records.

Westlake police were investigating Cancian for a similar scam at the time. Cancian, who also briefly worked for a heating and cooling company there, forged the signature of a former coworker and bought $4,800 in copper wire with company money that summer, according to court records.

Police arrested him in August.

Cancian pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to multiple counts of aggravated theft, forgery, identity fraud and other charges in connection with the previous cases.

Cuyahoga County Judge David Matia sentenced him to 30 months probation, which included drug treatment programs meant to help low-level offenders who struggle with addiction.

Matia has scheduled a new hearing in the cases on Feb. 11.
gavel.jpg

Jack Dempsey was wrongfully convicted in his own murder plot in 1996. The state agreed to pay him $337,000 to settle a lawsuit Dempsey filed in 2013.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man wrongfully convicted of arson after someone drug him and left him in the basement of a burning building settled a lawsuit Tuesday with the state of Ohio.

Jack Dempsey was found unconscious in the basement of a burning Cleveland building in 1995 and later convicted for arson. Evidence later showed that someone left him in the basement and set the building ablaze.

Lawyers for the state asked the Ohio Court of Claims to approve $337,000 payment to Dempsey to settle a lawsuit he brought against the state through the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office for his 1996 conviction, according to a press release.

The settlement marks the end to Dempsey's years-long effort to clear his name in the bizarre case.

Dempsey became close friends with a woman who later started dating a strip-club bouncer. The woman later learned that the bouncer had asked her daughter to become a dancer at the strip club. Dempsey went to the club to confront the man.

A dancer at the club told police she saw the bouncer put something into Dempsey's drink, and later saw Dempsey stumbling and "acting like he was drugged," according to court records.

Later that night, a business at Lorain Avenue and West 112th Street caught fire, and firefighters found Dempsey unconscious in the basement.

Dempsey told investigators that he did not remember how he got in the building, but said he remembered being shot in the eye with a syringe at an apartment.

Doctors who treated Dempsey found alcohol, morphine and benzodiazepine in his system.

Police accused Dempsey of breaking in through the building's basement and setting the fire, and he was charged with arson.

During his trial, doctors testified that it was likely Dempsey had been shot in the eye with a syringe full of morphine, and that someone had slipped a pain killer into his drink at the club.

Dempsey was convicted in 1996, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He was released in 2003. A federal judge vacated Dempsey's conviction two years later and ordered a new trial. He was found not guilty of all charges in 2007.

Last year, a judge found that Dempsey was a "wrongfully convicted person."
Rebekah-Kinner.jpg

Rebekah Kinner, mother of Kinsley Kinner, pleads not guilty Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, to charges in the beating death of 2-year-old Kinsley. Rebekah Kinner gave birth to a son this week and the newborn is now at the center of a bitter custody battle.

(Courtesy of WCPO-TV Cincinnati)

Kinsley Kinner, 2, was beaten to death in December. Kinsley's mother and her boyfriend are charged in the murder.

CINCINNATI, Ohio - A custody battle is brewing over the newborn brother of a slain Butler County toddler.

Shortly after Rebekah Kinner, charged with her boyfriend in 2-year-old Kinsley Kinner's beating death, gave birth in the Butler County Jail's medical unit Monday, Kinsley's father, Scott Senft, told the Hamilton Journal-News, "We will be getting a name change. I will have the baby by the end of the week."

Kinner is charged with involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors said the 2-year-old was beaten and killed by her boyfriend, Bradley Young, and she allowed it to happen. The Butler County grand jury indicted Young on charges, including murder, in the death of the child, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati reported.

After Kinsley's death in December, Senft said he fathered the boy and would fight for custody. He said he planned to name him Kingsley in honor of his sister, WCPO-TV in Cincinnati reported. But Kinner struck first, naming the 8-pound, 5-ounce boy Wyatt Matthew Kinner, according to her attorney.

When Senft's family asked a Kinner family representative for pictures of the baby, the Kinner family sent them photos of another baby, a family friend told WCPO. In addition, Kinner's attorney, Kyle Rapier, says her family will challenge Senft for custody even if DNA tests prove he is the father.

"I'm looking so forward to that little baby," Senft told WLWT in December. Senft told the Journal-News after a Jan. 21 court appearance of Kinner and Young that he is also the father of the newborn baby boy and would petition for custody to name the child Kingsley.

Here are other top stories from the Cincinnati area today:

* Three Dayton-area men are in custody in Cincinnati after leading police on a chase through three states, but not before one of the suspects posted a video on Snapchat during the pursuit. (cleveland.com)(WLWT-TV Cincinnati)

* A controversial Zombie nativity scene has a homeowner in Sycamore Township in Hamilton County stuck in the middle of a court battle. (WXIX-TV Cincinnati)

* Xavier University held a town hall discussion to examine community relations in Cincinnati 15 years after the race riots. (WLWT-TV Cincinnati)

* University of Cincinnati police arrested a suspect accused in a recent string of panty thefts from a dorm on campus. (WXIX-TV Cincinnati)

* A student at Lakota West High School in West Chester in Butler County is graduating months early to fulfill her dying father's wish. (WKRC-TV Cincinnati)

* A Cincinnati-area family said a teen was influenced by a social media page to attempt suicide. It's a social media page other teens are flocking to. (WLWT-TV Cincinnati)

* Advertising on Cincinnati's new streetcar system could generate up to a quarter million dollars a year in revenue. (WKRC-TV Cincinnati)

* A trio of Miami University students is already making a difference just one year after graduation, having launched a new line of performance gear inspired by NASA technology. (WKRC-TV Cincinnati)
cleveland police car.jpg

Cleveland police

(File photo)

Top stories:

A 20-year-old man was shot several times Tuesday evening on Cleveland's near East Side. (cleveland.com)(WEWS Channel 5)

Strongsville-based Pat Catan's has been purchased by national chain Michaels in a joining of large craft-store chains. (The Plain Dealer)(Canton Repository)

Area crime news:

A convicted Akron gang member was shot in the chest Tuesday while driving with heroin in his car, according to Akron police. (cleveland.com)(WAKR 1590-AM)

Staff at a hospital in Warren had to use an anti-overdose drug to revive two babies who were brought to the hospital unconscious Tuesday. (WEWS Channel 5)(Youngstown Vindicator)

Three men have been charged with the armed robbery of a Burton Township home in November, which involved assaulting the male resident of the home, tying him up and dousing him in lighter fluid. (Geauga County Maple Leaf)

A 12-year-old boy has been sentenced for writing a bomb threat last fall at West Holmes Middle School in Holmes County. (WQKT 104.5-FM)

An investigation into two overdoses at Rootstown High School in Portage County led to three arrests this week. (WJW Channel 8)

Sheffield Lake police arrested a pair of Elyria women for allegedly stealing merchandise from a grocery store and then trading it for drugs. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Local news - east:

The Ohio EPA determined water at Gurney Elementary School in Chagrin Falls is safe to drink, the district superintendent said in a news release today. (cleveland.com)(WKYC Channel 3)

Michael Marrara, the fired former Niles sewer maintenance worker who stole $97,000 from Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Niles, was sentenced to one year in prison today. (Youngstown Vindicator)

Former Hambden resident Miriam Osredkar needs to raise an estimated $11,000 to race a team of dogs in the 2016 Iditarod March 5-6 in Alaska. (News-Herald)

Local news - west:

The Elyria Police Department and city are being sued by a former police officer, who contends she was sexually harassed and the victim of gender discrimination by commanding officers. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Board members with the Lorain County Visitors Bureau are frustrated with the Lorain County commissioners' decision to stop sending money collected from the county's bed tax to the organization and said Tuesday they'd rather resign en masse than see their work to promote the county unravel. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)

Stopping the flow was part of a $6.3 million general fund budget unpacked in an Amherst Finance Committee meeting. (Lorain Morning Journal)

Akron-Canton area news:

The University of Akron Faculty Senate plans to take a vote of no confidence in President Scott Scarborough's administration. (cleveland.com)(WAKR 1590-AM)

A decades-long spat over the water agreement between Hudson and the City of Akron may be nearing a resolution under Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. (cleveland.com)(Akron Beacon Journal)

A vehicle ended up in a pond Monday evening after a collision in the Discount Drug Mart parking lot in Sharon Township. (Medina Gazette)
gavel.jpg

Two Ohio men were among the record number of criminal defendants who had their convictions exonerated last year in the U.S., according to a new report.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two Ohio men are among the record number of criminal defendants exonerated last year in the U.S., according to a report released Wednesday.

The 149 exonerated defendants served an average of more than 14 years in prison. The total topped the previous record-high of 139 defendants exonerated in 2014, the National Registry of Exonerations report says.

Fifty-eight defendants in murder or manslaughter cases had their convictions vacated. Five of those defendants were sentenced to death. Forty-seven defendants in drug possession cases had their convictions vacated, the report says.

The rising number of Conviction Integrity Units in the U.S. has increased exonerations, the report says. There are 24 such units across the country, more than quadruple the number that existed in 2011.

Texas easily outpaced the rest of the U.S. with 58 exonerations. New York exonerated 17 defendants and Illinois exonerated 13, the report says.

In Ohio, Glenn Tinney of Richland County and Edward Williams of Summit County had their convictions overturned.

Tinney, a paranoid schizophrenic, was not taking his medication when he confessed to killing a man in Mansfield. Tinney spent more than two decades in prison before being released in 2013.

Investigators contacted the Ohio Innocence Project in 2009 because they believed another man committed the crime. A Richland County Common Pleas Court judge granted a motion for a new trial and allowed Tinney to withdraw his guilty plea.

Williams was convicted in 1996 after being accused of assaulting a police officer during a traffic stop in Akron. He was sentenced to probation.

In 2011, investigators discovered the officer had been secretly recording arrests for years. One recording showed officers assaulting Williams, who did not fight back, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

A Summit County Common Pleas Court last year granted Williams' motion for a new trial and vacated his convictions.

The full list of exonerations in the U.S. can be viewed here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The ongoing dispute between the Port of Cleveland and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played out on a public stage Wednesday during a hearing at the Cuyahoga County Council's headquarters.

At the core of the feud is the bi-annual dredging of Cleveland Harbor and the Army Corps' proposal to dump sediment dredged from the upper portion of the Cuyahoga River directly into Lake Erie.

"We were quite shocked by this proposal," said Will Friedman, the port's president and CEO, addressing the county council's Education, Environment and Sustainability Committee.

Friedman told the panel that early this week the Army Corps rejected the Port's request to modify federal policy by banning open-lake disposal of polluted dredged sediment.

"At every step, they have ignored the legitimate concerns of Ohio's policy makers and citizens in what seems like an obsessive quest to dump unsuitable sediments in the lake," Friedman said.

"This denial of our request flies in the face of the science and the law, which are clear, and once again places at risk the health of Lake Erie and literally thousands of Ohio's jobs."

Friedman said the port is considering returning to federal court, where a lawsuit brought by the port and the Ohio EPA is pending against the Army Corps. U.S. District Court Judge Donald Nugent last year ordered the Army Corps to dredge the entire six miles of the Cuyahoga River, and to not dispose of the sediment in the open lake.

The Army Corps maintains that the dredged sediment is clean enough for open-lake disposal. Friedman, the Ohio EPA and the state's Congressional delegation all disagree, contending the sediment is polluted with PCBs, heavy metals and other harmful toxins, and should continue to be stored in confined disposal facilities.

Kurt Prencic of the EPA said tests have shown that the sediment in the Cuyahoga River continues to be polluted, and that the Army Corps "has not demonstrated that this sediment meets its guidelines for open lake disposal.

"We don't want to cover dirty material with less-dirty material. This material does not qualify for open-lake disposal," Prencic said.

Prencic said the EPA fears that putting even a minimal amount of PCBs into Lake Erie could have a major impact on walleye, pushing limits from one meal per week to one meal per month. Such a change would have a debilitating impact on lake fishing and tourism, he said.

Lt. Col. Karl Jansen of the Army Corps headquarters in Buffalo told the county council panel that the sediment in the Cuyahoga River is much cleaner than it was when the river caught fire 45 years ago.

Jansen said the majority of the sediment dredged twice a year from the river originated in the stretch of river through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and does not contain legacy sediment that existed in the channel before federal pollution controls were enacted in the Clean Water Act.

"We've determined that the sediment is non-toxic ... and PCBs were not detectable" when the dredged material was tested recently, Jansen said.

Jansen added that the Army Corps could possibly decide not to dredge the shipping channel this year if the state or an independent agency, such as the Port Authority, declined to pay the additional cost of disposing of the sediment in confined dikes on the lakefront.

"Not dredging the river is not an option," Prencic said.

Committee Chairwoman Sunny Simon pressed Jansen on the Army Corps' end-of-the-year decision to ask Congress to cut more than $3 million from money budgeted for dredging the shipping channel from its annual budget - a "troubling action," according to Friedman.

Jansen declined to respond directly to Simon's question, but said the Army Corps received sufficient funds to pay for the disposal of the sediment.

"Obviously it's not enough money," Simon shot back. "If we had this money we would be able to avoid open-lake dumping."

Pressed further by Councilman Dale Miller, Jansen responded, "You request the resources you need based on the standards of the day."

Ohio's U.S. senators, Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, have asked the Army Corps to take the necessary money for on-land disposal from a flexible account that the Corps can tap at its discretion.
Matthew Hickey and Ajax

Retired Marietta police officer Matthew Hickey and police dog Ajax.

(File photo)

MARIETTA, Ohio - Retired Marietta police officer Matt Hickey is still looking for a way to keep his K9 officer, Ajax.

Hickey said due to health reasons, he is not accepting an auxiliary officer position Marietta had offered that would have allowed him to stay on as Ajax's handler, WCMH-TV in Columbus reported.

Marietta officials announced the plan during a contentious meeting Monday and Hickey said he would consider the offer. City officials said they offered him the position to avoid Ajax being sold at auction, WSYX-TV in Columbus reported.

Tuesday night, Hickey told WCMH he retired for health reasons and accepting the offer isn't wise. He says he is confident another option will be found.

Social media exploded this past weekend with more than $70,000 being raised via GoFundMe.com to help the pair stay together. Hickey told WCMH funds from the GoFundMe account that don't go toward purchasing Ajax will be spent on equipment to protect other K9s.

The city will now be looking at alternatives for Ajax, and will likely discuss those at Thursday's council meeting, WSYX reported.

Meanwhile, State Rep. Andy Thompson, a Marietta Republican, told WTAP-TV in Marietta legislators are working to make an amendment to House Bill 60 to include a provision for police dogs and their handlers. The bill currently creates a standard for knowingly and willingly harming an animal. The goal would be for the handler to acquire the animal for $1 upon leaving the force.

Here are other top stories today from Youngstown and eastern Ohio:

* Warren Police are investigating the mother of two infant children who were passed out from opiates when they arrived at a Warren hospital Tuesday, saying she is their main suspect. (WKBN-TV Youngstown)(WFMJ-TV Youngstown)

* Police are searching for a suspect wanted for an armed bank robbery this morning in Steubenville. (WTRF-TV Steubenville)(WTOV-TV Steubenville)

* A former Niles municipal employee is going to prison for stealing nearly $100,000 from his church. (WFMJ-TV Youngstown)(WKBN-TV Youngstown)

* The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office arrested Eric Morris, 27, of Mingo Junction, in connection with the rape of a 4-year-old child. (WTOV-TV Steubenville)

* Tests show the small community of Devola in Washington County has several homes with lead in their water. (WTAP-TV Marietta)
The search continues for a missing Mansfield woman and her next-door neighbors.

Police are revealing little about the disappearance of Patsy Hudson, 62, last seen in July 2015, or the search for her two neighbors - Walter Renz and a woman named Cara - who haven't been seen in nearly as long, WSYX-TV in Columbus reported.

Hudson hasn't been seen since a dispute with the neighbors on Independence Day. The neighbors moved out shortly after that dispute.

Dwight Wallen, Renz's cousin, told WSYX he owns the house and rented it to Renz in June. Wallen said Renz is on disability and is without a job. He said he has no idea where Renz might have gone when he left town.

Last week, investigators executed search warrants at both houses looking for Patsy Hudson's body or evidence of kidnapping or murder, WCMH-TV in Columbus reported. They collected various bits of possible evidence including toothbrushes, cigarette butts, a nightgown and chair coverings, but did not find Patsy Hudson.

In the search warrant affidavits, investigators say Hudson's Social Security payments are still going into her bank account and that "ATM transactions all over the country have been made to take money out of her account," WCMH reported.

Another neighbor, Mark Clever, told WCMH he hopes they find Hudson alive but he's losing hope.

"I think they probably took her with them," Clever said. "They got her. That's what I think. She was nice, didn't bother nobody, kept to herself, couldn't ask for a better neighbor than her."

Here are other top stories from the Columbus area today:

* Junetta Marcel Williams-Benjamin, 22, of Hilliard was killed in a head-on crash near Grove City Tuesday night. She was traveling west when she crossed into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with a 2007 Jeep driven by Keith Olexa, 35, of Grove City. (WCMH-TV Columbus)(WBNS-TV Columbus)

* A bold cashier decided to fight back, scaring off a thief with a machete at a convenience store in Chillicothe. (WSYX-TV Columbus)

* Four accused drug runners were arrested Tuesday after federal agents seized more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana and $1.2 million in relation to a ring between Tucson, Ariz., and Columbus. (WBNS-TV Columbus)

* Residents in Reynoldsburg are on alert for a man who hid inside a local Sam's Club store to swipe a garbage bag full of fine jewelry. (WBNS-TV Columbus)

* Columbus City Schools continues to rank first statewide for teaching the most students English as a second language. (WCMH-TV Columbus)
sebringlead.jpeg

Pallets of water at the Sebring Community Center were distributed to residents of the Mahoning County village this week after high levels of lead were discovered in the drinking water there.

(AP file photo)

UPDATED 10:30 a.m. Thursday Feb. 4

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown said today that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency knew up to five months ago that high levels of lead had been detected in the water system of Sebring, yet failed to warn residents of the Mahoning County village.

The public in Sebring was not warned about the high levels of lead in their drinking water until Jan. 21.

Brown said he would introduce a bill this week that would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to notify the public of dangerous lead levels in their water within 15 days, and to put a cleanup plan into place within six months.

The current law gives the state EPA 18 months to enact a corrosion control plan to clean up lead from toxic water supplies, he said.

"I've been told that this information has been known since August by some people in the Ohio EPA, and I have no idea why they did not get this news out," Brown said during a conference call with reporters today.

"This bill would guarantee people access to safe drinking water, whether it's by putting in filtration systems or providing bottled water."

Brown added that Gov. John Kasich "has a lot of questions to answer" when he returns to the state about what the Ohio EPA knew about the Sebring lead problems, and why the agency apparently withheld the information for so long. Kasich is campaigning for president in New Hampshire.

"Certainly, the governor is going to have to respond if the EPA knew this and withheld it from the people," Brown said.

In response, the Ohio EPA released information that, of 54 water samples collected from 53 homes in Sebring since Jan. 21, all tested below the federal allowable level for lead.

"EPA employees have been working with the village to fine tune its water system chemistry to minimize lead from leaching into the water from residential piping," the agency said in a news release.

Also, Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler and his staff met with Sebring officials to discuss short and long-term goals for the water system. And Ohio EPA representatives met with technical experts from the U.S. EPA to evaluate the water treatment facilities and discuss additional treatment adjustments designed to reduce corrosion in lead pipes of older homes, the release said.

Brown's bill also would require the state EPA to provide water customers with an annual report on the condition of local water supplies, and to post the information online in an easy-to-find place.

Brown was critical of the Ohio EPA for leaving the residents of Sebring "in the dark" for months while residents there continued to drink water containing high levels of toxic lead.

"No parent should ever have to worry that the water coming out of their faucets might be poisoning their children," Brown said.

State Rep. John Boccieri, D-Poland, and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Boardman, said this week that a state-certified private laboratory found high levels of lead in the Sebring water system in tests as far back as August, yet the Ohio EPA failed to warn the people of the village until 12 days ago.

Schools in Sebring were closed to allow for further testing. Flint, Mich., meanwhile, remained under a state of emergency while officials there tried to rid the city's water system of lead.

A water advisory alert for pregnant women and children was posted on the Ohio EPA website on December 3.

The Mahoning County Board of Health held screenings for lead levels in blood this week, finding elevated levels in five of the 176 people tested.

Lead is a serious health threat to infants, children and pregnant women.

Lead can leach into drinking water from lead pipes, lead solder used on copper pipes, and from brass faucets.

Most cities add a corrosion control chemical to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water within the distribution system.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency for Flint on January 5 due to dangerously high levels of lead contamination found in the city's drinking water.

In the wake of the lead crises in Sebring and Flint, Brown released a resource guide for families to learn more about lead poisoning and testing resources around Ohio, summarizing information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health.
Comentarios y reflexiones sobre la actualidad politica y economica de Espana y del mundo
The takeover of Syngenta by ChemChina does not amount to a Chinese nationalization of the Swiss agrichemicals giant, the company's chairman told CNBC.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Swiss agricultural chemicals giant Syngenta said it was to be acquired by ChemChina. Syngenta said the deal, worth over $43 billion, is equivalent to 480 Swiss francs ($471.38) per share. The deal marks the largest ever attempted overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm, Reuters reported.

The deal has raised eyebrows over what could lie in store for Syngenta, which employs over 28,000 in some 90 countries. Its chairman insisted it would be business as usual at the firm, however.

"This is absolutely not a China nationalization," Michel Demare, chairman of Syngenta, told CNBC on Wednesday after the deal was announced. It will see the chairman of ChemChina head Syngenta's board of directors. Syngenta said its existing management will continue to run the company, however.

"ChemChina has a fantastic track record of having not only bought companies outside of China but also having kept investing in them and developing them and keeping the culture and values in place and I'm absolutely convinced that the same will happen here," he said, speaking to CNBC in Basel where Syngenta is headquartered.



There had been speculation that the deal could be announced on Wednesday after months of protracted negotiations. Syngenta had been under pressure to offer rewards to shareholders after turning down a big offer from U.S. rival Monsanto in 2015.

Demare said Wednesday's deal was a "fantastic transaction" for Syngenta and one that would satisfy all the company's stakeholders.



"It's great value for current shareholders andit's a very nice premium for shareholders."

"In addition, we also have to look at all the stakeholders - the employees, the customers - and I think the main message here is that it's not a transaction about cost synergy, it's a transaction about growth, about innovation, about long-term vision and Syngenta will continue like it is today," he said. He insisted that "Syngenta remains Syngenta but with a long-term investor that will allow us to continue deploying our a standalone strategy for the years to come."

Demare did not believe the transaction would pose a problem for anti-trust regulators despite its size.



On Wednesday, Syngenta reported full year earnings marred by what it said were low crop prices, emerging market instability and "massive" movements in currencies. It reported a full-year net profit of $1.3 billion, down 17 percent on the year before.

It said 2015 sales totaled $13.4 billion, down 11 percent in actual exchange rates due to U.S. dollar strength from the previous year. In constant currency terms, sales were up 1 percent.

Its earnings before interest, tax,depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 5 percent to $2.7 billion, down from $2.93 billion in the previous year.

Demare rebuffed the notion that seed-maker Syngenta was selling out of weakness.



"The industry is obviously in very challenging conditions, commodity prices are down, we're affected a bit more because of our penetration into emerging markets, and still despite that we have managed to improve our EBITDA margin by 140 basis points," he said.

"So I think that Syngenta is actually showing a lot of resilience and good shape and we feel that as long as markets recover and emerging markets stabilize...the long-term future is bright. This is an industry where the long-term drivers are still intact, people will still need to be fed, the population keeps increasing so I think the future is very bright for the company."
To make the most of a market like the current one, smart long-term investors need strong stomachs and nerves of steel. The start of 2016 has brought with it a stomach-churning descent, with a promise of more of the same: The is down nearly 7 percent, the NASDAQ is down more than 9 percent, and after a five-year-plus bull market, many professional investors are set for further declines  or at least volatility.

Getty Images

The first rule, as always, is not to panic. The biggest mistake investors make in a decline is to sell in fear and then wait too long to get back in, missing the bounce up. Your worst mistake, based on history, would be to sell indiscriminately. But your second-worst mistake would be to freeze up. Don't miss this opportunity to look ahead. Here are five moves to make now.

1. Consider saving more and taking more risk.

It may be painful, but investors need to adopt a realistic picture of what their returns in the public markets are likely to be over the next decade or two. Bottom line: Most people think equities are likely to return less, so if you want to meet your goals, you either need to save more or take more on risk. Over the last 20 years, between 1985 and 2015, equity investors in the U.S. stock market saw an annual average return of nearly 10.9 percent. Bond investors saw an annual average return of 7.2 percent, based on the Barclays Aggregate Index. But in investing, history doesn't predict the past. Roger A. Aliaga-Diaz, a principal economist with the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group, said a more realistic expectation is 6 percent to 8 percent for equities over the next couple of decades, and 4 percent to 6 percent for a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds. "It's a very different environment," he said. "On the fixed-income side, it's going to be very difficult to get returns of more than 2 percent to 3 percent." Most assets are priced in relation to assets considered "risk free": U.S. Treasuries. With the yield on 10-year Treasuries at only about 2 percent, compared with 5 percent historically, investors have a low base to build on. Burt Malkiel, Princeton economist, author of the classic Random Walk Down Wall Street and the chief investment officer of online financial advisor Wealthfront, pointed to the CAPE, the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio, which is about 40 percent correlated to future equities returns, he said. "The fact that it's relatively elevated suggests that the historical 9- or 10-year rate of return is unlikely to be realized," he said.

2. Look at your account.

Many people don't open the envelopes or look into their investment accounts in a down cycle. That's a mistake, because you could be missing opportunities to shift assets around to better suit your own risk tolerance and meet your goals. If you freak out when you look inside the envelope and stay scared, chances are good you have too much in equities. Dial back. If you look inside and find you can look toward the future, maybe you have the scope to take on more risk. But the first step is to get a realistic picture of how your portfolio is performing in a down market. "What you're hearing in the headlines is not what is happening in your account," said Judith Ward, senior financial planner at Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price.

watch now

3. Rebalance, invest regularly and harvest losses.

Rebalancing back to your original vision for your portfolio forces you to buy low and sell high. If some of the asset classes in your account, like bonds or REITS, are performing better than equities, now may be the time to sell them and buy relatively lower-priced equity mutual funds, ETFs or stocks. Investing small sums regularly over time increases returns in a volatile market, Malkiel said. His analysis of dollar cost averaging during the last decade, 20002010, showed that someone who invested regularly versus putting in a lump sum at the beginning of the decade had a return 1 percent higher for each dollar invested. Tax-loss harvesting replaces an investment that has lost value with one that is similar, so that you keep your portfolio the same  but generates a loss that you can write off on your taxes. Investment advisors often offer tax-loss harvesting to their wealthier clients, and online investment services Wealthfront and Betterment offer daily harvesting to all the investors on their platforms. How much tax-loss harvesting is worth to you depends on your tax rate.



4. Diversify globally.

Emerging markets stocks are getting hammered by China's slowdown, and many experts think Americans are underexposed to international stocks for the long term. That's a recipe for bargains, if you have the stomach to shift your asset allocation to one that is somewhat more volatile. "There's a growing consumer sector throughout the developing world," said Malkiel. "I think most people have basically no exposure to that. And I think that's a mistake." Aliaga-Diaz agreed, pointing out that if you look at the total market capitalization of the world, the U.S. accounts for 52.6 percent, other developed economies are 37.8 percent, and emerging markets are 9.7 percent. If one of your goals is to match the market, you might need to increase your international allocation. Vanguard begins with a recommendation for typical investors of, on the equity side, 40 percent international and 60 percent U.S., and on the bond side, 30 percent international and 70 percent U.S.

5. Go for long-term bonds.
The U.K.'s media has never been one to pull its punches and true to form on Wednesday, the front pages were dominated by headlines lambasting a draft deal detailing proposed changes to the U.K.'s membership terms of the European Union (EU). The draft proposals were arrived at after several days of talks between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Donald Tusk, the head of the European Council. While Cameron said there had been "significant movement" in the negotiations, the press had other ideas, calling the proposals a "joke," "mess" and a "steaming pile of manure." Most of the coverage focused on the fact that the proposals  which cover U.K. demands for limits on EU migration and reforms to protect non-euro countries like the U.K. and boost competitiveness  did not contain enough detail or go as far as expected.



Holly Ellyatt | CNBC

The most contentious issue  and a particular source of ridicule for the U.K. press  was the draft proposal to curb EU migration to the U.K. and the benefits migrants can claim once in the U.K. Under the draft plan, the U.K. can apply an "emergency brake" that the UK can apply to restrict in-work benefits for EU nationals (for an unspecified temporary period) that have been in the U.K. for less than a certain (as yet undecided) number of years -- with the agreement of the EU Commission and EU Council, seemingly giving those EU bodies the right to reject benefits curbs.

A 'mess', 'joke' and 'pile of manure'?

For the press, the proposals did not go far enough but Cameron rejected criticism that he watered down the proposals, saying, "This is not a done deal yet, there is a lot more work to be done over these next couple of weeks," Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Other key points in what the European Commission called a "new settlement" for the U.K. included recognizing the U.K.'s wish to not integrate further into Europe (by adopting the euro, for example), a pledge to increase competitiveness and a so-called "emergency brake" whereby any draft EU legislation that is opposed by a majority of parliaments in the EU is referred back to the EU Council for discussion. Several newspapers were scathing about the draft deal and the supposed "brakes"  not the reaction Cameron was hoping for. The Sun newspaper, a popular and influential tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, ran the headline "Who do EU think you are kidding, Mr Cameron," playing on the theme tune to popular U.K. TV program, "Dad's Army," and saying that Cameron had "caved in" over benefits, that the "brake" on laws was "bogus" and that the U.K. would have "no control of our borders." Adding insult to injury, the newspaper said Cameron's "negotiation" with Brussels  which has been ongoing but stepped up a gear earlier this week  had "produced a steaming pile of manure." "It is a dismal failure worse than we ever imagined. It will not improve one aspect of British life," an editorial in the newspaper on Wednesday said. The disapproving tone was not missed by Twitter users either. Tweet



'The Great Delusion!'
From the time your writer opted to publicly proclaim his policy opinions in a variety of forums that are privately funded, he has incurred estrangement from ideologically opposed friends and family members, as well as receiving threatening emails and even frightening phone calls from complete strangers.

From the above experiences, it was easy to glean progressives can be very nasty (comments I receive often remark negatively on my choice of eyewear). Most tellingly, however, presume to know the private funding sources for the think tanks wherefrom much of my opinionated work emanates.

This last serves two purposes. The first is to discredit personal opinions as merely corporate or political propaganda. Its a silly tactic to be sure, but one employed often against writers in the public sphere. The second is to name and shame any company or individual with which the progressives in question disagree. These enemies of debate, which include religious shareholder activists affiliated with As You Sow and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, cannot abide private giving to causes with which they disagree.

Take, for example, this boilerplate paragraph from an AYS shareholder proxy resolution submitted to Dupont:

Consequently, companies that contribute to controversial public policy or candidate elections risk alienating a consumer base that is widely opposed to corporate money in politics. For example, retail chain Target faced in-store protests, national news coverage, and viral internet exposure in 2010 after reports surfaced that the company donated $150,000 to an organization backing a Republican candidate with a long record of opposing gay rights. The company publicly apologized, and committed to reforming the review process for future political donations.

The Target controversy, as noted previously by this writer, involved the companys support for a candidate with strong free-market credentials and conservative social values. This, to some, is controversial:

In such a scenario, a company may support a candidate with very solid free-market credentials that could benefit the company, its customers, employees and shareholders. However, the same candidate might anger activists over a position taken on a completely unrelated but emotionally charged issue. In such instances, those opposing the candidates stance on the latter issue have mounted boycotts against the company that might actually agree with the activists, but views its duty to shareholders to support the candidate with stronger free-market values. The tactic goes like this: Disagree with a candidate on one issue, and target the candidates donors for a boycott. This name and shame tactic increasingly is employed against companies seeking nothing more than promoting their shareholders best interests.

Never mind AYS is a group of shareholders acting against the best interest of its fellow shareholders. In short, such activities are all about stifling debate and punishing those with whom the progressives disagree. This doesnt stop at billionaires such as Charles and David Koch, either. Many smaller fish have been grilled on the pyre of progressive zealotry. For example, The New York Times reported in 2008:

The artistic director of the California Musical Theater, a major nonprofit producing company here in the states capital, resigned on Wednesday in the face of growing outrage over his support for a ballot measure this month that outlawed same-sex marriage in California. The artistic director, Scott Eckern, came under fire recently after it became known that he contributed $1,000 to support Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to recognize only male-female marriages. The measure was approved by 52 percent of California voters on Election Day. (Same-sex marriages had been performed in California since June.)

Shades of former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, who suffered similar ignominy for the same donation amount to Proposition 8.

This is not about protecting only conservative causes, however. Its about protecting the privacy of every individual who chooses to participate in the political and public policy process. Just as there is no such thing as dark voting when conducted in private, there can be no dark money when individuals contribute to their respective causes and candidates. Its a shame AYS and ICCR are acting as enemies of debate.
Buffalo Wild Wings closed the restaurant on Saturday and called in a third-party vendor to clean it after diners reported feeling ill.

The illness, which caused vomiting and diarrhea, affected at least 10 diners who visited Buffalo Wild Wings' grill and bar in Overland Park, Kansas last week, the Kansas City Star reported .

Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings fell more than 7 percent on Wednesday as health officials reported they were investigating the cause of a gastrointestinal illness that struck diners at one of the company's restaurants in Kansas .

"Although there is no conclusive link to our restaurant being the source of the illness, we voluntarily took these actions out of an abundance of caution," a spokesman for the company said in a statement to CNBC.

"The restaurant re-opened Sunday following consultation with the health department."



Health officials who inspected the Overland Park restaurant over the weekend found 17 code violations, including liquor bottles that contained small, dead insects, and an employee wiping his nose, then resuming work without washing his hands or changing gloves, the Star reported.

Officials are continuing to look into the source of the illness.

"We are working with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, the City of Overland Park and the Kansas Department of Agriculture to investigate these illnesses," Sara Belfry, communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in a statement to CNBC.

"The exact cause and source of the illness is unknown at this time and is pending laboratory results."

For more on the report, see the full story at the Kansas City Star.



 CNBC's Jeff Daniels contributed to this report.


Jaime Saldarriaga | Reuters

Zika is usually carried by mosquitoes. "We've confirmed that someone who didn't travel has had Zika in the U.S.," CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden told NBC News. "And all of the information provided to us by Dallas makes it clear that it is likely sexual transmission." Dallas authorities have given no details about the infected pair - whether it's a married couple, for instance. They have said there's no risk that either one is a pregnant woman. "Everything we know about so far indicates that this is likely sexual transmission," Frieden said. Zika's spreading fast across the Americas and the Caribbean and the World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. The virus itself is relatively harmless to most people, but what's worrying is the potential that it causes severe birth defects.

Brazil, where the virus has been spreading since last May, reports a large increase in cases of microcephaly - a condition in which a baby's brain is too small. It can cause miscarriages and stillbirths and babies that live are often severely disabled. CDC issued a travel advisory last month, telling pregnant women, or women planning to get pregnant, that they may want to consider delaying travel to affected countries. A virus like Zika can spread very fast for a few years when an entire population of people is susceptible. After many people have been infected and are immune, then the spread becomes less intense. The CDC has predicted that travelers would occasionally bring Zika to the U.S. but said any further spread would be very limited because the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries the virus is restricted to warm areas in the extreme south  south Texas and south Florida, for instance  and Hawaii. There may be local outbreaks, CDC says, but not the explosive spread that's now got the virus infecting people in 26 countries. Doctors had known Zika could be spread by sexual transmission. In 2008 a U.S. researcher was infected in Africa and infected his wife back in Colorado. Zika has been found in semen.

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"This is no surprise," Frieden said. "We have seen cases or isolated cases of Zika spread by sexual transmission." But he says the virus is not likely to linger for years or even months, because Zika is a virus the body can clear out. "It's not like HIV where you have infectivity that can go on for months or years," Frieden said. "The bigger concern is if a man comes back, gets sick with Zika, and then has sexual intercourse with a woman who is pregnant or may be pregnant, there is the theoretical risk that that woman could then become infected with Zika and her fetus could then potentially be infected," Frieden added. "Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others," said Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services. He said sex partners of people who could potentially be infected with Zika should consider using condoms for a week after their return from affected areas. "Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infections," Thompson said.

Georgetown University infectious disease specialist Dr. Jesse Goodman agreed. "If confirmed, this case suggests the potential to further guard against risk to pregnant women, or women intending to become pregnant, with advice to reduce risks from sexual contact if their partner may have recently been exposed to Zika from mosquitos in countries where there is ongoing active transmission," Goodman said. "Because of rapidly changing knowledge, advice about protecting against Zika may well change over time as more is learned." Dallas officials have given few details. They did not disclose the sexes of the couple and they did not say if a man's semen had been tested for the virus. They also did not say if the traveler had shown symptoms of infection. Zika does not cause symptoms in most people it infects and in about 20 percent causes a mild rash, fever, muscle aches and pinkeye.
This picture taken on Dec 17, 2015 shows the logo of peer-to-peer lender Ezubao at their padlocked office in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province. STR | AFP | Getty Images

When Ezubo was named "online credit financial brand of the year" by China's National Business Daily in 2015, Jiang was comforted. The 60-year-old investor, who asked that CNBC not use her full name, had been reluctant at first to put money into the fast-growing, Anhui-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lender. "I had doubts at the beginning," Jiang said. "[But] many of my friends and their families had invested in Ezubo. I saw the company's advertisements and awards on China's state media and other channels, so I thought it was real." Instead, Ezubo was allegedly running the largest online fraud yet seen in China. Jiang, who invested 150,000 RMB ($22,800) in Ezubo in mid-2015, just a year after the company launched, is one of more than 900,000 private investors apparently scammed by the company.

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Chinese authorities have arrested 21 suspects linked to Ezubo and its parent company, Yucheng International Holdings Group, on charges of illegally collecting funds, having allegedly conned more than 50 billion RMB ($7.6 billion) from investors, according to the state news agency Xinhua Luxury and lies P2P sites, which bring lenders and borrowers together, play a big part of China's $2.6 trillion-and-expanding wealth management industry. According to Xinhua, Ezubo attracted investors with promises of annual interest payments of 9-14.6 percent in return for funding leasing projects, but instead used the money paid in by new investors to pay off earlier ones, in what Xinhua described as a classic Ponzi scheme. Yong Lei, once the director of Ezubo's risk control department and now detained, was quoted by Xinhua as saying that "95 percent of Ezubo's investment projects were fake."

The company's executives also spent large sums on personal luxuries and high-risk junk securities, Xinhua reported. Ding Ning, 34, president of Yucheng and the founder of Ezubo, reportedly used investors' money to buy lavish gifts for Zhang Min, the company's president, including a residential property in Singapore worth 130 million RMB ($19.8 million) and a pink diamond ring worth 12 million RMB ($1.8 million). In addition, Xinhua said Ding paid huge salaries to the company's employees - the company paid 800 million RMB ($121.6 million) to employees in November 2015 alone - and insisted all secretarial staff wear designer outfits and expensive jewelry to burnish the company's image of profitability. But tightening cash flow and unusual transactions by Ezubo triggered an investigation by Chinese authorities in December, Xinhua reported. The investigation included the use of two excavators to recover more than 80 bags full of paper accounts that had been buried six meters underground by the Ezubo's executives. Calls for supervision Now, Ezubo's burned investors are pessimistic about recovering their money. "In China, it's extremely difficult to claim money back under such scenarios," Jiang said. "The prosecution process is not transparent and procedures are very confusing." Like many critics on Chinese social media, Jiang said she was deeply disappointed with the lack of official supervision companies like Ezubo recieved, as well as the government's failure to compensate fraud victims.

As large as Ezubo's case, it represents just a tiny part of China's shadow banking industry. Thanks to strong demand from small and medium-sized companies for loans, as well as a hardy risk appetite among private investors looking for better returns than are available in a nascent fund management sector, online P2P platforms have boomed over the past two years. The P2P market grew by 288 percent on-year be worth $982.3 billion RMB ($151 billion) in 2015, according Xinhua, which cited data published by Wangdaizhijia.com, a Chinese financial services web portal. And so common are collapses in the sector that almost 900 platforms were reported to be "problematic" in 2015, a threefold increase on 2014, according to the Xinhua report. One Chinese P2P investor, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNBC, "There were as many as seven micro-lending companies in my neighborhood, selling financial products with extremely high returns of 30 to 40 percent." "You would seriously question the credibility of these businesses, but there was no supervision from the government," the 53-year-old investor said. He lost almost all his savings - 3 million RMB ($450,000) - after investing into a P2P company named Sichuan Fortune Union, which now faces similar fraud charges as Ezubo.
The Iowa Democratic Party is standing by the results of the Iowa caucuses in which Hillary Clinton apparently defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders by the narrowest of margins, The Des Moines Register reported.

Sanders' camp wanted a review of the tallies of Monday's vote. They said they found discrepancies between tallies at the precinct level and numbers that were reported to the state party.



"We just want to work with the party and get the questions that are unanswered answered," Sanders aide Rania Batrice told the Register.



The party said Sanders won 49.6 percent of the state delegate equivalents to Clinton's 49.8 percent.



"These are the final results," party Chairwoman Andy McGuire told the newspaper Tuesday.


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February 03, 2016

DEA Uncovers Hezbollah Drug and Money Laundering



The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that it arrested top leaders of a European cell of Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terror group, according to a Feb. 1, 2016 press release. Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite Party of God,? is an Iranian surrogate with reported worldwide reach.

The DEA said the arrests targeted members of Hezbollahs External Security Organization Business Affairs Component (BAC), which is involved in international criminal activities such as drug trafficking and drug proceed money laundering.? Profits made in these illicit efforts are used to buy weapons.

The arrests were made as part of DEAs Project Cassandra, an effort to clamp down on the BAC, which traffics cocaine in the United States and Europe. The most significant arrest? according to the agency, was that of Mohamed Noureddine, a Lebanese money launderer who used his Lebanon-based company, Trade Point International S.A.R.L to launder Hezbollah funds. Noureddine has direct ties? to Hezbollah elements in both Lebanon and Iraq.

Over the past year, U.S. Department of Justice investigations into Hezbollah financing have resulted in the indictments of individuals living in Columbia, Lithuania, France and the United States.

The BAC was founded by Hezbollah international operations head Imad Mughniyah. Mughniyah, reportedly behind the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, among many other attacks, was killed in Damascus, Syria on Feb. 12, 2008 reportedly in a joint U.S.-Israel operation conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its Israeli equivalent, the Mossad. The Hezbollah component is currently overseen by Abdallah Safieddine.

According to DEA, its investigation began with a look into the Lebanese Canadian Bank. Working with authorities in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy, the agency uncovered an intricate network of money couriers who collect and transport millions of euros in drug proceeds from Europe to the Middle East. The currency is then paid in Columbia to drug traffickers.? The DEA notes that a large portion? of the profits go through Lebanon and a significant percentage? benefit terrorist organizations, particularly Hezbollah.

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced on January 28 that sanctions have been placed on more than 100 people and entities associated with the terrorist group (U.S. Puts Sanctions on Alleged Hezbollah Money Launderers,? The Wall Street Journal, January 28).

Writing for The Wall Street Journals online Think Tank blog, analyst Matthew Levitt, says that Hezbollah is facing hard times? as a result of the groups intervention in the Syrian civil war, a decline in oil prices that have led Iran to cut back support? and sanctions (The Crackdown on Hezbollahs Financing Network,? January 27). Levitt is a former Treasury Department deputy assistant secretary who has written extensively about Hezbollah and sanctions, and is currently the director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the D.C.-based think tank, Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Levitt notes that sanctions have targeted foreign companies that supply material for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Hezbollah uses in Syria and Israel. The analyst says investigations into Hezbollahs financing have led to the inner circle? of the groups leadership and are increasingly putting pressure on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah has long denied that it engages in drug trafficking and money laundering. In 2011, responding to a criminal complaint in a New York federal court, the organization claimed: The United States allegations that Hezbollah is funding its activities illegitimately is merely another attempt to tarnish the image of the resistanceHezbollah categorically denies the false charges of its direct or indirect involvement in money laundering, drug trafficking or illegal banking operations.?

But then, Hezbollah also has denied targeting Israeli civilians in terrorist attacks throughout the world and starving the Syrian town of Madaya via siege on behalf of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assadactions it has taken. From lies to murder, the group is nothing if not consistent.





Posted by SD at February 3, 2016 12:01 PM

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The banking crisis: is there one?

For the past three days, I've been trying to get my hands around this supposed "banking crisis," particularly in Europe.

I get why there is concern in Europe, but I don't at all get the selloff in U.S. banks.

You didn't know there was a banking crisis? Everyone seems to think there is some kind of crisis because the stocksparticularly the European bank stocksseem to be telling us something is wrong:

European banks YTD

Deutsche Bank down 34.6%

Societe General down 25.8%

BNP Paribas down 24.3%

Banco Santander down 24.0%

UBS down 20.9%

Yikes! This is after one month. The concerns about Europe fall into several buckets:

1) ongoing restructuring and litigation charges.

2) Flattening yield curve/negative rates.

3) slower European growth.

4) Asset management slowdown. Asset management has suffered because wealthier clients aren't investing.

5) Book value issues: European banks did not take the big writedowns that U.S. banks took; there's concern there may be more asset writedowns that would cause book values to decline.

6) Capital positions. While the U.S. banks were out raising capital and selling new shares in 2008-2009, the European banks didn't. The result: U.S. banks don't need to raise capital, but European banks probably do.

I get this. What I don't get is what's going on with U.S. banks:

U.S. banks YTD

Fifth Third down 24.8%

Bank of America down 24.3%

Zions down 21.9%

Key down 19.7%

JP Morgan down 14.8%

Yikes again! Even the regionals are getting hit.

Here's the arguments against U.S. banks:

1) international exposure. If you're afraid of the Chinese bogeyman, fine. But regionals who lend to farmers are down too. This might mean something to Citigroup, but your average regional bank does not have international exposure.

2) falling yields. Concerned about lower rates? It's certainly an issue, but consider this: the average U.S. bank has 40 percent or more of its revenues from fees, not rates.

3) we don't believe the book value. Bank stock investors cannot believe that big banks are trading at a significant discount to their tangible book value:

Tangible book value

Goldman Sachs 0.93

Regions Financial 0.89

Bank of America 0.82

ZIons 0.75

Citigroup 0.66

Below book value, every one of them. This is pretty rare: outside of 2008, these stocks have not traded below tangible book value.

Don't believe the book value? Here's the problem with that argument: the quality of the book is far better than it was 10 years ago. Bank loans have a 3 to 7 year duration. After 2009, you know what happened if you're a bank: the government moved into your office. The scrutiny is intense. You're lucky if you get a 60 percent loan-to-value ratio.

Bottom line: the Fed knows every loan the banks have, and they check them twice a year.

4) oil loans. This is the big bogeyman, but the stocks are trading like everything is worthless and everyone is going out of business.

Let's take an example. To eliminate international exposure, let's stick with a regional bank. How about Zions? It's a plain-vanilla Utah bank. Straight-ahead commercial and retail banking, along with mortgage loans.

No international exposure. No trading exposure.

They have roughly $40 billion in loans, of which almost $3 billion (7 percent) is in energy. Tangible book value is $5.7 billion. Market cap is $4.3 billion.The difference is $1.4 billion.

If there was some kind of loss, the pre-tax hit would be $2 billion. But the energy portfolio is $3 billion, so the market seems to be assuming that ZION could have a complete loss of almost 70% of the energy portfolio. And bear in mind they already have a 5% loan loss reserve against the energy portfolio, so really the market is assuming 75 percent losses.

You also should know that the recovery rates on failed energy assets are very high. The banks have a lot of protection.

Paul Miller, a bank analyst with FBR, was on our air earlier with the same point: the assumption is that the entire energy portfolio of these banks are worthless, which makes no sense at all.

But no one wants to listen. No one wants anything with energy exposure.

The short answer is, it doesn't make sense, and that's why bank stock tradersand analystsare puzzled.

And so we have conspiracy theories. "It's the quants." "It's the machines." "It's the momentum guys."

I have no doubt that shortsin whatever formare pushing these stocks as far as they can go, into irrational territory. I am quite sure that "the machines" benefit during times of volatility, because pricing is wider and they benefit when that happens.

But let's limit the hysterical rhetoric. What is happening now is that guys who were long these stocks (hedge fund types, generalists) are being forced to sell simply to reduce exposure. It's forced selling. These guys know that the fundamentals are good: the consumer is stronger, the books are strongerbut they can only take so much downside before they have to reduce risk.

Let's hope that some sanity returns soon.
Another indicator points to financial trouble in Chicago.

The Chicago Board of Education sold $675 million in bonds on Wednesday, with yields hitting 8.5 percent, according to Reuters. That yield is only about 1 percent lower than the yield on 10-year bonds issued by cash-strapped Greece and roughly equal to the yields on Greek 30-year debt.

The Chicago general obligation bonds, which are due in 2044, are not directly comparable to the Greek bonds. But the yields show just how much concerns about the financial state of Chicago have grown.
The self-imposed gag order on Shkreli came to light as federal prosecutors also revealed that the accused fraudster's E-Trade stock account has lost a whopping $41 million in value since last month, when it was used to secure a $5 million criminal release bond.

The former pharmaceutical CEO Shkreli will supposedly no longer be speaking to the media  because his new criminal defense lawyer has ordered him to stop talking.

"I know that he has previously spoken with some of you, if not all of you, and one of the conditions of my engagement was from henceforth he does not speak with any member of the press at all until the criminal charges are resolved," Benjamin Brafman, Shkreli's new attorney, told reporters Wednesday outside U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, where Shkreli was appearing for a hearing related to securities fraud charges.

Brafman added, "We believe this case is very defensible. We don't believe that Mr. Shkreli ever knowingly violated the law or intended to defraud anyone, and we want to try this case in the courtroom and not in the media."



Shkreli has spoken to a number of reporters after he was indicted in mid-December, and also is in the habit of live-streaming his daily routine on the Internet to viewers.

Despite Brafman's vow of silence for his client, a wide-ranging interview that Shkreli gave"The Breakfast Club" show on Power 105.1, a New York City hip-hop station, was posted Wednesday morning, before he showed up in court.

Brafman told CNBC that the interview was recorded Tuesday, "before we came to an understanding" about Shkreli needing to put an end to his contacts with the media.

"I'm confident I'll beat the charges," Shkreli said during the interview, in which he described growing up under modest circumstances with parents who worked as janitors. "I'm from the streets," said Shkreli, who also defended making a video last week insulting renowned rapper Ghostface Killah.

"He disrespected me," Shkreli said of Ghostface Killah, a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, whose one-of-a-kind album Shkreli purchased last year for $2 million.

"If he were here right now, I'd smack him right in the face," Shrekli said. "Come at me, it don't matter."

And after appearing in court Wednesday, Shkreli re-tweeted Twitter postings about his Power 105.1 interview.

Shkreli, who recently fired his previous legal team, arrived at the courthouse in a blue blazer and bright white pants. Looking relaxed, the 32-year-old Shkreli smiled and laughed at times before the the start of the hearing, which lasted just under 15 minutes.

During the session, it was disclosed that Shkreli's E-Trade account  which had about $45 million in it when it was used to secure his $5 million criminal release bond  is now valued at just around $4 million.

The decline in the value is due to the account's large holdings of KaloBios stock, which had spiked to almost $40 a share in late November after an investor group led by Shkreli purchased a controlling interest of 1.2 million shares and the company named him CEO.



Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Paes, who is prosecuting Shkreli, noted the stock plunge since Shkreli's indictment had devalued the bond's collateral. Paes pointed out that KaloBios shares were trading at just over $2 per share on Tuesday.



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A giant annual human migration is underway in China, and it's a bonanza for some but a painful process for others.

Some 2.9 billion trips are expected to be undertaken between the start of China's annual travel season on January 24 and the end on March 3, according to China's transport ministry, with this week leading up to Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, which starts on February 8, being the busiest.

With millions of people on the move for what's traditionally seen as a time of fresh opportunities, the travel season is one of top trending topics on Weibo; posts tagged #2016chunyun, meaning "Spring Festival travel season," feature photos of cramped transport hubs and dish out tips on surviving the journey by avoiding ticketing scams and alleviating motion sickness.

Travel tips alone weren't enough to help as many as 100,000 travelers who were stranded at a railway station in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Monday and Tuesday after heavy snow delayed trains. State media ran photographs of thousands of people crammed into lines outside the station, with some reportedly queuing for 10 hours or more for transport.

But the travel chaos is a boon for transport apps Didi Kuadi and Uber, which added new features including cross-city ride-sharing services to cash in on the heavy travel period. Although the app-makers continue to face regulatory issues in China, the country's transport ministry said recently that it supported car-pooling - as long as it was not for profit.

According to a real-time travel map by Chinese internet giant Baidu, the Beijing-to-Shanghai route on Wednesday afternoon in Asia was the most heavily traveled across all forms of transport, followed by Xian to Beijing and Shenyang to Beijing.
Starboard, run by Jeffrey Smith, wants Marvell to cut costs and exit its mobile-wireless business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Marvell shares were up 4.6 percent at $9.07 in premarket trading. The company, which is embroiled in accounting and legal troubles, had lost nearly 40 percent of its value in 2015.

Activist investor Starboard Value disclosed a stake of about 7 percent in Marvell Technology Group on Wednesday, saying the chipmaker's shares were "undervalued."

A Marvell Technology Group Ltd. flag flies outside the company's headquarters building in Santa Clara, California.

Marvell had said in September it would cut about 17 percent of its global workforce as it trims its mobile business to focus on automotive technologies and Internet of Things.

The chipmaker said in the same month that it was investigating its accounting practices related to revenue-recognition issues in the second quarter.

Analysts had said Marvell's woes may have kept away potential suitors at a time of record consolidation in the semiconductor sector.

Starboard said it would retain Rick Hill, Oleg Khaykin and Jeff McCreary  executives from the semiconductor industry  as advisers in connection with its investment in the company.

The activist hedge fund has invested in several semiconductor companies, including TriQuint Semiconductor and Integrated Silicon Solution .

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the stake on Tuesday, citing sources.
watch now

The chief executive of luxury Swiss brand Tag Heuer has hailed the resilience of the country's watch market, claiming it was "phenomenal" that exports declined just 3.3 percent in the face of global headwinds and not further. Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, Jean Claude Biver suggested that after a year like 2015, he expected the industry to recover. The Swiss watch market was able to eke out minimal losses, he said, despite volatile stock moves, geopolitical tensions that affected Russian and Middle East markets, slowing Chinese growth as well as a significant strengthening of the Swiss currency after the franc was de-pegged from the euro last January.



"With all this that happened, you could have expected that the Swiss industry goes down by 10 percent, 15 percent. It went down by 3 percent," Biver explained. "That's a phenomenal performance." He now forecasts Swiss watch exports will stabilize, if not grow, in 2016. Tag Heuer didn't exactly feel the full brunt of the market downturn, however. Biver said his company, which is owned by luxury group LVMH, saw watch sales rise 2.5 percent last year. "I believe when the market is difficult, the best people are ahead," he said. "And that's why I'm not so much afraid for us, for my group, for my brand. I'm not afraid of a difficult market." But Tag Heuer's relatively limited exposure to China seems to be part of the company's advantage. Competitors who depend on China for 40 to 50 percent of their business have been slammed, Biver said.
When a school is threatened, the protocol is to treat the threat, then determine its credibility. Despite the location or extenuating circumstances surrounding a threat, there is no easy answer for school administrators who must quickly determine how to respond under pressure.

A Los Angeles School Police officer checks-in with officials at the LAUSD Gardena Garage where the fleet of school buses from around the district are parked while law enforcement investigates a threat against the district Dec. 15, 2015. Mark Boster | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

School principals must make fast decisions about the safety of their students while considering the likelihood of a hoax. Administrators have had to make those fast decisions in recent weeks in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland, to name a few. As hoaxes become an almost daily occurrence in the U.S., this possibility makes it all the more difficult to assess a threat's reality.

"I would certainly say that in the recent past there have been an increase of threats," said Ray Kelly, former NYPD commissioner and vice chairman of K2 Intelligence. Though it seems there is nothing to lose by evacuating a school and being safe, there are significant costs associated with the growing number of school closures. In fact, the price tag can be staggering.

The Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) closure last month received significant attention when, upon receiving an electronic bomb threat, it closed more than 900 campuses and 187 public charter schools. According to officials, the decision made by the nation's second-largest school district kept approximately 640,000 students out of school, costing the district at least $29 million. Part of these expenses can be attributed to California law penalties, such as loss of instructional minutes and loss of average daily attendance, but a large portion came from the Los Angeles Police Department in traffic safety and overtime costs. LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines stated that schools were inspected following the threat, a move that also incurred a large cost based on the number of schools in Los Angeles.

Although a generalized threat is less likely to occur, the lack of specificity often calls for a protracted search, according to Kelly. After a vague, anonymous school tip was received by the Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police Department, the Jefferson County (Missouri) Public School System (JCPS) sent parents a note alerting them to the threat. The district was also apprised of the situation through email and an alert system that sends text messages to phones. Made on a Wednesday afternoon in early January, the threat was against unspecified educational institutions on Friday so parents were given the option of deciding whether to send children to school on that day.

That Friday, all of the 155 JCPS schools operated on level three security, which meant that outside doors were closed at all times, hallway traffic was minimized, and outdoor activities were canceled. However, only 45.5 percent of the approximate 101,000 JCPS students attended classes. Normal attendance is 93.6 percent. "We spoke with police, and it was a nonspecific threat that was made, but we wanted to be transparent by communicating with parents directly," said Allison Martin, JCPS' communications chief. "My children were in school. I knew they were safe and that the precautions were appropriate." Across the country, schools receive federal funding based on the number of days schools are open. JCPS did not lose federal attendance reimbursement dollars because of low attendance that day as they are allowed to throw out their five lowest days of attendance. They did lose $175,000 from school lunch federal reimbursement, according to Martin. "The actual out-of-pocket expenses are difficult to identify as they vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction," said Kelly.

watch now

Since violent crimes know no geographical boundaries, threats can also be made across different states thanks to the use of the Internet, which at times fosters these types of incidents.

Earlier this month, a series of "robo-call" bomb threats were made to more than 13 schools in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. There were no bombs discovered but schools were evacuated for several hours. One week after the wave of these robo-calls, at least a dozen schools across eastern Massachusetts also received bomb threats made by phone including automated phone calls that were determined to be unfounded. "Despite the fact that this was a widespread issue, we take these threats very seriously," Kathleen Bodie, superintendent of Arlington Public Schools in Massachusetts, said in a statement. "Given the police presence and investigation, and out of an abundance of caution, we decided it would be in our best interests to release students, faculty and staff for the day." Even if a school closes for a few hours, students and staff are forced to stand outside in the cold while law enforcement officials conduct a sweep of the building.

Source: ATF Nashville Field Division
A trader signals orders on the financial floor at the Chicago Board of Trade in Chicago. Tim Boyle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. sovereign bond prices fell in choppy trading Wednesday, as stocks rose even after a slew of data fueled concern about U.S. and global growth ahead of the jobs report Friday. The U.S. 10-year yield , which moves inversely to the bond's price, fell briefly below 1.8 percent at 1.793 percent, a near 1-year low, but recovered to about 1.88 percent. Safe-haven buying has continued to weigh on yields. Meanwhile, the longer-dated 30-year yield rose to about 2.70 percent after finishing at 2.678 percent in the previous session.

Treasurys



Major data releases due on Wednesday include the U.S. services sector report and the ADP employment report, ahead of Friday's comprehensive labor market report.

The private payrolls data showed Wednesday morning that job growth in the private sector slowed a bit in January, though not as sharply as Wall Street expected. The ISM nonmanufacturing index showed the U.S. economy's service sector expanded in January but at a slower pace than the previous month, in a report that missed expectations. "Despite the resilience in U.S. macro fundamentals and what seems to be the early stages of a bottoming process in U.S. manufacturing, markets continue to be pulled along by the wiggles in the oil market," said chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets, Tom Porcelli.
In earnings news this morning, Dow component Merck (MRK) reported profits that beat expectations but revenue that fell short. Comcast (CMCSA) missed slightly on earnings but beat on revenue. General Motors (GM) is also out with numbers. (CNBC)

Chipotle (CMG) was sharply lower in premarket trading, after reporting earnings that beat expectations but revenue that missed forecasts. The struggling Mexican food chain also disclosed a wider criminal investigation into recent food-safety scandal. (CNBC)

Yahoo (YHOO) was under pressure in the premarket, revealing a restructuring that includes consideration of a reverse spin-off and plans for a 15 percent staff reduction. The tech company also posted quarterly results broadly in line with expectations. (CNBC)

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer joins CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" at 9 a.m. ET.

Amazon (AMZN) is planning to open hundreds of physical bookstores, according to the CEO of General Growth Properties (GGP). Amazon, which opened its first brick-and-mortar store in November, declined to comment. (WSJ)

IPhone battery case maker Mophie is being bought for at least $100 million by rival Zagg (ZAGG), which saw its stock surge in premarket trading. The deal, approved by both boards, should close later in the first quarter. (Re/code)

Toyota (TM) is recalling 320,000 vehicles due to a side airbag-related defect. But the issue is unrelated to the ongoing Takata airbag recall, which has affected about 20 million vehicles in the U.S. (Automotive News)

Valeant (VRX) and Turing Pharmaceuticals, formerly headed by Martin Shkreli, boosted the prices of newly acquired drugs to meet preset profit targets, said congressional investigators. Executives from both companies are expected to testify at a hearing tomorrow. (WSJ)

Health officials said a person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sexual contract. Meanwhile, Florida health officials have confirmed two more cases of Zika there, bringing to nine the number of infections in the state. (AP & USA Today)

The House has failed to override the president's veto of a bill that would have repealed key provisions of Obamacare and stripped federal funding from Planned Parenthood. (USA Today)

The House Oversight Committee today holds the first congressional hearing into the Flint, Michigan water crisis, which started in April 2014 after the city switched sources to save money. (Detroit Free Press)

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, in a return to form at a New Hampshire rally last night, declared his second-place Iowa finish a success and took shots at caucus winner Ted Cruz. (NBC News)

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton said her campaign received a boost from her razor-thin victory in Iowa against Bernie Sanders, but cautioned against making any predictions in New Hampshire. (NBC News)

In his first visit to a U.S. mosque as president, Barack Obama visits a Baltimore-area Islamic center today, amid growing concern about hostility toward Muslim Americans. (USA Today)
Long-standing rumors that China's biggest smartphone maker would sell its well-regarded phones in the the U.S. market were answered earlier this week ... and then not.

Smartphones from Xiaomi  China's largest start-up  were sold briefly on Monday, via the website of Connecticut-based virtual carrier US Mobile, and then swiftly taken down.



"We decided that it would be best to get the phone rigorously certified by carriers before it's allowed back on our marketplace," US Mobile CEO Ahmed Khattak said in an email.

The mobile virtual network operator is an independent business that leases services from T-Mobile's network to customers on a pre-paid, no-contract basis. Rates run as low as $7 a month for unlimited texting and $25 a month for 2.5 GB of data, according to US Mobile's website. ABI Research estimates US Mobile has less than 0.25 percent market share in the United States.

A T-Mobile spokesperson said in a statement that in order for devices to be certified on its network, they "must be fully compatible (with) our network technologies and meet minimum quality standards."

A spokesperson for Xiaomi confirmed that the sales were unauthorized. "Recent reports have indicated that Xiaomi products will be available in the US. ... There are no plans to sell smartphones through any authorized distributors in the U.S. US Mobile is not authorized to sell Xiaomi products in the U.S.," the company said in a statement.

ABI Research's consumer devices research director, David McQueen, noted the current Xiaomi devices do not support LTE in the United States and are not fully optimized for Android. A key selling point for Xiaomi in China, besides its low price, is its customized user interface that does not provide the same support as U.S. devices for Google Play services.

Xiaomi had top market share in China for all of 2015, and 5 percent globally, according to Strategy Analytics. The tech firm is China's most valuable start-up at $45 billion, according to Reuters, but missed targets for Internet service revenue and handset sales in 2015.
Images courtesy of the Official Journal of the European Union.

Roman playwright Plauto is remembered on a circulating commemorative 2 coin planned for 2016 in Italy.

Italy has plans to mark the 2,200th anniversary of the death of Roman playwright Tito Maccio Plauto with a circulating commemorative 2 coin in 2016.

His name is widely known from Latin as Titus Maccius Plautus. He lived circa 254 to 184 B.C. and was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety.

The obverse of the coin depicts theater masks representing two characters of his style of New Comedy, the young woman and the slave, from a second-century A.D. mosaic, with a construction plan of a Roman theater, the dates 184 B.C. and 2016, and his name, PLAUTO in Italian.

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In addition, the design includes RI, logo of the Italian Republic, and L.D.S., the initials of designer Luciana De Simoni.

A total of 1.5 million coins are due for release in March.

The reverse carries the common European map design.

The 12 stars of the European flag appear on both sides of the ringed-bimetallic 2 coin.

The 2 coin weighs 8.5 grams and measures 25.75 millimeters in diameter.

Each nation is allowed to issue up to two different circulating commemorative designs annually with designs of their choosing, though few nations issue the maximum number of designs.

Joint euro programs like the 2015 coins honoring the 30th anniversary of flag of the European Union do not count toward this limit.
Danny Santulli's siblings, cousins hold vigil for him in Peace Park

An end to hazing was the point of a Wednesday candlelight vigil in Peace Park organized by Danny Santulli's siblings and cousins.
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By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal

As a labor and employment attorney in Memphis, Martin Thompson is the kind of adviser companies turn to when the president of the United States announces new rules targeting equal pay for women.

President Obama did just that last week, pointing to national data showing that the the median wage for a woman working full time represents about 79 cents for every $1 dollar of a man. The gap is even wider for women of color, he said.

One of the Obama administration's proposals is to have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, partnering with the Department of Labor, begin collecting pay data by gender, race and ethnicity from employers with 100 or more workers.

Thompson, senior counsel at Fisher & Phillips LLP, outlined the advice he would give employers about the pay data proposal.

Among the points he said employers should know:

Only employers and federal contractors with 100 more employees would be affected.

The rules would require that pay data be added to an annual EEO-1 form that currently requires the number of employees by race, gender and ethnicity in 12 broad job categories.

Pay data would be reported in one of 12 pay scales, ranging from under $19,000 to more than $208,000. Each employee's hours of work must be reported, although that poses a problem with salaried employees.

Increased costs, lack of confidentiality when data is shared with agencies such as the Office of Contract and increased "improper" government action are predicted problems for employers, Thompson said.

Employers with 100 or more employees should prepare for the September 2017 deadline for new pay data reporting by ensuring all pay practices comply with equality and fairness; address any areas of pay disparity and ensure equal employment opportunity and human resources practices and policies are up to date.

See Thompson and excerpts from the President's announcement on the Business Q&A video.

Our weekly Business Q&A answers your questions about business and customer service in Memphis. Have a question? Submit it to Kevin.McKenzie@commercialappeal.com.
January 30, 2016 - Dallas-based artist Taylor Boyd holds up a fireball made of acrylic as it's being installed in the alley next to Newby's on Highland Row. Loeb Properties is trying to repeat the success it had in Overton Square using public art to create an appealing pedestrian friendly area in the University District.

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By Thomas Bailey Jr. of The Commercial Appeal

Fireball Alley is the latest  and perhaps crowning  proof that the University of Memphis is finally getting one of those vibrant, walking-friendly commercial districts that tend to border campuses where students live.

The same developer that transformed Overton Square with colorful murals and sculptures has just installed its first public art in the Highland Strip. Theres more to come, said Bob Loeb, president of Loeb Properties.

It makes the place special, Loeb said of what the new installation does for the alley between the buildings Loeb Properties now owns on the Highland Strip.

Its not just floodlights. Its a way of adorning the space and saying This is special. And so the patrons experience over there, its different.

Over the past year or so, Loeb Properties has acquired 65,000 square feet of buildings on Highland, 35,000 square feet north of the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and 30,000 square feet south of them.

In addition to renovating buildings and parking lots and installing landscaping, Loeb is adorning the district with public art. The first call was to Bob Loebs old friend, Dallas artist Taylor Boyd.

Boyd was in Memphis on Saturday to string steel cable and suspend his six globular sculptures over the alley between Newbys at 531 S. Highland and a space Loeb is preparing for a prospective tenant.

Boyd shaped and pieced together sheets of quarter-inch-thick, florescent acrylic to depict flaming meteors. When florescent acrylic is illuminated, the light pops from the edges of the yellow, red and orange sheets, Boyd said.

The contrast between the bright edges and the darkness of the night sky should make them even more dramatic, said the 65-year-old, who has seen a dramatic meteor shower or two.

The former carrier-based pilot for the Navy is a world traveler whos a bit reminiscent of Memphiss most famous romantic adventurer, Richard Halliburton. Boyd has journeyed to the seven continents, from Kathmandu to Tierra del Fuego, swum from Asia to Europe in crossing the Bosphorus, and competed at high levels on the facedown, headfirst type of sled called the skeleton.

He also decided late in life that he could paint his own art to brighten a modern house he bought in Dallas. Friends asked him to create pieces for their homes, which led to a packed gallery show. Then he started making furniture and sculptures.

Boyd calls his Memphis installation The Great Spirit in the Sky.

The public art is the most recent step in the Highland Strip transformation that has been years in the making.

South and north of Fireball Alley, the newest apartment complexes are built up to the street, and some offer a mix of uses that includes retail on the bottom floor.

Walker Avenue, a main route of stores and restaurants that students walk between campus and Highland, is being rebuilt with emphasis on pedestrians instead of cars.

McDonalds is building a new restaurant at Highland and Southern like no other McDonalds in the Midsouth. After a long zoning battle with the neighborhood, the fast-food chain relented and agreed to place the building adjacent to the Highland sidewalk.

Whether coincidence or not, McDonalds gave up the fight after the University of Memphis wrote a strong letter supporting the neighborhoods adopted principles of new urbanism.

Mores on the way, including the finishing touch to Fireball Alley.

In the next 30 days, Loeb plans to install lighting tailored to practically ignite the fireballs.

The light will go through the fireballs and up into the night sky, Boyd said. So you dont see the light hit anything except where the fireball lights up.
MOSS POINT, Mississippi - Some Moss Point citizens will notice a change in the color of their water as crews work to replace piping at the city's Reverse Osmosis plant.

The work is being done as a follow-up to emergency repairs made late last year after a blow-out occurred, according to city officials.

"We are putting some new stainless steel lines in to replace the old plastic lines," said Russell Davis, Public Works Director. "Aim Construction started the work Tuesday, and we expect to be complete by Thursday."

Davis says this replacement will complete the second and final phase of work done after last year's damage to the pipe occurred. AIMS is doing the work.

"We made the decision to shut down for two days and be up on the third day," said Davis. "That way we can get it all done at one time. Otherwise, the plant would have had to shut down, get back running, and shut down again until all the piping was replaced. We have all we need to get all the work done now."

Meanwhile, residents will continue to notice a discoloration in the water until the work is complete, because the water is coming from the wells, bypassing the reverse osmosis system, and pumping out through the service pipes. Davis says although the water is not being filtered through the plant, it is still being treated with chlorine and is safe.

Residents are sure to appreciate hearing that, since many took to Facebook Tuesday asking why the water looked different. Many posted pictures of the water in an effort to find out what was going on.

Mayor Billy Broomfield expressed regret the city was unable to provide advance notice to residents.

"We apologize for not sending a notice," he said, "but we didn't have time because we found out at the last minute that we didn't have enough water in reserve to use during the repairs so we had to use the wells."
"The Dollhouse," Heather Benning, 2013. From "de|constructing home" at Rhodes College's Clough-Hanson Gallery.

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By Fredric Koeppel

I regularly receive emails from galleries or museums about upcoming exhibitions, usually accompanied by an image, but those missives and pictures don't always prepare me for what a show will actually look like. That element of surprise is gratifying  "Whoa, so this is what's going on!"  because it's good to have our expectations upended.

"de|constructing home" had that effect. The multimedia exhibition, on view through Feb. 27 at Rhodes College's Clough-Hanson Gallery, is not photograph-heavy, as I thought it might be, but is dominated by two videos, a long and a short, that register among the best examples of video art that I have encountered. The long one, "Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then," by Brent Green, clocks in at 75 minutes, as extended as a briefer feature film; the short one, "The Dollhouse," by Heather Benning, lasts eight minutes and is part of an installation that includes several still images from the film.

The question is: "What is home?" The answer seems to be that the notion of home encompasses not merely a physical space of whatever design and materials, but also an emotional and psychological construct whose presence can be both comforting and burdensome but in each sense a powerful contribution to what we become as individuals. To "deconstruct" home, we must not only dismantle an edifice but also pick apart all the elements of time, memory and relationship of which it is composed.

Benning explains on her website that "The Dollhouse" was an eight-year project that involved acquiring, in 2005, an abandoned two-story farmhouse in Manitoba, Canada, that she partially restored. From its appearance in the photographs and the video, the house could be anywhere on the Great Plains or Upper Midwest. She filled the house with furniture, artifacts and personal items of a certain era  say the 1930s through the 1950s  cut off the back of the dwelling and replaced it with Plexiglas. When the house had deteriorated by 2013, Benning burned it to the ground, thus the subject of the striking video and the still images.

Our ideas about, our fondness for America seem to hover in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries, a fact that Benning plays upon effectively and evocatively in "The Dollhouse." As we watch flames move gently yet irrevocably through the house, we see them engulf the dinette set in the kitchen, the cotton dress suspended on a hanger, old schoolbooks, pictures, utensils and implements, destroying, by implication, a group of hypothetical lives as well as the viewers' refuge in nostalgia.

Green's epic and mythic "Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then" derives from a story of a man in Kentucky who thought he could build a special house to keep his wife from dying of cancer. In the film, the woman has already died, and the lopsided, fanciful house he builds for her behind their old farmhouse becomes part of his effort to bring her back to life. It's a Southern Gothic tale, straight out of Faulkner or Carson McCullers, but with a visual edge that is haunted and haunting, deeply psychological if not pathological, yet purely legitimate in the pathology of grief.

The exhibition includes a reading and resource room, "Memphis: Art in Place," organized by the Mellon Student Fellows at Rhodes. The space offers a variety of books about home and place, generally about architecture and design and more specifically about feelings for home, and tables and chairs for perusal. In this room are several domestic drawings, strangely calm and disturbing, by Guy Church, who has somewhat taken the position of local artist of the moment.

"de|constructing home" is displayed in conjunction with the conference "Memphis: Art & Place," which occurs Feb. 18 and 19 at Rhodes.
The only thing predictable about Elvis is that he's unpredictable. On Tuesday, December 4, 1956, Carl Perkins (second from left) was cutting some new records at Sam Phillips' Sun Record studio on Union at Marshall. Elvis Presley dropped in. So did Johnny Cash (right). Jerry Lee Lewis (left) was already there. Elvis headed for the piano, and an old-fashioned barrelhouse session with barbershop harmony resulted. Accompanying Elvis was his houseguest (not pictured) Marilyn Evans, 19, a dancer at the New Frontier in Las Vegas. (The Commercial Appeal files)

By John Beifuss of The Commercial Appeal

A public casting call for Million Dollar Quartet  the upcoming eight-episode CMT drama about the birth of rock and roll in Memphis in the 1950s  will be held Feb. 13 at Elvis alma mater, the former Humes High School at 659 N. Manassas.



Described by the Memphis and Shelby County Film Commissioner Linn Sitler as a giant casting call, the event is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the school, now called Humes Preparatory Academy Middle School. Producers are looking for performers to play such major figures as Elvis, B.B. King, Ike Turner and Trixie Dean, a composite girlfriend character for Elvis, in addition to needing extras and supporting characters.



The line forms at 7 a.m., and those auditioning are asked to arrive in period wardrobe and hairstyles.



The local casting call is part of a nationwide search for the lead actors. The characters are all larger than life, so casting is a daunting challenge, said CMT president Brian Philips, in a statement released today. But were counting on the magic of Memphis to come alive again.



Million Dollar Quartet represents the largest Memphis-based film or television production in several years, and could represent close to six months of work for some 160 local crew members, according to state Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), a longtime advocate of Memphis filmmaking who helped recruit Quartet to town, even as such states as Louisiana vied for the project. Shooting is set to begin in late March.



The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has approved a grant of up to $4.3 million for the production, based on money set aside for Memphis-area film production in Gov. Bill Haslams most recent budget, in part to counter accusations that film incentive programs in the past had favored Nashville-based work. To qualify for the full $4.3 million, the production will have to spend at least $16 million on qualified expenditures, including crew salaries, payments to vendors and service providers, rentals and other local expenses.



Produced by Nashville cable channel Country Music Television and Los Angeles-based Thinkfactory Media, which specializes in historical dramas (Hatfields & McCoys, Texas Rising), Million Dollar Quartet will be a scripted, fact-based drama inspired by the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name. The focus will be on Sun Records founder Sam Phillips and the artists  Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Sam Phillips  whose paths connected on Dec. 4, 1956, for the so-called Million Dollar Quartet impromptu recording session at Sun.



The series chronicles these young artists often jarring and sudden meteoric rise to fame in the face of sweeping political change and social unrest, according to CMT.



To celebrate the Memphis production, Thinkfactory is hosting a Killer Karaoke event at Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe & Honky Tonk, at 310 Beale St., after the auditions, at 8 p.m. Feb. 13. Admission is $5.



For more casting details, visit mdqseries.com.
February 2, 2016 - Former Memphis police officer, John Smith, listens to opening statements in his trial on a charge of rape in October 2009. Smith was an officer assigned to the Raines Station and resigned in April 2010. A grand jury indicted him on charges of rape and official oppression. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

John Smith was a Memphis police officer on duty, wearing his uniform and driving a marked police car when he saw a vulnerable, easy target, Assistant District Attorney Omar Malik said Tuesday.

Smith was charged with raping a 20-year-old woman at about 6:10 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2009, at South Third and Belle Haven in the area of Barton Heights where she was walking. Smith, who was then 48-years-old, worked for the Raines Station. His trial began this week.

"I still have nightmares to this day," the victim testified.

Smith resigned from the police department five months later on April 9, 2010. Authorities took him into custody April 29 that year following his indictment by a grand jury on charges of rape and official oppression.

He posted bond but failed to appear on a disorderly conduct charge and was taken back into custody Feb. 12, 2011.

Smith started working for the police department July 16, 2001, said Memphis police spokesman Louis Brownlee.

A series of delays led to his trial beginning five years and nine months following his indictment on the rape charge. The delays were related to mental evaluations, his firing of his defense lawyer, an attempt to fire a second lawyer and a request to represent himself which he eventually withdrew.

During the trial Tuesday, Malik said the woman was walking to a store and noticed three police cars pass her. One stopped, made a U-turn and an officer approached her. The woman had a troubled past and worked as a prostitute, Malik said.

The woman testified she was going to a gas station to get a charger and was walking on Third. The officer asked her what she was doing and asked for her identification. She gave him her ID. He said to tell him the truth, she said.

She identified Smith as the officer, pointing him out in court Tuesday.

The officer found no warrants on her ID and at some point she called her boyfriend. The officer pulled her behind a building and said she had to have sex with him or she was going to jail, she testified.

She testified she said no and he forced her on the ground and raped her.

Smith pleaded not guilty.

Smith's defense attorney, Charles Mitchell, said he believes proof during the trial will show a previous encounter between her and the officer where Smith told her to get off the streets.

Mitchell questioned why she used a false name and asked if she and her pimp were trying to set up Smith.

She said they were not.

"John Smith didn't rape you did he?" Mitchell asked.

"Yes, he did," she said.
By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis police are asking for the public's help in locating a man they described as a person of interest in a homicide last month.

Police are looking for Damion Ray, 21, in connection with a homicide that happened Jan. 25 in the 1400 block of Rainey in the Frayser area.

Dammion Farmer, 25, was fatally shot a little before 6 p.m. Witnesses told police that three men in their early 20s were seen leaving in a maroon SUV after the shooting.

Ray has an active warrant for theft of property in another case.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.
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By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis police have identified the woman stabbed to death Saturday as Brenda Owens, 55.

Owens and her mother were both stabbed around 4:10 p.m. at a home in the 900 block of South Willett. Her 75-year-old mother survived but was hospitalized in critical condition

Police were still searching late Tuesday for Brenda Owens' brother, 39-year-old Zedric Owens, in connection with the stabbings. Owens may frequent areas in the 600 block of South Bellevue or the 900 block of South Willett. Anyone with any information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.
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By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal

NASHVILLE  Advocates of rural broadband service will ask state lawmakers today to break a seven-year roadblock and pass a bill this year to let Tennessee municipal electric utilities extend broadband service into areas not served by commercial, for-profit providers.

But House Speaker Beth Harwell said Tuesday she doesn't see that happening this year. Harwell (R-Nashville) told a group of small-business owners at a National Federation of Independent Business meeting that the legislature will likely wait until after the state Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) completes a study it launched last month before taking action.

The Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association and other groups will visit the State Capitol today to press for action before the General Assembly adjourns its 2016 session in late April.

An estimated 422,000 households across Tennessee don't have access to landline internet speeds that meet the Federal Communications Commission minimum standard for high-speed broadband. Another 1.6 million Tennessee households have access to only one provider, according to the association.

An opponent of the bill, a telecommunications business owner, raised the issue with Harwell at the NFIB gathering. "I have many thousands of feet of fiber-optic cable undeployed in my business yard in Dayton, Tennessee, where I desperately want to deploy fiberoptics. But I fear competition from my government more than AT&T. What can be done to settle this issue so I can go ahead and invest?" David Snyder said.

"I would love to settle this issue. We're tired of it," Harwell said "I think you have a very legitimate concern. It's just a tough call because businesses like to provide the service where there's high clientele and they can get quick customers. Where our problem does exist is in some of these remote areas ... that would be financially difficult for a private company to reach out and make a profit providing to those areas. That's what we're trying to balance.

"But we continue to work on it. We're waiting for that study. There are bills put in every year so I can't promise you anything is going to be done this year in the legislature," she said.

Afterward, Harwell told reporters she wants to see the ECD study before deciding. "My preference would be that the private sector take this over. We'll see if they can come to the plate and offer enough services to our rural areas. If they can't, then I do think it becomes necessary for the public to enter."

On other issues, Harwell told the NFIB that she expects legislation imposing a higher registration fee on electric vehicles because their drivers don't pay gas taxes.

And she said there is some legislative discussion of cutting some taxes in exchange for raising the gas tax.

"For example," she said, "you could probably lower the Hall income tax (on income from stocks and bonds) as you raise the gas tax. ... But I don't approach this without reservations because I do see it as more of a tax on the working poor than anyone else."
Artist's rendering of the new Collierville High School. (courtesy of Renaissance Group and Fleming architects)

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By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

When Flintco and Linkous Construction officials submitted their proposal to act as overseer of the new Collierville High, they didn't present their bid in the standard three-ring binder like others.

In a creative approach that caught the attention of Collierville school officials, the companies went with a high school yearbook-look, featuring the stylized mascot of Collierville High  a dragon. The cover leaned on the motto: One town. One School. One Team, officials like Supt. John Aitken have used to promote one school for the town rather a second, new high school.

Company officials even went as far as writing messages inside the pages of the "yearbook" proposal.

"It was novel, let's say," said Mike Simpson, chief operating officer for the Collierville schools, adding the bidder showed it wanted the job and did its homework. "They focused a lot on what was going on with the town."

Flintco of Tulsa, Okla., and Linkous Construction of Memphis are playing a key role as construction managers for the new Collierville High, one of the biggest public projects in the town's history. They'll coordinate among the numerous contractors who will build a new high school -- so huge that it will accommodate 3,000 students.

The yearbook-style proposal came from Flintco's internal marketing department, said Tim Weatherford, Flintco vice president and point person for the project. He believes the firm has used a yearbook in other school projects in the past. The company has participated in other high-profile projects, such as FedExForum and the Soulsville Charter School. (For its part, Linkous, the other company in the joint venture, has built at Lausanne Collegiate School and Briarcrest Christian School.)

The Collierville High project is notable for its size and complexity. Workers will handle tasks such as preparing the ground, laying bricks and installing glass, lots of it, since the design is built around big windows. The project will likely create over 1,000 jobs during construction, with as many as 250 to 300 people working on the site at one time, Weatherford said.

The price tag for the Flintco / Linkous construction management joint venture wasn't the lowest among the five companies that entered proposals. Apples-to-apples comparisons of price are difficult because of the way the agreement is structured, but on a key measurement, the construction management fee, Flintco / Linkous offered 2.95 percent of the project cost, while at least one other company offered a lower figure: Hoar Construction, for instance, proposed a fee of 2.25 percent.

If the estimated construction cost of $75 million proves accurate, the Flintco / Linkous fee will total $2.2 million, plus expenses.

Town authorities last year approved a $95 million bond issue to cover construction as well as related costs, such as site planning, landscaping and infrastructure. A 25-cent property tax increase approved earlier would pay off the debt, along with sales tax revenue.

Though Tennessee law allows some government contracts to be awarded on price alone, the law tells governments to treat construction contracts differently, said Darwin A. Hindman III, a Nashville-based attorney and head of the government contract group with regional law firm Baker Donelson. "They're not only allowed to, but they're required to consider more than just price when they make their decision," he said. The other key factor is quality. On certain professional services contracts, the state law requires the governments to consider quality only, not price.

Why not focus on price alone? Hindman paraphrased a quote attributed to the former astronaut and senator John Glenn, who joked that he took comfort in knowing that the rocket on which his life depended had been built by the lowest-cost bidder.

Simpson, the school official, said the selection committee took into account the companies' experience and past record. "And the fact that this is somebody you're going to be working with for about two-and-a-half years."

Officials hope to have the new high school open by the start of the 2018-19 school year. One of the main tasks for Flintco / Linkous will be to keep the project within the estimated $75 million construction budget.

"I think in the end, the team will be able to get the project done within the funds available to the school district," Weatherford said.

The construction managers are now using preliminary designs from architects to come up with early cost estimates. Sometime around April, they'll present the school board with a "guaranteed maximum price" for the project. Groundbreaking at the school site at Shelby Drive and Sycamore Road should take place sometime in May, Simpson said.

And in a few years, students at the new school will likely publish real yearbooks, not just proposals that look like them.
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It is a shame that the Memphis Zoo and Memphis City Council have opted out of two discussions that have important public policy implications.

Officials with the zoo did not participate Tuesday evening in a public meeting hosted by the Overton Park Conservancy to identify solutions for parking and traffic problems in the 342-acre park in Midtown. The nonprofit conservancy manages much of the park under a contract with the city.

Council Chairman Kemp Conrad declined an invitation from Shelby County Commission Chairman Terry Roland to join an ad hoc committee, which will include officials with the school system and county government, to find some kind of solution to Shelby County Schools' $1.3 billion retiree benefits obligation.

It defies reasonableness for the zoo to not participate in discussions that possibly could lead to a resolution of the controversial zoo practice of using the park's greensward for overflow parking.

In a suit filed last month against the city and the conservancy, the zoo asked a judge to declare it has sole control over part of the spacious lawn, where as many as 600 vehicles have been parked on days when paved lots are full.

The conservancy hired a team of architects, planners and engineers to lead a study to identify solutions to parking problem. The zoo has conducted its own studies, and zoo president Chuck Brady said since "the zoo has no role in drafting the (conservancy) study ... we believe our specific parking needs will not be addressed by their study."

OK, he has point. Still that should not be an excuse for not participating so the zoo can be part of the solution. It makes the zoo look bad.

The City Council's not-our-problem position on the SCS OPEB (other post-employment benefits) talks is shortsighted, especially if the situation ends up in court and a judge eventually rules it is their problem.

An opinion issued from the Tennessee Attorney General in January stated that Shelby County was not responsible for the $1 billion OPEB obligation that originated with the defunct Memphis City Schools, unless its legislative body voted to assume that responsibility. The opinion did not assign responsibility, although some in county government believed it should fall to Memphis.

Memphis Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen said the city isn't responsible for the liability of a special school district created by the state, and would fight any lawsuits to pay the money.

No one wants to be saddled with that kind debt, but Roland deserves credit for taking the lead on county Mayor Mark Luttrell's suggestion that representatives of the city, county and SCS sit down to see if there is a way to mitigate the devastating financial impact it will have on the entity that has to assume responsibility for that obligation. There is no doubt someone is going to have to assume responsibility.

Talking about an issue is not the same as taking on an obligation. The council's not-our-problem attitude defies reasonableness. The same can be said for the zoo's refusal to participate in talks to find a solution to the parking issue.
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Jay Turner

Olive Branch

Your Feb. 1 editorial cartoon tries to oversimplify the gun situation. You make it sound like such a simple idea, much like Obama and Emanuels Chicago gun licensing scam.

Surely the city with the most rigid gun laws will have the least crime and lowest crime death rates, right? Because the gangs, crooks and bad guys will see the law and turn in all their weapons, right? Surely these crackpot militias will do the same, right?

If those wanting more useless laws can guarantee that the 98 percent of lawful gun owners would not see government overreach from adding more regulations, lists, registrations, lists, rules, lists, otherwise, no dice.

Give liberals an inch and theyll take a mile, every time. History and other nations initiating gun registration prove the ultimate goal of the power-hungry liberal elite: registration, then confiscation, no middle ground. The truth is, you do want all our guns. Wont happen here.
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Barack Obama

President Barack Obama meets with members of Muslim-American community at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Baltimore, Md. Obama is making his first visit to a U.S. mosque at a time Muslim-Americans say they're confronting increasing levels of bias in speech and deeds.

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated Press)

CATONSVILLE, Maryland -- President Barack Obama paid his first visit to a U.S. mosque on Wednesday, working to confront bias that Muslim-Americans say is increasing at an alarming rate amid public concerns about terrorism and extremism.

Obama arrived late morning at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, where the campus contains a mosque and school that runs from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Last week, Obama became the first sitting president to speak at the Israeli Embassy. In remarks at the embassy, he warned of growing anti-Semitism in the world.

Obama's message at the mosque will follow a similar tack. The White House said he will focus on the need to speak out against bigotry and reject indifference. It's the kind of effort that Muslim-Americans said they've been waiting for from America's political and religious leaders.

"For some time, we've been asking for pushback. Perhaps this will start a trend," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals in the months following the Paris terrorist attack and the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. A severed pig's head was delivered to a mosque's doorstep in Philadelphia. Someone attempted to set fire to a mosque in Southern California.

Hooper said harassment and bullying is also on the rise. He cited Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the country as an example of how bias toward Muslims has become part of the American mainstream.

"I don't think there's ever been this level of fear and apprehension in the Muslim-American community," Hooper said.

For Obama, the visit in his final year in office reflects a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency. For years, Obama has fought unrelenting but incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans to this day. Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

With no plans for Obama to ever again appear on a ballot, Obama faces less pressure to avoid political controversy. Ahead of his visit Wednesday, White House officials readily acknowledged the visit could spark controversy but suggested that would help make his point about ignorance and religious bias. White House press secretary Josh Earnest predicted Obama's visit would "prompt exactly the kind of discussion and debate that the president thinks is worth having."

Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer.

Meanwhile, some Republicans have criticized Obama for not linking attacks like the one in Paris to "radical Islamic terrorism." Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Trump have voiced that concern.

Obama has said he refuses to describe the Islamic State and other such groups that way because the term grants them a religious legitimacy they don't deserve.

In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo. In a speech at Cairo University, he declared that the U.S. would never be at war with Islam. "America and Islam are not exclusive," he said, and share "common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

Attendees at the Baltimore mosque are predominantly of Turkish heritage, although immigrants of other nationalities also participate, said Akbar Ahmed, an Islamic studies specialist at American University who has researched mosques around the U.S.

Obama left it to the last minute to visit a U.S. mosque, Ahmed noted, "but better late than never."
Friends, Romans, Internetmen-and-women-and-any-other-gender-neutral-designations-that-may-be-appropriate-in-a-salutation-such-as-this: Lend me your ears. You may not like what I'm about to say -- truthfully, I'm not entirely sure I like it myself -- but I promise you, it's important:

This system we have of paying a few lousy shekels for complex mobile apps? Apps we use and rely on every day, in many cases, and for which we expect to receive eternal upgrades and support? Yeah -- that's gotta go.

I know, I know: The very thought of paying more than three bucks for a piece of software these days is tough to swallow, no matter how much value we may get out of the thing. But as this week's sale of SwiftKey to Microsoft underscores, that sort of penny-pinching mentality makes it tough for mobile app developers to survive on their own in the long term. And sooner or later, that's going to turn into a serious problem for us as consumers.

The SwiftKey side of the story

This story is really much broader than SwiftKey, but the app's acquisition is a good launchpad for a discussion we've been needing to open up for a while.

Let's begin with some truth from the friendly troops at the Financial Times, which broke the news of SwiftKey's acquisition:

Despite being installed on more than 300 million devices, SwiftKey has struggled to find a reliable business model. After initially selling its predictive keyboard app for $4, the company switched to a free download model in 2014, selling extras such as themes and personalization via in-app purchases.

That's not all: SwiftKey also had the unusual advantage of selling its software to manufacturers like Samsung, who used it as a foundation for their own custom preinstalled keyboards. But yet, it apparently still struggled to find a way to turn its popular and favorably reviewed app into a sustainable business.

And remember: That's coming from a large company with lots of resources (and millions of dollars in investor moolah) at its disposal. Compare that to the countless independent developers who work on their own to develop and maintain apps in order to make a living. If even an organization like SwiftKey couldn't swing it, how can those smaller operations possibly support themselves and keep improving their products when they depend on a measly $2.99 per user for a lifetime of work?

The answer is simple: They can't. I've heard from numerous developers over the years who have grappled with this issue and racked their brains to find a solution.

The problem is that such a solution isn't exactly easy. There is no one-size-fits-all magic fix here, and any viable option is going to require some serious reshaping of expectations on behalf of us -- the users.

The app cost conundrum

Now, let's get one thing straight: For some apps, a nominal one-time fee really does make the most sense. But for more complex and time-requiring titles, especially those that continue to evolve meaningfully over time, we're going to have to start being more accepting of alternate payment approaches. Either that, or we're going to start losing the developers who currently devote their time and resources to maintaining such efforts.

One interesting possibility is the notion of being asked to repurchase an app every year or two, whenever a major new version is released. We saw this attempted on Android with Chris Lacy's Action Launcher 3 app -- and boy, were some people pissy about it.

Lacy's justification was that Action Launcher 3 was a complete ground-up rewrite of his program. As he wrote in a Google+ post at the time:

Considering the vast majority of Action Launcher 2 sales occurred over a year ago, and I make my living selling my apps, it's very tough to justify from a business perspective giving all this hard work away for free in an update. I feel very happy with how many updates Action Launcher 2 received over the previous two years (11 major updates, >100 in total), as well as the value for money Action Launcher Pro users have received for their $2 to $4 purchase. But charging for Action Launcher 3 is the right move to ensure the product has the opportunity to grow as I want it to going forward.

Lacy noted that those who didn't want to upgrade could continue to use the older version indefinitely on an as-is basis. He likened it to the way someone might buy a new "Call of Duty" game every year, or buy a sequel to a movie instead of automatically receiving the next edition just because they bought the first.

If you ask me, that makes an awful lot of sense -- and the fact that people were upset about Lacy's experiment speaks to the fact that we need to adjust our expectations. Paying four bucks every year or two for something like a launcher -- something you use constantly throughout the day and on any number of devices you own -- is perfectly reasonable. Hell, it's a steal, especially when you consider the numerous upgrades and new features you'll receive throughout that product's lifetime. Let's keep it in perspective, folks: We're talking about less than the cost of your daily Venti Mocha-Nut-a-tino here.

And here's what's important: That once-per-major-upgrade payment structure is going to let a guy like Lacy -- a single person working on his own to develop, maintain, support, and market an innovative app many of us adore -- continue to work on creating software that makes our mobile devices more efficient and pleasant to use.

The value variable

As we start to see more apps trying to experiment with such alternate approaches, the key will be for developers to find a cost and payment model that matches their app's perceived value. Suddenly telling customers they're going to need to pay an ongoing $40/yr. subscription for the same features they previously enjoyed free of charge, for instance, is invariably going to rub people the wrong way. Just ask the crew behind Pushbullet.

Under the right circumstances, some services can justify a recurring subscription-based approach; others, no matter how hard they may try, just can't. But the perceived value of the service and the way the cost is presented makes a world of difference in how the plan is received, as we can see by comparing Pushbullet's transition to Feedly's -- a similar free-to-subscription shift with a very similar pricing model. In the latter case, few people seemed to complain and most left the situation feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

As long as that value variable is determined correctly and presented well, the real challenge isn't on the developers so much as it is on us. We're reaching a crossroads in the world of mobile apps, and it's up to us to decide whether we're going to cling to the unrealistic 99-cents-is-all-I'll-pay mentality we've been trained to have or whether we're going to accept a more sustainable approach -- one that'll let our developers actually earn a reasonable ongoing living for their work.

Ultimately, being willing to pay for the tools we use won't keep great apps like SwiftKey from getting gobbled up in expensive acquisitions. It will, however, make it more feasible for developers to turn their work on Android into long-lasting careers -- and ultimately, that's a win for us all.
Since hacking NASA is supposedly cliche, the hacking group AnonSec claims to have not only hacked NASA and stay undetected for about two years, but to have also hacked one of NASAs drones, Global Hawk, with the intent of crashing it into the ocean.

AnonSec AnonSec's flight plan to crash NASA's Global Hawk drone into the Pacific.

The group dumped 276 GB of data as proof published in an OpNasaDrones zine on Pastebin; it included names, email addresses and phone numbers of 2,414 NASA employees, 2,143 flight logs and 631 videos from aircraft and weather radars.

Why hack NASA? Chemtrails; Im not joking. The group wrote:

One of the main purposes of the Operation was to bring awareness to the reality of Chemtrails/Cloud Seeding/Geoengineering/Weather Modification, whatever you want to call it, they all represent the same thing. NASA even has several missions dedicated to studying Aerosols and their affects (SIC) on the environment and weather, so we targeted their systems.

NASA denied AnonSecs claim, telling Forbes, Control of our Global Hawk aircraft was not compromised. NASA has no evidence to indicate the alleged hacked data are anything other than already publicly available data. NASA takes cybersecurity very seriously and will continue to fully investigate all of these allegations.

The agency went a bit further with NASAs Allard Beutel telling Motherboard, NASA strives to make our scientific data publicly available, including large data sets, which is how the information in question was retrieved. In other words, we gave it away, it wasnt stolen.

However, reporter Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai noted that Beutel would not respond to multiple questions regarding the 8 hours of footage, which do not appear to have ever been made public before. Yet the zine included a screenshot showing how AnonSec bypassed NASA firewalls, an image Motherboard said seems to be lifted from a NASA site.

How AnonSec hacked NASA, took control of Global Hawk drone

No matter how much you might love NASA, the agency isnt known for having the best cybersecurity hygiene (pdf). AnonSecs zine claims the original breach into NASA systems was unplanned and a result of the Gozi virus in 2013. It thanks baby boomer secretaries for their lack of training and irresistible urge to open attachments in spoofed emails from the HR department. An AnonSec member told Forbes that the group initially bought access to the NASA network from a Chinese group, paying in Bitcoin in 2013, adding that NASA allegedly has many [Windows XP] and unpatched Ubuntu servers.

After having an initial foothold, the hackers kept digging in and claimed it took a mere .32 seconds to brute-force an administrators SSH password as the credentials were unchanged from the default. Eventually the group said it was inside NASAs internal network and three NAS devices, which NASA allegedly used to download and backup mission flight plans. AnonSec said it had access to boxes at NASA's Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center and Dryden Flight Research Center networks. Some group members hunted for additional vulnerabilities while others researched missions and the capabilities of various aircraft.

The drone takeover allegedly occurred on April 9, 2015. The zine states, After countless months of successfully retrieving NASA drone logs automatically, we noticed some weird traffic; a single .gpx file was pushed out to Global Hawk each time it returned to base, indicating it had a pre-planned route option sent over WLAN. The group decided to do something sinister, using a man-in-the-middle attack to upload its own custom. gpx file to control the drone and to crash the Global Hawk into the Pacific Ocean.

Several members were in disagreement on this because if it worked, we would be labelled terrorists for possibly crashing a $222.7 million US Drone... but we continued anyways lol.

Shortly after the drone left its predetermined flight plan, NASA noticed and took manual control of the drone. NASA then finally inspected their networks and shut the hackers out, but not before they allegedly took partial control of Global Hawk and supposedly stole about a 1 TB of data.

NASA has a slew of network misconfigurations, SecurityScorecard COO and co-founder Sam Kassoumeh told IBTimes. Over the last year, we found over 10,000 malware signatures originating from NASA's network, meaning that 10,000 machines have been affected by malware and are communicating back to the owners of that malware.

A good portion of AnonSecs zine is devoted to chemtrails and related so-called conspiracies dealing with geoengineering, cloud seeding and weather modification. Regarding misconceptions about OpNasaDrones from previous articles and how much of the information is public, the group claimed it was a misunderstanding caused by language barriers as 90% was meant as education to show chemtrails and the rest are real.

They added:

Only a few files, screenshots and videos were actually part of the leak. Also the part in the OpNasaDrones about Aliens was (a) misinterpretation using Google Translate. What d3f4ult meant to say was while doing background research into NASA cover ups, he found out about supposed accounts of UFOs and aliens working with the government via Gary McKinnon's hack. We didnt find anything related to aliens ourselves as the video made it sound like, sorry.

If you are wondering why it took so long to dump the data, thats because it was first offered to WikiLeaks and The Guardian  neither of which would touch it  but AnonSec was waiting on their response.
As car automation technologies like navigation and infotainment systems emerge as the next big opportunity for the automotive industry, patent disputes similar to those seen in the smartphone business have not unexpectedly surfaced.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to announce Wednesday an investigation into charges by Advanced Silicon Technologies in Portsmouth, N.H. that a number of car makers -- including Honda, Toyota, BMW and Volkswagen -- and component makers like Harman, Texas Instruments and Renesas Electronics infringe on certain claims of four of its patents. The disputed patents relate, among other things, to car infotainment systems, according to a notice by the ITC on the U.S. Federal Register.

The investigation under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 could lead to a ban by the ITC on the import and sale of the infringing products in the U.S., if the infringement is proven. The patents assigned to Advanced Silicon were previously held by Advanced Micro Devices, which also holds a non-exclusive license to them in the U.S., according to Advanced Silicon's filing in December before the ITC.

The disputed products include infotainment systems, head-end units, navigation systems, graphics processors, microprocessors and other computing or graphics-capable electronics devices, and the vehicles containing such components and systems.

Advanced Silicon Technologies had in December also sued these companies for infringement and consequent damages in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware for allegedly infringing some or all of these four patents.

A number of patent holding companies, also known as 'patent trolls,' accumulate patents to sue for damages, but don't have their products competing in the market.

Unified Patents, a member-based organization that aims to counter these non-practicing entities, said in July last year that almost all the litigation in the automotive sector is NPE-based as such entities find the sector "is a ripe place to purchase patents for the goal of assertion." Most of the litigation is in the area of safety and infotainment systems.
BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron is defending his EU deal at Prime Ministers Question Time today  but is facing a backlash from eurosceptics who accuse him of watering down his demands.

Mr Cameron has declared himself satisfied with deal promises from the EU council president which he says offer substantial reforms.

He says he has won something worth fighting for and that if the deal is not substantially changed as negotiations continue in the run-up to a summit on February 18-19 the government will campaign for the UK to stay in the EU. He has however said individual ministers will be free to campaign against membership if they wish.

The prime minister is understood to favour a referendum on June 23 if all goes to plan and a deal is finalised with the other EU members this month. He has said that what is on the table is good enough that if the UK was not an EU member, he would wish to sign up to the EU under such terms.

It would give the UK the "best of both worlds", he said, by allowing it to be a "proud independent country not part of a superstate" but maintaining access to the single market and a voice around the top EU table.

Mr Cameron has received backing from key figures including the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, and Home Secretary Theresa May, despite backlash from eurosceptics and much of the popular press.

Mr Hammond said significant movement has taken place and what is offered is the architecture for a deal to be done. Mrs May also called it the basis for a deal.

According to the letter of the Referendum Bill, there should be a campaign period of at least 10 weeks before the referendum by which point at the latest there should be a report setting out what has been agreed following the negotiations and the opinion of the British government on this.

The bill also says that by the same cut-off a report must be published with information about the rights and obligations that come from EU membership and examples of other countries that do not have EU membership but do have other arrangements; explaining how these work.

However Mr Cameron said in January he thought a campaign period of more than three months would be necessary. Assuming a deal is arrived at this month would allow for four months of campaigning until June.

The main elements for the deal offered by EU council president Donald Tusk include:

 Britain to be explicitly excluded from the principle that the EU countries seek ever closer union and recognition that within the EU states may wish to integrate further at different speeds and to differing degrees

 A "red-card" mechanism, meaning that if 55% of national parliaments agree (eg. the UK and others that agree with it), they could block a commission proposal.

 An emergency brake on in-work benefits. States to be allowed to limit the access of EU workers newly entering a countrys job market to in-work benefits for four years from the start of employment in the case where this would be too much strain on the welfare system. The UKs situation would justify implementing this without delay. The benefits would be banned at the start of the period but gradually phased in towards the end of it.

 If migrant workers send child benefit money back to other countries the level of the payments will be reduced compared to the cost of living in the country.

 Recognition that countries not using the euro do not have to take part in measures aimed at deepening economic and monetary union and a guarantee of mutual respect between Euro Zone countries and other ones when decisions are made.

 A pledge that the EU will increase efforts towards enhancing competitiveness and strengthening the internal market, with a reduction in red tape.
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.
Nick Herbert reckons a majority of the Conservative parliamentary party are Eurosceptic, but will vote to stay in a reformed European Union. He has set up a new group, Conservatives for Reform in Europe, to represent these pragmatic Conservatives, and today announces more Conservatives who are joining it.

In this interview, he denies being a Cameron stooge and claims the Prime Minister has put a spoke in the EU ratchet. Herbert says most of those who are criticising these reforms now actually want to leave. He maintains that we do still have border controls, and disputes Paul Goodmans claim that Cameron has abandoned a large number of renegotiation demands.

Because he ran the campaign to stop Britain joining the euro, Herbert has always been thought of as a Eurosceptic. But in this interview, the MP for Arundel & South Downs, and former minister, makes with fervour the case for staying inside the EU.

ConHome: Whats the history of your opinions about leaving or staying in the EU. Were you ever in favour of leaving?

Herbert: I led Business for Sterling and we set up the national No campaign. Theres the award winning poster over there [framed on the wall of his office, with the first and last letters of the word euro formed from a pair of handcuffs]. The slogan as you can see was europe yes, euro no.

Last year I then wrote my book, Why Vote Conservative, and in that book I weighed up the arguments for and against being a member of the European Union. I concluded that providing we do get the reforms that the Prime Minister is setting out, that it would be in the British national interest to remain in, and thats why Im willing to lead this campaign.

We have no love for the European Union. We have significant concerns about the direction of travel the EU has been taking. We worry a lot about the growth in regulation. We worry about the loss of sovereignty. We worry about the lack of democracy.

And we worry about net levels of migration to our country. And we want to see those things addressed, but if they are, I think we take a hard-headed view about whether it remains in our interests to stay. And that I think is what the body of the Conservative Party will and should do.

ConHome: On this migration question which you mention, surely all this business about in-work benefits is a bit beside the point, especially as were putting up the minimum wage. People come here to work, not to obtain benefits.

Herbert: The Prime Ministers proposal is precisely to tackle in-work benefits. Weve already taken action to deal with the situation where people might come over and not work. He draws the distinction between the right to work and the right to claim. The fundamental point is this: our welfare system is different to that of most our European partners.

ConHome: I saw the letter in the Daily Telegraph about your campaign, which I think 22 MPs had signed.

Herbert: Yes, theyre our founding members.

ConHome: Have you recruited some others?

Herbert: Watch this space We are gathering support, and I think we will continue to do so. Of course at the moment the payroll isnt allowed to declare, and most of them have not done so, and that of course immediately removes a third of the parliamentary party

What were trying to appeal to is what I think is the Eurosceptic middle ground, because I think the body of the party is essentially Eurosceptic, but who on balance would want to remain provided theres reform. And I believe that will be a majority of the parliamentary party. We know theres support out there. Either at the moment its private support, or its support that will be revealing itself.

ConHome: Perhaps youre going along to the House of Lords to persuade the Duke of Omnium to come on board?

Herbert: If anybody thinks we are going to have just our 20 founding members they will have to eat their words.

ConHome: Are you going to have a wider membership as well?

Herbert: Yes. The significance of what were doing  and I think this may have been missed so far  is that we dont just want to set up, if you like, a parliamentary ginger group. Conservative Campaign Headquarters has been told it cannot operate during a European Referendum campaign, it must be officially neutral in this matter, as must local parties.

So there is a cross-party campaign, Britain Stronger In Europe, which is if you like an umbrella campaign. But I think there will need to be an organisation for Conservatives who want to campaign to remain in the EU, once theyve seen the reforms. So there will need to be an organisation for that.

ConHome: So you wont just be subsumed  you wont just take shelter under this umbrella?

Herbert: No. What were building is a Conservative campaign that will then work alongside the Britain Stronger In campaign, in the same way that the Labour In campaign, which is led by Alan Johnson, works alongside

ConHome: So you are the Alan Johnson of the Conservative Party!

Herbert: I wouldnt dream in any way of comparing myself to Alan Johnson, a politician I greatly admire.

ConHome: What do you say when unkind people accuse you of being a Cameron stooge?

Herbert: Well what Id say is thats a first! Ive heard it all now. Ive never been accused of that before.

ConHome: I dont think its so much an accusation touching on your personal integrity. People are just trying to distinguish what is stage management by Number Ten and what is actually genuine.

Herbert: I thought and others thought and Charlotte Vere who is the executive director of this campaign had been thinking also for some time that there needed to be a body that was making the case for reform

There wasnt a voice for that. Thats what I felt was needed, and of course I talked to the Prime Minister about that. The genesis of this is that I was having a conversation with him, and said I think this case is going by default  there needs to be something.

So of course he supports the formation of this campaign, but I am chairing this campaign and Im not a minister, and Im not a party appointee, and Charlotte Vere is the independent director. We have set this up as an independent campaign, albeit that it is quite clearly supporting the position that the Prime Minister is taking.

ConHome: Can you really quite honestly say this renegotiation is not a retreat from what Cameron quite recently promised? On for example the emergency brake, which was I think to do with numbers of people coming, and is now to do with benefits.

Herbert: Well Cameron himself made a virtue of that. He said he thought that the benefits solution was a better solution than the emergency brake. So I dont see that as a retreat. Its an alternative mechanism.

ConHome: Paul Goodman wrote a piece on ConservativeHome this morning [Monday], Camerons Vanishing Renegotiation, listing ten aims which Cameron has first proposed and then dropped.

Herbert: Yes, I disagree.

ConHome: Youre challenging Goodman?

Herbert: I would challenge my very good friend Paul Goodman, who I agree with about almost everything else. I dont think that his charge sheet is fair, and I think there is an answer to all of those points, and Im happy to make it. And I think hes got one or two things wrong. And I can do that.

But I think the bigger point is this. When the Prime Minister first made his speech to Bloomberg, and said there needed to be change, at that time, there was also the prospect of imminent treaty change, because the eurozone countries want to integrate more deeply.

That treaty change will happen, but not to the same timetable as the renegotiation that the Prime Minister is seeking. And so I accept that there has been that change. But I do think the reforms that he has targeted are in the areas where there is particular public concern.

And I think that they should be welcomed. So they are in the areas of migration, they are in the areas of reducing regulation, they are in the areas of tackling ever closer union protecting Britain from deeper eurozone integration

The truth is that most of those who are criticising these reforms now actually want to leave, and there is no renegotiation, there is no set of reforms which would satisfy them if they were being honest.

ConHome: What is unfair on Goodmans charge sheet, though?

Herbert: For instance, it suggested that changes had not been made in relation to benefits that we were paying. Well one of the things we have been able to do is deal with the situation where people could come over and claim benefit for a period of time. Weve now put a limit on the amount of time that they would be able to be looking for work before they could then have to leave the country.

So I can and will set out a detailed rebuttal to all of these things. Some of the proposals which are made are tantamount to a set of demands that could not be met except actually by withdrawal.

ConHome: But didnt Cameron give us hope that we were going to get some of these things?

Herbert: Yes, but if the circumstances change, where you know that treaty agreement is not going to be possible, or if there is an alternative means of securing the same outcome, then I dont think its fair

The very act of holding the referendum, and announcing that the referendum will be held, and embarking on the renegotiation, has I think had the effect of putting a spoke in the ratchet, to stop that ratchet turning.

And what I think the reforms will do in totality is not just stop but will actually begin to turn around the process. And that is what I think is important about this set of reforms. And I dont therefore think they should be dismissedwe will be able to have border control, we will be able to keep our currency

ConHome: We wont be able to have border control, will we?

Herbert: Yes we do have border control in this country. We have borders that everyone has to pass through and you have to show your passport, whether youre an EU citizen or not.

And we turn away people who are EU citizens who pose a threat to our country. Weve turned away 6,000 EU citizens since David Cameron became Prime Minister. And thats why the suggestion that was made that asylum seekers or migrants who arrive in Europe, including the sex attackers in Cologne, would within a period of three years arrive in Britain, was so very wrong.

Because for a start they could not get an EU passport for a period of years, in Germanys case at least eight years. Secondly if they committed a criminal offence in Germany they would be removed from Germany, and wouldnt be able to get a passport anyway.

And thirdly, we reserve the right not to admit people who pose a threat to our country The paradox is that the very people who are opposing EU co-operation in relation to criminals are then making the allegation that we will have to accept these criminals.

ConHome: Who was saying that the Cologne sex offenders would come over here?

Herbert: Initially it was said by the Leave campaign, and by Nigel Farage. They were deliberately playing on public fears, and I do think it was scandalous and irresponsible and not true, that those people would simply arrive in three years time in our country. We are outside Schengen. We do have border control.

ConHome: I must say thats not the general public impression.

Herbert: Its the confusion of free movement to work for people who have an EU passport, which you still have to show, and passportless travel, which is what the rest of Europe has. That is why we will be in a relatively advantageous position if we secure these reforms. We will be outside the Schengen area, outside the eurozone, but actually have access to this market.

Theyve been raising these fears about the arrival of people who are going to threaten our country  and have been opposing the kind of co-operation within the EU that helps to deal with these people. They have been generally sceptical of or opposing measures to share intelligence, opposing the sharing of DNA, opposing the European Arrest Warrant.

ConHome: I must say Im jolly against the European Arrest Warrant. I just dont like the idea of being arrested for something which might not even be an offence in this country.

Herbert: Well let me tell you, the public arent. The public very strongly support the European Arrest Warrant, and under that warrant we have been able to bring back to this country people including terrorist suspects, and remove people to other countries that are suspects  thousands of criminals.

And it would have taken far longer, years, to do that under previous arrangements. And I think its a good example of a Conservative pragmatism, that what our Home Secretary did is opt out of a huge raft of crime and justice directives, but then pragmatically opt back in to those where it does make sense for us to share We dont have an ideological objection to sharing where its in our interests.

ConHome: Enoch Powell would. Ever since Sir Robert Walpole, one has become and has remained Prime Minister by controlling the House of Commons, I would say in both Walpoles case and Camerons by very skilful use of patronage

Herbert: Why do I know where this questions going?

ConHome: but modern politicians are much more easily bought. You dont have to be made Paymaster General and build yourself a Palladian mansion in Norfolk. Do you think it would be fair to say that for Cameron  and I dont necessarily mean this as a criticism  party management really takes precedence over the merits of the case?

Herbert: Be careful of those who say that holding a referendum is just about party management. There is a principled case for holding the referendum.

ConHome: Youre not interested in getting a ministerial post?

Herbert: To be honest, I dont think about these things.

ConHome: Well youre very unusual.

Herbert: I appreciate that it is unusual, and no one ever believes me. The truth is that the thing I am focused on entirely at the moment is this referendum.

Nick Herbert will reply to Paul Goodmans Camerons Vanishing Negotiation Article of Monday on this site next Monday.
When Utah's Lloyd Pendleton came to Portland in November to talk about his state's nationally acclaimed program to address chronic homelessness, the local reactions basically fell into three not exactly complementary categories:

We should immediately replicate everything Utah did.

What Utah did will never work here, and

We're already doing all that.

The truth is, all three reactions, to some degree, are right. There are many aspects of Utah's successful 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, led by Mr. Pendleton, that we could and should replicate here in Portland. And we need to recognize that Oregon and Utah - and Portland and Salt Lake - are different. I am certain that even Mr. Pendleton would say we need to build a program that learns from Utah, but reflects the values and diversity of our own community.

Most importantly, however, we are not starting from zero. Portland has tremendous social service providers who have been at the front line serving the homeless community for decades. Every day, I see the work of Central City Concern, New Avenues for Youth, Transitions Projects, JOIN, Blanchet House, Salvation Army and many others. All of these groups are resourceful and innovative, and many operate programs very similar to those that have worked in Utah, including the celebrated "Housing First" model. There is also the new "A Home for Everyone" framework created by the city of Portland and Multnomah County to tackle the challenge together. I know the homelessness crisis we face today would be much worse without these organizations.

That said, there is a lot to learn from Mr. Pendleton and Utah's experience. When I think about his presentation several weeks later, what comes to mind for me are not details about individual programs but, rather, the broader values and direction that drove Utah's success. Let me share the key learnings that have stayed with me:

State leadership. In Utah, the state took the lead in developing, resourcing and implementing a 10-year plan to end homelessness, and they stuck with it. In Oregon, the plan was driven by local government, with apparently little involvement from the state, and, although there was some success, the enthusiasm for implementing the program waned over the years. Could bringing the state to the table in a broader, leadership role sharpen focus and collaboration, as it did in Utah?

One visionary leader. Utah identified one strong, established voice for its efforts in Lloyd Pendleton. A former business executive, he was "loaned" to the state by the LDS church to implement Utah's program to end chronic homelessness. He was the governor's chief advisor and implementer for programs addressing homelessness and, although unpaid, he had the reputation and gravitas to bring people to the table and keep them there. He also had license to "uninvite" stakeholders who could not sign on to the broader consensus strategy.

Focus. Recognizing that the issue of homeless is broad and multifaceted, Utah chose to build its initial model around one demographic, the chronically homeless, who comprised about 14 percent of the state's overall homeless count in 2005. They didn't walk away from serving others, but the primary focus of their "Housing First" effort was on the chronically homeless population, which they reasoned was a major contributor to the financial costs associated with homelessness. In Portland and Multnomah County last year, we saw that focused approach work with the federally driven effort to end veterans' homelessness. Can we learn from that and Utah's example by choosing another demographic for intense focus, gaining success, then moving to another...and so on?

Start small; act now. In addressing our community, Mr. Pendleton, in his no-nonsense way, advised us to "get a pilot going and make it happen now." Utah began with "low-cost, low-risk" programs, scaling them bigger if they worked and setting them aside if they did not. They didn't wait for a grand plan; they tried ideas out. They also insisted on a solutions-oriented mindset, focusing on how to overcome barriers rather than be held back by them.

Housing and services. Mr. Pendleton stressed that housing is the key. Utah's Housing First model (which agencies like JOIN do here in Portland) turned the traditional model on its head by putting people into permanent housing without running them first through transitional programs or rehabilitation services. Mr. Pendleton's program worked with landlords to make apartments available, and new affordable housing was developed through public programs. At the same time, shelters were not abandoned. Rather, shelter stays were limited and the clients moved to permanent housing within a month or two. Utah believed no one should have to sleep on the street, and even today there is sufficient shelter capacity to take care of everyone who needs a bed. In Portland, despite millions invested in affordable housing, we are still short on permanent housing and we actually saw a decrease in shelter beds. The result: people are forced to sleep outside.

Broad community support: Utah's efforts brought the broad community to the table: government, business, social service providers, faith leaders, neighborhood groups, landlords and many others, with Mr. Pendleton, as the governor's designate, as the clear leader.

Funding. Clearly, adequate funding is key to addressing the homelessness crisis. But from what Mr. Pendleton said, it does not sound like Utah suddenly created a vast new revenue source for their programs. Rather, they reprioritized what they were doing and put money into programs that would yield the best results, and they jettisoned programs that didn't make the grade or map into the shared vision.

We don't want to create an impression that nothing is happening here in Portland. In fact, we have seen considerable movement over the last few months. Most importantly, shelter capacity has grown so fewer people are sleeping on the street, and as a community, we are more united than ever before in seeing that this is an issue we need to address together.

We were very lucky to have Mr. Pendleton here in Portland, and I want to thank everyone who participated in the conversations we had with him. I took away a lot, and I hope everyone else did too. If you missed our forum with Lloyd Pendleton, You can watch a full video of his comments at the November Portland Business Alliance Forum Breakfast HERE.
From : Reggie@toptory.lidl.com

To : Desmond.Swayne@dfid.gov.uk

Subject : Gender Fluid

Dear Dessie,

I understand that you survived your trip to Davos with all the so-called celebs and their PR gurus. I dont know how you put up with all those awful meetings, execrable food (hamburgers at 60 Euros) and the fact there was no room at the inn, and you and the fragrant Justine G having to bed down in a woodshed.

The Euro rollercoaster continues here with the public bored brainless by the competing teams. You may have seen that the leader of the in team one Stuart Rose (I think he made his fortune off-shore) was unable to remember the name of the organisation he was officer in command of  Britain a Stranger in Europe  or words to that affect.

You would despair at the continuing Monty Python like actions of the outers who spend all their time fighting like ferrets in a sack, marginalising senior veterans like Cash, Redwood and Chope. Meanwhile Dr Fox addressed an outers rally at Kettering of all places, and the audience reminded me of those Empire Loyalist events of the 1950s.

I have to give it to the PM on the negotiations and referendum, he is taking a leaf out of the book of that Yankee General George Patton  firepower and speed and grab em by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow.

All of this is tied up with the continuing foreplay for the leadership. The Chancellor of the E has been wining and dining all the PPSs by rota at No 11, stroking egos, promises of future patronage and just a hint of a cold shoulder if crossed. Meanwhile, Boris J is doing his bit with the 2015 intake at the Empress of India Curry house in Kennington  time for a change, new thinking, talents to be rewarded. Like me you may be amazed to hear that every day more colleagues are intimating they could be persuaded to stand: even the Solicitor General and young James Cleverley who I thought had more sense.

Much excitement amongst the ladies at the James Kirkup article in the Torygraph which suggested time for another Margaret T. Im not sure whether at my age I could endure another roller-coaster experience and a lot of strength through fear  I get enough of that from Lady Mary.

Mentioning Her Ladyship reminds me that Soames has been absent with a chit from the Whips and Dr Woollaston. Two weeks at a health farm  Beast Your Body  as recommended by Lady Ms niece Hermione. Prune juice, raw vegetables and cold saunas. The boys at Whites tried to smuggle in a food parcel labelled British Bible Society but the female minders opened it and all hell broke loose. Soames is back looking like someone who spent four years at Colditz under the gimlet eye of Frau Merkel.

The Times has been running a series of articles speculating on where we will all go when the developers move in to the Palace circa 2020. I expected more from their reporters Francis Elliott and Sam Coates, who are supposed to be writing about the economy and global insecurity instead of ludicrous articles about parliamentary bars and bogs! Latest latrine rumour is that we will move into the Department of Health in Whitehall. Disadvantage is the lease is owned by ISIS and no alcohol. I put an alternative to George Osborne that the FCO should be moved into the Treasury building  his eyes gleamed at this  and we should move into the FCO. The Durbar Court would be turned into the Chamber and no damned nonsense about an alcohol free zone. Watch this space.

I dont suppose you were surprised to learn of the latest equipment cock-up by the MOD. Our brand new state of the art T45 destroyers need their engines replaced on the grounds that they keep breaking down  I did wonder whether they were from VW? Anyway, the RN are having to drag old frigates and corvettes last seen in the Battle of the Atlantic out of fleet moth balls. Obsolete they may be, but any engine trouble can be fixed at sea by some artificers mate with a jemmy and an oil can, as those of us old enough to remember watching it done with Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea.

More political correctness on the home front. I was enjoying a snifter in the Whips Office with Matron (a.k.a Anne Milton), who tells me that the latest CCHQ wheeze is for all MPs to fill in a questionnaire on our gender fluidity. Needless to say, Soames got the wrong end of the definition and had to be calmed down. You and I assumed that there were only about three or four sexual perms, but no, there are 25 options ranging from agender to intersex. Stupidly, I asked why this was necessary, and Matron inferred that it is to provide the PM, or more likely the C of E, with vital information for the next reshuffle  a rainbow government. Safest box to tick Im told is not sure.

All of this follows on the revelations by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that he took Poppers. Naively, Soames and I thought these were the streamers used at parties, rather than some chemical substance which combined the smell of nail varnish and creosote and was supposed to make you frisky  too much information for Lady Mary.

A week ago I thought Id won the jackpot with 33 million readies on the lottery. Id bought the ticket in Worcester when visiting Honker Radclifffe in his nursing home. I was sure of the numbers, but one of the Jacks had grabbed it off the hall table and by the time Id retrieved it chewed it badly. Anyway, some other punter has come forward and my dreams of buying the Turf Club remain just that.

Following the latest announcement on the EU negotiations by that Polish chap Trump (or is it Trumpers?) I intend going out with colleagues knocking up for Zac Goldsmiths mayoral campaign. That way I miss John Baron and the usual suspects boring for Britain in some debate in the House.

If you are in town that evening why dont we meet for supper at The Wild Colonial Boy in Fulham? My treat.

Yours till the referendum,

Reggie
Labour accuse Sturgeon of trying to crash fiscal devolution

For a party which hoped to be shepherding Scotland towards imminent independence from Britain by now, the SNP is proving remarkably reluctant to embrace fiscal devolution  due to the risk that Scotland could lose billions.

Labour have accused Nicola Sturgeons administration of trying to derail the assumption of substantial tax responsibilities by Holyrood ahead of this years Scottish election, according to The Herald, and joined Tory MSPs in rejecting the Nationalists proposals.

This charge comes as both Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged this week to raise taxes in the (unlikely) event that they gain office in May  much to the delight of those who want more from Scottish politics than the constitution.

Ruth Davidson, meanwhile, persisted with her down distinction strategy, emphasising the Conservatives unalloyed unionism, tax-cutting instincts, and crop of fresh, high-quality candidates.

SDLP plan to establish opposition in Northern Ireland

The Social Democratic and Labour Party, the smaller and more moderate of the nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, has announced its intention to set up in opposition to the all-party executive.

At present, the need for the Ulster system to avoid creating losers (the necessary by-product of winners) creates an all-shall-have-prizes government, formed by mandatory coalition, in which all the main parties are guaranteed ministries.

With every plausible contender for power being complicit in the provinces dysfunctional government, the effect on scrutiny has been predictable and an effective opposition sorely missed.

If the mechanism for formal opposition is created and the Ulster Unionists join the SDLP there, could we yet see two cross-communal coalitions competing for office in Northern Ireland? That would be something.

Labour at odds with First Minister over EU referendum date

A split has opened between the national Labour leadership and Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales and its most senior remaining elected official.

Alan Johnson, who leads Labours campaign to Remain in the EU, has endorsed an early poll. Jones meanwhile has written to the Prime Minister claiming that a June vote would be disrespectful to devolved elections.

Three more Nationalist MPs feel the heat

The woes afflicting the SNPs MPs are such a regular occurrence that they seem almost to be becoming a regular feature of this column. This week offers three.

First George Kerevan, a crusader against expenses who ostentatiously declined the majority of his salary, was revealed by Guido to have contrived to win back some 25,000 of his forgone earnings by paying them to his wife instead.

Then Dr Philippa Whitford was found by the Daily Mail earning 500 a day moonlighting as a surgeon on the NHS, despite Pete Wisharts pious assurance that no SNP MP would take a second job (although this reflects badly on his judgement rather than hers).

Finally and most seriously, Natalie McGarry* risks being sued by JK Rowling after she accused the author of defending misogynists on Twitter without adequate (read: any) substantiating evidence.

(*In fairness to the SNP I should note that McGarry has already resigned the party whip whilst the police investigate the disappearance of up to 30,000 in donations from a pro-independence group she led.)

Welsh Government faces two land scandals

The Labour administration in Cardiff Bay made headlines on Wales Online not once but twice this week for some very poor land purchase decisions.

First, a leak from the Welsh Audit Office suggested that independent assessors had valued Cardiff Airport at between 20-30 million less than the 52 million the Welsh Government paid to nationalise it (which it insists was absolutely the right decision).

Then it emerged that the controversial sale by said Government of valuable development land for farmland prices  at a cost of millions in lost income  occurred after Labour scrapped the expert body which had bought it in the first place.

Swinney tightens chokehold on Scottish councils

The long-running guerilla war between the SNP and Scottish local government boiled over this week as John Swinney, the Finance Minister, was accused of dictatorial behaviour.

He stands accused of threatening councils with draconian sanctions if they do not sign up to his agenda  including another year of the council tax freeze which is gradually eroding local government independence.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the Nationalist squeeze on council budgets has forced Scottish schools to make 300 million in cuts over the past five years.

Veteran demands PSNI investigate IRA attacks on him

A former soldier has asked the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate a string of murder attempts on him by the IRA.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that Mike Harmson, who served in Ulster during the 1980s, wants to ensure that soldiers and other security personnel are treated fairly during inquiries into historical allegations.

His case could apparently open the floodgates for veterans to turn the legal tables on the IRA. The Police Federation of Northern Ireland has likewise called for investigations to cover attacks on police officers.
It may be that over time the EU develops a fully-fledged migration policy, assuming authority over the border controls of member states. The Five Presidents Report is concentrated on economic and monetary union. None the less, Jean-Claude Juncker referred to a truly united, European migration policy in his State of the Union address to the European Parliament last year, and an EU immigration policy already exists and there is a Common Asylum Directive. There are standardised rules on highly-qualified workers, students, unpaid trainees and researchers, as well as directives on seasonal workers and employees of multinational companies.

Most of Junckers speech was taken up with the migration and refugee crisis, and it makes sense for European countries to work together on it  to secure borders, process applications off-shore, tackle traffickers and gangs, co-ordinate relief, target aid on Europes borders, and receive refugees. ConservativeHomes view of taking the 20,000 which David Cameron proposes to accept by 2020 was that there should be a trade-off between welcoming and integrating them (most will not return), and a commensurate reduction in immigration from elsewhere. It was sensible to take them directly from refugee camps.

And as Nick Timothy has argued on this site, there is much more that other EU countries should be doing to deal with the causes and consequences of the crisis: adopting a common approach to ISIS, spending more on defence, improving law enforcement and sharing passenger data. Above all, other European countries should be securing their internal borders, which means tearing up what is left of Schengen. However, there is a big difference between European countries working together and the EU seizing control of member states borders, which is why Frontex is an ambiguous development.

This takes us to the heart of the matter. I write of a common immigration policy, but there is already a common policy which makes migrant control very hard to achieve: namely, the free movement of peoples, which is a fundamental principle of the EU  stretching all the way back to the Treaty of Rome. And a leading Risk of Remain is the growing irreconcilability between free movement, the migration crisis, and British immigration control. Put simply, we are able to limit the number of people entering Britain from every country in the world except those that make up other EU member states.

Migration from them is less than half the total: roughly 270,000 people last year compared to 290,000 from outside the EU. So it would be possible to imagine that the Government might meet its net migration target were Britain to experience a slump while the Eurozone boomed, or solely by imposing further restrictions on the number of students who enter from outside the EU. But this would plainly be both an unreliable and undesirable way of reducing numbers. It would also fail to recognise that it is precisely the inter-play between free movement and the migrant crisis which threatens to make the Governments own policy unattainable  ever.

On Junckers figures, 500,000 migrants made their way into Europe last year but the real number will be higher. As the Daily Telegraph has put it, refugees and migrants are averse to being counted, knowing that registration will impede their journey into the EU. Many cross borders by stealth, or destroy their papers to disguise their nationality. Asylum applications in the second quarter of last year, according to Eurostate, were 85 per cent higher than during the year before. The best part of 60 per cent of those who applied in the first six months of last year were men. Most will want to work.

It is thus mistaken to claim that Britains benefit system is a significant pull factor for migrants (and even if it were, David Camerons outline deal would do little if anything to reduce it). But Britains economy  so healthy in comparison to that of the Eurozone  undoubtedly is. Britains jobs miracle is a magnet. So will be a growing minimum wage. And the mix of the migrant crisis and free movement is a real risk if one wants controlled immigration into the UK. Six of the 26 countries signed up to Schengen may not be operating it, but it is still in place elsewhere: in any event, those six are unused to operating full border controls and the borders of countries in mainland Europe are porous.

Furthermore, plans to scrap the Dublin Agreement, which requires claimants to seek asylum in the first safe country they come to, would have a real impact on Britain. Germany has already torn it up  which sits oddly with its exasperation with southern European countries for simply waving arrivals through to northern European ones. Theresa May briefed the Sun about her exasperation last week. She grasps that some of those waved on from Greece and Italy, or who make their way from eastern to western Europe, will duly seek in turn to move on to Britain and into its healthy jobs market.

The key point here is not about numbers: there is a respectable case for having higher immigration, though it is not one that this site shares. It is, rather, about control. There is not enough Europe in this Union, Juncker said last year, the words highlighted in bold in his text to emphasise the point. We disagree. Our European partners are failing to use even the tools they have to tackle the migration crisis, and giving more to the EU will do nothing to solve the problem. The risk that Remain will mean even more uncontrolled immigration is now so high that the only safe way of responding to it is to Leave.

The counter-case made by Remain falls mainly into a narrow part and wider one. The narrow argument is that if Britain leaves the EU, France will wave migrants on to Britain. The Calais deal between Britain and France is a bilateral one that has nothing to do with the EU. And one cannot rule out the agreement hitting trouble, whether Britain leaves the EU or not. But were France to tear up the deal and point migrants in the direction of Britain, it would simply be encouraging more of them to enter France in the first place. Inevitably, some would stay. Furthermore, Britain could, in extremis, close the Channel Tunnel altogether. Would France really encourage this self-damaging scenario?

The wider argument is that Norway and Switzerland arent part of the EU but have higher immigration from it than Britain. But the fallacy here is obvious: the United Kingdom is neither. On Brexit, Britain would become one of the EUs largest export markets. Given the economic relationship between Britain and its European neighbours  plus our wider place as a member of the G7, a holder of a UN Security Council seat, and a member of NATO (in which we co-operate closely with France)  limits on free movement are surely negotiable. Migration Watch estimates that leaving the EU could reduce net immigration by 100,000 a year.

All in all, the choice is between the possibility of a wrangle over free movement if we leave and the certainty of more uncontrolled migration if we do not.
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Israel Spying And Harassing Human Rights Groups

By Shubhda Chaudhary

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

In order to prevent further damage to the image of Israel, it is now harassing its human rights groups. A recent revelation by award-winning British author and journalist Jonathan Cook delves deeper into how Israel is silencing the voices of human rights groups.

Sarit Michaeli, a spokeswoman for BTselem, a prominent Israeli group monitoring human rights violations in the occupied territories, agreed.

We are seeing a general assault by the government and right-wing groups on those parts of Israeli society that are still standing up for democratic values, she said. The aim is to silence us.

Human rights activists, according to the government, are betraying their country by providing information that fuels criticism overseas of Israel and helps to bolster an international boycott movement.

Recently, Israeli forces arrested Ezra Nawi, a member of Taayush, a Palestinian and Jewish activist group that defends the rights of Palestinian farmers in the South Hebron Hills area of the occupied West Bank. Often Taayush members place themselves between the farmers and the Israeli settlers and soldiers who attack them.

Netanyahu and his ministers want to shut down all voices in Israel that oppose the occupation. They are doing what fascists always do  looking to blame an enemy within, said Yehuda Shaul, a former Israeli military commander and co-founder of Breaking the Silence.

Far right groups and the Netanyahu government have targeted human rights groups like Breaking the Silence and BTselem. Im Tirtzu, the Zionist extra-parliamentary group based in Israel recently carried out a publication in which it accused several anti-occupation groups of being shtulim  the Hebrew word for moles  on behalf of European governments.

The government particularly fears Breaking the Silence because its testimonies show the army isnt investigating evidence of brutality and wrongdoing by soldiers, said Yossi Gurvitz, an Israeli analyst who has followed Im Tirtzus activities.

If soldiers are going unpunished, then that removes Israels basic defence against investigations from outside bodies like the International Criminal Court. It makes it more likely that soldiers will one day face war crimes trials.

Gurvitz added: There is a clear pattern of Im Tirtzu being used as the governments attack dog. It issues a report showing traitors in our midst, and then the government immediately announces a law to tackle the problem.

Last month the Defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, described Breaking the Silence as malicious and barred it from access to army activities.

Shortly afterwards Naftali Bennett, the education minister and leader of the settler party Jewish Home, banned the group from schools.

Lies and propaganda against the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]  not in our schools, he said.

The Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, also from the Jewish Home party, has proposed a new bill, nicknamed the Transparency Law that casts suspicion on Israels human rights community.

Walla, an Israeli news website, published an investigation this month into Ad Kan, which recently issued video and audio recordings from spying operations on Breaking the Silence and Taayush, a loosely structured collective of anti-occupation activists.

A separate investigation this month by the liberal Haaretz daily revealed that Regavim, a state-funded group that tries to help settlers take over Palestinian land, had paid for a three-year spying operation, starting in 2010, against a prominent human rights lawyer.

Michael Sfard has been a legal adviser to several anti-occupation groups, including Breaking the Silence, Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, and Yesh Din, which highlights violations of Palestinians rights.

Sfard had filed a police complaint after internal documents, apparently from his office, had surfaced in the media. In a years-long probe, police questioned several people under caution, including the founder of the right-wing movement Im Tirtzu, and found that between 2010 and 2013 Sfard and his office had been placed under the surveillance of a private detective. However, the police did not find who had commissioned the probe, and around six months ago they closed the case.

Haaretz revealed that the private investigation was commissioned and funded by Regavim, a nongovernmental organization that documents unlawful activities perpetrated by Arabs and Bedouin on state lands in Israel and across the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank. The findings raise questions as to whether Regavim, which receives state funds, used taxpayer money to conduct private investigations of groups on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum.

Meanwhile, a separate investigation by Peace Now disclosed last month that nine far-right Israeli groups received income of nearly $150 million between 2006 and 2013. More than 93 per cent of the money was from undisclosed sources.

Jonathan Cook writes The rightwing groups have received tens of millions of dollars in state funding, either directly from the government or via Israeli local authorities representing the settlements in the West Bank.

Molad, an Israeli progressive think-tank, found in 2014 that the Netanyahu government had stepped up other forms of aid to far-right groups following the 2009 election.

The government transferred some $40m in special grants to the settlements but then required their local authorities to redirect most of the money to a private settler organisation, the Yesha Council, in apparent violation of Israeli law.

Currently, the rightwing ad campaigns, the spying operations and government and police responses have fuelled a climate of hostility towards peace activists.

Shubhda Chaudhary is a PhD Scholar in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She specialises in West Asian politics and writes for think-tanks in Abu Dhabi and South Africa.




Sri Lanka: A Suggested Overall Framework For Reconciliation Discourse

By Basil Fernando

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

The author is sharing this writing, with a suggested over all frameworkfor reconcilation discourse in Sri Lanka. It is meant to provoke thought and discussion. Responsiblity for this view is the authors alone.

I

The village where I was born, for all purposes, looked very quiet and peaceful. However, an internal structure of discrimination was inbuilt into the social ethos of this village. The structure of internal violence was built on the basis of caste discrimination.

A classification of people as lower and higher was built into the very structure of the social ethos and, I think that, over many centuries, it had also been transmitted into the deepest recesses of the psyche, into the very soul of the people. People were therefore deeply divided.

This deeply divided people, both socially and psychologically, lived in peace. The external acts of violence, such as murder or even quarrelsomeness, did not have an expressed presence and visibility in this village. People were not friends; at the same time, they were not overt enemies. It was just that they were divided; they were not one. That was the source of constant inner violence, which was inbuilt deep into this village ethos.

The rules of the inner division were well known and well accepted by everyone. The rules were underwritten into the inner structure of everyone living in the village. As these were so deeply internalized, there were hardly any breaches of these rules.

That was the source of the absence of external conflicts. It could be said that there was a certain harmony but that harmony did not mean friendship, love, or any kind of respect for each other.

The absence of respect of one person for the other in the system of hierarchy was taken for granted. It was thought and felt that they had to treat each other differently and there was no dispute about that matter.

The division did not mean hate. The rules were so deeply internalized and psychologically accepted that it did not leave any room for hate. Thus, there was no love or hate in the relationships among these people.

There was some kind of an etiquette that was entrenched so deep that the observance of that etiquette could be taken for granted. Each one behaved towards the others on the basis of that inbuilt etiquette. As there were hardly any occasions when the rules of etiquette were broken, it could be said that there were no externally expressed conflicts in this society.

On some rare occasion, some one or another, tried to undermine the age-old rules. It was then that conflict became externalized and the retaliation very cruel. The division into lower and higher allowed those in higher positions to greater and disproportionate force. It was on those occasions that the cruelty of the internalized structure became visible. Such moments of overt violence was the way the old order was restored, and then things returned to normal, peaceful.

This indicates that the order that prevailed, and still prevails, was produced by the use of extreme violence, whereby some accepted the idea of being lower and remained in that position. So long as the lower group accepted this position, there was no external conflict and there was peace. That shows that the inner foundation was builtin fear; this cement still holds. Internalized fear, not love or hate, created thispeace.

From a rational point of view, there may be nothing to legitimize this social arrangement.

But, it persists.

Habits live long.

II

A look into some of the more frequently asked questions will illustrate the impact of cast as the inner structure. Here are a few such questions:

Why do we not get outraged in the face of blatant acts of injustice and violence?

Why do we not speak out on behalf of each other?

Why do police beat up poorer people in routine and never the more powerful, despite the powerfulcommitting even greater crimes?

Why arent State officers courteous to ordinary folk?

Why is there a practice of disproportionate violence, such as beating a man to death for stealing of a bunch of bananas or killing a person after arrest?

The culture of silence and culture of violence cannot be explained, save by reference to the inner structure of our social ethos, which is one based on caste.

III

A similar situation exists among the Tamils too. Their bondis also cemented by caste. There is no greater love or hate between the lower and the higher among the Tamils.

IV

Race relationships in Sri Lanka are conditioned on the same basis as caste. Race relationships in Sri Lanka are an extension of caste relationships.

V

The basic argument made above is that Sri Lankan society is created on the basis of the internalized structure of caste. The very silence about the caste-based inner structure is itself a product of caste.

VI

The talk about reconciliation has not made much impression on many people, because, the inner structure of violence which is caste-based has not been brought forward as an integral part of process of reconciliation. The more sensitive part of the wound has remained untouched.

VII

Presenting two races, Sinhalese and Tamils, as two integrated units engaged in conflict, is artificial. Both groups are deeply divided, by the very inner structure of each.

VIII

In racial conflicts as well as caste conflicts, persons who undergo the most painful events are, for the most part, the lower groupsin the caste ladder. But, those who are engaged in reconciliation matters are the upper layer. Naturally, no real talk on reconciliation can begin that way. Those who have suffered direct pain must speak, if reconciliation is to begin. But, the very law of caste denies the lower group the right to speech. So, reconciliation talks never get to a start.

IX

Instead, under the pretext of reconciliation, uppergroups of both races are seeking greater power for themselves. As the lowergroups of both races are not participants and by the very nature of the inner structure of each race, will never be allowed to participate till caste has its influence felt, the Lower Groupswill see no benefit to themselves from the political games playrf by the UPPER Groups

X

It is only with the eradication of the inner structure based on caste  amongst the Sinhalese as well as the Tamils  that the talk of reconciliation will become a living dialogue.

The way to break the inner structure based on caste is through the creation of modern institutions, the basic democratic institutions, with adequate resources to remain functional, and making them the inner structure of Sri Lanka, a structure that will serve both the Sinhalese and the Tamils and other communalities.

Replacement of a caste-based inner structure with modern democratic institutions as the inner structure can do the magic of reconciliation. Among the democratic institutions that can make practical equality possible, both within each race and among the races, are the law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions.

What is meant by law enforcement agencSies is the police and the corruption control agency. Using the term judicial institutions implies the Supreme Court and the upper courts, which enjoy all judicial powers, inclusive of constructional powers, such as judicial review.

The most important consideration is that these institutions should have adequate funds to function efficiently.

Basil Fernando is a Sri Lankan born jurist, author, poet, human rights activist, editor of Article 2 and Ethics in Action, and a prolific writer. He became a legal adviser to Vietnamese refugees in a UNHCR-sponsored project in Hong Kong. He joined the United Nations Transitional Authority (UNTAC) in 1992 as a senior human rights officer and later also served as the Chief of Legal Assistance to Cambodia of the UN Centre of Human Rights ( now the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights office). He is associated with Asian Human Rights Commission and Asian Legal Resource centre, based in Hong Kong since 1994




Printer Friendly Version Caste Is The Cruellest Exclusion By Gail Omvedt 03 February, 2016

Infochangeindia.org Caste is a form of social exclusion that is firmly entrenched because it is justified by religious scriptures. Brahmanic theory gave religious sanction to an unequal society. This article traces both the history of caste and the history of opposition to it Caste is a form of social exclusion unique to the South Asian subcontinent. It is most prevalent in India, but exists also in Nepal and in modified forms in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Castes or jatis are identified in a hierarchy; at the top are usually brahmins, members of various merchant or bania castes, and members of regionally-identified 'dominant castes' who are farmers and control much of the land. (These include the Maratha-Kunbis in Maharashtra, Patels in Gujarat, Lingayats and Vokkaliga in Karnataka, and many others. Other castes close to these in the hierarchy are the shepherds and cowherds, such as the Yadavas, Dhangars, etc.) Lower down are those performing artisanal skills within the jajmani system, and lowest of all are the ex-untouchables, now called dalits, who are considered ritually impure but also perform most of the agricultural labour and much of the casual labour in India. Then there are the various 'nomadic tribes' and 'scheduled tribes', or adivasis as they prefer to call themselves, who are outside the village but still linked to it by numerous ties of exchange and ritual relationships. These jatis are classified, normally according to the four-varna system, as brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra -- though dalits and adivasis are outside this system. Caste within Muslim society has its own classification; those who are considered ashraf (named Sheikh, etc, are supposedly derived from immigrants from Iran or the Turkish territories), and those considered altaf, the 'backward' or even dalit Muslims, who also often have occupational linkages. Castes are identified with typical occupations, though usually these are not performed by the majority today. Nevertheless, the names of many castes derive from these -- potter (kumbhar, in the Marathi term), carpenter sutar, blacksmith (lohar), goldsmith (sonar), etc. Within all of them are important sub-castes (and clan-like groups among the various brahmin castes). Marriages, by normal rules, are only supposed to take place within the caste and sub-caste; thus what is called roti-beti vyvahar, exchange of bread and daughters, is a defining feature of caste. Caste is a system of social exclusion because the caste a person is born into is supposed to determine his or her occupation and status in life. Further, as a system of social exclusion it is -- unlike most others, like racism for example -- justified by the religious scriptures which have been considered dominant in Indian society: the Vedas, the Dharmashastras, the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas. This religious justification continues today and has a power that holds sway over millions of people. Religious sanction Several stories from the ancient Sanskrit symbolise caste exclusion: those of Shambuk, Ekalavya and Sita. In the cases of both Ekalavya and Shambuk, youth of great accomplishment from dalit and adivasi backgrounds were denied their due because of the hierarchy of caste: only a brahmin (or twice-born) could practise austerity; only a kshatriya could be a great archer. The youth were victims of social exclusion due to caste. Sita was also a victim of India's caste-defined patriarchy. Cast away by her husband as a result of suspicion after her great ordeal, she had no independent access to property -- as innumerable Indian women do not today. She was subject to the cruel norms of the day and to the whims of her husband. Though the Vedic texts describe a stratified society, it was not yet a caste society. The first text to actually mention the four varnas is the Purush Sukta of the Rig Veda, which is considered relatively late (around the 10th century). This famous text describes the brahmin as being born from the mouth of the primordial man, the kshatriya from his shoulders, the vaishya from his thighs, and the shudra from his legs/feet. The inequality of this -- the feet normally being considered lower (falling at a person's feet is still widely practised in India as a way of declaring one's humility before someone greater) -- is clear. So is the famous passage from the Chandogya Upanishad-- part of a group of texts ordinarily considered high philosophy. This declares that birth into a particular caste results from actions in a previous life, the theory of karma. Notably it states that: "...those who are of pleasant conduct here, the prospect [in rebirth] is indeed, that they will enter a pleasant womb, either the womb of a brahmin, or the womb of a kshatriya or the womb of a vaishya. But those who are of stinking conduct here, the prospect [in rebirth] is indeed that they will enter a stinking womb, either the womb of a dog [who is despised even today] or the womb of a swine, or the womb of a chandela" (5.10.7; translation by Michael Witzel). Strikingly, here the untouchable or chandala is equated with a dog or a pig. This, among other things makes the racism in caste clear, that it is the denial of humanity to those of castes considered 'low'. But it is the Dharmashastras and later texts which offer the fullest elaboration of caste. The Manusmriti is quite clear on this, outlining the duties of the four varnas in great detail, and noting that a shudra cannot be relieved from service since it is his "essence" to serve. Indeed it was the notion of divided human essence -- split into four major groups -- that underlay much of caste. Manu, like all ancient law-givers, considers varna samkara or intercaste marriage or unions, to be the greatest sin. But he and other Dharmashastra authors also use this as an explanation for the origin of the existing multitude of jatis considered low which did not fit in the orthodox varna system. They are considered products of such illegitimate unions between human beings of different varnas. Thus Manu and others have complex descriptions of various named groups or jatis, which are all classified as products of unions between members of different varnas. "Among all the classes, only [children] who are born 'with the grain,' [or] in wives who are equal [in class] and have their maidenheads intact [at marriage] should be considered members of the caste. They say that sons begotten by twice-born men on wives of the very next [lower] class are similar [to their fathers] but despised for the flaw in their mothers" (Laws of Manu[I], 234-5). Then various 'castes' or jatis which are said to be products of mixed union are named, and Manu goes on to say:



"All of those castes who are excluded from the world of those who were born from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet... are traditionally regarded as aliens, whether they speak barbarian languages or Aryan languages. Those who are traditionally regarded as outcastes [born] of the twice-born and as born of degradation should make their living by their innate activities, which are reviled by the twice-born" (Laws of Manu, 241). It is not simply the notorious Manusmriti which gives a justification for caste. So does the most exalted text of what Romila Thapar called "syndicated Hinduism," that is, the Bhagavad Gita. In the final section, of course, there is the famous passage in which Krishna defines the duties of the four varnas (and, in fact, the whole Gita is in the context of an admonition to Arjuna to fight and thus do his duty, or follow his dharma as a kshatriya), and says that it is better to do one's own duty badly than to do another's duty well. This is the meaning of the notion of swadharma, which even Gandhi praised so much. And, in the first section, where Krishna explains the reason for his taking form as an avatar to save the world, he states that it is due in the end to varnasamkara: Upon destruction of the family, perish

The immemorial holy laws of the family;

When the laws have perished, the whole family

Lawlessness overwhelms also.

Because of the prevalence of lawlessness, Krishna,

The women of the family are corrupted;

When the women are corrupted, O Vrsni-clansman,

Mixture of castes ensues.

Mixture [of castes] leads to naught but hell.



(Bhagavad Gita, part I, verses 40-42, translation by Frank Edgerton. Many modern translations of the Gita avoid this passage and translate varnasamkara by some other term) In other words, the greatest sin was intercaste marriage; and one of the duties of a good king following this doctrine of brahmanism was to enforce the ban on varnasamkara. In historic times, the most famous example of this was that of the Veerasaivas in the 12th century: because their founder and leader Basava had arranged a marriage between a dalit boy and a brahmin girl, the parents of both were brutally executed by being dragged behind elephants, and in the resulting uproar the Veerasaivas were driven from the kingdom of Kalyana. Today, of course, caste is prevalent in other religious communities as well; but this is true in the Indian context. Neither Buddhism nor Christianity nor Islam have anything similar to caste in other societies. History Neither the Indus civilisation nor Vedic society knew caste as such, though they had other forms of social stratification. The caste system is not, then, as normally believed, 5,000 years old. It can be said to have originated during the long period of the first millennium BCE. This was a period in which the Aryans were moving and settling in the Gangetic plain. The Indus cities had long ago disappeared, but with the growth of agriculture, the discovery of iron and new productivity came what historians often call the 'second urbanisation': a growth in trade and commerce and the rise of cities and kingdoms. It was a turbulent period, one in which a new class society was coming into existence amidst conflicting ideas about what shape this society should have. The two major streams of these conflicting ideas were the brahmanic and the shramanic. The brahmins derived from the earlier priests of the Vedic society (though many originated also from indigenous inhabitants), and influential sections of them were beginning to propagate a theory in which the Vedas were the original, unwritten, eternal sacred literature, the brahmins their authorised interpreters, and a varnashrama system (the four major varnas and the prescribed four stages of life, or ashramas was the ideal social form in which Vedic sacrifices could be performed and the proper rituals maintained by the elites of society who were preserved from impurity by having 'impure' occupations performed by groups lower in the hierarchy. This theory was beginning to be put forward in clear terms by around the middle of the first millennium BCE. Brahmanic theory gave religious sanction to a society of inequality. It has to be noted that we use the term 'Brahmanism' for this, and not 'Hinduism'. 'Hinduism' as a term for a religion only begins to be seen in very late Sanskrit texts after the Muslim period, and became generalised with the colonial era when it was identified as the religion of the 'people of India' and a number of disparate elements (including the sanctity of the Vedas, the various bhakti movements, and popular stories such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata were brought together as the main components of this constructed religion. In the earlier period, the term 'Hindu' was unknown in India; it originated first as the mispronunciation of 'Sind' by people in the Iranian plateau, who pronounced 'S' as 'H', thus turning 'asura' into 'ahura' and 'Sind' into 'Hind'. For a long period the area beyond the Indus (Sind) was known as 'al-Hind' to the Muslim world. The shramana trend contested brahmanic inequality. The word 'shramana' means 'to strive', and these trends consisted of those who renounced worldly life in striving for religious and social meaning. The shramanas included many groups: Buddhists, Jains, other important sects of the time such as the Ajivikas, and the materialists known as Lokayatas or after their reputed founder, Carvak. These had many points of difference on spiritual and social issues, but they agreed on the important points of denying the authority and antiquity of the Vedas, denying the pre-eminence of brahmins, and rejecting varnashrama as a model of society. In other words, they were relatively egalitarian and the social model they were propagating for the newly emerging class society was an open one, in contrast to the closed system of the brahmins. It is also significant that the shramanic groups, especially the Buddhists and Jains, were associated with the relatively open commercial and urban world, while Brahmanism developed a more rural base. This is reflected in their literatures. Buddhist literature (which is normally more socially realistic than the Sanskritic) gives a clear picture of this contestation. In the Vasettha Sutta of the Sutta Nipata it is described how a young brahmin, Vasettha, comes to Buddha. He says: "My friend Bharadwaj and I have been having a dispute: what makes a brahmin. He asserts that it is birth (jati): a pure birth through seven generations produces a brahmin. I say it is action (kamma)." The Buddha then answers him by arguing that while there are jatis among plants and animals, human beings, from the hairs of their head to the nails of their feet, have no essential biological differences. Rather, it is action that makes a person: one who makes war is a soldier; one who farms is a farmer; one who does commerce is a trader, and so on. The debate depicts several features. First, there were differences also among brahmins about the emerging theory of 'Brahmanism'. Second, there was a racial-biological element in the interpretation of caste even from the beginning, which the Buddha refutes (showing that he knew what the Hindu Council theorists do not know even today: there is no race among humans). And third, what was essential at the social level was not so much the varnas as the various occupations which were to become (in varnashrama dharma) described as caste duties. The debates went on, and so did the contestations. It is important to realise that the caste system was never imposed all at once on Indian society: it took centuries -- a full millennium -- before caste became the hegemonic feature of society. This happened before the Muslim invasions, and came around the 5th-6th centuries with the defeat of Buddhism. But the beginnings were laid in the middle of the first millennium BCE, when the caste system was promulgated as a theory, a model of how to organise society, being propagated vigorously by the brahmins. They used their interpretations of earlier scriptures such as the Vedas (particularly the [Purush Sukta, and then produced many 'manuals' of the social order, or Dhramashastras. Texts such as the Manusmriti are thus more prescriptive than descriptive. It is important to stress that the most severe interpretations of caste rigidity, such as the Manusmriti, came long before Islam even came into existence. The Hindutva theory that it was Muslim invasions that caused the rigidity of caste is historically impossible. Resistance to caste The history of resistance to caste exclusion includes the early shramanic religions; it includes much of the way in which Islam and Christianity functioned in India. There were also many indigenous religious movements that rejected caste, including the Nath Siddhas and others. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Bhakti movement, that is the movement which spread throughout much of India from the 12th century onwards. (Earlier Tamil Bhakti, which had the stamp of opposition to Buddhism, is perhaps an exception to this, but radicalism was very evident in some of the Saivite Siddhar groups). The Veerasaiva movement in Karnataka, the Varkaris in Maharashtra (Namdev, Jnandev, Tukaram, Cokhamela), the movement of Kabir and Ravidas in northern India are among the most famous of these. Sikhism itself as a separate religion grew out of a Bhakti movement. Of these famous sants, none identified themselves as 'Hindus'; some, including Nanak and others (as well as some Sufis such as Bulle Shah) insisted that they were "neither Hindu nor Muslim (Turk)". Their opposition to caste was famous and was expressed very strongly by Kabir: Worship, libations, six sacred rites,

this dharma's full of ritual blights.

Four ages teaching Gayatri, I ask you, who won liberty?

You wash your body if you touch another,

tell me who could be lower than you?

Proud of your merit, puffed up with your rights,

no good comes out of such great pride.

How could he whose very name

is pride-destroyer endure the same?

Drop the limits of caste and clan,

seek for freedom's space,

destroy the shoot, destroy the seed,

seek the unembodied place. (Ramaini 35)

(Translation based on Hess and Singh in Kabir 1986)



In a famous doha from the popular tradition, Kabir sings:

Baman se gadaha bhalla, aan jaat se kutta,

mulla se murag bhalla, raat jaagaave suta (A donkey's better than a brahmin, a dog beats other castes, a cock is better than a mullah to tell us night is past [my translation])



Tuka (Tukaram), the famous Maharashtrian sant of the early-17th century, was brutal in his condemnation of brahmins for the practice of caste. In one song he contrasts the brahmin with the famous Ravidas:

He's a devotionless brahman, let his face burn.

From what concubine was he born?

Blessed is the mother of the Vaishnava Chambhar;

both lineage and caste are pure.

It is not simply what I say --

this is the decision given anciently.

Tuka says, let this greatness burn up in fire,

I don't want to even see these evil ones. (#1319)

In the end, however, the Bhakti movement failed to create a casteless society; it was absorbed and co-opted by a resurgent brahmanism that distorted the lives and teachings of the sant. This process was nearly complete by the 18th century, though it continues today. For example, there has been a widely popular movement in Maharashtra against the control of brahmin priests at the Pandharpur temple, centre of the Bhakti movement; but although the state finally took control in early-2008, it prescribed two things that went against the spirit of Bhakti: one, that only 'Hindus' (no Muslims) could be members of the controlling committee; and two, that the Purush Sukta must be part of the rituals observed! It was during the colonial period that the strongest radical movement against caste exclusion took place, pioneered by Mahatma Jyotirao Phule in Maharashtra, Pandit Iyothee Thass in Tamil Nadu, and carried forward by E V Ramsami 'Periyar', Dr Ambedkar and a host of leaders and multitude of activists throughout India. These could, with the help of early British scholarship, give a historical and social interpretation of caste -- something the Bhakti radicals could not do. The non-brahmin movements in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the movement of 'backward castes' in north India, and finally the dalit movement throughout India posed a challenge both to the dominant brahmanic leadership of Congress and to the British who, in the end, were upholding the dominant social order in India. It is this movement that is carried on today. Caste in Independent India The complex dialectic between a Gandhian and Nehruvite Congress, still much under the domination of brahmanic thinking but fighting for independence, and a movement of the less educated, less resourceful subalterns led finally by Ambedkar, Periyar and others, has left a mixed legacy to Independent India. Formally and legally, the country denies caste and considers untouchability a crime. But socially and ideologically, it persists in many ways. Thus we see a mixture today: the rise of a Mayawati symbolising dalit aspirations in a politically powerful way; the political power of 'other backward castes' symbolised by Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav; the existence of reservations and with it the slow but inevitable emergence of an intelligentsia from among dalits themselves; the fact that even with globalisation, dalits and other subalterns are making their way -- overseas, into new professions, away from agriculture. And, on the other hand, the continuance of practices of exclusion that include much less access to land, food and water for the lower castes and dalits; the lack of a really solid business base (in the share of 'capital') for the dalit middle class -- contrasted, for example, with African Americans in the US; and, above all, the continuation of individual and group atrocities. Chhunduru in Andhra Pradesh, Jajjar in Haryana, Khairlanji in supposedly progressive Maharashtra are only a few examples. The famous dalit woman writer Bama relates that in a seminar on literature in France, when she brought up the issue of Jajjar, a brahmin writer present replied by saying: "But they had killed a cow!" Caste exclusion, in other words, still exists, and it still has religious sanction. Gail Omvedt is a scholar, sociologist and human rights activist who has been involved in dalit and anti-caste movements. She is the author of several books including Dalits and the Democratic Revolution and Dalit Visions: The Anticaste Movement and Indian Cultural Identity References [I]The Bijak of Kabir,translated by Linda Hess and Shukhdev Singh. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986 The [I]Bhagavad Gita, translated and interpreted by Franklin Edgerton, Harper Torchbooks, 1944 The Bhagavad Gita, http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/categories/Chapter-One-of-the-Bhagavad-Gita/?Page=2 Kautilya, The Arthashastra, Edited, rearranged, translated and introduced by L R Rangarajan, Penguin Books, 1992 Manusmriti: The Laws of Manu, with an introduction and notes, translated by Wendy Doniger with Brian K Smith, Penguin Books, 1991 This article was first published in InfoChange News & Features, October 2008





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Okay, Iowa is overon to the New Hampshire primary. And on the GOP side, Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, is expected to be the top vote-getter there, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders looks likely to win on the Democratic side, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in second place, at least based on polls a week out.



But, the runner-up in the GOP contest could matter going forward, particularly for voters looking for an alternative to Trump as the race heads into Super Tuesday on March 1.

And, as of this week, there were two candidates we havent profiled recently who seem to have a some shot at that second slotOhio Gov. John Kasich, who is in second place in New Hampshire, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Theyre dark horses, to be sure, but you never know where presidential politics will go.

So it might be worth getting to know Kasich, a budget hawk who actually boosted education funding and still hearts the Common Core State Standards.

Here is what you need to know:

1. Kasich doesnt want to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education, but he wants it be a lot smaller.

Kasich has said hed like to consolidate roughly 100 programs in the department into four block grants. (He doesnt say what they would be for.) The money would go to states and districts with few strings attached. The department will be a research center and a local school booster, not a micromanager, Kasich wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.

2. Kasich has stuck by the Common Core State Standards.

Hes the only candidate other than Bush who still likes the common core , even as the standards have become a popular GOP punching bag. And so far, he hasnt gotten a lot of grief from his

rivals for that stance, unlike Bush.

3. Kasich tried to strip teachers and other public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights.

Kasich signed a law that would get rid of these rights in 2011, but voters in the Buckeye State ended up rejecting the move at the ballot box later that same year. The pushback came in no small part from the Ohio Education Association.

4. Kasich increased education funding, even though he is a budget hawk.

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Kasich was pretty tight-fisted. Back in 1995, he moved a budget that cut education spending by $10 billion . But as governor of Ohio in 2013, he approved a $1.2 billion increase for K-12 over two years, part of which went to equalizing funding.

5. Kasichs record on charters is mixed.

Ohio added some charter schools when Kasich was at the helm, from about 325 in 2011 to around 370. And Kasich has pushed for their expansion. But fans of high-quality charters might not cheer his stewardship. Students in Ohio charters lag behind their public school peers , a recent study found. And the FBI, as well as the state, have investigated Ohios charters.

BONUS: Kasich wants to get rid of teachers lounges . He sees them as essentially, the place where teachers go to complain.

Want more? Check out our pre-Iowa profiles of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, or real estate mogul Donald Trump and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas on the GOP side.
Rohith Vemula: Hindutva Politics And Dalit Question Today



By Ram Puniyani

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

The death of Rohith Vemula has been projected as suicide by some and murder by others, depending on their political orientation. Rohiths being dalit and his participation in Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) and active contribution to this politically vibrant dalit group is the major cause of his death. Apart from issues directly related to dalits, this association did raise the issues related to democratic rights which are relevant today, like beef eating, opposition to death penalty; as was given to Mumbai blast accuses Yakub Memon and went on to screen the film Muzzafarnagar Baki hai. This film on Muzzafarnangar violence (2013) exposes the role of communal forces.

The ABVP, which nationally has become hyperactive since the Modi Sarkar came to power (May 2014) opposed all these issues as a part of their Hindu nationalist agenda. The freedom of expression in the academic campuses is very basic in a democratic society. ABVP, the students wing of RSS, could not digest the dalit group taking up issues related to secularism and democracy. The cause of Vemulas death becomes clear in the light of the issues raised by ASA. Rohiths own understanding on these issues becomes clear from his face book posts on these issues. For example lets see what he wrote on beef issue, Eating beef and celebrating beef eating is an act of solidarity with all those who are getting murdered on this reason nationwide. If we fail to see the fact that the BJP-RSS-VHP scheme of anti-beef campaign is essentially a tool to persecute Muslim minorities in this country, we would regret for being the mute spectators of another mass unrest in OUR COUNTRY. The whole cow myth is less anti-Dalit today and more of anti-Muslim propaganda.

His understanding of the deeper democratic politics, not being restricted to so-called dalit issues is more than obvious here. The issues of marginalized sections- dalits, Adivasis, women and workers and religious minorities are deeply interwoven with each other. He is very right that today the issue of beef eating is raised on emotive pitch mainly to intimidate and target the Muslim minorities, irrespective of the fact that other sections of society also consume it in good measure. The issue of Muzzafar nagar film is also related to Muslim minorities at one level. At deeper level it is a part of communal politics, which wants to polarize the community along religious lines to impose Hindu nationalism which is against the concept of rights as such. At yet another level his participation in the protest to oppose the death penalty to terrorism accused Yakub Memon; is more from the angle of humanism; opposition to death penalty as such. There is a global movement to oppose the death penalty irrespective of the nature of crime and those with deeper humane values worldwide and in India do support the abolition of death penalty. It was not an act of supporting terrorism in any way.

Annoyed by these secular democratic Human positions taken by ASA, ABVP did come to clash with ASA at ideological level. ABVP president Susheel Kumar complained that he was beaten up. According to the first committee which investigated this alleged physical assault the complaint was baseless. With the change of Vice Chancellor the matters started changing. The pressure of BJP central minister B.Dattatrey backed up by the authority of MHRD minister Smriti Irani, Rohith and his four friends were penalized; their scholarship was stopped and they were evicted from hostel.

From his letter to the present Vice Chancellor (VC) asking for dalit students being given poison and a rope, what comes to surface is that the VC with his authoritarian anti dalit orientation, deliberately ignored the letter, leading to this tragedy. The response to Rohiths death from the ruling dispensation has been very revealing of the politics which they espouse. Mr. Dattatreya, in tandem with the local ABVP, termed the ASA activities as being den of casteist, extremists and anti-national politics. MHRD minister true to her mindset asserted that it is not a dalit issue while some others doubted Rohith being a dalit, as his mother was a dalit but father was OBC. This was to undermine the intense injustices due to which Rohith had to take his life. A small video, trying to create sensation, is being circulated on the social media. This video is trying to present Rohith as being a supporter of terrorists.

In the TV debates the RSS-BJP spokespersons are coming down heavily on the anti national; casteist politics. To cap it all the timing and nature of expression from Prime Minster says it all. Mr. Modi who generally is a very vocal person; he does not keep quiet on issues which expose his agenda of Hindutva. His earlier being quiet for long on the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq is a case in point. In Rohiths case also after five days of being quiet, he artificially tried to present a tear jerker, Ma Bharati has lost a son, while his party men, cabinet colleague, have been calling him anti national. This was Modis way of putting under the carpet the underlying issue of anti dalit atrocities, the anti dalit stance of the University administration, BJP M.P. Mr. Dattatreya, MHRD ministry and ABVP whose joint actions has caused this death.

In a way the whole issue shows the dilemma of Hidnutva politics. On one hand it is intensifying the activities aimed at opposing secular values, intensifying intimidation of dalits-minorities and opposing the voices standing for democratic values. With Modi sarkar coming to power all the RSS combine organizations have got a shot in the arms. They are getting a strong political patronage to oppose other political tendencies. We have earlier seen the role of Central Government in unsuccessfully banning Ambedkar Periya Study Circle in IIT Madras. In most of the academic campuses the communal student groups have become more assertive, knowing full well that the authorities in charge are either pro Hindutva or they will buckle under the pressure from the top to implement BJP agenda. Pursuing the campaigns for social justice is being opposed very strongly. In the same direction their; RSS progeny Samajik Samrasta Manch; is very active. What is being said is that they dont believe in caste, all castes are equal! What it means is that they want to overlook the caste issue as they want to retain caste hierarchy in newer situation by using more subtle expressions. Those who want to eradicate a particular disease; first recognize it so that it can be dealt with, ignoring caste issues or keeping quiet about it means that they want the present caste equations to continue.

Mr. Prime Minster in his Ambedkar University address, before moistening his eyes, was lecturing the students that they should emulate Ambedkar who endured insults and humiliation without complaint. Similar thing was stated by Mr. Rajnath Singh also. One recalls that Prof. Y. Sudarshan Rao who was earlier the Chairman of ICHR, appointed by this Government also defended caste hierarchy by saying that nobody complained against it. So on one side there is an attempt to appropriate Ambedkar as Hindutva icon, and on the other Hindutva agenda of preserving caste hierarchy is being rolled out through the concrete interventions by different affiliates of Hindu nationalism.

Ram Puniyani was a professor in biomedical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and took voluntary retirement in December 2004 to work full time for communal harmony in India. He is involved with human rights activities from last two decades.He is associated with various secular and democratic initiatives like All India Secular Forum, Center for Study of Society and Secularism and ANHAD. Response only to ram.puniyani@gmail.com




From Khairlanji To Hyderabad: What Post-Outrage?

By Samar

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Rohith Vemulas suicide will not be just another suicide in the statistical records of the National Crime Records Bureau. It will not be so in the same way the 2006 massacre in Khairlanji was not. These two cases separated by almost a decade, are far more than a statistic of ordinary crime, such as that committed in a fit of rage or planned in cold blood; they are a comment on the very body politic of the republic.

They expose the lies that the Republic has repeated so many times that it has started believing in them. They expose the myth that India has a functioning  even if inadequate  justice system, capable of delivering what it promises. They betray the fact that all Indians are not equal in front of the law, definitely not the ones condemned to live at the bottom rungs of the social hierarchy created by the caste system. They expose the celebrated justice system for needing public outrage to serve justice, even in cases that catch the public eye, and leave no doubt about the fates of those cases that do not.

In Khairlanji, a mob of fellow villagers bludgeoned an entire family to death, while also allegedly raping women and mutilating their bodies. These acts were committed due to the victims doing well despite being Dalits. The massacre led to outrage, albeit one contained largely in Maharashtra, where such protests had not been seen in decades. It forced the State to stand up, get its act together, and get the perpetrators convicted in 2010.

Anyone little more aware of the same would, however, see the travesty of justice even in the welcome but grossly inadequate Khairlanji case verdict, wherein the judge had refused to invoke the provisions of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The prosecution's poor arguments and the shoddy investigation helped the judge treat the case as one involving mere revenge killing and not caste-based atrocity. The judge did not bother to ask the question: for what did the killers seek revenge? The decision of not invoking the provision of the SC/ST Act was not oversight. It shows the systematic and institutionalised nature of casteism that keeps denying the linkage between caste and crime.

Rohith Vemulas case is similar. He had excelled in life and reached one of the premier educational institutions of the country, despite the fatal accident of his birth in the Dalit community. That was reason enough for casteist forces in the system to harass him to death.

The only thing different in his case is the nationwide outrage it caused. Arriving a decade after Khairlanji, the sense of anger was palpable; it took no time to mobilize people to take to the streets. The system would not have expected it; in fact, many in the social justice movement themselves might have been surprized by the ferocity of the protests, the only thing heartening in this sordid saga.

In the midst of all the genuine and required outrage, however, basic questions remains un-asked forget about being answered.

Why should a rule of law based justice system need outrage to deliver justice? What about most of those on the margins who will not be able to garner an outrage for their predicament?

Vemulas suicide was not the first of a Dalit student in a university. Many before Vemula have been harassed enough for being Dalits to take the same extreme step; documentaries and media reports have counted 18 such suicides between 2007 and 2011.

Yes, they counted. There was a hint of outrage back then too. And then the trail goes cold. Not many know what happened in those cases. Not many know if any of the perpetrators got punished, say, for instance, in the case of Jaspreet Singh.

The uproar over his suicide, after getting repeatedly failed by his head of department in Chandigarh Medical College,followed by his sisters suicide, because of denial of justice to her brother, had made the National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC) intervene.

The Commission later found that Singh had, in fact, passed his examination. The Commission then got the police to file an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The police had refused to file one despite Jaspreet naming the Professor in his suicide note.

However, try finding what happened afterwards and you may just hit another wall of the labyrinth that is Indias justice system.

Rohiths suicide-murder was preceded by many such suicide-murders; and the Khairlanji massacre was followed by many such massacres.

For instance, in the same state of Maharashtra, three Dalit girls were raped and murdered in Bhandara District in February 2014. And, three members of a Dalit family in Ahmednagar were brutally murdered later in that year. In the case of the minor girls, the police even got the rape case  established by the autopsy  changed to accidental drowning, with a claim that the autopsy was carried out hurriedly.

One must note here that Maharashtra is not an exceptionally bad place for being a Dalit. In fact, the curse of caste-based atrocities leaves no Indian state unaffected; one can keep counting cases after cases in every single of them.

So what happens to justice in these cases, the ones that get no outrage? Do they get justice too?

No, as is exemplified by recent suicide of a 21-year-old gang-rape victim from the Bhilai Town of Chhattisgarh. The girl, who was repeatedly raped by two constables and a doctor, killed herself on January 28 this year.

Her suicide note, while naming her perpetrators, indicts the justice system too; she blamed her lawyer and the judge of harassment. She noted how the judge would not turn up on the dates her case was to be heard, and shift it to another date, and force her to come to the court again and again in acts of futility. She described how the lawyer took her signature on blank stamp papers on the pretext that the judge is sold out. I have lost my faith in justice now and that is why I am committing suicide is what she wrote.

Isnt the ordeal she faced inside the labyrinths of the justice system typical? Do powerful people not use the tactics of getting hearings cancelled, all the time? Are not Indian courts a place, which end up harassing the rape victims, with repeated hearings amidst probing eyes and dirty taunts that shame the victims and not the perpetrators? Do poor people stand a chance of getting justice without starving to death with cases dragging on endlessly?

The outrage way to justice can help in one case, or in a few cases, at best. India has over 3 crore cases pending. What India needs is a radical restructuring of its justice institutions to operate within the framework of the rule of law in practice and deliver justice and not occasional solace.

A question faces us. What after the fatigue in the Rohith Vemula protests sets in or after some other case worthy of popular outrage takes centre stage?

Should we not be fighting for building structures right from within universities to take on such caste based discriminations and punish the perpetrators?

Put another way, we must ask ourselves if justice to Rohith Vemula would ensure an end to caste-based atrocities on campuses. If it will not, then we need to fight on another front too: the front of re-engineering the delinquent criminal justice system in India.

Samar is Programme Coordinator - Right to Food Programme Asian Legal Resource Centre / Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong




Once Unstoppable, Tar Sands Now Battered From All Sides

By Ed Struzik

03 February, 2016

Yale Environment 360

In the summer of 2014, when oil was selling for $114 per barrel, Albertas tar sands industry was still confidently standing by earlier predictions that it would nearly triple production by 2035. Companies such as Suncor, Statoil, Syncrude, Royal Dutch Shell, and Imperial Oil Ltd. were investing hundreds of billions of dollars in new projects to mine the thick, highly polluting bitumen.

Eyeing this oil boom, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was certain that the Keystone XL pipeline  a no-brainer in his words  would be built, with or without President Barack Obamas approval. Keystone, which would carry tar sands crude from Alberta to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico, was critical if bitumen from new tar sands projects was going to find a way to market.

What a difference 18 months makes. The price of oil today has plummeted to around $30 a barrel, well below the break-even point for tar sands producers, and the value of the Canadian dollar has fallen sharply. President Obama killed the Keystone XL project in November, and staunch opposition has so far halted efforts to build pipelines that would carry tar sands crude to Canadas Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

Equally as ominous for the tar sands industry are political developments in Alberta and Canada. In May, Alberta voters ousted the conservative premier and elected a left-of-center government. The new premier, Rachel Notley, is committed to doing something meaningful about climate change and reviewing oil and gas royalty payments to the province, which are among the lowest in the world.

In October, Canadian voters tossed out Harper and his Conservative Party government and elected liberal Justin Trudeau as prime minister. Last month, Trudeau vowed not to be a pipeline cheerleader and said he would take greenhouse gas emissions into account when evaluating oil pipeline projects. Trudeau signaled that a new era had arrived when he told The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, My predecessor wanted you to know Canada for its resources. I want you to know Canadians for our resourcefulness.

While it may not be time to raise the white flag of surrender in Fort McMurray, the tar sands capital in northern Alberta, the industry is suddenly weathering a perfect storm that analysts say has significantly altered its prospects. Mark Jaccard, a professor of sustainable energy at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver who has served as CEO of the British Columbia Utilities Commission, is not alone in suggesting that because of concerns about climate change and low oil prices, the era of tar sands megaprojects may be at an end.

This is not good for high-cost oil resources, such as oil sands, says Jaccard. And if major countries such as the U.S., China, and the European Union continue their modest climate push, there will be further challenges to high-emissions oil sources, such as oil sands.

Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist and managing director at ARC Financial Corp., agrees, saying that the oil sands industry needs to get smaller, cleaner, and more efficient if it is to be a significant player in the future.

Even before the price crash there was a trend in oil and gas investing  whether it was by large corporations or individual investors  away from long-payback projects with lots of above-ground risk that were also characterized by very high capital costs, Tertzakian told Alberta Oil Magazine in September. The oil sands has to compete for capital with all the other types of oil projects that are out there... The old paradigm of 4,000-man camps and long construction periods is over.

Other energy and environmental experts take an even dimmer view, saying that given the steady expansion of renewable energy and more concerted international action to slow global warming, the carbon-intensive tar sands may well shrink and disappear in the coming decades.

Within the realm of sanity, I think the oil sands are finished, says David Schindler, who, as a limnologist and ecologist at the University of Alberta played a key role in forcing the tar sands to change the way it monitors and reports air and water pollution. With their product now so cheap, they are operating well below cost, only desperately trying to recoup some of the huge startup investment rather than see it all lost. He predicted that the industry will undergo major consolidation until only one or two deep-pocketed giants remain. But, he added, Eventually they too will fall. New investment? Not unless investors are total idiots.

Schindler and other scientists and conservationists have called attention to the large-scale environmental destruction that has accompanied tar sands mining, which involves excavating pits as deep as 250 feet to extract the oil-rich sands. Over the past four decades, tar sands operations have destroyed roughly 300 square miles of boreal forest and wetland habitat. Large amounts of water are used in the mining process, and the industry has created 70 square miles of toxic tailings ponds that have yet to be cleaned up. The mining and refining of tar sands crude also creates significantly more greenhouse gas emissions  estimates range as high as 37 percent more  than producing conventional crude oil.

Many companies have already conceded that they do not have a future in an economic and regulatory regime that rewards lower costs and lower emissions and penalizes big polluters. According to Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting company, 800,000 barrels a day of oil sands projects have been delayed or canceled over the past 18 months. That amounts to 16 new projects that have been put on hold or canceled. CNOOC, which recently suspended production at its Long Lake tar sands facility, is reportedly one of a number of other companies looking for ways of bailing out of the tar sands.

Even the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has backed away from its once-rosy forecasts for tar sands expansion. In 2013, it predicted that tar sands production would increase from approximately 2 million barrels per day to 5.2 million barrels per day by 2030. In 2015, CAPP reduced estimated 2030 tar sands production to 4 million barrels a day. Tar sands output could fall even lower, analysts say.

Making matters worse for the industry is that there are few signs that prices are going to rebound to the $60- to $80-per-barrel break-even point for many companies anytime soon. The International Energy Agency predicts that oil prices might not rebound to the $80-per-barrel range until the 2020s and that growth after that will be tepid at least until the 2040s.

If thats the case, only the biggest and richest companies will have enough revenue in reserve to weather this current storm. That may be why Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. recently agreed to a takeover by Suncor, and why other companies are likely to consolidate.

Another existential problem for the tar sands industry is that pipeline projects such as Keystone and Northern Gateway  which would transport tar sands oil to Pacific Ocean ports  are dead or on death row. Other pipeline projects such as Trans Mountain and Energy East are encountering strong opposition from Canadian aboriginal leaders, provincial premiers, and municipal officials, including 82 mayors from Quebec, who in January voiced their opposition to the Energy East Pipeline, which would transport tar sands crude to ports in Atlantic Canada.

Jaccard and some other analysts arent about to count out the tar sands just yet. He says that conflict in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East could slash production and boost oil prices. A faltering of long-term efforts to slow climate change could also bode well for the tar sands, says Jaccard. He also believes that some of the bigger tar sands companies are rich and innovative enough to surmount the technological challenges they face in dealing with carbon emissions and other climate change challenges, such as the predicted shortage of the massive amounts of river water required to separate oil from the tar sands.

One wild card in all this is the generous government subsidies and rock-bottom royalties needed to keep the tar sands industry afloat. These subsidies may well decline or disappear as the Alberta and Canadian governments shift their priorities and increase support to wind, solar, and natural gas  not only to meet their CO2 emissions-reduction targets, but also to stimulate the economy.

According to a 2014 report conducted by Clean Energy Canada, renewable energy growth in Canada has produced more jobs than the oil sands industry. Direct employment in the clean energy sector  which includes hydropower, as well as wind, solar and biomass  was 23,700, compared with 22,000 people employed in the tar sands, according to the report.

The interesting question then is how do oil sands and pipeline companies evolve? says Dan Woynillowicz, policy director for Clean Energy Canada. Some have become players in renewable energy, and while its a small part of their current business, they are actually some of the largest renewable energy developers in Canada. What does it look like for these companies to keep transitioning from a fossil fuel company, to an energy company with fossil and renewable assets, to a renewable energy company?

Even if and when oil prices bounce back, the tar sands industry will continue to see steady competition not only from renewable energy projects, but also from the boom in oil produced by hydrofracturing shale formations in the United States.

Schindler, the limnologist who has been a longtime industry critic, may well be wrong in predicting that Fort McMurray will be the next Butte, Montana, with lots of boarded-up houses, and that taxpayers will be left with lots of toxic tailings ponds and desolate unreclaimable mined lands on their hands. But hes not wrong in pointing out that Albertans are genuinely frightened about the future of their once-indomitable energy industry.

Simon Dyer, the associate regional director for Alberta at the Pembina Institute, which acts as an energy industry watchdog, says the Alberta governments recent plan to cap tar sands carbon emissions at 100 megatons by 2030, from 70 megatons today, is a clear sign that a robust expansion of production is not in the cards.

Its not clear that Albertans and Canadians know that the kind of expansion we were promised several years ago will not come to pass, he says. That's not going to happen.

Canadian author and photographer Ed Struzik has been writing on the Arctic for three decades. In previous articles for Yale Environment 360, he has reported on shrinking snowpack and glaciers in the Rockies and the tar sands industry's proposed Arctic export route.




Why I Support Gay Rights..

By Parvin Sultana

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Coming from a small town Dhubri in Assam where talks about gender and sexuality, leave alone homosexuality, were taboo subjects, I had my own prejudices. Same sex couples about whom we got to read in newspapers with spiced up details seemed like abominations from a different world. Back in 2006 when I joined Miranda House in Delhi and started living in the college hostel, talks about supposedly same sex couples were still carried on in whispered tones and derogatory jibes were not unusual. They were people whom it was thought better to avoid. What was rampant was more an ignorance about sexual minorities rather than a homophobia.

It was around this time when Gay rights activist Ruth Vanita came to my college and delivered a lecture on how literature has been cleansed of homoerotic poetry and verses. Accompanied by her partner and their adopted child she was also working for the right of same sex couples to adopt children in India. Vanita in details laid about the entire moralizing project which was undertaken to erase traces of works that reflect the fluidity of sexuality and sexual identity. Homosexuality was seen as an imported western vice which has been corrected by a colonial law drawing heavily from catholic morality. It gave me goosebumps when Ruth Vanita asked a simple question  what exactly we fall in love with? If beauty, then how can beauty be overdetermined by gender? I am sure that it made me along with many other young women sitting in that conference room reconsider our very own ideas about love. How can a selfless feeling like love be so restraining, be so constricted and be so stifling, be so limited by caste, religion and even gender?

That day I left my college convinced that nobody has the right to set rules about how to love and whom to love. Heated arguments with friends who asked me whether I would support if members in my own family were homosexuals, I responded in affirmative and my conviction was strengthened further. The absence of the need to judge the so-called deviants was a liberating feeling in itself. The next incident that forced the entire society to acknowledge the presence and rethink about the rights of sexual minorities was the decriminalization of homosexuality by Delhi High Court. The High Court judgment upheld that the law which punishes intercourse against the order of nature is a violation of fundamental rights to equality, nondiscrimination, life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. This allowed members of the LGBTQ community to come out and assert their identity. While godmen claimed to cure homosexuality with yoga, gay right activists retorted asking will yoga cure such tendencies in animals too!

By this time I have moved to JNU which has a politically vibrant student community which regularly engages with all kind of issues. The students in my university have been very vocal about the rights of the marginalized. There was a student group called Anjuman which raised issues related to the rights of sexual minorities. While this group was broken down a few years back, it was revived to give voice to the sexual minorities within the campus. This group constantly tried to mobilize students on issues of equal rights for all including sexual minorities. While there was an ongoing struggle for a life of dignity of members of the LGBTQ community, disturbing news about how such people were being hounded and persecuted continued flowing in. The tragic suicide of a Professor of Aligarh Muslim University who lost his job because of his sexual orientation was rather disturbing. On a personal level I got to meet a large number of people who were members of the LGBTQ community. They were no more an ambiguous group but rather good friends whom I came to love and respect. And who I staunchly believed deserved every right to be with whoever they want.

However in a setback, the Supreme Court responding to the petitions of some individuals and religious groups upheld the colonial law and said that it is the responsibility of the Legislature to amend this law. While many activists are of the view that doing away with Article 377 without introducing a new law against child sexual abuse is dangerous, continuing with it is also a gross violation of the rights of sexual minorities. After the stay by Supreme Court, many human rights activists, lawyers, medical professionals filed curative petitions to revise the previous ruling, saying that section 377 denies privacy and dignity and upholding it will result in miscarriage of justice. Despite such widespread concerns Legislature took no proactive step to correct such a draconian law. In December, 2015 the Lok Sabha did not even allow Shashi Tharoor to even introduce a bill proposing to review section 377.

Amidst sustained struggle on 2nd February, 2016 the Supreme Court admitted the curative petitions challenging its 2013 decision. Chief Justice T.S Thakur said that the petitions pose question with constitutional dimensions of importance and referred the petitions to a five judge Constitution bench for detailed hearing. This has rekindled hope in the LGBTQ community which wants to see an end to a discriminatory law. My experience in my university days taught me to stand up for the rights of other marginalized communities, the need to form progressive alliances. And the sexual minorities continue to be a community pushed into the shadows, forced to live a double life which has affected many other lives as well when homosexual individuals are forced to enter heterosexual relationships. Right to a dignified life and right to love cannot be denied and decided on the basis of ideas of popular morality, culture, tradition and religious principles. An outdated law that does not take into account consent and agency of individuals, and apparently has nothing to do with protection of women, children and public health has long past its utility and is no more than a colonial legacy as well as baggage which a modern democracy should shed off.

Parvin Sultana is an Assistant Professor in P B College of Assam. Her research interest includes Muslims in Assam, development and northeast, gender etc.






Netherlands To Begin Bombing Islamic State In Syria

By Josh Varlin

02 February, 2016

WSWS.org

Prime Minister Mark Ruttes announcement on January 29 that the Dutch cabinet had decided to begin bombing the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) in Syria marks a dramatic escalation of the Netherlands involvement in the US-led campaign.

Six Dutch F-16 planes based in Jordan started bombing IS in Iraq in October 2014, although only four are currently engaged in bombing runs.

Ruttes declaration comes after the Labor Party (PvdA), which is the junior partner in a coalition government with the Liberal Party (VVD), announced on Tuesday that it would support the bombing, ensuring its parliamentary approval. The cabinet has sent a letter to the Dutch parliament explaining the decision, and a voteassured to passwill follow in the next few days.

The bombing campaign will continue until July, at which point the Netherlands will withdraw from bombing Iraq and Syria. Belgium will take its place in Iraq, but has not yet announced if it will also conduct sorties in Syria.

In addition to the bombing, the Netherlands will intensify its support for the Iraqi army and the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, while funding moderate Syrian rebels.

The Dutch government had deliberated over bombing Syria in the summer of 2015, but had decided against it after Russia began its intervention in favor of the Syrian government in September, complicating the situation in the country. At the time, Labor MP Michiel Servaes commented to the Volkskrant: Let us stop this fixation about using F-16s. I would like to move the discussion towards the role the Netherlands can play in finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

In a December 2015 interview with the Nieuwsuur program on Dutch broadcaster NOS, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad noted that any intervention in Syria without the permission of the Syrian government would be illegal. This is against international law, he said. We are a sovereign country.

When the interviewer asked Assad if anyone from the Netherlands had contacted him regarding Syrian authorization for anti-IS airstrikes or antiterrorism collaboration Assad said, Not one of them.

Despite earlier invocations of international law and diplomacy by the Netherlands, the Dutch government has decided to throw these out and begin brutal bombing runs, even as numerous factions involved in the Syrian Civil War meet in Geneva for peace talks sponsored by the United Nations. In fact, the announcement that the Netherlands would begin bombing Syria was issued the same day as the Geneva talks began.

The Netherlands had come under increased pressure from the NATO alliance and the European Union to intervene in Syria, particularly after the terrorist attacks in France in November.

The Dutch escalation is extraordinarily reckless. The Netherlands is a NATO member; any conflict between it and Russian or Syrian forceseven accidentalcould result in a widespread catastrophe.

The United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar are all conducting airstrikes in Syria as part of the US-led campaign that the Netherlands is joining. In addition, Syrian and Russian planes are cooperating in their own air campaign against ISIS and other rebel groups.

Military intervention is controversial in the Netherlands. The first Dutch military action after World War II was the brutal but unsuccessful attempt to defeat the Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1949), during which Dutch forces committed serious war crimes.

The Netherlands also participated in the imperialist carve-up of the Balkans in the 1990s. Dutch troops in the United Nations Protection Force were assigned to protect Srebrenica during the infamous massacre of about 7,000 Muslims. Dossier Srebrenica, the Dutch report on the failure, brought down the second Wim Kok cabineta largely symbolic gestureand the resignation of the Royal Netherlands Army Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Ad van Baal.

During the Kosovo War, Dutch F-16s dropped cluster bombs in Nis, Serbia, Yugoslavia, killing 15 and wounding 28. The bombs had been aimed at Nis Airport but missed and hit the city center.

In 2010, the widely unpopular Dutch intervention in Afghanistan brought down the fourth Jan Peter Balkenende cabinet, which was composed of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Labor and the ChristianUnion (CU). When the government attempted to extend the mandate for the 2,000 Dutch troops supporting the NATO occupation of Afghanistan, the PvdA broke with the CDA and CU, fearing the complete collapse of its legitimacy in the face of popular opposition to the Afghan War.

The Netherlands intervention in Syria will be coupled with increased xenophobia and attacks on the right to asylum.

With the start of 2016, the Netherlands took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. One of the central goals of the new presidency will be to reduce the number of refugees. The numbers have to come down very much, very considerably, said Rutte.

Rutte plans to work closely with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to strengthen the EUs border control agency, Frontex.

First vice president of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, a Dutch appointee and Junckers right-hand man, claimed in a January 2015 interview with NOS, More than half of the people now coming to Europe come from countries where you can assume they have no reason whatsoever to ask for refugee status. An analysis of Frontex figures by Dutch publisher NRC found that, on the contrary, up to 90 percent of refugees arriving in Greece come from war zones in Syria and Iraq or from Afghanistan, which is seeing a resurgence of violence.




Government Should Listen To The Local People: A Case Of Khandadhar Hills, Odisha

By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

03 February, 2016

Countercurrents.org

As the globalisation is on march and the marginalized people are at the receiving end. The moot point is how to challenge and prevent this onslaught which is causing so much pain to the affected ones, who are already deprived and with no option except to die unsung and unclothed , as in the worlds of Marx labour is dead, in fact the marginalised ones are dead or waiting for it.

The impacts are uncountable and unbearable. The recent impacts are being born by the tribals of the Khandadhar area in the state of the Odisha where mining can be done by the big companies.

This will have adverse impact on the hills, waterfalls, and the adjoining lands where this mining is to be carried on. To face this problem the civil society organisations in the region have come together. They organized themselves recently to face the challenges. Loka Shakti Abhijan (LSA) and Khandadhar Surakhya Sangram Samiti (KSSS) have taken up the responsibility to deal with the onslaught with the support of several groups and individuals.

This is sad development in the Indian political scene that government whether of state or of the centre do not pay heed to what the local people want. The policies planners staying in the ivory towers need to understand that democracy establish the sovereignty of the general will or the will of the people. Why then such protests are needed to make aware the governments at the different level; to know about the real wish of the people at large.

This is a great tragedy in Indian system that people that too of the marginalised section are forced to take up the mechanism of the protest to let their grievances heard by the people at the helm of the affairs.

This development is not in tune with the democratic values of the country. Governments must learn at least that tribals are specific and unique category of the Indian people+ who have been accorded special protection by the Indian constitution. Hence they need to be protected at any cost by the governments.

Moreover in the name of the development, the influential forces have penetrated Indian society. This impact has not been understood properly yet. When globalisation-capitalism is presented with the logic of the development then it is another way of making things unequal. The local ones who have ancestral and legal rights over the lands and other resources are put in back benches and certain companies are allocated capacity to enhance their values by extracting the resources. The better way would have been to ask the tribals whether such projects be allowed or not. If there is no positive signal; governments should maintain the status quo.

The right way in a democratic way is to work according to the wishes of the people. It is not always possible that the elected representatives are successful to bring the local problems before the legislature. Hence there is urgent need that a decentralised system of listening the voice of the people need to be evolved. At least the voices of the civil society organisations which act in the democratic space of the state and the society need to be given more importance by the governments as they articulate the wishes of the people. Therefore government may decide to move to the local level to know the real desires of the people by interacting directly with the local ones or by discussing the matter with the civil society organisations. This is the right way to make decisions about such complex issues. This way the decision making will shift from the ivory towers to local huts for whom these issues are highly sensitive.

Therefore it is needed that the voices of the local people should be heard by the officials who are deciding the fate of such marginalised people; so far without involving them in the decision making process and not listening to their view point.

India is a country which has advocated participation based development administration. Development administration requires that in the development the people should be associated. If the people in huge quantity do not want a development programme or project as harmful to their interests then there is no need to continue with it. The decentralised decision making and participatory development administration suggest that governments must take care of such people with immediate effect.

Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava is Assistant Professor, CSJM Kanpur University (affiliated College) and Vice Chairman CSSP, e mail-vpy1000@yahoo.co.in




Lower-income families in the United States have near-universal access to the Internet and some kind of digital device, but they are often at a disadvantage when it comes to the quality and consistency of their connections, especially when they are limited to mobile devices such as smartphones.

Thats among the key takeaways from Opportunity for All? Technology and Learning in Lower-Income Families, a research report released today by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop , a nonprofit research organization focused on children and digital media.

Not all connectivity is created equal, and not all devices provide the same kinds of online experiences, the report reads. Many families face limitations in the form of service cutoffs, slow service, older technology, or difficulty using equipment because too many people are sharing devices.

The study, based primarily on a nationally representative phone survey of 1,191 families living below the national median household income for families with children, also found that parents are generally quite positive about the role of technology and the Internet in their childrens lives and schooling.

But nearly three-fourths of those polled still worry about exposure to inappropriate content online, and 63 percent believe the time their children spend with technology detracts from their involvement with other activities.

The reports focus on digital inequities among school-aged children comes at a crucial policy juncture: Over the past 18 months, the federal government has embarked on an ambitious effort to improve schools and communities access to affordable high-speed Internet service through the E-rate program. In December, the U.S. Department of Education highlighted in its new National Education Technology Plan the ongoing problem of a digital-use divide between active and passive uses of digital and online content and tools.

And there is growing concern that the rise of online high-stakes testing may be disadvantaging studentsoften those from lower-income familieswith relatively limited prior exposure to technology.

Many families are making the most of whatever forms of connectivity they can afford, the new Joan Ganz Cooney Center report reads, but the quality of families Internet connections, and the kinds and capabilities of the devices they can access, have considerable consequences for parents and children alike.

Money a barrier to reliable Internet access

Among the new reports key findings on lower-income families access to technology and the Internet:

94 percent of lower-incomes families have some kind of access to the Internet, but 23 percent of those families (and a full one-third of families living below the poverty line) rely on mobile-only access.



Not surprisingly, money is a huge issue: Among lower-income families with mobile-only access, 24 percent have had their phone service cut off, 29 percent have hit the limits of their mobile data plans, and 21 percent report challenges associated with too many people in the family sharing the same phone.



Discounted Internet-service programs such as Comcasts Internet Essentials have barely made a dent in the problem: Among the families surveyed, only 5 percent said they had ever signed up for such a program.



have barely made a dent in the problem: Among the families surveyed, only 5 percent said they had ever signed up for such a program. Families headed by lower-income Hispanic immigrants are less connected than similar families from other ethnic and racial groups.



Lower-income parents were also unlikely to take advantage of community resources such as libraries in order to get connected: Just 29 percent of those without home computer access said they used computers at public libraries sometimes or often. Mobile-only parents were more likely to make regular use of free Wi-fi at places such as coffee shops and restaurants.

Still, the survey found, parents were motivated to get the best connections they can, primarily in order to support their childrens academic development and to connect with family and friends.

The survey also asked about Internet usage habits. Not surprisingly, nearly three-fourths of the parents surveyed reported accessing the Internet daily (although that plunged to 60 percent for parents living below the poverty line.) Among the main reasons parents said they went online:

Looking up information: 95 percent (who said they did this sometimes or often)

Finding places to go/mapping directions: 86 percent

Staying in touch with families/friends: 83 percent

Keeping up with news/local events: 78 percent

Online banking/bill paying: 67 percent

Shopping: 58 percent

Applying for jobs/services: 52 percent

Its that last point that caused the researchers some concern, especially because lower-income parents with mobile-only access reported being significantly less likely than their counterparts with home computers to use the Internet to seek employment and sign up for benefits and services.

A primary digital-equity concern is whether having mobile-only Internet access limits families ability to engage in certain types of online activities, the report reads. Our findings indicate those concerns may be well-founded.

Focusing on the digital-use divide

With its recent overhaul of the federal E-rate program , the Federal Communications Commission has set the stage for expanded access to affordable high-speed Internet inside schools. The commission is also currently looking at strategies to help close the so-called homework gap, including possible updating of the federal Lifeline program to allow for federal subsidies for home broadband service to low-income households.

But access isnt enough; policymakers are increasingly focused on how students actually use technology and the Internet at home and in the classroom. The federal education departments new National Education Technology Plan , for example, calls for giving more students wider opportunities to code, create media, design, and collaborate with experts and with each other, rather than passively receiving digital content.

And with new evidence that students who lack prior exposure to educational technology might suffer on the high-stakes standardized assessments that have largely moved online, that focus will likely grow even sharper.

Its a reality that parents are already keenly aware of, if the Joan Ganz Cooney Center report is any indication: Among the surveyed parents whose children use computers or tablets at school, 84 percent said they consider that technology helpful during preparation for important tests. The lowest-income parents, as well as non-white parents and those with lower levels of educational attainment, all were more likely to strongly agree that technology is helpful in preparing for those assessments.

The parents who are least likely to be connected to the technology themselves...have the most positive views about the benefits of technology in preparing students for important tests, the report said. This may reflect parents hope that technology will even an unequal playing field for their children.

Strong majorities of the parents surveyed also said that computers and mobile devices help their children learn important skills, that the Internet exposes children to important new ideas and information, and that computers and tablets in the classroom improve the overall quality of their childrens education.

Among parents concerns about ed tech: Just over one-third of those surveyed worried that classroom technology use may result in teachers knowing less about their childrens individual needs (a figure that was far higher among foreign-born Hispanic parents.)

The study also looked at how lower-income parents and their children use technology together, concluding that family members are resources for each other when it comes to learning with, and about, technology.

See also:
The emergency manager of the Detroit schools will resign this month amid growing concerns over his job performance and the direction of the troubled school district.

Darnell Earley plans to leave the job Feb. 29 after a little more than a year at the helm. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder plans to appoint a transition leader before the end of the month.

Darnell has done a very good job under some very difficult circumstances. I want to thank him for his professionalism and his service to the people of Michigan, Snyder said in a statement.

Outside the governors office, public assessment of Earleys job performance hasnt been as kind, with groups ranging from the citys teachers union to state lawmakers calling for his ouster. Before Snyder appointed Earley as emergency manager in January 2015, Earley served as the emergency manager in the city of Flint, Mich., from September 2013 to January 2015.

Earley has faced growing criticism in recent months both for what happened with the water supply in Flint and the problems within the Detroit schools such as crowded classrooms, crumbling schools, and the districts mounting debt. Teachers have staged several sickouts in the past two months to protest the mold, water damage, and rodent problems in some of the citys older schools, saying Earley has all but ignored their complaints.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers, along with the American Federation of Teachers, filed a lawsuit last month against the Detroit schools and Earley , asking a judge to remove Earley from his state-appointed position.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus publicly asked Snyder to fire Earley, saying he has left a trail of destruction in both Flint and Detroit.

Last week, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform invited Earley and several other Michigan officials to testify on Wednesday about the water crisis in Flint. Earley has declined to testify, the Detroit News reported.

When I was appointed to this position, Gov. Snyder and I agreed that our goal was for me to be the last emergency manager appointed to DPS, Earley said in a statement released through Snyders office. I have completed the comprehensive restructuring, necessary to downsizing the central office, and the development of a network structure that empowers the educational leadership of our schools to direct more resources toward classroom instruction.

Earley was the fourth emergency manager of the Detroit school system, which has been under state oversight since March 2009. Under previous emergency managers, the district lost tens of thousands of students, closed dozens of schools, and struggled with persistent budget deficits.
SHARE Aimee Blume / Special to The Courier & Press Chef George Watson will be cooking up Cajun and southern favorites for St. Benedict Cathedral Schools Mardi Gras festival this Saturday. Come enjoy his long-marinated southern fried chicken, shrimp and crab etoufee, bananas foster and more. Aimee Blume / Special to The Courier & Press St. Benedict Cathedral School will be hosting their annual Mardi Gras dinner and dance this Saturday at the Holiday Inn Airport.

By Aimee Blume

If you love Mardi Gras season but aren't necessarily into crawling through the bars, St. Benedict Cathedral School is having a Mardi Gras buffet and fundraiser Saturday that will appeal to anyone with a taste for good southern cookin', dancin' and a little auctioneerin'.

"The PTO at St. Ben's has been doing the Mardi Gras fundraiser for about seven years," said Melinda Sloan, Mardi Gras committee member. "It's our school's only big fundraiser, an alternative to having the kids sell stuff from catalogs. We came up with the idea originally when there weren't so many Mardi Gras events in town, and we wanted to add something."

The event is held at the Holiday Inn Airport. Guests will enjoy a southern and Cajun buffet, beads, photo booth, live and silent auctions and dancing with a DJ.

The food will be provided by Chef George Watson, a local culinary graduate of Ivy Tech who has that magic touch with southern cuisine.

"We do a super-awesome southern buffet here at the hotel, everybody loves our southern fried chicken," said Watson. "We marinate it for at least two days in a special brine of brown sugar, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and put it in this great seasoned breading we came up with."

He'll have piles of that chicken out on Saturday, along with some signature Louisiana dishes.

On the Cajun side, he'll be offering an appetizer of hot crab dip with real jumbo lump crab, artichokes and fresh sauteed spinach in a creamy cheese sauce with a touch of cayenne and served with pita chips. For the entree, prepare yourself for a decadent crab and shrimp etoufee, an intense stew smothered down with spices, celery, bell peppers and onions.

"The etoufee is a delicious recipe," said Watson. "I research recipes really closely, then look at them all and say 'I'm gonna do it like this.' When we had the tasting for the dishes for this party, it was like a Mardi Gras festival in here."

Side dishes will include red beans and rice cooked with peppers, celery and onions and southern slow-cooked green beans with bacon.

And then there's the desserts.

The star of the dessert show will be the flaming bananas foster, auctioned off and prepared tableside for your entire table by Watson himself.

"We'll have at least 32 servings of bananas foster," said Watson. "They'll auction them off, and I'll go to a table with the cart and a burner. I saute the bananas in some butter with cinnamon and brown sugar, and then deglaze it with a little rum and flame up the pan, then take the banana and wrap it in a crepe with and serve it with ice cream and the rum caramel sauce."

If you're not lucky enough to win the bananas foster, on the buffet you'll find all the fresh-fried beignets  little powdered puffs like melt-in-your-mouth square doughnuts  that your heart desires. They're best eaten with hot, fresh coffee just like at Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter.

"When I was at school at Ivy Tech we studied Cajun food for three weeks in one of our classes. We were in there one day doing different types of roux, then we had gumbo day, we did all that stuff. I feel like Cajun food is exciting because it's not everyday dishes you find here in our area. It's delicious and flavorful, and you can stay with the tradition but still be creative. It's especially fun if you know the history of it."

What: St. Benedict Cathedral School's annual Mardi Gras Fundraiser

When: 5:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday

Where: Holiday Inn Airport, 7101 Highway 41 North

Tickets: $45 per person. Call 812-455-6415 for reservations.

Beignets

Makes 32 Beignets

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup warm water (115 degrees)

1/4 cup sugar

 teaspoon salt

2  teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 egg, lightly beaten

Peanut oil for deep-frying

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1 In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

2 Measure out 3 1/2 cups of the flour into a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add the yeast mixture, processing until fully absorbed. Add the cream and egg and process to form a soft dough. Add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough cleans the sides of the work bowl and is no longer sticky. Continue processing for 1 minute to knead. Place the dough in a lightly oiled zipper bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

3 Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and punch it down to eliminate air pockets. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 8-inch square about 3/4 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, square off the corners. Cut the dough into sixteen 2-inch squares, then cut the squares in half on the diagonal to form 32 triangles. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

4 In a heavy saucepan or deep fryer, pour in oil to a depth of 4 inches and heat to 375 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer. Add the pieces of dough, a few at a time, and deep-fry, turning as needed, until golden, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

Source: Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New American Cooking Series, The South, by Roy Overton

Bananas Foster Crepes

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4-inch rounds

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup dark rum

4 small crepes homemade or frozen and thawed

1/2 cup creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS

1 Warm butter and sugar in a saute pan over medium heat until butter melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Add bananas, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and vanilla, and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes.

2 Remove pan from heat. Add rum. Return to heat. If using a gas stove, tip pan away from you carefully until the vapors from the rum ignite. (Or light with a long match.) Cook until flames stop, about 1 minute. Divide bananas among crepes; reserve sauce in pan.

3 Fold each crepe in half, then fold in half again. Drizzle crepes with reserved sauce, and top with creme fraiche or ice cream. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Quick Shrimp Etouffee

Serves 4

ingredients

1 cup converted white rice

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

 small green pepper, finely chopped

 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce

 teaspoon dried thyme

1  cup clam juice (low sodium) or shrimp stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound raw, shelled, and deveined shrimp

2 scallions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1 Prepare rice according to package directions. Keep warm.

2 In a heavy skillet, heat oil and flour together over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the flour browns and looks like peanut butter.

3 Add onion, celery, green pepper, cayenne and thyme, and cook uncovered until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring often.

4 Increase heat to medium-high. Add clam juice or stock and whisk until mixture comes to a full boil. Permit to cook 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. If your clam juice or stock was salty, you might not need salt.

5 Add shrimp and stir to mix. Cook for 5 minutes, or until shrimp are curled and opaque. Sprinkle with scallions. Serve over hot rice.
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By Len Wells of the Courier and Press

Federal prosecutors say they intend to seek the forfeiture of two homes owned by an Evansville man indicted this week for embezzling more than $800,000 from his employer.

Kent W. Cutchin, 60, is the former office manager for R Energy of Carmi, Illinois  more commonly known locally as Rebstock Oil Company.

Federal prosecutors say if Cutchin is convicted of charges of forgery and money laundering, they intend to seek forfeiture of his home at 621 Crestwood Drive in Evansville, his Kentucky Lake home at 143 Piedmont Road in Gilbertsville, his personal bank account funds and a Polaris Ranger ATV.

Cutchin is also the former head of the METS bus system.

With the unsealing of the indictment in federal court at Evansville, prosecutors have listed some of the items Cutchin allegedly purchased with the $837,251 he is accused of embezzling.

Cutchin is accused of forging checks in the amount of $12,000 to the Air Conditioning Store in Evansville; $10,690 and $10,970 to Pella Windows for work on his Crestwood Drive home in Evansville and another $14,902 to Polaris of Benton, Ky. for the purchase of the Ranger ATV.

In all, Cutchin is accused of forging the name of his employer, Rebecca Drone, on 501 company checks.

Cutchin remains free on his own recognizance, awaiting trial.
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By Cole Claybourn of the Courier and Press

A former office manager of a Henderson, Kentucky, law firm on Tuesday was sentenced in U.S. District Court for embezzling nearly $265,000 over a 30-month period from her employer.

U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., sentenced Krista Kaye Graupner, 45, of Evansville, to 28 months in prison, followed by a three-year period of supervised release. He ordered her to pay full restitution for the $264,867.84 she embezzled from King, Deep & Branaman between June 2012 and December 2014.

Graupner admitted to committing three counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

As office manager, Graupner had access to the law firm's bank accounts and was authorized to write checks and initiate direct deposit payments. She admitted in a guilty plea on October 21, 2015, that she used KDB's funds to pay personal bills, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In October of 2014, she began wiring money from Henderson to various individuals in South Africa who were part of the scheme, the release said.

"Graupner admitted that she would write checks, either for cash or to herself, drawn upon KDB accounts and then use the cash from the KDB checks to wire the money via Western Union to individuals in South Africa," according to the release. "In perpetuating this crime, Graupner made approximately 200 wire transfers from October 2014 through December 2014."
JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS University of Southern Indiana graduate Zachary Watson of Evansville shows off his trix stix skills to USI student Lauren Mazeika of Louisville during Student Success Week in the University Center on USIs campus in Evansville Tuesday. The event offers everything from meditation basics to anti-procrastination techniques and continues through Thursday.

SHARE JASON CLARK / COURIER & PRESS Pack Rat of the Hadi Shrine Funsters offers a ballon bracelet to University of Southern Tiffany Collins Mt. Vernon during Student Success Week in the University Center on USIs campus in Evansville Tuesday. The event offers everything from meditation basics to anti-procrastination techniques and continues through Thursday.

By Megan Erbacher of the Courier and Press

Heather Rush wants University of Southern Indiana students to know they are not alone on campus.

There are many people who want to help, said Rush, advisor and coordinator of programs and services in USI's University Division.

Through Thursday, USI's University Division is hosting the fourth annual Student Success Week to give students the opportunity to connect with university services and support offices. It's also intended, Rush said, to improve student academic success.

The 65 workshops are presented by faculty, administrators, students and alumni. Topics include developing healthy relationships, test-taking skills, time management, roommates and combating discrimination.

"There are so many things here on campus that students just aren't aware of," Rush said. "And this is one way for them to find out about it."

The three-day event kicked off Tuesday with a carnival-themed open house in USI's Traditions Lounge. Students could play carnival games for prizes, get pictures taken with Archie Eagle and enjoy snacks.

A Class of 2012 USI alumnus, Zachary Watson, has been involved in Student Success Week since its inception when he was a student presenter. On Tuesday, he showed off his "trix stix" skills and encouraged students to give the handmade stix a try.

An Evansville native, Watson is a youth motivational speaker and entertainer through his business, My Trix Stix. He said similar sticks were used as a tool 3,000 years ago in Africa to get fruit out of trees.

"Now they're, of course, a hand-eye coordination toy for me," Watson said.

"The No. 1 thing in life, I say, is your health," he said. "But right under that is education. ... There are a multitude of workshops  student-, teachers- and professor- led  and they give you a whole bunch of information on how to be a successful college student."

USI freshmen Jessica Robinson and Kelsey Hendrix took advantage of the carnival activities. The two planned to attend a note-taking workshop.

"It's really cool," Hendrix said of the week's seminars. "Because it's good to get involved and get people interested. ... It's better than just sitting here never having anything on campus."

Freshman Eric Dyer volunteered his skills to apply temporary carnival-themed tattoos. An Indianapolis native, Dyer, 18, said his work would go toward his fraternity volunteer hours for Sigma Pi.

"The university wants to strive for excellence," he said. "And I think this is a good way to promote that. USI wants all of their students to have excellent character, but still focus on excelling in the classroom as well."

Rush said the "professional development seminars" were a campuswide event. Evaluations were in every room to offer the presenters feedback.

"It's important because we need to show the support that we have for our students," Rush said. "So this is a good way for them to get a taste of all the different resources on campus. And possibly make future relationships with those offices."

A workshop schedule is under the calendar tab at usi.edu.
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By Mark Wilson of the Courier and Press

An environmental group says the U.S. EPA's latest toxic pollution report underscores why the group is targeting Indiana Michigan Power's Rockport, Indiana, power plant in its campaign to shutter aging coal-burning facilities.

The Southern Indiana power plant is located on the Ohio River about 45 minutes east of Evansville.

According to the EPA's recently released Toxic Release Inventory report, the Rockport power plant released more than 5.9 million pounds of toxic pollution in 2014  the most recent data available.

The inventory tracks industry and utility releases of toxic chemicals based on information reported by them.

Jodi Perras, a Sierra Club representative, on Tuesday said the group has collected more than a 1,000 signatures from Indiana Michigan customers urging the utility to replace half of the Rockport plant's power generation with renewable energy sources.

The power plant supplies energy to Northeastern Indiana communities, including South Bend and Elkhart.

A Sierra Club press release said Rockport released more toxic pollution in 2014 than the four largest counties  Elkhart, Allen, St. Joseph and Delaware  served by Indiana Michigan combined.

"The new information raises serious concerns regarding the public health threats Hoosiers face for the next 20 years, since I&M (Indiana Michigan) has filed plans with the State of Indiana to spend more than $6 billion to keep burning coal at AEP-Rockport until 2035 and beyond," according to the statement.

An Indiana Michigan spokeswoman said that plan has since been scrapped and was based on the cost of installing scrubbers for removing sulfur dioxide pollution from the Rockport plant.

Instead, the utility company now plans to install a different, less expensive technology called dry sorbent injection (DSI) to control sulfur dioxide from the plant, said Melissa McHenry, external communications director.

McHenry said the company is currently building four large solar generation projects in Indiana and Michigan, including two in St. Joseph County and one in Grant County, Indiana.

She said the company also has filed a plan with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to add another 600 megawatts of large-scale solar power generation, 1,350 megawatts of wind power generation and 1,253 megawatts of natural gas generation over the next 20 years.

McHenry said the TRI data is misleading and noted that more than half of the 5.9 million pounds were from ash generated by burning coal.

"A huge amount of it is land releases. That is coal ash and fly ash and it is stored on site," she said.

Ash at the power plant is kept in approved storage sites with ground water monitoring, she said.

She said the Rockport emissions are big because the amount of power it generates  2,600 megawatts  is big.
Multiple agencies responded to Huntingburg City Park today after it was reported a subject was there with a gun. (Sarah Ann Jump/Dubois County Herald)

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By John Martin of the Courier and Press

The names of those involved in Tuesday's officer involved shooting in Huntingburg were released Wednesday.

A Huntingburg man was reported in critical condition on Tuesday after a town police officer shot him during an encounter near League Stadium.

According to Indiana State Police, an officer at 2 p.m. received a social media message from Zachary Tyler Peek, 27, of Huntingburg requesting the officer meet him at the stadium.

"Concerned by the nature of the message, and knowing that the department had been to recent calls for service with this person, the officer requested a supervisor go with him to meet him," said Sgt. Philip Hensley, a state police spokesman.

"After arriving in a parking lot on the east side of League Stadium, Officers Tyler Stivers, Tim Mullens and Christian Gogel found Peek standing in the middle of the parking lot, holding what appeared to be a revolver. Multiple commands were given by officers for Peek to place the weapon on the ground, to which he refused to do. Peek then raised the gun, pointing it directly at Stivers. Stivers and Gogel fired on the subject, striking him multiple times," Hensley said.

Details of the social media message which prompted the encounter were not released.

Officers requested emergency medical services to tend to Peek. He was taken to Memorial Hospital in Jasper and then transferred to St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville. The officers were unharmed.

Hensley said the incident remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police.
Spartan Man Found Guilty of Intentionally Killing Bears

An elderly man from Sparta, who shot and killed three bears on his lawn and was caught trying to dispose of the carcasses, was found guilty and fined by a New Jersey judge last week. The judge called the defendant's actions those of "a vigilante, usurping the right of the state," according to the New Jersey Herald.

Although this tale reads like fiction, it is fact. The 76-year-old Robert Ehling shot two adult bears and a cub on his lawn with a loaded firearm and was then caught disposing of the carcasses in a ravine. He claimed self-defense but the claim was rejected by Municipal Court Judge James Devine, who said Ehling acted as an aggressor when he shot the bears and was not threatened by them.

Facts Not in Dispute

According to the court, the facts were not in dispute. Ehling was not trapped or caught. He chose to go out on his deck and shoot the bears, the judge said, noting that Ehling did intend to kill and that "there was a lot of emotion in the house."

Judge Devine said that he had worked on many wildlife cases and understood that illegal killings of animals happen accidentally. But in Ehling's case, the judge did not doubt that there was in intent to kill and that there was no threat. "It was very easy (for him) to leave the house or even just that room," the judge said.

Arguments for Appeal

Robert Ehling did not attend the hearing -- he was on vacation in Florida -- but his defense lawyer told the judge he would be appealing the verdict. Ehling was ordered to pay $4332 in civil penalties and restitution for the killing of three bears and possessions of a loaded firearm within 450 feet of an occupied dwelling.

Geroge Dagget, Ehling's lawyer, spoke to reporters after the hearing, making arguments that are probably similar to those he made in court. He said that Ehling's self-defense claim would have been unquestionable if a bunch of men tried to enter his client's house. "If we had been talking about humans here, there wouldn't have been a case. They were trying to get into the house. If it had been a man with his two sons trying to get in, no matter what, no case."

Consult With Counsel

If you have been charged civilly or criminally by the state, do not delay. Speak to an attorney today. Get help formulating a defense.

Related Resources:
Southbound Interstate 69 is shut down at Mile Marker 17 (near Indiana 57 exit) because of a wreck involving a semi and an Indiana State Police cruiser.

SHARE Southbound Interstate 69 is shut down at Mile Marker 17 (near Indiana 57 exit) because of a wreck involving a semi and an Indiana State Police cruiser. Corn spilled across Interstate 69 after a semi crashed into an Indiana State Police cruise. ISP said the interstate could be backed up for several hours as crews work to clean up the mess.

By Mark Wilson

Two Indiana State Police officers were injured Wednesday morning when a semi loaded with soybeans struck their patrol car from behind on Interstate 69 in Vanderburgh County.

Troopers Kylen Compton and Taylor Fox were treated and released from Deaconess Gateway Hospital, said Sgt. Todd Ringle.

The troopers were stopped inside their car in the passing lane of I-69 near Mile Marker 17 with their emergency lights on, diverting traffic into the right lane because of a previous wreck, according to Ringle.

Troopers usually patrol by themselves, Ringle said. However, he said Fox is a new trooper and is currently working with other troopers during his training. Fox joined the state police in November.

The driver and owner of the semi was Gary Pride, 67, of Otwell, Indiana, Ringle said. He was cited for failure to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle.

Ringle said Pride failed to change lanes and slammed into the police car. The initial impact pushed the patrol car across both lanes and into the guardrail on the west side of I-69.

The semi continued into the driving lane, striking a southbound 2013 Volvo, Ringle said. The Volvo came to a final rest on the shoulder. The semi then struck a guardrail and concrete bridge wall on the west side before rolling onto its drivers side and partially onto the Volvo.

Pride and the Volvos driver, Joanna Cochren, 45, of Petersburg, Indiana, were not hurt, Ringle said.

The accident occurred at 9:10 a.m., and caused a major back-up in the southbound lanes of I-69 as officials worked to clean a spilled load of soybeans.

Vehicles caught between the wreck and Indiana 57 were stuck for more than two hours until the road was clear enough for them to proceed. Several who tried to turn around in the median became stuck in mud from heavy rains that fell Tuesday night.
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By Zach Osowski

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bills changing Indiana's pseudoephedrine purchasing laws to exclude felons convicted of drug-related offenses met with little resistance in the Indiana General Assembly on Tuesday.

Both House Bill 1157 and Senate Bill 161 change Indiana's NPLEx system, which monitors how much pseudoephedrine a person can buy over the course of a month or year. Both bills would add a registry of Hoosiers convicted of drug-related felonies to NPLEx and prohibit them from buying pseudoephedrine medication without a prescription.

SB 161, authored by Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, passed unanimously out of the Senate, while HB 1157, written by Rep. David Frizzell, R-Indianapolis, breezed through the House 94-3.

"This bill doesn't require a prescription for law-abiding Hoosiers," Frizzell said.

Although going prescription-only for all customers was on the table at the beginning of the session, that idea was not supported by a majority of lawmakers. The legislature instead decided to make obtaining meth ingredients more difficult for criminals while not inconveniencing everyday Hoosiers.

Senate Bill 80, which would require a pharmacist to consult with anyone wants to buy pseudoephedrine, is up for a final vote Wednesday. That bill would not require buyers to obtain prescriptions, but would give pharmacists more control over who can purchase Sudafed, and would also encourage them to offer meth-resistant medications.
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Now that out-of-towners aren't hogging the best tables at the Hamburg Inn in Iowa City, the campaign buses no longer clog downtown Des Moines and the lines of voters at the Hillis Elementary School precinct won't be stretching out the door for at least another four years, it's time to assess the significance of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.

In two words? Nothing much.

While the breathless commentariat littered across the cable television landscape Monday night would have you believe that the Iowa results were historic, stunning or even unexpected, that wasn't especially true. Prior to Monday, the most recent polls suggested the Republican presidential race was essentially a threesome, with long-time front-runners Sens. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump battling each other and a surging Sen. Marco Rubio, and lo and behold, they finished 1, 2 and 3. The Democrats have known for months that it was a two-person race for that party's nomination, and so it was with Sen. Bernie Sanders coming up a wee bit short in his quest to top Hillary Clinton.

The takeaway? Perhaps the age-old wisdom that winning Iowa requires a ground war, an army of motivated organizers spread out across the state and a candidate willing to press the flesh, was proven once again. Cruz was just such a candidate, Trump was not, and Rubio has emerged as the most viable alternative to the intemperate duo. Meanwhile, Sanders' rise from obscurity outside his home state of Vermont over the past year has been impressive, but if he can't win in Iowa, what happens when the election heads to the South where he has so far demonstrated little appeal to African-American voters?

History suggests the Iowa caucuses are not so much kingmakers as weed-whackers. Michael Dukakis came in a distant third in 1988 but eventually won the Democratic nomination. The last two GOP winners were Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mike Huckabee. John McCain came in fourth in 2008 but eventually became the nominee. Strike out in Iowa, however, and you can call it a day: As it was this week for Huckabee (how soon they forget), Kentucky's Rand Paul and Maryland's Martin O'Malley, all of whom quietly bowed out after receiving mere trace support.

The campaigns can spin the actual totals as much as they want. Yes, Clinton looked a bit more certain as the Democratic nominee months ago, Rubio has come on strong in recent days and Trump may not be the juggernaut he portrayed himself to be. But, as previous results indicate, finishing within hailing distance of the winner is generally good enough. The next stop, New Hampshire, has only a slightly better predictive record. (Bill Clinton's second-place finish to Sen. Paul Tsongas in 1992 solidified his reputation as the Comeback Kid after he finished with a miserable 2.8 percent of the Iowa vote).

Thus, Iowa appears to be a place not so much to win but to overcome. It favors local candidates and believers in ethanol. Say what you will about 2016 being the year of the outsider, politics is rarely so simple that it comes down to one type of voter, one issue or one region of the country, let alone one state. This is February. The first delegates have just been selected, and although the election already seems to have been going on for years, the primary season has just begun.

One more word about O'Malley. As much as his candidacy never took flight  unless serving as a late night TV host's punch line counts  even his critics acknowledge he can leave the battlefield with his head held high. Issue by issue, he tapped his party's zeitgeist as well as anyone, and his analysis of the race  that Democratic primary voters would be receptive to someone running to Clinton's left  was entirely correct. It just wasn't him. Even Marylanders who elected him to statewide office by big margins showed little interest in his presidential bid. It's an intriguing contrast to that other Maryland-connected candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, whose appeal sparked broad support early but faded the more Republican voters heard him muddle through the issues. That the former Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon has opted for trips to Florida, D.C. and North Carolina rather than to spend the full week campaigning in New Hampshire suggests he will be joining O'Malley on the sidelines soon enough.

This editorial appeared in The Baltimore Sun.
SHARE Gail Riecken

State Rep. Gail Riecken last week was among the few Indiana House members to vote against Bill 1019, which if passed will further restrict public access to body-cam and dash-cam videos taken by law enforcement officials.

As approved by the House, the bill pushes all responsibility for challenging any police decision to withhold access to the public, which would face expensive legal battles to simply determine whether law enforcement actions were fair and just. That makes it different from other public records, which via the public access counselor put the burden on those withholding information  though, as this newspaper learned in fighting for access to causes of death in Vanderburgh County, still can result in extensive and expensive court battles.

While we don't entirely agree with Riecken's reasoning in voting against the bill, believing she didn't go far enough in protecting the public's right to know, she first and foremost was correct.

In a letter to constituents, Riecken explained why she voted against the bill, which was supported by area representatives Ron Bacon, Wendy McNamara, Holli Sullivan and Tom Washburne and passed on to the Senate by a 65-30 count.

"There is one very bad point that caused me to vote against this bill and decide it should not go into effect as is, and that provision is this: If law enforcement refuses to allow the people in the recording(s) or the public to see the recording(s) and they have to go to court, the burden is on the public  not law enforcement  to prove why they need to see it.

"This is wrong on two accounts: these folks have not seen what they are to prove in court, and if they do get to see the recording(s), the identifying information must be 'obscured.'"

Riecken says the good points are that law enforcement must allow all persons involved in the video to view the recordings  though there still will be an expense, because the viewers must have an attorney present. They also can only see it twice, cannot copy the video, and if they're denied access must go to court with only the hope of having attorney fees reimbursed. She also appreciated that all recordings must be held for a minimum of 180 days while the current standard is 30 days.

Riecken supported an amendment offered by Rep. Ed Delaney that pushed the burden to the police, where it should be, but that was voted down. She urged in her letter that "we must make sure there is fairness in the process, that there is transparency in the outcome."

No one wants to believe that police or even prosecutors would hide evidence captured on video, but it has happened elsewhere. Our tax dollars purchased the equipment, pay for the patrol cars, take care of the salaries and  if push comes to shove  cover the court costs in any battle for access.

So now, as the bill goes to the Senate, we only can hope that area legislators Vaneta Becker and Jim Tomes join Riecken in supporting the public's right to know over the police's desire to suppress.
Liberal Politics from the Heart of Bluegrass Country
Maryland Judge Robert Nalley pleaded guilty Monday to ordering deputies to shock a defendant with a 50,000-volt charge. Nalley, who presided over Charles County Circuit Court, reportedly agreed to a plea deal whereby he receives a year of probation.

It's not Nalley's first trouble, either: In 2010, he pleaded guilty to tampering with a vehicle after deflating the tires of a cleaning woman's car, to punish her for parking in his space. For that, he was suspended for five days without pay.

CBS News reports that he was charged with violating the victim's rights in the July 2014 stun cuff incident. The maximum sentence is a year in jail and a fine of $100,000.

During jury selection, the defendant, reading from a prepared statement, objected to Nalley's authority to conduct the proceedings. After the man repeatedly ignored Nalley's questions and his commands to stop speaking, Nalley ordered a deputy sheriff to activate a "stun-cuff" the defendant was wearing. "Do it. Use it," Nalley said. The defendant stopped speaking when the deputy sheriff approached him and activated the device, which administered an electric shock for about five seconds. The defendant fell to the ground and screamed and Nalley then recessed the proceedings, according to the plea deal's statement of facts.

Ars Technica's David Kravets reports that stun cuffs are the hot new thing.

[Victim/defendant Delvon L.] King eventually agreed to serve two years after withdrawing a motion for a new trial. In that motion, he said he could not adequately represent himself out of fear of being shocked again. The authorities said King was wearing a stun cuff because they said he had fled from an earlier court proceeding. The authorities are increasingly using stun cuffs, which are about the size of a deck of cards, at detention centers and courthouses. They are made by various companies and cost around $1,900 for a device and transmitter. Some models can shock at 80,000 volts.

The judge was banned from the bench in September 2014.
Editorial

When reactionaries fall out

The bickering and blood-letting in the Liberal Party (see Dump this anti-people govt of last weeks Guardian) continues unabated. The conservative grouping that supported the prime-ministership of Tony Abbott is calling foul on the moderate members backing current PM, Malcolm Turnbull. They are continuing to critique the government and give thinly-veiled calls to the more reactionary members of parliament and party bureaucrats to be ready to pounce.

For the record, the conservatives and the moderates would be better described as the extremists and the more traditional reactionaries. Some Coalition insiders are saying that the Liberals risk being seen as just another ALP in policy terms and for its raging internal factional strife. The latter perception is not new. Malcolm Turnbulls claim to an audience at the NSW state council of the party last October that the outfit was not run by factions  or by deals in back rooms was met with gales of richly-deserved mocking laughter.

The conservatives and moderates are joined at the hip about the fundamentals  crushing the unions to make it easier to push the cost of the deepening economic crisis onto workers and other exploited people. The differences appear to be around social policy where Turnbull wants to appeal superficially to mainstream concerns regarding income inequality, the environment, social inclusion and the threat of war.

Turnbull knocked back a suggestion from US President Obama to put Australian boots on the ground in Syria. Tasmanian senator and former employment minister Eric Abetz felt it his duty to a higher loyalty to support the appeal for more troops. Neither faction questions the overall wisdom of pursuing the US in another military adventure.

Moderates are toying with the idea of a plebiscite on the question of equal marriage. The clearest divisions in the Tory camp are visible on social policy. The conservatives would ignore the outcome of such a plebiscite if it gave the thumbs up to legal same-sex marriage. Moderate spokespersons, such as the minister for industry, innovation and science, Christopher Pyne, have said the government would be mad to ignore the verdict of the Australian people.

Underscoring the determination of the extreme reactionaries to enforce monastic standards was Abbotts decision to address the Alliance Defending Freedom in the US last week. The cashed up religious group wants to criminalise sodomy internationally and generally recover the robust Christendomic theology of the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. Unfortunately for the anti-gay marriage lobby group, a leading member has been arrested on child pornography charges. The former Australian Prime Minster spoke, as predicted, against same sex marriage.

Conservatives in NSW claim to be the target of a purge in the state branch and that stalwarts like assistant minister for multicultural affairs, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, were having pre-selection to recontest their seats undermined. Turnbull has been obliged to step in and say he supports the endorsement of sitting members. Others want more open competition. An expert panel headed by former PM, John Howard, has been suggested as a circuit breaker in the matter.

No doubt, workers will feel some satisfaction that this most anti-worker government finds itself in the midst of internal turmoil. The Libs embarrassment and the damage to governments fortunes are richly deserved. These same workers would be mistaken, however, to think that they have a stake in that fight. Turnbull is no friend of the battlers and his warm embrace of the report from the witch hunt called the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption has made that perfectly clear.

Workers would be well advised to build support for political alternatives to the system dominated by the Coalition and Labor. Left and progressive groups and candidates deserve support, not the current plutocrat prime minister. The best thing workers can do in the present circumstances is to join or support the Communist Party and vote for Communist candidates in the forthcoming federal election. If you wish to help in this campaign, dont hesitate to contact the CPA at cpa@cpa.org.au or register your interest via the website  www.cpa.org.au
Robert Dampf as I knew him

I first met Robert at meetings of the Communist Party in Surry Hills about 20 years ago. My first impression was of a very articulate, elderly gentleman with a soft voice and light Canadian accent, a great sense of humour and some charming eccentricities, like the flowers he would wear in his hatband. When asked once why he camped in a tent on a trip to Europe, he is said to have replied that if he stayed in hotels he couldnt see the butterflies.

Robert with Amador Navidi (left) at the International Womens Day March in 2014. (Photo: Anna Pha)

I also used to encounter Robert on the evening ferry to Manly, and while we passed the Harbours beautiful bays and islands, bounced over the waves as we crossed the Heads and finally slipped in quietly to moor at Manly wharf, he would entertain me with amusing accounts of colourful adventures during his latest overseas trip.

But as I got to know him I also became aware of the depth of his feelings about many crucial political issues, including the worldwide struggle for peace, the threat posed by climate change and the Australian governments treatment of asylum seekers, to mention just a few.

Robert cared deeply about all these issues. He was born in Hungary, spent his childhood in Canada, and then migrated to Australia. For years he distributed copies of the Party paper the Guardian to libraries in Sydneys northern beaches suburbs. He attended marches and participated vigorously in discussions about all these issues at Party meetings and classes, and in Politics in the Pub, until the physical struggle became too much for him.

A true stalwart, he held his beliefs right to the end, never wavering, despite the many setbacks and difficulties that the movement for peace and socialism has encountered both here and overseas. In this respect he seemed to personify the words of the Russian poet Nikolai Ostrovsky, who wrote:

Mans greatest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world  the fight for the liberation of mankind.

That was how I knew Robert Dampf.

Comrade Robert passed away in December.
Invasion Day Commemorations

The interest in this years Invasion Day activities around Australia caught organisers by surprise as they had not expected the large turnouts for the rallies and marches. In Perth organisers of a rally to protest Premier Colin Barnetts plans to close over 150 of the 200 Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, started from Heirisson Island  or Matagarup in the local Nyoongar language  expected only about 100 people to turn up but had 300 people march in one of the largest Aboriginal rallies in Perth in the last ten years.

Rally against closure of Aboriginal communities on Invasion Day Perth.

The rally proceeded along the length of Adelaide Terrace before turning towards Langley Park and up to Ozone Reserve where this years Survival Concert was held and celebrations of Aboriginal music and culture continued into the evening while the anachronism of the white invaders celebrations continued around them.

However, a Channel Nine reporter outside the Survival Concert did put a rhetorical proposition for their viewers, There are calls for Australia Day to be changed as it excludes Aboriginal people.

In Melbourne hundreds of protesters converged on Flinders Street Station following that citys Australia Day celebrations led by two groups; Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance and First Nations Liberators, to mourn for the dispossession suffered by Aboriginal people and the suppression of their language, culture and religion by white authorities since 1788.

There were also Invasion Day rallies in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart  where protesters called on Premier Will Hodgman to pressure Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to change the date of the national holiday.

However, considering that Malcolm Turnbull rejected a fresh push for Australia to become a Republic, he was unlikely to concede that the date of the national day should change.

The twin issues however will not go away as Australia needs to become a republic and there is little about our identity and our unity as a nation tied up in January 26, 1788. Invasion Day and the celebration of the culture and survival of our Aboriginal people is something real and indisputable which resonates with most Australians people.

The Communist Party of Australia calls on the federal government to advance the cause of Australia becoming a republic, a fresh look at the constitution and the movement of our national day to a day that is more inclusive and unifying.
Shipping Australia Ltd: Anything but Australian

Shipping Australia Limited is nothing at all like what its name suggests. As the peak industry body of ship-owners and shipping agents in Australia its members are the large international shipping firms who own the more than 3,000 ships that call into Australian ports every year.

Maritime Union Australia picket in the national headquarters lobby of Shipping Australia Limited.

The ships these firms operate are conveniently registered in tax havens such Cayman Islands and small, poor nations such as Burma, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Bolivia and Equatorial Guinea, countries chosen for the very reason that they cannot exercise responsibility for the ships registered under their flags.

The crews these companies hire often work in conditions that amount to little more than slavery. Australian seafarers earn about $80,000 a year. Their awards and conditions, on Australian flagged ships and domestic shipping routes at least, are protected under the Coastal Trading Act.

Crews working on international routes have a minimum wage of less than $10,000 a year, set by the International Labour Organisation, and not enforceable. Very few crew are unionised and the reality is many seafarers sailing under flags of convenience work for as little as $2 an hour.

This is the regime the shipowners and their agents in Shipping Australia Limited want introduced onto Australias domestic shipping routes.

This is why the Maritime Union of Australia, with the support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and state trade union councils, has recently been actively engaged in pickets and rallies, with the promise of more to come.

This action has included a picket this last week of Shipping Australias national headquarters in Sussex Street Sydney, as well as rallies in Melbourne against the sacking of the crew of MV Portland, that has traditionally carried the ore of US based corporation Alcoa to its smelter at Portland, in western Victoria and in Newcastle where the crew of the CSL Melbourne, that carries ore for Rio Tinto subsidiary Pacific Aluminium, is also being forcibly replaced.

Shipping Australia has been pushing for the Australian government to overhaul the Coastal Trade Act, which protects what remains of Australias coastal shipping industry. The industry bodys main argument is that its slow decline will continue and the jobs (under Australian award conditions) will be lost anyway, but the current Act stands in the way of cheaper, more flexible transport options coming in immediately.

The Abbott and Turnbull Liberal governments have been supportive of the shipowners demands, but the amended Act has been blocked in the Senate since the end of 2015.

The Turnbull governments response to this has been to issue, first Alcoa, now Rio Tinto, temporary licences which allows these companies to bypass the law and introduce the cheaper, more flexible option of desperate, non-unionised labour drawn from some of the worlds poorest countries.

The MUA is warning that this exercise by global corporations in the shipping industry, to drive workers wages and conditions towards the bottom of the global labour market, is just the tip of the iceberg and if not opposed will permeate into other industries.

The Turnbull governments moves to deregulate Australian shipping raise serious concerns on national security, fuel security, jobs and skills and environmental protection.

Australian crews are among the most highly trained in the world and have high level security screening. As a result, Australian-flagged ships are demonstrably safer than Flag of Convenience shipping and have a strong environmental record in protecting our coastline, as well as delivering a decent life to Australian crews and their families.
The TransBorder Project is a project of the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC. Directed by CIP senior analyst Tom Barry, the TransBorder Project and its Border Lines blog aim to foster policy alternatives and to improve understanding of such transborder issues as immigration, homeland security, border security, and the national security complex.
Whose snouts in the trough?

Board fees for unionists up 51pc in a year, runs the headline of an exclusive story in Murdochs Australian (15-12-2015). Those greedy, overpaid unionists have their snouts in the trough again, or so youd think just glancing through the paper reading its headlines.

Australian Super chairwoman Heather Ridout.

If you go on to read the first paragraph, The Australians industrial reporter Elizabeth Colman makes a subtle change to the story: Fees paid to unions by industry super funds have risen dramatically in the past year, with pay rises of as much as 51 percent for senior officials appointed to the boards of directors. (Emphasis added  Ed)

So the unions, not the unionists are paid the fees. These fees include a base rate and then additional payments for attendance at different committee meetings and other services.

The unions are paid, not the individuals. For example, ACTU president Ged Kearney, a full-time employee of the ACTU, sits on the Trustee Board of the construction industry superannuation fund Cbus. The fee paid to the ACTU for her work as a board member rose 29 percent from $46,781 to $60,128.

The fee paid for ACTU secretary Dave Olivers work as a Board member of Australias largest industry fund, Australian Super, rose 51 percent from $54,248 to $82,239. Oliver joined the board in 2007.

Colman fails to mention that there is equal representation of employer and trade union representatives on industry fund boards, that these employer representatives would receive similar payments.

Tucked away in the second to last paragraph, she reports that the Australian Super chairwoman Heather Ridout received a 13 percent pay rise from $161,915 to $183,194 over the same period. (This amount includes a rise in superannuation payments from $13,740 to $15,894). Ridout is personally paid, not some organisation, more than double the amount received by the ACTU in relation to Dave Olivers Board membership.

Ridout was also appointed to the Board in 2007 as an employer representative and became its chair in 2013. Until recently she was the chairwoman of the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) representing manufacturing construction, defence, IT and labour hire employers.

She is also a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and has held numerous government and other appointments. She would hardly be short of a dollar.

Colman could have added that employer representative Tim Pooles personal remuneration rose from $162,215 to $180,182 over the same period. But she didnt.

She could have compared the payments made to employer representative John Ingram from Ai Group  up from $135,881 to $152,710 (including super payments). But she didnt.

Or that the payments received by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union for its representative Paul Bastian rose from $51,000 to $55,800.

So whose snouts are in the trough? Whose snouts are feeding off workers retirement savings?

But it could be worse if the government had its way and industry superannuation funds such as Australian Super and Cbus were run like the private retail funds, with trade union representation on the boards reduced to a maximum of one third.

In the year ended June 30, 2013, industry superannuation funds paid a total of $88 million in director costs. But this figure fades in comparison to figures from the prudential regulator (APRA) showing that retail funds paid $449 million to their directors. (Australian Financial Review (9-12-2014))

Again whose snouts are in the trough?
Culture & Life

Education for profit

This country once had lots of government enterprises. Everything from the electronics industry to the construction of locos and rolling stock, to oil refining (even petrol retailing) and production of basic building materials, was the stock in trade of federal or state government enterprises. Along with public transport, interstate airlines and (for a short time, until Liberal Party politicians got their mates in government to kill it) our own tourist industry company (the too successful AAT).

By successfully competing with the private entrepreneurs, these government enterprises forced them to keep their prices down. They are always trumpeting about the superior benefits of competition, but in reality bourgeois business types much prefer to avoid real competition, substituting gentlemens agreements on keeping prices above certain levels so as to ensure all the big companies can make a profit. (For all their talk about small businesses being the backbone of the economy, big companies are not the least bit interested in keeping small businesses afloat, which is one reason 60% of them fail in their first year).

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, private businesses were able to make a profit while sharing the market with government enterprises. In fact, for much of the first century or so of capitalism it depended on investment from governments to provide necessary infrastructure. Private freight companies might make money, but not if they had to build and maintain the actual railways themselves. All the public transport operations in NSW started out as private enterprises that eventually had to be taken over by the government to stop them going under.

More recently, capitalist greed and the shrinking opportunities for making a profit have combined to leave free enterprise operators scrambling for the chance to take over the business of all surviving public enterprises. When they were publicly owned and run these were enterprises that were mainly concerned with providing a public service. Now that they are privately operated, their main  in fact their sole  purpose is to make profits. If they fail to do so, they cut out services, raise prices, or close the service down altogether.

Thats one of the benefits of the free enterprise system: you only have to pay lip service to the wishes or needs of the community.

One of the areas of public service that capitalism seized on as a good money spinner has been education, especially pre-school and tertiary education. In NSW the government has shut down a lot of highly regarded TAFE courses and replaced them with a myriad of courses offered by privately-operated, for profit colleges whose only qualifications seem to be whatever their owner dreamed up to put on his letterhead.

Now our highways are littered with billboards shouting Study Now, Pay Later! TAFE of course was free.

However, not content with leaving their students with a student loan debt of $20,000 or even $30,000 for courses, many of their students never actually complete, these free enterprise education companies also expect to soak the taxpayer for providing the services the government-run colleges used to supply for free. Lets look at how the system works in the USA, the country most admired by those keen privatisers in our federal government.

I found the following information on an American investigative blog called Republic Report which describes itself as an investigative news blog dedicated to uncovering the corrupting influence of money in politics.

According to data from the US Department of Education, the five major for-profit college companies received the following largesse in federal student aid. But it is actually less than US taxpayers provided in the past year to each of these colleges  all of which have been under investigation in recent years by federal and state law enforcement agencies for deceiving their students, lying to government regulators, and other abuses.

Apollo/University of Phoenix: $1.99 billion

Education Management Corp: $1.47 billion

DeVry: $1.47 billion

Kaplan: $877 million

Career Education Corp: $803 million

On top of that the five companies also received tens of millions per company in federal education aid for military service members and veterans from the Defence Department and the Veterans Administration. And if you think thats a lot of moolah, consider this: until a few years ago, all of these for-profit college companies were in fact receiving much more in federal aid.

But then the truth about their abusive practices  leaving students deep in debt and still unqualified  finally filtered down to prospective students, and enrolments plummeted.

University of Phoenix was until recently getting as much as $3.7 billion of Americans tax dollars in a single year  4 1/2 times what the US now proposes to spend to fight global climate change. Corinthian Colleges, which recently collapsed under the weight of numerous charges of fraud and abuse, was receiving as much as $1.4 billion annually, and ITT Tech, which is facing comparable charges and is struggling to survive, has been getting as much as $1.1 billion.

As a New York Times investigation reported, using Department of Education data analysed by the Centre for American Progress, 152 for-profit colleges under law enforcement investigation took about $8.1 billion in federal student aid last year.

When you think about all the taxpayer money going to for-profit colleges that scam students and taxpayers, the $800 million we have committed to fight global climate change starts to look pretty small. And the urgency of curbing the abuses of predatory for-profit colleges comes into sharper focus.

And that is the model that Turnbull and co want us to follow! Presumably not for its educational value, which is scant. Perhaps for its value as an object lesson in how to make money if you dont care who you trample on.

Yes, that would certainly fit in with the concerns of Turnbull and his ilk.
You've probably seen the city of Flint, Michigan, pop up in your Facebook feed lately. That's because the tap water in Flint looks like this:

Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press

Not pee. Pee would actually be safer.

And maybe you see that and go, "So what? I've had brown water come out of my pipes a couple times. Man up, Michigan." But the water in Flint isn't just ugly: It's filled with lead. A water expert from the Environmental Protection Agency found that at least one home in the area had more than 10 times the EPA's red-alert level of lead coming out of the faucets. In all, about 9,000 children were exposed. Lead exposure during childhood has been linked to lowered IQ, kidney damage, and decreased attention span. And not only is the damage irreversible, it's possible that exposed kids will pass some of the effects of lead poisoning on to their own children and even to their eventual grandchildren.

How the hell can something like this happen in America? Well, last year the city of Flint switched their water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in a bid to save money. After the switch, they stopped adding orthophosphate -- a chemical that stops lead and iron pipes from rotting away into the water supply. It made a difference: Six months after the water source switch, the local GM plant stopped using Flint water because it was so corrosive, it was harmful to their engine parts.
A 30-year-old man appeared at the Southport Magistrates Court last week for allegedly selling counterfeit electronic goods at a retail kiosk in Surfers Paradise.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated it received a tip-off from Trademark Investigation Services (TMIS) - a private agency which investigates complaints against importing, wholesaling and selling counterfeit goods.

The referral led investigators to a kiosk located at a shopping centre in Surfers Paradise, selling electronic accessories, leading to the Bulgarian national's arrest.

On 12 January, the AFP with assistance from TMIS, executed search warrants at the kiosk, two residential addresses in Surfers Paradise, and at a third location in Algester, Brisbane," stated the AFP.

"During the search warrants, the AFP seized numerous items with false trademarks, including 145 headphones, 65 speakers, 91 mobile phone covers, 10 mobile phone chargers, headphones, and various boom boxes. TMIS estimate the retail value of the goods seized by the AFP to be $43,000.

While searching the mans premises, the Queensland Police Service also seized an unregistered semi-automatic .22 rifle, an unregistered .556 bolt action rifle and "a large quantity" of ammunition.

The AFP subsequently arrested and charged the man with selling and possessing counterfeit goods, contrary to section 148(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1995.

The police also mentioned in court that the offender was using false business names and identities to operate the kiosk and an online site to sell the counterfeit goods as genuine.

AFP manager crime operations Paul Osborne said this case should serve as a warning to other venders attempting to sell or buy counterfeit products.

Selling counterfeit products in Australia can attract a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, and two years for trademark offences.
Tablets that are just tablets? How very 2015. Following in the well-trodden footsteps of Microsoft's Surface range, Samsung unleashed its own spin on the 2-in-1 Windows 10 detachable at CES 2016 - and the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S looks to be a serious contender.

If you're used to a Surface Pro then the first thing you'll notice is just how light the Samsung is. Without the keyboard, this 12in tablet weighs 693g. With the keyboard - well, no-one seems to know for sure, but I'd be very surprised if it's more 1kg.

Keyboard and touchpad

That's partially because there isn't much to the keyboard other than plastic, with no hidden battery to add to Samsung's claimed 10.5 hours. This has the benefit of thinness, though, adding just 4.9mm to the 6,3mm of the device itself, but inevitably, such slenderness has a knock-on effect when it comes to key travel.

I'm not a fan of this shortened action, but one of my fellow CES-ers was full of praise for it, claiming he bashed out hundreds of words in quick succession. Certainly it's a billion times more pleasant to type on than an on-screen display.

I found myself a bit wary of the touchpad as well. It's short, even for a compact laptop, which meant I had to concentrate to avoid pressing the built-in left- and right-click buttons. Perhaps this is something you'd get used to, perhaps it will be a constant irritation. Without using the Tab Pro over a decent period, it's tough to know.

Another drawback of Samsung's design, compared to the adaptable hinge of the Surface and many of its rivals, is that there are only two positions for the screen, although the plus point of having no kickstand is that it sits more easily on your lap.

This is all due to Samsung's choice of case/keyboard, which attaches in a very odd way: the top hooks over the rear camera, you snap the tablet into position using the magnetised connector, and then lean it back - either into an upright, let's-do-some-work angle, or a hey-let's-chill-and-watch-a-movie angle.

Display and performance

Whatever you choose to do, the screen won't disappoint. Using Super AMOLED technology, its 2160 x 1440 resolution means there's plenty of vibrant colour and crisp detail when you need it. Video output is via a single USB Type-C port, with Samsung offering a cute mini adapter that will add two USB ports and one HDMI output. (It also promises a companion, optional, Bluetooth pen.)

You probably don't want to use this as your main laptop, though, with a dual-core Core M processor in charge. That should be plenty for everyday duties, but we know from previous experience with Core M laptops that they don't perform well in CPU-intensive tasks.

You'll also quickly hit the limits of the 128GB SSD (a 256GB version might become available in the UK), but I don't mean to be too harsh: the Galaxy TabPro S would be absolutely fine as a second PC, and as it uses Windows 10 it will be a flexible little machine.

It should be a fine travel companion as well, kitted out with 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth 4.1, plus an NFC chip in the keyboard. There's also GPS chip in the tablet itself, along with heat and light sensors.

Oh, and there's one more key piece of information that remains elusive: Samsung is being annoyingly coy on the price, despite the fact the TabPro S is due to launch in February. If it gets that final piece of the puzzle right - and we know the keyboard will be included - then this could pose a serious threat to the Surface.
Cloud News

Sources: Google, Verizon In Talks About Strategic Hybrid Cloud Partnership

Kevin McLaughlin and Gina Narcisi

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Telecom giant Verizon and Alphabet's Google are talking about forming a strategic partnership that includes joint development of hybrid cloud services, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CRN on Tuesday.



While the scope of the partnership isn't clear, one of the plans being discussed involves a Verizon-branded hybrid cloud service that runs on Google's public cloud, said the sources, who all requested anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Hybrid cloud describes the mix of private and public cloud infrastructure that's in vogue with enterprises that aren't ready to move all their computing out of their data centers.

[Related: Verizon Reportedly Starting Process To Sell Off Data Center Business For $2.5 Billion]

One longtime Verizon partner, who didn't want to be named because the talks are confidential, described the offering as "Google cloud with a Verizon wrapper."



The sources said it's not clear how the new joint offering would be sold or whether channel partners would be involved.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment. Verizon spokespeople didn't respond to a request for comment.

A half-dozen Google and Verizon partners who weren't previously aware of the partnership told CRN they believe it would give a boost to both vendors' cloud ambitions.

"Google has the cloud, and Verizon has a network that is far superior to anyone else's, and which can be used to manage the entire infrastructure," said one Verizon partner.

Google is in the midst of a major push to attract enterprise customers to the Google Cloud Platform. It hired VMware founder Diane Green in November as senior vice president of its enterprise business, a role that includes oversight of Google for Work, Cloud Platform and Google Apps.



Google would presumably get access to Verizon's base of large enterprise customers under the partnership, a partner that works with both vendors told CRN.

Verizon, which is reportedly looking to downsize its Terremark data center business, would be able to continue competing in the cloud without the capital expenses associated with operating a public cloud, the partner said.

Verizon launched an auction last month to sell 48 of its data centers and is looking to raise $2.5 billion from the sale, Reuters reported last month.

Verizon, which already had a VMware-compatible cloud from its 2011 Terremark acquisition, unveiled a revamped service in 2013 that's built on CloudStack and Xen.

Verizon initially billed the service -- called Verizon Cloud -- as a challenger to public cloud incumbents like AWS and Azure. But when it launched Verizon Cloud in October 2014, Verizon shifted its message to providing private cloud services for enterprises.



While Google runs some of the largest-scale services in the world, it has been slow to make the transition to becoming a service provider itself. Greene told Re/code last week that she's working to change that.



"The wonderful thing is that Google, for 18 years, since its been founded, has been in the cloud. It's focused on its extremely large customers -- search, ads, YouTube," she said. "Much of what we're working on is moving these over for the public," Greene told Re/code last week.
Mobility News

Partners Cheer Microsoft's Acquisition Of Software Keyboard Company SwiftKey

Lindsey O'Donnell

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Microsoft Wednesday confirmed that it will acquire SwiftKey, a London-based company that makes smart prediction technology for easier mobile typing.

Microsoft partners cheered the acquisition, saying it would help the Redmond, Wash.-based company integrate SwiftKeys artificial intelligence capabilities into its product and services portfolio.

I would have to guess that Microsoft is acquiring the company for its talent and research, mostly around artificial neural networks, said David Felton, founder of Norwalk, Conn.-based Microsoft partner Canaan Technology. I think Microsoft has bet big on touch on the mobile front since Windows 8 came out, and it stands to reason that theyre looking for some traction there and improving customers touch experience.

[Related: Microsoft Changes Enterprise Volume Licensing Program; Analyst Says Some Customers Could See Price Hike]

Microsoft did not disclose how much it spent for SwiftKey; but according to a report by the Financial Times the company paid around $250 million.

SwiftKey is best known for its software keyboard and software development kit, which the company says powers more than 300 million Android and iOS devices. The companys app learns users unique writing styles and offers suggestions as they type on their mobile devices.

But beyond the companys benefits for mobile devices, it also touts artificial intelligence technology to predict users word choices. SwiftKey contains a tool called Greenhouse that features an array of experimental Android apps--including SwiftKey Neural, a keyboard that uses artificial neural networks to predict language.

These artificial intelligence capabilities, which Microsoft has utilized before with its Windows 10 digital assistant, Cortana, could help with varying applications, including speech recognition, automatic email replies and fraud prevention.

In addition to artificial intelligence capabilities, Microsofts acquisition of SwiftKey will help in its push to provide software and services on multiple mobile platforms, including iOS and Android.

Harry Shum, executive vice president of technology and research at Microsoft, stressed that SwiftKey aligns with our vision for more personal computing experiences that anticipate our needs versus responding to our commands.

[Swiftkey] directly supports our ambition to reinvent productivity by leveraging the intelligent cloud, said Shum in a blog post. This acquisition is a great example of Microsofts commitment to bringing its software and services to all platforms. Well continue to develop SwiftKeys market-leading keyboard apps for Android and iOS as well as explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio.

Microsoft has continued to extend its services over various platforms, mainly through acquisitions.

In 2014, Microsoft acquired email startup Accompli, which it eventually rebranded into its Outlook for iOS and Android platforms. In February last year, the company acquired Sunrise, a calendar app also for the iOS and Android platforms.
030216POLICE CONDEMN ACTION

By Aloysius Laukai



The Deputy Commissioner for Bougainville Police Service, SUPERITENDENT CLARKSON has condemned the actions taken by the youths in AITA village for commandeering a Police vehicle and removing a fire arm from it.

MS CLARKSON said that the action by the youths is uncalled for as Police went to the area to talk with the youths and find a amicable situation to the tension in that area following the hit and run of a youth from AITA the previous day.

She said Police went into the area as mediators as the suspect was already under Police custody.

Arawa, Police Commander, Superintendent JANUARIOUS VOSIVAI also told New Dawn FM from Arawa that the vehicle was returned without the fire-arm and that Police want it returned as soon as possible.

He said that the Police car taken by the youths was from Buka.

Yesterday the Minister for Police, Correctional Service and Justice, WILLIE MASIU also appealed to the AITA youths not to take the law into their own hands but work with Police to sort out the problem.



Ends
Celestyal Cruises is considering building two new 1,800-passenger vessels, according to CEO Kyriakos (Kerry) Anastassiadis, in an interview with Cruise Industry News.

He said the brand had carried 20 percent more passengers in 2015 year-over-year, and was looking at expansion of its fleet.

We have now reached the point where newbuilds will be necessary for the continued development of our brand, he said. Our continued success has given us the confidence we need to take this step, and we are now considering building two new mid-sized vessels with a maximum of 1,800 lower berths. We see this as the next major phase of our development, one that will contribute significantly to further bolstering Celestyal Cruises as a global cruise line whose itineraries our passengers want to sail again and again. 

The company is set to operate a three-ship Eastern Mediterranean program this summer, offering three-, four- and seven-day cruises embarking passengers in Greek and Turkish ports. In Cuba, what started as an 11-week seasonal deployment will now extend 22 weeks on the Celestyal Crystal for 2016-2017, a deployment that Anastassiadis said, could, over time, move to a year-round program.
Silversea Cruises today announced the appointment of cruise industry veteran Mark Conroy as head of the company's Miami office, which has responsibility for the Americas.

"I have known, appreciated and respected Mark for more than twenty years and cannot hide my satisfaction in having him join us," said Silversea's chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio. "He is an energetic leader with extensive knowledge of the cruise industry."

"As of today, Mark will contribute greatly to the further growth of Silversea Cruises," said Silversea CEO Enzo Visone. "Our expansion plans are well known. Our new ship, Silver Muse, is on schedule to join our fleet at the beginning of 2017, which together with our plans to refurbish and upgrade our existing vessels, will solidify our leadership position in the top segment of the cruise market. I am pleased to join Manfredi in welcoming Mark Conroy to Silversea Cruises."

The company also confirms that Kristian Anderson has stepped down as Silversea's senior vice president and general manager for the Americas.

"We thank Kristian for his contributions over the past years and wish him well for his future endeavors," commented Visone.
Many referred to 2014 as the Year of the Breach. Yet, the number of people whose data was breached in 2015 exceeded that of the previous year. The U.S. Governments Office of Personnel Management, CVS and T-Mobile are just a few of the larger-scale victims. And the bad news is there is no end in sight  anywhere in sight. We can be sure that these attacks will continue in all shapes, sizes and categories. No one is immune.

How do we plan to regulate these cases? What should organizations be compelled to do in order to protect the sensitive information they store? And what should be the expected consequences when these organizations do not go far enough to protect consumer data?

Two cases currently in the headlines could help us understand how compliance regulations and policing of security negligence will evolve over the coming year.

The Federal Trade Commission will aggressively pursue its cybersecurity authority

Having already scored a major victory in the federal Third Circuit against Wyndham Corporation in August 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently faced its first setback. In November, a complaint the FTC filed against LabMD criticizing its lax cybersecurity practices was dismissed by the FTCs chief administrative law judge. When the courts decision became public, some stories began touting the dismissal as a major setback, but that assessment may be premature.

[ RELATED: Wyndham settlement: No fine, but more power to the FTC ]

The Wyndham decision supported the FTCs ability to broadly institute cybersecurity requirements pursuant to the agencys authority to prevent unfair or deceptive practices. The LabMD case did nothing to change that ability. The complaint in LabMD was dismissed due to the FTCs inability to sustain its burden of proof because its key witness had a serious conflict of interest. The administrative judge never ruled that the FTC was unable to bring the action against LabMD; the organization just failed to prove it.

The FTC has already announced it is appealing the judges dismissal. In the 100-year history of the FTC, it has never lost an appeal to the Board of Commissioners. Should the dismissal of the complaint be overturned by the Board, the case could continue through the regular court system. (Incidentally Wyndham recently reached an agreeable settlement with the FTC.)

New European Union privacy rules rattle industries worldwide

In October 2015, the European Union (EU) Justice Court abolished a Safe Harbor agreement that existed for 15 years between the EU and the U.S. in its decision entitled Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner. News reports estimate about 4,500 businesses have been affected. The agreement had allowed American companies to annually self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce that they were in compliance with the data privacy requirements in the 28 Member States that comprise the EU.

A new agreement is under negotiation, but both sides are struggling to find an acceptable middle-ground. Meanwhile, the European Commission has announced that if a satisfactory agreement is not in place by the end of January, each Member States Data Privacy Commissioner will consider initiating coordinated enforcement actions to mandate compliance.

In the meantime, the European Commission, in conjunction with the European Parliament and Council, has finally drafted the long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation. It would supersede the current Data Protection Directive of 1995. The Directive is only an advisory set of rules, which has caused each of the 28 EU Member States to draft its own version of privacy laws.

Under the newly proposed regulations, however, there would be only one set of rules applicable to all 28 states. There will also be a newly-created right to be forgotten and right to portability giving every EU citizen the right to move and remove her or his data. A breach notification requirement will require victims be contacted as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours after discovery of the breach.

Based on how these cases evolve, the results could have significant repercussions for how organizations are required to store and move data, both at a domestic and international level.
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030216TEAM LEAVE FOR CARTERETS

By Aloysius Laukai



Officers of the International Organization for Migration and Office of the Climate Change Authority in Port Moresby left for the Carterets islands this afternoon after taking the whole day to load Project materials for the Climate Change Resilience project on Caterets island.



The team was supposed to leave for Carterets at 6am this morning but could not leave without the materials.



On board the MV RAPOIS Chief were Cement Bags, Water tanks and building materials for the project.



Media team that accompanied the team were from EM TV, New Dawn FM, Radio Bougainville and the ABG Communication Bureau.



The team will present the items to the Carterets islanders tonight and return for Buka as the team from Port Moresby will be returning to POM tomorrow.



Ends






Saint Death or Sante Muerte, the cult religion followed by millions can be found almost anywhere in the Americas. For 14 years people have publicly celebrated their devotion to this skeletal figure when before this reverence was only done in the shadows.

While Santa Muerte is worshiped by people involved in narco gangs it's not just something that criminals are in to.

Santa Muerte may look scary, but the appeal is much wider. Sometimes followers are just looking for protection from harm and those looking for help making miracles happen.

RELATED: San Antonio fugitive arrested in Mexico

"The first public display of Saint Death marks the transition from what used to be an occult veneration unknown to the great majority of Mexicans to the public devotion that it is today, claiming some 10 to 12 million devotees among Mexico, the U.S., Central America and beyond," reports the scholarly website skeletonsaint.com. It was a quesadilla vendor who changed perceptions about Santa Muerte when a shrine was set up in front of her home in Mexico City.

Thousands flock to the spot to pay homage around the time of Day of the Dead when followers celebrate the anniversary of worshiping the grim reaper like figure. And besides that street corner in Mexico, you don't have to go far to find Santa Muerte devotion in Houston.

RELATED: These communities are where most U.S. citizens go to retire in Mexico

One shop in Houston Heights has a shrine celebrating the figure. Flores Spices on Airline Drive is a shop that sells herbs and essentials in religious practices such as Santeria and spiritual cleansings, as well as items used in other syncretic religions. Along the side of the store is a shrine holding dozens of Santa Muerte figures and a giant statue.

Click on the slideshow above to see the images from a Santa Muerte shrine in Texas and elsewhere.
WASHINGTON  Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., went before the House Budget Committee Wednesday to talk up her vision of an innovation agenda to help Connecticut and the rest of the nation rebuild its aging industrial base and infrastructure.

Our manufacturers can compete, but only if they have a level playing field, said Esty, noting there are about 5,000 manufacturers in Connecticut. Its up to us to do that.

She urged the committee and Congress to up funding for brownfields remediation  rehabilitating decrepit and toxic industrial sites in places like Bridgeport. Doing so, she said, would allow such regions to compete for advanced manufacturing that depends on a workforce skilled in the STEM education subjects  science, technology, engineering and math, and also computer science.

Its a win-win for this economy, Esty said.

The Environmental Protection Agency received 18,000 proposals for decontaminating old industrial sites, but only had funding for 3,200 of them, she said.

In addition to greater investment in STEM education, Esty called for more spending to fight the heroin and painkiller-abuse epidemic which is particularly rampant in the Northeast.

Estys priorities hew closely to what she has advocated over the course of two terms in Congress: aligning workforce skills to the demands of advanced manufacturing, which needs workers and scientists to be technically up to date.

She said Connecticut received $3.5 billion in the transportation funding bill approved late last year. Nevertheless, the bottom line is, we are way behind, Esty said, noting an engineering association report that concluded the U.S. would have to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to bring American infrastructure up to speed.

She called for issuing bonds to underwrite such projects.

Wall Street has done very well over last few years, and it would be great to get some of that cash thats accumulated on the sidelines into an investment in the future of this country by rebuilding our infrastructure, she said.

Esty was careful to characterize her ideas as bipartisan. But the GOP-dominated Congress is unlikely to be enthusiastic about ambitious spending on infrastructure.

Even so, Esty has had some success in marketing her ideas  particularly STEM  as bipartisan initiatives. Last year, she joined with Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, in winning congressional approval for the STEM Education Act of 2015, which strengthened science, technology, engineering and math education and expanded the definition of STEM to include computer science.

dan@hearstdc.com
Two New York City brothers will be spending the next five years behind bars for an illegal operation that supplied wholesale quantities of heroin to customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

What helped nail Jimmy and Miguel Estevez was a set-up purchase by federal agents of 50 grams of heroin in Trumbull. It happened on Nov. 25, 2013, when the twentysomething brothers traveled from New York City to an undisclosed location in Trumbull to complete the transaction. Thereafter, investigators intercepted numerous calls and text messages that established that Jimmy and Miguel (also known as Domi) were obtaining large quantities of heroin from multiple sources of supply, and used multiple vehicles to transport the drug to purchasers to the burbs and cities Connecticut.
Citing the escalating incidence of opioid addiction and overdoses in Connecticut, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday that the state needs a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to combat the problem and identify areas in which federal funds might support those efforts.

More than a dozen educators, physicians, law-enforcement representatives, substance-abuse experts, public-health professionals, and members of advocacy groups joined Blumenthal at the standing-room-only event at the offices of Community Mental Health Affiliates in New Britain. Also attending were two young adults who were in recovery after years of addiction that led to their incarceration and eventual treatment, along with a mother who lost her 26-year-old son to an overdose.

Drug addiction among young people is a horrendous and life-threatening epidemic  a deadly epidemic, as we have seen in the last few days, Blumenthal said, referring to the nine heroin overdoses, one of them fatal, that occurred in New London County this past weekend.

Blumenthal said that educators, physicians, social services and lawmakers must work together. Law enforcement is just the tip of the spear, he said. Were not going to arrest our way out of (this) public health crisis.

As evidence of the rising crisis, Blumenthal noted that in 2012 Connecticut saw 195 fatal heroin, morphine or codeine overdoses. By 2015 that number had more than doubled, with 415 such overdose deaths reported.

While drug abuse, addiction and overdose affect people of all ages; many attending noted that those between the ages of 18 to 25 are at increased risk. Several called for taking a close look at prescribing practices regarding prescription painkillers, as many young peoples first experiences with opioid use involves a drug prescribed to them to treat pain related to conditions such as broken bones and wisdom-tooth surgery. Blumenthal noted, the 2013 Youth Behavior Survey of Connecticut found that 11.1 percent of respondents had used a prescription drug to get high one or more times in their life.

Allison Kernan, 23, of Fairfield, and Lance Supersad, 20, of Bridgeport, shared their stories of experimenting with and becoming addicted to drugs as teenagers and pointed to the vital role support groups, in their cases, the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, had played in their becoming and remaining drug-free. Supersad also credited law enforcement for his personal turnaround. I didnt know I was an addict until I was arrested.

Karen Zaorski of Wolcott spoke about the 2010 overdose death of her son Ray three days shy of his 27th birthday. She highlighted the need for evidence-based treatment and for awareness of the way insurance coverage is often denied for addiction treatment.

Families are being denied coverage for treatment and recovery, she said, noting that she was told, Your son is not sick enough to warrant coverage for his treatment. Young people are asking for help and finding doors continuing to be shut, she said.

Among other key issues participants discussed:

 The need for insurance parity allowing addiction to be treated as a mental illness.

 A multi-pronged effort bringing together educators, law enforcement, parents, physicians, lawmakers and community advocates to tackle addictions many facets.

 Development, implementation and enforcement of prescribing guidelines for physicians, including dentists, that would reduce young peoples access to powerful and addictive painkillers and curb the extent to which those substances circulate in the community.

 Wider access and judicious use of Narcan, a drug that can save lives by reversing overdoses when administered quickly. While the drug is a powerful tool, participants agreed its use must be coordinated with a transition to treatment for drug addiction.

 Early education of young people that makes clear the real, serious consequences of drug use, emphasizing that prescription drugs are not safe to experiment with.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
As people seek to unlock new potential for growth -- whether in business, science or another endeavor -- their greatest collaborators may not be merely teammates or clients in their networks but rather a machine.

While much focus has been on human versus machine -- Garry Kasparov versus IBMs Deep Blue in chess matches of the 1990s or the Watson computer pitted against human champions on Jeopardy -- the greatest potential for advancement comes from humans partnering with computers.

The truth is, in the contest between human and computer, the computer wins. But human and computer collaborating together make an unbeatable combination.

Related: 8 Technology Trends Most Likely to Reach Widespread Adoption

The nature of collaboration is to partner with others to transcend our own limitations. In the past, we have done this with flesh-and-blood colleagues; one is strong where another is weak. But as machines become more sophisticated and also harness much of our skills, they begin to complement and augment us.

It is already happening -- and in the future will become even more common. Consider machines connected to the brain that help people who are deaf to hear or that operate robotic arms so that a woman who has lost use of her limbs can feed herself, as shown by neuroscientists recently.

Rather than respond with fear that smart machines will take our jobs -- or, ultimately, take our place -- we need to wrap our heads around the potential for collaboration with computers to improve human performance. To paraphrase one of the first videos of Apple CEO Steve Jobs talking about extending human potential, call it putting your brain on a bicycle.

Lumbering, flat-footed bipeds that we are, humans are certainly not the fastest creatures. Condors and cheetahs, to name a few, have us beat. But, put a human on a bicycle, and there is no question who is fastest. Human plus machine equal unparalleled performance. Brain plus smart computer achieve similar results.

The human-machine partnership makes the most of complementary strengths. Using machine learning to find a needle in a haystack is where computers can help us transcend our limitations, says Professor Adam Pah from Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management and Northwesterns Institute on Complex Systems (NICO).

He gives the example of Foodborne Chicago, which uses computers and code to search Twitter for tweets related to food poisoning. From computer-generated leads, humans take over to determine if there was likely a case of food poisoning. The result has been additional restaurant inspections in Chicago that would not have occurred otherwise.

Such collaboration starts with understanding the key talents of the human mind and augmenting those. We humans do not rely on knowledge alone, but also draw upon our intuition and emotional intelligence.

For example, our intuition tells us that we know something even before we have the answer. That confidence allows us to pull information that is buried deep within us and even rely on our knowledge to follow our intuition. You can witness this on a TV game show such as Jeopardy, when contestants hit their response buttons before they have the answer in mind, then recall the right answer before their allotted time expires.

Related: The Robots Are Coming. Is Your Job Safe?

Computers cannot do that. Theirs is an empirical world of seemingly unlimited data to be combed through. What they can do, however, is analyze without the interference of human emotions or external biases. In this way, machines can help humans reach conclusions that make people -- and the organizations they create -- more effective.

Recently, Thomas Oberlechner, a founding partner and chief science officer at AltX, gave the example of how human-computer collaboration can enable investment decisions that are more closely aligned with peoples decision style, investment preference, risk tolerance, crisis vulnerability, financial values, etc. Using data from psychometric assessments, behavioral knowledge is turned into investment decisions.

Humans are not good at decision-making, because our attention is fleeting. We are not necessarily rational in our decision-making process, and we do not always know what makes us happy. Humans also have the tendency to lie to themselves. For example, that we make healthier choices (eating and exercising) than we really do, or when assessing the risk we, compared to others, pose when it comes to, say, texting while driving.

Imagine, then, having a machine on your shoulder helping with myriad problems and choices. Paired with a smart machine, you would be more effective and potentially less harmful to yourself -- more people are going to die this year from extreme selfies than shark attacks -- and even potentially happier, healthier and wealthier.

And we want to do it fast. In 1996, when Kasparov played IBMs Deep Blue, the majority of human viewers were rooting for Kasparov to win. In 2011, when Watson was battling the human talents, most viewers were rooting for Watson.

As computing speed doubles about every eight months, humans soon will no longer be the fastest computer. The human brain, though, is in no danger of being replaced. Humans possess the always-in-demand skill of creativity, which computers cannot master. With our creativity, we can change and adapt to an environment. Computers, though, can facilitate that change and adaptation to advance human intelligence.

Together, the brain on a bicycle partnership can lead to Human Version 2.0 -- accelerating breakthroughs and advancing discoveries.

Related: With Machine Learning, Businesses Can Capitalize on Information It Would Take an Army to Study

Related:

How Humans Plus Machines Will Equal Amazing Advancements

8 Technology Trends Most Likely to Reach Widespread Adoption

The Robots Are Coming. Is Your Job Safe?



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Far from causing the demise of brick and mortar, the web is enabling business owners to keep their fingers on the pulse of their customer bases, informing their business and marketing decisions and helping determine when it's time to expand. Retailers and local service providers are mining data and monitoring social media to identify trends, stock the most-wanted products and make meaningful connections with their customers.

Related: Why Brick and Mortar Is Here to Stay

Brick-and-mortar websites are all about delivering what viewers need and want. Rise above your competitors by offering more than your customers expect -- an area where big retailers often fail and smaller businesses can pick up the slack simply by being more in touch.

Standing out from the competition is tough, especially if your business is much like others around you. Whether you're a restaurant, a bank, a real estate business, a lawn company or a retail operation, you can gain an advantage by adding services, multimedia, and information.

1. Mobile is your secret weapon.

Image credit: Retail Solutions Advisors| Enhanced by Entrepreneur

Mobile searches are designed to favor local businesses, and more than 60 percent of all searches are conducted on mobile devices. If your website is not optimized for the mobile web, you are throwing away a clear advantage.

The latest Google updates moved local businesses to the top of search results. Try it. Is yours the first business in the search? Is it in the search results at any position? Websites not designed for mobile use are excluded from the search. That's right, excluded.

Google is offering you mobile dominance. To take advantage, Florida real-estate broker Retail Solutions Advisors keeps its design simple, consistent and easily accessible on web and mobile.

2. Instant engagement

Image credit: Cowboy Charters| Enhanced by Entrepreneur

Cowboy Charters in Key West is a family-owned charter boat business with a small staff, but you can chat directly with the owner any time. When the website loads, a LiveChat window pops up and invites you to chat. If you respond, your chat goes directly to the owner's cell phone for instant response. Captain Mark told me that that it's super cheap -- $20 per month -- and incredibly effective. Their customer service is so impressive, they book two out of three people who inquire on the spot!

3. Showcase your customers.

Image credit: Platt College | Enhanced by Entrepreneur

User-generated content (UGC) creates an infectious atmosphere of engagement, provides social proof, and, in some cases, demonstrates the value of your business. The Platt College student gallery shows off the amazing artwork created by their students, and effectively demonstrates what students can expect to learn. Making satisfied customers (or students) a selling point is a brilliant way to encourage involvement while providing social proof.

Related: Tap Into the Growing Luxury Market By Understanding the Buyers

4. Online appointment setting

Image credit: Dr. Dental | Enhanced by Entrepreneur

Allowing your customers or patients to set their own appointments saves time and money for you, and lets your clients take control of their own schedule. Dr. Dental walks patients through locating the nearest office and choosing an appointment time with a simple, intuitive interface. They cut down additional time spent in the waiting room by offering the endless pile of paperwork online for patients to fill out in advance.

Great customer service is rooted in giving customer options and cutting down on frustrations. Medical offices and other businesses that rely on appointments can boost your productivity, please your customers and keep everything running smoothly.

5. Get involved with your community.

Image credit: Harley Davidson | Enhanced by Entrepreneur

Use your position as a local business to advocate and support local causes. Harley-Davidson is all about community and giving back. There's always something charitable going on at your local Harley store, no matter where you are located. Creating a culture around its iconic product is a brilliant strategy that began before the internet, but the web is a great facilitator -- and Harley really knows how to work it.

With your website as a platform, you can use your influence and position to advocate for worthy causes -- a sure-fire way to endear yourself to your local community and create an authentic, unforgettable brand story.

6. Appear bigger than you are.

Establishing credibility can be difficult, especially for a startup business. A professional website and Internet-based telephony service makes your business appear to be more established, professional and bigger than you really are.

The web offers a ton of tools and services to help you do business, connect with your customers, and provide far more than you can with a limited staff and budget. And that helps you build credibility, reputation, traffic to your site and sales.

Online stores and service providers must always be on the cutting edge of web by necessity, but brick-and-mortar store owners often put up a basic website and neglect it, thinking it can't really help their business. And they miss out on tremendous opportunity. By adding a few extra features and services, you can crush your local competition.

Related: 3 Ways Retailers Should Accommodate the Mobile-Obsessed Customer

Related:

How to Market Brick and Mortar to the Web

The Fascinating Connection Between Design, Human Nature and Buying Decisions

Why Brick and Mortar Is Here to Stay



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
FAIRFIELD - State Police are looking for two guys who used - and tried to pass - two counterfeit $20 bills at a Dunkin Donuts in an I-95 service area last week.

It happened last Friday at the Dunkin Donuts shop at the northbound rest area. An employee reported that a male customer had paid with a suspected counterfeit twenty dollar bill. About ten minutes later, a second male suspect also attempted to pass a counterfeit twenty dollar bill to a different employee, but was unsuccessful. Troopers responding to the scene immediately determined that the first bill was counterfeit, state police said in a release.
What happens when Uber brings puppies to your office? More than just the warm fuzzies.

Entrepreneur was given a special preview ahead of todays UberPuppies event, a promotion that allows Uber customers to order a car full of puppies to their doorsteps for 15 minutes of playtime. The event, which is done in partnership with local animal shelters and is meant to encourage adoptions, runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in New York City.

In Entrepreneurs case, a trio of pups arrived with two handlers from pet welfare organization Bideawee and an Uber representative. For the next couple of minutes, the staff engaged with Pumpkin, Tater and Cranberry, terrier mixes born on Thanksgiving.

The experience was hardly just an opportunity for adorable photos (although we have plenty of those below). In fact, it was a very real team-building experience.

Heres what we saw.

Image credit: Entrepreneur

1. The puppies facilitated new interactions between employees.

Bringing puppies into the office let us see sides of our co-workers that we dont often see -- in positions we dont often see them in (our editorial director, for example, was propped up against the wall speaking baby talk to the two squirming puppies in his arms). More than anything, it sparked conversation between people who dont regularly interact; an employee who had joined the staff a month ago said she was able to establish relationships with people she hadnt spent much time with previously.

Related: The Joys and Drawbacks of Dog Ownership for the Harried Entrepreneur

Image credit: Entrepreneur

2. The event allowed the chance for personal growth.

Playing with puppies isnt something that comes natural to most people; for some, it may even come with a bit of fear. One of our colleagues had had a bad experience with a dog in the past and has avoided them since. With a little encouragement from the team, she was able to face her fear and hold a puppy in her hands. It was a shining moment for her, and the excitement of that moment trickled down to everyone around her.

Related: Invisible Fence Brand Sparked the Entrepreneur in This Pet Enthusiast

Image credit: Entrepreneur

3. The experience was a significant mood booster.

On an ordinary weekday afternoon, theres a chance much of our team would be wrapped up in their own meetings and phone calls. On Puppy Day, everyone cleared their calendars. We ooh-ed and aah-ed and snapped photos of one another. We instantly set up a shared folder so we could swap our pics. The good feelings extended well beyond the time we spent with the pups, with people still recalling the event with smiles this morning.

See for yourself:

Image credit: Entrepreneur

Image credit: Entrepreneur

A video posted by Entrepreneur Magazine (@entrepreneur) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:36am PST

Related: 6 Reasons You Can't Go Wrong With the Pet Industry

Related:

My Company Is One of the Best Places to Work. But I Didn't Build It Alone.

What Happens When Uber Brings Puppies to Your Office

Building a Team, Grabbing funds Are Key Ingredients for a Sustaining Growth



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
BRIDGEPORT -- A satanic ritual held in a Bridgeport cemetery involved pouring cologne on chickens and setting them on fire, police said.

Officer Ken Ruge said in a report that as he was patrolling early Saturday, he noticed a large, scorched patch of ground in St. Augustine Cemetery at Arctic and Helen streets.

He said he found a rooster, burned to death on the ground and an empty bottle of cologne nearby. Apparently the cologne was poured on the rooster, which was then set on fire, Ruge wrote.

A second chicken was found behind a headstone, burned but still alive, and the officer called the city Animal Control Department, which sent Officer Jim Gonzalez. He brought the chicken to a veterinary hospital, officials said.

Police said Monday that the cemetery has been the scene of several such incidents, and residents seeing someone entering a cemetery after dark should report it.

Police here investigated several similar incidents two years ago, including one in which a woman killed several chickens as part of a Santeria curse she put on an ex-boyfriend.

That scene included two beheaded roosters, hanging upside down from a tree limb about 10 feet off the ground, police and paranormal investigators said. At the base of the tree was a bag containing a black knit cap and a box cutter, and nearby there were three coconut halves, what appeared to be a sheep's jawbone and a snakeskin.

No arrests were ever made, but a member of the Connecticut Soul Seekers group of paranormal investigators claimed to have spoken to the couple.

Police Sgt. James Myers, who is himself a paranormal investigator, said at the time that there had been an upswing of occult activity in Bridgeport, much of it related to voodoo or Santeria, a Caribbean religion that combines elements of West African Yoruba and Roman Catholicism.

In June 2009, officers found a human skull, a beheaded chicken, chickens' blood and other animal parts in a Madison Avenue basement during a drug raid. The next month, two human skulls were found in a circular blanket of loose dirt and bloody papers with names on them at Mountain Grove Cemetery.

And just days later, the body of a 2-year-old girl stolen from her Stamford grave showed up in a New Jersey river with chicken bones nearby.
Brazilian company Odebrecht expands operations in Cuba

Submitted by: Juana

Havana

Business and Economy

02 / 02 / 2016



The Brazilian Odebrecht Infrastructure Works Company will increase operations in Cuba after receiving authorization from local authorities to become a user of the Special Development Zone in the western Mariel Bay area, plus another two contracts in the sugar and civil aeronautical sectors. The company was officially notified in January to operate in Mariel offering engineering and construction services to potential investors under a 15-year license, which can be extended. Company representative Mauro Augusto Hueb said business potentials are big, while Odebrecht plans to support the islands internal development and consolidate its operations here.

Odebrecht has vast experience in this field and maintains resin-processing plants in Mexico and Brazil, which would favor its business in Cuba. The Brazilian entity will also support the modernization and expansion of terminal one of the Havana Jose Marti International Airport, a project foreseen to favor the arrivals of foreign visitors to Cuba.



The first works by Odebrecht in Cuba was the construction of the Mariel containers terminal, which is part of the Special Development Zone.



source: www.cibercuba.com
The absence of Zika virus in Cuba does not mean people should not worry

Submitted by: Juana

Environment

Health and Medicine

02 / 02 / 2016



The absence so far of a single Zika virus case in Cuba cannot lead to lack of worry, particularly after the heavy rains that affected the island in recent weeks, which favor the spread of the mosquito that carries the disease.

An article in a Cuban newspaper alerts about the current and increasing spread of Zika virus and calls on the people to keep fighting mosquito breeding grounds through sanitary campaigns and individual actions in communities and work centers.

Up to date, no Zika case has been reported in Cuba, despite the threat it poses on the island, given its geographical position in a region with most of all 25 countries affected by the virus, said Cuban authorities.

The emergency committee of the World Health Organization estimates the possible Zika infection of up to four million people in The Americas and determined that the outbreak constitutes an international sanitary emergency.
California wine producers want business with Cuba

Submitted by: Juana

United States

Business and Economy

02 / 03 / 2016



US Wine producers who took part at a forum in Havana called First Symposium of California Wine said they are interested in increasing exchange with Cuba, despite the US embargo on the island.

The forum was held at Havanas Conventions Center with the attendance of over 200 wine experts and owners of some 50 wine production companies from California, and 200 Cuban specialists, some of whom attended a similar forum in the US western state.

Darius Anderson, executive director of US Cava Export, which sponsored the forum, expressed his hope that the new US-Cuba relationship favors this kind of exchanges and that American companies may do business with Cuba with less restrictions.

Similarly, Linda Reiff, president and executive director of the Napa Valley Producers Association said that US unilateral sanctions on Cuba should have been lifted long time ago. Reiff expects that the Treasury and the Department of Trade lift some restrictions on trade with Cuba.

source: www.cibercuba.com
Amid Ian cone-troversy, season could see quiet conclusion | WeatherTiger

As hurricane season counts down, less than 10% of historical U.S. landfall activity remains ahead, with under 2% occurring in November.
Being prepared isnat being paranoid.

BAILEY CLARK Many students believe that the passing of such legislation would pose a greater threat to students, and the only people that could handle active threats are campus police, according to the bill written by Faulk.

aI want to know what I can do to be more aware in the event of a crisis situation,a Iris Ramirez, business management sophomore, said.

Ramirez, along with other students, attended the Universityas crisis preparedness seminar Tuesday.

A second seminar will be held Monday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Rose Theatre.

aWeare being a proactive campus that wants to be prepared,a said Arleen Hill, an associate professor of Earth sciences at the University of Memphis.

The sudden interest in university safety measures is not intended to frighten students.

Austin Anderson Guns on campus

These seminars are a result of numerous questions from students and faculty members about how the University will respond to a gunman on campus.

Growing concern in shooting preparedness is likely linked to what many feel was a wave of high profile shootings on college campuses across the United States in 2015.

The most deadly shooting awhich took place in Umpqua Community College in Oregon aended with nine killed and nine injured, including the shooter, who committed suicide.

Shootings on college campuses were one of the least common shootings last year, but U of M police and the FBI encouraged students to develop a plan for what to do in a mass shooting.

aWe decided across the country that we wanted to do things differently and jump ahead,a said Tom Hassell, special agent in the FBIas Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Hassell emphasized that being safe until campus police arrive is critical to survival.

aOn campus there is a two minute police response time,a Hassell said. aIn a matter of 120 seconds you need to think about aHow can I protect myself? How can I buy time until the police arrive?a In a matter of two minutes there could be scores of campus police, state police, FBI task force and first responders on the scene.a

Hassell said students need to be aware of their surroundings no matter where they are at.

aIf youare walking through the parking lot or crossing the street heading to your car, do so with purpose,a Hassell said. aKeep a few keys clinched between your fingers with your hand balled into a fist. If someone were to approach you can easily scratch them across the face, using your keys as a weapon.a

These seminars do not indicate a specific threat to students; however, they serve as a plan of action for potential crisis events.

aA lot of our faculty were getting questions from students about awhat should we do ifa,aa Bruce Harbor, director of campus police services, said.

Mondayas seminar will include an update by the FBI on national incidents concerning what an aactive shootera event means, a brief demonstration of the Department of Homeland Securityas aRun-Hide- Fighta procedure, university crisis preparedness and efforts, classroom and auditorium preparedness and a question and answer panel.

One of the many safety efforts of campus police services includes installing new locks on classroom doors.

aOver the Christmas break, we had all of the officers go out to look at all of the classroom spaces,a Derrick Myers, assistant chief of police services, said. aWe plan on bringing brand new locks in before the fall semester.a

Another safety initiative simply involves scanning your surroundings and thinking ahead.

aWe will continue to deal with emergency preparedness and recovery, given that we do a lot of training,a Harbor said. aWeave considered every area including the Bursaras Office along with several other areas that are faculty ran by our faculty and staff.
Austin Anderson Lawmakers seek to cut multicultural spending

Tennessee lawmakers are trying to cut funding for multicultural and diversity programs at some Tennessee universities.

State representative Martin Daniel has filed a bill that will limit the University of Tennessee systemas spending on diversity, multicultural or sustainability programs.

If passed, these programs at all UT schools could not collectively spend more than $2.5 million. This includes salaries and benefits for staff members in these departments as well as any other cost associated with these departments.

The bill targets the University of Tennessee in Knoxville by limiting them to $1.5 million, or 60 percent of all allocated funds.

This could affect the quantity and quality of employees, as UT Knoxville alone spends at least $250,000 on multicultural organization salaries.

The bill also limits what these employees are allowed to do at their job.

This bill comes after a controversial list of suggestions for holiday parties created by UTas multicultural affairs staff.

The list stated that holiday parties should not be aa Christmas party in disguise,a or place an emphasis on areligion or culture,a as reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Some Republicans called this political correctness spinning out of control. Frank Niceley, a Republican state senator from Knoxville, also sponsors the bill.

Both Daniel and Nicely were unavailable for comment on the bill.

The Daily Helmsman reached out to University of Memphis students involved in multicultural organizations, allowing them to weigh in on the conversation.

Jaylon Wallace, junior public relations chair for Empowered Men of Color, fumed over the implications of the bill.

aWhy?a Wallace asked. aWhatas the purpose for cutting it, giving a limit on what they can do? It cuts involvement on campus. It makes the job harder for certain organizations. Youare limiting everything they can do on campus.a

Lawrence Parawan, a senior political science major and president of the Asian American Association, agreed with Wallace.

aIt appears that the general assembly is seeking to push a specific agenda,a Parawan said. aThe UT system seeks to establish itself as an institution of political correctness and diversity; however, this bill seems to contradict this sentiment.a

Limitations the bill would place on UT employees who work for diversity, multicultural or sustainability programs concern Parawan, as it states that these workers will be required to focus solely on non-discrimination, recruitment of minority students and recruitment of minority faculty.

aIt completely disregards any discussion of sustainability programs,a said Parawan.

Not all students are opposed to the bill. Sheroz Kazmi is a biomedical engineering major and president of the Muslim Student Association. Unlike Wallace and Parawan, Kazmi sees no problem with the bill.

aIam not a finance major, but I think this is fine,a he said. aI think this is enough money. Instead of spending a bunch of money corporate style, cultivate the student leadership and have them get together. I donat think for wanting to diversify you need that much.a
Firearms in the hands of untrained (or minimally trained) individuals can lead to bad decisions and tragic consequences,-Harber

Austin Anderson Firearms in the hands of untrained (or minimally trained) individuals can lead to bad decisions and tragic consequences,-Harber

The National Rifle Association and students who favor carrying guns on campus for protection will hold an event at the University Center on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The NRAas university outreach arm and Students for Concealed Carry, a University of Memphis student organization, hope to discuss the Second Amendment and expanding carrying guns on campus a a highly controversial topic which many are against, including U of M officials.

aThreats to personal safety donat disappear once you step on campus,a said Catherine Mortensen, NRA spokesperson. aCriminals do not abide by gun free zones. Gun free zones make law abiding citizens sitting ducks for criminals.a

Campus carry laws, like the ones in Colorado and Mississippi, generally allow people who have valid state-issued gun permits to carry firearms on a college campus.

Mortensen said that people who have carry permits are more law abiding.

The discussion to legalize concealed weapons comes after an increase of mass shootings in the United States, some of which took place on college campuses.

The most deadly shooting occurred on the campus of Umpqua Community College which resulted in nine injuries and nine deaths, including the shooter who committed suicide.

In the wake of the shootings President Obama made executive orders that could potentially amount to more regulation on the sales of guns in the country.

However, critics of campus carry laws say that bringing guns to campuses could increase violence and accidental deaths.

aWe are opposed to guns on campus, except in the case of highly trained public safety personnel,a said Bruce Harber, chief of campus police and assistant vice president of administration. aThis position is shared by our colleagues across the state.a

aFirearms in the hands of untrained (or minimally trained) individuals can lead to bad decisions and tragic consequences,a said Harber. aWe have a zero tolerance stance on weapons on campus and we think that has been a factor in our low crime rates in the last seven years.a

The state of Tennessee currently prohibits firearms of any kind on campus. However, members of the SCC hope that it does not stay that way for long.

aWe believe that holders of stateissued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else,a said Stuart Dedmon, President of SCC.

Dedmon insists that campus carry supporters do not want to take on the responsibility of protecting those around them. Instead, what is being suggested by supporters is that adults with concealed handgun licenses be allowed to protect themselves on college campuses.

According to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, the state of Tennessee requires background checks for anyone buying a firearm from a licensed firearm dealer.

The NRA U meeting hosted by Students for Concealed Carry will take place from 4-5:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the Shelby Room in the UC.
A group at University of Memphis is releasing photos of individuals posing as prominent black icons in celebration of Black History Month.

The students will be releasing these photos from their Instagram page, @tigersinhistory, every day to help educate their viewers on the importance of black leaders, according to senior senator Prataj Ingram.

Right now we are piloting, Ingram said. February is the pilot month. Were dropping a picture every single day because it is black history, and from there were going to gather our responses and see the support that we have.

Sedrick Askew, a U of M graduate and photographer for Impact Lyfe, will be taking the photographs, with the help of some current students, in order to introduce tigersinhistory to the campus.

Once the collection is completed, Askew plans to auction off a literature book compiled of each image and donate the money to The Academy of Memphis, a nonprofit organization.

Social media is the way we are promoting it and pubbing it, senior Jaylon Wallace said. It was a last minute idea that came to me, so it was a Take this and roll with it and see where we can go with it.

This is not something they were instructed by the University to do, Ingram said. This was all Wallaces idea. They were just able to direct it and raise interest among students.

The person photographed chooses which black icon in history they want to portray, then are interviewed about their person of choice, Ingram said.

We ask them why they picked this person, and what they did for history, Ingram said.

Stacia Coleman, assistant photographer, said they are trying to produce something to which everyone can relate.

Were trying to embody the person, Coleman said. We really want to get them into it. Were trying to get the picture  recreate it into our time, so we can tell our story.

The students are using social media to wake people up and show that history is always happening.

History doesnt just happen in February, Wallace said. We dont just talk about it in February, we talk about it forever. History builds on top of itself, and we want it to continue to grow and get better and better.

I love it, Coleman said. I already had some people walk up to me saying, We want to be Saltn-Peppa, and then were going to bring out more fun characters such as Will Smith and Jazzy J. We dont want it to be hardcore; we have fun in our history as well.

Coleman said they want to create their own trend with black history.

We dont have just one group of people; we are representing everybody, Coleman said. We have people like athletes, Greeks, non-Greeks and everybody that we see everyday.

Wallace wants students to know that history not only includes events that happened in the past, but it also occurs every day.

We are the history itself, everything we do is part of history, especially when we are doing something positive, he said.
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
David Cameron today believes himself on the brink of a triumph - but what if he is wrong?

David Cameron today believes himself on the brink of a triumph. His proposed EU renegotiation needs only endorsement at a summit of the other 27 members. This would be followed by a June referendum, ending with an in vote that will scupper his foes in Ukip and on the Tory Right.

But what if he is wrong? What if yesterdays draft settlement, requiring merely a shifting of deckchairs in Brussels, provokes a seismic shift in the British body politic? Read President of the European Council Donald Tusks letter, which makes plain how little has changed, for instance on migrants: We need to fully respect the principles of freedom of movement and non-discrimination.

Most of what Cameron claims to have secured will remain vague aspiration, a country mile from implementation. Who else would trumpet the securing of an emergency brake on migrants benefits over which he will have little control, or a red card system that requires the support of more than half of our bickering EU neighbours on any given issue?

This much is plain: the sham of a renegotiation, the pretence that the Prime Minister meant what he told us for years about his intention to change our terms of membership of the EU, has spawned a cynicism across the land that will not quickly be dispelled.

No politician dares to tell voters all the truth about difficult issues, because the message would be so bleak that they could never win an election.

But we are entitled to hear more truth more of the time than we get from David Cameron. The consequence of his past evasions and outright deceits is that now when we are asked to endorse his judgment, to accept his assurance that we are better staying in Europe than getting out, it is hard to do so.

I wrote here back in 2009 that it was Camerons misfortune that he would become our national leader at a moment when to be merely an adequate prime minister would not suffice: he needed to show himself a great one. At that time, I was thinking chiefly of our crippling debt problem.

As matters have evolved over the intervening seven years, however, other equally grave problems have emerged, headed by the migrant crisis and the struggle with Muslim extremism.

In response to the challenges, on the credit side Cameron has supported George Osborne in making a modest start towards curbing the deficit. He handles himself in the Commons and on the world stage with the natural authority of a country squire opening village fetes. By winning last years general election, he saved Britain from the disaster of Ed Miliband.

Yet through it all, Cameron shows no sign of having any higher purpose than that of holding together the Conservative Party, keeping himself in office until he quits to make a fortune and passes the reins to George Osborne. He seems prepared, meanwhile, to tell the British people whatever might shut us up until next week.

'Most of what Cameron claims to have secured will remain vague aspiration, a country mile from implementation,' writes Hastings. Pictured: Cameron meets with European Council president Donald Tusk

Ghastly

He promised his 2014 party conference that a future Tory government would cut immigration, repeal the Human Rights Act and repatriate powers from Brussels, when he had not the smallest intention of doing anything significant to advance those objectives.

He told the Commons last November that 70,000 Syrian moderates were waiting to join with the Kurds to fight Islamic State, if we would do our bit by sending four RAF Tornados to provide air support.

This seemed tosh then, and is tosh now, on a subject rightfully too serious for spin-doctoring. He delivers ringing denunciations of what he describes as great evils of our time, most recently social inequality and alleged racism at Oxbridge and in the police and Armed Forces, while saying pitifully little about the matters that passionately concern most British people: mass migration, the failure of the state education system, the need to prevent the NHS from bankrupting our children  and the manifold failures of the EU.

The best defence that can be made of Cameron is that he is no more guilty than his fellow European leaders in refusing to face harsh realities. Almost all of them have abrogated responsibility for credible security policies, at a time when Russia looks more menacing than for three decades.

Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, has always argued that history will judge Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, pictured, much more harshly than do her contemporaries

They are in denial about the enormity of the migration threat. We are not talking here about a few hundred thousand Syrian refugees, but tens of millions of economic migrants striving to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East. Absolutely nothing in the Cameron renegotiation with Brussels will prevent these people from coming here once they secure some sort of EU documentation, as most assuredly will.

My old friend Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, has always argued that history will judge Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, much more harshly than do her contemporaries. Even before Merkels ghastly blunder in publicly opening Germanys doors to millions of migrants, she has maintained a posture of stubborn denial about the precariousness of the eurozone and the irrecoverable debts still burdening banks and whole nations.

She will not tell the German people what every numerate person knows, that Greeces vast sovereign debt will sooner or later have to be written off. Meanwhile, France has fundamental social and economic problems that no Paris government seems capable of persuading its electorate to face.

Exasperated

Every day, the supposedly intelligent political leaders of Europe tell their peoples falsehoods that would make Pinocchios nose fall off. One of the most powerful arguments for leaving the EU is that its dominant members refuse to admit its bureaucratic stagnation and absence of accountability. It is plain they will not do so unless or until economic disaster brings their temple down about their ears: Europe is incapable of self-reform.

David Cameron wishes us to swallow the nonsense of his renegotiation, when, in truth, he has simply reached a personal decision to forget his Eurosceptic past, shrug his shoulders and stick with the tottering European club, in sickness or in health.

Last month, I asked a group of clever thirtysomethings what they thought about the EU. They said they wanted to be convinced that we should stay in, but nobody had yet offered credible arguments for doing so. A retired captain of industry  a Tory and lifelong European  told me recently that he has become so exasperated by Camerons condescension in assuring us that the moon is made of green cheese, figuratively speaking, that he is now minded to vote out.

Cameron wishes us to swallow the nonsense of his renegotiation, when, in truth, he has simply reached a personal decision to forget his Eurosceptic past, and stick with the tottering European club

So am I. The arguments do not all run one way, and we should disbelieve those who claim they do. We all favour a free trade area, a genuine common market. Leaving Europe will not solve some of our grave national problems, starting with the failure of the education system, poor productivity and a chronic balance of trade deficit.

But the Prime Minister and his henchmen seem to want Britain to stay in this creaking union merely because they are too slothful to contemplate the alternative. Our squire wants no unpleasantness at the harvest supper.

Yet a leader of more courage and imagination would at least consider the logic of addressing the EUs perhaps irredeemable predicament by leaving it.

David Cameron is not a bad prime minister  Gordon Brown and Tony Blair did far more harm. But he has utterly failed thus far to rise to the greatness of the challenges he and this country face. The times require a visionary leader of the stamp of Margaret Thatcher or Clement Attlee. Instead, we have a man resembling that oh-so-soothing 1930s appeaser, Stanley Baldwin.

Cameron could yet win his summer referendum on Europe, for the usual reasons such things happen: on the day, voters prove too scared to risk the unknowns of out.
What happened to all those pledges, PM?

The Mail admires David Cameron. He has been markedly successful in turning the economy around.

He kept Ed Miliband out of No 10 (with a little help from this paper), saving Britain from a catastrophe.

But on Europe, we have to say frankly his capacity for self-delusion is breathtaking.

Yesterday, seemingly gripped by the conviction that he is securing a triumph for Britain, Mr Cameron made the hair-raising observation that he would urge the UK to join the EU on these terms, even if we were not already a member.

Oh yes? Would we really want to join a sclerotic, corrupt bureaucracy whose leaders have no comprehension of the historic scale of the crises facing them?

Cameron said he would urge the UK to join the EU, even if we were not already a member

Wouldnt this be like buying a ticket for the Titanic after it struck the iceberg?

All over the continent, razor-wire fences are being erected to hold back the tide of migrants sucked in by naive attempts to abolish borders.

In Germany, Angela Merkel is besieged by Right-wing groups after her open-doors policy led to mass sex attacks.

In Hungary and Poland, the far Right is on the march. Even oh-so-liberal Sweden is seeking to expel 80,000 migrants, as protests against the influx turn violent.

Meanwhile, the monumental failure of the one-size-fits-all euro worsens. Greece is again in meltdown, Italys banks are imploding and youth unemployment in Spain remains well above 50 per cent.

With Europes viability under mortal threat, never has the need for a radical shake-up of the EUs statist, wasteful and corrupt institutions been more apparent. And the irony is that the Prime Minister, until recently, agreed with this analysis.

At the risk of embarrassing him, may we remind him that he promised at his partys 2014 conference that the next Tory Government would cut immigration, repeal the Human Rights Act and repatriate powers from Brussels?

Indeed, he promised nothing less than a fundamental renegotiation of Britains relationship with Europe. How woefully that contrasts with the footling, pedantic and almost certainly ineffective reforms he now trumpets.

Take his pledge to stop EU migrants from claiming child benefit from British taxpayers for children who live abroad.

In place of a blanket ban, hes agreed to a ludicrous system under which the payments will be made at the same rate as in the recipients home countries. This will mean 28 rates across the EU  promising a field-day for merchants of red tape and a nightmare for everyone else.

Its the same with his manifesto promise to make migrants wait four years for benefits. Now the payments will be phased in  creating more bureaucracy and giving new migrants a strong incentive to stay.

Broken promises: Mr Cameron promised at his partys 2014 conference that the next Tory Government would cut immigration, repeal the Human Rights Act and repatriate powers from Brussels

As for his red card that will let groups of 15 nations reject Brussels legislation, leave aside the difficulty of finding 14 allies. The veto is more likely to be used to block British interests than to protect them.

Of course, if the Prime Minister wishes to delude himself that these proposals change everything, thats his business.

But the fact is they barely touch on the mighty issues at stake  sovereignty, democratic accountability and the proper limits of interference by foreign bureaucrats and judges.

Meanwhile, hardly anything in this deal will do one iota to stop mass immigration from inside or outside the EU.

Indeed the past few weeks of manufactured rows over frankly lilliputian issues have been nothing but a charade, while the deal will merely provoke more cynicism among reasonable citizens.

More pertinently, with the draft agreement now published, it is surely morally indefensible to insist that other ministers cant attack it before its signed and sealed by our partners.
The pieces are similar in colour, cut and style

The duo has stepped out in near identical dresses, coats and trousers

Her style is similar to that of Australian-born Princess Mary of Denmark, 43

Together they have two children: Prince Henrik and Princess Athena

There are more than a few similarities between Princesses Mary and Marie of Denmark.

Mary, an Australian-born royal, worked in advertising and property before a chance meeting at a Sydney pub saw her fall in love with a Danish Prince.

Similarly Marie, who was born in Paris, had worked in advertising and PR before meeting her prince, Denmark's Joachim, at a party.

The women's seemingly parallel lives became only more entwined once they married in to royalty, Marie tying the knot with her prince four years after Mary and Frederik said 'I do'.

The French beauty appeared to follow in Mary's footsteps in more ways than one, with the pair regularly spotted in similar outfits.

But unlike Australia's favourite royal, Princess Marie will never be queen.

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Bringing in the New Year: Mary first wore her red velvet gown to a New Year's banquet in 2014 (left), a dress similar to the pink frock worn by Marie to a New Year's banquet in 2013

In the navy: Mary and Marie wore similar long-sleeved navy gowns with glittering tiaras

Marie, 39, married Prince Joachim in May, 2008.

The pair met at a party not long after Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra Christina, divorced in 2005.

She recently admitted she was hesitant about marrying in to royalty as she had her own career and was not ready to face the responsibilities that came with life in the public eye.

Despite her initial hesitation she placed her trust in love, and she and Joachim went on to have two children: Prince Henrik and Princess Athena, and two step-children, Princes Nikolai and Felix.

Her royal engagements have seen her attend the same family functions as Mary and perform her own royal duties.

Because Joachim is the younger brother to Prince Frederik he will not take on the throne meaning unlike Mary, Marie will never be queen.

Red hot: Mary turned heads in this layered gown for a water pageant in 2013 (left) while Marie wore a similar dress to Amalienborg Palace in 2014 (right)

Pretty in pink: Mary looked elegant in a soft pink gown with glittering embellishments (left), a style Marie replicated at a Gala Night in April 2015

Topped with a tiara: Mary stunned in an off-the-shoulder gown to attend a Gala Dinner at Christiansborg Palace in April 2015 (left) after Marie wore a similar style at a New Year's banquet in January 2015 (right)

While many of Marie's outfits are similar to Mary's, she is not the only princess seeking style tips.

Mary is guilty of replicating Marie's style, and on more than one occasion has stepped out in gowns that are a similar style and cut.

The mother-of-four, who will celebrate her 44th birthday on Friday, stunned in a floor-length off-the-shoulder embellished gown to attend a Gala Dinner at Christiansborg Palace in April 2015.

The gown was a similar style and colour to that worn by Marie at a New Year's banquet in January the same year.

Seeing double: Mary wore an off-white three-quarter sleeve couture piece to attend a State Banquet in March 2015 (left) and, a month later, Marie wore a similar white gown to Fredensborg Palace in April (right)

Signature style: Mary is a fan of trench coats and is often seen in coloured numbers (left), a style adopted by Marie (right)

Casual elegance: Mary wore fitted black trousers and a black blazer to open a playground in 2014 (left) a similar outfit to one worn by Marie at Copenhagen Fashion Week in 2013

Mary is known to brace herself against Denmark's harsh winter in a well-tailored trench coat.

On many occasions the stylish royal has been seen sporting a coloured or neutral-toned trench that she wears as a statement piece or layered with an elegant dress and stilettos.
Can be very costly to fix if there's a mistake made

B and C are also a risk when needles are not cleaned properly

This week, a Brisbane woman made headlines after she was left with garish permanent makeup from cosmetic tattooing.

Now, doctors are warning people to think twice before getting cosmetic medical procedures done.

Dr Brad Mckay, GP and host of Embarrassing Bodies Australia, said there are numerous risks to getting 'mini' cosmetic procedures done, especially when they're performed at clinics and spas instead of hospitals.

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Scared for life: Brisbane woman Mary Malargic was left with garish permanent makeup after paying $300 for cosmetic tattooing

'There are issues in Australia with day surgery procedures not being conducted in accredited surgery rooms,' Dr Mckay told Daily Mail Australia.

'It means there isn't the support if something goes wrong. People have to get rushed to hospital if there are any complications, which can be dangerous.'

He warned against budget cosmetic clinics and day spa offering cosmetic tattooing, many of which have popped up in recent years, like the one Mary Malargic attended last year.

Ms Malagic sought permanent makeup because of dermatomyositis, a rare skin condition which prevents her from wearing cosmetics, Channel Nines A Current Affair reported.

Eyebrow disaster: Mandy Lamrini from Germany was bullied online after having her brows cosmetically tattooed

The work would often cost about $2,000, but the Brisbane woman jumped at the offer by Alaturka Turkish Bath, Hair and Beauty to tattoo her eyebrows, eyeliner and lipliner for just $300.

Dr Mckay said if the saying you should never go for the cheapest option when looking at permanent medical procedures like tattooing. Customers can end up with permanent scarring on their face or even serious, life threatening illnesses form dodgy operators.

'A lot of people who have mini procedures, like cosmetic tattoos or Botox, end up getting infections from where the needles are inserted. This can happen where needles havent been cleaned properly,' he said.

Infections are common: Dr Brad Mckay says if needles haven't been cleaned properly patients can end up with infections

Doctors are the better option: Gill Holding let a friend who was training to be a permanent makeup artist tattoo her eyebrows

'There have been cases of people contracting Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C from cosmetic tattoos. People can also contract skin infections, like abscesses under the skin or cellulitis, which require hospitalisation and intravenous antibiotics to clear up.'

WHAT ARE DR MCKAY'S TOP TIPS? Find someone accredited and check online reviews of your doctor

If a clinic looks dirty, don't get anything done there

If you're being pressured into making a decision quickly then be suspicious

Think twice before having a procedure done. Don't decide on the spur of the moment

It's always less risky to get procedures done by a doctor Advertisement

His advice is if the deal seems very cheap and too good to be true, it probably is. 'You get what you pay for. If you're paying bottom dollar then youre going to end up paying a lot more to get it fixed,' Dr Mckay explained.

He also warned that many of these clinics are staffed only by nurses, and not doctors, meaning there is more of a risk if something goes wrong.

'If youre getting it done from someone who isn't a doctor, who hasn't had full medical training, that's a risk,' he said.

'If youre going to get it done its better to get it done from a doctor than a nurse who might not have the same level of knowledge.'

You also get more protection- both medically and legally- when getting procedures done by doctors Dr Mckay explained, as they have a duty of care to their patients.

Not so natural: Sue Kilden said she felt sick for days afterwards after getting tattooed lipliner
Peter Morgan and Lila Schwarzenberg have separated after 18 years of marriage on an 'entirely amicable basis' but there is no discussion of divorce

He has made a successful career writing about the private lives of public figures including Tony Blair, Idi Amin, Richard Nixon and the Queen.

Now Peter Morgan, the 52-year-old scriptwriter behind films such as The Last King Of Scotland and Frost/Nixon, has found the spotlight turned on himself after splitting up with his aristocratic wife.

Morgan married Lila Schwarzenberg  born Princess Anna Carolina zu Schwarzenberg  in 1997. The couple have five children and divide their time between Vienna and London.

But Lila gave a revealing insight into the state of their fractious marriage in a series of highly personal columns for an Austrian society magazine. This included the occasion when Morgan, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2007 for his screenplay for The Queen and in 2009 for Frost/Nixon, was furious to be served a dinner of fish fingers.

Peter . . . always says you can gauge the state of our marriage on the number of fish fingers he gets served up in a week, she wrote in 2013. And it appears I went too far once again with my culinary neglect towards Peter as . . . I served him the leftovers of the kids meal (guess what it was). He took one look and said: I am neither five years old nor a f****** penguin. He left the table and left the house in the search for a decent dinner, as he puts it.

She also disclosed what she said were his efforts to seduce her with the help of the erotic novel Fifty Shades Of Grey during a holiday to Ibiza. She recorded her surprise that her intellectually orientated husband . . . had bought me this housewife porn book.

Before the birth of their fifth child in 2011, Morgan said of his marriage: We are so wildly chalk and cheese . . . Shes sociable. She loves children . . . Lilas idea of heaven is a noisy house, people running through it, and that goes some way to describing my idea of hell.

A spokesman for Morgan tells me: With regret and sadness, it can be confirmed that Peter and his wife have agreed on a separation. This was achieved on an entirely amicable basis. There is no discussion of a divorce, and there are no third parties involved on either side.

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, whos due to become a father of twins at 68, seems to be encouraging his children to go forth and multiply, too.

His daughter Leah, 37, who is only eight months younger than his wife Sally Humphreys, says her TV producer husband Jack MacDonald is eager to add to their brood.

I am not keen on extending our family, Leah tells me. But my husband is. I think hed like more children  to fill that extra bedroom.

The couple, who have two children, Maggie, six, and 20-month-old Otis, are expanding their North London home. We are extending the kitchen and building another bedroom, says Leah. We need more room and I dont want to move.

Charlotte Rampling, who turns 70 on Friday, has said 'we might as well get used to changing'

Charlotte, 69: Why I'll never go under the knife

Oscar-nominated Charlotte Rampling, who turns 70 on Friday, has been speaking of her disdain for plastic surgery.

The scalpel-shunning star of the film 45 Years says of ageing: We cant stop it. We cant stop it through plastic surgery, we cant stop it through anything. Were always changing from the moment were born till the moment we die and we might as well get used to that.

Ive always thought that if I can show the change in myself through cinema  not just by showing myself ageing physically, but also developing what I have to give as a human being  that would be quite interesting.

BBC Bridget quits to join Cambridge

Bridget Kendall, the BBCs diplomatic correspondent, is the latest to quit the cuts-ridden empire after being elected the first female master of Peterhouse college, Cambridge.

Students at the universitys oldest college, whose alumni include Sam Mendes and Michael Portillo, expressed excitement at the prospect of Kendall moving into the Masters lodgings with her partner, fellow BBC journalist Amanda Farnsworth.

Bridget Kendall, the BBCs diplomatic correspondent, has been elected the first female master of Peterhouse college, Cambridge

Peterhouses Junior Common Room LGBT+ spokesman (representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, plus other groups of sexual and gender minorities) hailed an historic moment for a college that will hopefully mark a change from Peterhouses reputation as the most conservative college.

Peterhouse failed to fly the LGBT+ flag this week for the start of LGBT History Month, student paper The Tab reported.

However, this was not an indication of being stuck in the past, but a blunder by the departing LGBT+ Officer, who forgot to ask the college to fly the flag.
The Duchess of Cornwall ripped up the fashion rule book and helped inject a bit of much-needed colour into a dreary winter's morning today.

The 68-year-old appeared in high spirits as she stepped out in a vibrant technicolour coat to attend a mini literature festival in Peterborough Cathedral.

Prince Charles' wife carried out a series of solo engagements to help promote reading and storytelling as part of her role with the National Literacy Trust.

The Duchess of Cornwall ripped up the fashion rule book and helped inject a bit of much-needed colour into a dreary winter's morning today

The 68-year-old appeared in high spirits as she stepped out in a vibrant technicolour coat to attend a mini literature festival in Peterborough Cathedral

Camilla's jubilant outfit choice perfectly reflected her happy mood and she beamed at well-wishers as she exited her chauffeur-driven car.

All eyes turned to the mother-of-two who looked chic in an electric blue, black and red plaid jacket that had a velvet trim around the collar and matching buttons.

It is the second time Camilla has worn the attention-grabbing garment. She wore it last February while touring the Art Workers Guild, an organisation dedicated to distinguished craftspeople, artists and designers in London.

Today, she ripped up the fashion rule book and accessorised the statement outerwear with a clashing silk scarf, which was printed with a pretty purple pattern.

Prince Charles' wife carried out a series of solo engagements to help promote reading and storytelling as part of her role with the National Literacy Trust

Camilla's jubilant outfit choice perfectly reflected her happy mood and she beamed at well-wishers as she exited her chauffeur-driven car

The Duchess tried on a pair of children's frog-shaped glasses during her visit to Boots

Camilla didn't seem to mind that she looked a bit silly in the spectacles and laughed throughout the visit

The Duchess looked composed despite wearing the novelty children's glasses

The Duchess of Cornwall at Boots Opticians in Peterborough, during a day of visits to promote reading and storytelling as part of her role with the National Literacy Trust

The Duchess of Cornwall meets four-year-old Uzair Ehjaz as he tries on glasses at Boots Opticians in Peterborough, during a day of visits to promote reading and storytelling as part of her role with the National Literacy Trust

The Duchess of Cornwall shows her caring side as she chats to four-year-old Uzair Ehjaz

The Duchess of Cornwall meets Kyla Bailey-Webb (21 months) at Boots Opticians in Peterborough

Camilla, who is Patron of the National Literacy Trust, was centre of attention at the literature festival

The festival celebrates the work of the National Literacy Trust Hub at Peterborough Cathedral

Dame Julia Cleverdon, Chair of the National Literacy Trust and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Patron of the National Literacy Trust, attended the literature festival

The glamorous Duchess of Cornwall, Patron of the National Literacy Trust, takes to the stage

All eyes turned to the mother-of-two who looked chic in an electric blue, black and red plaid jacket that had a velvet trim around the collar and matching buttons

The Duchess of Cornwall meets meets well wishers in Peterborough City centre, during a day of visits to promote reading and storytelling as part of her role with the National Literacy Trust

Camilla helped ward off the February chill with a pair of elegant knee-high suede black boots and leather gloves. She also carried an understated black handbag.

Camilla was joined by 300 children at the event where they listened to storytelling and poetry sessions led by local author Guy Bass and poet Francesca Beard.

She then presented certificates to winners of a creative writing competition called Our Stories: Celebrating Peterboroughs Cultural Diversity, before visiting Boots Opticians which is a partner of the charity.

Camilla was seen trying on a pair of children's frog-themed glasses in the shop and didn't seem to mind that she looked a bit silly. The novelty spectacles are used as part of a screening programme to help test childrens eye sight.

Last on today, the Duchess will join partners, funders, volunteers and families at a reception hosted at the Town Hall to hear success stories involving Peterboroughs position as one of three National Literacy Trust Hubs.

As patron of the National Literacy Trust, Camilla has a strong interest in shining a spotlight on the importance of literacy, Clarence House said.

Dozens of well-wishers turned out to greet the Duchess of Cornwall and give her bunches of flowers

Camilla passed the many bunches of flowers to her assistant before making her way into the festival

It is the second time Camilla has worn the attention-grabbing garment. She wore it last February while touring the Art Workers Guild, an organisation dedicated to distinguished craftspeople, artists and designers

Today, she accessorised the statement outerwear with a clashing silk scarf, which was printed with a pretty purple pattern

Councillor John Holdich, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: 'We are delighted to be celebrating all the fantastic work that has been undertaken through the National Literacy Trust Hub in Peterborough by so many partners and enthusiastic young people.

'It is wonderful that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is able to join our celebration and see first-hand what is going on.

'The vibrant mix of cultures and languages in Peterborough is such a great asset for creativity and developing literacy which will be highlighted on the day.'

The National Literacy Trust is a national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK.

The trust runs projects in the poorest communities and aims to make literacy a priority for politicians, parents and support schools.

Photographers were keen to capture Camilla as she chatted to the public and accepted flowers
She's no stranger to gruelling sporting endeavours and last year Pippa Middleton added the 54-mile London to Brighton bike ride to her list of accomplishments.

Now the fitness fanatic is urging others to take on the challenge as she launches registration for the event, in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

The 32-year-old, who took part in the 40th anniversary event last year with a group of friends, said: 'It was an unforgettable experience. There was such a great atmosphere throughout the day.

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Pippa Middleton has launched registration for the 2016 British Heart Foundation London to Brighton bike ride. The fitness fanatic who completed the 54 mile challenge last June said that participating was 'an unforgettable experience' and urged people to sign up

The British Heart Foundation Ambassador took part with a group of friends and her brother James, 28, and managed to raise more than 20,000

'The view from Ditchling Beacon, the highest point of the ride at 813ft, was well earned and hard to beat.'

Pippa, who is a British Heart Foundation ambassador, was one of 23,000 cyclists who took part alongside her brother James, 28.

'This event is testament to the fact that cycling is such an inclusive sport that everyone can enjoy,' she added.

'And through the money raised, the BHF can continue to help the millions of people affected by coronary heart disease  the UK's single biggest killer. I encourage anyone who is curious to take place in this historic event.'

Pippa said the bike ride was an 'unforgettable experience' and urged people to sign up as she launched registration for the charity challenge

The younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge won't be taking part this year, but the BHF says she is supporting other fundraising event instead

In 2015, her efforts raised just over 20,000 but competitors will not catch a glimpse of Pippa whizzing past this year.

She is not taking part, but is supporting other fundraising projects with the charity - such as Roll Out The Red auction, launched online last week.

A sold out silk tea dress and matching cashmere blend scarf, which she created in collaboration with designer Tabitha Webb last year, are being auctioned off.

As well as the 295 dress in a size 8 and the 95 scarf the winning bidder will receive a signed photo of Pippa wearing the frock.

Bidding for the lot, worth 390, currently stands at 175 with eight days to go until the auction closes.

A floral tea dress designed by Pippa in collaboration with Tabitha Webb has been donated to the BHF's Roll out the Red auction. As well as the 295 dress and a matching scarf the winning bidder will receive a signed photo of Pippa wearing the frock

Bidding for the lot, worth 390, currently stands at 175 with eight days to go until the auction closes

The money raised will go towards life saving research into heart and circulatory disease.

Its conclusion will coincide with the charity's annual Roll Out The Red ball, which will be hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky. Pippa will give a welcome speech at the event.

As well as keeping busy with her charity work and fitness challenges, Pippa is said to be in the throes of a new relationship with financier James Matthews.

The pair, who briefly dated in October 2012, reportedly became a couple in October following her split from stockbroker Nico Jackson.
She's already a pop sensation and beauty guru and now Ariana Grande will turn her hand to fashion design.

The pint-sized pop princess is joining forces with British high-street retailer Lipsy to launch a 20-piece fashion range.

The 22 year-old actress-turned-singer's range will debut in March and she's already working on a high summer range, which launches in May.

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Pop star Ariana Grande is joining forces with British high-street retailer Lipsy to launch a 20-piece fashion range later this year

Ariana, who joins Michelle Keegan at the label, says the range will offer a new 'dynamic and directional route of strong fashion silhouettes, on-trend must-haves and wardrobe staples, for those who want to make a real fashion statement.'

'Its so great getting to collaborate with Lipsy to do something special for my fans. The line is youthful, affordable and I know my fans will love it,' she said.

There's a 'Riviera chic' daywear collection, an array of prom dresses and party wear in Ariana's signature 'fit and flare' shape style. Ariana will also add a 30-piece jewellery range.

The colour palette is predominantly monochrome with silver and pale nudes and fabrics are thick structured satins, lace, and embroidered organza.

Ariana says the range will offer a new 'dynamic and directional route of strong fashion silhouettes, on-trend must-haves and wardrobe staples, for those who want to make a real fashion statement.' A bus marking the star's new collection drove around London today

There will be a 'Riviera chic' daywear collection, an array of prom dresses and party wear in Ariana's signature 'fit and flare' shape style

The singer's designs are inspired by the styling she loves such as heart charms and her signature choker.

The brand says that Ariana has created a feminine and delicate range which captures her charm, creativity and playful spirit.

Her designs are inspired by the styling she loves such as heart charms and her signature choker.

Hoping to keep things purse-friendly for her fans, prices start from 35 for dresses and skirts and 32 for tops.

Ariana has had a stellar career to date after shooting to fame in 2013 and becoming one of the most famous females in pop.

The former Disney star has a combined social media reach across her official accounts of over 115 million fans, as well as being one of the top 10 most followed Instagram users in the world.

Ariana has had a stellar career to date after shooting to fame in 2013 and becoming one of the most famous females in pop
A young Canadian woman was left shocked after being told she couldn't try on clothes at a Walmart because a female employee was worried she would 'stretch' them.

Edmonton-based plus-size beauty blogger Shiann Friesen, who runs the YouTube channel ShiCurves, was taking part in 'vlogmas' - where vloggers create a video for every day in December - when the incident occurred at her local Walmart. She was carrying a handful of clothes, which were all in her size, into the changing room when she was stopped by a female worker.

The woman told her that she shouldn't be trying on the items because she would ruin the clothes. Shocked, Shiann began recording the conversation on her phone.

Surprised: Edmonton, Alberta-based beauty vlogger Shiann Friesen was shopping at Walmart in December when she was barred from trying on an outfit by an employee because of her size

Making the case: Shiann caught the woman on tape telling her not to 'push it' with the clothes, despite the items all being in her size

Unimpressed: The woman is then seen in the video telling Shiann that she shouldn't 'try to put something on that's obviously not going to fit' because she will 'stretch it'

The older woman is seen in the resulting video stating: 'Don't try to push it.'

'Don't try to put something on that's obviously not going to fit, that's all I'm asking,' she then reiterates, grabbing the hangers out of Shiann's hand.

'Don't stretch it. I'm not trying to be impertinent or anything,' the woman says before seeming to notice she is being filmed. Shiann then puts her camera away to avoid being asked to delete any of the footage.

As soon as she got back to her car, Shiann recorded another clip of herself explaining how horrified she was at the woman's behavior, saying: 'I am honestly so taken aback right now, I am so shocked.'

She went on to claim that the same Walmart employee had also made rude comments to 'some people who looked like they identified as males but were trying on female clothing'.

Telling the tale: In a follow up video to the incident posted last week Shiann explains that she had to shut off the video so she wouldn't be forced to delete the footage, but adds that the insults didn't stop there

Knowing her size: Shiann insists that the clothes she brought to the changing room that day were all the right size for her, including one men's extra-large sweater

Starting it up: After trying on the clothes anyway, Shiann told the woman that it fit fine, at which point she began arguing with her

'That was straight up discrimination!' she adds.

Shiann later explained in a follow-up video, posted last week, that she went on to tell the woman that she planned on buying the sweater anyway so wanted to take it into the fitting room with her.

The woman then granted her permission on the basis that she didn't try it on and also allegedly went on to say that Shiann 'clearly didn't fit' the men's extra-large sweater she was carrying and, when Shiann tried on the sweater anyway and told her that it fit just fine, the woman began arguing with her.

After asking the employee to repeat her instructions about 'not stretching' the clothes so others could hear, Shiann informed her that she was discriminating against her, to which the woman replied that what she was doing was 'company policy'.

'I asked management and it is NOT company policy at all!' says Shiann in her follow-up video.

Not the case: The woman tried to tell Shiann that it was company policy to refuse her service based on her size, which Shiann confirmed was not the case with a manager later

Not alone: The woman also allegedly had turned away men who were looking to try on women's sweaters because of their gender

Making complaints: After leaving the store, Shiann went on to contact Walmart customer service because she didn't want to just 'let it go'

The woman also allegedly told of how she had turned away two men who had wanted to try on women's sweaters because they weren't allowed to do so 'because you are men'.

Aside from the discrimination aspect of the story, Shiann also claims that the woman didn't clean up the change room before letting her in and even asked Shiann to bring back the previous customer's clothes after using the room.

After the incident, Shiann claims she went to customer service to lodge a complaint against the woman, but was met with little action from the manager.

'All she said to me was: "Oh, I apologize, I will talk to her,"' she explains, adding that she later called Walmart customer service because she didn't want to just 'let it go'.

'All counts of discrimination are equal and they are wrong, and just because I'm not being discriminated against for the color of my skin doesn't make it any less valid,' she says.
Joey Feek doesn't have much energy these days, but she uses the little she can muster to soak up her precious last moments with her adoring family.

This morning, her husband Rory shared a snapshot of the terminally-ill singer interacting with her young daughter on Facebook.

'Feeling brokenhearted and blessed all at the same time this morning,' he captioned the picture. 'Watching my beautiful bride pour a lifetime of love into a few minutes a day.'

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Making the most of every moment: Rory Feek shared this image of his terminally-ill wife Joey and their daughter Indiana on Wednesday morning

Joey is seen propped up in her hospice bed while Indiana, who turns two this month, sits in front of her with a ponytail on her head and a smile on her face.

Rory, who has been documenting his wife's final months online, also shared another sweet photo from her bedside last week.

The family was visited by some adorable puppies - and though they came to play with daughter 'Indy', Rory said 'her mama loved the visit the most'.

In a blog post last Thursday, Rory wrote about how close the couple was in these final days - and how close they have always been since they first met.

'My wife will tell you I really do believe in magic. Not the kind with cards tricks or rabbits being pulled out of hats, but the kind that God does  where He brings something out of you and your life that you never-in-a-million-years thought was possible...', writes Rory.

'Like our beautiful marriage or our music career or the greatest magic of all in our lives our little Indiana. Shes the most precious addition that God has given us.'

So happy: Joey, 40, got a visit from some puppies last Wednesday and had enough strength to lift one up for a kiss - and a cute photo

Baby joy: The tiny canines were meant to cheer up her daughter Indiana (above), but they put a big smile on her face as well, according to husband Rory

He then addressed the difficulty of what their family is dealing with as Joey fights cancer.

'Joey and I both have questions. Lots of them. Hard questions that we dont have any answers for. But still, we have faith  we choose to believe.

'I think thats why they call it faith. If we knew all the answers, no faith would be required.

'And so Joey and I do our best each day to only see the pluss in our lifelike all the extra days and weeks that weve been given together (the doctors here didnt expect Joey to make it to Thanksgiving, and here we are near the end of January), and all the beautiful conversations and time weve had with her family.

'And the amazing gift of life-slowing-down-to-a-crawl and only having and needing THIS moment in time. And of course, the incredible amount of love and support that the whole world has shown for us during this special time.

'And every morning, when our little one wakes and I pick her up from her crib and take her in to see her mama  and her sleepy little almond eyes look into ours, once more we seethe amazing power of the plus-sign.

'Joey+Rory = Indy.'

Getting by with family: Joey shared in a recent interview the story about how she first fell in love with her husband Rory, 49

Tragedy: The country singer was given just six weeks to live by doctors in October after her stage IV cervical cancer diagnosis

Joey, 40, shared how she first fell in love with Rory in an interview with People last week, saying; 'Rory was singing 'In the Round' at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville with three other songwriters.

'I was just one of dozens of people in the audience that night. From the first song Rory sang, I fell head over heels for him.'

She then added: 'I didn't even know him, but something inside me said, "You're going to marry that man and spend the rest of your lives together."'

Rory, 49, recently revealed that he and Joey would be releasing a new album next month comprised of a collection of hymns.

That album, Hymns That Are Important to Us, will be available on February 12, three days before the couple compete for a Grammy in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category with their song If I Needed You.

February is also a big month for the pair as it is when Indiana will turn 2-years-old, a milestone Joey has said she hopes to be around for despite her prognosis.

Joyful moments: Rory has been sharing photos of Joey with daughter Indiana as updates for fans

Mom love: Indiana turns two this month, and Joey hopes to stay around long enough for the milestone

Joey had appeared to be defying the odds after being given six months to live last October, making remarkable progress over the past few weeks despite being told she would be bedridden for the remainder of her life in late November.

She got out of bed in December and then began to walk again, all things that seemed impossible just weeks before.

She even got to spend Christmas with her family near her childhood home in Alexandria, Indiana.

Joey's good luck took a turn however this past weekend, with Rory revealing that her condition had gotten worse.

'And now, here I sit beside my dying wife,' Rory wrote on his blog. 'She said she told him that if Hes ready to take her shes ready to come home.'

He then added: 'Her pain and discomfort has continued to increase daily and so has the morphine to help her be comfortable.

'The dosage shes needed to keep the pain away has quadrupled in the last four days. Id like to tell you that shes doing great and is going to beat this thing. But I cant.'

Just two weeks earlier the pair had celebrated Christmas together, with Joey getting a chance to see her family and friends and open gifts with Indiana and her step-daughters.
A college freshman has hit out at her California university after she was asked to leave a campus gym for showing off just one inch of her stomach.

Grace DiChristina, a student at Santa Clara University, was in the middle of her workout at her school's recreation center when she was approached by a staff member and told to leave.

The reason? Her sleeveless cotton crop top and gym shorts - which she was told posed a 'health risk' to other students because they exposed too much of her body.

Offending outfit: Santa Clara University freshman Grace DiChristina was told to leave a campus gym because an inch of her midriff was exposed

Telling the tale: Grace took to Facebook to explain her anger over the situation and revealed that the reason she was barred was given was avoiding the risk of spreading MRSA, a form of staph infection

The shocked young woman then went to the supervisor of the gym and was informed that not only was her outfit against the Jesuit university's ethics, but that her one inch of exposed stomach was a major cause for concern because of the spread of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a form of staph infection spread by skin-to-skin contact.

Grace, enraged by her treatment at the facility, snapped an image of her workout clothes and posted it to a Facebook with her story.

In particular, Grace pointed out the double standard over refusing her because of a bit of midriff when plenty of men were wearing equally skimpy clothing such as muscle shirts and 'sweating directly onto the equipment' - as MRSA can be transferred through the skin of all parts of the body, not just the middle area.

'If I have to cover my midriff, shouldnt we all be wearing gloves on the elliptical or long pants on the mats?' she wrote. 'People are still sweating on other parts of the equipment, and just protecting my stomach will do nothing.'

Telling it like it is: Grace pointed out that men in revealing muscle shirts were not asked to leave over the health worries

Reasoned response: After being ejected from the gym, Grace researched MRSA and discovered that it could be spread just as easily through arms and legs as the stomach area

She also added that the excuse over Santa Clara being a Jesuit institution is invalid because of the setting she was in.

'The fact that this is a Jesuit school should absolutely not be linked to the dress code at the gym," she said. 'I do not go to the gym to be sexualized or looked at by other people - I go to improve my health and my self-confidence. Being told to leave the facility because my outfit is inappropriate is more than just annoying; it's humiliating and degrading.'

While Grace claims that she agrees that 'MRSA is a serious illness and we should address it' she said that shaming women over their workout clothing was not the way to do it.

'If we are really concerned solely with MRSA, then I support spreading information about it,' she added. 'We could put up flyers showing what symptoms look like and what to do if someone thinks they have it. We could also institute a rule to clean equipment both before and after use.

The code: The fact that the university is a Jesuit institution was another reason Grace was given to leave

Another look: Grace (right) called the experience 'humiliating and degrading' and that shaming women over their workout clothing is not the way to prevent MRSA

Not impressed: As the news spread about Grace's post, the conversation reached Yik Yak, where it became clear that not everyone agreed with her complaint

'Not sharing towels and wiping down machines are much better ways to prevent MRSA than forcing women to either cover their stomachs or leave.'

After the story began spreading across the school, plenty of other female students came out in support of Grace and her story. However, it also became clear that many students didn't feel the same way.

In particular, one student discussing the news on Yik Yak, summed up the story as: 'Chicks mad that she can't be as whoreish as she wants at the gym. [sic]'
A boy who slept for 19 hours a day after the swine flu jab gave him narcilepsy has finally won 120,000 damages after a six-year battle.

Josh Hadfield, from Frome, Somerset, developed the condition within three weeks of receiving the Pandemrix vaccine in 2010.

He would fall asleep up to every five minutes - even when he was walking, eating and swimming - and suffered sudden seizures when he laughed.

The vaccine is now associated with a 14-fold increase in a child's risk of developing the condition.

The Government initially refused to pay out through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme because he was not deemed 'severely disabled' enough.

But his mother Caroline, 45, fought a determined campaign and has finally been awarded 120,000 in damages. She said winning was a 'huge relief'.

'It will help secure Josh's future - it's just a shame we had to jump through this amount of hoops to get this far,'she added.

Josh Hadfield, pictured here aged 4, developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandremix vaccine six years ago. The vaccine was the most widely used in the UK during the 2009-10 flu pandemic but was withdrawn from use after studies linked it to an increased risk of narcolepsy

His mother Caroline, 47, said winning the payout was a 'huge relief'. The vaccine has also left him suffering cataplexy, which affects muscle control, and weight gain

Families are entitled to 120,000 through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme but only if they can prove 'severe' disability.

Mrs Hadfield said her son was coping and had to have one to two sleeps during the school day.

'Josh has had to work incredibly hard because he misses lessons due to sleep and medical appointments,' she said.

He has also gained a lot of weight due to his condition and medication.

Josh received the vaccine at his local GP surgery on January 21, 2010, after Mrs Hadfield was told he was 'at risk' of the H1N1 virus because he was under five.

Known as Pandemrix, it was made by GlaxoSmithKline.

But Mrs Hadfield claims that within weeks of the jab she noticed a drastic change in her son.

Now 10, he also suffers from cataplexy, which affects muscle control, but he had shown no symptoms of the illness before being vaccinated.

The Government had a knee-jerk reaction to swine flu and put out this vaccine, giving it to very young children Josh's mother, Caroline Hadfield

'He would fall asleep up to every five minutes - even when he was walking, eating and swimming - and suffered sudden seizures when he laughs,' she said.

She and her husband Charlie, 47, decided to take legal action after the Health Protection Agency found there was a ten-fold increased risk of the disorder in children given the drug, Pandemrix.

'He was a perfectly healthy energetic four-year-old before the vaccination, but within two weeks he was getting more tired and after three weeks he was sleeping for 19 hours.

'Things then developed quickly and he struggled to walk. Nothing could convince me it was anything but the jab which caused Josh's conditions.

'The Government had a knee-jerk reaction to swine flu and put out this vaccine, giving it to very young children.'

Mrs Hadfield said: 'Josh [pictured here aged 3] was perfectly healthy energetic child before the vaccination, but within two weeks he was getting more tired and after three weeks he was sleeping for 19 hours'

Josh now only has two sleeps at school a day. 'He has had to work incredibly hard because he misses lessons due to sleep and medical appointments', his mother added

Mrs Hadfield , a civil servant, said: 'Laughter can trigger attacks and Josh was too anxious about fear of an incident to go sledging in last week's snow.

'You see other children who can laugh and enjoy things and yes Josh can laugh and enjoy things but his reaction means that he goes unconscious.

'We feel we are constantly treading on eggshells.'

The Hadfield's solictor, Suzanne Williams said she was incredibly pleased for Josh's victory.

NARCOLEPSY AND ITS LINK TO THE SWINE FLU VACCINE Narcolepsy, which occurs in one in every 2,000 people, is a sleep disorder that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep at inappropriate times. It is a long-term neurological condition that disrupts normal sleeping patterns. Symptoms include, sleep attacks, daytime sleepiness and cataplexy - temporary muscle weakness in response to emotion. It is often caused by an autoimmune response - this is when antibodies are released by the body but instead of destroying disease, they attack healthy cells. In the case of narcolepsy, antibodies attack the areas of the brain that produce a sleep-regulating chemical. There is currently no cure but the condition can sometimes be managed, for example, by taking regular naps, eating healthily and exercising. In some cases, medications such as antidepressants or stimulants can also help. Since 2011, the Department of Health has prevented the use of Pandemrix in people under the age of 20. The vaccine is associated with a 14-fold increase in a child's risk of developing the condition. It is thought that for every 55,000 children who were given the jab, Pandemrix, one has developed narcolepsy. Researchers, who published their findings in the British Medical Journal, studied 75 children with narcolepsy and found that 11 of these had received the vaccine before their symptoms began. Advertisement

She said: 'To succeed in the appeal, we had to satisfy the tribunal that he had a 60 per cent disablement or more and they, in fact, concluded that he was 72 per cent disabled based upon his present symptoms.

'They were also critical of the medical evidence provided by the secretary of state which they considered had not taken into account the whole picture.'

Pandemrix was most widely used in the UK during the 2009-10 flu pandemic and given to almost a million British children between six months and five years old.

However, following a number of trials across the EU, it is no longer in use after links between the drug and narcolepsy were found in youngsters from Finland, Sweden and Ireland.

In July 2011 the European Medicines Authority advised against giving it to the under 20s.

The Health Protection Agency then commissioned a study in UK children and found that there was an estimated risk of the disorder in one in 52,000 in those vaccinated.

Specialists reviewed 75 children aged between four and 18 who developed narcolepsy after the vaccine and found a 10-fold increased risk of the condition within six months of having the jab.

These findings led them to state that the link suggested a 'causal association consistent with reports from Finland and Sweden'.

The results, which was highlighted in BBC programme Inside Out West, saw prominent scientists agree with the findings.

Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, who was in charge of one of the paediatric clinical trials of Pandemrix, said: 'The bottom line is that they found that there was somewhere between 10 and 16 times more likely to have had Pandemrix than other children.

'If you look at the figures, from what I can see the risk is so much increased that it seems very unlikely that this is a biased result. It is likely to be real.'

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline said: 'We remain committed to carrying out additional research into the potential role of Pandemrix in the development of narcolepsy.
The Zika virus is likely to be entrenched within the US by April or May, experts have today warned.

As the mercury rises, so too does the risk the mosquitoes which carry the virus, will reach American shores.

Zika is borne by a mosquito that craves human blood, feeds during the day and lives under beds and inside closets.

The states at greatest risk of the virus are those on the Gulf Coast, but all areas where mosquitoes are typically a problem could see localized outbreaks.

Futhermore, it is almost impossible to declare an area of the US safe from Zika, because travelers arriving back from an affected region could spark a local outbreak.

Until now, the best weapon against disease-carrying mosquitoes in the United States has been outdoor pesticide fog sprayed by truck and airplane.

But health experts fear the typical approach will do little to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika.

Experts have warned the Zika virus could be rife in Southern US states by the spring. The states at greatest risk are those along the Gulf Coast - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida (dark red). Meanwhile other Southern states, where mosquitoes are typically a problem could also see cases. But, with travelers returning from affected regions it is impossible to declare an state safe from the virus

Zika is borne by the Aedes aegypti mosquito (pictured) that craves human blood, feeds during the day and lives under beds and inside closets

The World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency this week after evidence linked the virus, pictured to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that can cause unusually small heads and permanent brain damage

Controlling that mosquito requires pesticide sprayed under beds, on the walls and in closets, said Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, who studies disease transmission patterns of mosquitoes at Emory's School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Sciences.

'We know fogging is not effective,' Vazquez-Prokopec said.

Though there could be localized US outbreaks, most likely along the Gulf Coast, federal officials said they hope the wide use of air conditioning, window screens and regular garbage collection will mitigate the risk.

The World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency this week after evidence linking the virus to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that can cause unusually small heads and permanent brain damage.

Brazil has reported 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly.

The outbreak is now affecting at least 25 countries and territories, most of them in Latin American and the Caribbean, and could infect up to four million people in the Americas, according to the WHO.

If it's (US outbreak) going to happen, I think it will happen in the warmer months, likely in April and May Dr Peter Hotez, of the National School of Tropical Medicine

More than 30 people in the United States have been confirmed to have Zika after traveling to an affected country.

There has been one report of transmission within the United States, but experts believe that will increase as the weather warms up, the local mosquito population multiplies and many more travelers return to the country.

'All it takes is one of those individuals who arrives back in the United States at the stage where they have virus in their blood,' said Scott Weaver, an expert in mosquito-borne viral diseases at the University Texas Medical Branch's Galveston National Laboratory.

At that point, he said, a single mosquito biting the affected person could spread the disease to others.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday the risk of transmission now is 'quite low', but as temperatures rise, 'we want to make sure that we have got a strategy to try to limit the spread of this disease when that happens'.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working on a control program for Zika, which will likely involve public education about eliminating breeding sites and spraying to kill mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes, especially in areas experiencing outbreaks, said spokesman Tom Skinner.

Until then, the CDC is circulating guidelines developed for combating chikungunya, a close cousin to Zika carried by the same types of mosquitoes.

Local health departments are also sorting out their approach to fight Zika.

Until now, the best weapon against disease-carrying mosquitoes in the United States has been outdoor pesticide fog sprayed by truck and airplane. But health experts fear the typical approach will do little to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika. Pictured, a worker fumigates the street in Paranaque City in the Philippines

'If it's going to happen, I think it will happen in the warmer months, likely in April and May,' said Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Zika thrives in impoverished areas, spreading widely in garbage-filled neighborhoods and in homes and apartments with no screens on the windows, conditions that are present in many Gulf Coast communities in the United States, Dr Hotez said.

FIRST CASE OF US TRANSMISSION OF ZIKA IS CONFIRMED IN TEXAS A patient diagnosed with the Zika virus in Texas became infected after having sexual contact with another sufferer, health experts said today. It marks the first case of sexual transmission of the virus in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed. Dallas County health officials said the patient's partner fell ill after visiting a country where Zika is rife. While six people in Harris County, close to Houston, have contracted the disease after traveling to affected regions, this is thought to be the first case of a person becoming infected on US soil, having not traveled. Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said: 'Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others. 'Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections.' Sexual transmission of the virus is very rare. It was found in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008. More often however, sufferers become infected after being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus. Advertisement

THE ZIKA-CARRYING PESTS

The Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika also transmits dengue fever and chikungunya.

Aedes aegypti is mostly found in southern parts of the United States, such as the coastal regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Experts believe it arrived on slave trade ships from Africa, spreading yellow fever in port cities, including a 1793 outbreak in Philadelphia that wiped out 10 per cent of the city's population of 50,000.

Unlike Aedes aegypti, most mosquitoes common to North America feed at night and live in wooded areas.

Recent research suggests the pest may be adapting to colder temperatures.

David Severson at the University of Notre Dame discovered a population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that has spent the past four winters underground in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Aggressive abatement involving indoor and outdoor fogging and breeding ground eradication between 1947 and 1970 nearly wiped out Aedes aegypti.

At the time, the mosquitoes were the source of yellow fever across the Americas.

But budget cuts and the development of an effective yellow fever vaccine ended eradication efforts, and Aedes aegypti populations rebounded.

Scientists believe Aedes albopictus, or the Asian tiger mosquito, is also capable of spreading Zika.

This aggressive biter arrived in the United States in 1985 and has replaced Aedes aegypti in some places.

The virus, which is commonly found in parts of Africa and South East Asia spread to Latin America via French Polynesia. Last year more than 1.5 million people in South America became infected, before the virus jumped to the Caribbean, Mexico and Texas towards the end of 2015

Its range includes at least 32 US states as far north as Illinois and Pennsylvania and in pockets as far west as California.

Aedes albopictus breeds in small containers of water, bites during the daytime and lives near population centers.

A less picky eater, it also feasts on pets and wild animals.

Researchers in Brazil are studying whether the Culex species, a carrier of the West Nile virus commonly found in many southeastern US states, might carry Zika, which could explain the rapid spread in Brazil.

These mosquitoes rest in the daytime and bite at dusk or after dark.

A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM

All of this poses a challenge for US health departments, which have faced pressure to reduce mosquito abatement activities amid budget cuts and increasing concerns over exposure to pesticides.

'The current methods we have have some shortcomings,' said the CDC's Dr Anne Schuchat. 'We're going to need to work in future on identifying better options.'

Evidence has linked the virus to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that can cause unusually small heads and permanent brain damage. Brazil has so far reported 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly

Brazil's government has mounted a door-to-door campaign and has authorized public health officials to enter properties by force if necessary.

Health workers search for potential breeding spots and in some areas use indoor foggers, applying pesticides that stick to walls.

'That is not going to fly in the United States,' said Joseph Conlon, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association, which represents researchers, public health officials and pesticide makers.

There are no pesticides registered by the Environmental Protection Agency for indoor application, Conlon said.

Instead, abatement will likely focus on typical breeding sites, from birdbaths to potted plants, dog bowls, tin cans, tires and other places likely to become inundated with water.

'Our best bet is to remove the breeding habitats,' he said. 'It's a lot harder to do than you would think.

'People don't want to change their habits,' he said.
Linda Pereira, 50, is from Atlanta, Georgia, but now says she talks with a variety of accents after feeling an 'eruption' in her brain

She may have only travelled abroad twice but anyone listening to Linda Pereira can be forgiven for thinking she's worldly.

The 50-year-old, from Atlanta, Georgia, claims to have lost her typical American accent and now speaks with an array of twangs ranging from a Scottish to Eastern European.

The mother-of-three was diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome after describing what she called an 'eruption' in her brain while messaging a friend on Facebook in October last year.

She has also been mistaken as being from Sweden, Germany and South Africa.

Mrs Pereira, who has documented the changes on her YouTube channel, originally hails from San Jose, California.

Describing the moment she lost her Californian drawl, she said: 'My family went out and I was on Facebook talking to a friend.

'It was a rather complex topic, and in trying to reply, I felt extremely tired and could barely keep my eyes open.

'I decided to lie down, but this didn't help, and I felt a weird pressure in my brain I hadn't felt before.

'It was a ball, and as I typed, my eyes and brain seemed to fuzz in and out.

'I thought it was a result of trying to think too hard, so I went over to something funny on Facebook with one of my friends and I started to type a reply, when I felt a ball erupt and an electrical eruption moved throughout my entire brain.

'I couldn't move and couldn't open my mouth.'

The former computer repairer was alone until her computer engineer husband Phil, 55, returned home two-and-a-half-hours later.

Paralysed, she could only blink frantically to get his attention and communicate that something was terribly wrong.

'All I was thinking is 'What am I going to do?,' the grandmother-of-two said.

'When my husband came home, he thought I was just having a rest and it took him half-an-hour to finally realise I couldn't answer him.'

Linda Pereira, pictured before her diagnosis, says she now misses her Californian accent and wants it back

The mother-of-three says the episode left her unable to move or speak (left). When she did come to, she claims spoke with an unusual accent and has put a series of videos on YouTube

After about an hour of being unable to open her mouth, Mrs Pereira was finally able to take some medication to calm her down.

Later that night, she recorded her voice to hear how she sounded so she could work out what had happened - but it was not until the next day she noticed the strange change.

FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME Foreign Accent Syndrome is speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a foreign accent. Foreign Accent Syndrome is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Other causes have also been reported including multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder. In some cases no clear cause has been identified. Speech may be altered in terms of timing, intonation, and tongue placement, so that is perceived as sounding foreign. Listeners can usually still understand the sufferer's speech; it does not necessarily sound disordered. Foreign Accent Syndrome has been documented in cases around the world, including accent changes from Japanese to Korean, British English to French, American-English to British English, and Spanish to Hungarian. There have only ever been 150 confirmed cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome in the world so far. Advertisement

'My husband thought I sounded British and said sometimes he couldn't understand me, but I thought it was more Swedish or German,' she said.

Two days later, her physiologist and neurologist diagnosed her with Foreign Accent Syndrome, which affects just 60 people worldwide.

Now, her voice interchanges between the Scandinavian sounds, German and sometimes switches to a Scottish or South African-twang.

Mrs Pereira says her family cannot believe how differently she speaks - and even gets better service in restaurants and shops because staff think she is a tourist.

She entertains her family with impersonations from the Disney film Frozen and confuses her mother-in-law who asks her to stop doing the 'silly accent.'

But Mrs Pereira says she does miss her Californian tones.

'At first we all thought it was funny,' she said.

'We had a good time with it but I was always thinking it was temporary and going to go away.

'Now, this is how I know myself and I know it doesn't sound like me.'

Professor Rosemary Varley, an expert in speech disorders at University College London said psychological effects, such as loss of identity, are well known in Foreign Accent Syndrome sufferers.

She said: 'When you hear a voice down a telephone you make judgements about the sex, the age, the mood.

'You also have a guess at their education, what job they do and their regional identity.

What Foreign Accent Syndrome does is robs you of that regional aspect.

Mrs Pereira, pictured with husband Phil, says her family cannot believe how differently she speaks now

Mrs Pereira suffers from Foreign Accent Syndrome, a rare speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a foreign accent

She added that the condition is 'not at all well-understood'.

Cases are very sporadic, there is no centre for the study of the syndrome and as a result sufferers are often sent to many different doctors before being diagnosed, she said.

My husband thought I sounded British and said sometimes he couldn't understand me, but I thought it was more Swedish or German Linda Pereira, 50

As well as speaking in a seemingly foreign accent, sufferers also forget words or struggle to speak with correct grammar, she added.

The syndrome usually results from a stroke, but can also develop from head trauma, migraines or developmental problems.

It is unclear what exactly caused Mrs Pereira's condition, although she was also been diagnosed with tardive akathisia, a disease linked to drugs primarily prescribed for mental illness.

She was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder in June last year which means doctors are unclear what she suffers with non-epileptic seizures and unclear speech.
And pregnant women who test positive for virus 'will receive extra scans'

Blood donations have been banned for 28 days after returning home to UK

WHO today warned Europe to prepare for Zika as summer approaches

Both individuals have a history of travelling to Zika-affected countries

Comes after two people in Ireland were diagnosed with the virus

Nick Beeching, a tropical medicine expert in Liverpool, said risk was so high because South America is now such a popular tourist destination

It is 'highly likely' that cases of the devastating Zika virus rampaging through Latin America will be seen in the UK, an expert has warned.

Dr Nick Beeching, a tropical medicine consultant at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, said the risk was so high because South America has become an increasingly popular tourist destination.

'People are understandably going to be worried coming back from affected areas,' he said.

'There are a lot of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and we have had waves of these before, such as dengue fever.'

He added: 'What's unusual is that this has gone from causing moderate outbreaks to huge numbers of cases and even causing birth defects.'

Several European tourists have contracted the Zika virus while travelling in the Americas, but there have been no reported cases of mosquito-borne transmission in Europe itself.

A global emergency was declared his week amid claims the Zika virus is causing brain damage in unborn babies whose mothers are infected. Several European tourists have contracted the virus while travelling in the Americas, but there have been no reported cases of mosquito-borne transmission in Europe itself

The virus has been linked to birth defects in thousands of Brazilian babies, born with heads smaller than normal and undeveloped brains.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Dr Beeching said: 'The worry is where it might go to next. The mosquitoes that transmit it can be found in many parts of the tropics and parts of southern Europe.'

The Royal Liverpool Hospital is home to the region's infectious diseases unit and was one of four UK hospitals on standby to deal with Ebola patients in 2014.

SYMPTOMS OF THE ZIKA VIRUS The most common symptoms of Zika virus infection are mild fever and skin rash, usually accompanied by conjunctivitis, muscle or joint pain and general malaise that begins 2-7 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. One out of four infected people develops symptoms of the disease. Among those who do, the disease is usually mild and can last 2-7 days. 'If people are worried they should see their GP and, if necessary, they will contact our clinics,' said Dr Beeching. 'We are ready for it but there can be no reassurances as nobody quite understands the way this virus is behaving.' Advertisement

Dr Beeching added: 'The clinicians at our unit have had briefings and are keeping up to date with what is coming from the WHO.

'If people in this region were suspected of having the virus, they would come to one of our clinics or be admitted to a ward.'

His comments came as health chiefs in Ireland last night confirmed two adults had the virus.

The cases - the first of their kind in the country - are unrelated to each other and both patients are said to be currently well and fully recovered.

Both individuals have a history of travel to a Zika affected country, Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed.

'These are the first cases of Zika virus infection confirmed in Ireland,' a HSE spokeswoman said.

'Neither case is at risk of pregnancy.'

However health bosses said the newly-discovered Zika cases in Ireland were 'not an unexpected event' as many other European countries have reported cases as a result of people travelling to affected areas.

They urged those people who fall ill within two weeks after returning from an affected area to seek medical help.

Pregnant women who test positive for Zika to get extra scans

Meanwhile the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has advised that any pregnant women in the UK who test positive for Zika should have additional scans to monitor the health of their babies.

Expectant mothers usually have scans when they are 12 and 20 weeks pregnant but any pregnant women with a confirmed case of the virus should be scanned every four weeks.

USE CONDOMS IF YOU'VE RETURNED FROM ZIKA ZONE, MEN TOLD The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global emergency this week amid claims the virus is causing brain damage in unborn babies whose mothers have the infection. Pregnant women or those trying for a child have already been officially warned to avoid travelling to South America. And couples trying for a baby should delay by a month if the man has recently returned from a country affected by the Zika virus. The warning, from Public Health England, goes as far to say that men should wear condoms for 28 days if their partner is or may be pregnant. Men who suffered an unexplained fever while travelling, or who were diagnosed with the virus, should avoid unprotected sex - or trying for children - for six months, the guidance states. Advertisement

Professor Alan Cameron, of the RCOG, said: 'We fully support the advice that pregnant women should consider avoiding travelling to countries where Zika virus outbreaks are ongoing, in order to reduce the potential risk to their babies.

'Pregnant women who must travel, or choose to travel, to a country with active Zika virus transmission should take all necessary precautions to minimise the chances of mosquito bites.

Insect repellents with concentrations of DEET up to 50% are commonly available and are safe for pregnant women.

'Women who are pregnant, and those trying to conceive, who have recently returned to the UK from countries with an active Zika transmission should inform their GP, midwife or obstetrician that they may have been exposed to the Zika virus, even if they do not have any symptoms.

'As a precaution, obstetricians across the UK have been provided with national guidelines on how to assess pregnant women with a history of travel during pregnancy to areas with active Zika virus transmission.

This includes taking a detailed travel history, providing regular ultrasound scans and referral to specialist fetal medicine service if required.

'The RCOG is monitoring this evolving situation closely and will publish new information for health professionals as it emerges.'

And in the US, experts warned today the virus is likely to be entrenched by April or May.

Until now, the best weapon against disease-carrying mosquitoes in the United States has been outdoor pesticide fog sprayed by truck and aeroplane.

But health experts fear the typical approach will do little to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika.

This means there could be localised US outbreaks, most likely along the Gulf Coast, federal officials said.

But they said they hope the wide use of air conditioning, window screens and regular garbage collection will mitigate the risk.

More than 30 people in the United States have been confirmed to have Zika after travelling to an affected country.

There has been one report of transmission within the United States, but experts believe that will increase as the weather warms up, the local mosquito population multiplies and many more travellers return to the country.

BLOOD DONATIONS BANNED FOR 28 DAYS AFTER RETURNING HOME The NHS has announced a 28-day ban on blood donations from travellers returning from Zika areas Donors who have travelled to countries affected by the Zika outbreak cannot give blood for a month after returning home, officials said today. NHS Blood and Transplant said 'safety of the blood supply is paramount' as it implemented the 28-day ban on blood donation to ensure that the virus is not passed on. When a person gives blood they are asked a series of questions including their recent travel history. The NHS already has a series of 'deferrals' in place for people returning home from areas affected by tropical illnesses - including a number of countries at the centre of the current outbreak. This list has now been extended to include all countries affected by the Zika outbreak. Officials said that the move was a 'precautionary measure'. 'The safety of the blood supply is paramount and it is important we implement any precautionary blood safety measures agreed here as a result of an increasing prevalence of infectious diseases found around the globe,' a spokeswoman said. 'From February 4, we will have a 28 day blood donation deferral for people looking to donate blood in England and North Wales who have travelled to countries where the Zika virus is endemic. 'Travel to most of these countries already brings a blood donation deferral of at least 28 days.' Advertisement

Start preparing for Zika now, Europe is warned

Several European tourists have contracted the Zika virus while travelling in the Americas, but there have been no reported cases of mosquito-borne transmission in Europe itself.

The risk of the mosquito settling down in Europe 'remained extremely low during the winter,' the WHO said.

But the risk increases during the warmer seasons of spring and summer.

European countries should start preparing now to protect their populations against the Zika virus, the World Health Organisation said today.

'Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations,' WHO's Europe chief Zsuzsanna Jakab said in a statement.

The virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which is endemic to tropical regions - but not a complete stranger to Europe where it has been sighted sporadically

'Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika virus disease.

'A number of travellers infected with Zika have entered Europe, but the disease has not been transmitted further, as the mosquito is still inactive.

'With the onset of spring and summer, the risk that Zika virus will spread increases.'

The UN health agency's statement came two days after it said the spike in serious birth defects was 'strongly suspected' of being caused by the virus, and constituted an international health emergency.

'I urge European countries to act early in a coordinated way to control the mosquito,' Ms Jakab added.

This must include 'community engagement in eliminating breeding sites and planning for insecticide spraying and the killing of the larvae.

The virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which is endemic to tropical regions but is not a complete stranger to Europe where it has been sighted sporadically.

Zika's has been strongly linked to microcephaly - a congenital malformation by which babies have abnormally small heads and may suffer from delayed brain development

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC):

* The mosquito has 're-colonised' Madeira in Portugal and parts of Southern Russia and Georgia in recent years after disappearing from the continent in the 20th century.

* As the mosquito's global distribution expands with warmer temperatures, it has been spotted as far north as the Netherlands, though it is still not endemic to Europe.

'There are no climatic reasons why Ae. aegypti, if introduced into Europe, could not survive across southern Europe,' according to the ECDC website.

The news comes as the first known case of the Zika virus being sexually transmitted in the United States has been reported.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a patient in Texas had been infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a Zika-affected country.

The virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility it can also be spread through sex.

The virus was found in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was a report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008.

.......................................................................................................................................................

The Zika virus: Everything you need to know...

WHAT IS ZIKA?

The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.

It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It appeared in Brazil last year and has since been seen in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands.

HOW IS IT SPREAD?

It is transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases, like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.

It is not known to spread from person to person.

An Aedes Aegypti mosquito on human skin in a lab in Cali, Colombia. Scientists there are studying the genetics and biology of this mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus

The World Health Organisation says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region and people are not immune to it. Furthermore, the Aedes aegypti mosquito (pictured) that carries it is just extremely widespread

Investigators, though, are exploring the possibility that the virus can be passed on through sex - it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

There are also reports of a man in Texas contracting the virus after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a Zika-affected country.

The World Health Organisation says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region, people aren't immune to it, and the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere - including along the southern United States.

Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito.

ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?

Experts think most people infected with Zika virus don't get sick.

And those that do usually develop mild symptoms - fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes - which usually last no more than a week.

There is no specific medicine and there hasn't been a vaccine developed for it, which is the case for some other tropical illnesses that cause periodic outbreaks.

GLAXO CONSIDERING USING VACCINE TECHNOLOGY FOR ZIKA GlaxoSmithKline Plc is concluding feasibility studies evaluating whether its vaccine technology is suitable for the Zika virus, a spokeswoman has confirmed. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which typically causes mild fevers and rashes, although about 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms. 'We're concluding our feasibility studies as quickly as we can to see if our vaccine technology platforms might be suitable for working on Zika,' a Glaxo spokeswoman said in an email. She declined to provide details but added that vaccine development typically takes 10 to 15 years. Advertisement

WHY IS IT A CONCERN NOW?

In Brazil, there has been mounting evidence linking Zika infection in pregnant women to a rare birth defect called microcephaly, in which a newborn's head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly.

Brazilian health officials last October noticed a spike in cases of microcephaly in tandem with the Zika outbreak.

The connection to Zika is still being investigated, and officials note there are many causes of the condition. Nearly 4,000 cases have been recorded.

Meanwhile, doctors have noted increased reports of a nerve condition called Guillain-Barre that can cause paralysis.

But the link to the Zika virus is not clear; other infections can spark the problem, including dengue fever.

CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?

Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants - especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.

Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus.

HAVE THERE BEEN CASES IN THE US?

Yes, but in tourists. Since 2007 there have been more than two dozen cases diagnosed in the US all travellers who are believed to have caught it overseas.

(Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have each had a recent case that didn't involve a traveler.)

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a patient in Texas had been infected with the virus after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a Zika-affected country.

The kind of mosquito that spreads Zika is found along the southern states, so experts think it's likely the pests may end up spreading the virus there.

But officials also have said Zika infections probably won't be a big problem in the US for a number of reasons, including the more common use of air conditioning and door and window screens.

Recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya - carried by the same mosquito - suggest any Zika outbreaks may be relatively small, said Dr. Lyle Petersen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHAT ARE THE TRAVEL ADVISORIES?

US health officials recommend that pregnant women should consider postponing trips to 22 destinations. Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. In the Caribbean: Barbados, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Martin and Puerto Rico. Also, Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific.

In Brazil, most of the mothers who had babies with microcephaly were apparently infected during the first trimester, but there is some evidence the birth defect can occur later in the pregnancy, CDC officials say.
Any publicity, they say, is good publicity. Widespread amusement was triggered recently when Pulkit Samrat confessed that the rumours of his affair with Yami Gautam were a publicity stunt to promote their upcoming flick Sanam Re.

Even as the media was getting over the duos plastic passions and confessions, Pulkit and Yami turned up together to promote Sanam Re on Monday evening in Mumbai.

The two budding stars were duly chaperoned by the films young director Divya Khosla Kumar.

Pulkit Samrat (left) cuddles up to Yami Gautam and the films young director, Divya Khosla Kumar (right).

While Yami looked pretty in a printed dress and Pulkit chose to stick to a casual style statement, it was Divya who seemed to take it on herself to make the mercury soar. She opted for a bright red ethnic number that would make many wonder if she wasnt the heroine of the film.

Divya, who quit acting a while back to settle down with the films producer and T-Series honcho Bhushan Kumar, may be focusing on her role behind the camera lately, but she sure is out to sizzle in her own film. One highlight of Sanam Re is her item dance Humne pee rakhi hai.

Divya, who saw a surprise hit with her debut directorial feature Yaariyan in 2014, has termed her new film as a classic love story.

Meanwhile, her lead actress Yami took the occasion to gush over the fact that a chunk of Sanam Re has been shot in her home state of Himachal Pradesh, adding that she felt nostalgic to shoot at the place where I come from.

She said that Divya had done absolute justice while capturing the beauty of her state.

Yami was last seen in Badlapur opposite Varun Dhawan. The actor made it big in Bollywood with her role in Vicky Donor opposite Ayushmann Khurranna.

Sanam Re is slated to open on February 12, as one of Bollywoods two Valentines weekend releases this year.

The other release is Abhishek Kapoors much-awaited movie Fitoor starring Tabu, Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapoor.

The songs of Sanam Re - composed by Mithoon, Jeet Ganguly, Amaal Malik, and Epic Bhagra - have been touted as a major attraction for the romantic film.
Elections are looming in Uttar Pradesh, and I am sure they will lead to much sound and fury. Will they signify anything?

Dont misread me: I believe strongly in India as a democracy. Actually, I am proud to be an Indian in that respect  despite extreme internal pressures and dire prophesies by the West, we have remained a working political democracy.

This is no mean achievement, and more remarkable in a very economically uneven, diverse and largely under-educated country like India than in the rich West.

But it is also sad that the structure of our elections is British and their tenor is brashly American.

Election campaigns in India have a tendency to deteriorate into rhetoric and accusations, writes Tabish Khair

The British structure means that the winner takes all in each constituency  so that, in effect, only a minority of our voters are represented, because most votes are scattered among losing candidates.

This is very different from the structure in many other European nations, where parties are allotted seats on the basis of the percentage of votes polled by each party.

It creates a stronger feeling of being actually represented among all voters.

The American tenor of our elections worries me even more.

The latest Republican candidates present an extreme version of it in the US: not one of them seems to have a concrete agenda and their canvassing seems to depend on scurrilous attacks, innuendos, posturing and vague promises.

Their public debates would be a joke, if they were not so pathetically devoid of content.

Unfortunately, a version of this takes place in India during most elections, especially state ones. I am afraid the UP elections will not be an exception.

The problem with such empty, raucous electioneering is that it prevents a conversation from taking place. What one gets are arguments, innuendos, shouting, accusations and dramatics.

But a conversation (across parties) is essential for the development of any country, just as a conversation (across differences) is necessary for the well-being of any society.

The strongly combative, indirectly abusive and largely rhetorical electioneering that we get in India based on the American pattern  prevents a real conversation, which in turn prevents a consensus on vital national issues.

This is the one big difference between most post-colonial countries and the successful nations of Europe  a change of government in these European countries does not mean a major change in the direction of national polity, because its essential direction has already been settled by conversations (not blaming, shouting and scoffing) between all major parties.

The US seems to present an exception, but not really. Because, sadly, the reins of American policy are in the hands of established pressure groups and hence beyond the full control of any Republican or Democrat president.

In short, all these developed countries seem to maintain a general course even after a government falls.

This makes sense: a ship can get somewhere only if all its successive captains agree on the direction it should be moving in. That is one reason why I hope (but do not expect) that forthcoming elections in India will come to contain less sound and fury  and more matters of significance.

There's no refugee crisis in Europe!

Let me set you right. Refugees are not coming to Europe.

I have the word of European politicians and journalists for this. Hardly any of them talks of refugees. They talk of migrants.

Now, by definition, a migrant chooses to move, more or less freely, in search of work, education, love or some such mundane matter.

The refugee, also by definition, is forced to flee a calamity, usually a war.

Almost all politicians in Europe keep talking of 'migrants' and not refugees

As many learned European journalists and almost all politicians keep talking of migrants, it is (ahem!) clear that there is no refugee crisis in Europe today.

And while I am setting things right, let me also come to the defence of the centre-right government of Denmark.

It is currently under international criticism for passing a law requiring its police force to strip refugees  no, migrants  of all valuables above a certain paltry sum.

This sounds bad, doesnt it?

But dont worry. The reason given is that the Danish system also requires its own unemployed citizens to turn over any extra money that they might get, if they are on dole (unemployment allowance).

The fact that this is the rationale obviously means that refugees  oops, migrants  should be permitted to work the moment they enter Denmark.

This has not been the case until now.

Refugees  oops migrants  have to stay pickled in asylum centres for years while their cases are decided, and they are not allowed to seek work.

I am sure this rule will be changed next  I am waiting for the Danish government to announce that the moment a refugee (or migrant) enters the country he or she will be allowed to work.

After all, these refugees  oops migrants  are now being equated with Danish citizens.

See, what did I tell you? Things are not as bad as they seem.

Just as, back in the Muddle East, I am sure stainless steel manufacturers are learning much about the quality of their products from ISIS and Saudi Arabia.

Who says fanatics do not care for science and research?

Let God take the final call

Are Indian Islamists unaware of Urdu, or is this switch a subconscious slip?

Islamists in India seem to be imposing Allah Hafiz over the version used by Indians until now: Khuda Hafiz (Go in the care of God).

The reason for this, it appears, is that Allah is the Arabic word for God, while Khuda is Farsi or Persian.

Leaving alone what this says about Arabic cultural colonisation fuelled by petro-dollars, it strikes me that the change turns a deaf ear to Urdu.

In Urdu, traditionally, Allah Hafiz was used to suggest a different meaning: if you said someone was Allah Hafiz, you meant that the person was such a gone case that only God could take care of him.

Now the point is this: are Indian Islamists unaware of Urdu, or is this switch a subconscious slip?
Concerns over the Capitals toxic air have now made their way into Delhis art and popular culture.

A French woman residing in Gurgaon has taken the task to create awareness.

Melanie Dornier, a French photographer, has been going around town taking photo portraits of common Delhiites, making them pose with masks and X-ray films of a pair of lungs.

Over 50 such portraits she has created feature: bicycle-mounted milkmen, domestic maids, school-going boys, pregnant women and elderly persons.

French photographer Melanie Dornier has started a photo campaign asking common Delhiites to pose with a mask and an X-ray to draw attention to citys dirty air

They stand against varied backgrounds like traffic on the highway, construction sites and trash dumps.

All are seen wearing protective face masks and holding the X-ray films against their chest.

Lens woman Melanie Dornier says this Humans of New York-esque photo campaign reflects the ill-effects of air pollution and that it makes no distinction between a corporate honcho and a villager or the middle-class, poor and rich.

Melanie, who comes from Besancon, a picturesque town in eastern France, is a professional photographer.

Her work has been widely published in The Sunday Times magazine (UK), Geo Ado (France), Le Monde Histoire (France) etc.

A resident of DLF Phase V, Gurgaon, Melanie told Mail Today: It was in September last year when I was approached for this photo shoot. My neighbour Namita Gupta, founder of a company called Airveda, asked me to take some pictures for educational and awareness purposes on Delhis air pollution.

Delhiites consisting of autorickshaw driver to student to office workers posed for Melanie's photo campaign

The 30-year-old initially clicked asthma patients and random students in the hospitals and schools in Gurgaon.

Thats when the idea struck me to turn it into a larger photo campaign. So, I would request street-sweepers, fruit sellers, traffic cops and even kids to wear a mask and hold the X-ray film, and capture them on reel.

She now wants to convert it into a global photo campaign, saying: I want to take it to China, the US and even to my home town in France.

Namita of Airveda, which manufactures air quality monitors, says: While scientific data aggregation on air quality in Delhi and NCR is critical, we also need human narratives like this. One can understand this as the pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. Everyone knows that smoking nicotine is bad, but till the time you show them a grotesque alarming visual, nobody gets the hang of it.

Melanie says that like many expats, she could have moved out of the Delhi-Gurgaon area.

My husband and I arrived here in August 2013. Having lived in countryside France and knowing what clean air is like, we could have caught the first flight out. However, I love photographing Asia and its unique features. At the same time, my two daughters, aged 2 and 3 each, are growing up here. I had to do something to give them a bright future and clean environment, she said.

More number of artists are coming up with their artwork based on Delhis air pollution are coming up.

A Spanish artist from the city, Lucas Munoz, is showcasing a public art project called Delhi Lung.

It shows a white muslin cloth that resembles human lungs and was installed at Publica art gallery at Bikaner for 30 days.

The experiment is to see what it looks like after surviving a month in Delhis polluted air.

It will be like an imprint, Lucas was quoted as saying by the website careforair.org.

The piece will now tour to Habitat, then Emporio, and finally, Instituto Cervantes.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference on MCD deadlock in Bengaluru

Seeking to woo the agitating workforce of the municipal corporations in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a bailout package of Rs 693 crore on Wednesday.

Kejriwal did not offer any permanent solution to the mess, but assured workers that the AAP government would extend all monetary support for the next one year after which the three civic bodies will go to polls in 2017.

He claimed that the AAP would win all three corporations and the situation would improve thereafter.

Municipality workers, however, refused to call off their strike after the announcement, saying the loan granted by the Delhi government was no solution to the crisis.

Instead, it will put an additional burden on the cash-strapped municipal corporations, they said.

We do not want any loan. We want a permanent solution for timely payment of our salaries and other dues as well as unification of the three municipal corporations. Till these demands are met, we will continue our agitation. We do not want to go on strike again after two months seeking salary, said AP Khan, general secretary of the Forum of MCD engineers.

Municipality workers refused to call off their strike even after the Delhi government granted a loan

According to MCD officials, a one-time grant was no solution to the ongoing crisis.

Garbage dumped near Geeta Colony

The annual revenue collection for three municipal corporations is Rs 5,975 crore, but they end up spending Rs 6,240 crore only on salary of their employees and there is a deficit of Rs 265 crore annually.

Apart from this, corporations have to meet their expenses on education, health and other sectors.

While North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) spends Rs 2,640 crore on salary, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) spend Rs 2,460 crore and Rs 1,240 crore, respectively.

The MCD employees unions claimed the loan of Rs 693 crore will be insufficient to clear their salary and dues till January this year.

While the North MCD requires Rs 650 crore for clearing dues, the EDMC needs Rs 500 crore for the same.

The Delhi Government has only granted Rs 314 crore for North and Rs 237 crore for the East Delhi corporation. There has to be a permanent solution to this crisis, said Rajesh Mishra, president of United Front of Municipal Corporation Employees.

The mayors of the East and North Delhi Municipal Corporations said they will accept Rs 551 crore as a grant only because Delhi government is yet to pay Rs 3,000 crore to the municipal corporations under recommendations of the Third Delhi Finance Commission report.

The loan being extended is blackmail by Delhi government because East Delhi Municipal Corporation is not able to pay any interest. We will take it as a grant since we have not been paid as per the recommendations of the Third Delhi Finance Commission, said East Delhi Mayor Harshdeep Malhotra.

North Delhi Mayor Ravindra Gupta attacked Kejriwal for alleging financial bungling by the BJP-ruled MCDs.

Payment of salaries of employees is our first priority. We will treat the loan offered by the government as a grant because it has failed to settle our dues, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies for paying salaries to their staff will result in deferment of several educational projects, including construction of new classrooms.

He said the fund will be diverted from the education department.

Sisodia, who also holds education and finance portfolios, said the government will divert the money from the capital expenditure of the education department, adding that due to this, they will have to defer some of infrastructure projects to the next financial year.

Earlier, Kejriwal, who is in Bangalore for treatment, lashed out at the BJP for driving the civic bodies bankrupt.

He alleged that the BJP was instigating the striking employees and trying to prepare grounds for imposition of Presidents Rule in the national Capital.

Exuding confidence about winning next year's municipal polls, Kejriwal said the situation in the MCDs is such that they should be dissolved and fresh elections be held immediately.

There is a major salary scam in MCDs. Money has been stolen. House tax revenue, toll tax revenue, advertising revenue, electricity tax - everything has been stolen. It is a classic case of financial mismanagement, Kejriwal alleged.

On request of MCD doctors seeking transfer of their services to the Delhi Government, Kejriwal said he has asked Sisodia to examine the legal possibility of doing this.

MCD doctors to move high court

By Sneha Agrawal

Financial crunch has finally compelled the doctors working in the MCD-run hospitals to knock the doors of the Delhi High Court.

The doctors will move the high court seeking directions to Centre or state government to take over the health services from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The doctors at the same time have also written to the Delhi government and the Centre to consider this as an option to derive at a permanent solution.

Only critically ill patients are being treated at the MCD-run hospitals

This not the first time, we have placed this demand before the government. We cannot go on protests again and again. The issue of financial crunch has been constant and it seems that it would continue for a while, said RR Gautam, president of municipal corporation doctors association.

In a letter to CM Arvind Kejriwal, the doctor's association said: In view of the precarious financial situation of the MCDs, health services (except public health) may be taken away from the corporation and may be considered for being taken over by the Delhi government or Centre as a permanent solution to our problems.

As the doctors in the MCD-run hospitals joined the indefinite strike from Monday, patients were referred to other hospitals and only critically ill patients were being treated at these hospitals.

The association alleged in its application that the corporations were giving lame, false and misleading excuses for non-payment of salary as the MCD managements were working for their personal gain and political motives.

Contractual staff sound war cry, to stall work and join agitation

By Sneha Agarwal

The ongoing MCD strike till present was only disrupting public services, but now the contractual workers too have threatened to stall all undergoing development works to support the ongoing indefinite strike.

The contractors have placed a condition before the civic bodies that if the corporation does not pay their dues which amounts to approximately Rs 1,700 crore then they would not continue with the development works around the city.

While the contractors have now and then protested against the civic body on the issue of non-payment of the dues, this time they have decided to take it to a new level by stalling all the projects and boycotting all the upcoming tenders.

MCD staff during a protest against the civic body on Wednesday

Although the Delhi government has agreed to make payments to both North and East Municipal Corporation, Delhi municipal contractor association threatened to continue the strike along with the other employees.

At present, the work sourced out as a contractual includes construction of the toilet blocks, school buildings, dispensary, maintenance of parks, construction of the storm water drains and the parking spaces.

East MCD owes the contractual workers Rs 200 crore (approximately), North MCD owes Rs 600 crore (approximately) while South MCD owes Rs 300 (approximately). The dues under the non-plan category have been unpaid for the past three years, the planned category dues have not been paid for the past six to eight months. Although South MCD has made part payments, but the North and East MCD have not paid any heed to our demand, alleged Sunil Vohra, president of Delhi municipal contractor association.

We will stop all ongoing projects from February 10. Neither there will be any purchase of tender nor will any new work begin, Vohra added.

A protest march was taken out on Tuesday by the members of the Delhi municipal contractor association from Karol Bagh.

The agitating MCD employees joined the march at Civic Centre and proceeded to Rajghat.
In a massive image makeover drive against the opposition-sponsored label of being 'anti-farmer', the Narendra Modi government is all set to organise mega rallies supporting the trade in four states.

The four rallies, which have been named as Kisan Maha Sammelans, are slated to be organised in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and poll-bound Uttar Pradesh (UP), starting February 18.

The kernel of the rallies would be the much touted Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana or the newly-launched crop insurance scheme.

The government has increasingly come under fire from the opposition for being 'anti-farmer'

The Modi government had increasingly come under fire from the opposition, mainly the Congress, over issues directly affecting farmers such as the newly-proposed Land Acquisition Bill.

It was being felt even within the BJP of late that, while the government tried to firefight, the opposition benches had been successful in painting the regime as anti-farmer and anti-poor.

To reverse what has come to be seen as Modi governments loss in the perception war with the Congress, the Prime Minister is set to address mega-congregations of farmers in Madhya Pradesh on February 18 at Sihor; another at Odisha on February 21 at Bargarh; third in Karnataka on February 27; and the last one in UP, most probably at Bareilly.

According to partys national general secretary Arun Singh, this is just the first round of such rallies as these are most likely to be emulated in other consequential states too.

Singh also added that the thinking behind the move was to present the achievements of the government and welfare measures initiated specifically for farmers in a targeted manner.

He told Mail Today: 'So far we have presented our achievements and our revolutionary welfare initiatives in a clubbed manner.

'Now we want to go to the farmers to tell them and only them as to what we have done for them exclusively.

'The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is our latest offering for farmers.
As the Delhi government asks private schools for their safety reports, it has been accused of turning a blind eye to over 200 dilapidated state-run schools which may invite tragedy.

Students are made to sit inside buildings, where walls have developed cracks and there is seepage through them. Some of these schools have 2,000 to 3,000 students.

Students live in fear at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Shahbad Dairy.

The Delhi government may have sought a safety report from private schools in the city, but critics say it has turned a blind eye to pathetic condition of dilapidated government-run schools

The buildings condition is extremely poor and despite several letters to the Public Works Department and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC), no action has been taken so far.

A Delhi government education officer told Mail Today: 'Why are they so alarmed about the safety of students now?

'We have been asking them to improve the condition of the schools. Only asking us to have a security check will not ensure safety of the students. One should think about the overall safety mechanism.'

The school has 33 classrooms with 49 sections and more than 7,500 students come to study in two shifts  morning and afternoon.

Many have cracks down the walls, like what can be seen in this photograph

On July 16, three students suffered electric shocks while sitting in a classroom with cracked walls, leaky roofs and flooded floors.

Between March 2015 and August 2015, the school has written at least 20 letters to various government agencies, including the education department, the PWD and the DSIIDC.

The Delhi government has decided to set up 50 model schools, which would be on a par with private schools in the capital.

However, the present condition of government-run schools needs more attention.

'Nothing is being done at the grass-roots level. Large numbers of schools are in a bad shape and we are extremely concerned about the safety of the students. The department should start taking the matter seriously,' Ajay Vir Singh, general secretary, Government School Teachers Association told Mail Today.

In 2015, a report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) painted a pathetic picture of Delhis schools.

The report said that almost 720 of the 1,000-odd schools in the capital under the government sector lacked clean drinking water and toilet facilities.

Security was found to be lax and teachers were in short supply.

The Delhi governments education department on Monday directed all the city schools to immediately carry out an inspection of their premises to ensure there were no safety hazards.

The move comes in the wake of recent deaths of two students by drowning in septic water tanks on the school premises.

Teaching staff are in short supply at many of these schools. More than 5,000 students are enrolled at one such school in trans Yamuna area.
One month after India shared information of Pakistani nationals involvement in the Pathankot terror attack, Islamabad is yet to even register a case, leave alone initiate action against the handlers and the mastermind.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, prompt action and Islamabad, in the first week of January, announced the detention of several Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM) activists along with closure of some JeM offices.

Offence

But 30 days later, Islamabad is yet to either produce them in court or share details under what section of the Pakistan Penal Code have they been detained and for what offence.

A month after the Pathankot attack, Pakistan has not even registered a case

A legal case would form the bedrock for sustained investigations that can be logically pursued in a court of law.

Top sources in the government suspect Pakistans actions so far may be mere eyewash under intense global scrutiny.

Had Pakistan followed due process of law, a first information report (FIR) would have been filed.

An investigating officers detailed and proper investigations would have been initiated, too.

Sharifs office had on January 13 claimed that considerable progress has been made in the investigations being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident.

A statement released by Sharifs office went on to say: Based on initial investigations in Pakistan and the information provided (by India), several individuals belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed have been apprehended. The offices of the organisation are also being traced and sealed. Further investigations are under way.

However, no details have been shared with investigators in India.

Pakistan is also understood to have set up a special investigation team headed by Rai Tahir, additional inspector general of Punjab Polices Counter Terror Department, to probe the Pakistan link to the Pathankot attack, but this crack team hasnt made any headway.

Maulana Masood Azhar hasnt been arrested despite contradictory claims made by Pakistan.

India shared details of phone numbers and conversations the terrorists in Pathankot had with their handlers in Pakistan.

However, the investigators claim they could not trace the phone numbers and called them either fake or unregistered numbers.

Pakistan is yet to share details of any independent investigation it may have carried out based on the information provided by India.

Conspiracy

The terror conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan.

The terrorists came from Pakistan.

The training of the terrorists took place in Pakistan.

So there is ample investigation to be done in Pakistan.

Sadly, if a probe is being carried out, Pakistan has been reticent about sharing details.

India requested Pakistan to specifically probe the role of Masood Azhar and his brother Rouf Azhar in connection with the Pathankot attack, but Pakistan has not pursued those leads.

In fact, on January 26, Masood Azhar wrote in the Peshawar based jihadi magazine al-Qalam threatening anyone trying to target him.

I have prepared an army that adores death. To uproot this army is not in the power of our enemies. God willing, this army will not let our enemies celebrate, or occasion for anyone to miss my presence, Azhar wrote.

India is still hopeful that the Pathankot probe will be different from what happened with the 26/11 attack investigations.

Especially after a personal commitment not only from Sharif to Modi, but also from Pakistans NSA Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

Evidence

In the past, Pakistan had dismissed concrete evidence provided by India as mere literature.

Independent investigations carried out by Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency in the 26/11 attacks resulted in the arrest of seven accused.

However, the Pakistan government case for voice samples was thrown by the Islamabad High Court due to non-prosecution.

This has cast aspersions at Islamabads integrity since its government lost the 26/11 voice sample case because it did not pursue the case in court.

All this even as Pakistan at the highest level was trying to assure India of speedy justice in the Mumbai terror attacks case.

Pakistan has also repeatedly tried to reassure India that its all-powerful army is on board the peace initiative and terrorists will not be allowed to put a spoke in the peace process.

While India looks forward to continuing with the dialogue process and has not announced calling it off, New Delhi is waiting for the right environment for talks in terms of concrete action by Pakistan on Pathankot.

Terror must not be allowed to derail dialogue - this is a welcome template as long as Pakistan continues to take decisive action against India-centric terror.

In the past, after terror attacks, talks had been called off.

This time New Delhi has taken a conscious decision not to call off talks, but to wait for Pakistan to act on leads provided by India.

The ball is clearly in Pakistans court.
Ahead of Parliaments Budget Session, Rahul Gandhi is readying forces to widen his offensive against the BJP and the central government across the country.

According to sources, at the meeting of all Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs called by Rahul on February 5, the Congress vice-president is likely to discuss the future 'agitational' agenda in states and urge the leaders to identify local issues and amplify protests.

Though the meeting has been convened to discuss the status of rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA, sources said the gathering is also expected to touch upon other issues which the Congress would take up to show its presence across the states.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is readying forces to widen his offensive against the Centre across the country

As he works on reviving the Grand Old Party, which was wiped out in the 2014 national polls, Rahul has identified the marginalised sections of the society to boost the Congress electoral fortunes.

Over the past year, his regular foot marches across several states to express solidarity with distressed farmers and his recent forays to the Hyderabad University to protest the suicide of a Dalit scholar, are an indication of the issues that will dominate Rahuls agitational agenda.

Sources said that Rahul feels the BJP-ruled Centre is pursuing only pro-rich policies and reaching out to the neglected sections needs to be done with greater thrust.

According to sources, the meeting of state unit chiefs could also be used to identify and address gaps in the party organisation which need urgent attention.

In the past, the Rahul had urged state leaders to take up peoples issues and stand up against the respective non- Congress governments, but there is a lot of room for improvement here, said the sources.
Customers will pay an average of 389 this year for their water bills, a 2 rise on the previous year despite a recent damning report that found households have been paying too much for their supply.

Last month, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee blasted water regulator Ofwat for 'consistently overestimating financing costs' when setting price limits for suppliers.

Overestimating water suppliers' costs and taxes allows Britain's water companies to pocket billion-pound windfalls while failing to pass on savings to consumers, the report said.

Going up: Customers in Eng;land and Wales will pay an average of 389 this year for their water bills, representing a 2 increase on the previous year

According to Water UK, the body which represents Britain's water suppliers, this year's increase of less than 1 per cent for customers in England and Wales will help water companies meet 'tough targets' and allow them to invest 44billion over the next five years in a bid to improve services.

Michael Roberts, chief executive of Water UK, said: 'For just over 1 a day, households across the country can have access to high quality water services day and night.

'The supply of clean water at the turn of a tap, together with wastewater treatment services, provides the lifeblood of the nation and the foundation for our health and well-being.

'Water companies understand the pressures on customers' pockets and are committed to keeping household bills as low as possible while still investing in vital improvements. Through continued efficiency improvements the water industry is set to lower prices for households by 5 per cent on average in real terms between 2015 and 2020.'

Meanwhile, Ofwat's chief executive Cathryn Ross said: 'We challenged companies to listen and respond to their customers' priorities. Where they didn't step up, we stepped in.

'Our challenge led to an additional 3billion of savings for customers. As well as keeping bills down, we also pushed companies do to even more to improve service.

'Companies will only build trust and confidence with their customers if they deliver. They need to be clear and open about how they are performing. Those who deliver can expect fair returns, while those who fail to meet their customers' expectations will be hit in the pocket.'

Failing customers: Last month the Public Accounts Committee blasted water regulator Ofwat for 'consistently overestimating financing costs' for water companies

In its report last month, PAC said Britain's water companies made at least 1.2billion between 2010 and 2015 from bills being higher than necessary.

'Ofwat, like other economic regulators, has repeatedly overestimated the cost of finance in successive price reviews', PAC concluded.

The report also pointed out how financial support for customers who struggle to pay water bills varies 'substantially' from company to company.

Commenting on Water UK's announcement of this year's rising bills, Tony Smith, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water said: 'We are pleased that the rise in bills for 2016-17 is less than 1 per cent, but it is still an increase.

'Affordability is still a concern for many low-income households who are already struggling to pay. Our research shows that one in eight customers in England and Wales are already finding it difficult to afford their water bill.'

Severn Trent, which supplies water for the Midlands and Wales, today issued a trading update saying it is on course to clinch a 15million pay-out from Ofwat for over-delivering on its performance targets.

Cleaning up: Severn Trent is on course to receive a 15million reward payment from regulator Ofwat for over-delivering on its performance targets

Severn Trent's chief executive Liv Garfield, said: 'Having locked in the savings set out in our final determination, we are working hard to identify further efficiencies, while continuously improving our services, and will provide a further update with our results in May.

'There remains much to do, but this year is shaping up to be a great start to the current regulatory period.'
Don't mess with Musk: Tesla boss tells buyer his order has been cancelled

Customer had written an open letter of complaint about a launch event

Don't get on the wrong side of Elon Musk if you want a Tesla; if you do, he could leave you without a car.

That's what's happened to one Tesla buyer, who, after penning an open letter to the American carmaker's CEO to complain about a customer event, had his purchase of a $130,000 Model X barred by the vehicle boss.

Stewart Alsop, a venture capital investor in the US, had originally grumbled about the matter in September and confirmed on Monday that Musk had banned him from owning the car, despite paying a $5,000 deposit for one of the brand's new all-electric vehicles.

Elon Musk, pictured left, couldn't see what all the fuss was about when news broke that he'd cancelled the order of a 'super rude' customer Stewart Alsop, pictured right

Pictured above an extract from Alsops September letter complains about the event being too focused on safety and not giving 3,000 deposit payers the chance to drive one of the Model X vehicles as promised

Another extract from the letter where Alsop takes issue with the event starting late

Headlined 'Dear @ElonMusk: you should be ashamed of yourself', Alsops September letter raised issue with the launch event starting late, being too focused on safety and not giving 3,000 deposit payers the chance to drive one of the Model X vehicles as promised.

He also also protested about there not being any food offered at the event, stating: 'Not to mention I was hungry, since you didnt even provide real food during dinner time!'

But instead of receiving an apology from the Tesla CEO, as requested at the end of the 480-word rant, Musk opted to strike Alsop's purchase from the order books.

In his most recent open letter, titled 'Banned by Tesla', the disgruntled former customer confirmed he had received a call from the carmaker boss.

He said: 'I must also admit that I am a little taken aback to be banned by Tesla.

'When I wrote a blog post about my BMW X1 called My Car Makes Me Feel Stoopid, the CEO of BMW didnt take the car back.'

In his most recent open letter, titled 'Banned by Tesla', the disgruntled former customer confirmed he had received a call from the carmaker boss. Alsop is pictured above

In this 1998 photo Alsop in his capacity as New Enterprise Associates Venture Partner is pictured with Microsoft President Bill Gates before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on anticompetitive issues and technology. Gates left and Alsop far right

After voicing his disappointment about begrudgingly not being able to own one of the new Tesla Model X's, Alsop concluded his latest letter with a final dig at Mr Tesla.

'I have plenty of other comments to make about how to run your company, but I imagine that if you dont want me to own one of your cars, you probably also arent interested in what I have to say about your company,' he added.

'I guess this means I probably wont be allowed to buy a SpaceX Dragon, either.'

Musk publicly responded to the reports on Wednesday, though seemed baffled to why the situation should attract so much coverage

Musk publicly responded to the reports on Wednesday, though seemed baffled to why the situation should attract so much coverage.

He tweeted: 'Must be a slow news day if denying service to a super rude customer gets this much attention.'

Among one of the first people who did receive a Model X order was Karate Kid star Jaden Smith, actor and son of Will Smith.

Jaden Smith, actor and son of Will Smith, must have kept on the good side of Elon Musk - the Karate Kid star is one of the first to receive a Model X order

It's not the first time this year Musk has been targeted by an angry customer.

Another American buyer in Florida accused the Tesla CEO of stealing his car in January, after the dealer he'd ordered a refurbished Model S from confirmed that Musk had personally taken the man's car to test an updated version of the AutoPilot driverless car system.
Happy holidays: But a Money Mail investigation found shocking examples of misleading pricing and rip-off charges on popular booking sites

Travel websites are snaring holidaymakers by advertising cheap 'deals' that don't exist and springing 50 fees on customers who pay by bank card.

A Money Mail investigation found shocking examples of misleading pricing and rip-off charges on popular booking sites.

Some of the cheapest flights listed by companies such as eDreams or Opodo change price when you try to buy.

When you click on the deals you are taken to the airline's webpage and the price jumps. In one case a flight from Bristol to Paris shot up from 54 to 59.74 with no explanation.

Other deals are available only if you pay using a little-known form of payment called Visa Entropay. This is a prepaid account that costs 4.95 per cent to top up, or 4.95 for every 100 loaded.

If you want to pay by debit or credit card you have to pay an extra fee.

The charges vary hugely. In a test we found customers were billed as much as 34.85 to pay by debit card or 49.52 to use a credit card.

On a return flight from London to Paris, advertised at 75.28, eDreams charged a 23.78 fee to pay by debit card  an eyewatering 32 per cent of the total bill for 99.06.

These charges are revealed only at the end of the booking process. Unknown to you, the websites apply an automatic discount for a so-called service charge when you first select a flight or holiday.

It is only after you've chosen travel dates, filled in your personal details and got to the payment stage that the fees are explained.

If you select to pay by debit card, the mysterious discount disappears; choose the credit card option and you are hit with an extra fee.

Money Mail can reveal the aviation regulator has launched an investigation into these tactics, which are hitting thousands of people a year.

It will focus on Opodo and eDreams, but there are fears other websites are up to the same tricks.

The advertising regulator received 1,470 complaints about a total of 1,158 holiday and travel adverts in 2014.

It warns firms they must not exaggerate the availability of cheap fares that are subject to restrictions, such as limitations on when someone can travel. If ads include a 'from fare', a minimum of 10 per cent of reservable seats must be available at that fare.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority says: 'Advertisers shouldn't omit or exaggerate information about additional fees, discounts or the availability of cheaper fares.

'It's not fair if the pricing information that we see is likely to mislead or confuse, and we will take action to ban ads that break the advertising rules.'

VICTORY ON FLIGHT DELAY COMPENSATION Victory: Jim and Hilary Moffat have won their compensation fight with Jet2 Airlines have been forced by the aviation regulator to pay Mail readers thousands of pounds in compensation for flight delays. It is a victory for Money Mail after more than two years' of campaigning. Passengers should be compensated if they arrive more than three hours late. Claims can be backdated six years. Last July we handed 351 of your complaints to chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, Andrew Haines. The regulator has won compensation for victims in 81 cases and is working on a further 160. It was unable to solve 110 complaints. Readers have been paid 58,000  an average of 716 per household. We can also reveal Ryanair is finally paying out for flights delayed by 'technical faults' up to six years ago. Mr Haines says: 'We have Money Mail to thank for the crucial role it has played in holding airlines to account.' Under EU law you are entitled to up to 453 compensation if your flight arrives more than three hours late  if the reason is within the airline's control. Jim and Hilary Moffat, from Chester, tried to claim 304 each for a three-hour delay at Manchester on their way to Bodrum, Turkey. The airline claimed a fault with the aircraft was an 'extraordinary circumstance'. Jet2 also said claims had to be filed within two years. The Moffats had not done that. But in June 2014 the Court of Appeal ruled that delays caused by ordinary mechanical problems did not count as extraordinary circumstances and passengers had up to six years to claim. Jet2 has paid out and Jim, 69, says: 'Thank you to Money Mail for helping us get to this stage.'

Online travel agents are also accused of setting up 'copycat' websites that fool customers into thinking they are booking direct. Budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair say holidaymakers who use these websites are usually overcharged.

Web addresses used by eDreams, for example, include ryanair.edreams.com and easyjet.edreams.com. When you search for Ryanair or easyJet using Google, these websites appear first in the list of results.

The website mirrors Ryanair's recognisable blue and yellow branding, confusing customers further.

Ryanair has launched legal action to stop Google promoting these online agents' websites above its own.

A spokesman for easyJet says: 'These companies are copying prices from airline websites and then adding additional fees and charges that passengers booking directly wouldn't have to pay.'

There are also concerns about the protection for customers if things go wrong. Under EU law if you book a flight and hotel together you are protected if a firm goes bust.

Sneaky tactics: When you search for Ryanair or easyJet using Google, websites such as eDreams appear first in the list of results

In the UK this is called ATOL (Air Travel Organiser's License). eDreams is part of the European e-travel group eDreams Odigeo and based in Barcelona.

But there should still be a financial protection scheme clearly signposted on its website  which Money Mail couldn't find.

In 2011 businesses were told by the Office of Fair Trading, the former consumer regulator, that they could bill customers only for the cost of processing card payments. They are not allowed to make a profit from the surcharge.

The Department for Business says customers who think they are being overcharged should complain to the retailer, Trading Standards, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

A spokesperson for eDreams Odigeo says: 'We aim to provide best-in-class websites which offer consumers the widest possible flight choice, at the lowest prices available.

We take the CAA's concerns very seriously and will continue to cooperate with them to address the findings of their investigation.'
The family of a man shot and killed by FBI agents on January 26 after participating in the occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge claims footage of the slaying and witness accounts indicate the man was shot while his hands were in the air.

The FBI, which released footage of the killing of Robert LaVoy Finicum last week, said the man was armed and that the footage shows him lowering his hands and reaching for a pocket containing a gun before he was shot.

'What we believe the video shows is that LaVoy was being fired upon before he even got out of the truck,' family wrote in a statement published by the Oregonian.

The truck on the left was the one driven by Finicum and which Sharp claims she was sitting in

Finicum can be seen standing to the left of the white truck wearing a hat and flanked by two FBI officers

Finicum falls to the ground after being hit by FBI gunfire. Officials claimed Finicum was reaching for a pocket containing a gun

In the statement, the family claimed it had reviewed the footage together with two witnesses and that they believe the vehicle Finicum was traveling in was hit by gunfire before he got out.

Of the FBI claim that the video shows Finicum reaching for a pocket, the family wrote:

'Why he lowered his hands and reached for his side at one point is because he had already been shot, and he was reaching toward the area where he had been hit as an involuntary physical reflex.'

'It is our position that he was cornered like a helpless animal, with nowhere else to turn, and executed in cold blood,' the statement concluded.

The statement also alleged that Finicum was denied medical attention.

Victoria Sharp, one of the witnesses cited by Finicum's family, agreed with the view that the man's killing was unjustified even after reviewing video of the event.

'I'm saying that the video does not show that he's reaching for something,' Sharp said Tuesday after a CNN reporter showed her the FBI footage.

Sharp, 18, said she was inside a white truck driven by Finicum that was intercepted by an FBI roadblock after a high-speed pursuit.

Victoria Sharp claims she witnessed Finicum's slaying and that he did not try to reach for his gun

Video released January 28 shows the truck attempting to avoid the roadblock by swerving into the left-hand snowbank, narrowly missing an FBI officer on foot, and getting stuck.

Seconds later, Finicum, 54, can be seen exiting the vehicle and walk around in the snow with his hands in the air.

Then, the aerial video shows Finicum lowering his hands and making repeated motions toward his the left side of his body before he falls to the ground.

Sharp, 18, told Reuters that Finicum was armed, but that she did not see him reaching for his gun before he was shot.

'I'm not sure if [Finicum wore] a hip holster or a leg holster, but I know the gun was holstered and he did not touch it. He had his hands in the air,' she told Reuters before reviewing the FBI video.

'He stepped out, and he started walking, with his hands in the air. And they actually didn't shoot him immediately. It took, I'm guessing, they didn't shoot him for maybe 15 seconds,' she said.

Slain occupier Robert LaVoy Finicum and wife Jeanette in an undated photograph

Robert LaVoy Finicum, 54, was shot dead by FBI on January 26 after a high-speed pursuit

'He started walking out on the snow and he was shouting. He was saying, 'if you're going to shoot me, then just shoot me'.'

In an interview with CNN published Tuesday, a reporter showed Sharp the FBI video and asked for her comment.

'OK, he was running through snow and it does not look like he is reaching to me. He's trying to keep his balance. He's running, I remember it. He didn't reach for anything,' Sharp told CNN after watching the video.

The FBI has not made any comments on Finicum's family's or Sharp's version of events.

The agency has not confirmed that Sharp was actually in the truck driven by Finicum, although it said a woman was present who was not arrested and will not be named.

Finicum was a rancher from Arizona who acted as a spokesman for the occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland office told reporters at an January 28 news conference in Burns, Oregon, that, while the video showing Finicum's death was potentially upsetting, it was released 'in the interest of transparency.'

The occupation began when leader Ammon Bundy and at least a dozen followers took over a small cluster of buildings at the refuge on Jan. 2, in a flare-up in the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion, a decades-old conflict over federal control of millions of acres in the West.

Police and federal agents kept their distance from the site, 30 miles from Burns, a small rural town in Oregon's rural southeast, in an effort to avoid a violent confrontation.

But on January 26, Bundy and his leadership team left the refuge to speak at a community meeting in John Day, Oregon, and were stopped by law enforcement. The stop led to Finicum's fatal shooting and the arrest of Bundy, along with four others.

Reactions to the takeover by Burns residents have ranged from sympathy for two imprisoned local ranchers whose plight began the protest, to dismay at the armed occupation by individuals seen as outsiders.
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has been criticized for recreated the famous image of a three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned in Turkey last year.

The photograph of the body of Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey triggered international outrage as people saw the helpless toddler as the human face of the refugee crisis in Europe.

Ai's recreation has, however, been condemned as 'crass', with a number of prolific commentators arguing that his artwork is disrespectful to Aylan's memory.

Scroll down for video

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei recreates the now-famous photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, posing as he lies face down on the beach on the Greek island of Lesbos

Aylan, initially reported spelled Alan, his brother Galip, five, and their mother Rehan, 35, drowned as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to after fleeing the war in Syria.

In his own take on the refugee crisis, Ai staged a photo of himself lying face down on a beach on Lesbos, Greece, posing the way Aylan's body was found.

Ai is currently on Lesbos, he main entry point for refugees seeking a better life in Europe, where he is working on several projects with refugee-related themes.

The 58-year-old artist has revealed the idea to recreate the famous photo of Aylan came spontaneously.

'The photographer and journalist asked me to pose for a photo near the beach and to close my eyes,' Ai told CNN.

Heartbreaking: The photo of the body of Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey triggered international outrage as people saw the helpless toddler as the devastating human face of the refugee crisis in Europe

Ai Weiwei's recreation has has been condemned as 'crass', with a number of prolific commentators arguing that his artwork is disrespectful to Aylan's memory

'I was standing there and I could feel my body shaking with the wind  you feel death in the wind. You are taken by some kind of emotions that you can only have when you are there.

'So for me to be in the same position [as Kurdi], is to suggest our condition can be so far from human concerns in today's politics.'

However, his work has not been applauded by all, with a number of people voicing concerns that the photograph was disrespectful to Aylan Kurdi's memory.

David Batty, a writer and news editor for The Guardian, tweeted that Ai's photograph was 'Lazy, cheap, crass'.

A visitor passes by an image that shows Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, lying face down on a beach photographed by Indian photographer Rohit Chawla at the India Today stand at the India Art Fair in New Delhi, India

Artnet writer Henri Neuendorf expanded: 'The artist's attempt to capitalize on the heartbreaking fate of a young child is truly tasteless.

'It is important to raise awareness on an undoubtedly urgent issue, but this is not the right way to do it.'

Ai said last Thursday that he had decided to withdraw his works from two Danish museums out of deep anger at a new law allowing Denmark to seize valuables from migrants.
Clint Benson, 23, hit a man from behind in his pickup truck in Branchburg, New Jersey, in 2013

The son of a former New York Giants Super Bowl champion has pleaded guilty in a hit-and-run case.

Clint Benson hit Richard Lachner from behind in his pickup truck in Branchburg, New Jersey, in 2013 and fled the scene, authorities say.

He is the son of Brad Benson, an offensive lineman on the Giants' 1987 Super Bowl team.

The 23-year-old Benson, of Hillsborough, now faces up to seven years in prison.

Authorities told MyCentralJersey.com that Benson ran over a man with his Nissan Frontier pickup following an altercation outside the Neshanic Inn in the Neshanic Station section of Branchburg.

He was then arrested after he crashed his pickup into a guardrail at the intersection of Lehigh and Woodfern roads

It is believed that Benson and his victim had been involved in an earlier altercation outside a bar before he was caught driving in an 'extremely reckless manner'.

He told police that the side of his truck hit Lachner as he tried to drive away but witnesses told officers he rammed his victim from behind before speeding off.

Clint Benson is the son of Brad Benson, an offensive lineman who played with the New York Giants against the Denver Broncos during the 1987 Super Bowl (pictured)

Benson pleaded guilty on Monday to assault by auto, possession of hollow-point bullets and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He also pleaded guilty to several motor-vehicle offenses, including drunken driving.
'I've been doing race discrimination and other civil rights cases for almost 30 years and this is shocking to me,' says attorney Lisa Bloom

Lawsuit states Washington was one of five African American employees out of 500 workers

The next day he was immediately terminated from his position for 'not following company policy'

Company moved Washington to earlier shift, but months later he cut his finger and refused to be driven to doctor - instead he went on his own

'It was like slow motion, everyone was laughing. I was frightened, scared for my life,' says Washington

Last April, he noticed a white plastic sheet with eyeholes, looking much like the Ku Klux Klan's 'glory suit', hanging above his workstation

An African American factory worker, who believes he was fired in retaliation for reporting what he believed was a shocking workplace incident, is now suing his former employer for racial discrimination.

Isiah Washington, 27, claims his former employer Sierra Aluminum Company in Riverside, California discriminated against him last April when he says he was targeted by racist colleagues who hung a Ku Klux Klan 'hood' above his workstation.

'You could clearly see what it was meant to be, the eyes, it was like they were looking at me,' Washington tells Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview.

'The KKK, that's what I know, I just thought it was bad - clear as day.'

Washington has turned to top Los Angeles civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom to defend his case.

'I've been doing race discrimination and other civil rights cases for almost 30 years and this is shocking to me, that in 2015 in Los Angeles there would be a symbol of the KKK, one of the most ruthless, violent racist organizations in American history over his workstation and that the company, according to Isiah, did not take it seriously,' she tells Daily Mail Online.

According to the lawsuit filed at Riverside Superior Court - Washington, who worked at the firm as a packer, was one of just five African American employees in the 500 strong work force.

On April 27 last year Washington and three other African American workers were moved to a work area in the firm's 'Union building' by his supervisor.

Isiah Washington is suing former employer, Sierra Aluminum Company, for racial discrimination

When Washington settled in to the new area, he noticed a large white plastic sheet hanging 20-30 feet in the air directly in front of his workstation.

The lawsuit states: 'The plastic sheet was white in color and it clearly had eyehole cuts to make it appear as a Ku Klux Klan hood, known worldwide as a symbol of racial hatred and terror against African Americans.

'This white, sharply pointed hood of a full faced sheet with eyeholes hanging, as seen by Washington at his workstation, is the most distinctive feature of the Ku Klux Klan and is known as the 'glory suit'.'

The legal papers says Washington was 'offended by, fearful of and threatened by the Ku Klux Klan hood.'

The shocked worker immediately took a photo on his phone and called his 'White Hispanic' supervisor over.

But rather than address Washington's concern the supervisor called him a 'puto'  a derogatory Spanish term for 'homosexual'  and told him to get back to work, according to the suit.

Washington explains the incident was the culmination of months of discrimination.

'It frightened me, I was scared because of the previous incidents and how I was treated... I felt threatened.

'So I asked my supervisor, 'can you please take it down', at first he blew me off.'

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

'It was like slow motion, everyone was laughing. I was frightened, scared for my life,' Washington says after he found a white plastic sheet with eyeholes, looking much like a KKK hood, above his workstation

'It was like slow motion, everyone was laughing. I was frightened, scared for my life,' Washington says after he found a white plastic sheet with eyeholes, looking much like a KKK hood, above his workstation. Pictured left is the sheet left hanging in SAC's factory, right is a real Klansman dressed in KKK 'glory suit'

Washington is being represented by top civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, who says SAC failed to comply with their legal obligations after she wrote a letter expressing her outrage

Office of Sierra Aluminum Company in Riverside, California where Washington used to work. He claims when he made an official complaint to SAC's human resources department, it was ignored and the firm claimed a gust of wind must have blown the sheet in

Washington says his boss started talking with other workers and they all began laughing at him.

'It was like slow motion, everyone was laughing. I was frightened, scared for my life,' he reveals.

According to the lawsuit the white sheet remained above his workstation for another hour as he continued to work and he believes that someone had deliberately put the sheet there to intimidate him.

'I don't take it as a prank or a joke,' Washington says.

'I worked hard, I was there every day, I took my job serious. I felt as though it was hard to get rid of me, so I felt like it was like a threat.'

When Washington made an official complaint to SAC's human resources department, it was ignored and the firm claimed a gust of wind must have blown the sheet in.

From that day on Washington felt he had to 'watch his back' and as a result suffered 'severe emotional distress, anxiety, and fear,' according to the lawsuit.

In the months afterwards Washington, who had started at the firm in November 2014, suffered daily derogatory comments from his co-workers.

He explains he tried to ignore the poor treatment, but says: 'Stuff would keep coming my way, I was doing things right, but one of the supervisors would come and tear it down and tell me to do it again.

Isiah Washington cut his finger at work and claims when he refused to be driven to a hospital that he was immediately terminated from his position

'They would try to make me mad, I really don't know what their objective was.'

After the KKK incident Washington says he felt 'frustrated' that the company refused to act.

'Knowing that somebody was after me and I can't do anything about it,' he adds.

The company did agree to move Washington to the earlier day shift, but a few months later he ran in to more trouble.

Washington accidentally cut his thumb while moving some aluminum and patched it up with a band-aid.

The next day his supervisor asked him why he had been to the First Aid box.

Washington told him and said he was fine, but the supervisor insisted he go see the company doctor and insisted that someone drive him.

But when cautious Washington refused to be taken, instead suggesting he could drive himself, the supervisor got mad and said he couldn't go any more.

Washington went to the doctor anyway and was cleared to work.

But when he returned to SAC the next day he was immediately fired for 'not following company policy'.

He says he believes the incident was their excuse to get rid of him.

Washington was unemployed for the next six months and says he had to use food stamps to survive.

He's now working for a security systems company in Riverside where he says people are finally treating him with respect.

As for his treatment by the people at SAC.

'I don't get it, I wasn't raised to hate somebody for the color of their skin. I think it's nasty treating somebody like that... everybody should be equal,' says Washington.

Bloom agrees - as she tells Daily Mail Online she's proud to represent Washington in the case.

She filed the lawsuit against SAC claiming the firm had violated federal and state anti-discrimination laws.

'Ultimately he was terminated, he contends, in retaliation. Now the law clearly protects anyone who makes a complaint from being retaliated against,' says Bloom

Bloom says any company, when faced with a claim of prejudice, has a legal obligation under the nation's civil rights laws to do a 'prompt, thorough investigation' to punish the wrong-doers and protect the victim.

She adds: 'You can see from Isiah's complaint, none of that happened.'

Bloom says Washington filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, but SAC failed to 'do the right thing'.

After Washington approached Bloom's law firm last May she wrote a letter to SAC expressing her outrage and asking them to put things right, but again, she claims, they failed to comply with their legal obligations.

'Ultimately he was terminated, he contends, in retaliation. Now the law clearly protects anyone who makes a complaint from being retaliated against,' says Bloom.

'The excuse that the company gives that he had a tiny little cut on his finger and he didn't go to the doctor, when in fact he did go to the doctor and he has proof of that, I mean it's just preposterous.

'I mean this whole set of affairs really shocks the conscience and it really demonstrates how far we have to go before we are a country that really embraces and lives its values of equality.'

Bloom has degrees from UCLA and Yale Law School. She has taken on many high-profile lawsuits including one against the Boy Scouts of America for sex discrimination on behalf of a young girl who wanted to join, the Roman Catholic Church on behalf of child sexual abuse and molestation victims and race discrimination cases against the LAPD.
There are some old menu faithfuls that Qantas First Lounge travellers can't get enough of.

They are the five dishes that the airline can't take off the menu no matter what - for fear of a riot among some of its wealthiest passengers.

While the food is very different to what's served up in economy, the price tag of first class flight goes hand in hand with a luxury food experience.

Australia's favourite dessert, pavlova, is at the top of the list for First Class foodies

Qantas' First Lounge has engaged celebrity chef Neil Perry's Rockpool restaurant team take the best of the country's seasonal produce and put it on their menu.

Australian Business Traveller reported that, while the menu changes every three months, there are five items that never change.

They are: buffalo mozzarella, salt and pepper squid, club sandwich, minute steak and chips and pavlova.

Buffalo mozzarella dishes also rate highly on the Qantas menu. This one has smashed broad bean, pea, slow roasted cherry tomato and mint salad

The old reliable Club Sandwich has also proved to be a winner with Qantas' frequent flyers

The high-class Qantas dishes have been designed by top chef Neil Perry

These delicacies are for Qantas' elite passengers and are in a different class - in every way.

The buffalo mozzarella from Victoria's Shaw River buffalo dairy was described as the 'centrepiece of this light flavoursome dish, which makes a perfect starter before tucking into heartier fare'.

Another crowd-pleaser is definitely the salt and pepper squid.

Terry Higgins, Rockpool Consultant to Qantas said Neil Perry and the Rockpool team were constantly evolving in-flight and lounge menus to keep things interesting for the millions of customers who fly every year.

There'll obviously be a difference between the airlines high-end service food and the likes of this beef dish served on a premium economy flight

Perry and his team bring out new dishes to make the most of the best seasonal produce available

A prawn roll, a seafood bouillabaisse with mussels and a crumbed pork cutlet are also part of the new menu

'We love that our frequent flyers are passionate about our food, so were happy to keep their favourite items on as regular stars of our menus,' Mr Higgins said.

'One of the most popular dishes is the simple steak sandwich we offer inflight in First, which has been on the menu since Neil Perry and the Rockpool Group started working with Qantas 19 years ago.

'The food in our premium cabins isnt the first reason people choose to fly with Qantas, but it's often the reason they choose to return.'
Callen says he shot the dog when he saw it lying on the bed, which he had previously established was not allowed

After he shot the dog, he told her: 'I meant it for you' and tried to fire again, police said. The gun didn't go off the second time

She told the police that he aimed the gun at her and said: 'I'll kill you'

A 59-year-old man accidentally shot his dog in the head when he aimed his gun at his girlfriend who had broken up with him three days ago, police said.

Thomas Callen Jr., of Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, has been jailed on charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault and cruelty to animals.

According to the Post Gazette, the 43-year-old woman had moved in to his home, located about 25 miles outside of Pittsburgh, just one month ago.

She told police they she had left Callen three days ago because 'he didn't know what he has'.

Thomas Callen Jr. has been accused of pointing his gun at his girlfriend, shooting his dog instead, and telling her: 'I meant it for you'. Police showed up to a home in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania. According to public records, Callen's recently deceased father was registered at the above abode

The couple got back together on Monday, spent the night out drinking at a number of bars, but began arguing when they returned home, authorities said.

The girlfriend then reportedly went to bed with his dog, who lay its head on top of hers.

According to Trib Live, the dog had originally belonged to Thomas Callen Senior, who died less than three weeks ago on January 13.

When Callen Jr. entered the bedroom, he became enraged that the dog was growling at him, the police said.

He then aimed his pistol at her, said 'I'll kill you', and fired the gun.

According to the police, he shot the dog in the head, but reportedly told the woman: 'I meant it for you.'

When she questioned why he did it, Callen Jr. responded with a simple: 'Because.'

He pulled the trigger again, but the gun did not go off the second time.

His girlfriend put the dog in its cage, took refuge at a neighbor's house and reported the domestic assault after midnight.

Trooper Eric Mauer from the state police said he could tell the woman was still intoxicated when he interviewed her after the incident.

Callen reported a different version of events to the police. He saw the dog laying on the bed, which he had previously established wasn't allowed.

When the dog growled and knocked him over, Callen reached for his .380-caliber pistol on the night stand and shot the dog in the mouth. He added that he pulled the trigger once, not twice.

Police say the mixed-breed pet was wounded.
A day after her near loss in the first nomination contest of 2016 Hillary Clinton began suggesting that she could come in second in a second state, New Hampshire, behind Bernie Sanders.

Clinton told CNN she was 'aiming' for a win in the Granite State but couched it in New Hampshire's tendency to vote for politicians from nearby states.

'I know that they tend to favor their neighbors. That's the pattern, the history of the primary. And Senator Sanders is a neighbor,' she told Wolf Blitzer today.

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A day after her near loss in the first nomination contest of 2016 Hillary Clinton began suggesting that she could come in second in a second state, New Hampshire, behind Bernie Sanders

Clinton told CNN she was 'aiming' for a win in the Granite State but couched it in the state's tendency to vote for politicians from nearby states like Sanders, who represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate

TWO: That's how many contests Clinton will have lost or nearly lost to Sanders if she doesn't win in New Hampshire on Tuesday

Clinton waves beside Gabby Giffords, gun violence survivor and former Democratic Representative from Arizona, and Giffords' husband, retired American astronaut Mark Kelly during a campaign event at Winnacunnet High School

Gifford listens to Clinton during the rally in Hampton, New Hampshire

She also told her supporters in a fundraising email that Sanders has the 'home field advantage' in the New England state and asked them to pitch in money to help her defeat him.

'We've got a real fight on our hands, and we're all going to need to pitch in to win this nomination,'she said. 'We face an uphill battle in New Hampshire.'

Bill Clinton did his part on Monday in Iowa to pave the way for a possible loss in the first primary state, too.

'They never voted against anybody from next door except when an incumbent president asked them to do something else,' he told reporters during a visit to his wife's campaign headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa.

'They never voted against anybody from next door except when an incumbent president asked them to do something else,' he told reporters during a visit to his wife's campaign headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa.

In 2004 then-Massachusetts Senator John Kerry claimed the prize in New Hampshire in a landslide primary election. His predecessor Paul Tsongas also won the state when he ran for president in 1992, beating out Bill Clinton.

Four years before that Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis was the victor.

Clinton eeked out a win against Sanders in Iowa yesterday.even though he turned out many of the young voters his campaign had specifically targeted. He beat her by an astounding 70 points those aged 17-29.

She ended the night with 700.59 state delegate equivalents to Sanders' 696.82 and Martin O'Malley's 7.61, according to the Iowa Democratic Party.

Votes were still be counted in the wee hours of the morning. The Clinton campaign determined before the results were final that Sanders couldn't close the gap, though, and the former first lady gave her victory speech any way.

Clinton eeked out a win against Sanders in Iowa yesterday even though he turned out many of the young voters his campaign had specifically targeted. He beat her by an astounding 70 points those aged 17-29. She and husband Bill are seen here posing with a selfie today in New Hampshire with employees of a supermarket

Bill Clinton did his part on Monday in Iowa to pave the way for a possible loss in the first primary state, too. 'They never voted against anybody from next door except when an incumbent president asked them to do something else'

Both candidates dashed off to New Hampshire ahead of a pending snow storm immediately after speaking and spent the day making their case to a new group of voters - and getting into another tit-for-tat over whether they'll show up at a newly created debate on Thursday

At another party across town Sanders pushed back on Clinton's spin and called it a 'virtual tie' as he trailed her by less than one percent and they ended up nearly the same number of delegates.

Both candidates dashed off to New Hampshire ahead of a pending snow storm immediately after speaking and spent the day making their case to a new group of voters - and getting into another tit-for-tat over whether they'll show up at a newly created debate on Thursday.

The Clinton and Sanders camps said they'd participate but kept throwing flags on the play and now it's uncertain whether it will even take place.

'We've tried to be very accommodating but, you know, we have agreed with everything that they have asked us to do,' Clinton said today on CNN.

'And I sure hope -- we're in Bernie Sanders' backyard here in New Hampshire. I sure hope he intends to show up in his neighboring state and let the people of New Hampshire see us both on the debate stage.'

The Sanders campaign wants Clinton agree to a debate in Brooklyn, New York, before it gives the green light to the last-minute, Democratic Party approved, debate that it asked for in the first place.

'We are incredibly disappointed that Secretary Clinton refuses to do a debate in New York City. Why does the Clinton campaign object to a debate in New York City? Wasn't Secretary Clinton the senator from New York? Why is her campaign dissing the Big Apple?' Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said in response today.

Both candidates dashed off to New Hampshire ahead of a pending snow storm immediately after speaking and spent the day making their case to a new group of voters

Debate or no debate, the candidates have five more days to woo New Hampshire voters before they head to the polls.

Clinton admitted today that she's 'going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters, maybe first-time voters, who have to make a tough decision as they evaluate who should be our president, our commander in chief.'

'And I intend to do that, laying out my case, where we contrast on the issues, what I think can be done to get college to be affordable,' she said, referring to her debt-free college plan that rivals Sanders' free-for-all proposal.

But she said, 'I think we will have a good contest, talking about what results we can produce, what our records have been, both in domestic policy, foreign policy, national security and I think the people of New Hampshire will get a chance to really evaluate both of us.
on Tuesday in an eastern suburb of Melbourne

They have released an image of a man that could assist with their inquiries

Police said he approached and rubbed himself against several women

A number of women have complained that a shoeless man approached them inside a shopping centre and rubbed himself against their legs or buttocks as he masturbated in public.

Police are appealing for information on a man who was seen masturbating through his clothing inside the Westfield Knox shopping centre, in Wantirna South, an eastern suburb of Melbourne on Tuesday.

They said the man approached a number of young ladies and proceeded to rub up against them while he appeared to be pleasuring himself.

Police have released an image of a man they believe could assist with inquires after a male approached a number of women inside a shopping centre and rubbed himself against their legs or buttocks as he masturbated

The incident occurred on Tuesday inside Westfield Knox in Wantirna South, an eastern suburb of Melbourne on Tuesday

Police have released an image of a man they believe could assist with inquires into the sexual assault and have asked anyone with information on the incident to come forward.

The bald man has been described as Caucasian in appearance and is estimated to be between 40 and 50-years-old.

He was seen inside the shopping centre wearing a blue and grey striped polo top with a white undershirt, cargo shorts and no shoes.
Keunang's family say they will continue with a $20m lawsuit against the city

The fatal shooting of homeless black man by Los Angeles police officers last March was justified, the Los Angeles Police Commission announced on Tuesday.

Charly 'Africa' Keunang was shot six times, including twice in the chest, during an encounter with officers on Skid Row on March 1, 2015.

Homeless: Charly Leundeu Keunang, pictured in a February 2000 photo from Ventura County Sheriff's Office, liwas better known as 'Africa' on Skid Row

The findings, released by the commission after a closed-door discussion, said that the shooting was justified as Keunang had tried to take an officer's gun, but that one of the officer's tactics violated policy. It did not explain how the violation occurred.

The decision led to outcries from about a dozen activists in the room who have criticized the shooting and repeatedly called on police to release body-camera footage that captured it. Afterwards, the group held hands and prayed outside police headquarters.

'We're extremely, extremely disappointed,' activist Hamid Kahn said.

'We're not surprised because the police commission is such a rubber-stamp body. But there's always this one flicker of hope that their own humanity will kick in and they will look at these things not to protect the police officers, but really to protect the community and speak the truth.'

Commission President Matthew Johnson said the death of Keunang, who was also known by the name of Charley Saturmin Robinet, 'is nothing short of tragic' and that Tuesday's decision came after an intense 11-month investigation and analysis that was deliberate and compassionate.

He said state law barred him from explaining why the commission reached the decision.

Prayers: Angry activists held a prayer circle after the LAPD civilian oversight panel announced on Tuesday that the shooting of homeless Charly 'Africa' Keunang was justified

Mayor Eric Garcetti expressed confidence in the commission in a statement and said his office is working with LAPD to 'make deadly encounters between police and citizens less frequent.'

Keunang's shooting was captured on video by a bystander and has been viewed by millions worldwide.

In the footage, Keunang is seen apparently swinging at officers before being pushed down to the ground and held. Four officers restrain him while another two hold back a woman who picks up an officer's fallen nightstick. Seconds later, six shots ring out to the cries of the watching crowd.

Officers then back away from Keunang, who lies on the ground motionless.

YouTube comments made around the time of the shooting, show anger. Dencar777 commented,'[Police are] only brave when they're mob-handed with guns.'

Meanwhile, FonikiFysalida said: 'All i can see is a number of fat asses, completely ignorant on how to disarm/handcuff a suspect, shooting him in the end. The way they were above him, clueless on how to pin him down and handcuff him says A LOT about their training. Shooting someone should be the last RESORT, not the easy solution. But that what's you get when you put average to low IQ people in law enforcement.'

Swingnig: Amateur footage appears to show Keunang swinging wildly at police officers after they approach him on Skid Row

Shots: Four officers then push Keunang, who still appears to be struggling, to the ground, while another two restrain a woman who picked up an officer's fallen nightstick. Seconds later, shots ring out

However, a number of other comments made at the time said Keunang could be seen reaching for an officer's weapon.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said the shooting was justified because Keunang tried to grab a rookie police officer's gun after he had ignored commands and become combative.

He said the officer's gun was later found partly cocked and jammed with one round of ammunition in the chamber and another in the ejection port, indicating a struggle for the weapon.

An autopsy showed Keunang, who had been convicted of armed bank robbery in 2000, had methamphetamines and marijuana in his system when he died.

Tribute: On March 2, the day after the shooting on Los Angeles's Skid Row, tributes such as these candles and flowers, were already being laid at the spot where Keunang died

Keunang's family has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city and police department, calling the shooting 'a classic case of abuse of power and deadly force.'

Joshua Piovia-Scott, the attorney representing Keunang's family in the lawsuit, said he was frustrated by the commission's finding.

'This is a cop-created killing,' he said. 'It's hard to believe that six heavily armed and trained officers and one unarmed, lone homeless man on a sunny street on a sunny day results in those officers holding the man down to the concrete and shooting him in the chest and killing him.'

He said the police commission's finding will have no effect on the lawsuit and that he's 'confident that a jury in Los Angeles is going to be outraged by this.'
But equal rights activists called the move 'troubling' and called on the University of Connecticut to 'treat students without regard to skin color'

Claim it's no different to people who share same interests living together

University says move is to boost graduation rates for minority students

Activist groups have attacked 'troubling' plans by the University of Connecticut to create a black-only living space.

From next fall, ScHOLARS House  which stands for 'Scholastic House of Leaders who are African American Researchers and Scholars'  will offer accommodation for 43 male African-American undergraduates on Storrs campus.

The university claim the move is to boos minority applicants and graduation rates and is 'no more segregated... than putting individuals with common interests together,' Vice Provost Sally Reis told Fox News.

But others appear to see it as a backwards step after decades of progress against segregation.

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Activist have hit out at 'racist' plans by the University of Connecticut (pictured) to create a black-only living space.

Niger Innis, the national spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, branded the decision 'troubling'.

'If (students) want to go to an institution that is racially diverse and integrated, then racial diversity and integration is part of it,' he told told Fox News. 'To have a university-sanctioned segregation or separation is, to me, a bit troubling.'

President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity Roger Clegg told Insidehighered.com, called for universities to forget about the 'nonsense' and to 'just treat students without regard to skin color.'

'Schools shouldnt be using race as a proxy for whos at risk and whos going to have a hard time as a student.'

Some black female students appeared to back the move but questioned why the black-only living spaces were only being offered for men.

The University of Connecticut have defended the move comparing ScHOLARS House to other communities for students who share interests in engineering and public health.

But they admit a 'community' based on race only was new to the campus.

Professor Erik Hines, who will become faculty adviser to ScHOLARS House students next fall, said that if the move was successful the university could create more groups based on race, such as a Hispanic or white-only community.

They could also bring in houses for people based in gender or different cultures.

Niger Innis, the national spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, (right) branded the decision 'troubling' but Vice Provost Sally Reis (left) said it was 'no more segregated... than putting individuals with common interests together'

More than a dozen people have already applied to join ScHOLARS House which will prioritize students who are African American/Black or mixed-race.

However, the UConn website states that students of any race were free to apply if they were 'interested in engaging in topics related to the experience of black males in higher education.'

'In predominantly white institutions, some of the experiences that African-American males face on campus is a little different than some of the other populations,' Hines said. 'In some of your courses you can be the only African American male in your class. It could be stressful and that's a huge burden to shoulder.'

ScHOLARS House will be based on a floor of the new Next Generation Connecticut Hall.

News of the black-only living space has sparked furious debate online with many claiming it is a step back to the days of segregation and the Jim Crow Laws.

THE RACIST LAWS OF SEGREGATION: JIM CROW The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in place up until 1965 enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. They enforced the segregation of public schools, public places, public transportation, as well as restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for white and black people. Named after a popular 19th-century minstrel song that stereotyped African Americans, 'Jim Crow' came to personify the government-sanctioned racial oppression and segregation in the United States. Advertisement

'Had no idea this was a thing but it seems like a terrible idea. The fact that UConn is considering racially segregated housing is ridiculous. What a great way to ensure people don't leave their comfort zones or get exposed to people of different backgrounds,' wrote The_Pressure on the UConn Reddit forum.

Esen Taishi added: 'Wow. I'm just finding it amazing that African Americans are now the in the position to be the group clamoring for segregated spaces. I just find it mind blowing. How do people not see the irony in this?'

Another Reddit user, George_Cant-Stand-Ya, also denounced it as 'racist.'

'Where is the Caucasian learning community? This is bogus. If there was a Caucasian learning community, it would be a national headline. But an all-black learning community is totally acceptable. That, is racist. That, is discrimination.'

But others defended the black-only space as a way to provide learning facilities for African American UConn students who statistically have a lower graduation rate than other students.

'Having heard about this from the person who helped make it - it's targeting male blacks because they are statistically the most vulnerable group in terms of not graduating on time or at all,' thehalcyon5finance wrote.

'A learning community designed to combat this issue would be wholly beneficial to not only the specific students, but to the university as a whole.'

Puppetry major Isaac Bloodworth claimed that objections to ScHOLARS House were racist.
Victorian Government says hoaxes are the work of 'anonymous cowards'

Police operations are underway across the country again, as more schools have been evacuated after receiving threatening phone call.

A NSW Police spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia an operation was taking place at Mona Vale Public School.

There were also reports at least three schools had again been evacuated in Queensland, according to the Courier Mail, while the Herald Sun reported a number of campuses across Victoria have also been put into lockdown.

However, the NSW Police spokesman suggested the 'threats' are likely the work of students or young people trying to get attention.

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At least one of the hoax threats made against Victoria schools came from Nossal High School near Melbourne, the principal of Berwick Lodge Primary said

It comes just hours after it was revealed one of the more than 50 schools sent into lockdown by fake bombs threats in recent days was allegedly evacuated after a hoax phone call from an exclusive college in Melbourne.

A number of schools in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the ACT have received violent threats in recent days, with police previously investigating whether the calls were made by Islamic State terrorists in Syria, according to The Australian.

But Berwick Lodge Primary School Principal Henry Grossek said the call his school received on Friday to spark an evacuation came from another school in Melbourne, Nossal High School.

'We had the number, and police checked the number, and it was Nossal High School,' Mr Grossek said, according to The Age.

Berwick Lodge Primary School (pictured) Principal Henry Grossek said the call his school received on Friday to spark an evacuation came from another school in Melbourne, Nossal High School

Nossal High School Principal Roger Page did not deny the allegations, saying: 'It's not nonsense, but I can't comment on it.'

'The caller engaged in conversation with the receptionist. All he said was, "there is a bomb in your school". After she asked him who he was, he said: "it doesn't matter, you won't have much time", and hung up ... he sounded like an Australian man.'

The newspaper also claimed Nossal High School Principal Roger Page did not deny the allegations, saying: 'It's not nonsense, but I can't comment on it.'

On Tuesday afternoon, Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said the current spate of hoax calls was being taken extremely seriously.

'These anonymous cowards will feel the full force of the law,' Mr Merlino said.

'As a parent, I can't imagine the angst that parents are going through upon hearing of the threats. This is not just a harmless prank.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said the hoaxes were the work of 'anonymous cowards'

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the automated calls received on Tuesday were similar to the ones made on Friday

WHAT AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS THAT HAVE RECEIVED HOAX THREATS? VICTORIA Lucknow Primary School Koo Wee Rup Primary School Sorrento Primary School Wonthaggi Primary School Reservoir High School Cowes Primary School Kingsville Primary School Thomas Chirnside Primary School Aitken Creek Primary School Warragul Primary School Eastbourne Primary School The Lakes South Morang Black Rock Primary School St Anne's Primary School in Seaford St Columba's Primary School in Elwood Mornington Park Primary School Tinternvale Primary School St Georges Road Primary School St Patrick's Primary School in Pakenham Greenvale Primary School ACT Lanyon High School Forest Primary Kingsford Smith School NEW SOUTH WALES Sydney Girls High School Hunters Hill High School Riverside Girls High School Mosman High School South Sydney High School Cheltenham Girls High School Sydney Technical High School James Ruse Agricultural High School Randwick Girls High School Penrith High School Woolooware High Mona Vale Public St Monica's Primary School Ulladulla Public School Lake Illawarra High School QUEENSLAND Surfers Paradise State School Caningeraba State School Oxenford State School Bounty Boulevard State School Gap Senior High School Buddina State School Townsville Senior High School MacGregor SHS According to media reports Advertisement

'This is criminal behaviour that has diverted police resources and it is not acceptable.'

It comes after police operations were ordered again on Tuesday after as least 31 threatening phone calls were received.

Schools in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and Illawarra were tageted in NSW, while Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville were subjected to the threats in Queensland.

Three additional schools in Canberra were evacuated shortly before noon, according to the Canberra Times.

The newspaper reported the schools in Canberra impacted were: Lanyon High School, Forest Primary and Kingsford Smith School.

In Queensland, the schools evacuated were: Surfers Paradise State School, Caningeraba State School, Oxenford State School, Bounty Boulevard State School, Gap Senior High School, Buddina State School, Townsville Senior High School and MacGregor SHS, according to the Courier Mail.

Bomb threats have been made against schools for the third straight day on Tuesday, with lockdowns put in place across New South Wales, Queensland (pictured) and the ACT

It is believed about 20 schools in Victoria received calls, however Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said it is not being regarded as a terrorist event.

The Victorian schools were: Lucknow Primary School, Koo Wee Rup Primary School, Sorrento Primary School, Wonthaggi Primary School, Reservoir High School, Kingsville Primary School, Thomas Chirnside Primary School, Aitken Creek Primary School, Warragul Primary School, Eastbourne Primary School, The Lakes South Morang, Black Rock Primary School, St Anne's Primary School in Seaford, St Columba's Primary School in Elwood, Mornington Park Primary School, St Patrick's Primary School in Pakenham, and Greenvale Primary School.

A number of police cars were seen outside Glenmore State High in Rockhampton, Queensland, after it was put into lockdown on Tuesday

NSW Police said the lockdowns were the result of the latest round of hoax calls.

'There is no evidence these are anything other than hoaxes designed to cause unnecessary disruption and inconvenience,' at statement read.

Victoria Police said it was aware 'a number of schools' were impacted received threatening phone calls.

'The schools have enacted their emergency management plans as a precaution,' a statement read.

Police were still searching Townsville State High School on Tuesday when parents began arriving to check on their children

Queensland's Education Department released this statement about the threats on Tuesday afternoon

'It appears to be a series of hoax calls similar to last week's incidents, designed to cause disruption and attract media attention.

'We are aware that schools in a number of other states have also received similar phone calls today.'

It comes after as many as nine schools went into lockdown across Sydney and students were evacuated after a number of 'violent threats' were made.

The police operation lasted more than two hours on Monday, after starting about 1:30pm and finishing shortly before 4pm.

Hundreds of students were seen outside Sydney Girls High School after an evacuation on Monday

A police van is seen outside Sydney Girls High School during an operation on Monday afternoon

NSW Police said investigations into the incidents are ongoing, after earlier describing the operation as a 'precaution'.

Social media images showed hundreds of students standing outside schools across Sydney, with a heavy police presence also visible.

'My son just drove past Sydney Girls High while it was being evacuated: about 20 police vehicles on scene,' ABC presenter Mark Colvin tweeted.

Other people on social media claimed Hunters Hill High School, on Sydney's north shore, was part of the operation.

Police rushed to as many as nine schools after threats were reportedly made in a number of phone calls

'Getting texts from my son at HHH. Lockdown is real. Not sure about threat,' one parent tweeted.

It is also believed Riverside Girls High School in Huntley Point and Mosman High School have been evacuated.

According to the newspaper, the school impacted are: Sydney Girls High School, Hunters Hill High School, Riverside Girls High School, Mosman High School, South Sydney High School, Cheltenham Girls High School, Sydney Technical High School, James Ruse Agricultural High School and Randwick Girls High School.

One of the schools impacted by the operation is believed to be Sydney Girls High School

It is believed one of the schools put into lockdown on Monday afternoon was Riverside Girls High School in Huntley Point

A police spokesman could not confirm whether the operation was linked to evacuations last week, where a number of schools were evacuated after hoax bomb threats from believed Russian hackers.

A statement also read: 'Police are warning that making such threats is a serious criminal offence and every effort will be made to identify the person or persons responsible.'

The NSW Department of Education said it is working with police after 'several schools' received threats.

Nine schools received threats, including Hunters Hill High School (pictured), according to reports

Randwick Girls High School was also reportedly evacuated after a threat on Monday

'Each school is taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its students and no students are in danger,' a statement read.

'Police are attending at each location as a precaution. Concerned parents can contact their child's school.'

The threats came after a string of similar bomb hoax calls around the world in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Tokyo this week, with 18 schools closed on one day in the UK.

A Russian Twitter group known as 'Evacuators 2K16' appeared to have claimed credit for a string of hoax calls which led 14 UK schools and six French schools to be evacuated earlier this week.
The Australian Defence Force has been accused of a 'deliberate high-level' cover-up of abuse, including claims one special forces soldier was sexually assaulted and another officer was sent dozens of autopsy images of a best mate he accidentally killed.

The allegations by SAS Trooper Evan Donaldson and former Army officer Marcus Saltmarsh were tabled in parliament on Tuesday night by independent Senator Jacqui Lambie.

'Evan was bashed, bound, bagged, blindfolded, stripped naked, placed in stress positions, deprived of sleep and food for 96 hours and during that time he was sexually assaulted and left bleeding,' the senator said.

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Australian SAS Trooper Evan Donaldson (pictured) was allegedly sexually assaulted after being bound, bagged, stripped naked and deprived of sleep and food for four days

The stunning claims from Senator Lambie include that SAS Trooper Evan Donaldson was 'bashed, bound, bagged, blindfolded, stripped naked, placed in stress positions, deprived of sleep and food for 96 hours and during that time he was sexually assaulted and left bleeding'

The senator called on retired army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison to resign as Australian of the Year as she accused the defence force of covering-up incidents of abuse.

She claimed the cover-up of Mr Saltmarsh's case had been at a very high level, 'spectacular and absolutely deliberate'.

Both he and Trooper Donaldson had been the 'subject of extraordinary abuse of office by senior members of the Australian Army'.

Senator Lambie, a former non-commissioned army officer, took retired General Morrison to task over his involvement in the cases.

Mr Saltmarsh should be classified as having a total permanent impairment for post-traumatic stress disorder after being sent 28 autopsy photos of his best mate, Senator Lambie said.

While serving in East Timor in 2000, Mr Saltmarsh's rifle independently discharged, accidentally killing Corporal Stuart Jones.

Former army chief David Morrison pictured with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after being named Australian of the Year at a ceremony in Canberra on 25 January

Senator Lambie (left) tabled two shocking cases of abuse she alleged occurred within the Australian Defence Force, including that of former Army officer Marcus Saltmarsh (right) amid further allegations they were covered up at a 'high-level'

A military court found he had no case to answer, Senator Lambie said.

Senator Lambie said General Morrison, the former chief of army, was aware of his department's 'attack' on Mr Saltmarsh.

'On that point alone, Mr Morrison should resign from his Australian of the Year position, let alone the involvement he has had in SAS Trooper Donaldson's matters and his appalling advocacy for ordinary diggers and veterans,' she said under parliamentary privilege.

She claimed Trooper Donaldson had been the subject of almost seven years of government investigations and the Defence department had misled six defence ministers, including the current one Marise Payne, over the case.

Senator Lambie said the minister's latest compensation offer to Mr Donaldson had been grossly inadequate.

Fellow Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the alleged incident involving Trooper Donaldson was unacceptable and cruel and must be resolved as soon as possible.

'What he has gone through has been appalling. Defence needs to sort this out as a matter of urgency,' he said.

General Morrison declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia and a response has also been sought from the Australian Defence Force.




The oldest female veteran in the United States, who served in England and France during World War II, died at 108 years old.

Alyce Dixon, who was one of the first African-American women to join the army, passed away in her sleep at the VA's community living facility in Washington, DC, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced.

She enrolled in 1943 and worked for postal services when she was stationed in England and France as part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

The battalion, which had about 900 female members, was the only unit of African American women in the Women's Army Corps to serve overseas during World War II.

Alyce Dixon, pictured talking to her superior officer while serving with the 6888th Postal Battalion, joined the army in 1943 and was stationed in England and France

Dixon (left), pictured with the director of the VA medical center while celebrating her 105th birthday, was born in Boston in 1097. She had vitiligo, a condition that causes the skin to lose its pigmentation

After her time in the army, Dixon worked at the Census Bureau, then at the Pentagon, where she purchased 'everything from pencils to airplanes,' the VA said.

When she was born in 1907 in Boston, the average life expectancy for an American was 47 years.

She moved to DC in 1924 with her family, CBS DC reported. There, she went to Howard University but dropped out to help support her family.

Dixon was married once and divorced her husband over an $18 grocery bill, the VA said. He had put her on an allowance after finding out she was sending money to her family.

The independent-minded Dixon, who changed the spelling of her name from Alice to Alyce when she was 16 years old to take after actress Alyce Mills, moved out and found a job.

When she joined the army at 56 years old, battalions were still segregated. Dixon and the other women of the 6888th dined and slept separately from other troops.

When Dixon (left), pictured with fellow resident April Goodwin (right) joined the army, battalions were still segregated. Her battalion slept and ate separately from other troops

At the Pentagon, where she worked as a secretary after leaving the military, she was part of a pool of women who had to wait every day for an assignment.

She saw white girls getting called but her turn never came.

'I went in and talked to the man in charge,' she told the VA in a previous interview. 'I said, 'I've been sitting here now a whole week and you haven't called me. What's wrong?' The man told me he was trying to find me a spot. So, I said, "What are you trying to find me, a "black" spot?"

'I didn't like that. God made us all. We all eat and sleep and bleed alike. It just doesn't make any sense.'

Dixon (left), pictured with Michelle Obama and veteran Ester Corcoran (right) listed President Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr as the two people she admired the most. She was among the first African American women who joined the army

She called President Barack Obama 'brilliant' during the same 2013 interview and listed him along with Martin Luther King Jr as the two people she admired most.

Dixon, who retired in 1973, was known as the Queen Bee at the VA's community living center and never went out without doing her hair and makeup.

'I tell everyone to dress nice for yourself and you'll feel better, even if you don't feel good,' she told the VA. 'Wear your jewelry, fix your hair. No one has to tell you that you look good...do it for yourself.'
Hitting the gym as part of your fitness regime could be making you sick, according to experts.

Microbiologist Dr Laura Bowater warned that moist, sweaty work-out rooms are a breeding ground for germs, with the risk increasing two-fold at this time of year when gyms see a huge surge in customers.

Dr Bowater, senior lecturer at the Norwich Medical School in the University of East Anglia, said Britain's gyms are the 'perfect breeding ground' for illness.

Hitting the gym as part of your fitness regime could be making you sick, according to experts (file picture)

She said: 'The gym is such a busy place, especially at this time of year when there's a huge spike in the number of people purchasing a membership.

'You end up with lots of people working-out in close proximity to each other.

'And it's here that viruses can spread easily from one human to another, with the chances of you becoming unwell increasing twofold in January and February. It leaves the gymgoer open to lots of different ways in which they can pick up an infection.

'Viruses and bacteria hang around and stay as droplets in the air. If you sneeze in a crowded gym, these tiny droplets become a viral particle that others can breathe in.

'And if there are viruses and bacteria in the droplets in the air, then they are made even worse in the gym because of factors like the fans and air conditioning units that are constantly running to stop those working-out overheating.

'This increased air flow make the germs move around much more than normal, and also allow them to stay in the air even longer, meaning that gym goers will be more exposed to those particular viruses.'

Dr Bowater, on the board of the Federation of European Microbiology Societies, even urged gym-bunnies to take antibacterial wipes with them before even thinking about using a piece of equipment.

She added: 'We can put bacteria or viruses onto a surface by touching them, so the handles of the bike you're riding, or the weights you're lifting, can easily be contaminated.

Experts say the best option is to go outside to exercise instead of the gym (file picture)

'The germs will be there from the last person who touched them and because people are using equipment one after the other, it's the perfect breeding ground for germs.

'If you exercise outside instead of indoors at the gym you will be less at risk of getting poorly, because you won't be in an environment that's full of germs.

'However, if you are continuing to train in the gym through the winter months, then the best way to avoid getting ill would be to use anti-bacterial wipes.

'Make sure you wipe down equipment and wash your hands after using it. Another important tip would be to avoid touching your face, especially your mouth.'

UK health and wellbeing expert Jonathan Evans said those on a new year health kick should consider hitting the running trails outdoors instead.

Evans, founder of leading health and wellbeing firm MANFLU, said: 'Your new gym membership might be a nice motivational tool in your quest to get ripped, but if you can't leave the house afterwards it's not much use!
A mother played a drinking game then got behind the wheel of a car and tried to scare the occupants of a moped before crashing and killing her teenage daughter, a Perth court has heard.

Janet Louise Kirby had six passengers, aged between 15 and 20, crammed into her five-seater jeep when it left the road and rolled over in Merriwa in March.

The West Australian District Court heard on Tuesday that 15-year-old Lois Kirby, who was unrestrained in the boot, was thrown from the vehicle and died from her injuries, while three other passengers were also hurt.

Mother Janet Kerby (right) was driving an overpacked Jeep when it flipped in March last year, killing her teenage daughter Lois (left) who was unrestrained in the boot at the time

Ms Kerby had been playing a drinking game before she got behind the wheel and had a blood alcohol reading of 0.110 per cent

She pleaded guilty to a number of charges - including dangerous driving occasioning death - at the West Australian District Court on Tuesday, and will be sentenced on Thursday

The court heard Kirby, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.110 per cent, had been 'egged on' to swerve to scare the moped rider and their passenger, then over-corrected while attempting to overtake the vehicle and lost control.

Prosecutor Zarah Burgess said it was more than just a tragic accident because Kirby had made several deliberate and risky decisions.

Ms Burgess said Kirby had chosen to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol, allowed passengers to travel in the boot and drove in a reckless manner.

'What happened was tragic and no doubt Ms Kirby will be living with the heartbreaking consequences for the rest of her life, but there was potential for the tragedy to be so much more,' Ms Burgess said.

The public needed to understand that taking risks could have devastating consequences and people must be deterred from taking similar action, she added.

Kirby, who has pleaded guilty to several charges including dangerous driving occasioning death, is on bail and will be sentenced on Thursday.

Tributes have flooded in for Lois Kirby, 15, who died from serious injuries sustained in the car crash

A Facebook tribute page to Lois Kerby shows a number of heartwarming messages - this one from her sister

Mother Janet Kirby (left) in a photo with her daughter Lois (right), who tragically died in the car crash

A five-year-old girl writes: 'Dear Lois please come back love xxxxoooo'

Countless comments online paid tribute to the loss of a 'precious' girl
An orphaned joey has captured hearts after his new carer posted a photograph of the tiny marsupial snuggled between two stuffed toys.

The baby kangaroo is yet to be named after he was rescued from the side of a road after his mother was hit by a car on the Ross Highway in the Northern Territory.

Rescuer Chris 'Brolga' Barns, from Alice Springs' runs The Kangaroo Sanctuary and rescued the furry baby.

One of the main ways he nurtures the rescued animals is to let them sleep in a pouch on his stomach, in an attempt to make them feel like their mother.

A little orphaned joey has captured the hearts of social media users after his new carer posted a photograph of him snuggled among stuffed toys

The joey has been sleeping with Mr Barns since he was rescued.

'Holding a baby in the pouch on your stomach is the best way to imitate the security it would have with Mum,' the animal carer told Daily Mail Australia.

'He sleeps with me on my stomach. I will do that as long as it takes for him to gets over the trauma of losing Mum.

'He sleeps on my belly in a little pouch in a little pillow case so he can have the breathing and warmth of my body.'

The baby kangaroo is yet to be named after Chris 'Brolga' Barns (above with the joey), from Alice Springs' The Kangaroo Sanctuary, rescued the joey after his mother was hit by a car on the Ross Highway

The animal carer said the joey had been inside his dead mother's pouch for a few days until Mr Barns got to him

Mr Barns said he spent the past few days keeping the kangaroo alive as it was severely dehydrated

The animal carer said the joey had been inside his dead mother's pouch for a few days until Mr Barns got to him.

'We were just trying to keep him alive. We've put a lot of baby formula into him and now he's bright and wide-eyed and bushy-tailed,' Mr Barns told Daily Mail Australia.

'He's not talking much, he's quiet. He was quite dehydrated and sick the first few days. He's showing a personality of being a happy, little baby.'

Mr Barns said the unnamed joey had been very popular on social media with many users expressing concern about his welfare.

Then rescue worker has been providing updates on the joey's condition and in his latest post, shared a photo of the kangaroo wrapped up in sheets with his ears poking out and surrounded by stuffed toys.

'Our new orphan baby kangaroo is doing well. When he isn't cuddled up in a tiny "pouch" on our stomachs he is happily snuggled up sleeping with cuddle toys,' Mr Barns said.

Last year another joey at The Kangaroo Sanctuary made social media waves when he hopped into a temporary cloth pouch

This joey named Patrick is seen jumping into this makeshift pouch at The Kangaroo Sanctuary

People are gushing over the cute little bundle and have started to suggest names for the joey.

'Oh, he is so sweet! So lovely to see him tucked up and sleeping peacefully with his cuddly friends,' one woman wrote.

'Maybe you might consider calling him Pip like our youngster who was rescued from the side of the road by kind people too.'

Another woman urged Mr Barns to consider 'Terry' after the veteran BBC broadcaster who died on the weekend.

Mr Barns said it was important for animal rescuers to carry around emergency pouch kits

He said it was the best way to bring joeys comfort after a traumatic experience like losing their mother

'On, how sweet is that. Glad to hear he is doing well. Have you named him yet? If not may I suggest Terry in memory of our beloved Terry Wogan, who died a few days ago,' she said.

Mr Barns encouraged anyone with a 'cute' name suggestion to post on The Kangaroo Sanctuary Facebook page.
Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson, hoping that the odds are ever in Bernie Sanders' favor, explained why it was important to him that Iowans gave the Vermont senator a practically even slice of the vote in last night's caucuses.

'The fact that the rest of the world can see that the people of Iowa stood up and said, we stand behind this, we are not all represented by these bigot-type people,' the actor, who spent the weekend stumping for Sanders in Iowa told Daily Mail Online, alluding to perhaps some of the Republican candidates running for president.

The Hunger Games actor, who played Peeta in the movie series, said he'd vote for Hillary Clinton if he had to, just to keep the White House blue.

'Let me tell you the truth, I want a Democratic White House, that's what it comes down to,' he said and paused.

But he and fellow surrogate Mark Foster, of the band Foster the People, said they planned to continue to stump for Sanders, with Nevada the next state in their sights.

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A thumbs up for Bernie: Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson spent his weekend in Iowa stumping for the Vermont senator telling Dailymail.com he's an antidote for those 'bigot-type people' also running for president

On the trail: Josh Hutcherson tries to persuade students at Drake University in Des Moines to back Bernie

Josh Hutcherson posed with other Bernie Sanders fans and spoke on behalf of the Vermont senator at a packed rally on the Iowa State campus on Saturday night

Hunger Games actor Josh Hutcherson (right) talked to potential voters throughout the weekend, which may have helped Bernie Sanders pick up nearly the same amount of support in Iowa as Hillary Clinton

Josh Hutcherson (left) got into Bernie Sanders thanks to Foster the People frontrman Mark Foster, who played several shows for the Vermont senator in Iowa to attract young people to the caucuses

Hutcherson said that if the country wants to enact change, 'I think Bernie is the only candidate that represents that.'

'He's the only one that's talking about campaign finance reform, he's the only one talking about getting money out of politics, at least until some people hear it's a good idea and try to jump on the train,' Hutcherson said, staying mum on just who he was pointing fingers at.

Clinton released a campaign finance plan in September, just as Sanders was slipping ahead of her in Iowa.

'But Bernie has been saying it for a very long time,' Hutcherson said.

Foster and Hutcherson both said they were new to many parts of the political process. Foster had never canvassed for a candidate before, but went door to door for Bernie this weekend, making the plea.

Hutcherson said he 'tabled' for Sanders, offering out information to university students. He also appeared at a rally at the University of Iowa, where thousands attended to hear Sanders speak, among other Bernie events.

The two originally discovered Sanders when the Vermont senator visited Los Angeles and held an event among young creative at a friend of Foster's house.

Foster then introduced Sanders' politics to Hutcherson.

And both celebrities were ecstatic to see their man tie, which they considered a win.

'It's a huge win for Bernie Sanders,' Foster said. 'Eight months ago he was down by 41 points trailing Hillary Clinton and the fact that it's a dead heat, a tie, just crazy what he's done in such a short period of time with a grassroots campaign.'

Hutcherson said he was absolutely pumped last night as the caucus results trickled out.

'Over the moon, over the moon,' the actor gushed. 'We were with the whole Bernie staff and we were in his hotel just watching them roll in and every delegate, as it got closer, we were like "yeahhhhh, 50/50."'

The 23-year-old Hutcherson wasn't alone in his excitement as Sanders received a whopping 84 percent of the 17 to 29-year-old vote. Clinton got 14 percent, meaning that the Vermont senator beat her by 70 points.

Foster the People's Mark Foster started out his weekend by playing an acoustic set in downtown Des Moines to get people excited about Bernie Sanders' candidacy

When now President Barack Obama edged out Clinton and John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses in 2008, using the strategy of going into high schools to sign rising 18-year-olds up to vote, he only bested his competitors by 43 points.

'I'm going to have some work to do to reach out to young voters,' Clinton said on CNN today.

When Bill Clinton was asked about why Sanders has so much more support than his wife among young people the former president gave a verbal eyeroll.

'System is rigged again ... if you vote for me, I'll break up the big banks, tax the millionaires and give you free college, cut the cost of healthcare  end of story,' Bill Clinton told NBC's Andrea Mitchell.

'So what's wrong with that?' Mitchell replied.

Clinton said he didn't like how Sanders labeled everyone else 'establishment.'

'Everybody who disagrees with me is a member of the establishment. Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign fund, the newspapers in [New Hampshire], my governor, my senator, everyone,' Bill Clinton continued.
The almost 700 animals seized from a no-kill shelter in North Carolina sets a record for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the group that is now caring for the pets.

ASPCA spokeswoman Kelly Krause said on Tuesday the organization has rescued 696 animals from The Haven-Friends for Life in Hoke County since last week - the largest companion animal rescue the ASPCA has conducted in its 150-year history.

The previous record for companion animals rescued from one location was 692 rescued cats in 2012 in Lee, Florida.

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Veterinarian Dr Jennifer Betz, left, and behavioral consultant Bobbie Bhambree examine a rescued dog where hundreds of rescued animals are being treated and held in a warehouse about an hour southwest of Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday

The 696 animals seized from a no-kill shelter in North Carolina sets a record for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the group that is now caring for the pets

ASPCA spokeswoman Kelly Krause said on Tuesday the organization has rescued 696 animals from The Haven-Friends for Life (pictured) in Hoke County since last week - the largest companion animal rescue it has conducted in its 150-year history

The ASPCA is caring for the animals at two warehouses at an undisclosed location about an hour southwest of Raleigh.

On its website, the ASPCA noted that its responders are still on the ground and will likely stay there for several months.

Stephen Joseph Spear, 67, and Linden Spear, 59, managed The Haven and appeared in court last week on animal cruelty charges.

Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said in a statement last week that they each had been charged with four counts of animal cruelty and one count of drug possession. He also said more charges are expected.

A family friend said last week that the couple dedicated their lives to caring for the animals.

Last Wednesday, more than 270 dogs, 250 cats, 40 horses and numerous farm animals were discovered in 'filthy kennels', cages, outdoor pens and paddocks' on the 122-acre property, according to the ASPCA.

Stephen Joseph Spear (left), 67, and wife Linden Spear (right), 59, managed The Haven. Authorities said they each had been charged with four counts of animal cruelty and one count of drug possession

A rescued dog peers from his kennel. The ASPCA is caring for the animals at two warehouses at an undisclosed location about an hour southwest of Raleigh

Some of the rescued animals had untreated injuries and illnesses and investigators found dozens of carcasses on the site, an ASPCA official said

'What we found today at this facility, self-described as "North Carolina's most successful no-kill shelter", is unacceptable,' Tim Rickey, ASPCA Senior Vice President of Field Investigations and Response, said on Wednesday.

'This is one of the largest animal seizures the ASPCA has ever conducted in our 150 years as an organization.

'We have a team of more than 130 responders on the ground to remove and care for these hundreds of neglected animals who have clearly not been receiving adequate care.

'Our goal is to help them become healthy and ultimately find them homes.'

By Friday, about 300 dogs were already being cared for in two 40,000-square-foot warehouses opened by the ASPCA.

The rest were being moved there, cared-for by a total of 140 veterinarians, staffers and volunteers.

Some had untreated injuries and illnesses and investigators found dozens of carcasses on the site, Rickey said on Friday.

Once the animals were moved and placed in clean kennels with shavings and raised beds, they seemed much happier, ASPCA shelter director Ehren Melius said.

The animals had been held at the private shelter in Raeford that last had a license from the state in June 2015, and was managed by the Spears.

According to ASPCA officials, The Haven has operated without a state license for at least 10 years, The Robesonian reported.

According to The Haven's website, it has adopted out a total of 36,590 animals - 612 alone this year.

An inspection by the state Agriculture Department in September found many deficiencies, including inadequate water and medical care.

The animals had been held at the private shelter in Raeford that last had a license from the state in June 2015, and was managed by the Spears

An injured and rescued dog waits a kennel at a warehouse where hundreds of rescued animals are being kept for treatment

Once the animals were rescued, moved and placed in clean kennels with shavings and raised beds, they seemed much happier, ASPCA shelter director Ehren Melius said

After investigations following complaints in June and again last Monday, and the Spears' failure to correct shortcomings found during last year's inspections, the veterinarian who leads the Agriculture Department's animal welfare section denied their application to be a legal animal shelter.

It also warned last Tuesday of thousands of dollars in fines if operations continued.

Nancy Moore, who is allowing the couple to stay at her Southern Pines home, said last week that she has supported the Haven with donations for the past 10 years and visited regularly.

She described the shelter as a well-maintained operation that has adopted out thousands of well-cared-for dogs and cats over the years.

'I think they have provided a tremendous service in terms of the community, and certainly for animals. I would say they have dedicated their lives to basically taking care of them,' Moore said on Friday.

Four of the rescued dogs were being treated for respiratory illnesses in a sick room, including a puppy that slept in a tiny ball at the back of her kennel

The ASPCA will soon petition in court for legal custody of the animals and hopes all will be adopted

Four of the rescued dogs were being treated for respiratory illnesses in a sick room, including a puppy that slept in a tiny ball at the back of her kennel.

Some were taken to specialists for treatment of injuries such as a broken leg or illnesses, ASPCA officials said. One dog suffering from kidney failure was euthanized.

The ASPCA will soon petition in court for legal custody of the animals and hopes all will be adopted.

'We're thankful the Department of Agriculture took action when they did,' Rickey said. 'But I question why they didn't take action earlier.'

Agriculture Department spokesman Brian Long blamed 'legal wrangling' and broken promises by the couple.
Cookie is 'sweet' and 'eats like a horse' says volunteer

But now a volunteer-run dog adoption group has taken Cookie in and found her a foster family

An elderly Cocker Spaniel has broken the internet's heart after her owners abandoned her at a shelter and walked away with a younger dog.

San Bernardino City Shelter posted a picture of Cookie, who was left howling while her owners left.

The emotional photo sparked outrage online.

'The news is trying to make me cry today with the story about Cookie the cocker spaniel. Why would a family leave her like that? #terrible' wrote Twitter user @ErinKiddIT.

'Ugh. I was completely ready for bed and then I just had to read about Cookie the cocker spaniel who was left at the shelter for a puppy.' tweeted @KaraMorton.

Abandoned: Cookie was left crying after her owners left her behind at the shelter  while taking their other dog, a black Labrador, with them. This is the image of the sad dog that went viral on the web

Left: Cookie was rounded up by the shelter alongside a young black Labrador retriever on Saturday, but when the owners of both dogs came around to collect their wayward pets, they decided to leave Cookie behind

Cookie was rounded up by the shelter alongside a young black Labrador retriever on Saturday, but when the owners of both dogs came around to collect their wayward pets, they decided to leave Cookie behind, despite her persistent cries.

Naturally, her story went viral the moment it hit the web, as dog fans railed against the cruelty of Cookie's former family.

Even the authorities seemed upset: a Kansas City Star report quotes a member of the San Bernardino City Shelter as saying, 'Cookie is crying for her family. She watched as the family drove away and left her to die.'

Incensed: Twitter users were furious about Cookie's treatment by her former owners

But every dog has its day, and this was Cookie's; while she was abandoned by her owners, a dog-loving charity was more than happy to take her on and give her a good home.

Lynn Hamilton of volunteer-run dog adoption group OC Small Paws (So UT) was contacted by a friend at the shelter, and pretty soon she and her team were on their way to take Cookie under their care.

And while Hamilton says she believes Cookie was not too well cared for before  she says dirt embedded in Cookie's belly suggests she was kept solely outside, and that tumors on the dog's ovaries suggest overbreeding  the elderly canine is happier now.

Home free: This picture by volunteer group OC Small Paws (So UT) shows Cookie looking very dignified after her rescue from the shelter

'She underwent an operation to remove the tumors about three weeks ago.' Hamilton explained. She has one more operation to go to get that last tumor.

'But she's been a typical, happy, healthy dog. She's always stealing cookie and pizza scraps  she eats like a horse!

'She's very good with other dogs, and with cats. I think she mostly just likes the attention  I think she was starved of attention before. She's a sweet old girl.'

Because of her age and condition, Cookie has now been placed with a foster family rather than put up for adoption.

But Hamilton says that people touched by Cookie's story should seek out older dogs at their local dog shelters - and that they shouldn't be put off by the dogs' advanced years.

'We adopted a 13-year-old and she's very active,' says Hamilton. 'She loves running around and playing with kids.'
Health authorities urge employers to encourage staff to be on their feet

The findings are based on a study of 2,500 people by Dutch scientists

If you spend all day sitting at your desk, going to the gym in the evening may not undo the damage, research suggests.

Experts have found that the longer someone spends inactive each day, the more likely they are to develop type two diabetes.

Critically, even doing intense exercise does not reduce the impact of sitting for lengthy periods.

In a study of 2,500 people, Dutch scientists calculated that every extra hour each day spent in a sedentary position increases the risk of type two diabetes by more than a fifth.

Experts have found that even doing intense exercise does not reduce the impact of sitting for lengthy periods

People in Britain spend an average of nine waking hours sitting or lying down each day - a trend replicated in the Dutch study.

Researchers used a wearable device that detects motion to track the movement of the volunteers, who had an average age of 60.

Participants wore the accelerometer strapped to their thighs for 24 hours a day for eight consecutive days.

The results showed that those with type two diabetes were the least active, spending an extra 26 minutes on average sedentary each day.

Even when the researchers took exercise patterns into account, people who had long periods of inactivity were still much more likely to be diabetic.

The scientists, from Maastricht University, calculated that each hour spent sedentary increases the chance of being type two diabetic by 22 per cent.

The authors, led by Julianne van der Berg, said: Our findings could have important implications for public health as they suggest that sedentary behaviour may play a significant role in the development and prevention of type two diabetes, independent of high-intensity physical activity.

Consideration should be given to including strategies to reduce the amount of sedentary time in diabetes prevention programmes.

The researchers, whose results appear in the journal Diabetologia, considered the possibility that people with diabetes are only less active because of their ill-health.

But they ruled this out when they discovered that excluding participants on insulin medication, who could be considered seriously ill, the results remained the same.

This may suggest that sedentary behaviour at least partly preceded type two diabetes, the team wrote.

Hitting the gym after a whole day of sitting down won't help counteract the effects prolonged inactivity can have, according to experts (file picture)

Previous research has suggested that the link between inactivity and diabetes is due to contractions of muscle cells, which promote the metabolism of glucose.

The findings are likely to resonate among office workers - who spend an average of 75 per cent of their working day sitting in front of a computer screen  as well as lorry and taxi drivers, checkout workers and aeroplane pilots.

Doctors are worried that this sedentary behaviour is also contributing to obesity and cancer.

It is also directly linked to back, neck and muscle pain - the cause of 131 million sick days each year.

Public Health England recently urged employers to persuade staff to spend at least two hours a day on their feet.

They recommended that employers set a daily quota of time when their staff should be on their feet.

And they said all offices should have a number of higher desks where people can stand, staff should regularly walk around the office, and people should break up long-periods of sitting.

Dame Sally Davies, the Governments chief medical officer, has called inactivity a silent killer.

She advises that adults spend 150 minutes a week  two and a half hours  in moderate activity in bursts of ten minutes or more.

There are currently 4 million people in the UK living with diabetes, including an estimated 549,000 people who have type two diabetes but do not know it.
Richard Schubach, 58, was found dead Tuesday outside his New Jersey law office

A New Jersey lawyer who was accused of propositioning female clients for sexual favors and fondling the breast of an undercover agent was found dead Tuesday in his car from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Raritan Borough police found Richard Schubach unresponsive in his car, parked outside his Raritan, New Jersey law office, shortly after 7.30am with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, NJ.com reported.

He was pronounced dead at 8.05am by paramedics.

The exact cause of death is pending an autopsy by the state's Northern Regional Medical Examiner's office.

Schubach, 58, was arrested Friday after a sting operation conducted by the Sommerset County Prosecutor's Office.

The SCPO sent a female undercover agent to gather evidence at Schubach's office on January 28 after he was accused by female clients of offering to represent them at a discount in exchange for sexual favors, NJ.com reported.

At the end of their first meeting, Schubach allegedly asked the agent, who he believed was a prospective client, to return the next day and wear something 'pretty.'

During her second visit to Shubach's office on January 29, the attorney allegedly fondled the agent's breast and inner thigh.

After the agent told Shubach 'I don't like this,' he allegedly uncovered one of her breasts and placed his mouth on it.

Later during the same visit, he allegedly asked the agent to face him and then lifted up her skirt.

Schubach was arrested in his office and released after posting $2,500 bail with a 10 percent option, according to NJ.com.

Richard Schubach practiced law in New Jersey from 1983 to 2016, when he was accused of sexual crimes and later found dead from an apparent suicide

Schubach was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar Association in 1983.

Prior to the recent allegations of sexual crimes, the attorney had been disciplined by the state Supreme Court three times and was suspended from practicing law twice for 90 days each.

Records of Schubach's 1992 and 2004 suspensions and a 1997 reprimand make no mention of sexual crimes.

On those occasions, Schubach was disciplined for violations including misstating his income on mortgage applications and gross neglect.

Schubach is survived by a wife and two daughters, according to NJ.com.
Harvey Proctor: He will face no further action

Scotland Yard is to close its disastrous investigation into alleged VIP child sex abuse and murder after concluding there is no substance to the claims.

Fourteen months after a senior officer described a key witness to the supposed killings as being credible and true, the Metropolitan Police are on the brink of making a humiliating climbdown.

An official statement announcing the end of the Operation Midland inquiry, launched after sensational claims by a man known as Nick, is set to be made in the coming days.

Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, accused of being part of a murderous gang of VIP paedophiles including ex-prime minister Edward Heath and ex-home secretary Leon Brittan, will be formally told he will face no further action over the allegations.

Last month the Met told former Army chief Lord Bramall, 92, that he would face no charges over Nicks claims that he was abused by him more than 30 years ago.

The case against the field marshal was so weak that the Met did not even ask Crown lawyers to consider prosecuting the hounded D-Day hero.

His home was searched by more than 20 officers in front of his dying wife in March last year.

Lord Bramall was later interviewed under caution over the allegations which he denied robustly. Scotland Yard tried to bury news that he would not be charged by releasing a statement that he had been cleared at 8.27pm on a Friday last month.

The shameful end of Operation Midland is a major embarrassment to Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who has been widely criticised over his refusal to apologise for his officers treatment of Lord Bramall.

It is understood that he and his advisers have spent days preparing a long statement and public relations strategy explaining the importance of taking Nicks allegations so seriously in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

But sources close to Operation Midland have described the investigation as a shambles driven by back covering Yard chiefs keen not to be accused of covering up alleged Establishment child sex crimes  however ridiculous the claims may seem to be.

Nick, whose real name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, claimed to have witnessed the ritualistic murder of three boys by a gang including Sir Edward Heath, Lord Brittan, the former heads of the Army, MI5 and MI6, and Mr Proctor in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cleared: Lord Bramall was cleared last month after he was interviewed under caution over the allegations that he abused witness 'Nick' more than 30 years ago

In a series of interviews with police in late 2014, he also alleged that Lord Bramall, Britains most decorated living soldier, abused him at a military base more than 30 years ago.

The Met will now come under intense pressure to investigate Nick, who is in his 40s, for attempting to pervert the course of justice and wasting police time. Mr Proctors lawyers have asked the force to do this.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is on standby to investigate any allegations of misconduct relating to the 2million fiasco.

The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee is planning to call Sir Bernard and his senior officers to answer questions about the bungled investigation.

BBC News and the controversial news website Exaro  which publicised Nicks incredible claim in late 2014, before he went to police  are expected to face tough questions about their role in the scandal.

Apology: Labours deputy leader, Tom Watson, apologised to Lady Brittan for making baseless paedophile allegations against her husband, who died with the rape lies hanging over his head

The cracks in Nicks story  and Operation Midland  were first revealed by the Daily Mail last September when it emerged that officers had grave doubts about his testimony and believed he was a Walter Mitty fantasist who had made up his story of VIP abuse and murder.

Sources said there was not a shred of evidence to corroborate Nicks allegations. Before making contact with police over his VIP murder claims, Nick told a TV documentary that he was a victim of Jimmy Savile.

Lord Brittans widow received an apology from the Met for its handling of a separate false rape allegation made against him by a mentally-ill Labour activist known as Jane.

Labours deputy leader, Tom Watson, also apologised to Lady Brittan for making baseless paedophile allegations against her husband, who died with the rape lies hanging over his head.

Last week Home Secretary Theresa May faced calls to block a contract extension for Sir Bernard until he had apologised to Lord Bramall and faced a committee of MPs over the fiasco.

Sir Bernards five-year contract is due to end this September and he is keen to stay on an extra three years. London Mayor Boris Johnson has recommended he should get just an extra 12 months in charge but Mrs May is said to want a longer contract for her favourite cop.
Childminders are being chased for thousands of pounds by the tax authorities under a highly aggressive crackdown.

HM Revenue & Customs is investigating the financial affairs of childminders who claim a state top-up to their income called working tax credits.

Thousands of aggressive letters have been sent out demanding childminders provide up-to-date accounts and other evidence that they work.

The onerous demands include providing a breakdown of how childminders spend their days, copies of adverts they have placed, print outs showing activity on social media websites and the names and addresses of customers.

Accused: The tax office thinks some childminders claim working tax credits fraudulently and have to provide proof that they are working

The tax office believes some mothers are claiming handouts even though they merely look after friends children  rather than running a profitable business.

Those found to be ineligible for the payout, worth up to 1,960 a year, will have it stopped immediately.

Some could be forced to return thousands of pounds in payouts from past years.

Childminders are also warned by the taxman they face a 3,000 penalty if they deliberately give the wrong information and 300 if they fail to supply information on time.

The letter says: If we believe you have committed a criminal offence, we may carry out an investigation and prosecute you.

Campaigners say many childminders have been scared stiff by the letters. Some fear they may now have to close their businesses.

The revelation comes just days after HM Revenue and Customs came under fire for soft treatment of internet search giant Google.

In a so-called sweetheart deal, HMRC has asked Google to pay just 130 million to cover a decade of back taxes  a tiny fraction of its profits. In 2014 its UK revenues came to 4.6billion.

Elaine Clark, managing director at accountancy firm Cheap Accounting, said: Targeting childminders seems to show that the taxman is hell bent on tackling honest workers rather than sorting out the big loop holes which exist in tax laws.

Surely someone can apply some common sense and consider that to take away money here could result in an even higher benefits bill if a childminder decides that working just isnt worth it. This is just shameful.

Chas Roy Chowdhury, head of tax at tradebody the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: This seems to be a case of HMRC creating bureaucracy for bureaucracys sake.

Prevent: Working tax credits are paid to those on low incomes who work at least 30 hours a week. The moves are meant to prevent people claiming top-ups for activities they do as a hobby

'They dont seem to understand how ordinary people live. The taxman needs to accept that childminders arent a cutting edge businesses that will have mapped how they plan how they operate over the next few years. They shouldnt be hitting them with such a heavy handed approach.

Working tax credits are paid to those on low incomes who work at least 30 hours a week.

The basic top up is worth 1,960 a year. However, workers can receive more if they claim as a couple or are disabled.

Self-employed people can also claim but must be able to prove that their business is profitable.

The idea is to prevent the top-up from being claimed by those simply for carrying out a hobby or working a few hours a week.

Over the past few months the taxman has been writing to childminders and other self-employed workers receiving working tax credit.

Recipients of the letters are told they must supply detailed paperwork to show that their business makes profits roughly equal to the minimum wage.

The childminders must also provide items such as an in depth business plan, showing how they plan to build their customer base and boost profits, as well as evidence of advertising and up to date accounts.

Self-employed: Campaigners say HMRC have approached childminders badly and they misunderstand how they operate

They argue that it can be difficult to turn a profit because of stringent rules that govern the number of children they can care for at one time.

They also say that the rules penalise those that are living in parts of the country that are struggling economically because they cannot charge much or elderly childminders who often prefer to take on only a few children.

Sarah Neville, a childminder and who helps run industry website, Childminding Forum, said she had been contacted by hundreds of concerned childminders since HMRC started sending out the letters.

She said: Its a big worry for lots of people and its likely to affect thousands. Lots of the people who have contacted us are scared stiff by this.

The taxman is saying things like wheres your business plan? and your advertisings not good enough. But lots of childminders work incredibly hard but cant grow their businesses because there are a lot of limiting factors to their ability to make a profit, such as the number of children they are legally able to look after, the size of their homes and whether they have children who need to be cared for as well.

Liz Bayram, chief executive of childminders tradebody PACEY said: We are well aware of the significant worry this change in approach is causing for some childminders.

'All childminders are self-employed and a small number receive Working Tax Credit for a variety of different reasons.

'It was disappointing HMRC, which normally work well with us, didnt contact PACEY before sending out these letters. We could have helped them better understand the impact it might have on many small businesses, including childminders.

A HMRC spokesman said: HMRC is not focussing on childminders. We are writing to a wide variety of people to ensure that when they base their tax credit claim on being self employed they get the right money.
Sangthong Phensrisai (pictured) was travelling to Edinburgh from London as a front seat passenger when the driver lost control of the car

A former Buddhist monk who says he is no longer able to carry out sitting meditation after a fatal car accident has raised an action for 250,000 damages.

Sangthong Phensrisai was travelling to Edinburgh from London as a front seat passenger when the driver lost control of the car.

Three monks sitting in the rear seats were killed in the crash.

Mr PheSangthong Phensrisai was travelling to his home city of Edinburgh from London as a front seat passenger when the driver lost control of the car, killing three people. He's now suing the driver for lost earningsnsrisai, of Leith, Edinburgh, told the Court of Session he fell asleep and came round in hospital to be told of the tragedy.

The 50-year-old said: 'I was unconscious. I just woke up in hospital. It was like the whole body fell apart.'

He was found to have suffered fractures to ribs, his sternum and back and had suffered head injuries. Mr Phensrisai is now suing the driver of the car, Anong Yukitan, of London, which crashed near Fala Dam, Pathhead, Midlothian, on Christmas Eve 2012.

It is said he suffered loss, injury and damage through Miss Yukitan's fault and negligence.

It is claimed she lost control of the Nissan Note as it approached a corner on the A68, flipping the car onto its side and sending it hurtling into the path of oncoming traffic, where it was hit on the roof by another car.

Liability in the damages case has been admitted but the amount of compensation is disputed by the driver's lawyers.

In the action it is said Mr Phensrisai was 'shocked and saddened' by the deaths of the three monks in the accident.

He maintains that the accident disrupted his PhD degree studies and that he has lost earnings as a translator and interpreter and for work in the prison service.

Mr Phensrisai is now suing the driver of the car, Anong Yukitan, of London, which crashed near Fala Dam (pictured), Pathhead, Midlothian, on Christmas Eve 2012

It is said he continues to have back and chest pain and is unable to bow and do sitting meditation.

It is alleged his injuries have left him compromised in the labour market as he now has difficulty doing work that involves prolonged sitting, standing, walking bending or heavy lifting.

The Thai-born British resident told the court he had been a monk for 25 years before deciding to pursue further academic studies. He said: 'It was my big goal in life.'

The meditation teacher had worked in prisons in England and said that some meditation positions would involve sitting cross-legged and upright.

He said the longest he would have meditated sitting was three hours, but that in jail those who attended would meditate sitting on chairs or on the floor, but not cross-legged.

Lawyers acting for the Miss Yukitan maintain that the sum of 250,000 sought by Mr Phensrisai is excessive.
David Cameron stood accused of delusion and selling the country short last night after he hailed his deal to keep Britain in the EU.

The Prime Minister claimed he had secured 'substantial change' to the UK's relationship with Brussels  despite having broken two key Tory manifesto pledges.

Incredibly, he claimed the deal was so good that he would recommend Britain joining the Brussels club  were it not already a member.

Selling the deal: PM speaking to staff at a factory in Chippenham, Wiltshire, yesterday after his EU negotiations

Amid mounting fury at the gagging of Eurosceptic Tory ministers, Mr Cameron opted not to face Conservative MPs in the Commons  instead preferring to give a speech at the factory of a pro-EU, German-owned company.

In the chamber at Westminster angry Tory backbenchers lined up to denounce his 'slap in the face for Britain'. They said his supposed 'breakthrough' deal did little or nothing to curb mass immigration, restore sovereignty or end the hugely divisive splits in the Tory Party over Europe.

And last night it emerged that three Cabinet ministers  Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers  are ready to publicly declare for the leave campaign.

However, the PM received a boost when Home Secretary Theresa May effectively ruled out joining them, ahead of the expected June 23 referendum.

The Eurosceptics were scathing about Mr Cameron's failure to secure an outright four-year ban on the payment of benefits to EU workers.

He had to trumpet instead an 'emergency brake' that will only restrict in-work handouts.

The bizarre compromise means migrants will be eligible for tax credits that increase the longer they are in the UK until, after four years, they are on the standard rate.

Critics said this offered them an incentive to stay here longer. It also emerged that MEPs could block the brake after the referendum.

Refugees walk through the transit center for refugees near northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce

In a second manifesto surrender, Number 10 ditched a pledge to end child benefit for youngsters living abroad.

The handout survives but will be paid at the rate prevailing in the claimant's home country, providing the prospect of bureaucratic chaos.

Andrew Rosindell, Tory MP for Romford, said: 'These proposals are a bit of a slap in the face for Britain. The EU have shown that they simply have no appetite for changing their ways.'

Campaigners at Migrationwatch said the changes were 'unlikely to have any significant effect' on net inflows. Immigration from the EU alone is currently 180,000 a year.

One Government insider said: 'This is a pale shadow of what was already a pale shadow.' Another added: 'Does it stop anybody actually coming here in the first place?'

Eurosceptics: Last night it emerged that three Cabinet ministers  Iain Duncan Smith, pictured left, Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers, pictured right,  are ready to publicly declare for the leave campaign

On a day of drama:

Mr Cameron admitted his plans would not cut migration to the 'tens of thousands';

The Out campaign continued to hunt for a figurehead after Mrs May declared Mr Cameron had won the 'basis for a deal';

A senior Czech minister said the deal was likely to be signed off this month;

Bookmakers shortened the odds of Britain voting to remain inside the EU to 1/3.

Support for the PM: Home Secretary Theresa May effectively ruled out joining the Out campaign

Eurosceptics fear the Prime Minister is so determined to hold his referendum in June  before the migrant crisis gets worse  that he will be willing to give further ground to Brussels in the next two weeks of haggling before the deal is voted on by EU leaders.

There is also alarm that the emergency brake could take a full year to introduce once the referendum is complete.

After months of negotiations, in which the PM flew thousands of miles to EU capitals, European Council president Donald Tusk yesterday released the basis for a draft deal intended to keep Britain inside the EU.

The short document included pledges to give Britain an exemption from the EU's commitment to 'ever closer union' and boost competitiveness.

Controversial proposals were unveiled for a so-called red card that would allow national parliaments to block some EU legislation if 15 of them join forces. This stopped well short of demands by Eurosceptic Tory MPs for a simple veto.

Other pivotal issues  such as restricting freedom of movement  were never even raised.

Mr Cameron said the proposals were 'worth fighting for' and Britain could have the best of both worlds by keeping access to the single market and a voice around the top EU table, while retaining its independence.

He added: 'Hand on heart, I have delivered the commitments made in my manifesto.'

A decision was taken late on Monday evening that Mr Cameron was going to give a speech at the Siemens factory near Swindon. Labour asked for him to attend the House of Commons yesterday but Mr Cameron had already left.

Europe minister David Lidington responded on behalf of the Government and faced a barrage of angry questions.

Steve Baker, Tory MP for Wycombe, told him: 'This in-at-all-costs deal looks funny, it smells funny, it might be superficially shiny on the outside, but poke it and it's soft in the middle. Will you admit to the House that you have been reduced to polishing poo?'

NEW 'RED CARD' VOTING SYSTEM COULD BE USED AGAINST BRITAIN A red card system letting national parliaments block EU legislation could be used against Britain, it was claimed last night. As part of the British renegotiation, the system was praised by David Cameron as a way for Westminster to block unnecessary or unwanted Brussels laws. But it could also be used by other countries to stop legislation from the European Commission that is in Britains interests. Under the proposal, revealed yesterday, 55 per cent of national parliaments can club together to block initiatives. However, the system could be complicated as both the House of Lords and the House of Commons would get a vote. Former Tory Cabinet minister Liam Fox yesterday raised the possibility that peers could get in the way of MPs trying to thwart EU legislation. They could gang up with other national parliaments to circumvent Commons attempts to get past the 55 per cent threshold to stop a proposal. He told the Commons: As far as I can understand it, the red card system would give a vote to both the House of Commons and the House of Lords as parliamentary chambers. This would open up the possibility of the unelected upper house voting with other European parliaments to force EU legislation upon the elected House of Commons. British officials believe the red card scheme will be approved by EU leaders at a summit later this month. Germany welcomed the proposal. Ralph Brinkhaus, deputy chairman of Angela Merkels party, said: Better integration of national parliaments will increase EU citizens acceptance of Europe. Advertisement

Analysis: A deal full of spin and sell outs

Mr Cameron yesterday claimed the draft deal will secure 'substantial change' in Britain's relationship with the EU. Here, JAMES SLACK examines what he wanted  and what he got.

TAX CREDITS

'Substantial change': The PM speaking yesterday

What he wanted: A ban on EU migrants being paid in-work benefits for the first four years they are in the UK.

What he got: An emergency brake allowing benefits to be restricted for up to four years if our public services or welfare system are under pressure. But there is a huge catch  the EU insists the 'limitation should be graduated, from an initial complete exclusion to gradually increasing access to such benefits'.

In other words, EU workers will lose out on benefits for only one or two years then begin receiving payments until  after four years  they will not lose out at all. Details on when the brake can be pulled are vague but, crucially, the final decision will rest with Brussels.

Verdict: An ugly compromise that campaigners say will make little or no difference to net migration from inside the EU, which stands at 180,000 a year. Three quarters of EU workers get little or no tax credits and, in any case, the new 9 living wage will ensure Britain remains a magnet for workers from low-paid countries. The brake will be implemented only if Britain votes to remain in the EU. Eurosceptics fear Brussels could renege on the promise, or it could be blocked by MEPs.

CHILD BENEFIT

What he wanted: The 2015 Tory manifesto promised that: 'If an EU migrant's child is living abroad, then they should receive no child benefit, no matter how long they have worked in the UK and no matter how much tax they have paid.'

What he got: Child benefit will continue to be paid, but at the same rate as in the child's home country. For eastern European countries in particular, this will significantly cut the bill. However, some officials fear it will be a recipe for chaos  with Government IT systems struggling to cope with paying 28 different levels of child benefit.

Verdict: Better than the status quo but still amounts to the abandonment of a manifesto commitment.

RED CARD FOR NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS

What he wanted: 'National parliaments to be able to work together to block unwanted European legislation.'

What he got: A pledge that, if 55 per cent of national EU parliaments object to a piece of EU legislation within 12 weeks of it being tabled, the council presidency will hold a 'comprehensive discussion' and either amend the proposals or block them altogether.

Britain would need the support of at least 14 other states to make use of the red card. The UK could be easily out-numbered by the 19 members of the eurozone.

Verdict: Heavily spun as a victory by Number 10 but stops well short of the outright veto demanded by eurosceptics, including some Cabinet members.

Taking the heat: Europe minister David Lidington responded on behalf of the Government in Parliament

PROTECTION FROM THE EUROZONE

What he wanted: A mechanism to ensure that 'Britain can't be discriminated against because it's not part of the euro, can't pick up the bill for eurozone bailouts and can't have imposed on it changes the eurozone want to make without our consent'.

What he got: Vague promise that an unspecified number of non-euro states will be able to 'indicate their reasoned opposition' to a eurozone proposal and that the EU's ruling council will then discuss the issue. Britain will not have to pay for any future eurozone bailouts and, where emergency funds are used, they can be recovered  save for admin costs. There was also a pledge to boost competitiveness.

Verdict: France has been resisting the idea that Britain can interfere in the workings of the single currency. Unclear what will happen if no agreement can be reached. Brussels remains adamant that no state should be able to 'veto the effective management of the banking union or the future integration of the euro area'.

PROMISES HE QUIETLY DROPPED Since becoming Tory leader, David Cameron has pledged a series of radical changes to European powers over Britain, only to quietly drop them in the face of resistance. They include: Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2009 Mr Cameron promised a complete opt-out of the charter, which further extends human rights laws.

Social and employment laws. In 2010 Mr Cameron pledged to claw back powers from Brussels, but this was quietly dropped.

Treaty change. Promised full-on treaty change as recently as 2014, but now hopes the moves will be added to a treaty at a later date.

Working time directive. In 2012 he promised to change the law which includes the contentious 48-hour maximum working week.

Common Agricultural Policy. Repeated calls for reform of farming subsidies, but no sign of any change yet.

Waste. In 2009 he promised to end the European parliaments absurd practice of meeting in Strasbourg as well as Brussels. Advertisement

SHAM MARRIAGES

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised 'a continued crackdown on 'illegal working and sham marriages'.

What he got: The European Commission agreed to exclude from free movement rules 'third country nationals who had no prior lawful residence in a member state before marrying a union citizen'. This is crucial in ending the racket of non-EU citizens who would not qualify for a UK visa getting round the rules by marrying somebody from another EU state, often in Eastern Europe, then moving here. Criminal gangs have been charging thousands to facilitate fake ceremonies.

Verdict: A win. Number 10 had suggested Europe was objecting to the crackdown. Home Secretary Theresa May fought hard to ensure it remained part of the package.

EVER CLOSER UNION

What he wanted: Exempt Britain from the commitment in the EU's founding treaty to move toward 'ever closer union'.

What he got: The EU said it was content to acknowledge 'that the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union'.

There was also an acknowledgement that Britain does not have to join the euro  a symbolic gesture since the UK has zero intention of signing up to the crumbling one-size-fits-all currency union.

Verdict: A win  though eurosceptics will believe it when they see it. The change will not be written into the EU's treaties until they are next reopened. No date has been set for this to happen.

NATIONAL SECURITY

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised new powers to 'stop terrorists and other serious foreign criminals who pose a threat to our society from using spurious human rights arguments to prevent deportation'.

What he got: EU rules which allow criminals and terror suspects to be turned away at the UK border will be strengthened significantly. In particular, EU nationals will be turned away even if they do not present an 'imminent' threat. Their 'past conduct' or so-called soft intelligence  police information which stops short of a conviction  will be sufficient to act.
Deal: Defence secretary Michael Fallon announced the deal to build and test two zephyrs as part of the 'commitment to develop next generation battlefield intelligence capabilities.

Special forces troops will get a new solar-powered spy drone able to watch terrorists in the sky for months, Michael Fallon announced last night.

The UK will sign a 10.6m deal to build two new prototypes of the solar powered Zephyr within days.

Speaking at the ADS annual dinner last night, the defence secretary said: I can announce that, later this week, we expect to close a deal to build and test two zephyrs as part of our commitment to develop next generation battlefield intelligence capabilities.

The surveillance drone can fly at over 70,000ft, double the altitude of a commercial airliner, for up to 45 days at a time.

Launched by hand, the state-of-the-art Zephyr aircraft flies 70,000ft in the sky, above the weather and commercial planes, and can stay in the air so long it has been described as a sudo-satellite.

The full details of the Zephyr drones have remained unclear because they will be used by Britains elite forces.

But the strategic defence and security review referred to an investment in advanced high-altitude surveillance aircraft.

The aircraft flies by day on solar power which is then used to recharge the lithium-sulphur batteries, which are used to power the aircraft by night.

They can provide low-cost, non-stop surveillance over months rather than days. It has a wingspan of 22.5m and is launched by four military personnel on their shoulders.

Unlike conventional manned or unmanned aircraft now being operated, Zephyr does not need to return to base at regular intervals for re-fuelling or servicing.

Solar powered: The aircraft flies by day on solar power at a height of 70,000ft for up to 45 days

The Zephyr is being developed in Farnborough by Airbus Defence and Space.

Mr Fallon said in a statement: High altitude aircraft will provide next-generation battlefield intelligence to our Armed Forces. They will be able to fly higher and for longer to gather constant, reliable information over vast geographical areas.
Everywhere you look, there is orange. It glows neon-bright from a banner strung across the outside of the building, proclaiming: New concept store: now open.

Above the sliding door  also orange  there is an orange sign bearing the name of the shop.

Inside, there is yet more orange, painted along the shelves piled high with food. The rim of the table where the till sits is orange; so, too, are the price tags.

The new easyFoodstore is the brainchild of easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who aims to take on the budget German supermarkets Aldi and Lidl

The new shop attracted keen customers when it opened its doors in North London yesterday

It is that strange, dazzling, eyesore of a colour, though anyone who has ever flown with a certain budget airline will recognise it instantly. For this is easyJet orange  and the venue its plastered all over is the brand new easyFoodstore, which opened yesterday in North London.

Located on a busy circular road, between a rug warehouse and a Chinese supermarket, its hardly the most salubrious of locations  but that didnt stop customers flooding through the doors when the shop, the first of its kind under the ever-expanding Easy umbrella, opened at 9am.

The reason? Not their fondness for a brand more often associated with cheap European flights and minimal legroom; but an astonishing opening offer, which saw every item in the shop priced at 25p for the rest of the month.

Customers snapped up armfuls of Jaffa Cakes, instant coffee, tinned tuna and chilli con carne, elbowing one another and jostling for the last remaining packets of 25p pitta breads, chips and margherita pizzas.

Frozen stock sold out and had to be replenished within two hours of opening, as an estimated 200 shoppers rushed to take advantage. Prices are so low that a weekly shop for a family of four costs as little as 15.75, with a three-course dinner coming in at 2.75.

The Daily Mail's Sarah Rainey found a few bargains herself

Gemma Hooson, and her children George and Sophie with her shopping receipt totaling 12 as she bought items for 25p

The new shops' aim Its aim, according to Sir Stelios, is to provide for less well-off shoppers who will either be on benefits or in low-paid jobs  by offering low-budget, non-branded foods that undercut even Aldi and Lidl

Inside, Nazmina Merali, 50, a local health worker and mother-of-two, is filling her basket with tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and spaghetti. I normally go to Aldi and Lidl but this is far cheaper, she says.

Shelley OMahoney, 27, visiting with son Charlie, three, from their home in affluent Chiswick, West London, travelled half an hour to get here after hearing about the shop from a friend. Were not poor  we dont need to shop here. I just wanted to check it out, admits Shelley. I normally shop at Tesco, but if I can get the basics more cheaply here, why wouldnt I?

It seems others have the same idea. As well as families doing their weekly shop, there are charity workers filling baskets with flour and sugar, and unlikely-looking customers  one man carries a Waitrose bag and cappuccino  simply here to browse.

The surroundings are far from appealing: a grim, concrete, warehouse-like space no bigger than a small corner shop, which more recalls a Soviet-era ration store than the glossy aisles of todays supermarkets.

Examples of 'easy food' include fusili pasta and mayonnaise at 25p each

But its popularity is undeniable  there is a steady stream of shoppers, and as the hours tick past, the ceiling-high piles of food start to deplete.

So what is this bizarre retail experiment, and how is it able to sell its wares so cheaply? The easyFoodstore concept has been in the pipeline since 2013, when easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a Cyprus-born British entrepreneur who set up the airline in 1995, decided to expand his sprawling empire of easy branded companies into the supermarket sector. It follows the likes of the easyGym, easyHotel, easyBus and easyMobile.

Its aim, according to Sir Stelios, is to provide for less well-off shoppers who will either be on benefits or in low-paid jobs  by offering low-budget, non-branded foods that undercut even Aldi and Lidl.

There are 76 different items on sale and although these are currently confined to foodstuffs, there are plans to expand the range to household products and pet food. And although the 25p offer only lasts until the end of this month, after that prices wont go higher than 50p, still significantly cheaper than rivals. If successful, more branches are planned in underprivileged areas in the South-East London, the Midlands and the North.

But Richard Shackleton of easyGroup, the brands umbrella organisation, insists the shop is not a charity. We want to make a profit. But with such low prices, the margins are wafer-thin, so we need stuff to be flying off the shelves for it to work.

An initial estimate placed the required number of sales at 4,000 items per day  400 customers buying ten items each  but Richard refuses to confirm details.

We buy the foods at bulk-buy wholesalers for traders such as Bookers and Makro, he explains. They deliver it to us daily. Places like Aldi and Lidl used to serve this demographic but theyve gone upmarket and are now out of reach for many people.

Costs are kept at rock-bottom by keeping overheads low. There is no fresh food  milk, bread, cheese, fruit and veg are all off the menu  and there are no trolleys; just a stack of ten plastic baskets. There are just two staff members operating a single till.

There are 76 different items on sale and although these are currently confined to foodstuffs

There are plans to expand the range to household products and pet food.

As well as families doing their weekly shop, there are charity workers filling baskets with flour and sugar, and unlikely-looking customers  one man carries a Waitrose bag and cappuccino  simply at the shop to browse

Costs are kept at rock-bottom by keeping overheads low. There is no fresh food  milk, bread, cheese, fruit and veg are all off the menu

There are just two staff members operating a single till

Ironically, the only similarity to a normal supermarket is the 5p plastic bag charge. Others are making the most of the discounts for more cynical reasons. Raj Kumar, 58, owns a pound shop in West Hendon. I can sell these for a real mark-up in my store, he says, gesturing to packets of biscuits.

Im slightly dubious when it comes to tasting my 4.75 shop, 19 items from peach slices to tuna flakes and tomato ketchup and is made up from little known brands such as Happy Shopper, Euro Shopper and Best-In.

The tea bags and coffee granules are a disappointment  as are the strawberry jam (bland), cereal (like cardboard) and tinned peaches (too sweet). But the biscuits, including mini cheddars, shortbread, ginger nuts and chocolate chip cookies, are a triumph  as good as any super-markets own brand, and half the price.

Sir Stelois's new shop idea is of undeniable popularity as retail research agency Conlumino predicts it could intensify the battle on price, forcing leading supermarkets to further lower costs

So what do the experts make of the easyFoodstore? Could it really rival the High Streets best budget options, or even unseat the Big Four supermarkets  Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons?

Neil Saunders, an analyst at retail research agency Conlumino, predicts it could intensify the battle on price, forcing leading supermarkets to further lower costs.

The low prices will certainly be attractive, he adds. But the no frills layout, packing and customer service does limit its appeal as many customers will find the concept too stark and depressing to use regularly.

Back on Londons bustling North Circular Road, the evidence points to the contrary. Business was brisk right up until the doors closed at 6pm  with staff working late to restock items.

Ill definitely be back, says Meg Johns, 60, who is retired, from West London, as she loads two more packets of rice into her over- flowing basket.
Eurosceptic ministers like Iain Duncan Smith have been told they will be able to speak their mind  but only after the Prime Ministers renegotiation plan is agreed

Eurosceptic ministers must be given the right to speak out now, senior Tories urged last night.

Their call came as it emerged that Downing Street is still censoring ministers speeches.

They warned that David Camerons gag on leading Cabinet members has loaded the referendum campaign unfairly in favour of those who want to stay in the EU.

Ministers have been told they will be able to speak their mind  but only after the Prime Ministers renegotiation plan is agreed, probably at a summit in Brussels later this month. Even though several senior Tories have been allowed to speak out in favour of continued EU membership, Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers are  for now  bound by collective responsibility.

The three Cabinet ministers who are known to want to campaign to take Britain out of the EU are Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers. But they have been prevented from doing so.

No 10 is still vetting ministers speeches and ordering them to insert more pro-EU material. One senior minister was ordered to alter a speech after being told it sounded too Eurosceptic. I was told to tone it down although it was quite a nuanced speech, the minister said.

Government press releases and answers to Parliamentary questions are also being scrutinised to put the best possible gloss on the relationship with the EU. Whitehall press officers have voiced disquiet at the unprecedented meddling from the Prime Ministers team.

One official said: Its really slowing down everything we do. If a press notice or speech so much as has the words EU or Europe in it, Downing Street is over it like a rash. We then have to wait for a sign-off on every change that is ordered.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox called for the gag on ministers to be lifted. He warned that it will fuel resentment within the party that would be difficult to heal.

He said: If people feel the process is loaded unfairly in favour of one side it will make it harder to come together afterwards.

Former environment secretary Owen Paterson also warned that the gag was grossly unfair.

You cannot have a situation where some members of the Cabinet are licensed to speak out but others who hold opposing views are ordered to keep quiet, he said. Either everyone, from the top down, takes a vow of silence until the deal is finalised, or you take the gloves off for both sides.

No 10 is still vetting ministers speeches and ordering them to insert more pro-EU material. One senior minister was ordered to alter a speech after being told it sounded too Eurosceptic

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, said many in the party had been waiting quite patiently during Mr Camerons negotiations before speaking out. It is now time for those of with strong views on this to speak out, he said.

NOW WHO WILL LEAD THE OUT FIGHT? Out campaigners were left casting around for a leader last night after Theresa May effectively ruled out campaigning against the Prime Minister. Eurosceptic hopes had been increasingly pinned on the Home Secretary to take charge of the divided campaign for Britain to leave the EU. But in a statement last night, she pulled out, leaving Eurosceptics to hope that London Mayor Boris Johnson may join their ranks. He continues to flirt with a so-called Brexit but Out campaigners still believe he is likely to also side with David Cameron. Mrs May said: EU free movement rules have been abused for too long and EU law has stopped us deporting dangerous foreign criminals. That is plainly wrong and it is encouraging that the Commission has agreed with the UK that we should take action to address these two issues. So we have made progress and negotiations continue ahead of the February Council. As the Prime Minister has said, more work needs to be done, but this is a basis for a deal. Advertisement

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is not bound by collective responsibility, was the most senior Tory to strike a sceptical note.

He suggested that neither the emergency brake proposal on immigration nor the idea of giving groups of parliaments a red card on EU law, went far enough.

Mr Johnson told LBC: I think what would be better would be if we had a brake of our own that we were willing to use, and that we were more willing to say Britain is an independent sovereign country and we dont agree with this particular piece of legislation or regulation and we want to stop it, and thats what we should be able to do.

Mr Cameron told Cabinet ministers yesterday that, while he wants collective responsibility to remain and they face being disciplined if they criticise the proposed deal before it is finalised, he will not be too rigid about enforcing it.

He said: We have a manifesto commitment to hold a referendum, to carry out a renegotiation and get the best deal for Britain. It is the Governments clear position that if we can achieve a good outcome from that renegotiation we should be arguing for Britain to stay in a reformed EU. That is the position of the whole Government.

The Government is not going to be taking some sort of neutral position, it will have a clear position, and I hope thats what the position will be. And at that moment, ministers who take a personal decision to campaign against that position because they have got some long-standing view of being in the EU, they will be able to do that.
Hell yeah! David Cameron came over all Roy Rogers yesterday. If we'd never joined the European Union in the first place, would he now choose to join it under his proposed deal? 'Ah sure would!' he cried.

He accompanied this with a macho swing of elbow. All he needed was leather chaps, a gay-patterned neckerchief and a hoss called Trigger. 'Ah sure would!' Good grief.

To be fair, he then looked a little embarrassed, perhaps recalling that Ed Mil' essayed the same tough-cowboy routine in the general election campaign. With mixed results.

The Prime Minister had galloped from London to a Siemens factory in Chippenham, Wiltshire, to flog his compromise with European Council president Donald Tusk. With TV news cameras in attendance, Downing Street hoped the visuals of a hi-tech plant might push the message that employment could be imperilled if we quit the EU.

The Prime Minister had galloped from London to a Siemens factory in Chippenham, Wiltshire, to flog his compromise with European Council president Donald Tusk

At this rate the Remain camp's referendum broadcasts will be as chilling as a Hitchcock film.

Some of the factory's 750 workers had gathered to hear Mr Cameron's speech. A lot were men in white coats. I merely report that. Make of it what you will.

The Chippenham factory makes railway signals systems. It was rather bad luck that half the London press corps had their train delayed owing to, er, a signals cock-up. A corporate public relations person insisted that the broken signals responsible must have been made by a rival firm.

The head of Siemens, a square-headed Austrian called Juergen Maier, began by giving us a lecture on European unity. Get used to it, folks. Herr Maier instructed us to remain in the EU but did concede that Siemens would not quit Britain if we told Brussels where to go.

The House of Commons was simultaneously meeting to consider an Urgent Question (from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) on the matter. Yet Mr Cameron had chosen to parade himself at the premises of this German-headquartered firm with a not entirely glorious history.

Mr Cameron removed his jacket and spoke without notes for about half an hour. If he made rather sticky progress  a flippered frogman wading through seaweed might have got further  it was in part because EU is so darn complicated.

There was a long, four-part exegesis on the recent history of his renegotiation strategy. This was followed by claims  with much pumping of lips and numbering with thumbs and fingers  of his brilliant success. Sadly, it was such a tangle that his alleged success was hard to discern.

In his meanderings, Mr Cameron brought us the wonderful news that 'there is going to be an annual discussion on subsidiarity', as well as 'targets to cut EU bureaucracy'. Yippee!

Mr Cameron removed his jacket and spoke without notes for about half an hour. If he made rather sticky progress, it was in part because EU is so darn complicated

Anyone explaining the EU soon resorts to metaphors, and Mr Cameron began mixing them horribly: 'hardwired DNA', 'fortress Europe', 'red lights in black and white', 'specific carve-outs' (carve-ups, more like), 'baskets', 'packages' and that much-disputed 'emergency brake'.

He said that he had 'basically' won what he had been seeking. Meanwhile, Poland's Tusk issued a letter with the phrase 'to be or not to be together  that is the question'. The rest of his letter was rather less Shakespearean, alas.

Around the factory walls yesterday were various signs with yet more specialist language: 'crimp test area', incoming repairs', 'product support' and 'interlockings scrum area'.

In his meanderings, Mr Cameron brought us the wonderful news that 'there is going to be an annual discussion on subsidiarity', as well as 'targets to cut EU bureaucracy'. Yippee!

'This is a zero harm site', read another notice. Mr Cameron and his Euro-enthusiasts will have certainly hoped so. That is why they chose Chippenham for his speech yesterday rather than expose him to a rougher passage in the Commons.
Advertisement

A new exhibition boasting 500 ancient artifacts is set to reveal the true face of Vikings in New York.

Vikings, which will open this week at Discovery Times Square, has the largest collection of Vikings artifacts ever assembled in North America.

But there is one thing visitors won't kind among the exhibition's hundreds of items: horned helmets, which are commonly associated with Vikings but are nothing more than a myth.

They became part of the Viking imagery during the 19th century, when authors and artists gave their romanticized version of Norse culture. But in fact, no horned helmet having belonged to a Viking has ever been found.

While popular culture likes to think of Vikings as heartless warriors and marauders, Vikings shows there is more to the ancient Scandinavian people than raiders and traders.

The Vikings exhibition, set to open at Discovery Times Square this week, has more than 500 artifacts that reveal the true face of the ancient Scandinavian people

The exhibition does include a Viking helmet replica but the real-life Vikings did not wear horned helmets. Authors and artists of the 19th century popularized the image when they romanticized Norse culture

Vikings were not just fearless warriors and heartless marauders: the exhibition depicts them as skilled craftsmen as evidenced by many handmade objects

Vikings were also skilled craftsmen, successful merchants and hard-working farmers, as evidenced by the exhibition's gold and silver pendants, hand-made brooches and depictions of Norse gods.

Viking Age swords and other weapons highlight the Vikings exceptional metal working technologies.

The collection also includes the oldest known Scandinavian crucifix, which shows the transition between Old Norse religious practices and Christianity.

Most people lived as farmers, merchants and craftsmen during the Viking Age, which spanned from the 8th to the 11th centuries.

They didn't call themselves Vikings but instead named themselves after their farm, village or region.

The word Viking derives from Old Norse and means going on a raid or on a trade.

The exhibition's gold and silver pendants, brooches and carefully crafted artifacts show that the Vikings were skilled workers with advanced metal working technologies

Most people in the Viking Age, which spanned from the 8th to the 11th centuries, lived as merchants, farmers and craftsmen. Their tools show they were used to working with metal

A crucifix included in the exhibition shows the transition between Old Norse religious practices and Christianity. This is the largest collection of Vikings artifacts ever assembled in North America

The exhibition explains the symbolism behind Viking ships and includes a model Scandinavian Viking boat based on historical and archaeological sources

Visitors will learn more about the Vikings' approach to family and community, religion and rituals, travel and trade, aristocracy and slavery and the roles of women




Mr Cameron yesterday claimed the draft deal will secure 'substantial change' in Britain's relationship with the EU. Here's what he wanted - and what he got.

TAX CREDITS

What he wanted: A ban on EU migrants being paid in-work benefits for the first four years they are in the UK.

What he got: An emergency brake allowing benefits to be restricted for up to four years if our public services or welfare system are under pressure. But there is a huge catch  the EU insists the limitation should be graduated, from an initial complete exclusion to gradually increasing access to such benefits.

In other words, EU workers will lose out on benefits for only one or two years then begin receiving payments until  after four years  they will not lose out at all. Details on when the brake can be pulled are vague but, crucially, the final decision will rest with Brussels.

Verdict: An ugly compromise that campaigners say will make little or no difference to net migration from inside the EU, which stands at 180,000 a year. Three quarters of EU workers get little or no tax credits and, in any case, the new 9 living wage will ensure Britain remains a magnet for workers from low-paid countries. The brake will be implemented only if Britain votes to remain in the EU. Eurosceptics fear Brussels could renege on the promise, or it could be blocked by MEPs.

The British Prime Minister (left) managed to get a emergency brake allowing benefits to be restricted for up to four years if our public services or welfare system are under pressure

CHILD BENEFIT

What he wanted: The 2015 Tory manifesto promised that: If an EU migrants child is living abroad, then they should receive no child benefit, no matter how long they have worked in the UK and no matter how much tax they have paid.

What he got: Child benefit will continue to be paid, but at the same rate as in the childs home country. For eastern European countries in particular, this will significantly cut the bill. However, some officials fear it will be a recipe for chaos  with Government IT systems struggling to cope with paying 28 different levels of child benefit.

Verdict: Better than the status quo but still amounts to the abandonment of a manifesto commitment.

RED CARD FOR NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS

What he wanted: National parliaments to be able to work together to block unwanted European legislation.

What he got: A pledge that, if 55 per cent of national EU parliaments object to a piece of EU legislation within 12 weeks of it being tabled, the council presidency will hold a comprehensive discussion and either amend the proposals or block them altogether.

Britain would need the support of at least 14 other states to make use of the red card. The UK could be easily out-numbered by the 19 members of the eurozone.

Verdict: Heavily spun as a victory by Number 10 but stops well short of the outright veto demanded by eurosceptics, including some Cabinet members.

David Cameron was given a vague promise that an unspecified number of non-euro states will be able to indicate their reasoned opposition to a eurozone proposal

PROTECTION FROM THE EUROZONE

PROMISES HE QUIETLY DROPPED Since becoming Tory leader, David Cameron has pledged a series of radical changes to European powers over Britain, only to quietly drop them in the face of resistance. They include: Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2009 Mr Cameron promised a complete opt-out of the charter, which further extends human rights laws. Social and employment laws. In 2010 Mr Cameron pledged to claw back powers from Brussels, but this was quietly dropped. Treaty change. Promised full-on treaty change as recently as 2014, but now hopes the moves will be added to a treaty at a later date. Working time directive. In 2012 he promised to change the law which includes the contentious 48-hour maximum working week. Common Agricultural Policy. Repeated calls for reform of farming subsidies, but no sign of any change yet. Waste. In 2009 he promised to end the European parliaments absurd practice of meeting in Strasbourg as well as Brussels. Advertisement

What he wanted: A mechanism to ensure that Britain cant be discriminated against because its not part of the euro, cant pick up the bill for eurozone bailouts and cant have imposed on it changes the eurozone want to make without our consent.

What he got: Vague promise that an unspecified number of non-euro states will be able to indicate their reasoned opposition to a eurozone proposal and that the EUs ruling council will then discuss the issue. Britain will not have to pay for any future eurozone bailouts and, where emergency funds are used, they can be recovered  save for admin costs. There was also a pledge to boost competitiveness.

Verdict: France has been resisting the idea that Britain can interfere in the workings of the single currency. Unclear what will happen if no agreement can be reached. Brussels remains adamant that no state should be able to veto the effective management of the banking union or the future integration of the euro area.

SHAM MARRIAGES

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised a continued crackdown on illegal working and sham marriages.

What he got: The European Commission agreed to exclude from free movement rules third country nationals who had no prior lawful residence in a member state before marrying a union citizen. This is crucial in ending the racket of non-EU citizens who would not qualify for a UK visa getting round the rules by marrying somebody from another EU state, often in Eastern Europe, then moving here. Criminal gangs have been charging thousands to facilitate fake ceremonies.

Verdict: A win. Number 10 had suggested Europe was objecting to the crackdown. Home Secretary Theresa May fought hard to ensure it remained part of the package.

David Cameron wanted the 2015 manifesto to promise a continued crackdown on illegal working and sham marriages

EVER CLOSER UNION

What he wanted: Exempt Britain from the commitment in the EUs founding treaty to move toward ever closer union.

What he got: The EU said it was content to acknowledge that the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union.

There was also an acknowledgement that Britain does not have to join the euro  a symbolic gesture since the UK has zero intention of signing up to the crumbling one-size-fits-all currency union.

Verdict: A win  though eurosceptics will believe it when they see it. The change will not be written into the EUs treaties until they are next reopened. No date has been set for this to happen.

NATIONAL SECURITY

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised new powers to stop terrorists and other serious foreign criminals who pose a threat to our society from using spurious human rights arguments to prevent deportation.

What he got: EU rules which allow criminals and terror suspects to be turned away at the UK border will be strengthened significantly. In particular, EU nationals will be turned away even if they do not present an imminent threat. Their past conduct or so-called soft intelligence  police information which stops short of a conviction  will be sufficient to act.
Joined by his glamorous family (his wife, a former model, is 24 years his junior), Donald Trump arrived on stage at what was supposed to have been a victory rally at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, and introduced his supporters to a new facet of his personality: humility.

His fans tried to muster the manic cheering that has followed every step of his campaign, but suddenly the air of invincibility was gone.

Minutes earlier, the news had come through that Republican voters in Iowa had defied the pollsters and opted not for the runaway favourite, but for Ted Cruz, a firebrand, Bible-thumping senator from Texas.

Second place: Donald Trump was trounced by Ted Cruz, the bible thumping senator from Texas in the Iowa caucuses

This was the first state to vote in Americas tortuous process to find the two main parties presidential candidates, and the Republican verdict was as definitive as it was surprising.

As voters surged to schools and church halls in a record turn-out, Cruz won more Republican votes than any candidate in the history of Iowa caucuses. This was reality finally intruding into the blustering, showy Trump campaign  a humbling defeat for the bombastic New York property tycoon and reality TV star.

In front of the cameras at least, Trump took it in his stride, congratulating Ted Cruz, a man he has previously only monstered. I was told by everyone: Do not go to Iowa: you could never finish even in the top ten,  said Trump, attempting to deflect suggestions that this was a serious setback.

Winner: Ted Cruz won the Republican round of the Iowa Caucuses with 28 per cent to Trump's 24 per cent

I said: I have to do it. We finished second, and I have to tell you something. Im just honoured.

These soundbites did little to disguise his disappointment, though he can console himself he beat into third place Marco Rubio, a young Hispanic senator from Florida, whom moderate Republicans see as their brightest hope.

Rubios team, naturally, spun the results by saying that even coming third defied their expectations.

REPUBLICANS' LATINO CHARMER Marco Rubio is the great hope of Republicans who dream he will become the first Latino president. Even before Rubio nearly beat Donald Trump in Iowa, the Wall Street money men who fund the Republicans were reportedly rallying behind the 44-year-old Florida senator. Other establishment candidates will face pressure to pull out of the race so support can be concentrated on Rubio. A Cuban-American, he was caught out embellishing his familys history to appeal to Cuban emigre voters by claiming they had fled Castro. In fact, the family left the island years before the communist came to power. In politics, his fans say Rubios clean-cut, youthful appearance conceals a wily operator. He has risen quickly, aided by the fact Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority in the U.S. and Republicans are desperate for their support. A Catholic with four children, he is married to his college sweetheart, Jeanette, a former cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins. Advertisement

Trumps jolting defeat wasnt the only wake-up call of the night. Hillary Clinton  who has long been considered the inevitable successor to Barack Obama  found herself winning the Democratic caucuses just 0.2 pc ahead of 74-year-old Bernie Sanders, a socialist senator from Vermont, of whom most Americans had never heard six months ago.

Suddenly, the certainty that she was the only choice for Americas Left was in tatters.

In short, these electrifying results have seen expectations completely overturned in the most bizarre presidential race for decades.

Until now, Trump has been the big story: exploiting widespread grassroots fury about Washington and conventional politics and leaving establishment Republican contenders such as George W. Bushs brother, Jeb, struggling to get attention.

As for Hillary, a woman who divides opinion in the U.S. like no other, she was visibly relieved to have avoided a repeat of the humiliating defeat she suffered in Iowa in 2008, which catapulted Barack Obama to national attention and eventually the White House.

So why do politicians set such store by the voters of corn-growing Iowa, a sparsely populated, almost entirely white, rural Midwestern state?

Latino charmer: Marco Rubio is the Republican hope to become the country's first Latino President

It is hardly representative of the rest of the U.S.  which has many cosmopolitan and more racially diverse states  but attracts a disproportionate amount of attention from aspiring presidents for the sole reason its caucuses kick off the nomination process.

Under the caucus system, which works slightly differently for Democrats and Republicans, registered voters gathered at more than 1,600 precincts across the state on Monday evening.

... AND DEMOCRATS' OWN JEREMY CORBYN B ernie Sanders is 74 and an unapologetic socialist who, as a Left-wing town mayor in 1981, wrote to the Kremlin, Downing Street and the White House telling them to disarm their nuclear weapons and begin immediate talks with other world leaders. By rights, he should have been consigned to the lunatic fringe of U.S. politics, yet he is threatening to pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent Washington history by blocking Hillary Clintons path to the White House. Sanders  whose Oxford-based brother Larry stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party MP at the last election  has been compared to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and he plays on the same Left-wing public anger over rising economic inequality and a political system that seems to ignore ordinary people. Born in Brooklyn, Sanders has proved a hit with idealistic young Democrats who see Mrs Clinton as untrustworthy and too cosy with Wall Street bankers and the Washington elite. The Vermont senator wants to make the U.S. more like high-spending, high-taxing countries such as Sweden. Sceptics say Sanders  who lost yesterdays Iowa Democratic caucus by just 0.2 per cent  will win few votes in many states, but many in the party fear that Mrs Clinton is moving too far Left to counter him, which could damage her credibility in the presidential election. Advertisement

Depending on the party, voters chose their preferred candidate with a show of hands or by writing a name on a piece of paper. This year, caucus organisers seriously under-estimated how many people would turn up, leading to chaotic scenes at precinct venues as hundreds queued for hours to vote.

But they did not all come to pay homage to Trump and his infamous sweepover hairstyle. His eight-point lead over Ted Cruz in the final polls dissolved as the Texan took 28 per cent of the vote and Mr Trump only 24 per cent, just ahead of Marco Rubio on 23 per cent.

Experts blamed a combination of voters failing to show up or balking at the last minute at actually voting for Trump, who has called for a ban on non-resident Muslims entering the U.S., and wants Mexico to pay for a high wall between their countries.

Trump was also blamed for running a disorganised campaign in Iowa that paid scant attention to meeting ordinary people on the ground or getting supporters to the caucuses. The tireless Cruz wore through a serious amount of shoe leather visiting every one of the 99 counties in Iowa, and crucially earning the support of the states numerous evangelical Christians.

By contrast, Mr Trump flew around regally in his private jet, dropping in for a handful of flamboyant, flag-waving rallies, but largely relying on his huge fame to overwhelm provincial Iowans.

Intriguingly, exit polls showed many Trump fans switched to Cruz or Rubio because they felt the grandstanding tycoon had failed to show them the love and attention theyve come to expect.

Of course, The Donald  who wrote a book entitled Never Give Up  is far from finished. As one critic pointed out, he called Iowans stupid to their face, refused to ask God for forgiveness and, thrice married, has a messy private life that must appal strait-laced Iowans. Yet he still came second.

Compared with British General Elections, the race to the White House is a long one.

The Democrat and Republican candidates are not chosen until the party conventions in July, after every state has conducted its own nomination process.

Next-and-next: Democrats' left-field Bernie Sanders narrowly lost out to favourite Hillary Clinton but showed her nomination is far from a certainty

The real battle then begins in earnest until election day on November 8. The new president will be inaugurated in January 2017. As the primaries move up next week to New Hampshire  the next state to decide  Trump is again leading in the polls.

However, this time he will face stronger competition, not from Ted Cruz  who has limited appeal among more secular-minded New Englanders  but from establishment candidates, such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Ohio governor John Kasich, a quietly effective politician whom some believe would be the choice of the partys floating voters.

For the Democrats, Mrs Clinton badly trails Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire polls because its a heartland for his brand of militant liberal views.

Iowa has a track record of identifying strong contenders and weaning out the sickly ones.

New Hampshire will no doubt throw up a different set of winners and losers, but the whole race has suddenly changed.

Donald Trump is not invincible  and Hillary Clinton may not be inevitable.

A Gun-Loving Bible Basher

Who is the man who trumped Donald Trump in Iowa?

Ted Cruz, 45, is a hardcore conservative and darling of the Right-wing Tea Party movement, who puts ideological purity before party loyalty, earning the loathing of many Republican colleagues who see him as a bloody-minded loose cannon.

He supports unrestricted gun rights, saying U.S. citizens cease to be free if they cannot defend themselves.

Hes strongly pro-life and has called for legal abortions to be limited to women whose pregnancy endangers their life.

He opposes same-sex marriage, campaigning in Iowa with a reality TV star who has publicly described gay marriage as depravity.

Cruz denies the existence of climate change, let alone whether it needs to be addressed.

Right-wing darling: Ted Cruz with wife Heidi and their daughters

He says that nothing should stop the U.S. drilling for oil, and environmental concerns should never be allowed to harm jobs. He also wants a flat rate 10 per cent income tax that critics say would be economically disastrous.

On foreign policy, Cruz calls the U.S. the nation other countries aspire to be like, and has advocated a far more gung-ho, interventionist outlook.

It would include unquestioning support for Israel, stopping the military withdrawal from Afghanistan and ripping up the new deal with Iran that sought to limit its nuclear ambitions.

Born in Canada, he is the son of a Cuban emigre and evangelical preacher who fought for Castro against the corrupt Batista regime. Cruz senior was captured and tortured, but fled to America on a student visa with just $100 sewn into his underwear, and paid his way through university by washing dishes in restaurants.

Raised in Houston, the younger Cruz inherited his fathers self-help spirit and became an ardent conservative.

In high school, he learned the U.S. Constitution by heart, and travelled across Texas giving speeches on conservative ideas.

Evangelical: Ted Cruz is the son of a Cuban emigre and evangelical preacher who fought for Castro

At Princeton University, he was a champion debater while at Harvard Law School, his professor described him as off-the-charts brilliant. He worked as a lawyer, before switching to politics when he became a domestic policy adviser to George W. Bush during his 2000 presidential campaign.

While working there, he met his wife, Heidi Nelson Cruz, another policy adviser, who now works for Goldman Sachs. They have two daughters.

Appointed Texass Solicitor General in 2003, Cruz continued to champion the cause of gun rights, opposing a move to ban handguns in Washington DC as unconstitutional.

He also campaigned to keep the words under God in the U.S. pledge of allegiance.
A report on the botched police investigation into Poppi Worthington's death is unlikely to be released this year.

This is despite the document being completed by watchdogs ten months ago and government advice that there is no need to delay any longer.

Last night angry MPs condemned the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

A report on the botched police investigation into Poppi Worthington's death is unlikely to be released this year

They called for Home Secretary Theresa May to force the release of its report into the failings of the Cumbria force over the 13-month-old's death.

But the watchdog insists that all other legal proceedings need to end first, including a second inquest.

John Woodcock MP for Barrow said: This situation is so serious that it may justify the extraordinary step of the Home Secretary herself stepping in and ordering the publication of the report.

Its not a step the home secretary would want to take and no one is suggesting affecting the independence of the content of their findings.

Colourful flowers and soft toys cover the unmarked grave of Poppi Worthington. A High Court judge has ruled Poppi's father Paul Worthington probably sexually assaulted her before she died in 2012

It is simply to make public a crucial report that is already completed, is in circulation within the police force, and has gone to the PCC.

Theyve been told by government there is no legal impediment to publishing now. Theyre simply making excuses.

Justice minister Caroline Dinenage told the House of Commons that while the IPCC is independent and sets its own time scales, there is no need to wait for a second inquest in order to publish.

This week, a copy was leaked to the BBC and some parts were reported. They include criticism of an 'unstructured and disorganised approach' and delays.
Sainsburys has struck a 1.3billion deal to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group that will see it close around 200 shops across Britain.

The takeover is an attempt to compete with online rivals such as US giant Amazon and help both businesses compete on the High Street.

The deal will mean shoppers will be able to buy Argos products in Sainsburys shops and the supermarkets customers will have access to Argos four-hour time slots for home deliveries.

Sainsburys has struck a 1.3billion deal to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group that will see it close around 200 shops across Britain

Sainsburys boss Mike Coupe said the takeover will create the largest non-food retailer in the country with more than 2000 shops selling 100,000 non-food products with more than 25 million customers.

Argos online and mail-order customers will also be able to click n collect to buy their kettles and bikes from Sainsburys stores.

Sainsburys has 600 supermarkets and 750 convenience stores while there are more than 800 Argos stores. Argos has already been trialling outlets in Sainsburys supermarkets and the deal will see more concessions open in the grocer.

Mr Coupe described the takeover as baking a bigger cake to create a better and larger business for customers.

The deal will mean shoppers will be able to buy Argos products in Sainsburys shops and the supermarkets customers will have access to Argos four-hour time slots for home deliveries

However one investment manager described it as two struggling retailers propping each other up.

Sainsburys first made an offer in November that was rejected, and it was fourth time lucky yesterday when its increased offer was finally accepted.

Sainsburys, like other supermarkets, has seen its market share eroded by discount retailers such as Lidl and Aldi, the rise of online shopping and the shift to people shopping little and often rather than large weekly shops. Argos has also been struggling in the face of competition from the likes of Amazon.

The deal has raised fears it will mean struggling High Streets are hit with even more empty shops.

Many of the leases of Argos stores are up for renewal in the next five years and between 150 and 200 shops could be closed and moved into a nearby Sainsburys.

One shopping centre landlord, Mark Robinson, joint-founder of property company Ellandi which owns more than 20 shopping centres, said: Argos/Sainsbury going through is not great for many town centres across the country. However it MIGHT create world class omni-channel champion IF executed perfectly.

Sainsburys trumpeted the clever way it had financed the deal.

Although the Sainsburys transaction values Home Retail at 1.3billion, Sainsburys claims it is actually buying Argos for a mere 250million.

Many of the leases of Argos stores are up for renewal in the next five years and between 150 and 200 shops could be closed and moved into a nearby Sainsburys

The deal sees it inherit a 600million Argos loan book  money owed to Argos. It will also benefit from the 250million of cash at Home Retail from the sale of Homebase - last month it sold the Homebase chain for 340million to Australias Wesfarmers.

The deal is not quite sealed  the two companies have agreed a three-week extension on yesterdays takeover deadline in order to complete the due diligence on the offer.

Home Retail shareholders will own 12percent of Sainsburys when the deal goes through.

Sainsburys said it will save 120 million through synergies, including 60million from relocating Argos stores. However it will also lead to around 280million in extra costs.
The Rothschild giraffe is one of the world's most endangered subspecies of giraffe

Giraffe mum Shani helped nurse her baby to its feet

She is already 1.5 metres tall and running around with siblings

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Mogo Zoo is celebrating the arrival of its fifth pure Rothschild giraffe - one of the most endangered subspecies of giraffe.

The newborn, who despite being just a week old, is 1.5 metres tall and is the toast of the zoo on New South Wales' south coast.

Staff have reported the young giraffe is already running around and trying to keep up with her older - and taller - siblings.

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The yet-to-be named baby giraffe was born on January 27 and is already 1.5 metres tall

Staff have reported the young giraffe is already running around and playing with her older siblings

Zoo owner Sally Padey said the young giraffe's mum Shani helped her newborn struggle to its feet when it was born.

I have witnessed many giraffe births and I am still amazed and relieved when I see that little baby giraffe with its long spindly legs shaking, and its coat still wet, get to its feet and start nursing, it is such a special and touching moment,' she said.

In the wild, newborn giraffes are at their most vulnerable when they are on the ground, so mothers nudge their babies to their feet as soon as possible after they are born.

Mogo Zoo operations manager Paul Whitehorn said the newest member to the zoo family has been playing with her siblings and doing 'exceptionally well'.

'It is great to see the new addition is kicking up her heels and chasing after her much-taller sisters,' he said.

The Rothschild giraffe, which inhabits protected areas in Kenya and Northern Uganda, is one of the most endangered subspecies of giraffe.

There are only a few hundred estimated to still be in the wild and the animals are under threat from drought, hunting, poaching and habitat encroachment through agriculture.

Mogo Zoo is encouraging people to suggest names for the newborn, as they did for her older sisters, Manzi, Binti, Tuli and brother Shaba.

Mum giraffe Shani helped nurse her newborn to its feet

The newborn has three sisters - Manzi, Binti, Tuli - and one brother named Shaba

Mogo Zoo is encouraging people to suggest names for the newborn
Sydney has been plagued with flies due to extreme heat and wet weather

A man has been left in awe after he purchased a fly catcher which filled up after just one day.

Myles Farrawell, from Sydney, posted the photo of his full contraption to Facebook which left social media users stunned.

So I bought a fly trap from Bunnings yesterday and put it out yesterday afternoon and just came home to find this wow !!!! Flys for dinner lol [sic], Mr Farrawell wrote.

A south Sydney man's fly catcher from Bunnings almost filled up to the top in under a day

Mr Farrawell was in disbelief when he came home to find his fly contraption full of insects

Flies are commonly known to come out in massive numbers during the summer

Flies are often a massive pest for Australian's during the hot summer period, due to their attraction to heat when mating.

Bryce Peters, General Manager for the Faculty of Science at University of Technology Sydney, said the hot temperatures this summer could be a direct link to the large amount of flies in Sydney's CBD. It could also be the reason as to why this man caught so many flies in a day.

'When the weather gets warmer and more humid the flies are more active,' Mr Peters said.

Mr Peters, who is also from the Sutherland Shire, said it is highly likely the flies are bush flies.

'Bush flies tend to breed out in the west (Western Sydney) before being blown over to the city due to the westerly winds'.

Australian Museum naturalist Martyn Robinson told the Daily Telegraph a combination of heavy rain and heat has caused a 'build up' of more flies over spring last year and summer this year.
Australian retail giant Cotton On suddenly has the weight of the world on its shoulders after it was forced to pull globes from its Typo stationery stores after they named Palestine but not Israel.

The design represented Israel with a '2' on the map and users were referred to a key at the base of the globe for the name.

It was a move that infuriated Jewish community groups. Bnai Brith Anti-Defamation League chair Dvir Abramovitch toldThe Australian it was a hostile act of geographical distortion towards Israel.

Australian retail giant Cotton On was forced to pull globes from sale after they replaced Israel with the number '2' but named Palestine

Sadly, it is becoming all too routine to find items that expunge Israel off the map or replace it with the yet-to-be-established state of Palestine, Dr Abramovitch said.

Such hostile acts of geographical distortion and disinformation visualise the offensive message that Israel is an illegitimate entity that is not a member of the family of nations.

This is part of an international campaign to delegitimise and demonise Israel.'

The design had Israel represented by a number two on the map instead of their name

Globes had to be taken from Cotton On's Typo stores because of the row that broke out (stock image)

Typo said on its Facebook page that they were not removing any country from the globe but made the decision to recall the current globes from sale as they were 'sourcing new artwork from our supplier that has every country marked on it but with no need for a key. All countries will remain on the map, the key will not'.

However, when the company then made the decision to halt production of the globes it led to threats and complaints from the Palestinian community, who made complaints on the stores social media accounts like Facebook.

Typo issued an apology and explanation on its Facebook page to explain their stance

In the end the company came in for some heavy criticism from both sides.

James Stanton posted said: 'Your anti Semetic (sic) approach is dusgusting (sic). There never has been an official Palestine. Your (sic) a disgrace.' While Steve Saragossi said that it was not the company's position 'to second-guess future statehood statuses'.

But not to be outdone Salma Tamimi defiantly posted: ' i will remain Palestine (sic) even if you changed the artwork TYPO!...you know why...it's a stolen land...that's why!'

Haneen Al-Quds and Steve Saragossi had different views on the controversy

James Stanton called Typo a 'disgrace' and said they were anti-semitic
Proudly paraded at the funeral of seven Hamas members, at first glance this 'captured and rebuilt Israeli tank' looked every bit the fearsome war machine.

But a closer look appeared to unmask it as more wooden car than military might as eagle-eyed Twitter users spotted what looked like tyres between the mysteriously immobile tank treads.

It was even suggested the vehicle bore similarities to a carnival float as a photo of the 'tank' was mocked on social media.

Proudly paraded at a Hamas funeral service, on first glance this 'tank' looked every bit the fearsome war machine. But a closer look revealed what looked like tyres between the mysteriously immobile tank treads

The 'tank' was part of a service that saw thousands of Palestinians mourn the deaths of seven Hamas members crushed when an illegal tunnel they were digging in Gaza collapsed.

But few took the claim that it had been captured from Israeli forces seriously.

The spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ofir Gendelman, tweeted: 'Hamas paraded yesterday a "captured, rebuilt Israeli tank".

'FYI, tanks aren't made of wood and don't run on wheels.'

One Twitter user wrote: 'That's a tank???!!! It probably has a big wind-up key on the back end too, and shoots sparks out of the tube.'

The spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ofir Gendelman, tweeted: 'Hamas paraded yesterday a "captured, rebuilt Israeli tank". FYI, tanks aren't made of wood and don't run on wheels'

Not fooled: One Twitter user wrote: 'That's a tank???!!! It probably has a big wind-up key on the back end too, and shoots sparks out of the tube.' Some pointed out that the tank treads didn't touch the ground (pictured)

Another said it looked more like a float, while some pointed out that the tank treads didn't touch the ground.

Last Friday, the bodies of the dead Hamas members were carried through the streets to a mosque in Gaza City as thousands waited to pay their respects.

Dozens of militants gathered round the men to pray as a roof caved in under the weight of residents trying to catch a glimpse of their bodies.

The men died on January 26 after a Gaza Strip tunnel they were in collapsed due to heavy rain. It was two days until officials were able to get to their bodies.

Mocked: A number of Twitter users gave Hamas the internet treatment for claiming to be parading a tank

Four other militants managed to escape, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said.

A statement by the Brigades added: 'The Mujahedin martyrs were repairing an old tunnel, from which a number of operations were executed in the [2014] war.'

Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007, when it seized power after a brief civil war.

The tunnels were used by militants to launch surprise attacks on Israeli forces last summer.

Officials in Israel have repeatedly warned about the rebuilding of the tunnels with some politicians calling for pre-emptive action to neutralise the threat.

Funeral: The 'tank' was part of a service that saw thousands of Palestinians mourn the deaths of seven Hamas members (pictured), who were crushed when an illegal tunnel they were digging in Gaza collapsed
An Australian boy who pestered his father to list him as an organ donor after learning about it at school will save the lives of four people after he died on a family holiday in India.

Seven-year-old Deyaan Udani passed away on Saturday at a Mumbai hospital after suffering a blood clot on his brain.

Deyaan, who went to school at Quakers Hill Public School in Sydney's west, became the youngest organ donor in India after his family donated his heart, kidneys and liver following his death.

Sydney boy Deyaan Udani, aged 7, passed away on Saturday after suffering a blood clot on his brain while on a family holiday with his parents and sister in Mumbai, India

The schoolboy had been in Mumbai on a holiday with his parents and sister when he complained of a severe headache the day they were due to fly back home to Sydney on January 22.

Deyaan was rushed to Hinduja Hospital where he underwent brain surgery and was diagnosed with severe cerebral sinus venous thrombosis - a blood clot in his brain vessel.

Doctors declared the seven-year-old brain dead just several days later.

His mother Mili Udani, who is registered as an organ donor, said they decided immediately to donate Deyaan's organs because it's what he wanted, the Mumbai Mirror reports.

'Recently, Deyaan and his sister were taught about organ donation in school and how one can be listed as an organ donor on the driving licence,' she said.

Complaining of a severe headache, Deyaan was rushed to Hinduja Hospital where he underwent brain surgery and was diagnosed with a blood clot in his brain vessel

'The kids came home and asked us if we were listed.'

Deyann and his sister then tried to coax their father Rupesh to become a registered donor.

'At that time, Deyaan said that when he grows up, he would like to be an organ donor,' Ms Udani said.
Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch has found himself at the centre of a social media storm after he was wrongly identified as an American conservative billionaire on Twitter.

The Australian television presenter, who shares the same name as a wealthy U.S. businessman, has been hurled with abusive comments on Twitter from American voters as the U.S. presidential election campaign ramps up.

Tired of the abuse, the Channel Seven star on Wednesday told the people sending him messages in the belief they were messaging the American to 'unfollow' him'.

Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch has been wrongly identified as an American conservative billionaire

But on Wednesday, the Channel Seven star hit back at claims after he was accused of rigging the US election

The Australian television presenter (right) shares the same name as US businessman David Koch (left)

Most of the messages accused David Koch of rigging the U.S. election by using his hundreds of millions of dollars to control candidates.

'To all Americans... I know the primaries have started. BUT I AM NOT A KOCH BROS. I'm an Aussie bloke. Unfollow me,' the 59-year-old wrote on Twitter.

This isn't the first time the Australian TV personality has been confused for American David Koch [pronounced as 'Coke'], who is a member of the billionaire American Koch family.

Last February, Australia's David Koch, who co-hosts the popular morning TV program Sunrise on the Seven Network with Samantha Armytage, was bombarded with abuse from Twitter followers.

American David (pictured) and his brother Charlie are known for their huge influence on conservative politics

The Australian television presenter has been hurled with abusive comments on Twitter from American voters

American David, 75, and his brother Charlie - the sons of Fred Koch who is chemical engineer and later founder of Koch Industries - are known for their huge influence on conservative politics.

Last year the pair announced that their political network will spend nearly $900 million during the 2016 US campaign cycle.

The second-largest privately owned company in the US, Koch Industries primarily deals with oil but has number other ventures.
She says he is being judged based on his appearance not his character

A heavily-pregnant woman is facing the prospect of raising her child alone as her partner, a motorcycle gang member, is set to be deported after his visa was revoked on character grounds, despite her pleas.

Rhianna Manolini-Drage, 22, of Perth, is due to give birth to a son in three weeks, but her partner, New Zealand-born Rebels bikie Joel Royston Makaea, 34, is behind bars in immigration detention awaiting deportation - and Miss Manolini-Drage says it is because of his appearance.

She told Daily Mail Australia that authorities and the general public commenting on the situation were basing their opinions on his appearance rather than his personality.

Since Mr Makaea, the family's main provider, was placed in detention five months ago, Miss Manolini-Drage has had to go on a single parent's benefit and leave her home.

Joel Royston Makaea, who is facing deporation to New Zealand and his partner, Rhianna Manolini-Drage

Miss Manolini-Drage is pregnant with Mr Makaea's child, and is expecting a baby boy in about three week's time

Mr Makaea is facing deportation to New Zealand because of his membership of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang

Miss Manolini-Drage said life had been a 'struggle' since Mr Makaea had been imprisoned

Because she had to go on a benefit, Miss Manolini-Drage had to leave her house for one her benefit could afford

Mr Makaea, a senior member of the Rebels and who has lived in Australia for the past 12 years, has a criminal history including charges of disorderly conduct and driving under the influence of drugs and an assault conviction, The West Australian reported.

'Everything was good and as soon as he got detained it went downhill from there,' his partner said.

She added that she had stopped working when she became pregnant, and her reliance on welfare meant she had to find a cheaper home she could afford.

'It's been cr**. It's been extremely hard. Having to move from a nice area to a different side of Perth.'

Miss Manolini-Drage said her partner was being judged on his appearance and not his character

Miss Manolini-Drage, with her son, Kahu, from former relationship. She is expecting a child with Mr Makaea in the next three weeks

The bricklayer is set to be deported to New Zealand and Miss Manolini-Drage said she had appealed to Immigration minister Peter Dutton for his release so that he can help her raise their child but has not received a response.

She also has no idea when he was due to be deported.

Recently, the government agreed to release Mr Makaea in Australia but then changed its mind, she claimed.

'What people don't know is that with Peter Dutton, he admitted he was wrong and [I] got paperwork saying Joel was due for release and then next thing they revoked his visa again.

'We're thinking positive, we're trying everything we can... It's not right, what he [Peter Dutton] is doing.'

Even though she's trying to stay optimistic, she admits that she is devastated and angry.

'It's just distressing. We try to be hopeful but it's hard when that happens.'

Miss Manolini-Drage and Mr Makaea, who she says is a family man and his gang affiliation did not change 'who he was inside'

Pregnant Miss Manolini-Drage had to take on a single parent's welfare since Mr Makaea was jailed

Immigration minister Peter Dutton said: 'If he intends to appeal against that decision he will remain in detention in Australia through any appeal process, alternatively he can return to New Zealand'.

His office would not specify when he was set to be removed from Australia, only that his visa had been revoked and he faced deportation.

Miss Manolini-Drage said that those judging her and Mr Makaea were doing so based on his appearance and his 'hobbies'.

'They don't know him personally, or any of us. It goes to show they are judging him on his appearance and not who he is. They are just labelling him. It's unfair. They should try put themselves in our position.

'At the end of the day their opinion doesn't really matter. They don't know us.'

'He is a family man and he is a person. Just because he is part of a club does not change who he is inside.'

In August last year, Mr Makaea, who is presently in Casuarina Prison, became the first person in West Australia to be arrested and have his visa revoked solely due to his connections to an outlaw motorcycle gang.

The step was taken under tough changes to immigration laws introduced late in 2014.

Mr Makaea, who is presently in Casuarina Prison, became the first person in West Australia to be arrested and have his visa revoked solely due to his connections to an outlaw motorcycle gang
Australia's High Court threw out a challenge to offshore immigration detention camps on Wednesday, clearing the way for the deportation of dozens of infants born in Australia to detained asylum seekers.

The court rejected a legal test case brought by an unidentified Bangladeshi woman that challenged Australia's right to deport detained asylum seekers to the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru.

The detention centre on Nauru houses about 500 people and has been widely criticised by the United Nations and human rights agencies for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse.

The Bangladeshi woman was on a boat intercepted by Australian authorities in October 2013. She was detained on Australia's remote Christmas Island and later sent to Nauru.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday

Some of the babies born in Australia to asylum seeker mothers who face deportation to one of Australia's controversial offshore asylum seeker detention centres on the Pacific Island of Nauru

She gave birth to a daughter after she was transferred to Australia for medical treatment in 2014 and has remained there with her child.

Other families with children born in Australia in similar circumstances are now in line to be returned to the camps.

Lawyers from the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) acting for the Bangladeshi woman had argued it was illegal for Australia to operate and pay for offshore detention in a third country.

'I hope that the immigration minister and the prime minister, just like other decent Australians, can see that there is simply no excuse to take 37 babies, to rip children from their classrooms, and warehouse them on a tiny island,' HRLC Director of Legal Advocacy Daniel Webb told reporters.

Daniel Webb (C) from the Human Rights Law Centre speaks to the media after the High Court of Australia ruling on refugees to Nauru in Canberra

Asylum seeker advocates with their toddlers hold signs and pictures of babies of asylum seekers who could be deported after the High Court of Australia ruling

'Now, the legality may be complex. The politics may be complex. But the morality is simple. It is fundamentally wrong.'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull defended the ruling.

'Our commitment today is simply this: the people smugglers will not prevail over our sovereignty,' he told parliament. 'Our borders are secure. The line has to be drawn somewhere and it is drawn at our border.'

Children born in Australia to non-citizens or parents without legal residency are not entitled to citizenship until after their 10th birthday, and then only if they have lived most of their lives in Australia.

Under Australia's immigration policy, asylum seekers attempting to reach the country by boat are intercepted and sent to camps on Nauru, about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) northeast of Australia, or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea.

The ruling will allow Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to fulfil his pledge to deport the infants, as well as 54 children brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment and more than 150 adult family members.

UNICEF called the decision 'unreasonable' in a statement and urged the government not to move ahead with the deportations. (Writing by Matt Siegel; Editing by Jane Wardell and Nick Macfie)
Japan has vowed to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it is deemed a threat after Kim Jong-un announced plans to launch a 'satellite'.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned what he called a 'serious provocation' and Japan issued an order to 'destroy' the missile with surface-to-air weapons if it threatened to fall on its territory.

The order was given amid fears over the 'possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a "satellite" within coming days,' the statement said.

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A PAC-3 missile launcher is deployed on the grounds of the defence ministry in Tokyo, Japan on January 29. Japan has vowed to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it is deemed a threat

Japan has vowed to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it is deemed a threat after Kim Jong-un (pictured centre) announced plans to launch a 'satellite'

'Today the defence minister issued an order' to destroy such a missile if it 'is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory,' the defence ministry said in a statement.

The order will be carried out by Japan's ballistic missile defence system, which includes PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, and similar SM-3 systems aboard warships, the ministry said.

The order will be effective until February 25, it added, the end of the launch window announced by Pyongyang that begins on February 8.

Pyongyang announced plans last week for a launch aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit - just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test.

Japan's response came as China expressed 'serious concerns' over North Korea's actions.

'We express serious concerns about that,' foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

'We believe that the DPRK has the right to the peaceful use of space but at the moment its relevant right should be subject to the restrictions of the UN Security Council resolutions,' he added, using the North's official name.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) condemned what he called a 'serious provocation'

South Korea echoed the concerns insisting North Korea would pay a heavy price if it pushes ahead with the launch.

Urging Pyongyang to drop its plans for as early as next week, the government in Seoul said the move would be a serious breach of UN resolutions and a 'direct challenge' to the international community.

UN resolutions forbid the North from any use of ballistic missile technology, and Tuesday's announcement saw Pyongyang doubling down against an international community already struggling to come up with a united response to last month's nuclear test.

'It's a classic move,' said John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.

'While waiting for a full response for the nuclear test, you might as well sneak in a rocket launch. The North tends to do these things in pairs,' Delury said

The United States, which has been spearheading a diplomatic drive for harsher, more effective sanctions on Pyongyang, was quick to condemn the launch plan.

Daniel Russel, the assistant US secretary of state for Asia-Pacific affairs slammed what he called 'yet another egregious violation' of UN resolutions.

'This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose... tough additional sanctions,' Russel said.

In formal notifications sent to three UN agencies, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), North Korea said the launch would take place in the morning with a daily window of 7:00am-midday Pyongyang time (10.30pm - 3.30am).

The dates suggest a launch around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The South Korean government statement urged Pyongyang to call off the launch immediately or pay a 'heavy price' for threatening regional peace and stability.

UN sanctions were tightened after North Korea successfully placed a satellite in orbit on a three-stage Unha-3 rocket in December 2012.

Pyongyang announced plans this week for a launch aimed at putting an Earth observation satellite into orbit - just weeks after conducting its fourth nuclear test

A fresh launch poses a dilemma for the international community, which is already divided on how to punish the North for its nuclear test.

North Korea's chief diplomatic ally, China, has been resisting the US push for tougher sanctions, but a rocket launch would bolster calls for Beijing to bring its maverick neighbour into line.

'However, I'm not sure if China will change its position,' said Delury.

'The nuclear test is a far bigger deal for Beijing than the rocket launch, so I don't expect any tangible shift in China's perspective, whatever the US says,' he added.

While its patience has been stretched to the limit by Pyongyang's refusal to curb its nuclear ambitions, China's overriding concern is a collapse of Kim Jong-Un's regime and the possibility of a US-allied unified Korea on its border.

US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pressure his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last week.

Although the two sides agreed to mount an 'accelerated effort' to try to resolve their differences on a new resolution, Kerry acknowledged that they had not agreed on the 'parameters of exactly what it would do or say'.

Since early 2013, North Korea has been upgrading its Sohae satellite launch complex to handle larger, longer-range rockets with heavier payloads, but most experts say Pyongyang is still years from obtaining a credible intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

The flight plan coordinates sent to the IMO were similar to the December 2012 launch - suggesting an Unha-3 would again be the selected carrier.
As many as five cabinet members are certain to fight for a British exit from the EU, Liam Fox warned the Prime Minister today.

As David Cameron faced a growing backlash over his draft deal with Europe, the former defence secretary led calls for cabinet members to be set free from rules stopping them speaking out.

Mr Cameron has insisted his cabinet can campaign - but not before he has finalised his deal at the EU summit on February 18-19 and then held a cabinet meeting.

But Dr Fox, the former defence secretary and the most senior Tory on the campaign trail already, today said this was not good enough as he outlined the eurosceptic core of Mr Cameron's cabinet.

Boris Johnson led the Tory backlash against the deal when he said 'much more needs to be done'.

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Liam Fox today forecast four or five cabinet members were 'certain' to back exit. They are likely to include Iain Ducan Smith, left, Theresa Villiers, centre, and Chris Grayling, right

Employment minister Priti Patel, left, is thought likely to back Out, while John Whittingdale, right, is known to be strongly eurosceptic. London mayor Boris Johnson, who attends political cabinet, has already been critical

He said: 'I don't know exactly how many, but I can think of four or five for certain.

'And we await to see when they make their decision and they will all have different areas of expertise to argue the case.'

Those in the cabinet most likely to break for out are Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and Commons Leader Chris Grayling.

Priti Patel, the employment minister who attends cabinet, and Boris Johnson, who sits on the 'political' cabinet, are also known eurosceptics - and Mr Johnson yesterday blasted Mr Cameron's deal as he is not bound by the same rules as his colleagues.

Home Secretary Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond have both defied the expectations of some and indicated they will back the In campaign.

But In a BBC interview today, Dr Fox said as the Prime Minister was starting his campaign now he should allow all of his colleagues to do the same:

He said: 'The danger is always that the rules are seen to be different for one side of the argument than the other.

'And I think if the Prime Minister has already decided that the draft deal is enough for him to campaign to go out there selling the deal, then it should be for others who don't agree with that to make their own case.

'And I think the danger of treating the two sides differently is that it will make it more difficult for us to come together after the referendum.

'So if we treat one another with respect in terms of arguments and the rules are the same for both sides, all the easier for us to come together for good governance of the UK after the referendum.'

One cabinet member anonymously told the Telegraph today: 'The Prime Minister has fired the starting gun for the EU campaign and made clear he will be leading the charge to stay in.

'The assumption is that collective responsibility is over.'

Liam Fox, left, has said Mr Cameron should let his ministers free to start campaigning for Out. Owen Paterson, centre, is one of the Tory MPs like to add to criticism of Mr Cameron today. Steve Baker, right, chairs the Conservatives for Britain group and described the deal as 'poo' yesterday

Out campaigners have been left scratching around for a leader after Theresa May, left, effectively ruled out campaigning against the Prime Minister on the EU. Philip Hammond, right, has also appeared to back In.

Another told the paper: 'People on the other side of the argument cannot just be silenced. It won't work.'

'THE BEST OF A BAD JOB': BORIS JOHNSON STAYS FIRMLY ON THE FENCE Boris Johnson risked infuriating the PM today when he refused another opportunity to back the renegotiation deal. Ahead of the unveiling of Mr Tusk's package on Tuesday, the Mayor said he had 'doubts' about a proposed red-card scheme to give national parliaments more power over Brussels laws. And today Mr Johnson told Sky News the PM was 'making the best of a bad job'. Asked whether he had changed his mind after seeing the document, he replied: 'I think the position is very much the same as it was yesterday morning, which is a lot more to do on this. 'Let's wait and see when this whole thing is agreed and try to see what it really means - every bit of it.' Advertisement

Another minister told The Times: 'People are trying to do this in a gentlemanly way that plays by his rules.

'Yet he goes and organises a press conference and doesn't even tell the rest of us.'

Mr Cameron will present his draft to MPs today and is expected to come under heavy fire from his own ranks at the detail of the deal.

Steve Baker, the chairman of the backbench Conservatives for Britain group, yesterday told the Europe Minister David Lidington he was 'polishing poo' by defending Mr Cameron's package.

Others - such as the former environment secretary Owen Paterson and 1922 committee chairman Graham Brady - are also likely to be very critical.

As many as 70 Tory MPs are expected to campaign against the Prime Minister when the referendum campaign starts officially and many may speak out today.

Mr Cameron is due at the Commons despatch box at noon for PMQs before he makes a statement on his draft deal.

Mrs May's declaration last night that she felt Mr Cameron had the 'basis for a deal' has left the Out campaigns casting around for a leader.

At least three upstart campaigns have started work - hosting rallies and tackling media appearances.

But only one - probably either Vote Leave or Leave.EU - will eventually get the 'official' campaign designation from the Electoral Commission.

Rows between senior figures in the campaigns - internally at Vote Leave between Matthew Elliott and Dominic Cummings and more generally with Aaron Bank at Leave.EU - have delayed the formation of a united front which could lead the fight.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage has also proved a contentious figure within the Out campaign camps.

In key moves yesterday, Mrs May said: 'EU free movement rules have been abused for too long and EU law has stopped us deporting dangerous foreign criminals.

'That is plainly wrong and it is encouraging that the [European] Commission has agreed with the UK that we should take action to address these two issues.

THE SUPER SIX? WHO ARE THE TOP TORY POLITICIANS WHO STILL MIGHT JOIN THE BATTLE TO LEAVE EUROPE Iain Duncan Smith The work and pensions secretary and former Tory leader has long held deeply eurosceptic views. It drove his brief party leadership and he would probably be the most high profile signing for the Out campaign. In October 2003, he said: 'I will fight with all my strength to defend the British people's right to govern themselves. 'Conservatives want to build a New Europe  not a single state with its own currency and constitution, but a Europe of sovereign, enterprising nations.' John Whittingdale Mr Whittingdale wrote to the BBC last year demanding the broadcaster stayed impartial during the referendum campaign. He said the corporation had to have a 'very robust' system in place to deal with impartiality. In 2013 he warned: 'If it was a choice of the [EU] membership under the present terms or coming out, then Id vote to come out. Priti Patel Ms Patel is the lowest ranked of those likely to back out but also one of the newest faces as she was first elected in 2010. In June 2014, she said: 'The status quo of EU membership is simply not an option. The British public want less Europe and more Britain. 'The British public want our political leaders to say 'No' to the unaccountable, federalist European agenda which has led to the widespread failures of the European Union we face today.' Theresa Villiers Northern Ireland Secretary Ms Villiers may not be the highest profile member of the cabinet but she has long been eurosceptic and was thought one of those most likely to quit if Mr Cameron had not given freedom to campaign. In 2011, after the Government handed a contract which could have safeguarded 3,000 UK jobs to a German firm: 'We are bound by European Union rules, which mean . . . we are not permitted to take into account the location of the factory in determining which bid is nominated. That is a consequence of our membership of the EU.' Chris Grayling Mr Grayling, who served as a minister in Mr Cameron's team since 2010, was the first minister to make plain he would campaign for out in a delicately worded Telegraph article that just stayed within the PM's rules. He said last year: 'I've made no bones about the fact that I sit on the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party . . . If the British people decide to leave, then we leave. 'This is a strong country and we will prosper whatever the situation is. Boris Johnson The London mayor has famously flirted in and out of the Leave camp. He had appeared earlier this year to rule himself out of the Leave campaign but his strident attack on the PM's deal yesterday drew attention. Last year, he said: 'There is every reason to think, if we got the right free trade deal, that we would flourish . . . I think the price of getting out is lower than it's ever been.' Advertisement

'So we have made progress and negotiations continue ahead of the February Council.

'As the Prime Minister has said, more work needs to be done, but this is a basis for a deal.'

Mr Johnson said: 'I think what would be better would be if we had a brake of our own that we were willing to use, and that we were more willing to say 'Look, Britain is an independent sovereign country and we don't agree with this particular bit of legislation or regulation and we want to stop it'.

'That's what we should be able to do,' he said.

Mr Johnson said Mr Cameron had 'done a very good job of renegotiating at huge speed a very difficult package of measures'.

'Everybody would want to see more progress and let's see where we get,' he added. 'So far he has been doing a very very good job of getting people to see things his way.

'I think there is much, much more, however, that needs to be done.'

Last October a poll found that the Home Secretary would be the public's choice to lead the Out campaign.

The survey by the campaign group Leave.EU found she was the favoured choice to lead the debate on 'controlling our own borders and setting our own immigration policy'.

Outside of the Tory party, Nigel Farage, left, is a controversial figure within the Out campaigns, while disagreements between Matthew Elliott, second left, and Dominic Cummings, second right, inside the Vote Leave campaign have spilled into the public. The Ukip donor Aaron Banks, right, runs another campaign - Leave.EU

Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, left, today praised the deal in the European Parliament but clashed with Mr Farage, right

Two days later, Mrs May stoked speculation by appearing on the BBC Andrew Marr Show and refusing to rule herself out of leading the campaign to leave the EU.

And in December, she twice declined to rule out running the Leave campaign.

Only last week, Mrs May burnished her anti-European credentials by tearing into Brussels for being 'more talk than action' as plans were belatedly unveiled to try to solve the migration crisis.

At an emergency summit, EU leaders announced teams of border guards will be deployed to stop migrants leaving Greece for the rest of the EU, cutting the country off from the rest of the continent.

The scheme  which effectively suspends Greece's membership of the Schengen passport-free travel zone  is designed to finally halt the free flow of migrants arriving by boat into mainland Europe.

Mrs May said: 'Europe is facing an unprecedented migration crisis and today was a crucial meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

'Together with my counterparts from France and Germany, I made the case for urgent action, not just to deal with the immediate crisis but also to resolve the situation in the longer term.

'Unfortunately what we've had is more talk than action. And we need urgently to work together to ensure that we can have proper processing at Europe's external borders, that we're returning illegal migrants. Europe is struggling to cope, and every country needs to act now.'

Her comments yesterday were in stark contrast, and will be met with dismay by anti-EU backbenchers.
A record 149 inmates were exonerated in 2015, at an average rate of nearly three a week, with more than a third of the cases involving convicted killers, according to newly released data.

The National Registry of Exonerations said in its report Wednesday that the number of exonerations last year topped the previous recorded high of 139 in 2014.

The registry is a project of the University of Michigan Law School and has documented more than 1,730 such cases in the U.S. since 1989.

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Righting wrongs: The National Registry of Exonerations found that a record 149 inmates were exonerated in 2015. There have been 1,730 exonerations in the U.S. since 1989

Lone Star State: Texas, the second-most populous state, had the most exonerations with 54, nearly 80 per cent of them involving drug offenders in Harris County

Second place: New York, the fourth-most populous, came in second with 17 exonerations in 2015

Illinois had the most homicide exonerations in the nation, with 11 inmates having been freed

Since 2011, the annual number of exonerations has more than doubled and there are now an average of nearly three exonerations a week, said Samuel Gross, a University of Michigan law professor and registry editor.

EXONERATIONS IN 2015 BY JURISDICTION Texas  54 New York  17 Illinois  13 Alaska  6 North Carolina  5 California  5 Alabama  4 Connecticut  4 Wisconsin - 4 Florida  3 Pennsylvania  3 Virginia  3 Dist. of Columbia  2 Massachusetts  2 Missouri  2 Nevada  2 Ohio  2 Georgia  2 Delaware  1 Arizona  1 Kansas  1 Louisiana  1 Maine  1 Michigan  1 Mississippi  1 Montana  1 Oregon  1 South Carolina  1 South Dakota  1 Washington  1 Federal  3 Guam  1 Advertisement

'What's driving it? Continuing increased interest and sensitivity and concern about the problem but also a focus on increasing activity by conviction integrity units,' Gross said. The integrity units are divisions in various district attorney offices around the country that identify and correct false convictions.

Texas, the second-most populous state, had the most exonerations with 54, nearly 80 per cent of them involving drug offenders in Harris County. New York, the fourth-most populous, was second with 17.

Homicides and sex crimes made up nearly half of all exonerations in the U.S. According to the registry, a record 58 defendants who were exonerated in 2015 had been convicted of homicide, with five having received death sentences and 19 having been sentenced to life in prison.

There were homicide exonerations in 25 states and the District of Columbia, with Illinois having the most (11 exonerations), followed by New York (9 exonerations) and Alaska (4 exonerations).

The registry's report also said there was a record 27 exonerations in 2015 for convictions based on false confessions, with 22 of those in homicide cases. Also, about three quarters of the 58 homicide case exonerations involved cases in which there was official misconduct by authorities.

The issue has gained attention because of the hit Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer which suggests authorities planted evidence against two Wisconsin men, Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, who were convicted of murder.

The allegation is rejected by local law enforcement.

Four years before his murder trial, Avery was exonerated in a sex assault case and released from prison after serving 18 years.

Dramatic increase: This graph indicates that since 2011, the annual number of exonerations has more than doubled and there are now an average of nearly three exonerations a week

This graph shows exonerations in the US by year of conviction and type of crime, with a high concentration of convictions occurring between 1982 and 2000

'The thing that is most troubling to me about these cases is it's clear that for every innocent defendant who is convicted and later exonerated, there are several others who are convicted who are not exonerated because almost all the exonerations depend on a great extent on good fortune, on Lady Luck,' Gross said.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, whose conviction integrity unit has had 17 exonerations in the last two years, said his unit has a clear philosophy: ensuring that justice is done.

Three of the exonerations Thompson's office helped obtain in 2015 were connected to a deadly 1980 fire that killed a mother and her five children.

The three men who were convicted had their arson and murder convictions overturned in December after Thompson's office was able to cast doubt on the fire science that helped convict the men.

The office also discovered the only eyewitness who had tied the men to the fire recanted the identification on her death bed. One of the men whose conviction was overturned had died in prison in 1989.

Exonerated: Anthony Ray Hinton (left), a death row inmate from Alabama who spent 28 years behind bars, was released from prison in April 2015. Beniah Alton Dandridge (right) spent 20 years in prison for a murder before his exoneration in October

Hinton, 59, was set free on April 3 after new ballistics tests contradicted the only evidence used to convict him decades ago

Floyd Bledsoe, 39, of Kansas, was released from prison in December after serving 15 years for the murder of his wife's sister

'This case is indicative of our determination here in Brooklyn to get to the bottom of our cases, to get to the truth,' Thompson said.

For the second year in a row, the large number of exonerations in Texas was due in part to individuals who had their drug convictions dismissed after lab tests determined they never had illegal substances.

In 2015, there were 42 drug case exonerations in Harris County, where Houston is located  up from 31 in 2014. In these cases, individuals pleaded guilty before a lab test was completed.

Inger Chandler, chief of the conviction review section with the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said her office has since changed its policies and no longer allows pleas in drug cases until a lab report is completed. There are probably about 200 of these cases still pending in the DA's office, she said.

'That's what I'm tasked with as a prosecutor, to seek justice, not to seek convictions. Justice is making sure the wrong person doesn't go to prison just as much as it's making sure the right person does,' Chandler said.
A 25-year-old woman who jumped from 212 feet from the George Washington Bridge has survived the fall.

The woman, a resident of New Jersey, fell into the Hudson River, NJ.com reported. The river's water can average 55 degrees.

An EMS boat rescued her and the crew pulled her out of the water. The Port Authority Police Department escorted her to St Luke's Hospital.

A 25-year-old woman jumped from 212 feet from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River, whose water can average 55 degrees (file picture)

'She not only wasn't dead,' Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo told the Daily Voice. 'She was conscious when she arrived at the hospital.'

An investigation showed the woman most likely jumped from the bridge's Manhattan tower, the NY Daily News reported.

A man survived the same fall in 2009 after he jumped from the bridge but decided he wanted to live.

Adrian Rawn, 28,was pulled out of the water by Fort Lee church deacon Gi Yeon Rheem, who was walking in the area when she saw him holding on to a rock, the New York Post reported at the time.

'He got up and walked into the sunshine,' Rheem said. 'I gave him my scarf, and he said, "Thank you."'

If you need to speak to a counselor, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1 (800) 273-8255.
A prosecutor has described a video used by vile child sex abuser Matthew David Graham, showing an assault on an 18-month-old girl, as 'one of worst things you could see'.

The case, presented by prosecutor Krista Brekweg, was named as one of the most distressing ever to come before the court.

The video description was contained in a statement made after Graham pleaded guilty to 13 child pornography and sex offences on Wednesday in the Victorian County Court, The Herald Sun reports.

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Matthew David Graham, 22, was described as so depraved that even other paedophiles did not like him because of his cruelty

Judge Michael Tinney only reluctantly agreed to view edited images and video. One video as evidence was titled 'Daisy's Destruction'.

Graham was allegedly so cruel even other paedophiles could not stand him, the court reportedly heard.

Graham pleaded guilty in September to setting up child pornography websites on the 'dark web'.

When Graham was 18, he was on the cusp of graduating from Epping Secondary College, in Melbourne's north, and lived a quiet life with his parents in the neighbouring suburb of South Morang.

But behind closed doors he was leading a very different life. Under the name 'Lux', he controlled a network of concealed 'dark web' websites and forums used by paedophiles,The Age reported.

In particular, Graham's services offered an extreme form of a child pornography called 'hurtcore', which shows sickening torture and sexual acts being carried out on children, even babies and toddlers.

Two of his websites were called 'Hurt 2 The Core' or 'Love 2 The Core', and as a condition of membership people were required to upload a certain number of videos.

On these sites, users had access to child prostitutes, images under titles including 'delicious little boys' and 'yummy little girls', and videos of 'sexy little' boys and girls, The Kernel reported.

A sample of topics on Hurt 2 The Core's message boards in June 2013 included 'Producing kiddie porn for dummies', 'Toddler childporn star', 'Crying rape' and 'Need ideas for blackmailed girl'.

Two of his websites were called 'Hurt 2 The Core' (above) or 'Love 2 The Core', and as a condition of membership people were required to upload a certain number of videos to enter

On these sites, users had access to child prostitutes, images of 'delicious little boys' and 'yummy little girls', and videos of 'sexy little boys'

Boys and girls who were under the age of 11 could be 'rented' as sex slaves from US$4,000 [AU$5,711] and others could be 'bought' for US$10,000 [AU$14,277], The San Diego Red reported.

These prostitution services were operated out of Morelia, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico.

THE DARK WEB EXPLAINED The 'dark web' is a term that essentially refers to websites that are visible to the public but hides their server information, including their IP addresses and identity. By doing this, it proves to be very difficult to find out the owner, administrator or manager of a website. They cannot be found in search engines. Nearly all sites on the 'dark web' use a tool called the 'Tor encryption tool' to keep their identities or location hidden. The 'dark web' should not be confused with the 'deep web', which is a term used to describe all web pages that cannot be found or searched for in search engines. The 'deep web' includes the 'dark web', but also includes user databases (like ones belonging to Ashley Madison), pages locked behind pay walls or password protected. Advertisement

Hurt 2 The Core was advertised on The Hidden Wiki, which can only be access by using an encryption tool called Tor that hides the identities of users.

Graham, who studied nanotechnology at LaTrobe University, first came across websites similar to the ones he would soon be running after hacking activist group Anonymous infiltrated a child pornography website called 'Lolita City' in 2011.

This site could also only be accessed by a Tor encryption tool.

Graham went searching for the websites hacked by Anonymous during Operation Darknet, which was announced on 4chan - a freedom of speech image-bulletin board.

Soon Graham's pseudonym made it onto the FBI's most wanted child sex offenders and after a two-year joint investigation by the FBI, Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Canadian police and Europol, 'Lux' was charged with 88 offences last year.

Previously, the 22-year-old said he was not a fan of the fetishes he listed on his site, but he did admit to The Kernel as Lux that he had paedophilic urges as a teenager.

During their investigations, authorities also discovered a connection between Graham, who was a babysitter, and Australian businessman Peter Gerard Scully who has been accused of running an international paedophile ring in the Philippines.

Graham has been linked to Australian businessman Peter Gerard Scully who is up on child sex abuse charges in the Philippines

The 51-year-old was arrested in February on charges of sexually abusing 11 children - the youngest of whom was only 18 months old - and killing another young girl.

Scully is currently being held in a prison in Cagayan de Oro in the country's south.

Graham has also been linked to former Adelaide childcare worker Shannon McCoole, also known as Skee, who sexually abused seven children - six of whom were in his care.

The 33-year-old was the administrator of a global child pornography website, where he uploaded child abuse content, some of which he committed himself.

He was jailed for 35 years by a South Australia District Court judge last month.

Graham is set to be sentenced in the County Court of Victoria on February 3.
Shakespeare's Globe theatre company is staging a performance of Hamlet for some of the 6,000 migrants and refugees living in The Jungle camp in Calais.

The touring production of the Bard's timeless tragedy will play to an audience of displaced men and women in a theater in the camp on Wednesday, the London-based theatre company said.

The show on Wednesday is part of the Globe to Globe world tour, which has also seen performances at refugee camps in Jordan, Djibouti and the Cameroon.

Treading new boards: Actors from Shakespeare's Globe perform Hamlet to migrantsThe Jungle camp in Calais on Wednesday

The Globe's world-wide tour began nearly two years ago on the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and ends back home in Britain this April, the 400th anniversary of his death.

The play is hosted by the Good Chance theater in the heart of the camp, one of numerous structures set up by volunteers to fill the void for displaced camp residents in Calais.

Dominic Dromgoole, the Globe's artistic director, said: 'This performance will be yet another wonderful example of this ground-breaking tour's ability to reach displaced people across the world.

'It's a privilege that our Hamlet company have been able to perform in the Calais Jungle and our thanks go to Good Chance for enabling this.'

Enjoying the Bard: The play is hosted by the Good Chance theater in the heart of the camp, one of numerous structures set up by volunteers to fill the void for displaced camp residents in Calais

A few dozen refugees and migrant, as well as volunteers working in the camp, had gathered to watch Shakespeare's classic tragedy on Wednesday

The Globe to Globe tour is aiming to perform Hamlet in every country on earth over two years, and took off on the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth, 23 April, 2014, and have so far done 166 countries

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, the artistic directors of Good Chance, said: 'As a production which has travelled to audiences all over the world, it is fitting that it visits the camp here in Calais, where the fault lines of over 20 different nations meet.'

The Jungle show will be followed by a performance for Libyan migrants on Malta on Monday.

Some 6,000 people are living in unsanitary and dangerous conditions in the camp on France's north coast as European nations struggle to deal with the migrant crisis.

The French government has come under fire for failing to provide basic care for the migrants, who have built their own shelters, schools, stores and places of worship.

Shakespeares Globe Theatre Company is a charity funded by private and corporate donations and does not get any UK government subsidies.
He stipulated that they must perform sex acts on him for an

A misogynist whose comments on rape and women's rights sparked global criticism has launched a vile attack on female journalists asking him for interviews.

Daryush Valizadeh, or Roosh V, recently made his way into the limelight by organising 165 'tribal meetings' for his small number of 'neomasculine' followers across 45 countries - including Australia.

After the 36-year-old threatened to come to Australia, prompting an uprising from members of the community who believe his teachings advocate rape and violence against women, respected female journalists from various Australian media outlets approached the 36-year-old for comment.

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A misogynist whose comments on rape and women's rights sparked global criticism has launched a vile attack on female journalists asking him for interviews

The former microbiologist responded to a number of requests either asking for them to perform sex acts or send pictures so he could judge how attractive they are, and subsequently what he thinks they are 'worth'.

Following a Ten News bulletin on Tuesday night that condemned the pseudo pick-up artist's teachings, Valizadeh tweet an image of Candice Wyatt with the comment 'would bang'.

Wyatt - who is experienced in print, radio and television - graduated from Deakin University and became a news presenter for Melbourne's Ten Eyewitness News in 2014.

But according to Valizadeh, that is of little relevance as he does not respect women in the industry.

Following a Ten News bulletin on Tuesday night that condemned the pseudo pick-up artist's teachings, Valizadeh tweet an image of Candice Wyatt with the comment 'would bang'

Wyatt - who is experienced in print, radio and television - graduated from Deakin University and became a news presenter for Melbourne's Ten Eyewitness News in 2014

But according to Valizadeh, that is of little relevance as he does not respect women in the industry

'I don't respect the work of female journalists. Interview denied,' he proudly tweeted

When Channel Nine Perth crime reporter Alice Pooley, who has a degree in psychology and broadcast journalism, asked a question he declined to answer as the experienced journalist is female.

'I don't respect the work of female journalists. Interview denied,' he proudly tweeted.

Kathryn Wicks, for the Sydney Morning Herald, was also met with a distasteful reply when she attempted to arrange for reporter Phoebe Maloney to interview the American rape advocate.

Id be more than happy to conduct an interview. The only condition is that People s*** my d*** while massaging my hairy b****. Let me know when shes free for that, he responded to her email.

The Guardian, Vice and a male Buzzfeed reporter have also had similar results when approaching Valizadeh for comment.

Kathryn Wicks, for the Sydney Morning Herald, was also met with a distasteful reply when she attempted to arrange for reporter Phoebe Maloney to interview the American rape advocate

The Guardian and Vice reporters have also had similar results when approaching Valizadeh for comment.

Even a male Buzzfeed reporter managed to get on the wrong side of the pseudo pick up artist

Valizadeh has now been forced 'underground' after a spate of protests to counter his 'tribal meetings' started gaining international traction.

While he first asked participants to use code-words to identify other men involved in the 'private happy hour for straight men', he has now stipulated that men will only be able to find out the location of his secret meetings if they have commented, had an account with his website or purchased his book before January 15.

The 36-year-old has 15 self-published books, many of which have been widely condemned as 'rape guides' by media, residents and politicians who live in the countries he is writing about.

Many of his self published e-books have been widely condemned as 'rape guides' by media, residents and politicians who live in the countries he is writing about

Valizadeh regularly attacks women on his Twitter account and also runs a Youtube channel that has 19,000 subscribers.

His website Return of Kings publishes articles written by Valizadeh and a 'small but vocal' collection of men who hope to bring an end to America's 'politically-correct society that allows women to assert superiority and control over men'.

The website publishes a string of 'neomasculine' articles that claims women should not work, women should have their behaviour and decisions 'controlled by men' and has even encouraged males to record consensual sex with a hidden camera to ensure they are not 'falsely accused of rape'.

Other articles claim that one in four women are 'certifiably mentally ill' and should not be unable to live autonomously in today's society.

His sexist values have seeped into the vast majority of his website's content, which sometimes focuses on the 'shortfalls' multiculturalism or homosexuality as opposed to how women's 'impulsive and illogical behaviour' mean they should submit to men

The website publishes articles that claims women should not work, women should have their behaviour and decisions 'controlled by men' and has even encouraged males to record consensual sex with a hidden camera to ensure they are not 'falsely accused of rape'

His sexist values have seeped into the vast majority of the content, which sometimes focuses on the 'shortfalls' multiculturalism or homosexuality as opposed to how women's 'impulsive and illogical behaviour' mean they should submit to men.

He and his followers claim to believe that a woman's value 'significantly depends on her fertility and beauty', while a man's centres on his 'resources, intellect, and character'.

In 2015 Valizadeh wrote one of his more offensive and reviled articles - 'How to Stop Rape' - where he claims that the American government should legalise rape on private property.

In 2015 Valizadeh wrote one of his more offensive and reviled articles - 'How to Stop Rape' - where he claims that the American government should legalise rape on private property.

'If rape becomes legal, she will never be unchaperoned with a man she doesn't want to sleep with.'

He said this will force women to take more responsibility for their own safety and put the onus on them to protect their body like they would a 'purse or smartphone'.

'If rape becomes legal, a girl will not enter an impaired state of mind where she can't resist being dragged off to a bedroom with a man who she is unsure ofshe'll scream, yell, or kick at his attempt while bystanders are still around,' Valizadeh said.
Did she just throw her support behind Hillary Clinton?

Or was Michelle Obama simply being gender neutral in a 21st Century world.

Either way, the First Lady suggested that her successor should take the title 'The First Spouse' in order to connect with future generations.

See more on Michelle Obama as she refers to her successor as the next 'First Spouse'

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks on stage at the American Magazine Media Conference at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City. She suggested that her successor should be referred to as 'The First Spouse' perhaps hinting that she is gunning for Hillary Clinton to become the next president

She said: 'Im pretty sure that the next administration, the next first spouse, if they want to be effective in communicating their message... Oh, you caught that?

'Im just being neutral because the world is big and interesting.

'But the next first spouse is going to have to figure out how to connect with the audiences theyre trying to connect with and who knows what the platform will be in the years to come.'

Mrs Clinton has already dismissed calling Bill Clinton the 'First Mate', the 'First Dude' or 'First Gentleman', suggesting the former president may take Mrs Obama's advice.

The First Lady made the comments during a discussion at American Magazine Media Conference in New York with actresses Lena Dunham and Julianne Moore, it was reported by ABC News.

Mrs Obama discussed her Let Girls Learn programme, which funds education for 62million girls worldwide who aren't in school.

First lady Michelle Obama (left) laughs as Lena Dunham speaks during a panel entitled 'Media with Purpose' at the American Magazine Media 360 Conference in New York

Dunham discussed her newsletter, Lenny Letter, which aims to make politics accessible for younger generations while Julianne Moore talked about her involvement with Everytown for Gun Safety.

Mrs Obama's comments came as Hillary Clinton began suggesting that she could come in second in a second state, New Hampshire, behind Bernie Sanders, a day after her near loss in the first nomination contest of 2016

Clinton told CNN she was 'aiming' for a win in the Granite State but couched it in New Hampshire's tendency to vote for politicians from nearby states.

'I know that they tend to favor their neighbors. That's the pattern, the history of the primary. And Senator Sanders is a neighbor,' she told Wolf Blitzer today.

She also told her supporters in a fundraising email that Sanders has the 'home field advantage' in the New England state and asked them to pitch in money to help her defeat him.

A day after her near loss in the first nomination contest of 2016 Hillary Clinton began suggesting that she could come in second in a second state, New Hampshire, behind Bernie Sanders

Bill Clinton did his part on Monday in Iowa to pave the way for a possible loss in the first primary state, too. 'They never voted against anybody from next door except when an incumbent president asked them to do something else'

'We've got a real fight on our hands, and we're all going to need to pitch in to win this nomination,'she said. 'We face an uphill battle in New Hampshire.'

Bill Clinton did his part on Monday in Iowa to pave the way for a possible loss in the first primary state, too.

'They never voted against anybody from next door except when an incumbent president asked them to do something else,' he told reporters during a visit to his wife's campaign headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa.
A doctor who allegedly murdered her husband with a mallet has described her life before the violent incident as a 'prison'.

Chamari Liyanage allegedly killed her husband, Dinendra Athukorala, who was also a doctor, with a 1.79kg mallet in their bed at their Geraldton home, north of Perth, in Western Australia.

It is alleged Dr Athukorala was abusive toward his wife and forced her into threesomes, one which included a 17-year-old girl, who can't be named for legal reasons.

Liyanage, who has plead not guilty to the murder, opened up to the teenager's mother who visited her in jail, a court has heard.

'I said to Chamari ''I feel so sad seeing someone like you in prison'',' the woman told the court.

'Then Chamari said ... ''Don't feel so sad, I feel free here, I was a prisoner before'',' reported The West Australian.

Chamari Liyanage (pictured left) is accused of killing her husband Dinendra Athukorala (right) with a hammer. The WA Supreme Court heard Dr Athukorala had watched his wife and a 17-year-old girl shower together

The doctor's colleague, Dr Barbara Jarrad, also visited her behind bars and told the court Liyanage asked her to apologise to paramedics for her because 'they shouldn't have had to see that.'

Liyanage has been described as 'kind', 'compassionate' and as an 'enthusiastic doctor' in court, while her husband has been described as 'non-communicative' by his colleague Ms Jarrad.

Members of the emergency services who attended the said the mallet was on the bed, and the walls splashed with bud when they arrived.

Earlier in the trial the Supreme Court heard Dr Athukorala would pressure his wife, who was also a doctor, into engaging in sexual activities and intimidated her into starting relationships with other women, the ABC reported.

The teenager the couple had sex with has told the court she was often at their house for dinner and she once showered with the pair.

She said Liyanage and Dr Athukorala waxed her legs on the night they showered together.

'[Dr Athukorala] was in the bedroom. He was holding a video camera,' the woman, who is now 19, said.

'He hugged me from behind and they asked me if I had a boyfriend.'

Prosecutor Nick Cogin asked the woman to detail what followed.

She said Liyanage pulled off the teenager's shorts and touched her through her underwear.

'I flinched because I was shy. I felt uncomfortable,' the 19-year-old said, according to the ABC.

The women then allegedly showered together as Dr Athukorala observed before he jumped in with them.

Dr Athukorala (right, pictured with wife) was found by police in the couple's bed at their home in Geraldton Western Australia in June 2014. He would pressure his wife into engaging in sexual activities, the court heard

It was also revealed the couple taught the teenager how to take photographs and even purchased a camera for her, along with clothes and shoes.

Liyanage cried as the teenager recounted the events to the court.

Following her arrest, the 19-year-old said she went to see Liyanage in jail with her mother, the ABC reported.

'When we got there we all hugged and cried. My mum was comforting her,' the teenager said.

'[Liyanage] said she was very sorry. She said she feels very sorry for mum and that we happened to be a part of this.'

The teenager said Liyanage had bashed her husband to death 'to protect me and my mum'.

She added Dr Athukorala had been abusive and she felt sorry for the accused killer.

In June 2014, Liyanage was found by police in the foetal position in the lounge room of her home.

Liyanage allegedly had blood splattered on her clothes and claims to have no memory of the event, The West Australian reported.

The body of Dr Athukorala was found in their bed with a pillow on his head.

On Monday, Mr Cogin told the court Dr Athukorala and his wife started a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old girl and Liyanage became worried about her career.

Mr Cogin said Dr Athukorala frequently wanted to have threesomes with his wife and other women.

He told the court Liyanage felt the only way to salvage her career after the Sri Lankin couple struck up a relationship of a sexual nature with a teenager was to kill her husband.

A woman, 19, told the court she was often at the couple's house for dinner and she once showered with the pair

Prosecutors alleged Liyanagea bashed her husband to death with a 1.79kg hammer

Dr Athukorala was found by police inside the couple's home in Geraldton, Western Australia in June 2014

'It got to a stage that she was no longer prepared to put up with his behaviour,' Mr Cogin said.

During an interview with police, Liyanage claimed her husband was 'controlling' and 'physically violent'.

TRANSCRIPT OF TRIPLE-ZERO CALL Operator: 'Is somebody hurt? Take some deep breaths.' Chamari Liyanage: 'I don't know what's happened.' Operator: 'Did you wake up and he was dead?' Chamari Liyanage: 'I don't know, I can't remember.' *Source: ABC Advertisement

Defence lawyer George Giudice said she was a 'battered woman' and was frequently made to model in front of a camera to please Mr Athukorala, according to The West Australian.

The court heard the 10-minute emergency phone call Liyanage made to triple-zero.

She repeatedly said she 'did not know what had happened,' and was barely audibly above her sobbing, the ABC reported.

In his opening remarks, Mr Cogin said Liyanage had not suffered any injuries on the night her husband was killed, suggesting he had not been violent towards her.

She also apologised to her brother-in-law and paramedics who arrived at the scene following Mr Athukorala's death.

'Why would you apologise if you didn't do it?' Mr Cogin said.

'Her actions constituted the offence of murder. Nothing justified what she did.'

The trial in the Supreme Court continues.
A poet sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for abandoning his Muslim faith has had his sentence of beheading commuted - but must still face 800 lashes and eight years in jail.

Ashraf Fayadh was detained by the country's religious police in 2013 in Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, and rearrested and tried in early 2014.

His conviction was based on evidence from a witness who claimed to have heard him cursing God, Islam's Prophet Mohammad and Saudi Arabia.

Ashraf Fayadh, a 35-year-old Palestinian refugee and poet, has had his death sentence commuted by a Saudi court but must still face a barbaric 800 lashes and eight years' imprisonment

Other evidence which led to the barbaric sentence was found in the contents of a poetry book the 35-year-old Palestinian refugee had written years earlier.

The new ruling, posted by Fayadh's lawyer on his Twitter account, said the court has decided to 'go back on the previous death sentence' but confirmed the charges that prompted the death penalty.

'The accused is sentenced to a punishment of eight years in jail and 800 lashes divided into installments, 50 lashes for each installment,' the ruling stated, according to the Twitter posting.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's justice ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

A lower court had previously sentenced Fayadh to four years in prison and 800 lashes.

The case went to the Saudi appeals court and was then returned to the lower court, where a different judge last November 17 increased the sentence to death.

The second judge ruled defence witnesses who had challenged the prosecution witness' testimony ineligible.

Saudi Arabia's justice system is based on sharia, or Islamic law, and its judges are clerics from the kingdom's ultra conservative Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam.

In the Wahhabi interpretation of sharia, religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy incur the death penalty.

Saudi judges have extensive scope to impose sentences according to their own interpretation of sharia without reference to any previous cases.

After a case has been heard by lower courts, appeals courts and the supreme court, a convicted defendant can be pardoned by King Salman.

The draconian scope of the its punishments has seen the country repeatedly condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and popular protests hoping to force change through political pressure.

Liberal writer Raif Badawi was flogged 50 times in January last year after his sentencing to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for blasphemy, prompting an international outcry.

Liberal writer Raif Badawi (pictured left) was flogged 50 times in January last year for a conviction of blasphemy, while his wife Ensaf (right) says his health is deteriorating while inside his Saudi jail

Badawi remains in prison and is said to be suffering fainting spells and deteriorating health due to a hunger strike, but diplomats have said he is unlikely to be flogged again.

Ensaf Haidar, who was granted asylum in Canada with the couple's three children, said by phone she hoped her husband would end a hunger strike he had initiated more than 20 days ago to protest against his transfer to a different prison in Saudi Arabia.

Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was found guilty in 2014 of breaking Saudi Arabia's technology laws and of insulting Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

He received his first 50 lashes in January, prompting strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom's human rights record.
Adnan Syed, the convicted murderer who was the focus of popular podcast Serial, returned to court in Maryland on Wednesday to argue that he deserves another trial and a new chance at freedom.

At 19, he was convicted of strangling his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and leaving her body in a wooded park on the northwestern edge of Baltimore and sentenced to life in prison.

Now 35, Syed is using new evidence uncovered by Serial to prompt the appeals court to grant a hearing on the possibility of a new trial.

Lawyers say a new witness, Asia McClain - who told Serial she saw Syed in a library on the day of the killing - is a 'big piece of the puzzle', and she is expected to take to the stand this week, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Adnan Syed enters Courthouse East in Baltimore prior to a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Baltimore. The hearing, scheduled to last three days before Baltimore Circuit Judge Martin Welch, is meant to determine whether Syed's conviction will be overturned and case retried

Syed was convicted in 2000 when he was 19-years-old in the strangulation death of Hae Min Lee, his former high school sweetheart, and sentenced to life in prison

A Maryland judge agreed to reopen the case of Adnan Syed (left), whose was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee (right), after new evidence was uncovered by the popular podcast 'Serial'

Syed's case had been closed for years when producer Sarah Koenig, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, began examining it in the podcast in 2014, drawing millions of listeners each week  so many that the public radio podcast shattered Apple's iTunes store's record for downloads, reaching 5 million faster than any other podcast program.

As of February 2015, it had been downloaded 68 million times, bringing international to the case.

The hearing, scheduled to last three days before Baltimore Circuit Judge Martin Welch, is meant to determine whether Syed's conviction will be overturned and the case retried.

'We've waited a long time to get back into court and to put on witnesses that will prove our claim, and that's exactly what we're going to do this week,' said Justin Brown, Syed's attorney.

Syed's motion for a new trial centers on two issues: an alibi witness who was never called to testify at Syed's trial, and cell tower data that defense attorneys argue is inaccurate, misleading and should never have been entered into evidence.

Adnan Syed - seen here in pictures from his school years - is now 35 and using new evidence uncovered by Serial to prompt the appeals court to grant a hearing on the possibility of a new trial

Prosecutors called no eyewitnesses and presented no DNA evidence at Syed's original trial in 2000.

Prosecutors did present cell tower data from the night Lee was killed, saying it linked Syed to a general area where her body was found a month later.

Brown argued in his motion that the state intentionally omitted a cover sheet from AT&T warning that such data is unreliable in determining a person's exact location.

The alibi witness is McClain, a former classmate who said she spotted Syed at a library the day Lee was strangled.

Last year, McClain filed an affidavit saying that she'd be willing to testify on Syed's behalf.

McClain said that she contacted Syed in jail while he was awaiting trial, and Syed told his attorney at the time, Cristina Gutierrez, to contact her.

In 2014, Serial, hosted by radio producer Sarah Koenig (above), drew millions of listeners from all over the world as it explored the case in detail and questioned whether he got a fair trial

But the attorney, who was later disbarred in connection with other cases, never did.

Now, McClain will have a chance to tell her story. She is expected to testify during the hearing.

The state, too, will have a chance to call witnesses.

McClain's testimony will likely reflect her affidavit and letters she sent to Syed in jail.

In one letter, dated May 1, 1999, McClain wrote, 'I'm not sure if you remember talking to me in the library on Jan. 13 but I remembered chatting with you.' She adds, 'I have reason to believe in your innocence.'

McClain wrote that she contacted the library, which is next to their high school campus, and that they had a surveillance system. McClain also told Syed that she was trying to reach his attorney.

'If you were in the library for a while, tell the police and I'll continue to tell what I know even louder than I am,' she wrote.

'My boyfriend and his best friend remember seeing you there too.'

Prison artwork created by Adnan Syed sits near family photos in the home of his mother in Baltimore. Adnan Syed, a convicted killer, appeared in court Wednesday as his attorneys argued for a new trial

The Maryland attorney general's office, which is handling the case for the state, opposed Syed's request for a new trial.

In a September filing opposing Brown's motion, Deputy Attorney General Thiruvendran Vignarajah wrote that it's 'preposterous' to suggest that Syed received inadequate counsel.

A motion filed Tuesday shows that prosecutors intend to call the original lead prosecutor in Syed's case, Kevin Urick, as well as other members of the prosecution team.
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President Barack Obama on Wednesday slammed what he called 'inexcusable' anti-Muslim rhetoric in the political sphere - a veiled jibe at Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump and others.

Making his first visit to a mosque while in office, Obama praised American Muslims as upstanding citizens and thanked them for helping their community.

'Recently we've heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country,' Obama told the members of the Islamic Society of Baltimore, without specifically naming anyone.

Scroll down for video

US President Barack Obama speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in Windsor Mill, Maryland on February 3, 2016

In an address at the mosque, Obama pushed back against bias that Muslim Americans say is on the rise following terrorist attacks in Paris and California

Mr Obama was welcomed to the podium by a round of applause from the many Muslim-Americans in the mosque's audience

'The first thing I want to say is two words that Muslim-Americans don't hear often enough, and that is thank you,' Obama said at the start of his speech, to applause.

'Thank you for serving your community, thank you for lifting up the lives of your neighbors, and for helping keep us strong and united as one American family.'

We have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths. President Barack Obama

In this year's Republican presidential campaign, Donald Trump has called for banning Muslims from the U.S. temporarily and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio warned of 'radical Islamic terrorism.'

Muslim-American advocacy groups have warned of a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals following attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, by those purporting to act in the name of Islam.

'We have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths,' Obama said. Denouncing a political dynamic that incentivizes attacks against certain religions, he said it fell on all Americans to speak up.

He decried the 'hugely distorted impression' of Muslims given in the media - both in film and television portrayals, and in the news after acts of terror.

'Since 9/11, but more recently since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, you have seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith,' he said.

Men and women in the audience held up their phones to record President Obama's historic speech on Wednesday

President Obama went without shoes for his speech, out of deference to the mosque's traditions

'We can't give into profiling entire groups of people,' the president said, taking what appears to be a jab at Donald Trump's suggestion to create a database of all Muslims in the U.S.

While he admitted that there is a very 'radical, tiny, minority' of Muslims perverting Islam's texts to promote violence, Mr Obama hit back at Republicans who have been criticizing him for not recognizing the groups as radical Islamists.

We're one American family and when any part of our family starts to feel separate or second class, it tears at the very fabric of our nation. President Barack Obama

'I often hear that we need more clarity in this fight. That somehow if I would simply say these are all Islamic terrorisst that we would have already solved the problem by now.

'I agree that we need more clarity. Groups like ISIL are desperate for legitimacy...I refuse to give them that legitimacy.

'We must never give them that legitimacy. They're not defending Islam,' Obama said. 'The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women and children.'

Obama said bias against any segment of American society tears at the fabric holding the nation together and must be tackled 'head on.'

'We're one American family and when any part of our family starts to feel separate or second class, it tears at the very fabric of our nation,' Mr Obama said.

A Joakim Noah Chicago Bulls basketball jersey is held up toward President Barack Obama as he greets children from Al-Rahmah school and other guests during his visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

The Islamic Society not only operates a mosque and a school, but other groups like the Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts also use it as a meeting place

A Girl Scout color guard carries the US flag before an address by President Obama on Wednesday

Girls hold U.S. flags while waiting for Preident Obama after he spoke at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

Schoolchildren wave as the president passes their group at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

Mr Obama greets attendees in an overflow room after speaking at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in Windsor Mill, Maryland on Wednesday

At the end of his speech, Mr Obama shared his ideas for promoting better relationships with Muslim-Americans. First off, he said that Americans need to embrace 'our common humanity'.

The second move was to remember the promise out founding fathers made to protect freedom of religion.

Finally, Mr Obama said that we need to reject politicians that 'seek to manipulate prejudice or bias' and 'target people because of their religion'.

For Obama, the visit in his final year in office reflects a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency.

For years, Obama has fought incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans. Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

People in the audience listen to remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Catonsville, Maryland on February 3

Women watch as US President Barack Obama speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, in Windsor Mill, Maryland on February 3, 2016

Young Muslim girls where white headscarves, blue dresses and blue sweaters to meet President Obama on Wednesday

The Muslim congregants and schoolchildren were all smiles when President Obama came out to greet them

A young Muslim girl wears a white head scarf and holds an American flag as she waits to watch President Obama's speech on Wednesday

President Barack Obama stops to greets children from Al-Rahmah school and other guests during his visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

President Obama shakes hands with a young Muslim congregant at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

Obama, acknowledging that uncomfortable chapter in his own story, noted that Thomas Jefferson had also been accused of being a Muslim.

'So I was not the first,' Obama said to laughter from a hundred or so Muslims who gathered for his speech. 'No, it's true. Look it up.'

He also drew a parallel between Muslim-Americans' struggle for broad societal acceptance and that of African-Americans, noting that 'there was a time when there were no black people on television.'

With no plans to ever again appear on a ballot, Obama faces less pressure to avoid political controversy, and seemed to relish the possibility that his visit would raise eyebrows among some of his most entrenched critics.

Ahead of his visit, White House officials readily acknowledged the visit could spark controversy but suggested that would help make his point about ignorance and religious bias.

A Secret Service agent stands watch as President Barack Obama and his entourage enter the grounds of the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

President Barack Obama meets with members of Muslim-American community at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Wednesday on February 3, 2016

Wednesday marked the president's first visit to a mosque in the U.S. Above, his motorcade arrives at the Islamic Society of Baltimore Wednesday morning

The Islamic Society's campus includes a mosque, and a school that runs from kindergarten through 12th grade. Above, President Obama meeting with members of the Muslim community at the mosque on Wednesday

Copies of the Quran are seen on reserved chairs prior to a speech by US President Barack Obama at the Islamic Society of Baltimore February 3, 2016 in Windsor Mill, Maryland.

The event was also protested by a Muslim women's group, who criticized Obama's decision to visit in an opinion piece for the New York Times.

Asra Q Nomani and Ify Okoye said they were protesting the visit to draw attention to what they believe is institutionalized sexism in the Islamic faith.

At mosques like the Islamic Society of Baltimore, men and women, as well as girls and boys, are kept separate in prayer, and they believe that this is an issue that should be changed.

'As President and Michelle Obama argued decades ago in the context of the U.S. civil rights movement, separate is indeed unequal.

'To Muslim womens rights activists fighting for equal access to mosques as part of a broader campaign for reform  from equal education for women and girls to freedom from so-called honor killings  the presidents visit to a mosque that practices such blatant inequity represents a step backwards,' they wrote.

Shoes removed by visitors out of reverence sit on a shelf marked 'reserved' prior to remarks by President Obama on Wednesday

People gather in anticipation of President Obama's speech at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

A woman with her children watches President Obama's motorcade arrive at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

Local volunteers wait to take their seat before the arrival of President Obama at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday

Ahead of his speech at the suburban Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama met around a large table with Muslim university chaplains, community activists and public health to discuss religious tolerance and freedom.

Among the participants was Ibtihaj Muhammad, a fencer who has qualified to represent the U.S. at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The White House said she'll make history as the first United States Olympian to compete in a hijab.

Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer.

'We never thought that when we held our first prayers in the small room nearly a half a century ago that we would be hosting the president,' said Muhammad Jameel, the mosque's president. 'Today is a new starting point. It is also a continuing journey - a journey steeped in American history and tradition.'
A misogynistic 'pick-up artist' who has argued for rape to be legalised if done on private property should be banned from the UK, anti-sexism campaigners say.

Daryush Valizadeh, or Roosh V as he is also known, has sparked global criticism for a series of blog posts on his 'anti-feminist' website detailing ways of luring women in different countries into sex.

Last year Mr Valizadeh, 36, from Maryland, wrote one of his more offensive and reviled articles - 'How to Stop Rape' - where he claims the US government should legalise rape on private property.

Global backlash: Anti-sexism campaigners have called for misogynistic 'pick-up artist' Daryush Valizadeh (pictured), who has argued for rape to be legalised if done on private property, to be banned from the UK

He argued that a woman had consented to sex if she consented to go into a man's house.

Now, after organising 165 'tribal meetings' for his small number of 'neomasculine' followers across 45 countries - including Britain - protesters are calling for him to be banned from the UK.

Locations for the proposed 'meet-up' events include London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Newcastle, though Mr Valizadeh is not expected to attend any of them in person.

The former microbiologist has been forced 'underground' after a spate of protests to counter his 'tribal meetings' started gaining international traction.

Petitions have now been launched calling on the Scottish Government to put a stop to the meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow and for Home Secretary Theresa May to ban Mr Valizadeh from the UK, according to The Independent.

She has the power to exclude individuals from the country if she believes their presence is not conducive to the public good.

Valizadeh caused outrage after saying he wouldn't respond to female journalists because he didn't 'respect' them. He also angered people when he tweeted a sexist message with a picture of anchor, Candice Wyatt

Almost 2,500 people have also signed a petition against the pro-rape campaigner's plans for a meeting in Cardiff on Saturday.

It was started on campaign site 38 Degrees by Deborah de Lloyd and called on South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael to 'stop Roosh V being allowed to promote his hateful violent views in our cities'.

The petition reads: 'Roosh V, a militant pro-rape pick-up artist is holding gatherings for his followers in Cardiff on 6th February 2016.

'This makes our city unsafe. Promoting rape is hate speech, and should be treated as such.'

It dubbed Mr Valizadeh an 'evil man' before posting a link to an article about him.

Daryush Valizadeh, known as Roosh V, has asked his followers to use code words to identify other men's rights activists attending his 'tribal meetings'

Mr Michael said he had written to the Home Secretary asking her to consider the petition.

He said: 'It has been brought to my attention that an individual who appears to intend to cause harassment and distress in the furtherance of his agenda - and to encourage and incite others to do so - is encouraging people to gather in Cardiff for purposes that are both unpleasant and potentially unlawful.

'I am reassured that South Wales Police are taking the operational policing issues seriously in reviewing risk and protecting the public.

'I have written to the Home Secretary to ask her to urgently consider the petition. It may make sense for people to petition the Home Secretary, who has powers to act in relation to a ban on entering the country, which I do not have, or to petition parliament to secure a debate.'

Valizadeh's website publishes articles that claims women should not work, women should have their behaviour and decisions 'controlled by men' and has even encouraged males to record consensual sex a camera

Mr Valizadeh has suggested that protesters against the UK events and his supporters will be rebuffed with force, writing: 'The enemy has been able to exert their power by attacking with shrieking mobs.

'I will exact furious retribution upon anyone who challenges you in public.'

While he first asked participants to use code-words to identify other men involved in the 'private happy hour for straight men', Mr Valizadeh has now stipulated that men will only be able to find out the location of his secret meetings if they have commented, had an account with his website or purchased his book before January 15.

The 36-year-old has 15 self-published books, many of which have been widely condemned as 'rape guides' by media, residents and politicians who live in the countries he is writing about.

Almost 2,500 people have signed a petition against the pro-rape campaigner's plans for a meeting in Cardiff

Many of his self published e-books have been widely condemned as 'rape guides' by the media and politicians

Mr Valizadeh regularly attacks women on his Twitter account and also runs a YouTube channel that has 19,000 subscribers.

His website Return of Kings publishes articles written by Mr Valizadeh and a 'small but vocal' collection of men who hope to bring an end to America's 'politically-correct society that allows women to assert superiority and control over men'.

The website publishes a string of 'neomasculine' articles that claims women should not work, women should have their behaviour and decisions 'controlled by men' and has even encouraged males to record consensual sex with a hidden camera to ensure they are not 'falsely accused of rape'.

The Home Office and police have both declined to comment on the 'tribal meetings'.
Pensioner Arthur Howard, 73, Lanarkshire, scooped the win on Friday's Euromillions raffle

A taxi driver who won 1million on a EuroMillions ticket cracked open the champagne and broke down in tears as he told his wife: 'Hen, we are millionaires.'

Pensioner Arthur Howard, 73, who works at Kelvin Kabs in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, scooped the win on Friday's Euromillions raffle.

His son Allan, an HGV driver, said that although his parents are not drinkers, they soon got the champagne out after they discovered their win.

He told the Daily Record his mother Emma and sister Sandra were stunned by the news when they returned from a shopping trip.

He said: 'My mum was puzzled when she came home and saw everyone at the windows.

'She had no idea what was going on. My dad took her hand and, through tears, said: "Hen, we're millionaires." 'It's without a doubt the happiest time of our lives.'

And his bosses at the taxi office say the win went to a 'lovely man' - although it took some persuasion for him to quit his job.

Allan Black of Kelvin Kabs said: I wasn't sure if he was going to retire because he loves his job. I told him I'd fire him if he didn't quit.'

Mr Howard spends 20 each week on the lottery, buying five lines at his local shop every Friday and Saturday.

His son said he let out a huge cry of 'yes' when he realised that he had won a million.

He said: 'He called the number and the girl said he'd won 2.50 on his first line, 5.70 on his fourth line and the fifth line had made him a millionaire because his raffle number had come up.'

The family have no immediate plans for their money, but are considering a holiday to Dubai.

Last week the 48-year-old grandmother who claimed to have won a 33m Lotto jackpot with a water damaged ticket said trying to cash it has destroyed her life.

German born Susanne Hinte, who moved to the UK at 19, said submitting the ticket had ruined her life and left her suicidal.

Mr Howard works at Kelvin Kabs in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire. His bosses at the taxi office say the win went to a 'lovely man' - although it took some persuasion for him to quit his beloved job

She vowed to never play the lottery again and put the the false claim down to an innocent mistake and the fact she is 'a bit dappy'.

She had claimed to have a ticket with the winning numbers on it which she had accidentally put through the wash.

However, it has since emerged that the actual winner has now come forward and Ms Hinte's crumpled ticket was not the winning one.
Families claiming benefits have been handed 26,000 in cash in a controversial new experiment to see if the best way to get claimants off benefits is to give them large lump sums.

The Big Benefits Handout will show three families being given their annual benefits allowance in one go and allowed to spend the money however they want.

The families are filmed drinking champagne and throwing 10 notes around as soon as they receive their windfall, before spending the cash on things such as PlayStations, bouncy castles and large restaurant meals.

They then sit down with a financial adviser to plan their long-term spending, ploughing money into new businesses as well as buying goods which they could not have afforded before including haircuts, driving lessons and a new van.

Celebration: Scott and Leanne, two of the participants on The Big Benefits Handout, toasting their newfound wealth with a group of family and friends

Windfall: The couple's son clutching bundles of banknotes after the cash was delivered to the family

Some viewers have accused producers of exploiting the poor, while others claim the show will encourage benefits claimants to feel entitled to taxpayers' money.

But the programme's creators insisted that it is a genuine social experiment, saying it will foster a 'grown-up debate' on the controversial political issue.

The documentary, whose first episode will be broadcast next week, follows families from Hull and Merseyside who are each given a lump sum of 26,000 - the maximum any one family can receive under the Government's benefits cap.

The opening scenes feature a man turning up at the participants' homes with a suitcase of cash then show the families throwing banknotes around and drinking champagne.

They were allowed to spend the money however they wanted, but with a team of experts monitoring their bank accounts and providing financial advice over a four-month period.

Family: Scott and Leanne with their four children Ellie-Mae, Robert, Chloe and Jay

One of the three families featured is that of Scott Gavin, 31, and his wife Leanne, 26, who live in Merseyside with children Jay, nine, Robert, eight, Chloe, seven, and three-year-old Ellie-Mae.

The couple both gave up work several years ago to care for Robert, who suffers from severe behavioural problems which make him attack his parents.

They said they wanted to start a party company offering events with reptiles and other animals, so that they can work from home.

After being selected to appear on the show, Leanne burst into tears on camera, saying: 'Opportunities like this just don't happen to us... I can afford to buy waterproof mascara now.'

Describing his business dreams, Scott said: 'The type of business I'm looking at doing is reptile shows, educational shows for schools and colleges - I'd also go to parties too.

'I could do with some giant millipedes, maybe some giant snails, giant Madagascan cockroaches, 12ft snakes, 6ft lizards and a nice iguana.'

Controversial: Tony and Diane, with their adult son Michael, are among the families handed their full 26,000 benefits allowance in one go

Overcome: Diane was shown to be in shock after being given a suitcase full of cash

Within days, he had bought a raccoon for 460 and a bouncy slide which he plans to operate at parties for 950 - as well as a PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360.

Leanne complained, 'I don't see how anyone's going to go, "I know, let's invite a raccoon to my birthday party,"' - but Scott replied: 'They invite Peppa Pig.'

The pair are now running their company, Party Central Entertainments Ltd, from their home in Kirkby.

Tony and Diane, who live with their 21-year-old son Michael in Hull, East Yorkshire, have been unemployed for years after a string of failed job applications.

They told the programme that they were so poor they had to eat eggs, chips and peas several times every week, because they cannot afford anything else.

After being handed the money - which they wanted to use to start their own second-hand business - Tony said it was 'like winning the lottery'.

Purchase: Tony and Diane used their handout to invest in a new van to help their business

Struggles: Single mother Rachel, pictured with her neighbour Mary, is a benefits claimant featured on the show

Shortly after receiving their 21,000 windfall, Michael bought a PlayStation for himself, costing 400 including several games worth 40 each.

Tony said he could finally afford Lynx deodorant instead of a 1 version, adding: 'We've gone from the poor bracket to the rich bracket within a couple of days.'

In the first episode, the couple were pictured visiting a potential premises for their second-hand shop, but quickly became overwhelmed at the prospect of having to make such a serious financial commitment.

The final participant is 33-year-old Rachel, a single mother from Merseyside who has not worked since her twin sons Jack and James were born when she was just 18.

She admits that she has not been a 'positive role model' by not going out to work, but says she wanted to be able to look after her two sons and eight-year-old daught Annie.

After getting her money, Rachel spent 330 on a slap-up Chinese meal for all her friends and family, to thank them for their support during her years of poverty, then said: 'I've been looking forward to this - and I'm going to smash it.'

The documentary is intended to mimic 'unconditional cash transfer' schemes which operate in countries such as Uganda, India and South Africa, where poor people are simply given cash rather than food handouts or other benefits.

Many academics claim the cash handouts encourage recipients to take control of their own lives - but others worry that they encourage some claimants to spend irresponsibly.

Home: Scott and Leanne with the beach bar they installed in their back garden

Switzerland and Finland are also considering introducing a 'basic income', with all citizens given a minimum annual salary by the State instead of classic means-tested benefits.

The producers of The Big Benefits Handout have admitted that they are vulnerable to charges of 'poverty porn', similar to Channel 4's popular but scandal-hit Benefits Street.

After news of the show emerged, filmmaker Doug Aubrey criticised it as 'yet more Victorian throwback TV', while another viewer said: 'Are you kidding me?! How about people/families that work and still struggle... makes me mad.'

Edwina Silver, an executive at the documentary's production company Dragonfly, admitted that the programme was a 'massive risk' for both the producers and the families involved.

'They had many sleepless nights before the money was given to them and we had our hearts in our mouths about what people might do,' she told The Independent.

Another producer, Anoushka Roberts, added: 'It would be a stupid move for us to be led into something that was completely tabloid and awful. We thought long and hard about this as a company.'

The filmmakers said that the programme's participants had been able to improve their lives by using their money for the long term rather than being forced to rely on week-by-week income and spending.
Wolfgang Herles (pictured) claims Germany's news agenda is 'laid down by the government'

A former news boss in Germany has claimed the country's media is told what to report on by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

His admission comes as the country grapples with accusations media ignored hundreds of sex attacks committed by migrants during Cologne's New Year celebrations.

Dr Wolfgang Herles, the former head of a public broadcaster Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), said journalists are instructed to write news reports that are to 'Ms Merkel's liking'.

Dr Herles labelled the situation a 'scandal' during a radio panel discussion on media and freedom of the press, Breitbart reported.

Asked if the media landscape had 'got out of whack', he replied: 'Today, one is not allowed to say anything negative about the refugees.

'This is government journalism and that leads to a situation in which people no longer trust us.'

He elaborated by saying the topics that should be reported on are 'laid down by the government', with instructions passed down to news executives that they should frame issues in a way that is for the 'public good' of Europe.

'We have the problem that... we have a closeness to the government.

'Not only because commentary is mainly in line with the grand [elected political] coalition, with the spectrum of opinion, but also because we are completely taken in by the agenda laid down by the political class.'

German media is grappling with a disillusionment stemming from its delays in reporting the migrant sex attacks in Cologne.

Many news outlets were accused of avoiding publicising what occurred due to concerns it would stoke anti-immigrant fears and fuel the far-right agenda.

ZDF even issued an apology for its delays in reporting on the hundreds of sexual assaults, amid accusations of media self-censorship of the inflammatory issue.

The rash of sex attacks and thefts in a New Year's Eve crowd in the western city of Cologne saw woman being forced to walk a 'gauntlet' through packs of drunk and aggressive men.

Many described being groped and touched while their possessions were stolen and police reports showed authorities were overwhelmed by the chaos taking place at the city centre.

The attacks were only widely covered by national media several days into January after police had initially reported no major incidents.

Dr Wolfgang Herles, the former head of public broadcaster ZDF, claimed instructions are passed down to journalists from the government to report news in a way that would be to 'Ms Merkel's liking'

Germany media, and in particular ZDF, were roundly condemned for failing to immediately report on the wave of sex attacks that occurred in Cologne during the city's chaotic New Year's Eve celebrations (pictured)

The sluggish media response to the incident has played into the hands of right-wing groups such as PEGIDA, which claims politicians and media are colluding to mislead the public. Pictured is a far-right rally in Cologne

News editors of ZDF's flagship 'heute' [today] evening news programme later apologised on social media for not reporting on the incidents in its Monday evening bulletin, four days after the attacks.

'The news situation was clear enough. It was a mistake of the 7pm "heute" show not to at least report the incidents,' wrote deputy chief editor Elmar Thevessen on the show's Facebook page.

Editors had decided to postpone the news segment to Tuesday, the day Cologne's city hall and police held a crisis meeting on the attacks, he wrote, admitting this was 'a clear misjudgement'.

Furious right-wing commentators have blamed the attacks on Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and its welcome to asylum seekers, 1.1 million of whom arrived last year.
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Shocking images show the devastation bushfires have caused Tasmanias World Heritage area near Cradle Mountain, ravaging thousand-year-old plants which may never recover.

Experts say the 11,000 hectares of unique alpine flora incinerated may be lost forever, while others warn the dry lightning strikes which sparked the mid-January blaze will become more common as the effects of climate change worsen.

Hobart-based wilderness photographer Dan Broun walked six hours into the remains of the heritage listed Central Plateau on Friday and camped overnight to document the damage.

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A distressed and injured wallaby lies among the charred wilderness at Tasmania's World Heritage area at Central Plateau

Wilderness photographer Dan Broun walked six hours into the bushfire ravaged area on Friday and camped overnight to document the damage

AFTER: Mr Broun told Daily Mail Australia the heritage listed site has been left in 'complete devastation'

He told Daily Mail Australia it was complete devastation.

Unique alpine flora including pencil pines, king billy pines and cushion plants, some more than 1,000 years old, once flourished in the World Heritage area (WHA).

Whats left is almost unrecognisable to the ancient and once pristine alpine plant-life.

Mr Broun said the pencil pines are very, very vulnerable to fire, because they sit atop a 600m cliff.

The nature of those places is that fire isnt natural to their ecology and to the way they survive, Mr Broun told Daily Mail Australia.

BEFORE: The wilderness at Central Plateau before dry lightning strikes sparked fires in the middle of January

AFTER: The fire tore through cushion plants (pictured) that were between 500 and 600-years-old

AFTER: 11,000 hectares has been charred following the seven-day blaze at Central Plateau in Tasmania

There was very little evidence of anything living,' he said

He said the native pine are completely fire intolerant.

It cannot handle fire. Its seed cannot handle fire. So there is no chance of regeneration for possibly thousands of years.

Ecologist Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick was also quoted by ABC as saying the alpine flora may never come back from the devastation.

In his walk through the region at the weekend, Mr Broun said he saw ravaged specimens between 1,200 and 1,500-years-old.

He said 'that's biblical times stuff' we've lost.

The fire also tore through 500 to 600 years worth of cushion plants, he said.

The forests themselves date back to Gondwana. Theyve been growing since the Cretaceous Period, he said, adding that theyre very rare.

Theyre only found in the Tasmanian Highlands, you cant find them anywhere else in the world.

Mr Broun said it was fortunate heavy rain came when it did last Friday night, though as it is, we lost a huge area.

There was some unburnt grass, protected by rocks, which wallabies had flocked to for food.

When I explored in there I found a very, very badly distressed and injured wallaby.

I didnt see a single living wombat, he said. Im very much assuming they all got fried in their burrows, roasted.

There was very little evidence of anything living.

He said he saw no bird life, assumed Tasmanian Devils had been lost, and saw hundreds of dead worms which were flaccid sitting on the surface.

It was really eerie and really weird.

BEFORE: Mr Broun said poor land management was in part responsible for the destruction, as wet sclerophyll and rainforest once acted as a 'buffer zone' to protect the once pristine (pictured) site

AFTER: In his walk through the region at the weekend, Mr Broun said he saw ravaged specimens of pencil pines which were between 1,200 and 1,500-years-old

Mr Broun said the area had been so badly destructed in part due to poor land management.

The Central Plateau was once surrounded by wet sclerophyll and rainforest, he said, which protected the alpine plants.

However, the natural buffer against fires has since been logged and replaced with eucalyptus tree farms which fuel a blaze.

He said now when a lightning strikes, it hits the plantations and fire races up the steep cliff.

We would very much like to see those buffer zones replanted with useful species for protecting the delicate environment above, Mr Broun said.

He said restoring the once natural ecosystem was the only way to protect it.

Its important they [authorities] realise the only way to protect these environments is to look how theyve been managed before white man came.

He said Indigenous Australians managed that land perfectly for 40,000 years.

BEFORE: The 'very rare' forests date back to Gondwana, Mr Broun said. 'They've been growing since the Cretaceous Period'

AFTER: Mr Broun said it was fortunate heavy rain came when it did last Friday night, though as it is, we lost a huge area

Thats why weve got forests that are so old and trees that are so old.

He said he wanted wilderness to be prioritised alongside lives and properties, and said resources had not been properly allocated to firefighters in remote areas.

Ancient wilderness was ignored.

Chief Officer Gavin Freeman, the head of Tasmania Fire Service, said extra resources would not have helped reached the area, he told ABC.

Mr Broun said the internationally renowned World Heritage area was the responsibility of the federal governments Environment Minister, Greg Hunt.

However, he said: For me, its not about blame.

Its really about finding constructive and realistic solutions that are going to protect delicate ecosystems and our communities.

Its very much about protecting all that we hold dear, whether thats people, properties or unique ecosystems.

I love our wild places of Tasmania a great deal, he said.

AFTER: 'This is climate change,' fire ecologist David Bowman said of the destructive fires. This is system collapse'

AFTER: Mr Broun said he wanted wilderness to be prioritised alongside lives and properties, and said resources had not been properly allocated to firefighters in remote areas

Mr Broun told Daily Mail Australia he agreed with fire ecologist David Bowman that the fires had been spurred by climate change.

This is what climate change looks like, Mr Bowman told ABC. This is system collapse.

Dry lightning strikes are said to increase in frequency with climate change, and it's believed more fires will be sparked in the future.

Bushfires are still burning across Tasmania, and had threatened bucket list tourist destination Cradle Mountain in January.

A spokesperson for the Environment Minister said they are providing a '$14.8 million annually to increase national aerial fire fighting capability'.

'The Prime Minister has already offered an additional $500,000 to extend national aerial firefighting capability this summer.'

'We are liaising regularly with Tasmania to understand the extent of the areas damaged in the Tasmanian Wilderness,' the spokesperson said.

'We are monitoring closely the impacts of bushfires and working with the Tasmanian Government regarding recovery assistance.'

'The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service has identified areas of high ecological value which may be affected and is working with the fire fighting effort to prioritise protection of these areas.'

The spokesperson did not say whether they agreed dry lightning strikes would increase with climate change, but said the Australian Government 'is investing billions of dollars in measures to help tackle climate change and we already have in place an effective suite of policies to cut emissions'.

AFTER: 'I didnt see a single living wombat, he said. Im very much assuming they all got fried in their burrows, roasted'

AFTER: Much internationally renowned alpine plant life has been lost in the Tasmanian Highlands, the only place in the world it can be found

AFTER: There was some unburnt grass, protected by rocks, which wallabies had flocked to for food. A spider and insect lay charred on a razed plant (left)

AFTER: Mr Broun said he saw no bird life, and added he assumed Tasmanian Devils had been lost in the flames too
A seven-year-old boy suffered a gun shot wound after his downstairs neighbor fired a gun and the bullet went through the ceiling into the upstairs apartment.

Police say the child suffered a graze wound to his buttocks after the incident last night in the Dutchtown neighborhood in St Louis, Missouri.

It is believed that the neighbor, who lived in the downstairs apartment, was drunk and had been handling the weapon.

The seven-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the buttocks by a neighbor at an apartment on this residential street in St Louis, Missouri

While in his hands, he accidentally discharged the gun sending a bullet upwards, through the ceiling.

As it shot through the apartment above, it hit the boy, grazing him and causing the wound.

Emergency services raced to the scene, and when they arrived, they found the boy conscious and breathing.

He was then taken to hospital and he is described as being in a stable condition.

Paramedics describe the boy's wound as superficial.

Meanwhile the man who fired the gun was arrested and taken into custody.
Radio presenter Shelagh Fogarty tells him: 'Behave more like an adult'

A rail union boss has called for Conservative ministers to be 'taken out and shot' after claiming the Government's cuts are 'killing people every week'.

Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the RMT union, was scolded on air for the comments but continued to make sweeping allegations about Cabinet ministers.

'I think all the Tories are an absolute disgrace, they should be taken out and shot to be quite frank with you,' he told LBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty on Tuesday.

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Abusive: Steve Hedley, pictured with former RMT boss Bob Crow who died suddenly two years ago, said Tory ministers should be 'taken out and shot' for their austerity agenda

Hedley, whose union is planning a 48-hour tube strike this weekend in protest against Boris Johnson's plans to introduce a 24-hour service, accused the media of ignoring the arguments in favour of industrial action, insisting industrial action was a human right.

He said strike action was essential to fight Tory cuts and claimed: 'This government are killing three disabled people a week because of the cuts,' adding: 'You never hear that discussed on your programme.

'Why don't we have more conversations about what's actually going on in this country?' the union boss asked.

'The cuts are affecting people's health and killing people every week.

Gun-toting militant: RMT assistant general secretary, Steve Hedley, was a contender for the union leadership but lost to Mick Cash. He is pictured above posing in a Soviet-style military hat with an assault rifle in his hand

'Let's stop having this mealy-mouth discussion about people going on strike, which is a democratic right to do  it's a human right to go on strike.

'What is it with people - they can't get down to the nitty gritty and say that this government are actually murdering people, because that's what they're doing.'

Fogarty, who was presenting a phone-in on the radio station, told Hedley not to repeat his allegations and said she would not want someone like him to represent her as a union rep.

I think all the Tories are an absolute disgrace, they should be taken out and shot to be quite frank with you Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of RMT union

'It is not a part of adult, mature negotiation to speak the way you just spoke,' she said.

'If your job is to represent your workers, and if I was one of your workers, I would want you to represent me without resorting to things like that.'

Londoners are set to be hit by a 48-hour walkout by Hedley's union on Saturday February 6 at 9pm.

As well as protesting plans for a 24-hour tube, the RMT union is also disputing plans to close ticket offices and job losses on the London Underground.

In another sweeping allegation, the 45-year-old union firebrand claimed George Osborne had earned 200million and 'pays no tax'.

Fogarty told him his allegations were 'not true' but he continued his rant.

It is not the first time Hedley has launched an offensive tirade on LBC.

On-air row: Broadcaster Nick Ferrari was forced to cut off union leader Steve Hedley in an exchange last year after he ranted about a Tube strike and asked the LBC presenter: 'Have you stopped beating your wife?'

Last year he was thrown off a live show after asking presenter Nick Ferrari: 'Have you stopped beating your wife?'

The LBC radio host had been quizzing Mr Hedley about a Tube strike in support of a driver sacked for failing two alcohol breath tests.

The exchange began when Mr Ferrari asked: 'Why are you supporting a drunk driver?'

As Ferrari pressed for an answer, an increasingly irate Mr Hedley replied with the wife-beating remark.

When Ferrari protested that he was a divorced man, Mr Hedley asked if he'd stopped beating his ex-wife.

Mr Hedley said he was making a point about being asked for a straight yes or no answer in a complex situation. There is no suggestion that Mr Ferrari ever beat his wife.

As well as protesting plans for a 24-hour tube, the RMT union is also disputing plans to close ticket offices and job losses on the London Underground. Londoners will be hit with another 48-hour tube strike starting at 9pm on Saturday February 5

But when the union chief kept asking the same question about wife-beating, Mr Ferrari took him off air. Mr Ferrari calmly told him: 'Goodbye Mr Hedley. I just find that offensive. You had really interesting points to make there. 'Your vile and abusive stance means I never wish to speak to you again. You have diminished the case of your colleague immeasurably.' Mr Hedley, from East Ham, east London, is one of the union movement's most controversial characters and has caused offence with Facebook posts.

One, which emerged during his failed attempt to succeed Bob Crow as RMT chief, showed him in a Soviet-style military hat with an assault rifle in his hand.

His Facebook page contains status updates glorifying Tube strikes, with one post reading: 'It's taken me three hours to drive eight miles: mission accomplished, gridlock achieved, victory to the RMT.'

Another post exhorts his 2,000-plus friends not to cross the picket line in last week's Tube strike, saying: 'If you are on our side then respect our picket lines, if you are on the Government's side you will cross the pickets and be remembered as the 21st century UDM scabs and class traitors.

'Support yourself by supporting the RMT strike. DON'T CROSS PICKET LINES.'

And yet another post, which he later took down, read: 'With three different strikes announced today, I think I'll enjoy the Easter weekend.'

Further posts glorify striking RMT members, while another attacked 'Dave' [sic] Miliband, saying: 'Wake up and smell the coffee, the Labour Party is well and truly over. Vote TUSC and build a workers' party.'

And in another post, later taken down, Mr Hedley, who is from East Ham, in east London, wrote: 'I've had to move down the carriage to escape a load of middle-class prats and their mockney accents.
A ten-year-old Afghan boy hailed a hero after he fired rockets at Taliban fighters as he helped defend his village from attackers has been shot dead by an assassin from the terror group.

Wasil Ahmad was shot twice in the head by insurgents in Tirin Kot, the capital of the Uruzgan province, local police have revealed.

The child had fought the Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions and pictures on social media show him holding an automatic weapon and wearing uniform and a helmet.

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Wasil Ahmad (pictured last year), was killed by insurgents in Tirin Kot, the capital of the Uruzgan province, local police have revealed

Deputy police chief of Uruzgan province, Rahimullah Khan, said that unknown gunmen he referred to only as insurgents had killed the boy near his home.

Ahmad's uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district, Khan said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boy's death with his family, the government and the Taliban, a militant group that has been fighting a 15-year insurgency.

Spokesman Rafiullah Baidar said that local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege following the death of his father in fighting.

'Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his father's death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents,' Baidar said.

'One side made him famous and the other side killed him  both sides ignored the law and acted illegally,' he said.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International says both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

In a report presented to the U.N. Security Council's working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based charity said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police for reasons that included a sense of fulfilling filial duty, patriotism and honor. But the main reason was poverty, it said in the June 2015 report.

The child had fought the Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions and pictures on on social media show him holding an automatic weapon and wearing uniform and a helmet

It said that in May last year the charity found that half of national police check posts in Tirin Kot 'were staffed with visibly younger officers,' who all admitted they were under 18 years old.

'They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing check points and engaging in combat for the last few years,' the report said.

Afghanistan ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, committing the country to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

The Child Soldiers International reports says that in Kunar, Logar and Zabul provinces  all troubled by insurgency  '10 percent of law enforcement officials are suspected to be underage.'

Although statistics are not available, recruitment is believed to be highest where the insurgency is strongest, notably the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, and provinces bordering Pakistan, including Paktiya, Khost and Paktika.

Children are also used by the Taliban in active combat, as spies and as suicide bombers, the report said. It cited a number of cases, including the attack last year on the French Institute in Kabul during a packed performance that killed at least two people and wounded another 20.

Children recruited into the armed forces or insurgent groups are vulnerable to sexual abuse, Child Soldiers International said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison are reportedly clashing with members of the backbench over the Liberal leaders' decision to consider increasing the GST to 15 per cent.

Federal Nationals MPs are also understood to have cast doubt over the idea of handing more money to the states.

Turnbull says changes to the consumption tax are being considered as part of a broader package of tax reform the coalition will take to the election.

But he has yet to say whether the government will do what Labor expects it to do and jack up the rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

A Federal MP reportedly told Fairfax that around 50 per cent of the Liberal backbench do not support the proposed GST increase.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison are reportedly clashing with the backbench over the Liberal leaders' suggestion to increase the rate of GST by five per cent

Federal Treasurer and Liberal MP Scott Morrison is allegedly facing backlash from the backbench over GST

Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen spoke out to say the government needed to get rid of taxes

Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen said the government needed to get rid of taxes.

'I didn't come into federal parliament to increase taxes and increase the tax burdens on Australians,' he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday

'The number one aim is to make the tax system better to stimulate growth and job creation.'

Fellow MP Ewen Jones said he supported a tax system which allowed people to invest and improved business.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, bottom right, pictured making an address at Parliament in September 2015

'If we remove those barriers like stamp duty and payroll tax - if we can get of those things - while looking after the most vulnerable, then we are moving in the right direction,' Mr Jones said.

'Does that include an increase in the GST? I would be against giving one extra cent to any state government at the moment because I don't think they are spending it well.'
Also made money by borrowing from people and selling faith-based videos

Accused of pocketing more than $15,000 for the con, charging up to $1,000 per ticket

Last year he allegedly sold fake tickets to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia

Erwin Mena, 59, celebrated masses, funerals, marriages and heard confessions around California since first posing as a priest in the mid-1990s

A fraudster who posed as a priest for decades has been arrested on suspicion of selling fake tickets for the visit of Pope Francis.

Erwin Mena, 59, celebrated masses, funerals, marriages and heard confessions around California since first posing as a priest in the mid-1990s.

He also practiced medicine without a license while offering a 'system or mode of treating the sick', according to his arrest warrant.

Last year, Mena allegedly sold tickets to a pilgrimage to visit New York and see the Pope during his Philadelphia visit in September, prosecutors said.

The trip supposedly included airfare and lodging at convents.

He allegedly pocketed more than $15,000 for the con, while he was posing as a priest at St Ignatius of Loyola in northeastern Los Angeles.

Michelle Rodriguez, 60, and some of her friends and co-workers paid more than $950 each in cash for the trip.

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Los Angeles police arrest Erwin Mena in Elysian Park on February 2 on suspicion of grand theft and impersonation of a priest

She told the Los Angeles Times: 'It was a great deal for the price. We were thinking, 'Oh, we'll have this great time in New York. We'll see the Pope and it will be a great experience.''

'He used us, he stole from us, and that's it.'

Mena made a convincing priest according to those who signed up for the trip.

Joaquin Oviedo, a retired public high school teacher, told the paper: 'He smiled, talked about how good things were. There was never anything negative. He was not a fire and brimstone kind of preacher.

'We had always been raised not to question authority figures. He's a priest - what he said is holy writ. We never imagined he was a phony.'

Mena, pictured left in a mugshot and right in a book promo, allegedly made money by borrowing from people, selling faith-based videos for $25 and producing several eBooks, including one about his 'irreverent confessions' where he discussed celibacy

For the best part of two decades, Mena appeared at parishes or prayer groups in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Stockton, Fresno and Orange counties, before vanishing before Roman Catholic authorities could act, court papers indicated.

Mena showed up at St. Mary parish in Fontana more than five years ago and celebrated mass on a few occasions, a spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino said.

He convinced pastors at different parishes they did not need to check his official 'faculties' before letting him perform services.

He allegedly made money by borrowing from people, selling faith-based videos for $25 and producing several eBooks, including one about his 'irreverent confessions' where he discussed celibacy.

He also accepted a $16,000 to make a video about Pope Francis (that turned out to be pirated) and one person loaned him $6,000.

St Ignatius of Loyola (pictured), where Mena allegedly duped church-goers to pay for a trip to see the Pope, was the latest in a series of churches where he would appear and then vanish when he had pocketed cash

His name has been on a list of dozens of unauthorized priests and deacons, that is kept by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, since 2008.

Some victims have been reimbursed for the September Pope trip, and those who received the sacraments from Mena can receive them again, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles archdiocese said.

Mena, 59, declined to comment to the Los Angeles Times as detectives escorted him in handcuffs from police headquarters.

He remained jailed, and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.
A teenage girl was left horrified when she discovered a rat sitting next to eggs and chocolate in her family's Tesco delivery crate.

Beckie Richardson, 19, collapsed when she saw the rodent in her home delivery.

Her mother Sue Richardson, 43, was helping Beckie unload the crates and rushed to help her daughter.

She said: 'My daughter and I started unloading the shopping, one crate at a time and, as I took one off, I heard a scream and a thud.

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A teenage girl was left horrified when she discovered a rat sitting next to eggs and Smarties in her family's Tesco delivery crate

Sue Richardson (centre) was helping her daughter Beckie, 19, (left) unload their Tesco delivery when they noticed the rodent

'As Beckie lifted one of them up I heard an almighty crash and she was on the floor.

'I looked in the crate and this rat was just there looking up at us sitting next to the Smarties, eggs and tins.

'It was disgusting, I was in complete shock.

'My daughter was so traumatised by it that she had a panic attack and fell on the floor and rather than getting away from the rat, I had to look after her.'

Beckie said the rat appeared out of nowhere as she was unpacking the groceries.

She said: 'I was unpacking the shopping to help mum when all of a sudden this rat appeared out of nowhere.

'I didn't have time to run, I just fell on the floor as I was so scared.

'My hands went all numb and I was trembling and I felt really light-headed.

'It's the tail and the eyes that I can't stand. I don't know where my fear comes from but I just can't stand rats.'

Sue said she has been shopping at Tesco for 30 years before switching to ordering from the supermarket online five years ago. She has already swapped supermarkets after the live rat was delivered.

She said: 'I have been shopping at Tesco for years and never had a problem but I'll never go back to them after this.

'They were very apologetic and tried to palm me off with a bunch of flowers but this is a step too far.

'I've already changed supermarket to Sainsbury's and I won't be going back.'

Sue, who lives with her husband Paul, 57, and other daughter Emma, 24, at their home in Ongar, Essex, said she prefers to shop online because it's easier and cheaper but she says stores still have a duty of care.

She said: 'You wouldn't expect a live rat to crawl out of your bag at the checkout and it's not acceptable for one to be delivered to my home.'

Sue, a primary school dinner lady, said she placed another crate on top of the one where the rat was to stop it from escaping before calling Tesco following the 90 delivery on Friday afternoon.

The mother said: 'I spoke to them and they said it is highly unlikely the rat came from the store.

'There are definitely no rats around here because everyone in this street has dogs or cats and we would have noticed something.

The family have always ordered groceries from Tesco's website and their groceries are then delivered from the company's Gallows Corner branch in Essex (pictured)

'I hate rats, but I had to stay calm myself because of how Beckie was.'

The family have always ordered groceries from Tesco's website and their groceries are then delivered from the company's Gallows Corner branch in Essex.

The rat was taken away by the Tesco delivery driver.

Sue said: 'I chucked all of the shopping away because you have no idea what is contaminated and what isn't.

'The man from Tesco came to drop some more shopping off and pick up the old crates and he also brought some flowers round.

'He rang me on Saturday and said they had the environmental health people go to the store but didn't see any problems.'

A spokesman for Tesco said: 'We take the cleanliness of our stores and delivery vehicles extremely seriously so were concerned to hear of the issue at our Romford Gallows Corner store.

'Although we're confident this is an isolated incident, we've taken immediate action including working with a pest control company and jet washing the area where we store our online deliveries.
Ministers have come under fire after it emerged an Amazon boss has been appointed to the board of a key Government department.

The appointment has caused further anger over the Government's record on collecting tax from multi-nationals after it was revealed last year that Amazon paid just 11.9 million to the UK taxman despite sales of 5.3 billion in 2014.

Doug Gurr, president of Amazon China, is expected to be announced as a new non-executive director of the department's board next week, the latest in a growing number of business leaders appointed to the boards of government departments.

Iain Duncan Smith, pictured left, is likely to have approved the appointment of Amazon China president Doug Gurr, right, in a move that is likely to cause further anger over HMRC's record on multi-national tax collection

Amazon came under fire last summer when it emerged it paid just 11.9 million to the UK taxman, despite sales of 5.3 billion. The firm is infamous for its mass-warehouses, pictured

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary is likely to have sanctioned the appointment, which was first reported by Sky News.

Labour demanded the Government immediately withdraws Mr Gurr from the board, saying it was an 'insult' to taxpayers given that the 11.9million Amazon paid in tax in 2014 represented just 0.002 per cent of the firm's 5.3billion.

Chris Bryant, the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said: 'It's an insult to the taxpayer and he needs to be immediately withdrawn from the board.

'For years Amazon has used anti-competitive practices to crush competitors, it has used deliberate and calculated means of avoiding paying its fair share of tax and it has systematically refused to cooperate in tackling VAT fraud.

'If they were a benefit claimant theyd be accused of fraud.

'There's one rule for the rich and the powerful and quite another for the rest,' he added.

WHO IS DOUG GURR? Doug Gurr is the latest in a growing number of business leaders appointed to Whitehall boards Appointed president of Amazon China in 2014

He was previously vice president of the internet giant.

Gurr chairs the British Heart Foundation and is a trustee of the Landmark Trust, a building conservation charity.

Chairman of British Science Museum 2010-2014

Asda executive director for five years between 2006-2011

Gurr has previous experience of government having worked for three years as a policy officer in the Department for Transport Advertisement

Non-executive directors attend board meetings - which oversee the work of the department and are usually held once or twice a month - and are paid a part-time salary.

Departmental boards are chaired by the Secretary of State and include junior ministers, permanent secretaries and non-executive members, who are often industry leaders who offer the department an external perspective.

They are not given 'executive' decision-making powers.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hit out at the appointment of Mr Gurr, describing it as another setback for British taxpayers, while the Labour MP and tax campaigner Margaret Hodge branded the move 'disgusting'.

Mr McDonnell told MailOnline: 'I'm disappointed but not surprised, and taxpayers will be further dismayed to hear about yet another close relationship between the government and a company that potentially has questions to answer over their tax liabilities.

'On the back of a fortnight of inaction from the government on tax avoidance they do nothing to dispel the feeling that when it comes to tax avoidance they don't have a credible solution, and don't care about finding any answers.'

Ms Hodge said: 'If people are not putting their proper share into the pot, how can government ever justify giving them prestigious positions?'

Mr Gurr has previous experience of government having worked for three years in the Department for Transport in the 1990s and headed up the team in charge of the London Underground.

He is also chairman of the British Heart Foundation and a trustee of building conservation charity Landmark Trust.

Other prominent business leaders on Whitehall department boards are Ian Davis, chairman of Rolls-Royce and Dalton Philips, the former boss of Morrisons and Sir Ian Cheshire, the newly-appointed chairman of Debenhams.

In 2014 Amazon declared profits of just 34.4 million in HMRC - just 6 per cent of its 5.3 billion worth of sales to British shoppers - meaning it incurred a tax bill of just 11.9 million because corporation tax is only charged on profits.

Amazon payed 11.9million in corporation tax in the UK despite sales of 5.6billion

It added the firm to the growing list of giant corporations who have been accused of contributing little or nothing in the UK.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was not commenting on the reports, while Amazon also refused to answer questions.

It is likely to put the Government's relationship with multi-nationals under more scrutiny - a week after George Osborne came under fire for his 'sweetheart deal' with Google.

OTHER GIANTS IN THE DOCK: MAJOR FIRMS AND CORPORATION TAX Google toppled its rival Apple to become the world's biggest company on Monday February 1 Google: The internet giant, which overtook Apple as the biggest company in the world on Monday, agreed a bill of 130 million for the period of 2005 to 2014 - but it includes no fines or penalties. George Osborne was heavily criticised last week for describing the deal as a 'major success'. Apple: The US-based technology firm behind the iPad and the iPhone made 34billion in profit during the year to September 2014. Experts estimate that the UK accounted for 1.9billion of that profit, but the firm only paid 11.8million in British corporation tax. Facebook: The social media titan paid just 4,327 in corporation tax in 2014, despite reporting UK revenues of 105million. Starbucks: The coffee chain paid just 8.6million of tax over 14 years between 1998 and 2012 when sales totalled 3billion. But latest company filings show it paid 8.1million in corporation tax for last year on profits of 34.2million. Advertisement

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the appointment of the Amazon boss shows the Government 'doesn't care' about finding a solution to corporate tax avoidance

The Chancellor declared an agreement struck by HMRC for Google to pay an extra 130 million in taxes for the past decade was a 'major success' - despite the firm's sales in Britain amounting to around 3 billion.

And the Chancellor is coming under pressure to demand Facebook pays more than the 4,327 it paid in tax last year after it emerged the social media giant had put aside a 1.7 billion pot to settle global tax disputes.

None of that fund is due to go to HMRC, according to accounts filed in the United States.

The firm is currently fighting an audit from HMRC into its tax affairs in the UK between 2010 and 2014 over its tax bill.

It can challenge HMRC's audit despite more than 800,000 British taxpayers unable to negotiate with HMRC over the 100 fixed-penalty notices it has issued following Sunday's self-assessment deadline.

It emerged over the weekend that Facebook paid just 86million to all tax authorities outside the United States in 2014, despite declaring profits of more than 2.4billion - which suggests the firm paid a tax rate of just 4 per cent.

But its latest accounts filed to the US Treasury revealed it is reserving a $2.46billion (1.7billion) fund for 'uncertain tax positions' - relating to tax investigations in a range of countries, including the US and Ireland, but not the UK, according to The Times.

The liability fund is more than double the 800million it set aside last year.

Thousands of ordinary British taxpayers, who do not have the luxury of setting aside millions of pounds to settle tax disputes, will start receiving fixed-penalty notices in the coming weeks.

The fees are expected to raise up to 90million for HMRC this year.

The penalties are issued to taxpayers who missed the deadline for submitting their self-assessment on January 31 and apply even if no tax is due.
Predator: Gareth Vincent Hall has admitted raping a 10-year-old in the United States after grooming her online from his home in Wales

A British lifeguard has admitted raping a 10-year-old girl in the United States after meeting her online.

Gareth Vincent Hall, 22, flew to America in April last year after grooming the girl from his home 5,000 miles away.

Hall  who ran children's swimming lessons at a leisure centre in North Wales  collected the girl in a hire car in Eugene, Oregon.

Police said he stayed in various motels and met the girl on several occasions over a five-day period.

He flew back to Britain but returned a month later and was arrested at O'Hare Airport, Chicago, where he was expecting to meet a second girl.

He yesterday pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and one count of online sexual corruption of a child.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Lane told the court a further charge of kidnapping was dropped in exchange for his guilty pleas.

Welsh speaker Hall appeared at Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene, Oregon, with a translator who read the charges to him.

Hall, of Talysarn near Caernarfon, could be jailed for between 25 and 50 years when he returns to court to be sentenced on March 1, according to local TV station KMTR in Oregon.

He was remanded in custody at Lane County Corrections facility.

After his arrest, the FBI had appealed for information over fears he had committed sex crimes on girls across the United States.

At the time, FBI spokesman Gerald Dezsofi said: 'We are really, really concerned there could be other victims in other States of the U.S.

'The FBI is putting the information out there to as many people as possible.'

Facing up to 50 years in jail: Hall yesterday pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and one count of online sexual corruption of a child after appearing in court in Eugene, Oregon

Investigating officer Jed McGuire, also speaking at the time, said: 'Hall met the girl through an online chat program.

'Hall and the girl spoke for two months before meeting in early April when he picked her up in a rental car and took her to a hotel.

'One of the things we hope to answer is why he travelled so far to meet with one person.

'One might read into it that he wanted to stay away from his home area. That's my speculation at this point.'

Following his arrest, Hall was suspended from his job as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at Arfon Leisure Centre in Caernarfon

British police are also investigating Hall for alleged offences carried out in the UK after he was arrested the previous October on 'suspicion of offences committed online.'

Following his arrest, Hall was suspended from his job as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at Arfon Leisure Centre in Caernarfon.

A spokesman for Gwynedd Council said Hall was no longer employed by the council.
He dreamed of returning to carpentry, but by the end was unable to move

Mr Koswara had always hoped to live until a cure was found for the disease

The illness tragically cost him his wife and family, job and independence

An Indonesian known as 'the tree man' due to the scaly warts covering his body has passed away after a long battle with his rare and incurable illness.

Dede Koswara, 42, died in hospital in Badung, Indonesia, on the morning of January 30 without ever realising his dream of living to see a cure and returning to carpentry.

In the past three months, doctors said he had resigned himself to the debilitating illness which over several decades tragically came to cost him his family, job and independence.

Dede Koswara (pictured), nicknamed 'The Tree Man', suffered from a rare and incurable disease that caused bark-like warts to grow uncontrollably on his body. On the right, he is seen applying cream to the growths

The debilitating illness, named Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia, results in uncontrolled infections and warts. Here he is pictured in hospital on December 10, just weeks prior to his death

The disease was so severe his hands and feet (pictured) were covered in more than 13lbs of warts. Here he is pictured prior to surgery in February, 2009

Despite multiple treatments to remove the growths, they continued regrowing and eventually cost Mr Koswara his family, job and independence

Nurses said that in the weeks leading up to his death, Mr Koswara had resigned himself to the illness and smoked heavily to help pass the time

By the time he died, Mr Koswara was estranged from his wife and children, and the disease has also cost him his job as a carpenter. Here he is pictured in 2009 with his young cousin Andra

Mr Koswara suffered from Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia, a disease which results in uncontrolled human papilloma virus (HPV) infections and the growth of scaly warts resembling tree bark.

He died of a complicated series of health problems, including hepatitis, liver and gastric disorders, three months after he had checked into hospital.

One of his doctors said: 'He was resigned to his illness. He must've been pretty tough to face all the insults he suffered over the years.'

According to his sister, his was unable to feed himself or speak because he was too weak.

She added that he remained estranged from his family up until his death - but according to those treating him, he never gave up hope of a cure.

'Dede wanted to recover, despite his disease,' his nurse said. 'He was coping with his illness, even though people despised him as someone cursed.

'He was bored, resting in bed in the hospital, and often smoked to pass the time. He wanted to go back to being a carpenter and starting a home business.'

The disease was so severe his hands and feet were covered with more than 13lbs of warts, also called 'cutaneous horns'.

The severity of his condition gave him international notoriety - including several feature-length documentaries highlighting his plight.

The warts were severely debilitating, preventing the proper use of his hands and feet - and were believed locally to have been the result of a curse.

His wife of ten years also left him after he couldn't support them and their two children.

In 2008, he had 13lb of warts surgically removed from his body. The operation was such a success that he could play Sudoku and wear flip-flops.

But the growths continued to return, requiring two surgeries a year to keep the infections down.

The 42-year-old died at Hasan Sadkin General Hospital in west Java, Indonesia, following a three-day coma (pictured)

Mr Koswara's life was thrown upside down by the incurable disease - his wife of ten years left him after he could not support them and their two children, he was unable to work and lost his independence
Wilko store manager said her children were 'the light of my world'

Newman believed to have driven to Anglesey and jumped from 120ft cliffs

Estranged husband Newman was jailed for 17 weeks for attacking her

Her daughter Shannon, 11, and son Shane, six, died of stab wounds

These are the first pictures of devoted mother-of-two Geraldine Newman who was bludgeoned to death by her estranged husband who also stabbed to death their two children Shannon and Shane.

West Yorkshire police tonight confirmed that Paul Newman, 42, bludgeoned the Wilko store manager with a hammer before stabbing daughter Shannon, 11, and son Shane, six, at home in Allerton Bywater, near Leeds.

Today family and friends laid flowers for the 'one in a million' mother and Disney balloons for the children she called the 'light of my world'.

Shannon, 11, and her younger brother Shane were both found dead yesterday at their home near Leeds

First picture: This is Geraldine Newman, known as Gerry to her loved ones, who was murdered by her domestic abuser husband who also killed their children

West Yorkshire Police confirmed Geraldine Newman, left, was killed alongside her two children including eldest daughter Shannon, 11 and her younger brother Shane, at the family's home in Allerton Bywater, near Leeds.

Grief: Mourners today came to lay flowers and balloons outside the home of Geraldine Newman, 51, who was murdered along with her two children in a hammer attack by her estranged husband Paul

Message: One of the many notes left at the scene today, which said: 'Heaven has three beautiful angels'

Investigation:Mrs Newman's husband appears to have driven to a cliff edge on Anglesey before jumping to his death

One note left by colleagues outside her home said: 'Heaven has three beautiful angels - miss you'.

Her estranged husband, who was jailed for 17 weeks in 2013 for beating Geraldine, went on the murder spree before driving 180 miles to Anglesey and jumping off a 120ft cliff.

Mr Newman has a history of domestic violence against his wife and police are understood to have found a note at the home he shared with his parents and feared for his safety.

Police in West Yorkshire and North Wales are liaising following the discovery of a man's body in Anglesey, although police appear to believe it is Newman.

MailOnline understands that his car, which police had been hunting for, was abandoned there.

Probe: Police have linked the body found here to the murders after his car was found in the car park above on Anglesey

A broken beer bottle was found at the spot where the wanted man is believed to have jumped off a cliff on to the rocks below.

Detectives are trying to unravel the major riddle of whether he chose to kill himself in North Wales, just ten minutes from where his victim's parents live.

It was not known whether he had called at the home near Holyhead before killing himself and police were guarding the rural farmhouse today.

A neighbour said: 'This is terrible and I can't imagine what they are going through. They are a lovely couple, very quiet.'

Mr Newman has a history of domestic violence against his wife. Police are understood to have found a note at the home he shared with his parents and feared for his safety. The three victims were last seen alive on Sunday.

A concerned friend who let herself into the terraced house in Allerton Bywater, near Leeds, at around 11.50am yesterday discovered their bodies. Police sealed off the property and launched a major inquiry.

Mrs Newman, a twice-married mother of three, worked as a manager of a local Wilko store. She and Mr Newman split some time ago, but he was regularly seen playing with their children in the park near their home.

The father was jailed for 17 weeks in October 2013 after being convicted at Leeds magistrates' court of assault by beating against Mrs Newman.

One neighbour recalled that he was seen about 12 months ago sitting in the back of a police car.

Andrea Holroyd had known Gerry Newman for about 20 years, starting when they worked together at Wilkos and last saw her in December.

She said: 'Gerry was a very caring, loving friend to many, including myself. Her nature was one in a million, nothing was ever too much trouble.

'Bless her, she didn't deserve to lose her life nor her children.

'She were lovely, really caring, she were devoted to her kids, a devoted mum.

'They were lovely kids, happy-go-lucky, bubbly, they were just both little Gerrys.'

Describing her relationship with the man accused of killing her she said: 'They had been on and off, a bit stormy.

'I heard was he had been arrested about a year ago, they had some sort of do.

'I know she had been through a few relationships and this last one they had split up a while ago'.

Tragedy: Balloons and flowers left by mourners in Allerton Bywater where the bodies of the dead family were found yesterday

Tears: Friends and loved-ones of Mrs Newman pay their respects to the devoted mother who also raised thousands for charity

A statement from St Wilfrid's Catholic High School and St Joseph's Primary School in Castleford, West Yorks, where children Shannon and Shane Newman are believed to have attended, said: 'We are aware that a woman and two children were found dead at a house in Allerton Bywater yesterday and that police are investigating their deaths as murder.

'While the police are still working to officially confirm the identities of those involved they are believed to be a Year 7 student at St Wilfrid's Catholic High School, her brother, a Year 1 pupil at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford and their mother.

'Exactly what happened and how this tragedy occurred is subject of an ongoing police investigation.

'The students and children have been notified via their form tutors and class teachers this morning. We have ongoing support in place for all our children, students and staff. Our prayers are with the family and friends at this very sad time.'

The family had lived on the new estate, designed as part of the sustainable 'millennium villages' project, for about five years.

Mrs Newman wrote on her Linkedin page that her two young children were 'the light of my world.' She took part in a 10km run every year to raise money for charity and did voluntary work for Age UK and raised at least 11,000 for charities.

Josh Flood knew Geraldine's husband Paul Newman from the school run at St Joseph's Primary School in Castleford, West Yorks., and spoke of his shock at learning what had happened.

He said: 'Last week I was stood talking to him at school and now this has happened - it's heartbreaking.

'It's disgusting. It's awful to think what the family are going through.

'I've known him for the past year what with going to school with my daughter - he takes them and picks them up/

'He seemed like a normal bloke.. He seemed like a nice guy to talk to, a really lovely person.

'You wouldn't have thought he would do anything like this'.

Neighbour Chloe Firth, 11, was a friend of Shannon and said she last saw the children about two weeks ago 'throwing snowballs and making snow angels'.

She added that Mr Newman would 'play hide and seek' with them and 'seemed like a really caring parent'.

Chloe's father Sean Firth, 44, said: 'You don't expect to see this on your doorstep, it is devastating. I'm lost for words.'

After the bodies were found, armed police went to the house Mr Newman shared with his parents six miles away.

Clues: Newman parked his car here before throwing himself into the sea. A broken beer bottle was found at the spot he jumped from

Mother-of-three Geraldine Newman, 51, was battered to death with a hammer on the ground floor of the terraced property in Allerton Bywater, West Yorkshire. Pictured, officers at the scene on Tuesday

A woman breaks down outside the family home, some 10 miles from Leeds, where Mrs Newman and her two young children were found dead. The three victims were last seen alive on Sunday

Detective Chief Inspector Warren Stevenson, of West Yorkshire Police, said: 'Post-mortem examinations are yet to take place to establish the causes of the deaths but the victims have died in suspicious circumstances and therefore we are treating their deaths as murder.

'Initial indications are that this is a domestic-related incident  We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed anything in the area of the address in the period leading up to when the discovery was made this morning.'

A Wilko spokesman said Mrs Newman had worked for the company for 23 years and was a 'loyal and respected' member of their staff.

The retailer added: 'This is tragic news and has devastated everyone who worked with Geraldine as well as impacting team members across the company.

'Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time and everything is being done to support those team members who are affected by this tragic news.'

Ex-neighbour John Gough, 81, said he last saw Mr Newman two weeks ago.

He said: 'I can't believe something like that could happen to them  I thought they were a good couple.

'I think they were religious and went to church every Sunday. I know him well.

'He was sociable and friendly with me  He used to come round to keep me company around once a fortnight.'
An 11-year-old girl broke down in tears as she told a court how her father beat her with a pack of frozen bacon while quoting the Bible to justify the attack.

The girl testified that she was attacked by Jonathan Powell for 10 to 12 minutes during which he told her: 'It's OK to do that, it's from the Bible. If you spare the rod, you spoil the child.'

Powell is charged with one count of third-degree child abuse after being accused of hitting his daughter multiple times while she was staying at his Hampton Township home in Michigan.

'Quoted the Bible': Jonathan Powell has been accused of attacking his daughter with frozen bacon while saying 'if you spare the rod, you spoil the child'

While giving evidence, the girl was shown police pictures showing markings on the left side of her face taken two days after the alleged attack on January 8, it was reported by Bay City Times.

She told Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Bernard Coppolino: 'He was hitting me with his elbows, his upper arms and his hands.

'He was hitting me with frozen bacon and he was pushing me back and I fell right over the dishwater.'

Under cross-examination, she said she ran to her room and heard her father calling her a 'B-word' for breaking his dishwasher.

Powell burst into the room and hit her again, giving her a bloody nose, she told the court.

Powell appeared at Bay County District Court (pictured) for a preliminary examination before his case was bound over to the Circuit Court for trial

Police were alerted to the alleged abuse when the 11-year-old was brought back to her mother who became concerned after she noticed a bruise on the girl's left cheek.

After the preliminary examination, Bay County District Judge Mark E Janer bound Powell's case over to Circuit Court for trial.

Powell's defense attorney Matthew L Reyes told the Times after the hearing that his client denies any abuse happened, adding that it was the 'latest chapter in a long custody battle.'

Powell, who denies the charges, remains free on bond.
ISIS has released images claiming to show the execution of three 'spies' in the groups' Libyan stronghold by a man in a wheelchair.

The photographs allegedly sees the wheelchair-bound executioner crucifying one of the men in Sirte, central Libya, on Tuesday.

The images were released on the same days as U.S Secretary of State John Kerry pressed for direct action against ISIS in Libya during a meeting of Western leaders in Rome.

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Execution: One of the photos shows an ISIS fighter sat in a wheelchair next to a man kneeling in an orange jumpsuit while tied to a rope before the 'crucifixion' in Sirte, central Libya

One of the photos shows an ISIS fighter sat in a wheelchair next to a man kneeling in an orange jumpsuit while tied to a rope before the 'crucifixion'.

Another image shows a man with what appears to be a bloodied and battered face, tied up and 'crucified' on the structure. A note taped to his body reportedly reads 'spy'.

A third image shows a man without a note, however, it is not clear whether or not this is the same person or whether he is dead or alive.

The executions took place in Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and the group's only stronghold in the North African country.

ISIS forces have attacked oil infrastructure and established a foothold in Sirte, exploiting Libya's current power vacuum where two rival governments have been battling for supremacy.

Crucified: A man has been tied up and 'crucified' on the structure, with a note reading 'spy' taped to his body

Mystery: A third image shows a man without a note, however, it is not clear whether or not this is the same person or whether he is dead or alive

The images were released on Tuesday as the US and French governments pressed for direct action against ISIS in Libya.

U.S Secretary of State John Kerry warned that ISIS is threatening Libya and could seize the nation's oil wealth to fuel its war and expand in the country and elsewhere.

'That country has resources. The last thing in the world you want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue,' Kerry said.

The Secretary of State spoke during a meeting of the foreign ministers of 23 countries to review the fight against ISIS, held in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday.

Defence ministers from the anti-IS group are due to meet in Brussels next week to discuss further options, while Kerry said he expected further consultations with allies at a security conference in Munich, Germany later this month.

Time to fight: US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference following a summit with the foreign ministers of 23 countries to review the fight against ISIS, held in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday

A Libyan fireman stands in front of smoke and flames rising from an oil storage tank in northern Libya's Ras Lanouf region last week, after it was set ablaze following attacks launched by ISIS

While ISIS remained undefeated, it had suffered many setbacks, Kerry said, losing 40 per cent of the territory it once controlled in Iraq and 20 percent of its lands in Iraq.

'Our advances .. are undeniable. We have launched nearly 10,000 air strikes, we have interrupted their finance mechanisms, they have had to cut the salaries of their fighters, we have interrupted their capacity to get revenues,' Kerry said.

The one-day Rome meeting took place as talks have begun in Geneva to try to end the five-year-old Syrian civil war, which has killed at least 250,000 people, driven more than 10 million from their homes and drawn in the United States and Russia on opposite sides.

While Washington has long said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost the legitimacy to lead, it has made clear that its first priority is to try to rein in Islamic State group.

'If you want to beat Daesh quickly, then get a negotiated deal to end the Syria war,' Kerry said.
Furious Tory MPs today claimed 'the thin gruel has been further watered down' as they blasted the Prime Minister's draft deal with Brussels.

David Cameron presented the offer at the despatch box, insisting he had secured the 'strongest ever' package to cut abuse of free movement and telling MPs when the deal is finalised, Britain has a pathway to a 'fresh settlement' with the EU.

But the complex series of papers published in Brussels yesterday was derided by many backbench Tory MPs as Jacob Rees-Mogg reprised his claim Mr Cameron was offering 'gruel' to the voters.

Veteran eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin said claims the deal was 'legally binding' because it will be deposited at the UN were 'male bovine excrement', while Boris Johnson quizzed the PM on issues of sovereignty.

But leaving the Commons after more than two hours of MPs' questions, Mr Cameron appeared at ease having faced down his critics and won praise from backers of the EU.

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Mr Cameron, pictured today at the Commons despatch box, made his case on the deal for new terms with the European Union to MPs in a lengthy statement

in his speech, Mr Cameron told MPs: 'If we stay, Britain will be in there keeping a lid on the EU budget, protecting the rebate, stripping away unnecessary regulation and seeing through the commitments we have secured in this renegotiation.

'We will never be part of the euro, never be part of Schengen, never be part of a European Army, never be forced to bail out the eurozone with our taxpayers' money and never be part of a European superstate.

'There is a clear path that can lead to a fresh settlement for Britain in a reformed EU.'

The Prime Minister told MPs the final version of the deal would be lodged with the United Nations adding it would be impossible for any changes to be made after the referendum without British consent - ensuring it was 'legally binding'.

Mr Cameron also said he will never say the EU is 'fixed', even if the changes are secured.

He went on: 'There'll be many things that remain to be reformed and Britain would continue to lead the way.'

TWO HOURS ON THE RACK: THE SHARPEST BARBS THROWN AT DAVID CAMERON BY TORY MPS Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, said: 'The thin gruel has been further watered down. You have a fortnight, I think, in which to salvage your reputation as a negotiator.' Harwich and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin, meanwhile, suggested the legal assurances contained in the proposals were the equivalent of 'male bovine excrement'. John Redwood, the Tory MP for Wokingham, also criticised the deal, insisting: 'As we are driven in the EU vehicle towards ever closer union and to political union how does it help to try and fit a couple of emergency brakes that lie within the control of the EU and not us?' Corby MP Tom Pursglove said: 'Whilst the Prime Minister is trying his best to renegotiate the position, would he not agree that the reforms as they stand do nothing to make the immigration system in this country fairer regardless of where people come from in the world?' Grandee Sir Bill Cash said: 'But now it will be stitched up by a political decision by the European Council and not by a guaranteed treaty change at the right time and this, I have to say to the Prime Minister, is a wholly inappropriate way of dealing with this matter.' Advertisement

But in a direct appeal to Tory MPs, he added: 'If you passionately believe in your heart that Britain is better off outside the EU, then you should vote that way.

'If you think, even if it's on balance, I think Britain's better off in, go with what you think.

'Don't take a view because of what your constituency association might say, or you're worried about a boundary review, or you think it might be advantageous this way or that way.

'Do what's in your heart, if you think it's right for Britain then do that.'

London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose support is eagerly sought by both sides of the campaign, asked: 'How do these changes as a result of this negotiation will restrict the volume of legislation coming from Brussels, will change the treaties so as to assert the sovereign of this House of Commons and of these Houses of Parliament?'

Mr Cameron replied: 'For the first time ever in here is a commitment, not only that Europe has to examine all its competences every year... there's also the proposal to cut Brussels regulation with these bureaucracy cuts targets. That's never been there before.

'You've got welfare powers coming back, immigration powers coming back, bailout powers coming back and of course the massive return of power we achieved in the last parliament: justice and home affairs... we've absolutely nailed that down.'

Mr Rees-Mogg, the North East Somerset MP, warned 'the thin gruel has been further watered down' warning Mr Cameron had just two weeks to save his reputation as a negotiator.

Harwich and North Essex MP Mr Jenkin described the deal as 'male bovine excrement', hitting out at claims the agreement would be 'legally binding' without be written into the treaties.

Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg led criticism by claiming the 'thin gruel had been further watered down' while his colleague Bernard Jenkin talked about 'male bovine excrement'

Wellingborough's Peter Bone, one of several MPs to wear a garish green and black tie promoting the Grassroots Out campaign offered one of the garments to Mr Cameron.

Sir Edward Leigh, MP for Gainsborough, said: 'What is the point of having an emergency brake on your car if the back seat driver - in this case the EU - has the power to tell you when and for how long you should press the pedal?'

And Aldershot MP Sir Gerald Howarth said a 'red card' system which needed 15 parliaments to come together to block a new directive did not 'constitute a fundamental reform of the EU'.

Mr Cameron insisted the deal was 'something new'.

St Albas MP Anne Main told the Prime Minster: 'This is not what the British public wants.'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confirmed that Labour remained committed to keeping Britain in the EU but dismissed Mr Cameron's re-negotiation as a 'Tory Party drama'.

He said: 'For all the sound and fury, the Prime Minister has ended up exactly where he knew he would be making the case to remain in Europe which was what he always intended despite a renegotiated spectacle choreographed for TV cameras over the continent.'

Following his appearance in the Commons, Mr Cameron did a round of TV interviews as he began the job of selling the deal to Britain.

He said he was 'happy to be judged' on what he had delivered - acknowledging he had not got everything he asked for.

But the PM said: 'I'm happy to be judged on what we put in our manifesto and what we are achieving on things people previously said were not going to make progress on.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the deal was about Mr Cameron managing his party. Sir Bill Cash, centre, said the deal was 'inappropriate' and failed to meet concerns. London Mayor Boris Johnson, right, asked a generic question about the detail in the deal

Philip Davies, left, was one of several MPs to don a lime green and black Grassroots Out campaign tie, while Sir Gerald Howarth, centre, and Sir Edward Leigh, right, both asked difficult questions of the PM

'Basically, I set out four things.

'If you come to Britain you won't get unemployment benefit  sorted.

'Secondly, if you don't have a job after six months, you have got to go home  sorted.

'Third, no child benefit. Well, it'll be child benefit but sent home at a local rate.

'And fourth, four years before access to our welfare system. Well, it's four years until full access to our welfare system.

'I would say judge me on those things  they are substantial, they are meaningful, they are not the final word but I think they do make a difference, particular this key value we don't believe in something for nothing.'

Mr Cameron will travel to Poland and Denmark on Friday for fresh talks as he bids to finalise the deal.

The deal will not be finalised before the EU summit on February 18 and 19 - but a confirmed deal there would start the clock for a referendum on June 23.

Mr Cameron's Commons statement came amid growing criticism since the publication of the deal yesterday.

The Prime Minister's remarks risked being overshadowed as the London Mayor again failed to endorse the draft deal.

Mr Johnson told Sky News the PM was 'making the best of a bad job'.

Ahead of the unveiling of Mr Tusk's package on Tuesday, the Mayor said he had 'doubts' about a proposed red-card scheme to give national parliaments more power over Brussels laws.

Asked whether he had changed his mind after seeing the document, he replied: 'I think the position is very much the same as it was yesterday morning, which is a lot more to do on this.

'Let's wait and see when this whole thing is agreed and try to see what it really means - every bit of it.'

Selling the deal: David Cameron, pictured leaving Downing Street today, is making his case for Britain to stay in on the new terms offered by the EU

And last night it emerged that three Cabinet ministers  Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers  are ready to publicly declare for the leave campaign.

However, the PM received a boost when Home Secretary Theresa May effectively ruled out joining them, ahead of the expected June 23 referendum.

The Eurosceptics were scathing about Mr Cameron's failure to secure an outright four-year ban on the payment of benefits to EU workers.

He had to trumpet instead an 'emergency brake' that will only restrict in-work handouts.

The bizarre compromise means migrants will be eligible for tax credits that increase the longer they are in the UK until, after four years, they are on the standard rate.

Critics said this offered them an incentive to stay here longer. It also emerged that MEPs could block the brake after the referendum.

In a second manifesto surrender, Number 10 ditched a pledge to end child benefit for youngsters living abroad.

The handout survives but will be paid at the rate prevailing in the claimant's home country, providing the prospect of bureaucratic chaos.

Andrew Rosindell, Tory MP for Romford, said: 'These proposals are a bit of a slap in the face for Britain. The EU have shown that they simply have no appetite for changing their ways.'

Campaigners at Migrationwatch said the changes were 'unlikely to have any significant effect' on net inflows. Immigration from the EU alone is currently 180,000 a year.

One Government insider said: 'This is a pale shadow of what was already a pale shadow.' Another added: 'Does it stop anybody actually coming here in the first place?'

Eurosceptics: Last night it emerged that three Cabinet ministers  Iain Duncan Smith, pictured left, Chris Grayling and Theresa Villiers, pictured right,  are ready to publicly declare for the leave campaign

On a day of drama:

Mr Cameron admitted his plans would not cut migration to the 'tens of thousands';

The Out campaign continued to hunt for a figurehead after Mrs May declared Mr Cameron had won the 'basis for a deal';

A senior Czech minister said the deal was likely to be signed off this month;

Bookmakers shortened the odds of Britain voting to remain inside the EU to 1/3.

Support for the PM: Home Secretary Theresa May effectively ruled out joining the Out campaign

Eurosceptics fear the Prime Minister is so determined to hold his referendum in June  before the migrant crisis gets worse  that he will be willing to give further ground to Brussels in the next two weeks of haggling before the deal is voted on by EU leaders.

There is also alarm that the emergency brake could take a full year to introduce once the referendum is complete.

After months of negotiations, in which the PM flew thousands of miles to EU capitals, European Council president Donald Tusk yesterday released the basis for a draft deal intended to keep Britain inside the EU.

The short document included pledges to give Britain an exemption from the EU's commitment to 'ever closer union' and boost competitiveness.

Controversial proposals were unveiled for a so-called red card that would allow national parliaments to block some EU legislation if 15 of them join forces. This stopped well short of demands by Eurosceptic Tory MPs for a simple veto.

Other pivotal issues  such as restricting freedom of movement  were never even raised.

Mr Cameron said the proposals were 'worth fighting for' and Britain could have the best of both worlds by keeping access to the single market and a voice around the top EU table, while retaining its independence.

He added: 'Hand on heart, I have delivered the commitments made in my manifesto.'

A decision was taken late on Monday evening that Mr Cameron was going to give a speech at the Siemens factory near Swindon. Labour asked for him to attend the House of Commons yesterday but Mr Cameron had already left.

Europe minister David Lidington responded on behalf of the Government and faced a barrage of angry questions.

Steve Baker, Tory MP for Wycombe, told him: 'This in-at-all-costs deal looks funny, it smells funny, it might be superficially shiny on the outside, but poke it and it's soft in the middle. Will you admit to the House that you have been reduced to polishing poo?'

NEW 'RED CARD' VOTING SYSTEM COULD BE USED AGAINST BRITAIN A 'red card' system letting national parliaments block EU legislation could be used against Britain, it was claimed last night. As part of the British renegotiation, the system was praised by David Cameron as a way for Westminster to block 'unnecessary or unwanted' Brussels laws. But it could also be used by other countries to stop legislation from the European Commission that is in Britain's interests. Under the proposal, revealed yesterday, 55 per cent of national parliaments can club together to block initiatives. However, the system could be complicated as both the House of Lords and the House of Commons would get a vote. Former Tory Cabinet minister Liam Fox yesterday raised the possibility that peers could get in the way of MPs trying to thwart EU legislation. They could gang up with other national parliaments to circumvent Commons attempts to get past the 55 per cent threshold to stop a proposal. He told the Commons: 'As far as I can understand it, the red card system would give a vote to both the House of Commons and the House of Lords as parliamentary chambers. This would open up the possibility of the unelected upper house voting with other European parliaments to force EU legislation upon the elected House of Commons.' British officials believe the red card scheme will be approved by EU leaders at a summit later this month. Germany welcomed the proposal. Ralph Brinkhaus, deputy chairman of Angela Merkel's party, said: 'Better integration of national parliaments will increase EU citizens' acceptance of Europe.' Advertisement

Analysis: A deal full of spin and sell outs

Mr Cameron yesterday claimed the draft deal will secure 'substantial change' in Britain's relationship with the EU. Here, JAMES SLACK examines what he wanted  and what he got.

TAX CREDITS

'Substantial change': The PM speaking yesterday

What he wanted: A ban on EU migrants being paid in-work benefits for the first four years they are in the UK.

What he got: An emergency brake allowing benefits to be restricted for up to four years if our public services or welfare system are under pressure. But there is a huge catch  the EU insists the 'limitation should be graduated, from an initial complete exclusion to gradually increasing access to such benefits'.

In other words, EU workers will lose out on benefits for only one or two years then begin receiving payments until  after four years  they will not lose out at all. Details on when the brake can be pulled are vague but, crucially, the final decision will rest with Brussels.

Verdict: An ugly compromise that campaigners say will make little or no difference to net migration from inside the EU, which stands at 180,000 a year. Three quarters of EU workers get little or no tax credits and, in any case, the new 9 living wage will ensure Britain remains a magnet for workers from low-paid countries. The brake will be implemented only if Britain votes to remain in the EU. Eurosceptics fear Brussels could renege on the promise, or it could be blocked by MEPs.

CHILD BENEFIT

What he wanted: The 2015 Tory manifesto promised that: 'If an EU migrant's child is living abroad, then they should receive no child benefit, no matter how long they have worked in the UK and no matter how much tax they have paid.'

What he got: Child benefit will continue to be paid, but at the same rate as in the child's home country. For eastern European countries in particular, this will significantly cut the bill. However, some officials fear it will be a recipe for chaos  with Government IT systems struggling to cope with paying 28 different levels of child benefit.

Verdict: Better than the status quo but still amounts to the abandonment of a manifesto commitment.

RED CARD FOR NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS

What he wanted: 'National parliaments to be able to work together to block unwanted European legislation.'

What he got: A pledge that, if 55 per cent of national EU parliaments object to a piece of EU legislation within 12 weeks of it being tabled, the council presidency will hold a 'comprehensive discussion' and either amend the proposals or block them altogether.

Britain would need the support of at least 14 other states to make use of the red card. The UK could be easily out-numbered by the 19 members of the eurozone.

Verdict: Heavily spun as a victory by Number 10 but stops well short of the outright veto demanded by eurosceptics, including some Cabinet members.

Taking the heat: Europe minister David Lidington responded on behalf of the Government in Parliament

PROTECTION FROM THE EUROZONE

What he wanted: A mechanism to ensure that 'Britain can't be discriminated against because it's not part of the euro, can't pick up the bill for eurozone bailouts and can't have imposed on it changes the eurozone want to make without our consent'.

What he got: Vague promise that an unspecified number of non-euro states will be able to 'indicate their reasoned opposition' to a eurozone proposal and that the EU's ruling council will then discuss the issue. Britain will not have to pay for any future eurozone bailouts and, where emergency funds are used, they can be recovered  save for admin costs. There was also a pledge to boost competitiveness.

Verdict: France has been resisting the idea that Britain can interfere in the workings of the single currency. Unclear what will happen if no agreement can be reached. Brussels remains adamant that no state should be able to 'veto the effective management of the banking union or the future integration of the euro area'.

PROMISES HE QUIETLY DROPPED Since becoming Tory leader, David Cameron has pledged a series of radical changes to European powers over Britain, only to quietly drop them in the face of resistance. They include: Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2009 Mr Cameron promised a complete opt-out of the charter, which further extends human rights laws.

Social and employment laws. In 2010 Mr Cameron pledged to claw back powers from Brussels, but this was quietly dropped.

Treaty change. Promised 'full-on treaty change' as recently as 2014, but now hopes the moves will be added to a treaty at a later date.

Working time directive. In 2012 he promised to change the law which includes the contentious 48-hour maximum working week.

Common Agricultural Policy. Repeated calls for reform of farming subsidies, but no sign of any change yet.

Waste. In 2009 he promised to end the European parliament's 'absurd' practice of meeting in Strasbourg as well as Brussels. Advertisement

SHAM MARRIAGES

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised 'a continued crackdown on 'illegal working and sham marriages'.

What he got: The European Commission agreed to exclude from free movement rules 'third country nationals who had no prior lawful residence in a member state before marrying a union citizen'. This is crucial in ending the racket of non-EU citizens who would not qualify for a UK visa getting round the rules by marrying somebody from another EU state, often in Eastern Europe, then moving here. Criminal gangs have been charging thousands to facilitate fake ceremonies.

Verdict: A win. Number 10 had suggested Europe was objecting to the crackdown. Home Secretary Theresa May fought hard to ensure it remained part of the package.

EVER CLOSER UNION

What he wanted: Exempt Britain from the commitment in the EU's founding treaty to move toward 'ever closer union'.

What he got: The EU said it was content to acknowledge 'that the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union'.

There was also an acknowledgement that Britain does not have to join the euro  a symbolic gesture since the UK has zero intention of signing up to the crumbling one-size-fits-all currency union.

Verdict: A win  though eurosceptics will believe it when they see it. The change will not be written into the EU's treaties until they are next reopened. No date has been set for this to happen.

NATIONAL SECURITY

What he wanted: The 2015 manifesto promised new powers to 'stop terrorists and other serious foreign criminals who pose a threat to our society from using spurious human rights arguments to prevent deportation'.

What he got: EU rules which allow criminals and terror suspects to be turned away at the UK border will be strengthened significantly. In particular, EU nationals will be turned away even if they do not present an 'imminent' threat. Their 'past conduct' or so-called soft intelligence  police information which stops short of a conviction  will be sufficient to act.

Verdict: A win which followed months of hard bargaining by Mrs May with her European colleagues. Is the basis on which she declared herself largely happy with the PM's draft deal last night  effectively ending hopes she will lead the out campaign.
World leaders meet in London for a Syria conference on Thursday aimed at raising 6billion ($8.75bn) for the humanitarian crisis

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The King of Jordan has warned his country is at 'boiling point' because of the number of Syrian refugees and told the West to help before the 'dam bursts'.

Jordan is hosting more than 600,000 of the 4.6million Syrians who have registered with the UN as refugees since the civil war broke out in the country five years ago.

But the Jordanian government says there are another one million unregistered Syrians living in the country, which has a population of 9.5million, and fear more will arrive due to the estimated 13.5million vulnerable and displaced people who remain in Syria.

Speaking ahead of a key conference on Syria being held in London this week, King Abdullah said the flood of refugees into his country had damaged its education and healthcare systems and urged Western leaders to recognise the huge strain the Syrian conflict is having on his citizens.

Jordan hosts more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, including at the Al Zaatari refugee camp near the city of Mafraq close to the Syrian border

The Al Zaatari refugee camp pictured, is home to more than 80,000 people who have fled the conflict in Syria over the last five years

A conference dedicated to the Syrian conflict hosted in London on Thursday will aim to raise 6billion ($8.75bn) to go to refugee camps such as Al Zaatari, where conditions are often dangerous. A large fire broke out in the camp last year, destroying a large number of tents

The Al Zaatari camp only has a capacity for 60,000 but latest estimates by the UN has put the number of Syrians living there at 80,000

Al Zaatari, one of the biggest camps in Jordan near the city of Mafraq, currently hosts around 80,000 people - the same as Bath in the UK and Napa City in the U.S. - and pictures taken from a helicopter flying over the camp have emerged showing tents and other temporary homes stretching over miles of the Jordanian desert.

Jordan says a quarter of the government's budget is spent looking after refugees.

In an interview with the BBC, King Abdullah said: 'The psyche of the Jordanian people, I think it's gotten to boiling point.

'It hurt us when it comes to the educational system, our healthcare,' he added.

'Sooner or later, I think the dam is going to burst and I think this week is going to be very important for Jordanians to see, is there going to be help - not only for Syrian refugees, but for their own future as well.'

'They realise that if they don't help Jordan, it's going to be more difficult for them to deal with the refugee crisis.'

He added: 'The international community, we've always stood shoulder to shoulder by your side. We're now asking for your help, you can't say no this time.

Pictures taken from a helicopter flying over the Al Zaatari camp have emerged showing tents and other temporary homes stretching over miles of the Jordanian desert

Ahead of a conference on Syria in London this week, King Abdullah of Jordan urged Western leaders to recognise the huge strain his country is under from the 635,000 refugees who have fled from Syria since 2011

The Al Zaatari camp is on the northern border with Syria. Jordan says there are a total of 1.4million refugees in the country, which has a population of 9.5million

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited the Al Zaatari refugee camp, pictured, earlier this week and urged fellow European nations to increase the amount of aid they are contributing to the humanitarian crisis

To judge by the 3,000 refugee-operated shops and businesses within its perimeters there is no lack of entrepreneurial spirit in Zaatari.

They include a pizza delivery service, barbers, hairdressers, greengrocers, coffee shops and even a wedding boutique.

One road is named after the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Around 15.5 tons of bread are distributed daily, according to figures released in December by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Three boreholes provide 3.4million litres of water a day, which is distributed via a network of 82 trucks. In the summer, temperatures can reach 50C in the shade.

King Abdullah of Jordan has come under fire for leaving up to 16,000 refugees stranded in remote area on its northern border with Syria but he has insisted a detailed vetting system is taking place there to ensure none of the refugees are from ISIS

WHERE ARE THE 4.6M REFUGEES WHO HAVE FLED SYRIA? Turkey: 2.5million Lebanon: 1.01million Jordan: 635,000 Iraq: 244 642 Serbia: 276,000 Germany: 184,053 Egypt and north Africa: 150,000 Sweden: 102,870 Hungary: 72,000 Austria: 31,000 Bulgaria: 17,000 Switzerland: 11,000 Norway: 11,000 France: 9,000 United Kingdom: 8,000 Spain: 7,000 Advertisement

King Abdullah rejected claims from the international community that his country had left 16,000 Syrian refugees stranded in a remote desert area near its northern border.

The United Nations has warned that children and vulnerable people are among those suffering from deteriorating conditions in the area.

But the King warned that there were 'elements' of ISIS among the group and said Jordanian authorities were deploying a 'strong vetting system' to ensure extremists are not admitted into refugee camps.

Around 50-100 refugees from the area are being admitted each day, he said.

He told his international critics: 'If you want to take the moral high ground on this issue, we'll get them all to an airbase and we're more than happy to relocate them to your country, if what you're saying is there's only 16,000.'

The Syrian donors' conference will start in London tomorrow and Downing Street has urged participating countries to double the amount of money they have so far contributed to the humanitarian crisis.

Britain is the second largest bilateral donor to the Syrian refugee crisis, having committed more than 1.1billion ($1.6bn) to refugee camps in the region.

It has accepted to take in a limited number of refugees from the camps in the region, with the Prime Minister pledging to take in 20,000 by 2020.

By Christmas the UK had taken in 1,000 Syrians but the Government has been criticised for refusing to take in any of the estimated one million refugees who have already fled to Europe.

David Cameron, who insists the best way to resolve the refugee crisis is to concentrate on helping Syria's neighbours, pledged last month to press the European Union to relax rules on exports for Jordan in a bid to boost its economy.

David Cameron pledged last month to press the European Union to relax rules on exports for Jordan in a bid to help King Abdullah, pictured with Cameron in Amman in September 2015, grow the country's economy

Thursday's donor conference is co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations.

World leaders and representatives of dozens of countries have been invited, along with officials from international organizations, aid agencies and civic groups.

The UN said today that it expects nations to raise 'significant new funding' at the conference and is aiming for a new fund of more than 6 billion.

However, in a similar appeal to raise funds last year, just half of the 4.8billion ($7bn) target was achieved.

He continued: 'We have got a great opportunity on Thursday for the European Union to show that it is up for meeting this challenge, that it accepts its humanitarian responsibility but also that it can recognise self-interest.'

Residents inside the massive camp receive approximately 15.5 tonnes of bread every day to help keep them fed

More than 3,000 businesses have sprung up inside the camp, including a pizza delivery service, barber shops and even a wedding shop

Philip Hammond visited Jordan yesterday, pictured with police officers training at the Al Zaatari refugee camp, to see the work being done with British support

Refugees at the massive camp looked on as the British Foreign Secretary toured the area, which is in the city of Mafraq near the border with Syria

A makeshift shop in the Al Zaatari camp in northeast Jordan, where a huge influx of refugees has put a strain on public services

King Abdullah of Jordan said looking after the estimated 1.4million refugees in Jordan was costing 25 per cent of the country's budget

Thousands of people continue to arrive in Europe every day including this group, pictured, who arrived at a refugee transit centre near northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce today

On a visit to to the Al Zaatari refugee camp yesterday, he warned that less than half of the migrants entering Europe are fleeing the brutal war in Syria.

More than a million people are expected to try and get into Europe this year but he insisted many were economic migrants who should be sent home.

Mr Hammond insisted the link between getting into Europe on a boat and winning the right to stay had to be broken.

He said many people were joining up with the massive refugee flows travelling to Europe - many walking through the frozen Balkans or trying to make the dangerous voyage from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Breaking the link between getting to Europe and winning the right to stay has driven British policy of refusing to resettle migrants and refugees from other European countries to Britain.

Instead, the UK is taking in people identified as the most vulnerable by the UN from refugee camps around Syria.

He said: 'The influx from the region has opened up a flood which includes many people coming from other parts of the world, often via this region but not originating from Syria, not being originally displaced by this conflict.'

He continued: 'There are people from across a wide range of countries.

'And as our Prime Minister has said often, we need to break the link between getting in a boat and being able to stay permanently in Europe.

'The properly ordered way of doing things is they should be returned to their country of origin.

'There is a recognition across the European Union of this, that one of things the European Union is not doing effectively is returning asylum, non-legitimate refugees  promptly to their countries of origin.

'Getting this right is the key to solving this crisis.'

The camp opened in July 2012 and was initially home to just 100 families. But  with half of Syrias 22million people having fled or been displaced or killed  Zaatari has grown rapidly.

The population of 80,000 is similar to that of Daventry in Northamptonshire and only slightly smaller than that of Bath.

Syrian government troops cut rebel supply lines to the key city of Aleppo yesterday.

Covered by Russian planes, President Bashar al-Assads forces blasted their way into two Shia villages breaking a long-running opposition siege.

The regime forces, believed to include Iran-backed Shia militias, have now cut rebel-held eastern Aleppo off from outside help.
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From taking aim with their rifles to learning the best way to dispatch a grenade, these incredible vintage photographs give a fascinating insight into the ways of the Home Guard  and show just how close to reality BBC sitcom Dad's Army really was.

The black and white images have emerged in a new book charting the overzealous, trigger-happy capers of the Home Guard, with close comparisons drawn to those documented in the BBC show.

Norman Longmate, who was a real-life Private Pike having joined his local unit aged 17, researched some of the most farcical tales of the wartime volunteer service for his book - 'The Real Dad's Army'.

These incredible vintage photographs give a fascinating insight into the haphazard capers of the Home Guard  and show just how close to reality British sitcom Dad's Army really was. Pictured: Members of the Home Guard receive rifle training in an undated photograph

The historic images have emerged in a new book charting the overzealous, trigger-happy capers of the Home Guard, with comparisons drawn to those documented in the BBC show. Above: An instructor demonstrates how to use the 'cup discharger' for grenades

Norman Longmate, who was a real-life Private Pike having joined his local unit aged 17, researched some of the most farcical tales of the wartime volunteer service for his book - 'The Real Dad's Army'. Pictured: Members of the Home Guard are seen alighting from a taxi

The book offers an insight into the life of the Local Defence Volunteers. Above: In South Wales, Sgt Bill Davies sets out to mount guard

His tales offer an insight into the haphazard operations of the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) and include;

A senior member who shot at a scarecrow in a darkened field in Cornwall after mistaking it for a German paratrooper.

A platoon commander - a real-life Capt Mainwaring - from Cambridgeshire managed to set the back of his trousers alight while giving a demonstration in how the throw a Molotov cocktail.

A ham-fisted volunteer who fired his rifle by mistake into the bedroom of a house early one morning, waking a sleeping couple with a start.

A corporal in the Ministry of Food Home Guard who nearly killed himself and his comrades by managing to hurl a hand grenade just 3ft to the side of him without realising.

A 61-year-old private in 53rd Surrey battalion avoided a disciplinary hearing by offering to pay for the brand new army-issue boots he melted to a 'charred mass of smouldering leather' while leaving them on a stove to dry after getting them wet on exercise.

An elderly member of a unit of Gloucestershire who boasted a flowing moustache had been freed after jamming his facial hair in the bolt of his new rifle.

And, just like in the classic BBC sitcom, the book lists the mishmash of 'weapons' the volunteers could lay their hands on in the event of a German invasion. They include pitchfork, Napoleonic muskets and even homemade rocket launchers.

One hilarious incident in Newquay involved an officious platoon commander who issued a curfew on local residents only to come across a courting couple near the sea.

When the commander asked them 'do you know you have been in a prohibited area?', the young woman is said to have replied in typical seaside postcard humour 'oh no he hasn't.'

The new book has been published as Dad's Army the movie hits the big screen featuring stars Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Gambon.

The Home Guard was set up in 1940 to serve as a secondary defence force.

It was made up of volunteers who were ineligible for military service either because they were too young, in reserved occupations or too old - which led to the nickname Dad's Army.

If the Nazis invaded Britain their role was to try to slow down the advance of the enemy, even by a few hours, to give the regular forces time to regroup.

The Home Guard was set up in 1940 to serve as a secondary defence force. It was made up of volunteers who were ineligible for the military either because they were too young, in reserved occupations or too old. Pictured: The Home Guard train in the correct use of a bayonet

If the Nazis invaded Britain their role was to try to slow down the advance of the enemy, even by a few hours, to give the regular forces time to regroup. Pictured above: Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, inspects one of London's Home Guard 'flying squads'

The new book comes ahead of the release of a Hollywood film about Dad's Army. Pictured: Home Guard grenade throwing practice

NORMAN LONGMATE: THE 17-YEAR-OLD HOME GUARD RECRUIT WHO HAS RELEASED BOOK ON ESCAPADES Norman Longmate as a 17-year-old recruit to the Home Guard Norman Longmate joined the Home Guard at the tender age of 17. The fresh-faced teen was part of the 3rd Sussex Battalion, Home Guard and served for a year before eventually being called up into the Army at the age of 18. Born in 1925, Norman had a difficult start to life. His family were hard up, as his father had lost everything when his photographer's business went bust. They lived in a cramped council house and when all the family were at home, someone had to sleep on the sofa. 'I spent over two and a half years in the army, where I worked as a clerk, started as a Private, and was promoted to Corporal,' he said. 'After basic military training in Scotland, I was initially posted in and around London, where I spent VE Day, and shortly afterwards was sent to Denmark for two years.' After leaving the military service, Mr Longmate went to Oxford to study Modern History and then completed two years postgraduate research. He later went on to work as a journalist as the lead writer on the London Evening Standard for three months. He was then offered a more permanent post as a features writer at the Daily Mirror in 1953. The father-of-one, who now lives in London and is aged 90, has been working on his book 'The Real Dad's Army' in recent years. Advertisement

Mr Longmate, now aged 90, joined the 3rd Sussex Battalion of the Home Guard.

He was a fresh-faced teen serving alongside older soldiers immortalised by Mainwaring, Wilson, Jones, Frazer, Walkes and Godfrey.

Just like the beloved character Frank, 'stupid boy' Pike Norman joined the Home Guard at 17 and was ranked as a Private.

He says the hit TV series Dad's Army - and the new film released on Friday - reflected what life was really like in the Home Guard.

He recalls how on one morning a solitary patroller encountered, challenged and shot a scarecrow, mistaking it for the enemy.

The father-of-one, from London, said: 'The Home Guard did have a humorous side and many of the examples are clearly rooted in real life experience.

'Of all the armies ever called on to defend Great Britain, the Home Guard was the strangest, the most traditional, the most novel, the most bloodthirsty, and the only one - of its size and firepower - that never actually fought a battle.

'The Home Guard spirit, as Lord Bridgeman put it at the time, 'to a large extent, though not entirely, meant that people would rather do what they wanted instead of what they were told'.

'In the Home Guard persuasion was more common than prosecution. The watchword most valued was comradeship, not discipline.

'The real Dad's Army did, like the Walmington-on-Sea platoon, contain a wide range of volunteers, from experienced ex-soldiers to raw young recruits.

'Entirely unexpectedly, one and a half million men volunteered within the first 6 weeks, and the first commanders, of what was soon re-named the Home Guard, mainly retired officers, despised any such pusillanimous approach..

'Their idea was to engage the enemy at the earliest opportunity, taking pot-shots at airborne troops as they floated to earth and making them fight for every road junction or river crossing.'

Mr Longmate is ex-Private 'F' Company, 3rd Sussex Battalion, Home Guard and served in the for a year before eventually being called up into the Army at the age of 18.

Born in 1925, he had a difficult start to life. His family were hard up, as his father had lost everything when his photographer's business went bust.

After Dunkirk, the village barber carried on during periods on guard duty. He is seen above cutting the hair of a small child as others watch

The Home Guard are pictured in an English pub in this undated image which has emerged in the new book, 'The Real Dad's Army'

Winston Churchill, who created the Home Guard, is seen wielding a Thompson machine gun (left), and author of the new book Norman Longate (right), who joined 'Dad's Army' at the same age as the fictional character 'Pike', is seen right aged 17

DAD'S ARMY: THE DIY BATTLE CAMP WHERE VOLUNTEERS LEARNT THE ART OF 'UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE' The Home Guard was set up in 1940 to serve as a secondary defence force, after Anthony Eden broadcast an appeal for volunteers over the radio. Within a month of the secretary of state for war's appeal, more than one-and-a-half million people had put themselves forwards to serve. The War Office had little resources to train the keen servicemen, so issued a canvas armband and left them until their own devices. However, Picture Post magazine took the issue into its own hands, and set up a battle camp in the grounds of Osterley Park, west London. The training camp, as depicted in the BBC sitcom's second episode called 'Battle School', was funded by the magazine's proprietor Edward Hulton. Picture Post magazine set up a battle camp in the grounds of Osterley Park, west London, which was run by Tom Wintringham (right) Recruits were taught how to use guns, rifles and grenades and were taught the arts of self-defence, camouflage, patrolling, stalking and scouting. Every week, volunteers would spend a few hours learning the essentials of street fighting and guerilla warfare, with experts from the Boy Scouts Association to Labour MPs all on hand to issue advice. The school, which was headed by Marxist and Spanish Civil War veteran Tom Wintringham, was hugely successful for three months and gave the Picture Post plenty of stories. Wintringham's training methods were mainly based on his experience in Spain, and he even brought in veterans who had fought alongside him. The soldier and military historian went on to write several articles in the Post about the Home Guard, using the motto 'a people's war for a people's peace'. Eventually, the War Office agreed to take over the school and it continued to build on the work started by the Post. While it is no longer in use, it's legacy lives on in the BBC's Dad's Army - with those stories from the Post providing the show's writers with realms of material for the sitcom which ran for nine series from July 1968 to November 1977. The Home Guard battle camp was set up in the grounds of Osterley Park, west London. It is pictured above in more recent years Advertisement

They lived in a cramped council house and when all the family were in, someone had to sleep on the sofa.

'I spent over two and a half years in the army, where I worked as a clerk, started as a Private, and was promoted to Corporal,' he said.

'After basic military training in Scotland, I was initially posted in and around London, where I spent VE Day, and shortly afterwards was sent to Denmark for two years.'

After leaving the military service, Mr Longmate went to Oxford to study Modern History and then completed two years postgraduate research.

Later he went on to work as a journalist as the lead writer on the London Evening Standard for three months. He was then offered a more permanent post as a features writer at the Daily Mirror in 1953.

Mr Longmate explained that the Home Guard offered people who were not in the war the chance of participating, and at the same time, filled a gap in Britain's defences.

'The Home Guard was probably most valuable at the very beginning in 1940 when it was called on to do a job well within its powers, to watch and warn,' he said.

'The boost it gave to morale at home was enormous, reflecting the country's sense of having been pushed about by Hitler long enough, and its burning desire to 'have a crack at Jerry'.

'How this unique, democratic, essentially amateur force, so different from the fiercely professional German army, would have fared in battle we can only speculate.

'My own belief - and I saw the Home Guard from inside as a Private, though late on in its history - is that it would not have lasted very long.

'Regular units need to be 'blooded' by experience in action, but by the time we had learned the lessons needed for survival, the battle would probably have moved on.'

His book does not focus on his own experience but on anecdotes from across the country that he has uncovered.

Having been told to watch for German parachutists, the LDV started 'seeing' them everywhere, with barrage balloons reflecting the sun, searchlights shining on clouds and even swans landing in the moonlight being reported the enemy dropping in.

As well as haphazard tales, the book also documents serious incidents. Pictured: A postmen group of Home Guard are seen during training

'The Real Dad's Army' book is out now. Pictured: The Home Guard test the effect of a Molotov cocktail on a dummy tank towed by a car

The Home Guard learn how to shoot down aircraft (left) while, others practice shooting down a German parachutist using a teddy bear

He notes in the book: 'A solitary patroller, armed with a shotgun, having 'spied a stranger standing well out in a large field' challenged and finally shot him, only to discover that the enemy was a scarecrow keeping guard over the farmer's potatoes.

'Other 'parachutists' carefully stalked at this time include sheep, cows and - surely the smallest adversary ever to confront a nervous LDV - a stationary hedgehog mistaken in the dim light for the head of a prostrate and cunningly camoflaged soldier.'

The biggest problem the public had with the force was their enthusiasm for stopping motorists at road blocks.

Exasperated workers could be stopped up to ten times on their journey home and asked for their ID card.

In Buckinghamshire, one car that failed to stop was shot at by the eager sentries. The driver slammed on his brakes and skidded to the side of the road.

A bullet had gone through the back window, between the heads of the two back seat passengers and had grazed the driver, knocking his field service cap off his head and breaking the skin down the parting of his hair.

But the book also documents some serious incidents, with the worst accident being a grenade which exploded during a training exercise, killing six men and wounding 14.

Lieutenant W Foster, 61, of the 7th Wiltshire (Salisbury) Battalion, who had survived campaigns in South Africa and Flanders, was posthumously awarded the George Cross when he lost his life protecting his men on September 13, 1942.

A grenade bounced back into the firing trench and he threw himself on it a second before it exploded, saving the lives of the men around him.

The new book gives a fascinating insight into the haphazard escapades of the Old Guard - and highlights how true-to-life television series Dad's Army was. Pictured: The BBC show, starring James Beck as Private Joe Walker and Arthur Lowe as Captain George Mainwaring

The new book has been published as Dad's Army the movie hits the big screen featuring stars Bill Nighy (above) and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Philip Dean, from Amberley Publishing, said: 'A lot of the book goes into the actual history of the Home Guard but the parts that really scream of the sitcom are the little stories.

'There are some great anecdotes in the book, for example about the LDV arming themselves with whatever they could find.

'So you had men with pitchforks and those with Napoleonic muskets, men with elephant guns from Africa and even homemade rocket launchers.

'In one group in Sussex one of the sergeants was armed with a cavalry sabre and a Crimean musket.

'It was only in about late 1941 they were given proper weapons.

'The book is full of calamitous examples of the Home Guard being a bit overzealous.

'It was the biggest bluff in UK armed forces history, it was never supposed to be a fighting force.

'Considering they were armed militia, the Home Guard often had to contend with Scouts. With space at a premium they would be chucked out of their base quite regularly for the Scouts to hold their meetings.

'It's very funny but the book also shows the patriotic spirit of these men.. It was a source of pride to join the Home Guard if you weren't physically able to join the army.'
A Texan pastor prays for God to strike UFC champion Conor McGregor with a lightning bolt in a surreal new video shared online.

In a stirring sermon, Donnie Romero of the Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth described the Dublin fighter as a 'wicked person' and said any Christian who supported him was 'not right with God'.

It comes after the 27-year-old fighter said: 'Jesus ain't alive is he, so I don't f****** know [if he'd beat him in a fight], maybe he can come back from the dead. I'd still whoop his a**.'

He later said: 'Me and Jesus are cool. I'm cool with all the gods. Gods recognize gods.'

Donnie Romero of the Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth said Conor McGregor was a 'wicked person'

The furious pastor said he hoped God would strike down the Dublin fighter with a lightning bolt in his next bout

His comments infuriated Pastor Romero, a married father-of-six, and he called on God to strike the Irishman dead in his latest bout.

He said: 'I pray that God strikes this guy dead. His name is Conor McGregor and he's the UFC champion. He's on this run of just knocking people out.

'But he got up and said "if Jesus Christ was in the ring with me I'd knock him out".

'And then someone threw that in his face and said "remember when you said you would beat up Jesus in the ring?"

'And he said "me and Jesus are good. And you know why? Because Gods recognize other gods.'"

McGregor is UFC featherweight champion after knocking out previous number one Jose Aldo last December

The 27-year-old mixed martial artist from Dublin has now won 15 fights in a row and will fight next on March 5

The 27-year-old Irishman said: 'Me and Jesus are cool. I'm cool with all the gods. Gods recognize gods'

As he banged his hand on the pulpit to hammer home his point, his congregation let out a collective gasp.

Pastor Romero, who believes in 'zero-compromise preaching', added: 'He's a fighter. He's nothing. He's let money go to his head. He's got pride, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall my friend.

'When things are going good [worldly friends] are behind you, when things go bad they are against you.

'I am going to pray that God strikes him down with a lightning bolt, so everybody in the world who believes the Bible even a little bit will know it was God, it was Jesus, that struck him down.'

'He can just look down and with his little finger go "boom".

Almost shaking with anger and to cries of 'yeah' and 'that's right' from the congregation, he finished: 'He [McGregor] is a wicked person and if you watch him and you're a fan of his and you call yourself a Christian, shame on you, you're not right with God. It's wicked as hell.'

McGregor is UFC featherweight champion after knocking out previous number one Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in Las Vegas in 13 seconds last December.

It was the fastest ever knockout in a UFC title fight.

The 27-year-old mixed martial artist from Dublin has now won 15 fights in a row.
A businesswoman died after she tripped in the road and was run over by a car which then sped away from the scene.

Louise Wolstenholme, 52, fell over and knocked herself unconscious in the street in Bolton - and two vehicles then drove around her rather than offering help.

When a third vehicle, a Ford Focus, hit and killed her, the motorist apparently drove off and parked on a nearby street before abandoning the vehicle.

Tinashe Irvine Chikoto, 22, has now been arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving after he contacted police.

Killed: Louise Wolstenholme, 52, died after being run over by a car when she fell in the street in Manchester

Officers are also appealing to find the drivers of the bus and car which ignored the victim lying in the road following the accident on Sunday evening.

Relatives of mother-of-two Ms Wolstenholme, a keen horsewoman who owned a hair salon, described her as 'a faithful and loyal friend'.

Arrest: Tinashe Irvine Chikoto has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving

Her family called her 'loving mother of Gaz and Brad and future mother-in-law to Vikee. She was mummy to Dougie the dog, partner to Rem and sister to Mark.

'She was loved by all her family, was a loving godmother to Jack and Olivia and was a faithful and loyal friend to many. Louise had a big heart as big as her personality and will be devastatingly missed.'

Her brother Mark Wolstenholme called the accident 'a living nightmare', adding: 'What a sad loss to her sons and partner and me and much loved friends and family.'

Describing the incident which killed Ms Wolstenholme, PC Neil Pennington from Greater Manchester Police said: 'From viewing the CCTV it appears the woman falls backwards as she crossed the road and doesn't get up.

'A single decker bus and two vehicles slow down and drive around her. There was a short break in traffic before another car, a Ford Focus, collided with her.

'We are urging the drivers of these vehicles and anyone else who may have seen the woman prior to the collision, to contact us so we can establish the full circumstances leading to her death.'

Locals criticised the two drivers who passed the prone woman without seeing if she was OK, suggesting that they could have helped save her life.

Family friend Ian Johnson said: 'That bus driver could have prevented this! He could have blocked the road with his bus, radioed in for help.'

Diane Bird added: 'What a sad reflection of today to drive round someone in the road and not stop and at the very least alert an emergency service.'

Louise' Hair Studio in Bolton has been closed since its owner's death, with customers saying they will 'really miss her'.

Passion: Ms Wolstenholme was a keen horsewoman, according to friends who paid tribute to her

Appeal: Police are trying to find witnesses to the incident including two drivers who ignored Ms Wolstenholme

Ms Wolstenholme's friend Christine Kay, who ran the neighbouring shop, said: 'She was vivacious, bubbly, friendly, a very, open, honest girl. She was a good friend. There was nothing bad about her, there was nothing to dislike.

'We've always chatted and kept in touch, we shared a passion for horses. It is a big shock, she is very well thought of in this area and well-known, she is a local girl. She had a lot of local clients. I think they will be devastated.'

Today Tinashe Irvine Chikoto, from Atherton, Greater Manchester, was due to appear at Bolton magistrates' court charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Two flatmates who rented out their 1m north London home on Airbnb returned to find their 8,000 Banksy print stolen and their property trashed.

Jack Clarke, 33, and Dominic Jones, 32, decided to rent out their flat in Islington to make a bit of extra money when Mr Clarke went away to Yorkshire for a wedding.

But they came home to find condoms, laughing gas canisters and cannabis joints strewn throughout the property, while chewing gum and food had been trodden into the carpet.

Two flatmates who rented out their 1m north London home on Airbnb returned to find their 8,000 Banksy print - entitled Leopard and Barcode (pictured) - stolen and their property trashed

Jack Clarke and Dominic Jones discovered condoms, laughing gas canisters and cannabis joints strewn throughout the Islington property, while chewing gum and food had been trodden into the carpet

The thieves had also taken a valuable print by street artist Banksy entitled Leopard and Barcode, which Mr Jones had bought ten years ago with money he received for his 21st birthday.

The picture, which depicts a leopard walking out of a barcode-shaped cage, has soared in price since and is now worth around 8,000. It was the only valuable which the pair had not put in storage.

The two men immediately reported the incident to the police and Airbnb. But they claim the company is dragging its feet and refusing to pass over the details of the suspect.

Mr Clarke, who has owned the flat for six years, added: 'It left me absolutely furious. It is more a violation of your own space.

'I guess I had just been naive with all the good experiences I have had. But when Dom realised the picture had been taken, we thought this is slightly different.'

Mr Clarke, who founded a business called SoleShare, which sells fish across London, said the place was left 'a real tip'.

'They turned the house upside down, knocked lots of pictures off the walls, and stubbed out cigarettes out on furniture.

'I have had big parties here, I am fairly young, I know what it is like. But they didn't even bother tidying anything up. It was just a total lack of respect.

Mr Clarke, who runs his own business, described what he found as a 'tip'. Pictured: Empty alcohol cans and dirty cups and mugs were left littered throughout the flat

'There was food trodden into everything, and it stank. I thought I had come in too early, so I went back into my car and double checked I was not interrupting them.'

Mr Clarke said the user who rented the flat had no rating on the website.

The 33-year-old said: 'He told us he had never used it before but he wanted to treat his fiance to a nice weekend.

'I was going away for a couple of days to a wedding, and I thought it will pay for my trip up to Yorkshire for the weekend.

'It is a nice, kind, sharing community and I have stayed at lots of Airbnb places all over the world. Most of the time what they offer is very good.'

Police are investigating but Mr Clarke said Airbnb had not been 'forthcoming' with information, something the firm denies.

Mr Clarke (left), 33, and Mr Jones, 32, (right) immediately reported the incident to the police and Airbnb. But they claim the company is dragging its feet and refusing to pass over the details of the suspect

The flat, where Mr Clarke has lived for six years, is above a shop on a leafy street in Islington, north London

He said: 'I am sure this is a rarity, but it must happen enough that they have processes in place so they are able to deal with this, and to deal with the police swiftly.

'They are a multi-million pound business, it should take minutes.'

He added: 'The chances of us getting it back are zero. I do not know whether it is a lack of will on Airbnb's part or a complete lack of both parties to communicate properly.

'I said I was quite amazed to hear you have not been forthcoming with the name, address and details of the guy who let it.

'Airbnb got back to me saying they were aggressively pursuing the case, but six weeks of not bothering to speak to the police is not aggressive in my eyes.'

A spokesman for Airbnb said: 'We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour and have removed this guest from our platform.

'We are assisting the police with their investigation and are providing the host with our support.'
The father of Vu's daughter reportedly agreed to let her spend the summer with her mother in the U.S., but she was

The 32-year-old former Playboy Playmate considered 'Asia's sexiest DJ' has found God behind bars, as she fights extradition to France.

Angie Vu has been locked up since November, when she tried to flee the U.S. with her 9-year-old daughter.

The girl's father in France has custody and had agreed to let her spend some time with her mother, but the plan was for her to return to Paris on August 29.

Vu was arrested as she tried to defy that agreement by boarding a plane at JFK Airport bound for China with her daughter on November 4. She told her daughter they were travelling on to Vietnam.

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Stunner: Angie Vu - 'Asia's sexiest DJ' - has spoken out from behind bars, saying she has spent the last three months in lock-up reading the Bible, exercising and avoiding lesbian sex

Abduction: Vu has been in a New York City jail since November 4, when she was arrested trying to flee the country with her 9-year-old daughter

New home: Vu is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, in an open dormitory with about 100 other female inmates

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Vu says she has spent the past three months behind bars fighting temptations and trying to spend her time productively.

'A lot of lesbians around here and a few blondies are hitting on me,' Vu told the Daily News. 'But I prefer to read my Bible for now.'

A judge has denied Vu bail, determining her a flight risk, so she has remained in jail since her arrest. Her next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

France is currently fighting to have her extradited so that she may face parental abduction charges in that country.

Not all bad: A judge denied Vu bail, considering her a flight risk. The Vietnamese stunner says the food in lock-up is 'edible' but there's a real lack of greens. Pictured above sipping champagne at a restaurant in Bangkok

Exercise: Vu says she spends most of her time behind bars exercising, reading the Bible and listening to the radio. Pictured above taking a Citi Bike out for a ride in New York City

Girls: Vu says several girls at the jail have tried hitting on her. The former Playboy Playmate pictured above with a friend at LAVO nightclub in New York

The Vietnamese stunner has spent her time behind bars in an open dormitory with 100 female inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and says prison can be a dangerous place for a celebrity.

'I tried my best not to get in any fight,' she said. 'I thought prison could be much worse, though. Only saw prison on TV, I was ready for gang rape, getting beaten up and vowed to protect my face at all cost. So my social skill became handy.'

Still, it's not all bad. Vu says lock-up has helped get her in shape, the food is 'edible' and she has plenty of time to listen to music.

'I realized how tough I am. I thought I couldn't last for two days and it's now three months,' she said. 'I came to God and got saved so I spent time to pray and read the Bible, too.'
A father has admitted shooting dead his two-year-old daughter and the girl's mother in an early morning attack as they headed to daycare.

Daron Boswell-Johnson was charged on Wednesday with killing second-grade teacher Neshante Davis, 26, and their child, Chloe, at 7am on Tuesday, NBC News reports.

Neighbors heard shouts then gunshots outside Davis's home in Cheverly, Maryland. They found Davis dead on the tarmac and Chloe critically wounded in her car seat. She died later in hospital.

Boswell-Johnson fled the scene leading to a day-long manhunt as police chased a number of viable leads and the community reeled in mourning.

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Tragic: Neshante Davis, 26, (left) was about to drop off her two-year-old daughter Chloe (right) at daycare then head to work shortly before 7am on Tuesday when Chloe's father Daron allegedly shot them both dead

Davis, a second grade teacher, was found dead on the tarmac. Chloe was found critically wounded in her car seat, and died later in hospital. Police have detained Daron Boswell-Johnson, Chloe's father

Her mother Carlen Turner broke down in tears at a vigil in the church where Davis grew up, Cheverly's Community Temple Bibleway Church, on Tuesday night.

'She was my baby and I'm going to miss her and Chloe is my baby,' Turner told Fox 5 News.

Melonie Parker, who mentored Davis at the church's Bible study class, said the shooting has left the community in shock.

'Who can shoot a child?' she asked in an interview with NBC on Tuesday. 'How could you look a child in their face and shoot a child? I don't understand.'

Davis was lauded in her role as a teacher at Bradbury Heights Elementary School.

Davis' mother Carlen Turner (pictured) broke down in tears at a vigil in the church where Davis grew up, Cheverly's Community Temple Bibleway Church, on Tuesday night, saying: 'She was my baby'

Crowds wept at the vigil as the community reels in shock. Davis was an avid churchgoer
Welsh motorists have hit back at a move to put the Union Jack flag on every British driving licence by covering it with stickers of the Red Dragon.

The flag was introduced an all licences issued in England, Wales and Scotland in July 2015 in a bid to 'bring the country together'.

But a firm in Aberystwyth has responded to the change by producing stickers of the Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon flag.

Welsh motorists have hit back at a move to put the Union Jack flag on every British driving licence by covering it with stickers of the Red Dragon (shown above)

The stickers have been produced by Y Lolfa, a publishing firm in Aberystwyth, which branded the introduction of the Union flag as 'completely unfair'

When the move was announced, both the Scottish Saltire and the Welsh Dragon were banned from being put on the licence. The changes do not apply to motorists in Northern Ireland where driver licensing is a devolved matter.

Fflur Arwel, head of publishing at Y Lolfa, which has produced the stickers, said: 'We believe it is completely unfair that Britishness is being imposed upon us in this way.

'People are not given the choice to declare their nationality nor show that they are proud to be Welsh.'

One customer, Meurig Parri, wrote to the DVLA last summer after he received a new licence with the Union Jack.

He said: 'My new licence arrived with the Union Jack on it. I am Welsh, and the flag of my nation is the Red Dragon, not the Union Jack.

'The people of England are welcome to pay tribute to the Union Jack if they so wish, but I fully oppose any decision that forces me to do the same.

'This is what the government in London is trying to do by insisting that a Union Jack be on every new driver's licence. This is a purely political move, by using a document that should be completely apolitical.'

Mr Parri received a response to his complaint from the DVLA, which explained that the decision taken by the government in Westminster to include the Union Jack on driving licenses was 'to strengthen national unity'.

When the move was announced, both the Scottish Saltire and the Welsh Dragon were banned from being put on the licence. The DVLA has warned against using the stickers

The DVLA also warned people against using the stickers, saying it could make it hard to prove driving entitlement to employers and others.

But Ms Arwel said: 'The DVLA's statement does not seem to hold up to scrutiny. The stickers do not remove or alter any information on the licence - they only cover the Union Flag. Means of proving if the licence is valid or not will still be viable.

'The stickers are both versatile and light and will not damage or deface the licence card.

'We have recieved a lot of positive response to our campaign since its launch. People clearly feel very strongly about this. They do not feel that they are being represented by the Union Flag or that their Welsh nationhood is being respected.

David Cameron announced more than two years ago that he wanted to see the UK flag on British photocard licences. A sample of the new licence is pictured above

'That is why we are going to continue to produce and sell the Red Dragon stickers and give people the choice to show they are proud to be Welsh.'

David Cameron announced more than two years ago that he wanted to see the UK flag on British photocard licences.

Ministers have feel that the driving licence is, alongside the passport, the single most widely used identity document in the UK and that it is an anomaly that the card is dominated by an EU flag.

The blue EU flag has been displayed on full UK driving licences since photocards first came into use in July 1998.

An EU directive passed in 2006 requires the EU flag to be on the driving licence as part of the single market, but permits other symbols to be on the card.
The trial by jury began on Monday at Gallatin County District Court

Judge said term 'wrongful birth' was misleading but case could be heard under 'delayed diagnosis and the loss of treatment time'

Hospital denies negligence as they could not have prevented the disease

Evans says she should've been given screening as part of standard of care

Dr William Peters is being sued by a Montana mom because health practitioners failed to diagnose her unborn daughter's cystic fibrosis, denying her a chance to have an abortion

A Montana mother is suing her health care providers because they failed to diagnose her unborn daughter's cystic fibrosis, denying her a chance to have an abortion.

Kerrie Evans of Gardiner is seeking nearly $14.5million in damages from Park Clinic in Livingston, Billings Clinics Bozeman OB/GYN, nurse practitioner Peggy Scanson and Dr William Peters - including $10million for her daughter's medical and psychological care.

The girl, who is now nearly six, has a severe form of cystic fibrosis and one medication needed to treat it costs up to $300,000 a year, court records said.

The case lays bare an emerging medical ethics struggle.

Lawsuits dealing with so-called wrongful births were recently before judges in Washington state and Oregon, while a dozen states prohibit such legal claims.

Evans filed the lawsuit in October 2011, arguing that Scanson should have given Evans a blood test to determine if she was a carrier of cystic fibrosis, under the recommended standard of care.

Evans said she told Scanson that she and her husband were concerned about cystic fibrosis and that they had planned to terminate the pregnancy if the fetus tested positive for serious abnormalities, the lawsuit said.

The couple's attorney claimed that Scanson discussed tests for various permanent and abnormal fetal diseases and gave Kerrie Evans brochures, including one on cystic fibrosis, reported the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Kerrie Evans is also seeking damages from Park Clinic in Livingston (left) Billings Clinic's Bozeman OB/GYN (right) and nurse practitioner Peggy Scanson

Evans said that when she saw the cystic fibrosis brochure, she expressed her and her husbands concern about the disease and that they had plans to abort the fetus if it carried any severe abnormalities.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease in which the cells that produce mucus instead produce thick and sticky fluid that damages the lungs and digestive system.

While each case is different, many patients now live to be adults with proper treatment and care.

This request is against public policy and would set a dangerous precedent Park Clinic

In response, Park Clinic and Scanson said Evans only expressed concern about Down syndrome, apparently failed to read all the information given to her and did not request a blood test to determine if she was a carrier of cystic fibrosis.

Plus, they argued, Montana law does not recognize a 'wrongful birth' as a legal cause of action that would allow Evans to seek damages for the very existence of her daughter.

'This request is against public policy and would set a dangerous precedent,' Park Clinic and Scanson's attorneys said in a motion seeking to dismiss the case.

Judge Mike Salvagni will hear the trial, which began on Monday. He said term 'wrongful birth' was misleading but case could be heard under 'delayed diagnosis and the loss of treatment time'

Lawrence Nelson, an attorney and associate professor of philosophy at Santa Clara University, said Evans' is a malpractice case based upon the lack of informed consent.

In such a case, the plaintiff would have to prove that they would have done something different if they had the 'standard of care' information about their options, he said.

Peters and Bozeman OB/GYN said they did obtain informed consent from Evans.

The clinic and Scanson also argued that they did not cause Evans' daughter to have cystic fibrosis and could not have cured it, so they could not be considered negligent.

District Judge Mike Salvagni rejected the motion to dismiss, saying he was not convinced the case would open the door to a wide range of claims by other parents.

Evans' claims can be compared to delayed diagnosis and the loss of treatment time, Salvagni said.

But he also chided the defendants for using the term 'wrongful birth', which he called misleading and inflammatory.

According to Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the scheduled three-week trial by jury began on February 1 in Gallatin County District Court.

Last fall, the Washington State Court of Appeals upheld a $50million verdict in the case of a couple whose son was born with severe birth defects due to a genetic disorder that the parents specifically asked that he be screened for. Lab mistakes led to incorrect information being given to the parents.
Cowan was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to isolation in 2014

The move was ordered this week by his sentence management team

He is taken daily to Unit S8 where he is 'not under serious risk of attack'

Brett Peter Cowan, 46, is being integrated with up to 60 fellow inmates

Schoolboy Daniel Morcombe's killer is being integrated with other inmates this week after death threats and possible bashings have kept him in isolation for nearly two years.

Brett Peter Cowan, 46, has been spending up to two hours a day interacting with about 60 prisoners at a Queensland jail after his sentence management team, which includes psychologists, decided he would not be at serious risk of attack, according to Seven News.

Cowan was found to be under high risk of being targeted by fellow prisoners after he was convicted in 2014 of killing Daniel Morcombe and sentenced to life in prison.

He was ordered to be segregated from fellow inmates at Wolston Correctional Centre near Brisbane.

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Brett Peter Cowan, 46, is being integrated with other inmates this week after death threats and possible bashings have kept him in isolation for nearly two years

Cowan has been spending up to two hours a day interacting with about 60 prisoners at a Queensland jail after his sentence management team decided he would not be under serious risk of attack

He was convicted in 2014 of killing Daniel Morcombe in 2003 when he was abducted in broad daylight from a bus stop and murdered on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (stock image)

As of this week, Cowan was given the option of being moved to Unit S8, which primarily houses inmates with psychological problems, for periods of time daily  or decline if he felt unsafe.

'He's still at huge risk and is a hated man. All movement in the jail has to be suspended while they bring him from the detention unit to S8,' a prison source said.

'He has had a couple of visits to the unit but knocked a visit back on one occasion because he felt unsafe. He hasn't been threatened to our knowledge while in S8.'

The prison source described Cowan as a 'well-behaved prisoner' and the decision to let him interact with other prisoners could have stemmed from a complaint filed by him.

As of this week, Cowan has been transported to Unit S8 for periods of time daily but can decline if he feels unsafe

Cowan was deemed at high risk of being killed by other inmates when he was convicted and was ordered to be segregated at Wolston Correctional Centre (pictured) near Brisbane

His maximum security cell at Wolston Correctional Centre has a television, shower and toilet

Daniel Morcombe was abducted in broad daylight from a bus stop and murdered on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland back in 2003.

In November, a woman who dated Cowan and described the serial child molester as her first love, spoke publicly.

The woman, who is from NSW, told The Courier Mail she met Cowan in 1988 when she was 17-years-old and he was aged 19.

She said she met the teenage Cowan at a resort on Moreton Island, on the coast of south-east Queensland, when she was on a holiday with friends.

'He's still at huge risk and is a hated man. All movement in the jail has to be suspended while they bring him from the detention unit to S8,' a prison source said

Brett Peter Cowan was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for murdering 13-year-old Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe (stock image)

'It was at night and we were dancing and he came up and started dancing with us,' the woman - 'Natalie' - said.

It was love at first sight for Natalie who would spend the rest of the week with Cowan.

The holiday romance did not end when it came time for Natalie to leave Moreton Island, with Cowan following her back to Sydney.

However, when Natalie introduced her new boyfriend to her parents, they were not impressed.

Daniel Morcombe's parents (pictured) held out hope for more than a decade that his killer would be brought to justice

Daniel's parents have established the Daniel Morcombe Foundation with the aim of helping people keep their children safe (stock image)

She said they hated Cowan, and she struggled to understand why.

Cowan told Natalie he had been accused of indecent dealing of a young boy in Brisbane, but he maintained his innocence and she believed him.

'I was an extremely naive, soft sort of person. He'd never treated me badly. He told me he was innocent and I believed him.'

She said the pair were forced to separate in 1989 when Cowan was extradited to Queensland to face the indecent dealing charge.
After a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump is poised to bounce back with a crushing victory in the New Hampshire primary.

The first post-Iowa poll in the Granite State shows the billionaire leading the Republican field with 38 per cent of the vote  a far larger number than anyone finished Iowa with and 24 percentage points ahead of his closest rival.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is far ahead of Hillary Clinton with a 61-32 lead, but the former first lady and secretary of state is gaining  slightly. She's up two points, and Sanders is down two, since she edged him in Iowa by the thinnest of margins.

WIDE MARGIN: Donald Trump may have finished second in Iowa but he's crushing the Republican field in New Hampshire according to the latest statewide poll

HILLARY WHO? Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is far ahead of former secretary of state Clinton

ON TOP: Trump aims to turn the corner after an embarrassing defeat in Iowa and capture the next political prize in the Granite State

A 7News/UMass Lowell tracking poll of New Hampshire voters now shows Ted Cruz in second place on the Republican side, but with only 14 per cent.

Cruz came from behind on Monday night to capture the Iowa caucuses but has a long way to go before he can repeat that feat in the northeast.

Marco Rubio, who finished a surprisingly strong third in Iowa, is also in third place in the New Hampshire race with 12 per cent  up two points since the last time the 7News/UMass Lowell poll was taken.

Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, has 9 per cent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 7 and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took 6.

Dr. Ben Carson, who slid to fourth place in Iowa on rumors that he was quitting the race, is far back with 3 per cent and shares that low perch with former technology CEO Carly Fiorina.

The retired neurosurgeon slammed the move by the Cruz campaign as a 'dirty trick' and called for consequences.

'What this does is makes me more determined than ever to try to save our country,' Carson said on Fox News on Tuesday.

Rand Paul, who scored just 2 per cent, dropped out of the presidential race on Wednesday morning and will return to Kentucky to focus on his U.S. Senate re-election bid.

Trump on Wednesday afternoon took some time to attack Ted Cruz when asked about the front-runner's admission that people in his campaign had spread a rumor that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

'I think he insulted Ben Carson,' said Trump of Iowa voters being told by Cruz's camp that Carson was out as they went to cast their ballots.

'That was a disgrace. He then said the tactic used by the Cruz campaign was 'dirty' before adding; 'What he did to Ben Carson was terrible.

'When they said Ben Carson is out of the race and come vote for him, I thought it was terrible.'

New Hampshire is a different political animal from the now-familiar but quickly forgotten Iowa prairies.

A near-majority of Iowa Republicans consider themselves evangelical Christians, favoring Cruz and explaining Trump's late emphasis on church attendance and his childhood Bible.

New Hampshirites in the GOP, however, are far more secular and focused on the economy and foreign policy, not on social issues.

BERNING UP THE POLLS: Sen. Bernie Sanders is polling nearly twice the support of Hillary Clinton

SECOND FIDDLES: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (left) and Democratic former secretary of state Hillary Clinton (right) both won their party caucuses in Iowa but look to have more limited ambitions in New Hampshire

Clinton's natural advantage in Iowa  her finely tuned door-knocking ground game with lessons learned through decades in national politics  won't mean much in the Granite State, which is more media-driven and whose terrain makes remote parts of the state difficult for canvassers to access.

Sanders, too, has a built-in edge since he's from neighboring Vermont. No Democratic presidential candidate fro a state bordering New Hampshire has ever lost a New Hampshire primary when running against someone other than an incumbent president.

His 29-point lead over Clinton is larger than the spread of any New Hampshire Republican poll released since the 2016 race began.

Trump sees New Hampshire as a must-win state, and a collapse there  meaning a failure of the real estate tycoon to win either of the first two contests  would put added pressure on him going into South Carolina.

Sanders, too, feels pressure to put New Hampshire into the 'win' column after coming up narrowly short in Iowa.

Clinton is seen as having a 'Southern firewall,' a built-in advantage for the one-time Arkansas first lady in Deep South states, which will help her stop the bleeding if Bernie wins big in New Hampshire.
A British grandmother who moved to Australia seven years ago to be with her only family is facing deportation because immigration chiefs say she is 'too ill' to stay.

Fran Davies, 75, emigrated from Hartlepool, South Tyneside, to be with loved ones in Perth following the death of her husband.

But the grandmother-of-four, who has a blood disorder, faces being sent back to the UK after her bid to turn a temporary bridging visa into a full one was declined on health grounds.

Officials have deemed Mrs Davies a burden to the country's healthcare system.

Fran Davies moved to Perth, Australia, after the death of her husband but is now threatened with deportation due to her own health. She is pictured with grandchildren Joseph, 17, and Jessica, 14

Mrs Davies said: 'Come on Australia - you can do better than this. Are they heartless enough to do that to me? I don't know how long I would last in England.'

She has appealed against the decision and her family, including children Karen Brabham, 51, and Kevin Stevens, 47, have launched an online petition to try and persuade the Australian government to let her stay.

Mrs Davies, who was married to Brian Davies and ran Brus Hardware shop in Hartlepool, developed the blood disorder around 18 months after moving to Australia in 2009.

She has had numerous blood transfusions and the cold can make the condition worse. She also has arthritis.

He daughter Karen said she is worried about the impact that being deported could have on her mother's already fragile health.

She said: 'The thing that worries us most is if she is sent back to a cold climate it wouldn't be very good at all.

'This decision is causing her a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights. She is really frightened to go back to nothing.

She has appealed against the decision and her family, including children Karen Brabham, 51, and Kevin Stevens, 47, have launched an online petition to try and persuade the Australian government to let her stay

'To do that to mum when she is like she is with no family and all the financial burden it's going to cause her is just cruel.

'Mum was a very well liked person in Hartlepool. I'm sure a lot of people remember her. We are making a plea with people to go onto the website and sign the petition.'

She said: 'My house went, all my furniture. I have no-one. I can't imagine getting off a plane at Newcastle airport and nobody to pick me up and no home, so what would I do?'

Mrs Davies, who receives a British pension and pays for her own medicine, is also a member of her local church where she makes clothes for poor children in other countries.

Appealing to the Australian authorities she added: 'l just want them to have some compassion for me and my family.

'I've got a home, I've got a roof over my head and a bed to lay down in. And I've got my family.'

The Australian Immigration Department said in a statement: 'A visa cannot be granted where the applicant fails to meet the health requirement.

'The health requirement is an objective assessment to determine whether the care of the individual in Australia would likely result in significant costs to the Australian community or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply.'
Diesel the police dog who died during a counter-terror raid in Paris in November was shot dead by an officer's bullet, it has been claimed.

The Belgian Shepherd was killed as police stormed a flat in the French capital on November 18 - three days after ISIS extremists had murdered 130 people in the city.

But now it has been claimed that the seven-year-old animal was struck by friendly fire as French officers were targeting the so-called mastermind of the mass killings days earlier.

Diesel the police dog who died during a counter-terror raid in Paris in November was shot dead by an officer's bullet, it has been claimed

Diesel, who was honoured with a bravery award for his actions, was credited with saving lives after he was sent in to the building to sniff out booby traps amid attempts to target Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

There were reports at the time that he died when a woman came out firing an AK-47 at police and then detonated her suicide vest.

However, later investigations revealed the three extremists inside may only have had a single handgun between them - with just nine rounds of ammunition.

Mediapart quoted a senior police source as saying that, amid chaotic scenes, at least 40 bullets rained down on police shields - likely to have been fired by their own officers - during which the animal may have been killed.

Diesel's death sparked a wave of mourning across social media, under the Twitter hashtag #JeSuisChien.

Diesel, who was honoured with a bravery award for his actions, was credited with saving lives after he was sent in to the building to sniff out booby traps amid attempts to target Abdelhamid Abaaoud (pictured)

The Belgian Shepherd was killed as police stormed a flat in the French capital on November 18 - three days after ISIS extremists had murdered 130 people in the city. Police are pictured at the scene

The hashtag, which means I am a dog and was trending on Twitter, is a reference to the worldwide cry of solidarity 'Je Suis Charlie' in the wake of the terror attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine in January.

Vet charity PDSA said Diesel was to posthumously receive the Dickin Medal, recognised as the animal equivalent of the military's highest honour.

One police handler said it was 'a little like losing one of our colleagues' while a Twitter user said Diesel had 'died to defend our colours'.

In the wake of Diesel's death, Russia showed its solidarity with France - by donating a new puppy to carry on Diesel's memory.
An Illinois woman has been charged with first-degree murder after police say she killed her husband with a poisoned smoothie and then attempted to commit suicide.

Julia Gutierrez, 53, of Geneva, appeared before a judge for a bond hearing Tuesday in connection to the slaying of her husband of 31 years, Eduardo Gutierrez.

According to the Kane County State Attorney's Office, sometime between January 26 and 28, Mrs Gutierrez served her spouse a fruity beverage spiked with the prescription sedative Temazepam, which is commonly used to treat insomnia.

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Bizarre crime: Julia Gutierrez, 53 (left), has been charged with first-degree murder in the poisoning death of her husband of 31 years, 53-year-old Eduardo Gutierrez, in Geneva, Illinois

Police performing a welfare check found Mr Gutierrez dead inside his Crissey Avenue home in Geneva on January 28

Murder weapon: Prosecutors say Mrs Gutierrez served her spouse a smoothie spike with a fatal dose of the insomnia drug Temazepam, which she then took herself in a failed suicide attempt

Temazepam is the generic version of the brand-name drug Restoril.

Unaware of the drug's presence in his drink, Mr Gutierrez consumed it and passed away as a result. He was 53 years old.

Shortly after 6pm on Thursday, police in Geneva got a call asking them to perform a welfare check at 39 Crissey Avenue, reported the station ABC 7 Chicago.

Officers who responded to the residence discovered Eduardo Gutierrez dead inside.

His wife was also home at the time and was taken to a hospital for treatment. On Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that the woman had attempted to take her own life by taking a high dose of the same sedative that killed her husband.

She was later transferred to the Kane County Jail and placed on suicide watch.

So far, there is no word on a possible motive behind the fatal poisoning.

During the bond hearing Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion asking a judge to deny Gutierrez bail, contending that she poses a threat to herself and others, according to the Chicago Tribune.

If convicted of the first-degree murder, Gutierrez could face up to 60 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mrs Gutierrez is a retired school bus driver. Her husband earned a living by doing odd jobs around their Geneva neighborhood

Friends described the victim (center) as a compassionate man who was heavily involved in charity work and was an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Mrs Gutierrez worked as a school bus driver in Geneva between 1992 and 2004, while her husband performed odd jobs for homeowners in the neighborhood.

According to his obituary, Gutierrez and his wife celebrated their 31st anniversary just over a month before his death. Mr Gutierrez is survived by six brothers and sisters.

William Barclay, a friend of the victim's, told the Daily Herald that the 53-year-old man was heavily involved in charity work, enjoyed taking part in local races and was an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Another friend, Monica Ogen, said Gutierrez was always ready to help anyone in need.
A convicted killer serving six life sentences for his role in the Houston Mass Murders has a Facebook page, it has emerged.

The news of Elmer Wayne Henley Jr's social media profile has sparked outrage more than 40 years after he was found guilty of helping Dean Corll - The Candy Man - murder at least 28 teenage boys.

Possibly through the help of a pen pal, 59-year-old Henley posts bizarre musings on the page, and responds to gushing messages posted on his wall from loved-ones.

He also posts pictures of his own artwork and an eerie jewelry range, with links to a Texas-based website where they sell for hundreds of dollars.

It has drawn fury from victim support groups and law enforcement, who have launched an official review as they call on Facebook to remove the profile.

Controversy: This is a screengrab of Elmer Wayne Henley's Facebook page, which has sparked outrage

Henley was 17 when he was detained in 1973 (left) after years of mysterious disappearances of teenage boys across Houston, Texas. He helped Dean Corll, The Candy Man, (right) lure 28 boys to be tortured and killed

'From my perspective, since he silenced the voices of over 28 young boys: His voice through social media should also be silenced,' Andy Kahan, Houston's victims assistance officer, said.

'What it does is it continues to give him infamy and immortality, which he richly doesnt deserve,' he told Daily Mail Online.

'It says he's a public figure. A public figure for what? For marching 28 teenage boys to their deaths? He knew they were going to be sexually tortured and murdered.

He silenced the voices of over 28 young boys: His voice through social media should also be silenced Andy Kahan, Houston's victims assistance officer

'It makes him feel relevant. It makes him self-important. And it just keeps his name and his ideology out there.'

One of Henley's posts reads: 'Hatred is corrosive. Whether it is hatred of things or others or even oneself. Hatred eats at your insides and rusts your soul. Turn from hatred and choose to see beauty and love.'

His profile features family photos and jovial profile pictures, including one which has a filter to make him look like Santa.

And his jewelry items include a necklace made up of a blood-stained dagger attached to a chain.

Henley was 17 when he was detained after years of mysterious disappearances of teenage boys across Houston.

He and his school friend David Brooks had spent two years colluding with an older man, Dean Corll - carrying out robberies for small payments, then eventually luring victims to their death.

Corll was nicknamed the 'Candy Man' because he gave young boys sweets from his family's business.

Between 1970 and 1973, Henley and Corll and Brooks abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 28 young men.

Henley shot Corll dead in 1973. Brooks is still serving a life sentence.

Now locked up in the notoriously-tough Michael Unit in Anderson County, Texas, Henley has been denied every parole appeal since he first became eligible in 1980.

He is barred from using the internet in his cell.

Investigators suspect he is in communication with somebody over the phone or via letters, telling them what to post.

His profile displays the astounding amount of support Henley has garnered years on from his conviction.

His profile features family photos and jovial profile pictures, such as this one with family members

Henley even got to celebrate Christmas via the internet, by fashioning this Santa-themed profile photo

He posts photos of his eerie jewelry range, with links to a website where they sell for hundreds of dollars

In 1994, Henley was urged to start painting by an art dealer in Louisiana. The move sparked controversy when his work was exhibited and sold by a group that specializes in convicts' art. Now he promotes it on Facebook

The most frequent visitor to his page is a woman named Gayle who lives in New South Wales, Australia. Since early 2015, Gayle has posted regular messages, calling him 'sexy legs', 'sweetness', and 'my darling friend'

The most frequent visitor to his page is a woman named Gayle who lives in New South Wales, Australia, according to her profile.

Since early 2015, Gayle has posted regular messages, calling him 'sexy legs', 'sweetness', and 'my darling friend'.

In 1994, Henley was urged to start painting by an art dealer in Louisiana. The move sparked controversy when his work was exhibited and sold by a group that specializes in convicts' art.

Responding to news of the profile, Jason Clark, a spokesman for the prison system, told KHOU: 'Weve reached out to Facebook and told them that this is against their policies. Someone started it under his name.'
Flight: An American rendition flight flew over Scotland in a quest to find Edward Snowden, it was claimed today

A secret American flight sent to capture Edward Snowden flew over Scotland in a last gasp effort to intercept him, it was claimed today.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond is among critics who today demanded answers about the flight, said to have crossed Britain as Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow three years ago.

The NSA spy, considered a traitor by the United States, was one of the world's most wanted men at the time.

After an arrest warrant was issued by the CIA a jet used by America for rendition flights was sent to Europe on June 24 as part of a plot to intercept Snowden as he crossed the world.

Scottish investigative journalist Duncan Campbell says that the jet crossed Scotland via the Outer Hebrides, the Highlands and Aberdeenshire at 45,000 feet with no set destination.

The 20-seater plane, N977GA, allegedly stopped in Copenhagen where the Danes were asked to use America's Espionage Act to arrest Snowden if he arrived there, according toThe National.

At the time it was believed Snowden may be about to fly on from Moscow to South America to avoid extradition.

The same plane was used a year earlier to fly hate preacher Abu Hamza to America from Britain for a terror trial.

Alex Salmond, now the SNP foreign affairs spokesman who was First Minister at the time, said: 'Any country, particularly an ally, should be open about the purposes of a flight and the use of foreign airspace or indeed airports.

'What we need to know now is, was this information given to the U.K. government at the time. If so, then why did they give permission? If not, then why not?'

History: The same plane was used a year earlier to fly hate preacher Abu Hamza to America from Britain for a terror trial (pictured at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk in October 2012)

Green MSP for Glasgow Patrick Harvie added: 'It will certainly raise suspicions that an aircraft previously identified as involved in rendition flew through UK airspace at that time.

'We have a right to know what U.K. and Scottish authorities knew about this flight given it is implicated in the U.S. response to whistleblowing about global surveillance'.

Edward Snowden became one of the worlds most wanted men in 2013 when he stole classified documents from the U.S. National Security Agency.

HOW SNOWDEN BECAME THE MOST WANTED MAN IN THE WORLD Edward Snowden claimed internet history, emails, text messages, calls and passwords were harvested by spies - and stole data he believed proved it. And he made the highly damaging claim revelation that the U.S. had hacked Chinese computers and the communications of allies such as Germany and France. The defence contractor claims he had to act because the US governments policies were a threat to democracy - but America consider him a traitor and he would face decades in jail if he ever returned. He fled justice in the US to Hong Kong, then Russia, where he was granted asylum. Snowden is now stranded in Moscow as a fugitive after America took away his passport. In the past, GCHQ agents could listen in as terrorists used email, in-game communication, social networking and chat-rooms to communicate. Snowden has revealed so much about how British spies work he has left the UK wide open to Al Qaeda attacks, it has been claimed Intelligence chiefs believe terrorists have changed their methods after the whistleblower exposed how GCHQ was listening in on them. Intelligence chiefs believe he is now a puppet' passing details of military capabilities, operations and tactics to Putin's henchmen, although he denies taking any classified material to Russia. Advertisement

Snowden, who was a computer specialist at an intelligence centre in Hawaii, tricked colleagues into handing over passwords so he could copy up to 1.7million documents in one of the biggest leaks in US history.

He also leaked details of attempts by state spy agencies  including Britains GCHQ  to view citizens private information.

Today the Government declined to comment and the Scottish Government said it could not comment for legal reasons.

A spokesman said: 'There is already an ongoing Police Scotland investigation, directed by the Lord Advocate. This investigation will seek to gather all available evidence of rendition flights using Scottish airports. As this is a live investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further'.

America does carry out the rendition of terror suspects, so they can be interrogated in other countries with less stringent human rights regulations.

In 2014 it emerged that secret Foreign Office files detailing CIA rendition flights on UK territory were accidentally destroyed.

Mark Simmonds claimed that documents about US prisoners flown in and out of the British island of Diego Garcia had been water damaged.

He said officials had recently noticed the damage to the logs, which he said was caused by a roof leak during heavy weather.

Documents uncovered after the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya in 2011 suggest the US sought to use Diego Garcia as a stopover during the 2004 rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhadj, a leading Gaddafi opponent, and his pregnant wife.

Mr Simmonds said officials had recently noticed the damage to the logs, which he said was caused by a roof leak during heavy weather.
In an age when disagreements between motorists can so easily descend into foul-mouthed acrimony, or even violence, a refreshing video has emerged of a very English stand-off this week in leafy Herefordshire.

The amusing footage features a middle-aged woman having an argument with a male driver after the pair found themselves facing off on a tight road.

In the video, filmed in Ledbury on Monday, the woman and the man, who is in his car and filming the row, are arguing over how they can pass on the narrow road - and who, if anyone, should budge.

Not budging: Amusing footage has emerged of a woman having an argument with a driver after the pair found themselves facing off on a tight road. The video filmed in Ledbury, Herefordshire by the man, who is in his car

'It is illegal to reverse onto a main road,' the man says, apparently reluctant to go back the way he has come, 'there's plenty of room for two cars.'

'There is not room for two cars' the woman disagrees pointedly.

Unperturbed by his filming the incident she declares, 'You can take as many photographs as you like.'

'It's a video actually,' the man points out

'Well that doesn't really matter to me, I'm not bothered. I'm not moving,' she retorts

The man defends his situation by saying he drives up the road twice a day and knows there's room for two cars.

But they don't see eye to eye.

'The road has been particularly put out' to be a one way street she debates, although the man disagrees.

Unperturbed: The woman declares: 'You can take as many photographs as you like.' 'It's a video actually,' the man points out. 'Well that doesn't really matter to me, I'm not bothered. I'm not moving,' she retorts

'You shouldn't have come in should you,' she says, leaning forward, 'you could see me coming down, I watched you!'

'It was too late!' the man objects but the woman perseveres with saying she watched his actions.

'Well you can stay here all night I'm not moving,' she announces, clearly not willing to budge either her car or her view on the matter.

It doesn't look like there was much of a solution as the woman can be heard saying: 'I've got just as much determination as you, I can assure you,' as she strides back to her blue car.

'And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the British public these days,' the man ends the video.

Who blinked first is not known.
A woman who suffered a brutal assault by a police officer has been found dead in her prison cell.

Sarah Reed, 32, was punched three times and dragged by the hair by officer James Kiddie in a horrific attack at clothing store Uniqlo in Regent Street, London, which was caught on CCTV.

The 45-year-old Metropolitan Police officer was convicted of the assault in 2014 at Westminster Magistrates' Court and given a 12-month community order and kicked out the force.

Ms Reed, who was being arrested on suspicion of shoplifting at the time of the attack, has now been found dead at Holloway Prison in Islington, north London.

She was said to have been found unresponsive in her prison cell last month.

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Sarah Reed, 32, who was punched three times and dragged by the hair by police officer James Kiddie in a horrific attack at clothing store Uniqlo in Regent Street, London, has been found dead at Holloway Prison

Ms Reed was being arrested on suspicion of shoplifting at the time of the brutal attack in November 2012

She was found unresponsive in her prison cell last month, according to police

James Kiddie, a 45-year-old Metropolitan Police officer, was convicted of common assault in 2014 at Westminster Magistrates' Court and given a 12-month community order. He is seen above punching Ms Reed

According to civil rights campaigner Lee Jasper, she was being held on remand over an incident at a hospital where she was being treated for mental health problems. An investigation has now been launched.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'HMP Holloway prisoner Sarah Reed was found unresponsive in her cell at 8am on January 11.

'Prison staff attempted CPR, but she was pronounced dead shortly after.

'As with all deaths in custody, the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation.'

Ms Reed will be buried in a private family ceremony on February 8.

Her death comes four years after she was subjected to the assault by Kiddie, who was branded 'dishonest' and 'scheming' by a judge after he tried to claim Ms Reed had provoked his behaviour.

Father-of-two James Kiddie (above outside court in 2014) was sacked from the Met Police and convicted of common assault for the attack on Ms Reed

The married father-of-two was given a 12-month community order, told to complete 150 hours of community service and pay 500 in costs after being found guilty following a three-day trial.

Despite his conviction, he tried to appeal the decision, claiming Ms Reed had threatened him with violence and had tried to bite him before he attacked her.

A judge later rejected his version of events after it emerged he had tried to convince a witness to corroborate his claims.

In horrific video footage of the attack, Kiddie can be seen forcing Ms Reed into a chair before grabbing her head and dragging her by the hair on the floor. He had been called to the Uniqlo store by the store's security guards who detained her on suspicion of shoplifting.

In the video footage, Kiddie is also seen to punch Ms Reed in the head three times as she lies cowering with her arms in front of her face.

Kiddie claimed Ms Reed had bitten him after telling him she was infected with the AIDS virus.

He told his trial that his strikes against Ms Reed were 'half power' and he had not wanted to hit her.

Pointing to the CCTV footage, Kiddie had said: 'She is now biting into my index finger and she's telling me she's got the AIDS virus.'

'I didn't want to break a lady's nose... I didn't want to hurt her somewhere that is going to damage,' he said.

Scotland Yard said fellow officers who had viewed the CCTV footage had been concerned by the level of force used by Kiddie during the arrest and had reported the incident to the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).

Prosecutor Rupert Kent told the court that Kiddie had no previous convictions, but the Met officer had two previous disciplinary findings of 'incivility' against him on his police record.

He was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission for deploying CS Gas during a UK Uncut protest on Oxford Street in January 2011.

Following his conviction for common assault, he was dismissed by the Met Police.

A spokesman said at the time: 'PC Kiddie's behaviour that day, which was identified and reported by another officer, was wrong. For that he has been held accountable. There is no place in the Metropolitan Police Service for officers and staff who do not uphold our values.'

Kiddie claimed Ms Reed had bitten him after telling him she was infected with the AIDS virus before he launched the sickening attack. He is seen holding Ms Reed's head to the floor after dragging her by the hair
I can always spot a man who has had an affair. They have a tell. Just as in poker.

Paul Hollywood from Bake Off is a great example. There is even less chance of him keeping his sausage in its roll, than of Mary Berry running naked through the tent with a glace cherry on each nipple.

The tell is in the eyes, because eyes can't lie.

Katie Hopkins said David Cameron, pictured yesterday talking to group of Siemens plant workers, failed to secure Britons a proper deal from Europe

So I felt for David Cameron yesterday as he stood in front of a group of Siemens plant workers, explaining how he got what he asked for from Europe.

He reminded me of the dodgy chap at the market who sells meat from a van.

Even his eyes knew his mouth was lying.

As a committed Eurosceptic, he must have wondered how he ended up in this awkward position, defending the very thing he hates. Europe is 'too big, too busy, too interfering' he said.

MailOnline's hard-hitting columnist (pictured) said it is not so much what Mr Cameron got that didn't get that matters

Mums understand. I often wonder how I ended up in the position of telling my children to be polite to fat kids who cant run, when really a little incentive to get cracking might be just the thing they need.

I'm already bored with the details of the deal. What will we have to pull to get the emergency brake on our in-work benefit system to squeal into action? How can we prove we have reached a point of exceptional pressure?

It smacks of nonsense personal goals set by departments working at the fluffy end of an organisation. Increase diversity by quite a lot. Increase staff retention by as much as we can. How will we know when anything has actually been achieved?

Other concessions are clearer cut. We are off the hook for any future bail-outs of Euro-zone countries. And we are no longer duty bound to ever closer political integration into Europe.

Donald Tusk has formally recognised we dont use the Euro as our currency. Well excuse me if I dont weep with gratitude. Whatever next! Dave the Rave will ask for Europe to acknowledge I am an outspoken, horse-faced old bat, and expect a knighthood.

He did achieve two clear wins. Terrorists deemed to represent a genuine and serious threat to our safety can be deported without spurious claims to human rights violations.

And we are free to try to stop sham marriages. Now we just need the police resources to sit and wait at the register office for a couple who look about as much in love as Charles and Di.

Honestly, can you hear us? Celebrating our right to decide Mahmood and Gwendoline arent a match made in heaven but a deal struck in the back of a van.

In truth, is not so much what Dave got, as what he didnt get that matters.

Did Dave reach an agreement to stop in work benefits for migrants for four years? Realistically, no we did not.

Ms Hopkins says she can always tell when a man is lying, including Bake Off's Paul Hollywood, who admitted having an affair with his co-host. He is now reunited with his wife

Did we get an agreement to stop your taxes paying for the huge brood belonging to Murat left behind in Albania with his four wives? No, we did not. Well keep paying at Albanian rates.

And as for creating our own rules for our own country. Forget it. For that to happen you would need over half of Europe to agree on something at speed. Which is a bit like asking people in Ugg boots to run.

Donald Tusk (pictured), European Council President, has formally recognised we dont use the Euro as our currency - but Ms Hopkins says this is not worthy of celebration

The big fat truth of the matter is if I walked down the High Street and asked people what they wanted from Europe it wouldnt be any of these things.

People arent concerned by the obscure possibility we might be able to reduce in-work benefits for migrant workers if we can pull an emergency brake.

We want to know we are contributing their taxes to make Britain a better place, to provide for our families and to keep the UK true to the culture we grew up to love.

We want to know all the migrants Merkel welcomed into Germany are not going to be given European passports and allowed to travel freely to the UK to take from the system we pay into.

After a night mopping up our childs vomit, holding his hot little head, we want to know we can get a same day doctors appointment. Or a place for him at a school just down the road.

All these things are the really things that matter to us.

And you see Dave, for all your details and babble, you didnt get us those things. You acknowledge you arent going to be able to cut net migration to less than 100,000 a year.

And that was what worried us the most. Because for every primary school age child entering this country on benefits, one of our own children gets shoved further down the queue.

Ive a feeling if I stood on a stump in the Jungle at Calais, and read out the changes to our relationship with Europe Dave announced this week, theyd laugh in my face as they picked my pockets.
Playboy fraudster Ray Nevitt, 52, who spent a decade on the run after swindling 3.25million to fund a luxury lifestyle of gambling and fast cars, is today behind bars

A playboy fraudster who spent a decade on the run after swindling 3.25million to fund a luxury lifestyle of gambling and fast cars is today behind bars.

Millionaire Ray Nevitt, 52, described by a judge as a 'svengali-like figure' - used the stolen cash to fund a jetting setting champagne lifestyle.

But today Nevitt - who was flown back to the UK having been extradited from South Africa where he was arrested last May with two false passports - was ordered to serve his original 45-month sentence and a further 10 years.

He later claimed he was 'relieved to back' due to his prison cell in Cape Town being a 'hell hole.'

The tycoon - who rubbed shoulders with celebrities including Damon Hill, Vic Reeves and Ruby Wax - used to run Manchester based computer company group Ravelle Ltd but fled the UK in 2006 after it collapsed with debts of 6.4m.

Inquiries revealed married Nevitt - who loved gambling at casinos in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas - bought a fleet of cars including a 100,000 Ferrarri F355 which he wrote off at 150mph during the Gumball Rally.

He was first convicted of defrauding the taxpayer in 2006 - but disappeared after being bailed by a judge following pleas from his lawyers.

International arrest warrants were issued for the industrialist who left behind two directors to face the firm's demise and he was branded one of Britain's most wanted men.

In 2008 Nevitt, who used to live in a 600,000 detached house in Whitefield in Manchester, was convicted in his absence of fraudulent trading and was given a 45-month prison sentence.

But on Tuesday he was flown back to UK having been extradited from South Africa where he was arrested last May with two false passports.

He enlisted the help of lawyer Nick Freeman - dubbed 'Mr Loophole' due to him exploiting legal technicalities to acquit celebrity clients.

Today at Manchester Crown Court Nevitt was ordered to serve his sentence plus a further 10 years for failing to back 1.6m.

Nevitt featured on TV documentaries alongside Damon Hill and Vic Reeves, taking part in the Gumball Rally, an international road-race across Europe, patronised by the rich and famous.

Dripping in gold chains and medallions, Nevitt wrote-off his white Ferrari, registration number L1000NEY - after somersaulting through the air at 150mph and landing in a field in 2000 in Latvia.

He walked away unscathed and TV pictures showed Ruby Wax interviewing him immediately after the crash.

He later had the Ferrari brought back to UK and threw a champagne reception for his friends with the wreck parked outside the bar.

Nevitt, from a wealthy family of jewellers, had set up the Ravelle group based at Trafford Park Manchester in 1991, which sold second hand computer parts to the PC maintenance industry.

The group - which had three companies - was successful at first, but began to falter, in part because he began to spend more effort enjoying a lavish lifestyle, concentrating on 'wining and dining'.

Witnesses told the court he 'had a problem understanding what was company money and what was his money,' enjoying trips to Las Vegas, Monaco, Verbier and Singapore, on the company credit cards.

Nevitt wrote-off his white Ferrari, registration number L1000NEY - after somersaulting through the air at 150mph and landing in a field in 2000 in Latvia

He walked away unscathed and TV pictures showed Ruby Wax interviewing him immediately after the crash.

He also indulged his other passion for fast cars, buying company cars for himself including a Ferrari and three BMWs - one with the reg number M1NGE.

Police began investigating the 'Ravelle Group' of companies, including PC2GO Ltd and 'Just Printers Ltd' in 2001.

The case had been referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) by Greater Manchester Police in June 2001 following concerns expressed by the administrative receivers of Ravell.

The fraud centred around the creation of false sales documents and a complex web of inter-company transactions which were designed to deceive factoring companies, IBM and Barclays, into providing finance to the Ravelle Group.

As Nevitt's firms were going under they carried on trading - and Nevitt carried on his lavish lifestyle - despite knowingly having no prospect of being able to pay suppliers. Police said he was the 'driving force' of all three companies within the group, even though he claimed to have resigned from directorships within the organisation at various times.

From 1998 onwards, significant problems developed with the business. Witnesses stated that Nevitt started looking for bigger and better deals and had a problem understanding what was company money and what was his money.

He commonly used company credit cards for personal expenses and travel, visiting numerous foreign destinations including Las Vegas and Monaco.

The way in which the companies financed themselves was at the centre of the first part of the fraud. The losses caused to creditors of these companies were the focus of the second part of the fraud.

Nevitt forged paperwork so firms would lend him money on the strength of bogus orders - known as 'Fresh Air' invoicing.

Nevitt, pictured being interviewed by Ruby Wax following the crash during the Gumball Rally in 2000, was ordered to serve his original 45-month sentence and a further 10 years

He also used a complex web of company transactions between the firms to make creditors appear each firm was good for the money.

In fact they had no money to repay the loans or to pay suppliers. avelle Printers carried on business as retailers of printers and went into liquidation in July 2000 with estimated debts of 1,727,077.

Ravelle Ltd was a computer hardware consultancy and went into liquidation in November 2000 with an estimated deficiency of 2 678 146.

Ravelle Computers Ltd known as PC2GO were retailers of second hand computer equipment and went into liquidation in February 2001 with debts of 2,172,923.

In the final analysis, IBM Global Financing lost 1,600,000 whilst Barclays Sales Finance lost 654,857. Other creditors lost approximately 1,000,000.

As a result of Nevitt's crimes, several small companies failed in the UK and on the continent and there were job losses among his own firm's employees.

Police thought he was hiding out in wealthy holiday resorts in Majorca but he had had been hiding in South Africa for five years, having travelled in on a passport with a false name - first to Spain, then Thailand.

On arrest police found 28 mobile phones and a large quantity of sim cards in his possession.

After the case Mr Freeman said: 'Mr Nevitt wants to apologise to the judge, court and prosecution authorities for absconding.

'He appreciates an enormous amount of energy and resources have been expended but he absconded at a time when he was at a very low ebb.
A senior teacher who was once embroiled in a race row with Michael Gove has been banned from the class after she hit a vulnerable five-year-old boy.

Kay Johnston, 59, was struck off by a tribunal after she was caught on camera striking the pupil, who has learning difficulties, and knocking him off his chair onto the floor.

She also allowed a teaching assistant to humiliate the child and tie his shoelaces together, a disciplinary hearing was told.

Johnston, from Hither Green in south London, was working as a supply teacher at East Wickham Primary Academy in Welling at the time of the incidents in January 2014.

Struck off: Kay Johnston, left, a teacher who previously clashed with Michael Gove, has been banned from teaching

During her first lesson she struck the child around the head with such force that CCTV footage showed his head and upper body jerk under the weight of the blow.

The same footage also showed the teacher lifting the boy's leg and tipping a chair making him fall to the floor, the National College for Teaching and Learning heard.

Two days later further footage showed Johnston had failed to act when the five-year-old was manhandled throughout the day by various teaching assistants.

On one occasion the boy was spun on his back by his feet and he can also be seen being dragged to his classroom.

The panel also ruled that Johnston acted inappropriately by doing nothing for around two hours after a teaching assistant tied his shoelaces together.

Misconduct: The experienced teacher hit a vulnerable boy and failed to stop a teaching assistant abusing him

A 20-year-old woman received a police caution in the wake of the incident.

Johnston denied any wrongdoing, but the panel's final report read: 'We have carefully and repeatedly viewed the CCTV recording of the alleged "push" and are satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Ms Johnston did push Pupil A off his chair thus causing him to fall to the floor at the relevant time.'

Chairman Gail Goodman added: 'Ms Johnston abused her position of trust in relation to a vulnerable 5 year old child who had complex educational and emotional needs.

'The panel does also take into account his challenging behavioural habits but the psychological effects on Pupil A of Ms Johnston's behaviour are likely to have been significant.

'While Ms Johnston has a previous exemplary history as a teacher over a very long period of time, she has indicated limited insight into her behaviour.'

Incident: The confrontation happened at East Wickham Primary Academy in Welling

Johnston was involved in a high-profile row with the Department for Education under Michael Gove after she was repeatedly denied permission to set up a free school in Lewisham.

One reason given by officials for the rejection was that the school would only serve 'the black community' - prompting furious accusations of racial discrimination.

Johnston said in 2013 that 'there was some degree of discrimination' in the decision, adding: 'It is sad that in Great Britain anyone should feel that the colour of their skin would be an impediment to success.'

She has now been banned from teaching indefinitely after the tribunal ruling, but she can appeal against the judgement within the next four years.

A spokesman for East Wickham Primary Academy said: 'Ms Johnston has not been employed by East Wickham Primary Academy for two years.
All 27 of Russia's battalions have battle tanks; NATO's 12 have none

NATO would have to rush to protect Riga and Tallinn, the capitals, but they do not have enough heavy armor in their ground forces to rival Putin's fleet

Russia could take the Baltic States in just 36-60 hours by launching two-pronged attack on Latvia then Estonia, according to series of war games

Russia could overrun Eastern Europe in just three days because NATO has not been bolstering its fleet since Vladimir Putin took Crimea, according to US military predictions.

Testing every possible scenario in a series of war games, a US military think tank has concluded it would take a resurgent Russia between 36 and 60 hours to push its 27 heavily-armored battalions past NATO's lightweight 12 to occupy the Baltic States.

Most likely, the study found, Russia would start by launching a two-pronged attack across the Latvian border, sending heavily-armed battalions in from the north and the south.

These battalions would push past the light-weight Latvian and NATO battalions before uniting to take the capital of Riga.

Once secured, the remaining part of Russia's 27 maneuver battalions would cross the Narva reservoir into Estonia to take the ethnic Russian north-east before heading to Tallinn, the capital.

NATO's only hope would be to concentrate its forces in Tallinn and Riga while stationing some delays along the main routes. But eventually, the West 'would have to launched a belated nuclear attack'.

'The outcome was, bluntly, a disaster for NATO,' the report concludes.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

This is a map of how a US military think tank believes Russia could overrun NATO to take the Baltic States in just 36-60 hours. Even with a week's notice, NATO's 12-strong fleet would be no match against Putin's 27

The study by a think tank made up of US military officials warns that Russia has never appeared more likely to stage an attack on Eastern Europe and NATO forces since bolstering its fleet after taking Crimea

RUSSIA'S FLEET 27 maneuver battalions Heavily-armored battle tanks in every battalion Light-armored vehicles in 8 airborne fleets Troops stationed in Kalingrad Oblast, surrounding the Baltic States Advertisement

NATO'S FLEET 12 battalions - 7 of which are the domestic fleets of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia No main battle tanks Only one, a single Stryker battalion, has heavy armor NATO has adequate airpower but this would be futile with weak ground forces Advertisement

The report warns, NATO's ground forces are no match for Russia's. They do not have any battle tanks; all of Russia's do. And NATO would have little room for maneuver, annexed in by Russian forces in Kalingrad Oblast.

In the scenario given by the study, NATO would have one week's notice to defend Eastern Europe.

The study, carried out between 2014 and 2015, suggested even a combination of US and Baltic troops combined with US airstrikes would not be able to prevent Russia advancing.

Seven of NATO's 12 battalions in Eastern Europe are domestic fleets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They only have one heavy armored fleet, a single Stryker battalion, and no main battle tanks, the report explains.

Though NATO's air power could put up a strong defense, it would be futile as its lightweight ground forces would be plowed down by Russia's.

'The games' findings are unambiguous: As currently postured, NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members,' the report said.

'Such a rapid defeat would leave NATO with a limited number of options, all bad.'

The study claims that 'avoiding such a swift and catastrophic failure does not appear to require a Herculean effort' - but it would be expensive.

Airpower and artillery backed up with around seven brigades - three of them heavily armored - in the Baltic area would be enough to 'prevent the rapid overrun of the Baltic states'.

But this would cost around $2.7 billion a year.

'Crafting this deterrent posture would not be inexpensive in absolute terms, with annual costs perhaps running on the order of $2.7 billion,' the authors write.

'That is not a small number, but seen in the context of an Alliance with an aggregate gross domestic product in excess of $35 trillion and combined yearly defense spending of more than $1 trillion, it hardly appears unaffordable.'

Obama, in his final budget request to Congress, will ask for $3.4billion - up from $789million for the current budget year - for the Pentagon's 'European Reassurance Initiative' to face a 'resurgent' Vladimir Putin

DO ALL THESE WARGAMES MAKE EUROPE CONFLICT MORE LIKELY? A study released in August 2015 found that Russia and NATO are making conflict between them more likely by carrying out 'wargames'. Each side has commissioned their own research into 'most likely war plans' as they size up each others' fleets. But the report warned that NATO was 'unable to match' the scale of the wargames conducted by Moscow. Ian Kearns, director of the London-based European Leadership Network, which conducted the study, said the war games 'are contributing to a climate of mistrust' that have 'on occasion become the focal point for some quite close encounters between the NATO and Russian militaries.' The research found signs that 'Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.' NATO carried out approximately 270 exercises in 2015, while Russia has announced 4,000 drills at all levels. Advertisement

The report emerged a day after the Obama administration said it will propose quadrupling what it spends on its troops and training in Europe, as part of the U.S. military's accelerating effort to deter Russia.

President Barack Obama, in his final budget request to Congress, will ask for $3.4billion  up from $789million for the current budget year  for what the Pentagon calls its European Reassurance Initiative, which was announced in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, giving an overview of the administration's proposed 2017 defense budget of $582.7billion, described Russia as a growing challenge for the United States. He said the U.S. was taking a 'strong and balanced approach' to deterring its former Cold War foe.

'We haven't had to worry about this for 25 years, and while I wish it were otherwise, now we do,' Carter said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington.

Obama, warning that Russia had taken an 'aggressive posture' near NATO countries, called it a 'challenging and important time' for the alliance, whose members in Europe are increasingly concerned about Russia's intentions after its incursions in Ukraine.

He said the U.S. had taken decisive steps to bolster NATO since the start of Russia's actions in Ukraine, but that it hadn't been enough.

'It is clear that the United States and our allies must do more to advance our common defense in support of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace,' Obama said.

NATO's top civilian official, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, issued a statement applauding Carter's proposed increase in spending in Europe.

'This is a clear sign of the enduring commitment by the United States to European security,' he said. 'It will be a timely and significant contribution to NATO's deterrence, and collective defense.'

Michal Baranowski, head of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank, said the increased spending was a positive development and would be a 'key ingredient' for success at a NATO summit to be attended by allied heads of government in July in the Polish capital.
The wife of a disgraced Illinois police officer, who staged his suicide to appear as though he was gunned down in the line of duty, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges she assisted her husband in siphoning money from a youth program.

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, of Antioch, pleaded not guilty in Lake County court to two counts of money laundering and three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority for personal benefit or use.

Her husband, Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, died September 1.

Authorities say he shot himself because he feared discovery of embezzlement from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post, a program for teens interested in law enforcement careers.

Pleaded not guilty: Melodie Gliniewicz, the wife of a disgraced Illinois police officer who staged his suicide, walks out of Lake County Courthouse on charges she assisted her husband stealing money from a charity

Exposed: Mrs Gliniewicz tried to cover herself up as she left court in Waukegan, Illinois, on Wednesday

Prison time: Mrs Gliniewicz, 51, now faces a potential sentence of up to seven years behind bars

Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz (left), also known as 'G.I. Joe', stole tens of thousands of dollars from the Fox Lake Police Explorers Post during a seven-year stretch. Police say his wife (right) assisted him

His death set off a manhunt involving hundreds of officers and raised fears that several killers were on the loose.

Melodie Gliniewicz's lawyer entered the not guilty pleas on her behalf Wednesday.

After Judge George Strickland explained she faced a potential sentence of up to seven years behind bars, she acknowledged she understood.

The next court appearance for Gliniewicz, who is free on a $50,000 bond, was set for February 26.

Neither she nor her lawyer, Don Morrison, spoke to reporters as they left the courthouse.

In a statement after her indictment last week, attorneys for Gliniewicz vehemently denied that she took part in her husband's scheme.

Immediately after Joe Gliniewicz's death, he was hailed as a hero and praised for his work with the youth program.

Melodie Gliniewicz's tearfully told hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil that Gliniewicz had been her 'hero' and her 'rock.'

Lake County prosecutors said in announcing the indictment of Melodie Gliniewicz that money from the explorer's account was used for expenses including more than 400 restaurant charges and a trip to Hawaii.

Authorities released incriminating text and Facebook messages in November showing a frantic Joe Gliniewicz discussing the money and ways he could evade discovery.

An official with knowledge of the investigation identified Gliniewicz's wife and one of his sons, an Army soldier stationed in North Carolina, as the recipients of those messages.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly.

But investigators said last week they did not find evidence to charge the couple's son, 23-year-old Donald 'D.J.' Gliniewicz.

Donald 'D.J.' Gliniewicz (pictured alongside Melodie) staged his suicide on September 1 to look like a homicide because he feared that investigators were about to discover his illicit scheme

Joe Gliniewicz had run the Explorer program for teens interested in possible careers in law enforcement. Authorities say Melodie Gliniewicz served as an adviser to the Explorer Post and had a fiduciary role with the program's finances.

Her accounts were frozen in November when the allegations came to light.

In November, an official with knowledge of the death investigation identified Mrs Gliniewicz as one of the recipients of thousands of pages of incriminating text and Facebook messages Joe Gliniewicz had sent. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly.

Below are two of the messages the official says they exchanged:

One of the conversations was on April 14, when a worried Gliniewicz and his wife exchanged messages about money, a retirement date and whether someone, presumably new village administrator Anne Marrin, had the authority to conduct a review of village finances.

Mrs Cliniewicz said: '...maybe we need to hide the funds some how.'

In a June 22 message, Gliniewicz informs his wife that he used the Explorer account to pay for a travel expense:

'Used the explorer acct for the flight, $624.70. It can wait for a while, their acct is sitting at $3000'ish now,' the officer said.

Gliniewicz had reportedly plotted to hire a gangster to kill an official who was about to expose the embezzlement.

On the day he died, the veteran cop radioed dispatchers to say he was following three men, two white and one black.

After calling for back up he was found dead in the woods from a gunshot wound to the torso.

FBI investigators initially had doubts about Gliniewicz's 'murder' after cell phone records showed him in the area for 30 minutes before radioing back up.

Local authorities ignored this and pursued a man hunt for the alleged suspects, which earned national attention.

Thousands attended Gliniewicz's funeral, which became a statewide event in Illinois, on September 7, 2015. In death, the 30-year police veteran was a hero until his supposed greed was revealed.

In October, Mrs Glinewicz did an interview with Crime Watch Daily, insisting her husband hadn't committed suicide.

She said: 'I wholeheartedly believe [my husband] was murdered. [To suggest] otherwise is disrespectful, hurtful, irresponsible.
Dease says the couple told him they were planning to go to Panama City

Said they walked into Tuscaloosa hotel where he works and demanded cash

Kyle Dease says he was held hostage in his Volkswagen Jetta by suspects

Police have linked them to several similar offences in Alabama and Georgia

An Alabama hotel clerk who was abducted at gunpoint says his 'Bonnie and Clyde' captors revealed they are going to Florida to get married - but he fears they'll 'go down shooting' if cornered by police.

Kyle Dease, the night clerk at Microtel Inn and Suites in Tuscaloosa, claims he was held captive for nearly two hours in his own car by a couple accused of committing brazen crimes across Alabama and Georgia over the past few days.

Police have linked Blake Fitzgerald and Brittany Nicole Harper of Joplin, Missouri, to crimes in both states, saying the offenses fit a similar pattern - people are robbed, kidnapped and let go unharmed, usually after a car is stolen.

Dease told AL.com that the couple told him they were trying to get to Panama City, Florida, and had even looked up a route to get there.

Fitzgerald told him he had no plans of returning to prison and the couple are hoping to start a new life together - but he's afraid that if police corner the couple, they're 'going to go out shooting.'

Blake Fitzgerald (left) and Brittany Harper (right), who are being hunted for a brazen crime spree in Alabama and Georgia, are heading to Florida to get married, according to a clerk they held hostage

Kyle Dease, the night clerk at Microtel Inn and Suites in Tuscaloosa, says he was held captive for two hours

'They're making this up as they go,' Dease told the site. 'They're improvising at every little setback, and that's when people get hurt.'

He doesn't believe the couple want to hurt anyone, adding 'even the nicest person in the world when backed into a corner will lash out.'

He added: 'I'm afraid if the cops corner them, they're going to go out shooting because he definitely doesn't want to go back to prison.'

The couple walked into the Microtel Inn and Suites at around 6am on Sunday as he was nearing the end of his night shift, Dease said.

He gave them the number for a cab company after they walked into the lobby and said they had run out of gas. Dease first became aware that something was not right when he saw that Fitzgerald was using a flip phone.

They used the computer to plan routes on Google maps, Dease said, and told him they were headed for Panama City.

Fitzgerald and Harper were last seen traveling south on Interstate 75 in a stolen silver Ford Edge (pictured)

The couple are wanted after a crime spree in Alabama on Sunday, but authorities say they also struck a gas station in Georgia on Monday

Later, Harper left Dease along with Fitzgerald, who demanded the clerk hand over his car keys and money - before pulling a semi-automatic handgun out.

Fitzgerald told him: 'I'm not robbing you. I'm just robbing the hotel, because we need the cash.'

But then, Dease was forced out of the hotel and the couple asked about his car. He says he was then forced into the backseat of his girlfriend's black Jetta.

They drove to Hoover and blindfolded Dease so he wouldn't be able to tell authorities what car the suspects would drive off in.

He said Fitzgerald said he 'hated' using the gun and claimed he 'kind of lost a piece of himself every time he had to use it'.

Finally, they stopped at a McDonald's where Fitzgerald tried to carjack a restaurant manager who was just arriving at work.

But they sped away when she screamed and threw her keys toward another colleague. Dease said he blacked out as his head was 'bouncing around the backseat'

He doesn't remember what happened until he was told to get out of the car and realized he was in Vestavia Hills, where he grew up. Moments later, they allegedly broke into a home and abducted a woman.

Dease's Jetta was later found abandoned in Vestavia Hills.

'I want them to turn themselves in or get where they need to be and stop terrorizing people,' Dease said.

Police say the armed couple robbed the Murphy Express on Sam Nunn Boulevard on Monday night and abducted the female clerk

The latest in the crime spree happened when a gunman held up a young female clerk at a Murphy Express station along Interstate 75 in Perry, Georgia, at around 11pm on Monday.

The suspect took money from the safe and cigarettes before forcing the clerk into an SUV where his female accomplice waited, authorities said.

The couple drove about 15 miles before releasing the clerk unharmed on a highway overpass, said Perry police Lt. Ken Ezell. They were last seen traveling south on Interstate 75 in a stolen silver Ford Edge, police said.

Ezell said Tuesday afternoon he was preparing arrest warrants charging them with kidnapping and armed robbery in Georgia.

'As far as their motives behind things, there's really not one,' Ezell said.

Based on where they dropped off the gas station clerk from Perry, about 30 miles south of Macon, they appeared to be heading south on I-75 toward the Georgia-Florida state line, Ezell said.

Perry Police Chief Stephen Lynn said the couple may be abducting their victims to delay reports being made to police.

'They haven't hurt anybody so far and that's great,' Lynn said. 'I hope we catch them before somebody does get hurt.'

Investigators suspect the couple are driving a Ford Edge stolen Sunday in Alabama, where three crimes committed within a two-hour span Sunday morning fit a similar pattern.

FIRST TARGET: Fitzgerald and Harper are suspected of kidnapping a night manager from this Microtel Inn and Suites in Tuscaloosa and stealing his car

SECOND TARGET: The suspects then drove to this McDonald's in Hoover, where they made an attempt to carjack and rob a restaurant worker, but they left empty-handed after she raised the alarm

THIRD TARGET: The pair then drove to the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, where they allegedly kidnapped a woman from her home as she was having breakfast with her family

FOURTH TARGET: Georgia police say the pair robbed the Murphy Express gas station (pictured) on Sam Nunn Boulevard at around 11.04pm on Monday night and abducted the female clerk

After robbing the Microtel Inn and Suites on Veterans Memorial Parkway, where they demanded money from Dease before taking him hostage in his car, the suspects then drove to the nearby town of Hoover with their hostage in tow.

There, Fitzgerald allegedly tried to carjack and rob the manager of a McDonald's restaurant.

However, he reportedly left empty-handed after the woman, identified as Zora Harris, threw away her car keys and began screaming for help.

Fitzgerald and Harper then moved on to Vestavia Hills, where they had dropped Dease off before allegedly abducting a woman from her home on Monte Vista Drive just 15 minutes later.

Just before 8am on Sunday, Fitzgerald allegedly entered a home through the garage door. He told the residents, who were having breakfast before heading to church, that he needed help with his car.

According to police, the 31-year-old then produced a gun and demanded keys to the homeowner's 2010 silver Ford Edge.

Fitzgerald allegedly grabbed the man's wife and forced her into the car at gunpoint, where they were joined by Harper.

The pair then drove their hostage to a hospital in suburban Birmingham, where they dropped her off unharmed. The woman was able to get a ride with a passing motorist who took her home.

In each case, Harper (pictured left and right) and her accomplice released their hostages unharmed

Fitzgerald's lengthy criminal record includes more than 100 charges dating back to 2003, including rape

Fitzgerald and Harper appear to be in a relationship, according to pictures on his Facebook page. The 31-year-old man also appears to have a young daughter

Fitzgerald is facing one count of first-degree burglary, one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of first-degree theft of property in relation to the incident in Vestavia Hills.

Harper is charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree theft of property.

Both are also charged with first-degree robbery in Hoover. In Tuscaloosa, both face robbery, kidnapping and theft charges.

According to ABC3340, Fitzgerald's vast criminal record includes more than 100 charges dating back to 2003, including assault, rape and burglary.

He was arrested in Missouri for robbing a 63-year-old woman at knife-point in 2013, Al.com reported, and was on probation stemming from a 2015 case in which he assaulted a man at a nightclub.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force has been called in to assist with the hunt.

Tuscaloosa police Lt. Kip Hart said a $10,000 reward was being offered for information that helped lead to an arrest and conviction.

Anyone who spots the pair or the silver Ford Edge - with tags 2720AG7- is urged not to approach them, but immediately call police.
See more of the latest on Prince Harry at www.dailymail.co.uk/princeharry

Sergeant has recalled how the royal did a 'pretty punchy job' while on duty

The dramatic moment Prince Harry's camp came under attack from the Taliban in Afghanistan has been revealed in a candid new book  with his fellow comrades telling how he did a 'punchy job'.

The royal, who was aged 23 at the time, was serving as a forward air controller in the southern province of Helmand when his battalion's camp came under fire from a Chinese 107mm rocket.

Sergeant Tom Pal, from an anti-tank platoon, has now revealed how he was surprised the Prince was serving in such a dangerous war zone on the front-line but said he did a 'pretty punchy job'.

The dramatic moment Prince Harry's camp came under attack from the Taliban in Afghanistan has been revealed in a candid new book, with his fellow comrades telling how he did a 'punchy job'. The royal is pictured with his his monocle gun sight as he sits in the front seat of his cockpit at Camp Bastion in December 2012

He recalled his time serving with the royal in new book, Coldstream Guards, 10 Years in Afghanistan, Guardsmen's Stories.

In the book, as reported by the Evening Standard, he recalled the moment the camp  in Dwyer, an isolated desert outpost six miles from the front-line - was hit by the huge rocket.

He said: 'I remember one afternoon before evening scoff or a Gurkha curry was on, I was sitting chatting with both Captain Russell and Prince Harry about random stuff when the camp was hit by a Chinese 107mm rocket... whoosh bang wallop.

'We had been attacked and we just looked at each other and Captain Russell mentioned we'd better put our body armour and helmet on. Bit late, but we did.'

Speaking specifically about Prince Harry serving in Afghanistan, he added: 'I'd seen him on pre-deployment training with the Gurkhas, but didn't think he would be out here and doing a pretty punchy job as a forward air controller.'

Prince Harry left the military in June last year after ten years' service including two front-line roles.

One of those was a deployment to Afghanistan but he had to be withdrawn from the war zone in February 2008 after news of his secret mission leaked out and officials became concerned for his safety.

The royal has since told how the 'two deployments to Afghanistan changed the direction of my life'.

Speaking last year, he said: 'I joined the army in 2005. It was a time when service men and women and their families both in the US and the UK were making sacrifices for their countries that had not been experienced for generations.

Sergeant Tom Pal, from an anti-tank platoon, has now revealed how he was surprised the Prince was serving in such a dangerous war zone on the front-line but said he did a 'pretty punchy job' as a forward air controller

The royal, who was aged 23 at the time, was serving as a forward air controller in the southern province of Helmand when his battalion's camp came under fire from a Chinese 107mm rocket. He is pictured in 2012

'In combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, military personnel were setting examples for everyone about the values of service, duty, and dedication. So too did their partners and children back home in the cities, towns, and villages of our nations.

'There is very little that can truly prepare you for the reality of war. The experiences can be stark and long lasting.

'Returning to the UK after my first deployment, I shared the flight home with three critically injured British soldiers, all in induced comas, and the body of a Danish soldier, killed in action.

'It hit me then that this flight was one of many, carrying home men and women whose lives would be changed forever, and some who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

Prince Harry left the military in June last year after ten years' service including two front-line roles

'From that moment, I knew I had a responsibility to help all veterans, who had made huge personal sacrifices for their countries, to lead healthy and dignified lives after service.'

Sgt Pal's honest account comes in the first book of its kind to give a frank insight into life on the front-line in Afghanistan. It recounts stories from the first deployment to Afghan, as part of Operation Herrick.

From stories about severely wounded soldiers and being surrounded by the Taliban to a shortage of food or ammunition, it details the dangerous tasks British soldiers face while serving in the military.

It hears from more than 40 soldiers and guardsmen, detailing everything from their heroics to the somewhat more lighted moments while at war.

In the book, Lieutenant John Scarlett -the son of former MI6 chief Sir John Scarlett  recalls an attack by a rogue Afghan policeman on British troops at a checkpoint in Nahr-e-Saraj in July 2012.

'The moment felt like an eternity,' he said after relaying how he was wounded in the thigh as he fought to save his fellow servicemen after an Afghan assailant opened fire.

Three soldiers died in the attack but Lt. Scarlett was later awarded a Military Cross for his gallantry.

The book was the idea of Sergeant Paul Baines, who now works as a plumber after leaving the Army because of injury. He said any money raised from the book will go to the Coldstream Guards charity.

The charity helps fund the military efficiency of the serving element of the Coldstream Guards  a regiment which is part of the Guards Regiment in the British Army.
A highly-commended detective has been cleared of giving a misleading account to the public of what was said during a meeting with 'Plebgate' row MP Andrew Mitchell.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and two other Police Federation representatives met Mr Mitchell at his constituency office in October 2012, three weeks after the politician was involved in a well-publicised spat with Metropolitan Police officers at the Downing Street gates.

Following that meeting, the serving Warwickshire Police officer had been accused of giving a false impression of Mr Mitchell's explanation of the incident, in a radio interview on October 13.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton (left) has been cleared of giving a misleading account of an interview he had with MP Andrew Mitchell (right) over the so-called 'Plebgate' row

A misconduct panel convened at the force's former headquarters found his on-air comments did not amount to dishonesty, discreditable conduct or a breach of integrity.

Mr Hinton, described to the panel as a 'model detective' and who was a local Federation branch secretary at the time, had always denied any wrong-doing.

In evidence, the officer of 23 years' service, said: 'My intention was to give an accurate view of the meeting.'

A secret recording of the meeting with the Sutton Coldfield MP played to the tribunal, heard Mr Mitchell state: 'I did not say - and I give you my word - I did not call an officer a f*****g pleb, and that you should know your f*****g place.'

Mr Mitchell also said: 'I complied with the officer and picked up my bicycle and, you know, but I did say, you know, under my breath but audibly - in frustration, 'I thought you lot were supposed to f*****g help us' - I did say that and it is for that I apologise.'

The next day, Mr Hinton told BBC Radio Five Live: 'He still won't say exactly what he did say which suggests that the officer's account is more likely to be the accurate one.' He also called for the MP to resign.

Mr Mitchell was accused of calling the police 'f***ing plebs' as he left Downing Street on September 19, 2012.

Giving the decision today, tribunal chairman Assistant Chief Constable Ingrid Lee, of South Yorkshire Police, said: 'The panel are of the view that this (Mr Mitchell's) was such a partial account of what was believed to have happened it wasn't misleading for Sgt Hinton to say 'he still won't say exactly what he did say' in his radio interview.'

She added: 'The panel therefore do not consider that the account Sgt Hinton gave was misleading or believe he was intending to mislead anyone or was careless as to whether he might have been.'

A judge ruled in 2014 that the MP probably did call Met officer Pc Toby Rowland a 'pleb' after the politician was stopped from riding his bicycle through the vehicle gate on September 19, 2012.

But at the time of the meeting, on October 12, Mr Mitchell denied uttering the offending word.

Closing the misconduct case against Mr Hinton today, Aaron Rathmell said Mr Hinton had got involved in the 'politically toxic dispute', as the Midlands' Federation representatives were poised to launch a campaign against policing budget cuts.

Mr Rathmell, presenting officer, said: 'Sgt Hinton's answers to the radio presenter contained - regrettably - spin and that is not a compliment, emphasising some things at the cost of balance and accuracy.

'Spin is not a word that is usually or should be associated with police.'

Mr Mitchell was later interviewed by police, who then said that 'he still won't say exactly what he did say'

In his closing statement to the panel, Mr Rathmell said the officer had 'passed judgment' and not given a fair and accurate account of the meeting.

But Mr Hinton's barrister told the hearing: 'A man of his integrity is being charged with inaccurately reporting the lies told by a dishonest man (Mr Mitchell).'

Adrian Keeling said: 'One striking feature of the evidence, and forgive me for not pulling punches, is the brazen way and the number of times Mr Mitchell said to varying people 'I give you my word', the number of people he looked in the eye and said that to, including the Prime Minister.'

Mr Keeling added: 'Hindsight absolutely supports Sgt Hinton's honest, accurate and candid view, relying on his good sense and judgment, which no doubt he's relied upon all these years (as a detective).'

A string of glowing references from senior officers, including a retired Chief Constable, described Mr Hinton's character as 'beyond reproach'.

Last year, Pc Rowland accepted 80,000 in damages from Mr Mitchell.

At the end of last year, a disciplinary panel found Mr Hinton's West Mercia Police Federation colleague Inspector Ken Mackaill guilty of misconduct, but he escaped any penalty.

His other colleague, West Midlands Police's Sergeant Chris Jones was cleared of any wrong-doing.

A police hearing has now cleared the officer who gave the interview of being misleading. File photo

Commenting on the panel's decision today, Mr Mitchell told the Press Association: 'It really would be better for the police not to conduct these inquiries into their own but for independent bodies to carry out this work.

'That would command more public confidence and I hope the Justice Secretary will consider this matter in his forthcoming legislation.'

In a statement issued on behalf of Mr Hinton after the hearing, his solicitor Tim Coolican said: 'The last three years have been both difficult and painful for my client who has always maintained that he only tried to make a fair comment on a matter he felt was important.

'He is pleased that today that the panel, having heard and considered all the evidence, dismissed all the allegations he faced.'

A police and crime commissioner has accused the independent policing watchdog of ineptitude 'from start to finish' over its involvement in the 'Plebgate' case.

The Warwickshire Police commissioner Ron Ball said: 'Today's hearing hopefully brings to a conclusion a sorry saga that has taken far too much time and leaves very few people of those involved with any credit.'

He added that Mr Hinton had been subject to an 'overly-lengthy' three-year wait before the allegations against him were found unproven.
A Burger King employee deliberately crashed his car through the door of the restaurant where he worked to provide ventilation after a prank call said there was a gas leak.

The man was caught on camera slamming his white Dodge into the front entrance and the drive through of the restaurant in Morro Bay, California causing $35,000 worth of damage.

It came after a person impersonating a fire department official called the Burger King outlet on Saturday night and told them to ventilate the building immediately as there had been reports of a gas leak.

The manager of the restaurant was caught on camera deliberately crashing his car into the front of the Burger King

It comes amid claims a prankster called the restaurant saying there was a gas leak and they had to ventilate the building

According to CalCoast.com, this prompted the other staff in the restaurant to go around breaking the windows in order to let air in.

That's when the employee, thought to be the manager, took to his car and crashed it into the front door and the drive through.

Brian Jagger, a cobbler happened to be driving past the restaurant, when he noticed the scene and began filming on his mobile phone.

He told the New York Daily News: 'It looked like someones way of going out with a bang.

'I saw a few employees busting out the front windows with stools as another drove through the front entrance with his car. Basically wreaking havoc on the place.'

As well as crashing into the entrance and drive through other staff went around breaking the windows

The Morro Bay police and fire department responded to the reports of the gas leak but found no evidence.

Burger King say that the manager of the branch has now been suspended. The restaurant repaired the damaged and it re-opened again on Tuesday.

Police in Morro Bay are still searching for the man who made the prank call.
A repairman who was killed in the elevator shaft of a high-rise New Jersey apartment building on Tuesday morning did not plummet to his death but was dragged upwards, officials say.

The 44-year-old worker was performing monthly maintenance on one of the elevators when he somehow became entangled between the elevator door and top portion of the elevator and was dragged upwards.

The incident occurred around 7.30am Tuesday at the Galaxy Towers condominium complex in Guttenberg.

Hudson County prosecutors initially said the man, who has not yet been identified, fell seven stories to his death. Other reports said the man fell as many as 40 stories.

Scene: An elevator repairman was killed in the luxurious Galaxy Towers condominium in Guttenberg, New Jersey, on Tuesday morning. Initial reports said he fell, but officials now say he was dragged upwards

Authorities say the man from New Windsor, New York, was pronounced dead at the scene around 8am.

Prosecutors say the death appears to be accidental.

However an official cause of death has not been determined.

Federal safety officials say the worker was employed by Slade Elevator.

The company released a statement about the incident to ABC 7.

'Slade Industries, Inc. is very saddened to hear of the accident at Galaxy Towers in Guttenberg, NJ this morning,' the statement said.

'We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of our employee involved in the accident.

'The cause of the accident is not yet known, and company experts are working with local authorities to determine what happened.

'It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.'

The 44-year-old man from New Windsor was performing monthly maintenance in one of the elevators at the 52-story Galaxy Towers on Boulevard E in Guttenberg

The complex includes three towers that each rise 415 feet over the banks of the Hudson River.

A resident who has lived in the building for 11 years told NewJersey.com that the elevators were new.

On Tuesday, Leni Fortson, a spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), said OSHA was investigating the case.
An 11-year-old girl has written a letter to burglars who stole her birthday presents - telling the heartless criminals: 'I can no longer sleep in my own bed.'

Paris Mulholland wrote the letter to the thieves to let them know how she felt after they raided her home and stole her presents.

In the letter Paris wrote: 'To my burgler [sic]. I hope you are happy with yourself, I can no longer sleep in my own bed and guess what, [for a few] years I have had a fear of the dark and before you burgled me I had accomplished my fear - but once you stepped in my room my fear had started again.

Paris Mulholland, 11, wrote the letter to the thieves to let them know how she felt after they raided her home and stole her presents

'Why could you not have left when you saw to [sic] picture of a happy family and when you saw my birthday card, but anyway thank you for scaring me so much I cry 2 hours straight nearly every night.'

Thieves broke into the house in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Thursday, a week after her 11th birthday.

Mother Gemma Mulholland said the letter had helped her daughter tell the thieves 'how she feels, and how it's affected her.'

She said: 'I really am super proud of her.'

Paris's new iPhone, a laptop she got for Christmas, and birthday money was taken from her bedroom, as well as her grandmother's gold watch.

Thieves broke into the house in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Thursday, a week after her birthday

PARIS'S HEARTBREAKING LETTER TO THIEVES WHO STOLE HER PRESENTS The letter read: 'To my burgler (sic), 'I hope your are happy with yourself. I can no longer sleep in my own bed and guess what, for a few years I have had a fear of the dark and before you burgled me I had accomplished my fear. 'But once you stepped foot in my room my fear had (sic) started again. Why could you not have left when you saw the picture of a happy family and when you saw my birthday cards? 'But anyway, thank you for scaring me so much I cry two hours straight nearly every night. All of my birthday and Christmas and birthday presents such as my iPhone and were stolen. 'Please have the guts to give my stuff back, please'. Advertisement

Cash, jewellery and other items were also taken in the robbery, along with Paris's and her younger brother Thomas' belongings.

Ms Mulholland said Paris was too upset to sleep in her bedroom after seeing it ransacked.

Her mother Gemma Mulholland said the letter had helped her daughter tell the thieves 'how she feels, and how it's affected her'

Lego models were broken and photos taken on Paris's phone during a recent trip to Disneyland may have been lost forever.

Ms Mulholland called the thieves 'despicable human beings' but said the community had rallied round.

Paris said: 'I decided to write the letter because I wanted them to realise how much they had hurt me I want them to feel sad for what they have done.

'I want them to know what they have caused, I cant sleep in my bed, they have gone into my room and looked through all of my stuff, and its quite scary to know someone has been in your house,in your room and they dont care.

'When it happened I didnt know what to feel, I just cried.All the stuff I created like some lego from Disneyland. It had all been smashed to pieces. I didnt know what to do, I was speechless'

And Paris has warned other people to make sure they are not targeted by burglars.

She added: 'Lock all you doors and keep your stuff safe or otherwise you may have this happening to you. Be careful and be grateful this hasnt happen to you'.
Claire Brown, 27, developed a rare condition called Functional Neuological Disorder after the freak injury

A fit young woman has been left with crippling spinal damage after bending over to pick up a party balloon.

Hospital technician Claire Brown, 27, developed a rare condition called Functional Neuological Disorder (FND) after the freak injury.

She was clearing up after a Halloween party at her home in October 2014 and bent over to pick up a balloon when her back suddenly went.

Since then she has been unable to work and needs a wheelchair to get around outside and two crutches inside.

But despite her crippling injury - and working for the NHS - Claire has been told the Government will not pay for her treatment.

She has now started an online campaign to raise 50,000 to have the treatment privately.

Single Claire said she has been left virtually housebound in her home in Salisbury, Wilts.

She said: 'Something that's impacted my life so heavily has come from such a silly incident.

'When I try to walk my whole body shakes and I have to use two crutches to get around the house. I have to use a wheelchair when I go out.

'I can't sit for very long and when I lay down my muscles jerk. Plus my memory is also really bad.'

FND is a complex illness caused by interference between bodily functions and the brain.

It causes disruption between planning a movement and carrying it out, resulting in weak limbs, tremors and speech difficulties.

Claire is on a cocktail of drugs to help with the pain and has been housebound for over a year.

This has meant she has been off work since November 2014 and faces losing her job due to ill health.

Since then she has been unable to work and needs a wheelchair to get around outside and two crutches inside

She started showing symptoms of FND after the initial spinal damage for which she received acupuncture before being admitted to Salisbury General Hospital - where she also worked as a screen technician.

An MRI scan found a bulge and two tears at the base of her spine.

Hospital staff managed to get the pain temporarily under control so she could go home but she was back in hospital in June 2015 for four spinal injections.

After the treatment however, things got worse.

She walked downstairs one day and her leg suddenly began to spasm and gave way - leaving her confined to a hospital bed for three weeks.

She added: 'I wasn't able to go to the toilet and had to have a catheter fitted, as well as my leg continuing to jerk uncontrollably.

But despite her crippling injury - and working for the NHS - Claire has been told the Government will not pay for her treatment

'It was really difficult but my friends and family kept my spirits high.'

The symptoms of FND make it much harder for Claire's spine to heal as the tremors frustrate it further and with only two specialist FND consultants in the UK it is hard to treat.

Claire needed neurological treatment for the rare condition but the Salisbury hospital did not have the facilities.

She was referred her to Glenside, a brain injury rehabilitation hospital in South Newton outside Salisbury - where a 15-week inpatient stay will cost 50, 000.

Claire said: 'There was no way I can afford that so I had to apply to Wiltshire Clinical Commission Group for funding.

Claire is on a cocktail of drugs to help with the pain and has been housebound for over a year

'But I got a letter back from them saying my case didn't have enough evidence to support it.

'I didn't understand - they had referrals from my GPs - what more could they want?'

The neurological department at Southampton General Hospital was also unable to treat her because the Wiltshire CCG also denied funding for that.

Frustrated Claire said: 'I was being passed from pillar to post and it felt like a waste of time.

'I've spoken to people on forums with the same condition who have been through the same thing - it helps as I feel less alone.'

Crowdfunding was a last resort for Claire: 'I hate asking for help. But I'm amazed at people's reaction, it's so generous.'

She has raised 4,600 of the 50,000 needed in less than a week - with 75 per cent from generous strangers.

Wiltshire CCG said they do not comment on individual cases.
A Silly String shootout at a Michigan Walmart store has turned into a fight for justice after one of the two people arrested denied the charges and promised to fight them in court - likening herself to the 'star' of Making a Murderer.

Samantha Christiansen, 26, and Derek Gomez, 24, both of Muskegon, Michigan, were arrested after spraying each other with the wacky party decoration at their local Walmart store.

According to a report by Michigan Live yesterday, the battle spread across multiple aisles before staff were able to call a ceasefire.

Mason County sheriff Kim C. Cole told Michigan Live that the store's employees asked the pair to pay for the used cans, but that 'They opted just to leave rather than pay.'

Silly: Samantha Christiansen and Derek Gomez were jailed after starting a Silly String fight in the aisles of a Walmart store in Michigan, but Christiansen denies claims they refused to pay for the products used

He also said he was unimpressed by the pair's actions: 'They're certainly old enough to know better,' he said.

The pair were then arrested and jailed for third-degree retail fraud, a misdemeanor charge punishable by 93 days in prison, a fine of up to $500 or three times the items taken  whichever is bigger.

However, in a public message on her Facebook page Christiansen disputed the story told by the media.

'Just so you know, we were kicked out for the silly string fight that occurred in ONE aisle, and then the cops were called,' she wrote. 'Certainly did not "opt to leave" #sillystringmatters.'

And after a friend suggested she sue for 'editorial failings or defamation,' she replied, 'Yes, and the false police report that must have been made.'

She added: 'We are fully prepared to defend ourselves as retail fraud, under MI legislation, is not what was committed.'

Defiant: Christiansen said on her Facebook account that media reports of the incident were inaccurate, and suggested that she would fight the charge in court

And in a post on her own Facebook wall just two hours later, Christiansen cheekily reveled in her infamy with links to 50 news and media sites covering the story.

She also joking likened herself to Steven Avery, whose 2007 conviction for killing Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach has been questioned by the popular Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer.

'We have gone global,' she wrote, 'I feel like Steven Avery'. She also quoted Gomez as saying, 'I always told my mom one day I would be famous...'

Famous: Christiansen jokingly compares herself to imprisoned Wisconsin man Steven Avery, whose murder conviction was questioned in the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer

Cocky: Christiansen, left, linked to a photo from an earlier tangle with police, when she was booked for Driving While License Suspended or Revoked; one friend to called it 'the cockiest mugshot ever.' She later likened herself to Steven Avery, right

However, other replies were more lighthearted, as Christiansen replied to friends who had rallied to support her and Gomez.

'Hahaha this is epic,' wrote Brandyn Kleeves, to which Christiansen replied, '26 years of making the fam proud.'

She also 'liked' a comment by Jamie Neiger-Bickham that simply said 'fight the power' followed by a pumping fist emoticon.

She also liked another comment by Steven Macias that read, 'I must say im pretty f****** proud of you guys on this one lmfao'

Chilly: A March 2015 photograph from Christiansen's Facebook page shows her and Gomez at Muskegon, Michigan's Pere Marquette Beach

Another friend, Jordan Praay, said, 'That has got to be the cockiest mugshot I've ever seen... you can tell she thinks it's funny.'

Christiansen replied 'I had em all laughing in there,' and then added a link to a Bail Bond site showing a photograph of her with dark hair.

It was apparently taken in May 2012 after she was booked for Driving While License Suspended or Revoked and Failure to Appear in Pasco County, Florida, and given a bail of $1,502.

Jordan replied, 'Okay I take that back. That is the cockiest mug shot ever lol.'
Judge ruled in her favour even though he paid deposit and mortgage costs

She claimed that she had right to their 650,000 home in Sawbridgeworth

Met Greta Cerniauskaite when she was cleaner at National Portrait Gallery

John Hoggins, 62, met 47-year-old Greta Cerniauskaite (pictured) when she was a cleaner at the National Portrait Gallery

The millionaire plumbing tycoon who claimed his Lithuanian girlfriend was only after his money has been ordered to give her hundreds of thousands of pounds.

John Hoggins, 62, met 47-year-old Greta Cerniauskaite when she was a cleaner at the National Portrait Gallery.

He said she 'nagged' him to buy her a house fill it with 'the contents of most of the shops in Bond Street'.

He bought her a 160,000 Bentley, bankrolled a 100,000 fashion and jewellery shopping spree and paid for 8,000 worth of monogrammed sheets and towels from Milan.

Together they owned properties in Hertfordshire, Spain and Florida, and holidayed in Alaska, Cuba, Thailand and Mauritius.

He paid himself 150,000-a-year from his plumbing empire, and gave her an annual salary of up to 93,000 for a job which did not require her to work.

When they split after nine years, Miss Cerniauskaite, who now works as a businesswoman and model, claimed she had a right to their 650,000 second home in the village of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.

Mr Hoggins contested that he paid the house's 100,000 deposit, the mortgage costs and all the bills after buying it in 2009.

But a judge at a hearing at the First-Tier Tribunal in London has ruled the property is, and always was, Miss Cerniauskaite's alone.

The money Mr Hoggins ploughed into the home was a 'gift' by a 'generous' man, Judge Ann McAllister ruled.

She added: 'There is no doubt that John was extremely generous in these years and that considerable sums of money passed through his hands.

'It is clear from all the evidence I have heard and read that John now feels very bitter towards Greta and has convinced himself that, from the outset, her intentions were to get what she could out of the relationship financially.

Mr Hoggins paid himself 150,000-a-year from his plumbing empire, and gave Miss Cerniauskaite an annual salary of up to 93,000 for a job which did not require her to work

'His evidence is that the relationship had begun to deteriorate badly from 2007 onwards and that he only stayed with Greta because his youngest son adored her.

'But there is no dispute but that Greta was trying to become pregnant in the years 2005 to 2011.

'What is also clear and is amply demonstrated by the paperwork I have seen is that he was a remarkably generous, some might say impulsive man, whose own life was complex and not always easy.

'It was, by any reckoning, and for those years, a life of ease and wealth.'

The tribunal heard the couple met in 2004, when Mr Hoggins was in the final stages of his first marriage, while Miss Cerniauskaite had been married twice before.

Mr Hoggins ran a number of plumbing and heating businesses, employing more than 50 people.

He and Miss Cerniauskaite lived in Ellis Close, Hoddesdon, and never actually moved into the disputed property in Stepped Gable Mews, High Wych Lane, Sawbridgeworth.

Mr Hoggins, who claimed the place was only intended as a holiday home, said she refused to move in because there was not enough wardrobe space.

The tribunal heard the couple met in 2004, when Mr Hoggins was in the final stages of his first marriage, while Miss Cerniauskaite (pictured) had been married twice before

Mr Hoggins bought bought Miss Cerniauskaite a 160,000 Bentley (file photo), bankrolled a 100,000 fashion and jewellery shopping spree and paid for 8,000 worth of monogrammed sheets and towels from Milan

The home was put in her name but Mr Hoggins claimed that was only in order to get a mortgage more easily, because he already had debts.

But the judge ruled: 'I accept Greta's evidence and in particular that John reassured her that, whatever happened, she would have the property.

'Although she did not work for his company, I accept that she did a great deal to make his life easier and to help with his children.

'I do not doubt too that, whatever the cause of the breakdown of the relationship, the relationship, which lasted nine years, was not as unhappy as John is now at pains to portray it.

'In my judgment, it is clear from all the evidence that John intended that Greta should own the property legally and beneficially.'

She added: 'John spent a great deal of money on Greta over the years.

'If he could spend 100,000 on what might be described as fripperies, there is no reason to think that a further 100,000 by way of a deposit and further money to pay the mortgage should be put in a different category.'
A 65-year-old Italian man accused of groping his female colleagues was found not guilty of sexual harassment because he was driven by an immature sense of humour, an Italian court ruled.

The ruling was condemned in the country where around a third of women aged 16 to 70 are said to have suffered some form of physical or sexual violence.

A junior colleague accused the man of touching her sexually, while a second woman said he treated he like 'a little girl... as if he were giving me a light slap on the behind', court documents stated.

A 65-year-old Italian man accused of groping his female colleagues was found not guilty of sexual harassment because he was driven by an immature sense of humour, an Italian court ruled (file photo)

The court in Palermo, Sicily, admitted he had behaved exactly as the women said but decided to acquit him anyway.

The judges said the contact was not 'lascivious' - indicating sexual desire or lewdness - and ruled that he was not touching his staff for sexual pleasure.

They added: 'Objectively, it was brought on by an im mature and inappropriate sense of humour, mixed in with a veiled abuse of power and an albeit improper way of establishing hierarchical relationships in the office.'

Commentators and a labour union blasted the ruling.

'The Palermo court's sentence is worthy of lawmakers in Saudi Arabia,' well-known commentator Massimo Gramellini wrote in a front-page opinion piece in La Stampa newspaper.

A junior colleague accused the man of touching her sexually, while a second woman said he treated he like 'a little girl... as if he were giving me a light slap on the behind', court documents stated (file photo)

'The august assembly seems to suggest that the women who were felt up caused the real offence.'

The UIL labour union's Sicilian branch said it was 'amazed and puzzled' by the decision.
David Cameron's plans for a 'red card' system for national parliaments to block unwanted EU laws that he revealed yesterday were once mocked - by the Prime Minister himself.

He was seen laughing in the House of Commons in 2008 as his then Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague launched a damning assessment of the Labour government's suggestion that a 'red card' system for national parliaments would enhance the role of national parliaments.

But that is exactly what Mr Cameron hailed as a 'substantial change' when he revealed the deal he had reached with EU President Donald Tusk yesterday.

David Cameron laughed as William Hague, pictured right tore into Gordon Brown's decision to agree to the Lisbon Treaty in 2008

The controversial proposals - which are part of Mr Cameron's four-point renegotiation of Britain's membership of the EU - would allow national parliaments to block some EU legislation if 15 of them join forces.

Eight years ago, Mr Hague warned against such plans: 'It doesn't take much of a political analyst to work out that the chances of this mechanism being employed on any regular basis are vanishingly small,' he told his Labour rivals after proposals for a so-called 'red card' were first mooted.

'It could only be used if 14 different national parliaments - nearly all of which have a government majority - defeated an EU proposal and did so in an eight-week period.

'Yet we only have to consider this for a moment as Members of Parliament to begin to laugh at it.

'With the difficulties of Oppositions winning a vote in their Parliaments, the odds against doing so in 14 countries around Europe with different parliamentary recesses  lasting up to 10 weeks in our own case  means that even if the European Commission were to propose the slaughter of the first-born it would be difficult to achieve such a remarkable conjunction of parliamentary votes,' Mr Hague said, drawing laughter from the Tory benches, including Mr Cameron.

Selling the deal: The PM hopes to secure an agreement with EU leaders at a Brussels summit later this month

PROMISES HE QUIETLY DROPPED Since becoming Tory leader, David Cameron has pledged a series of radical changes to European powers over Britain, only to quietly drop them in the face of resistance. They include: Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2009 Mr Cameron promised a complete opt-out of the charter, which further extends human rights laws.

Social and employment laws. In 2010 Mr Cameron pledged to claw back powers from Brussels, but this was quietly dropped.

Treaty change. Promised full-on treaty change as recently as 2014, but now hopes the moves will be added to a treaty at a later date.

Working time directive. In 2012 he promised to change the law which includes the contentious 48-hour maximum working week.

Common Agricultural Policy. Repeated calls for reform of farming subsidies, but no sign of any change yet.

Waste. In 2009 he promised to end the European parliaments absurd practice of meeting in Strasbourg as well as Brussels. Advertisement

The plans unveiled by Mr Cameron and the EU yesterday would require 55 per cent of national parliaments to club together to block EU initiatives.

However this stopped well short of demands by Eurosceptic Tory MPs for a simple veto.

And it was also claimed that the new 'red card' voting system could be used against the interests of British MPs if the House of Lords joins other EU parliaments to force legislation on the House of Commons.

Liam Fox, who served as Defence Secretary under David Cameron from 2010-2012, told the Commons: 'As far as I can understand it from the proposals set out this morning, the red card system would give a vote to both the House of Commons and the House of Lords as parliamentary chambers.

'This would open up the possibility of the unelected upper house voting with other European parliaments to force EU legislation upon the elected House of Commons.'

The complexity of the proposals were also called into question.

Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Conservative backbench committee, said it was 'not sufficiently easy to deploy'.

Mr Cameron hopes the 'red card' scheme will be approved by EU leaders at a crucial summit of the EU's 28 leaders in Brussels on February 18 and 19.

His chances of securing an agreement on the proposal with his EU partners were boosted after Ralph Brinkhaus, deputy chairman of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, said better integration of national parliaments will 'increase EU citizens' acceptance of Europe'.

'THE BEST OF A BAD JOB': BORIS JOHNSON STAYS FIRMLY ON THE FENCE Boris Johnson risked infuriating the PM today when he refused another opportunity to back the renegotiation deal. Ahead of the unveiling of Mr Tusk's package on Tuesday, the Mayor said he had 'doubts' about a proposed red-card scheme to give national parliaments more power over Brussels laws. And today Mr Johnson told Sky News the PM was 'making the best of a bad job'. Asked whether he had changed his mind after seeing the document, he replied: 'I think the position is very much the same as it was yesterday morning, which is a lot more to do on this. 'Let's wait and see when this whole thing is agreed and try to see what it really means - every bit of it.' Advertisement
John's father, Pat Bowlen, resigned as Broncos CEO in 2014 after being

His family's team will face off against Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco Sunday

While awaiting trial in the case, Bowlen has filed a motion asking to travel to California this week

He made a 911 call during which he referred to himself as the 'blood of the city'

John Bowlen Jr, 30, was arrested in June on charges of

The son of the Denver Broncos owner will be permitted to go to the Super Bowl this weekend while awaiting trial in a domestic violence incident.

John Bowlen Jr, 30, was arrested in June and charged with harassment and assault after allegedly shoving his girlfriend against the wall inside their apartment in Glendale, Colorado.

The woman called 911 to complain about Bowlen's 'erratic behavior' and was heard screaming over the phone before the call was abruptly cut short.

John Bowlen Jr (pictured in mugshots left and right), 30, was arrested in June and charged with harassment and assault after allegedly shoving his girlfriend against the wall inside their apartment in Glendale, Colorado

Bowlen's father is Pat Bowlen, the owner of the Denver Broncos who retired in 2014 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's

Game day: A judge has given the younger Bowlen permission to travel this week to California, where his family's team will face off against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 Sunday

When the emergency operator called back, Bowlen picked up the phone and launched into a bizarre tirade, calling himself 'the blood of the city' and accusing his girlfriend of 10 months of trying to 'ruin his life,' according to the recording obtained by TMZ.

'I swear on my dad's life. She's crazy right now,' Bowlen told the operator. 'She's leaving right now. There's nothing to be worried about.'

Bowlen, whose criminal record includes several past run-ins with the law, was arrested on charges of third-degree assault and harassment. A police report stated that the suspect was drunk and high on nitrous oxide at the time of the incident.

In anticipation of his trial, which is expected to get under way in April, the 30-year-old has filed a motion asking a judge to allow him to travel to California from February 4 to 7, reported TMZ Sports.

Super Bowl 50 will be played in San Francisco on Sunday, pitting the Broncos against the Carolina Panthers.

According to court documents, a judge granted Bowlens request without objection.

Bowlens father, Pat Bowlen, 71, has not been involved in the day-to-day operations of the Broncos organization since 2014, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers.

One of seven children sired by his father, Bowlen Jr had been in the running to take over ownership of the team after his dad's resignation as Broncos CEO.

The 30-year-old has been on an indefinite leave of absence from the team since his arrest in June.

John Bowlen, left, pictured with the Steinfeld Trophy after the 2014 Major League Lacrosse Championship Game, is set to go to trial in the domestic violence case in April

Bowlen's rap sheet includes a number of arrests on drug charges and driving violations.

In 2003, he was accused in Glendale of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia, but those charges were dismissed by Arapahoe County prosecutors, the Post reported.

In August 2005, he was also arrested by Boulder police on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The little-known story of a leading suffragette whose antics shamed and infuriated her war hero uncle, Lord Kitchener, has come to light after her gallantry medal was put up for sale.

Frances Parker was urged by the British army chief, famed for his 'Your Country Needs You' Recruitment posters during the First World War, to put her feminist beliefs to one side and consider her family.

But Parker - who had incurred her uncle's 'disgust' after sharing a platform with Adela Pankhurst during a demonstration in Hyde Park - refused to be swayed from her course, risking Kitchener's wrath in order to continue the fight for votes.

Frances Parker (left) was urged by Lord Kitchener (right), famed for his 'Your Country Needs You' Recruitment posters during the First World War, to put her feminist beliefs to one side and consider her family

Kitchener is famed for appearing in this poster, encouraging people to sign up during the First World War

If anything, his words appear to have had the opposite effect: six years later, as the movement became more militant, she would attempt to burn down Burns Cottage in Alloway with friend and fellow suffragette Ethel Moorhead, only to be caught by a night watchman.

This was despite the fact that Kitchener had paid for his New Zealand-born niece to attend Downham College, Cambridge, from where she graduated in 1899.

Parker returned to New Zealand - which had already granted votes to women - after finishing at Cambridge, returning to the UK after a couple of years teaching, as the Votes from Women campaign was starting to gain momentum.

Lord Kitchener's 1908 letter was not sent directly to Parker, however, but to her mother, also called Frances.

'Whatever her feelings on the subject may be, I cannot help thinking she might have some consideration for her family,' he wrote.

By 1912, his words wisely ignored, Parker was the chief organiser of the WSPU's activities in Edinburgh, and a veteran of hunger strikes, force feeding and prison sentences., including one for breaking into The Music Hall in Aberdeen with the intention of disrupting an appearance by chancellor David Lloyd George.

But Parker ended up back in her uncle's good graces with the outbreak of war, when she joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, of which she became deputy controller and was later awarded the OBE.

But Parker refused to be swayed, and went on to be jailed for her beliefs alongside her fellow suffragettes

Parker also attempted to set fire to Burns Cottage in Scotland in 1914, before the outbreak of war. She then joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and was later awarded the OBE

Parker died in 1924, at the age of 49, after she settled in France.

On her death, she left a medal she had received for her courage and bravery during from the Women's Social and Political Union, inscribed with the words 'Hunger Strike' on the front and her name on the back, to her long-time friend Moorhead.

The decoration has remained in her family and is now being sold by a direct descendant, with a pre-sale estimate of 15,000. However, it is expected to rival the record sum of 23,450 paid for a suffragette medal.

David Erskine-Hill, of London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said Parker's story was among the most 'remarkable' of the movement.

A medal given to Parker for her brave actions during the women's suffrage movement is up for auction this month

'She came from a classic establishment background, her uncle, Lord Kitchener, epitomising military traditionalism but rebelled against that and became an ardent suffragette.

'She was imprisoned five times and force-fed on three occasions and was subjected to the most appalling abuse while she was in jail in Perth in Scotland.

'The medal that she was awarded by her fellow campaigners must surely rank as one of the most important ever issued by the Women's Social and Political Union.'
Teachers in a Kent school have been accused of 'bias' after they compared left wing political views to the NHS while equating those on the right wing to Adolf Hitler.

Conservative MP Damian Green who represents the Ashford constituency received a copy of the teaching aid aimed at Year 10 students from a constituent.

The teaching aid asks pupils to 'investigate the different political parties available in Britain'.

As part of the exercise, the students are asked: 'What is left wing and right wing?'

The un-named school produced this leaflet outlining the difference between left and right wing political ideas

The controversial document claimed that Adolf Hitler, centre, represented right-wing British political parties

Conservative MP Damian Green, pictured, has written to the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan to express his concerns over the controversial teaching aid which seems to vilify anyone other than left wingers

The left-wing column is represented by the NHS which includes the terms 'Communism; NHS; Helping the people and Everyone should be equal.'

Under the right-wing column, which features a picture of the Fuhrer, the terms 'Hitler; Less help to the people; More help to business and We are not equal' are used to illustrate right wing political ideas.

Last week he wrote to the Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan to raise his concerns.

He said: 'Everyone's first reaction to this was that this is shocking. I'm told that the materials were prepared especially for a lesson inside the school.

'It's clear that the material in itself was projecting an idea that was completely unacceptable.

'I have spoken with the school and I'm satisfied that all the right actions have now been taken to make sure that the way politics is taught in school is unbiased and serving a proper purpose.

'I have been assured by the school that the material didn't reflect the lesson as it was taught to the pupils.'

Conservative Mr Green refused to name the school where the teacher had produced the work and said he has yet to receive a reply from the Department of Education.

In June 2014 the previous coalition government published a framework document for the national curriculum to be taught to pupils.

As part of the requirement for good citizenship it stated that teachers should ensure that pupils gain a 'sound knowledge and understanding' of how Britain is governed, British democracy and the political system.
The widow of American Sniper Chris Kyle has shared a touching tribute to mark the three-year-anniversary of her husband's death.

Kyle and his friend Chat Littlefield were gunned down by fellow war veteran Eddie Ray Routh at a shooting range in Rough Creek, Texas, on February 2, 2013.

Now Taya Kyle, 41, has revealed that the past few months, which saw both the release of a movie about her husband and Routh being found guilty of capital murder, have been 'particularly hard'.

Taya called her husband and Littlefield's death an act of 'pure evil at work' but said she did not want to focus on 'the pain and grief' that remains in her life, but rather what she has learned from it.

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Taya Kyle, 41, has shared a touching tribute to mark the three-year-anniversary of her husband's death

Taya took to Facebook to share was she has learned in the years since her husband Chris was gunned down by fellow war veteran Eddie Ray Routh at a shooting range in Rough Creek, Texas, on February 2, 2013

'Some loves will last forever,' she writes in the Facebook post. 'Wishing you could go back is futile, but the lessons learned you can take with you on the journey ahead.'

'I have learned... We are never alone in our pain; never the only ones suffering in life - it's part of the human walk...People have an enormous capacity to love even through their own pain.'

Taya went on to say that Chris, the father to their son, Colton and daughter, Mckenna, did an 'extraordinary job' of giving their children a 'love that will carry them through life.'

'I have learned... There was only one Chris Kyle,' Taya continues. 'People say you learn to live with the pain, and maybe that's true.'

'I have learned how to survive, to do my best at carrying on his spirit and his legacy but I have not learned to fully live without the man.'

Taya then thanked those who have helped her heal, saying that she has learned that 90 per cent of the battle is 'putting one foot in front of the other'.

She finishes the note by speaking to Chris directly, thanking him for loving her and letting her love him.

'As my wedding ring is inscribed, you are "My love, "My life.'"

'I would run this race, loving you every step of the way, all over again. The best thing I ever did was give my heart to you.'

Taya (pictured with her son and daughter behind Kyle's coffin) called her husband and Littlefield's death an act of 'pure evil at work' but said she did not want to focus on 'the pain and grief' that remains in her life

Taya writes that she has learned 'there was only one Chris Kyle' and that she has not 'fully learned how to lilve' without him in her life

Eddie Ray Routh (pictured) was sentenced to life in prison without parole after his capital murder conviction last February

Taya has continued to keep her husband's memory alive long after American Sniper, which starred Bradley Cooper as Chris, faded from the movie theaters and the Academy Awards.

She has revealed heartbreaking details surrounding the death of her husband, including when she demanded to see his body after he was murdered, in her memoir American Wife: A Memoir of Love, War, Faith and Renewal.

'I'd always loved him no matter what, and was willing to see him at his worst as well as his best,' she wrote.

'Maybe I was being irrational, but I had a deep emotional need  and if you'd asked me, I would have insisted that he needed me there as well.'

After seeing his body, friends came to visit her afterwards who she told of the moment when she got to kiss his face and say I love you.

'I got to feel his hair. His body was soft. I kissed his face,' she recalled telling her friends, according to The Washington Post.

'I told him I loved him. He wasn't all cleaned up. I was glad  I was glad. I could see his eyes, his set jaw. I could see, I could touch...'

Taya also recalled the painful moment she broke the news to Colton and Mckenna that their father had been murdered.

She wrote that she was on the family lawn with both children, sat on each of her knees, as she cried.

Without saying anything at first, she eventually said, 'Daddy's hurt' to which her daughter responded 'Is he dead?' and the mother nodded.

'Daddy was helping someone,' she said. 'There was something really, really wrong with that person and his brain. He shot and killed Daddy and Mr. Chad.'

Taya and Chris Kyle pictured with their son Colton and daughter Mckenna

Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole after his capital murder conviction last February.

Taya most recently made headlines after she confronted President Barack Obama at a CNN town hall event on the issue of his gun control plans.

'By the very nature of looking at the people who hurt our loved ones here, I don't know any of them would have been stopped by the background check,' she said.

'People who are murdering, right, are  they're breaking the law but they also don't have a moral code that we have.'

'And so they could do the same amount of damage with a pipe bomb, the problem is they want to murder.'

Tara previously told CNN that she had overcome her fear of guns after her husband's death and became a gun owner to defend herself and her family.

'Why not celebrate where we are?' she asked Obama.

'I guess that's my real question [and] celebrate that we're good people and 99.9 percent of us are never going to kill anyone.'
A woman had planned to take her three young children to Syria so that they could be reunited with their jihadi fighter father, a court has heard.

Trainee maths teacher Lorna Moore, 33, was born into a Protestant family in Belfast but converted to Islam before marrying husband Sajid Aslam in 2003.

The Old Bailey heard that Aslam, 34, was one of a group of friends who fled their homes in Walsall, in the West Midlands, to join the Islamic State in Syria between July and December 2014.

Moore is accused of failing to tell authorities about her husband's plans to join the terror group.

Trainee maths teacher Lorna Moore, 33, left, was born into a Protestant family in Belfast but converted to Islam before marrying husband Sajid Aslam, right, in 2003. The father-of-three allegedly fled to Syria in August 2014

Jurors were told Moore had also booked a flight to Majorca, but had planned to continue on to Syria. She had applied for passports for her family and sold her car and TV in preparation, it was said.

Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC told jurors: 'The plan was for Miss Moore to take the children via an innocuous destination to be reunited with their father.'

She is on trial alongside Ayman Shaukat, 27, who is accused of helping his friend Aslam and another member of the group make the journey to Syria.

The first of the group to leave was Muslim convert Jacob Petty, 25, also known as Abu Yaqood Britany, who fled Britain in July 2014. He was killed before the year was out.

Petty was soon joined by his old school friend Isaiah Siadatan, who left behind his wife Kerry Thomason and their two children.

Lorna Mooore arrives at the Old Bailey, in London

The jury heard that it was Shaukat who took Aslam to the airport for his flight out of the UK on August 23 2014.

He also allegedly drove two more of the group, Alex Nash, 22, and his wife Yousma Jan, to the airport as they set off for Syria on November 4.

Shaukat, who was treasurer of Islam Walsall and worked as a customer services agent, sent a friend a photo of himself posing with an ISIS flag in his bedroom on the day Aslam left the UK.

A week later Aslam sent Shaukat a 'triumphant' coded message that indicated he had reached Syria, it is claimed.

He sent his friend a link to a YouTube video of a song called I Made It by pop band Cash Money Heroes, to which Shaukat replied 'good stuff'.

In October Aslam told his friend that it can be 'tough at times in my new job but it's all in a good cause'.

Aslam also kept in contact with his wife over Skype, it was heard.

Within months of his departure, Moore had booked flights to Palma, Majorca, set about renting out her house, applied for passports and visited family in her native Belfast, the court heard.

Her final destination was given away when Nash and Jan were arrested by Turkish police at Gaziantep while en route to Syria, it is claimed.

Mr Christopher said the couple wore western clothing on the trip 'no doubt to deflect questioning about where they were going and why'.

British police swooped on Moore's West Midlands home and discovered a text from Nash and Jan that read: 'See you there. May the peace of Allah be upon you xxx'.

The couple also sent a picture of their last sunrise over their Walsall home.

The prosecutor said that Moore was aware of the true significance of the couple's departure and when she booked flights to Palma for November 15, she was really intending to be joining them at their destination.

Meanwhile, Siadatan set up a cover story to try and avoid suspicion, telling people that he was at university. In one message he encouraged Shaukat to join him in 'Bradford' for the 'party life'.

Mr Christopher told the jury: 'The prosecution suggest that a clear overall picture emerges from the evidence - this was a group of friends all intent on going out to Syria to fight for ISIS, and providing each other with help and support, in which Shaukat played an instrumental role - and indeed, it would appear that he would say that the only reason that he did not go out as well was his lack of passport.'

Ayman Shaukat, 27, left, is accused of helping his friend Aslam and another member of the group make the journey to Syria. Right, Muslim convert Jacob Petty, 25, who fled Britain in July 2014 and died in Syria

Moore denies failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism on or before August 24 2014 that might be of assistance in securing the apprehension of Aslam.
One of them was a bizarre email scam from

Bill Clinton ignored requests from Chelsea's father-in-law for a pardon in the last year of his presidency, it has been revealed.

Former Democratic congressman Ed Mezvinsky wrote to Clinton in 2001 during his final days in the White House, begging him for a reprieve while he was being investigated for stealing $10million from friends, family and investors after getting caught up in various Ponzi schemes.

But Clinton did not act on the request and Mezvinsky, 79, was forced to serve five years behind bars.

The reason why the pardon was denied is not known, but it may have come to late. The documents show that the letter was received on January 12, 2001, just eight days before Clinton left office

Chelsea and Ed's son Marc didn't marry until 2010, but the families were friends and the Mevinskys were frequent guests at White House state dinners.

Former Democratic congressman Ed Mezvinsky wrote to Bill Clinton in 2001 during his final days in the White House, begging him for a reprieve while he was being investigated for stealing $10million from friends, family and investors after getting caught up in various Ponzi schemes

It was in 1993 when Chelsea and Marc first met at the prestigious annual Renaissance Weekend gathering in South Carolina.

Ed was convicted of 31 counts of fraud, was branded a one-man crime wave by prosecutors and began his prison sentence in 2003.

When Chelsea and Marc decided to get married in 2006, he was still behind bars.

He stole from friends and family after losing millions to bizarre Nigerian e-mail scams.

Just before he was found guilty, he wrote the grovelling letter in a bid to get off. According to records seen by Politico, he wrote: 'I have real reason to believe that without a pardon, charges will be brought against me in the very near future, and that I will then be faced with a long and difficult process of defending myself, and ultimately the prospect of a long prison term.

'I am humbled and saddened at having sullied my reputation and that of my family, and having disappointed the many honorable and decent people who had confidence in me. I am prepared to try to make amends as best I can.'

His wife Margolies-Mezvinsky, who was also a member of Congress, also tried to talk Clinton down.

'He is a man who in public service and his private life has worked tirelessly as an advocate for the poor, the underprivileged, and undeserved.

The reason why the pardon was denied is not known, but it may have come to late. The documents show that the letter was received on January 12, 2001, just eight days before Clinton left office. (He is pictured on his final day in the White House)

Chelsea and Ed's son Marc (pictured left toegther in October 2015) didn't marry until 2010, but the families were friends and the Mevinskys were frequent guests at White House state dinners

'But he is also a man who now finds himself in a precarious position, where a federal investigation has already blemished a stellar career, a life of high-minded public service dedication to humanitarian causes.

'It is for this reason that I write personally to you to seek clemency for Ed.'

She signed it 'Majorie', suggesting she was close to the president.

Before Chelsea's wedding in 2010, the disgraced congressman addressed his past.

He said: 'It was a terrible time, and I was punished for that. And I respect that and accept responsibility for what happened, and now I'm trying to move on and am grateful I have the opportunity for that.'

When Chelsea was touring colleges in 1997, Marc Mezvinsky, then a sophomore at Stanford, showed her around the campus. Their friendship developed over their college years, though they didn't start formally dating until she moved to New York after graduation.

Congresswoman Margolies-Mezvinsky achieved national prominence in 1993 by providing what was seen as the critical vote for President Bill Clinton's budget and tax bill. Republicans chanted, "Good-bye, Margie," as she cast the high-profile vote.
Jailed: Shamim was arrested on January 16 under the Section 5 of the Terrorism Act and was released on bail

A British man who threatened to blow up a French bookshop for selling Charlie Hebdo magazine has been jailed for ten weeks after he was caught on the Syrian border and failed to complete his community service.

Shamim Ahmed, 22, was returned to the UK after he was detained by Turkish police near the Syrian-Turkish border last month.

On returning to the UK, Ahmed was arrested under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act but was released on bail. He was then questioned by his probation officer who he told he had gone to Turkey 'on holiday'.

The jobless 22-year-old was spared jail in November last year for threatening to bomb The French Bookshop in London's South Kensington.

Instead he was given a 20-week suspended sentence and handed a 300 hours paid work order and ordered to pay 1680 in fines and costs.

He was in Thames Magistrates Court today for breaching the community requirements of his suspension order.

It has emerged that he has only completed one hour of his unpaid work order and attended five of 11 appointments with his probation officer.

Ahmed, of Bigland Street, Shadwell, east London, denied admitting to his probation officer that he had tried to cross the border.

Defending him, Asia Hussain said: Mr Ahmed is passionate about his religion - he did not like that someone was disrespecting the prophet.

He is still of the opinion that what he did was not wrong.

He has stated he will not complete the 300 hours unpaid work.'

He reportedly told his probation officer after he returned from Turkey that he did intend to cross the border, he didn't know anyone in Syria or Turkey and the only law he recognises is Sharia law.

Prosecution Mahmud Amin said: He did not accept that his offence was wrong and that anyone who disrespected the prophet Mohammed knows what the consequences are.

He admitted he had no remorse for his offences and told the probation officer he did not care about his victims.

The former security guard accused the bookshop of selling the satirical magazine against Muslims just days after the massacre and said they would face major retaliation if they continued to stock it.

Targeted: The French Bookshop in London's South Kensington continued to sell Chalie Hebdo magazines

Ahmed then made two threatening phone calls to the shop on 22 January, telling the owner: Im going to come and stab you, Im going to come right away and blow up the shop: Im not afraid of the police, Im a Muslim.

It followed the massacre of twelve people during a raid on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January.

Ahmed originally denied making the threats but admitted two charges of sending malicious communications last November.

He travelled to Turkey but was returned to the UK after Turkish officials detained him at the Syrian border, believing he was trying to cross into the war torn country.

Ahmed was arrested on 16 January under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act and released on police bail.

Prosecution Mahmud Amin said four days later probation officer asked him about his arrest.

Ahmed, who lives with his parents and is unemployed, admitted breaching his community order.

He denied trying to travel to Syria, claiming he was staying in Istanbul.

The bench decided to immediately impose the suspended sentence and he will now serve ten weeks in prison and ten weeks out on licence.

Ahmed, who admitted breaching his suspended sentence order, thanked the panel as he was led from the dock.
A 21-year-old female student was beaten and stripped by an angry bomb in the southern Indian city of Bangalore because they mistook her car for one that ran over and killed a villager.

Police stood by and watched as the mob paraded the Tanzanian woman naked around the streets and set the car she was in on fire, local reports claim.

A bystander who tried to help her was also reported to have been beaten and when she tried to escape on a bus, the passengers are said to have thrown her back to the mob.

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A 21-year-old foreign student was beaten and stripped in the Indian city of Bangalore by an angry bomb who then burned her car (pictured)

The woman, a second year student at Acharya College, had nothing to do with another car, driven by a Sudanese man, that hit and killed a 35-year-old Hesaraghatta resident on Sunday night, the Deccan Chronicle reported.

Bosco Kaweesi, a legal adviser at the All African Students Union, said: 'Shes Tanzanian, the man who caused the accident comes from Sudan, they didnt even know each other.

'The scared students were forced out of the car and then the car was set ablaze. The driver of the second car... was beaten up black and blue by the mob who then stripped the girl student.

'When someone from the crowd offered her a T-Shirt to save her modesty, that man too was beaten up by the mob.

'She later, with her torn clothes, tried to enter a BMTC bus that had slowed down nearby, but the passengers in the bus pushed her back down on to the road... People were streaming out from buses, auto-rickshaws and charging towards them, punching and kicking them.'

Footage of the on fire car was broadcast by NDTV. The students lost valuable documents including passports, ATM cards and cash, when the mob set the car ablaze.

Police stood by and watched as the mob paraded the Tanzanian woman around naked and set the car she was in on fire, local reports claim

The five injured students are said to have been kicked out of hospital because they had no means of paying their bills and had no money.

They also had no way of contacting their parents because someone robbed their phones, Bosco added.

The Tanzanian girl is reported to have gone to the police to report the attack but they said they would only take the complaint if she could bring in the driver who hit the villager.

Bosco added: 'When the girl did not even know about the accident or the spot where it happened, how can she bring in the driver of the car.'
Desperate pregnant women suffering from the 'head shrinking' Zika virus in countries where termination is illegal will soon be able to get abortion drugs through the post for free.

International charity Women on Web is offering to send women in the early stages of pregnancy the pills who live in areas affected by the mosquito-borne disease so they can induce a home medical abortion.

However, those infected in Brazil - the worst affected country, where more than 4,000 babies have been born with microcephaly since the Zika outbreak began - will not be able to receive the packages, as the government blocks them entering the country.

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Women on Web is offering to send free abortion pills to women in the early stages of pregnancy who have been infected with the Zika virus in countries where termination is either illegal or severely restricted

The offer comes after a sharp rise in the number of babies born with microcephaly - which leaves them with unusually small heads and undersized brains - was linked to the mosquito-borne virus

Meanwhile, women opting for the service will risk prison sentences in countries like El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, where women have been known to spend more than a decade in prison simply for having suffered late stage miscarriages. Six others only allow abortion if it is to save the mother's life.

However, the alternative is giving birth to a child who will need care for the rest of their life, who may not be able to walk or talk - an added strain for families already struggling on the breadline in some of the world's poorest and most violent countries.

Most governments in the region have advised women against getting pregnant for at least two years, as fears grow that the virus, first discovered in Uganda in 1947, is causing children to be born with unusually small heads, and undersized brains.

It has yet to be definitively confirmed that the virus and the birth defect is related, but the World Health Organisation has warned of a global crisis.

Yet these governments are so far unwilling to adjust their strict abortion restrictions and bans. More pressingly, getting hold of contraception is not always easy: a report by The Henry J Kaiser Foundation found five of the countries where abortion was illegal, or partially illegal, ran out of contraception at some point last year.

Alejandra Colom, who works for the Population Council in Guatemala, told USA Today: 'They are making these recommendations, as if this is something that is always a woman's choice.

'These decisions are not necessarily in the hands of women.'

Most governments in the region have advised women against getting pregnant for at least two years

And this is why, in part, Women on Web have stepped into the breach, to give women a choice.

All women will have to do is go onto the website and do an online consultation, which will be reviewed by doctors.

Eligible women - who would have to be less than nine weeks pregnant - will then be sent the drugs for free.
A former U.S. Marine has been arrested on suspicion of beating, running over and then threatening to rape a 70-year-old female taxi driver on the island of Aruba.

Patrick Maxwell, 30, from Austin, Texas, is accused of attacking Grace Angela, a grandmother-of-four, late on Saturday night, leaving her with seven broken ribs and a broken nose.

Maxwell, who went to Syria in 2014 to fight against ISIS, now works for a real estate company and was on the Caribbean island with co-workers to celebrate their sales figures, police said.

Grace Angela, a grandmother-of-four, was left with seven broken ribs and a broken nose after the attack. She is pictured here speaking from her hospital bed. According to medics at the hospital, she may need reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to her face

Patrick Maxwell, 30, is arrested and accused of attempted rape and aggravated assault on grandmother Grace Angela. He is pictured here being arrested

Injuries: Grace Angela reveals the bruises she sustained in the attack. Maxwell got into Angela's cab outside a nightclub in the city of Palm Beach, before asking to be taken back to his hotel in the capital of Oranjestad

According to local station 24 Ora, Maxwell got into Angela's cab outside a nightclub in the city of Palm Beach, before asking to be taken back to his hotel in the capital of Oranjestad.

Once she arrived, Maxwell reportedly refused to leave the car and ordered her to take him to a nearby pharmacy instead, where he also refused to get out.

At that point Maxwell is accused of becoming violent, shouting at Angela and hitting her repeatedly in the face while threatening to rape her

At that point Angela got out of the car herself and Maxwell is accused of following her and continuing to hit her.

A passerby who saw what was going on then attempted to intervene, at which point Maxwell stole Angela's car and drove over her torso and leg while trying to escape, it is reported.

Images of Maxwell's arrest show him lying on the ground next to the red Toyota taxi after police caught up to him a short time later.

Meanwhile Angela has been pictured in hospital where she is still recovering with her legs covered in bruises and her face badly swollen.

Arrested: Maxwell is restrained by cops. The former Marine went to Syria in 2014 to fight against ISIS

Handcuffed: Maxwell now works for a real estate company and was on the Caribbean island with co-workers to celebrate their sales figures, police said

Maxwell is now in custody, facing charges of attempted rape and aggravated assault. He will be held without bond until his first court appearance on February 9

According to medics at the hospital, she may need reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to her face.

Maxwell is now in custody, facing charges of attempted rape and aggravated assault. He will be held without bond until his first court appearance on February 9.

Chris Lejuez, the defense attorney for Maxwell, said his client does not remember much of the incident due to consuming alcohol.

However, he added 'that does not explain what may have triggered his actions'.

Patrick Maxwell, 30, from Austin, Texas, was catching a cab to his hotel in Oranjestad (pictured) on Saturday night when he allegedly attacked driver Grace Angela, 70

Jeremy Coburn, an official with Networth Realty of Austin where Maxwell works, said he could not immediately comment on the case.

The New York Times profiled Maxwell last March in a story about former U.S. military members who were voluntarily fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

The story said Maxwell served as a Marine in Iraq in 2006 and was responsible in part for guarding the president at Camp David and training troops.

The story said he was honorably discharged in 2011 then voluntarily returned to Iraq in late 2014 to join Kurdish security forces.
Passengers have described a 12-day cruise at the centre of a gastroenteritis outbreak as the 'voyage of the damned' and told of fellow travellers vomiting in the ship's pools.

Stephen Dinale, who was one of the 4,000 passengers and crew on-board the Diamond Princess docked in Sydney, told The Sydney Morning Herald he could not wait to get off the ship after his experience.

'You would be [in] the elevator and I would be hitting the button with my knuckle... and other people would be running down the corridor holding their mouths,' Mr Dinale, who was on his first cruise with his wife, said.

More than 150 people have contracted gastro during a 12-day cruise from Australia to New Zealand on the Diamond Princess

'Someone vomited in one of the pools and they had to siphon that out, and they closed all that up.'

Mr Dinale said staff also wore gloves and face masks to stop the spread of the illness that had infected more than 150 passengers.

He added he would 'kiss the ground' as soon as he left the ship.

The cruise ship docked in Sydney on Thursday morning after spending 12 days travelling from Australia to New Zealand and back.

The captain of the Diamond Princess told passengers on the ship about the outbreak over the ship's public address system, 9News reported.

He asked passengers who were ill to stay in their cabins to prevent spreading the illness.

The captain asked passengers who were ill to stay in their cabins to prevent spreading the gastro. Above are passengers on the ship

An aerial shot of the Diamond Princess cruise ship as it docked in Sydney on Thursday

Passengers told 9News they were pleased with how the staff of the Diamond Princess handled the situation

The Diamond Princess is run by Carnival Australia and a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the gastro only broke out 'in the closing few days of the cruise'.

TIMELINE OF GASTRO OUTBREAKS ON CRUISE SHIPS Diamond Princess, February 2016 More than 150 passengers struck down with norovirus gastroenteritis on board the Princess Cruises ship, Diamond Princess, after a 12-day return trip from Sydney to New Zealand. Pacific Eden, December 2015 At least 60 people on board P&O's Pacific Eden cruise ship were struck down with gastro on the Sydney to Cairns return voyage over Christmas, with passengers labelling the vessel a 'floating disaster'. Explorer of the Seas, December 2015 A gastro outbreak affected more than 180 passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas cruise ship during a two-week return trip from Sydney to New Zealand. Radiance of the Seas, October 2015 More than 170 passengers reported feeling sick with a stomach bug during an eight-day cruise from Sydney on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. Dawn Princess, December 2014 A 13-day cruise around New Zealand on Carnival Australia's Dawn Princess ship left almost 200 passengers with a stomach bug. Advertisement

'A small proportion of the total number of passengers on-board reported gastro intestinal symptoms confirmed as being due to the common stomach bug norovirus,' the spokesman said.

'On the final full day of the cruise around 35 passengers were symptomatic.

'Increased sanitation levels on the ship were effective in containing the illness.

'As a further step the ship and terminal are today the subject of enhanced cleaning measures.

'Passengers joining the ship today have been advised of a short delay in embarkation arrangements.'

The NSW Health Department confirmed to Daily Mail Australia 158 passengers were infected and 'a very small number of crew' with gastro had been seen by the ship's medical crew over the course of the cruise.

'The outbreak is under control. There have been no medical disembarkations or patients requiring hospitalisation,' Director of the Public Health Unit Mark Ferson said.

'The ship has instituted maximum control measures, including increased sanitation, and further cleaning and hygiene procedures will occur prior to passengers arriving on board this afternoon [Thursday].

'Incoming passengers will be advised by the ship of the outbreak and about recommended hygiene measures.'

Following the news, staff worked to disinfect the ship, including the pool which was drained, and people on-board were not allowed to handle their own food.

The NSW Health Department confirmed to 9News there were 158 cases

The Diamond Princess (above is a stock) is run by Carnival Australia

Passengers told 9News they were pleased with how the staff of the Diamond Princess handled the situation.

'We were told there were only a few and that some people had not reported it for about four days, so other people caught it,' one woman said.

'I went back to disinfectant everything but I was using the antiseptic all the time.'

The ship returned to Sydney from a trip around New Zealand on Thursday.

This is latest case in a string of gastro incidents on-board cruise ships.

Passengers on the P&O cruise ship Pacific Eden labelled it a 'floating disaster' after about 50 of the 1,500 people on board were taken ill with norovirus over the Christmas period.
New York City is on edge amid a wave of slashings and stabbings that has engulfed the metropolis, with three more incidents occurring on Tuesday alone.

The latest batch of blade attacks took place in three different boroughs in a span of seven hours, beginning with the slashing of an 18-year-old high school student in Brooklyn.

According to police sources, the victim was jumped by four teenagers while walking home from school along Graham Avenue.

One of the assailants reportedly cried out cut him now!' prompting another teen to slash the victim on the chest and face.

Scroll down for video

Bloody Tuesday: Three men between the ages of 18 and 65 were slashed in separate above-ground incidents Tuesday, a day after a 30-year-old subway rider was knifed on board a 3 train in Brooklyn

About six hours later, police received a call about a 31-year-old man who was sliced on the hand on his way home from a barber shop in Harlem, reported the New York Daily News.

The victim, who was described by police as a known member of the Columbus Avenue Gunnerz gang, was attacked by a group of men, one of whom punched him in the head and slashed his hand with a razor blade.

The attackers then proceeded to punch and kick the 31-year-old before fleeing the scene on West 115th Street.

Less than two hours later, at around 10.45pm, a 65-year-old Bronx store owner was walking to his car parked along Olmstead Avenue when a thug put a knife to his neck and demanded money.

The elderly businessman suffered lacerations to his neck and hand but refused medical attention. Police say the mugger got away with nearly $4,400 in cash.

The number of slashing incidents and stabbings was up 24 per cent so far this year compared to the same period in 2015 - a troubling trend that Police Commissioner Bill Bratton dismissed as an 'aberration' during an interview Monday.

Tuesday's attacks, all of which took place above ground, come after a series of terrifying slashings and stabbings in the New York City subway.

A day earlier, a 30-year-old man was cut in the face on board a 3 train in Brooklyn, making it the tenth knifing attack in the subway this year.

Police say the suspect, 37-year-old Stephen Brathwaite, used a folding knife on Steve Jean Baptiste after both men boarded the train at the Junius Streer stop in East New York.

On the rise: Damon Knowles (pictured) is accused of wielding the knife that left grandmother-of-nine Carmen Rivera needing 30 stitches in her face after an attack on the 6 train at 7.15am on January 26

Another slashing: Ras Alula Nagarit is pictured at his recent arraignment in a Brooklyn, NY court. He allegedly slashed a woman at the Atlantic-Ave-Barclays Center 3 train platform last month

Baptiste told police that he and a friend were waiting for the train shortly before 1pm when they noticed Brathwaite staring at them as he paced back and forth, according to the New York Daily News.

'Wanna fight?' Brathwaite reportedly asked before pouring coffee on Baptiste's back.

Baptiste boarded a separate car than Brathwaite, who police say suffers from schizophrenia.

Cops say Brathwaite sought out his victim after they both got onto the train. He then allegedly lunged at Baptiste and slashed the right side of his chin, according to the New York Post.

Brathwaite was later arrested at Utica Avenue and charged with assault, menacing in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment.

Grandma: Carmen Rivera returns home to the Bronx. Ms Rivera was the victim of a slashing on the subway that left a deep cut on her face

There were seven slashings and three stabbings in the subway system as of Monday night, police sources told the NYDN.

Commissioner Bratton said that while there was a 12.9 per cent increase in subway knifings this year when compared to 2015, there is nothing to worry about.

'This is New York and occasionally the media and police get focused on a series of incidents, and thats what happened here,' Bratton said during an interview on the John Gambling radio program, 'The Answer' on Monday.

'In the subway system, the issue of concern that we have, that is the most constant concern, the more significant concern in terms of actual numbers ... is pickpocketing and theft of electronic equipment,' he added.

Slashings have gotten attention in recent weeks after a number of people have been randomly knifed on a train or in the street.

Those injured include a 71-year-old grandma who was attacked on the D train on January 26.

Damon Knowles is accused of wielding the knife that left grandmother-of-nine Carmen Rivera needing 30 stitches in her face after an attack on the 6 train at 7.15am on January 26.

Also this year, a 29-year-old woman was supposedly cut by Ras Alula Nagarit, who was wielding a cloth-covered machete, police said.

She was reportedly slashed on the Atlantic-Ave-Barclays Center 3 train platform where the attacker allegedly yelled, 'Ill chop you up right on this f train!

In early January Amanda Morris, 24, was slashed by a stranger in Chelsea and Anthony Christopher Smith, 30, was cut in in the East Village just a little more than a week later.
Jeb Bush tried to pull off a real barn burner of a speech in New Hampshire and when it didn't stick he informed the audience that it was time for applause.

'Please clap,' the seemingly dejected former Florida governor told the crowd.

The moment, first reported by the New York Times, pushed along the narrative that the once happy warrior, expected Republican nominee, is feeling the pressure now that he's stumping in the Granite State, a place where he must perform.

Scroll down for video

Feeling the pressure: Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush addresses guests during a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, Monday

At the event, held at the Hanover Inn, which hugs the Vermont border, Bush wanted voters to approve of some lines he said about protecting the country as the commander in chief.

'I won't be out here blowharding, talking a big game without backing it up,' Bush has said, according to the Times.

The country, Bush suggested, needed to 'get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world'.

Bush, according to the Times, said he's definitely staying in and heading to South Carolina after New Hampshire voters head to the polls next week, but making up lost electoral ground after his one-delegate pick-up in Iowa will be quite the feat.

'Oh, I'm continuing on,' Bush said. 'I'm continuing on, yeah.'

When the Republican race is discussed, candidates are often divvied up into 'lanes'.

And with Marco Rubio coming in at such a strong third in Iowa, he's already pushed past Bush when it comes to establishment lane support.

If Rubio does well in New Hampshire, that could seal the deal for establishment-friendly voters, who have no interest in a Donald Trump White House nor Ted Cruz's brand of Christian conservatism.

'If Rubio beats him badly in New Hampshire, Jeb is toast,' said Sen Lindsey Graham, a former presidential contender himself, who left the race and put his endorsement behind Bush.

Graham is now in New Hampshire trying to help his friend, and told the Times that Bush must 'tie Rubio or beat him' to remain viable in the race.

If Bush does better than expected, that could again shake the race up, but he first has to shake off the label being flung at him for months by Trump: 'low energy.'

'Please clap,' the seemingly dejected former Florida governor told the crowd at the Hanover Inn (pictured)

At the event, Bush wanted voters to approve of some lines he said about protecting the country as the commander in chief

Yesterday, the Bush campaign started running two-minute long ads in New Hampshire, sharpening its language toward Trump by calling him a 'loser' with 'deep insecurities.'

Trump went on a Twitter tear yesterday, blaming voters the media for his Iowa loss, and mocking Cruz, the winner, suggesting his 32-minute long victory speech was reminiscent of Democrat Howard Dean's campaign-killing scream of 2004.

Today Trump continued it by labeling Cruz a cheat because the Texan's campaign started a whisper suggesting Ben Carson, who would have attracted similarly-minded voters, was on the cusp of dropping out.

Bush also pivoted to attack Rubio and Cruz too, likening their first term Senate status to that of current President Barack Obama.
Food authorities don't usually test for copper sulphate, according to police

Olives were from a previous harvest and 'painted' to make them look fresh

Italian police have seized 85,000 tonnes of green olives treated with copper sulphate to brighten their colour, and thousands of tonnes of foreign olive oil being passed off as 'Made in Italy'.

Nineteen people face charges over the 'painted' olives, including use of banned additives and planning to sell edible goods containing dangerous substances, the forestry police said on Wednesday.

Italian police have seized 85,000 tonnes of green olives treated with copper sulphate to brighten their colour, and thousands of tonnes of foreign olive oil being passed off as 'Made in Italy'

Old olives from previous years' harvests which had lost their colour were 'recycled' with a coat of copper sulphate to give them an intense and uniform green colour.

Copper sulphate was a clever choice, police said, because it is not normally classified as a colourant so food control authorities do not usually test for it.

The home of pizza and prosciutto has long struggled against counterfeiting of its prized culinary goods, and police estimate the domestic market for fake foodstuffs is worth around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year.

Police also said they put six people under investigation in the southern Puglia region and seized 7,000 tonnes of olive oil purporting to be the Italian 'extra virgin' variety which is prized for its rich taste and health benefits.

Old olives from previous years' harvests which had lost their colour were 'recycled' with a coat of copper sulphate to give them an intense and uniform green colour

DNA tests showed the olives that yielded the oil were not from Italy, until recently the world's second biggest olive oil producer, but places including Syria and Turkey, the police statement said.

Thousands of tonnes of foreign oil falsely labelled as Italian had also been sold in the United States and Japan, police said, feeding fears that counterfeits could damage the reputation of Italian food. Producers rely on a perception of luxury to sell at higher prices abroad.

Italian authorities say the olive industry's nightmare year between 2014 and 2015, when bad weather, a fruit fly blight and a deadly bacterium hit crops, left the market more vulnerable to the risk of counterfeiting.
At the busiest time of the year for travelling in China, one lucky woman got the ride of her life when she boarded a flight on Sunday, only to realise there was no one else on the plane but her.

The traveller, with the surname of Zhang, enjoyed an entire plane to herself during her two-hour journey from the Chinese cities of Wuhan to Guangzhou with China Southern Airlines, reported the People's Daily Online.

Zhang took pictures of her solo voyage in the economy class and shared her experience on China's Twitter-like social media platform Weibo as soon as she landed.

Private jet: A young woman in China was surprised when she found out she was the only person on her flight

Spacious: Zhang had the whole plane to herself from Wuhan to Guangzhou on February 1, on flight no CZ2833

It didn't start off great for Zhang, as blizzards in the area meant her flight CZ2833 was delayed for ten hours.

According to the report, by the time the plane was ready to take off, most of the other passengers had already changed to an earlier flight.

After waiting patiently at the boarding gate, Zhang said a flight attendant walked up to her to and told her she was having a charter flight, which meant she had the whole plane to herself.

Flight number CZ2833, from Wuhan to Guangzhou is usually a Boeing 737 - a pretty big plane for just one person.

And according to Ctrip, a popular travel booking website in China, a ticket for the economy class on CZ2833 can cost as little as 700 Yuan (70).

Throughout the journey she could sit in any seat she liked without worrying who she would be forced to sit next to, or snoring passengers and screaming children.

She took selfies, and the cabin crew took pictures of her on the empty plane as she flew over China. She even met the pilot, and together she said they shared a bag of oranges.

When Zhang finally arrived in Guangzhou, she posted pictures of her journey on Weibo on February 1 with a comment that said: 'Today I flew to Guangzhou from Wuhan. Incredibly, I had my private plane. Yes, you read that right! Only me! And the cabin crew.

'It makes me feel like a tycoon. At first, I thought the flight would be cancelled. Surprisingly, it took off despite the fact I was the only passenger. Very professional airline.'

First class: Bad weather on last Sunday caused delays and many of the other passengers took earlier flights

Solo voyage: Zhang was on her own until the end, even the shuttle bus to arrivals was completely empty

Many people online were quick to comment. One user named 'Penpenpenguin' wrote: 'Don't be silly. They would fly even if there were no passengers.'

'Zhang Jia San Shao Ye' agreed: 'It's because the plane needs to return to Guangzhou.'

The plane landed at 2am on a rainy Monday morning.

However, Zhang's first-class experience didn't end there, she walked off the plane as a flight attendant held an umbrella for her until she got onto an empty shuttle bus from the plane to airport arrivals.
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Tens of thousands of birds have been captured flocking over a sprouting spring in Jinan, the capital of eastern China's Shandong Province.

Stunning photos taken on February 2 show the tiny birds, believed to be sparrows, flying in large groups over a purple sky and resting in huge droves on the leafless trees.

The phenomenon is believed to have lasted about two weeks as the birds started gathering on January 20, reports the People's Daily Online.

Spectacular: Tens of thousands of tiny sparrows have been captured over a purple sky in Jinan, the capital of east China's Shandong

Stunning: Thousands of tiny sparrows rest on a leafless weeping willow at Jinan Baotu Park on February 2 displaying beautiful colours

Over the last week, hundreds of tourists have been bracing the cold temperatures and headed to Jinan Baotu Spring Park for a glimpse of these rare spectacular displays.

According to the report, bird experts in the area have said that every winter the sparrows head to the same habitat to forage, performing fascinating shows in the sky as they go.

Though experts have said the birds are sparrows, some people have claimed they are in fact songbirds, this is yet to be confirmed.

This phenomenon occurs in many areas of Jinan, including a residential area, and the famous Baotu Park. Hundreds of thousands of them reside in the sky and the trees in these areas each year.

Speaking to news.163.com, a local woman named Ms Wang, who lives on the sixth floor of a nearby apartment where the birds rest said: 'The birds sometimes fly in large crowds and tweet outside my window. It's a bit scary.'

Although there are differences over the bird's segmentation and clustering, local reporters learned that this has nothing to do with abnormal circumstances in the area.

The birds: Hundreds of tourists have been bracing the cold temperatures for a glimpse of these rare spectacular displays in Jinan, China
But women are more likely to

It's a well-known fact that yawning is contagious and can spread around a room in a matter of seconds, but it turns out the phenomenon is more common among women.

During tests, researchers found that while men and women yawn spontaneously at equal rates, women are more likely to yawn in 'reply' to another person's yawn.

Yawning in response to someone else is a recognised sign of empathy, which suggests that women are more empathetic and attuned to others than men.

During tests, researchers found that while men and women yawn spontaneously at equal rates, women are more likely to yawn in 'reply' to another person's yawn. Yawning in response to someone else is a recognised sign of empathy, which suggests women are more empathetic and attuned to others than men. Stock image

The research was carried out at Pisa University in Italy.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the internal emotional states of others, and previous research has already shown that women are better at it than men.

For example, research has revealed women more often mimic the facial expressions of others, showing they are picking up on the other person's state of mind.

A team led by Elisabetta Palagi, set out to examine whether women are more likely to unconsciously mimic another person's yawning.

To test their theory, the experts secretly observed people in hundreds of work and social situations over a period of five years.

Researchers secretly observed people in hundreds of work and social situations over five years, noting whenever subjects 'returned' another person's yawn within three minutes (stock image). The rates of contagion were significantly lower between acquaintances than between friends and family members

They particularly noted if subjects 'returned' another person's yawn within three minutes.

The authors, writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, defined yawning scientifically as 'an involuntary sequence of mouth opening, deep inspiration, brief apnoea [stopping breathing] and slow expiration'.

While they said men and women yawned spontaneously at equal rates, they discovered that once someone had yawned, female participants were more likely to yawn as well.

YOU MAY BE A PSYCHOPATH IF YOU DON'T 'YAWN IN REPLY' Scientists have found that the more psychopath characteristics people have, the less chance they will be affected by 'contagious yawning' which normal mammals are said to be unable to resist. The researchers from Baylor University in Texas published their findings in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, in August. A total of 135 students were tested for traits such as Machiavellian egocentricity (a tendency to only consider personal needs), cold-heartedness and rebellious nonconformity. They were then shown video clips of people using different facial expressions, including yawning. The ones who scored highly for cold-heartedness were the ones less likely to yawn. Advertisement

'The completely new finding of this study is that under natural conditions women from our population sample contagiously yawned at significantly higher rates than men,' the team explained.

'This result further supports the empathic ground of yawn contagion, in the light of the existing psychological, clinical and neurobiological evidence in favour of higher empathic abilities of women compared with men.'

Explaining why they think women are more likely to unconsciously mimic somebody else's sleepiness, the researchers said that having a close emotional bond with the 'trigger' yawner  if they are friends or relations - makes a person more likely to pick up on their mood than that of a stranger.

The rates of contagion were significantly lower between acquaintances than between friends and family members, and significantly higher in women than in men.

'These results not only confirm that yawn contagion is sensitive to social closeness, but also that the phenomenon is affected by the same gender bias affecting empathy,' continued the researchers.

'These results not only confirm that yawn contagion is sensitive to social closeness, but also that the phenomenon is affected by the same gender bias affecting empathy,' continued the researchers.

The phenomenon has been seen in other social animals, such as chimps, dogs and wolves.

'The sex skew, also found in other non-human species, fits with the female social roles which are likely to require higher empathic abilities (eg parental care, group cohesion maintenance, social mediation),' the study said.

The phenomenon has been seen in other social animals, such as chimps, dogs (stock image) and wolves. Picking up on a signal like yawning helps a group to co-ordinate its actions

In the animal kingdom, the authors said that females are more likely to show 'pro-social' behaviour  the opposite of acting anti-socially than males.

'For example, compared with males, rat females showed greater sensitivity to other's pain (measured via an increase of writhing) and were more likely to release a trapped cage mate,' the study says.

'In chimpanzees, female bystanders were more likely to console distressed individuals and in lowland gorillas, immature females offered more frequently consolatory contact than males.'

Picking up on a signal like yawning helps a group to co-ordinate its actions  such as by going to bed at the same time.
If you had trouble locating your Uber app sometime today, you're not alone.

The firm unveiled a radical new look, replacing the familiar U with colourful geometric shapes, which are unique for each market and if your are a drive or a rider.

This new move aims to reflect 'what Uber actually is - a transportation network', the company said.

But many have ridiculed the strange design for being nothing more than a corporate re-branding exercise.

If you had trouble locating your Uber app sometime today, it's because they released a new logo. Users will now see colourful geometric shapes, which unique for each market and if your are a drive or a rider. This new move is to reflect 'what Uber actually is -- a transportation network'

'The old Uber was black and white, somewhat distant and cold,' Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO and co-founder, wrote in a blog post.

'This belied what Uber actually is  a transportation network.'

The iconic 'U' is now a circle with a square in the middle set on a colourful background for riders.

If you're a driver, you will see a hexagon with a square in the center and again set on a colourful background.

The iconic 'U' is now a circle with a square in the middle set on a colourful background for riders. If you're a driver, you will see a hexagon with a square in the center and again set on a colourful background. All of the rebranding of the firm was done in-house and logos began as concepts instead of just icons

INSPIRATION FOR THE LOGOS During their brainstorming, the team focused on a blog post Kalanick wrote in 2013, 'Bits & Atoms', which compared Uber to bits and atoms. Bits is the firm's technology  Uber's mapping and dispatch software. And the atoms are a representation of the people. Another concept emerged in the drawing board of small square tiles, similar to the ones that line bathroom floors. The team agreed on a design and decided to use colours, patterns and images unique to each specific market. Uber says it was inspired by Mexican pink and patterns in the local tiles in Mexico. In Ireland, the Georgian architecture and lush greens will be highlighted. And in Nigeria, from the Ankara, which 'came up again and again because of its bright colours and beautiful geometric patterns'. Advertisement

All of the rebranding of the firm was done in-house and logos began as concepts instead of just icons, reported Wired.

During their brainstorming, the team focused on a blog post Kalanick wrote in 2013, 'Bits & Atoms', which compared Uber to bits and atoms.

Bits is the firm's technology  Uber's mapping and dispatch software.

And the atoms are a representation of the people.

Another concept emerged in the drawing board of small square tiles, similar to the ones that line bathroom floors.

The team agreed on a design and decided to use colours, patterns and images unique to each specific market.

'To bring out this human sidethe atomswe've added color and patterns,' reads the blog post.

'The team has spent months researching architecture, textiles, scenery, art, fashion, people and more to come up with authentic identities for the countries where Uber operates.'

For example, Uber says it was inspired by Mexican pink and patterns in the local tiles in Mexico.

In Ireland, the Georgian architecture and lush greens will be highlighted.

And in Nigeria, from the Ankara, which 'came up again and again because of its bright colours and beautiful geometric patterns'.

Uber feels every city has its own character and its 'long term goal is to have unique designs as well as countries.

Although Uber sees its new logo as a great milestone and a way of moving forward, users think otherwise and have turned to Twitter to voice how they fee.And of course they came quick and in a huge wave of unanimous 'No's'

Another concept emerged in the drawing board of small square tiles, similar to the ones that line bathroom floors. The team agreed on a design and decided to use colours, patterns and images unique to each specific market. Pictured are the patterns and colours Uber has chosen fo the logo in China

'To bring out this human sidethe atomswe've added color and patterns,' reads the blog post. 'The team has spent months researching architecture, textiles, scenery, art, fashion, people and more to come up with authentic identities for the countries where Uber operates'.Uber was inspired by the lush hills for Ireland

Over time, hundreds of colours and patterns will be added to represent each market.

Although Uber sees its new logo as a great milestone and a way of moving forward, users think otherwise and have turned to Twitter to voice how they feel.

And of course they came quick and in a huge wave of unanimous 'No's'.

More than just a handful have made comments about the app being hard to find and that it works slower since the new update.

And many social media users said that the new look won't make Uber-users out of people who oppose its business practices.

Twitter users branded the new logo 'ugly' and expressed confusion about why they had made a change 'for changes sake'

More than just a handful have made comments about the app being hard to find and that it works slower since the new update. And many social media users said that the new look won't make Uber-users out of people who oppose its business practices

Twitter users branded the new logo 'ugly' and expressed confusion about why they had made a change 'for changes sake' When Uber was a young company, Kalanick was seen as aggressive, hostile and always looking for a 'fight'  with regulators, the taxi industry and other competitors

The service was available to about 100 riders who could request BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars, which is the reason behind the sleek, luxurious 'U' logo. But now Uber understands it is no longer just catering to a few big spenders looking for a joy ride

When Uber was conceived it was designed for individuals who wanted to 'roll around San Francisco like ballers'.

The service was available to about 100 riders who could request BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars, which is the reason behind the sleek, luxurious 'U' logo.

But now Uber understands it is no longer just catering to a few big spenders looking for a joy ride.

'The early app was an attempt at something luxury' Kalanick told Wired.

AIRBNB HITS BACK AFTER ITS 'VAGINA LOGO' GETS RIDICULED Uber isn't the only one to have faced controversy over its new logo. In 2014, Airbnb was forced to defend its controversial new logo, claiming it will become as recognisable as the Nike swoosh. However, many believed it looked more like a vagina. 'It's just like: Go ahead, laugh all you want, guys,' said Airbnb co-founder and CTO Nathan Blecharczyk at a dinner in San Francisco. 'We wouldn't want to design a logo that caters to the lowest common denominator.' The logo, created by UK design firm The Design Studio, drew comparisons to various body parts now only because it didn't have the Airbnb brand attached to it yet. Uber isn't the only one to have faced controversy over its new logo. In 2014, Airbnb was forced to defend its controversial new logo, claiming it will become as recognisable as the Nike swoosh. However, many believed it looked more like a vagina Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky said the logo was inspired by famous logos from around the world, like the Olympic rings and Batman symbol. 'We've created a symbol for us as a community,' he said in a blog post announcing the change. 'It's an iconic mark for our windows, our doors, and our shared values. 'It's a symbol that, like us, can belong wherever it happens to be.' Twitter user shaunpendy designed an infographic providing one possible explanation for how the logo came to be. In addition to people, places, and love, he said the final component was 'truck nuts.' User mbraaten hypothesised what the meeting to decide on the symbol might've been like. In her scenario, one person says they're all out of ideas, and another person responds, 'Balls!' Advertisement

'That's where we came from, but it's not where we are today.'

Presently, Uber is available in 400 cities in 65 different countries around the world and about two-thirds of its 6,000 or so employees have been with the company less than a year.

'There is an evolution here, for the found as well as for the company,' said Kalanick, 'because really they're very connected.

When Uber was a young company, Kalanick was seen as aggressive, hostile and always looking for a 'fight'  with regulators, the taxi industry and other competitors.

Kalanick has said in previous interview that this was all misrepresented by the media.

'When you don't really know who you are', he explained, 'it's easy to be miscastas a company, or as a person.'

Kalanick believes this 'rebrand has been an act of self-exploration'.

Kalanick has said in previous interview that this was all misrepresented by the media. 'When you don't really know who you are', he explained, 'it's easy to be miscastas a company, or as a person. Uber was inspired by the bright colours in Mexico (pictured)
When the world's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), launches in 2018, it will carry with it 13 small satellites.

Each about the size of a shoebox, the 'cubesats' will hold experiments that be released by the SLS at different destinations on its way to Mars.

Today, Nasa has announced what seven of those CubeSats will look like, and exactly what they hope to achieve.

Today, Nasa has announced today what seven of those CubeSats will look like, and exactly what they hope to achieve. Among them is a huge laser flashlight that will orbit the moon that will eventually provide scientists with a map of where to find water sources on the lunar surface

THE CUBESATS HITCHHIKING A RIDE ON THE SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM Skyfire - will perform a lunar flyby of the moon to improve knowledge of the lunar surface Lunar IceCube - this cubesat will search for water ice and other resources at a low orbit of only 62 miles above the surface of the moon Near-Earth Asteroid Scout - NEA Scout will perform reconnaissance of an asteroid, take pictures and observe its position in space BioSentinel - This experiment will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep space radiation on living organisms over long durations in deep space Lunar Flashlight - The flashlight will look for ice deposits and identify locations where resources may be extracted from the lunar surface CuSP  a space weather station to measure particles and magnetic fields in space, testing practicality for a network of stations to monitor space weather LunaH-Map - will map hydrogen within craters and other permanently shadowed regions throughout the moons south pole Advertisement

Among them is a huge laser flashlight that will orbit the moon that will eventually provide scientists with a map of where to find water sources on the lunar surface.

'In a future mission, we'd have to live off the land,' Jitendra Joshi, head of Nasa's Advanced Exploration Systems, explained during a press conference today.

'This map could help find good sites for that.'

Another cubesat  known as the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout  will use solar sail propulsion to fly by a small asteroid, taking pictures and making observations.

It aims to improve the current understanding of the asteroid environment and yield key information for future astronauts exploring an asteroid.

Lunar Flashlight will use a large solar sail, similar to the NEA Scout sail, to reflect sunlight and illuminate the moon's permanently shadowed craters and then the science instruments will measure the surface water ice.

Meanwhile, BioSentinel will use yeast to detect, measure, and compare the impact of deep space radiation on living organisms over long durations beyond Low-Earth Orbit.

This will help scientists understand the effects of the deep space environment on biological systems as we plan to send humans farther into space than ever before.

The primary goal of SLS and the Orion spacecraft is to launch future crewed, deep space missions. That said, an added bonus of this powerful rocket is the extra science it can carry. On its first mission (known as Exploration Mission-1, EM-1) SLS will carry 13 cubesats

A concept image of the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout mission, one of 11 missions that will be secondary payloads to the first test flight of Nasa's Space Launch System

The BioSentinel mission will be the first time living organisms have travelled to deep space in over 40 years and the spacecraft will operate in the deep space radiation environment throughout its 18-month mission.

Another CubeSat called SkyFire will do a flyby of the moon, collecting data with onboard sensors.

SLS' first flight, referred to as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), provides the rare opportunity for these small experiments to reach deep space.

'The 13 CubeSats that will fly to deep space as secondary payloads aboard SLS on EM-1 showcase the intersection of science and technology, and advance our journey to Mars,' said Nasa Deputy Administrator Dava Newman.

SLS BLOCK 1: FINAL DESIGN STATS Eventually, SLS will stand 322ft (1,012 metres) tall, provide 8.4 million pounds of thrust at lift-off, weigh 5.5 million pounds. It will also carry 70 metric tons or 154,000 pounds of payload - equivalent to approximately 77 one-ton pickup trucks' worth of cargo. To get off the ground, Block 1 requires twin solid rocket boosters, powerful engines, flight computers, avionics and the core stage. The core stage, towering more than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.6 feet, will carry cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle's four RS-25 engines. Advertisement

Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH) will enter a polar orbit around the moon with a low altitude. From there, it will produce maps of near-surface hydrogen

BioSentinel will be the first time living organisms have traveled to deep space in more than 40 years

In this first flight, SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the moon to demonstrate it works before the first crewed flight.

The first configuration of SLS that will fly on EM-1 is referred to as Block I and will have a minimum 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capability and be powered by twin boosters and four RS-25 engines.

The CubeSats will be deployed following Orion separation from the upper stage and once Orion is a safe distance away.

Each payload will be ejected with a spring mechanism from dispensers on the Orion stage adapter.

Following deployment, the transmitters on the CubeSats will turn on, and ground stations will listen for their beacons to determine the functionality of these small satellites.

'The SLS is providing an incredible opportunity to conduct science missions and test key technologies beyond low-Earth orbit,' said Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development at Nasa.

'This rocket has the unprecedented power to send Orion to deep space plus room to carry 13 small satellites  payloads that will advance our knowledge about deep space with minimal cost.'

Skyfire will perform a lunar flyby, collecting data to address both Moon and Mars Strategic Knowledge Gaps, or gaps in information required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness and improve the design of robotic and human space exploration missions, for surface characterisation, remote sensing and site selection
From hair around their edges to being able to escape them, Stephen Hawking has proposed a series of fascinating - if sometimes complex - theories about black holes.

In his latest theory, he claims that 'mini' black holes, with the same mass of a mountain, would give off X-rays and gamma rays at a rate of about 10 million megawatts.

This would be enough to power the entire world's electricity supply, but we would first need to find a black hole that small and harness its energy without it destroying us.

In his latest theory, Stephen Hawking claims that 'mini' black holes, with the same mass of a mountain, would give off X-rays and gamma rays at a rate of about 10 million megawatts. This would be enough to power the entire world's electricity supply, but we would need to find a way to harness this energy

The comments were made in Professor Hawking's second Reith lecture on BBC Radio 4.

He explained in the presence of a black hole, a member of a pair of virtual particles may fall into the hole, leaving the other member without a partner 'with which to annihilate'.

The forsaken particle or antiparticle could either fall into the black hole after its partner, or escape where it would appear as radiation.

The physicist has previously found that a black hole creates and emits particles and radiation at a temperature relative to gravity on the surface, and inversely proportional to its mass.

For example, a black hole with the mass of the sun, would leak particles at such a slow rate, making it impossible to detect.

But much smaller mini black holes with the mass of a mountain could be.

The comments were made in Professor Hawking's second Reith lecture on BBC Radio 4. He said that people have been searching for mini black holes of this mass for years, but to no avail, before he quipped: 'This is a pity, because if they had I would have got a Nobel Prize'

'A mountain-sized black hole would give off X-rays and gamma rays, at a rate of about 10 million megawatts, enough to power the world's electricity supply,' Professor Hawking said.

'It wouldn't be easy however, to harness a mini black hole. You couldn't keep it in a power station, because it would drop through the floor and end up at the centre of the Earth.

STEPHEN HAWKING AND GREY 'BLACK' HOLES The information paradox has fascinated Stephen Hawking and others for decades. In the 1970s, he proposed black holes are capable of radiating particles and that the energy lost through this process would cause the black holes to shrink and eventually disappear. Last year, he revised his theory by declaring black holes were in fact 'grey'. The grey hole theory allows matter and energy to be held for a period of time before being released back into space. He said the idea of an event horizon, from which light can't escape, is flawed and suggested instead that light rays attempting to rush away from the black hole's core are held as though stuck on a treadmill and that they could slowly shrink by spewing out radiation. He has now built-on and tweaked the idea with his latest theory, with physicists Malcolm Perry and Andrew Strominger. Professor Strominger compared the 'soft hair' - zero energy particles on the black hole's horizon - to a recording device, which captures and stores the information stripped from particles as they fall into a black hole. Advertisement

'If we had such a black hole, about the only way to keep hold of it would be to have it in orbit around the Earth.'

He said that people have been searching for mini black holes of this mass for years, but to no avail, before he quipped: 'This is a pity, because if they had I would have got a Nobel Prize.'

Instead, he proposes it may be possible to create micro black holes in the extra dimensions of space time.

'According to some theories, the universe we experience is just a four dimensional surface in a ten or eleven dimensional space,' Professor Hawking explained.

'We wouldn't see these extra dimensions because light wouldn't propagate through them but only through the four dimensions of our universe.

'Gravity, however, would affect the extra dimensions and would be much stronger than in our universe. This would make it much easier to form a little black hole in the extra dimensions.'

It could be possible to observe Professor Hawking's theory at the Large Hadron Collider, at CERN in Switzerland.

Some of the collisions made at CERN could create micro black holes which would radiate particles in a pattern that would be easy to recognise.

'So I might get a Nobel Prize after all,' concluded Professor Hawking.

Last year, the physicist revealed black holes were not the 'eternal prisons' many think them to be, and it is possible for data to escape from the abyss.

Last year, Stephen Hawking revealed black holes were not the 'eternal prisons' many think them to be, and it is possible for data to escape from the abyss. The 74-year-old recently expanded this theory and said the answer lies in particles, or 'soft hair', that sit on the black hole's horizon

The 74-year-old expanded this theory in a recently published scientific paper, and said the answer lies in the zero-energy particles, or 'soft hair', that sit on the black hole's horizon.

Speaking to scientists in Stockholm in August, Professor Hawking teased the theory when he explained that black holes may not be so black after all.

He challenged the assumption that anything sucked into the massive objects is lost forever.

In particular, the theoretical physicist claimed to have discovered a mechanism 'by which information is returned out of the black hole.'

It states that the particles that sit on the event horizon would consist of photons and gravitons, which are subatomic packets of light and gravitational energy.

These very low, or even zero-energy, quantum particles deposited on the edge of the black hole, can capture and store information stripped from the particles falling into the black hole.

This effectively means that while the particles falling into the black hole may be gone, their information continues to linger at the edge of oblivion in this 'soft hair' of quantum particles.

This has been likened to the way nose hairs catch dust, for example.

According to the hologram theory, these particles are 'pixels' in the hologram which store the information.

The full transcript is available from BBC Radio 4's website.
Microsoft has officially acquired the makers of predictive keyboard mobile app SwiftKey.

The London-based start-up behind the app has been brought into the Microsoft fold in a deal worth an estimated $250 million (174m).

Microsoft is believed to have a keen interest in the firm's artificial intelligence research, including its recently launched Neural Alpha app, which could make its Cortana assistant more accurate.

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The London-based start-up behind the SwiftKey predictive keyboard app (pictured) has been bought by Microsoft in a deal worth $250 million (174m). The app is available in over 100 languages, including Arabic, Russian, Thai and Afrikaans, and predicts text as it learns from the user's swipes and key strokes

SwiftKey was started by Cambridge graduates in 2008, launching its predictive auto-correcting keyboard app on Android in 2010 and iOS in 2014.

Microsoft has a keen interest in the firm's AI research which could make Cortana more accurate

Today the company reports more than 300 million users worldwide.

In a statement on the company's blog, founders Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, wrote: 'We're excited to announce an important milestone on SwiftKey's journey.

'As of today, we have agreed to join the Microsoft family.'

The app was initially paid for but became free with paid in-app upgrades when it became available on the app store.

Today, it is available in more than 100 languages, including Arabic, Russian, Thai and Afrikaans.

It is able to predict with great accuracy as it learns from the user's swipes and key strokes.

The co-founders confirmed that the takeover will not come at a cost to new users.

Reynolds and Medlock said: 'Our apps will continue to be available on Android and iOS, for free.

'We are as committed as ever to improving them in new and innovative ways.'

While the app is a runaway success, reports have circulated Microsoft may be more interested in SwiftKey's artificial intelligence research.

Earlier this week the Financial Times said that there is an ongoing 'war for talent' in the world of AI and that Reynolds and Medlock stand to make a fortune of $30m (21m) each from the deal.

SwiftKey launched its predictive auto-correcting keyboard app on Android in 2010, migrating to iOS in 2014 (pictured), and the company reports more than 300 million users worldwide. The company has also worked with Professor Stephen Hawking, helping the scientist and author to upgrade his communications

SwiftKey co-founders Jon Reynolds (left) and Ben Medlock (right) are set to become multimillionaires from the takeover by Microsoft. The co-founders confirmed that the takeover will not come at a cost to new users

THE STORY OF SWIFTKEY SwiftKey launched its predictive auto-correcting keyboard app on Android in 2010 and iOS in 2014. Today, it is available in over 100 languages. The $250m deal with Microsoft marks an 'important milestone' in the firm's timeline. Microsoft is believed to have a keen interest in the firm's artificial intelligence research, including its recently launched Neural Alpha app, which uses neural networks rather than classic AI algorithms to predict strings of text. The company has also worked with Professor Stephen Hawking, helping the scientist and author to upgrade his communications, applying predictive language software to his system and enabling him to speak faster and continue to give lectures. Advertisement

At the end of last year, SwiftKey launched a keyboard app for Android which uses neural networks rather than its classic AI algorithms to predict text.

Neural Alpha, which has been available on the Google Play app store since October, can complete whole sentences, and someday entire emails, for you.

It looks at clusters of words, instead of strings, which means it can understand the meaning of the sentence before you fully type it.

It also allows it to predict words that have never been seen in a given sentence context during the learning phase.

At the time of its release, the company said in a blog post: 'This is a big step forward for mobile typing, offering a keyboard that makes smarter and more meaningful word suggestions in the context of your sentences.'

Microsoft launched Cortana in 2014 and it was named after a synthetic intelligence character in Microsoft's Halo video game.

It was launched as a rival to Apple's Siri and is currently available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

The $250m deal with Microsoft marks an 'important milestone' in the firm's timeline.

The company has also worked with University of Cambridge's Professor Stephen Hawking, helping the scientist and author to upgrade his communications, applying predictive language software to his system and enabling him to speak faster and continue to give lectures.

SwiftKey's Neural Alpha app, which has been available on the Google Play app store since October, can complete whole sentences, and someday entire emails, for you. It uses neural networks rather than its classic AI algorithms to predict text and could be useful to Microsoft in the battle to develop lifelike AI networks
The idyllic Isle of Man off the west coast of England is known for many things, from its castles and forts, coastal views and even a world famous motorbike race.

But residents of the island could soon see driverless cars winding their way along its country roads under plans to turn it into a self-driving 'hub'.

The Manx government is currently trying to tempt car and technology companies to the island to road-test their autonomous vehicles.

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The idyllic Isle of Man off the west coast of England is currently trying to tempt car and technology companies to the island to road-test their autonomous vehicles. Pictured is Ramsey Harbour

Transportation minister Phil Gawne is trying to lure companies with the prospect of a scale trial of the vehicles on working roads.

With a population of 90,000 people, the island has the infrastructure in place for a real-world trial.

In addition, the Isle of Man's autonomy means it is able to make changes to local legislation which could speed up the process.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Gawne said: 'We like to be innovative on the island.'

In addition, the Isle of Man's autonomy means it is able to make changes to local legislation which could speed up the process. Driverless vehicles, such as those being tested in Greenwich (pictured), could soon be seen winding their way along the island's country roads

A government panel has been established to weigh up the potential benefits of bringing the technology to the island (pictured), which could see a boost in visitors to the island keen to see the cars in action

He added: 'We like also to be independent. This helps both those areas in terms of our international image and reputation.'

And the wheels are already in motion, as the Manx government has reportedly started discussions with a number of companies about tests.

THE ISLE OF MAN The Isle of Man's freer legislation could be attractive to car and tech companies The Isle of Man is a small island off the west coast of England. With a population of 90,000 people, the island has the infrastructure in place for a trial. In addition, the Isle of Man's autonomy means it is able to make changes to local legislation which could speed up the process. A government panel has been established to weigh up the potential benefits of bringing the technology to the island, which could see a boost in visitors to the island keen to see the cars in action. The findings are likely to be revealed later this month. Advertisement

A government panel has been established to weigh up the potential benefits of bringing the technology to the island, which could see a boost in visitors to the island keen to see the cars in action.

Mr Gawne said: 'We're very keen.

'We can see a lot of potential advantages for the island. It also helps in terms of the image of Isle of Man.'

The findings are likely to be revealed later this month.

While the development of driverless vehicles has come a long way, they have largely been controlled tests, often on purpose-built roads.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, for example, engineers and transportation researchers recently built a huge city road system for testing self-driving cars.

One of the biggest contenders in the field, Google, has been largely testing its autonomous vehicles on the streets of California.

However, the tech giant has complained about the state's rigid legislation around autonomous vehicles.

The legislation of the Isle of Man could prove attractive to the likes of Google.

MailOnline contacted Google but the California-based firm declined to comment.

Four UK cities are currently enrolled in a trial of autonomous vehicles, which will see driverless cars tested in Coventry, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Greenwich, in south-east London.

It was revealed last week that the first driverless cars to hit London's streets will begin testing in the summer as part of the 8 million Gateway project.

One of the big players in the field is Google, which has been testing its driverless cars on the streets of California. A similar trial could take place on the Isle of Man

The vehicles will be adapted from shuttle pods already being used to ferry passengers at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, but are now being developed to work without their dedicated tracks.

It is expected that seven of the cars, which resemble small automated train carriages, will be tested out on the streets of Greenwich, south London, this July as part of three pilot schemes.

The Gateway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project funded by Innovate UK, and will take place in Greenwich later this year.

London's first driverless cars will be tested on the city's streets this summer, after being adapted from shuttle pods already running at Heathrow Airport (pictured). The work is being carried out as part of the 8m Gateway project (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) led by the UK's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)

It will trial a series of different use cases for automated vehicles, including driverless shuttles, autonomous valet parking and deliveries.

The hope is that by understanding public perception, reaction and engagement with the vehicles the trials will help introduce automated transport widely.

The UltraPods have been operating at Heathrow for nearly five years, carrying 1.5 million passengers and completed three million kilometres during that time.
This contrasts with studied from other Neolithic tombs in southern Britain

14 females and nine males with the help of CT scans

Caricatures of Stone Age man may cast him as a bit of a brute, and few depictions of Stonehenge across art work and TV feature images of women.

But a burial pit found at Stonehenge challenges this view by revealing a 'surprising' number of females among those cremated at the Wiltshire site.

Researchers have spent years sifting through and analysing the remains of adults found at the monument to discover that, to their astonishment, more bones belonged to women than men.

Burials at Stonehenge challenge show a 'surprising degree' of gender equality, according to experts. This image shows the proximity of the burial site to the famous monument. The find contrasts with earlier studies from older Neolithic tombs in southern Britain, where burials showed a higher ratio of adult males to females

The find contrasts with earlier studies from older Neolithic tombs in southern Britain, where burials showed a higher ratio of adult males to females.

But it supports the theory that Stonehenge functioned as a cemetery for leaders, according to a report published in the latest issue of British Archaeology.

The paper explained that between 100 and 200 people are said to have been buried across the Stonehenge site during the late Neolithic and copper age.

This study, however, focused particularly on a pit known as Aubrey Hole seven - one of 56 chalk pits encircling the famous ancient site.

Burials at Stonehenge were likely for people of higher status so this this study shows women were members of the elite as long ago as 2,000 BC.

Between 100 and 200 people are said to have been buried across the Stonehenge site during the late Neolithic and copper age. This study, however, focused particularly on a pit known as Aubrey Hole seven - one of 56 chalk pits encircling the famous ancient site. Remains are pictured

HOW DID THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS IDENTIFY THE SEX OF THE BONES? Christie Willis, a PhD student at University College London was tasked with identifying which part of the skeleton each fragment came from and to then establish the age and sex of the remains. She identified 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis. Ms Willis estimated the probability that individuals were male or female on the basis of the dimensions of the ear canal, which is set within the petrous bone -the dense bone around the ear canal. This is a sturdy bone so typically survives prehistoric cremation in an identifiable form. The team used CT scans of the lateral angle of the internal acoustic canal, which provided the information needed to identify the sex of the individuals. Radiocarbon dating revealed the burials took place from around 3,100 BC to 2,140 BC - among the earliest phases of Stonehenge. Advertisement

Burials at Stonehenge (marked) were likely for people of higher status so this this study shows women were members of the elite as long ago as 2,000 BC

THE BONES FOUND IN THE PIT Between 100 and 200 people are said to have been buried across the Stonehenge site during the late Neolithic and copper age. This study, however, focused particularly on a pit known as Aubrey Hole seven - one of 56 chalk pits encircling the famous ancient site. Burial at Stonehenge was likely for people of higher status. The pit was excavated in the 1920s by archaeologist William Hawley who reburied them for safe-keeping, in what has been described as an 'undifferentiated mass.' As a result, the fragments have become co-mingled - or mixed up. In total, the team recovered 99 lbs (45kg) of cremated bone from Aubrey Hole seven. Researchers identified 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis. Radiocarbon dating revealed the burials took place from around 3,100 BC to 2,140 BC - among the earliest phases of Stonehenge. Advertisement

Mike Pitts, Editor of British Archaeology told Discovery: 'In almost every depiction of Stonehenge by artists and TV re-enactors we see lots of men, a man in charge, and few or no women.

'The archaeology now shows that as far as the burials go, women were as prominent there as men.'

Mr Pitts believes that people buried at Stonehenge were likely from high-status families or possessed revered skills or knowledge.

They may even have been political or ritual leaders.

Christie Willis, a PhD student at University College London and an expert on human remains, sorted through the bone fragments buried in Aubrey Hole seven.

The pit was excavated in the 1920s by archaeologist William Hawley who reburied the remains for safe-keeping, in what has been described as an 'undifferentiated mass.'

'These were dug up and reburied in Aubrey Hole seven with the hope that one day there would be a breakthrough to allow them to be analysed,' Ms Willis said.

'Because of this the fragments have become co-mingled - or mixed up - which is why the work has taken so long.'

The team recovered 99lbs (45kg) of cremated bone from Aubrey Hole seven.

The pit (pictured) was excavated in the 1920s by archaeologist William Hawley who reburied them for safe-keeping, in what has been described as an 'undifferentiated mass.' As a result, the fragments have become co-mingled - or mixed up. In total, the team recovered 99 lbs (45kg) of cremated bone from Aubrey Hole seven

WHY WERE FEW CHILD REMAINS DISCOVERED? Just five child remains were found among the cremated bones of Aubrey Hole seven - fewer than expected. This is because their corpses were likely treated differently, according to the experts. Mike Pitts, Editor of British Archaeology believes that while children were likely cremated, their ashes may have been scattered in the River Avon nearby. He told Discovery there is a link between late Neolithic religious centres and the sources of significant rivers. Advertisement

Ms Willis' task was to identify which part of the skeleton each fragment came from and to then establish the age and sex of the remains.

She identified 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis.

Ms Willis estimated the probability that individuals were male or female on the basis of the dimensions of the ear canal, which is set within the petrous bone - the dense bone around the ear canal.

This is a sturdy bone so typically survives prehistoric cremation in an identifiable form.

The team used CT scans of the lateral angle of the internal acoustic canal, which provided the information needed to identify the sex of the individuals.

Radiocarbon dating revealed the burials took place from around 3,100 BC to 2,140 BC - among the earliest phases of Stonehenge.

The study said: 'It is clear that burial at Stonehenge did not occur in a single episode. This was a cemetery used over a prolonged period.

Christie Willis, from the University College London and an expert on human remains, sorted through bone fragments (example shown left) from the famous site. Other members of the team are shown right near the pit. She identified 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF STONEHENGE? It is not known exactly why - or how - Stonehenge was built. Experts have suggested it was a temple, parliament and a graveyard. Some people think the stones have healing powers, while others think they have musical properties when struck with a stone. They could have acted as a giant musical instrument to call ancient people to the monument. What is clear, is that the stones were aligned with phases of the sun. People were buried there and skeletal evidence shows that people travelled hundreds of miles to visit Stonehenge  for whatever reason. Recently, experts said the route was a busy one and that Stonehenge could be viewed differently from different positions. It seems that instead of being a complete barrier, the Curcus acted as a gateway to guide visitors to the stone circle. Advertisement

'It spanned the first and second stages of the monument, from the circular ditch and a ring of bluestones standing in the Aubrey Holes in the first, to the subsequent sarsen trilithons and circle and rearranged bluestones erected around 2,500 BC'.

Sarsen trilithons is a Greek phrase that translates to 'three stones.'

While excavating Aubrey Hole seven, the researchers also discovered an entirely undisturbed cremation burial in its own small pit.

In this pit were some long bone pins, which were likely used as hairpins, as well as a mace head.

A mace was a ceremonial weapon and maceheads were often placed in burial tombs of people of high status.

In particular, stone maceheads were used as symbols of power and, possibly, of rank for several centuries.

This was the first of its kind to be fully recovered and documented at Stonehenge.

'The circular arrangement of the remains revealed that they had been buried in a long-vanished container, a box or bag of leather or some other organic material; no grave goods had survived,' the study continued.

Burial sites older than Stonehenge tended to be large mounds containing burial chambers and were built on hilltops far from villages.

But Stonehenge was built on lower ground relatively near an ancient settlement, which Pitts believes signifies a move from commemorations to communities inclusive of women.

However, he explained that the role of women at the heart of societies 'probably declined again towards the 3rd millennium BC [because] both archaeological and historical evidence has shown that women's status has gone up and down quite noticeably at different times in the past.'

Burial sites older than Stonehenge tended to be large mounds containing chambers and were built on hilltops far from villages. But Stonehenge (pictured) was built on lower ground relatively near an ancient settlement, which the experts believe signifies a move from commemorations to communities inclusive of women
A 100ft-wide asteroid, first spotted when it flew by Earth two years ago, is set to make its return On March 5  and this time it could get incredibly close.

The whale-sized space rock may skim past Earth at just 11,000 miles (17,000 km), which is around 21 times closer to Earth than the moon.

But Nasa admits this estimate may be widely inaccurate, and the asteroid may also pass Earth as far out as 9 million miles (14 million km).

In both scenarios, the space agency says the asteroid, dubbed 2013 TX68, poses no threat to Earth.

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A small asteroid, first spotted when it flew by Earth two years ago, is set to make its return  and this time it will get even closer. This graphic indicates the possible locations asteroid 2013 TX68 will be in at the time of its closest approach to Earth during its safe fly-by of our planet on March 5

'The variation in possible closest approach distances is due to the wide range of possible trajectories for this object, since it was tracked for only a short time after discovery,' Nasa explained.

Scientists have identified an extremely remote chance that this small asteroid could impact on September 28, 2017, with odds of no more than 1-in-250-million.

Flybys in 2046 and 2097 have an even lower probability of impact.

'The possibilities of collision on any of the three future flyby dates are far too small to be of any real concern,' said Paul Chodas, manager of CNEOS.

'I fully expect any future observations to reduce the probability even more.'

Scientists at Nasa's Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS) in California, say 'there is no possibility that this object could impact Earth during the flyby next month.' But they have identified an extremely remote chance that this small asteroid (stock image pictured) could impact on Septmeber 28, 2017, with odds of 1-in-250-million

Asteroid 2013 TX68 is estimated to be about 100ft (30 meters) in diameter.

By comparison, the asteroid that broke up in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, three years ago was approximately 65 feet (20 meters) wide.

If an asteroid the size of 2013 TX68 were to enter Earth's atmosphere, it would likely produce an air burst with about twice the energy of the Chelyabinsk event.

The asteroid was discovered by the Nasa-funded Catalina Sky Survey on October 6, 2013, as it approached Earth on the night-time side.

After three days of tracking, the asteroid passed into the daytime sky and could no longer be seen.

Because it was not tracked for very long, scientists cannot predict its precise orbit around the sun, but they do know that it cannot impact Earth during its flyby next month.

THERE'S AN ASTEROID WITH OUR NAME ON IT, SAYS BRIAN COX Science presenter, Brian Cox, told DailyMail.com we are at risk of being wiped out by asteroids  and we're not taking the threat seriously While the March 5th asteroid poses no threat, scientists have long said that these space rocks could threaten life on Earth. Last year, Brian Cox said we are at risk of being wiped out by asteroids  and we're not taking the threat seriously. 'There is an asteroid with our name on it and it will hit us,' Professor Cox told DailyMail.com. In fact, the Earth had a 'near-miss' only a few months ago. 'We didn't see it,' says the 46-year-old. 'We saw it on the way out, but if it had just been a bit further over it would have probably wiped us out. These things happen.' The bus-sized asteroid, named 2014 EC, came within 38,300 (61,637km) miles of Earth in March - around a sixth of the distance between the moon and our planet. And it wasn't the only one threatening Earth. Nasa is currently tracking 1,400 'potentially hazardous asteroids' and predicting their future approaches and impact probabilities. The threat is so serious that former astronaut Ed Lu has described it as 'cosmic roulette' and said that only 'blind luck' has so far saved humanity from a serious impact. Advertisement

'This asteroid's orbit is quite uncertain, and it will be hard to predict where to look for it,' said Chodas.

'There is a chance that the asteroid will be picked up by our asteroid search telescopes when it safely flies past us next month, providing us with data to more precisely define its orbit around the sun.'

In September, Paul Chodas, manager of Nasa's Near-Earth Object office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said: 'There is no existing evidence that an asteroid or any other celestial object is on a trajectory that will impact Earth.

'In fact, not a single one of the known objects has any credible chance of hitting our planet over the next century.

Nasa tracks around 12,992 near-Earth objects which have been discovered orbiting within our solar system close to our own orbit.
A strange pink worm named after a Spanish pastry has been discovered 12,000 feet (3,658 metres) below the waves and may be one of our earliest ancestors.

It is among four bright fuchsia flatworm-like animals found near hydrothermal vents as well as on a whale carcass off the coast of California.

Scientists used robot submarines tethered to a ship to fish the species of Xenoturbella from sea beds over a 12-year period.

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A strange pink worm named after a Spanish pastry has been discovered 12,000 ft (3,658 metres) below the waves and may be one of our earliest ancestors (illustrated). It was discovered off the coast of California along with three other species of flatworm-like animals, such as Xenoturbella monstrosa

Genetic analysis has pinpointed the place of the underwater creatures near the base of the evolutionary tree of life, meaning they are one of our earliest ancestors.

Previously Xenoturbella was only known from a single species found in the waters off Sweden, which has puzzled biologists for almost six decades.

But now expeditions by a team of scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, the Western Australia Museum and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Mbari) have properly identified the mysterious creatures in a study published in Nature.

THE FOUR NEW SPECIES Xenoturbella monstrosa - the largest of the four

Xenoturbella hollandorum - the smallest

Xenoturbella profunda - the lowest lying

Xenoturbella churro - named for its resemblance to churros Advertisement

Among the new species is the 4 inch-long (10 cm) Xenoturbella churro - named for its resemblance to churros, a popular Spanish fried pastry.

It was discovered in a 5,577ft (1,700 metre) deep cold seep in the Gulf of California.

Scripps marine biologist Dr Greg Rouse said: 'The findings have implications for how we understand animal evolution.

'By placing Xenoturbella properly in the tree of life we can better understand early animal evolution.'

The animal's shifting evolutionary position began when the first species, named Xenoturbella bocki, was found off the coast of Sweden in 1950.

Previously Xenoturbella was only known from a single species found in the waters off Sweden, which has puzzled biologists for decades. Scientists used submarines to fish the species of Xenoturbella (left) from sea beds over a 12-year period. The Xenoturbella churro was named for its resemblance to churros (right)

It was classified as a flatworm, then, in the 1990s as a simplified mollusc.

In recent years, Xenoturbella has been regarded as either close to vertebrates and echinoderms.

XENOTURBELLA: AN UNLIKELY LONG-LOST RELATIVE In 2013, zoologists from the University of Cambridge made the startling claim that a gutless, brainless inch-long flatworm with no proper sex organs is one of our ancestors. They said that 500million years ago, we shared a common ancestor -Xenoturbella, only known from one species discovered on muddy floor of a Swedish fjord. The experts used DNA analysis to identify the flatworm-like animal as the most primitive still-existing member of the group of animals that includes man, called deuterostomes. A genetic 'fork in the road' led to the creatures that eventually became humans diverging from the xenoturbella, and evolving very differently. Xenoturbella, whose Latin name means 'strange flatworm', was thought to be related to the mollusc family. However, when scientists purified xenoturbella DNA, they were surprised to find it was more closely related to human beings than shellfish. The animal kingdom is divided into three main groups. The first, the ecdysozoa, includes insects and crustaceans. The trochozoa comprises the molluscs and earthworms. We belong to the last group, the deuterostomes, which contains the vertebrates. Xenoturbella is a deuterostome with a basic body and no proper sex organs, gut or brain. Advertisement

Knowing where Xenoturbella belongs is important to understand the evolution of organ systems, such as guts, brains and kidneys, in animals.

In 2003, scientists from the University of Cambridge claimed it shares DNA with humans, arguably making it a long-lost relative.

Mbari scientist Dr Robert Vrijenhoek, who led the deep-sea expeditions using remotely operated vehicles, said: 'When Greg first spotted the worms gliding through a clam field in Monterey Bay, we jokingly called them purple socks.'

The hunt continued for the next 12 years.

By 2015, the team had found four new species and collected specimens for analysis.

They examined nearly 1,200 of the animal's genes to identify them conclusively as evolutionarily simple members near the base of the evolutionary tree of bilaterally symmetrical animals, which are distinguished by having matching halves through a line down the centre.

Xenoturbella have only one body opening the mouth.

They have no brain, gills, eyes, kidneys or anus, and now appear to be evolutionarily simple rather than having lost these features over time.

This discovery greatly expands the diversity of the known species from one to five.

The largest of the new species, Xenoturbella monstrosa, was found in Monterey Bay off the coast of California and the Gulf of California and measured 8 inches (20 cm) long.

The smallest, Xenoturbella hollandorum, also found in Monterey Bay, was only one inch (2.5 cm) long.

The lowest lying, Xenoturbella profunda, was discovered in a 12,139 foot (3,700 metre) deep hydrothermal vent in the Gulf of California.

Dr Rouse said: 'I have a feeling this is the beginning of a lot more discoveries of these animals around the world.'

Specimens of the four new Xenoturbella species have a new home in the Scripps Benthic Invertebrate Collection.

The oldest human ancestor is a 500 million-year-old worm-like creature no longer than a thumb.
Engineers are harnessing 'swarm robotics' to teach intelligent robots how to cooperate during naval missions.

The researchers in Portugal have demonstrated how a small fleet of self-learning robot boats can 'think' for themselves, to work together on surveillance and other missions.

Each robot is made from materials costing roughly $330, and operates with a neural network to create individual behaviours similar to those in a flock of birds.

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Engineers are harnessing 'swarm robotics' to teach intelligent robots how to cooperate during naval missions. The researchers in Portugal have demonstrated how a small fleet of self-learning robot boats can 'think' for themselves, to work together

SELF-LEARNING ROBOTS The robotic swarms work like a school of fish, or flock of birds. Using a neural network as a 'living brain,' the robots can interact with each other, working from a set of simple instructions. Each boat only acknowledges its neighbour, and will work together for monitoring, navigation, aggregation, and dispersion. After tests in a simulate environment, the 'fittest' robots, those who have the most successful behaviours, are tested in a real world setting. Advertisement

The research from the Institute of Telecommunications at University Institute of Lisbon and the University of Lisbon was led by Dr. Anders Christensen, and demonstrates how robots use 'Darwinian' learning to cooperate while completing various tasks.

The robotic boats are made of CNC-machined polystyrene foam and 3D-printed parts, costing about $330, according to Gizmag.

This offers a potential solution for navies around the world, who are faced with the problem of increasing cost as technology becomes more advanced.

The robots each have GPS, compass, Wi-Fi, and a Raspberry Pi 2 computer, and operate with decentralized programming.

Using a neural network as a 'living brain,' the robots can interact with each other, working from a set of simple instructions on how to operate in relationship to each other, and on the mission goals, Gizmag writes.

'Swarm robotics is a paradigm shift: we rely on many small, simple, and inexpensive robots, instead of a single or a few large, complex, and expensive robots,' said Christensen, Gizmag writes.

'Controlling a large-scale swarm of robots cannot be done centrally. Each robot must decide for itself how to carry out the mission, and coordinate with its neighbours.'

Each robot is made from materials costing roughly $330, and operates with a neural network to create individual behaviours similar to those in a flock of birds. While the test group worked with up to ten of these robot boats, future uses could see hundreds or thousands of them navigating the seas

These robots are tested in a simulate environment, and the fittest  the ones with the most successful behaviours  are then tested in a real world setting.

Similar to a school of fish or flock of birds, the robots don't acknowledge any robots beyond those that are immediately near them.

This means that they will react to the activities of their neighbours in a way that optimizes mission completion, performing tasks like monitoring, navigation, aggregation, and dispersion.

As these robots progress, they could be useful in environmental, search and rescue, and maritime surveillance missions.

While the test group worked with up to ten of these robot boats, future uses could see hundreds or thousands of them navigating the seas.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has revealed the hi-tech weapons he hopes will keep America ahead of the world in warfare.

In a preview of the Pentagon's upcoming 2017 budget request, Carter said military research and development spending would rise to $71.4 billion from last year's $71.3 billion request.

He also outlined the previously classified research that he hopes will get funding.

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US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter revealed the technologies America hopes to develop for future wars

THE KEY TECHNOLOGIES Micro-drones that can be thrown in the air Smart bombs with sensors similar to smartphones Railguns that fit into 'the five-inch guns at the front of every Navy destroyer' Swarming roboboats that can undergo surveillance missions Turning B-52 bomber into 'flying arsenal' Advertisement

'I'd like to tell you about a few projects SCO has been working on that we're funding in the budget,' he said.

'Some you may have heard of, and some we're talking about here for the very first time.

'In this budget, we're taking the long view.

'We have to, because even as we fight today's fights, we must also be prepared for the fights that might come, 10, 20 or 30 years down the road.'

First, he addressed smart bombs.

'We've recently been hitting ISIL with so many GPS-guided smart bombs and laser-guided rockets that we are starting to run low on the ones that we use against terrorists the most.

'So we're investing $1.8 billion in FY17, to buy over 45,000 more of them.'

'Another project uses swarming autonomous vehicles in all sorts of ways and in multiple domains,' he revealed.

'In the air, they develop micro-drones that are really fast, really resistant.

'They can fly through heavy winds and be kicked out the back of a fighter jet moving at Mach 0.9, like they did during an operational exercise in Alaska last year, or they can be thrown into the air by a soldier in the middle of the Iraqi desert.'

He also highlighted advanced navigation projects that would use 'the same kinds of micro-cameras and sensors that are littered throughout our smartphones today, and putting them on our Small Diameter Bombs to augment their targeting capabilities.

'This will eventually be a modular kit that will work with many other payloads  enabling off-network targeting through commercial components that are small enough to hold in your hand.'

THE PERSONAL DRONES SOLDIERS CAN THROW IN THE AIR US Soldiers could soon get personal drones small enough to fit in the palm of their hand. Army Special Forces are testing the tiny 'black hornet' drones. The 18-gram craft has three cameras and even thermal cameras to fly at night. Army Special Forces are already testing tiny 'black hornet' drones, which can simply be thrown It can fly about a kilometer and stay aloft more than 25 minutes, and is controlled by a small flipdown screen and joystick which can be attached to the soldier's utility belt. When needed, soldiers can simply take the drone from a small box that straps to a utility belt - which is also where the data is stored, as opposed to on the drone itself, in case it's captured. The video feeds directly to a small, chest-mounted screen. The operator steers it with a videogame-like one-handed controller, or sets waypoints to allow the drone to fly itself using the touchscreen controller. Advertisement

Carter claims the Us is concerned about 'high end enemies'.

'To be clear, the U.S. military will fight very differently in coming years than we have in Iraq and Afghanistan or in the rest of the world's recent memory.

'In this context, Russia and China are our most stressing competitors.

'They have developed and are continuing to advance military system that seek to threaten our advantages in specific areas.

'And in some case, they are developing weapons and ways of wars that seek to achieve their objectives rapidly, before they hope, we can respond.'

He also mentioned swarm boats.

THE RAILGUN COMING TO EVERY US DESTROYER A prototype of the BAE railgun which could be fitted to future versions of the Zumwalt Described as 'Star Wars technology' by researchers, the railgun can fire shells at seven times speed of sound, and penetrate concrete 100 miles away. The weapon was on display to the public for the first time at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology EXPO at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. earlier this year Using electromagnetic energy, the gun can fire a shell weighing 10kg at up to 5,400mph over 100 miles  with such force and accuracy it penetrates three concrete walls or six half-inch thick steel plates. Two prototypes of the weapon have been developed for the US Navy  one by British arms manufacturer BAE Systems and the second by a US firm. Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, head of US Naval Research, has previously said said the futuristic electromagnetic railgun  so called because it fires from two parallel rails  had already undergone extensive testing on land. It will eventually be mounted on the third Zumwalt class ship. The likely candidate for the weapon would be the third planned Zumwalt, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) currently under construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) with an expected delivery date of 2018. He said the first two ships  Zumwalt (DDG-1000) and Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001)  would be less likely to field the capability initially due to the schedule of testing with the new class. 'It's firing. An electromagnetic railgun is a gun that uses just electricity  no gun powder  and  can shoot a projectile well over 100 miles at Mach 7. Energetic weapons, such as EM railguns, are the future of naval combat.' Electromagnetic launchers were one of the areas researched by Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative, nicknamed 'Star Wars' after the science fiction film franchise. Advertisement

'And for the water, they've developed self-driving boats, which can network together to do all sorts of missions, from fleet defense to close-in surveillance  including around an island, real or artificial, without putting our sailors at risk,' referring to China's man-made islands in the Pacific.

He also said investment in railguns will increase until it can fit into 'the five-inch guns at the front of every Navy destroyer, and also the hundreds of Army Paladin self-propelled howitzers.

'This way, instead of spending more money on more expensive interceptors, we can turn past offense into future defense  defeating incoming missile raids at much lower cost per round, and thereby imposing higher costs on the attacker,' he said.

SELF-LEARNING ROBOT SWARM BOATS The robotic swarms work like a school of fish, or flock of birds. Using a neural network as a 'living brain,' the robots can interact with each other, working from a set of simple instructions. Each boat only acknowledges its neighbour, and will work together for monitoring, navigation, aggregation, and dispersion. After tests in a simulate environment, the 'fittest' robots, those who have the most successful behaviours, are tested in a real world setting. Advertisement

Carter also said the Pentagon is working to turn 'one of our oldest aircraft platforms'  understood to be the B-52 bomber, into a flying 'magazine' capable of carrying huge loads of weapons - but relying on newer craft for targetting systems.

The base budget for fiscal year 2017 is expected to be $524 billion, augmented by $59 billion for an 'overseas contingency fund' to pay for ongoing military actions in Afghanistan and against IS, defense officials told AFP on Monday.
Russian engineers have begun designing a lunar lander ahead of plans to create a permanent colony on the moon in 2030.

The four-legged, 20-ton spacecraft is designed to land two cosmonauts on the moon with the help of Angara-5V rockets.

The nation is hoping to launch a lunar probe in 2024 to scout out colony locations, before landing humans on the moon within 14 years.

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While the US has its sights largely set on Mars, Russia says it plans to conquer the moon. The nation is hoping to launch a lunar probe in 2024 to scout out colony locations, before landing humans on the moon in 2030

According to a report in Popular Mechanics, Russian engineers will use a pair of Angara-5V rockets to deliver the lander to lunar orbit.

Another two rockets will transport a crew ship with four cosmonauts to the same point in space, where they would meet up.

Two cosmonauts could then board the lander before arriving on the lunar surface.

The lander will be made up of an 11-ton descent section that will include a propulsion system and a landing gear.

A 8.5-ton ascent stage will contain the crew cabin with all the life-support equipment, along with solar panels and a radiator.

According to Popular Mechanics, the cabin will have a hatch in the front of the module and another at the top for docking. Russian engineers have yet to decide on a shape for the crew cabin.

The launch of Angara-A5 heavy booster at Plesetsk Cosmodrome on December 23, 2014 in Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. Several launches of this rocket will help Russia build a manned base on the moon

To create a human base on the moon, Russia will use six separate launches of the upcoming Angara rocket.

Each launch will send a new module to the moon, created the base piece by piece, in a similar way to how the ISS was put together.

Assembly of the moon base is expected to take more than ten years, and Roscosmos says it will eventually serve as a permanent settlement.

Russias first manned flight to the moon is possible a year earlier, in 2029, according the head of Russia's state-controlled Rocket and Space Corporation Energia had predicted.

Vladimir Solntsev, president of RSC Energia, which is 38 per cent owned by the Russian state, made the predictions at a space technology conference in Moscow in October.

Currently Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, which are built by RSC Energia, are the only vehicles capable of sending humans into space.

In the 1960s the Soviets began developing their own designs for a manned mission to land on the moon with its N1-L3 Lunar Lander (left). However, the project never flew and was eventually cancelled. Earlier this year the European Space Agency said it planned to work with Russia on its mission to land on the moon (right)

Nasa has been relying upon the system to send its astronauts to the International Space Station along with regular supplies of cargo.

In a statement posted on the RSC Energia website, Mr Solntsev said: 'The high-priority line of activities for Russian manned programs in the next 10 to 20 years is lunar exploration.

'Russia develops a new-generation advanced transportation spacecraft, in the nearest future development of other elements of the lunar program will also begin.'

The new spacecraft, dubbed the Angara-A5V heavy-lift carrier rocket, is expected to be built using composites specifically designed for lunar missions.

Russia has never landed a human on the moon and plans to do so drawn up in the 1960s were never completed after Nasa's Apollo moon landings.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin (right) speaks about plans for the new rocket. The new spacecraft, dubbed the Angara-A5V heavy-lift carrier rocket, is expected to be built using composites specifically designed for lunar missions

Instead, the country has concentrated on sending a series of unmanned probes to the lunar surface. However, it has not sent a spacecraft to the moon since the sample return mission Luna 24 in 1976.

However, the country's new effort to send cosmonauts to the moon could see it beating US in its attempts to return to the lunar surface.

Nasa had been planning to return humans to the lunar surface as part of its long-term plans to send astronauts to Mars.

However, the plans were scrapped in 2010 favour of landing on an asteroid in an announcement by US President Barack Obama.

Hit by major funding issues, a mission to the moon was seen as being a low priority although some officials have indicated Nasa may send future missions to orbit the dusty satellite.

A recent study funded by Nasa has, however, also suggested Nasa is still hopeful about establishing a human presence on the surface of the moon.

The Evolvable Lunar Architecture Plan outlined a cut price way of building a base on the moon for around $10 billion using private rockets and mining water ice from the poles.

The study, conducted by NexGen Space LLC, said it would be possible to land humans on the moon within the next five to seven years and establish a base within 19 years.

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft and rocket system is currently the only method used to send humans into space. RSC Energia, which builds Soyuz, says it is working on a new spacecraft specifically for mission to the moon

A number of former Nasa staff have also suggested that the space agency is quietly planning a mission to the moon as part of its build up to Mars.

However, Russia's ambitious plans to return to the moon could now trigger a new race to exploit the minerals and other resources on the lunar surface.

Earlier this year, the European Space Agency said it was interested in joining Russia's attempts to colonise the moon.

ESA and Roscosmos said they were working together to send a lander to the moon's south pole to look for water.

The Lunar 27 mission will launch in 2020 and its primary mission will be to look for deposits of water ice in craters on the surface, which could be used by future manned colonies on the moon.

Professor Igor Mitrofanov, one of the lead scientists on the project at the Space Research Institute in Moscow, told the BBC: 'We have to go to the Moon.

'The 21st Century will be the century when it will be the permanent outpost of human civilisation, and our country has to participate in this process.'
A passenger in an airport in the US was baffled to spot a turkey waddling through airport security last week.

The feathered beast was captured on camera at San Francisco Airport waiting patiently for its owner, who looks like she was collecting her belongings from a tray.

The astonishing image was uploaded to Facebook with an enlightening back story to the seemingly bizarre event.

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A turkey was captured on camera at San Francisco Airport waiting patiently for its owner, who looks like she is collecting her belongings from a tray

KTVU journalist Frank Somerville, who took the image, wrote on the post: 'This is one of the most unusual things Ive ever seen.'

He explained that the winged jetsetter was a comfort animal for a woman who had lost her husband.

The turkey accompanies her wherever she goes, and she even sleeps with it at night.

The journalist explained that you can bring a comfort animal on board as long as you have the proper documentation from a mental health professional.

'There are rules though,' he wrote. 'Once on board the animal cant walk through the cabin. It also cant block the aisles or take up seats near emergency exits.

'It would be easy here to make fun of the woman. But Ive seen enough things in my lifetime to realize that what may seem bizarre to me, is perfectly normal for someone else.'

He concluded that if anyone finds themselves next to a turkey on their next flight, that it definitely would make a good story to tell friends.

Amazingly this is not the first time a mile-high emotional support turkey has been captured accompanying an airline passenger.

Only a few weeks ago, a yellow-beaked bird called Easter was photographed on a Delta Airlines flight, aiding Jodie Smalley, from Seattle in Washington, on her journey from two-hour flight to Salt Lake City in Utah.

After the plane landed, the flyer was pictured lovingly pushing Easter through the airport in a wheelchair.

The pair were travelling to meet Smalley's family for Christmas (where the turkey was treated as a guest and not a meal).

It is unconfirmed whether or not this is the same jet-setting therapy pet as the one in the security checking area.

In another event, this incredible photo was shared on the internet, and shows a bird sitting opened beaked, being hugged by its owner on a flight

After the plane landed, Smalley was pictured lovingly pushing Easter through the airport in a wheelchair, before taking it to her brother's house to celebrate Christmas

Many animals besides turkeys have been spotted on planes, including pigs, small horses, cats and dogs.

Last month MailOnline reported on Megan Peabody and Hamlet, the high-flying hog who jets around the world with his owner as her comfort animal.

In December, however, it emerged that some plane passengers are lying about illness and disability so they can take their pets on board.

In the U.S, under the terms of the Air Carrier Access Act, people are permitted to take animals on board a flight at no extra cost, but only if they can't function without the support of the animal.
Three out of four wildlife tourist attractions involve some form of animal abuse or conservation concerns, a worrying study has revealed.

World Animal Protection believes at least 550,000 wild animals are suffering at the hands of irresponsible tourist attractions around the world.

These statistics come from the first ever global research into the scale of welfare and conservation of wildlife tourism by the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) and was commissioned by World Animal Protection.

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World Animal Protection has so far secured commitment from 87 travel companies to stop selling elephant rides and shows

Using the WildCRU research ratings and World Animal Protection's own investigations in Asia and Africa, a list of the ten cruellest wildlife entertainment activities across the world has been released.

Included in this list is riding elephants, taking tiger selfies and walking with lions.

As tourism continues to grow, the organisation estimate that approximately 110 million people visit cruel wildlife tourist attractions each year, unaware of the animal abuse involved.

Worryingly scenes such as this are still found around the world, where bears and monkeys are tied up and made to dance

TEN CRUELLEST WILDLIFE ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE WORLD 1. Riding elephants 2. Taking tiger selfies 3. Walking with lions 4. Visiting bear parks 5. Holding sea turtles 6. Performing dolphins 7. Dancing monkeys 8. Touring civet cat coffee plantations 9. Charming snakes and kissing cobras 10. Farming crocodiles Advertisement

These welfare abuses include very young animals being taken from their mothers, beaten and harmed during training to ensure they are passive enough to give rides, perform tricks or pose for holiday 'selfies' with tourists, with the worst venues including bear, elephant and tiger parks and a turtle farm.

WildCRU's academic review includes analysis of TripAdvisor, the largest online tourist review site, to better understand the awareness levels of tourists visiting these wildlife venues.

Of the 50,000 reviews, it revealed that 80 per cent of people left positive reviews for venues with poor animal welfare.

Kate Nustedt, Director of Wildlife at World Animal Protection said: 'It's clear that thousands of tourists are visiting wildlife attractions, unaware of the abuse wild animals' face behind the scenes.

'As well as the cruelty to animals, there is also the very real danger to tourists, as we saw earlier this week with the very sad death of British tourist, Gareth Crowe in Thailand.

'We need to stop the demand for elephant rides and shows, hugs and selfies with tigers and lions by exposing the hidden suffering behind wildlife attractions.

'If you can ride it, hug it or have a selfie with a wild animal, then you can be sure it is cruel. Vote with your feet and don't go.'

Dolphin shows may well provide entertainment for all the family, but they are still on the cruelty list

With no global regulation regarding how wild animals are used in tourism, the big challenge is to transform the tourism industry so it is part of the solution to end cruelty to wildlife, suggests World Animal Protection.

World Animal Protection has so far secured commitment from 87 travel companies to stop selling elephant rides and shows. While TripAdvisor are proposing ways they can inform tourists about the cruelty at most wildlife venues.

Last week MailOnline reported on a shocking video showing the moment a tiger is punched in the face by a worker at a popular animal sanctuary in Thailand.

More than 100 tigers are housed at the Luangtamahabua Buddhist temple, and only last year Wildlife protection officers carried out a three-hour inspection, after allegations of mistreatment.

No evidence was discovered at that time at the site just outside Bangkok.

However footage that has been shared on Facebook shows a male keeper dragging and then delivering a right-hand punch into the face of the big cat.

Interestingly, the person who runs the Facebook account for the temple replied back to the video posting, saying: 'I will be taking this to the management as we discussed on the day and hopefully this sort of behaviour will be stopped completely.
A British Airways plane bound for Heathrow was forced to make a diversion because of a broken toilet.

Flight 252 had set out from Nassau in the Bahamas to Heathrow when the pilot took the decision to land at St John's International Airport in Canada.

The airline described it as a 'technical issue,' however some Twitter users appear to have shed more light on what specifically went wrong

The British Airways plane was just over four hours into the journey from the Bahamas to London when a problem with the toilet forced the pilot to divert to Canada

One news reporter shared on Twitter just what the 'technical fault' was with the aircraft

Tom Podolec, who works for Canadian news channel CTV, wrote: 'Diversion @British_Airways #BA252 Nassau to London diverted to St. John's due to broken lavatory.'

British Airways has refused to confirm that it was indeed a problem with the lavatory.

A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are very sorry for the delay to our customers' journeys following a diversion due to a technical issue on board the aircraft. 

'The safety and comfort of our customers is always our priority. Our crew are looking after our customers until they are able to continue on their journey.'

Passengers were taken on an unscheduled stop-off at St John's International in Canada

Last year a British Airways flight to Dubai was forced to return to Heathrow Airport after a 'smelly poo in the toilet' became unbearable for passengers.

A town councillor from Hertfordshire said the flight to Dubai was forced to return to London due to a foul odour emanating from an overflowing toilet.

Hertsmere councillor Abhishek Sachdev, who represents Potters Bar Parkfield, said the seven-hour flight was aborted due to the smell.

The pilot made an announcement requesting senior cabin crew, and we knew something was a bit odd,' said Sachdev.

About 10 minutes later he said you may have noticed theres a quite pungent smell coming from one of the toilets.

Sachdev added: He said it was liquid faecal excrement, those are the words he used. He said its not a technical fault with the plane, and he was very adamant about that.

A spokesperson for the airline told MailOnline at the time: 'We're very sorry for the discomfort to our customers. 
Belize, Mexico, St Lucia and Brazil make the list for the most

Mexico, The Bahamas and Jamaica have been named as three popular tourist destinations with some of the highest murder rates in the world.

Despite holidaymakers avoiding notorious locales known to be dangerous, many often overlook potential safety issues in more well known hot spots in countries including St Lucia, Belize and South Africa.

Releasing a list of global homicide rates, the World Health Organisation has revealed that Jamaica has the third highest number of murders annually - 45.1 in every 100,000 people - which is a particularly high figure when compared with the UK's 1.5 in every 100,000 murder rate.

The country with the third most homicides was named as Jamaica, which reported a huge 45.1 people per 100,000 a year

Another Caribbean highlight which featured highly on the list was St Lucia, which has an average murder rate of 15.3 people per every 100,000.

The tourist- favourite, popular due to its pristine beaches and luxury resorts attracts an average of 338,000 holidaymakers each year.

Travel advice on the Foreign Office website for St Lucia says: 'Most visits are trouble-free, but there have been incidents of crime including murder, armed robbery and sexual assault.

'You should maintain at least the same level of personal security awareness as you would in the UK and make sure your accommodation is secure. This also applies if you are staying on a yacht. Be vigilant at all times.

Taking the twentieth position was St Lucia in the Caribbean, which has an average murder rate of 15.3 people per every 100,000

MURDER RATES PER 100,000 Jamaica - 45.1 people Belize - 44.7 people South Africa - 35.7 people Trinidad and Tobago - 35.3 people Brazil - 32.4 people Bahamas - 32.1 people Dominican Republic - 25.4 people Mexico - 22 people St Lucia - 15.3 people Advertisement

'Take care when walking alone off the busy main roads and avoid isolated areas, including beaches, particularly after dark.'

According to the World Health Organisation, in their 2012 study fourteenth place is Mexico, which welcomes 25.8 million visitors annually a year - but has an average of 22 homicides in every 100,000 people. The Dominican Republic has the thirteenth highest murder rate with 25.4 people per 100,000 and the Bahamas is ranked eleventh with 32.1 murders a year.

With all eyes on Brazil in the coming months, tourists may be concerned to discover that it has the tenth highest homicide rate with a shocking 32.4 people per 100,000 being murdered annually.

The country, which draws an average of 5.8 million holidaymakers a year, is popular for its incredible waterfalls and endless coastlines.

The Foreign Office safety and security advice for Brazil is: 'Crime levels are high. Violence and crime can occur anywhere and often involve firearms or other weapons. You should be vigilant, particularly before and during the festive and carnival periods.

Brazil came in tenth place with a shocking 32.4 people per 100,000 being murdered every year

'Avoid wearing expensive jewellery, watches and clothes. Dont carry large sums of money. Keep mobile phones and cameras out of sight and leave your passport and valuables in a safe place, though you should carry another form of photo ID like a driving licence with you at all times.'

Taking the ninth, eighth and fourth positions are Trinidad and Tobago with 35.3 people being murdered per every 100,000, South Africa with 35.7 and Belize with 44.7.

Belize is an increasingly popular holiday destination and draws 294,000 people a year to its tropical rainforests and Mayan ruins.

The tourism hot spot with the third most homicides was named as Jamaica, which reported a huge 45.1 murders per 100,000 a year.

Belize, which is a holiday destination for almost 294,000 people a year, is mainly visited for its tropical rainforests and Mayan ruins

Visited by 3.5 million tourists annually for it beaches, rum and reggae, the country is also known for violent crime, armed robbery and kidnapping.

The Foreign Office said: 'Criminals have targeted visiting British nationals and those returning to resettle permanently in Jamaica.
British Airways is to relaunch direct flights to Iran following the lifting of sanctions, the airline said.

The carrier will operate six flights per week between London Heathrow and Tehran.

The service, which was suspended in October 2012 amid instability in the Middle Eastern country, will resume in July.

British Airways will operate six flights per week between London Heathrow and Tehran

Flights from the UK with BA were suspended in October 2012 amid instability in the Middle Eastern country

The British embassy in Tehran reopened in August last year after being ransacked by a mob in November 2011.

Neil Cottrell, BA's head of network planning, said: 'Iran is a large and growing economy and Tehran is a brilliant business city so we are incredibly excited to be adding another gateway to the Middle East for our customers.

'The recent lifting of sanctions opens up exciting new prospects for Iran as a tourist destination and with its rich heritage, unique architecture and world-class food it's unsurprising Tehran is tipped to be a popular destination for 2016.'

Sanctions on Iran were lifted last month after the international nuclear watchdog said the Tehran government had met all its obligations under a deal with six world powers.

The British embassy in Tehran reopened in August last year after being ransacked by a mob in November 2011

IRAN SET TO BUILD ANOTHER 125 LUXURY HOTELS AS IT PUSHES ON WITH PLANS TO BE THIS YEAR'S MUST-SEE DESTINATION Backing up its aim to be one of the must-visit destinations for 2016, Iran is set to construct 125 luxury hotels. With the government's tourism arm aiming to increase visitors to the Middle Eastern country to 20 million by 2025, a 20 fold increase, hopes are that it can contribute 20billion to the economy. Masoud Soltanifar, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, confirmed that many of the hotels are near to completion, and the numbers built in the last year are more than the total produced in the last century. It is hoped that the removal of sanctions against Iran in light of its progression over its nuclear case can provide a positive outlook to its tourism industry. Accor, which is Europe's largest hotel group, has already constructed two four-star hotels at Imam Khomeini International Airport outside the Iranian capital. And Rotana are set to open four hotels in the next two years, two in the city of Mashhad set to be completed by the end of 2017, and two in Tehran due to open in 2018. Advertisement

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said at the time that British firms should take advantage of the new opportunities that would open as Iran was brought in from the cold.

Major international companies are rushing to establish a position in Iran as the Islamic Republic re-opens for business after the lifting of international sanctions.

So far, deals worth a total of at least $37billion have been announced in sectors such as construction, aviation and car manufacturing. Companies include Europe's Airbus, French car maker Peugeot and Italian steel firm Danieli.

Dozens more have said that they are in talks or have signed provisional agreements with Iranian partners.

With a population of 80 million and annual output of some $400billion, Iran is the biggest economy to rejoin the global trading system since the Soviet Union broke up over two decades ago.

The first major commercial agreement by Iran since sanctions were lifted was the buying of 118 passenger planes from Airbus.

The order is a boost for British jobs because Airbuss wings are made in the UK. Airbus has facilities in Filton, near Bristol, and Broughton, North Wales.

Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, agreed the purchase, thought to be worth 17.4billion, alongside a host of other deals.

It is still conditional on getting a US export license because more than 10 per cent of the parts were made in the US.

The planes, which include 73 wide-body and 45 narrow-body jets, are for Iranair. As well as maintaining the planes, Airbus will also help train pilots.
She was unlucky-in-love as tragic Eponine in the film adaptation of Les Miserables.

But in real-life, Samantha Barks looks to be in the throes of a hot new romance with Jack Fox, a member of the Fox acting dynasty.

The actress and singer, 25, posed up with Jack, 30, on the red carpet at a cognac party in London on Tuesday night.

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New couple alert: Samantha Barks and Jack Fox attend the LOUIS XIII '100 Years' Preview Party in Soho on Tuesday night

Showing some leg: The 25-year-old looked stunning in a dramatic black and white gown with thigh-high split and plunging neckline

The handsome couple, who are believed to have started dating last year, looked cosy as they stood along side each other for photos at the LOUIS XIII '100 Years' Preview Party in Soho.

Isle Of Man-born Samantha showed off her slim figure in a stunning black and white floor-length gown with sexy thigh-high split and plunging neckline.

She completed her outfit with a pair of black heels and a Guema Barnaba Mary Frances clutch bag.

Meanwhile, Jack - younger brother of Lewis star Laurence Fox - looked dapper in a blue suit.

How long has this been going on? The couple are believed to have started dating last year

The couple joined a host of celebrities at the glamorous party hosted by Louis XIII cognac to mark the UK preview of 100 Years starring John Malkovich.

Also in attendance were Naomie Harris, Donna Air, Olvia Grant, Ashley James and Noelle Reno.

Samantha and Jack have shared a few candid photos of each other on their respective Instagram accounts in recent weeks and appeared to spend New Year's Eve together.

Making an entrance: Samantha looked super glamourous in her dramatic dress as she made her way down the grand staircase

Close: The handsome couple, who are believed to have started dating last year, looked cosy as they stood along side each other for photos

The new romance comes over a year after Samantha split from Coronation Street actor and West End star Richard Fleeshman, 26.

The young couple dated for a year and even lived together, but their busy schedules drove them apart in December 2014.

A source at the time told the Daily Mail: 'They've split up... Their work schedules clashed and they only saw it getting worse in 2015... It's very amicable... They are very ambitious and agreed that, at their age, work comes first, but will always care greatly for each other.'

Prior to Richard, Samantha dated male model David Gandy for five months before splitting in October 2013.

Moving on: Samantha's new romance comes after she split from Richard Fleeshman over a year ago

Keeping busy: Samantha has been juggling her acting career both on stage and on the big screen in recent years

Making her exit: Samantha looked super chic as she slung a black coat around her shoulders for the journey home

Samantha first found fame in BBC1 talent show I'd Do Anything in 2008, which saw Andrew Lloyd Webber search for an actress to play Nancy in his West End revival of Oliver. She ended up in third place.

After treading the boards in various theatre productions, her career was given a huge boost when she was cast as Eponine alongside Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne and Anne Hathaway in the 2012 adaptation of the French musical.

Meanwhile, Jack has followed in the footsteps of his acting family. He is the son of actor James Fox and cousins to Emilia and Freddie Fox.

Best known for playing Ralph in Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat, he has also had roles in Mr Selfridge and Dracula.

MailOnline has contacted Samantha's rep for comment.

Famous exes: Samantha with actor Richard Fleeshman in 2014 (left) and male model David Gandy in 2013 (right)
He has fuelled speculation that he is launching a solo career now that One Direction have taken a well-deserved hiatus.

And stepping out for perhaps a brand new look, Harry Styles cut a relaxed and refined figure as he enjoyed a leisurely shopping trip in Beverly Hills, California on Tuesday afternoon.

Known for his unique style, the One Direction star - who celebrated his 22nd birthday the day before - was dressed casually in a blue Hawaiian-print shirt and his trademark black jeans.

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Chilled vibes: Harry Styles cut a relaxed and refined figure as he enjoyed a leisurely shopping trip in Beverly Hills, California on Tuesday afternoon

He left his long hair loose in tousled waves, while styling his relatively low-key getup further with slick aviators and suede ankle boots.

Harrys sighting comes as soon as it was revealed that he has dropped his One Direction management team ahead of the band's hiatus.

He has now signed with CAA management's Jeffrey Azoff, fuelling speculation he is trying to make a solo career in the US.

See more of the latest on Harry Styles as he cuts a relaxed figure hitting the shops

Unique style star: The One Direction star - who celebrated his 22nd birthday the day before - was dressed casually in a blue Hawaiian-print shirt and his trademark black jeans

Keeping his cool: He left his long hair loose in tousled waves, while styling his relatively low-key getup further with slick aviators and suede ankle boots

Solo visit: The British star appeared to be in content spirits during the low-key shopping spree

Modest Management, who guided the 1D boys throughout their career, confirmed the news the British heartthrob is now being represented by the top Hollywood agency in a statement.

'We wish Harry the very best. It has been a real pleasure working with himHarry is a total gentleman, and we know our good friend Jeffrey Azoff will look after him.

'We look forward to sharing some great wine with them next time we are in L.A,' Modest executives said in a statement to Billboard.

MailOnline has contacted CAA for comment.

Shopping for a new look? Harrys sighting comes as soon as it was revealed that he has dropped his One Direction management team ahead of the band's hiatus

Next challenge: He has now signed with CAA management's Jeffrey Azoff, fuelling speculation he is trying to make a solo career in the US

Claims: It was reported earlier this month by The Sun that Harry had dropped his management to move on with a top U.S. agent as The X Factor-founded crooners go their separate way for a lengthy break

It was reported earlier this month by The Sun that Harry had dropped his management to move on with a top U.S. agent as The X Factor-founded crooners go their separate way for a lengthy break.

Singing sensation Harry could leave fans devastated if rumours he is attempting to distance himself from his bandmates Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne are to be believed.

A music industry insider told the publication: 'Harry is done with One Direction. He wants to completely disassociate with the band and that includes any professional connection.

'His new team will be about launching him as a solo superstar by around this time next year so the work is starting now.'

A spokesperson for Harry declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

Splitsville: Harry has distanced himself from Modest Management, the company which helped him achieve superstardom alongside his band mates

'He is done with One Direction': Singing sensation Harry could leave fans devastated if rumours he is attempting to distance himself from his bandmates

Reports suggest Harry is even contemplating moving away from Simon Cowell and his management firm SyCo - a shock move given One Direction's discovery on The X Factor in 2010.

Despite the news of Harry's big move, insiders insist the rest of the One Direction boys are staying loyal to their roots.

The source continued: 'The message from Harry to the other boys is pretty clear that he doesnt see 1D together for a long time if at all. Harry had a great time working with Modest and Syco... But the feeling is that he probably wants a completely fresh start and that could include his record company as well.'
Lachlan McAleer has returned to reality TV this week to continue his search for love, a year after appearing on Married At First Sight.

Now, his former TV 'wife' Clare Tamas has weighed in on his chances of finding love on Farmer Wants A Wife, telling Mamamia on Tuesday she was doubtful the 36-year-old is capable of loving.

'Lachlan was in love with himself, his dog, and himself,' the 37-year-old said, adding: 'I dont think Lachlan knows what love is to be honest, not everyone who wants love is capable of it'.

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'He's incapable of love': Former Married At First Sight personality Clare Tamas says she is doubtful her ex TV husband will find love on Farmer Wants A Wife, suggesting he's incapable of it

'Lachlan was in love with himself, his dog, and himself': The 37-year-old blasted her ex as only being in love with two things in life

Clare went on to reveal the 'unlucky in love' farmer had told her he had been single for ten years before appearing on dating show Married At First Sight.

The marketing executive also reflected on her relationship with the popular personality across their time on the show last year, labelling him 'aggressive' and 'defensive' in the interview.

The former reality TV contestant claims she was 'walking on eggshells' and 'never knew when a landmine was going to go off', acknowledging: 'No wonder people thought I was unstable.'

The brunette also alleged the farmer blows hot and cold, behaviour that left her so confused, it caused her to react in certain ways that were then portrayed as something else on the show.

'No wonder people thought I was unstable': The former reality TV contestant claims she was 'walking on eggshells' and 'never knew when a landmine was going to go off' when it came to Lachlan

Convenient timing? The 37-year-old believes it's more than a coincidence that part of his family farm has been listed for sale just as Farmer Wants A Wife debuts, boosting his profile further

And while plenty of time has passed between the two shows, Clare doesn't believe her former flame, who she says, cut all contact after filming stopped, has changed at all.

'Ive seen a glimpse of the Lachlan I know all too well in the FWAW preview,' Clare said, elaborating: 'Lachlan wont hesitate to start an argument and twist facts'.

Also after noting his pursuit of fame and building a profile for himself, the former reality TV personality seemed sceptical of the timing surrounding the sale of part of Lachlan's family farm, which was listed just as the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife was poised to debut.

While Clare is happily matched now and comfortably out of the spotlight, she has not been one to be quiet about how she feels.

'Heartbroken': The marketing executive laughed off her former TV husband's heartbroken portrayal saying he walked out on her

'Lachlan wont hesitate to start an argument and twist facts': Clare claims she's already seen glimpses of the man she knows in the Farmer Wants A Wife previews

Clare didn't believe Lachlan's 'heartbroken' portrayal in the premiere of the new show where he said he was heartbroken by the breakdown of their relationship and ever had been in love with her.

She has previously given scathing accounts of the 'true' nature of their relationship.

Last year, the marketing manager alleged in an interview with New Idea magazine there was no official break-up after the series ended, claiming he just ignored her when she tried to make contact.

Happier than ever: The former reality TV personality is now happily matched herself but isn't afraid to recount her TV relationship as a warning to the new batch of women her ex is about to meet

'He told me that I was his dream girl and he'd never had a connection like that before, and yet quickly departed after the last cameras, with no word,' Clare claimed. 'Interesting timing isn't it?'

The TV bride also alleged the rugged farmer's 'nice guy' persona was hammed up for the cameras, and as the series progressed, he became more distant and self obsessed.

Clare also told the publication ladies set to encounter the farmer's charm on his next show should be cautious.

Lachlan declined to comment on the allegations when approached by Daily Mail Australia.
She's known for stripping down to skimpy bikinis for fashion campaigns.

And now model Simone Holtznagel has gone a step further and all but bared her assets in a photoshoot for Viktor Vauthier.

The 22-year-old has left little to the imagination in a series of images as she lays topless across a sofa, her left hand covering an exposed breast.

Baring all: Simone Holtznagel bares all as she poses for her latest photoshoot for Viktor Vauthier

While wearing nothing but a pair of knickers, the model covers her modesty, thanks to the use of shadowing and a cupped hand.

She is pictured propping up head up as shen poses ensconced on a velvet sofa, her face bathed in golden sunlight.

Staring into the camera lens, she wears a polka dot bandana tied around her neck.

In another picture from the set, Simone flaunts her busty chest in a tight gold dress which features a very plunging neckline.

Revealing: In another photo for the shoot the 22-year-old flaunts her busty chest in a gold dress which features a very plunging neckline

Matching: While holding the same balcony pose she switches her attire to a fitted black jumpsuit

With the backdrop of the city behind her, she stuns as her locks fall loosely down the side of her blemish-free face.

She's seen raising her eyebrows and displaying a cheeky smirk with little or natural make-up.

Putting her cleavage on full display, Simone also poses in black pin-striped blouse which leaves unbuttoned.

She matches the loose-fitting shirt with a pair of tight black slacks which highlights her long trim pins.

Flowing open: Simone is later seen wearing a black pin-striped blouse which she leaves unbuttoned

Cheeky: The model is also pictured flashing her toned torso in a white over-the-shoulder crop top

The former Australia's Next Top Model beauty crosses her arms in front of her as she allows her thick hair to topple over her right shoulder.

Simone rose to fame in 2011 after appearing on Australia's Next Top Model.

Although she only managed to place third in the reality TV competition, losing out to Liz Braithwaite and winner Montana Cox, the buxom beauty has still managed to forge a successful modelling career.

Simone spent the bulk of last year abroad modelling for Playboy and Men's Style Magazine, with many of her shoots picturing her either scantily clad or completely topless.

Bay watch: While standing in front of an open window flaunts a pair of red mini shorts and a white sloppy joe

Working it: She crawls across the back of sofa looking every inch the sultry siren

In September, the free-spirited star landed the cover of the coveted 'College Issue' of Playboy magazine.

'Thank you to Playboy and the whole team on the shoot and the best agents a gal could ask for,' she wrote on Instagram at the time.

'Greatest apologies to my mother, father, grandma and nan and whoever else in my family isn't too impressed with my b00bz (sic). BUT LOOK I'M ON THE COVER OF PLAYBOY!!!!!,' she added.

She recently appeared in a campaign for Guess, following in the footsteps of fellow blonde bombshells Gigi Hadid and Kate Upton.
She's famed for her long glossy brown locks and gorgeously golden skin.

But Michelle Keegan, 28, was a long way from her usual self when her part in a new history skit was revealed on Wednesday.

The former Coronation Street actress was transformed into porcelain-skinned Queen Elizabeth I, famed for her regal appearance and fiery red hair, for a role in Comedy Central's Drunk History.

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Who's that girl? Michelle Keegan was worlds away from her usual self when her new part as Queen Elizabeth I in Drunk History was revealed

Almost unrecognisable: Michelle (right in late 2015) is more familiar with deep golden tan and her glossy brown locks

Michelle, who shot to fame as soap character Tina McIntyre, takes on one of her most transformative roles to date.

The actress is usually red carpet ready and preened to perfection for the screen but goes completely make-up free, save for some white chalk and stained red cheeks and lips as Elizabeth.

On her extravagant costume, the beauty explained: 'I have a crown on my head which is so heavy, so right now I cant feel my head any more it has gone numb!

'I have thermals on because it is so cold! And a ring that goes round my waist to give me an edge for my bum!'

Me? She went completely make-up free with the exception of stained lips and cheeks

Redhead: She had porcelain skin to match her fiery red hair in the scenes

Starring alongside comedian Jack Whitehall, Michelle appears in episode one, entitled The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh.

The story puts a light-hearted spin on historical events and sees Elizabeth fall in love with Sir Walter Rayleigh.

She has deal with the news that he wanted someone else, though she struggles with not getting her own way.

Each episode features comedians getting very drunk in order to tell a true historical story they are passionate about, which is why Michelle has chosen the iconic fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, Elizabeth.

In real life, Michelle is famously married to former TOWIE star Mark Wright, who she wed last July but used the experience to try to understand why Elizabeth never married.

Drunk history: The actress said she wanted to impersonate the monarch to see why she never married

Starring role: Michelle stars in an episode entitled The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh, beside Jack Whitehall (right)

'She was highly regarded and well respected,' Michelle said. 'And she was the longest reigning queen. I know she was strict and said she died a virgin but I would actually like to know what happened in her life. Did she actually die a virgin? I dont think she did!

'I think that she didnt want to marry otherwise she would have to give up her throne because as soon as she married her husband would have become king, so I think she didnt want to give up her title.'

Michelle joins the likes of Emma Bunton and Matthew Baynton, alongside narrator Jimmy Carr, in adding star power to the series.

The actress admits that she can't 'carry on how she used to' when it comes to alcohol but chooses cocktails and prosecco as her tipples of choice.

Can she get her own way? The actress throws a tantrum when Raleigh won't marry her

And when it comes to drunken food orders, the brunette confessed: 'Fillet of Fish from McDonalds or chicken super noodles.

'I always put mayonnaise with my supernoodles. Any packet of noodles with some mayonnaise and cheese on the top. It is so nice! Have you ever tried tomato sauce and Tartar sauce in a fish finger sandwich? Thats really good too!'

After a six-year stint on Coronation Street, which came to an end in 2014, the 28-year-old went on to star as Tracy in the BBC drama series Ordinary Lies.

Who me? The Tudor part is her most transformative role to date

Michelle, is that you? The former soap babe is usually glammed up to the nines at red carpet events

This month, she took off for South Africa to film action drama Our Girl, where she replaces EastEnders actress Lacey Turner as the leading female.

Her character in the five-part TV series, the second series of the much-celebrated drama, is Corporal Georgie Lane a medic based in a refugee camp in Kenya, in East Africa.

The pretty star agreed to work on the war drama in June 2015, just one month after she tied the knot with Mark and therefore put 600 miles between them with the commitment.

Drunk History kicks off on Wednesday night at 10pm on Comedy Central
Punxsutawney Phil may have signalled an early spring but Groundhog Day star Andie MacDowell was focused on a 'dog day afternoon' on Tuesday.

The actress was seen out with her little pet pooch Ava in LA and both wore stylish outfits with Andie in a padded blue vest and Ava in a bright red jacket.

The rescue pup clearly goes everywhere with the movie star and a week ago Andie caused a Twitter storm after tweeting that she'd been bounced from First Class to 'tourist class' because there wasn't room for her dog in the front row of the plane.

Dog day afternoon: Andie MacDowell was seen out with her pet pooch Ava on Tuesday in Los Angeles

The cute little black and white Chihuahua mix was adopted by the actress in early January after seemingly waiting for a forever family for two years.

Andie shared a photo of Ava hiding under a duvet on Thursday, writing alongside: 'Ava loves to sleep under the covers... day 19 after rescuing her .... 2 years waiting for someone to take her... Lucky me.'

The 57-year-old, who was last seen on the big screen in last year's Magic Mike XXL, is a huge animal lover and regularly tweets pictures of animals in need of homes on her official Twitter feed.

Natty dressers: The black and white Chihuahua mix looked stylish in red jacket, while the actress wore skinny jeans and a blue padded jacket over a striped turtleneck

Doing it all: The Groundhog Day star had one some fur-lined boots for her outing and seemed in good spirits as she juggled her pet's leash with her leather handbag and a large cloth shoppping bag

Forever home: The rescue pup happily trotted along behind the 57-year-old who adopted the dog a few weeks ago

Andie looked terrific in her warm getup, wearing a long sleeved striped turtleneck under her padded vest with a pair of skinny jeans and fur-lined brown boots.

Her signature curly black hair was tied back from her face and left loose around her shoulders.

She kept a tight hold on her pet's leather leash as they returned to their SUV after running errands.

Keeping healthy: The former model who was last seen on the big screen in last year's Magic Mike XXL snacked on an apple during her outing

New pal: Andie shared this photo on Instagram of Ava hiding under a duvet as she explained the dog had waited two years to be adopted and was still getting used to having a forever home

Blockbuster hit: Tuesday was Groundhog Day prompting numerous references on social media to the 1993 comedy in which Andie starred with Bill Murray as two people reliving the same day over and over again

Annual ritual: Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow when he emerged from his burrow in Gobblers Knob in Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, indicating there'll be an early spring

On January 22, Ava was booked with Andie on a flight from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach but an airline employee told her she had to move towards the back of the airplane even though she'd paid for First Class seats for herself and the dog.

Once she took her new seat, she took several selfies with fans, before posting one of them with the caption: '@AmericanAir HELP I paid for first class & they put me in tourist because of my dog that I pre-booked & paid for.'

Things then turned slightly ugly, as the Twittersphere responded that her use of 'tourist' was derogatory. This led to some heated back and forth.

Bounced: Andie and her dog were made to sit in coach despite the movie star paying for First Class seats on a recent flight and sparked a heated response from folks who thought her use of 'tourist' was derogatory

Andie explained, '@AmericanAir he said take the seat or don't get on my plane I was there early to ask for help and from the moment I met him he was rude.'

Many did sympathize with the point that she was simply asking for what she had already paid for, while some others said she was complaining about a 'first world problem.'

Though she did admit she wanted a refund for the second half of her trip, she quickly assuaged critics, promising that she would give the money to charity.

She later posted that the donation would be earmarked for Charleston volunteers for literacy & College of Charleston department of education.
Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka had front row seats at the Ovadia & Sons fall menswear show on Tuesday.

The duo wore stylish ensembles that looked catwalk-worthy as they enjoyed the New York Fashion Week show held at the Skylight at Clarkson Sq.

Neil, 42, sported a fetching midnight blue blazer with skinny fit trousers and grey shirt.

Stylish couple: Neil Patrick Harris made it a date with husband David Burtka to the Ovadia & Sons New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016 at Skylight at Clarkson Sq

His handsome date David, opted for a grey plaid blazer and pale blue shirt which he teamed with blue jeans.

And while the couple certainly don't appear to need any help in the style department, they soaked up the atmosphere and conferred on the ensembles on display.

Neil and David started dating in 2004 and in September 2014 they married in Italy, surprising fans with the news on Twitter after they had tied the knot.

They are parents to two children, son Gideon Scott, and daughter, Harper Grace, who were born via surrogate on October 12, 2010.

Fashionista: The 42-year-old actor wore a midnight blue velour blazer with skinny pants with grey shirt

On trend: David, 40, wore a chic grey plaid blazer with blue jeans

Getting style tips: The gents appeared to be taking notes on the looks passing them by

Hmmm: Neil and David were front and centre for all the action

Meanwhile this coming Saturday Neil will host a 22-minute TV special on NBC celebrating Roundabout Theatre Company's 50th anniversary, titled A Roundabout Road to Broadway.

It will feature interviews with several Roundabout alums including Kristin Chenoweth, Alec Baldwin, Jake Gyllenhaal and Helen Mirren.

Neil's show Best Time Ever was canceled by NBC last year after eight episodes, due to an expensive live format and reportedly never quite 'gelling' for the network.

Producer confirmed in December that they're committed to working with Neil on new projects through NBCs deal with his company Prediction Productions.

New looks on show: The collection featured earthy hues and some formal navy coats
There a few experiences more nerve-wracking than showing up to a romantic blind date with a total stranger.

But for the brave participants on First Dates, they had the added pressure of making conversation, fumbling their pick-up lines and trying to look good in front of millions of viewers at home.

The Channel Seven show, broadcast on Wednesday night, featured five pairs of hopeful singles who were matched by dating experts on their likes and dislikes - then put together on a blind date.

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Ready for love? Five pairs of hopeful singles were matched by dating experts on their likes and dislikes and then put together on a blind date on the show, First Date, including Dannii and Nicholas (pictured)

Some of the contestants oozed with confidence, while others cracked under the pressure - which guaranteed plenty of laughs.

One of the highlights of the debut episode was nervous Nicholas, 29, who was paired off with glamourous blonde Dannii, 22.

During their awkward date, Nicholas sweats and stumbles over his words - and even darts into the bathroom half-way through dinner to call his mate 'big fella' for advice.

Struggling: During their awkward date, Nicholas sweats and stumbles over his words - and even darts into the bathroom half-way through dinner to call his mate 'big fella' for advice

Displaying her busty curves in a slinky cut-out dress, Dannii, from Queensland, is effortlessly calm and seems to find her date's nerves rather amusing.

Speaking to the camera ahead of the romantic soiree, Nicholas admits he was previously engaged and says he struggled 'coming out' as a single man.

He then immediately regrets his choice of words, as the term 'coming out' typically refers to an LGBT person revealing their sexual identity to friends and family.

But when the date gets started, Nicholas continued to put his foot in his mouth - with hilarious results.

Hot to trot: The blonde displayed her busty curves in a slinky cut-out dress

Confident: Dannii, from Queensland, is effortlessly calm and seems to find her date's nerves rather amusing

Keeping her entertained! When the date gets started, Nicholas continued to put his foot in his mouth - with hilarious results

Clad in a colourful shirt and pastel blue suit, Nicholas takes a sip from Dannii's drink but avoids her straw, saying: 'We can leave the lip touching 'til later.'

In what will soon become a trend, Nicholas quickly realised his faux pas but it was already too late.

Fortunately, pharmacy student Dannii found the blunder amusing and laughed out loud, saying: 'Did you actually just say that?'

Her goofy date certainly marks a change from Dannii's usual type, as she previously confided: 'I'm all about the tradies'.

Matters went from bad to much, much worse for Nicholas, however, after he forgot pretty Dannii's name.

She asked him directly: 'Do you remember my name?' He replies: 'Of course I do.'

Dannii, who wore pink lipstick and silver earrings for the date, challenged him: 'What is it?' and he covered his mouth and laughed feebly.

Oops: Matters went from bad to much, much worse for Nicholas, however, after he forgot pretty Dannii's name

She then claimed to remember his name - Nicholas - but he replied that it was unfair because his first and second names are the same, making it easier to recall.

'My name's Nicholas Nicholas,' he admits - to which she replies: 'Do your parents hate you?'

Feeling desperate, later on Nicholas excuses himself and calls his friend from the men's toilets to ask for advice.

Nicholas told his mate, whom he calls 'big fella', that he needs a pick-up line to spruce up his flagging date, adding: 'I'm dying up in here!'

The friend suggests he say: 'Are you a magician? Because whenever I look at you everyone else disappears.'

'Oh, that's actually really nice,' responds Nicholas, rather naively.

Unfortunately, when he tries to use the pick-up line later on, he's interrupted by the waiter Terry.

And suffice to say, Dannii wasn't very impressed either, having already heard the pick-up line before.

She told him: 'I already know what you're going to say. You need to come up with a fresh one. Oh, mate, what are you doing?'

Unaware he may not be getting the best advice, Nicholas calls his friend AGAIN that evening while Dannii has left for the bathroom.

Tips please: Unaware he may not be getting the best advice, Nicholas calls his friend AGAIN that evening while Dannii has left for the bathroom

He hangs up quickly when Dannii returns, and tells her rather hopefully: 'I'm going to be a bit more relaxed now.'

Nevertheless, by the end of the night, Nicholas's rather endearing awkwardness won over Dannii who agreed to go on a second date.

She suggested later: 'I had a really good time... Maybe when we're both back in Brisbane we can go for a coffee.'

He did it! Nevertheless, by the end of the night, Nicholas's rather endearing awkwardness won over Dannii who agreed to go on a second date

Meanwhile, viewers were introduced to so-called Mr Mysterious, a.k.a. dashing Chris, 44, from New South Wales.

His dinner date with Caterina, 40, was so full of silky smooth, James Bond-style lines that it almost bordered parody.

Perhaps his most outlandish moment came when he made the not-so-subtle suggestion the pair 'get lubricated' together.

Chemistry? Meanwhile, viewers were introduced to so-called Mr Mysterious, a.k.a. dashing Chris, 44, from New South Wales and date Caterina, 40

Staring at her intensely, he crooned: 'We're going to spend a little bit of time together. Let's maybe get lubricated', suggesting they have a drink.

At other points, Caterina, who flaunted her cleavage in a cut-out red number, was left speechless as Chris laid on plenty of charm.

She blurted out soon after their introduction: 'Well, what would you like... we should... Oh, gosh, hi... that's so smooth.'

The pair maintained deep eye contact as they enjoyed their drinks, with Chris adding seductively: 'Delicious'.

Caterina previously admitted her struggle at finding a partner, claiming: 'I love my gay friends - but we're not getting married!'

Cheeky: Staring at her intensely, he crooned: 'We're going to spend a little bit of time together. Let's maybe get lubricated', suggesting they have a drink

Always ready to hit the floor: Caterina was introduced on the show saying she loves dancing

Next up, 28-year-old marketing manager Lauren sat down for a date with Corbin, 27, both from Victoria.

Before, Lauren confided: 'I definitely feel that Mr Right is lost. He could potentially be stuck up a tree. He may be stuck on a bus. He may have caught the wrong plane.

'I'm hoping that he's waiting around the corner and willing to find me because I'm open to it, and I'm open to find him.'

Rather worryingly, she added: 'I've definitely had those days like most women where I felt that dating may just never happen, that I may die alone.

'And let's be serious, everybody's had those thoughts if you're a woman. That I'm going to be living with 10 cats and that no-one will know that I have died because the cats would have eaten me because that's what cats do.'

Hitting it off? Next up, 28-year-old marketing manager Lauren sat down for a date with Corbin, 27, both from Victoria

Single fears: Lauren said she was worried she would 'die alone'

Overall, their date goes well, but Lauren went a little too far trying to persuade Corbin that she isn't 'crazy'.

She told him: 'I'm a unicorn. I'm one of those girls that, you know, like, is above the seven "hot", right... but also is below, like, a five "crazy"'.

She then joked about being 'Stage 5 clinger', a reference to the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers.

She also, rather revealingly, admitted: 'If I see one more person getting married and having a baby, I'm going to die. Just so you know.'

At the end of the night, Lauren elected to go on a second date - but unfortunately Corbin felt differently.

After Lauren insists she 'had a great time', Corbin rather awkwardly blurts out after a silence: 'What am I meant to say?'

He then explained that he felt he wasn't as ambitious or settled as Lauren would like and they would be incompatible in the long term.

Not meant to be: At the end of the night, Lauren elected to go on a second date - but unfortunately Corbin felt differently

There are other, admittedly very sweet, moments on the show during more successful dates.

Small-town country girl Vanessa, 19, tells her shy partner Tom, 23: 'You made me feel like a princess', before the pair agree to a follow-up date.

And male model Aiden, 29, clearly fell head-over-heels for his gorgeous date Emily, a self-confessed hopeless romantic.

But Emily sadly declined a further meeting because she didn't feel the 'spark'.

First Dates airs Wednesday nights at 9pm on Channel Seven.

Sweet: Small-town country girl Vanessa, 19, tells her shy partner Tom, 23: 'You made me feel like a princess', before the pair agree to a follow-up date
There are few things more thrilling than realising one uses the same hair salon as a celebrity.

So customers must have been especially excited when they saw The Talk star Sharon Osbourne walk into a West Hollywood hairdresser for a beauty touch up on Tuesday.

The autumnal beauty seemed eager to get started as she tugged on her locks while walking towards the upmarket barber during her solo outing.

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Because she's worth it: Sharon Osbourne was spotted tugging on her locks as she headed to a hairdresser in West Hollywood on Tuesday

The saucy 63-year-old wore an all-black ensemble of jacket, trousers and stilettos, though she added a splash of contrast by also donning a white T-shirt.

But there can be little doubt she will have been looking even better by the time she made her grand exit from the Nine Zero One Hair Salon.

While she is best known as a media personality these days, Sharon, who has a net worth of $220 million, is a respected music manager who guided the career of her husband Ozzy Osbourne, as well as such stellar rock names as guitar legend Gary Moore, Motorhead, Lita Ford and The Smashing Pumpkins.

The plastic surgery fan raised eyebrows last month when she claimed on her show The Talk that such procedures make it easier for women to shoot nude scenes in films.

Time for a touch up: Keeping a high profile beauty like Sharon in perfect condition is no easy task

Iron maiden: The heavy metal mogul made it look easy as she changed directions during her walk

The Talk of the salon: Customers will have been pinching themselves when they saw the star walk in

She claimed it made it much easier for women to bare all, as they are able to change their looks if they are unhappy with them, particularly their breasts.

During the show, she admitted: I think it is much easier for women, because it is usually these [pointing at her breasts] that we dont like and we can get it surgically changed.

But poor guys are stuck with what they have got. It is like they have no help for them.

The former X Factor judge went as far as to suggest computer-generated imagery should be considered for male nude scenes.

Her Iron Man: She has been married to Black Sabbath's original, and second best, singer Ozzy since 1982
They are two of the hottest models in the business, and Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner have proved their worth in a seriously racy new shoot for LOVE magazine.

The close pals are two of the stars to appear in the LOVE Club issue for Spring/Summer.

Gigi leads the glamour in the high fashion editorial, teasing fans with a seductive shot of her flashing some underboob while teasingly lifting up her T-shirt.

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Flirty: Gigi Hadid has teased fans by flashing in a seductive new shoot for LOVE magazine's Spring/Summer issue

Meanwhile, BFF and fellow catwalk queen Kendall opts for a kooky look, sporting a wacky pink wig and sandals while lying with her legs open on a bed.

Both beauties were shot by photographer Carin Backoff and styled by Sally Lyndley.

Gigi, 20, opens up about her meteoric rise to fame in an interview with Paul Flynn for the publication, and talks about the age old discussion of what makes a supermodel.

She says: 'I was always told as a kid that you need five Vogue covers to be a supermodel. I dont know if I consider myself a supermodel, but that was what I was told you need to do. There was Italia, Netherlands, Brazil, Spain. Theres another one. Im forgetting. I think I got six, shooting another tomorrow, another comes out in a couple of weeks in the UK. Crazy, right?'

But she has been trained by the best - the beauty reveals that Naomi Campbell herself gave her runway strut the thumbs up during a personal catwalk class.

See Kendall Jenner updates as she poses with BFF Gigi Hadid for LOVE magazine shoot

In bed with Kendall: Fellow catwalk queen Kendall opts for a kooky look for her shot, sporting a wacky pink wig and sandals while lying with her legs open

There for you: In an interview accompanying the shoot, Gigi reveals she turns to Kendall when online criticism from online trolls gets too much

Learning from a legend: The beauty reveals that Naomi Campbell herself gave her runway strut the thumbs up during a personal catwalk class at a hotel in Italy

Saucy issue: The new magazine also features Emily Ratajkowski in a blue wig and a stomach-flashing crop top

Gigi added: 'I go to her hotel and we end up practising walking in the hallway of the hotel. Italian families are coming out to watch and shes like, "Dont look at them, keep walking, theyre your audience."

'She said, "Dont apologise, dont do it. You are perfect the way you are. Everyone said my walk was weird too."'

But with fame and fortune comes criticism. Gigi - who is currently dating Zayn Malik - explained that she has learned to turn to Kendall when things she sees online affect her.

'When people are really harsh? I live with my best friend from high school, but usually Im going to call Kendall because Kendalls the one who will always be like, "You dont need that, just let it go."

'And I know that if thats working for her then it can work for me.'

Read the full interview in LOVE 15, the LOVE Club issue for Spring/Summer 2016, which goes on newsstands 8 February.

Not so innocent: Pop star Selena Gomez stuns in a black and white snap for the issue, which hits newstands on February 8




Lindy Klim has opened up about her marriage to husband and former Olympic swimmer, Michael Klim.

The 37-year-old Balinese princess spoke to Daily Mail Australia at the David Jones Autumn/Winter fashion launch in Sydney on Wednesday revealing that the couple find it tough finding time for one another given their respective work commitments.

'It is difficult, we are trying to work our way through that at the moment but it is difficult,' she admitted.

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Being honest: Lindy Klim has opened up about her marriage to husband and former Olympic swimmer, Michael Klim. She is seen here at the David Jones Autumn/Winter fashion launch in Sydney on Wednesday

'The distance thing is very hard but also marriage is difficult in itself. We are just doing the best we can at the moment, we'll see.'

The former model added she doesn't have any plans for Valentine's Day coming up, but doesn't think much of the annual love fest.

'I'm not really into Valentine's anyway. I think its more everyday than one day,' she said.

'It's difficult': She told Daily Mail Australia about how tough it is for her and husband Michael Klim to spend time apart from one another with their respective work commitments

Lindy and Michael, 38, married in 2006 and share three children together, daughters Stella, 10, and Frankie, four, and son Rocco, seven.

For months, their nine year marriage has been dogged by split rumours with the couple being last seen together at an event in Melbourne back in December.

Meanwhile, they celebrated New Year's Eve separately, which added to speculation.

Last month Lindy however put an end to rumours and said they are still very much together but 'working things out.'

Family: Lindy and Michael, 38, married in 2006 and share three children together, daughters Stella, 10, and Frankie, four, and son Rocco, seven

At the David Jones launch, Lindy gushed about her children and said that while she is in Sydney, Michael is in Bali looking after them.

'He's with the kids,' she said of her man.

'I always like to make sure someone is there, so if he's not there than my mum is there...They're at school and they are super happy.'

She said even her youngest child Frankie is in school and will join her siblings at the Green School in Ubud next term.

When asked whether Michael will return to Melbourne when she gets back to Bali - where they are based - she said the pair are undecided.

Hot to trot: At the launch, Lindy stunned in a black see-through dress that showed off her flawless figure

'I'm not really sure at this stage. I think it depends on our schedule and whats happening,' she said.

'Usually we have a really tight plan of whats going on. But at the moment, I've got so much work here and he does elsewhere as well so day by day we are kind of working out what we are doing.'

At the launch, Lindy stunned in a black see-through dress that showed off her flawless figure.

Her gown featured a high neck and long sleeves and stopped at the calves.

Showing off her undergarments, she wore a black bra and high-waisted undies.

She teamed her look with sky-high heels.

Her make-up was kept simple to show off her natural beauty and she had her dark hair tied off her locks and into a bun.

Lindy also told Daily Mail Australia just how much she enjoyed the night.

'It was awesome...it was one of the best shows they've ever done. The dancers, the music, the clothes, it was really good.'
Her former band mates may be sunning themselves in Barbados.

But Sarah Harding appeared to be having the time of her life as she continued to throw her all into The Jump training in Austria on Saturday.

The former Girls Aloud singer appeared to be inches from a crash landing as she tried her best to master the art of jumping over obstacles in skis.

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Not invited, not bothered? Sarah Harding appeared to be having a great time training for The Jump in Austria on Friday, as her ex-bandmate Kimberley Walsh married in Barbados

Sarah, 34, slipped into a skin-tight red one-piece for the stunt which meant she couldn't be missed on the course.

She pulled on a protective black vest which was decorated with heaps of diamantes, arranged in a swirling design.

The former chart star also wore a helmet to reduce the impact of any potential tumbles as she was challenged with navigating the many obstacles.

Flying high: Sarah, 34, whizzed through the air on her skis as she took to a stunt course

Jump! for my love: The ex Girls Aloud singer managed to pull off a simple jump mid-air

Thrill-seeker: The former pop starlet looked unsteady on her feet as she approached the first obstacle with caution

Sarah whizzed through the air without her poles for balance and looked unsteady as she built up enough momentum to push her over a ramp.

Although she looked far from a natural stunt woman, she managed to pluck up the courage to execute a simple jump mid-air.

She appeared to be thrilled with her performance as she was pictured celebrating once she returned to flat ground.

Get in: Sarah was clearly thrilled with her performance as she celebrated once she was back on the safety of flat ground

Snow bunny: She certainly looked the part as she changed into black salopettes, a thin fleece and a red padded jacket for the next activity

Stretch: She was seen warming up by a ski rack as she prepared to showcase a different set of newly-acquired winter-sport skills

Open your bindings: Sarah appeared to be having some difficulty securing her boots into her skis

Bottom's up: She showed off her pert behind as she bent down to tuck her salopettes into a her ski boots

On-piste chic: Sarah made an effort to co-ordinate her poles to her ski jacket

Could get used to this: Sarah appeared to be getting used to life a winter sportswoman

Sarah's sighting comes amid claims she's enjoyed a fling with a 21-year-old toy boy in recent months.

A rep for the star said: 'I've just spoken to Sarah and she saw him for about a month last summer. It was a very brief relationship at the time and it's now over.'

The Sun reported she met the youngster at a football match and their romance picked up from there.

Beating the chill: Sarah made sure to wrap up warm as she layered up for the day on the piste

Slope chic: Sarah sported a full face of make-up and tied her long blonde locks into ponytails for the latest training session

A source said: 'Sarah doesnt care about the age gap. Even the fact Benjamin lives with his parents didnt put her off as she occasionally sneaked into his bedroom.

'They have a good laugh together and get on well. Theres no reason why their relationship cant kick on when shes back in the UK.'

Over the Christmas period Sarah reportedly visited Benjamin, who details his base as St Albans on his Twitter profile - a 50 minute drive from Sarah's home in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire.

Sarah stars in The Jump which airs every Sunday on Channel 4 at 8pm
Veteran TV personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley might be 62, but she certainly doesn't let her age get in the way of her fashion choices.

The bubbly blonde wowed onlookers when she went braless on Wednesday night in a silver and gold backless mini dress.

The star flaunted her trim figure in the frock at the David Jones Autumn/Winter fashion launch in Sydney.

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A knockout! Veteran TV personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley went braless and showed off her trim figure in a gold and silver backless dress at the David Jones Autumn/Winter fashion launch in Sydney on Wednesday

Toned: The blonde, 62, sure gives women half her age a run for their money

The dress featured a high neck with a sheer panel down the bust, that gave a glimpse of her ample cleavage.

She teamed the look with strappy heels and bracelets, and carried a gold Chanel bag.

Her hair was left out in loose tousled curls and her make-up included dewy foundation and a pink lip.

That's how she does it! Back in September, she flaunted her bikini body on the cover of Woman's Day Magazine - without filters or photoshop - and spoke about keeping in shape with weight-training

Kerri-Anne recently returned to Australia after a holiday to the US and Barbados with her husband John Kennerley.

Back in September, she flaunted her bikini body on the cover of Woman's Day Magazine - without filters or photoshop - and spoke about keeping in shape with weight-training.

She said her transformation is the result of wanting to be healthy and not about age or cosmetics.

'Well, we all know I'm vain,' she conceded to the glossy, 'but I honestly never thought I would be paying someone to beat me up at the gym. 'I don't believe I will ever be ready to go grey, not wear makeup, wear sensible shoes or act my age!'
Last time we saw Adam Williams, he was leaving Manchester with his baby son Matthew following the tragic death of his wife.

And life looks to have brought a lot more changes for James Nesbitt's beloved character as Cold Feet returns for a hugely anticipated sixth series this Spring.

The actor was seen filming scenes for the comeback on Wednesday, with it looking as though his character has swapped his office job for a new career as a taxi driver.

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He's back! James Nesbitt was seen shooting scenes for the sixth series of Cold Feet on Wednesday, the first time he's been seen on set for the anticipated comeback

The acclaimed actor was back in Manchester city centre for the day of filming.

James was seen jumping into the driver's seat of a red taxi, which was plastered with a sign reading 'MCR Cabs Reliable and Affordable.'

A chic female actress hailed a ride, sitting in the passenger seat as the cameras rolled on the busy city street.

James was dressed casually for the day in character, teaming a red jumper with a jacket and suede boots, as he flashed a smile at onlookers in between takes.

Taxi! James, who is reprising his role as Adam Williams, filmed scenes in Manchester city centre, jumping into the driver's seat of a taxi cab

James' Cold Feet co-stars Robert Bathurst and John Thompson were later spotted on set, with Hermione Norris and Fay Ripley also set to reprise their characters from the fan hit, which came to a dramatic end in 2003.

Picking up Downton Abbey's Sunday night slot on ITV, the iconic series - written by Mike Bullen - is gearing up to be one of television's biggest comebacks when it returns later this year.

Highly regarded as one of the best British comedy drama series, the show pulled in an average of eight millions viewers during its 1998-2003 run, and won over 20 major awards including the BAFTA for Best Drama Series.

In the driver's seat: The actor, whose character used to have an office job, picked up a female passenger in his cab

Nice shoes! James was dressed in a jacket, jeans and blue suede shoes for his day in character

Jump in! A chic female actress hailed a ride, sitting in the passenger seat as the cameras rolled on the busy city street

Where are the others? There was no sign of James' Cold Feet co-stars on set during the first scenes of the day

Time for a catchup: Last time viewers saw James' character, he was scattering the ashes of his wife Rachel (played by Helen Baxendale)

The only person missing from the line-up is Helen Baxendale, whose character Rachel Bradley, Adam's wife and mother of Matthew, was killed in a car crash in the last series.

It was rumoured that the Friends actress would return for flashback scenes - but Ripley insisted this wasn't the case.

She told Loose Women at the end of last year: 'The only thing I do know is that Helen isn't going to be doing it and that's actually going to be the hardest thing because we are all probably going to slot back into the on set roles that we had, but Helen won't be there

Back up north: Despite the characters scattering when the series ended 12 years ago, the show has returned to its Manchester location

To the club: James and his-co-star John Thomson - who plays Pete Gifford in the popular sitcom - were later pictured heading to a nightclub in the city centre to film a scene inside

Quick change: The leading star changed out of his workwear for the lads' night out scene

The trio is complete: Robert Bathurst - who plays David Marsden - was also spotted arriving at the location

'So it'll be slightly odd, and she is such a lovely girl and friend of mine.'

Last time fans saw the group of friends, they were gathered for the scattering of Rachel's ashes following her shock death in a car crash.

Thomson and Ripley's characters Pete and Jenny Gifford eventually divorced in the series due to infidelity, but Jenny was seen returning from her new life in New York in the final episode and moving back in with Pete.

Bathurst and Norris' characters David and Karen Marsden also split up during the show, with David going on to have a relationship with his solicitor, Robyn Duff (Lucy Robinson).

Reunited: Robert Bathurst (David), Hermione Norris (Karen), John Thomson (Pete), and Fay Ripley (Jenny) will join James in new series which hits screens in Spring
She is one of Britain's hottest actresses thanks to her role as an aristocratic temptress in BBC bonkbuster War and Peace.

But even Tuppence Middleton had to get her start on the school stage.

New pictures have emerged of the 28-year-old performing at Bristol Grammar School, where she first caught the acting bug.

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Life is a cabaret: New pictures have emerged of War and Peace star Tuppence Middleton performing at Bristol Grammar school in the 1990s, where she first caught the acting bug

Hats off to her! The critically-acclaimed star has always been a keen fan of the stage

Retro: Tuppence Middleton pictured during her time at Bristol Grammar school acting in the play On the Razzle

The brunette beauty is seen hamming it up for the audience in mime artist make-up and a black frock while taking the lead in play Six Characters in Search of an Author.

She also starred as Liesl in school's version of The Sound Of Music, looking innocent as she looked into the crowd alongside a fellow student.

Speaking about her time in the drama department, school friend Ellice Clare insisted Tuppence was always destined for fame.

She said: 'Tuppence always stood out at school. She was a natural. She was in every play and even led a performance of the final song of Dirty Dancing in assembly.

'She was very popular and very nice. I wasn't surprised to see her become famous - I knew there was something special about her.

'She was very mature, always got on with life and was very easy to get along with. When she came back to visit the school recently she was exactly the same person. She hasn't changed..

The snaps of her first brush with the acting bug have been released as the actress returned to Bristol Grammar to meet the current batch of students.

The visit came as part of her role as ambassador for mental health charity Sane, and she discussed the stigma surrounding depression to raise awareness with her younger fanbase.

Humble start: A teenage Tuppence is seen hamming it up for the audience while playing as Liesl in school's version of The Sound Of Music

Not so innocent: The actress' start on the school stage is a far cry from her racy role as temptress Princess Helene Kuragin in the TV adaptation of Tolstoy's epic novel

The star - now sporting a wild head of dyed blonde hair for upcoming role in Netflix series Sense8 - explained: 'Talking with students about the stigma versus the reality surrounding these illnesses and hoping to raise awareness.'

As for walking the corridors of the school she spent her childhood in, Tuppence added: 'It's really nice - I grew up here and left when I was 18 so to come back it's amazing. My old teachers all look the same.'

Tuppence has been hailed as one of Britain's huge stars of the future after she landed parts in two of the BBC's biggest adaptations of the year.

Back in class: The snaps of her first brush with the acting bug have been released as the actress returned to Bristol Grammar to meet the current batch of students

Charity: The star - now sporting a wild head of dyed blonde hair for upcoming role in Netflix series Sense8 - explained: 'Talking with students about the stigma versus the reality surrounding these illnesses and hoping to raise awareness'

Top marks: As for walking the corridors of the school she spent her childhood in, Tuppence added: 'It's really nice - I grew up here and left when I was 18 so to come back it's amazing. My old teachers all look the same'

She plays a young Miss Havisham in hit mini-series Dickensian, but it's her part as raunchy aristocrat Princess Helene Kuragin.

Her sordid scenes have been the talk of show, with fans flocking to social media to discuss her incestuous affair with brother Anatole, as well as that dining room romp.

While her star is on the rise, Tuppence - who was named by her grandparents - admits she followed a career in acting because it was one of the hobbies which 'stuck' as a teen.

On the rise: Tuppence has been hailed as one of Britain's huge stars of the future after she landed parts in two of the BBC's biggest adaptations of the year, including her part as Miss Havisham in Dickensian

Phwoar and Peace: Her sordid scenes have been the talk of show, especially her incestuous affair with brother Anatole

Back in the day: Tuppence Middleton pictured during her time at Bristol Grammar school

She told Metro: 'I did a lot of things when I was younger  ballet, karate, singing lessons, drama  and this is the one that stuck.

'As I got older, I auditioned for drama school and shocked myself by getting in.

'Im shocked and surprised to still be doing it. It started as an interest and grew into a passion.

'I just enjoyed telling stories. I enjoyed watching films and reading and becoming someone else. I spent a lot of time on my own when I was younger, I enjoyed my own company and still do, so it was a source of escapism.

'I used to go to London to see plays with my family and I remember seeing Les Miserables, which was inspiring. When I was little I saw a documentary about girls at a theatre school auditioning for parts in plays.

I thought Id love to do it but theres no way I ever would because I was from this little town, Clevedon, outside Bristol.
When the likes of Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens took on Grease in Fox's live spectacular on Sunday night they scored 12.2million viewers and praise from critics.

Fast forward to Wednesday, and to celebrate the UK showing of the live musical on ITV2, the Loose Women team decided to re-enact some scenes from the classic during their show.

Coleen Nolan took centre stage, cosying up to EastEnders and Extras star Shaun Williamson, who made a special guest appearance.

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Loose Ladies! To celebrate the UK showing of Grease: Live! on ITV2, the Loose Women team decided to re-enact some scenes from the classic musical during their show on Wednesday

To mark the UK airing of Grease: Live! on Wednesday night, Coleen and her co-stars rode the famous Greased Lightening car into the show.

While Coleen, Ruth Langsford and Sherrie Hewson donned the iconic satin jackets, the signature garment of the Pink Ladies in Grease, Janet Street Porter stole the style of a T-Bird, wearing a black leather number.

Shaun was the leading man in the fun skit though, taking the driver's seat in the car before trying on a Pink Ladies jacket.

The actor and Coleen showed off some dance moves before sharing a cosy moment.

Nice ride! To mark the UK airing of Grease: Live! on Wednesday night, Coleen and her co-stars rode the famous Greased Lightening car into the show

Danny, is that you? EastEnders' star Shaun Williamson was the leading man in the fun skit, taking the driver's seat in the car before trying on a Pink Ladies jacket

Nice moves: The actor joined Coleen Nolan for a spot of dancing as they had some fun with the Grease props and iconic costumes

Fox's Grease: Live! proved to a huge hit when it aired in the US on Sunday night. Julianne Hough proved the perfect Sandy, as the live extravaganza wowed fans and critics alike.

Viewers took to social media to rave about the Dancing With The Stars judge - just one of just one of many highlights in the production, which dodged torrential rain and overcame sound glitches to win five-star reviews.

Labelled 'visually impressive' by USA Today, and a 'cinematic... spectacle' by the New York Times, the 12.2million viewers who tuned in for the three-hour show seemed delighted by what they saw.

With a cast and crew of around 600 people, 14 different sets on 20 acres of studio lot and a live audience, the production was impressive from start to finish. One stand-out performance came from Vanessa Hudgens, who lost her father to cancer just hours before the show.

Making her entrance: Ruth Langsford tottered onto set in a racy red dress and heels under her Pink Ladies jacket while Janet Street-Porter followed in the T-Birds' black leather look

Move over Sandy! Sherrie Hewson was also dressed as a Pink Lady, characters made famous in the hit 70s movie

Giving it her all: Coleen seemed to get into character as she joined Shaun in the backseat

Meanwhile Shaun told the Loose Women on Wednesday that he wants his EastEnders alter-ego Barry Evans to come back from the dead as a bad boy.

The 50-year-old actor played the gullible buffoon in the BBC One soap for 10 years until his character was killed off in 2004 but he hopes, if there is any way of resurrecting him, he'll return to Walford one day as a tough hardman.

Asked if he would return to the popular programme, Shaun said: 'I just think it's pushing it if they try to make out Barry has been hiding in Tottenham for the last 12 years.

They've got moves: The Loose Women ladies danced into the studio after catching a ride in Greased Lightning

Odd one out: While Ruth, Coleen and Sherrie were Pink Ladies, Janet chose to be a T-Bird for the show

He looks the part! Shaun told the Loose Women on Wednesday that he wants his EastEnders alter-ego Barry Evans to come back from the dead as a bad boy

'He was weak. Barry started off as quite an edgy character; he gave Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) the number of the hitman who shot Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), he got hold of Cindy's kids and tried to help get her out of the country and he set fire to the car lot [so I would like him to come back a bad boy].'

However, Shaun doesn't regret turning his back on 'EastEnders' over a decade ago because it's allowed him to try his hand at other things.

He said on 'Loose Women' today (03.02.16): 'I've been out 12 years. I sort of had enough. These days they'll let people go off and do 'Strictly Come Dancing' and then they're allowed to go back into the show.

'Back then, they were really quite strict about that and that's all I had done. I left drama school at 30, convinced I wanted to do theatre, and then I got snapped up by 'EastEnders' and was in it for 10 years so I'd never done any theatre so I booked the casting and I kind of forced their hand but I don't regret it.'

Grease: Live! airs on ITV2 on February 3 at 8pm.
His gripping new TV show about the O.J. Simpson trial debuted on Tuesday.

And Cuba Gooding Jr. was in the mood to celebrate while out in New York City, hugging and kissing police officers and posing for photos with fans.

The 48-year-old Oscar winner stars as OJ in FX's series The People vs O.J .Simpson: American Crime Story

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Night out: Cuba Gooding Jr. was in a celebratory mood while out partying in New York after the debut of his show American Crime Story on Tuesday

The sensational show is based on the infamous 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and the subsequent 'trial of the century.'

On Tuesday, Cuba was full of energy as he greeted fans and police officers after a night out.

'I need a hug,' the actor said, running over and embracing some nearby cops.

'Thank you for what you do. Thank you for your service.'

This guy: Cuba pulled a cop in for a kiss after hugging some officers

Pucker up: Cuba planted a kiss on the officer's cheek after thanking them for their service

Group hug: The star then turned to embrace a laughing officer

He then planted a kiss on one of the officer's cheeks and teased another one about being short before agreeing to give him a hug too.

'Don't shoot nobody,' he then joked to the officers.

The star, who looked stylish in a black leather jacket, blue shirt and light blue scarf, also chatted with fans and posed for selfies.

When one enthusiastic Italian fan embraced him tightly, the actor joked 'I might be pregnant.'

Hug it out: Cuba pulled another cop close for an embrace

Fan club: Cuba appeared to be in a great mood as he hugged and kissed cops in New York on Tuesday

Hugs all around: The NYPD officers laughed and smiled as Cuba enthusiastically embraced and kissed them

The star grew serious when asked how playing OJ Simpson had changed him.

'Emotionally, I went through a lot of stuff,' he said, wiping away a tear.

Cuba then posed for some more selfies before asking 'Are you fast enough to keep up with me?' and racing off down the street.

The actor has previously revealed how filming scenes for the show made him cry as he realized just how the deaths of the victims had impacted their families.

Trial of the century: The 48-year-old said that playing the disgraced NFL star had put him through a lot emotionally

Smooch: The actor also gave a fan a kiss as she chatted on her phone, before he raced off down the street

Smile! The star posed for selfies with fans while out in New York on Tuesday

'There was one day after filming that I went to my trailer and I couldn't stop crying because I realized I never (thought about the loss) for the Goldman or Brown family,' he told The Hollywood Reporter.

'Back then, I was just so relieved that another black man got away from the injustice that was the LAPD. I was just so relieved that they didn't screw us over again,' he said.

The actor has also said he didn't want to meet O.J., who is serving time in prison in Nevada for kidnapping and robbery, before playing him on the screen.

'I had no desire to visit him in his present condition, being incarcerated and being a shell of a man,' Cuba said.

Gripping: The sensational new show follows the trial of O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1995
She went on a tirade against Instagram trolls the day before.

But Kim Zolciak clearly ignored the social media taunts, which criticized her appearance, and posted even more bikini snaps - this time to both Instagram and Snapchat.

The 37-year-old shared a few short videos of her dramatic make-up and revealing bikini on Wednesday.

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Not going away! Kim Zolciak clearly ignored the social media taunts, which criticized her appearance, and posted even more bikini snaps on Wednesday - this time to both Instagram and Snapchat

That make-up is here to stay: The 37-year-old shared a few short videos of her dramatic make-up and revealing bikini

In one snap she posed with her sons KJ and Kash and added the caption: 'What I'm happiest doing... #BeingAMom #Im5'8WhyIsKjAlmostAsTallAsMe'.

While she simply shared a snap of daughter Ariana with the note: 'My happy carefree sweetheart @arianabiermann'.

It was just hours earlier that she lashed out (once again) at Instagram trolls who taunted her, this time over a pouty video she posted from a beach holiday.

Just the right angle: Kim posted to Snapchat, showcasing her bikini body

What's in the solo cup? The reality star appeared to be enjoying quite the relaxing holiday

Mommy love! Kim shared a video of her and daughter Ariana

In the short clip, which she quickly deleted after numerous comments criticized her appearance, saw the reality star display her pert pout while wearing very heavy make-up.

The mother-of-six not only deleted her video but quickly lashed out at what she called 'bullying trolls' who are plagued with jealousy.

After ridding her Instagram page of the controversial video, she shared a bikini snap of herself posed up with husband Kroy Biermann.

Camera shy: Her husband Kroy Biermann did not appear to take kindly to being filmed

All love: The star clearly was thrilled by her idyllic beach holiday

Doting mom: Kim shared a snap of daughter Ariana with the note: 'My happy carefree sweetheart @arianabiermann'

In one snap she posed with her sons KJ and Kash and added the caption: 'What I'm happiest doing... #BeingAMom #Im5'8WhyIsKjAlmostAsTallAsMe'

She captioned the image: 'Let me share something with you... You see who's holding me, you see where I am, my kids are here... You know why I have the life I have... Because of how I lived it, how I treat people, what I give back, and how I think... I'm so f***in over all you bullying trolls!'

'You sit behind a computer screen with your fake profile pictures, your "I love Jesus" in your bio and your private non the less.... Do me a favor hit UNF***INFOLLOW.. Get off my page!!!'

Hitting back! Kim lashed out (once again) at Instagram trolls who taunted her, this time over a pouty video she posted from a beach holiday

Grateful: Kim's initial post expressed her appreciation for her family life and career, before the barrage of negative comments took over

Looking good is the best revenge! After ridding her Instagram page of the controversial video, she shared a bikini snap of herself posed up with husband Kroy Biermann

. 'It's a disease': Kim hit out at her haters with a lengthy comment attached to the bathing suit photo

'I don't want your negative energy on my page, I don't want to share any part of my incredible life (REMEMBER we all have the same 24hrs) with you. You are jealous and it's a disease, GET THE F*** UP.. And FIX YOUR LIFE! #KarmaBaby #ItWillAlwaysFindYou #YouCantThinkNegativeAndHaveAPositiveLife'.

In the original video that started it all, Kim's eyebrows are very intense and thick as her lips display a heavy pout.

Comments on the video, which were captured before it was deleted, ranged from no holds barred insults such as 'You look so ugly' to fans expressing shock 'Eeeekkk you looking nothing like yourself'.

'You look nothing like yourself': In the original video that started it all, Kim's eyebrows are very intense and thick as her lips display a heavy pout

Eyes only for the camera: Kim's initial posting seemed rather innocent as she showed off her beach look

Look who's here! Kroy can be seen relaxing in the background of the video and her sons are splashing in the pool

Her beach video showed off her impossibly long lashes and smooth skin beside a tropical pool

Getting ugly: Comments on the video, which were captured before it was deleted, ranged from no holds barred insults to fears about her use of plastic surgery

Some of the comments accused her of surgery on her face

Not pulling any punches: Some of the commenters resorted to schoolyard insults

While another wrote, 'Jesus Christ... when I saw your face I got scared.... what in Gods name are you doing to yourself?'

One commenter simply wrote: 'Omg stop doing surgery!'

That same day her daughter Brielle Biermann shared a bikini snap of herself relaxing in a bikini with the caption: 'who needs a filter when life is this beautiful'.

But it was just the day before that Kim revealed how she keeps her body in such flawless shape.

The Don't Be Tardy star shared a snap of herself getting a contouring session to firm up her physique. In the snap, the reality star laid face down on an exam table in Magnolia Medspa in Cumming, Georgia, where she exposed her smooth buttocks and legs.

That same day her daughter Brielle Biermann shared a bikini snap of herself relaxing in a bikini with the caption: 'who needs a filter when life is this beautiful'

Pout off: The 18-year-old shared on Snapchat a mother-daughter selfie

Bikini girls! The two made sure to populate their social media with snaps of their revealing outfits

Something on your mind: Brielle also posted a solo selfie from her day in the sun

Chatting away: The reality star has a regular presence on social media

Shades on: The Don't Be Tardy star looked sultry in sunglasses

'Venus Freeze at Magnolia Med Spa this morning!' the reality star captioned the snap with two playful emoticons.

'Gotta keep my sh*t tight! #BeachBoundTomorrow #LastWeekBeforeIStartFilming #StarBucksInHandOfCourse,' read the remainder of the caption.

The reality star wore a black thong underwear and a see-through long sleeved white top as she dug her hand into her smooth blonde hair.

The snap also showed off Kim's slender waistline.

'Gotta keep my sh*t tight!' Kim shared a snap of her butt and legs as she wore a thong during a treatment at Magnolia Medspa in Cumming, Georgia on Monday

Loyal customer: In the caption of an Instagram snap shared in December, the reality star revealed that Magnolia Medspa was the only spa she and her family patronized in Georgia

Kim has previously raved about Magnolia Medspa on Instagram, revealing in December that 'it's the only spa me and my family go to' in her home of Georgia.

The Venus Freeze treatment is a device that reduces cellulite and contours the body, according to a video shared by the Magnolia Medspa.

In the past Kim has been accused of Photoshopping her Instagram images to make herself appear slimmed down.

Loved up: The reality star shared a snap of herself passionately kissing her husband Kroy Biermann in honour of National Spouse Day in late January

She has always denied the allegations, even blasting critics in 2014 over accusations of photoshopping a thigh-gap into a selfie.

And when pictures emerged last year of her on a beach in Mexico looking somewhat different to her social media images, the reality star hit back with a video saying 'Go f**k yourselves'

Since then the Don't Be Tardy star has made it clear via her postings that she doesn't care what people think.

Kim, who gave birth to twins in November 2013 and months later, decided to seek a plastic surgeon's help in restoring her figure to its former glory in 2014.

An episode of Kims reality series Don't Be Tardy, from September 2014, saw her get a consultation from plastic surgeon Lenny Hochstein of Real Housewives Of Miami fame.

Out and about: The 37-year-old made a stylish arrival in a long lace dress and grey coat during an outing in New York in October 2015

During the consultation, the blonde bombshell explained that she wanted some specific alterations for her second boob job.

She wanted to keep her breast size at Double D, but was looking to get them 'perkier' with a 'tear drop shape.'

Kim then complained about the extra skin around her breasts, which Lenny explained were the result of her body having suffered the toll of multiple pregnancies and childbirth.

Natural setting: Brielle took advantage of some natural lighting on SnapChat

She also had her stomach repaired in part out of medical necessity, as Lenny was going to fix the hernia she got during her last pregnancy, but also planned to tighten the skin.

The Miami plastic surgeon assured Kim he would make the scar low enough that she could still wear the tiniest bikini bottoms post-surgery.

Kim married Kroy in 2011 after dating for a year.

The couple share four biological children: four-year-old Kroy Jagger, three-year-old Kash, and two-year-old twins, Kane and Kaia.

Kim also has two daughters from previous relationships: 18-year-old Brielle and 14-year-old Ariana.

In 2013, Kroy legally adopted Brielle and Ariana.
Rocco Ritchie will get to live with his father for at least another month.

The custody battle between his parents Madonna and Guy Ritchie looks set to drag on as their courtroom hearing scheduled for Wednesday was postponed until March 2.

There was no reason given for the delay, but according to TMZ, it may have been due to last-minute negotiations between the former couple.

Dragging on: Guy Ritchie was spotted in London on Wednesday as his scheduled NY court date with ex-wife Madonna over the custody of their son Rocco was postponed for a month

Madonna, 57, wants the 15-year-old, to live with her in New York - but he is said to want to remain in London with his film director father, who was spotted still in London on Wednesday.

During the weekend the singer flew to the UK to try and convince the teen to come back to the US, but flew back empty handed.

Last week, Rocco was spotted out in London grinning broadly as he cycled three abreast with his dad, and model Jacqui Ainsley, 33, who married in August last year.

A source told Simon Boyle of the Sunday People: 'These are crucial talks and a last chance for Madonna to convince Rocco that he should return home before the court case.

See more of the latest news on Madonna and her custody battle with Guy Ritchie

Battle: Madonna, 57, (pictured in concert in Miami on Jan 23) wants the 15-year-old, to live with her in New York - but he is said to want to remain in London with his film director father

Staying: During the weekend the singer flew to the UK to try and convince the teen to coma back to the US, but flew back empty handed

'Shes desperate to have him back with her in New York but things have obviously got very frosty and he has already made it clear that hed rather stay with his dad in London.

'Its a sign of how seriously shes taking this that shes flown all this way in the middle of a world tour.'

Madonna was in Puerto Rico last Thursday for her latest show as part of her successful Rebel Heart tour. The next leg is Germany this week.

Rocco dramatically quit her Rebel Heart Tour in December following an apparent row over his mobile phone.

Happy: Last week, Rocco was spotted out in London grinning broadly as he cycled with his dad

The battle began in December when the youngster refused to return to New York despite a Manhattan judge's court order.

The star appeared in court in the city on December 23 after Rocco rejected her plea for him to return home for the holidays. The judge ordered him to return to his mother while she and he ex-husband, whose films include Snatch and RocknRolla, work out custody.

She recently took to social media to declare: Its possible to be an entertainer and a good mother.

Also on Wednesday UsWeekly had a cover story about Madonna's frustration over the custody matter.

A source told the publication that she's livid Guy is not being strict enough with Rocco's studies and worries he will fall behind on his exams. The teen would be due to take his GCSEs this summer if he remained in the English school system.

'Guy has pretty much told Rocco if he wants out of education, he can quit now,' said a source.

Ritchie received $75million from Madonna during their divorce settlement, but source say he is still bitter about their split. 'Madonna thinks Guy is trying to get at her however he can,' said the insider.
It has taken years of searching to find the right spot, millions of dollars to make it theirs and thousands more to make it just the way they like it - and now this celebrity family is ready to show it off.

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber have revealed what all their hard real estate work in New York has led to in the annual celebrity edition of Architectural Digest.

The couple - along with their two children Alexander, 8, and Samuel, 7 - posed up for the magazine inside their stunning Tribeca loft.

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Come on in: Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber have revealed what all their hard real estate work in New York has led to in the annual celebrity edition of Architectural Digest

The space is somewhat of a love story for the 47-year-old actress, who had loved living in Los Angeles, California, when she fell for Liev and his city.

She told the magazine: 'But then I met Mr New York and everything changed. We fell in love, so I moved here and we lived in his fantastic NoHo place for years. We started our family and were quite happy.'

But then like many couples with growing children, they realised they needed more space, so started a long hunt for The Place.

In the end, The Place was actually two places, with the pair combining an apartment with an artist's loft, the Mulholland Drive star told the magazine.

Intriguing interiors: While a family home, the house is not just designed just for their children, for instance the lounge room is far from a kid friendly spot with back-to-back velvet Restoration Hardware sofas combined with leather chairs and custom pieces at every turn

Blank canvas: The Tribeca home was created by combining two units which the couple $3.95 million in 2012 (pictured is the layout when they bought it)

'With New York real estate, you never get everything you want,' she explained.

The two places were cheap compared to a lot of luxury New York real estate costing the couple $3.95 million in 2012.

However while keen to make the apartments a home, the pair were delayed when the condos were left flooded after Hurricane Sandy.

Check: The home has a formal dining room with a large wooden Ralph Lauren table and antique furnishings but the hub of the family's meals would no doubt occur in the large kitchen which has a diner meets today feel to it

With so many ups and downs, Naomi warned other would-be renovators: 'One thing I've learned is when it comes to big renovations, no one gets an easy ride.'

Things did get a little smoother when they hired firm Ashe + Leandro to design the interiors as they set a cracking pace.

Homes of the stars: Architectural Digest also featured the homes of Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and Marc Anthony's stunning Dominican Republic getaway

Reinaldo Leandro told the magazine: 'This project was design on steroids. I had drawings in four months, and then we did the entire renovation in ten. It was insanely fast. But fun. Naomi brought a great eye and taste to the project and was a terrific creative partner.'

The result was not what you would expect from a celebrity home, well apart from the lavish and expensive furnishings, but it suited the Hollywood pair to a T.

The interior decorating sees minimalist elements combined with 19th century antiques, a library joined to a emerald green lacquered bar and a kitchen that has to be seen to be believed.

While a family home, the house is not just designed just for their children, for instance the lounge room is far from a kid friendly spot with back-to-back velvet Restoration Hardware sofas combined with leather chairs and custom pieces at every turn.

There is a playroom with a chic for a children's area feel featuring a leather sectional sofa with a custom-made rug and a little desk area for homework.

Sweetly and unexpected, the couple's boys share a bedroom, and giving it more of a family feel, Naomi's brother Ben's photographs adorn the wall.

The home has a formal dining room with a large wooden Ralph Lauren table and antique furnishings but the hub of the family's meals would no doubt occur in the large kitchen.

With its expansive storage, bench space and cooking areas kept along the back of the area, there is plenty of space to allow for a giant waterfall marble island where Naomi's boys can pull up a stole and all sit around during meal prep.

There is an additional eating area which is a new take on a diner table with banquet seating.

Architectural Digest also featured the homes of Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and Marc Anthony's stunning Dominican Republic getaway.
California attorney general sues over massive gas leak

California's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the company behind a massive natural gas leak near Los Angeles that has forced thousands to leave their homes.

The suit, made public Tuesday, alleges that Southern California Gas Company violated state health and safety laws by failing to promptly contain the leak that was detected in October, and to report it to authorities.

"The impact of this unprecedented gas leak is devastating to families in our state, our environment, and our efforts to combat global warming," Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement.

The biggest gas leak in California's history has forced nearly 4,500 families living in the Porter Ranch area, some seen here protesting outside a meeting of the Air Quality Management Board in Los Angeles on January 23, 2016, to relocate Mark Ralston (AFP/File)

"Southern California Gas Company must be held accountable."

Harris added that the methane spewing from a broken pipeline at the company's Aliso Canyon facility in Porter Ranch would severely impact California's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The leak, the biggest in California's history, has forced nearly 4,500 families living in the affluent Porter Ranch area to relocate, while some 1,200 additional households are in the process of doing so.

Repeated efforts to stop the leak by pumping liquid and mud down the stricken well have failed, and the gas company is drilling a relief well to intercept and plug the damaged well.

The operation is expected to take until late February or March.

The lawsuit filed by the attorney general seeks unspecified civil penalties and follows similar action taken in December by the Los Angeles city attorney.
Rubio leads Republican mainstream lane after Iowa

Man of the moment Marco Rubio hit the ground running, eager to capitalize on his strong Iowa showing and convince US voters he is the singular Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

The charismatic senator from Florida did not win Monday night's Iowa caucuses but he definitely exceeded expectations. Arch-conservative senator Ted Cruz came in first, while Rubio finished a strong third, just a percentage point behind Donald Trump.

Barely after midnight, Rubio was on the ground in New Hampshire, preparing for a manic one-week sprint to the state's primary on February 9 and declaring himself capable of uniting the fractious Republican Party.

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R) did not win the Iowa caucuses but he definitely exceeded expectations finishing a strong third, just a percentage point behind Donald Trump Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images/AFP)

"When I'm our nominee I will bring the party and the conservative movement together. I will unify us so we can win," he told about 700 people packed into the Exeter town hall.

Rubio begins what he called "the greatest eight days in American politics" as the undisputed leader among the four more traditional candidates.

"He outperformed them 10 to one," Cary Covington, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, told AFP of his establishment rivals John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie.

"That is very important to the Republican Party establishment, (because) they're looking for someone to rally behind."

The establishment largely finds Trump and Cruz objectionable, with concerns that the party will lose the general election if one of the two wins the nomination.

"They didn't know who was going to put a challenge to the two, and Rubio is providing an answer," Covington said.

Rubio raced out onto the campaign trail early Tuesday, pressing the flesh at an airport diner and making other stops in the small state that holds the political spotlight for the next week.

Cruz is also in the Granite State, polling in second place after Trump, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average. But Rubio is only a point or so behind, and Cruz may actually face a tougher road there than his rival.

Cruz won Iowa because of his ability to draw conservative evangelicals, his bread and butter voters, to the caucuses.

The first and second states on the primary calendar have dramatically different electorates and "history suggests that momentum doesn't carry over from Iowa to New Hampshire," said Fergus Cullen, a former Republican state chairman in New Hampshire.

If Iowa is among the most evangelical of US states, New Hampshire is the opposite, with a more secular streak, Cullen said.

That provides better odds for those in the crowded establishment lane.

With billionaire frontrunner Trump, whose entire brand is all about winning, seen as suffering a setback in Iowa, Rubio has emerged with mainstream momentum.

But that leaves him with a figurative target on his back and New Jersey Governor Christie, who has spent week after week campaigning in New Hampshire, was already launching political grenades.

In Bedford, he slammed Rubio as "the boy in the bubble" whose handlers keep him to his scripted speech and away from reporters and who "ran away from his own immigration bill when it got too hot."

- 'Turn America around' -

Rubio insisted he remains the best opportunity for Republicans to snatch back the White House, and that embracing Trump's divisiveness or Cruz's extremes will lead to four more years of a Democrat at the helm.

"This sense of frustration and anger that you feel is justified, because not only has Barack Obama taken us in the wrong direction, but to be frank, leaders in either party have not done enough to stop it," Rubio said.

If he is the nominee, "we're going to beat Hillary Clinton and we're going to turn America around."

Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner facing a fierce challenge from anti-billionaire Bernie Sanders, downplayed the prospects of a Hillary-Marco general election showdown.

"I'm not thinking that far ahead," she told CNN. "My time frame is next Tuesday," the New Hampshire primary.

Cullen, who last week endorsed Kasich, said that despite Rubio's uplifting oratory and rags-to-political-riches personal story, his is not the most optimistic message.

"Rubio has gotten angrier as the campaign progressed," warning about an increasingly dangerous world, he said.

"Kasich is betting there's a significant number of American voters who think the world isn't going to hell."

Next week it will be New Hampshire voters who determine whether Rubio indeed is carrying major momentum deeper into the race.

Iowa caucus results Vincent LEFAI, Kun TIAN, Alain BOMMENEL (AFP)

Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz won Iowa because of his ability to draw conservative evangelicals, his bread and butter voters, to the caucuses Chip Somodevilla (Getty/AFP)
South Africa's Zuma to pay back money for home upgrade

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will pay back some of the public funds used to upgrade his private home, his office said Wednesday, attempting to end a two-year scandal that has plagued his government.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the country's ombudswoman, ruled in 2014 that Zuma and his family had "benefited unduly" from the work on Zuma's rural residence of Nkandla.

Among the supposed security upgrades were a swimming pool described as a fire-fighting facility, a chicken run, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre.

South African President Jacob Zumahad previously denied any wrongdoing over the upgrades to his private home, with opposition lawmakers often disrupting his parliamentary speeches by chanting "Pay back the money!" John MacDougall (AFP/File)

"To achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute... the president proposes that the determination of the amount he is to pay should be independently and impartially determined," said a presidential statement.

The exact sum will be determined by the treasury and police ministry, it added.

Zuma had previously denied any wrongdoing over the upgrades, with opposition lawmakers often disrupting his parliamentary speeches by chanting "Pay back the money!"

His change of position came ahead of a Constitutional Court hearing next week as opposition parties the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) unite in a bid to force him to refund the cash.

The upgrades were valued in 2014 at about 216 million rand (then worth $24 million, 22 million euros).

The DA vowed to go ahead with the legal case, despite Zuma's apparent climbdown.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane told journalists that Zuma had "done everything to undermine the work of the public protector and the constitution" over the Nkandla controversy.

All parties are jostling for advantage ahead of municipal elections due later this year that could see a fall in support for Zuma's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid.

Zuma's statement stressed that he "remains critical of a number of factual aspects and legal conclusions" contained in the damning public ombudsman report.

The president, who has often been accused of allowing corruption to flourish since he came to power in 2009, is under pressure over South Africa's sharply slowing economy.

He will make his annual state of the nation address in parliament next Thursday.
Syrian army pushes back rebels as peace push falters

The Syrian army secured a major battlefield victory Wednesday as Russia vowed no let-up in its aerial bombardment in support of the regime, putting further pressure on fragile peace efforts in Switzerland.

In a major blow to the rebels, a military source said that President Bashar al-Assad's army cut the last supply route linking opposition forces in the northern city of Aleppo to the Turkish border.

The source said the army had broken a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, and taken control of parts of the supply route.

Syrian government forces in the village of Tal Jabin, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, as they advanced to break a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, on February 3, 2016 George Ourfalian (AFP)

The advance was helped by intense bombing by Russian aircraft in recent days throughout the area north of Aleppo city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The offensive is one of several the government has launched since Moscow threw its military might behind Assad on September 30.

The new advance added to doubts surrounding the already highly uncertain prospects for the launch of peace talks in Geneva.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura has been trying for several days to coax government and opposition representatives into indirect negotiations, so far to no avail.

Already on Tuesday, opposition figures in Geneva had expressed outrage at the Russian bombardment and had cancelled a planned meeting with de Mistura.

- Defiant Lavrov -

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he saw no reason for the air strikes to stop, while slamming "capricious" elements in the HNC and the smuggling of arms into Syria from Turkey.

"Russian air strikes will not cease until we truly defeat the terrorist organisations ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra," Russian agencies quoted Lavrov as saying in Oman.

He was referring to the so-called Islamic State, the extremist group which has overrun swathes of Syria and Iraq and has claimed bombings and shootings worldwide, and to Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch.

The opposition says the Russian strikes have almost entirely targeted other rebel groups, many backed by the West, Gulf states and Turkey, which shot down a Russian jet on its Syrian border in November.

"Russia is using the political process as a cover to impose its military solution on the ground," Salem al-Meslet from the HNC said.

The hoped-for talks aimed at ending a civil war that has killed more than 260,000 people are part of a roadmap agreed by outside powers in November.

This plan foresees a nationwide ceasefire, an inclusive and non-sectarian government within six months, a new constitution, and free and fair elections within 18 months.

Since the conflict began in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad's iron-fisted rule, more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes -- many heading to Europe.

The tangled conflict has dragged in a range of international players, from Iran, Turkey and the Gulf states to Western nations and Russia. There has been a brutal crackdown on dissent and the economy is in ruins.

De Mistura said on Swiss television late Tuesday that if the UN-brokered talks fail, "all hope would be lost."

He also told the BBC that "the level of confidence between the two parties is close to zero".

The HNC wants Assad to allow humanitarian access to besieged towns, to stop bombing civilians and to release thousands of prisoners -- some of them children -- languishing in regime jails.

Damascus complains that the HNC has failed to present even a list of its negotiators and strongly objects to the inclusion within the Saudi-backed body of rebels that it and Moscow view as "terrorists".

One such figure is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who said in Geneva Wednesday he was "not optimistic".

"The problem is not with de Mistura. The problem is with the criminal regime that decimates children and with Russia which always tries to stand alongside criminals," he said, clutching a photo of a young boy he said was severely wounded by Russian air strikes.

- Hijab to the rescue? -

The HNC was on Wednesday locked in internal talks in a Geneva hotel -- barred to reporters since Tuesday -- to discuss its next steps, after a tense meeting the previous evening, an opposition source said.

The arrival however on Wednesday of Riad Hijab, the HNC's general coordinator, raised some hopes for progress.

"With Hijab here, the HNC can better demonstrate a unified position in representing the opposition," a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

An AFP reporter said de Mistura arrived on Wednesday afternoon at the hotel, with a second opposition source saying he was there to meet Hijab informally.

Syria: the UN-sponsored peace talks Maud Zaba, Thomas Saint-Cricq (AFP)

Former Syrian premier Riad Hijab -- who defected in 2012 -- leads the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Khalil Mazraawi (AFP/File)
10 Indian army soldiers missing in Himalayan avalanche

Rescuers searched Wednesday for 10 soldiers feared buried in an avalanche in India's remote Himalayas near the de facto border with Pakistan, an army spokesman said.

The soldiers were hit while on duty at a post on a glacier at an altitude of 5,800 metres (19,000 feet), Colonel S. D. Goswami said.

"In the early hours of today, 10 soldiers were hit by an avalanche at the northern Siachen Glacier," Goswami told AFP.

A Pakistan Army helicopter flies over the site of an avalanche over Gayari camp near the Siachen Glacier on April 18, 2012 Aamir Qureshi (AFP/File)

An army statement said the post was being manned by one junior officer and nine soldiers when the avalanche struck.

"Rescue operations by specialized teams from Army and Air Force are underway to rescue the soldiers. The rescue operations are being closely monitored from Leh and Udhampur," the statement added.

Indian troops patrol the Siachen Glacier, dubbed the world's highest battlefield, in the Kashmir region which is disputed between India and Pakistan.

Avalanches and landslides are common in the area during the winter and temperatures there can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit).

In January four soldiers were killed by an avalanche, while last year another four died when their vehicle was buried under an avalanche near Leh, the main city in the high-altitude region known as Ladakh.

An estimated 8,000 troops have died on the glacier since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, which each administer part of Kashmir but claim it in full, fought over Siachen in 1987. But guns on the glacier have largely fallen silent since a peace process began in 2004.
Syrian opposition lead negotiator 'not optimistic' on peace talks

The Syrian opposition's chief negotiator in peace talks in Geneva said on Wednesday he was "not optimistic" about strained efforts to end the nearly five-year war ravaging his country.

Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of the powerful Army of Islam rebel group, told journalists that those pressing to form a unity government with regime members were "delusional."

"Whoever wants us to go into a unity government with these thugs who kill children is delusional," he said, minutes before heading into a meeting with the main opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

Mohammed Alloush, chief negotiator for the main Syrian opposition body, the Army of Islam, holds a picture showing a wounded child in the besieged town of Madaya during Syrian peace talks in Geneva on February 3, 2016 Fabrice Coffrini (AFP)

The HNC was in internal talks on Wednesday morning to discuss its next steps, after a similar and tense meeting the previous evening, an opposition source said.

Asked what the grouping would discuss today, Alloush clutched a picture of a young boy who he said had been severely wounded by Russian air strikes in Syria.

"The problem is not with (UN envoy Staffan) de Mistura. The problem is with the criminal regime that decimates children and with Russia which always tries to stand alongside criminals," Alloush said.

His appointment as chief negotiator has been controversial. Syria's government and Russia regularly refer to the Army of Islam as "terrorists."

Alloush, a stocky man in his 40s, also said Kurdish forces fighting jihadists in northeast Syria were "a branch of the regime."

He told reporters the HNC would be taking a decision "in two days" but did not specify what that decision was.

HNC head and former Syrian prime minister Riad Hijab is set to arrive in Switzerland on Wednesday, an HNC spokesman said, in a potential sign of fresh momentum after talks faltered on Tuesday.

The UN-brokered talks in the Swiss city are aimed at ending Syria's war, which has killed more than 260,000 people.
Indian firm 'developing world's first Zika vaccine'

An Indian drugmaker on Wednesday said it was developing the world's first vaccine against Zika after the World Health Organization declared an global emergency over the rapidly spreading virus.

Bharat Biotech, a vaccine manufacturer based in the southern city of Hyderabad, said two vaccines had been in development for a year and were ready for pre-clinical testing in animals.

There is currently no proven vaccine for the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has spread throughout Latin America where it has been blamed for a surge in brain-damaged babies.

Bharat Biotech says it is developing the world's first vaccine against Zika Noah Seelam (AFP)

"We are the first in the world to file for a global patent for a Zika virus vaccine," Rajarshi Dasgupta, head of company's legal and intellectual property department, told AFP, adding that the company filed for the patent a year ago.

The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency over Zika, saying it was "strongly suspected" to be linked to a large number of babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.

Soumya Swaminathan, director general of the Indian Council for Medical Research, said it had asked Bharat Biotech to provide scientific details of the vaccine.

"We have contacted the company and have asked them to present a detailed presentation to see if we can lend help in taking it forward," Swaminathan told AFP.

A senior scientist at the Indian firm, who requested anonymity, said it was expediting the research process in the wake of global outbreak but gave no timeframe for trials or any possible commercial launch.

Bharat's announcement comes a day after French company Sanofi Pasteur said it had launched a vaccine research and development project to combat the Zika virus.

While no Zika cases have been reported in India, one has been reported in Thailand and another in Indonesia, and US health authorities have said a patient in Texas contracted the virus through sexual transmission.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries Zika and the dengue and chikungunya viruses, is also widely prevalent in India, which reports thousands of cases of dengue annually.

Zika was first detected in a Ugandan forest of the same name in 1947, but it was considered a relatively mild disease until the current outbreak was declared in Latin America last year.

Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella unveils his company's Zika virus programme at a press conference in Hyderabad on February 3, 2016 Noah Seelam (AFP)
Pope Francis under fire over China 'Realpolitik'

Pope Francis came under fire Wednesday after lavishing praise on China in a move widely seen as part of Vatican moves to improve relations with Beijing.

Close watchers of the Holy See were taken by surprise by the content of an interview with the Asia Times in which the Argentinian pontiff said the world need not fear China's growing power and avoided any mention of human rights or the restrictions on Catholics and other Christians' freedom of worship in the world's most populous nation.

"A superb example of Realpolitik pushed to the extreme," was the verdict of Sandro Magister, one of Italy's leading Vatican experts.

Pope Francis has described China as a "reference point of greatness" and "a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom" Tiziana Fabi (AFP)

Writing on his blog for Italian weekly L'Espresso, Magister lamented Francis's "total silence" on questions of religion and freedom and what he interpreted as an "unrestrained absolution" of the Chinese communist regime's historical record.

In the interview, Francis said China had always been, for him, a "reference point of greatness" and "a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom."

The Argentinian pope made only the lightest of allusions to China's troubled recent history, saying a people sometimes "makes a mistake and goes backwards a little, or takes the wrong path and has to retrace its steps to follow the right way."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the pope's remarks had been noted. "We also hope that the Vatican can take a flexible, pragmatic attitude to creating conditions for improving ties," he said.

The Vatican has not had diplomatic relations with China since 1951, with the rupture having come only two years after the founding of the People's Republic.

- 'Flexible, pragmatic attitude' -

All attempts to restore them have since floundered with Beijing insisting that the Vatican must first give up its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state and promise not to interfere in religious issues in China.

Magister contrasted Francis's optimistic portrayal of China's potential future with the gloomy outlook of Gianni Criveller, a Catholic missionary and China expert based in Hong Kong.

Criveller recently published an article voicing fear for Hong Kong's basic freedoms and highlighting the case of Wei Heping, a priest serving an underground Catholic community found dead in a river in Shanxi province in November in what the authorities have deemed to have been a suicide.

"Many believe he met a violent death because of his influence with young people and online," Criveller wrote. "For many Catholics he is a martyr."

- Imprisoned, intimidated bishops -

The plight of Catholics in China, including a recent campaign to remove crosses from church buildings and imprisonment and intimidation of clerics, was also highlighted by American Vatican commentator John Allen in his www.cruxnow.com column.

"Those paying a price for their faith in China today may be disappointed that the pontiff did not address their fate more directly," Allen commented, while recalling that dilemmas related to how engage China were not restricted to the Church.

"Time will tell ... whether the goodwill a pope buys by skipping over such matters will produce results down the line," Allen wrote.

Francis was given an easier ride in the Italian Catholic daily Avvenire by Stefania Falasca, who praised the pontiff for applying "the geopolitics of mercy" to the challenges raised by China's growing weight in the world.

The pope's interview follows a discreet visit to the Vatican by a delegation of Chinese officials in January which raised hopes of a breakthrough on the contentious issue of the pope's right to appoint Catholic bishops in China.

Beijing recognises the country's estimated 12 million Catholics' right to exercise their faith but insists they do so under the auspices of the state-controlled "Catholic Patriotic Association."

Within the Vatican there has been a long-running debate between those who argue that the Church should seek to improve relations with China first and hope that yields greater freedom for its followers, and those who maintain that abuses must not go unchallenged.

Francis's latest interview suggests the former camp has the upper hand for now - and they will have been encouraged by China's guardedly positive reaction.

Beijing recognises the country's estimated 12 million Catholics' right to exercise their faith Mark Ralston (AFP)
Aid convoy enters regime-besieged town near Damascus: ICRC

An aid convoy on Wednesday entered a regime-besieged town near Syria's capital, at a time when the opposition is demanding a lifting of blockades at peace talks in Geneva, the Red Cross announced.

"We entered with medical aid to Moadimayat al-Sham and we are distributing food aid in the buffer zone" between regime and rebel forces, Pawel Krzysiek, spokesman in Damascus of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told AFP.

He said the joint convoy of the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was made up of 10 trucks loaded with food supplies and two with medical equipment and medicine.

A convoy of aid from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent heads to the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, on January 14, 2016 Louai Beshara (AFP/File)

Government forces imposed a siege on rebel-held Moadimayat al-Sham at the start of 2013, but conditions improved for its residents under a truce struck a year later.

But the United Nations in January re-classified Moadamiyat al-Sham as a besieged town with scant food supplies after the regime tightened access.

The United Nations has been struggling to deliver aid to about 480,000 people in besieged areas.

The UN Security Council, for its part, has adopted resolutions demanding an end to sieges imposed by both rebel and government forces as a weapon of war, but these have been largely ignored.
Wells Fargo to pay $1.2 bn to settle US mortgage suit

Wells Fargo will pay $1.2 billion to settle a US lawsuit that accused it of improperly certifying loans for a federal mortgage insurance program, the bank said Wednesday.

Wells Fargo said it had reached an agreement in principle with the US Department of Justice and other US agencies on allegations the bank improperly certified Federal Housing Administration loans from 2001-2010.

The agreement resolves an October 2012 US lawsuit against Wells Fargo that charged that the bank's improper certifications meant it should not have received federal insurance proceeds when loans defaulted.

Wells Fargo will pay $1.2 bn to settle a US lawsuit that accused it of improperly certifying loans for a federal mortgage insurance program Saul Loeb (AFP/File)

Wells Fargo said it would reduce its 2015 earnings by $134 million, or three cents per share, to $22.9 billion.
Jerusalem attack kills policewoman, attackers shot dead

Three Palestinians armed with rifles, knives and explosives attacked Israeli police outside Jerusalem's Old City on Wednesday, killing one officer and wounding another before being shot dead.

The attack outside the Old City's Damascus Gate was part of a four-month wave of violence, but was among the most severe in Jerusalem, where many assaults have involved knives.

The policewoman died of a gunshot wound to the head that she suffered when the border police approached the Palestinians for identity checks, Israeli authorities said.

Israeli border police patrol a street following an attack by three Palestinian assailants at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on February 3, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP)

"As one was producing identification, his accomplices... started firing and stabbing and managed to wound two female officers," a police statement said.

The surviving officer's injuries were described as "moderate to serious".

Officers opened fire and killed the attackers, police said, adding they were all from the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya, near Jenin.

Troops on Wednesday evening were carrying out security checks on Palestinians entering and leaving the village, the army said.

Palestinian media named the assailants as Ahmad Zakarneh, Mohammed Kameel and Ahmed Abu Al-Rub.

They were believed to be 19 to 20 years old.

Police named the dead female officer as 19-year-old Hadar Cohen.

Security forces locked down the area after the attack as crowds gathered to see what happened or to try to return to their homes in the Old City.

Palestinians frequently use Damascus Gate to enter the Old City, as do tourists sometimes.

Mayor Nir Barkat said the men's arrival with weapons in Jerusalem meant a further clampdown on access routes from the adjoining Israeli-occupied West Bank should be examined.

"We need to tighten (restrictions) on the places from which the threat comes," he said.

- An escalation? -

Israel occupied east Jerusalem, where Damascus Gate is located, in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

Major roads to and from the West Bank pass through Israeli security checkpoints and a concrete wall runs through much of the area but the border is still porous in many places.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted in October. Most have been stabbings, although there have also been occasional shootings.

Wednesday's attack was the bloodiest in Jerusalem in weeks.

On December 23, an Israeli was stabbed to death, another shot dead and a third wounded at Jaffa Gate, seemingly from a stray bullet as police fired on and killed the two Palestinian assailants.

Speaking about the latest violence, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said there was evidence the assailants were seeking to carry out a major attack.

"Found on the terrorists' bodies were (Swedish-designed) Carl Gustav rifles, knives and explosive devices which were defused by bomb disposal experts," she said.

Pictures released by police showed what appear to be two vintage submachine guns.

"The arms testify to a complex attack that was prevented by the forces who protected Jerusalem residents with their bodies," said Samri.

Shortly after the attack, Israeli media were calling it "an escalation" in the more than four months of violence.

- 'Lethality of attacks increasing' -

In the aftermath, a police helicopter hovered overhead and cleanup teams hosed away pools of blood.

The wave of violence has killed 26 Israelis, as well as an American and an Eritrean, according to an AFP count.

At the same time, 164 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most while carrying out attacks but others during clashes and demonstrations.

An Israeli teenager was lightly wounded Saturday in a stabbing attack at Damascus Gate allegedly carried out by two young Palestinians, who have since been arrested.

Some analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the unrest.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a main cause.

Many of the attackers have been young people, including teenagers, who appear to have been acting alone.

"We are seeing more armed attacks in the last month," said Ofer Zalzberg of the International Crisis Group think-tank.

"Mostly we have seen shooting at settler cars in the West Bank but also attacks like today. The lethality of attacks has been increasing."

Israeli policemen cover the body of a Palestinian man with a plastic bag following an attack at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on February 3, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP)

Israeli police patrol following an attack by three Palestinians at Damascus Gate, a main entrance to Jerusalem's Old City, on February 3, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP)
Study grants for virgins 'illegal', says South African minister

A South African cabinet minister on Wednesday slammed as "illegal" a new scholarship scheme for female students who must pass virginity tests during the holidays to receive grant money.

Uthukela municipality near Durban city last month awarded "maidens' bursaries" to 16 university students on condition they remain virgins until they completed their studies.

Beneficiaries of the cash will be subjected to regular tests, traditionally conducted by elderly women.

A cabinet minister slams as "illegal" a scholarship scheme for female students who must pass virginity tests during the holidays to receive grant money Safin Hamed (AFP)

Municipality mayor Dudu Mazibuko defended the grants as a way to curb sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and unplanned teen pregnancies.

But Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini dismissed the tests as illegal, unhygienic and a violation of rights and said that the scheme would not work.

"These arguments are, at best, misguided and inadvertently provide a convenient screen for a patently harmful practice steeped in patriarchal practices that serve to oppress women," she wrote in the Daily Maverick news website.

"Girls under the age of 18 cannot be subjected to virginity testing. It is against the law," she said, adding that women aged 18 or more must give "informed" consent before being tested.

Any consent can "not include coercion through making access to resources to study a condition for that support."

The amount of money available through the grants has not been revealed.

The minister, who is also the chairwoman of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) women's league, described virginity testing as "ineffective, unhygienic and a gross violation of a girls' human rights."

"Many first sexual encounters are unwanted... Despite this there is a huge stigma attached to girls who 'fail' the virginity testing," she said, calling the grant scheme akin to a "sexual offense".

The South African Human Rights Commission told AFP it would collaborate with the Commission for Gender Equality to investigate the scholarships.

A SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena said it "has received several complaints" about the bursaries.

Mayor Mazibuko was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
Syria army cuts rebel supply route in Aleppo

Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes Wednesday cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo city to the Turkish border, a military source said, in a major blow to the opposition.

Aleppo, Syria's pre-war commercial capital, has been divided between loyalists in the west and rebels in the east since fighting erupted in the northern city in mid-2012.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah and other militias encircled Aleppo from the west, south and east, and have advanced from the north since last week.

Syrian government forces walk in the village of Tal Jabin, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, as they advanced to break a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, on February 3, 2016 George Ourfalian (AFP)

In addition to losing their lifeline from Turkey, which supports Syrian rebels, the opposition forces are now threatened in parts of Aleppo that they have held for three years.

Since launching their assault on Monday, pro-regime forces have taken several villages and towns, including Maarasset al-Khan.

On Wednesday, the army broke a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, and took control of parts of the supply route, the Syrian military source told AFP.

"Heavy air strikes by Russian planes" supported the army in its advance, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports, said the regime's gains were the most significant development in Aleppo province since 2012.

"The pro-regime forces have encircled the rebel quarters in Aleppo from the south, east and north," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

This left the rebel fighters with only a single opening in the northwest which gives them access to the neighbouring province of Idlib.

- Peace talks halted -

"If they manage to continue their advance, they may then block this single access" route and totally besiege the rebels, he said.

"The regime forces have done in three days in Aleppo what they had failed to do in three years, thanks mainly to Russian support."

The development came as UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced on Wednesday a "temporary pause" until February 25 of troubled talks aimed at ending the country's brutal conflict.

"I have concluded frankly that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but the stakeholders," de Mistura told reporters in Geneva.

His comments came after several days of fruitless talks aimed at starting indirect negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition.

The hoped-for six months of indirect "proximity talks" are part of an ambitious roadmap agreed by outside powers embroiled in the conflict in November in Vienna.

Russian planes have carried out heavy air strikes throughout the area north of Aleppo city in past days.

The government advance comes almost exactly a year after the failure of a similar regime offensive aimed at reaching Nubol and Zahraa and severing rebel supply lines into Aleppo city.

The current offensive is one of several which the government has launched since Russian strikes began on September 30.

More than 260,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict started with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Syrian regime advances on besieged Aleppo villages Jonathan JACOBSEN, Omar KAMAL (AFP)
Syrian talks suspended as regime, Russia hit rebels hard

Talks aimed at securing peace in Syria were suspended Wednesday as President Bashar al-Assad's regime secured a major battlefield victory against rebels and his ally Russia vowed no-let up in air strikes.

The United States and France condemned the Russian bombing around Syria's second city of Aleppo, with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius accusing the government and its backers of "torpedoing the peace efforts".

After failing over several days to get peace negotiations off the ground in Geneva, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura announced a suspension of the talks.

Syrian government forces in the village of Tal Jabin, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, as they advanced to break a three-year rebel siege of two government-held Shiite villages, Nubol and Zahraa, on February 3, 2016 George Ourfalian (AFP)

"I have indicated from the first day I won't talk for the sake of talking," he told reporters.

"I therefore have taken the decision to bring a temporary pause (until February 25). It is not the end or the failure of the talks," he added, saying "more work" was needed, including from outside powers embroiled in the complex conflict.

Backed by external powers embroiled in Syria's war, the negotiations are seeking to end a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people and fuelled the meteoric rise of the extremist Islamic State group.

But the main opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said it would not return to Geneva until its the regime alleviates the dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Syria.

The UN announcement came as Syrian troops, helped by days of Russian air sorties, cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border.

Syria's pre-war commercial capital has been divided between loyalists in the west and rebels in the east since fighting erupted in the northern city in mid-2012.

Assad's forces, aided by Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah and other militias, encircled Aleppo from the west, south and east, and have advanced from the north since last week.

- Supply route cut -

On Wednesday, the army broke a three-year rebel siege of two government-held villages and took control of parts of the supply route, a Syrian military source told AFP.

The offensive is one of several the government has launched since Russia threw its military might behind Assad, adding to support from Iran, on September 30.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he saw no reason for the air strikes to stop until the "terrorists" are defeated.

"The regime forces have done in three days in Aleppo what they had failed to do in three years, thanks mainly to Russian support," said Rami Abdel Rahman of Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since the conflict began in March 2011, more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes, many of them heading to Europe. The UN said last month some 487,000 people were living under siege, among 4.6 million people in so-called "hard-to-reach" areas.

De Mistura's brief is to coax both sides into six months of indirect "proximity talks" envisioned under a November roadmap proposed by outside powers, but problems beset the Geneva gathering from the outset.

The HNC arrived several days late, and reluctantly, insisting on immediate steps to allow aid to get through to besieged cities, a halt to the bombardment of civilians and the release of thousands prisoners.

Riad Hijab, HNC chief coordinator, said late Wednesday the group "will not return until the humanitarian demands are met or (we) see something on the ground".

"The whole world sees who is making the negotiations fail, who is bombing civilians and starving people to death," Hijab told reporters, adding the Russian-backed advances showed the government was not genuinely interested in peace talks.

- 'Asphyxiate Aleppo' -

The US State Department said the Russian air strikes were harming attempts to secure peace.

"It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored," said State Department spokesman John Kirby.

France's Fabius in a statement condemned "the brutal offensive by the Syrian regime, with the support of Russia, to encircle and asphyxiate Aleppo".

He said France supported de Mistura's decision to halt the talks to which neither "Assad's regime nor its supporters apparently want to contribute in good faith, thereby torpedoing the peace efforts".

World leaders will take stock of the suspended Geneva talks when they gather in London on Thursday for a donor conference to help Syrians and neighbouring countries affected by the crisis.

The Syrian government delegation in Geneva, meanwhile, complained that the Saudi-backed HNC was disorganised, had not named its negotiators and contained individuals it considered "terrorists".

One such figure is Mohammed Alloush, a leading member of Islamist rebel group the Army of Islam and nominally the HNC's chief negotiator, who arrived in Geneva late on Monday.

Bashar al-Jaafari, chief government negotiator, blamed the suspension on opposition "preconditions" and said de Mistura announced the break only because the HNC was about to leave.

Syrian regime advances on besieged Aleppo villages Jonathan JACOBSEN, Omar KAMAL (AFP)

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura gestures during a press briefing at the Syrian peace talks on February 3, 2016 in Geneva Fabrice Coffrini (AFP)

United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura (C-L) sits facing Syria's main opposition group during peace talks at the UN Offices in Geneva on February 1, 2016 Fabrice Coffrini (AFP/File)
EU approves Turkey refugee fund after Italy row solved

The EU said Wednesday it had agreed on how to finance a three billion euro ($3.3 billion) deal to aid Syrian refugees in Turkey, in exchange for Ankara's help stemming the flow of migrants, after resolving a dispute with Italy.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had stalled on signing off on the deal because of questions about how the accord would work, but EU sources told AFP that Rome had given its approval on Wednesday.

Under the deal the European Commission, the EU executive, will contribute one billion euros to Turkey while the bloc's 28 member states will contribute two billion, the commission announced.

Syrians fleeing the war wait to enter Turkey near the border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on June 15, 2015 Bulent Kilic (AFP/File)

Germany is the country making the biggest contribution to the fund with 427 million euros, followed by Britain with 327 million and France with 309 million, EU sources said.

"I welcome the agreement by the Member States on the details of the refugee facility for Turkey," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said in a statement.

"The money we are putting on the table will directly benefit Syrian refugees in Turkey, helping to improve their access to education and healthcare in particular.

"I also welcome the measures already taken by the Turkish authorities to give Syrian refugees access to the labour market and to reduce the flows."

Turkey -- the main launching point for the one million refugees and migrants who arrived in Europe last year -- has promised to cut the flow of people as part of the deal agreed with the EU at a summit in November.

- Italian barbs -

The deal comes four days after Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks to break the logjam on the deal with Turkey.

Italy had questioned how much of the money should come from the EU budget, and how much control the bloc will have over how Ankara spends the funds.

Renzi has also traded barbs with Brussels about claims that Italy has been slow to set up so-called "hotspot" centres for registering and taking photos and fingerprints of newly arrived migrants.

But in a diplomatic show of unity on Friday after Renzi repeatedly criticised "German dominance" in EU affairs, both leaders said that the migrant crisis can only be solved if the 28 members of the bloc work together.

Across Europe, debate has raged on how to handle the biggest wave of migrants and refugees since World War II, many of them fleeing the war in Syria.

In January alone 360 people drowned while making the risky crossing of the Mediterranean, while more than 3,700 died in 2015, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

Greece, where most of the refugees and migrants arrive, is under pressure from Brussels to improve its control of the EU's external borders, although Athens says there is little more it can do.

Italy and Greece were the main beneficiaries of an EU deal last year to redistribute 160,000 refugees around the bloc and ease the burden of frontline states, but only just over 400 have so far been relocated.

A Syrian woman fleeing the war arrives in Turkey with her baby at the Akcakale border crossing, in Sanliurfa province on June 15, 2015 Bulent Kilic (AFP/File)

Black month for migrants in the Aegean Sea Philippe MOUCHE, Thomas SAINT-CRICQ, Jules BONNARD (AFP)
Congolese warlord Katanga on trial again after completing ICC sentence

Notorious Congolese warlord Germain Katanga was back in the dock Wednesday for crimes against humanity after completing a first 12-year sentence handed down by the International Criminal Court.

Smiling and relaxed, the former general nicknamed Simba the lion due to his alleged ferocity, entered the military court in uniform, warmly greeting senior officers before the trial began.

He and five others are accused of "war crimes, crimes against humanity and participating in an insurrectional movement" in Ituri near the Ugandan border, where some 60,000 people died in fighting between 1999 and 2007.

Germain Katanga sits in the military court in Kinshasa, on February 3, 2016 Papy Mulongo (AFP)

Katanga's defence lawyers called on the court to drop the charges during the three-hour hearing and denounced his "arbitrary and illegal detention".

Rights groups Human Rights Watch said he not been given sufficient time to prepare his case.

His prior ICC sentence for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity was reduced in November by the court based in The Hague, for good behaviour and after he voiced regret.

Katanga was only the second person to be sentenced by the tribunal since it began work in 2003 as the world's first permanent court to try war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He was brought back from the Dutch city to Kinshasa late last year to complete his term and had been scheduled to walk free on January 18. But Democratic Republic of Congo authorities announced they would keep him behind bars to prosecute for "other cases".

The 37-year-old was convicted by the ICC over a 2003 attack on the village of Bogoro that saw 200 people shot and hacked to death. He was acquitted of sexual slavery and using child soldiers.

- From warlord to general -

Congolese authorities have claimed that in Ituri he played a role in the killing of nine UN peacekeepers in the violence-torn northeastern region in 2005.

But there was no specific mention of that incident during Wednesday's hearing. The next court hearing will take place on February 19.

Katanga headed the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri (FRPI), one of the many largely ethnic-based militias that fought for control of the gold-rich region.

He became a general in the DR Congo army in 2004 in exchange for disbanding the militia.

He was arrested however in 2005 and handed over to the ICC in 2007.

DR Congo itself, a country of more than 67 million people that is Africa's second largest, was torn by two wars between 1996 and 2003 estimated to have cost at least two to three million lives.

Its eastern provinces remain ravaged by conflicts between ethnic groups and local warlords over control of land and mineral resources.

Many atrocities such as rape, killing and enslavement have been committed, most of them unpunished until 2014 when the authorities began to take measures to end impunity.
US tycoon Durst pleads guilty to gun charges

Eccentric US tycoon Robert Durst pleaded guilty to weapons charges in New Orleans Wednesday, in a move that will get him one step closer to facing trial for a murder he apparently confessed to on television.

Durst, 71, was charged in Los Angeles last year with murder for the 2000 death of his close friend Susan Berman, who was a mobster's daughter.

Berman was shot in the back of the head at her home in Beverly Hills, a day before she was due to be questioned by police who had reopened an investigation into the 1982 disappearance of the tycoon's wife, Kathie Durst, in New York.

Officers with the Orleans Parish Sherriff's Office guard an exit from the Orleans Parish Criminal District Courts as multi murder suspect Robert Durst departs from a court appearence on April 2, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana Sean Gardner (Getty/AFP/File)

Durst appeared to make an unwitting confession to a number of killings during filming of the acclaimed six-part HBO documentary "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst."

In the final episode Durst was heard muttering to himself, "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course," apparently unaware that a wireless microphone remained switched on while he used the bathroom.

It was not clear if Durst was sincerely confessing, but authorities in Los Angeles reportedly said the documentary had played a role in their decision to seek the multimillionaire's arrest for Berman's murder.

He was arrested in April when police found a .38 caliber revolver and marijuana in his New Orleans hotel room.

He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors said.
Russian military officer 'killed by Islamic State shelling in Syria'

A Russian military adviser has been killed in Syria by shelling from the Islamic State group, the Russian defence ministry told Ria Novosti news agency Wednesday.

The officer was training Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the use of "new weapons" when he was "fatally wounded" on Monday, the ministry was quoted as saying. No details were given about where the attack took place.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said three Russian soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which it said took place in an area where IS does not have a presence.

Russia launched its Syrian air campaign on September 30

The military adviser is the third Russian officer to have been killed since Moscow began its military intervention in the war-torn country in late September.

The Russian government has launched a massive air campaign in Syria against rebels fighting to overthrow Assad, a long-time Moscow ally, but it says no Russian troops are fighting on the ground.

The Observatory said Wednesday's incident took place in the northwestern province of Latakia, where it says rebel groups fighting against the regime operate, but not IS.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier Wednesday the country would press ahead with its bombing campaign in Syria until "terrorist organisations" such as the Islamic State jihadist group are defeated.

Russia suffered its first casualties in the conflict in November, when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet it claimed had violated Turkish airspace. One of the two pilots on board died in the downing. Another serviceman was killed in a subsequent rescue mission.

The incident triggered a huge row between the countries, with Turkey saying the jet strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, and Moscow insisting it did not cross over from Syria and accusing Ankara of a planned provocation.

Backed by the intense Russian air campaign, Syrian troops have been gaining ground in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Assad's regime cut the last supply route linking rebels in Aleppo to the Turkish border, in a major blow to the opposition.
Yemen police chief wounded in Aden suicide bombing: security

A provincial police chief in southern Yemen was among the casualties of a suicide bomb attack on his convoy in the port city of Aden late Wednesday, a security official said.

Colonel Adel al-Halemi was wounded and a number of other people killed or hurt when the assailant blew up his vehicle near the Lahj police chief's home in Aden, the official said, without giving more details on the casualties.

The attack follows a string of killings and bombings against government targets in loyalist-controlled southern Yemen, with many of the attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Yemeni women stand next to the remains of a vehicle at the site of a bombing that targeted a police checkpoint, in Aden on January 30, 2016 Saleh al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

Pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition have since July recaptured Aden, Lahj and three other southern provinces from Shiite Huthi rebels who seized large parts of Yemen, including Sanaa.
Rand Paul ends US presidential run, Santorum next?

Senator Rand Paul suspended his US presidential campaign Wednesday after a poor showing in Iowa, while Rick Santorum, who won the coveted state in 2012 but gained no traction this year, is also reportedly dropping out.

The 53-year-old Paul, a libertarian who stresses individual rights and privacy, finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with 4.5 percent of the vote.

"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of liberty," Paul said in a statement.

Senator Rand Paul speaks to the media after the Republican presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 28, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP/File)

"I will continue to carry the torch for liberty in the United States Senate, and I look forward to earning the privilege to represent the people of Kentucky for another term."

Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, has languished at the back of the pack for months, despite his stunning performance four years ago when he snatched Iowa from Mitt Romney.

While Santorum, who had made religious freedom and social conservatism the pillars of his campaign, won several more states that year, he could not sustain the momentum and ultimately lost the nomination to Romney.

Santorum told the Des Moines Register he will reassess his candidacy after finishing 11th out of 12 candidates in Iowa, with one percent of the Republican vote. Two Republican sources told CNN that Santorum is dropping out.

"We are going to spend a couple of days just thinking and praying, and figure out what we are going to do, and we will make a decision," Santorum told the Register after addressing in Johnston, Iowa.

Santorum said he will make two "major announcements" at 7:00pm (0000 GMT).

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee dropped out just hours after the Iowa caucuses.

Their exit leaves the Republican field still crowded with nine White House hopefuls, including Carly Fiorina, who insisted she is still committed to the race despite finishing seventh in Iowa, with 1.9 percent.
More prison time for murderer over New York escape

A convicted murderer who escaped a maximum-security New York prison and went on the run for three weeks last year was sentenced Wednesday to up to 14 years more time behind bars, officials said.

David Sweat, who is already serving a life sentence without parole for murdering a sheriff's deputy in 2002, had pleaded guilty to two counts of escape and one count of possessing dangerous contraband.

He was sentenced at a Clinton County court in the state of New York to between seven and 14 years, in what was a largely procedural move.

Convicted murderers Richard Matt (L) and David Sweat, who escaped a maximum-security New York prison and went on the run last year

Sweat was captured just south of the Canadian border on June 28 after his audacious prison bust with convicted killer Richard Matt, who was shot dead by a US border patrol.

The multimillion-dollar manhunt forced up to 1,300 law enforcement officers to scour the rugged, remote area around the Clinton Correctional Facility after Sweat and Matt broke free on June 6.
Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil 'predicts' early spring

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP)  The handlers of Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he "predicted" an early spring.

"Is this current warm weather more than a trend? Perchance this winter has come to an end? There is no shadow to be cast, an early Spring is my forecast!," read Jeff Lundy, vice president of the Inner Circle of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Lundy is a member of the group sporting top hats that announces the forecast every year.

Handler John Griffiths holds up Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he "predicted" an early spring. (Mark Pynes /PennLive.com via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.

The forecast was delivered with temperatures in the low 20s, on a clear day when the temperature was expected to reach the unseasonably mild mid-40s.

The Inner Circle congratulated the mid-week crowd of about 10,000 revelers, which the group said was one of the largest for a weekday celebration. Many of those in attendance had stayed overnight and partied into the wee hours waiting for the groundhog's forecast.

Truth be told, Phil's handlers don't wait to see if he sees his shadow  which he almost certainly would have Tuesday. Instead, the Inner Circle decide on the forecast ahead of time and announce it on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill near the town for which the groundhog is named, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Records dating to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 102 times, while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. There are no records for the remaining years.

Tuesday's celebration was billed as the 130th forecast by Phil.

A number of other prognosticating groundhogs sided with Phil on the extended forecast.

The handlers for Staten Island Chuck in New York, General Beauregard Lee in Georgia and Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin said the rodents predicted an early spring.

But, others didn't agree. In Michigan, handlers of Woody the Woodchuck said she predicted six more weeks of winter. The same went for Ohio's Buckeye Chuck.

And in Canada, two four-legged forecasters split the decision. Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam called for an early spring, while Ontario's Wiarton Willie expected six more weeks of winter.

Handler John Griffiths holds up Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he "predicted" an early spring. (Mark Pynes /PennLive.com via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Groundhog Club co-handler Ron Ploucha, right, holds Punxsutawney Phil, as club vice-president Jeff Lundy, left, holds the scroll during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent has failed to see his shadow, meaning he's "predicted" an early spring. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Groundhog Club co-handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent has failed to see his shadow, meaning he's "predicted" an early spring. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

A crowd watches during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent has failed to see his shadow, meaning he's "predicted" an early spring. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Handler Ron Ploucha holds up Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he "predicted" an early spring. (Mark Pynes /PennLive.com via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Groundhog Club co-handler Ron Ploucha holds Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. The handlers say the furry rodent has failed to see his shadow, meaning he's "predicted" an early spring. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Visitors look through the windows at the Punxsutawney Public Library where groundhogs are on display at "Phil's Burrow" in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. Thousands of people come to Punxsutawney for the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Wooden carvings of top hat wearing groundhogs are for sale at an annual craft show in the square in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. That is part of the town's annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Feb. 2. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

A group of visitors pose for pictures and take selfies with the "Punxsutawney Phil" mascot outside the public library in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. Thousands of people come to Punxsutawney for the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob on Feb. 2. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Shubenacadie Sam looks through the fence after emerging from his burrow at the wildlife park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam didn't see his shadow. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Sun Prairie, Wis. Mayor Paul Esser waits for a winter weather prediction from Jimmy the Groundhog during the 2016 Groundhog Prognostication event in Sun Prairie, Wis. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Overcast skies prevented Jimmy from seeing his shadow, supposedly signaling an early spring arrival according to the tradition. (John Hart,/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
The Latest: Prosecutors charge utility with crimes for leak

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The Latest on federal regulations announcing plans to propose new safety standards after California gas leak (all times local):

5:12 p.m.

Los Angeles prosecutors have filed misdemeanor criminal charges against a utility for failing to immediately report a massive gas leak in October.

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2016 file photo, Tera Lecuona, resident of the heavily-impacted Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles, holds a protest sign during a hearing in Granada Hills over a gas leak at Southern California Gas Company's Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. Californias attorney general is suing Southern California Gas Co. over a massive out-of-control natural gas leak. Attorney General Kamala Harris said the company violated several state laws and failed to report the leak to necessary agencies for three days after it was discovered in October. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Tuesday that Southern California Gas Co. needs to be held accountable for the leak that has been out of control nearly 15 weeks.

The criminal complaint charges the company with four misdemeanor counts. If convicted, the company could be fined up to $25,000 for each of the three days it didn't notify the state Office of Emergency Services of the leak.

Lacey says the company also could be fined up to $1,000 per day for air pollution violations.

SoCalGas says it discovered the leak Oct. 23 at its Aliso Canyon storage facility.

The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

___

3:45 p.m.

Federal regulators say they plan to propose new safety standards for underground natural gas storage after a massive leak at a Los Angeles-area facility.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said Tuesday it is working on new regulations and has advised operators to review the safety of their facilities.

The agency issued the advisory nearly 15 weeks after a Southern California Gas Co. well blowout.

The nonstop leak has spewed millions of tons of climate-changing methane and uprooted more than 4,400 Los Angeles families sickened by the stench or concerned about their health.

The agency says gas storage operators should check for leaks and identify potential failures from corrosion and other damage.

The SoCalGas leak is under investigation, but the agency says it probably occurred in a well casing.

___

11:06 a.m.

California's attorney general has added her name to the long list of parties suing Southern California Gas Co. over a massive out-of-control natural gas leak.

Attorney General Kamala Harris said Tuesday the company violated several state laws and failed to report the leak to the necessary agencies for three days after its discovery in October. Harris says the leak created a public health and statewide environmental emergency.

The company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment, but has previously cited a policy of not commenting on litigation.
Los Angeles DA charges utility with crimes for gas leak

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Los Angeles prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges Tuesday against a utility for failing to immediately report a natural gas leak that has been gushing nonstop for nearly 15 weeks.

District Attorney Jackie Lacey said the charges aren't a solution to the problem, but Southern California Gas Co. needs to be held responsible for the leak that has uprooted more than 4,400 families.

The charges came the same day the state attorney general joined a long line of others in suing the gas company for the blowout that has spewed more than 2 million tons of climate-changing methane since October.

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2016 file photo, Tera Lecuona, resident of the heavily-impacted Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles, holds a protest sign during a hearing in Granada Hills over a gas leak at Southern California Gas Company's Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. Californias attorney general is suing Southern California Gas Co. over a massive out-of-control natural gas leak. Attorney General Kamala Harris said the company violated several state laws and failed to report the leak to necessary agencies for three days after it was discovered in October. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Lawmakers in Congress have urged the U.S. secretary of energy to investigate the leak, and federal regulators are crafting new safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities.

The criminal complaint charges the company with three counts of failing to report the release of a hazardous material and one count of discharge of air contaminants.

The company said in a statement that it will vigorously defend itself in court. Arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 17.

If convicted, the company could be fined up to $1,000 per day for air pollution violations and up to $25,000 for each of the three days it didn't notify the state Office of Emergency Services of the leak.

The company said it discovered the leak Oct. 23 and notified state gas and oil regulators.

But it failed to let state emergency officials know until Oct. 26, Attorney General Kamala Harris said in the latest of more than two dozen lawsuits filed against SoCalGas.

The leak has created a public health and statewide environmental emergency, Harris said. The lawsuit, which doesn't specify damages, says the company created a nuisance and violated health and safety codes and the state's unfair competition law.

A spokeswoman said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation and was focused on stopping the leak, which it expects to plug by the end of the month.

SoCalGas said it paid $50 million through December to try to cap the leak and relocate people, but the number of families it has relocated since then has soared and work at the leaking well continues.

It is also facing potential class-action lawsuits from residents and businesses as well as suits from regional air regulators and city and county authorities.

Harris, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, is the first state official to sue, though her lawsuit incorporates elements of lawsuits filed by the city and county of Los Angeles.

Several state agencies are investigating the blowout and have issued orders to the gas company to stop it and turn over records of the 60-year-old well and others from the field that is the largest natural gas storage facility in the West.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration got involved for the first time Tuesday, saying it is working to propose new regulations for gas storage and directing operators to "inspect and take immediate actions to ensure the safety of underground natural gas storage facilities across the country."

State regulators are investigating the cause of the leak, but they said they won't know until the well is plugged, which is expected by the end of the month.

Local residents have reported symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds and rashes, among other woes.

Public health officials have blamed the maladies on odorant added to make the gas detectable. They have said the leak  mostly methane but including trace elements of the carcinogen benzene  is not expected to cause long-term health problems.

___
Californians want rum-crazy Cuba to start drinking wine

HAVANA (AP)  The 3.5 million tourists who flooded Cuba last year downed oceans of mojitos, lakes of daiquiris and rivers of thin, sour beer. Only an odd few accompanied their ropa vieja and croquetas with wine  mostly overpriced, low- to mid-grade vintages from Chile, Argentina and Spain.

That may be about to change, at least around the margins of Cuba's once-dismal dining scene. Some of the United States' largest vintners want to turn this island of sweet rum and flat state-brewed beer into a haven for robust California zinfandel, oaky chardonnay and powerful cabernet sauvignon.

Thousands of private restaurants have cropped up around Cuba in recent years under economic reforms designed to soften the shock of cutbacks in the troubled state-controlled economy. Particularly on the high end, those restaurants' clients are increasingly American, part of a 76 percent surge in U.S. tourism  to 161,174 last year  that followed Presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama's declaration of detente at the end of 2014.

People attend the first California Wine Symposium in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. In a sign of changing times, California's largest winemakers hold a two-day tasting and trade show for Cuban restaurant owners in hopes of developing a new market in a country dominated by rum, weak beer and cheap South American wine. (Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate via AP)

Hoping to ride both trends, about 100 California wine producers, distributors and exporters descended on Havana this week for a two-day symposium to reintroduce Cuban restaurant owners and managers to their products.

The California Wine Symposium was organized by the California Wine Institute, associations of Napa and Sonoma valley wine producers and Sonoma-based U.S. Cava Exports, a two-year-old company founded to export California agricultural products to Cuba. The event featured tastings, talks on California's vineyards and one-on-one meetings between U.S. business people and Cuban restaurateurs and state officials.

"This is a spectacular meeting," said Orlando Rodriguez, owner of Waoo!!, a three-year-old, 20-employee restaurant in Havana's trendy Vedado neighborhood. "It arouses interest, which prompts business, which creates profits."

Some 50 private restaurants, or paladares, and hundreds of sommeliers and buyers for state-run restaurants attended the conference, whose participants included representatives of the E&J Gallo and Francis Ford Coppola wineries.

It's been legal for Cuba to buy wine and other agricultural products from the U.S. for years but Cuban officials say they stopped importing California wine in 2005 because the U.S. trade embargo prohibits American producers from selling agricultural goods to Cuba on credit. Obama allowed sales of most goods to Cuba on credit through executive action last week but lifting the ban on credit for farm products would require an act of Congress.

Cuba has never been a big wine-drinking country, but it imports some 360,000 cases of wine a year from countries that allow sales on credit.

Darius Anderson, head of U.S. Cava Exports, said he hopes to be shipping California wine to Cuba by the end of the year.

"We're working on the shipping, we're working on the financing, and we hope to have them all solved by mid-year, have two or three containers on the water and get them here by the holidays," he said.

Only a small number of Cuban government agencies are allowed to import goods, creating a chokepoint of inefficiency and bureaucracy that makes it virtually impossible for private businesses to bring in large quantities of goods from other countries. Paladar owners depend on black-market goods, items bought at retail stores or supplies brought in the suitcases of people paid to "mule" products from the U.S. and other countries. The lack of a legal wholesale market is widely seen as one of the main hindrances to the efficient development of private enterprise in Cuba.

"It doesn't matter to me if a private person or the state does the importing. What matters is that there's somewhere to buy this wine," said Julio Valdes, a representative of the Five Corners Trattoria in Old Havana. "It's important for us to have a variety for our clients. Right now we have Chilean, Italian and Spanish wine that we buy in stores bit by bit."

Francisco Chacon, sommelier of the state-run Conde de Villanueva hotel, said he is focused on the ratio of price to quality and the U.S. being just 90 miles from Cuba offers a major advantage.

"It makes much more economic sense for us to bring a wine from the United States than from Spain," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

___

Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mweissenstein

California winemaker Keith Nichols stands at a table with a selection from his winery during the first California Wine Symposium in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. About 100 California wine producers, distributors and exporters descended on Havana this week for a two-day symposium aimed at reintroducing Cuban restaurant owners and managers to the viticultural powerhouse. (Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate via AP)
Ambassador: US to continue South China Sea flights, sail-bys

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The U.S. ambassador said Wednesday joint patrols with the Philippines are possible in the South China Sea, where the United States has asserted its freedom to navigate by sending planes and ships into China-claimed areas.

Manila protested when a commercial Chinese aircraft landed recently on one of several artificial islands Beijing has built in the Spratlys, and officials say China has essentially declared an air defense identification zone over the sea by issuing "provocative" challenges to Philippine military flights in the area.

Ambassador Philip Goldberg said the U.S. and the Philippines both have deep interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and he is not discarding the possibility of joint patrols in the area.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg, right, arrives for a forum Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Goldberg talked about the issue in the South China Sea involving the Philippines and China as well as the global fight against terrorism. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Two U.S. warships have sailed by China-claimed islands in the Spratly and Paracel island chains since October.

"I am not going to announce beforehand what we do in terms of freedom of navigation, but suffice it to say that the United States will follow international law, will continue to enjoy our rights under international law to sail through international waters or fly to international air space," Goldberg told a media forum.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said last week the officials discussing possible joint patrols were looking at an area within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

"I am not going to prejudge what we are going to do and when we are going to do it, whether we are going to do it with the Philippines or with others, but we do discuss that principle with the Philippines and so I am not discarding that possibility," Goldberg added when asked if a proposal for U.S. joint patrols with the Philippines has been approved.

Tensions have risen in the last two years after China built islands on disputed reefs in the Spratly Islands chain that China's neighbors fear could be used to threaten their territories. China and Taiwan have nearly identical claims to almost the entire South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei say parts of the sea belong to them. The United States does not claim part of the territory but says it has interest in the peaceful settlement of the disputes and in freedom of navigation in waters that are critical for world trade.

"We seek the best possible relationship with China but we would also like to see the engagement of the entire region on solutions that are rules-based and not unilateral," Goldberg said. Forging of a code of conduct in the area "to us is the way to go," he added.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg answers questions from the media during a forum Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Goldberg talked about the issue in the South China Sea involving the Philippines and China as well as the global fight against terrorism. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg answers questions from the media during a forum Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Goldberg talked about the issue in the South China Sea involving the Philippines and China as well as the global fight against terrorism. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Trump accuses Cruz of fraud in Iowa caucuses; Rand Paul out

GOFFSTOWN, New Hampshire (AP)  Donald Trump and Ted Cruz cast aside any veneer of kindness on Wednesday to trade insults and accusations in a show of hardball politics that demonstrated the stakes for both men in the New Hampshire primary six days away.

The billionaire mogul charged the Texas senator with "fraud" and called for a do-over of the Iowa caucuses. That's where Cruz's unexpected victory exposed weaknesses in Trump's unorthodox, personality-driven bid for the White House.

Cruz shot back with his fiercest attack yet on the man who has dominated opinion polls in New Hampshire, suggesting the reality star doesn't like the reality of losing. He's having a "Trumper-tantrum," Cruz told reporters. "He's losing it."

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at a town hall campaign event, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The back-and-forth between two candidates who once made of a show of their rapport underscored the shifting dynamic in a Republican race rattled by the Iowa results.

Cruz's campaign staff popped champagne on the flight to New Hampshire early Tuesday, proud of stealthily out-organizing the political novice. Trump appeared to take the loss graciously Monday night, but by Wednesday morning he had turned.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump tweeted, and his campaign accused Cruz of dirty tricks in telling Ben Carson's supporters their man was dropping out and they should turn to the Texan.

For all their bluster, the top two were keeping a wary eye on Iowa's surprisingly strong No. 3.

In a blitz of new Hampshire campaigning, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was casting himself as the sole "unifier" in a deeply fractured party and the man best positioned to beat a Democrat in November.

"When I am our nominee I can bring this party together," Rubio told more than 300 people at an athletic complex in Bow. "We cannot win if we are divided against each other."

For Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Hampshire increasingly looked like a do-or-die proposition: Show some momentum or pack it up. They hustled across the state trying to prevent this from becoming a three-man race.

Rand Paul announced he was dropping out, and that put a new crop of voters up for grabs for the other contenders. The Kentucky senator had tried to improve the Republican's popularity among younger voters and minorities. But his appeal never broadened much beyond the libertarian-leaning Republicans who backed the previous White House bids of his father, Rep. Ron Paul.

Later in the day, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum announced he had ended his bid for the White House and would support Rubio. His longshot status kept him off the main stage in all of the presidential debates and his campaign never gained enough steam to put him up against heavyweight contenders like Trump and Cruz.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tussled over each other's progressive bona fides. The Clinton campaign pushed back against Sanders' assertion that the former secretary of state was a progressive on "some days."

"We've been fighting the progressive fight and getting results for people for years," Clinton said at rally in Derry.

The Democrats are to appear at a CNN town hall Wednesday night.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont, Sergio Bustos, Kathleen Ronayne, Jill Colvin, Holly Ramer, Julie Pace and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton listens to a question during a campaign stop, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is introduced before speaking at a campaign stop before next weeks earliest in the nation presidential primary, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Bow ,N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas waits backstage as he listens to an introduction at a town hall campaign event, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The campaign bus of Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich' is parked during a rain storm, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Attendees cheer as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign stop at The Colonial Theatre, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Keene, N.H. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speak with a members of the media Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds the phone to take a selfie with an employee at Market Basket Supermarket, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, greets supporters during a campaign event on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visits a campaign office Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., gestures toward the audience before a television interview before a campaign event, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, at the town hall, in Exeter, N.H. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign stop at the Claremont Opera House, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Claremont, N.H. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Donors face record request of $9 billion to aid Syrians

AMMAN, Jordan (AP)  International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of Thursday's annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater generosity this time around, despite a record request of close to $9 billion for 2016.

The expectations are partly based on the reframing of the aid debate over the past year, following the chaotic migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe.

Donor countries trying to slow the influx would arguably serve their own interests as much as lofty principles of international solidarity if they give more and spend in smarter ways to improve refugees' lives and ease the burden on Middle Eastern host countries.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, file photo, Syrian refugee Bissan Alabdullah, almost 3, smiles while standing next to her family's laundry outside their tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

"I do think the European experience will have sharpened minds," Guy Ryder, head of the International Labor Organization, told The Associated Press while visiting Jordan, one of the struggling host countries. "And I don't think that's a bad thing if it leads to action (on Thursday), as I hope it will."

The stark reality of a drawn-out conflict requiring more ambitious long-term aid plans has also sunk in.

Fighting between Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces and those trying to topple him has only intensified over the past year, and the latest long-shot attempt at U.N.-brokered peace talks got off to an acrimonious start in Geneva over the weekend. Attempts to broker a cease-fire and political transition deal for Syria are further complicated by the involvement of world and regional powers facing off on opposite sides of the conflict.

Thursday's donor conference, to be held in London, is co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations. World leaders and representatives of dozens of countries have been invited, along with officials from international organizations, aid agencies and civic groups.

The total aid requirement to be presented in London amounts to nearly $9 billion, including a U.N.-coordinated appeal by dozens of aid agencies for $7.73 billion and a $1.23 billion request by regional host governments. The latter is a small portion of the massive economic support sought in the coming years by countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which host nearly 4.6 million Syrian refugees.

"We hope and expect to raise significant new funding," said Jens Laerke, spokesman of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which assembled the U.N.-led appeal.

Such optimism comes despite widening funding gaps. Last year's appeal of more than $7 billion was just over half-funded, forcing painful cuts in programs such as refugee food aid.

Beyond the basics, donors are also being asked to support longer-term plans, with a focus on education and jobs.

"We think we need to make a step change now from simply the traditional model of passing the hat around the international donor community," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in Jordan this week.

Donors would work more closely with countries like Lebanon and Jordan to boost fragile economies plagued by high unemployment and help create jobs for both citizens and refugees. Currently, the vast majority of refugees are banned from legal work, making them dependent on scarce aid or forcing them into poorly paid informal jobs. The influx of Syrians has also pushed down wages of Jordanian and Lebanese laborers, driven up rents in poor neighborhoods and overwhelmed local schools and health centers.

Jordan's King Abdullah II told the British Broadcasting Corp. ahead of the donor conference that "the psyche of the Jordanian people, I think it's gotten to boiling point."

New ideas also include encouraging large-scale private foreign investment in the region and Europe granting easier access to products made there. The ILO envisions labor-intensive infrastructure projects, such building water cisterns, schools and roads. Germany has proposed a donor-funded program to create 500,000 short-term jobs for refugees in the region.

The World Bank is meanwhile helping to set up cheap loans for host countries, with donors covering interest payments. Jordan has balked at the idea of having to borrow for anything linked to the refugee crisis, but has welcomed zero-interest financing for development programs it had to put on hold in recent years.

One of the most specific goals of the conference deals with education  to get all refugee children back to school by the end of the 2016/17 school year. Currently, more than 700,000 school-age refugees are out of school, more than half the total.

The U.N. children's agency said Tuesday that $1.4 billion would be needed to rescue what could become a "lost generation," both in Syria and in exile.

But despite goodwill and new ideas, donors face a grim truth  millions of Syrians are worse off now than they were even a year ago.

Most refugees in Jordan and Lebanon live in poverty. More refugee children have had to quit school for jobs to help families survive, as savings run out and adults are barred from legal work. Host countries have tightened entry restrictions for Syrians trying to escape fighting, including Jordan, where 20,000 are stranded in a remote desert area on the border and thousands more arrive each month. A new report by the Norwegian Refugee Council says hundreds of thousands of refugees are at risk or have already lost their right to legal stay in host countries.

A string of diplomatic failures has meanwhile worsened conditions inside Syria, where aid groups say 13.5 million people are now in need of assistance. Millions struggle to survive in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, and several dozen have starved to death.

"What we are witnessing now is a collective failure to deliver the necessary support to the region," said Jan Egeland, a former Norwegian diplomat who heads the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has called for aid on the scale of the Marshall Plan. "We are witnessing a total collapse of international solidarity with millions of war victims."

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, file photo, Syrian refugee children attend a class at a makeshift school set up in a tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016 (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, file photo, British Prime Minister David Cameron meets refugee children and teenagers at the UNICEF Makani Centre at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015, file photo, Syrian refugees stand outside their tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Hosh Hareem, in the Bekaa valley, east Lebanon. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, file photo, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn sits for a photo with Syrian students during his visit to a school in Beirut, Lebanon. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
Multi-billion-dollar Syria aid appeals routinely underfunded

A look at growing gaps in aid for Syria, with needs rising faster than contributions by donors. U.N. figures show that the five-year-old war has so far displaced more than 11 million Syrians and that multi-billion-dollar aid appeals have routinely been underfunded.

FUNDING GAPS

2013  total appeal $4.391 billion, 70 percent funded

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, file photo, Syrian refugee children walk in mud from the heavy rain at a refugee camp in the town of Hosh Hareem, in the Bekaa valley, east Lebanon. International aid to the victims of Syria's five-year-old war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organizers of the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, annual Syria pledging conference hope for greater donor generosity this time around, despite a record ask of close to $9 billion for 2016. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

2014  total appeal $5.996 billion, 56 percent funded

2015  total appeal $7.213 billion, 52 percent funded

2016  total appeal $8.96 billion

DISPLACEMENT

 About 6.5 million Syrians are internally displaced inside their homeland

 Close to 4.6 million Syrians have been registered as refugees in regional host countries, mainly Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

 Since 2011, 50 Syrian families have been displaced every hour of every day.

 More than 440,000 Syrians arrived in Europe by sea in 2015

NEEDS INSIDE SYRIA

 about 13.5 million Syrians, including 6 million children, require humanitarian aid

 70 percent of the population is without regular access to safe drinking water
Big bucks, shadowy companies: Election mystery money returns

WASHINGTON (AP)  Campaign money from shadowy sources is back this presidential election.

At least $4 million of it is flowing to outside groups helping White House hopefuls, making it difficult to trace who's behind the big bucks. Both parties benefit from money routed through obscure corporations, or from nonprofits that don't have to disclose their donors.

The contributions are a reminder of federal court decisions in recent years, like Citizens United, that loosened prior restrictions in campaign finance laws. That can hide who's really backing candidates  and what favors or influence could be owed should they get elected.

FILE - In this July 11, 2008 file photo, Frank VanderSloot, who owns Melaleuca, Inc., a healthcare products company, is seen in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Campaign money from shadowy sources is back this election. More than $4 million of it channeled to outside groups helping presidential candidates has come from unknown or masked donors. One conservative super PAC donor, Frank VanderSloot, gave $150,000 under his own name to Conservative Solutions PAC. (AP Photo/John Miller, File)

"Just wait until this year," said billionaire Frank VanderSloot of Idaho. The Associated Press determined that two of his obscure businesses gave a combined $175,000 to a "super" political committee helping Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio. "We're going to send bucketloads. This was teaspoons."

Meanwhile, Democratic-leaning American Bridge 21st Century reported more than $1.5 million from its affiliated nonprofit, which doesn't have to name its donors. American Bridge, which said it used the money to pay for shared expenses like rent and staff, was founded by Hillary Clinton supporter David Brock.

The AP counted more than two dozen groups that each gave at least $50,000 to presidential-aligned super PACs during the last three months of 2015, piecing together property tax documents, public records and millions of digital campaign finance records. At least half of those were unrecognizable names like family trusts, real estate holdings or firms that were far from household brands.

Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said voters need to know the sources of political money so they can evaluate how candidates will behave in office.

"These public officials may be bringing IOUs with them to Washington," Krumholz said. "Voters need to be able to consider the source and see whether there are hidden motives."

Opaque contributions aren't new: In 2011, a once-mysterious group gave $1 million to a super PAC supporting then-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The group was formed by an executive at Romney's old company, and that co-worker ultimately acknowledged he was behind the contribution.

But this time, no White House incumbent likely means more money to go around, especially during a contentious primary season. Much of the super PAC money so far has paid for pricey political ads, among other expenses.

The largest, obfuscated super PAC donation was $500,000, which came from an unknown "IGX LLC" to the Rubio-aligned Conservative Solutions. The AP discovered the contribution came from self-described investor and IGX owner Andrew Duncan of Brooklyn, New York, whose firm was listed in a prior Rubio donation.

Duncan helped host a Rubio fundraiser last October, and is on Rubio's campaign website as pledging to "buy Marco a plane ticket." At least half of his $40,000 in donations since 2012 went to Democratic candidates, including a $2,700 donation last May to Clinton's campaign.

Rubio has said it's important for people to know the source of political money. "I think that as long as people know who is giving you money, and why it is, people can make judgments on why you are doing what you are doing," he said at a September campaign stop in New Hampshire.

Duncan, who said he worked as a technology executive and has invested in several film productions, acknowledged he was the source of the super PAC donation in emails Tuesday to the AP. Duncan, who funds human-rights efforts in China, said he admired Rubio's work on the issue and had used IGX to mask the donation because he was worried about reprisals.

Even frequent contributors whose names appear elsewhere in Federal Election Commission data donated through an alphabet soup of companies.

VanderSloot, who gave under companies like "TMCV #2 LLC," also contributed $150,000 under his own name to Conservative Solutions. Those contributions have helped the group so far spend $14.8 million in ads this election, according to political ad-tracker Kantar Media.

TMCV #2 LLC owns a corporate development property in Utah, whose address is shared with the VanderSloot-owned Riverbend Ranch in Idaho Falls, Idaho. And NG Montana LLC, which also contributed $85,000 to Conservative Solutions, lists the same address in federal records.

In an interview, VanderSloot confirmed he was behind the contributions but said he was not trying to hide the source of the money. He said the super PAC called him in late December requesting more donations and "that's where we had cash at that moment."

A super PAC supporting Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich also benefited from New York real estate developer Peter S. Kalikow, the former publisher of the New York Post. He gave $125,000 through HJK LLC, a company registered to Kalikow's firm HJ Kalikow and Co.

Spokesman Martin McLaughlin said HJK is just one way Kalikow chooses to make donations.

"It's not a mystery that Peter Kalikow supports Republican candidates," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi in Boise, Idaho; Julie Bykowicz in Washington; and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.

___
Slain 13-year-old was caught between childhood, adulthood

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP)  Nicole Madison Lovell was, by all accounts, at that awkward stage of growing up that all kids go through: clinging to childhood ways while beginning to venture into the adult world.

The 13-year-old still played in the snow with much younger children, a neighbor said. Her mom said she loved pandas and kept toys from the "Minions" movies in her bedroom  the same room where she apparently blocked the door and climbed out a window after telling 8-year-old friends she would sneak out that night to meet her 18-year-old "boyfriend."

Nicole was believed to be carrying a blue blanket with yellow Minions on it when she vanished, police said.

In this 2015 photo provided by Tammy Weeks, her daughter, Nicole Lovell, flashes a peace sign in Blacksburg, Va. The 13-year-old girl was found dead just across the state line in Surry County, N.C., and two Virginia Tech students are charged in the case. (Tammy Weeks via AP)

Like others her age, Nicole was tech-savvy, posting on Facebook and chatting in other social media.

Unlike her peers, she had to take medicine every day to keep her transplanted liver from failing, and survived other harrowing health problems earlier in life that left her with a tracheotomy scar in her neck and made her a target of bullies.

Police say preliminary indications show Nicole was stabbed to death soon after she was discovered missing last week, but they're revealing little else. David Eisenhauer and Natalie Keepers, both engineering majors at Virginia Tech, are jailed on charges that could imprison them for life.

Friends and relatives are gathering to say goodbye to "Coley," who's been called sweet, energetic, outspoken and friendly  "an angel," according to longtime friend Davy Draper. Both Thursday's funeral and visitation Wednesday night at McCoy Funeral Home in Blacksburg will be private, they said.

The funeral home's online obituary says Nicole was born in Radford, loved to sing and dance, and was a member of Auburn Baptist Church. It includes the family's thanks to law enforcement officials and the community and is accompanied by a portrait of Nicole showing her blue eyes and face framed by long brown hair, superimposed on a background of clouds.

Nicole's mother Tammy Weeks, who carried a plush panda bear toy to a police news conference Tuesday, said her daughter had touched many lives before hers was cut short. She became too overwhelmed with emotion to finish her prepared remarks and had to be ushered away.

Stacy Snider, their neighbor, said Nicole and her mother had a great relationship.

"Tammy spoiled her rotten. Bought her everything she wanted. Everything," she said.

Nicole endured a liver transplant as an infant, leaving her with scars that became fodder for bullies, her mother said. She also was diagnosed with lymphoma, spent six months in a coma after developing a respiratory condition, and contracted a drug-resistant bacterial infection. But she always pulled through.

Snider said she had known Nicole since she was born.

"She was a lovely little girl. Very caring. Very loving. And she wouldn't hurt anybody. And that's probably what got her in trouble, Snider said.

Nicole had gone sledding with Snider's 8-year-old twin daughters the day before she disappeared, and Snider found nothing odd about that.

"She was just friendly with everybody," Snider said. "I mean, she had friends her age. But I mean, she was a kid at heart."

After Nicole vanished, Snider said, her daughters told her that the seventh-grader had showed them a picture of "David," along with a thread of texts they had shared using the Kik Messenger app on her phone. Nicole had told her girls that she would be sneaking out to meet him that night, Snider told The Associated Press.

That information was shared with police, and Kik Interactive then gave the FBI evidence that the company believes led to the arrests of the suspects, Kik spokesman Rod McLeod told the AP.

Police initially charged Eisenhauer with kidnapping on Saturday, then added murder after Nicole's body was found, two hours south of campus. Another Virginia Tech student, 19-year-old Natalie Keepers, is charged with being an accessory before and after the crime, and helping to dispose of the body. Their attorneys have declined to comment.

Meanwhile, at Blacksburg Middle School, Nicole's classmates have been decorating a cherry blossom tree that will be planted in her memory once the weather warms up.

___

O'Dell reported from Richmond, Virginia, and Allen G. Breed from Blacksburg, Virginia.

Stacy Snider talks to a reporter outside her home in Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Snider's twin daughters say slain teen Nicole Lovell, a former neighbor, showed them a photo of an 18-year-old man named David on her phone, called him her "boyfriend."(AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Tammy Weeks holds one of her slain daughter's stuffed pandas during a news conference in Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Weeks says her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Lovell, fought health problems all her life and had dreams of singing on "American Idol." (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Tammy Weeks cries as she speaks to reporters in Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Weeks says her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Lovell, fought health problems all her life and had dreams of singing on "American Idol." (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

This undated photo provided by Tammy Weeks shows her daughter, Nicole Lovell, posing when she was 10 in Blacksburg, Va. The 13-year-old girl was found dead just across the state line in Surry County, N.C., and two Virginia Tech students are charged in the case. (Tammy Weeks via AP)

In this Jan. 31, 2016 photo, Blacksburg Lieutenant Mike Albert announces that Virginia Tech student Natalie Keepers was arrested in connection to the death of Nicole Madison Lovell, in Blacksburg, Va. Keepers faces charges of improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony. (Edmee Rodriguez/The Roanoke Times via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; SALEM TIMES REGISTER OUT; FINCASTLE HERALD OUT; CHRISTIANBURG NEWS MESSENGER OUT; RADFORD NEWS JOURNAL OUT; ROANOKE STAR SENTINEL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Oregon standoff leader Ammon Bundy, others indicted

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  A federal grand jury has indicted Ammon Bundy and some of the men and women who joined him at the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge, authorities said Wednesday.

However, the indictment remained sealed and further details on the charges were unavailable.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoff Barrow said the documents would be unsealed within 24 hours.

A sign is displayed with the picture of LaVoy Finicum as part of the demonstrations outside the Harney County Courthouse in Burns, Ore., Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. Hundreds gathered to protest and support the armed occupation of a national wildlife preserve. (Molly Young/The Oregonian via AP) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO LOCAL INTERNET; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Barrow said the indictment was returned against the 11 people who have already been arrested and others, perhaps a reference to the last four holdouts at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Defense attorneys demanded the immediate unsealing of the indictment  a request denied Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart.

"You will get a copy of the indictment in due course, don't worry," Stewart said. Arraignment was set for Feb. 24.

Authorities arrested 11 people last week on a criminal complaint charging them with felony conspiracy. They were accused of using intimidation to prevent federal officers from doing their work at the refuge in sparsely populated southeast Oregon.

In a criminal complaint, defendants have a right to a preliminary hearing in which they can question the arresting officer under oath about probable cause for the charges.

After an indictment, they are no longer entitled to such a proceeding.

The cancellation of preliminary hearings that had been scheduled for Wednesday dismayed attorneys for the accused.

Lisa Hay, who represents defendant Ryan Payne, said it appears prosecutors moved to scrap the hearings even before the indictment had been handed down. She was also annoyed that prosecutors presented the indictment to the judge and not to defense attorneys.

"That's an unusual thing and it's unfortunate in a case like this, where many of the people distrust the government to begin with," Hay said.

The occupation began Jan. 2, with the group demanding the federal government turn public lands over to local control. While most of the occupiers have been arrested, four have refused to leave, despite Bundy's urging.

They have said they want assurances they won't be arrested. The remaining occupiers are David Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, a married couple from Riggins, Idaho.

The government is building a case to show the occupation was a threat to residents and federal employees. Prosecutors say the group was ready to use violence to hold on to the refuge.

Defense attorneys have said their clients engaged in civil disobedience and are being punished for political speech. They say the only use of force during the standoff was by police, who shot and killed occupier Robert "LaVoy" Finicum during a Jan. 26 traffic stop. Bundy and others were then taken into custody.

Federal authorities have released aerial video and said Finicum was going for a gun in his jacket pocket.

In a separate matter, an attorney for Shawna Cox  a defendant allowed to return home to Utah as her case goes through the court system  asked Wednesday for her client to be allowed to attend Finicum's funeral on Friday. The funeral is in the same town where Cox lives.

Judge Stewart denied the request.
New York real estate heir pleads guilty on weapons charge

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A New York real estate heir pleaded guilty in New Orleans on Wednesday to a weapons charge and agreed to an 85-month prison sentence, a move that could usher in his extradition to California to face murder charges.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt told Robert Durst that he will not make the plea final before he reviews a pre-sentencing report due in two weeks.

Durst, 72, appeared frail. He said mostly "Yes, your honor" and occasionally "I'm sorry; I couldn't hear that." Defense attorney Richard DeGuerin occasionally repeated questions into Durst's right ear; he told the judge that Durst's left ear is completely deaf.

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 17, 2015 file photo, Robert Durst is transported from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to the Orleans Parish Prison after his arraignment on murder charges in New Orleans. U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt has scheduled Dursts re-arraignment for Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, on a charge of illegally carrying a .38-caliber revolver after a felony conviction. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Durst wore an orange jail jumpsuit, and his hands were shackled to his waist. When Durst was sworn in, the judge told him to raise his right hand, quickly amending that to "as best you can."

Durst admitted that he illegally carried a .38-caliber revolver after being convicted of a felony.

The charge stems from his arrest in a New Orleans hotel last year by FBI agents who feared he was about to flee to Cuba. The gun was found in the hotel room he had taken under the name Everette Ward. After his arrest, a package with $117,000 in cash arrived, addressed to Everette Ward. Durst will forfeit that money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McMahon said after the hearing.

Durst was charged last year with the 2000 death of his friend Susan Berman after mumbling "killed them all" during the taping of an HBO documentary. His lawyer, Richard DeGuerin, says Durst did not kill Berman.

McMahon called the plea agreement a "good result." The maximum would have been 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

"Now he goes on to Los Angeles to face a charge of murder" in Berman's death, the prosecutor said. He describing the proposed sentence as "the result of very intense negotiations" among federal prosecutors, Durst's attorneys, and the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, which originally brought a weapons charge against Durst.

If Engelhardt accepts the plea, prosecutors in Los Angeles have agreed to arraign Durst by Aug. 18, McMahon told the judge.

"This agreement has a lot of moving parts and a lot of jurisdictions. What we're doing and have been trying to do from the start is get Bob Durst to Los Angeles," defense attorney DeGuerin said after the hearing. "Bob Durst did not kill Susan Berman, does not know who did, and wants to prove it."

Although Durst waived extradition from the start, he will remain in Louisiana at least until after his sentencing. If the judge accepts the sentence, then the Bureau of Prisons decides where Durst will serve it, though Engelhardt can recommend a prison.

DeGuerin told the judge he will ask for the Terminal Island prison because it's close to Los Angeles.

The plea bargain will be nullified if the judge gives Durst a different sentence, McMahon said.

An estranged member of the wealthy New York real estate family that runs 1 World Trade Center, Durst is accused of killing Berman to keep her from talking to New York prosecutors about the disappearance of Durst's first wife, Kathleen, in 1982.

FBI agents tracked him to a New Orleans hotel on the eve of the finale of "The Jinx," HBO's six-part documentary about Durst, his wife's disappearance, Berman's death and the death and dismemberment of Durst's neighbor Morris Black in 2001. Durst was formally arrested early on the day of the broadcast, before viewers saw him in a washroom, still wearing a live microphone and muttering, "There it is. You're caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

The previous felony that is part of Durst's plea was a 2004 plea in Pennsylvania to possessing a weapon both while under indictment for Black's death and doing so while a fugitive on the murder charge.

He ultimately testified that he killed Black in self-defense, and was acquitted of murder.

___

The day of the week has been corrected to Wednesday in paragraph 1.

___
Avalanche traps 10 Indian army soldiers on Kashmir glacier

SRINAGAR, India (AP)  An avalanche hit the Siachen Glacier in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir early Wednesday, trapping 10 Indian army soldiers in the snow.

Army and air force teams were trying to rescue the soldiers in the northern part of the glacier, army spokesman Col. S.D. Goswami said. Rescue dogs also have been pressed into service.

Avalanches and landslides are common in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both entirely.

FILE - This Feb. 1, 2005 file photo shows an aerial view of the Siachen Glacier, which traverses the Himalayan region dividing India and Pakistan, about 750 kilometers (469 miles) northwest of Jammu, India. An avalanche hit the Siachen Glacier in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir early Wednesday,Feb.3, 2016 trapping 10 Indian army soldiers in the snow. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

The rival nations also dispute the undemarcated border through the Siachen Glacier at an altitude of nearly 19,000 feet (5,800 meters).

Thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops are stationed on the freezing Himalayan terrain, where more troops have died from the grueling conditions than from hostile fire.

Last month, four Indian soldiers on foot patrol were killed by an avalanche in the same region.

In 2012, an avalanche in the Pakistan-controlled part of the glacier killed 140 people, including 129 soldiers.
Gunfire sprays Corsican halal butcher's shop, kebab stand

PARIS (AP)  A French official says a halal butcher's shop and a kebab stand on the French island of Corsica were sprayed with gunfire overnight.

Eric Bouillard, the Ajaccio prosecutor, told the local Corse-Matin newspaper on Wednesday no one was hurt by the burst of gunfire that struck the two businesses in the town of Propriano.

Religious and social tensions have risen on the Mediterranean island since the late December ambush of firefighters in a housing project. The next day, hundreds of Corsicans demonstrated peacefully against the violence and a few dozen protesters, assuming that the assailants were Muslims, tried to burn Qurans in a Muslim prayer room and vandalized a kebab shop.
German Cabinet OKs measures to speed up migrant handling

BERLIN (AP)  The German Cabinet has approved a package of measures meant to help speed up handling migrants and cut the number of newcomers.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition last week agreed on the package, which involves using special centers to quickly progress migrants who have little realistic chance of winning asylum. It means some Syrians may have to wait longer to bring relatives to Germany.

The government also plans to declare Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia safe countries of origin, making it easier to return migrants to those countries  something Germany already did last year for several Balkan nations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
10 Things to Know for Thursday - 4 February 2016

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

1. TRUMP ACCUSES CRUZ OF DIRTY TRICKS IN IOWA

The real estate mogul charges the Texas senator with "fraud" and calls for a do-over of the Iowa caucuses.

Montgomery County District Attorney, Kevin Steele, right, and Asst. DA Kristen Feden, left, leave the courtroom during lunch break on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 at the pre-trial hearing for entertainer Bill Cosby and his sexual assault case in Norristown, Pa. Steele argued Wednesday that his predecessor had no legal authority to make a deal a decade ago that would shield the comedian from ever facing charges. (Michael Bryant/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, Pool)

2. CASE AGAINST BILL COSBY WILL CONTINUE

A judge refuses to throw out the sexual assault case against the comic, sweeping aside claims that Cosby had been granted immunity a decade ago.

3. FEW ZIKA SAMPLES BEING SHARED BY BRAZIL

The lack of data from the latest outbreak of the virus is frustrating efforts to develop diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, U.N. and U.S. health officials tell the AP.

4. WHAT'S GOOD NEWS FOR DROUGHT-STRICKEN CALIFORNIA

Strict water conservation orders could be dramatically scaled back  or even ended  if El Nino storms keep pummeling the state into the spring.

5. TALKS TO END SYRIAN CIVIL WAR SUSPENDED

The U.N. envoy for Syria announces a "temporary pause" in the fractious peace talks just two days after they officially began.

6. WHY TOYOTA IS KILLING YOUTH-ORIENTED SCION

After years of courting younger buyers with their own brand, Toyota discovered that what they really want is Toyotas.

7. OBAMA PREACHES TOLERANCE DURING FIRST VISIT TO U.S. MOSQUE

Although he has visited mosques overseas, the president waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the issue's sensitive political implications.

8. WHICH RARE BEAST HAS BEEN CAUGHT ON CAMERA

The only known wild jaguar in the U.S. is seen roaming a mountain range in southern Arizona in the first publicly released video of the giant cat.

9. BOB ELLIOTT DIES AT 92

The entertainer was half of the enduring television and radio comedy team Bob and Ray, and the father of actor-comedian Chris Elliott.

10. HOW SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW HAS EVOLVED

From modest beginnings, the halftime show has become one of the year's top cultural moments and is commonly seen by more people than the game itself.

In this Sept. 9, 2015, photo, provided by Katie Seals, Seals poses next to her Scion xD, in San Diego. Seals said she bought the Scion because it was reliable and she wanted something easy to park. And she loved the xDs sound system. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, Toyota announced it is killing its Scion brand after years of slumping sales. (Ross Nederhoff/Courtesy of Katie Seals via AP)
Italy urges Egypt to investigate fate of Italian student

MILAN (AP)  Italy has urged Egyptian authorities to launch a formal investigation into the fate of an Italian student who disappeared in the country on Jan. 25, the fifth anniversary of the uprising that overthrew longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

In a statement Wednesday, the Italian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to the family of 28-year-old Giulio Regeni and said his disappearance probably had a "tragic epilogue."

The ministry said the news had not been confirmed, and they were awaiting official word from Egyptian authorities. It said the government had asked Egypt to do everything possible to ascertain what happened, including launching a formal investigation with the participation of Italian experts.

An Egyptian diplomat earlier Wednesday said Egypt's Foreign Ministry, which was contacted by their Italian counterparts over the matter, had spoken with security agencies that were looking for the student. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief reporters.

The University of Cambridge lists Regeni as a student of its Department of Politics and International Studies.

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Albania to auction off old Eastern Bloc military aircraft

TIRANA, Albania (AP)  Albania is auctioning off dozens of obsolete Eastern Bloc military aircraft to raise cash for its armed forces, and officials say museums and collectors from several countries have expressed interest.

The Defense Ministry says the 40 Soviet or Chinese planes and helicopters for sale include six propeller-driven Yak-18s, Mig-15, -17, -19 and -21 jets and four Mil Mi-4 transport helicopters. They date mostly to the 1950s, and haven't been used for years.

A ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday that potential buyers in the U.S., France and Italy have expressed interest in the Feb. 22 auction in Tirana. Starting bids range from 1.1-1.9 million leks ($8,572-14,800).

In this image taken on Dec. 8, 2012 an old Soviet-era Chinese-produced Mig-21 aircraft is parked at Albanias Armed Forces musum in capital Tirana. The Albanian Defense Ministry says the 40 Soviet or Chinese planes and helicopters for sale include six propeller-driven Yak-18s, Mig-15, -17, -19 and -21 jets and four Mil Mi-4 transport helicopters. They date mostly to the 1950s, and have not been used for years. (AP Photo)
Former President Jimmy Carter said a scan has found no signs of the cancer that doctors discovered in his liver and brain last summer.

However the 91-year-old ex-Governor of Georgia will continue treatment and his doctors are remaining cautious.

A previous brain scan found that four cancerous lesions were gone with no new evidence of new cancer cells, Carter said in December.

Scroll down for video

Former US President Jimmy Carter (pictured Tuesday) has said a recent scan found no signs of the cancer he was diagnosed with last summer

'I haven't had more brain scans, but I have had a scan of my chest and abdomen,' he said. 'These last scans I had last week didn't show any sign of recurrence of the cancer.'

Carter, who celebrated his 91st birthday in October, said the results look 'promising,' but added his doctors remain 'very cautious.'

'They could be so minute, the cancer points in your body, that sometimes the scans don't detect the cancer that's there. So I'm still continuing my treatment on February the 9th,' Carter said.

The former president said he has been receiving doses of the anti-melanoma drug Keytruda every three weeks.

Carter is in London to discuss his campaign against Guinea worm disease, a painful affliction which his foundation the Carter Center has worked since 1986 to eradicate.

Carter said Tuesday that Guinea worm could be eradicated in a year or two if recent progress continues. There were only 22 cases globally last year, down from 126 in 2014 and an estimated 3.5 million when the Carter Center began its work.

'I have a good chance I think of outlasting the last Guinea worm,' Carter said. 'That's my ultimate goal.'
Police identify man fatally shot by officer in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP)  Police in the District of Columbia are identifying a man they say had a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun when he was fatally shot by an officer.

Police identified the man in a news release late Tuesday as 36-year-old Peter John. They say he had no fixed address.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference Monday that the officer tried to stop the mean, who was acting suspiciously, but he fell and the handgun replica BB gun fell from his clothing. She says he didn't comply with the officer's commands.
Macedonia lets more refugees in after taxi protest ends

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP)  Macedonia has lifted restrictions on the entry of refugees from the Greek border after Macedonian taxi drivers ended a five-day protest that had closed a key railway line, slowing migrant flows to Serbia.

Macedonian railways official Kire Dimoski said the railway service, which migrants use to head north through the Balkans, has been functioning normally since early Wednesday.

Taxi drivers blocked the tracks demanding that authorities allow them to carry transient migrants to Serbia even if there are available train and bus seats. During the protest, only small numbers of migrants were allowed to enter Macedonia.

A woman leave her tent, as migrants and refugees wait allowance to continue their trip to southern Macedonia, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Macedonia accepts people only from war-affected zones who declare Austria or Germany as their final destination.

More than 55,000 migrants have passed through Macedonia this year.

Migrants and refugees wait on a field near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, to be allowed to continue their trip to southern Macedonia, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

A child picks clothes inside a tent at a refugee camp near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, as migrants and refugees wait to be allowed to continue their trip to southern Macedonia, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Afghan refugees rest at a refugee camp near the northern Greek village of Idomeni on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Refugees pack their belongings at a parking lot of a gas station near the northern Greek village of Idomeni on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Syrian refugees try to warm up close to a gas station near the northern Greek village of Idomeni on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Police in northern Greece late Tuesday said 5,000 refugees and migrants were gathered at or near the border with Macedonia, where authorities continued to provide limited access at a frontier barrier built in November.(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Officials detain 13 Cuban migrants found near Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Authorities in Puerto Rico have detained 13 migrants from Cuba who were found on an uninhabited island.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that the group was found on Mona Island just west of the U.S. territory. The seven men and six women detained Monday are expected to appear before an immigration judge soon.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul quits 2016 GOP presidential race

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Self-styled Washington outsider Rand Paul dropped his struggling Republican campaign for president Wednesday and is returning to the Senate to run for re-election.

Vowing to continue his drive for less-intrusive government and more restrained foreign policy, Paul, low on support and cash, said he looks forward to earning another Senate term representing Kentucky.

"I don't really have an absolute answer for what went on with the election and why people make their choices," Paul said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Wednesday after a disappointing fifth-place finish in Iowa. "But I do think our voice was an important one and I think as people look backwards they are going to say they were happy to have my voice in the debate."

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2016 file photo, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, speaks to supporters with his wife Kelley by his side, during a caucus night victory party at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa. Paul is dropping out of the 2016 race for president. A campaign spokeswoman confirmed his decision Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, to The Associated Press, saying a statement would be forthcoming. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Asked whether he intends to endorse another candidate for president, Paul, a 53-year-old ophthalmologist, replied: "No."

It was an end long in the making. Paul launched his presidential candidacy determined to improve the Republican party's appeal with younger voters and to upend the way Washington works. But his appeals to reject American political dynasties and "to take our country back" were ultimately out-shouted by billionaire Donald Trump and relentlessly hawked by Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses Monday.

Also discordant was Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy, especially after Islamist-inspired attacks in Paris, San Bernadino, Calif. and elsewhere flared around the globe in 2015. Paul was low on the lifeblood of presidential campaigns, too  he had just over $1 million at the start of 2016, according to campaign finance records.

Paul's campaign initially seemed to capture the anti-establishment mood clearly settling over the electorate.

Though he's a senator  and the son of former Rep. Ron Paul  Rand Paul has been no go-along, get-along Washington insider. He was elected in the tea party-driven wave of 2010 and tangled often with GOP leaders.

In one defiant episode, Paul controlled the Senate floor in 2013 for almost 13 hours to hold up the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director. Brennan had been President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, and Paul opposed the Obama administration's use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists.

But soon after announcing his candidacy, Paul began a series of stumbles that turned into displays of his thin-skinned personality  and raised questions about his medical credibility.

Paul said he had heard about "many tragic cases" of children who got vaccines and ended up with "profound mental disorders." That assertion has no basis in medical research. Paul at first blamed the uproar on "inaccuracies" in the media. He later said he believes vaccines are safe and that his own children are immunized. That came after Paul suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the transmission of Ebola sound similar to that of AIDS. Ebola, he said, is easier to contract. Health authorities worldwide have said that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids.

He bristled in interviews at questions about his father and abortion policy, and said "shhhhh" to a female television interviewer who challenged something he said.

In October, Paul embarked on an online event in which he answered hostile questions from Twitter users.

One asked if he's still running for president.

"I dunno," he answered. "I wouldn't be doing this dumbass live streaming if I weren't."

After qualifying for five prime-time debates  and enduring Trump's suggestion that he not bother running anymore  Paul was dropped from the sixth face-to-face confrontation. He was invited back for the seventh and final prime-time debate before the Iowa caucuses, drawing a roar from his supporters in the audience when he was introduced.

___

Kellman reported from Washington. AP writers Bill Barrow and Steve Peoples contributed to this report

___

Follow Laurie Kellman and Adam Beam on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman and http://www.twitter.com/@adambeam .

___
Sen. Rand Paul quits 2016 Republican presidential race

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP)  Republican Sen. Rand Paul is dropping his 2016 campaign for president.

Campaign spokeswoman Eleanor May confirmed the move Wednesday to The Associated Press.

Paul and his appeals to reject American political dynasties and "to take our country back" was ultimately out-shouted by billionaire Donald Trump.

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2016 file photo, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, speaks to supporters with his wife Kelley by his side, during a caucus night victory party at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa. Paul is dropping out of the 2016 race for president. A campaign spokeswoman confirmed his decision Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, to The Associated Press, saying a statement would be forthcoming. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

The son of former Rep. Ron Paul was elected in the conservative tea party-driven wave of 2010 and disagreed often with Republican leaders.

Rand Paul notably opposed the Obama administration's use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists.

___
Climate change and pets: More fleas, more heartworm

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Climate change doesn't just affect habitats for wildlife. It's also affecting cats and dogs.

Fleas and ticks are getting smaller, but there are more of them, they eat more often, and they're causing problems in what used to be the colder months.

Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes, but those mosquitoes  which used to be found only in certain regions  are now carrying the disease all over the United States.

Penny, a mixed-breed rescue dog, poses in her Brooklyn home on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 in New York. Her owner, Margery Cooper, is vigilant about inspecting her for ticks because her previous dog died of complications from Lyme disease. Experts say climate change has increased the prevalence of fleas, ticks and heartworm disease for pets in the U.S. (AP Photos/Beth J. Harpaz)

Increased temperatures have turned kitten season into a year-long event instead of a spring ritual. The weather is even disrupting hibernation for a California woman's pet tortoises.

NASA recently declared that 2015 was the hottest year on Earth in 136 years of record-keeping with an average temperature of 58.62 degrees.

For pet-owners, those changes may mean rethinking preventive care like giving dogs flea and tick repellent and heartworm pills.

For example, now that heartworm has been found in every state, "I don't know why a person wouldn't give his dog heartworm pills once a month. That seems like a no-brainer," said Gregory D. Ebel, professor and specialist in infectious diseases at Colorado State University's veterinary school in Fort Collins.

Ticks cause Lyme disease in dogs as well as in humans. The bugs are most active in warm months, but with cities in the Northeast and Midwest setting record highs this past December, calendars no longer offer guidance on when pet-owners should worry and when they can relax. Dogs should be checked for ticks, just like people, and veterinarians can offer guidance on a variety of pest repellent products.

Margery Cooper, a dog owner in Brooklyn, New York, lost her beloved dog Scout to complications from Lyme disease a few years ago. She's now the owner of Penny, a mixed-breed rescue, and she's vigilant about checking Penny for ticks, especially after they go on hikes together.

Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, has even noticed changes in her 18-year-old tortoises, George and Mulan. They normally hibernate from October or November to April or May. But they were late going down this season and in mid-January, one of them was up walking around in 70-degree weather, Bernstein said.

She made sure it didn't eat. "Going back to sleep with undigested food could kill it," she said.

At work, Bernstein is surrounded by more evidence of climate change: twice as many kittens. "Flea season used to be seasonal too, but now we treat for fleas all year long," Bernstein added.

John Trumble, a distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside, said environmental conditions are creating larger populations of smaller fleas and ticks that will eat more frequently, develop more rapidly and spread more pathogens.

Drought in Texas and California has dried up small water sources that once served horses, sheep and other animals. Now, he said, wet weather brought by the El Nino phenomenon will create all kinds of pools and puddles that will draw the pests, "setting the animals up for an increase in insect-borne diseases like West Nile virus," a mosquito-borne disease that affects horses and people.
Scientists in Germany switch on nuclear fusion experiment

GREIFSWALD, Germany (AP)  Scientists in Germany flipped the switch Wednesday on an experiment they hope will advance the quest for nuclear fusion, considered a clean and safe form of nuclear power.

Following nine years of construction and testing, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald injected a tiny amount of hydrogen into a doughnut-shaped device  then zapped it with the equivalent of 6,000 microwave ovens.

The resulting super-hot gas, known as plasma, lasted just a fraction of a second before cooling down again, long enough for scientists to confidently declare the start of their experiment a success.

German chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to press the start bottom next to the head of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics Sibylle Guenter , left, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania governor, Erwin Sellering, right at the Wendelstein 7-X' nuclear fusion research center at the Max-Planck-Institut for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016. Scientists flipped the switch on an experiment they hope will advance the quest for nuclear fusion, considered a clean and safe form of nuclear power. ( Bernd Wuestneck/dpa via AP)

"Everything went well today," said Robert Wolf, a senior scientist involved with the project. "With a system as complex as this you have to make sure everything works perfectly and there's always a risk."

Among the difficulties is how to cool the complex arrangement of magnets required to keep the plasma floating inside the device, Wolf said. Scientists looked closely at the hiccups experienced during the start-up of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland more than five years ago to avoid similar mistakes, he said.

The experiment in Greifswald is part of a world-wide effort to harness nuclear fusion, a process in which atoms join at extremely high temperatures and release large amounts of energy that's similar to what occurs inside the sun.

Advocates acknowledge that the technology is probably many decades away, but argue that  once achieved  it could replace fossil fuels and conventional nuclear fission reactors.

Construction has already begun in southern France on ITER, a huge international research reactor that uses a strong electric current to trap plasma inside a doughnut-shaped device long enough for fusion to take place. The device, known as a tokamak, was conceived by Soviet physicists in the 1950s and is considered fairly easy to build, but extremely difficult to operate.

The team in Greifswald, a port city on Germany's Baltic coast, is focused on a rival technology invented by the American physicist Lyman Spitzer in 1950. Called a stellarator, the device has the same doughnut shape as a tokamak but uses a complicated system of magnetic coils instead of a current to achieve the same result.

The Greifswald device should be able to keep plasma in place for much longer than a tokamak, said Thomas Klinger, who heads the project.

"The stellarator is much calmer," he said in a telephone interview ahead of the start. "It's far harder to build, but easier to operate."

Known as the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, or W7-X, the 400-million-euro ($435 million) device was first fired up in December using helium, which is easier to heat. Helium also has the advantage of "cleaning" any minute dirt particles left behind during the construction of the device.

Over the coming years the device, which isn't designed to produce energy itself, will slowly increase the temperature and duration of the plasma with the goal of keeping it stable for 30 minutes, Wolf said.

"If we manage 2025, that's good. Earlier is even better," he said.

Scientists hope that the W7-X experiment will allow them to test many of the extreme conditions such devices will be subjected to if they are ever to generate power.

David Anderson, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin who isn't involved in the project, said the project in Greifswald looks promising so far.

"The impressive results obtained in the startup of the machine were remarkable," he said in an email. "This is usually a difficult and arduous process. The speed with which W7-X became operational is a testament to the care and quality of the fabrication of the device and makes a very positive statement about the stellarator concept itself. W7-X is a truly remarkable achievement and the worldwide fusion community looks forward to many exciting results."

While critics have said the pursuit of nuclear fusion is an expensive waste of money that could be better spent on other projects, Germany has forged ahead in funding the Greifswald project, costs for which have reached 1.06 billion euros in the past 20 years if staff salaries are included.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who holds a doctorate in physics, personally pressed the button at Wednesday's launch.

"As an industrial nation we want to show that an affordable, safe, reliable and sustainable power supply is possible, without any loss of economic competitiveness," she said. "The advantages of fusion energy are obvious."

The Polish government, European Union and the U.S. Department of Energy also contributed funding for the project. The U.S. contribution, which included crucial error-correcting coils and imaging equipment, gives American scientists a chance to help develop cutting-edge technology and participate in the experiment, said Edmund J. Synakowski, the agency's associate director for fusion energy sciences.

Although there are about a dozen stellarator experiments around the world, including in the U.S., Japan, Australia and Europe, scientists say the Greifswald device is the first to match the performance of tokamaks.

"If the United States isn't at the table once scientists start asking questions that can only be answered here, then we're out of the game," Synakowski said.

___

Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter

FILE - This Dec. 10, 2015 file photo shows the nuclear fusion research center at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics where the first plasma has been produced at the "Wendelstein 7-X" in Greifswald, Germany. Scientists are poised to flip the switch on an experiment that could take them a step closer to the goal of generating clean and cheap nuclear power. Researchers at the institute plan to inject hydrogen into a doughnut-shaped device to produce a super-hot gas known as plasma. A test on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, will show whether the 400-million-euro (US $ 435-million) device can handle hydrogen, which would be the fuel in future fusion reactors. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP, File) GERMANY OUT, AUSTRIA OUT, SWITZERLAND OUT

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2015 file photo technical director Hans-Stephan Bosch holds up computer images showing the first plasma generated at the "Wendelstein 7-X" nuclear fusion research centre at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. Scientists are poised to flip the switch on an experiment that could take them a step closer to the goal of generating clean and cheap nuclear power. Researchers at the institute plan to inject hydrogen into a doughnut-shaped device to produce a super-hot gas known as plasma. A test on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, will show whether the 400-million-euro (US $ 435-million) device can handle hydrogen, which would be the fuel in future fusion reactors. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP, File) GERMANY OUT AUSTRIA OUT SWITZERLAND OUT
3 killed, 2 seriously injured in shooting at bar in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP)  Authorities in Jamaica say three people have been killed at a rural bar in the popular tourist area of Montego Bay including an 18-year-old female bartender.

Police said Wednesday that two other people are in serious condition. They said the shooting occurred late Tuesday when armed men apparently walked up to the bar and opened fire.

No one has been arrested.
New lawyer silences bad-boy ex-pharma CEO Martin Shkreli

NEW YORK (AP)  Bad-boy ex-pharmaceutical company CEO and prolific social media user Martin Shkreli has been muzzled.

A new lawyer in a federal securities fraud case against Shkreli told reporters outside court on Wednesday that his client would stop speaking out in his own defense until the charges are resolved.

"We want to try this case in the courtroom and not in the media," defense attorney Benjamin Brafman said with a silent Shkreli at his side following a pretrial hearing in Brooklyn.

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, left, and his new lawyer Benjamin Brafman arrive at court in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Shkreli, who has become the poster child of pharmaceutical-industry greed after hiking the price of an anti-infection drug by more than 5,000 percent, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Shkreli, 32, gained notoriety last year after a drug company he founded, Turing Pharmaceuticals, spent $55 million for the U.S. rights to sell a life-saving medicine called Daraprim and promptly raised the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill.

The spotlight intensified last year when he was arrested on charges related to a hedge fund he once ran. Prosecutors allege that after he lost investors' money through bad trades, he looted Retrophin, another pharmaceutical company where he was CEO, for $11 million to pay back his disgruntled clients.

Since the arrest, Shkeli has frequently turned to social media and news outlets to lash out at his accusers. In an interview on Fox Business Network this week about his expected appearance before a congressional committee investigating the price of drugs, he said he'd like to "berate" and "insult" Congress  but instead will take the Fifth Amendment.

On Wednesday, a prosecutor told the judge that the value of a brokerage account used to secure Shkreli's release on $5 million bond  mostly invested in a biotech business once operated by Shkreli  had declined and that more collateral may be needed if it goes down any further. Brafman said it wasn't surprising the account took a hit.

"There's nothing like an indictment to affect shares of stock," he said.

Shkreli's other assets most notably include the only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album titled "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," which the hip-hop group sold on the condition that it not be released publicly. He said he paid $2 million for it.

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, center, listens as his lawyer Benjamin Brafman, left, speaks to reporters as they leave court in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Shkreli, who has become the poster child of pharmaceutical-industry greed after hiking the price of an anti-infection drug by more than 5,000 percent, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli leaves court in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Shkreli, who has become the poster child of pharmaceutical-industry greed after hiking the price of an anti-infection drug by more than 5,000 percent, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli arrives at court in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Shkreli, who has become the poster child of pharmaceutical-industry greed after hiking the price of an anti-infection drug by more than 5,000 percent, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, center, listens as his lawyer Benjamin Brafman, left, speaks to reporters as they leave court in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Shkreli, who has become the poster child of pharmaceutical-industry greed after hiking the price of an anti-infection drug by more than 5,000 percent, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Latest: House panel seeks documents on Flint water crisis

DETROIT (AP)  The latest on developments in the lead contamination of Flint's water (all times local):

6 p.m.

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking state and federal environmental officials for information and documents related to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Keith Creagh, director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan and Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey sent letters to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Wednesday seeking information on Flint. Upton chairs the energy panel while Pallone is the senior Democrat.

The lawmakers are asking a series of questions, including details on how the two agencies are responding to the crisis and whether it is possible to coat lead pipes in Flint to reduce lead in the drinking water to safe levels and how long that would take if so.

The letters seek answers by Feb. 17.

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5 p.m.

Michigan retailer Meijer Inc. says it's donating $500,000 to three Flint nonprofits involved in relief efforts related to the crisis caused by lead in the city's drinking water.

The Grand Rapids-based company announced Wednesday it's contributing $250,000 to the Flint Child Health and Development Fund. The fund involves several philanthropic and health organizations. Meijer is also giving $125,000 to the United Way of Genesee County's Flint Water Fund and $125,000 to the American Red Cross.

Meijer also has been coordinating the donation of numerous truckloads of bottled water to the city.

Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water after Flint switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money. Testing has since showed high lead levels in some children.

___

12:40 p.m.

A lawyer for Flint's former emergency manager says there's no reason for federal marshals to "hunt" for Darnell Earley.

Earley didn't attend a U.S. House hearing Wednesday on lead contamination in Flint's water supply. He was the city's state-appointed manager when Flint stopped using water from Detroit and switched to the Flint River while a regional pipeline was being built to Lake Huron.

U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz urged marshals to "hunt him down" with a subpoena. Earley's attorney, A. Scott Bolden, says it was "physically impossible" for him to appear at the hearing.

Bolden says he informed the committee that Earley would be willing to appear on another date, although Earley might invoke his right to remain silent.

Bolden says Earley "is in the eye of the storm."

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12:05 p.m.

The acting chief of the Environmental Protection Agency's water office has told Congress that the crisis in Flint caused by lead in drinking water was "avoidable" and that state officials resisted calls to deal with it.

Joel Beauvais said Wednesday that EPA's regional staff urged Michigan officials "to address the lack of corrosion control" but that state officials delayed responding. He was testifying at the first hearing on Capitol Hill since the lead contamination crisis made national news last year.

The crisis has taken on partisan overtones. Democrats blame the Republican governor and some Republicans have targeted the EPA for failing to intervene sooner.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Keith Creagh (KRAY) says the EPA didn't act with enough urgency.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence says all government failed Flint in providing a basic need.

___

11:45 a.m.

Michigan legislative leaders are open to spending state funds to help pay the water bills of Flint residents, though a top Democrat says the amount should double to $60 million.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has proposed $30 million in funding to give residents a credit for the portion of their water-and-sewer bill that is for drinking, cooking and bathing water dating back to 2014.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said Wednesday that "there's a good argument to be made" for the money because government failed residents.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich of Flint says Michigan should fully cover water bills instead of a portion. He says it's another example of the Snyder "looking at this from an overly technical view as opposed to a human view."

The Republican-led Legislature would have to approve the water bill plan, which will be part of Snyder's 2016-17 budget proposal. The state has allocated nearly $39 million in the current budget year to address Flint's crisis.

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3:20 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is proposing $30 million in state funding to help pay the water bills of Flint residents facing an emergency over the city's lead-contaminated water supply.

Snyder will brief city officials and pastors in Flint about the proposal Wednesday and outline it to lawmakers in his annual budget proposal next week, according to a statement his office provided to The Associated Press.

The money would cover the portion of residential customers' utility bills for water used for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing hands.

Snyder says Flint residents "will not have to pay for water they cannot drink."

The Republican-led Legislature would have to approve the plan. The state has allocated nearly $39 million in the current budget year to address Flint's crisis.

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3:15 a.m.

The top environmental regulator in Michigan says the state should have required the city of Flint to treat its water for corrosion after elevated lead levels were first discovered in the city's water a year ago.

The director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Keith Creagh, calls the city's failure to act in January 2015 a mistake.

But he says state officials were not the only ones who made mistakes in Flint.

Creagh says city officials did not follow proper protocol in conducting lead sampling of homes, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "did not display the sense of urgency that the situation demanded."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Creagh's testimony in advance of Wednesday's hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

CORRECTS DAY TO WEDNESDAY - A bottle of "water from Flint" sits in front of Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Flint, Mich, residents Tim Robbins, second from left, Jessica Owens, second from right, and others, wait in line to get into the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Michigan should have required the city of Flint to treat its water for corrosion-causing elements after elevated lead levels were first discovered in the city's water a year ago, the state's top environmental regulator says in testimony prepared for congressional hearing. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
In Colorado, fears about InBev's entry into craft beer

DENVER (AP)  In a former bakery south of downtown Denver, Matthew Fuerst makes beer flavored with ingredients like Hatch green chiles that he chops by hand. He saves money on heating bills by pushing up space heaters against his fermenting tanks and covering the tops with blankets. He's invited homebrewers who want to break into the industry to use his expensive brewing system to try making larger batches.

Fuerst is one of many transplants lured to Colorado by the state's reputation as a place where beer drinkers spend hours on breweries' sunny patios trying every imaginable twist on beer, often with dogs and kids in tow, a state whose governor is a former craft beer magnate who had an array of taps installed at the governor's mansion. But Fuerst fears that idyllic lifestyle is in danger now that the world's largest beer maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has staked a claim to Colorado's craft beer paradise.

Fuerst worries InBev could use its distribution leverage and buying power to squeeze other craft beers out of liquor store shelves, discount its own craft beer line and buy up raw materials after its purchase last month of Breckenridge Brewery, which was part of the first wave of craft breweries to open in Colorado in the 1990s.

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, empty bottles head down the line to be washed in the factory of Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. The entry of Anheuser-Busch InBev into Colorado's booming craft beer industry has some independent brewers concerned that they may be squeezed out of the market.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The purchase sent tremors through Colorado's thriving community of homebrewers and beer purists, who join beer lovers around the country dreading increasing corporate consolidation in the industry. "I think all of us know that if they could put us out of business they would and the actions that they're taking right now are a threat to us," said Fuerst, whose brewery is called Grandma's House.

Terms of the Breckenridge deal weren't released. It follows InBev's acquisition of craft brewers Goose Island in Chicago and 10 Barrel Brewing Co. in Oregon in recent years and comes as the maker of Budweiser is trying to become even bigger by buying the world's second-largest beer maker, SABMiller, to create a company that would make nearly 30 percent of the world's beer.

The makers of Corona and Heineken as well as equity firms have also been acquiring and investing in craft beer, the only part of the United States beer market that's still growing. Craft beer has captured more than 10 percent of beer sales in recent years and, according to the Brewers Association trade group, the country now has over 4,100 breweries, the highest number since 1873. More than two breweries open every day across the country.

InBev says it's not trying to push any brewers out of business and frames the real battle as between beer and the growing wine and liquor market.

"Everyone that's putting great beers out there and has a story to tell is going to thrive," said Felipe Szpigel, president of The High End, InBev's craft beer line.

Eric Wallace, the co-founder of Left Hand Brewing, which, like Breckenridge, has spread far beyond Colorado since it opened 22 years ago, said he can't understand how a brewery that worked to bring back flavorful beer to the "scorched earth" left behind by mega brewers can turn around and join one.

"The fact that beer was being dumbed down over time, over decades is the reason that craft brewing was created and was born," he said.

There are also rumors that another of Colorado's original craft brewers, employee-owned New Belgium, could also be looking for a buyer. In a statement, founder Kim Jordan said its board "has an obligation to have on-going dialogue with capital markets" and that there is no pending deal.

Sitting in the tasting room of Breckenridge's new $36 million riverside brewery complex in Denver, which includes a farmhouse-style restaurant and a large patio where customers sometimes arrive by inner tube or bike, Breckenridge president Todd Usry said he once shared worries about corporate craft brewing. But InBev has assuaged them.

"I found out they wanted to participate in craft, not take craft over," Usry said.

The reaction from beer drinkers has been mixed.

Andy Romero, 36, of Denver, who traveled across town recently to pick up some more of Renegade Brewing Company's limited supply of imperial milk stout made with peanut butter cups in refillable glass containers, said he likes to support mom-and-pop operations but he's not too worried about the Breckenridge sale.

"As long as the beer is good, I'm fine with it," Romero said.

But Michelle Massure, 31, a former Colorado resident who likes to visit her favorite breweries on visits from Houston, was horrified at the thought of a big brewer ever taking over the Strange Craft Beer Company, where she enjoyed a tulip glass of a cherry wheat ale that she said tasted just like cherry pie filling. Ten small sampler glasses of beer were lined up between her and some friends on a wooden table at the tiny brewery tucked into an industrial strip mall next to Interstate 25.

"I don't want the big guy to have everything," she said.

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, bottles of beer head to be filled on line in the factory of Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. Independent brewers in Colorado's booming craft beer industry are concerned that their profits will drop off with the arrival of Anheuser-Busch INBev into the market. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, a row of hop dousing vessels stand in a line in the factory of Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. Independent brewers are concerned that their profits will drop with the arrival of industry heavyweight Anheuser-Busch InBev into the Colorado craft brewing market. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, empty bottles head tot he wash rack in the factory of Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. Independent brewers in Colorado's booming craft beer industry are concerned that they may be squeezed out of future profits with the arrival of industry heavyweight Anheuser-Busch InBev into the market. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, bottles of beer line a shelf in the factory of Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colo. The entry of Anheuser-Busch InBev into Colorado's craft brewing paradise has some independent brewers concerned that they will be squeezed out of the booming industry. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, photograph, Todd Usury, chief of Breckenridge Brewery, is shown on the floor of the company's factory in Littleton, Colo. The entry of Anheuser-Busch InBev into Colorado's craft beer paradise has some brewers worried that the world's biggest brewer could squeeze independent makers out of the booming industry. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Rebel shelling destroys museum in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Shelling by Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels in the heavily contested western city of Taiz struck a museum housing rare manuscripts and the possessions of a deceased ruler, activists said Wednesday.

Activist Reham al-Badr, who inspected the National Museum in Taiz, told The Associated Press that Shiite rebels have routinely shelled the district where it is located, which is defended by local fighters.

She said the museum was struck Sunday.

ADDING PICTURE TAKEN TUESDAY, JAN. 2, 2016. In this picture taken Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2016, a man examines damage at the National Museum in the war-torn city of Taiz, Yemen. The museum is located in an area under control of the local fighters backing the country's internationally-recognized government and they have been under heavy shelling by Shiite Houthi rebels trying to take control over the city. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

The interior walls of the building were torched black and the museum was filled with rubble and twisted metal.

Al-Badr, who visited the museum earlier Wednesday, said it housed a collection of watches, guns, swords, gifts from foreign visitors and manuscripts belonging to Imam Ahmed, who ruled until the 1960s.

Houthi spokesmen declined to comment.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014, when the rebels allied with troops loyal to a former president and captured large swaths of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, lies along a main route from the port city of Aden, held by a loose array of forces allied with the internationally recognized government, to Sanaa.

Residents and aid groups say the Houthis have been indiscriminately shelling Taiz and blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid.

A Saudi-led coalition launched an air campaign against the rebels in March 2015. Since then, more than 5,800 people have been killed. More than 80 percent of Yemenis are in dire need of food, water and other aid, according to the United Nations.

Several historic monuments across Yemen have suffered damage since the start of the conflict, according to the U.N. The Ottoman-era al-Owrdhi historical compound, outside the walls of Sanaa's old city, was severely damaged last June.

ADDING PICTURE TAKEN TUESDAY, JAN. 2, 2016. In this picture taken Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2016, a man examines the damage at the National Museum in the war-torn city of Taiz, Yemen. The museum is located in an area under control of the local fighters backing the country's internationally-recognized government and they have been under heavy shelling by Shiite Houthi rebels trying to take control over the city. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

ADDING PICTURE TAKEN TUESDAY, JAN. 2, 2016 . In this picture taken Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2016, men examine the damage at the National Museum in the war-torn city of Taiz, Yemen. The museum is located in an area under control of the local fighters backing the country's internationally-recognized government and they have been under heavy shelling by Shiite Houthi rebels trying to take control over the city. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

In this picture taken Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, damage is seen at the National Museum in the war-torn city of Taiz, Yemen. The museum is located in an area under control of the local fighters backing the country's internationally-recognized government and they have been under heavy shelling by Shiite Houthi rebels trying to take control over the city. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Investigation into Brazil's Speaker of the House annulled

SAO PAULO (AP)  The ethics committee of the lower house of Brazil's legislature has been ordered to annul its decision to investigate Speaker of the House Eduardo Cunha for lying about having Swiss bank accounts.

The vice president of the Chamber of Deputies Waldir Maranhao, a Cunha ally, ordered the annulment on Tuesday and said the process has to be re-discussed.

As a result, the ethics committee must now schedule a new meeting for a yet to be determined date, to restart the process against Cunha.

On Dec. 15, the ethics committee voted 11-9 to begin hearings on whether to strip Cunha of his seat and his political rights for lying to a congressional hearing on corruption, saying he had no bank accounts overseas.

Swiss prosecutors later located accounts held by Cunha.

Two week earlier, Cunha started impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff over allegations that she violated budget laws to increase spending during her re-election campaign.
Central Europe guardedly welcomes US military spending boost

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Countries in Central and Eastern Europe are welcoming a U.S. plan to quadruple military spending in Europe in reaction to Russia's military resurgence, yet the tone from several governments appears guarded as it remains unclear how much of the spending will translate into a real and lasting presence of troops and weapons on NATO's nervous eastern flank.

Poland's Foreign Ministry, for instance, said Wednesday that it welcomes the U.S. plan but considers it only one element in improving the region's security. It said it also hopes the initiative will be "supplemented" at a NATO summit in Warsaw this July "with other specific and credible elements of military presence, fully adequate to the current threats in the security environment."

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Tuesday that the Obama administration plans to increase spending in 2017 to $3.4 billion from $789 million for what the Pentagon calls its European Reassurance Initiative, which was announced in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine.

FILE - In this June 18, 2015,file photo flags wave in front of soldiers who take positions with their army vehicles during the NATO Noble Jump exercise on a training range near Swietoszow Zagan, Poland. Poland said Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016 it welcomes a U.S. plan to quadruple military spending in Europe in reaction to Russias military resurgence, yet the tone from several governments appears guarded as it remains unclear how much of the spending will translate into a real and lasting presence of troops and weapons on NATOs nervous eastern flank. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

"The U.S. initiative still seems to fall short of the expectations of Poland and the three Baltic states for a permanent presence of U.S. combat units on their soil," said Lukasz Kulesa, research director at the European Leadership Network, a London-based think tank focused on international relations and security. "The Americans talks about weapon pre-positioning and a 'persistent' rotational presence, not 'bases.'"

That, Kulesa said, leaves many leaders struggling with this question: "Should we just accept this package and be happy, or should we still try to get more defense commitments from the U.S. and other NATO countries at the Warsaw Summit in July?"

He said the region also worries about whether the U.S. spending pledge, which is only for 2017, can be sustained.

Poland and the Baltic states  the NATO members that feel most nervous about Russia  want their allies to create permanent bases on their territory. But so far, the alliance's main response to the new challenges presented by Moscow has been to cycle forces in and out of the area, hold more exercises, preposition additional weaponry and supplies and create a new, highly nimble force to come to the aid of allies in trouble.

One of the few concrete details so far on where the money could go came from the Netherlands  much further to the west. About the same time that Carter was making the announcement in Washington, the Netherlands Defense Ministry was announcing an agreement in principle for stockpiling some U.S. equipment at Eygelshoven, a hamlet in the southern province of Limburg where the existing military depot had been slated to close.

Still, Estonian Defense Minister Hannes Hanso welcomed the U.S. announcement as a "solid response" to Russia's recent behavior and said he thinks it "demonstrates the shift in the thinking of the U.S. and NATO."

"When you look at Russia's troop movements, the exercises, snap exercises, and the aims of those exercises and the very unpredictability of Russia's behavior, then it is quite clear that this behavior needs a response," Hanso said.

Bruno Lete, senior program officer at the German Marshall Fund think tank in Brussels, said he is struck by the fact that the U.S. plan was unveiled just two weeks after Russia announced the creation of three new military divisions on Russia's western borders and five new strategic nuclear missile regiments.

"So while Russia is pushing westwards, the U.S. plan seems to meet a call from Central European nations to push Europe's first defense line eastwards," Lete said. "But it is a tactical necessity. NATO must close the military posture gap in the region because today Russia has a clear escalation advantage."

So far there has been no Russian reaction to the planned spending boost, though in the past two years the Kremlin has fiercely criticized the NATO activities on its doorstep as a threat to its security and a proof of hostile intentions of Washington and its allies.

Marcin Zaborowski, vice president of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), said any lack of enthusiasm across Central and Eastern Europe following Tuesday's announcement is because officials are still processing what the spending increase will mean for their nations specifically. And, he said, there are indications that many of the funds could go to improving existing U.S. infrastructure in Western Europe rather than to putting weapons and forces closer to Russia.

"The reception either way will be positive but we need to see if Central and Eastern Europe will benefit directly," said Zaborowski, director of the Warsaw office of CEPA, a U.S. research institute. "Indirectly it will. Directly, we are not so sure."

It's not clear if past disappointment at U.S. commitments that have wavered might also be tempering enthusiasm. The Czechs and Poles were sorely disappointed when Obama scrapped a Bush-era plan for a missile system that would have put installations in their country.

The Czech Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it "is not a country where this prepositioning is being considered."

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto of Hungary, which has relatively friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said his country has not received any official request for the stationing of NATO troops or American military equipment.

___

Associated Press writers John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels; Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania; Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary; Karel Janicek in Prague; Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland; Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania; and Vitnija Saldava in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this March 21, 2015 file photo U.S. troops from 5th Battalion of the 7th Air Defense Regiment are seen at a test range in Sochaczew, Poland. Poland said Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016 it welcomes a U.S. plan to quadruple military spending in Europe in reaction to Russias military resurgence, yet the tone from several governments appears guarded as it remains unclear how much of the spending will translate into a real and lasting presence of troops and weapons on NATOs nervous eastern flank. . (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

FILE - In this June 17, 2015 file photo an air-cushion vehicle goes toward the beach as NATO troops participate in the NATO sea exercises BALTOPS 2015 that are to reassure the Baltic Sea region allies in the face of a resurgent Russia, in Ustka, Poland. Poland said Wednesday Feb. 3, 2016 it welcomes a U.S. plan to quadruple military spending in Europe in reaction to Russias military resurgence, yet the tone from several governments appears guarded as it remains unclear how much of the spending will translate into a real and lasting presence of troops and weapons on NATOs nervous eastern flank. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski,file)
Investigators are scrambling to recapture a Los Angeles County murder suspect accidentally released from jail on Saturday.

Authorities have been notifying potential targets of 37-year-old Steven Lawrence Wright's freedom, interviewing those who know him best and chasing down tips from the public.

Finding him is the No. 1 priority of the Major Crimes Division at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Cmdr. Keith Swensson said on Wednesday.

Investigators are scrambling to recapture Los Angeles murder suspect Steve Lawrence Wright (left and right), 37, who was accidentally released from jail on Saturday. However, deputies did not realize the mistake until more than 24 hours later on Sunday night, when they launched their manhunt

'This is a critical incident because an accused murderer is now out on the street,' Swensson said, adding that dozens of investigators are focused on tracking down Wright.

Wright was accidentally released from the Inmate Reception Center on Saturday afternoon.

However, deputies did not realize the mistake until more than 24 hours later on Sunday night, when they launched their manhunt.

Wright had been behind bars since April 2011 following his arrest in the shooting death of a 47-year-old man that year in Pasadena, California.

At the time, police said Wright belonged to the Altadena Blocc Crips, and that the victim belonged to a rival gang.

Wright had been found guilty of the killing in 2014 but his conviction was overturned last year after a judge found the trial was not fair.

Wright was accidentally released due to paperwork error from the Inmate Reception Center (pictured) on Saturday afternoon

He was set for a preliminary hearing in a new murder trial next month, when he also was set to be sentenced for an attempted murder conviction.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Wright's capture.

'Eventually we're going to catch him. We just want to catch him before something happens,' said Sgt. Tim Duerr, a longtime investigator in the Major Crimes Bureau tasked with finding Wright.

Duerr said investigators were able to confirm sightings of Wright in the Los Angeles area since his release but not in time to nab him.

Investigators also have talked to Wright's family members, who have said all he wants to do is be with his loved ones, Duerr said.

'That's what we hope,' he said. 'Obviously we're going to take everything at face value.'

Wright was released because of a paperwork error.

He was in court last week after being called to testify in a murder trial but charged with contempt of court and sentenced to five days in jail when he refused to cooperate.

Wright was arrested by Pasadena Police Department on April 7, 2011. He was in custody pending trial for a gang-related murder that occurred in Pasadena on January 19, 2011 - but he is now on the run

A court clerk incorrectly wrote down the case number of Wright's murder charge next to details of his sentence, when it should have been the contempt charge, Swensson said.

The clerk did write the correct information on the second page of Wright's paperwork, but three sheriff's staff members missed it, he said.

The sheriff's department is conducting a review to prevent future accidental releases.

Accidental releases at the department declined from 21 in 2014 to six last year, a 71 per cent drop, Swensson said.

Wright's attorney, Stacie Halpern, described her client as intelligent and respectful, and she said she doesn't think he will hurt anyone while he is free.

'He doesn't come off as a stupid gang-banging idiot,' she said. 'He's older, he's mature. He's not a typical low-level thinker.'

As for his accidental release, Halpern said she is still stunned.
Witness: Prosecutor misled her about 'Serial' podcast case

BALTIMORE (AP)  An alibi witness for a convicted murderer profiled in the public radio podcast "Serial" testified Wednesday that a former Baltimore prosecutor misled her about the importance of her testimony and that he later gave a deceptive account of their conversation when he testified about it during a hearing.

Asia McClain, now known as Asia Chapman, testified Wednesday during a hearing for Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murder and is seeking a new trial in a case that was spotlighted by the popular podcast.

Chapman has said she saw Syed in a library within the time when prosecutors contend he was killing his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. But McClain was never contacted by Syed's attorney to testify at his trial.

Adnan Syed enters Courthouse East in Baltimore prior to a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016 in Baltimore. The hearing, scheduled to last three days before Baltimore Circuit Judge Martin Welch, is meant to determine whether Syed's conviction will be overturned and case retried. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun via AP) WASHINGTON EXAMINER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Chapman told the court that years after Syed was convicted, Syed's defense attorney, who was working on an appeal, visited her at her home and left a business card. She called then-prosecutor Kevin Urick because she figured he'd be less biased than the defense attorney.

During their 34-minute phone conversation, Chapman said she took detailed notes and Urick told her that Syed "killed that girl."

"I walked away feeling like (the defense) was trying to manipulate the court to get him in front of a judge," Chapman testified, adding that Urick convinced her that Syed "was 100 percent guilty, and it was a waste of my time to get involved."

But she says Urick later testified at Syed's first post-conviction hearing that his phone call with her lasted only five minutes, and said that she'd told him that her affidavit was false.

"He said I told him everything I said in the affidavit was not true, that I wrote the affidavit because I was pressured," Chapman said of Urick's testimony. "All of this was news to me. I was in shock. I was angry that I had allowed my thoughts and opinions to be represented by a third party."

After learning of Urick's testimony Chapman said she requested her phone records and verified that her conversation with Urick lasted 34 minutes.

Chapman also said she would have come to court to testify even if she hadn't been subpoenaed.

"I felt it was the right thing to do," she said. "For justice to be served all information has to be on the table."

A message left at Urick's office was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Syed's attorney Justin Brown told Judge Martin Welch that previous defense attorney Cristina Gutierrez made a mistake in failing to call the alibi witness. But Maryland Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah said there were reasons to think the witness might be unreliable.

Vignarajah argued that Gutierrez was a dedicated and effective attorney, and that Syed was convicted not because his lawyer was incompetent, "but because he did it." Vignarajah added that Gutierrez made a decision not to pursue McClain as a witness.

"There were all sorts of reasons that this was not a reliable witness, and perhaps a risky witness," Vignarajah said.

But Brown linked the decision to personal problems that were plaguing Gutierrez, who was later disbarred in connection with other cases.

"At the time of the Syed case (Gutierrez) was unable to handle her cases," he said. "Her health was failing, her family was in turmoil. What was happening at her business, it was becoming unwound. As a result of the wheels coming off the bus, the single most important piece of evidence, an alibi witness, slipped through the cracks."

Syed was present in court, dressed in light blue prison garb, wearing a long beard and a knit cap. His hands were shackled. Spectators filled a row reserved for the public, including friends, supporters and members of Syed's family.

The case had been closed for years when producer Sarah Koenig, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, began examining it in the podcast in 2014, drawing millions of listeners each week.

The podcast raised questions about the fairness of Syed's trial, gained a cult following and uncovered evidence that helped prompt a Maryland appeals court to grant a hearing on the possibility of a new trial.

Syed's motion for a new trial also involves cell tower data that defense attorneys argue is inaccurate.

The state, too, will have a chance to call witnesses.

A motion filed Tuesday shows that prosecutors intend to call Urick and other members of the prosecution team. An FBI agent who specializes in cell tower data is also on the state's potential witness list, as is an expert in criminal defense practices.

At a news conference Wednesday, Vignarajah read aloud a statement from Lee's family, which has shied away from commenting on the case.

"We believe justice was done when Adnan was convicted in 2000, and we look forward to bringing this chapter to an end so we can celebrate the memory of Hae instead of celebrating the man who killed her," it read.
City's water woes reach US Congress, and it's a blame game

WASHINGTON (AP)  Government officials fought on Wednesday over who was to blame for the water crisis in the city of Flint, Michigan, at a combative congressional hearing that also pitted Democrats against Republicans.

Joel Beauvais, acting water chief for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Michigan officials ignored federal advice to treat Flint water for corrosion-causing elements last year and delayed for months before telling the public in the city about 100 kilometers northwest of Detroit about the health risks of lead-contaminated water.

"What happened in Flint was avoidable and never should have happened," Beauvais said.

Flint, Mich. resident Glaydes Williamson holds up water from Flint and hair pulled from her drain, during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Michigan should have required the city of Flint to treat its water for corrosion-causing elements after elevated lead levels were first discovered in the city's water a year ago, the state's top environmental regulator says in testimony prepared for congressional hearing. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

EPA's Midwest regional office urged Michigan's environmental agency to address the lack of corrosion control in Flint's water, "but was met with resistance," Beauvais told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "The delays in implementing the actions needed to treat the drinking water and in informing the public of ongoing health risks raise very serious concerns."

Countering the Obama administration official, Keith Creagh, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, acknowledged that the state should have required Flint to treat its water, but said the EPA "did not display the sense of urgency that the situation demanded," allowing the problem to fester for months.

Creagh apologized for the state's role in the water crisis, but said, "in retrospect, government at all levels should have done more."

The hearing was the first on Capitol Hill since the lead contamination crisis in Flint made national news last year, and frustrated Democrats complained that the Republican-led committee didn't ask the state's Republican governor to explain what happened.

Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time.

Water was not properly treated to keep lead from pipes from leaching into the supply. Some children's blood has tested positive for lead, a potent neurotoxin linked to learning disabilities, lower IQ and behavioral problems.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has apologized repeatedly for the state's role in the crisis. Snyder and state legislators have enacted $37 million in emergency Flint funding for the current fiscal year. Snyder is expected to propose an additional $30 million in state funding to help Flint residents pay their water bills.

The crisis has taken on partisan overtones, as Democrats blame the Republican governor and some Republicans target the EPA for failing to intervene sooner.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the oversight panel, said EPA should have acted on its own to warn the public about water problems in Flint.

"Why didn't EPA tell the public they're poisoning their kids if they drink the water?" he asked Beauvais, adding that EPA knew about potential health risks for nearly a year before making the results public.

"What good are EPA if they don't tell kids" about lead in the water, Chaffetz shouted.

Democrats were equally adamant that the state was to blame.

"Can anybody tell me why Gov. Snyder is not here today?" asked Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat, "Because he's hiding, that's why," Cartwight added, answering his own question.

Chaffetz did not call Snyder to testify.

___

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this story.

___

Follow Matthew Daly: http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Keith Creagh, director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

CORRECTS DAY TO WEDNESDAY - Witnesses, from left, Joel Beauvais, acting deputy assistant administrator, Office of Water, EPA; Keith Creagh, director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan; Marc Edwards, Virginia Tech professor, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering: and Flint, Mich. resident LeeAnne Walters, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, prior to testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

CORRECTS DAY TO WEDNESDAY - Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

CORRECTS DAY TO WEDNESDAY - Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Flint, Mich. resident LeeAnne Walters testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

CORRECTS DAY TO WEDNESDAY - Witnesses, from left, Joel Beauvais, acting deputy assistant administrator, Office of Water, EPA; Keith Creagh, director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan; Marc Edwards, Virginia Tech professor, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering: and Flint, Mich. resident LeeAnne Walters, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, prior to testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the ongoing situation in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Boston mobster's longtime love pleads guilty to contempt

BOSTON (AP)  The woman who spent 16 years on the run with Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger pleaded guilty Wednesday to a criminal contempt charge for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating whether other people helped him as a fugitive.

Catherine Greig, 64, entered her plea in U.S. District Court in Boston without having any agreement or sentencing recommendation from prosecutors. Greig is already serving an eight-year prison term for helping Bulger while he was on the lam.

Greig did not flinch when Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV told her that because there is no maximum penalty for the contempt charge, he could sentence her to any term, including up to life in prison.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Catherine Greig, longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, who was captured with Bulger in 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif. Greig already is serving an eight-year prison term for helping Bulger avoid capture. She is expected to plead guilty in federal court in Boston Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, to a criminal contempt charge for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating whether other people helped Bulger during his 16 years on the run. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)

When prosecutor Mary Murrane told Saylor that Greig had refused to testify despite a judge's order and grant of immunity, Greig made a point of noting that she had not asked for immunity.

After the hearing, Greig's lawyer, Keven Reddington, said she did not invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, but instead refused to testify at all before the grand jury.

"Yeah, she loved him and still does," Reddington said.

Bulger fled Boston in late 1994 just before he was indicted and remained a fugitive until 2011, when he and Greig were found living together in a rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica, California.

Murrane told the judge that Greig was called before a grand jury in October 2014, but refused to answer questions about whether any third parties provided assistance to her or Bulger. The following month, Judge Denise Casper entered an order compelling her to testify and granting her immunity.

Greig continued to refuse to testify. In September, she was indicted on the criminal contempt charge.

Greig has already had nine months added to her sentence on a civil contempt charge. She could face additional prison time on the criminal contempt charge. She will be sentenced April 28.
Emergency landings after explosions, structural damage

A pilot who made an emergency landing in Somalia's capital after an explosion blew a hole through a jetliner says things would have been much worse had the blast occurred at a higher altitude. That's because it could have led to explosive decompression on the Daallo Airlines-operated plane, which might have caused more severe structural damage and would have forced a faster descent because of limited supplies of oxygen to the passengers. The pilot said the explosion Tuesday was believed to have been caused by a bomb, but investigators have reached no conclusions. One man was missing but the other 73 passengers got off safely after the Airbus 321 landed.

Here's a look at other airliners that have made emergency landings after suffering explosions or severe structural damage midair.

April 1, 2011  Southwest flight 812, headed from Phoenix to Sacramento, made an emergency landing at a military base in Yuma, Arizona, after an explosion opened a 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) hole in the roof and depressurized the passenger cabin. No serious injuries were reported among the 118 people on board. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded the hole was caused by flaws in riveting work when the 15-year-old Boeing 737 was built.

FILE - In this April 28, 1988 file photo, copilot Mimi Tompkins helps a man slide down a chute of a severely damaged Aloha Airlines 737 jet shortly after arrival in Kahului, Hawaii. A large section of the 19-year-old jetliner on an inter-island hop was torn off over Hawaii. Although the pilots were able to land on the island of Maui, a flight attendant died and at least 61 of the 95 people on board were injured after the plane lost 18 feet (5 meters) of its upper fuselage. Investigators blamed metal fatigue. (AP Photo/Robert Nichols, File)

July 13, 2009  A hole more than a foot (30 centimeters) long opened up in-flight in the fuselage of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 heading from Nashville to Baltimore, depressurizing the cabin. The plane made an emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia. No injuries were reported among the 131 on board, and it was later determined that the hole was caused by metal fatigue.

July 25, 2008  A Qantas Boeing 747 en route to Melbourne, Australia, from London was shaken by what passengers described as an explosion after a stopover in Hong Kong. The plane made an emergency landing at the Manila airport in the Philippines with a 9-foot (3-meter) hole in its fuselage. There were no injuries among the 346 passengers, or the crew. Investigators concluded that a unique oxygen bottle explosion caused the hole.

Dec. 11, 1994  A bomb blew a 2-foot (60-centimeter) hole in the floor leading to the cargo hold of a Philippine Airlines jetliner with 293 people aboard, but the pilot was able to make an emergency landing at Naha airport on Okinawa, Japan. One passenger was killed and 10 others were injured. Ramzi Yousef, who was sentenced to life in prison for the Feb. 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, was convicted in the bombing.

Feb 24, 1989  Shortly after United Airlines flight 811 departed from Honolulu, bound for Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, the Boeing 747's cargo door blew off, sucking nine passengers to their deaths out of a 10-foot (3-meter) hole and knocking out two engines. The rest of the 336 passengers and 18 crew on board survived, as the pilots safely navigated the 25-minute return to Honolulu and made an emergency landing at the airport.

April 28, 1988  A large section of a 19-year-old Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 jetliner on an inter-island hop was torn off over Hawaii. Although the pilots were able to land on the island of Maui, a flight attendant died and at least 61 of the 95 people on board were injured after the plane lost 18 feet (5 meters) of its upper fuselage. Investigators blamed metal fatigue.

April 2, 1986  Terrorists planted a sheet of plastic explosive the size of a business letter under a seat on TWA flight 840, likely in Cairo before the plane flew to Athens, then Rome, then back to Athens. The resulting explosion just before the second landing in Athens ripped a hole in the side of the Boeing 727 that instantly blew one man and his seat out of the plane. A grandmother, her daughter and grandchild were also sucked out and seven other passengers were injured. The plane landed, and the rest of the 124 people on board survived.

Aug. 11, 1982: A terrorist placed a bomb beneath a seat cushion, set the timer and disembarked with his wife and child when Honolulu-bound Pan Am flight 830 made a stopover in Tokyo. The device exploded as the plane continued on, killing a Japanese teenager in a midair attack that investigators linked to a Palestinian bomb maker. Fifteen of the 285 people on board were injured, but the plane landed in Hawaii.
Ailing media mogul Sumner Redstone resigns as chair of CBS

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Sumner Redstone, the ailing 92-year-old media mogul who controls TV and movie powerhouses CBS and Viacom, has stepped down as executive chairman of CBS amid a courtroom battle over his health and mental capacity. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves will replace him as chairman.

Redstone's resignation, which took effect Tuesday, is the near-final step to winding down his control of the giant entertainment companies he created out his father's drive-in movie business starting in the 1950s.

In a wrinkle to succession plans, Redstone's daughter Shari said in a statement she had gone against her father's stated intention that she succeed him and instead nominated Moonves as a "leader with an independent voice" who is not "otherwise intertwined in Redstone family matters."

FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo, Sumner Redstone arrive at the premiere of "Footloose" in Los Angeles. CBS says media mogul Redstone has resigned as chair of the companys board, replaced by the companys CEO, Leslie Moonves. The company says Redstones resignation took effect Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, and he now serves as chairman emeritus. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

That preference suggests Viacom Inc.'s current CEO might not succeed Redstone as chairman at that company, whose board is meeting Thursday.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, once Redstone's trusted lawyer, holds authority to make medical decisions for Redstone if he is deemed incapacitated by his physician. Dauman is also a trustee in the trust that, upon Redstone's death, would control his near 80 percent of voting shares in both CBS and Viacom, a fortune worth around $4 billion. Shari Redstone, also a trustee, is vice chair of both companies.

Investors cheered the transition, sending CBS Corp. shares up 4.1 percent and Viacom shares up 10 percent in after-hours trading.

The stock jumps came despite the fact that Redstone had all but disappeared from active management and last took part in quarterly conference calls for both companies in November 2014.

"There's probably no meaningful change in day-to-day operations," said Laura Martin, an analyst with Needham & Co. "He's had plenty of time to make sure the transition after him has been smooth."

SpringOwl Asset Management, a New York-based investment adviser, on Wednesday urged Viacom to similarly replace Redstone, but with "an independent director as executive chairman and that it not be Philippe Dauman."

The move leaves Redstone chairman emeritus of CBS, the company said Wednesday. It did not give an update on his health. For now, Redstone remains executive chairman of Viacom.

Redstone has been at the center of a months-long court fight. His ex-girlfriend and longtime companion Manuela Herzer, who had been in control of Redstone's care, issued a court challenge over his decision-making capacity after she was expelled from his house in October.

Herzer contends that Redstone is unable to speak and cannot meaningfully engage in decision-making about his medical care or other subjects. She's challenged the validity of his increasingly illegible signature; Viacom regulatory filings last month omitted Redstone's signature for the first time since at least 2006, the first year the two companies operated separately.

Late last month, the judge in the case ordered Redstone to undergo a medical examination by Monday and instructed the doctor  hired by Herzer  to have the report prepared by Friday. A Redstone spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima at https://twitter.com/rnakashi . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/ryan-nakashima

FILE - In this May 13, 2015 file photo, CBS president Leslie Moonves attends the CBS Network 2015 Programming Upfront at The Tent at Lincoln Center in New York. CBS says media mogul Sumner Redstone has resigned as chair of the companys board, replaced by the companys CEO, Moonves. The company says Redstones resignation took effect Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, and he now serves as chairman emeritus. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Delta Air Lines CEO Anderson to retire, president takes over

NEW YORK (AP)  Richard Anderson, who oversaw Delta Air Lines' transformation into one of the world's most profitable airlines, will retire this May. His right-hand man, airline president Ed Bastian, will take over as CEO, the Atlanta-based airline said Wednesday.

Anderson started as CEO in 2007, just after Delta exited bankruptcy protection. The next year, Delta merged with Northwest Airlines, a deal often cited as a model for future airline mergers, some of which did not go as smoothly.

Northwest would be Anderson's biggest deal, but not his last. Delta also purchased a 49 percent ownership stake in Virgin Atlantic to gain much-needed access to London and bought an oil refinery, an unconventional move that gave the carrier more insight into the jet fuel market.

FILE - In this Friday, May 15, 2015, file photo, Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson speaks during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington. Anderson, who oversaw Delta Air Lines' transformation into one of the world's most profitable airlines, will retire in May 2016. His right-hand man, airline president Ed Bastian, will take over as CEO. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Anderson will retire on May 2, the day he turns 61. Bastian will be promoted on that date and Glen Hauenstein, the airline's executive vice president, will be appointed president. Chief Operating Officer Gil West will immediately be elevated from an executive vice president to a senior executive president.

While other airlines have been buying new, fuel-efficient jets at a hefty cost, Anderson has been seeking a mix of cheaper used models and smaller orders of new jets, when the price is right. He's been able to raise fares, getting passengers to pay a slight premium to fly Delta over other airlines. And in the past year, Delta has canceled fewer flights that the competition. He's managed to get workers to agree to more flexible work rules than at other airlines and successfully fought off an effort to unionize flight attendants.

Only 18 percent of Delta's full-time workforce is union  the pilots  compared to roughly 80 percent of the workforce at American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

In the past few years, Anderson has been an outspoken critic of a federal program that gives generous financing terms to foreign airlines buying U.S. jets and he's led a fight to get the federal government to slow the growth of Middle East airlines into the U.S. Leaders of the three biggest Middle Eastern carriers criticized Anderson for a remark that mentioned them in the same breath as the terrorists behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Anderson wasn't always an airline guy. He worked in the District Attorney's office in Houston from 1978 to 1987. He was then hired as an attorney at Continental Airlines in 1987. He moved to Northwest Airlines' legal department in 1990 and was CEO there from 2001 to 2004. He was an executive at UnitedHealth Group for three years until Delta named him CEO in 2007.

__

Follow Scott Mayerowitz at twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/scott-mayerowitz
Fewer women in Texas got long-acting birth control after Republican leaders booted Planned Parenthood from a state health program in 2013, a study has found.

Meanwhile the number of births covered by Medicaid rose from 529 to 570 in 18 months.

Researchers said the shift may explain an increase in births among poor families.

Republican lawmakers have slammed the findings, saying the study has leaped to conclusions.

But authors of the report published on Wednesday said there is no doubt Texas has failed to adequately fill the void left by Planned Parenthood.

Fewer women in Texas got long-acting birth control after Republican leaders booted Planned Parenthood from a state health program in 2013, a study has found. Pictured: a shuttered clinic in Houston, Texas

The same year Texas barred Planned Parenthood from state family planning services, then-Gov. Rick Perry signed abortion restrictions that shuttered clinics under a sweeping law that the U.S. Supreme Court will review next month.

No explicit connection is made in the study between the exclusion of Planned Parenthood clinics and fewer women obtaining long-lasting forms of contraception.

More women could have chosen to get pregnant or obtained birth control outside publicly funded programs. But researchers said their finding suggest a likely policy link.

A top Texas Republican lawmaker, state Sen. Jane Nelson, called the study misleading and said it didn't take into account all state programs for women. The state health commission said the number of clinics providing women's health services had doubled.

The report authors hit back.

'Whatever good efforts are being made, they weren't enough to offset the impact of suddenly removing Planned Parenthood,' said Joseph Potter, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the study authors.

The study, released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, was funded in part by the Susan T. Buffett Foundation, a major supporter of Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights groups. Potter said the foundation had no hand in the research and had not seen the study.

Researchers looked at the number of women who obtained birth control through state-funded family planning services in the two years before and after Planned Parenthood was removed from the Texas program. They found that claims for long-acting methods of birth control - which included contraceptive implants, intrauterine devices and contraceptive shots - dropped by roughly one-third.

No significant change was noted in women obtaining short-acting methods, such as birth control pills and contraceptive rings, which were the vast majority of claims.

Childbirths covered by Medicaid also increased among women who used contraceptive shots and lived in counties with Planned Parenthood affiliates, according to the study. There were 566 such births among such women within 18 months of receiving a shot after Planned Parenthood was excluded, compared to 529 before.

Texas lost all federal funding for its women's health program following the exclusion of Planned Parenthood, which is a qualified provider under federal law. The new Texas Women's Health Program is entirely state-funded and bars clinics affiliated with abortion providers.

Supporters gather outside as Sandra Merritt, a defendant in a recent indictment reversal stemming from a Planned Parenthood surreptitious video she helped produce, appears in court at in Houston, Texas, this week

Sandra Merritt (pictured) is charged with tampering with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The charge stems from her work on a series of undercover videos at Planned Parenthood

Bryan Black, a spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said the number of clinics offering women's health programs had doubled since 2014. Two of the five named authors on the report work at the state health agency.

'The truth is, funding for women's health is at an all-time high for Texas. We've substantially grown our provider network,' Nelson said.

For the study, researchers examined pharmacy and medical claims from state family planning services from 2011 to 2014. To be eligible for the Texas Women's Health Program, women must be 18-44 years old and have a household income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

Texas Republicans, like conservatives in Congress and other GOP-controlled states, have long opposed Planned Parenthood. Their anger toward the organization flared again last year after anti-abortion activists released undercover video of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the transfer of fetal tissue.

State leaders swiftly launched investigations into Planned Parenthood and Congress unsuccessfully tried stripping federal funding. None of the investigations turned up wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, and a Republican prosecutor in Houston last month announced that a grand jury had indicted the activists behind the videos.
University webcam spy case ruling expected in 3-4 months

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  A former Rutgers University student convicted of using a webcam to spy on a roommate who later killed himself likely will have to wait a few months to find out whether a state appeals will order his 30-day jail sentence invalidated or lengthened or will send him back for a new trial.

Dharun Ravi secretly broadcast online images of roommate Tyler Clementi in an intimate encounter with another man, and Clementi, a freshman in his first weeks at Rutgers, later jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death. Ravi, whose criminal trial prompted a national discussion about cyberbullying and homophobia on college campuses, was convicted of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other crimes.

A three-judge panel will consider whether a judge overstepped his authority in 2012 when he sentenced Ravi, who had faced up to 10 years in state prison, to county jail and whether a state Supreme Court ruling last year invalidates some or all of his 15-count conviction. A ruling is expected in three or four months.

Clementi's parents, who formed a foundation that addresses bullying and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, attended Wednesday's hearing in the Ravi case.

In the more than five years since their son's death, Jane Clementi wrote in an email, "the values of this country have evolved due to the good work and good intentions of many people and organizations. Americans ... are more sensitive today to the enduring harm that bullying can cause."

Ravi didn't attend the proceeding. His attorney, Steven Altman, didn't give details on his whereabouts but said he had a job and was getting along well even though he didn't return to college after leaving Rutgers.

"He's doing fine," Altman said. "He's dealing with it a lot better than a lot of people could."

A good chunk of Wednesday's arguments concerned a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated part of the state's bias intimidation statue. Altman argued that the four bias intimidation counts on which Ravi was convicted should be thrown out.

He also argued that some evidence used to convict Ravi on other charges, such as an email from Clementi to his dorm residential adviser asking to switch rooms, wouldn't have been allowed at the trial under the new law. He said it's customary for changes to state law to be applied retroactively.

Altman also appealed on the grounds that the trial judge failed to give attorneys a copy of his jury instructions and that Altman was restricted in his questioning of the man who was involved in the intimate encounter with Clementi.

Middlesex County assistant prosecutor Joie Piderit conceded that one of the four bias counts should be vacated but said three others should stand because they satisfied elements of the law that last year's high court ruling didn't disturb. She argued that evidence like the email that showed Clementi's state of mind were crucial to the invasion-of-privacy counts because those statements showed "he wasn't consenting" to being surreptitiously filmed.

Piderit faulted the state Superior Court judge for defending Ravi's sentence by saying he wasn't going to sentence him to a state prison "that houses people convicted of offenses such as murder, armed robbery and rape."
'Historic opportunity' to help Syrian refugees

International Development Secretary Justine Greening says the world has a "historic opportunity" to draw up a new deal to help Syrian refugees fleeing their country's brutal civil war.

Aid agencies are gathering in London ahead of a major international funding conference on Thursday hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway and the United Nations.

The UN is appealing for 7.7 billion US dollars (5.4bn) to fund aid operations for the millions of people displaced in Syria and the neighbouring countries over the coming year.

Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening speaks during International Syria NGO conference

It comes after last year's UN appeal for 2.9 billion US dollars (2bn) was 60% under-funded.

Addressing a Syrian civil society conference at the Royal Society in central London, Ms Greening said tomorrow's conference is "a critical moment for us to step up our efforts and help those affected by the Syria crisis".

She said that the UK has pledged more than 1bn in aid - its biggest ever humanitarian response to a crisis.

But she said more needs to be down and called for the international community to come together to scale up their aid effort.

Ms Greening said: "What we have done so far just isn't enough. So this conference can and must galvanise significant new funding from around the world to not just meet the immediate needs of people caught up in this crisis, but to meet the longer term needs as well.

"Tomorrow we have got to see an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis."

She said the time had come for "the world to step up" and that tomorrow's conference "is a historic opportunity to galvanise the funding".

She added: "I truly believe that tomorrow the world can offer an alternative vision of hope for the Syrian people."

US president Barack Obama spoke on Tuesday by phone to David Cameron, and told the Prime Minister that the US will soon announce "significant new contributions" to assist Syria's humanitarian crisis.

The White House said US Secretary of State John Kerry would announce the aid at the summit.

Both leaders are calling for better access for humanitarian aid to reach Syria.

A coalition of more than 90 aid agencies and humanitarian organisations - including Oxfam and Amnesty International - is pressing for governments to go further with a new, multi-year funding plan.

They also calling for measures to enable neighbouring countries - such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon - to allow refugees to work and to ensure they have access to essential services such as healthcare and children's education.

Former foreign secretary David Miliband, who now heads the International Rescue Committee, said: "Syrians are facing a war without law and a war without end.

"The latest harrowing scenes from the besieged town of Madaya and the rising pressure on neighbouring states need to spur political leaders to act.

"The relentless suffering of the Syrian people should be a global call to action for humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering and for political action to bring the war to an end."

The meeting comes as King Abdullah of Jordan - which has seen an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees - warned his country could no longer cope with the pressures of accepting so many people.

"Sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst," he warned in a BBC interview. "The psyche of the Jordanian people, I think it's gotten to boiling point."
'Dead' father 'innocent until proven guilty', says the new Lord Lucan

The only son of missing peer Lord Lucan has spoken for the need to move on now he has been granted a death certificate 42 years after his father vanished.

Lord George Bingham - now the 8th Earl of Lucan - applied for a declaration under the Presumption Of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he could inherit the title.

His father vanished after nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered at the family home in London on November 7 1974.

Lord George Bingham, the only son of missing peer Lord Lucan, arriving at the High Court in London

At London's High Court on Wednesday, Mrs Justice Asplin said that none of Lord Lucan's family members or closest friends had seen or heard from him, or had any reason to believe he was still alive.

Agreeing that the evidence all pointed in one direction, she said she was satisfied that the missing peer had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years.

Afterwards, Lord Bingham said: "My own personal view, and it was one I took as an eight-year-old boy, is that he has unfortunately been dead since that time.

"In the circumstances I would think it possible that he saw his life at an end, regardless of guilt or otherwise.

"Being dragged through the courts and the media would have destroyed his personal life, his career and the chances of getting the custody of his children back.

"And that may well have pushed a man to end his own life, but I have no idea."

He added that the title was his legal right and he would be adopting it immediately.

Expressing his sympathy with Ms Rivett's son, Neil Berriman, he said: "Our family has no idea how our own father, my father, met his own end and whether he did so at his own hand or the hand of others on that fateful evening. It is a mystery, and it may well remain that way forever.

"I would ask, with a very quiet voice, for everyone to consider a person did die here in terrible circumstances, and a family lost a father.

"We, none of us, know actually what happened, nor will we ever. And as a British person, I still prefer to consider a person innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

"Nonetheless I am very pleased with the result that we achieved today."

He continued: "To some extent it has been a bit of a jaunt, at other times it has been very difficult.

"I would be very grateful if we all moved on and found another Loch Ness Monster out there."

But Mr Berriman said: "This is closure and a time to move on for him and his family. I can understand that he wants to move on with his life but for me this is something, at this moment, that cannot happen.

"I do feel and hope that the Lucan mystery will come to a possible end in 12-14 months time, through various new evidence and lines of inquiries."

He added: " But at the end we have to get to the truth and justice for Sandra. A horrible death, a young woman beaten - my mother."

Even though Lord Lucan was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy called "Jungly Barry".

Lord Bingham argued that the 1999 declaration had not proved death "for all purposes" and the new Presumption Of Death Act allowed for a "more complete process".

On the night of the peer's disappearance, the nanny's attacker also turned on Lord Bingham's mother, Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub.
Ford to shed jobs as it streamlines European business

Car giant Ford is to shed jobs across its European operations under plans to save 200 million US dollars (138 million) a year.

The group said it is launching a voluntary redundancy programme as it looks to slash costs across "all areas" of the European business.

It comes in the face of mounting regulatory costs, according to the group.

The move is expected to see hundreds of jobs go in the UK and Germany

Ford Europe returned to profit in 2015 for the first time in four years.

But bosses announced aims to ramp up the group's overhaul and unveiled a revamped line-up of cars.

Jim Farley, head of the car maker's European business, said: "We are creating a far more lean and efficient business that can deliver healthy returns and earn future investment.

"Our job is to make our vehicles as efficiently as possible, spending every dollar in a way that serves customers' needs and desires, and creating a truly sustainable, customer-focused business."

The move is expected to see hundreds of jobs go in the UK and Germany, where the bulk of its European workforce is based, largely impacting sales, administration and marketing roles.

Ford employs around 53,000 staff in Europe, with around 13,000 in the UK.

The Ford of Britain headquarters is in Warley, Essex, while it also has a major research and development centre in Dunton, Essex.

Some back office and marketing staff are also based in offices at Dagenham in east London and Bridgend in Wales.

It follows a programme of redundancies across Europe announced in 2012, when it axed around 1,000 roles.

Mr Farley said the recent return to profit was a "good first step", with Ford Europe last month posting a 259 million US dollar (179 million) surplus for its European arm - an 850 million US dollar (591 million) improvement on 2014.

But he added the group is "taking the necessary actions to create a vibrant business that's solidly profitable in both good times and down cycles".

The group also outlined plans to ditch some models in favour of increasingly popular sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

It is launching five new SUVs in the next three years as well as plug-in hybrid and electric cars.

Ford said it expects SUV sales in Europe to jump by more than 30% this year to more than 200,000.

It has not revealed which models are being axed under the overhaul.

The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 - the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.
Water bills set to increase despite damning report over pricing

Water bills are to increase by an average of 2 across England and Wales over the next year, despite a recent damning report that found households have been paying too much for their supply.

The average household water and sewerage bill will reach 389 - an increase of 2 or "less than 1%" compared with the previous year, Water UK said.

Regulator Ofwat, which drew harsh criticism from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last month for consistently overestimating companies' costs when setting price limits - leading to higher bills for customers, said the announcement was in line with its "tough 2014 price review".

Water bills are to increase by an average of two pounds across England and Wales over the next year

Water UK said the increase would help water companies invest 44 billion over five years in better services, greater resilience and environmental improvements.

Water UK chief executive Michael Roberts said: "For just over 1 a day, households across the country can have access to high quality water services day and night.

"Water companies understand the pressures on customers' pockets and are committed to keeping household bills as low as possible while still investing in vital improvements.

"Through continued efficiency improvements, the water industry is set to lower prices for households by 5% on average in real terms between 2015 and 2020."

Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross said: "We challenged companies to listen and respond to their customers' priorities. Where they didn't step up, we stepped in.

"Our challenge led to an additional 3 billion of savings for customers. As well as keeping bills down, we also pushed companies do to even more to improve service.

"Companies will only build trust and confidence with their customers if they deliver. They need to be clear and open about how they are performing. Those who deliver can expect fair returns, while those who fail to meet their customers' expectations will be hit in the pocket."

Last month, the PAC said many householders would be "appalled" to learn that their water bills - which averaged 396 last year - could have been smaller if Ofwat had adopted a different approach to setting limits to the amount companies can charge customers.

The committee of MPs said Ofwat, which was set up to protect the interests of consumers - many of whom have no choice over who supplies their water, had consistently overestimated companies' financing and tax costs when setting price limits.

As a result, companies made windfall gains of at least 1.2 billion between 2010 and 2015 from bills being higher than necessary.

Consumer Council for Water chief executive Tony Smith said: "We are pleased that the rise in bills for 2016-17 is less than 1%, but it is still an increase.
Kevin Magnussen to drive for Renault in upcoming Formula One season

Former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen has completed a remarkable comeback after being confirmed at Renault for the upcoming Formula One season.

Magnussen, who will partner Briton Jolyon Palmer in his first season, appeared to be heading out of the sport after he was released by McLaren via an email on his birthday in October.

But the 23-year-old Dane has been named as Renault's new driver and replaces Pastor Maldonado, who earlier this week confirmed he would not be on the grid in 2016.

Kevin Magnussen will drive for Renault this season

Magnussen was officially unveiled at Renault's car launch in Paris on Wednesday. The French manufacturer, who completed their takeover of Lotus at the end of last year, are returning as a constructor to Formula One following their withdrawal as a full works' team in 2010.

Renault's new challenger, the RS16, will make its on-track debut at the first winter test in Barcelona which gets under way on February 22.

Magnussen raced alongside Jenson Button at McLaren during the 2014 campaign and finished an impressive second on his debut in Australia.

But the Dane, son of former grand prix driver Jan, was forced to move sideways after one season following the arrival of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

He subsequently became McLaren's reserve driver, and was in contention for a race seat in 2016 following the uncertainty surrounding Button's future.

But when Button decided to put his retirement plans on hold in October, the 23-year-old's chances of returning to the grid looked bleak.

However, he has been handed a second comeback by Renault, who decided to drop Maldonado when his more than 30million sponsorship from Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA failed to materialise.

Magnussen and Palmer, the former GP2 champion, took the wraps off their new car for the upcoming season, which starts in Australia next month, and revealed a predominately black livery.

Renault, who won successive titles with Alonso in 2005 and 2006, also announced the appointment of Frederic Vasseur as Racing Director and the arrival of Bob Bell, formerly of Mercedes, as Chief Technical Officer.
Grandson of Gallipoli soldier reunited with pin badges after luggage error

Pin badges have been returned to the grandson of a fallen Gallipoli soldier whose luggage was mistakenly taken from a train.

Ian Domingo had been visiting London to take part in the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in which his grandfather was killed when his suitbag containing badges commemorating service was taken from the Virgin service from Euston.

Elaine Higgins had by sheer coincidence attended the same remembrance ceremony and had travelled back in the same carriage as Mr Domingo but had unwittingly picked up the wrong suitbag and simply put it back in her wardrobe.

Ian Domingo wearing a pin badge presented to him to commemorate his grandfather's service in the Gallipoli campaign

Mr Domingo, from Dumfries, contacted British Transport Police (BPT) to report it missing and an appeal was launched to track down the missing bag.

Mrs Higgins from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was tipped off by friends about the missing suit and badges adding she was left "dumbstruck" upon looking in her wardrobe.

Mrs Higgins, whose 18-year-old son Aled Jones was killed in Bosnia in 1996, had attended the remembrance ceremony as part of her involvement with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA ) Bereaved Families Support Group.

She said: "I immediately felt for Mr Domingo as I had been wearing Aled's medals at the ceremony but took them off my suit - I knew what it would have felt like.

"I was dumbstruck for a moment when I unzipped the bag and then went to tell my husband we had Mr Domingo's suit. I was mortified for him, especially as I knew it had the medals on. We'd just picked it up and put it straight in the wardrobe, not even thinking to check the contents."

She added that she felt obliged to meet Mr Domingo in person to "apologise" adding "we can laugh about it now they're reunited but it must have been awful for him thinking he might not see it or the badges again".

They both praised the work of BTP and the lengths investigating officer Pc Gez Cooper went to get the suit returned.

Mr Domingo said: "I knew straight way from speaking to Pc Cooper that he would leave no stone unturned trying to find my suit. I really can't thank him enough. He went to so much trouble for me."

Pc Cooper added: "It's all in day's work - as a BTP officer the railway is our community and we care about the people who use it."

The Gallipoli land campaign against Turkey was one of the major engagements of the First World War, involving more than 400,000 British and around 140,000 Commonwealth and Irish servicemen.

At dawn on April 25 1915, waves of Allied troops launched an amphibious attack on the strategically important peninsula, which was key to controlling the Dardanelles straits, the crucial route to the Black Sea and Russia.

But the plan backed by Winston Churchill, then first lord of the Admiralty, was flawed and the campaign, which faced a heroic defence by the Turks, led to stalemate and withdrawal eight months later.
Wanted: a grand bargain to rescue EU from "polycrisis"

By Paul Taylor

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The European Union needs an ambitious grand bargain at its next summit to rescue itself from an accumulation of crises that threaten to blow apart its model of integration.

Like children at a birthday party, each leader has to get a going-home present. And as with many children's parties, there may be a tantrum along the way.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at risk at home from a backlash against a mass influx of Syrian refugees. British Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to win a referendum on staying in the EU and cannot help her due to public hostility to immigration. Nor can French President Francois Hollande, who is struggling for re-election in a country transfixed by the threat from Islamist militants.

Berlin, the EU's pivotal power, sees controlling migration as the central priority as it tries to cope with one million asylum seekers who have arrived in the last year.

Ideally, EU leaders need to forge a deal on Feb. 18-19 that encompasses effective action to strengthen Europe's external borders and share the refugee burden, and a mutually acceptable solution to Britain's demands to change its membership terms.

A comprehensive package would also need to address Italy's political and economic frustrations with the EU, Greece's quest for substantial debt relief, and Poland's wish to see NATO raise its military presence in eastern Europe to deter Russia.

"These deals are only possible when countries are in a state of symmetrical despair," said Laszlo Andor, a professor at Brussels' ULB University and former Hungarian EU commissioner.

A package deal might yield a more integrated "core Europe", adding an EU border and coast guard and a common asylum policy, and a looser union for countries like Britain that opt to stay outside the 19-nation euro single currency area.

A deal seems within reach with London that would formally exempt the UK from the EU goal of "ever closer union", shield its financial sector from being regulated abusively by the euro zone and let it withhold some benefits from new migrant workers if its social welfare system were under great strain.

The EU would cease to be a "two-speed Europe", with all 28 members converging at different paces towards the same goal, and become a permanent two-tier or multi-tier construction, possibly with an outer circle of associates such as Turkey and Ukraine.

TIPPING POINT

While European leaders' despair may not be symmetrical, the refugee crisis is concentrating minds on a threat that could break the union, fan populism and alienate British voters.

European Council President Donald Tusk has warned that the EU is close to a tipping point, saying it has only six to eight weeks left to save the Schengen zone of passport-free travel or see national barriers slam shut for the duration.

That raises the urgency of a deal with Greece and Italy, the main arrival points for migrants from Turkey and North Africa.

Horse-trading to accommodate multiple national interests is a classic technique for advancing European integration and seems designed to break logjams in what Juncker calls a "polycrisis".

Rome is blocking an EU aid package for Turkey to help curb the influx of migrants into Europe; Athens stands accused of failing to guard its borders or to register and retain asylum-seekers on its soil; and Warsaw is under scrutiny in Brussels over laws shackling the judiciary and the media.

Each of those countries has hinted it is willing to do more to help others if its own interests are taken into account.

Merkel is keen to help Cameron win his planned referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU, but she is increasingly fighting for her own political skin in the refugee crisis.

Berlin feels it has received little solidarity from its EU partners, while elsewhere there is a sense that reluctance to share the refugee burden is partly payback for perceived German bullying during the euro zone crisis.

Germany and its Dutch, Austrian and Finnish allies are more inclined to use sticks than carrots with Greece.

The European Commission this week gave Athens three months to fix "serious deficiencies" in its management of the bloc's external frontiers or face suspension from the Schengen area. That deadline expires just as Greek debt talks are due to start.

Domestic headwinds may make it harder for Merkel to use her dwindling political capital to offer concessions to Greece on rescheduling its debt to euro zone countries.

Many in Berlin and Brusssels doubt Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras can deliver tighter border controls or keep tens of thousands of migrants penned up in Greece until they can be relocated to reluctant EU countries.

Yet the chancellor has voiced understanding for Greece's plight as a frontline state and says she wants a "European solution" to the refugee crisis. No one wants another "Grexit" crisis this year on top of the EU's other woes.

If Greek compliance is uncertain, Turkey's cooperation in preventing migrants leaving its shores for Europe in return for 3 billion euros in aid is subject to deep scepticism.

The Italians want more EU cash to cope with migrants landing on their own shores and more fiscal leeway from Europe's budget supervisors to stimulate their sluggish economy.

Poland is the biggest supplier of migrant labour to Britain. Its foreign minister has hinted it could acquiesce in London's needs to curb in-work benefits for new arrivals if Cameron sends troops to provide a long-term NATO presence on its soil.
Syria opposition undecided on U.N. envoy meeting, blame Russia

GENEVA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The main Syrian opposition group at peace talks in Geneva has yet to decide whether it will attend a meeting with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura later on Tuesday, and accused Russia of endangering talks due to its bombing campaign in the country.

"It is clear from the current situation that the regime and its allies - in particular Russia - are determined to reject the U.N.'s efforts to implement international law," Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC) told reporters.
NATO strikes Islamic State radio station in Afghanistan, as U.S. ups campaign

By James Mackenzie and Mirwais Harooni

KABUL, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Coalition aircraft struck Islamic State's new radio station in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar late on Monday, part of NATO's escalating campaign to stop the ultra-radical Islamist movement taking root in the country.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, said the overnight raid also involved Afghan ground forces and destroyed an Islamic State broadcaster in Achin district, killing 29 militants including eight working on the radio and online operation.

The emergence of fighters loyal to Islamic State has introduced a dangerous new element to Afghanistan's long-running civil conflict, with the group violently challenging the much larger Afghan Taliban movement in pockets of the country.

NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, which is led by the U.S. military, confirmed that American forces carried out two counter-terrorism air strikes in Achin district, but declined to provide further details.

Whether the raid succeeds in silencing the transmissions, which have recently increased from an hour a day to 90 minutes, and are now broadcast in Dari as well as the Pashto language, remains to be seen.

But it reflects intensifying efforts by U.S. forces in the fight against Islamic State, known widely by its derogative Arabic name Daesh, since a special order gave U.S. forces broader authority to strike at IS fighters.

"We have increased the pressure, the U.S. has increased the pressure against Daesh in the past few weeks," said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and NATO's top spokesman in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials generally provide only bare details of counter-terrorism operations, but the military has confirmed a series of drone strikes in Nangarhar over recent weeks.

According to the Afghan interior ministry, Afghan and international forces have conducted nearly 20 joint operations against Islamic State in Nangarhar over the past month.

"We use airpower of our own and of international forces, which is crucial in defeating Daesh," said Nangarhar police chief Fazel Ahmad Sherzad.

NO SINGLE ISLAMIC STATE LEADER

Established mainly in Nangarhar, a province which borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, Islamic State has raised its profile in Afghanistan over the past year.

General John Campbell, the American commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said in December that the movement was believed to command no more than 1,000-3,000 fighters in the country.

Shoffner added: "What we don't see is Daesh in Iraq or Syria having the ability to control operations here in Afghanistan. We also don't see any one Daesh leader in Afghanistan able to control operations in more than one part of the country at a time."

But he said it had the potential to become a more serious threat if left unchecked.

Combining radical ideology with gruesome tactics including beheadings and at least one instance in which prisoners were killed by being blown up with explosives, it has established a reputation for extreme ferocity and attracted former members of the Afghan Taliban.

Over the past year it has grown in strength, challenging its larger Islamist rival for control of lucrative smuggling routes as well as dominance of the insurgency.

That has complicated the search for peace in Afghanistan by fragmenting forces who are fighting the Western-backed government, which, along with the United States, wants to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

One senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the potential for Islamic State to radicalize young people who have known nothing but war was a much greater threat than the absolute size of its forces.

The raid on the radio station appears to have been aimed at eliminating an increasingly influential propaganda tool, which had targeted growing ranks of unemployed young men in the region.

Shoffner said that despite its efforts at propaganda and recruitment, there were doubts about whether Islamic State would succeed in communicating its radical message to the traditional tribal culture of Afghanistan.
U.N. Syria envoy's office says no more meetings planned on Tuesday

GENEVA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The office of the United Nations Syria Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said it had no more meetings planned on Tuesday.

De Mistura had been scheduled to meet the opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC) at 1700 (1600 GMT).
Coming back to a grill near you: Argentine steaks

By Maximilian Heath

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Argentina could reclaim a strong presence on dining tables worldwide by exporting up to twice as much beef in the next two years, after the new center-right government cut export taxes and quotas on the red meat, industry groups said.

Exports of world-famous Argentine steaks have tumbled, largely due to the trade controls imposed by the former left-leaning government which designed to keep local butchers well supplied and suppress prices.

A decade ago, Argentina was the world's third biggest beef exporter, with annual shipments of about 771,000 tonnes.

Argentina's Meat Industry and Trade Chamber (Ciccra) estimated beef exports will increase to 300,000 tonnes in 2017 from 200,000 tonnes last year, while the Aacrea association of meat producers forecast 350,000 tonnes. Agriculture consultancy group Tonelli & Associates put the figure at 400,000 tons.

The groups spoke to Reuters last week.

"Argentina is returning to the market," Mario Ravettino, president of the Consortium of Meat Exporters ABC, declared.

Argentina lifted restrictions on beef in the second week of January, a month after center-right Mauricio Macri took office on a platform to liberalize the spluttering economy.

Ricardo Negri, secretary for agriculture, livestock and fisheries said in a telephone interview that Argentina hoped to start shipping beef to the United States and Canada after both lifted their own restrictions on Argentine beef. It would also increase shipments to established markets such as Russia and China, he said.

An increase in exports could prove a boon for foreign meat packers operating in Argentina, including Brazilian firms JBS and Marfrig Global Foods.

"There's a change of mood in the industry," said Miguel Schiariti, president of the meat packers Ciccra chamber. "Expectations are running high, prices are improving and producers are betting on increased activity."

In South America, Argentina lags behind Brazil and its much smaller neighbors Uruguay and Paraguay in beef exports.

Argentina's decline as a meat exporter underlines the impact of former President Cristina Fernandez's protectionist policies since 2008 on the country's external beef trade as farmers switched to cash crops such as soy.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that in 2016 Argentine beef exports will increase 15 percent to 265,000 tonnes.

Victor Tonelli of Tonelli & Associates forecast Argentina's herd would in five years grow to 58 million head of cattle, its highest since 2008, from the current 51.5 million.
Pressure mounts on North Korea to abandon rocket launch

By Jack Kim and Nobuhiro Kubo

SEOUL/TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - International pressure grew on North Korea to call off a planned rocket launch, seen by some governments as another missile test, while Japan put its military on alert to shoot down any rocket that threatens its territory.

North Korea notified United Nations agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25.

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme, although the United States and other governments suspect such rocket launches are tests of its missiles.

Japan's defence minister, Gen Nakatani, told a media briefing on Wednesday he had issued an order to shoot down any "ballistic missile threat".

Tension rose in East Asia last month after North Korea's fourth nuclear test, this time of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

A rocket launch coming so soon after would raise concern that North Korea plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to launch a strike against South Korea, Japan and possibly targets as far away as the U.S. West Coast.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit.

South Korea warned the North it would pay a "severe price" if it goes ahead with the launch.

"North Korea's notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for (U.N.) Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community," the presidential Blue House said in a statement.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang was demonstrating "an outrageous disregard for the universally recognised norms of international law," while France said the launch would merit a firm response from the international community.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea not to use ballistic missile technology, which is banned by Security Council resolutions.

'EXTREMELY CONCERNED'

China, under U.S. pressure to use its influence to rein in the isolated North, said Pyongyang's right to space exploration was restricted under U.N. resolutions.

China is North Korea's sole main ally, though Beijing disapproves of its nuclear programme.

"We are extremely concerned about this," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a briefing on Wednesday.

"In the present situation, we hope North Korea exercises restraint on the issue of launching satellites, acts cautiously and does not take any escalatory steps that may further raise tensions on the Korean peninsula."

Reports of the planned launch also drew fresh U.S. calls for tougher U.N. sanctions that are already under discussion in response to North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test.

A spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency, said it had been told by North Korea of the plan to launch a satellite.

The Washington-based North Korean monitoring project 38 North said commercial satellite images of North Korea's Sohae launch site taken on Monday showed activity consistent with preparations for a launch within North Korea's given timeframe, but no indications that this was imminent.

North Korea said the launch would be conducted in the morning one day during the announced period, and gave the coordinates for the locations where the rocket boosters and the cover for the payload would drop.

Those locations are expected to be in the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula's west coast and in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines, Pyongyang said.

South Korea told commercial airliners to avoid flying in areas of the rocket's possible flight path during the period.
Ferguson, Missouri, hears from public on justice reforms plan

By Sue Britt

FERGUSON, Mo., Feb 2 (Reuters) - Residents of Ferguson, Missouri, jammed a meeting on Tuesday to weigh in on a proposed agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to reform the city police department after the 2014 shooting of a black teenager by a white officer.

The fatal shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson exposed tension between the city government and the largely black community outside St. Louis. Ferguson erupted into violent protests in 2014 after a grand jury chose not to indict the officer.

It was one of a series of highly publicized killings of black men, mostly by white police officers, that set off a nationwide debate about the use of police force, especially against minorities.

In the meeting at City Hall, Ferguson resident John Knowles said he had a problem with the Department of Justice singling out the city.

"I think it's wrong that the city of Ferguson is bearing the brunt for a countywide issue," Knowles said.

More than 100 people were prevented from attending the meeting when the meeting room reached its 120-person capacity, leaving many grumbling in a parking lot.

"Out-of-towners don't belong here," Ferguson resident Maryellen Moylan shouted toward the door. "This is not right. We don't have representation. We demand representation."

The Justice Department's sharply critical report last year documented discriminatory actions by Ferguson police and the municipal court system, especially against blacks.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the Ferguson Police Department would be required to give its officers bias-awareness training and implement a strong accountability system.

The department would have to ensure that police stop, search and arrest practices do not discriminate on the basis of race or other protected characteristics.

The settlement would also require the city to change its municipal code, including sections that impose prison time for failure to pay certain fines and an ordinance used against individuals who do not comply with police orders.
Turkish businesses see opportunity, and competition, as Iran opens up

By Can Sezer and Ceyda Caglayan

ISTANBUL, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The lifting of sanctions against Iran may be a mixed blessing for Turkey, opening up access to a fast-growing, lucrative market, but one that could someday rival Ankara as both an investment destination and exporter.

NATO-member Turkey remains the region's economic powerhouse, with output of nearly $800 billion in 2014, well above Iran's $425 billion, and an advanced manufacturing industry that exports televisions, cars and washing machines to Europe.

But Iran, with a similar-sized population, could close that gap, Turkish business leaders say, thanks to government incentives, a well educated workforce, and vast oil reserves that obviate the need for energy imports.

"It is an economy with great potential," said businessman Alper Kanca, whose company, Kanca Dovme Celik, produced engine parts for Iranian auto makers for 20 years prior to the sanctions.

"There is extraordinary support from the Iranian government to expand domestic industry."

After the lifting of international sanctions last month, Iran is now the biggest economy to rejoin the global trading system since the Soviet Union broke up more than two decades ago.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran needs as much as $50 billion a year in foreign investment to meet an economic growth target of 8 percent. So far, deals worth at least $37 billion have been announced in industries ranging from construction to aviation and auto manufacturing.

In the short-term, Turkey's auto industry, which accounted for $22 billion in exports last year, could be a beneficiary, thanks to its advanced manufacturing techniques.

"After working closely with European producers for years, Turkish auto parts producers have an upper hand," said Mehmet Dudaroglu, the chairman of the Turkish auto parts manufacturing association (TAYSAD).

"However Tehran's potential incentives for the industry, as well as lower costs, could make Iran the new competition," he said.

NOT A RIVAL

The International Monetary Fund expects Iran's economy to expand 4.3 percent this year, with growth at or above 4 percent in the next two years. It also sees Iran's imports expanding 18 percent this year, 14 percent next year and 7 percent the year after.

"Turkey will be one of the countries that benefits the most" from the opening of Iran, Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas told Reuters in an interview in Chile on Monday, while on a visit to Latin America.

Turkey's trade with Iran reached $22 billion in 2012, he said, before dropping off sharply in subsequent years as tighter sanctions hit. Ankara aims to reach $30 billion in trade with Iran by 2023, he said.

Elitas said Iran won't be able to draw as much foreign investment as Turkey because it is less democratic.

"Turkey is the most democratic country in the region and foreign investments will go to democratic nations, to countries that can guarantee those investments," he said. "If Iran advances with its economy, then they could become a rival."

Turkey attracted more than $12 billion in foreign direct investment in 2014, while Iran garnered $2 billion.

Some Turkish steel producers take a less sanguine view of Iran, pointing to its immense oil reserves. Turkey is forced to import almost all of its energy needs.

"The steel industries of both countries are based on nearly the same product range. The Iranians have the potential to export some of what they produce and could compete with Turkish steel," said Namik Ekinci, the head of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association. Steel accounted for 7 percent of Turkey's total exports last year.

Cement producers are also wary.
South Africa's Zuma proposes to partly pay for controversial home improvements

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 3 (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma has proposed that the auditor-general and finance minister determine how much money he is liable to pay for controversial state-funded improvements to his rural home, Zuma's office said.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said in a 2014 report Zuma had "benefited unduly" from some of the upgrades that cost nearly 250 million rand ($15.3 million) and included a cattle enclosure and amphitheatre.

Madonsela said Zuma should repay the state for the costs of the unnecessary renovations, but the president has denied any wrongdoing.

Opposition parties, particularly the militant left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have since frequently heckled Zuma in parliament over his refusal to pay the money.

The EFF and the Democratic Alliance (DA) have taken the matter to the Constitutional Court, with a hearing set for next Tuesday.

The presidency said in a statement issued late on Tuesday night Zuma had proposed that the chief auditor and the finance minister fix the amount due from him in order to "achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute".

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said on South African radio his party would not agree to a "settlement that will undermine the public protector". EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the movement would consult its lawyers.
U.S. says open to patrols with Philippines in waters disputed with China

By Karen Lema

MANILA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The United States is open to the possibility of joint naval patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, stressing it would continue to exercise "freedom of navigation" in the disputed waters.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an island claimed by China in the South China Sea on Saturday to counter efforts to limit freedom of navigation, the Pentagon said, prompting an angry reaction from Beijing.

Manila has asked the U.S. to patrol the area together after China began test flights from Fiery Cross Reef, one of three artificial islands where Beijing has built airfields.

"We do discuss that principle (joint patrols) with the Philippines and so I am not discarding that possibility," U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg told reporters.

"But we are not going to make announcements about that beforehand because it is our view that we have every right under international law to exercise freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and we will continue to do so."

The Philippine has challenged Beijing before the arbitration court in The Hague, a case Beijing has not recognised.

Foreign and defence ministers from the United States and the Philippines met in Washington last month for the second time in more than three years to discuss trade and security, focusing on the South China Sea.

The United States has no South China Sea claim and says it takes no sides, though it has been highly critical of China's assertiveness.
Mahathir's son becomes Najib's latest victim in Malaysia's "Game of Thrones"

By Joseph Sipalan

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The son of former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad quit as chief minister of a northern state on Wednesday, forced out by loyalists of the country's scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak as he battles for political survival.

The ousting of Mukhriz Mahathir as chief minister of Kedah tightens Najib's grip over the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), weakening a rival faction in the ruling party.

Mahathir, Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, has been Najib's fiercest critic, repeatedly calling on him to step down over a multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and over deposits of $681 million in the prime minister's private bank account.

Mukhriz has also been critical of Najib, and UMNO lawmakers in Kedah aligned to the prime minister retaliated two weeks ago, declaring that Mukhriz had lost majority support in the state assembly.

"The true reason for this action against me is due to my criticism of the prime minister, as he himself has admitted," Muhkriz said in a statement read out to a news conference.

"My criticism was on the 1MDB scandal and the 2.6 billion ringgit donation and the increasing burden on the people caused by GST (Goods and Services Tax)," Mukhriz said.

The internal strife has damaged UMNO, which has led all of the country's ruling multi-ethnic coalitions since Malaysia's formation in 1957.

UMNO Sabah state liaison committee deputy chairman Salleh Said Keruak told Reuters that the party would have risked losing control of Kedah if Najib hadn't replaced Mukhriz, as state party leaders no longer had confidence in the chief minister.

"So the party president has no choice but to replace the chief minister. If not the state is going to fall," Salleh said.

The greatest threat to Najib's political survival could still come from within UMNO, if members decide he has become unelectable.

The opposition bloc split after its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, was jailed a year ago on a sodomy conviction that many observers said was politically motivated.

The febrile state of the Southeast Asian nation's politics prompted the prime minister's younger brother, Nazir Razak, chairman of the CIMB Group, to draw parallels with HBO's mediaeval fantasy series "Game of Thrones".

"The parallels with GoT continue. The future terrifies me: I just can't see how our institutions can recover, how our political atmosphere can become less toxic," Nazir wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday.

Najib sacked deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and several other cabinet members for openly questioning his handling of 1MDB, weeks after the scandal erupted in the middle of last year. He also removed Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who created a special task force to investigate 1MDB.

The Wall Street Journal reported last July that investigators probing 1MDB had identified funds worth 2.6 billion ringgit that had been transferred directly to the prime minister's bank accounts.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing and says he did not take any money for personal gain. Malaysia's new attorney-general, Apandi Ali, last week closed all investigations of Najib, despite the anti-graft agency recommending that Najib be charged with criminal misappropriation.

The prime minister now faces renewed pressure after international investigators revealed they had grounds to probe 1MDB for corruption.
U.S., allies conduct 20 strikes in Iraq, 11 in Syria -coalition

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies conducted 20 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and 11 Syria on Tuesday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.

In Iraq, the air attacks were again focused near Ramadi, where six strikes destroyed equipment, weapons and fighting positions and denied militants access to terrain, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Wednesday.

Three air strikes each were launched near Qayyarah and the militant stronghold of Mosul, where they destroyed seven weapons caches, three assembly areas and 14 Islamic State fighting positions, it said.

Air strikes hit near six other Iraqi cities including Sinjar, Tal Afar, Baiji and Tal Afar, the task force said.

In Syria, where the strikes on Tuesday included ground attacks, four strikes hit four gas and oil separation plants in Dayr Az Zawr, the military said.
France rules out euro zone veto for Britain

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday Britain could not expect to win a veto on euro zone policies and he also ruled out a further round of negotiations over reforms aimed at keeping the country in the European Union.

The head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draft reform package on Tuesday to persuade Britain, an EU member but outside the common currency, to stay in the bloc.

Tusk offered Britain a way to slow down euro zone legislation that it objects to but he was careful not to offer London any veto rights over euro zone decision-making.

"A country outside the euro zone cannot have a veto over countries in the euro zone," Hollande said after talks in Paris with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

Hollande said there could not be "new adjustments" to the package on offer at an EU summit on the issue set for Feb. 18-19.

"There will be corrections if necessary (but) not new negotiations. We have reached a point that will give the British the necessary assurances," the French leader said.

Earlier, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Paris saw Tusk's proposals as a basis for discussion, but within limits. He did not say explicitly whether France approved or disapproved of the proposals.
South Africa's Zuma offers to foot part of home improvements bill

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 3 (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma proposed footing part of the bill for state-funded improvements to his rural home, some of which anti-graft authorities said benefited him personally in a report that triggered a political scandal.

Zuma, who previously said he did not owe the state a refund, said he would allow the country's auditor general and finance minister to decide how much of the 250 million rand ($15 million) refurbishment he should pay back.

The 2013 security upgrade, which included a cattle enclosure and amphitheatre, has been heavily criticised by the opposition and news media.

It also risks damaging Zuma's governing African National Congress' showing in municipal elections expected after May, though the party has comfortably won every election since toppling white apartheid rule in 1994.

Zuma had proposed the solution in order to "achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute", the presidency said in a statement late on Tuesday - a week before the constitutional court is due to rule on whether the president should reimburse the state.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said in a 2014 report that Zuma had "benefited unduly" from some of the refurbishments.

UNDER FIRE

With a crisis in Africa's most industrialised economy causing widespread hardship, Zuma has faced rising criticism of his leadership since he secured a second term in office in 2014.

He came under fire in December when he changed finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand plummeting and alarming investors.[ nL8N14307J]

The sacking of Nhlanhla Nene in favour of relatively unknown and untested David van Rooyen, who he then replaced with the experienced Pravin Gordhan, clouded Zuma's political reputation.

Ratings agencies have warned of credit downgrades if Pretoria fails to keep prudent fiscal policies.

The militant opposition left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), meanwhile, has repeatedly heckled Zuma in parliament over his refusal to reimburse the home improvements.

It and the biggest opposition party, Democratic Alliance (DA), asked the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the president is liable, and a hearing has been set for Tuesday.

Zuma's lawyers have proposed settling the case, according to the opposition parties, who say they want the hearing to go ahead.

"President Zuma has a habit of backing down only when he's in a corner with absolutely nowhere else to go. He did that with the finance minister," NKC African Economics political analyst Gary van Staden said.

"It's not going to help the ANC although they'll put a positive spin on it," he said, referring to the municipal elections.
U.S. experts to visit Brazil to begin Zika vaccine work

By Malena Castaldi

MONTEVIDEO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. experts will travel to Brazil next week to start work on the development of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne Zika virus, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said on Wednesday.

Castro was speaking before a meeting with health ministers from across South America to discuss the public health emergency and how the region can coordinate its fight against the virus.

Zika has been linked to babies born with abnormally small heads - a condition known as microcephaly - and is spreading rapidly in the Americas. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an emergency.

"On Feb. 11, U.S. technical experts will arrive in Brazil to hold a high level meeting where they will determine the first steps and timetable for developing this vaccine," Castro said at the headquarters of the regional Mercosur bloc in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo.

There is currently no cure or vaccine for Zika.

Brazil is the country hardest hit by the virus. President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday Brazil and the United States would work together on developing a Zika vaccine.

Producing a safe vaccine is however strewn with hurdles and full regulatory approval could take years.

"Until (a vaccine) is developed, we only have one option: to eliminate the mosquito and the best way to do that is to prevent the mosquito from being born, by destroying the breeding sites," said Castro.

The WHO has said as many as 4 million people in the Americas may become infected by Zika.

Castro called on Latin American governments to bolster cooperation, saying the region needed to "exchange information, make alliances and discuss what coordinated action we can take to control this epidemic."

Ministers from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were invited to the meeting.
Top UK Conservatives weigh leadership ambitions in EU vote

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - As senior British Conservatives prepare to take sides in a referendum on European Union membership, some will be more focussed on their own future - and their chances of succeeding Prime Minister David Cameron - than that of the country.

While Cameron will allow his ministers to choose whether they support the 'in' or 'out' campaigns for the upcoming national vote, those hoping to become the next Conservative leader face a dilemma.

If they come out in favour of Britain remaining in the bloc, they risk alienating the party's largely eurosceptic membership. But if they opt for a British exit, they will find themselves campaigning against their own leader - something that is likely to hurt their ambitions if they end up on the losing side.

A draft deal on Britain's future published by the EU on Tuesday still has to be accepted by the other 27 member states. However, Cameron's support for the proposals has effectively fired the starting gun on the campaign for the referendum which he says could be held within a few months.

Cameron reminded his ministers this week that they must back his renegotiation effort until a final deal is reached, something he hopes to achieve at a summit of EU leaders on Feb. 18-19, but the British media are looking for signs of which way they will swing.

Eurosceptic Conservatives predict four or five cabinet ministers could back an 'out' vote, adding weight to their campaign. But with a leadership battle on the horizon, Cameron may have contained the risk of high profile splits.

Potential successors have been manoeuvring since Cameron said he would not stand again at the next national election in 2020, and what they say and do on Europe will be closely watched by the lawmakers and ordinary members who will choose the new party leader.

"The people who are thinking about going for the party leadership don't want to muck up their pitch," said Simon Usherwood, a fellow on the UK in a Changing Europe academic research programme.

Any senior Conservatives campaigning for Britain to leave would be following a high risk strategy. "They are going to have to go against Cameron and only one of them can win," he said.

Cameron once insisted his ministers would have to campaign for a collective cabinet position in the referendum but, faced with a likely eurosceptic rebellion, he dropped this demand.

Usherwood believes the prime minister has strengthened his hand by getting some wavering ministers involved in hammering out the deal with Brussels on revising British EU membership terms.

"Cameron has done a good job of making sure that he has dipped any number of people's hands in the blood of the renegotiation so that for them to then stop and say 'this (deal) is rubbish' becomes effectively impossible," he said.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who previously said he would vote to leave if the EU refused to change, has indicated he plans to back the 'in' campaign, saying he would find it difficult to oppose the government position and describing the draft deal as "a framework for substantial change".

GAME PLAN

Finance minister George Osborne, a close ally of Cameron, is the frontrunner for the party leadership, with flamboyant London Mayor Boris Johnson and interior minister Theresa May also among the favourites to be one of the two candidates chosen by Conservative lawmakers to go forward to a vote of party members.

A YouGov poll of 1,003 Conservative Party members in September found 33 percent would back Osborne for leader, compared with 31 percent for Johnson and 17 percent for May.

As Osborne has closely aligned himself with Cameron's position of staying in a reformed EU, the issue could give the more eurosceptic Johnson and May an opportunity to differentiate themselves.

But the 'out' campaigns' hopes of securing their backing could be thwarted by personal ambition.

Johnson, a former Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph whose father was a member of the European Parliament, has the potential influence to sway the outcome of the vote.

Polls show he is one of the most well-known politicians in the country and voters trust his opinion on the EU. He has also proven he has broad appeal, twice being elected mayor in the opposition Labour stronghold of London.

Johnson, who is not a member of Cameron's cabinet and can therefore speak freely on Europe, has flirted with backing 'out' but the risk of ending up on the losing side after campaigning against his leader is likely to prove too much of a barrier.

"His game plan, I think, is to be slightly more eurosceptic than Osborne and that is all he needs to do to make the eurosceptics feel that he is a better bet," Johnson biographer Andrew Gimson told Reuters. "He doesn't have to go the whole hog and take an enormous risk."

Johnson, who is due to step down as mayor in May, has been careful to talk up Cameron's renegotiation efforts. "He makes apparently loyal remarks which are actually raising the bar of what Cameron can be expected to achieve," said Gimson.

TOO ENTHUSIASTIC

Lawmaker Steve Baker, co-chairman of the eurosceptic group Conservatives for Britain, predicts 50-70 of the party's 330 lawmakers will campaign for 'out', but acknowledges top cabinet ministers may hold back. "I am prepared at this point to go into the campaign without any cabinet big beasts," he told the BBC.

House of Commons leader Chris Grayling and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader, are among those tipped to campaign for 'out', and reported by the British media to be increasingly frustrated at not being allowed to air their views in public yet.

Despite talking tough at last year's Conservative conference on Britain's need to be able to curb immigration, interior minister May has largely stayed out of the EU renegotiation, keeping her cards close to her chest.

Once tipped as a leader of the 'out' side, some commentators now predict she could keep a low profile during the campaign and then portray herself as the best candidate to bring the party back together afterwards.

May has described Tuesday's draft proposals as "a basis for a deal".

With polls showing a majority of party members favour leaving the EU, would-be successors must still tread a fine line if they decide to campaign for 'in'.
Macedonia restores rail traffic for migrants stranded at border

By Fedja Grulovic and Kole Casule

IDOMENI, Greece/SKOPJE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Macedonia restored rail transport for migrants coming across its southern border with Greece on Wednesday, potentially alleviating a growing backlog caused by protests either side of the frontier.

Trains had been halted for several days as taxi drivers blocked the tracks to protest at police directing migrants first to trains and buses for their journey north to Serbia, en route to western Europe.

Traffic has been disrupted on the Greek side as well by farmers protesting over pension reforms that Athens is planning to implement to satisfy the country's international creditors.

It was unclear how the taxi row was resolved, but an official at Macedonia's national railway said a train had left the border town of Gevgelija in the morning.

"One train left this morning. At this point, the railway is closed due to some maintenance, but we expect another train will leave this afternoon," Kire Dimanoski, director of passenger traffic at the railway, told Reuters.

Dozens of buses packed with migrants, many of them refugees from the Syrian war, have spent several days parked at petrol stations on the main highway running north from Greece to Macedonia. Some set out on foot for the border, where makeshift camps are at full capacity on either side.

They included many women and children, who the United Nations says now account for up to 60 percent of all those arriving by boat and dinghy from Turkey.

More than 1 million people fleeing poverty, war and repression in the Middle East, Asia and Africa reached Europe's shores last year, most heading for Germany. More than 62,000 arrived in Greece last month.

Balkan states along the route have begun denying passage to all those not coming from conflict regions of Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan.

Police chiefs of Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia met in the Macedonian capital Skopje on Wednesday to discuss how to tighten measures at their borders. Macedonia's Goran Savovski told reporters they had agreed that those without valid travel IDs would not be allowed through, further filtering the flow.
France's Safran braces for steepest ever jet engine output hike

By Cyril Altmeyer and Tim Hepher

VILLAROCHE, France, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Airplane orders may be slowing this year, but jet engine makers are ramping up production with a large chunk of the industry's profits riding on the flawless operation of a high-tech factory in the French countryside.

As revamped medium-haul models emerge from Airbus and Boeing, French engine maker Safran and its U.S. partner General Electric are running ahead to reach a newly expanded goal of producing 2,000 new-generation LEAP engines a year by 2020.

Their CFM International joint-venture controls three quarters of a market valued at $600 billion over 20 years for engines for narrowbody jets, and any delays could rattle both plane giants and their global suppliers.

With eight years' of orders in the bag, CFM is beginning a record-quick climb in output to deliver the successor to the industry's most-sold engine, the CFM56.

"We have sold 10,000 LEAP engines before we even delivered one. It took us 17 or 18 years to get to the same point with the CFM56," LEAP director Sebastien Imbourg told Reuters.

Some analysts worry a recent boom in orders is overheating, with U.S. aerospace stocks underperforming by 12 percent this year.

But at a 212-acre factory complex outside Paris, and similar plants in the United States, the talk is only about how to raise output and monitor time and quality, both of which translate into cost.

"We are preparing as never before in our history," said Cedric Goubet, Safran's civil engines director.

The Villaroche site employs 4,500 workers and assembles one in five CFM engines for Boeing and all the CFM engines sent to Airbus, whose A320 can also be sold with Pratt & Whitney motors.

The first revamped Boeing 737 MAX made its maiden flight with LEAP-1B engines last week. The Airbus A320neo entered service with Pratt & Whitney engines last month.

Tucked inside giant cradles capable of flipping engines like pancakes to help workers inspect them, the first CFM engines for Airbus, known as LEAP-1A, are due to delivered to the planemaker in April and should enter service in July.

Safran says the supply chain is humming essentially as it should, but not without tensions.

"We had some areas at red and now at amber," Imbourg said, referring to troubleshooting codes.

"There are areas where we need to work ... but red spots which risk the entry to service of the (LEAP) 1A? No."

STRESS TESTS

Airbus missed a goal of delivering the first A320neo in 2015 because of glitches surrounding Pratt & Whitney's engine, which has also had teething problems over the engine start-up process.

Safran insists LEAP's performance will be on par as soon as it enters service. Since both types are designed for aircraft that fly half a dozen trips per day, slip-ups can be costly.

"What airline customers want is that we stick to promises. Many people talk about the future but miss the present," Imbourg said.

With Airbus and Boeing both recently announcing increases in production, CFM has set a new target of 2,000 engines a year in 2020, up from 1,800.

At record aerospace volumes, any bottlenecks can quickly undermine the programme and ripple throughout the sector.

To prevent this, CFM runs regular "stress tests," where suppliers have to operate for 1-2 weeks at speeds that won't be seen in reality for 18 months. One of the most critical stepping stones will be between 2018 and 2019.

This year CFM will build 100 LEAP-1A for Airbus, 50 LEAP-1B for Boeing and 3-4 test engines for China's new C919 jetliner.

That will rise to 300 engines in 2017.

Safran and GE are also doubling up on their own suppliers to reduce the risks of a single point of failure and aim for the first time to spread 'dual sourcing' throughout the LEAP engine.

That means a "very strong reduction in risk," Imbourg said.

Existing CFM56 suppliers were vetted before being allowed on the successor programme. Some did not make the cut, Imbourg said, declining to give names.

Some 50 new factories have been built at suppliers to support the LEAP programme, including 20 in France where some industry leaders have expressed concerns about the ability of small suppliers to invest in new capacity.

CFM has not been without its own test flight problems, with a delay of 1-2 weeks last summer due to a faulty part. Last year it denied reports it was missing performance goals.

"In a few months we will see who has really kept their promises ... and how our customers react," Imbourg said.
Syrian army and allies breaks rebel siege of Shi'ite towns - army

By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies have broken a three-year rebel siege of two Shi'ite towns in northwest Syria, government and rebel groups said on Wednesday, cutting off a main insurgent route to nearby Turkey.

The two towns of Nubul and Zahraa, with an estimated 60,000 population, are connected to the border by areas under the control of Kurdish militias that provided them some access.

Al Manar, television channel of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, joined Syria's army and state media in reporting the breakthrough, which it said came after the army moved in from towns secured in a recent offensive in northern Aleppo province.

A Levant Front rebel said the siege was broken "after three days of legendary resistance by the revolutionaries facing the Russian military machine, an after more than 500 raids by Russian air planes".

"Less than 3 km separate the regime from cutting all routes to opposition-held Aleppo," said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. "It did in three days what it failed to do in 3-1/2 years."

Also on Wednesday, U.N.-mediated talks in Geneva to end the war in Syria were paused until Feb. 25. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said they had not failed but urgently needed help from international backers led by the United States and Russia.

The Syrian government and its allies were meanwhile pressing offensives against rebels south of Aleppo, once Syria's biggest city and commercial centre, and against Islamic State to the east of the city split between government and rebel control.

Alongside heavy Russian aerial support, the advances have been made possible by ground troops from Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and Iranian-backed militias that support President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The Russia air strikes that began in September tilted the war in Assad's favour after setbacks earlier in 2015 brought rebel groups close to the coastal heartland of his Alawite sect

"The Syrian army and its allies have totally broken the siege on Nubul and Zahraa," a senior army official told Reuters, referring to Hezbollah fighters and other militias fighting alongside government forces

Al Manar TV said pro-goovernment militias from the besieged towns were able to link up with advancing Syrian army troops after the town of Maarsteh al Khan fell to them.

Breaking the siege opens a direct route for the Syrian army to Kurdish-controlled Afrin and brings them closer to areas run by Turkish-backed insurgents near the Turkish border.

Defence strategists say the two heavily garrisoned towns could become a launching pad for the Syrian army and its allies for wider territorial gains in northern Aleppo province and to tighten the encirclement of the rebel-held part of Aleppo city.

"Ending the siege means the supply route to terrorists from Turkey to Aleppo has been severed," a Syrian military source said.

Syria's state-run news channel Al-Ikhbariyah quoted Nubul mayor Ali Balawi as saying the siege by mainly Islamist rebels was "cruel and caused much hardship", with severe shortages of humanitarian goods. The only route that brought some food and essential goods came from Afrin to the north of the town.

The Syrian army also pressed ahead in southern Syria where it made advances near Deraa city in the town of Atman after securing the town of Sheikh Maskin last month.
Second batch of U.S. F-16 jets arrives in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Iraq has received a second batch of F-16 fighter jets from the United States, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Iraq ordered 36 of the $65 million Lockheed Martin Corp planes, but initial deliveries were delayed because of security concerns after Islamic State militants overran large areas of the country last year.

Delivery of the planes has also been limited by the training of Iraqi pilots, which can take up to two years, said Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State.

Two more F-16 jets have arrived in Iraq, bringing the total number of such jets in the Iraqi air force to six, Warren said. He did not say exactly when the jets were delivered. The first batch of four jets was delivered in July.

The Iraqi air force has primarily used the four jets in the first batch to carry out deliberate, pre-planned strikes against Islamic State across Iraq, Warren said.
Fico rejects teachers' pay demands as strike support wanes

BRATISLAVA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to give in to pay demands by striking teachers on Wednesday, taking a hard line against a protest that failed to spark widespread support.

The leftist leader is still tipped to win re-election on March 5 despite facing two protests by public sector workers over low pay in as many months.

Only 11,000 teachers, or 12 percent of the total, joined the teachers' strike, which began on Jan 25. More than a quarter of those have since returned to work.

The organisation directing the strike, the Initiative of Slovak Teachers, wants a 140-euro raise per month now, a 90-euro raise next year, and another 400 million euros funding for schools.

The Education Ministry says the average gross salary of elementary and secondary schools teachers was 997 euros per month ($1,080) in 2014, slightly above the national average of 858 euros.

But teachers argue that includes maximum bonuses that not all receive.

Fico has offered teachers a 25-percent raise over the next four years if he keeps his seat but said he cannot offer increases this year because the budget has already been passed. He said the strike closed less 1 percent of schools.

"It's time for them (teachers) to get back to students," Fico said.

But protesters said the strike would continue.

"There is no reason to end the strike, our requests have not been met," teachers' representative Branislav Kocan told Reuters.

Slovakia spends 4.4 percent of its GDP on education, far below the OECD average of 6.1 percent, and Slovak teachers are paid less than those in any other OECD country, data from the Organisation for Economic Development showed.

Other public sector workers are also protesting. By February, more than 500 nurses had quit their jobs in protest over low salaries.

But Fico remains popular, partly due to hiking maternity benefits, halving the sales tax on some groceries, and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
British Airways to resume flights to Iran

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - British Airways will resume direct flights from London to Tehran from July, renewing links with the Iranian capital after sanctions were lifted.

The British airline followed Air France-KLM in confirming its intention to restart flights to Tehran after Iran curbed its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of U.S., EU and United Nations sanctions in January.

The deal has sparked hopes that Iran could secure a wave of foreign investment for the country of 80 million people after President Hassan Rouhani visited Europe last week.

Owned by IAG, BA will initially run six flights per week before moving to daily flights from winter 2016, departing from London's Heathrow Airport.

"The recent lifting of sanctions opens up exciting new prospects for Iran as a tourist destination and with its rich heritage, unique architecture and world-class food it's unsurprising Tehran is tipped to be a popular destination for 2016," said Neil Cottrell, BA's head of network planning.

BA said it had a long history of flying to Tehran and offered its first scheduled flights to the city in 1946. It stopped regular flights in 2012 due to a combination of commercial and political reasons.

Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran in August nearly four years after protesters stormed the compound.
Zambia closes two government universities after student protests

LUSAKA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Zambia closed two government universities on Wednesday following violent student protests over unpaid meal allowances, its higher education minister said.

Minister Michael Kaingu said the government had indefintely closed the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University to protect people's lives and property.

"All students are expected to leave the two university campuses by midnight tonight," Kaingu told a media briefing.

Police had apprehended 26 University of Zambia students who blocked a road and stoned motor vehicles in Lusaka late on Tuesday during the protest, police spokeswoman Charity Chanda said.

Dozens of other students at the Copperbelt University in Kitwe who were involved in a separate protest were apprehended, Chanda said.
Peru in talks with World Bank on new credit lines

By Marco Aquino and David Lawder

LIMA/WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Peru is in talks with the World Bank to secure two new credit lines that may be used to help Lima weather fiscal pressures brought on by the collapse of commodity prices, Peruvian government and World Bank sources said on Wednesday.

Amounts for the three-year loan facilities could not be disclosed as discussions are continuing and the arrangements have not yet been sent to the World Bank board for approval, an official at the multilateral lender said.

Peru has no immediate plans to draw on the credit lines, and they will be kept in reserve.

"They are contingent credit lines whose objective is to have resources immediately available for any eventual needs," a government source in Lima said. "We don't expect to use these resources in the near term. Nor do they substitute traditional financing through bond issuances or other debt instruments such as loans from multilateral institutions for financing projects."

Known as Deferred Drawdown Options, the credit lines can add to Peru's existing total of $1.5 billion in contingent credit lines already arranged with multilateral institutions.

The talks come as a number of other oil and commodity exporting countries are in talks with the World Bank and other multilateral institutions for loans to help them shore up finances. Nigeria and Angola are discussing loans with the World Bank, while in Baku, International Monetary Fund officials just completed a review of Azerbaijan's fiscal situation.

The government source said that the credit lines "are part of a prudent asset and liability management strategy that recognizes that when faced with adverse market conditions or possible financial needs due to natural disasters, it's best to have credit lines available."
With Zika, ethical and medical questions - and few answers

By Matt McCarthy

Feb 3 (Reuters) - On Jan. 23, as the cleanup from Winter Storm Jonas began outside of my apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a patient posed a seemingly straightforward question to me: Should I cancel my upcoming trip to Florida? This woman was concerned about potentially contracting the Zika virus - a mosquito-borne illness known to cause fever, rash, joint paints, and, it appears, a devastating birth defect called microcephaly.

In theory, I was the right person to ask. I'm an infectious disease specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and my research focuses on the ethical implications of medical decision-making. But this case was tricky because the patient was in her first trimester of pregnancy, and more importantly, she happened to be my wife.

"Is it worth it?" she asked, as she curled up next to me on the couch.

Like most doctors in the United States, my experience with the Zika virus is minimal. It occasionally gets discussed on rounds when we see an unexplained fever in a patient returning from the Caribbean, but that's about it. In those cases - the ones not involving a pregnant woman - the stakes are relatively low. The symptoms, like body aches and bloodshot eyes, are annoying, but they don't carry any long-lasting effects.

This latest Zika outbreak is uniquely terrifying because of the rapid spread of the virus - the World Health Organization said it has "explosive pandemic potential" - and because of the imagery: every Google search leads to a picture of a concerned mother holding an infant with an uncomfortably tiny head. That's the telltale sign of microcephaly, which can lead to seizures, developmental delay, and a shortened life expectancy. So what do we do about it? And how do we decide where to travel?

Zika is problematic from a public health perspective because it leads to something harmless or disastrous, and that presents a unique ethical quandary for doctors and patients. When does a potential exposure to a possible teratogen become unacceptable? What degree of diagnostic uncertainty are we comfortable with? Almost every day I'm asked about Zika and my level of concern seems to change with the news cycle. I've also found that my professional notions of risk and volition are viewed differently through the lens of fatherhood. In some ways, my travel advice to my wife felt like my first act as a parent to our unborn daughter.

The virus has spread through more than twenty countries in the Americas, where contraceptive access is often limited and abortion laws are some of the most restrictive in the world. Some countries in the region, like El Salvador, have chosen to err far on the side of caution, recommending that no one in the country get pregnant until 2018. (Good luck with that.) Others, like Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, have also urged women to avoid getting pregnant, but haven't put forth a timetable for this unprecedented recommendation. Still others in the region, like Haiti and Martinique, have not provided any guidelines. This patchwork approach has led to confusion, especially as the virus migrates north.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a travel alert for pregnant women, suggesting they postpone travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. Unfortunately, the situation on the ground is changing so rapidly that it can be difficult to determine exactly where that is. Jamaica reported its first case on Saturday and many experts (myself included) believe it will spread throughout the United States over the next few months. (Dozens of Americans in eleven states and Washington, D.C., have already contracted the virus.)

Adding to the confusion, Zika virus often causes minimal (or no) symptoms in infected patients. Pregnant mothers don't need to have symptoms to transmit the virus to their fetus, and there's no reliable test, treatment or vaccine to combat the disease. In short, we're all playing a bit of a guessing game when we advise patients on travel, especially to places where the virus isn't yet circulating.

Taking all of this into consideration, I found the fundamental principles of moral decision-making - things like autonomy, proportionality, and beneficence - to be confusing and unhelpful as I tried to answer my wife's question. On one hand, it seemed unwise to travel anywhere. The risk of microcephaly for my unborn child was far too great to justify any avoidable trip. On the other hand, I don't want to live my life in fear. I've looked at the data and read the recommendations. So why not follow the evidence? Zika isn't circulating widely in Florida, so why not go?

Across the country, patients are being told to consult their doctor when they have questions about Zika. But as my wife (also a doctor) quickly discovered, physicians don't entirely know what to recommend. The CDC has created an algorithm for testing pregnant women who may have been exposed to the virus, but it's exceedingly complicated and, more troublingly, it may lead to the detection of microcephaly outside of the window of possible pregnancy termination. You might learn of a birth defect when it's too late to do anything about it.

One of the more intriguing ethical issues that hasn't been discussed involves adoption, particularly for parents who are planning to adopt a child from a country now affected by the outbreak. Should they view their roles any differently? Or attempt to intervene on behalf of their fetus? A generation of unborn children are suddenly at risk, and the ripple effect will extend far beyond the borders of the affected nations.

After much deliberation, my wife and I decided to take the trip to Florida. She wore long-sleeves and tried to avoid mosquitos, and as we walked in the sun, it felt like the right decision. But after one of our walks, I received a text from an old friend - an obstetrician who specializes in fertility. She was writing to congratulate us on our pregnancy and told us to avoid unnecessary travel, especially to places like Florida.

On Feb. 1, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern." The designation fast-tracks aid and research to tackle the virus and puts it in the same category of concern as the Ebola virus. It also gives WHO decisions the force of international law. But at this point, even with growing attention, we're left with more questions about Zika than answers. I still don't know if the trip to Florida was misguided.

At times, Zika can feel far away - especially if you live in a place where mosquitos are uncommon. But the ethical questions surrounding the outbreak touch us all. There is now a groundswell of support in the medical community to wipeout the species of mosquito that carries the Zika virus, and, potentially, to bring back DDT to do it. Is this the right move?
Is it time for the United States to dump Saudi Arabia?

By Josh Cohen

Feb 3 (Reuters) - After the recent execution of Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia, the Middle East once again risks devolving into sectarian chaos. A mob torched the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, prompting Saudi Arabia and a number of its Sunni allies to break diplomatic relations with Iran.

In response to the unfolding chaos, the Wall Street Journal responded by asking "Who Lost the Saudis?" - fretting that the lack of support from the United States could lead to the overthrow of the Saudi regime. This is a provocative query, reminiscent of the "Who Lost China?" attacks against President Harry Truman after the Communist takeover of mainland China in 1949. But it's the wrong question. Rather than wondering if Washington's support for Riyadh is sufficient, American policymakers should instead ask themselves the following question: Is it time for the United States to dump Saudi Arabia?

The moral case for the United States to question its close relationship with Saudi Arabia is clear. Saudi Arabia is governed by the House of Saud, an authoritarian monarchy that does not tolerate dissent, and the country consistently ranks among the "worst of the worst" countries in democracy watchdog Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights.

Saudi Arabia follows the ultra-conservative Wahhabi strain of Sunni Islam, and the public practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited. Its legal system is governed by Sharia law, and a 2015 study from Middle East Eye noted that Saudi Arabia and Islamic State prescribed near-identical punishments, such as amputation and stoning for similar crimes. The government is also renowned for carrying out public executions after trials that Amnesty International condemns as "grossly unfair"; Amnesty describes the Saudi "justice system" as "riddled with holes. "

Given the two countries' divergent values, the U.S.-Saudi alliance relies almost entirely on overlapping economic and national security interests. The United States long relied on Saudi Arabia as an oil supplier, a steadfast beacon of opposition to communism and a huge buyer of American arms. The Saudis, meanwhile, depend on the United States to protect their security.

Despite these long-standing ties, Saudi Arabia now harms American national interests as much as it helps them.

First, the Saudis and the United States diverge over American policy toward Iran. Saudi Arabia sees itself locked in a sectarian and geopolitical struggle with Iran for Middle East supremacy. Riyadh is concerned the deal that lifted sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran dismantling it's nuclear infrastructure will empower Iran to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy in the region. Riyadh also fears abandonment by Washington, and worries the nuclear deal is only the first step in a process that could lead to its replacement by Iran as the United States' primary Persian Gulf ally.

President Barack Obama, by contrast, describes the nuclear agreement with Iran as "a very good deal" that "achieves one of our most critical security objectives." While no indication exists that the United States seeks to replace Saudi Arabia with Iran, it makes sense for Washington to explore other areas where American and Iranian interests may overlap. As the United States and Iran continue to feel each other out, we can expect tensions between Washington and Riyadh to grow.

Second, Saudi Arabia executed al-Nimr despite concerns expressed by the United States that doing so could damage hopes for peace in Syria. Ending the Syrian war remains a priority for the United States, since Washington hopes a Syrian settlement will lead all parties to unite against Islamic State.

Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposing sides in Syria's civil war, and the prospects for peace depend significantly on cooperation from both countries. With the two countries now at each others' throats due to the Saudis' execution of al-Nimr, the Obama administration believes Saudi-Iranian tensions could "blow up" Washington's objectives in Syria.

Third, thanks to the shale oil boom in the United States, American dependence on Saudi oil has dropped dramatically. According to a Citibank report, by 2020 the United States may produce so much domestic oil that it would become a net exporter, completely freeing itself from any reliance on Persian Gulf imports. Moreover, the Saudis also rely on the American market. They and many other OPEC members produce what's called "heavy sour" crude, and the U.S. refinery system is the most attractive market for this type of petroleum. As the United States reduces imports, the Saudis must scramble to find other markets such as China. Unfortunately for Riyadh - as the Russians can attest - the Chinese give no quarter when holding the upper hand in negotiations.

The Saudis understand the consequences of the United States' reduced reliance on imported oil. To retain market share, the Saudis launched an assault on American shale oil producers, hoping to drive them out of business by flooding the market with Saudi oil. The Saudis hope this leads oil prices to recover, but in the meantime much of the American shale oil industry could face bankruptcy. While cheap oil is good for American consumers, at a certain point the downside for the United States' economy may outweigh the upsides. Of course, if the United States regains a greater dependence on foreign oil, the Saudis will be the ones to benefit.

Finally - and most importantly - the United States must accept the fact that Saudi Arabia is a major contributor to worldwide Islamic extremism. Washington policymakers clearly understand this. In a leaked Wikileaks cable, former Secretary of State - and now presidential aspirant - Hillary Clinton stated "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide."

In a 2014 speech at Harvard, Vice President Joseph Biden called out Saudi Arabia and others for contributing to the rise of Islamic State, saying "those allies' policies wound up helping to arm and build allies of al Qaeda and eventually the terrorist Islamic State."

In a highly unusual public rebuke in December, Germany's vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel accused the Saudis of funding extremism in the West. "Wahhabi mosques all over the world are financed by Saudi Arabia. Many Islamists who are a threat to public safety come from these communities in Germany. We have to make clear to the Saudis that the time of looking away is over," Gabriel said.

Saudi Arabia denies funding extremism, and in 2014 called claims it supported Islamic State "false allegations" and a "malicious falsehood." Moreover, the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom recently posted a letter charging critics of playing the "blame game" and called the accusations "an insult to our government, our people, and our faith."
Another 14 have resigned while 32 have stayed on at the company

The group returned to work, but seven employees still violated the policy

Seven Muslim workers at an Wisconsin manufacturer have been fired after they continued to violate company policy by praying during unscheduled breaks.

The move comes two weeks after Ariens Company in Brillion, Wisconsin, told staff they would not be allowed back to work unless they agreed that they could only worship twice a day during two 10-minute breaks.

The terminated employees were among 53 disgruntled Somalis who walked off the job on January 14 following the announcement from company bosses.

The staff members asked to leave carried on taking unscheduled breaks, despite an ultimatum by CEO Dan Ariens, while 14 others have resigned since the walkout.

Seven Muslim workers at Wisconsin manufacturer Ariens Company have been fired after they continued to violate company policy by praying during unscheduled breaks

The other 32 Muslim employees who came back to work have been following the new break rules.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day - at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening.

'We would have liked for more of the employees to stay, however, we respect their faith, we respect the work they have done for Ariens Company and we respect their decisions,' the company said.

The former employees are working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations to determine their next steps, which could include legal action against the company, said Jaylani Hussein, the organization's executive director.

'It came out of nowhere and the company did not want to listen to some suggestions and options to make the current breaks more flexible to align with the prayer schedule,' he said.

Ariens, which has 1,500 employees worldwide, has set up designated prayer rooms for Muslim workers in Brillion, the company said. Brillion is about 25 miles south of Green Bay.

The company said letting the workers pray during unscheduled breaks disrupted production schedules.

Speaking to Daily Mail Online earlier this month, Ariens said he would refuse to allow the employees back to work unless they accepted his decision to ban extra prayer breaks.

Ariens, whose family set up the business more than 80 years ago, denied he was being insensitive to their religious needs.

He reveals 'other non Muslim workers' complained to him privately about the exceptional time given to the 53 Islamic staff to be able to meet their religious obligations during shifts.

'It just throws 800 people in disarray. Think of the unfairness. Everybody gets two ten minute breaks, but some additional 50 people are getting more breaks of maybe five or twenty minutes.'

But the banned Muslim workers hit back saying they had been technically forced out of their jobs and insulted by the company's management.

An Imam who leads prays at his Mosque with many of the workers said Ariens, if allowed, was setting a dangerous precedent which might lead businesses around the U.S. to review the procedure of allowing Muslims time during work to pray.

CEO Dan Ariens (pictured earlier this month) told Daily Mail Online he would refuse to allow the employees back to work unless they accepted his decision to ban extra prayer breaks

Ariens says some prayer breaks took key workers away from production assembly lines for up to twenty minutes.

Speaking in the boardroom of the company's Wisconsin headquarters, he said: 'We know those breaks aren't always (taking) five minutes for prayer because you can't physically walk to one end of the plant.

'It is 365,000 square feet so it may take you ten, fifteen and we know in some cases twenty minutes.

'If they were to stay with those five minute breaks, it would cost us about a million dollars per year.

'Let's say an assembly line has ten people on it, if two walk off the job, the other eight are standing there because they work in a sequence. It is impossible and it is not a free for all. We work as a team.'

Nearly 200 workers, mostly Somali immigrants, were fired from a Cargill Meat Solutions facility in Fort Morgan, Colorado, on December 31 after staging a walkout to protest what they said were insufficient prayer accommodations.

A Muslim prays at the Islamic Center of Wisconsin in Appleton, Wisconsin. Some of the employees at the manufacturer claimed they were using prayer to avoid work
Italian student missing in Egypt likely dead -Italian foreign ministry

CAIRO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - An Italian student from Britain's Cambridge University who went missing last week in Cairo is likely dead, the Italian foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that it was still waiting for official confirmation from Egyptian authorities.

Giulio Regeni, 28, disappeared on Jan. 25, the five-year anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, his friends and the Italian foreign ministry said.

Tensions were high in Egypt in the run-up to the anniversary, with police detaining activists and warning against protests. No significant protests took place.

"The Italian government had learnt of the probable tragic end to this affair," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued in Rome.

While the government was awaiting confirmation of what has happened, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni had expressed his deep condolences to Regeni's family, the statement added.

The foreign ministry did not give any indication of how the 28-year-old student might have died or whether his body had been found. Italian news agency Ansa said his body had been found in a ditch in a Cairo suburb but gave no further information.

A friend of Regeni said he disappeared after leaving his home in an upper middle class area to meet a friend downtown.
The celebrated and controversial German writer and Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass, no stranger to India, used one of his fictional characters to ask, "Why not a poem about a pile of shit that god dropped and named Calcutta?... How it swarms, stinks, lives and gets bigger and bigger. If god had shat a pile of concrete the result would have been Frankfurt."

Soulless

Grass, who saw the detritus of the Empires Second City during his visits, did believe that Calcutta was "gods excrement", as he is reported to have eloquently told filmmaker Mrinal Sen. Frankfurt, with it its chrome-and-glass towers, its vast avenues and glimmering skyline, would have matched Grasss description.

Berlin was still a divided city and an occupied zone, even if notionally. Frankfurt (apart from Bonn) was the happening city, though soulless in its grey concreteness. Calcutta, on the other hand, was metaphorically grey and literally shabby, a dying city in terminal decay. God discriminated between the grey and the shabby. Or else Grass would not have drawn so scathing a distinction.

Had Grass been alive, he would have possibly revised his opinion. Not one to turn his face away from reality, he would have taken note of the not so pleasing scenes of immigrants, described as "refugees" in perhaps the worst perversion of the term, defecating in the streets of Berlin and other German cities.

It is ironic that Germany today boasts signs that seek to inform immigrants, who have flooded the country this past year, that showers are for bathing and not shitting. God, it could be said, is making amends for earlier injustices.

It is equally ironic that Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured as Mother Teresa in the closing days of 2015 for openly and warmly embracing the unwashed masses that trekked their way to Europes most affluent country, is now portrayed as a hijabi.

Christian charity and the limitless kindness of a welfare state are now replaced by a refusal to play the Good Samaritan and reluctance to step up to the plate. To revert to Grasss scatological imagery, Germans do not wish to carry the can for Syrians, Iraqis, Africans, Libyans, Afghans and assorted seekers of the good life far away from the mess at home.

The sense of guilt for what Germans did to the Jews still lingers, but is not overwhelming. Popular anger against more than a million immigrants who entered Germany in 2015 has been rapidly rising ever since women were sexually assaulted in Cologne during New Years Eve.

The German way of life is now seen as facing a serious threat from those who believe, to quote a belligerent immigrant, "German women are meant for sex". Imam Sami Abu Yusuf of Cologne has further outraged public opinion by justifying what the Arab immigrants did across cities.

"The events of New Years Eve were the girls own fault, because they were half-naked and wearing perfume. It is not surprising the men wanted to attack them. (Dressing like that) is like adding fuel to the fire," he said in a recent media interview.

Fallouts

There have been three fallouts of the mood turning hostile in Germany. First, Merkel is fast losing supporters. Till December, it appeared she would remain Germanys most popular and Europes strongest leader for the foreseeable future.

40 per cent of her supporters now want her to go. Her party, the Christian Democratic Union, has suffered erosion too. Its popularity ratings are at its lowest in three years. Will Merkels colleagues stand by her if she fails to halt the slide?

Second, there is greater support, building up each day, for the far Right. Electorally inconsequential up until now, the far Right has now latched onto the massive crisis looming large over Germany. Multiculturalism, the Germans have let it be known, is not acceptable to them. An enfeebled Left agrees.

On her part, Merkel has debunked multiculturalism in an obvious effort to smoothen ruffled feathers. "Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies and therefore remains a 'life lie' or a sham," she said, adding that Germany may be reaching its limits in terms of accepting more refugees. "The challenge is immense," she said. "We want and we will reduce the number of refugees noticeably."

But that may prove to be too little too late, words that cannot be translated into action.

Hostility

Third, alarmed by the eruption of hostility towards immigrants in Germany and the political cost of toeing the Merkel line, countries in Europe are breaking ranks and, even if temporarily, opting out of Schengen common border arrangements.

Finland would like to see 30,000 of its 32,000 immigrants return to wherever they came from. Sweden would like 80,000 immigrants, nearly half of those who entered the country, to leave.

Thats a fond hope, reiterated by Merkel. "This is a temporary residential status," she said during a weekend meeting of the CDU. "We expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once IS (Islamic State) has been defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the knowledge that you have gained."

It doesnt work that way. Merkel could have checked with India. We had fixed 1971 as the cut-off year, and expected immigrants, call them refugees if you wish, to return to Bangladesh after the liberation war was over. Nobody returned.

On the contrary, many more have since then come into India, arguably by resorting to stealth and deceit.

Europes conversion into Eurabia is a work in progress. The Arabs will ensure that that work is not disrupted. Everything else is no more than the violent twitch of a dying body.

Having opened the proverbial gates of Vienna, Europe has set in motion its conquest. Unlike in the Levant, the caliphate here is taking shape and form silently, quietly.
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Just few days back we spotted Katrina Kaif shooting for Jagga Jasoos with Ranbir Kapoor in Mumbai.

Mumbai: Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif currently has a lot on her plate. With one film all set to hit the silver screen, the actress also has another to wrap up.

Reportedly, Katrina, who is pretty caught up with her upcoming film Fitoors promotions, will fly out of the country to Morocco to shoot for her film Jagga Jasoos. Our source reveals that the actress will take off to Morocco on February 13, right after her much awaited film hits the silver screens.

Only few days back we spotted Katrina and Ranbir shooting for the film together. Soon after, the reports about Katrina and Ranbirs break-up started to make round in B-town. Keeping personal life aside, Katrina completely indulged herself in the promotions of Fitoor, which also stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Tabu.

The actress is in no mood to waste any further time and wants to start with with director Anurag Basus films next schedule, which takes place in Morocco.

The actress was spotted at Auto Expo in Delhi today.

The event was also attended by Katrina Kaif's alleged ex-beau Ranbir Kapoor.
The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control (LoC) ends. (Photo: AP)

Srinagar: Ten Army soldiers including a junior commissioned officer were buried alive when a massive avalanche swept through their post in Siachen glacier area at a height of 19,600 feet in eastern Ladakh on Wednesday morning.

Defence spokesman at Armys Northern Command. Colonel S.D. Goswami, said in garrison town of Udhampur, Rescue operations by specialized teams from Army and Air Force are underway. He added that these operations are being closely monitored from Leh and Udhampur.

Army sources said that the avalanche hit the post located in the southern side of the Siachen glacier at dawn. Col. Goswami said that the post was being manned by the JCO and nine soldiers when the incident occurred.

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control (LoC) ends. As both India and Pakistan have claim over it, the stretch of snow is dubbed as the worlds highest battlefield.

As many as 869 Indian Army personnel have lost their lives on the Siachen due to climatic conditions and environmental and other factors since the Army launched Operation Meghdoot to take the control of the strategically vital glacier in 1984 till December 2015. In a recent such incident, four soldiers were killed by an avalanche in January this year.

Prior to 1984, neither India nor Pakistan had any military forces in this area. In spite of avalanches and landslides claiming lives of the soldier routinely in the area particularly during the winter when temperatures can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius, the Indian military authorities maintain that the Army will stay in the region for strategic advantages.
Chennai: Will we be bailed out alive, is the lone thought lingering in the psyche of 49 Indian fishermen stranded in an Iranian Port for more than two months.

While some of them had fallen sick, hunger and thirst have made the fisherfolk to yearn for their rescue. Drinking water supply had also been stopped and they are left with only option of drinking sea water.

The fisherfolk from Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Gujarat, were detained with five long liners from Dubai after they accidentally drifted into the territorial waters of Iran, on December 1, last.

Since then, they were being held in the long liners and were fending off on supplies for credit for about a month. The supply stopped on instructions from the owners of the long liners. Water supply was also stopped.

The Iranian Coast Guard which has the custody of the liners with its crew reportedly do not allow the crew to enter the port to collect even drinking water.

They are at the mercy of other friends from here working in Iran even to charge the phone. They cannot randomly make calls as they used to when they were at work. They have to wait for their turn since most of their mobiles had run out of battery, said Delvin Helena, wife of a crew member Rubin, (35), of Muttam.

Mary Helen, wife of another crew member  Benjamin, (42), who echoed Delvin Helena, also noted that her husband went only for the third fishing sortie when he was apprehended.

National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) coordinator Valarmathi, pinned her hopes on the Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, for rescuing the stranded fishermen. We have already petitioned the CM in this regard she said.

Antony Hubert, activist from Muttam in Kanyakumari, said the families here were struggling to make ends meet as their breadwinners were stranded in Iran.
Congress leader Mohammed Shabbir Ali being attacked by MIM workers led by Asaduddin Owaisi at Mir Chowk in city on Tuesday.  Gandhi

Hyderabad: Majlis party workers and leaders ran amok on Tuesday across the Old City attacking leaders of various parties including Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Alis son Azam Ali and senior Congress leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, and Ram Mohan Reddy during the last hours of polling.

MIM party chief Asaduddin Owaisi was seen leading the party workers who thrashed Congress leaders and damaged their vehicles at Mirchowk.

Read: Why are you in Old City, Owaisi asks Congress leaders

MIM leader and Malakpet MLA Ahmed Balala allegedly chased and beat up the Mr Azam Ali in front of the ministers house at Azampura.

Mr Balala, who was passing by the area, saw Mr Azam Ali and his aides standing near his house.

Read: After AIMIM runs riot in Old City, many arrested

He went up and started an argument with Mr Azam Ali. The argument then turned into a fist fight. Securitymen deployed at the ministers house rescued Mr Azam Ali and took him inside, said an eyewitness.

Read: Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM men must be arrested, says Congress

Some 40 members of the MIM party came to my house and assaulted my son. They also attacked my house, said Mr Mahmood Ali.
Seoul: North Korea notified UN agencies on Tuesday that it plans to launch a satellite later this month, which could advance the isolated countrys development of long-range missile technology.

Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 in defiance of United Nations sanctions, and last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit.

Western and Asian experts have said that launch was part of an effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea is under UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and countries including the United States and South Korea are seeking fresh sanctions after Pyongyangs latest nuclear test last month.

We have received information from DPRK regarding the launch of earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong between 8-25 February, a spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, told Reuters by email late on Tuesday.

North Koreas official name is the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

North Korea is believed to be making preparations for a test launch of a long-range rocket, US officials said last week, after activity at its test site was observed by satellite.

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise.

The country has shown off two versions of a ballistic missile resembling a type that could reach the US West Coast, but there is no evidence the missiles have been tested.

The North is also seen to be working to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile, but many experts say it is some time away from perfecting such technology.

The International Telecommunication Union, another UN agency, told Reuters that North Korea had informed it on Tuesday of plans to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years, in a non-geostationary orbit.

It said the information provided by North Korea was incomplete, and that it was seeking further information.

The North detonated a nuclear device on Jan. 6, calling it a successful hydrogen bomb test, although this assertion was met with scepticism by US and South Korean officials and nuclear experts. They said the blast was too small for it to have been a full-fledged hydrogen bomb.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chinas envoy for the North Korean nuclear issue arrived in the capital Pyongyang, the Norths KCNA news agency reported.
South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea on 23rd January, 2016. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: South Korea warned on Wednesday of "searing" consequences if North Korea doesn't abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

The South's rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after the North's defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the UN work on strong new sanctions against Pyongyang.

North Korea on Tuesday informed international organizations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between Feb. 8 and 25, and if North Korea's past patterns are any clue, angry warnings by its neighbours and Washington probably won't dissuade a coming launch.

The launch declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Korea's disputed claim on Jan. 6 to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country's fourth nuclear test. A launch would be seen as a snub by North Korea of its only major ally, China, whose representative for Korean affairs landed in Pyongyang for talks on Tuesday.

Read: After nuclear test, North Korea announces satellite rocket launch

South Korean and US officials said the launch would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic activities.

"We warn that if North Korea proceeds with a long-range missile launch, the international society will ensure that the North pays searing consequences for it as the launch would constitute a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world," senior South Korean presidential official Cho Tae-young said in televised remarks.

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the US was tracking reports of the North's planned launch. He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a UN ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilizing behaviour. He called for the imposition of tough additional sanctions.

Russel said a launch "would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," in an apparent reference to China.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons along with missiles capable of striking the mainland United States.

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. The North also told international agencies before that launch of its plans. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said North Korea informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunication Union of its launch plans.

"Right now, we're carefully monitoring developments and are in close touch with the interested parties and the international organizations," Haq said at UN headquarters in New York.

The International Telecommunication Union said North Korea informed its Geneva office of its intention to launch a Kwangmyongsong (Bright Star) -type Earth observation satellite with a four-year operational life. But the ITU's UN representative, Gary Fowlie, said not enough technical information had been supplied to register the planned launch in its Master International Frequency Register.

A South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said Seoul estimated that the first stage of the rocket would fall off the west coast of South Korea, more debris would land near the South's Jeju Island, and the second stage would land off the Philippines' east coast.

North Korea, an autocracy run by the same family since 1948, is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles, but it closely guards details about its nuclear and missile programs. This means there is considerable debate about whether it can produce nuclear bombs small enough to place on a missile, or missiles that can reliably deliver their bombs to faraway targets.

The North's recent nuclear test has led to another push in the UN to tighten sanctions, something that followed North Korea's 2012 rocket launch and its 2013 third nuclear test. The North followed that test with an escalating campaign of bombast that included threats to fire nuclear missiles at the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has said that plutonium and highly enriched uranium facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex are in operation. But just what is happening at Nyongbyon is unclear. North Korea booted out international inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.
French law in this matter is very precise: the restriction applies to the wearing of all visible religious signs, without any discrimination, and it applies only to public schools. (Representational Photo: Pixabay)

Paris: The French embassy in New Delhi said there was no ban on wearing turbans in public spaces while reacting to a charge by a Sikh organisation that the community has been fighting for their right to wear the religious garb in France.

Outside the premises of public schools, wearing the Sikh turban is very much allowed in public space, contrary to the allegations of certain radical organisations. Only the burkha is banned in public places, for obvious security reasons.

Furthermore, neither Sikhs wearing turbans in the streets nor Sikh shrines were ever subject to any hostility in France, the embassy announced in a statement.

France upholds the freedom of religion, as well as the right not to have one, and opposes discriminations on this ground. There is no ban on the wearing of turbans. French law in this matter is very precise: the restriction applies to the wearing of all visible religious signs, without any discrimination, and it applies only to public schools.

It leaves it to the heads of public schools to take the most appropriate measures, so that it is implemented in a sensitive manner, the statement added.

This measure has been explained to the Indian authorities and representatives of the Sikh community in France, with whom a regular dialogue has been established, the embassy said.

The Sikhs of France understand and have assimilated the laws on laicite (the French principle of separation between the State and religious institutions) and practical solutions have been found to reconcile their religious practice with the principles of the French Republic, it added.

Protesting against the absence of a Sikh regiment contingent at the Republic Day parade where French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday said it was a setback to the struggle of Sikhs who have been fighting for their rights in France.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about this matter.
An 18-year-old boy was found murdered in the forested area near Bara Hindu Rao in north Delhi with stab marks on the neck and chest on Monday.



Police have arrested three men, including the uncle of the victim, for the murder of Mohd Anas Qureshi.



It was planned by Anas stepmother to get hold of her late husbands property, which the victim was about to inherit, said police.



Anas was identified by his Aadhaar card which was found near the body.

Four police teams were set up to solve the case under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Civil Lines.



During scanning of the victims mobile phone details, it was found that his uncle Mohd Shanawaz was in constant touch with him on Sunday, when the murder took place.



On further examination, it was found that another person  who was in touch with Shanawaz too  was also in constant touch with Anas. On the basis of these clues, Shanawaz was picked up by police for interrogation.



Initially, Shanawaz tried to mislead the policemen by giving them wrong information, but he ended up confessing to his involvement in the murder.



Shanawaz disclosed that he was suffering losses in his business and needed money urgently. His sister-in-law Rubina, who is also the stepmother of Anas, told Shanawaz that Anas would be one of the legal heirs of the property of her late husband. Hence, she wanted to get rid of him, said a senior police officer.



She offered Rs 10 lakh to Shanawaz to eliminate Anas, of which Rs 5 lakh was meant for the contract killer and Rs 5 lakh for Shanawaz. As Shanawaz desperately needed money, he accepted the offer, the officer added.



Shanawaz ran a fruit business at Azadpur and was in touch with Shahbaz and Sonu, both labourers in the market. They bought new phones and SIM cards to execute their plan, and decided to eliminate Anas on Sunday evening.



Around 9.30 pm, Shanawaz called Anas from the new mobile phone and asked him to join them near Barf Khana Chowk, Sabzi Mandi.



When Anas arrived there, the trio offered him a cup of coffee, which was spiked with sleeping pills. They then took Anas to Kamla Nehru Ridge, opposite Ajeet Garh Water Works.



At the ridge, when Anas started feeling dizzy, they first strangled him with a plastic rope and then stabbed him with an ice poker and a knife.



After throwing the body along with the murder weapons, the accused fled.

A police team has been dispatched to Amroha in Uttar Pradesh to arrest Rubina.
The Delhi government will now launch a mobile app to help people report unavailability of medicines at government hospitals, said Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Tuesday.



This comes after the government launched the free medicine scheme at its hospitals on Fenruary 1.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced last month that there will be no shortage of drugs and consumables at the state-run hospitals. However, patients are still facing problems obtaining all medicines prescribed by doctors at the hospital pharmacies.



The government will also start a helpline - 8745051111 - where people can report shortage of medicines at the hospitals by sending a text message from Wednesday.



The app which can be downloaded from Google Play store can also be downloaded from Wednesday onwards.



Jain told reporters on Tuesday that patients have to upload the picture of prescriptions through the app. The patient will immediately get a message or call about when the medicines will be available at the hospital, he added.



If a medicine is not available at some hospital, it may be available at another nearby hospital or warehouse.



A senior official of the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) said the government will update the Essential Drug List (EDL). Around 150 more drugs will be added to the list.



Jain said the supply of medicines will be need-based. If a particular formulation is not available, the pharmacist can dispense another formulation available.



Hospitals have also reported a shortage of consumables. The government is now in the process of updating its list of consumables.
Now, I feel less of a criminal. I feel happy that there is some hope now, said Anu, 27, a gay man. Anus family is not aware of his sexual orientation yet. But he believes he will be able to make choices openly in future.



On Tuesday, the Supreme Court referred the petition against section 377 of the Indian Penal Code  which criminalises homosexuality  to a five-judge Bench.



The community of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgenders (LGBT) saw it as a positive development. In 2013, the Supreme Court had set aside the Delhi High Court judgment which decriminalised homosexuality in 2009.



The referral of the petition to a five-judge Bench means legal recourse is now open, said Anjali Gopalan of Naz Foundation.



The 2013 judgment was a huge setback and we felt dejected. But today the mood is positive. The referral of the petition does not mean it is the end of the struggle for us. There is now something to look forward to, she added.



Naz Foundation, which works for the LGBT community, is one of the petitioners in the case.

The first reaction of gay rights activists and lawyers was that of relief. This was followed by jubilation.



On Monday, the mood for the community was that of anxiety. Today we had gathered around the Town Hall. When the petition was referred, the first reaction was that of relief. We are also quite elated. The last judgment was a setback after keeping high hopes. We welcome todays decision to review the petition as this is a legally sound too, said Gowthaman Ranganathan, lawyer, Alternative Law Forum based in Bangalore.



With the petition now being sent to a bigger bench, activists saw it as a move to address basic human rights and constitutional issues. This shows that the issue is not about a minuscule number of people but is a question of fundamental rights. I am happy that the court addresses the constitutionality of the issue. Now a dialogue is open, said activist Gautam Bhan.



The most important thing is this issue has finally come up again. It affects the LGBT community life and deserves attention. We now have hopes, said Anjan Joshi, member of Society For Peoples Awareness, Care & Empowerment (SPACE).


Blaming the citys AA P government for creating a financial crises in the municipal corporations eyeing 2017 civic elections, the Delhi BJP asked Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday to direct it to release Rs 2,900 crore  the pending amount as per the Third Finance Commission.





A delegation led by Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Satish Upadhyay and three mayors met the LG and urged him to intervene in the matter and ensure the release of pending funds under the Third Finance Commission as an interim measure to restore civic services.



The matter is before the Delhi High Court which on January 7 directed the city government to release all pending funds as per the Third Finance Commission within four weeks, said the delegations memorandum.



All the three municipal commissioners have been reminding the city government which is running a shameful vicious campaign by terming the non-Plan funds as the salary bill amount given to the civic bodies, it added.



Even while passing the Fourth Finance Commission report in the Delhi Assembly, the city government has put unlawful riders and refuses to implement the financial recommendations, it said.



The delegation also demanded property tax dues owed to three municipalities by many departments like Delhi Transco, power distribution companies, Delhi Jal Board and DDA.

North Corporation Mayor Ravinder Gupta said that the Delhi government has been misleading the people by telling a lie that it has paid all due funds required to give salaries till March 2016.



Taking a swipe at the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals demand of re-elections to the municipalities, he said, The Delhi government should also be dissolved as it is not fulfilling its constitutionally mandatory obligations.



Chief Minister and his team has been spreading rumours that the municipal commissioners had said that the Delhi government did not owe any fund to municipal corporations.



The mayor said that the commissioners had written to Delhi government seeking the due funds.

He added that North corporation required Rs 2,700 crore to distribute salaries per annum, while the city government has given it only Rs 890 crore.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday summoned Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) S K Gautam, who is heading the investigation into the alleged beating of a group of students by some police personnel, and sought an explanation from him.



On Saturday, students had gathered outside the RSS office at Jhandewalan in central Delhi demanding justice for Rohith Vemula, the 26-year-old University of Hyderabads research scholar whose suicide last month triggered protests across the country.



Gautam said he is inquiring the circumstances leading to the incident outside the RSS office. The video footage from there is being studied.



Agitated over Saturdays incident, student from various universities on Tuesday staged a protest outside the police headquarters at ITO, forcing police to clamp prohibitory orders under section 144 in the area. Police warned students not to break the law.



The demonstration led to massive traffic jams at the busy ITO junction with commuters having to wait for over an hour to cross the red signal.



The students from Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, Krantikari Yuva Sangathan and Left-backed All India Students Association staged a demonstration there.

The protest comes a day after a video of police thrashing a group of students, protesting against Vemula suicide went viral on social media.



JNUSU president Kanhaiyya Kumar said: Police commissioner needs to tell the country why cops behaved in this manner and on whose instructions they did so. They were so prompt in taking action against the students, why is the top cop not acting against his own policemen now?



The students alleged that they have been treated in similar manner by police whenever they have tried to protest and raise their voice against any issue.


Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away here today.He was 92.



Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was a popular leader who enriched Parliamentary democracy.



"Balram Jakhar ji was a popular leader who enriched our Parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP," he tweeted.

Jakhar served as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed to the establishment of Parliament Museum.



He also served as Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.



Jakhar also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009.



Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grief over the demise of Jakhar.

In her message to the family of Jakhar, Gandhi said, "The Congress Party as indeed the entire nation will forever remember the contributions made by him during the course of his long public life, particularly to the cause of farming community."



"Be it as Legislator, Parliamentarian, Minister, Speaker or Governor, Dr Jakhar forever remained at the forefront in taking up issues concerning agriculture and farmers and his role in modernising the Parliament Secretariat was pioneering."



Jakhar also served as Deputy Minister Cooperation, Irrigation and Power in Punjab between 1973-77 and then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly between 1977 and 1979.



Jakhar was a four-time MP in Lok Sabha starting from his election in the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980. He was again elected in 1984, 1991 and 1998.



In 1980, he became Lok Sabha Speaker and served till 1989 for two terms during which he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of the House works.

He worked extensively for promotion of Parliament Library, smartening the reference, research and documentation system of the House and streamlining information for the members.



Jakhar headed Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee; General Purposes Committee; and Standing Committee of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India.



In the party, he became General Secretary All India Congress Committee in 1990 and from 1992 he was member, Congress Working Committee.
The Delhi High Court today refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow in New Moti Bagh here.



A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, while upholding the single-judge bench order of February 1, said that as the MP is not entitled for relief, his appeal is dismissed.



"Pending representation before the House committee does not mean you are entitled for relief. The single judge has rightly dismissed your petition. This petition is also dismissed," the bench said.



Chowdhury, a Lok Sabha member, had moved the court against the February 1 order dismissing his plea against the eviction, following which the authorities concerned had disconnected water and power supply to his ministerial bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh, even as they started eviction proceedings against him.



Yesterday, the division bench, which did not interfere with disconnection of utilities, had directed maintenance of status quo with regard to the eviction till today morning.



According to the Directorate of Estates, the MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and given sufficient time to vacate the ministerial bungalow which, it said, he was not entitled to. But Chowdhury did not vacate despite several reminders in the past, it said.



Chowdhury had yesterday said that it was nothing but "political vendetta against opposition by the government."



During the arguments yesterday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, who appeared on behalf of the Directorate of Estates, had told the court that the government was trying to accommodate the MP but he was not satisfied with the housing options being given to him.



Chowdhury's counsel had submitted that there was a security threat to the MP as well as his family at the new premises.



Defending the eviction move, the Urban Development Ministry had said that Chowdhury was offered three Type VI bungalows after cancellation of Type VIII bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh but he refused.



The allotment of the bungalow was cancelled in 2014 by the ministry since he ceased to be a minister at the Centre after the 2014 general elections.



As a member of Lok Sabha, he is entitled for a Type-6 accommodation. He was allotted an alternative accommodation at C-1/99, Moti Bagh by the House Committee of Lok Sabha in January, 2015 which was not accepted by him.
Dear Madam,

I have done MSc in Food Science and Nutrition. I am interested to do PhD abroad, so please guide which are the universities related to my subject and the related expenses as well. What are the necessary entrance exams that should be undertaken? If I have an opportunity to contact, whom can I contact to know get more information?

Tejaswini M





Dear Tejaswini,

Some of the best universities for PhD in food science and nutrition in the US are Cornell, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, University of California Davis, Boston University, Harvard University, Colorado State University, Purdue University, Tufts University and the University of Connecticut. As for the tests to undertake, you need to write the GRE and TOEFL exam. Please go to www.ets.org to register for both these exams and work on practice papers.



You should research these universities thoroughly and identify the university and professor you wish to work with. You will find research works of all the Professors on the University website. Communicate with the professors who you would like to work with and convince them that you will be an asset to their Institution. You can get admission to a PhD programme only if someone is willing to be your mentor. So whats most important is your communication skills and perseverance. Carry out some research projects here and have them published before you approach a University for your PhD.



Dear Madam,

I am currently pursuing my final year in BCA and my aggregate till now is 70 per cent. I aspire to undertake MS in computer science in the US. Please let me know the universities accepting Indian three-year degree. I have even thought of taking up online courses as well as internship so that I can add it to my resume. Please give me information on universities and their criteria.

A student



Dear student,

I would ask you to consider doing your masters in the United Kingdom. However, if you have your heart set on the US, here some of the universities that accept a three-year degree are Northwestern, Purdue, Pace, Boston, Northeastern, South Carolina, Maryland University, Baruch College, Ohio State, Johns Hopkins, Washington University in Saint Louis, University of Rochester, Emerson, California State University Monterey bay, Temple University, NYU School of professional studies, etc.



If you want to study in the US after a 3 year Bachelors degree in India, it is better to have your transcripts evaluated by WES (world evaluation services). They evaluate international credentials. Most of our three-year degrees are equal to the four-year degrees offered by US universities. When an organisation like WES equates our degree to 120 credits of a US degree, the universities have no problem in accepting students with a three-year Bachelors degree from India.



Dear Madam,

I am currently studying in 12th Standard (ISC Science). I wish to pursue a Bachelors degree abroad (preferably in Europe) in Audio Engineering or Creative Music Technologies, which would later enable me to work in a professional recording studio as a Sound/Studio Engineer. Kindly suggest me some good Universities to consider and also your take on what would be the most suitable option for me.

Anantha Padmanabh



Dear Anantha,

Universities such as Nottingham Trent, Leeds Beckett, SAE, Southampton, Surrey, Birmingham City University and Queen Mary University of London are known for their Audio engineering and creative music technology courses in the UK.

In Austria, you have Graz University of Technology and SAE Vienna that offer excellent courses in sound engineering. In Germany, DBS Berlin and Berlin University of Arts are known for the degree, masters and diploma programmes in sound engineering and music technology.



Dear Madam,

My son has completed BTech at NITK in 2014 and secured CGPA of 8.52. He scored 325 in GRE and 114 in TOEFL. While he is preparing to apply for admission in US universities of his choice, I request you to kindly inform how my son can go for procuring scholarship.

Rajendra Babu



Dear Rajendra,

US universities offer Research assistantship, Graduate assistantship, Scholarships and Fellowships. While applying for admission to the MS programme, he would have to apply for these scholarships. Students with published research work, work experience, internships and a strong academic background will be considered for these various scholarships.



External scholarships are also available for international students. For more information on this please visit www.umaaswani.com



Dear Madam,

I want to pursue masters in Computer science or software development in either US or UK. Could you please let me know which university that I am eligible to apply? I am currently preparing for GRE test which I will be attempting in 3 months time.

Arjun



Dear Arjun,

For UK you dont need GRE. The IELTS test is enough. You are eligible to apply to any University in the US or UK. I would recommend the following in UK: Bristol, Middlesex, Durham, Southampton, Birmingham, Leeds Beckett, Westminster and UCL. In the US, I would suggest UIUC, Carnegie Mellon, University of Michigan, Arizona State University, University of Texas at Austin, North Carolina Chapel Hill, Purdue, Georgia Tech etc.



Dear Madam,

I am a mechanical engineer fresher. I want to study my masters in mechanical engineering in Germany but due to my low score, 58 per cent i.e 3.125 GPA, I am unable to find any applied science universities in Germany. Currently I am learning A1 and A2 German language.



Please help me and suggest me some universities and a good way to pursue my higher education in Germany. I am looking for an average university [winter intake 2016] that isn't to too bad over there.

Kiran



Dear Kiran,

Technical University Chemnitz, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bremen, University of Freiburg and University of Ulm are some of the universities you could consider. But please keep in mind, German Universities are much sought after and admission to these Universities is highly competitive.


Prince Charles has unveiled plans for a new dedicated fund, likely to be worth millions of pounds, to be created to help farmers in India break out of poverty.



The heir to the British throne announced the plan in his capacity as the Founder and President of the British Asian Trust (BAT), which works towards empowering lives in South Asia by harnessing the strengths of the South Asian diaspora in the UK.



"An area of work that I was particularly excited to see get underway in recent months is my trust taking a more in- depth look at the issues faced by rural farmers in India with the aim of establishing a dedicated fund to implement the kinds of intervention that the research clearly points out is needed," the 67-year-old royal said at BAT's gala annual dinner at Natural History Museum here last night.



Describing agriculture as a "vitally important" sector of the economy and "one that nearly half the rural houses in India rely on as the principle means of livelihood", Charles said the trust's focus will be on farmers with small holdings.



"These small holder farmers often realise only a small proportion of the value of their products and can get caught in a poverty trap with no obvious way out. By making real inroads into helping the sector upscale, the fund will increase productivity in a sustainable way and make a staggering difference to so many lives," he said.



The complete details of the fund, likely to be worth millions of pounds, will be made public over the course of this year.



Meanwhile, the trust also finalised its "largest-ever fund" dedicated to work in Pakistan to support skills training for some of the country's most disadvantaged people alongside charity partner, the Aman Foundation.



BAT will engage with the UK government's Department for International Development (DfID) to launch a UK-wide appeal to raise three million pounds. DfID will match pound-for-pound as part of the campaign which marks the trust's first national public appeal, having raised millions from South Asian communities around the world in the last nine years solely via corporate and private donations.



Many of these corporates and celebrity ambassadors of the trust, including filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, joined Prince Charles and wife Camilla at the gala dinner event which included a charity auction which raised 900,000 pounds (over USD 13 lakh).



"2016 will be another exciting year ahead for the British Asian Trust," British Asian Trust's CEO Richard Hawkes said.



The trust was founded in 2007 by Charles, who wanted to do something about the widespread poverty that he saw in South Asia with the help of the entrepreneurial spirit of the British Asian diaspora. It works with local grassroots organisations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to help disadvantaged people transform their lives.


South Asian real estate development firm RMZ Corp has signed an agreement with Essar to acquire the Equinox Business Park in Mumbais Bandra-Kurla Complex for approximately Rs 2,400 crore.





Equinox Business Park, a 1.25 million sq feet office space, houses tenants including Nissan Motors, Acropolis, Crompton Greaves, Gilbarco Aegis, Lafarge and alike besides the offices of Essar. RMZ holds 20 million sq feet of core assets under management and is accelerating towards achieving a five year growth plan of 80 million sq feet, anchored by Qatar Investment Authority.



The acquisition is the latest in a series of large office space buyouts by RMZ Corp who have created a portfolio of rent-yielding commercial assets in India, RMZ Corp said.



We are progressing our vision to create a more attractive and engaging environment which meets the changing needs of our customers. We are confident that with this acquisition we will extend our core businesses into the growing markets with a world-class development opportunity in the heart of one of Mumbai's major regeneration zones, RMZ Corp corporate vice chairman Manoj Menda said.
At least 15 lakh devotees are expected to descend on Tirumakudalu Narsipur (T Narsipur) in the district for the three-day 10th Maha Kumbh Mela to be held from February 20.



More than 400 saints from across the country are expected to arrive at the pilgrimage centre to take a holy dip, at the confluence of River Cauvery, Kapila and mythical river Spatika. The event is also popular as Kumbh Mela of the south.



Speaking to media persons after holding a preliminary meeting at Suttur Mutt Mysuru branch, at the foot of Chamundi Hill here, Suttur Mutt seer Shivaratri Deshikendra Swami said, the mela which was observed on the lines of Maha Kumbh Mela at Hardwar, was the contribution of previous pontiff of Adhichunchanagiri Mutt Balagangadharanatha Swami and Tiruchi Swami of Kailash Ashrama in Bengaluru and other religious heads .



Once in 3 years

Considering the difficulties faced by people of the region to participate in the mela, which is held once in 12 years at Hardwar, Nasik, Ujjain and Prayag, the mela here is being held once in three years.



Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Nirmalanandanatha Swami said, the officials of various departments had come up with various ideas to be implemented during the Kumbh Mela. It is important that all the departments work unitedly for smooth conduct of the mela, he added.



Sand bags

An official of Public Works Department said tenders were being invited for various works and the agencies were being finalised. But, it is difficult to construct a hanging bridge across the river, like previous years due to shortage of time. Hence, sand bags are being used as a temporary measure to enable the devotees cross the river, the official added.



Elections

Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare, who participated in the meeting said, the mela coincides with Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections, scheduled to be held in the district in second phase on February 20. As a majority of the police will be busy on poll duty, Khare appealed to the pontiffs to reduce the event to a simple affair on inaugural day.



Special programmes can be held on the other two days, February 21 and 22, and the police personnel will be on duty round-the-clock. If the information about the saints and dignitaries are given in prior, necessary arrangements will be made, he said.




Following the advisory from the Centre, the State Health department will intensify screening for Zika virus carriers at the Kempegowda International Airport and the Mangalore International Airport from Thursday onwards.





The Health department, which is coordinating with the airport authorities, has decided to depute two doctors and paramedical staff each from Bengaluru Urban and Rural to the KIA to assist the airport doctors who are already on the job. Screening is already on for the yellow fever, which is one of the five diseases spread from the aedes aegypti mosquito. The others are dengue, chikungunya, West Nile fever and Zika.



The department has also asked the immigration officers to share details of all passengers who are coming into Bengaluru and Mangaluru from the 22 countries in the Americas where the virus has spread. The passengers with any of the symptoms, including fever, headache, chills, joint and muscular pain and red eye, will be quarantined and taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) for further medical investigation. The department has identified RGICD as the nodal hospital for the purpose.



Under observation



The passengers with symptoms will be kept under observation in mosquito-proof rooms, until they are certified to be free from infection, said Dr Prakash Kumar B G, Joint Director of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), who has been appointed as the nodal officer. Dr Prakash said that all passengers travelling in from these said countries will be asked to be doubly careful. Decisions to this effect were taken during a meeting chaired by Health Minister U T Khader in Bengaluru on Wednesday.



Speaking to reporters, Khader said that as there are no RT-PCR labs in the State, blood samples will have to be sent either to Pune or New Delhi for investigation. He said that he will write to the Union Health Ministry to make available test kits, which are currently not available in the country. The department has also sought a virology lab.



The minister also said that district health officers had been directed to strengthen IEC (information, education and communication) about the disease, in their respective districts. Focus will be on educating pregnant women, who are more at health risk, to protect themselves from mosquito bites. A decision will be also be taken to provide mosquito repellents to the beneficiaries of Thayi/Madilu schemes.




Deputy Superintendent of Police M L Purushottam has said that a report would be submitted to the Superintendent of Police after conducting an inquiry into the incident of Manchenahalli police (Gowribidanur taluk) forcing crime suspects to dance.





The visuals were aired on some private channels on Tuesday. The videos went viral on social media also.



A police officer said that the Manchenahlli police had taken five people into custody in connection with a dacoity case for interrogation. However, the suspects were made to dance semi-nude. But the full details of the incident are yet to be ascertained. We have to collect information about it, the police officer said.



Cop to be questioned



The DySP said that the incident occurred about eight months ago and apart from sub-inspector of Manchenahalli pollice station Sundar, other persons will also be questioned, he added.




Having to keep tabs on a persons electrocardiogram (ECG) at the time of fainting is believed to be crucial by medical professionals. And to do this, is a challenge in the field of medical science. A new device Reveal LINQ by Medtronics appears to hold some promise.



Should it get the necessary approvals from the Drug Controller General of India, the medical device, which could be embedded in a persons skin would keep track of the persons functioning of the heart.



Shamik Dasgupta, Vice President of the Cardiac and Vascular Group, Medtronic, South Asia said, Sometimes, patients faint for reasons unknown. When they go to the doctor and are asked to come back with an ECG, it will all be normal. What is essential is to capture the ECG at the moment of fainting and just before that, he said.



For patients who happen to faint frequently, Reveal LINQ, the insertable Cardiac Monitor could help assess the functioning at a time specified.



The device is inserted subcutaneously in the chest area and can keep track of the data for nearly three years. While in a few cases, it might be detected in one go, in the others, it depends on the intervals at which a person faints.



Utility

Not only is the device MRI safe, it also automatically detects and records abnormal heart rhythms.



The product was among the many others on display at Medtronics innovation village at the second medical device summit in New Delhi. The leadless pacemaker, which is presently being used in Hong Kong and is awaiting approval by the FDA, was also on display at the village. Known to be among the smallest pacemakers, these are just about the size of a capsule.



Dr Atul Matur, Director, Department of Interventional Cardiology Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, who spoke at the inaugural said that with increasing number of cardio-vascular disease patients, there was a great need for such devices. He said, At least 57 per cent of the disease burden comes from the non-communicable diseases category.


The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Maharashtra government to hold an event to kickstart the Make in India Week programme at Girgaum Chowpatty beach in Mumbai, which will be attended by the prime minister.





A bench of Justices M Y Eqbal and Arun Mishra stayed a Bombay HC order which had prohibited organising any event on the beach site.



Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state, said that the proposed function between February 13 and 18 is Indias pride and the administration does not propose to raise any permanent structure over there.




Indias second International Fleet Review (IFR-16) will begin from Thursday at the Eastern Naval Command off Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.



President Pranab Mukherjee will review the fleet at the five-day event on February 6 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ENCs Flag Officer Commander-In-Chief Vice Admiral Satish Soni said the command is ready to host navy chiefs and officers from across the world.



He said 51 countries including US, Russia, UK, China, Australia, Brazil, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Maldives are taking part at the IFR.



Twenty of those countries are bringing their own ships. Including Indian ships, seventy ships 24 of them warships from foreign countriesand 24 naval chiefs would take part at the IFR.



Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat -weighing about 40,000 tonnes and USS Antietam the 10,000 tonne American guided missile cruiser will be part of the event, besides Corvettes, Destroyers, anti submarine warfare ships, 75 helicopters and hawk jet fighters.



President Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, will participate in the review as per the traditions.



The ceremonial guard of honour and 21-gun salute on the wharf would precede the presidential review of the fleet. Mukherjee, onboard the presidential yacht INS Sumitra, would inspect Indian and foreign ships anchored in six columns. During the review, 150 Naval Personnel dressed in full regalia will shout Jai, thrice.



The review will also include a fly-past led by Flag Officer Naval Aviation Rear Admiral PK Bahl, as part of the Presidents inspection of the Navys air wing.



The naval Air wing will display 45 aircrafts in 15 formations, two of them by the Indian Coast Guard. The fleet review will feature Navys latest acquisitions including all weather fighter aircraft MIG 29K, Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft, patrol aircraft P8I and the AEW helicopter KM-31.



As a new addition, 24 skydivers from Indian Navy Marine Commandos (Marcos) will descend on the shore with colourful parachutes on February 7. The first commando to reach the ground will hand a book on Maritime Heritage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



The event would begin on Thursday with the inauguration of Maritime Exhibition at Andhra University followed by wreath laying at Maritime memorial at Ramakrishna beach, while the opening ceremony will be held in INS Satavahana Stadium on Friday.



Sundays events would include International Maritime conference, city parade and concert by foreign bands.


Italy has told the Supreme Court that it has sought direction to India from UN tribunal to relax bail condition of one of its marines Salvatore Girone, to enable him to return the country.



He has been staying here in view of charges of killing two fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012.



Of the two Italian Marines  Massimiliano Latorre  has already been allowed by the supreme court to remain in Italy till April 30 as he was recuperating following a surgery. Another naval officer Salvatore Girone has been directed not to leave India.



In an affidavit, Gianluca Grandi, Charge daffaires of the Italian embassy, submitted before the supreme court that Italy has requested the international tribunal formed under the UN Convention on the Law of Sea to issue direction to India to relax bail conditions of Salvatore Girone to enable him to return to Italy.



Pending the final determination of the proceedings by the tribunal, the request has been submitted as no charges have yet been brought and that all proceedings have been stayed/deferred till further orders by the court, it said.



With the ongoing international arbitral proceedings, (Italy hoped India) to ensure there is no aggravation or extension of dispute, it added.
Ten soldiers went missing after an avalanche hit an Army post in Siachen, the worlds highest battlefield.



In the early hours of February 3, a major avalanche struck an Army post in northern Siachen Glacier located at a height of 19,600 feet. The post was manned by one junior commissioned officer and nine soldiers, said Col S D Goswami, defence public relations officer at Udhampur-based Northern Command.



Rescue operations by specialised teams from the Army and Air Force is underway and the operations are being closely monitored from Leh and Udhampur, he said.



As the operations are on, officials are not providing any details about the men and the unit.



This is the second major incident in Siachen in the last two months. Last month, four men from 3 Ladakh Scouts were killed in an avalanche in the southern glacier in Siachen, where India occupies the dominating heights since 1984.



In November, a Captain was killed while 15 men were rescued when avalanche hit an Army post at Siachen glacier. Both Indian and Pakistani troops are suffering heavy casualties at Siachen due to avalanches every year.


A Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm on Wednesday claimed to have developed two candidate vaccines to counter the Zika virus that has triggered international public health concern in the last two weeks.



The World Health Organisation (WHO) had stated that at present there is no vaccine against Zika. Until recently, the Zika virus was regarded as a mild disease that requires no specific treatment, but the emergence of a possible link to Guillain-Barre syndrome and neurological birth defects (microcephaly), seen in some affected countries, has elevated the concern level.



Recent modelling of the outbreak anticipates significant international spread by travellers from Brazil to the rest of the Americas, Europe and Asia.



Bharat Biotech of Hyderabad claims to have developed two vaccine candidates  one is inactivated and the second one is a recombinant.



In the coming two weeks, we will be able to start the animal trials in inactivated vaccine. A recombinant vaccine using the surface antigens of the virus is being concurrently developed, but that will take more time, Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech, told Deccan Herald.



Typically a vaccine takes about 10-15 years to come to the market from a laboratory. Bharat Biotech took almost 14 years to commercialise its vaccine against rotavirus.



Govt approval

However, because of the global health emergency, the company hopes for a speedier regulatory approval for its Zika vaccine candidates, if they clear the animal trials.



Since this is a pandemic situation, we hope the government will move quickly of giving requisite approvals for the trials, he said. Four days ago, the company informed WHO and the Indian Council of Medical Research about the crude vaccines.



We believe we have an early mover advantage in developing the Zika vaccine and are probably the first in the world to file for global patent for Zika vaccine candidates, said Ella.



Our interest in Zika virus, an obscure virus when we started the project a year ago, was that the clinical features at an early stage of infection are indistinguishable from that of dengue and chikungunya. Currently our efforts are towards scale up and characterisation of the vaccine product, Ella added.



Zika is now prevalent in 23 countries. Brazil, the hardest-hit, has reported around 3,530 cases of microcephaly, a devastating birth defect, in 2015 that is suspected to be related to Zika, but the WHO has sought further investigation. The virus is spread by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes and the infection is related to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile virus.


The Indian Air Force has issued shoot-at-sight order for intruders in bases under the Western Air Command to ensure better security of air stations in the wake of Pathankot terror strike last month.



In addition, the IAF headquarters is readying a Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 8,000 crore plan to upgrade security of at least 54 major air stations. To be submitted to the defence ministry shortly, the proposal has been fast tracked following the terror attack.



All IAF stations under the Western Air Command are on high alert and shoot-at-sight order has been issued for people trying to enter the base without any authorisation either by scaling the perimeter walls or through a breach in the wall. The civil administration has been informed about it, a senior IAF official said here on Wednesday. The order was issued on the basis of intelligence inputs received from different agencies.



The WAC includes permanent airbases at Adampur, Ambala, Avantipur, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindan, Leh, Palam, Srinagar and Pathankot. There are also forward base support units at Amritsar, Bhatinda, Sirsa and Udhampur. These air stations house various types of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters.



The air headquarters has asked the government to enforce an existing rule of not allowing any civil construction within 100 meters of any air station and within 900 metres of an explosive dump. The rules are poorly enforced as of now. We have approached the government once again on constructions near the IAF base, he said. Removal of encroachment from the IAF areas and imposing restriction on civil construction in the vicinity of air stations are two crucial demands of the IAF following a special security audit of every Air Force establishment in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack. A detailed plan, being prepared to improve the perimeter at IAF bases, is at the final stage.



We will send the proposal to the defence ministry soon. In the first phase, it will cover 54 large air bases, he said.



Currently the security of IAF bases focuses more on valuable assets and vulnerable points, which are also monitored by electronic sensors besides armed guards. Learning lessons from Pathankot episode, IAF now wants to put the same emphasis in securing the boundaries.



A comprehensive perimeter security system will comprise of a smart fence, vibration detection system, closed circuit television cameras and drones to monitor the perimeter. The proposal is at an advanced stage. Installing the entire system would cost Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore for each base, said the officer.


The Centre on Wednesday offered a helping hand to the State government to solve the vexed traffic problem in Bengaluru.



Speaking at the Invest Karnataka meet which began here on Wednesday, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the Centre was ready to take up long-pending infrastructure projects, such as peripheral ring roads if the State government provides land.



Industry leaders such as Azim Premji and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw recently urged me to do something to solve the traffic problem in Bengaluru. If the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) and the Public Works Minister (Mahadevappa) are ready to give land, we (Centre) are ready to give funds for infrastructure development, he added.



Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre would work with the State to implement the proposed sub-urban rail system.



Naidu also assured cooperation on elevated roads projects within the City and expansion of Metro network.



Besides, six cities and 27 small towns of the State have been selected under the Smart Cities and Amrut Cities projects, he added.



At a separate interaction programme in Bengaluru, Gadkari requested Town Planning and City Development K J George to submit a report and the profile of the kind of elevated roads that Bengaluru required.



Congestion

He said congestion and road density were a problem even for other metros and therefore his ministry had taken responsibility to address transport problems within metros.



He promised that his ministry would help to the extent it could, as strictly speaking, roads within cities did not come within the purview of the ministry.


As Delhiites continued to suffer due to the municipal staff strike for the eighth day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offered a Rs 623-crore bailout package to civic agencies to pay salaries to the protestors.



The municipal employees refused to budge and vowed to continue their strike alleging that the Kejriwal government was not doing enough to find a permanent solution.



The protesting employees disrupted traffic in east Delhi and created ruckus by getting heads tonsured at some places in Laxmi Nagar and ITO. Heated arguments also took place between protesters and Delhi government teams which tried to lift garbage. Hospitals and schools remained paralysed.



Alleging a scam in the distribution of salaries to employees by the BJP-ruled municipal corporations, Kejriwal  through a video conference from Bengaluru  announced an additional loan of Rs 551 crore and another Rs 72 crore from other sources for the financially ailing North and East corporations. Setting up a political clash with the AAP government, mayors of the three BJP-ruled municipalities said they will accept the Rs 551 crore amount not as a loan but as a grant against the long-pending funds to be released by the Delhi government for implementation of the Fourth Finance Commission report.



Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the education budget will be readjusted to arrange the Rs 551 crore loan for the municipal corporations which needs to be utilised judiciously in distributing salaries to their employees till January.



The Delhi government, in a statement, again appealed to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, who is the chairman of the Delhi Development Authority, to direct it to clear the Rs 1,575 crore property tax it owes to three municipal corporations.



However, unions said they would resume work only when the city government and corporations find a permanent solution to this impasse.



Soon after the announcement, Kejriwal tweeted: It is with great difficulty that we hv been able to find this Rs 550cr for loan. Del govt is facing Rs 3000 cr VAT shortfall (sic).



Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken lashed out at Kejriwal for not doing enough to end the strike.


Departing from convention, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday recalled former IAS officer Parameswaran Iyer, who had availed voluntary retirement, to steer 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan' by appointing him as the Secretary of Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry.



He has been appointed on "contract basis" for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, an official statement said.



Officials said they do not remember any precedent of a retired official being called back. Usually, serving IAS officers are appointed as secretaries of ministries. Recently, the NDA government had appointed Sharad Kumar as National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief on contract after his retirement.



Iyer, a 1981-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, had taken voluntary retirement in 2009 and returned to World Bank as Programme Leader and Lead Water and Sanitation Specialist.



While working with Uttar Pradesh government, he had conceptualised 'Jal Surag', a water management programme. Before his latest stint, he worked with World Bank between 1998 and 2007. He returned to UP government service but availed voluntary retirement in 2009.



Iyer's appointment comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan' is yet to gain momentum. The officer is expected to take the scheme to new heights using his expertise and international exposure on the subject.



The World Bank website said Iyer has over 20 years of experience in water supply and sanitation sector.



In other appointments, the government moved Anil Kumar Agarwal, West Bengal cadre IAS officer of 1981 batch, to National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST). He was Secretary in Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, which has been merged with the Ministry of External Affairs. IAS officer Shyam S Agarwal was holding additional charge of NCST.


Karnataka, which has been ruling the roost in information technology for the last three decades, has the potential to emerge as the agri-business and food processing capital of the country.



Speakers at a seminar on Agri-Business and Food Processing held as part of Invest Karnataka-2016 in Bengaluru on Wednesday were unanimous in their opinion that Karnataka was emerging as the most favoured destination in the emerging sector.



Gokul Patnaik and Sanjay Kaul, two retired IAS officers from the state and now heading food processing and logistics companies, gave their thumbs to investment opportunities in the sector in the state.



Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner G Latha Krishna Rau set the ball rolling by stating that the states output in the agri-business and food processing sector grew at 20 percent in 2009-13, outpacing the national growth which stood at 16 per cent. The state has set itself a target of capturing 20 percent of the market in the sector in the country by 2020.



Patnaik, who is now the chairman of Global Agrisystem, spoke on the opportunities available for tapping the vast potential for integrated poultry in the state. Maize, the main fodder for poultry, could be outsourced to farmers by entrepreneurs. Kaul, who now heads National Collateral Management Services, said there was potential for private investment of Rs 1,345 crore in the next three years for improvement of 51 mandis in the state. This included upgrading physical infrastructure of mandis, grading and assaying facilities, cold storage, and mechanisation and bulk handling.



Hari Menon, chief executive officer of Big Basket, Indias largest online grocery store, said the e-grocery market was set to grow from the present $15 million to $20 billon in India by 2020.



He said the all-India fresh produce volume of Big Basket is sourced directly from Karnataka. The company has set up five collection centres at Chikkaballapura, Malur, Nelamangala, Gokak and Mysuru, Menon said.


A one-and-a-half-year-old child, who was playing outside his makeshift home in Vaddarapalya in eastern Bengaluru, was killed when a goods vehicle ran him over on Wednesday morning, the Banaswadi traffic police said.



Bajrangi, son of Shivakumar, a construction labourer from Jharkhand, was playing outside the shed where his family was put up.



Around 9.30 am, the driver of a goods vehicle failed to notice the boy and drove it over him. The childs parents were working at an under-construction building nearby. They rushed to the spot after hearing his cries and took him to hospital but it was too late, police said. Shivakumars colleagues caught the driver as he tried to flee and turned him over to the police.



16-yr-old biker killed

A class 10 student died when his motorcycle collided with a tanker at Papaiah Reddy Layout in southern Bengaluru on Wednesday.



Santhosh, a class 10 student at Christ High school, was riding back home when he is said to have lost control over his motorcycle as he saw the tanker coming in the opposite direction around 2.30 pm. As the two-wheeler collided with the tanker, Santhosh fell to the ground and came under the heavy vehicle. The jurisdictional Madiwala traffic police said the deceased was speeding and wasnt wearing a helmet. His father, Basavaraj, is a bus conductor with the BMTC. Santhosh was returning home after taking the pre-boards exams. The driver abandoned the tanker and fled. Police seized the tanker and are searching for the driver.


External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday called up Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to enquire about the assault on a young woman from Tanzania in Bengaluru.



Swaraj also asked the chief minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students in the State. I have asked the chief minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty, she tweeted on Wednesday. She called up Siddaramaiah after the High Commission of Tanzania in New Delhi wrote to Ministry of External Affairs and demanded action against the people, who assaulted, stripped Tanzanian student when she was passing by the site of a road mishap in Bengaluru late on Sunday.



We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru, Swaraj posted on Twitter.



I spoke to the Chief Minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested, she added. In a note verbale to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, High Commissioner of Tanzania in India, John W H Kijazi, asked for details about the incident in Bengaluru and requested for necessary legal action against people involved in the assault and necessary measures to ensure safety and security of all Tanzanian students in India.



Tanmaya Lal, Joint Secretary East and South Africa division of the MEA, spoke to Tanzanian High Commissioner and expressed regret over the incident, sources said.
The Soladevanahalli police on Wednesday registered a case of molestation following a complaint by a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman, studying in a City college, that she was thrashed and molested during the violence that broke out after a road mishap on Hesarghatta Main Road on Sunday night.



Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) T R Suresh said the the woman was subjected to a medical test. A case of molestation, rioting, assault and arson has been registered. The victims case has been incorporated with the case filed by Mohammed Ahad, a Sudan national and a student of Acharya College, who was beaten up after he rammed his car into a 35-year-old pedestrian Shabana Taz, killing her on the spot.



The Tanzanian, who was no way connected with the accident, was attacked by the mob suspecting that she was Ahads friend. The mob set Ahads car ablaze as well as the one in which the Tanzanian student was travelling. The victim told a news channel: I came in a car, along with four of my friends, and noticed a torched car. Soon, a group of people chased one of my friends and thrashed him. They also started assaulting me. I ran across the road, but the mob chased me, manhandled me and also pulled off my T-shirt. I, along with my friends, boarded a bus and asked the driver to go, but he refused. The people inside the bus also thrashed us and threw us outside. The mob, which was waiting outside the bus, started thrashing us again. After a while the mob left us alone.



The woman further complained: Right now, we are scared of people around us. It is difficult for us (Africans) as petrol bunks refuse to give us the fuel and even the autorickshaw drivers refuse to ferry us. We are scared to even go out. We do not know what to do.



Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Advisor, All African Students Union, Bengaluru, told Deccan Herald said, The police approached the victim and have recorded her statement. But there is no FIR registered as yet. Also, the victim and her friends have contacted the Tanzanian embassy in Delhi, which has sought a detailed report about the incident.



Kaweesi said that the victim and her friends were traumatised after the incident. They were no way related to the accident. They came 30 minutes after the accident. The police, instead of providing them security and help them in recovering their valuables like passport and cash, made them run from police station to hospital.



Four detained

A police officer investigating the case said the CCTV footage from nearby establishments is being obtained to trace the people involved in both the incidents. A probe team has already identified a few people who torched the first car belonging to the Sudanese student. The four have been detained and the others will be arrested at the earliest, he added.


After a road mishap on Hesaraghatta Main Road on Sunday night spiralled into a mob violence, the members of All African Students Union have urged the police to organise a peace meeting between them and the local people.





Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Advisor, All African Students Union, Bengaluru, said, We request the senior police officers and authorities concerned to convene a meeting of locals, principals of colleges in Soladevanahalli and the African students. We should work to bring about peace among the locals and the Africans pursuing their education here.



The Africans are living under constant fear. It is unfair to see the innocent suffer for no crime of theirs. If anyone is found guilty, let the law punish them. Also, there were similar incidents witnessed in Byrathi and other areas. But the senior police officers intervened and held a peace meeting with locals and African students. Things in that area are better now, added Kaweesi.



A few African students, who are residing in the areas off Hesaraghatta Main Road, told Deccan Herald, The moment we leave our house, we are in fear of what might happen to us. We were warned by our local friends and college authorities to go out in groups and not to venture out alone. Also, there are only few cross roads which we use, and if we try to walk on the main road, the locals start abusing and pass lewd comments on us. More than anything else, we are worried about the safety of the women. The students alleged the cops at the spot during the violence which broke out on Sunday, were mute spectators.
Many Dalit students were injured when the police caned them as they attempted to displace barricades and reach the Freedom Park to hold a protest rally for reservation in the private sector. Many protesters were detained as a preventive measure and released later, said the Upparpet police.



Traffic on Seshadri Road, Palace Road, KG Road, Kalidasa Road and around Majestic area was disrupted for over two hours, police said.



The Bahujan Students Association had planned a protest at the Freedom Park to draw the attention of the State and Central governments towards reservation in the private sector in the wake of the Invest Karnataka 2016 meet. Its cadre took out a procession from the City railway station around noon, but the police stopped them on Seshadri Road by placing barricades.



A heated argument broke out between the police and the protesters. The situation went out of control as the protesters tried to climb over the barricades. The police caned them, leading to tension. Later, police permitted them to hold the rally peacefully.



The association convenor, Hariram, said more than 100 protesters, including women, were injured in the lathi-charge and demanded action against the police.



Bheem Rao, president of the association, said many talented Dalit youth were deprived of job opportunities that were generated after liberalisation.


The beautification of Mahatma Gandhi Road to impress global investors ahead of the Invest Karnataka Summit has made the road an eye sore. The attempt to beautify the one-km stretch from Anil Kumble Circle to the Webbs Junction has been shoddy.



There is nothing to show for the Rs three crore spent by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for the Invest Karnataka meet  a rephrased word for the governments Global Investors' Meet. A senior Palike engineer said the project was sanctioned long ago, but was being executed in a hurry to meet the deadline for Invest Karnataka, which started on Wednesday.



The exercise is meant only to give a 'feel good' factor to investors coming to Bengaluru. The loosely-placed kerb stones on the poor concrete foundation and mortar are losing their grip. Lack of curing, substandard and incomplete patchwork reflect the standard of the BBMP, which is often accused of inferior work and scams.



An engineer associated with the project clarified that the work does not include improving the pavement. The job assigned to us is replacing old kerb stones of the pavement with the new ones. We have not been asked to repair or replace tiles on the pavement, which are either missing or are damaged while placing new kerb stones, the engineer said. He said he would consider filling the gap between the footpath and the kerb stones with concrete.



Manohar H N, who frequently visits MG Road said there was no need to remove the old kerb stones. He said, All that was required was to maintain the existing structure. In the name of beautifying or upgrading the existing pavement, the Palike has ruined it. If the BBMP was really so worried about MG Road, it should have filled the rough patches and the BWSSB manholes whose lids have been placed haphazardly. Many pedestrians have stumbled on it and fallen.Manohar said the motive behind the renovation was not to improve the road but to destroy it.


By Peter Schwartzstein

31 January 2016 (Quartz)  The Amhara Plateau is no ones idea of a gloomy landscape. Rich fields blossom as far as the eye can see; bountiful rivers zigzag through the regions rolling hills. It isnt hard to see why local Orthodox Christians believe the Ark of the Covenant was floated down the Nile from Egypt and ended up here. Nor why desert raiders continually stormed in off the nearby Sahara for hundreds of years. But to those who farm the fertile reaches of Western Ethiopia, their home environment is growing a good deal less enticing by the day. Erratic temperatures and rains, which culminated last year in the total failure of the belg, the short rainy season, have struck locals hard. In a country still scarred by the deadly famines of the 1980s and 90s, reduced crop yields are panicking villagers, almost all of whom rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. The rains are very weak and in winter the cold is like nothing Ive seen before, said Barakat Daniel, gesturing at a mostly empty trench he uses to irrigate his teff crop on a muddy hillock just outside Bahir Dar. Its a hard life. For some ambitious young men, conditions have long since crumbled to intolerable levels. Theyve tired of tilling land thats become harder to farm as older farmers sub-divide their already small holdings into miniature plots for their many children. With population growth overwhelming meager services at the same time as intense weather plagues farmland, more and more people from the region appear to be following the example of refugees from violence-afflicted parts of Africa, and making a break for Europe. Last July in Metema, an Ethiopian border town, where Sudanese flout their countrys prohibition on alcohol by darting across the frontier to patronize streetside bars, I met a 22-year-old man who gave his name only as Gebremichael. He was waiting to cross into Sudan. Why am I going? he said. Because Im trying to improve myself and thats just not possible when your land gets worse and worse. He had toted a moth-eaten German language dictionary around for over a year, working to absorb new words at every available opportunity. These days, climate change is in vogue. Everything from the war in Syria to unrest in West Africa has been laid at the feet of the weather gods. Some of the claims have been dismissed as spurious. But theres plenty of evidence that migration in sub-Saharan Africa is indeed partly due to extreme weather. 70% of the continents migrants have left their homes because of poverty or a lack of work, according to research provided by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). An estimated 64% of Africansand close to 90% of Ethiopiansearn their living from agriculture. Considering the very low baseline, where 25% of the continent go to bed hungry, where over 50% live on less than $1.25 per day, and where youth unemployment is at 60%, climate induced declines in productivity in the agricultural sector indirectly drive migration, said Richard Munang, who heads UNEPs African Regional Climate Change Program from Nairobi. [] A few Western governments have mooted plans to help struggling African countries counter the consequences of a changing climate. The UKs Department for International Development, for one, gave 10 million (then about $15 million) in December to help Sudanese farmers boost their resilience and combat desertification. But with Europe already struggling to cope with the relatively small numbers of war refugees, it seems unlikely that current immigration policies will do much to dissuade climate migrants, many of whom feel they have nothing to lose. On my journey I often heard variations on a common refrain: Im dead if I stay, so it doesnt matter if I die on the way. [more]
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by Kathleen Gilbert BEIJING, September 7, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com)  Escaped Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is leading international opponents of forced abortion in calling upon the worlds largest company to end compliance with the Chinas one-child policy. Family planning police have targeted employees (569)

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Church Militant, we need to band together to protect our religious liberties and win the culture war!
Netflix really wants Indians to like them. This was reiterated by Jonathan Friedland, Netflixs Chief Communications Officer at a recent interview with Digit. Netflix launched in India just three weeks back and we caught up with the management to take stock of how the streaming service plans to evolve in a country like India, where piracy is second to religion and audiences are hungry for quality content. Here are 5 things we found out about Netflixs future plans for India.



Content or the lack of it?



Naturally, the first question we asked Netflix was about the content on the platform or more appropriately put, the lack of it. From its inception in India, Netflix has had a gun to its head because of less content on its streaming platform in India. Just to give you an idea, if you havent already seen this splashed across the web, Netflix in India houses only 7% of whats available in the US. So, whats the reason for this exclusion, we asked.

As Netflixs Friedland explained, We have been streaming in the United States for 10 years, so we can afford a lot more in United States. Whenever we start out in a new country, we have a pretty small catalogue and then we add to it consistently over time. The reason why we do that is because we want to know what people are watching and we do away with the stuff that people are not watching. Licensing is still pre-internet. Studios license content per territory to one broadcaster. So, with House of Cards for instance, We made HoC in the US 3 years ago and we could not afford it in other countries. So, somebody else licensed it in India.

Friedland makes a valid point here as later on in the interview he would compare Netflix to television channels, and point out that since the licensing regime has not evolved over the years, certain content cannot be provided in India at this moment because of pre-existent licenses owned by other television channels such as Zee Cafe, Star World etc. Although, in a ray of hope for HoC fans, Friedland told us that the stirring political drama will soon find its way on Netflix in India.



Whats the deal with India specific content?

We are trying to build out the service in a way that its right for India. The fact of the matter is we Indian consumers are going to like yet, said Friedland. What users need to understand here is that Netflix does NOT specialise in Indian content. Expecting Netflix to be the next Hotstar or Hungama or Eros Now is not only unfair but its actually stupid! Its like expecting Facebook to be like Linkedin. That will never happen because each has its own niche.



Netflix specialises in original content. To forget that Netflix is also a production house and not just a streaming service is a mistake most of us are making right now. Highlighting the same, Friedland said, We are primarily focussed on English speaking, Credit Card holding people who live in urban centres and mostly what they are interested in at this point are Netflixs original content. We have quite a bit of Indian content and we will be adding more. Its too early to say when we are going to localise and when we will do a Hindi UI. Its just very early. We agree competition is tough and its too early to expect 5000 Indian movies on Netflix, but then again, the company has no qualms in accepting its core strength and not wavering from it, just to please Hindi content watching audiences. Friedland sets the record straight once and for all by saying, We are never going to be a streaming service with this much Indian content as Indian streaming services.



Netflix shopping for Native Indian content?



Yes, seems like Netflix is shopping for content from India. The company has just acquired indie filmmaker Qs film - Brahman Naman at the Sundance film festival. We have a content licensing team that is constantly looking at different things. Brahman Naman is interesting. A bunch of us saw the movie and we made an offer for it and luckily they accepted. So, it will be available not only in India on Netflix, but everywhere in the world, said Friedland.



No VPNs Please! - Netflix



A recent blog post by Netflix talked about the companys efforts towards blocking VPNs used for accessing all Netflix content available in the US. This of course is something the company continues to struggle with as more and more people want access to Netflixs full library of content. Friedland pointed out, Anybody who is using a VPN to access Netflix has been against our terms of usage and what weve done is weve upgraded the technology alongside Hulu, BBCi and all the other streaming services. So yes, using a VPN to access Netflix is going to become tougher, if it already hasnt. We have also witnessed bugs in services such as SmartFlix, which essentially act like VPNs and make all of Netflixs content accessible.



Does Netflix implement local caching servers at the ISP level in India?

Yes, they are already doing so. Although Friedland refrained from naming ISPs, he confirmed that Netflix has open connect servers in India and that they have been working on them for quite some time.

So that was Netflixs take on its streaming service and its future in India. Catch the whole interview on the Digit YouTube channel below.


Vodafone has launched its 4G internet services in Delhi-NCR. Here is what to expect from Vodafone's next level of internet services.

Vodafone has just launched its 4G internet services for the Delhi-NCR circle. The Vodafone 4G service will first be made available to customers in Gurgaon. At the launch event, Vodafone said that it will take a few months for a full-fledged rollout of its 4G services in all of Delhi-NCR. So what does Vodafone 4G mean for you? Here is a full list of the pricing, plans and of course the speed that Vodafone's 4G services will deliver in Delhi-NCR.

All Vodafone postpaid customers can call the Vodafone customer care helpline to get free door-step delivery of a Vodafone 4G SIM card. The door-step delivery of the 4G enabled SIM card will be done on the same day of submitting the request, provided that it is submitted before 4PM.



All pre-paid Vodafone customers will need to visit a Vodafone store to exhange their 3G SIM card for a new 4G SIM card. This service will also be given for free.



Pricing packs range from 35MB at Rs. 11 for a trial pack to 20GB at Rs. 2,499 for a bonanza pack



Free 3 month long access to TV, movies, music on Vodafone Play. This includes HOOQ video streaming services and Hungama Play.



Vodafone users can also check if their SIMs are 4G enabled by sending an SMS (4GCHECK) to 199 from their Vodafone mobile numbers.



There is also a seperate 4G dongle device available for those who do not have a Vodafone SIM. This dongle can connect upto 10 other devices



Speaking at the 4G Delhi launch event, Apoorva Mehrotra, Vodafone's Business Head for Delhi-NCR circle said, "Delhi-NCR is a significant growth market for Vodafone India with data contributing around 25%of total revenues and growing significantly. As a leading telecom service provider, our 1 crore customers in Delhi have a lot to look forward to."



Let us know what you think of Vodafone's 4G plan for Delhi-NCR. Do you think this will be better than Airtel 4G?
Oil futures returned to positive territory on Wednesday, while gold recovered and base metals went through another session marked by modest gains.

Earlier, the Energy Information Administration, statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, said the countrys crude oil inventories rose by 7.8m barrels in the last week, well above analysts' expectations for a rise of 4.8m barrels, as imports rose.

However, the data failed to halt an oil price recovery that began during the Asian session, as the US dollar weakened following lacklustre data and Russia reiterated its willingness to take part in talks with OPEC to cut production.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the OPEC members and non-OPEC producers to meet, "then we will meet". At 1634 GMT, the Brent front-month futures contract was up 4.74% or $1.55 to $34.27 per barrel, while WTI was 5.09% or $1.52 higher at $31.40 per barrel.

While many reckon the oil market would rebalance towards the middle of the current year, analysts Morgan Stanley said the rebalancing may not come until mid-2017.

"Despite the myriad announcements of capital expenditure cuts, production has yet to respond enough to rebalance the market," the investment bank said in a note to clients.

Base metal futures posted marginal gains across the London Metal Exchange board. At 1635 GMT, the much scrutinised three-month copper delivery futures contract was up 1.6% to $4,614.00 per metric tonne.

Concurrently, primary aluminium (up 1.2%), zinc (up 1.7%), lead (up 1.3%), nickel (up 0.9%) and tin (up 0.8%) contracts also headed higher. Precious metal contracts returned to positive territory as well, courtesy a weaker dollar and safe haven demand.

COMEX gold futures contract for April delivery rose 1.14% or $12.90 to $1,140.20 an ounce, while spot gold was 0.82% or $9.24 higher at $1,138.25 an ounce.

Peter Rosenstreich, head of market strategy at Swissquote, said Gold continues to move higher. But in the long-term, the underlying downtrend continues to favour a bearish bias. A break of the resistance at $1,223 is needed to suggest something more than a temporary rebound.

Elsewhere, COMEX silver futures rose 2.98% or 43 cents to $14.72 an ounce, while spot platinum rose 2.43% or $20.78 to $876.68 an ounce.

Finally, headline agricultural commodity futures were largely on positive turf. CBOT wheat (up 0.79%), ICE cotton (up 0.10%), cocoa (up 0.11%) and CME live cattle (up 1.11%) were on the up in early calls stateside, but CBOT corn (down 0.40%) headed lower.
Engineering support services company Babcock International said non-executive director Jeff Randall purchased 1,134 shares at 8.81p each.

This brings his total holding to 4,268 shares.

On Tuesday, Babcock said its joint venture with Lockheed Martin, Ascent Flight Training, had been awarded a 1.1bn contract from the Ministry of Defence.

The contract is to deliver the fixed wing element of the UK Military Flying Training System through to 2033, in partnership with the MoD.

Elsewhere, ReNeurons non-executive chairman John Berriman picked up 318,476 shares in the cell therapy company at 3.14p each.

The purchase brings his total holding to just over 1m shares or a 0.033% stake.

Top Director Buys

Banco Santander S.A. (BNC)

Director name: Mr Jose Antonio Alvarez

Amount purchased: 84,609 @ 280.91p

Value: 237,675

Banco Santander S.A. (BNC)

Director name: Mr Jose Antonio Alvarez

Amount purchased: 50,343 @ 280.83p

Value: 141,378

Duke Royalty Limited (DUKE)

Director name: Mr Charles Cannon-Brookes

Amount purchased: 35,000 @ 46.13p

Value: 16,146

Colefax Group (CFX)

Director name: Mr Robert Barker

Amount purchased: 3,040 @ 457.50p

Value: 13,908

Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 1 (HHV)

Director name: Mr David Brock

Amount purchased: 13,822 @ 73.79p

Value: 10,199

ReNeuron Group (RENE)

Director name: Mr John Edward Berriman

Amount purchased: 318,476 @ 3.14p

Value: 10,000

Top Director Sells

Colefax Group (CFX)

Director name: Miss Key Hall

Amount sold: 21,765 @ 457.50p

Value: 99,575

Colefax Group (CFX)

Director name: Mr Robert Barker

Amount sold: 3,045 @ 457.50p

Value: 13,931

Colefax Group (CFX)

Director name: Mr Robert Barker

Amount sold: 3,040 @ 457.50p

Value: 13,908

Colefax Group (CFX)

Director name: Miss Wendy Nicholls

Amount sold: 2,650 @ 457.50p

Value: 12,124
Oil futures were bouncing back on Wednesday afternoon after Russias foreign minister reiterated his country was open to negotiations aimed at stabilising oil prices.

According to Sergei Lavrov, if there was a consensus among the member nations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and those from outside on the need to sit down and discuss the situation "then they will meet".

On Tuesday, the Russian Federation reported it had increased its oil output to just under 10.9m barrels per day in January, according to a research report from Commerzbank cited by Reuters.

That came amid support remarks from some leading oil industry analysts, such as VM Oil Associates Tamas Varga, who said, "Is there going to be a meeting between Russia and OPEC? That is a supportive factor in this rally. Countries are at the brink of default ... so the situation is dire."

As of 12:37GMT front month Brent crude futures were higher by 1.8% to $33.34 per barrel on the ICE, alongside gains of 1.87% to $30.45 per barrel on the NYMEX.
State-owned China National Chemical has agreed to take over Swiss agrichemical giant Syngenta for a cash deal totalling more than $43bn, as it plans for a flotation in years to come.

If the deal clears numerous global regulatory hurdles, it would mark the largest cross-border acquisition by a Chinese company.

CNC Corp offered to pay $465 per share plus a special dividend of five Swiss francs to be paid just as the deal closes, which is expected around the end of 2016, with a Swiss and US tender offer beginning in the coming weeks.

The Swiss seed and crop specialist's existing management will continue to run the company, with ChemChina chairman Ren Jianxin chairing a ten-man board that will include four current Syngenta directors.

In making this offer, ChemChina is recognizing the quality and potential of Syngentas business," said Syngenta chairman Michel Demare. "This includes industry-leading R&D and manufacturing and the quality of our people worldwide. The transaction minimizes operational disruption; it is focused on growth globally, specifically in China and other emerging markets, and enables long-term investment in innovation.

"Syngenta will remain Syngenta and will continue to be headquartered in Switzerland."

ChemChina bought Italian tyre maker Pirelli for $7.9bn last year and last month agreed to take over German machinery company Krauss Maffee for $1bn as well as taking a 12% stake in Swiss energy trader Mercuria.
David Cameron faced criticism in the House of Commons on Wednesday, after the Prime Minister agreed on the proposed conditions for Britain to remain in the European Union.

The proposed deal, announced by European Council president Donald Tusk on Tuesday, included a sovereignty 'red card' that will allow a group of national parliaments to club together to block EU laws, as well as measures relating to economic governance, competitiveness and social benefits.

London Mayor Boris Johnson questioned the deal, saying the Prime Minister is "making the best of a bad job", BBC News reported. He asked what the package would do to restore sovereignty and curb regulations.

"I am not saying this is perfect, I am not saying the European Union will be perfect after this deal - it certainly won't be, Cameron said. But will the British position be stronger and better? Yes it will."

He said details would be finalised in negotiations, though the initial agreement was the strongest achieved on freedom of movement rules.

The Prime Minister will now aim to get all member states to agree to the deal at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight, before the referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU, which is expected in June.
GlaxoSmithKline posted full year results showing revenues increasing 6% and core earnings per share down 15%, slightly ahead of guidance, and reiterated its confidence that earnings growth would return in 2016 at double-digit levels.

The pension fund favourite said it will pay an 80p dividend for 2015 plus a special dividend of 20p, guiding towards payment of 80p dividends in 2016 and 2017.

Group sales rose 6% to 24bn, or up 1% constant exchange rates, with a 7% fall in pharmaceuticals sales to 14.2bn mainly due to the disposal of the oncology business as part of the Novartis joint venture deal, offset by a 19% gain in vaccines to 3.7bn and 44% gain in consumer healthcare 6bn.

Ignoring the oncology disposal, pro-forma turnover was down 1%, principally from the decline in Advair due to generic competition plus a 15% decline in sales of other established products, which was counterbalanced by growth in new products, particularly the 54% growth from HIV drugs Tivicay and Triumeq.

Pharmaceuticals sales declined most in the US, falling 20% on a reported basis, while Europe was not far behind with a 16% fall, while rest-of-the-world turnover slipped 7%.

Vaccines revenues grew 24% in the US, 23% in Europe and 12% in the rest of the world, with this segment benefitting from sales of the newly acquired products, particularly Bexsero for Meningitis in Europe and the US, and vaccines for flu, infant gastroenteritis and four-in-one infant booster Boostrix.

Consumer healthcare grew 56% in the US, 70% in Europe, and 27% elsewhere, benefiting from sales of the newly acquired products such as Voltaren for pain relief, Otrivin nasal decongestant and Theraflu cold and flu relief, following the formation of the Novartis joint venture.

The 15% decline in core earnings per share to 75.7p was slightly ahead of financial guidance set out last May and reflects short-term dilution from transaction partly offset by integration and restructuring benefits.

Chief executive Andrew Witty reiterated his view that there are significant opportunities for the group's new R&D portfolio of around 40 assets, "of which approximately 80% have the potential to be first in class".

For the coming financial year he highlighted that up to 20 Phase II clinical trials would begin for assets in immuno-inflammation, oncology, respiratory and infectious diseases.

GSK also published its latest estimate for the rate of return in R&D, which has been maintained at 13%.

After an initial dip down on the afternoon announcement of results, shares in the company soon hit their highest level since last August, rising 1.7% on the day to 1,450p.
British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group s traffic and load factor rose in January.

Group traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, was up 11.9% year-on-year to 17.3m, while the load factor, which gauges how many seats were taken up on flights, rose to 78.7% from 77%.

Group capacity measured in available seat kilometres grew 9.4% while group premium traffic for January increased 2.1%.

In addition, the company said British Airways will resume direct flights to Tehran in Iran from 14 July onward.

The route will launch as a six-per-week service before moving to daily flights from winter 2016.

At 1535 GMT, IAG shares were down 3.8% to 520.50p.
Banking stocks struggled for much of Wednesday, while firmer oil prices and a weaker dollar gave resource stocks some respite from recent declines.

The FTSE 100 ended 1.43% or 84.87 points lower at 5,837.14, while the FTSE 250 fell 1.89% or 307.26 points to 15,992.42. Oil futures returned to positive territory and base metals went through another session marked by modest gains. Earlier, the Energy Information Administration, statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, said the countrys crude oil inventories rose by 7.8m barrels in the last week, well above analysts' expectations for a rise of 4.8m barrels, as imports rose.

However, the data failed to halt an oil price recovery that began during the Asian session, as the US dollar weakened following lacklustre data and Russia reiterated its willingness to take part in talks with OPEC to cut production.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the OPEC members and non-OPEC producers to meet, "then we will meet". At 1634 GMT, the Brent front-month futures contract was up 4.74% or $1.55 to $34.27 per barrel, while WTI was 5.09% or $1.52 higher at $31.40 per barrel.

Base metal futures posted marginal gains across the London Metal Exchange board. At 1635 GMT, the much scrutinised three-month copper delivery futures contract was up 1.6% to $4,614.00 per metric tonne.

Concurrently, primary aluminium (up 1.2%), zinc (up 1.7%), lead (up 1.3%), nickel (up 0.9%) and tin (up 0.8%) contracts also headed higher.

Unsurprisingly, biggest gainers on the FTSE 100 included Anglo American (up 8.55%), Rio Tinto (up 4.17%), Glencore (up 3.37%), Antofagasta (up 2.76%) and BHP Billiton (up 1.71%), while Tullow Oil (up 1.77%) stacked up decent gains on the FTSE 250 along with a number of other oil and gas companies.

However, banking stocks dragged both headline indices lower. Standard Chartered (down 4.28%) plunged after Citi lowered its target price on the shares of Asia-focused and commodity-exposed lender. The broker described the lenders valuation at 0.5 times estimated 2016 price-to-tangible book value as "low" in the context of global banks.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC fell as UBS warned that another year of fundamental headwinds such as lower oil prices and central bank policy will likely weigh on earnings expectations for global banks in 2016.

Vodafone (down 3.90%) fell a day after the telco confirmed that it is in discussions with Liberty Global about the possible creation of a joint venture in the Netherlands that would incorporate both companies local operating businesses.

Finally, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline jumped after the company posted full year results showing revenues increasing 6% and core earnings per share down 15%, slightly ahead of guidance, and reiterated its confidence that earnings growth would return in 2016 at double-digit levels.
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Circleville Pumpkin Show 2022: What you need to know if you plan to go

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Starwood pays $209M for 700 apartments

The sales of four apartment complexes in King County that were part of a $5.4 billion transaction announced last year have closed, property records show. Equity Residential sold the complexes to Starwood Capital Group.

The complexes in King County have a total of 700 units and sold for $208.9 million, or approximately $298,389 per unit, records show.

The properties are Woodlake Apartments at 11400 N.E. 132nd St. in Kirkland, Reunion at Redmond Ridge at 11315 Trilogy Pkwy. N.E. in Redmond, Heronfield Apartments at 11105 N.E. 123rd Lane in Kirkland and The Martine at 13842 N.E. Eighth St. in Bellevue.

Starwood made a deal last year to buy a total of 72 properties with 23,262 units at $230,634 per unit from Equity Residential. This included eight Seattle-area complexes with 1,721 units.

It is unclear which other Equity properties were included in the sale or if those transactions have closed. The other four properties total 1,021 units.

The deal also included apartments in South Florida, Denver, Washington, D.C., and California's Inland Empire.

In addition to the Starwood deal, Equity Residential this year plans to sell another 26 complexes, totaling 4,728 units. Many of them are in Connecticut and non-core markets in Massachusetts. Equity said at the time it was exiting those New England markets as well as South Florida and Denver.

Equity is selling mid-rise apartments in suburban neighborhoods and shifting its focus to urban buildings.

In the Seattle area, Equity Residential owns numerous apartments downtown and in other urban neighborhoods.




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With dpa ElectionsData you get access to a unique collection of data. Via a programming interface (Rest-API), your developers can access detailed information, candidate profiles and live results for all national elections in the European Union and important international elections, like the US Midterm elections etc.

The data pool also includes all heads of state and government as well as about 20,000 elected members of parliament throughout the EU. In addition to their data (name, party, constituency or list position), we collect social media profiles and official websites of individuals and parties.
Update: Holden has defended the safety of its new Spark city car following an admission that the car has four fewer airbags than its US cousin, the Chevrolet Spark.

Australian and European Spark hatchbacks miss out on driver and passenger knee airbags and seat-mounted rear side airbags available in the US.

But a spokesman for Holden says it did not cut corners for the Spark's safety, and that "every piece of safety equipment available to Holden was put in the Spark".

"The 10 airbag configuration is only available in LHD models to meet specific seatbelt regulations in North America," he says.

"The 10 airbag configuration is not available on RHD production of Spark. The Holden Spark will be one of the safest micro cars on the market in Australia, we're confident the maximum ANCAP rating will be awarded."

General Motors does not offer the Spark with a full complement of 10 airbags outside North America.

It is not the only manufacturer with an airbag count that changes between the US and Australia - other manufacturers including Toyota have fewer airbags in local models such as the Yaris.

Nevertheless, ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin was disappointed to see a drop in safety features between the US and Australia.

"We don't like to see any level of de-speccing of safety features between markets," he says.

"A customer in the US, Europe or Australia is still a customer and should be treated with the same respect."

Goodwin was also wary of Holden's claim that the Spark offers "class leading" safety given that it has not been crash tested in Europe or Australia.

"Until we have done testing we don't know the safety outcomes, we don't know how it performs," he says.

"Manufacturers should not be overstating the crash performance of the vehicle until we've done local testing  particularly if there are specification variations in different markets."

While Holden has not revealed full prices and specifications for the Spark, it is expected to be the cheapest car in its lineup with an asking price of less than $15,000.

It says the model has "class-leading technology and safety features", even though it lacks autonomous emergency braking technology available on more expensive city cars such as the Mazda2 and Skoda Fabia.

The new Spark is set to be powered by a 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine with 73kW of power and 128Nm of torque. Holden has not revealed a fuel economy figure for the car, which uses 5.7L/100km of petrol in US trim.

The Spark's key features include a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

2016 Holden Spark specifications

Price: To be confirmed

On sale: April 2016

Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol

Power: 73kW at 6200rpm

Torque: 128Nm at 4400rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual or CVT automatic

Fuel use: Approx. 5.7L/100km
Junior Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash launched the Louth Economic Forum Broadband Action Plan at Ardee business Park Ardee last Friday.

This is the first county in the country to produce a county-broadband strategy in response to the National Broadband Plan. The Louth Economic Forum's strategy runs until 2020 and aims to build on the significant progress achieved in recent years in broadband across the county, and in particular in facilitating access to rural areas that currently have little or no broadband.

To promote these improvements, Louth County Council has adopted a pro-business, approach, which recognises that communities should also benefit from high speed broadband availability.

The Action Plan involves business, broadband providers and Louth County Council working together to achieve this. It is based on a partnership approach to identify barriers to fast broadband, and to identify solutions to those barriers so that businesses, and communities, can access high-speed broadband. Actions outlined in the plan include putting in place user-friendly procedures for companies investing in new broadband infrastructure and encouraging a similar approach from other regulatory agencies operating in the county, as well as identifying business broadband blackspots in the county for remediation.

 The availability of high speed broadband is vital in attracting new business, both international and indigenous, in job creation and economic prosperity, Minister Nash said.

Broadband is a deciding factor when businesses are choosing where to locate and its one that Louth can influence, through the implementation of this plan.

Louth County Council Joan Martin said Louth is the third best broadband-enabled county in Ireland, behind Dublin and Kildare. It is envisaged that approximately 50,700 of the 60,000 premises in the county will have high speed broadband connectivity by the end of this year.

Cllr Dolores Minogue said was fitting that were launching this plan in Ardee today as it is a poster child for high speed broadband, as it is one of the countrys fibre towns.

Chairman of Louth County Councils Economic and Enterprise Strategic Policy Committee, Cllr Mark Deary said a reliable and fast internet connection is critical to business growth and development and is essential to modern business practice.

I am very proud that Louth is leading the way with the publication of the first county broadband action plan in Ireland, Cllr Dearey said.
The American Dream has been done to death in the literature of that country. The best examples are The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman.

Glengarry Glen Ross by the American playwright, director and screenwriter David Mamet, has been dubbed Death of a F****ing Salesman because of the profanities that colour the dialogue of the characters, so you might say, why do I want to see a play like that in the Town Hall in Dundalk or the Tain theatre as it is now called.

Well, not only is this a great play, one that can really be called a Shakespearean tragedy, with a cast of local amatuer actors the likes of which you will not see better anywhere in Ireland, but you will also be taking part in a bit of amatuer drama history.

For this is the first time this play has been produced by any amatuer drama company in this country.

This is a controversial play but Ive always wanted to do it, the director Matt Murphy said last week when I spoke to him. It was the day before our useless, toothless, Banking Inquiry report was published. When we were told the state could have saved 9bn by imposing losses on debt holders at the six Irish Banks instead of us, the taxpayer.

The character in this play are driven by the fear of failure which is what the American Dream is all about. Greed. It has all the echoes of our Celtic tiger and the banking collapse that followed.

We see human fears and insecurities, the banter that hides true feelings, the inability of people to fully communicate with one another. In many ways it reflects Irish life as it is now.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are dealing with real people here.

Matt had tried to get the right to produce the play two years ago but had been refused.

We eventually got them for a production at the Town Hall, he said. We then entered it for eight festivals on the amatuer drama circuit but we were then told we could not tour with it. the Town Hall was it.

But Fergus Mullen, who is in the cast, knew a hot shot lawyer in Los Angeles who got in touch with a contemporary of his in New York.

This was before last Christmas and it just happened that the author David Mamet's was in New York directing Al Pacino in Mamet's play China Doll.

This lawyer got on to Mamets manager and managed to get permission for us to tour.

The cast includes some of the best amatuer actors in the business: Tim Ahern, Fergus Mullen, Sean Whelan, Paul McGee, Gerry OHara, Paudie Breen and JImmy McEneaney.

The play is set in an American real estate office - substitute that for our property market in the Celtic tiger years and you are very much at home.

It exposes the sordid means of attaining the American Dream, said Matt. And it shows tha effects the business ethos has wrought upon the characters.

The play was dedicated to Harold Pinter and first performed not in america, but at the national Theatre in London in 1983.

This is a great American tragedy by a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

But it more than that. It is a universal tragedy because it speaks to us all. It has that rich deep emotional quality that marks all great drama.

Like every great human story it shows there is light at the end of the tunnel, director Matt Murphy said.

Dundalk Theatre Workshop has produced some classic productions in recent times. Neil Simons Plaza Suite, The Winslow boy, Christopher Hampton's adaption of Dangerous Liasons, and Michael Frayn's brilliant Copenhagen, all award winners on the amatuer dara circuit.

How they have come up with it is a real triumph.

After Dundalk it will go to Rush on 24 February, Derry 5 March, Kildare 11 March, Newry 18 March, and New Ross 23 March.

Then it hopes to have the required nominations for a place in the all-Ireland finals in Athlone.

It will run at The Tain Theatre here in the town Hall Dundalk from Wednesday 10 February to Saturday 13 February.

Its not to be missed.
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VIP show home opening in Harrogate hailed a success

Linden Homes North jazzed up its show home opening in Harrogate at the weekend with live music, VIP guests and lots of interest in its prestigious development.

The wraps were taking off the stunning Sussex Court show home, an exceptional six-bedroom bespoke property  complete with exquisite interior design.

This will now become the jewel in the crown of the luxurious development, located at one of Yorkshires most desirable addresses  within the Heritage of the Duchy Estate.

Along with The Matthew Smith Jazz Band, helping the opening to go with a swing were civic guests, Harrogate deputy mayor Cllr Jenny Travena and her consort, Liz Mann  alongside a host of excited and very proud Linden Homes staff.

All had the chance to look around the amazing show home and find out more about the homes currently available  some of which are due for imminent completion  and enjoy refreshments while chatting to interior designer, Suzi Harding.

On the back of the unveiling, a number of potential buyers have now made appointments to revisit the development to find out more.

The spacious homes have been individually designed to reflect the local architecture, and will be beautifully proportioned and elegantly styled, each boasting impressive, high quality features.

Almost 50 per cent the 30 spacious homes have already been reserved at the development, with a number of residents having moved in and made Sussex Court their home.

Currently starting in price from 950,000 up to 1.6 million, the generous sized homes range from 2,390 sq ft to 5,017 sq ft.

This perfect location offers all the rural enjoyment of the surrounding woodland walks and is only around an 18 minute walk from the beautiful Spa Town of Harrogate with its many restaurants, shops and bars and of course is the home of the Great Yorkshire show.

And just 15 miles from Leeds also makes it an ideal commutable location for work or leisure.

Harrogate is a former double time winner of the esteemed title of Britains happiest place to live  according to a survey by Rightmove.

For those who like a gentler pace beyond the town life of Harrogate, the stunning Yorkshire Dales are right on the doorstep to explore.

The Sussex Court development is open daily from 10.30am until 5pm. Alternatively, visit lindenhomes.co.uk.






Check out East Niagara Post videos on YouTube, Vine and Periscope.





Lockport Mayor Anne McCaffrey was in studio for a pre-recorded "On the Record," which aired on East Niagara Radio at 8 p.m.The topic primarily focused on the potential creation of a full-time city assessor in Lockport, but other topics came up, as well.Couple this with last Tuesday's "On the Record" with Joe O'Shaughnessy to fully catch up on the assessor's saga before Wednesday's veto and potential override.
At todays hearing on the Flint water crisis before the House Oversight and Government Reform, Democratic committee members made it clear time and time again that the poisoning of Flints drinking water with lead was the responsibility of the state government and the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder.

On the other hand, Republican committee members spent the vast majority of their time trying to prove that the entire problem was the fault of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is clear from who actually gave testimony at the hearing.

Dan Wyant, the disgraced former director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), was appointed by the governor and was a man with no previous experience with drinking water or with the treatment of water to ensure its safety.

He was not called to testify.

Three previous Flint Emergency Managers, Jerry Ambrose, Ed Kurtz, and Darnell Earley, all played significant roles in the lead contamination since they were, to paraphrase former Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris, the ones running the city. Youre running the city, he told Emergency Manager trainees. You are the Mayor. You are the Commission. In other words, the proverbial buck stops with them. This would be true even if the Flint City Council had wholeheartedly endorsed switching to the Flint River for their drinking water which they DID. NOT.

None of these three men gave testimony today. Ambrose and Kurtz werent even invited and Earley refused to answer a subpoena issued after he declined the Committee Chairs invitation. At the start of the hearing today, Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz vowed to send U.S. Marshals after Earley to hunt him down and make him testify.

UPDATE: Following blistering new headlines about it, Earley has now decided he will, in fact, testify at a future hearing.

The EPA whistleblower Miguel Del Toral issued a scathing condemnation of the DEQ as well as the EPA in his must-read June 24, 2015 memo (read it HERE.) Mr. Del Toral outlined in great detail how the DEQ lied to the EPA about phosphate treatment that was, in fact, not occurring.

Mr. Del Toral also was not present to testify because, although he was invited, the EPA did not make him available.

Finally, Gov. Snyder himself is, perhaps, the most central character in this entire fiasco. It is HIS policy of Emergency Management that brought us here. It is HIS personally-appointed Emergency Managers that executed his austerity policies in hard-hit urban centers which led to the poisoning of Flints drinking water. It was HIS personally-appointed DEQ director  a man with no qualifications for the job  who headed the department that failed in its responsibility so profoundly.

Gov. Snyder was not present to testify and, in fact, was never invited.

The absence of these important actors in the Flint water crisis along with the questions asked by the Republicans on the Committee, particularly the Chair Jason Chaffetz, made it quite clear that their focus was on attacking the EPA.

Some of the most impressive testimony came from Congressman Dan Kildee. However, all of those who testified paled in comparison to Flint resident and activist LeeAnn Walters. She gave a firsthand account of how the state of Michigan failed her, her family (including her lead-poisoned son), and the city of Flint. Despite being an average citizen, her testimony was powerful, delivered with unwavering steadfastness.

Virginia Tech Professor Marc Edwards was also a rock star during the hearing. He has no love of the EPA and holds the agency responsible for countless failures to protect Americans and our environment. He reiterated that the corrosive impacts of Flint River water could have been entirely mitigated by an inexpensive  $80-100 a day  phosphate treatment which was not part of the water treatment plan for the Flint River water that DEQ approved. He also explained that DEQ didnt just forget to add the phosphate, they actively chose NOT to add it because Flint was moving to the Karegnondi Water Authority system so adding it would have been a waste of time. When we got involved in August, as a matter of fact, he told the Committee, Theres an MDEQ memo that said, Shouldnt someone tell those folks from Virginia Tech that were switching to the pipeline next year so they dont bother wasting their time on this issue?'

As it turns out, the KWA pipeline wont be open for business until this summer at the earliest, over two years after Flints switch to the Detroit River.

Prof. Edwards was very clear that the primary responsibility for the lead problem in Flint lies at the feet of the DEQ officials in charge at the time. But hes also clearly very disgusted with the actions of the EPA in this and other situations and has strong feelings that things need to change. He had particular disdain for the lies and cover-up by Susan Hedman who he described as the top cop at the EPA for our region.

Major kudos go to Ranking Committee Member Democrat Elijah Cummings. He spelled out what Emergency Management has done to Michigan and, more specifically, to the people poisoned in Flint. He was on fire during his time at the microphone.

Watch it here:

Rep. Cummings finished by saying, This isnt about a gotchya, I swear to God. But you gotta know what happened so you can correct it.

Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly was also excellent, calling the Flint water crisis a result of social Darwinism. Michigan Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence made strong points, as well, as she tried to ferret out the truth along with her other Democratic colleagues.

Theres no question that EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman was a colossal failure and were well rid of her. And theres no question that, as Professor Edwards made abundantly clear in his powerful testimony and answers to questions presented to him, the EPA aided and abetted the DEQs cover-up and obfuscation and has epically failed to respond to years of FOIA requests from Edwards and others like him. Hopefully these things will change. But keep in mind that Republicans kneecap and hinder the EPA in doing its job nearly every day. Any efforts for reform of the EPA and its practices by the Republicans on this Committee need to be viewed through that lens.

What this hearing hopefully has helped to do is ensure that the entire country knows how lead ended up in Flints water. It was the terrible decision-making by the DEQ under the Snyder administration and Flints Emergency Managers, appointed by Gov. Snyder, that created this human-made disaster. No amount of effort by Republican members of Congress to put the entire blame on the EPA changes that.
NOTE: to follow all of our coverage of the ongoing tragedy in Flint, click the Flint Water Crisis tab at the top left of each page right under our logo (or click HERE!)

Former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley refuses to be served Congressional subpoena

In an astonishing display of chutzpah, former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, who yesterday abruptly announced he is resigning as Emergency Manager of Detroit Public Schools at the end of the month, refused to be served subpoena papers sent to him and his attorney by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which is holding a hearing on the Flint water crisis today in Washington, D.C.:

a congressional committee voted to subpoena former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley to testify on the citys water crisis but that he has refused service. Sources told the Free Press on Tuesday night that Two congressional staff members spoke to the Free Press on condition of anonymity because the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hadnt publicly discussed the subpoena. Earley had been called to testify regarding the Flint water crisis at Wednesdays first congressional hearing on the issue but refused. Earley was emergency manager in Flint when that city switched its water supply to the Flint River in 2014. Earleys attorney, A. Scott Bolden, confirmed to the Free Press on Tuesday night that a subpoena was issued, but he added that it was issued at 6 p.m. Tuesday and required that Earley testify at 9 a.m. Wednesday, even though Earley is not in Washington. Bolden said that timeline borders on the nonsensical and is completely unenforceable. [] U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the House Oversight Committees ranking Democrat, said that while Earley has a right to assert the Fifth Amendment and not testify but his abrupt resignation earlier today and his refusal to testify  make it even more urgent that we hear directly from the governor.

No word on whether or not Earley suggested that Rep. Cummings father smelt of elderberries.

UPDATE: Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz told attendees at the hearing this morning (which you can watch live HERE) that hes sending U.S. Marshals to serve Earley with his subpoena and that he would hunt him down if necessary. Participating before this committee is not optional, Chaffetz said. Its worth noting that refusing to comply with a Congressional subpoena can lead to a charge of contempt of Congress which, upon conviction, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 and imprisonment for up to a year.

Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee will be testifying and a coalition of Michigan groups is sending two busloads of people down to Washington, D.C. for todays hearing:

A group of Flint residents who want to be heard in Washington, D.C., will leave Flint tonight. Organizers want people who are impacted by the Flint water crisis to be able to tell their stories during the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing. We are going to DC so our voices arent lost in the middle of political posturing, the message on the signup form says. [] The trip is sponsored by the National Action Network, Flint Democracy Defense League, Michigan Faith in Action, AFSCME SEIU, Michigan Nurses Association, Progress Michigan, National Peoples Action Advancement Project, National Peoples Action, Center for Popular Democracy and Michigan United. Another bus charted by the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network also will leave from the same location.

FBI now investigating the Flint water crisis, looking for criminal actions

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with a host of other agencies, is now investigating the catastrophic poisoning of Flints drinking water by the Snyder administration, looking for evidence that federal laws were violated.

The U.S. Attorneys Office on Tuesday confirmed the FBI is part of the ongoing federal investigation into the Flint water crisis. Jill Washburn, spokeswoman for the FBIs Detroit field office, told The Detroit News of the agencys role in the growing probe. Weve been investigating it for awhile, Washburn said. Our role in it is just investigating the matter to determine if there are any federal violations. [] The U.S. Attorneys Office normally doesnt disclose ongoing probes. But Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Detroit, confirmed her agencys investigation in January while explaining the worries of Flints residents may have prompted the agencys disclosure. Balaya, in a Tuesday email to The News, added that the office is working with a multi-agency investigation team on the Flint water contamination matter, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, EPAs Office of Inspector General (an independent office within EPA that performs audits, evaluations, and investigations of EPA and its contractors to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse) and EPAs Criminal Investigation Division (which investigates potential criminal violations of federal environmental law).

My hunch is that Darnell Earley wont be the only Snyder administration official to be resigning in the not-so-distant future.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is calling for the complete removal of lead water lines in Flint

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is not waiting for the lackadaisical Snyder administration to get off its hindside to begin the critical process of getting the lead out of Flints water supply. Yesterday, she outlined plans for the complete removal of lead water lines in the homes of Flint residents and shes getting help from Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero:

An aggressive plan to remove Flints lead-contaminated pipes from the water distribution system was announced Tuesday by city officials who said the city will first target the homes of high-risk populations, including children and pregnant women. The plan to remove the pipes is in the early stages, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said, but it will get a major boost in help from Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who has offered technical assistance from the Lansing Board of Water and Light, which has removed more than 13,000 lead pipes in the city. We are here today to take a stand to get the lead out of Flint, Weaver said. To start, we must remove and replace lead pipes immediately, and we want to start with the high-risk homes of kids under 6 and pregnant women. These lead pipes have got to go. [] Weaver said theres no plan to relocate residents, and its unclear when the pipe replacements will begin. Weaver said the city is still gathering information but she noted the effort is separate from any assistance or aid the state or federal government might plan later. They (Lansing) have perfected a method for replacing the lead service lines thats more than twice as fast and only half the cost, Weaver said at a news conference. No trench is required. The process takes four hours, instead of 10 hours, at a cost of just $2,000 to $3,000 per line.

Sometimes when you want something done, you just have to do it yourself. Hopefully shell send the bill to Gov. Snyders office.

Peters, Stabenow, and Kildee to introduce legislation for funding to help poisoned Flint kids

On Monday, Senator Gary Peters announced that, in addition to the $400 million proposed to help mitigate the poisoning of Flints drinking water by the Snyder administration, he, along with Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman Dan Kildee will be introducing legislation to help Flint kids who have been poisoned with lead:

Michigan members of Congress announced Monday that they would be introducing bills to expand learning programs for Flint children who have been affected by the citys water crisis. U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich) announced the legislation while touring Hurley Medical Center in Flint on Monday. Flints children were exposed to contaminated water by no fault of their own, Peters said. I am proud to introduce this bill to help ensure they have the resources and support necessary to lead happy and healthy lives. [] The bill proposed Monday is called the Childrens Head Start Intervention for Life and Development (CHILD) Act. It would allow for a one-time, non-renewable grant to help low-income children with health needs and school readiness as part of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Those efforts include child learning classes, healthy meals and developmental screenings. Peters announcement did not name how much money would be allocated for those efforts. The senator said he will introduce the bill with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich). U.S. Representative Dan Kildee, whose district includes Flint, will introduce similar legislation in Congress.

With regard to the $400 million in assistance proposed in their earlier announcement, MIRS News Service has reported that several Republicans in Lansing are pushing back. Senate Republican Leader Arlan Meekhof and Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter both are dubious of the legislation because it requires a $400 million match from the state of Michigan. When asked about the federal assistance, Meekhof was reported to have said, Im a little suspect of those folks wanting to help. There may be a role for them, but well wait and see  Normally, funds coming from the federal government, theres lots of strings attached. We may not be willing to attach ourselves to those strings. Cotter called the effort premature.

Apparently these fine leaders of our state legislature arent sure they want to spend that sort of money on a city full of poor black people who have been poisoned by their Partys corporatist policies.

Gov. Snyder asks legislature for $30 million to pay for Flint residents (poisoned) water bills

As Ive reported in the past, not only are Flint residents having to contend with lead in their drinking water, they also have some of the highest water rates in the entire country and the bills for that poisoned water have not stopped coming. It is, perhaps, one of the most outrageous fallouts from the entire situation. Gov. Snyder plans to ask the state legislature to free up $30 million to pay back the city for the loss of revenue now that many residents have understandably stopped paying for water they cannot use:

Gov. Rick Snyder plans to announce Wednesday he will ask the state legislature to approve a $30 million water payment relief plan for Flint residents to keep their water service on and reimburse them for water they cannot drink because of a lead-contaminated water supply, according to a document reviewed by the Detroit Free Press. , according to a document reviewed by the Detroit Free Press. The governors proposal will be part of the 2016-2017 fiscal year budget he will present to lawmakers next week, and it calls for a credit the city of Flint can apply to residents water bills until state and federal officials certify the water is safe for consumption. The upcoming announcement was first reported by the Associated Press Tuesday night. Flint residents will not have to pay for water they cannot drink, Snyder said in a draft statement reviewed by the Free Press. My budget recommendation will include the request that the state make payments to the citys water system for residential bills going back to April 2014 and alleviate the need for residential water shutoffs.

Its the least they can do. Almost literally.

The U.S. EPA and Michigan DEQ battle it out over who messed up worse

The finger-pointing battle between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality ramped up this week with the two agencies pointing at each other for blame. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters, I think its very clear from what youve seen here that the federal government is here and doing its job, its time that the state government get here and do its job.

And thats not all she said:

Lets be really clear about why we are here today, McCarthy said. We are here today because a state-appointed emergency manager made the decision that the city of Flint would stop purchasing treated water that had well served them for 50 years and instead purchase untreated  and not treat that water  and by law the state of Michigan approved that switch and did not require corrosion control. All to save money. Now that state decision resulted in lead leaching out of lead service pipes and plumbing, exposing kids to excess amounts of lead. Thats why were here.

Oh, snap.

DEQ Director Keith Creagh had a few things of his own to say:

Gov. Rick Snyders hand-picked appointee to run the state Department of Environmental Quality faults the federal EPA for contributing to the public health catastrophe, saying it did not display the sense of urgency that the situation demanded. [] Between February (2015) and the end of September 2015, there were multiple e-mail exchanges and conference calls between MDEQ and EPA, Creagh wrote in the prepared testimony made available to the Free Press on Tuesday night. Yet when the parties were unable to come to consensus on its implementation in July 2015, the EPA failed to provide the legal opinion requested by the MDEQ until November 2015.

While the EPA should have come down harder and quicker than they did but, ultimately, it was the failure of the DEQ to abide by federal regulations, largely because their department director Dan Wyant was completely unqualified for his job.

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller wants one billion dollars for Flint

In her opening salvo in the Michigan 2018 gubernatorial race, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller (who is widely predicted to run for governor in 2018) yesterday proposed [DrEvilVoice]One billion dollars[/DrEvilVoice] to replace lead water lines and plumbing in Flint:

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller on Tuesday upped the ante for Congress to help pay for replacing lead service pipes and other infrastructure in Flint, proposing an emergency $1-billion grant to be authorized through the Environmental Protection Agency. Such a proposal faces an uncertain future but represents perhaps the boldest suggestion yet for a federal response to the water crisis unfolding in Flint, where President Barack Obama has issued an emergency declaration and high lead levels continue to be detected in some residents tap water. Miller, R-Harrison Township, said in a statement accompanying the text of the proposed legislation that its necessary because of an epic failure of government at every level that has resulted in unacceptably high levels of lead in the water, and that she recognizes the fiscal issues surrounding such a proposal in Congress.

Its pretty easy for Rep. Miller to make such an audacious request because she knows full well that her Republican colleagues will never pass it into law. So she gets the benefit of acting concerned in a big way without actually having to fund her big idea. Its Republican policy at its finest.

Geoffrey Fieger files suit over Flint Legionnaires disease and associated death

Speaking of people exploiting the Flint water crisis for personal gain, notorious attorney Geoffrey Fieger has filed a $100 million lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Flint Legionnaires disease victim and three others who got sick from the bacterial infection. Just another lawsuit against the state of Michigan, youre probably thinking. No, youd be wrong. Hes suing the hospital, too, despite the fact that the link between the switch to the Flint River and the Legionnaires Disease outbreak has not been established:

Southfield lawyer Geoffrey Fieger filed a $100-million lawsuit today against McLaren Flint Hospital and the State of Michigan, saying they did nothing to combat an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that killed at least one person during the Flint water crisis. Fieger represents four Genesee County residents who contracted the disease, including the family of Debra Kidd, who died in August, seven days after entering the emergency room with a headache, according to the suit. Fieger told the Free Press today that the hospital had a duty to protect the patients from the deadly bacteria. [] A hospital wont make money if it discloses a Legionnaires outbreak from contaminated water, and a Governor will stop hearing whispers that hes being considered for higher office if he reveals a water and Legionnaires crisis, Fieger said in a statement. We know what happened here.

This man is disgusting.
When Amazon launched Prime Day six months ago, skeptics came out in force to criticize what they considered Jeff Bezos desperate ploy to add members to a club that appeared to be peaking in a saturated domestic market.

Gimmick or not, Prime Day worked. Amazon sold more than 34.4 million items across eight countries where Prime was offered. The company topped 2014 Black Friday totals and forced Walmart and other retailers to respond. Amazon subsequently released a third-quarter earnings report that backed up its initial sales figures with profits that defied just about all prior estimates.

Prime Position

Our focus is to continue to add even more value to this membership for Prime members, said Amazon spokesperson Ana Rigby.

That includes our steady investment in building out our fulfillment center network in order to get items closer to customers, [and] get more items in-stock and delivered as quickly as possible, she told the E-Commerce Times.

Despite all the new members Prime Day reaped, the company still saw a strong growth potential for its Prime program, CFO Brian Olsavsky told analysts during the companys Q3 earnings call in October. It also saw a strong business case for Prime Now, which offers customers one-hour delivery on certain items.

Amazon was making serious efforts to ramp up its ability to fulfill that demand without spiking operating costs too high, he added.

We think its an interesting part of the selection offer for Prime, and its in many ways something that we can do that others cant, he said, because its a natural evolution of our 20-year effort to grow our fulfillment center network  and our scale, quite frankly, makes it possible to even offer this to customers.

Amazon took several bold steps last year to create some space between itself and a growing number of companies aiming to chip away at Amazon Primes mounting influence in the e-commerce space.

The company reported record-breaking sales and member enrollment during the holiday shopping season, with more than 3 million new members signing up for the US$99 per year Prime program during the third week of December. Amazon set a single-day record on Christmas Eve, with the most-ever deliveries. It shipped more than 200 million items for free during the holiday period.

Amazon has been selective about releasing figures related to Amazon Prime. However, the program had an estimated 47 million members who spent an average of $1,200 per person, compared to non-Prime shoppers roughly $600 average, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported in October.

Amazon uses Prime as a way of improving loyalty in an environment in which customers can easily switch among e-commerce retailers, said CIRP cofounder Michael Levin.

Prime overcomes a number of barriers that consumers have about e-commerce, including paying for shipping, waiting for goods, and processing returns, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Taking On the Giant

One challenge is that Amazon may be losing money on Prime. Its regarded as the biggest contributor to Amazons shipping costs, noted Nikki Baird, managing partner of RSR Research.

Even though Prime customers buy more  a lot more  it isnt enough at Amazons prices to offset the cost of two-day shipping, she told the E-Commerce Times.

Its understandable that other retailers want the same level of brand loyalty that Prime membership provides for Amazon, said Baird, but I would have to seriously question their sanity if they think that its a profitable way to compete, because all indicators are that its not.

For one select group of retailers, the most direct competition for Amazon Prime is Shoprunner, backed by Kynetic, Alibaba and American Express. The service, which is free for some American Express cardholders, costs US$8.95 per month, or $79 a year for other consumers. It provides two-day free shipping, free return shipping and exclusive member discounts. Like Amazon Prime, consumers can try out the service for 30 days for free.

Shoprunner serves as an e-commerce engine for brands including Cole Haan, Tommy Hilfiger and Rafaella.

Legacy Struggles

Sears and Kmart, which have struggled to fend off competition from rival department stores like Target and Kohls, have been working to reinvent their traditional retail model with the Shop Your Way program, designed to maximize sales among their most frequent customers. It offers free two-day shipping, rewards points, and exclusive discounts through Shop Your Way Max, which provides upgraded benefits for a $39 annual fee.

Sears continues to find new ways to integrate in-store and online shopping by enhancing mobile and online technologies to create new conveniences for Shop Your Way members, said Leena Munjal, SVP of customer experience and integrated retail at Sears Holdings.

The company has worked to integrate its existing department stores and outlets with mobile by offering a service that lets customers pick up, return and exchange purchases while remaining in their vehicles for no extra charge, with a guarantee that the process will take no more than five minutes to complete.

Target Takes Aim

Target, which is widely considered one of Amazons leading competitors, does not have a paid loyalty program like Amazon Prime or Shop Your Way. However, it does offer special benefits through its Red Card customer loyalty program.

Target is focused on providing guests the ability to shop on demand  anywhere, anytime  in stores, online and mobile, said company spokesperson Jamie Bastian.

The program offers 5 percent discounts to all cardholders, free shipping on Target.com purchases, and an extra 30 days for shipping returns. Currently, about 25 percent of Target stores ship Target.com orders, Bastian told the E-Commerce Times. Target also offers a number of programs to make mobile shopping easier for customers.

It has offered in-store order pickup since September 2014 in Minneapolis, and it later rolled out the service nationwide. About 80 percent of all pickup orders are available within an hour, Bastian said. Guests also can use the Ship to Store option to get an item on Target.com that is not sold in stores.

Target in 2013 began collaborating with Facebook to offer a program called Cartwheel, which is available via an app. Customers get personally targeted coupons and special discounts that can be shared with friends on Facebook. The app has 20 million authenticated users, according to Target.

The company is currently offering Instacart grocery service in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Chicago, Bastian said. The pilot program began in September in select Minneapolis area neighborhoods and western suburbs. Target delivers groceries ordered on Target.com within two hours.

Target in 2014 began partnering with a Bay area startup called Curbside.com to offer merchandise pickup in select stores in Chicago, the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, and all San Francisco-area stores, Bastian said.

Nipping at Heels

Several e-commerce competitors and startups have attempted to disrupt Amazon Primes dominant position.

Jet.com originally launched with much fanfare as an e-commerce site that offered similar shipping perks to Amazon.com for a smaller membership fee. However, it later decided to change its model, replacing the $50 membership fee program with a more traditional site that reportedly will subsidize member discounts through sales commissions.

eBay in September launched a program called eBay Plus in Germany, where customers get free expedited shipping and free returns for an annual fee of about $22. The company plans to expand the service to provide exclusive discounts and promotions as well. The program also will allow consumers to sell on the site without fees.

eBay has indicated that it may expand to other countries, but it hasnt announced any specific plans.
Privacy advocates from around the globe have taken heart from reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook pushed hard against the Obama administrations efforts to reach a compromise on encryption during a recent meeting with several leading technology companies.

Cook earlier this month joined a delegation of social media and technology leaders in a meeting with top national security, law enforcement and White House insiders to discuss ways to work together to prevent terrorist organizations like ISIS from using social media to recruit and spread propaganda.

Counter ISIS

The meeting was part of the Obama administrations wider effort to counterbalance ISIS social media strategy to inspire lone wolf attacks like the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, and to thwart its use of social media to spread its terrorist ideology  and in some cases, communicate with field operators. Investigators have been exploring the role such communications might have played in last falls horrific attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people and injured more than 380.

Cook reportedly took advantage of the meeting to lash out at administration officials who were calling for a way to grant law enforcement officials limited, backdoor access to computer systems, demanding that the White House come out in favor of unbreakable encryption instead.

Apple and Cook have been very strong on this issue, said Andrew Crocker, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

I think its heartfelt on Cooks part  he says he believes privacy is a human right, and Apple has introduced a number of features that support privacy and security, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey, and John Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security were in attendance at the meeting.

Other attendees reportedly included Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and NSA Director Michael Rogers, as well as James Clapper, director of national intelligence, and Denis McDonough, White House chief of staff.

In addition to Cook, there were executives representing a large number of technology companies, including Facebook, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Twitter and Cloudfare.

Just before the meeting, the Obama administration announced plans for task force that would coordinate the federal response to ISIS propaganda, which has been blamed for triggering lone wolf attacks in the U.S. and Australia. A Philadelphia police officer last week was gunned down in an attack that authorities have linked to ISIS inspiration.

Privacy, Security Backlash

Despite those concerns, any compromise to commercial encryption systems is untenable to staunch privacy and security advocates. It would endanger the rights of anyone using those systems and the very security of those systems, they argue, because sophisticated cyberthieves and others could exploit the backdoors left open for law enforcement.

When it comes to encryption, there simply is not a balance between privacy and national security, said Andrea Castillo, program manager for the Technology Policy Program at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center. Weak encryption means weak national security, since antagonistic groups can exploit vulnerabilities and do harm to the U.S.

The challenge for law enforcement officials is to do better with the considerable information and processes already at their disposal, she told the E-Commerce Times.

There is no possibility of a controlled government backdoor, as the biggest issue is who gets to decide which government gets the access, noted Ian Trump, security lead at Logic Now.

The focus on granting some kind of open door to government misses the point, he told the E-Commerce Times, because terrorists use other tools  such as vehicles, IT devices and weapons  to carry out their acts.

The government may want to consider taking the vendors to court in an effort to hold them liable for allowing their devices to fall into the hands of terrorists, Trump said.

If governments insisted on corporations doing a better job of vetting their customers, he suggested, then the issue of needing backdoors into encryption becomes mute.

The DoJ declined to comment, and Apple did not respond to our request to comment for this story.
Windows 10 last month had more user share than Windows XP and Windows 8, according to data released byNetMarketShare.

It held 11.85 percent of the global OS market, though Windows 7 was still No. 1 with 52.47 percent.

Though adoption has slowed, the NetMarketShare numbers helped validate Microsofts claim last month that Windows 10 was active on200 million devices.

Hot Start

Windows 10 dashed out to a 4.8 percent gain in user share in August, after launching the previous month. For January, the OS gained about 1.9 percent of global user share.

That gain was the biggest the OS has seen since August, and a holiday bump in PC sales may have boosted Januarys jump.

Windows 10 is off to the hottest start in Windows history, Microsoft said in comments provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Carmen Vasilatos. It is already running on more than 200 million devices, with unprecedented early demand from consumers and enterprise customers.

Microsoft attributed much of that momentum to its free upgrade offer. The upgrade was available to users running legitimate installations of Windows 7 and higher.

With 300 million new PCs expected to ship in 2016 alone, were looking forward to a great year ahead, along with our partners, Microsoft said.

The Surface: Windows 10s Interface

Microsoft hasnt explained the jump from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, skipping over what would have been Windows 9.

Windows 8, and the Metro tiles it brought with it, turned a lot of people off, but people seem to appreciate the Windows 10 interface, according to Joe Silverman, owner ofNew York Computer Help.

Windows 10 was well-reviewed by our technicians and customers in regard to its interface, especially from Windows 8, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Really Getting to Know Windows 10

Two separate tales have been playing out among Windows 10 migrants, according to Silverman.

Customers who bought new computers with Windows 10 preinstalled have been relatively happy, but the story often is different for those upgrading to the OS, which he described as a potential memory hog after system updates slowed it down.

At first, customers gladly upgraded to Windows 10 as it is a free upgrade, Silverman said. Soon after, they complained about the slowness, and we have seen the aftereffects by customers requesting us to downgrade their computers to Windows 7 or 8.

It may be time for another major marketing push: The message of frustrated Windows 10 users has spread inside the tech community, according to Silverman.

As such, other computer users are leery of performing the upgrade and shied away from installing Windows 10, he said. It is likely the slow adoption of upgrading Windows 10 will continue due to the negative reviews it is getting.
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(Photo: Dalai Lama's Facebook page)Two Nobel peace prize laureates: South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his old freind the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama share a joke in 2015.

The Dalai Lama came to Britain's famous Glastonbury festival to speak of peace and call for world demilitarization and got more attention that Kanye West.

"If the Dalai Lama was the most talked-about appearance at the festival, then Kanye West was the most controversial," wrote columnist Jan Mohr in the Daily Mail, at the 900 acre pastureland sit in southwestern England.

During his appearance on June 27 Kanye West shouted, 'You are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet," but the stage was invaded by a heckler.

Some of the diverse crowd said they were unhappy with the decision to make the American rapper the headlining act of the five-day music festival and at least 15,000 signed a petition to cancel his slot, CNN reported.

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama was on stage a week ahead of his 80th birthday and he thanked the thousands of well-wishers as the crowd of young and old sang "Happy Birthday."

China had condemned Europe's biggest pop festival for hosting the spiritual leader after it announced his attendance.

China resolutely opposes any country, organization, body or individual giving any kind of platform to the 14th Dalai Lama to engage in anti-China splittist activities," said Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, The New York Times reported.

IS ATRCOCITIES 'UNTHINKABLE'

The Dalai Lama joined international condemnation of the Islamic State, describing its atrocities as "unthinkable" as violence continued to persist in areas where the extremists are seeking to control.

Speaking on June 28 at Glastonbury, the Buddhist leader described the problem caused by the IS in Africa and some parts of the Middle East as "man-made."

"A lot of problems we are experiencing are our own creations. Violence is being created this very moment in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria," he told the throngs of people.

"Humans killing each other in the name of religious faith; unthinkable," he continued. "Carry the message of love and tolerance and forgiveness."

He pointed out that a person's faith sometimes excludes the very essence of religion, as people become more attached to secular beliefs.

"There is nothing wrong with religious beliefs but some supporters of religions have a lack of moral principle and conviction," the Dalai Lama explained. "Yes, I'm Buddhist and Asian and I am his holiness the Dalai Lama but we are the same human being."

The Dalai Lama reiterated his campaign against the overhaul of the global education system, which he described as skewed towards materialism.

He said the effort to address the education problem could help tackle other pressing concerns such as protecting the environment and spreading peace among peoples.

"Whether you agree or not, I think the modern education system - and many scientists all have the same view - is very orientated around material values and external wealth," the religious leader addressed the crowd.

"The gap between rich and poor is not only morally wrong but also the source of all problems," he noted.

"We need more money, so if the world demilitarized, the money freed up could be used to reduce this gap, as well as freeing up funds to help the environment."

Although some of his aspirations "will not be achieved in my lifetime," the Buddhist leader said, "the younger generation of the 21st century could make this a more peaceful world."
(Public Domain Pictures/Tobias Dahlberg)

The blind could have the chance to see again.

This is if the Australian scientists involved in the making of a new bionic eye system are successful in their laboratory trials. The said system is expected to restore vision way better than current vision restoration technologies.

Engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) were able to develop a fully implantable bionic eye system called "Phoenix99," which they have been working on since 1997. The goal has always been geared towards the restoration restoring sight to people who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

Retinitis pigmentosa is the leading cause of blindness among young people and is often present in their 30s. If left untreated, it can lead to complete blindness within 10 years. Medications for the this degenerative disease, however, can only slow its progress; scientists are still at the stage of discovering how to reverse the degeneration. Moreover, treatment is expensive and only available in developed countries.

Within the device are a number of world-firsts in neural simulation technologies. Co-inventors Nigel Lovell and Gregg Suaning has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of the device in a pre-clinical work by a team of elite surgical experts in Sydney, Australia. And they recently received $1.1 million funding boost to help them move towards the next stage of the research  human implantation.

"We were really excited by the first trial because it proved the technology and implementation technique works," said Suaning. "Patients 'learn' to use the technology, in the same way a person implanted with a cochlear ear implant 'learns' to hear electrical impulses."

Lovell and Suaning's research has led in the establishment of Bionic Vision Australia (BVA) in 2009. In 2012, the BVA research team made their first partially implanted prototype into three patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

"It's been amazing," said Dianne Ashworth, one of the implant recipients. "The more I've used it, the more natural it feels."

In contrast to this prototype, the Phoenix99 bionic eye will be fully implantable. To continue their research, the team would need an additional $10 million for the next five years.
(Photo: REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon)Children attend a Christmas mass at a Catholic church in Beijing December 24, 2014. Christmas is not a traditional festival in China but is growing in popularity, especially in more metropolitan areas where young people go out to celebrate, give gifts and decorate their homes.

Pope Francis has sent a greetings' message to China for its upcoming New Year saying he hopes the world's most populous nation will contribute to international dialogue and peace for the human family.

The message for the Chinese New Year on Feb. 8 is contained in an interview the Argentine pontiff had with the Asia Times newspaper in Hong Kong that is carried on the website of the Holy See.

The Pope took the opportunity to express his wishes to President Xi Jinping and all the Chinese people, for the Year of the Monkey, expressing his high esteem for the nation and its culture.

Francis was asked, "What is China for you? How did you imagine China to be as a young man, given that China, for Argentina, is not the East but the far West?"

Francis said, "For me, China has always been a reference point of greatness. A great country. But more than a country, a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom.

For me, as a boy, whenever I read anything about China, it had the capacity to inspire my admiration.

"It is a land blessed with many things. And the Catholic Church, one of whose duties is to respect all civilizations, before this civilization, I would say, has the duty to respect it with a capital "R". The Church has great potential to receive culture".

Asia Times: "China, for the first time in its thousands of years of history, is emerging from its own environment and opening to the world, creating unprecedented challenges for itself and for the world. You have spoken of a third world war that is furtively advancing: what challenges does this present in the quest for peace?"

Pope Francis: "Being afraid is never a good counsellor. ... And it is obvious that so much culture and so much wisdom, and in addition, so much technical knowledge - we have only to think of age-old medicinal techniques - cannot remain enclosed within a country; they tend to expand, to spread, to communicate.

"Man tends to communicate, a civilization tends to communicate. It is evident that when communication happens in an aggressive tone to defend oneself, then wars result.

"But I would not be fearful. It is a great challenge to keep the balance of peace. ... The Western world, the Eastern world and China all have the capacity to maintain the balance of peace and the strength to do so. We must find the way, always through dialogue; there is no other way.

"Encounter is achieved through dialogue. The true balance of peace is realized through dialogue. Dialogue does not mean that we end up with a compromise, half the cake for you and the other half for me.

"This is what happened in Yalta [at the end of the Second World War] and we saw the results.

'CAKE BELONGS TO EVERYONE'

"No, dialogue means: look, we have got to this point, I may or may not agree, but let us walk together; this is what it means to build. And the cake stays whole, walking together. The cake belongs to everyone, it is humanity, culture. Carving up the cake, as in Yalta, means dividing humanity and culture into small pieces. And culture and humanity cannot be carved into small pieces".

Asked if he had a New Year message for the Chinese people, the pontiff replied, "The aging of a population ... is happening in many places. ... Perhaps behind this there is the fear you are alluding to, the mistaken perception, not that we will simply fall behind, but that we will fall into misery, so therefore, let's not have children.

"There are other societies that have opted for the contrary. For example, during my trip to Albania, I was astonished to discover that the average age of the population is approximately 40 years. ... Countries that have suffered and opt for youth.

"Then there is the problem of work. Something that China does not have, because it has the capacity to offer work both in the countryside and in the city.

"And it is true, the problem for China of not having children must be very painful; because the pyramid is then inverted and a child has to bear the burden of his father, mother, grandfather and grandmother.

"And this is exhausting, demanding, disorientating. It is not the natural way. I understand that China has opened up possibilities on this front."
(NASA)

It was believed that the forming planet Theia had sideswiped the Earth and blasted the moon into orbit before heading off into space about 100 million years after the formation of the Earth. However, a new research suggests that instead of merely brushing off, the two planets actually had a head-on collision, fusing them together.

A team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles gathered seven lunar rocks brought by the Apollo missions and six volcanic rocks from the Earth's mantle to compare their oxygen isotopes ratio  the number of protons and neutrons present in oxygen atoms. The importance of testing this lies to the fact that each planetary body in the Solar System has a unique "fingerprint" ratio of oxygen isotopes, which help scientists test out where certain materials came from.

Earth's oxygen is O-16, which means each oxygen atom contains eight protons and eight neutrons.

In their test, they found out that the rocks on Earth and the Moon have identical oxygen isotopes, which is contrary to a 2014 report from a team of German scientists that the two have their own unique ratios.

The researchers argued that if Theia simply sideswiped the Earth and formed the Moon, then the lunar body would be made up mainly of the said planetary embryo. With that, the rocks they tested would have different oxygen isotopes ratio.

"We don't see any difference between the Earth's and the moon's oxygen isotopes; they're indistinguishable," said Edward Young, lead author of the new study. "Theia was thoroughly mixed into both the Earth and the moon, and evenly dispersed between them."

While there are not much details about Theia, Young explained that there is evidence this planet is growing, and if it survived the crash, it would have been another planet in the Solar System.

The study has been published in the journal Science.
(Reuters/ Alessandro Bianchi)Pope Francis

Pope Francis is set to appear on a religious film titled "Beyond the Sun" but not as an actor, the Vatican said yesterday.

Last Monday, Variety reported that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church will appear in a Christian film, making him the first pope in history to do so. It will be produced by Rome-based distribution and production company AMBI Pictures.

After AMBI Pictures announced on Monday in a press release that the Pope will be "playing himself in the family film," some media outlets reported that the said film will be the Pope's debut as an actor.

But according to Reuters, a representative from the Vatican said on Tuesday, "The Pope is not an actor." This downplays earlier reports that suggest his film acting debut.

Pope Francis has asked the filmmakers from AMBI Pictures to create a film that talks about Jesus' gospel in a way that is relatable to the children, according to the same Variety report.

"Beyond the Sun" is described in detail as a "family adventure story where children from different cultures emulate the apostles while searching for Jesus in the world around them."

The executive producers of the film, AMBI Pictures co-founders Andre Iervolino and Lady Monika Bacardi, will be working with Graciela Rodriguez for its screenplay and will be co-producing with Gabriel Leybu. Monsignor Eduardo Garcia is tasked to be the Pope's advisor in the said project.

"This is not just a movie for us; it's a message, and who better to have on your side to deliver an important societal and spiritual message than the Pope," said Iervolino.

Argentinean charities El Alemendro and Los Hogares de Christo will be the recipients of all the proceeds of the said film project. Both charities help at-risk children and young adults.

Iervolino said: "This movie will provide funds to support extremely worthwhile causes that we take very seriously. This message and cause are very dear to the entire AMBI family and we are honored and inspired by the level of collaboration from the Vatican."

AMBI Pictures was awarded as the Best Film Production Company by the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) from 2013-2014.
By its very definition, innovation will always lead to some failed starts. And when that innovation involves educating children, its especially important to learn from mistakes and adjust quickly.

The Walton Family Foundation has invested more than $385 million in creating new charter schools over more than two decades to seed educational innovation and improve U.S. education at scale. The foundation has allocated a small fraction of that investmentabout $550,000to virtual charter schools, which teach full-time students exclusively online.

We remain strong believers in creating educational options and opportunities. We have provided startup dollars to about a quarter of the charter schools in the United States, all with the goal of creating opportunity for high-needs students, and we recently committed to investing another $1 billion over the next five years to expand access to high-quality educational choices. In recent years, we have hoped that online charter schools could provide a lifeline for some students. But while we were enthusiastic about supporting online education entrepreneurs, our first priority is always making sure that students are served well.

Measuring impact is fundamental to responsible philanthropy. It is a responsibility we take seriously. The Walton Family Foundation spends about $10 million annually underwriting the nations best researchers to investigate questions that will help us make smarter funding decisions to benefit high-needs students, develop promising new technologies and methods to fuel student learning, and help parents, educators, and policymakers improve outcomes for children.

As the largest private funder of charter schools and as strong believers in making fact-based decisions, we wanted to see the hard evidence on virtual charters: What would a dependable measure of the impact of these schools show about their students academic growth? We funded three research studiesby the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (or CREDO), at Stanford University; the Center on Reinventing Public Education, at the University of Washington; and Mathematica Policy Researchto investigate this question . As with all of our research dollars, we committed to funding these research teams regardless of what their investigations revealed.

The results are, in a word, sobering. The CREDO study found that over the course of a school year, the students in virtual charters learned the equivalent of 180 fewer days in math and 72 fewer days in reading than their peers in traditional charter schools, on average.

This is stark evidence that most online charters have a negative impact on students academic achievement. The results are particularly significant because of the reach and scope of online charters: They currently enroll some 200,000 children in 200 schools operating across 26 states. If virtual charters were grouped together and ranked as a single school district, it would be the ninth-largest in the country and among the worst-performing.

As states think about the future of online education, they should rethink their expectations and policies and test novel policy arrangements."

Funders, educators, policymakers, and parents cannot in good conscience ignore the fact that students are falling a full year behind their peers in math and nearly half a school year in reading, annually. For operators and authorizers of these schools to do nothing would constitute nothing short of educational malpractice.

As a result of these findings, we at the foundation will ask new, more rigorous questions of online charter operators when we review their funding proposals, in order to expose whether applicants are addressing the problems this research identified. In particular, we want to know: Are the operators suggesting innovative solutions to improve the quality of online learning? There is no magic formula here, but it is clear that what exists doesnt create the academic opportunities children need. Going forward, well probe deeply on applicants answers to the following questions:

What does the proposed instructional program look like? Just as it is important in traditional brick-and-mortar schools for students to spend time with teachers, virtual schools must provide plenty of time for students to learn and interact in live, synchronous ways with their teachers. In todays online charters, students typically have less instructional time with their teachers in a whole week than students in brick-and-mortar schools have in a day. We dont presume to know what the best pedagogical approach is for all children, but clearly this formula needs to change.

What are the proposed teacher-student ratios? Todays online schools have much larger ratios than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Its unclear what the right balance is, but it seems clear that schools must facilitate interactions between students and teachers.

What are the expectations of parents? Virtual schools must help students learn without requiring parents to be constantly present and monitoring progress. Parents, of course, must be involved in their childrens education, but schools cant abdicate their responsibility in this equation. Virtual charter educational providers should be thinking through the right role for parents and how schools will meet their own educational remits.

We urge policymakers to make changes, too. Charter authorizersgovernment-sanctioned bodies responsible for reviewing and approving charter operatorsmust take action if schools are failing students. And the oversight of educational practice applies to authorizers, as well as to schools and educators. Authorizers should be graded on the performance of their portfolios: If schools fail students, authorizers must take action. If they dont, authorizers themselves should be put out of business.

Going forward, authorizers should create new accountability systems to ensure that no school fails, month after month and year after year. The review process must include observation of instruction and close review of student and parent expectations. We think a shorter review cycle, rather than waiting years, might catch problems earlier.

As states think about the future of online education, they should rethink their expectations and policies and test novel policy arrangements. For example, one policy that we think has potential would tie funding to performance. Four statesFlorida, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Utahare currently testing performance-based funding systems. Perhaps well discover that providing virtual schools funding only after students demonstrate mastery is the right way to hold these publicly funded schools accountable.

That said, with this approach, it would be important to guard against perverse incentives that could arise. For example, policymakers would need to make sure that schools werent pushing out or otherwise neglecting students who are so far behind that getting them to pass required courses or summative assessments would appear extremely resource-intensive.

Other funding reforms worth considering are tracking enrollments and providing associated student-based funding each month, rather than annually. This would help prevent students from being easily forgotten.

To be clear, our comments about online charter schools are not an indictment of instructional technology or online learning more generally, nor how these stand to help create more high-quality educational options. Nor is this the Walton Family Foundation abandoning its mission of creating more educational opportunities for American children. There are many examples of technology being used in conventional classrooms in ways that enhance learning. New blended learning models are showing promise, as is allowing students to customize learning through the use of online platforms.

But the data from this study do not lie: Online education must be reimagined. Ignoring the problemor worse, replicating failuresserves nobody.
Students who took the 2014-15 PARCC exams via computer tended to score lower than those who took the exams with paper and pencila revelation that prompts questions about the validity of the test results and poses potentially big problems for state and district leaders.

Officials from the multistate Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers acknowledged the discrepancies in scores across different formats of its exams in response to questions from Education Week.

It is true that this [pattern exists] on average, but that doesnt mean it occurred in every state, school, and district on every one of the tests, Jeffrey Nellhaus, PARCCs chief of assessment, said in an interview.

There is some evidence that, in part, the [score] differences were seeing may be explained by students familiarity with the computer-delivery system, Nellhaus said.

In general, the pattern of lower scores for students who took PARCC exams by computer is the most pronounced in English/language arts and middle- and upper-grades math.

Hard numbers from across the consortium are not yet available. But the advantage for paper-and-pencil test-takers appears in some cases to be substantial, based on independent analyses conducted by one prominent PARCC state and a high-profile school district that administered the exams.

In December, the Illinois state board of education found that 43 percent of students there who took the PARCC English/language arts exam on paper scored proficient or above, compared with 36 percent of students who took the exam online. The state board has not sought to determine the cause of those score differences.

Meanwhile, in Marylands 111,000-student Baltimore County schools, district officials found similar differences, then used statistical techniques to isolate the impact of the test format.

They found a strong mode effect in numerous grade-subject combinations: Baltimore County middle-grades students who took the paper-based version of the PARCC English/language arts exam, for example, scored almost 14 points higher than students who had equivalent demographic and academic backgrounds but took the computer-based test.

The differences are significant enough that it makes it hard to make meaningful comparisons between students and [schools] at some grade levels, said Russell Brown, the districts chief accountability and performance-management officer. I think it draws into question the validity of the first years results for PARCC.

4 of 5 PARCC Exams Taken Online

Last school year, roughly 5 million students across 10 states and the District of Columbia sat for the first official administration of the PARCC exams, which are intended to align with the Common Core State Standards. Nearly 81 percent of those students took the exams by computer.

Scores on the exams are meant to be used for federal and state accountability purposes, to make instructional decisions at the district and school levels, and, in some cases, as an eventual graduation requirement for students and an eventual evaluation measure for teachers and principals.

Several states have since dropped all or part of the PARCC exams, which are being given again this year.

PARCC officials are still working to determine the full scope and causes of last years score discrepancies, which may partly result from demographic and academic differences between the students who took the tests on computers and those who took it on paper, rather than the testing format itself.

Assessment experts consulted by Education Week said the remedy for a mode effect is typically to adjust the scores of all students who took the exam in a particular format, to ensure that no student is disadvantaged by the mode of administration.

PARCC officials, however, said they are not considering such a solution. It will be up to district and state officials to determine the scope of any problem in their schools test results, as well as what to do about it, Nellhaus said.

Such uncertainty is bound to create headaches for education leaders, said Michael D. Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents 67 of the countrys largest urban school systems.

The onus should be on PARCC to make people aware of what these effects are and what the guidelines are for state and local school districts to adjust their data, Casserly said.

Comparing Online and Paper Tests a Longstanding Challenge

The challenges associated with comparing scores across traditional and technology-based modes of test administration are not unique to PARCC.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, for example, told Education Week that it is still investigating possible mode effects in the results from its 2014-15 tests, taken by roughly 6 million students in 18 states. That consortiumwhich, like PARCC, offers exams aligned with the common corehas yet to determine how many students took the SBAC exam online, although the proportion is expected to be significantly higher than in PARCC states.

Officials with Smarter Balanced are in the early stages of preparing technical reports on that and other matters.

Well analyze the operational data. I cant speculate in advance what that implies, Tony Alpert, the executive director of Smarter Balanced, said in an interview. We dont believe that differences in scores, if there are any, will result in different decisions that [states and districts] might make based on the test.

States that administer their own standardized exams, meanwhile, have for years conducted comparability studies while making the transition from paper- to computer-based tests. Past studies in Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, for example, have returned mixed results, generally showing either a slight advantage for students who take the tests with paper and pencil, or no statistically significant differences in scores based on mode of administration.

The National Center for Education Statistics, meanwhile, is studying similar dynamics as it moves the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, from paper to digital-administration platforms.

An NCES working paper released in December found that high-performing 4th graders who took NAEPs computer-based pilot writing exam in 2012 scored substantively higher on the computer than similar students who had taken the exam on paper in 2010. Low- and middle-performing students did not similarly benefit from taking the exam on computers, raising concerns that computer-based exams might widen achievement gaps.

A still-in-process analysis of data from a study of 2015 NAEP pilot test items (that were used only for research purposes) has also found some signs of a mode effect, the acting NCES commissioner, Peggy G. Carr, told Education Week.

The differences we see across the distribution of students who got one format or another is minimal, but we do see some differences for some subgroups of students, by race or socioeconomic status, she said.

One key factor, according to Carr: students prior exposure to and experience with computers.

If you are a white male and I am a black female, and we both have familiarity with technology, were going to do better [on digitally based assessment items] than our counterparts who dont, she said.

The NCES is conducting multiple years of pilot studies with digitally based items before making them live, in order to ensure that score results can be compared from year to year.

A PARCC spokesman said the consortium did analyze data from a 2014 field test of the exam to look for a possible mode effect, but only on an item-by-item basis, rather than by analyzing the exam taken as a whole. The analysis found no significant differences attributable to the mode of administration.

When asked why 2014-15 test scores were released to the public before a comprehensive analysis of possible mode effects was conducted, Nellhaus, PARCCs chief of assessment, said responsibility rests with the states in the consortium. People were very anxious to see the results of the assessments, and the [state education] chiefs wanted to move forward with reporting them, Nellhaus said. There was no definitive evidence at that point that any [score] differences were attributable to the platform.

Illinois, Baltimore County Find Differences in PARCC Scores By Testing Format

The Illinois state school board made its PARCC results public in mid-December. In a press release, it made indirect mention of a possible mode effect, writing that the board expects proficiency levels to increase as both students and teachers become more familiar with the higher standards and the tests technology.

A comparison of online and paper-and-pencil scores done by the state boards data-analysis division was also posted on the boards website, but does not appear to have been reported on publicly.

That analysis shows often-stark differences by testing format in the percentages of Illinois students who demonstrated proficiency (by scoring a 4 or 5) on PARCC English/language arts exams across all tested grades. Of the 107,067 high school students who took the test online, for example, 32 percent scored proficient. Thats compared with 50 percent for the 17,726 high school students who took the paper version of the exam.

The differences by format are not so pronounced in elementary-grades math; in grades 3-5, in fact, slightly higher percentages of students scored proficient on the online version of the PARCC exam than on the paper version.

But proficiency rates among paper-and-pencil test-takers were 7 to 9 points higher on the 8th grade and high school math exams.

The Illinois board has not conducted any further analysis of the results to determine the cause of those discrepancies. Board officials declined to be interviewed.

The statewide results in Illinois suggest some differences in performance between the online and paper administrations of the assessment, according to a statement provided by the board. There is no consistent relationship from district to district.  Both versions of the test provide reliable and valid information that teachers and parents can use to identify student strengths and areas needing improvement.

In Maryland, meanwhile, more than 41,000 Baltimore County students in grades 3-8 took the PARCC exams in 2014-15. Fifty-three percent of students took the math exam online, while 29 percent took the English/language arts exam online. The mode of test administration was decided on a school-by-school basis, based on the ratio of computers to students in each buildings largest grade.

Like Illinois, Baltimore County found big score differences by mode of test administration. Among 7th graders, for example, the percentage of students scoring proficient on the ELA test was 35 points lower among those who took the test online than among those who took the test on paper.

To identify the cause of such discrepancies, district officials compared how students and schools with similar academic and demographic backgrounds did on each version of the exams.

They found that after controlling for student and school characteristics, students were between 3 percent and 9 percent more likely to score proficient on the paper-and-pencil version of the math exam, depending on their grade levels. Students were 11 percent to 14 percent more likely to score proficient on the paper version of the the ELA exam.

It will make drawing comparisons within the first years results difficult, and it will make drawing comparisons between the first- and second-year [PARCC results] difficult as well, said Brown, the accountability chief for the Baltimore County district.

This really underscores the need to move forward with the districts plan to move to an all-digital testing environment, he said.

A Big Bug in the System

In the meantime, what should state and district leaders, educators, and parents make of such differences?

The test results still have value, said Nellhaus of PARCC.

This is still useful and important information providing a wealth of information for schools to improve instruction and identify students who need assistance or enrichment, he said.

But possible mode effects on multistate-consortia exams should be taken seriously, at least in the short term, and especially if they have not been accounted for before test results are reported publicly, said assessment experts consulted by Education Week.

Because were in a transition stage, where some kids are still taking paper-and-pencil tests, and some are taking them on computer, and there are still connections to high stakes and accountability, its a big deal, said Derek Briggs, a professor of research and evaluation methodology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In the short term, on policy grounds, you need to come up with an adjustment, so that if a [student] is taking a computer version of the test, it will never be held against [him or her], said Briggs, who serves on the technical-advisory committees for both PARCC and Smarter Balanced.

Such a remedy is not on the table within PARCC, however.

At this point, PARCC is not considering that, Nellhaus said. This needs to be handled very locally. There is no one-size-fits-all remedy.

But putting that burden on states and school districts will likely have significant implications on the ground, said Casserly of the Council of the Great City Schools.

I think it will heighten uncertainty, and maybe even encourage districts to hold back on how vigorously they apply the results to their decisionmaking, he said.

One reason many people wanted to delay the use [of PARCC scores for accountability purposes] was to give everybody a chance to shake out the bugs in the system, Casserly added. This is a big one.
Investments in programmes designed to keep Syrian refugees close to their homelandand help them get prepared to rebuild the country when the war ends

When the school year started in September, only 200,000 of the Syrian refugee children in Lebanon were able to attend local schools. Lebanon simply didnt have capacity for the other 600,000. Ahmed Saeed, an Egyptian whos a director at ITWorx, an online education company, arrived in one refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley village of Saadnayel and set about building a school in a tent. Within three weeks he had 50 students of all ages, many of whom hadnt been able to attend school for four years, studying a Cloud-based version of the Lebanese curriculum on $60-tablets with the aid of only a couple of teachers. They feel they are important, says Saeed. Someone is finally taking care of them.

The ITWorx school, which the company maintains could be expanded to cover all the Syrian refugees in the region, is aimed at rebuilding the future of those who fled the civil war in their homeland. Its also founded on the idea that helping refugees to stay in the region will make it more likely that theyll return to participate in the reconstruction of Syria when the war is over. You can fight the refugee problem politically, says Romen Mathieu, ITWorx chairman. But the best way to fight is with culture and investmentsby creating hope in the region.
By Jack Kim and Nobuhiro Kubo

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan placed its military on alert on Wednesday to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens Japan, while South Korea warned the North will pay a "severe price" if it proceeds with a satellite launch that Seoul considers a missile test.

North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the South's presidential Blue House said in a statement.

Seoul's warning came after the North notified U.N. agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25.

"North Korea's notice of the plan to launch a long-range missile, coming at a time when there is a discussion for Security Council sanctions on its fourth nuclear test, is a direct challenge to the international community," the Blue House said.

"We strongly warn that the North will pay a severe price ... if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan," it said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would work with the United States and others to "strongly demand" that North Korea refrain from what he described as a planned missile launch.

Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani ordered ballistic missile defence units including Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and Patriot missile batteries onshore to be ready to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatened Japan.

The rocket is likely to fly over Japan's southern island of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of several hundred kilometres.

Reports of the planned launch drew fresh U.S. calls for tougher U.N. sanctions that are already under discussion in response to North Korea's recent nuclear test.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United Nations needed to "send the North Koreans a swift, firm message".

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the United States and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise.

A spokeswoman for the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency, said the agency had been told by North Korea it planned to launch the 'Kwangmyongsong' satellite.

The International Telecommunication Union, another U.N. agency, also told Reuters that North Korea had informed it on Tuesday of plans to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years in a non-geostationary orbit.

North Korea said the launch would be conducted in the morning one day during the announced period, and notified the coordinates for the locations where the rocket boosters and the cover for the payload would drop.

Those locations are expected to be in the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula west coast and in the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines, Pyongyang said.

U.S. officials said last week North Korea was believed to be making preparations for a test launch of a long-range rocket, after activity at its test site was observed by satellite.

North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit.

North Korea also said last month it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb but this was met with scepticism by U.S. and South Korean officials and nuclear experts. They said the blast was too small for it to have been a full-fledged hydrogen bomb.

(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Tony Munroe and Michael Perry)
Bogota, Feb 3 (EFE).- The office of Colombia's national ombudsman said Wednesday that an indigenous boy in the eastern province of Arauca died of chronic malnutrition and that nine other youngsters from the same community are at risk.

"In the course of a humanitarian visit to Arauca we found that an indigenous child died, three others were hospitalized, and there was an imminent threat to six children," ombudsman Alfonso Cajiao Cabrera said.

Officials on an inspection tour of Arauca, which borders Venezuela, were told about the Jan. 28 death of a 1-year-old child as a result of "factors associated with the lack of adequate nutrition."

The boy's father complained of a lack of doctors in the area of the Hitnu reserve of San Jose de Lipa, adding that neither of the two health care facilities in the region are in operation.

Nine other Hitnu children exhibit pathologies caused by chronic malnutrition, such as skin rashes, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, gastroenteritis and bronchitis.

Three of those youngsters were already hospitalized and the ombudsman's office ordered the other six taken to San Vicente de Arauca hospital in the provincial capital.

Colombians also learned this week of the case of a 1-year-old girl from the Wayuu Indian community in La Guajira province who died at a Barranquilla hospital after 10 days of treatment for acute malnutrition.

The ombudsman said he will send an interdisciplinary team to Barranquilla next week to conduct a follow up on the situation of several additional Wayuu children sent from La Guajira for treatment.

The Health Ministry reported in late 2015 that it invested more than 5 billion pesos ($1.6 billion) in health and nutrition programs, reaching more than 7,500 children under age 5 in La Guajira.

Last December, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked Colombia to remedy malnutrition among children and teenagers in La Guajira's Wayuu indigenous communities.

In a statement, the IACHR urged Colombia to "take the necessary steps to preserve the lives and integrity" of Wayuu children, adding that information it obtained showed that undernourishment and lack of drinking water had caused the deaths of about 4,770 children in the past eight years.
Rio de Janeiro, Feb 3 (EFE).- The risk of getting an Aedes aegypti mosquito bite terrifies thousands of pregnant women in Brazil, a country under a public health emergency due to the spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects.

"I panic when I see a mosquito flying by," Luciana de Oliveira Figuereido, a 34-year-old pregnant woman who lives in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Botafogo, told EFE.

Fear began gripping Brazilians late last year, when health officials found signs of a possible link between the increase in Zika cases, one of several diseases carried by the mosquito, and the rise in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a deformation of the skull.

The most recent Health Ministry report said 4,180 suspected cases of microcephaly had been recorded since Oct. 22.

Daniella Rodrigues, 32 and pregnant for the first time, said she was scared and was taking all possible precautions.

In addition to the mosquito nets hanging everywhere in her home, Daniella carries "repellant to work, in the car, in the purse" to be sure she has it on hand all the time.

"We shouldn't trivialize this, but there is no need to scare people," Dr. Maria Luiza Bezerra, president of the Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, told EFE, adding that the chance of having a baby with microcephaly symptoms "is less than 1 percent" in the state, the most affected by Zika.

Some 86 percent of Zika cases in Brazil have occurred in the northeastern region.

"Indeed, and especially since December, many patients have said they decided to postpone becoming pregnant" or prefer not to travel to the northeast, Rachel Costa dos Reis, a gynecologist with a practice in Brasilia, told EFE.

The current sense of fear across the country "is a little bit excessive," considering that the current levels of Zika incidence "are stable," the physician said.
Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.

17:55, 17 OCT 2022
Re: My experience shipping stuff from US to Zurich



1. Seal the box REALLY well, double- or triple-tape all the seams and seals, etc.



2. I made a sign that said "personal items for relocation / personliche Gegenstande fur den Umzug" in big letters and taped it to the outside of each box.



3. I start preparing all the papers that will go with the box. I am actually using the 18.45 form (duty-free importing after being married), which is VERY similar to the 18.44 form, so depending on which form you use, your paperwork will vary slightly. For me, I print out:



- A copy of my wedding certificate

- A copy of my husband's passport

- A copy of my long-term Swiss visa



4. I also print out a single page that just itemizes the contents of the box in both English and German. Here's an example from a box I mailed yesterday:

Contents: personal items for relocation



kitchen items:



drinking glasses

spices

dishes

kitchen tools







Inhalt: personliche Gegenstande fur den Umzug



Kuchengerate:



Glaser

Gewurze

Geschirr

Kuchengerate

Note: if you don't speak German and use Google Translate (like me!), I recommend doing a google search on the German words AFTER you translate them to be sure you get it right. When I originally did this list, Google translated "glasses" to "Brille" which is actually eyeglasses! I discovered the mistake by actually googling the word "Brille" --and the immediately I saw the image results (lots of pairs of eyeglasses, lol) and figured out what happened.







5. Finally, I measure the box dimensions and I weigh it, then I use Google to translate the weight into kilograms. (You'll need BOTH weights, as the USPS form uses lbs, and the Swiss customs form uses kg!)



6. Then I fill out the 18.45 form (or, again, you may be using the 18.44 form, which is almost identical). Since I'm mailing a bunch of boxes, I downloaded and filled the form out once, and then I keep an electronic copy so I can just tweak the form for each box (most of the info on the form the same for every shipment).



The hardest part of the form to fill out is the bottom section, where it asks if this is the complete "importation" or if there are multiple pieces. I am confused by this but I'm treating it as each mailing (each box) is a separate thing. I didn't mark either checkbox or write anything in next to "previous document." However, I did put "1 cardboard box / 1 Pappkarton" where it asks for the info about the packages.



So at this point, I have all the Swiss paperwork together in one place (18.44 or 18.45 form, contents of box, and all supporting documents that they ask for). NOW it's time to do postage and US customs!



7. Log into usps.com and use "Click 'n' Ship." Note that you want to send your box via Priority Mail Int'l. I'm mailing boxes that are around 18" x 18" x 18" and weigh around 40 lbs, and that's costing me about $140 per box. (Since I'm only mailing about six boxes total, I'm very happy to be able to ship so much stuff door-to-door for under $1000. YMMV.)



8. The USPS web site will guide you through the entire process of not only making the postage label, but also generating the US customs paperwork. (I love that it's all handled for you.) Just answer all the questions-- it's pretty straightforward. Where it asks about contents of the box, I enter "personal items for relocation / personliche Gegenstande fur den Umzug," and then where it asks for detailed contents, I paste in my detail list ("drinking glasses, spices, dishes, kitchen tools").



9. At the end of the USPS process, you pay for the postage online, and then print the two-page form. These papers are both the mailing label and the customs forms all ready to go.



10. Finally, I put ALL the papers together-- USPS form on top, followed by Swiss 18.45/18.44 customs form, followed by all supporting docs... fold them in half... and put them into one of those clear sticky plastic half-page clear plastic document holders that sticks to the box. (The post office gave me these doc holders for free btw, and they're very handy.)



And that's it. I drop the box off at the at the post office without needing to do anything else... they just look at the box and put it in a bin, since it's ready to go. They don't have to scan it or stamp it or anything.



Finally, if you log into the USPS web site after a day, and go to the "history" section of your account, you can click through and to a screen with tracking information for your box. On that tracking screen, there's an option to enter your email address. I mark the checkbox that says "Email me all tracking information for this box every time there's a change" since I like getting an email every time one of my boxes goes somewhere (departing Los Angeles, arriving NYC, departing NYC, arriving Switzerland, entering Switzerland customs, leaving Switzerland customs, etc.). You can also mark a checkbox that just says "Email me when the box is delivered" if you don't want all that details. ;-) And of course you can also just log into the web site and go look at the screen any time.



Right now my first box is about to be delivered in Zurich, 9 days after I mailed it from the US. Another box that I mailed at the same time (9 days ago) is JUST leaving the US, so I'm not sure why it got stuck here-- there's no indication that anything was wrong with it; I think the post office is just weird sometimes. Another one of my boxes somehow got routed to New Zealand (!?!) but it looks to be back on its way to Switzerland now... I'm assuming that's just some weird way the USPS works. So while it doesn't seem very consistent :-) in how the boxes are handled, everything does seem to be flowing in the right direction, and I'm confident that once the boxes get to Switzerland, good Swiss efficiency will take over and they'll be delivered promptly and easily. Yay Swiss Post. :-)



Hope this helps other folks in the same situation!



best

E







Hope this helps other folks This thread (and in particular the 1st message) is absolute gold, and I thought I would add my notes. I also am moving from SoCal to Zurich and mailing some boxes ahead. Just to add to what the OP said (please read that post first!), when I have a box ready to ship, this is the process I go through:1. Seal the box REALLY well, double- or triple-tape all the seams and seals, etc.2. I made a sign that said "personal items for relocation / personliche Gegenstande fur den Umzug" in big letters and taped it to the outside of each box.3. I start preparing all the papers that will go with the box. I am actually using the 18.45 form (duty-free importing after being married), which is VERY similar to the 18.44 form, so depending on which form you use, your paperwork will vary slightly. For me, I print out:- A copy of my wedding certificate- A copy of my husband's passport- A copy of my long-term Swiss visa4. I also print out a single page that just itemizes the contents of the box in both English and German. Here's an example from a box I mailed yesterday:Note: if you don't speak German and use Google Translate (like me!), I recommend doing a google search on the German words AFTER you translate them to be sure you get it right. When I originally did this list, Google translated "glasses" to "Brille" which is actually eyeglasses! I discovered the mistake by actually googling the word "Brille" --and the immediately I saw the image results (lots of pairs of eyeglasses, lol) and figured out what happened.5. Finally, I measure the box dimensions and I weigh it, then I use Google to translate the weight into kilograms. (You'll need BOTH weights, as the USPS form uses lbs, and the Swiss customs form uses kg!)6. Then I fill out the 18.45 form (or, again, you may be using the 18.44 form, which is almost identical). Since I'm mailing a bunch of boxes, I downloaded and filled the form out once, and then I keep an electronic copy so I can just tweak the form for each box (most of the info on the form the same for every shipment).The hardest part of the form to fill out is the bottom section, where it asks if this is the complete "importation" or if there are multiple pieces. I am confused by this but I'm treating it as each mailing (each box) is a separate thing. I didn't mark either checkbox or write anything in next to "previous document." However, I did put "1 cardboard box / 1 Pappkarton" where it asks for the info about the packages.So at this point, I have all the Swiss paperwork together in one place (18.44 or 18.45 form, contents of box, and all supporting documents that they ask for). NOW it's time to do postage and US customs!7. Log into usps.com and use "Click 'n' Ship." Note that you want to send your box via Priority Mail Int'l. I'm mailing boxes that are around 18" x 18" x 18" and weigh around 40 lbs, and that's costing me about $140 per box. (Since I'm only mailing about six boxes total, I'm very happy to be able to ship so much stuff door-to-door for under $1000. YMMV.)8. The USPS web site will guide you through the entire process of not only making the postage label, but also generating the US customs paperwork. (I love that it's all handled for you.) Just answer all the questions-- it's pretty straightforward. Where it asks about contents of the box, I enter "personal items for relocation / personliche Gegenstande fur den Umzug," and then where it asks for detailed contents, I paste in my detail list ("drinking glasses, spices, dishes, kitchen tools").9. At the end of the USPS process, you pay for the postage online, and then print the two-page form. These papers are both the mailing label and the customs forms all ready to go.10. Finally, I put ALL the papers together-- USPS form on top, followed by Swiss 18.45/18.44 customs form, followed by all supporting docs... fold them in half... and put them into one of those clear sticky plastic half-page clear plastic document holders that sticks to the box. (The post office gave me these doc holders for free btw, and they're very handy.)And that's it. I drop the box off at the at the post office without needing to do anything else... they just look at the box and put it in a bin, since it's ready to go. They don't have to scan it or stamp it or anything.Finally, if you log into the USPS web site after a day, and go to the "history" section of your account, you can click through and to a screen with tracking information for your box. On that tracking screen, there's an option to enter your email address. I mark the checkbox that says "Email me all tracking information for this box every time there's a change" since I like getting an email every time one of my boxes goes somewhere (departing Los Angeles, arriving NYC, departing NYC, arriving Switzerland, entering Switzerland customs, leaving Switzerland customs, etc.). You can also mark a checkbox that just says "Email me when the box is delivered" if you don't want all that details. ;-) And of course you can also just log into the web site and go look at the screen any time.Right now my first box is about to be delivered in Zurich, 9 days after I mailed it from the US. Another box that I mailed at the same time (9 days ago) is JUST leaving the US, so I'm not sure why it got stuck here-- there's no indication that anything was wrong with it; I think the post office is just weird sometimes. Another one of my boxes somehow got routed to New Zealand (!?!) but it looks to be back on its way to Switzerland now... I'm assuming that's just some weird way the USPS works. So while it doesn't seem very consistent :-) in how the boxes are handled, everything does seem to be flowing in the right direction, and I'm confident that once the boxes get to Switzerland, good Swiss efficiency will take over and they'll be delivered promptly and easily. Yay Swiss Post. :-)Hope this helps other folks in the same situation!bestHope this helps other folks
Re: Finding a job in Switzerland Quote: Aeneas I'm sure the OP is aware of this, but having an Italian birth certificate does not entitle one to an Italian passport. Also, if born on a US naval base in Italy, it may legally be US soil - I'm sure someone else can confirm/dismiss this.





"Italian citizenship can be automatically acquired: By birth to an Italian parent in line with the principle of jus sanguinis .

. By birth in Italy to stateless parents, to unknown parents, or to parents who cannot transmit their nationality to their children; this is partially consistent with the principle of jus soli .

parents, to unknown parents, or to parents who cannot transmit their to their children; this is partially consistent with the principle of . With the acknowledgement or legitimation of an Italian mother or father.

On 27 April 1983 by minor children without Italian citizenship, including children legally adopted per Italian law, who as of the same date had a parent holding Italian citizenship; or after 27 April 1983 by foreign minor children legally adopted by Italian citizens per Italian law.

By some former citizens of Italy, after two years of residing in Italy, if the original parting with Italian citizenship was caused by naturalising in another state. The citizenship law 555 of 1912, discussed later, carried the pertinent provision until it was superseded. (article 9, law 555/1912)

By minor children of persons acquiring Italian citizenship. Before 27 April 1983, minor children could not acquire Italian citizenship by this means if they were living abroad from Italy and still retaining a foreign citizenship.

By Vatican citizens concluding their ex officio Vatican citizenship who would otherwise become stateless upon this event, pursuant to the provision in article 9 of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between Italy and Vatican City . [1] Through special application: For an individual whose parents were Italian citizens born outside Italy but at least one of their grandparents was an Italian citizen born in Italy. The applicant must have served in the Italian military or civil service or have resided for two years in Italy after reaching the age of majority . [2]

or or have resided for two years in Italy after reaching the . For individuals who were born in Italy to foreign parents but who have resided in Italy continuously from birth to adulthood." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_nationality_law



If you don't have an Italian parent/grandparent I don't think you have Italian citizenship. The nationality law seems to be the same as Switzerland's - just because you were born there it doesn't make you a citizen of that country. Certainly seems to be the case according to Wiki:"Italian citizenship can be automatically acquired:Through special application:If you don't have an Italian parent/grandparent I don't think you have Italian citizenship. The nationality law seems to be the same as Switzerland's - just because you were born there it doesn't make you a citizen of that country.
Wish we had met sooner! Hi All,





Despite having moved over to Zurich a couple of years ago, Ive only just stumbled onto English Forum  but never too late to say hello!





Im currently having to move house for the 1st time since moving to Switzerland, so fired lots of questions into google (like: what kind of crazy rental market is this?, where the hell are all the properties to rent outside Zurich?, along with some more sensible questions) and presto  this forum pops up and previous posters had already answered everything . So, thanks to all the contributors that made the site so useful.





As background my family (wife & I (30), Daughter (now 5) & Son (2)) moved over from the UK  were from SE England/Northern Ireland - at the beginning of 2014. We currently live in-between Richterswil and Wadenswil and after a few hiccups along the way we are pretty settled. Moving over with a new born meant we havent been out and about that much  but looking forward to start getting to know the country a little bit better. 1st ski lesson already under our belts!









Look forward to chatting a bit in the future.
X-Files fans may not have to wait another 14 years for a revival.

'The X-Files' 2016: Why Will Mulder Go On A Psychotropic Trip? New Teasers For 'Babylon'

The fox series came back to stellar ratings in January, and while the miniseries is already half over, series creator Chris Carter isn't opposed to penning more adventures for his two favorite FBI agents.

It's been talked about. Certainly it's been suggested. It's been mentioned in casual conversation. But I think everyone's taking a wait and see approach and I'm taking it as well," Carter told TV Guide, explaining that there are an infinite number of x-files to explore. "If I'm given the opportunity, time and money and place to do it, of course I'd be interested."

'The X-Files' 2016: More William News On The Way? Chris Carter Teases 'Home Again'

Getting the cast on board, however, is a different matter entirely. Gillian Anderson (Scully) is cautiously optimistic about the series future, but only under certain circumstances. Just like Carter, the actress would be interested in doing a short six-episode run over any type of long term commitment.

"I've got three kids and I live in London, and if they want to shoot in Vancouver, British Columbia, or Los Angeles, I'm not really interested in moving," Anderson said, according to Zap2It. "It all depends on what they're talking about, how many they're talking about and what they're offering.

Are you prying for more X-Files, or are you content with the current revival? Sound off in the comments below!

X-Files airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Click the video below to see a preview for the series' next episode.
The Party Plenum of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] held in Kolkata at the end of December 2015 gives an idea of the recent trajectory of its politics. On the eve of the plenum, the party organised a big public rally. The party leaders strongly criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for its mal-governance and failures. They also promised that if the CPI(M) comes back to power, industries will be constructed in Singur and Salboni, the areas which witnessed strong resistance movements against the partys industrialisation drive and contributed to the fall of the Left Front government in West Bengal. The leaders were silent about the state violence associated with that industrialisation drive. Coincidentally, a few days after this rally, Amartya Sen, while addressing a seminar, stated, In West Bengal, industry is needed. Earlier, there were many industries in our state. The Left ruined industry in the state and when it realised this, it was too late.

The fundamental question which remains unasked is whether industrialisation is the panacea for all evils, and whether we can think of an alternative concept of industrialisation beyond the neo-liberal paradigm.
Metallic glasses display outstanding thermal, mechanical and chemical properties, which make them forefrontmaterials for technological applications in many diverse fields such as medicine, environmental science and engineering. Their widespread use is, however, limited by their lack of stability over time due to physical ageing. By combining dynamical and structural synchrotron techniques, researchers have directly connected microscopic structural mechanisms and atomic motion in metallic glasses for the first time, providing a unique broader view of their complexity at the atomic level.

Stability and control of the material properties are key parameters for proper exploitation of the diverse technologically relevant features of metallic glasses [1,2]. To date, these requirements are still not fulfilled due to the strong physical ageing of metallic glasses which leads to a spontaneous temporal evolution of any functional physical property due to relaxation processes intrinsic to the glassy state.

A detailed understanding of the microscopic mechanisms ruling physical ageing is therefore fundamental to overcome this limitation, but requires the atomistic description of the structural and dynamical changes occurring within a metallic glass. This has yet to be discovered due to limitations in both experiments and numerical simulations.

Using high-resolution high-energy X-ray diffraction (XRD) at beamline ID15B (now ID15A) and X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) at beamline ID10, we have provided an overview and an atomistic understanding of the complexity of ageing in a metallic glass by connecting microscopic structural re-arrangements and atomic motion for the first time. We found that the atomic scale is dominated by the interplay between stress-releasing rearrangements leading to density inhomogeneity annihilation and fast dynamical regimes of ageing and medium range ordering processes, not affecting density, related to a more localised atomic motion. The evolution between these regimes is probably associated with a ductile-to-brittle transition.

The recent use of XPCS to follow the atomic motion in hard materials [3,4] has revolutionised the investigation of relaxation and ageing, giving access to their study at the atomic scale. Studies of metallic glasses have revealed an unexpected dynamics, characterised by fast temporal evolution of the atomic motion and stationary regime of ageing [4], even if macroscopically metallic glasses display a steady ageing for all properties [2]. This complex dynamics has been related to the presence of internal stresses in the material most likely due to microscopic elastic heterogeneities and atomistic density inhomogeneities [5], and suggests the existence of a complex mechanism ruling the atomic dynamics, unreported in previous macroscopic studies or in any current theory for glasses [2].

To clarify the unique atomic motion of metallic glasses, we have investigated the microscopic structural and dynamical changes occurring in a rapidly quenched Pd 77 Si 16.5 Cu 6.5 metallic glass (glass transition temperature T g = 625 K), during successive annealing below T g .

Figure 1a shows structural relaxation times   obtained with XPCS during the whole thermal protocol as a function of the time elapsed from the beginning of the heating protocol. This parameter represents the characteristic time for the dynamics at the probed length-scale. For T < 513 K,   increases exponentially during the isotherm signalling a non-stationary dynamics, while it abruptly decreases during T changes due to the increasing thermal motion. The exponential increase corresponds to the fast ageing regime observed also in other hyper-quenched metallic glasses [2], which can be described by the relation   (t a ,T)~exp(t a / *), with an almost constant growth rate parameter *~6000 s. At T = 513 K, the ageing abruptly stops even if the system is well below T g : the glass enters a stationary regime where ta remains constant at least on the probed experimental timescale.

Figure 1b reports the corresponding volume evolution as tracked by the position change of the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) measured by XRD. During isotherms, the volume decreases slightly, most likely corresponding to the annihilation of residual density inhomogeneity. As temperature increases, the total isothermal densification decreases. Simultaneously to the onset of the stationary regime in dynamics, at T = 513 K, volume reduction stops, corresponding to the full structural defect annihilation. This suggests that structural defects annihilation is the process responsible for the fast ageing.

Figure 1. (a) Time and temperature evolution of the structural relaxation time measured with XPCS as a function of t-t 0 , where t 0 is the time corresponding to the beginning of the heating protocol. Symbols: blue empty circles: 393 K; green filled circles: 433 K; red upward triangles: 453 K; cyan downward triangles:473 K; magenta squares: 493 K;black diamonds: 513 K. (b) Relative volume change, reported as a function of t-t 0 . Each temperature ramp (x) is followed by an isotherm (same symbols as in (a)). Inset: zoom of the curve at 433 K reported as a function of time from the beginning of the isotherm, together with the best fit to an exponential law.

As shown in Figure 2a, a continuous narrowing of the FSDP takes place, exhibiting ageing itself and going on even when there is no further densification. This narrowing can be taken as an indicator of an increasing medium range order, for r  6 A [6].

Both volume and width can be described by an exponential law, with characteristic times   and   , respectively. While each of them has a different T dependence from the dynamical time for ageing *, the agreement between * and their average is impressive (Figure 2b), suggesting that the fast dynamical ageing is due to both processes: a structural defect annihilation and a medium range ordering, as far as they affect density.

Figure 2. (a) Temporal evolution of the relative change of the width of the FSDP. Same symbols as in Figure 1a. (b) Characteristic time for ageing as obtained from the volume relaxation (blue squares), the narrowing of the FSDP (blue circles) and from XPCS data (black dots). The average of   and   is also reported (red circles), called t ageing .

Once the structural defects are completely annihilated, no more density changes can take place, thus XPCS does not see ageing and we enter the stationary regime: no dynamical ageing is observed anymore at the atomic scale even if the macroscopic observables measured in conventional studies still evolve continuously with time toward the equilibrium liquid value. In this regime, the dynamical measurements indicate that other stresses still exist, most likely related to a frustration in the repetition and ordering of the atomic clusters.

These results provide a direct connection between dynamical and structural microscopic evolutions in metallic glasses which is fundamental for developing a microscopic theory for ageing and ultimately designing new amorphous materials with improved stability.

Finally, the understanding of the ageing in metallic glasses opens also the way to the comprehension of similar mechanisms in complex systems such as jammed soft materials and many biological systems, as glasses are often considered as archetypes of out-of-equilibrium systems.

Principal publication and authors

Unveiling the structural arrangements responsible for the atomic dynamics in metallic glasses during physical aging, V.M. Giordano (a) and B. Ruta (b), Nature Communications 7, 10344 (2016); Doi: 10.1038/ncomms10344.

(a) Institute of Light and Matter, UMR5306 Universite Lyon 1-CNRS, Universite de Lyon, Villeurbanne, (France)

(b) ESRF

References

[1] Y. Zhang, W.H. Wang and A.L. Greer, Nat. Mat. 5, 857 (2006).

[2] W.H. Wang, Prog. Mater. Sci. 57, 487 (2012).

[3] M. Leitner et al., Nat. Mat. 8, 717 (2009).

[4] B. Ruta et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 165701 (2012).

[5] H. Wagner et al., Nat. Mater. 10, 439 (2011); J.C. Ye et al., Nat. Mater. 9, 619 (2010).

[6] D. Ma and A.D. Stoica and X.-L. Wang, Nat. Mater. 8, 30 (2009).
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- Backyard chickens may not live as good of a life as most people think.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found backyard chickens are more likely than chickens on commercial chicken farms to be infested by ectoparasites, which are parasites such as fleas, lice and mites that live on the exterior of an organism. Their work was published online today in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

The research comes at a time when several states, including California, have banned or limited the use of isolated "battery cages" in favor of enriched cages or cage-free operations. The European Union has also banned battery cages. And a bill that would have banned those cages in the United States was introduced in Congress but failed to pass.

The researchers - Amy C. Murillo, a graduate student and Bradley A. Mullens, a professor of entomology - believe that these more open, cage-free or free-range type habitats increase the risk of acquisition and transmission of ectoparasites.

Such infestations increase stress on the chickens and may cause economic damage such as decreased egg production and feed conversion efficiency, the researchers note. The researchers also note that there is no risk to humans who eat eggs or the meat of infested chickens.

The researchers surveyed 100 adult hens in 20 different backyards in southern California and searched the birds and their coops for ectoparasites. They found a much greater diversity of ectoparasites on the backyard chickens than has been found in commercial flocks.

Ectoparasites were found on 80 percent of the flocks surveyed, and lice were the most common and abundant. Six different species of louse were found on the chickens, and some individual chickens had hundreds of lice. Sticktight fleas were found in only 20 percent of flocks, but infestations could be quite severe. The northern fowl mite was the most common mite, but the scaly leg mite and the chicken red mite were also found.

Commercial poultry flocks suffer from a few of the same ectoparasites. But most commercial birds presently are housed in suspended cages that give them little or no contact with the ground or substrate that immature stages of parasites such as fleas and some mites need to develop. In addition, these cages provide fewer crevices that might harbor ticks or bed bugs when they aren't feeding on birds. Finally, birds in commercial flocks are generally all the same age and breed which may affect the suite of parasites that they host.

The results of this study suggest that some of the perks of being a backyard chicken, such as comfortable coops and access to the outdoors, also increase the birds' availability to ectoparasites. According to Murillo, many of the chicken owners that participated in this study were surprised to learn that their chickens had ectoparasites, and almost none of the owners were practicing parasite prevention.

With that in mind, she recommends backyard chicken owners focus on preventing ectoparasite infestations because control products are limited. Chicken owners should practice biosecurity, which includes excluding wild birds and other animals from coming into contact with the flock, limiting the addition of new birds to the flock, temporarily quarantining birds that are brought into the flock and limiting outsider visitation (many of these parasites can hitchhike on people or equipment).

If a chicken owner decides to use insecticides, she said to make sure to read and follow the label. The label is the law, and helps prevent unsafe insecticide exposure. If products not meant for use on laying hens are used, chicken owners risk exposure to insecticides when consuming the eggs or meat from the birds.

Further study of the ectoparasite community on backyard chickens in the U.S. will be necessary to develop safe and effective parasite prevention and treatment techniques, and the UCR researchers are also working on this.

###

The full article is called "Diversity and Prevalence of Ectoparasites on Backyard Chicken Flocks in California."

Richard Levine, the communications program manager at the Entomological Society of America, contributed to this press release.
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, February 3, 2016 - Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have determined that people who win a competition are more likely to cheat or act dishonestly in the future, according to a new study published online yesterday in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We already know that some politicians and business executives will often resort to unethical means to win, for example the recent Volkswagen scandal," explains Dr. Amos Schurr, a lecturer in BGU's Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management and member of the University's Decision Making and Economic Psychology Center. "Our research was focused on who is more likely to subsequently engage in unrelated unethical behaviors - winners or losers?"

The researchers found that after a competition is over, winners behave more dishonestly than losers in an unrelated subsequent task. Furthermore, the subsequent unethical behavior effect seems to depend on winning, rather than on mere success.

The research group conducted five studies with students in Israel. The first two studies demonstrated that winning a competition increases the likelihood of winners to steal money from their counterparts in a subsequent unrelated task. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrated that the effect holds only when winning means performing better than others, but not when success is determined by chance or in reference to a personal goal.

The last study, a post-competition survey, suggested that winners felt a sense of entitlement after besting their opponents in the initial competition, which the researchers say explains why they were more likely to cheat in the second contest. The subsequent unethical behavior effect seems to depend on winning, rather than on mere success.

"These findings suggest that the way in which people measure success affects their honesty. When success is measured by social comparison, as is the case when winning a competition, dishonesty increases," Schurr explains. "When success does not involve social comparison, as is the case when meeting a set goal, defined standard or recalling a personal achievement, dishonesty decreases."

The researchers concluded that, "It is difficult to overstate the importance of competition in advancing economic growth, technological progress, wealth creation, social mobility, and greater equality. At the same time, however, it is vital to recognize the role of competition in eliciting censurable conduct.

"A greater tendency toward unethicality by winners is likely to impede social mobility and equality, exacerbating disparities in society rather than alleviating them. Finding ways to predict and overcome these tendencies may be a fruitful topic for the future study."

###

Prof. Ilana Ritov of Hebrew University's School of Education and The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality was also a researcher on this study. The research was supported by the I-CORE program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee, the Israel Science Foundation (Grant 1821/12), and by the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1515102113.

About American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat in Israel's southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev. AABGU is headquartered in Manhattan and has nine regional offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aabgu.org
Failure to recognize customary rights in tropical forests found to drive deforestation, climate change, and even armed conflict; new evidence released in London makes clear strong rights can reduce investment risk and outperform parks in conservation

LONDON (3 February, 2016)--Six weeks after negotiators in Paris placed tropical forests at the centre of the global battle against climate change, experts at a London event said government resistance to recognition of local land rights threatens global prospects to stop deforestation and fuels conflict costly enough to repel investors.

Citing cases in Africa, Asia and Latin America, experts meeting today in London released a series of research papers that demonstrate how resistance by governments to recognizing land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is causing major financial risks to private sector actors engaged in extraction and production of commodities for export in developing countries.

Presented at a panel organized by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), the new data could well encourage investors and commodity-driven companies to push for recognition of local property rights in emerging market countries.

"This analysis delivers quantitative evidence that disputes between local peoples and project developers/operators inflict significant financial harm on investors," said panellist Lou Munden, founder of TMP Systems. "We found this to be true in more than half the 360 cases we studied, and almost all of the conflicts we reviewed were linked to insecure land tenure."

TMP and RRI's analysis of conflicts in mining, energy, agriculture, transportation infrastructure and forestry concluded that more than 60 percent of the cases involved conflicts with minorities and Indigenous Peoples; in the forestry sector, that number shot up to 90 percent.

"Insecure rights also threaten efforts to mitigate climate change," said RRI Coordinator Andy White. "Despite international consensus that the world's tropical forests are crucial to keeping warming below two degrees, and growing recognition of the vital role that forest peoples play in protecting those forests, the pace of recognition of their rights continues to lag. Some large forest countries are now positioned to recognize rights on a massive scale--including Indonesia and India--but strong resistance by government agencies, conventional companies and conservation organizations block progress."

Evidence that strong rights could protect investments in emerging market countries may help counteract unwillingness on the part of many governments to recognize the full ownership rights of forest peoples, the panellists suggested. A firm signal of support for tenure reform from international investors would serve to bolster government resolve to clarify and secure local land tenure--a necessary precursor for success of even the most well-meaning development projects.

"We're now in a moment where private investors have to decide how to invest their money to best achieve their commitments to stop deforestation and respect rights. Governments that want to attract these investors have to ensure that local peoples' rights are legally defined and respected in order to ensure that companies do not incur financially painful and reputation-damaging tenure related risks," said White. "It benefits governments too. Efforts to mitigate risk and meet deforestation commitments can only succeed if customary land rights are taken into account."

The Intersection of Limited Rights Recognition and Risk

New analysis released by RRI estimates that governments formally recognize Indigenous Peoples and local communities' legal ownership rights to an area equal to more than five times the size of Chile, or 388 million hectares of forestland, up from 300 million in 2002, though this is just one fifth of the land Indigenous Peoples and local communities customarily own and use. But White noted with concern that governments have focused recently on "designating" land, rather than recognizing local peoples' ownership rights; since 2002, governments doubled the amount of land over which local peoples had only limited control over.

"Our analysis shows that a significant number of governments have begun to designate forest lands that impose limits on local people's ability to manage the land, or control how it is used," he added. "This is a half-measure that poses a significant risk to the lives and livelihoods of forest peoples and the health of our planet. It undermines commitments made by governments at the UN climate summit in Paris, and by companies that signed on to the New York Declaration on Forests. The rights of local peoples must come first if we hope to achieve any of these global development goals."

Last year, RRI and TMP systems released an analysis of almost 73,000 commercial natural resource developments in eight emerging/frontier market economies, concluding that 93 to 99 percent of the projects were on land inhabited by local communities or Indigenous Peoples.

If investors are not yet looking for ways to reduce their exposure to social conflict, they should be doing so now. "Our research shows that financial damage to the bottom line can range from massively higher operating costs, to outright abandonment of an existing operation, Munden added. "And these risks are significant enough to change the calculus of investing in emerging markets. And they suggest investors are confronting a substantial problem."

Money Not the Answer to Avoid Conflict Between Investors and Communities

An exhaustive analysis of almost 400 conflicts in mining, agriculture, infrastructure, energy and forestry projects showed that the vast majority of cases (93 percent) were not disputes over compensation paid to local populations, but rather, a range of other issues from environmental degradation to curtailed access to local resources.

"These results were really unexpected. Investors and companies typically assume that disagreements can be resolved with money, because that's often how business issues over things like intellectual property or employment disputes are resolved. But when you see that only one mining conflict out of fifty is driven by money, it makes you think differently about managing the risk," said Munden. "It means the primary goal is not for an operator to figure out what the local population needs to be paid, but instead, how to determine what factors drive their opposition to the project, and make a calculated assessment about whether those issues can be addressed."

New Tools for Assessing Investment Risk and Respecting Local Land Rights

To address some of the obstacles reported by investors and companies working in developing countries, the RRI panel discussed a number of new tools and initiatives that were established in 2015. TMP has produced two free and open source tools--IAN: Risk and IAN: Diligence. IAN products marshal available technology and expertise to provide investors and risk analysts with reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective means of identifying (IAN: Risk) and responding to (IAN: Diligence) the risk of tenure-related disputes with local people.

Another of these tools is The Interlaken Group's new due diligence guide to help companies respect local peoples land rights consistent with the United Nation's Voluntary Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure. The Interlaken Group--a multi-stakeholder forum of representatives from companies, investors, international organizations and civil society groups working together to identify practical ways that companies can support improved land governance and respect the rights of local peoples--promises this to be the first of many new products aimed at helping companies implement commitments on tenure and deforestation.

"These new tools, combined with the many new initiatives brought forth by Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and their allies in 2015, highlight the need for investors and governments to respect the rights of local peoples from the outset," White said. "If they heed the evidence, and take advantage of these new tools, governments and industry could partner with forest peoples to transform the reality on the ground, saving lives and the environment, while protecting the bottom line."

Parks or People: New Analyses Argue for Rights as Solution to Saving Forests

This same data-driven approach is also being applied to proposed public investments in forest conservation, which took on increased importance in the wake of December's landmark approval of the Paris climate change agreement. A commitment to ending deforestation figures prominently in the agreement, leading RRI and TMP Systems to seek a way to examine the human and financial costs of establishing new public protected areas in two African countries. One project, funded by the GEF and Germany, would set aside 12 to 15 percent of the DRC as protected areas, and the other, involving funding from Norway, would set aside 30 percent of the forests of Liberia by 2020.

The new analyses show that that expansion of the protected areas could either displace or damage the economic wellbeing of as many as 1.3 million people in the forests of Liberia and DRC. The costs of establishing these expanded "protected areas" in both countries would range from $200 million to over a billion dollars, excluding the annual cost of maintaining the parks, estimated at $36 million.

"This is a first step," said Munden, "and we're still refining our analytical approach. But so far, it suggests that the costs of compensation for displacing or impeding local peoples' customary forest use are significant. We're not saying that the protected area approach should be abandoned, but suggests the need for lower-cost approaches that achieve the intended outcomes--healthy forests and reduced greenhouse gas emissions."

White noted that the information will be vital to public policymakers in helping them to make evidence-based decisions.

"It has become increasingly clear to the private sector that people cannot be pushed aside with impunity--the conflicts that result have long-reaching and very costly impacts," White said. "And the same lessons apply to government; public investors need better tools to inform their decisions. The long history of underestimating the costs of establishing and maintaining protected areas has cost developing country governments dearly, and led to the creation of ineffective 'paper parks'."

He pointed to Liberia's uphill battle for rights as emblematic of the wider struggle happening across Africa, Latin America and Asia. Liberian leaders are confronting a decision that will determine the fate of the country, and yet they seem unable to take action on a piece of legislation that would guarantee the land rights of rural communities, according to Constance Teage of Liberia's Sustainable Development Institute. In fact, Teage said, Liberia's ground-breaking Land Rights Act (LRA) is currently at great risk.

She cited a recent press release issued by 18 civil society groups in Liberia that alleges: "Changes have been made to core principles of the LRA that would erode rural communities' land rights, exacerbate poverty, and potentially set up the country for further unrest."

Teage said that civil society groups were calling on her nation's leaders "to uphold, support and defend the integrity of customary land rights in the LRA by asking the Legislature to pass the July 2014 draft and to submit the final bill for public scrutiny before it is passed into law."

But if the government fails to act, White said, Liberia's leaders may find the world is changing without them, as companies and investors begin to demand strong rights as a means of mitigating the risks of social conflict.

###

The Rights and Resources Initiative is a coalition of 13 core Partners who conduct work in specific areas of their regional and thematic expertise. Their mission is to support local communities' and Indigenous Peoples' struggles against poverty and marginalization by promoting greater global commitment and action towards policy, market and legal reforms that secure their rights to own, control and benefit from natural resources, especially land and forests. For more, visit the RRI website at http://www.rightsandresources.org.

TMP Systems is a boutique consultancy based in the United Kingdom, with staff in the United States and the Philippines. Please visit http://www.tmpsystems.net/where-weve-worked/ to find out more about their work on problems in asset management, economic development and climate change.
PITTSBURGH--Carnegie Mellon University is embarking on a five-year, $12 million research effort to reverse-engineer the brain, seeking to unlock the secrets of neural circuitry and the brain's learning methods. Researchers will use these insights to make computers think more like humans.

The research project, led by Tai Sing Lee, professor in the Computer Science Department and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), is funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) through its Machine Intelligence from Cortical Networks (MICrONS) research program. MICrONS is advancing President Barack Obama's BRAIN Initiative to revolutionize the understanding of the human brain.

"MICrONS is similar in design and scope to the Human Genome Project, which first sequenced and mapped all human genes," Lee said. "Its impact will likely be long-lasting and promises to be a game changer in neuroscience and artificial intelligence."

Lee will work with co-principal investigators Sandra Kuhlman, assistant professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon and the CNBC, and Alan Yuille, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, to discover the principles and rules the brain's visual system uses to process information. This deeper understanding could serve as a springboard to revolutionize machine learning algorithms and computer vision.

In particular, the researchers seek to improve the performance of neural networks -- computational models for artificial intelligence inspired by the central nervous systems of animals. Interest in "neural nets," which initially peaked in the 1990s, has recently undergone a resurgence thanks to growing computational power and datasets. Neural nets now are used in a wide variety of applications in which computers can learn to recognize faces, understand speech and handwriting, make decisions for self-driving cars, perform automated trading and detect financial fraud.

"But today's neural nets use algorithms that were essentially developed in the early 1980s," Lee said. "Powerful as they are, they still aren't nearly as efficient or powerful as those used by the human brain. For instance, to learn to recognize an object, a computer might need to be shown thousands of labeled examples and taught in a supervised manner, while a person would require only a handful and might not need supervision."

Artificial neural nets process information in one direction, from input nodes to output nodes. But the brain likely works in quite a different way. Neurons in the brain are highly interconnected, suggesting possible feedback loops at each processing step. What these connections are doing computationally is a mystery; solving that mystery could enable the design of more capable neural nets.

To better understand these connections, Kuhlman will use a technique called "2-photon calcium imaging microscopy" to record signaling of tens of thousands of individual neurons in mice as they process visual information, an unprecedented feat. In the past, only a single neuron, or tens of neurons, typically have been sampled in an experiment, she noted.

"By incorporating molecular sensors to monitor neural activity in combination with sophisticated optical methods, it is now possible to simultaneously track the neural dynamics of most, if not all, of the neurons within a brain region," Kuhlman said. "As a result we will produce a massive dataset that will give us a detailed picture of how neurons in one region of the visual cortex behave."

Meanwhile, the CMU-led team will collaborate with another MICrONS team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, led by George Church, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. The Harvard-led team, working with investigators at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, MIT and Columbia University, is developing revolutionary techniques to reconstruct the complete circuitry of the neurons recorded at CMU. The database, along with two other databases contributed by other MICrONS teams, unprecedented in scale, will be made publicly available for research groups all over the world.

In this MICrONS project, CMU researchers and their collaborators in other universities will use these massive databases to evaluate a number of computational and learning models as they improve their understanding of the brain's computational principles and reverse-engineer the data to build better computer algorithms for learning and pattern recognition.

"The hope is that this knowledge will lead to the development of a new generation of machine learning algorithms that will allow AI machines to learn without supervision and from a few examples, which are hallmarks of human intelligence," Lee said.

"Extracting the brain's secret algorithms in learning and inference from this massive amount of data to advance machine learning is extremely ambitious and might be the most uncertain part of this project," said Andrew Moore, dean of CMU's School of Computer Science. "It's the equivalent of a moonshot, but CMU is one of the world's best places to do this, because we have a very strong tradition and community in artificial intelligence. We also have a strong community of theoretical and experimental neuroscientists working with the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and the university's BrainHub initiative."

The CNBC is a collaborative center between Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. BrainHubSM is a neuroscience research initiative that brings together the university's strengths in biology, computer science, psychology, statistics and engineering to foster research on understanding how the structure and activity of the brain give rise to complex behaviors.

In addition to Kuhlman and Yuille, the MICrONS team includes Abhinav Gupta, assistant professor of robotics; Gary Miller, professor of computer science; Rob Kass, professor of statistics and machine learning and interim co-director of the CNBC; Byron Yu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering and the CNBC; and Steve Chase, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and the CNBC. Another member is Ruslan Salakhutdinov, one of the co-creators of the deep belief network, a new model of machine learning that was inspired by recurrent connections in the brain. Salakhutdinov will join CMU as an assistant professor of machine learning in the fall.

Other members of the team include Brent Doiron, associate professor of mathematics at Pitt, and Spencer Smith, assistant professor of neuroscience and neuro-engineering at the University of North Carolina.

###

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
DURHAM, N.C. - All cells need nutrients, but cancer cells are notoriously power hungry. As a result, cancer cells must alter their metabolism to provide the additional fuel needed for them to survive, grow and spread.

For decades, scientists have been trying to exploit this greedy metabolism as a target for new anti-cancer therapies.

Duke University researchers have discovered a promising target for renal cell carcinomas. A study appearing online Feb. 1, 2016 in Cancer Research shows that the majority of these cancers rewire their metabolism in a way that leaves them addicted to an outside nutrient called cystine.

By depriving the cancer cells of the amino acid cystine, the researchers were able to trigger a form of cell death called necrosis in mouse models of the disease.

"We found that the same machinery that makes these tumors so aggressive also makes them vulnerable to nutrient deprivation," said senior study author Jen-Tsan Ashley Chi, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular biology and microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine. "It is like we are beating it at its own game."

Chi said the study points to a promising new approach for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer that has historically been very difficult to cure. The disease kills more than 100,000 people a year.

About three-fourths of renal cell carcinoma cases are marked by a missing VHL tumor-suppressor gene, which keeps healthy cells from developing into tumors. Chi and lead study author Xiaohu Tang, a post-doctoral fellow in his lab, decided to investigate how this single genetic change could affect the metabolism and nutrient requirement of cancer cells.

Tang subjected the cancer cells to a nutrient deprivation test, removing each of the 15 amino acids from their growth media, one by one. Most of the time, the cells weathered the change quite well, slowing down their growth but otherwise remaining healthy. But Tang found that when cystine was removed, the cells swelled up and floated to the surface, a sure sign of necrotic death.

The researchers then conducted a number of genetic analyses to piece together the network of genes responsible for this nutrient addiction. Normally, the VHL gene acts to suppress another gene called tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-alpha. When VHL is lost, the high levels of TNF-alpha beget a faster-growing, more aggressive form of cancer that sheds loads of dangerous free radicals.

Cystine is responsible for maintaining high levels of antioxidants that disarm free radicals of oxygen; so when the researchers got rid of this nutrient, the cancer cells essentially died by their own hand of free radical damage.

The researchers showed that the approach was successful both in tissue culture cells as well as in mice. Tang and his colleagues in the laboratory of Dr. David Hsu at the Duke Cancer Institute implanted renal cell carcinoma tumors into mice and then treated the animals with sulfasalazine, a drug that blocks cystine uptake. They found that the treatment induced necrosis and significantly delayed tumor growth.

Chi says that better, more potent drugs will be needed to knock out the cancer entirely. But he believes that targeting cancers for destruction by necrosis and not by apoptosis, the other main pathway to cell death, holds great promise therapeutically.

"Most chemotherapies kill cancer cells through apoptosis, and the cancer cells that escape apoptosis are the root cause of chemotherapy resistance and tumor progression," said Chi. "Cystine starvation treatments could address resistance by killing cells through a different mechanism."

###

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (CA125618, and CA106520), the Department of Defense (W81XWH-12-1-0148, W81XWH-14-1-0309, W81XWH-15-1-0486), and the Duke Cancer Center Pilot Project fund. Other significant contributors include Jianli Wu, Chien-Kuang Ding, Min Lu, Melissa Keenan, Chao-Chieh Lin, Cih-An Lin and Charles Wang. Additional investigators include Dr. Daniel George, Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Shiaowen David Hsu, William Dalton Family Assistant Professor of Cancer Genomics.

CITATION: "Cystine deprivation triggers programmed necrosis in VHL-deficient renal cell carcinoma," Xiaohu Tang, Jianli Wu, Chien-Kuang Ding, Min Lu, Melissa M. Keenan, Chao-Chieh Lin, Cih-An Lin, Charles C. Wang, Daniel George, David S. Hsu, Jen-Tsan Chi. Cancer Research, February 1, 2016. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-2328
The international team, led by Stephane Guilloteau at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, France, measured the temperature of large dust grains around the young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth.

This star is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust -- such discs are called protoplanetary discs as they are the early stages in the creation of planetary systems. This particular disc is seen nearly edge-on, and its appearance in visible light pictures has led to its being nicknamed the Flying Saucer.

The astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the glow coming from carbon monoxide molecules in the 2MASS J16281370-2431391 disc. They were able to create very sharp images and found something strange -- in some cases they saw a negative signal! Normally a negative signal is physically impossible, but in this case there is an explanation, which leads to a surprising conclusion.

Lead author Stephane Guilloteau takes up the story: "This disc is not observed against a black and empty night sky. Instead it's seen in silhouette in front of the glow of the Rho Ophiuchi Nebula. This diffuse glow is too extended to be detected by ALMA, but the disc absorbs it. The resulting negative signal means that parts of the disc are colder than the background. The Earth is quite literally in the shadow of the Flying Saucer!"

The team combined the ALMA measurements of the disc with observations of the background glow made with the IRAM 30-metre telescope in Spain [1]. They derived a disc dust grain temperature of only -266 degrees Celsius (only 7 degrees above absolute zero, or 7 Kelvin) at a distance of about 15 billion kilometres from the central star [2]. This is the first direct measurement of the temperature of large grains (with sizes of about one millimetre) in such objects.

This temperature is much lower than the -258 to -253 degrees Celsius (15 to 20 Kelvin) that most current models predict. To resolve the discrepancy, the large dust grains must have different properties than those currently assumed, to allow them to cool down to such low temperatures.

"To work out the impact of this discovery on disc structure, we have to find what plausible dust properties can result in such low temperatures. We have a few ideas -- for example the temperature may depend on grain size, with the bigger grains cooler than the smaller ones. But it is too early to be sure," adds co-author Emmanuel di Folco (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux).

If these low dust temperatures are found to be a normal feature of protoplanetary discs this may have many consequences for understanding how they form and evolve.

For example, different dust properties will affect what happens when these particles collide, and thus their role in providing the seeds for planet formation. Whether the required change in dust properties is significant or not in this respect cannot yet be assessed.

Low dust temperatures can also have a major impact for the smaller dusty discs that are known to exist. If these discs are composed of mostly larger, but cooler, grains than is currently supposed, this would mean that these compact discs can be arbitrarily massive, so could still form giant planets comparatively close to the central star.

Further observations are needed, but it seems that the cooler dust found by ALMA may have significant consequences for the understanding of protoplanetary discs.

###

Notes

[1] The IRAM measurements were needed as ALMA itself was not sensitive to the extended signal from the background.

[2] This corresponds to one hundred times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. This region is now occupied by the Kuiper Belt within the Solar System.

More information

This research was presented in a paper entitled "The shadow of the Flying Saucer: A very low temperature for large dust grains", by S. Guilloteau et al., published in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.

The team is composed of S. Guilloteau (University of Bordeaux/CNRS, Floirac, France), V. Pietu (IRAM, Saint Martin d'Heres, France), E. Chapillon (University of Bordeaux/CNRS; IRAM), E. Di Folco (University of Bordeaux/CNRS), A. Dutrey (University of Bordeaux/CNRS), T.Henning (Max Planck Institute fur Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany [MPIA]), D.Semenov (MPIA), T.Birnstiel (MPIA) and N. Grosso (Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France).

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).

ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

The Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Links

Photos of ALMA - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=Atacama%20Large%20Millimeter/submillimeter%20Array

Science paper - http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1604/eso1604a.pdf

Contacts

Stephane Guilloteau

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux

Floirac, France

Email: stephane.guilloteau@u-bordeaux.fr

Emmanuel di Folco

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux

Floirac, France

Email: emmanuel.di-folco@u-bordeaux.fr

Vincent Pietu

IRAM

Grenoble, France

Email: pietu@iram.fr

Richard Hook

ESO Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6655

Cell: +49 151 1537 3591

Email: rhook@eso.org
A warming climate is likely to drive species to higher, cooler altitudes. A new study highlights a less obvious, yet crucial way in which their new habitat could differ from the one they leave behind.

A warming climate is likely to drive species to higher, cooler altitudes. A new study highlights a less obvious, yet crucial way in which their new habitat could differ from the one they leave behind.

Mountains are home to many living species, with biodiversity typically peaking at mid-altitudes. Scientists have long struggled to explain why this is the case, invoking factors such as low temperatures at high elevations or human disturbance further down. According to new research, mid-altitudes host the largest number of species because the size and the connectedness of similar habitats are greatest there. One implication of their findings, presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that moving to higher elevations to adapt to a warming climate could drive species into habitats with a whole different set of spatial properties.

Many factors determine the number species that can co-exist on a patch of land. Large areas with similar properties typically host more species than small ones. And their biodiversity can be increased further if many similar habitats are connected. In mountainous terrain, other factors come into play, such as temperature, biological productivity, and exposition. By transposing the findings from flat land to mountainous terrain, a team of researchers from across Switzerland has found a new way to explain the observation that biodiversity in mountainous terrain tends to peak at mid-altitudes.

"In mountainous terrain, peaks and valleys are isolated habitats, like islands in the ocean, whereas mid-elevation sites form well-connected patches," explains Enrico Bertuzzo, a researcher at the Ecohydrology Lab at EPFL and first author of the study. "Given that habitat area and connectivity foster biodiversity, whereas isolation favors the dominance of few species, we hypothesized that topography itself could be playing a key role in regulating how biodiversity varies with elevation."

Biodiversity is often studied on idealized cone-shaped mountains, where similar habitats are assumed to be found at similar altitudes. In this case, habitats get smaller with increasing altitude, and their species richness is predicted to decrease, leading biodiversity to peak at foot of the cone and steadily decrease with elevation. Instead, Bertuzzo and his coauthors took a more laborious approach. "Rather than simplifying mountainous terrain to perfect cones or regular hills, our starting point was to consider it in all of its complexity," explains Florian Altermatt from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich.

To test their intuition that the very structure a landscape can shape biodiversity patterns, Bertuzzo and his coauthors let loose a large number of virtual species on a mountainous terrain in a computer simulation. Each virtual species was assigned an optimal altitude at which it could thrive, and these altitudes were distributed uniformly across all the elevations considered. When the researchers let the virtual species compete for habitats on landscapes modeled on real-life ones, their simulations confirmed their intuition: topography alone was enough to explain biodiversity patterns observed in nature.

"Other factors, like temperature, productivity, etc., are obviously also important, but they inevitably act on top of the unavoidable effect provided by the landscape structure," says Altermatt.

These findings are of particular relevance in a warming world. "Understanding the relation between elevation and biodiversity is crucial to predict how the distribution of species will change in response to climate change," says Bertuzzo. "Warmer temperatures will cause species' niches to shift upwards. The same ecological community will therefore move up the mountain, where it will find a different spatial composition, both in terms of available area and connectivity. Our findings underscore the importance of considering these factors to predict future changes."

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This study was carried out by researchers from the Laboratory for Ecohydrology at the EPFL, the Department of Aquatic Ecology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University.

Reference: Enrico Bertuzzo, Francesco Carrara, Lorenzo Maric, Florian Altermatt, Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, and Andrea Rinaldo. Geomorphic controls on elevational gradients of species richness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. February 1, 2016. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1518922113
Boston, MA - A new study suggests that the current recommendation to treat severely malnourished children with routine antibiotics does not increase the likelihood of nutritional recovery in uncomplicated cases. Given this finding, the study's authors say that routinely using antibiotics may not be necessary or beneficial for severely malnourished children being treated at home when there is adequate local health infrastructure.

Reducing routine antibiotic use would be prudent given global concern over the problem of antibiotic resistance, say the researchers.

The study will appear in the February 4, 2016 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The new findings challenge the World Health Organization's (WHO) current guidelines that children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) always be given antibiotics, whether or not they need them.

"Our results from Niger were surprising, as they challenge the current WHO recommendations and a recent well-conducted trial from Malawi. It's an exciting step forward though, as we hope that this new evidence will motivate a deeper review of current recommendations and the evidence on which they are based," said Sheila Isanaka, assistant professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and lead author of the study.

SAM contributes to high child mortality in many places throughout the world, affecting about 34 million children under age 5. Bacterial infection can complicate advanced cases, so WHO recommended in 1999 that all children with SAM--all treated in hospitals at the time--be given antibiotics to reduce the risk of death. But recent developments in how SAM is treated have resulted in greater numbers of children diagnosed with SAM and more children treated at home before they're seriously ill, instead of in the hospital. These changes have raised the question of whether it's still necessary to routinely use antibiotics in all SAM cases treated at home.

For the new study, Isanaka--along with colleagues from Epicentre, Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health of Niger, among others--looked at 2,399 children in rural Niger from ages 6-59 months who had uncomplicated SAM. They randomly assigned the children to receive either amoxicillin or a placebo for seven days.

They found that, among the children who received amoxicillin, 65.9% recovered, while 62.7% recovered in the placebo group--meaning that there was no significant difference in the likelihood of recovery between the groups.

The authors noted that forgoing routine use of antibiotics in settings with adequate medical infrastructure could simplify treatment protocols by eliminating the need for a health professional to prescribe the drugs. Instead, community health workers could oversee treatment--which would make it easier for more severely malnourished children to receive care, even in remote villages.

Harvard Chan School's Nan Li, research scientist, also participated in the study.

###

The study was funded by Medecins sans Frontieres--Operational Center Paris.

"Routine Amoxicillin for Uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children," Sheila Isanaka, Celine Langendorf, Fatou Berthe, Smaila Gnegne, Nan Li, Nassirou Ousmane, Souley Harouna, Hamidine Hassane, Myrto Schaefer, Eric Adehossi, and Rebecca F. Grais, NEJM, online February 3, 2016, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1507024

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.
New Rochelle, February 3, 2016--Not only is the "Jupiter as shield" concept, implying that the planet shields Earth from comet impacts, not true, but perhaps Jupiter's most important role in fostering the development of life on Earth was just the opposite -- delivering the volatile materials from the outer Solar System needed for life to form. This new simulation study, and the previously underestimated role that Saturn may have also played in the evolution of life on Earth, are presented in an original research article published in Astrobiology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free for download on the Astrobiology website until March 3, 2016.

In "Jupiter: Cosmic Jekyll and Hyde"), Kevin Grazier, PhD, at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, describes the study in which he simulated the evolution of tens of thousands of particles in the gaps between the jovian planets for up to 100 million years. Based on the results, Dr. Grazier concludes that the widely reported shield role attributed to Jupiter is incorrect. The simulations showed that Jupiter teams with Saturn to kick a significant fraction of the particles into the inner Solar System and into orbits that cross Earth's path. He proposes that a Solar System with one or more planets similar to Jupiter located beyond the region of potential terrestrial planets is beneficial for the development of life.

"In an unprecedented effort to solve the riddle as to whether jovian bodies shield habitable planets from impacts catastrophic to life, Dr. Grazier presents a modeling study that speaks to the incredible complexity of planetisimal evolution in the Solar System," says Sherry L. Cady, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Astrobiology and a Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "In this paper, we learn that the overly simplistic 'Jupiter as shield' concept is a thing of the past, and future research in this area will require the continued use of the kinds of robust simulation strategies so effectively employed in Dr. Grazier's work."

###

About the Journal

Astrobiology, led by Editor-in-Chief Sherry L. Cady, a Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and a prominent international editorial board comprised of esteemed scientists in the field, is the authoritative peer-reviewed journal for the most up-to-date information and perspectives on exciting new research findings and discoveries emanating from interplanetary exploration and terrestrial field and laboratory research programs. The Journal is published monthly online with open access options and in print. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Astrobiology website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including New Space and High Altitude Medicine & Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Big data and the growing popularity of online dating sites may be reshaping a fundamental human activity: finding a mate, or at least a date. Yet a new study in Management Science finds that certain longstanding social norms persist, even online.

In a large-scale experiment conducted through a major North American online dating website, a team of management scholars from Canada, the U.S. and Taiwan examined the impact of a premium feature: anonymous browsing. Out of 100,000 randomly selected new users, 50,000 were given free access to the feature for a month, enabling them to view profiles of other users without leaving telltale digital traces.

The researchers expected the anonymity feature to lower social inhibitions -- and apparently it did. Compared to the control group, users with anonymous browsing viewed more profiles. They were also more likely to check out potential same-sex and interracial matches.

Surprisingly, however, users who browsed anonymously also wound up with fewer matches (defined as a sequence of at least three messages exchanged between users) than their non-anonymous counterparts. This was especially true for female users: those with anonymous browsing wound up with an average of 14% fewer matches. Why?

Women don't like to send personal messages to initiate contact, explains Jui Ramaprasad, an assistant professor of information systems at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management. In other words, she says, "We still see that women don't make the first move." Instead, they tend to send what the researchers call a "weak signal."

"Weak signaling is the ability to visit, or 'check out,' a potential mate's profile so the potential mate knows the focal user visited," according to the study. "The offline 'flirting' equivalents, at best, would be a suggestive look or a preening bodily gesture such as a hair toss to one side or an over-the-shoulder glance, each subject to myriad interpretations and possible misinterpretations contingent on the perceptiveness of the players involved. Much less ambiguity exists in the online environment if the focal user views another user's profile and leaves a visible train in his 'Recent Visitors' list."

Men often take the cue. "Men send four times the number of messages that women do," says co-author Akhmed Umyarov, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. "So the anonymity feature doesn't change things so much for men."

Implications beyond online dating

Experiments of this sort could be used in a range of online-matching platforms to help understand how to improve the consumer experience - though it's important that the experiments be done ethically, the researchers say.

"Even though people are willing to pay to become anonymous in online dating sites, we find that the feature is detrimental to the average users," says Professor Ravi Bapna, co-author and the Carlson Chair in Business Analytics and Information Systems at Minnesota. "Professional social networks, such as LinkedIn, also offer different levels of anonymity, but user behavior and the underlying psychology in these settings is very different from that of romantic social networks."

As with many academic research projects, the idea for this experiment stemmed partly from serendipity.

"I happened to know a senior guy at an online dating site," Ramaprasad explains. "Since he knew that I studied online behavior, he suggested, 'Why don't you study this?'" The site, referred to in the study by the fictitious name of monCherie.com, is one of the largest online dating websites in North America.

The study could lay the groundwork for further academic analysis of online dating sites. "We expect future research to examine in more depth the issue of match quality and long-term outcomes as they relate to marriage, happiness, long-term relationships, and divorce," the researchers conclude.

###

"One-Way Mirrors and Weak-Signaling in Online Dating: A Randomized Field Experiment," Ravi Bapna, Jui Ramaprasad, Galit Shmueli, Akhmed Umyarov. Management Science, published online Feb. 2, 2016. http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2301

Videos:

Prof. Jui Ramaprasad discusses the research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWg7B98beiw&feature=youtu.be

Professors Ravi Bapna and Akhmed Umyarov: https://youtu.be/m2AUvNc_rtE
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological resources of the state's science and technology university to challenges identified by industry partners, has announced that Hackensack University Medical Center (HackensackUMC) has become the first healthcare charter member of NJII and a partner in its Healthcare Delivery Systems Innovation Lab (iLab). HackensackUMC will also have a seat on the iLab's advisory board.

Tomas Gregorio, senior executive director of healthcare delivery systems for NJII, commented, "We are honored to have such a prominent research and teaching hospital partner with us in our efforts to develop innovative processes and programs for the healthcare industry across our region. We will be working closely with Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., vice president of Cancer Services and chief innovations officer at the John Theurer Cancer Center at HackensackUMC. Dr. Pecora is committed to developing novel ideas which promote open innovation and the use of tools and processes that encourage creative thinking."

"HackensackUMC is pleased to partner with NJIT on this important initiative," said Robert C. Garrett, president and CEO of the Hackensack University Health Network. "Our medical center has always been committed to partnering with other organizations who share in our mission of developing research and technology to better care for our patients. Through this iLab, we will be able to combine our collective resources to make meaningful advances in care."

"HackensackUMC has been focused on research and innovation for many years. In 2014, we had more than 700 active/open studies offering more than 1,000 patients new options in care," said Dr. Pecora. "Partnering with the New Jersey Innovation Institute is a natural fit for our two organizations. We will work together to bolster our research program and share ideas to continue developing solutions for tomorrow's healthcare industry."

"NJII is looking forward to supporting Hackensack University Medical Center's efforts to bring innovation to virtually every aspect of healthcare. At NJIT, we have a team of university representatives from various departments and disciplines expressly created to familiarize our industry partners with university assets and programs. We also have the ability to set up and run HackensackUMC-specific ideation platforms with the healthcare cluster incubator companies at our Enterprise Development Center, whose mission is to develop and pursue innovative healthcare programs. We will mobilize NJIT's intellectual capital and research resources to meet the specific R&D needs of HackensackUMC," said Donald Sebastian, president of NJII.

###

The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) is an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological resources of the state's science and technology university to challenges identified by industry partners. Through its Innovation Labs (iLabs), NJII brings NJIT expertise to key economic sectors, including healthcare delivery systems, bio-pharmaceutical production, civil infrastructure, defense and homeland security, and financial services.
Being responsible for providing their food straight from nature, the San tribes, also called Bushmen, have quickly found ways to evolve their hunting methods. It is assumed that it did not take long between the adoption of bowhunting and the application of poison arrow heads. An American team of researchers, led by Dr. Caroline S. Chaboo, University of Kansas, have studied the various substances and their sources used in different San groupings from Namibia and have their paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

A cross-disciplinary examination involving socio-cultural, historical and ecological as well as entomological knowledge and fieldwork has allowed for a report on the poison sources, their preparation, use and antidotes for the two largest San groupings in Namibia and also summarise the scattered information about other seven groups.

While some of the used poisons are derived from certain plants, others have been found to come from specific beetle species. In the present paper, the scientists describe the process of poison preparation, based on their observation among the San peoples. Interestingly, they used neither adults, nor pupae for its production, but only larvae.

An observant hunter first dug up a cocoon from under the soil of the host plant, which he broke open and took out the larva from within. He rolled the larvae between his fingers, rubbing its skin against a stick he used as a pestle, and then extracted its tissue in one of his special tools - an old giraffe or kudu knuckle bone, where he could mix it with the rest of the ingredients. These included a chewed bark of a particular pea flowering plant species and the beans from others.

Although nowadays many San tribes that have used bowhunting and poison arrows in the past have abandoned them due to restrictions, modern tools and change of lifestyle in general, the familiarisation, adoption and development of poison weapons dating back to Ancient times are excellent examples of the cognitive shifts in human evolution.

"Although these San communities live short distances apart, their arrow poisons are diverse, pointing to an incredibly intimate knowledge of their environment," explain the researchers. "The discovery of arrow poisons was a significant evolutionary step for humankind, yet we are facing the last opportunity to document arrow-poison use in southern African hunter-gatherer societies."

"Ethnological data collection such as ours, including the collection of terms in the local vernacular, can open new avenues of research about variations in ecology, fauna and flora," they conclude.

###

Original source:

Chaboo CS, Biesele M, Hitchcock RK, Weeks A (2016) Beetle and plant arrow poisons of the Ju|'hoan and Hai||om San peoples of Namibia (Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae; Plantae, Anacardiaceae, Apocynaceae, Burseraceae). ZooKeys 558: 9-54. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.558.5957
Bursts of gamma rays from the center of our galaxy are not likely to be signals of dark matter but rather other astrophysical phenomena such as fast-rotating stars called millisecond pulsars, according to two new studies, one from a team based at Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and another based in the Netherlands.

Previous studies suggested that gamma rays coming from the dense region of space in the inner Milky Way galaxy could be caused when invisible dark matter particles collide. But using new statistical analysis methods, the two research teams independently found that the gamma ray signals are uncharacteristic of those expected from dark matter. Both teams reported the finding in the journal Physical Review Letters this week.

"Our analysis suggests that what we are seeing is evidence for a new astrophysical source of gamma rays at the center of the galaxy," said Mariangela Lisanti, an assistant professor of physics at Princeton. "This is a very complicated region of the sky and there are other astrophysical signals that could be confused with dark matter signals."

The center of the Milky Way galaxy is thought to contain dark matter because it is home to a dense concentration of mass, including dense clusters of stars and a black hole. A conclusive finding of dark matter collisions in the galactic center would be a major step forward in confirming our understanding of our universe. "Finding direct evidence for these collisions would be interesting because it would help us understand the relationship between dark matter and ordinary matter," said Benjamin Safdi, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT who earned his Ph.D. in 2014 at Princeton.

To tell whether the signals were from dark matter versus other sources, the Princeton/MIT research team turned to image-processing techniques. They looked at what the gamma rays should look like if they indeed come from the collision of hypothesized dark matter particles known as weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. For the analysis, Lisanti, Safdi and Samuel Lee, a former postdoctoral research fellow at Princeton who is now at the Broad Institute, along with colleagues Wei Xue and Tracy Slatyer at MIT, studied images of gamma rays captured by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been mapping the rays since 2008.

Dark matter particles are thought to make up about 85 percent of the mass in the universe but have never been directly detected. The collision of two WIMPs, according to a widely accepted model of dark matter, causes them to annihilate each other to produce gamma rays, which are the highest-energy form of light in the universe.

According to this model, the high-energy particles of light, or photons, should be smoothly distributed among the pixels in the images captured by the Fermi telescope. In contrast, other sources, such as rotating stars known as pulsars, release bursts of light that show up as isolated, bright pixels.

The researchers applied their statistical analysis method to images collected by the Fermi telescope and found that the distribution of photons was clumpy rather than smooth, indicating that the gamma rays were unlikely to be caused by dark matter particle collisions.

Exactly what these new sources are is unknown, Lisanti said, but one possibility is that they are very old, rapidly rotating stars known as millisecond pulsars. She said it would be possible to explore the source of the gamma rays using other types of sky surveys involving telescopes that detect radio frequencies.

Douglas Finkbeiner, a professor of astronomy and physics at Harvard University who was not directly involved in the current study, said that although the finding complicates the search for dark matter, it leads to other areas of discovery. "Our job as astrophysicists is to characterize what we see in the universe, not get some predetermined, wished-for outcome. Of course it would be great to find dark matter, but just figuring out what is going on and making new discoveries is very exciting."

According to Christoph Weniger from the University of Amsterdam and lead author of the Netherlands-based study, the finding is a win-win situation: "Either we find hundreds or thousands of millisecond pulsars in the upcoming decade, shedding light on the history of the Milky Way, or we find nothing. In the latter case, a dark matter explanation for the gamma ray excess will become much more obvious."

###

Funding for the Princeton/MIT research came from the U.S. Department of Energy under grant Contract Numbers DE-SC00012567, DE-SC0013999 and DE-SC0007968, and from the National Science Foundation under grant PHY-1066293 to the Aspen Center for Physics.
Twenty thousand years ago, when humans were still nomadic hunters and gatherers, low concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere allowed the earth to fall into the grip of an ice age. But despite decades of research, the reasons why levels of the greenhouse gas were so low then have been difficult to piece together.

New research, published today in the leading journal Nature, shows that a big part of the answer lies at the bottom of the world. Sediment samples from the seafloor, more than 3 kilometers beneath the ocean surface near Antarctica, support a long-standing hypothesis that more carbon dioxide was dissolved in the deep Southern Ocean at times when levels in the atmosphere were low.

Among other things, the study shows that during the ice age, the deep Southern Ocean carried much smaller amounts of oxygen than today. This indicates that photosynthetic algae, or phytoplankton, were taking up large amounts of carbon dioxide near the surface. As dead algae sank to the depths, they were consumed by other microbes, which used up the oxygen there in the process. The scientists found chemical fingerprints of the oxygen level by measuring trace metals in the sediments.

The evidence "is a long-sought smoking gun that there was increased deep ocean carbon storage when the atmospheric CO2 was lower," said Sam Jaccard of the University of Bern, Switzerland, the study's lead author.

Coauthor Robert Anderson, a geochemist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said the study "finally provides the long-sought direct evidence that extra carbon was trapped in the deep sea by the buildup of decaying organic matter from above." He added, "It's also clear that the buildup and release of CO2 stored in the deep ocean during the ice age was driven by what was happening in the ocean around Antarctica."

The study also shows that variations in carbon-dioxide storage in the Southern Ocean were probably behind a series of natural "wobbles" in atmospheric levels of about 20 parts per million that took place over thousands of years. The study suggests that the wobbles were probably caused by changes in the amount of iron-rich dust, which fertilizes phytoplankton, being blown from land onto the ocean surface. Levels may also have been influenced by varying amounts of carbon being released from the deep ocean as ocean currents changed, said the authors.

The study may hold powerful lessons for today. While the natural 20-part-per million wobbles took thousands of years to happen, carbon dioxide levels have risen that much in just the last nine years, due to human emissions. Levels are now about 400 parts per million, versus about 280 in the early 1800s. "The current rate of emissions is just so fast compared to the natural variations that it's hard to compare," said study coauthor Eric Galbraith of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. "We are entering climate territory for which we don't have a good geological analog."

###

The study was also coauthored by Alfredo Martinez-Garcia of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.

Related: With Climate, Fertilizing Oceans May Be a Zero-Sum Game

To contact the researchers:

Sam Jaccard: samuel.jaccard@geo.unibe.ch

Robert Anderson: boba@ldeo.columbia.edu

Eric Galbraith: eric.galbraith@icrea.cat

Alfredo Martinez-Garcia: a.martinez-garcia@mpic.de
The implementation of surgical safety checklists (SSCs) at a tertiary care hospital was associated with a reduced risk of death within 90 days after surgery, but not within 30 days, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery. Hospital length of stay was reduced after implementation of SSCs.

Inpatients worldwide may expect a 30-day mortality of 1.5 percent after noncardiac surgery, depending on the region where surgery is performed, the surgical procedure, and the patients' other health conditions. Implementation of surgical safety checklists (SSCs) has been found to reduce the incidence of perioperative complications and 30-day mortality. Checklists aim to reduce risk and prevent patient harm by recognizing high-risk situations and optimizing communication, by minimizing the incidence of errors, and by improving latent conditions. The association of the introduction of SSCs with 90-day mortality has been unclear.

Matthias Bock, M.D., of Bolzano Central Hospital, Bolzano, Italy and colleagues examined the outcomes of surgical procedures performed during the 6 months before and after the introduction of SSCs at a public, university-affiliated hospital in Italy. The researchers collected data on 90-day all-cause mortality, 30-day all-cause mortality, length of hospital stay, and 30-day readmission rate among patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. The SSCs for this study included 17 to 24 items.

The total study sample of 10,741 patients included 5,444 preintervention and 5,297 postintervention patients. Ninety-day all-cause mortality was 2.4 percent (129 patients) before compared with 2.2 percent (118 patients) after the SSC implementation. Thirty-day all-cause mortality was 1.4 percent (74 patients) before compared with 1.3 percent (70 patients) after the SSC implementation. Thirty-day readmission occurred in 797 patients (14.6 percent) in the preimplementation group vs 766 patients (14.5 percent) in the postimplementation group. The adjusted length of stay was 10.4 days in the preimplementation group compared with 9.6 days in the postimplementation group.

"To our knowledge, this report is the first on the association of SSCs and 90-day all-cause mortality, which might be even more important than 30-day all-cause mortality. Thirty-day all-cause mortality might fail to capture intermediate-term complications, such as anastomosis leakage or pulmonary embolism, which occur despite prophylaxis late after trauma or genitourinary and general surgery," the authors write.

"The observed decline in length of stay suggests potential cost savings after the implementation of SSCs. Further trials should address this hypothesis and the effect on quality of care owing to a reduction of the costs of complications or unplanned reoperations."

(JAMA Surgery. Published online February 3, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2015.5490. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This study was supported by the Public Health Care Company of South Tyrol, Italy, and by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Italy. No conflict of interest disclosures were reported. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Commentary: The Surgical Checklist

"Although some investigators question the actual impact of checklists, despite the proliferation of evidence regarding improved patient outcomes and quality of care across countries, these arguments fail to acknowledge fully the difficulty of effectively implementing SSCs in a complex health system," write William Berry, M.D., M.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues in an accompanying commentary.

"A focus on the systems of care and promotion of a culture of safety at the institutional level is necessary to optimize checklist implementation and realize its full potential. Effective implementation is critical to meaningful use of SSCs, which can lead to maximally improved outcomes."

(JAMA Surgery. Published online February 3, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2015.5551. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: No conflict of interest disclosures were reported. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

###

Media Advisory: To contact Matthias Bock, M.D., email matthias.bock@sabes.it. To contact William Berry, M.D., M.P.H., call Todd Datz at 617-432-8413 or email tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu.
Phosphorus is a key nutrient that could, if it reaches the open ocean, enrich waters of the Arctic Ocean, potentially stimulating growth of the marine food chain.

Phosphorus feeds plankton at the base of the ocean food web. Glacial meltwater has long been known to contain phosphorus, but new research by Dr Jon Hawkings, from the Cabot Institute at the University of Bristol, shows as the Greenland ice sheet melts, it could be releasing far more of the nutrient than previously thought..

Dr Hawkings and his collaborators spent three months in 2012 and 2013 gathering water samples and measuring the flow of water from the 600-square-kilometer (230-square-mile) Leverett Glacier, and the smaller, 36-square-kilometer (14-square-mile) Kiattuut Sermiat Glacier in Greenland, as part of a Natural Environment Research Council-funded project to understand how much phosphorus, in its various forms, was escaping from the ice sheet over time and draining into the sea. They used that data to extrapolate how much phosphorus was likely being released from the entire Greenland ice sheet.

'We found greater amounts of phosphorus in the waters of the Leverett Glacier than had been detected at previous study sites, which have looked mostly at smaller glaciers. The large Leverett Glacier, however, is more representative of the glaciers that contribute the bulk of meltwater coming from the Greenland ice sheet,' said Dr Hawkings.

The team found annual phosphorus input (for all of Greenland's outlet glaciers) is at least equal to some of the world's largest rivers, such as the Mississippi and the Amazon. That amount could increase as the climate warms and more ice melts. The report on their findings has been accepted for publication in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Dr Hawkings said: 'It is not clear yet how much of the phosphorus being released from the ice sheet is reaching the open ocean, but if a large amount of phosphorus coming off the glacier makes it to the sea, the nutrient could rev up biological activity of Arctic waters.

'It could stimulate growth of plankton at the base of the ocean food web, which could impact birds, fish and marine mammals higher up the food chain. The research also suggests ice sheet-derived phosphorus could eventually reach the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which are connected to the Arctic Ocean.'

Oceanographers have historically thought of glaciers and ice sheets as frozen systems that don't add nutrients or water to the oceans, Dr Hawkings explained. Research over the past couple of decades has shown there is flowing water at the base of glaciers. As climate change warms Greenland, and more ice melts and makes its way into the sea, the ice sheet is potentially becoming a more important source of nutrients.

'Glacial meltwater gains phosphorus when it travels in moulins, or pipes in the ice - through the guts of the glacier and down to the where the ice meets the bedrock.

'Where the ice meets the bedrock at the very bottom of the glacier, the meltwater is exposed to phosphorus-rich rocks that are pulverized by the moving glacier. Glaciers are very, very good at crushing up rock," said Dr Hawkings.

The concentrations of dissolved phosphate the researchers found in the Leverett Glacier meltwater - which is just one form of phosphorus found in the meltwater - were similar to concentrations found in Arctic rivers, and among the highest levels recorded in glacial meltwaters worldwide. The total phosphorus concentrations found in the meltwater of the Leverett glacier - which includes phosphorus-rich particles - was 10 times greater than concentrations found in Arctic river waters.

If the majority of the phosphorus found in meltwater from all of Greenland's glaciers reaches the sea, it would be equal to about 400,000 metric tons (440,000 U.S. tons) per year of phosphorus, more than Arctic rivers are estimated to contribute to the Arctic Ocean, according to the new study. However, how much phosphorus makes it from the meltwater into the open oceans is not yet known. Dr Hawkings noted that the largest portion of phosphorus, which is in the form of powdered rock minerals, could be settling out of the meltwater and ending up buried in Greenland's fjords before it has time to dissolve.

"This is an important finding because it highlights the role that the rapidly changing Greenland ice sheet plays in supplying nutrients to the Arctic Ocean," said Dr Eran Hood, of the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, who studies the meltwater from coastal glaciers in Alaska, and was not involved in the new study.

'Now we need to understand how much of this phosphorus, especially in the particulate form, ends up being utilized in high-latitude marine ecosystems," said Hood. "I think that's an important open question."

###

Paper:

Hawkings, J., Wadham, J., Tranter, M., Telling, J., Bagshaw, E., Beaton, A., Simmons, S., Chandler, D., Tedstone, A., Nienow, P. (2016) "The Greenland Ice Sheet as a hotspot of phosphorus weathering and export in the Arctic", Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi: 10.1002/2015GB005237

Further Information:

To arrange an interview with Dr Hawkings, contact the press office at the University of Bristol on +44 (0)117 331 8092

The Cabot Institute

The Cabot Institute carries out fundamental and responsive research on risks and uncertainties in a changing environment. We drive new research in the interconnected areas of climate change, natural hazards, water and food security, low carbon energy, and future cities. Our research fuses rigorous statistical and numerical modelling with a deep understanding of social, environmental and engineered systems - past, present and future.

We seek to engage wider society by listening to, exploring with, and challenging our stakeholders to develop a shared response to 21st Century challenges.

Find out more about our work at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot
Think about it - What factors contribute to making informed, responsible, thoughtful decisions? New research out of the University of Cincinnati uses a story about trees to examine how environmental structure plays a key role in making thoughtful decisions. The research also points to implications as to why people living in more chaotic environments, such as poverty, are less prone to use careful deliberation in decision making. The study is published online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

In three different experiments, the researchers explored how structure in one's environment can impact informed, thoughtful decisions.

"The basic idea we were examining is that there are causal relationships in our environment," says lead researcher Ryan Rahinel, an assistant professor of marketing in UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business. "When we make people aware of this, it makes people think more about their decisions."

In the first study, 94 college students performed a 15-minute sentence completion task. They were given 16 sets of 5 words to make sentences out of each set, using four of the words. In the unstructured group, words included "chaotic, random, chance and haphazard." In the structure group, the words included "systematic, pattern and order." After that, they were asked to choose something they would like to do in the next few minutes, such as check e-mail or do some work. The researchers found that people who were reminded of structure reported thinking more about their decision.

In the second experiment, 92 college student participants read a story about trees before completing their task. One group's article reported that trees grow in a very patterned and orderly way. The other group read an article suggesting lack of structure that implied that trees grow very randomly, and that there's no underlying pattern or relationship to determine how they grow.

"In both cases, we tell them that this type of growth is very beautiful," adds Rahinel, "so neither presentation was less flattering than the other."

After reading the article in the second exercise, the students were assigned a task of hypothetically choosing among six small gifts, such as an LED keychain with voice recorder, FM tuner pen, quick-release LED keychain, voice recorder pen, super-bright LED chip light or an LED multi-tool kit. After the participants chose their gift, they were asked how much thought they put into their choice. Rahinel says the group that read the story about trees growing in very patterned and systematic ways reported putting more thought into choosing their gift than the students who read the article about trees growing in a haphazard pattern.

"So why does this happen? The idea is that when a world is structured according to relationships, we can exploit these relationships through careful thought to make better decisions, almost in the same way that one tries to strategize in games based on its rules," says Rahinel. "When the world is random, there's no point in thinking about things because random things are going to happen - it's not like what you do is going to make any difference toward better or worse outcomes."

In the third experiment, the researchers created two ads for popcorn. One brand had strong attributes to support the brand but had an unfamiliar endorser, Andrew from Oklahoma. The other ad featured a brand that had weaker attributes but a famous endorser, actor George Clooney.

This exercise also involved reading the tree article. The majority of students who had read the article that trees grow in a random pattern chose the popcorn with weaker attributes but with the famous endorser, while the majority of the group that read the article about trees growing in a structured way chose the ad with the lesser-known endorser, but stronger attributes. "We know from prior research that stronger attributes tend to be more effective than celebrity pitches if the person thinks carefully about their decision," says Rahinel. "And we can leverage that fact to demonstrate that this incidental story about trees leads to different choices."

The researchers add that the findings support previous research on social class and decision making, in that chaotic, unstructured environments may contribute to investing less thought toward making decisions, which ultimately perpetuates individuals' problems. The authors suggest that future research should consider other ways in which structure might enable critical aspects of daily life.

"Overall, these findings point to the importance of structure, and the broader environment more generally, in shaping elaboration and its downstream outcomes" report the researchers.

###

Other researchers on the project are Nelson Borges Amaral, Kogod School of Business, American University; Joshua J. Clarkson, Lindner College of Business, University of Cincinnati; and Aaron C. Kay, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.

UC's marketing program in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business was ranked one of the Top 5 undergraduate marketing programs in the nation offered by the country's public universities by Bloomberg Businessweek (2012).
Researchers find birds can theorize about the minds of others, even those they cannot see

The question of what sets humans apart from other animals is one of the oldest philosophical puzzles. A popular answer is that only humans can understand that others also have minds like their own.

But new research suggests that ravens - birds singled out by many cultures as a symbol of intelligence and wisdom - share at least some of the human ability to think abstractly about other minds, adapting their behavior by attributing their own perceptions to others.

The study, "Ravens Attribute Visual Access to Unseen Competitors," was published Feb. 2 in Nature Communications. It found that ravens guarded caches of food against discovery in response to the sounds of other ravens if a nearby peephole was open, even if they did not see another bird. They did not show the same concern when the peephole was closed, despite the auditory cues.

The findings shed new light on science's understanding of Theory of Mind, the ability to attribute mental states - including vision - to others, said Cameron Buckner, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Houston. Buckner is an author of the paper, along with Thomas Bugnyar and Stephan A. Reber, cognitive biologists at the University of Vienna.

Most Theory of Mind research involving animals has been done with chimpanzees and other species closely tied to humans. But while those studies have suggested that animals are able to understand what others see - giving them an advantage in competing for food, for example - they rely on the test subjects' ability to see another's head or eyes, providing so-called "gaze cues." Skeptics argue that animals in these experiments might be responding only to these surface cues, without any real understanding of what others see.

"Thus," the authors write describing the previous state of the research, "it still remains an open question whether any nonhuman animal can attribute the concept 'seeing' without relying on behavioral cues."

Buckner, who focuses on animal cognition, said the researchers avoided that concern in this experiment by using only open peepholes and sounds to indicate the presence of a possible competitor, with the ravens never physically able to see another raven in the context of the experiment.

Ravens are a good subject for study, he said, because despite their obvious evolutionary divergence from humans, their social lives go through several distinct phases, similar to people. In particular, they often defend territories in stable breeding pairs as adults but live in more fluid situations as adolescents.

"There is a time when who is in the pack, who's a friend, who's an enemy can change very rapidly," he said. "There are not many other species that demonstrate as much social flexibility. Ravens cooperate well. They can compete well. They maintain long-term, monogamous relationships. This all makes them a good place to look for social cognition, because similar social pressures might have driven the evolution of similarly advanced cognitive capacities in very different species."

The ability to cache food is important to ravens, and previous research had shown they behave differently when they perceive a competitor watching. For example, when ravens are being watched, they hide food more quickly and are less likely to return to a previously made cache, both of which might reveal the location of a cache to a possible pilferer. If they do not think they are being watched, they spend more time on the task.

This study involved two rooms, connected both by windows, which could be opened or covered, and by peepholes, which could be open or closed. The ravens were trained to look through the peepholes to observe a human experimenter making caches in the adjacent room. During the final phase of the test, both windows were covered but a peephole was open. A hidden speaker played sounds of a raven competitor, but no other bird was present. The subjects still cached as though they were being watched.

"We show that ravens ... can generalize from their own experience using the peephole as a pilferer and predict that audible competitors could potentially see their caches (through the peephole)," the authors write. "Consequently, we argue that they represent 'seeing' in a way that cannot be reduced to the tracking of gaze cues."

The findings offer needed information in several arenas, Buckner said, including evidence that ravens could serve as animal models in research involving social cognition.

It also offers new evidence about the capacities involved in Theory of Mind and abstract thinking, Buckner said. "It could change our perception of human uniqueness, that we share some of that ability not just with chimpanzees and closely related species but also with a very different species."

Buckner said the next step will be to see which other animals are capable of the kind of abstraction assessed in the peephole test, "especially humans, since we don't know when this ability emerges in childhood.

"Finding that Theory of Mind is present in birds would require us to give up a popular story as to what makes humans special," he said. "But completing this evolutionary and developmental picture will bring us much closer to figuring out what's really unique about the human mind."

###
MIAMI--New research from a University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led science team provides new insight into one of the world's most diverse and extensive ecosystems of living microbes. The study offers a new perspective on the growth and structure of rare, microbial reefs, called stromatolites, which are a window into the emergence and evolution of life on Earth.

The international research team spent three years collecting data to map one of the few living stromatolite communities in the world, located in Shark Bay in Western Australia. The map of stromatolites produced by the scientists from an area in Shark Bay, called Hamelin Pool, revealed eight distinct "stromatolite provinces," each characterized by distinct morphological structures, many of which were previously unknown. The results altered previous growth models for Shark Bay stromatolites and documented the importance of mineral precipitation in the formation of the stromatolite framework, a feature shared with Precambrian stromatolites that date back three billion years.

Stromatolites are buildups of limestone, similar to coral reefs, but formed by microbial mats. The activities of the microorganisms, particularly cyanobacteria, result in accretion of grains and precipitation of cements. Fossilized remains of stromatolites hold ancient records of early life for 75 percent of Earth's history. Stromatolite-forming microbes generated the oxygen in the atmosphere that allowed the evolution of higher organisms, including humans.

"The stromatolites in Shark Bay are a spectacular living laboratory that should be the best studied microbial system in the world," said UM Rosenstiel School Professor of Marine Geosciences Pamela Reid, a co-author of the study.

Despite their abundance on early Earth, stromatolites are rare in the modern world and are not well understood. Modern stomatolites, such as those in Shark Bay in Western Australia, develop in extreme, high saline environments where animal grazing and competition with organisms such as corals and seaweeds are scarce.

"The time to study Shark Bay stromatolites is now as they are vulnerable to rising sea levels in the coming decades" said lead author Erica Suosaari, UM Rosenstiel School alumna and current research fellow. "Continued monitoring and detailed studies of the Shark Bay World Heritage site will be critical for management and conservation of this unique landscape, and will advance our understanding of early Earth."

The new findings on morphological diversity, microbial communities, and mineral precipitation in living stromatolites in Shark Bay indicate the importance of this system as a window into early Earth, providing a basis for reconstructing ancient environments and understanding how microbial communities interacted with these environments.

###

The study, titled "New multi-scale perspectives on the stromatolites of Shark Bay, Western Australia," was published in the Feb. 3 online edition of the Nature journal Scientific Reports. The study's authors include: Erica Suosaari, Pamela Reid, Paul Hagan and Gregor Eberli of the UM Rosenstiel School; Phillip Playford of the Geological Survey of Western Australia; Jamie Foster and Giorgio Casaburi of the University of Florida; John Stolz of Duquesne University in Pennsylvania; Ved Chirayath of the NASA Ames Research Center; Ian Macintrye of the Smithsonian Institution; and Noah Planavsky of Yale University. The study is available here: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep20557

About the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School

The University of Miami is one of the largest private research institutions in the southeastern United States. The University's mission is to provide quality education, attract and retain outstanding students, support the faculty and their research, and build an endowment for University initiatives. Founded in the 1940's, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. For more information, visit: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu.
PHILADELPHIA -For the first time, researchers have shown that an enzyme key to regulating gene expression -- and also an oncogene when mutated -- is critical for the expression of numerous inflammatory compounds that have been implicated in age-related increases in cancer and tissue degeneration, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Inhibitors of the enzyme are being developed as a new anti-cancer target.

Aged and damaged cells frequently undergo a form of proliferation arrest called cellular senescence. These fading cells increase in human tissues with aging and are thought to contribute to age-related increases in both cancer and inflammation. The secretion of such inflammatory compounds as cytokines, growth factors, and proteases is called the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, or SASP.

In a study published this week in Genes & Development, genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the enzyme, called MLL1, in both human cells and mice prevents the deleterious activation of the DNA damage response, which causes SASP expression.

"Since tumor-promoting inflammation is one of the hallmarks of cancer, these findings suggest that MLL1 inhibitors may be highly potent anti-cancer drugs through both direct epigenetic effects on proliferation-promoting genes, as well as through the inhibition of inflammation in the tumor microenvironment," says first author Brian Capell, MD, PhD, a medical fellow in the lab of Shelley Berger, PhD, the Daniel S. Och University Professor in the Departments of Cell & Developmental Biology, Genetics , and Biology.

Berger is also the director of the Penn Epigenetics Program. Capell is an instructor and attending physician in the Department of Dermatology and is a postdoctoral fellow in the Berger lab.

The mechanism of this inhibition is through the direct epigenetic regulation by MLL1 of critical proliferation-promoting cell cycle genes that are required for triggering the DNA damage response in the body. MLL1 is an enzyme that adds methyl groups to loosen chromatin, the proteins around which DNA winds, so that part of the genome can be "read" and translated into proteins - its epigenetic role. However, MLL1 is also commonly mutated in numerous human cancers, particularly in pediatric and adult blood cancers.

"We show that MLL1 inhibition blocks the expression of inflammatory genes in both senescent and cancerous human cells, including those derived from human breast cancer" Capell said.

Knowing that MLL1 has been implicated in cell-cycle regulation, when the researchers inhibited MLL1, proliferation-promoting genes were shut down and the DNA damage response and resulting inflammation was suppressed. Indeed, in the case of applying this result to fighting cancer, this is a desired effect, since an increase in inflammation can promote both the development and progression of cancer.

"In cancer, this could be a potent one-two punch, by blocking both proliferation-promoting genes as well as the cancerous inflammation," Capell explained. "One could imagine taking an MLL1 inhibitor as a primary treatment, but also as an adjuvant therapy to tamp down the rampant inflammation caused by drugs like chemotherapies. More speculatively, given that the SASP has been implicated in numerous other age-related disorders, it will be worth testing the effects of MLL1 inhibition in other aging and inflammatory disease models."

###

The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Aging (P01AG031862), the Dermatology Foundation, the American Skin Association, and the Melanoma Research Foundation.
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 3, 2016 - Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have shown that the core of the protein clumps found in the brains of people with Huntington's disease have a distinctive structure, a finding that could shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurodegenerative disorder. The findings were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Huntington's and several other progressive brain diseases, certain proteins aggregate to form plaques or deposits in the brain, said senior investigator Patrick C.A. van der Wel, Ph.D., assistant professor of structural biology, Pitt School of Medicine.

"Despite decades of research, the nature of the protein deposition has been unclear, which makes it difficult to design drugs that affect the process," he said. "Using advanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we were able to provide an unprecedented view of the internal structure of the protein clumps that form in the disease, which we hope will one day lead to new therapies."

The gene associated with Huntington's makes a protein that has a repetitive sequence called polyglutamine. In the 1990s, it was discovered that the patients have mutated proteins in which this sequence is too long, yet it has remained unclear how exactly this unusual mutation causes the protein to misbehave, clump together and cause the disease.

"This is exciting because it may suggest new ways to intervene with these disease-causing events," Dr. van der Wel said. "For the first time, we were able to really look at the protein structure in the core of the deposits formed by the mutant protein that causes Huntington's. This is an important breakthrough that provides crucial new insights into the process of how the protein undergoes misfolding and aggregation.

He added Huntington's is one of many neurodegenerative diseases in which unusual protein deposition occurs in the brain, suggesting similar biochemical mechanisms may be involved. Lessons learned in this disease could help foster understanding of how these types of diseases develop, and what role the protein aggregates play.

###

The team included Cody L. Hoop, Ph.D., Hsiang-Kai Lin, Ph.D., Karunakar Kar, Ph.D., Jennifer C. Boatz, Abhishek Mandal, and Ronald Wetzel, Ph.D., all of the University of Pittsburgh; Gabor Magyarfalvi, Ph.D., of Eotvos University, Hungary; and Jonathan Lamley and Jozef R. Lewandowski, Ph.D., of Warwick University, U.K.

The project was funded by National Institutes of Health grants GM112678, AG019322, GM099718 and GM088119; National Center for Research Resources grant RR024153; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu.

http://www.upmc.com/media

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran

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For years, retired Maj. David Underwood has noticed that whenever he drove under power lines and around other electromagnetic fields, he would feel a buzz in what remained of his arm. When traveling by car through Texas' open spaces, the buzz often became more powerful.

"When roaming on a cellphone in the car kicked in, the pain almost felt like having my arm blown off again," said Underwood, an Iraq War veteran who was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). His injuries have resulted in 35 surgeries and the amputation of his left arm. Shrapnel from the IED also tore part of his leg and left him with more than 100 smaller wounds. "I didn't notice the power lines, cellphones on roam or other electromagnetic fields until I first felt them in my arm."

Until a recent study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas was published online last month in PLOS ONE, there was no scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal stories of people, such as Underwood, who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around cellphone towers and other technology that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

"Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain," said Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, senior author of the study and an associate professor of bioengineering in the University's Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. "Our study also points to a specific nerve pathway that may contribute to our main finding."

Most of the research into the possible effects of cellphone towers on humans has been conducted on individuals with no diagnosed, pre-existing conditions. This is one of the first studies to look at the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in a nerve-injury model, said Romero-Ortega, who researches nerve regeneration and builds neural interfaces -- technology that connects bionic or robotic devices to the peripheral nerve. There are nearly 2 million amputees in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many suffer from chronic pain.

After interacting with Underwood, Romero-Ortega decided to study the phenomena that Underwood described.

The team hypothesized that the formation of neuromas -- inflamed peripheral nerve bundles that often form due to injury -- created an environment that may be sensitive to EMF-tissue interactions. To test this, the team randomly assigned 20 rats into two groups -- one receiving a nerve injury that simulated amputation, and the other group receiving a sham treatment. Researchers then exposed the subjects to a radiofrequency electromagnetic antenna for 10 minutes, once per week for eight weeks. The antenna delivered a power density equal to that measured at 39 meters from a local cellphone tower -- a power density that a person might encounter outside of occupational settings.

Researchers found that by the fourth week, 88 percent of subjects in the nerve-injured group demonstrated a behavioral pain response, while only one subject in the sham group exhibited pain at a single time point, and that was during the first week. After growth of neuroma and resection -- the typical treatment in humans with neuromas who are experiencing pain -- the pain responses persisted.

"Many believe that a neuroma has to be present in order to evoke pain. Our model found that electromagnetic fields evoked pain that is perceived before neuroma formation; subjects felt pain almost immediately," Romero-Ortega said. "My hope is that this study will highlight the importance of developing clinical options to prevent neuromas, instead of the current partially effective surgery alternatives for neuroma resection to treat pain."

Researchers also performed experiments at the cellular level to explain the behavioral response. That led researchers to explore the protein TRPV4, which is known to be a factor in heat sensitivity and the development of allodynia, which some subjects displayed.

"It is highly likely that TRPV4 is a mediator in the pain response for these subjects," Romero-Ortega said. "Our calcium imaging experiments were a good indicator that TRPV4 is worth further exploration."

Romero-Ortega said since the research produced pain responses similar to those in anecdotal reports and a specific human case, the results "are very likely" generalizable to humans.

"There are commercially available products to block radio frequency electromagnetic energy. There are people who live in caves because they report to be hypersensitive to radiomagnetism, yet the rest of the world uses cellphones and does not have a problem. The polarization may allow people to disregard the complaints of the few as psychosomatic," he said. "In our study, the subjects with nerve injury were not capable of complex psychosomatic behavior. Their pain was a direct response to man-made radiofrequency electromagnetic energy."

At one point in the study, members of the research group showed Underwood video of subjects in the experiment and their response to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

"It was exactly the same type of movements I would have around cellphones on roam, power lines and other electromagnetic fields," said Underwood, who has served on congressional medical committees and been exposed to some of the best doctors in the world. "It is pretty amazing that a few short conversations with this team led to validation of what I, and many others, experience."

Researchers said that the next step is to develop devices that block neuropathic pain from radiofrequency electromagnetic energy.

###

Dr. Bryan Black, a research associate in the Department of Bioengineering in the Jonsson School; Dr. Rafael Granja-Vazquez, a postdoctoral fellow at UT Dallas; Dr. Benjamin Johnston of Brown University; and Dr. Erick Jones Sr., a professor of industrial, manufacturing and systems engineering at UT Arlington, also contributed to the work.
DETROIT - Wayne State University's Jennifer Stockdill, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a $650,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. The CAREER Award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF and is designed to support junior faculty members who have shown exceptional promise through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research by awarding assistant professors with five years of funding.

Stockdill's proposal, "Harnessing the Reactivity of Neutral Aminyl Radicals for Complex Heterocycle Synthesis," will advance understanding of reactions that form novel chemical structures. This research has numerous implications for understanding basic reactivity, increasing the diversity of complex molecules available to high-throughput screening libraries and ultimately aiding in the advancement of drug discovery.

The NSF funding will also support the implementation of an outreach program aimed at advancing women and minorities in science. Through Stockdill's program, these outreach activities will teach basic organic chemistry concepts to middle school girls, instilling an enthusiasm for scientific discovery, improving interactive learning tools for undergraduate education and creating a support network for graduate students in STEM fields.

"Receiving this CAREER Award signals that the organic chemistry community has recognized our lab's achievements and supports the continuation of our work," said Stockdill. "It's certainly an exciting time in the lab as we look forward to uncovering more chemical secrets, expanding the tools available for drug discovery and making an impact in our community."

For more information on Stockdill and her research, visit stockdillgroup.info.

The project number for this National Science Foundation grant is CHE-1554752.

###

About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://research.wayne.edu
Written by ACM



*Strasbourg/2016DutchEUPresidency/Angelo Marcopolo/- While participating this week at EU Parliament's Plenary here, in various Debates on Foreign Policy and on the Next EU Brussels' Summit (on Migrants and the UK), incoming Dutch EU President-in-office, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, replying to a queston raised by "Eurofora", declared himself in favor of advancing towards a solution of Cyprus' issue which would be based particularly on "EU Values" :

- In your Speeches on various Topical Issues you give a great Importance to "EU Values". Do you think that they might Help also on Cyprus' issue, if there are some developments towards a Solution during your (EU) Presidency (i.e. Jan.-June 2016) ?, "Eurofora asked Koenders.



-" Absolutely !", the incoming EU Chairman in office, (who has already had various Experiences in working together with UNO Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon), Started to Reply to the above mentioned "Eurofora"s Question, Positively



- Thus, "I Hope very much" for the Talks to Advance on Cyprus, particularly since, currently "there is a Momentum there"., he observed.



- And this (i.e., EU Values : Comp. Supra), "is good Both for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots", Bert Koenders observed in Conclusion.



Meanwhile, in earlier statements here, the Head in office of the incoming Dutch EU Presidency, speaking as a matter of General Principle, made it clear that, even if EU Member States might choose "Many Differend" ways of organizing their Democracy, nevertheless, "there are Limits", because, f.ex. "the Rule of Law canNot be set aside", sinve Governments have a Responsibility to uphold Fundamntal Values : Therefore, No Government can ever uphold the Rule of Law by Applying it Selectively. No Society can ever Defend Human Rights while excluding certain Groups from its Protection", as he underlined.



+ In a relevant parallel move, PanEuropean Organisation for Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, from Norway, earlier Today in Strasbourg, made it clear that when CoE speaks about "Rule of Law", it means Not just any kind of Legislative measures might be taken, or not, by one or another individual State's National Parliament, but, in fact, "ECHR's case-law" i.e. the Full Application of all Rules resulting from all main ECHR's Judgements.



The PanEuropean Convention's text and the PanEuropean Court of Human Rights' case-law, adequately completed also by EU's Charter of Fundamental Freedoms and Rights, as well as ECJ's own relevant case-law, are supposed to shape a concrete form for most EU Values.



And they have, notoriously, already taken many Decisions on Cyprus, (including on "Missing" Persons, Enclaved People, Refugees, etc, as well as on various other matters, as, f.ex. also Turklish Cypriots' Right to Vote in Elections organized by the Republic of Cyprus, under certain Conditions, etc).
Madrid

Estos son los 80 centros sanitarios que abriran 24 horas en la Comunidad de Madrid desde el 27 de octubre
Theres only one Neil deGrasse Tyson, winner of last years Censor of the Year award. Discovery Institutes Center for Science & Culture recognized celebrity TV educator Dr. Tyson for his outstanding work in foisting a photoshopped narrative of scientific history on viewers of the popular series Cosmos, animated by a desire to falsely cast religious faith as the enemy of scientific progress.

Well, a neat article at Newsweek reminds us that others pioneered in the same censorious field long before Tyson came along. Douglas Main gives the example of the myth that claims benighted religious scholars once insisted upon the doctrine of a flat earth. No, wrong, says Mr. Main. Medieval knowledge encompassed the knowledge that our planet is spherical. Going back to the ancient Greeks, that awareness was not lost in the Christian Middle Ages. Where, then, did the myth come from? The pedigree goes back more than a century and a half:

The fault lies with 19th century writers such as Washington Irving, Jean Letronne and others. Letronne was an academic of strong anti-religious prejudices who cleverly drew upon both to misrepresent the church fathers and their medieval successors as believing in a flat earth, in his On the Cosmographical Ideas of the Church Fathers, published in 1834, [historian Jeffrey Burton Russell] writes. Irving also penned a history of Christopher Columbus in 1828 that was treated as fact, but was largely fictional, and Russell credits him with inventing the indelible picture of the young Columbus, a simple mariner, appearing before a dark crowd of benighted inquisitors and hooded theologians at a council of Salamanca, all of whom believed, according to Irving, that the earth was flat like a plate. These falsehoods were picked up and amplified by historians such as John Draper and Andrew Dickson White, and perpetrated in texts, encyclopedias, and even allegedly serious scholarship, down to the present day, Russell notes. Why bother perpetuating falsehoods? Russell and [Stephen Jay Gould] suggest the flat-earth myth was used to demonize Christians and religion in general, and to lionize scientists. The falsehood about the spherical earth became a colorful and unforgettable part of a larger falsehood: the falsehood of the eternal war between science (good) and religion (bad) throughout Western history, Russell writes. The reason for promoting both the specific lie about the sphericity of the earth and the general lie that religion and science are in natural and eternal conflict in Western society, is to defend Darwinism, he continues, which was introduced around the same time. The flat-earth lie was ammunition against the Creationists. The argument was simple and powerful, if not elegant: Look how stupid these Christians are. They are always getting in the way of science and progress. These people who deny evolution today are exactly the same sort of people as those idiots who for at least a thousand years denied that the earth was round. How stupid can you get?' The false narrative that science and religion are warring, necessarily conflicting forces continues to the present day, and impedes a proper bonding and conciliation between these two utterly different and powerfully important institutions of human life, Gould writes. Of course, none of this is to discourage fringe beliefs or unpopular ideas; most ideas that have revolutionized the world were first regarded as such.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The flat earth story was concocted to demonize Christians and religion in general, and to lionize scientists  Look how stupid these Christians are. They are always getting in the way of science and progress  and it was further promoted in order to defend Darwinism, a notion that was introduced around the same time.

We credited Tyson as last years top censor for much the same thing. Which reminds me, who will be this years COTY (Censor of the Year)? I told you already youve got until February 5 to give us your nominations. Do so by clicking on the orange Email Us button at the top of this page. Well announce the winner in time for Darwin Day, aka Academic Freedom Day, on February 12.

Image: Italy and the Mediterranean from space, by ESA/NASA.
British Airways has unveiled its latest ad campaign which is based on a real life incident of its cabin crew member who forges a special bond with one of the customers during her maiden trip to India

British Airways recently unveiled its latest brand campaign for the Indian market titled Fuelled by Love. Keeping in tune with their previous campaigns, the new digital ad is high on emotional quotient. It is based on the real life incident of a UK based cabin crew member who forges a special bond with one of the customers during her maiden trip to India. The campaign has been conceptualised by Sapient Nitro and directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the critically acclaimed director of the Hindi film, Masaan.

Click here to view the ad:

Commenting on the film, KV Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer, Sapient Nitro said, The brief given to us was the relationship of British Airways with this country, which is 90 years old, so how do we bring out the bond between both the airline and the customers. The reason why most of their campaigns are touching is because personal travel is always filled with emotion, there is a reason and purpose why people travel and the question comes- how do we really exploit that. Therefore, we searched for real life stories, we spoke to the cabin crew members and got rich stories from them. Some of them probably will come as a follow up to the main film.

We caught up with Moran Birger, British Airways' Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia to discuss the latest campaign, the reason for focusing more on digital, current challenges in the Indian market and more..

Excerpts:

How will you be promoting your new campaign? What are the ads spends?

It is only a digital campaign and we are promoting it through our social channels, like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and YouTube. It will be in three phases commencing from 2 February until the end of the month. We will also be using print and OOH as part of our marketing strategy. We plan to take this campaign forward through other short compelling crew stories and photo essays.

Over the last few years, we have undergone a 5 billion investment program, that includes everything from new aircraft, new world traveller economy, world traveller plus, premium economy cabins, a revamped first cabin and better lounges around British Airways network. This new campaign is part of the5 billion investment.

You seem to focus more on digital. However, most of your competitors have their presence on TV, is there any specific reason to stay away from television?

The reason why we focus on digital is because it is the most personal medium which you can get. It enables you to start conversations with your customers and reach out to your correct audiences. It also allows them to get back to you with their feedback or any kind of questions they have.

How will you define your target audience?

We dont create any age brackets because we want to reach out to people across age groups.

Your campaigns focus a lot on the aspect of emotional connectivity. How would you describe the tonality of your films?

Mostly our films are based on real life experiences. The tonality of each film differs from the other. Having flown here for 90 years, we have a very good understanding of the Indian market, of the culture and the people here and to that extent we make sure that all our campaigns are suited and personalised.

How cluttered is the long-distance luxury aviation category? What kind of competition do you face?

I think competition is great, there are various airlines serving different markets. I think our strength is based on the fact that we have got a very long history. We have been here for 90 years and therefore, we understand our customers well. We treat them individually and personalise our services. Our strength lies in being able to relate to the customers, offer London as a destination and also provide a very expansive network to Europe and US.

What are the current challenges in the Indian market?

India has been a very exciting market for us; it is the second largest market outside UK and after US. Our journey here has been very interesting; we have innovated a lot, brought in new aircrafts into the market, got in a lot of latest technology into the market. We are constantly innovating and thinking, how else we can cater to our customers and give them personalised services.

Read more news about (ad news, latest advertising news India, internet advertising, ad agencies updates, media advertising India)
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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...
New report backs farmers' calls for better waste crime policies
New market access could be worth $2.5 million annually

By Diego Flammini

Assistant Editor, North American Content

Farms.com

New market access to the country of Georgia for Canadian breeding cattle and swine could be worth millions of dollars each year.

Beginning immediately, Canadian cattle and swine breeders can export their products to Georgia. The Canadian industry estimates the new market access could be worth $2.5 million annually.

Representatives from the swine industry are encouraged that access to Georgia will help Canadas swine industry grow worldwide.

A live breeding swine certificate activated for Georgia is good news for the Canadian swine industry as our exporters will now have market access to supply Georgia with our high-health, top quality swine genetics, said Nancy Weicker, Executive Director of the Canadian Swine Exporters Association in a Feb, 2nd press release. Georgia is a new market for Canadian swine genetics and our solid reputation will allow us to further develop the swine industry globally.

The deal was announced by Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay and Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland. Both are optimistic about the opportunities the Georgian access can provide to Canadian cattle and swine breeders.

In 2014, Canada exported about $166.3 million worth of animal genetics and Georgia imported $1.7 million in animal genetics.

Trade Between Canada and Georgia
"It is important that the functions of the various bodies are assessed as to their benefit to the grains industry and the appropriate structures are in place to deliver on the agreed functions, so structural arrangements may change over time," he said.
Why Joey Logano knew from the start 2022 was going to be a playoff season
You might not immediately spot the link between the deadly Tianjin explosion in China, the million-dollar La Linea scandal in Guatemala, and the investigations against the giant American company Walmart, all in 2015. The link? Corruption in customs.

In Guatemala, the so-called La Linea scandal led to the resignation of more than 40 public officials and, most notably, to the resignation and imprisonment of the Guatemalan president Otto Molina Perez. It was a straightforward scheme: importers would bribe customs officials to create fake documents granting importers a steep discount on the import duties for their goods. Allegedly, millions of dollars of customs revenue were siphoned away from the state into the private bank accounts of corrupt importers and custom officials.

In a different scandal, Walmart, the worlds biggest retailer, is facing allegations of having paid bribes to low-level officials to clear goods through customs in India. If the allegations are found to be true, Walmart could face an FCPA enforcement action.

In yet another case, chemical explosions at the Tianjin port in China resulted in the death of more than 150 people. In the aftermath of the catastrophe, it appeared that some misdeclared chemicals had been stored in the warehouse. Unaware, the firefighters tried to control the fire with water, only to worsen the situation. The head of the Tianjin city fire brigade confirmed that there were large discrepancies between customs papers and inquiries conducted with the company. This suggests customs officials may have accepted bribes to move chemicals through customs without proper documentation.

Corruption in customs can have damaging effects such as revenue loss, distorted markets, and an increased health and security risk. Yet lucrative spoils mean that customs administrations worldwide remain a high-risk area for corruption. Despite progress in some countries and the establishment of international standards such as the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration, which provides a framework for countering corruption, such scandals and catastrophes arise with unfortunate regularity, and not only in developing countries.

J.W. Shaver, former Secretary General of the World Customs Organization stated: There are few public agencies in which the classic pre-conditions for institutional corruption are so conveniently presented as in a Customs administration.

The nature of customs administration makes it vulnerable to many kinds of corruption  from a simple bribe payment to large-scale fraud, as in the case of Guatemala. Custom officials, even at a junior level, may have a high degree of discretionary power, sometimes combined with weak monitoring and accountability. Complex tariff systems and red tape encourage the importer or exporter to pay bribes to fast-track the clearance of goods.

Multi-level and coordinated action by governments, customs administrations, the private sector, and civil society is necessary to map corruption risks and, above all, to implement integrity standards to make customs less prone to corruption.

The 2016 OECD Integrity Forum Fighting the Hidden Tariff: Global Trade without Corruption, on April 19-20, 2016 in Paris, France, will provide a stocktaking platform for all sectors of society to debate the best approaches to prevent, detect, and curb corruption in trade chains, including in customs administration.

_____

Jeroen Michels is a Policy Analyst with the Public Sector Integrity Division of the OECD in Paris.
Writer Sylvia Vetta had her debut novel, Brushstrokes in Time released this month so she tells us about the things we never knew about Chinese New year.

Brushstrokes in Time

Chinese New Year is celebrated by one fifth of the world's population.

In China people have at least one week's holiday. Traffic can be slow because this is the time of the world's largest annual migration of people as families come to together to celebrate.

The date of Chinese New Year

is based on the Chinese lunar calendar but is always somewhere in the period from January 21 to February 20. The festivities start the day before the New Year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve this year is on Sunday Feb 7.

According to legends,

the origins of Chinese New Year may have started with the fight against a mythical beast called the "Year" and small scale celebrations may have taken place as early as 2000 BC! China has a long history!

Chinese New Year is celebrated across the world,

with the biggest celebrations outside of Asia taking place in London and San Francisco. At 10 am on (Valentine's Day) Sunday February 14th crowds gather in Trafalgar Square for the annual dragon led parade. (Dragons are powerful but lucky!) The route goes down Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue to Chinatown. At 12pm firecrackers are the noisy overture to the stage performances of traditional dance troupes, acrobats, dragon and flying lion dances, opera and martial arts performances.

Celebrating with your family:

Celebrations centre on the most important meal of the year, the reunion dinner with family on New Year's Eve. Giving red envelopes, firecrackers, new clothes, and decorations play their part in raising spirits. Qu Leilei the Beijing born but now Wimbledon based artist who inspired my novel takes pleasure in a simple New Year celebration. He loves sitting around his dining room table with the extended family making Chinese dumplings.

Food:

What unites people of Chinese ancestry where ever they live in the world is their cuisine. Food is the cornerstone of the celebration of Chinese New Year. The banquet dinner, when families gather together, is celebrated on the eve of Chinese New Year. It is believed that one should not clean or cook on the day itself: that will bring bad luck to the household. (Which is not like Xmas celebration here!). Various types of dishes are served and it would normally comprise of fish, pork/chicken, either braised or stir fried and greens cooked in different ways. Having fish is a sign of prosperity. The number of dishes should be even numbers and not odd numbers, as it symbolises harmony. Dumplings are served too and very often the family join in preparing them. All the dishes are placed around the table where people serve themselves.

Drinks:

Sian Liwicki, owner of The Bothy Vineyard, was bought up in Singapore.

Chinese food is savoury and besides the traditional drinks that partner sumptuous Chinese New Year meals - clear Chinese broths or good quality black tea - I love to pair dishes with full bodied white wines. Examples are rich, buttery white Burgundies, soft and full Viogniers and of course the Bothy's own Renaissance which is a soft, peachy and complex wine made from the Ortega grape. These wines do not shrink from the robust Chinese flavours that make our food so satisfying. The very spicy northern Chinese cuisine is now becoming more common in England and for these you might want to find a medium sweet Gewurztraminer, or a chilled larger, to pair with the heat. In South East Asia, from where I hail, there is a typical Chinse New Year dish - the sweet and sour, multi-textured Raw Fish Salad. This is a delicious and light salad which contains just enough fish to taste and add texture, for it is dominated by a multitude of finely sliced, raw vegetables, crispy wonton skins and nuts. The mixture is tossed high in the air by the whole party with their chopsticks, amid much good cheer and wishing of good luck and health. In this particular case, I would suggest a pairing with a rich sparkling wine - perhaps a quality English Sparkling Wine.

The Year of the Monkey

The Chinese Zodiac is based on a twelve-year cycle, and each year is related to an animal sign. (the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. ) In Chinese astrology the sign of your birthday represents your true nature. 2016 is the year of the monkey so in the Trafalgar Square celebrations there will be monkey dancers and acrobats take to the stage to celebrate the Year of the Monkey and pyrotechnics illuminate Nelson's Column at 5.20pm on Feb 14 .

Wear red:

I'll make sure I will wear red on Chinese New Year as red is meant to be lucky and black unlucky during the celebrations. I'm not usually superstitious but as the publication date of Brushstrokes in Time is on Feb 2 and is close to Chinese New Year, I'm taking no chances! I'll go with the tradition.

Bad luck on February 8?

Let's hope this superstition is wrong or a lot of us will have bad luck. Crying children: The cry of a child is believed to bring bad luck to the family, so parents do their best to keep children as happy as possible.

Brushstrokes in Time by Sylvia Vetta is published by Claret Press. 7.99. www.sylviavetta.com
You can't help but love an ensemble cast, where a whole host of great acting talent comes together in the same film - it really is a movie treat.

Dad's Army

And 2016 is no different as there is an army of movies that really are boasting some impressive line-ups - I can't quite decide which cast list I am most excited about.

We have already been treated to movies such as The Big Short and Spotlight and we take a look at the rest of the film year and some of the great acting talents that are going to come together on the big screen.

- Dad's Army - released 5th February

And the great movie line-up starts this week as a whole host of great British actors comes together for Dad's Army, which is based on the much-loved television series created by David Croft and Jimmy Perry.

Toby Jones, Bill Nighy, Tom Courtenay, Michael Gambon, Daniel Mays, Bill Paterson, and Blake Harrison take on the iconic roles of Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Lance Corporal Jones, Private Godfrey, Private Walker, Private Frazer, and Private Pike. While many of the cast are well known and seasoned actors, Dad's Army will send the stars of Mays and Harrison rocketing further.

They are joined on the cast list by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mark Gatiss, Sarah Lancashire, Ian Lavender, Alison Steadman, and Annette Crosbie. It really is one of the most impressive gatherings of British acting talent this year.

Dad's Army sees Oliver Parker back in the director's chair for his first feature film since Johnny English Reborn back in 2011.

It is 1944 and World War II is reaching its climax. The Allies are poised to invade France and finally defeat the German army. But in Walmington-on-Sea morale amongst the Home Guard is low. Their new mission then - to patrol the Dover army base - is a great chance to revive spirits and reputation, that is until glamorous journalist Rose Winters arrives to write about their exploits, setting the pulses racing and putting the local women on red alert.

MI5 then discover a radio signal sent direct to Berlin from Walmington-on-Sea. There's a spy on the loose! The outcome of the war is suddenly at stake, and it falls to our unlikely heroes to stand up and be counted.

We are going to be treated to a whole host of great British movies this year but none will boast as impressive a cast as Dad's Army.

- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - released 11th February

February is a great month for the ensemble cast film and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is another to keep an eye out for... the line-up is a wonderful mix of young talent and really well-established stars.

Lily James is fast becoming one of the biggest stars and she takes on the central role of Elizabeth Bennet - but this is Jane Austen's heroine like you have never seen her before.

James is joined on the cast list by Lena Headey, Matt Smith, Douglas Booth, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Suki Waterhouse, Jack Huston, and Charles Dance.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an adaptation of the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, which was inspired by the classic by Austen. The movie sees Burr Steers in the director's chair and on writing duties.

A mysterious plague has fallen upon 19th century England, the land is overrun with the undead and feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is a master of martial arts and weaponry.

Casting aside personal and social prejudices, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy must unite on the blood-soaked battlefield to rid the country of the zombie menace and discover their true love for one another.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies looks like it is going to be a movie that is a lot of fun and it is one of the February movies that I am looking forward to the most.

- Triple 9 - released 19th February

I love a good crime/thriller and Triple 9 is a movie that I have been looking forward to for quite some time.

Not only is it exciting to see Lawless filmmaker John Hillcoat back in the director's chair, but he has brought together a magnificent cast.

There is some major British interest as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Oscar winner Kate Winslet are set to star. They are joined on the cast list by Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Teresa Palmer, Gal Gadot, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Clifton Collins Jr.

There is talent wherever you look on this cast list and it is great to see a mix of established stars with up and coming talent. Gal Gadot is one of the actresses to watch out for this year, and Triple 9 is just one of her high-profile movies and roles.

When a crew of dirty cops is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist, they realise the only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for "officer down".

The chaos that ensues when a police officer is shot in the line of duty is just the diversion they'll need to do the job, but whether they have the will to kill one of their own is an entirely different matter, triggering a breakneck, action-packed finale tangled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.

The trailers hint that we are going to be treated to a film that is packed with twists and turns, as well as some interesting and complex characters. I cannot wait to see this great cast in action.

- Hail, Caesar! - released 4th March

It is always exciting when a Joel and Ethan Coen movie is on the horizon and it is no wonder that some of Hollywood's biggest stars have flocked to work with the Oscar winners.

The Coen brothers have penned the screenplay as well as being in the director's chair in what is their first feature since the success of Inside Llewyn Davis back in 2014.

Hail, Caesar! sees them reunite with Josh Brolin and George Clooney - with whom they worked on No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading. The duo take on the central roles of Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix and actor Baird Whitlock.

Brolin and Clooney are joined on the cast list by Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill, and Dolph Lundgren.

Set during the latter years of Hollywood's Golden Age, the movie follows a fixer who is trying to keep some of the biggest actors in line... that job is made even more difficult when one of them is kidnapped whilst filming his latest movie.

It is great to see Joel and Ethan Coen return to the comedy genre and Hail, Caesar! could be one of their best films yet.

- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - released 25th March

2016 is a year that belongs to the comic book movie as there are some big and very exciting films in this genre heading our way - personally, I am looking forward to them all.

All of them boast impressive cast list as directors and studios have pulled out all the stops to make it one of the best years for this film genre.

Dawn of Justice comes after the success of Man of Steel and sees Henry Cavill reprise the role of Superman. Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon and Laurence Fishburne are back as Lois Lane, Martha Kent, General Zod and Perry White.

However, there are some big new additions to the cast list as we will see Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Momoa, and Jeremy Irons take on the roles of Batman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Aquaman, and Alfred for the very first time.

Fearing the actions of a god-like superhero left unchecked, Gotham City's own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis's most revered, modern-day saviour, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs.

Dawn of Justice sees Zack Snyder back in the director's chair for his first feature film since Man of Steel.

- Captain America: Civil War - released 29th April

When it comes to 2016 movies, there is none that I am looking forward to more than Captain America: Civil War, which will kick off the Phase Three of Marvel movies in major style.

It is the third solo Captain America movie and the first time that we have seen this popular character on the big screen since Avengers: Age of Ultron last year. This is the second Captain America film for Anthony and Joe Russo, who steered The Winter Soldier to critical and commercial success in 2014.

Chris Evans reprises the title role and we will see Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, and Sebastian Stan return to the Captain America franchise as they reprise their roles as Black Widow, Falcon, and Winter Soldier.

But we are going to see Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Paul Rudd step into the franchise for the first time as they are back as Iron Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and Ant-Man. We are also going to see Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland introduced as Black Panther and Spider-Man.

Civil War sees Captain America and Iron Man go head to head after the introduction of an act regulating superhuman activity. The Avengers are torn as they are forced to choose sides.

There really is a lot going on in Captain America: Civil War with many different character and storylines to explore and develop as we head toward Avengers: Infinity War.

Other great ensemble casts include, Spotlight, Suicide Squad, The Magnificent Seven, Star Trek Beyond and X-Men: Apocalypse.

by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Digital printer producer Epson will host its second annual Epson Digital Couture Show on February 9 in advance of Fashion Week in New York City.Showcasing 11 designers' collections created using Epson's state-of-the-art textile printing solutions; this runway experience is built around the theme, 'Harmony and Peace through Fashion.'

Digital printer producer Epson will host its second annual Epson Digital Couture Show on February 9 in advance of Fashion Week in New York City. #

The Epson Digital Couture event will showcase the design freedom, efficiencies and capabilities of Epson's digital printing technologies for the fashion and textile industry, an Epson press release stated.Through its subsidiaries, For.Tex, a marketer of textile inks and Robustelli, a manufacturer of digital textile printers, Epson will also showcase an assortment of high-quality textile samples during the event.These relationships uniquely position Epson to further accelerate the growth of the global textile printing business, the company added in the press release.Digital technology has changed every industry it's touched, and now it's revolutionising the fashion industry, said Keith Kratzberg, executive vice president, Epson America.The Epson Digital Couture event will showcase the amazing creative potential and stunning colour reproduction that designers are able to achieve using Epson's textile printing technology, he too added.Today this is a $7.5 billion market projected to grow more than 34 per cent worldwide and a tremendous opportunity for Epson and its partners, Kratzberg informed.According to Epson, its dye-sublimation and direct-to-garment technologies enable limitless design possibilities across the textile and fashion industry.The end result is original prints of the highest quality unique to each designer on fabrics that can define and convey their signature style, it stated.Agustin Chacon, Epson America's vice president of international marketing said, Epson's digital textile printing technologies provide fashion designers with the flexibility to produce ultra-creative designs. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
American brand Nautica, a leading global lifestyle brand for modern nautical style, is shifting course with a re-imagined take on its image. Nautica's new approach to design and marketing celebrates the brand's roots in New York City and its established nautical heritage through its new message: "Inspired by the sea, designed in the city," it said in a press release.Two years ago the Nautica team embarked on a brand journey interviewing over 15,000 people worldwide in an effort to better address the needs of its target consumer and refine their brand positioning. The results will enable the brand to resonate more with the target consumer, broaden its reach, and differentiate itself from other fashion brands.

American brand Nautica, a leading global lifestyle brand for modern nautical style, is shifting course with a re-imagined take on its image. Nautica's#

"By concentrating on our target consumer and having a clearly articulated brand positioning, Nautica is truly being reimagined for a more modern, sophisticated take on nautical style," said Karen Murray, President of Nautica. "Unwavering focus on our consumer's desires has helped us refocus the brand's design and messaging to meet their needs in regards to style and sophistication. Our new advertising campaign is inspired by, and speaks to, our target's versatile lifestyle."Starting with the Nautica Spring 2016 Collection, consumers will see an extended range of nautically inspired looks and styles that can be worn day-to-night. Infusing more neutrals, such as blacks, whites and tans, in addition to the brighter colors the brand is known for, adds more tonal pieces that allow for more versatile wearing occasions.The men's selection will offer updated outerwear in new fabrications, such as high-twist poly and water repellent cotton nylon as well as new elements such as engineered pockets and inverted pleats. More wovens, sweaters, sport coats and pants have been added to help consumers build head-to-toe looks.The women's line will include timeless pieces that are versatile. Consumer can expect to see day-to-night staples, like chambray shift dresses, tailored trousers, and modern jumpsuits, available in a feminine mix of neutrals and sea glass shades, the release said.As the brand moves into Fall 2016, consumers can look forward to even more design updates, with the first runway debut of the brand's new direction at New York Fashion Week: Men's this February.To serve the target consumer and build experience around the new positioning, a newly redesigned store concept has been created. The Nautica Cityscape concept, unveiled in Barcelona and Prague in late 2015, celebrates where the city meets the sea with a reimagined nautical environment, including a more sophisticated color palette, natural white oak flooring, and a redesigned storefront. Two US stores are planned to open this year. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Differently-abled people in Bangladesh may now have a better chance to join the country 's work force after the 'Bangladesh Business and Disability Network' said it would give people with different abilities a better chance to join the workforce while contributing to economic growth.At an event held in Dhaka on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Employer's Federation (BEF) and International Labour Organization (ILO) with the support of Canada, brought together private sector employers, especially those involved in promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, to discuss the establishment of a 'Bangladesh Business and Disability Network.' The initiative is also backed by the Bangladesh Government, the ILO said in a press release.

Differently-abled people in Bangladesh may now have a better chance to join the country's work force after the 'Bangladesh Business and Disability #

Our Ministry is committed to helping people with disabilities of working age improve their skills but the private sector will have to create the employment. We will support organizations that empower people with different abilities to earn their own livelihoods and contribute to economic growth, said Md. Mujibul Haque, State Minister, Ministry of Labor and Employment.Inspired by the success of ILO's Global Business and Disability Network (GBDN) and other national networks, ILO aims to support BEF to increase the number of employers with people with disabilities in their workforce. During the event, a committee was formed to give shape to the Network and define its function and operation modality.Bangladeshi employers who have hired people with disabilities speak highly of their performance, loyalty, productivity, retention, regularity in attendance and overall workplace performance, said Salahuddin Kasem Khan, Managing Director, A.K.Khan & Companies and President of the BEF.Also speaking at the event, Kishore Kumar Singh, Senior Skills Development Specialist, ILO, said, Enhancing job opportunities for people from underprivileged groups, including people with disabilities, makes it possible for the nation to recognize their potential. We are excited to see the private sector's enthusiasm to create such opportunities.Given prevalent misconceptions about hiring those with disabilities, the Network will need to highlight experiences of champions  Bangladeshi employers who have hired disabled people  to encourage others to do the same. KEYA Group, Square Group, Viyellatex, Renata and BEXIMCO are excellent examples of such champions. Donors, government stakeholders, business associations, disability organizations and others were also present to support the initiative.Our role in this Network will be to encourage companies to learn about how to make their workplaces more inclusive from others who have already successfully employed persons with disabilities. The Network will facilitate linkages with disability organizations and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions training persons with disabilities, said Farooq Ahmed, Secretary, BEF.
As India's exports continue to fall, the Commerce Ministry has solicited specific suggestions from exporters which could be taken up with various ministries, including Finance, to improve ease of doing business and boost waning exports.Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought specific inputs to reverse the negative trend in exports during her interaction with the representatives of 12 export promotion councils (EPCs) in New Delhi, according to an agency report

As India's exports continue to fall, the Commerce Ministry has solicited specific suggestions from exporters which could be taken up with various #

"The Commerce Ministry will follow up with environment, textiles, customs and finance for easing out of few more things related to export promotion so that there is an ease of doing business from the exporters point of view," Sitharaman said after the meeting.She asked the EPCs to inform the ministry on "what is not happening and what should ideally happen" on the respective area. The textile industry is one of the sectors hit by the export slowdown.The minister also asked the council members to talk with their respective members and "seek specific interventions from the Ministry based on their inputs."The minister assured them that the issues raised by them would be sorted out through discussions with the stakeholders concerned.Sitharaman assured that her ministry would look into all the issues raised by the EPCs and will also approach External Affairs Ministry and Finance Ministry for customs related issues.Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia who also addressed exporters, said that the review of the India-Asean FTA has already been initiated.During the meeting, several issues were flagged by the exporters including the impact of India-Asean FTA on the countrys exports, non-tariff barriers of other countries, currency volatility, special economic zones, problems in dealing with customs authorities and service tax.Indias exports contracted for the 13th month in a row, dipping about 15 per cent in December to $22.2 billion due to steep decline in engineering and petroleum shipments.India's total exports during April-December period declined by 18.06 per cent to $196.6 billion. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India
HON MINISTER NAIQAMU AT OPENING OF (REDD +) REGIONAL INCEPTION WORKSHOP





Thank You.

 Regional country representatives Officials of SPC/GIZ development partners Workshop facilitators Ladies and gentlemanI am delighted to be invited to officiate in the opening of this Regional Inception Workshop for REDD+ and Forest Conservation in the Pacific Island Countries. As a government of Fiji representative, it is only appropriate that I warmly welcome regional participants and I sincerely hope that you will be able to contribute and share ideas that will assist in shaping the way forward for regional forest sector development in the areas of REDD+ and Forest Conservation.The importance of Forests is now being recognised and elevated significantly in the international negotiation and action around climate change, especially the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation.REDD+ is a global mitigation initiative under the United Nations Framework Conventions for Climate Change [UNFCCC] to fight Climate Change. Most people are now aware that the worlds hunger for energy from fossil fuel is leading to catastrophic climate change.What is also becoming increasingly clear is the effect that forests have on the climate and the climate has on the forests and how changes in one system will affect the other. Forest plays an important role in regulating the earths temperature and weather patterns by storing large quantities of carbon and water. This regulatory function has a profound effect on both the local and global climate.REDD+ is now considered as the most inexpensive means of addressing climate change problems through emission reduction by sources and emission removals by sinks. As a mechanism under the UN convention REDD+ had for a number of years now being heavily discussed in the various level under the convention.We are aware of the Bali Action Plan, Cancun safeguards and the Warsaw framework on REDD that specifies appropriate guidelines on the implementation of REDD+ actions.Under the Fiji Forest Policy, the Forestry Department is tasked to cooperate with other public agencies, national and international NGOs in attracting bilateral and multilateral assistance for partnership within the framework of Climate Change.In 2015, Fiji received the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility [FCPF] grant of $US3.6million for its readiness program and we are hoping to be ready to receive potential Emission Reduction [ER] result based incentive after the preparation phase which will end by 2019. Fiji is hoping that by 2020 we are in the position to receive result based payment through the Carbon Fund mechanisms.In April 2015, Fiji presented its Early Idea Notes through the Carbon Fund committee and was further invited to develop a full Emission Reduction Program Idea Note (ER-PIN) by September, 2015. Following that, Fiji was selected along with 20 other REDD+ countries, into the Carbon Fund pipeline by the 15th of October, 2015.This may be good news for Fiji, however, it also brings in new challenges since a lot of work needs to be done, both analytical work, policy development and institutional arrangement. We will have to develop our Forest Reference Emission Level, Monitoring Reporting and Verification, Strategic Environmental and social Assessment. We will also need to determine our national ER programs that will contribute to Fijis ER ambition.Government cannot do this alone and so we need to engage our relevant stakeholders including NGOs, CSOs, CBOs, regional and international development partners and academia and other government agencies. This is also important as most of the drivers are from outside of the forest sector and so we need to ensure that effective changes will be made through their engagement with the program.The Fijian government is also providing fund to support the administration of the REDD+ program as well as to support pilot site development and we hope to continue to secure predictable financing from both government as well as bilateral and multilateral arrangement in the future. This is highly relevant if we are to progress forward with our ER ambition.At this point I wish to acknowledge the involvement of our regional development partner SPC/GIZ in supporting the regional Forestry REDD+ implementation in terms of capacity building as well providing targeted analytical work that will strengthen the development of the national REDD+ program.This inception workshop offers an excellent opportunity to critically evaluate the achievements over the past phase and identify strategic areas to work on during the next phase.I hope that the outcomes of this workshop will add value in supporting the implementation of our REDD+ readiness phase and in providing targeted support as we move towards results-based payment in to the future.I wish you all the best with your deliberation.
HON PM BAINIMARAMA - REMARKS AT THE COMMISSIONING OF THE VANUAKULA CROSSING





Vinaka vakalevu.

Ni sa bula vinaka and good morning to you all.It gives me great pleasure to be back in the Western Division and to commission the Vanuakula Crossing, here in Ra, this morning.Today we have before us a project that will make a big difference in the lives of nine villages.Government has spent $2.1 million to build this crossing through the Fiji Roads Authority. The crossing has been designed and constructed to last a long time and to withstand harsh weather and flood conditions. As a result, nine villages here in the Tikina  Nasau can enjoy reliable access to the main roads. The villages of Vanuakula, Nasau, Nabumakita, Nukulau, Nauria, Ovalau, Savu, Nasukamai, and Nailuva now have unlimited access to transport networks.And most importantly, your children will no longer have to wade across this stream every day to get to school.Until now, villagers in the Tikina  Nasau were forced to cross the river as best you could, picking your way carefully through the water and across the rocks. Naturally, the villagers here were especially worried about the vulnerability of your young children trying to cross the river. No child should have to face that danger in this day and age. Not in Fiji. Not anywhere.Today we celebrate the fact that those days are gone forever in this community.In the past week, I have been speaking out about how important it is to ensure that the people in our rural and maritime communities have proper access to education, healthcare, water and good roads, much like our urban dwellers. It takes a special effort to serve rural communities. But it is worth the cost, and it must be done.We must give our children quality education, and of course, they cant get that education if they cant reach schoolevery day, no matter what the weather brings.Ladies and gentlemen,We just made an agreement between the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development, the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Environment and the Fiji Roads Authority to focus resources and attention together on the major roadwork needed in rural areas over the next three years. The Fiji Roads Authority will work closely with the Divisional Commissioners Office and these ministries to pick up the pace in developing and rehabilitating our rural roads. We will devote $50 million a year to increase and accelerate our major rural roads programme. This is on top of general maintenance of existing rural roads that will have a new focus in the coming year.By bringing these ministries together with the divisional commissioners, we have set priorities and will work through some of the issues that can be impediments to quickly building and repairing roadslike accessing gravel and obtaining other relevant approvals. This will help us pick up that pace and give our rural communities the roads they need more quickly.Good roads empower communities. They help our rural communities contribute more to the national economy and take advantage of resources that exist elsewhere in Fiji.Ladies and gentlemen,As you know, the quality and condition of our roads and the reach of our highway system are very important to me. Our roads are a critical national priority and we have continued to give major funding for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance every year.Certainly, our roads were in a terrible state after years of neglect. We have spent the last few years not just remedying the mistakes of the past, but trying to create a new standard for our roads.My vision is for Fijians one day to see good roads as something to expect, not something to hope for, no matter where they live. And I know we can realise that vision.Today, we took one step in that direction, with a project that was completed on time and under budget by more than a half million dollars. That is money we can now use for other rural road projects, and its the way government should operate.This will be the future of Fiji, when the peace and simplicity of living in a rural area is not paid at the price of isolation and poverty. And that day will come because we will have built the good schools, extended the electrical grid, developed a reliable water supplyand of course, because we have put our focused and single-minded attention on our rural roads.Ladies and gentlemen,It is clear that Fiji is not the same country we were at our independence, or even the same country we were ten years ago. We are making our own future. And that is why I am asking the people of Fiji to help us adopt a new flag.I love our flag. I have served under it with pride as a military officer and your prime minister. But while that flag took us out of the past, I would like us to have a flag that takes us into the futureto where we are going rather than from where we have been. The new flagalways with our beloved Fiji bluecan stand for the kind of people we are, the kind of nation we aspire to be, and the kind of country we will leave to these children.We have established a transparent process for choosing a new flag, and I ask you all to participate. We are accepting design submissions until 29 February, and then we will select five designs to put before the people. There will be a national consultation during which time you will be able to tell us which design you like best.I believe we will love whichever design we choose as much as we have grown to love our current flagbecause it stands for Fiji. It stands for us. The new flag will tell the world that Fiji is a modern country, a leader in the Pacific, and a country on the move.Ladies and gentlemen,I am pleased for you today because this project will make a big difference in your lives. I am pleased for your children. I am pleased for the opportunity these crossings will bring to this area. And most of all, I am pleased to commission these magnificent structures that form the Vanuakula and Waivaka Crossings.
HON PM BAINIMARAMA REMARKS AT THE OPENING OF NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS MATASO DISTRICT SCHOOL





Thank you. Vinaka vakalevu.

Bula vinaka and a good afternoon to you all.Its a pleasure to be here in Mataso on the second week of my tour of the Western Division. Last week, I decided to extend my stay with you here in the West, and Im certainly glad that I did. When I travel out to the countryside, its not just to commission projects. I do this because I want to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears the challenges you face. I do this to understand the hopes you have for your community and your children. And I do this to talk about how development can bring Fijians together.Of course, I also do enjoy commissioning projects because that is one of the ways government works for people, and thats what we were elected to do: work for the people. And one way we do that is by providing the infrastructure, projects and services that your people deserve.I say deserve, because these projects reflect the great work youve done in the West contributing to the sustained growth of our economy. Fiji is doing very well, and my Government has laid the foundation to create jobs, build our businesses and attract foreign investment. But it is the Fijian people who have made that a reality. The Fijian people in places just like Mataso, who have put in the sweat and effort to build our nation and help position Fiji as a regional leader with a dynamic economy.That has to continue. We have to keep working hard, and the new development coming to the West will make the work you do bring even greater benefits down the road.Ladies and gentlemen, there are many ways we can help ourselves build a better Fiji, but I believe the best way is by investing in our children. The world is changing more every day, and the skills and knowledge that we have today may not be all that our children will need when it is their turn to work hard for Fiji. We need to make sure that when that day comes, their education has prepped them properly for the competitive global marketplace they will navigate.Im here at the Mataso District School to open new school buildings  giving the children of Mataso new, modern facilities where they can learn and grow. Im officially opening a new boys dormitory, a restroom facility, and a renovated school block, dormitory, kitchen and dining area. These projects have cost $211,843 and together, these buildings and upgrades have transformed your school into a more modern, sophisticated institution.The students here at Mataso can now build on, what I understand to be, a stellar academic reputation. But even great results can always be greater, so I hope you will continue to perform in the classroom and achieve great things -- with these new facilities, you have the tools you need to do just that.In 1952, the elders of Mataso built this school so that their children wouldnt have to suffer the long, tedious walks to the Natilevu and Nabua districts. Over the years, the school has undergone several upgrades and improvements, and today it stands as a landmark for this community. The original students at this school are now seeing their grandchildren attend the very place where they learned to read and write and understand the world. With these improvements, many more will continue to receive quality education here at the Mataso District School.To our students here today: these new buildings have been built because we believe in you. We believe in what you can accomplish when you have the rights tools and facilities. We are confident you have the ability to realize whatever you set out to accomplish. So respect this new building, keep working hard and be the best you can be.I am sorry that you have had to begin the year without the new textbooks that you need, but I can assure you that your government is working overtime to make sure they are delivered to you, and you will have them by the end of the month. And I promise you that this will not happen again. We are doing everything we can to find the source of this problem, and will do whatever is necessary to fix it.Ladies and gentlemen,When these children do grow up, it should be in a Fiji that stands for the Fijian people. A Fiji that acknowledges the past and is focused on the future. That is why we are finding a new national flag.The deadline for flag submissions has been extended until 29 February. In March, we will announce the final five flag designs and consult the public on their preferences. Then, on Constitution day, which is 7 September, we will raise a new flag that captures all we are as a country. A new flag that our children can look at and say, This is Fiji. This is who we are.Every additional voice that brings ideas or opinions to the table, will make our new flag even better. So I encourage all of you to submit designs and participate in our public consultations. This will be a flag for everyone, so it is only right that everyone have the chance to have their say.I hope you will use these new buildings well, and continue to build on the proud history of this institution. Your students have an opportunity in front of them, an opportunity they are capable to seize. But that takes hard work and that takes dedication. But I promise that if you work hard, we will have an even more impressive, new Fiji waiting for you to enjoy.
HON PM BAINIMARAMA SPEECH AT THE CLOSING ADDRESS FOR THE PARLIAMENTARIANS POLICY DIALOGUE FORUM





Bula vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all.It is a pleasure to participate in this important meeting and to speak with you today about a subject that I am very passionate about.Improving the status of women in Fiji across the board has long been a priority for my government. Gender equality is guaranteed in our Constitution. And to make that a reality, government must find ways for women to take full advantage of the other rights that our Constitution guarantees to all citizens including rights like education, health, economic participation and a clean environment. Everything that Government does should also empower and raise the status of women in our society.We need to do this because traditional roles of women have been changing for a long time, yet the expectations of our society are only slowly catching up. In fact, we could say that womens roles are not really changing at all; they are just expanding. Many more women work outside the home, in everything from wage work to artisanry to small business to professional careers, but they still end up having to fulfil all the responsibilities of the homechild bearing, shopping, cooking, cleaning and dealing with the requirements of the schools. They actually have two jobs, and a very long workday.Last September, during the United Nations General Assembly, I attended the Global Leaders Meeting on Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment. I reported on our progress in changing laws, policy, practices and governance mechanisms to support womens equality and to punish and prevent violence against women.We may have a lot of work to do, but I believe we have begun to make a huge difference in the lives of women. And I believe we have established a strong legal and political foundation that we can build on.Section 26 of the Constitution guarantees equality and prohibits unfair discrimination in ways that were previously unheard of in Fiji. It guarantees that no one will suffer unfair discrimination because of culture, social origin, sex, gender identity and expression, social or health status, religion, conscience, marital status or pregnancy. These unprecedented constitutional rights protect women in a comprehensive wayin the home, the workplace and before the courts. It strengthens womens health, womens education, and womens economic opportunities.Even before the new Constitution was adopted, we removed the archaic rules that required that the prosecution of rape had the additional burden of corroboration. This made it nearly impossible to convict a person of rape. This legal requirement was based on the old common law rational that when a woman says no she actually means yes.We also amended our laws to recognise the rights of women in de facto relationships, in particular under the amended Family Law Act and new FNPF laws.My government introduced Fijis first specific domestic violence law. It allows any person to apply for a restraining order against perpetrators of domestic violence. And it requires that those applications be treated with urgency at any time of the day. The police are legally obligated to enforce measures to promote the safety and well-being of victims of domestic violence, particularly women and children.So we have tossed away or amended the laws that once offered women almost no protection.We now monitor the enforcement of the Domestic Violence Decree more effectively, thanks to official cooperation between the National Womens Machinery and the Fiji Police Force. We also seek to work with the respective non-governmental organisations. After all, we must collaborate to rid ourselves of this scourge. Not get in the blame game.It is absolutely critical for the police to understand and be sensitive to the special dangers faced by women and the degrading nature of the crimes that they suffer. The police need to continue to develop their responsiveness and expertise in relation to crimes of sexual violence and abuse. Our ability to obtain convictions and eventually end the atmosphere of impunity that has existed around domestic violence and rape will greatly improve along with our forensic capabilities and the recruitment and advancement of more gender sensitive police officers.I have said many times that adopting the proper laws and policies are only the beginning. Laws and policies are important in changing behaviour and creating awareness, but they dont solve the problem by themselves. I am sure that all of us would rather end rape and domestic violence forever rather than send offenders to prison. Every case of rape and domestic violence that is tried in our courts represents a failurea failure to stem this terrible problem in our society, a failure to change attitudes and behaviours, a failure to protect women.This problem will only be resolved by changing our culture. It is a fact that violence against women represents what I like to call the ugly underbelly of our culture. We all know it. It has been with us for a long time, and it weakens us like an infected woundslowly and progressively. Although as a society we surely lament it, I believe we have also tolerated it. Many people believe it is inevitable; it is the way things have always been. Men are beasts, the thinking goes, and from time to time they will act like beasts.But I will not acceptand we as Fijians cannot acceptthat one part of our population is condemned to live in a semi-savage state while another part is condemned to live in a state of terror. That parents must fear for their daughters when they leave the house. That husbands must fear for their wives when they are not together. That brothers must fear for their sisters when they leave the house. And that every woman must fear what danger lurks around the corner, or outside her home, or in her place of work.This scourgeand it is a scourgewill only end when the man who beats his wife or partner is ashamed to show his face on the street or in the community. It will only end when friends and family turn their backs on the rapist. Shame is a powerful motivator in our society, and we must use it to stop this violence. We must teach candidly against all forms of violence toward women and children. We must teach it in our places of worship, in our schools, and in our communities. We must insist on a culture of equality and respect for women that encompasses the home, the workplace, the government, and the street.I also believe that womens economic empowerment has a strong role to play in ending violence against women. Women who are not economically dependent on an abusive husband are better able to take control of their situation.But in a more general sense, elevating the status of women increases their own sense of worth and slowly changes the perception in society that women are somehow inferiorand that perception alone is an invitation to violence.That is why we look to a growing economy to raise womens status. Frankly, we cannot build the kind of modern, competitive economy we want without harnessing the energy, ambition and talent of women.According to the 2015 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, in Fiji together with Colombia and the Philippines, are there are more female than male senior officials, managers and legislators. The ratio in Fiji is 51% to 49%.I am very proud that today the Honourable Dr. Jiko Luveni, an accomplished dentist, is the Speaker of Parliament. Viniana Namosimalua is the Secretary General to Parliament. Susan Kiran Dayal is the Secretary to Cabinet. All of them hold these positions simultaneously. Of course, the Leader of Opposition is a woman too. Two Cabinet Ministers and two Assistant Ministers are women, and I think it is significant that two of those womenMinister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Mereseini Vuniwaqa and Assistant Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment Lorna Edenoccupy positions that would traditionally be considered mens portfolios. So we are breaking down those walls, eliminating the idea that women can take only the caring portfolioslike education, health, social welfare and womenbut not the other portfolios.I have been traveling the country distributing micro grants to small business owners, and I am impressed by the number of women entrepreneurs who are qualifying for those grants. In one round of grants to 10 districts, 90% of the recipients were women. And the ratio of women to men continues to be quite high. And we are also committed to long-term funding of the National Womens Expo, to connect women entrepreneurs and artisans with domestic and overseas markets.I am personally committed to making gender equality part of our culture, our identity and our national reputation. The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation is taking the lead in this respect.Every citizen can play a part by speaking outnot only to stop this physical violence, but also to end demeaning treatment of women and children, which is where much of this violence begins.I know you have learned a great deal in this forum about the links between gender inequality and violence against women. Today, I am calling for unity on the issue of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and children. What we do now will bear fruit in the lives of our daughters and granddaughters. As a father and grandfather, I want the women I care about to live a life of freedom, choice, adventure and achievement. And I want the same for all women in Fiji.So let us make 2016 a year of leadership and a year of getting things done. Let us all commit to do what we can to make the implementation of our National Gender Policy a reality. This is the right thing to do for all women and children, and it is the right thing to do for the development of our great nation.I want to thank everyone involved in organizing this dialogue and for inviting me to officially close the Parliamentarians Policy Dialogue.Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.
Yesterday night, (February 2,2016) NDTV conducted 'NDTV Indian Of The Year Award Ceremony' and stars including Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and many more were present at the event.

In today's edition of definitive proof that actress Deepika Padukone is absolutely the undisputed 'Queen' of Bollywood and once again the lady bags the NDTV Indian Actor Of The Year Award for the film Piku and guess who was putting so much of effort to make her evening more special? Her alleged boyfriend, Ranveer Singh!

Big B With Deepika Actress Deepika Padukone accepting the the NDTV Indian Actor Of The Year Award from her Piku co-star, Amitabh Bachchan. She truly deserves this moment! Awww! And adorable moment of Ranveer Singh & Deepika Padukone caught on camera. Both of them enjoying the

event to the fullest. Amitabh On Deepika Mr Senior Bachchan & Ms Padukone share a warm hug with each other. Amitabh praises Deepika by saying, "I get to learn from my co-actors. They come very well-prepared. Deepika is improving with every film." Bromance Here comes the glimpse of Ranveer Singh-Irrfan Khan's bromance. Aren't they looking super-cool in this picture? Deepika With An Award Deepika's Piku co-star, Irrfan Khan also praised her and said, "Deepika's character when you read the

script was a very cranky character. But she turned that crankiness into such a beautiful and endearing Jaya-Deepika A candid moment of Deepika Padukone with Jaya Bachchan, captured on camera. Gorgeous Deepika Deepika was looking very elegant in a cream embroidered sareee and that tint of red roses are making her look more gorgeous! Group Selfie A group selfie of Deepika Padukone on the stage with members of NDTV. Ranveer-Amitabh A candid click of Ranveer Singh & Amitabh Bachchan. Ranveer said getting praised by Mr Bachchan makes him more happy rather than receiving an award. 'Entertainer Of The Year' The Bajirao Mastani actor received the 'Entertainer Of The Year' Award. He was looking truly a gentleman at the event.

Yes, the actor praised Deepika in his own unique way by singing praises of his lady love. While praising Deepika, Ranveer said, "You know, the day you got to go and act and do a scene with Deepika, there is just no worry. She is so generous as a co-actor you can trust her to the degree that you just look into her eyes and connect and the scene will just happen." When asked what 'scene' he is talking about, Deepika chirped, "I don't know which scene he is talking about!".

Ranveer then clarified his statement with a song and also wished her for grand Hollywood debut, "Nazar jo teri laage, main deewani ho gayi...Deepika we are really proud of you. Since you are leaving tonight, to go and shoot your big Hollywood action blockbuster, we all wish you all the best. May you conquer this new frontier and make us proud like you always have!"

On the other side, Amitabh Bachchan received the 'Lifetime Achievement' Award. While Irrfan Khan and Ranveer Singh won 'Male Actor Of The Year' and 'Entertainer Of The Year' Awards, respectively! Check out all the candid moments of the stars in the above photo-slider!
Yes you read it right! Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members on February 3, protested against the ongoing shooting of Shahrukh Khan's film Raees in Bhuj for his remarks in 'Intolerant India''.

According to PTI, ''Around 20-30 VHP activists had handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film on Tuesday.''

Raees Shahrukh Khan's Raees will release on this Eid along with Salman Khan's Sultan. (In Pic-Shahrukh Khan posing with a fan on the sets of Raees) Sultan Rumour has it that Salman Khan might postpone the release of Sultan. (In Pic-Superstar Shahrukh Khan snapped on the sets of Raees) Mahira Khan Pakistani actress Mahira Khan is making her Bollywood debut with Shahrukh Khan's Raees. (In Pic-Shahrukh Khan snapped on the sets of his film) SRK-Mahira According to recent reports Mahira Khan is playing the role of Shahrukh Khan's wife in the movie. (In Pic-Shahrukh Khan clicked on the sets of Raees) Raees Story The film is set in 1980s Gujarat. It tells the story of the eponymous cruel and clever bootlegger (Shahrukh Khan). In Pic-Shahrukh Khan) Production Raees is directed by Rahul Dholakia and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Gauri Khan and Farhan Akhtar. (In Pic-Shahrukh Khan with a fan) SRK The movie faced some protest in Bhuj recently because of Shahrukh Khan's comment on 'Intolerant India'. (In Pic-A still from Raees)

''They protested outside the district collector's office pressing for the same demand. They shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.''

Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) M B Parmar confirmed the news and said. "From the Collector's office they wanted to go to the place where the shooting is on, which is on the outskirts of the Bhuj city, but we have stopped them and dispersed them."

Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said, "He should think, living in this country which gave him name, fame and riches; if he goes on speaking about non-existent intolerance, the VHP will never forgive.''

Shahrukh Khan on his 50th birthday had told a leading daily, ''It is stupid to be intolerant and this is our biggest issue, not just an issue... Religious intolerance and not being secular in this country is the worst kind of crime that you can do as a patriot,"

The actor further added, "People put words into the air even before thinking and here is a secular country. Here's a country perhaps for the last 10 years that is on the cusp of going beyond what we think."

"We may talk about freedom of speech, but people come outside my house and throw stones. We will never be a superpower if we are not going to believe that all religions are equal,'' he said.

Also Read: ADORABLE PICTURES: Shahrukh Khan Spotted On A Lunch Date With Gauri Khan, Suhana & AbRam
For the second year running, FinanceAsia has ranked the finance ministers of the Asia-Pacific regions 12 largest economies.

Bottom of the ranking this year was Malaysia's Najib Razak. For last year's results, click here.

FinanceAsia considers several factors when thinking about how to compare the performance of these men over the past 12 months. The roles responsibilities and powers vary between countries but each minister contributes to fiscal policy and the budget, accesses capital markets, regulates financial institutions, and drives reform. Investor perceptions are one way to view how good a job they are doing, particularly when times are tough.

But the hardest criterion is independence. Most finance ministers serve at the pleasure of their prime ministers, presidents, or military dictators. Their ability to get things done requires political deftness, mastery of policy, sway over the bureaucracy, and the will to fight for the public interest.

And few ministers face as big a challenge to exert their independence as the next minister on our list.

Ranked No11: Apisak Tantivorawong, Thailand

Thailand had a year to forget in 2015. Annual gross domestic product growth was only 2.5%, way below its average.

In large part this was down to the ruling military junta, headed by Prayuth Chan-ocha. Since evicting the government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014, the military government has focused on legitimising its rule while trying to curtail the ongoing popularity and influence of Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former prime minister.

The frail health of the countrys beloved but elderly king and the unpopularity of his son has bolstered this motivation, and while an election is scheduled for 2017 its uncertain the junta will relinquish power.

The result has been falling exports, low consumer confidence, and plummeting foreign investment. Foreign company applications for investment between January and November 2015 fell by 78% from the same period in the previous year, to Bht93.8 billion ($2.59 billion), according to the Board of Investment.

Analysts say Thailands political climate and a dearth of highly educated technical personnel means foreign car manufacturers, which are some of the countrys biggest investors, are considering investing into nearby nations such as Indonesia.

Thailands shifting financial leadership hasnt helped. In August the junta reshuffled its economic council, replacing Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula, the original head, with Somkid Jatusripitak. Additionally, the finance minister, Sommai Phasee, was eased out in favour of Apisak Tantivorawong, former president of Krung Thai Bank.

Apisak appears to have limited influence. Somkid, a former finance minister under the populist Thaksin, is leading the governments economic effort with similar crowd-pleasing tricks to his previous stint in government. For example the government has introduced the Bht100 billion ($2.8 billion) Village Fund, which will offer cheap loans, and it bought 100,000 tonnes of raw rubber at an inflated price of Bht45 a kilo.

These efforts may be popular but they will drain government funds and are unlikely to leave any lasting economic benefit. Thailands economy may grow faster this year but its foundations remain worryingly weak.

The government should really focus on getting large-scale infrastructure projects moving. In fairness, it has earmarked Bht400 billion for this purpose. Some analysts hope the junta can get them done but the country does not have a positive track record for executing in a timely fashion.

The good news? Public debt, at 32.6% of GDP in November, is relatively low.

TOMORROW: An old hand tackles some old problems
China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) underlined its credentials as Chinas most aggressive offshore state-owned acquirer with a $43 billion bid for Syngenta that would, if successful, mark the largest-ever offshore acquisition by a Chinese company.

ChemChina said it had bid $465 per share in cash for all of the equity of the Swiss seed and pesticide maker, as well as offering a special CHF5 dividend to Syngentas shareholders, provided they approve the acquisition.

The offer marks an 18.5% premium to the companys closing CHF392.3 ($385.3) share valuation on February 2 and compares well against the CHF288.50 to CHF435.20 range that the shares have traded in over the past year.

Its a healthy valuation for a company whose sales and profits have been declining amid a global downturn in commodity valuations.

The offer, if permitted, would make ChemChina a truly global player in agricultural chemicals and pesticides. It also underlines the credentials of chairman Ren Jianxin as a major dealmaker who has fervently acted upon Beijings exhortations for its companies to go overseas, build market share, and gain technological expertise.

We are delighted that our friendly and cooperative principle has led to the agreement announced today, Ren said in a press release. He added that he looked forward to Michel Demare remaining as vice chairman of Syngenta and lead independent director, and...to working with [interim chief executive officer] John Ramsay and the management and employees of Syngenta.

ChemChinas share price in Shanghai ended up 3.48% at Rmb5.65 on Wednesday.

Active overseas

ChemChina has already been highly active in overseas markets. Last year it spent $8.98 billion to buy Italian tyre maker Pirelli, a deal that FinanceAsia named M&A of the year.

However, its bid for Syngenta is on another scale entirely. The Swiss company is a big player in the global agrochemical industry. ChemChina is a much smaller player in agrochemicals but it also has divisions in new and speciality chemicals, basic chemicals, petrol processing and refinement, tyre rubber, and chemical equipment.

For ChemChina the bid may live or die on the view taken by European and US regulators. Syngenta is a major provider of seeds and pesticides to the US market. So its possible that the board of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which monitors foreign investment from the perspective of national security, might yet scotch it.

The fact ChemChina is a state-owned enterprise makes the potential acquisition a particularly sensitive one.

The CFIUS board will review whether the deal compromises US food security. If it concludes that it undermines the countrys security it can impose conditions to mitigate those risks or recommend the president block it.

Europes regulators are likely to be more accommodating. Indeed, ChemChina found its acquisition of Pirelli to be relatively simple, helped by the fact the company promised to maintain the existing management of the company.

Similarly, ChemChina said in its press release that it is fully supportive of Syngentas intactness in its operations, management and employees, including keeping its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.

Rival bids

In addition to regulator concerns, ChemChina has opened Syngenta up to opposing bids.

In 2015 US agricultural company Monsanto, which is a shade larger than Syngenta on a revenue basis, mounted a takeover bid for the Swiss company. But its $46 billion effort was rebuffed.

Syngentas share price suffered a steep drop after Monsanto called off its M&A attempt, from which it has not fully recovered.

It is possible that Monsanto could be lured back into bidding, given that ChemChinas bid is slightly smaller than its own tilt at the company. However, worse market conditions and Syngentas hostility to its overtures last year could also stay a rival bid.

An alliance between Monsanto and Syngenta may not make as much sense as one between Syngenta and ChemChina. Both Monsanto and Syngenta have businesses focused upon the production of seeds and pesticides, with the former focusing more on seed production, and the latter on chemicals.

But ChemChina has no seed production at all and its agrichemicals business revenues were $3 billion in 2014, well under the almost-$12 billion recorded by Syngenta.

Strategic value

One factor that is unlikely to overly bother ChemChina is Syngentas unimpressive revenue and profitability of late.

Like most commodity companies, Syngenta has struggled as commodity prices have slumped and hurt revenues. It reported $2.6 billion in sales for the third quarter of 2015, a 12% drop on the same period a year earlier, although the company fell over itself in its earnings report to say that its sales would have been flat had foreign exchange rates been constant.

But Chinas SOEs can often afford to spurn immediate financial performance issues, provided the longer-term strategy of the purchase makes sense. In this instance, Chinas desire to ensure it can better secure high quality seeds and pesticides for itself is likely to trump shorter-term issues of return.

HSBC and China Citic Bank International are advising ChemChina on the acquisition, while Dyalco, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and UBS are Syngentas financial advisers.

Story updated to reflect John Ramsay is Syngenta's interim chief executive officer.
Contacts:

Kelly Butler

Media Relations

+1 972-244-8082

kbutler@ciber.com (mailto:kbutler@Ciber.com)

Scott Kozak

Investor Relations

+1 303-967-1379

skozak@ciber.com (mailto:skozak@ciber.com)

Presbyterian Medical Services Modernizes Finance and

Procurement Processes with Oracle ERP Cloud

Ciber Delivered the Complete Implementation in Less Than Four Months

Greenwood Village, Colo. - February 2, 2016 - Presbyterian Medical Services, a full service health care provider, has transitioned its financial and procurement processes to Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Cloud (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/erp-cloud) with the help of Ciber, a Platinum-level member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), completing the project in only 15 weeks. Presbyterian Medical Services expects the shift to Oracle ERP Cloud to improve patient care and drive better business results via the adoption of standardized best practices, improved operational efficiency and reduced costs, while supporting the provider's growth opportunities.

With its current ERP system phasing out in June of 2016, Presbyterian Medical Services sought a system that met its business requirements, provided personalization and improved access to timely data by allowing employees to log in from anywhere at any time. Ciber deployed Oracle ERP Cloud, including Financials Cloud (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/financials-cloud) and Procurement Cloud (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/procurement-cloud), for Presbyterian Medical Services and will also deploy Oracle Human Capital Management (HCM) Cloud (https://cloud.oracle.com/en_US/hcm-cloud), including global HR and talent management solutions in the coming months.

"The project will create a modernized and integrated system across our enterprise, while reducing support costs by moving to the cloud," said Steve Hansen, CEO of Presbyterian Medical Services.

"Presbyterian Medical Services will have greater, enterprise-wide visibility into its core financials and purchasing patterns from the beginning of their fiscal year because of the joint efforts of Presbyterian Medical Services and the Ciber team. We are pleased to have had a succinct implementation, helping accelerate Presbyterian Medical Services's time to value," said Ciber Vice President, Oracle Client Care, Garth Carter.

About Presbyterian Medical Services

Presbyterian Medical Services is a full service health care provider serving the state of New Mexico and its many multicultural communities. In addition to a full array of primary and specialty health services, PMS provides 24x7x365 emergency/crisis services and on-site clinic pharmacies. PMS also offers a comprehensive array of children's services, home health care, hospice and services for the developmentally disabled. PMS has approximately 1,200 employees, most of whom are located in New Mexico. PMS has a limited number of employees residing and working in Missouri, Colorado, New York, Virginia and Maine.

About Ciber

Ciber is a global IT consulting company with some 6,500 employees in North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific, and is approaching $1 billion in annual business. Ciber partners with organizations to develop technology strategies and solutions that deliver tangible business value. Founded in 1974, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CBR). For more information, visit www.ciber.com (http://www.ciber.com) and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ciberinc), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciber?trk=top_nav_home), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ciber), Google Plus (https://plus.google.com/113430119695468023800/about) and our blog (http://blog.ciber.com/).

###

 2016 Ciber, Inc. All rights reserved. Ciber, the Ciber logo, and the names and marks associated with Ciber's products are trademarks and/or service marks of Ciber, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.





This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Ciber, Inc via Globenewswire



HUG#1983257


Australia has increased exportation of Eucalyptus chips by 58% in three years to reach a record-high in 2015, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Shipments to pulp mills in China have gone up substantially and the costs for chips landed in this growing market have increased the past two years to practically equal those of chip costs delivered to Japan.

Eucalyptus chip export volumes from Australia were up 15% in 2015 year-over-year to reach a record-high of 5.2 million tons, valued at almost one billion Australian dollars. Shipments have increased for three consecutive years and were in 2015 about 58% higher than they were in 2012.

The major development in wood chip trade during past few years has been the increase in exports of hardwood chips to China. Back in 2010, chip shipments to China only accounted for about 13% of the total export volume from Australia. In 2015, however, more than half of the chip exports were destined for China and the country has surpassed Japan as the major destination for Australian Eucalyptus chips, as reported in the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).

In the past Japan was the major consumer of hardwood chips from Australia, accounting for 80% of the export volume as late as 2010. Over the past five years, export volumes have fallen from about 3.6 million tons in 2010 to an estimated 1.9 million tons in 2015.

Australia has not only increased shipments the past few years, but the country has also been climbing from being the world's fourth largest exporter of hardwood chips in 2012 to trail only Vietnam in 2015 in terms of total exports. About a third of the world's traded hardwood chips are currently originating from Eucalyptus plantation forests in Australia. Other major chip-supplying countries include Vietnam, Chile, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil.

Another noteworthy development is how the costs for Australian chips delivered to pulp mills in China and Japan have changed over the past few years. During much of the period from 2011 to 2013, the price discrepancy for chips landed in China were about US$50/odmt lower than chips delivered to Japan. However, since early 2014 the delivered costs converged between the major consuming countries of Australian hardwood fiber, and they have remained practically the same since then only changing marginally in 2015.

Global lumber, sawlog and pulpwood market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com

Wood Resources International LLC (WRI), an internationally recognized forest industry-consulting firm established in 1987, publishes two quarterly timber price reports and have subscribers in over 30 countries. The Wood Resource Quarterly, established in 1988, is a 52-page market report and includes sawlog prices, pulpwood and wood chip price and market commentary to developments in global timber, biomass and forest industry. The other report, the North Americam Wood Fiber Review, tracks prices of sawlogs, pulpwood, wood chips and biomass in most regions of Canada and the US.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160202006720/en/

Contacts:

Wood Resources International LLC

Hakan Ekstrom

info@wri-ltd.com

www.woodprices.com
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.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday. The Australian dollar fell to an 8-day low of 1.5606 against the euro and a 6-day low of 83.74 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5508 and 84.42, respectively. Against the New Zealand and the U.S. dollars, the aussie dropped to nearly a 2-week low of 1.0722 and a 1-week low of 0.7003 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0801 and 0.7037, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.59 against the euro, 82.00 against the yen, 1.06 against the kiwi and 0.69 against the greenback. 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.
BUDAPEST, Hungary, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Molecular assays developer NEUMANN Diagnostics Ltd. today unveiled its CONFIDENCE' molecular test portfolio, setting a new standard in cervical cancer screening.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160128/326990LOGO )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160128/326991 )

The tests demonstrated superior accuracy achieving very high sensitivity without compromising on specificity. In HPV-positive women aged 25 years or older sensitivity for severe cervical dysplasia or worse condition at baseline was 91.94% (95% CI 82.17 - 97.33) meanwhile specificity in the same group was 74.35% (95% CI 71.78 - 76.81).

The CONFIDENCE' test portfolio (consisting of a human papillomavirus test (HPV) and an epigenetic biomarker) was evaluated in a multicentre clinical trial involving over 7,000 cervical samples collected from over 6,000 women. This clinical trial makes the CONFIDENCE' biomarker the most validated epigenetic biomarker for cervical cancer diagnostics.

"We are very pleased with the results of the study. This is the first highly accurate screening method in the world with fully automated evaluation," said Miklos Nyiri, managing director of NEUMANN.

Initially NEUMANN intends to introduce the test to complement current screening methods. Its biomarker test can help substantially increase the sensitivity of Pap testing without impacting specificity.

"What is needed the most today is increasing sensitivity of the current screening system and finding women in need of treatment as early as possible" - said Nyiri. "We recommend using the CONFIDENCE' tests on all samples which did not get a severe dysplasia diagnosis - because there is a potentially undetected underlying disease."

In the clinical trial the CONFIDENCE' tests found severe cases up to 12 months earlier than Pap smear.

When no sign of malignancy is found with conventional methods, NEUMANN's test, with a proprietary algorithm, can establish the individual risk of each woman for cervical pre-cancer or cancer.

One of the first clients of NEUMANN for its HPV diagnostics technology is the Synlab GenoID Molecular Laboratory, part of the Synlab Group, Europe's largest laboratory network.

The aim of NEUMANN is to prove its method can be a standalone solution for cervical cancer screening in any environment - including in developing countries where cytopathology is non-existent.

About NEUMANN

NEUMANN develops automated diagnostic testing systems for cancer screening and STDs. The company is majority owned by the X-Ventures Beta Venture Capital Fund co-financed by Hungarian private investors and the EIB in the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (Jeremie) program.

http://www.neumanndx.com

Contact:

Ms Anna Faludi

E-mail: anna.faludi@x-ventures.hu

Tel: +36-70-454-3254


Biocartis and Amgen have entered into a collaboration to evaluate Idylla RAS testing as tool for rapid decentralized testing in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Turkey

Assessment of RAS (KRAS/NRAS) biomarker status is important in treatment selection for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

With the Idylla system, RAS testing can be accelerated from several weeks to same-day results

The collaboration underlines Amgen's and Biocartis' commitment to patients in oncology in offering high precision medicine and high precision diagnostics

Mechelen, Belgium, February 3, 2016 - Biocartis today announced that it has entered into collaboration with Amgen, a leading biotechnology company, to offer its new RAS biomarker tests to hospitals in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Turkey. The aim of the collaboration is to accelerate access to RAS biomarker information in the selected countries.

For patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), timely information on the presence of mutations in the RAS genes (KRAS and NRAS) is critical in treatment selection. Technologies to assess RAS gene mutational status, currently used by hospitals across the globe, are complex to perform and on average, require several weeks to provide results. In certain countries, local RAS testing is unavailable and samples have to be sent abroad for testing, which further delays availability of results and consequently, treatment selection for patients. With the Biocartis Idylla system, RAS biomarker testing can be performed locally and in a significantly shorter timeframe.

The Idylla KRAS Mutation Test and Idylla NRAS-BRAF-EGFR S492R Mutation Assay together provide for a complete mCRC mutation analysis[1] from two slices of so-called formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue. With a turn-around-time of around two hours and each test requiring less than two minutes of hands-on time, the Idylla system can be operated in any hospital laboratory, independent of hospital size, available infrastructure and experience level. For the first time in the molecular pathology field, the Idylla test allows performance of a complete RAS analysis on a same-day basis, opening up the route towards faster treatment selection.

Under the current collaboration, Amgen will make Idylla RAS testing available to several reference hospitals in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Turkey.

Ulrik Cordes, Chief Commercial Officer Biocartis, commented: "We are very pleased to work with Amgen to accelerate the roll-out of our state-of-the-art Idylla extended RAS testing solutions in hospitals worldwide. We view the fact that leading biopharmaceutical companies are electing to utilize our recently launched Idylla solutions, to improve access to advanced high precision diagnostic testing, as a confirmation of the quality of our products. Our collaboration will significantly enable improved patient care in countries where cancer patients, until now, have had to wait weeks, and sometimes months, to get critical diagnostic information. Together with Amgen, we can now secure much faster access to the right treatment for certain patients, thereby reducing anxiety for the affected patients and their relatives."

Amgen has played a significant role in the advancement of personalized medicine, applying cutting-edge science and technology in its efforts to target therapies to the patients who are most likely to benefit.

Using molecular approaches to identify unique, genetic signatures in mCRC has the potential to help improve treatment outcomes. Of the few biomarkers in colorectal cancer, RAS genes (KRAS, NRAS) have a validated impact on treatment outcomes.

Biocartis' mission is to become a leading player in the molecular diagnostics space by providing innovative high precision diagnostic solutions that allow instant, global access to accurate, 'first time right' molecular information from any biological sample. Thereto, the company is continuing to develop a range of molecular tests for oncology and infectious diseases to enable fast and effective diagnosis, treatment selection and treatment progress monitoring. The current collaboration with Amgen underlines Biocartis' commitment to make its solutions available to patients across the globe.

----- END ----

For more information:

Biocartis

Renate Degrave (Corporate Communications & Investor Relations)

+32 15 632 600 | press@biocartis.com (mailto:press@biocartis.com)





About colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, with approximately 1.2 million cases occurring globally each year.[2],[3] Approximately 20 percent of colon cancers are diagnosed at the metastatic stage, when the disease has already spread to distant organs, a diagnosis associated with only a 12 percent five-year survival rate. Using molecular approaches to identify unique genetic signatures in mCRC has the potential to help improve treatment outcomes. Of the few biomarkers in colorectal cancer, RAS genes (KRAS, NRAS) have a validated impact on treatment outcomes.[2],[3]

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. In June 2015, the Idylla KRAS Mutation Test for colorectal cancer was launched, followed by the first infectious disease assay in November 2015, the Idylla Respiratory (IFV-RSV) Panel, developed in collaboration with Janssen Diagnostics. In December 2015, Biocartis launched its Idylla NRAS-BRAF-EGFR S492R Mutation Assay as a Research Use Only (RUO). 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 www.biocartis.com (#_edn3).

References

[1] (#_ednref1) Combined, the two Idylla RAS tests allow for detection of 39 different clinically actionable KRAS and NRAS mutations at high sensitivity in line with the novel clinical guidelines as recently issued by the European Society for Medical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Association for Molecular Pathology and the National Cancer Institute. [2] (#_ednref2) Fight Colorectal Cancer. Biomarker Testing for Colorectal Cancer: Common Biomarker Tests for Colon Cancer. Accessed on Feb 1, 2016: available at: http://fightcolorectalcancer.org/fightcrc-fightit/biomarker-testing-for-colorectal-cancer/ (http://fightcolorectalcancer.org/fightcrc-fightit/biomarker-testing-for-colorectal-cancer/). [3] (#_ednref3) Colon Cancer Alliance. Get Information: Treatment: Biomarkers. Know Your Biomarker. Accessed on Feb.1, 2016: available at: http://www.ccalliance.org/get-information/treatment/biomarkers/ (http://www.ccalliance.org/get-information/treatment/biomarkers/).

This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Biocartis Group NV via Globenewswire



HUG#1983162


CASTRES, France, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

An original open-innovation initiative

Pierre Fabre will support biotechs, start-ups and research laboratories specia lising in oncology, onco-dermatology or dermatology, primarily in France and in Europe

The aim of this initiative is to accelerate the clinical development of new products in an advanced stage of research or in an early stage of clinical development

The support will be in the form of sharing expertise or of financial contributions conditional on achieving major turning points in the innovation process

Pierre Fabre Laboratories, the 2nd independent French pharmaceutical laboratory, has announced the launch of the Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation, an original open-innovation initiative. The Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation is intended for bio-pharmaceutical companies, start-ups and research laboratories (public or private) specialising in oncology or in dermatology, two of Pierre Fabre R&D's priority therapeutic areas.

The research projects that will be supported will either be fewer than 24 months away from moving from the pre-clinical stage to clinical development, or will be in the early stage of clinical development. The Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation will offer a range of differing types of partnership: providing Pierre Fabre's skills across all of the medicine's value chain, co-funding research programmes, acquiring a minority shareholding, or licence agreements. The combination of several types of support will also be a possibility.

Open to all international partnership opportunities, the primary ambition of the Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation is to assist French and European innovators. The skills that Pierre Fabre can offer these innovators include pharmacology, new chemical entities, biotherapies, immunotherapy, translational medicine, pre-clinical and clinical development, the manufacturing of clinical batches and market access, as well as regulatory and business strategy.

Laurent Audoly, Head of Pharmaceutical R&D, will oversee the operational direction of the Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation. Deliberately tight governance, positioned at the company's highest level, will allow a swift and personalised response to project managers.





To get in contact, please visit:



http://www.pierre-fabre.com, section "Partenariats & Open Innovation"

Or:fund.for.innovation@pierre-fabre.com.

valerie.roucoules@pierre-fabre.com,

pierre-fabre@alizerp.com,

+33-(1)-49-10-83-84


VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - Hargreaves Lansdown plc (HL.L) reported first-half profit before tax of 108.1 million pounds for the 6 months ended 31 December 2015 compared to 101.9 million pounds, a year ago. Profit after taxation increased to 86.7 million pounds from 79.8 million pounds. Earnings per share was 18.3 pence compared to 16.8 pence. Net revenue was up 10% to 158.8 million pounds from 144.1 million pounds, prior year. The company said its net revenue growth was driven by the growth effects of additional clients and assets. The Directors of Hargreaves Lansdown recommended a 7% rise in the interim dividend to 7.8 pence per share. 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.
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - HICL Infrastructure Co. Ltd. (HICL.L) said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 13.8 percent interest in the A63 motorway project in France. The vendors are Colas Sud Ouest and Spie Batignolles. The company said it will pay consideration of up to 87 million euros to the vendors at completion. The acquisition is subject to a number of conditions and is expected to complete in early 2017. The project is a 40-year toll-road concession to design, build, finance, operate and maintain an upgraded 104km section of the A63 highway between Salles and Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, in southwest France. Linking Bordeaux and the Spanish border via Bayonne, the project forms part of the Atlantic Corridor, one of the Core Network Corridors identified by the European Commission as part of the Trans-European Networks transportation policy initiative or TEN-T. HICL noted that the project represents its fourth investment in France, and its first in a demand-based project, where revenues are linked to usage volumes and toll pricing. HICL said that with completion of the acquisition not due until early 2017 its net funding requirement of approximately 7 million pounds remains unchanged. 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.
Recently named one of Forbes' hottest startups of 2015, Expensify announces European and a UK based-team; All new European companies who sign up for Expensify before June 2016 will be able to use the company's expense reporting software for free for the rest of the year

Today, Expensify, the fastest growing expense reporting software worldwide, announced that the company has opened a new office in London and is expanding their services throughout Europe. Expensify also announced that any new European-based customers who sign up for Expensify before May 31, 2016 will be able to use the company's entire suite of expense reporting services for the rest of the year at no cost.

"Expensify has revolutionized the expense management space in the US, said David Barrett, founder and CEO of Expensify. "The UK is a hotbed for the growing financial tech sector, so London was an obvious choice for our international expansion. Our UK team is looking forward to bringing on many new clients and better serving the nearly 1000 existing UK Expensify customers."

Named one of the hottest startups of 2015 by Forbes and a Top 10 Most Innovative Company by Fast Company, Expensify takes the time, headaches, and paper out of expense reports with an easy-to-use mobile and web app that streamlines the expense process from first receipt to reimbursement. The app features a patented, industry-leading SmartScan technology that eliminates manual entry of receipt information, integrations with all major accounting packages, company and personal credit card import, and more to simplify expense reports for both employees and accountants.

Expensify's technology integrates with Xero, a worldwide leader in cloud accounting software and was one of the first American technology companies to integrate with Xero after their U.S. launch.

Gary Turner, managing director of Xero, comments on how pleased he is to see Expensify expand to the UK market to service Europe's small businesses. "At the click of a button, customers using Expensify and Xero will see their expenses flow directly into the accounting platform - saving time and avoiding data entry mistakes.

We will continue to champion any innovation that makes the Xero user experience easier, so that small business owners can get on with growing their business," Turner adds.

Last year, Apple Inc. chose Expensify to be part of their mobility partnership program, joining a select group of leading business software and solution providers, including Xero, who are working closely with Apple to bring a broad range of innovative mobile solutions to iOS customers.

For more information about Expensify visit: expensify.com/uklaunch

About Expensify:

Since 2008, Expensify has been the innovation leader in automated expense management, starting with the introduction of its patented mobile receipt transcription technology SmartScan (Patents US8861861, #9196006), which has since become an industry standard. Expensify continues to set the industry by delivering best-in-breed expense management to companies around the world and wants to work with you too!

About Xero:

Xero is beautiful, easy to use online accounting software for small businesses and their advisors. The company has over 600,000 subscribers in more than 180 countries. Xero seamlessly integrates with over 450 thirdparty tools, and was ranked No. 1 by Forbes as the World's Most Innovative Growth Company in 2014 and 2015.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005476/en/

Contacts:

Expensify

Max Wertheimer, 415-302-1584

max.wertheimer@expensify.com
CTO Jason Macy to Discuss Security for Today's Enterprise Architectures at SC Congress London; Will Host Industry Leaders at Company's Fifth-Annual London API Summit

BOSTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Forum Systems Inc. today announced that CTO, Jason Macy, will be providing tips and techniques for deploying best-in-class API Security Management at key events in London. A recognized global leader in the sector, the company will showcase its Forum Sentry API Security Gateway during the presentations.

"Now more than ever, organizations must harness the power of APIs to rapidly connect with business partners. But traditional solutions are woefully inadequate in securely integrating the legacy, hybrid cloud and mobile platforms that comprise today's enterprise environments," said Macy. "London is a world hub that has long recognized the need for modern API security-driven architectures. I look forward to discussing and demonstrating the criticality of API Security Management technology when delivering applications and services beyond enterprise borders, while protecting the security and integrity of corporate data on premises."

At SC Congress London 2016, Macy will present "API Security Management - Cyber Protection for Modern Enterprise Architecture," taking place at the ILEC Conference Centre on Wednesday, February 10 from 1:55 - 2:25 p.m. GMT. Macy's session will explore how mobile and cloud computing adoption and the explosion in cyber attacks have combined to fundamentally transform network architectures, rendering traditional cyber security solutions ineffective. He will also discuss how enterprises must adapt to ensure secure, rapid integration to data and services, and explain how API Security Gateway technology provides the foundation for today's agile architectures through centralized identity enforcement, access control and data security.

Following SC Congress London, Macy will host industry leaders at Forum Systems' fifth-annual London API Summit at The Grange St. Paul's Hotel on Thursday, February 11. The event will be moderated by KuppingerCole Founder and Principal Analyst Martin Kuppinger, and will feature talks by Macy and API security experts from Trustis and Spargonet. Together with their industry peers, attendees will benefit from education and information about, as well as solutions for, API-based architectures from organizations using Forum Sentry as the foundation of their API Security Management solution.

Notably, Forum Systems and Trustis recently announced their strategic partnership to deliver API Security Management solutions to UK public sector organizations on the G-Cloud 7 framework. Further information can now be obtained by UK government entities in the Crown Commercial Service's online catalog, the Digital Marketplace.

Forum Systems' London API Summit is a complimentary, all-day event and will be followed by dinner at the Bread Street Kitchen. Key topics covered will include:

Simplifying identity federation and extending trust of internal identity management systems to cloud services

Combining identity and data inspection to unify authentication and access control

Implementing agile DevOps concepts for efficient and repeatable deployments

Preventing insider threats through cloud-based and software-defined network (SDN) information assurance concepts

For more information and to register, please visit: http://info.forumsys.com/forum-systems-api-summit-london-2016

About Forum Systems

Forum Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crosscheck Networks, Inc., is the leader in API Security Management. Providing centralized security, identity and governance for SOA, REST and mobile communications, the Forum Sentry API Gateway enables enterprises to manage complex API access in an efficient, agile, highly secure manner. Processing more than 10 billion transactions per day worldwide, and architected on "security-first" design principles, Forum Sentry delivers unparalleled protection against HTML-, XML-, SOAP- and REST-based vulnerabilities. Forum Sentry is the industry's only FIPS 140-2 and NIAP NDPP-certified API Gateway for enabling secure connectivity between users, applications and the cloud. For more information, please visit www.forumsys.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
LUXEMBOURG, Feb. 3,2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Element Six from Luxembourg is competing for the title of 'National Public Champion' in this year's European Business Awards, in an open public vote.

Logo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141013/151824LOGO

The company, already named as one of the National Champions in the independently judged part of the competition, has posted a video of its company online at www.businessawardseurope.com giving a powerful insight into the story of their business and its success.

Competing against all other country National Champions for the public vote, the company with the most votes will be named 'National Public Champion' for Luxembourg on 7th March 2016. The first phase of the online voting is now open, and closes on 26 February 2016.

Steve Coe, Executive Director Commercial and Marketing at Element Six says: "Element Six has been at the forefront of innovating market-ready synthetic diamond solutions for over 50 years. Our diamond is used in a wide range of industrial applications that touch lives everywhere in the world. We hope that the public will watch our video and vote for us. The public vote means a great deal as it is both our existing and potential customers and clients giving their approval to our success."

The second public vote will see all of the National Public Champions from 32 different countries compete to become the overall European Public Champion.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: "Last year the public vote generated over 170,000 votes from across the world. It is a very important part of the Awards as it gives these entrepreneurial companies another way of showcasing their achievements."

The European Business Awards was created to recognise and promote business success and support the development of a stronger business community throughout Europe.

In the 2014/15 competition, all EU member markets were represented plus Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Their combined revenue exceeded 1.5 trillion, and together they generated profits of over 60 billion Euros.

About Element Six

Element Six is a synthetic diamond supermaterials company. Element Six is a member of The De Beers Group of Companies, its majority shareholder. Element Six designs, develops and produces synthetic diamond supermaterials, and operates worldwide with its head office registered in Luxembourg, and primary manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, U.S. and the U.K.

Element Six supermaterial solutions are used in applications such as cutting, grinding, drilling, shearing and polishing, while the extreme properties of synthetic diamond beyond hardness are already opening up new applications in a wide array of industries such as optics, power transmission, water treatment, semiconductors and sensors.
INTUITIVE PRODUCT OFFERING SERVES NEW TRIBE OF TRAVELER

RESTON, Virginia, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --BridgeStreet Global Hospitality - the leading solution for international serviced apartment experiences - announces an exciting new brand experience built to inspire guests and intrigue developers, Mode Aparthotel by BridgeStreet. Mode is designed for the new tribe of travelers, who are connected, creative and crave community. BridgeStreet is responding to shifting travel trends by targeting global hot spots and retrofitting existing buildings, offering 24/7 front desk concierge, community areas for gathering, and the space of an apartment to live and work in.

"We are here to be a part of the community, work with the local vendors and recommend the best establishments," noted Sean Worker, BridgeStreet Global Hospitality president and CEO. "Each Mode building will offer a bespoke, unparalleled experience to our guests by providing them with high design and comfort. This includes knowing the unique feel of Mode is backed by the world-class brand of BridgeStreet Global Hospitality to ensure consistent service standards."

The BridgeStreet team, with decades of experience developing brands, is key to bringing this unique development model to the serviced apartment sector.Mode is ideal for creating new opportunities in gateway cities and desirable urban centers by renovating existing structures in iconic locations such as Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Paris. The concept promotes comfortable, warm spaces with an emphasis on social, experiential travel while every detail is accounted for-down to the scents, music, linens and wine selection.

BridgeStreet has claimed an unparalleled location in Washington D.C. on DuPont Circle as the first Mode Aparthotel in the U.S. Several floors of a five-story office building will be converted into 46 Mode apartments, featuring an on-site bar and restaurant, workout facilities and a roof-top lounge in one of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods.

"We took a C-rated building in an A+ location and we are creating an A+ building," said Will Lansing of Valor, developers on the Dupont Circle Mode. "We are excited to be a part of this and we are looking forward to working more with BridgeStreet."

Europe's first Mode, scheduled to open in Q3 2016, is located in an historic building in Paris's 16th Arrondisement and marks an invigoration for BridgeStreet's presence in Europe. The Aparthotel will offer 47 keys, plus a breakfast room, guest lounge, and a fitness suite within a five-minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe.

As increased awareness of serviced apartments as an alternative to typical hotel accommodations has risen and created more consumer interest than ever, Mode Aparthotel offers an innovative business model for developers. With its efficient, practical and thoughtful design utilizing existing structures, the concept allows for the unique building standards of each community.

Mode Aparthotel propels the sector into the future, introducing a specific consumer serviced apartment product with benefits to the community and developer.

BridgeStreet has reached a joint development agreement with CGI Strategies, an active real estate developer in LA and NY, to develop 5-10 dedicated Mode properties in the U.S., to be operated exclusively by BridgeStreet.

"There is currently a gap in the industry that we can fill. These apartments give travelers more than a traditional hotel or extended stay apartment, they have the best of both in great communities," Gidi Cohen, founder and CEO of CGI said. "We believe in the value proposition of the serviced apartment model and the Mode model goes beyond the sticks and bricks of the property, it is designed to include local flavor."

"Both guests and developers will be delighted with Mode Aparthotel," said Paul Rands, BridgeStreet's VP of development. "Retrofitting existing buildings alleviates the pressures of minimal building space in city centers. This strategy is the underpinning for Mode, with the long term target of 20 to 30 Mode by BridgeStreet properties open or in active development within four years across the Americas and EMEA."

With its innovative, tiered system of six distinct brands, BridgeStreet provides guests with customized two- to six-star serviced apartment offerings, meeting every need from location to budget with more than 50,000 apartments in desirable and convenient locations in over 60 countries. Offering a memorable hospitality experience, BridgeStreet is widely recognized for uncompromised standards and a consistent brand experience. For more information on BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, visit www.modeaparthotel.com or call 1(800) 278-7338 / +44 (0) 20 7792 2222.

About BridgeStreet Global Hospitality

With more than 50,000 apartments in over 60 countries, BridgeStreet Global Hospitality - comprised of six unique brands - is the leading hospitality solution offering serviced apartment experiences for travelers seeking an alternative to typical hotel accommodations. BridgeStreet's family of brands includes six-star Exclusive, five-star Residences, four-star ApartHotels and Living, three-star Places and two-star Studyo offering the convenience of apartment living with a variety of service packages to offer each guest options based on location, price point and individual needs. Widely recognized for uncompromising standards of quality, comfort and service, BridgeStreet Global Hospitality is a renowned award winner in both the Americas and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). For more information on BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, please visitwww.bridgestreet.comor call 800 278 7338.

FOR MORE MEDIA INFORMATION:

STEPHANIE SHARP  ERIN VOGT

BRIGHT RED \ TBWA

850.668.2824  SSHARP@BRIGHTREDTBWA.COM
DUBAI, UAE, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Some 100 government representatives from across the globe will head to Dubai to participate in the three-day World Government Summit 2016, the biggest forum of its kind to discuss governments of the future as well as the critical changes taking place at the global level in the development of government services.

Research and studies in focus at the World Government Summit 2016 will cover key areas of interest, including future of education, future of economy, future of technology, future of healthcare, future of development, future of government work, sustainability and future of the environment, as well as cities of the future, and future of human capital management in the labor market.

Organized under the theme 'Shaping Future Governments', the summit will run from February 8-10, 2016. More than 100 speakers from outside the UAE, including Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, Jose Angel Gurria - Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Kathy Calvin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the UN Foundation, Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Nabeel Al Araby, Secretary-General of the Arab League, and Abdul Latif Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as academicians from international universities and organizations will headline the impactful sessions.

Ohood Al Roumi, Director General of the Prime Minister's Office and Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee, said: "As part of the summit a number of global initiatives and research studies will be released throughout the year, highlighting the World Government Summit's status as an entity that works continuously to find innovative solutions in government services even after the culmination of the actual event.

"During the summit, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will open the Museum of Future Government Services - a showcase of new technologies that can support future government services as well as applications that will shape a new generation of future services."

A key highlight of the summit - the 'Edge of Governments' exhibition will facilitate 15 governments to share their experiences and knowledge on applied disruptive technologies in government services.

The summit this year will honor the winners of the third edition of the m-Government Award. Besides, a number of meetings will be organized on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Hosting more than 200 international journalists at the three day event, the agenda will include deliberations that highlight issues of relevance to future technical applications. One of the sessions, hosted by Tim O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media, will look at the future of government work and explore what the new generation of smart governments really represents on the ground. Another topic relevant to cities of the future will be debated at a session titled 'The future of road transportation', hosted by Jim Al-Khalili, professor of physics at the University of Surrey.

The future of the digital economy will attract much attention with the topic finding resonance across multiple sessions, including one titled 'Digital Coins: The Future of Money'. A session on the future of innovation and ways to develop innovation-friendly environments and ecosystems will be hosted by Christopher M Schroeder, an entrepreneur, advisor and investor in interactive technologies and social communications.

World Government Summit 2016 will launch a number of reports in cooperation with knowledge partners, both during the summit as well as throughout the year. These include reports on artificial intelligence, development of sciences and the future of governments in cooperation with The Economist, as well as a report on the future of teaching methods in cooperation with Oxford Analytica, and a report on upcoming innovations in collaboration with Harvard University. Furthermore, a survey will be launched on digital transformation of the government in collaboration with Deloitte.

For more information please contact:

Will Browne

wbrowne@apcoworldwide.com

+44(0)2075263662



On behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the last few years, award-winning, sustainable plantation management company, Asia Plantation Capital, has been actively working with the only remaining agarwood plantation in Hong Kong. Its aim was to keep alive part of the territory's natural heritage. The species, Aquilaria Sinensis, from which agarwood is derived, is the tree that originally brought Hong Kong its famous name -- 'Fragrant Harbour' -- with the city serving as a regional supplier of scents after becoming the Asian hub for aromatic affairs.

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160203/8521600734-a

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160203/8521600734-b

Since 2014, Asia Plantation Capital has been involved in a joint venture with Mr Chan Koon Wing, a third generation agarwood farmer who owns the last remaining commercial Aquilaria Sinensis plantation in Hong Kong. The plantation, situated near the village of Shing Ping and Ping Che in Hong Kong's New Territories, currently has approximately 6,000 trees that were planted since 2009, and the aim is to sustain and preserve this endangered species. The strategic partnership between Asia Plantation Capital and Mr Chan provides the necessary support and expertise required to develop long-term commercial opportunities in Hong Kong and its surrounding areas, on an ethical and sustainable basis.

Mr Chan's plantation was inherited from his grandfather, who started planting Aquilaria Sinensis many years ago. After a lengthy period working abroad, Chan returned to Hong Kong in 2009 to revive the plantation. Hong Kong, once abundant with Aquilaria trees, has been facing the threat from illegal loggers and poachers, as the demand for agarwood in Mainland China has increased exponentially in recent years. These poachers have been known to pose as hikers, slashing the trees indiscriminately to instigate a resin infection, and then returning in the middle of the night to chop them down. It is the inner heartwood of the Aquilaria tree that yields the much-coveted and highly-prized treasure, Oud -- a magical and mystical substance that has had cultural and religious significance for billions of people, and is now one of the most sought after ingredients in the modern fragrance world.

Last week, Chan paid a visit to Singapore and Malaysia to visit Fragrance Du Bois' luxurious flagship boutiques at The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore, and the Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, before being hosted at some of the plantations owned and managed by Asia Plantation Capital. His trip included a tour of the region's largest agarwood processing factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and one of the plantations in Keru, Negeri Sembilan, located south of Kuala Lumpur. These are the plantations that grow the exact same Aquilaria Sinensis species that is to be found on Chan's plantation in Hong Kong.

Chan commented, "I am extremely impressed by Asia Plantation Capital's growth. The amount of research and development invested into their plantations is remarkable. Oud oil has not been produced in Hong Kong for more than a century, but with the help of Asia Plantation Capital, I am hoping to change that by developing a small distillery in the future. The purpose-built agarwood factory and research centre in Johor has state of the art facilities, and it would be my dream to be able to replicate them in Hong Kong. What's more," he concluded, "the company is a pioneer in the industry, cultivating agarwood since 2009, and is known to be the market leader in terms of scientific knowledge and the techniques required to stimulate the resinous heartwood by inoculation. There is so much for me to learn and take away from this visit, and I'm certain this will not only benefit our partnership, but also our goals in developing and growing sustainable agarwood in the region."

"All our joint ventures, or partnerships, have been strategically selected to ensure that our goals are commonly aligned," said Steve Watts, Asia Plantation Capital's CEO, Asia Pacific. "Also, as part of our dedication and commitment to 'holistic sustainability', Asia Plantation Capital strongly believes in involving itself in the community. In this case, our aim is to protect this endangered species, and help Chan produce Oud oil in Hong Kong. We believe that this plot of land has more than mere monetary value. It's clear that Chan has a sentimental attachment to the species and to his family plantation," Watts concluded, "and we're delighted to be able to lend our expertise to manage the plantation jointly with him, one tree at a time."

The Aquilaria tree is listed under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to protect and safeguard for future generations a species that has been over-exploited and harvested to the point of near extinction. Asia Plantation Capital ensures that all Aquilaria trees are grown sustainably and that its end-products (Oud oil, wood chips and beads, etc.) are certified by the relevant authorities and are produced in an ethical, renewable and sustainable manner.

Notes for Editors:

For further information, please contact:-

Samantha Tham

Marketing Executive, Switzerland

Email: charlotte.medigue@apcgroup.ch

Mobile: +41 (0) 227077330

Zureina Maidin

PR & Marketing Director, Malaysia

Email: zureina.maidin@asiaplantationcapital.com

Mobile: +6013 774 1009

About Asia Plantation Capital

The Asia Plantation Capital Group is a multi-award-winning sustainable plantation operator and management company, with projects across Asia, Europe, America and Africa. Its Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of leading academics and experts from various countries (China, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates), who have, between them, developed and patented industry-leading technologies and systems.

About Fragrance Du Bois

Fragrance Du Bois is a niche, luxury perfume house born from the richest essences of nature, producing fragrances crafted by fifth generation perfumers from the 17th Century French traditions of Grasse. All Fragrance Du Bois' fragrances are created using 100% pure, organic Oud oil and other sustainably-sourced ingredients, from plantations managed by the award-winning Asia Plantation Capital.

With flagship boutiques in Singapore and Malaysia, Fragrance Du Bois is looking forward to further development in Europe, adding to its current fragrance lounges in Dubai, Hong Kong and Thailand. Fragrance Du Bois creates only the finest experience in bespoke perfumery, all the while staying true to its ethos of, 'personal luxury with a conscience'.






Octopus Titan VCT Plc (the 'Company' or 'Titan')



3 February 2016



Acquisition of TouchType Limited ('TouchType') by Microsoft Inc ('Microsoft')



The Board of Octopus Titan VCT plc is pleased to announce that terms have been agreed for the acquisition of TouchType, the company behind the SwiftKey app for faster, easier typing on mobile phones and tablets, by Microsoft.



The Company was the first institutional investor in TouchType in August 2010 prior to it launching its award winning SwiftKey app, which is now used on more than 300 million smartphones, in more than 100 languages. Since the original investment Titan has participated in three subsequent funding rounds, the most recent being in 2015, and TouchType has grown to approximately 140 employees. The acquisition of TouchType by Microsoft demonstrates the important role that VCTs play in developing the next generation of disruptive technologies and UK business, while providing investors with the opportunity to share in the growth potential of these companies and access the attractive tax benefits associated with VCTs.



The sale of TouchType will generate a significant capital gain on Titan's investment of 6.6 million. The proceeds will be used to make further investments in established portfolio companies, as well as funding new early stage companies. Additionally, the Titan Board has declared a special dividend of 5p per share which will be paid on 29 April 2016 to shareholders on the register on 15 April 2016. Payment of the special dividend is conditional on the completion of the acquisition prior to the ex-dividend date, 14 April 2016.



For further information please contact:



Alex Macpherson Octopus Investments Limited 0800 316 2295



Jo Oliver Octopus Investments Limited 0800 316 2295



This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.



Source: Octopus Titan VCT plc via GlobeNewswire [HUG#1983334]



B28V934R6



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LONDON, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

London-based International Finance Magazine has conferred the 2015 awards for 'Best Bancassurance Company' and 'Best Insurance Company' in Portugal to Ocidental Grupo at a gala ceremony in the Landmark Hotel in London on November 27.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140115/663464 )



The awards in various categories were presented by Peter Meyer, CEO, the Middle East Association (MEA); Dr. Cigdem Kogar, Chief Representative of Central Bank of Turkey in London; Kofi Addo, Head of Trade and Investment, Ghana High Commission; and Thomas Mbun, Head of Treasury and Finance, Ghana High Commission.

Ocidental Grupo is the largest operator bancassurance in Portugal. It offers a wide range of life and non-life solutions, aimed at families and protection for businesses, personal and financial level. Responding to different stages and needs of customers, the portfolio ranges from 'secure your home or health' to 'retirement products'.

Steven Braekeveldt, Chief Executive Officer, Ocidental Grupo, on receiving the award, said, "Ocidental Grupo is proud of receiving the double recognition of Best Bancassurance Company and Best Insurance Company in Portugal by International Finance Magazine. The focus in high standards of transparency, quality and efficiency has enabled our consistent growth above the market, turning us into leaders in Life (mathematical provisions), Pension Funds, 2nd in Health and a reference in bancassurance, where we operate within full alignment with our bank partner. Customers and partners can find in us a wide offer, ranging from life to non-life, health and pension funds solutions, aimed to protect families and businesses. We're driven by the goal of being responsive to every need, and so, committed in building an insurance company that simplifies people's lives".

Read the full story

2015 award winners

Pictures of the Awards Ceremony 2015

We welcome you to nominate a company or an executive for the awards

About IFM

International Finance Magazine (http://www.ifinancemag.com) was established to offer credible financial news and present developments worldwide in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. Our audience comprises the top decision-makers in the financial community across the globe.We aim to be the most sought-after financial information provider.

Connect with IFM

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Email id: karanb@ifinancemag.com

Phone no: +44 (0) 208 123 9436


Burscheid (ots) -- Cross-reference: Pictures are available at http://www.presseportal.de/bilder -After the home and office, the car is the place where we spend much of our time. As the global leader in automotive seating, Johnson Controls is a trailblazer when it comes to comfort and individualization in the design of car interiors. A successful example of this can be found in the Volvo XC90, recently named "Truck of the Year" at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The vehicle features seat covers and paddings supplied by Johnson Controls, which contribute to the award-winning comfort and interior design of this "rolling living room," as this SUV has been called."We congratulate our Swedish customer Volvo for its 'Truck of the Year' award in North America, given to the XC90 in January at NAIAS in Detroit," says Tony Malila, vice president & general manager Customer Group Volvo at Johnson Controls Automotive Seating. "We're particularly pleased as a supplier that the jury of automotive journalists highlighted not only the design, safety features and handling of this SUV, but also its outstanding comfort, to which we contributed through the seat padding and coverings. As the world's leading manufacturer of automotive seating components and systems, we were able to draw upon our in-house resources and vertically integrated capabilities allowing us to provide optimal support to the customer."The target set by Volvo was very high, representing a challenge for Johnson Controls to showcase its expertise in terms of individualization. The demand of the Swedish premium car manufacturer was that these seats, made with top-quality materials, should offer excellent comfort to all its customers. The focus is not only on the driver and front passenger but the seats of the second and third rows are also geared toward maximum comfort. Optional seats featuring integrated child booster cushions are also available for the second row.The SUV must also provide the utmost support and comfortable seating on demanding terrain too, which is why even the extended leg-supporting surface is furnished with side bolsters. Additional massage functions and electric lumbar support maximize the seating comfort."For car manufacturers as well as their suppliers, individualization is a growth market that offers great potential for differentiation," said Andreas Maashoff, director industrial design and craftsmanship at Johnson Controls Automotive Seating. "We recognized this early on and offered our customers an extensive portfolio in terms of styling trends, colors, forms and materials." Here, seat padding and coverings are important elements, in addition to the company's expertise in seat structures, which all enable it to design the "consummate seating experience."About Johnson ControlsJohnson Controls is a global diversified technology and industrial leader serving customers in more than 150 countries. Our 150,000 employees create quality products, services and solutions to optimize energy and operational efficiencies of buildings; lead-acid automotive batteries and advanced batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles; and seating components and systems for automobiles. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. Through our growth strategies and by increasing market share we are committed to delivering value to shareholders and making our customers successful.About Johnson Controls Automotive ExperienceJohnson Controls Automotive Experience is a global leader in automotive seating components and systems. The company supports all major automakers in the differentiation of their vehicles through its products, technologies and advanced manufacturing capabilities. With more than 200 locations worldwide, Johnson Controls is where its customers need it to be. Consumers have enjoyed the comfort and style of Johnson Controls products, from single components to complete seat systems. With its global capability the company supplies more than 50 million cars per year. Johnson Controls pursues a spin-off of its Automotive Experience business. Following the separation, which is expected to take effect October 1, 2016, the Automotive Experience business will operate as the independent, publicly traded company Adient. Bruce McDonald will serve as the chairman and CEO of the new company. Beda Bolzenius will serve as president and COO.Originaltext: Johnson Controls Automotive Experience digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/19526 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_19526.rss2For more information, please contact: Johnson Controls GmbH Automotive Seating Industriestrae 20-30 51399 Burscheid Germany Lars Boelke Tel.: +49 2174 65-1117 E-Mail: lars.boelke@jci.com Internet: www.johnsoncontrols.co.ukFollow us on Twitter: @JCseating
DUBLIN, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7lm5xz/global_warning) has announced the addition of the "Global Warning Labels and Stickers Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The global warning labels and stickers market to grow at a CAGR of 4.61% during the period 2016-2020.

The global warning label and stickers market has seen the emergence of new and innovative products in the past few years. Increased investment in research and development has helped in the development of innovative products. Some of the new products developed include clear-on labels, which provide a no-label look, and are used for premium products. These products provide absolute transparency, high aging resistance, good adhesion and clean label positioning.

According to the report, increase in global population along with rising consumer income levels has contributed to the demand for packaged food and beverages. The growing need for packaged foods and beverages worldwide is driving the market for packaging and labeling solutions.

Further, the report states that high cost of raw materials used in the manufacturing of these labels is a hindrance to the market

To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of warning labels by vendors for packaging of different goods. The report also includes market segmentation based on product type and geography. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

The market is divided into the following segments based on product type:

- Chemicals labels

- GHS labels

- Hazardous materials shipping

- Hazardous waste labels

- Arc flash labels

- Static awareness labels

- Custom ANSI safety labels

- Custom free-form safety labels

- Electrical equipment labels

- Flammable labels

Key vendors

- 3M

- Avery Dennison

- Brady

- Maverick Label

Other prominent vendors

- Advanced Labels

- Allen Plastic

- Axon

- Clabro Label

- Classic Label

- Consolidated Label

- Edwards Label

- Jet Label

- Maverick Label

- MCC Label

- Mercian Labels

- Metro Label

- PDC International

- Printpack

- Progressive Label

- Sticky Labels

- Taylor Label

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7lm5xz/global_warning

Media Contact:

Laura Wood , +353-1-481-1716, press@researchandmarkets.net
FRANKFURT, Germany, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

- Focus On Hotels' Individual Stories -

Worldhotels gives an outlook on the group's three core strategic initiatives for the upcoming year 2016. Under the umbrella of 'Tell your Story', all initiatives will focus on opportunities enabling Worldhotels affiliate hotels to better position themselves in the marketplace through further strengthening each hotel's individuality:

' Start with Why ' : With the programme 'Start with Why', Worldhotels will encourage all affiliate hotels to go through a process to discover the hotel's individual why (Why are guests staying at the hotel?) and tell their personal story. Each hotel's differentiation will be integrated as a unique narrative selling point into operations, service delivery and sales and marketing resources.

With the programme 'Start with Why', Worldhotels will encourage all affiliate hotels to go through a process to discover the hotel's individual why (Why are guests staying at the hotel?) and tell their personal story. Each hotel's differentiation will be integrated as a unique narrative selling point into operations, service delivery and sales and marketing resources. World Online : Since the online world is becoming more complex with Online Travel Agencies and non-hotel accommodation offerings, it is even more important for hotels to develop cost effective online solutions and digital sales and marketing strategies. World Online represents an investment in strengthen Worldhotels' digital marketing capabilities and provides expert advice at every stage of the reservation cycle to drive additional direct bookings to hotel members.

: Since the online world is becoming more complex with Online Travel Agencies and non-hotel accommodation offerings, it is even more important for hotels to develop cost effective online solutions and digital sales and marketing strategies. World Online represents an investment in strengthen Worldhotels' digital marketing capabilities and provides expert advice at every stage of the reservation cycle to drive additional direct bookings to hotel members. The Co-operative: In 2016, Worldhotels has set aside a fund to support groups of hotels willing to invest in co-operative sales and marketing programmes. Worldhotels will be able to provide executive as well as financial contribution for those initiatives worldwide under the banner of 'Stronger Together'.

Besides the three core strategies for 2016, there will also be launched two new programmes: The Worldhotels Nin Hao Guest Programme and World Luxury. The Worldhotels Nin Hao Guest Programme will establish a better understanding for hotels on the increasing Chinese traveller market and how to manage and capitalise on the revenue opportunities through unique approaches directly on-site hotels. World Luxury represents a programme aimed to support and to attract individual luxury hotels as well as luxury consumers to Worldhotels through highly targeted sales and marketing activities in the luxury sector.

The Worldhotels three core strategic initiatives for 2016 have been revealed at the Worldhotels Annual Conference held at the Grand Elysee Hamburg. Established in 1971, the Worldhotels Annual Conference has become invaluable to the group's hotels by not only providing local and global market travel industry updates and insights into market trends, but also offering opportunities and solutions. Every year, the Annual Conference is held at a different location and kicks off the new business season. This year, more than 350 hoteliers, sales representatives and industry experts from all over the world participated at the event.

Media Contact:

Kyra Zanner

Worldhotels

+49(0)69-660-56-252

kzanner@worldhotels.com


EUTELSAT 16A satellite leads free-to-air reach

Regulatory News:

New research revealed in the annual Africascope report produced by TNS Sofres1 shows a buoyant TV market in French-speaking African countries and the increasing marketshare of the EUTELSAT(Paris:ETL) 16A satellite, one of the key TV satellites for West Africa.

The exclusive research analyses overall media trends in 4.2 million TV homes, representing 18.6 million people living in capital and economic cities in seven West African countries2. TV is the dominant media in all markets with average viewing ranging between three and 4.5 hours a day. Multi-channel viewing and flat screen ownership are gaining ground in these key urban areas, both already accounting for over 30% of TV homes and underscoring the transition to a digital broadcasting environment.

For 40% of the TV homes surveyed, satellite TV follows analogue terrestrial as the most popular choice for TV viewing. A total of 1.7 million TV homes, equivalent to eight million viewers, have adopted satellite reception as their preferred route to a multi-channel offer in digital quality.

In this satellite universe, the EUTELSAT 16A satellite emerges as one of the most popular in West Africa, reaching into almost half a million homes, equivalent to over two million viewers. This reflects a strong line-up of over 170 French and local language channels, including France 24, the all-news channel and TV5MONDE Afrique, the established francophone general interest channel. EUTELSAT 16A also leads the free-to-air reach, serving two out of three free-to-air satellite TV homes in the French-speaking urban areas surveyed.

Michel Azibert, Eutelsat's Chief Commercial and Development Officer, said: "The trends in the Africascope report show vibrant consumer appetite for a TV experience delivering choice and a quality signal in urban areas that are a component of the overall audience we reach in West Africa. They confirm EUTELSAT 16A as a reference neighbourhood in West Africa and encourage us to pursue our goal of contributing to an inclusive digital ecosystem in Africa."

About Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world's leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 40 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat's satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user's location. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com

www.eutelsat.fr - Follow us on Twitter @Eutelsat_SA and Facebook Eutelsat.SA.

1 Africascope is an annual quantitative research tool managed by TNS and co-funded by the main actors of the French audiovisual landscape broadcasting in French-speaking Africa.

2 Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, DRC, Gabon, Mali, Senegal

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005657/en/

Contacts:

For Eutelsat Communications:

Press

Vanessa O'Connor, 33 1 53 98 37 91

voconnor@eutelsat.com

or

Marie-Sophie Ecuer, 33 1 53 98 37 91

mecuer@eutelsat.com

or

Violaine du Boucher, 33 1 53 98 37 91

vduboucher@eutelsat.com

or

Investors and analysts

Joanna Darlington, +33 1 53 98 35 30

jdarlington@eutelsat.com

or

Cedric Pugni, +33 1 53 98 35 30

cpugni@eutelsat.com
Release no. 2/2016After a higher activity level in the services business and a larger sale of own software during the last quarter of 2015 than expected, Columbus upgrades earnings expectations for 2015 from the level of DKK 94m to the level of DKK 105m in EBITDA*.Expectations to revenues are specified to the level of DKK 1,123m compared to the previously announced expected level of DKK 1,030m."We experienced a great final sprint in 2015 with a high activity level in several of our operational units, especially in the US, UK and Denmark, where the utilization of resources in the service business was very high. Besides, the sale of Columbus Software developed positively, which means that we are able to upgrade our earnings expectations for 2015. I am especially excited about being able to deliver the earnings that we told our investors we were aiming for with our Columbus15 strategy back in 2011", says Thomas Honore, CEO & President.Ib Kune Thomas HonoreChairman CEO & PresidentColumbus A/S Columbus A/SFor further information, please contact:CEO Thomas Honore, T: +45 70 20 50 00.Translation: In the event of any inconsistency between this document and the Danish language version, the Danish language version shall be the governing version.* EBITDA before share based compensationAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=545163
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 5:00 am ET Wednesday, Eurostat releases Eurozone retail sales data for December. Sales are forecast to rise 0.3 percent on month in December, reversing a 0.3 percent fall in November. The euro eased from early highs against the pound, franc and the yen, while holding steady against the greenback before the data. The euro was quoted at 1.0915 against the greenback, 130.51 against the yen, 1.1105 against the franc and 0.7554 against the pound as of 4:55 am ET. 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.
Metsa Board Corporation Notice to General Meeting, 3 February 2016 at 12:15 EETNotice is given to the shareholders of Metsa Board Corporation to the Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 23 March 2016 at 3.00 p.m. at the Finlandia Hall, Congress Wing Hall A, at Mannerheimintie 13e, Helsinki. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting and the distribution of voting tickets will commence at 2.00 p.m.A. Matters on the agenda of the General MeetingAt the General Meeting, the following matters will be considered:1. Opening of the meetingReview by the Chairman of the Board2. Calling the meeting to order3. Election of persons to scrutinize the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes4. Recording the legality of the meeting5. Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes6. Presentation of the annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditor's report for the year 2015Review by the CEO7. Adoption of the annual accounts8. Consideration of the annual result and resolution on the payment of dividendThe Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of 0.17 euros per share be distributed for the financial year 2015. The dividend shall be paid to shareholders who on the record date for the dividend payment, 29 March 2016, are recorded in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Ltd. The dividend shall be paid on 5 April 2016.9. Resolution on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the CEOs10. Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors' Nomination and Compensation Committee proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the annual remuneration for the members of the Board of Directors be kept unchanged, i.e. the Chairman be paid EUR 88,000, the Vice Chairman EUR 74,200 and ordinary members EUR 58,000 per year. In addition, a fee of EUR 600 would be paid for each meeting of the Board of Directors and its Committees. The Committee additionally proposes that one half of the annual remuneration be paid in the company's B-class shares to be acquired from public trading. The Committee finally proposes that an additional monthly remuneration of EUR 800 be paid to the Audit Committee Chairman.11. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors' Nomination and Compensation Committee proposes that the number of members of the Board of Directors be nine (9) members.12. Election of members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors' Nomination and Compensation Committee proposes that board members Mikael Aminoff, Martti Asunta, Kari Jordan, Kirsi Komi, Kai Korhonen, Liisa Leino, Juha Niemela, Veli Sundback and Erkki Varis be re-elected. Further information on proposed members and their independence is available at the company's website at www.metsaboard.com. The term of office of board members shall expire at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.13. Resolution on the remuneration of the auditorThe Board of Directors proposes, based on the Audit Committee's recommendation, that a fee in accordance with the auditor's reasonable invoice, as approved by the company, be paid to the auditor.14. Election of auditorThe Board of Directors proposes, based on the Audit Committee's recommendation, that auditing company KPMG Oy Ab be elected as auditor with APA Raija-Leena Hankonen as responsible auditor. The auditor's term of office shall expire at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.15. Closing of the meetingB. Documents of the General MeetingThe proposals for the decisions on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting as well as this notice are available on the company's website at www.metsaboard.com. The annual report of Metsa Board Corporation, including the company's annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditor's report is available on the above website no later than on 1 March 2016. Said documents are also available at the meeting. Copies of such documents and of this notice will be sent to shareholders upon request. The minutes of the meeting will be available on the company's website no later than on 6 April 2016.C. Instructions to the participants of the General Meeting1. Shareholders registered in the shareholders' registerEach shareholder, who is on 11 March 2016 registered in the shareholders' register of the company held by Euroclear Finland Ltd., has the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting. A shareholder, whose shares are registered on his/her personal Finnish book-entry account, is registered in the shareholders' register of the company.A shareholder, who wants to participate in the Annual General Meeting, shall register for the meeting by 10.00 a.m. on 18 March 2016 at the latest by giving a prior notice of participation. Such notice can be given as of 15 February 2016: a) on the company's website at www.metsaboard.com; b) by e-mail to metsaboard.AGM2016@metsagroup.com; c) by telephone to +358 10 465 4102 on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m.; or d) by mail to Metsa Board Corporation, Legal Services/Suuronen, P.O. Box 20, FI-02020 Metsa.In connection with the registration, a shareholder shall notify his/her name, personal identification number, address, telephone number and the name of a possible assistant or proxy representative and the personal identification number of such proxy representative.2. Holders of nominee registered sharesA holder of nominee registered shares has the right to participate in the general meeting by virtue of such shares, based on which he/she on 11 March 2016 would be entitled to be registered in the shareholders' register of the company held by Euroclear Finland Ltd. The right to participate requires, in addition, that the shareholder on the basis of such shares has been registered in the temporary shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Ltd. at the latest by 10 a.m. on 18 March 2016. As regards nominee registered shares this constitutes due registration for the general meeting.A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request from his/her custodian bank, without delay, necessary instructions regarding the registration in the shareholder's register of the company, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the general meeting. The account management organisation of the custodian bank will register a holder of nominee registered shares wishing to participate in the general meeting to be temporarily entered into the shareholders' register of the company by the above specified time at the latest.3. Proxy representative and powers of attorneyA shareholder may participate in the general meeting and exercise his/her rights at the meeting by way of proxy representation. A proxy representative shall produce a dated proxy document or otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate his/her right to represent the shareholder at the general meeting. Possible proxy documents shall be delivered in original to Metsa Board Corporation, Legal Services/Suuronen, P.O. Box 20, FI-02020 Metsa before the last date for registration.4. Other instructions and informationPursuant to chapter 5, paragraph 25 of the Company's Act, a shareholder who is present at a general meeting has the right to request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the meeting.The personal data given to the company is used only in connection with the general meeting and the processing of related registrations.On the date of this notice, the total number of shares in Metsa Board Corporation is 35,895,651 A-shares and 319,617,095 B-shares carrying an aggregate of 1,037,530,115 votes. According to the Articles of Association each A share carries twenty (20) votes while each B share carries one (1) vote.In Espoo on 3 February 2016METSA BOARD CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORSAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=545157
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - February 03, 2016) - The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center is urging the family of a loved one who has just been diagnosed with mesothelioma anywhere in the nation to call them anytime at 800-714-0303 for a quick explanation about why starting the compensation process as soon as possible is incredibly important if they want the best possible compensation.

The Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "If you or a family member has recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please call us anytime at 800-714-0303 so we can explain why it is incredibly vital to begin the compensation process as soon as possible. As we would like to anyone who contacts us, delaying the mesothelioma compensation process frequently results in the diagnosed person losing out on compensation."

"What many people fail to realize is that because mesothelioma is such an aggressive form of cancer, the diagnosed person may only have a limited time to explain how or where they were exposed to asbestos. We cannot over emphasize how important this kind of specific information is when it comes to getting the best possible mesothelioma compensation."

"We also want to emphasize we make house calls nationwide so we can hear a first-hand account of how or where the person with mesothelioma was exposed to asbestos. It is this information that becomes the basis for a mesothelioma compensation claim."

For more information a person diagnosed with mesothelioma or their family members are urged to contact the Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma victims Center anytime at 800-714-0303. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

Common Mistakes people with mesothelioma or their family make when it comes to compensation from the Belluck & Fox Mesothelioma Victims Center:

The diagnosed person or their family waits too long to begin the compensation process.

The diagnosed person dies before the compensation process begins and no one in the family knows how their loved one was exposed to asbestos.

The person who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma wants nothing to do with lawyers; as a result there is no compensation settlement at all.

The diagnosed person served in the US Navy, but never talked about their duty assignments or what they did. One-third of all people in the United States who will be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year are US Navy Veterans.

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://www.belluckfox.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/2016/1/11/11G078397/Images/mesothelioma_man_coughing-088b417acea4a4708e09cf503ee41ed2.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/1/11/11G078397/Images/mesothelioma_factory-a7f8b4fc8e1fbc55ac751518b395279b.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/1/11/11G078397/Images/Mesothelioma_Asbestos-sign-72c5d9452a24911189a14cef8ebe1134.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/1/11/11G078397/Images/homeownerfrustrated1-efec70c6a6b8a5e99e3308c2dd8ec4f9.jpg

Contact:

Michael Thomas

800-714-0303

Mesothelioma Victims Center

www.wesotheliomavictimscenter.com
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Infrastructure company Balfour Beatty plc (BBY.L) announced Wednesday that it has been awarded a seven year, 245 million pounds highways maintenance contract for Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council. There is an option to extend the contract for a further three years. Balfour Beatty Living Places will work in partnership with the three Councils. Balfour Beatty said its 120 strong directly employed workforce will deliver a variety of services to over 5000km of roads, winter maintenance across 2000km of roads and maintenance of over 55,000 street lights. Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive said 'We build long-term relationships with local authorities that add real value to communities. With a clear focus on the outcomes that matter to communities, we are helping local authorities to deliver better value for money. This contract award is a real endorsement of the excellent service we have provided across Warwickshire since 2011 and gives us the opportunity to build upon our successes.' In London, Balfour Beatty shares were trading at 248 pence, down 1.63 percent. 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.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Securonix announced today that Vice Admiral (Ret.) Mike McConnell, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence, has joined the company in an official capacity as senior advisory board member. McConnell brings to Securonix a lifetime of experience in addressing some of the largest and most complex security threats that our country has faced.

"Securonix is innovating analytics capabilities that are game changing in cyber security," said McConnell. "I'm delighted to be a part of a company that is helping businesses and government tackle the fraud and insider threat problem and I'm looking forward to helping clients protect what is most critical to their organization's growth."

McConnell served as Director of the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996, providing global intelligence and information security services to the White House, Cabinet officials and Congress. In 1996, Booz Allen Hamilton recruited McConnell to create its first information security business -- a ten million dollar cyber security division that eventually grew into a one billion dollar business. McConnell joined the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) as its initial Chairman of the Board in 2005, where he led efforts to increase collaboration within the intelligence and national security communities. In 2007, McConnell was appointed Director of National Intelligence by George W. Bush, becoming the second person to hold the title.

"We are honored to have Mike McConnell join the firm as a member of our Board of Advisors," said Sachin Nayyar, CEO of Securonix. "McConnell brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise addressing some of the country's largest and most complex data protection and security concerns. He was among the first to recognize the critical threat cyber crime would pose to the security of the United States. We continue to grow our advisory board with some of the most important figures in cyber security and rely heavily on their guidance and advice."

As a member of the Securonix Board of Advisors, McConnell joins a distinguished group of national security leaders and security industry experts including former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, international cyber security expert Bob Rose, former Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Intelligence Community Patrick Gorman, and former NSA Deputy Director Chris Inglis.

About Securonix

Securonix is working to radically transform all areas of data security with actionable security intelligence. Our purpose-built advanced security analytics technology mines, enriches, analyzes, scores and visualizes customer data into actionable intelligence on the highest risk threats from within and outside their environment. Using signature-less anomaly detection techniques that track users, account and system behavior, Securonix is able to detect the most advanced data security, insider threats and fraud attacks automatically and accurately. Globally customers are using Securonix to address the most basic and complex needs around advanced persistent threat detection and monitoring, high privileged activity monitoring, enterprise and web fraud detection, application risk monitoring and access risk management. For more information visit www.securonix.com.

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SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Baristas Coffee Company, Inc. (OTCQB: BCCI), "Seattle's World Famous Costume Coffee" announced today that it has begun producing a series of Television Commercials introducing the public to the Baristas White Coffee single serve cups compatible with the Keurig 2.0 K-Cup Brewing System. The Commercials will air in support of both retail and online sales as the product is rolled out. Production of the commercials has begun and will educate consumers about this unique and very rare product. The commercials will be shown in core distribution markets on top consumer television networks including The Food Network, The Cooking Channel, CNN Headline, CNBC, MTV, and ESPN Networks among others.

White Coffee is a rarity and is developed using a slow and low heat roast that preserves a much higher caffeine level than a traditional roast. Because the beans have been under-roasted, white coffee has a lighter taste than traditional coffee and is described as both neutral and nutty. Both Baristas White Coffee and Espresso Roast Single Serve Cups are available and utilize Baristas award winning five bean variety of pure Arabica beans that have been hand selected and individually roasted to touch all seven parts of the taste experience in the perfect combination.

Baristas sold out its initial product run of white coffee in the first day it was introduced and then sold out on Amazon on the first day as well where it is the only product of its type available. It has also been approved to export to Mexico the only White Coffee single serve cups compatible with the Keurig K-Cup Brewing System 2.0 available anywhere in Mexico.

Barry Henthorn, CEO, stated: "Television is an important media reaching consumers directly in their homes. Baristas will be supporting our retail partners by running ads both locally and on National platforms. The attention that white coffee is attracting and the repeat purchases from a growing loyal customer base support our decision to dramatically ramp up our marketing efforts beginning with Television."

About Baristas Coffee Company (BCCI): Headquartered in the Seattle, Washington area, Baristas Coffee Company, Inc. was formed to create a national brand of drive-thru espresso stands. BCCI is accomplishing this by acquiring established businesses that fit its model, opening new locations, and by franchising. Baristas has separated itself from the competition with its "theme" of joining attractive female baristas in entertaining costumes preparing the finest beverages available on the market. Baristas can currently be found throughout the greater Seattle area as well as in Florida, and Montana. Your state, Coming Soon!

For more information on this fascinating concept please visit us at www.baristas.tv

For Investor Relations Contact:

Barry Henthorn

barry@baristas.tv

(206) 579-0222




Labeling update (sections 5.1 and 4.4) provides description of controlled clinical study of Abilify Maintena for treating adult patients experiencing acute relapses of schizophrenia. Positive opinion was based on Abilify Maintena demonstrating efficacy, tolerability and safety in a 12-week study in acutely relapsed adults with schizophreniaValby, 2016-02-03 12:45 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Europe Ltd. (Otsuka) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion for a type-II variation related to the update of the European summary of the product characteristics (SmPC) for Abilify Maintena.The update of the SmPC includes new Abilify Maintena data related to its effect and safety on acutely relapsed adults with schizophrenia. The application was submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the assessment started end November 2015.Abilify Maintena is indicated for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients stabilized with oral aripiprazole and the new data will support the physician in transitioning patients to the prolonged release formulation after symptom control has been achieved. Abilify Maintena should not be used to manage acutely agitated or severely psychotic states when immediate symptom control is warranted."These data - and the updated product labeling - establish the utility of Abilify Maintena in acutely relapsed adult patients and for the maintenance treatment of patients with schizophrenia", said Anders Gersel Pedersen, Executive Vice President, Research & Development, Lundbeck."The addition of this data is another step towards confidently addressing the challenges associated with treating this population" said Marco Avila, Regional Vice-President Medical, Otsuka.The opinion was based on results from a 12-week randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, which showed that treatment with Abilify Maintena (with concomitant oral aripiprazole for the first two weeks) significantly improved symptoms with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile in adult patients experiencing an acute relapse of schizophrenia.[1]Clinical trial resultEfficacy of Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) for the treatment of acutely relapsed adults with schizophrenia was demonstrated in a 12-week multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The primary measure used for assessing psychiatric signs and symptoms was the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), a 30-item scale that measures positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and general psychopathology, using a rating scale of 1 (absent) to 7 (extreme). All patients entering the trial were inpatients who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for schizophrenia and experienced an acute psychotic episode as defined by both PANSS total score of 80 or higher, and a PANSS score greater than 4 on each of four specific psychotic symptoms (conceptual disorganization, hallucinatory behavior, suspiciousness/persecution, unusual thought content). Patients had a mean PANSS total score of 103 at study entry.[2]A total of 339 patients received double-blind treatment with Abilify Maintena 400 mg (n=167) or placebo (n=172), with 64.3% (Abilify Maintena) and 49.4% (placebo) of patients completing 10 weeks of treatment. The primary efficacy outcome (change from baseline to 10-week endpoint in PANSS total score) demonstrated greater improvement with Abilify Maintena than with placebo (-26.8 vs. -11.7, respectively, p<0.0001); statistically significant improvements with Abilify Maintena were shown at all time points measured from week 1-12.1 The key secondary efficacy outcome was change from baseline to 10-week endpoint in Clinical Global Impression Severity of Illness Scale (CGI-S) score and also showed statistically greater improvement with Abilify Maintena than with placebo (-1.4 vs. -0.6, respectively, p<0.0001). 1Safety of Abilify MaintenaThe overall safety and tolerability profile of Abilify Maintena in this study was generally consistent with that observed in previous double-blind phase III studies. 2,[3]. During 10 weeks of treatment, the most common reason for discontinuation was patient withdrawal of consent (19% vs. 9% for placebo) and lack of efficacy (7% vs. 29% for placebo.). Discontinuations due to adverse events occurred in 4% of patients receiving Abilify Maintena vs. 8% of patients receiving placebo. The symptoms which had at least twice the incidence of placebo were increased weight and akathisia. The incidence of weight gain of = 7 % from baseline to last visit (Week 12) was 21.5% for Abilify Maintena compared with the placebo group 8.5%. Akathisia was the most frequently observed EPS symptom (Abilify Maintena 11.4% and placebo group 3.5%).Lundbeck contacts:Mads Kronborg Lars Otto Andersen-Lange Director, Corporate Communication Communication SpecialistTelephone (direct): +45 36 43 28 51 Telephone: +45 30 83 26 57Otsuka contacts:Alison RossOtsuka Pharmaceutical Europe Ltd.aross@otsuka-europe.com+44 7768 337128About Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole once-monthly)Abilify Maintena is a once-monthly injection of a dopamine D2 partial agonist. It is available in the US for the treatment of schizophrenia and in a number of European countries for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients stabilized with oral aripiprazole.[4][5] In Canada it is available for the treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients and in Australia for maintenance of clinical improvement in the treatment of schizophrenia.Abilify Maintena, an atypical antipsychotic, is an intramuscular long acting injectable formulation of aripiprazole. It is a sterile lyophilized powder that, when reconstituted with sterile water for injection, forms an injectable suspension that can be administered monthly. After an initial injection of Abilify Maintena along with an overlapping 14-day dosing of oral antipsychotic treatment, subsequent injections of Abilify Maintena provide uninterrupted medication coverage for 30 days at a time. It provides a treatment option to address one of the most important considerations in the management of schizophrenia - reducing the risk of relapse, or the re-emergence of worsening of symptoms. Long acting injectable formulations of antipsychotic agents provide patients with concentrations of active drug that remain at a therapeutic range for an extended period of time. 2,3About schizophreniaSchizophrenia is a disease characterized by a distortion in the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood and the condition is chronic, often requiring life-long treatment to mitigate symptoms. It has been estimated that schizophrenia affects approximately 1,2% of the adult population in the EU, and approximately 24 million people worldwide.[6][7] In the EU, there are approximately 5 million adults with schizophrenia, prevalent equally in both genders.[8][9] While there is no cure for the disease, symptoms and risk of relapse - the re-emergence or worsening of psychotic symptoms[10] - can be managed in most patients with appropriate antipsychotic treatment.About the Otsuka and Lundbeck Global AllianceOtsuka and Lundbeck established a global alliance in November 2011 to bring to bear their considerable experience and resources in the CNS area to introduce next-generation treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's disease and alcohol dependency.About OtsukaOtsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: 'Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide.'At Otsuka the emphasis is on 'super people' who have a flair for the unconventional not 'super computers'. This has led us to become a leading firm in the challenging area of mental health. Beyond mental health, this thinking has resulted in the development of first-in-class products to treat kidney, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders and blood-related cancers. Otsuka also has research programmes for several under-addressed diseases including tuberculosis, a significant global public health issue. The Otsuka Group employs approximately 43,000 people globally.Otsuka established a presence in Europe in 1979. Our 600 European employees focus their passion and energy into ensuring that patients have access to Otsuka's new products, including in 2015 the first-ever drug treatment in Europe for polycystic kidney disease. Otsuka also received approval in 2014 for the first new anti-tuberculosis drug in Europe in over 40 years.Our stories all start by taking the road less travelled. Learn more here:www.otsuka.co.jp/en/ (Global)www.otsuka-europe.com (European)About LundbeckH. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUYY) is a global pharmaceutical company specialized in brain diseases. For more than 70 years, we have been at the forefront of research within neuroscience. Our key areas of focus are depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.An estimated 700 million people worldwide are living with brain disease and far too many suffer due to inadequate treatment, discrimination, a reduced number of working days, early retirement and other unnecessary consequences. Every day, we strive for improved treatment and a better life for people living with brain disease - we call this Progress in Mind.Read more at www.lundbeck.com/global/about-us/progress-in-mind.Our approximately 5,500 employees in 58 countries are engaged in the entire value chain throughout research, development, production, marketing and sales. Our pipeline consists of several late-stage development programmes and our products are available in more than 100 countries. We have research centres in China and Denmark and production facilities in China, Denmark, France and Italy. Lundbeck generated core revenue of DKK 13.5 billion in 2014 (EUR 1.8 billion; USD 2.4 billion).For additional information, we encourage you to visit our corporate site www.lundbeck.com and connect with us on Twitter at @Lundbeck.References[1] Kane J., et al. Aripiprazole Once-Monthly in the Acute Treatment of Schizophrenia: Findings From a 12-Week, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2014;75 (11): 1254-1260.[2] Kane J., et al. Aripiprazole Intramuscular Depot as Maintenance Treatment in Patients With Schizophrenia: A 52-Week, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2012; 73: 617-624.[3] Fleischhacker W., et al. Aripiprazole Once-Monthly for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Non-Inferiority Study vs. Oral aripiprazole. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 2014; 205:135-144.[4] Prescribing Information. ABILIFY MAINTENA(aripiprazole) for extended-release injectable suspension, for intramuscular use. July 2015[5] Drug Approval Reports. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2013. Available at: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm?fuseaction=Repor ts.MonthlyApprovalsAll. Accessed November 11, 2014.[6] Mental Health Information: Schizophrenia. National Institute of Mental Health. 2014. Available at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml. Accessed on November 11, 2014.[7] Schizophrenia Fact Sheet. World Health Organization. 2010. Available at http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/schizophrenia/en/. Accessed on November 11, 2014.[8] Wittchen, H. U., Jacobi, F., Rehm, J., Gustavsson, a., Svensson, M., Jonsson, B.,  Steinhausen, H. C. (2011). The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 21(9), 655-679.[9] Mental Illness Facts and Numbers. National Alliance on Mental Illness. 2013. Available at: http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf. Accessed October 29, 2014.[10] Almond, S., et al. Relapse in Schizophrenia: Costs, Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2004; 184: 346-351.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=545179
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced that TREB Commercial Network Members reported a combined 240,606 square feet of industrial, commercial/retail and office space leased through TREB's MLS System in January 2016, for properties where pricing was disclosed on a per square foot net basis. This result was down from 349,270 square feet of leased space in January 2015.

Industrial properties accounted for approximately 60 per cent of space leased.

The month of January is often quite volatile from one year to the next in terms of the types and sizes of properties that are leased. For this reason, average lease rates for reported transactions varied markedly between January 2015 and January 2016, with the average industrial lease rate up substantially year-over-year and the average commercial/retail lease rate down substantially.

"The way in which the GTA commercial real estate market unfolds in 2016 will depend a lot on how the regional economy adapts to the lower value of the Canadian dollar. To date, we have not seen a full resurgence in the goods production sector, particularly as it relates to exports. If export-related production starts to increase, it is possible that commercial sale and leasing activity could increase this year as well," said Mr. McLean.

There were 40 combined industrial, commercial/retail and office sales reported in January 2016. This result was down compared to 53 sales reported for the same period in 2015.

Similar to the leasing market, sales results for the month of January can be quite volatile, which can periodically lead to larger swings in average sale prices on a per square foot basis. As the number of transactions picks up through the first quarter, in line with the recurring seasonal trend, the volatility in average selling prices is expected to diminish.

January 2016: Per Square Foot Net Commercial Leasing Summary

Lease Transactions Completed on a Per Square Foot Net Basis with Pricing Disclosed on TorontoMLS

Leased Square Feet Average Lease Rate Jan. Jan. % Jan. Jan. % 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Industrial 142,527 268,799 -47.0% Industrial $6.77 $5.20 30.3% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Commercial 68,249 42,288 61.4% Commercial $14.16 $19.17 -26.1% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Office 29,830 38,183 -21.9% Office $14.74 $13.71 7.6% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Total 240,606 349,270 -31.1%

January 2016: Commercial Sales Completed with Pricing Disclosed on TorontoMLS

Avg. Sale Price Per Sq. Ft. (Pricing Sales (Price Disclosed) Disclosed) Jan. Jan. % Jan. Jan. % 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Industrial 13 26 -50.0% Industrial $64.23 $86.11 -25.4% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Commercial 17 18 -5.6% Commercial $194.18 $208.34 -6.8% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Office 10 9 11.1% Office $222.90 $313.53 -28.9% ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Total 40 53 -24.5%

Source: TREB

NOTE: Some table totals may differ due to conversion and rounding.

Greater Toronto REALTORS are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Over 43,000 residential and commercial TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. TREB is Canada's largest real estate board. www.TREBhome.com

Contacts:

Media Inquiries: Toronto Real Estate Board

Mary Gallagher

Senior Manager Public Affairs

(416) 443-8158

maryg@trebnet.com

www.TREBHome.com




EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Athabasca Minerals Inc. ("Athabasca" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: ABM) is pleased to announce Mr. Don Paulencu, ICD.D, has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Mr. Paulencu was employed at Deloitte LLP for 39 years, and served as audit partner for the past 31 years. Mr. Paulencu served in many leadership capacities in the Edmonton office including office managing partner for 10 years, and has provided audit, accounting, tax and advisory services to both public and private companies. Mr. Paulencu has also served as audit partner for several public corporations in a variety of industries.

The Corporation also announces the resignation of Mr. Peter Elzinga as a director and Chairman due to health reasons. The Corporation wishes to thank Mr. Elzinga for his time and efforts during his tenure at Athabasca, and wishes him well in the future.

About Athabasca Minerals

The Corporation is a resource company involved in the management, exploration and development of aggregate and silica sand projects. These activities include contracts works, aggregate pit management, aggregate production and sales from corporate-owned pits, new aggregate development and acquisitions of sand and gravel operations, and development and supply of frac sand for Western Canada. The Corporation also has industrial mineral land holdings for the purpose of locating and developing sources of industrial minerals and aggregates essential to high growth economic development.

Neither the TSX Venture nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Athabasca Minerals Inc.

Dean Stuart

403-517-2270

dean@boardmarker.net




OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Itinerary for the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, for Wednesday, February 3, 2016:

Ottawa 10:00 a.m. The Prime Minister will attend the National Caucus meeting. Edmonton 4:00 p.m. The Prime Minister will meet Alberta Premier, Rachel Notley. Alberta Legislature Building 10800 - 97 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB Notes for media: - Photo opportunity only - Media should arrive no later than 3:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. The Prime Minister will hold a joint media availability with Alberta Premier, Rachel Notley. Rotunda Alberta Legislature Building 10800 - 97 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB 6:00 p.m. The Prime Minister will tour the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training facility. 4216 93 Street Edmonton, AB Notes for media: - Photo opportunity only - Media should arrive no later than 5:30 p.m. 6:20 p.m. The Prime Minister will meet with members of the Building Trades of Alberta. Closed to media.

Please note: all times are local.

Contacts:

PMO Media Relations:

613-957-5555




For Immediate Release

3 February 2016

Wincanton plc

('Wincanton' or the 'Company)

Transaction in own shares

Wincanton plc announces its intention to make purchases of its own shares commencing today until 31 March 2016 (unless terminated earlier). The purchases will be conducted in accordance with the authorisation granted to the Company by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 16 July 2015. It is intended that the ordinary shares purchased will be gifted by the Company to the Wincanton Employee Benefit Trust in order to satisfy future exercises of share option awards made to employees under the Company's employee share incentive schemes.

Any purchases will be effected over the period within certain pre-set parameters and limits approved at the Company's AGM held on 16 July 2015.

The main parameter is that the maximum price paid is to be limited to no more than the higher of (i) an amount equal to 105 per cent. of the average middle market quotations for an ordinary share in the Company as derived from The London Stock Exchange Daily Official List for the 5 business days immediately preceding the date on which such share is contracted to be purchased and (ii) the amount stipulated by Article 5(1) of the EU Buy-Back and Stabilisation Regulation (being the higher of the price of the last independent trade and the highest current independent bid for an ordinary share in the Company on the trading venues where the market purchases by the Company pursuant to the authority conferred by the shareholders will be carried on).

Notifications will be made when any share purchases have been made in accordance with Listing Rule 12.4.6.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Wincanton plc

Adrian Colman, Chief Executive 01249 710 000

Buchanan

Richard Oldworth, Gabriella Clinkard, Jane Glover 020 7466 5000
HONG KONG, Feb 3 - Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region CY Leung and Minister of Industries, Ports, Employment & Self Employment, Government of Maharashtra, Subhash Desai, were the guests of honour at a business luncheon hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Mumbai, India today.

Please contact Cumulus PR Communication: For Mumbai: Akbar Askari Tel: +91 9971339654, Email: akbar@cumulus.net.in; akbar.cumulus@gmail.com For Delhi: Rajani Vickram Tel: +91 9999765958, Email: rajani@cumulus.net.in; rajani.cumulus@gmail.com For Hong Kong: Joe Kainz Tel: +852 2584 4216, Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org

HONG KONG, Feb 3, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region CY Leung and Minister of Industries, Ports, Employment & Self Employment, Government of Maharashtra, Subhash Desai, were the guests of honour at a business luncheon hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Mumbai, India today (3 Feb). The luncheon is a highlight event of the ongoing Hong Kong business mission to India, which includes a delegation of 40 businesspeople representing the city's leading industries, such as financial services, professional services, logistics, shipping, telecommunications, construction and engineering.Among the delegation members are John Slosar, Chairman, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Laura Cha, Chairman of Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council, Yue Yi, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd, Ivy Cheung, President, Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Lau Ping-cheung, Chairman, Hong Kong Coalition of Professional Services. The delegation members are in India to explore business and investment partnership opportunities and to foster closer bilateral ties between Hong Kong and India.Speaking at the luncheon, attended by more than 120 guests, Mr Leung highlighted Hong Kong's advantages under the "one country, two systems" formula, adding that Hong Kong is the ideal gateway to markets in the Chinese mainland. "In short, Hong Kong is the global economy's undisputed super-connector, bringing together the rest of China and the rest of the world, and that definitely includes India," said Mr Leung.Minister Desai also highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation to create business opportunities. "I invite you all, from both Hong Kong and India, to join hands with my government, see what we have to offer, and together we can take our common path forward," he said.Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, said the Council had a proven track record in helping Indian businesses expand into new markets using the Hong Kong platform, including more than 30 major international trade fairs and conferences in Hong Kong organised by the HKTDC each year.Key sectors spotlightedImmediately before the luncheon in Mumbai, Laura Cha (financial services), Chairman of Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council, Joseph Phi (logistics services), Chairman of GS1 Hong Kong Limited and Ian Chung (infrastructural development services), Chairman of The Association of Consulting Engineers of Hong Kong gave presentations to the Indian business community.A key theme of the presentations was exploring new opportunities emerging for stronger business links between India and Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's role as a bridge connecting India to the Chinese mainland market, especially in light of the Belt and Road Initiative spearheaded by the Chinese government.The Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect Asia and Europe via the Middle East and Africa by a series of transport and infrastructure developments to facilitate trade and cross-border connectivity. By improving infrastructure and facilities in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, South Asia and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, the Belt and Road Initiative will boost financial integration, trade and cultural bonds. India, being a key country along the Belt and Road, can play a crucial role in linking markets together.On a mission to build tiesSince arriving in India this week, the Hong Kong delegation has attended briefings from leading Indian conglomerates including the Mahindra Group and the Tata Group and visited the Bharat Diamond Bourse and The Capital Building. Earlier today, Chief Executive Mr Leung was given the honour of taking part in the Bell Ringing Ceremony of the BSE. Later today, the delegation will travel to Delhi to continue the business mission in India's capital city. The HKTDC will also host a business dinner in Delhi tomorrow evening as a concluding event of the business mission to India.Long and strong business linksHong Kong and India enjoy close and strong bilateral ties formed over more than 150 years of business and cultural links. In 2015, India was Hong Kong's fourth-largest export market with total exports to India expanding 8.1 per cent year-on-year to US$13.1 billion. Major export items included telecom equipment & parts (US$5.1 billion, 39.3% share) and pearls, precious & semi-precious stones (US$4.7 billion, 36.3%). On the other hand, India was Hong Kong's ninth-largest source of imports in 2015, amounting to US$10.6 billion. India is Hong Kong's seventh-largest trading partner globally with bilateral trade of US$23.7 billion last year.Photo Download: http://bit.ly/1NPycUaTo view press releases in Chinese, please visit http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/tcAbout HKTDCA statutory body established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is the international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers and services providers. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China and throughout Asia. The HKTDC also organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in overseas markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Google+, Twitter @hktdc, LinkedIn.Google+: http://plus.google.com/+hktdcTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/hktdcLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-councilSource: HKTDCContact:Copyright 2016 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI), the parent company of luxury brands Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissotel Hotels & Resorts, is pleased to announce it has received the prestigious J.D. Power President's Award. In doing so, FRHI becomes the first and only hospitality company to ever receive the commendation.

"We are honored and delighted to be the first hospitality company in history to be recognized by J.D. Power for this award," said Michael Glennie, president and chief operating officer, FRHI. "Our ability to emotionally connect with our guests and deliver on our service promise is what has earned us this award, and it is entirely due to the efforts of our extraordinary team of colleagues around the world. We are grateful to have such a remarkable group of professionals dedicated to earning a special place in the heart of each and every guest."

J.D. Power is a global marketing information services company providing performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are highly regarded by corporate institutions globally and are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. The J.D. Power President's Award is handed out on a discretionary basis to deserving companies and individuals demonstrating exemplary results in the areas of customer engagement, quality improvement, customer satisfaction and service excellence. During the 40 year history of J.D. Power, only 13 companies have previously received the President's Award.

"Across all of our brands we have a promise to deliver service that is meaningful, authentic and personalized; clearly this is resonating with our guests," said Michelle Crosby, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, FRHI. "Creating a great guest experience through every service interaction is pivotal to our success and this award is an amazing endorsement for the work we are doing in this regard. It also recognizes our commitment to our colleagues and our culture - we believe that we need to do a great job of taking care our colleagues so that our colleagues can do a great job taking care of our guests."

"The consistent excellence achieved by FRHI Hotels & Resorts and its brands over the past decade is extremely rare for any company in any industry," said Finbarr O'Neill, president of J.D. Power. "This award is a testament to FRHI's commitment to its customers and its employees, and for its dedication to continuous improvement."

This latest mark of distinction is also proof of the company's ongoing focus on innovation and improvement. Later this year, FRHI will roll out a new service training program for all three of its brands, emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence and individualized service. Available in 18 languages, the new program will feature video testimonials from valued guests, a video portal for colleagues to share their stories of service excellence and a calendar of online and in-hotel sustainment activities to ensure service is a priority throughout the year.

At FRHI, a commitment to exceeding customer expectations is part of the company's DNA. Recently, FRHI was also recognized for its customer loyalty as the highest rated brand in the Hotel (Luxury) category of the 2015 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index.

About FRHI Hotels & Resorts

FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) is a leading luxury hotel management company that operates more than 130 hotels and branded residential offerings globally under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel brands. The company's distinctive portfolio of luxury and upper upscale hotels features celebrated icons, world-class resorts and stylish city center hotels. Some notable hotels include Fairmont Dubai, Raffles Singapore, Swissotel The Bosphorus, Fairmont San Francisco and London's The Savoy. Focused on growing its distinctive hotel brands, the company is also developing new hotels in key locations around the world including exciting projects in China, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The company also manages Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel branded luxury private residence clubs, whole-ownership residences and serviced residences properties. For more information visit frhi.com.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-jdpowerpresidentsaward800.jpg.

Contacts:

FRHI Hotels & Resorts

Mike Taylor

416/874-2457

mike.taylor@frhi.com

www.frhi.com




DENVER, COLORADO and VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Sandspring Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SSP)(OTCQX: SSPXF) ("Sandspring" or the "Company") is pleased to announce encouraging results from its Fall 2015 Exploration Program at its Toroparu Gold Project ("Toroparu") in Guyana, South America. The Company completed a 3,700-meter diamond drilling program on the promising Sona Hill Prospect, located 5 km southeast of the main Toroparu deposit, and also conducted a 100-km2 geochemical survey on unexplored concessions within the northwest region of the Company's property.

Sona Hill Drilling

Assay results from the 2015 Sona Hill diamond drilling program confirmed saprolite and bedrock mineralization that was initially intercepted in the Q4-2012 reconnaissance drill program. The 2012 program, which included 30 reverse circulation holes (SOR001-SOR030) and five diamond drill holes (SOD001-SOD005), defined gold mineralization in saprolite and bedrock along the western flank of the 1-km long north-south oriented Sona Hill anomaly. Sona Hill is the eastern most gold anomaly in a cluster of ten gold features located within a 20 km by 7 km hydrothermal alteration halo around Toroparu.

The 2015 diamond drilling program recovered 3,691 meters of drill core from 35 holes (SOD006-SOD041) drilled to a vertical depth of 100 meters. Highlights from both the 2012 and 2015 core include:

============================================================================ Drill Weighted Gold From To Width Grade Average Hole-ID (m) (m) (m) (g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 DDH camp. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD001 49.0 56.5 7.5 4.35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 52.0 56.5 4.5 6.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD004 46.0 63.0 17.0 1.59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 46.0 50.5 4.5 2.54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015 DDH camp. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD008 78.0 85.9 7.9 2.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD009 68.3 74.5 6.2 3.74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD009 101.4 105.3 4.0 6.84 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD016 66.2 74.6 8.4 2.73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 66.2 69.5 3.3 4.25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD022 53.5 59.4 5.9 23.41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 56.5 58.0 1.5 41.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD029 62.7 66.7 4.0 8.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 62.7 64.0 1.3 16.80 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD031 0.0 4.0 4.0 8.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 0.0 2.5 2.5 11.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD032 86.1 90.0 3.9 5.48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 86.1 87.2 1.1 17.20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD038 0.0 2.5 2.5 7.99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- incl. 0.0 1.0 1.0 19.20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD038 44.5 55.0 10.5 3.63 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOD041 81.4 83.5 2.1 6.14 ============================================================================

(i) (cut-off grade 0.5 g/t; no grade capping applied)

A complete list of gold drill intercepts can be found in Exhibit 1: Sona Hill Drill Results. The reported holes SOD001-SOD041 (2012 and 2015 drill programs) represent a total of 4,501 meters of diamond core drilling within the Sona Hill Area (Exhibit 2: Sona Hill Exploration Drilling; Exhibit 3: Location Map).

Examination of drill core from the Sona Hill drill program indicates that high-grade gold mineralization generally occurs in tourmaline and feldspar-bearing quartz veins forming a network above an intensely altered, low-angle shear (fault) zone. The surrounding intrusive host rocks are commonly bleached and altered, likely related to the emplacement of the quartz veins. Sona Hill drilling results and the cluster of geochemical gold features around Toroparu suggest that the main deposit may be part of a larger regional mineralized system and surrounded by other mineralized systems in different geologic settings.

The Sona Hill mineralized system remains open along strike and down dip at depth. Sandspring is committed to developing the Sona Hill prospect into a resource, and is planning further exploration of Sona Hill and the other geochemical gold anomalies in the hydrothermal alteration halo in an effort to identify additional ounces.

Geochemical Survey

Sandspring completed a 100-km2 regional geochemical survey across the Otomung River area, located 20 km northwest of the Toroparu deposit (Exhibit 3: Location Map; Exhibit 4: Otomung Geochemical and Geophysics Map). Through its Guyana subsidiary ETK, Inc., Sandspring controls 25,602 acres of property in the Otomung River area (the "Otomung Block"). The Otomung area lies to the northwest of an interpreted large geologic flexure in the Puruni Shear Corridor, the geologic feature that hosts the Toroparu deposit and can be traced for more than 150 km within the Puruni volcano-sedimentary belt into producing goldfields in Venezuela. Sandspring extended its regional geochemical survey grid into the Otomung Block, which is adjacent to the current boundaries of the Toroparu property block, with the objective of identifying gold anomalous features that could indicate additional mineralized systems.

The Otomung geochemical survey collected 764 samples on a 1000 meter x 100 meter grid. Multi-element data indicate that gold anomalous values occur at the border of a geochemical feature interpreted as an elongated granitoid intrusion in the center of the survey area. This interpretation is consistent with indications from earlier exploration work in the area that suggested the presence of intrusives in the same zones and reflects a geological setting comparable to Toroparu. Sandspring plans to follow up these results with an extension of the survey grid further to the northwest to explore for other intrusive structures, and will infill survey lines and sampling in the zones of interest in order to develop new drill targets.

Rich Munson, CEO states: "I am pleased with the results of the Sona Hill drilling campaign, which confirm the existence of a gold mineralization system underneath the geochemical anomaly and further demonstrate the potential to find and develop satellite deposits in the vicinity of the main Toroparu Deposit. The geochemical survey was also very promising, indicating the potential to discover other deposits along the Puruni Volcano-sedimentary Belt as it extends to the west from Toroparu."

The technical information in this document has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Lucas W. Claessens, P.Geo. and Pascal Van Osta, P.Geo., both Senior Exploration Consultants for Sandspring, who have sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralization under consideration and are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101.

Shares for Debt Transaction

Sandspring has reached an agreement with an arms-length party to pay $15,000 in invoices in common shares. Subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, Sandspring will issue a total of 100,000 common shares to the party at a deemed price of $0.15. The shares will be subject to a four-month hold period.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Sandspring Resources

"Richard A. Munson"

Director and Chief Executive Officer

About Sandspring Resources Ltd.

Sandspring Resources Ltd. is a Canadian junior mining company currently moving toward a definitive feasibility study for the multi-million ounce Toroparu Project in the Republic of Guyana. A gold and silver purchase agreement with Silver Wheaton and the transaction with PNO Resources Ltd. that closed in September 2015 (see Sandspring press release dated September 14, 2015) provide Sandspring with a strong base as it proceeds with the ongoing development of the Toroparu Project. A prefeasibility study completed in May 2013 (NI 43-101 Technical Report, Prefeasibility Study, Toroparu Gold Project, Upper Puruni River Area, Guyana, dated May 24, 2013 completed by SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) outlined the design of an open-pit mine producing more than 200,000 ounces of gold annually over an initial 16-year mine life. Significant exploration potential, along with copper credits, provides additional upside potential for the Toroparu Project. Additional information is available at www.sandspringresources.com or by email at info@sandspringresources.com.

Neither 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.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

The drill program and sampling protocol is managed by Sandspring under the supervision of Lucas W. Claessens, P.Geo. and Pascal Van Osta, P.Geo. The diamond drill holes are drilled at HQ and NQ sizes and core recovery to date has averaged 94%. Half core is cut by rock saw and is generally sampled using 1.5 m meter intervals. Analytical testing and reporting of quantitative assays for the results reported in this press release was performed independently by Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories in Vancouver, Canada. Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. is an ISO9001: 2008 accredited laboratory. Gold analyses reported in this release were performed by standard fire assay (FA450) using a 50 gram charge with atomic absorption finish and a gravimetric finish for assays greater than 10 grams per tonne. Samples from the geochemical survey were submitted for analysis of ICP 37 elements (including gold) AQ252 30 gram (Aqua Regia digestion - Ultratrace ICP-MS analyses). A system of blanks, standards and duplicates were added by the Company to the sample streams to verify accuracy and precision of assay results, supplementing a variety of internal QA/QC tests performed by Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories. The half core samples were securely transported by Sandspring personnel from the project site to the Bureau Veritas sample preparation facility in Georgetown, Guyana.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "potential", "suggesting", "indicating", "will", "plans" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information and/or statements. Forward-looking statements and/or information are based on a number of material factors, expectations and/or assumptions that Sandspring has used to develop such statements and/or information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although Sandspring believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since Sandspring can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such information and/or statements, including the assumptions made in respect thereof, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and/or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information and/or statements including, without limitation: the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates; results from drilling and exploration activities and Sandspring's ability to identify additional gold mineralization; Sandspring's ability to successfully advance the Toroparu Gold Project toward feasibility; Sandspring's future plans; the availability of financing and/or cash flow to fund current and future plans and expenditures; the impact of increasing competition; fluctuating commodity prices; the general stability of applicable economic and political environments; the general continuance of current industry conditions; uncertainty regarding the market price for gold, silver and copper; uncertainty of conducting operations under a foreign regime; uncertainty of obtaining all applicable regulatory approvals and related timing matters; Sandspring's dependence on management personnel; and/or certain other risks detailed from time-to-time in Sandspring's public disclosure documents. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Sandspring Resources Ltd.

Ms. Rhylin Bailie

Vice President, Communications & Investor Relations

604-609-5132

info@sandspringresources.com




FRAMINGHAM, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Arch Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: ARTH) ("Arch" or the "Company"), developer of the AC5 Surgical Hemostatic Device (AC5) for use in controlling bleeding and fluid loss in order to provide faster and safer surgical and interventional care, will present at the 2016 BIO CEO and Investor Conference on Monday, February 8, 2016 at 8:00 AM ET.

Chief Executive Officer Terrence W. Norchi, MD will provide a corporate update, discuss near-term milestones and meet with investors. The conference will be held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

If you are an investor and wish to register to attend the Company's presentation or a schedule a meeting at the conference, you may find information by clicking on the following link: https://www.bio.org/events/conferences/bio-ceo-investor-registration

About Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Arch Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a novel approach to stop bleeding (hemostasis) and control leaking (sealant) during surgery and trauma care. Arch is developing products based on an innovative self-assembling peptide technology platform to make surgery and interventional care faster and safer for patients. Arch's flagship development stage product candidate, known as AC5, is being designed to achieve hemostasis in minimally invasive and open surgical procedures. Find out more at www.archtherapeutics.com.

About the Conference

The 18th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference assembles a select group of established biotech companies, as well as top public and private equity investors and members of the sell-side investment community, to explore the current investment landscape and opportunities in life sciences. For more information, please visit www.bio.org.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, references to novel technologies and methods, our business and product development plans and projections, or market information. 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 developing new products or technologies and operating as a development stage company, our ability to retain important members of our management team and attract other qualified personnel, our ability to raise the additional funding we will need to continue to pursue our business and product development plans, our ability to develop and commercialize products based on our technology platform, and market conditions. 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 any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any 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 the reports and other documents we file with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov.

On Behalf of the Board,

Terrence W. Norchi, MD

Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Contact:

ARTH Investor Relations

Toll Free: +1-855-340-ARTH (2784) (US and Canada)

Email: investors@archtherapeutics.com

Website: www.archtherapeutics.com



Or



Richard Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Phone: 617-431-2308

Email: rdavis@archtherapeutics.com

Website: www.archtherapeutics.com




NORTH VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. ("Aurora") ("Company") (TSX VENTURE: ACU)(OTCBB: AACTF)(FRANKFURT: A82), a leader in inline measurement and control technology for the photovoltaic manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce customer acceptance of the Decima 3T and Veritas Software on two SEMCO Engineering Inc. (Semco) furnaces. Semco is a global manufacturer of production and lab equipment for the Semiconductor and Solar Industries. Both systems were delivered as a result of orders received in 2015, are installed "inline" in production facilities in Europe and Asia and are fully operational. Acceptance for both systems was received within a week of the arrival of Aurora personnel to assist in the calibration, verification and acceptance process.

Aurora also would like to announce that it has engaged Dr. Wolfgang Oels to provide a strategic review of its operations. His professional experience includes holding senior positions at solar companies such as QCells, and Alion. In addition, Dr. Oels has served two terms as a consultant to solar companies for respected consultancy McKinsey & Company, including its Operational Excellence Practice.

The Company will be issuing 350,000 options for incentives to consultants, including Dr. Oels, at $0.15 per share for a term of 5 years under the stock option program approved by the shareholders.

Gordon Deans, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Aurora has resigned from the Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Deans will remain as CTO of Aurora and we would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the Board and continued contribution to the Company.

About Aurora:

Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. produces measurement and control solutions which allow solar cell producers to improve manufacturing yield, lower costs, decrease waste and attain higher margins. Headquartered in North Vancouver, Canada, and founded by experienced leaders in process measurement, semiconductor manufacturing and industrial automation, the Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trade under the symbol "ACU". The Company was formerly "ACT Aurora Control Technologies". For more information, Aurora's website is located at www.aurorasolartech.com.

Neither 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.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Aurora Solar Technologies Inc.

Michael Heaven, P.Eng., MBA

Chairman & CEO

+1 (778) 241-5000

info@aurorasolartech.com



Investor Relations contact:

Aurora Solar Technologies Inc.

Nina Lafleur

+1 (604) 679-9964

info@aurorasolartech.com

www.aurorasolartech.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Argentex Mining Corporation ("Argentex" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: ATX)(OTCQB: AGXMF) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated August 31, 2015 and November 6, 2015, it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement ("Agreement") on February 2, 2016 pursuant to which Austral Gold Limited ("Austral Gold") (ASX: AGD) has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Argentex in exchange for ordinary shares of Austral Gold ("Austral Gold Shares"). On completion of the transaction Argentex will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Austral Gold.

The transaction (the "Transaction") is structured to be implemented by way of a court approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the Business Corporations Act (British Colombia).

Pursuant to the Agreement, Argentex shareholders (other than Austral Gold and two of its affiliates, which already own an aggregate of 19.9% of the outstanding Argentex common shares, and dissenting shareholders, if any), will receive a number of Austral Gold Shares, expected to represent approximately 7.75% of the total outstanding shares of Austral Gold after adjusting for the shares issued in the Transaction. This percentage is subject to adjustment in limited circumstances. Austral Gold has agreed to apply for a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V"), with the intention that such shares will commence trading on the TSX-V as soon as practicable after the effective time of the Transaction. Austral Gold is currently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and plans to maintain this listing. Upon completion of the Transaction, Argentex intends to de-list from the TSX-V and cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws.

The offer has an implied valuation of approximately $CAD0.085 for each Argentex share, representing a 135% premium over spot price on the TSX-V at close on February 2 and 136% premium to ATX 20 day volume weighted average on the TSX-V at close of trading on February 2 after adjusting for shares already owned by Austral and foreign exchange rates for the same periods.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of key terms and conditions including:

-- Regulatory, stock exchange, court and shareholder approvals; and -- Satisfaction of listing conditions from TSX-V, so that Austral Gold Shares can commence trading on the TSX-V on or as soon as practical after the effective time of the Arrangement.

Each company has agreed to pay a termination fee of $200,000 to the other party under certain circumstances.

Benefits to Shareholders:

-- Provides Argentex shareholders ownership of a producing gold mine in a favourable jurisdiction in a market where current equity financing options for exploration companies are almost non-existent; -- Argentex shareholders will receive shares in Austral Gold with an implied value premium to the current market price of Argentex shares; -- Combined company strengthens Latin American focus, with attractive exploration portfolio in Chile and Argentina, a pipeline of development projects in Chile and Argentina and a very well run producing mine in Chile; -- Experienced exploration, development and operational team in Chile and Argentina; -- Highly successful and well connected Argentinean majority owner;

"We are excited by the prospect of merging with Austral Gold to create a platform of growth for precious metals in South America. The merger will create a company with a unique blend of operations and development projects in the Americas, with access to existing cash flow from a low cost mine in Chile, Guanaco. The company will have a highly experienced development and operational team which will be able to advance our Pinguino project with the ability to exploit other opportunities in the region. This presents a unique value proposition for our shareholders in the current market," stated Mike Brown, President and CEO of Argentex. "We believe that the Transaction adds immediate value for our existing shareholders while providing Austral Gold with additional quality development projects, an experienced exploration team and corporate and market experience, which is reflected in the attractive premiums of the offer," concluded Mike Brown.

Mr. Eduardo Elsztain, Chairman of Austral Gold commented: "The proposed acquisition of Argentex represents another step in our objective of becoming a broad-based precious metals company and a leading regional player in South America. We have had a strategy of patiently and prudently deploying our capital to invest in projects and equity stakes in precious metals companies that we believe have considerable upside value. Argentex represents one such opportunity and we are confident that its shareholders will recognise the benefits of being part of Austral Gold. As well, we believe now is the right time to pursue a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange as this will give us access to a wider investor base in North America where our group of companies has a well-established and strong reputation. This investor base will be important as we continue to strengthen our asset base in South America. We have a number of additional opportunities we are pursuing and we look forward to updating shareholders in this regard."

In connection with the Agreement all of the directors and senior officers of Argentex, who hold shares and/or options representing an aggregate of approximately 0.89% of the issued and outstanding Argentex shares, have entered into voting agreements with Austral Gold whereby they agree to vote in favour of the Arrangement at the special meeting of Argentex shareholders to be held to consider the Arrangement, subject to the terms of the Agreement and the voting agreements. The Agreement contemplates that upon the effective time of the Arrangement all of the directors and officers of Argentex, other than Wayne Hubert, will resign from their positions in Argentex.

This news release provides only a summary of the terms of the Agreement - a copy of the Agreement will be filed on SEDAR.

Advisors and Counsel

Clark Wilson LLP acted as counsel to Argentex, and Primary Capital provided the fairness opinion. Zang, Bergel & Vines Abogados and Bennett Jones LLP acted as counsel to Austral Gold, and Red Cloud Mining as financial advisor. Primary Capital has provided a verbal opinion to the special committee of the board of directors of Argentex, which based upon and subject to the limitations contained in the fairness opinion, and other such matters Primary Capital has considered relevant, the terms of the Arrangement (pursuant to which Austral Gold would acquire Argentex) are fair from a financial point of view to the Argentex shareholders.

About Austral Gold

Austral Gold Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD) and is a growing precious metals mining and exploration company building a portfolio of assets in South America. The Company's flagship Guanaco project in Chile is a low-cost producing mine with further exploration upside. With an experienced and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral Gold is strengthening its asset base by investing in new precious metals projects in Chile and Argentina that have near-term development potential. For more information, please consult the company's website www.australgold.com.au.

About Argentex

Argentex Mining Corporation is an exploration company focused on advancing its Pinguino silver-gold project in Santa Cruz, Argentina. In total, Argentex owns 100% of the mineral rights to more than 27 properties located within approximately 107,000 hectares of highly prospective land located in the Santa Cruz and Rio Negro provinces.

Shares of Argentex common stock trade under the symbol ATX on the TSX Venture Exchange and under the symbol AGXMF on the OTC PINK. In addition, Argentex intends to file a Form 15 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") terminating its registration under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Thereafter, Argentex intends to rely on the registration exemption provided by Section 12g3-2(b) of the Exchange Act and the rules of the SEC promulgated thereunder.

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.

On behalf of Argentex Mining Corporation:

Michael Brown, President and CEO

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include; the proposed Transaction involving the business combination of Austral Gold and Argentex, the implied valuation of the share consideration, the enterprise valuation of Argentex, that Argentex shareholders will receive approximately 7.75% of the total outstanding shares of Austral Gold after adjusting for the shares issued in the Transaction, that upon completion of the Transaction, Argentex intends to de-list from the TSX-V and cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws, that Austral Gold will apply for a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange and that such shares will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange as soon as practicable after the effective date of the transaction, anticipated benefits to Argentex shareholders, including providing ownership of a producing gold mine in a favourable jurisdiction, receipt of Austral Gold shares with an implied value premium to the current market price of Argentex shares, combined company strengthening Latin American focus, and benefits from experienced exploration, development and operational team in Chile and Argentina, that the merging with Austral Gold will create a platform of growth for precious metals in South America, that the Transaction will create a company with a unique blend of operations and development projects in the Americas, with access to existing cash flow, that Austral Gold will have a highly experienced development and operational team which will be able to advance Argentex's Pinguino project, that the Transaction adds immediate value for Argentex's existing shareholders while providing Austral Gold with additional quality development projects, an experienced exploration team and corporate and market experience, Austral Gold's objective of becoming a broad-based precious metals company and a leading regional player in South America, that Argentex represents an opportunity with considerable upside value, Austral Gold's confidence that Argentex shareholders will recognize the benefits of being part of Austral Gold, Austral Gold's belief that listing on the TSX Venture Exchange will give it access to a wider investor base in North America and the importance of this investor base, Austral Gold updating shareholders on additional opportunities that it is pursuing.

Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, but not limited to: failure to satisfy the conditions precedent to completing the Transaction; inaccuracy, incompleteness or omissions in any of the financial and other information upon which management bases its analysis of the Transaction; the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of Transaction, including the failure of Austral Gold to achieve anticipated future financial, structural, growth and operating performance. Other risks are described in our public disclosure documents filed on the SEDAR website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators and the EDGAR website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:

Argentex Mining Corporation

Michael Brown

President and CEO

604-568-2496

info@argentexmining.com

www.argentexmining.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Oban Mining Corporation (TSX: OBM) ("Oban" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a binding letter of intent (the "Agreement") to acquire 100% of the Souart property, located in the Urban Barry greenstone belt, in Souart and Barry Townships, Quebec (the "Acquisition"). The Souart property is currently held by Multi-Ressources Boreal ("M-R Boreal").

The Souart property is located approximately 90 kilometres east of Lebel sur Quevillon, 14 kilometres southwest of, and along the same geological trend as, Oban's Windfall Lake project. Three zones have been defined by historical work on the property including the Nubar Zone (with estimated resources of 564,000 tonnes at 6.2 g/t Au, based on historical estimates that have not been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")), the Tourmaline Hill Zone, and the Barry-Souart Zone. These three zones are located along a 5 kilometre length of the same geological structure. See below under the heading "Disclosure of Historical Estimates".

Under the terms of the Agreement, M-R Boreal will receive consideration of 500,000 common shares of Oban and a cash payment of $200,000 in exchange for 100% ownership of the 33 claims (comprising 1,286.34 hectares) that comprise the Souart property. M-R Boreal will maintain a 2% NSR royalty over the Souart property, which can be redeemed by Oban, at any time, for $2 million. The Acquisition is subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Disclosure of Historical Estimates

In 1950, Nubar Mines Ltd. sunk a 44 metre deep shaft and drove 135 metres of drifts and crosscuts. Several exploration surveys were then completed by other companies (Glenelm Developers Limited, Goldmaster Mines Ltd., Shell Canada Limited, Tut Explorations, Societe de developpement de la Baie-Jame (SDBG) and Oasis Resources Inc.). Between 1985 and 1990, Oasis Resources Inc. completed 152 drill holes, followed with an estimated resource calculation of 564,000 tonnes at 6.2 g/t Au. These resource estimates are of a historical nature and do not comply with NI 43-101. However, the resource estimate may be relevant because the Souart property encompasses the same geological trend that the Nubar Zone occupies and, to the best of the knowledge of Mr. Gernot Wober, there has been no material change with respect to the metallic minerals within the original resource estimation area (and region) that would affect the estimation parameters since 1985. Further drilling would be required to upgrade or verity the historical resource estimate as current mineral resources or reserves. Oban is unaware of the existence of any technical report prepared in connection with the scientific and technical information in this news release. A Qualified Person (within the meaning of NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Oban is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Further, there have not been any mineral resources calculated on the Souart property recently.

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Mr. Gernot Wober, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration for Oban, who is a Qualified Person (within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101).

About Oban Mining Corporation

Oban is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Oban is well financed with approximately $65 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Oban's flagship project is the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec, Canada. Oban also holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the Urban Barry area (82,400 hectares) of Quebec, 100% interest in the Garrison project east of Matheson, Ontario, as well as additional projects in the Timmins area of Ontario.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this news release about the Acquisition by Oban of 100% of the Souart property; the terms of the Agreement; the timing for completing the Acquisition, if at all; the ability of Oban and M-R Boreal to satisfy the conditions precedent to completing the Acquisition; the ability of Oban and M-R Boreal to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the Acquisition; and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be "forward looking information". Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Oban, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Oban to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the terms of the Acquisition differing from those in the Agreement;

a delay in completing the Acquisition, if at all; a failure by Oban and/or M-R Boreal to satisfy the conditions precedent to completing the Acquisition; a failure by Oban and/or M-R Boreal to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the Acquisition; the benefits of the Acquisition not being realized by Oban; business integration risks; fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions; risks relating to property interests; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to mining activities; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Oban cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Oban nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Oban does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.

Contacts:

John Burzynski

President & Chief Executive Officer

(416) 363-8653




LONDON, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research shows key focus of gaming merchants in 2016 is increased conversions

ICE totally Gaming - SafeCharge (AIM: SCH), a leader in advanced payment technologies, today announces the launch of the annual Index of Payments in Gaming 2016, which is an industry sentiment surveyof payments issues polling C-level leaders in key Gaming Companies. The survey was designed to give an indication of key priorities and concerns around payments and to examine where the industry pendulum sits between maximum payment flexibility/player conversions and concerns around compliance and fraud.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140512/686268 )



Headline Results

Gaming Companies are keen to maximise conversions globally. 100% of survey respondents say they strongly agree that offering players multiple payment channels is important and 76% say that offeringlocal payment methods is essential.

Increasing ease and flexibility for players is key - familiar branded payment pages and instant are desirable payouts. 85% strongly agree (and 15% agree)that offering localisation capabilities can expand global business and85% of respondents agree branded paymentpages are important as isoffering instant payouts.

Fraud and compliance are ongoing issues for gaming company leaders. 77% of respondents sayit's possible to detect fraudulent player behaviour in real-time without damaging approval ratios.There is confidence in current solutions andrisksolutions continue to remain important.

53% of the sample employ PCI descoping.Merchants recognise the importance of descoping players' sensitive credit card data to PCI experts. The merchant is able to shift the responsibility of protecting payment data and is no longer a target for potential attacks.

"Merchants need to increase conversions by offering simple, secure payment solutions to their global players. Within the gaming industry competition is fierce and margins lower, with merchants fighting for every player."comments Shemer Katz, Chief Marketing Officer, SafeCharge."This research confirms that our commitment to maximise increased conversions for our gaming merchants is in sync with top industry sentiment. We will achieve this by offering multiple payment channels, alternative payment methods to enable global expansion and branded payment pages. Although merchants feel that conversions are currently the overriding concern we cannot downgrade our focus on risk and still need to stress its importance."

Index and survey key facts

Initial survey of 13 C-levelleaders in Gaming

A series of multi choice questions with weighted answers plustwo open questions on the future of the industry

About SafeCharge

SafeCharge International Group Limitedis a global provider of payments services, risk management and IT solutions for online businesses. The SafeCharge group has a diversified, blue chip client base and is a trusted payment partner for customers from various e-commerce verticals. SafeCharge has been Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ("PCI-DSS") Level 1 certified since 2007 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market (LSE: SCH).The Company's wholly owned subsidiary, SafeCharge Limited, is an authorized Electronic Money Institution regulated by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), and a principal member of MasterCard Europe and Visa Europe. The SafeCharge grouphas operations in the UK, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Israel, Germany, Austria and Ireland. http://www.safecharge.com

SafeCharge International Group Limited

David Avgi

Tim Mickley

+44(0)20-3051-3031


NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- TRU Staffing Partners, an award-winning search firm representing talent and opportunities in the e-discovery, litigation support and cybersecurity space, today announces leading institutions Georgetown University; LitWorks, a DTI Company; and ACEDS are all offering scholarships through the 2016 TRU Staffing Partners Scholarship Program.

The program, which is designed to foster training and education for job candidates in the legal technology industry, is in its fifth year of operation in 2016. Over five years, the program has awarded over fifty scholarships, totaling over $80,000 in education.

Applications for the scholarships are currently being accepted at www.trustaffingpartners.com. The following opportunities are available:

LitWorks, a DTI Company

Five full scholarships in 2016 to attend the Certified Litigation Support Professional program -- a five-day, instructor-led course

Three full scholarships in 2016 to attend the Certified Litigation Support Project Manager program -- a three-day, instructor-led course

Georgetown University Paralegal Studies Program - Arlington, VA

Two full scholarships to attend the 2016 Advanced Litigation & Trial Technology course -- a 32-hour, instructor-led course

Two full scholarships to attend the 2016 e-Discovery course -- a 32-hour, instructor-led course

Two full scholarships to attend the 2016 Legal Project Management course -- a 42-hour, instructor-led course

A 20 percent discount on any of these courses for applicants who do not receive a scholarship

Georgetown University Certificate in Cybersecurity Strategy - Washington, D.C.

One full scholarship to attend the 2016 Cybersecurity Strategy Courses -- 6 courses for a total of 108 hours. Courses include: Making the Business Case for Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities and Social Engineering Leadership and Strategy in Cybersecurity Technical Countermeasures and Risk Assessment Managing Security Applied Cybersecurity and Crisis Management

A 10 percent discount on the Certificate program for applicants who do not receive a scholarship

ACEDS

Five full scholarships for 2016 Certification Packages -- training offered online with an in-person exam; includes live training, study manual, ACEDS membership and certification exam with one free retake

"We are so proud to be bringing the fifth year of diverse and credible educational opportunities to the legal technology community and to be able to partner with Georgetown to offer the first cybersecurity scholarship to recipients of this program," states Jared Coseglia, president and founder of TRU Staffing Partners. "These scholarships provide a great opportunity for legal professionals to accelerate their career mobility and increase their compensation requirements. We are so thankful to our educational partners for providing the tools aspiring professionals need to be successful."

The application process is open today and will continue through February 29, 2016. The recipients will be announced on or around April 1, 2016. Education and training will be executed before the end of 2016. More information on this program, submission guidelines and application are available at www.trustaffingpartners.com.

If you are a technology company or educational organization that would like to participate in this program, please contact Andrew Brody, COO, at drew@trustaffingpartners.com.

About TRU Staffing Partners

TRU Staffing Partners (www.trustaffingpartners.com) was founded in 2010 by Jared Coseglia and is a nationally recognized, award-winning search firm representing talent and opportunities in the legal industry, with an emphasis on e-discovery, legal project management, data analytics, cybersecurity, information governance, privacy, legal sales and litigation support staffing. The company works with Am Law 200, Fortune 1000 and technology service providers to bring unparalleled, personalized career consulting and staffing services to the growing community of professionals working in legal technology. TRU sponsors an annual e-Discovery Scholarship Program, bringing much-needed education and training opportunities to the industry. The company has been recognized as a top recruiting firm for the past three years through several industry awards, including Best of The National Law Journal, Best of New York Law Journal and Best of Legal Times.

Contact



Nicolle Martin

Edge Legal Marketing

P: 612-817-1288

E: Email Contact




Recognizing the enormous growth potential for its services outside its existing core markets, Business Wire today announced that Dick Bromley has been promoted to senior vice president, international business development.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005187/en/

Dick Bromley, senior vice president, international business development, Business Wire (Photo: Business Wire)

In his new role, Bromley will seek to identify promising new markets for potential expansion, building upon Business Wire's current network of 32 offices worldwide. Most recently, Bromley served as group vice president, whose portfolio extended to Sydney and Tokyo. Based in London, Bromley will report to Gregg Castano, Business Wire's president.

Since joining Business Wire in 2001 as UK sales manager, Bromley has played a pivotal role in growing Business Wire's global footprint. The company has successful operations in London, Paris and Frankfurt and is sanctioned as a regulatory disclosure service in multiple European jurisdictions.

Bromley has enjoyed sales success on both sides of the Atlantic. He spent three years in San Francisco, heading up Business Wire's sales activities in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, before returning to London in March 2015.

"Dick is in the enviable position of evaluating many exciting opportunities currently under consideration," said Cathy Baron Tamraz, Business Wire's CEO, in making today's announcement. "Business Wire has tremendous brand equity throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. We already have a strong client base in these markets that are using Business Wire to reach consumers, investors and potential business partners on a global scale. Our challenge is to determine which of the many opportunities available we should focus on next."

"I've worked with Dick for nearly 15 years, during which time he has always been successful in whatever role he's been given," added Castano. "He represents Business Wire with complete professionalism, genuine enthusiasm and utmost integrity and because of those traits I have every confidence that he will exceed expectations in his new role."

About Business Wire

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Investor relations, public relations, public policy and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire to accurately distribute market-moving news and multimedia, host online newsrooms and IR websites, build content marketing platforms, generate social engagements and provide audience analysis that improves interaction with specified target markets. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented simultaneous NX Network. Business Wire has 32 offices worldwide to securely meet the varying needs of communications professionals and news consumers.

Learn more at BusinessWire.com and the BusinessWired blog; follow updates on Twitter: @businesswire or on Facebook.

Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for Business Wire

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005187/en/

Contacts:

Business Wire

Neil Hershberg, +1-212-752-9600
SAN MATEO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Franklin Resources, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: BEN) today announced net income(1) of $447.8 million or $0.74 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, as compared to $358.2 million or $0.59 per diluted share for the previous quarter and $566.4 million or $0.91 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.

"Market volatility continued this quarter, but we are confident that we have the talent, discipline and foresight to continue driving our long-term success," said Greg Johnson, Chairman and CEO. "We have a long history of weathering periods like this, and emerging stronger as a firm -- well positioned to benefit from long-term trends driving global markets."

Quarter Quarter Ended % Change Ended % Change -------------------- --------- Qtr. vs. Year vs. 31-Dec-15 30-Sep-15 Qtr. 31-Dec-14 Year --------- --------- -------- --------- -------- Financial Results (in millions, except per share data) Operating revenues $ 1,758.0 $ 1,873.8 (6)% $ 2,064.3 (15)% Operating income 653.6 718.1 (9)% 782.0 (16)% Operating margin 37.2% 38.3% 37.9% Net income(1) $ 447.8 $ 358.2 25% $ 566.4 (21)% Diluted earnings per share 0.74 0.59 25% 0.91 (19)% Assets Under Management (in billions) Ending $ 763.9 $ 770.9 (1)% $ 880.1 (13)% Average(2) 781.5 824.5 (5)% 894.1 (13)% Net new flows (20.6) (28.6) (28)% (3.5) 489%

Total assets under management ("AUM") were $763.9 billion at December 31, 2015, down $7.0 billion or 1% during the quarter primarily due to $20.6 billion of net new outflows, partially offset by $15.0 billion of market appreciation and other, which is net of a $1.6 billion decrease from foreign exchange revaluation.

Cash and cash equivalents and investments were $10.5 billion at December 31, 2015, as compared to $10.6 billion at September 30, 2015. Total stockholders' equity was $12.4 billion at December 31, 2015, as compared to $12.5 billion at September 30, 2015. The Company had 595.2 million shares of common stock outstanding at December 31, 2015, as compared to 603.5 million shares outstanding at September 30, 2015. During the quarter ended December 31, 2015, the Company repurchased 10.5 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of $404.1 million.

Conference Call Information

Pre-recorded audio commentary on the results from Franklin Resources, Inc.'s Chairman and CEO Greg Johnson and CFO and Executive Vice President Ken Lewis will be available today at approximately 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. They will also lead a live teleconference today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to answer questions of a material nature. Analysts and investors are encouraged to review the Company's recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and to contact Investor Relations before the live teleconference for any clarifications or questions related to the earnings release or pre-recorded audio commentary.

Access to the pre-recorded audio commentary and accompanying slides are available at investors.franklinresources.com. The pre-recorded audio commentary can also be accessed by dialing (877) 523-5612 in the U.S. and Canada or (201) 689-8483 internationally using access code 7055790, any time through March 3, 2016.

Access to the live teleconference will be available at investors.franklinresources.com or by dialing (877) 407-8293 in the U.S. and Canada or (201) 689-8349 internationally. A replay of the teleconference can also be accessed by calling (877) 660-6853 in the U.S. and Canada or (201) 612-7415 internationally using access code 13627935, after 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 3, 2016 through March 3, 2016.

Questions regarding the pre-recorded audio commentary or live teleconference should be directed to Franklin Resources, Inc., Investor Relations at (650) 312-4091 or Media Relations at (650) 312-2245.

Performance Rankings of Franklin Templeton's U.S.-Registered and Cross-Border Long-Term Mutual Funds(3,4,5):

Percentage of Assets in Top Two Peer Group Quartiles ---------------------------------- Period ended December 31, 2015 1-Year 3-Year 5-Year 10-Year ------- ------- ------- ------- Equity and Hybrid (AUM: $278 billion) 28% 35% 42% 75% Fixed Income (AUM: $229 billion) 38% 69% 73% 84% Total (AUM: $507 billion) 32% 51% 56% 79%

Performance quoted above represents past performance, which cannot predict or guarantee future results. All investments involve risks, including loss of principal.

FRANKLIN RESOURCES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Unaudited Three Months Ended December 31, -------------------- (in millions, except per share data and AUM) 2015 2014 % Change --------- --------- -------- Operating Revenues Investment management fees $ 1,186.7 $ 1,382.4 (14)% Sales and distribution fees 478.4 595.0 (20)% Shareholder servicing fees 61.9 65.8 (6)% Other 31.0 21.1 47% --------- --------- -------- Total operating revenues 1,758.0 2,064.3 (15)% --------- --------- -------- Operating Expenses Sales, distribution and marketing 588.6 731.5 (20)% Compensation and benefits 342.5 375.5 (9)% Information systems and technology 51.2 51.2 0% Occupancy 30.7 34.3 (10)% General, administrative and other 91.4 89.8 2% --------- --------- -------- Total operating expenses 1,104.4 1,282.3 (14)% --------- --------- -------- Operating Income 653.6 782.0 (16)% --------- --------- -------- Other Income (Expenses) Investment and other income, net 30.5 51.7 (41)% Interest expense (12.0) (11.3) 6% --------- --------- -------- Other income, net 18.5 40.4 (54)% --------- --------- -------- Income before taxes 672.1 822.4 (18)% Taxes on income 209.7 256.1 (18)% --------- --------- -------- Net income 462.4 566.3 (18)% Less: net income (loss) attributable to Nonredeemable noncontrolling interests 13.6 6.7 103% Redeemable noncontrolling interests 1.0 (6.8) NM Net Income Attributable to Franklin Resources, Inc. $ 447.8 $ 566.4 (21)% ========= ========= ======== Earnings per Share Basic $ 0.74 $ 0.91 (19)% Diluted 0.74 0.91 (19)% Dividends per Share $ 0.18 $ 0.65 (72)% Average Shares Outstanding Basic 597.6 620.1 (4)% Diluted 597.7 620.2 (4)% Operating Margin 37.2% 37.9% AUM (in billions) Ending $ 763.9 $ 880.1 (13)% Average 781.5 894.1 (13)% Net new flows (20.6) (3.5) 489% FRANKLIN RESOURCES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Unaudited Three Months Ended Three Months Ended ----------------- -------------------------- (in millions, except per share data and 31-Dec- 30-Sep- % 30-Jun- 31-Mar- 31-Dec- employees) 15 15 Change 15 15 14 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Operating Revenues Investment management fees $1,186.7 $1,256.9 (6)% $1,340.9 $1,347.6 $1,382.4 Sales and distribution fees 478.4 510.6 (6)% 566.8 580.0 595.0 Shareholder servicing fees 61.9 64.4 (4)% 66.5 66.1 65.8 Other 31.0 41.9 (26)% 26.6 16.1 21.1 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Total operating revenues 1,758.0 1,873.8 (6)% 2,000.8 2,009.8 2,064.3 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Operating Expenses Sales, distribution and marketing 588.6 626.3 (6)% 694.0 710.5 731.5 Compensation and benefits 342.5 336.8 2% 363.5 377.5 375.5 Information systems and technology 51.2 64.9 (21)% 58.3 49.9 51.2 Occupancy 30.7 35.6 (14)% 30.7 32.1 34.3 General, administrative and other 91.4 92.1 (1)% 84.5 82.1 89.8 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Total operating expenses 1,104.4 1,155.7 (4)% 1,231.0 1,252.1 1,282.3 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Operating Income 653.6 718.1 (9)% 769.8 757.7 782.0 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Other Income (Expenses) Investment and other income (losses), net 30.5 (109.5) NM (4.7) 102.9 51.7 Interest expense (12.0) (12.9) (7)% (13.7) (1.7) (11.3) -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Other income (expenses), net 18.5 (122.4) NM (18.4) 101.2 40.4 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Income before taxes 672.1 595.7 13% 751.4 858.9 822.4 Taxes on income 209.7 214.2 (2)% 217.4 236.0 256.1 -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Net income 462.4 381.5 21% 534.0 622.9 566.3 Less: net income (loss) attributable to Nonredeemable noncontrolling interests 13.6 26.1 (48)% 28.6 14.1 6.7 Redeemable noncontrolling interests 1.0 (2.8) NM 1.2 2.3 (6.8) -------- -------- ------ -------- -------- -------- Net Income Attributable to Franklin Resources, Inc. $ 447.8 $ 358.2 25% $ 504.2 $ 606.5 $ 566.4 ======== ======== ====== ======== ======== ======== Earnings per Share Basic $ 0.74 $ 0.59 25% $ 0.82 $ 0.98 $ 0.91 Diluted 0.74 0.59 25% 0.82 0.98 0.91 Dividends per Share $ 0.18 $ 0.15 20% $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.65 Average Shares Outstanding Basic 597.6 607.4 (2)% 614.1 617.6 620.1 Diluted 597.7 607.4 (2)% 614.2 617.7 620.2 Operating Margin 37.2% 38.3% 38.5% 37.7% 37.9% Employees 9,412 9,489 (1)% 9,576 9,362 9,368 Billable Shareholder Accounts 25.1 24.8 1% 25.3 24.8 24.3 AUM AND FLOWS Three Months Ended December 31, -------------------- (in billions) 2015 2014 % Change --------- --------- -------- Beginning AUM $ 770.9 $ 898.0 (14)% Long-term sales 33.1 46.7 (29)% Long-term redemptions (53.3) (50.0) 7% Net cash management (0.4) (0.2) 100% --------- --------- -------- Net new flows (20.6) (3.5) 489% Reinvested distributions 11.5 15.1 (24)% --------- --------- -------- Net flows (9.1) 11.6 NM Distributions (12.9) (17.4) (26)% Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) 15.0 (12.1) NM --------- --------- -------- Ending AUM $ 763.9 $ 880.1 (13)% ========= ========= ========

AUM BY INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE 31-Dec- 30-Sep- % 30-Jun- 31-Mar- 31-Dec- (in billions) 15 15 Change 15 15 14 ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- Equity Global/international $ 211.7 $ 212.1 0% $ 247.3 $ 251.8 $ 248.5 United States 102.0 100.8 1% 114.4 115.6 113.1 ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- Total equity 313.7 312.9 0% 361.7 367.4 361.6 Hybrid 134.4 138.3 (3)% 154.8 158.2 157.1 Fixed Income Tax-free 72.4 71.7 1% 72.7 74.2 73.2 Taxable Global/international 182.0 182.7 0% 208.5 211.1 219.1 United States 54.8 58.5 (6)% 61.8 63.1 62.2 ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- Total fixed income 309.2 312.9 (1)% 343.0 348.4 354.5 Cash Management 6.6 6.8 (3)% 7.0 6.6 6.9 ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- Total AUM $ 763.9 $ 770.9 (1)% $ 866.5 $ 880.6 $ 880.1 ======= ======= ====== ======= ======= ======= Average AUM for the Three- Month Period $ 781.5 $ 824.5 (5)% $ 882.6 $ 881.6 $ 894.1 AUM AND FLOWS - UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONAL(7) As of and for the Three Months Ended ------------------------------------------------- 31-Dec- % of 30-Sep- % of 31-Dec- % of (in billions) 15 Total 15 Total 14 Total ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ Long-Term Sales United States $ 15.7 47% $ 16.3 53% $ 22.2 48% International 17.4 53% 14.2 47% 24.5 52% ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ Total long-term sales $ 33.1 100% $ 30.5 100% $ 46.7 100% ======= ====== ======= ====== ======= ====== Long-Term Redemptions United States $ (35.2) 66% $ (33.1) 57% $ (26.7) 53% International (18.1) 34% (25.0) 43% (23.3) 47% ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ Total long-term redemptions $ (53.3) 100% $ (58.1) 100% $ (50.0) 100% ======= ====== ======= ====== ======= ====== AUM United States $ 513.2 67% $ 522.4 68% $ 580.6 66% International 250.7 33% 248.5 32% 299.5 34% ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- ------ Total AUM $ 763.9 100% $ 770.9 100% $ 880.1 100% ======= ====== ======= ====== ======= ====== AUM AND FLOWS BY INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE (in billions) Equity ------------------------ for the three months ended Global/ United December 31, 2015 International States Hybrid -------------- -------- ------- AUM at October 1, 2015 $ 212.1 $ 100.8 $ 138.3 Long-term sales 6.6 3.5 4.0 Long-term redemptions (11.9) (7.0) (9.2) Net exchanges (0.1) 0.4 (0.4) Net cash management -- -- -- -------------- -------- ------- Net new flows (5.4) (3.1) (5.6) Reinvested distributions 3.1 4.3 1.9 -------------- -------- ------- Net flows (2.3) 1.2 (3.7) Distributions (3.4) (4.7) (2.1) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) 5.3 4.7 1.9 -------------- -------- ------- AUM at December 31, 2015 $ 211.7 $ 102.0 $ 134.4 ============== ======== ======= (in billions) Fixed Income --------------------------------- for the three Taxable Taxable months ended Tax- Global/ United Cash December 31, 2015 Free International States Management Total ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at October 1, 2015 $ 71.7 $ 182.7 $ 58.5 $ 6.8 $ 770.9 Long-term sales 1.7 15.0 2.3 -- 33.1 Long-term redemptions (2.2) (18.4) (4.6) -- (53.3) Net exchanges 0.3 (0.2) (0.2) 0.2 -- Net cash management -- -- -- (0.4) (0.4) ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net new flows (0.2) (3.6) (2.5) (0.2) (20.6) Reinvested distributions 0.5 1.3 0.4 -- 11.5 ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net flows 0.3 (2.3) (2.1) (0.2) (9.1) Distributions (0.6) (1.6) (0.5) -- (12.9) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) 1.0 3.2 (1.1) -- 15.0 ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at December 31, 2015 $ 72.4 $ 182.0 $ 54.8 $ 6.6 $ 763.9 ====== ============== ========= =========== =======

(in billions) Equity ------------------------ for the three months ended Global/ United September 30, 2015 International States Hybrid -------------- -------- ------- AUM at July 1, 2015 $ 247.3 $ 114.4 $ 154.8 Long-term sales 8.1 3.9 4.3 Long-term redemptions (13.1) (7.6) (8.2) Net exchanges (0.1) 0.2 (0.5) Net cash management -- -- -- -------------- -------- ------- Net new flows (5.1) (3.5) (4.4) Reinvested distributions 0.8 0.8 1.2 -------------- -------- ------- Net flows (4.3) (2.7) (3.2) Distributions (1.0) (0.8) (1.4) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) (29.9) (10.1) (11.9) -------------- -------- ------- AUM at September 30, 2015 $ 212.1 $ 100.8 $ 138.3 ============== ======== ======= (in billions) Fixed Income --------------------------------- for the three Taxable Taxable months ended Tax- Global/ United Cash September 30, 2015 Free International States Management Total ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at July 1, 2015 $ 72.7 $ 208.5 $ 61.8 $ 7.0 $ 866.5 Long-term sales 1.7 9.7 2.8 -- 30.5 Long-term redemptions (3.5) (21.3) (4.4) -- (58.1) Net exchanges -- (0.6) 0.2 0.8 -- Net cash management -- -- -- (1.0) (1.0) ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net new flows (1.8) (12.2) (1.4) (0.2) (28.6) Reinvested distributions 0.5 1.2 0.3 -- 4.8 ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net flows (1.3) (11.0) (1.1) (0.2) (23.8) Distributions (0.6) (1.7) (0.5) -- (6.0) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) 0.9 (13.1) (1.7) -- (65.8) ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at September 30, 2015 $ 71.7 $ 182.7 $ 58.5 $ 6.8 $ 770.9 ====== ============== ========= =========== =======

(in billions) Equity ------------------------ for the three months ended Global/ United December 31, 2014 International States Hybrid -------------- -------- ------- AUM at October 1, 2014 $ 261.5 $ 109.5 $ 159.0 Long-term sales 10.8 5.2 7.5 Long-term redemptions (14.2) (6.5) (6.5) Net exchanges (0.1) 0.4 -- Net cash management -- -- -- -------------- -------- ------- Net new flows (3.5) (0.9) 1.0 Reinvested distributions 4.3 3.9 1.9 -------------- -------- ------- Net flows 0.8 3.0 2.9 Distributions (4.9) (4.2) (2.1) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) (8.9) 4.8 (2.7) -------------- -------- ------- AUM at December 31, 2014 $ 248.5 $ 113.1 $ 157.1 ============== ======== ======= (in billions) Fixed Income --------------------------------- for the three Taxable Taxable months ended Tax- Global/ United Cash December 31, 2014 Free International States Management Total ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at October 1, 2014 $ 72.1 $ 225.1 $ 63.8 $ 7.0 $ 898.0 Long-term sales 2.0 17.6 3.6 -- 46.7 Long-term redemptions (2.1) (16.5) (4.2) -- (50.0) Net exchanges 0.1 (0.3) (0.2) 0.1 -- Net cash management -- -- -- (0.2) (0.2) ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net new flows -- 0.8 (0.8) (0.1) (3.5) Reinvested distributions 0.5 3.9 0.6 -- 15.1 ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- Net flows 0.5 4.7 (0.2) (0.1) 11.6 Distributions (0.7) (4.8) (0.7) -- (17.4) Appreciation (depreciation) and other(6) 1.3 (5.9) (0.7) -- (12.1) ------ -------------- --------- ----------- ------- AUM at December 31, 2014 $ 73.2 $ 219.1 $ 62.2 $ 6.9 $ 880.1 ====== ============== ========= =========== =======

Notes

1. Net income represents net income attributable to Franklin Resources, Inc.

2. Average AUM represents simple monthly average AUM.

3. Nothing in this section shall be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security to any person in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

4. Franklin/Templeton Distributors, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., is the principal distributor of Franklin Templeton Investments' U.S. registered funds, which are available only in jurisdictions where an offer or solicitation of such products is permitted under applicable legislation. Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered outside the U.S. by other Franklin Templeton Investments affiliates and/or their distributors as local legislation permits.

5. The peer group rankings are sourced from either Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, or Morningstar, as the case may be, and are based on an absolute ranking of returns as of December 31, 2015. Lipper rankings for Franklin Templeton U.S.-registered long-term mutual funds are based on Class A shares and do not include sales charges. Franklin Templeton U.S.-registered long-term funds are compared against a universe of all share classes. Performance rankings for other share classes may differ. Morningstar rankings for Franklin Templeton cross-border long-term mutual funds are based on primary share classes and do not include sales charges. Performance rankings for other share classes may differ. Results may have been different if these or other factors had been considered. The figures in the table are based on data available from Lipper and Morningstar as of January 7, 2016 and are subject to revision.  2016 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

6. Appreciation (depreciation) and other includes foreign exchange revaluation.

7. International includes North America-based advisors serving non-resident clients.

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 150 countries. Through specialized teams, the Company has expertise across all asset classes -- including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The Company's more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in 35 countries, the California-based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and $763.9 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2015. The Company posts information that may be significant for investors in the Investor Relations and News Center sections of its website, and encourages investors to consult those sections regularly. For more information, please visit investors.franklinresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release regarding Franklin Resources, Inc. ("Franklin") and its subsidiaries, which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, words or phrases generally written in the future tense and/or preceded by words such as "will," "may," "could," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "seek," "estimate" or other similar words are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are listed below, that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. While forward-looking statements are our best prediction at the time that they are made, you should not rely on them, and you are hereby cautioned against doing so. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance.

These and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors are described in more detail in Franklin's recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, in Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Franklin's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015 and Franklin's subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q:

Volatility and disruption of the capital and credit markets, and adverse changes in the global economy, may significantly affect our results of operations and may put pressure on our financial results.

The amount and mix of our AUM are subject to significant fluctuations.

We are subject to extensive, complex, overlapping and frequently changing rules, regulations and legal interpretations.

Global regulatory and legislative actions and reforms have made the regulatory environment in which we operate more costly and future actions and reforms could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to comply with the laws, rules or regulations in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate could result in substantial harm to our reputation and results of operations.

Changes in tax laws or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Any significant limitation, failure or security breach of our information and cyber security infrastructure, software applications, technology or other systems that are critical to our operations could harm our operations and reputation.

Our business operations are complex and a failure to properly perform operational tasks or the misrepresentation of our products and services, or the termination of investment management agreements representing a significant portion of our AUM, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and income.

We face risks, and corresponding potential costs and expenses, associated with conducting operations and growing our business in numerous countries.

We depend on key personnel and our financial performance could be negatively affected by the loss of their services.

Strong competition from numerous and sometimes larger companies with competing offerings and products could limit or reduce sales of our products, potentially resulting in a decline in our market share, revenues and income.

Changes in the third-party distribution and sales channels on which we depend could reduce our income and hinder our growth.

Our increasing focus on international markets as a source of investments and sales of investment products subjects us to increased exchange rate and market-specific political, economic or other risks that may adversely impact our revenues and income generated overseas.

Harm to our reputation or poor investment performance of our products could reduce the level of our AUM or affect our sales, potentially negatively impacting our revenues and income.

Our future results are dependent upon maintaining an appropriate level of expenses, which is subject to fluctuation.

Our ability to successfully manage and grow our business can be impeded by systems and other technological limitations.

Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm, or legal liability.

Regulatory and governmental examinations and/or investigations, litigation and the legal risks associated with our business, could adversely impact our AUM, increase costs and negatively impact our profitability and/or our future financial results.

Our ability to meet cash needs depends upon certain factors, including the market value of our assets, operating cash flows and our perceived creditworthiness.

We are dependent on the earnings of our subsidiaries.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Contact:

Franklin Resources, Inc.

Investor Relations:

Brian Sevilla

(650) 312-4091



Media Relations:

Matt Walsh

(650) 312-2245

investors.franklinresources.com




TEMPE, AZ -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Star Mountain Resources, Inc. (OTC PINK: SMRS) is pleased to announce that it has received an Industry Guide 7 Mineral Reserve Report (the "IG7 Report") for its Balmat mine property located in St. Lawrence County, New York. The report supports Star Mountain Resources' initial reserve estimate since acquiring the property in November 2015, and reflects 585,000 tons of Proven and Probable Reserves with 9.2% grade zinc that could generate an estimated $80.8 million in revenue over an initial 2.5-year mine plan.

Current reserve estimates are based on this 2.5-year plan, which is part of a larger, 8.5-year mine plan that includes mineralized material adjacent to the current reserves of similar grade to the reserves, and in all likelihood will be reclassified to reserve status as the mine progresses.

Joe Marchal, Star Mountain Resources CEO, states, "We believe the findings in the IG7 report are very positive and reaffirm our confidence that the geological and engineering conditions reflected in the long production history of the Balmat mining operation can be sustained well into the future beyond the initial 2.5-year plan. We continue to evaluate the current zinc market and the best strategy to move forward with a production plan and schedule. Moreover, it will form an integral part of our long-range plan for the safe, efficient and effective operation of the mine."

Key takeaways from the report include the following conclusions:

The Balmat Mine and mill is in good condition and can be placed into production with minimal expense and time.

The mill is capable of producing high grade zinc concentrate suitable for sale to smelters worldwide.

The mine is well situated being close to tide water and well connected by road and rail service.

The mine is a low cost fully mechanized operation.

Mine equipment fleet has been carefully stored and is capable of exceeding the planned production rate.

Upgrades to the mine ventilation system and modifications to the diesel equipment fleet will be required to meet more stringent Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) regulation adopted since the mine was placed on care and maintenance.

In addition to mineral reserve estimate, cash flow and economic analysis, the comprehensive report also includes a thorough property description, history, project status, status of mineral titles, royalties, environmental liabilities and more.

A summary of the economic analysis included in the IG7 Report is included in the following table:

Ore Mined for Processing 585,000 tons Zinc Grade 9.2% Contained Zinc 53,820 tons Capital Development 9,067 feet Mill Recovery 96% Zinc Recovered in Concentrate 51,700 tons Zinc Price $ 0.92 /pound Smelter Deduction 15% Smelter Treatment Charges $ 187.51 /ton concentrate Transportation Charges $ 21.51 /ton concentrate Penalty Charges $ 20.00 /ton concentrate Revenue $ 80,788,000 Operating Costs (Includes 15% Contingency $ (39,533,000) Smelter Charges $ (21,313,000) Royalty 0.3% $ (178,000) EBITA $ 19,764,000 Capital $ (14,745,000) Income Tax $ (590,000) Net Income $ 4,427,000 Discounted Cash Flow @ 5% $ 3,165,000 Payback Period 2.5 years Profitability Index 1.2 Internal Rate of Return 25%

The IG7 report is available on Star Mountain Resources' website- www.starmountainresources.com.

Mark Osterberg, president & COO, states, "The report recommends initiatives we plan to pursue aimed at lowering operating expenses, increasing zinc recovery and concentrate grades and minimizing internal mine dilution. Among the recommended initiatives are dense media separation test work, changes to ore control procedures and investigation of pillar recovery methods. We are very encouraged by the report and look forward to developing a strategy to move forward in a timely, cost effective and profitable manner."

Property Description and Location

The Balmat mine is in the historic Balmat-Edwards zinc district in St. Lawrence County, New York. The mine and mill complex is seven miles southeast of Gouverneur, New York at 44 degrees 14' 51" North latitude, 75 degrees 23' 50" West longitude. The Balmat-Edwards Zinc District has been active since the early 1900s. Zinc is mined from underground, and the historical workings are quite extensive. Surface facilities are situated on property owned by our wholly owned subsidiary St. Lawrence Zinc Company LLC ("SLZC") in the town of Fowler. We own about 2,699 acres of fee simple land in various locations within the Balmat-Edwards district, and hold mineral rights to approximately 56,000 acres. The Balmat-Edward district mineralization is characterized by unique and favorable properties, including unusually high zinc grades and low lead content. The mining project is located towards the western end of the district, which lies along the hinge line of the southwest northeast trending Sylvia Lake Syncline. The 2,699 acres of surface rights owned by SLZC are divided among the Fowler, Edwards and Pierrepont townships, containing, respectively 1,754, 703 and 242 acres. The 51,428-acres of mineral rights are located in St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties and are comprised of multiple individual parcels in selected areas in and around the mines. We also have 4,774-acres of leased and optioned mineral rights in portions of the Balmat, Hyatt and Pierrepont mine areas as well as in two areas of interest for exploration purposes.

Balmat Mine Location Map

To see the map, please view the attached image or visit http://dtn.fm/balmat-mine-location-map

The following are definitions of the defined terms used in this news release:

Reserve: That part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination. Reserves are customarily stated in terms of "ore" when dealing with metalliferous minerals; when other materials such as coal, oil, shale, tar, sands, limestone, etc. are involved, an appropriate term such as "recoverable coal" may be substituted.

Proven (Measured) Reserves: Reserves for which (a) quantity is computed from dimensions revealed in outcrops, trenches, workings or drill holes; grade and/or quality are computed from the results of detailed sampling and (b) the sites for inspection, sampling and measurement are spaced so closely and the geologic character is so well defined that size, shape, depth and mineral content of reserves are well-established.

Probable (Indicated) Reserves: Reserves for which quantity and grade and/or quality are computed form information similar to that used for proven (measure) reserves, but the sites for inspection, sampling, and measurement are farther apart or are otherwise less adequately spaced. The degree of assurance, although lower than that for proven (measured) reserves, is high enough to assume continuity between points of observation.

About Us

Star Mountain Resources, Inc. is a junior exploration and mining company focused on acquiring and consolidating mining claims, mineral leases, producing mines, and historic mines with production and future growth potential. Our operations are currently focused on base metal and precious metal mining acquisitions in North America, and re-commencing mining activities at the Balmat Zinc mine in upstate New York. For additional information visit www.starmountainresources.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to our ability to commence mining operations, ore prices and future business or financial results) and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and other similar expressions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the company. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
Portfolio of medical polymers delivers increased device design capabilities

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, will present "Innovative Materials: Choices for Next Generation Medical Devices" at the 2016 Drug Delivery and Packaging Pharmapack Europe in Paris, France.

"Our broad portfolio of medical materials is expanding the possibilities of drug delivery design and allowing more innovative devices to be developed that are promoting better patient care," said Wendy Johnson, medical marketing manager for Celanese. "Our customers are creating easy-to-use, comfortable drug delivery devices with our latest medical polymer, Hostaform MT SlideX POM. This thermoplastic polymer delivers excellent wear and slip properties for smooth-sliding drug delivery device parts that improve patient comfort."

Celanese's engineering and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) medical polymer portfolio delivers expanded device design capabilities that are backed by world-class materials expertise from conception to market implementation.

Hostaform MT SlideX POM, a thermoplastic polymer, will be highlighted as the latest material innovation that is improving patient comfort. This tribologically-modified polymer delivers excellent wear and slip properties and is suitable for use in a wide range of drug delivery devices, such as dry powder inhalers, pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), and injection devices.

Celanese Learning Lab Presentation

Topic: Innovative Materials: Choices for Next Generation Medical Devices

Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016

Time: 9:45 a.m. Central European Time

Presenters: Wendy Johnson, Customer Application Marketing Manager, Medical

Celanese materials experts will be meeting with Pharmapack attendees at Booth 858 on February 10-11, 2016. For more information about Celanese's medical and pharmaceutical materials solutions, visit healthcare.celanese.com.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our two complementary business cores, Acetyl Chain and Materials Solutions, use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for our customers and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,000 employees worldwide and had 2015 net sales of $5.7 billion. For more information about Celanese and our product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or our blog at www.celaneseblog.com

All registered trademarks are owned by Celanese International Corporation or its affiliates.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include information concerning the company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs and other information that is not historical information. When used in this release, the words "outlook," "forecast," "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "intends," "believes," and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that the company or any of its customers will realize these benefits or that these expectations will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond the company's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed as forward-looking statements. Other risk factors include those that are discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005509/en/

Contacts:

Celanese

Investor Relations

Chuck Kyrish, +1-972-443-4574

chuck.kyrish@celanese.com

or

Media Relations Global

W. Travis Jacobsen, +1-972-443-3750

william.jacobsen@celanese.com

or

Media Relations Asia (Shanghai)

Helen Zhang, +86 21 3861 9279

lan.zhang@celanese.com

or

Media Relations Europe (Germany)

Jens Kurth, +49(0)69 45009 1574

j.kurth@celanese.com
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 3, 2016 - Planview is announcing that its cloud-based portfolio and resource management solution Planview Enterprise has successfully completed the Service Organization Control 2 Type II audit. The audit serves as an important verification for Planview's cloud customers as the software meet tough requirements for security, availability confidentiality and privacy.

Planview is announcing that its cloud-based portfolio and resource management solution Planview Enterprise has successfully completed the Service Organization Control 2 Type II audit. The audit serves as an important verification for Planview's cloud customers as the software meet tough requirements for security, availability confidentiality and privacy.

The SOC 2 Type II audit is a verification that the solution matches the criteria defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)in their Trust Services Principles for security and availability.

"Data security and availability is a key priority for us as our customers use Planview Enterprise to optimize their resources and work," said Planview Chief Information Officer Jerry Sanchez. "The SOC 2 Type II audit serves as a strong proof point of safeguarding our customers' data and privacy."

The Service Organization Control 2 Report (http://www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/FRC/AssuranceAdvisoryServices/Pages/SORHome.aspx) is performed in accordance with AT 101, requirements for non-financial reporting by Certified Public Accountants, and based upon the Trust Services Principles. The principles predefine criteria for vendors and business owners, making it easier to know what compliance needs are required and how to evaluate cloud solutions. The principles are based on four areas: policies, communications, procedures, and monitoring. Each of the principles have defined criteria (controls) which must be met to demonstrate adherence to the principles.

The audit includes a full assessment of:

Security: Data centers are protected against unauthorized access (both physical and logical).

Availability: Data centers are available for operation and use as committed or agreed.

Processing integrity: Processing is complete, accurate, timely and authorized.

Confidentiality: Information designated as confidential is protected as committed or agreed.

Privacy: Personal information is collected, used, retained, disclosed and destroyed in conformity with privacy principles issued by the AICPA and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).

Planview Enterprise was recently rated as Enterprise-Ready by SkyHigh's CloudTrust program (http://www.planview.com/company/press-releases/planview-top-rated-cloud-security/).

For more information about SOC 2 audits, formerly known as SAS70, visit American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (http://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/frc/assuranceadvisoryservices/pages/aicpasoc2report.aspx).

About Planview

Planview enables organizations to get the most out of their resources and achieve their goals. We are the global leader in solutions that optimize resources and work, spanning strategic planning, portfolio and resource management, project collaboration, and enterprise architecture. From small teams to large enterprises, companies in every industry use Planview's products: Planview Enterprise, Projectplace, and Troux. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, our 600 employees worldwide serve more than 1,000 enterprise customers and one million users.

http://www.planview.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005874/en/

Contacts:

Planview

For more information:

Per Holmlund, Senior Manager of Public Relations, Planview

+46 73 156 03 12,

pholmlund@planview.com
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Today, Bullfrog Power, Canada's leading green energy provider, and DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre Regina, are announcing that DoubleTree by Hilton Regina is the first hotel in Saskatchewan to choose green electricity with Bullfrog Power. Through the partnership, Bullfrog Power ensures the energy going onto the grid for DoubleTree by Hilton Regina's SilverBirch Conference Centre meeting and conferences rooms and three Hilton HHonors floors is coming from clean, green sources.

"Choosing Bullfrog Power's green electricity is important to us because we believe in doing our part to reduce our impact on the environment," said Mike Wurster, General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre Regina. "Thanks to our partnership with Bullfrog, we are now able to offer our guests a more environmentally sustainable stay as part of our commitment to create a truly rewarding hotel experience."

Bullfrog Power's generators put 100 per cent clean, pollution-free electricity onto the grid to match the amount of conventional power that DoubleTree by Hilton Regina's SilverBirch Conference Centre meeting rooms, conference rooms and three Hilton HHonors floors use. Across Canada, Bullfrog Power's green electricity comes from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power sourced from new Canadian renewable energy facilities.

"As the first hotel in Saskatchewan to choose Bullfrog Power's green electricity, DoubleTree by Hilton Regina is taking a leadership role in the province's hospitality sector," said Anthony Santilli, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Bullfrog Power. "DoubleTree by Hilton Regina is reducing its environmental impact, supporting the development of new renewable energy projects and helping to create a cleaner, healthier world."

Bullfrog Power, through its work as a social enterprise, supports community renewable projects in Saskatchewan and across Canada. In Saskatchewan, Bullfrog Power's community partners include First Nations Power Authority and Saskatoon's Broadway Theatre.

About Bullfrog Power

Bullfrog Power, Canada's leading green energy provider, offers renewable energy solutions that enable individuals and businesses to reduce their environmental impact, support the development of green energy projects in Canada and help create a cleaner, healthier world. As a Certified B Corporation, Bullfrog Power meets higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Thousands of individuals and businesses in Canada are doing their part to address climate change and air pollution by choosing green energy with Bullfrog Power. Sign up easily, quickly and affordably at bullfrogpower.com.

Join the bullfrogpowered community online on Facebook (facebook.com/BullfrogPower), Instagram (@bullfrogpower) and Twitter (@bullfrogpower).

About DoubleTree by Hilton

With a fast-growing, global collection of more than 440 upscale hotels in gateway cities, metropolitan areas and vacation destinations across six continents and nearly 40,000 rooms in the pipeline, every little thing we do at DoubleTree by Hilton inspires us to create a rewarding experience for our hotel guests, our Team Members and the communities we proudly serve. Our hospitality begins with a warm chocolate chip cookie welcome upon arrival and continues with the award-winning Hilton HHonors guest loyalty program, an array of fine services and amenities and our longstanding CARE Culture tradition that empowers Team Members to provide the special comforts and acts of kindness that make the traveler feel human again. Hilton HHonors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to benefits including free standard Wi-Fi, as well as digital amenities that are available exclusively through the industry-leading Hilton HHonors app, where HHonors members can check-in and choose their room. To make reservations at any DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, travelers may visit our brand website at http://www.doubletree.com. Social media users may connect with us at http://www.facebook.com/doubletree, http://www.twitter.com/doubletree and http://www.youtube.com/doubletreehotels. For the latest news, story starters and fact sheets about our brand, reporters and bloggers may visit our DoubleTree by Hilton Global Media Center at news.doubletree.com.

SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts Boilerplates

SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts is one of Canada's leading hotel operations and asset management companies and manages a large portfolio of full-service, focused service and extended stay hotels across Canada. The company manages hotels operating under major franchise brands, such as Marriott, Hilton and Radisson. www.silverbirchhotels.com

Contacts:

Bullfrog Power

Jon McKay

Public Relations Manager

416.360.3464 ext 239

jon.mckay@bullfrogpower.com



SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts

Stacey Morton

Marketing Consultant

604.646.8787

smorton@silverbirchhotels.com




OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will travel to Washington, D.C., from February 10 to 11, 2016.

During the visit, the Governor General will meet with innovation, research, and education leaders - from both the public and private sectors - to reinforce the importance of strong international collaboration between Canada and the United States.

The Governor General will also pay his respects to the fallen at the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice in Arlington Cemetery - a tribute to the many American citizens who died while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces during the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War.

Quote

"Canada's relationship with the United States of America is one of the longest, most peaceful, and mutually-beneficial relationships of any two countries in the world. We face many of the same challenges, and continental growth in our science, innovation, and research sectors is a key priority that will help us continue to grow, together."

- Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts

-- This will be His Excellency's first time to Washington, D.C., as Governor General. His Excellency has previously visited cities in the states of Massachusetts, New York, California, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan. -- The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner, with nearly $2.4 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border every day accounting for $870.1 billion in annual two way trade.

Contacts:

PMO Media Relations:

(613) 957-5555

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: CEM) ("Constantine" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received a US $250,000 option payment from Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd. ("Dowa"). This fourth payment brings the total payments received from Dowa to date to US $1,250,000.

Dowa has just completed the third year of an option and joint venture agreement in which it can earn 49% in the Company's flagship Palmer Project in Alaska by making aggregate expenditures of US $22 million. To the end of 2015, Dowa has spent approximately US $16 million on the project. Constantine is currently working with Dowa to finalize plans and program scope for 2016.

About the Palmer Project

Palmer is a resource expansion stage, high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 8.1 million tonnes grading 1.41% copper, 5.25% zinc, 0.32 g/t gold and 31.7 g/t silver(i). The Project is being advanced in partnership with Dowa, who can earn 49% in the project by making aggregate expenditures of US $22 million over four years. The project is located in a very accessible part of coastal Southeast Alaska, with road access to the edge of the property and within 60 kilometers of the year-round deep sea port of Haines. Mineralization at Palmer occurs within the same belt of rocks that is host to the Greens Creek mine, one of the world's richest VMS deposits. There are at least 25 separate base metal and/or barite occurrences and prospects on the Palmer property, indicating the potential for discovery of multiple deposits.

(i) See the Company's news release date May 11, 2015 and available on www.sedar.com. Resource estimate utilizes an NSR cut-off of US$75/t with assumed metal prices of US$1200/oz for gold, US$18/oz for silver, US$2.75/lb for copper, and US$1.00/lb for zinc. Estimated metal recoveries are 89.6% for copper, 84.9% for zinc, 75% for gold (61.5% to the Cu concentrate and 13.5% to the Zn concentrate) and 89.7% for silver (73.7% to the Cu concentrate and 16% to the Zn concentrate) as determined from metallurgical locked cycle flotation tests. An "Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. Confidence in the estimate is insufficient to allow the meaningful application of technical and economic parameters or to enable an evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure.

About the Company

Constantine is a mineral exploration company led by a proven technical team with a focus on premier North American mining environments. The company's principal asset is the Palmer copper-zinc-silver-gold Project located in Southeast Alaska that is being advanced in partnership with Dowa. Constantine also controls a pipeline of quality gold projects in the Timmins camp, Ontario and Yukon. Management is committed to responsible mineral exploration and to working with local communities. Please visit the Company's website (www.constantinemetals.com) for more detailed company and project information.

On Behalf of Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.

Garfield MacVeigh, President

Notes:

Forward-looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements")." Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the expected. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company's expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither 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.

Contacts:

Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.

Garfield MacVeigh

President

604-629-2348



Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.

Drew Martell

Manager Corporate Development

604-629-2348

info@constantinemetals.com

www.constantinemetals.com




DUBLIN, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7ljgnj/data_center) has announced the addition of the "Data Center Colocation Market by Service Types (Retail, Wholesale), Industry Verticals (Banking & Insurance, IT & Telecom, Healthcare, Government & Public, Energy), End Users (SMEs, Large Enterprises) & by Regions - Global Forecast to 2020" report to their offering.

The data center colocation market size will grow from USD 25.70 Billion in 2015 to USD 54.13 Billion by 2020, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1%. Increasing adoption of cloud computing has led the organizations to upgrade to the upcoming technological solutions, such as modular data center infrastructure and virtualization for data center. This acts as a primary driving factor for the market as colocation initiatives helps companies to reduce costs and support cloud computing and storage. Other driving forces include reduction of capital expenditure (Capex), reliability, efficiency, and security; and bandwidth scalability.

The data center colocation market is broadly classified by type into retail colocation market and wholesale collocation market. Compared to retail colocation, the wholesale colocation market is experiencing high adoption among business enterprises, as wholesale vendors are not only offering their services at a cheaper rate than retail vendors, but are also dealing, increasingly, in lower power and space requirements. The colocation services market has been recently witnessing an increasing interest in hybrid cloud-based colocation facilities as organizations are adopting cloud computing to run a mix of in-house and outsourced data center services

Large enterprises dominate the end user segment in the data center colocation market during the forecast period. This growth is driven due to technological advancement across North America and Europe. Small and medium enterprises are expected to witness the highest growth as the colocation service offers them the benefit of big data center at a very reasonable operating cost.

The global market is segmented across five broad classifications, namely, North America, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. The analysis shows that the spending on data center colocation is increasing globally due to increasing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) integration across different verticals, especially in developing regions.

North America is projected to dominate the data center colocation market during the forecast period due to technological advancements and early adoption of cloud computing in the region. The APAC market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2015 and 2020. The primary driving forces for this growth are increasing technological adoption and huge opportunities in countries such as China, India, and Japan.

Some of the major technology vendors include Centurylink, Digital Realty Trust, Equinix Inc., NTT Communications, and Verizon Communications.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

5 Market Overview

6 Industry Trends

7 Data Center Colocation Market Analysis, By Type

8 Market Analysis, By Vertical

9 Data Center Colocation Market Analysis, By End User

10 Geographic Analysis

11 Competitive Landscape

12 Company Profiles

- At&T, Inc.

- Centurylink, Inc.

- Coresite Realty Corporation

- Digital Realty Trust

- Equinix, Inc.

- Internap Corporation

- Interxion Holding NV

- Level 3 Communications, Inc.

- NTT Communications

- Telecitygroup PLC

- Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Inc.

For more information visit

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7ljgnj/data_center

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, +353-1-481-1716, press@researchandmarkets.net
Andalas Energy and Power Plc

("Andalas" or "ADL" or the "Company")

3 February 2016

ADL signs heads of agreement to farm-in to Indonesian gas project

Andalas Energy and Power Plc is pleased to announce that it has signed a non-binding heads of agreement to farm-in to the Technical Assistance Contract ('TAC') covering the Tuba Obi East oil and gas concession ('TOE') ("the concession") in Jambi province, Sumatra.

The proposed transaction would constitute a reverse takeover within the meaning of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Highlights:

Heads of agreement signed to acquire 30% working interest in TOE TAC via a farm-in

TOE is a 'beach head' for Andalas into the Indonesian gas sector

Any future gas production from the concession may support either: Gas export with the project located close to a major export route; or Gas-to-power being located in an area where a significant shortfall in energy generation exists

Farm-in via execution of a US$1.075 million work programme. Bonus payment of US$500k on renewal of the concession

work programme. Bonus payment of on renewal of the concession Work programme to be jointly operated by Andalas and includes technical studies and the drilling and testing of one appraisal well which would be put into production on success

Subject to well results, further development studies will be undertaken

Andalas' gas and power study shows strong market for gas at high prices

Transaction is a reverse takeover and the Company is preparing an admission document seeking shareholder approval which it will publish in due course

Andalas CEO, Mr David Whitby, said, "A farm in to the TOE concession in Indonesia will give us a 'beach head' to build a significant gas business in the country. This is the result of many months' work during 2015 by our team and our extensive network of Indonesian gas and power industry experts. That work culminated in a comprehensive study of the Indonesian gas and power sector, from reservoir sand-face to gas burner tip, which I believe gives us a significant competitive advantage in realising the value of TOE and future blocks currently under evaluation.

"TOE is ideally located adjacent to the major Sumatran gas pipeline to Duri and Singapore, and close to the provincial capital city of Jambi which is in critical need of power generation. We see great potential to add further value by expanding the concession to capture additional gas discoveries just outside the acreage. In addition to providing Andalas with a clearly defined road map, today's agreement also marks the beginning of the process for our shares to be readmitted to trading on AIM and I look forward to providing further updates on our progress.

"ADL has assembled a top tier Indonesian drilling team that has commenced the well planning process to fast-track the spudding of our first well which will be a target following our readmission to AIM"

Tuba Obi East Gas

Tuba Obi East has tested gas in the key South Sumatra hydrocarbon bearing formations, namely, the Air Benakat Formation (ABF) and the Talang Akar Formation (TAF). These zones have flowed gas to surface within and around the concession.

Crucially, the ABF has flowed gas outside the TAC but only limited data from the ABF has been gathered within the concession area. Andalas' technical analysis indicates that this reservoir zone contains potentially substantial gas resources that can be proven via the drilling and flow testing of the proposed appraisal well which may be completed as a production well on success.

Further geological, geophysical, reservoir and development studies will be undertaken following the analysis of test results from the well. This work will be conducted in parallel with a proactive approach to the renewal and extension of the block contract and preliminary discussions with targeted consumers.

Gas and Power Study Demonstrates Significant Opportunities in Sumatra

During the last quarter of 2015 the Andalas team, supplemented by a number of Indonesian gas and power industry experts, completed a detailed study of the Indonesian gas and power sector with particular focus on the opportunities present in Sumatra. The results of the study are now being utilised as the 'road map' to guide the Company's future asset acquisition efforts.

The major conclusions of the study were:

Indonesia is a demographically young nation with a rapidly growing middle-class supporting burgeoning demand for power

is a demographically young nation with a rapidly growing middle-class supporting burgeoning demand for power Indonesia has one of the lowest electrification rates in the ASEAN region, with more than 60 million people estimated to be without access to electricity*

has one of the lowest electrification rates in the ASEAN region, with more than 60 million people estimated to be without access to electricity* The Indonesian gas and power markets have robust, increasing demand, that is yet to be fully met

Gas and power prices are some of the highest in the world and insulated from volatile oil prices

Market fundamentals mean pricing is expected to remain high

Demand growth and the international push for reduced carbon emissions favours growing use of gas in the power sector

There is ready access to pipeline and power infrastructure, especially Sumatra

TOE has potential for gas export or Independent Power Production (IPP) - subject to proving gas volumes, deliverability, and quality

The study indicates that this concession and others currently under consideration are well situated to take advantage of the strong growth in the Indonesian gas and power sectors.

Farm-in Summary

Under the terms of the proposed farm in, Andalas will acquire a 30% direct working interest in the concession through the execution of a single well work programme. The work programme includes the completion of a geological, geophysical and reservoir study along with the drilling and flow testing of a single appraisal well to assess the deliverability, recoverable volumes, and gas quality in the Air Benakat formation. Block operator PT Akar Golindo and Andalas will jointly operate during the work programme, which is expected to cost around US$1.075 million. Andalas has agreed to pay a further sum of US$500,000 to PT Akar Golindo if the concession is renewed.

Reverse Takeover

The proposed farm-in constitutes a reverse takeover pursuant to Rule 14 of the AIM Rules for Companies and, accordingly, the farm-in agreement will be subject to the approval of Andalas' shareholders in general meeting. Andalas will publish an admission document in due course and it has engaged Gaffney, Cline & Associates to prepare a Competent Person's Report.

Further details of the TOE contract are as follows:

Location: Jambi Province, South Sumatra

approx. 30km NW Jambi City

approx. 18km NE of Grissick-Singapore/Duri gas pipeline

Contract type:Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) with Pertamina

Contract issue date: 1997

Term/expiry: 20 years; expires 14 May 2017

Area:55 sq. km

Working interests: PT Akar Golindo (100%)

Current status: In good standing; producing oil on an intermittent basis

Hydrocarbon basin: South Sumatran Basin

Producing reservoirs: Oligocene Talang Akar Fm (TAF); Air Benakat Formation (ABF)

Reservoir depth: TAF approx. 1,600 to 2,110 metres; ABF approx. 800 metres

Structure: Closure approx. 20 sq. km; thickness up to 550 metres (gross)

Seismic coverage: 2D and 3D seismic

Discoveries: 1986 - Tuba Obi East field

Prospects and leads: Berembang prospect; 2 unnamed exploration leads

Wells: 3 wells; 2 production; 1 suspended



Productivity: Wells tested up to 350 bopd oil and up to 3 MMscf/d gas

Quality: Oil 36to 55API light, sweet crude oil

Gas near pipeline quality (approx. 7% CO 2 )

Nearby discoveries:Simpang Tuan (oil and gas), Karang Makmur (oil and gas)

For further information, please contact:

David Whitby Andalas Energy and Power Plc Tel: +62 21 2783 2316 Sarah Wharry

Craig Francis Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

(Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7894 7000 Lucy Williams

Charles Goodfellow Peterhouse Corporate Finance

Limited (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930 Colin Rowbury Cornhill Capital (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 9610 Frank Buhagiar

Susie Geliher St Brides Partners Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177





* PLN Statistics 2013, Table 19.
JAKARTA, Feb 3, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - Consolidation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) per cluster, based on the type of business and operations, is considered to be beneficial for those state-controlled companies.



"Consolidation of SOEs per cluster based on the type of business is indeed beneficial for each company itself," said Deputy of Mining, Strategic Industry and Media, Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Harry Sampurno, at the Ministry of SOEs Building, Jakarta, on Friday.



Harry explained the benefits that could be obtained by each corporation included operational cooperation, such as Percetakan Negara Republik Indonesia (PNRI) and Balai Pustaka incorporated in consolidation of media and publishing types of business (National Publishing and News Co./NPNC).



He added that in operational, PNRI and Balai Pustaka seemed to have become one, making it possible to make a work order to one side only.



"To make a work order, for instance, can be done either through Balai Pustaka or PNRI, then to be forwarded to the companies that do best with the project. It is for the country as well, so they can help each other in order to increase the country's reputation domestically and internationally," he said.



In line with Harry, Director of Perum Percetakan Negara Republik Indonesia (PNRI) Djakfarudin Junus said, having been joined with NPNC, the company obtained benefits that resulted in increasing the state treasury from SOE revenues.



"Through NPNC, we can get the project more easily, because it's as if we come as a nation. For example, yesterday we got a Koran procurement order from Kazakhstan, we forwarded it to Balai Pustaka since they are competent for the work even though we were the ones who got the project, meaning we can take a role in generating state revenue," he added.



Based on information compiled by Antara, NPNC consists of various state-owned enterprises in the news and publishing sector including LKBN Antara, PNRI, Balai Pustaka and Perusahaan Film Negara (PFN).



NPNC itself is part of a cluster of SOEs in the digital telecommunication sector, in addition to other business models that aim to build a "mobile broadband" network reaching out to rural areas, and fiber optic network to the district capital.







Copyright 2016 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.





Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
DUBLIN, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7kzk96/global_structured) has announced the addition of the "Global Structured Finance Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The reports expect the global structured finance market to grow at a CAGR of 16.49% during the period 2016-2020.

Portfolio risk solutions are expected to aid the market growth during the forecast period by providing real-time pricing and capital management of multi assets portfolio. These solutions would help finance professionals to provide information to produce cash flows and analytics at the portfolio level. This process of pricing securities will help manage individual portfolios and avoid firm-wide risks through consistency, automation, and transparency.

According to the report, the third party due diligence services is the primary growth driver for this market. Through the Exchange Act Rule 15Ga-2 and Rule 17g-10, the issuance of the assets backed securities is expected to become transparent. It would provide the investors a detailed analysis of the securities and enhance their portfolio diversification.

Further, the report states that many global banks participate in the securitization market and face risks that heighten the cost of their unfunded commitments. This hampers transactions involved in the securitization credit facility offered to customers.

Key Vendors:

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Barclays

Citigroup

Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank

Goldman Sachs

HSBC

JP Morgan Chase

Morgan Stanley

UBS

Other Prominent Vendors:

Citi Group

UniCredit

Wells Fargo

Key questions answered in this report:

What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in this market space?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Key Topics Covered:

PART 01: Executive summary

PART 02: Scope of the report

PART 03: Market research methodology

PART 04: Introduction

PART 05: Market landscape

PART 06: Product segmentation

PART 07: Geographical segmentation

PART 08: Market drivers

PART 09: Impact of drivers

PART 10: Market challenges

PART 11: Impact of drivers and challenges

PART 12: Market trends

PART 13: Vendor landscape

PART 14: Key vendor analysis

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7kzk96/global_structured

Media Contact:

Laura Wood , +353-1-481-1716, press@researchandmarkets.net
STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Ericsson (ERIC) announced an initiative to accelerate the development of Internet of Things or IoT by establishing a platform for licensing of standardized technology to device manufacturers, spanning from autonomous cars to irrigation sensors. The platform, operated by an independent company, will adopt a revenue sharing model for contributing companies and receive a mandate to license on behalf of the joining patent holders, aiming to simplify access to standardized technology. The new platform will be headed by Kasim Alfalahi, who will leave his current role as Chief Intellectual Property Officer and Head of IPR & Licensing at Ericsson. According to the latest edition of Ericsson Mobility Report, around 28 billion connected devices are expected by 2021, of which 15 billion will be connected machine to machine and consumer electronics devices. 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.
BEACONSFIELD, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- The City of Beaconsfield is pleased to announce the formation of the new Advisory Committee on Land-Use Planning and Development, which held its first meeting on February 1. The recruitment process, started in December, led to the selection of ten members, Beaconsfield residents and experts from key sectors.

"We are very proud of this new committee chaired by Councillor Wade Staddon. Composed of members highly qualified in their area of expertise, this group will guide us in choosing the most effective way to improve the process of planning and developing our community. Working together, we will make greater progress towards providing housing opportunities which encourage young people to move to Beaconsfield and enable long-time residents to downsize, but continue to live here, "said Mayor Georges Bourelle.

Members of the Advisory Committee on Land-Use Planning and Development:

-- Mr. Bob Benedetti -- Mrs. Carmen Boisvert -- Mrs. Elizabeth (Libby) Broady -- Mrs.Gabrielle Cloutier -- Mr. Al Gardner -- Mrs. Marie-Helene Gauthier -- Mrs. Maryse Lafontaine -- Mr. Scott Pelletier -- Mr. Sam Watts -- Mrs. Alena Ziuleva

This committee's mandate is to explore new trends in land use planning and evolving housing needs, including a review of the densification and usage of all City sectors. Public hearings and information sessions are scheduled in the coming months to ensure adequate response to the housing needs of future generations in Beaconsfield and promote eco-responsible development of the municipality.

How do I stay informed and get involved? Here are some important upcoming dates:

March 7 at the Herb Linder Annex, 303 Beaconsfield Blvd.

Information session on land use and development

April 4 at the Herb Linder Annex, 303 Beaconsfield Blvd.

Hearings on land use and development

April 11 at City Hall, 303 Beaconsfield Blvd.

Hearings and deposit of briefs on land use and development

June 7 at the Herb Linder Annex, 303 Beaconsfield Blvd.

Presentation of the findings of the Land Use and Development Committee

Contacts:

Mayor's office

514 428-4410




REDWOOD CITY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- With the conclusion of a Silicon Valley whistleblower case resulting in a $75.5M settlement in favor of the U.S. government, the Law Offices of Jeffrey F. Ryan is now moving to have their client made whole and receive damages for wrongful termination. Mr. Ryan and his team earned nearly 20% qui tam award for their client.

Initially tipped off by the client, an employee of a large Silicon Valley technology firm who revealed ongoing fraudulent sales practices by the company against the U.S. government, Jeff Ryan and his team filed a qui tam lawsuit eventually leading to the settlement. With the settlement in place, Mr. Ryan is now seeking his client be compensated for wrongful termination and damages.

"The amount of courage it took for my client to come forward was incalculable; he did so at the risk of his professional and personal reputation," states Jeff Ryan. "We hope his courage and our victory for the taxpayers of America shows others that they too can come forward and seek justice without retaliation. The False Claims Act is there to provide whistleblowers with that path to justice."

During the American Civil War, dishonest government contractors sold the Union moth-eaten blankets and reportedly boasted that, "You can sell anything to the government, at almost any price you've got the guts to ask.' Crates that were supposed to contain muskets instead came filled with sawdust. Decrepit horses were sold to the cavalry. The soles of soldiers' shoes were nothing but glued-together wood chips, and their uniforms were made of shoddy materials that fell apart in the first rain. These outrages prompted President Lincoln to push for the first federal whistleblower statute: the False Claims Act, which later became known as "Lincoln's Law."

Ryan and his team cited the current version of the False Claims Act in their complaint and marshalled evidence to prove violations of it spanning five years by a Silicon Valley giant.

The Law Offices of Jeffrey F. Ryan is an association of attorneys licensed to practice law before all of the courts in the State of California, with a focus on business litigation in the areas of employment law, business disputes, trade secret and intellectual property law, and insurance bad faith cases. The firm also handles the negotiation of severance packages for executives. The Law Office of Jeffrey F. Ryan acts in the best interests of its clients, the law, and the courts at all times.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2958797



Media contact:

Austin Edgington

+1-650-245-0166

Email Contact

www.zingpr.com




FREMONT, CA and GUADALAJARA, MEXICO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Optovue, the global leader in the development and commercialization of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), today announced commercial availability of AngioAnalytics*, the next generation of its OCTA technology available on the AngioVue** Imaging System, for use outside of the U.S. This new capability enables clinicians to quantify the density of blood flow in the retina, the light-sensitive portion of the eye, to help manage diseases that cause progressive blindness such as diabetic retinopathy or acute macular degeneration.

Optovue also announced it will host an educational symposium at the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC 2016) entitled, "The Transformative Power of Quantitative OCT Angiography" on Feb. 7. pm. Moderated by David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., the evening symposium will feature four industry experts who will present recent clinical findings on OCTA, the AngioVue System and AngioAnalytics.

"AngioAnalytics adds an important element to the treatment algorithm by quantifying the density of blood vessels in the eye where blood flow can be detected," said Richard Rosen, M.D., FACS, FASRS, CRA, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Retina at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

"Early detection of eye disease is essential for optimizing treatment, and for the first time, changes to the patient's retinal microcirculation can be quantified using a non-invasive method. Additionally, we are able to track these changes from visit to visit to better understand the rate of disease progression and the efficacy of treatment. It is certainly feasible that this new information will change the clinical management of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and other diseases that progressively rob patients of their vision," continued Dr. Rosen.

Since its introduction, Optovue's AngioVue System has been installed and incorporated into daily clinical use at over 500 sites outside of the U.S., and is the subject of 88 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

"The availability of our breakthrough AngioAnalytics technology raises the standard of care available to patients while improving practice workflow and diagnostic confidence," said Jay Wei, founder and chief executive officer for Optovue. "With the addition of AngioAnalytics to the AngioVue system, clinicians now have objective data regarding the areas encompassed by flow and non-flow regions, as well as a visual map of the blood flow in the retina."

About the AngioVue System

The AngioVue System embodies OCTA technology, which uses light rays to form detailed three-dimensional images of the retina so physicians can quickly visualize the anatomic structures and abnormalities present. In less than three seconds, the AngioVue System acquires a single image that complements the current angiography imaging standard, fluorescein angiography (FA), but with a number of advantages. Unlike FA, the AngioVue System is non-invasive and does not require the use of dye injections, which can often obscure the target anatomy and lead to diagnostic uncertainty.

About Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular Degeneration

Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by a predictable progression of vascular changes in the circulation of the retina ultimately leading to areas without any blood flow at all. In later stages of the disease, the growth of new blood vessels occurs along with an overall thickening of the central part of the retina. According to the World Health Organization, diabetic retinopathy is responsible for nearly two million cases of blindness globally. The same source lists age-related macular degeneration as the third leading cause of blindness in the world, which is characterized by a loss of vision in the central visual field.

About the WOC

The World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) of the International Council of Ophthalmology is the longest continuous international medical meeting, first held in 1857. Held every two years, the next WOC will take place in February 2016 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

About Optovue

Optovue, Inc., a privately-held medical device company founded in 2003 and based in Fremont, Calif., is dedicated to the development and commercialization of high-speed optical coherence technology used to facilitate the diagnosis and management of eye diseases, many of which may lead to permanent blindness. For more information, visit www.optovue.com.

*AngioAnalytics requires regulatory approval, and is not currently available in the United States.

**The AngioVue Imaging System is pending 510(k) clearance in the United States.

Note to Reporters: The educational symposium will take place Feb. 7, 2016, 6:30-8:00 pm at the Riu Plaza Guadalajara, Room GDL1, Av. Adolfo Lopez Mateos 830, Fracc. Chapalita. Transportation will be provided from the WOC to the symposium. For more information, visit Optovue in booth 411 and 412 at the WOC 2016, Feb. 5-9.

Media Contacts:

Amy Cook

Email Contact

+1 925.200.2125



Judy Bartlett-Roberto

Vice President, Marketing

Email Contact

+1 925.787.8113




SQUAMISH, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Howe Sound Brewing is pleased to introduce its newest seasonal release - Log Driver Juniper IPA - an American-style Rye IPA brewed with Juniper berries. Combining Juniper and a dry hop of Simcoe and Chinook hops results in a beer with bright citrus and mango aroma and juicy fruit and resinous piney flavours. Log Driver is 45 IBUs, 12.5 Plato and 5.5% alc/vol. It is now available in private and government liquor stores in BC.

The history of Howe Sound and Squamish is intrinsically bound to the mountains and the waterways. Once a hop growing area from 1890-1930, and a major forestry and boom production area from the early 1850s until today, the region now offers incredible recreation opportunities in the heart of Sea to Sky Country. For many, skilled workers such as the Log Driver evoke memories of a robust bygone era in British Columbia. Along rivers and waterways throughout Canada, the Log Driver manually moved logs with a boom driver, dancing with great agility on the roaring water, log to log. Our Log Driver Juniper Rye IPA celebrates those times and the people that moved lumber with great dexterity and skill. The smell of resin and juniper wafted through the community then, as it does now.

Howe Sound Brewer Simon Jongsma had these thoughts to say. "The idea behind making our new Log Driver Juniper Rye IPA was to brew an American style Rye IPA that was loaded with a lot of resinous pine notes and bright citrus tones. Springtime in Squamish means getting outside and spending sunny days in the forest and that's really what we tried to capture with this beer. It's a refreshing and flavourful IPA that uses piney hops and Juniper berries to showcase a great ingredient," Jongsma says.

Howe Sound Brewing is an award-winning craft brewery located in Squamish, BC., brewing over 30 artisan beers and distributing a full-range of lagers and ales in Canada, specifically Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and to 15 states in the US. The brewery opened its doors in 1996 and features 20 character guestrooms, a picturesque brewpub and restaurant, and beer inspired cuisine. John Mitchell, one of the pioneers of craft brewing in North America, mentored a number of HSB's brewers. His dedication and continued commitment to fine ales has led to accolades locally and internationally.

For more information about Howe Sound Brewing, visit www.howesound.com.

For all media related inquiries regarding Howe Sound Brewing please contact Leslie Fenn 604.818.5097 or by email lfenn@howesound.com

For orders: orders@howesound.com or your local sales manager...

To view the photo accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160202-LongDriver.jpg

Contacts:

Leslie Fenn

604-818-5097

lfenn@howesound.com




CHICO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTC PINK: AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies (stevedoring/shipping), infrastructure construction, logging and mining companies, announced that in the month of January it received equipment orders worth $650,000 from new and existing customers in the U.S.

AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre commented, "We couldn't be happier to see our core business continuing to grow -- this is our bread and butter. During January we received orders from sawmills in South Dakota and California. Dry dock/transfer companies in Texas and Kansas ordered container handlers as did a new customer located in Oakland, Calif.

"Our potential international business is continuing to grow and we are responding to requests for proposals from several countries. We are working hard to close some of this potential business but it is taking longer as we are experiencing additional competition from Chinese companies. While we continue to work this pipeline from the U.S., we depend on our relationships, our excellent reputation and our knowledgeable representatives within these countries to assist in closing contracts. I am developing a travel itinerary to meet with potential customers, financing organizations and our representatives in a week or two."

About AmeraMex International

AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within four industries: construction (light and infrastructure), shipping logistics, mining and commercial farming. AmeraMex, with customers in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service and inventories top-of-the-line equipment from manufacturers such as Taylor Machine Works Inc. and Terex Heavy Equipment. For more information visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, statements discussing sales or revenue projections are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein.

Investor and Media Relations

McCloud Communications, LLC

Marty Tullio

Managing Member

Office: 949.632.1900

Email Contact






WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Sportswear retailer Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) is due to release its fourth-quarter results after the bell on Thursday, February 4. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are estimating earnings of $ 0.46 per share on revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimate typically exclude certain special items.



The company projects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings in the range of $0.44 - $0.46 per share, adjusted operating profit of $231 million - $241 million, and sales of about $1.525 billion.



For fiscal 2015...



The company increased its adjusted earnings to a range of $1.66 - $1.68 per share from the prior estimate of $1.61 - $1.66 per share, reflecting increased profitability and benefits of share repurchases that are expected to more than offset currency headwinds.



Full-year 2015 GAAP earnings are now expected to be in the range of $1.14 - $1.17 per share, and GAAP operating profit in the range of $640 million - $650 million.



To reflect higher profit margins, the company has increased its guidance for full-year adjusted operating profit to a range of $880 million - $890 million from the previous guidance range of $855 million - $875 million.



The company now expects full-year net sales of about $5.85 billion. Previous guidance for full-year net sales was slightly less than $5.9 billion. The growth of core sales, which exclude acquisitions and a retailer exit from Canada, are expected to be about 2% for the full year, when adjusting for currency fluctuations and the impact of last year's 53rd week.



Knights Apparel is expected to contribute net sales of about $160 million and adjusted operating profit of about $22 million - up from the prior estimate of $18 million. DBApparel is expected to contribute about 630 million in net sales and about 40 million in adjusted operating profit.



Q3 Results



For the third-quarter 2015, the company reported net income of $162.2 million or $0.40 per share versus $118.9 million or $0.29 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the earnings of $0.45 per share for the quarter.



Net sales increased 14% to $1.59 billion from $1.40 billion generated a year ago. Core sales, which exclude acquisitions and a retailer exit from Canada, increased 3% in constant currency. Analysts expected revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - A Chinese woman, who was the lone passenger in a plane while flying home to Guangzhou for the New Year holiday, has been dubbed in Chinese social media as the world's luckiest passenger. The blizzard that caused delays to several flights in central Wuhan Sunday forced all passengers on scheduled China Southern Airlines flight CZ2833 to Guangzhou to swap to an earlier flight. But a traveller, with the surname of Zhang, preferred the original flight, leaving her to enjoy the 'rockstar' trip as the sole passenger, attended by multiple air hostesses on board. Zhang took pictures of her solo voyage in the economy class and shared her happy experience in a post on the popular Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo, evoking hundreds of likes, shares and comments. 'Sister, you are clearly the world's luckiest passenger - cherish it,' read one of the comments. The motor company she works for paid for the ticket, which is valued at about $181. The Chinese New Year is the busiest and chaotic time of the year for traveling in China. 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.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (ICAGY.PK, IAG.L), formed by the merger of British Airways plc. and Spanish flag carrier Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A., said that its traffic in January 2016 increased 11.9% from January 2015, on a capacity increase of 9.4%. Group traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres or RPK for the latest-month increased 11.9 per cent to 17.29 billion from 15.46 billion RPK in the same month last year. Group capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres or ASK rose 9.4 per cent to 21.97 billion from 20.08 billion ASK in the previous year month. Passenger load factor for the month improved 1.7 points to 78.7 percent from 77.0 percent in the prior year. The airline carried a total of 6.34 million passengers in the recent month, up19.4 percent from last year's 5.31 million passengers. The Group performance comprised British Airways, Iberia (including Iberia Express) and Vueling. British Airways announced today that it will resume direct flights to Tehran on July 14. The route will launch as a six-per-week service before moving to daily flights from winter 2016. The service from Heathrow Terminal 5 will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777. 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.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Indian Motorcycle, America's first motorcycle company, today announced it has partnered with Red Wing Shoes to create the new limited-edition "Red Wing Shoes Collection" of fine, handcrafted American motorcycle boots. Indian Motorcycle, founded in 1901, and Red Wing Shoes, founded in 1905, share a rich heritage of authenticity, fine handcrafted quality, and products that embody the legendary American spirit. Today both brands also share the great state of Minnesota, with only 80 miles separating their corporate headquarters.

"It's an honor to join forces with another iconic Minnesota-based company in creating this collection of fine handcrafted motorcycle boots," said Dan Dahl, V.P. Red Wing Heritage. "For more than 110 years these two companies have been producing high quality American-made products to help propel this country forward and this collaboration continues that tradition. This new collection will deliver the epitome of comfort, protection, prestige and style to Indian Motorcycle riders and fans."

The 2016 Limited-Edition Red Wing Shoes Collection for Indian Motorcycle (available July 2016):

Worthington (Men's Black Pull-On Boots)

Named after the street in Springfield, Mass., where Indian Motorcycle began full-scale production in 1902, this boot is based on Red Wing Shoes' classic Engineer style and has been modified for Indian Motorcycle riders. This 11-inch pull-on boot features plain toe styling, a Vibram 430 sole for higher grip and abrasion resistance, and an instep strap for precise fitting. The premium Red Wing Shoes Black Harness leather, original Indian Motorcycle buckles, embossed logo and all black stitching deliver the ultimate in classic motorcycle styling. These boots feature Goodyear welt construction and puritan chain stitching. MSRP: $319.99 (US) $409.99 (CAN).

Spirit Lake (Men's Brown Lace-Up Boots)

In homage to the dedicated men and women in Spirit Lake, Iowa, who build each and every Indian Motorcycle with a passion for quality and true American craftsmanship, this boot is modeled after Red Wing Shoes' popular Iron Ranger. It's an 8-inch boot developed to provide a stable fit and firm ankle protection, with a Vibram 430 sole for superb grip and abrasion resistance and features a double layer leather toe cap for added protection. The premium Red Wing Shoes Amber Portage leather, gunmetal eyelets and all-brown stitching make these boots a favorite for around-town styling, comfort and rugged support. These boots feature Goodyear welt construction and triple-stitched quality. MSRP: $319.99 (US) $409.99 (CAN).

Connelly (Women's Black Pull-On Boots)

In honor of women riders around the world and Indian Motorcycle's 100-year heritage of supporting them, this boot is named after Catherine Connelly of Owatonna, Minn., one of the brand's earliest female riders and loyalists. Even during the Depression, she and her husband made periodic trips to Springfield to buy new Indian Motorcycles and they would ride them back to Owatonna. This boot is based on Red Wing Shoes' Engineer boot. This 11-inch pull-on boot features plain toe styling, Heeled Oil Resistant Cushion Crepe sole to provide grip and lighter weight, and an instep strap to adjust the fit. The premium Red Wing Shoes Black Harness leather, original Indian Motorcycle buckles, embossed logo and white stitching deliver the perfect fusion of fashion and function. These boots feature Goodyear welt construction and puritan chain stitching. MSRP: $319.99 (US) $409.99 (CAN).

"You could say that both Indian Motorcycle and Red Wing Shoes are in the transportation business, as we've been transporting men, women, soldiers and workers all over this great nation for over 100 years," said Steve Menneto, President of Motorcycles for Polaris Industries. "Fine American craftsmanship is a rare thing in today's world, but it's in the DNA of both these companies and that's why I know Indian Motorcycle riders and fans will take great pride in owning a pair of these boots."

ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE

Indian Motorcycle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII), is America's first motorcycle company. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America's most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.

ABOUT POLARIS INDUSTRIES

Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) is a global powersports leader with annual 2015 sales of $4.7 billion. Polaris fuels the passion of riders, workers and outdoor enthusiasts with our RANGER, RZR and POLARIS GENERAL side-by-side off-road vehicles; our SPORTSMAN and POLARIS ACE all-terrain off-road vehicles; VICTORY and INDIAN MOTORCYCLE midsize and heavyweight motorcycles; SLINGSHOT moto-roadsters; and Polaris RMK, INDY, SWITCHBACK and RUSH snowmobiles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments and accessories sold under multiple recognizable brands, and has a growing presence in adjacent markets globally with products including military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. www.polaris.com

Red Wing Shoes is a registered trademark of Red Wing Shoe Company, Inc.

Vibram is a registered trademark of Vibram S.P.A. Corporation.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2958611



MEDIA CONTACT

Megan Kathman

Skyya Communications

www.skyya.com

ph: (646) 661-1524

megan.kathman@skyya.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Cypress Development Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CYP)(OTCBB: CYDVF)(FRANKFURT: C1Z1) ("Cypress" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, further to its news release on January 25th, the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the Company's Option Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the 1280 acre Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project located in Esmeralda County, in the state of Nevada, USA.

Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada location map:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/maps/CYP-Clayton-topo-satalite-small.jpg

Cypress' Clayton Valley Project is located on the south flank of "Angel Island" and immediately southeast of the Albemarle Silver Peak lithium brine mine. The acquired claims share their western boundary with placer claims controlled by Pure Energy Minerals. Pure Energy has identified a lithium resource at its Northern Resource Area (see Pure Energy Minerals news release July 28, 2015), that is located to the immediate west of Cypress newly established boundary.

Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada claims map:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/maps/Clayton-Test-Wells-Plan-Map.jpg

Cypress' highly prospective "Glory" and "Angel" claims are located within 0.5 miles (greater than 1000m) south of current and past producing lithium brine wells belonging to the Albemarle Silver Peak Mine. Cypress' Clayton Valley claims are located in an active area of surface hectorite clay lithium mining and lithium exploration. Highways and electric power are in place and exploration resources needed are readily accessible.

The Albemarle Silver Peak Mine is the only operating brine based lithium mine in North America. The Silver Peak area is one of the oldest mining areas in Nevada having produced substantial amounts of silver, gold and other minerals. The Silver Peak Mine began operations in 1967 to mine lithium by low cost evaporation ponds and has produced lithium since then.

Cypress has reviewed the seismic data in the Pure Energy NI 43-101 technical report Titled "Inferred Resource Estimate for Lithium", dated July 17, 2015. The data appears to indicate a very favorable lithium brine exploration target along the western and west central portions of Cypress' property. Other first order targets exist on the property including extensive outcropping of altered green claystones and the presence of stockwork veining localized at paleo hot spring vents discovered during staking of the property. Cypress believes that additional lithium brines could be localized at the water table below the outcropping claystones and potentially also localized along structures cutting these units.

Initial, limited surface sampling by Cypress in January 2016 has returned very positive results with sample LMHill-3 returning assays of 490 ppm lithium (Li) and sample LMHill-4 returning 580 ppm lithium (Li). The samples also contained strongly elevated levels of magnesium, potassium, sodium, and strontium.

Cypress' Clayton Valley Lithium Project is in an area of outcropping of hectorite claystones that quite possibly overlie brines at a shallow level. The core lands cover the immediate easterly extension of Pure Energy's identified northern resource area.

The lithium brines being produced for almost 50 years at Silver Peak have come from the flanks of Angel and Goat Islands.

Clayton Valley is located within the Basin and Range Province in southern Nevada and is an internally drained, fault bounded, and closed basin. Basin filling strata compose the aquifer system which hosts and produces the lithium-rich brine. (Zampirro Report 2004).

Picture of Clayton Valley, Nevada:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/maps/CYP-Clayton-pic-SW-Flank-of-Angel-Island-small.jpg

Terms of the Option Agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the Clayton Valley Brine Project are;

Year 1: USD$12,500 cash and 350,000 shares of Cypress

Year 2: USD$25,000 cash and 250,000 shares of Cypress

Year 3: USD$50,000 cash and 250,000 shares of Cypress

Year 4: USD$75,000 cash and 250,000 shares of Cypress

The optionor will retain a net smelter return (NSR) of 3% with Cypress having the right to purchase 2% of the NSR for $1 million. There is no work commitment with this Option Agreement.

Tesla Motors is driving the current lithium boom in Nevada with the construction of a Gigafactory, a large-scale lithium-ion battery facility outside of Sparks Nevada. Market speculations of the likely construction of additional large-scale lithium battery factories in the region appears based on the potential of lithium batteries as all purposed energy storage units that are highly scalable.

Robert Marvin, P.Geo., CPG, Exploration Manager for Cypress Development Corp. is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved of the technical information in this release.

On January 25th, Cypress announced a non-brokered private placement of up to 5,000,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit ("Unit") to raise gross proceeds of up to $250,000. Each Unit will consists of one common share and one non-transferable share purchase warrant ("Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional common share for a period of five years at a price of $0.055 per share from the closing date of the private placement.

A finder's fee of 7% in cash and 7% in non-transferable warrants ("Finder's Warrant") may be paid in connection with part of this private placement. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the finder to purchase a common share of Cypress at a price of $0.055 per share for a period of five years from the closing date of the private placement.

The Company intends to utilize the proceeds of this private placement for exploration on its mineral properties and for general working capital purposes.

The private placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

The Private Placement announced December 11, 2015 will not be proceeding.

About Cypress Development Corp.:

Cypress Development Corp. is a diversified precious and base metals exploration and development company with projects in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, and in Nevada, U.S.A.

Cypress Development Corp. has approx. 17.8 million shares issued and outstanding.

To find out more about Cypress Development Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CYP), visit our website at www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com.

CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP.

DONALD C. HUSTON, President

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management 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. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

Contacts:

Cypress Development Corp.

Don Myers

Director

604-687-3376 or Toll Free: 800-567-8181

604-687-3119 (FAX)

info@cypressdevelopmentcorp.com

www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com




TELTOW, Germany, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

- Latest upgrade package inspired by leaders in psychology, neurosciences, virtual reality and gaze and motion capture.

Leading academics have welcomed the upgrade package for eye tracking glasses from SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) which operates at an industry best 120 Hz sampling rate across the entire trackable field of view.

Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NImjyuH6F8

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329252 )



SMI's eye tracking glasses are proven with more than 100,000 participants in leading universities around the world. First launched in 2011, the eye tracking glasses technology builds on more than two decades of eye tracking experience by SMI.

The key features of the new package are -

Native binocular 120 Hz eye tracking over the whole trackable field of view. The main benefit is enhanced eye tracking raw data wherever the wearer of the glasses is looking.

More precise event detection. The higher temporal resolution of the data samples helps to better distinguish events such as very short fixations.

Low latency network time synchronization. For millisecond precise data synchronization with EEG, motion tracking, virtual reality, and other data streams.

The upgrade package has been welcomed by leading academics including Prof. Dr. Thierry Baccino of France's Lutin User Lab, who said SMI glasses have been the "best solution" for his applied studies in real-life situations.

"We highly welcome a 120 Hz mode as we expect it to deliver even more precision for saccades detection," he said.

Jun Wu of China's Jiangsu University of Science and Technology said "the 120 Hz ETG offers an outstanding advantage especially for my work with high-speed driving applications in the industrial engineering field".

The better synchronization with other data streams was an aspect welcomed by Dr Thies Pfeiffer of CITEC at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, who works with motion tracking systems such as VICON and OptiTrack.

"SMI's release has the potential to significantly advance our research on gaze-based assistance systems. We expect a more precise differentiation of viewing time as 120Hz promises a better temporal fit and low latency synchronization with our motion tracking systems," he said.

SMI Product Manager Dr Arnd Rose said he was pleased the reception the upgrade package is set to receive within the scientific market.

"We identified the need for this product based on our long-term relationships with leading academic researchers and, in meeting that need, our team has set a new scientific standard," he said.

- Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

About SMI

SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) is a world leader in eye tracking technology, developing and marketing eye & gaze tracking systems for scientists and professionals, OEM and medical solutions for a wide range of applications. Find out more at http://www.smivision.com. Follow @SMIeyetracking on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

Media Contacts

SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH (SMI)

Stefanie Gehrke

+49(0)172-3808-537

Stefanie.Gehrke@smi.de


LONDON, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The IoT Tech Expo, a leading Internet of Things conference and exhibition series, has announced its 2016 world series with events and dates confirmed in Berlin and San Francisco for 13-14 June and 20-21 October respectively.

The IoT Tech Expo Europe event takes place at Olympia, London on 10-11 February, with leading sponsors including Vodafone, Intel, Samsung SmartThings and Ubuntu among others, five conference tracks with 200 speakers from the likes of Shell, DHL, LEGO, Honda, Orange and Statoil, 100 exhibitors, networking, live hackathons, and more. Conference tracks include Connecting Living, Connected Industry and Smart Cities.

Following this is the IoT Tech Expo Germany which lands in Berlin's Congress Center on 13-14 June for two days of top level content and discussion from a range of industries. A recent study from Marketo* showed 41% of respondents in Germany cited the IoT as a trend which they thought would have the biggest impact on marketing by 2020. The IoT Tech Expo North America will take place on 20-21 October at the Santa Clara Convention Center, San Francisco, with attendees expected from across the entire IoT industry including energy, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, M2M, government, and more.

Richard Blythe, event managing director for Encore Media Group, said: "With the London event just around the corner, it's great to be able to confirm Berlin and San Francisco dates and expand the IoT Tech Expo series. The technology hubs of Berlin and Silicon Valley make the perfect backdrop for exploring the vast potential of the Internet of Things, and I am excited at the prospect of bringing IoT Tech Expo to these locations."

To learn more about the IoT Tech Expo and register your pass, visit the corresponding sites:

 IoT Tech Expo Europe: 10-11th February, Olympia, London

 IoT Tech Expo Germany: 13-14th June, BCC, Berlin

 IoT Tech Expo North America: 20-21st October, Santa Clara Convention Center, San Francisco

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About IoT Tech Expo

The IoT Tech Expo World Series will host top level content and discussion, introducing and exploring the latest innovations in the Internet of Things arena. It brings together key industries including Manufacturing, Transport, Health, Logistics, Government, Energy andAutomotive.

* http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1012672&ecid=MX1086
The global civil helicopter MRO market2016-2020is likely to grow at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period according to Technavio's latest maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) industry report.

In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global civil helicopter MRO market for 2016-2020. The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top five vendors operating in the market. The market is segmented into the following regions:

Americas

EMEA

APAC

Americas: largest civil helicopter MRO market

The Americas is the major market for civil helicopter MRO and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 2% by 2020. North America proposes to procure civilian turbine-powered helicopters, which is predicted to have a positive impact on the civilian helicopter market.

Abhay Singh, a lead analyst at Technavio specializing in the maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) industry says, "It is predicted that US and Canada will jointly generate 27% of the region's sales and fleet replacement deliveries in Latin America will increase by 34% during the forecast period."

Latin America's exponential growth forecast will be driven by prevalent economic stability which will allow for replacement of aging aircrafts that were used for offshore activities and search and rescue missions.

In addition, new repair stations and contracts for the development of helicopters contribute to the growth of the market in this region.

Request a sample report: http://goo.gl/xmIvHH

EMEA: civil helicopter MRO to exceed USD 2 billion

The civil helicopter MRO market in EMEA is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 3% with France accounting for the highest sales in the aerospace sector in Europe. Germany is also a major contributor to the aerospace sector, with 21% of its exports generated by this sector. The German Aerospace industry and related industries witnessed a growth of 106% from 2008 to 2013.

Africa and the Middle East accounted for only 6% of the total market share in 2013, however, their share is expected to increase as Eurocopter Southern Africa Limited (ESAL) has experienced growth in Kenya, and plans to set up a permanent base in the country. This will provide opportunities of MRO operations for Airbus Helicopter in Africa and in parts of the Middle East. A contract has also been signed with Kenya police for a twin-engine helicopter for increased airborne law enforcement and civil emergency response capabilities. These operations require varying types of helicopters and their operators, thus promoting the aftermarket MRO services.

APAC: fastest growing market for civil helicopter MRO with a CAGR of over 7%

In APAC, China holds second position in the expanding civil aviation market. Chinas is one of the fastest growing countries in the global aviation supply chain owing to its comprehensive aviation products and services. They are also planning to enter the commercial helicopter manufacturing market.

The earthquake in the Sichuan region of China in 2008, made the country realize the importance of helicopters for disaster relief and medical rescues. Therefore, China increased its procurement of helicopters for rescue missions during calamities.

The Chinese government is also encouraging private firms and foreign companies to co-operate and manufacture helicopters. The growing Chinese economy provides a huge potential market for manufacturing helicopters of all classes.

"Rapidly expanding airframe and engine manufacturers and the burgeoning number of helicopters in APAC have led to a boost in the MRO market. Increased number of incoming orders, new helicopter types, and emerging markets, indicate further expansion of the region's support network" says Abhay.

Key Vendors:

AgustaWestland

Airbus Helicopter

Bell Helicopter

Russian Helicopters

Sikorsky Aircraft

The other prominent vendors listed in the report are: Heli-One, Kitchener Aero Avionics, StandardAero, and Transwest Helicopters.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Aircraft Modernization, Upgrade, and Retrofit Market 2015-2019

Global Narrowbody Aircraft MRO Market 2015-2019

Global Commercial and Military Aircraft MRO Market 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005022/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com

media@technavio.com
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Calian Technologies Ltd. (TSX:CTY) today released unaudited results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2015.

The Company reported revenues for the quarter of $64.5 million, a 15% increase from the $56.0 million reported in the same quarter of the previous year.

EBITDA(1) for the first quarter was $5.2 million, a 19% increase compared to $4.4 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

Net profit for the first quarter was $3.1 million or $0.42 per share basic and diluted, a 24% increase compared to $2.5 million or $0.34 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted Net Profit(1) for the first quarter was $3.3 million or $0.45 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2.7 million or $0.37 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year.

See caution regarding non-GAAP measures at the end of this press release

"The 15% improvement in revenues this quarter is a reflection of the revenue growth in both divisions - 32% growth in our Systems Engineering Division (SED) revenues and 9% growth in our Business and Technology Services (BTS) division. We experienced organic growth in most of our service lines this quarter and cash earnings continue to improve with an increase in EBITDA compared to the prior year" stated Jacqueline Gauthier, CFO.

"Our Q1 revenue attainment of $64.5 million represents our highest Q1 revenues in our 33 year history" stated Kevin Ford, President and CEO. "Despite challenging market conditions I am very proud of the team's efforts to continue the momentum coming out of last fiscal year "continued Ford.

"I am also pleased to see tangible progress in each of the components of our growth strategy. We have secured new customers in support of our customer diversification focus, and continue to evolve our services with investment in areas such as product development at our SED division. We also signed almost $50 million in new contracts this quarter which demonstrates our sales and marketing functions are executing well" stated Ford.

"As reported in our last quarter results, to reflect the diversity of Calian's services with the expansion into areas such as healthcare and training, management has obtained board agreement to ask for shareholder approval to rename Calian Technologies Ltd. to Calian Group Ltd. to more accurately reflect the current business activities of the Company. Shareholder approval will be solicited during our Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held February 5, 2016" continued Ford.

During fiscal 2016, management will continue to focus on its key strategic initiatives. Traditional markets in which Calian operates have stabilized recently and management expects organic revenue and earnings growth in most or all of its service lines through the successful execution of our growth strategy. However, we must caution that revenues realized are ultimately dependent on the extent and timing of future contract awards as well as customer utilization of existing contracting vehicles. Based on currently available information and our assessment of the marketplace, we expect revenues for fiscal 2016 to be in the range of $250 million to $280 million, net profit per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share and adjusted net profit(1) in the range of $1.49 to $1.79 per share.

Caution regarding non-GAAP measures:

This press release is based on reported earnings in accordance with IFRS. Reference to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) means IFRS, unless indicated otherwise. This press release is also based on non-GAAP financial measures including EBITDA, adjusted net profit and adjusted net profit per share. These non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the interim consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of our financial reports with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of our business. Refer to the MD&A for definitions of these metrics and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.

About Calian

Calian employs over 2,500 people with offices and projects that span Canada, U.S. and international markets. The company's capabilities are diverse and include the provision of business and technology services to industry and government in the health, training, engineering and IT services domains as well as the design, manufacturing and maintenance of complex systems to the communications and defence sectors. Calian's services are delivered through two divisions. The Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division is located in Ottawa. This division delivers outsourcing services for a variety of technical and professional functions and provides health services to numerous domestic customers. Our strength lies in understanding clients' needs, recruiting highly qualified personnel who understand and meet those needs, and then effectively managing those personnel within our customers' framework. Calian's Systems Engineering Division (SED) located in Saskatoon plans, designs and implements complex communication systems for many of the world's space agencies and leading satellite manufacturers and operators. SED also provides contract manufacturing services for both private sector and military customers in North America.

For further information, please visit our website at www.calian.com, or contact us at ir@calian.com.

DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company's most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION As at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015 (Canadian dollars in thousands) December 31, September 30, NOTES 2015 2015 ---------------------------------------- ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash $ 5,212 $ 10,624 Accounts receivable 48,501 50,494 Work in process 21,146 17,431 Prepaid expenses 1,673 1,449 Derivative assets 8 118 424 ---------------------------------------- Total current assets 76,650 80,422 ---------------------------------------- NON-CURRENT ASSETS Equipment 5,242 5,245 Application software 366 377 Acquired intangible assets 3,934 4,246 Goodwill 12,037 12,037 ---------------------------------------- Total non-current assets 21,579 21,905 ---------------------------------------- TOTAL ASSETS $ 98,229 $ 102,327 ======================================== LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 19,114 $ 25,582 Unearned contract revenue 8,959 6,980 Derivative liabilities 8 747 751 ---------------------------------------- Total current liabilities 28,820 33,313 ---------------------------------------- NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES Deferred tax liabilities 4 299 ---------------------------------------- Total non-current liabilities 4 299 ---------------------------------------- TOTAL LIABILITIES 28,824 33,612 ---------------------------------------- SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Issued capital 5 20,673 20,673 Contributed surplus 484 458 Retained earnings 51,630 50,633 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (3,382) (3,049) ---------------------------------------- TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 69,405 68,715 ---------------------------------------- TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 98,229 $ 102,327 ========================================

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET PROFIT For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data) Three months ended Three months ended NOTES December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 ---------------------------------------- Revenues $ 64,533 $ 56,000 Cost of revenues 52,866 45,496 ---------------------------------------- Gross profit 11,667 10,504 Selling and marketing 973 1,020 General and administration 4,613 4,303 Facilities 908 824 Depreciation 307 334 Amortization 312 358 Deemed compensation related to acquisitions 267 267 ---------------------------------------- Profit before interest income and income tax expense 4,287 3,398 Interest income 4 43 ---------------------------------------- Profit before income tax expense 4,291 3,441 ---------------------------------------- Income tax expense - current 1,312 1,056 Income tax expense - deferred (84) (83) ---------------------------------------- Total income tax expense 1,228 973 ---------------------------------------- NET PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD $ 3,063 $ 2,468 ======================================== NET PROFIT PER SHARE: Basic 6 $ 0.42 $ 0.34 ======================================== Diluted 6 $ 0.42 $ 0.34 ========================================

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Canadian dollars in thousands) Three months ended Three months ended NOTES December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 ---------------------------------------- NET PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD $ 3,063 $ 2,468 ---------------------------------------- Other comprehensive income, net of tax Change in deferred gain or loss on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, net of tax of $121 (2015 - $230) (333) (634) ---------------------------------------- Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax (333) (634) ---------------------------------------- TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD $ 2,730 $ 1,834 ========================================

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY For the three month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data) Cash flow Issued Contributed Retained hedging Notes capital surplus earnings reserve Total Balance October 1, 2015 $ 20,673 $ 458 $ 50,633 $ (3,049) $ 68,715 Total comprehensive income - - 3,063 (333) 2,730 Dividends ($0.28 per share) - - (2,066) - (2,066) Share based compensation expense 5 - 26 - - 26 -------------------------------------------------------- Balance December 31, 2015 $ 20,673 $ 484 $ 51,630 $ (3,382) $ 69,405 ======================================================== Cash flow Issued Contributed Retained hedging Notes capital surplus earnings reserve Total Balance October 1, 2014 $ 20,161 $ 336 $ 49,128 $ (74) $ 69,551 Total comprehensive income - - 2,468 (634) 1,834 Dividends ($0.28 per share) - - (2,059) - (2,059) Share based compensation expense 5 - 25 - - 25 -------------------------------------------------------- Balance December 31, 2014 $ 20,161 $ 361 $ 49,537 $ (708) $ 69,351 ========================================================

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Canadian dollars in thousands)

---------------------------------------- Three-months ended Three-months ended NOTES December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014 ---------------------------------------- CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net profit for the period $ 3,063 $ 2,468 Items not affecting cash: Interest income (4) (43) Income tax expense 1,228 973 Employee stock purchase plan and option plan compensation expense 43 42 Depreciation and amortization 619 692 Deemed compensation related to acquisitions 267 267 ---------------------------------------- 5,216 4,399 Change in non-cash working capital Accounts receivable 1,935 (4,102) Work in process (3,715) (302) Prepaid expenses (224) (292) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (7,650) (7,284) Unearned contract revenue 1,979 950 ---------------------------------------- (2,459) (6,631) Interest received 4 43 Income tax paid (598) (1,293) ---------------------------------------- (3,053) (7,881) ---------------------------------------- CASH FLOWS USED IN FINANCING ACTIVITIES Dividends (2,066) (2,059) ---------------------------------------- (2,066) (2,059) ---------------------------------------- CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES ---------------------------------------- Equipment and application software (293) (2,277) ---------------------------------------- NET CASH OUTFLOW $ (5,412) $ (12,217) CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD 10,624 25,200 ---------------------------------------- CASH, END OF PERIOD $ 5,212 $ 12,983 ========================================

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD. NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the three-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 (Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited)

1. BASIS OF PREPARATION

Calian Technologies Ltd. ("the Company") is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The address of its registered office and principal place of business is 340 Legget Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2K 1Y6. The Company's capabilities include the provision of business and technology services to industry and government in the health, IT services and training domains as well as the design, manufacturing and maintenance of complex systems to the communications and defence sectors.

These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements are expressed in Canadian dollars and have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard ("IAS") 34 - Interim Financial Reporting, as issued by the International Accounting Standard Board ("IASB"). These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared using accounting policies consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and in accordance with the accounting policies the Company adopted in its annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015 and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report for the year ended September 30, 2015. These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information required in annual financial statements.

These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements were authorized for issuance by the Board of Directors on February 3, 2016.

2. FUTURE CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In April 2014, the IASB released IFRS 15 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Standard replaces IAS11 Construction Contracts and IAS18 Revenue, providing a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. IFRS 15 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

IFRS 9 Financial instruments

IFRS 9 was issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") in November 2009 and October 2010, was amended in 2013 and finalized in July 2014 and will replace IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement ("IAS 39"). IFRS 9 uses a single approach to determine whether a financial instrument is measured at fair value through profit or loss, fair value through other comprehensive income or amortized cost, replacing the multiple rules in IAS 39. The approach in IFRS 9 is based on how an entity manages its financial instruments in the context of its business model and the contractual cash flow characteristics of those financial instruments. The new standard also requires a single impairment method to be used, replacing the multiple impairment methods in IAS 39. IFRS 9 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

IFRS 16 Leases

In January 2016, the IASB released IFRS 16 Leases which replaces IAS 17 Leases. For lessees applying IFRS 16, a single recognition and measurement model for leases would apply, with required recognition of assets and liabilities for most leases. IFRS 16 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019. The Company has not yet assessed the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

3. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGMENTS

Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the Company's management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods presented. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

There were no significant changes in estimates or approaches to determining estimates in the periods presented when compared to the estimates or approaches used the annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015.

4. SEASONALITY

The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the full year. The Company's revenues and earnings have historically been subject to some quarterly seasonality due to the timing of vacation periods and statutory holidays.

5. ISSUED CAPITAL

Stock options

The Company has an established stock option plan, which provides that the Board of Directors may grant stock options to eligible directors and employees. Under the plan, eligible directors and employees are granted the right to purchase shares of common stock at a price established by the Board of Directors on the date the options are granted but in no circumstances below fair market value of the shares at the date of grant. The plan provides for a 10% rolling maximum number of options available for grant. As at December 31, 2015 (2014), a total of 737,830 (735,390) common shares are reserved for issuance under the plan with 495,000 (415,000) options currently outstanding of which 397,100 (302,600) are exercisable. During the first quarter ended December 31, 2015 (2014), no options were issued.

6. NET PROFIT PER SHARE

The diluted weighted average number of shares has been calculated as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended December 31 2015 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted average number of shares - basic 7,378,298 7,353,908 Addition to reflect the dilutive effect of employee stock options - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted average number of shares - diluted 7,378,298 7,353,908 ============================================================================

Options that are anti-dilutive because the exercise price was greater than the average market price of the common shares are not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. For the three month periods ended December 31, 2015 (2014), 495,000 (415,000) options were excluded from the above computation. Profit for the period is the measure of profit or loss used to calculate Net profit per share.

7. SEGMENTED INFORMATION

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, regarding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company's chief operating decision maker is the Chief Executive Officer. The Company operates in two reportable segments described below, defined by their primary type of service offering, namely Systems Engineering and Business and Technology Services.

-- Systems Engineering involves planning, designing and implementing solutions that meet a customer's specific business and technical needs, primarily in the satellite communications sector. -- Business and Technology Services provides business and technology services to industry and government in the health, IT services, training and engineering.

The Company evaluates performance and allocates resources based on earnings before interest income and income taxes. The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 2 - Summary of significant accounting policies to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2015.

============================================================================ Business and Three months ended December 31, Systems Technology 2015 Engineering Services Corporate Total ============================================================================ Revenues $ 19,680 $ 44,853 $ - $ 64,533 Profit before interest income and income tax expense 3,081 1,844 (638) 4,287 Interest income 4 Income tax expense (1,228) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net profit for the period $ 3,063 ============================================================================ Total assets other than cash and goodwill $ 37,994 $ 42,828 $ 158 $ 80,980 Goodwill - 12,037 - 12,037 Cash - - 5,212 5,212 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets $ 37,994 $ 54,865 $ 5,370 $ 98,229 ============================================================================ Equipment and intangible expenditures $ 164 $ 129 $ - $ 293 ============================================================================ ============================================================================ Business and Three months ended December 31, Systems Technology 2014 Engineering Services Corporate Total ============================================================================ Revenues $ 14,965 $ 41,035 $ - $ 56,000 Profit before interest income and income tax expense 2,728 1,228 (558) 3,398 Interest income 43 Income tax expense (973) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net profit for the period $ 2,468 ============================================================================ Equipment and intangible expenditures $ 1,916 $ 361 $ - $ 2,277 ============================================================================ ============================================================================ Business and Systems Technology As at September 30, 2015 Engineering Services Corporate Total ============================================================================ Total assets other than cash and goodwill $ 37,488 $ 42,073 $ 105 $ 79,666 Goodwill - 12,037 - 12,037 Cash - - 10,624 10,624 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets $ 37,488 $ 54,110 $ 10,729 $ 102,327 ============================================================================

8. HEDGING

Foreign currency risk related to contracts

The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange fluctuations on its cash balance, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities and future cash flows related to contracts denominated in a foreign currency. Future cash flows will be realized over the life of the contracts. The Company utilizes derivative financial instruments, principally in the form of forward exchange contracts, in the management of its foreign currency exposures. The Company's objective is to manage and control exposures and secure the Company's profitability on existing contracts and therefore, the Company's policy is to hedge 100% of its foreign currency exposure. The Company does not utilize derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The Company applies hedge accounting when appropriate documentation and effectiveness criteria are met.

The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. This process includes linking all derivatives to specific firm contractually related commitments on projects.

The Company also formally assesses, both at the hedge's inception and on an on-going basis, whether the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in fair values or cash flows of hedged items. Hedge ineffectiveness has historically been insignificant.

The forward foreign exchange contracts primarily require the Company to purchase or sell certain foreign currencies with or for Canadian dollars at contractual rates. At December 31, 2015, the Company had the following forward foreign exchange contracts:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fair Value Equivalent December 31, Type Notional Currency Maturity Cdn. Dollars 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUY 26,016 USD January 2016 $ 36,006 $ 49 SELL 7,692 EURO January 2016 11,560 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derivative assets $ 118 ============================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SELL 47,770 USD January 2016 $ 66,114 $ 91 SELL 1,000 USD September 2016 1,384 353 SELL 1,000 USD September 2017 1,384 300 BUY 286 EURO January 2016 430 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derivative liabilities $ 747 ============================================================================

A 10% strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the following currencies at December 31, 2015 would have decreased other comprehensive income as related to the forward foreign exchange contracts by the amounts shown below.

December 31, 2015 ----------------- USD $ 2,989 EURO 1,012 GBP 1 ----------------- $ 4,002 =================

9. CONTINGENCIES

In the normal course of business, the Company is party to business and employee related claims. The potential outcomes related to existing matters faced by the Company are not determinable at this time. The Company intends to defend these actions, and management believes that the resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition.

Management Discussion and Analysis - December 31, 2015:

(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)

This MD&A is the responsibility of management and has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. This MD&A has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Securities Administrators. The Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that we fulfill our responsibilities for financial reporting and is ultimately responsible for reviewing and approving the MD&A. The Board of Directors carries out this responsibility principally through its Audit Committee.

IFRS and non-GAAP measures:

This MD&A contains both IFRS and non-GAAP measures. Non-GAAP measures are defined and reconciled to the most comparable IFRS measure.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Revenues:

For the first quarter of 2016, revenues were $64,533 compared to $56,000 reported for the same period in 2015 representing a 15% increase from the prior year.

Systems Engineering's (SED) revenues were $19,680 in the quarter representing a 32% increase when compared to the $14,965 recorded for the same period in the previous year. The first quarter 2016 reflect a higher level of materials and subcontractors than in the same period of the prior year. A significant increase in commercial RF ground systems work was a major contributor to the increase in SED revenues over the previous year.. An increase in satellite gateway systems and communications product developments also contributed to increase revenues. The manufacturing group continued at a steady pace, producing assemblies for Defence programs and processing renewed orders for contract manufacturing of agricultural products.

Business and Technology Services (BTS) revenues were $44,853 in the quarter representing a 9% increase when compared to the $41,035 recorded for the same period in the previous year. During the first quarter of 2016, government spending showed signs of recovery with additional demand for our services in many of the division's mainstay contracts.

Management expects that the marketplace for the near term will continue to be unsettled and very competitive and the timing of new contract awards is always subject to delay. Our backlog provides a reasonable level of revenue assurance on existing contracts and new opportunities continue to arise. Although we continue to focus our efforts on the diversification of our customer base outside of government, the nature and extent of future government spending remain uncertain and therefore, future revenues in this sector will ultimately be determined by customer demand on existing contracts as well as the timing of future contract awards.

Gross margin

Gross margin was 18.1% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 18.8% recorded for the same period in the previous year.

Gross margin in Systems Engineering was 24.6% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 28.4% recorded for the same period in the previous year. The results for this quarter reflect solid performance in all of its business areas. Margin for the first quarter of 2016was impacted by the significant level of material and subcontractors driving lower margin as compared to the same period of the prior year. Although the mix of revenues will always play a role in the margin ultimately realized, recent investments in new product developments will allow the division to continue to weather the current competitive landscape.

Gross margin in Business and Technology Services was 15.2% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the 15.2% recorded for the same period in the previous year. The traditional BTS business which is concentrated within the federal government has stabilized in recent quarters. While stiff competition on new work is expected to temper any significant near-term improvement, the division continues to evolve its service offering with a goal to increase gross margins realized in the longer term.

Because of the significant difference in gross margin between each of the two divisions, the overall gross margin of the Company is dependent on the relative level of revenue generated from each division. Management will continue to focus on operational execution and diligent negotiation of supplier costs in order to maximize margins. However, increased competition is expected to maintain the pressure on margins in both divisions. The volatility of the Canadian dollar is always an influencing factor for margins on new work in the SED division when denominated in foreign currencies.

Operating expenses:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, selling and marketing, general and administration and facilities totalled $6,494 or 10.1% of revenues compared to $6,147 or 11.0% of revenues reported in 2015. Operating costs increased in absolute dollars as a result of continued investment in both business development and service line evolution capabilities. However, with growing revenues, operating costs as a percentage of revenues decreased.

EBITDA(1):

EBITDA(1) for the first quarter was $5,173 compared to $4,357 in the same quarter of the previous year.

Depreciation:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, depreciation was $307 in line with the $334 recorded in fiscal 2015.

Amortization of intangibles:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, amortization of intangibles was $312 compared to $358 in fiscal 2015.

Deemed compensation related to acquisitions and Bargain purchase gain:

For the period ended December 31, 2015, deemed compensation related to acquisition amounted to $267 compared to $267 recorded in fiscal 2015.

Income taxes:

The provision for income taxes was $1,228 or 28.6% of earnings before tax compared to $973 in 2015 or 28.3% of earnings before tax. The difference in effective rates is primarily due to the non-deductibility of the deemed compensation amounts referred to in the above paragraph. The effective tax rate for 2016, prior to considering the impact of non-taxable transactions and adjustments to reflect actual tax provision as filed, is expected to be approximately 26.9%.

Net profit:

As a result of the foregoing, in the first quarter of 2016 the Company recorded net profit of $3,063 or $0.42 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2,468 or $0.34 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the prior year. Adjusted net profit(1) for the first quarter was $3,330 or $0.45 per share basic and diluted, compared to $2,735 or $0.37 per share basic and diluted in the same quarter of the previous year.

(1) See reconciliation regarding non-GAAP measures below

Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to most comparable IFRS measures:

Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of the Company's financial reports with enhanced understanding of the Company's results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of the business. EBITDA, adjusted net profit and adjusted net profit per share exclude items that do not reflect, in our opinion, the Company's core performance and helps users of our MD&A to better analyze our results, enabling comparability of our results from one period to another.

These non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the interim consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these are necessarily non-recurring. From time to time, we may exclude additional items if we believe doing so would result in a more transparent and comparable disclosure. Other entities may define the above measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to use similarly named non-GAAP measures of other entities to compare performance of those entities to the Company's performance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- First First Reconciliation of adjusted net profit Quarter 2016 Quarter 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET PROFIT $ 3,063 $ 2,468 Deemed compensation related to acquisitions 267 267 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted net profit $ 3,330 $ 2,735 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- First First Reconciliation of EBITDA Quarter 2016 Quarter 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit before interest income and income tax expense $ 4,287 $ 3,398 Depreciation 307 334 Amortization 312 358 Deemed compensation related to acquisitions 267 267 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBITDA $ 5,173 $ 4,357 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKLOG

The Company's backlog at December 31, 2015 was $428 million with terms extended to fiscal 2018. This compares to $442 million reported at September 30, 2015. Contracted Backlog represents maximum potential revenues remaining to be earned on signed contracts, whereas Option Renewals represent customers' options to further extend existing contracts under similar terms and conditions.

Most fee for service contracts provide the customer with the ability to adjust the timing and level of effort throughout the contract life and as such the amount actually realized could be materially different from the original contract value. The following table represents management's best estimate of the backlog realization for 2016, 2017 and beyond based on management's current visibility into customers' existing requirements. Management's estimate of the realizable portion (current utilization rates and known customer requirements) is less than the total value of signed contracts and related options by approximately $122 million. The Company's policy is to reduce the reported contractual backlog once it receives confirmation from the customer that indicates the utilization of the full contract value may not materialize.

(dollars in Estimated Excess over millions) realizable estimated Fiscal Fiscal Beyond portion of realizable 2016 2017 2017 Backlog portion TOTAL ------------------------------------------------------------ Contracted Backlog $ 151 $ 57 $ 21 $ 229 $ 109 $ 338 Option Renewals 12 34 31 77 13 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL $ 163 $ 91 $ 52 $ 306 $ 122 $ 428 ============================================================================ Business and Technology Services $ 111 $ 80 $ 39 $ 230 $ 122 $ 352 Systems Engineering 52 11 13 76 - 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL $ 163 $ 91 $ 52 $ 306 $ 122 $ 428 ============================================================================

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND CASHFLOWS

Operating activities:

Cash outflows from operating activities for the period ended December 31, 2015 were $3,053 compared to cash outflows of $7,881 in 2015. Cash flows for the quarter have been negatively impacted by the increase in work in process with the SED division continuing to perform work on customer contracts in advance of milestone billings. In addition, amounts owed to SED suppliers decreased as a result of significant levels of payment required near quarter end compounded by the usual payment at BTS of amounts owed to contractors prior to the holiday season. The aging of the accounts receivables remain in excellent health. These variations in cash flows are not considered unusual and reflect normal working capital fluctuations associated with the ebbs and flows of the business. The market for the Systems Engineering Division is characterized by contracts with billings tied to milestones achieved, which often results in significant working capital requirements. Conversely, given the nature of this business, it is sometimes possible to negotiate advance payments on contracts. Such advance payments give rise to unearned revenue that will be realized as revenue over the course of the contract. As at December 31, 2015, the Company's total unearned revenue amounted to $8,959. This compares to $6,980 at September 30, 2015, with the increase primarily attributable to advance billings for work to be performed in a future period.

Financing activities:

During the periods ended December 31, 2015 (2014), the Company paid quarterly dividends of $0.28 ($0.28) per share. The Company intends to continue with its quarterly dividend policy for the foreseeable future.

Investing activities:

During the current period, the Company invested $293 in capital assets compared to $2,277 in the prior period which included significant upgrades to the manufacturing assets in the SED division. Capital acquisitions are expected to revert to normal levels for fiscal 2016.

Capital resources:

At December 31, 2015 the Company had a short-term credit facility of $10,000 with a Canadian chartered bank that bears interest at prime and is secured by assets of the Company. An amount of $75 was used to issue a letter of credit to meet customer contractual requirements. Management believes that Calian has sufficient cash resources to continue to finance its working capital requirements and pay a quarterly dividend.

ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING RULES AND IMPACT ON FINANCIAL RESULTS

The Company did not adopt any new accounting policies this quarter.

SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA

Q1/16 Q4/15 Q3/15 Q2/15 Q1/15 REVENUES $ 64,533 $ 60,944 $ 64,267 $ 61,042 $ 56,000 EBITDA(1) $ 5,173 $ 4,906 $ 3,970 $ 3,989 $ 4,357 Net profit $ 3,063 $ 2,877 $ 2,214 $ 2,208 $ 2,468 Adjusted net profit(1) $ 3,330 $ 3,144 $ 2,482 $ 2,475 $ 2,735 Net profit per share Basic $ 0.42 $ 0.39 $ 0.30 $ 0.30 $ 0.34 Diluted $ 0.42 $ 0.39 $ 0.30 $ 0.30 $ 0.34 Adjusted net profit per share(1) Basic $ 0.45 $ 0.43 $ 0.34 $ 0.34 $ 0.37 Diluted $ 0.45 $ 0.43 $ 0.34 $ 0.34 $ 0.37 Q4/14 Q3/14 Q2/14 REVENUES $ 54,430 $ 53,839 $ 51,186 EBITDA(1) $ 4,525 $ 4,117 $ 3,508 Net profit $ 2,575 $ 2,866 $ 2,364 Adjusted net profit(1) $ 2,842 $ 2,698 $ 2,364 Net profit per share Basic $ 0.35 $ 0.39 $ 0.32 Diluted $ 0.35 $ 0.39 $ 0.32 Adjusted net profit per share(1) Basic $ 0.39 $ 0.37 $ 0.32 Diluted $ 0.39 $ 0.37 $ 0.32

SEASONALITY

The Company's operations are subject to some quarterly seasonality due to the timing of vacation periods and statutory holidays. Typically the Company's first and last quarter will be negatively impacted as a result of the Christmas season and summer vacation period. During these periods, the Company can only invoice for work performed and is also required to pay for statutory holidays. This results in reduced levels of revenues and in a drop in gross margins. This seasonality may not be apparent in the overall results of the Company depending on the impact of the realized sales mix of its various projects.

OUTLOOK

Management is confident that the Company is well positioned for sustained growth in the long term. The Company's strong contract backlog provides a solid base for the realization of future revenues. Leveraging the Company's diverse services offerings, the Company operates in global and domestic markets that will continue to require the services that the Company offers. To ensure the Company is positioned to respond to market requirements, the Company will focus on the execution of its growth strategy using a common framework across all of its services:

1. Customer retention: through continued delivery excellence, maintain a valued relationship with current customer base; 2. Customer diversification: through increasing the percentage of its revenues derived from new business in adjacent and non-government markets, balance customer revenue into numerous global and domestic sectors; 3. Service Line Evolution: continue investment in service offerings to increase differentiation and improve gross margin attainment; 4. Continuous Process Improvement: leverage innovation to improve how the Company operates with a goal to streamline processes and provide for a scalable back office support capability.

The Company has completed four acquisitions in the past 4 years, and will proactively look for companies that can accelerate its growth strategy with a focus on customer diversification and service line evolution.

The SED Division has been working within a sustainable satellite sector and is expecting opportunities to continue to arise as systems adopting the latest technologies will be required by customers wishing to maintain and improve their service offerings and react to an increasing demand for bandwidth. SED continues to invest in communications products, software development and manufacturing equipment to strengthen its competitive position. However in the short-term, activity levels in Custom manufacturing will continue to be directly dependent upon SED's customers' requirements and continuing volatility in orders is anticipated as both government and commercial customers continue to re-examine their traditional spending patterns. The recent delays, deferrals and cancellations of DND capital procurements have created intense competition for available manufacturing work. Finally, changes in the relative value of the Canadian dollar may negatively or positively impact the Systems Engineering Division's competitiveness on projects denominated in foreign currencies.

The BTS Division's services are adaptable to many different markets. Currently, its strength lies in providing program management and delivery services across Canada with a significant portion of this work currently with the Department of National Defence. Recently the division has been successful in diversifying its customer base and evolving its service offerings. As an example the division now provides direct to customer health services through the operation of managed medical clinics as well as onsite health practitioners in the oil and gas sector. Management believes that for the long term, the public and private sector will continue to require health, IT, and training services from private enterprises to achieve their business outcomes. Looking at the current outlook, the results of the recent election, the current economic climate and budget balancing initiatives in the federal government may create uncertainty as to the extent of demand from this customer, at least in the short term. With recent investments in sales, marketing, acquisitions and success in new markets outside of the federal government, the division is better positioned to manage through these downturns. Recent acquisitions have also bolstered the division's performance and it is expected that overall, the acquired companies will continue to meet and exceed the targets established as part of the acquisitions.

GUIDANCE

During fiscal 2016, management will continue to focus on its key strategic initiatives. Traditional markets in which Calian operates have stabilized recently and management expects organic revenue and earnings growth in most or all of its service lines through the successful execution of our growth strategy. However, we must caution that revenues realized are ultimately dependent on the extent and timing of future contract awards as well as customer utilization of existing contracting vehicles. Based on currently available information and our assessment of the marketplace, we expect revenues for fiscal 2016 to be in the range of $250 million to $280 million, net profit per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share and adjusted net profit(1) in the range of $1.49 to $1.79 per share.

INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

During the most recent interim quarter ended December 31, 2015, there have been no changes in the design of the Company's internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal controls over financial reporting.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

Certain information included in this management discussion and analysis is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company's most recent annual report and other reports filed by the Company with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

The foregoing discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the first quarter of 2016, and with the Management Discussion and Analysis in the 2015 annual report, including the section on risks and opportunities.

Contacts:

Calian Technologies Ltd.

Kevin Ford

President and Chief Executive Officer

613-599-8600



Calian Technologies Ltd.

Jacqueline Gauthier

Chief Financial Officer

613-599-8600




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Bluefire Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BFM) ("Bluefire" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it is proposing a change of business to become an Investment Issuer.

Summary of Proposed Change of Business

The Company intends to transition to an investment issuer specifically focused on providing royalty financing to private businesses operating outside of the natural resource and commodity sectors. The Company's objective is to build a diversified portfolio of cash-flowing royalty investments.

Change in Management and Board of Directors

In connection with the proposed change of business, the Company has recruited a number of individuals with extensive experience in acquiring, operating, investing and selling private and public companies. The new composition of the Company's senior management and board of directors is as follows:

-- David Schellenberg, Director Mr. Schellenberg is a Chartered Professional Accountant and an experienced senior business leader. As CEO of Conair Group Inc., he and his management team successfully grew the size and scope of the company to become a world leader in fixed wing aerial firefighting management services and products with operations in Canada, the USA, France and Australia. As the founding President of Cascade Aerospace Inc., an aircraft maintenance and modification business, he and his team successfully grew the company from a start-up into a world-class specialty aerospace and defence contractor with over 700 employees focused on providing long-term In-Service Support to the Canadian military and other international customers. In 2012, David was honoured with the CEO of the Year award by Business in Vancouver. David also spent almost 10 years as a member of the senior management team in the Jim Pattison Group Corporate Office and was heavily involved in the support and oversight of the 50+ Jim Pattison Group member companies. Mr. Schellenberg is active in various foundations and organizations in the community including a directorship on the Jim Pattison Foundation board and a membership in the Young President's / World President's Organization. -- Clark Hollands, Director Mr. Hollands spent 33 years with KPMG and for 25 of those years he served as an International Tax Partner with the Vancouver, Canada office of the firm. During his tenure Mr. Hollands was responsible for advising a number of Canada's largest western based companies on their taxation matters. During his lengthy career in public practice Mr. Hollands authored a number of articles on taxation matters and served on a number of professional organizations. In addition, Mr. Hollands has been active in a variety of his own business endeavours and currently is a part owner and actively involved in a successful Canadian retailing business and serves on the boards of IQs - an International Commodity Trading Fund and Just Energy - a Toronto and New York Listed public company. Mr. Hollands is also actively involved in a variety of philanthropic initiatives which includes a director position on the Jim Pattison Foundation board. -- Greg Smith, Director Mr. Smith is currently the CEO and a director of Anthem United, a public producing precious metals company currently operating in Peru. Prior to his role with Anthem United, he held the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer of Esperanza Resources prior to its sale to Alamos Gold and Chief Financial Officer of Minefinders Corporation prior to its sale to Pan American Silver. Mr. Smith has also held management positions at both Goldcorp and the mining division of KPMG LLP. Mr. Smith is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA) and was the recent recipient of the 2013 CA Early Achievement Award and named to the Business in Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40 list in 2014. Mr. Smith received a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with distinction, from the University of Victoria. -- Justin Currie, Chief Executive Officer and Director Mr. Currie is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 20+ years of progressive experience leading complex manufacturing and service businesses in both financial & operational roles. Throughout his career, Mr. Currie has gained significant M&A and transaction financing experience both from within private companies looking outwardly as well as in the capacity as an outside investor. Recently Mr. Currie has been involved as a business partner and investor with Regimen Capital Partners, a private equity fund based in Vancouver. Mr. Currie was appointed CEO of TVE Industrial Services Ltd., one of Regimen's portfolio companies in March 2014.Previously, Mr. Currie held the position of EVP & Chief Operating Officer of Cascade Aerospace, a $120M revenue, 700 employee aerospace services firm based in Abbotsford, BC. Mr. Currie helped facilitate the highly successful sale of Cascade Aerospace to a strategic acquirer in late 2012. Prior to joining Cascade he was VP Finance at Zeugma Systems Inc., a Vancouver-based early stage next-generation telecom equipment company. He also spent six years with Creation Technologies Inc., a Burnaby based contract electronic manufacturer serving technology companies that scaled rapidly during his tenure. -- Chris Buss, Chief Investment Officer and Director Since 2012, Mr. Buss has been the Vice President of Corporate Development at Pathway Capital, a private venture capital firm located in Vancouver. Since joining Pathway, Mr. Buss has assisted the firm in ongoing business development efforts with the goal of seeking attractive growth opportunities. Prior to joining Pathway Capital, Mr. Buss was a member of the BMO Capital Markets' investment banking team operating across a variety of sectors including healthcare, diversified industries, technology, real estate and natural resources. In this role, he assisted both public and private companies to assess and execute on various strategic alternatives including mergers and acquisitions, joint venture agreements, strategic investments as well as other forms of equity and debt capital raising. Mr. Buss holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Finance from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. -- Steve Krause, Chief Financial Officer Mr. Krause is a Chartered Professional Accountant in British Columbia and a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois. Mr. Krause has been a director for both private and public companies and has extensive experience in the mining and financial advisory industries. Currently, Mr. Krause is the Chairman of the Board of Luna Gold Corp., a public company with gold mining operations in Brazil. Mr. Krause is also the Chief Financial Officer of Bear Creek Mining Corporation, a company with operations in Canada, the United States and Peru. Mr. Krause was a co-founder of Avisar Chartered Accountants in 2001. Avisar is a chartered professional accounting firm which specializes in providing business advisory, tax and accounting services to public and private enterprises.

Chris Buss has resigned as President and CEO, Jason Tong has resigned as Chief Financial Officer and Jeff Tyson, Dan Gleadle and Robert Blair, have resigned from their respective director positions. The Company would like to extend its gratitude to Mr. Tong, Mr. Tyson, Mr. Gleadle and Mr. Blair for their services.

Private Placement

In connection with the change of business, the Company will complete a non-brokered private placement financing of units at a price of C$0.05 per unit to raise gross proceeds of approximately C$845,000. Each unit will consist of one common share and one transferable warrant exercisable to purchase an additional common share at a price of C$0.10 for a period of five years.

The Company will use the proceeds of the private placement to fund the search for royalty transactions.

Name and Trading Symbol Change

The Company intends to change its name to "Royalty North Partners Ltd." or such other name as the Board may determine is appropriate and select a corresponding trading symbol at the time of the formal name change, subject to TSX-V approval.

Other Information

Completion of the change of business is subject to a number of conditions, including TSX-V acceptance and shareholder approval. The Company intends to obtain shareholder approval by the written consent of shareholders holding, in aggregate, greater than 50% of the Company's outstanding shares.

There can be no assurance that the change of business will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed by the Company, any information released or received with respect to the change of business may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed change of business and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

On behalf of the Company,

Chris Buss, President and CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward-Looking Statements: Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for the purposes of applicable securities laws. These statements include, among others, statements with respect to the private placement and the proposed change of business. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements, including, the risks and uncertainties related to the private placement and the proposed change of business not being completed and the required TSX-V and shareholder approvals not being obtained. In making the forward-looking statements, the Company has applied several material assumptions including, but not limited to, the assumptions that the private placement and the proposed change of business will proceed and be completed as planned; and required TSX-V and shareholder approvals will be obtained. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

Contacts:

Bluefire Mining Corp.

Chris Buss

President and CEO

(604) 628-1101

www.royaltynorth.com




Navman Wireless has recently announced it will be working with Arnold Clark, the UK's largest independent car retailer.

KEELE, England, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Navman Wireless is a fleet management optimisation service that enables companies to monitor, measure and reduce their operational costs. The Navman Wireless system offers the latest in navigation and routing tools, allowing drivers to seamlessly map job locations or other key landmarks from an interactive map screen.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329213

The M-Nav 900's driver interface has been designed to streamline processes for both individual drivers and fleets. It focuses on operational efficiency and paves the way for automated tasks, safer roads and smoother communication across the company's Parts division and the AutopartsUK.com fleet of vehicles.

Navman Wireless' Instant Signature Capture feature enables fleet managers to create and customise digital forms and send them as messages to a driver's cab. Drivers can now collect customer signatures, order details, see invoicing and more, which eliminates paperwork and time-consuming workflows.

David Smith, Site Manager at Albion Parts Centre, Glasgow, said, 'We've chosen to use Navman Wireless because its fleet management system offers us the opportunity to use some exciting technology to help streamline our communication, navigation and dispatching capabilities.

'It's great because managers can send routing information and updates directly to a driver's cab using the platform. It's a real cradle to grave system and we've been impressed so far.'

Scott Hutchins, Vice President of UK Sales at Navman Wireless, added: 'Everyone at the business is excited to be working with such a well-established brand such as Arnold Clark. We're giving them the ability to send jobs to drivers directly and from the information we've had so far, they're seeing productivity increase. We're anticipating a long and fruitful partnership.'

Notes to editors:

About Navman Wireless:Navman Wireless and Teletrac Inc. are combined to represent global leadership in GPS-based fleet optimisation products and services, including real-time vehicle tracking and analytics that enable companies to monitor, measure and improve operational costs and efficiencies. The joint company's technology currently tracks more than 500,000 vehicles owned by over 40,000 organisations on five continents, making it one of the world's largest fleet management providers. The company, headquartered in Glenview, IL, has offices in the United States, Mexico, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

About Arnold Clark: With over 60 years of experience, Arnold Clark is one of Europe's foremost independently owned car companies. A winner of the sought-after Automotive Management Retailer of the Year award for three years running, the business is well placed to offer customers buying peace of mind and the best choice and biggest discounts on vehicles.
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Modernism Week and Bosch home appliances, the premier European kitchen design brand, are pleased to announce Bosch as Modernism Week's official home appliance sponsor for its 11th annual festival. The event, which will take place in Palm Springs, California from February 11-21, 2016, celebrates midcentury modern design, architecture, art, fashion and culture with more than 250 events, including tours, films, lectures, parties and exhibitions.

"We are extremely grateful to Bosch for their generous sponsorship, and are excited about how well the brand's design philosophy aligns with the simplified elegance of the midcentury architecture we celebrate," said Modernism Week Board Chairman, J. Chris Mobley. "Their industry knowledge will help us provide a schedule of exceptionally entertaining and educational programming at CAMP that attendees will be delighted to experience."

As part of Modernism Week 2016, Bosch's award-winning, sleek, modern appliances will be showcased throughout various touchpoints at the festival. The brand will also present a specially curated series of inspiring presentations and demonstrations celebrating modern design and cuisine.

"We're thrilled to partner with Modernism Week this year," said Dan Kenny, director of brand marketing for Bosch. "The Bosch design philosophy is rooted in Bauhaus design principles, with an emphasis on incorporating design that is purposeful and beautiful. We look forward to connecting with attendees that share the same passion for modern design that we do."

Bosch appliances were selected for inclusion in The Christopher Kennedy Compound: Modernism Week Show House 2016. The showcase home, which celebrates the Palm Springs legacy of midcentury modern architecture and design, features rooms created by today's most respected voices in interior design and home furnishings. As part of this partnership, Bosch is a participating sponsor of the Design Industry Party at The Christopher Kennedy Compound: Modernism Week Show House. The evening will bring together designers, builders, architects, and modern design enthusiasts to discuss the latest application of design trends. More than 3,000 attendees are expected to visit the spectacular home over the course of Modernism Week.

In addition to The Christopher Kennedy Compound, Bosch appliances will be featured throughout the Sierra Way house, which has been re-imagined for the way people live today by Jackie Thomas and DeeAnn McCoy of Thomboy Properties. The Sierra Way House, a four-bedroom home in Indian Canyons with a dramatic colonnade, soaring 14' ceilings, walls of glass and stunning views, will be featured on the Modernism Week Signature Home Tour.

Bosch appliances will also be featured throughout the Ferguson Demonstration Kitchen at CAMP, Modernism Week's 'Community and Meeting Place' and headquarters for tours and events. In this space, Bosch will produce the "Designing the Perfect Meal with Bosch" cooking demonstration series, which will include live cooking demonstrations by popular local chefs including Chef Drew Davis (Executive Chef at Catalan Mediterranean Cuisine), Chef Chris Mitchum (Executive Chef at Lantana), Chef Daniel Villanueva (Executive Chef at Balisage Bistro), Chef Daniel Barron (Executive Chef at Mr. Lyons), Chef Pierre Pelech (Executive Chef at Chez Pierre) and Chef Ashelanna Ruby (Executive Chef/Owner of Pure Chef's).

Additionally, renowned architect Dan Brunn, AIA, will join Bosch home appliances at CAMP on February 13th at 3:30pm to lead a discussion on the Bauhaus movement, which has inspired his work over the last 15 years and the design of Bosch appliances. Dan's discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Healthy living expert Danny Seo will also join Bosch home appliances for a special demonstration highlighting his favorite Do Just One Thing tips that use the principles of modern design to encourage a more simplified lifestyle. Danny's discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The presentation will take place at CAMP on February 14th at 11:00am.

For more information about Modernism Week and to purchase tickets, visit ModernismWeek.com. The full CAMP schedule, including culinary demonstrations, special events, lectures and films can also be found at ModernismWeek.com.

About Bosch

Bosch home appliances is part of BSH Home Appliances Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSH Hausgerate GmbH, based in Munich, Germany. As part of the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe, and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide, Bosch has been selling high performance German-engineered appliances in the United States since 1991. Known nationwide for raising the standards in quietness, efficiency and design for appliances, Bosch frequently receives top ratings in leading consumer publications and received awards from ENERGY STAR for eight consecutive years, from 2007-2014. With U.S. headquarters in Irvine, Calif., the company also operates manufacturing facilities in La Follette, Tenn. and in New Bern, N.C., housing state-of-the-art factories for dishwashers, ranges, ovens and cooktops.

For more information about Bosch, visit www.bosch-home.com/us, like Bosch at Facebook.com/BoschAppliances or connect on Twitter @BoschAppliances.

About Modernism Week

Modernism Week is a California 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Modernism Week is also a charitable organization, providing scholarships to local Palm Springs students pursuing college educations in the fields of architecture and design; as well as giving grants to local and state preservation organizations for their efforts to preserve modernist architecture throughout the state of California.

Modernism Week's Mission

The mission of Modernism Week is to celebrate and foster appreciation of mid-century architecture and design, as well as contemporary thinking in these fields, by encouraging education, preservation and sustainable modern living as represented in Palm Springs.

Please visit modernismweek.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

MEDIA Contacts:

Bosch

Heather Gordon

310-552-4123

heather.gordon@finnpartners.com



O'Bayley Communications

Cindy Duffy

760-778-3525

cindy@obayley.net



Modernism Week

Lisa Vossler Smith

760-578-5556

lisa@modernismweek.com




Technavio analysts forecast the global micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for mobile devicesmarket to grow at a CAGR of over 9% by 2020, according to their latest report.

The demand for MEMS has risen in the wake of a shorter product replacement cycle for mobile devices. Technological advances have also compelled original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce product size and enhance product performance, thus resulting in a demand for more compact internal components like sensors, actuators, and microphones.

Two of the most important features of smartphones and tablets are navigation and gesture recognition, both of which are enabled by MEMS technology. The demand for these features in all new mobile devices has led to the growing use of MEMS in smartphones and tablets. According to Asif Gani, one of Technavio's lead research analysts for embedded systems the declining prices of smartphones are leading to increased demand for these mobile devices and their associated parts, including MEMS.

According to the new report by Technavio, the global MEMS market for mobile devices is segmented into smartphones and tablets. The growing demand for smartphones is driving the market for MEMS in these devices. The penetration of mobile devices is growing due to introduction of low-cost smartphones by new regional vendors such as Micromax and Lenovo, thus driving the market for associated parts such as MEMS devices.

Tablets such as the iPad, Nexus 7, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 are driving the MEMS market in this segment. However, the revenue contribution from this segment is lower than that of smartphones due to the longer replacement cycle of tablets.

Geographically, APAC leads the global retail display market with more than 44% of the total market. China contributes the largest of any country in the region, accounting for about 47% of total revenue generated.

Technavio's market research analysts have identified the following four factors as the driving forces behind the growth of MEMS for mobile devices:

Consistently changing technology

High demand for mobile device components from emerging markets

Availability of low-cost smartphones

Short replacement cycle of mobile devices

Consistently changing technology

With rapidly changing technology, new features and applications are being installed in mobile devices that require integration of MEMS. MEMS like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and oscillators consume less power and are used for tap, scroll, tilt, rotate, and switch display features in mobile devices. Microphones, which provide high-definition audio quality for video recording and improve accuracy of voice command functions, drive a large part of the MEMS market for mobile devices.

Technavio analysts expect growing global Internet penetration to boost the demand for smartphones integrated with MEMS devices during the forecast period. Smartphone manufacturers like Apple have contributed to the adoption of MEMS microphones by employing them in popular iPhone and iPad devices.

High demand for mobile device components from emerging markets

Emerging economies like China, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are witnessing significant demand for mobile device components due to the high concentration of device manufacturers. Low labor costs, availability of resources, and the rising disposable income of people encourage manufacturers to set up new facilities in the region.

"As these countries are showing immense potential for growth in this market, the number of mobile device manufacturers in APAC is growing. New companies that have established a market presence within a short period include OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi. This indirectly boosts the market for mobile device components in emerging countries," says Asif.

Availability of low-cost smartphones

Smartphone manufacturing companies like Huawei, Lava, Oppo Electronics, Gionee, Xiaomi, and many other local brands are providing inexpensive smartphones that still offer all the features of a smartphone manufactured by Samsung or other prominent vendors.

Developing countries like China and India are major markets for cheaper smartphones. The cost of the internal components of smartphones is declining, which enables manufacturers to deploy advanced features in less-expensive models, thus boosting the market for components such as MEMS.

Short replacement cycle of mobile devices

The buying pattern of consumers is changing with rising disposable income levels and technological advances. Smart devices such as smartphones and tablets have short product replacement cycles, as most of these products are quickly cannibalized by newer versions. For instance, 70% of Apple's total iPhone sales are replacement sales, which is likely to increase to 80% in the coming years. This factor has been contributing significantly to the growing demand for semiconductor components such as MEMS.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Optical MEMS Market 2015-2019

Global MEMS Gyroscope Market 2015-2019

Global MEMS Market for Consumer Electronics 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005033/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com

media@technavio.com
According to the latest market study released by Technavio,theglobal mobile geographical information system (GIS) marketis set to post a CAGR of more than 10% by 2020.

This research report titled 'Global Mobile GIS Market 2016-2020' provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.

Request sample report: http://goo.gl/sLXYq0

The report segments the global mobile GIS market into five main end-user sectors:

Government

Military

Natural resources

Utilities

Other

The other segment includes marketing, real estate, education, financial services, healthcare, insurance, transportation, retail, and e-commerce. The use of mobile GIS is increasing in areas such as real estate and marketing for enhanced market analysis.

Mobile GIS in the government sector

The government sector, which includes state and federal governments, accounted for the largest share of the market in 2015 with more than 21% of the overall market share. The segment is likely to retain its dominant position throughout the forecast period, contributing a slightly smaller share of over 20% in 2020.

The US is a major player in the global mobile GIS market due to increased investments in GIS technology by various departments of the US federal government. GIS is also widely used for efficient land management in the government sector.

"The demand for mobile GIS in the government sector is growing at a high rate due to increasing need for enhanced national security. Many countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, China, and France, are increasingly adopting GIS technology for security purposes," says Amrita Choudhury, lead enterprise application analyst at Technavio.

Mobile GIS in the military sector

Technavio analysts expect the global market for mobile GIS in the military sector to grow at a fast rate, with revenue almost at USD 144 million in 2020, posting a CAGR of over 8%. GIS is widely used in the military sector as this technology helps identify trends and patterns, which play an important role in determining the decisions and actions of the adversary.

GIS also assists in planning and executing operations by providing real-time data and reports. It provides valuable information about evacuation plans and the availability of government aid to the public in the event of a catastrophe or political turmoil.

"GIS is used for various purposes in the military sector, including terrain observation, spatial data, naval and air operations, and logistics. Therefore, the adoption of this technology in the military sector is likely to increase over the next five years," affirms Amrita.

Mobile GIS in the natural resources industry

The natural resources industry generates most of its revenue from process industries such as oil and gas, mining, metal and steel, and petrochemicals. These process industries are also growing rapidly in various countries, such as India and China, which is mainly due to growing manufacturing activities in these areas, which subsequently increases the need for fuel. This creates a demand for GIS technology to facilitate natural resource management. GIS technology is also being used for environmental applications. Many scientists, researchers, and environmental organizations use GIS technology to preserve ecology and biology systems.

Mobile GIS in the utilities industry

The utilities industry is the main provider of energy in most countries. Many companies use GIS to distribute energy. For instance, Lechwerke, an electric supplier in Germany, uses GIS to provide solar power to its distribution area. US-based Union Power Cooperative, another electric power distribution company, uses GIS technology to provide real-time data about power outages and its metering system.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Cloud GIS Market 2016-2020

Global GIS Market 2016-2020

Global GIS in Telecom Sector Market 2016-2020

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005039/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
Technavio analysts forecast the global nail care market to grow at a CAGR of 3.47% through 2019, according to their latest report.

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global nail care market 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report takes into account revenue generated from retail sales of nail care products. The report does not include salon or spa services.

"The nail care market has witnessed a positive growth rate over the past decade and is expected to maintain the positive trend during the forecast period. Advances in technology has allowed for consumers to not have to go to nail bars and salons for nail care services, instead they can do it at home. In 2012, OPI released its first nail decals, 'OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps', giving users an option to choose from several different designs including rattlesnake, lace, and fishnet prints," said Arushi Thakur, one of Technavio's lead cosmetics and toiletry research analysts.

"The market is also flourishing due to its collaboration with various designers. Polish and cosmetics brands often tie up with fashion designers to develop new colors and patterns that are showcased in global fashion shows such as Milan, Italy, Paris, and New York. For instance, models sported nude nails with a vertical silver stripe of OPI's 'My Signature Is DC', at the Dion Lee Spring 2015 show. At Carolina Herrera Spring 2015, the models sported classy looks which included romantic red nails using Essie A List," Arushi added.

Technavio's consumer and retail research experts have highlighted the three major drivers that are expected to uplift the global nail care market.

Affordable indulgence

The rising demand for nail polish among the younger population is one of the primary drivers of the market. For instance, in the nail polish category, the average price of a mass category nail polish is approximately USD 8. Essie sells its nail polish at USD 8.50 and OPI brand of nail polish is sold at approximately USD 9.15. The engagement is high among women aged 25-34 who are interested in the benefits of the product and prefer long-wearing products and natural claims. Globally, approximately 91% of girls between the ages of 9 and 17 use some sort of nail product, making it one of the most popular cosmetic items among teen girls. Fashion trends such as nail art are transforming nails into a stylish accessory. Other than the trending concepts such as glitter, magnetic and metallic finishes, and nail art, women are generating high interest for natural nail care concepts, as well as products that help in ease of use and convenience. The improving economyis prompting consumers to indulge in nail care products as an affordable luxury

Product innovation driving growth

In the nail care market, constant change is required, be it in terms of process or product. For instance Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel offers scented nail polish, but the scent comes out only when the polish has dried. Some of Revlon's other innovative style offerings include Italian Leather, Bordeaux, Lavender Soap, and Autumn Spice.

Collistar brand has developed a color and care nail polish which claims to deliver salon type treatment at home. This product claims to give a foundation effect, camouflaging imperfection and strengthening the nails with keratin. Bourjois brand launched its nude and tattoos collection in May 2014, offering adhesive designs that can trail over the nails and onto the cuticles and fingers. Deborah Lippmann's Silk collection aims to deliver an innovative matteen finish of luxurious silk offering shades such as Red Silk Boxers, Harem Silk from Bombay, and Pseudo Silk Kimono.

Growing presence of nail bars and salons

One of the major factors for the growth of the industry is the growing presence of nail bars and salons across the globe. In 2013, nail salons in the US generated a revenue of USD 8.26 billion, which increased to USD 8.52 billion in 2014. Professional nail salons offer customers various services starting from traditional services like specialty manicures/pedicures to nail art, new long-wearing polish brands, acrylics etc. Also, the salon technicians deliver professional nail care services and meet the needs of the customers. The acquisition of salon brands such as 'Sinful Colors', 'OPI', and 'Essie' by the major players of the US Revlon, Coty, and L'Oreal respectively, has affected the market growth with salon brands sales. Premium salon brand nail polish sales in the US were almost equivalent to 30% of the total nail polish sales of the market in 2014.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Sun Care Products Market 2016-2020

Color Cosmetics Market in the US 2016-2020

Global Lipstick Market 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005041/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - February 03, 2016) - B&H Photo would like to share the announcement of the Sony a6300 Alpha Mirrorless Digital Camera and the G Master lens series for full-frame E-mount cameras, including the FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, FE 85mm f/1.4 GM, and FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lenses, as well as the FE 1.4x Teleconverter and FE 2.0x Teleconverter.

Sony a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222744-REG/sony_ilce6300_b_alpha_a63000_mirrorless_digital.html

24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS Sensor

BIONZ X Image Processor

XGA Tru-Finder 2.36m-Dot OLED EVF

3.0" 921.6k-Dot Tilting LCD Monitor

Internal UHD 4K30 & 1080p120 Recording

S-Log3 Gamma and Display Assist Function

Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC

4D FOCUS with 425 Phase-Detect Points

Up to 11 fps Shooting and ISO 51200

Weather-Sealed Magnesium Alloy Body

The a6300 pushes sensor technology forward by using thinner copper wiring to boost low-light sensitivity to ISO 51200, allowing faster processing speeds of the 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor and BIONZ X processor combination. The sensor is also equipped with an enhanced Fast Hybrid AF system that leverages an incredible 425 phase-detect points with almost 100% coverage for a notably fast AF time of just 0.05 seconds. This 4D FOCUS system is about 7.5x denser than its predecessor, enabling High-density Tracking AF Technology for more precise focusing with moving subjects. Speed ties into continuous shooting as well, with up to 11 fps capture rate with full AF/AE, or 8 fps when live view is active. This AF system is compatible with A-mount lenses when using the LA-EA1 and LA-EA3 adapters. Another addition is silent shooting, which uses a purely electronic shutter to practically silence the camera's operation.

Moving on from stills to the now-almost-standard UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) video specs, we find that the a6300 is very much in line with Sony's latest a7S II in terms of capabilities. This includes the XAVC S format at up to 100 Mbps at 30/25/24p, S-Log3 and S-Log2 gammas with Picture Profile control and Gamma Display Assist, and Full HD 120 fps shooting, along with time code/user bit and the Enhanced Zebra function. One advantage of the a6300 turns out to be the higher-resolution sensor, which makes use of the full 20MP (6000 x 3376) resolution of the Super35mm image area for 2.4x oversampling. The a6300 implements a standard stereo 3.5mm audio input jack for external microphones. Also, the enhanced Fast Hybrid AF system will improve AF speeds by up to two times. And it can output uncompressed UHD 4K footage over HDMI.

Sony a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera kit with 16-50mm Lens

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222773-REG/sony_soa6300bk_alpha_a6300_mirrorless_digital.html

The a6300 camera body has been built using magnesium alloy for enhanced durability, is sealed for weather resistance, and incorporates an upgraded OLED Tru-Finder EVF with a 2.36m-dot XGA resolution, as well as a mode for 120 fps viewing for fast subjects. The lens mount has been reinforced to handle larger, heavier lenses, and the grip and shutter button have a better feel for improved ergonomics. The a6300 will be available for purchase on Wednesday, February 10 th as a body only or in a kit with a 16-50mm lens.

On the full-frame front, Sony has just unleashed a new trio of lenses that are the beginning of the high-resolution G Master series. These lenses guarantee exceptional resolution on the latest digital cameras, and feature the latest in optical technology, including XA, or extreme aspherical lens elements that produce sharp, crisp imagery with minimal ghosting and flare. In addition to this, they are built with advanced weather sealing to prevent damage in less than ideal conditions.

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM Lens

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222774-REG/sony_sel2470gm_fe_24_70mm_f_2_8_gm.html

E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format

Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22

One XA Element, Two Aspherical Elements

One ED Element, One Super ED Element

Nano AR Coating

Direct Drive SSM Focus System

Internal Focus Design

Focus Hold Button, AF/MF Switch

Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction

Nine-Blade Circular Diaphragm

Sure to please professionals and demanding amateurs, Sony has released two constant f/2.8 zoom lenses: the mid-range FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and the classic telephoto FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS. The 24-70mm offers users the workhorse wide-to-short telephoto focal lengths which offer outstanding resolution by including three aspherical glass elements, a newly developed, extremely precise XA element, an ED, and a Super ED element, which minimize aberrations, maximize bokeh, and provide natural colorations. A Nano AR Coating has also been applied to significantly reduce flare and ghosting in strong lighting conditions. It also has a Direct Drive SSM motor for speedy and precise focusing. The 70-200mm perfectly complements the mid-range zoom by continuing the range through the classic telephoto options. It also has a variety of advanced optics in its design, and features excellent close-focusing performance down to 3.1' with 0.25x magnification. This telephoto zoom also has Optical SteadyShot image stabilization to minimize the effects of camera shake, and it has a ring SSM focusing motor for quick and quiet focusing performance. Additionally, it has been designed with many physical switches and buttons for fast operation in the field.

Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222776-REG/sony_sel70200gm_fe_70_200mm_f_2_8_gm.html

E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format

Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22

One XA Element, Two Aspherical Elements

Four ED Elements, Two Super ED Elements

Nano AR Coating and Fluorine Coating

Linear SSM Focus System

Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization

Internal Focus, Focus Range Limiter

Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction

Eleven-Blade Circular Diaphragm

Alongside the two zooms is a classic portrait lens: the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM. The super-fast f/1.4 aperture creates images with exceptionally shallow depth of field, and allows photographers to work in low light. It also has excellent resolution when needed, and features an 11-blade circular aperture for smooth bokeh. This lens has great tactile control for both stills and video, thanks to the use of a physical aperture dial, which can be clicked or de-clicked by flipping a switch on the side of the body. It is equipped with a ring SSM motor for fast AF, and uses a variety of specialized elements, much like the other G Master lenses. The lens is weather sealed for reliable performance in all conditions. The FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and FE 85mm f/1.4 GM will be available for purchase on Wednesday, February 10th.

Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM Lens

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222775-REG/sony_sel85f14gm_fe_85mm_f_1_4_gm.html

E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format

Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/16

One XA Element and Three ED Elements

Nano AR Coating

Linear SSM Focus System

Internal Focus Design

Focus Hold Button, AF/MF Switch

Manual Aperture Ring

Dust and Moisture-Resistant Construction

Eleven-Blade Circular Diaphragm

Another addition to Sony's FE line is a pair of teleconverters, a 1.4x and a 2.0x, which can boost the focal length of the FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens. These feature the same dust- and moisture-resistant design as the G Master lens, and maintain full communication and AF between the camera body and lens.

B&H Photo Video is an authorized Sony dealer, with the most up-to-date Sony product information, product pricing and promotional offers.

About B&H Photo Video

As the world's largest source of photography, video, audio, and the latest trending technologies, including drones, virtual reality, and 3D Printers, B&H Photo Video is known worldwide for its attentive, knowledgeable sales force, excellent customer service, and fast, reliable shipping. Visitors to the website can access a variety of enlightening articles and educational videos. B&H has been satisfying customers worldwide for over 40 years.

Latest Trending Technologies

Virtual Reality: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/360-spherical-virtual-reality-production/ci/29185/N/3705627361

Drones: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/aerial-imaging/ci/27989/N/3765401970

Customers making purchases on the B&H website can now make a split payment with multiple credit cards, a useful feature for those with limited credit on their individual cards. Previously, this method of payment was only available to customers when purchasing by phone or in store.

Many items can now be ordered online and picked up at our NYC Superstore. Add any qualifying items to your shopping cart and select STORE PICKUP. You will then have an opportunity to indicate who will be making the pickup, if it is someone other than yourself. You'll receive an email (up to 45 minutes) after completing your order, indicating that your order is ready for pickup at the B&H SuperStore.

The B and H YouTube Channel has an unmatched wealth of educational photographic content. Our entertaining and informative videos feature product overviews from our in-house specialists, as well as from photography industry experts. You can even view the B&H Event Space presentations from many of the world's foremost photographers, and interviews with some of photography's most dynamic characters. Tap into this exciting resource by subscribing to the B&H YouTube Channel here. In addition to these videos, the B&H Explora blog presents new product announcements, gear reviews, helpful guides, and tech news written by product experts and industry professionals.

When you're in Manhattan, take a tour of the B&H Photo SuperStore, located at 420 Ninth Avenue. The expo continues all year round in the camera kiosks at B&H. Featuring the newest cameras, the kiosks are manned by manufacturer representatives, who are there to guide you and demonstrate the latest photographic technology. With hundreds of products on display, the B&H Photo SuperStore is the place to test-drive and compare all the latest photography gear.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/sony_a6300-23e10eccbed3b87887737d549eb56453.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/Sony_24-70mm_Lens_with_hood-e6fbbeac76179e20ae4910392b1d2f36.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/sony_a6300_camera_kit-5f48e21580629f77a69663bac189ab72.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/sony_sel70200gm_fe_70_200mm_f_2_8_gm_1454514360000-52c490265111b45f90f1c32abd9eb392.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/Sony_a6300_Back-fb7efc4819afb1aebac49c21a6724f45.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/Sony_85mm_E-mount-e5e670ca96ce895591d8e5f73929fbf9.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/1/11G081040/Images/sony_ilce6300_b_alpha_a63000_mirrorless_digital-33b187ac3450b349a433d4dfcc21749c.jpg

Shawn C. Steiner

B&H Photo Video

212-615-8820

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
The global yogurt drinks market is set to grow at a CAGR of close to 8% during the forecast period, according to Technavio's latest report.

In this report, Technavio covers the market outlook and growth prospects of theglobal yogurt drinks market for 2016-2020. Based on distribution channel categories, the market is divided into different segments, including hypermarkets and supermarkets, convenience stores, food and drink specialty stores, and others.

Technavio's research study segments the global yogurt drinks market into the following regions:

APAC

Europe

North America

ROW

APAC: Largest market for yogurt drinks

The report study evaluates APAC as the largest market for yogurt drinks with a market share of around 39% in 2015, which is expected to rise close to 45% by 2020. Rising consumption of yogurt drinks in countries such as China and Japan is leading to the increasing demand for yogurt drinks in the region. Rising health awareness and fitness trends among consumers is also helping the yogurt drinks market to grow as consumers are demanding more healthy and natural products.

Yogurt drink manufacturers are investing heavily in dairy farms to ensure a steady supply of milk for the production of yogurt drinks. For instance, Yili Group entered into a strategic alliance with Sterilgarda Alimenti, an Italian dairy firm, and also signed a memorandum of understanding with Dairy Farmers of America to ensure a smooth supply of milk.

"The market has also witnessed the launch of new products and flavors such as Benecol yogurt drinks in South Korea. In March 2015, Mother Dairy announced its plans to set up 250 vending machines for lassi, a yogurt-based drink popular in India. Also, the increasing popularity of yogurts have prompted Starbucks to launch fruits on top yogurt Frappuccino in Japan in April 2015," says G Vijay Sarathi, Technavio lead non-alcoholic beverages research expert.

Ask for a sample of this report: http://goo.gl/TNez7i

Yogurt drinks market in Europe projected to decline in revenue by the end of 2020

In terms of revenue, Europe had a share of over 32% in 2015 but this figure is expected to decline to 28% in 2020. The decline in market share is due to the rising popularity of yogurt drinks in other regions, especially APAC. Economic conditions prevailing in certain European countries such as Spain and Greece can be a challenge to the growth of yogurt drinks as consumers will be conscious about the expenditure. Also, the rising popularity of coconut water in European countries such as the UK can also pose a serious challenge to the growth of the yogurt drinks market.

The European market however is witnessing several new product launches with yogurt drinks, accounting for almost 40% of the total new product launches in the food and beverage sector in 2013. Most of the products launched contain a higher amount of proteins than normal yogurt such as Vifit high protein yogurt drink launched by FrieslandCampina in 2015. "FrieslandCampina launched its Optiwell yogurt drink in the UK in September 2015 and also rolled out a marketing campaign worth USD 39.4 million along with the launch of the product," adds Vijay.

Introduction of new products and new flavors driving the popularity of yogurt drinks among consumers in North America

The yogurt market in North America is dominated by spoonable yogurts, however the demand for yogurt drinks is on the rise. Manufacturers are coming up with new products and new flavors to increase the popularity of yogurt drinks among consumers. In September 2015, Temple Turmeric launched Holiday Spiced Lassi Cultured Blend based on traditional ayurvedic recipes in the US. In April 2015, Karoun Dairies launched its Blue Isle Mediterranean yogurt drinks, which are available in four flavors being plain, strawberry, blueberry, and pomegranate.

Some of the top vendors of the global yogurt drinks market highlighted in the report are:

Danone

Fonterra

General Mills

Nestle

Unternehmensgruppe Theo Muller

Yakult

Browse Related Reports:

Global Organic Drinks Market 2016-2020

Greek Yogurt Market in the US: Trends, Size, and Forecast 2015-2019

Frozen Yogurt Market in US 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005059/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
Technavio's latest report on the natural and organic food market in the US provides an analysis on the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook through 2019. Technavio defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.

The top four emerging trends driving the natural and organic food market in the US according to Technavio's food and beverage research analysts are:

Rise in number of private label brands

Private label natural and organic food brands are becoming more prominent in the US as they are priced lower than branded organic food products because of their operational efficiency. In the US, store brand sales primarily of food categories such as dairy products, have outpaced the sales of food manufacturers' brands, generating gross margins of more than 35%. Therefore, the rise in private label brands of natural and organic food is increasing the sale and consumption of natural and organic food.

"Many large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, and Safeway have ventured into this market to target the organic food and health food shopper. Amazon is expected to offer a comprehensive list of organic products at low costs, which will expand the consumer base. Thus, the availability of private label brands is a new trend that is expected to drive the growth of the natural and organic food market in the US in the coming years," says Arushi Thakur, lead food research analyst from Technavio.

Rise in import of organic food

Another major trend impacting the growth of the natural and organic food market is rise in the imports of organic food. Producers of organic food and beverages in other countries have a huge business opportunity to tap the US market as the country's demand for organic food is exceeding its supply. Although domestic production is high, it does not sufficiently meet the growing requirement for organic food. As a result, the US is highly dependent on the import of organic food ingredients and products from other major organic food producing countries. For instance, the US is dependent on India for organic mangoes, tea, and rice.

Rapid growth in demand for packaged organic baby food products

Organic, nutrient-rich baby food products are free from toxins, antibiotics, and pesticides and help in the healthy development of children. Hence, there has been rapid growth in demand for packaged organic baby food, as parents in the US have increasingly become concerned about the food they provide to their infants and toddlers. In 2011, the US accounted for the largest market for organic baby food and formula products.

Many companies are acquiring small organic baby food companies to enter and compete in this niche segment. For instance, Hain Celestial Group acquired Ella's Kitchen, an organic baby food company in 2013, to expand its product portfolio of organic baby food.

"The US market for packaged organic baby food is expected to grow in the coming years because of the growing educated population, increasing awareness among parents of organic food, and the anticipated economic recovery," says Arushi.

Rise of conspicuous consumption

The practice of purchasing or consuming luxury products to display an individual's wealth in the country is another factor that is expected to drive the demand for natural and organic food. As organic foods are more labor-intensive to produce and can perish faster than conventional foods, they are priced at a premium and purchased primarily by high-income consumers. Though health reasons are the biggest driver of natural and organic food demand, purchasing these products can also be attributed to an individual's status, signifying refined tastes and the ability to afford the luxury of eating healthier and more natural foods.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Natural Food Colors Market 2015-2019

Global Natural Antioxidants Market 2015-2019

Global Natural and Synthetic Food Colors Market 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005051/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Strathbridge Asset Management Inc. (TSX: CDD.UN) (TSX: UTE.UN) (TSX: LVU.UN) announces monthly distributions payable on February 29, 2016 to unitholders of record on February 16, 2016, ex-dividend date of February 11, 2016 for the following funds:

Fund Name Ticker Amount Per Unit ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core Canadian Dividend Trust CDD.UN $0.03050 Canadian Utilities & Telecom Income Fund UTE.UN $0.06073 Low Volatility U.S. Equity Income Fund LVU.UN $0.04895

For further information, please contact Investor Relations at 416.681.3966, toll free at 1.800.725.7172 or visit www.strathbridge.com.

Contacts:

Strathbridge Asset Management Inc.

Aaron Ho

Vice-President, Finance



Strathbridge Asset Management Inc.

121 King Street West Suite 2600

Toronto, Ontario, M5H 3T9

416.681.3966; 1.800.725.7172

info@strathbridge.com

www.strathbridge.com




Allegion plc (NYSE: ALLE) Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Patrick Shannon will discuss the company's long-term strategy at the 2016 J.P. Morgan Global High Yield Leveraged Finance Conference on Tuesday, March 1, at 5:20 p.m. EST. The conference will take place at Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Shannon's presentation will be posted to Allegion's website prior to the event.

About Allegion

Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) is a global pioneer in safety and security, with leading brands like CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage and Von Duprin. Focusing on security around the door and adjacent areas, Allegion produces a range of solutions for homes, businesses, schools and other institutions. Allegion is a $2 billion company, with products sold in almost 130 countries.

For more, visit www.allegion.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203006493/en/

Contacts:

Allegion plc

Media Contact:

Maria Pia Tamburri Director, Public Affairs, 317-810-3399

Maria.Tamburri@allegion.com

or

Analysts Contact:

Tom Martineau Director, Investor Relations, 317-810-3759

Tom.Martineau@allegion.com
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Bank of Japan will release the minutes on Thursday from its monetary policy meeting on December 17, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. At that meeting, the central bank kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0-0.1 percent. It also said to hold its target of raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion. In addition, the BoJ said it will establish a new program for purchases of exchange-traded funds at an annual pace of about JPY 300 billion, in addition to the current program of ETF purchases. Thailand will see January results for its consumer confidence index; in December, the index score was 76.1. Finally, the markets in Taiwan are closed for the start of the long break for the Lunar New Year. 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.
Dinnerware

FinnStyle features award-winning dinnerware collections by iittala including Teema, Origo, Arabia 24h and others; as well as the elegant Kastehelmi Dewdrop, Rosenthal Suomi collection, and popular tea pots and cups by Tonfisk Design. New to the Finnish designed dinnerware collection is a large colorful line of tableware by Marimekko.



The simplicity of Finnish dinnerware innovation is summed up historically by one of its premier designers, Kaj Franck, "Is it not the ultimate meaning of beautiful to be essential, functional, justified, correct?"
DisputeBills, a Chicago, IL-based provider of consumer medical billing advocacy and negotiation services, raised $400k in seed funding.

The round was led by Chicago angel Stephen Lee.

The company will use the funds to launch its online medical bill reduction platform.

Co-founded in in 2015 by Matt Moulakelis, Tim Buhay and Stephen Lee, DisputeBills provides free consultation from a dedicated medical billing advocate with experience in medical billing, collections and insurance claims. Advocates, who often are former hospital medical billing employees, work to identify and challenge potential cases of overbilling and errors related to consumer healthcare, and negotiate a reduction on the users behalf, usually within two weeks.

The company leverages an HIPAA-compliant platform that allows users to securely submit medical bills and insurance documents; to connect and communicate with a DisputeBills medical billing advocate; and to track case progress in real-time.

FinSMEs

03/02/2016
Four51, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based B2B eCommerce platform, closed a $5m funding round.

Backers included Roxanne Googin of the High Tech Observer, a subscription data and analysis service for portfolio managers focusing on the technology sector, and other two unnamed private technology investors.

The company intends to use the funds to build out sales and marketing, as well as channel exposure and product development.

Led by CEO Mark Johnson, Four51 operates a cloud-based B2B eCommerce platform for over 10,000 businesses worldwide such as Bachmans, Taylor Corporation, Papa Johns and Turtle Wax. Its OrderCloud provides business and technical users with tools to create custom eCommerce solutions, while delivering an online and mobile buying experiences for their customers.

The company, which currently employs 60 people, aims to reach a headcount of 225 within three years, with much of that growth coming in 2016 and 2017.

FinSMEs

03/02/2016
zvelo, a Greenwood Village, Colorado-based provider of content categorization and malicious detection data services, raised $2.75m in royalty-based growth capital.



Texas-based Cypress Growth Capital provided the funding.

The company intends to use the funds to continue investing in sales, marketing and engineering efforts that will support its growth initiatives.

Led by Jeff Finn, CEO, zvelo provides a subscription-based SaaS data service for customers across the online advertising, network security and subscriber analytics markets to get access to content categorization and malicious detection data.

The companys solution measures trillions of transactions a month, categorizes web pages, social media and other content to give clients immediate visibility into context, brand safety, malicious threats, fraudulent or compromised pages.

FinSMEs

03/02/2016
New Delhi: Essar group today announced the sale of its Equinox Business Park, comprising 1.25 million sq ft office space, at prime Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to realty firm RMZ Corp for about Rs 2,400 crore. This could be the biggest office space deal in the country as Godrej Properties in September had sold 4.35 lakh sq ft commercial space at Bandra-Kurla Complex for Rs 1,480 crore.

"Essar and RMZ Corp announce the signing of definitive agreement in connection with acquisition of Equinox Business Park, a 1.25 million sq ft office space prominently located in Mumbai's prime CBD at Bandra-Kurla Complex for approx Rs 2,400 crore," Essar group said in a statement.

Commenting on the transaction, Essar's Anshuman Ruia said the business park is being sold as part of the strategy to monetise non-core assets.

"This transaction fits in with the Essar's strategy of successfully building businesses and actively managing the portfolio of assets to create and deliver value. This is in line with the present objective and focus of Essar to monetise non core assets and deleverage the balance sheet," Ruia said.

Essar's Executive Director (M&A) Sudip Rungta said the Equinox Business Park, being developed by the Essar group firm Equinox Realty Holding Ltd, has 4 towers comprising 1.25 million sq ft of office space.

Out of four towers, three are completely leased out, while one tower having about five lakh sq ft of leasable area has just been completed and is yet to rented out, Rungta told PTI. The business park houses tenants including Nissan Motors, Acropolis, Crompton Greaves, Gilbarco Aegis, Lafarge and alike

besides the offices of Essar.

"We are confident that with this acquisition we will extend our core businesses into the growing markets with a world-class development opportunity in the heart of one of Mumbai's major regeneration zones," Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp Corporate Vice Chairman Manoj Menda said.

This is the latest in a series of large office space buyouts by RMZ Corp who have created a portfolio of rent-yielding commercial assets in India, the statement said. RMZ holds 20 million sq ft of core assets under management and is accelerating towards achieving a five-year growth plan of 80 million sq ft, anchored by Qatar Investment Authority.

PTI
Amid global uncertainty, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it is important for India to emerge out of the crisis stronger as it is on a much higher and stabler footing than other nations.

"Unpredictability and volatility have become the new global norm. In these circumstances, it is extremely important for India to emerge and emerge out of the crisis even stronger," he said while addressing the Invest Karnataka 2016 summit here.

Jaitley said that India is "relatively unimpacted" by some of the factors that have caused the global crisis.

"Lower prices of oil and metal commodities substantially suit us. It indirectly impacts us because it shrinks our exports; it makes our markets more volatile, currency more volatile. But compared to the rest of the world, we are still on a much higher and stabler footing," he said.

The minister said that while looking down the tunnel over the next two to three years, it is still not clear which way the global situation will be moving.

The Indian economy is expected to grow between 7-7.5 per cent in the current fiscal. Last fiscal, it grew 7.2 per cent.

"The world faces a very difficult and challenging situation... In the global situation, India is being distinctively noticed. It is being noticed for the reason, that even in the midst of global slowdown, India has comparatively stood out," he said.

He said that while looking back at 2001, 2008 and 2015 global crises, India can take some satisfaction in the fact that the country displayed a considerable amount of resilience during those times.

Since the 2008 crisis, the global economy has not been able to pick up momentum, with some country or the other facing problems.

Stating that nobody could have expected China to grow indefinitely at a double digit growth rate, Jaitley said China's "slowdown itself doesn't directly impact us, except for some indirect consequences.

"Under these circumstances when comparable economies are struggling we have an important and powerful opportunity in front of us in order to make sure that our own domestic economic systems are strengthened."

"In this strengthening we have been able to maintain a macroeconomic situation which is far more favourable than it had been in the past and this is what makes India the fastest growing economy in the world," the minister added.

Jaitley further said that global investors are looking at India and "it is important for India to respond and respond in one voice". We can never allow our federalism or our democracy to become an obstacle in the process, he said.

The Finance Minister further said that merely organising investor meets will not get states the required investments.

"States which have a consistent track record of a stable administration, a good governance, clean administration, stable politics, stable policies, easy availability of land, natural resources, easier prospects of doing business... it is those states which will then become the primary destinations as far as the investments are concerned," he said.

Appreciating Karnataka for innovating with time, Jaitley said it has kept the state at the centre stage of India's development.

Referring to cooperative federalism, he said governance is a shared responsibility of the Centre and the states, while the ultimate objective of the shared sovereignty is how "we empower people, how we make India grow faster and how we make sure that rates of poverty get depleted very fast".

"India is a case where the Centre and states have to compete with each other, then cooperate with each other, in order to make sure that the cooperative federalism brings out a model of economic governance in the country," he said.

Jaitley said there is no other cure for depletion of poverty and its final elimination other than making India grow.

"It is only when India grows faster that we are going to pull out a large number of people out of the poverty levels," he said.

Betting big on the global investors meet, the Karnataka government is looking to attract twice the Rs 1.30 lakh crore investment it has wooed in the last two years.

Fourteen sectors, including defence and textiles, have been identified for the meet, for which seven partner nations - France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Japan and South Korea - have arrived with huge delegations, organisers said.

The event was also attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar.

On the occasion, Union Road Transport Minister Gadkari said the central government would contribute more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the next two years to improve roads in Karnataka.

"For road development in Karnataka, from our side, we will contribute Rs 1 lakh crore in next two years," he said.

The centre had also decided to expand the capacity of New Mangaluru Port with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, he added.

Among others present at the event were eminent industry leaders such as Ratan Tata, Kumara Mangalam Birla, Narayana Murthy, Anil Ambani, Sajjan Jindal, Azim Premji and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

PTI
By Ajay Kumar

The Supreme Court of India, on 2 February heard a batch of eight curative petitions that were filed to ask the court to revisit the 2013 Judgement overturning the Delhi High Court verdict in the Naz Foundation v National Capital Territory of Delhi.

A curative petition is a relatively new process by which the Supreme Court may choose to exercise it's inherent powers to review it's own decision. Since it's introduction in the case of Rupa Ashok Hurra v. Ashok Hurra and Anr (2002) 4 SCC 388 the Supreme Court has only exercised it's curative powers three times.

The Supreme Court, stating that the petitions raise "significant questions of constitutional law" referred the petitions to a five-judge bench to determine the said questions. However, this does give some hope in the litigation fight against Section 377 of the IPC. A reference to a five-judge bench means the court was satisfied that there was a "substantial question of constitutional law" that arose out of the eight petitions before it. Unfortunately the copy of the order on the reference is not out, so the full terms of reference cannot be read. Read this Firstpost article and this one to get a good sense of what went down.

One aspect that is worth noting is that the judgement in Suresh Kumar Kaushal v Naz Foundation (Civil Appeal No 10972 of 2013) may contradict the later judgement in National Legal Services Authority v Union of India (WP (C) of 2012) in so far as NLSA went on to make observations regarding sexuality and gender identity and, in particular went on to make observations regarding the use of 377.

It is pertinent to note that both these judgements were delivered by a bench of equal strength. Normally in these cases where there is a difference of opinion on a point of law between two benches of an equal strength, a larger bench may be constituted by the Chief Justice to iron out the differences. But where there may be no prima facie difference on a point of law in the two judgements; it appears that the two judgements have appreciated ground realties very differently.

Since the bench hearing the matter yesterday, was satisfied that there was a significant question of Constitutional Law that was raised in the petitions, the petitions were referred to a five-judge bench in terms of Article 143(3) of the Constitution. This Article provides that an substantive issue of constitutional law should resolved by five judges of the Supreme Court. A five-judge bench is called a Constitutional Bench.

However, it must be noted that the Bench has not issued notice to the Central Government in the matter and has referred the question on admission of the curative to the five-judge bench. This reference though was not mandatory, which is why the reference raises some hope that the curative may be admitted.

Before a matter may be heard by the Supreme Court in its Appellate Jurisdiction the matter must be admitted by the court i.e the court must agree to hear the case. Once the court agrees to hear the matter, it issues notice to the concerned parties. The court has not issued notice yet but referred the matter to a five-judge bench. This means the question of admission is still open. What gives hope is that the court has constituted a five judge bench to look into the issue. This is important as the following are the possible scenarios now:

A. The Constitution bench admits the Curative and proceeds to review the judgement in Kaushal's case on merits. Which it can do as it is a five-judge bench and has the power to review the order of a Division Bench. The bench may either confirm the verdict in Kaushal or reverse it.

OR

B. The Constitution Bench declines to hear the Curative which means Kaushal remains good law.

So the question is, is there something for gay rights activists to be hopeful about? Well, yes and no.

The ruling on 2 February caused absolutely zero change in the legal position as far as 377 is concerned. Further, the risk of the curative being denied still stands as the five judge bench may reject it outright as well.

So in terms of the fight against 377 nothing much has actually changed. What is hopeful though, is that the court has constituted a five-judge bench to look into the matter. Which means that the Court may be indicating that it is satisfied that there is a question of law wroth re-examining and has geared itself up for admission.

To explain it simply, it may not have confirmed that the party is happening, but the court has gotten dressed for one anyway.

What you should know

I am a gay person, did yesterdays ruling change anything for me as far as 377 is concerned?

No. It did not. The Court did not stay the ruling in Kaushal. 377 is still good law in India and as such same sex sexual intercourse between two men remains unlawful.

I am a straight person, why should I care about the 377 Case?

377 can also apply to straight persons engaging in intercourse that requires the penetration of an orifice other than the vagina. Anal-Sex, oral Sex, 'handjobs' etc are all covered by 377. But sexual acts aside, 377 empowers the law to step into the bedroom of an individual and examine his sexual conduct with his consenting partner, 377 is bad on principle because the law should never be allowed to enter the bedroom.

For example, if tomorrow, with a view on population control the government made a law saying that people could only have sex on Saturdays and Sundays or a law requiring that all men sit down and pee. Sounds absurd right? These laws could survive because 377 has been allowed to survive.

Its not about one section alone, the ramifications of holding a law like 377 valid are far and may affect almost every aspect of life that involves privacy including issues like phone-tapping, inspection of private records, search and seizure etc.

In fact as a straight person you should be concerned more about the legal ramifications of the judgement, because persecution of gay people in India is the status quo. Confirming such persecution, could actually open the door to the persecution of straight people!

So what now?

No date has been set for the five-judge bench hearing. So we sit tight and wait for the bench to be constituted.

So when can I get excited?

Wait for an order of admission (if it comes). Thats when things get really exciting before the Supreme Court and also the public debate gets re-opened. The Centre will have to take a stand on the matter if the curative is admitted. Something this government is yet to do. Things will get really exciting then.

The author is an advocate at the High Court, Bombay. He is currently a counsel at Ashlar Law.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday condemned the disgusting attack on the 21-year-old Tanzanian student in Bengaluru and said that she has asked the Karnataka Chief Minister to ensure the safety of all foreign students in the state.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru," Swaraj tweeted. She also further tweeted that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told her that a criminal case has been registered and four people have been arrested.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

I spoke to the Chief Minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

I have asked the Chief Minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

The Tanzanian student was allegedly beaten up and stripped by a mob in a case of "mistaken identity" after a woman was mowed down by a car in Bengaluru, prompting the authorities of the East African country to raise the matter with the Indian government.

The 21-year-old Tanzanian, who is doing her Bachelor of Business Management course, was dragged out of the car in which she was seated along with her three friends.

The car was stopped by the mob shortly after they reached the accident spot on Sunday night, according to All African Students Union in Bengaluru.

She was stripped by a section of the mob and pushed out of a slow-moving bus that was passing by as she tried to board it to escape, the Union's Legal Adviser Bosco Kaweesi told reporters in Bengaluru. Three others were also beaten up.

Official sources in New Delhi said the High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale to the External Affairs Ministry about the reported attack, requesting it to take necessary legal action against the guilty.

The sources said the Joint Secretary in MEA's East and Southern Africa Division has spoken to the High Commissioner of Tanzania and expressed regret over the the unfortunate incident.

The Tanzanian Embassy requested the government to ensure safety and security of all African students in India.

The Joint Secretary told the Tanzanian High Commissioner that the Ministry is in regular touch with the authorities in Bangalore and that the state authorities have said they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

According to the Bangalore police, the complaint by the Tanzanian girl was filed only on Wednesday even though incident happened on Sunday.

Kaweesi said she had no connection with the accident and alleged the police "was not so helpful" when they were approached.

Police Commissioner NS Megharikh said that after the accident, which claimed the life of a 35-year old woman, the driver of the car was assaulted and he was taken to hospital.

The Tanzanian woman and her friends had reached the spot later, the police chief said, adding, the mob mistook them for having been responsible for the mishap.

"It was mistaken identity," he said. The driver of the car which mowed down the woman has been seized by the police.

Megharikh said the woman's statement had been recorded by the Deputy Commissioner of Police. "We have taken up the case of assault on the woman," he said.

A section relating to molestation had also been invoked, he added. He said a crowd of 200 to 300 people was present after the accident but the police had brought the situation under control after the accident.

Megharikh said the police were trying to identify the people involved in the assault and assured they would be arrested.

Official sources in New Delhi said Joint Secretary (States Division) in the MEA, who happened to be in Bengaluru, was in touch with the top officials in the state administration over the issue.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow in New Moti Bagh in New Delhi.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, while upholding the single-judge bench order of 1 February, said that as the MP is not entitled for relief, his appeal is dismissed.

"Pending representation before the House committee does not mean you are entitled for relief. The single judge has rightly dismissed your petition. This petition is also dismissed," the bench said.

Chowdhury, a Lok Sabha member, had moved the court against the 1 February order dismissing his plea against the eviction, following which the authorities concerned had disconnected water and power supply to his ministerial bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh, even as they started eviction proceedings against him.

On Tuesday, the division bench, which did not interfere with disconnection of utilities, had directed maintenance of status quo with regard to the eviction till Wednesday morning.

According to the Directorate of Estates, the MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and given sufficient time to vacate the ministerial bungalow which, it said, he was not entitled to. But Chowdhury did not vacate despite several reminders in the past, it said.

Chowdhury had on Tuesday said that it was nothing but "political vendetta against opposition by the government."

During the arguments on Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, who appeared on behalf of the Directorate of Estates, had told the court that the government was trying to accommodate the MP but he was not satisfied with the housing options being given to him.

Chowdhury's counsel had submitted that there was a security threat to the MP as well as his family at the new premises.

Defending the eviction move, the Urban Development Ministry had said that Chowdhury was offered three Type VI bungalows after cancellation of Type VIII bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh but he refused.

The allotment of the bungalow was cancelled in 2014 by the ministry since he ceased to be a minister at the Centre after the 2014 general elections.

As a member of Lok Sabha, he is entitled for a Type-6 accommodation. He was allotted an alternative accommodation at C-1/99, Moti Bagh by the House Committee of Lok Sabha in January, 2015 which was not accepted by him.

PTI
Bangkok: Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived here today on a three-day visit to Thailand during which he will hold discussions on a range of issues with the country's top leadership to boost bilateral ties. This is the first visit by an Indian Vice President to Thailand after a gap of 50 years.

He was received at the airport by Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong. Ansari will have a one-to-one meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who will also host a banquet in Ansari's honour.

This is the first visit by an Indian Vice President to Thailand after a gap of 50 years. Ansari, during his visit, will also have an audience with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and deliver a speech at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on 'From Look East to Act East: India's Partnership with Thailand and ASEAN' besides addressing the Indian community at a reception to be hosted by the Indian Ambassador to Thailand.

He will return to Delhi on Friday.

PTI
By Dr Nikhil Datar

Mr and Mrs Nirarka, and the mother-in-law were sitting before me in my clinic. The patient was pregnant on the second occasion. She already had a beautiful daughter but the whole family was longing for a male child. Till then this was all fare. Then the question came, "Doctor, can you help us to know the sex of the baby?" They were in no mood to listen to me. They did not care even if sex determination/sex-selective abortion was unethical, immoral and criminal. Upon my refusal and almost stern (they actually found it rude) preaching cum urging that they should not get into this ugly stuff, they got up from the seat and walked away. I could see clearly that they were going to shop around and ultimately get the sex-determination done from elsewhere.

I picked up the phone and spoke to a government authority and asked if they could track this patient so that firstly, the crime of sex determination could be prevented and secondly, the culprits involved in the heinous crime could be caught. But the senior officer said that there was no mechanism for doing so. (This incident happened almost 8 years ago).

Maneka Gandhi's latest comment on the PCPNDT Act reminded me of this incident.

She has suggested a similar mechanism. Her suggestion is that all patients should be told about the sex of the baby beforehand. But those who have a female foetus should be specifically tracked to ensure that they are taken care of well. Through various programmes, the government of India and various state governments are running a great system in which all expectant mothers seeking pre-natal health care are thoroughly tracked on various health parameters. The machinery including AHSA workers ensure that timely care is delivered to them. This intervention has really improved the outcomes and has been successful in reducing the maternal mortality significantly. This robust mechanism can be easily used to track pregnant women with female foetuses. It is like identifying a smaller subset and targeting that selected population. Determining and disclosing the sex of the baby is almost a norm in most of the foreign countries. The difference lies in the way this information is processed. In other countries this information is consumed for further planning of the arrival of the new born. In Indian society it may be used for sex-selective abortion and female foeticide.

I must state some undoubted facts here. We, as a society, have miserably failed to remedy the problem of gender inequality. PCPNDT Act was always a "misfired missile". It had a great aim and objective but the methodology was always going to be a failure. The Act never addressed the most important issue of gender inequality and changing the societal culture. The Act only focussed on doctors and sonography machines. It restricted doctors from doing sonographies at multiple places, made clinics create illogical and mundane records, put up sign boards of certain specifications. It created complex licensing and reporting mechanism.

All this was never going to solve the original problem. Imagine a situation wherein a man suffers from high grade fever due to malaria. The doctor treats him thinking that it is pneumonia. Naturally the fever does not subside. To achieve the objective of controlling the fever the doctor prescribes stronger medicines for pneuomonia. This is exactly what is happening with the PCPNDT Act. Since the skewed male and female ratio did not improve, the government further tightened the noose to catch doctors and to stop sonography centres. The latest data on convictions under the PCPNDT Act is shocking. It shows that most of the cases filed against the doctors are actually for administrative and clerical errors.

So when the problem is well-known and existing methods of curbing the problem have failed, Maneka ji has thought out of the box! Bravo ManekaJi!



Now, women will be tracked and the right of privacy will be at a toss. The right of privacy that flows from Article 21 of our constitution that ensures personal liberty to the citizens of India. Does the state have the liberty to abrogate this right?

I distinctly remember a few judgments delivered by various high courts including the Mumbai High Court on this subject, for example the case of Vinod Soni versus The Union of India. In one case, a couple had approached the court with an interesting plea. The couple had two sons and were keen to continue the pregnancy only if the woman was a carrying a female foetus. Had it been a male foetus they would have considered abortion. They wanted the court to direct the doctor/ hospital to declare the sex of the child. The court observed that the couple has a right to procure. The said right does not include right to procure a child of a specific sex. So, now it is a complete U-turn!

This new system may be administratively easy to manage. But it will still not solve the basic problem of societal inequality and gender bias. What if family stop sending pregnant woman to hospital or clinics after the sex determination? What if these women are taken to unqualified 'zola chap' (quack) doctors for illegal abortions?

Imagine a peculiar situation. The sex is already known. Now, the pregnant woman develops some genuine complication and medically needs termination of pregnancy. Or imagine that there is a serious malformation in the foetus and woman wants to terminate the pregnancy. In such a situation there is a likelyhood that the doctor may shy away from the surgery especially when the doctor knows that it is a female foetus. Ultimately it is the mother who suffers.

In a nutshell Manekajis idea although seems to be interesting, impressive and out of the box, it needs to really be checked on the ethical, moral, legal and practical grounds. Any intervention without addressing the gender inequality is never likely to yield result. Let us be sure that we dont create another 'misfired missile' like PCPNDT Act.
Ten soldiers, including an officer, went missing on Wednesday after an avalanche hit them in Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region.

"Ten soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), are missing after an avalanche hit their patrol at 19,000 feet above the sea level in southern side of the Siachen Glacier early Wednesday," Colonel S.D. Goswami, spokesman of army's Udhampur headquartered northern command, told IANS here.

Army spokesperson NN Joshi said several personnel from the Madras Regiment were buried on the northern side of the glacier, reports The Hindustan Times.

"A massive rescue operation has been started by the army and the Air Force to trace the missing personnel who are feared buried under the avalanche," Goswami said.

Siachin Glacier is the world's highest battlefield which the brave hearts of the Indian Army guard despite extremely hostile climate.

The winter temperatures often drops to minus 50 degrees Celsius in the region.

The Indian Express reports that one junior commissioned officer (JCO) and nine jawans of the Armys 19 Madras battalion have been trapped since early Wednesday morning. The post is at 19,600 feet on the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL)  the border with Pakistan at Siachen glacier  in the vicinity of Bana post.

With IANS inputs
Colombo: The mother of a man convicted for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has started a public petition campaign in Sri Lanka seeking the release of her son from a jail in Tamil Nadu.

Vetrivel Somini, mother of Murugan who has been in jail after his conviction in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, said she is aiming to get one million signatures for the petition to seek the release of her son and six others.

Somini, who lives in Sri Lanka's Kilinochchi, the former administrative capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said she hopes to submit the petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murugan, a resident of Pallai in Kilinochchi, has been in jail for the last 25 years.

Somini said there were examples when world leaders had pardoned convicts accused of grave crimes and so she expects her son to be given clemency.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out Rajiv's assassination on 21 May, 1991 in Sriperumbudur.

The LTTE had killed Rajiv to exact revenge for his decision to send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka under the 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.

Dampening hopes of release for the killers of Rajiv, India's Supreme Court in December had ruled that the Centre has "primacy" over states' right to grant remission and referred the issue of clemency for the assassins to a three-judge bench.

PTI
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rapped Maharashtra government and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for failing to implement a Government Resolution on measures to be taken to keep beaches secure.

"It is shocking that 14 students, of which 10 were girls, died after drowning two days back at the Murud-Janjira beach. There is no system in place. There were no warning signals, no lifeguards and no watchtowers," a division bench of justices NH Patil and GS Kulkarni said.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO Janhit Manch on the issue of beach safety.

In 2006, the high court had passed certain directions following which on 8 September, 2006, the government issued a resolution on the issue.

"The government is yet to implement the resolution. You (government and civic body) have a resolution directly on the issue but still nothing has been done. Ask the city collector why the resolution has not been implemented," the court said.

"There are so many beaches in the city itself like Juhu beach, Gorai beach, Aksa beach and so on. There is so much crowd in these places especially children. With no system in place how does the government propose to avoid such incidents (drowning)," the bench said.

Giving the example of how Goa has deployed beach police also known as coastal police at their beaches, the court said the Maharashtra government should also consider the same.

The court posted the petition for hearing on 12 February and asked both government and corporation to say why the resolution has not yet been implemented.

PTI
New Delhi: Senior bureaucrat Amitabh Kant on Wednesday created a flutter by saying that in a democracy like India people should have the freedom of choice to eat what they want, including beef.

Kant clarified later that he was anwsering questions on start-ups at an event when he was suddenly asked about the beef controversy. "I gave a general reply about the practices in Kerala, my cadre state. That was the context," he said.

Kant, who is Secretary in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in Government of India, had said, "Well, I believe we are in a democracy which allows people to decide what they want to say, which would allow people to decide what they want to eat."

Asked at an NDTV event if that includes eating beef, he shot back, "of course. There should be freedom of choice. I said it in the context, the fact that I come from Kerala cadre, my neighbour was a Nair, my right hand neighbour was a Brahmin, they all ate beef. We all grew up eating beef in that state. There should be freedom of choice."

Kant had also earlier said he was personally not in favour of banning beef exports, stating that the government should instead stay out of such areas and act as a catalyst for growth.

At the event, Kant, who is also the acting CEO of NITI Aayog, also took a swipe at Bollywood actor Aamir Khan whom he had countered on his remarks over climate of "intolerance" in the country.

"I think everyone should have the freedom to say what they want except when he is the brand ambassador of Incredible India," he said.

Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, had earlier said Aamir has damaged brand India while being brand ambassador of the celebrated 'Incredible India' campaign. Kant had been the key driver of the campaign.

Defending the exit of Aamir from the campaign, Kant had said the actor, by terming India an 'intolerant country', worked against his role as that of a brand ambassador.

"A brand ambassador promotes a brand. People will come to India and tourist flow will increase only if the brand ambassador of 'Incredible India' promotes the country as 'incredible'. But if the brand ambassador says India is intolerant, he surely is not working as brand ambassador,"

Kant had said.

"The brand ambassador must be the best brand ambassador for promoting and marketing India, he cannot be the destroyer of the brand," he had also said while replying to a query on removal of Khan from the campaign.

"Being a Brand Ambassador imposes responsibilities. U can't run down what u're promoting. That's damaging d brand," he tweeted.

Aamir had in November 2015 stirred a controversy after he expressed "alarm and despondency" over rising instances of intolerance in the country in the past few months and said that his wife (Kiran Rao) even asked if they should move out of India as she feared for safety of their children.

PTI
Bangkok: India and Thailand have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes for communication and commerce, India's Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday.

"As maritime neighbours, we have a shared interest in the security of international sea lanes of communication and commerce," Ansari said at a banquet hosted in Bangkok in his honour by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"Our resolve to strengthen our bilateral engagement in the areas of security and defence will help the region as a whole and promote greater regional economic integration and connectivity," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ansari arrived at Bangkok on a three-day visit to Thailand at the official invitation of Prime Minister Prayut.

It is the first visit by an Indian vice president to this southeast Asian nation in 50 years and is the second and final leg of his visit to southeast Asia, the first of which took him to Brunei.

He said cooperation between India and Thailand, both bilaterally and in the rubric of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), encompassed diverse areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, science and technology, education, and cultural exchanges.

"People-to-people contacts at various levels are the lifeblood of our friendship. I am pleased that our two countries have taken important steps in the pursuit of closer cooperation, stronger connectivity and greater commerce," the vice president said.

He also said Thailand was an important policy of India's Act East policy.

Stating that both the countries were engaged in transforming into modern knowledge economies, he said: "India is a bright spot with the highest economic growth amongst the larger emerging countries.

"There is growing interest from across the world in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation with India. I would urge the government and business community in Thailand to avail of the opportunities provided by a growing India."

Ansari said there was a promising future to the bilateral relations between India and Thailand.

"With its unique geographic location, Thailand can be a bridge linking southeast Asia to east Asia; while India can act as your springboard to west and central Asia and to Europe," he said.

"Our talks earlier today have put in place a roadmap for further strengthening our economic cooperation and intensification of our collaborations in all areas."

He said that as India and Asean would mark the 25th anniversary of their dialogue relations, New Delhi looked forward to working with Bangkok under the framework of Asean.

"We shall strive to strengthen the India-Asean partnership, as also the Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and Mekong-Ganga Cooperation," the vice president said.

He said the challenges of the 21st century were enormous and merited common understanding and joint efforts.

"Globalisation of terrorism, impact of climate change on humanity and the health hazards which know no borders require global action. The international community is grappling with issues related to migration and integration of people," Ansari said.

"Our cultures with a civilisational heritage of peace, pluralism and co-existence can offer lessons and lasting solutions," he stated.

IANS
London: Prince Charles has unveiled plans for a new dedicated fund, likely to be worth millions of pounds, to be created to help farmers in India break out of poverty.

The heir to the British throne announced the plan in his capacity as the Founder and President of the British Asian Trust (BAT), which works towards empowering lives in South Asia by harnessing the strengths of the South Asian diaspora in the UK.

"An area of work that I was particularly excited to see get underway in recent months is my trust taking a more in-depth look at the issues faced by rural farmers in India with the aim of establishing a dedicated fund to implement the kinds of intervention that the research clearly points out is needed," the 67-year-old royal said at BAT's gala annual dinner at Natural History Museum in London on Tuesday night.

Describing agriculture as a "vitally important" sector of the economy and "one that nearly half the rural houses in India rely on as the principle means of livelihood", Charles said the trust's focus will be on farmers with small holdings.

"These small holder farmers often realise only a small proportion of the value of their products and can get caught in a poverty trap with no obvious way out. By making real inroads into helping the sector upscale, the fund will increase productivity in a sustainable way and make a

staggering difference to so many lives," he said.

The complete details of the fund, likely to be worth millions of pounds, will be made public over the course of this year.

Meanwhile, the trust also finalised its "largest-ever fund" dedicated to work in Pakistan to support skills training for some of the country's most disadvantaged people alongside charity partner, the Aman Foundation.

BAT will engage with the UK government's Department for International Development (DfID) to launch a UK-wide appeal to raise three million pounds. DfID will match pound-for-pound as part of the campaign which marks the trust's first national public appeal, having raised millions from South Asian communities around the world in the last nine years solely via corporate and private donations.

Many of these corporates and celebrity ambassadors of the trust, including filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, joined Prince Charles and wife Camilla at the gala dinner event which included a charity auction which raised 900,000 pounds (over USD 13 lakh).

"2016 will be another exciting year ahead for the British Asian Trust," British Asian Trust's CEO Richard Hawkes said.

The trust was founded in 2007 by Charles, who wanted to do something about the widespread poverty that he saw in South Asia with the help of the entrepreneurial spirit of the British Asian diaspora. It works with local grassroots organisations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to help disadvantaged people transform their lives.

PTI
New Delhi: A day after WHO declared emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Centre on Tuesday issued detailed guidelines for combating the disease, including a travel advisory that asks pregnant women to either defer or cancel their travel to the affected areas.

The health ministry said that all international airports and ports will display signage with information on the disease. Travellers will be asked to report to customs if they are returning from affected countries and suffering from febrile illness, it added.

Zika virus, which is carried by mosquito and suspected to cause serious birth defects, has affected countries in the Americas.

In its guidelines, the ministry said that while the disease has not been reported in India, the mosquito which transmits Zika virus, namely Aedes aegypti, also transmits dengue virus, which is widely prevalent in the country.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said he has asked for steps to be taken to prevent entry and transmission in India of the virus.

The health ministry said the overall situation would be monitored by a joint monitoring group under Director General of Health Services (DGHS) while the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) would identify the research priorities and take appropriate action.

Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) shall be activated at central and state surveillance units with each team comprising an epidemiologist or public health specialist, a microbiologist and a medical specialist, the ministry added.

The National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi would be the nodal agency for investigation of any outbreaks in India, it said.

Non-essential travel to the affected countries to be deferred/cancelled. Pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant should defer/cancel their travel to the affected areas. All travellers to the affected countries/areas should strictly follow individual protective measures, especially during day time, to prevent mosquito bites.

Persons with co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, etc. should seek advice from the nearest health facility, prior to travel to an affected country. Travellers having febrile illness within two weeks of return from an affected country should report to the nearest health facility, the guidelines said.

PTI
Across the world, Bangalore has managed to build an image that portrays it as India's answer to America's Silicon Valley. The city is seen an Information and Technology (IT) hub and a melting pot of sorts: a modern and metropolitan Indian city. Of course when a city claims to be the IT hub of India, one also assumes that its culture and ethos reflects is modern and progressive.

But a recent attack on an African national in the city tears this image of a cosmopolitan city into pieces. According to a Bangalore Mirror report, Wandoh Timothi, 44, a techie at ITPB and a native of Ivory Coast, faced the city's ugly racist side when we was attacked by a group of men.

What exactly happened? The report states that Wandoh was riding his bike, when another man began heckling him and driving his own bike in Wandoh's path. What unfolded next was a nightmare. When he came for the third time, I asked him to slow down and allow me to pass. He got off his bike and stood right in front of my bike, says Wandoh, who says he realised the man was drunk. The drunk man then punched Wandoh and before he could figure out what happened some dozen men appeared and attacked him.

Before you think this was an incident of road rage gone wild, hold on. The men distinctly referred to Wandoh as 'negro', and pushed a huge stone on his back leaving him gasping for breath. What hurt more for Wandoh was that none of the onlookers came to his rescue despite knowing him well.

Wandoh has a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) card and is married to a woman from Kerala.

Racism and road rage seem to go hand-in-hand in Bangalore.

Previously a woman from Manipur who was driving her car in the city, faced road rage and racists comments from the crowd. What made the incident worse was that when she turned to a local traffic policeman for help, he shouted at her, saying You dont know Kannada. You dont belong to this place.

While Bangalore may claim to be an IT hub, those who are seen as distinct others, such as a Manipuri woman or an African person, face discrimination and very often violence.

You can read the full Mirror report here.
The leather manufacturer who got teed off after multiple checks on a Delhi to Chennai flight and was accused of triggering a bomb scare was wrong.

You can sympathise with him but you cannot exonerate him. Not in this day and age. Of course, the security over reacted because Priyanka Vadra was on the plane and once you have SPG and special security personnel scurrying about and the Great Indian VIP complex kicks in then paying passengers and the great unwashed dont count for anything.

He should have known that with a VIP on his flight, he was going to made to jump through hoops.

The frisking several times over can get on anyones nerves and this gentleman was frazzled enough to say, What are you checking again and again, you think I have a bomb.

Of course it is a bit like the Marx brothers and the Three Stooges to then grapple the man down and assess the threat as real and have the bomb assessment committee raise the level to a full fledged bomb alert.

While everyone agrees there is no such thing as fail safe and youd rather overreact than be sorry, the fact that Priyanka was on board had a great deal to do with the over stretch. Come on, an angry passenger can be taken aside, calmed and checked. You cannot get paranoid because in an odd but specific way that goes against the tenet of good security. You get diverted by making a good impression on people you think are powerful and you forget to do your job properly. No way that man was a threat.

Just because the word security has a blanket connotation and one cannot argue against impositions, it cannot and must not be used as a weapon for intimidation of normal citizens on the grounds that there is a VIP in the vicinity. When they drive you crazy and get jumpy losing your temper is a natural reaction. Even if you said Hi Jack, to your friend whose name it is, they would pounce upon you.

I see no reason why SPG soldiers should be at the boarding gate anyway. That is a breach of security. If you want to fly commercial then fly commercial. Get on the plane and dont be the vehicle for harassing other passengers.

The fact is that this VIP syndrome is now endemic. What the airlines should do is engage in fair practice. If they can inundate us with messages before and after a flight they can also warn us if there is a VIP on board. We can then ask to be offloaded. That will stop the bad behaviour fast enough.

Then we can decide if we want to take the extra hassle and be pushed around.

Flight 162 has a VIP on board.

You are hereby warned that you will be given a hard time. There will be multiple checks.

The VIP will get special preference and the entourage with him the same. As a paying passenger you will have to come an hour earlier and be treated as pond scum.

Everyone will push you around while bowing and scraping in front of the VIP.

If you use any word like bomb, blast, danger, gun, weapon, hijack, shoot, kill, trigger, knife and it trips our alert system you will court arrest and incur a fine.

If you wish to change your flight do let us know.

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Yes, sure you are sorry.
The BJP, which won 25 out of 37 seats in Jammu province in the 2014 state assembly elections is likely to bite the dust if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refuses to form the government and a mid-term election is forced on the state, experts said. The PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, is seeking fresh confidence building measures from no less than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on timely implementation of Agenda of the Alliance, a document agreed upon by two parties before forming a coalition government in state in March last year. If the assurances don't come, Mehbooba will not hesitate in calling for fresh elections.

It wont be the first time for the PDP president to pull out of a coalition arrangement in the state; she took a similar decision in the year 2008 and broke her party's partnership with Congress following a massive public uproar after controversy over transfer of forest land in Amarnath to set up temporary shelters for Hindu pilgrims.

The PDP lawmakers who met on Monday assured Mehbooba of their full support in either situation  to go ahead for the mid-term polls or alliance with the BJP. While the situation in 2008 had resulted in a surge in PDP's seat share, it will be both the PDP as well as the BJP which will have to take a hit this time if fresh elections are conducted in the state.

Political observers say the BJP would suffer more electorally in Jammu than the PDP will in Kashmir which will make the opposition National Conference and Congress likely beneficiaries. Hari Om, a former BJP leader in Jammu, said the popularity of BJP in last ten months has witnessed a steep decline, not just because of the coalition's failure to deliver on governance but also because the Hindu right-wing leaders failed to remain in touch with people.

They (BJP) could not get 200 people for a meeting on Sunday in Geeta Bhavan in Jammu. I would be surprised if they manage to retain four seats out of 25, if the elections were to be held in next six months. It was the 'Modi Wave' which worked for the party in 2014 assembly elections. The wave has died down a long time back, Om told Firstpost.

Echoing Om, Pawan Sharma, a senior journalist who has covered Jammu politics from last two decades, says that except for Madan Lal Sharma, a former Congressman, everyone who was made minister by the BJP has failed. The inexperienced ministers of the BJP in the coalition government failed to even make a mark on the ground in Jammu region, Sharma said.

The BJP, if the polls were to be conducted in next six months, will end up retaining only four to six seats in Jammu region, according to Sharma. Most political observers predict a grim outcome for the party in the Hindu majority region of the Muslim majority state.

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, says that although the 2014 mandate was communally polarising, but the two parties got the highest mandate for the first time in the two regions, but they are now failing to even re-stitch their alliance, 25 days after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died.

People gave PDP-BJP the highest mandate in last elections because they had polarised Jammu and Kashmir communally like never before. BJP pitted Jammu vs Kashmir, and PDP did vice-versa. Now after ten months of their rule, people have realised that they failed on all counts. You wont find an address of the BJP in Jammu in the next elections, be today or after six years, Mir told Firstpost.

The mood in Chenab valley, which has six seats and where Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to address his first election rally in 2014 assembly elections, is seen favourably drifting towards Congress and National Conference. What is surprising is that even in the urban areas of Jammu, there is an apparent resentment against the BJP leaders as they have failed to address peoples issues in the last nine months, journalist Sharma said.

The BJP has made history of sorts in the state when it won 25 of the 37 seats in the Jammu province for the first time in the electoral history of the state, a feat which helped it emerge as the second largest party in Jammu and Kashmir.

The deliverance of governance at the ground level was yet to take off when the former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, passed away on January 7 in New Delhi. Only controversies marked the nine months of period that saw the two parties often squabble, covertly and overtly, with each other over political and developmental issues.

The Congress got five seats in Jammu followed by three each by NC and PDP and one went to lone Independent candidate from Udhampur Kuldeep Gupta. In 2008, BJP had won 11 seats in the region. Congress had bagged 13 seats, followed by six by NC, two by PDP, three by J&K Panthers Party and two by independent candidate.

There would be no repeat of that mandate for BJP in Jammu region, not for the governance sake or failing to deliver, but the Modi factor played a critical role in mobilising public opinion. Never before in Jammu had an election been so decisive as it was in 2014. That wont hold true for today. The failure is also because all the old faces of BJP in Jammu were kept aside in the government, senior political commentator, Rekha Chowdhary, told Firstpost.

On the other hand, the PDP electoral calculations seems to be misplaced. The party is hoping that if the things dont turn out well with BJP on implementation of Agenda of Alliance, it will go back to people for a fresh mandate and will make a comeback. But that is unlikely to happen, given the mood on ground which has tuned against the party. It could also be the reason that the opposition National Conference is desperately wanting the alliance to continue, so that its rivals get buried under their own expectations.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti finally broke her silence on forming a government in Jammu and Kashmir putting the BJP on notice to kick off state-specific confidence building measures.

These were Mufti's first public remarks on forming a government to end Governors rule imposed in the state after the death of her father and chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed last month.

"Today, it is not about the Bharatiya Janata Party and the PDP. It is about what we tell the people about fulfilling Mufti sahib's vision. We need measures to give the new government a fillip. We need confidence-building measures from the Centre," Mehbooba told reporters after meeting Governor N.N. Vohra at Raj Bhavan here.

Jammu and Kashmir is a different state, there are different challenges. In Jammu and Kashmir, there are several forces which need to be tackled. We need the Centre to be fully with us, Mufti said, reports The Indian Express.

Mumbai Mirror reports on the hard stand that Mehbooba Mufti has now taken, saying she will not "compromise".

"I don't have the vision nor do I have the experience right now which Mufti sahib had. The Centre needs to create an environment to infuse confidence, and unless that happens, we cannot move forward," the PDP leader said while referring to her late father and chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who died on January 7 in a Delhi hospital.

She said the governor had called the PDP leadership for a meeting on Tuesday to know its views on the formation of a new government.

"Mufti sahib had taken a big decision by forming an alliance with the BJP. There were problems during the 10 months he was in power because of inherent contractions between the PDP and the BJP," Mehbooba said.

Earlier, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh called on Mehbooba at the state circuit house here.

Sources said Singh assured her of continued BJP support to head a coalition government in the state.

PDP sources said she categorically told the BJP leader that unless the "highest leadership in the BJP gives me concrete assurances", she would not stake claim to form the new government in Jammu and Kashmir.

With IANS inputs
New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away in New Delhi on Wednesday. He was 92. Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was a popular leader who enriched Parliamentary democracy.

Balram Jakhar ji was a popular leader who enriched our Parliamentary democracy in his long political journey. Saddened by his demise. RIP.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 3, 2016

Jakhar served as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989 during which he contributed to the establishment of Parliament Museum. He also served as Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

Jakhar also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 30 June, 2004 to 30 May, 2009.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed grief over the demise of Jakhar.

In her message to the family of Jakhar, Gandhi said, "The Congress Party as indeed the entire nation will forever remember the contributions made by him during the course of his long public life, particularly to the cause of farming community."

"Be it as Legislator, Parliamentarian, Minister, Speaker or Governor, Dr Jakhar forever remained at the forefront in taking up issues concerning agriculture and farmers and his role in modernising the Parliament Secretariat was pioneering."

Jakhar also served as Deputy Minister Cooperation, Irrigation and Power in Punjab between 1973-77 and then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly between 1977 and 1979.

Jakhar was a four-time MP in Lok Sabha starting from his election in the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980. He was again elected in 1984, 1991 and 1998.

In 1980, he became Lok Sabha Speaker and served till 1989 for two terms during which he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of the House works.

He worked extensively for promotion of Parliament Library, smartening the reference, research and documentation system of the House and streamlining information for the members.

Jakhar headed Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee; General Purposes Committee; and Standing Committee of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India.

In the party, he became General Secretary All India Congress Committee in 1990 and from 1992 he was member, Congress Working Committee.

PTI
Washington: A summit with Southeast Asian leaders that President Barack Obama is hosting later this month is "not anti-China," a State Department official has said.

The meeting will bring leaders from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Californian resort of Sunnylands on 15-16 February.

"This summit is not about China. It's about the US and Asean," US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel said in an interview with the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP news agencies.

"This is not about China, this is not anti-China." The US administration has focused on bolstering Asean as a counterpoint to Chinese regional power.

"This is the culmination of a seven-plus-year investment the United States has made first and foremost in the Asia pacific region, but also in Asean in particular," Russel said.

"I think it demonstrates that the rebalance has reached cruising altitude," he added, referring to the Obama administration's focus on its "pivot" toward Asia since 2009.

Several Asean states are embroiled in an increasingly bitter spat with China over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

The US says it takes no position on ownership of the various reefs and islets under dispute, but insists freedom of navigation in the vital shipping lane must be maintained.

"This set of challenges in Southeast Asia, particularly the disputes over land features and maritime entitlement in South China Sea isn't a zero-sum game, this is not a proxy war between China and the United States," Russel said.

"This is a direct challenge to the question of whether the countries in the region and the claimants in the South China Sea, and particularly China... would be guided by the universal principles and the rule of law."

He insisted that Asia was "not certainly a battleground for big powers' competition."

AFP
Sydney: A Canadian national who allegedly fought against the Islamic State (IS) terror group alongside Kurdish forces has reportedly been detained while trying to enter Australia on Wednesday and will be deported, the media reported.

Robert Somerville, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane Airport on Tuesday after he told immigration officials that he had fought alongside the Syrian-Kurdish militant group YPG for several months in 2015, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Australian authorities believe that Somerville is a friend of Australian anti-IS fighter Ashley Dyball who was arrested and extradited from Germany last year, but was subsequently released after being questioned by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

"They were very curious about what he did in Syria and how he was, his character, and I answered truthfully that he was a good guy and he was doing good work," Somerville said.

It's believed Summerville's visa had been cancelled because he failed to disclose the Kurdish nickname he was given by fellow YPG fighters despite there being "no legal document with a different name for me".

Australian immigration officials did not immediately comment.

Sommerville's Australian lawyer Jessie Smith believes that his pending deportation may be contestable as the exact basis of the visa cancellation "at this stage is unclear".

IANS
Beijing: China was "seriously concerned" about the North Korea plan to launch a satellite later this month, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang told a press briefing that Beijing hopes Pyongyang will exercise restraint on the issue and deal with it prudently to avoid possible escalation in tensions, Xinhua reported.

North Korea is entitled to the peaceful use of outer space, yet this right was restricted by resolutions of the UNSC, Lu said.

China will continue to communicate with all parties concerned to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

It is a shared responsibility of all parties concerned to maintain peace on the peninsula, and regional stability is in the interests of all sides, the spokesperson added.

A UN spokesperson said on Tuesday that three UN organisations have been informed that North Korea plans to launch an earth-observation satellite between 8 and 25 February.

IANS
Lahore: For the second time, a Pakistani court on Wednesday sought a larger bench to hear a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer after the plea was last heard nearly three years ago.

Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench, headed by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan and constituted by Chief Justice Ijazul Ahsan, conducted the hearing of the petition, nearly 85 years after Singh's execution by the colonial government.

Justice Mahmood, however, referred the case to the Chief Justice for constitution of a larger bench after petitioner Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi argued that a three-member bench had awarded death sentence to Singh, and therefore, a larger bench not less than five members should be formed to hear the plea.

After the hearing, advocate Qureshi - also chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation - said that the court had accepted his plea to constitute a larger bench for hearing of the plea.

"Under the law only a larger bench comprising more than three members could undo the decision of the three-bench member that had awarded death sentence to Bhagat Singh. We have also requested the LHC for regular hearing of the case," he said.

The last hearing of the petition was held by Justice Shujaat Ali Khan in May 2013 when he referred the matter to chief justice for the constitution of a larger bench.

The Chief Justice then formed the two-member bench that held its first hearing. In the petition, Qureshi said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India.

Singh was hanged by British rulers on 23 March, 1931, after being tried under charges of hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government.

He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".

The petitioner further said Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Sikhs but also Muslims and that the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah had paid tribute to him twice during his speech in the central assembly.

"It is a matter of national importance and should be fixed before a full bench," he said and pleaded the court to set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with state award.

Earlier in 2014, the Lahore police had provided the copy of FIR to the petitioner on the court's order. Singh's name was not mentioned in the FIR of the murder of British police officer John P Saunders for which he was handed down the death sentence.

PTI
Kuala Lumpur: A leading Malaysian politician relinquished his post as a state chief minister today in what is widely seen as the latest move by scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak to purge potential rivals.

Ruling party politician Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former longtime premier Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as head of Kedah state following an internal party push to oust him, Malaysian media reported.

Mukhriz had been mentioned among potential future contenders for prime minister but his fortunes have flagged due to his outspoken father's ongoing campaign to oust Najib over sensational corruption allegations.

Malaysia has been seized for more than a year by reports that huge sums of money were diverted from a state-owned investment company closely linked to Najib.

The affair escalated last July when it was revealed that Najib had received payments of USD 681 million to his personal bank accounts.

Both Najib and the investment company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), strongly deny that the USD 681 million involved 1MDB money.

Mukhriz, 51, is the latest top figure in the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to suffer in the fallout.

After the Najib payment was revealed, he reshuffled his cabinet to sack several members including his deputy prime minister, who had called for transparency, and the attorney-general, who was heading investigations.

A new Najib-appointed attorney-general last week declared the premier clear of any wrongdoing, claiming the payment was a legal "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

That story is widely disbelieved in Malaysia, and the move to exonerate Najib has sparked accusations of a conspiracy to subvert justice to protect Najib.

Authorities in Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong also are looking into money flows related to 1MDB.

AFP
by Shreerupa Mitra-Jha

The grand narrative of making peace often shrouds the embedded injustices and violence that lie secure in the impunity of its purported object. So it is with humanitarian aid, peace keepers in conflict zones, with international aid agencies, and inter-governmental organisations armed with the mandate of serving some of the most vulnerable populations in the world.

The UN announced on 29 January that more allegations have poured in from the Central African Republic (CAR) of sexual abuse and rape of children by foreign military forces. Four of the girls interviewed by a joint UN team said that the alleged perpetrators were attached to contingents operating as part of the European Union operation (EUFOR / CAR). The victims said that they believed some of the abusers were from the Georgian EUFOR contingent.

In a separate finding, a girl and a boy, aged seven and nine respectively, said that they had performed oral sex on French soldiers in CAR in exchange for a bottle of water and a sachet of cookies. The victims said that many from the French Sangari troop had also abused several other children in a similar fashion. The alleged violations took place in a camp for the internally displaced in 2014, but came to light only in the recent weeks.

The official number of allegations of sexual abuse for 2015 involving UN peacekeepers now stands at 22, though the actual cases of violations should be much higher than that.

"What is abundantly clear in the Central African Republic is that it has been rampant. I dont know the exact number of contingents involved but, I think, its something like ten, both UN and non-UN which is truly shocking," UN spokesman for the High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on 29 January.

While the above-mentioned cases relate to non-UN military forces, a number of sexual abuses involving UN peacekeepers, in 2014 and 2015, also emerged in the interviews conducted by this joint UN team.

Peacekeeping in post-conflict areas is typically done through UN peacekeepers  known as Blue Helmets  drawn from troop contributing countries (TCCs) of UN member states and come under the UNs Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) and UN Department of Field Support (DFS), or, through non-UN military troops deployed in a state through a UN Security Council resolution who do not come under the purview of DFS/DPKO.

The recent allegations have been for several soldiers and you dont know what several is, Colville said.

Additional cases of sexual abuse involving boys, some as young as nine, between December 2013 and June 2014, had dogged the UN last year involving the same French Sangari troops making international headlines. A judicial process by the French government is underway but no one has been convicted thus far.

Convictions have been "far, far too few", he stated.

For whatever reason not enough is being done to stop this happening. The message doesnt seem to have got through, the UN spokesperson added.

There are, however, obvious reasons why the message  that sexual violations and abuse of some of the most deprived and vulnerable people is not acceptable  has not percolated in official quarters.

The voices of victims and witnesses recklessly fall through cracks in legal jurisdictional gaps, or, get stymied by bureaucratic passing-of-the-buck, or, get subsumed in the overall politics of troop contribution.

Allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation have been a constant horror story since the 1960s involving many contingents spread across almost all nationalities, including India, despite the remarkable work done by the troops in maintaining peace in some of the violently conflict-ridden places of the world. India has been one of the largest  currently, the third largest  TCC to UN peacekeeping missions after Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 2015, India had 7,798 personnel, including 6,718 troops and 1,011 police serving in UN field missions related to peacekeeping. In a rare instance, in 2012, an army major and three other personnel were indicted by an Indian court of inquiry for sexual exploitation while on a peacekeeping mission to Congo  an operation for which India had contributed nearly 5,000 troops.

"We urge the troop contributing countries to do their utmost to investigate and where the evidence suggests then prosecute and do so transparently and swiftly," Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told a few reporters in Geneva on 1 February.

The UN rights chief said that the primary focus for judicial processes and legal action lay with the TCCs. "It is they who can investigate, they who can prosecute, they who can punish, not the UN, ultimately," Zeid said.

The focus is always on the UN secretariat [when allegations of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers come to the fore] and the member states get a pass, he complained.

The legal boundaries do indeed constrain the UN if it finds troops misbehaving  the maximum it can do is conduct its own internal investigation and refer the findings to the TCC. There is no realistic basis, therefore, of ascertaining the extent to which a TCC carries out investigations of serious allegations of criminal conduct. The low rate of such feedback from states is reflected in the fact that in 2014, of the 62 cases referred to TCCs, the UN had received information on follow-up in a mere five instances.

Moreover, if at all there is some investigation, the TCCs fail to advise the local civilian population or the victims of the steps taken towards delivering justice. "This perception is damaging not only for the individual victim, but also to the relationship between the civilian population and the UN," an independent panel commissioned by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report in December last year.

In an attempt to ensure better feedback after the fresh round of sexual abuse allegations were revealed in January, threatening the credibility of the UN, Anthony Banbury, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support, announced on 29 January that a new public website will soon feature a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that will for the first time identify the countries and contingents involved in the sexual abuse cases, including providing granular information about individual allegations, the status of investigations, as well as on any disciplinary action taken by the country concerned. The website will be up and running March onwards.

This naming and shaming, the UN hopes, will spur some action on the part of TCCs in combatting this incredibly difficult scourge.

"If the UN has been pushing for a response and there has been no communication then reasonably the UN can take a stronger position," Zeid said.

The other issue is the soft threat that always seems to work in favour of recalcitrant TCCs  if the UN chivvies too much then the TCCs minimize their participation in peacekeeping missions.

On 31 January, the French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that his government was aiming to wind down Operation Sangaris, the same military operation in CAR that has been the epicenter of the recent sexual abuse allegations, at a time when the African nation is still violently marred by ethnic violence. The declared objective, according to the French politician, was to redeploy their troops to combat jihadist forces in the Middle East and other parts of Africa. However, the timing of the decision does raise the question of whether this was done to avoid further embarrassment of the French government.

To cite an example closer home of political sensitivities clouding out official misdemeanors, the BBC had found after an 18-month long investigation in 2008 that Indian and Pakistani troops, as part of UN mission to the DRC (MONUC), were engaged in illegal smuggling of gold and ivory and were also engaged in giving arms to the militia. The UN denied the allegations but insiders told the BBC that they did not want to alienate the Indian and Pakistani governmentsboth big contributors of troops for UN missions.

Apart from the inherent political stresses that prevent the UN from needling TCCs and the TCCs from nudging their military troops, the bureaucratic architecture of the UN, like most such structures, incentivises the status quoist and frowns on the whistleblower in such overwrought matters.

Anders Kompass, a Swedish diplomat and the director of field operations for the OHCHR, gave the unredacted report of sexual abuse committed by the French Sangari troops in 2013 and 2014 to French diplomats in Geneva frustrated by the lack of action by the UN and the French. The French got to action thereafter but Kompass was slapped with two UN investigations --for leaking an internal UN report-- initiated by Zeid and was put on administrative leave after he refused to resign. Kompasss case, however, garnered so much international attention as the wronged whistleblower that Ban Ki-moon commissioned an independent panel to assess the UN response to the sexual abuse allegations as well as the conduct of Kompass in the whole affair.

The report titled Taking Action on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Peacekeepers chaired by Canadian judge Marie Deschamps delivered a scathing account in December 2015 revealing how the top UN leadership failed to respond appropriately. Additionally, it exonerated Kompass from any wrong doing.

The initial set of complaints in early 2014 involving the French Sangari troops were passed from desk to desk, inbox to inbox, across multiple UN offices, with no one willing to take responsibility, the report stated.

The report supports Kompasss claim that Kompass informed Flavia Pansieri, former deputy high commissioner for human rights who resigned last year citing a health condition, of his passing on the Sangari notes to the French. Pansieri in turn informed Zeid, who was still new to his job, and was pre-occupied with other matters, and obviously did not consider the matter important then.

The panel found that the head of the UN mission in the CAR, General Babacar Gaye of Senegal, as well as the missions director of the UNs Human Rights and Justice Section (HRJS), Renner Onana, in particular, made a deliberate decision not to report the transgressions with any urgency to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid or to inform the French government of the allegations. The HRJS who is the chief of the human rights component for the mission in CAR was pre-occupied with the political sensitivity of the issue and, in fact, encouraged the SRSG of MINUSCA to keep the allegations quiet.

Both office holders committed an abuse of authority, the independent panel concluded.

Onana, on the other hand, disagreed with the conclusions of the panel and maintained that he had informed senior officials in UN New York and Geneva of the allegations and lamented that his role in the matter was being inflated by the panel so senior officials in New York, Geneva and Bangui could be protected for failing to respond.

Similarly, UNICEF and the Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC) took no steps to inform herself about what was being done by the UN to address the Allegations until the spring of 2015, when the Allegations were being

reported by international media. The HRJS or UNICEF did not bother to locate the additional child victims who were mentioned in the course of the interviews by a UN Human Right Officer (HRO).

Additionally, even when the French government initiated investigations later, based on the allegations, the UN did not support the legal proceedings, the report found. The UN internal office sent recommendations not to waive the immunity of the HRO for her to take part in the French legal proceedings -- her immunity was waived only in mid-2015 when Ban intervened.

The argument that Kompass was placed under UN investigation because he leaked the unredacted Sangari notes thereby endangering the safety of the children did not hold water. The panel stated that if the UN was serious about the allegations then it would have taken urgent action to protect the children when their identities were revealed back in August 2014.

Though Zeid had not abused authority in the CAR matter but the three-member panel observed that the High Commissioner demonstrated a single-minded determination to pursue an investigation into the Directors [Kompasss] conduct.

Personal motivations, why would I? The whole thing is so twisted in a context. Why would Navi Pillay [former UN human rights chief] want to defend a contingent or others in the CAR or why would I want to cover up when I have a track record? Zeid stated exasperatedly to reporters on February 1 when asked by a journalist to respond to the panels statement.

Zeid, ironically, had authored a report in 2005 on addressing the problem of sexual violations by UN and non-UN troops in peacekeeping missions and was former UNSG Kofi Annans Adviser on the matter. A decade later the same travesties of justice would come to assail his office and him.

However, the problem of impunity in the face of abuse thrives not only with military forces but also with UN civilians.

The CAR panel only dealt with the military, not the police, not the civilians, only the military suggestive as if only the military commit these violations, Zeid stated.

One of the more well-known cases of exploitation of refugee children in West Africa involving UN agencies (including UNHCR and WFP) and the UN mission in Sierra Leone (UNASMIL) had surfaced in 2002. Based on the findings of a joint study by UNHCR and Save the Children-UK, the organizations called out to the UN for further investigations against 42 agencies involving 67 individuals. However, a UN investigation team concluded that findings of the study were misleading and untrue.

The other thing one should never forget  yes, sexual abuses are absolutely horrific but they usually point to something else that is happening in the Mission and you find many, many other violations of non-sexual nature. And this is some sort of a marker  if you find that a minor is being raped, then you probably need to look very closely and you will find a whole host of other abuses that dont maybe reach the limelight. Its a complete breakdown of discipline, the UN rights chief observed.

Prosecution of abuses and misdemeanours by civilians also reels from the same burden of jurisdictional latitude as with military troops. Some countries cannot prosecute citizens serving in the jurisdiction of another country where the crime has been committed. On the other hand, host countries where peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers are stationed have such broken systems that any meaningful investigation and prosecution is rendered unlikely.

The most the UN can do is say thank you very much, slap on the wrist, administrative investigation has been conducted and you are expelled from the UN. But if you have been raping young girls and young boys and you go home and nothing happens to you, its appalling, Zeid said highlighting the glaring gap in holding perpetrators accountable.

If the member-states are serious about this they have to pass this draft convention on criminal accountability [of UN officials and experts in missions] in New Yorkits been stuck there for so many years, he added.

India, in 2014, aligning itself with the Non-Aligned Movement countries position had frowned upon such a convention. It had stated that "dealing with the wrongdoings of United Nations officials or experts on mission did not require an international convention" and that Indian experts or officials on missions abroad were anyway punishable by Indian courts.

Will the nationalities of officials from UN agencies involved in sexual misconduct feature on Bans website? I hope so, the UN human rights chief said.

Whoevers going to report [wrongdoings] up the [UN or non-UN military] chain is going to be censured, may lose pay, may lose promotion. In other words, the disincentives for doing the right thing are extremely high. Correspondingly, you dont have enough incentives, Zeid stated succinctly.

Anders Kompass, after being exonerated by both the CAR panel as well as the internal UN investigation, announced his resignation last week.

I had to stay because I wanted to see this through. But now that its over, it keeps being very difficult for me. No one has said anything to me, no one has apologised to me, Kompass told the Guardian.

The costs have, indeed, been high for him.
Kabul, Afghanistan: US airstrikes have destroyed an Islamic State-operated radio station in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.

"Voice of the Caliphate" radio was destroyed by two US airstrikes, according to a US military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief media on the subject.

Army Col Mike Lawhorn, spokesman for the US-Nato mission in Afghanistan, said US forces conducted two "counter-terrorism airstrikes" late Monday in Achin district, in the eastern Nangarhar province, without elaborating.

An IS affiliate has emerged in Afghanistan over the past year, with a military presence in districts near the border with Pakistan. The radio station was broadcasting illegally across Nangarhar, calling on fighters to join the group and threatening journalists in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.

Afghan officials had said they believed the broadcasts were coming from mobile facilities that could be moved easily back and forth across the mountainous border.

The spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, Attaullah Khogyani, said the strikes had also killed 21 IS supporters, including five who were working for the radio station.

The station was set up in late 2015, following months of fierce fighting between IS group militants and the Taliban, who also maintain a significant presence in the region. Although IS and the Taliban both want to impose a harsh version of Islamic rule, they are bitterly divided over leadership and strategy, with the Taliban narrowly focused on Afghanistan and IS bent on establishing a worldwide caliphate.

Radio is a powerful medium in Afghanistan, where most people do not have televisions and only 10 percent of the population has access to the Internet. Nearly everyone has access to radio, with around 175 stations operating across the country.

The U.S. State Department recently added the IS Afghan affiliate to its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Elsewhere in the country, three Afghan army officers died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb late Monday in the Gereshk district of southern Helmand province, according to the district's administration chief, Mohammad Sharif. He said the dead included Gen. Atta Mir, a brigade commander in Gereshk.

In the northern city of Kunduz, a secretary for the provincial governor's office was shot dead near his home on Monday evening, the governor's spokesman, Abdul Wasi Basel, said.

He said that no one had claimed responsibility for the killing of Mohammad Zarif.

The Taliban seized Kunduz for three days last year, and only fully withdrew after a two-week counteroffensive that devastated much of the city.

Associated Press
Washington: The recent terror attacks in Afghanistan shows the significant security challenges in the war-torn country, the White House has said stressing that US and NATO troops are committed to train Afghan forces to fight the extremists.

"I think this is just the latest illustration of how Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place. The security challenges in that country are significant, particularly when you consider an attack like this on police officers," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday. The US and NATO allies have committed to stand with the Afghan people and the Afghan national security forces as they take full responsibility for the security situation in their own country, he said.

"That was a responsibility that they assumed a little over a year ago, and it has proved to be a challenging task. Afghanistan is a big country, and there are extremists with a lot of skill that have sought to take the fight to those security forces," Earnest said.

"But what we have seen is a willingness on the part of those security forces, even when sustaining losses, to fight for their country," he added.

Citing the example of Kunduz, where extremists overrun Afghan national security forces that were protecting the city and Afghan forces were forced to flee the city, Earnest said what they did was they reorganised and acted quickly, with the support of the US and our NATO allies, to within a couple of weeks, retake the city.

"So that is an indication of a couple of things. One is, it's an indication that additional training and equipping of Afghan national security forces is needed. And that is the first pillar of the ongoing mission of US troops and NATO troops that are still in Afghanistan," he said.

"But the second thing it illustrates is that it illustrates the commitment that the Afghan national security forces have to fighting for their country. And that's a good thing, and that bodes well for their long-term ability to fight extremists and eventually secure their country," Earnest said.

PTI
Tokyo: Japan said on Wednesday it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on its territory, after Pyongyang announced it planned to launch a space rocket this month.

"Today the defence minister issued an order" to destroy such a missile if it "is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani issued the order, citing the "possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a 'satellite' within coming days," the statement said.

The order will be carried out by Japan's ballistic missile defence system, which includes PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, and similar SM-3 systems aboard warships, the ministry said.

The order will be effective until February 25, it added, the end of the launch window announced by Pyongyang that begins on 8 February.

IANS
A new poster and trailer have arrived online for the upcoming zombie apocalypse horror Pandemic, which is shot from a first person perspective and stars Rachel Nichols and Alfie Allen. Take a look below

Pandemic is set in the near future, where a virus of epic proportions has overtaken the planet. There are more infected than uninfected, and humanity is losing its grip on survival. Its only hope is finding a cure and keeping the infected contained. Lauren (Rachel Nichols) is a doctor, who, after the fall of New York, comes to Los Angeles to lead a team to hunt for and rescue uninfected survivors.

Pandemic is set for release on April 1st with a cast that also includes Pat Healy, Mekhi Phifer and Missi Pyle.
Twitter is bringing some new improvements to its desktop client and mobile website. The micro blogging site is rolling out home timeline across 23 countries including India that will allow users to access trending tweets and Moments without logging in.

With the latest update, users visiting Twitter.com in a mobile browser will see a scrolling list of popular tweets from renowned accounts. Prior to this, users could only see the login screen and individual tweets but it was hard to discover stories and check out the conversations happening without signing in. We tried to access Twitter.com from a mobile web browser and it showed us tweets from Narendra Modi, Rishi Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Saina Nehwal and others.

Paul Lambert, Product Manage, Twitter said in a blog post

Before today, you could see individual Tweets but it was hard to discover stories and conversations happening on Twitter without signing in. Now, you can check out a news story as it unfolds, dive into the play-by-play discussions around a game, and then come back again to see that exchange between two rappers everyones been talking about.

In addition, Twitter is also revamping the homepage on twitter.com for the web and will now let users explore and discover different topics and stories as they occur. It will also offer including stories that are tailored for you based on your location and activity on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/TwitterIndia/status/694740060214693888
Lenovo has announced results for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2015. The company recorded quarterly revenue of $12.9 billion, an 8 percent year-over-year decrease. The company said net profit reached $300 million, up 19% from $253 million in the same period.

Lenovos operating profit for the quarter was $379 million. The companys smartphone volume declined 18.1 percent year-over-year with 20.2 million units sold. Lenovo saw a 15 percent growth rate year-over-year, driven by emerging Markets outside of China. It saw growth in smartphone shipments in India and Indonesia, which were up 206 and 318 percent, respectively. Last quarter, 75 percent of volume was outside China while this quarter it increased to 83 percent. Also, Motorola saw shipments jump 25 percent quarter-to-quarter.

Yuanqing Yang, chairman and CEO of Lenovo said

Last quarter, although we were impacted by the global macro-economic slowdown, currency fluctuations in key markets, and PC market decline, Lenovo still achieved record high profit and delivered on our commitment to turn around the Mobile business, Next, in PCs, we will leverage the consolidation trend, commercial PC replacement, and opportunities in innovative product categories to drive growth. In Mobile, we will build scale and efficiency to accelerate our growth in emerging markets, breakthrough in mature markets with innovative products and premium brands, and expand in the open market in China with a stronger product portfolio. And finally, in Enterprise, we will leverage leading technologies and strategic partnerships to drive profitable growth.

Lenovos Mobile Business Group includes products from Motorola, Lenovo-branded mobile phones, Android tablets and smart TVs. The units quarterly sales were $3.2 billion, down 4 percent from Q3 FY 2014-15, which included two months of Motorolas results. Motorola contributed $2 billion to Lenovos MBG revenues. Last month, Lenovo and Motorola announced that they are aiming to streamline their overall product portfolio and focus on Vibe and Moto brands.
What happened?

JPMorgan Chase (JPM -0.69%) is apparently reaching into the till to buy a big portfolio of loans. According to various media reports, most citing "people familiar with the deal," the banking giant has agreed to acquire just over $900 million in consumer loans from Santander Consumer USA Holdings (SC).

One report was published in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper's sources said that JPMorgan Chase paid a premium to the outstanding balance on the loans. They did not elaborate.

The loans were originally arranged by peer-to-peer borrowing facilitator LendingClub (LC -1.02%). In March 2013, Santander Consumer USA Holdings agreed to buy up to 25% of LendingClub's originations for a period of three years. However, last year Santander Consumer USA Holdings began to reduce its personal loan portfolio in favor of its core business of automobile loans.

Does it matter?

It's hard to judge how much the deal will impact JPMorgan Chase, given that we don't (yet) have a fix on how much it might be paying for the LendingClub/Santander Consumer USA Holdings packet of loans. What we can assume, given that this buyer with deep experience in every conceivable type of lending apparently paid a premium for them, is that they're relatively high quality.

Unless JPMorgan either loses its shirt or profits outrageously from them, however, the move probably won't impact the big bank much. After all, the amount is a drop in the bucket of the company's net loans tally, which at the end of last year stood at nearly $824 billion.

It will have more of an effect on Santander Consumer USA Holdings, with a total finance receivables and loans figure of under $33 billion at the end of 2015. Both that company and, by extension, originator LendingClub should see a benefit, as their remaining loans could potentially attract more interest and/or higher prices in a potential sale.
Three years ago, I reported on how NASA had signed a contract to pay Russia's Federal Space Agency, aka "Roscosmos," $70.7 million a head to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This revelation sparked a lot of outrage on our comments page -- and no wonder.

According to private space pioneer Elon Musk, it only costs about $200,000 in fuel to send a rocket into space. Given that each Soyuz rocket Russia sends up carries three astronauts, that works out to less than $70,000 in fuel cost per astronaut. Yet Russia is charging us more than $70 million per astronaut flight.

Even counting the cost of the rocket itself, that seems a bit excessive -- and it gets worse.

Prices are subject to change...

The NASA contract I wrote about back in 2013, valued at $424 million in total, expires this year. And now we've learned that NASA has asked Congress to allocate funding for another six astronauts to travel to ISS through 2017. We also learn that Roscosmos has raised the price per seat to get them there.

The new price of $490 million will work out to $81.7 million per astronaut.

We'll pay the new price, of course, because in the absence of a Space Shuttle program, or any U.S. rocketships certified to carry astronauts into orbit, we really have no choice. Meanwhile, ISS is up there. It cost us more than $100 billion to build it. Obviously, we're going to pay however many millions of dollars are necessary to keep it populated and operating -- but we don't have to like it.

And we don't have to keep overpaying Roscosmos's extortionate taxi fare indefinitely.

The end of the "seller's market"

If you ask me, as word of the 17% price hike in the cost of "astronaut tickets" filters out, it's only going to give momentum to America's efforts to develop new rocket engines, and new spaceships, capable of manned spaceflight.

Already, Boeing (BA 0.23%) and SpaceX have won contracts to build new space capsules, capable of carrying not just cargo, but also astronauts, into orbit. At the same time, Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.39%) is working with Blue Origin to develop a new line of American-built rocket engines capable of lifting these spaceships into orbit. (Together, Boeing and Lockheed Martin form the United Launch Alliance, which is responsible for most NASA space launches.) If the choice comes down to paying ever-increasing fees to Russia to carry our astronauts into orbit or paying Boeing and Lockheed a bit more to develop our own engines, rockets, and spacecraft to accomplish the same mission -- well, that's not a hard choice to make.

Five years after retiring the Space Shuttle, it's time to put Americans back in space under our own propulsion.
Magnussen, who replaces the outgoing Pastor Maldonado, will race alongside Jolyon Palmer at the rebranded Renault Sport F1 Team, with GP3 racewinner Esteban Ocon joining as third and reserve driver.

In a ceremony streamed live from the French manufacturer's technocentre in Paris, Renault also became the first team to take the covers off their 2016 challenger, the R.S.16.

The new car, which was manufactured at the team's Enstone base, features a predominantly black livery, though Renault Sport chief Jerome Stoll hinted the colour scheme could change ahead of the 2016 season opener in Australia.

The car will be powered by Renault's R.E.16 power unit, which will continue to be developed in Viry-Chatillon.

Alongside Magnussen and Ocon, Renault also confirmed that Bob Bell will return to Enstone as chief technical officer, with Nick Chester becoming the chassis technical director and Remi Taffin the engine technical director.

Cyril Abiteboul, managing director of Renault's racing group, said the trio would help Renault hit the ground running in 2016.

"The ambition is not just to participate: we have no intention just to make up the numbers," Abiteboul said. "We are here to win. We have won in every category, there is no reason we cannot repeat that in F1. We know the way."

Newly appointed racing director Frederic Vasseur, who will report to Abiteboul, added: "Renault have proven in the past they can achieve and do it. Motorsport is a part of the DNA of Renault, and the motivation is more than high. We have a new challenge in front of us, and we are determined. For everybody - the drivers, the team, the engineers - the group is behind us and we have their full support."

Renault also announced the launch of a new driver academy, created with the aim of nurturing future F1 stars. The French manufacturer has a strong pedigree of driver development, having supported the likes of Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen and Romain Grosjean in recent years. Formula Renault 3.5 champion Oliver Rowland is among the first wave of new inductees.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite places to go was Newport on the Levee. I was mesmerized by the cooks at...
Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli suffered a roughly $40 million drop in the value of a trading account used to secure his bail following his arrest on securities fraud charges, a U.S. prosecutor said on Wednesday.

At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Paes said the account contained mostly shares of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc <KBIOQ.PK>, a drug company that Shkreli briefly ran.

KaloBios filed for bankruptcy in December, wiping out most of its equity value. That caused the value of Shkreli's E*Trade brokerage account to drop to $4 million to $5 million, from the $45 million level when it had been frozen, the prosecutor said.

Paes told U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto that Shkreli may need to post new assets to secure his $5 million bond, which was issued following the 32-year-old's arrest in December.

Shkreli's new laywer, Benjamin Brafman, responded, "There's nothing like an indictment to affect the price of shares even if the shares have significant value."

Shkreli's criminal case arose from his prior management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and Retrophin Inc <RTRX.O>, a biopharmaceutical company where he was chief executive before being fired in 2014.

Prosecutors said Shkreli engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme in which he defrauded investors in MSMB, and misappropriated $11 million in assets from Retrophin to repay them. He has pleaded not guilty.

Shkreli's arrest came soon after Turing Pharmaceuticals, another company he headed at the time, caused a public outcry by raising the price of a drug used to treat a dangerous parasitic infection to $750 from $13.50.Since his arrest, Shkreli has remained active on social media and given interviews to the press.

Some of that may now end.

Brafman, whose clients have included former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, told reporters that as a condition of his hiring, Shkreli was to stop talking to the media.

"We want to try this case in court, not the media," Brafman said.

Shkreli is expected to appear on Thursday at a congressional hearing on drug pricing, and assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination under the U.S. Constitution.

In a separate case, a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a $3 million class action settlement for Retrophin shareholders, based on many claims at issue in Shkreli's criminal prosecution.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Autodesk Inc. said Wednesday it will terminate 925 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, as part of a corporate restructuring disclosed in a regulatory filing. The design software company said it expects to complete the job cuts by the end of January 2017. Restructuring charges are expected to be $85 million to $95 million, of which $77 million to $85 million would be for employee termination benefits. "The company is taking these actions to accelerate its move to the cloud and its transition to a subscription-based business model," the company stated in the filing. The company said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share to be at the high end or exceed its previously-provided expected range of 8 cents to 12 cents, compared with the FactSet EPS consensus of 10 cents. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 21% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 9.8%.

Copyright  2016 MarketWatch, Inc.
An influential Federal Reserve policy maker acknowledged Wednesday that global financial markets have grown increasingly turbulent in the seven weeks since the Fed raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

New York Fed President William Dudley, a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said financial conditions are considerably tighter than they were at the time of the December meeting.

In an interview with Market News International (MNI), Dudley said the Fed is closely monitoring the turbulence and will factor it into their future decisions regarding rate hikes and other policy measures. The central bank meets again in March and its essentially 50/50 whether rates will be lifted once more at that meeting.

"If those financial conditions were to remain in place by the time we get to the March meeting, we would have to take that into consideration in terms of that monetary policy decision," Dudley said.

Since the December meeting, renewed concerns for growth in China have rippled throughout financial markets, serving as a catalyst for a broad selloff in U.S. stocks during the first two weeks of the year. A freefall in the price of oil contributed to the downturn.

The selloff has since been replaced by bouts of volatility, with markets bouncing up and down daily based on the news of the day.

Dudley also mentioned as a concern the sustained strength of the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange markets, which has slammed the U.S. manufacturing sector by making their exports more expensive.

Dudley is a dove and a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, both of whom favor accommodative monetary policy, which means they have been and will continue to be reluctant to raise rates higher if they believe higher borrowing costs will impede the U.S. recovery.

In December, FOMC members projected a rosier picture of 2016 that is so far not playing out. At the time they suggested rates could move higher four more times this year, but that doesnt seem likely at the moment.
Diversification is quite possibly one of the single most powerful tools at an investors disposal. Savvy investors can mitigate risk by making sure to spread out their investments across as many different economic sectors as possible. However, as the Financial Crisis proved, when the U.S. economy is on shaky ground, stocks across all sectors typically suffer.

It can be extremely difficult to predict which economies will be impacted by economic downturns. Just a couple of years ago, Chinas economy was the envy of the world, and now it is the primary source of global concerns. In 2014 when oil prices were above $100 per barrel, few could have predicted the impact that a collapse to under $30/bbl would have on the economies of producers like Saudi Arabia less than two short years later.

The lesson to be learned from the unpredictability of global economic conditions is that investors shouldnt put all their eggs in one countrys basket, even the U.S. economy.

Invest In The World

If youre looking for a great way to diversify your investments globally, Stashs Global Citizen ETF, more commonly known as the Vanguard Total World Stock (ETF) (NYSE:VT) might be worth a look.

The ETF is nicknamed Global Citizen because it includes shares of more than 7,000 different companies that operate in a range of sectors in 47 countries around the world.

Which Companies Are Included?

The top holdings in the Global Citizen fund are household names for most U.S. investors, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). However, the fund also has large stakes in some of the largest international companies in the world, including Nestle, Tencent and Mitsubishi.

Not only are these names some of the most reliable blue chip companies in business today, their operations are tied to a number of different global markets.

Returns

Diversification is all about reducing risk, but what kind of returns as Global Citizens produced? According to Morningstar, over the past five years, the fund has generated a 12.9 percent return in addition to providing a level of stability and safety in a volatile global market.

The fund also has a miniscule expense ratio of only 0.27%, meaning that investors do not lose a large part of their profits to fees and administrative costs. In fact, Vanguard reports that Global Citizens has an expense ratio that is 79% lower than the average fund with similar holdings.

Takeaway

The Global Citizens fund is one of the many I Like investments that allow investors to avoid hundreds of dollars in trading fees and invest in a wide range of stocks they like all at once by buying a single ETF.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.

2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Charles Gasparino joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in February 2010 as Senior Correspondent.

In this capacity, Gasparino provides on-air reporting throughout the business day, covering the latest news involving major events impacting finance, the economy and politics. Throughout his tenure with the network, Gasparino has been credited with being on the forefront of a number of breaking news stories in politics and finance, including most recently the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate fundraising efforts, Steve Cohens purchase of the New York Mets, the sale of the app TikTok, the 2019 Sprint/T-Mobile merger, the merger of Viacom and CBS, economist Stephen Moores plans to enter the cryptocurrency marketplace, Derek Jeters $1.2 billion bid in 2018 for the MLBs Miami Marlins, updates regarding the Trump administrations trade efforts and a series of investigative pieces on convicted sex offender and Wall Street investor Jeffrey Epstein. Gasparino had one of the few interviews with Epstein before his death.

Prior to joining FBN, Gasparino was an on-air editor for CNBC where he was responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories during the 2008 financial crisis, including the first reports of the governments so-called TARP bailout of the big banks, AIG's government bailout, details behind the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the shakeups at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

Previously, he was a senior writer at Newsweek magazine and the Wall Street Journal, where his work was submitted for the Pulitzer Prize in beat reporting in 2002 and won the New York Press Club award for best continuing coverage of the Wall Street research scandal. In 2003, his work was again submitted as part of a team of reporters for the paper's coverage of the NYSE and the resignation of its long-time chairman, Richard Grasso.

A recipient of numerous business journalism awards, Gasparino is the author of the New York Times best-selling financial book "The Sellout: How Three Decades of Wall Street Greed and Government Mismanagement Destroyed the Global Financial System." His other books include the critically acclaimed "Blood on the Street," an account of the Wall Street research scandals, as well as "King of the Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange." He has also served as a contributor to numerous publications, and a frequent columnist for the New York Post.

Gasparino received a Bachelor of Arts from Pace University and a Masters degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Campaigning for the Republican nomination at November's U.S. presidential election took a nasty turn on Wednesday with billionaire businessman Donald Trump accusing rival Ted Cruz of fraud as the field of candidates narrowed ahead of next week's New Hampshire primary.

Rand Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky with a libertarian philosophy, pulled out of the Republican race and CNN said conservative Rick Santorum also was quitting.

Both candidates did poorly in Monday's Iowa caucuses, which were dominated by conservative Cruz's defeat of Trump, who has courted controversy by urging a ban on Muslims entering the United States and branding Mexican immigrants as criminals.

The real estate mogul on Wednesday accused Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, on Twitter of stealing his victory in Iowa. Cruz's team hit back by telling Trump to seek help for addiction to the social media site.

The two men are going head-to-head for voters in New Hampshire, where Cruz's evangelical Christian credentials will not be as helpful as they were in Iowa. Trump holds big leads in opinion polls of Republicans in New Hampshire.

Former reality TV star Trump called for the nullification of Cruz's Iowa victory or a new vote in the state, which holds the first nominating contest in the presidential election.

"Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it," Trump said in a series of tweets. "That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!"

Trump referred to an email that Cruz's campaign sent on Monday that implied another Republican candidate, Ben Carson, was about to drop out of the race and that his Iowa backers should be urged to vote for the Texan instead. Cruz later apologized for the email.

"TWITTER ADDICTION"

Trump also accused Cruz's team on Twitter of sending out a mailer designed to look like an official electoral document to scare Iowa voters into turning out at the caucuses.

The Cruz campaign said Trump was just clamoring for attention after the senator came from behind in the polls to beat him on Monday.

"Reality just hit the reality star - he lost Iowa and now nobody is talking about him, so he's popping off on Twitter," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said in a statement. "There are support groups for Twitter addiction, perhaps he should find his local chapter."

A Tea Party fiscal hawk, Cruz won support in Iowa from much of the same conservative Christian constituency that helped Santorum to victory in the Iowa caucuses during the 2012 presidential campaign.

Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, has failed to take off in this campaign. CNN, citing unidentified sources, said he planned to suspend his run for the White House later on Wednesday and would endorse another candidate.

Earlier on Wednesday, Paul became the second Republican to drop out of the race since the Iowa caucuses, behind former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," he said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

Polls in recent days had shown him with about 2 percent support heading into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. It is not clear which candidate might attract Paul's supporters but Ohio Governor John Kasich said he favored some of Paul's positions, such as his criticism of government electronic surveillance and U.S. intervention abroad.

"If somebody were to ask me about some of the issues on surveillance, I would say that, you know, I think Rand Paul's had some good things to say about it," he told NBC News. "You know, when it comes to the use of military force, I don't want to be policeman of the world."

(By Amy Tennery and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Emily Stephenson in New Hampshire; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Bill Trott; For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, "Tales from the Trail" http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/; Click here for a graphic on 2016 candidates and their poll results: http://tmsnrt.rs/1QHZulM)
A person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sex, the first case of the illness being transmitted inside the United States, health officials confirmed Tuesday.

Dallas County health officials said the unidentified patient had sexual contact with an infected individual who had returned from Venezuela and fallen ill with Zika. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveling patient was infected with the virus.

Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others, Zachary Thomson, director of DCHHS, said in a statement. Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually transmitted infections.

The virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted. There was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

There are no reports of the virus being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas County, Fox 4 reported. However, health officials said it could happen eventually.



The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant. The CDC has already recommended pregnant women postpone trips to more than two dozen countries with Zika outbreaks, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Venezuela. It also said other visitors should use insect repellent and take other precautions to prevent mosquito bites.



In the epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, the main villain identified so far is called Aedes aegypti  a species of mosquito that spreads other tropical diseases, including chikungunya and dengue fever. It is found in the southern United States, though no mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States to date. There have been about 30 cases in the U.S. in the last year, all travelers who brought it into the country.

The World Health Organization on Monday declared a global emergency over the rapidly spreading Zika virus, saying it is an "extraordinary event" that poses a threat to the rest of the world. The declaration was made after an emergency meeting of independent experts called in response to a spike in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between the virus and babies born with abnormally small heads.

The CDC said that in the recent Texas case, there's no risk to a developing fetus.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It wasn't believed to cause any serious effects until last year; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week. Symptoms usually start two days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Michael Burk found walking increasingly painful last year. Crossing the street and tying his shoes became challenges, and colleagues noticed he was limping at work.

On a recent morning, Mr. Burk reported to the Hospital for Joint Diseases, part of NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, for hip-replacement surgery. His surgeon had promised him a better quality of life, and said both the operation and recovery would be quick.

About an hour later Mr. Burk was out of surgery. By 4 p.m. that afternoon he was upstairs in a ward, walking on crutches down the hall and going up and down a small model staircase. At 6 p.m., he left the hospital and headed home with his wife to Northern New Jersey, where he had a bowl of chicken soup.

Mr. Burk, 54 years old, had what NYU Langone calls same-day hip-replacement surgery, which practitioners say offers faster recovery times and less postoperative pain. With traditional hip surgery, patients typically spend days recovering in the hospital and may need additional time in a rehabilitation center.

Hip replacement, formally known as total hip arthroplasty, is considered one of the most effective surgeries in medicine, enabling the vast majority of patients to walk again pain-free. More than 340,000 of the operations are performed in the U.S. a year and include a growing number of patients in their 40s and 50s who want to maintain an active lifestyle.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
Dozens of farmworkers looked up at the little yellow plane buzzing over the Florida radish field, a mist of pesticide falling from its wings.

Farmworkers are supposed to be protected by government rules regulating exposure to toxic farm chemicals. But in this case, the breeze pushed the pesticide over the crew in a neighboring field, where it fell mostly on women, including at least one who was pregnant.

"I smelled a strong odor and started feeling bad," worker Maria Garcia later told a state investigator. "I had a headache, itchy eyes and threw up."

The health investigator assigned to the case said more than a dozen workers showed symptoms of pesticide poisoning, and also found evidence that the farm and crop-dusting contractor may have violated federal farmworker safety laws.

An Associated Press review of federal and state enforcement data and other records revealed that the pesticide-safety system is riddled with problems: Investigations often take years to complete and result in few penalties. Written warnings are common, fines rare. Compliance is sometimes voluntary, not required. And worker anonymity can be compromised, making employees reluctant to report violations.

The agriculture industry defends the system, saying the low numbers are a sign that farms are doing a good job of protecting workers.

President Barack Obama's administration recently adopted tougher farmworker protections after 20 years of debate and fierce resistance from the chemical and agricultural lobbies. The more stringent regulations adopt annual training requirements, safeguards to keep children workers out of the fields and stronger penalties for companies that retaliate against workers who report violations. However, when they take effect in 2017, all of the new rules will still rely on the existing enforcement system.

Adding to the troubles are the regulators themselves. In all states except California, enforcement of federal pesticide-safety laws is managed by the same agencies that promote agricultural industries.

The Florida workers fell ill on Oct. 14, 2014, in Belle Glade, a farm town near Lake Okeechobee where the motto is "Her soil is her fortune." They had been moved at the last minute to a celery field owned by Duda Farms. Rains the previous night had made the fields they were supposed to plant too soggy.

That was not communicated to the crop-duster pilot, who should have waited to spray a "restricted-use" pesticide called Bathyroid XL, records show.

Bathyroid XL is listed as a probable human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Studies on rats showed some neurological effects, but the results of long-term exposure on people are not known. As a restricted-use agent, it is considered one of the more toxic pesticides available to American farmers.

Twelve women including Garcia and one man were hospitalized. Many were released and cleared to go back to work after a few hours. But some, including the pregnant worker, required follow-up medical screening for lingering symptoms, according to state health records about the incident.

Despite the findings about pesticide poisoning and evidence of violations, a state investigation resulted in no punishment for the farm and, after more than a year, only the small fine for the crop duster, according to the case file obtained by the AP through a public-records request. Workers contacted by the AP said they were never interviewed.

"The Florida system is terribly broken," said Greg Schell of Florida Legal Services, a national expert who has been litigating farmworker cases for decades. "Unless you see somebody being sprayed, it's your word against the employer."

Florida is the nation's second-largest agricultural state, with more than 47,000 farms. Inspectors conducted 785 worker-protection inspections in 2014, the last year for which data was available. That's more inspections than any other state in the region, yet they issued only seven fines for a total of $11,400.

The numbers are comparable in other states.

In tobacco-growing North Carolina, only three fines were levied in 2014 against farms for violating pesticide protections. In the Cotton Belt states of Georgia and Alabama, there were no fines, according to data gathered by the AP.

It's not clear how many workers get sick from pesticides each year. No one gathers comprehensive data.

A program run by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health identified 5,200 workers with acute pesticide-related illness, and eight deaths, in 11 states between 1998 and 2006. Those cases included only poisonings confirmed by doctors.

Using that data and other sources, the EPA estimates that the nation's 2 million farmworkers suffer 10,000 to 20,000 cases of doctor-diagnosed pesticide poisoning in the U.S. every year.

Low enforcement numbers also reflect workers' fear of reporting problems.

Many field hands have come to the U.S. illegally or are here on worker visas, and their immigration status is controlled by their employers.

Until a few years ago, Louisiana pesticide inspectors sometimes required farmworkers to travel hundreds of miles to Baton Rouge to lodge pesticide complaints in person. That practice was halted only after litigation and an EPA investigation that the state fought.

After the incident in Belle Glade, some of the Florida workers sprayed by the crop duster were advised by supervisors against taking legal action, according to state documents obtained by AP.

"They were told 'You would never find a job in agriculture again. Their husbands may also be fired, and it would take years to get a settlement,'" said Antonio Tovar, the Florida health department investigator on the case.

Luis Martinez, one of the workers in the fields that day, said a lawyer and the safety officer for the farm labor contractor hired by Duda Farms all discouraged him from making a complaint. The company also asked him to take a drug test to prove the symptoms he experienced were not from marijuana or other drugs.

"I feel so bad," Martinez said, "because I have no rights because I have no money and can't afford a lawyer."

Defenders of the agriculture industry say the lack of fines and violations in Florida and other places shows a high level of compliance, not lax enforcement.

"The culture has changed. There may be a few bad apples, but they are few and far between," said Gene McAvoy, who runs state pesticide safety trainings for farm supervisors in Florida.

Farm spokeswoman Donna Duda denied that anyone from the company had spoken to them. She said the company has complied with state investigators and was reviewing its policies after reading the allegations in Tovar's report that workers were pressured not to file complaints.

Jose Ojeda of Martinez & Sons Trucking, the contractor in charge of the workers that day, denied his staff discouraged workers from filing a complaint.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services never interviewed Martinez or any workers about the retaliation or intimidation claims, despite a tip from the health inspector that some workers were talking about it.

In a statement, the agency denied being told about the intimidation allegations and said it would have investigated if it had known. Officials would not answer other questions.

Other workers contacted by AP at their homes in Belle Glade did not want to be interviewed, with one saying she did not want to make trouble.

The EPA said the numbers may be low because workers are reluctant to file complaints for fear of deportation. They also say retaliation violations often are not caught during the routine, random inspections.

Nationwide, few of those violations are ever filed. Data from 2006 to 2013, the years the EPA has available, show that only 13 violations involving companies that threatened to retaliate against employees were reported nationwide  none in any Southern states.

When workers do come forward, they face a yearslong process that often ends with nothing but a warning for the farm. In other cases, people who complain are sometimes put in professional exile.

North Carolina tobacco worker Cayetano Dominguez-Rosales complained to state investigators when 12 workers on his crew got sick in 2010 after witnessing pesticides being sprayed in a field that was no more than 40 paces away. Records show they all sat down and felt dizzy and nauseas. While heat stroke could have been to blame, it was unusual that so many workers fell ill at the same time, he said.

Dominguez-Rosales said his supervisor told him he would take him to the hospital for $20, a violation of federal law, according to state investigative documents. A clinic worker transported him and a fellow worker to the hospital five days after the incident.

After the hospital trip, he returned to work and was told to sign a "voluntary quit" paper giving up his job. He had worked for 15 years on North Carolina tobacco farms and never fallen ill, he said, but the incident left him without work. He returned to Mexico.

Nearly a year after he left, a state investigation issued a warning to the farm.

Pesticide investigations in North Carolina can take up to two years, and the vast majority nationwide end in warnings.

"A warning just says 'We're not going to hold you responsible for these actions,'" said Caitlin Ryland, an attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina. "Really, there's no teeth at all in that law."

Delays in North Carolina investigations come largely from staffing issues, said Patrick Jones, deputy director of pesticide programs at the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The division shares one lawyer from the state attorney general's office with all other agriculture departments. Jones said a new attorney has been appointed, and pesticide cases are expected to be a top priority.

In the future, technology may offer new ways of tracking workers' potential exposure and monitoring their blood for toxins. Some ideas are being tested in California and Washington state.

"It's a problem of scope," said Dr. Thomas Arcury, director of the Center for Worker Health at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Advanced testing "is a great idea, but it would be a fairly expensive proposition, and only a handful of labs can do this with any reliability."
In the middle of winter, Matt Brill is getting an unprecedented number of calls.

Mosquitoes are active when the temperature is 50 degrees or greater. So, right now we typically wouldnt be getting calls, said Brill, co-founder of Mr. Mister Mosquito Control in Atlanta. But because of the Zika virus, and the awareness about Zika, people are scared.

International health officials suspect a link between a major Zika outbreak in Brazil and increased reports of a serious birth defect in babies born to infected mothers there. The condition, called microcephaly, is characterized by babies with abnormally small heads, and often brains that have not developed properly.

The bottom line for people around the U.S. is, if youre pregnant dont go to a place that has a Zika outbreak, said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thats important until we learn more.

On its website, the CDC currently lists more than two dozen countries and territories with active Zika virus transmission.

The list includes three United States territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquito blamed for transmitting the virus from person to person, can also be found in some southern U.S. states. However, there are currently no reports of people acquiring the virus from mosquitoes in the continental U.S..

Most U.S. cases involve travelers who acquired the virus while abroad. However on Tuesday, Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) in Texas announced that it had received confirmation of a local patient who had become infected with the virus after having sex with a traveler returning from Venezuela, a country with Zika activity.

Although the Texas case demonstrates that its possible to spread Zika through sexual activity, public health officials say the virus is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of a mosquito that has acquired the virus while biting another infected person. For most people infected with Zika, symptoms are mild and the virus clears from their blood in about a week.

Its one of the things that makes it harder for Zika to spread in places that arent very crowded and dont have large numbers of the particular mosquito species, Frieden said. It doesnt mean it cant happen. But it means its unlikely to see a large outbreak.

Brill, the mosquito control expert, says U.S. residents also gain protection from simple cultural practices that are less common in many other parts of the Americas  including the Caribbean, where he first started his business.

Down there, people dont use screens, Brill said. People dont close their doors. They dont close their windows. So, its much harder to fight. So really, in the islands and other areas like that, its about a public relations campaign to help people know: Get rid of old tires in your yard (that can collect water). Close your doors. Close your windows.

In addition to spray treatments, Brill advises his U.S. clients to walk around their homes after rain storms and remove any standing water that has accumulated in outdoor toys, storage bins or clogged drains and gutters. He said mosquitoes can breed in stagnant water inside something as small as a bottle cap.

Long-term, researchers are working on improved pesticides and other methods to control Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Last month, the biotech firm Intrexon Corporation announced that its subsidiary Oxitec was expanding its Friendly Aedes aegypti Project in Piracicaba, Brazil.

The project involves the release of genetically-modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which breed with wild females of the same species to produce offspring that dont survive to maturity. The company reports an 82 percent reduction in Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae in the test area over a nine month period.

There are some new technologies for controlling mosquitoes that might work out, CDC Director Frieden said. And what weve got to do is accelerate testing them out to see if they work. We also have to use the tools we have today to protect people as well as we can today, because its likely that were going to see more countries affected by Zika and more travelers coming back to the U.S. with Zika.
The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Wednesday over a report that the Zika virus had been sexually transmitted in the United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.

"We certainly understand the concern. This needs to be further investigated to understand the conditions and how often or likely sexual transmission is, and whether or not other body fluids are implicated," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters.

"This is the only the second mooted case of sexual transmission," he said, referring to media reports about a case of an American man who returned from Senegal and is suspected of infecting his wife.

The virus, linked to babies born with abnormally small heads and birth defects in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas and the WHO declared an international public health emergency on Monday about the condition known as microcephaly.

The WHO global response team will discuss the sexual transmission report among other issues at its daily meeting later on Wednesday, Hartl said.

"There are many things we don't know about Zika," he said. "Lots of surveillance is needed...We have our team set up and are sure there will be lots of progress quickly."

For now the key in infected areas is to try to control mosquitos and for people to wear adequate clothing, use insect repellent and sleep under bednets, Hartl said.
After a wild night in Iowa -- all eyes now go to New Hampshire -- a totally different state of voters with different priorities for the candidates they select. Donald Trump led in the polls in Iowa, but didn't capture the top spot in the actual caucus. He currently leads by a bigger margin in New Hampshire, where he hasn't consistently lead though is in the national head to head match ups against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

In the recent CNN/ORC poll, Clinton beats trump 48 - 47 percent within the margin of error, and Sanders beats Trump 50 - 47 still in the margin of error.

Interestingly enough, Rubio and Cruz also get beat by Sanders, but do slightly better than Trump against Clinton.

We've talked about the importance of the evangelical vote, the shared values vote, immigration, and even the economy -- but its my belief that "electability" will become the greatest factor moving forward on the GOP side. As we continue in the voting process -- who do voters think can beat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders? voters in New Hampshire may decide to start coalescing behind candidates in the next week with that in mind.


After the Iowa caucus results, it looks like Hillary Clinton vs. Marco Rubio in November!

They lead the betting at ElectionBettingOdds.com.

This scares me. Neither candidate shows any interest in limited government. They scoff at anyone who suggests that their grand schemes do more harm than good. But big government does do more harm than good.

I shouldnt single out Rubio or Clinton, or even Donald Trump. Almost everyone running for office today declares himself a leader who gets things done. Theres no modesty, little acknowledgement that so much of what government does is costly attempts to fix problems that government created at home and abroad.

In the book The Fatal Conceit, Frederick Hayek wrote, The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

I wish politicians understood that. Chris Christie clearly doesnt.

He wins my vote for worst presidential candidate this week because of what hes doing to New Jerseys taxpayers in the name of fixing Atlantic City.

Six years ago, Christie promised to reform and rebuild Atlantic City without government money.

Without government money? Good! It sounds as if the governor respects small government principles and would protect taxpayers.

Nope.

Christie had a few options. Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold points out that the governor could have done nothing and let the free market drive out the weaker casinos, hope that the city government and the big casino corporations would innovate their way out of the problem.

That was the small-government option. There would have been upheaval. Some bills wouldnt get paid in full. But heck, Atlantic City had been rendered fat and inefficient by casino taxes. It paid $1 million a year in pensions for long-retired city lifeguards who only ever worked four months a year, wrote Fahrenthold.

Time to cut fat. Instead, Christie partnered with Democrats to embrace a big-government option.

His advisers wanted to take over the entire city. Christies concession to limited government was that he took over only half -- mostly the fun part: all 11 casinos.

Christie put them under the oversight of a state agency. He said those bureaucrats would restore Atlantic City and again vowed, You have my word that its going to be done without any government money.

Dream on. The agency used eminent domain to grab properties for development. Bureaucrats spent millions on public art projects, like a statue of a nude woman holding a dead deer. Somehow that didnt inspire tourists to rush to Atlantic City.

The state spent on TV ads and came up with a slogan: Do AC.

It didnt help. Casinos kept going bankrupt, as did a giant unfinished hotel/casino, the Revel. Christie decided that the state should finish it. He got the legislature to promise $261 million in tax incentives and a $2 million grant.

That no tax money pledge? Gone. Now taxpayers were investing. We are going to make the type of investment, said Christie, to make sure that we bring this city to a new renaissance.

The renaissance never came.

The Revel opened, lost money and filed for bankruptcy just one year later. Its now a 47-story hulk with 1,000 empty rooms. Its new owner considered naming it the Tower of Geniuses.

That would be a good name for ObamaCare, temporary farm subsidies, Alaskas bridge to nowhere and lots of other boondoggles designed by politicians.

So is Christie apologetic after spending millions of taxpayer dollars on failure? No, of course not. Recently he was asked whether, in hindsight, he would have done anything differently. Nothing, Christie replied.

Politicians never apologize. They charge forward. Their solution to failed government investment is more government. Last week Christie announced that the state would take over all of Atlantic City, claiming, Greater state involvement makes sense.

He says the new Atlantic City will be delivered at an affordable cost to the taxpayers.

Sure. And Mexico will pay for a giant wall, stimulus spending will revive the economy and arming Syrian rebels will bring peace.

The arrogance of the political class is endless.
I spoke this week with a pregnant woman who had just returned from Mexico. She wasnt feeling ill; she was visiting the obstetrics facility at New York University for a screening ultrasound of her fetus. There is no instinct stronger than that of a woman protecting her unborn child, and this woman was nervous because she was unable to obtain a rapid Zika test to relieve her fears. She said the Zika virus was now just one more danger she had to worry about.

On the same day, a case surfaced of a patient in Texas who reportedly became infected with Zika through sexual contact, and suddenly there were medical warnings to use condoms or abstain from sex with travelers from the region. Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, reassured me that the risk of sexual transmission is extremely low, and Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told me he didnt expect Zika to become widespread in the U.S.

So why are we so afraid of Zika?

For one thing, the name sounds exotic and mysterious, like a killer from a faraway place. For another, we had never heard of it until a few weeks ago, and we are naturally afraid of something unknown or new  especially when it is something we cant control.

Zika is currently under the microscope of the news media and the World Health Organization, which has conducted meetings and issued ominous warnings, and this sudden public health focus alarms us. A survey conducted by travel risk manager On Call International found that 64 percent of Americans who responded, whether they were pregnant or not, said they would cancel their trips to affected areas.

We see images of infants with tiny heads and undersized brains, and they understandably petrify us. Of the 3 million live births last year in Brazil, more than 4,000 were reported  and 270 were confirmed  to have the terrible birth defect microcephaly, or small head. In a typical year, there are just over 100 cases. Frieden said Zikas exact role in these cases has yet to be determined, and the CDC is working closing with Brazilian health authorities.

We hear about rare cases of Guilliain-Barre Syndrome (ascending paralysis) being associated with Zika, and we worry about that too.

We learn that Zika has no symptoms 80 percent of the time, which should reassure us, but it actually makes things worse. Nothing scares people more than an invisible danger.

But the most powerful virus of all is fear. Its very contagious. Travel advisories make sense, but the need for them inflates the perception that simply traveling south puts you at risk. No public health official wants to be responsible for even one horrible birth defect, but the perception of risk is far greater than the reality.

As with all health scares, we must do our best to counter worry with information and perspective. Fauci is reassuring when he tells me that we can win the worldwide battle with the mosquito, that Brazil has effectively curtailed the problem before, only to see the Aedes Aegypti mosquito (which carries Dengue as well as Zika) swarm back when public health measures  including using larvicides and insecticides and ridding public places of still water  go lax.

A more rational focus on the Zika virus can alert us to the need for greater focus on global health concerns. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito carries Dengue, Yellow Fever, Chikungunya and now Zika. Its a massive killer of humans worldwide, and we need a coordinated campaign to wipe it out. Public health also needs far more financial support for vaccine research. Fauci tells me that NIH is accelerating work on a Zika vaccine, and he expects one to be commercially available in two to three years.

The sudden spread of Zika is concerning, but the fear of it is worse. To provide perspective to fight the fear we need to know more than just the numerator, the number of cases of microcephaly that can result. We need to know the denominator, the number of total cases, because the vast majority have no problem at all.
Nationally syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer told viewers on Tuesday's "Special Report with Bret Baier" that Ted Cruz' conservatism may garner him another win next week in New Hampshire.

"They're anti-establishment but Trump is a populist and Cruz is a conservative. People say, well, the anti-establishment vote in Iowa was over 50% but that's the wrong way to look at it, said Krauthammer. You add up Cruz and Rubio, both of them conservatives - one more conservative, fundamentalist if you like than the other and what you have is 51% of Iowa whose conservative and one quarter Trump is populist. 

Krauthammer said next Tuesdays primary comes down to conservative voters and Trump might not be the victor because "Republicans in the end are likely to stay with their roots which is as a conservative party and not be accept the siren song of populism like Trump is championing."
El Paso started construction last month on a $97 million streetcar program that local officials apparently never had any intention of funding.

If the project is completed by its scheduled date in late 2018, patrons will be able to ride back and forth along a two-mile corridor from the border crossing at Stanton Street downtown to the University of Texas at El Paso, at speeds slightly faster than walking.

In 2012, the El Paso City Council paid $4.7 million for streetcar studies after a local mover and shaker dangled the possibility of state funding.

The funding took two years to materialize. In 2014, Ted Houghton, a local businessman and political figure who also chairs the Texas Transportation Commission, persuaded the commission to approve $97 million for the project out of a $2.2 billion debt issue.

While local officials welcomed the money, State Rep. Joe Pickett (D-El Paso), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, denounced the deal as a pet project that sucked up funds that could have gone to more practical needs such as highway improvements.

Regardless of the source, it is tax dollars, your tax dollars, Pickett wrote.

Click for more from Watchdog.org
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump admitted Tuesday that his decision to skip the final debate before Monday's Iowa caucuses could have cost him victory in the Hawkeye State.

Despite leading in most of the pre-caucus polls, the real estate billionaire finished second behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and barely held off Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who placed a close third.

"That could've been with the debate," Trump told reporters at a rally in Milford, N.H. "I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate."

Trump declined to participate in the Jan. 28 Fox News/Google debate in Des Moines due to a dispute with Fox News Channel. He cited the tone of press statements from the network about his possible pulling out of the debate, as well as issues with one of the debate moderators, Megyn Kelly.

Instead of participating in the debate, Trump held a fundraiser for veterans that raised $6 million. The candidate said Tuesday that he would make the same decision again, saying he "would never, ever give that up to go between first and second in Iowa."

Entrance polls conducted by Fox News showed that 55 percent of caucus-goers who made up their minds in the final few days chose to support Cruz or Rubio.

Later Tuesday, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that his campaign "didn't have much of a ground game because I didn't think I was going to be winning."

"In retrospect, we could have done much better with the ground game," Trump said, in an apparent slight to his Iowa state director Chuck Laudner.

Laudner had said in January he felt "fantastic about the ground game."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
One of the two anti-abortion activists indicted last month after making undercover videosabout Planned Parenthood has been offered probation to settle the charge, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

The possible resolution was made public following Sandra Merritt's initial court appearance after she turned herself in to Texas authorities and posted a $2,000 bond, which had been reduced from $10,000.

The other activist, David Daleiden, was scheduled to turn himself in Thursday. Both are charged with tampering with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden also was indicted on a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs that carries up to a year in prison. The two activists plan to plead not guilty.

Harris County prosecutor Britni Cooper said Wednesday that Merritt has been offered pretrial diversion, which is a form of probation typically offered to nonviolent first-time offenders. If Merritt maintains a clean record while on probation then the charge could be dismissed, Cooper said.

"A pretrial diversion is what (Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson) felt was the right thing to do in the case," said Cooper, adding that Merritt hasn't indicated whether she'll accept the offer. Anderson's office said pretrial diversion to resolve such a charge is not unique.

Merritt declined to comment Wednesday, but stood outside the courthouse beside attorney Dan Cogdell as he criticized the prosecution and said that "we look forward to our day in court."

"The indictment is wrong-headed," he said. "I don't care if you're pro-life. I don't care if you're pro-choice. This case is dumber than a bucket of hair."

Warrants had been issued for Merritt and Daleiden's arrests following their indictments on Jan. 25. But the activists' attorneys had made arrangements with authorities to have them voluntarily come from California, where they live. State records show Merritt lives in San Jose, has operated a tutoring business and has held a cosmetology license since 1982.

Merritt's next court date in Texas is scheduled for March 28.

Anderson's office initially launched the grand jury investigation to look into Planned Parenthood after the undercover videos claimed that the nation's largest abortion provider illegally sold fetal tissue to make a profit. The grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of misusing fetal tissue, opting instead to indict Daleiden and Merritt, who made the videos and are accused of using fake driver's licenses to get into a Houston clinic.

The video footage showed them posing as representatives of a company called BioMax, which purportedly procured fetal tissue for research. Planned Parenthood has said the fake company offered to pay the "astronomical amount" of $1,600 for organs from a fetus. The clinic said it never agreed to the offer.

The activists' attorneys have acknowledged the two used fake driver's licenses, but Cogdell said their actions weren't meant to defraud or harm the abortion provider, and that they never intended to buy human organs. The attorneys also have asked Anderson to drop the case and resubmit the evidence to another grand jury on possible charges against Planned Parenthood.

Anderson has said that she won't resubmit the case because she respects the grand jury's decision "even if it conflicts with my personal beliefs," which Anderson described as "pro-life."
President Obama on Wednesday made his first presidential visit to a U.S. mosque, using it to condemn bias toward Muslim-Americans that he argued is fueled by the media and inexcusable political rhetoric.

That has no place here, Obama said at the Islamic Society of Baltimore. We are one American family.  An attack on one faith is an attack on all faiths.

Still, the visit was overshadowed by Obamas choice of mosque, whose former imam, Mohamad Adam El-Sheikh, has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and the northern Virginia mosque where radical Anwar al-Awlaki used to preach.

As a Muslim American, Im just insulted. This is disgraceful that this is one of the mosques -- or the mosque -- that hes chosen to visit, Zuhdi Jasser, of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told Fox News on Sunday.

The president did not touch on the criticism on Wednesday, as he spoke broadly about tolerance. In Obamas roughly 40-minute speech, he quoted from the Koran, the Islamic religious text, which he said was on President Thomas Jeffersons bookshelf.

And he used the Muslim greeting, As-salamu alaykum, which translates from Arabic to Peace be upon you.

Muslim-Americans said they had been waiting for such a visit from America's political and religious leaders.

"For some time, we've been asking for pushback. Perhaps this will start a trend," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals in the months following the Paris terrorist attack and the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California.

A severed pig's head was delivered to a mosque's doorstep in Philadelphia. Someone attempted to set fire to a mosque in Southern California. Fourteen people were killed in the San Bernardino attack, carried out in December by a Muslim-American male and his wife, a recent Muslim immigrant who had been radicalized.

Hooper also cited Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country as an example of bias.

Obama didnt single out anybody specifically in his speech. But he said, We cannot give into profiling single groups of people.

He also said the portrayal of Muslim-Americans is being distorted by the media in TV and film.

The president frequently mentioned young Muslim-Americans, saying he chatted with several of them before he spoke in Baltimore and made clear his speech was inspired by their words and letters.

A girl from Ohio, 20-years-old, told me, Im scared,  Obama said. These are children like mine. Thats not who we are.

Obama has been sharply criticized in the past for referring to the Islamic State as a J.V. team and not describing their members as Islamic terrorists.

On Wednesday, he said, I refuse to give them legitimacy.

The president also acknowledged the uneasy relationship between Muslim-Americans and U.S. law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement has a tough job, said Obama, acknowledging that the relationship between the sides will continue to be bumpy. This is something we have to do together. If we dont do it well, were not making ourselves safe.

For years, Obama has fought unrelenting and incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans to this day. Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Buzz Cut:

 Paul says grace

 Maple Menace Alert: Illinois rules Cruz can run

 Hillarys schizophrenic New Hampshire strategy

 Bernie not built to last

 Get into your briefs

PAUL SAYS GRACE

Many in the Republican Party have had plenty of hard feelings about Rand Paul over the years, but today they ought to be thanking him.

After a disappointing fifth-place finish in Iowa, the Kentucky senator is calling it quits today and clearing the way for his party to continue the work of sorting itself out in New Hampshire.

While he was hardly the frontrunner, Paul was certainly in a position to try to use his small but sturdy share of the New Hampshire GOP electorate to inflict pain on the rest of the field.

Without a path to victory, however, he is choosing to bow out. There are at least three other candidates with chances no better than Pauls to ever be president who arent just staying in, but are launching intensifying attacks on still-viable opponents.

With the stakes so high, Republicans owe a debt not just Paul but also his forbearers in forbearance, Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and, yes, even Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y.

Paul, who is perhaps the most purely ideological of the candidates, may have more motivation than most to see the race reshaped away from a battle of personalities and into a fight over ideas.

The two candidates atop national GOP polls have often taken libertarian positions. Donald Trump sometimes sounds libertarian on foreign policy and Ted Cruz sometimes sounds like Paul on domestic surveillance. But neither has been true to the creed. Cruzs foreign policy and social conservativism is far afield from the Paul familys message, and Trump is a big-government Republican on domestic issues.

And third-place Marco Rubio is no libertarian dreamboat. Far from it. But neither has he pretended to ever be one. The only reason for any of Pauls support to flow to Rubio would be from those who are simply seeking an anti-Trump or anti-Cruz candidate. Many will probably just sit this primary out.

Welcome to American politics. Very seldom do voters actually get to choose what they want most, but are usually forced to vote against what they cant tolerate. And most primaries offer few appealing choices for any but the most committed partisans.

The question for Republicans this cycle is whether they are concerned enough about Trump to organize against him. Iowas results would seem to indicate that the sentiment against the frontrunner is real.

This years Iowa Republican caucuses saw more voters than ever: 186,874 in total. And while Trump rightly boasts that his second-place finish with 45,427 votes was the second best ever, Trump's claim forgets that that leaves 141,447 votes against him, the frontrunner in the polls there and nationally.

But even if Republicans are actually ready to get their Trump on, a speedy sorting of the crowded field is necessary. If the candidates would have kept on in the way they were threatening, the chances of catastrophic failure, including a brokered convention, and exhausted financial resources, would have been very real.

Whichever candidate Paul, or any Republican favors, a lengthy, fratricidal conflict between many contenders would all but guarantee Hillary Clinton a return trip to the White House  presuming she is not a defendant in a federal prosecution.

Pauls choice was no doubt a hard one to make, especially given the early hype surrounding his campaign, and his hopes to realign and unify Republicans. But in choosing to leave before he was forced out, Paul demonstrates patriotic grace.

[NYTs Nate Cohn explains late movement scenario among GOP voters and what it means going forward.]

Trump admits ducking Iowa debate hurt him - Fox News: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump admitted Tuesday that his decision to skip the final debate before Mondays Iowa caucuses could have cost him victory in the Hawkeye State. Despite leading in most of the pre-caucus polls, the real estate billionaire finished second behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and barely held off Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who placed a close third. That could've been with the debate, Trump told reporters at a rally in Milford, N.H. I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate.

[WaPos Max Ehrenfreund explains why he thinks Marco Rubios strong finish in Iowa gives him the best chance at his partys nod.]

Maple Menace Alert: Illinois rules Cruz can run - WashEx: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz secured two major victories Monday, winning the Republican Iowa caucuses and also receiving a favorable decision from the Illinois Board of Elections, which confirmed his U.S. citizenship met the states primary ballot requirements. The Illinois news got lost in the caucus coverage, which lagged into Tuesday morning and absorbed much of the medias attention. The GOP senator has had his presidential bid challenged in recent months by Iowa GOP runner-up Donald Trump, who claimed Cruz's Canadian birthplace disqualifies him from being president.

Thats a lot of exclamation marks - Weekly Standard: Florida governor Jeb Bush received 5,165 votes in Iowa. His vote total constitutes 2.8 percent of the Republican turnout, placing him in sixth place in the Iowa caucus. Yet no candidate in either party spent more in the race than Bush. According to MSNBC, Bush spent $14.9 million in Iowa, all coming from Bush's super PAC. (In fact, if one were to consider national ads and money from the campaign, the total would be significantly more.) That means, the once Republican frontrunner spent $2,884 per Iowa vote.

[A new ad from Team Jeb hits Trump hard in New Hampshire titled Turn off the Trump.]

GOP delegate counts: Cruz 8; Trump 7; Rubio 7; Carson 3; Paul 1; Bush 1 (1,237 needed to win)

WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE

Music is only for the wealthy in China, or so says Quartz: [Chinas] music-listening audience is markedly broken up by wealth. Chinas most affluent consumers are the heaviest music listeners, while interest in music peters out in the lowest socioeconomic tier. Those in the top income tier (defined as individuals with an average income of US $33,000) listen to about 19 hours of music per week, while middle-class listeners (average income $19,000) take in 16 hours, and music-listeners in the lowest tier (average income $9,000) tune in for 12 hours. Its not necessarily an issue of accesspirated content in the country is rampant and therefore readily availablebut more likely one of disparate income, responsibility, and free timeWestern music companies looking to China for growthin particular, streaming services like Spotify and Apple Musicwill just have to note that non-affluent Chinese customers arent likely to jump on board anytime soon.

Got a TIP from the RIGHT or the LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM



POLL CHECK

Real Clear Politics Averages

National GOP nomination: Trump 28.6 percent; Cruz 23.9 percent; Rubio 16.9 percent; Carson 7.7 percent

New Hampshire GOP Primary: Trump 33.4 percent; Cruz 12.2 percent; Kasich 10.8 percent; Rubio 10.4 percent; Bush 9 percent

National Dem nomination: Clinton 51.6 percent; Sanders 37.2 percent

New Hampshire Dem Primary: Sanders 55.5; Clinton 38 percent

General Election Clinton vs. Trump: Clinton +2.7 points

Generic Congressional Vote: Republicans +0.5

HILLARYS SCHIZOPHRENIC NEW HAMPSHIRE STRATEGY

The messages from Hillary Clintons campaign today are schizophrenic to say the least. While former President Bill Clinton is heading down to South Carolina to shore up support for the fourth Democratic contest, the campaign is also dispatching 150 staffers for an all-out blitz in New Hampshire.

First of all, if you have 150 staffers to even send to New Hampshire at your headquarters your campaign is probably more bloated than a busload of sumo wrestlers at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

But whatever the bloat-level in Brooklyn, Clinton seems to be trying to have it both ways: simultaneously downplaying the New Hampshire Primary where she trails insurgent Sen. Bernie Sanders by double-digits, while at the same time hustling to cut into his lead.

Her husband was right to write-off New Hampshire on Tuesday, pointing out to MSNBC that nobody from a state bordering New Hampshire has ever lost a Democratic primary to a non-incumbent president. It might be pure Clintonian spin, but it does have the advantage of being true.

The Clinton campaign underperformed in Iowa, leaving the state with a split decision and sour feelings. The prospect of a ringing, stinging defeat in New Hampshire is surely not pleasant for a woman whos second White House run is starting out all too similarly to her first.

But she should relax. While Clinton clearly has substantial problems as a general election candidate, Sanders is not a credible threat to the nomination.

Rather than dispatching resources to New Hampshire, or even campaigning there herself, Clinton should tip her cap to the Vermont socialist, and congratulate him on a great outing. While she smiles, Clinton should be preparing to roast him in Nevada two weeks, and South Carolina the week after that.

Clintons goal shouldnt be to cut after Sanders lead in New Hampshire so much as it should be to wallop him by equal or greater margins in subsequent contests.

The media narrative about Clintons weakness is fed by her evident misery in defeat. Sanders is still a fringe candidate. As she learned with her campaigns unseemly attacks on the 74-year-old socialist already, political combat with him only adds legitimacy to his bid.

While there are always dangers in ceding any race to a rival Clinton could learn a lesson from 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, who made no bones about skipping Iowa but decisively won the GOP nomination anyway.

Clinton is like McCain or even 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney: a potent frontrunner with a few bad spots. She is not like her Republican counterpart Donald Trump in the sense that her support is solid and time-tested and is backed up by the most extensive organization in politics.

When she starts winning, she will keep winning, even after a couple losses. Reinforcing the media narrative that she is trying and failing only makes her look more desperate for power.

Clinton camp warns of long slog - NYT: Hillary Clintons hairs-breadth win over Bernie Sanders in the first contest of the Democratic nominating season has sent a loud message: Every day from now until November is going to be a battle. That realization was settling in Tuesday with a party hierarchy that has united almost unanimously behind her candidacy  many on the assumption that the former secretary of state had practically a clear shot at becoming the Democratic standard-bearer. But the narrowness of Clintons margin over the Vermont senator, who had been trailing by 30 points in polls as recently as November, came as a surprise to many of her backers. Indeed, had it not been for the superiority of her ground operation in Iowa, many say privately that she would have been swamped by the wave of enthusiasm for Sanders.

Hillary taps Holder for South Carolina spot - Time: Hillary Clinton enlisted former Attorney General Eric Holder for her first campaign ad in South Carolina, an early-voting state with a significant African-American population. Holder, who served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton and in the Obama Cabinet alongside Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2013, touts his long relationship with her in the ad, titled 25 Years.

Bernie not built to last - FiveThirtyEight: Iowa and New Hampshire also lack nonwhite voters, who form a huge part of the Democratic base. Can Sanders win over some of these voters? Clinton has held a lead among nonwhites of nearly 40 percentage points in national polls. In Nevada, which votes after the New Hampshire primary, the electorate for the Democratic caucuses in 2008 was 15 percent Hispanic and 15 percent black. After Nevada comes South Carolina, where a majority of Democratic voters will be black. Our polls-only forecast in South Carolina gives Clinton a 94 percent chance to win, and our polls-plus forecast gives her a 96 percent chance to win.

Iowa Democrats debacle tars Clintons claims - DMR: Its Iowas nightmare scenario revisited: An extraordinarily close count in the Iowa caucuses  and reports of chaos in precincts, website glitches and coin flips to decide county delegates  are raising questions about accuracy of the count and winner. This time its the Democrats, not the Republicans. Even as Hillary Clinton trumpeted her Iowa win in New Hampshire on Tuesday, aides for Bernie Sanders said the eyelash-thin margin raised questions and called for a review. The chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party rejected that notion, saying the results are final.

Democratic delegate count: Clinton 22; Sanders 21 (2,382 needed to win)

GET INTO YOUR BRIEFS

AP: Hundreds of southeastern Mississippi citizens received jury summons that incorrectly instructed them to call a sex hotline. Multiple news outlets report that at least 350 jury summons with the incorrect phone number were sent out in Jackson County to potential jurors. Circuit Clerk Randy Carney says people started calling the circuit clerks office Monday morning to report the problem. Others stopped by in person to address the issue. Carney says he doesn't know what caused the mix-up. He has drafted an apology letter that will go out those who received the erroneous summons. He says he doesnt know if his office will be liable for costs associated with any potential jurors billed for using the hotline. Carney added that hell personally review summons before theyre mailed out from now on.

AND NOW A WORD FROM CHARLES

You add up Cruz and Rubio, both of them conservatives - one more conservative, fundamentalist if you like than the other and what you have is 51 percent of Iowa whose conservative and one quarter Trump is populist. And that tells me that Republicans in the end are likely to stay with their roots which is as a conservative party and not be accept the siren song of populism like Trump is championing.  Charles Krauthammer on Special Report with Bret Baier Watch here.

Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.
Some in the media are openly celebrating Donald Trumps loss in Iowa, others are doing it more subtly.

But those who believe his candidacy has crashed and burned are making a mistake, succumbing to the heady Iowa elixir that makes caucus winners look unstoppableusually for eight days or so.

Trump made his share of mistakes, chief among them blowing off the Fox News debate. I talked to a few Iowans during my week in Des Moines who felt aggravated by the move. But more important, he ceded the stage to Ted Cruz, who won Monday night, and Marco Rubio, whose late surge defied the polls and almost pushed him past Trump into second place. Trumps genius move played well with the press, but in Ames and Cedar Rapids, not so much.

Still, Trumps 4-point loss to the Texas senator suggests he probably would have lost the caucuses even if he hadnt picked a fight with Fox and sidestepped the debate. Iowa was never a great fit for him, despite his inroads with the evangelical voters who dominate the GOP caucuses.

And yes, the ground game does matter. Trump never seemed all in on building the kind of sophisticated machinery that Cruz used to turn out the largest vote for a Republican in caucus history.

Still, a billionaire who had never run for anything managed to finish second in Iowas complicated caucuses, way ahead of several governors, not a bad first-time showing. (I wrote that sentence before Trump tweeted that the media were failing to give him his due.)

There was an unmistakable sense of vindication in the media reports that declared the man who talks so much about winning is now a loser. New Yorks Daily News was the most unabashed, with its DEAD CLOWN WALKING headline.

For more than seven months, media skeptics warned that Trump was a sideshow, that he would implode, that doom was always just around the corner. Conservative commentators at Fox, National Review and elsewhere disparaged him as a fake right-winger.

In recent weeks, as polls had him pulling ahead of Cruz in Iowa, many pundits started hedging their bets, acknowledging that Trump could run the table and win the nomination. But the caucuses allowed them to slip back into told-you-so mode.

Of course, Cruz deserves credit for executing a flawless strategy, and especially for parrying Trumps attacks as a nasty guy and Canadian interloper. Rubio deserves credit for threading the needle by appealing to the partys establishment and tea party wingsand clobbering his mentor, Jeb Bush, who wasted tens of millions of dollars in Iowa.

Still, Cruz has to show that unlike the last two caucus winners, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, he can retrofit a made-for-Iowa vehicle to zoom to victory in bigger and more diverse states. And whatever bump Cruz gets from Iowa, Trump has big leads in New Hampshire and South Carolina, at least for now. And he doesnt have to worry about donors.

So now we find out whether Trump can take a punch. A little dose of humility might be good for him. When I watched him say he was a little nervous in a Monday-morning interview, I remember thinking that the bombastic candidate was showing a side of himself that might appeal to voters turned off by the endless bragging.

In politics as in life, Americans like someone who can pick himself off the canvas. Ronald Reagan lost Iowa, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush lost New Hampshire, and all went on to win the White House. The press ought to be careful about once again writing Trumps obituary.
Donald Trump, despite conceding defeat to Ted Cruz Monday night in Iowa, is now accusing the Texas Republican senator of stealing the race  and calling for either a new election to be held or the results to be nullified.

While the chances of either of those measures being taken may be slim, the billionaire businessman was referring to accusations from candidate Ben Carson that Cruz supporters falsely told caucus-goers the retired neurosurgeon was suspending his campaign, as well as a controversial Cruz mailer that accused Iowans of a voting violation. Trump blasted out a battery of tweets Wednesday morning challenging the results that showed Cruz the winner.

Trump later claimed he cheated, while Cruz fired back that the billionaire businessman was having yet another #Trumpertantrum. Speaking Wednesday afternoon with reporters, Cruz dismissed Trumps insults and questioned his temperament.

The development comes as, on the Democratic side, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also questions the final tallies that showed Hillary Clinton the winner, by a very narrow margin.

The Iowa caucus is so complicated -- its not 100 percent sure that we didnt win it, he said on NBCs Today show.

Cruz referenced the Sanders comments, in teasing Trump on Twitter over his accusations.

Bernie is contesting #IA results. Maybe Donald should go back to IA & join the Ds. Bet they'd love #TrumpCare https://t.co/uTdU9Uv9sL  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 3, 2016

Sanders is giving mixed messages on how serious he may be about potentially challenging the Democratic race results, saying, Were looking at it right now.

Asked the same question on MSNBC, Sanders said his campaign wants to speak to Iowa Democratic officials  while saying it is really now focusing on New Hampshire. Separately, he told CBS News he doesnt want to overstate the issue. And in the same NBC interview, Sanders said he accepts that Clinton won.

Sanders Iowa communications director Rania Batrice told Fox News the campaign has requested a meeting Wednesday with state Democratic Party officials and is looking forward to working with the party to address major discrepancies in reporting in order to ensure accurate results are tabulated.

In the earlier interviews, Sanders mentioned that Clintons campaign apparently won a series of coin tosses to resolve ties  which then helped her gain additional, local delegates. Those delegates, though, may have had a negligible effect on the final tallies of what are known as state delegate equivalents. Further, reports have emerged that the Sanders campaign also won several coin tosses.

Meanwhile, Trump is showing no hesitation about challenging the results on the Republican side. While he had congratulated Cruz on caucus night, that was before Carson came out with his allegations that Cruz supporters spread rumors he was suspending his campaign.

Trump, citing those and other allegations, tweeted Wednesday: Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!

Interviewed on Fox News Hannity, Cruz apologized Tuesday to Carson.

He said his political team had forwarded an initial CNN news report saying Carson was taking a break from the campaign trail, but did not forward an update to that same story.

Unfortunately, they did not then forward the subsequent story, that was Bens campaign clarifying that he was continuing the campaign and was not canceling the campaign, Cruz said. And so I apologize to Ben for that. They should have forwarded that subsequent story. That was a mistake on our part.

Carson's campaign issued a statement Tuesday evening saying he "accepted" Cruz's apology.

But Carson continued to raise concerns about the Cruz campaign, telling Fox News Bill OReilly, A culture exists within the Cruz camp that would allow people to take advantage of a situation like this in a very dishonest way.

Carson said Cruz assured him he knew nothing about his campaign contacting precincts telling people that I was dropping out, but questioned what the campaign will do about those individuals who inappropriately disseminated this information.

Early reports that Carson  who was directly competing with Cruz for social conservative and evangelical supporters  was leaving the campaign trail started to surface as caucusing began Monday evening. Upon hearing reports that their candidate was leaving the trail to return to his home in Florida, Team Carson responded swiftly, saying the retired neurosurgeon was only going home for clean clothes but was then headed to New Hampshire for the Feb. 9 primary.

But Carson told Fox News Tuesday morning that Cruz supporters and representatives took that narrative a step further, and told caucus-goers at many precincts that he was dropping out.

Carson finished a distant fourth in Iowa.

The Cruz campaign also took heat for campaign literature it sent out to potential voters before caucus night that seemingly accused them of voting violations over low voter turnout  and urged them to caucus Monday to improve their score.

Spokesman Rick Tyler earlier told MSNBC that Iowans are used to getting similar ones and that the campaign modeled ours after them.
A Washington state lawmaker resigned Tuesday after being accused of exaggerating his military service by claiming to be an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran.

State Rep. Graham Hunt, a Republican, said in a statement he was stepping down with a heavy heart and takes full responsibility for any errors I have made, and I fully accept the obligation to address them responsibly.

The resignation comes after The Seattle Times reported in January that military records did not seem to support Hunts claim in his online biography of having been a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, or three medals he cited as having received. The paper also raised questions about his claim to have been injured in combat, saying Hunt had been vague when asked about the injury.

Further, one image, posted on Hunts campaign Facebook page in 2014, claimed to show Hunt after a mortar attack. I surely have not forgotten that moment, the accompanying caption read.

In fact, The Times reported, the image was a modified 2003 Associated Press photo of two military policemen from Ohio. Hunt blamed the post on an unnamed campaign volunteer.

Military records show Hunt served in the Air National Guard from 1998 to 2005, during which he served in Saudi Arabia briefly, the Times reported.

Hunt released a statement Friday in which he clarified he only had brief assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he was involved in a "gun battle" in Saudi Arabia, but did not claim to have been in combat elsewhere. Further, he said his injury was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.)

In his resignation, Hunt pushed back against some of the accusations, saying, I have nothing to conceal, nor have I ever deliberately conducted myself in a manner that compromises my integrity or the integrity of this office. He said he's seeking to obtain "all records that remain available," suggesting some may no longer exist.

He said the media speculation had taken a toll on his family, his colleagues and the community and therefore he did not feel he could meet the demands of the office. I apologize to all of those who have been affected by this situation, he said. I hope that the people of this state can forgive me for my imperfections, just as I have forgiven those who have attacked me for my imperfections.

Hunt also was Washington state chairman of Sen. Ted Cruzs, R-Texas, presidential campaign but has since stepped down, according to the News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. A request for comment to the Cruz campaign from FoxNews.com was not immediately returned.

Other associates have accused Hunt of lying to them about his record. On Monday, Steven Nielson, a former head of the state Libertarian Party, posted a message from Hunt in which he allegedly claimed to have been shot in Iraq and stabbed in Afghanistan, the Times reported.
Archaeologists from the Charles University in Prague have unearthed a 4,500-year-old 59-foot boat at a site in Egypt.

While working at the site of the Abusir necropolis near Cairo the archaeologists discovered 4,500-year-old wooden planks that formed part of the boat. The boats size, alongside additional clues such as a bowl bearing the name of king Huni of the Third Dynasty, indicate the owners close ties with the pharaoh of that time, according to the team.



Related: Teen illegally climbs Egypt's Great Pyramid

Charles University wrote on its website that the ritual of burying boats beside chambers traces its roots back to the Early Dynastic Period.

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the boat is the first of its kind to be found in that location and that it points to the elite status of the tombs owner.

The boat wreck shows that he was a very important man in the royal palace - a top official or a close person to the king but not a royal family, he said.

Related: Archaeologists uncover 'Buddha post hole' in Nepal

Charles University wrote that some of the ropes that bound the boat together are still in their original position, with all their details intact, a unique discovery in ancient Egyptian boats.



This year, the university will study boat building techniques as part of an initiative with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University.
A rare 500-year-old work by Dutch Renaissance artist Hieronymus Bosch, previously attributed to the painters workshop, has been identified at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

The painting, "The Temptation of St. Anthony," was purchased from a New York gallery in 1935, and has mostly been in storage at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, according to the Kansas City Star. The last time the oil-wood panel was on display at the museum was 2003.

Related: Ancient 4,500-year-old boat discovered in Egypt

There are only 25 paintings known to be by Bosch in existence, only five of which, including the latest find, are in the U.S.

"The Temptation of St. Anthony," a 15-by-10-inch panel dating from 1500 to 1510, is the Nelson-Atkins' sole Bosch.

Related: Archaeologists uncover 'Buddha post hole' in Nepal

Experts from the Het Noordbrabents Museum in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, which is Boschs hometown, noticed the painting in a 2003 catalog, the Kansas City Star reports. They contacted the Nelson-Atkins last year requesting a high-resolution photo and an infrared reflectogram of the panel.

The attribution of the work was made by the Bosch Research and Conservation Project, which sent a team to Kansas City to study the painting and concluded that it could "be ascribed to Bosch with confidence."

Related: Tombs of ancient rabbis possibly discovered in Galilee

According to the Nelson-Atkins, investigators were able to detect

Boschs typical technique of sketching an underdrawing over the ground layer of his oak panels using a coarse brush with thin paint. Bosch also often changed his designs, and a change in the shape of the jug in the St. Anthony panel was apparent.

The work is on loan to the Het Noordbrabents Museum for an exhibition opening Feb. 13. The show in Holland marks 500 years since Boschs death in 1516.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For 50 years, scientists struggled to understand what sparked a devastating tsunami that leveled a remote village in Alaska following the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake.

But thanks to detailed seafloor images, they have solved the mystery. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey now believe a series of underwater landslides as deep as 1,150 feet were responsible for the massive waves that swept through the village of Chenega in Prince William Sound in 1964, destroying all but two buildings and killing 23 people.

Related: Scientists warn Yellowstone supervolcano could kill millions

Nine people died in Anchorage, Alaskas largest city, from the 9.2 magnitude quake, the second largest in recorded history, according to the Associated Press. The earthquake caused a trans-ocean tsunami that brought waves to the Alaskan towns of at devastated Valdez, Seward and Whittier and down the West Coast. Four campers on a beach died at Newport, Oregon. A dozen died in the Northern California community of Crescent City.

It is exciting to see the technology evolve so we can now get high-resolution images of the seafloor that we could not back then and to pinpoint the most likely source for the waves. After 50 years, this new work confirms our original inference that it was probably landslide-generated waves that devastated Chenega so many years ago, but we had no adequate submarine data to define either the size or location of the landslide sources, USGS geologist emeritus George Plafker who, with colleague Larry Mayo, was one of the first responders and wrote some of the early geological field reports on surface effects of the Chenega waves in 1965, said in a statement.

Related: Stunning NASA image shows the power of tropical cyclone Kate

Scientists had long suspected landslides were to blame for what has become known as the Chenega tsunami. But at the time of the disaster, they didnt have the technology to prove it.

A bathymetric survey at the time, which only imaged relatively shallow seafloor, down to 180 meters (330 feet) deep, did not reveal evidence of a landslide in nearby Dangerous Passage or the other waterways around Chenega, said Daniel Brothers, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters that describes the latest research done with colleagues from Boise State University and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Alternate explanations involving seafloor movement during the earthquake did not fit the timing and severity of the Chenega tsunami as described by eyewitnesses, he said.

Unraveling the mystery started with Brothers mapping a large submarine landslide complex in nearby Dangerous Passage, mostly in water deeper than what had been studied in 1964.

The scientists used multibeam sonar technology to collect high-resolution bathymetric (seafloor depth) data, and a single-channel seismic-reflection system to collect sub-bottom profiles (cross-sectional views of sedimentary layers and other features beneath the seafloor).

Related: Could worsening heat make the Persian Gulf uninhabitable?

As a result, the researchers were able to calculate the time it would take for a tsunami triggered by a large landslide in the mapped areas to reach the village of Chenega and found a good fit with eyewitness reports: a tsunami wave triggered in the areas where they found landslide evidence would take three to four minutes to reach the village, consistent with the arrival time of the most destructive waves.

The bathymetric data disclosed three sedimentary, bowl-like basins located at progressively deeper levels toward open waters of Prince William Sound. Originally carved by descending glaciers when sea level was lower, the basins over time filled with sediment washed off the land as sea levels rose and the glaciers retreated after the last ice age.

The intermediate basin filled up with sediment, setting the stage for this instability, and the trigger that occurred when this earthquake struck," Brothers told the AP.

Researchers said the findings underscore the tsunami threat posed by submarine landslides in fjords around the world, often where communities and ports are located.
One of the two anti-abortion activists indicted last month after making undercover videos about Planned Parenthood turned herself in Wednesday to Texas authorities.

Sandra Merritt appeared in a Houston courtroom and posted bond, which was reduced from $10,000 to $2,000. The other indicted activist, David Daleiden, was scheduled to turn himself in Thursday.

Both are charged with tampering with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden also was indicted on a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs that carries up to a year in prison. Their attorneys have said the two activists plan to plead not guilty.

Warrants had been issued for Merritt and Daleiden's arrests following their indictments on Jan. 25. But the activists' attorneys had made arrangements with authorities to have them voluntarily come from California, where they live. State records show Merritt lives in San Jose, has operated a tutoring business and has held a cosmetology license since 1982.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson's office initially launched the grand jury investigation to look into Planned Parenthood after the undercover videos claimed that the nation's largest abortion provider illegally sold fetal tissue to make a profit.

The grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of misusing fetal tissue, opting instead to indict Daleiden and Merritt, who made the videos and are accused of using fake driver's licenses to get into a Houston clinic.

The video footage showed them posing as representatives of a company called BioMax, which purportedly procured fetal tissue for research. Planned Parenthood has said the fake company offered to pay the "astronomical amount" of $1,600 for organs from a fetus. The clinic said it never agreed to the offer.

The activists' attorneys have acknowledged the two used fake driver's licenses but that their actions weren't meant to defraud or harm the abortion provider, and that they never intended to buy human organs.

Defense attorneys also said the charges won't stand up in court and have asked Anderson to drop the case and resubmit the evidence to another grand jury on possible charges against Planned Parenthood.

Anderson has said that she won't resubmit the case because she respects the grand jury's decision "even if it conflicts with my personal beliefs," which Anderson described as "pro-life."
The Missouri couple accused of antics akin to Bonnie and Clyde, robbing businesses and kidnapping workers in two other states, said they're hoping to get married and start a new life together if they can make it to Florida, an abducted hotel clerk revealed Wednesday.



Police have linked Blake Fitzgerald and Brittany Nicole Harper of Joplin, Missouri to crimes in Alabama and Georgia, saying the offenses fit a similar pattern: People are robbed, kidnapped and let go unharmed, usually after a car is stolen.

Kyle Dease is the night clerk at Microtel Inn and Suites in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He tells the news site Al.com that during nearly two hours he was held captive in a stolen car, Fitzgerald told him he had no plans of returning to prison. Dease says he's afraid that if police corner the couple, they're "going to go out shooting."

The couple entered the hotel around 6 a.m. Sunday, saying they'd run out of gas and were trying to get to Panama City, Florida, according to Dease. Moments later, Dease said, the man pulled a semiautomatic pistol and said he needed money and a car.

"At that point, I was just praying that nobody else walked into the lobby," Dease told Al.com. "He kept yelling at me, screaming at me. He said he didn't want to hurt me, but if he had to he would."

The man forced Dease out of the hotel, he said, and into a black Volkswagen Jetta that belonged to the clerk's girlfriend.

"They kept saying they wanted a fast car like a Mustang or Porsche," Dease said. "They said, `We're not going to outrun anybody in a Jetta."'

The couple was concerned about being tracked, Dease said, and said they had ditched a stolen SUV because it had a tracker. Once in Dease's girlfriend's car, they turned off the radio and ditched the GPS, he said.

The latest in the crime spree happened when Fitzgerald held up a young clerk at a Murphy Express station along Interstate 75 in south Georgia late Monday, taking money from the safe and cigarettes before forcing the clerk into an SUV where Harper wanted, authorities said. The couple drove about 15 miles before releasing the clerk unharmed on a highway overpass, said Perry police Lt. Ken Ezell.

The hotel clerk was let go in the upscale suburb of Vestavia Hills, where a woman was briefly abducted by two people who stole her family's Ford Edge -- the vehicle police believe was seen in Georgia late Monday. Like the other kidnapping victims, she was let go unharmed a short time later.

Fitzgerald and Harper have been charged in that case, and are suspected in an attempted robbery of a McDonald's manager in neighboring Hoover, Alabama, the same morning. Ezell said Tuesday afternoon he was preparing arrest warrants charging them with kidnapping and armed robbery in Georgia.

"As far as their motives behind things, there's really not one," Ezell said.

Based on where they dropped off the gas station clerk from Perry, about 30 miles south of Macon, they appeared to be heading south on I-75 toward the Georgia-Florida state line, Ezell said.

He said arrest warrants were being prepared to charge the couple with kidnapping and armed robbery in Georgia.

The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force has been called in to assist with the hunt. Tuscaloosa police Lt. Kip Hart said a $10,000 reward was being offered for information that helped lead to an arrest and conviction.

Missouri records show in 2013, Fitzgerald and an accomplice were charged with burglarizing a Joplin woman at knifepoint in her home and making off with her purse, jewelry, electronics and a car.

Fitzgerald entered an Alford plea -- not admitting guilt but acknowledging the prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a conviction -- and was sentenced in 2014 to a suspended seven-year prison term.

Fitzgerald also was sentenced in southwestern Missouri's Jasper County to a simultaneous 120-day term in a drunken-driving case. Last July, Fitzgerald pleaded guilty in a Missouri assault case and was sentenced to a suspended five-year prison term.

Perry Police Chief Stephen Lynn said the couple may be abducting their victims to delay reports being made to police.

"They haven't hurt anybody so far and that's great," Lynn said. "I hope we catch them before somebody does get hurt."

Click for more from Fox 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The father of a 2-year-old gunned down with her mother in a parking lot outside their Maryland home was arrested Wednesday in connection with the case, Fox 5 reported.

NeShante Davis, 26, and her daughter, Chloe Davis-Green, were found in the Fort Washington parking lot Tuesday morning. The girl's father, identified as Daron Maurice Boswell-Johnson, reportedly owed the mother monthly payments of $600 in child support.

The mother was on her way to drop off her daughter at daycare, relatives tell Fox 5.

Parents described Davis to media outlets as a beloved and patient teacher and one boy says he and his classmates cried when they learned she wouldn't be coming back.

"This is absolutely unacceptable, in any civilized community, that a child should be killed in this way," State's Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said Tuesday.

Click for more from Fox 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leaving your home, your family and your country to serve as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces takes guts, strength and dedication. So its a tragedy that many of our veterans must begin a completely new struggle once theyre back home on American soil.

For Jackie Thompson (not her real name), that struggle went beyond even finding a home and a job. After she returned from a four-year stint in the Navy as an aviation support equipment technician, she landed in a relationship that all too quickly turned abusive. Leaving that relationship meant starting all over again. But by now she had a young disabled daughter to care for, and no one to help her. She packed a small truck with her few possessions and moved with her daughter from Obama, Nebraska, to Phoenix, Arizona, believing things would be better there. Just 30 years old, she was homeless, jobless and unsure where to turn.

When I got to Phoenix, I just dove online and started looking for help for veterans, she told LifeZette.

She spent weeks trying to find the services she needed, she said.

I would speak to these groups and say, Can you help me? Im a Navy veteran.'

The problem-plagued Phoenix VA, not surprisingly, put her on a months-long waiting list.

Finally, she found Code of Support.

The Code of Support Foundation, which launched in July 2011, is a national nonprofit that helps struggling service members, veterans and their families with complex needs. It accesses the nations full range of resources to make sure our military and veterans receive the critical support and services they deserve.

But may not even realize exist. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, Code of Support provides personalized one-on-one assistance through a case worker system so that no military member falls through the cracks.

Aided for the past year by caseworker Christina Baumayr, Thompson and her 8-year-old daughter have now moved into a wheelchair-accessible home, their very own home.

"We moved in about two months ago, and we also have a wheelchair-accessible van," said Thompson, now 31. "That was one of my biggest hurdles, just transporting my daughter around. She's not very mobile, and with all of the equipment she needs, I wasn't really able to do very much for her before this."

Code of Support located and delivered a donated van to Thompson and her daughter. The foundation also shared a cash donation with Thompson so she and her daughter could have a decent Thanksgiving dinner this past holiday after the challenges they'd endured.

Ever grateful, Thompson is not one to complain. But she acknowledges the struggles that are so familiar to many of our military who return home after years of war and who have no ready-made support system.

"You're expected just to dive back into civilian life, just like that. I was so lost at first," said Thompson, fighting back emotion. "The camaraderie and the people you meet in the military are like none other in your life. When you leave that, there's a huge disconnect. Everyone around you is a stranger. In the military I had quite a few friends, and we all bonded over the trauma we had experienced together, but I'm a loner, really. Once back home, I just didn't have anybody."

This young mother fought on, however. She earned a degree in computer drafting, and today she works from home so she can be by her daughter's side. She is homeschooling her daughter.

Her Code of Support caseworker checks in on her regularly.

"She calls me. I call her. There's someone there for you when you're at your lowest," said Thompson. "She is actually helping me and other people like me who are at a crossroads."

"We wanted to actually meet the very real and urgent needs among our military, not just raise awareness," Kristy Kaufmann, executive director of Code of Support, told LifeZette. "We have a team of people who work directly with our service members and their families to help find and leverage the multiple resources each person typically needs."

Of the 22 million veterans right now in the U.S., an estimated 30 percent of them are in crisis and require "wrap-around support" for their needs, according to Code of Support.

At the same time, there are more than 40,000 nonprofits as well as thousands of local and federal government agencies that exist, allegedly, to help veterans. But many of these are small, local, and of limited scope. How do our veterans find the groups that can best serve them? How do they get access to the right services? Even in the best of situations, wading through everything that's out there takes diligence and resourcefulness.

Code of Support says it realized that no single agency, government or nonprofit was able to address every one of the needs of our veterans in dire circumstances. So the group has created a pilot program called PATRIOTLink, a cloud-based navigation platform of strategic veteran support resources.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation so believed in the promise of PATRIOTLink that in January it awarded Code of Support a $525,000 grant to help develop the service.

"Bristol-Myers Squibb joins us as a partner to significantly increase and facilitate coordination between service providers across sectors and locales," retired Army Maj. Gen. Alan B. Salisbury, Code of Support's CEO, said in a statement.

"Veterans leaving military service and their families face a range of issues, from physical and mental health challenges to housing, employment and education to a lack of social connections," John Damonti, president of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, added in the joint statement. "We're proud to assist Code of Support's efforts to minimize the barriers veterans and their families face to ensure they can find and obtain the best possible support" for their needs.

Since last April, Code of Support has vetted more than 2,000 organizations that serve the U.S. military in order to include them in the PATRIOTLink pilot launching this year. They'll continue combing through more. Resources are organized by such criteria as service era, disability rating, discharge status, deployment history, geographic coverage and population assisted. The work will ultimately link up veterans with the services they need in a vastly more efficient and targeted way.

Said Jackie Thompson, "My situation was so overwhelming. The initiative that Code of Support has shown in making sure things got done, such as finding a donated van for me and my daughter, was unbelievable. Other people have said they cared, and I'm sure they did. But people live their lives, and I get that. I just know if I have a question and I need to call Code of Support, they are there to help me. It has been life-changing."

More from LifeZette.com:

Why Your Kids Need to Know God

The Mother of All Temptations: Snacks, treats, parties, drinks  here's how to beat 'em all

Rethinking Stranger Danger

Why This Mom Loves the Super Bowl
A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to two counts in connection with a plot to plant a bomb outside an Army post in northeast Kansas.

John T. Booker Jr., of Topeka, changed his pleas to guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to use an explosive device to damage government property. A plea agreement with prosecutors recommends that he be sentenced to 30 years in prison on the first charge and 20 years on the second charge, to be served at the same time.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a charge of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.

Booker had initially pleaded not guilty to three felony charges. He could have faced life in prison if convicted of those charges.

He was arrested in April 2015 outside Fort Riley, about 60 miles west of Topeka, trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van.

Booker was arrested in April 2015 outside Fort Riley, about 60 miles west of Topeka. He was trying to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van.

Prosecutors allege Booker told an FBI informant he wanted to kill Americans and engage in violent jihad on behalf of the Islamic State group, and that he believed such an attack was justified because the Quran "says to kill your enemies wherever they are," according to a criminal complaint.

The hearing was delayed by several hours after Judge Carlos Murguia announced he'd received a letter from Booker. Neither he nor Booker's attorney gave details. Booker and his lawyer conferred with Murguia, and the attorney asked that the hearing be delayed until afternoon.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that it received a letter from Booker on Wednesday, saying he wants a new attorney to represent him. Also, Booker told the newspaper he sent a letter to Murguia last month. Defense attorney Kirk Redmond had declined to comment leaving court.
A couple was arrested after allegedly getting into a Silly String fight inside a Michigan Walmart, emptying multiple cans across multiple aisles in the store before leaving without paying.

Michigan Live reported that Samantha Christiansen, 26, and Derek Gomez, 24, were free on bond after reportedly facing a misdemeanor charge of third-degree retail fraud.

The report said employees demanded that they pay for the cans before leaving the store, but they refused.

The retail fraud charge is leveled when up to $200 worth of products were stolen. The report points out that Silly String sells for about $3 a can.

Theyre certainly old enough to know better, Mason County Sheriff Kim C. Cole told the news site.
Hundreds of southeastern Mississippi citizens received jury summons that incorrectly instructed them to call a sex hotline.

Multiple news outlets report that at least 350 jury summons with the incorrect phone number were sent out in Jackson County to potential jurors.

Circuit Clerk Randy Carney says people started calling the circuit clerk's office Monday morning to report the problem. Others stopped by in person to address the issue.

Carney says he doesn't know what caused the mix-up. He has drafted an apology letter that will go out those who received the erroneous summons. He says he doesn't know if his office will be liable for costs associated with any potential jurors billed for using the hotline.

Carney added that he'll personally review summons before they're mailed out from now on.
A 13-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom was stabbed to death by a Virginia Tech student, and another freshman already charged with hiding the body was more deeply involved, authorities said Tuesday. A neighbor said the seventh-grader told friends she would sneak out to meet her "boyfriend" David, an 18-year-old she met online through the Kik messaging app.

Nicole Madison Lovell was killed Wednesday, the same day she vanished, by David Eisenhauer, a freshman at Virginia Tech now jailed on charges of kidnapping and murder, Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt said Tuesday.

The prosecutor also announced that Eisenhauer's classmate, Natalie Keepers, will face a more serious charge of being an accessory "before the fact" to first-degree murder, in addition to helping to dispose of the body. The new charge could mean a life sentence if convicted.

Eisenhauer said "I believe the truth will set me free" after he was arrested on Saturday, a police document says.

Nicole's mother discovered her missing last Wednesday morning, setting off an intense hunt for the girl, who suffered from bullying at school and online over her weight and a tracheotomy scar, and needed daily medication after surviving a liver transplant, lymphoma and a drug-resistant bacterial infection as a 5-year-old.

Police quickly zeroed in on Eisenhauer, and then found Nicole's body on Saturday, hidden off a North Carolina road, two hours south of campus.

Stacy Snider, a neighbor whose 8-year-old twins played with Nicole, told The Associated Press that before she vanished, Nicole showed her girls Eisenhauer's picture along with a thread of texts they had shared and said she would be sneaking out to meet him.

"She was talking about this boyfriend she had that was 18 and went to college, and his name was David. And showed some text messages off of a Kik and pictures. And that's what the girls told the police officers when they asked."

Snider said she learned all this from her girls only after Nicole vanished. "I would have told her mother. But we didn't know nothing about it until she came up missing, unfortunately," she said.

Her fate devastated her mother, Tammy Weeks, who also spoke at Tuesday's news conference, describing the health problems her daughter battled and the joys in her short life.

"Her favorite color was blue. Nicole was a very lovable person. Nicole touched many people throughout her short life," Weeks read from a statement before her sobs became uncontrollable and she was ushered away.

Blacksburg police said they have evidence showing Eisenhauer knew the girl before she disappeared Wednesday, but provided no more details.

"Eisenhauer used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her. Keepers helped Eisenhauer dispose of Nicole's body," a police statement said.

Kik Interactive, based in Ontario, Canada, was "active in helping the FBI carry out their investigation," spokesman Rod McLeod said.

Also, at Kik's request, Apple stopped advertising Kik Messenger as appropriate for kids 9 and older on its iTunes store on Monday. "Yes, we did recently ask Apple to change our rating to 12+. This more closely matches the age (13) in our TOS (terms of service)," McLeod told the AP.

Kik, along with Instagram and Snapchat, are particularly popular with younger teens, and it's impossible to keep underage users from signing up. Even kids whose parents closely monitor their activity on sites such as Facebook often use smartphones with other social media where predators lurk, said Adam Lee, special agent in charge of the FBI in Richmond.

"Kids are crafty," Lee said. "They will have one account parents have access to, and half a dozen they shield from their parents' view."

David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, agreed that parental oversight is a good thing, but cautioned against placing too much blame on technology.

"Although there has been an increase in crimes that have some social media-related nexus to them, the overall level of crime victimization  including sexual assaults and kidnapping and even peer bullying  has declined," Finkelhor said. "So it's a complicated picture."

Teens who are vulnerable online would be vulnerable in other situations as well, Finkelhor added, especially those who are "socially isolated or dealing with some emotional problem, not well supervised, suffering rejection by families or peers. They are looking for support, someone who can give them affirmation."
Less than a week until the next voting in the race for the White House.. and its getting ugly out there.

Rand Paul is dropping out of the race.

Money is pouring into the Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio campaigns after their stronger-than-expected performance in Mondays Iowa caucus.

Donors may be moving towards Rubio as the establishment choice over Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie.

Thats not sitting well with some GOP candidates. Chris Christie launching a blistering attack on Rubio yesterday describing him as the boy in the bubble.

Very busy day today on the campaign trail.

1000EST -- Sen Cruz holds a town hall meeting. New England College, Henniker, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1000EST -- Carly Fiorina holds a meet and greet. Portsmouth, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1000EST -- OH Gov Kasich holds a town hall meeting. Three Chimneys Inn, Durham, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1000EST -- Sen Rubio tours Globe Manufacturing and holds a town hall meeting. Pittsfield, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1010EST -- Fmr FL Gov Jeb Bush appears on Americas Newsroom from Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH. LIVE

1030EST -- Fmr FL Gov Jeb Bush holds a townhall meeting. Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH. LIVE

1230EST -- Sen Cruz holds a meet and greet. Robie's Country Store, Hooksett, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1230EST -- OH Gov Kasich holds a town hall meeting. Raymond VFW Post 4479, Raymond, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1230EST -- Sen Rubio holds a town hall meeting. The Belknap Mill, Laconia, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1300EST -- Carly Fiorina holds a town hall meeting. Timberland HQ, Stratham, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1330EST -- NJ Gov Christie holds a town hall meeting. White Rock Senior Community, Bow, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1030EST -- Hillary Clinton holds a "get out the vote" organizing event. Derry Boys and Girls Club, Derry, NH. LIVE via LiveU

1330EST -- Hillary Clinton holds a "get out the vote" organizing event. Rivermill at Dover Landing, Dover, NH. LIVE via LiveU

President Obama will visit a mosque today. Hell also attend a discussion at a Baltimore Islamic Center where he is expected to lecture Republicans about anti-Muslim rhetoric.

1040EST -- POTUS attends American Muslim Community Round Table. Islamic Society of Baltimore. POOL TAPE SPRAY

1205EST -- POTUS makes remarks. Islamic Society of Baltimore. LIVE

1330EST -- Motorcade departs Islamic Society of Baltimore.

Meantime, at 10am the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on preventing terrorists from entering the U.S. under the U.S. refugee and Visa programs.

A Texas Zika virus patient was infected through sex according to a new report.

As many as eight tornadoes reportedly touched down in three states yesterday causing some damage though amazingly no deaths in Tennessee, Alabama and Missississippi.

California has extended water restrictions despite a wet Winter so far.

Stocks plunged yesterday. Markets fell 2% yesterday, and theres been selling today in Asia and Europe. Oil is back below $30/barrel.

GM reports earnings today. Ford says it will cut jobs and some models on sagging European demand.

Yahoo is laying off 15% of its workforce as it continues to struggle. Its reportedly considering putting itself up for sale.

China calling for interanational restraint as North Korea appears close to testing a ballistic missile and after it tested a nuclear device.

For more news, follow me on Twitter: @ClintPHenderson
The wife of a disgraced Illinois police officer who staged his suicide to appear he was gunned down in the line of duty, sparking an intensive manhunt, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges she assisted her husband in siphoning money from a youth program.

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, of Antioch, pleaded not guilty in Lake County court to two counts of money laundering and three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority for personal benefit or use.

Her husband, Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, died Sept. 1. Authorities say he shot himself because he feared discovery of embezzlement from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post, a program for teens interested in law enforcement careers. His death touched off a manhunt involving hundreds of officers and raised fears that several killers were on the loose.

Melodie Gliniewicz's lawyer entered the not guilty pleas on her behalf Wednesday. After Judge George Strickland explained she faced a potential sentence of up to seven years behind bars, she acknowledged she understood. The next court appearance for Gliniewicz, who is free on a $50,000 bond, was set for Feb. 26.

Neither she nor her lawyer, Don Morrison, spoke to reporters as they left the courthouse. In a statement after her indictment last week, attorneys for Gliniewicz vehemently denied that she took part in her husband's scheme.

Immediately after Joe Gliniewicz's death, he was hailed as a hero and praised for his work with the youth program. Melodie Gliniewicz's tearfully told hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil that Gliniewicz had been her "hero" and her "rock."

Lake County prosecutors said in announcing the indictment of Melodie Gliniewicz that money from the explorer's account was used for expenses including more than 400 restaurant charges and a trip to Hawaii.

Authorities released incriminating text and Facebook messages in November showing a frantic Joe Gliniewicz discussing the money and ways he could evade discovery. An official with knowledge of the investigation identified Gliniewicz's wife and one of his sons, an Army soldier stationed in North Carolina, as the recipients of those messages. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly.

But investigators said last week they did not find evidence to charge the couple's son, 23-year-old son, Donald "D.J." Gliniewicz.
Three Palestinians armed with automatic weapons, explosive devices and knives killed an Israeli security officer and seriously wounded another in Jerusalem on Wednesday before police shot and killed the attackers, police said.

It was one the most brazen attacks in nearly five months of near-daily Palestinian assaults, mostly stabbings, on Israeli police, soldiers and civilians. Israel has struggled to contain the violence, despite sending troops to secure cities, expanding police powers and toughening punishments for attackers.

Wednesday's attack took place after Israeli paramilitary border police officers on a security patrol noticed three people who aroused their suspicion near the Old City's Damascus Gate, a central shopping area for Palestinians as well as a main tourist draw, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

The officers stopped them, and as they began checking one of their ID cards, the other two drew guns and knives and attacked two female officers. One of the officers, identified as 19-year-old Hadar Cohen, later died, police said.

Police officers opened fire and killed the three Palestinians. They then defused the explosive devices they were carrying.

"The weapons indicate that a combined attack was prevented by officers who protected city residents with their own bodies," Samri said in a statement.

Police identified the Palestinians as two 20-year-olds and one 21-year-old from the area of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Associated Press video from the scene showed throngs of police officers weaving through a crowd of Palestinians and a row of police cars with sirens blaring. A police spokesman sent reporters a photo of a group of officers standing around a pool of blood near the gate.

Since mid-September, 27 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. At least 154 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire, including 109 Israel said were attackers. The rest have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.

Israel says the violence has been fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustrations stemming from nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation.

It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's attack was carried out by a militant group.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack as "heroic," lauding the assailants' ability to reach Jerusalem despite a maze of Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank. The group stopped short of claiming responsibility.

Earlier, Hamas said two of its men were killed after a tunnel they were digging from Gaza into Israel collapsed. Hamas identified the men, aged 35 and 23, as members of its militant wing.

The incident marks the second deadly tunnel accident in a week, after seven Hamas fighters died when heavy rainfall trapped them inside a tunnel.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who last week said the tunnels were meant to attack Israel, on Wednesday softened his rhetoric, telling The Associated Press that the tunnels were "defensive tunnels to prevent any aggression on the Palestinian people."

Israeli troops entered Gaza during the 2014 war and destroyed dozens of sophisticated tunnels Hamas built to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks. Hamas has since boasted that it is rebuilding the network, and Israelis living near Gaza have reported hearing tunneling sounds under their homes recently.

An Associated Press video shot Wednesday shows four machines appearing to drill on the Israeli side of the border. The Israeli military declined to comment on the video.

More than 2,200 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed in the 2014 Gaza war. In Israel, 66 soldiers and seven civilians were killed.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate with "greater force" than in 2014 if cross-border tunnels are used to attack Israelis.


A 10-year-old Afghan boy who helped lead a militia fighting terrorists alongside his uncle, then left to attend fourth grade, was shot in the head and killed by Taliban insurgents while walking to school, officials revealed Wednesday.

Police had called the boy a hero. Photographs on social media showed Wasil Ahmad holding an automatic weapon and wearing a uniform and helmet.

Afghan insurgents killed the boy near his home in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern Uruzgan province, deputy police chief Rahimullah Khan said.

Ahmad's uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district, Khan said.

"He fought like a miracle," the boy's uncle, Mullah Abdul Samad, said, according to Sky News. He was successfully leading my men on my behalf for 44 days until I recovered."

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International said both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

The organization's policy and advocacy director Charu Lata Hogg told The Associated Press that the Afghan government, despite pledging to stop the recruitment and use of children by the Afghan security forces, was making "slow and tardy progress."

"There is a lack of political will to address this issue, and while it's within the framework of overall human rights violations, there is a specific commitment by the government to clean it up but sufficient measures are not being taken," she said.

In a June 2015 report presented to the U.N. Security Council's working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based charity said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police. It said the recruitment was mainly driven by poverty, but also filial duty, patriotism and honor.

The ALP, set up with U.S. and British funding to provide security at a district level, has been widely criticized for a range of abuses, including extortion, as in many places it operates much like an independent militia. The government has been urged to disband the force but relies on it to supplement the over-stretched army and police.

The report said that in May of last year the charity found that half of national police checkpoints in Tirin Kot "were staffed with visibly younger officers," who all acknowledged they were under 18 years old.

"They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing checkpoints and engaging in combat for the last few years," the report said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boy's death with his family, the government and the Taliban, a militant group that has been fighting a 15-year insurgency.

Spokesman Rafiullah Baidar said that local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege following the death of his father in fighting.

"Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his father's death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents," Baidar said.

"One side made him famous and the other side killed him -- both sides ignored the law and acted illegally," he said.

Afghanistan ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, committing the country to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

The Child Soldiers International report says that in the troubled Kunar, Logar and Zabul provinces "10 percent of law enforcement officials are suspected to be underage." Although statistics are not available, recruitment is believed to be highest where the insurgency is strongest, notably the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, and provinces bordering Pakistan.

Children are also used by the Taliban in active combat, as spies and as suicide bombers, the report said. It cited a number of attacks, including one last year on the French Institute in Kabul during a packed performance that killed at least two people and wounded another 20.

Children recruited into the armed forces or insurgent groups are vulnerable to sexual abuse, Child Soldiers International said.

Despite a decree from President Ashraf Ghani last February criminalizing underage recruitment into the armed forces, the government has "failed to implement proactive mechanisms to identify, verify and release children" who had been recruited, the report said.

Click for more from Sky News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The attack was brazen and struck deep inside Kurdish territory in northern Iraq, with an ISIS suicide bomber detonating at a checkpoint outside a small town near Kirkuk and allowing three fellow fighters to sneak through and temporarily commandeer a local government office.

The men evaded justice at the hands of the Kurds when they blew themselves up in the Nov. 3, 2015, attack, but the ISIS bomb expert whose handiwork sent them to their maker did not. Jasim Mohammed Atti'ya is now held in a high-security prison operated by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), which recently allowed FoxNews.com to interview him. Over the course of 90 minutes, Jasim, who was led into the room blindfolded, boasted of his service to ISIS, vowed to return to serving the caliphate and said his suicide bombs are for others, not him.

What I did were terror acts, Jasim, 22, said matter-of-factly as he sat handcuffed in a small office in the Erbil headquarters of the KRGs security forces, the Asayish. It was my duty. There are infidels and there is instruction in Koran to stop this and fight all infidels.

We want to go to America. We want to spread our ideology all over the world.  Jasim Mohammed Atti'ya, imprisoned ISIS bomb maker

KRG forces nabbed Jasim weeks after the attack in the small town 30 miles outside of Erbil, in which 14 Kurds were killed and scores wounded. The three fighters who used the checkpoint bombing as a diversion to enter the city, briefly holed up in the mayors office before blowing themselves up as Kurdish forces moved in.

While that attack, in the Kirkuk Province town of Dibis, served notice ISIS was able to strike behind enemy lines, the one thwarted by Jasims capture would have been devastating by comparison. His Kurdish captors say Jasim was preparing to rig a powerful truck bomb bound for the Kurdish stronghold of Erbil when he was arrested by Kurdish intelligence agents. According to one security source, Jasim cried like a big baby when he was arrested, sobbing that Allah would be mad at him.

Now held along with scores of other ISIS prisoners, he is awaiting trial on charges of terrorism and plotting suicide bomb attacks and facing the gallows if convicted. Kurdish officials say the prisoners are held in conditions compliant with international law and receive visits from the Red Cross. Jasim, who was handcuffed and wore casual clothes and orange flip-flops during the interview, has contact with other prisoners and appeared to be in good health. Kurdish officials asked that his face be blurred in photos to protect his own innocent family members.

Its been a steep and rapid fall for a youthful killer who joined ISIS at 20 and quickly rose through the ranks based on his loyalty and ingenuity. After first training to build explosives, Jasim said he was promoted to the mid-level leadership post of Amir. He imparted his newfound knowledge of IEDs to recruits and helped plot and execute suicide attacks, he said.

Several Peshmerga, police killed retaking Dubis mayors office from ISIS militants https://t.co/Hgcm6kMK9l pic.twitter.com/ndbiy8iNyO  KRG-USA (@KRG_USA) November 4, 2015

I had all this power and then I got arrested, Jasim said. When you have all that power you feel like no fears.

An Asayish official confirmed that Jasim was very clever and seen as an up-and-comer in ISIS. He is suspected of leading a sleeper cell in his hometown of Hawija, a large city some 170 miles north of Baghdad, before being assigned to go undercover 30 miles north in the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk, where he plotted the November attack.

The exact number of deaths Jasim directly or indirectly caused remains unclear, but he repeatedly gloated about conducting operations that killed and harmed scores of people  including the fighters he outfitted with suicide vests or put behind the wheels of vehicles rigged to explode. He told FoxNews.com he is proud of his monstrous work, but not ready to be a martyr himself.

I never thought of killing myself, I am not convinced to kill myself, he said. Actually I would leave or escape if they gave me this order. I wouldnt explode myself. That is another level of faith.

Jasim said he joined ISIS as it was on the rise in Syria and northern Iraq after a friend who had joined introduced him to key members of the terrorist organization. He gave an oath to local leaders, and was soon learning his lethal trade, he said.

I spent two weeks in-training, one week for IEDs and one week learning how to put explosives in vehicles, he said. I was introduced to a bunch of other people and after they tested me and I got successful planting the IEDs and explosives in the cars, they promoted me to Amir in Kirkuk.

In Kirkuk, which Kurdish forces had retaken months earlier, Jasim worked undercover and at the direction of an ISIS higher-up who contacted him online. Given three persons ready to suicide, Jasim said he was ordered to send one to a city courthouse wearing an explosive belt he fashioned.

It was nighttime, so I met the person who wanted to suicide from a secret hilly area outside the city and took him back to Kirkuk where he stayed with me for two days, Jasmin said.

Without notice, his ISIS contact called off the operation, saying that Kurdish security had tightened and the risk of failure was too high. Instead, he had a new assignment, and one which would elevate his stock: The attack on Dibis. The high body count and success in bypassing a checkpoint to strike a blow in Kurdish territory pleased his handlers and led to an even more ambitious mission.

Jasim said he was contacted online and sent him the equivalent of $30,500 to buy a car and outfit it with explosives for an attack on Erbil. He didnt question his orders, even though the plot was foiled.

It is our leaders who make decisions, he said. Our scientists say that there are infidel people in Kirkuk. It is not up to my decision, we are students and we listen to our teachers. If somebody pledges allegiance to ISIS, they must take orders and whatever orders they get they have to do that.

At the top of the ISIS hierarchy is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who Jasim described as a good leader who lives as a simple soldier and is just like everyone else. He has never met the elusive self-professed ISIS caliph.

Its dangerous to meet him. Nobody can see him, Jasim said. It is prohibited for anybody to see him."

Alternating between bravado and circumspection brought on either by remorse or the presence of a watchful jailor, Jasim said he would have to be convinced not to go back to ISIS if he were released.

Before I went to prison, I had no problems killing people, he said. Now I have a bit of regret that maybe some people dont deserve to be killed.

But in the next breath, Jasim, who expressed frustration that his American interviewer did not wear a hijab, called for a worldwide return to the times and ways of Mohammad. When reminded life in the 7th century did not include car bombs and suicide belts, Jasim said today's weapons are more effective at accomplishing the prophet's goals.

During the Prophet's time it is true there was a sword, but now there are AK-47s and that is more effective than a sword. But they are all weapons.

Despite facing a likely death sentence, Jasim called on others to follow his path.

It is better if they join, he said. We want to go to America. We want to spread our ideology all over the world.

Mylee Cardenas contributed to this report.
The leader of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East warned Tuesday that his country is so packed with Syrian refugees, many with ties to the Islamic State terror group, that his nation has reached a "boiling point."

"Sooner or later, I think, the dam is going to burst," King Abdullah of Jordan told the BBC. He said his country is housing more than a million Syrians, many of whom came after the 2011 civil war in Syria broke out. Up to 100 new refugees are admitted each day, the network reports.

Jordan's welcoming nature has to stop, he said. "We can't do it anymore."

King Abdullah told the BBC up to 25% of his country's budget goes to helping migrants and finding jobs for them. Only 1% of the nation's Syrian refugees reportedly have work permits.

The Jordanian leader also defended his nation's terror vetting system, while admitting that the surge of refugees contains "elements" of ISIS.

Organisers of an annual donor conference set for Thursday say they're asking for more money, nearly $9 billion in total, to help victims of the Syrian crisis.

The donor conference, which is to be held in London, will be co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations.

Beyond the basics, donors are also being asked to support longer-term plans, with a focus on education and jobs for refugees.

Jordan has balked at the idea of having to borrow for anything linked to the refugee crisis, but has welcomed zero interest financing for development programs it had to put on hold in recent years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Captain Ds Celebrates Restaurant Opening in South Carolina

Fast Casual Brand Opened Lexington, S.C. Location on Feb. 1

February 02, 2016 // Franchising.com // NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Captain Ds, the leading fast casual seafood restaurant, today announced the official grand opening of its newest restaurant in Lexington, S.C. The restaurant is located at 415 Columbia Avenue and celebrated with a ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m. on Feb.1 with the members of the Greater Lexington County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center, as well as other officials of the Town of Lexington. This opening marks the brand's 27th location in the state, and marks the 8th location for the franchisee.

The new restaurant is owned and operated by longtime Captain D's franchisee CD Midlands, Inc. which is owned by Glenn Woodrum, Steve Cochran, Linda Haynes and John Woodrum, who have been with the brand since 1986 and currently own seven locations in South Carolina. Barrett Skarl is the Director of Operations for CD Midlands, Inc., and is a resident of Lexington County. The owners and operators are no strangers to the food industry, as they each have 40- 50 years experience in the food business. Glenn started his first Captain Ds in Sumter, S.C. in 1986 where he lives, and Steve is a resident in Lexington County and joined the company in 1995, becoming an owner in 2009.

"Glenn, Linda, John & I are incredibly proud to be part of the Captain D's family and have enjoyed growing with the brand over the last 30 years," said Steve Cochran, Captain D's franchisee. "This is our first restaurant in Lexington County and we plan to build two more locations within the next 2-3 years, and we're thrilled to introduce Captain D's fresh seafood and new restaurant design to the Lexington community. The Town of Lexington has been wonderful to work with, and we cannot thank all of the officials, council, and employees for all that they have done to make us feel welcome to the community.

With 515 restaurants in 26 states, Captain Ds is the fast-casual seafood leader and number one seafood franchise in America ranked by average unit volume. Captain Ds recently unveiled a new beach design featuring a vibrant coastal atmosphere and upgraded the dining experience with new plate ware and silverware. Captain Ds new menu, featuring several new fire-grilled items to satisfy guests desire for lower calorie options, is brought to life with upgraded menu boards and also features several new kids meal offerings. With these efforts, Captain Ds has remained true to what it does best  serving high-quality seafood with warm hospitality at an affordable price.

Captain Ds is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join in the brands rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit http://www.captaindsfranchising.com or call 800-550-4877.

About Captain Ds

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain Ds has 515 restaurants in 26 states, plus military bases around the world. Captain Ds is the nations leading fast casual seafood restaurant and was named the #1 seafood chain in the QSR 50, ranked by AUV. Founded in 1969, Captain Ds has been offering its customers high-quality seafood at reasonable prices in a welcoming atmosphere for 45 years. Captain Ds serves a widely variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company's signature hand-battered fish, which is cooked to order to ensure freshness. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled fish, as well as shrimp, chicken, shrimp and beef kabobs, hushpuppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D's favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com.

SOURCE Captain Ds

Contact:

Andie Biederman

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

abiederman@fish-consulting.com

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Fresh Healthy Vending Begins 2016 With an Impressive January, Booking 106 Machines Representing $1,091,500 in Deferred Revenue

Company Sells 106 Healthy Vending Machines and Micro Markets to Eight New Franchisees

SAN DIEGO, CA - (Marketwired - Feb 3, 2016) - Fresh Healthy Vending International, Inc. (OTCQB: VEND) announced today its January 2016 results, including 106 machine sales to eight new franchisees representing $1,091,500 in deferred revenue. This marks the Company's best-ever results for the month of January. A pending non-binding term sheet to offer a new franchise concept was also unveiled.

"Starting out with such a successful January is a great indication of what we believe is in store this year," said Chairman Nick Yates. "We feel these initial results are proof of the genuine need in the market, our unique concept and the payoff of lots of hard work from everyone on our team. This is just the start we were aiming for in 2016. We truly look forward to many months ahead building on January's successes."

"Becoming a Fresh franchisee made complete sense to me," said new Fresh Healthy Vending franchisee Dan Singh of Stafford, VA who purchased 22 healthy vending combo machines. "I'm doing something I really believe in: providing healthy snack alternatives to my community while building a business that allows me flexibility and financial freedom like never before. I'm very excited about the opportunity and have been truly welcomed into the Fresh family with tremendous business support to ensure my success."

Earlier this month the company made an announcement relating to a non-binding term sheet for a new franchise concept with the innovative Robofusion "Reis and Irvy's" robotic frozen yogurt cube. The unmanned, highly visual "robot" dispenses frozen yogurt in nine flavors with six possible toppings at a rate of up to 60 servings of frozen yogurt per hour. A 3' x 4' ft kiosk on wheels, the Reis & Irvy's Cube combines mobility with economy of scale, optimizing profit margin per-square-foot and yielding potential long term annuities wherever it's installed.

Fresh Healthy Vending aims to continue to add other franchise opportunities to their portfolio as they anticipate a name-change and a repositioning in the market to expand beyond their Fresh Healthy Vending machines and micro markets.

For more information on Fresh Healthy Vending, the franchise program, or to receive a free healthy vending machine in your school or business, visit www.freshvending.com or call toll free

888-902-7558.

About Fresh Healthy Vending

Fresh Healthy Vending, based in San Diego, California, is North America's leading healthy vending franchisor. Fresh Healthy Vending pioneered the concept of vending machines stocked with tried-and-tested fresh, healthy snack options to serve the growing market of health-conscious consumers. The Company has over 240 active franchisees throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, and continually looks to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs who share its vision.

The Company has booked over 2,900 machines for placement in schools, universities, hospitals, community centers, military bases, airports, fitness facilities, YMCAs, libraries and many other locations.

Fresh Healthy Vending's stock is traded on the OTC Markets, Symbol: VEND.

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events that are based on management's belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. While the Company believes that expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that goals, results and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, terms and availability of financing, may affect actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by the Company or on its behalf. In addition to statements, which explicitly describe risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements labeled with such terms as "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "feels," "anticipates," "proposes," "proposed," or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect Fresh Healthy Vending's actual results are described in Fresh Healthy Vending's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2015, and its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. All forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release and are based on Fresh Healthy Vending's current beliefs and expectations. Fresh Healthy Vending undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Fresh Healthy Vending

Contact:

Jessica Windell

661-733-0815

Jessica@bamcommunications.biz

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Tutor Doctor Franchise Growing to Keep Up with Australias Education Needs

Expansion of Private, In-Home Tutoring Franchise Contributing to $6 Billion Industry in Australia

February 03, 2016 // Franchising.com // SYDNEY - With school set to begin at the end of January, many students will start finding themselves struggling to keep up with their academic workload, leaving parents in desperate need for a solution. Theyre not alone, as the demand has created a $6 billion private tutor industry in Australia, which is contributing to projections of the global private tutoring sector surpassing $123 billion by 2020.

Tutor Doctor has been helping meet demand for private, in-home tutoring in Australia since 2014 by utilising a holistic approach to the needs of students and parents seeking alleviation of academic stress or enrichment.

With three franchises serving territories in Melbourne and Sydney, Tutor Doctor is providing one-on-one help to primary school students who need help with maths, along with HSC students who seek assistance with essay writing. Because the private tutoring industry in Australia is growing at a rapid pace, individuals from all walks of life  graduate students, teachers seeking part-time work and the elderly  want to share in educating Australias students by becoming a tutor. However, Tutor Doctor can also help adult learners still hungry to increase their understanding of subjects required for work or lessons skimped on in school.

Since opening our first Australia franchise last year, families have embraced the personalised, private, in-home tutoring service model that we offer, said Frank Milner, President of Tutor Doctor. Our franchisees have been enrolling students consistently, and matching them up with specialised tutors to keep up with their individualised needs.

About Tutor Doctor

With nearly 450 territories in 15 countries, Tutor Doctor was named the No. 1 In-Home Tutoring Franchise by Entrepreneur.com in 2015. Founded as an alternative to the one-to-many teaching model most extra-curricular learning centers offer, Tutor Doctor provides a personalised one-to-one, in-home tutoring service to students of all ages. Now with offices internationally, the Tutor Doctor vision is becoming a reality, positively impacting students and their families worldwide. With the belief that all students can achieve academic success through academic foundation building and discipline, Tutor Doctor continues to lead the private tutoring industry. For more information, please visitwww.tutordoctor.com.au. To find out about franchise opportunities, please visit, www.tutordoctoropportunity.com.

SOURCE Tutor Doctor

Contact:

J.T. Morand

Fishman Public Relations

847-945-1300

JTMorand@fishmanpr.com

###

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DALLAS  A person in Texas has been infected with the Zika virus after having sex with an ill person who had returned from a country where the disease was present, Dallas County health officials said Tuesday.

Its the first case of the virus being transmitted in the U.S. during the current outbreak of Zika, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas. Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials did not release any details about the Texas patient, citing privacy issues. In a tweet, Dallas health officials said the first person infected had been to Venezuela, but did not detail when and where that person or the second person was diagnosed.

The CDC says that in this case theres no risk to a developing fetus.

The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. There was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one mans semen in Tahiti.

That gives you the plausibility of spread, but the science is clear to date that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said during a recent news conference about Zika.

In the epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, the main villain identified so far is called Aedes aegyptia species of mosquito that spreads other tropical diseases, including chikungunya and dengue fever. It is found in the southern United States, though no mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States to date.

Texas Department of State Health Services said that case announced Tuesday is the first one contracted in the state. But the agency noted that there are seven other cases of the virus in Texas, all related to foreign travel.

The World Health Organization on Monday declared a global emergency over the rapidly spreading Zika virus, saying it is an extraordinary event that poses a threat to the rest of the world. The declaration was made after an emergency meeting of independent experts called in response to a spike in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year. Officials in French Polynesia also documented a connection between Zika and neurological complications when the virus was spreading there two years ago, at the same time as dengue fever.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between the virus and babies born with abnormally small heads.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It wasnt believed to cause any serious effects until last year; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week.
Home Decor Shop Outrageous Rugs Celebrates 30th Anniversary in San Diego

Home decor shop Outrageous Rugs celebrates its 30th anniversary in San Diego, 27 of which it has been in the same location. Store cofounders Steve Blumkin and Ross Margolin say the store owes its longevity to a loyal customer base, particularly professional designers.

--

Outrageous Rugs has announced the company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in San Diego this year, marking a significant milestone for the small home decor business. The last 27 of those 30 years have been in the same location.

Founded in 1988 by Steve Blumkin and Ross Margolin, Outrageous Rugs has been a mainstay on Miramar Road in San Diego almost since its inception. The co-founders attribute their staying power to the loyalty of their customers.

"We're pleased to be able to say not only have we been around for 30 years, but we've managed to stay in the exact same place for the majority of those three decades," Blumkin said. "It's rare for a small business to not only last 30 years, but stay in the same location for almost that long and we're proud of that accomplishment. There have been many ups and downs in the economy during that time and even in our own industry, but thanks to a dedicated customer base and a commitment to quality and customer service, we've managed to thrive here."

To celebrate the significant milestone, Outrageous Rugs plans to hold promotions throughout the year that will reward loyal customers who have stuck with the company during its long history, but also draw in new customers to help the company continue to thrive in San Diego. In particular, the company aims to focus on its professional designer and high volume customers in 2016, as they've played an instrumental role in the company's sustained success.

"All customers are valuable to us, of course, but we've had an especially good relationship with professional designers and high volume customers like hotel chains over the years and we want to recognize their importance to us by focusing on them this year," Margolin said. "We will continue to work with San Diego's top interior designers to give their clients great floor coverings that compliment their home decor and also continue to engage high volume customers like restaurants and hotels because those high volume orders are our bread and butter and what has kept us going strong since we started."

The company starts the celebration of its 30th anniversary year coming off a highly successful 2015, which saw Outrageous Rugs expand its own weaving operations in both India and Nepal. Blumkin and Margolin plan to continue ramping up operations in Asia this year, which the businessmen hope will allow them to streamline operations and better serve their commercial customers. Having their own rug weaving operations allows the company to offer customers greater choice and customization, the entrepreneurs say.

For more information about us, please visit http://outrageousrugs.com

Contact Info:

Name: Rob Swystun

Organization: Outrageous Rugs

Phone: 800-689-1290

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/home-decor-shop-outrageous-rugs-celebrates-30th-anniversary-in-san-diego/102399

Release ID: 102399

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Extreme Gleam Celebrates The Achievement Of Becoming A Siramik Glass Coat Accredited Detailer.

The company trusts SiRamik Glass coating due to the many advantages of their specialized products for example that the ceramic protection comes with a 4 years warranty

--

Well known for its high-quality car valeting and detailing services, Company Extreme Gleam recently added a new feather to its cap of achievements: the company has been newly approved by SiRamik Glass coat, as one of their accredited detailers. This new certification is a testament to the company's prime objective to provide their valuable customers the best and latest technology, techniques and products.

For the customers of Extreme Gleam, this new development means that when they choose Extreme Gleam car detailing service they will be receiving a combination of professional, skilled and experienced workmanship and high quality, specialized products that are not available to the mass market or car dealerships. The company spokesperson said: "Here at Extreme Gleam we've developed the ultimate vehicle protection service. Our ceramic paint protection service imparts a durable and scratch resistant, high-gloss coating to your vehicles' paintwork. It is clear that our protection services not only offer a high-shine quality but can save you time too! In the busy working world, vehicles are constantly exposed to dirt and contaminants, yet busy owners have less opportunity to wash them. Thanks to the self-cleaning properties of ceramic coatings, maintenance will be reduced, along with the time was taken to clean the vehicle - one of the many reasons why it is so popular!"

The company trusts SiRamik Glass coating due to the many advantages of their specialized products for example that the ceramic protection comes with a 4 years warranty, it protects not only paintwork but alloy wheels, plastic trim, glass and even engine components and is self-cleaning scratch resistant plus offers supreme gloss finish.

The company also prides itself on delivering unmatchable standards of customer services that focus on comforting their esteemed customer and ensuring that each customer is fully satisfied with the service. Extreme Gleam has assembled a team of professional detailers who are are Autobrite-Direct Approved detailers and KDS Certified master detailers. The ceramic paint protection can be used on cars both new and old to keep them looking protected and looking super glossy.

About: Extreme Gleam is a family run business based in Worcestershire, West Midlands. Their unit is based in Droitwich Spa, just a few minutes away from Junction 5 of the M5. Between them, they have over 10 years' experience in the professional valeting and detailing industry. For more information, please visit http://extremegleamvaleting.co.uk/ceramic-paint-protection/

Media Contact

Tom Taylor-Gibbs

Unit 17b, The Furlong, Berry Hill Industrial Estate, Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 9AH

tom@extremegleamdetailing.co.uk

For more information about us, please visit http://extremegleamvaleting.co.uk/ceramic-paint-protection/

Contact Info:

Name: Tom Taylor-Gibbs

Email: tom@extremegleamdetailing.co.uk

Organization: Extreme Gleam



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/extreme-gleam-celebrates-the-achievement-of-becoming-a-siramik-glass-coat-accredited-detailer/102750

Release ID: 102750

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Ayers, Smithdeal and Bettis, P.C. Launches a New Educational Website

This new website informs citizens about personal injury, car accident and workers' compensation cases, reports ASBLawFirm.com

Greenwood, SC -- February 3, 2016 (FPRC) -- AYERS, SMITHDEAL and BETTIS, P.C. announces the launch of a new educational website, one designed to inform them about personal injury, car accident and workers' compensation cases. The site contains information on Auto Accidents, Personal Injury law, workers' compensation, DUI, medical negligence and nursing home neglect cases. Individuals find this site to be of great assistance when they are dealing with a variety of legal matters.



"Winter weather often leads to a variety of accidents. Individuals who find they are harmed as a result of negligence on the part of another want answers to their questions, and these answers need to be obtained in a timely manner. With the help of this educational website, consumers find they have the information they need right at their fingertips," Wm. Chad Bettis, spokesperson at Ayers, Smithdeal and Bettis, P.C., declares.



One thing many individuals wish to know is the time frame they have for filing a lawsuit in a situation like this, as they want to ensure they do so in a timely manner. Those injured in the state of South Carolina generally have three years from the date he or she was injured to file their lawsuit in the South Carolina civil courts; however, in some cases they only have three years to do so. Individuals who miss this time frame most likely will find they have no legal recourse.



In addition, Bettis continues, individuals must be aware of the shared fault laws in the state. When a person if found partially at fault for their accident and injuries, the amount of compensation they obtain will be decreased by the amount that equals their percentage of fault. When the injured party is found to be responsible for more than 50 percent of the legal blame, they are no longer able to collect anything from any parties that may also be at fault.







Furthermore, when an individual is injured, he or she needs to be aware of any limits placed on the amount of compensation they may receive. Certain states restrict the types of damages an injured party may be compensated for, and this depends in part on the type of case being tried. For example, in the majority of medical malpractice cases in South Carolina, individuals cannot obtain more than $350,000 per defendant for their non-economic damages, which includes things like pain and suffering. In addition, generally a claimant cannot obtain non-economic damages in excess of $1.05 million against up to three health care providers related to the same claim for injuries from medical negligence. Other caps or limitations may be applicable to a medical negligence case as well.



"As this law only applies to medical malpractice, individuals need to seek legal representation to learn their rights and responsibilities as they pertain to their case. Although the new website will be of great assistance in answering many questions, don't hesitate to call the firm for a consultation. Anyone injured through the actions of another deserves compensation for their injuries, pain and suffering and more, and the right attorney will work to ensure this is exactly what they get," Bettis states.



About Ayers, Smithdeal and Bettis, P.C.:



Ayers, Smithdeal and Bettis, P.C. remains dedicated to working for ordinary citizens when they find they are dealing with legal issues involving wealthy and powerful opponents and never treats a client's concerns as simply another case. The firm takes the time to carefully evaluate each case prior to providing a straightforward assessment of the client's legal rights and their options. The firm advocates for the average person and addresses their legal needs.





Send an email to Wm. Chad Bettis of r

864-229-1947

Recent Press Releases By The Same User

ShapeHost Launches New Spring Sale Offering Savings Of Up To 35% On VPS Packages (Tue 8th Mar 16)

Paypro Finance Launches their Consumer Financing for Small Business Program (Mon 7th Mar 16)

Kuber Ventures Publishes New Infographic To Show Difference Between EIS for Pensions and SIPP (Thu 3rd Mar 16)

Pregnancy Exercise Publishes New Guide Into Training For Fitness While Pregnant (Thu 3rd Mar 16)

Centex Hosting Launches Newly Redesigned Website To Herald Expansion Into VPS Hosting (Thu 3rd Mar 16)

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Michael Carter Launches New YouTube Channel for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Michael Carter launches a new YouTube Channel aimed at people that want to start an online business / Internet Marketers / Entrepreneurs / learn video marketing / email marketing / social media . The channel and the extensive video content can be found at http://www.youtube.com/moneymikecom

--

People that are looking to Michael Carter (Money Mike) to help them start an online business are invited to subscribe to the all-new YouTube channel. This new channel promises to provide expert guidance and information on learning video marketing, digital course creation, blogging, email marketing and using social media effectively on a regular basis.

This new YouTube channel was created specifically with the needs of people who want to learn more about marketing online, business owners looking for an edge over their competition and digital course creation. Money Mike also welcomes input on which topics to explore for future videos. Michael Carter, Owner at Money Mike said:

"This new YouTube channel will help people to harness the power of technology so they can make their own brand known and learn the techniques to using software technology. This is an exciting time for people that have the courage to step out of their normal routines and learn how to use video marketing and social media to their advantage"

Money Mike's Owner goes on to say: "The aim of the new YouTube Channel is to Help people start their own business so that they can better contribute to society and provide for their own families.. The more feedback that the channel can get, the better that it serves the public and can make a huge, positive impact in the lives of thousands and perhaps millions of people world wide.

Anybody interested in learning video marketing, digital course creation, email marketing and social media strategies can subscribe to the Money Mike YouTube channel here http://www.youtube.com/moneymikecom

Some of the planned subjects for upcoming videos include:Email Marketing - Learn how to use email marketing to fuel businesses. Tips & Tricks- learn how to make better use of each day- The Power of Social Media - Learn how to use social media to grow and brand a business.

After the YouTube Channel launched live in early Jan 2016, new viewers can see all the latest videos there as well they are encouraged to comment and share on social media. Further details on the channel, the direction and other information on Money Mike itself can be found on their website: http://www.moneymike.com

For more information about us, please visit http://www.moneymike.com

Contact Info:

Name: Michael Carter

Organization: Money Mike



Release ID: 102544

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Michael Dreishpoon Successfully Defends Young Client of 14 Month Legal Battle

After a long & arduous legal battle, the law office of Michael Dreishpoon has come out on top defending a twenty two year old woman from a costly DWI charge on her permanent record.

--

New York, NY - Criminal defense and personal injury attorney Michael Dreishpoon announced that his office has successfully defended a 22 year old woman in a complicated and dramatic DWI case in Nassau County, the toughest county in the State of New York on DWI cases.

After a 14 month struggle against determined county prosecutors, the case went to trial on January 12, 2016. At the conclusion of the week long trial, the jury returned a "Not Guilty" verdict after only 25 minutes of deliberations. "As I've always said, sometimes in life you've got to stand and fight," said Michael Dreishpoon, whose law practice is based in Queens. "Just make sure that you've got the right people by your side when you do so."

After a night out in November 2014, Dreishpoon's client enlisted a sober, designated driver to take her home in a vehicle leased by her family. Unfortunately, the car was struck by another driver on the way. Because her father had instructed her not to let anyone else drive the car, the distressed young woman informed a police officer at the scene that she, and not the designated driver, had been in operation of the vehicle at the time of the crash. Upon being administered a breathalyser test,

Dreishpoon's client blew a 0.19, more than two times the legal limit, and was immediately arrested. Although she corrected her account upon realizing the gravity of the situation, the woman was charged with Driving While Intoxicated.

After her family retained the services of Michael Dreishpoon, the attorney fought for more than one year to ensure Nassau County acknowledged the accurate facts of the case. Both the young woman and her designated driver testified at the trial, and the jury was persuaded by their testimonies and Dreishpoon's skilled arguments in the courtroom. The verdict is the most recent in Dreishpoon's long track record of trial victories in criminal and personal injury cases.

Michael Dreishpoon is a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer with over 24 years of experience practicing law in the New York metropolitan area. During that time, he has earned a reputation as a highly skilled litigator who protects his clients' rights and freedom. Dreishpoon is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Queens County Bar Association.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.dreishpoon.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Michael Dreishpoon

Organization: Law Offices of Michael Dreishpoon

Address: 71 Southwalk Bay

Phone: (204) 881-7131

Video URL: https://youtu.be/Nco_HZX6BF4

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/michael-dreishpoon-successfully-defends-young-client-of-14-month-legal-battle/102785

Release ID: 102785

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ScoreInc Announces Credit Repair Summit on Demand Credit Repair Business Training

Credit Repair Summit on demand credit repair business training is offered by ScoreInc.com

--

Mobile AL: Credit Repair Summit on demand credit repair business training is offered by ScoreInc.com, according to Joshua Corona, Vice President. The on-demand training sessions are offered for a monthly cost of $79 and include more than one hundred hours of training and education. Available materials include on demand sessions from 2015 and 2014. Trainees can also pre-register for the upcoming 2016 Credit Repair Summit, due to begin October 4, 2016. The online material includes a certificate of completion, entry into the Apple TV giveaway drawing and a lifetime access subscription.

The training available online consists of more than one hundred hours of credit repair business education, presented by more than 25 speakers, considered experts in their field. The material is available around the clock. Unlike many other credit repair courses or boot camps, it is unnecessary to travel in order to attend the training. Training can be done by logging in from the home or office. This accessibility means that there is no cost for travel expenses and no lost time at work. The viewer doesn't feel pressured to understand and view the information, as it is available online.

The target market for the credit repair summit recorded materials is micro- to small-sized companies concentrating on credit repair. The training is suitable for both employees and business owners. Geographically, the information applies to companies and personnel in the United States and in Canada. The tips and suggestions address two significant issues: What information does a credit repair principal need to know, and how to overcome the barriers to finding out what information is necessary.

Credit repair entrepreneurs, even those who have not previously considered a credit repair business, as well as companies who are impacted by the credit picture of customers, will benefit from the information provided in the sessions. Examples of this type of company include automobile dealers, mortgage companies and real estate firms.

Detailed information on Credit Repair Summit On Demand Credit Repair Business Training can be found at https://creditrepairsummit.com/learn-more

Contact Information

Contact Person Name: Joshua Cormona, Vice President of ScoreInc.com

Company: ScoreInc.com

Address: 851 E. I-65 Service Road Suite 304, Mobile, Alabama 36606

Telephone Number: (877) 876-5921

Email: smm@creditrepairsummit.com

Website: https://creditrepairsummit.com/

For more information about us, please visit https://creditrepairsummit.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Joshua Cormona

Organization: ScoreInc.com

Address: Address: 851 E. I-65 Service Road Suite 304, Mobile, Alabama 36606

Phone: (877) 876-5921

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/scoreinc-announces-credit-repair-summit-on-demand-credit-repair-business-training/102833

Release ID: 102833

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?UPE Alliance Group Named A Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards Winner

Taking pride in their commitment to provide exceptional customer service through delivering quality, practical and economical solutions, UPE Alliance Group has been recognised as an excellent turnkey automation system and engineering solutions supplier.

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Unity Precision Engineering, one of the three companies under the UPE Alliance Group is honoured to be presented with the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards. Emphasising on strategic management approaches, the Product and Service Excellence Award is in recognition of UPE Alliance Group business excellence and brilliance. Served as the highest accolades for the enterprises which have achieved utmost excellence in all key business management disciplines, the Sin Chew Business Excellence Awards is one of the most trusted and prestigious business awards program in Malaysia.

An ISO 9001:2008 & 14001:2004 certified company, UPE Alliance Group specialises in offering a full range of System Engineering, Design and Project Management services for all manufacturing needs to various industries and MNC companies in Malaysia as well as across Asia. By receiving this award, UPE Alliance Group's ability as well as their constant dedication in providing the highest quality of products, processes, services as well as the greatest professionalism excellence to their valuable customers are fully and clearly demonstrated. Henceforth UPE Alliance Group endeavours to continually benchmark themselves against the highest standards of quality and service in their pursuit of further excellence.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.upealliancegroup.com/

Contact Info:

Name: UPE Alliance

Organization: UPE Alliance Group

Address: No 1, Jalan Desa Tropika 2/2, Taman Perindustrian Tropika, 81800 Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Phone: +607-863 0000

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/%e2%80%8eupe-alliance-group-named-a-sin-chew-business-excellence-awards-winner/102843

Release ID: 102843

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Global Market News has released report on Global Power Market (Angola, France, Germany) 2016.

Deerfield Beach, FL, United States of America february 3, 2016 /GlobalMarketNews.us/ 

Power Market (Angola, France, Germany) 2015 Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Price, Outlook 2023

Angola Power Market 2015 :-

This report examines Angola's power market structure and provides historical and forecast numbers for generation, capacity and consumption up to 2030. Detailed analysis of the Angola power market's regulatory structure, import and export trends, competitive landscape and power projects at various stages of the supply chain is provided. The report also gives a snapshot of the power sector in Angola on broad parameters of macroeconomics, supply security, generation infrastructure, transmission infrastructure, degree of competition, regulatory scenario and future potential. Financial performance of the leading power companies is also analyzed in the report.

Request For Sample Report Here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/angola-power-market-outlook-to-2030-market-19613#requestSample

France Power Market 2015 :-

Scope

-Analysis of the countrys power sector across six parameters supply security, regulatory scenario, infrastructure, macroeconomics, competition and future potential of the power sector.

-Relative ranking of the country in the region based on the above parameters.

-Statistics for installed capacity, power generation and consumption from 2000 to 2011, forecast for the next 18 years to 2030.

-Break-up by technology, including thermal, hydro, renewable and nuclear

Data on leading current and upcoming projects.

-Information on grid interconnectivity, transmission and distribution infrastructure and power exports and imports.

-Policy and regulatory framework governing the market.

-Detailed analysis of top market participant, including market share analysis and SWOT analysis.

Request For Sample Report Here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/france-power-market-outlook-to-2030-business-19587#requestSample

Germany Power Market 2015 :-

Reasons to buy

-Identify opportunities and plan strategies by having a strong understanding of the investment opportunities in the country's power sector

-Identification of key factors driving investment opportunities in the country's power sector

-Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data

-Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events

-Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industry's growth potential

-Identify key partners and business development avenues

-Identify key strengths and weaknesses of important market participants

-Respond to your competitors' business structure, strategy and prospects

Request For Sample Report Here: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/germany-power-market-outlook-to-2030-market-19609#requestSample
Pest Control San Antonio TX Professionals Launch Website

Pests of various types are a greater challenge in the San Antonio area. All Pest Control not only controls a wide range of pests, but eradicates them.

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San Antonio TX: All Pest Control Pros is pleased to report their new pest control San Antonio TX website is open to attract and inform home and business owners in the Central Texas area. Even though the website is recent, the professionals there are well-equipped and well-trained to provide exceptional service day and night. Pests of various types are a greater challenge in the San Antonio area. All Pest Control not only controls a wide range of pests but eradicates them.

The pest firm offers highly customized services which are the highest quality. Pests are a high risk to the health and safety of the residents. The team from All Pest provides trained, licensed and qualified service. Although a home or business owner may seek assistance with a particular pest, a service call by the experts may identify other pests that are equally a problem. These can also be included in the efforts to eliminate and control rodents.

Licensing and certification are up to date for the San Antonio area. The professionals offer free rodent control consultations. The quotes for services are provided quickly and have no hidden charges. Service for business hours or nights and weekends is available in emergency situations. The experts respond quickly to client calls.

A wide range of pest and rodent control and elimination services are offered to commercial and homeowners. Rodents such as possums, squirrels, rats, mice and raccoon are eliminated utilizing approved chemicals and equipment. Bed bugs are a problem in the area which is eliminated by up-to-the-minute products and equipment. When a lease ends the premises are pest-free for he new tenants. Other pests which are managed include bees, wasps, silverfish, fleas, flies, snakes and spiders. Mosquito control and elimination to prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and others is offered. According to the new website, the products which are used are safe for the humans and pets in the structure.

Contact Information

Company: All Pest Control Pros

Address: 7126 Tezel Road Suite 102-106, San Antonio, TX 78250

Telephone: (210) 446-0079

Email: support@allpestcontrolpros.com

Website: http://www.allpestcontrolpros.com

For more information about us, please visit http://www.allpestcontrolpros.com

Contact Info:

Name: All Pest Control Pros

Organization: All Pest Control Pros

Phone: (210) 446-0079

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/pest-control-san-antonio-tx-professionals-launch-website/102842

Release ID: 102842

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Professional Window Cleaning Denver Opens New Location In Colorado

Keeping windows clean is known to extend the life of the glass. Clean glass reduces the wear and erosive elements of weather and environmental factors.

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Denver CO: Professional Window Cleaning Denver ( www.GetMyWindowsClean.com ) is pleased to announce that it will be opening a new location in Denver Colorado. The professional firm has been offering residential, high rise and commercial window cleaning services in other locations since 1999. The new location in Denver will allow an expanded customer and service base for the expertise of the professional window-cleaning crew. Each of the professionals is friendly and courteous.

The rates charged are by the number of windows, but the position of the windows is also a contributing factor. Windows which are very high will require additional equipment and time to clean properly, so it is expected that the prices for these panes will be somewhat higher. In each instance, the prices will be affordable and competitive with the local market.

The importance of clean windows in a residence affect the enjoyment of the view, as well as offering a view of the outdoors which is so apparent in Colorado. Keeping windows clean is known to extend the life of the glass. Clean glass reduces the wear and erosive elements of weather and environmental factors. The same is true of commercial and high rise windows. The glass which is clean is more attractive and lasts longer. Special finishes on windows are protected against scratches and even vandalism.

Hiring a professional to clean the windows, whether commercial or residential, means that a better job will be done. The professionals bring the proper tools and equipment to do the job properly. It requires experience and skill to use the tools and equipment correctly. The right equipment can be costly. The professionals are aware of safety elements required for the performance of the cleaning job. Some of the factors that affect safety include working on scaffolding and ladders, being aware of power lines and electrical sources and protection of grounds and landscaping.

David Kaminski - CEO

Professional Window Cleaning Denver

Address: 1624 Market St., Denver, CO 80202

Telephone: (720) 255-0229

Email: denver-co@getmywindowsclean.com

Website: http://www.getmywindowsclean.com/window-cleaning-denver-co

Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zvun2L3PiXQI.kc1KxUy1ve_E

For more information about us, please visit http://www.getmywindowsclean.com/window-cleaning-denver-co

Contact Info:

Name: David Kaminski

Organization: Professional Window Cleaning Denver

Address: Address: 1624 Market St., Denver, CO 80202



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/professional-window-cleaning-denver-opens-new-location-in-colorado/102852

Release ID: 102852

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Weston Movers Marks Ten Year Anniversary In South Florida

Weston Movers provides a free estimate to prospective customers. The written estimates carry no obligation and include a cap limit for the cost of the move.

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Weston FL: Weston Movers staff and Julian Kreyman, owner of Weston Movers are pleased to announce that the company has been working for customers in the local area for more than a decade. The level of experience in the moving industry permits customers in the area to obtain quality service at the lowest possible prices. The team at discount Weston Movers can move customers to or from Dade, Palm Beach or Broward County to anywhere in the state of Florida and across the nation.

The professional personnel at the firm are experienced and knowledgeable in order to provide all the supplies and support which the client could need during the move, regardless of the distance. Moving can be an extremely successful stressful time. The assistance of the company with the level of moving experience makes the entire process less worrisome. Customers are encouraged to check out the claims of the company and of others in the same industry. The reputation of Weston Movers will withstand the scrutiny.

Weston Movers provides a free estimate to prospective customers. The written estimates carry no obligation and include a cap limit for the cost of the move. This cap limit allows the customer to know ahead of time the maximum cost for the move. Customers are able to arrange for a full range of services such as storage, packing and the actual moving fees. The price will be accurate and affordable.

The experienced movers take care of furniture disassembly and reassembly and provide all packing materials and supplies. A supervisor is on location for each moving project. When the move must take place on the weekend or at night, there is no extra charge. Certificates are available to customers upon request. The company maintains bonding, licensing and full insurance for the state of Florida. These features provide peace of mind for the customers.

Contact Person Name: Julian Kreyman

Company Name: Discount Weston Movers

Address: Weston, FL 33326

Telephone Number: (954) 455-8987

Email Address: info@moversweston.com

Website: http://moversweston.com/

For more information about us, please visit http://moversweston.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Julian Kreyman

Organization: Discount Weston Movers



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/weston-movers-marks-ten-year-anniversary-in-south-florida/102849

Release ID: 102849

For more information visit r



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Fort Wayne Carpet Cleaning Professionals Offer Free Bonus Coupon

Tile cleaning helps to brighten the surface and to ensure that bacteria and mold which gets into the grout and spaces between tiles is removed.

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Fort Wayne, Indiana: Fort Wayne Carpet Cleaning is pleased to announce that they have prepared a free bonus coupon for those prospective customers who request a price estimate. The quote for service is free and instantaneous to the area customers. The mobile carpet service brings the full range of equipment, personnel, and supplies to clean carpets and residential tile. One room or an entire household can be treated to the same high-quality care and protection.

Regular maintenance of residential or emergency restoration following events such as floods, backed-up drains, or other issues can help to protect the investment of costly floor coverings in the home. Likewise, tile which has become dirty and darkened over the years should be cleaned by a professional. Tile cleaning helps to brighten the surface and to ensure that bacteria and mold which gets into the grout and spaces between tiles is removed.

There are many reasons for professional help to get carpets and tile back in healthy, fresh smelling and clean condition. It is important to have germs and organic matter removed from carpet fiber and backing for better health. The children and infants who play on the carpet and tend to put everything into their mouth deserve a clean carpet. Professional cleaning removes stains from food, drink, and pets as part of the process.

Fort Wayne Carpet Care is a locally owned firm and recognizes the importance of reputation through word-of-mouth references by households who are friends and neighbors. As a new or established firm, Fort Wayne carpet professionals are experienced and knowledgeable about the service they provide and they are also invested in their community. Prompt response and exceptional service along with free bonus offers make the professional cleaning tasks welcome to those with little time to spare in a busy work-day.

Company: Fort Wayne Carpet Care

Address: 10214 Chestnut Plaza Dr #131d, Fort Wayne, IN 46814

Telephone: (260) 207-4195

Email: fortwaynecarpetcleaner@gmail.com

Website: http://www.fortwaynecarpetcare.com

For more information about us, please visit http://www.fortwaynecarpetcare.com

Contact Info:

Name: Joe Brogan

Organization: Fort Wayne Carpet Care



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/fort-wayne-carpet-cleaning-professionals-offer-free-bonus-coupon/102912

Release ID: 102912

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Healthcare Marketing Website Launched by Doctor Identity Services

Health care professionals can begin with any budget size and grow with the increased patient load. Patients find the information from the internet site easily and conveniently.

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Tampa FL: Healthcare marketing is the mission of the new website launched by Roger Safont, and his company Doctor Identity Services. The doctor marketing team of the new company focuses on helping medical professionals to achieve a higher presence on the internet. Potential patients today are more likely to turn to the search engines and the internet to find information about medical professionals. Patients are interested in information about the location of the doctor, what areas he or she specialize in and whether they are accepting new patients.

The team at Doctor Identity Services is skilled at boosting medical SEO in order to make it possible for the medical practice to have more traffic and thus more potential patient. The services offered by Roger Safont and his team begins with research about the health care professional, the practice and the target demographic. This information allows for the creation of a list of keyword phrases and words which should be included on the website.

The experts in design and medical search engine marketing will then ensure that the developed website is both eye-catching and usable to the potential patients at all times. This approach ensures that the website reaches the right patient audience and become well known in the medical field. Rather than to rely on Yelp or similar review sites to offer patients information about the practice, a proactive approach is ensured which makes use of the effective SEO strategies.

In addition to search engine optimization for medical practices, the professionals offer other strategies, including pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, social media and other paid advertisements. The complete marketing strategy will work to grow traffic and draw prospective patients to the practice. Health care professionals can begin with any budget size and grow with the increased patient load. Patients find the information from the internet site easily and conveniently.

Company: Doctor Identity Services

Address: 9217 Everwood Ct, Tampa FL 33647

Telephone Number: (813) 453-2225

Email: rsafont@doctoridentityservices.com

Website: http://www.doctoridentityservices.com/

For more information about us, please visit http://www.doctoridentityservices.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Roger Safont

Organization: Doctor Identity Services



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/healthcare-marketing-website-launched-by-doctor-identity-services/102905

Release ID: 102905

For more information visit r



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Open House For Wedding Venues Dallas Area Announced

Visitors to the Open House are invited to view the catering vendor, event packages and full vendors list. There is also a list of additional services such as the day-of-event coordinator and monogramming.

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Arlington TX: The Courtyard Villa Arlington has been named as a wedding venues Dallas location for an upcoming open house. Area residents are invited to check out the facility on February 2 from 5 to 8 pm. The Arlington, Texas facility is fully equipped to fulfill the needs of a variety of events. The location is suitable for weddings, corporate events, birthdays and quinceaneras. The outdoor courtyard with its exquisite landscape has been utilized as an intimate wedding ceremony or a cocktail party.

The Open House will feature free food ad drinks to guests. The opportunity to visit with staff members and vendors is a way to determine whether the location and the personnel are suitable for the prospective customer;s upcoming event. The facility includes full services, including catering, featuring gourmet cuisine by caterers with more than two decades of experience. Regardless of the size of the wedding celebration, the executive chefs work with customers to create a custom menu that perfectly fits the event.

A list of the most highly experienced and trusted vendors in the Dallas area has been compiled by the planners at The Courtyard Villa. The vendor list encompasses everything from photographers and videographers to clothing and hotel needs. If the wedding planner prefers to work with other vendors, The Courtyard Villa is happy to accommodate other vendors, thanks to the open vendor policy.

Visitors to the Open House are invited to view the catering vendor, event packages and full vendors list. There is also a list of additional services such as the day-of-event coordinator and monogramming. Attendance at the Open House is free of charge, but interested parties are requested to submit a RSVP online for the purpose of planning.

Planning a special event is one which brings memories which will last a lifetime or longer. Themed events are possible with advance planning and coordination with the personnel at Courtyard Villa Arlington.

Company: Courtyard Villa Arlington

Address: 1801 W Division St, Arlington, TX 76012

Telephone: (817) 277-4989

Website: http://www.thecourtyardvilla.com/

For more information about us, please visit http://www.thecourtyardvilla.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Courtyard Villa Arlington

Organization: Courtyard Villa Arlington



Source: http://marketersmedia.com/open-house-for-wedding-venues-dallas-area-announced/102866

Release ID: 102866

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Website Opens to Cater to Distance and Online MBA Programs Business is an ever changing world and education is important for success. The website www.coursesforbusiness.org is dedicated to providing educational information targeted specifically to Online and distance MBA Programs and other business Majors. View as PDF Print View February 3, 2016 (FPRC) -- Courses for Business offers the most up to date information regarding degrees in business management as well as online MBA choices that will fit anyones time schedule and budget.



Course for Business website presents itself in a very clean and easy to use format. The main objective of the website is to provide information on courses for business with a secondary objective to provide information on the different avenues of study such as online MBA courses. The website feature pages for targeted universities that provide outstanding business courses. These pages provide information regarding the university, their individuals courses for business, as well as everything you need to know about financial aid and other admission requirements.



The website then goes a step further by providing exclusive information about the different types of MBA programs available ranging from online, part time executive, full time, and a variety of other types. The website provides information to help about high ranking MBA programs as well as the importance of different business electives. All the information has been double checked to ensure the maximum accuracy. Students are welcome to leave comments on the different pages and the website administrators are quick to provide additional information needed to ensure that all users are receiving the most out of this free informational site.



About Courses for Business Website

The website www.coursesforbusiness.org works to bring the most up to date information for business degrees directly to the ones who need it most. The website supports a proud partnership with other degree information providing websites such as OnlinePhDPrograms.







Send an email to kenneth allen of r

02079555566 Recent Press Releases By The Same User
Mulberry House Clinic Launches Innovative PLEXR Soft Surgery System

Mulberry House Clinic & Laser Centre based near Northampton is pleased to announce a new treatment for facial rejuvenation. PLEXR Soft Surgery System uses plasma energy and ionisation to tighten and lift skin.

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Mulberry House Clinic & Laser Centre based in Northamptonshire has added another advanced skin treatment to its array of non-surgical anti-ageing options.

PLEXR Soft Surgery System is an exciting new procedure for women and men looking to turn back the clock without invasive surgery.

Although PLEXR is described as a soft surgery system, it is a non-surgical treatment which offers an effective alternative to going under the knife for eye rejuvenation, face lift, neck lift, lines and wrinkles. It can also treat skin problems and conditions such as acne, scars, moles, warts and age spots.

The procedure involves no cutting of the skin, no stitches and doesn't even need a local anaesthetic injection, so appeals to those looking for a less invasive method of achieving younger-looking skin.

PLEXR involves the use of a special probe-like instrument, which uses plasma energy to ionise the gas particles in the air between its tip and the patient's skin. This creates an electrical arc to the skin which causes 'sublimation', which is where the tissue goes from a solid to gas state, which in turn causes the skin to retract and tighten. After a series of applications of the probe, the skin looks immediately tighter and fresher.

Mulberry House Clinic & Laser Centre were particularly impressed with PLEXR on delicate skin like the eyes and areas traditionally resistant to treatment such as the neck.

Dr John Tanqueray explains:

"One of the commonest problem areas we are asked about is the skin around the eyes, as we tend to develop heaviness and sagging above the eyes, and crepey and crinkled skin under the eyes."

"Up to now we have been able to offer some subtle improvements with treatments like cosmetic injections, PRP (platelet rich plasma therapy) and skin creams, and some more helpful improvement with Infini, but otherwise for a more significant result the choice has only been surgery."

"The great news is that we now have an option for a significant improvement without resorting to surgery. Early results we have seen so far have been encouraging."

The clinic offers an impressive array of advanced skin treatment technology. In 2015, they launched INFINI radiofrequency treatment; a state of the art system which combines 2 types of radiofrequency technologies to achieve outstanding results for skin improvement and rejuvenation without surgery for a '3D volumisation' treatment.

Mulberry House Clinic & Laser Centre was established in 2003 and has over 10 year experience at the forefront of skin treatments. They have a reputation for offering the latest treatments and technology; offering laser, LED and PRP alongside popular cosmetic injections and laser hair removal. The business is based in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire; and remains independent and doctor-managed with its patients' best interests placed firmly at the heart of the business.

Dr Tanqueray has carried out cosmetic injections since 1999 and is renowned for a natural looking result which is never overdone. All consultations and treatments for cosmetic injections are still carried personally out by Dr John Tanqueray, who works closely with Allergan and is also an accredited UK trainer.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.mulberryhouseclinic.co.uk/

Contact Info:

Name: Dr John Tanqueray

Organization: Mulberry House Clinic

Address: 32 The Green, Firs Court, Hardingstone, Northampton, NN4 7BU

Phone: 01604 702 630

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5pvm8Edly0

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/mulberry-house-clinic-launches-innovative-plexr-soft-surgery-system/102923

Release ID: 102923

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Mission Viejo CA Dry Cleaning & Laundry Service Company Launches Website

Crown Valley Cleaners new Website Launch to Improve Accessibility to Customers - Crown Valley Cleaners is a dry cleaning & laundry services company located in Mission Viejo California hoping to make themselves more available to their customers searching online. http://www.crownvalleycleaners.com

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Crown Valley Cleaners Says Easier Access Now for Local Customers to Access the Best Price on Dry Cleaning.

Mission Viejo, CA - Crown Valley Cleaners, a full dry cleaning, laundry service and alterations company, launched its new website to offer better service to their local customers using their dry cleaning. The company hopes that the new website will make it easier for clients to get access to their dry cleaning service, including booking appointments and informing their local market on how their services work.

"Crown Valley Cleaners has the lowest prices, now we are also the easiest company to do business with," Said Edmund, one of the dry cleaning company's partners and proprietors. "The launch of our website makes it so customers can find us easily, they can get directions, call us, book a session for an alteration or anything they need related to their clothing."

Crown Valley Cleaners has been operating in the Mission Viejo, California area for years. Their team and staff boasts decades of combined experience in their handling of clothes, alterations and dry cleaning services. The launch of the new website will re brand the company as the most accessible dry cleaner and laundry services provider in the area and will attract new clientele using the internet.

The company is hopeful that with a mobile responsive web design, and some good marketing, they will be able to reach a whole new demographic of consumers and clientele that would normally be barred from them accessing. The website will also help them set appointments for their alteration services, allowing them to more efficiently tailor their clients clothing and helping their staff to finish the alterations on or before the desired due date.

The company views this transition as a continuous evolution of their customer service - something they take great pride in. Since the launch of the website, they have filled it with information about their three core services: dry cleaning, laundry services, and alterations. The aim is to educate their consumers as to why Crown Valley Cleaners should be the chosen dry cleaners in the area.

Along with their website being launched, they will also be creating a blog component of their website that will be filled with more valuable information, tips and strategies when it comes to clothes maintenance.

Click here for their website for more information on their Dry Cleaning, Alterations or Laundry Services. http://www.crownvalleycleaners.com

Contact Info:

Name: Crown Valley Cleaners

Address: 27620 Marguerite Pkwy Mission Viejo, CA 92692-3607

Phone: (949)347-6899

For more information about us, please visit http://www.crownvalleycleaners.com

Contact Info:

Name: Edmund Lee

Email: info@crownvalleycleaners.com

Organization: Crown Valley Cleaners

Address: 27620 Marguerite Pkwy Mission Viejo, CA 92692-3607

Phone: +1 949 347 6899

Release ID: 102776

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Petoskey Website Design Service Launched by Bear River Art Studio

"Prospective customers decide whether they like a website in a fraction of a second.

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Petoskey website design services are now available from the Bear River Art Studio. The professionals at the studio have been in the business since 1995, but recently re-branded the company to become Bear River Art Studio and located the home office in Petoskey. The firm is an internationally recognized design firm and marketing consultancy which is proud to service the entire Northern Michigan region.

The team at the Bear River Art Studio Petoskey location says they are artistic and eccentric geeks who provide more than twenty years of proven experience and a reputation for being on the cutting edge of today's trends. They have a portfolio that includes hundreds of marketing campaigns from throughout the nation. They pride themselves on being bold and forward-leaning.

According to a spokesperson for Bear River Art Studio, "Prospective customers decide whether they like a website in a fraction of a second. It is crucial to clearly communicate to customers within the first ten seconds if the website owner wants customers to stay. The potential customer ranks the credibility of the business by the quality of the website design. We want to produce websites that will attract customers."

The mark of a successful marketing campaign is more traffic and more conversions. The pros at Bear River begin by designing amazing website and helping clients to ignite their marketing both online and offline.

Some of the specific services available from the professional team at Bear River include responsive web design, social media marketing, copy-writing and content development. The designer team is able to provide local online marketing, graphic design and photography. As a marketing consultant, the professionals are able to pull together a unified campaign.

The team at Bear River does the necessary research to determine the unique marketing needs. The design of the website is one component of satisfying the needs of the customer. Effective marketing blends research, planning and creativity.

For more information about us, please visit http://bearriverart.com/petoskey-website-design/

Contact Info:

Name: Bear River Art Studio

Organization: Bear River Art Studio

Address: 410 E. Lake St. #800, Petoskey, MI 49770

Phone: (231) 753-6075

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/petoskey-website-design-service-launched-by-bear-river-art-studio/102931

Release ID: 102931

For more information visit r



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The problem with the removal of commission is that it addressed a consumerist mantra rather than the needs of consumers.

Nobody at the regulator asked the public what they wanted. No one at the regulator bothered to consider the advice gap that was widely predicted and has now manifested. Indeed, one very senior person at the then-FSA boldly claimed that the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) would reduce the cost of advice. Either he was being misleading or he really was that incompetent.

The RDR is a classic example of command economy economics. For the uninitiated, the Soviet command economy resulted in one factory making boots for the left foot and another making boots for the right foot, but in alternate years.

What it really needs is for journalists to launch an investigation into the regulator. One that will eventually lead to a public inquiry. Then we will get down to an explanation as to how so much money could be spent achieving so little.

John Morris

Managing director,

The Harvest Partnership,

Bromley,

Kent
I wish the new chief executive of the FCA Andrew Bailey well. Hes a seasoned public servant and regulator from the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority. He is the proverbial safe pair of hands, and few would be ungrateful for that.

After searching high and low for several months  throughout the world, apparently  the FCA (or was it the Treasury, or was it the chancellor? It is not very clear) found Mr Bailey just up the road at the Bank of England where he has been for 30 years.

While I suspect few financial advisers will have heard of him, he comes highly recommended. Bank of England governor Mark Carney said of his colleague: Andrew is an extraordinary public servant who has devoted his entire professional life to serving the people of the United Kingdom.

His boss, chancellor George Osborne, was equally gushing, saying: We have cast the net far and wide for this crucial appointment and, having led the Bank of Englands response to the financial crisis, Andrew is simply the most respected, most experienced and most qualified person in the world to do the job.

It should be remembered at this point that his predecessor Martin Wheatley, a man admired for his questioning style and thoughtfulness, announced he was resigning back in July 2015. Which begs the question: why did it take so long to find a candidate just a few miles away from the towers of Canary Wharf and why, apparently, did several candidates pull out of the race? Is the role really such a poisoned chalice?

In any event, I am sure Mr Bailey has considered both the pros and cons. My concern is not about the experienced new chief executive of the FCA, who seems a pretty logical choice and at least comes with many years of relevant experience. My main concern is with the board appointments the FCA announced the same day with four new board directors replacing three outgoing directors.

Disappointingly, the much-respected financial planner Amanda Davidson is to move on, at a stroke removing valuable board input from a financial practitioner. I have met Amanda several times over the years and her calmness and insights have always impressed me. To my mind she has always represented the kind of financial planner most people would choose if they could. With acres of business experience, she was not just making up the numbers on the board, she also chaired the important FCA remuneration committee.

Also disappointing was the departure of the fearless consumer campaigner Mick McAteer, an outspoken consumer advocate who has always been a voice for the less powerful in society.

Yes, they were coming to the end of their tenures, but who do we get in their place? Mostly a collection of insiders and ex-politicians. These include Bradley Fried, deputy chairman of the Court of Directors of the Bank of England; Baroness Sarah Hogg, an independent director of the Treasury and former Treasury financial secretary Ruth Kelly.
History is not on his side. Arguably, the former heads of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and FCA have all left under something of a cloud, or turn out to have failed in their agendas. Sir Howard Davies built a structure around risk management, Arrow, and desk-based monitoring that proved catastrophically weak when low-risk banks started collapsing and mis-selling scandals kept emerging around every corner. The application of management consultancy to regulation did not work. John Tiner watched while the banks headed towards catastrophe and failed to kill off personal loan-based payment protection insurance mis-selling as it stared him in the face.

Sir Hector Sants now stands accused of inertia while the UK banking system blew itself up in spite of the early warning provided by the run on Northern Rock. The recent spate of reports on HBoS from the Parliamentary Commission for Banking Standards, Andrew Green QC and the PRA show that the Sants FSA was run by people who failed to meet their public commitments and preferred to hit easy enforcement targets rather than challenge anyone running a major bank. The Treasury could not renew Martin Wheatleys contract after the Simon Davis report on his enfeebled authorisation of the deliberate advanced leaking of the business plan to a journalist, and his indecisive handling of the market movements that followed.

So, what does Andrew Baileys past tell us? He is a consummate Bank of England insider; a product of the organisation that missed the macro-implications of the banking crisis and was stressing the importance of limiting deposit protection as members of the public were withdrawing their money from the UKs more vulnerable banks. Mr Bailey himself was moved to run the FSAs shadow PRA operation in 2011. At the time, the Co-operative Bank was supposed to be buying over 600 of the Lloyds Bank branches. A journalist raised the point at the time whether the FSA was concerned the bank had yet to integrate its IT systems following its acquisition of the Britannia Building Society. Nobody at the FSA seems to have checked at this point whether the Co-op could actually afford the branches concerned, in spite of the battering that the banks balance sheets had suffered during the 2008 crash. RBS had effectively been doomed by its purchase of ABN-Amro. Nobody wondered whether the Co-op might not have the same problems with its acquisition of Britannia.

Under Mr Baileys leadership, the FSA allowed the Co-op to announce its branch purchases formally in July 2012. Early the following year, it became increasingly obvious that the Co-op could not handle the process. By June 2013, the bank had essentially failed, having wasted a small fortune on its Lloyds branches purchase. It is never easy to identify who is responsible for what in regulation but Mr Bailey was clearly the man in charge of bank solvency in the UK from April 2011 onwards. He almost certainly inherited a demoralised team that had clearly failed the banking crash test set in 2007-2009. He also had to administer the chaotic creation of a new organisation with the formation of the PRA and Sir Hectors on-off appointment to run it. One can argue that the complex bail-in solution saved the Co-op from costing the taxpayer any money. However, that is much more to do with the shareholding and debt arrangements within the bank than any regulatory masterstroke. The bank is still haemorrhaging money and failing stress tests even in relatively benign economic conditions. The Andrew Bailey-run PRA essentially earned a D grade for its handling of the Co-op.
Treasury select committee chairman Andrew Tyrie has written to the Financial Reporting Councils chief executive Stephen Haddrill with a set of questions concerning his organisations preliminary enquiries in to the auditing of Halifax Bank of Scotland.

This follows previous correspondence between the two, stretching back to December.

On 10 December, Mr Tyrie asked him to reconsider the need for an investigation into HBoS auditors, with Mr Haddrill replying on 15 December that the FRCs conduct committee was reviewing the case.

On 21 January, he wrote again to Mr Tyrie to inform him that the conduct committee had decided to undertake preliminary enquiries of KPMG under the accountancy scheme.

Commenting on the correspondence, Mr Tyrie said that the HBoS report exposed the staggeringly poor quality of banks loan book, adding while regulators looked in depth at the underlying causes, an assessment of the role of the auditors was left to the FRC.

Having originally declined to investigate the HBoS case in 2013, the FRC says that it has now launched what it calls preliminary enquiries in to certain elements of the auditing of HBoS.

I have written to the FRC to seek assurances from the FRC about both the scope, independence and rigour of these initial enquiries. The committee will be watching the FRCs work closely.

Given the shocking delay in initiating this work, a less than thorough job would be inexcusable, Mr Tyrie added. Given the shocking delay in initiating this work, a less than thorough job would be inexcusable. Andrew Tyrie

At the end of January, the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority began investigations into certain former HBOS senior managers to determine whether or not any prohibition proceedings should be commenced against them.

The move to re-start investigations comes after a report by Andrew Green QC slated the Financial Services Authoritys failure to take enforcement action following the failure of HBoS in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

In the middle of December, KPMG and its regulator the Financial Reporting Council, came under fire from the Treasury select committee for their part in the failure of HBoS.

Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest, suggested the failure of the FRC to explain its decision not to investigate KPMG undermined its credibility as an industry regulator.

peter.walker@ft.com
The expansion of GM herbicide-tolerant crops has led to a massive increase in the use of glyphosate weedkiller, a study has found.

According to the paper, published by organic proponent Charles Benbrook (see Extracts from Dr Benbrooks paper, below), glyphosate use has increased 15-fold since Roundup Ready genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant crops were introduced in 1996.

Extracts from Dr Benbrooks paper An estimated 747m kilograms of agricultural applications of glyphosate were used across 1.4bn hectares of actively farmed arable cropland worldwide in 2014.

If this volume of glyphosate had been applied evenly, about 0.53kg of glyphosate could have been sprayed on every hectare of cropland on the planet equivalent to about 0.47lbs/acre.

Global agricultural use of glyphosate soared following adoption of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops in 1996. The total volume applied by farmers rose 14.6-fold, from 51m kilograms in 1995 to 747m kilograms in 2014.

More than 70% of the total volume of glyphosate sprayed worldwide over 40 years, from 1974 to 2014, has been sprayed in the past 10 years, the study shows.

See also: Call to ban glyphosate on milling wheat

The new figures come against a background of increased use in the UK.

Figures analysed by the Soil Association from government data last year revealed glyphosate use in UK farming has increased by 400% in the past 20 years.

In the last year for which government figures are available, nearly one-third of UK cereals, wheat and barley, were sprayed with glyphosate  a total of just over 1m hectares.

Serious doubts have been cast over the claimed safety of glyphosate.

Last year, the World Health Organisations International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), concluded glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans.

However, glyphosate manufacturer Monsanto has strongly rejected the claims, saying they are not supported by scientific data.

See also: Monsanto hits back at glyphosate studys cancer claims

Dr Philip Miller, Monsantos vice-president of global regulatory affairs, said: All labeled uses of glyphosate are safe for human health and supported by one of the most extensive worldwide human health databases ever complied on an agricultural product.

Commenting on Dr Benbrooks report, Peter Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association, said: This huge increase in chemical spraying is what we can expect if GM crops are ever grown in England.

As well as being identified as a probable human carcinogen, the research notes that recent studies have made the connection between glyphosate exposure and a number of serious health effects as well as cancer, including the degeneration of the liver and kidney, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The research rightly questions the safety of using glyphosate on crops destined for people to eat just before they are harvested  a growing practice in the UK, which must end.

In November, the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), the EUs food safety watchdog, concluded that glyphosate was unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans.

However, more than 90 global scientists subsequently wrote to European health and food safety commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, strongly challenging Efsas decision and the report by German Federal Risk Assessment Institute (BfR) that it was based on.
Dairy commodity prices fell 7.4% at Tuesdays (2 February) Global Dairy Trade online auction.

This took the index down to its lowest level since September 2015, and with output still rising in some significant producer countries, pushed back hopes of a price recovery well into the second half of this year.

Two of New Zealands largest dairy co-operatives recently cut their farmgate milk price forecasts for 2015-16, blaming high EU production weighing on the market.

GDT dairy commodity prices  2 February 2016 Anhydrous milk fat down 6.6%, average price US$3,486/t (2,421/t)

Butter down 8.3%, average price US$2,905/t (2,017/t)

Butter milk powder down 6.7%, average price US$1,513/t (1,051/t)

Cheddar down 4.2%, average price US$2,807/t (1,949/t)

Lactose down 2.6%, average price US$577/t (401/t)

Rennet casein down 3.7%, average price US$4,362/t (3,029/t)

Skim milk powder down 2.2%, average price US$1,792/t (1,244/t)

WMP index down 10.4%, average price US$1,952/t (1,355/t)

Fonterra cut its forecast price by almost 10% to about 14p/litre, while Westland is at 14-15p/litre.

AHDB Dairy reports milk production in all five of the worlds key exporting regions (EU28, US, NZ, Australia and Argentina) was down slightly in November 2015.

See also: Arla direct suppliers price slashed to 16p/litre for March

Their annual milk production equivalent was just 0.4% lower than in October, although up slightly on September.

November was the first month in more than two years that the production equivalent fell month-on-month in all five regions, including the EU, said AHDB Dairy.

However, the drop recorded for the EU was largely caused by exceptionally high production in October rather than particularly weak production in November.

December production figures for NZ show a small increase, but was offset by a reduction from the US.

The volume sold at the GDT was up slightly from the previous sale at almost 24,500t, but lower than the 28,000t traded at the corresponding sale last year.

The overall average price at the GDT sale was US$2,276/t (1,580/t), with the largest falls seen in whole milk powder, butter, butter milk powder and anhydrous milk fat.
Farmers could be asked for more information about their business structures and interests as a condition of receiving CAP support payments.

Farmers Weekly understands Defra is finalising plans to ensure that no BPS claimant receives more than they should for a single farm business  currently capped at 150,000.

Brussels has issued Defra with a draft text, which it is understood the government is now fine-tuning.

It is thought that BPS recipients will have to fill in an additional form from this summer, giving details of accountable people in their farming businesses.

George Chichester, partner at Strutt & Parker, said he thought accountable people was likely to mean those with voting rights of more than 10% and who had financial risks in the business.

He said it was likely all types of farming businesses would have to fill in the form, but it would be more of a headache for complicated structures, including trusts and companies and where individuals were involved in more than one farming business.

More detail is expected in the next week.
Chronic fluke in cattle Chronic weight loss

Poor feed conversion efficiency

More susceptible to other disease

More than 20% of British cattle livers are condemned due to fluke damage each year

Mild weather has allowed liver fluke to survive on pasture to an abnormal level through the winter, with farms in Scotland at particularly high risk, warn animal health experts.

Testing and treating suspected sheep and cattle can minimise production losses, advises livestock veterinarian Peers Davies in Februarys Nadis outlook.

This warning follows three months of massively higher rainfall and temperatures, which has increased pasture survival of parasites. The risk is particular ramped up in western and northern regions.

Normally we expect levels of infectious pressure on pasture to drop as metacercariae are killed by freezing conditions, explains Mr Davies. Less cold weather across most of the UK means we are seeing higher infection levels at pasture than normally expected.

Mr Davies advises Closantel and Nitroxynil products be used where there is a known liver fluke problem.

Treatment options Closantel/Nitroxynil are very effective products at killing late immature and adult fluke, but correct dosage must be followed

Avoid Triclabendazole in February as this will drive development of resistance, meaning nothing is available to treat in autumn Testing options Copra-antigen ELISA test  will detect fluke in faeces slightly earlier than FEC

Faecal Egg Count (FEC) test

Select animals showing symptoms, for example thin ewes

Group and sample animals appropriately  a veterinarian could advise on sample sizes

But he adds: These products have a relatively low therapeutic index, so we must be careful that we are dosing correctly, as excessive overdosing can be fatal and underdosing means products arent effective.

Chronic liver fluke will be the predominant form of the disease across the UK, although outbreaks of acute fluke have been seen as late as February.

Chronic cases are now typically seen in cattle and sheep that have ingested low to moderate numbers of parasites that are now developing into final adult form and starting to exert pressure on hosts, adds Mr Davies.

Effects are most stark in sheep, where early embryonic loss and a reduction in lambing percentages can hit farm profits.

Farmers are also advised that bottlejaw is a rare presentation with chronic fluke and that this symptom should not be relied on alone to diagnose flocks.

Sioned Timothy, veterinary adviser for Merial Animal Health, says: Chronic fluke infections can put a lot of strain on pregnant ewes. If untreated, these animals may lose a significant amount of weight, and in severe cases both the lambs and the ewe may be lost.

Outwintered cattle are at particular risk due to the relatively mild winter weather, which allowed infective fluke to remain active on the pasture long into winter. Cattle grazing potentially infected pastures should either be dosed or checked for the presence of fluke eggs in faeces.
Northern Irish farmers say they are deeply concerned about the volume of lamb imported through Belfast port in 2015 from Australia and New Zealand.

The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) is calling for EU import quotas from the two counties to be revised by the EU Commission to stop imports undermining domestic lamb production.

Union deputy president Ivor Ferguson said figures from the Department of Agriculture (Dard) suggested the equivalent of 120,000 lambs had been imported.

See also: Tesco faces farmer protests over NZ lamb

Nearly 2,500t of southern hemisphere lamb was imported. We believe this was mostly premium cuts such as loin chops and legs, said Mr Ferguson.

It represents one-quarter of the carcass weight of lamb slaughtered in Northern Ireland last year  equivalent to about 120,000 lambs at a carcass weight of 21 kg, he said.

The UFU said it was often told by retailers and processors imports were needed when the local supply was not there to meet demand.

However, the Dard figures showed more than 80% of the lamb imported came in between April and October.

This is deeply concerning for local farmers who saw their income drop considerably in 2015. While we know the euro affects sheep prices, the news that big volumes of cheap lamb are imported will further dent farmers confidence in the supply chain, he said.

By bringing in the bulk of imports during the peak season here, this was a deliberate effort to increase supplies and so put pressure on local lamb prices.
A British exit from the European Union would have disastrous consequences for farmers and rural communities, Northern Irelands farm minister has warned.

Michelle ONeill said a vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum would result in the loss of potentially billions of pounds in farm subsidies.

Speaking at the Brexit: Rights and Wrongs conference in Belfast on Friday 29 January, Ms ONeill said: The problem with a vote to leave the EU is that no one will know what they are voting for.

See also: NFU to take stance on UK future in Europe

This is due to the absence of information about the type of relationships that would be negotiated with the rest of the world and the EU, post exit.

She added: Access to the EU is something that would have to be negotiated in the wake of a vote to leave and I find it difficult to see a scenario that affords us the same access to EU markets as we currently enjoy. Our agri-food sector would be worse off under Brexit.

Ms ONeill said farmers in Northern Ireland currently receive 326m (around 250m) per annum in direct support payments, which are hugely important to the industry. In addition, 186.5m of EU funds towards the governments rural development programme has been secured.

The British government has long wanted to reduce the level of support going to farmers and rural development. It does not regard direct payments to farmers as value for money, said the minister.

Ms ONeill also warned that an exit would impact relations with the south, such as cross-border trade trade in livestock, which help to make farm businesses profitable.

She concluded: I am not going to argue that the EU is perfect. There is certainly room for improvement. I have pushed for change and I will continue to do so, particularly with respect to achieving greater simplification within the common agricultural policy.
A man suffered crushing injuries after a feed bin failed while being filled at south-eastern egg packer Fridays headquarters.

The incident, which happened at about 1pm on Monday (1 February), resulted in Kents air ambulance being sent to the farm, as well as a regular car response.

The feed bin caused a crushing injury to the mans chest and ribs, and he was admitted to Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury for further assessment.

See also: Top health and safety tips for poultry farms

A Fridays spokesman told Kent Online: An incident occurred yesterday where a feed bin failed whilst being filled by a feed delivery vehicle.

Part of the bin and some poultry feed fell to the ground.

The lorry operator suffered bruising and was taken to hospital as a precaution. He is now back home recuperating and the company are investigating this unusual occurrence.

It comes after the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) issued a warning that farmers should check the integrity of their feed bins in the wake of two collapsing in the Netherlands.

The tragic and catastrophic incidents in the Netherlands are a timely reminder of how important it is to pay attention to regular inspection of equipment

George Perrott, feed sector head at the AIC

George Perrott, feed sector head at the AIC, said: Feed bins are familiar objects on livestock farms but can be holding tonnes of feed up in the air.

Over time, these static pieces of equipment are just taken for granted.

Corrosion or accidental damage can make them unsafe.

It is good practice to routinely inspect feed bins, looking at signs of corrosion in metalwork, loose metalwork or cracks in welds.

Also, should there be an accidental collision with a farm vehicle or delivery truck  always carry out a visual inspection for any damage that could weaken the supports.

The tragic and catastrophic incidents in the Netherlands are a timely reminder of how important it is to pay attention to regular inspection of equipment.
FIVE GENERATIONS Five generations of the Leach family are pictured above. This is Minnie Brown Leachs second five generation line. Pictured are Minnie Brown Leach, A.L. Jamison, Julia Leach McGill, John F....

County OKs tax break for company that will purchase spec building Now we know why there was plenty of buzz around Project Bee. Although Project Bee had been identified several months ago as the codename for the Canadian company Niagara Pharmaceutical,...

Open house on public transportation County residents are invited to drive the conversation this week about how future transportation needs can be met in the community. RLS & Associates is hosting open houses Wednesday from...

Cancer Association event to go Over the Edge of AC Hotel The Cancer Association of Spartanburg & Cherokee Counties Inc. announces the return of the popular fundraiser, Over the Edge Upstate  slated for Thursday, November 3, at AC Hotel Spartanburg,...
Story Highlights Hawaii's 58% approval rating was Obama's best in 2015

Less than a quarter rated him positively in West Virginia

Majorities approved of Obama in 10 states, up from five in 2014

PRINCETON, N.J. -- President Barack Obama's average job approval rating in 2015 was 46%, up four percentage points from 2014. Accordingly, the number of majority-approving states doubled from five to 10 in that period. Hawaii led these states, with 58% approving of Obama's overall job performance, slightly ahead of 56% in New York and California. All but one of the seven other states in his top 10 were in the East; Obama's most recent home state of Illinois was the exception.

Obama's lowest average statewide approval rating in 2015 was in West Virginia (24%), but his ratings were nearly as low in Wyoming (25%) and Idaho (26%). The remainder of Obama's bottom 10 states gave him approval ratings ranging from 31% to 35%, more than 10 points below the national average.

These results are based on 177,990 Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted nationally throughout 2015, including roughly 500 respondents in the least populous states and more than 1,000 in most other states. Gallup weighted each state's sample to match U.S. Census Bureau demographic parameters for that state's adult population. The full results by state appear at the end of this article.

The improvement in Obama's nationwide approval rating, and the related expansion in the number of states where majorities approve of his job performance, might seem to contradict the decline in the number of "blue" states nationally in 2015. However, the slight improvement in Obama's approval rating among all party groups in 2015 largely explains this.

Approval of Obama increased by four points among Democrats and Democratic leaners and by two points among Republicans and Republican leaners, as well as by eight points among the relatively small group of Americans who identify as independents with no partisan leanings. Thus, while the percentage of Republicans rose in many states, the increase in Republicans' and other party groups' approval of Obama produced a more favorable national picture for him.

Coastal vs. Central Dichotomy in Obama Ratings Continues

The 50 states fall into five categories according to their average 2015 approval ratings:

Well above average = approval rating of 55% or higher

Above average = approval rating of 51% to 54%

Average = approval rating within four percentage points of the 46% national average -- in other words, 42% to 50%

Below average = approval rating of 38% to 41%

Well below average = approval rating below 38%

Obama's job approval rating increased at least slightly in nearly all 50 states in 2015, and as a result, the categorization of states with above- or below-average approval generally stayed the same as in 2014. Obama's strongest states remained clustered in the East, with the addition of California, Hawaii and Illinois, and his weakest states were located in the Rocky Mountain region, the Midwest and the South.

Bottom Line

A president's approval rating has considerable political significance in re-election years, as it indicates the incumbent's likelihood of re-election. In years when the president is not running for re-election, such as this one, the approval rating provides a broader indicator of his party's health, but generally needs to be reviewed in combination with other metrics, particularly party identification and party ratings.

This election year, knowledge of how well the president is perceived in each state may be useful in creating his campaign travel schedule, guiding him to those states -- particularly swing states -- where he is most popular and therefore may be most helpful to the Democratic nominee. The good news for that person, whomever he or she may be, is that at the start of 2016, Obama is bumping up against 50% approval, a significant improvement over his 2015 average. If this continues, it could mean there is less popular demand for change than when the presidential race started taking shape about a year ago.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2-Dec. 30, 2015, on the Gallup U.S. Daily tracking survey, with a random sample of 177,990 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level.

Margins of error for individual states are no greater than 6 percentage points, and are 3 percentage points in most states. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Learn more about how the Gallup U.S. Daily works.
In William Shakespeares Othello, the title character kills Desdemona after he wrongly suspects her of infidelity. But what if his suspicion had been correct?

Thats the question posed in Paula Vogels Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief, which will be performed Thursday through Sunday in the Oregon State University Lab Theatre.

Sam Zinsli says he wanted to direct Vogels play because Desdemona seemed a static character in Shakespeares tragedy.

Said the Oregon State University theatre arts student: You dont really hear much about Desdemona in Othello, so this gives her a second chance for a new voice.

Vogels interpretation continues OSU Theatres season All the Worlds Stage  Celebrating Shakespeare. The comedic drama takes three female characters, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca from Othello and retells the story from their point of view.

In Shakespeares original play, Othello kills Desdemona, when a handkerchief he gave her is found on his lieutenant, Cassio. In the Shakespeare play, it is later revealed she is innocent; the handkerchief was planted on Cassio by Emilia on orders from her husband, Iago.

Vogel presents the question of what if Desdemona is actually guilty of sleeping around on Othello? Zinsli said.

In Vogels play, set on the island of Cyprus, Emilia (Diana Jepsen) has the handkerchief in the opening scene, which is the only reference to the original Othello. She is maid to Desdemona (Annie Parham), and a friend to Bianca (Bria Love Robertson), a prostitute.

Desdemona has filled in for Bianca as a prostitute and seems to have enjoyed it, much to the dismay of Emilia.

Throughout the play, Desdemona and Emilia plot on how they can leave Cyprus once and for all. The three women share their hopes, frustrations, and fantasies as both rivalries and friendships are established.

Emilia doesnt approve of Desdemonas friendship with Bianca, because it puts their plan to escape Cyprus in jeopardy, Zinsli said. She also worries about the consequences Desdemona faces if Othello confirms his suspicions.

Despite the intrigue, Zinsli said the 55-minute play is funny, and he is a fan of Vogels work.

I think her style of writing is exactly what theater should be about. A lot of her plays deal with socially engaged themes, he said.

Those themes include sexuality, gender roles and the oppression of women in society. Not just back then. Its very present, Zinsli said.
New movies and notable releases in mid-valley theaters as of Friday. (For complete Movie Scene listings, go online to democratherald.com and gazettetimes.com)

HAIL CAESAR!



(Comedy, PG-13, 106 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) As they recount the adventures of a 1950s Hollywood fixer (Josh Brolin), the Coen brothers pay homage to genres from noir to Westerns. Hail, Caesar! is pure popcorn fun  a visual treat, a comedic tour de force and a sublime and sly slice of satire. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES



(Action horror, PG-13, 107 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) In this extra-weird twist on Jane Austens classic story, Mrs. Bennet tries to marry off her daughters against the backdrop of a great zombie apocalypse. Director Burr Steers does a nifty job of rocketing from period-piece romance to gory bloodshed, with sprinkles of dark humor here and there. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

THE CHOICE



(Romance, PG-13, 110 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 2 in Corvallis) This love story starring Teresa Palmer (a winning presence) and Benjamin Walker (never hitting his stride) is classic Nicholas Sparks, and by that I mean its a mediocre, well-photographed, undeniably heart-tugging, annoyingly manipulative and dramatically predictable star-crossed romance. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

MISCONDUCT

(Thriller, R, 106 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) When an ambitious young lawyer takes on a big case against a powerful and ruthless executive of a large pharmaceutical company, he soon finds himself involved in a case of blackmail and corruption. Malin Ackerman, Julia Stiles, Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins star.

REGRESSION

(Crime drama, R, 106 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) A detective and a psychoanalyst uncover evidence of a satanic cult while investigating the rape of a young woman. Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson and David Thewlis star.

KUNG FU PANDA 3



(Animated, PG, 95 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Regal 4 in Corvallis) The third times the charm: This sequel isnt too heavy nor too light, has the right amount of spice, and leaves one with some appetite for the next time. for this animated (Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press)

THE FINEST HOURS



(Adventure drama, PG-13, 114 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) As crew members try to keep their wrecked tanker afloat, a four-man Coast Guard team rushes to their rescue. Based on true events in 1952, The Finest Hours plays like a hokey, cornball 1950s-era drama filled with stock characters and weakened by a sappy ending. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

50 SHADES OF BLACK

(Comedy, R, 92 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Maylon Wayans stars in this spoof of 50 Shades of Gray, with a few shots aimed at flicks like Magic Mike as well.

JANE GOT A GUN

(Western, R, 98 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) A woman asks her ex-lover for help in order to save her outlaw husband from a gang out to kill him. Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor star.

ANOMALISA



(Animated drama, R, 90 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) Even though it is a highly stylized, stop-motion animation film featuring puppet-like human characters, the latest creation from the mind of Charlie Kaufman is a pinpoint-accurate encapsulation of some of the most banal AND some of the most exhilarating moments virtually all of us have experienced at some point in our lives. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

THE 5th WAVE

(Science fiction, PG-13, 112 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Chloe Grace Moretz is a young woman trying to protect her little brother from a wave of attacks on our planet by hostile extraterrestrials.

DIRTY GRANDPA

(Comedy, R, 102 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Zac Efron is the uptight aspiring lawyer forced to take his unruly grandfather (Robert De Niro) on a road trip to Daytona Beach for spring break.

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI

3 stars

(Action, R, 144 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Michael Bays tribute to CIA contractors who resisted a terrorist attack in Libya is no Zero Dark Thirty or The Hurt Locker. Lacking in nuance and occasionally plagued by corny dialogue, 13 Hours is nonetheless a solid action thriller with well-choreographed battle sequences and strong work from the ensemble cast. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

RIDE ALONG 2

2.5 stars

(Action-comedy, PG-13, 101 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are teamed up again in this odd-couple police comedy. Takes time to pick up speed, and doesnt have the verve and energy of the first movie, but it has its moments. Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong and Benjamin Bratt co-star. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service)

THE REVENANT

4 stars

(Adventure, R, 156 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Regal 4 in Corvallis) Enormously talented Birdman director Alejandro G. Inarritu strikes again with this 19th-century American fable, one of the most brutally beautiful movies Ive ever seen. Leonardo DiCaprio delivers one of his most impressive performances as a frontiersman left for dead in the 1823 wilderness. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

ROOM

4 stars

(Drama, R, 113 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) The shed where 5-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) has spent his entire life with his mother (Brie Larson), a kidnapped captive, may be tiny and claustrophobic, but to his eyes its this big wide world. Im not going to tell you this is the most entertaining movie of the year, but it just might be the most impressive piece of filmmaking Ive seen in 2015. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

4 stars

(Drama, R, 187 minutes, playing at the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) Quentin Tarantinos second Western in a row is an exhilarating moviegoing experience, filled with wickedly dark humor, nomination-worthy performances and a jigsaw puzzle plot that keeps us guessing until the bloody, brilliant end. This is one of the best movies of the year. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

THE BIG SHORT

4 stars

(Historical drama, R, 130 minutes, playing at the Regal 4 in Corvallis) Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling star as oddballs (based on real-life individuals) who foresee the housing bubbles burst and set out to profit from it. Directed with feverish ingenuity, this is one of the best times Ive had at the movies all year. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

SPOTLIGHT

3  stars

(Historical drama, R, 128 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) A fine team of actors, including Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo, portrays the fine team of Boston Globe journalists that investigated child abuse by priests in 2001. Its one of the smartest and most involving movies of the year. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

4 stars

(Sci-fi adventure, PG-13, 136 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Carmike 12 in Corvallis) What a beautiful, thrilling, joyous, surprising and heart-thumping adventure this is. The seventh Star Wars film pops with memorable battle sequences, gives us chills with encore appearances by stars from the original trilogy and introduces more than a half-dozen terrific Next Generation characters. Its a return to greatness. (Richard Roeper, Universal Press Syndicate)

BROOKLYN

4 stars

(Romance drama, PG-13, 111 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) Impeccably directed by John Crowley, feelingly adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Toibins fine novel and blessed with heart-stopping work from star Saoirse Ronan and the rest of the cast, Brooklyn is about love and heartache, loneliness and intimacy, what home means and how we achieve it. (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times)
A city task force working on a climate action plan has set preliminary targets for community-wide greenhouse gas reductions.

The committee chose to align itself with the state of Oregons approach and will shoot for a 10 percent reduction from current levels by 2020 and a 75 percent reduction by 2050, with an intermediate goal of approximately 40 percent by 2035.

Committee members recognize that a lot might change by 2050 and that flexibility will be required.

Lets update this as necessary based on the best science, task force member Kirk Bailey said. Lets think ahead and have the ability to adapt to changes as they are identified.

The targets would represent the citys goal and not be legally binding, although three members of the Sierra Club who testified at Tuesdays meeting encouraged the panel to finalize the targets as soon as possible and include an enforcement mechanism.

Eventually we will have legislation that says thou shalt,  Bailey said.

The final climate action plan the task force assembles is scheduled to be reviewed by the City Council later this year.

The task force also heard from Jessica Shipley, a state analyst with the Oregon Department of Energy who also provides technical support for the Oregon Global Warming Commission, and Matt McRae, climate and energy analyst for the city of Eugene.

Shipley noted that if current trends continue greenhouse gas emissions will remain flat by that intermediate 2035 checkpoint. Shipley outlined measures the state could take on energy efficiency, transportation, materials and waste, agriculture and power generation that if implemented still might not get the state to that 2035 goal.

There is no silver bullet, no one strategy, Shipley said. Its going to take a combination of approaches to get there.

Shipley added that the 2035 goal is technically feasible but that it will be a difficult measure to implement and a political challenge to move forward with.

McRae outlined Eugenes current strategy, which includes reducing city operations to carbon neutrality by 2020 and the communitys carbon emissions to 350 parts per million, which scientists say would limit global temperature increases.

Eugene acted on climate action ahead of most communities, starting its work in 2010. The citys lawmakers approved a plan in 2014 that calls for the city to hit the 350ppm target by 2050.

Were dropping 2.5 percent per year  were headed in the right direction, McRae said. But to achieve 350ppm? Thats a super aggressive target. Can we do it? I dont know.

Panelists and guest speakers all agreed that cities such as Corvallis and Eugene cant win the battle alone.

Its going to take state and federal action, particularly on carbon pricing, said Susie Smith, a consultant the city has hired to work on the climate plan.
Garfield Elementary School this morning will celebrate the completion of a new covered bike rack area that has space for 64 bikes.

The 15-by-45 foot structure is the result of an effort that began in the fall of 2012 and cost around $10,000 to build. Around half that cost was provided by the schools parent teacher association and the other half came from community donations of funds, labor and material.

Dave Gifford, a Garfield parent and drafter at Devco Engineering, said he saw the need for the shelter when his son started kindergarten at the school and began the project after that with the PTA. The school had bike racks, but none were covered.

He said parents cant be expected to send a child to school on a bike that costs $300 and then have it sit out in the rain.

The bike rack, he said, opens the opportunity for kids and families to make this kind of transportation choice.

Gifford said the structure was completed in January, and it is satisfying to see the idea become a reality.

Im glad we were able to make it happen, Gifford said.

Gifford said making biking a better option can help kids by connecting them to a healthy activity.

Theres lots of bad habits out there. This is a way to plant the seeds for a good one, he said.

According to Oregon Department of Education school report cards, 71 percent of Garfield families are low income and nearly half its students are English learners. The school has an active bilingual PTA group, but Gifford said at a school that has enough low-income students to qualify for federal Title I funding, like Garfield, it can be a challenge for the parents to raise funds among themselves for projects like this.

In grant proposals written for the project, Gifford and his collaborators quoted statistics that link low incomes to obesity and inactivity.

He said the project was able to garner support, even from people with no connection to the school, because its long-term positive benefits were obvious.

Its easy to support and it makes sense, he said.

He said the work of building the structure, with the exception of installing the roof and gutters, was done by volunteers.

The community of this school is very dedicated, he said.
This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. 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.

Corvallis Police Department

THURSDAY, JAN. 21

BURGLARY: 10:09 a.m., 510 N.W. 31st St. An officer responded to a report of a grow light being stolen from College Hill High Schools greenhouse.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20

BURGLARY: 8:42 p.m., 1300 block Northwest 11th Street. A woman reported to police that an unknown person had entered her house through a garage and stolen a laptop. The laptop was later recovered in a dumpster.

DUII: 9:09 p.m., 777 N.W. Kings Blvd. An officer arrested Jacob Steven Myers, 20, of Corvallis for charges of DUII, reckless driving, driving while suspended, and possession of liquor by a minor. He reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent.

Benton County Sheriffs Office

MONDAY, FEB. 1

SUSPICIOUS MAN: 5:50 p.m., 6400 block of Northwest Oak Creek Drive. Deputies responded to Bald Hill Park to a report of a man chasing a 14-year-old on the trail. Travis Jay Sherman, 33, of Corvallis was arrested and charged with second-degree disorderly conduct.

FRIDAY, JAN. 29

ESCAPE: 12:11 p.m., 24500 block Alpine Road, Monroe. A deputy arrested Cynthia Lynn Williams, 56, in an alleged domestic dispute. She was transported to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for an alcohol evaluation, where she reportedly slipped her handcuffs and caused a disturbance. She faces charges of harassment, third-degree escape, and second-degree disorderly conduct.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Student protest : Demonstration against hatred of foreigners begins with scuffles

Foto: Barbara Frommann

Bonn Several hundred students marched through the city to protest racism. A few protestors scuffled with police.

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Demonstrating against hatred of foreigners, several hundred young people of the group Refugee, School and Unistrike gathered at Kaiserplatz yesterday. In the group were apparently refugees as well. The young people marched through the city to protest racism, right wing violence, and for humanitarian treatment of refugees. Before the march got underway, there was a scuffle involving a group of the demonstrators and some police.

According to police, the demonstrators had recruited participants from many schools in advance. In the morning, they had been at the Beuel high school, and a few young people had vandalized a school wall with graffiti. At the beginning of the march, police recognized one of the demonstrators as a possible vandal and wanted to check his identification. Head of the police unit, Klaus-Peter Kappelner said they approached the youth politely, but he shunned them and a group formed a circle around him to keep police from him. However, police were able to isolate the 17-year-old boy and four others, and check their identification.

A 19-year-old woman said they were thrown to the ground by police and a shoe pressed against her head. She and four male youth who resisted police were apprehended until identification was presented. After that, all five were let go to participate further in the demonstration.

The march went over Thomas-Mann and Oxford Strae to Bertha-von-Suttner Platz and ended at Marktplatz. Some students broke away from the group and went to the Auslanderamt (Registration Bureau for Foreigners) on Oxford Strae. There, about 20 students staged a sit-in to protest what they consider to be unacceptable conditions for refugees in Troisdorf. They complained that refugees there had to wait too long for clarity over their status.

Authorities on Oxford Strae allowed one of the students to telephone with an official from the Federal Bureau of Migration (BAMF). The official promised earlier appointments for the Troisdorf refugees and the students broke up their sit-in peacefully at 2:00 p.m.
Turkey's Intelligence Overhaul Replaces Diplomats With Spies

Sputnik News

12:00 03.02.2016(updated 12:02 03.02.2016)

Turkey's National Intelligence Agency is expanding at the same time as its Foreign Ministry is closing down certain embassies and recalling diplomats, Al-Monitor reported.

Turkey is overhauling and expanding its National Intelligence Agency (MIT) both inside and outside its borders, Middle East news website Al-Monitor reported on Monday.

The MIT had traditionally been seen as a domestically-oriented secret service, but its responsibilities have expanded to include border security and surveillance, the coordination of paramilitary troops abroad and the development of foreign and domestic intelligence operations.

'What we are observing here is a national intelligence agency that has become a prominent player in the decision-making process for Turkish politics,' wrote author Pinar Tremblay, in an article entitled 'Turkey plans shiny new HQ for shadowy intelligence operations.'

The agency's expansion and reconstruction is being overseen by current MIT chief Hakan Fidan, who was appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2010, and holds a privileged position in the Turkish government.

'Open-source reports show that Fidan acts as a shadow foreign minister. He is present in almost all high-level meetings with the president and prime minister. It is an open secret that both the president and the prime minister trust Fidan more than any other bureaucrat,' Tremblay reported.

'Fidan's omnipresence has generated stiff competition among Ankara's other bureaucratic agencies. Social media postings and print media comments express serious concerns that Turkey is becoming a police state.'

The security and surveillance of the country's 2,753 kilometers of land border are some of the new challenges facing MIT, which along with the government has faced questions about its activities in providing support for paramilitary groups abroad.

Tremblay cited an article by Mehmet Cetingulec published in June 2015, which detailed a parliamentary question tabled by a deputy from Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP).

Ali Ozgunduz asked Turkey's interior minister about allegations that certain militants had been brought to Turkey and given military training with the purpose of suppressing popular protests and opposition movements such as the Gezi Park protests in 2013.

'The media have recently reported that Jamal Maarouf, a Free Syrian Army leader who fought in Aleppo and had the complete support of the [Turkish] government, has crossed into Turkey together with most of his 14,000 armed elements. This lends credibility to the allegations,' Ozgunduz said.

In addition to increased domestic activity, the MIT has expanded its foreign intelligence service, a move which mirrors that of other countries in the region such as Israel and Iran, Tremblay wrote.

'Would it be wise for Turkey not to invest in foreign intelligence gathering and analysis while its neighbors and allies are expanding their reach?' she asked.

MIT has increased its intelligence-gathering abroad without corresponding increases in Turkish foreign and defense ministry activity in many countries, particularly Iraq and Syria.

'As Turkey closes down certain embassies and pulls its diplomats from sensitive locations  in a sense, diminishing the global outreach of its Foreign Ministry  the MIT continues to develop networks and connections in these and other countries that do not have official or friendly relations with Turkey.'

 Sputnik

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Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

February 2, 2016



1. Foreign Ministers of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to counter ISIL/Da'esh met today in Rome at the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni to take stock of the Coalition's work and to accelerate our unified efforts to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL/Da'esh, dismantle its networks, and counter its global ambitions. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Gentiloni and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Twenty-five delegations took part in the meeting (Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, European Union, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States, with the United Nations observing). The meeting marked the one-year anniversary of the Coalition Small Group.

2. While aware of the challenges still ahead, we are unanimous in our certainty that the Coalition's actions against ISIL/Da'esh are gaining momentum, with strong impact. Iraqi forces, with continuous Coalition support, have retaken large portions of Ramadi. This follows the liberation last year of Tikrit, Sinjar, and Bayji. We have pushed ISIL/Da'esh out of approximately 40 percent of the populated territory it once controlled in Iraq. We have likewise continued our campaign in Syria, assisting Syrian moderate opposition forces, including with air strikes, with tangible results. With the recent capture of Tishreen Dam and surrounding villages, as well as areas to the south of al-Hawl, important logistics routes for ISIL/ Da'esh into ar-Raqqah have been cut off, complementing Iraqi offensives that have constrained ISIL/Da'esh supply lines and further isolated ar-Raqqah and Mosul. We will intensify and accelerate the campaign against ISIL/Da'esh in Iraq and Syria, act in concert to curb its global ambitions, and take every measure to ensure the protection of our citizens. We reaffirm our commitment to deliver a lasting defeat to this barbaric organization.

3. Continued success requires that the Coalition expand its multifaceted approach, one that goes beyond battle lines and seeks to deprive ISIL/Da'esh of oxygen on every possible front. We are determined to keep ISIL/Da'esh cut off from the international financial system; to disrupt its economic and financial infrastructure, as well as its energy operations; and to curtail its smuggling of antiquities. We will keep ISIL/Da'esh leadership under relentless threat, and constrain its foreign terrorist fighter flows across borders. We shall also work to ensure that ISIL/Da'esh terrorists are held to account for the crimes that they have perpetrated. We will use every available avenue to expose ISIL/Da'esh's delusional narrative  increasingly laid bare in the face of territorial loss, horrific eye witness accounts of its barbarity, and failure to fulfill its boasts of statehood.

4. Syrian and Iraqi citizens who have fled the strife or have been expelled from their homes and now face uncertainty in places of refuge, deserve the international community's full support, in the form of adequate protection and humanitarian aid to cover their basic needs and longer term educational and development aid, so as to offer them the prospect of a brighter future in their home countries and to make up for the opportunities denied to them. The members of the Coalition will make every effort to ensure that these growing humanitarian and development needs in places of refuge are met. Moreover, any returns of such persons to their places of origin must be safe, informed, voluntary and non-discriminatory, in line with international protection principles.

5. Respecting international humanitarian law and supporting stabilization and restoration of essential services in areas liberated from ISIL/Da'esh are vital to allow displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and dignity and enable them to revive their communities in their places of origin. Iraq's stabilization efforts, with the cooperation of UNDP and local authorities and assistance from the Coalition, have helped restore communities like Tikrit to new life and are poised to begin addressing immediate stabilization needs in Ramadi and other liberated areas. We welcome the generous contributions to the Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) and call on the international community to ensure continued funding for this instrument. Recognizing the imperative of civil and military coordination and quickly establishing public security and the rule of law, we will continue our support for Coalition efforts to train Iraqi police forces to hold and stabilize Da'esh-free areas. Even as we mark this progress, we are acutely aware of the ten million Iraqis and 17.8 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance now, and we urge contributions to the $861 million UN appeal for Iraq, the $8.98 billion appeal for Syria, and support for the upcoming London conference to aid the Syrian people.

6. We recognize that a lasting investment in inclusive governance and a sound political process is necessary to lay the foundation for sustained success against ISIL/Da'esh. We continue to support Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government as it seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of all parts of Iraqi society, address corruption, decentralize some federal authorities, empower local communities, and reconcile ethnic and sectarian divisions in Iraq. We give our full support to the Government of Iraq in its efforts to mobilize and equip local volunteer fighters to assist the liberation of their provinces. We also stress the need for all Iraqi forces to be under the Prime Minister's command and control. In Syria, we support UN Special Envoy De Mistura's work towards a genuine political transition, based on the principles of the 2012 Geneva Communique, in line with UNSCR 2254, the statements of the International Syria Support Group and the group's efforts towards that end. We reaffirm the importance of a political transition aimed at establishing a democratic, inclusive, pluralistic and non-sectarian government that represents the will of all Syrians and confronts ISIL/Da'esh and other terrorist groups, creating the conditions to reverse the tide of extremism. We encourage the meaningful participation of women in these processes. We emphasize that measures to build confidence in Syria should be taken without further delay, including a halt to deliberate attacks on civilians, lifting sieges around towns and population centers, and granting humanitarian access. We call on countries involved in military action in Syria to focus their efforts against ISIL/Da'esh.

7. We are aware that ISIL/Da'esh poses a terrorist threat to our own homelands, as demonstrated by its heinous and barbaric terrorist attacks in Turkey, France and elsewhere, while noting ISIL/Da'esh is losing both territory and credibility in Iraq and Syria. Our determination to curb ISIL/ Da'esh's global ambitions and to protect our homelands and allies has spurred us to greater collaboration and information sharing in the international counterterrorism arena. We are committed to further strengthening coordination and cooperation between our intelligence, security, and law-enforcement agencies in order to improve our preventive capacities. In this regard, Coalition members are encouraged to act on the measures in the Hague Implementation Plan on Foreign Terrorist Fighters, a practical, action-oriented outcome of the joint Coalition and Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Foreign Terrorist Fighters Working Group meeting in the Hague on 11 January 2016. We also pledge to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions supporting action against ISIL/Da'esh, including UNSCR 2253, passed 17 December 2015, which updates and strengthens the United Nations Security Council's ISIL/ Da'esh and al-Qaida sanctions regime, makes it easier to designate those supporting ISIL/Da'esh, and strengthens the UN implementation process. We endorse Coalition efforts to expose ISIL/Da'esh's false ideology and narratives, and we support collaborative institutions such as the Sawab Center in the United Arab Emirates and Coalition Communications Cell in the United Kingdom.

8. We underlined our determination to counter and push back ISIL/Da'esh global ambitions and its expansion beyond Iraq and Syria. We follow with concern the growing influence of ISIL/Da'esh in Libya, will continue to monitor closely developments there, and stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people.

9. We remain fully mobilized in the fight against ISIL/Da'esh. Building on the Coalition's growing momentum during recent months, we have used today's gathering of the Small Group to enhance our understanding of the likely opportunities and challenges that will arise over the coming year and to prepare for them accordingly, while continuing to strengthen and adapt our means and resources across the entire Coalition. In this regard, we welcome the decision by Afghanistan to join the Coalition. We look forward to the next working level meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL/Da'esh, expected to take place in late spring of 2016.



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Coalition Decimates ISIL Ranks, Leadership, OIR Spokesman Says

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, February 3, 2016  Coalition efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are making a significant impact against the terrorists, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve said today.

In a live video conference from Baghdad, Army Col. Steve Warren told Pentagon reporters the operations are 'hurting this enemy.' ISIL is feeling the pressure, he said.

'We have decimated their ranks and shaken their leadership,' he said.

ISIL has increased its forced conscription throughout Iraq and Syria, indicating that 'voluntary recruitment is no longer sufficient to meet their needs,' Warren said.

'We've hit their finances, both cash and oil. We've shrunk their so-called caliphate. We've disrupted their lines of communication,' the colonel said.

There are increased reports of desertion among the terrorists, he said, and ISIL is executing its fighters fleeing the battlefield.

Three-hundred ISIL targets were destroyed or damaged from Jan. 26 to Feb 1, according to CJTF-OIR officials.

Progress by Iraqi and Coalition Forces

Iraqi security forces continue clearance operations in the suburbs east of Ramadi, Warren said. The ISF is moving from Lake Tharthar toward Fallujah, he said.

Coalition forces have supported Iraqi forces in the lower Euphrates River valley with dozens of airstrikes over the past several days, Warren said.

Iraqi security forces repelled an ISIL attack near the al-Fatah Bridge, north of Beiji, over the weekend, killing more than a dozen ISIL fighters, Warren said.

The Iraqi air force has been active in this area, conducting effective strikes against ISIL in the Makhoul Mountains, he said.

Members of the Iraqi air force 'have been the heroes near [Beiji] and Tikrit, helping ISF thwart ISIL attacks in the area,' Warren said in a Tweet today.

'Terrible Tragedy' in Syria

Along the Mara line, Syrian opposition forces, supported by 'devastating' coalition air power, liberated a Syrian village from ISIL on Jan. 30, according to Warren.

'Fighting along the Mara line continues with both forces conducting offensive operations,' he said.

The situation in Syria is a 'terrible tragedy' with immense suffering among the population from the brutality of the war, he said.

Warren noted that the purpose of CJTF-OIR is to defeat ISIL, but the U.S. military would support humanitarian relief efforts if asked.

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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 3, 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

Attack, fighter, ground attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Hasakah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL vehicles and an ISIL tactical vehicle.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes struck four gas and oil separation plants.

-- Near Manbij, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mar'a, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 20 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Albu Hayat, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Beiji, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Habbaniyah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL rocket rail and an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, three strikes destroyed seven ISIL weapons caches, three ISIL assembly areas and 14 ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL vehicle bomb facility and an ISIL logistics facility.

-- Near Ramadi, six strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL tactical vehicle, an ISIL recruiting station, four ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL weapons cache and an ISIL assembly area and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Tal Afar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

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 one 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, 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 conducting strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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Hundreds of people leave conflict-ridden area in southeast Turkey

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 5:42PM

Hundreds of people have escaped their homes in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, which has been the scene of deadly clashes between the army and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Residents of the conflict-hit district of Sur in the city fled the area on Wednesday after a week-old curfew in the district's western parts was lifted.

According to witnesses, people deserted Sur with their belongings loaded onto trucks and handcarts. Sur has suffered heavy damage in the clashes since a curfew was declared there a month ago.

'It's always the ordinary people who suffer,' said Mehmet Ceylan while leaving the area, adding, 'I've lived in Sur for years, and I've never witnessed a scene like this.'

The development comes as the eastern side of Sur has remained under a round-the-clock curfew.

Ankara says the curfews in the Kurdish-majority southeast are needed to allow security forces remove barricades, explosive devices and ditches set up by PKK militants.

Turkey has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the past few months. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq. The PKK is an outlawed group that has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since 1980s.

The Turkish army said its forces killed five PKK militants in Sur and seven others in the southeastern town of Cizre on Tuesday. The latest fatalities brought the militant death toll in the two towns to 670 since December.

On July 20 last year, a bomb attack in the southern Kurdish-majority town of Suruc claimed more than 30 lives. The Turkish government blamed it on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group. After the bombing, the PKK, accusing the government of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of supposed reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces, in turn prompting the Turkish military operations.

Ankara's military has also been involved in an offensive against positions of the Kurdish group in neighboring Iraq.

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Business / Economy

by Staff reporter

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) revenue collections for the just-ended year dropped to US$3,5 billion against a target of US$3,72 billion.A Zimra 2015 revenue performance report shows that high costs of capital, a drop in global commodity prices, the strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies, as well as company retrenchments witnessed around July and August last year affected viability of firms and their ability to pay tax.Individual taxes dominated revenue collections, accounting for 22 percent, while excise duty contributed 20 percent and value added tax (VAT) on local sales 16 percent.VAT on imports had 13 percent while company tax contributed 12 percent.Mining royalties for 2015 dropped to US$82,13 million from US$191,60 million on the back of a drop in the international commodity prices.Revenue collections for carbon tax improved by 3 percent to US$35,99 million from US$34,98 million in 2014 due to an increase in import volumes of petrol.The persistent challenging economic climate has resulted in Zimra's debt from taxpayers rising to US$1,97 billion from US$1,38 billion, according to the report.Zimra says the sustainability of revenue collections in Zimbabwe will depend on the stabilisation of macro-economic fundamentals.
Egypt court annuls death sentences against 149 people

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 2:22PM

An Egyptian appeals court overturned on Wednesday death sentences issued against 149 people in connection with a deadly attack on a police station in 2013.

A judicial source said the court ordered the retrial of the group over the attack that left 13 policemen dead near Cairo in 2013.

The court also sentenced 37 people to death in absentia, but they would have to hand themselves in for a retrial.

On August 14, 2013, Egyptian police broke up two protest camps in Cairo and killed about 700 protesters less than two months after the military ousted Mohamed Morsi, the country's first democratically-elected president.

The initial court ruling was issued in February 2015 amid a series of death sentences in mass trials as the government cracked down on supporters of Morsi.

The ousted president himself and several leaders of his now-banned Muslim Brotherhood movement have already been sentenced to death.

The news comes after a military court in the city of Alexandria sentenced seven supporters of Morsi to death on Monday over their alleged role in a deadly bombing in the northern province of Kafr el-Sheikh last year. Three of the defendants were sentenced to death in absentia.

Over the past years, the militant group, known as Velayat Sinai, has been carrying out terror activities across Egypt, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in the country after the ouster of Morsi. Last November, the group pledged allegiance to Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is mainly operating in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The military-backed government blames Brotherhood members for carrying out attacks against security forces. The Brotherhood denies the allegations.

Since the ouster of Morsi, thousands of anti-government protesters, mostly Brotherhood supporters, have been sentenced to jail by civilian and military courts.

Egypt's harsh crackdown on the Brotherhood and its supporters has been widely condemned by international human rights organizations.

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Venezuela party proposes reform to oust Maduro

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 9:31AM

An opposition party in Venezuela has proposed a constitutional amendment to oust the country's President Nicolas Maduro.

The leftist Radical Cause party said on Tuesday that it presented the proposal to cut short Maduro's presidential mandate by two years and hold a general election by the end of 2016.

The party's secretary Andres Velasquez said the proposal also includes reduction of presidential terms from six years to four with immediate effect.

'Venezuela is going through an extreme, irreversible crisis and those who brought us to these depths show no signs of fixing things,' Velasquez said.

The Radical Cause party has four lawmakers in the 167-seat parliament, where the United Democratic Roundtable (MUD), a broad coalition dominated by big center-right parties, has a three-fifths majority.

'One thing that everyone agrees on is that Nicolas Maduro cannot continue at the head of the government because of the risk that poses to the stability of the country,' Velasquez added.

Maduro's mandate runs until 2019 but if the amendment is passed in the parliament he would have to leave office in April 2017.

The opposition United Democratic Roundtable won a victory over Maduro's United Socialist Party in a December 2015 vote, and took control of the National Assembly for the first time since 1999, when former late president Hugo Chavez had risen to power.

Newly-elected National Assembly Speaker Henry Ramos Allup has said he would find a way to have Maduro ousted within six months.

The opposition accuses Maduro's government of mismanaging the economy and leading the oil-rich country to poverty.

Caracas denies the accusations saying the US is behind the anti-government plots in the Latin American country.

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Moscow Considers Delivery of Russian MiG-29s to Serbia

Sputnik News

20:25 03.02.2016(updated 21:19 03.02.2016)

Russia may be planning to deliver MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia, according to a source in the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia is considering possibly delivering air defense systems and MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia, a source in the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said Wednesday.

'We are working on the issue of deliveries of air defense systems and MiG-29s to Serbia. This country is our strategic partner in Europe, in many spheres, including military-technical cooperation,' the source told RIA Novosti.

Last month, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Serbia was hoping to buy Russian-made Tor, Pantsir, and Buk air defense systems as well as MiG-29s.

The Serbian Defense Ministry has reportedly submitted a detailed list of the weapons and spare parts it would like to purchase to the FSMTC.

 Sputnik

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Russia Promises Tajikistan Maximum Support in Light of Afghan Threats

Sputnik News

09:24 03.02.2016(updated 11:14 03.02.2016)

Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said that Russia will help Tajikistan's military to the fullest by delivering weapons and equipment due to threats stemming from Afghanistan.

DUSHANBE (Sputnik)  Russia will help Tajikistan's military to the fullest by delivering weapons and equipment because of threats stemming from Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday.

"Our Tajik friends and brothers today are experiencing new challenges and threats taking into consideration the problems that are coming from Afghanistan. It is very important for us to understand what's going on there, what you're doing and give maximum aid to the military forces of Tajikistan by delivering weapons and military equipment and providing everything necessary to strengthen their combat readiness," Antonov said during a meeting with Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo.

Antonov added that Tajikistan is one of Russia's priorities in developing military and military-technical cooperation.

"We understand that the more secure Tajikistan is, the more secure the Russian Federation is," Antonov said.

According to Antonov, Russia will use the full potential of its military base in Tajikistan to defend Tajikistan's national sovereignty in particular and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)'s member states in general.

The Tajik leadership is concerned over the worsening security situation in neighboring Afghanistan, where the Afghan armed forces are fighting against Taliban militants and where the Daesh terrorist group is actively trying to spread its influence.

Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia, currently numbers over 3,000 fighters in Afghanistan, according to October 2015 figures released by the CSTO.

The CSTO member states, comprising Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus, are concerned that Daesh extremists after taking part in training and combat in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan may return back to their home Central Asian countries.

 Sputnik

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Somali Authorities Believe Body Fell From Plane After Explosion

by Harun Maruf February 03, 2016

Somali authorities have found the body of a missing passenger from a plane that made an emergency landing at Mogadishu airport after a blast ripped a hole through it Tuesday.

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Ali Ahmed Jama "Jangali" told VOA Somali that the body of the person, found near the town of Bal'ad, is in the hands of the investigators.

He said it will take days to determine what caused the explosion on the plane, operated by Daallo Airlines, that was carrying 81 people.

Meanwhile, passengers praised the pilot and the crew for saving their lives.

Ahmed Elmi Muhumed, a Somali official who was on the plane, told VOA's Somali service that the crew immediately evacuated the passengers sitting near the hole, helped them put on oxygen masks and assured them there would be a safe landing.

"The pilot and crew have done a wonderful job by communicating effectively," he said.

Muhumed said the explosion occurred 10-15 minutes after take-off. He said that air that was coming into the plane through the hole but the airliner did not dive or lose balance.

Another passenger on the plane said he felt the lights "flickered" seconds before the explosion.

According to sources the explosion occurred at row 16. The person who was ejected out of the plane after the blast was sitting in seat number 16F.

The airline said most of the passengers were transferred by Turkish Airlines which cancelled flights to Mogadishu two days ago.

Turkish Airlines gave a brief statement to VOA Somali which read: "'Our relevant flights have been cancelled due to operational reasons required in the framework of bad weather conditions.'

After the plane landed, Muhumed said, the passengers clapped and congratulated the pilot and crew.

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UN: North Korea Plans Satellite Launch This Month

by Ham Jiha, Pamela Dockins February 02, 2016

North Korea has notified the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization of its plan to launch an "earth observation satellite" later this month, a move that has raised concerns in the U.S. and with other world powers that Pyongyang is trying to covertly advance long-range missile technology.

North Korea submitted data, including the planned launch date and time and expected falling areas, to the U.N. agency Tuesday, according to Natasha Brown, IMO's media and communications officer.

"We have received information from DPRK regarding the launch of earth observation satellite 'Kwangmyongsong' between 8-25 February," Brown told VOA by email.

The North Korean rocket is expected to drop to earth in three stages off the western coast of South Korea and to the northern coast of the Philippines, according to the data.

The International Telecommunication Union, the U.N.'s agency for information and communication technologies, also said Pyongyang notified the agency of the plan on Tuesday.

Sanjay Acharya, ITU's chief of media relations and public information, said Pyongyang informed his agency that it plans to launch the satellite "with a duration of function of four years."

"We understand it will be in the non-geostationary orbit," said Acharya.

Some analysts say the timing of the launch might be tied to the birth anniversary of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Kim's birthday is February 16. In April 2012, Pyongyang fired a long-range rocket to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung.

US issues protests

The U.S. responded with swift condemnation of the planned launch, which would come on the heels of what Pyongyang said was a successful test of a hydrogen bomb in January.

"This act [launch] would violate numerous Security Council resolutions by utilizing proscribed ballistic missile technology," said State Department spokesman John Kirby.

At the White House, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the launch "would just be another destabilizing provocation on the part of the North Koreans."

World powers have raised concerns that each test could move North Korean leader Kim Jong Un closer to a goal of developing a long-range nuclear missile. Pyongyang's January test prompted the U.S. and other world powers to launch a push for additional U.N. Security Council penalties against the country.

China, a permanent Security Council member and an economic lifeline to North Korea, could play a pivotal role in any international response. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the issue in Beijing last week. China has agreed that the international community should do more to respond to North Korea, but has declined to specify what that response should be.

"What has been constant is a series of provocative and destabilizing activities on the peninsula that continue to raise the concerns of everybody in the region, to include China," said Kirby, who added the U.S. had not ruled out unilateral action.

Launch Announcement Comes During Chinese Envoy's Visit

News of North Korea's intentions came shortly after China's top nuclear envoy started his visit to Pyongyang, where he was expected to discuss North Korea's latest nuclear test.

Wu Dawei, China's special representative for Korean peninsula affairs, arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday, according to North Korea's state media.

Last week, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim met with the Chinese envoy in Beijing.

Cautious UN Response

At a Tuesday briefing, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq offered a cautious response when asked if there is concern about the planned launch, saying officials are "carefully monitoring developments and in close touch with the interested parties."

International sanctions ban Pyongyang from conducting nuclear tests or any launches using ballistic missile technology.

In December 2012, North Korea successfully fired into orbit an object in what appeared to be major progress in its long-range missile development.

Jee Abbey Lee contributed to this report.

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US warns of 'tough' UN sanctions over N Korea satellite launch

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 2:50AM

The US State Department has harshly slammed North Korea's plans for satellite launch as an "egregious violation" of international obligations, warning of "tough" UN sanctions against the country.

'I feel confident in telling you that the international community would regard a step like that by the North Koreans as just another irresponsible provocation and a clear violation of their international obligations,' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

The condemnation comes after North Korea notified UN agencies that it has planned to launch a satellite this month, which could advance the country's development of long-range missile technology.

'We have received information from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea regarding the launch of earth observation satellite 'Kwangmyongsong' between 8-25 February,' said a spokeswoman for the UN's International Maritime Organization.

According to US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Russel, a launch, 'using ballistic missile technology,' would be an 'egregious violation' of North Korea's international obligations.

'This argues even more strongly for action by the UN Security Council and the international community to impose real consequences for the destabilizing action that (North Korea) has taken, is taking, and to raise the cost to the leaders through the imposition of tough additional sanctions.' Russel said.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned Pyongyang's plan to launch a rocket, saying, 'If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious provocation.'

The move comes as the United Nations Security Council is discussing a round of fresh sanctions against already-sanctioned North Korea in the aftermath of its fourth nuclear test on January 6.

North Korea last conducted a long-range rocket launch in late 2012, successfully putting an object into orbit in what the West deems as part of Pyongyang's effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea is under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic and aimed at delivering nuclear warheads.

North Korea accuses the US of plotting with regional allies to topple its government. Pyongyang says it will not relinquish its nuclear deterrence unless the US ends its hostile policy toward North Korea and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea.

Tens of thousands of US troops are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

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Iraq receives two more F-16 fighter jets from US

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 6:29PM

The Iraqi air force has taken delivery of two more F-16 fighter jets as part of a deal with the United States to improve the country's military capability in the face of threats from militants.

A Baghdad-based spokesman of the US military said on Wednesday that the warplanes were delivered to Iraq to bring the number of the sophisticated US warplanes procured to the country to six.

Colonel Steve Warren said lack of trained Iraqi pilots has been the main factor holding up the delivery of 30 more F-16 jets which Iraq has purchased from the US.

"The limiting factor has been pilot generation," Warren said in a video conference with reporters, adding, "We bring the F-16s in as pilots are available."

The US official said Iraqi pilots need to go through a year or more of instruction in Arizona before they could operate the jets.

Over the past few years, Iraq has signed contracts with major military powers to buy modern warplanes in a bid to strengthen its air force in the fight against militants.

The Iraqi army and allied volunteer fighters have been battling Daesh Takfiri terrorist group since it overran parts of the country in the summer of 2014 and the Iraqi fighter jets have provided a big boost to the ground operation against Daesh.

Warren said the US has been considering the fact that Iraq needs the warplanes to facilitate its ground operations against militants.

"We look forward to this additional capability along with the additional trained pilots," he said.

The allied Iraqi forces have managed to retake some key positions across the country from Daesh, including the city of Tikrit in the northern province of Salahuddin and Ramadi in Anbar Province. Iraqis now eye the recapture of more cities in Anbar before they begin the long-anticipated offensive into the city of Mosul in the northern province of Nineveh.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said after the liberation of Ramadi that the year 2016 will be the year for elimination of Daesh from the Iraqi soil.

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Iraqi army forces inflict heavy losses on Daesh terrorists

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 10:39AM

More than a hundred members of Daesh Takfiri militant group have been killed when Iraqi government forces carried out a number of clean-up operations against the terrorists across the crisis-stricken Arab country.

On Tuesday, the 76th Infantry Regiment of the Anbar Operations Command thwarted a Daesh offensive against Zankurah district, located west of Anbar's provincial capital city of Ramadi, killing 14 of the extremists and destroying two vehicles rigged with explosives in the process, Arabic-language al-Sumaria satellite television network reported.

Iraqi troopers also killed two Daesh terrorists, injured three others and destroyed a militants' hideout in the city of Husaybah, situated seven kilometers (4.5 miles) east of Ramadi.

Additionally, Iraqi bomb disposal units cleared seven booby-trapped houses, and defused 25 explosives-laden tankers plus 15 improvised explosive devices in the Sura area of Anbar Province.

They also cleansed 16 roads in the Albu Risha area, located in the northwestern outskirts of Ramadi, of explosive devices.

Tens of Daesh Takfiris were also killed and 30 others wounded as Iraqi government forces mounted an operation in Albu Shajal district east of Ramadi.

A number of militant commanders, identified by the noms de guerre Abu Omar al-Shishani, Abubakir al-Iraqi and Abu Ja'far al-Mohammadi, were among the slain terrorists.

Separately, Iraqi military aircraft carried out a precision strike against terrorist positions in the Hamrin Mountains area of northeastern Iraq, killing ten Daesh members.

Iraqi warplanes bombarded a Daesh base in al-Asfar village, east of Salahuddin's provincial capital city of Tikrit, as well. At least 18 Takfiri militants were killed in the aerial attack.

Dozens of Daesh terrorists were also killed in army operations in other parts of Iraq.

There have been no reports of the casualties among the government forces.

Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh Takfiris launched an offensive in the country in June 2014, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.

The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.

Iraqi army soldiers joined by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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Iraqi Kurdish Leader Calls For Nonbinding Vote On Independence

February 03, 2016

by RFE/RL

The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region called for a nonbinding referendum on independence on February 2, saying national borders that have separated the region's Kurds for a century were 'a big mistake.'

'The time has come and the situation is now suitable for the Kurdish people to make a decision through a referendum on their fate,' Masud Barzani said on his website.

'That referendum does not mean proclaiming statehood, but rather to know the will and opinion of the Kurdish people about independence and for the Kurdish political leadership to execute the will of the people at the appropriate time and conditions.'

Despite economic difficulties due to the plunge in oil prices, Kurdish territorial gains in fighting the Islamic State militant group in the last year have revived dreams of independence among Iraqi Kurds.

The Kurds have asserted their autonomy in recent years by building their own oil pipeline to Turkey and exporting oil independently as relations with the federal government in Baghdad frayed over power and revenue sharing.

The global plunge in oil prices, however, has brought the region to the point of insolvency. Moreover, any move toward independence is sure to draw strident opposition not only from Baghdad but from Ankara, and would be opposed in Washington as well.

Barzani asserted that national borders created a century ago dividing the region's Kurds between Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran were 'a big mistake' that have caused 'troubles, war, and instability.'

"Our region has witnessed too many disasters...and the Kurds haven't caused any of it. The Kurds have only been the victims while others have brought disasters and conflict to the region," he said.

He did not suggest a date, but Rudaw.net reported that he told legislators he wants to hold the referendum before the U.S. presidential election in November.

'If the people of Kurdistan are waiting for someone else to present the right of self-determination as a gift, independence will never be obtained. That right exists and the people of Kurdistan must demand it and put it into motion,' Barzani said.

'The same way that Scotland, Catalonia, and Quebec and other places have the right to express their opinions about their destiny, Kurdistan, too, has the right, and it's nonnegotiable.'

Some observers suggested Barzani's statement was aimed at diverting attention from his own political troubles. His mandate as president expired last year, though he has remained in office and has been contending with a deadlocked legislature.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/iraqi-kurdish-leader-barzani- calls-for-nonbinding-vote-independence/27529166.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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Entertainment / Arts

by Bongani Ndlovu

TOP fashion icons Mbo Mahocs and Gilmore Tee are in Cape Town, South Africa where they are attending the South African Menswear Week (SAMW).The fashion gathering that begins today at the Cape Town stadium ending on Saturday, will see South Africa-based Zimbabwe designer Taf the Taylor (real name Tafadzwa Moyo) showcasing his works.Now in its third year, SAMW, Africa's only stand-alone platform dedicated to the development and promotion of menswear within the continent, will feature over 30 designers. Among those participating are established designers and labels such as Craig Port, CSquared, Paledi Segapo and Fundudzi by Craig Jacobs which have been scheduled alongside emerging talents Mzukisi Mbane, Augustine Siviwe James and Neo Serati. Continental designers such as Orange Culture, Tokyo James and Mai Atafo from Nigeria will showcase their lines alongside designers from Angola, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.Gilmore Tee said attending the fashion gathering would help them learn how to grow the local fashion industry."Through my contacts in South Africa, I facilitate for Zimbabwean designers to showcase on such platforms in that country. I'm excited to continue heading our fashion industry while also bringing a business aspect as the designers get to meet potential buyers."We need to change the way we look at art in general and such gatherings are a good start for us," said Gilmore Tee.Building on the success of the first two seasons, South African Menswear Week is now considered the leading event in terms of innovation and curation in Africa.Ryan Beswick, co-founder of SAMW, hopes to build on this foundation."Not only did we show the world that the depth of design talent in South Africa and Africa is truly amazing, but we now have media from more than a dozen countries wanting to attend and support the platform."The event is really about putting the best menswear on one schedule over the four days, providing the world and media with access to the talent," he said.Beswick said the selected designers had been through a rigorous curation process in order for their designs to be considered for the South African Menswear Week."All designers undergo a strict curation checklist, ranging from design signature through to their ability to produce. We're flooded with applications, but only the best make it through the 12-member curation panel, and even then, we only have space to accommodate the 35 best who topped all criteria."SAMW takes place twice a year in Cape Town.
Russian Oil Production Hits New Record Despite Talk Of Cuts

February 03, 2016

by RFE/RL

Russian oil production hit a post-Soviet high last month even as top Russian officials on February 2 continued to push for a deal with the OPEC oil cartel to curb booming global production.

Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil company and its biggest producer, met with Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino in Moscow and said afterward that the two men had discussed possible joint efforts to stabilize global oil markets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, traveling in the Middle East, also said Moscow was open to coordinating with the oil cartel and countries outside the cartel on curbing production and boosting prices.

'We are open to other forms of cooperation if there is a wish shared by everyone to hold a meeting...between OPEC members and countries outside OPEC,' he said. 'Naturally, we would be ready to join such a consensus.'

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had met with Venezuela's del Pino on February 1 as he sought to drum up support for joint action to prop up falling crude prices. Both continued to hold out the possibility of joint consultations between OPEC and non-OPEC countries in the near future, the Energy Ministry said.

The talk of cooperation has not bolstered oil prices or global stocks this week like it did last week, however. Oil prices resumed their sharp decline on February 1-2, falling below $30 again in New York and London, and dragging down global stock markets.

Moreover, despite Moscow's hints that it is ready to cut production if other major producers agree, preliminary data from the Russian Energy Ministry on February 2 showed Russia was actively ramping up production last month, adding to a global glut that has caused a price collapse of nearly 75 percent since 2014.

The data showed production hit a fresh post-Soviet high in January of 10.88 million barrels per day, up from 10.80 million barrels in December, which was the previous record.

OPEC production also jumped to its highest in recent history in January as Iran increased sales after the lifting of sanctions and rivals Saudi Arabia and Iraq also boosted supply, a Reuters survey showed last week.

That data suggests that despite talk of joint efforts to curb production, the opposite has occurred as the battle for market share among producers has only intensified in recent weeks.

Analysts and OPEC officials say reaching agreement with Russia on output cuts would be difficult as long as top OPEC producer Iran continues to ramp up production and add to markets already flooded with too much oil.

OPEC delegates, speaking anonymously to Reuters, have been cool to Russia's entreaties because of the dim prospects for success at coordination. They point out that failure to reach agreement at a meeting that was both highly publicized and anticipated in world markets would only add momentum to the fall in oil prices.

'I very much doubt there will be any success in coordination. There is no consensus inside OPEC itself,' Alexander Kornilov, a senior oil and gas analyst with Aton, told Reuters.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/russian-oil-production-new-record- despite-talk-of-production-cuts-opec/27528984.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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Russia to continue Syria airstrikes until terrorists defeated: Lavrov

Iran Press TV

Wed Feb 3, 2016 11:6AM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reiterated that Moscow will continue its airstrikes against terrorists in Syria until they are defeated.

"Russian airstrikes will not cease until we truly defeat the terrorist organizations ISIL [Daesh] and Jabhat al-Nusra," he said at a news conference in Oman's capital, Muscat, on Wednesday.

Responding to the remarks made by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who called on Russia to stop the air raids, Lavrov said, "I don't see why these airstrikes should be stopped."

Since September 30, 2015, Russia has been pounding the positions of Daesh and those of other terrorist groups in Syria upon a request by the Damascus government. The Daesh terrorists have been committing war crimes against the civilian population in Syria, as well as in Iraq.

Washington and some of its allies have also been conducting airstrikes against what they say are Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria.

Lavrov, however, cast doubt on the objectives of the so-called US-led coalition, saying "Our partners continue to avoid a pragmatic dialogue, which we have been offering them from the beginning. Indeed, this looks suspicious and raises questions about the real objectives of the coalition."

Regarding a ceasefire in Syria, Lavrov said Moscow has "pragmatic ideas" and is looking "forward to discussing these ideas at the meeting on February 11."

Late last month, Moscow proposed to hold an international meeting on Syria, with the participation of representatives from Western and Middle Eastern countries, in the German city of Munich in February.

Lavrov, however, said a ceasefire in Syria could not be imposed unless Turkey secures its borders to prevent arms smuggling into the Arab country.

Ankara has repeatedly been accused of being one of the main supporters of the militant groups operating in Syria, with reports saying that Turkey actively trains and arms the Takfiri militants there and facilitates their safe passage into the Arab country.

Russia is among the countries supporting the Syrian government forces in their fight against terror groups.

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Syrian Army Breaks Siege of Two Towns in Northern Aleppo

Sputnik News

19:10 03.02.2016(updated 21:31 03.02.2016)

The Syrian army with support of armed militia have broken a four-year siege of two towns in the north of the Aleppo province, a militia source said Wednesday.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The liberated towns, mostly populated by Shiite Muslims, have been under siege since 2012. The Syrian air force has been delivering ammunition and humanitarian aid to residents during the siege.

'The forward units of the army and militia have broken the siege of Nubel and Al-Zuhra Terrorists have left these towns, but continue to pound the outskirts with mortar rounds and improvised rockets,' the source told RIA Novosti.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the government army fighting opposition factions and terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front.

On September 30, Russia began an anti-terrorist air campaign in the country at the request of President Bashar Assad.

 Sputnik

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One of Al-Nusra Front's Leaders Killed in Syrian Government Airstrike

Sputnik News

14:35 03.02.2016(updated 15:16 03.02.2016)

One of the leaders of the al-Nusra Front militant group has been killed in an airstrike carried out by Syrian government forces, Syria Now reported Wednesday.

LATAKIA (Sputnik)  The airstrike took place in the northern Syrian town of Anadan, around 12 km (7.5 miles) north of Aleppo, according to the news outlet.

The name of the militant leader has yet to be released.

After Moscow commenced its anti-IS aerial operation in Syria in late September, units of the Syrian army intensified their offensive and had liberated some parts of country from the terrorists' hold.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the government army fighting opposition factions and terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front.

On September 30, Russia began an anti-terrorist air campaign in the country at the request of President Bashar Assad.

 Sputnik

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Fighting the Evil: Syrian Army Liberates Villages in Aleppo Suburbs

Sputnik News

08:53 03.02.2016(updated 10:09 03.02.2016)

The Syrian Army and the country's National Defense Forces have reportedly won new victories over militant groups in several key provinces, including Latakia and Aleppo, in the last 24 hours.

Over the past 24 hours, new military gains have been made by the Syrian Army and the country's National Defense Forces (NDF) in the key provinces, including Latakia and Aleppo, media reports said.

On Tuesday, Syrian troops managed to capture two strategic villages: Doweir al-Zaytun and Tell JaLibin near the town of Paschkoa in Aleppo Province's northern area, with other army units winning back a key mountain in a region of Latakia that borders Turkey to the north.

'The main objective of this phase is to seal the northeastern corner of Lattakia province and build a frontline at the strategic city of Jisr al-Shughour,' the sources were quoted by the Iranian news agency FARS as saying.

In Aleppo, the army's new advance came after Syrian forces cut two main supply lines of Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) terrorists in the province's north, according to the sources.

'The Masqan-Aleppo and Haras-Al-Bab roads, used by the ISIL terrorists as two main supplying routes, were cut in the attacks of the Syrian fighter jets and the army's artillery units,' army sources said.

Also on Tuesday, the Syrian Army continued its offensive against militants in other key provinces across Syria, including Damascus, Homs, Deir ez-Zor and Quneitra, where dozens of terrorists were killed and many more wounded.

In the southern province of Sweida, the Syrian fighter jets, supported by the Russian air strikes, bombed a column of Daesh oil tankers in the southeastern part of the village of Shaef,' the sources said, adding that most of oil tankers were destroyed and Daesh militants guarding the convoy were also killed in the air strikes.

Russia's ongoing air campaign in Syria was launched on September 30, when more than fifty Russian warplanes, including Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-34 jets, commenced precision airstrikes on Daesh and Al-Nusra Front targets in Syria at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed earlier this month that advanced, super-maneuverable Su-35S multirole fighters had begun their combat mission in Syria.

 Sputnik

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UN Puts Syria Peace Talks On Hold Until End of February

by Luis Ramirez, Ken Bredemeier, Chris Hannas February 03, 2016

The United Nations on Wednesday called off the fractious Syrian peace talks in Geneva until the end of February.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who was alternating between discussions with representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups trying to overthrow him, called the delay until February 25 a 'temporary pause' and not the demise of what had been the first Syrian peace effort in two years.

'This is not the end,' de Mistura said, 'and it is not the failure of the talks.'

Aleppo takeover

The temporary halt in the talks came as the Syrian army claimed that it has ended the rebel siege of two Shi'ite villages in Aleppo, handing Assad's government a major victory.

Syrian state television said the army and Shi'ite militias known as the Popular Defense Committees had broken the rebels' three-year blockade around Nubul and Zahraa, part of the government's advance in Aleppo province in recent days. The rebel defeat allows Syrian forces to take control of a supply route from Aleppo to the Turkish border.

Elsewhere, Syria's state news agency SANA said rebels had fired several rockets in the southern city of Daraa, killing 10 civilians and wounding 41 in a residential area. Daraa is a contested area with forces loyal to both Assad and armed opposition groups trying to overthrow him.

The new fighting came as the country's main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, appealed to international donors for more financial support for the Syrian people affected by the nearly five-year conflict.

The committee, speaking ahead of a donor conference in London on Thursday, said, 'Syrians need concrete action from our friends to stop the indiscriminate bombardment' being carried out by Assad's forces with aerial support from Russian fighter jets.

Russian airstrikes

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday his country's military will not stop its airstrikes in Syria until 'terrorist organizations' there are defeated.

Lavrov specifically mentioned the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra as a target of the strikes, saying he does not see why they should stop.

Russia has come under Western criticism for its air campaign in Syria, saying it focuses on opposition fighters opposed to Assad, instead of Islamic State militants, which Russia repeatedly has denied.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for an end to airstrikes on Tuesday and said a cease-fire in Syria should be implemented soon.

'We are all extraordinarily sympathetic to the limits of propriety and common sense in the opposition sitting at the table while someone continues to bomb them,'' Kerry said in Rome, where he attended a meeting of coalition members fighting the Islamic State group.

But members of the opposition delegation in Geneva said the gesture would make little difference for the peace process. One representative, Ahmad Ramadan, said the only way to save the talks is for the United Nations and the United States to "force an end to the bombardment and the targeting of civilians."

'The regime's and Russia's actions gravely threaten the political process at this early stage," another opposition member, Farah Atassi, said.

Humanitarian aid

The Syrian government on Tuesday allowed 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to travel into a rebel-held area near Damascus as a demonstration of good will. The opposition called it an "empty" gesture as long as government forces continue to step up their offensive.

The Syrian government delegation said it did not open formal negotiations as scheduled Tuesday with U.N. envoy de Mistura, saying the basic framework or agenda of the talks had yet to be established, and the process had not yet moved beyond the preparatory phase.

"We are waiting to find out the procedural issues, who will negotiate. Until now nothing is clear: one or two or three or four delegations? There is no clear answers," Bashar Jaafari, the chief Syrian government representative told reporters in Geneva.

Troubled talks

At the same time, the main opposition group canceled a meeting it had scheduled with de Mistura Tuesday, saying the escalating assault by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies are reasons not to pursue negotiations.

De Mistura declared the talks officially under way on Monday, after persuading the opposition to join the talks. "As far as we are concerned, their arrival to the Palais des Nations and initiating the discussion with us is the official beginning of the Geneva talks," the UN envoy said.

The formal start came exactly one week after they were originally scheduled to begin, and now they are delayed again.

But the opposition was threatening to walk out of the talks if the airstrikes did not stop and if the government does not lift the siege it says is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in rebel-held areas.

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News / Education

by Staff reporter

Schools that withhold exam results from pupils are breaking the law, the Government said yesterday.Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Professor Paul Mavhima spoke after human rights lawyers forced a Harare school to release Advanced level results to one of its former pupils who had threatened to go to court.Prof Mavhima said schools should work with parents to come up with payment plans instead of withholding results, which lawyers also say is in breach of children's right to education."It's illegal for schools to withhold results over non-payment of fees," Prof Mavhima told The Chronicle in Bulawayo yesterday. But the deputy minister also cautioned that parents should not ride on that legal provision to avoid paying fees. Schools, he said, were empowered to take parents to the civil courts to enforce payment of fees."Parents have to pay something or engage school authorities to make payment plans. In as much as it is illegal for schools to deny pupils their results, schools have to function," said Prof Mavhima. David Hofisi, of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said children should not be punished for their parents' failure to pay school fees."The school has to find means of recovering the money without punishing the pupil as it is unconstitutional. What's supposed to happen is that the child must be given results so that they continue with education while the parents sort out outstanding fees," the lawyer said by telephone from Harare."They're supposed to pursue their debt recovery from the parent while the child pursues their education." Hofisi last month wrote to Glenview High School in Harare giving the school an ultimatum to release Advanced Level results for a pupil whose parents were in school fees arrears. Concilia Misi, who sat for the November 2016 examinations, had been denied results because her parents owed the school an unspecified amount.Hofisi told The Chronicle yesterday that Misi's case was one of many instances where schools had released results at the threat of litigation. "She's not the only one, we've other cases where we've written to schools and results have been released. In Misi's case, we served the school with papers on January 25 and when I called her parents on January 29 they confirmed that the school had released her results," said Hofisi.In a letter to Glenview High, Hofisi said "the sad state of affairs is not only deplorable but unlawful and unconstitutional." In the letter also copied to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora, he added: "The Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe guarantees the right to education in section 75 and the children's right to education in Section 81 (1) (f)."In the present instance, our client's right to education stands violated by your refusal to release her results to her. "This has a bearing on her future life and livelihood as you are now bent on leaving her in permanent state of limbo".
News / Education

by Staff reporter

State teachers have requested a meeting with President Robert Mugabe to discuss their delayed remuneration and the attempt to cancel their annual vacation.The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has forwarded the request to the presidency amid teacher complaints that the President is being misled about their plight by minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora and Public Service minister, Prisca Mupfumira.This comes after the PTUZ has petitioned Civil Service Commission chairperson Mariyawanda Nzuwa, Dokora and Mupfumira to stick to the provisions of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 or Public Service Regulations, outlining conditions of service for government workers.
If you have flown in commercial airplane in recent months you may have had a flight cancelled or significantly delayed. Vouchers that are go...
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb 2, 2016) - Lara Exploration Ltd., ("Lara" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LRA) announced on November 9, 2015 an initial resource estimate for its Maravaia Copper Gold Deposit, located within its Curionopolis exploration license in northern Brazil. Following a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission, Lara was advised that the technical report filed on November 9, 2015 in support of the Maravaia resource estimate did not fully comply with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Lara has worked with the report author to revise the report and believes it now complies with NI 43-101. Despite such revision, there are no material differences in the resource estimate for the Osmar Target, which is the principal component of the Maravaia Deposit. The report no longer estimates a resource for the Galpao Target and Lara's previous disclosure of a resource for the Galpao Target should not be relied upon until the estimate is verified and supported by a NI 43-101 compliant technical report. The revised report has been filed on SEDAR.

About Lara

Lara is an exploration company following the Prospect Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and then exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio prospects and deposits in Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
TORONTO, Feb 3, 2016 - Oban Mining Corp. (TSX:OBM) ("Oban" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a binding letter of intent (the "Agreement") to acquire 100% of the Souart property, located in the Urban Barry greenstone belt, in Souart and Barry Townships, Quebec (the "Acquisition"). The Souart property is currently held by Multi-Ressources Boreal ("M-R Boreal").The Souart property is located approximately 90 kilometres east of Lebel sur Quevillon, 14 kilometres southwest of, and along the same geological trend as, Oban's Windfall Lake project. Three zones have been defined by historical work on the property including the Nubar Zone (with estimated resources of 564,000 tonnes at 6.2 g/t Au, based on historical estimates that have not been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")), the Tourmaline Hill Zone, and the Barry-Souart Zone. These three zones are located along a 5 kilometre length of the same geological structure. See below under the heading "Disclosure of Historical Estimates".Under the terms of the Agreement, M-R Boreal will receive consideration of 500,000 common shares of Oban and a cash payment of $200,000 in exchange for 100% ownership of the 33 claims (comprising 1,286.34 hectares) that comprise the Souart property. M-R Boreal will maintain a 2% NSR royalty over the Souart property, which can be redeemed by Oban, at any time, for $2 million. The Acquisition is subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.In 1950, Nubar Mines Ltd. sunk a 44 metre deep shaft and drove 135 metres of drifts and crosscuts. Several exploration surveys were then completed by other companies (Glenelm Developers Limited, Goldmaster Mines Ltd., Shell Canada Limited, Tut Explorations, Societe de developpement de la Baie-Jame (SDBG) and Oasis Resources Inc.). Between 1985 and 1990, Oasis Resources Inc. completed 152 drill holes, followed with an estimated resource calculation of 564,000 tonnes at 6.2 g/t Au. These resource estimates are of a historical nature and do not comply with NI 43-101. However, the resource estimate may be relevant because the Souart property encompasses the same geological trend that the Nubar Zone occupies and, to the best of the knowledge of Mr. Gernot Wober, there has been no material change with respect to the metallic minerals within the original resource estimation area (and region) that would affect the estimation parameters since 1985. Further drilling would be required to upgrade or verity the historical resource estimate as current mineral resources or reserves. Oban is unaware of the existence of any technical report prepared in connection with the scientific and technical information in this news release. A Qualified Person (within the meaning of NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Oban is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Further, there have not been any mineral resources calculated on the Souart property recently.The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Mr. Gernot Wober, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration for Oban, who is a Qualified Person (within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101). Oban is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Oban is well financed with approximately $65 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Oban's flagship project is the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec, Canada. Oban also holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the Urban Barry area (82,400 hectares) of Quebec, 100% interest in the Garrison project east of Matheson, Ontario, as well as additional projects in the Timmins area of Ontario.This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this news release about the Acquisition by Oban of 100% of the Souart property; the terms of the Agreement; the timing for completing the Acquisition, if at all; the ability of Oban and M-R Boreal to satisfy the conditions precedent to completing the Acquisition; the ability of Oban and M-R Boreal to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the Acquisition; and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be "forward looking information". Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Oban, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Oban to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the terms of the Acquisition differing from those in the Agreement;a delay in completing the Acquisition, if at all; a failure by Oban and/or M-R Boreal to satisfy the conditions precedent to completing the Acquisition; a failure by Oban and/or M-R Boreal to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the Acquisition; the benefits of the Acquisition not being realized by Oban; business integration risks; fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions; risks relating to property interests; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to mining activities; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Oban cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Oban nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Oban does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.John Burzynski, President & Chief Executive Officer(416) 363-8653
ROUYN-NORANDA, QC, Feb. 3, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Visible Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VGD) (Frankfurt: 3V4) would like to report that it has received a cash payment of $750,000 from Revenu Quebec. The payment represents the Quebec mineral exploration tax credit relating to the company's 2015 exploration expenditures including expenditures made on its Project 167 located in James Bay. Eligible exploration expenditures on the company's Quebec properties qualify for a refundable provincial tax credit between 28% and 31%. With receipt of the 2015 tax credit the Company currently has a cash reserve of approximately $1.5 million including the recent flow-through financing (December 2015) and no debt.

Drilling resumes in James Bay

Visible Gold Mines is pleased to announce that its geological team and drill crews have been mobilized to its Project 167 for the 2nd phase of diamond drilling. The objective of this phase 2 winter diamond drill exploration program is to test recently identified induced polarization targets on the property's Central Block. Chibougamau Diamond Drilling Ltd of Chibougamau, Quebec has been engaged to conduct the current drilling campaign.

Visible Gold Mines is pleased to report that the assay results from its previously-announced five hole drilling program totalling 966 metres on the North Block of its Project 167 have been received. Of these, 2 drill holes, 167-15-23 and 167-15-25, intersected anomalous gold values. 167-15-23, intersected a mineralized quartz vein in a mudstone that returned 0.356 g/t over 0.29m and hole 167-15-25 a vein containing pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite in sedimentary rock that returned 0.242 g/t over 0.40m.

Annual and special meeting of shareholders

Visible Gold Mines announces the voting results from its annual and special meeting of shareholders. At the meeting held on January 29, 2016, the shareholders elected Martin Dallaire, Sylvain Champagne, Pierre Vezina and Sebastien Bellefleur as directors of the Corporation. The total number of shares voted by shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting was 50,426,051, representing 50.22% of the Corporation's outstanding shares at the record date (December 14, 2015). Following the shareholders' meeting, the Board of Directors re-appointed Martin Dallaire as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, Sylvain Champagne as Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation and Robert Sansfacon as Vice President Exploration of the Corporation.

In addition, shareholders also approved resolutions ratifying and confirming the Corporation's stock option plan and re?appointing Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as the auditors of the Corporation.

The Board of Directors has granted stock options in respect of 950,000 common shares to its directors. The options were granted pursuant to Visible Gold Mines' Stock Option Plan. The exercise price of the options is $0.05. The options expire in ten years.

Qualified Persons

Mr. Martin Dallaire, P.Eng., President and Chief Executive Officer of Visible Gold Mines, is the qualified person on the Project 167 information presented in this press release under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, is responsible for the technical contents of this press release and has approved the disclosure of the technical information contained herein. The data verification was conducted by Jeannot Theberge, P.Geo. under the supervision of Martin Dallaire, P.Eng.

Quality Control

Visible Gold Mines has implemented and adheres to a strict Quality Assurance/Quality Control for the current exploration program. It includes one mineralized gold standard, one duplicate and one blank for each batch of samples. Analyses are performed by ALS Chemex, Val-d'Or, Quebec, or Techni-Lab, Ste-Germaine-Boule, Quebec, both accredited laboratories.

About Plan Nord Project 167

In 2011, when the Quebec Government launched its ambitious Plan Nord project to develop Quebec's north, including the construction of a 243 kilometre-long all-season road that links Stornoway's Renard Diamond project to the provincial highway network, Visible Gold Mines' management decided to acquire the available mining rights along each side of the new road in order to have access to new outcrops and strippings generated by the road construction. Visible Gold Mines acquired claims by acquisition and staking and so the Project 167 was born. Out of the 140 kilometres of new road available for mining exploration (the first 102 kilometres are a planned provincial park), Visible Gold Mines owns more than 110 kilometres. The 167 provincial road was completed in October 2014 at a construction cost of approximately $350 million. The Project 167 is 100% owned by Visible Gold Mines, with the exception of 80 mining claims comprising the North Block, in which Visible Gold Mines currently has a 90% interest. The Project 167 covers approximately 61,178 hectares or 611 km2.

About Visible Gold Mines

Visible Gold Mines Inc. is a dynamic corporation aggressively searching for the next important gold deposit in the province of Quebec, an area consistently ranked as one of the world's best jurisdictions for mining and exploration.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, costs, objectives or performance of Visible Gold Mines, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, including the development of the Project 167, or if any of them do so, what benefits Visible Gold Mines will derive. Forward-looking information are based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Visible Gold Mines' control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described under "Financial Risk Management Objectives and Policies, and Financial Risks" in Visible Gold Mines' Annual Report for the fiscal year ended on July 31, 2015, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Visible Gold Mines does not intend, nor does Visible Gold Mines undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws.

Neither 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 the release.

SOURCE Visible Gold Mines Inc.
Abalone is given the schnitzel treatment. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Address 23 Barangaroo Avenue Sydney, New South Wales 2000 View map Permanently Closed

Forget the fact that you can't get a table, that the entire 10-week pop-up booked out in seconds, and that you mightn't be able to afford a table even if you could get one. Forget the hype about the restaurant your annoying friends brag about dining at in Copenhagen, the restaurant that was four times named number one in the world.

Even so, Rene Redzepi's Noma Australia pop-up is one of the most notable events to have popped up in the 50,000-odd years of eating in this great southern land. Given the focus on native Australian ingredients, much of the food isn't immediately recognisable. Some of it isn't even strictly enjoyable. These are demanding flavours, not comfortable, not cushy, but unapologetically in-your-face. Totemic.

As well as bringing a team of 85 from Denmark, Noma has brought its own atmosphere. The vast dining space right on Barangaroo, the new western fringe of the city, is just metres from the water. It colonises the corner with a broad curving sweep of glass, the harsh sunlight tamed with sheers. Mid-century Danish dining tables and chairs, wallaby pelts, an ochre floor and giant WA grass plants outside make it Danish, but not. Australian, but not.

The degustation kicks off with 'unripe macadamia and spanner crab'. Photo: Jason Loucas

The degustation menu looks at Australian food through an explorer's eyes.

Kicking off with crisp petals of green macadamia nuts in a chilled broth that tastes of spanner crab, it segues to hauntingly bittersweet wild native berries with a dusting of Kakadu plum. So this is what Australia tastes like to the world's most celebrated chef  astringent, green, sour, nutty, aggressive, deep, intense, demanding, tart, ancient.

It's a contrary offering, concentrating on shellfish, fruit and greens, although meat is often only one step removed.

Go-to dish: Seafood platter with crocodile fat. Photo: Supplied

An almost cloud-like formation of the brilliant Albany snow crab comes funked-up with salted egg yolk cured in fermented kangaroo juices.

Crocodile fat mixed with chicken stock forms a tooth-sticky lid over an impeccable handful of shellfish  mussel, pipi, clam, oyster  served on the (real) rocks.

Dishes come in a constant Instafeed of snap, bite, move on. One minute, it's an intense pairing of cushiony tongues of sea urchin with spritzy dried cherry tomatoes and native pepperberries; next, it's a tenderised, schnitzelised half abalone dandied up with bush condiments like some deranged outback pub counter lunch.

Noma's spin on the lamington: aerated rum cake with grated milk and tamarind sauce.

There are layers of thought, and much work, behind a crisp, charry parcel of barbecued milk skin that combines the richness of magpie goose with the freshwater sweetness of marron flesh.

Or a lamington, with more Nordic milk-skin counterfeiting for coconut on a sensational sauce of native tamarind.

Or a little sandwich of mango and mango ice-cream topped with limey green tree ants; like an abandoned Weis bar on the footpath crawling with fruit-loving insects.

Mango and green ants feature in the 'marinated fresh fruit' dish. Photo: Jill Dupleix

The watchful staff  informed but informal  almost welcome you to death, and the matching drinks program from sommelier Mads Kleppe is as considered as the food, kicking off with a Tasmanian sparkling beer/cider that's like an adult shandy, and focusing on (extremely) natural wines from the Adelaide Hills.

We already have brilliant and inspirational chefs in Australia working with indigenous produce, such as Ben Shewry of Melbourne's Attica and Jock Zonfrillo of Adelaide's Orana, but Noma Australia will have its own far-reaching effect; giving us the confidence to make our own, our own.

So yes, we have some truly great restaurants in Australia. And this is one of them.

Noma Australia: Not bad for a pop-up. Photo: Edwina Pickles

THE LOWDOWN



Best bit: Seeing Australia through another's eyes, on the plate.



Worst bit: No bread, no meat, no red wine.



Dried scallop pie with lantana flowers. Photo: Jill Dupleix

Go-to dish: Seafood platter and crocodile fat.

THE MENU

Unripe macadamia and spanner crab

Wild seasonal berries flavoured with gubinge

Porridge of golden and desert oak wattleseed with saltbush

Seafood platter and crocodile fat

WA deep-sea snow crab with cured egg yolk

Pie: dried scallops and lantana flowers

Barbecued milk "dumpling"; marron and magpie goose

Sea urchin and tomato dried with pepperberries

Abalone schnitzel and bush condiments

Marinated fresh fruit

Rum lamington

Peanut milk and freekeh "Baytime"

http://noma.dk/australia/
Dragon dancers at Mr Wong for Chinese New Year. Photo: MY Media Sydney

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and it's time to celebrate the year of the monkey. Sydney boasts the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations outside mainland China, with events all across the city. While February 8 is officially New Year's Day for the lunar calendar, Sydney's celebrations continue until late February. Here's our pick of the best.

Dinner

Mr Wong

Spice Alley at Kensington Street, Chippendale Photo: Simon Wood Photography.

Book in for a loud and lively dinner at Mr Wong, thanks to the lion dance performance on February 11. Lion dances are a tradition to get rid of bad spirits and welcome in Chinese New Year. Menu specials are available from February 2 to 8 and include roasted suckling pig - the restaurant will roast one whole pig each night until it sells out.

3 Bridge Lane, Sydney, 02 9240 3000, merivale.com.au/mrwong

Feast at Sheraton on the Park

Fruit carving at Sydney Hills Lunar Festival. Photo: Morris McLennan / Morris Images

Gaze over Hyde Park as you feast at Feast, the buffet restaurant at the Sheraton hotel. Its special Gong Xi Fa Cai menu includes steamed chicken with mushroom and black fungus, Chinese noodles and pancakes at the live cooking station and boiled black chicken soup with northern ginseng. Dessert is a Chinese classic - red bean milk soup. Running until February 28, dinner starts from $89 per person

Level 1, Sheraton on the Park Hotel, 161 Elizabeth St, Sydney, 02 9286 6000 feastsydney.com.au

The Burger Project

Advertisement

Smashing a burger might not seem like the most obvious way to celebrate the new year - but you can head to Neil Perry's Burger Project at World Square to try a not-so-usual festive menu. Special dishes available through February include the Chinese crumbed pork burger and Chinese spicy crumbed chicken, both with cucumber and Asian slaw, hoi sin sauce on a sesame bun. The best drinking match for this, of course, is the lychee iced tea.

Shop 622, Lower Ground Floor, 19 Martin Place, Sydney, burgerproject.com

Lunar Feasts by City of Sydney

From February 6 to 21, 40 participating restaurants will feature Chinese New Year menus as part of the City of Sydney's 'Lunar Feasts'. With a line-up that spans Chat Thai in Chinatown, Fat Noodle at The Star and Fu Manchu in Darlinghurst, you'll enjoy an express trip through Asian flavours.

For info on participating restaurants, sydneychinesenewyear.com

Banquets

Spice Temple

In this stylish den of bamboo vases and Chinese-inspired interiors, Neil Perry and head chef Andy Evans will serve a special banquet menu until February 13. Inspired by themes of health, wealth and fertility, it will be available for lunch and dinner and is priced from $95 per person (with matching wines for an additional $55).

10 Bligh Street, Sydney, 02 8078 1888, rockpool.com/spicetemplesydney

The Eight Restaurant

How could you not be enticed by something called 'the happiness menu'? This specialty banquet is on at The Eight Restaurant in Haymarket and it's a blockbuster offering. $1298 per table of 12 will get you a huge banquet with delicacies like braised pig tongue with dried oyster and black moss, or braised shark fin soup with shredded chicken and bamboo piths. A lion dance will also be performed on February 7 at 7.15pm and 8.45pm, and on February 8 at 7.30pm.

Level 3, 9-13 Hay Street Market City, Haymarket, Sydney, 02 9282 9988, theeightrestaurant.com.au

Palace Chinese Restaurant

Choose from three Chinese New Year banquets - Diamond, Gold and Silver - at Palace Chinese Restaurant in the Sydney CBD. Abalone, crab, pidgeon and lobster are just some of the items on these extensive menus. Prices range from $1038 to $1738 for a table of 12. Lion dances are performed at 7.30pm on February 7 and February 8.

Shop 38 Level 1, Piccadilly Tower, 133-145 Castlereagh Street Sydney, 02 9283 6288, palacechinese.com.au

Festivals

Kensington Street Festival in Chippendale

Tucked near Central Park, Kensington Street's cobbled laneway will be emulating the Chinese phrase "re-nao" this Chinese New Year with an atmosphere full of life and energy. From 11am to 4pm on February 6, there will be food stalls, art workshops, calligraphy stalls and fortune tellers lining the alley. From 3pm til 7pm, the street will be filled with the sound of drums and lion dancers. MasterChef favourite Reynold Poernomo will be venturing out from his dessert bar around the corner to do food demonstrations.

Kensington Street & Spice Alley, Chippendale, Sydney, 0417 494 317, kensingtonstreet.com.au

Freedom Plaza, Cabramatta

Cabramatta celebrates the year of the monkey over two days from February 13 to 14, from 9am4pm daily. There are lion dances and performances from local talent such as the Shaolin Kung Fu meditation temple contortionists, as well as chopstick competitions and cooking demonstrations. Finish off the evening with a fireworks display at 8.45pm.

Freedom Plaza, Cabramatta, 02 9724 7811, fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au

Lunar New Year Festival, Parramatta

Centenary Square in Parramatta will stage New Year celebrations on February 19 from 4.30pm to 9.30pm. Food trucks are there in in force with Tsuru and Mama Linh's serving dumplings and Asian street food. Lucky red envelopes are a Chinese New Year staple and you can pick one up from the festival's God of Fortune. Traditional dragon and lion dances are teamed with modern performances from Marlisa (2014's winner of The X-Factor), the Dauntless Movement Crew and Sydney band AiAiAi. Fireworks will top off the celebrations at 9.30pm.

Centenary Square, Parramatta, 02 9806 5070, parracity.nsw.gov.au

Sydney Morning Herald Lunar Markets, Pyrmont Bay Park

This food festival is on from February 4 to 14 in Pyrmont Bay Park. There are 20 food stalls for you to browse and snack from, and the event will be dramatically decorated with a five-by-eight-metre noodle-bowl installation, complete with lanterns and seating areas. If you need just one reason to go to this, it's Black Star Pastry's collaboration with N2 Extreme Gelato. Just for this event, the dessert masters will be wowing diners with a Gong Xi Fai Cai Cake Smash: a strawberry watermelon cake smash with fire crackers (made of feuillantines and pop rocks coated with raspberry powder), pipette of strawberry coulis and 'gold coins' (constructed from gold-coated haw flakes).



The Sydney Morning Herald Lunar Markets presented by The Star, Pyrmont Bay Park, Pyrmont, sydney.lunarmarkets.com.au

Sweet treats

Din Tai Fung

Appropriately created for the year of the monkey, the dumpling house will be offering monkey buns (pictured above). They're steamed-to-order and richly filled with banana and chocolate. Going for $4.80 each, these cute round things are only available until February 29.

Available at Din Tai Fung venues in World Square, Westfield Chatswood and Westfield Miranda, dintaifung.com.au

Laduree

What's Laduree's Chinese New Year specialty? Gold-leaf chocolate macarons. Add a little luxe and glitz to your festivities with a dozen of these limited-edition treats and red classics like raspberry and cherry almond for $58.

Available from Laduree patisseries in Pitt Street Mall and Woollahra, laduree.com

MakMak

During Chinese New Year, mandarins are considered traditional symbols of abundance and good fortune, so it's only appropriate that Newtown's MakMak Macarons will be creating mandarin and dark chocolate sweets. The metallic gold Fu characters that decorate each one continues the good fortune theme.

601 King Street Newtown, (02) 8095 0045, shop.makmak.com.au

Lotus Dining and Black Star Pastry

Sugar fiends should be happy to know that Lotus Dining at The Galeries and Black Star Pastry are collaborating on a dessert degustation for Chinese New Year. The special menu (pictured above) will run between 6-9pm on February 10 to 14. While the event has officially sold out, you can still try your luck by joining the waiting list. And you still have a good excuse to visit Lotus Dining during Chinese New Year - the restaurant will be offering $68, $88 and $108 banquet options during this period.

Lotus Dining, The Galeries, Level 1, 500 George Street, Sydney, 02 9267 3699, lotusrestaurant.com.au
News / Health

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe's doctors are voting on whether or not to stage a full-fledged strike, over salaries. Doctors started casting their vote yesterday, with the majority said to be in favour of a strike.Earlier, doctors had threatened to conduct a 24-hour strike starting February 1, providing only emergency care, but have called off the action to allow for more consultations.Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) confirmed it has already started the consultations beginning with the Harare region.ZHDA spokesperson said they will have a position by the end of the week after consulting all health practitioners.The spokesperson also said that it was clear that there was no will on government's part to resolve the doctors' concerns.
A still from "Sanjay's Super Team." (Pixar)

SHARE "Bear Story." (Punkrobot Animation Studio) Matthew Needham in "Stutterer." (Bare Golly Films)

By Barry Paris Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Tns)

As tasty morsels go, the Oscar short films category  my annual favorite  is like the box of Russell Stover's chocolates we bought Mother every Christmas. I'd poke a little hole in the bottom to see if it was a flavor I liked and, if not, furtively replace it, enraging my sister Pamela when she (inevitably) discovered the rejects.

Hoping thumbnail critiques are equally revealing but less transgressive than thumbnail holes, I offer you them below. This year's overall crop is excellent, if decidedly more downbeat than usual. Don't take my word for it. Check 'em out yourself.

OSCAR-NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORT FILMS

"Bear Story," directed by Gabriel Osorio, Chile (11 min.) A sad old bear takes a fantastic mechanical diorama he has created out to street corners. For a coin or two, passers-by can look into the peephole and see the drama-trauma of being captured, caged and taken to a circus  longing to escape and return to his family. The realistic and surrealistic movements are superb in this wistful, original, 2016 best-of-show entry.

"We Can't Live Without Cosmos," Konstantin Bronzit, Russia (15 min.) Two best friends  dreaming since childhood of becoming cosmonauts  have endured the rigorous training together. Hilarious sequences of their weightless and nausea-inducing exercises inside gyroscopes precede the successful launch of one of them, and demise of the other. It's a kind of "2001" star-child idea in animation, wistful and lovely.

"World of Tomorrow," Don Hertzfeldt, USA (17 min.) More cosmic debris here, with a nod to Frank Zappa, in this heaviest ontological entry. Little stick-figure Emily is taken on a fantastic tour of her future by a visiting "analyst" monitoring her life's progress and transitions: "Your time is the Internet. Our time is the Outernet." The guide reveals unnerving secrets ("We all die horribly") as well as her own work on the moon, where she fell in love with a rock and sent back depressed poetry. "I'm very proud of my sadness because it means I'm alive," she says  accompanied by terrific Strauss music from "Rosenkavalier."

"Sanjay's Super Team," Sanjay Patel, USA (7 min.) Pixar animator/character designer Sanjay Patel ("Bug's Life," "Ratatouille") tells his semiautobiographical tale of a first-generation Indian-American boy whose love of Western pop culture conflicts with his father's Hindu traditions. Sanjay is absorbed in TV cartoon superheroes and "action figures" until an unexpected encounter with super-Hindu-heroes brings new perspective. Visually dazzling and very sweet.

"Prologue," Richard Williams, UK (6 min) During the Spartan-Athenian wars of 2,400 years ago, a terrified girl witnesses angry warriors battle each other brutally to the death. No dialogue, just horribly natural grunts and groans accompany the intensely realistic animation of Richard Williams, best known for his work on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and the Oscar-winning "A Christmas Carol." This one is spellbinding but grim, indeed. Parental warning: The graphic violence and male nudity are not for small kids.

Four additional bonus 5-9 minute films: "If I Was God" (Canada): While dissecting a frog in biology class, a 12-year-old boy speculates about what he would do if he were God. "The Short Story of a Fox and a Mouse" (France): A hungry fox sets out for a morning meal, hoping for a tasty rodent but finding an extraordinary mouse instead. "The Loneliest Stoplight" (USA). The life and times of a neglected stoplight. "Catch It" (France): A group of meerkats take care of their beloved fruit near their burrow, but a vulture seriously disturbs them.

OSCAR-NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS

"Ave Maria," Basil Khalil, Palestine/France (15 min) Five nuns living in the West Bank have their routine disrupted when a car carrying a family of Israeli settlers breaks down outside the convent. Unable to use the telephone on the Sabbath, they need the nuns' help, but the sisters' vow of silence presents other hurdles. Sweetly funny juxtaposition/dilemma of dueling religious quirks. Silence  for bickersome Jews with an incontinent mother-in-law. No phone use on Saturday  for isolated nuns.

"Shok," Jamie Donoughue, Kosovo/UK (21 min.) In 1988 Kosovo, two young boys are best friends living happily until war engulfs them and daily existence is filled with fear and violence. Manipulated by soldiers, the choices they make jeopardize not only their friendship but their families' lives. A tragedy, based on true events.

"Everything Will Be OK," Patrick Vollrath, Germany/Austria (30 min.) A divorced father devoted to his 8-year-old daughter Lea picks her up for their usual weekend together. It seems a lovely normal time until the nervous dad takes her to a passport office, then the airport. As Lea gradually catches on, it becomes truly harrowing and suspenseful  stupendously well-acted by Simon Schwarz and Julia Pointner.

"Stutterer," Benjamin Cleary, UK/Ireland (12 min.) A lonely, scruffy typographer has an online sort-of romance without revealing the incapacitating speech impediment that keeps him so isolated. Now faced with having to meet his virtual girlfriend in the flesh and reveal the truth, he's understandably freaked out.

"Day One," Henry Hughes, USA (25 min.) A young, divorced Afghan-American woman joins the military as an interpreter and on her first Afghanistan mission accompanies troops in pursuit of a bomb maker. When they find him, it's up to her to bridge the huge gender/culture gap and assist his pregnant wife. The wrenching delivery scene is very hard to watch in this over-the-top entry.
Aisholpan in the documentary "The Eagle Huntress." (Asher Svidensky/www.Kettem-Ore.com)

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By Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times (Tns)

PARK CITY, Utah  "The Eagle Huntress," a documentary that's as unlikely as it is enchanting, landed in Sundance, and falling under its sway is inevitable.

The story introduces Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl from Mongolia who bucked 2,000 years of tradition to become the first female to hunt with formidible golden eagles in a locale director Otto Bell describes as "the most remote part of the least populated country in the world. It's not the end of the world but you can see it from there."

A demure, shy girl with bright eyes and a shining smile, Aisholpan and her parents made the trip to Park City to promote the film and to appear in a press event with eagles provided by the Comanche nation. Her own eagle, Akkatnat or White Wings, is back home in Mongolia where the rest of her nomadic family is, and when asked if she missed the enormous beast, Aisholpan's face lit up like a star.

Some scholars believe that the whole idea of hunting with birds like eagles may have originated in Mongolia. The great conqueror Ghenghis Khan was said to have kept a thousand eagles, and to have so admired the mettle of eagle hunters that he used them as personal bodyguards.

Nomadic herders like Aisholpan's father Nurgaiv, himself the seventh generation of male-only hunters, use the birds to go after foxes and other small animals both for food and for fur to keep warm in the savage winters. Despite scoffing from traditionalists, when Aisholpan expresed an interest in become a hunter, her father readily agreed.

"She's been transfixed by eagles since she was a kid," says Bell. "It's masterful to see how she works with them."

Before he became involved with Aisholpan and her quest, the energetic 34-year-old Bell had worked for nearly 10 years as a director of shorter branded content pieces for major corporate clients.

"I'd worked all over, Uganda, Egypt, Japan, Vietnam, I was used to foreign languages, to working with a translator, so when this opportunity came up I didn't hesitate, the British director says, adding with a laugh, "perhaps I should have."

For the story of how "Eagle Huntress' came to be made is a tale that is itself so filled with obstacles, derring do and coincidence, it almost feels like this film was simply fated to be made.

It all began with a photo essay on eagle hunters by still photographer Asher Svidensky that appeared on the BBC's web site and included shots of Aisholpan working with her father's eagle.

"I saw it the day it came out and I jumped on it," says Bell, which was a good thing because the photos soon became an internet sensation. "I contacted the photographer and was quickly on a plane to Mongolia."

Bell met and had tea with Aisholpan, her father Nurgaiv and her mother Alma on July 4, 2014, a date he remembers because of what happened next.

"We were talking about the possibility of making a film and Nurgaiv said, 'today we're going to steal an eagle chick for Aisholpan to train. Is this the kind of thing you'd be interested in filming?' I said, 'God yes.'

"It turns out you have only a two or three day window when the eagle chick can live outside the nest but hasn't flown away. It's very rare to be able to come in at the beginning of a story, but that is what we did."

Bell's small crew, led by veteran cinematographer Simon Niblett and ranging from two to five people, spent a total of three months in Mongolia off and on and brought in 700 kilos of gear, including an S1000 drone and a 30-foot crane that packs away into a case suitable for a snowboard.

"Though we didn't know it as we were shooting it, the film fell into a sequence of events," the director relates. "Every time we went back, Aisholpan was facing a fresh obstacle."

First came the snatching of the eaglet, then an annual eagle hunters tournament in the town of Ulgii that drew some 70 veteran hunters to compete. Then came the ultimate challenge, actual hunting in Mongolia's devastating winter.

"It was minus 50 degrees, brutally cold conditions, all our batteries died, hands would freeze to the tripod, what was supposed to take five days took to the end of the month," Bell recalls with a shudder. And then there was the little matter of his arm.

"I had broken my arm slipping on ice in New York, and the doctor absolutely forbid me to travel. I said I was going so they wrapped it a cast so large I couldn't close my jacket even though it was bloody freezing. And there were no roads, so there was jarring all the time we traveled. It was hellish."

Also problematic was actually getting the film paid for and finished. "I dragged the film on myself for as long as I could, using credit cards and my paltry savings, I called in favors from all those years of shooting branded content," but it was not enough.

So Bell sent a 10-minute trailer to documentarian Morgan Spurlock, "he said he'd never seen anything like this" and came on executive producer.
Rashda Khan/Standard-Times Long life noodles can be a good choice for the first day of a new year. They symbolize long life, of course, but theyre also fun to eat.

The Lunar New Year, coming up on Feb. 8, is most often associated with the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival. The celebration, which is calculated according to the lunisolar (affected by both the moon and the sun) calendar, shifts around from year to year. It marks the first day of the first lunar month and coincides with spring.

"People ask me all the time if I'm going to celebrate Chinese New Year and I smile and say I'm going to celebrate the new year," said Ngan Ho, a Vietnamese American reporter at the Standard-Times. "It would be more accurate to say 'Lunar New Year' because different countries celebrate the new year around the same time in their own different ways."

In the Vietnamese tradition, the new year celebration (a three-day period) is called a Tet Festival. In Korea, it's referred to as Seollal.

However, everyone seems to agree that this is a time to gather with family and friends to relax and celebrate. And there's food involved, lots of food.

Rose Ng, who owns Mathis Field Cafe with her husband Sam, likes to prepare for the New Year by cleaning house. "In the New Year you want to have a good beginning so you sweep out the old and get rid of things you don't need," she said.

For Buddhists, the new year starts out with a visit to the temple. "You want to start of the year as lucky as possible," Ho said. The temple visit provides a spiritual connection, blessings, and free vegetarian food. In return, everyone makes a monetary donation to the temple or the monks in whatever amounts they can afford. While Houston, where Ho is from, has many temples, in San Angelo she had to create her own personal shrine.

Both Ng and Ho agreed that the young people get "good luck" money in bright red envelopes. "It's a way for the children to know their family cares for them," Ng said.

"Unfortunately, when you're considered grown up, you no longer get them," Ho added. Instead, adults are expected to give gifts and honor their elders. It could be money or some other gift. People in Vietnam get extended time off from work to celebrate the holiday, Ho said.

While boxes of sweets and different types of edible seeds are popular gifts, oranges and tangerines, which are nice and round, are traditional gifts in China. They symbolize happiness, good fortune and wealth. Just make sure to give them in even numbers, as happiness comes in pairs and should be shared. Blooming flowers are also good gifts to give.

"The Chinese believe in symbols and signs," Rose said, explaining that a visual representation of your hopes, make them that much closer to reality.

"Whole fish represents abundance. You have to have head to tail because that is perfect and complete," Ng said. "And then there are the long noodles which mean long life. So you're not supposed to break or cut them. You eat them long."

Sesame balls are both sweet and round and so are good items to enjoy for the new year because you want your year to be smooth and sweet.

Many people wear traditional dresses for new year celebrations  an ao dai (a slender, long tunic with pants) for Vietnamese women and a hanbok (a long-sleeved top with ties and a full, high skirt) for Korean women. Ng likes to wear something red because that is a lucky color.

Dragon dances and loud fire crackers are a big part of the Chinese celebrations. "In Hong Kong, when we were young, people would dance the dragon from house to house," Ng said. "In return, we would give them some lucky money and set of fire crackers.

"The story is that the dragons and fire crackers would scare the evil away and bring in the happy."

Most importantly, she said, have a good time and be happy with "lots of food, games, and visiting."

Rose's Recipe for Sesame Balls

This is very easy to make for any occasion. "Try it and enjoy," Rose said.

Makes 7 servings

Ingredients

1 cup red bean paste

Skin:

2 cups glutinous rice powder

5 teaspoon sugar

2/3 cup water

Garnish:

1 cup white sesame seeds

6 cups oil for frying

 Water

Directions

1 Filling  divide red paste into 14 portions

2 Skin  mix ingredients of flour sugar and water, knead the dough slightly put oil on the table knead the dough until smooth, and then roll into a long roll and cut into 14 pieces.

3 Flatten each piece into 2-inch circle; place a portion of filling in middle then gather edges of skin to enclose filling; pinch to seal. Roll each filled skin into a ball;

4 Dampen the ball and roll in sesames seeds so the balls has a nice coating.

5 Heat oil for deep-frying over medium heat for 5 minutes, gently slide the balls in and fry until golden; remove and drain and serve.

Vegetable Long Life Noodles

Rose said the Chinese try to eat vegetarian food on the first day of a new year because they want a fresh start, one without harming another living creature. However, what vegetables you put depends on your taste. She always goes for a colorful, festive look. This is adapted from a recipe Rose shared. I made it for the family to celebrate a previous Chinese New Year and my kids love having the noodles long.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients

1 lb Hokkien Noodles (you can replace with thin spaghetti, egg noodles or soba, I used whole wheat spaghetti)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, minced (or more to taste)

6 oz baby corn, cut into bite-size pieces

5 oz sliced mushrooms (my kids won't eat them so I skipped mushrooms)

 cup matchstick cut carrots

 cup thinly sliced red or other color bell pepper

 cup snow peas or green beans, sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (You can substitute the Japanese Mirin or dry sherry)

1 tablespoon soy sauce (you can always sprinkle more at the table if you prefer)

4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed

(I added 3/4 pound of shrimp, peeled and cleaned, along with the vegetables because we like shrimp and the Chinese word for shrimp sounds like "Ha!" or laughter and signifies happiness.)

Directions

1 If using Hokkien noodles: Soak the noodles in a large heatproof bowl of hot just boiled water for 1 minute. Gently separate, drain and rinse under cold water. If using spaghetti or other noodles, prepare according to package directions. Set to the side.

2 In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant.

3 Add the vegetables (corn to snow peas) and cook just enough so that the vegetables retain vibrant color and a slight crunch.

4 Add the soy sauce and rice wine.

5 Turn heat high and add the reserved noodles.

6 Stir in the Oyster Sauce and scallions. Toss well, but gently, to mix the ingredients. Let cook for about 2 minutes, until the noodles are warmed through.

7 Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (Warning: The sesame seeds symbolize fertility, so if you're done with kids, you might want to leave them off.) Serve immediately.

Rashda Khan is a San Angelo-based food enthusiast, writer and culinary instructor. She moderates the Facebook group San Angelo Eat Local. Originally from Bangladesh, she is now a proud West Texan. She can be reached at rashda.khan@gosanangelo.com or 325-659-8381.
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By Joe Carlson

MINNEAPOLIS  Running wires to the left side of the heart is a notorious weakness of advanced pacemakers and heart-rhythm devices.

Such wires may fracture, decay or lead to infection. Sometimes do-over procedures are needed to place them in a narrow vein outside the heart muscle. Misplaced wires near the left heart may trigger hiccups by stimulating the nerve that controls the diaphragm, or deliver energy to damaged tissue that doesn't respond to the therapy.

The result is billions of health care dollars wasted on ineffective pacing of the left heart. However, a California medical device company with Minnesota financial backing, EBR Systems, says it has invented a device it calls the WiSE System to pace the left side of the heart using sound waves directed to a pacemaker electrode the size of a grain of rice.

The 9-millimeter electrode is implanted inside the heart's left ventricle, where scar tissue permanently embeds it in the heart. The electrode does not contain a battery, but rather converts ultrasound energy into electricity. The ultrasound waves come from a pulse generator implanted between the ribs and powered by a third component, a replaceable battery, also under the skin.

The current design requires the patient to have a traditional pacemaker or implantable defibrillator for the right ventricle that determines when the left-ventricle device should fire. Typically, those devices need a wire in the heart's coronary sinus vein to pace the left heart, which limits where the power can be applied. The WiSE System is said to work better because its location is not limited to where the vein goes, and because pulses delivered inside the heart are more effective than outside it.

EBR Systems received permission to sell this complicated medical device for heart failure last fall in Europe. The company is now in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about starting a clinical trial involving hundreds of U.S. patients.

The technology would fall within a fast-growing niche of experimental, ultrasmall pacemakers that don't use wires to pace the heart. Medtronic and St. Jude Medical are both testing inside-the-heart pacemakers called the Micra and Nanostim, respectively.

So far, 47 WiSE systems have been implanted in humans worldwide, and U.S. approval is at least three years away. But private investors have stuck with the firm, even after it canceled its first clinical trial in Europe and spent more than a year redesigning the catheter that implants the electrode in the left ventricle.

"We think the opportunity is significant, to put it mildly," said Josh Baltzell, a partner with Twin Cities-based venture capital firm Split Rock Partners. "It is a new way of doing things. It's just like when the first pacemaker came out.  It was a big advancement, and we feel like the WiSE system is similar."

Split Rock and St. Paul Venture Capital have together invested an undisclosed eight-figure sum in EBR Systems, Baltzell confirmed. Several other VC firms and one publicly traded medical device company have economic interests in EBR, as well, he said.

The reason for the excitement is that EBR's technology has the potential  "I want to underline potential. It's not reality yet," Baltzell said  to address a huge unmet need in cardiac medicine.

EBR CEO Allan Will said it's an open secret in the heart-device industry that at least a quarter of the 200,000 Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) pacemakers sold each year fail to make the patients' hearts pump blood better than before.
A power pole went down shortly after the winds and dust hit the city at Mathis Field. The power was knocked out to the parking lots and the front of the terminal, according to preliminary reports by the city. Also, a small grass fire ignited by the lines sparking was quickly extinguished.

The main entrance to the airport was blocked by responders as crews made repairs to the downed power line.

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By Ngan Ho of the San Angelo Standard-Times

Two fires broke out Monday evening as a result of strong winds and sparked a burn ban for the county.

The Tom Green County Commissioners Court reinstated the burn ban effective Tuesday.

All outdoor burning is prohibited for 90 days unless the restrictions are dismissed earlier. The Texas Forest Service has determined that drought conditions are prevalent in Tom Green County and could be exacerbated by outdoor burning, according the county.

"We're all keeping our fingers crossed," said Steve Mild, emergency management coordinator. "We're just hoping and praying that we don't have anything going on here."

Several grass fires ignited about 6:30 p.m. Monday near San Angelo Regional Airport after 48 mph winds knocked down a power pole and caused electricity lines to spark, Mild said.

He said the largest fire was about 10 yards wide and 70 yards long.

Mild said firefighters responded immediately and were able to contain and put the flames out quickly.

It happened "off of Knickerbocker (Road) right where you turn left into the airport," Mild said. "It was over in maybe 10 minutes."

Mild said the second fire occurred near the West Texas Boys Ranch, 10223 Boys Ranch Road, about the same time as the fire at the airport.

The fire began after a rancher burned a large tree stump on his property, Mild said.

"It was a rancher being prudent," he said. "It was just a large tree stump that was smoldering. ... When the wind hit it started to spread, and he called the fire department."

The San Angelo Fire Department and the Dove Creek Fire Department were able to extinguish the fires in less than an hour, Mild said.

"All the departments are aware," Mild said, "and they are all geared up and ready to go and get to the fire, and hopefully put it out before the fire becomes a major issue."

The extra rain San Angelo received last year produced a plethora of greenery. A lack of recent rain has turned growth into a fuel package for wildfires.

"This time of year when we have all these cold fronts, if you don't get any rain then this sets the stage for the potential for any fires to spread very quickly and become a wildfire, meaning they are uncontrollable," said Terry Huber, senior forecaster at the San Angelo National Weather Service.

Huber said San Angelo ended January with only a trace of rain and that the prevailing drought conditions are suitable for sustaining wildfires because dry vegetation, low humidity and high winds are all fire-inducing components.

"That really is the problem right now," Huber said. "Were not only very dry, but with the winter months we also get these cold fronts that really come through that give us really high winds."

A red flag warning of high winds and low humidity threshold was issued Monday and Tuesday, but no red flags were on the horizon as of Tuesday, Huber said.

Huber said a cold front will bring winds from the north Wednesday, and more cold fronts are expected overnight Friday and Sunday.

"Yesterday evening was a very strong Pacific front," Huber said Tuesday. "We had a gust of 48 miles an hour at the airport at its peak. That's powerful, although the wind will not be as strong as yesterday for the remainder of the week."
SHARE San Saba rancher Bill Owen watches as cattle are loaded on rail cars for summer pasture in South Dakota in the 1950s. Contributed photo

Family's lambs, cattle thrived in San Saba County

By Jerry Lackey

The Owen Brothers Livestock Co. was started on a shoestring budget in 1935 in San Saba County. By 1954 it was one of the largest of its kind in Central Texas.

Bill and Kelly Owen started their business right after the Depression.

As far as we were concerned, the Depression was still on, Bill told the Standard-Times. Our livestock numbers were so few we could haul them all in a pickup truck and trailer.

It was a gamble all the way, Bill Owen told the Standard-Times in 1965. The banker wouldnt lend Kelly and me any money, but he did agree to hold our check until our first load of livestock was sold. That cold check put us in the cattle and sheep business.

At the time, Bill was operating a stockfarm and Kelley worked for an oil company. Their grandparents, John R. and Elizabeth Favers Owen and William Thomas and Nancy Duncan Linn, were pioneers of San Saba County.

William Thomas Linn was born March 13, 1840, in Kentucky. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army. He became a Texas Ranger when his father, Samuel Linn, who was born in 1812, came to Texas and was one of the organizers of San Saba County in 1856.

William Linn Bill Owen was born April 20, 1904, in San Saba to Ralph W. and Mary Frances Linn Owen. His siblings were: Ivan Kelly Owen, Jack W. Owen, Alline Owen Low, Nell Owen Summers, Vada Owen Doran and Lucy Pauline Owen Sherrets.

The Owen brothers wintered their first lambs on a partnership deal in 1934-35. They first owned 700 head but increased their number of lambs every winter until they hit their peak of 20,000 head in 1945, according to an account in a San Saba County history book written by Martha Burnham, daughter of Bill Owen.

They would buy and sell for other ranchers, sometimes handling as many as 40,000 lambs per year, Burnham recalled. They encouraged others to try wintering lambs, and the venture became so popular that San Saba was called the grazing mecca. By 1951, the profits on gain and pasturage on lambs meant an extra million dollars additional income to the county.

In 1951, when the seven-year drought started in Texas, Owen Brothers found a cattlemans paradise in South Dakota. The rich lands along the Missouri River furnished an abundance of tall gumbo and gamma grasses along the Rolling Plains.

The brothers purchased several ranches, totaling about 38,000 acres, and leased grazing lands from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

In its heyday, Owen Brothers would ship from 2,000 to 3,000 head of cattle, usually filling 40 to 50 or more rail cars, to South Dakota grass in the summers, Bill Owen told me in an interview in 1966.

The cowboys counted on 43 to 45 head of cattle per car. A 100-car train was hard to manage, he said. Too many cattle at the rest stop. The longest train he recalled shipping had 107 cars.

The yearlings were wintered in Texas and loaded on the train at Richland Springs, San Saba and other points. The rest stop was Kansas City, nearly halfway on the 1,250-mile ride. The cattle were unloaded, fed, watered and given a chance to stretch their legs for 36 hours.

Kelly Owen would be in Mobridge, ranch headquarters, to receive the cattle at the end of their journey.

This practice is becoming a tradition with them, and may become as familiar to youngsters as the symbol Chisholm Trail to our forefathers. The Chisholm Trail was made by the hooves of cattle to northern markets, while the Owen Trail is steel rails over which Santa Fe and other trains are drawn by several diesel engines, Irene Linn Gibson wrote in the San Saba News Centennial edition in 1956.

In November 1963, Kelly was killed in a plane crash near Leedey, Oklahoma, while en route to Mobridge.

Bill continued to operate the business until his death in March 1982. The office was in the San Saba Hotel, which they owned. Bill and Kelly purchased the brick hotel building in downtown San Saba in 1962.

When I first met Bill in 1966, we headed for the hotel coffee shop before taking a ride to look at lambs. Everyone in the coffee shop appeared to be interested in his business, and he would sort of give them an answer with a smile and not tell them much.

Bill Owen was married to John Zack Millican, daughter of Moses Eugene Millican and Martha Virginia Means. They had three children: Martha Owen Burnham, Eleanor Owen Johnson and William Linn Bill Owen Jr.

Samuel Linn Owen died in 1885, and his wife, Dorcas Coates Gore Linn, died in October 1881. William Thomas Linn died in January 1926. Ralph W. Owen died June 26, 1938, and Mary Frances Linn Owen died in 1961. William Bill Owen Sr. died March 5, 1982. John Zack Millican Owen died in 1995. Bill Owen Jr. died Dec. 12, 2011.
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By Cathleen Decker

MANCHESTER, N.H.  The dramatic results of Mondays Iowa caucuses thrust the presidential contest forward to a state that promises a wildly different eight-day battle for its contrarian but deeply political voters.

Among Republicans, the race shifts onto ground dominated by more secular New Englanders after weeks of appeals to Iowas evangelical voters. A New Hampshire race that days ago appeared destined to define which of a quartet of establishment Republicans would rise to challenge Donald Trump will offer instead a battle between two young senators, Iowa winner Ted Cruz and third-place finisher Marco Rubio, for that mantle.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton only barely escaped a second straight embarrassment at the hands of an upstart movement candidate by effectively tying with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Now she must fight him on his home turf of New England.

That is dangerous territory for Clinton politically, raising the specter that she will emerge from the first two contests with no clear victory. But Clinton will also reinhabit the underdog role that she used to great effect in her come-from-behind primary win here over Barack Obama in 2008.

Both Trump and Sanders open the eight-day fight for New Hampshire with leads of at least 20 points over challengers in recent state polls. But in Trumps case, his idiosyncratic campaign failed to live up to his Iowa poll numbers. His failure to get many of his supporters to actually cast ballots for him gives his opponents in New Hampshire an opening.

A poll released Sunday had Cruz and Rubio tied in low double digits here  but that was before the whoosh of momentum that each hopes will accompany him northeast.

Cruzs surprise victory, Trumps shortfall and Rubios notable finish  and the tight Democratic race  would be drama enough leading into New Hampshire, but the states history seems destined to add more before the Feb. 9 primary. New Hampshire often gives the back of the hand to Iowas winners, and the race is often decided by the states undeclared voters, the designation here for those not choosing either party.

More than 4 in 10 voters in the state are undeclared and can decide up to election day in which of the party primaries they will vote. That will give a boggling breadth to the get-out-the-vote efforts in New Hampshire by all of the campaigns.

The outlines of the freshly minted GOP race were apparent as Cruz and Rubio congratulated their supporters Monday night in Des Moines. Cruz delivered an aggressive rejoinder to those who deemed him unelectable because of the antagonism he inspires from establishment Washington.

Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, he said. Will not be chosen by the Republican establishment. Will not be chosen by the lobbyists. But will be chosen by the most incredible powerful force  by We the people, the American people.

Rubio forwarded the immigrant story of his parents, calling it Americas story, and pledged, as Cruz decidedly did not, to serve as a unifier.

If I am our nominee, and I will be our nominee thanks to what you have done in this great state, he said, we are going to unify this party and unify the conservative movement  we are going to grow the conservative movement.

Cruz, with his win, heads to New Hampshire as the candidate laying the biggest claim to the partys religious wing. But evangelical voters make up half of Iowa voters, and only about 1 in 5 in New Hampshire. (His first scheduled visit here is to a church.) Rubio, whose third-place finish was just as surprising, will now gain far more attention than the competitive establishment candidates.

In New Hampshire, Rubios placement was bad news for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, all of whom had roughly the same level of support as Rubio before Iowa.

Yet Rubios attempt to consolidate the GOP establishment vote, which is substantial in New Hampshire, will be complicated by the blizzard of negative ads aimed at him here over recent weeks. All of the quartet have been firing at one another; Rubio has been cast as not ready to be president in ads by Bush allies that raised Rubios past financial dealings.

But the same feuding is likely to prevent any of the other candidates from leapfrogging over Rubio as well.

I think Rubio will get what he needed out of Iowa, which is to come into New Hampshire as one of the stories, said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire.

Cruzs win in Iowa is obviously important for him going forward, but I dont think it will do a lot for him in New Hampshire except to win over very conservative voters. But there just arent that many of them.

Trump, he noted, will come back to New Hampshire for the first time having lost, which pierces his claim of inevitability: Hes certainly got a large lead, but I think hes got to be looking over his shoulder.

Clinton and Sanders both accented in their Monday night speeches the positioning that brought them to an achingly close finish in Iowa. In a pitch to any wobbling Sanders voters in future states, Clinton emphasized her long-standing liberal leanings, even if in this race she has appeared closer to the middle of the road given Sanders views.

I am a progressive who gets things done for people, said Clinton, who expressed her relief at the results but did not claim victory. I am honored to stand in the long line of American reformers who make up our minds that the status quo is not good enough, that standing still is not an option.

Sanders was unrelenting in pressing his campaign message of revolution. He noted the huge outpouring of donations he has received, with the average only $27.

The American people are saying no to a rigged economy, he said, reprising his campaign theme. They no longer want to see an economy in which the average American works longer hours for lower wages, while almost all new income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent.

Without a clear win in Iowa, and running far behind Sanders in New Hampshire, Clinton has been denied the running room that an early victory would have offered. The results Monday suggested that without a reversal on the ground in the next week in New Hampshire, the Democratic race is destined to be a far longer one than Clintons team once surmised.

She retains more power the longer the race goes on, however, barring an utter collapse. After the overwhelmingly white first two states, the campaign will move into Nevada and South Carolina, where Clintons strong support among Latinos and African Americans has given her a big advantage. Those groups are also key in other states later in the spring.

Even after his strong showing in Iowa, and the expectations for New Hampshire, Sanders challenge remains what it has always been: to expand his movement campaign beyond the young and financially extended voters who have formed his base.

Bernie Sanders has two kinds of states that he needs to win: caucus states where passion matters most, and New England states, the most liberal region in the country, said Charlie Cook, a nonpartisan political analyst.

The deeper into the calendar, the tougher it is for Sanders unless he can significantly diversify his support beyond young people and white liberals. There are not enough soy-latte-drinking, Birkenstock-wearing, Subaru- and Volvo-driving Democrats to nominate Bernie Sanders. Unless Sanders can really break into minority voters, this is not going to happen for him.

But that will be determined later. For now the candidates will converge on New Hampshire, both sides fighting it out and all of the candidates, the victors and the vanquished, expressing the optimism attendant to their profession.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose fathers 1988 campaign was salvaged in New Hampshire after he finished a dismal third place in the caucuses, spoke in Manchester on Monday night as the voting in Iowa was about to begin.

You all have a chance to make a huge difference in this election, he said. Youre from New Hampshire, you know this. New Hampshire voters reset elections.

The reset has started as of tonight, he said, as if he was speaking for them all. And on next Tuesday, were gonna surprise the world.
News / Local

by Lovemore Mataire

WAR veterans leader Christopher Mutsvangwa has launched an unrestrained attack on Zanu-PF politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo, accusing him of leading a faction in the party and fomenting disunity.Mutsvangwa said leaders without institutional memory and emotional attachment to the liberation struggle were behind the current disharmony in the revolutionary party.Mutsvangwa, who is the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association chairperson and also the Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees, accused Prof Moyo and other unnamed leaders of trying to "refashion" Zanu-PF."There're certain people with dubious histories who're causing divisions in the party. Like all opportunists, all these so-called G40s (Generation 40s) must have the courage of their convictions and form their own party like what Morgan Tsvangirai did. They must not try to appropriate a party that so many people worked and died for, to refashion it into their own images," said Mutsvangwa.He said some "arrivists" with "overblown egos" had hatched a plan to purge all former freedom fighters in the vain hope of one day taking over the revolutionary party."There's a certain professor who thinks that the status and glories accorded to him in the party and with an overblown ego thinks that he can one day be the leader. He suffers from mental amnesia about his truancy at the crucial stage of the armed struggle [war of independence]," Mutsvangwa said.Mutsvangwa claimed the so-called G40 was the brainchild of Professor Jonathan Moyo, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development who penned an article advocating a new shift in Zanu-PF politics to embrace the youth as a strategy of survival  a population demographic he dubbed 'Generation 40'."The criteria for its identification and existence can be traced to the person who authored it. It was in an article, which recently appeared in the Press, where the same professor talked about the G40. How do you deny something which has been penned by the person who organises it? How do you deny it for him?" Mutsvangwa said.He said Prof Moyo and his associates were irreverent to those who fought the war in the 1950s and 1960s, and was patronising young people in order to claim leadership based on age and experience as he could not confront his peers."We're not surprised that he's brazenly questioning the ethos, conduct and inheritance of a war which he absconded from, which he was a coward to fight. Now he wants the glory of that victory to become his pedestal to become a new power broker in Zimbabwe."We'll not accept Moyo as a power broker in Zimbabwe. If he wanted to be a power broker he should've remained throughout the struggle and, if he had remained in the struggle, I want to question whether he would've remained with his life, because in the struggle, there was a lottery for lives and many people perished."Mutsvangwa said the vote of no confidence recently passed against him by the Mashonaland West provincial executive was of no consequence as the people behind it lacked knowledge of party procedures and ethos. He said the vote of no confidence was an extrapolation of power as he was a direct appointee of President Mugabe.The war veterans' leader said some young and ambitious people were taking advantage of the vulnerability of some former freedom fighters wallowing in poverty to instigate divisions within the association.In a statement on Monday, Prof Moyo said Mutsvangwa had "gone rogue in pursuit of not just a factionalist agenda but also a desperate succession plot".
The phone rang at 1 a.m. on Tuesday at the home of Gary Gelner, the Democratic chairman of Iowa's Hancock County. State party officials wanted the results from two caucus precincts in his rural swatch about 100 miles north of the state capital.For one location, the state party simply wanted to confirm the outcome; a razor-thin margin separated rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the first nominating contest of the 2016 presidential election, and a correct count was crucial. But in the second, they had not received any results at all.Turns out, no one had showed up."I had to make a phone call at 1 o'clock and report the results of 0-0-0" back to the state party, Gelner said in an interview Tuesday.Once again, the Iowa caucuses were marred by reporting problems, but unlike four years ago, the Democrats were the party struggling Monday. Party leaders were unable to track down tallies in several precincts, meaning they could not officially name Clinton the winner until just before noon on Tuesday, more than half a day after the caucuses ended.Such problems are inherently baked into the caucus process, political experts say -- despite technological innovations and procedural improvements, the system relies on hordes of volunteers to carry out a complicated ritual in nearly 1,700 schools, homes and church halls across the state.Sometimes, they go to bed without reporting their tallies, which happened in more than one precinct Tuesday night. In one instance, party officials sent someone to knock on a precinct chair's door after midnight in Des Moines, seeking results. She did not answer."It's normal that we have to track down some of the volunteers," said Norm Sterzenbach, a former executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, who noted that it was also a problem in 2008, the last time the Democrats had a contested caucus.Large turnout can rapidly add to the duties of a precinct chair, who is not only responsible for running the caucus itself but also the event site."It's easy to get distracted," Sterzenbach said. "In 2008, some of them finished all the business of the caucus, were cleaning up and putting the chairs away. We had a few that went home. We had to track them down and they said, 'Oh, shoot, I didn't get the results in.'"Similar miscues were magnified this year by the closeness of the race. Ultimately, Clinton edged Sanders by 0.3 percent."Any time any election comes down to (a fraction) of a percent, there are going to be some problems," said Pat Rynard, who runs the political website Iowa Starting Line and worked as a Democratic organizer in Iowa for a decade.Larger problems plagued the GOP four years ago, resulting in Mitt Romney being wrongly labeled the victor on caucus night. More than two weeks later, state GOP officials were forced to announce that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had actually won, but at that point, Romney was riding the momentum from his Iowa win toward the party's nomination.Critics of Iowa's first-in-the-nation status pointed to 2012 as a reason to stop allowing the state to hold the first presidential nominating contest. Democrats here expect similar scrutiny this year."The caucuses weren't designed for this kind of burden," said a veteran Democratic operative who would not be named questioning the party's preparations. "I'm sure there's going to be quite a few questions about what kind of boiler room was prepared."Caucus backers counter that races managed by government agencies can take weeks to finalize a tight race, and that such systems themselves can be rife with problems _ such as the Al Gore-George W. Bush fiasco in Florida in 2000.That election controversy centered on the use of paper ballots and the detritus from hole punches that introduced the country to the vote-counting term "hanging chad."In Iowa this year, the memorable image may be the caucus quirk of the "game of chance," when a coin toss is used to break ties to award county delegates, which are worth such a small fraction of support that they would not have changed the results, according to several state party officials and Democratic strategists.It wasn't clear how many county delegates were awarded by coin toss _ the state party counted seven instances; unconfirmed reports of others surfaced.Sanders told reporters Tuesday in Keene, N.H., that his campaign wants to review cases where delegates were awarded based on a coin flip."Not the best way to do democracy," he said.
'Many, many more'

'Factually innocent'

For the second year in a row, criminal exonerations in the United States have reached a record level, with more than one in four stemming from Harris County drug convictions, a survey released Tuesday reveals.The study by the University of Michigan Law School's National Registry of Exonerations reported 149 of them in 2015, including 58 involving murder or manslaughter convictions.Among Texas inmates freed from prison were Alfred Brown, sentenced to die for the April 2003 Houston killings of a store clerk and city policeman, and Hannah Overton, convicted of the 2006 fatal poisoning of a 4-year-old Corpus Christi boy. Overall, Texas led the nation with 54 exonerations.On average, the study found, inmates exonerated last year had served 14 1/2 years behind bars."Last year saw record numbers of exonerations of innocent defendants in categories in which they used to be especially rare: defendants who falsely confessed; defendants who pled guilty; defendants who were convicted of low-level drug offenses," the study said."It seems that prosecutors and judges are increasingly willing to consider the guilt of convicted defendants in circumstances in which not long ago substantial claims of innocence were routinely ignored."The new study found that 2015 set records for exonerations based on false confessions -- 27 cases -- and for those involving official misconduct -- 65 cases.Registry editor Samuel Gross attributed the increase in exonerations to conviction integrity units, now in place in 24 district attorney offices throughout the nation. The Harris County unit, created in 2009 by former District Attorney Pat Lykos, was the most active in generating exonerations. Forty-two convicted Harris County drug offenders received exonerations in 2015, as did 31 in 2014."It's a positive development because prosecutors are able to do things that no one else can do," Gross said. "They have an extraordinary amount of power."Still, he said, at least half of such units nationally generated no exonerations in 2015."A conviction integrity unit will be whatever the prosecutor will make it," he said.Harris County Assistant District Attorney Inger Chandler, who directs the local integrity unit, said 400 drug convictions awaited review in mid-2014. In each case, she said, serious questions of guilt had developed. Lab tests showed that purported illegal drugs in the cases weren't, in reality, illegal; weren't the substance the prisoner was accused of possessing; or weren't the quantity alleged.Chandler's two-lawyer, two-investigator department has cut the backlog by slightly more than half.Increasingly, she said, the unit is turning its scrutiny to capital murder, sexual assaults and other potentially flawed violent felony convictions.Nationally, the study reported 30 exonerations stemming from convictions for other violent crimes. Fifteen convicted sex offenders were freed, as were four convicted robbers and three convicted kidnappers.Robert Dunham, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center, said the report indicates that miscarriages of justice continue to occur in the U.S."I think it's immensely disturbing that so many innocent people are being convicted of murder," he said."It is heartening that more of the cases are coming to light, but there are many, many more that we still don't know about. There are many people who are serving life sentences or are on death row who simply did not commit the crimes with which they were charged."In June, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson dismissed the murder charge against Brown, saying that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to again bring him to trial after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his conviction."We re-interviewed all the witnesses," Anderson said at the time. "We looked at all the evidence, and we're coming up short. We cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore the law demands that I dismiss this case and release Mr. Brown."Brown had spent 12 years in prison, many of them on death row.Houston police protested Brown's release, arguing that he was, in fact, guilty.In the Corpus Christi case, Overton spent about nine years in prison after being convicted of poisoning with table salt a boy she and her husband were considering adopting.When an appeals court overturned her conviction, Nueces County District Attorney Mark Sturka investigated and opted not to retry the case.Houston capital-punishment proponent Dudley Sharp on Tuesday accused the National Registry of Exonerations of generating "intentional confusion" with the language it uses in its survey."What we need in this discussion is a distinct finding of actual innocence by an independent legal authority, not a convoluted definition of either 'exonerated' or 'wrongful conviction' as with the NRE," Sharp said.Responded Gross: "We don't make our own judgments, we look for government decisions."On its website, the registry says a convicted person has been exonerated if declared "factually innocent" by an appropriate authority or if pardoned, acquitted in a new trial or had charges dismissed."The pardon, acquittal or dismissal must have been the result, at least in part, of evidence of innocence that either was not presented at the time of the trial at which the person was convicted, or, if the person pled guilty, was not known to the defendant, the defense attorney and the court at the time the plea was entered," the website says. "The evidence of innocence need not be an explicit basis for the official action that exonerated the person."
News / Local

by Stephen Jakes

A Zanu PF Chairperson in Mashonaland East allegedly harassed an Agritex extension officer for establishing a maize demonstration site at the perceived to be MDC-T supporter's fields.Zimbabwe Peace Project reported that on on 19 December 2015, an Agritex extension officer was harassed and intimidated by Isaac Neshamba, who is the local Zanu-PF chairperson."The Agritex officer was harassed for establishing a maize demonstration site at a perceived MDC T supporter's field. The perpetrator publicly threatened the victim warning that he would "deal with him". The Agritex worker is fearing for his life, it is reported," ZPP said.
For most people, knowing how the 911 system works isnt important; it just has to work when they need it. But as our landline phones gave way to cellphones and cellphones evolved into smartphones, 911 centers have had to adapt to the changing environment to provide consistent, dependable service.And in the foothills of Northern California, a cluster of municipalities is looking toward a networked 911 system that will eventually allow them to accept streaming video, text messages and, of course, the voice call.Through an intergovernmental agency agreement (IAA) the cities of Auburn, Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville will be linked with Placer County in a next-generation 911 system.Sandra Bumpus, division commander for the Support Services Division of the Rocklin Police Department, said the joint city networking project will ultimately be a vast step toward modernizing a largely unchanged emergency system. While she said the project will bring much needed changes to the legacy systems sprinkled throughout the region, she noted that the upgrade is more akin to bringing the system in line with modern needs than it is making it cutting edge.The current 911 system was rolled out in 1968, and other than enhancing the system to begin to receive whats called enhanced 911 ... this system has not been upgraded since that time, she said. It really doesnt have the capability to receive digital communications; its an analog system.Under the IAA, two host sites will be stationed in the city of Roseville and in the Placer County Sheriffs Office. Satellite sites will be stationed in Auburn, Lincoln and Rocklin.Bumpus, who has been assigned to the project since it began in 2012 and served as project manager since 2014, jokingly referred to the upgrade as the lead balloon project. Not only was approval from California Office of Emergency Services required, but she said each of the stakeholders also had to identify system requirements and wait for their funding cycles to line up before moving forward.Once we all got on the same funding cycle and identified what we needed, what we were looking forand how we were going to make it happen, we created whats called an intergovernmental agency agreement that speaks specifically not only to the phone system, but in the future any technology that could possibly benefit public safety in the region and could be shared, she said.The municipalities and county created a 911 committee to begin looking ahead at the cooperative effort and future needs.There was a lot of moving parts just to get five agencies to identify the same principles and concepts that they wanted to abide by, Bumpus said. So were moving forward; we anticipate the host sites to be installed sometime in the spring and the entire system to be completely functional, Im hoping, by July 2016.The new system will be capable of expanding to the technological needs of constituents, Bumpus said, and should operators be unable to answer a call within a certain time threshold, the system will automatically transfer callers to more available, nearby centers.All of law enforcement, especially in California, is moving to a next-generation 911 system that is capable of receiving streaming video and OnStar, digital communications and texts to 911, things like that that our community requires," she added. "Today we dont really communicate by phone, we communicate by text 99 percent of the time.Unlike some states on the East Coast, Bumpus said the size of California makes coordinating 911 systems like this one difficult.California, being one of the largest states in the union, has not been able to go there," she said. "However, were on the verge of the state being able to push through some of these next-generation features."Though the modernization effort will mean considerable upfront costs associated with equipment implementation and potential infrastructure build-out, Bumpus said the new system could lead to cost savings in the long run. The state, she added, has awarded $1.76 million for the project."If the infrastructure doesn't currently exist, then we'll have to plot T1 lines and whatever form of transmission that we need to get all of the agencies networked," she said. "Over time, it will be a money savings for the state of California as they begin the next cycle."Because funding for the 911 system is distributed on five-year cycles, Bumpus said the state could theoretically begin to look at funding in totality as a result of the more virtualized network.Across the country in Charleston County, S.C., officials moved toward a completely consolidated system, merging the countys 11 communication and 911 centers into one building.Jim Lake, director of the Charleston Consolidated 911 Center, said the shift away from individual agency centers to a unified model took a substantial consolidated effort on the part of police, fire and emergency medical services officials, but ultimately boosted efficiencies and cooperation. The consolidation effort began in 2009 and was completed in 2013.Between those 11 different centers, they were all processing pieces of a call. For example, if you lived in one area, you would dial 911 and it would go to the sheriffs office 911 center; they would then say, This is an EMS call,' and would transfer it to EMS, [which] would process the call, dispatch the ambulance, notify Fire and then Fire would go, he said. By the time the caller had called in to the time Fire got dispatched was seven to eight minutes.Since the consolidation, the call center has seen substantial improvements in call handling times, according to documents provided by Lake. Emergency calls answered during the busiest hour within 10 seconds went from a low of 67 percent in 2011 to a 94 percent in 2013.According to the same document, the percentage of abandonned calls went from a high of 16 percent in 2009 and 2011 to a low of 6 percent in 2014.Though Charleston's consolidated system is a step beyond what is planned for the cluster of California cities, Bumpus said the IAA committee will continue to review all of the options and needs moving forward.
1. 40-to-7-Day Recruitment

2. Foster-Care Analytics

3. Virtual Youth Probation Teams

4. Website Revamp

5. Economic Development

Things to Consider
(TNS) -- Rural Mainers and businesses struggling with slow or nonexistent Internet access could benefit from a bill that will send an additional $1 million to the state agency that oversees broadband expansion.The Legislatures Energy and Utilities Committee voted 9-3 Tuesday to back the proposal sponsored by Rep. Robert Saucier, D-Presque Isle, and co-sponsored by Republican and Democratic legislators from rural districts.The bill originally sought to increase funding for the ConnectME Authority, the agency charged with increasing broadband access, by up to $6 million. It was backed by the Maine Farm Bureau and other agricultural associations hoping higher Internet speeds will grow their businesses.Lawmakers struggled to agree on the funding source. At one point, the committee considered adding a surcharge on mobile phone bills, a proposal backed by the Office of the Public Advocate , the state agency advocating on behalf of ratepayers on energy, utility and communication policy.The panel eventually jettisoned the idea and on Tuesday settled on a proposal that will divert $1 million from the states General Fund. If the bill, L.D. 826, passes, the appropriation will be annual, nearly doubling the ConnectME Authoritys current annual budget of approximately $1.1 million.ConnectME is funded by a .25 percent surcharge on communications providers, including landline telephone and Internet service providers. Thats equal to 25 cents on a $100 bill.In written testimony provided during the public hearing held last year, Timothy Schneider, the public advocate, said ConnectME was woefully underfunded. He also advocated for extending the surcharge to mobile phone bills. According to its 2015 annual report , ConnectME has provided 122 grants worth over $10 million to increase broadband access since it was established in 2006. Over that time, households and businesses have seen access to broadband increase from 86 percent to 93 percent. However, those figures are based on old benchmark speeds. Only 12 percent of Maine households meet the newer standard of 10 megabites per second, or mbps.According to ConnectMEs annual report, broadband is a key engine of economic growth because a vast majority of American consumers looking for goods and services begin their search online.The annual sales of Maines sole proprietorships and small businesses amount to approximately $21.7 billion a year. If these enterprises were at the national average, the result would be increased annual sales of nearly $50 million a year, the ConnectME report stated.The proposal will now go to the full Legislature for additional votes.
(TNS) -- Austin police have begun using the social media website Nextdoor to garner input on their performance and the safety of the city, Police Chief Art Acevedo announced Monday.The Police Department posted its first polls on the website on Friday, asking residents whether they feel Austin is safe and what their most important public safety concerns are. As of Monday, more than 2,400 account users had participated and had left hundreds of replies.In the first poll, 87 percent said they felt safe in Austin. When asked what public safety concerns are the most important, 56 percent responded that they would like more emphasis on community policing, which broadly refers to police using time to actively engage with residents.The polls will remain open for voting for about two weeks, police said.Nextdoor aims to connect neighbors through a private social network, which requires users to verify their addresses. The company sends a letter to the address of each account holder, who then has to verify that he or she received the letter before being able to see posts from neighbors or start posting, Nextdoor representative Robbie Turner said.In Austin, about 89,000 residents have signed up with Nextdoor, Turner said. The website is not available in Spanish, and that could, in effect, leave out input from the estimated 200,000 Austin residents who primarily speak Spanish at home and do not consider themselves fluent in English, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.Nextdoor approached Austin police about participating in the pilot program, making the Police Department the first agency in the U.S. to use Nextdoor to poll users.Acevedo emphasized that the initiative would not put people's privacy at risk. Police will be able to see only messages that are sent directly to their account and replies to their poll postings, Turner said."We can't get information on you," Acevedo said. "It's not like a Big Brother type of thing. This is about getting to hear from the people we serve."
(TNS)  RICHMOND  A state senator is sponsoring a bill that would significantly expand the number of state and local government employees whose pay could be kept secret from the public.State law requires that salary information for government employees who earn more than $10,000 a year be made public. But the bill by Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County, would raise that to twice the federal minimum wage  about $30,000. The bill also says that any publicly available database of local or state government employee salaries would not include names of the employees.Open government advocates said at a subcommittee hearing Tuesday that the bill would hinder transparency and make it difficult to discover nepotism and unfairness. Proponents said the bill was necessary to protect state employees from identity theft, although they acknowledged they knew of few examples of identity theft that could be tied to a public employee database.A Senate General Laws and Technology subcommittee that heard the bill, chaired by Stuart, recommended it next be approved by the full committee.Stuart said publication of government employees salaries makes it easier for criminals to commit identity theft.Its my understanding that there were quite a number of fraudulent tax returns, which was able to get tax refunds, which costs us money, which injures those state employees who have their identities stolen, he said.Sara Wilson, director of the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management, said an unintended consequence of public employee salary data is identity theft.We know that there are 1,500 people that have been impacted by this, she said.But she and Craig Burns, the state tax commissioner who also spoke to the committee, later acknowledged that not all 1,500 cases of identity theft involved public salary data. Burns said in an interview that data used in the thefts of three or four employees appeared to come from a public database.He and Wilson were asked how criminals would obtain Social Security numbers.We have data breaches with the IRS, Anthem. They may not contain salary information, but it has name, Social Security number, Burns said. Criminals, fraudsters sit and match this up on high-speed servers.But he added: I cant point to the fact that the salary information thats posted in these databases was the cause.Craig Merritt, a lawyer representing the Virginia Press Association, said matching public employees names to job titles and salaries is an important function of government and that identity theft was not a problem of the Freedom of Information Act.Taxpayers want to know what theyre paying for and who theyre paying it to, he said. It alerts the public to problems: payroll padding, nepotism.In Richmond, Merritt said, weve got a mayor whos loaded up his office with members of his congregation. These are the things you dont know if you dont know who the names are.And without names of public employees, theres no way to know if an employee is being treated unfairly, he said.Stuart, who is vice chairman of the states Freedom of Information Advisory Council, was not swayed.You all make money off of this, he told Merritt. These folks are making money off of this.Megan Rhyne, director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said other jurisdictions dont have the same concern. The District of Columbia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio, for example, publish employee salaries with names on their state websites, she said.Representatives of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association, the Virginia Sheriffs Association, the Virginia State Police Association and Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police backed the bill.Jon Russell, a member of the Culpeper Town Council, opposed the bill because he said it would allow conflicts of interest.When I put my budget together, I have to put a name to every dollar that we spend and I do that in front of our taxpayers, he said.
News / National

by Felex Share

The Zanu-PF Politburo will meet on Wednesday next week and is expected to deal with members who are abusing social media platforms to denigrate the party's senior leadership.Also likely to be discussed are cases of Politburo members who leak party issues to the private media, to the detriment of the party.Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Ignatius Chombo yesterday confirmed that the first Politburo meeting of 2016 would take place next week."The Politburo meets on Wednesday next week as scheduled," he said, without divulging the agenda of the meeting. Zanu-PF First Secretary, President Mugabe, has repeatedly warned party members against using the media to abuse each other and taking party issues to the private media.He said the party had "one mouth", and anyone with grievances should use the normal channel for redress. This week, the revolutionary party's affiliate organisations such as the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) raised a red flag against rogue party members who were defying the President's call and fanning factionalism.They also accused some Politburo members of building messages around the First Family, adding that no Zanu-PF member should speak on behalf of the First Family as it was the prerogative of the official spokesperson and Presidential Press secretary Mr George Charamba.The war veterans said some elements in the party were abusing the name of the First Family to further their nefarious political ambitions. The Politburo meeting is also likely to review the party's Annual National People's Conference held in Victoria Falls in December last year.Also expected to be tackled is the state of the economy and bonuses for civil servants. The party may also receive a report from the Secretary for External Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi on the recent African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where President Mugabe handed over the continental body's chairmanship to Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno.A determination is also expected on successionist politics in Zanu-PF following relentless private media reports on issues of succession in the party. The articles have largely pitted a group allegedly backing Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the Presidency and another one which claims to be rooting for First Lady Amai Grace Mu- gabe.Amai Mugabe has repeatedly dismissed such reports, pointing out that she harbours no presidential ambitions as her plate was full with her charity work and role as Zanu-PF Women's League Secretary. She has also spoken of her cordial relations with VP Mnangagwa.On his return from Addis Ababa last Sunday, President Mugabe blasted "individualists and factionalists" in the party, saying they had no place in the Zanu-PF Government and people should stick to the leadership appointed at the 2014 National People's Con- gress.The President, who was addressing hundreds of party supporters who thronged the Harare International Airport to welcome him, warned those denigrating his appointees that they will soon fall by the wayside. He said those with eccentric thoughts should repent and drive the Zanu-PF empowerment agenda in peace or risk being kicked out.
Force India looks set to lose its major co-owner and title sponsor Sahara.

The Indian conglomerate Sahara's chief, Subrata Roy, has been in a Delhi jail since 2014, and local reports say he is desperately trying to raise the money for bail.

The Times of India says Sahara on Tuesday asked the supreme court for permission to sell its 42.5 per cent stake in Silverstone based Force India.

"As of now, we have sought the supreme court's permission to sell our various assets and that includes our shares in the formula one team," a Sahara legal source told the Press Trust of India.

"Depending on how much we raise from other assets, we will decide the percentage of Force India shares we want to sell," the source added.

Force India's other 42.5 per cent co-owner is Vijay Mallya, while the remaining 15 per cent is held by the Dutch businessman Michiel Mol.

The report said Roy, jailed for failing to pay back investors, paid $100 million for the stake in 2011.

Lawyers said Sahara is also trying to sell two hotels and four aircraft, but the judge scoffed at Roy's recent efforts to raise money.

"Nothing has happened in the last few months except a book being released," he said. "Not a single penny has been deposited by Sahara with Sebi (the Indian securities and exchange board)."

(GMM)
A landmark meeting starring the biggest names in formula one took place in Milan on Tuesday.

Pirelli had sent out the invitation to the sport's leading authorities and figures and also disgruntled F1 drivers, who want key changes to the tyre characteristics for 2017.

F1's official tyre supplier, in turn, is pushing for the drivers' support in ramping up track testing this year, arguing that better tyres will require extensive running on the limit.

"That's what they have asked for," Bernie Ecclestone confirmed to the BBC a few days ago, "a top team with top drivers, not a team that can't push to the limit and certainly not a driver who can't."

Sky Italia reports that at the Milan meeting, the main news to emerge afterwards is that the sport's stakeholders did indeed agree to Pirelli's request for more testing.

It is a clear step forward for F1 as it eyes major regulations changes for 2017, even if the plan for radically-faster cars hit a roadblock at an earlier Heathrow meeting.

Amid a now-looming end of February deadline for the 2017 rules, and the lack of clear progress in London, F1 took the opportunity to ramp up the importance of Tuesday's Milan meeting.

Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt, Sergio Marchionne and many other leading F1 chiefs were there, Sky Italia reported, along with driver representatives including Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Also there were Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat, Sky Italia added.

"The important news," the Italian report revealed, "is that Ecclestone supported Pirelli's request to schedule testing, and within a month there must be an agreement on the new (2017) rules."

(GMM)
Fiat Chrysler president Sergio Marchionne wanted Toro Rosso to be powered by Alfa Romeo-branded engines in 2016.

That is the claim of Germany's Auto Bild Motorsport, in the wake of the so-called 'Red Bull engine crisis' that almost silenced the energy drink brand in F1.

Ultimately for 2016, Renault agreed to de-brand its power units for the premier Red Bull team, while Faenza based Toro Rosso secured a supply of year-old Ferrari engines.

But Auto Bild claims that Marchionne, who doubles as the Ferrari president, offered a solution in the form of an Alfa Romeo deal for Toro Rosso.

"It failed because of the money," a Red Bull source said, reportedly referring to a figure around EUR 30 million.

"Marchionne wanted Toro Rosso or Red Bull to provide the initial development costs of the new engine."

Red Bull reportedly turned down the deal, deciding instead that the plan-B of a 2015-specification Ferrari supply was good enough for the junior team.

"It is a step forward for us," said Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost.

According to Max Verstappen, the step will be a big one, in the order of between eight tenths and a full second per lap.

"The problem," the Dutch driver explained to Ziggo Sport, "is that we have a 2015 engine and most teams have a 2016 spec, so they will make steps as they go.

"But it looks positive for us anyway -- I think we are going to make a bigger step than most teams," Verstappen predicted.

(GMM)
News / National

by Prosper Dembedza

A 25-year-old Harare man allegedly stabbed his wife and her boss with a knife after he accused her of having an extra- marital affair, the court heard on Monday.Gibson Mugwamba was charged with attempted murder when he appeared before Mr Makomo. He was remanded in custody to February 15 and ordered to approach the High Court for bail application.It is alleged that on Saturday last week, Mugwamba accused his wife of having an extra-marital affair and threatened to kill her.The court heard that one of his wife's bosses tried to intervene to calm the situation by taking Mugwamba outside the gate.It is alleged that during the scuffle Mugwamba stabbed his wife and her boss with a knife in the stomach and both sustained deep cuts.The two were rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital where they are receiving treatment.
News / National

by Walter Mswazie

THE wife of an engineer from Gutu allegedly kidnapped a Harare-based nurse, doused her with petrol before taking her to a bush where she forced her to undergo a pregnancy test as punishment for allegedly having an affair with her husband.Karen Shenjere, wife to Gutu Rural District Council engineer Vambai Shenjere, teamed up with her friend Mercy Mashava and allegedly kidnapped Vaida Chiripanyanga whom they held hostage for four hours during which they assaulted and stabbed her with a knife.Shenjere and Mashava, both of Mupandawana Growth Point, were jointly charged with kidnapping but their cases were later separated when they appeared before Gutu resident magistrate Edwin Marecha.Initially, Shenjere pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges but magistrate Marecha referred her case to the High Court when her victim said she had also been stabbed, assaulted, doused with petrol and forced to undergo a pregnancy test.Shenjere was remanded in custody to February 8 while Mashava, who is Gutu RDC chief executive officer Alexander Mtembwa's wife, is out on free bail.Prosecutor, Millicent Zambawa told the court that on Tuesday last week at around 8PM, Shenjere and Mashava hatched a plan to "punish" Chiripanyanga for having an affair with Engineer Shenjere.Shenjere allegedly discovered the affair after she intercepted WhatsApp conversations on her husband's mobile phone.Impersonating her husband, Shenjere allegedly invited Chiripanyanga to Gutu and she believed that it was her boyfriend.Shenjere, who had a vehicle, teamed up with Mashava and they went to pick up Chiripanyanga, the court heard."When she arrived in Gutu, Chiripanyanga dropped off at Martmars Supermarket where the vehicle was parked. Without due warning, Shenjere came out and poured petrol over Chiripanyanga while accusing her of being a whore and having an affair with her husband," said Zambawa."Shenjere took a match box intending to set her alight but Mashava restrained her saying that wasn't their plan."Zambawa said the two women blindfolded Chiripanyanga before bundling her into the car.They drove the nurse to a nearby bush while assaulting her, the court heard.In the bush, the two also allegedly forced Chiripanyanga to urinate into a container and they tested her for pregnancy.Zambawa said the two kept Chiripanyanga hostage while assaulting and stabbing her with a knife for close to four hours and only released her after midnight.They also allegedly took away her phone worth $600.A medical report from Dr Farai Pungweni showed that Chiripanyanga was severely assaulted and chances of permanent injuries were high as she suffered a number of stab wounds.After she was released, Chiripanyanga went to report the matter at Gutu police station leading to Shenjere and Mashava's arrest the following morning.
Overseas Business: Producers Demanding More Money?

As the collections for Tollywood movies in USA are growing multifold, the producers have started demanding huge amounts for rights from overseas distributors. Mahesh Babu and Pawan Kalyan movies are being sold at Rs 10+ Cr.

According to our sources, the producers of "Baahubali" are expecting Rs 35+ Cr for the rights of "Baahubali 2" in USA. The first part grossed nearly 7 million dollars in USA alone. The first part was sold for Rs 9 Cr only. Now they want three times more for the rights of the second part.

From all over the globe, the producers are expecting nearly Rs 50 Cr from the rights for the second part, a source said.

Since the brand Rajamouli and "Baahubali" are so high, the producers want to reap benefits with "Baahubali 2".

On the other hand, Mahesh Babu has proven that he is undisputed king of overseas market among Tollywood heroes. "Srimanthudu" has grossed nearly 2.90 million dollars. So, the producers are milking with the overseas rights of "Brahmotsavam" with Rs 13 Cr.

Recently, "Sardaar Gabbar Singh" was sold off to Idream Media for Rs 10 Cr with some riders. Eros is also partner in these.
Telangana Leaders Demand Section-8 In Hyd!

The controversial Section-8 of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, came back into focus. Section 8 empowers Governor to control law and order in Hyderabad, the joint capital of Telangana and AP for ten years.

It was Seemandhra leaders who demanded the implementation of Section 8 all these days which is strongly opposed by TRS government.

After cash-for-vote case surfaced, in which TRS government faced allegations of tapping phones of all TDP ministers and leaders including AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad, the TDP government demanded Centre to implement Section-8 on the ground that Seemandhra leaders and people have no safety and security in Hyderabad and the law and order subject controlled by Telangana government in Hyderabad can't do justice to them. But the Centre did not approve this demand then.

Strangely, now Telangana leaders from Congress, TDP and YSRCP are demanding Section-8 in Hyderabad following the violence in GHMC polls on Tuesday.

Congress leader and CLP leader K Jana Reddy, TTDP president L.Ramana and YSRCP leader Shivakumar held a meeting today in the wake of MIM leaders and activists attacking TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, leader of Opposition in TS Legislative Council Shabbir Ali in Old City during polling.

The leaders said while MIM was attacking Opposition parties in Old city, the ruling TRS was attacking them in new city and they have no safety and security in Hyderabad. They demanded the Centre to implement Section-8 in Hyderabad and give powers to Governor Narasimhan on law and order.

The leaders have decided to visit Delhi and meet President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Modi and Home minister Rajnath Singh to press on their demand.

The new demand on Section-8 by none other than Telangana leaders themselves is expected to lead to political tussle between TRS and Opposition parties again.
News / National

by Patrick Chitumba

THE ongoing head count in the police force is crucial to determine the exact number of police officers in the country, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Obedingwa Mguni, has said.The Deputy Minister told The Chronicle that even in Parliament, MPs had raised questions on the exact number of police officers in the country."The head count started in earnest in Bulawayo province over the weekend and in the next two days they're coming here to the Midlands province."We've to go through all the provinces to answer to the concerns of the citizens of Zimbabwe on the correct ratio between the police and the public," he said."The number of officers in the service has been a question that has been asked even in Parliament as well. So we've taken the initiative to count the number of officers we've to get a correct figure for planning purposes."The Deputy Minister said while the international policing ratio was one police officer to 300 people, in Zimbabwe, in some places, the ratio was 1:830.Mguni said after the head count, the figures will be used to map the way forward in terms of possible recruitment.He said the police service has not been recruiting for some time now in line with an instruction issued by the Civil Service Commission.In Bulawayo province, police officers on Saturday reported for the head count.They were required to present their current pay slips as proof of being on the government's pay roll.Police officers were also supposed to show the period they have served in the service together with their academic certificates.
In a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society , they reported demonstrating for the first time that CO 2 captured from air can be directly converted to CH 3 OH in 79% yield using the new homogeneous catalytic system.

Researchers at Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, have developed a highly efficient homogeneous Ru-based catalyst system for the production of methanol (CH 3 OH) from CO 2 and H 2 in an ethereal solvent (initial turnover frequency = 70 h 1 at 145 C).

They demonstrated ease of separation of CH 3 OH by simple distillation from the reaction mixture. They recycled the catalyst over five runs without significant loss of activity (turnover number > 2000). Various sources of CO 2 can be used for this reaction including air, despite its low CO 2 concentration (400 ppm). Implementing the method in a flow system could deliver continuous production of CH 3 OH, the researchers said.

The work, led by G.K. Surya Prakash and George Olah of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, is part of a broader effort to stabilize the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by using renewable energy to transform the greenhouse gas into its combustible cousin. Methanol is a clean-burning fuel for internal combustion engines, a fuel for fuel cells and a raw material used to produce many petrochemical products.

The researchers bubbled air through an aqueous solution of pentaethylenehexamine (or PEHA), adding a catalyst to encourage hydrogen to latch onto the CO 2 under pressure. They then heated the solution, converting 79% of the CO 2 into methanol. Though mixed with water, the resulting methanol can be easily distilled, Prakash said.



Credit: ACS, Kothandaraman et al. Click to enlarge.

Prakash and Olah hope to refine the process to the point that it could be scaled up for industrial use, though that may be 5 to 10 years away.

Of course it wont compete with oil today, at around $30 per barrel. But right now we burn fossilized sunshine. We will run out of oil and gas, but the sun will be there for another five billion years. So we need to be better at taking advantage of it as a resource. G.K. Surya Prakash

Despite its outsized impact on the environment, the actual concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere is relatively small400 parts per million is 0.04% of the total volume. (For a comparison, theres more than 23 times as much the noble gas Argon in the atmospherewhich still makes up less than 1% of the total volume.)

Previous efforts have required a slower multistage process with the use of high temperatures and high concentrations of CO 2 , meaning that renewable energy sources would not be able to efficiently power the process, as Olah and Prakash hope.



CO 2 capture from air and conversion to CH 3 OH. Credit: ACS, Kothandaraman et al. Click to enlarge.

The new system operates at around 125 to 165 degrees Celsius (257 to 359 degrees Fahrenheit), minimizing the decomposition of the catalystwhich occurs at 155 degrees Celsius (311 degrees Fahrenheit). It also uses a homogeneous catalyst, making it a quicker one-pot process.

Olah and Prakash collaborated with graduate student Jotheeswari Kothandaraman and senior research associates Alain Goeppert and Miklos Czaun of USC Dornsife. The research was supported by the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.

Resources
Young artists from the studios of Greensboro Euterpe Music Club members will offer a program at 4 p.m. Feb. 7 at the First Moravian Church, 304 S. Elam Ave. in Greensboro.

The program is free and open to the public.

For information, visit www.euterpegso.org.

YWCA hires Healthy Youth manager

The YWCA Greensboro welcomed Partners for Healthy Youth in late December 2015 and hired a manager to oversee its activities and events. The new YWCA Healthy Youth manager is Mary Coyne Wessling, a former supervisor for the Guardian ad Litem program in Guilford County.

The mission of Partners for Healthy Youth is to advocate for teens by bringing together people interested in building a healthy community for them.

Partners for Healthy Youths primary goals for 2016 include getting parents involved, promoting positive youth development, aiding in efforts to create reliable access to health services and supporting comprehensive health education.

A primary focus of Partners for Health Youth is working with SHIFT NC (Sexual Health Initiatives for Teens) to reduce teen pregnancy. This three-year initiative, begun in the fall 2015, seeks to improve access to health care and contraceptives for Greensboros 12- to 19-year-olds.

For information, call (336) 273-3461.
COLUMBIA, S.C.  Republican Sen. Rand Paul dropped his 2016 campaign for president Wednesday, eclipsed by other candidates who kept his base of support from growing into a viable force in the crowded 2016 field.

Campaign spokeswoman Eleanor May confirmed the move to The Associated Press, saying a statement would be forthcoming.

He is now expected to turn his full attention to his Senate re-election campaign in Kentucky. The 52-year-old ophthalmologist is favored to win that race.

It was an end long in the making. Paul launched his presidential candidacy determined to improve the Republican party's appeal with younger voters and to upend the way Washington works. But Paul and his appeals to reject American political dynasties and "to take our country back" was ultimately out-shouted by billionaire Donald Trump. Pledging to "make American great again," Trump, his insults and vague policy positions captured the attention of angry, change-seeking Americans.

Paul's campaign initially seemed to capture the anti-establishment mood clearly settling over the electorate.

Though he's a senator  and the son of former Rep. Ron Paul  Rand Paul is no Washington insider. He was elected in the tea party-driven wave of 2010 and tangled often with GOP leaders.

In one defiant episode, Paul controlled the Senate floor in 2013 for almost 13 hours to hold up the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director. Brennan had been President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, and Paul opposed the Obama administration's use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists. He drew support from people across the political spectrum who shared a concern about government reach, making it seem possible to cobble together a diverse coalition big enough to compete in the race for president.

But soon after announcing his candidacy, Paul began a series of stumbles that turned into displays of his thin-skinned personality  and raised questions about his credibility as a doctor.

Paul said he had heard about "many tragic cases" of children who got vaccines and ended up with "profound mental disorders." That assertion has no basis in medical research. Paul at first blamed the uproar on "inaccuracies" in the media. He later said he believes vaccines are safe and that his own children are immunized. That came after Paul suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the transmission of Ebola sound similar to that of AIDS. Ebola, he said, is easier to contract. Health authorities worldwide have said that Ebola is only transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids.

He bristled in interviews at questions about his father and abortion policy, and said "shhhhh" to a female television interviewer who challenged something he said.

In October, Paul embarked on an online event in which he answered hostile questions from Twitter users.

One asked if he's still running for president.

"I dunno," he answered. "I wouldn't be doing this dumbass live streaming if I weren't."

After qualifying for five prime-time debates  and enduring Trump's suggestion that he not bother running anymore  Paul was dropped from the sixth face-to-face confrontation. He was invited back for the seventh and final prime time debate before the Iowa caucuses, drawing a roar from his supporters in the audience when he was introduced.
Guilford County Schools Amplify tablet program was a dismal failure and should trouble anyone who believes in government transparency. The fiasco began with the school boards $16.4 million agreement with Amplify, a company at which Superintendent Maurice Mo Greens former boss at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools served as a vice president. Moreover, the N&R has reported that Amplify helped shape GCSs bid request for the tablets and that a competitor stated that the bid request appeared to have been written for a particular product.

We know the rest: The tablets had software compatibility issues and frequently broke. GCS recently ended its relationship with Amplify and acknowledged there is no evidence that the tablets improved student performance. Taxpayers deserve more competency from our school board, which constantly complains that it is not adequately funded. I am a candidate for the Guilford County Board of Education, where I earned a reputation for demanding accountability and transparency from staff when I served from 2008-2012.

Voters have a clear choice between my opponent, Linda Welborn, who voted for the Amplify contract, and me on this and other issues, including school choice, which I support. I ask the voters of District 4 for their support.

Paul Daniels

Greensboro
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Officials and residents opposed to plans for a new electrical substation in Greenwich have gained a supporter.

In a letter to the Connecticut Siting Council, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., raises concerns about the proposed station, which the towns power supplier says is needed to meet growing demand.

Greenwich officials and residents have opposed the plan on aesthetic and environmental grounds.

As a resident of Greenwich, I have friends who feel strongly about this issue and I feel strongly about it too, Blumenthal said Monday, adding he got involved because the stakes are so high.

Eversource Energy has proposed building the substation at 290 Railroad Ave., the current site of Pet Pantry, and attaching it by underground cable to the existing substation in Cos Cob.

The Siting Council, which has authority over the matter, is considering the application.

Blumenthals letter, dated Friday, does not object to the station outright, but urges the council to seriously consider Greenwich officials position when making its decision.

The Town has ... raised very valid issues concerning the overall electricity demand for the area, he writes.

He does oppose plans to run the underground transmission lines through Bruce Park, saying he does not want to see the park, which he calls a green, tree-lined oasis within town, put at risk.

The installation of such lines  with cranes and other construction equipment  will cause significant disturbance to, and scarring of, the environment of the park, including placing such lines under an existing pond, Blumenthal writes in the letter. In addition, the presence of transmission lines containing about 100,000 gallons of potentially noxious chemicals in the groundwater close to Long Island Sound and surrounding sea marshes creates an unnecessary hazard that could cause catastrophic harm to the environment.

He urges the council to adhere to policies in the Public Utility Environmental Standards Act and reject the park as a route for the transmission lines.

Frank Poirot, spokesman for Eversource Energy, said Wednesday the Siting Councils review of an application is meant to be an open and transparent process, so all constructive comments are welcomed.

Alternatives to Bruce Park have been presented, though the park remains an option. Poirot pointed out the potential of running the underground lines along Interstate 95 and the Metro-North railroad line, an option Greenwich officials have said should be explored.

As we work cooperatively within the siting process we are developing a mutually acceptable route that will address the communitys concerns while moving this much needed project forward, Poirot said. Based on a request in December from the Connecticut Siting Council, we have re-examined the use of the railroad corridor for the proposed new lines and have submitted a proposed hybrid route that avoids going through Bruce Park.

According to Poirot, Eversource is expecting a decision by the Siting Council in late June.

Blumenthal in his letter asks the council to require Eversource to work with the town to protect the Greenwich environment while addressing any valid electricity realiability needs.

Blumenthal is not the first official to write the council about the substation proposal. Greenwich Zoning Director Katie DeLuca in a November letter said Eversource had not demonstrated the need for the new substation.

Poirot at the time responded by saying even a modest increase in demand could exceed capacity of the towns current system.

kborsuk@scni.com
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Fearing drones can disturb both wildnife and human visitors, the Connecticut Audubon Society on Tuesday announced it has banned all drones from its 19 state sanctuaries.

The organization believes it is the first in the state and one of the first in the nation to ban drones. In 2014, drones were banned temporarily in all national parks; they have been prohibited in San Francisco parks since last year.

Local sancturaries include the 155-acre Larsen Sanctuary and the 60-acre Banks South Farm, both in Fairfield; the 8-acre Smith-Hubbell sanctuary at the Milford Point Coastal Center; and the 74-acre H. Smith Richardson Preserve in Westport.

No creature - great or small, human or wildlife - visits our sanctuaries hoping to be buzzed by a drone, said Alexander Brash, president of the Connecticut Audubon Society said in a release on Tuesday. We are taking this action to protect the birds and animals that consider our sanctuaries home, and to ensure that our sanctuaries are also a place of respite for our human guests too.

Although there has been only one recent incident of a drone at a Connecticut Audubon sanctuary, the organization is instituting the ban proactively, in anticipation of increasing drone use across the nation.

Among other rules, motor boats and vehicles are already prohibited in our sanctuaries, so banning drones is the logical next step, said Peter Kunkel, chairman of Connecticut Audubon Societys Board of Directors. We believe our sanctuaries are where the states wildlife should have a chance to live unharrassed, and where humans should be able to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that almost 300,000 drone owners registered their unmanned aircraft in the first 30 days after the FAAs new online registration system went into effect last year.

Because the recreational use of drones is relatively new, research into their effects is just getting underway. Wildlife biologists have noted that small unmanned aircraft, if flown too close to animals, may cause unnecessary and harmful stress, and are likely to scare birds and other wildlife into scattering from their breeding, resting and feeding areas. Drone use near nesting birds is likely to result in broken or dropped eggs.

In its release, Connecticut Audubon noted a study last year in Minnesota showed that when drones were flown near a group of black bears, their heart rates increased by 400 percent; one bear was roused from its hibernation by a drone. In France, researchers found that when drones approached wading birds from above, the birds scattered - a reaction likened to the reaction when a bird of prey approaches.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

The leader of the ZimFirst party Maxwell Shumbva has said President Robert Mugabe is always in search of new political enemies instead of focusing on his Zimbabwe's failing economy.In what he described as Mirror Test, Shumba said Mugabe is always obsessed with finding new enemies in his political carrier."Mugabe always in search of new enemies.Mr Mugabe won a standing ovation at the African Union Summit for saying UN needs reforms or else Africans leave. Hypocrite and demented. He needs to focus on his failings in Zimbabwe. The only reform needed is for him to retire and leave Zimbabwe alone," Shumba said.Mugabe threatened that Africa will pull out of the UN if its agenda was not fostered by the Western and European states in the international bloc.
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Greenwich native and Wild Tomorrow Fund ecologist Axel Hunnicutt has studied the dark side of the human-animal interaction: poaching and illegal animal trafficking.

Hell be speaking from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road on what hes learned in an effort to get people who love animals to fight back.

Hunnicuttt, who has been studying spotted hyenas for three years at the University of Pretoria in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, co-founded the nonprofit Wildlife Tomorrow Fund last year. It is an organization dedicated to raising funds and supplies for ecologists and park rangers at anti-poaching units in South Africa.

We wanted to empower people to fight back, said Hunnicuttt. Were losing so many species that are being killed senselessly.

Hunnicuttt returned to Greenwich in June 2015 to help launch the Wildlife Tomorrow Fund. Since then, hes been giving talks in New York and Connecticut about his experiences in South Africa.

This is his last talk in Greenwich before he returns to South Africa for several years to resume his research.

Animal trafficking is estimated to be a $19 billion per year industry, in some studies coming in fourth in a list of the worlds biggest black markets, after illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, and counterfeiting.

Its big money and its a big issue. And its killing a lot of animals and driving them to extinction, he said.

Hunnicutt said many of the poachers that worked in Southeast Asia are now heading to Africa to target elephants and rhinos for their tusks.

Were talking about some of the most iconic species of Africa. These are the animals that are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands, he said.

And the elimination of species of animals is just one of the problems with animal trafficking, he said. Trading animal parts also spreads disease and affects the biodiversity of the lands.

Its something that affects us all, its an issue thats growing. If they really care about animals or are interested in animals, I think they want to see the dark side thats growing, to be able to change that. To turn it around. Thats the first step, just people coming to these talks, being educated, he said.

He said he also hopes his talk will spur audience members to take action by either contacting their local government officials or raising funds or supplies for organizations that protect wildlife.

I think its really what you love that youre going to protect. I want people to love these animals, he said. I think people will enjoy this talk and will have a chance for hope. Theres a dark side, but theres definitely a chance for hope.

SFoster-Frau@scni.com; @SilviaElenaFF
HARTFORD  Gov. Dannel P. Malloys budget includes millions of dollars in savings through the privatization of living arrangements for dozens of developmentally disabled Connecticut residents, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

Sources familiar with the governors budget plans, which will be unveiled Wednesday as the General Assembly begins to craft budget revisions to take effect July 1, said Tuesday that Southbury Training School would remain in operation for the states most profoundly disabled residents. But as many as 60 training school residents, as well as those from other long-term care facilitities, would be relocated to private providers.

At least 30 developmentally disabled residents living in individual state-operated units would be shifted to privately owned homes to save about $6.2 million a year. Its an effort to downsize the states operating capacity.

Malloy wants lawmakers to shift $537 million from the state Department of Developmental Services billion-dollar budget, to the state Department of Social Services, which already handles Medicaid-related programs. Under the governors plan, private providers would submit bills for services to the DSS, breaking away from the current grant formula and streamlining the process for federal reimbursement. The transfer is not subject to the planned 5.75 percent funding reduction at DDS.

Malloy also wants to expand housing opportunities for those with intellectual disablities. The governors budget is expected to grapple with a projected half-billion-dollar deficit in the next fiscal year.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities on Tuesday opposed Malloys reported plan to cut $50 million in state aid to towns and cities for next fiscal year.

As a result, towns and cities of all sizes  and their residential and business property taxpayers  will have to make up the difference in lost revenues the only way the state allows, by increasing the property tax. Remember, the property tax remains the most burdensome and regressive tax paid by residents and businesses across Connecticut, CCM said in a statement Tuesday.

Gian-Carl Casa, spokesman for the state Office of Policy and Management, said the concerns of CCM are unfounded.

They should be aware that, overall, almost every single town is actually getting an increase over this year, Casa said.

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT
HARTFORD  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman are planning another series of road shows to discuss a wide variety of the states issues with residents.

Focusing on the budget this year, as Malloy did during 2011, the duo will take retail politics to the local level for face-to-face, town-hall style meetings.

Engaging the public and discussing the issues directly is important. Well be talking a lot about the future, and how state government can adapt to changing times, Malloy said in a Tuesday statement. We all have the same goal - lets help Connecticut achieve economic success, lets ensure that residents receive the critical services they need, and lets do what we can to make our communities stronger. We plan on having a robust conversation about how we can make decisions that will best improve Connecticut.

Malloy is also planning phone-in forums as radio call-in programs to interact with the public. He has held several series of hearings during his first six years in office, including budget-related events in 2011 and education discussions in 2012.

Everyone has a voice in shaping our future, said Wyman. While the Governor and I enjoy visiting communities throughout the state, these town hall meetings give us a chance to delve deeper into complex issues, answer questions from residents, and offer a direct connection to state programs and services. Its an opportunity for us to spend time in a city or town and hear concerns, and for citizens to help inform the policy-making that happens in Hartford. Its one of the great benefits of democracy that we can talk directly to government leaders - I urge everyone to participate.

No definite dates or locations were announced, but Malloy said details will be unveiled as events are scheduled. The hearings are expected to he held during the legislative session, which starts Wednesday and ends in early May.

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT
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STAMFORD  The night after being arrested for not reporting that she snapped a telephone pole in half with her new limited edition Land Rover, former super model Stephanie Seymour made a brief appearance at the Stamford courthouse where she was arraigned on a drunk driving charge from the same night.

Seymour, 47, of Greenwich applied to participate in a court diversionary program called the Alcohol Education Program during her appearance before Judge Auden Grogins.

Ms. Seymour had a career in fashion, but in this instance she is just like 3,500 other motorists in Connecticut who have made a similar error, her attorney, Philip Russell, said after the hearing. She is not looking for any special treatment or preferential treatment of any kind.

The judge asked Seymour a few questions and ended the hearing by scheduling her to return to court on April 4. Russell said he wanted the extra time to make sure all her paperwork was properly filled out before her return. Seymour has not yet been arraigned on the evading responsibility charge

Seymour, wearing a conservative black skirt and black jacket with heels, told Grogins that she would attend alcohol education classes and counseling in order to complete the program.

Russell said Seymour, a mother of four, wants to put the charges behind her and he is confident she will not offend in this way again.

Hopefully this will be the most uneventful DWI charge that this court has ever handled, he said.

Russell said his client was embarrassed after being arrested and is taking the charges to heart and taking them seriously.

Anyone facing this charge has to look at their personal habits and I think that is exactly what these habits are, they are personal and not something which bears public scrutiny, he said.

On January 15, a trooper was called to the Exit 5 exit ramp at 9:30 p.m. for an accident where a 2015 black Land Rover backed into a white Mercedes Benz, leaving both vehicles with minor damage.

But after getting to the accident scene, the trooper noticed the front of Seymours SUV had, "extensive front right crush damage" probably caused by running into a tree or telephone pole the report said.

Yet when he asked Seymour how the damage occurred she said she had "no idea," or where she was coming from, the trooper's report said. Seymour refused all the troopers sobriety tests and based on his investigation she was charged with driving under the influence and unsafe backing.

About an hour later, Greenwich police were called to Standish Road at Crown Lane where a telephone pole on the south side of the street had been snapped off three feet above the ground.

Around the pole were numerous pieces of the vehicle that rammed into it and several pieces had the brand name Land Rover molded into them.

The parts, the report said, "matched up perfectly to the remaining of parts of the vehicle," Seymours Greenwich police arrest affidavit said. Seymour lives only a mile from the scene of the broken pole.

Seymour was released on both charges after posting $500 court appearance bonds in both matters.
State Police have identified the person killed in an accident on I-95 in Darien Tuesday as Timothy John Sheridan, 49, of Stamford,

State Trooper First Class Kelly Grant said the accident is being investigated as an untimely death and there is no criminal aspect to the case. The investigation, however, is continuing.
As Black History month commences, the University of Connecticut has made a controversial move.

The school is introducing housing for African-American males at its Storrs campus within NextGen Hall, a housing community of more than 700 students participating in eight "Learning Communities."

The ScHOLARS House, which stands for "Scholastic House Of Leaders who are African-American Researchers & Scholars," is an initiative started by Dr. Erik Hines, whose research centers on African American male academic achievement.

Opening in the fall, it will be part of one floor of the seven-floor NextGen Hall, and it will house 43 male students, primarily studying the STEM fields.

According to its website, "UConn ScHOLARS House is a scholastic initiative to groom, nurture, and train the next generation of leaders to address grand challenges in society through the promotion of academic success in undergraduate programs at the University of Connecticut and in competitive graduate programs."

Those interested in the topic of African-American males in higher education are welcome to apply. "Male students who will be freshmen or sophomores in the next academic year and who identify as African American/Black or mixed-race will be prioritized in selection," according to the website.

University spokeswoman, Stephanie Reitz, said 13 students have already expressed interest.

The site states that the reason behind the housing initiative is to combat the low retention and graduation rate of black males.

"In response to the research on black male success in college, we have developed a grant-funded program to intentionally provide a supportive community of engagement for students using the successful Learning Community model which provides enrichment programs for undergraduate students on campus."

UConn's student paper, The Daily Campus, reported that some students on campus are uncomfortable with the idea.

"I was not pleased, my immediate thought was 'What?'" Haddiyyah Ali, a fourth-semester Africana studies and political science major told the paper. "I know there had to be a lot of research that went into it...but just for me coming from a student perspective, my initial thought was what about black women and girls  what about us?"

Reitz said of the student reactions, that she is glad to hear what they have to say. If one group of students, like black females, feels like they should have a learning community, the school wants to know. They have not focused on black females because unlike black males, females are graduating at a high rate.

Reitz said backlash, including nasty comments on Twitter and angry phone calls to her office, has been "disheartening." She feels people are misunderstanding the reason behind the idea.

"We know it's not issue of whether African-American males have the capability to excel in school; rather, it is their environment that sometimes inhibits their potential," Reitz said.

This is not UConn's first learning community with a focus on a specific race or gender, Reitz said. La Comunidad is a learning community that caters to students of Hispanic or Latin heritage and WiMSE is a housing community for women in math, science and engineering.

The ScHOLARS House will host cultural discussions on how the residents can find support in each other and in mentors.

"A lot of it will be about comradery," Reitz said. "It's not much different from a fraternity or a sorority."

UConn received a $300,000 grant for the initiative last spring. Other Learning Communities in the NextGen building will include: EcoHouse, Engineering House, Eurotech House, STEM Honors House, Innovation House and Public Health House.

The site makes a point of assuring students that those who apply to live in the ScHOLARS House will not be segregated from the rest of campus.

*Note: An earlier version of this article stated the dorm is open exclusively to black students. Students of all races are welcome to apply. The article has been updated to reflect that.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Zimbabweans in the UK led by Munashe Kutyauripo's family took to the streets of London on Saturday to help raise awareness about knife crime among teenagers in London.Zimbo Live TV reported that this follows the fatal stabbing of the 16year old Munashe Kutyauripo on the 9th of January this year whilst at a friend's birthday party in Woodford.There was an outpouring of raw emotion as the crowds walked for one hour under police escort from Funwell car park all the way to the Ashfields Play Grounds where the teenager was murdered.Charles' parents wept uncontrollably upon arrival at the murder scene. The crowds chanted 'Drop a knife, Save a life' throughout the march. There was an intense sense of togetherness as the crowds expressed solidarity in the fight for justice in this case.Both sets of parents looked completely shattered by this despicable act of evil. There were repeated calls to find the murder suspect who has so far evaded the police. The fact that the murder suspect was well known to the family is making the situation unbearable for them.Reverend Merica Cox of Balm of Gilead Church where Munashe and his family attended was a towering figure of strength and courage in such difficult circumstances. She spoke passionately about the need for parents to get involved in their children's lives and to seek counselling as soon as they noticed worrying behaviour in their children. She also repeated calls to track down the suspected killer and bring him to justice.Four teenagers have so far been arrested and bailed in this case. Detectives are still looking for 16year old Aaron Tavares-Gaiete who is of particular interest to them.Police are continuing with their investigations and Charles' burial arrangements are still to be announced.Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Investigation Team on 020 8358 0200, the police non-emergency line on 101 or call Crime stoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is disturbed by the arrest and detention of the Prosecutor General, Johannes Tomana, on 1 February 2016 and his appearance in court the following afternoon on charges of criminal abuse of office or alternatively obstructing the course of justice.



The independence of the prosecutorial authority in Zimbabwe is constitutionally protected.



Further safeguards exist under regional and international law.



These provisions empower prosecutors to exercise their functions impartially and without fear or favour. As the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Prosecutor General is entitled to such protection.



Where such powers have been exceeded in the past, the Prosecutor General has been called to order by the courts through civil - and not criminal - litigation.



Some examples include the misuse of section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) and his refusal to issue certificates nolle prosecui to allow private prosecutions. The important point to note is that, in those and other cases, Mr. Tomana's powers were successfully challenged through competent courts of law.



This is how state and non-state actors behave in a constitutional democracy that respects the rule of law.



Arresting and detaining the head of an independent prosecutorial authority purportedly due to disagreements on how he has decided to prosecute a matter is not correct; neither is it in any way acceptable.



Such behaviour is a direct assault on the Office of the Prosecutor General and the independence of the NPA as an institution. It is an attack on the justice delivery system and the Constitution.



It has the additional chilling effect on members of the legal profession of forcing them to act arbitrarily out of fear of the consequences of their actions and decisions, rather than encouraging professionalism, respect for the law, and compliance with their mandate as officers of the court to all people, equally.



It is for this reason that ZLHR has successfully defended numerous public and private sector lawyers charged with obstruction of justice when they were simply carrying out their professional mandate.



It is also why we have challenged and continue to call for the constitutional review of the provision of criminal abuse of office. It is arbitrary. It continues to be abused.



We are encouraged to note that our efforts to ensure the removal of section 121 of the CPEA have now protected a fellow legal officer from being further persecuted.



This assault on a constitutional office is unacceptable. Such action must be swiftly and aggressively punished in order to ensure that it is not and can never be used to control any person holding the office of the Prosecutor General or their subordinates, and to encourage professional and public confidence in Zimbabwe's justice delivery system and the proper administration of justice.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has expressed deep concern over the arrest of prosecutor-general Johannes Tomana saying it was an attack on justice delivery system and the Constitution.Tomana was nabbed after he allegedly sanctioned the dropping of criminal charges against two soldiers linked to an attempted bombing at President Robert Mugabe's dairy farm.On Tuesday, he was granted $1 000 bail coupled with stringent reporting conditions when he appeared before provincial magistrate Vakayi Chikwekwe facing charges of criminal abuse of office or alternatively obstructing the course of justice.The court ordered him to report three times a week at CID Harare Central Police Station, reside at his given address and not interfere with witnesses.Below is the full statement by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights :
Oysters at Grand Army are good way to celebrate casually. Photo: Melissa Hom

As it is every year, Grubs advice is to spend Valentines Day in, cooking something nice or maybe just eating pizza and drinking a decent bottle of wine. But people remain determined to head out to dinner on a night when many restaurants swap out their usual offerings for prix fixe menus, mandatory Champagne toasts, and too much chocolate mousse. It doesnt have to be that way. Some great restaurants  including a few of New Yorks best date spots  will serve the menus their customers already know and love. In other words, it will be business as usual at these 16 spots.

Diner

You know it, and you love it. Andrew Tarlows Williamsburg classic wont be changing a thing for Valentines Day this year.

Emily

If you decide to go out for that pizza, consider the very popular Clinton Hill spot. Get an affordable bottle of red wine, and split a couple of Matt Hylands creative pies.

El Atoradero Brooklyn

Denisse Lina Chavezs soulful southern-Mexican cooking, like stuffed meatballs in chipotle sauce and pork ribs in salsa verde, sounds a lot more interesting than chocolate-covered strawberries and heart-shaped whatever.

El Cortez

Whats more romantic than pina coladas and taco salad? If you dont want to take Valentines Day too seriously, head right here.

The Four Horsemen

Forget the Champagne and go get a bottle of sparkling chardonnay from Jura at this natural-wine-focused bar in Williamsburg.

Grand Army

The Boerum Hill bar may be Brooklyns best first-date bar, but its a great stop for any date after that, too. Share some raw oysters and prepared seafood dishes like confit tuna, and drink a few of Damon Boeltes cocktails.

Jeffreys Grocery

All of Gabriel Stulmans spots will stick to their usual menus (while offering a few specials). All of these places are solid options, but the most date-worthy is Jeffreys, where youll be able to get your favorite cocktails and dishes like grilled oysters and lobster spaghetti.

Insa

Throw a party for two at Sohui Kims newish Korean barbecue-and-karaoke palace, where you can start off with beers, brisket, and banchan before belting out your favorite tunes.

Maite

The Underground Gourmet raved about this under-the-radar Bushwick restaurant, which serves dishes like coca (Spanish pizette), gnocchi, and empanaditas with meaty fillings. Its reasonably priced, too, so its a solid option for those trying not to splurge.

Marta

You could go for Nick Anderers top-notch thin-crust pizza, but why not spend a little more and get one of the excellent wood-fired proteins like pork shoulder or a whole trout? Other Union Square Hospitality restaurants will be offering both a la carte dining and special menus.

MP Taverna

Itll be business as usual at both the Astoria and Williamsburg locations of Michael Psilakiss modern Greek tavern. Drink beers, eat simply grilled fish and meats, and keep it low-key.

M. Wells Steakhouse

If youre actually in the mood for a blowout feast, foie grashappy chef Hugue Dufours steakhouse will more than do.

Peasant

The Nolita restaurants downstairs wine bar is made for lingering, and the regular restaurant  with its dim lighting, wood-fired oven, and cozy feel  is just right, too. Almost everything will be totally normal, though the restaurant does say theyll offer complimentary heart-shaped panna cotta to diners.

Resto

For a meatfest where you and your date actually get to call the shots, head to this midtown gastropub for some meat and mussels.

Seamstress

If youre looking for solid cocktails and a downtown vibe but call uptown your home base, this is the spot for you. There will be some specials, too.

Timna

How about you head to Nir Mesikas Israeli restaurant and fight over the last pieces of his spectacular kubaneh bread?
Lenovo returns to profitability, almost breaks even on Motorola

Lenovo just did what Google could not - it broke even on Moto phones. The Mobile Business Group (which combines Lenovo and Motorola phones and tablets, plus smart TVs) posted quarterly sales of $3.2 billion (down 4% YoY).

Motorola contributed $2 billion to that and saw shipments rise 25% quarter on quarter. Lenovo didn't quite break even though, it posted $30 million in pre-tax loss.

As for phones bearing the Lenovo brand, they saw a huge rise in India and Indonesia (doubling and tripling sales) with 83% of sales coming from outside of China.

It's not all good news, though, total smartphone volume fell 18% to 20.2 million units sold. In case you haven't heard, Lenovo will merge its smartphone brands and Motorola will soon become Lenovo Moto, joining the Lenovo Vibe brand.

The company as a whole returned to profitability with $300 million net income on a revenue of $12.9 billion (down 8% YoY, 2% in constant currency).

Source | Via
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

The Constitutional Court has today struck off the controversial criminal defamation clause from the legal statutes sparking excitement from the media fraternity.In July 2014, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that Section 96 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act must be struck off the statutes because it was not a justifiable law in a democratic society like Zimbabwe.When details of the ruling filtered through this morning media house and journalists took to social media platforms to express their joy.Below are some of the posts seen by Bulawayo24.comMisaZimbabwe posted - BREAKING NEWS: ConCourt strikes down criminal defamation from our statutes.Brezh Malaba @BrezhMalaba said -Delighted that criminal defamation finally struck down by Constitutional Court.My civil liberties were violated using this primitive law.Journalist Kumbirai Mafunda said -Chairman batai ngoma kwatabva zvinhu zvakangooma, ahunde ahunde...Congrats Team MISA Zimbabwe members, Zim journos and our Secretariat for securing today's judgment on criminal defamation. You are on the right path. Great day for us in Zimbabwe. You have worked so hard for this. Bhora mberi. MISA yepamoyo.Nhlanhla Ngwenya @SitshelaN: said A pleasant day for the Zim media. Criminal Defamation has been struck off. #otherlawsmustfalltooNqaba Matshazi @nqabamatshazi: The constitutional court has just struck off criminal defamation of the statutes, invalid by both the new and old constitutions
News / Press Release

by Jacob Mafume - PDP National Spokesperson

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) notes the arrest of the Prosecutor General (PG), Johannes Tomana on Monday and his appearance at the Harare Magistrates' Courts on charges of abuse of office.While we are tempted to say the chickens are coming home to roost, we, however, must hasten to add that Tomana, as the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), should show gratitude to the call by democratic forces in ensuring that the independence of the work of the Prosecutor General was enshrined in the new Constitution.The people of Zimbabwe have also been against the abuse of section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (CPEA). This section, which Tomana has previously abused for his own selfish interests, saved him from being denied bail on Tuesday.On countless occasions, Tomana became an enthusiastic abuser of the justice delivery system by prosecuting lawyers on false charges of obstructing the course of justice. These are the same charges that he is now being charged with at the criminal courts.As the PDP, while we hold no brief for Tomana, our view is that the exercise of constitutional discretion by a constitutionally appointed office is not a crime.Our position is that a review of the decision made by the PG cannot be done through the Gestapo tactics that are being employed by the police in Tomana's case.We cannot be seen celebrating the abuse of the Constitution by the police, intelligence officers; simply because some feel Tomana deserves to be arrested.As a country, we must build a new constitutional dispensation through respect of the constitution and offices such as that of the NPA.We strongly condemn the abuse of a constitutional office by any person for personal and selfish gains.




Haiti - Politic : Towards a safer Haitian immigration in South America





Following the agreement reached in Brasilia in July 2015, between the representatives of Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Haiti, on the fight against the smuggling of migrants in South America, Maria Landazuri, the Vice -Minister of human Mobility of Ecuador, chaired the first follow-up meeting ofthe implementation of cooperative measures designed to promote safer migration and enable Haitian citizens to move into the area safely and avoid becoming victims of trafficking networks.



At the meeting, it was stressed the positive impact of cooperative work between the responsible institutions of each Nation to prevent the trafficking of Haitian citizens in the region.



Ecuador implemented in August 2015 the Virtual tourism Registry System for this group, with the aim to control the entry of Haitian mobilized by trafficking networks. Before the application of the measure (15 January-August 2015) 13.848 Haitians entered the country. After the measure (16 August-December 2015) only 808 Haitians entered.



Brazil during the meeting briefed on the strengthening of its Embassy in Port-au-Prince in order to issue 2,000 visas per month, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15304-haiti-flash-iom-opens-a-brazil-humanitarian-visa-application-centre.html . To date, 38.446 humanitarian visas were granted to Haitian citizens by the Brazilian government, in addition to providing support for their social and economic integration in the venue.



In the measures taken by Brazil and Ecuador, are added the actions undertaken by Bolivia, Peru and the Haitian government, allowing the movement in the region of Haitian citizens in an orderly, in complete safety to prevent these people become victims of trafficking networks.



Delegations agree that the joint work and regional cooperation helped ensure the humanitarian protection and prevent the violation of human rights of Haitian citizens and has not ruled out the possibility of starting a new project in one of these countries.



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Electoral Zapping...





Series of denials by President of the Senate

Tuesday afternoon, Jocelerme Privert, President of the Senate has denied several rumors reported by some media namely: "No agreement between the Executive and Parliament has been found, the alleged resignation of Prime Minister Paul Evans was not notified to Parliament and no list of names for Prime minister was submitted to Parliament," all contrary information at the moment, are false he said.



"A Haitian solution in compliance with the Constitution" dixit OAS

Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) said "Faithful to its mandate the Special Mission of the OAS, met with the Government and the opposition, in the impartiality and plurality . The Constitutional output from power of Michel Martelly February 7, 2016, requires respect for the Constitution to strengthen democracy. The political crisis in Haiti confirms that the electoral system requires reforms/technical solutions to reach a fair, lawful and impartial process. The objective of all is that Haiti out of this political crisis with a Haitian solution supported by the Constitution."



Ambassador of France to Parliament

Tuesday, the Ambassador of France accredited to Haiti, Elisabeth Beton Delegue visited the Haitian Parliament. With the President of the Chamber of Deputies Cholzer Chancy and some other Deputies the French diplomat had discussions about the political situation and declared "I came to listen because in the Chamber of Deputies there is a wealth of experience which must be at the service of Haiti [...] there is no other solution in democracy than going through the elections step, I think this is a point that is not questionable, given that elections are not an end in itself but a necessary step [...]"



The mission of CELAC met with senators

On Tuesday, the Commission of the Community of States of Latin America and Caribbean (CELAC) met with several senators about the crisis to inquire about the progress of the talks aimed at resolving the crisis. Jocelerme Privert, President of the Senate said he told members of the delegation, that "local players are able to find a solution to the crisis..."



Protest against the transition in Guyana

This Wednesday, February 3, 2016, the Committee of Haitian citizens of Guyana, organizes a demonstration in the streets of Cayenne. The Committee claims the holding of presidential elections and legislative and opposes to the establishment of a transitional government in Haiti.



According to organizers, the 2,000 demonstrators are expected, intend "send a trong message" to the outgoing President, Michel Martelly. The gathering will take place at 3:30pm front of the radio Mosaic in Cayenne.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2016/02/02 | Source

Song Hye-kyo showed off her beautiful looks that appeal to China as well as all other Asian countries.

Advertisement

Song Hye-kyo has been selected as a model for a globally famous fashion brand to represent Asia.

The pictorial shoot was taken in Seoul in collaboration with photographer Jo Seon-hee. Through the lens of the star photographer Jo Seon-hee, Song Hye-kyo impressed all the staff members from both Korea and China while she showed off her exceptional ability to express herself.

Song Hye-kyo's confident, elegant, comfortable and lovely appeals have captured our attention.

Meanwhile, KBS 2TV's new Wednesday & Thursday drama, 'Descendants of the Sun' will be released in February in Korea and China simultaneously.
Published on 2016/02/03 | Source

Shin Se-kyung (left) and Park Si-hoo

Actress Shin Se-kyung has reported some 20 people to police for allegedly posting defamatory comments about her on the Internet, Gangnam police said Tuesday.

Advertisement

The suspects are alleged to have posted rumors that Sin flirts with many male celebrities.

Sin's management agency Namoo Actors said, "We will go through with the complaint to uproot this nasty practice of spreading false information under the cloak of anonymity online".

Actor Park Si-hoo recently also reported 76 people who consistently posted malicious and insulting comments about him to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Park was accused of raping an aspiring starlet in 2013, but the case was later dropped.
Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby.

15:19, 20 OCT 2022
News / Regional

by Staff Reporter

MATABELELAND North Provincial Affairs minister Cain Mathema has admitted that new black farmers are struggling to match the high standards set by white former commercial farmers.Mathema said most of them were relying on ox-drawn ploughs and only producing food for their families."We want investment in agriculture to transform our local farmers into commercial farmers. We don't want to continue seeing our farmers using ox-drawn ploughs and as such we would love for example to see a small tractor assembly plant set up in Lupane," he said."It will be nice to see Japanese investors in Lupane in the production of such small tractors for our farmers. We want more investment in water infrastructure development such as dams and piped water schemes to our farmers in the province."We need to commercialise our farming but we cannot commercialise if our farmers do not have tractors and rely on ox drawn ploughs.""Matabeleland North is a rural district and naturally, therefore, it is a farming district. We want to transform farming in Matabeleland North," he said."We want to have commercial farmers and not subsistence farmers on land, which was given to us by Cecil John Rhodes, which emphasised that they should produce only enough for their families."Mathema was speaking in the presence of Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yoshi Hiraishi and blasted black farmers for remaining stuck in subsistence farming "as if they were still under the Cecil John Rhodes colonial era".
Employers that refuse to hire someone on the basis of their past criminal convictions could be violating international obligations, legal experts say.



While discriminating against a job applicant because they have a criminal history is not unlawful under federal anti-discrimination law, McDonald Murholme lawyer Trent Hancock says this form of discrimination is prohibited by the International Labour Organisation Convention 111.



The Convention is a schedule to the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, giving the AHRC the power to investigate any discrimination complaints and alleged breaches, and prepare reports for the Attorney-General which must be tabled in Parliament.



Employers can then be ordered to take remedial action as a result of the recommendations of this report, Hancock told HC Online.



A recent example of this was AV v DIAL  AN  ANGEL Pty Ltd [2015] AusHRC 97 in which a recommendation was made that the employer update its policies and procedures, issue an apology to the prospective employee and make a payment of $5,000 to the prospective employee, Hancock says.

Each of these recommendations was complied with.



And while the general protection provisions of the federal Fair Work Act do not protect people from discrimination on the basis of previous criminal convictions, state level anti-discrimination laws in Tasmania and the Northern Territory render discrimination on the basis of an irrelevant criminal record unlawful.



This is not the case however in the other states and territories, Hancock says.



While anti-discrimination laws in Western Australia, ACT and Northern Territory protect applicants from discrimination based on spent convictions, and anti-discrimination laws in Victoria protect applicants from discrimination based on expunged homosexual convictions, it is not otherwise unlawful to discriminate against applications on the basis of criminal record in any other state or territory save for Tasmania and the Northern Territory.



So while the HR professional may have a personal moral objection to hiring a former criminal, even if their conviction is unrelated to the position, they must be mindful that this does not turn into discrimination.



A personal moral objection becomes discrimination when a person is treated less favourably than others as a result, Hancock says. Discrimination is only unlawful however when it is based on an attribute that is protected at law (i.e. age, gender, race etc.).



However, if the person is already engaged with the company when HR finds out about their prior convictions, the employer may be able to terminate their employment and avoid an unfair dismissal claim.



Hancock says much depends on the state legislation the company is bound by, and the length of time the person has been under its employment.



While in Tasmania and the Northern Territory an employer is not within its rights to terminate an employee on the basis of an irrelevant criminal record, in all other states and territories a dismissal on this basis does not constitute unlawful discrimination but may still however constitute a breach of the ILO Convention.



In these states and territories, if the employee has only been working for a few weeks, they will not otherwise be protected by unfair dismissal laws and therefore will have little legal recourse to challenge the dismissal (save for a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission which can simply compile a report and make non-binding recommendations), Hancock says.



However if the employee has been working for more than six months or twelve months depending on the size of the employer, they may be able to make an unfair dismissal application depending on the circumstances of the dismissal.



If discovering that their employee is under investigation for a criminal activity, HR professionals must avoid knee-jerk reactions, as this could result in a costly legal battle for the organisation, Hancock says.



An employer should never dismiss employee simply because it has discovered the employee is under investigation for non-work related criminal activity,



He says it is essential however that the employee is afforded procedural fairness and is not presumed to have engaged in criminal conduct until proven guilty.



For example, should an employer dismiss an employee for being a suspected paedophile and a police investigation determines that any sexual intercourse that was engaged in was lawful, the dismissal may have contravened state anti-discrimination laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of lawful sexual activity, Hancock says.



However if an employer has genuine concerns that the employee is a risk to other employees or the business more generally, it can suspend the employee with pay while an investigation is completed.



In the recent well publicised case of James Deeth v Milly Hill Pty Ltd [2015] FWC 6422 in which an apprentice was dismissed by his employer without due process after being charged as an accessory to murder after the fact and being released on bail.



Having a suspicion or personal dislike against a creepy co-worker isnt enough to constitute grounds for firing them either, Hancock says.



Employers must have a valid reason related to performance or conduct before firing an employee, to avoid unfair dismissal claims.



A mere perception held by others that the particular employee is "creepy" does not constitute any form of unsatisfactory performance or misconduct unless the employee has contributed to the perception in some way (e.g. by sexually harassing other staff members or making inappropriate comments), Hancock says.



If the perception is unrelated to any actual misconduct on the employee's part, a mere discussion with the employee as to how their behaviour is perceived might be helpful,



A discussion with other employees as to why they perceive the other employee to be "creepy" would also be helpful, he says.



Hancocks Top Tips for HR professionals when dealing with criminal investigations and past convictions in the workplace include:



- Investigate the circumstances surrounding the criminal investigation or past conviction prior to making any decisions

- Consider whether the criminal investigation or past conviction is relevant to the employment or not

- Consider whether the criminal investigation or past conviction prevents the employee from performing the inherent requirements of the position

- Consider the impact on the company's reputation and commercial interests prior to making any decisions

- Afford the employee in question procedural fairness (i.e. put allegations in writing, allow an opportunity to respond, allow a support person) prior to making any decision

- Ensure that any decision to treat the employee less favourably because of a past conviction is not prohibited by the relevant state anti-discrimination laws


by Lucienne Gleeson, PCC Lawyers



When I undertake workplace investigations or review the investigative work of managers, one of my first tasks is dealing with misconceptions about how these processes should be conducted. More often than not, and to my clients surprise (and, thankfully, delight), I can show these misconceptions are myths.



Several key myths crop up regularly. Here I explain three myths and why they are ill conceived and not to be followed. Many clients have improved their investigation processes after I have pointed out the actual legal requirements and so, too, can you.



Myth 1- A formal complaint is required before a company can investigate



A common mistake is to assume that unless an employee makes a formal complaint the company cannot investigate. This is false and such an assumption could seriously hurt the company in terms of legal liability, low morale and high staff turnover. Managers who notice things that do not seem right: possible bullying, missing company property or other issues of concern, have every right to commence an investigation without ever receiving a formal complaint.



In some circumstances, an employee may want to discuss an issue that concerns them, but do not wish to formally complain. Alternatively, an employee may not raise anything but you might be aware they have a grievance. If this involves something serious or warrants a further look, for example, inappropriate advances from a colleague or a conflict of interest, then the company should act.



Not only is this good practice, but also, if something enters the companys corporate knowledge, and it fails to investigate, serious legal repercussions might ensue. For example, in a case involving a 19-year-old waitress, Brodie Panlock, who committed suicide after being bullied and tormented by her co-workers, her employer was fined $220,000 after it was held that it had been aware of the deplorable behaviour towards her but did nothing about it.



On the other side of the coin, some employees just want to let off steam or they might be constant complainers who want to notify you of every concern, no matter how small. These cases are quite different from legitimate grievances. If an employee is doing little more than nit picking or moaning, you should feel free to ask them to either lodge a formal complaint or desist from broaching the subject again.



Myth 2- A party to the complaint is on leave so the investigation must grind to a halt



Every investigation is different, but there is no hard and fast rule to say that because a person involved in the investigation is on leave it needs to be put on ice. Be it sick leave, due to the stress of the investigation or other associated facts, or pre-organised annual leave, an investigation should continue if possible. During such a period there may be witnesses who can be interviewed, documentary evidence might be reviewed or the findings might be able to be finalised.



Investigation steps should certainly not be missed and procedural fairness is always the key objective, but allowing leave to slow down the entire investigation is detrimental. One of the most common complaints I find regarding investigations (and this comes from all parties), is that they take too long. This can sometime be due to leave taken by key individuals. Such delay can create a real sense of disillusion among all participants. It is therefore important for both the integrity of the process and to maintain the productivity of involved employees that investigations are properly carried out and resolved as soon as possible.



Myth 3- The standard of proof required to substantiate a complaint is very high and near impossible to reach



A workplace investigation is not a coronial inquest, nor is it a police prosecution. To substantiate a complaint, the person investigating must find, on the information before them, that it is more likely than not that the situation described did occur. Competing versions of events usually emerge and often there will be very little, if any, clear primary evidence, such as video footage of an incident. Despite this, an investigator should still be in a position to make a decisive conclusion about a complaint based on the information reviewed.



Extrinsic information can often be drawn upon to help determine the findings of an investigation. For example, in a bullying investigation, asking how the alleged bully treats other people and about their relationship with the alleged victim can often provide as much useful information as directly questioning people about an incident.



While an unrealistically high standard of proof is not required, this does not mean the person investigating can ignore evidence or carry out a half-hearted enquiry. In several cases, courts have called out poor investigations and decisions to sack employees have been reversed. For example, in Duncan v Bluescope Steel Ltd [2013] FWC 8142 a workplace investigator was found to have relied on evidence from witnesses who had clear conflicts of interest and he failed to ask crucial questions. In this case, the employer was ordered to reinstate the employee who had been fired based on the investigations adverse findings.



Leave myths for the Ancient Greeks and avoid the costly problems (and embarrassment) that a misconducted workplace investigation can cause.





Lucienne Gleeson is an employment lawyer who has years of experience working with HR and companies to implement innovative workplace solutions. She regularly presents on topical workplace issues and appears in relevant courts to represent clients. Lucienne can be contacted via email on [email protected].


Opinion / Columnist

KENT - The latest episode in Zanu-PF's intriguing drama in the battle to succeed President Robert Mugabe involves two men blessed with the gift of the garb, Professor Jonathan Moyo and George Charamba.They have been trading tough words in social and traditional media, revealing that the succession battle is not only real but that factionalism in the ruling party can no longer be concealed or portrayed as fiction. But what does this mean in the context of the on-going succession battles?A couple of weeks ago, writing in his column in The Herald as Nathaniel Manheru, his pseudonym, George Charamba criticised what he christened the "anti-Mnangagwa cabal". Charamba refuses to confirm that he is Nathaniel Manheru, but it is now an open secret that he is the man behind the name. Moyo had revealed a few years ago that Nathaniel Manheru was Charamba's alter ego. His recent article wasn't the first time that Charamba had shown his inclination towards Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. But this was also a repudiation of his earlier denials of the existence of factionalism in Zanu-PF.To close watchers of the Zimbabwean political scene, it was obvious that the so-called "anti-Mnangagwa cabal" was in reference to the G40 faction, a group of Zanu-PF politicians which is resisting the idea of Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe, who turns 92 next month.The notion of G40 was coined a few years ago by Moyo, who is said to be the brains behind the outfit, although he denies its identity as a faction. Instead, he calls those aligned to Mnangagwa and pushing for his ascendancy to the presidency as "successionists".Ironically, in the latest twist of events in the succession drama, Charamba uses the term "successionists" to refer to Moyo and his G40 faction, which has prompted Moyo to call him a "wordthief" since Moyo originally coined the term.Even though Charamba does not identify them by name, Moyo's unhappy responses to Charamba's interview confirms that Moyo and G40 were the targets of his open attack in an interview with ZiFM radio station, which has been reproduced by The Herald. Moyo has accused Charamba of using his civil servant role as Permanent Secretary to defend a "desperate faction" - by which he refers to the Mnangagwa faction.It is important to place the current public fight between Moyo and Charamba into context. It is a reflection of succession politics but it is also a public manifestation of a personal rivalry between the two men. Writing in 2006, Moyo referred to Charamba as a "useful idiot" after the latter had written a piece that was severely critical of Moyo in his Nathaniel Manheru column. The verbal fight between the two men was nasty and it was ironic that when Moyo was re-admitted into Zanu-PF, he once again became Charamba's boss. The latest episode is another chapter in the fractious relationship between the two men.Twice, Charamba has been Moyo's subordinate at the Information ministry - the propaganda unit of government and the ruling party. Working on the same side for Mugabe and Zanu-PF, one as minister and the other as presidential spokesperson, they formed a powerful unit.The men may never have liked each other, but they didn't have to - Mugabe simply used his leadership acumen to make sure they worked for him and they did. If they were in competition to please, then it was still to his benefit.But if there was a formal hierarchy at the ministry, Mugabe was careful to play on their egos and sow confusion by making Charamba his presidential spokesperson, a role he exercised alongside his permanent secretarial role at the ministry.Thus while he was Moyo's subordinate at the ministry, he also enjoyed a measure of independence as presidential spokesperson, where his boss was Mugabe. But now Moyo is no longer controlling information, which gives Charamba the edge in terms of defining the political narrative.With Charamba showing he is in Mnangagwa's corner, this gives us an indication that the G40 may now suffer a fate similar to what befell the Gamatox faction and the opposition before it: they will face a State media blackout and whenever they appear, it will be because they are being attacked or denigrated. The information war is critical in political battles and this latest development will be a big blow to Moyo and the G40.The strategy will be to do to Moyo and G40 what Moyo and company used to do to Zanu-PF's and Mugabe's opponents when he was the propaganda chief: close off media space, especially in radio and television and attack the opponents relentless, regardless of media rules, ethics or truth. Moyo and the G40 may soon find that, like the opposition and like Mujuru before them, they will be subjected to serious State media assault, without a right of reply.They will have to scurry for space in private media. In addition, any Moyo or G40 loyalists in the editorial staff in State media may find themselves imperilled. They may be relocated to high-sounding but empty posts or could be relieved of their responsibilities completely. Unless, of course, they switch loyalties and sing for their supper, all of which will weigh heavily on Mnangagwa's political opponents.Moyo himself may have sensed the need to find alternative media space in the wake of his removal as Information minister in July last year.He had already prepared space for himself on social media - Facebook and Twitter - where he has been an active and popular participant, a circumstance that has drawn criticism with Charamba chiding him for trying to ascend the political ladder through tweets.However, Moyo will continue to make use of social media, and will generate headlines, especially in the private media. But the irony is that he may now be the victim of the same media tactics that he used to employ against Mugabe's opponents. It would be interesting to see if ZiFM or ZBC will avail the same space to Moyo and his allies. Or better still, if they could bring the two men together, for an open debate on the subject.An important point to note is that in criticising Moyo and the G40 group, Charamba has indicated that he was speaking for the president. This changes the nature of the conversation completely, from being a Charamba-Moyo debate, to one between Mugabe and Moyo. It is unusual for Mugabe to talk to his ministers or party members through his spokesperson or in this way.Usually, if he has a weighty message, he speaks directly and often publicly. Is Charamba implying that Mugabe has descended to the level where he has a public altercation with his junior and appointee? Surely Mugabe must have better mechanisms through which to communicate his displeasure with his ministers?Or has Charamba used the President's Office in order to give weight to his statements? Has he employed the name of his office to fight a personal war against Moyo?Certainly, Moyo thinks Charamba is abusing his position. In one of his tweets Moyo said Charamba must not use his position as permanent secretary to serve Mnangagwa's faction. If however, it is true that Charamba was speaking for Mugabe, Moyo's responses will now be taken as a direct challenge to Mugabe.How will Mugabe react to Moyo's response to the interview? Will he see that as a challenge to his authority? If he does not act in response, what would that do to his authority? Does it not undermine his authority? All these are questions emanating from Charamba's claim that he was speaking for the president.But there is also the possibility that Charamba may have over-extended himself, and exaggerated the claim that he was speaking on behalf of Mugabe. There is a lot of fawning in the interview and even if there was an approved presidential message, Charamba diluted it with his own views and emotions.The statements smack of a man trying too hard to please his boss, like someone who is under pressure and must demonstrate loyalty. Charamba has in the past been blamed for the embarrassing episode in which Mugabe read the wrong speech at the opening of Parliament last year. Indeed, it could be that Mnangagwa skilfully took advantage of Charamba's predicament to back him at the time when everyone was pointing fingers in his direction and accusing him of engineering the embarrassment.If as Charamba says, this was Mugabe speaking, what are we to make of his state of mind in the succession drama? This is complicated by the fact that it has long been thought that the G40 faction is supporting and is supported by Grace Mugabe. If Mugabe is rebuking G40, as implied by the Charamba interview, does it mean Mugabe is going against his wife's ambitions, as backed by G40? It is evident that Charamba is backing Mnangagwa as opposed to the G40 faction. Does this mean Mugabe has decided to pick Mnangagwa for succession?It could be that Grace Mugabe has decided to ditch the G40. Mugabe and his wife may have reflected, during the comfort and quietness of their long vacation in Dubai, and resolved to ditch the G40 and instead back Mnangagwa. If this is the case, it would be a significant blow to the G40.Nevertheless, history of this succession drama cautions us against writing early political obituaries.If precedence is anything to go by, it would be utterly foolish to write Moyo and the G40 off, even after this devastating rebuke. This is not the first time that Moyo has seemingly faced the nadir of his Zanu-PF career. Back in 2014, Mugabe described Moyo as a "weevil" and in a statement that gave birth to the terminology of "Gamatox" in Zimbabwean politics, Didymus Mutasa prescribed that the "weevils" needed to be fumigated with Gamatox, a pesticide.From then on Mujuru's faction, to which Mutasa belonged, became known as the "Gamatox faction". Mugabe also referred to Moyo as "Devil incarnate" and at that moment, it seemed Moyo's Zanu-PF career was over. Many were writing his political end.Yet within weeks, Moyo had turned the tables on his critics and by the end of that year, it was Mujuru, Mutasa, Gumbo and the rest of the Gamatox faction who had been unceremoniously ejected from Zanu-PF. Moyo had the last laugh.Last year, when Moyo faced a similar challenge and was even temporarily removed as minister, some also thought that was the end of his career. But yet again, he rose like a phoenix to retain ministerial office. Even when he lost the powerful Information ministry, Mugabe simply moved chairs and relocated him in Higher Education.The fact is that while Charamba might not like Moyo, referring to him as a "little man", Mugabe understands the strategic importance of keeping the wily political scientist close. Mugabe realises Moyo makes for an uncomfortable opponent and that as long as he accommodates him, he will have less trouble to deal with, a point that seemingly escapes Charamba who appears to be permitting his personal animosity to get ahead of political reason. Moyo might be the proverbial stone in a man's shoe, which though uncomfortable, is not removed but readjusted.But there is also an indication of indiscipline and reckless behaviour that is not usually associated with Zanu-PF.This altercation only adds fuel to the chaos where people are now openly trading insults. Could it suggest that the leader is losing control of his troops? Could it be that those who know no longer have the same levels of obedience to the centre as before? It certainly looks like open season and it's not like the Zanu-PF of old - a rigid, tight and disciplined organisation in which members followed the set path, even if they did not agree with it. Some might say it's democracy at work. Others, however, might say it's more sinister and portends disaster.Meanwhile, after this assault, Moyo and G40 will surely have to regroup and find an appropriate response. Mnangagwa, very quiet and seemingly hapless for so long, has thrown a significant punch, showing there is still life yet in his long-held bid to succeed his old boss.----------Magaisa is a lawyer and academic based at the University of Kent in the UK. He is a former technical advisor in the Zimbabwe constitution-making process and also former adviser to the then Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai.
A senior pharmaceuticals salesman who was sacked by his employer for combining a work trip with a jazz festival has won his case for unfair dismissal.



Daniel Girardi was dismissed by his former employer, Allergan Australia Pty Ltd in 2015, after having a meeting with management to discuss an expenses claim.



Girardi had travelled to Mount Gambier in early May 2015, on the same weekend when his wife and son were attending a jazz festival, and submitted a $670.48 travel-related expenses claim for meals and accommodation.



His employer said Girardi lied about the purpose for the trip to Mount Gambier and sought to justify it after the event when called upon to support the expenses claim.



Allergen argued that the main reason given for the trip, being to attend a meeting of healthcare professionals (General Practitioners) in Mount Gambier, was a fabrication and a vain attempt by Girardi to justify his visit to the South East as being work related.



His employer also alleged that Girardi failed to follow correct procedures in that he did not obtain prior approval for the trip and the alleged expenses.



Therefore his employer said that given the applicants role as a senior territory business manager who largely worked autonomously, Girardis conduct was serious misconduct warranting dismissal.



Despite attending an urgent meeting on June 11 with his manager to discuss his expenses, which ended on the basis that Girardi was to provide additional details to support his expenses claim, on the morning of 12 June 2015, without waiting for any response from the applicant, Girardi was advised of the termination of his employment by email.



When considering if Allergen had a valid reason to fire Girardi, the Fair Work Commission looked at three key elements. Namely, a breach of policies, the alleged misleading of the employer about the facts leading to the final warning and the justification for the Mount Gambier trip, and the loss of trust and confidence held by Allergan in Girardi.



However, the Fair Work Commission upheld Girardis unfair dismissal claim, finding that his employer had breached a key component of the Fair Work Act, by not giving him an opportunity to respond after the June 11 meeting.



Therefore, the commissioner considered the dismissal of Mr Girardi to be harsh and unreasonable and ordered Allergen to pay him compensation of $21,938.00.



Amber Sharp, Partner at Marque Lawyers, says employers need to follow procedure fairness and avoid knee-jerk reactions when considering if workers have broken company rules by mixing business with pleasure.



Employers must consider whether there is a sufficient connection to the workplace or impact on the employer /employee relationship, Sharp told HC Online.



While the commissioner found Girardis conduct fell short of serious misconduct, but nevertheless provided a valid reason for dismissal, his employer demonstrated serious shortcomings in reaching and finalising its conclusions and the dismissal decision.



The commissioner said it was unreasonable for Allergen to view Girardis trip as a complete fiction, and that his employer had failed to undertake the kind of investigation necessary to reach an informed decision.



Girardis Mount Gambier trip did achieve a limited work purpose, the commissioner said, however represented a recklessly organised and largely unproductive exercise that facilitated some work being done during a trip that otherwise suited Mr Girardi for personal reasons.



The FWC documents stated that while Girardis misconduct impacted upon the necessary trust and confidence in the employment relationship, in the circumstances it was not the kind of serious wilful behaviour warranting dismissal without notice, as set out in the Fair Work Act.



The demonstrated actions of Mr Girardi are properly described as being very poor judgement on his behalf, combined with a lack of openness and integrity with the employer, FWC documents stated.



Sharp says employers are entitled to summarily dismiss workers who commit serious misconduct, including conduct that causes a serious and imminent risk to the reputation, viability and profitability of the employers business.



Employees can be disciplined for out of hours conduct that brings the Company into disrepute, impacts on the employees ability to perform their role, or seriously damages the relationship between the employer and employee, Sharp says.



She advises HR managers to implement workplace policies that outline expectations around appropriate behaviour, and ensure that this covers after-hours conduct as well as conduct away from the workplace.



Make express that this includes out of hours conduct such as attendance at work related events (Christmas party, client functions) and conduct outside of work that can impact on the reputation of the business, Sharp says.



Classic cases of employees winning unfair dismissal claims against out-of-work conduct include Rose v Telstra [1998], where an employee was sacked because of fighting with another colleague after hours when staying at a hotel related to a work assignment.



Telstra argued the conduct brought the employer into disrepute and was likely to cause damage to the relationship of employer and employee. The then Australian Industrial Relations Commission didnt accept that Telstra had satisfied the bar of a sufficient connection with work or reputational damage, Sharp says.



In another case, The Full Federal Court affirmed that a Commonwealth employee who was injured while having sex in a motel room while on a work trip was entitled to worker's compensation for the injuries she sustained (Comcare v PVYM [2012]).



While the line between business and pleasure is not always clear, HR managers can help minimize risk to their organization by ensuring clear policies are in place and following procedural fairness when disciplining employees.




The BBC and the Guardian, for example, reported on his reversal earlier this week.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) has stumbled into the global media limelight after announcing that he will not be able to fulfil his promise to open his home in Kempele, Northern Ostrobothnia, to a family of asylum seekers.

Sipila revealed during his weekly interview on YLE Radio Suomi on Sunday that the idea to accommodate a family of asylum seekers in his home in Kempele has been put on hold on grounds of security concerns. He received worldwide media attention in September for announcing that he would offer his home to asylum seekers.

The Prime Minister has been accused of encouraging migrants to head to Finland with his announcement by both his fellow lawmakers and members of the public, the Guardian writes. The BBC, meanwhile, reports extensively on a growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Northern Europe and estimates that the attitudinal shift is the main reason for the reversal of Sipila.

Sipila stressed to YLE that his offer will be back on the table if the security situation improves.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Hanski became yesterday the first European scientist to receive the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Protection Biology, which  according to a press release published by the University of Helsinki  is valued at 400,000 euros.

The Spain-based BBVA Foundation established the awards in 2008 to recognise outstanding scientific achievements.

Hanski received the award for his ground-breaking work on metapopulation biology. [His] work is pivotal to our understanding of how species are affected by the growing problem of man-made habitat fragmentation, the BBVA Foundation acknowledges in its press release.

The conceptual tools of metapopulation biology are already applied in a variety of disciplines, including cancer research, according to the BBVA Foundation. The impact of his work is increasing as habitats become more fragmented due to anthropogenic influences, the jury highlights.

The University of Helsinki points out that Hanski was already the first European ecologist to receive two other prestigious recognitions  the Balzan Prize for Ecological Sciences in 2000 and the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences in 2011.

Hanski is the first ecologist and evolutionary biologist in history to receive all three of the aforementioned awards, it points out in the press release.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Source: Uusi Suomi
Satu Taavitsainen (SDP) expressed on Monday her support for a proposal that the Social Democratic Party, the Green League and the Left Alliance commit to overturning the cuts if they are part of the next ruling coalition. The proposal was initially put forward by Paavo Arhinmaki, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, last week.

Opposition parties have continued to lambaste Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) for the education cuts laid out by his Government.

Taavitsainen is concerned that the measures laid out by the Government will encourage talented people to look for employment opportunities abroad. The Government of Sipila, [Timo] Soini (PS) and [Alexander] Stubb (NCP) is crumbling the bedrock of our society  expertise, professional skills and research  and is encouraging brain drain from Finland, she slammed on her blog.

The geniuses laid off by universities will be sucked into the universities of other countries after failing to find work in their home country. How on earth are we to promote exports if we drive away the expertise needed to develop something to sell? asked Taavitsainen.

Ville Niinisto, the chairperson of the Green League, similarly lashed out at Sipila for the statements he made during his weekly interview on YLE Radio Suomi. The Government's brazenly arrogant opposition to education is inexplicable, he commented on Facebook.

Sipila commented on the opposition to the massive lay-offs and spending cuts at universities by saying that change is always associated with resistance. No sympathy or support for the teachers and researchers laid off due to the Government's cuts, but more belittling, he retorted.

Niinisto also reminded that Sipila stirred up animosity among the academia late last year by bemoaning that a bunch of adjunct professors are telling his Government what to do and what not to do. What has happened to this country when mocking education has become a virtue even at the level of the Prime Minister? asked Niinisto.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Opinion / Columnist

International politics if followed carefully, will make one realize the West have no place for Africans in their definition of humanity. This approach is characterized by perpetual bulldozing of their permanent interests regardless of the havoc and destruction that result in their wake.Unashamedly, they then tout about lack of the rule of law in other countries. Yet the US is failing to respect the international laws it set on the pretext of making this world a better place. One is reminded of the horrors that is subjected to prisoners at Guantanamo bay. This has categorically cascaded to them failing to contain wars they started such as the Arab springs. Even the scourges of terrorism's roots are stemmed in the US quest for global supremacy.They created these disgruntlements that bore terrorism the world over and are thriving from these deliberate conflicts. The US penetrates, decomposes and disposes other government by weakening their security sectors while enjoying control of the UN Security council which it manipulates to further its selfish ambitions.President Robert Mugabe was empirically correct after all to threaten withdrawal from the United Nations as this is just but an extension of the US's mighty on the globe. Big brother Sam is always on the front advocating for a plethora of reforms and regime changes the world over.US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker's letter to the US's Treasury Jacob Lew service confirm the sanctions the West have been denying they imposed on Zimbabwe. Corker's bid to block funds from IMF and the World Bank to Zimbabwe despite a mutual agreement and a payment plan having been reached by the concerned parties exposes the US monopoly on international institutions which should be free of any influence in carrying out their mandate.The development nevertheless does not come as a shocker given the background of the US of meddling in African Politics. Unashamedly Corker is hiding behind a finger calling for the rule of law by demanding government to produce one Itai Dzamara. This way the US is creating another of its corridors of power into Zimbabwe. If the Zimbabwean government is then alleged to being haunted by the ghost of Dzamara then the US becomes the devil himself whose hands are dripping with bloody of innocent people who perished at its hands defending their respective sovereigns.The diabolic machinations by Corker point to the usual disregard of other governments' sovereign. Reversing the land reform program on the other hand is tantamount to both political and identity re-colonialism of Zimbabwe. Land is the main reason why both first and second Chimurenga were fought. As such, Corker's demands signal to say his country is determined to maintain the impasse between Zimbabwe and the US. Zimbabwe is thus left with one option, submit before the US?It then makes sense to read from President Mugabe that we really do not need the US manipulation in Africa. There is no absolute benefit for Africa in its continued partnership with the US but that of master and slave, which Africa has no use of.Apparently, Zimbabwe is committed to implementing policies that are pro people and increasing on transparency. The introduction of station based voting and the biometric voting system service to show the level of commitment from the government.Nevertheless, none of these initiatives are recognizable through the lenses with which the US perceives Zimbabwe. As such Honourable Minister of Finance Patrick Chinamasa might as well abandon repayment of the debt to these international institutions and channel them for domestic use where they will be greatly appreciated.It is in this regard that the idea of United States of Africa is noble and of paramount importance. Africa and Zimbabwe in particular cannot be controlled from Washington DC.
Andrew Shannon, 46, whose last known addresses were in Dublin, were arrested and questioned in relation to the damage of a Monet painting in Dublin.

A man previously jailed for damaging a 10m Monet painted has been found guilty of possessing 67 stolen antique books, including an extremely rare King James Bible.

Andrew Shannon (51) was accused of illegally handling the books which originated in the library of Carton House in Kildare, the historical family seat of the FitzGerald family.

The books, including a 1660 edition of the King James Bible of which only six exist, went missing after they were put in storage during the restoration of the country house.

Gardai say they were later found in the house of Shannon during a search. Shannon told investigators that he bought the books at a fair or fete for about Irl300 and was using them to decorate his house.

Shannon of Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the books at his home, while knowing or being reckless as to whether they were stolen on March 3, 2007.

After a five-day trial and almost four hours of deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Under the new EU directive on victims, transposed into Irish law last November, Judge Petria McDonnell invited the owners of Carton House to provide a victim impact report for the sentence hearing next April.

Shannon is on bail on this matter and was remanded on the same conditions.

Damage

He is in custody in Shelton Abbey prison, where he is serving a sentence after being convicted in December 2014 of criminal damage to a 10m Monet painting in June 2012.

In 2011 he was convicted of handling stolen property involving maps dating from 1651 with a value of 6,000.

After his arrest Shannon told gardai that he buys lots of books and that the ones gardai were concerned with "are of no real value" but that they looked good so he used them to decorate his house

He agreed with them that the books originated from Carton House but said he had bought them at a market fair or fete many years ago for Irl300 (380).
The husband of a Dublin woman who died in a tragic yachting accident in South Africa managed to get to the shore to raise the alarm, it has emerged.

Rachel Daly (49), originally from Killiney in Dublin, had been on a trip with her husband PJ Daly (66) and Scotsman George Mills (61) when the terrible tragedy unfolded on the West Coast of Cape Town on Monday, at 4.30am local time.

It is understood that the boat they were sailing in was smashed to pieces by rocks.

A major rescue operation was launched after reports that a yacht had capsized between Bokpunt and Gansekraal.

Crews were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority, including the launch of a sea rescue craft.

On arrival at the scene, the yacht "Tara" was found broken up amongst rocks on the shore, the emergency services reported.

It said that it was unknown what had caused the yacht to run aground, and that the South African Maritime Safety Authority will investigate the incident.

The bodies of Mrs Daly and Mr Mills, who were both residents in the Western Cape, were located and recovered from the scene. The yacht had been reportedly sailing from Langebaan to Cape Town when tragedy struck.

Mr Daly had managed to get to shore and he had raised the alarm.

Mrs Daly - whose maiden name was Rachel McGrath - had been well known in Dublin social circles and had set up a popular dating agency.

Her parents ran a chain of washeteria outlets in Dublin, but her father died many years ago and her family have moved from the area.

Rachel was a former pupil of the Holy Child National School in Killiney and later went on to study at Dublin Business School and the Digital Marketing Institute.

In 1995, she set up the Who's Who For The Unattached dating agency.

She ran this successful agency for 13 years as managing director, and claimed to have started thousands of relationships through the business.

Rachel also worked in fashion retail, outdoor catering and event management at managerial level.

Inquest

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was providing consular assistance to the family of a woman who had died in South Africa.

Chris Lambinon, a spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) which oversaw the rescue and recovery operation, told the Herald that the circumstances surrounding the accident were still unclear, and added that "an inquest docket has been opened by police," he said.
Election posters for Labour's Joanna Tuffy pictured erected on the Willsbrook Road, Lucan this morning. The posters have been erected at least a day earlier than permitted

Fine Gael ministers have pledged to introduce strict rules surrounding patients lying on trolleys, a new package for the elderly and radical new laws in the area of cyber-crime at the final meeting of their Parliamentary Party before the General Election.

Seven Cabinet members briefed TDs and senators on the party's manifesto last night as Taoiseach Enda Kenny used his party to "go out on the doorsteps with confidence".

Mr Kenny received a round of applause at the private meeting in Leinster House, at which he insisted that the country's strong economy will finally allow the government, if re-elected, to fund effective public services.

Dissolve

He will finally call the General Election today, having confirmed his decision to dissolve the 31st Dail on his local radio station in Mayo.

After visiting the President in Aras an Uachtarain the Fine Gael leader will hold a joint press conference with Tanaiste Joan Burton where they will make a pitch for the Coalition to be re-elected.

Last night, TDs heard the Fine Gael manifesto will contain elements on climate change and supports for disabilities - areas the Government has been accused of neglecting.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said a key plank of the Fine Gael manifesto will be the creation of 200,000 new jobs by 2020. Giving his own lengthy briefing to those present, Health Minister Leo Varadkar called on candidates to hammer home the message to "keep the recovery going".

Mr Varadkar said that "incremental improvements" will take place in the health service but that the problems can not be resolved in the short term.

In a pledge deemed significant by a number of sources present, Mr Varadkar spoke about introducing new trolley targets for hospitals whereby they will be required to improve on their numbers by five per cent each year.

He is understood to have spoken about moving from the trolley count system to a "patient experience model" that has been put in place in the UK.

"He spoke about introducing new targets in order to make hospitals more accountable," said a source.

Mr Varadkar also said the manifesto will include a package for the elderly which will include improvements to home supports. Bed capacities will be increased in hospitals, a new stage of step-down bed facilities will be introduced and further investment in palliative care for the regions.

But he said the health manifesto will contain realistic commitments and will be fully costed.

"He said there will be no promises he cannot honour," said a source.

Meanwhile, Justice Frances Fitzgerald pledged radical new laws aimed at tackling cyber crime. She also spoke about the setting up of a family court and plans to investigate the finances of criminals who claim free legal aid.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said Fine Gael has proven it has a strong record on the North, while Arts Minister Heather Humphreys spoke about keeping momentum going in relation to the 1916 commemorations.

Meanwhile, President Michael D Higgins has been being dragged into a political row after questioning the emphasis being placed on tax cuts ahead of the General Election.

Used

Fianna Fail's Barry Cowen told the Herald that Mr Higgins needs to be "mindful of what he says" as his views could be used by individuals or parties in the upcoming election debate.

"Some people say the conventional role of the President is not what it was but at the same time the constitution has not changed," he said.

As head of State Mr Higgins is considered above politics but he suggested that a decent society and lower taxes are not compatible.

"Is it possible to have a decent society and at the same time continue to lower taxes for the purposes of securing the best short-term benefit?" he asked, during an interview with jouranlists earlier this week.

Yesterday, the Social Democrats were quick to welcome Mr Higgins' intervention saying it backed up the new party's core message.

"This timely reminder by the President only reinforces the Social Democrats core message that the choices we make now in this election will define us as a nation for decades to come," co-leader Roisin Shortall said.

"There is a clear choice to be made. Do we want an Ireland of US-style tax cuts where vital public services are run down or do we want to take a more long term view and construct an inclusive and fair society by investing in essential infrastructure and quality social services?," she said.

Mr Cowen said the President's statements "sound like a Labour line" and that he could be leaving himself open to being accused "of being in somebody's corner".

"He is above that and the office is above that. He has made some interventions in recent but policy matters like this it would be better left to those seeking office," Mr Cowen said.

Asked about Mr Higgins' comments on Newstalk Lunchtime yesterday Tanaiste Joan Burton said: "The President is above politics and I'm not going to stray into commenting on the President's position."
Opinion / Columnist

Some private media houses have chosen to ignore the good work that President Robert Mugabe did as the AU Chairperson only to shame themselves by saying that his big brother stature is what makes the AU ignore the economic situation in the country while keeping him at the helm of the AU circles through his new role as a Rapporteur of the AU Bureau for 2016.It is surprising that the private media turns a blind eye on the good work of President Mugabe who during his AU tenure as the Chairperson has openly told the west to reform the Security Council and also superintended in various summits and meetings that sought to bring sanity in the African continent. The President was man enough to tell the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki Moon in the recently held AU Heads of States and Governments Summit in Ethiopia that he tells the superpowers that Africa needs the Security Council to be reformed. The President made it clear that every member of the UN General Assembly should be treated equally as the era of colonial rule is over.As such the AU governments should really take seriously the call by President Mugabe, the former AU Chairperson that the Security Council should reform as to accommodate the interests of the other countries that make up the UN. It is not proper for the UN Security Council to remain superintended by only five member countries as if they are supreme beings to the extent that they are unchallengeable. While it is known that the formation of the UN was precipitated by the end of the Second World War (WW 2) in which those countries were involved but it is wrong for them to personalise that UN arm.So the call by President Mugabe that the UNSC should be reformed has to be embraced by all developing countries who feel being marginalised in the international community. The UN has been monopolised by some few member countries who do not want it to be reformed. African countries who constitute a larger number of the UN membership have no permanent members there in the UNSC. Such a scenario has seen African voices being marginalised and not heard even in situations where decisions affect the African continent.African leaders should stand guided by Pan-Africanism that give the concept of Ubuntu and unhu as the way forward in deciding and planning what the African continent needs to do. In actual fact Africa should now be vocal in championing the needs for the Africans in the international community especially when they attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.The road that have been championed by the former Chairman of the AU and SADC, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, that reforms in the UNSC should be made as to accommodate African interests should be taken aboard and seriously by all African states. As such, that move should be the voice of any African leader to the western countries as to force the UN to be accommodative of all countries' interests regardless of geographical and economic standing of that particular country.It is now refreshing that the AU in the recent years has managed to choose ten (10) countries that have become to be known as the Committee of 10 (C10) to champion the negotiations with the super powers so that they allow an African country to have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. The committee of 10 which has already started the ball rolling more than three years ago is currently having meetings with various countries which are in the UNSC as a way of making sure that they accept the continent`s plea.For that reason the AU heads of states and governments should not fold their hands and let those super powers to get away with the monopoly in the handling of the UNSC affairs but they should fight for their rights to be heard.The UNSC which comprises of Britain, China, France, Russia and United States of America (USA) has been comprised with those countries since the formation of the UN in 1945 making it impossible for other countries to get their voices heard. So the C10 which comprises of Algeria, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leorne and Zambia should be commended for such a good work which they are currently doing in confronting the UNSC so that it is reformed.As such, all African states should remain united and always speak with one voice during international summits or meetings so that African interests are not trampled upon. The current Chairman of the AU President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad should carry on with the gospel of preaching to the world about the need for the UNSC to be reformed. President Idriss must make sure that he is in line with what his predecessor President Robert G Mugabe has been saying throughout his AU tenure of office as the Chairman.Actually it is not the UNSC council which only needs to be reformed but the International Criminal Court (ICC) needs urgent scrutiny as well since it has also been targeting African Head of States and other prominent African individuals in its investigations of the war crimes` perpetrators. While there is no one who can condone those alleged to have perpetrated violence against their citizens but the fact it is only the developing countries' leaders who are always targeted by the ICC calls for it to be reformed.Since its formation on 17 July 1998, under the Rome Statute, the ICC has never subpoenaed developed countries' leaders who allegedly committed crimes against humanity to appear before it. Some former and current African leaders have been subpoenaed to appear against this ICC to answer changes against humanity. Leaders like Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto spent most of their early days of their reign after winning elections in that country, under the ICC investigations over the violence that killed many people in Kenya after the 2008 elections. Currently former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is under trial over the alleged war crimes he committed after presidential elections of 2010. The ICC looks like it was formed to deal with African leaders only as it turns a blind eye on developed countries who could have done similar things like leaders of the developing nations.In fact leaders like former USA President George W Bush and his counterpart United Kingdom former Prime Minister Tony Blair stand out as the real candidates from the developed countries who could have been arrested and appeared before the ICC to answer changes of crimes against humanity. Those two former leaders in 2003, killed the innocent people in Iraq when they invaded that country saying Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which turned out to be false.As such the AU should stand firm and continuously call for the total reform of both the UNSC and the ICC so that all member states that constitute the global village in the UN are not marginalised.
Opinion / Columnist

The First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe spent most of her time last year going around the country meeting various people in which she ended up addressing multitudes of people who gathered to meet her during her tours. Her addresses were as candid as she wanted to make sure people know that ZANU PF was vibrant and alive even though there were no elections.The First Lady's countrywide tours which were also broadcast live on national television showed that ZANU PF was always on the ground meeting its members and supporters. The tours made by the First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe countrywide were necessary as the revolutionary party managed to assess the situation in which people were going through in various provinces. This resulted in the First Lady making sure that agricultural equipment and inputs were distributed to the needy so that people get something to take up as they prepared their land.Surprisingly the Newsday of 2 February 2016 came up with a screaming headline saying, Mujuru campaign jolts Mugabe, Tsvangirai. In that article the Newsday sought to tell its readers that President Mugabe and the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai were beginning to meet the people because of the fear of losing supporters to the People First project. The Newsday went further saying that President Mugabe's address to the ZANIU PF supporters at the airport on his return from the AU summit in Ethiopia in which he said that he would be meeting them in their provinces was a sign that he was afraid of Mujuru's People First project. In the same article it was reported that Tsvangirai has already started meeting his supporters around the country as a counter measure to the People First's emergency on the political limelight.The Newsday's analysis of events cannot be totally thrown away if it concerns the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai because he is the one who can be concerned with the emergency of another perceived powerful opposition political party in the country. It is true that there is a need for Tsvangirai to be jolted by the emergency of the People First project because the coming in of any opposition political party in the country is a threat to Tsvangirai's position in the political arena. Tsvangirai who has been receiving continuous support from the opposition field tends to lose that support as people are bound to welcome the coming in of the People First in the country hence there is need for him to worry.On the other hand it should be made clear to the readers of the Newsday that President Robert G Mugabe cannot be jolted by the emergency of the People First project as it is not the first perceived powerful opposition political party to emerge in the country since 1980. President Mugabe has seen it all since the time when the former ZANU PF Secretary General Edgar Tekere came up with his Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM).Some people thought that with ZUM coming in the political sphere it was the end of ZANU PF but ZUM came and fizzled out. Even the coming in of the MDC in 1999 was seen as a threat to the reign of President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party. Actually the MDC which came out with the backing of the western world coupled with some labour unions' support in the country was seen as a party which was going take over the leadership of the country. Most people saw the MDC as an alternative party to ZANU PF in running the country. But like what people always say, everything is now history. The MDC failed to take power from ZANU PF and this could stand as a lesson to the People First project as well as the journalists in the Newsday.The MDC which since from 1999 split to several opposition political parties ended up with the main opposition party identified as MDC-T which is now under Morgan Tsvangirai. Even the MDC family are now puzzled with how the once powerful opposition political party failed to wrestle power from the revolutionary party ZANU PF. So for the Newsday to say that President Mugabe can be jolted by the emergency of the People First project is beyond the actual facts and reality of events.Actually ZANU PF cannot be worried by the emergency of the People First project as it is full of the ZANU PF rejects who think that they can salvage something as they were dumped out by the ruling party. The fact that the People First is being spearheaded by the former Vice President of ZANU PF Joyce Mujuru who for the past thirty-four (34) years was in the ruling party failing to revive the economy which she now claims she would build raises a lot of questions than answers.If Mujuru is genuine in her People First project, she could have not abetted ZANU PF in all its policies which she claims she would reform when in power. Actually Mujuru is a power hungry individual who only wants to satisfy her wallet. During her time in ZANU PF, Mujuru did not see anything wrong coming out from ZANU PF and now what would make her become the darling of the people yet she failed them during her time in ZANU PF. Is that not folly for Mujuru to mislead the people into thinking that she can revive the economy when she failed to do the same when she was still the Vice President of Zimbabwe.Such a handicap by Mujuru in which she failed to revive the economic doldrums while in government makes President Mugabe to feel comfortable in that her party will fall the same way how others which came before her fizzled out. Even the euphoria among the people saying that the People First is something ever to happen in the country cannot make it viable. People should realise that it was the same with ZUM, the MDC, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn and others which fizzled out like the morning dew facing the rampaging heat of the rising sun leaving ZANU PF in power and the People First would not be exceptional. So People First would like others fizzle out meaning that there is no need for President Mugabe to jolt about because of Mujuru's coming into political limelight.Only the MDC-T has something to worry because the coming in of the People First would give people the room to talk about another opposition party instead of ever talking about the MDC-T and hoping that one day it would take over the leadership of Zimbabwe from ZANU PF. So the Newsday should now focus its advice to the MDC-T which is now facing extinction. ZANU PF is there to stay.
SAN FRANCISCOAIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) doesn't have quite the pull in San Francisco that it has down here in L.A., in part because of some of their stands on sexual issues of interest to the Bay Area population. After all, there's AHF president Michael Weinstein's war against drugs which provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against the HIV virus, going so far as to sue San Francisco-based Gilead Pharmaceuticals, which makes the PrEP drug Truvada, over the patent for one of its anti-HIV treatment drugs. AHF also falsely claimed that a TV ad airing in Australia, which Gilead helped fund, was telling gay men that they could use PrEP intermittently rather than as prescribed (daily)and that it doesn't really work anyway.

And then there's AHF's problem with San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, which recently considered AHF's request to relocate its pharmacy on 18th Street in the Castro District into the storefront at 518 Castro, which currently houses AHF's HIV treatment center in its rear. Originally, the relocation permit was thought to be a no-brainer, but apparently AHF managed to piss off enough people on the Board that they required AHF to seek a conditional use permit from the city's Planning Commission. The Commission discussed the issue at its Jan. 14 Board meeting, and is expected to turn down the plan.

So with all that baggage, it's hardly surprising that just one week ago, the San Francisco Democratic Party's County Central Committee voted unanimously to oppose Weinstein's "California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act" ballot initiative, saying that, "in addition to condoms, it would mandate the use of eye goggles by porn actors. They also worry passage of the initiative would create a' sue-a-porn-star' provision in state law, as anyone could bring a lawsuit against those who violate it. And they are concerned that the states $6 billion porn industry would move to another state with less restrictive policies California has already enacted to protect the health of porn actors."

"These issues aren't intuitive for a lot of people, especially when the measure is referred to as the 'condoms in porn measure.' The first question I would hear from people is, 'What is wrong with condoms?' Well, nothing," DCCC member Matt Dorsey, a gay man who is HIV positive and was the lead sponsor of the resolution, told the Bay Area Reporter's Matthew S. Bajko. "It really takes some going through the measure and understanding the context and larger narrative to get how dangerous this measure is. In the end everyone did their homework, and I applaud my colleagues on the DCCC for it."

Sadly, the resolution places no requirement on the state Democratic Party to oppose the measure, since local county central committees can't officially support or oppose ballot measures unless the state's party heads decide against taking an official position on the issuebut if they don't, the central committee's resolution may be considered binding on the San Francisco branch at least, and may easily convince other Democratic county committees to take a similar position.

"San Francisco is a globally-recognized leader on HIV/AIDS issues," said Dorsey. "This is a very strong statement from San Franciscos Democratic Party, and I hope it will send an influential message to the California Democratic Party, and to voters statewide."

UPDATE: "We're grateful for the courage shown by the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee in looking at the facts behind the proposed initiative and speaking out in opposition," commented Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Eric Paul Leue. "The SFDCC recognizes just how extreme and harmful the initiative will be to public health and safety. We expect California voters to reach the same conclusion: this initiative is dangerous and should be defeated."
Halloween is coming! Here's when to trick or treat in your town
ATLANTAJoydivisions prostate stimulator the XPander took home the 2016 O Award for Outstanding Non-Powered Product.

Now in its seventh year, the O Awards honor the best products and collections from leading and cutting-edge manufacturers. The ceremony for the 2016 O Awards took place in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos Real World Suite during the AVN Novelty Expo in January.

We are thrilled to receive this award for XPander, said Joydivision CEO Oliver Redschlag. To have our industry peers recognize the technological advancements in our newest prostate stimulator is a great honor. Thank you, AVN staff and voters.

Thanks to its unique functionality, allowing it to reduce its size by 50 percent for safe and simple insertion, and then expanding to full stimulation size, no other product on the market is like XPander. With a perfect balance between prostate, anal and perineum stimulation, XPander comes in three styles:

X2 (Sizes S,M,L): The Original XPander is the pioneer for prostate stimulators.

X3 (Sizes M,L): An advanced stimulator, the special pedestal design with grip handle allows for pinpointed stimulation. Its three-spoke technology also allows for an even more intense experience, all steered by body motion.

X4+ (Sizes S,M,L):The addition of a vibrating bullet provides next-level sensation to what XPander already provides, stimulating the prostate, sphincter and perineum simultaneously with vibrating waves of pleasure.

Be it used solo or an orgasm boost during couples play, XPander literally folds and unfolds to provide new worlds of passionate sensation for all men, regardless of sexual orientation.

The unique Xpand technology is a true innovation to the male prostate stimulator genre of pleasure products, said Bianca Kuennecke, executive vice president of Joydivision LLC. Were so pleased with the reception by our retail partners both in Europe as well as the United States.

For more than 20 years, Joydivision has been one of the largest European manufacturers of high-quality pleasure products. With an unmistakable focus on sexual health and couples pleasure, the company has been able to maintain its brands unique balance of luxury and sex positivity with award-winning German quality, engineering and design since its launch in 1994. Joydivision now offers more than 250 premium lifestyle products, and is a recipient of various international awards for outstanding quality and innovative design, and many loyal customers worldwide.

Along with distribution networks in more than 60 countries, Joydivision has also established a fully owned subsidiary in Atlanta, responsible for the North American market.

For more information, visit Joydivision-International-ag.de.
This weekend might be the last warm one we have in awhile
- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."
Beginner's Guide To Spirits

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Spirits

Page 1 of 3

When were in college, our drinking requirements are pretty simple: Things to get us messed up (Jaeger Bombs, cinnamon whiskey shots) and things to get us messed up that we cant taste (Vodka and Whatevers). Generally, anything with a strong, distinctive flavor (or that costs more than $7 a bottle) is off the table.

But youre a grown-ass man now, and fine spirits and craft cocktails are all the rage. Its time to set aside childish things (or at least, enjoy them with less frequency and more responsibility) as well as any prejudices you might have about strong or nasty spirits.

Below, a list of gateway spirits: Generally milder, smoother and more palatable (sometimes cheaper also) than the larger category. In some cases, you may already know what you like. In others, the whole breed of booze is off the docket. Heres a way in.

(Note: this isnt necessarily an endorsement of specific brands, nor a guarantee that they will be the right choice for you. These are some options for those who say, oh, I dont like X spirit, its too Y. Cmon, give it a shot. Literally!)

Bourbon

What It Is: This American whiskey is made from at least 51% corn, which on its own can be pretty brash (if youve ever tasted moonshine). Tempering the mash bill with other grains (wheat, rye, malted barley), and throwing the distillate in an oak barrel for a few years softens the alcohol and adds complexity.

Whats Wrong With It: Cheap, high-proof bourbon used to be the norm during the last century. It had a kick and the good ol boys who drank it wanted it that way. Some still do. But for us everyday drinkers, that can be too much.

Start Here: If youve followed the bourbon boom of the past few years, you may already know the adage wheat is sweet, rye is dry/spicey. Depending on the secondary grain, you get a different style of finished product. What you want is a wheated bourbon, perhaps with as much as 20% or 30% wheat. Theyre all the rage, and any good bartender will have a suggestion when you ask.

Examples: Makers Mark (one of the first mainstream bourbons to go this way on a craft-style level; the mash bill is about 16% soft red winter wheat), Larceny, W.L. Weller or Old Weller, and the rock star of wheated bourbons, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve.

When You Start Getting Serious: Know that one thing special about Kentucky bourbons (besides water that runs through limestone substrates) is that the large aging houses (called rickhouses) have wildly different microtemperatures and humidities from the bottom to the top of the spaces, affecting each barrel differently. Start sampling single cask strength expressions of your favorite brand, and youll find surprising variations on that element alone.

Gin

What It Is: Flavored vodka, essentially. Botanicals (flowers, citrus peels, roots, leaves and sticks) are introduced into the neutral spirit, allowed to soak (steep) or steam through it, and distilled again.

Whats Wrong With It: Juniper. That piney, oily note you detect is required for it to be gin. In London Dry gin, it must be the dominant aromatic and flavor note. Some people claim that it gives them headaches and/or terrible hangovers, or that it just tastes bad.

Start Here: About a decade ago, a new category sometimes dubbed New Western Dry gins kicked off much of the modern microdistillery craze, spearheaded by Oregons Aviation Gin. The category is generally identified by softer juniper profiles and elevated floral or citrus notes. Meanwhile, other gin styles, including gins using a base created from non-grains (see GVine, below) or softened by post distillation flavors (as Hendricks does with cucumber and rose).

Examples: Hendricks, GVine (made from the same grape as Cognac, and flavored in part with grape flowers), Bombay Sapphire East (botanicals include lemongrass and pepper), Portobello Road (a new one, made in London, but not a classic London Dry; its pleasantly citrusy).

When You Start Getting Serious: First, you may find (as I did once upon a time) that you start to like the juniper-driven gins. They make incredible Martinis. Second, when youre ready to get a little crazy, consider the earthy funky Genevieve Gin from Anchor Distilling, or its inspiration (and gins older cousin) a Dutch Genever like Bols.
The two neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar share a lot of common political ground  they follow the same caste-based political course but prefer homegrown leaders to outsiders.

While Bihar has consistently rejected the political adventures of UP bigwigs Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati despite a sizeable Yadav and Dalit population, chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad from the neighbouring state too have failed to make any inroads in Uttar Pradesh so far.

The same can be said about Sharad Pawars Nationalist Congress Party and the late Bal Thackerays Shiv Sena over the years.

In the 2015 Bihar elections, Mulayams SP polled barely 1.01% of the votes. Some experts argument that voters actually vented their anger against him for abandoning the so-called Grand Alliance now holding Bihars reins at a crucial juncture does not hold ground as even in 2010 the SP lost deposits on all the 146 seats it contested.

Even Mayawatis BSP polled 2.07% of the votes last year and 3.21% in 2010.

Both tasted their best returns in 2005 with the BSP winning two seats and the SP four.

The political attitude of Uttar Pradesh voters is no different. They rejected both Lalus RJD and Nitishs JD(U) in the 2012 as well as the 2007 polls, delivering a clear mandate for indigenous leaders Mulayam and Mayawati. The RJD and JD(U) polled less than 1% of the votes in both elections.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees TMC did win a 2012 by-poll from the Manth assembly constituency in Mathura because she fielded a veteran who had been winning the seat since 1989.

Against this background, an upbeat Grand Alliance is looking to emerge as the fourth or fifth political alternative in the state which will witness a fierce three-cornered contest between the SP, BSP and BJP next year.

The extended alliance, or the fourth pole, can at best rally the parties that have shrunk over the years the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Congress apart from little-known state outfits like the Peace Party, which rattled political bigwigs in 2012 by winning four seats.

According to experts, the Bihar hype may get the Grand Alliance some crowds but not votes till it aligns with one of the two regional forces  the SP and BSP. So far, both these parties have decided to fight the 2017 polls alone.

The new political star and Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar, is about to embark on a UP tour which party leader KC Tyagi feels would help cement an alternative front against the BJP.

Nitish seems likely to play a national role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the Grand Alliance performance could pave the way.

As of now, the coalition could be eyeing the Yadav, Muslim and Kurmi votes. The Yadavs have rejected Lalu in the past and he may not address rallies himself. Mulayam stayed away from Bihar, sending his chief minister son Akhilesh Yadav for a perfunctory show of strength.

Muslims vote for the winning horse and in UP they have an alternative in the BSP. However, a section of the rudderless and sharply fragmented 7-8% Kurmi (OBC) votes could fall into the Grand Alliances lap. But here too, the combine will be vying with the BJPs Santosh Kumar Gangwar and the partys ally Anupriya Patel in Rohilkhand and Poorvanchal.
Union minister Maneka Gandhis statement in Jaipur on Tuesday about informing women of the sex of the foetus and then tracking their pregnancies has been severely criticised by several NGOs and public health professionals.

Isnt it a counter-intuitive idea? I asked an activist-friend gingerly after reading the news report. She was appalled to say the least, especially since the question is from a woman and gave me a long spiel on the issue and the challenges.

Despite a legislation that bans prenatal sex determination, the child sex ratio in India, which shows the number of girls per 1000 boys between the ages 0-6, has come down to 918 in 2011 from 927 in 2001, the lowest since 1961.

Before I go further, here are two caveats: I am not a subject matter expert and I am not supporting the women and child development ministers suggestion.

But I am surprised by the fact that there is so much opposition to changing/refining a public policy when many of my activist friends and doctors have often talked about how 20-year-old Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act has not delivered for various reasons.

So isnt it time then that we think afresh about a drastic policy change that keeps an eye on both doctors and also to-be parents? It is pretty well known that foetal sex determination is already happening under wraps abroad by couples.

At the same time, I dont agree with the reason the minister has given for affecting a change: There is no point increasing the number of people (doctors and technicians) in prisons, which are already over burdened.

Whether it is this law or a new one, those who flout it cannot go unpunished. Thats non-negotiable.

Many have said that the onus will be on women if a new law indeed comes into place, and tracking encroaches into a womans personal domain. But arent pregnant women already monitored by health workers?

The Centre tracks pregnancies through the Accredited Social Health Workers (ASHAs) and Anganwadi workers for immunization and institutional deliveries. So is another mechanism for tracking girl children too much to ask for?

Many will still use dubious methods to get abortions done and avoid institutional deliveries, but then thats happening even now with the connivance of quacks and healthcare professionals. That will continue whether we have the PCPNDT Act or any other law. So panning this idea or any other one because the present law suffers from implementation challenges may not be the ideal way to move ahead.

Here is a thought: To get people into the system and ensure that there is no discrimination against a girl child, what if the government adds two promises to a new law? One, much stricter punishment for those who violate the law with illegal abortions, and two, an umbrella financial cover and not piecemeal incentives for the mother-to-be and the child up till the girl is 18 years of age.

As for behind-the-door discrimination of girl children and mothers by their own families are concerned, neither the PCPDNT Act nor any other new legislation can stop it. This requires an attitudinal change.

There is in fact an army of people involved in the mindset changing business out there. But can anyone tell me what has been the success rate?

As far as Maneka Gandhis idea is concerned, it is indeed a half-baked one. But what must also be criticised is the attitude of many who refuse to look beyond the current law and accept that there is a need to think afresh and find new ways of tackling problems. After all, for how long must we flog an almost-dead horse?

(The views expressed by the author are personal)

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With the Sangh parivar gathering up steam to construct the Ram temple in Ayodhya, one question could be asked: Why did the Hindutvawadis put Ram before Krishna in Mathura or Vishwanath (Shiva) in Benares?

There is distinct evidence of the destruction of the temples at Benares and Mathura by Muslim rulers, whereas in the case of Ayodhya, there is none. The answer is the power of mythography. When something cannot be definitely proved, the power of manipulating peoples beliefs and fears is all the more potent, and thereby it is easy to pile myth upon myth.

Herein lies the essence of the phenomenon of politicisation of history, which, to put it simply, is nothing but inventing things that never existed or dressing up events of the past or appropriating historical personages to suit the needs of the moment. Its essence has been conditioning the minds of the present generation either about great achievements of the past or impressing upon them great injustices perpetrated by either colonisers or conquerors. The conduct of the Sangh parivar is testimony to this.

Consider Swami Vivekananda, whom the Sangh reveres. What Vivekananda had written in his essay The Ideal of a Universal Religion is vastly at variance with what the parivar espouses. He wrote: My idea, therefore, is that all these religions are different forces in the economy of god, working for the good of mankind. I believe they are not contradictory; they are supplementary To be honest, Vivekananda recognised that there was fanaticism in the way Islam had spread. But he also hammered home the point that such fanaticism had its limits and the fanatics had to cry halt. So will it be with other religions if they follow the same methods. What is the upshot of this? It is that Vivekananda certainly did not preach counter-fanaticism. What I want to propagate is a religion that will be equally acceptable to all minds, he wrote. How far this view is from those of VD Savarkar or MS Golwalkar! And yet, people who want to build a temple by bringing down a mosque call Vivekananda their own.

The Sangh parivar is nationalist, but is strangely silent on what its contribution to the nationalist movement was. If it had any disagreement with Mahatma Gandhi, it could have carried on its struggle on an alternative path in the manner the Bengal revolutionaries did. But there is not a shred of evidence on this.

It is futile to expect the Sangh parivar to broaden its vision now. It can only probe old sores in the pursuit of its cultural agenda.

CP Bhambhri taught politics at JNU. The views expressed are personal.
The Supreme Courts decision to refer the curative petition on article 377, which seeks to legalise gay sex, to the five-judge bench, has opened a window of hope for many in the country. Several gay rights activists have been a part of the 15-year-long battle aimed at getting rid of the archaic law that deems homosexuality a crime.

Read: Section 377 traumatises and abuses LGBTs in India: Celina Jaitly

And Bollywood celebrities are all in support of the law being changed in favour of homosexuals. Filmmaker Onir, who is among the few openly gay directors in Bollywood, says, Now hopefully the five-judge constitution bench will take the decision in our favour. And this law should have been scrapped the day the Britishers left India. So hopefully, the 2009 verdict of the Delhi Court, that decriminalised gay sex among consenting adults, will be back soon.

I stand by my gay friends, says Raveena Tandon.

Delhi-based fashion designer Suneet Varma, who who is married to partner Rahul Arora, says, I am hopeful and positive that the five-judge constitution bench will scrap section 377 and make this country a better place for us to live.

Read: Heres why its ok to show Aligarh to your teenage children

National Award-winning filmmaker Apurva Asrani, who has also edited Hansal Mehtas next, that is based on the life of a gay man, says, The Supreme Court has allowed itself a chance to redeem itself from a blemish on its otherwise spotless image. Actor Raveena Tandon adds, This (homosexuality) has been accepted even in our Hindu scriptures. I stand by my gay friends. Actor Celina Jaitley, who is now a gay rights activist, says, Todays decision is a great step. However, I think a disparity that can easily be addressed by amending the Indian Penal Code shouldnt have to be a 15-year-long struggle!

Read: Im a criminal, Ive had oral sex: Hansal Mehta

Follow@htshowbiz for more

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Bollywood actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh, one of the cutest couple in tinsel town, who can also boast of a sizzling onscreen chemistry, celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Expressing her love for the husband, Genelia claimed that her husband is the best.

The couple have starred together in movies like Tujhe Meri Kasam and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and married in 2012. They also have a one-year-old son Riaan, while Genelia is said to be expecting a child again.

Read: After Ek Villain, an open letter to Riteish Deshmukh

Happy Anniversary Riteish... Cheers to the world we made, which we call our own. Forever is a long time but I want it only with you. My husband is the best, she posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. She also shared an image in which Ritiesh can be seen holding her with much love and care.

Happy Anniversary @riteishd .. Cheers to the world we made, which we call our own.. Forever is a long time but I want it only with you.. #myhusbandisthebest A photo posted by Genelia Deshmukh (@geneliad) on Feb 2, 2016 at 7:17pm PST

Riteish feels lucky to have Genelia in his life, and posted: I must have definitely done something right in my previous life. I better be good this time because I want you in my next.

Read: I would love to see Genelia onscreen again: Riteish Deshmukh

Happy Anniversary Baiko @geneliad - I must have definitely done something right in my previous life. I better be good this time coz I want you in my next. A photo posted by Riteish Deshmukh (@riteishd) on Feb 2, 2016 at 11:45pm PST

A string of B-Town celebrities congratulated the couple, who are described by their friends as the sweetest and most adorable couple in the industry, on their anniversary:

Happy Anniversary you two lovely people!! @geneliad and @Riteishd Can't believe I spoke this morning and didn't wish https://t.co/Cw9aTsSLmW  Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) February 3, 2016

Happy anniversary to the cutest couple I know @Riteishd & @geneliad  Stay snug in love-forever! Big mushywala hug! pic.twitter.com/TPqSZF1eFn  Mushtaq Shiekh (@shiekhspear) February 3, 2016

So cute you two  https://t.co/B5WOkD1wll  Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) February 3, 2016

@Riteishd @geneliad that's such an amazing pic ... Wish u guys all the awesomeness  goldie behl (@GOLDIEBEHL) February 3, 2016

The loveliest sweetest couple @geneliad @Riteishd Stay blessed ! love alwayssss  Huma Qureshi (@humasqureshi) February 3, 2016

Happy anniversary @Riteishd and @geneliad!!! The sweetest couple ever. Have a good one!   Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 3, 2016

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Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members on Wednesday protested against the ongoing shooting of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khans upcoming film Raees in Bhuj, for his earlier remarks on intolerance.

In November last year, Shah Rukh Khan sparked a debate when he said during an interview that there was extreme intolerance in India. Intolerance religiouslynot being secular in this country is the worst crime you can do as a patriot, he said. He was the first Bollywood actor to join the ongoing debate on intolerance in the country.

However, the actor retracted his statements just a few days later. I talk about something and it is misconstrued, and I get into trouble. Thats a nuisance. Like that thing which blew up recently  I never said India is intolerant. When I was asked about it, I said I wouldnt like talking about it, but when they insisted, I had just said that the youth should concentrate on making this a secular, progressive country, he told Mid Day.

Read: Shah Rukh Khan makes a U-turn, claims he never said India is intolerant

Around 20-30 VHP activists had on Tuesday handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film. On Wednesday, they protested outside the district Collectors office pressing for the same demand. They shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.

From the Collectors office they wanted to go to the place where the shooting is on, which is on the outskirts of the Bhuj city, but we have stopped them and dispersed them, Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) M B Parmar said.

Read: Not being secular is the worst crime as patriot, says SRK

He should think, living in this country which gave him name, fame and riches; if he goes on speaking about non-existent intolerance, the VHP will never forgive, Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said.

Read: Heres why Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh retracted statements on intolerance

Today there is news that a Hindu temple was attacked and vandalised in Pakistan. Why are they not giving any statement on the intolerance there, he asked.

Watch SRK in Raees teaser

In December last year, workers of right wing organisations had staged protest against Khan in Gujarat, Rajasthan states and called for a boycott of his film Dilwale on the same issue.

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There are two ways to look at the Vitara Brezza, unveiled by Maruti Suzuki at the Auto Expo on Wednesday. The first is to give it fleeting attention as yet another car in a crowded market. The other is to treat it as a ploy by Maruti to conquer its old bugbears of technology and safety, while increasing its lead over rivals.

Four years ago, Maruti was staring down the two barrels of an agitating workforce and falling profits. What would have hurt as much is that its share of the passenger car market fell below 40% for the first time in living memory, from a vertigo defying 55.5% in 2000.

That was when the company got down to finding God in the details. It waded into small towns and villages to find buyers who till then had not realised they needed a car. It found people whose income was not affected by how the economy was doing, and some whose income increased if things were going wrong for others. Temple priests, for instance, earned more as other people despaired. School teachers, village traders, granite polishers, dhaba owners, farmers  people most other car companies did not think much of -- did their bit to keep Marutis sales growing. Not too fast, but fast enough.

The rest was done by the slowdown in the industry. Therefore, as Marutis sales rose 16% in the three years between 2011-12 and 2014-15, its share of the market rose much more impressively, from 38% to 45%, as most of the others lost ground. In the nine months from April to December last year, this figure rose further to 47%.

This is a happy oddity for Maruti. The market leaders in other countries make do with much less: 30% in Japan, 22% in Germany, 16% in Brazil, 13% in China, and 12% in the United States. Four out of the top five selling cars in India, new and old put together, are Marutis. And it no longer has to keep talking about the small towns and villages; its market share in the top 10 cities has grown steadily.

Watch | Auto Expo 2016 kicks off with media preview

<span itemprop="name" content="Watch | Auto Expo 2016 kicks off with media preview"></span><span itemprop="description" content="The biennial automotive show Auto Expo has begun from today with media preview at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida. Over 80 new models are slated to be unveiled in the next two days. While the first two days of the 2016 Auto Expo is open to media and business visitors, the expo will be opened for public during February 5-9. The Expo is being jointly organised by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA)."></span><span itemprop="duration" content="28"></span><span itemprop="thumbnail" content="http://cfvod.kaltura.com/p/1679921/sp/167992100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_rbw83bhj/version/100002/acv/202"></span><span itemprop="width" content="640"></span><span itemprop="height" content="362"></span>

Refusing to rest on its oars, it is using this purple patch to address some old issues. The Nexa line of showrooms, for example, is a unique experiment, which seemed costly as the first entrant in the shiny new dealerships, the S-Cross, did not really set the roads on fire. But the next, the Baleno, though it carries the name of a failed sedan, has not only overtaken the segment leader, Hyundais i20, but also its own best selling sibling, the Swift.

The Balenos success has done much more: it has given Maruti hope that it can make people pay a premium for its cars, instead of selling them on the old plank of value for money.

That is where the Brezza comes in. With due respect to the old, much larger Grand Vitara, which was fully imported and not meant to garner high volumes, the Brezza is Marutis first real shot at the SUV market, though of the smaller kind. This market was first created by Renaults Duster and of late charmed by Hyundais Creta. People mistook the S-Cross as a player of this game, with no pretty outcome for the crossover.

The lightly built crossover IGNIS, expected around Diwali, and the Baleno RS, a high-performance variant, may help confirm that belief further.

Just like human beings, a company needs self belief. That the crash tests of the Brezza were done at Marutis new R&D facility at Rohtak will give it some more of that. It occupies 700 acres, more than the companys old factory at Gurgaon (300 acres) and the new one at Manesar (600 acres). T Suzuki, the Japanese parents COO, earlier told HT that Maruti already contributes much to the development of new models.

Enough, perhaps, for the Maruti brass to make a presentation in New Delhi to say how they are setting the trend in technology. They are not wrong, the current fad of automatic transmission (it does not require you to shift gears) owes much to Maruti. The company has in fact three types of this transmission out in the market: the auto gear shift (the poor mans automatic, fitted in the Celerio, Alto K10, Wagon R, and DZire), automatic transmission (Ciaz, DZire, Ertiga, Ritz), and the sophisticated continuous variable transmission, which the Baleno has.

In the old days, the companys press conferences will have predictable evasiveness whenever questions of safety were raised. It now makes loud boasts about safety features, and about providing airbags and ABS even in its small cars if the buyer is willing to pay a little extra.

But the most striking thing in that presentation was the slide about the network. Maruti enjoys a distinct advantage in the buyers mind because its network of dealers and service centres is much larger than anyone elses. There was an unforgettable television commercial about two young men in a Gypsy not finding food and water in Ladakh but funding a Maruti service station. By the year 2020, the company plans increase it sharply to 4,000 sales outlets and 5,000 workshops.

The title of the presentation was transformation. Its an ugly word, but, in this context, not meaningless.

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Maruti Suzukis dominance in India is the envy of many but unlike others its future is hinged on India. Is it risky being so dependent on a single market?

Having a big market share in India is a strength of Suzuki, and we want to further enhance our marketing capability and service capability in India to make our brand stronger. No doubt, increasing profitability is a challenge. We would like to strengthen our fundamentals and build on the foundations. In order to get more Indian customers we want to enhance our capabilities in products, services and sales. We want to increase our value to a situation where we are able to get better profits. But yes, its a challenge.

Are you concerned with policy making in India? Recently diesel emissions have come under attack when you have invested heavily in diesel engines.

Whenever regulations like this are being chalked out it has to be done strategically. Policies have to shaped in a step-by-step way. In the case of diesel, any abrupt decision will adversely impact the manufacturer and it becomes difficult to comply with norms. This also causes inconvenience to customers and theres a possibility it would adversely impact the nation as a whole.

Will we ever see a Suzuki product designed and developed completely in India?

Since 1983 Maruti has been based upon the technology developed by Suzuki. In future we would be giving that technology to Maruti, which will use to develop new models. Whatever technology we have developed we are sharing with Indian engineers. We plan to focus on these employees and they will be taking the lead in developing newer models for India.

Youve previously denied reports of a potential partnership with Toyota. How can you survive without an alliance for new technologies in the future?

I dont think you need only scale to survive in this business. In case a company can deliver products and services which exceed expectations, it can survive. If you look at the auto industry it is necessary for us to develop new technology. But to depend on alliance is not good for the company. We must attempt to develop this on our own and it is only when we can do that would we look at joint development (in all probability with a component manufacturer).

So after your break up with Volkswagen the sense one gets is that you are not in hurry to dive into another relationship.

We are not immediately looking out for some other equipment partner. First we have to do our own study as to what kind of capabilities we have before taking any decision.

Is Osamu Suzuki a tough boss, and father?

He has huge experience and he has been at the top for such a long time, so from that angle it is difficult to really surpass his achievements. I feel blessed to have him as a father but yes working with him is a challenge!

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Bajaj Auto, maker of the Pulsar motorcycles, launched its new brand V on Monday at a Delhi hotel. The bike is not on any agenda published by the organizers of the AutoExpo, which is scheduled to open to the public on Friday. The Pune-based motorcycle major is not taking part.

The AutoExpo, which is organised on the lines of the Geneva and the Detroit motor shows, happens in India once every two years. Its the time when all major auto makers showcase their cars at beautifully designed pavilions.

However, its not only Bajaj thats staying away, eight other brands including Royal Enfield, Harley-Davidson, SkodaAuto, Volvo, and Daimler commercial vehicles have decided not to put up their stalls at the Expo this year.

If estimated numbers are to be taken, automakers who have given the Expo a miss can do up to 10-12 product launches at any five-star hotel in the capital. For a pavilion that is around 5,000 square meter, auto companies would spend anything between `15-20 crore, which includes rentals, the cars and models, and dressing up the pavilion. Rentals per square-meter for the ground floor at the Expo is `8,900.

A car launch in a hotel would cost anything between `1.5-2 crore, which would include renting out the banquet hall, food, setting up the space and hiring models.

However, to put things in perspective, the Expo is a seven day affair, but a product launch lasts for a couple of hours It is a festival where media, trade and other stake holders are engaged. A hotel launch is just for media, said a spokesperson for one of Indias largest selling car company.

Also, the Expo is for the media, people from the trade, for individuals and other stakeholders, while a hotel launch is primarily for the media. It is a different cost structure. You are not getting five lakh people inside a hotel. The scale is different, said Vishnu Mathur, director general at Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, which is one of the organisers of the event.

Commenting on companies opting out of the Expo Mathur said that its the respective companies decision, and he will be unable to comment on their behalf. However, Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto told one of the financial dailies, If we are not an Indian manufacturer and if I was coming to India, I (would) want people to know me, (and then) I should participate. I will participate in Angola or Nigeria, where people dont know me (Bajaj Auto). This condition does not apply to Bajaj Auto (in India).

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As a sometimes devout, sometimes indifferent Hindu, I have rarely had any problem with my gods and goddesses.

Temple priests, however, have been rather more difficult to tackle. My family members were never much of ritualists, but many were great artists. So whenever they visited any temple, they were more interested in the architecture, including the carvings of the idols in the sanctum sanctorum, than the rituals per se.

As a child, I remember a conflict with a temple priest in south India who would not let men enter unless they took off their shirts and donned dhotis. Now, as rather westernised gentlemen of modern days, that militated against their sensibilities. They, however, complied grumbling under their breath all the time about the state of public undress that temple rules subjected them to.

Women, of course, fared better so long as they were fully covered. So we marched in in our salwar-kameezes which were not so popular in south India at the time -- practically every other woman worshipper was either in a sari or, if younger, in a long skirt and half sari.

My own encounter with a temple priest came in the Maoist-infested jungles of Andhra Pradesh in the late 1980s but not over the issue of dress. This beautiful temple in the middle of nowhere was rich in architecture (I had imbibed the love for carvings from my father) and wanted to see for myself but it seemed to me entry was allowed only to certain castes.

And if you were a caste Hindu you had to have a gothra. I did not know mine -- we were brought up with a general Hindu ethos in the family but our parents had kept us away from rituals and caste discriminations as well as religious differences in society. Our home was open to all and we wined and dined equally without getting into the nitty-gritty of religious sanctions or otherwise. Even my fathers fondness for non-vegetarian food was not taboo -- though my mother never cooked meat at home. He and I trotted off to the club whenever we wanted to and no one remarked upon it otherwise.

Now, however, when I didnt seem to know my gothra, the temple priest doubted my antecedents. But he had a fair idea of who I was with in the jungles. Mandal elections were underway in Andhra Pradesh and there was opposition to them by the Marxists-Leninists.

He didnt dare stop me from entering. Next time you want to come here, ask your parents for your gothra, he said rather resentfully.

I was never going to return but my attitude to gods and temple priests ever since has been defined rather clearly -- I will not go where I am not wanted. If I go, I will go on my own terms, not anybody elses.

So, I have never even been urged to visit the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar where women are not allowed into the sanctum sanctorum. I must appreciate the efforts of the Bhumata Ranragini Samiti to break this taboo and I quite applaud chief minister Devendra Fadnaviss liberal mindset in assuring women that such discrimination will end soon.

However, I understand his second thoughts  there is a huge conflict of interest here within the ruling BJP. Do they cater to half the population (of women) or do they take care of their orthodox constituency which are a huge chunk of their supporters?

It might have been easier for Left parties or those like the Congress and the NCP to enact laws against such discrimination. However, I wonder if legislation is the way to clearing such taboos across religions -- for even the Haji Ali dargah has been banning women and this one might be too much of a hot potato for even the Congress-NCP to handle. The evolution of a liberal mindset in men -- women I believe are by nature more liberal -- who administer these places of religious worship is the answer, but will that ever happen?

After a long battle against such discrimination, there are already women priests in Pune who conduct all rituals. After several years, I recently revisited the temple which had demanded shirtless worshippers. I noticed young men  and women  in jeans and fancy shirts allowed entry as long as they were not wearing leather belts. I have hope.

(The views expressed by the author are personal)

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To Indian travellers in Europe, the word Schengen is indelibly associated with the idea of a visa, a single permit that allows them to cross the borders of 26 European countries. They can travel between these, though not to the United Kingdom, on the same document.

The Schengen Treaty was the most facilitating achievement of the European Union. It didnt abolish national borders but did away with the bureaucratic scrutiny needed to cross them. Now all that is in question.

In the next month it is estimated the 40,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries torn apart by wars or subject to harsh dictatorships in Africa, will enter Greece. They will cross the border from Turkey and Macedonia or arrive by fragile boats from across the Mediterranean. Greece is the first country of the European Union (EU) that they will enter and from there will seek to get to Britain, Germany, Sweden or some other country that can offer them stability, freedom and a new life.

This influx of refugees, over a million last year, is the most serious crisis of organisation, economics, politics and humanitarian conscience that the European Union has faced. It has affected the domestic policies of European countries, strained relations between them, demonstrated that the ideals of the European Union of states are fragile and, in all the solutions being proposed, threatens to alter the EU in irreversible ways.

India faced a radical refugee crisis in 1971, when the Pakistani armys actions in the Eastern wing of that country caused millions to cross the border. Indira Gandhi used the influx as justification for sending in the Indian Army to fight and defeat the Pakistanis and reorder the politics of the subcontinent by liberating Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh-to-India exodus and others in Africa may not be the last to cause the birth of new nations. The tearing apart of Syria and Iraq, the resurgent militant Kurdish nationalism, which challenges the sovereignty of four nations, will inevitably result in perhaps tenuous political solutions. And they may result in new borders, new states.

Between 1918 and the early 1920s the British and the French redrew the borders of West Asia, separating the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire, which they had defeated in World War I. They separated the Turks from the Arabs, but not the Shias from the Sunnis or the Kurds from either of these or from Turkey.

Russia and the United States, both of which are now involved militarily in Iraq and Syria, are not directly threatened by any influx of refugees whom they will have to house, feed and process. Europe is.

The nations of the EU agreed that holding the refugees in camps, distributing them after vetting and processing them to make sure they are genuinely fleeing war and terror and supervising their absorption into Europe are just one part of a solution. The other is an international policy towards the politics of the self-destroying West Asian nations. End the war and the refugees stop coming.

The US recently altered its stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian rebel forces the US supports accused John Kerry, the US secretary of state, of betrayal when he admitted that his talks with the Russians entailed allowing Assad to stay on as part of a National Unity government.

There is as yet no plan from those who effected the division of the Ottoman Empire into Syria, Iraq, Jordan and ultimately Israel. The new world powers, Russia and America, have no plan for what will emerge from the genocidal mess. No one has yet suggested separate Sunni and Shia nations, though the warring factions seem to be inclined that way.

The Islamic State or Daesh (meaning the death cult) only represents Sunni Muslims as perhaps the Grand Inquisitor represents all modern Catholics. The pressures of the modern world, even apart from the military might of those opposed to the Daesh, will ensure that it may distort the progress of West Asia but, has no place in its future.

In Europe, even in Northern Ireland, the religious antagonism between the Catholics and Protestants has lapsed into a philosophical battle. Within Islam, even in Pakistan, the antagonism between the Sunnis and Shias hasnt. A Marxist might say that this religious antagonism is merely the mask of a battle for material gains and rights. One could go further and say it is not the mask but the avatar of it.

Within Europe there is now a serious proposal to suspend Greece from the Schengen agreement and seal its borders with the rest of Europe. Greece resists this isolating proposal and suggests instead that the rest of Europe contribute to the cost of the influx of refugees to its territory and then formulate a quota system by which the refugees can be distributed to other EU countries. Each of these opposing proposals would mean profound changes in Europe.

Isolating Greece will lead to the end of the Schengen and once the quota system is implemented it will be difficult to stop the quota of refugees moving from their allocated country to pastures they feel are more prosperous.

Farrukh Dhondy is an author, screenplay writer and columnist based in London. The views expressed are personal.

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Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a 551-crore loan to civic bodies to pay striking workers but the move failed to break the eight-day deadlock that has left Delhi in a mess.

The money would only be enough to pay salaries till January, municipal workers said. The strike would continue till a permanent solution was found to the perennial financial crisis the civic bodies find themselves in, they said.

It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find this 550 crore for loan. The Delhi government is facing 3,000 crore value-added tax shortfall, Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment for chronic cough at a private clinic.

He extended the loan to north and east municipal corporations whose staff are striking work over non-payment of salaries and other dues, crippling sanitation work, hospitals and schools. Staff of the south civic body has joined them in a show of support.

The government, Kejriwal said, would also release 142 crore the north Delhi municipal corporation had demanded by way of stamp duty.

The announcements, however, failed to impress as thousands of sanitation workers held protest demonstrations, blocking major roads in Delhi including the National Highway 24 that connects the city to Uttar Pradesh. Traffic jams in the east spilled over to the central Delhi, inconveniencing commuters.

Watch | MCD workers protest by corpse procession in Delhis Geeta Colony





Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the loan was provided by diverting education department funds, which would affect construction of new classrooms and school buildings.

Funds released by the Delhi government will only be able to pay salaries till January 31. What will happen after that, said Rajinder Mewati, general secretary, United Front of MCD employees.

We will not call off strike until the state and Union governments come up with a permanent solution, he said, adding unification was one possible solution.

In 2012, the municipal corporation of Delhi was trifurcated into north, east and south for a smooth functioning. The north and south civic bodies also take care of the western parts of the city while New Delhi municipal council is responsible for the citys power district.

Backing civic workers, the three mayors said they would accept financial assistance in the form of arrears payment and not as loan.

We never sought a loan from the Delhi government. We are demanding our constitutional right. The Kejriwal government must pay the rest of the amount, north Delhi mayor Ravinder Gupta said.

Kejriwal again said his government didnt owe any money to the civic bodies, which should face a CBI probe for large-scale financial irregularities.

The decision to extend financial assistance was taken after Sisodia met north and east MCD commissioners who asked workers to return to work, promising to look into their problems.
A Delhi University student was injured during a college festival at Deshbandhu College when a structure near the stage fell on him.

The second-year Commerce student was admitted to a hospital and his condition is fine now, officials said.

The student was from Aurobindo College and was participating in a fashion show which was organised as part of Deshbandhu College festival.

Watch | Mounted light falls on stage during event at Delhi University

Our students had gone there to take part in a fashion show. The student was admitted to Fortis hospital on Tuesday. He is in trauma because of the incident but his condition is fine now. He spoke to his mother, Vipin Agarwal, Aurobindo College principal said.

A video of the event has surfaced on social media in which students can be seen walking on a ramp when suddenly a light installation falls on the stage. The victim, Utkarsh, was standing in front of the stage when the installation fell on him.

There was a college function happening on Tuesday when some installation near the stage fell on a student. The student sustained minor injuries, said a teacher from Deshbandhu College.
Another hoax call led to panic at Delhi airport on Wednesday morning as passengers were deplaned from a GoAir Ranchi-bound flight after a call informing some people carrying weapons in the plane.

According to airport officials, the flight, G8 145, which was scheduled to depart at 6:10 am, had to be delayed following the call.

The call had come at GoAir call centre that someone is travelling with weapons. A drill followed and the passengers were offloaded. However, nothing was found, the official said.

The flight finally departed at 10 am after security clearances, he said.

On Tuesday, panic sparked on a Chennai-bound Jet Airways flight, which was carrying an SPG-protectee, Priyanka Vadra, as a man screamed I have a bomb. He was treated as a possible threat, and was taken back to the terminal along with his travelling companion. The flight underwent an explosives check and departed 90 minutes late. Priyanka Vadra, sources said, was shifted to another plane.

Last week, too, a slew of bomb threats forced airport authorities to ground two flights on Wednesday, days after similar warnings triggered an emergency landing and hours-long delays for air travellers in parts of the country.

More than 250 passengers on Air India flight AI-215 that was to leave at 1.15 pm and Jet Airways flight 9W260 scheduled to depart at 1.25pm were evacuated after three anonymous phone calls warned police that there were bombs on the Kathmandu-bound planes. While the aircraft were being searched, a fourth call was received, giving details of baggage containing liquid explosives, which led to further scrutiny of luggage and holdups.

The incident came on the heels of the same Jet Airways flight being delayed last Monday by six hours following a bomb threat call that turned out to be a hoax.

Around a fortnight back, a Mumbai-bound GoAir flight carrying more than 150 people from Bhubaneswar made an emergency stopover at Nagpur an hour into the journey following an anonymous tip about a bomb on board. However, no suspicious article was found during a security check.

Read More

Air scare day: 4 bomb threat calls at airports, 3 flights grounded

Jet Airways flight grounded in Delhi after bomb scare over gift
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a loan of Rs 551 crore for payment of salaries to striking workers of two municipal corporations in the national Capital and urged them to call off their strike.

Employees of Delhis three civic bodies -- North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation -- have been protesting against the non-payment of salaries, directing their ire at both the Delhi and central governments for the last eight days.

We are giving Rs 551 crore to the north and east municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers, Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment at a naturopathy centre.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will also be paid Rs 142 crore against the stamp duty bill.

It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find this Rs 550 crore for loan. The Delhi government is facing Rs 3,000 crore value added tax shortfall, Kejriwal said soon after he announced about the loan.

We had to postpone some of our present commitments to the next year to manage this money, he tweeted.

The strike called by civic employees in the national capital over non-payment of their salaries continued for the eighth day on Wednesday with thousands of workers blocking major roads and creating traffic jams and inconveniencing commuters.

As part of their agitation, sanitation workers of the civic bodies on Wednesday staged demonstrations on major roads in Delhi, including the National Highways that skirt it. Among others, traffic was blocked on east Delhis Vikas Marg, inconveniencing commuters.

Hospitals and schools run by civic bodies were also affected as doctors, hospital staff, teachers and school employees joined the protest.
An association of municipal doctors urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday to bail out the cash-strapped Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and remove health service from its jurisdiction as a staff strike entered its sixth day.

Health services have been crippled at six hospitals and dispensaries run by the north and east municipal corporation as its employyes, including doctors and nurses, have been protesting non-payment of salaries.

It is not in our humanitarian nature to make people suffer by resorting to agitation and strike, and it is deeply regretted that we have been forced into this situation... It is also requested that in the view of the precarious financial situation of the MCD, health services (except public health) may be taken away from the MCD, and taken over by the Delhi government or the central government as a permanent solution of our problems, the letter read.

Around 2,000 consulting doctors, 5,000 resident doctors and 13,000 nurses have refused to work since January 30, leading to empty hospital wards and deserted out-patient departments at the MCD-run hospitals.

The strike is likely to affect over 20,000 people who go to the out-patient departments and the average daily admission of around 2,000 patients at Hindu Rao Hospital, Rajan Babu Tuberculosis Hospital, Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, Girdhari Lal Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital and Swami Dayanand Hospital  the six hospitals that are run by the North and the East municipal corporation. This will now increase pressure on nearby Delhi government hospitals.

Though salaries for November were released on Tuesday as matters began to get worse, doctors refused to budge until a lasting solution was finalised. For the past one year, we have had to keep going on strike every few months to get paid. This time we will call off the strike only after MCD finds a permanent solution or gives the health services to the Delhi government, said Dr R R Gautam, president of the municipal corporation doctors association.

At the Hindu Rao hospital in north Delhi, just a handful of patients were seen, down from the average 500-700 patients on most days. No new admissions have taken place since the strike began. Only one doctor is working in the emergency department to treat critical patients and refer them to other hospitals once they are stable. The patients who had been admitted before the strike have also been stabilised and referred to Delhi government hospitals, said Dr Aditya Gupta, president of the resident doctors association at Hindu Rao hospital.

At Swami Dayanand hospital, where doctors have not been paid for four months, even the emergency wing was non-functional.

All the doctors and staff of the hospital are protesting on the streets. No services, not even emergency services, are running in our hospital. We are referring all patients to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, said Dr Asish Jain, president of the resident doctors association at Swami Dayanand hospital.

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The Pakistan Army is widely believed to be the final word on the countrys foreign and security policy. This is not to say that the civilian institutions have no say in the evolution of policy.

In Pakistan, there is a vibrant public debate featuring different ideological strains, which sometimes play out in the life of public institutions. An instance of this is the policy recommendations on Pak-India relations of the National Assemblys standing committee on foreign affairs, which were released on Monday.

India has reasons to have mixed feelings about the recommendations. The committee urges policymakers to continue to seek comprehensive engagement with India on all outstanding issues. It calls for more people-to-people ties and the need to expand trade. While maintaining that Pakistan should continue moral and diplomatic support to Kashmir, the committee notably says that the country should not encourage calls for active support of armed, banned, militant groups in Kashmir.

It says that Pakistan ought to allay international concerns of not doing enough to tackle Alpha Elements working for the Kashmiri cause, by monitoring and taking action against violent armed groups.

New Delhi doubts if the Pakistani State is capable of substantively discouraging jihadi activism on Kashmir or acting against non-State actors, and yet a clear parliamentary statement on moving away from the armed struggle is a useful step.

Indian policymakers, however, will be concerned about the way Pakistani parliamentarians have framed the bilateral dialogue. It recommends that Pakistan should selectively engage India in four areas: Kashmir, water, trade and culture and communication. While India would be willing to discuss the four issues, policymakers here will question why terrorism does not figure prominently as an item for discussion, given that it is a major area of concern for India.

Defenders of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are likely to argue that action against militant groups was already addressed in the section on Kashmir and for political reasons the committee could not explicitly suggest terrorism as an agenda item. South Block may relate to such a rationale but the dissonance does highlight yet again that both sides do not accord the same priority to terrorism so far as bilateral dialogue is concerned. While disavowing the armed struggle is important, terrorism still warrants a separate discussion. The committees suggestion that water issues should be discussed holistically rather focus on particular projects  and that Pakistan must establish an independent office, with neutral experts from outside the South Asian region and working under the supervision of the UN  will interest Indian policymakers.
There was a telling moment when the Supreme Court was hearing the curative petition against section 377 on Tuesday. While hearing arguments, Chief Justice TS Thakur asked the court if there was any opposition to the curative petition at all, a question that was followed by momentary silence and a round of laughter.

The exchange was remarkable  this was the same court that had thrown out the case three years ago, expressing its inability to guarantee the rights of a minuscule minority. Curative petitions are also a statistical long shot, with most dismissed in closed chamber hearings. So anything more than a summary dismissal of the plea was significant.

Read more: SC was wrong on Section 377, but now theres hope

The most startling aspect however, was that the Chief Justice might have inadvertently touched upon the elephant in the courtroom  that those supporting the draconian provision were definitely on the wrong side of history, fast losing any relevance in the modern world.

The country and the queer movement have come a long way from 2001, when the Naz foundation first approached the court  the ubiquitous ambassadors have all but disappeared from the roads, the once oh-so-cool pager has died a quick death and the last traces of the Left have been wiped clean off the streets of Kolkata.

But far more remarkable is the transformation in the gender, sexuality lexicon. Gone are the days when a handful of people were talking about the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Read more: How gay right is about every Indians right: A prince explains

Today, queer support groups are mushrooming in schools and colleges across the country, confident young people are speaking up against bullying and homophobia, and the new generation is more open and accepting of alternative gender and sexuality conversations than they were even a decade ago.

Popular culture is slowly moving away from its traditionally negative portrayal of queer lives  transpeople are featuring in music videos, films and are writing their own stories, advertisements are featuring lesbian couples and conversations around LGBT lives no longer center around derision, stigma or disgust.

Even the holy grail of stereotyping, Bollywood, is gradually changing. Homophobic jokes are increasingly less funny and offensive transphobic characters are being phased out. LGBT filmmakers are making movies that travel to international festivals and mainstream directors turn their attention to narrating LGBT stories with sensitivity and poise.

Pride has spread from the metropolis to smaller cities and towns, which are witnessing some of the most powerful resistances to patriarchal structures, state after state is setting up transgender welfare boards and some of our most ostracized communities  trans sex workers and indigenous gender non-conforming people who dont identify with western labels  are talking about freedoms and rights.

Internationally too, country after country has embraced LGBT rights, nudging our western-dominated popular culture to accept queer people.

The most visible sign of the turn in the tide is embedded in the newer generation  schools and colleges are no longer the cradle of bullying and violence they used to. Queer authors are speaking out against homophobia in educational institutions and younger people are no longer in favour of policing desires and oppressing communities based on their gender or sexuality.

The movement itself is trying to build solidarities with other struggles, talking about issues of caste, class, religion, disability, gender and trying to strengthen voices from the margins. Activists are fighting for increased access to health, education, jobs and sensitizing the law and order machinery, pushing for more inclusivity in the workplace.

But the road is long and still treacherous. Violence against the most vulnerable people  transpeople, sex workers, queer persons from lower caste or class backgrounds, disabled  continues to be rampant and undocumented. Blackmail and bullying, riding on the back of section 377, thrives even in bigger cities and our schools and colleges have few LGBT people enrolled.

The queer community has a lot of hope from the same court that delivered a progressive verdict for transgenders in the Nalsa case two years ago.

The fight wont be smooth, with a number of religious bodies already raking the old skeletons of Indian culture, purity, unnatural and society isnt ready.

But Tuesdays hearing showed that whatever the court decides in the months to come, the world outside had decisively changed, for a more inclusive, welcoming and less-discriminatory society. The LGBT movement has grown far beyond the case, and the grip of the law grows weaker every day. For those opposing their rights, this may be their last hope, because outside the courts, they already seem to have lost the battle. Section 377 will go, tomorrow or in five years from now.

Watch | Shashi Tharoor says SCs move on Section 377 is positive development

<span itemprop="name" content="Shashi Tharoor: SC&#x27;s move on Section 377 is positive devlopment"></span><span itemprop="description" content="&quot;The Supreme Court decision to re-open the debate on Section 377 is a positive development for the LGBT community&quot;  Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday. The Congress MP has been one of the few politicians who has been voicing his opinion against the draconian law. At a rare "open court" event on Tuesday, the Supreme Court will heard a curative petition challenging an earlier apex court verdict that criminalised homosexuality in India. It has referred the petitions on Section 377, a colonial era law criminalising consensual sexual acts of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults in private, to a five-judge Constitution Bench for hearing."></span><span itemprop="duration" content="33"></span><span itemprop="thumbnail" content="http://cfvod.kaltura.com/p/1679921/sp/167992100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_193onoqr/version/100002/acv/192"></span><span itemprop="width" content="640"></span><span itemprop="height" content="362"></span>

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Do you do your due diligence before selecting a programme or institution abroad for higher studies, especially in the UK, Australia, West Europe, China or Russia? If not, then you must start the process now to check if your qualification or course would be given the equivalence (considered at par with a course) in India for higher studies, professional practice and jobs.

Though the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which grants equivalence to these courses, had relaxed certain norms on recognition of certain foreign university qualifications a few months ago, some courses are still not treated with parity in India.

For instance, students getting degrees from foreign universities for programmes of a shorter duration than similar programmes in India will find it easier to get equivalence and recognition in India. However, degrees for medicine and law get equivalence only from professional bodies.

Read more: Whos checking that foreign degree?

Till mid-2015, programmes in foreign institutions were required to be completed in full-time regular mode as those of Indian universities as per AIU rules. Just like in India, the duration of bachelors programmes in the foreign university had to be of three years and masters courses of two years.

A number of foreign universities allow students to complete their postgraduate degree quickly (compared to Indian institutes) as acceptance of credits and credit transfer is common in a number of foreign and Indian universities. These courses were not given equivalence in India, but the AIU later changed its policy to accommodate programmes shortened on account of credits accepted by foreign universities.

While AIU does not relax the requirements for the minimum duration of degrees, the duration instead is measured in terms of precise number of months/years and completion of the number of semesters/trimesters. Professional degrees awarded by foreign universities which also entitle the student to practice a profession in India in disciplines such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and architecture are given equivalence by the respective professional councils, says an AIU official.

Initially, equivalence was accorded by the AIU on a course to course basis only after the proposal for equivalence of foreign qualification was received from an Indian mission abroad or from the university concerned, adds the official.

Other problem areas that need to be addressed are vocational degrees and non-degree qualifications such as proficiency, certificate or diploma-level examination conducted either by universities or by non-university level bodies which are not given equivalence.

Two-year (fast track) degrees awarded by foreign accredited universities are also not recognised. Degrees granted for courses pursued on offshore campuses of foreign universities are only valid in India if the offshore campus is duly approved by the competent authorities in that country. Foreign degrees awarded to students through pathway or diploma-level institutions are not given recognition as well by the AIU. Open distance learning, online degrees and those in the virtual mode from foreign institutions are also not treated equally.

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Indian Institute of Management, Tiruchirapalli (IIM Trichy), completed its summer placements process of postgraduate programme in management (PGP) 2015-17 batch with a 71% increase in the stipend handed over to its students. All 102 students who participated in summer placement process this year, were successfully placed.

The highest international stipend offered for the internship period (which is generally for two to three months) is Rs 2.4 lakh, while the highest domestic stipend is Rs 1.6 lakh. The overall highest stipend recorded an increase of 71.4% this year as compared to previous year. The average stipend is Rs 51,000 which is a marked increase (of 13.3%) over the previous year, the institute said.

About 3% of the batch have received the highest international stipend offers of Rs 2.4 lakh for job roles in research and analysis in securities and market research from companies in Europe and Middle East, says Professor Abhishek Totawar, chairperson, placement and external relations, IIM Trichy.

About 2% of the students received highest domestic stipend of Rs 1.6 lakh. The overall highest stipend recorded an increase of 71.4% this year as compared to the previous year. The average stipend is Rs 51,000 which is a marked increase (of 13.3%) over the previous year.

Read more: IIM Lucknow completes summer placements in 4 days

About 51 companies cutting across sectors including BFSI, consulting, FMCG, IT/ITES, manufacturing, e-commerce, media and advertising, NGO participated in the summer placement process this year. At least 30% of the recruiters were from BFSI sector. As many as 45% of the job offers made to students were in sales and marketing domain. Other roles on offer included strategy, BFSI, consulting and analytics, sales and marketing, operations, HR and IT/ITeS.

Companies that participated in the placement process this year included World Bank, Dabur, HSBC, OgilvyOne, Deloitte, Mahindra, Kelloggs, Cognizant Business Consulting, ICICI Bank, Saint Gobain Glass, TAFE, Robert Bosch, L&T, FCB Ulka, Sulekha, YES Bank, Fidelity, RBS, TVS Motors, L&T and others.

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The car of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasads son-in-law Vineet Yadav was snatched at gunpoint near the Sikanderpur Metro station on the busy MG Road in Gurgaon on Wednesday afternoon.

Vineet, 25, who is based in Delhi, was not in the car when the incident happened. Two unknown persons held the driver, Hari Prakash Yadav, hostage at gunpoint and robbed the white Toyota Fortuner SUV with the number plate DL 14 CC 1343.

Lalu Yadav reportedly contacted Gurgaon police commissioner and expressed his displeasure at the state of security in the city. Commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk admitted receiving the call.

The accused, who were captured in CCTV cameras, have not been identified yet.

Around 3.20pm, Yadav, a resident of Delhi, had visited Gurgaon for a meeting with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Ram Avtar Yadav Dal at his office in DLF City Phase-2.

Yadav had asked the driver Hari Prakash to park the SUV at the Sikanderpur Metro station and he went 100 metres from the spot to meet the RJD leader.

Within a few minutes, he noticed his SUV moving towards NH-8. Initially he thought the driver was taking a turn to park on the other side of the road when Hari Prakash came running and said two youths had taken the SUV at gunpoint.

I was talking to another businessman when my driver informed me that two unidentified youths in their 20s approached him and took him at gunpoint. They threatened him not to raise an alarm , said Vineet Yadav.

The youths snatched the mobile phone of the driver, pulled him out of the SUV and thrashed him, said police. The police control room was informed and cops from DLF City phase-2 police station rushed to the spot.

ACP(DLF) Ramesh Pal said, We recovered CCTV footage from several locations. We have formed teams and the crime units are working on the case. We will soon arrest the accused.

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A private bus operator was beaten to death near busy Iffco Chowk around 6pm on Monday, just a few metres away from the police booth at the junction.

However, the police took more than 12 hours to register the case even after the slain mans family approached them with a complaint.

The family members alleged that the police made them run from one police station to another citing issues of jurisdiction and saying they were not sure under which station the case would fall.

The man, Amit Dabas, 25, was a resident of Mundka in Delhi. The accused have been identified as Vinit, Pravesh, Ravinder and Moda, all residents of Bahadurgarh, Haryana, the police said. No one has been arrested and all accused are absconding.

Amit was assaulted at Iffco Chowk, one of the busiest junctions of Gurgaon. Yet, no once came to his help, family members claimed. (HT photo)

According to the police, the incident took place around 6 pm on Monday when four men, including a maternal cousin of Amit, attacked him following a disagreement about bus routes. The police said Amit was plying buses on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and his cousin Vinit, also a bus operator, was not very happy with this. This led to a rivalry between them.

Amit was assaulted on one of the busiest junctions of Gurgaon. Yet, no once came to his help, family members claimed.

After he was thrashed, Amit made a phone call to the Gurgaon police control room. But, the police did not arrive at the scene. After waiting for a long time for the police to turn up, the driver of the bus took Amit to a private hospital in Dwarka where he was declared brought dead, Amits relative said. The family members claimed that the Delhi Police informed them about Amits death and they approached the Gurgaon police to register a case.

However, the officers at the Sector 17/18 police station and Udyog Vihar police station kept transferring the case on the pretext of jurisdiction. Eventually, an FIR was registered at the Udyog Vihar police station at 6 am on Tuesday.

Inspector Sube Singh, SHO of the Udyog Vihar police station, said, A case has been registered under sections 302 (murder), 334 (voluntarily causing hurt on provocation) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the IPC against the accused at the Udyog Vihar police station.

On the matter of the inordinate delay in registering the case, the officer declined comment.

Amits family said that a few months ago, he was shot at by the four accused and an FIR was registered by the Delhi Police in that case.
Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is off to Canada for the shooting of her debut Hollywood film xXx: The Return of Xander Cage opposite Vin Diesel.

Her Bajirao Mastani co-star and rumoured beau Ranveer Singh on Tuesday shared the news about the actress flying off to shoot for her maiden Hollywood project at the NDTV Indian of the Year 2015 awards function held in Delhi.

Deepika was presented the Actor Of The Year trophy by her Piku co-star Amitabh Bachchan and Pawan Munjal, chairman of Hero MotoCorp. Deepika we are really proud of you. Since you are leaving tonight (Tuesday) to go and shoot your action Hollywood blockbuster, we all wish you all the best. May you conquer this new frontier and make us proud as you always had, said Ranveer in reference to her upcoming foreign project.

In the few two or three interactions that I have had with him (Vin Diesel), he is just a very warm person. He is very generous among most of my co-stars that I have worked with. I think it will be a fun experience working with him, Deepika said of her maiden foreign project.

Here's @deepikapadukone's radiant look for the NDTV Indian Of The Year awards. The hint of red is a gorgeous touch! Don't you agree? A photo posted by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Feb 2, 2016 at 8:04am PST

Read: Heres how Vin Diesel and xXx are making Deepika Padukone nervous

According to a source, Deepika has left for Canada to shoot for the movie, and will begin working in a day or two. However, the exact location of the shoot is not known.

Watch Deepika Padukone tone her body for XXX with Vin Diesel

Deepika is all geared up for the project and has worked on her fitness level as she often shares photographs and videos of herself training in the gym for her character in the movie. The 30-year-old had earlier shared her excitement over venturing to foreign shores with her acting talent and said Im very excited and at the same time nervous about the film.

Fit and Fabulous! An exclusive look at @deepikapadukone's preparation for #xXx. #ReturnOfXanderCage #Hollywood #Debut #Train #Fit A video posted by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jan 24, 2016 at 12:28am PST

The Hollywood action icon also posted several photographs from the shooting location of the upcoming action film through his official Facebook page.

Xander state of mind... A photo posted by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on Feb 2, 2016 at 7:39pm PST

Diesel is back as Cage who returns to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence in the movie, which also stars Nina Dobrev, Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Rose, Jet Li and Tony Jaa. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is expected to release in 2017.

Read: I always wanted to work with Deepika Padukone, says Vin Diesel

For Deepika, 2015 was an eventful year with three successful films -- Piku, Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani. And it seems that the actress has started 2016 with more power starting with the international project.

Follow @htshowbiz for more.
Irrfan Khan balances two careers in Hollywood and Bollywood and is often called to make sacrifices in terms of great offers. Ridley Scotts The Martian is one such film which Khan had to say no to because he was busy shooting for Shoojit Sircars Piku.

However, Irrfan has said no to Steven Spielberg and the reason is he is just not excited about the role. The film will also star Scarlett Johansson.

Irrfan Khan and Tom Hanks in a still from Inferno.

I didnt feel the character offered to me gave me much scope. So I said No; though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with, he said in an interview to NDTV.

Read: The new King Khan and his Rs 1000-crore club

Earlier, the star  who has wrapped up the shooting of Inferno with Tom Hanks  had said about the Ridley Scott space survival saga, I am disappointed that things didnt work out with him. I wanted to work with him (Scott) before as well in Body of Lies (2008), but things just didnt fall into place. For The Martian as well, I met him and I loved the concept as well. But Pikus second half of the shoot was still pending and I couldnt have left that. Khan was replaced by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the film.

The 48-year-old actor has been part of two Oscar-winning films  Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Life of Pi (2012), apart from featuring in Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic World and The Amazing Spider-Man.
Rescue teams and helicopters were searching on Wednesday for 10 soldiers who went missing after an avalanche struck the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir, the worlds highest and coldest militarised zone.

Army spokesperson NN Joshi said several personnel from the Madras Regiment were buried under the snow deluge triggered on the northern side of the glacier early in the morning.

The post was manned by one junior commissioned officer and nine soldiers, said another army spokesperson, Col SD Goswami.

Situated on the northern edge of the Himalayas in Kashmir with altitudes reaching as high as 22,000 feet, the glacier is an icy desert and has become more prone to avalanches after recent snowfall in the upper reaches of the Valley.

Indian and Pakistani armies battling for the snow wastelands of Siachen since 1984 have lost more soldiers to adverse weather than combat.

Rescue operations by specialised teams from army and air force are underway to rescue the soldiers, the defence ministry said in a statement.

On April 7, 2012 at least 130 Pakistani soldiers and 14 civilians were killed when a giant wall of snow crashed down on one of the neighbouring countrys defence headquarters.

While the Indian Army was not able to provide fresh data, statistics accessed by Hindustan Times earlier had revealed that a third of the total army fatalities in the Kashmir valley between January 2007 and March 2012 were due to avalanches.

At least 242 soldiers were killed in the Valley during those five years, of which 180 lost their lives fighting militants. The rest were consumed by natural calamities, mostly snow deluges.

Last month, four soldiers of the 3 Ladakh Scouts battalion were killed when their patrol party was hit by a massive avalanche in the region.

In April last year, four army personnel lost their lives when an avalanche struck the Chang La area of Siachen.

(With inputs from Tarun Upadhyay in Jammu)

Read More:

PM Modi visits Siachen, spends time with soldiers on Diwali

Captain dead as avalanche hits Army patrol in Siachen

Key facts about Siachen glacier
An inter-ministerial panel tasked with drawing up the contours of Indias first law to tackle human trafficking has proposed the minimum jail term be raised to 14 years, double of the punishment according to existing laws.

Every year, human trafficking sees thousands forced into prostitution and child labour by organised groups that target young women and children from impoverished regions, often with the lure of jobs.

Nearly 5,500 cases of human trafficking were reported in 2014  a more than 50% increase from the 2,848 cases in 2009.

The committee, headed by V Somasundaran, the secretary of women and child development (WCD) ministry, also recommended that assets of a person involved in trafficking be confiscated and mandatory registration of placement agencies, which often hire trafficked women and children.

The panel was set up in November last year on directions of the Supreme Court to give inputs for a draft bill that will cover aspects such as prevention, pre-rescue, post-rescue, rehabilitation and resettlement of victims. It has representatives from the ministries of WCD, home, external affairs, law, labour and health among others.

Presently, there is no single law dealing with trafficking and the crime is covered under different acts administered by at least half-a-dozen ministries including WCD, home, labour, health, Indian Overseas Affairs and external affairs. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 lays down the minimum punishment for trafficking at seven years in jail, extendable to 10 years and a fine.

In the absence of a single comprehensive law, the enforcement was lax, said an official on the panel.

The panel has given its recommendations based on which the WCD ministry will now draft the law. The process would be completed by June, the official added.

Other proposals include a mechanism to give trafficking victims a new identity so that she can start her life afresh, another official said.

Also, each state would be required to set up atleast one police team to investigate trafficking cases.

The panel also suggested measures for strengthening victim protection protocol to ensure that a trafficked person is treated as a victim. All the existing law is focused on perpetrators. We are proposing to make it victim-centric, said an official.

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The Maharashtra government has sent show-cause notices to 44 politicians, mainly heavyweights of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) such as Ajit Pawar and from the Congress, barring them from contesting polls to co-operative bank boards for 10 years.

This came days after the BJP-led government amended the Maharashtra Co-operatives Act, 1966, and dissolved the boards of several loss-making co-operative banks following instructions from the Reserve Bank of India.

Boards of most of these banks were disbanded in the past decade because of political mismanagement such as giving bad loans to their own at the cost of depositors. In public interest, such people will now be barred from contesting elections to such banks, a senior bureaucrat said.

Besides Pawar, notices were sent to NCP leaders and former ministers Vijay Sinh Mohite Patil and Hasan Musharif as well as the Congresss Satej Patil, Madhukar Chavan and Dilip Deshmukh. They were directors of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank when it was dissolved.

Notices have also gone to directors of other banks, including some in Kolhapur, Nasik and Sangli.

The action triggered political uproar as the Opposition called the ordinance biased while some leaders moved court against the ordinance.

The government denied any political motive behind the move to clean up the co-operative banking sector.

Notices were sent to only those who continue to be active in the sector and are functioning on the board of other banks, an official clarified.

For instance, Pawar, who was chairman of the MSC Bank continued to be a director of the Pune district co-operative bank in his home district. He will now not be able to contest polls to either of these.

This is considered a huge setback for most politicians who depend on their control over co-operatives  banks or sugar mills  to dominate rural politics.

The action came soon after the enforcement directorate raided properties of senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and his family members in a money laundering case while the CBI sought permission from the Maharashtra governor to prosecute former chief minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

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Delhi Police have registered an FIR in connection with a threat letter purportedly sent by the Islamic State to All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman MS Bitta.

The letter was delivered to Bittas residence on Talkatora Road in New Delhi, following which the matter was reported at the North Avenue police station on Monday, a police officer said on Wednesday.

On the basis of the complaint, the police registered an FIR on Tuesday under sections 506 and 507 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and took up the investigation, he said.

Bittas personal secretary, who filed the complaint, told police that apart from Bitta, Vinod Bhardwaj, national general secretary of the front, and other members have also been threatened by in the letter.

Last month, BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain had received threat letters, purportedly sent by the IS.
Vehicles struggle to reach Shyamjuli, a village 450km northeast of Assams principal city, Guwahati. This was the reason why Chandra Siwakoti Sharma, a school dropout, built a helicopter that he says can carry two people 30-50ft above the ground.

An automobile mechanic, Sharma spent more than Rs15 lakh to design the helicopter with metal sheets, car seats and two SUV engines. He has named it Pawan Putra, a sort of a jugaad, or innovative fix, he worked on primarily to give his backward area a faster mode of communication.

Shyamjuli is in Dhemaji district, Assams remotest and almost always flood-affected.

My helicopter can fly, though not as fast as the ones in operation for civil or military duty. It can easily move at 50kmph, Sharma says.

He is awaiting clearance from authorities concerned to find out if his aircraft really works.

We want to encourage a person who has conquered adversities to make a helicopter without any degree in aviation. But we want to go by the rules first, said Victor Carpenter, the districts deputy commissioner.

An automobile mechanic, Sharma spent more than Rs15 lakh to design the helicopter with metal sheets, car seats and two SUV engines. (HT Photo)

Carpenter said the district administration would write to the chief of civil aviation regulator DGCA and others who deal with such cases. We are exploring the possibility of at least facilitating a trial for the chopper that Sharma has built.

Locals, enthused by Sharmas innovation, have already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One of them, Ganesh Karki, pointed out that the helicopter was one of the best examples of Modis ambitious Make in India project.

Sharma could not study beyond class 3 because of poverty, but invested all his savings and even sold his land to follow his dream. He needs to be encouraged, Karki wrote.

Sharma said local officials and officers from an army camp nearby have promised to witness the trial of his helicopter once he gets permission.

I did run the engines once. The rotor was forcing the helicopter up, but I stopped the engines in order to not violate any rules, he said.

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For more about my academic work, please see my website

I'm Rebecca Farnum, an American studying in the United Kingdom. This blog is so titled because "Bex" is a common nickname for Rebecca in Britain.
A 21-year-old Tanzanian student was stripped, assaulted and paraded naked by a mob on the outskirts of Bengaluru last week, one of her friends told HT on Wednesday, while he accused police of standing by, verbally abusing the victim and initially refusing to lodge a case.

The alleged hate crime took place a short while after a Sudanese man mowed down a woman in the same area on Sunday night.

The mob also thrashed for about an hour three male students travelling with the Tanzanian woman and torched their car, said Hassan, one of the victims.

This is not the first time those viewed as outsiders by some local residents have faced attacks in the city. In March last year, four African students were badly injured in a scuffle after some locals objected to them entering a bar.

More than 30,000 people from the Northeast fled Bengaluru in August 2012 after a handful of attacks sparked rumours of a larger conspiracy.

Hassan alleged that policemen watched as the mob ran riot and refused to register an FIR against the attackers on the night of the incident.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. I spoke to the chief minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

After sections of the local media broke the story, police commissioner NS Megharikh told reporters his men had not received any complaint from the African students, a claim that was hotly contested by the victims.

Sources said the Tanzanian high commission has sent a diplomatic communication requesting the Indian government to follow up on the matter and take necessary legal action as well as ensure the safety and security of all African students in the country.

Hassan said the woman, who was badly injured, somehow managed to limp to the police station in her tattered clothes only to receive verbal abuse from the officers. An FIR was finally lodged on Wednesday evening.

According to Bosco Kaweesi, legal adviser of the All African Students Union in Bengaluru, the violence began after the car accident in which a woman died. The crowd that gathered brutally assaulted the driver.

Within minutes, hundreds of people had assembled at the spot and they took turns to thrash the Sudanese man, Kaweesi said.

Our car was passing through the same spot. We reached around 30 minutes after the accident. People started thumping on our bonnet. Initially we thought that they were trying to get us to take a different route. Soon we realised that they wanted us to step out and that they wanted to hurt us, Hassan said, adding that another student, Micah Pundugu, who was also in the car, sustained the worst injuries.

He said the Tanzanian woman tried to escape by climbing onto a moving bus, but the passengers pushed her back into the crowd.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday said citizens could refuse to pay taxes by launching a non-cooperation movement if the government fails to check corruption.

This remark was made by justice Arun Chaudhari while hearing the bail petition of Prahlad Pawar, manager of the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Vikas Mahamandal, who along with sitting MLA Ramesh Kadam is accused of siphoning off Rs 385 crore meant for the welfare of the marginalised Matang community in Maharashtra.

The court rejected Pawars anticipatory bail application and charged him with misappropriation of Rs 24.69 crore by transferring the amount in the name of bogus beneficiaries.

Expressing hope that the police would act against those responsible, justice Chaudhari called on citizens to raise their voice against this menace.

Let the government as well as mandarins in the corridors of power understand the excruciating pain and anguish of the taxpayers who have been suffering for over two decades in the state of Maharashtra, the court observed. There is an onerous responsibility on those who govern to prove to the taxpayers that eradication of corruption would not prove for them a forlorn hope.

How the massive amount would be recovered is a million-dollar question, he said, adding that it shocks one and all as to the shameless manner in which the taxpayers money is being swindled, misappropriated and robbed by such unscrupulous holders of posts.

Justice Chaudhari said in order to eradicate the hydra-headed monster of corruption, it was now time for citizens to come together to tell their government that they have had enough, and to refuse to pay taxes by launching a non-cooperation movement if the state fails to act.

The court questioned why central and state government employees who protest for higher salaries or the roll out of the 7th pay commission never condemn their corrupt colleagues. On the contrary, they provide support to such tainted persons, he observed.

The states criminal investigation department had arrested Kadam in August last year in connection with financial irregularities worth several crores. Kadam, who was elected to the state assembly from Mohol in Solapur district as an NCP nominee in the 2014, was the chairman of the corporation between 2010 and 2014, when the alleged irregularities took place.
The Congress on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over reports that his government allegedly offered to free two Italian marines on trial for murder in India in exchange for evidence linking Sonia Gandhi to a tainted helicopter deal.

Media reports quoted a British agent, wanted by Indian investigators in connection with the aborted purchase of AgustaWestland choppers for VIPs, as having brought the charge in a letter to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

The agent, identified as Christian Michel, has claimed that Modi made the proposal when he met his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year.

If the revelations are to be believed, and the last 48 hours since the report came out has seen no denial from the PMO, we now know, at the cost of the exchequer, what these foreign visits are about, Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said on Wednesday.

Party general secretary Digvijaya Singh also asked the PM to clarify his stand on the allegations. Mr Prime Minister is it a fact? he asked on Twitter.

The two marines are being tried in India for allegedly killing two fishermen off the Indian coast on February 15, 2012. Though the marines claim they mistook the two fishermen for pirates, India says they opened fire without any provocation.

The alleged revelations have the potential to turn into a bigger storm coming barely weeks ahead of the crucial budget session of Parliament.

The last session of Parliament had witnessed a sustained Congress attack on the BJP over the National Herald case in which Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders are allegedly involved. The political slugfest even resulted in prolonged disruptions of the winter session of parliament.

Even as the PMO chose not to comment, a foreign ministry official rejected the charge as too ridiculous to comment on.

In January 2014, India terminated the controversial Rs 3,727-crore contract with AgustaWestland to supply 12 VVIP helicopters to the Indian Air Force, invoking the integrity pact to scrap the deal in which the UK-based firm allegedly paid middlemen more than Rs 375 crore in bribes.

The firm is a subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica. The matter is under arbitration now.

Under the integrity pact, the bidder commits that bribes will not be offered and any violation empowers the government to cancel the contract and recover money already paid.

This was the first instance of a contract being cancelled after deliveries had begun. Three AW-101 choppers are already parked in IAF hangars.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from a government bungalow in South Delhis Moti Bagh.

A bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Jayant Nath also declined a plea of the Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad to give some time to shift to an alternate accommodation.

Chowdhury had approached the HC after authorities on Tuesday disconnected water and power supply to the bungalow occupied by him. This is not the first time that a Congress MP has moved the HC against an order to vacate a government bungalow allotted during the previous UPA rule. Last year, the HC had refused to entertain pleas of former Union ministers Ambika Soni and Kumari Selja against similar eviction orders.

While Chowdhury has alleged vendetta by the BJP-led government, the Directorate of Estates has said that the former UPA minister has been allotted another house on Humayun Road. It said the alternate accommodation was allotted more than a year ago after Chowdhury was re-elected from Murshidabad in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

The Directorate of Estates has also claimed that it had granted sufficient time to Chowdhury - a four term Parliamentarian - to vacate the ministerial bungalow.

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School children are likely to sing a song on cleanliness during their morning assembly or lunch break as part of Centres drive to push its Swachh Bharat campaign, which has a long way to go to meet its targets.

In a move aimed at creating awareness, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry will soon introduce Swachhta Geet ( cleanliness song) in schools. It is also proposing to celebrate the first working day of the week as Swachhta Diwas where children would undertake activities to clean their surroundings. The ministry has set a three month target to launch these two initiatives.

Even as the government is ramping up its communication strategy to involve school children and college students to publicize the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), aimed at making India clean and open defecation free by 2019, it is still way behind meeting the physical targets on the ground.

Under the urban leg of SBM, as against the target of building 25 lakh household toilets till March 2016 , only 8.8 lakh or 35 % has been built till December 2015. Similarly, as against the target of building 100,000 community and public toilets, till December 2015 just 32 % has been constructed. The progress on solid waste management front has been equally dismal. As against the target of processing 37 % municipal waste by March 2016, so far only 17 % is being processed every day.

Under the rural component of the program in 2015-16, 78 lakh household toilets have been built. In various meetings to review the progress of SBM it was felt that more needs to be done to create awareness about cleanliness. And schools are one of the key areas to start the awareness campaign, said an official.

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A Hyderabad resident turned up with an official voter identity card carrying the name and picture of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan during the municipal elections held on Tuesday.

The electors photo identity card no YVO1360395 showed the name of the voter as Salman Khan and a picture of the Bollywood actor.

The voter slip also mentioned his fathers name as Saleem Khan. However, the age of the voter was mentioned as 64, while the actual age of the actor is 50.

Officials at the polling booth at Gowlipura in Charminar division did not allow the person to vote.

When contacted, Greater Hyderabad deputy commissioner Krishna Sekhar said he would look into the issue.

Many residents felt the incident reflects on the callous attitude showed by election authorities while issuing voter identity cards.

(The irony is) those who are genuine voters in a locality dont get identity cards or their names are deleted without any notice, said Syed Haider, a resident.
The New Delhi-based Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), among the countrys best known journalism schools, has ordered an investigation after a group of Dalit and tribal students complained of caste discrimination on the campus, officials said on Wednesday.

The students have alleged that a section of their peers was harassing them, including running an online campaign against their support for Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar whose suicide last month triggered nationwide protests against caste discrimination on campuses.

The students have written to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Commission, the IIMC authorities and the liaison officer of the Institutes SC and ST Cell, alleging that social media posts demeaning Dalit and tribal students were circulating since January 18.

In the campus there is an air of worry... Comments are being passed and remarks made loud when the students pass through the corridors in the college and hostels, the group said in the complaint letter.

A source at the institute said trouble began with a Facebook post by a student who used inappropriate words for reservation and the ongoing protests against caste-based discrimination.

Based on the complaint of the Dalit and Adivasi students, the IIMC has now decided to set up a committee to examine the issue, the source said.

The five-member panel, which includes both faculty and students representing the communities, will examine the complaint, propose long term measures as safeguards against such discrimination and also frame a module for carrying out caste sensitisation on the campus.

The committee will also examine how to implement rules for social media use by students and faculty members.

But the complaining students said that wouldnt be enough and have approached the SC/ST commission.

The students have, however, said they dont want punitive action against the accused and a public apology and an undertaking that they would desist from such behaviour would do.

They have also asked for a slot in the academic timetable to sensitise students on Indias caste and tribal realities and the need for affirmative action.

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Zika virus detection kits are likely to reach the market by March and cost around 4,500, leading diagnostic chains have said, amidst a spiralling global health crisis triggered by a viral outbreak suspected to cause birth defects.

Leading pathology labs and diagnostic chains -- Dr Lal PathLabs, SRL Diagnostics, Quest Diagnostics and Star Imaging -- have already started procuring test kits and working on new technologies to detect the Zika virus, officials of the companies told HT.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease caused by a mosquito-borne virus an international health emergency.

There are no known cases of Zika in India yet though the government has issued an advisory asking expectant mothers to avoid travelling to affected countries, most of them in Latin America.

Dr Lal PathLabs, which recently listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, is ready to roll out a detection test for Zika virus by next month which would cost about 4,500, the company spokesperson said.

Saliva or urine samples collected during the first three to five days after symptoms onset, or blood serum collected in the first three days, are suitable for detection of Zika virus, the spokesperson said.

We have had queries from hospitals based in Mumbai, Delhi as well as Sri Lanka as of now. We should be ready with the assay by mid-March as kits to perform tests would be available with us by the first week of March.

Read more: India urges citizens not to travel to Zika-affected nations

Dr BR Das, president, research and innovation, at SRL Diagnostics, the countrys largest and Asias second largest diagnostics chain in terms of volume of tests handled, said the company was ready to join hands with technology providers for developing the test kit.

Watch | WHO doctor says Zika vaccine likely years away





For Zika virus detection, a blood test known as real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is required and we are updating our information globally, he added.

However, Das refused to divulge details on estimated pricing.

Read more: Wearable device may offer protection against Zika mosquitoes

US diagnostics major Quest Diagnostics circulated an internal document to its Indian offices last week saying that the company is working around technology to detect Zika virus attack, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Delhi-based chain Star Imaging & Path Lab is tendering vendors to supply kits required to conduct tests. We have kicked off the process and it seems that the PCR test is the most valid as of now, said Prabhjot Kaur Chopra, pathology department at Star Imaging.

French pharmaceutical major Sanofi -- which owns an array of top vaccines for viruses in the same family -- on Tuesday launched a project to develop a Zika vaccine.

Read more: India to step up Zika virus watch as WHO warns of explosive spread

Our invaluable collaborations with scientific and public health experts, both globally and in the regions affected by the outbreaks of Zika virus, together with the mobilisation of our best experts will expedite efforts to research and develop a vaccine for this disease, said Dr John Shiver, Global Head of R&D, Sanofi Pasteur.

The worlds first dengue vaccine, from Sanofi, was approved in December after 20 years of research.

Read more: Govt calls emergency meet on Zika, issues travel advisory

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In less than two years Mysurus skyline will eclipsed by a grand and brand new tower which when ready, will be tallest clock tower in the world as envisioned by Infosys co-founder and first CEO NR Narayana Murthy.

The proposed 135 meter-tall tower will stand approximately 19 floors and will also house a boardroom on the 7th level. Murthys clock tower will dwarf Londons famous Big Ben (96 meters), which is the currently the tallest clock tower in the world, by at least a third of the its height.

The Infosys Mysuru campus which is considered a mini city in itself is spread over 350 acres, with 12 million sq ft built-up area and the capacity to host more than 15,000 trainees (residing on campus), 8,000 plus employees and several thousand contract workers. It is also the IT majors largest development centre cum training campus in the world.

A clock tower brings a sense of academic breathing to the campus, and I felt we too will need one. And Vishal (Sikka) felt it is a good idea, a report in The Economic Times said quoting Murthy. Sikka is the chief executive officer of Infosys.

An Infosys spokesperson added, Towers are a common site in many campuses and they get a sense of academic breathing to the campus. To instill a similar feeling, we are constructing this classical clock tower with a digital time piece in our Mysuru campus. It will be built in a gothic style to match the classical look of the other buildings in the campus. The tower will also aim at combining tradition and modern technology. With large digital screens on all four sides, it will also be used to display messages on important occasions. The project is estimated to cost Rs 60 crore.

The tower is designed by one of Indias most famous architects Hafeez Contractor, who also designed Infosys Mysuru campus with structural engineering consultancy provided by New York-based firm LERA and built by Bengaluru-based KEF Infra.
In a clear sign that the caste system is still alive and well in the country, a village panchayat has ordered the ostracisation of a couple in Jharkhands Dhanbad district for marrying outside their caste.

In its diktat, the South Pandarkanali panchayat in Chirudih village ordered the families of the couple to cut all ties with them, including their right to ancestral property and to perform last rites in accordance with the scriptures. Also, refusal to comply with the orders of the despotic body would invite an exorbitant fine of Rs 15,000.

The couple, Santosh Kumar Das and Archna Kumari, had defied caste barriers and their families, and solemnised their marriage in court about a month ago. After the news of them eloping spread through the village, a panchayat meeting was convened last week.

It was a social offense and the decision was in the villages interest. Inter-caste marriage cant be recognised in our society, said Jogendra Das, mukhiya of the gram panchayat, adding that the decision had the approval of the villagers.

The victims families, however, disagree.

It is illogical and inhuman, (also) consensual marriage is not a crime, a family member said requesting anonymity. We are paying the price for something we were not part of or responsible for.

While the panchayat has decided to reconvene on Sunday to ascertain its diktat has been complied with, the couple fled the village, fearing for their lives.

Meanwhile, police were clueless about any such development in the village. None of the families has lodged a complaint with us, said an official of the Putki police station.
Mehbooba Mufti is keeping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on unsure footing over its alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following Mehboobas fathers death last month. For the BJP, the lack of certainty isnt new territory, however their struggle to guess at her possible moves in the future could become a blind spot.

We thought only Mamata Banerjee is unpredictable, but she (Mehbooba Mufti) is no less, quipped a senior BJP functionary with a wry smile at a lunch hosted by a union minister in Delhi last week. He was responding to a volley of questions from journalists as to why the PDP leader was refusing to give her assent for government formation in Jammu & Kashmir. Her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had entered into an alliance with the BJP to form the government, but she has been keeping the BJP on tenterhooks following his death. While BJP leaders are convinced that Mehbooba is not exploring any alternative alliance options, they cant figure out why she is putting up roadblocks in government formation by attaching too many conditions, which could be discussed after she takes over as chief minister.

Read more: J-K suspense continues as PDP looks for assurances from Centre

Party veterans rue the fact that its not just Mehbooba and Mamata they have failed to decode. In the past, they were taken by surprise by many other regional chieftains, including AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa from Tamil Nadu and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. While many leaders of regional outfits like Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party and Ramvilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party had joined and quit the NDA in the past, BJP leaders claim they had found it easier to comprehend their gameplan when they did what they did.

Mayawati had entered into a six-month rotational power-sharing agreement with the BJP in 1997, but pulled the plug within a month of transferring power to Kalyan Singh. The BJP government with the then state BJP chief Rajnath Singh  now countrys home minister  engineered a defection in the BSP and some other groups to keep the Kalyan Singh government alive.

It earned Rajnath the reputation of a master strategist. He and Mayawati have not seen eye to eye since then, a BJP leader recalled. Mamata, on the other hand, enjoys a very good rapport with Singh.

National Congress Party chief, Sharad Pawar revealed in his book recently how Mayawati helped bringing down the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999 when she voted against the NDA government during a confidence motion.

After the speaker announced division of votes, the Parliament staff took sometime to close the doors and activate the voting machinery. During those few minutes I took the BSP chief Mayawati aside and had a word with her. The BSP had five MPs and there was an intense speculation on what stand it would take, Pawar wrote in his book.

When the electronic machine displayed that the Vajpayee government had lost by just one vote, everyone got into a guessing game on who voted on which side. Those who had noticed me talking to Mayawati before the voting pressed me to clarify. However, I thought it prudent to keep mum. Even after so many years I am asked about what transpired between Mayawati and me, he wrote.

Vajpayee had to seek the confidence vote following the withdrawal of support by the Jayalalithaa in the summers of 1999. Vajpayee later alleged that she was creating problems from day one and she had withdrawn support as she wanted the government to withdraw corruption cases against her. Back to power, the BJP is counting on Jayalalithaa once again but she has kept ruling party leaders guessing about her moves on different legislations.

It was in 1999 only that Mamata Banerjee joined the NDA government as Railway Minister, parted ways in 2001 and returned in 2004. They fought the 2006 election together and left the NDA again to forge an alliance with the Congress ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha election. As it is, Mamata has been quite a good host to many NDA ministers who visit Kolkata, but ask them if they could count on her support on any issue and you are sure to draw an amusing smile.

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The mother of a man convicted for his role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi has started a public petition campaign in Sri Lanka seeking the release of her son from a jail in Tamil Nadu.

Vetrivel Somini, mother of Murugan who has been in jail after his conviction in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case,said she is aiming to get one million signatures for the petition to seek the release of her son and six others.

Somini, who lives in Sri Lankas Kilinochchi, the former administrative capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said she hopes to submit the petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murugan, a resident of Pallai in Kilinochchi, has been in jail for the last 25 years.

Somini said there were examples when world leaders had pardoned convicts accused of grave crimes and so she expects her son to be given clemency.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out Rajivs assassination on May 21, 1991 in Sriperumbudur.

The LTTE had killed Rajiv to exact revenge for his decision to send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka under the 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.

Dampening hopes of release for the killers of Rajiv, Indias Supreme Court in December had ruled that the Centre has primacy over states right to grant remission and referred the issue of clemency for the assassins to a three-judge bench.
Nepal has criticised reported statements by politicians in Bihar showing solidarity with Madhesi leaders, who are protesting against the Himalayan nations new constitution.

The foreign ministry said the remarks about inherently internal issues were provocative and uninformed of ground realities and do not serve the interests of the two neighbours.

The government of Nepal expresses deep regrets over such statements. They are not helpful in the ongoing efforts aimed at normalising the situation, said a statement from the foreign ministry.

The government of Nepal urges all to exercise restraint from making statements that may seriously undermine relations between the two countries and peoples, it added.

Leaders of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), the group comprising four Madhes-based parties, met senior Bihar politicians recently in an effort to drum up support for their protests.

Several Indian leaders, including Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, reportedly expressed support to the Madhesi leaders. The UDMF leaders also met senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Modi.

Madhesis or residents of Nepals southern Terai plains bordering India have been protesting against the new constitution since last August, saying it is discriminatory.

They have rejected constitutional amendments carried out last month and are seeking fresh demarcation of federal states, proportional representation in all state bodies and a package deal to address their 11 demands.

Differences have cropped up among UDMF constituents on continuing with a blockade of key border points with India. The blockade has resulted in a severe shortage of essential goods, medicines and fuel.

Despite Indias denials, Kathmandu has accused New Delhi of imposing an unofficial blockade to support the Madhesis.

Several rounds of talks failed to resolve the deadlock and the UDMF is now mulling the creation of a grand alliance with four other parties in the Terai region to increase pressure on the government to address its demands.

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Pakistans high commissioner Abdul Basit on Wednesday called up Anupam Kher to offer him a visa for visiting Karachi but the actor turned it down saying he had already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

Khers tweet comes a day after he accused Islamabad of scuttling his trip to attend the Karachi Literature Festival.

The actor was among 18 Indians invited to the festival scheduled to be held on February 5 to 7.

On Tuesday night, Pakistan high commission officials had said that if Kher were to apply for a visa on Wednesday, he would get the travel document within hours.

The high commissioner also refuted the actors allegations that his countrys interior ministry refused Kher a no-objection certificate.

Sorry Sir I dont know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport, Basit said in a tweet late on Tuesday night.

He was responding to an earlier tweet by actor where he said, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didnt apply for visa.

Kher had said on Tuesday that Pakistani authorities denial of a visa may have been prompted by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Read more: Everyone knows why Anupam Kher has been picked for Padma

His comments sparked a storm on social media which recently became a battlefield for another controversy involving the actor after he told a senior journalist during an interview that he was scared to say he is a Hindu.

The other 17 Indian participants to the event in Karachi who have been given the travel document include senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das.

Read more: I am not angry, I am hurt: Anupam Kher on Pak visa denial

Responding to the incident, union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said Pakistan has a right to grant or refuse visa to an individual.

In May last year, Kher was denied a visa to Pakistan, reportedly on security grounds, when he was due to visit Lahore for an event organised by an NGO.
The Kashmiri labourer who was arrested from the Mamoon Cantonment area on charges of spying for Pakistanis Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was on Tuesday booked under the stringent Official Secrets Act.

The accused, identified as Irshad from Surankot in Poonch district, worked with a local contractor and was on Sunday caught making calls to Pakistan.

It later emerged that Irshad used to click pictures of the cantonment area with his smart phone and share them with his handler, who in turn passed them on to some Pakistan-based agency, possibly the ISI.

The Mamoon Cantonment is one of the largest and most sensitive military bases of the Indian army. Disclosure of any information that is likely to affect the sovereignty of India or friendly relations with foreign states is punishable under the Official Secrets Act, said Pathankot senior superintendent of police RK Bakshi.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be interrogating the suspected ISI agent to ascertain his role, if any, in the January 2 airbase attack in Pathankot that left seven security personnel dead.
The Pathankot attackers, having learnt from a mistake during the Dinanagar attack after which two global positioning system (GPS) devices were recovered, destroyed their navigation device in all likelihood, investigators told HT on Wednesday.

GPS devices use satellite-based navigation to help pinpoint a geographical location.

Four Pathankot airbase attackers who first killed a taxi driver and hijacked the vehicle of Gurdaspur superintendent of police Salwinder Singh on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 were in all likelihood using a navigation device. After hijacking Salwinders vehicle, one of the terrorists drove it and reached almost 500 metres near the airbase, a senior investigator said, requesting anonymity.

It was impossible for the attacker to know the way to the airbase. We believe they were using a navigation device which in all probability was destroyed later, the investigator added.

Although there was a navigation system installed in the hijacked vehicle, the terrorists never used it.

At the time of hijacking, Salwinder was traveling with his cook Madan Gopal and jeweller friend Rajesh Verma.

All three have indicated that the attackers were using a navigation device. We didnt find any navigation device in the items recovered from the dead bodies of terrorists. It seems that in all likelihood it was destroyed, said the investigator.

On July 27 last year, three attackers using GPS devices stormed a police building in Dinanagar in Pathankots neighbouring district Gurdaspur. The analysis of the devices revealed the coordinates for the targets had been fed in at Sargodha in Pakistan, revealing the attackers were from that country.

Though the phone calls made by the (Pathankot) attackers have revealed the complicity of Pakistan-based elements, they seemed to have taken the precaution of destroying the navigation device to cover their tracks, the investigator said.

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The doors to the Temple of Justice have squeaked open slightly to the most recent of minorities identified in India; sexual minorities that come under what is called the SOGI umbrella (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity). It is this sexual minority -- which cuts across creed, community and culture all over the planet -- that the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) lamented at the United Nations as something we do not recognise. Discussions at the global forum on the possible protection for the LGBT community were subsequently defeated by a combination of conservative, mostly right-wing, ultra-religious alliances of the OIC, the Vatican and countries as varied as India and China.

Read more: Activists celebrate as SC decides to revisit Section 377

Following all this is Tuesdays incredible decision of the Supreme Court to re-open the debate on the anti-sodomy statute, Section 377 of the IPC, slapped onto colonial India in 1860 because the British just could not penetrate the innards of the tottering Mughal empire centered in the Red Fort where practically the whole bureaucracy of Bahadur Shah Zafar was in the firm grip of hijras/kinnars. They had to be marginalised before the British could finally destroy what remained of the effete emperors skeletal empire.

And what exactly are we gay men and transgender, called all sorts of derisive and sometimes affectionate synonyms, fighting? Its that momentous Supreme Court judgment in December 2013, which turned us back into common felons.

Read more: SCs stance on gay sex legalisation: Twitterati give mixed response

Well, what Justice Singhvi and company did was without showing due diligence, firstly kicked the ball smack into the most unruly, uneducated and callous Lok Sabha we have had for a long time. The chance that section 377, a long standing statute in the Indian Penal Code, would be amended by Parliament was like expecting to grow a coconut palm in the Himalayan foothills. The curative petition therefore makes the following contentions.

The Supreme Court bench was in patent error of law since there is no intelligent differentiano yardstick or measure to distinguish carnal intercourse in the ordinary course from carnal intercourse against the order of nature.

In fact, it is amazing that the whole set of sexual practices against the order of nature have not been classified or categorised by the Supreme Court. What is worse is that the judges did not bother to take on board a whole series of petitions of 13 senior psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and mental health professionals (some of the names are of national and international repute). Their submissions given in writing find no mention, refer to or even deal with their submissions. This was shocking.

In other words, the Supreme Court bench did not bother to look at evidence from experts that same-sex desire was not a deviant behavior and definitely not a mental disorder.

To make matters worse, the judgment states that only 200 prosecutions over 150 years cannot be a sound basis for testing the vires of Section 377 which somehow allots a numerical requirement for the protection of fundamental rights of its LGBT citizens calling them miniscule minorities whereas even minorities of one are entitled to full protection.

Of course, there was that niggling factoid that how could Section 377 be in alignment with our Constitution when it was enacted in 1860, long before our Constitution was even born. The judges were actually trying a retrofit an old law. The curative petition puts it rather nicely, Section 377 would not have been presumed to be constitutional since at the time of its enactment, the legislating authority (the angrez) had no knowledge of fundamental rights or other limitations on its power. That sentence alone slaughters the alleged constitutionality of Section 377.

Its like asking your daughter to wear her grandmas ghagra thats totally out of date, not to say ill-fitting, misshapen and ghastly to look at.

Watch | Shashi Tharoor says SCs move on Section 377 is positive development

<span itemprop="name" content="Shashi Tharoor: SC&#x27;s move on Section 377 is positive devlopment"></span><span itemprop="description" content="&quot;The Supreme Court decision to re-open the debate on Section 377 is a positive development for the LGBT community&quot;  Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday. The Congress MP has been one of the few politicians who has been voicing his opinion against the draconian law. At a rare "open court" event on Tuesday, the Supreme Court will heard a curative petition challenging an earlier apex court verdict that criminalised homosexuality in India. It has referred the petitions on Section 377, a colonial era law criminalising consensual sexual acts of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults in private, to a five-judge Constitution Bench for hearing."></span><span itemprop="duration" content="33"></span><span itemprop="thumbnail" content="http://cfvod.kaltura.com/p/1679921/sp/167992100/thumbnail/entry_id/0_193onoqr/version/100002/acv/192"></span><span itemprop="width" content="640"></span><span itemprop="height" content="362"></span>

Of course, wherever Section 377 denied the right to privacy and dignity guaranteed by Article 21 is openly seen to be given a go-bye under the cover of very few prosecutions under this Section. Which by itself is in error of judgment as it does not give us any compelling state interest to denial of those rights under Article 21.

It is with such logical and detailed arguments that the eight petitioners have returned to ask for a remedy through the curative petition that was filed on the February 2, 2016. The happy observation is that justice Singhvi and his bench have not encouraged any bogus standard of public morality that is being espoused by all the conservative religious establishment; all the religious groups now ranged against the SOGI minorities must be told that we  and the judiciary  have left them far behind, which is a most happy development.

Chief Justice TS Thakur has wisely pinpointed the touchstone of the Constitution as the site for determining the validity and standing of this archaic statute. Even as the world looks on with great interest, India and its huge rainbow set of SOGI-LGBT communities will be battling a British-era law that seeks to enter their bedrooms, denying us privacy and dignity while policing our very sexuality. The five members who will form the bench will be eagerly analysed and watched with a hawks eye.

But the horizon looks rosy and the long fight looks like coming to a truly amazing end.

The political class seems so far behind the people and their aspirations that one wonders at the twists and turns our great Republic is taking as it walks through the temple of democracy.

(The writer is the founder chairman of Humsafar Trust and editor of Bombay Dost. Views expressed are personal)
Amid speculations swirling around this years list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar could very well be a contender. The founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri has been instrumental in the peace negotiations in the Latin American country of Columbia, negotiations that a report published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has cited as a likely nominee for the prize.

In a report published on February on its blog, the foundation said, The Norwegian Nobel Institute does not publish names of nominees, but Nobel watchers have said former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and peace negotiators in Colombia have also been nominated.

The probable list also includes an 85-year-old Greek grandmother photographed bottle-feeding a Syrian baby refugee and Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon for her work for refugees in Greece.

However, a spokesperson for the Art of Living Foundation said they were not aware of any such development.

The foundation has played a significant role in attempting to bring peace in Columbia since November 2012. In fact, the Columbian government had in July last year honoured Sri Sri with their highest civilian award, Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar, in recognition of this.

During his visit to Cuba in 2015, the Indian spiritual leader had also held discussions with leaders of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) as part of a confidence building measure in Columbia.

Christoph Glaser, spokesman for the Art of Living Foundation in the region, was at the time quoted by media saying, Sri (Sri) Ravi Shankar had then appealed to the FARC leadership to follow a path of non-violence and pursue goals of social justice for the good of the Colombian people and the future stability of the country.

The Art of Living Foundation is one of the worlds largest volunteer based organization with members in over 150 countries. Apart from promoting peace, the foundation is involved in several community development services in India and in countries where it has followers.

The government of India conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour, on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar this January.

Nominations for the coveted peace prize closed on February 1 and the winner will be announced sometime around October this year. The peace prize also comes with a cash reward of $1.2 million.

Since the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1902, only three Indians have received it so far  Mother Teresa (1979), founder of Missionaries of Charity, the 14th Dalai Lama (1989), head of the Tibetan government in exile, and childrens rights and education advocate Kailash Satyarthi (2014) who shared the distinction with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan.
Azhar Iqbal, a suspected member of the India wing of the Islamic State (IS), studied at the famous Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, Deoband, for seven years before being suspended for indiscipline in December last year, sources told HT.

Iqbal, 23, was arrested from Bhopal on Monday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has so far arrested 15 people for their ties with the terror outfit.

Iqbal allegedly was in the higher category of members of the group  Junoon al Khilafa-e-Hind  as he was tasked with finding new recruits. It is learnt that he was in touch with Yusuf al-Hindi alias Shafi Armar, who originally was an Indian Mujahideen member but later shifted to the IS-held areas in Syria and Iraq, said a home ministry official requesting anonymity. Iqbal knew at least two of the four suspects arrested by the Delhi police from Uttarakhand a few weeks back. He studied in the Deoband seminary.

Ashraf Usmani, spokesperson of Darul Uloom, Deoband, said Iqbal hadnt displayed signs of extremist views while at the seminary.

Though we never found him to be radical in his views, but there were a few serious complaints of indiscipline against him. He was studying to be an Alim (a learned man) at Deoband from 2008 onwards. Due to indiscipline, he was suspended from the seminary, said Usmani.

Investigators have found that the head of the group, Mumbai resident Muddabir Sheikh, who was anointed Ameer-e-Hind, also visited Deoband to meet Iqbal.

The federal anti-terror probe agency has found that the India-based terror group was brought together by Shafi Armar. The Armar brothers, originally from Bhatkal in Karnataka, had gone to Iraq and Syria to fight for the IS. While Sultan Armar is believed to have been killed in Syria, Shafi Armar has emerged as the key recruiter for the IS in India.

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Departing from the established practice, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday appointed a World Bank expert on water sanitation to head the governments drinking water and sanitation department on a contract for two years.

The department is responsible for drinking water supply and building toilets as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign.

Parameshwaran Iyer is the first specialist to be laterally inducted as a secretary in a department related to the social sector on a contract. So far, the government only brings in outside experts to head scientific departments such as the department of biotechnology, leaving the rest in the hands of a career civil servant.

Parameshwaran Iyer, 57, too had started out as a civil servant. This was in 1981 when he cleared the civil services examination and joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Iyer started out in Uttar Pradesh before coming to Delhi to serve in the ministries of defence and textiles. On his return to UP, he was appointed the district magistrate of Bijnor and then, served in the rural development ministry.

His big break, however, came in 1998 when he was sent to work abroad as a senior rural water sanitation specialist with the United Nations World Food Programme. When he overstayed abroad, the government issued him notice for unauthorised absence. Iyer returned soon after but quit his job around 2009 to work on sanitation projects abroad.

A lead water and sanitation specialist in the Hanoi office of the World Bank, Iyer had spent the last few years to help Vietnam achieve the target of eradicating open defecation by 2025.

Back home, he will have a much more ambitious target to achieve.

Modi had announced the Swachh Bharat campaign to eliminate the practice of people relieving themselves in the open by the 150th anniversary of Gandhis birth in 2019. An official suggested the move to induct an outside expert was a reflection of the PMOs assessment that the business-as-usual approach of the civil services would not work.

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Actor Ranveer Singh has new competition. And it has come from not a new entrant to Bollywood but the grand old man of Jammu and Kashmir politics, the 78-year-old former chief minister Farooq Abdullah.

On Tuesday night, the National Conference leader matched the young actor step for energetic step as they broke into an impromptu gig to the tune of the hit song Malhari from the Ranveer starrer Bajirao Mastani.

The performance came when the 30-year-old actor went up to the stage to receive the NDTV Indian of the Year award at a function held in Delhi.

Watch: Former J-K CM Farooq Abdullah shakes a leg with Ranveer

Dr. Farooq Abdullah and @RanveerOfficial shake a leg on stage at the #NDTVIndian Of The Year 2015 https://t.co/PpGBWnrIRh  NDTV (@ndtv) February 2, 2016

I think Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan would be in trouble if you took to acting, NDTV quoted Ranveer as telling Abdullah.

Confessing his love for Bollywood, Abdullah said if not a politician then he would have explored the world of showbiz.

Rather than a politician I would love to be an actor. You know why, because what they do we dont do and I would love to do what he does. I will have to wait for the next life, said the politician.

Such was Abdullahs enthusiasm that he stopped only after NDTVs Barkha Dutt stepped into the stop the party.

The video of the two dancing has since gone viral on social media.
Suspense over government formation continued in Jammu and Kashmir as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and alliance partner BJP passed the buck on each other to end the political stalemate.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti met Jammu-based party leaders on Wednesday, a day after arriving from Srinagar for the first time since the demise of her father, chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on January 7 while state BJP leaders too held an internal meeting.

Mehbooba visited Jammu regions party headquarters at Gandhi Nagar and met party leaders for two-and-a-half hours. PDP spokesman Firdos Tak said the BJP will need to respond to issues raised by her before any steps could be taken forming a government.

Mehboobaji has catagorically stated that some CMBs (confidence-building measures) need to taken by the Centre. BJP has sought time. It is they who will have to explain, he said. Both coalition partners have to sit and decide.

State BJP leaders met after they asked governor NN Vohra for 10 days to respond to whatever is outstanding with the PDP. The governor had invited both PDP and BJP leaders to the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Tuesday evening for separate talks to clarify their stands.

The outcome of the BJPs meeting on Wednesday, where state party chief Sat Pal Sharma as well as Nirmal Singh, who was deputy chief minister in the Sayeed government, were present, was not known but spokesman Sunil Sethi said his party will work towards implementation of the agenda of alliance  but cant commit on anything beyond that.

Nirmal Singh has earlier said the BJP will take steps only after the PDP elects its legislature party leader and notifies the governor about it.

However, Mehbooba has remained non-committal and insisted on the Centre taking tangible confidence-building measures. She didnt explain what she meant by confidence-building measures despite repeated queries from reporters after her meeting with Vohra.

Mehboobaji has said what she had to ... so we are waiting for the BJP to respond, senior PDP leader Nayeem Akhtar said.

(With inputs from agencies)
A woman was detained on Wednesday after she hurled a flower pot at Prime Minister Narendra Modis convoy.

The woman refused to clear the convoys path at Vijay Chowk, saying she was not being allowed to meet the Prime Minister.

The police took the woman to the Parliament Street police station after the incident. She is being jointly interrogated by central security agencies and the Delhi Police. It wasnt immediately clear why the woman wanted to meet Modi.

The woman, who lives in Sahibabad near Ghaziabad, approached the route of the convoy outside the South Block just before it was to leave the area. The pilot vehicle in the motorcade  the marshal vehicle -- blocked her and other security personnel caught hold of her when the convoy passed.

A senior police officer said she was able to enter the route as no women police officers were deployed at the spot.

The woman was persistent to meet the PM. After being stopped, she became furious and damaged some flower pots. At that time, the Prime Minister was inside the office. Later, she tried to get close to the PMs vehicle after seeing his motorcade leaving the place, the official said.

Last month, too, Modis convoy had to face an unwelcome visitor. A man slipped through several layers of security barricades and threw himself in front of the PMs convoy in Mysuru.

This is the second incident of a security breach in the capital this year. A woman had thrown ink at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on January 17 as he addressed a thanksgiving rally on the 15-day trial of traffic rationing measures in Delhi.

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the ink attack was a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Delhi Police was part of it.
The CBI on Wednesday arrested former Noida chief engineer Yadav Singh in connection with a corruption case.

The CBI has been probing corruption allegations against the tainted engineer and his family members since August 4, 2015 following an order of the Allahabad high court.

The CBI had in August 2015 lodged an FIR against Singh over allegations of corruption in allotting the Rs 954.38-crore project to private agencies in December 2011.

Another FIR against Singh and his family pertains to allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

On July 16, the Allahabad high court ordered a CBI investigation into the corruption allegations against Yadav Singh. The order was issued on a petition filed by Lucknow-based social activist Nutan Thakur.

Interestingly, a team of CBI officials dug deep and unearthed cables to ascertain if Singh had indeed executed the electricity project.

Officials from the Noida authority said under the project, the authority had shifted overhead electricity cables along Udyog Marg underground between 2009 and 2011. Yadav Singh, who was then the chief engineer, had monitored the work.

Read

How scam-tainted Noida official epitomised survival of fittest

Yadav Singh executed projects worth Rs 8,000cr in Noida in 12yrs: Report
A cache of ammunition was found dumped in a pond in a village, about 3 km from Indo-

Pakistan border here, the police said on Wednesday.

Some villagers, who were deepening a village pond in Dhun area with JCB machine, discovered the ammunition there, inspector Kamaljit Singh of Khalra police station said.

Two magazines of AK-47, about 150 cartridges of AK-47 rifle and a pistol magazine wrapped in a jute bag were recovered, he said, adding that the seized ammunition will be examined, and a case in this connection had been registered under relevant sections of the Arms Act.

The ammunition appeared to be quite old and not fit for use, police said. It may have been dumped years ago during the militancy in Punjab, they added.

A few days back, a cache of ammunition was found dumped in UBD canal at Malikpur in Pathankot district. Two magazines along with 59 live cartridges of AK-47 rifle, two magazines and 29 live cartridges of INSAS rifle and 16 rounds and two shells of .315 rifle were recovered from Upper Bari Doab canal.
The jails department has suspended two employees and recommended registration of a case against four inmates for allegedly attacking a prisoner inside the central jail here last month.

As the video of the attack on an inmate, shot by the attackers has come out, questions are being raised over the functioning of the jail. Superintendent of the central jail Sukhwinder Singh Sahota said that the incident took place on January 26 at about 5 pm when four inmates attacked Darbara Singh, an undertrial, who is an accused in a case of opening fire on BJP district (rural) president Gurwinder Singh Bhagta in November last year.

Sahota said that two jail employees head warder Har Rajwant Singh and warder Kuldeep Singh have been suspended for dereliction in duty as they were deployed in the barrack when the incident took place.

He said that a mobile phone had also been recovered from the accused and it is being examined if the video was shot using the same phone or not.

A case has been recommended against gangsters Manoj Mojjy, Mandeep Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Sukhjinder Singh. Sahota said that the police would record the statement of Darabara Singh after registering a case. The jail authorities have also recovered a mobile phone from the barrack in which the incident took place.

Station house officer, Civil Lines police station, Angrej Singh, said that they hadnt received any communication regarding the registration of a case in this connection and will do so as soon as they will receive the letter.

Earlier, the jail had hit the headlines after gangster Kulbir Naruana had opened fire on a member of a rival gang inside the jail in April last year. The probe after the incident had found glaring anomalies in the functioning of the jail authorities. Gangsters, including Naruana, had also uploaded their group photos clicked inside the jail in March last year. As many as nine mobile phones were recovered from inside the jail in a fortnight after the incident of firing last year.

Deputy inspector general of jails Lakhwinder Singh Jakhar said that an inquiry into the attack and the video shoot has been marked to deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Surinder Singh.
Veteran Congress leader Balram Jakhar breathed his last in New Delhi after battling a brief period of illness on Wednesday morning. As soon the news broke, people started gathering at the Jakhars house at their native village Pajhkosi near Abohar, about 30km from the district headquarters of Fazilka. A towering figure, Jakhar was out of active politics for a while now.

Here are five things that you must know about him:

Where he came from

Son of Chaudhary Rajaram Jakhar and Patodevi Jakhar, he was born on August 23, 1923. He was a Sanskrit graduate from Christian College, Lahore.

Political start

Rising through the village level and from a noted farmers family, Jakhar was elected to the Punjab assembly in 1972 and then re-elected in 1977, when he was made Leader of the Opposition.

(Virendra Prabhakar/HT )

He entered the Lok Sabha later from Ferozepur in 1980 and then re-elected to the eighth Lok Sabha from Sikar in Rajasthan in 1984. He was known to be close to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Known as Speaker

The Congress veteran, nationally, is mostly remembered for his tenure as speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989.

Jakhar with President Pranab Mukherjee during AICCI Meeting in 1991 . (Sanjay Sharma/HT )

As the speaker, he was instrumental in the start of automation and computerisation of parliamentary works.

Also cabinet minister

(Sanjay Sharma/HT )

He was appointed cabinet minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991, and later also served as governor of Madhya Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.

Abohar, his home ground

(Sanjay Sharma/HT )

Abohar remained Jakhars political bastion and his elder son Sajjan Kumar Jakhar was a minister in the Beant Singh-led Congress government in Punjab; his youngest son, Sunil Jakhar, is a three-time MLA from Abohar, and also remained Leader of the Opposition in Punjab.
Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modis 2014 poll script, the Congress, too, will soon have its own army of social media warriors for the 2017 Punjab polls. Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh is readying his own social media war-room to counter the challenge of the Aam Aadmi Partys strong on-ground and virtual presence in the state.

Though he is in talks with Modis and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumars strategist Prashant Kishor  who may be engaged by Amarinder after a go-ahead from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi  the former Punjab CM is already setting up a social media war-room, which will rope in volunteers in each district and constituency of the state to take the partys campaign to young voters through popular social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Read also: Capt speak: 2017 elections will be fought on future of Punjab

Other than flagging issues, policies and poll promises of the party, the war-room will also monitor the flow of news and prepare political inputs and reactions to take on opponents on the social media.

Other than political scionsAmarinders grandson Nirvan Singh, who works for a Delhi-based firm, Rep India, and MLA Kewal Dhillons son Karan DhillonAmarinder said Sadhvi Khosla, who was a volunteer for Modi in his 2014 poll campaign and hails from Amarinders hometown Patiala, would oversee the partys social media campaign.

When contacted, Khosla said, The Akali Dal is not a threat but young voters are confused between the AAP and Congress. It will be a youth-centric and positive social media campaign to know what the youth wants and how the Congress can deliver. To counter the AAP, we will also highlight how the Kejriwal government has created a mess in Delhi.

Interestingly, the war-room will not be housed in the Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh but at the office of the Dhillons. We are putting up computers, LCDs and other gadgets in the war-room to run our social media campaign. We will engage volunteers from each district for the campaign. I will personally oversee its functioning, Amarinder told HT.

The party has been forced to virtually shed its old election strategies to combat Arvind Kejriwals party, which is mopping up crowds, funds and supporters through social media. The AAP has already set up its social media war-room comprising youth from Ivy-league universities, such as Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge, besides top company honchos, who are fine-tuning its poll strategy for Punjab, along with Kejriwals team in New Delhi.

Prashant Kishor to visit Punjab soon: Capt

Even as Amarinders own hi-tech war-room will manage his social media campaign, he is keen on engaging Prashant Kishor  the man, he says, has the Midas touch  for the overall management of his 2017 poll campaign. I have had two meetings with Prashant. He is ready to strategise for us and will visit Punjab soon for a quick assessment of the ground situation. But, whether he will work for us in Punjab will be decided by Rahul Gandhi as a few other states, including Uttar Pradesh, will go to the polls along with ours, Amarinder said.

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A day after contraceptives were found in the first-aid kit of a private school bus, fourth such incident in the recent past, during an inspection by the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the panel has recommended a penalty of Rs 10,000 against the institution. The commission had also summoned the school authorities on Wednesday.

The child rights panel officials shared that the school authorities had no relevant explanation and cut a sorry figure during the meeting held at the commissions office on Wednesday evening.

Devi Sirohi, president of the commission, said, The school has submitted a written apology and they are sorry for whatever has happened. However, we have recommended a penalty of 10,000 and will be forwarding the letter to the State Transport Authority, Chandigarh, as they have to implement the same. We have recommended action within our powers as per the high court directive. She said if such violations were found in future, the action could be stricter.

State Transport Authority secretary Kashish Mittal said,  We will examine the matter and take necessary action as per the law. Additional secretary Rajiv Tewari said, The State Transport Authority is governed by the Motor Vehicles Act. However, if the child rights panel has suggested action against the erring school, we will definitely implement it. Though, we are yet to receive the order or written instructions from the panel.

As per clause 15 of the Protection of Child Rights Act 2004, the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights is entitled to hold an inquiry in such situations and take suo motu notice or any other action it may deem fit against a person or group of persons in case of any violation. As per the Act, ..In case an inquiry discloses the violation of child rights is of serious nature or contravention of prosecution of any law for the time being enforced, it may recommend to the concerned government or authority the initiation of proceedings for prosecution or other such action, the commission may deem fit. Referring to the same, Sirohi said, According to the commission, contraceptives found in school buses is a serious offence and hence the action has been recommended after consecutive warnings in the previous instances.

Manjit Singh, president of the transport bus contractors body, said, We werent issued any directions earlier. Now that we have been issued instructions we will be cautious. This is simply dates back to the time when the traffic police would check trucks and ask them to carry contraceptives. So, the first-aid boxes already have contraceptives in them and the bus drivers didnt check that. Children arent aware of contraceptives in the first-aid boxes.

The child rights panel also inspected buses of two more schools -Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School and St Peters Senior Secondary School - on Wednesday and observed minor violations and took note of the same. A total of six buses were checked and violations such as lack of proper emergency exit, no police verification of female attendants, etc. were found.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday granted bail to Baltej Pannu, a social media activist and journalist with a Canada-based Punjabi radio station, in an alleged rape case.

His bail plea was allowed by the single judge bench of justice Anita Chaudhry on a petition moved by Pannu on January 22. Pannu is accused of raping a Patiala woman. The local police had arrested him on November 27 last year.

Pannu had alleged that he became a victim of political vendetta and had been falsely implicated as he was critical of the state government for alleged corruption and the proliferating drug trade.

Pannu was picked up from his residence in Patiala and booked under Sections 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC by the Civil Lines, Patiala police.
HT Correspondent

The Chandigarh police have arrested two junk dealers who had allegedly stolen 15 heritage chairs and a table designed by Le Corbusier from the storeroom of the Government College of Arts, Sector 10, on the intervening night of January 18 and 19. The police have recovered 10 chairs from their possession. The vehicle used in the crime  Tata Ace  five chairs and the table are yet to be recovered.

The accused have been identified as 26-year-old Sunil Kumar, a resident of Sector 25 and 38-year-old Faquir Chand of Kansal. The police are yet to arrest two women, identified as Sweety and Shakila of Sector 25, and Anil and Rajesh, who assisted the accused in the crime. The police said Faquir masterminded the theft as he used to participate in furniture auctions in Punjab and Haryana.

The police said Sweety and Shakila, both rag pickers, used to recce the area before committed the theft and then used to call other gang members to lift the booty. Both Sunil and Faquir are school dropouts and are working as junk dealers. Faquir Chand also buys all types of furniture from auctions.

During the preliminary investigation, the accused said they had bought these heritage furniture from Sweety and Shakila both residents of Sector-25 Chandigarh who are yet to be arrested in this case.

HOW THEY PLANNED THE THEFT

UT senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh Gill said Sweety and Shakila conducted a recce of the storeroom of the Government College of Art where the furniture was kept. In the wee hours of January 18, they broke the locks of the storeroom and called Sunil, who asked Sunil to come with his Tata Act to take away the heritage furniture. Anil also took along his friend Rajesh with him to the spot and loaded the furniture in his van. The accused then contacted Faquir and kept five chairs at his shop in Sector 25. Sunil kept five chairs with him and the remaining chairs and the table were taken away by Sweety and Shakila, added the SSP.

HOW CASE WAS CRACKED

The SSP said a special investigation team was constituted and dump data of mobile phones of the spot was scrutinised. During scrutiny, around 150 suspected mobile numbers were shortlisted. Meanwhile, the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage from Matka Chowk, 16/17 light point, press light point and TPT light point were also scrutinised. The police had an information that a white-coloured Tata Ace was also spotted near the place. During verification of call details, it was revealed that Sunil had called Anil, owner of Tata Ace, from the spot. The police arrested him and Faquir and recovered 10 stolen chairs from their possession.

THE MUMBAI LINK

Faquir told the police that whenever he participated in auctions, there were a number queries about the heritage furniture. He also used to get calls from Mumbai about the availability of heritage furniture. The police said they were verifying the call details to trace the Mumbai link in the smuggling of heritage furniture.
Punjab deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday said the entire opposition in the state had been exposed as both the Congress and AAP stayed away from the assembly bypoll in Khadoor Sahib fearing a humiliating defeat.

Addressing gatherings at several places in the segment, he pointed towards the hypocrisy of former Congress MLA Ramanjit Sikki who had resigned from the Vidhan Sabha following alleged inaction into the incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. This had necessitated the bypoll. While the Congress has boycotted the poll citing inaction still in the sacrilege case, the AAP says it wants to concentrate on the 2017 polls instead. Sikki should tell people why he joined the Congress in the first place. How could he contest elections from a party which demolished the Akal Takht and whose hands are stained with the blood of innocent Sikhs massacred in Delhi in 1984? Sukhbir said.

On Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, he said The Congress claims he is a babbar sher (lion). What kind of lion runs away from a battle? You know what such people are called!

According to a party release, Sukhbir also hit out at the AAP and its leader, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, saying that there was a need to understand Kejriwals personality.

This person first claimed he would not contest elections. Then he swore by his son that he would not form a post-poll alliance with the Congress. He also promised his MLAs would not take any salary or facilities... Kejriwal reneged on all his promises.

He added, What will this man do in Punjab? With the obstructionist policies he follows, he could come in the way of smooth wheat and paddy procurement in the state.

He sought to remind people of the unique social and welfare schemes initiated by successive SAD-BJP governments, and claimed that money had flowed into the rural economy in Punjab only during SAD-BJP rule. He mentioned the policy of free power supply for the agriculture sector, besides other schemes. He claimed his regime had recruited one lakh youth in the last five years and will recruit another 1.2 lakh persons.

SAD MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, his son and SAD candidate Ravinder Brahmpura, and senior leaders Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Sewa Singh Sekhwan and Dr Daljit Cheema also spoke, said a press release by the party.
In May 1986, then Punjab chief minister Surjit Singh Barnalas government had been reduced to a minority after some ministers quit the cabinet ranks. Among them was his agriculture minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Come 2016, and a splinter Akali faction  the Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal)  now headed by Barnalas wife, Surjit Kaur Barnala, is waiting for Amarinder to green-light its merger into the Congress.

In a meeting of the SAD (Longowal) last week, president Surjit Kaur was authorised by the party to formalise talks with the Congress. Her son, Gaganjit Barnala, met Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Shakeel Ahmad, at New Delhi on Monday in this regard.

The move comes soon after Manpreet Singh Badal-led Peoples Par ty of Punjab (PPP) merged into the Congress last month. Manpreet had stitched together a third front  Sanjha Morcha  with Surjit Singh Barnala as its patron during the 2012 Punjab polls but it had crumbled after he contested the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat in 2014 on a Congress symbol.

Barnalas grandson, Simarpartap, too, had contested the Dhuri bypoll last year on a Congress symbol. Both Manpreet and Simarpartap had, however, failed to clinch a victory.

Gaganjit, when contacted, did not specify if the party was seeking a merger or alliance but said SAD (L) leaders would soon be meeting Amarinder, who has given a call for a grand alliance of like-minded parties.

He is the only one who can bail out Punjab from the misrule of the Akalis. We have to all come together in the interest of Punjab. We will be also talking to the BSP and Left parties to join the alliance, he told HT, adding that the party sees no threat in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as Punjab would vote for good governance.

Though Amarinder welcomed the move, he said it will all depend on what the party wants in terms of seats. There is no problem at all if it is an unconditional merger like PPP as Manpreet had made no demands. We can try to accommodate concerns of parties as and when the time comes, he added.

Also read: Merger with Congress: Key PPP men opt out

Punjab CMs estranged nephew Manpreet joins Congress

.

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Police are hopeful that the interrogation of the alleged mole of the Pakistan spy agency ISI would reveal details of his Indian contacts.

Poonch resident Irshad was arrested in Pathankot on Monday. He was on Wednesday produced in the court of judicial magistrate Jarnail Singh, who sent him to a seven-day police remand.

Cops are closely examining the messages that were sent by the mole to his alleged contacts. Senior police officials have ruled out the possibility of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the case.

Irshad had managed to enter the high-security Mamun Cantonment by securing a labourers job through a local contractor.

He was held while he was making calls to Pakistan. Delhi-based security agencies had alerted the army over cross-border calls made being from the area.

Many pictures of vital installations in the cantonment area were found in his mobile phone. It is learnt that his two accomplices Sajjad and Mohmad Akram have been arrested by Jammu & Kashmir Police.

The alleged mole had also clicked some pictures of the Pathankot railway station.

Irshad claimed that he came to Pathankot around 10 days ago. An Indian air force base in the area had come under terror attack last month.

Pathankot senior superintendent of police (SSP) RK Bakshi said police would try to dig out more information from Irshad on his contacts. When asked if the NIA was going to take over the case, Bakshi said there was no such move.

Read: NIA to interrogate spy caught in Pathankot
In a move to refurbish its image among Punjab-origin non-resident Indians (NRIs) ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, the Badal government on Wednesday organised an interaction with Punjabi media outlets abroad which was reportedly steered by Rabindra Narayan, chief executive officer (CEO) of the PTC channel -- in which deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal holds a majority stake.

Though the meeting was called by the state department of public relations, it was Narayan who held a one-on-one interaction with the NRI media owners and journalists, according to those who attended the meeting held in a five-star hotel here.

Director, public relations, Rahul Tiwari confirmed to Hindustan Times that the PTC CEO was present during the interaction. He came suddenly and sat with us. What could we do in that situation? said Tiwari.

More than two dozen local representatives of various channels and radio shows were invited by the public relations (PR) department apparently to discuss government advertisements to NRI media outlets.

But the meeting turned out to be an exercise to subtly sermon the NRI participants to change their negative perception about the Badal government.

Each participant was called by the PR department for an informal talk with Tiwari and additional director Senu Duggal in the coffee shop. It was Narayan who reportedly dominated the meeting, which a participant called a grill session.

A representative of a Canada-based radio station disclosed that Narayan asked for the reasons behind the NRI medias harsh coverage of the Punjab government, particularly the Badal family. Narayan asked why we upload anti-government posts on Facebook and WhatsApp and the motives behind tarnishing the governments image, he said, adding: The PTC honcho had come prepared as he had the entire track record of Facebook updates of all the main invitees.

However, the interaction was not a one-sided affair. Even the NRI journalists countered Narayan with tough questions, said another participant.

When contacted, Narayan said he was attending the meeting as the NRI media representative, not as the PTC head. I have my own TV channels in the US and Canada. Why would I go there as the PTC CEO?

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Five members of a Delhi family, including two women, were killed on Tuesday as their car rammed into a stationary truck on the national highway near Nandpur village in Sahnewal near Ludhiana.

A six-year-old boy, who was injured in the crash, was rushed to hospital by passersby.

The deceased have been identified as Rajnish Kumar, 40, of Azad Nagar in Delhi, his wife Reeta, 36, father Ramesh Kumar, 65, mother Veena Rani, 60, and niece Ginni, 6. Rajnishs minor son Bhavi has been admitted to the hospital.

Rajnish, owner of a transport company, had come to Salana village in Khanna on Monday to attend the cremation of Harinder Kaur, wife of his business associate Shingara Singh.

Rajnish was on his way to attend the bhog ceremony of father of his uncle Sunil Kumar in Haibowal in Ludhiana.

As the family reached near Nandpur village, their car rammed into a stranded truck that had developed some snag.

Meanwhile, two youths were killed when a speeding tractortrailer hit their motorbike on the Nakodar-Shahkot road on Monday. Tractor driver Gurmit Singh has been booked for rash driving and causing death by negligence.

A 30-year-old man was killed after a speeding truck hit his motorcycle near Dhuri town in the district. The deceased has been identified as Kuldeep Singh.
Two motorcycle-borne men shot at and critically injured Punjab Shiv Sena youth wing president Amit Arora, 35, here on Wednesday night.

Police said Arora was injured in the neck and rushed to Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), while his gunman escaped unhurt.

Police commissioner Paramraj Singh Umranangal and deputy commissioner of police Narinder Bhargava rushed to the incident site at Basti Jodhewal Chowk. A case of attempt to murder was registered.

Wednesdays shooting comes a fortnight after local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Naresh Kumar was shot at near Shaheedi Park in Kidwai Nagar. The culprits in that case are yet to be caught.

Arora, a hosiery unit owner, had arrived at Basti Jodhewal Chowk from the Jalandhar bypass in his car. He was driving and was apparently waiting for someone when the two motorcycle-borne men fired at him and fled.

The police have been scanning footage of CCTVs in the vicinity to identify the accused.

Punjab Shiv Sena chief Rajiv Tandon condemned the attack and demanded the arrest of the culprits.
For wildlife conservationists pained by over two decades of vanishing vulture news, this was indeed a redeeming spectacle as 100 yards down the road leading from Morni town to Raipur Rani lay a buffalo carcass. Trees by the side of the road and skies above were graced by an abundance of Himalayan griffon vultures through Monday evening and most of Tuesday.

As many as 200 vultures feasted in turns on the carcass that had been skinned and thrown 20 feet down the roadside. The good news for the future of these vultures comes from the latest survey by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which found a very low usage of the principal vulture-killing veterinary drug, diclofenac, in the Morni-Pinjore area.

Griffon vultures, which are migratory, have been declared a near-threatened species. Tests have found griffons to be as vulnerable to diclofenac as the three other resident Gyps vulture species, which have suffered catastrophic declines in the sub-continent.

Over a period of time, Ambala-based birders Basant and Sarabjit S Mahal have been observing the thriving population of griffons in Morni, along with just two of the critically-endangered oriental white-rumped vultures.

Himalayan griffon vultures wait to feed on buffalo carcass on the Morni-Raipur Rani road. (PHOTO: VIKRAM JIT SINGH)

Some of these griffons and the two white-rumped vultures visit the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre of the BNHS at Bir Shikar Gah, Pinjore, where they feed in proximity to the 10 captive vultures retained in the pre-release enclosure. These 10 vultures, which include eight captive-bred white-rumped and two rescued Himalayan griffon vultures, are being familiarised and prepared for an eventual merger with these wild Morni vultures and release into the wilderness. So, the health of the wild Morni vultures is crucial for the success of the BNHS project.

The Morni vultures even come and roost at our centre. There are two reasons why griffons are doing well in the Morni hills. Firstly, we have just completed a survey in a 10-km radius from the centre till Madhana village in Morni hills. We found a very low incidence of diclofenac use on cattle. There was use of Meloxicam, but that is not toxic to vultures. We found use of Ketroprofen, but this drug is not as toxic to vultures as diclofenac, which acts on vultures as cyanide would on humans. The survey found use of Nimesulide, which is believed to harbour a degree of toxicity for vultures, the centre head Dr Vibhu Prakash told HT.

The other reason why griffons are surviving is that the adult griffons are sedentary, that is, they do not migrate from their breeding grounds in the trans-Himalayas where diclofenac is not used. It is mostly juvenile griffons, which migrate to India. As long as the adult birds are safe, the population is better positioned to weather such catastrophic declines as faced by the three resident Gyps species of India, said Dr Prakash.

While diclofenac for veterinary use has been banned and the manufacture of large vial diclofenac doses for human use are also restricted, vulture conservationists want that any veterinary drug should be tested for vulture toxicity before release into the market. This is to ensure that vultures bred in captivity at tremendous expense and efforts, are freed into an environment free of killer drugs. From a population estimated at 4 crore in the 1980s, Indian vultures suffered a catastrophic decline and numbered a lakh in 2008 before the ban on diclofenac showed effect on ground and arrested that slide. The Union governments vulture action plan envisages the release into the wilderness of 600 pairs of three critically-endangered Gyps species in the decade, following the first successful full release of birds bred in captivity.

Read | Wildbuzz: Cultured vultures
Amritsar MP and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said he will contest from his home turf Patiala in the 2017 assembly polls.

Though the entire state is mine, the city will always remain my first preference as its my birthplace, said Amarinder, a royal family scion, when asked about his plans for the upcoming polls.

Amarinder also made it clear that apart from him, no other member of the royal family, including his wife Preneet Kaur and son Raninder Singh, will contest the assembly polls. Preneet is the sitting MLA from the Patiala assembly constituency.

Preneet has been always interested in the Lok Sabha elections, while I prefer the assembly polls, said Amarinder.

After I won the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, Preneet agreed to contest the Patiala assembly bypoll to ensure that the Congress retains the seat, he added.

Amarinder had trounced BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitley to win the Amritsar LS seat. Initially, Captain was reluctant to contest the LS polls from Amritsar, but later agreed after being persuaded by party president Sonia Gandhi.

Amarinder said he firmly believed in one ticket, one family policy. When the Punjab government holds a meeting, it seems like a gathering of Badal family. We criticise Badal, but have to set a right example and I have to start from my own family, said Captain, adding that he had already forwarded his suggestion to the party high command.

On Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee reconstitution, Amarinder hinted that he will retain the body formed by former PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa.

Ive not recommended any changes. I only want more people to be accommodated, said Amarinder.

Fearing that the scrapping of old PPCC formation will lead to dissidence, Captain has taken a calculative step to retain the body, said sources. Amarinder has sent a list of nearly two hundred names which will be added to the existing list.

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Donald Trump went on the offensive on Wednesday, accusing Republican rival Ted Cruz of stealing victory in Iowa as he sought to burnish his standing ahead of next weeks primary voting in New Hampshire.

The real estate mogul made the sensational accusations on Twitter, telling his six million followers that the first-time senator from Texas had committed fraud in the first caucus of the 2016 US presidential election.

Ted Cruz didnt win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad! Trump wrote.

He criticized Cruz for putting out a statement saying that a fellow candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, was quitting the race, and accused Cruz of lying to thousands of voters about Trumps policies.

Based on the fraud committed by senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified, Trump wrote.

The accusations, the latest in a long line of Trump insults aimed at his rivals, come in stark contrast to his gracious concession speech in Iowa on Monday, saying he was honored to finish second.

His tally -- just above 24%, for second place after Cruz and just ahead of Senator Marco Rubio -- in the first vote after months of wall-to-wall media coverage raises serious questions about whether showmanship has a winning strategy.

A second hiccup, at the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday, would spell political disaster for the billionaire.

Cruz won 27.7% of the vote in the Republican caucus in Iowa, staking his claim to be the new standard bearer of the right.

Rubio, whose star has risen in recent weeks, won more than 23%, anointing him as the Republican establishment candidate of choice best placed to defeat presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Iowa loser

Polls put Trump firmly ahead among Republican voters in New Hampshire, but analysts warn that anything less than a win in Tuesdays primary will further damage his campaign message that he is a winner.

Jeanne Zaino, a professor of political science in New York, said Trumps outburst was a strategic move designed to counter the narrative that he lost in Iowa and that his campaign is beatable.

Thats a huge component of Donald Trumps campaign. Hes been campaigning saying hes a winner and all of a sudden he comes out of Iowa a loser, she told AFP.

She predicted that Trump would step up sharp attacks on Cruz and Rubio, the telegenic young senator, as the New Hampshire primary nears.

Its strategic on his part and hes also trying to make sure that he takes some of the wind out of Cruz and Rubios sails as he goes into New Hampshire, where he has been leading for some time to make sure he comes out ahead in New Hampshire, she added.

The Cruz insult ensured once again Wednesday that Trump headlined the media coverage of the Republican presidential election -- and once again saving him from spending millions on campaign advertisements.

He has said really outlandish things in the past and none of them have really hurt him in the polls. So I dont think this is going to hurt him so much and hes attacking someone whose not wildly popular even in his own party, said Zaino, in reference to Cruz.
A 10-year-old Afghan boy who was hailed a hero after fighting the Taliban has been shot dead by insurgents while on his way to school, officials said on Wednesday.

The deputy police chief of the province, Rahimullah Khan, said the boy, Wasil Ahmad, was killed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern Uruzgan province.

The boy had fought Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions, Khan said. Photographs on social media showed ten-year-old Ahmad holding an automatic weapon and wearing uniform and a helmet.

Khan said that unknown gunmen he referred to only as insurgents had killed the boy near his home.

Ahmads uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district, Khan said.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International says both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

In a report presented to the UN Security Councils working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based group said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police for reasons that included a sense of fulfilling filial duty, patriotism and honor.

But the main reason was poverty, it said in the June 2015 report.

It said that in May last year it found that half of ANP check posts in Tirin Kot were staffed with visibly younger officers who all admitted they were under 18 years old.

They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing check points and engaging in combat for the last few years, the report said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boys death with his family, the government and the Taliban, who have been waging war for 15 years.

Spokesperson Rafiullah Baidar said that local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege following the death of his father in fighting.

Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his fathers death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents, Baidar said.
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoys new film has put the spotlight on honour killings, which claim the lives of an estimated 1,000 women every year in Pakistan.

Despite the passage of a bill in 2015 that aimed at closing loopholes in the law, the killings has continued. Chinoys film, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, has been shortlisted for the Oscars and she has now launched a petition to eliminate honour killings.

Chinoy earned a special mention from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who praised the filmmakers work and expressed his governments commitment to rid Pakistan of such killings through appropriate legislation.

Sharif said honour killings afflicted several segments of Pakistani society and invited Chinoy to the Prime Ministers House for the first screening in Pakistan of her film, which focusses on Saba Qaiser, who survived an attack by her father and uncle at the age of 18.

Chinoys petition will also be sent to the prime minister, but in many ways, the government in helpless in the face of the widespread practice of women being killed by fathers, brothers and other male elders, mostly for refusing arranged marriages. Honour killings have been reported in almost all parts of the country.

In 2015, the Senate or upper house of parliament passed the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill of 2014 and the Anti-Honour Killings Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill of 2014, moved by Pakistan Peoples Partys Senator Syeda Sughra Imam.

Imam said honour killings are common across the country but official figures do not include unreported cases or, indeed, the number of men who are killed alongside women in the name of honour.

Aurat Foundation, a womens rights group, says while honour killings have no official sanction, they are treated differently by the police.

Many of the decisions to kill women are taken by a tribal council of elders and implemented with their sanction, said a report of the foundation. Local police officials almost never charge the elders for being part of such crimes.

Women have also been attacked and killed on suspicion of infidelity. There have been cases where women were killed for being seen in public without appropriate clothing. In other instances, women were murdered by male relatives when someone passed a comment on them.

These misplaced notions of honour continue to survive in our society, particularly in rural areas, said Saad Zuberi, who works with Chinoy.

But Chinoy is hopeful Sharifs endorsement will go a long way. In her statement after the screening at the Prime Ministers House, she said, I just want to thank you for your recent statement saying that you are going to work against honour killings in Pakistan and, as a Pakistani woman, I am honoured to have a Prime Minister who is working on the issue.
International aid to the victims of Syrias five-year war, including millions forced to flee their homes, has persistently fallen short, but organisers of the annual Syria pledging conference on Thursday hope for greater generosity this time around, despite a record request of close to $9 billion for 2016.

The expectations are partly based on the reframing of the aid debate over the past year, following the chaotic migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe.

Donor countries trying to slow the influx would arguably serve their own interests as much as lofty principles of international solidarity if they give more and spend in smarter ways to improve refugees lives and ease the burden on Middle Eastern host countries.

I do think the European experience will have sharpened minds, Guy Ryder, head of the International Labor Organization, said while visiting Jordan, one of the struggling host countries. And I dont think thats a bad thing if it leads to action (on Thursday), as I hope it will.

The donor conference, to be held in London, is co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations. World leaders and representatives of dozens of countries have been invited, along with officials from international organisations, aid agencies and civic groups.

The total aid requirement to be presented in London amounts to nearly $9 billion, including a UN-coordinated appeal by dozens of aid agencies for $7.73 billion and a $1.23 billion request by regional host governments.

The latter is a small portion of the massive economic support sought in the coming years by countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which host nearly 4.6 million Syrian refugees.
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A mother who lost her young son three years ago got the chance to hear his heartbeat again after meeting the 4-year-old girl who was the recipient of his donated heart, according to USA Today.

Heather Clark's son Lukas was just 7 months old when he died after being allegedly abused by a babysitter back in 2013, according to USA Today. After doctors were unable to save Lukas, Clark chose to donate her son's organs to three people in need - one of which was Jordan Drake, then just 18 months old, according to Global News.

Now Clark has been given the opportunity to see the difference her young son made in the world by meeting Drake, who was born with a congenital heart defect and spent much of her early life in Phoenix Children's Hospital, according to WGNTV. Clark contacted Drake's mother through Facebook in December and met the family on Friday, according to USA Today.

"Knowing that [Jordan is] so smart, and so respectful... it just makes it so much easier," Clark said, according to Global News, "Because she's just exactly what I could picture Lukas being right now."

Drake's mother Esther Gonzales told Clark "that's your son" as they listened to Drake's heartbeat through stethoscopes, according to USA Today. The moment was immortalized in the Build-a-Bear stuffed toy that Drake gave to Clark as a gift, which contains a recording of the heartbeat, according to USA Today.

Their meeting was recorded and documented by Donate Life Arizona, a nonprofit organization that campaigns to register as many willing participants as possible to become organ donors. Clark called the event "the best Christmas present I could have asked for" on a Facebook page set up in memory of her son.

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During the examination of the opaline silica mineral located inside Mars' Gusev crater by NASA's Spirit rover in 2008, the rover spotted strange "cauliflower" patterns that may be the latest clues of ancient life on the red planet, according to the Daily Mail. Although at first scientists thought that the mysterious formations were the result of acidic geothermal processes, a 2011 study found that the area was likely alkaline or neutral, rendering this hypothesis invalid, according to Popular Science.

Now, although scientists are still not certain what created the unique formations, some are claiming that the answer may have been microbes, similar to the way that the Earth's ancient microbes have shaped its current landscape.

For example, in El Tatio, a region of Chile's Atacama desert, the landscape possesses similar cauliflower formations; other areas with similar patterns include Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand.

"I don't think there is any way around using modern Earth analogs to test where martian microbes may be found," Kurt Konhauser of the University of Alberta told Smithsonian.

Despite these exciting possibilities, the formations are millions of miles away, and accurate biological examination will be hard to achieve. Although these mysterious growths may be from ancient alien life, further investigation is necessary to uncover the answer to the numerous questions, surrounding their formation.

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Health officials on Tuesday reported the first known case of the Zika virus in the United States, and the infection in Texas is said to have been transmitted through sexual contact. It was previously thought that the virus was only transmittable through mosquito bites.

Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed the report through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reports state the unidentified person contracted the virus after a sexual encounter with another person that recently returned from Venezuela. The person who contracted the virus from the traveler had not gone abroad. The Texas Department of State Health Services was not ready to immediately confirm sexual transmitability but said that was likely the cause. Dallas County HHS sent out a series of tweets, confirming the virus was contracted through sex.

Before this case, the World Health Organization acknowledged one case of possible Zika virus transmitted through sex but noted the need for more medical research before reaching a definite conclusion.

Zika threatens more than 4 million people in the Americas, and several countries are working on ways to combat the virus. Experts have stated that a vaccine for the virus is months, if not, years away.

"Most important, we need to set up surveillance sites in low- and middle-income countries so that we can detect any change in the reporting patterns of microcephaly at an early stage," said Dr. Anthoy Costello, WHO's director for maternal, child and adolescent health.

Zika causes severe birth defects in infants and has already infected thousands of babies in Brazil. The WHO recently declared the virus a public health emergency, according to Reuters.

Zika rarely results in hospitalization or death, but concern mounts over babies born with microcephaly, as reported by CBS Local.

"We should all be worried about microcephaly," Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff stated.

Brazilian babies born with brain defects and extremely small heads are linked to the virus, though researchers have not reached a definite conclusion. Thousands of babies born with microcephaly have been reported in Brazil since October.

Brazil is set to hold this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Fear of the virus was the main talking point at a recent Olympic committee hearing, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Asia is hunkering down for a virus outbreak. Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore are taking up mosquito control measures to stave off the virus.

"We are ramping up research, not just on Zika, but also on all other viruses in the mosquito vector such as dengue and chikungunya, and doing checks on carriers across the provinces gradually - this is related to entomology," said Dr. Oscar Primaldi from Indonesia, according to The Strait Times.

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Two former Guatemalan soldiers are on trial this week for war crimes during the country's 36-year civil war, including the forced disappearance and murder of indigenous men and the sexual enslavement of Mayan women during a 10-month period in 1982-83.

This historic trial will mark the first time that sexual slavery will be prosecuted as a war crime in the country where it is alleged to have occurred, according to the BBC.

The defendants are Esteelmer Reyes Giron, a 59-year-old retired colonel, and 74-year-old former soldier Heriberto Valdez Asij. They are officially accused of "authorizing and consenting for soldiers under his command to exercise sexual violence and inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment against Maya-Q'eqchi' women" in the northeastern village of Sepur Zarco, where the military was deployed at the time, reports the Associated Press.

Bringing the case to trial has involved a lengthy process. The victims are now in their 70s and 80s, and they cannot speak Spanish - only their Mayan language of Q'eqchi' - according to the Guardian. With support from women's advocacy groups, the women, along with five male witnesses who were held and tortured at the Sepur Zarco military base, first came forward to tell their stories in 2011.

According to the testimonies, 15 Mayan leaders in Sepur Zarco were seized and killed or forcibly disappeared, and within a few weeks the soldiers returned to destroy the village and to force the women and children to relocate to huts close to the military base. Routinely, each woman had to undertake a 12-hour "shift" at the base where they were systematically raped as well as forced to perform domestic tasks, as explained by the Guardian.

Both of the defendants were arrested in June 2014, and the case initially went to trial in October, the BBC reports. It was delayed, however, because of challenges made by the accused. Due to the age and infirmity of the victims, in 2012 the court allowed for pre-trial evidentiary hearings to occur to ensure that the victims' and witnesses' testimonies would be on record.

These crimes occurred under ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who is currently facing retrial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including the slaughter of 1,771 Maya Ixil indigenous people in Guatemala's Quiche region in 1982-83, Reuters reports.

In total, Guatemala's civil war (1960-1996) left more than 200,000 dead, according to a United Nations' 1999 Truth and Reconciliation report, with the Mayan population representing 83 percent of the victims.

The trial is expected to last 40 days, reports the Latin Dispatch. The defendants deny the accusations.

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After turning down Ridley Scott's space-adventure "The Martian" for "Piku," Irrfan Khan has now rejected another Hollywood film. The actor revealed that he refused a role in an upcoming Steven Spielberg film featuring Scarlett Johansson because the character just wasn't exciting enough for him.

"I didn't feel the character offered to me gave me much scope. So I said 'No,' though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with," Khan said in an interview, according to NDTV.

Khan, whose other Hollywood credits include "Jurassic World," "Life of Pi," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Amazing Spider-Man," recently wrapped up Ron Howard's "Inferno" with Tom Hanks, according to the Times of India.

"Tom Hanks was an actor secure in his space. He has no air and is so talented," Khan said about Hanks.

Khan said last month that he had to turn down a role in "The Martian" due to his commitment to "Piku."

"I am disappointed that things didn't work out with him. I wanted to work with him (Scott) before as well in 'Body of Lies' (2008), but things just didn't fall into place. For 'The Martian' as well, I met him and I loved the concept as well. But 'Piku's' second half of the shoot was still pending and I couldn't have left that," said the actor, who was replaced by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the film, according to Hindustan Times.

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Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, has called for a referendum on independence Wednesday. This came after the current crises in Iraq and Syria, involving the Islamic State. Many view the conflict in the area as an opportunity for the Kurdish ethnic group to advance their dream of independence.

"The time has come and the situation is now suitable for the Kurdish people to make a decision through a referendum on their fate," Barzani was quoted as saying in a Reuters report. "That referendum does not mean proclaiming statehood, but rather to know the will and opinion of the Kurdish people about independence and for the Kurdish political leadership to execute the will of the people at the appropriate time and conditions."

Barzani has called a referendum in the past, but it was not backed by details such as a timetable so that it could be put into motion. This time, the leader wants to hold the political exercise soon and has outlined possible frameworks in which it can be implemented. "The same way that Scotland, Catalonia and Quebec and other places have the right to express their opinions about their destiny, Kurdistan too has the right, and it's non-negotiable," he said in a Press TV report.

Several states in the Middle East are skittish about the prospect of an independent Kurdish nation. This is particularly true for countries that have sizable Kurdish minorities, who could demand the same call for self-determination. Barzani tries to address this concern by stressing that an independent Kurdish nation could help bring peace to the region as freedom is obtained without bloodshed, Rudaw reported.

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Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders raised $3 million in one day, following Monday night's Iowa caucuses, the campaign said Tuesday.

"It's been our best day ever," Sanders communications director Michael Briggs told The Washington Post. Sanders benefited from as much as 40 percent new donors, who, according to the campaign, were energized by the Vermont senator's performance in Iowa. Sanders finished behind rival Hillary Clinton by the tiniest margin of 0.2 points in the early voting state's contest in which Clinton had 49.8 percent and Sanders took 49.6 percent.

The Sanders campaign said on Sunday that it had raised $20 million for the month of January from a record-setting number of small donors. The campaign says that more than 770,000 individuals contributed over the month with an average of $27 per contribution, putting donations past the 3.2 million mark, according to USA Today. The campaign also said that 99.9 percent of the donors gave less than the maximum limit, making them eligible to contribute more later in the race.

The Sanders camp immediately sought to compare their fundraising feat to Clinton's efforts, saying, "Working Americans chipping in a few dollars each month are not only challenging but beating the greatest fundraising machine ever assembled," The Hill reported.

"As Secretary Clinton holds high-dollar fundraisers with the nation's financial elite, our supporters have stepped up in a way that allows Bernie to spend the critical days before the caucuses talking to Iowans about his plans to fix a rigged economy and end a corrupt system of campaign finance," campaign manager Jeff Weaver said, according to Politico.

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Just five days ahead of the New Hampshire primary, MSNBC will host the fifth DNC-sanctioned debate on Thursday, this one at the University of New Hampshire. The debate was a late-breaking addition the network announced on Jan. 31, one day before the Iowa caucuses, according to MSNBC.

This fifth installment will come just three days after the Iowa caucus, which was historically close, resulting in a virtual tie between the two remaining Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Clinton was declared the winner with 701 delegate equivalent votes (equalling 23 delegates) to Sanders' 697 (21 delegates), The New York Times reported. The caucuses were tense, with six precincts' results determined by coin flips  all of which Clinton won. The total vote numbers (which the DNC does not use to determine the winner) have been withheld, despite the Sanders' campaign requesting the raw data be revealed, as reported by The Guardian.

Clinton has ridden the wave of her win into her trip to New Hampshire, sending 150 of her staffers to the state to prepare for next Tuesday's primary. Meanwhile, the Sanders campaign spent time raising funds, amassing a reported $3 million within the 24 hours following the Iowa caucuses.

Tension has carried over into New Hampshire, as the Vermont senator had previously threatened to boycott the MSNBC debate if Clinton did not agree to at least three more debates beyond the DNC's schedule. However, he announced Wednesday that he would attend, Politico reported. Clinton stated that her campaign has "accepted all of [the Sanders campaign's] conditions" regarding additional debates, according to The Hill.

Clinton will be looking to swing momentum her way into New Hampshire, a state which Sanders has a 91 percent chance of winning, according to FiveThirtyEight metrics. Regardless, she stands to win big following the Granite State's primary in South Carolina, a state with one of the highest percentage of black voters, a demographic Clinton holds strong numbers with, according to Fox News.

What: The 5th Democratic debate.

When: Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016.

Where: The University of New Hampshire in Durhma, N.H.

Who: Moderators include Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press," and Rachel Maddow, an MSNBC anchor.

Candidates participating

9 p.m. debate - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

How To Watch

MSNBC will be live streaming the debate on its website and on NBC's. You can watch it here on MSNBC, or here on NBC.

Online: Follow HNGN President and Editorial Director Michael Q. Bullerdick (@mbullerdick) for his live tweets during both events!

Bullerdick's Predictions: After previous debates that played more like infomercials, the candidates will finally square off. Who knows, Sanders might even mention her email scandal? Expect Clinton to throw the first punch. What she called a "win" in Iowa was actually a major setback given how close Sanders came to the prize with New Hampshire, his home turf, already in his back pocket. Who'll Win: It'll be a tie, but immediately after the debate and in the days that follow, the Clinton-friendly media will convince us she was the victor.

Drinking games!

After a calculated, deep investigation, we found these sites' drinking games to be most exciting and fun for viewers, regardless of party affiliation. Or if you are solely watching to get drunk.

Debate Drinking

A word to the wise, though! Know your limit and drink in moderation, because as Surgeon General Vivek Murthy points out, "You simply can't drink every time one of these guys says something silly... It's just a formula for disaster."

This is only the fifth debate of the 2016 presidential cycle. Many more are set to take place. Some have exact dates and sponsors already set, while others are still being planned. Check below to see all of the debates scheduled between now and election day 2016, courtesy of USPresidentialElectionNews.com.

Remaining Debate Schedule

Thursday, February 11, 2016

PBS Democratic Primary Debate

Location: Wisconsin

Sponsors: PBS

Candidates: Sanders, Clinton

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Univision Democratic Primary Debate

Location: Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida

Sponsors: Univision, The Washington Post

Candidates: Sanders, Clinton

*Note: Both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns are attempting to add up to four additional debates, however, none have been confirmed yet.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he will participate in the Democratic debate hosted by MSNBC on Thursday in New Hampshire, backing down from his position held Tuesday when he suggested he would only attend if Hillary Clinton agreed to participate in three additional debates, including one in New York.

When asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" whether he would participate in the debate, Sanders responded, "The answer is yes," according to The Hill.

"And you know that I have always wanted more debates and secretary Clinton in the beginning was not so interested in more debates," Sanders continued. "Now suddenly they're very interested in more debates."

Sanders has for months been calling for the Democratic National Committee to sanction more debates, but Clinton refused to jump on board, leaving the decision up to the DNC. However, as her poll numbers began falling in New Hampshire in recent weeks, she called for another debate, presumably because "they're getting a little bit nervous," Sanders said. He insisted that he would only debate if Clinton agreed to three additional debate in the spring, which she finally agreed to in principle. But when Sanders asked her to commit to specific dates and times for the further debates, Clinton backed off, according to Politico.

"What I wanted to see is, on top of New Hampshire, three more debates," Sanders said Wednesday. "We were talking about California and Michigan, and I wanted New York City. Secretary Clinton represented New York. I thought it would be a good idea. For some reason, she's not interested in debating in New York."

On Tuesday, Clinton called Sanders' hand by saying that she would show up for Thursday's debate regardless of if Sanders attended.

Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver said the Vermont senator's "respect for the voters of New Hampshire" trumped any other concerns, according to The Washington Post.

It will be the first time that Sanders and Clinton debate one-on-one. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley suspended his campaign Monday night after a dismal showing in the Iowa caucuses.

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U.S. home improvement and appliance giant Lowe's announced via PR Newswire Wednesday that it will buy its Canadian counterpart, RONA, for $2.3 billion in cash. The deal comes nearly four years after a similar takeover proposal got rebuffed.

Once the transaction is complete, Lowe's will become the dominant home-improvement chain in Canada. It also marks a sharp contrast to the result of Lowe's attempted $1.8 billion hostile takeover in 2012. At the time, both major political parties in Quebec opposed the company coming under American control despite Lowe's commitments to maintain a Canadian head office in Quebec and to cultivate Canadian suppliers.

Under the terms of the deal, Lowe's will pay cash and acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of RONA for C$24 per share, more than double yesterday's closing price of C$11.77, according to Bloomberg.

Lowe's has also agreed to pay C$20 for all of RONA's preferred shares.

The transaction was approved unanimously by both companies' boards of directors, along with RONA's biggest shareholder, Quebec pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. It is based on compelling strategic rationale for both companies and is expected to boost Lowe's earnings in the first year after finalization.

Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock said that he expects the deal to accelerate the company's growth strategy by expanding its pre-existing Canadian division, as well as allowing for entry into Quebec, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of the Canadian improvement market.

"It leverages the strengths of two great companies, positioning us for continued success in Canada's over C$45 billion and growing home improvement industry, he said.

RONA Chairman Robert Chevrier mirrored Niblock's sentiments, saying that the acquisition will allow RONA to maintain its brand power while leveraging Lowe's global presence, according to USA Today.

"The team at Lowe's has presented us with an excellent plan that enables our company to maintain its brand power while at the same time leveraging Lowe's global presence to build upon and expand our reach," he said.

Keeping true to its word from 2012, Lowe's will keep RONA's operations in Quebec, which also serves as the headquarters for Lowe's Canadian business. In addition, it will maintain RONA's multiple retail store banners and continue to employ the vast majority of RONA's current employees and key executives.

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Robert Alan Durst, a fugitive New York real estate agent heir, pleaded guilty in New Orleans federal court on Wednesday to a gun charges, agreeing to a seven-year and one-month prison sentence.

The gun charge dates back to March 2015, when the FBI arrested Durst at the J.W. Marriott Hotel on Canal Street in New Orleans due to suspicion that he was about to flee the country. As authorities prepared to remove him from the premise, they discovered he was in possession of a .38-caliber revolver, which the 72-year-old isn't supposed to have since he is a convicted felon, according to The New York Times.

Under the plea bargain, Durst avoided a 10-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine, instead receiving a lesser punishment of 85 months in prison.

The acceptance of the plea means Durst is one step closer to being extradited to California, where is wanted for the 2000 murder of Susan Berman. He has waived extradition and says he wants to go to Califorina in a bid to prove his innocence, but won't go there until he is formally sentenced, though the plea can be nullified if the judge chooses a different sentence.

"It's our purpose ... to 'clear the decks' of anything and everything that would delay Bob's transfer to California so we can start preparing for trial in the Susan Berman case," attorney Richard DeGuerin said, said according to the New York Post. "Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman and doesn't know who did, and he's eager to go to trial and prove it."

Though Durst is only facing trial for a crime committed in 2000, the root of his troubles date back to 1982 when his first wife, Kathleen Durst, abruptly disappeared, reported NBC News. Durst maintains he had nothing to do with her disappearance, but prosecutors argue that he murdered Berman after he learned authorities reopened the investigation into Kathleen's disappearance.

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The U.S. National Academy of Medicine believes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should approve clinical trials for the transfer of DNA from healthy human eggs to diseased embryos, a divisive gene-therapy technique that will allow the replacement of an embryo's mitochondria with healthy mitochondria from the egg of a second woman, according to Scientific American. While the aim of this procedure is to prevent DNA mutations from stimulating the transmission of diseases, concerns are high regarding the safety of mitochondrial replacement as well as the idea of a child with three genetic parents.

One issue is the potential for problems that could stem from incompatible mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from two different women - numerous experiments on mice, fruit flies and other animals showed that the mixture of these two forms of DNA from individuals with different genetic makeups increases the chances of reduced growth, early death, fast aging and reduced reproductive ability, according to Nature.

Scientists suggest that as of now, the technique should be limited to use only in male embryos as a safety precaution since children inherit mitochondria from their mothers, meaning that male offspring would not be able to pass down their modified and potentially dangerous mitochondria to future generations. However, if this procedure is deemed to be safe after this initial testing phase in male embryos, it may have the potential to be expanded to female embryos.

If the research does move forward, it most definitely won't happen this year. The FDA is carefully reviewing the procedure, although no money will be funneled into reviewing applications that involve inheritable genetic modification of embryos, as per Congress when they passed the FDA's 2016 budget, Medical Xpress reported.

"It is ethically acceptable to go forward, but go slowly and with great caution," said Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethicist at John Hopkins University. "Mitochondrial DNA disease can be extremely devastating, and for the women who are at risk of passing it on to their children, they have no other option by which to pursue having a child that's genetically related to them."

"It's unlikely we'll find any cure once the child is born already with these mutations," said Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Sciences University. "The best way is to prevent it."

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By now, content marketing should be an integral part of your marketing strategy. Whether you rely on email campaigns, blog posts, industry articles or social media posts, content marketing increases your brand awareness, informs your customers and leads to more business for your hotel.

Establishing a fixed content marketing strategy can be difficult, however. With new technology and changing consumer habits, content marketing seems to be an ever changing business platform. To help you succeed with your annual marketing goals, we've summarized what hotels need to know about content marketing in 2016.

Content marketing must be mobile

To stay relevant in 2016, your content must be mobile. Almost two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and the majority of those who do are a promising marketing demographic; smartphone ownership soars among the educated and those who have relatively high incomes. Google now reports that the majority of its searches are made on a mobile device, and more and more people are searching within apps. On top of that, more than 87 percent of smart phone users report checking their email on their phones at least once a week.

For hotel marketers, that means all of your marketing content  emails, blogs, social media posts and webpages  must be smartphone and tablet friendly. When you create content, pull it up on different phones and tablets to make sure it is visually appealing, and that the most important portion of the content appears prominently on mobile screens. You also must consider mobile navigation when creating content. Will it be easy for mobile users to follow links from you content to your desired end point, whether that is your bookings page or your email newsletter signup?

Video content will grow

An ever growing component of content marketing, successful video content will become crucial in 2016. The statistics for online videos are staggering: online video accounts for 50 percent of mobile traffic; 78 percent of people say they watch video online at least once a week, and 55 percent say they watch online video at least once a day. That traffic is bolstered by popular social media sites pushing video. This year alone, Twitter began allowing autoplay in user feeds, and Facebook began selling video ads. Livestreaming apps Meerkat and Periscope also launched in 2015. With that in mind, online videos are projected to make up 69 percent of online traffic by 2017.

Video content in 2016 isn't just about the volume of video; it's also about the type of video. The consumption of virtual reality videos and 360-degree videos are projected to explode this year. Last year, Facebook and YouTube began allowing the posting of 360-degree videos, and the Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard allowed smartphone owners to use their devices for virtual reality and 360-degree viewing. This year, several tech companies, including Facebook-owned Oculus and Sony, are set to release virtual reality headsets. Hotel marketers, especially, should consider these new types of video content, as they can transport and immerse users in an environment, allowing marketers to share their hotel experience with potential guests looking to book a room or event venue.

Social media still matters

Social media marketing is nothing new. In fact, it can seem tired and routine, but it shouldn't be overlooked or underestimated. In 2016, social media marketing still matters. Social media marketing allows you to direct consumers to your other content marketing, to your website, and to points of sale. It can grow brand recognition and help build relationships with consumers. Also of value, social media marketing allows for instant feedback. "Likes," comments and especially shares can help you gauge the success of your social media posts and marketing content they direct consumers to.

Quality content reigns supreme

More than anything else, the quality of your content will make or break your 2106 content marketing strategy. Quality content engages, entertains and informs your customer base. Quality content gives consumers a reason to return to your website, read your emails or follow you on social media sites. More than ever, Google search results rely on having quality, informative content rather than a high volume of content.

So in 2016, as you plan out your content marketing strategy, keep in mind your mobile, video and social media options, but make sure that the content you are providing is of value to your customers. Without quality, your hotel brand will be lost in the deluge of marketing content. With quality, your brand will stand out and lead customers to you for information, and ultimately, bookings and sales.

David Cross

Content Manager

YouVisit
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Bringing over 20 years hospitality experience to his new role, Bel joins the hotel after spending 18 months as operations manager at foodservice firm BaxterStorey. He has previously worked as operations manager at Sodexo Prestige during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, was also in the same role at Somerset House, and was a food and beverage manager with Marriott International. Bel will now oversee the day-to-day operations of the hotel as well as driving forward the businesss growth, and building relationships with the local community. Malmaison Aberdeen is close to the city centre, and operates the 100-cover fine-dining restaurant the Brasserie, the Malbar, and a spa. Malmaison was founded in 1994 by Ken McCulloch, with sister brand Hotel du Vin also founded that year by Robin Hutson and Gerard Basset. United in 2004 after a sale to MWB, the two brands were acquired last year for 363m by Singapore-based company Frasers Hospitality UK. Malmaison operates 13 hotels, including properties in London, Oxford, Birmingham and Newcastle.
Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte Opens in Brazil

Radisson Blu today announced the opening of the Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The opening of this hotel marks the brand's expansion into Latin America, which will also include the Radisson Blu Santiago, La Dehesa in Chile in Q2 2016.

Radisson Blu today announced the opening of the Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The opening of this hotel marks the brand's expansion into Latin America, which will also include the Radisson Blu Santiago, La Dehesa in Chile in Q2 2016.

"The opening of Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte represents a major milestone for us, as we expand Radisson Blu across Latin America with a fantastic hotel in the largest country in the region," said Javier Rosenberg, chief operating officer, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. "We have the largest upscale brand in Brazil with Radisson, and we remain focused on retaining our leadership position together with our long standing partner Atlantica Hotels International."

"We are very proud to introduce the first Radisson Blu hotel to Brazil and to Latin America. As we look to bring iconic, stylish and sophisticated hospitality to key cities in Brazil, we feel Radisson Blu is the best product and brand for delivering that experience," states Paul Sistare, founder and chief executive officer of Atlantica Hotels International. "We see more opportunities for growth of the brand in Brazil by leveraging Radisson Blu's strong global presence and appeal to international travelers."

The upper-upscale hotel includes 160 rooms and 16 suites and is situated on Lavras Street in the prestigious neighborhood of Savassi. The property features sophisticated design throughout its guestrooms and public areas, reflecting the distinctive style of Radisson Blu. Business Class rooms provide guests upgraded room and bathroom amenities and daily turn-down service. The hotel also offers complimentary services that include high-speed Internet, a fitness center, daily breakfast, and a well-equipped business center.

The Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte has two fully equipped meeting rooms that are ideal for corporate events up to 200 people. The popular Olegario Patio restaurant offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere for social gatherings and an impressive pizza menu, complimented by a variety of Italian dishes.

"Our Yes I Can!SM service, on-site amenities, stylish and sophisticated atmosphere and prominent location in the city make this hotel the best offering for both business and leisure guests visiting this sought-after destination," said Fernao Chab, general manager, Radisson Blu Belo Horizonte.

Belo Horizonte is the sixth largest city in Brazil and home to several modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Complex. The Savassi neighborhood, in which the hotel is located, is well-known by visitors for its extensive nightlife, excellent culinary offerings and exclusive shopping experience at Patio Savassi. The hotel is also located nearby the The Federal University of Minas Gerais Architecture School and the famous Diogo de Vasconcelos square.
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon: The Peoples Call of Shame!

In the absence of clean policy and vision, the wheels of a political party can groan on monotonously, trudging along old paths and chewing the same cud over and over again. We surely are not strangers to motions of support and the peoples call. But the timing of this other bandwagon of calls to which many CPDM structures and barons are desperately trying to jump on, and take it over, is strange! The calls seem to be a calculated indiscretion meant to give out a little but important message to the rest of us.

The CPDM has been in a state of mental turmoil for quite some time now, aggravated by the fear of the unknown. It has been teetering on the edge of crisis, trying to keep up appearances, with no confident vision of the future in front of it. What we are witnessing now is just a symptom of alarm in the party, and of its God-sent leader. Only this can explain this other disingenuous manner of expressing what seems to be a long-laid devilish plan.

True, what appears as the same action, performed by several individuals in different places, may have a variety of different psychodynamic reasons and explanations. The callersmay not necessarily be all willing follower; and some of the calls are talking of 2018, while others are talking of the next presidential election. Our take is that this is all about the next presidential election that may happen in 2018, or sooner.

One of the central purposes of spin-doctoring is to form public opinion before the act. Many politicians usually blame the press not only for its partiality, but also for its not checking and cross-checking information dished out to form public opinion. This is obviously the reason for the strong condemnation of journalists by Paul Ayah in a write-up he titled journalist sans pareil [a strange type of journalist]. All because, judging by the gesticulation of the CPDM and its hero, some journalists concluded that the signs are that the presidential election will be anticipated.

Ayah reminded them that the fundamental law of the land (the constitution) provides for anticipated presidential election only when the incumbent president dies, or steps down, or is declared by the constitutional council to be no longer capable of exercising his duties. He charged that since none of these was the case, the journalists were living in a dreamland. Fair enough: I think all of this would be true if we have an agreed basis for democracy in our country. But we do not.

Macky Sall, the Senegalese president, has committed himself to organizing a referendum in May 2016 to ask the Senegalese people to decide on his proposal to reduce the presidential term from 7 to 5 years. He says if they (the people) say yes, the presidential election will take place in 2017 instead of 2019.

This may have given Paul Biya an idea on how to anticipate the presidential election in Cameroon, especially because of the ease with which he removed the term-limit clause from the constitution in 2008. He must be reasoning that if he could so easily carry out such an operation that most of his peers are finding difficult to carry out, he can easily amend the constitution any time he wants, to reduce the presidential term in Cameroon from 7 to 5 years too (renewable once). His griots will easily argue that since it was the decision of the Tripartite Conference of the 90s, it is the wish of all Cameroonians. When it is done, he can then call a snap presidential election for October 2016 (instead of the October 2018 we are all focusing on).

Those trying to unfold this plan are arguing that he needs more time to finish his development projects. This is like taking all of us for the fools they have always wanted us to be. They forget that development is the perpetual struggle of humans to live a better life. A development project can never be finished to the extent that further development would no longer be necessary. As the philosopher would put it, the new is a question or problem; it is at once a result and a catalyst for step-by-step amelioration. The ludicrous deification of leadership given expression by the CNU/CPDM regimes for over half a century is a frightful aspect of human bondage that reduces human choices by freezing human ingenuity and passion.

In Cameroon, the governing system has been so screwed up that we regularly vote, but we do not elect. Abdoulaye Babales declaration that ELECAMs role is to protect national institutions by blocking any transition at the summit of the state, only confirms what all of us have been saying!

This voting without electing has caused the people to slowly lose their pride, dignity, and self-belief. It has affected the nurturing of attitudes, behaviors and feelings of solidarity, and the cooperation and attachment to society that the election of leaders is supposed to nurture. It has blocked the development and practice of civic, social and emotional skills needed to make informed decisions in society. Indeed, it has subverted the use of elections to cultivate the soft skills of human capital needed to produce engaged, responsible citizens and their capacity to be, to know, to do, and to live together, as some would say. And so the pent up anger, and the explosion of violence that is slowly engulfing all of us!

Sycophants in the entourage of a leader can give him ideas, but since the leader is human like me and you, they always selects from a maze of ideas only those that assuage their ego and boost opinions that were already in their minds. This is true of Paul Biya. Like a Jacobin with trust in le peuple as the generic source of his actions, he knows fully well that he has been there for 30-some years because le people vote, but his regime elects him. He will go in for another term without the slightest fear of being humiliated at the polls like some of his peers. Abdoulaye Babale, there is no need to worry!

And so, as Paul Biya prepares to go in for another term chanting the slogan of emergence, he should remember that for the magic word to have relevance, it must be hinged on an implacable logic and an imperative of efficiency that can neither surrender to the calls of le people, nor to electoral favours, or bribery, or the arbitrariness of a political party incapable of looking reality in the face and taking the hard decisions that are necessary.

Those opposition people that will jump into the arena to give this other call of shame some respectability, or those that will claim that they will call its bluff, will no longer be a subject of bewilderment and ridicule. They all know that the regime can only be stopped through the streets, not the ballot box!
Perhaps the most significant new thing to come our way in 2015 was the confirmation that Islam is no more a religion of peace than Christianity, Judaism, or any other organised system of superstitious belief.

_________________________________________________________________________ Another "first" in 2015 was the unashamed celebration of torture by governments in democratic countries. This article can only be read with a Premium Account Please Log In or Subscribe to continue reading
We profile four creative dynamos from Ireland, who are primed to make an impact in Tinsel Town this year

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The shocking true story of how, in the Ireland of 2012, a school has treated a young unmarried mother.

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Being a streaming sensation may have its downsides  but the album is already certified platinum...

Rihannas new album has sold fewer than 1,000 physical copies in the United States, according to Nielson, the global marketing research company.

Anti surfaced last Wednesday after a lengthy build-up, but The New York Times has reported that the actual number of 'hard' copies sold in the first week amounted to no more than 460.

That, however, is only part of the story! The album has generated some 484,833 downloads on Tidal, where it was made available for free. The service, which was set up by Jay-Z  and in which Rihanna is a partner  has understandably hailed it as a massive success.

Physical sales of the LP were doubtless also affected by the fact that a million copies are being given away to fans as part of a sponsorship deal with Samsung.

The Recording Industry of America immediately certified Anti as a platinum release, owing to the huge volume of online downloads the album has racked up. Anti has also gone to the top the iTunes charts in America. Meanwhile, it currently stands at No. 4 on the Irish iTunes charts.

The critical reaction to the record has been mixed, with Kitty Empire in The Observer giving it a lukewarm review. It is reviewed in depth in the new issue of Hot Press by Edwin McFee. ""Many old school/long-term Rihanna fans may complain that it isn't the anthem-laden album they were hoping for," he says. But that isn't all. "A different, more genuinely mature artist is emerging into the full light of day here," he adds before offering the definitive verdict.

While the release of the album may have caught fans by surprise, the Barbados-born pop princess has given plenty of warning in relation to her tour. She plays the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on June 21. Now there's one to really look forward to...
For fairly obvious reasons, the vast majority of films set in Northern Ireland tend to be about The Troubles, but not writer/director Stephen Fingletons post-apocalyptic drama The Survivalist. The scarily stark debut feature from the 32-year-old Derryman is set in the wilds of the Ulster countryside in an unspecified year, following the inevitable exhaustion of the planets oil supply and subsequent collapse of industrialised society.

The Survivalist is released on February 12.
The people involved in the formation and operation of the South Central Missouri Pregnancy Resource Center in downtown Houston are working toward a simple and straight-forward goal: Curb or eliminate abortion.

We want to save babies, said Licking resident George Hooker, president of the organizations 12-member board. Babies are the only innocents involved here. They didnt ask for any of it, but here they are.

These little people in the womb need an advocate. It wasnt their choice and it wasnt their fault. We need to protect that innocence.

The non-profit PRC will be located on Pine Street in downtown Houston, in a space next to Forbes Pharmacy that has in the past been home to multiple doctors offices. The first planning meeting for the facility took place late last September, and since then lots of guidance has been provided by Joe and Jane Dalton, of the Rolla PRC.

The new facility is scheduled to open April 14. Its executive director is Debra Stockard, an administrative assistant at First Baptist Church in Houston.

I know there has been a lot of prayer about this in the community, and it has been laid on my heart to do this, Stockard said. Weve had some great help in getting this started; now its in Gods hands.

Its a daunting task, Hooker said. Its kind of a test of faith; we in the board know we cant do this by ourselves, and if God doesnt want it to happen, it wont.

Hooker said the PRC board members intend to stay focused on a primary directive, and any fringe effects of the organizations efforts will simply fall in place on their own.

Our board seems to be universally Christian, he said, but were also universally agreeing were not going to pound that. Our first goal is to safeguard the child, and if in the course of doing so we uphold Biblical principals, were not at all against that.

All services offered by the PRC will provided free, including pregnancy testing, ultrasound, mens mentoring, parenting classes, abstinence-until-marriage counseling, emergency financial assistance, material assistance and post-abortive counseling. The latter service represents a weighty subject.

Its really a traumatic thing for a lot of women once they stop and think about what theyve done, said PRC board member Kathleen Hooker.

This isnt like having your appendix removed, George Hooker said. They often need putting back together.

Well also help women who have had an abortion and are pregnant again, Kathleen said.

Attendees of PRC classes will be given items such as diapers, clothing, strollers, blankets and more. Two local doctors and a midwife have pledged their involvement, and Stockard said the facilitys workers will strive to help clients feel welcome and comfortable.

People who come to us can expect an in-home environment, not just a cold medical clinic, she said. Well have our arms wide open to help them make the right decision  abortion is not an option with us, but well give them the options of adoption or keeping their babies. Well be able to give them lots of information and get them the help and resources they need.

Were going to be with them every step of the way and give them a lot of encouragement.

The new PRC will host a fund-raising banquet April 14 in Houston. The events guest speaker will be an employee of pro-life activist Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who resigned in 2009 after watching an abortion via ultrasound.

Stockard said the PRCs in Rolla and Mountain Grove have dealt with numerous clients from Texas County.

Theres a huge need for this here, she said. Those other facilities are apparently swamped with clients from here. Were going to address that need.

A lot of the people we intend to help are suffering from ignorance, George Hooker said. They dont know what their choices are, and thats what were here for  to give our clients access to all the options and resources available that dont include abortion.

Four of the officials playing key roles in the formation and operation of the South Central Missouri Pregnancy Resource Center are, from left: treasurer Harold Bruening, executive director Debra Stockard, board member Kathleen Hooker and board president George Hooker.

These little people in the womb need an advocate. It wasnt their choice and it wasnt their fault. We need to protect that innocence.

-GEORGE HOOKER

The South Central Missouri Pregnancy Resource Center will host its first-ever Banquet for Life, Thursday, April 14, in the community building at the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds. A free meal will be served and donations for the facility will be accepted. For reservations, call 417-457-6526.

The PRC is currently accepting donations of money, and new or slightly used baby items, maternity clothing, office furniture, love seats and comfortable chairs. It also needs volunteers to help with mailings, office operations, parenting classes and clients. To inquire about volunteering for the PRC or to arrange making a donation, call executive director Debra Stockard at 417-967-2297, or email board president George Hooker at sprhook@gmail.com. Funds or small items can be donated by mail at PRC, P.O. Box 295, Houston, Mo., 65483.

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2016 Award Winners Published on Audio by Recorded Books and TantorRecorded Books and partner Tantor are the audio publishers of titles honored with Youth Media Award winners, Honor Books, Amazing Audiobooks, and Notable childrens recordings.

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PRINCE FREDERICK, MD (PRWEB) JANUARY 27, 2016Recorded Books, Inc. is the audio publisher of this years Newbery and Caldecott winners. Along with partner Tantor Media, Recorded Books also had titles the company published on audio honored with numerous other awards, including Honor Books, Amazing Audiobooks, and Notable childrens recordings. The 2016 Youth Media Award winners were announced Jan. 11 by the American Library Association (ALA) during a presentation at ALAs Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Boston.2016 Award Winners with Audio Editions from Recorded Books and Tantor:Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena . Winner of the 2016 John Newbery Medal. 2016 Randolph Caldecott Honor Book. 2016 Coretta Scott King Honor BookFinding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick . Winner of the 2016 Caldecott Medal. The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds . 2016 Coretta Scott King Honor Book Half the World by Joe Abercrombie . Winner of the 2016 Alex Award The Boys Wh...

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Deadline Extended - Economics for Journalists 2016

Posted by Press Releases on Wednesday, 02-03-2016 12:01 am

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We have heard from many that this is quite a busy time of year so, the final deadline to apply for our Economics for Journalists programs is this Friday, January 29, at 12 pm PST.Through lectures, simulations, and discussions, experienced economics professors will explain common economic terms and demonstrate how economics can be used to better understand the world around us.We will be holding three programs this year, two in Toronto and one in Vancouver:Toronto, ONMay 5-8, 2016 / May 12-15, 2016Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville Vancouver, BCMay 26-29, 2016The Metropolitan Hotel The application form can be accessed by clicking here. Applying is simple and should take approximately 10 minutes. Please note that all journalists are eligible to receive full bursaries to cover the program costs, and requesting a bursary will not affect your application status.I hope that you, or someone you know, can benefit from this exclusive professional development opportunit...

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Savills Studley Represents Rail Europe in US Operations Center Move to Des PlainesSavills Studley represented Rail Europe in its lease negotiation to relocate into 23,543 square feet of new office space at 1350 E. Touhy Ave in Des Plaines, IL.

Posted by Press Releases on Wednesday, 02-03-2016 10:44 am

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CHICAGO, IL (PRWEB) JANUARY 27, 2016Savills Studley represented Rail Europe in its lease negotiation to relocate into 23,543 square feet of new office space at 1350 E. Touhy Ave in Des Plaines, IL. Rail Europe, the largest distributor of European rail products in North America, will move into its new US Operations Center in the OHare Submarket from Columbia Center II (9450 West Bryn Mawr) in Rosemont at the beginning of 2017.Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Savills Studleys Chicago Office Robert Sevim and Corporate Managing Director Jon Azulay represented the tenant; Fred Ishler from Transwestern represented the landlord.Rail Europes objective was to develop an environment that would enhance the effectiveness and engagement of its workforce, and contemplate expansion for future growth on the same floor plate, said Sevim. Relocating to 1350 E. Touhy provided the most economically viable opportunity for Rail Europe to successfully meet the...

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For decades, there have been issues with businesses trying to understand what is and what is not permissible as it relates to classifying workers as independent contractors. In this economy, federal and state governments are looking for revenue wherever they can. Its clear that taxing authorities believe this issue could be a pot of gold, with estimates of lost tax revenue in the billions of dollars each year. Here are a few factual headlines:  The IRS has committed to spend millions more investigating what they call "worker misclassification' (i.e. calling someone an "independent contractor" when the government considers them your "employee").  More and more states are going after this issue too, with California having passed the most onerous law on this subject ever and recent rulings against Uber, which have been highly publicized.  If you are found to have misclassified workers, the taxes, fines and interest could literally put you out of business; and your risk is not limited to the government, with lawsuits becoming more common from workers claiming the company they worked for should have treated them like employees. Before you allow your blood pressure to rise, we suggest you follow this easy two-step diagnostic: Step 1: Do you issue a large dollar volume (let's say a million dollars or more) on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form 1099 each year to independent contractors? If you answered &...
h giant IBM is latest big business to ditch rigid performance reviews in favour of a more employee-friendly appraisal system.IBM has undergone a complete overhaul of its review process, ditching its less-than-popular stack ranking system for a new process designed with input direct from its employees.IBM asked employees what they wanted to see change within the review system, IBM's chief human resources officer Diana Gherson told Fortune.The HR department harnessed the power of social media to request employee feedback via its Connections internal social media site. The post was read by 75,000 people and got 2,000 comments, Gherson told Fortune.HR also asked employees to vote on topics including work priorities, teamwork, skills, value and innovation via online mini-polls, an IBM spokesperson Business Insider.The main response: Employees asked to ditch the stack ranking process, receive feedback more often, and have the ability to change their goals as the year progressed.So the new system will no longer label IBM employees with use a single number, a spokesperson told Business Insider.As IBM continues its evolution from its beginnings in traditional hardware to cloud computing and other big data services, its HR team are managing the challenging process of restructuring its employee base to meet the companys changing needs.Previously, employees worried that the old review system would red flag their performance, making them more likely to lose their job in the companys changing environment.Under the new system, focus will be on feedback at least every quarter, shorter-term goals and employees will be reviewed based on five general topics: business results, impact on client success, innovation, personal responsibility to others, and skills.At the end of the year, managers evaluate employees on the five dimensions  whether they have exceeded, or achieved expectations, for their role, or whether more is expected, an IBM spokesperson told Business Insider.IBM joins other big corporates that have jumped on the bandwagon to replace their traditional year-end performance appraisal and ratings with in-depth conversations and other strategies..Tech start-up Atlassian abolished official performance reviews in 2010, replacing them instead with brief weekly self-analyses completed by employees online, while Microsoft scrapped its stack-ranking system in 2013.
tal health issues such as depression and anxiety can lead to a decline in the overall health of employees in the workplace, result in lower productivity and contribute to rising health-related expenses for employers.Kathryn Page is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and says common mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety disorders, are the second leading cause of disability in Australia and affect around 20% of the working age population at any one moment.Ms Page says her experience as both a workplace mental health researcher and organisational psychologist, both of which involve working closely with employers, employees and other workplace stakeholders, has allowed her to view this challenge from a variety of perspectives.In my view, an important part of the solution is to better equip bosses to manage people, regardless of whether a mental health disorder is involved, Ms Page says.She says mental health is a leadership issue and employers and organizational leaders have a critical role to play in promoting policies and best practice to promote mental health awareness in the workplace.For employees, the main struggles relate to coping with poor managerial and workplace practices, excessive workloads, little control over their work, demands to do more with less, and interpersonal conflict, she says.Indeed, a 2010 study by Vic Health found that Job-Strain, where workers have little control over their job, but who are under high pressure to perform, accounts for 17 per cent of depression in working women and 13 per cent in working men.The financial reality translates to a cost of up to $730 million per year to the Australian economy from job-related depression, with much of the cost worn by employers.With research by Beyond Blue showing that 3 million Australians live with depression or anxiety, chances are that many workplaces will have an employee with a mental illness.Ms Page says the challenge for HR managers is to ensure mentally healthy workplace and take steps to remove the age-old stigma attached to mental health issues.Ideally, the office should be a place protecting the safety and well-being of employees while providing them with opportunities for better long-term health, so workers with mental illness are supported to succeed in their chosen career while managing their mental illness.The outcome will be better for businesses with fewer days taken off and reduced absenteeism as employees are better equipped and supported to manage their mental illness.Many modern Australian workplaces are taking positive steps to address the effects of stress and anxiety among employees, including introducing healthy workplace initiatives and hosting mental health awareness seminars.This includes a group of top-tier law firms that have collaborated to develop the [email protected] initiative to raise awareness and understanding of the nature and impact of stress, depression and anxiety across the legal profession in Australia.Ms Page says line managers are often poorly equipped to detect signs of mental health issues and employers could do well to invest additional support and training into these key roles.For managers, the challenge is in trying to motivate and engage stressed staff, to manage poor performance with little or no support, or to manage their people when they are overloaded and stressed themselves, she says.Patricia Ryan, Director of The Workplace employment lawyers, says starting from a positive supportive base will more likely lead to an outcome that is best for both the employer and the worker.When advising employers on how best to manage a worker with mental illness, we encourage employers to start from the position of how best can I support the worker so they can remain a valuable part of the workplace? Ms Ryan says.Strategies HR managers can consider to reduce workplace absence include meeting with the worker to identify the reasons for the absences and exploring alternatives to being absent for a whole day, such as: using a quiet room for breaks, taking a part-day absence or if the worker works part-time, allow them to swap with another day in the week, where suitable.Ms Ryan says employers or managers should note that organizational occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations extend to any workers with mental illness and possible workplace practices, actions or incidents which may cause or contribute to the mental illness of workers need to be identified and action taken to eliminate or minimize these risks.However, she advises employers that if someone is just not well enough to be at work then the law does allow them to terminate the employee if they cant fulfil the requirements of the job.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told an American blogger Roosh V to scram on Tuesday over news his tribesmen are organizing a meetup on city property this upcoming weekend.

Watson responded to a Twitter callout made by the controversial pick-up artist for supporters to meet across 10 Canadian cities on Feb. 6, including in Ottawas Arts Court Building.

Hate groups are not welcome in City buildings. Working w/ @MathieuFleury to ask venues to #TurnAwayReturnOfKings https://t.co/k0OjGxkphi  Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) February 2, 2016

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Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi echoed Watsons sentiments, as did Toronto Mayor John Tory.

What he said. Goes double for Calgary. Thanks for your leadership on this, Jim. https://t.co/xyD7T1o1wA  Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) February 2, 2016

On a list of 165 meeting points around the world, an instructional post advises interested participants to identify your fellow tribesmen by asking a man you suspect is there for the meetup if they know where they can find a pet shop.

If you are asked this question, answer in the affirmative: 'Yes, its right here,' the post reads. This is a meeting for heterosexual men only.

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Other cities, including Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Windsor and Winnipeg, are also on the list.

In Toronto, police say this weekends event is known to them.

Roosh V, whose real name is Daryush Valizadeh, known for his rape-promoting misogyny and homophobic affectations, was also called out last year by Tory.

.@rooshv doesn't reflect the values of Toronto and his statements about women are demeaning and unacceptable. #topoli  John Tory (@JohnTory) August 11, 2015

.@rooshv and his hate speech have no place in our city and should have no platform here either. #topoli  John Tory (@JohnTory) August 11, 2015

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On Tuesday, the controversial pick-up-artist hinted he may change his plans from attending the Washington D.C. event and fly to Ottawa instead.

Fuck this clown mayor @JimWatsonOttawa. Maybe I'll come to Ottawa to show him he has zero authority to keep me out. https://t.co/oA5A1Ktegi  Roosh (@rooshv) February 2, 2016

He responded to Tory and Nenshi by puffing his chest out and bragging about his visit to Toronto last year.

Oh look, it's @JohnTory, the same mayor I humiliated last year by holding my event as planned. He couldn't stop me. https://t.co/KSRM9VMnQR  Roosh (@rooshv) February 2, 2016

I laugh at all these raging mayors. A mayor is a failed businessman who is a slave to real estate developers. They get no respect from me.  Roosh (@rooshv) February 2, 2016

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We're sure your respect is exactly what they're looking for, Roosh.

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A Conservative MP has called on the Liberal government to publicly rule out giving former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty a patronage appointment.

Alex Nuttall, who was elected last fall in the Ontario riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, made the unusual request Tuesday during question period.

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Nuttall said the new federal government has filled its offices with one-time staffers of McGuinty, who served as premier of Canada's most-populous province for 10 years.

Dalton McGuinty appears before a committee on justice policy at the Ontario legislature in 2012. (Photo: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

"McGuinty has cost Ontario taxpayers billions of dollars in higher taxes, big spending, and gas plant scandals," Nuttall said. "After hiring every McGuinty staffer it could find, will the government at least promise that Dalton McGuinty never gets a patronage appointment? Yes or no?"

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Pam Goldsmith-Jones, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, didn't take the bait.

"We will not confirm about a personal appointment for anybody," she said.

A senior Liberal source told the Huffington Post Canada this week that McGuinty will not, as rumoured, be named Canada's next high commissioner to the United Kingdom. Ex-British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell has held on to coveted role since 2011.

"We will not confirm about a personal appointment for anybody."

A former assistant to the Ontario premier also told iPolitics there is "no truth" to the rumour, which appears to have surfaced after McGuinty left a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Last month, the government announced the appointments of two key diplomats. David MacNaughton, a former principal secretary to McGuinty and co-chair of the federal Liberal election campaign in Ontario, was named the new ambassador to the United States. Toronto lawyer Marc-Andre Blanchard was appointed ambassador to the United Nations.

Two former Ontario Liberal government staffers also have the ear of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Gerald Butts, a former principal secretary to McGuinty, now serves in that capacity for Trudeau. The PM's chief of staff, Katie Telford, also worked for the McGuinty government.

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Another Tory MP bashes McGuinty in House

Veteran Tory MP Cheryl Gallant  who spends a lot of time in the House talking about the Ontario Liberal government  frequently throws shots at Butts, Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Dalton McGuinty in the House.

During a debate this week, Gallant warned "the same people who ran the corrupt McGuinty provincial government" now serve as backroom operators in Ottawa after having fled "the sinking provincial ship."

"And they promise to take the entire country down the same deficit-spending, tax-the-rich, let-them-eat-cake attitude that is so toxic in Ontario today," she charged.

The Conservatives' jabs at McGuinty may be particularly uncomfortable for one Liberal MP. David McGuinty, the ex-premier's younger brother, has represented the riding of Ottawa South since 2004.

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Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

So, in the spirit of this celebration of love and all things heart shaped, With Wendy is teaching us how to make an adorable sweetheart bustier tank top. This bustier tank is perfect for layering, so you will get plenty of use out of it. Wendy recommends pairing it with high-waisted or baggier jeans, and a jacket or blazer.

To create your sweetheart bustier tank, all you will need is about one metre of fabric (with a bit of stretch), a long zipper, and a spare hour or two. Here are the results:

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Head over to Wendy's tumblr for instructions on how to cut out the pieces for your bustier tank, and then follow the full tutorial above. Let us know how your tank turns out in the comments, and be sure to check back next week for more DIY Fashion With Wendy.

Wendy Liu is a Toronto-based DIY fashion guru. If you love her amazing DIY tutorials as much as we do, head over to her blog With Wendy or subscribe to her YouTube channel.

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In addition to being useful when traveling, learning a foreign language has been associated in several studies with helping boost cognitive function and delay the onset of dementia. Mobile apps can be a great solution for mastering a new tongue or brushing up on school-day skills because they're portable, convenient and relatively low cost. Here's a look at five of the best mobile apps for learning a foreign language.

Babbel

With 13 foreign languages available, the Babbel app offers a comprehensive learning system. It has functions to help learners improve their pronunciation and build vocabulary quickly through fun lessons. The app is free to download but language courses are paid for by subscription for one to 12 months, priced from $13.99 to $84.

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Download the Babbel app from Apple's App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

Duolingo

This entirely free app can help total beginners (including schoolchildren) and more advanced learners get to grips with 26 languages, including classic options like French and German, as well as more unusual choices such as Norwegian, Swahili and Klingon. Over time, users can progress to higher levels or choose to specialize in a specific field (business, medical, etc.). It's even possible to compete with friends also signed up to the platform.

Download the Duolingo app from Apple's App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

Memrise

Memrise helps users learn a maximum number of words in a short space of time using visual learning techniques and memory games. A Premium subscription offers access to a wide choice of extra games, with prices ranging from $11.99 for one month to $84.99 for the year.

Download the Memrise app from Apple's App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

MosaLingua

MosaLingua offers a choice of five languages (German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) with different levels available. The app focuses on long-lasting memorization, using techniques based on cognitive and psychological concepts to tap into the learner's audio and visual memory. Most of the apps are priced at from $5.79 to $6.99 with add-on vocab packs available for in-app purchase.

All of the apps are available for iOS and Android.

Head to the MosaLingua website to see the choice of languages and levels.

Busuu

Busuu (which takes its name from a Cameroonian dialect) offers an original way to brush up on 12 languages. The platform is like a social network for language learners, where users can follow interactive lessons and connect with native speakers all over the world to practice their skills. Access is subscription-based, with prices ranging from $13.99 for one month to $89.99 for 12 months. Busuu has over 50 million users worldwide.

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Download the Busuu app from Apple's App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).
OTTAWA  The Liberal government is not ruling out a referendum on proposed changes to the electoral system, says the parliamentary secretary to the Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef.

Ontario MP Mark Holland told The Huffington Post Canada Wednesday that the government wants to let "the process evolve."

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A referendum is "not something that we are ruling in or out," Holland said.

Mark Holland addresses supporters at a campaign rally in October. (Photo: Paul Chiasson/CP)

"We don't want to prejudge the committee's work or the consultations that are going to take place by saying that it has to end in some particular outcome. We are going to watch how that process unfolds."

But what would lead the government to decide to hold a referendum?

Holland wouldn't say. "I don't know where we are in a year, I have no idea. I'm not clairvoyant."

The government's job is to participate in the "most robust, comprehensive engagement" possible to hear from Canadians about how they want their system to evolve, he said. At the end of a year, when a new proposal for a voting system is presented, the government will "look at where we are."

"We don't want to prejudge the committee's work or the consultations that are going to take place by saying that it has to end in some particular outcome."

Holland made his comments after attending an open caucus meeting with the Senate Liberals  the Liberal members of the upper chamber who were kicked out of Trudeau's caucus two years ago  where his appearance was greeted as somewhat of an "olive branch" by some senators.

The parliamentary secretary pledged that the government would soon strike an all-party, "non-partisan" parliamentary committee to study electoral reform that would seek to build a consensus with Canadians.

"This needs to be a historic engagement of the likes that we have not seen before," he said.

Holland said he and Monsef also plan to tour the country to "supplement" the committee's work.

Ex-chief electoral officer says referendum not needed

Former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley, York University political scientist Dennis Pilon, and Fair Vote Canada's Kelly Carmichael also appeared before the group of Liberal senators and an audience of about 50 people. They all agreed it wasn't necessary for the government to hold a referendum before changing the way MPs are elected.

"We don't put people's rights to a vote," said Pilon, who advocated for a system with more proportional representation to reflect people's natural tendencies to vote for political parties and not individual politicians.

Internationally, few referendums have approved changes to voting systems, he said, qualifying New Zealand's recent experience as an exception.

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"What we know from referendums is that when you ask people the question and they don't know what it is about, they usually say no," he added.

"What we know from referendums is that when you ask people the question and they don't know what it is about, they usually say no." - Political scientist Dennis Pilon

Carmichael, who also advocated a more proportional system, said she hoped the consultations would suffice.

Kingsley said a referendum could be avoided if the government government received the support of another major political party for its proposal.

But the former chief electoral officer cautioned that newspaper editorialists might create so much public pressure as to make it nearly impossible for the government to avoid holding one.

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"There will be a lot of pressure, and I think that we need to face the fact, there will be that. How the government will respond will depend upon how the public perceives the issue."

Liberals trying to rig' election: Tory MP

The Conservatives argue that a referendum is absolutely required.

In a pamphlet distributed to his constituents, Conservative democratic institutions critic Scott Reid declared the Liberals' campaign promise of changing the current first-past-the-post system to be a "Liberal plan to rig the 2019 election."

The flyer, which quotes Conservative-leaning pundits, urges residents to demand a referendum.

In an interview with The Tyee online magazine, Reid is cited suggesting that the Liberals will propose a ranked ballot that. He believes such a change will disproportionately hurt Conservative voters, who are less likely to vote for second-choice candidates and, whose ballots, as a result, may be more likely to be thrown out for being incomplete.

"If you produce that system, you've rigged the next election," Reid is quoted saying. "That is very likely the system that the Liberals are going to set up.

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Conservative MP Scott Reid speaks in question period in 2012. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)

Holland said he wasn't surprised by Reid's comments.

"He is interested in maintaining the status quo and delegitimizing this process," the parliamentary secretary said. "For him to make that kind of proclamation that somehow this process is predetermined when it is just beginning, I think is farcical, and instead of attacking it and throwing stones at it, I would encourage him to take part in the discussion."

Less stable governments on the horizon?

Wednesday's meeting also raised the spectre that Trudeau's electoral reforms might lead to constitutional wrangling.

Liberal senator and constitutional expert Serge Joyal warned Holland that changing the electoral system to one likely to result in more minority governments means Ottawa should also consider delineating the powers of the Governor General to appoint the prime minister and dissolve parliament.

He also noted that a legislative change would require the approval of all of the provinces.

Former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley is shown at a news conference in 2002. (Photo: Fred Chartrand/CP)

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Kingsley told senators he thinks the federal government should look at keeping the first-past-the-post system in rural and remote areas but create large geographical groups in urban areas encompassing four or five ridings where residents' votes would be distributed proportionally. It would be a made-in-Canada approach, he said.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who attended the meeting, said she hopes the first-past-the-post system will be replaced because it encourages "nastiness" in politics.

"It becomes very difficult for someone in my position to say, out loud, that Stephane Dion was a fine person and I liked working with him, because the response was, 'well that's a terrible thing. Why would anyone say anything nice about someone in another party?'"

May said she believes the Greens lost half their vote in the last 24 hours before the Oct. 19 election because people voted strategically for the Liberals to get rid of the Conservatives.

She asked Holland if she, along with her 10 Bloc Quebecois colleagues, will be allowed to sit on the all-party committee studying the changes to the electoral system.

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Holland was less than committal.

"We are still working out the formation of the committee at this point," Holland said. "We haven't made a determination on its composition."

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Melanie Mark grew up in one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods, bouncing around the social housing system while her mother struggled with addiction and her siblings lived in foster care.

Decades later, she's about to become the first indigenous woman to be elected to B.C.'s legislature in the province's history.

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Mark, a New Democrat, snagged a seat in her party's stronghold of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant in a byelection Monday. She handily defeated Liberal Gavin Dew and Green candidate Pete Fry with over 60 per cent of the vote.

The mother of two will be replacing Jenny Kwan, who moved into federal politics as NDP MP for Vancouver-East last October.

Mark at a campaign launch event in April 2015. (Photo: Facebook)

Mark was a frontrunner throughout the campaign, which was an experience that provided a stark contrast from a childhood marked with hardship.

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Now 40, the politician grew up in social housing in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside  an impoverished neighbourhood known for high levels of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.

Mark's mother  now 10 years sober  was an alcoholic. Her father was also an addict and died from an overdose when she was in her 20s, the MLA wrote in a letter published by the Georgia Straight last week.

Mark, who is of Cree, Nisgaa, Gitxsan, and Ojibway descent, also had several siblings living in foster care. The future politician said she was left to support them for 16 years, working with "relentless passion" while her mother struggled with addiction.

Mark at a campaign event before winning the byelection in her riding of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant on Feb. 2, 2016. (Photo: Melanie Mark's Campaign/Flickr)

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Mark was shuffled into "over 30" different homes growing up in the neighbourhood, she told the Straight.

But her takeaway from it all, according to her website, wasn't frailty.

It was "warrior strength."

Youth advocacy and provincial politics

Mark, who studied political science at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University, spent years advocating for children and youth in the province and across Canada. She worked with organizations such as Covenant House Vancouver, Save the Children, the RCMP, and co-founded Vancouver's Aboriginal Policing Community Centre.

She also volunteered as president of the city's Urban Native Youth Association, which helps indigenous youth settle into city life.

Before her foray into politics, Mark worked with B.C. children's watchdog Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond for nearly a decade.

The politician announced her bid for B.C. legislature in April.

"There was no chance in hell I was going to stand on the sidelines."

Throughout her campaign, Mark focused on youth advocacy, affordable housing, poverty reduction, and education.

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"I've never worked so hard to get a job," the candidate told the Vancouver Courier last year.

Mark's First Nations heritage was also at the forefront  a part of her identity that shows how far the MLA-elect has come.

"My early days weren't easy. There was a lot of struggle, and there certainly wasn't a lot of pride. I faced so much racism in school, and bullies, and really had to fight  whether that [was against] the experiences that my family confronted [or] how my brothers were treated in care," Mark said at a campaign event on Sunday.

"There was no chance in hell I was going to stand on the sidelines."

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10th Sejong International Cartoon Contest SICACO 2021, Korea

: Informed about the sending by e-mail on 23 November 2021

* The 4th International Competition of Cartoons Aleksandar Klas 2017, Serbia: All

whose cartoons are selected in the catalog and the exhibition will receive a free copy of the catalog (

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When it comes to issues like marijuana legalization and government transparency, Rick Mercer says the federal Tories are experiencing a glitch with their long-term collective memories.

In a new rant that aired Tuesday, the comedian unpacked his grievances with the return of Parliament and this years awful start to question period.

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Focusing on interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose, Mercer pointed to how she had vowed to rein in hecklers and promote more decorum in the House.

Ambrose told Macleans last year that Parliament is about competing agendas, but theres no need for anyone to be heckling each other.

Turns out she meant the opposite. Theyre worse now than they ever were, Mercer said.

On Monday, longtime Conservative MP Jason Kenney irritated Liberals with a heckle directed at Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Kenney allegedly asked for an English-to-English translation of Sajjan's remarks on Canada's anti-ISIS mission.

 ... the most ridiculous plot twist I have ever heard.

Mercer also brought up Tony Clements calls for the Liberal government to be more transparent  a twist coming from a guy who took $50 million earmarked for border security and secretly spent it on gazebos in Ontarios cottage country" for the 2010 G8 summit.

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Then the Rick Mercer Report host brought up marijuana legalization.

The Conservatives are now mad that the Liberals haven't legalized marijuana yet, he said. That is the most ridiculous plot twist I have ever heard.

He acknowledged its still early, but asked Ambrose to stop pretending like the past 10 years under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper didnt happen.

It's a democratic institution, not a soap opera; you just can't pretend the past decade, poof, was all a dream, he said.

Really strange changes

In an interview with The Huffington Post Canada, Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner praised Ambroses come to Jesus moment on legalization.

He noted its totally hypocritical of the Tories to change their stance after nearly a decade of firm opposition against it.

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We [Liberal MPs] are doing our best not to heckle them, but when you see just the rank hypocrisy of what is coming out of the front bench of the Conservatives, you know their about-face on  pick a topic  [the inquiry on] missing and murdered aboriginal women, the long-form census , its really strange, Cuzner said.

With files from Althia Raj

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Your family's spring break getaway doesn't have to break the bank. In fact, citizens of the U.S. and Canada are fortunate to be within such a short distance of some of the world's most enticing spring break spots. From the turquoise waters of the Caribbean to the mountains of North Carolina and one of Canada's favourite cities, these five affordable spring break destinations will prove that this year's spring vacation doesn't have to put you in debt.

Puerto Rico

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Photo Credit: Trish Hartmann

When you're seeking that faraway feeling without the faraway cost, Puerto Rico provides it all. This small piece of paradise in the Caribbean is known for its postcard-worthy beaches, hip Old San Juan city scene, secluded islands, bioluminescent bays, ideal surfing waves and a long list of other attractions that will pack your spring break days with adventure. Even better, Puerto Rico uses the U.S. dollar and is remarkably close to the U.S., so you won't waste precious vacation days in transit.

Montreal

Photo credit: Artur Staszewski

You don't have to leave Canada to enjoy a family-friendly spring break you'll never forget. Montreal offers an old world feel that transports visitors to Europe without them ever having to board a plane. French-speaking citizens, quaint cafes, historic landmarks, spring festivals, theatre and some of the top restaurants in all of Canada are just a few of the many pieces of Montreal's personality that will lure you in for a memorable spring break experience.

The Montreal Biodome is an ideal stop for families, with four ecosystems that include more than 200 animals. Spring is considered the shoulder season in Montreal, so travellers enjoy big discounts on accommodations, tours and other tourist activities.

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South Padre Island

Most travellers have never considered south Texas as a spring break destination, but there's a reason more than 1 million people visit the coastal community every year. South Padre Island is often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful barrier islands for its turquoise Gulf of Mexico waters, golden sand beaches and gentle swimming waves.

A long list of family-friendly attractions, locally-owned shops and restaurants selling seafood fresh out of the sea will make you wonder why you've never considered Texas as a spring break destination. South Padre Island is known for its affordable accommodation options, especially in the spring months before the summer rush arrives.

Las Vegas

Photo credit: Daniel Zimmermann

Las Vegas isn't often regarded as a family-friendly destination, but travellers with little ones are always wowed by the number of shows and attractions geared toward kids. Las Vegas truly comes alive in the summer months, but you'll enjoy discounted hotel rates and loads of other specials for visiting in the cooler months of spring. Travellers can take advantage of staying in massive resorts with multiple pools for prices that feel like an absolute steal.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Nobody ever said you had to go to the beach for spring break. In fact, a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, offers that heaping dose of the outdoors you need to relax. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a playground for outdoors enthusiasts with countless nature trails, scenic drives, fishing spots and more.

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The park is also located just 20 minutes from Dollywood, a 150-acre theme park known for its thrilling rides, music and delicious eats. You can explore the national park and theme park in spring for a fraction of the price (and with a fraction of the crowds) you'll find in summer.
CP

The criminal trial of former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi for charges of sexual assault and choking commenced in Toronto on Monday. Needless to say, the case has attracted considerable media attention in Canada, and many commentators seem somewhat perplexed, off-put and even dismayed at the scope and tenor of defence counsel's cross examination of the first complainant.

Ghomeshi's counsel is well known and respected criminal lawyer, Marie Henein. Yesterday, Ms. Henein began her cross of the Crown's first witness with questions intended to impugn her recollection and credibility. Questions such as: "you reported the assault to the media before reporting it to the the police, correct?" and "you went on a second date with Jian following the alleged assault, correct?"

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Observers on social media and elsewhere seem surprised and disheartened that a purported victim of sexual crime is being re-victimized and both explicitly and implicitly, being called a liar and fabricator while on the stand.

Some even express anger and frustration with Ms. Henein and her "chosen" method of attack in this regard.

However, if anger or frustration is warranted at all, perhaps it is better directed at the criminal trial process itself rather than at defence counsel.

The criminal trial is concerned with determining whether a trier of fact (either a judge or jury) can be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of an accused's guilt as charged. The beyond a reasonable doubt standard is intended to avoid wrongful convictions and is related to the fundamental tenet of the criminal justice system: the presumption of innocence.

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The Supreme Court of Canada has defined a "reasonable doubt" as more than "an imaginary or frivolous doubt" and a doubt that is "logically derived from the evidence or absence of evidence" (R. v. Lifchus 1997 CanLII 319 (SCC)). It falls closer to absolute certainty than towards proof on a balance of probabilities (R. v. Starr, 2000 SCC 40).

But what happens, such as in the Ghomeshi case, where there is no alibi, or video, or DNA evidence to exonerate the accused?

The defence, on the other hand, is required to do nothing. It is not required to call any evidence whatsoever. The burden remains on the Crown to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, a prudent defence lawyer would do all that was within his/her power raise a reasonable doubt. Perhaps the accused had an alibi, or there was a video showing that the events did not transpire as alleged, or perhaps DNA or other evidence serves to raise a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty.

But what happens, such as in the Ghomeshi case, where there is no alibi, or video, or DNA evidence to exonerate the accused? How does the defence raise a reasonable doubt in these circumstances?

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In such a case, the defence is relegated to raising a doubt by challenging the complainant's recollection and credibility. There really is no other feasible way to mount a defence. Ms. Henein has not chosen this method of attack, so much as it was the only avenue available to her.

This is perhaps a failing on the part of our justice system whereby victims of sexual assault crimes who have the right to redemption and justice vis a vis the criminal justice system are confronted with the rights of accused to be presumed innocent and have the cases against them proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The process entails carefully parsing out evidence including the complainant's testimony, character and motivations with a view to determining whether guilt can be proven. The product of that process is called justice, either for the Crown (and thereby the complainants and society) or the accused.

Perhaps in the case of sexual assault cases, the criminal trial is a blunt instrument, ill suited to balance the rights of victims to be heard without re-victimization with the rights of accuseds to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. One thing is for sure, it's the only system we've got, and defence counsel ought not to be blamed for doing their best for their client within the confines of that system.

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egal via Getty Images Refugees welcome as a road sign

In many countries the admission of immigrants is the object of highly emotional political debates. Several political parties in Europe have adopted anti-immigrant platforms and their leaders have successfully exploited people's fears and insecurities to build voter support. In this version of identity politics the immigrants are cast as a problem whether they're skilled workers, reuniting with family members, or desperately fleeing a failed state. But very often it's the vulnerable refugee that is cast as the biggest threat to the host country's economic well-being and/or its public safety.

There can be a political price to be paid for several European governments seen as being overly generous towards refugees. Historically in Europe and elsewhere refugees have never been the most popular class of immigrants. Hence, support for them isn't an obvious vote getter. Yet in the 2015 Canadian federal election a pro-refugee stance offered a rare example of delivering votes to political parties. During the campaign, the Liberals proposed to take in a much greater number of Syrian refugees than did the Conservatives and this contributed in part to their significant victory (to be fair it was not the only issue that undid the Conservative campaign).

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But the Liberals' success wasn't just about the numbers of refugees to which they committed. It was about not displaying cynicism about the refugee crisis. That's how Prime Minister Harper appeared when he made the Syrian refugees part of a series of campaign wedge issues. To help them capitalize on insecurity amongst Canadians about refugees (and specifically about their origins), the Conservatives enlisted the aid of Australian campaign consultant and political wedge master Sir Lynton Crosby.

The Conservatives couldn't have chosen a worse catalyst to drive the political wedge. It emerged in response to the image of a drowned three year old boy, Alan Kurdi, washed up on the Mediterranean after a failed attempt to escape war torn Syria. Seeing young Kurdi lying lifeless prompted a long overdue call for action to tackle the refugee crisis. It struck an emotional chord with many Canadians. But the Conservatives seemed out of tune. Yes, they promised to admit 10,000 Syrians over the next twelve months rather than the three years they initially proposed.

But the pledge was accompanied by a dispassionate speech by the PM reassuring Canadians that their security was the priority and there would be a very careful selection of refugees admitted to the country with a focus on vulnerable religious minorities. The Conservatives accused the other political parties of being reckless and irresponsible both with regard to the numbers and the potential security risks. The specter of Islamic terrorists lurking behind the Syrian refugees was raised over the course of the campaign.

In pursuing this strategy the biggest wedge that the Conservatives ended up driving was between themselves and a growing number of Canadian voters that turned to the Liberals for leadership. Leaving aside the numbers of refugees to which the political parties committed, Canadians wanted greater empathy. They wanted their nation to be seen as kinder and gentler in the face of a human tragedy (a role our American neighbors seem unwilling to assume on refugee issues). Apparently the Conservatives needed to dig deep. They simply were unwilling and/or unable to do so. With their mishandling of the refugee issue, the Conservatives ended up giving themselves the equivalent of a political wedgie (put another way they were collectively hoisted on their own petard).

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Kavi Guppta

Photo credit: Kavi Guppta

At a time when we increasingly rely on Google and Instagram for answers to our problems, the role of kinesiology, the study of body movement, is becoming more important to help us make our own decisions.

Two years ago Andra Vomir, 26, sat down in front of a kinesiologist with one ask, "I'd like to figure out what I am supposed to be doing with my life." Through a muscle test, she unexpectedly found that negative experiences from almost 10 years ago were blocking her from moving forward.

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We recently talked about her experience with kinesiology and its influence to start her own practice. Vomir is the founder of Andra Maria Wellness in Melbourne, Australia.

Tell me about kinesiology.

Kinesiology helps to uncover the emotional causes of self-limiting beliefs, distress, anxiety, pain, illness, and disease. Kinesiology uses light muscle testing to identify stressors in the body, allowing us to work on a deeper level than with conventional therapy.

Using an energetic framework, we apply various techniques based on the traditional Chinese medicine meridian system to raise the vibrational frequency of the body, allowing a person to experience benefits immediately in most cases.

How did you discover kinesiology?

I discovered kinesiology over two years ago, when I was going through a time of very intense self-work. I had recently moved to Australia from Canada and couldn't understand why some people seemed to have their lives all figured out, but I was so emotional, and stuck and confused all the time.

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I managed a wellness centre at the time, and there was a kinesiologist working there. "I'd like to figure out what I am supposed to be doing with my life." I told her. "That's too big of a goal to work on in one-hour, right?"

Using only light muscle testing on my arm, she asked me to elaborate about several emotions and beliefs that my body was identifying as stressful. I found out that I had a keen desire to work with people on a deeper level, something that I knew deep down, but I never wanted to admit to myself because of my self-worth issues at the time. The kinesiologist identified a stressful event that happened when I was 17, which was essentially repeating itself again. She even identified that I had several friends in Canada that I was embarrassed and reluctant to be my authentic self around.

What influenced you to start your own practice?

I started my career in communications and then most recently managed one of Melbourne's largest wellness centres. During that time, I was a sponge and learned everything I possibly could; in the back of my mind I was always calculating how I could one day apply what I've learned to my own business.

Once I started studying kinesiology, I knew that this wasn't something I was going to be doing as a side-job or just for fun. I take it very seriously and I want to be someone that students read about years from now and say "Andra helped make kinesiology more accessible and accepted."

What does a productive day look like?

In reality: A day where I've both learned something and taught something.

On paper: waking up early and doing my 30-45 minute morning routine that consists of gratitude journaling and meditation; seeing four clients at the clinic and then jumping online for a couple of hours; and then yoga in the evening followed by dinner with my husband.

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Why should we make time to do nothing every day?

It's not necessarily about doing nothing. It's more about giving yourself the space to connect within. This typically happens when we do something we love. For some people it may mean a practice consisting of meditation, or yoga. For others it may mean strumming the guitar or drawing. It doesn't matter what it is, the point is to give yourself the space to listen to your body and your heart. Listen and be ready for it to change you, your perspective and your life.

Follow Andra on Instagram and Facebook.

I'm fascinated by creative women -- their passions, challenges, and contributions to society. If you know a creative woman to feature, please tweet @kmarano.
photo by dasar via Getty Images view of Tehran

Excerpted from Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran

I started visiting Iran in 2004. The atmosphere was more oppressive than I'd imagined. The excitement over reform had obscured the conditions that rendered reform so necessary. What I encountered probably would have been familiar to anyone who visited the old Soviet bloc in days gone by, and it was undoubtedly less severe than in some neighbouring Arab countries. Still, this was a closed country, and no honest accounting for its politics could fail to acknowledge the fact.

Even ordinary Iranians made the practical assumption that their phones were tapped and e-mails read. Sensitive meetings were best arranged through elaborate chains of in-person contacts. Some of my interview subjects were routinely followed; others received harassing phone calls or were forced to report continually to the men who'd interrogated them in prison. A merchant I met in the bazaar slipped me a note to see him privately, which I did, on a busy street corner, where, sotto voce, he explained the layers of political control within his workplace.

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This was a story that spanned the revolution itself as well as the three convulsive decades that followed.

Anxiety was a way of life in Iran, and you couldn't report on the country without sharing in it. Iran was not a place where one undertook any kind of opposition, even loyal opposition, lightly. And yet, to my never-ending amazement, this was also a country with a civic spirit that refused to die. The engagement of the Iranian citizenry, against all odds and in the face of pervasive surveillance and often violent repression, suggested lessons for the complacent democracy from which I came.

By the time I started going to Iran, the reformist experiment was apparently over. Many Iranians I met spoke of people like the hostage takers turned reformers and the outgoing President Khatami with bitter disappointment, as vehicles for little more than dashed hopes. I would spend the next ten years and five visits trying to piece together the story of how reform had coalesced, fallen apart, and surged forth as the Green Movement in 2009 -- what it stood for, where it fit into the stream of the country's consciousness, and what Iran was left with in its wake. This was a story that spanned the revolution itself as well as the three convulsive decades that followed. What Iranians lived in that time -- what they channeled through their intellectual salons and prison letters, their dreams and childhood memories -- felt to me like an epic novel, replete with calamities and reversals, crescendos and epiphanies, and a sweeping arc of history that cut through its core.

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In Tehran in June 2005, I met a young blogger who had recently been released from a harrowing stint in prison. I wrote about Roozbeh Mirebrahimi's ordeal with the Iranian justice system in the New Yorker that fall. When he arrived on American shores a year later, speaking not a word of English, he came to live with my husband and me until he got settled and his wife, Solmaz Sharif, also a journalist, could join him.

We had strange days, sitting at my kitchen counter of a morning and comparing the Persian and English words for objects we could point to: garlic, banana, pepper. How easy, but inadvisable, it might be to say "chicken" when you meant "kitchen," and vice versa. We stayed up late at night with a dictionary between us, talking about Iranian politics, the one subject that could pull Roozbeh so far out of his shell that he became determined to communicate. The more fluent he became, the more I yearned for another fluency -- in the history of Iran's revolution and its aftermath that would allow me to truly absorb his life's story.

Roozbeh seemed to share an originary trauma with nearly every Iranian I got to know inside or outside the country. He spoke of a forbidden graveyard in his home city and of his childhood fascination with its provenance, which no adult would explain.

The revolutionary decade had been a violent one: street battles, bomb blasts, political executions, the brutal war with Iraq, and, finally, a seemingly senseless state-sponsored massacre of political prisoners. The country ostensibly moved on. But for Iranians who were children then as much as for those who were old enough to fear for their lives or question their own complicity, the 1980s were a repressed memory that gave the country no peace.

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Excerpted from Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran by Laura Secor. Copyright  2016 Laura Secor. Published by Allen Lane, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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SIphotography via Getty Images Young woman showing time out hand gesture, frustrated screaming to stop isolated on grey wall background. Too many things to do. Human emotions face expression reaction

Somebody just "twipped" my "twigger." I owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude. This was a dry day. Not much inspiration. I cast about, writing about this topic and that topic, but nothing gelled.

The situation: A less-than-positive remark on one of my articles.

The "twigger:" A comment on my private Facebook rant about the less-than-positive remark. She said, and I quote, "... set your rant aside and look for the honesty... just maybe, you'll realize that a simple thank you for [their] comment is the best response."

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Obviously, the commenter had failed to read my rant which acknowledged the accuracy of the less-than-positive remark. They were spot-on, but they weren't kind. Hey! There's a writer behind every article. And writers have feelings, too.

And then it all came flooding back. All the parental criticisms made "for my good." Hundreds, nay, thousands of 'em. It started about the time narcissistic parents start feeling nervous because their kid is growing up and they might, just might, lose control.

I was 14 and shocked by all the criticisms suddenly blind-siding me. They ranged from making me believe I was an (almost) slut to something as vague as, "Shake my hand and commit to 'trying harder.'" To this day I wonder how much harder I could try. I already had a 4.0 GPA.

The blind-siding hurt worse than the criticisms themselves. So I developed a coping mechanism I nicknamed "Mrs. Should." She was a big, ugly woman constantly looking over my shoulder, criticizing me for everything. She criticized me for doing XY and for not doing XY.

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It worked. No criticism ever blind-sided me again.

But they hurt, man! How they hurt. Looking back, I realize that my parents destroyed my self-esteem so entirely that, for a short time as a teenager, I became narcissistic as a defence mechanism.

They called me defensive, labeled me prideful and upped the ante (and the volume) of the constant, long-winded lectures that often ended with yelling at me (for my own good). They yelled me into something falsely called "humility." I felt like a modern day Uriah Heep!

If only they'd known that my self-esteem, always low, was now gone. How could I make eye contact with anyone at school or work? If I dared lift my eyes, they might glimpse that I wasn't worth shit.

How many hours did I spend laying on my bed after another furious lecture, curled up in the fetal position while Mom encouraged me to "not throw out the baby with the bathwater."

Pretty soon, they pushed me beyond narcissism. Somehow I learned to cope and navigate life without self-esteem and without any false ego. Perhaps I relied on my stellar performance on the job to buoy myself as a person. It wasn't healthy, but it helped. Heaven knows, I had nothing else. How I survived, and even thrived, is beyond me.

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I learned that groveling was the best technique to keep the volume low. "Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry!" And I'd turn on the tears. Somehow, tears diffused the situation more than defending my non-existent self-esteem or donning the catatonic mask.

It never stopped. High school graduation didn't stop it. Becoming a successful career woman didn't stop it. Mrs. Should continued to glare over my shoulder, protecting me from the ever-present criticisms that came my way often.

And always, for my own good.

What did I do that was so bad? If you only knew the hours I've spent wracking my brain, searching my heart and subpoenaing my conscience. I fell "in love" with a married man when I was 24. There! That's it. That's the worst thing I've ever done.

He told me I was "beautiful" and I tumbled. I only saw him at the office. Nothing every happened. Nothing. There. That's it! That's the worst thing I've ever done.

Marrying my husband at age 32 was the turning point. A few weeks after we were married, I invited him to criticize me for my own good. How pathetic is that!?

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I'll never forget his facial expression. It was puzzled, perplexed, nonplussed.

"Why would I want to criticize you?" he asked.

"To make me a better person," I replied, with a "duh" attitude.

"But I married you because I like you exactly as you are," said he. "I don't want to change you."

And he hasn't, except for trying to get this high-strung Swedish "cat" off her "hot tin roof" day after day.

I can be kinda slow on the draw, but it slowly began to dawn on me that I didn't need criticism. Hey! I'm not perfect. But I'm okay. I'm frickin' okay.

And I always was. That's the kicker. I always was. Pity the poor narcissists who hated themselves so much they tried to destroy me.

That's why Miss Set-Your-Rant-Aside has been permanently blocked on Facebook. Of course, I'd already looked for, found and publicly noted the validity of the unkind comment. But no one (except my husband, Michael, and God), and I mean no one, is going to criticize me, lecture me nor shame me anymore. It's done. Over! I'm damn near 40 years old and frickin' fine the way I am.

If criticism is supposed to build character, then I'm bulging with character. I've taken care of a man with non-Hodgkins lymphoma for nine years, been the psychological teddy bear for a woman with panic attacks for 16 years and didn't let a little thing like Michael's terminal lung disease dissuade me from marrying him post-haste four years ago. Yeah, I think I've got plenty of character by now!

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In the words of Star Trek's Captain Jean-Luc Picard, "The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!"

Or in the words of comedian Eddie Murphy, "It's my [blog] and if you don't like it, get the frick out." Click here to watch that hysterically funny moment!

A huge thank you to Miss Set-Your-Rant-Aside. You just handed me thousands of website hits, a plethora of likes and comments and so much inspiration, the damn article just wrote itself.

Thank you and kiss my ass!

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We live in a society where our days are filled with work, family obligations and a to-do list that seems to multiply as the hours tick by. In addition to our busy schedules we find ourselves constantly distracted by our smart phones, email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope. Basically if it can distract us from what we have to get done, chances are, we will happily procrastinate in the deep abyss of social media. Now, if you happen to be a parent on top of everything else, you don't stand a chance.

I am a mother of a four-year-old boy and I will admit that my relationship with distraction started when my bundle of joy was a baby and I was up at ungodly hours. It was my connection to the outside world beyond the unending cycle of feeding, diapers, laundry and cleaning until my husband walked through the door.

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Before I had my son I was an avid runner who was doing my teacher training to become a yoga instructor. I was going to a class called Body Conditioning By Dancers twice a week. I was active. I knew labour would take a physical toll, but then an emergency C-section turned me into someone who could barely get out of bed on her own. I longed to have my active lifestyle back and knew that I had to make some changes to get myself back on track.

It is easy for parents to fall into a pattern where they are just always on the go. Wake up, breakfast, feed kids, dress kids, get kids to daycare/school, rush to work -- but stop at Starbucks to get a caffeine boost to get through to lunch, another caffeine boost to get through the afternoon, finish work, rush home to pick up kids, take kids to extracurricular activities, get kids home, dinner, homework, bath and bed.

I know that feeling of saying goodnight to your little one and just wanting to collapse on the couch for about five minutes before falling asleep. You finally drag yourself to bed and start all over the next morning.

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What's missing from all of this is one major important piece. Your overall wellness! As parents we are so busy taking care of everyone else that we let our own health slide. That needs to change. As the wise Elle Woods from Legally Blonde said "Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy"

Taking care of you creates a domino effect, before you know it your spouse is picking up on what you're doing, your kids pick up on it, your colleagues are picking up on it, your boss is picking up on it, everyone has more energy and everyone is happier, calmer and honestly a lot more fun to be around. So where do you start? It doesn't have to cost you much to bring back wellness in your life.

1. Parent to a baby/toddler:

Use them as your very own gym prop!

Hold them as you squat.

Use them as a weight for bicep curls or an overhead press.

Put them down and get into a push up position each time those elbows bend, give your little one a kiss. You could also check out Toronto Yoga Mamas for classes you can bring your babe to.

Once they are old enough to be in a jogging stroller (usually about 7-8 months since this is when your little one's neck is strong enough), strap them in and go for a run.

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2. Kindergarten to middle school age:

Once your little one no longer has to be in a stroller, get walking as family, or yoga as a family, hiking as a family. Kids learn from example if they see you doing it, chances are they will want to too. There are loads of run events where kids can take part with their parents, like Canada Running Series for starters.

3. Regardless of how old your child/children are:

Finding time to get out on your own and move is so important. Most yoga studios offer an introductory month offer where you can attend as many classes as you can/would like to. Maybe register for Class Pass. It allows you to browse a plethora of fitness and yoga studios. Not in your budget? Put those social media skills to work as a way to learn about free events happening in your neighbourhood. Tribe Fitness or Lululemon as an example offer free yoga/fitness classes and run groups.

4. Short on time:

Between your long to do list? Workouts like tabata or HIIT will give you fast results in a short amount of time.

5. Corporate yoga/fitness:

There are quite a few yoga/fitness instructors (ahem...me) who do corporate classes and will come to your place of work to teach private, semi-private or group classes. You don't even need to leave your office, just your desk.

6. Meal prep:

This is HUGE. All the activity in the world doesn't matter if you and your family aren't eating right. I like to spend time on Sunday planning meals for the week. Meals that include everything to give you a well-balanced meal. What can also help with this? A crock-pot. A crock-pot will become a good friend. When you get up in the morning put all your ingredients in there and set the timer. Come home hours later to a warm cooked nutritious, delicious meal.

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These are just a few steps to help bring wellness back into your life. What's not on the list? Surround yourself with people who want to help you succeed and enlist the help of friends and/or your spouse/partner. Before you know it your positive energy and outlook will result in a happier, more efficient you. Not just at home, but at work, your productivity will increase. It's a win-win situation.

Finally, once you have planned your week and your meals, remember to be present:

"Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now, and that's a revelation for some people: to realize that your life is only ever now" ~ Eckhart Tolle
Phil Walter via Getty Images AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - AUGUST 15: Anti TPPA protestors march down Queen Street on August 15, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a proposed regional free trade deal between 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

RIM's former co-chief executive, Jim Balsillie, recently renewed his attack on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, writing that the TPP's "colonial IP (intellectual property) policies" are "not a net benefit to our economy."

Not to be outdone, University of Ottawa intellectual property law Professor Michael Geist has run a daily blog on "the trouble with the TPP."

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These arguments have been convincingly countered by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and intellectual property lawyers who have underlined that the TPP has "minimal impact."

But the question really is whether it is worth Canada standing on the sidelines of the TPP over intellectual property. Is it the case that our existing, supposedly fundamentally different intellectual property policy/law has made Canada an innovation leader? If not, how is it that the "colonial" intellectual property policies supposedly being forced on Canada have led to more innovation in the "imperial" United States?

Is there evidence that Canada's weaker intellectual property regime made us an innovation powerhouse? Last fall the Canadian Patent Medicines Patented Medicine Prices Review Board reported that generic drugs are 40 per cent cheaper in the United States than Canada. Has coddling a Canadian generic industry helped Canadian consumers?

Trade negotiations are a bargain between multiple parties. Agreements are a function of what we put on the table and what others want from us. So what else would we or realistically could we offer, if not small intellectual property changes?

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It seems to me that Canada's TPP concessions are fairly minimal across the board. It's hard to imagine how we could be in without some intellectual property concessions.

It is discouraging to hear a leading Canadian entrepreneur and innovator react so defensively to the TPP instead of embracing the challenge. That reflexive, defensive reaction to TPP speaks more to the problem of innovation in Canada than anything in this or any other trade deal. Canada can and should do more to support innovation, but autarky is not a strategy.

"Start a more balanced series of consultations where both critics and TPP advocates are invited, and where the Canadian public can see more than tweets of the events after the fact."

Putting aside the uncomfortable irony of tenured Canadian academics arguing against intellectual property rules, should we be concerned by this persistent strand of TPP criticism? Perhaps we should.

Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland has published an open letter to Canadians on TPP -- a delicate pirouette of an explanation of why the new government will sign the TPP but may not ratify it.

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Leading up to this, Freeland and her Parliamentary secretary, David Lametti, embarked on a quickie cross-country TPP consultation exercise. A review of the list of consultations on the government's website and tweets by minister Freeland show a number of meetings with these particular TPP critics.

All of this raises the question of whether the minister is hearing the alternative positive case for the TPP. Minister Freeland's Parliamentary secretary was a noted intellectual property scholar before being elected in October, but there are trade lawyers in Cabinet such as Catherine McKenna, as well as in the Liberal caucus, such as Ali Ehsassi, MP for Willowdale. One is otherwise occupied and the other is not on the newly minted Standing Committee on International Trade.

So, what is the way forward? A start might be for the Parliamentary committee, perhaps with the assistance of the Senate committee, to start a more balanced series of consultations where both critics and TPP advocates are invited, and where the Canadian public can see more than tweets of the events after the fact.

I agree with Prof. Geist's suggestion that it would be useful for public events to be streamed online, and outcomes from other meetings should be posted online.

Experience with trade agreements has shown that when critics are left unanswered for too long, it can be hard to put the cork back in the bottle. Canada does not need to lead the charge to approve the TPP, but waiting too long to engage the affirmative case may prove very costly in the end.

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Hindustan Times via Getty Images JAIPUR, INDIA - JANUARY 25: Visitors at Jaipur Literary Festival 2016, at Diggi Palace, on January 25, 2016 in Jaipur, India. Ninth edition of ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is set to witness over 360 participants from the fields of literature, history, politics, economy, art and culture debate and discuss on one platform for the five days. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

It was a pleasure participating as a Guest Delegate in India's Jaipur Literary Festival, which claims to be a world's largest Literary Festival.

Jaipur Literary Festival 2016 marked another success story of the event with a record presence of Indian youth, showing their interests to delicate issues such as 'Decoding India's Visual Culture', 'Ancient Indian Knowledge System', 'Fiction and Economics', 'The Poet and Privacy', 'The Politics of Inequality' and hundreds topics alike.

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The world's largest Literary Festival also drew writers, poets and intellectuals from all over the world as well as writers, thinkers and artists of diverse background from all across India.

Canadian Author Margaret Atwood took the lead this year by her inaugurating speech.

She concluded her speech with remarks: "As we know from reading stories, a happy ending often includes a feast, but today is not a happy ending -- today is a happy beginning."

The festival was featured by the presence of high profile Indian writers, journalists and celebrities such as Barkha Dutt, Javaid Akhtar, Gulzar, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Shatrughan Sinha, Karan Johar and many.

Filmmaker Karan Johar seemed too much concerned about the Intolerance Debate which has put Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh and Karan Johar on one side and Anupam Kher, Kajol, Akshay Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha and Madhur Bhandarkar on the other side.

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Filmmaker Karan Johar went on emotional and harsh on the very first day of the festival by stating "talk about freedom of expression is the biggest joke in the world and democracy is the second biggest joke".

Shatrughan Sinha responded "a lot of people from the film industry brought up the issues of intolerance in haste, and it is childish to do so. I don't stand by them in this regard." Sinha also indicated that he agreed with filmstar Kajol's remarks at the festival recently about there being "no barrier, no line, no caste or creed in Bollywood."

Anupam Kher, who also attended a session at Jaipur Literature Festival, said, "It's ironical, that the issue of intolerance is being felt by the rich, the intellectuals, the ones who move around with bodyguards."

"I think it is a joke. People talking about intolerant India is a joke. Some of them may be my colleagues; the fact that they can make statements like this is a proof enough that there is freedom of speech," stressed Aupam Kher further.

An accomplished TV journalist Barkha Dutt reflected on her latest book This Unquiet Land,and shared about her journey of journalistic persuasion. She also reflected on current burning issues around intolerance and the beef ban.

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In 2014 India elections, Indians clearly delivered their mandate to Bharatiya Janata Party to set the future of India under their Nationalist Approach.

Some critics, opponents and political rivals call their approach Hindu nationalist approach. Even so, the BJP clean sweep revealed the majority of Indians' aspirations to stand on their identity rather than being called politically secularists.

In my humble opinion, secularist politics in India means politics of accommodating minorities, especially Muslims who are little less than 200 million there.

If that huge number integrates in the society rather than sticking to their ghettos they can change their fate. Also they wouldn't be needed to be accommodated in India -- they would be owing India.

Hindu nationalists, in fact, love Muslims' flowery Urdu language and their Islamic traditions.

India's iconic Bollywood industry from its beginning till today rallies on Urdu songs, Muslim poets and actors.

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Hindus are relatively tolerant to other cultures and religions. It's up to other cultures and religions to intermingle with their host traditions. Multiculturalism and interfaith are not a one-way phenomena. Every culture and religion has to get along with others.

So in this new phase of India, new debates are opening up.

Also one could see countless books in Indian book stores that talk about Muslims' plight in new phase of India. The Book store set in Jaipur Festival was displaying books by Christophe Jaffrelot, such as "Muslims in India - Trajectories of Marginalisation."

Books on Pakistan and India's 1947 partition were quite prominent. Christophe Jaffrelot's title 'The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience' and M.J. Akbar's title 'Tinderbox - The past and Future of Pakistan' were on top shelves in Indian books stores as well as in Jaipur Literary Festival.

This Festival indicates that Indians seem jubilant today in terms of contributing at world stage more vehemently than before. There is no doubt that India's culture is parallel one to the West. It's a nation of colours, spices, dances, music, spirituality and magic.

Not just Indians, all South Asian countries and communities should take pride of India's new flight towards prosperous and colorful skies.

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Christian bakery owners found guilty of discriminating against a gay man have said they are appealing against the court ruling to protect all family businesses with deeply held convictions.

The McArthur family's refusal to bake the customer's order for a cake bearing a pro-gay marriage slogan was ruled unlawful by Belfast County Court last year.

Arriving at Belfast High Court for the start of the appeal, Daniel McArthur, 26, insisted the original ruling was wrong.

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Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company are appealing discrimination charges over their refusal to bake a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan on it

He said: "We took issue with the message on the cake and not the customer, and as a family we do believe we should retain the freedom to decline business that would force us to promote a cause with which we profoundly disagree.

"As Christians we cannot simply switch off our faith when we enter the workplace on a Monday morning.

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"To be a Christian at all is to strive to live for Christ in every corner of our lives."

According to reports from the court on Wednesday the matter was put-off until May 9 after the Attorney General intervened.

Gay rights activist Gareth Lee, a member of LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, had wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the slogan Support Gay Marriage for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia in May 2014.

He paid in full when placing the order at Ashers' Belfast branch, but two days later the company phoned to say it could not be processed.

The high-profile case was heard over three days last March.

Delivering her reserved judgment two months later, District Judge Isobel Brownlie found Ashers directly discriminated against Lee who had been treated "less favourably", contrary to the law.

Ordering the bakers to pay agreed damages of 500, the judge said religious beliefs could not dictate the law.

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The cake that Ashers Baking Company refused to make

The Northern Ireland Equality Commission, which monitors compliance with the region's anti-discrimination laws, took the landmark legal action on behalf of Lee.

McArthur said the bakery treated Lee like any other customer.

"We were simply unwilling to endorse a campaign for a new law that so clearly goes against what the Bible says about marriage. And for that we were punished.

"Christians are law-abiding citizens and we expect the law to protect us as much as anyone else.

"We hope that the judicial system will now make the correct decision and protect our freedom to carry out our work without being forced to violate our consciences.

"As a family we have found the whole legal process very difficult.

"We would rather not have to be here today. But we knew that we had to appeal, not only on our own behalf, but on behalf of other family businesses who could be forced to endorse or promote views with which they profoundly disagree."

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He added: "We appeal to those who would condemn us for our actions to consider what they would have done if they were required by law to use their creative abilities to help promote a cause which went against their strongest convictions."

Equality campaigner Peter Tatchell wrote in the Guardian on Wednesday that he had changed his mind on the McArthur case, having first condemned the bakery and supported the subsequent legal claim and verdict.

He wrote: "Much as I wish to defend the gay community, I also want to defend freedom of conscience, expression and religion."

Tatchell added: "The court erred by ruling that Lee was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation and political opinions.

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"His cake request was refused not because he was gay, but because of the message he asked for. There is no evidence that his sexuality was the reason Ashers declined his order."

Lee has not spoken publicly about the case outside of the courtroom.

In evidence in the original case, lee claimed the company's refusal to make the cake left him feeling like a "lesser person".

The publicly funded Equality Commission initially asked the bakery in Royal Avenue to acknowledge it had breached legislation and offer "modest" damages, but proceeded with the court challenge when the firm refused.

Ashers, which employs 80 staff in nine branches and delivers across the UK and Ireland, has been supported by the Christian Institute, which organised public meetings and garnered financial backing.

The issue of gay marriage has split public opinion in Northern Ireland.

In 2005, the region became the first in the UK to allow same-sex civil partnerships, but the devolved Stormont Assembly has repeatedly refused to change the law around marriage.

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Following last May's referendum in the Republic of Ireland, it is now the only part of the UK or Ireland to deny civil marriage to same-sex couples.
Boris Johnson has again burnished his Eurosceptic credentials by refusing to back David Camerons draft EU deal, declaring there is a lot more to do to get a good deal for Britain.

Speaking to reporters outside his home, the Mayor of London appeared in his trademark woolly hat to once more tweak the Prime Ministers tail over the proposals from Brussels.

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With Eurosceptic Tory MPs lining up to slam the deal overnight, Johnson said: The Prime Minister is making the best of a bad job. Most people looking at this will think theres a lot more to do.

The Uxbridge MP once more refused to say if hed join the Leave campaign in the coming EU referendum.

And asked if there was anything good or positive in the Cameron deal with EU Council chief Donald Tusk, Johnson replied: Errrm..

He added, ominously, Lets wait and see when this whole thing is agreed. And see what it really means - every bit of it.

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Johnsons words mean that hes the last big figure in the future Tory leadership race who is still reserving judgement on the PMs bid to reset relations between the UK and Brussels.

Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday night finally signalled her willingness to back the In campaign, saying that the deal forms the basis for an agreement.

But the Mayor still has concerns over how strongly the UK can in future reject fresh laws coming out of Brussels, with a red card system to allow Westminster to assert its supremacy over the EU.

Even before the EU draft deal was announced on Tuesday, Boris had already said he wanted to see much, much more to protect the independence of Britain.

No.10 is braced for backbench Tory criticism of the Prime Minister when he delivers a Commons statement on the EU plans. On Tuesday, one leading critic Steve Baker accused Cameron of "polishing poo".

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Cameron hailed real progress in the draft deal, pointing to new curbs on migrant benefits, protections for the pound, an explicit end to ever closer union and fresh powers to keep out suspected criminals and terrorists.

But Tory MPs backing Brexit have ridiculed the claims and pointed out that migrants will be able to claim graduated levels of tax credits, and that child benefit will still be paid to them.

Boris is seen by the Leave camps as the kind of high profile figure they need to connect with voters over the issue, and many Conservative constituency associations will be watching keenly to see if manifesto pledges are delivered on cracking down on EU migrants.

In a separate move, the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland joined forces to demand that Cameron does not hold the EU referendum in June.
A body has been found after reports of a man "engulfed in flames" being sucked out of a plane over Somalia after an explosion ripped a hole in its side.

The charred body of a man was reportedly seen falling out of the flight after a suspected bomb ripped a hole in the aircraft on Tuesday.

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Eyewitnesses on the ground claim they saw a "badly burned body of an elderly man" fall to Earth after the explosion on Daallo Airlines Flight D3159, which was travelling to Djibouti on the Horn of Africa from Somalia.

Photos of the damage to Daallo airlines taken after the emergency landing. Two passengers were injured. #Somaliapic.twitter.com/2A5XTyOajm  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) February 2, 2016

Unverified reports say an unidentified elderly man, engulfed in flames, was sucked out after the blast around five minutes after take-off, the Daily Mail reports.

Harun Maruf, a journalist for Voice of America who is in Mogadishu, tweeted: "a 60 yr-old male ejected on impact/sucked out and killed; body found in Bal'ad w/ burns."

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Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in nearby town of Balad about 18 miles north of Mogadishu, said residents had found the dead body of an old man who might have fallen from a plane, the Associated Press reported.

Video footage from inside the plane showed passengers remaining calm while the plane made its emergency landing in Mogadishu. The loud sound of air rushing through the hole in the plane can be clearly heard.

Frightening footage of Daallo flight Frightening footage inside a Daallo Airlines plane flying with a hole in its side after it caught fire thousands of feet in the air. Somali authorities have confirmed one passenger was sucked out of the hole created by the explosion. Video uploaded by Amb Awale Kullane. The Daallo Airlines flight from Mogadishu to Djibouti was still able to land safely in Somalia. Posted by Chris Lynch on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Somali aviation officials told the AP two passengers were injured and that they could not confirm the reports of a passenger falling out.

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The explosion took place as the plane approached 14,000 feet, before it had reached cruising altitude.

"I think it was a bomb," said the pilot, Vladimir Vodopivec to Belgrade daily Blic. "Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank God it ended well."

An aviation expert who looked at photographs of the hole said the damage was consistent with an explosive device.

A mystery explosion has blown a hole in the side of a passenger plane taking off from Somalia. #Somalia#7Newshttps://t.co/UymP0SjViH  7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) February 3, 2016

Seventy-four people left the plane after it made a safe emergency landing, but it is not clear if all the passengers were accounted for, the Telegraph reported.

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Plane makes emergency landing in Somalia after explosion rips jagged hole in fuselage. https://t.co/CocNTCkzlhpic.twitter.com/zEDIfVsXNv  Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 2, 2016

Daallo Airline plane heading 2 Djibouti catches fire 5 mints afta taking off frm the airport in Mogadishu, 2 injured pic.twitter.com/eGuHLvjnEZ  Goobjoog News. (@Goobjoognews) February 2, 2016

Awale Kullane, Somalia's deputy ambassador to the UN who was on board the flight, said on Facebook that he "heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds." When visibility returned they realised "quite a chunk" of the plane was missing, he wrote.

A source told CNN initial tests showed residue indicating the aircraft may have been the victim of a terrorist attack.
Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by an an anonymous US politician, alongside Pope Francis and Edward Snowden, it has been reported.

The Republican, who was defeated in the Iowa caucus earlier this week, is believed to have been nominated by a party senator or congressman, just days before the February 1 deadline, in what some are calling the most unlikely nomination since that of Soviet strongman Josef Stalin in 1947.

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Trump was nominated for "his vigorous peace through strength ideology, used as a threat weapon of deterrence against radical Islam, ISIS, nuclear Iran and Communist China".

Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of Oslos Peace Research Institute, which publishes an annual prediction list, confirmed to The Telegraph that he had been sent a copy of the Trump nomination letter last week.

Harpviken said he had "committed" to not revealing the identity of the nominator, but said he held "a position which gives him the right to nominate".

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Trump has seen support among Republican voters soar to 40% this year, but in doing so he announced plans to ban Muslims from entering the US, described Latino Americans as "rapists" and pledged to hit Islamic State with indiscriminate carpet bombing, telling Fox News: "You have to take out their families."

Harpviken told the newspaper that it was "entirely unlikely" Trump would win, a sentiment shared by the general public.

how has donald trump been nominated for a nobel peace prize i'm literally about to leave this fucking planet  amy from the block (@alltimeyoooo) February 3, 2016

That's a joke, right? Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize https://t.co/FAW90d32hn  Doctor PMS (@Doctor_PMS) February 3, 2016

Ultimate troll move: someone has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize.  LogicalLibby (@LogicalLibby) February 3, 2016

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Apparently Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. pic.twitter.com/KmI0vEdOLh  David Atkins (@DavidAtkins42) February 3, 2016

Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize so I'll be leaving for Mars now  nah (@_bostonmama) February 3, 2016

The Peace Research Institute's list of the eleven most likely winners is headed by US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Harpviken argued that surveillance oversight reforms in the US, and a vote in the European Parliament calling on member states to drop any criminal charges against Snowden made his chances of winning the award in 2016 even greater than in either 2014 or 2015, when he was also nominated.

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The argument, which I imagine is still that of President [Barack] Obama, that he is a traitor is increasingly unsustainable, he said.

Second on the list is US energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, for their roles in the Iran nuclear deal.

The Peace institute noted: "The pair used their shared background from MIT to reach an agreement in spite of the differences and long-lasting grievances that exist between their respective countries. The pair even made it onto Foreign Policys 2015 Global Thinkers list, and have received much of the credit for the (so far) considerable success of the Iran Nuclear Deal."

Timoleon Jimenez, head of Colombias FARC guerrillas, and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, are third on the list for their part in peace talks to end the Columbian civil war.

"2015 saw considerable progress, with vital components of the peace treaty being thrashed out, and in 2016 it seems very likely that the final agreement be signed," the institute noted.

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"For the involved parties to set aside decade-long grievances in a conflict where both sides have committed atrocities is a grand achievement. While there is still some way to go, a peace prize to the Colombian peace process would be a consolidating factor for the continued peaceful resolution of one of the most ingrained conflicts in the world, ending the last of the continents wars."

Harpviken told The Telegraph he suspected Trump's nomination might be a publicity stunt. While the nominator may "genuinely" believie the property mogul was worthy, Harpviken said, he may also "realise that the very fact that Trumps nomination gets confirmed has considerable interest in its own right, and that all publicity is good publicity".

Previous nominees have included Adolf Hitler in 1939, Stalin, who was nominated in 1945 and 1948, and Russian president Vladimir Putin, who was nominated in 2014.
A Tory MP has dismissed the idea the European Union could be legally forced to change its treaties following David Cameron's in/out referendum as "male bovine excrement".

Eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin told the prime minister today the claim Brussels could be held to any pre-referendum agreement had been rubbished in stark terms by the former Director General of the Legal Service of the Council of Ministers, Jean-Claude Piris.

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According to The Daily Telegraph the former Brussels official had described the idea as "bulls***".

It is the second time in as many days that a Tory MP has deployed a toilet reference when talking about the prime minister's renegotiation strategy.

Yesterday Europe Minister David Lidington was accused of "polishing poo" by a Tory colleague as he set out details of the referendum.

Writing for The Huffington Post today, Jenkin dismissed Cameron's renegotiation. "None of the promised changes put forward by the Prime Minister in either his much-vaunted Bloomberg speech, or in the 2015 and 2010 General Election manifestos, are going to be fulfilled," he said.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: British Prime Minister David Cameron leaves number 10 Downing Street to attend Parliament on February 3, 2016 in London, England. Cameron was on his way to attend Prime Minister's Questions. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Chris Ratcliffe via Getty Images

David Cameron has told Tory MPs not to allow pressure from party members to convince them to campaign for Britain to leave the European Union.

The prime minister also today dropped his strongest hint yet that the the in/out referendum will be held on June 23

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He told his the Commons today: "If you passionately believe in your heart that Britain is better off outside the EU then you should vote that way. If you think, even if it's on balance, I think Britain is better off 'In', go with what you think."

Cameron is widely expected to lead the campaign for Britain to remain a member of the EU. However several Tory MPs, including some cabinet minsters, are likely to argue in favour of Brexit.

The prime minister told his MPs today not to succumb to political maneuvering. "Don't take a view because of what your constituency association might say, or you're worried about a boundary review, or you think it might be advantageous this way or that way, do what's in your heart. If you think its' right for Britain, then do that," he said.

Plans to redraw the electoral map for the 2020 general election could see the number of MPs cut from 650 to 600 - leaving some MPs from the same party fighting each other to keep hold of a seat in parliament.

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Cameron also told the Commons that if any of his ministers chose to campaign on the opposite side of the referendum campaign than him they would not be punished. "They shouldnt suffer disadvantage because they want to take that view," he said.

This morning, former Conservative defence secretary Liam Fox said up to five cabinet ministers were likely to decide to campaign to leave the EU.

In a strong suggestion he wants to hold the referendum on June 23, the prime minister told the Commons the vote would not be held "within six weeks" of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland elections which take place seven weeks earlier on May 5.

Jeremy Corbyn confirmed that Labour remained committed to keeping Britain in the EU but dismissed Cameron's re-negotiation as a "Tory Party drama".

"For all the sound and fury, the prime minister has ended up exactly where he knew he would be making the case to remain in Europe which was what he always intended despite a renegotiated spectacle choreographed for TV cameras over the continent," he said.

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War and Peace fans will be settling down on Sunday evening to discover which of Natashas suitors will finally win her affections in whats set to be a cracking finale of the Russian epic.

Of course, readers of Leo Tolstoy's original novel will already know the fate of every character but, for everyone else tuning in to the story for the first time, there seems plenty of drama left to unfold.

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Lily James as Natasha and James Norton as Andrei fall in love on the dance floor, but their course does not run smooth

In Andrew Davies fruity adaptation, weve seen the delightful lady, as played by Lily James, win over the weary heart of Prince Andrei  a pale-faced James Norton  during the course of a ballroom dance that had viewers swooning for the romance of it all.

Actor James Norton tells HuffPostUK he and Lily were walking on air themselves during the filming of the scene. He modestly bats off comparison with Mr Darcys white shirt moment, instead he credits his cool costume for lending him his dashing air.

Lily and I loved shooting that, he says. We were in this extraordinary room, in the very room where the original Tsars balls would have taken place.

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We were walking on air ourselves with the atmosphere, so we were very pleased with the reaction it had.

James Norton will be returning in the second series of both Grantchester and Happy Valley in the next few weeks. Although his characters  from Prince Andrei to pensive vicar Sidney Chambers in Grantchester to psychopath Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley - are often described as melancholy, the actor says, for him, they share instead a propensity for inquisitiveness. Theyre all trying to work it out, he explains. Theyre taking different routes, but theyre all engaged in life, they dont accept their lot, theyre on the front foot. I like that.

Anatole (Callum Turner) made his affections clear for Natasha, but this passionate liaison didn't end well

Despite all this, that ballroom scene in War and Peace and a walk in the snow the following day with superb hats, this romance has withered on the vine, with Andreis father insisting on a years separation before the pair could be betrothed, and Natasha proving less than constant once Andrei was gone.

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In his absence, the silly girl had her head properly turned by the seductive attentions of Anatole Kuragin, him of the disturbingly close relationship with his sister, played with convincing slipperiness by Callum Turner, but things have not gone well for him since he attempted to elope with Natasha at his side.

Not only was he turned out of the city by a furious Pierre for besmirching the name of his precious Natasha, but now hes gone and lost his leg on the battlefield, screaming in pain and reaching out for comfort to the man lying next to him none other than Andrei, who movingly found the compassion required of him for a fallen comrade.

Come this weekends finale, it may well be that both of these men are too battle-weary to worry about romance, but is there another, more tireless heart destined to capture Natashas heart? Because, for all the undoubted appeal of James Norton, it seems Pierre  played so winningly by American rising star Paul Dano  is the only man left in Moscow still full of enthusiasm, battle-weary himself but undaunted in his loyalty to Natasha. Viewers will be undoubtedly be cheering if, after all that has come to trouble this bunch of flawed but endearing characters, it is our bumbling, bespectacled protagonists brave heart which captures fair maiden.

'War and Peace' concludes on BBC1 at 9pm on Sunday evening.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive

Margaret Thatchers former Chancellor Nigel Lawson has been announced as the new head of one of the campaigns fighting to get the UK out of the EU.

Lord Lawson will take over as chairman of Vote Leave from Labour donor and businessman John Mills, in a move branded chaotic by pro-EU group Britain Stronger in Europe.

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The shake-up at the top of the Vote Leave has also seen Dominic Cummings and Matthew Elliott  two men subject to an attempted coup last week by Tory MP Bernard Jenkin  removed from the board.

Rival anti-EU group Leave.EU said the appointment of Lord Lawson showed Vote Leave was a Tory front, but hoped the demoting of Mr Elliot and Mr Cummings could help lead to a merger between the two organisations.

Ukip donor Arron Banks, co-founder of Leave.EU said: "There has been a lot of media coverage over the last few days about the need for a merger between Leave.EU and Vote Leave.

"I wish to clarify that I have written to Vote Leave on four occasions, had lunch twice and spoken to the CEO Matthew Elliot and Chairman John Mills about a potential merger.

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"On the last occasion we offered John Mills the chairmanship of a merged entity and Matthew Elliot CEO in an attempt to break the deadlock.

"It appears Vote Leave board has taken its own action to remove or control Matthew Elliot and Dominic Cummings.

"We hope that the Vote Leave board is now open to what the majority of people want , a United Brexit campaign."

The reshuffle comes just days after Steve Baker, chair of Conservatives For Britain, called for material changes in the way Vote Leave is run.

Speaking to the HuffPost UK, Mr Baker said he was very proud of the whole team coming together to make the changes.

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He said: It will also strengthen colleagues sense of ownership of the campaign.

When I made the comments on Sunday I had a good idea this would happen but Im not a member of the board.

However, I have been part of this journey. For me this is a good news story. 

Lord Lawson was already set to play a role in the referendum campaign, after being unveiled as the head of Conservatives for Britain last October.

His appointment was mocked by some after he gave a radio interview calling for the UK to leave the EU from his home in France.

Speaking today, he said: I am delighted to accept the Chairmanship of Vote Leave, to help ensure that the organisation is fully prepared for the start of the referendum campaign.

Once the Prime Minister returns from the European Council, I am confident that other senior figures will step forward to support the Vote Leave campaign, but I am happy to help the Board and Campaign Team make the appropriate decisions in the crucial weeks ahead.

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A statement from Vote Leave claimed the changes to the organisations board had been previously planned.

Vote Leave and Leave.EU are fighting to be chosen as the official Leave campaign group by the Electoral Commission.

Attempts at a merger between the two groups have repeatedly failed, with the Nigel Farage-backed Leave.EU wanting to focus the campaign on immigration, whereas Vote Leave favour making the economic argument for Brexit.

This evening Leave.EU's head of communications Andy Wigmore sent a number of conciliatory tweets to Vote Leave.

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James McGrory, Chief Campaign Spokesman of Britain Stronger In Europe, dismissed the changes.

He said: Vote Leave have spent two days talking about emergency brakes, but it is clear that the wheels have come off their chaotic campaign. Sacking three board members and demoting their chairman is the sign of a flailing organisation which reacts to losing the argument by shuffling the deckchairs.

Unbelievably, Lord Lawson may not even be chair in a few months time, being brought in just to provide leadership for the beginning of the campaign.
Lorraine Kelly suffered an unfortunate slip of the tongue during her ITV breakfast show on Wednesday (3 February), when she confused Miss Piggy with EastEnders character Peggy Mitchell.

READ MORE:

The TV host made the blooper while linking to a feature on the Muppets, before trailing an interview with former EastEnders star Derek Martin, who played Charlie Slater.

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Lorraine Kelly

With the two items clearly mixed up in her mind, Lorraine said: Welcome back, are the rumours true  has Miss Peggy

Realising her mistake, she burst into laughter, explaining: Miss Piggy even. I was talking about EastEnders you see, and Im getting all confused.

Has she finally moved on from Kermit? Do find out later Im so sorry.

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Miss Piggy

The soap character will be killed off later this year, having discovered that she has terminal cancer.

Barbara Windsor plays Peggy Mitchell

Barbara, who took over the role of Peggy in 1994, made the decision to leave the soap for good, having previously quit the soap in 2010.

She has since returned for fleeting appearances in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Her final scenes are set to air in the spring, with her on-screen son Grant - played by Ross Kemp - already confirmed to be returning as part of the emotional storyline.
STRASBOURG, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 1: The leader of the British UKIP party Nigel Farage arrives in the plenary room in the European Parliament ahead of the debate on the ECB report for 2014 on February 1, 2016 in Strasbourg, France. During the last press conference in Frankfurt, Draghi indicated that the bank may review its course of action in March. (Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images) Michele Tantussi via Getty Images

Nigel Farage has defended Ukip from accusations its MEPs have been intimidating other members of the European Parliament.

British Green MEP Molly Scott Cato intervened as the parliament debated the deal David Cameron hopes to strike ahead of the upcoming United Kingdom referendum on EU membership.

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Cato said she was "embarrassed and ashamed by the behaviour of Ukip members" and the "disrespect" they were showing.

She added: "Which ironically I find to be extremely un-British. I would like to ask Mr Farage if he going to attempt to control his members and prevent them from this sort of intimidation both inside the chamber and more widely on social media during this campaign?"

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato admonished Farage and Ukip MEPs

Farage told Cato she should be able to deal with "vigorous" and "lively" debate just as MPs were able to in the House of Commons including during prime minister's questions.

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The Ukip leader said MEPs, including the current president of the parliament Martin Schulz, often "shouted or mocked" things that he said.

He added: "Frankly as an elected representative I am big enough and ugly enough to take it and so should you be."

Later on Wednesday Cameron will make a statement in the Commons on the draft deal thrashed out with Brussels, giving him a chance to gauge reaction to the plan - drawn up with European Council president Donald Tusk - from his own MPs.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox said he was "certain" that four or five serving Cabinet ministers would eventually come out in favour of Brexit, but he warned the PM that if he suppressed opposition to the EU until after any deal was done, he risked creating a lasting split in the Tory Party.
Halle Berry has admitted she feels heartbroken by the current Academy Awards diversity row.

READ MORE:

The Monsters Ball actress is presently the only African-American actress in history to take home the Oscar for Best Actress, which she did back in 2002.

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She famously addressed this in her acceptance speech at the time, dedicating her victory to every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.

Halle Berry at the Makers conference

However, 14 years later, Halle admits to feeling distressed about the lack of progress that has been made.

Speaking at the Makers conference in LA, she said: [The win] was important to me, but I had the knowing in the moment that it was bigger than me. I believed in that moment when I said: The door tonight has been opened. I believed with every bone in my body that this was going to incite change because this door, this barrier, had been broken.

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To sit here almost 15 years later, and knowing that another woman of colour has not walked through that door, is heartbreaking. Its heartbreaking, because I thought that moment was bigger than me. Its heartbreaking to start to think maybe it wasnt bigger than me. Maybe it wasnt. And I so desperately felt like it was.

Halle Berry at the Oscars in 2002

The lack of diversity among this years Oscars nominees - where all 20 nominated actors are white - has sparked much controversy, with several stars, including Will Smith, whose performance in Focus was snubbed for an award, calling for a boycott.
A pastor who brandished signs reading "Jesus would stone homos" outside his church in Harlem is being challenged in the best way possible.

David Manning, 68, who discovered his devout Christian faith during a stretch in prison, is losing the church over unpaid debts.

Charity The Ali Forney Center (AFC) is raising money to buy the building to turn it into a centre for the LGBT homeless people it works with.

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One of the signs displayed by Pastor Manning in Harlem

Nearly 1,500 people have already come together to turn the "place of hate" into a "place of love" and the group has raised over $110,000 (75,000), of its $200,000 (140,000) goal.

Carl Siciliano, founder and executive director of The AFC wrote: "The biggest reason our youths are driven from their homes is because of homophobic and transphobic religious beliefs of their parents.

"Because of this, it has been horrifying for us to have our youths exposed to Manning's messages inciting hatred and violence against our community.

"It has meant the world to us that so many Harlem residents have stood up to support our young people and are now urging us to provide urgently needed care at the site of so much hatred. If we are able to obtain the space it would truly be a triumph of love over hatred."

AFC runs programs in Harlem which provide 50,000 meals a year for homeless LGBT youth. It also offers medical and mental health care, case management, educational and career services.

Since 2014, Harlem residents have opposed Rev. Manning's messages by organising a series of events to raise funds for the AFC.

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Pastor Manning being confronted outside his church in Harlem

Pastor Manning, who has previously said he had had "homosexual urges", seems unhappy at the prospect of his church sheltering young people in need.

He said: "All kind of stuff been spread around  theyre going to turn this church into a bathhouse, theyre going to turn this church into a homeless building for the sodomites.

"The sodomites are sick as hell! This is the Lords house! This aint no damn bathhouse! It aint no fag house!"

A group calling itself 'Love Not Hate' has organised a series of protests outside of the Church, co-ordinated by Stacy Parker Le Melle.

Le Melle said: I am ecstatic to imagine a future where our Harlem corner will be a home of compassion, not hatred. We have a homeless problem in New York City. The de Blasio administration is working hard to remedy this, but LGBT young people are especially vulnerable with the shelter system.

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An application by the only son of missing peer Lord Lucan for a death certificate of his father will be heard by a High Court judge in London on Wednesday.

George Bingham has applied under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he can inherit the title the 8th Earl of Lucan.

Lord Lucan vanished after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered at the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, central London, on November 7, 1974. Bingham was seven at the time.

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Lord Lucan disappeared on November 7, 1974 after his nanny was found murdered

At a hearing in December, senior official Master Teverson gave permission for Rivett's son Neil Berriman to intervene in the case.

Even though Lord Lucan was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy called "Jungly Barry".

Lord Bingham says the 1999 declaration had not proved death "for all purposes" and the new law allows for a "more complete process".

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On the night of the peer's disappearance, the nanny's attacker also turned on Lord Bingham's mother, Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub.

Lord Lucan's car was found abandoned and soaked in blood in Newhaven, East Sussex, and an inquest jury declared him the killer a year later.

George Bingham wants a court to issue his father's death certificate so he can inherit his title

Lord Bingham's counsel, Michael Bloch QC, told Master Teverson that Berriman no longer objected to the orders sought "but his concerns as to historical matters remain as sensitive as ever".

Berriman, 47, has previously said: "I don't know if Lord Lucan is alive or not - but I want justice. There have been too many cover-ups already and he should not be declared dead. If Lord Lucan is still alive, he should be prosecuted."

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Master Teverson said Berriman, who now felt he had a great deal in common with Bingham, should be allowed to intervene as he had a sufficient interest in the determination of the application.

But author Ian Crosby, who has undertaken extensive research into the peer's disappearance, was refused permission to intervene, as his status was that of an expert rather than a family member.

Crosby said the majority of the hundreds of emails he had received could be discounted, but one - from a man who frequented Lord Lucan's old haunt the Clermont Club - merited investigation.

"It appears he might have some information and it may transpire that Lord Lucan actually killed himself on the morning of Friday November 8 1974."

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Master Teverson said if Crosby thought the new material was of sufficient importance, he could draw it to Lord Bingham's attention or make a further application to the court.
Pregnant women who have booked holidays to Zika-infected areas are being offered refunds by a number of airlines.

Mums-to-be are being given the option to amend or cancel their travel plans to South America with no extra expense, provided they do so within a certain time span.

The news comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the threat from Zika virus is a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".

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The virus has been linked to an increase in the number of women in South America giving birth to babies with microcephaly  a condition causing an unborn baby's brain to stop growing in the womb.

A warning from the Foreign Office, recommends women who are pregnant, or who are planning on becoming pregnant, to avoid travelling to countries where outbreaks have been confirmed (you can view the full, updated list here).

A baby born with microcephaly

Airlines flying to South America have released statements with instructions for passengers.

British Airways

A spokesperson for British Airways told HuffPost UK Parents: "If a pregnant customer is due to travel up to and including February 29, but they no longer wish to travel, they can change their booking free of charge and delay their journey or amend to an alternative destination.

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"This applies to flights to Brazil, Mexico, Barbados and Dominican Republic, and we will continue to review the situation."

American Airlines

American Airlines state on their website: "If you're pregnant and travelling to a destination in Latin America that's affected by the Zika virus, you and your travel companions can request a refund.

"Just provide a doctor's note confirming your pregnancy when you request a refund."

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines will refund or rebook customers who are pregnant or travelling with a pregnant woman to the affected regions.

The statement continues: "If you are planning to travel to a country that has been impacted by the Zika virus you may contact us [here] with questions about changes to their itinerary."

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines stated on the website: "Customers may qualify for a change to alternate destinations, travel dates or a refund. Customers may make fee-waived changes to future reservations/tickets. However, changes need to be made by February 29, 2016."

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United Airlines

The statement from United Airlines reads: "If you have a ticket for travel to a country affected by the Zika virus (as listed on the CDC [US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention] website) and you are concerned about your travel, please contact the United Customer Contact Center with questions or to change your reservation.

"Customers who are advised to avoid the affected regions based on CDC guidance may change their destination or travel date without a change fee or may choose to receive a refund. The ticket must be refunded or changed by February 29, 2016. The new travel date must be within the validity of the ticket."

Alaska Airlines

Alaska airlines statement said: "Alaska Airlines has implemented a flexible travel policy for customers with current reservations to the following destinations reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be affected by the Zika virus.

"If you are ticketed for travel to the above cities between January 28, 2016 and February 29, 2016, you may change your ticket to another Alaska Airlines destination for no change fee. Additional fare and taxes may apply. You may also request a refund if you choose not to travel at all."

Emirates Airlines

The airline, according to The National, released a statement saying: "Customers holding a ticket issued on or before January 29, 2016, for travel up to April 30, 2016, could rebook to an alternate destination in the Americas not affected by the virus, or refund their travel to destinations reported to be affected by the Zika virus."

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If you are pregnant and concerned about upcoming travel, you are advised to contact your airline to discuss alternative arrangements.

Pregnant women in Britain who have travelled to countries infected by the Zika virus have also been advised to have an ultrasound to monitor their baby's growth.

The guidance from the NHS states women who were either pregnant when they travelled to an infected country, or who conceived within a fortnight of returning, should see their GP even if they are feeling perfectly well.

"If you are pregnant and have a history of travel to a country where there is an ongoing Zika virus outbreak, see your GP or midwife and mention your travel history even if you have not been unwell," the advice on the NHS website states.

The World Health Organisation warned that the virus outbreak, which started in Brazil, is spreading so quickly that four million people could be infected by the end of the year.

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Most people contract the virus through being bitten by an "aedes aegypti" mosquito. It cannot be caught from coming into contact with an infected person, however the first case of sexual transmission has been reported.

A map illustrating the countries in the Americas where Zika virus outbreaks have been reported is available on the Pan American Health Organisation's website.
Just before the election, the prime minister promised the House of Commons that he would "reform the EU and fundamentally change our relationship with it." The draft agreement published yesterday is a million miles from his promise. It reasserts the primacy of the EU, proposes only minor changes to what the UK is allowed to do to stop EU migrants claiming benefits, and sets out the same old failed aspirations on the future competitiveness of Europe.

As the EU economy declines, there have been endless invocations to "enhance competitiveness" and "simplify legislation", but nothing ever changes. EU unemployment is very high, particularly in the southern states, 24.5% in Greece and 20.8% in Spain at the end of last year. The EU's share of world trade is declining, because of the burden of bureaucratic laws on businesses and high social costs. Steering the EU towards a competitive future should not be a concession, it should be embedded in its culture. But we all know it isn't.

The Prime Minister's attempts to limit migration by reducing access to in-work benefits are also bound to fail, even if he gets all that he is asking for. The emphasis on benefits sounds good but it will make no difference to the flow of EU migrants. Sir Stephen Nickell CBE of the Office of Budget Responsibility has said that changes to welfare would have 'not much' impact on migration. The abuses of free movement Mr Tusk describes do not represent a significant number of individuals, such as to make a real difference to our net migration figure. It's our high wage economy which attracts EU migrants, and the introduction of the 'living wage' will be a far more significant 'pull factor' than benefits. This does not allow the UK to take back control over our own immigration policy.

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The draft agreement is clear that the Lisbon Treaty, which the Conservatives opposed, will remain in force. Tusk writes: "The competences conferred by the Member States on the Union can be modified, whether to increase or reduce them, only through a revision of the Treaties with the agreement of all Member States." The primacy of the Treaties is reaffirmed.

In January 2014, the Prime Minister spoke of "treaty change that I'll be putting in place before the referendum". It is now clear there will be no Treaty change before the referendum. Any promise on this are like saying "the cheque's in the post"? The former Director General of the Legal Service of the Council of Ministers, Jean-Claude Piris, has said a legally binding commitment to change the Treaties at a later date is "called bull****." He said, "There is no possibility to make a promise that would be legally binding to change the treaty later' (Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2015).

Moreover, there is nothing in the proposals that limits the role of the European Court of Justice. Anything in this agreement can be over-ruled by the ECJ at a later date. Even if the member states and the Commission come to an agreement on the UK's handling of benefits, any individual can go to the ECJ and claim that their personal rights have been violated, and the court is free to rule how it likes.

In fact, nothing in this "Decision by the Heads of State or Government" is legally binding and irreversible, as claimed by the Prime Minister. It is not EU law. The prime minister says it will be filed with the UN so it is recognised as an international agreement. In the House of Commons this afternoon, I asked him if he could cite any case in which the ECJ has overruled the EU treaties in favour of an international agreement. He could not, and answered by citing the agreement made with Denmark before ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. This does constitute the precedent which the government pretends it is.

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The biggest strategic challenge in reforming our relationship with our EU partners arises from the formation of the Euro. The 19 Eurozone states are an overwhelming majority out of 28, bolstered by the fact that the UK is only one of two states which now will never join the Euro. It is laughable that part of this draft agreement suggests we need to ask for the EU to recognise that the EU has more than one currency. (Sweden voted to stay out of the Euro, and they did not even have the legal right to opt-out; they just opted out anyway.) In defiance of this, the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker still told the European Parliament today, "The euro remains the currency of the European Union, the parliament remains the parliament of the union as a whole".

The draft agreement supposedly aims to protect the UK from any detrimental effects of further Eurozone integration. We know there is going to be a big new EU treaty to try to save the Euro in 2020, and we have no idea how it will affect us. But this draft agreement asks as to sign a blank cheque in favour of what the Eurozone states feel they should have. It says, "Member States whose currency is not the Euro shall not impede the implementation of legal acts directly linked to the functioning of the Euro area and shall refrain from measures which could jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of the economic and monetary union."

Then there is the reference to "sovereignty", but without defining what this means. Democracy usually involves the right to make your own laws, but the EU intends anything but that. The much-trailed "red card" for national parliaments will not allow the UK Parliament to make the law of the UK. It requires 55% of member state's parliaments to agree together in order to block legislation a new EU law. This is not "sovereignty". It is no more than a new and extremely unwieldy form of EU majority voting. Nor does it create any way of tackling any existing EU law.

This agreement is couched in the language of a Euro-federalism, referring to the "European project" and a "common future". This language is disconnected this language from the realities of the Europe today and from how the majority of British people regard the European Union?

None of the promised changes put forward by the Prime Minister in either his much-vaunted Bloomberg speech, or in the 2015 and 2010 General Election manifestos, are going to be fulfilled. The letter confirms what we had all expected. The renegotiation reminds me of Macbeth's closing lines: this agreement is "full of sound and fury signifying nothing."

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As of this morning, Lucky Lord Lucan has been deemed to be properly, totally, utterly and OFFICIALLY dead, and his son and heir may now lawfully take the title that has been a full 41 years in the waiting to become - drumroll please! - The 8th Earl of Lucan. What a magnificent title - and what a weight of history there is behind it!

But I do rather wonder why any sane person would want to become The Earl of Lucan. The problem with the name 'Lord Lucan' is that it's just about one of the most infamous names in Britain; in fact it's more than just infamous, it has become a standing joke. On Spitting Image, the Lord Lucan puppet was a regular staple, and I can vividly remember a sketch which had him riding Shergar, the kidnapped race-horse.

Lucan's son George Bingham, 48, brought about this latest case, under the Presumption of Death Act, in order to give his family 'closure'.

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However... since George has just married the Danish heiress Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard, one does speculate whether she might be the driving force behind this whole court case.

After all - who wouldn't fancy marrying an Earl and becoming a Countess and then having children that were themselves Lord and Ladies?

I also wonder whether George and Anne-Sofie have appreciated the sheer volume of funny looks that they'll be getting when they pop down to the shops. Or are introduced to strangers at a party. Or book a table at a restaurant.

"Oh could I book a table for two please - under the name of Lord Lucan?" That'll have the waiters' eyes popping out when they arrive at their local Indian for a Valentine's Day dinner.

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And that's just the start of it. The main problem that George and his lovely new bride will face is that whatever they do - literally, whatever they do - it will always be seen through the prism of George's crazy old dad murdering the nanny.

When Anne-Sofie has their first child, the second paragraph of the news story will read something like, "grandson of Britain's most notorious fugitive Lucky Lord Lucan". By taking on the "Lord Lucan" title, George is flagging up his rather tainted pedigree.

And as for giving him closure... Well though Lucan may now be officially dead, we're still a long way from shutting up the frivolous speculations of the media and the great unwashed British public.

The story is absolutely fascinating! It is the greatest mystery of the 20th Century - this rich, good-looking Earl murders his nanny and then disappears off the face of the earth.

We have spent the last four decades wondering just what the hell happened to him. I would hazard that this speculation is not going to be stopping any time soon.

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Even this week, one of the most extraordinary Lord Lucan theories got another airing as one of the Earl's old pals came out of the woodwork. He suggested that Lucan had sought refuge with the multi-millionaire rogue John Aspinall. Aspinall told Lucan to do the decent thing and kill himself - which Lucan then did, blowing his brains out with a pistol before being fed to Zorra, Aspinall's favourite tiger.

Though personally... I have a sneaking suspicion that Lucan might have got away with it. We have some clues, very small clues, which indicate that he made it out to Africa. There are a couple of witnesses who saw him flying out of England on a private plane; plus we have Lucan's watch turning up in a pawnbrokers in South Africa.

These escape theories seem to have much more heft than the proposition that he killed himself, which is based on one fact and one fact alone: Lucan hasn't been seen or heard of in 41 years. So it's anyone's guess what happened to Lucan - that's why this is such an alluring mystery.
Whether you're a catholic or looking to test your willpower, February 10th marks the beginning of Lent, forty days in which some people decide to give up on meat. So if you're trying to get your fix of beef briskets, pork ribs and roast chicken, here are the best meat feasts in London.

The Asian - Chinese New Year at HKK London

In between the City of London and Shoreditch, HKK is a classy Chinese restaurant kicking off the celebrations for the Year of the Monkey with an eight-course Chinese New Year menu. The dinner features meat at its best, with a selection of duck, lamb and chicken together with an impressive set of seafood and vegetarian dishes, too.

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Meaty highlights include the traditional roasted cherry wood Pecking duck, associated with royalty and grandeur in Chinese culture and carved right in front of you by the chef. Whether you're in for a meeting or a date, a dinner in HKK's dim-lit dining hall will sure impress your guests.

Picture: Carolina Are

Chinese New Year Menu: 88 per person

HKK London

88 Worship Street

Broadgate Quarter

London

EC2A 2BE

The Mediterranean - Ember Yard

Ember Yard's menu is made of classics with a twist: whether you're having the pork ribs with quince glaze and celeriac puree or the beef brisket with smoked mash and chestnut migas, you're sure to be satisfied.

Part of the Salt Yard Group, Ember Yard is everything you should expect from a slick tapas place in Soho and more. The setting is homely yet classy and both tapas, main and desserts are incredible.

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Pictures: Ember Yard

Meal for two: about 80

Ember Yard

60 Berwick Street

London

W1F 8SU

The Southern - the Hotbox meat feast

Think Deep South, great beer, Tennessee barbecues, so much meat you can barely walk out of the restaurant and you have Hotbox.

Whether you're having the smoked bone marrow, the 28 Oz black Angus grain-fed beef rib or the uber meal that is the mutton shoulder barbecoa, Hotbox is everything you can wish for from meat heaven. Pair your meats up with one of their lagers or one of their cleverly named house cocktails (like the wonderful Bruce Springsteam), and you'll be in for a great night.

Pictures: Hotbox

Meal for two: about 80

Hotbox

46-48 Commercial Street

London

E16LT

The Middle-Eastern grill - Arabica

Whether it's their lamb meshwi with walnut harissa or chicken pistachio shish, both perfectly glazed and great with dips and side veggies, Arabica Bar & Kitchen knows how to grill meat. However, the top meat dish you will find yourself feasting on at Arabica is a pide: the restaurant's Sujuk pide to be precise. With its spicy red pepper sauce, beef sausage and halloumi cheese, the Sujuk pide is definitely on the top of my list of dishes to try in 2016.

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Picture: Arabica Bar & Kitchen

Meal for two: about 80

Arabica Bar & Kitchen

Borough Market

3 Rochester Walk

London

SE1 9AF

The decadent - Red's True Barbecue

Red's True Barbecue is one of those few places where you can actually be defeated by food. Red's swine fries starter, (a mix of sweet potato and skin-on fries with sour cream, cheese, chilli and pulled pork), is truly as big as a main. In the menu you'll find a 400-gram meat combo of pulled pork and beef brisket with a side of giant onion rings which will fill you up for days.

The scenery in this huge Great Eastern Street restaurant plays its part, throwing you straight into a Nashville diner. If you've been to Nash-Vegas you know that neon signs with women's legs inviting you to "Dance away your sins" and Americana on the radio accompanied by yankee portions are exactly what eating barbecued meat in a Southern USA state feels like: a pure meat fest.

Pictures: Red's True Barbecue

Meal for two: about 50

Red's True Barbecue

54-56 Great Eastern Street

Shoreditch
Every summer, at the first hint of blue skies and sunshine, the beach in my constituency in Brighton fills up with people who have travelled from far and wide to enjoy the beautiful seaside. The scenes on those days are replicated across the country. We are people who, despite the inconsistent weather and chilly water - like to be beside the sea.

It's easy to forget that bathing in British waters was a hazardous activity not so long ago and that it was action from the EU which cleaned up the coastline.

In the 1970s sewage blighted the beaches of these islands. In 1976 the European Union passed the Bathing Water Directive which compelled countries to clean up their act - and thus decrease the pollution levels in the seas which we all share. The progress was slow at first but the results are now clear for all to see. By 1990 just over a quarter of our beaches met water quality standards. Now, with even stricter rules passed by the EU in 2006, over 97% of England's bathing waters have met the new minimum standard. Our beaches and seas are cleaner, and coastal economies have been given a boost, because of EU regulations.

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It's also thanks to EU rules that some of the most precious wildlife in the UK has been protected. At the northern edge of my constituency are the South Downs - a splendid chalk hill landscape extending from Eastbourne to Winchester. On those hills, and across the UK's countryside, species have been protected by a variety of EU environmental laws. The fate of British birds is a case in point. Analysis by the RSPB, BirdLife International and Durham University reveals that the most consistent single factor in a species' fate is whether it has the highest level of protection under the EU's Birds Directive or not. Some of the successes have been astonishing. Red kite numbers are up 2054%, cranes are up 1660% and marsh harriers are up 998%. And it's not just birds that are safeguarded under EU rules - so are bats, newts, otters, lizards and, crucially, the habitats in which they live.

Protecting nature is good for all of us, not only because of the inherent value of looking after the beautiful British countryside. It's also beneficial for our mental health and fundamental to a well-functioning economy.

Of course it is the threat of catastrophic climate change which hangs over everything else we're doing to protect our environment. Surely there is no better reason to work with our neighbours than the need to tackle this complex cross-border catastrophe in our midst. If we join forces with other countries, strengthening the EU-wide rules on carbon emissions that are already in place, then we have a chance of keeping future generations safe. Going it alone simply is an option for a challenge of this magnitude.

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It's impossible to know exactly what would happen if Britain left the EU but, when it comes to protecting our environment, the Government has dropped some heavy hints. Ministers have tried their best to water down air pollution rules, the Chancellor has said that EU nature laws place 'ridiculous costs' on British firms and, most worryingly of all, the Government has been vigorously stripping away support for clean energy and renewable technology in the UK. The EU isn't perfect, and ongoing reform to strengthen environmental rules is clearly needed, but the idea of leaving our precious environment in the hands of the current set of Ministers fills me with terror.

Ultimately it's obvious that being part of the EU makes sense when it comes to protecting our environment. Pollution and environmental degradation don't respect national border - so we clearly need cross-border solutions to the challenges we face.

I'm pleased to be part of Environmentalists for Europe which launches today. I firmly believe that Britain should remain a member of the EU and that those of us who care about the environment should be working with like-minded colleagues across the continent to defend and add to the cross-border protections we have in place.
I welcome European Council President Donald Tusk's proposal this morning, as representing, without any doubt, a 'substantial change', as David Cameron has already said, to Europe's position on the concessions it must and will make to keep the UK inside the EU.

This is a day when those who said the Germans and the French would laugh at us, and move not a metric millimeter to accommodate our demands, must swallow their words and sneak back into their isolationist holes, hopefully never to emerge again.

This is indeed a proud victory for Britain in Europe, but I call this a proposal only, because there is much more negotiating to be done now that we have them on the back foot.

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The so-called 'emergency brake' on benefits is a good start, but there is more to be had here, and I don't think David Cameron has any intention of easing up the pressure until he's knocked over all the obstacles to getting what he wants, especially on not paying benefits to new migrants.

The red-card system is also a good start, and will not only give the UK a realistic chance of smashing ridiculous EU laws that threaten to undermine the power of our parliament. But even more than that by setting up the red-card mechanism it will create a strong chilling effect against stupid, selfish and partisan laws ever getting anywhere near the statute books. Personally I would like to see a lowering of the 55% threshold, just to be sure!

And I believe the last thing Mr Tusk wanted to hear this morning from the PM's mouth was that there were still 'details to be worked out!' Because despite what the quitters of the various squabbling Leave campaigns will have you believe, we haven't lost our culture since we joined Europe, but they have learned a thing or two about British understatement.

So it's a case of get ready for some serious bargaining on things like the pound having the same status as the Euro; of us being exempted from any future Euro-zone bailouts, and a decent set of targets on getting rid of Brussels meddling in our affairs with its tiresome and unhelpful kilometers of red tape.

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Quite frankly in this proposal the dictatorship of Europe and the wider - now practically dead - political project, are over and the EU is well on its way to again becoming only - the world's largest trading block, and a club we cannot afford not to be inside.
On Wednesday, I asked Justine Greening in International Development Questions whether the government would be taking children from refugee camps in Europe.

This followed myself and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visiting the refugee camp in Calais that has become known as the Calais Jungle. The purpose of my visit was both to offer support and to see first-hand what conditions are like for people staying there.

The camp is a fragile and desperate place. There are thousands of people, including babies and very young children, living in freezing conditions with no education, limited food and healthcare.

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The efforts of the volunteers and agencies responding to the crisis are remarkable, but it is quite clear that much more needs to be done. This crisis is camped right on our doorstep and we have a clear moral obligation to work towards an effective, compassionate and sustainable solution. Sadly, the British government's response to the crisis has been piecemeal, ineffectual and slow.

Thousands have been stuck in a dehumanising limbo for far too long, and specifically, the refusal to take any children from Calais is wrong. They are suffering and at risk too.

But the situation in Calais is just one representation of this ongoing crisis around refugees. Europe is facing the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War - it's a test of our humanity, it's a test of our principles and it's a test of genuine European co-operation.

Yvette Cooper MP and others have provided terrible reports of the conditions in the refugee camps on Greek islands such as Lesbos, with no dry clothes, no shelter, no food and children sleeping in bin bags.

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And this is just the situation in two parts of Europe. Lebanon, neighbouring Syria, now has the highest per-capita refugee population in the world, hosting over 1.2million of them.

A study by the Norwegian Refugee Council, No Place to Call Home, found that almost 50% of refugees interviewed in Lebanon were living in unfurnished housing, accommodation without a toilet or running water or exposed to the elements - and that 18% were living in informal settlements.

The specific effects on children of this crisis must also be recognised. Unicef reports that in Lebanon, for example, Syrian refugee children as young as 10 are victims of bonded agricultural labour.

From when the British government first announced it would resettle 20,000 refugees over five years and give 100million in aid, it has shown itself as out of touch with the population on this issue.

Last Wednesday David Cameron added insult to injury by referring to the people at the Calais camp as "a bunch of migrants."

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Furthermore, this is a European crisis and efforts to ease it need to reflect that. We need improved co-ordination between countries, and Britain needs to play its part in this rather than pursuing a unilateral approach.

Over the summer, 442,288 people signed a petition - leading to a debate in Parliament - arguing that "the UK is not offering proportional asylum in comparison with European counterparts," and that "we can't allow refugees who have risked their lives to escape horrendous conflict and violence to be left living in dire, unsafe and inhumane conditions in Europe."

Now we need to build up the pressure again, redoubling our efforts for fair and humane treatment of refugees. The government must find additional emergency funding and ensure we do all we can to avert further humanitarian catastrophes.

Diane Abbott is the shadow international development secretary and Labour MP for Hackney North
On Saturday (6th February), PEGIDA - an abbreviation for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident - will hold its first ever rally in Birmingham.

With no more than 300 people estimated to attend and having been kept away from the city centre, protestors will undertake a 'silent march' near Birmingham International train station. Led by the former leader of the English Defence League (EDL), Tommy Robinson, the message of the protest will be 'Save our Country, Save our Culture, Save our Future'. Don't be fooled however by the use of 'Our'. Far from being inclusive of Birmingham's contemporary diversity, the far-right, counter-jihad movement's message will be one of division and hate.

While undoubtedly unwelcome, the rally does raise some interesting issues.

First is the arrival of PEGIDA to Britain. German in origin, the movement began in Dresden in 2014 where it organised 'evening strolls' that sought to bring people together who were concerned about the perceived Islamification of Germany and the impact immigration was having on German culture. Growing rapidly, the strolls soon became mass rallies; its rally the day after the Charlie Hebdo shootings in January 2015 attracting an estimated 40,000 people in Dresden alone. Carrying banners that read "PEGIDA=CHARLIE", the rally was angrily condemned by French caricaturists who disagreed with PEGIDA's message.

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That message was voiced by one of the speakers at the rally, Katrin Oertel. As she put it:

"We aren't radicals or fanatics, we are a citizen's movement. Fanatical Islam has brought terror to Europe"

What is interesting is that in Germany at least, those attending PEGIDA's rallies were indeed ordinary citizens. Far from the preserve of the traditional far-right, PEGIDA was attracting support from those within the middle-classes that had previously been politically inactive. Worryingly, PEGIDA was seen to afford them the opportunity to articulate concerns they felt unable to elsewhere. It is unlikely that a similar demographic will attend PEGIDA's rally in Birmingham.

More pertinent to Birmingham is the pan-European branding of PEGIDA behind which typically disparate and isolated groups and movements that propagate anti-Islam and anti-immigration ideologies are not only likely to come together but so too present themselves as having greater support than they realistically do. Given PEGIDA has already exported itself to organise rallies in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Spain and Switzerland among others, a more organised and strategic counter-jihad movement is a cause for concern.

Second is the re-emergence of Tommy Robinson. Just over two years ago, Robinson appeared to have undergone a Damscene conversion. Quitting the EDL, BBC1's 'Quitting the EDL: When Tommy Met Mo' presented him as a victim of circumstance, someone who despite years of aggressively ranting about Islam and Muslims in Britain was in fact little more than misunderstood man. Similar was true a few weeks earlier when Robinson sat alongside the Quilliam Foundation's Maajid Nawaz. An impassioned figure, Nawaz claimed Robinson's decision to quit the EDL was a "very positive change for the United Kingdom...a very proud moment for Quilliam".

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All of it was of course disingenuous nonsense. Robinson never distanced himself from the insidious ideology he espoused via the EDL nor did he refute any of the myths he perpetuated about Islam and Muslims; about mosques, shariah law, halal meat, Muslim women and grooming among others. As I wrote at the time, those who fawned over Robinson's bad-boy-turned-good resurrection presented him as a new Messiah for the common and everyday man and woman in today's Britain. If so, then Robinson's appearance at the rally in Birmingham on Saturday will be his Second Coming.

Finally, the response to the rally once again highlights Birmingham's ability to resist those who try and promote division and disharmony in the city. In this respect, Birmingham has a proud history. Take for instance Eric Clapton's concert at the Birmingham Odeon in 1976 where he is alleged to have made a number of explicitly racist rants. In response, local musicians and political activists got together and formed the Rock Against Racism movement that quickly arranged a number of small gigs that saw black reggae artists play alongside white punks. One of these was Birmingham's Steel Pulse. Formed in Handsworth, the band's first major label release - 'Ku Klux Klan' - confronted racism head-on.

A poignant example occurred in the aftermath of the 2011 riots. With tensions rising across the city following the deaths of three men protecting their community's businesses from looters, things were turned on their head when one of the grieving fathers, Tariq Jahan, publicly appealed for calm just hours after his son was killed. As he put it:

"I believe that people can stay calm, if you look around here there are black, brown, white and yellow people. They are all my community. We live together and we can stay together"

That spirit of unity can be seen in Birmingham's response to PEGIDA. Shortly after the rally was announced, I joined more than 70 community leaders, politicians, academics and faith representatives from across the city to put my name to the Unity Statement. Recognising Birmingham's proud tradition of being a city where people from vastly different backgrounds could live together harmoniously, Birmingham's residents were asked to 'choose hope' over hate by adding their names to the statement. To do so, click here. More information about the 'Choose Hope' campaign including information about the Unity Celebration taking place at Birmingham Central Mosque this Friday (5 February) can be obtained by following @itsourbrum on Twitter.

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To say there is a global revolution in technology taking place is unquestionable. The World Economic Forum that met in Davos last month called it the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' - new technologies being developed today will change the way individuals, companies and governments do their business in years to come.

We don't yet know the full extent of the impact this Revolution will have, but we can be sure of one thing at least: a high speed, high quality communications network is essential for the UK and its citizens to reap the full benefits of these changes.

In 2013, my department began a radical programme of investment to make sure everyone in the UK had access to basic broadband, and to take superfast broadband to first 90% of the country this year, and then to 95% of the UK by the end of 2017.

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However, 95% still leaves many without, and I am determined that everyone should benefit from our modern digital age. Launched by then Secretary of State Maria Miller back in 2014, the Market Test Pilot programme was set up to see how superfast broadband could be delivered in some of the UK's most sparsely populated rural areas. A crucial element of this was better understanding the capability of alternative suppliers to BT Openreach and Virgin Media.

Using a range of technologies, including in some cases mixing several different technologies on one project, the 8 million of government funding has supported seven projects. These include Avanti and Satellite Internet, using superfast-capable satellite; Airwave, Quickline and AB Internet, using fixed wireless; and Call Flow and Cybermoor, using a mix of fibre and fixed wireless technologies.

Crucially, these pilots have allowed smaller suppliers to showcase innovative ways of reaching these remote and difficult-to-reach households. They've broken down barriers to connectivity; proven that you don't need vast amounts of public subsidy to achieve high coverage of superfast broadband in challenging areas - and the technologies they have used have met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from customers.

This lesson has not been ignored. Nine of the projects on Phase 2 of the Superfast Broadband Programme - taking the UK from 90% to 95% superfast coverage, honouring our manifesto commitment - have been won by smaller suppliers, some using fixed wireless technologies.

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I want these findings to continue to strengthen the supplier market in rural areas and increase consumer confidence in the range of solutions available. We already have the best broadband of all the major European countries in terms of speed, coverage, take up and price. The contracts we have in place with BT mean that the telecoms giant has already returned 129 million to local authorities to be re-invested in extending the current rollout even further, and as take-up rates continue to exceed expectations, even more funding will be returned to the public purse.
nextrad.io/Flickr

I don't know how familiar you are with the 1996 Costa Rica Forest Law but it cheered my week getting to know it. I'd like to share it with you. The Forest Law aimed to give farmers in the humid, macaw-filled tropical Central American paradise of Costa Rica financial incentives that would prevent them from being tempted by the money that commercial timber production offered - with all its dastardly consequences of deforestation. Money was given for the provision of environmental services, helping in the production of fresh drinking water, protecting the biodiversity of the forests and something called 'the provision of scenic beauty'. And it is that phrase which brightened up a dull Monday because it's where bureaucracy and government meets spirituality and emotion, isn't it?

Just thinking about that makes me feel good. Don't you have to love a government that tells its farmers to 'provide scenic beauty'? For a nano second that rain forest fug is implanted in my brain. And you'll probably already know that the Forest Law worked - Costa Rica is now one of the most bio diverse, healthy, environmentally sound and literate places in the world. Literate because in 1949 the government abolished the army replacing it with 'an army of teachers.' Yup - feeling another nano second coming on.

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I have been luxuriating in these facts for a new six part series on the BBC World Service called My Perfect Countrythat, produced in the spirit of so called solutions-based journalism, aims to inspire audiences with ideas from around the world that could help solve common problems.

Apologies for the slightly megalomaniac title - it's a collective 'My' there (what do you mean you can't tell?) and it's a programme where we are going to try and build, rather playfully, a 'perfect' country using only bits of the world have been proven to work. We're not copying and pasting the best education policies or the best health service - this is a more subtle way of examining all kinds of things - from Portugal's drug rehabilitation policy (taking it out of criminal justice system and into health) to Estonia's digital revolution and the 'barefoot lawyers 'of Uganda dispensing digital legal aid. And you have spotted the theme haven't you - it's all good news. Ugh - that sends a shiver down the spine of most journalists, conjuring up images of kittens up trees and 110 year olds having birthday parties. I am no stranger to those assignments myself.

Good news struggles to find its place in the news agenda. As an editor, or journalist, at what point do you say that a policy or a scheme or a venture has become successful enough to justify attention with so much else to cover? How do you avoid a good news story looking like a puff piece? How can you stop that reflex of impartiality and balance where if you let Man A say 'This is terrific' You must have Man B saying 'This is awful...'?

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But it doesn't have to be that way and I'm pretty sure it's more important than ever to spend time examining the things on our planet that do actually work - otherwise our view of the world is skewed towards doom and gloom. The 3D punch of current news stories can be so dark, so unpleasant and can leave us feeling so helpless that we are in danger of adopting a 'worst first' response to everything. Yet at the same time as the actions of the so-called Islamic State, the migrant crisis and climate change we are also living in a renaissance of ideas - partly enabled by the wealth of the developed world and the increasing universality of technology. We need to stop thinking that good news has to be the 'and finally' item on the news - the saccharine attempt to leave you with a winsome smile on your face.

In line with this invigorating thought My Perfect Country is a show about hard work, vision, dedication, serendipity and human dynamism - and all of the policies we examine have all of these ingredients. And I haven't even got to the demand-response fridges of Guatemala.

You see you smiled there didn't you? The fridges and the forests - they are my favourites so far. And the week's not even over...
We have all seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk entitled Do Schools Kill Creativity? You know which one I mean, the most watched TED talk of all time, the 20-minute masterpiece whereby the English author poignantly and humorously points out the fundamental flaws in modern education with regards to the systematic quelling of creativity. One piece of this speech that really stood out for me was when Robinson discussed the ranking given to subjects in schools:

"Every education system on Earth has the same hierarchy of subjects... at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and at the bottom are the arts. Everywhere on Earth. And in pretty much every system too, there's a hierarchy within the arts. Art and music are normally given a higher status in schools than drama and dance. There isn't an education system on the planet that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. Why? Why not? ... We all have bodies, don't we? Did I miss a meeting?"

He goes on to argue that this is because of the ignorant "you're not going to be an actor, so why prioritise drama" arguments which all of us have heard so many times throughout our education. Robinson's speech says more than I ever could about the disparity between the arts and the sciences in schools. However, I would like to focus more on his mentioning of the hierarchy among the arts. In the decade since his 2006 speech, there has been a change. Drama, for example, has ascended to the level of music and art, with institutions such as the National Youth Theatre and a widespread focusing of the transferrable skills gained in theatre to thank for this shift. Dance, though still not part of mainstream, curricular teaching, is at least heavily encouraged as an extra-curricular even post-ballet, with films such as Step Up and television acts such as Britain's Got Talent'sDiversity sparking a generational allure for modern and progressive dance.

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Fashion however, still doesn't even have a seat at the table, and this is, in my opinion, a crying shame. Fashion is an art form. Think about it. It all starts off with sketching. The importance of colour combination, symmetry and originality are all plain to see. Is there such a difference between Kate Moss being Mario Testino's muse and Jacqueline being Picasso's? No. Aside from mere aesthetics, fashion, like art, is a means of expression. Coco Chanel said that "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." And she is correct. Why should Picasso's chilling 1951 Massacre in Korea, or just about anything by Banksy, be given more credit for documenting social issues than various figures' support for the LGBT community and Pussy Riot in the build-up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, or Supreme's stance on racism in the American police and legal system with their Supreme is UnAmerican t-shirt? The answer? They shouldn't. Fashion, both in terms of technical style and zeitgeist meaning, holds its own.

And the world has accepted this: last year's Alexander McQueen exhibition at the V&A received as much media coverage and acclaim as any art gallery did. As celebrated designer Zandra Rhodes told The Guardian, "the same amount of artistic expression goes into clothes, a piece of pottery or a painting. I've founded a [fashion] museum on the basis that I think it's an artistic form that should be remembered." So why is this not the case? I am at Cambridge University, a self-acclaimed leader in liberalism, innovativeness and creativity. Why then, does their Art History course study architecture, but not give fashion a look in? I am also on the committee of this year's Cambridge University Charity Fashion Show (CUCFS), which will take place on the 13th of February. This year's show is only the second ever show of this calibre. It is in aid of Cambridge House, a fantastic charity which focuses on giving education to kids in Southwark, South London. Why then, is money pumped into student galleries, choir concerts and tours to foreign countries, while we struggle to raise enough income (and have to rely on generous, external resources) to put on an annual show? If I asked the bursary for funds to travel to New York or Milan for fashion week, they'd laugh in my face. Why? To borrow from Sir Ken, we all wear clothes, don't we? Did I miss a meeting?

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Tradition is a big culprit. Traditionally, fashion has been seen by the world of academia as frivolous, as something which the non-intelligent and less capable divulge in. Also, returning to the Science vs Art debate, throughout history, the two have been pitted against each other as two ends of a spectrum, as non-compatible. You only have to look at how easily you accepted my saying "Science vs Art" just now for proof - this attitude is ingrained. This is the first thing that must change. As comedian Tim Minchin stressed in his UWA honorary degree acceptance speech:

"Please don't make the mistake of thinking the arts and sciences are at odds with one another. That is a stupid, and damaging idea. You don't have to be unscientific to make beautiful art, to write beautiful things. If you need proof: Twain, Adams, Vonnegut, McEwen, Sagan, Shakespeare, Dickens. For a start...The arts and sciences need to work together to improve how knowledge is communicated."

He is right- mainstream curricular education has to focus on a way of bringing together the arts and the sciences, and fashion should be included in this movement. More specific to fashion, tradition is again at fault. The old stereotype of fashion being 'for girls' has of course been broken and rejected worldwide- we are in 2016 for God's sake. But has it been rejected in education? Statistics would suggest not: the 2015 Cambridge Assessment Research Report showed that 90% of students doing Design and Textiles GCSE were girls. This, frankly, is scary: one must only look at the wealth of male designers, from Karl Lagerfeld to Gosha Rubchinskiy to see that the industry is far from a sphere limited to women, and this fact should be reflected in the encouragement of student participation in mainstream bodies of education.

Finally, we need to realise that what I am arguing for doesn't have to be a giant step. I am not saying that people should ditch the ruler for the dress (though rulers are, of course, integral for a fashion designer), or the test tube for the runway. There doesn't need to be a revolution. All that is needed is for GCSE and A-Level Art to include modules that study fashion design, and the history of fashion. This would inform people, spark an interest from a young age, and give a scope for creativity that is not currently present, without forcing people to solely study fashion. I am not putting other arts down, I am trying to bring fashion up to a similar position, and it is my belief that, with these changes in attitude and procedure, this is a very real possibility.
Last week I spoke to a Syrian family who had fled the country and spent three weeks travelling to Europe. Now they were waiting for a train in Serbia to take them north towards Germany. When I asked the father why they chose to leave their home at this particular point in time, I was given an answer that haunts me.

They wanted to stay in Syria, but after their third apartment was hit by bombs they decided to flee, taking with them only what they could carry.

Tomorrow world leaders will gather in London to talk about Syria and to commit resources towards the ever-growing scale of our generation's biggest humanitarian crisis.

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This conference must deliver for families such as the one I met last week. It must deliver for children who have seen their home destroyed three times without understanding why.

Approaching the 5-year mark of the Syria crisis, this half-decade of conflict has destroyed life for the children of Syria as they once knew it. A generation of children are now far too familiar with the sounds of artillery. Many are now tragically able to tell the difference in sound from an artillery shell being launched and one about to land.

Starvation is being used as a weapon of war, deliberately putting civilians in the line of fire in violation of international humanitarian law.

As a result millions of Syrians have left their home-country to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Turkey hosting some 2.5m, Lebanon more than 1.1m and Jordan over 630,000. With no end to the conflict in sight, the flow of refugees has continued and with mounting pressures on the regional response, many are being forced to flee further away to Europe. Europe received about 1m refugees in 2015, the single largest group being Syrians.

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The London conference is dedicated to supporting Syria and the region, and the need for support can hardly be overstated. It is expected that the conference will raise a large amount of funding for 2016.

This support needs to be translated into quick action, addressing especially the need for protection and education for Syrian children and those in host countries. This is desperately needed.

But as welcome as this funding is, Syria and its children need more than that.

There needs to be an end to the conflict and a return of peace in Syria.

And increasingly as we see that thousands of men, women and children per day are finding the situation in Syria and the neighbouring countries untenable enough to risk their lives in small boats to cross to Europe, there needs to be a scaled up response to meet the needs of refugees travelling through Europe as part of a coherent European approach.

In the last few days we have heard news that some 10,000 children may have gone missing in Europe whilst fleeing conflicts around the world. As one of the richest continents in the world, hosting about the same number of refugees as tiny Lebanon, it is beyond scandalous that this is happening today.

We have to ask ourselves what will happen with a generation of children growing up fleeing their homes to the sounds of gunfire and bombs, rather than growing up with safety in classrooms.

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So the London conference is a step in the right direction, but the children of Syria deserve and need giant strides of progress rather than careful steps.
As Young & Laramore's longtime executive creative director, Carolyn Hadlock is the driving force behind the agency's creative department. Carolyn has spent more than 20 years at Y&L, inspiring teams to deliver original, startling, and consistently effective creative for the likes of Brizo Faucets, Goodwill, Scotts Lawn Service, Schlage, and Stanley Steemer.

Among other noteworthy efforts, Carolyn played a key role in establishing the Brizo-Jason Wu partnership, reinforcing the Brizo faucet brand's position as a fashion label for the home. Carolyn led the charge to have the up-and-coming Brizo fashion brand partner with an up-and-coming, unheralded, young fashion designer named Jason Wu. Since 2006, she has encouraged Brizo to sponsor Jason's shows during New York Fashion Week, exposing influential architect and interior designer bloggers to the Brizo brand. In January 2009, Carolyn's efforts shone through as the client--and the rest of the world--watched Jason shoot to superstardom when Michelle Obama wore his gown at the Inauguration Ball.

Since joining the agency in 1991, Carolyn's work has garnered recognition and many awards: Art Director's Club, One Show, Graphis Logo and The New York Film Festival. Her unique perspectives and projects have been featured on NBC's Today Show, and in publications ranging from Advertising Age and Communication Arts, to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune.

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How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?

I would say being average at almost everything during my school years informed my thoughts on leadership. I never had the arrogance of thinking I knew everything, or the lack of self esteem that I didn't know anything.

In college, after finally settling on my major (Graphic Design), the head professor told me at the end of the year that he wasn't going to keep me in the program because I had no talent and that I was wasting my parents' money. Humiliated, I went home and told my parents the new plan - go to a local art school and keep the internship I'd already started at a marketing firm that summer.

The hardest part of it all was that when I went back to school, I had to start over as a freshman, during what should have been my senior year. But I stuck it out, and by the time I was (once again) a senior in college, I was a Creative Director at a small advertising agency.

That experience taught me to not allow other people to decide my talent.

It was ironic when years later the same professor who called me talentless, called me to compliment my success, asking if he could bring his students by the agency I was working at for a tour. Floored, I accepted, and wondered how it was possible that he didn't remember me. I did the entire tour and he still didn't remember me. I stifled the desire to tell his entire class my story.

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Taking the high road is life lesson #2 in leadership. It's still never led me wrong.

How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at Y&L?

It probably hasn't had as significant an impact on me as others who've been in the business for 25 years, because I've been at Y&L 21 of those 25. But I definitely learned things at my previous jobs. I learned about what I didn't want to do. I also learned that every project, no matter how boring or small, shaped my creative abilities. Which meant I treated--and still treat--everything the same. There are a multitude of places in our careers and lives that we should prioritize. Assignments are not one of them. I approach everything with the same amount of energy and respect, whether it's a national brand that has millions of dollars behind it, or a POP for a local shop.

What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Y&L?

What I've loved the most about being here is the access that I've had from day one to the leadership of Y&L and to the transparency of running of the business. David Young and Jeff Laramore fostered a culture where it was not only acceptable to ask questions, but expected.

From a highlights perspective, becoming Creative Director. I assumed it would never happen at Y&L, because that role was already taken by Young & Laramore themselves. But I'm so glad I hung in there.

It taught me that I shouldn't ever assume things will stay the same forever. Momentum creates positive change. Props to David and Jeff for letting go and letting me truly take over from the first day I became Creative Director.

If I'm honest, the challenges have come mostly from within. Am I good enough, am I making the right decisions, was that last campaign the best work I could've done, etc.? The vibe here is very much about being self-sufficient. Everyone understands that the best kind of pressure is the kind that comes from within.

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What advice can you offer to women who want a career in advertising?

Choose your partner wisely. Not your creative partner, your life partner. Choose someone who doesn't tolerate your career, but actively champions it. Choose someone who, when you have children, never makes you feel guilty about not being home with them during the day. I've seen too many women make the wrong choice in partner and then have to compromise either their marriage or their career.

What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date?

Don't only look to those older and more experienced than you to learn from. Everyone has an expertise in something. Soak up everything you can. You'll use it someday, somehow. Even if it comes from an intern. Adopting a student mindset makes you look the most confident.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

I don't give myself boundaries. I don't stress about getting things done or staying on task because I know the important stuff will work itself out. Last week, I was working towards a deadline and a friend called. I didn't have time to talk, but I knew it was more important than what I was doing at the moment so I stopped and took a moment to be a friend. Obviously, you can't do that all the time, but five more minutes with a child, a friend or a co-worker who needs you is more important. The work will always get done.

What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?

I think my experience is different than others because I've spent the majority of my career at an independent agency of people who refuse to be defined by gender, age or experience. So, I've never really run into the types of issues that I hear about for women who work at larger agencies.

I'll go back to the earlier comment about life partner. That may be the biggest issue. There have been several times I've called home at midnight, saying I won't be home for hours because we "just-don't-have-it-yet." My husband understands and makes room for the unknowable things that constantly pop-up.

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How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?

It's made a substantial difference. I've had many mentors along the way, but a few key ones who've been with me my entire career: David Young (Y&L's co-founder), Paul Knapp (Y&L's CEO), and my husband. They have been and continue to be my biggest critics and champions. They keep me honest and competitive.

In general, being at an agency in a Midwestern city not known for advertising has made mentorship challenging. Because of that, I helped found the Creative Leaders Retreat with the One Club. It pairs mentors who lead the ad industry today with people like me who are running creative departments in smaller markets. I've attended both retreats and would need a second article to chronicle what I've learned, but in an effort to conserve time and space will simply say: it has been invaluable.

Which other female leaders do you admire and why?

I think Susan Credle and Susan Hoffman are bad ass because they don't use gender to advance their careers. They use their talent, humor and grit to run some of the biggest and most successful creative departments in our industry. And they've both been very generous to me personally with their time and wisdom.

What do you want Y&L to accomplish in the next year?

-Win more national work in the outdoor and restaurant categories

-Get agency bees
Children attend school in Aleppo, Syria. Copyright Unicef/Al-Issa

The children of Syria have lived through five years of devastating war. For many, violence and loss is all they have ever known. Syria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to grow up and sadly its children continue to see their hopes for the future fade with every passing day of conflict.

I visited Za'atari refugee camp and met children who have fled Syria for their lives. I heard the same tales of losing homes, their schools and their friends. And stories of unimaginable violence and danger. These children should be going to school and playing with their friends, dreaming of what they want to be when they grow up. These children are the future of Syria and they urgently need protection and the chance of an education before a whole generation is lost to the conflict.

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Today world leaders will come together to commit to helping more Syrian children. The Supporting Syria and the Region conference, in London, will set crucial and ambitious goals on education and economic opportunities to transform the lives of refugees caught up in the Syrian conflict and to support the countries hosting them.

The conference is an opportunity for world leaders, including the UK Government, to address the dangers facing Syrian children and commit to raising new funding to meet both their immediate and longer term needs.

Education must play a critical role so that Syrian children can continue to learn and develop. Without an education what hope can they have for their futures? How will they be able to help rebuild their country once the conflict is over? Without education and growth, an entire generation of potential could be lost.

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A Syrian girl writes on the whiteboard. Copyright Unicef/Al-Issa

Unicef is a founding partner of the No Lost Generation initiative, which brings together the UN, NGOs and international donors with the aim to get children back into learning, expand learning space and provide a protective environment for children and young people, whether in Syria or in neighbouring countries. In total, 966 million is needed for each of the next five school years for Syrian children.

The No Lost Generation initiative aims to provide opportunities for children and young people affected by the crisis to come to terms with their experiences, learn and develop. It aims to improve the quality of formal and non-formal learning opportunities for Syrian children. For the2.8 million children out of school right now this is vital.

As well as urgent funding for Syrian children Unicef is calling for unhindered access for humanitarian organisations to reach families in desperate need inside Syria. We need official ceasefires so that life-saving relief can be delivered and children can return to school. And we urge that attacks on civilian infrastructure cease immediately, as under international law, so that schools, hospitals and water supplies are kept safe.

Syria is the world's biggest and most urgent humanitarian crisis and the international community has a responsibility to help. This conference is the chance to do more to support the children of Syria and world leaders must act now to ensure there is No Lost Generation.

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Seven year-old Malak is one of eight million children whose lives have been torn apart because of the Syrian conflict. She tells the story of her terrifying journey across the Mediterranean to safety https://youtu.be/TEMrc3jlBIg

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Some people have fixed mindsets. They believe that they have a certain amount of intelligence that can't be increased or reduced. Their A-level grades were effectively pre-destined at birth. Other people have growth mindsets. They believe that their intelligence is flexible and has enormous potential: with effort, application and curiosity they can and will improve their grades. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, has spent her career uncovering these mindsets and how they are cultivated in people.

Looking back a couple of decades I can recognise both mindsets in myself. You see, at the age of nine I had set the goal for myself to study at Cambridge University. I knew I didn't have 'raw talent' (whatever that might be) but I made it my mission to find out what I needed to know to succeed. This meant cracking the code on getting amazing grades as well as discovering what else I needed to know to get through the admissions process. I believed that with effort and application I could succeed. And I did. I earned 5 Grade As at A-Level and studied Geography at Newnham College, Cambridge.

However, one area of my academic learning was thwarted by a fixed mindset. Maths was my nemesis. To this day, I'm not sure whether it was the fixed mindset of the schools I went to or whether it came from me that was my undoing. I remember sitting in my primary school classroom with an orange textbook in front of me. All my friends had purple text books. I was behind them but I could see no way in which I could catch up. It felt like I was destined to be less good at them at maths and however much effort I put in I could not catch up.

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This feeling of being 'fixed' at a certain level of attainment was perpetuated at secondary school. When we were 'set' for maths at the end of year 8 my friends were placed in the 'Express Set' and I was put in 'Set 1'. I worked and worked to try to get into the Express Set but it didn't pay off. I would be in Set 1 for the rest of my mathematical career. I had no belief in my ability and still believe to this day that maths is my weakest subject.

What was I able to do to succeed at A-Level that I couldn't do in maths?

When I was studying for my A-Levels in Chemistry, Biology, Geography and English Literature (plus General Studies - but I didn't have to work for that) I adopted certain behaviours that enabled me to grow my ability in each of these areas. What were these?

I had my eye on the prize. Not a day went by when I didn't remind myself of my goal of getting into Cambridge. That was the prize and nothing was going to distract me from it.

I did the work. Every study period, evening and weekend I sat down and concentrated on getting the work done to the best of my ability.

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I sought feedback. When I didn't understand anything or it didn't go as well as I wanted I sought feedback.

I taught myself. When my teachers or the text books didn't make things clear for me I looked elsewhere for the information. I became my own teacher.

I became a master of past-papers. I had done that many past-papers I could read the mind of the examiner and knew the mark schemes inside-out.

When I was studying maths these opportunities weren't available. The prize of getting into the Express Set was seemingly closed to me. I did the work that was necessary but the feedback wasn't forthcoming. When I got a D that was all I got. Just red crosses beside my errors and the damning letter next to my work - nothing to help me know where I'd gone wrong and an unapproachable teacher who wasn't willing to help. I didn't have enough confidence in my ability in the subject to teach myself.

Succeeding in your A-Levels

As exam season approaches now is the time to start believing that you can grow your ability and succeed. There is so much you can still do to improve your grades and expand your intelligence. It is my mission to help you believe in your ability to grow and succeed in your exams.

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On Monday 8th February 2016 and 8pm I'll be hosting a free, online workshop that will help you take the first step on this journey. My special guest will be Martin Griffin. He's the Director of Sixth Form at The Blue Coat School in Oldham. The sixth form has received an Outstanding rating from Ofsted twice. Martin, along with his colleague, Martin Oakes has written a book called The A-Level Mindset which is published in March. In the workshop Martin will be sharing the five pillars to achievement at A-Level as well as one of the exercises from his book. This exercise will have a direct impact on your ability to improve your AS and A2 grades. You can sign-up for the workshop here.
The future of human rights protection in the United Kingdom is on the verge of change as the government prepares its consultation to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights. The consultation stage represents a critical step whose result I hope will dispel fears of regression in the UK's commitment to human rights.

During a recent visit to the UK, I had the possibility to take the pulse of this debate as I met with a number of ministers and non-governmental organisations in Edinburgh, Belfast and London. The clear impression I got is that the debate over the repeal of the Human Rights Act does not reflect the real concerns outside England, where the European Convention on Human Rights and the Strasbourg Court are generally viewed positively as catalysts for positive change.

Indeed, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights has highly benefited UK citizens over the past four decades by triggering legislative changes at domestic level that have improved various aspects of the everyday life of millions. Take the case of gay people. Today the large majority of UK society would reject proposals to discriminate against a person because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. Decriminalisation of homosexuality and greater rights protection for homosexuals across the country came about as a consequence of the Strasbourg Court's judgments finding the UK in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The same holds true for various other practices that we abhor today - such as corporal punishment in schools for example - but which were a reality before the UK adjusted its legislation and practice to comply with the Court's case-law.

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Over the years of its membership in the Council of Europe, the UK has maintained a fairly smooth relationship with the Convention system. Having largely contributed to its establishment, the UK has also played a leading role in amending and developing it over the decades. As recently as 2012, the UK's blueprint for reform of the Convention won the approval of fellow European countries and led to a series of measures to address key issues, such as reducing the Court's case backlog, increasing the quality of selection and appointment of judges and reaffirming the principle of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation that every state party to the Convention enjoys.

The influence that the UK still exerts on the Convention system is based also on its good performance in upholding the human rights enshrined in the Convention. Among European countries of comparable size, the UK has the lowest number of judgments against it found by the European Court of Human Rights since 1959, and the second highest number of judgments among all 47 member states of the Council of Europe in which no violation was found.

No surprise, then, that the current debate in the UK has broader European ramifications. Every step of this debate and its outcome is closely scrutinised by other European states, in particular those with a much less flattering performance in protecting human rights. Many are in fact eager to exploit any backsliding in Westminster's commitment to the Convention system to justify measures reducing their own citizens' and residents' ability to obtain justice through the Convention system.

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This background should be used to better frame the debate on the repeal of the Human Rights Act. Far from acting as a Trojan horse which threatens the UK's sovereignty, the Human Rights Act has proved over the years a good example of how Convention rights can be incorporated into domestic law and foster positive improvements in UK society. Just days ago, the families of service men and women who died in training were able to finally obtain an inquest into their children's deaths, twenty years later, by using the Human Rights Act.

Each member state of the Council of Europe is free to decide the best way to ensure that the European Convention on Human Rights is implemented domestically. The Human Rights Act does not represent the only model available, but a Bill of Rights or any other substitute should in no case weaken the guarantees available to individuals subject to UK jurisdiction to claim their rights.

The consultation on the repeal of the Human Rights Act represents therefore a defining moment for human rights protection in the UK - and beyond. This phase deserves dispassionate, principled and factual discussion which needs to look at all the consequences, both at home and abroad, attached to a possible alteration of the current system. A good case for the need to repeal the existing Act still has to be made.
Following widespread condemnation of the 'sweetheart' deal agreed between Google and HMRC recently, George Osborne would have been hoping the week would end on a rather lighter note. Unfortunately, for him and his party, it seems the corporation tax scandal is one set to remain in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.

The details of the so-called 'sweetheart' deal between Google and HMRC have been widely publicised for over a week now. The huge tech corporation is reported to have made profits of around 7.2bn in the UK over the course of the last ten years, yet agreed to pay only 130m in corporation tax to HMRC. Analysts have calculated that this works out at a measly 3% level of corporation tax, despite the official rate being as high as 30% at one point during the same period.

Rightfully, the 130m figure has received much scrutiny over recent days, with even 10 Downing Street refusing to call the deal a "major success", the phrase used by George Osborne when the deal was first announced. At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn questioned David Cameron on why, on the week people up and down the country are filling in their tax returns, small and medium-sized businesses are forced to pay the official rates of tax, yet large multinational corporations such as Google can negotiate 'sweetheart' deals and dramatically reduce the amount of tax they pay to HMRC.

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However, it seems George Osborne and the rest of his party are well and truly in the pockets of Google, as an Observer investigation revealed on Sunday that "Treasury ministers have told the European commission that they are "strongly opposed" to proposed sanctions against Bermuda", where Google has supposedly amassed 30billion of profits from non-US sales and is not liable to pay any corporation tax.

Moreover, the UK is Google's second largest non-US market, accounting for 11% if its global revenues, meaning a considerable amount of the 30billion of profits amassed in Bermuda will inevitably come from UK sales.

This revelation inevitably raises more questions over Google's seemingly close connections with the Government and their ability to avoid paying their fair share of tax in the UK. It also rubbishes the Government's claim that they are taking serious action to tackle large-scale tax avoidance by huge multinational corporations such as Google and Amazon.

How can David Cameron say he is committed to tackling tax avoidance while his party's MEPs and even Treasury ministers do their best to prevent "countermeasures" against tax havens such as Bermuda?

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This is a scandal that the public has a right to be angry about, and hopefully, one that maintains its media coverage. However, despite it being obvious that Google is one of the worst offenders with regard to large-scale tax avoidance, we should also begin to focus on the other multinational companies using similar techniques to reduce their tax bill. Companies like Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft all have questions to answer when it comes to paying corporation tax in the UK.

However, it's obvious that simply 'tax shaming' huge companies is not always a successful strategy to actually get them to pay more tax, although it does gains the necessary media coverage to take the issue further. Companies like Google and Amazon know the vast majority of people will always use their services, no matter how much tax they pay. What is needed is a complete rethink concerning how we tax huge corporations like Google, and how we can stop them from funneling profits into tax havens like Bermuda.
Faith, or rather that of my teachers, parents and family loomed large in my child-hood.

My Dad, raised as a Catholic (but by now a Methodist) would light a candle by my bed each night, teaching me to read using a musty, hard-backed Bible. Most of the stories were from the Old Testament and I can recall that whilst Dad was assuring me God was a force for good, many of the tales left me uneasy, with sacrifices, murder and what felt to me pretty obvious attempts to control people through fear. The New Testament was easier for me to relate to and this was underlined by the Christian ethos at my Church Primary School. I enjoyed marching on the spot to 'Onward Christian Soldiers in assembly and I liked the school ethos that seemed to promote being terribly nice to one another- an ethos which is not too far removed from that of my own secular school now. I attended Sunday school and wore a wooden cross, occasionally being labelled and bullied for being a 'bible-basher.' It was the festivals I enjoyed most, especially Christmas and Easter; these events afforded family time, decorations and songs that seemed to connect one directly to Biblical times. All in all being a Christian didn't seem like such a bad thing, even if I could never really hear God's voice as my parents said I would, a fact that would in itself make me suspicious.

I was aware from as early as I can remember that I was more attracted to men than women, especially men with beards; fortunately my little book of bible stories was packed to the rafters with drawings of handsome and hirsute Sampson and Peter the fishermen. I have no doubt that it was through these books that I first gained a sense of what was 'my type'. Of course this powerful sense of my own identity also led me to seek role models and representations in books, at school, in church, on the television and amongst adults and children I met. Yet no obvious role models were forthcoming.

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It was at Well Street Church in Buckingham that I first overheard an important looking Church leader referring to homosexuals as 'wrong in the eyes of the Lord.' I had previously heard the 'H' word on news with reference to a man in a mac called Jeremy Thorpe and I instinctively knew that 'homosexual' meant people born such as me. I was already accompanied by ever present shame (due a sense of otherness and lack of role models and representation) and this indirect confirmation, that in the eyes of the baby Jesus and his Father I was possibly closer to the Devil than the Lord would contribute significantly to a troubled passage in my teenage years that would very nearly end with a hot bath, a razor blade and a bottle of Martini.

This point of forced emotional disconnection from the church inevitably challenged my belief system, it also awoke a fierce new emotion in me- anger. It seemed almost intolerably unfair that God had chosen me to be born 'homosexual' when Jesus and other babies were born to be accepted and loved. My anger grew and I began to question God's motive as I watched the Vietnam War play out on the news, my best friend's Mum wrap her mini round a tree and parents' marriage dissolve. I came to the conclusion that God was actually not a very truthful or kind person. Anger grew to rage and I disconnected completely from faith around the age of 10.

In my teenage years I returned only once to a religion, accompanying my Mother to see a Christian musical. Whilst I enjoyed the music, the performance resulted in some of the audience going into some kind of trance or 'high' and it scared me. Afterwards people were asked onto the stage to be 'cleansed of their sins' an experience which also frightened me. I was left with the impression that it was not God I felt in that room, but humans manipulating vulnerable humans. At secondary school religious education became an excuse to smoke on the school field and it wasn't until I became a teacher in 1996 that the teaching of religion returned to my life. My first teaching post came with the expectation that I taught Year 6/7 religious studies. Over time I realised that teaching the six world religions was no different to teaching history, it was about information and education, not promotion. I also thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of bearing witness to honest and open discussions about faith (or lack) in a safe, structured environment. What struck me was the ability of some young people to adhere to the core values of a faith, whilst still retaining a questioning mind and a sense that religious texts and values were perhaps best interpreted within the context of contemporary values. Upon moving to London in 2000 the range of identities and faiths made the teaching of religion, identify and heritage an absolute must, to ensure children are afforded regular opportunities to understand 'the other' and to explore their own emergent faith, spirituality or their identities.

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In 2009, faced with LGBT+ related bullying in my own school, I wrote an award winning teacher training programme called Inclusion For All which I have now delivered to over 8,200 school staff across the UK and abroad. When I began this work, it is fair to say that my own prejudices led me to believe that faith school communities would not be open to a homophobia survivor speaking to their students in assembly and advising their staff on preventing homophobia,. During the first three years nearly all the schools who invited me in were secular schools. Then in November 2013 I was invited to speak at Harrow School to a group of Church of England delegates from the Diocese of London, the Diocese of Southwark and Lambeth Palace. I was touched to be invited to speak and I spent the night beforehand wondering whether I should temper my approach. Ultimately I held firm in the fact that the Equality Act states all schools, including faith schools have a due regard to prevent LGBT related bullying and to prevent discrimination. I began by exploring the damage prejudice related bullying does to young people and I explained how I had come close to taking my own life. I could feel many of the delegates understood that I was not advocating or promoting anything other than keeping children safe. Some of the content proved challenging and I had to avoid being drawn into theological debate; whilst I celebrate the right to faith, if we go round and round in circles debating theology more young unique human souls will be lost. Following Harrow I found myself speaking in an increasing number of CE Schools, in many there was a sense of relief to be finally talking about these issues. Telling my own story allowed us to find a common meeting point, in which we pledged not to let anyone in the school community be damaged by prejudice of any kind.

In May 2014 I was invited to help launch the Church of England anti homophobia resource 'All God's Children' alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury; as TV cameras captured the moment, I led students affected by homophobia in an honest discussion whilst Justin Welby listened and took notes. My LGBT+ inclusion work in schools is now recommended within' Valuing All God's Children.' I had always hoped that I could reach out to supposedly 'harder to reach' communities and individuals without judgement; at the end of the day I have been homophobic towards not only myself but also other people, when I was struggling with my own identity- so I get it.

I continue to lead teacher training and assemblies for CE and Catholic Schools across the UK. I tell my story to Muslim students and teachers. This is a far cry from January 2009 when my own doubts and some of my friends and colleagues were sending me clear messages that faith schools would never invite me in. I now see wonderful LGBT+ inclusion work in faith schools across the UK and I would urge the Department for Education and OFSTED to research and celebrate not only this emerging provision but also its impact. In this way we can inspire confidence in others that this work is absolutely making young people's lives netter.

Following my visits to faith schools, without exception I ask young people whether they feel their faith is a barrier to learning about LGBT+ people and the damage prejudicial attitudes can cause.Without exception they assure me that their faith tells them to love, to respect and to take care of people.

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Despite the cold, freezing rain and rough seas, this January over 50,000 people have already fled to Europe to escape the horrors of conflict and oppression in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and other countries. Greece has seen thirty times the number of people arrive this month compared to January 2015. People who are arriving seeking sanctuary, safety and a brighter future. However, unbeknownst to them, they are entering an increasingly fragmented and acrimonious Europe.

Earlier this week amidst a rising sense of panic, EU ministers met in Amsterdam to discuss suspending the Schengen Zone for two years in response to the escalating refugee crisis. Many lay the blame for the increase in refugees at Greece's door, with Austrian interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, saying "Greece has one of the biggest navies in Europe...It's a myth that the Greek-Turkish border cannot be protected."

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I write from Athens where pressure is also being felt from the European Commission, who this week stated that "there are serious deficiencies in the management of the external border in Greece". It has given Greece three months to address these issues, which include proper reception, registration or relocation or return of refugees, or face possible expulsion from the Schengen Zone. Staggeringly, rather than adopting a shared, cohesive approach across EU member states, there is even talk of debt relief for Greece in exchange for them absorbing greater numbers of those who've fled their war-torn homelands. I'm here in Greece because Mercy Corps is entering into partnership with the Ministry for Migration Policy and the City of Athens to help them deal with this unprecedented crisis. We will provide support to effectively integrate refugees granted asylum, promote social cohesion and reinforce the capacity of key governmental partners and local organisations.

This signals the start of a long-term partnership that Mercy Corps is embarking on with Greece, where we are focused on a holistic approach to address both the challenges and, importantly, harness the opportunities that this massive movement of people can bring. Our experience working in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan and our already established refugee response in Greece and The Balkans, means we are uniquely positioned to help.

Unfortunately, while we are forging new agreements with the Greek authorities, the spirit of partnership and co-operation seems to be in short supply across Europe this week. On Tuesday, shockingly, the Danish parliament passed a law approving the seizure of refugees' assets, purportedly to help cover the costs of their stay in Denmark, there are escalating calls from central European countries to close borders with the Balkans, and Macedonia is constructing a three-meter high razor-wire fence along its border with Greece.

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These morally outrageous and ineffective measures will not help the thousands of desperate people who continue to make the perilous journey to Europe's shores. The European Commission has predicted that three million refugees will arrive in Europe by the end of 2016. But, in reply to these predictions, what we are seeing are short-term political responses to a long-term challenge that do nothing to address the root causes of the crisis. Of paramount importance is securing a political solution to end the conflict, first and foremost, inside Syria, but also in Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan, which account for over 90% of the refugees fleeing to Europe.

As world leaders, along with global organisations such as Mercy Corps, prepare to meet in London at the Supporting Syria and the Region conference this coming week to commit support to the people of Syria and its neighbours, discussions will focus on how to better protect civilians in Syria's brutal war; how to provide more education for a generation of young people who have seen five years of war; and how to create conditions that support equitable economic development and enable refugees and people in neighbouring countries access to more jobs. Commitment from leaders at the conference, along with regional leaders in the Middle East - including those from the private sector - must be made to establishing a fund and framework that supports the small and medium businesses that are the engines of job creation in the region. Creating sustainable, productive economic opportunities for refugees, together with well thought through social cohesion programmes that build bridges across communities, will help to provide people with a more viable future.
The most frightening experience I've ever had underwater was not being bitten by a shark, or charged by a monster crocodile, nuzzled by an anaconda, or swimming face first into a hippo in the Okavango. Instead, it was diving under a fishing boat that was catching squid at night. My cameraman's torch cut like a light sabre through the blackness, as thousands of pint-sized market squid bounced between our hands like little luminous bath toys. The clonking of the boat propeller seemed to be right on top of us, despite the fact that they were 30 metres above. And then the whole world exploded. A bang so loud it seemed to be inside my head, then a pressure wave that reverberated through every air space in my body.

Disorientated and deafened I would have made a lethal dash for the surface if cameraman Simon hadn't grabbed a hold of me. The fishermen above were throwing fishbombs; half sticks of dynamite into the water to scare sealions out of the squid nets, and the properties of water meant the sound and pressure wave traveled at great speed and without dissipating in force. Another went off, and another; it felt like we were being carpet-bombed. It was terrifying, I have never felt such dread and claustrophobia. Ears ringing, heads throbbing we had to get out of the water and fast.

This bombing is just one of the ways we humans are filling the deep with our noise pollution. The 'Silent World' that Jacques Cousteau explored in the 1950s was a bastion of quiet - the crackling of shrimp and dolphin whistles the only soundtrack, and whales using infra and ultra sound would have communicated with each other across oceans. But everything has changed.

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Most modern boats have depth and fishfinders that send eternal pings off into the blue. City-sized cruise and cargo ships have vast propellers you can hear from miles away. Seismic surveys for oil, gas and undersea minerals create pulses of intense noise. Pipelines and radio signals hum and buzz, and offshore construction building wind farms and bridges pound the depths with pile driving, pumping and explosives. It's a marine nightclub playing non-stop happy hardcore FM, an aquatic construction site with a never-ending jackhammer baseline.

So how must it be for marine mammals who can't escape the water? Who rely entirely on sound as their primary sense, and have aural systems so sensitive they make our little ears seem utterly pathetic? Special Forces recruits are played white noise as the most effective form of torture (for 45 minutes only), and reportedly playing inmates at Guantanamo 'Barney the dinosaur' on a loop, was as effective as waterboarding. Have we turned our once quiet oceans into a nonstop earworm of noise that befuddles marine mammals, driving them insane, driving them to strand themselves on our beaches?

The recent beaching of sperm whales on our east coast, and simultaneously in Europe, has once again called attention to undersea soundscapes. Sperm whales are very special creatures, possibly more dependent on acoustics, and more sensitive to it than any other animal in the sea. They generate concentrated bursts as biosonar, which bounce back off the environment and objects in it, before being received and processed as vibrations through the whale's jawbone, then transmitted to the inner ear. When you're in the water with a sperm whale you can feel its sounds reverberating through your body in pulses. To get a crude sense of how biosonar works, close your eyes, start making a clicking sound with your tongue and get a pal to wave their hand in front of your face. You'll be able to tell when their hand is there, due to the more dead, close sound of the echo.

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Some visually-impaired people have trained this capacity to such an extent that they can resolve fine detail and manage to find their way around. But this is an unspeakably crude simulacrum of the sperm whale's supersense. They can not only build up a 3D picture of their world based on sound, but in concentrated blasts can use sound as a weapon to stun their giant squid prey. These blasts sound like someone whacking a hammer on an iron pipe, and could be the loudest sounds in nature - at least 220 decibels. A cameraman I was working with whilst diving with sperm whales, had on an earlier trip inadvertently got in between a male and the female he was courting. The male hit him with a blast of sound that - in his words - turned him to jelly in the water, and caused him the most exquisite full body pain he has ever experienced. The systems they have for receiving and processing the echoes that bounce back are just as sensitive.

The first hypothesis of why the whales recently stranded here and on the continent, is that they strayed from their preferred deeper waters (sperm whales hunt squid in water that is often several miles deep) into the much shallower North Sea, and their biosonar became confused. A comparatively shallow sandy bottom, and loads of ambient noise from the busy shipping lanes caused them to become disorientated and to inadvertently swim into too shallow waters. Once they had beached on the high waters of a spring tide, there would be no chance of refloating them.

Could there be any more sinister cause? If a sperm whale can paralyse a giant squid with a burst of 220 decibels, what can blasts of active sonar up to 245 decibels do? Active sonar has been implicated in numerous whale strandings, with a range of species beaching in large numbers following submarine military testing exercises. The US Navy has admitted its high intensity sonar caused beaching of beaked and minke whales in the Bahamas. Fourteen beaked whales that began stranding in the Canary Islands four hours after naval exercises were studied and found to have 'severe, diffuse congestion and haemorrhage, especially around the acoustic jaw fat, ears, brain, and kidneys. Gas bubble-associated lesions and fat embolism were observed in the vessels and parenchyma of vital organs.' The latter effects were hypothesised to be injuries relating from the whales surfacing too quickly. Essentially, they got what divers call 'the bends'. A study by the Space and Naval Warfare Centre in the US linked 39 beaked whale mass stranding events in the modern era to naval activities, (although 87 other events had no reason to be linked). Beaked whales and blue whales have been proven to change their behaviour, stop feeding and move rapidly away in response to simulated navy sonar.
Britain is stronger, safer, and better off as part of Europe. Our country stands taller in the world, benefiting from our membership of a large bloc when negotiating international deals on issues like trade and climate change. Our streets are safer as Europol, the European Arrest Warrant, and intelligence-sharing between EU police forces help our cops fight terrorism and organised crime. And our citizens are better off, as our membership of the EU's free trade zone creates jobs, opportunities, and cuts prices.

But those of us who think Britain is stronger in Europe are far from starry-eyed; we know that the EU is not perfect, and that the government is right to try to make Europe work even better for our country. A lot may change between now and the end of the European Council meeting on 19 February. But if the deal that emerges is similar to the one presented by Donald Tusk today, the government will have done a sound job in reforming Europe in Britain's best interests.

Most people in Britain, in my experience, have a clear view of immigration. While they are concerned about the pace of change in their communities and pressure on public services, they accept migrants who come to Britain to work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules. Indeed, most people value the contribution that migrants make to our public services and economy. But they do not like the feeling that they are being taken for a ride. Despite many naysayers, it seems that David Cameron will win a concession from Brussels to delay the payment of in-work benefits to EU migrants. This will make our welfare and immigration systems fairer, and put many peoples' minds at rest.

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The same is true of the new 'red card' system. Many people feel that some EU laws in the past have penalised Britain - a feeling that is not unique to us among European nations. So it is right that elected representatives, brought together in national parliaments, should have the right to work together to block proposals that they feel are against our national interest.

We enjoy the best of both worlds in the EU. We are part of the largest market in the world, we co-operate with our allies in fighting terrorism, and we gain clout on the world stage. But we have an iron opt-out from the euro and from the borderless Schengen area. Opt-outs from the commitment to 'ever closer union' and protections for countries that do not use the euro, will further cement this enviable position for our country.

Making the European economy more competitive will likewise bring great benefits for Britain. Research by the independent CEBR has shown that completing the EU's single market and signing new free trade agreements will create an extra 790,000 jobs in Britain, and boost our economy by 59billion a year by 2030. For our young people who need work, and our small businesspeople growing their firms, this is a prize worth having. This will be achieved without touching social rights or protections for the environment which have been hard fought for over many years in the EU.

What has been heartening for those who want Britain to stay in the EU is the steady stream of eurosceptics coming out and endorsing the Prime Minister's renegotiation. Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP who helped push for this referendum to take place, is no Europhile. But he has been won round, seeing that the government has achieved a new and better deal for Britain.

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But the attitude of the Leave campaigns has been disappointing. On Tuesday, they emerged from their furious infighting long enough to rubbish the draft deal, calling it "a fudge and a farce." What makes this extraordinary is the fact that the government appears to have achieved most of what Leavers professed to want. The Vote Leave campaign, for example, used to place an opt-out from 'ever-closer union' as its top priority. They called for more competitiveness, action on benefits for migrants, and a red card for national parliaments.

Yet when the government has achieved all of this and more, they condemn the deal as "trivial." It is proof that the Leavers are far from reluctant. They are the only people in Britain opposed to reform, and their professions to the contrary were nothing but a cynical tactical manoeuvre. They are guilty, in the words of Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames, of "idiotic hypocrisy" and people will see through their crocodile tears.

Of course we have to wait for the final agreement, but the draft deal on the table is good for Britain. It will make our economy more dynamic, our immigration system fairer, and our democracy stronger. Britain is stronger in Europe, and if this deal is implemented we will be stronger still.
Former Chattanooga mayor Rudy Olgiati used to appear frequently on early TV "talking heads" shows, and on radio. He often told how his name should be pronounced. He would start by saying he was Swiss, from Gruetli-Laager, Tn.,, which is an old Swiss enclave in Grundy County. Switzerland proper - the one in Europe - included German, French and Italian-speaking regions - and his family name was of Italian origin. He always said the "L" was not to be pronounced, and was therefore most correctly said as "O-jotty." I have never been to Gruetli-Laager, but have heard that the old Swiss industry of cheese-making is still carried out there. Perhaps I should investigate as I am a Swiss cheese junky! Meantime, next time you go across that westernmost Chattanooga bridge, think "O-jotty."

Sale Creek is a small community beside U.S. 27 between Chattanooga and Dayton, Tn. A few years before 1800 there was a raid by Native Americans - followers of the renegade Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe, who ravaged some white settlements in Alabama. Later, with a lot of help from Andrew Jackson, the whites got vengeance by first pilfering, then burning, several of the Lower Cherokee towns. All the Cherokee booty of any value was taken north into Tennessee - to the banks of a creek - where it was sold at auction. There was a lot of weaponry included in this sale which made it very attractive, and the event was commemorated by naming the site "Sale Creek". Go find the actual story in a "real" history book as I have only hit the high spots here.

Then, there is the quixotic and enigmatic disappearance of an entire - once thriving - town of Washington, Tn. It was on the Tennessee River and had been an important cotton port in Rhea County. In fact, it was their FIRST County Seat, with Court House, jail, churches, and grid of residential streets, which included much brick construction. It lost its importance, however, when a railroad line was put through connecting nearby Dayton to Chattanooga, Atlanta, and the Port of Savannah, obviating the much longer and slower river route. When Washington lost its status the population gradually moved away and people started calling the place "Old" Washington. There had been a ferry on the river for over 100 years - "Washington Ferry" - until a bridge was constructed sometime in the 1970's. Road construction for that bridge seems to have swept away every trace of the historic buildings, and even the town cemetery virtually disappeared. I hope to write more about Old Washington in a future "Memories" story.

Can you imagine that Rossville, Ga., had a U.S. Post Office before Chattanooga? Can you imagine that the U.S. virtually stopped at Crest Road on Missionary Ridge at one time? Crest Road was then known as a "Federal Road" which denoted the old frontier. On the east side of it you had the "white" side, and to the west was the Native American side, called "Indian Territory" on old maps. That included most of present-day Chattanooga. The only white people who could go in legally were licensed Scottish traders. John Ross's family was Scottish, and he had 1/8th Cherokee blood, so his family could live there - legally - at a town which came to be called Ross-ville. With Cherokee Removal in 1838, whites could legally move in - and they founded the town of Chattanooga, revising the old Cherokee name, Tsatanugi. John Ross moved west with his tribe on the infamous "Trail of Tears", and Rossville joined the United States. William Walden, who gave his name to Walden's Ridge, was almost certainly a licensed Scottish long-hunter.

All my young life there was a brass benchmark embedded in the sidewalk at the northeast corner of 9th Street (now MLK) and Broad Street. It marked the northeast corner of Georgia land, and it was difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that Georgia extended so far up into Tennessee. My father informed me, however, that a Georgia railroad had purchased the land many years before the Civil War, and the purchase was perfectly legal. The Chattanooga Union Depot (located across 9th Street to the south of the Read House) actually sat on Georgia land although seemingly in the heart of Chattanooga! Behind the train station, to the south, there was a large, enclosed "car-shed" which once served as a hospital area during the Civil War. It is said that the entire length of McFarland Gap Road which connected the Chickamauga battlefield with Chattanooga was lined with injured soldiers from that battle. The intent was to gradually move all the wounded north to the car-shed at Chattanooga for dispersal to Nashville, or elsewhere, that had medical facilities. That same, identical - and historic - car-shed was used daily until demolition of Union Depot in the early 1970's. It had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Passenger trains were gone, and the empty Union Station was unused. So, Chattanooga developer, Thomas A. Lupton, acquired the property to build a new office building. This he called the "TALLAN" Building - which stood for Thomas A. Lupton, Louisville And Nashville.

(Chester Martin is a native Chattanoogan who is a talented painter as well as local historian. He and his wife, Pat, live in Brainerd. Mr. Martin can be reached at cymppm@comcast.net )
Tim Graham via Getty Images NAURU - JANUARY 01: Men play Australian rules football in Nauru, South Pacific (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

CANBERRA -- The High Court has dismissed a challenge against the legality of Australia's offshore immigration detention regime, effectively sending more than 250 refugees to Nauru.

Lawyers for a young Bangladeshi mother -- who had been detained on Nauru but brought to Australia for medical treatment -- had argued the Commonwealth did not have legal authority to support offshore detention, and that such a system flouted the government's constitutional powers.

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"The majority of the Court held that s198AHA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Act") authorised the Commonwealth's participation, to the extent that the Commonwealth did participate, in the plaintiff's detention," the decision read.

"The Court held, by majority, that the plaintiff was not entitled to the declaration sought. The conduct of the Commonwealth in signing the second MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Nauru was authorised by s 61 of the Constitution."

The ruling clears the way for more than 250 people currently in onshore immigration detention in Australia, including 37 children, to be moved to Nauru. The move is expected to occur within days.

Speaking on The 7:30 Report on Wednesday night, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the government will assess the cases individually and each asylum seeker will be sent back to Nauru when they no longer require medical treatment.

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Dutton suggested some advocates have become "emotional" in their crusade against the government's asylum seeker policy and consequently "there is a lot of misinformation" about the treatment and conditions on Nauru.

"People are desperate to live in our country. Literally millions of people are. But the situation on Nauru is quite different than the way in which people are painting it," said the Immigration Minister.

The case was launched by the Human Rights Law Centre, on behalf of the young mother who now has a one-year-old son. Daniel Webb, the group's director of legal advocacy, told media after the ruling was handed down that he was bitterly disappointed with the verdict.

"It was a split decision. A majority of judges found the governments involvement was authorised by a retrospective law they passed after we commenced this case," he said.

"They shifted the goal posts and they won."

The law he referred to was section 198AHA, inserted into the Migration Act in August, which allows the commonwealth to " take, or cause to be taken, any action in relation to the arrangement or the regional processing functions of the country," including making payments to facilitate offshore processing and the incredibly broad provision to "do anything else that is incidental or conducive to the taking of such action or the making of such payments."

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The High Court's ruling stated "the plaintiff's claim was well-founded until the insertion of s 198AHA."

This was far by the most important part of the entire judgement by Gageler. Detention was illegal until amended. pic.twitter.com/9S6U3Jtfsq  tash (@tashmusi) February 3, 2016

Webb said HRLC would take time to analyse the decision before announcing their next move.

The news was met with dismay by the dozen protestors gathered outside the court. A refugee advocate ran from inside the building, showing two thumbs down to the supporters.

"It's gone down", she said.

"Ruled in favour of the government."

The woman claimed the plaintiffs were to pay costs for the case.

Greens immigration spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young quickly came out against the news.

"Sending these children to Nauru would be child abuse and Malcolm Turnbull needs to decide whether he is willing to authorise that," she said.

The evidence is clear and its undeniable that Nauru is unsafe for women and children and sending them back would be torture.

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UNICEF Australia's Amy Lamoin also spoke out against the ruling.

Its unreasonable for the Australian Government to shift this responsibility to one of its nearest neighbours, she said.

Nauru is a developing nation working to improve the education, child health and child protection outcomes for its own children. The additional pressure of Australias offshore detention program shifts our responsibility onto a developing country with its own existing needs."
ASSOCIATED PRESS A health worker stands in the Sambadrome as he sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Inspectors begin to spray insecticide around Sambadrome, the outdoor grounds where thousands of dancers and musicians will parade during the city's Feb. 5-10 Carnival celebrations. Brazil's health minister says the country will mobilize some 220,000 troops to battle the mosquito blamed for spreading a virus linked to birth defects. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

There are fears Zika virus could spread to global pandemic levels, but when you break down the risks, it's not as frightening as it initially sounds.

For starters, the virus itself poses little risk to people except pregnant women and while there is an outbreak in South America, the virus has been present in Africa and some Asia Pacific regions for decades.

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Regardless, the number of Australians diagnosed with the disease rose to three, and mosquitoes capable of carrying the virus were detected in Sydney International Airport.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told the Today Show there was no stopping Australians from travelling.

"We have to be realistic -- Australians travel in huge numbers each year," he said.

"We welcome tourists in massive numbers, particularly from South-East Asia, and we need to deal with the risk as it presents."

Here's everything Australians need to know about Zika virus, as told by experts University of Sydney Medical Virologist Dr Grant Hill-Cawthorne, Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Lead Lyn Gilbert and Medical Entomologist Dr Cameron Webb.

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Is Zika Virus new?

In short, Hill-Cawthorne said the answer was 'no'.

"This virus has been around at least since the 1940s," Hill-Cawthorne said.

"It was first recognised in Uganda in Africa in 1947, at that point it was limited outbreaks in small numbers of humans and over the course of a few decades, it spread across Africa into Asia.

"It went into Micronesia in 2007 and then over to French Polynesia where it caused quite a large outbreak in 2013.

"As most of you are aware, it then went into South America particularly Brazil in April last year."

Why is the South American outbreak different?

Hill-Cawthorne said there were a few reasons to do with the region's populous cities, prevalent mosquitoes and relative lack of prior exposure.

"We often see this with emergent infection where they've been around for a long time and then they suddenly explode," Hill-Cawthorne said.

"Ebola has been a great example of that."

He said one of the reasons why the South American outbreak was different was to do with immunity.

"The population in Africa may well have been infected continuously... from quite young and get lifelong immunity.

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"There's still a lot of research questions to answer but that might by we're suddenly seeing an adult explosion of cases in Brazil."

How does it cause birth defects?

Alice Vitoria Gomes Bezerra, 3-months-old, who has microcephaly, is held by her mother Nadja Cristina Gomes Bezerra on January 31, 2016 in Recife, Brazil.

The link between Zika virus and birth defects is not yet proven, but Gilbert said the evidence was compelling.

"Although it isn't exactly proven theres very strong epidemiological evidence largely in Brazil that infection during pregnancy can lead to fetal infection and the unpleasant complication of microcephaly in which the fetal brain fails to develop normally and the baby's born with a small head," Gilbert said.

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Viral infection like Zika did not always not cause microcephaly in pregnant women and it depended on the time the woman was infected.

"The risk of [a baby developing microcephaly] is actually quite small when you look at the proportion of women who are infected," Gilbert said.

"The risk is greatest in the early part of pregnancy when the fetal brain is developing.

"Sometimes maternal infection quite late in the pregnancy had no effect at all.

"There's a lot we don't know."

If you get Zika, how long until you can safely fall pregnant?

It's not known exactly but the virus appeared to stay active in the body for about five days.

Are there any serious risks to people who aren't pregnant?

Gilbert said a lot of people had Zika and didn't even know anything was wrong.

"Zika virus has flown under the radar many years because it causes relatively minor infections," Gilbert said.

"It's estimated that about 80 percent of people who're infected dont have any symptoms at all, and most of the people with symptoms are fairly mild, short-limited illness."

What does the World Health Organisation's warning mean?

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World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan attends a press conference on February 1, 2016 in Geneva

The World Health Organisation Monday declared a "public health emergency of international concern".

It's the fourth time this level of emergency has been called, reserved for extraordinary events that constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease.

Previous times the level was called was for the ebola outbreak in 2014, the resurgence of polio after its near-eradication also in 2014 and the H1N1 or swine flu pandemic in 2009.

Hill-Cawthorne said it was about attracting interest.

"Its more a political tool than anything else," he said. "It focuses the world's attention."

To avoid Zika, where can I and can't I travel?

The following map form the Centre for Disease Control shows the areas where Zika transmission is active.

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What about Bali?

Bali has the type of mosquito that does spread Zika, but it has for decades.

Webb said there was only one type of mosquito capable of spreading Zika virus -- the yellow fever mosquito -- which was prolific in Bali.

"Not only is Zika present in Indonesia and Bali, but also dengue," Webb said. "Lets be very clear: there are serious mosquito-borne viruses in Bali that Australian travellers are exposed to all the time and the numbers are steadily increasing of the number of Australians coming back from Bali with mosquito-borne illnesses."

Webb said that while Aussies expected mosquitoes to bite in the evening, yellow fever mosquitoes actually bit in the daytime.

"Most people who contract mosquito-borne illnesses are getting them at breakfast and lunch."

Webb said hollidaymakers should to start the day with Australian-grade insect repellent to to not wait until you've been bitten.

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"Sometimes adequate mosquito repellent is not available at your destination," he said.

Didn't an Australian get it from a monkey bite in Bali?

The experts are out on whether a 27-year-old Australian man's case of Zika virus was transmitted via monkey or the more likely mosquito bites which he also had signs of.

What about the people who brought Zika virus to Sydney via the international airport?

Webb said it would be expected people infected with Zika would arrive in Australia, but the only way for it to spread was through the yellow fever mosquito.

"We're fortunate we don't have these mosquitoes in any major metropolitan areas," Webb said.

"There are suitable populations of the mosquito in Far North Queensland. Areas around Cairns and Townsville are likely to get small outbreaks."

Webb said Cairns and Townsville experienced annual small outbreaks of Dengue Fever -- also transmitted by yellow fever mosquitoes.
Upset with the results from the caucuses, Donald Trump wants a do over, something that he has considerable previous experience with in bankruptcy court. Having not passed the support threshold to make it into the debates, Rick Santorum is wondering whether he crossed the support threshold to land a Fox News contributing gig. And Rand Paul suspended his presidential campaign, immediately throwing his support behind not losing his Senate seat this November. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016:

@gov_gilmore: Started out as 1 of 17 GOP Candidates, now with Rand Paul & Rick Santorum out, 1 or 9. #StillStanding

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE SO MAD - Members of Congress wanted to get to the bottom of the Flint water crisis, but several key players were missing from an oversight hearing on Wednesday. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) opted not to call Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) to testify, to the consternation of committee Democrats. And Darnell Earley, one of the emergency managers Snyder had appointed to run Flint, refused to testify even after Chaffetz issued a subpoena Tuesday. "We're calling on the U.S. Marshals to hunt him down and give him that subpoena," Chaffetz said. Lead poisoned Flint's water after the city switched its water source in 2014. The state water regulator told Flint not to control for the corrosiveness of the water, and the lack of treatment resulted in the water leaching lead from the city's pipes. And the federal Environmental Protection Agency dragged its feet last year after it knew there was a problem. "This is the United States of America -- this isn't supposed to happen here," Chaffetz said. "We are not some Third World country where 100,000 people get poisoned." [w/ HuffPost's Laura Barron-Lopez]

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Darnell Earley's lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, did not like this proposed hunting down of his client, saying he told the committee they'd cooperate if they'd give him some other dates. "I have not heard back from the committee since then -- other than what I saw on TV, that the chairman indicated that he was going to have to hunt my client down like he was an animal. My client's not an animal, and neither am I, and neither one of us are running and hiding from the committee. We're ready, willing and able to participate, just under reasonable circumstances."

RECKLESS OBAMA WANTS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO AFFORD MILK - How can you drown the government in a bathtub if it's out buying groceries with its COLA? Joe Davidson: "President Obama will include an average 1.6 percent pay raise for federal employees in his fiscal 2017 budget proposal. This year, the average raise is 1.3 percent. The 2017 pay increase was announced in a conference call with administration and union officials. The complete budget will be announced next week... the president will propose six weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees, as he has previously. Currently, they may take 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, like all workers of many companies." [WaPo]

DELANEY DOWNER - Tyler Tynes: "Gladyes Williamson paced the halls of Congress on Wednesday, armed with a bottle of brown water and clumps of her own hair. She'd traveled with a group from Flint, Michigan, where high lead levels have made the water irritating to the skin and unsafe to drink since 2014. Williamson trekked 14 hours on a packed bus, with no sleep, to remind Washington of whats happening in a poor, embattled, industrial town nearly 75 miles north of Detroit. 'Not only do we feel like the Republicans hate us, but now that the Democrats dont care either,' Williams, 62, told The Huffington Post. 'We just need something tangible to make us believe that politicians care about us. The wards in Flint havent seen any of this federal aid, but we do all the tax paying and all the dying.'" [HuffPost]

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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

HUMBLED DONALD TRUMP BLAMES THE SYSTEM, REASSERTS HIS OWN GREATNESS - What a mild mannered man. Maggie Haberman: "After hinting at it for a day, Donald J. Trump on Wednesday bluntly accused Senator Ted Cruz of 'stealing' victory in the Iowa caucuses and demanded a do-over... In typical fashion, Mr. Trump first tested lines about Mr. Cruz committing voter fraud in a speech at a rally in New Hampshire, sprinkling it in with a larger address. Mr. Trump is basing his claim on reports that Mr. Cruzs aides and allies, including Representative Steve King of Iowa, had posted a false report on Twitter that Ben Carson had suspended his campaign while the voting was still going on. The implication is that some of the Carson votes ended up going to Mr. Cruz." [NYT]

CLINTON, SANDERS AGREE TO FOUR DEBATES - Ben Kamisar: "Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have agreed to four more debates beginning with a Thursday night showdown in New Hampshire, the Democratic National Committee confirmed to The Hill. After Thursday's debate, the campaigns will next square off in Flint, Mich., the city facing a public health crisis due to contaminated water, in March. The DNC adds that there will be two other debates, one in April and one in May, but did not specify the locations. The Washington Post reports that the April debate will take place in Pennsylvania and the May debate will be in California. The partys decision to sanction the debates allows the candidates to appear without triggering a party provision that bars candidates who appear in unsanctioned debates from appearing in future official contests." [The Hill]

RAND PAUL OUT - The invisible hand pointed him to the exit. Paul Kane and Dave Weigel: "Sen. Rand Paul will now pivot from battling other Republicans in the presidential race to beating a Democrat in what could be a competitive race to hold his Kentucky Senate seat in November. After exiting the presidential contest on Wednesday morning, Pauls campaign leadership said the senator was turning his attention fully to his Senate reelection bid, arguing that his steady voting record had shored him up at home. 'His national race transfers to the state level in terms of fundraising,' said Paul strategist Doug Stafford. Still, Pauls fundraising suffered from the Kentucky Republicans decision to simultaneously pursue the White House and Senate reelection in 2016." [WaPo]

SANTORUM OUT - Just couldn't get things frothy. John King and Jeremy Diamond: "Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is ending his presidential bid, two Republican sources told CNN. He is expected to make the announcement Wednesday night and will endorse a candidate. Santorum won the 2012 Iowa caucuses and ended that race with the second-most number of delegates to eventually GOP nominee Mitt Romney. But he was unable to capture any momentum this year, despite extensive barnstorming efforts in Iowa. He is the third Republican presidential candidate to drop out after Monday's caucuses. Mike Huckabee ended his campaign that night, and Rand Paul suspended his campaign Wednesday morning. The Santorum sources did not say whom Santorum would endorse. When asked about a possible endorsement, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said he hasn't spoken to the former Pennsylvania senator on Wednesday." [CNN]

AWKWARD - Josh Gerstein: "President Bill Clinton once had the opportunity to save his daughter's future father-in-law from spending five years behind bars, according to never-before-revealed White House files. But the asked-for reprieve never came. In the waning days of Clinton's presidency, federal prosecutors and the FBI were bearing down on former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky (D-Iowa), who had fallen for a series of Ponzi schemes and pulled in nearly $10 million money from other investors to cover his losses. Mezvinsky would not be formally indicted until March of 2001, but records released last week by the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock and obtained by POLITICO show Mezvinsky and his then-wife  ex-Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-Pa.)  pleaded with the former president for a presidential pardon to head off the looming federal case." [Politico]

Um, ok?: "A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report recommends that women of childbearing age who are sexually active and not using birth control stop drinking alcohol altogether. 'The risk is real. Why take the chance?' the CDCs principal deputy director says in the press release accompanying the report." [Slate]

BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's an adorable magic trick.

OBAMA ALL, 'HAI MOSQUE,' MOSQUE ALL, 'HAI OBAMA' - Roberta Rampton: "U.S. President Barack Obama visited a U.S. mosque on Wednesday and declared that attacks on Islam were an attack on all faiths in a move to counter rhetoric from Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates that have alienated Muslims. 'We have to understand that an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths,' Obama said at amosque outside Baltimore. 'When any religious group is targeted we all have a responsibility to speak up.'" [Reuters]

COMFORT FOOD

- French words hidden in English.

- Orangutans playing Xbox.

- A very large freezer.

TWITTERAMA

@embeedub: I wish that whenever someone quits a presidential campaign there could be a goodbye montage like they do on Idol.

@SimonMaloy: [inside the National Press Club]



CARSON: Thank you for coming. There comes a time in every candidate's life when he needs new pants, and

@ThePlumLineGS: Sure, Trump is unconventional, but is there any precedent for writing off someone as buffoonish loser for finishing second in Iowa?



Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e
"A pair of presidential primary battles that just days ago seemed to have heavy favorites now present the prospect of protracted and expensive contests for both parties, as the candidates who survived the Iowa caucuses surged on Tuesday toward the New Hampshire primary to be held next week." Here's how Bernie Sanders is uniquely poised to "exploit" Hillary Clinton's flaws in the primary process, and why all the GOP establishment candidates are gunning for Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Donald Trump blamed the loss in Iowa on not "much of a ground game" and skipping the last GOP debate. [NYT]



In Dallas. [Erin Schumaker, HuffPost]

CNN takes you onto the field in the fight against ISIS. [CNN]

"The Afghan government declared Wasil Ahmad a hero for leading a militias defense against a Taliban siege last year, parading him in front of cameras in a borrowed police uniform too big for him. On Monday, the Taliban triumphantly announced that they had assassinated him with two bullets to the head." [NYT]

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We know Trump was worried. [Christian Farias, HuffPost]

"'He exceeded expectations,' [Troy] Bishop said in an interview with The Huffington Post. 'I mean, look at some of the other candidates. Look at the money they spent. They got 3,000 votes. He didn't spend any money and got 12.'" [Jen Bendery, HuffPost]

WHATS BREWING

"For the very first time, we're thrilled to welcome you to HuffPost Queer Voices. Our name change comes four-and-a-half years after we originally debuted as HuffPost Gay Voices -- and after countless conversations with countless people, both inside and outside of the HuffPost newsroom." [HuffPost]

Somewhere, an updated "You've Got Mail" script is waiting [CNBC]

Yes, that was not legal before now. [HuffPost]

Inside the remaking, and rebranding, of Uber. [Wired]

For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android.

WHAT'S WORKING

"A warning of just a few seconds is still enough time for conductors to halt trains, doctors to pause surgeries, and people to find cover in their homes or other buildings." [HuffPost]

For more, sign up for the What's Working newsletter.

BEFORE YOU GO

~ How to get Super Bowl splatter stains out of your clothes Sunday.

~ A top photojournalist walks you through her photos of the dark side of America.

~ The "Here to Make Friends" crew is back to walk us through this week's "Bachelor" insanity, with sudden departures galore.

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~ Welcome to khaledipsum.com, which is so much better than the usual lorem ipsum we have to fill in space on websites.

~ Kate Winslet is all of us: She doesn't understand why Rose couldn't share that door with Jack in the "Titanic."

~ A reporter for The Intercept fabricated sources, top editor says.

~ Could this be the end of the annual performance review?

~ How your face wash ends up killing oysters.

~ Congo only has 38 giraffes left.

~ And happy Wednesday: Who cares about the Super Bowl when you can watch a bunch of puppies prepping for the Puppy Bowl.


A film introducing the Sustainable Development Goals is projected onto United Nations Headquarters in September 2015. UN Photo/Cia Pak

By Atefeh Riazi*

Late at night in Stockholm, Sweden, researchers at the The Royal Institute of Technology are in a video-conference with United Nations economists and data scientists at their New York headquarters. They are putting the final touches on a data visualization showing 25-year forecasts of the effect of political decisions on climate change, poverty, and water and food security. This big data-driven work offers the potential to create important new insights that could improve lives across the developing world.

Such collaborative efforts reflect a commitment by the United Nations to adopt a model prevalent in the private sector where innovative companies make open calls for the brightest technical minds to propose ways to improve their algorithms, with the reward often being cash prizes. Instead of financial rewards, the United Nations is offering no less than the opportunity to help build a better world. And it is inviting partners to the table through dialogue, public-private partnerships, and innovation challenges.

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At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of the need to forge stronger partnerships that have a real impact on people's lives. He asked companies to "provide essential solutions and resources that put our world on a more sustainable path" and recognized that "responsible businesses have enormous power to create decent jobs, open access to education and basic services, unlock energy and end discrimination."

Academics, civil society, and the public have roles to play as catalysts for innovation too, by contributing their ideas through such platforms as Unite Ideas.

The Unite Ideas crowdsourcing platform invites the global community of data scientists to partner with the United Nations to harness the power of data analytics and visualization to accelerate discovery and uncover new knowledge. To date, academia, the general public, and private companies have responded to our challenges with dozens of open source solutions, many of which will be used by the United Nations or shared with Member States. I believe the response shows that the concept works, that many people are keen to volunteer to help us solve challenges in this way, and that the results obtained are in fact useful.

"Is the world a better place today?" This is not just an existential question, but the name of a data visualization application that seeks to produce new insights into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Another application, "WHS Explorer," mines data from the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit to provide a richer, multidimensional view of humanitarian issues and how they differ across the world.

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These winning solutions, developed by teams of volunteers during Unite Ideas global innovation challenges, are just the beginning when it comes to the potential big data offers to advance the public good. We know data science can help us better understand what is happening and why, predict what may come next, and significantly shape how we respond to the global challenges of our time. And we recognize that some of the best ideas for applying real-time data to development challenges percolate from university classrooms, private sector research labs, local governments, and civil society.

But Unite Ideas is just one of the ways we're using technology to invite the world to help us solve the many complex global issues we face. The commitment of the United Nations to leveraging real-time data is embodied in the Secretary-General's Global Pulse initiative. This collaborative effort brings together experts from the United Nations, governments, academia, and the private sector through a network of Pulse Labs to pioneer new methods and frameworks for using big data to support development goals.

Pulse Labs tap into local knowledge and innovation, establish key partnerships, test and pilot real-time monitoring approaches at the country level, and support the adoption of proven approaches. Recent initiatives have included the study of mobile phone data to estimate food security, and the development of interactive data visualization tools to support early response to the typhoid epidemic in Uganda.

As Chief Information Technology Officer, one of my primary roles is leading efforts to implement technologies that support the critical work of the United Nations. We are committed to fostering collaborative data analysis, and leveraging visualization, social networking, and other innovative uses of technology.

The United Nations is the guardian of an unparalleled database of the world's socio-economic and political history. Opening this data to the public and collaborating with partners will help us make better decisions that support the work of the United Nations in international peace and security, human rights, international law, humanitarian aid, and sustainable development. I believe innovation focused on understanding and developing actionable insights from data will play a critical role in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets that the world has set to build on the accomplishments of the MDGs.

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Effective use of data can help us expand our knowledge of fundamental issues, such as social and political instability, natural disasters, and climate change to improve decision-making and enhance our ability to predict, and even pre-empt, the next crisis. However, data alone is not enough. Such complex issues require collaborative approaches. I am proud of the role the United Nations is taking in the global data revolution and am excited to see what we can accomplish when we bring our partners to the table, wherever they may be in the world.

_________________
Rupert Grint was 11-years old when he was cast as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2000. Now, it has been nearly 16 years since he first landed the job, and almost five since his final turn as creator J.K. Rowling's character in 2011's Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2. And now he is sitting across from me - and alongside his similarly-aged former castmates Matt Lewis, Evanna Lynch, and Katie Leung -- in a smallish publicity meeting space at Universal Orlando theme park.

Outside, the third Celebration of Harry Potter event has kicked off, and fans, decked out in Hogwarts house robes or other costumes, are hoping to catch a glimpse of the actor and his cohorts.

These actors are used to it. For most of their lives, they've been associated with one of the most popular movie and book franchises. They grew up in this world; screaming fans, autograph seekers, speaking to crowds of thousands, cameras in their faces. This is nothing new, nor are most of the questions they'll likely be asked over the course of this weekend.

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But what I enjoy as I sit down to speak with the group is how much these adults are unlike their characters (except for maybe Lynch, who is still delightfully Luna Lovegood-esque). It seems obvious, but we've such a tendency to want to lock actors into their iconic roles. It is challenge breaking out of that, especially when you're remembered as being a cute, or awkward, or weird, or chubby kid on screen. Yet each has grown up, and gone on to other acting gigs and new pursuits.

With that in mind, what follows is a fun, funny conversation -- not with Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Cho Chang, but four performers being chatty with one another as they reunite for a weekend celebration. We talk about how much Harry Potter trivia they retain, and whether they'd be reluctant to join another franchise such as Star Wars. And, in a hilarious exchange that might border on scandalous for diehard fans, we joke about their character's future, which goes into dark territory for Ron and Co.

First up, the Harry Potter universe you grew up in in expanding, with a prequel movie and stage production. Do you have any advice to the cast of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as they head into this world you grew up with?



Matt Lewis: I don't know how much advice I could ever give anyone. The people who have been cast, as far as I'm aware of, are very, very experienced. They don't need any advice from me. But I guess just enjoy it. It has been a hell of an experience for me, and everything associated with it: the people, the fans, the environment. It was a good gig to be on! Just enjoy it because there's nothing else like it, literally in the world. It is unique.

Rupert Grint: I think it's going to be a very different film, I think. I don't know much about it, but as Matthew said, just enjoy it. Go with the flow.

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Evanna Lynch: I'd say trust David Yates, as well. He always knows better on the film. Sometimes I would go, "Oh, I'm doing terrible, I'm messing up." He would come along and suggest something tiny, and it would change everything. He is very clever. And he is the one who has transitioned from one to the other. He has the whole picture.

The fans have an encyclopedic knowledge of these books, but that doesn't mean you do. What's a question that has stumped you about this world?

Lewis: Every question. [Turns to Evanna] But you have quit the encyclopedic knowledge of the universe?

Lynch: Yeah, I don't think I've been called out, luckily. I feel like we're in freefall now. I don't like not knowing things as a Harry Potter fan. I don't like there is a film before there's a book so we can't surmise and learn things. I feel very much adrift. That's the power of the fan that you know everything, all the details!

That's what makes us a good nerd.

Lynch: Yeah, a good nerd, exactly. And they've taken that away from us. It is very awkward.

Katie Leung: There have been but I can't remember because there have been countless questions where it's been like, "Evanna, you first?" Oh right, that's what we're talking about.

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Lewis: The universe is so rich, and so big and vivid, that being a fan as a kid, absolutely. But I read the last book years ago and naturally just forget things. You get asked the simplest question like, "Who is the caretaker?" I go, "I know this..." [snaps fingers]. It's stuff like that. You just forget. It is Filch. I do know that!

Grint: Yeah, I was doing a pub quiz and there was a Harry Potter question. I think it was, "What's Harry's Patronus?" or something like that. I had completely forgot. Everyone turned to me, like, "Oh yeah, we've got this."

Lynch: What, you didn't get it? It's a stag.

Grint: A stag. Of course.

You could make it up and no one would have the moxy to challenge you on that. You could just say it's a goat.

Grint: True!

Lynch: That's true! [laughs]

This was very much your childhood, and your job growing up. If you had the opportunity now to enter another franchise that would consume multiple years - like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars - would you be reluctant to join that production?

Lynch: No. I loved it. I love the family feel, and the idea you can get deeper into your character over a year. I have been on films that were just three or five weeks, and sometimes I've been like, damn, I'd only just started to get into it. It was nice to have something you could develop it, and learn and grow alongside your character. And I just loved the family thing. I got very comfortable there.

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Lewis: Hey, if Star Wars come knocking on the door tomorrow, I'm not going to go, "Um no, guys, I'm sorry, I don't want to do four films, it's fine." No, of course not. I'd think about it, and I love Star Wars, etc. But there would definitely be a bit of trepidation in joining a big franchise again for that amount of time. Just simply because I'm really enjoying the diversity of the roles I've been given recently. Playing a character is great, but I love the process of finding someone, finding a character, creating and drawing it up. And trying to figure out what makes that person tick. When you do something for however many years, it can start to become - I don't want to say mundane because it was never boring on the films. But you kind of lose that spark a little bit you get in that first day of school, or on a new job. It is exciting. And I've gotten that so often in the last couple years, I'd be reluctant to give that up.

Leung: I kind of agree with Matt. If it goes on for any longer than a certain period of time, you do get really comfortable and feel very safe. Having done all the projects after Potter, it has been a few weeks, a few months for a project. You do really get to know a character, and it is wonderful knowing that, once you stop filming or being on stage and being that character, it essentially dies. So I quite like that. Of course, it depends who the character is you're going to be playing. But yeah, if it's Star Wars ...

Lewis: Star Wars is welcomed.

Grint: I don't know. I don't think it's put me off. There's pros and cons. Harry Potter could be at times quite suffocating. It did take up our whole lives. So yeah, I suppose there would be tiny bit of reluctance. Now that I'm out of it, I can see beyond it and it's nice to have a real life, and do things you want. There's a lot of freedom in that. But yeah, I think it all depends on the material.

If J.K. asked you where you'd like your character to be off to, what would you say? Swing for the fences, or go as crazy as you'd like with what you'd be doing in that universe.

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Grint: [laughs] I would expect Ron has probably divorced Hermione already. I don't think that relationship would have done very well.

Lynch: What?!



Like living in his own, low-rent bachelor pad?

Grint: Yeah. Exactly. He's living on his own, in a little one-bedroom apartment. He hasn't got a job.

Lynch: Don't say divorced. Say they've split up. They can reconcile.

Grint: Yeah, they're briefly separated.



Ron is on Tinder doing horribly...

Grint: Yeah!

Lewis: Living in a one-bedroom studio apartment all alone, doing nothing. He lives in Kings Cross, right in that area.



Ok, that's a high bar, or a low bar but a great answer. What about the rest of you?

Lynch: I think Luna would have an adventure documentary series. She becomes a naturalist, and I think she'd travel the world and have a show. I could be a wildlife narrator.

Like a David Attenborough of the wizard world?

Lynch: Yeah, and she would prove all her creatures exist. Everyone is so dubious of her, and I'd like her to show they're real.

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Katie Leung: I reckon Cho would probably have become a really successful entrepreneur, and really cold and ruthless.

Lynch: Oh my god! [laughs]

I like this.

Leung: Yeah, she's cried all the tears she could cry, and now she's become real cold and heartless.

Lewis: This is dark! I love this!

What kind of entrepreneur? She runs a tech company? Or a developer who tears down bachelor pads like Ron's?

Leung: Yeah, yeah, that! Exactly.

Lynch: Oh...

Matt, are you going to keep this dark?

Lewis: Oh god. Neville works at the school, right? So he's a professor, just enjoying that. Maybe he's trying to get Ron a job, man. And he keeps throwing it back in his face, like, "I don't need your help, Neville; Jesus, just leave it." And I'm like, "Come on, it's fine, we'll sort it out, just trying to get you back into the fold." Yeah, him and Hermione don't see eye to eye because I've taken Ron's side in the relationship, obviously. They've got everyone split off, friends wise. I don't know who you guys chose? Did you choose Hermione?

Lynch: Ron!

Leung: No, Ron.

Lewis: Are you Ron as well? Jeez, Hermione is thin on the ground with friends!

Leung: Well, I'll go with Hermione, then.

Lynch: I think Ron would need more help. Hermione would handle herself better.

Grint: Yeah, he's in a bad way.

But Ron could have a job as a replacement for Mr. Filch

Grint: Yeah!

Lewis: Yeah, I'll get you in as the caretaker of the school, man. We'll sort it out. Don't worry about it.

Grint: Just get me out there. Just get me out of the house.

Lynch: And we'll get you back together.



Real quickly, what is the question you're guaranteed to get from fans at the Harry Potter Celebration?

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Grint: Do you still see Daniel and Emma?

Leung: What was it like kissing Harry Potter?

Lewis: Why have you got that stupid mustache?
A spell was cast over Orlando last weekend, but apparently none of them were Fidelius, Disillusionment nor Muggle-Repelling charms because thousands of wizards, witches, and wands were seen at Universal Orlando's third Celebration of Harry Potter.

Home to the Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley attractions, the theme park's three-day event dedicated to J.K. Rowling's books and movies included wand demonstrations, house sortings, prop displays, screenings, an expo, exclusive souvenirs, and Q&As. It unveiled further developments for the expanding Potter-verse, and gathered actors Rupert Grint, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, and Katie Leung for talent panels.

But, above all, what stood out at the event was the love the fans had for Rowling's wizarding world, despite the final book being published nearly nine years ago and the final movie released about five years ago. They showed up in robes, proudly displaying membership in one of Hogwarts houses (that's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, in case you forgot), as well as dressed as favorite characters. I saw Voldemorts, Dobbys, Malfoys, crossplaying Fred and George Weasleys, Bellatrixs, Tonks. There was even a woman dressed as a human-sized Golden Snitch, a guy who looked like the Flavor Flav of magicians with a giant Time-Turner around his neck, and a Hermione/Little Mermaid mashup.

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On the newsy side of things, the Harry Potter celebration revealed a behind-the-scenes clip of the Potter prequel/spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on Saturday night.

Featuring brief interviews with actors Eddie Redmayne ("Newt Scamander"), Katherine Waterston ("Tina Goldstein"), Alison Sudol ("Queenie Goldstein") and Dan Fogler (muggle "Jacob Kowalski"), as well as director David Yates (who helmed the final four Potter movies) and producer David Heyman.

Arriving in 1920s New York City, Redmayne's wizard accidentally releases magical creatures, and runs afoul of America's wizarding authority. The clip doesn't show much new footage, but we learn Queenie and Tina are sisters while Jacob is a Muggle (or "No-Maj") baker. Harry Potter propmaster Pierre Bohanna shared, in a group interview, that Newt's movie wand has lime wood, shell, bone and other elements to reflect his consideration of animals.

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Actor and Potter super-fan Evanna Lynch ("Luna Lovegood") took the stage to read new pages by J.K. Rowling introducing four new wizarding schools in the International Confederation of Wizards: Ilvermorny (North America), Castelobruxo (Brazil), Uagadou (Africa), and Mahoutokoro (Japan).

Rowling, via Lynch, discussed the strengths, locations, and appearances of the other schools, which can be read about at the Harry Potter online destination, Pottermore (with more info and stories to come). I was intrigued by Rowling's words that "smaller and less well-regulated institutions have come and gone, are difficult to keep track of, and are rarely registered with the appropriate Ministry." Perhaps that means there are fringe schools out there we'll hear more about. The revelation not only made fans excited about a larger world of wizards, it could promise the possibility of more books, movies, and merchandise down the road.

Celebration attendees also saw a behind-the-scenes tour of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the London stage production announced in October 2015. The two-part play will be the eighth Harry Potter story ("19 years later"), and focus on Harry's son, Albus.

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In the video, producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender discuss the mysterious gothic Palace Theatre, opened in 1891. Friedman said the venue is "like walking into Hogwarts," and was the only theater right for the May 2016 production. Based on a story by Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany - with set design by Christine Jones and composition by Imogen Heap - the two parts will play out in the same day. While no news broke about the show, the message was clear: This is really Harry Potter, and fans can trust this production.

The event offered up a tribute to the recently-deceased Alan Rickman, who played Severus Snape. A video replayed Rickman's best moments as Snape, and offered up a thank you to him in multiple languages. The love for the actor was strong throughout the weekend; I saw his face and his famous "Always" quote emblazoned on at least a half dozen tee shirts.

In an interview with press, Grint shared that he once drew a picture of Rickman for a scene in potions class, "and it wasn't the most flattering portrait." He said he remembered feeling Prof. Snape breathing down his neck, watching him draw, and he was "absolutely terrified." Later, Grint learned Rickman had kept the picture. Lewis reflected on the warmth and gravitas the actor carried with him, and Wright said he stayed in the Snape character from the moment he got out of the car in the morning. She said that inspired her to be professional. Adding to that, Lynch said he never underestimated Snape, nor treated the children's book character in a childish way.

The event additionally featured a Celebration expo, with displays from Scholastic books, MinaLima - the team who created graphic props like the Marauder's Map, and now sell replicas of them - and other vendors.

A portion of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour from England was also brought to life in the expo. Included was a wand-making prop shop, costumes, and prosthetics. Two propmakers were busy constantly making wands in person as a guide walked visitors through the process of how these artists created countless wood and rubber wands. They mold for actor Daniel Radcliffe's onscreen wand (shown here) appeared to draw the most excitement. Likewise, Radcliffe's forehead mold, with a signature lightning bold stencil, was of particular interest. I actually preferred checking out the gross mold of Helene Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange teeth, and the hairy mole application from Wormtail (played by Timothy Spall).

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Outside the expo was a decorated tent where, sitting on a stool, was the famous talking sorting hat. Fans lined up for long periods of time to hear the deep, rhyming voice place them into a Hogwarts house. There was a palpable excitement with each round as a wizard helper put the hat on an attendee, and they crossed their fingers, hoping to get sorted into the house of their desire. Luckily, most received what they wanted - and I was rightfully placed into Slytherin (which is good since I'm a pretty fluent Parselmouth).

Of course, no trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be complete without a flagon (or three, in my case) of the butterscotchy/cream soda drink described by J.K. Rowling in her books, and brought to life at the Universal theme parks. As I walked along Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, shopping and taking in the sights, I felt like I had truly slipped into a universe where magic exists.
US Troops in Marjah, Helmand

Quagmire? The answer depends on one's point of view, but the facts on the ground clearly show a situation that is discouragingly complex.

The first anniversary of the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan came and went without much fanfare. January 2015 ushered in a new era relative to the US military and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom with the participation of 58 other countries came to an end and was replaced by RSM. The Afghan government assumed full security responsibility with RSM engaged in training, assisting and advising to strengthen the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Currently there are 40 participating countries in RSM including NATO, with a total number of approximately 13,000 troops.

A year after RSM the situation in Afghanistan remains precarious at best and deteriorating at worst. Due to major Taliban advances, President Obama decided to keep the number of US troops at the current level of 9800 through this year. In addition to training and advising, US troops conduct anti-terrorism operations. The Pentagon recently nominated Lt General Nicholson as the new commander in Afghanistan replacing General Campbell who has held the position since 2014. General Nicholson is no stranger to Afghanistan, but he will face even more difficult challenges than his predecessors. The general consensus is that the US will be in Afghanistan for decades to come.

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The never-ending challenges of rebuilding Afghanistan remain formidable in many areas, but particularly in terms of security, peace talks with the Taliban, economic development, corruption and social issues. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) just issued its very discouraging quarterly report. Additionally, Transparency International's recent report ranked Afghanistan the 166th most corrupt nation on the planet. Only two countries are worst: Somalia and North Korea. This dismal distinction speaks volumes about the failure of the Government of National Unity of Afghanistan to tackle corruption. Both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah made promises, but a year and half after taking office it is business as usual.

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ISIS Training Camp in Afghanistan

Peace Negotiations with Taliban

President Ghani has spent much political capital on his relationship with the Pakistani government harboring the Taliban. The Pakistani government agreed to bring the Taliban to the table, but the talks collapsed in July 2015 when it was revealed that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, had been dead for some time. It was a major embarrassment since the Afghan government was negotiating with a dead person. In January of this year a new effort by the US, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan was launched to revive the talks. But the Taliban have been absent from the two rounds of talks thus far. In the mean time they continue their deadly attacks to strengthen their position in any future talks.

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Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani in Pakistan. Pic. AFP - Getty Images

Economic Development

According to the SIGAR report, "Despite more than a decade of reconstruction and development efforts, the Afghan economy remains in fragile and worsening condition. Intractable insurgents, cutbacks in foreign military personnel, persistent emigration of people and capital, and a slowing global economy are shifting Afghanistan's economic prospects from troubling to bleak." The report states that the Afghan treasury paid for 40% of the budget expenditures through the first 11 months of the fiscal year. This amount was derived from domestic sources. The remaining balance was paid by donor countries. This large budget deficit and trade imbalance continue to make Afghanistan substantially dependent on foreign aid for the foreseeable future. This means that the US taxpayer is mostly on the hook to keep the country going. Social Issues

The situation relative to the treatment of women in particular is getting worst. Recently a woman in Ghor province accused of adultery was executed. Another young woman's nose was cut off by her husband. Women are subjected to physical violence, rape, and torture. The dysfunctional Afghan justice system is totally inadequate to fight for women's and other human rights violations. Due to lack of jobs and a general pessimism about the country, young men are so desperate that they are leaving Afghanistan in droves. They are prepared to undertake perilous journeys to reach Europe for a better life.

Afghan Men Donning Burqas to Protest the Plight of Women. Pic. Dawn.com
This real-life laboratory will allow Jaguar Land Rover's research team and project partners to test new connected and autonomous vehicle technologies on five different types of roads and junctions. Similar research corridors already exist in other parts of Europe so this test route is exactly the sort of innovation infrastructure the UK needs to compete globally.

The connected and autonomous vehicle features we will be testing will improve road safety, enhance the driving experience, reduce the potential for traffic jams and improve traffic flow. These technologies will also help us meet the increasing customer demand for connected services whilst on the move.
Note: Our accounts contain the personal recollections and opinions of the individual interviewed. The views expressed should not be considered official statements of the U.S. government or the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. ADST conducts oral history interviews with retired U.S. diplomats, and uses their accounts to form narratives around specific events or concepts, in order to further the study of American diplomatic history and provide the historical perspective of those directly involved.

Opposing the rule of Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos, Senator Benigno Aquino returned from exile in the U.S. in August 1983, only to be assassinated upon his arrival in Manila. Public outrage in response to this and to the regime's corruption led to calls for Marcos' removal. Corazon Aquino, the widow of Benigno, was convinced to run against Marcos in the election of February 1986.

Once election results were released, Marcos claimed victory despite accusations of vote tampering and fraud. At Corazon Aquino's urging, protestors took to the streets to demand Marcos' removal. On February 25, 1986, Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as president, a victory officially recognized by the U.S. That same day Marcos fled the country for permanent asylum in Hawaii, ending twenty years of autocratic rule. This account was compiled from an interview by ADST in 2003 with Stephen Bosworth, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines from 1984-1987. You can read the entire account on ADST.org.

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Bosworth (right): Our relationship with Marcos was under great pressure both from our own congress and elements in the Philippines...There was something of a course correction policy toward the Philippines... The Philippines, of course, is a very curious place because it is in Asia, but it's not really of Asia in many respects. Someone joked that probably given my experience in Central America I was as well suited to go to the Philippines as anyone could have in terms of background.

[In April 1984] the Philippines is getting ready for national assembly elections. This was the first significant political event since Aquino's assassination. The first electoral process of any note that had taken place since Marcos had lifted martial law, which I think, was done in '81 or '82 or something like that...We were distancing ourselves from Marcos and from the Malacanang palace.

There was a political legal process that had been launched after Aquino's assassination in response largely to pressures from the U.S. Congress to try to ascertain what actually had happened and who was responsible. It was a national commission that was interviewing witnesses and laboring away on this subject. This election was scheduled for May of 1984 and was the first time that members of the democratic opposition were allowed to run for office.

The Philippines was a very tense place. Marcos had ruled there since 1965. He had imposed martial law in 1972. He had lifted martial law in the early '80s. There was an unbelievable level of corruption in the country. The military was both corrupt and repressive. The communist insurgency known as the New Peoples Army had begun to attract the attention of Washington intelligence analysts because of their growth. The democratic opposition lacked someone to rally around. Corazon Aquino, Benigno's widow, was there. She at that point was not very active politically other than as a symbol.

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Many people had begun to accuse us of having propped Marcos up and having kept him in power. We were trying to distance ourselves from him but not to the extent to which we would bring him down. Reagan and Marcos had what they considered to be a close personal relationship. I couldn't quite understand that because they had never spent all that much time together.

Reagan had been elected on a platform, which included among things the need for American support for longstanding friends. This was after the Shah had fallen in Iran and Somoza and Nicaragua, so there was a belief deeply held in the Reagan administration that we had to stick with our friends and Marcos was a friend...

Jeane [Kirkpatrick] came to the Philippines in the first two months that I was there and we called on Marcos and had a long conversation with him. I got her together with some members of the democratic opposition as well as other people in the Marcos government. I think she came away with a clear understanding of the complexity of what we were facing and just to say that we supported Marcos was not sufficient. We had to also be supportive of a democratic process.

Without being too blatant about it you make it clear that some elements of the American relationship are dependent on their beginning, and in this case Marcos beginning, to allow more space to the democratic opposition and express concern over the gross extremism on the left. This, of course, gave Marcos the impression that we were pushing him, which we were indeed doing...

Washington was more or less backing us on that. Marcos had to change or our relationship had to change, otherwise we were placing our longer term interests in the Philippines at risk, because it was not in our interest to prop Marcos up beyond the time when his own national constituency didn't want him.

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Finally, in the fall of '85 the pressure on Marcos had become quite severe... I was continuing to tell him very strongly that he had to allow more space for the opposition, he had to do something about bringing those who most people thought had been responsible for Aquino's assassination to justice.

So, in November of '85, while being interviewed on one of the Sunday morning talk shows on American television, suddenly Marcos said, "well, I'm tired of you guys pressing me and I'm going to have an election and then I'll show you who really deserves to run the Philippines."

He called an election, the so-called "snap election," in November. The election was scheduled for early February. Corazon Aquino was persuaded by some people in the opposition that she should be a candidate. She and a fellow named Salvador Laurel fought it out as to who would be the presidential candidate. She won and Laurel became vice president. [Laurel] was constantly besieging me to try to get me an interview with her and persuade her that they should be reversed. The U.S. position in the Philippines was really in a way kind of unique. We were, on the one hand in the minds of many Filipinos, seen as the great Satan of the West. On the other hand we were seen as the deus ex machina from whom all solutions would come if only we decided that's what we wanted to do. There was a degree of dependence, if you will, on the U.S. that was very much exaggerated in many respects. People really thought that Marcos was still there because we wanted him to still be.

December and January were given to campaigning. Marcos himself was not in good health, but he had a tremendous will; he was out there on the campaign trail, making speeches and shaking hands. I think from the beginning he thought he was going to win easily. He was out of touch with popular sentiment.

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I think his fall back was he thought, well, if I don't win I can always cheat enough to win. What he didn't anticipate was that the level of international interest would be as great as it was and the presence of the American journalists, foreign journalists and the various election inspection observation teams that came from around would be as great as they were.

So, his ability to win it by cheating became very constrained. To this day no one really knows who won that election. Marcos, however, then within the week after the elections, sort of seized the process and managed through his minions and the national assembly predictably to introduce the vote saying that he had won.

Well, that wasn't the end of it, contrary to what I think he had assumed to be the case, because then the public antipathy began to rise. The opposition became even more vigorous.Because of pressures in our own congress and in our own public, we remained very engaged. We came to the position of pushing away from Marcos in that week or two after the election.

There was one statement out of the White House saying, well, there was probably some cheating on both sides, at which point the Filipinos went nuts. I fired back a message to [Secretary of State George] Shultz and to the White House saying that we couldn't stay on that position. Fortunately, over the next three or four days, with a lot of heavy lifting from George Shultz, the White House issued another statement that said the government had not run a fair election.

Phil Habib came out as an envoy from the president about a week after the elections, basically to gain us some time. I mean there was nothing he could do other than go around and see a lot of people, which he and I did including Marcos and Aquino. Phil came away from that week convinced that Marcos was no longer capable of governing because he didn't have the support of the Filipino people anymore. Marcos' forces basically knew that the military was plotting a coup. We knew it in the embassy as well. I had been sending word back to the coup plotters to stop it, not to do it, because as much as I thought Marcos should go, I thought it would be in some ways be totally disastrous to have him replaced by a military government. This group of colonels and young officers took refuge in one of the military camps out on the outskirts of Manila.

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CNN had the capability to telecast directly via satellite and they had a cameraman and a reporter in the camp where the military people were holed up. So, I alerted Washington; it was early morning back there. They were watching it on CNN. They knew more about what was happening on the ground there than I did in the embassy because I didn't have access to CNN.That evening I was in contact with Mrs. Aquino's camp and her directly. She had been down in the central Philippines. We were very concerned about her safety and I offered her refuge on a U.S. naval vessel that happened to be in the vicinity. Tthey were very concerned that Marcos would try to knock her out by basically assassinating her, which was not by any means unthinkable.

She wisely concluded that she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to appear to be under U.S. sponsorship, so she took refuge for the night in a convent and then early the next day came back to Manila.

In the meantime, Cardinal Jaime Sin had gone on Radio Veritas, a very small transmitter sponsored by the Catholic church, and said to the Philippine public that you've got to go help [the soldiers], take them food. Of course at that point people began to pour out into the streets and once that happened it became clear that this may have started as a military coup, but was much more than that now.

[Corazon Aquino] came back the next morning and she sort of took visible control...which was very important because I was very conscious of the need not to be seen as to be putting the U.S. behind a military coup attempt. Since we had pretty much concluded publicly that she had won the election, there was nothing wrong with putting our support behind her.

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For the next two days my role consisted primarily of 1) keeping Washington fully informed and 2) warning Marcos directly on the phone that he should not move by force against [the soldiers]. He should not do anything that would jeopardize the safety of hundreds of thousands of Filipino civilians who were out in the streets supporting Mrs. Aquino and demanding Marcos' resignation. Finally, over the next couple of days the situation played out so that we issued a statement, the U.S. from Washington, which I then transmitted, to Marcos and others saying in effect the time has come you should leave...

With that we had removed the mandate of heaven from him. He was done. Then it was a question of how to get him out safely... His first words to me were, "I'm terribly disappointed. You don't understand. Your government doesn't understand. This is a military coup and I have to resist it."

I said, "Well, we don't agree that it's a military coup any longer. We think that it is something bigger than that. Anyway, these are my instructions." I then got back to him the next day. He was in the palace with his family and his grandchildren.We offered him three alternative routes out;, basically by land and by sea and by air. He opted for the air route and he sent some of his minions and his baggage out by boat. We took him out by helicopter. We took him to Clark where he spent a few hours and then we put him on a plane and he went out first to Guam and then to Hawaii. Of course, he died in exile... There is a big Filipino presence in Hawaii. It was very important to us and to President Reagan in particular that we not allow him to be harassed, that we would give him safe haven basically in the United States, but we wouldn't let him go back to the Philippines. Well, he never really had a complete safe haven because the legal people began coming after him very quickly. Mrs. Aquino comes to power and a great upsurge of national spirit and good feeling. The U.S. for a time at least was, we were heroes, because we had taken him out. I remember going down to call on her the day after Marcos had left.

As I came out having exchanged statements of good feeling with her and her principal aides, a big crowd of people on the outside all started cheering for the U.S. and me. It was really kind of an extraordinary experience since I previously used to go into my office at the embassy driving through large crowds of demonstrators all saying, "Bosworth go home." Some of them had little clips underneath saying "Bosworth go home and take me with you." Filipinos had a sense of humor if nothing else.

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I had a very close relationship with Mrs. Aquino in many ways, personally of course. It was incumbent upon me just because of circumstances to try to interpret her to Washington and interpret Washington to her. This was of course the normal role of an ambassador, but in this case it was more demanding because she had so little experience. She was a woman of tremendous integrity and great courage and I liked her generally and personally. Her great supporter turned out to be George Shultz. Others in the Reagan administration were less enthusiastic about her and many questioned her ability to run the country effectively. I always considered that she was sort of the mother of the Philippines.
The Cleveland City School Board has called a special emergency meeting after director Dr. Martin Ringstaff halted an investigation he requested into two alleged fake Twitter accounts and then he acknowledged that the messages had been sent by him a year earlier.

The meeting is for noon on Friday at the administrative office building.

The topic is "the director of schools."

The city schools had announced Monday morning that the system was "aware of two fake Twitter accounts that erroneously impersonate Dr. Martin Ringstaff, director of schools."

Officials said, "The accounts have been reported to the Cleveland Police Department; they are investigating and working with Twitter to shut down the malicious accounts."

Persons with information were asked to contact the Cleveland Police.

Then on Monday night this statement was issued from the school headquarters:

"In response to earlier allegations today, Dr. Martin Ringstaff, released the following statement: 'I admit to having made previous mistakes in my personal life. My wife, Heather, and I have worked through these issues and are committed to our family and moving past my mistakes. With the support of the Cleveland City Schools Board of Education, I am dedicated to serving the students of Cleveland.'

"The Cleveland City Schools Board of Education members are in unanimous agreement that we support and respect Dr. Martin Ringstaff and his family. They are valuable to our community. Martin has done above and beyond what he said he would do for Cleveland City Schools, and now we see an opportunity as a board to be who we said we were."

The statement also said:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 NASB

Cleveland Police on Tuesday said the investigation is over at the request of the school director.

Police said, "On 2-1-16 I Detective Daniel Gibbs # 250 was assigned an incident report (2016-4658). The report was filed by School Resource Officer Bobby Ruth. The report states On 2-1-16 Officer Bobby Ruth responded to the Cleveland City Schools Administration building (4300 Mouse Creek Rd.) to meet with Martin Ringstaff. Mr. Ringstaff stated 'On 1-31-16 there were two different Twitter accounts created using his name. On one of the accounts there is a screen shot of a cell phone with Facebook messages between two people. This screen shot was retweeted to several different other twitter account holders'. Mr. Ringstaff advised Officer Ruth that he did not create these accounts nor did he know who did.

"At 1515 hours I spoke with Martin Ringstaff via phone. We scheduled an interview at 1730 hours when he returned from Nashville. At 1730 hours Martin Ringstaff did not show up or call. At 1836 hours I contacted Martin Ringstaff. He did not answer. I left him a voicemail. At 1925 hours Martin Ringstaff contacted me. He stated 'for the sake of his wife he wishes not to pursue with the criminal investigation at this time, because the messages were from him but sent a year ago'. Mr. Ringstaff did ask could there be a criminal investigation for an incident like this. I stated thats a possibility but I would need to know who the messages were sent to for a starting point in the investigation. He declined to disclose that to me. At 2044 hours I responded to the Ringstaff residence where Martin Ringstaff signed a non-prosecution form."
Republican candidates for president share the ideology that there is no role -- or only a limited one -- for the government in regulating the environment. The GOP's principal target -- strongly supported by funding from the Koch Brothers and the message machinery of Fox News -- is the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Now that the alarming spread of the Zika virus is on par with media coverage of the GOP presidential popularity contest, here are four questions for GOP presidential candidates.

In a short period of weeks, the mosquito-borne Zika virus has "explosively" spread through the Americas and into the public consciousness. The virus can cause fetuses to grow micro encephalic brains.

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Question 1) The virus will spread into the United States according to health officials. Do you, GOP candidate, support intervention by federal agencies to protect the American people, including children and infants otherwise neglected by federal toxic standards?

Question 2) If you do, please explain why?

Mercury pollution is pervasive in American freshwater wetlands like the Everglades, but it is poorly regulated by the states and federal government. In its toxic form, mercury is a severe threat to fetuses and to brain development in children, like the Zika virus.

Question 3) Do you support intervention by federal agencies to monitor and to regulate drinking water quality -- the main pathway for mercury -- by federal agencies including the US EPA? (In fact, the GOP Congress and its supporters in states like Florida, including the Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida and the Farm Bureau, wage a perpetual campaign against strengthening rules and laws by federal agencies to protect water quality.)

Question 4) If you support a federal role in preventing the spread and the consequences for the Zika virus but not federal responsibility to tighten toxic mercury, monitoring and enforcement of protections for our drinking water, please explain why?
Historically, the few days between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary are notoriously misleading because of what Nobel-winning economist Daniel Kahneman calls the focusing effect, defined by Wikipedia as "a cognitive bias that occurs when people place too much importance on one aspect of an event, causing an error in accurately predicting the utility of a future outcome." At this stage in the U.S. election season, we tend to think Iowa is the be-all and end-all of everything, until New Hampshire rolls around and changes everything.

This is especially true when it comes to the Republicans. By winning Iowa, Ted Cruz has now joined the ranks of previous (non-)titans like Rick Santorum (Iowa winner, 2012) and Mike Huckabee (Iowa winner, 2008). Remember them? As you may have picked up from that, an Iowa win doesn't really mean much for the GOP. Iowa's Republicans are disproportionately evangelical-heavy, favoring the most religiously conservative candidate. So, in a sense, it actually would've been more shocking if Cruz had lost Iowa.

But that in no way means Iowa is completely inconsequential. To catch a glimpse of this crystal ball, you really have to look deep behind the numbers. Here are three major insights from Iowa 2016:

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1. Much Ado About Rubio. Rubio is now a serious contender -- you've all heard this by now. His strong third (almost second) place showing is much more significant than Cruz's win. So yes, watch the entire Republican establishment rush to get behind Rubio in the coming days. But will it help? Probably not enough. As significant as the rise of Rubio is, this is still the year of the anti-establishment candidates. Together, Cruz, Trump and Carson got over 60 percent of the Iowa vote and polled very well leading in. This number itself is much more important than Trump's loss. Despite Trump's second-place showing, his brand -- described early on by Morning Joe's Willie Geist as "a giant middle finger to the political process" -- won resoundingly. Considering that Cruz is unlikely to have any pull beyond Iowa (and maybe South Carolina), this still bodes very well for Trump. Don't count him out just yet.

2. Bernie Can Really Win. He wildly exceeded expectations while Hillary, despite winning by her razor-thin margin, fell short of hers. At this point, the expectations game is everything (this is what made Trump a loser in second place and Rubio a winner in third place). Effectively, that makes Bernie the real winner in Iowa. Bernie is trouncing Hillary 63-30 in New Hampshire according to the latest UMass Lowell/7News poll, so Hillary now has an enormous challenge ahead of her. She's still the best bet to get the nomination in the end, but it's far from the certainty that it once was.

3. Anyone-But-Trump Liberals Should Proceed With Care. As brash and infuriating as Trump may seem, his proposals, believe it or not, are much more moderate than Cruz, or even Rubio. Unlike Trump, who has held several liberal positions in the past (he was pro-choice, pro-single payer healthcare, and even praised Hillary Clinton as little as four years ago), Cruz is a Tea Party extremist and likely to stay that way. On abortion, both Cruz and Rubio oppose exceptions for rape or incest, unlike Trump. Unless you're okay with either of these guys appointing the next couple of Supreme Court justices, it may be a little misplaced to celebrate Trump's loss in Iowa just yet.

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That said, Democrats should probably hope for Cruz to win the nomination, because that pretty much guarantees a President Hillary Clinton (or, less likely, Sanders). Cruz is too far-right to be able to beat Hillary. But either Trump or Rubio could conceivably beat her: Trump has a talent for getting to know his audience and giving them exactly what they want, so he's more likely to pivot to the center in the general election; and Rubio is now the establishment favorite who will have obscene amounts of money supporting his bid. In the liberal nightmare scenario where one of them does beat Hillary Clinton, Trump is definitely the lesser evil.

As of today, Trump is 22 points ahead of Cruz in New Hampshire, according to the RealClearPolitics average. (While it's true that the polls didn't really deliver in Iowa, not all of them were too far off: the most recent polls from Opinion Savvy and Emerson did show Trump, Cruz, and Rubio in a statistical dead heat.) When it comes to political terrain, New Hampshire and Iowa may as well be different planets. So it's hard to imagine a lead that large evaporating entirely within a week. But this is 2016, and stranger things have happened.
Mixed race mother going over homework with daughters

The sisterhood of Girl Scouts

As a mother of four, I am blessed with the opportunity to raise my boys as respectful young men and to raise my girls as strong young women. Over the years, I have come across several opportunities to help my children's growth, including Girl Scouts.

I am a vast believer in what they have to offer our girls today. Girl Scouts is more than selling cookies and collecting badges. It has become a sisterhood of girls and women supporting and uplifting one another. I recently had a fundraiser at my home for the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. When introducing Linda, the chair of the 2015 Women of Achievement Award, all the memories of why I was hosting this event came to me and I couldn't hold back the tears. I was overwhelmed by the support I received from all the women there that night.

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When I moved to the East Coast six years ago, I had to get accustomed to our new way of living. I had never driven in snow, never lived 15 minutes from the city that never sleeps, and never had to know my coffee order before I got to the front of the line... or I would be asked to step aside.

When we moved to Alpine, I arrived blindfolded, not knowing anyone in the neighborhood. CC and I were both born and raised in California so we had no family living near. There are a few women who I will forever remain grateful to her helping me find my way in Bergen County -- from finding a pediatrician to the right schools for my children. Linda is one of them.

I have spoken openly about my oldest daughter's journey and how, at the age of 4, she was anti-social, to say the least. I began emerging Jaden in every aspect of social stimulation -- from the JCC Therapeutic Nursery to dance classes and taekwondo -- to broaden her socially. When Linda approached me with Girl Scouts, I was unsure about bringing Jaden into what I thought would be her biggest challenge -- a group at the most social state of "girl talk."

Linda assured me that with the values being taught and the sisterhoods that are formed, Jaden would not feel left out and it would be a great place for her to start being social. She was right! Jaden was welcomed with open arms and all the girls showed nothing but love and acceptance for her. I can now confidently say her fellow scouts have become her sisters in scouting.

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I urge any mother who is seeking a group that builds confidence, courage and character to look into Girl Scouts. They teach a girl power that shines through in leadership and caring for one another. I will forever be a part of the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. We are teaching our girls they can accomplish whatever they dream to be. I have been with them for three years and now lead my own troop. I have begun teaching my girls the importance of giving back and caring for their community by volunteering, fundraising and donating.

They are learning to become leaders and will only grow to become strong and successful women. The bond the girls will form is priceless, knowing that they are taught the same values. My daughters' troops consist of girls who I wish will all be friends growing up, as I know battling the hardships of those teenage years will be a bit easier with their sisters in scouting.

Three years have passed since I first signed Jaden up and we now have become a Girl Scouts family, with both of my daughters as scouts and mommy leading her troop of "Tough Cookies!"

# # #
Mr. Stewart Lawrence, somewhat disjointedly, argues in his "expose" on yoga ("Behind the Yoga Boom: Narcissism, Irreligion, or Just Fitness," Daily Caller, February 2, 2016) that we, America, have been duped.

But Mr. Lawrence's meandering arguments regarding the yoga-fication of America are merely a distraction to his real argument -- that women, i.e., those of the weaker sex -- have "fallen prey" to the all-mighty Yoga (it is unclear who is perpetuating this deception, unless they is comprised of those stay-at-home moms he cites or women who have been unable to "break the glass ceiling") to chase some elusive self-image and peace of mind. Well, Mr. Lawrence is half right.

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As to Mr. Lawrence's motive in masking a societal crisis over yoga and its danger to conservatives and America, writ large, is unclear. The only possible conclusion that can be reached is Mr. Lawrence believes he must rescue women from this morally corrupt practice. He repeatedly uses women to emphasize how dangerous yoga has become. Putting aside Mr. Lawrence's degrading language regarding women in this article, he puts forth no statistics or studies to support his theory. It is merely that women, who are overworked and must "juggle social and workplace roles," are "deeply stressed."

Much better if women just stayed at home. Then they wouldn't have to be subjected to such anxiety and therefore have to turn to yoga. But alas, even women at home, who've "been unable to break the glass ceiling," turn to yoga... as teachers who then dupe more women! It's fair to say that Mr. Lawrence doesn't understand women (at least that's the excuse we'll use) and does not realize that yoga brings more than a "psychic laxative" to both men and women. It provides a path to a healthier, more fulfilling life. A life not dependent on work, social media, or 21-century snarkiness disguised as wit. Instead, yoga encourages a simpler life, reminiscent of the past, such as when one would go on a walk without bringing his or her iPhone (a practice now called mindfulness).

Regarding the spiritual side of yoga, and Mr. Lawrence's claims that yoga is anti-Judeo-Christian is deceiving. The goal of yoga (if you can call it a goal), regardless of religion, is to find that spark of the divine that resides in each and every one of us and embody it. A spark that is born at the point of conception, and represents our best selves. So, although the Catholic Church may state yoga doesn't lead to God (oh, incidentally, Pope Francis's quote was grossly misinterpreted, tsk, tsk), and it may not, it also doesn't take issue with becoming more compassionate and empathetic, i.e., a better person or the person God wants you to be. So unless practitioners begin praying to Vishnu instead of God, then yoga is not really a danger to religion in America, either.

Yoga is not conservative or liberal. It crosses partisan lines. Who does not want to feel better about themselves, both mentally and physically? For if you don't care for yourself, do you have any right to assume the power to care for another?

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Milford, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Mark Twain once wrote: "the only difference between reality and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible."

So let's take a look at the political scene we have today and set it against the backdrop of a movie studio. A writer is pitching a studio executive an idea for a new movie. It takes place one year ago. The writer nervously begins to lay out the story...

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Writer: It's called "The Man in the Gold Tower." We cut to the interior of this golden building, 40... 50 stories high. A man is coming down an escalator; we'll call him "The Billionaire." He gets off the escalator, cameras swarming around him in a mall-like area. He announces he's going to run for President of the United States.

Movie Executive: So far I'm bored.

Writer: Just wait. So, he quickly goes through the beginning of a speech, and then he says that he's going to build a wall across the entire border of the United States to keep illegal immigrants out. It's going to be a beautiful wall, because our Billionaire is a builder, and he's going to get Mexico to pay for it!

Movie Executive: Okay, so right away, we got a political comedy.

Writer: Yes and no...

Movie Executive: Who do you see playing this "Billionaire"?

Writer: A Will Ferrell type. You know, funny but not too funny? Even though he's got this crazy orange hair, and he's always wearing a little too much make up...

Movie Executive: Very castable then.

Writer: So now our Billionaire gets very popular. He's got a lot of traction because he's going to build a wall, a giant wall. He says if the Chinese can do it way back then, we can do it today. So, he starts offending all kinds of people. Latinos, women, Muslims, disabled people; he even puts down a war hero Senator who got captured in some war like Vietnam...

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Movie Executive: Now hold it, that's a deal breaker. We lose an audience with that kind of attitude. That's not going to work.

Writer: No, you're missing the point. It makes him more popular, you see? That's the hook!

Movie Executive: Why is that the hook?

Writer: They love the Billionaire because he seems genuine! You see, he puts everybody down but that makes him fresh, unafraid to speak his mind. That rudeness makes our Billionaire even more popular!

Movie Executive: You can't make a movie with that kind of main character. I can just picture having a preview screening, people would be walking out in droves.

Writer: No, that's what makes people love him! He tells it like it is! He attacks like 30 media outlets, calls them dishonest, dumb, incompetent, but people still love him... He talks about how dumb everybody else is, and how smart he is... and how much money he's got. And he's always boasting that he's this great dealmaker, you see? That's how he got so rich.

Movie Executive: And people want him to be the President because of these positions?

Writer: Yes, that's where the laughs are. I'm telling you, this script will turn political comedy on its ear.

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Movie Executive: You're losing me here.

Writer: Listen, tell me this isn't funny -- as his popularity grows he spends more and more time making speeches where he talks about himself. He talks about how every time he's on a new show the ratings go up, he talks about how much people love him... most of the talk is about him, and becomes very little about politics.

Movie Executive: Well I like a political comedy that doesn't have too much politics.

Writer: Right! I have a scene where he won't even attend a debate because he doesn't like one of the three moderators, because she was too tough on him in a previous debate. Say... 6 months earlier.

Movie Executive: Interesting... so the female moderator attacked him, she made things up about him?

Writer: No, she actually just reads quotes about all the negative things he's said about people, groups, that sort of thing.

Movie Executive: So, she was telling the truth.

Writer: Yes!!! What's she's saying was the truth, but here's what makes it so much fun: he turns it around, and says she wasn't fair.

Movie Executive: Well how can it not be fair if it's the truth?

Writer: That is exactly what makes him so much fun! He isn't always logical! Like, an example... one day he can take one point of view, and the very next day he can take the opposite point of view.

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Movie Executive: Like taking a flip-flop position.

Writer: No, it's beyond a flip-flop position! One day he can say "I like someone because... blah blah blah," and the next day he can say exactly the opposite, blah blah blah, and he doesn't have to justify a completely different point of view. It's such a radical change of point of view, that he can't be held accountable for anything! He cannot operate within the laws of normal social interaction! We have never seen anything like this character before... It's sort of like a Marx Brothers comedy, but he's Groucho, Chico, and Harpo all rolled into one! But... we play it serious. That's what makes it so much fun.

Movie Executive: Okay. So what about this debate that he doesn't want to attend.

Writer: Big controversy, high energy, heightens the campaign.

Movie Executive: Preston Sturges craziness?

Writer: Get this... he holds another event at the same time as when the debate is taking place on TV. But his event is to raise money for veterans... and not an established organization for veterans, but it's just one veteran. And they created a Veteran's group that day, or the day before... just so he can compete against the debate, you see?

Movie Executive: Now you're losing me completely, this is so far-fetched that it has no credibility. They're all in town for the debate!

Writer: Hold on. Then, he blames the politicians who are in the debate for talking politics! He says something like... "Here I am, raising money for veterans, and these other guys are just talking politics." Something like that, so he's making it seem that he's above the other politicians, like he's doing something worthwhile. As if talking about the politics to become President is frivolous in comparison to what he's doing. See what I mean?

Movie Executive: Again... where's the logic? Give me logic!

Writer: What's wrong with that?

Movie Executive: Here's where this whole scenario falls apart for me. You say he's avoiding the debate because he's having problems with one of the moderators, this woman, you say. He's afraid to deal with her because she can be tough on him. But you tell me that he's this great dealmaker!

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Writer: That's right, he's a great dealmaker.

Movie Executive: Well why can't he make some kind of deal with the Network, some kind of accommodation? There's always going to be back channel talks... I mean if our guy can't make a deal with the moderator, the Network, whoever... how's he going to make a deal with foreign leaders? Europe... The Middle East...? It doesn't make sense.

Writer: Wait! Let me get to the big ending. It's unexpected. Emotional.

Movie Executive: Hurry up, I've got another meeting.



Writer: He loses the primary in that state!

Movie Executive: He loses?

Writer: Yes! Every poll had him as the winner, and he loses. That's the twist! The big surprise. So our guy comes out to give a concession speech -- it's heartfelt, we feel for him. The man hates to lose. He even tweets once that if he loses in that state, then the whole thing would have been a waste of time -- you know, something like that. But now he's dropped the bravado. He says something like, maybe he made a mistake by not being part of the debate... It might have cost him a victory there... but he says something like, "I raised a lot of money for veterans and if I had to do it again, I would have made the same decision."

Movie Executive: What? That's crazy! He's running to win this primary! And it's a step towards the Presidency! If the character wants to raise money for veterans, he could drop out of the whole election process and just become a fundraiser for the veterans! If he believes that's the best thing he should do, but this is where logic fails once again. He could have had the fundraiser the next day. It didn't have to be at the exact same time as the debate. He could have done both.



Writer: But he--

Movie Executive: No, no, no. Logic. Logic! You want audiences to care about this character? This is a nonsense scene. That sequence is not an either/or -- our character can do both. He can debate and he can also have fundraisers. That kind of speech is not going to make me more sympathetic... not when it lacks logic!

Writer: Now hold on. Our guy reminds the audience that he is paying for his own candidacy. He's not beholden to special interest. He's spending his own money! And he says, quietly, "I just don't know whether voters appreciate it."

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Movie Executive: So now he blames the voters? You can't blame the voters. At the end of the day, they're not going to vote on how much of his own money he spends, it's his ideas! You've lost me. This isn't going to play. You're showing me a cynical, petulant, vindictive character, and I don't want to hang my hat on that type of guy. Maybe he's a supporting character somewhere in the mix, but not the leading man! You've got a lot of work to do. You've got to give me a character and a story that doesn't completely defy reason. Even a good comedy, drama... or even a cartoon! It has to be logical, or at least somewhat logical...
We all experience a competitive instinct from time to time -- sometimes against another person, sometimes against a whole category of people -- and sometimes it bubbles over into nasty behavior. But where does anti-social behavior come from? How can we learn to accept one another's common humanity better for more constructive relationships?

When I was in fourth grade, I qualified as a finalist for my school spelling bee. Determined to snatch the title, I studied hard for the three weeks leading up to the live contest. Even though my family took a ski vacation during one of those weeks, I brought my books with me, memorizing words like "emu" and "cantor" late into the night. After all the work I put in, I felt confident that I had a shot -- which made me very nervous.

When the day of the competition came, I took my place among 11 other 10-year-olds at the head of the classroom, palms clammy. After making it through two rounds, I nearly got eliminated on the word "embarrass" -- how ironic that would have been. Eventually, the fray got whittled down to me and one other, very brainy, boy. I didn't know Glen very well, as he was from another class, but I liked him well enough -- until that moment. Under the glare of the class' gaze, we successfully made it through four more rounds together, and then my cool began to crumble. His turn came up.

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I blurted out to the teacher, "Make this a hard one."

She called out the next word on the list for Glen, a word I do not even remember -- what I do remember was that he missed it. The contest was over. I had won.

So many of my friends gathered around to congratulate me. But Glen and I didn't talk much after that.

Occasionally over the 3.5 decades that have followed, I have remembered this event, and always with shame. In the stress of the moment, I felt such a need to grab the glory for myself that all regard for the feelings of my fellow competitor, and my self-control, vanished. In truth, it was no victory.

In November, when I interviewed Dr. Michael Fanselow, Staglin Family Chair in Psychology at UCLA, for my monthly Brain Waves webcast, his description of his findings on how anxiety influences the brain began to shed some light for me on the kind of ruthless behavior which I so ably modeled in the spelling bee. Fear "can change who we are in a fundamental way," he said.

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I did a little research, reading his and other neuroscientists' work: Essentially, acute stress signals the brain's emotional processing center, the amygdala, to start a physical cascade of reactions that transforms us into an "effective defender against environmental threat," activating a "fight or flight response" that reduces behavioral involvement of the prefrontal cortex, the brain's center for higher thought, rationality and patience.



At present in U.S. society, I witness this shift writ large. As online communications enable the demands of our increasingly competitive work lives to intrude ever more into our personal time (while encouraging us to isolate into our screens), the resulting relentless stress is creating a more anxious, fearful population, a process chronicled brilliantly by Dr. Peter Whybrow in his prescient book American Mania. In recent years, I believe this anxiety has amplified discrimination among people in society -- the media reports clashes between Americans of different political parties, races, ethnicities, faiths and economic classes daily. Based on my interpretation of the research of Allen Hart et al, this discrimination is akin to the fear-induced "fight or flight" response expanded in one's mind toward defense against a whole social category.

The kind of discrimination I am most familiar with is that based on one's state of mental health. Since age 18 I have lived with schizophrenia, and have a few times been on the receiving end of prejudicial treatment. My experience matches what I have heard from others with mental health challenges: Being discriminated against feels dehumanizing, and is debilitating.

The Living Arts Playback Theater Group creatively dramatizes a personal story of mental trauma during the Turning Points gathering [photo by Maria Sestito, Napa Valley Register]

What do we do to reduce such discrimination? Studies in the mental health arena have shown that we can reduce stigma by getting to know one another. A recent experience played out this idea. Last Wednesday, my wife and I went to a gathering called "Turning Points." The evening was the culmination of a storytelling project by an organization called On the Move, funded by a California grant for innovations in mental health treatment. About 250 were present at Napa's Jarvis Conservatory, many of who, like me, had contributed their stories of living with mental health challenges. Poignant quotes from each of these stories were on display at the reception.

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The crux of the evening came next, in the auditorium: Three volunteers from the audience told their stories on stage, and each story was dramatized by the actors of the Living Arts Playback Theatre. Listening to each volunteer tell of the incredible difficulties they had faced, from parental abuse to domestic violence to psychosis, brought home the need for community support for individuals in distress. I felt resonant pain for these brave storytellers. Many in the audience wiped away tears, and guests said the stories inspired compassion, courage, and freedom to breathe. As the evening concluded, I felt more strongly committed to help others with mental health challenges find their paths to wellness.
by Jaimie Schoen, BRIDES



Photo: Courtesy of Julie Song Ink

It's amazing who you suddenly hear from once you're engaged. Your carpool buddy from preschool? Check. Your partner on your high school debate team? Check. The woman who bikes next to your mom at her weekly spin class? Check. And all of these people will have questions. When is the wedding? Where? Should I reschedule my trip to Italy? The assumption that they'll make the guest list can be shocking, but it happens to every bride. Here are our experts' tips on how to respond gracefully when someone assumes they'll be getting an invitation.



Whether or not a person has been added to your guest list, preemptive questions can be frustrating -- and stress-inducing. If you're barely engaged, or haven't started planning seriously yet, let your inquisitor know. Try something like, "We haven't started making any plans, right now we're just enjoying being engaged. We'll only get to do this part once!" It's short, to the point, and will let them know that there's no information to be spilled, no matter how much they ask.

Have you started planning, but are hearing from long-lost friends who you won't be inviting? If it's a friend of your parents or in-laws, ask your folks to step in and take over. It's much easier for your mom to say that you're keeping the wedding very small and intimate (family and close friends only!) to her college roommate than it might be for you to explain to someone you've always regarded as "one of the adults."

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If it's a friend of yours or your fiance's who is starting to pry, take the same approach. Let them know that your venue has limited space, that your goal is something personal and cozy, or that your number one priority was to celebrate with your families and a few select friends.

Getting questions about other details, like your dress? "It's a secret! I want to surprise Michael at our wedding," is answer enough. Then steer the conversation away from your wedding to a more neutral topic -- and do your best to keep it here. A little wedding radio silence should send the message that the topic isn't up for discussion.
During a conference call discussing the initiative, Brown said, "This affects thousands of inmates and it is significant." Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck declared, "California currently keeps the wrong people incarcerated for the wrong length of time . . . I think that this will effectively open up bed space for those that richly deserve to be there." Even Bonnie Dumanis, the Republican District Attorney of San Diego, enthusiastically affirmed that "these changes would encourage inmates to participate in rehabilitation programs that would make prisons and communities safer." The atmosphere was dripping with adulation and a sense of humane progress. And it all made sense because the reasoning was in line with the growing national sentiment that over-incarceration for nonviolent offenses is neither efficacious nor just. Most importantly, nobody was getting near that third rail and advocating for dramatic reductions in prison sentences for people incarcerated for violent acts -- or were they, but didn't know it?

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Here is the exact legal language from the governor's initiative:

(1) Parole consideration: Any person convicted of a non-violent felony offense and sentenced to state prison shall be eligible for parole consideration after completing the full term for his or her primary offense.

Someone in the governor's office certainly checked that this new law wasn't going to free criminals convicted of really violent acts, right? Surely, this ballot measure wouldn't make it easier to get a reduced sentence for a felony domestic abuser, or someone who was convicted of breaking into a house in the middle of the night, or of raping his spouse or of committing a sexual assault on an unconscious victim, or committing a felony assault that injured a police officer? The governor and the media that covered the ballot measure certainly implied that those types of violent criminals would serve their entire sentences. Unfortunately, the truth is that under this law, convicts of each of those crimes would be eligible for immediate release from prison.

In the legal lexicon, words take on meanings that are both specific and even counterintuitive. The legislators who drafted the California Penal Code knew this well and specifically defined a "violent" felony under California law. There are only twenty-two "violent felonies" listed in California Penal Code Section 667.5(C)(1-22). That list certainly includes the worst possible crimes: murder, robbery, kidnapping, child molestation, and rape. But the label "violent felonies" is a bit of a misnomer because there are many other crimes that also involve significant violence but are not on that list. California courts can classify only those twenty-two offenses as being legally "violent." Therefore, when the governor's initiative contains the word "non-violent," he is not saying that the crime doesn't involve violence; the crime is just not one of those twenty-two specific types of violence.

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So, what types of crimes are violent but not legally "violent felonies"? Below is a sampling of just fifteen of the criminal offenses in California that are classified as "non-violent" under California law, but actually do involve significant violence. This means that a current inmate convicted of any one of these offenses would be eligible to have his or her sentence dramatically reduced or even be released if the governor's ballot measure passes. You can judge for yourself whether you think the word "non-violent" means what Governor Brown and the initiative's proponents have publicly claimed.
In honor of Black History Month, I'm excited for an interview series with several lovely black women. My hope is that this series with be able to inspire black girls like myself by providing stories, advice, and emotional honesty from successful women. Their courage, determination, and all around badass-ness inspires me to do my best, and I'm sure that it'll do the same for you.

Next, I spoke with Jacqueline Woodson, author of books such as Miracle's Boys, winner of the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001, Newbery Honor winners After Tupac & D Foster, Feathers, and the National Book Award winning Brown Girl Dreaming.

How different are racism and homophobia? Have they ever intersected, in your experience, or are they always separate?

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Racism can be more visible for some, I think. It's not like you walk into a room and people know you're queer but your color is often evident -- at least my dark brown is! Both racism and homophobia come from a sense of the presumed and the unknown.

How different are things now than they were when you were growing up?

I think there is much more queer visibility than there was when I was a kid. There's is marriage, more trans visibility and many more celebrities who are open about the sexuality. This was SO not the case when I was a kid. I think even though homophobia still exists, there is much more of a dialogue and a taboo around being homophobic.

As for racism, I think with social media, many people are [bearing] witness to what people of color go through on a daily basis - everything from micro aggressions to police brutality to innocent young people being killed by racist strangers. Never I heard the N word used so much by white folks than I have in social media -- and not in a 'rap' way but in a hate way. So the world is different -- There is SO much work to be done.

What do you think about when you hear "Black History Month?"

I think I'm glad it exists but why do we get the shortest month, and why can't we be celebrated every month?

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Is there a specific black woman from history who inspires you? What about a black woman from today?

There are so many Audre Lorde, Madame CJ Walker, Odetta, Toni Morrison, the Grimke sisters, Virginia Hamilton... My list goes on.



What does being a black woman mean to you?

Everything!

What advice do you have for young girls who might feel that their beauty isn't "good enough?"

We were brought to this country enslaved and we were not meant to survive. Not only did we survive but we went on to change the world. Every part of us is celebrated -- our full lips, our thick hair, our stunning eyes, the depth of color to our skin. And while we get celebrated for this or not, how could we not know we're beautiful and amazing.

Where do you get your courage?

From the above answer.

What would you say to a girl who isn't sure about speaking out on what she believes in?

What do you have to lose? Do we really want to walk through this world living a half-life. Think of all the young people speaking out and how that outspokenness is changing the world. Be a part of that movement. Be brilliant and brave.

Was there ever a point that you were ashamed or embarrassed of being black?

I think as a kid, turning on the television and seeing that everyone seemed to be wealthy and white made me feel like an outsider, lesser than. I was not wealthy. I was not white. But I'm grateful as hell for that experience because it informs so much of what I do -- I AM an outsider -- and that's what makes me amazing and thoughtful and empathetic and wise.

Why is it difficult to be a black woman today? Why is being a black woman amazing?

I think it's difficult if we're looking through the wrong lens -- It's definitely a journey that means a lot of explaining on the way but I find it far more awesome to walk through the world in this skin today.

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What role do you think black women have played in history?

Oh man -- so many! All of them! Everything! We were/are so Everywhere.

Is there anything specific that you would say to your teenage self?
It would be a lie if I said that I decided not to go to graduate school straight out of undergrad because I wasn't completely sure why I wanted another degree. The truth is, I applied into a program during my senior year and was kindly rejected. At the time, this caused me feel to inadequate and question a lot of the decisions that I had made up to that point as I did not have a job lined up after graduation.

In hindsight, getting rejected is probably one of the best things that has happened to my career (of course I would say this now, right?). In all honesty, I had no idea why it was that I wanted to go to graduate school then, and I'm sure the admissions committee could tell from my vague application statements. Having been in school for the majority of my life, it was all I knew and I was not ready to let it go; I did not want to enter the "real world" because I did not know what I wanted to "do" in life.

After accepting my reality, I had to hustle to find a job fast, and you can read more here about how I reached out to my network and managed to secure a position in less than a month. Although working as an executive assistant at a small firm wasn't what I imagined I would be doing after getting a degree, I picked up a lot of useful knowledge and experience. I then went on to work on a political campaign as a field organizer and learned various methods on how to organize people around a particular cause. Afterwards, I landed at the company where I am now, managing the marketing and assisting with business development efforts.

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Throughout this entire time I have had graduate school in the back of my mind, but I actually became confused as to what it was that I wanted to go back to school for. One day I would convince myself that law school was the answer. Two weeks later I would change my mind after looking into International MBA programs. I even got to the point where I wasn't even sure if it was something that I needed to consider anymore. As proof, here's the post that I wrote in 2014 sharing how I felt about going back to school. I had only been out of college for a little over a year when I wrote it, and you can tell from the tone in my writing that I was still rushing for no reason.

It took a lot of back and forth on my part before I finally made the decision to apply into another program -- and I'm glad that it did. I tend to overthink things, but I believe this is one of those decisions that requires full commitment. Spending $50k-$150k in a law or graduate program shouldn't be taken lightly, and I'm glad that I worked for a couple of years first so that I could experience what it feels like to make student loan payments before I took on even more debt. Getting a break from school exposed me to other possibilities and learn about industries that I had never even considered before.

I decided that I wanted to go back to school because I believe that it will be an investment in myself. This is very different from the mindset that I had before, which was wanting to go back to school for the sole purpose of finding a good paying job afterwards. I've come to the realization that I truly enjoy working in marketing, which is why I want to learn more about it. Do I have to go back to school to gain this knowledge? Probably not. But I'm not as self-disciplined as I'd like to be when it comes to work that's not mandatory outside of my job (I'm getting there!) Plus, my favorite part about being in a classroom is bouncing ideas off of others and building a network with my classmates. Additionally, I can't ignore the prestige that a graduate degree elicits within the business sector.

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This summer, I will be starting on a one-year MBA at the University of South Carolina. I'm really looking forward to the program because I think that the marketing concentration is going to enhance my career with my current job. In addition, I know the skills that I'm going to be picking up will be of benefit to me no matter where I end up or if I choose to start my own business one day. I don't know if I would have this much clarity if things had happened any other way, but I'm glad that I waited to commit myself to a program until I knew for a fact that it was what I wanted for myself.

My advice to others who may be in a similar situation like the one I was in is to FIRST figure out what it is that you want to do with your career, and THEN decide if you even need a degree to accomplish it. I don't want to sound like I'm saying that this is the only way, as I am speaking from my personal experiences only, but I really think that you must be completely honest with yourself before deciding to "invest" in graduate school. The last thing that you want is to owe a lot of money for a degree that you are not happy with or that you did not enjoy pursuing.

Let me know below what your thoughts are on this post. As always, thank you for reading and please share if you think it will be of help to others in your circle.
The number of influenza-like illnesses treated at Erlanger shows a dramatic decrease compared to this time last year.

From October 2014 through mid January 2015, Erlanger reported 993 cases to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department. During the same period this flu season, only 62 cases have been reported by Erlanger.

One key initiative Erlanger has undertaken this year is to ask patients if they have been vaccinated for the flu and if not, offer the vaccination during their physician visit or before they are discharged from the hospital, said Joe Cofer, MD, Erlanger Health Systems chief quality officer. This is just one example of how hospitals like Erlanger can take part in reducing the incidence of flu and educate the public about the importance of being vaccinated. This is not only for the health of our patients, but also for the health of those in contact with the patient.

Despite the lower incidence of flu cases requiring hospitalization this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports increasing flu activity with even more increasing activity predicted in the coming weeks. Flu cases often peak in February and can last into May.

With the flu season still active for up to four more months, Tennessee Department of Health officials recommend individuals get vaccinated now if they havent already. The vaccination can still provide protection from the illness this season.
In recent years we have seen a proliferation of healthy eating alternatives. From organic farming products, to the farm to table movement, or to the growing breed of on demand prepare yourself food startups, consumer desire and new technologies have spurred a renaissance in the healthy eating industry.

As much of the innovation in the healthy eating space has focused on humans, you might find that if your pet could speak, he or she might also ask for a more diverse, healthy, and tasty menu of food to choose from. San Diego based Real Pet Food not only thinks your pet would prefer such an alternative, they've also built an entire business around it.

While San Diego is known for its beaches and sunny climate, it is not usually the first place you'd think of in California when referencing startups. Yet, in 2014, San Diego was named as the best city to launch a startup in within the United States. In his 2016 State of the City address, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer indicated his intent to pursue policies that would continue to foster San Diego's startup scene. When you add that San Diego is one of America's most pet friendly cities, you find yourself with almost perfect conditions with which to launch a pet themed startup.

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Founded by Turk Sapta and Ruby Alexis Balaram, Real Pet Food seeks to provide pet owners, and their pets, of course, with healthy and natural pet food alternatives. Utilizing the subscription model popularized by Birchbox, Real Pet Food seeks to disrupt a business the company feels has been complacent for far too long.

I sat down with Real Pet Food co-founder Turk Sapta to discuss his company, his approach to entrepreneurship, and the state of the San Diego startup ecosystem.

CG: What led you to come up with the idea for Real Pet Food?

TS: I've always had a passion for dogs and wolves, and about 2 years ago I launched another startup to make healthy food more accessible and affordable. The launch of that startup was right at the peak of the human food revolution towards fresh and unprocessed foods. It turned out that we were helping a lot of people overcome their health and weight issues, and it became a very profitable venture for us.

Along the way our Doberman's health started declining. When I looked at the evolution of dogs and how they've been eating for centuries, I realized their eating of processed foods mirrored that of humans ever since the industrial revolution. I found there was a better, species appropriate way to feed him and at the same time discovered unbelievable inefficiency in the pet food industry that I knew I could fix with technology and data.

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I guess it's safe to say that I was "looking for answers".

CG: Real Pet Food operates a subscription model. Can you run us through how it works and what you get?

TS: Just like the name of our startup, we want everything to be real and simple. You can literally set up your account and check out under 2 mins.

Every month we deliver you a box full of fresh single-ingredient air-dried treats and chews. Each box has a different muscle meat, organ meat, seafood, and 3 different types of chews to keep your dog satisfied and healthy.

We make everything ourselves from human grade meats, without additives or preservatives. We have an unmatched quality, price, convenience and the best customer service the pet food industry has ever seen. We want to transform the way people feed their dogs. We make exactly what your dog would eat in the wild. All you have to do is open the box and feed!

CG: What has been the reception? By both humans and canines.

TS: We make some of the best, if not, the best treats and chews in the world! Since our start, our goal was to make our product and service an experience for humans as much as for dogs. We want to provide a lifelong service and adapt as we learn more about dog health and nutrition.

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Not only are we getting great feedback from humans and canines, we also attracted a few investors. We have a great value offering, a product that is incredibly unique and steady cash flow. We are at the dawn of the canine fresh food movement, offering higher quality food and service to dog owners that are paying double the price for inferior products at pet shops. It is phenomenal to see that our efforts are not going by unnoticed.

CG: Launching a startup is an inherently risky endeavor. What is your advice for other young entrepreneurs seeking to launch a potentially disruptive startup and what have you learned along the way?

TS: On the contrary, it was more risky to stay where I was. I had one of the best jobs I could ask for in Washington D.C. The people I reported to couldn't have been better, co-workers were supportive in tasks, but my work wasn't my passion and as time passed I found myself working just to pay my bills. I got into a routine where I wasn't learning, just repeating the same thing everyday.

Disruptive companies don't come up with crazy inventions. They study existing sectors and discover how they can make a big difference. Apple took computers and made them more user-friendly. Uber took limo services and made them more user-friendly. Slack took instant-messaging services and made them more user-friendly. And now we are taking dog treats and making them more user-friendly.

So far this is what I've learned and applied to Real Pet Food: Study your industry. Research the market - timing will either make you or break you. Test the product. Bootstrap it. Be frugal - don't take investments too early on. Have an exceptional value proposition. Put your brand out. Maximize sales - create a community and stay close to early adopters.

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We've come this far and now we are getting ready to hire the right people, scale our operations (raise funds) and expand our portfolio, while staying on top of our research and learning from other sectors to bring innovation to our industry.

CG: Real Pet Food is based in San Diego. How would you describe the San Diego startup scene and what are the benefits of being based out of SD.

TS: San Diego has ambitious goals to be the next Silicon Valley. Things move at the speed of So-Cal, but locals are quite supportive and optimistic, as there are a growing number of startup resources here.

We wanted to be closer to our target market - somewhere with active dogs and a lot of sun - to create a community and to get rapid feedback. From an entrepreneur's standpoint, you shouldn't pick what's "hot" or "trendy," but rather where your customers are and where you fit best. We couldn't have picked a better location.

CG: Any parting words?

TS: You know... I think people generally worry too much and just get scared, waiting for the right time for everything. There are always things out of your control, but people who are successful are the ones who overcome the unexpected.

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We got rejected by Y Combinator early on; the day my co-founder and I were moving to San Diego our car got broken into; the day we signed a lease to our shop we got news that my uncle passed away and a few hours later, news that my co-founder lost her grandmother; I tore my meniscus at the midst of our operations set up; I had to learn plumbing and electrical panel wiring, and deal with a lot of other factors that come with owning your own business. There has been a lot of blood, sweat and sleepless nights, but we are not alone in the entrepreneurial grind. Our customers love what we are doing and that is why we work hard for it.
In London this week, high level delegates from more than 70 governments, together with UN, non-governmental and other organisations, will be discussing the Syria conflict, now entering its sixth year. The challenge is how to better provide humanitarian assistance to those affected, both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries, which are hosting more than four million refugees. One of the issues will include how to help create jobs for people affected by the conflict, offering them greater hope for the future. Caroline Gluck, Senior Public Information Officer with UNHCR in Iraq, has met some refugees who have managed to set up their own businesses in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq

Bahoz Jalal Ismail, 25 and his assistant, Fadhil, both Syrian refugees, can be found at their small grocery shop in Sulaymaniyah, hard at work seven days a week and well into the night. "We won't go home until the last customer leaves", Bahoz tells me.

Bahoz used to work in a barber's shop back in his village, in Qamishly. But, he says, due to conflict and insecurity, business was bad and he could barely make ends meet.

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He's proud of what he's achieved so far. Bahoz, who left Syria in 2013, noticed a gap in the market. His neighbourhood had no local shops and there was a university nearby, making it a good spot to attract customers. Borrowing $6 000 to rent and stock the shop, called Gul Bahar (Spring Flower in English), he began just selling fruit and vegetables, soon expanding to include a wide range of grocery items.

It got so busy that he soon hired another Syrian refugee, 21 year old Fadhil Hussein, to work alongside him. Bahoz and his assistant

"Financially, this business is better than working in the barber's shop", Bahoz told me.

Unlike some of Syria's neighbours, in the northern Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I) where 97% of Syrian refugees stay, refugees who have valid residency documents have the right to work. Bahoz outside his grocery store Many enterprising Syrians, like Bahoz, have opened up their own businesses, providing local services as well as employing others. All, like Bahoz, spoke of the relief at being able to work and to support their family, giving them a sense of pride and dignity.

"It's good for someone to work, to rely on themselves, not be a burden on anyone, to support their family and even employ somebody", said Bahoz.

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Across town, in a beauty salon, customers are having their hair washed and cut. The salon is jointly owned by two Syrians, originally from Aleppo, and employs six staff - five Syrian refugees and one Iraqi national who fled conflict in Qaraqoosh, Mosul Governorate.

One of the owners, 32 year old Bashar Naoum, also works as a manager in a hotel in town. Bashar (red jumper) and some of the staff at his beauty salon

"Having a job is very, very important", said Bashar. "It will make people rely on themselves without needing or waiting for hand-outs, and you can live with dignity. "Syrians are very hardworking people", said Bashar. "Unfortunately, our situation means we need some sort of help at the beginning. But, otherwise, we don't want to be a burden on society. If we have an opportunity, we can prove we are willing to take it and can stand on our feet."

Follow developments; .@refugees .@SupportSyrians .@UNHCRIraq #SupportSyrians
In my last blog, I called for a "Civility Revolution" built on a central strategy of actions based on listening. As I wrote, the nation "can't move forward in any type of useful manner unless we listen to each other - really listen. It doesn't mean we have to agree - and it doesn't mean we won't state our own case - but we need to act like adults and find the road we can take together to allow America, and all Americans, to move forward."

Just last week, a large survey of citizens asserted loudly their dislike of the rampant incivility in our nation. NICD heard them - loud and clear. And I am deeply proud that several of our key programs, which are growing daily, are exactly the actions needed to turn the tide on incivility. We have in place strong generals and willing foot soldiers eager to work together on programs that NICD has proved effective. This is a battle that we can, working together, win.

The loud call from the American public came through a survey, Civility in America, released by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate with KRC Research, which is the sixth installment in their series. The results leave no doubt that Americans, overwhelmingly, have had it with nasty political rhetoric and are ready to work together toward a kinder, gentler nation and the resultant stronger democratic society.

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According to the poll of 1,005 adults across the nation, 83% of likely voters report that they are paying close attention to national politics, and a full 93% of all likely voters say a candidate's tone or level of civility will be an important factor in deciding how they cast their votes in the 2016 presidential election.

And that is not all. Concern about the lack of civility is on the rise: 95% said it is a problem; 67% consider it a "major" problem." And 70%, up from 65% in 2014, believe incivility has reached "crisis" levels.

NICD has been researching incivility in politics and media for the five years it has been in existence. We have data and research; we have programs with proven results; we have generals leading the way and foot soldiers in the trenches. And we have an American public loudly ready to join the fight.

In short, the Institute has been girding for battle over the last five years and has in place maneuvers, strategies and the human capital that can turn the tide. Join us.

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State Level Generals: A national network of state legislators, created by the National Institute of Civil Discourse (NICD), has tapped new leadership to expand its mission to return civility, rationality and respect to American politics. State representatives Matt Pouliot (R-ME) and Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-OH) are leading the bipartisan effort as co-chairs for NICD's National Network of State Legislators Committed to Civil Governance, which practices, models and expands civil governance as a means of strengthening American democracy.

Foot Soldiers: Millennials, larger in size as a group than Baby Boomers, are a major voting bloc targeted by NICD. Text, Talk, Vote is a social media platform built on the enormous success of NICD's Text, Talk, Act. Aimed at millennials, the programs capture the passion of these young adults and channel it into informed discussions, actions, and votes.
Can we talk about the exorbitant cost of EpiPens?

I've probably bored you already.

Let's face it: Another person whining about the high cost of health care in America.

Hell yes, I'm complaining! I just had to pay $440 for two EpiPens so my son, um, won't die if he inadvertently eats a tree nut.

According to the FARE (Food, Allergy, Research and Education) website, researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies and that this potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children (under 18 years of age) in the U.S. That's roughly two in every classroom.

But did you know that state law requires all students with life-threatening health conditions, such as nut allergies, to have medication for each child prior to attending school?

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What if you can't afford one?

When I was a kid, I didn't know of one kid who had a nut allergy.

And I'll admit I blamed all of the other preschool "helicopter parents" who were stopping my kid from the freedom of eating his beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for snack.

I became a believer when I handed our 3-year-old son, Patrick, a granola bar he'd never tried before (it had tree nuts, not peanuts), which he summarily projectile vomited all over and was immediately covered in hives.

Afterward, my son was diagnosed with a tree nut allergy that required a yearly prescription of EpiPens.

He's now 8.

And thankfully, for the last five years, although it's a condition that could potentially be fatal, we have been fortunate to have an ample supply of EpiPens.

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Like clockwork, once a year we got a 'script from his allergist, which we brought through the drive thru pharmacist, and in roughly the same amount of time it would take to order a chai latte we had a to-go-sized bag filled with boxes of EpiPens for a $50 co-pay.

We were swimming in EpiPens!

Enough to store one in each of our family's two vehicles, at our house, at grandma's, at the neighbors...

We were pretty clueless about how lucky we were. Although, one year I do remember driving away with another year's supply of EpiPens and my 8-year-old daughter holding up the bag, saying, "Wow, Mom, in the corner of the receipt it says, 'your insurance saved you $1,200.'"

My husband had a great job as a computer programmer, and I was thankful that our family (we have five kids) had access to life-saving medicine.

The cost of EpiPens only became relevant when I received a warning from the school nurse that Patrick's EpiPen was due to expire Jan. 31, and we needed to replace it or he wouldn't be allowed to attend school.

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My husband hadn't changed companies, but his health insurance options had drastically changed and we had two choices: a high-deductible plan and another high-deductible plan.

Our "new" high-deductible insurance it would cost us $440 out of pocket (which includes the use of a coupon that the Mylan Company, the makers of the EpiPen, passes off to patients as a $0 co-pay when really it only takes off $100).

Our stockpile of cheap EpiPens had lulled us into middle class complacency. And, like a rooster comin' to call, our cache of EpiPens were useless.

Laying awake the other night, I wondered how we would pay for the EpiPens.

My husband had researched options online. Surely this was a mistake. How could a once-cheap medication now be so expensive?

According to an article on NerdWallet, there is no generic EpiPen available due to the manufacturer's patent. Because of this, Mylan, the maker of the device, is allowed to charge what it wants without direct competition. And what it charges is alarmingly high.

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Apparently we could buy one from England for $120, with a minimum purchase of two. Or we could drive to Canada and buy one for $100.

Both brainstorming ideas seemed sketchy.

On the one hand, I was being stubborn. It would be difficult, but we could afford it.

I thought of a friend whose son has a nut allergy. I could offer her a couple hundred dollars for a couple doses if she had extra? I would certainly rather give her the money than the Mylan Corporation who manufactures the drug.

I wondered it that was even legal?

The FARE website advised that the economic cost of children's food allergies is nearly $25 billion per year.

The school nurse seemed so relieved when I delivered the EpiPen on Feb. 1 I told her I was writing a piece about the situation.

"I know I shouldn't be saying this, but try to get the story national," she whispered. "This is so hard on families, especially the working class, and the medicine is for children! Make sure that you explain to parents to insist on an EpiPen from the pharmacist that expires in a year. So many parents have bought EpiPens from pharmacies that push their old stock and give them prescriptions that expire in six months!"

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I can't tell you how many times people say that health care for the middle class is in the toilet because of Obamacare.

I grew up poor with a single parent, and not having health care or food is something you don't and shouldn't forget.

I wholeheartedly believe in universal health care for all, even if it messes with our family's once "cush" situation.

Like most parents, of course we would and did pay, and in the larger scheme of things, our son's health trumps all.

But this whole thing feels rotten.

Here's an excerpt from a recent NPR interview:

"A slick marketing campaign is part of the reason why. That campaign included lobbying Congress to get EpiPens in schools. Forty-seven states now suggest or mandate that schools have such devices on hand. ... As the popularity of EpiPens has grown, so has the cost. The wholesale price of the drug has increased by about 400 percent as it has been heavily marketed."



I have a serious problem with drug companies grossly taking advantage of people, especially children, because they can.


Photo courtesy of Steve Neavling/Motor City Muckraker

By Wendi C. Thomas

Imagine the harm that could have been avoided in Flint if only government officials believed the residents.

As far back as May 2014, Flint residents complained about the water piped from the Flint River into their sinks and tubs.

To save money, the city had switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River the month before.

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The Flint River water smelled funny, looked dirty and tasted bad. Holding bottles of brown water, Flint residents took their worries to city council meetings and a forum called to address water issues. Their very bodies - riddled with rashes and bare patches on their scalps - testified to a tragedy in the making.

Still, it wasn't until October 2015 that Flint officials instructed residents - 57 percent of whom are black and 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line - to stop drinking the lead-poisoned water.

That's 18 months in which officials said to citizens, in essence: We don't believe you. We're not listening to you.

The story of Flint has largely been told through what the community lacks - decent jobs, access to nutritious food, money, influence. Viewed through that lens, it's no wonder that so many state and local officials concluded this community couldn't reliably narrate their lives.

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Take then-Mayor Dayne Walling's viewpoint in June 2014: "I think people are wasting their precious money buying bottled water."

Then there's the false reassurances from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesman who said in July 2015 that "anyone who is concerned about lead in the drinking water in Flint can relax."

And don't forget the assessment of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's chief of staff, who in a September 2015 email, labeled concerned residents as the "anti-everything group"?

A few persistent residents turned to the state Department of Environmental Quality and a Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards to validate their concerns. Then a local pediatrician found elevated lead levels in children's blood.

But all these professionals did was confirm what residents said: There's something horribly wrong with the water.

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Yet that was when government officials finally decided to listen. And act.

The attention led President Obama to declare an emergency in Flint that would open the way to millions of dollars in aid and the FBI to open an investigation into the water contamination.

The local pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, told The New York Times, "If you were going to put something in a population to keep them down for generations to come, it would be lead."

Lead poisoning has been shown to lower IQs, stunt growth, slow children's ability to learn and increase the risk of attention deficit disorder and impulsive behavior. All of the children under the age of six - more than 8,000 children - have been exposed to lead. For children, there is no safe exposure level to the neurotoxin.

It gets worse for undocumented residents, most of whom are Spanish-speaking. At some water distribution centers, some undocumented residents were asked for ID they can't get in Michigan. Worried that immigration agents would deport them, they left empty-handed.

Whatever money Flint officials hoped to save by switching to the Flint River has been eclipsed by the cost of supplying water filters, testing blood and meeting the long-term developmental needs of poisoned children. Simply repairing the corroded system alone could cost as much as $200 million.

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In recent weeks, the city of about 100,000 has been flooded with millions of bottles of clean water donated by celebrities and well-meaning people across the country.

But, as the saying goes, when the issue is justice, charity is sin.

Charity is patting yourself on the back for sending water. Justice is demanding an end to the environmental racism that disproportionately affects black and brown communities.

Gov. Snyder, who has rebuffed calls for him to resign, has dismissed accusations that Flint's crisis is the result of environmental racism, but it's likely that Snyder defines racism only as nefarious intent.

But it's not the intent of Snyder or EPA officials or state environmental experts that matters. It's the impact. And the impact of this avoidable disaster has fallen squarely on the shoulders of low-income families, the majority of whom are black, already struggling to make ends meet in a city with few jobs.



The NAACP has made several recommendations, including hiring teens to distribute the water instead of outsourcing the job to the National Guard.

In a scathing letter posted online, film maker Michael Moore, who is from Flint, called not for bottled water, but a revolt.

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"No check you write, no truckloads of Fiji Water or Poland Spring, will bring their innocence or their health back to normal," Moore wrote.

What Flint needs, Moore wrote, "is a nonviolent army of people who are willing to stand up for this nation, and go to bat for the forgotten of Flint."

Moore wants Snyder impeached and the evacuation of any homeowners who want to leave. And he suggests that the state's surplus and rainy day fund should be used to bail out Flint's residents. As of Tuesday, more than 576,000 people had signed Moore's petition.

But perhaps the most important lesson from Flint is to respect the value of the lived experiences of the poor, especially when they are black and brown.



The next time citizens - even if they don't have a degree or scientific evidence - tell you that something is wrong where they live, listen to them.
We are entering a new strategic era which will have large and lasting effects for the international and domestic policy of the United States.

The foremost indicator of this change is Russia's decision to intervene in the Syrian civil war in support of the Damascus government. This is the first significant "out of area" military intervention by Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union.

While many Western commentators characterize recent Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria as 'resurgent aggression', a more accurate assessment is that Russian leadership is seeking to halt that country's long post-Soviet decline in global influence by addressing perceived national security deficits. Russia seeks to shore up its flanks against NATO expansion in its near-abroad (Ukraine) and protect its Mediterranean Middle East interests represented by its long-time Syrian ally and, in particular, the naval base at Tartus (and, fifty kilometers to the north, the new tactical air base at Latakia.)

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At the same time China has literally been building-out its territorial claims in the South China Sea. The U.S. Pacific forces have responded with several demonstrations (by air and by sea) of disrespect of these sovereign claims by China. In the last week of January Admiral Harris, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said that his forces would do more 'freedom of navigation' operations in the South China Sea. Two days later the the destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed within twelve nautical miles of Triton Island, claimed by China, in the Paracel chain. These demonstrations of U.S. power have ratcheted up tensions with China without in any way resolving the issues of competing sovereign claims.

A critical context of these recent tensions is renewed Chinese national confidence and pride rising in the face of seventy years of dominating presence by the US Navy in the Pacific, effectively reaching to the coasts of China.

Despite the fact that Russia has recently been militarily assertive in words and deeds, the most significant and dangerous strategic development is that involving China. The reason for this is quite straightforward: Russia is presently a relatively weak state and will likely be a declining power for years to come. China, of course, is a rising economic and military power (although its military strength lags its economic advance by large measure.)

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The world is moving from the historically brief moment of American-dominated unipolarity following the collapse of the Soviet Union to a system characterized by greater multipolarity -- with the distinct possibility of emergent bipolarity, as characterized the post-World War II Cold War.

During the Ukraine crisis of 2014 there was much talk in the news and opinion media of "a new Cold War with Russia." This talk is quieter at the moment, diverted, as much of the world is, by ISIS in the Middle East. Yet, it is easy to see attention to "a new Cold War" returning, especially if relations with China become more conflictual.

If that happens, we are still a decade or more away from a new bipolarity becoming the predominant characteristic of the international system. There is still time to construct something better than a bipolar world characterized by new Cold War.

The first Cold War was costly for the world, diverting a least one percent of global economic activity to military capabilities particular to that conflict. Nor was the Cold War in any real sense a sort of tense peace. During its course more than 30 million people died in some thirty-five peripheral wars many of which were encouraged and provisioned by the main protagonists. A significant portion of the creative energies of several generations was rallied to the cause, while induced fears of the enemy took a deep psychic toll on all involved, especially children.

We can do much better than allow an encore.

Recognizing the reality that China is a rising power, we must do everything we can to build partnership, not confrontation, with China. U.S. and allied interests can best be met by helping to construct an inclusive common East Asian regional security and economic framework -- the opposite of constructing cold war. It will not be easy to create this framework for peaceful relations. It will require imagination, persistence and focused attention - but that is what our task should be - before it is too late.

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If leaders in the United States and China let structural factors drive these two great nations to war, they will not be able to hide behind a cloak of inevitability. Those who don't learn from past successes and failures to find a better way forward will have no one to blame but themselves.

A cold war framework for our relations with China, Russia and any other powers that might eventually align with them will almost certainly result in the addition of $200 to 300 billion in annual U.S. security expenditures. It would also very significantly divert the energies of Americans from many social and environmental goals. The U.S. will end up deferring domestic investments needed to sustain its economic strength.
This image shows a summerday from mars with little dust devils

I have a confession to make: This article is actually only about the myth that sending humans to Mars will cost $1 trillion, but ironically, that myth is almost as much of a myth as the other two. Not that the federal government isn't perfectly capable of spending unimaginable sums of money on practically any project, but looking at current scenarios being considered for human missions to Mars, claims that such missions will cost a trillion dollars or more just don't add up (it would require the type of fuzzy math referred to by politicians). Will NASA need some budget increases to accomplish these missions? Probably, but these would almost certainly be modest increases to a budget that is already less than one half of one percent (0.004) of the federal budget.

Budgetary Context Makes all the Difference in the World

To be clear, if you add up expenditures of any federal program for a long enough period of time, you will reach $1 trillion, but the total of NASA's budget since its founding in 1958 still doesn't add up to anywhere near this amount of money -- even with adjusted dollars -- so it will be a long time before Mars missions would reach $1 trillion. Example: At the current rate of spending -- assuming Mars missions consumed an average of fifty percent of the NASA budget -- it would take approximately 100 years to reach a total of $1 trillion.

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Unfortunately, this false narrative has been extremely damaging, and it is well-known that most Americans believe NASA receives far more money that it actually does. This false perception has done more damage than any technical challenges to Mars exploration because it's not only the general public who have an inflated understanding of space exploration expenditures, but many policy-makers and candidates for higher office also share this misperception.



The Difference between Potholes and Mars

For instance, when a student asked Donald Trump whether he would support human missions to Mars, the candidate's answer reflected the disconnect between budgetary fiction and reality. While he didn't reject the concept outright, Trump stated that we need to fix infrastructure (potholes) in the U.S. before sending humans to Mars. To be clear, the infrastructure in our country does need to be fixed, but that has little bearing on space exploration. It's not a matter of apples and oranges. It's more like a matter of apples and supertankers -- or skyscrapers. They are not even remotely in the same category. In reality, the dilapidated infrastructure in the U.S. is a vastly more complicated and expensive problem. Even if we canceled NASA outright (and all those funds were redistributed to infrastructure -- which they wouldn't be), it would barely make a dent on the state of our deteriorating bridges, highways, and other infrastructure while at the same time it would destroy the opportunities for great scientific discoveries and advances offered by NASA programs

A New Apollo is NOT What We Need

It is highly likely that NASA will still lead missions to Mars, but it is also becoming clear that we will not and should not try to create another Apollo Program. We have a vastly different political, economic, and international landscape than we did back in the 1960s. These missions will likely be partnerships between international entities, industrial/commercial players, and others. And there is growing interest in private missions as well. While it's unclear whether private missions to Mars will be viable in the next few decades, commercial/industrial entities certainly will play an ever-increasing role in future Mars missions.

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Unquestionably, NASA and other partners need to be held accountable -- and that we need to harness as many new innovations and partnerships as practical to execute these missions within budgetary reality. But, whether you support space exploration or not, we all should consider the fact that over the next 15-20 years, the amount that is spent on NASA will not be dramatically different whether we go to Mars or not. Let's spend that funding well and do something bold and inspiring for the country and the world. Just imagine the technological breakthroughs that will be achieved, the inventions created, and the challenges overcome in building a mission to Mars. History has shown that the advancements from human space exploration are no myths.

***
Online ministry and Facebook Page The Christian Left has all but formally endorsed the presidential candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

A statement released by the page Tuesday reads: "Senator Bernie Sanders is by far the most progressive candidate... we can't have business as usual any longer in this country. Too many people are suffering... We don't want to hear 'He can't win.' That's the same lie people told about one Barack Obama."

The Christian Left ministers to nearly 225,000 Christian progressives and their allies. They support free universal healthcare as a "God-given right," full LGBT equality and legal protection, abortion rights and have frequently spoken out against income and wealth inequality, all important issues for the Sanders campaign.

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Because their diverse membership includes many different viewpoints, the group's admins stopped just short of calling their statement a formal endorsement, however they did address what some members see as an anti-Clinton bias.

"We're going to raise questions about Hillary every single step of the way," the statement continued. "If you want to support Hillary you are welcome to do so, but be prepared to defend your choice every step of the way. We're not going to give her a free pass."

The group alluded to what they see as comparisons between Sanders and Jesus, closing the statement with: "It's a tough job supporting people who rise up against all odds, speaking truth in a dogged quest to do the most good for the most people while naysayers scoff...but consider who we follow here."

It is not the first comparison between the founder of Christianity and Bernie Sanders; Dr. Cornel West, a noted Christian philosopher and activist, has been stumping for Sanders, often quoting scripture and making appeals to spirituality in his speeches.

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And there's also this.

In September, Sanders spoke at Liberty University, calling for "common ground" between his own views and those of the conservative Christian studentry. He quoted from the Gospel of Matthew and made repeated pleas for the type of social justice typified by the Old Testament prophets, such as Amos. It was a remarkable case for the progressive side of Christianity and surely laid some of the groundwork for The Christian Left's affinity for the Vermont senator.

Not all of The Christian Left's Facebook followers are happy with the apparent endorsement, with many complaining in the comments about "divisiveness." The page is holding strong, insisting that their admin team is unanimously in agreement.

For their part, The Christian Left promised to support Clinton should she win the Democratic nomination.
Tattooed woman pulling a funny face

What do you think it means when people say they love love? When I hear people say those words, I get the impression they're enamored with the blissful elements of relationships. If your fascination with love is based around the idea of perfectly timed kisses, rain that doesn't f*ck up your eyeliner, marrying your ex after crashing his wedding, or literally bumping into your soulmate, cancel your Netflix subscription and start living. There's an unrealistic hunger for the love we see in movies. I hate those ideals. And above all things, I believe that most rom-coms set feminism back. How many girls actually give up their dream careers in a new city for a guy who didn't realize he loved her 'til she made it to the airport?

I could be wrong. I haven't done any surveys or studies on the topic. I don't know what percentage of people are walking around with their heads in the clouds like Gigi from He's Just Not That Into You, but I know enough people who feel that way for me to have formed the opinions I have, including my younger self. I saw myself in Tai from Clueless; the shy, tomboyish girl who magically became popular after her friends combed her hair and dressed her up. So at 10 years old, I thought I could live happily ever after with my older brother's best friend when I stuffed my shirt and stole my mother's lipstick. In case you were wondering, lopsided toilet paper boobs and makeup like The Joker don't do the trick.

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How I choose to love

I don't love often and I don't mindlessly fall into it (anymore). I've trained myself to view love logically, it keeps me safe and I waste less time. I can usually identify deal-breakers before the first date ends without emotions clouding my judgement. Have you ever been in a relationship where an issue continuously presented itself until you broke up? Do you remember ignoring that problem in the beginning because you thought you could change him? Some men have called me cold, unavailable, and unforgiving and I'm alright with that. I'm not here to force my beliefs onto anyone and I won't feel obligated to someone I barely know.

Just yesterday during pillow talk, a man I've been seeing on and off for about nine months asked if I had ever been in a real relationship. I laughed and told him I had been through it all. I said that I've experienced everything from the butterflies to the broken hearts, loving someone who didn't love me back, and completely losing my identity for a boy. He was shocked and that amused me; so I told him something else I knew he wouldn't believe: I love love despite lacking the desire to be in it. After that, I kissed him to remind him he didn't have any business trying to get into my head. He understood.

What does it mean to love, love?



I'm not sure there's a one size fits all answer that question, nor do I think the question can possibly be answered incorrectly. Until about two years ago, I was a hopeless romantic. Experience taught me I'd live longer and hurt less if I gave my emotions a brain, so I have.

I am an impatient, self-serving cynic with a good heart. One that has been broken and stitched up, it has a few pieces missing, and plenty of ugly bruises, but it's a good heart nonetheless. When I love, it is dangerously unconditional and intense because I want to. My mind is always clear.

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The emptiness, pain, and confusion that accompany broken hearts are the strongest, most distracting feelings I've ever had. The beauty in the pain is that when you're hit hard enough, it helps you grow. The wisdom I've gained from my heartaches aren't fear inducing. I'm not afraid to love again, I'm cautious. Allowing my heart to be abused and having sections stolen taught me that my heart's precious and should only be shared with a very small number of worthy men. This is why I love, love. It has taught me to protect my fragile pieces and put myself first.
Hillary Clinton is banking on the hope that you are stupid. Bernie Sanders knows you aren't.

So ask yourself:

Who would speak for you?



Have you ever had to juggle expenses to pay down your medical bills? Did you have to walk away from your family home during the foreclosure crisis?

Who would speak for you?



Do you wonder if you'll have enough money for groceries until the next payday, even though you work full time? Do you worry that your teenage son or daughter will be a victim of police brutality or racial profiling? Are you a long time environmental activist hoping to see your country finally make a major investment in clean energy and break from outdated technologies that destroy our waterways and mountaintops?

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Who would speak for you?



Are you chronically ill or self-employed and unable to manage the cost of healthcare premiums, prescription drugs, co-pays and annual deductibles that increasingly eat away at your income? Has the cost of healthcare ever kept you from seeing a doctor or specialist? Mandatory health insurance coverage is not the same as equal healthcare benefits for all.

Who would speak for you?



Are you a young college grad unable to find a decent paying job that values your education and intelligence? Are you struggling to pay down your massive student debt balance? Are you a two income family working harder and longer only to realize less and less financial stability as each year passes? Do you wonder how you will ever be able to afford to send your children to college?

Who would speak for you?



You've heard the claim that Clinton is a champion of women and all Americans. But how could her fighting spirit not push for a $15 minimum wage for all American workers, including the millions of hardworking American women, many of whom are not being paid what men in the same positions doing the same jobs are?

As Julie Kashen, senior policy advisor of the Make it Work campaign fighting for working women's rights, recently wrote:

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"...since two-thirds of the people who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage are women, higher minimum wages would help close the gender gap in pay."

Who would speak for you?



The cold hard reality is nowhere more plain to see than in the numbers: Sanders has a personal net worth of $330,506. Clinton's is $21.5 million. To take a page from Bill Clinton, that looks like good old fashioned "arithmetic" to me. Clinton is the candidate of the privileged class and a type of feminism that isn't concerned with poor women.

Who would speak for you?



Clinton's message has reinvented itself time and again to fit the seemingly most advantageous political path. Sanders has been saying the same goddamn thing for the past 30 plus years and has the voting record and career campaign finance record to prove it.

With the sales and royalties of her multiple published books alone, Clinton could still currently earn a handsome salary. Instead, she chose to accept enormous sums of money from the very corporations she claims she will rail against if elected. Clinton Foundation donors include those who have specifically benefited from offshore tax havens. It takes a special kind of delusion to turn a blind eye to this duality.

What's wrong with being rich, some ask? Everything, if it keeps you from understanding the anger of the very people whose lives are being destroyed by the greed of a few. The top richest possess a gilded future and the laws and rules of taxation governing this future look extremely different those than those that apply to the ordinary American, whose wealth lies not in trusts and shadow companies and capital gains or offshore, but instead in ordinary checking and savings accounts.

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Lobbyists who have pushed for the Keystone Pipeline, and accepted money from Lehman Brothers, are, as you read this, currently heading Clinton's 2016 campaign.

Her top campaign finance bundlers have worked for the fossil fuel industry.

By saying she is going after the same lobbyists who run her campaign and the moneyed elite that donate to both her campaign and her family's Clinton Foundation, it's clear Clinton's recent adoption of populist language on the eve of the Iowa caucuses amounts to nothing more than posturing for votes.

Last week as voters in Iowa listened to Sanders explain his proposals, Clinton was scheduled to fly to the East Coast to attend a finance industry fundraiser for her campaign. It has now been postponed until mid February. But for the few privileged enough to drop anywhere from $2,700 individually or raise $27,000 for the one dinner, my guess is that the subject matter of these two events will be drastically different.

She is banking on this, and hoping you won't notice at all.

Who would speak for you?



Pundits wonder why Clinton's brand of politics is no longer resonating with younger voters? Here's my guess: They're hungry for more and will no longer be satisfied with mere crumbs tossed their way. As Gen X parents screwed by the system installed in large part by Clinton's husband now raise their own children and young adults, they have instilled much of their anti-establishment skepticism upon them.

Not content to be merely placated by brand loyalty and reality television, a massive number of younger voters are looking for the alternative to a status quo that has left them and their parents future out to dry.

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It's time to end legalized tax evasion in America. If hoarding extreme wealth could be defined as a mental disorder, isn't it time that we wrest control of this country from the grip of the unhinged 1 percent?

In early 1972, a book called "A Populist Manifesto" The Making of A New Majority was published. Authored by Jack Newfield and Jeff Greenfield, this book outlined a progressive populist "political alignment" among the many political interests of the day (civil rights, the ecology movement, women's rights, low and moderate income citizens being short-changed by the mutating liberal agenda of the day moving away from the social democrat ideals of Roosevelt and Johnson). The book's preface begins with 3 facts, the first of which states:

"Wealth and power are unequally and unfairly distributed in America today."

That was 44 years ago. Enough is enough. Our time is now. Our candidate is Bernie Sanders.

Intersectionality is at the heart of the Sanders Campaign and the reason his campaign messages resonate with such a wide cross section of Americans. We see through Clinton, the candidate who fiercely opposed gay marriage, supported the Iraq War, called the TPP the "gold standard", received funds from the private prison industry, opposes the Glass-Steagall act, advocated for fracking, and profited from promoting the Keystone Pipeline.

We the people of the United States of America deserve more and we are not stupid.

Who would speak for you?


The Dalton Police Department is again urging people to be cautious about donating money to people they meet online.

The department has received several reports of a scammer on Facebook claiming to be a chaplain from the United States Army. This individual appears to target older people online and befriend them before asking for monetary donations or donations of care package type items for soldiers. This individual is apparently using a picture of an actual Army chaplain as his or her profile picture online.

Officials said, "If someone youve only met online is requesting money, more often than not you are dealing with a scammer." They said the people should be wary of sending money to online charities without first verifying with whom they are dealing.
Voter Registration Application for presidential election 2016

With the focus during this presidential race on Obamacare, immigration reform, terrorism, and the economy, it's not surprising that the leading Republican and Democratic candidates have had little to say about what they would do to support strong families. Moreover, the media haven't been particularly interested in what the candidates would do once elected to build and maintain what is arguably the most important institution in American culture.

Given my role as president of National Fatherhood Initiative, you might not be surprised that I'm concerned by this lack of attention. I became further concerned as I watched the results roll in during the Iowa caucus. That's because Ted Cruz' win on the Republican side was helped greatly by Iowa Republicans' desire to vote for a candidate who shares their values. There's no doubt that Iowans -- Republicans and Democrats -- have long-shared the value of promoting strong families. The issue -- which was certainly more prominent in the last election cycle -- has been lost on pretty much everyone except, of course, the people who matter most -- voters.

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To be fair, I'm convinced that each of the leading candidates believes in the importance of supporting families. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. And I have no doubt they'd go about supporting families a bit differently. So I decided to conduct a review of the five leading candidates' stands on promoting strong families and, most importantly, how they would help build and maintain strong families if elected. I not only wanted to know for myself where they stand. I wanted to help you and others who care about this issue to be better informed when deciding who will get your vote.

To conduct my review, I went straight to today's political version of the horse's mouth -- the candidates' "for president" websites. While acknowledging that some positions each of the candidates has articulated might indirectly strengthen families -- such as policies to get more Americans working -- I looked for policy positions that directly address strengthening families.

The Republicans

Ted Cruz seeks to "restore a culture of life, marriage, and family." Unfortunately, Mr. Cruz offers nothing substantive on how he would restore that culture. His website simply touts his record on family planning (primarily his efforts to defund Planned Parenthood), anti-abortion legislation, and strengthening marriage.

Donald Trump says absolutely nothing about strengthening families. Period.

Marco Rubio offers the most substantive, detailed position on strengthening families among the leading Republicans. Mr. Rubio would seek to reform the tax code to treat parents fairly with, for example, a new $2,500 per child tax credit. He would seek to increase the availability of 4 to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for new parents upon the birth of a child, to care for ailing parents, for seriously ill employees, and for military families. He would pay for this leave through tax incentives for businesses that offer such leave rather than through legislative mandate. And he would promote marriage by allowing states to use federal anti-poverty funding for programs that use marriage as a means to lift families out of poverty.

The Democrats

Hilary Clinton's efforts to strengthen families would rest on guaranteeing paid family and medical leave. Specifically, Ms. Clinton would like to see up to 12 weeks of paid family leave under most of the same conditions as Mr. Rubio -- leave for new parents, for those caring for elderly parents, and for seriously ill employees. She would pay for the cost with increased taxes on the wealthy to avoid burdening businesses with the cost.

Bernie Sanders' position also rests on guaranteeing up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for the same reasons as Ms. Clinton. In contrast to Ms. Clinton and Mr. Rubio, he would pay for it through an insurance-style program that would be funded by a deduction from workers' paychecks. Given that he likens it to Social Security, I assume workers would not be able to opt out of this deduction.
by Lilit Marcus, Conde Nast Traveler



Photo: Courtesy of CNP Montrose

One blogger's money-saving flight from Britain to Germany and back has made us rethink our travel plans.

Great Britain's national railway service may be efficient, but that doesn't make it affordable: Just this month The Telegraph reported that fares were rising three times as quickly as the average salary in the U.K. Rather than just grumbling about costs, one British blogger crunched numbers and realized that he could take a mini-vacation to Berlin for less than it would cost to take a four-hour train trip between two towns in the same country.

Jordon Cox, who blogs for the website Money Saving Expert, needed to take a train between Sheffield (in northern England) and Essex (in southern England, just northwest of London), which are about 174 miles apart, but was shocked that it would cost him 50 ($71) one way for a ticket. Out of curiosity, he began looking at fares on low-cost airline Ryanair, and realized it would be cheaper to fly from England to Germany and back than it would be to take the train in-country. So he did. "It turned out that flying out from East Midlands Airport to Berlin, spending seven hours exploring the city and then flying to Stansted [Airport] and getting the bus home was cheaper than a single train journey in England," he wrote.

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Here's how Cox broke down the cost of his England-to-England-via-Germany trip: 4 train from Sheffield to Derby, 4.20 bus from Derby to East Midlands Airport, 11.83 Ryanair flight to Berlin, 5 Berlin return train from airport to city center, 1.50 currywurst for lunch, 9.54 Ryanair flight to London Stansted, 8 bus from Stansted home to Hutton. The total came out to 44.07 ($62), still cheaper than the one-way train ticket. Of course, flying instead of taking the train does have its cons--you have to respect baggage restrictions on sizes, weights, and liquids (so much for stocking up on wine!), and it won't work if you're on a strict timetable. But since Cox had a flexible timeline for his return trip home, he was able to make the flight deals work for him.

And it's not a fluke. Cox looked at other discount fares and realized that there were plenty of opportunities. For example, a one-way National Rail train ticket from London to Edinburgh starts at 66.50 ($95), while an easyJet flight from London to Venice begins at 29.49 ($42), with a flight from Venice to Edinburgh from 36.99 ($53), coming to a total of 66.48--almost exactly the train fare. And, of course, a British commuter train won't involve a pit stop at St. Mark's Square. In fact, Cox might be part of a bigger trend: In 2015, a study showed that it would be cheaper for Brits to live in Spain and telecommute than cope with London's high-priced rental market.

See The Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities in the World on CNTraveler.com
CLAREMONT, NH - FEBRUARY 02: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at the Claremont Opera House on February 2, 2016 in Claremont, New Hampshire. The New Hampshire primary is February 9. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

The 2016 Democratic primary season has officially started off with a bang following the Iowa Caucus Monday evening. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sec. Hillary Clinton are in a statistical tie, 49.6 percent to 49.8 percent, respectively, and will essentially split the number of Iowa delegates who will attend the party's national convention this summer. The previously ignored Sanders campaign has defied pundit's expectations and is calling Clinton's assumed electability into serious question. Accordingly, the political establishment's propaganda machines, on the left and the right, are running full tilt ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary of New Hampshire. I've noticed certain talking points being bantered around the conservative echo chamber now squarely aimed at the policy proposals of the insurgent progressive Democratic hopeful, Bernie Sanders.

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These talking points include: (1) Raising the minimum wage will kill jobs and tank the economy, (2) Tuition-free public colleges and universities will cost hundreds of billions of dollars and will require a huge tax hike on the middle class, (3) Two of the greatest economic disasters of our country's history, the Great Depression and the Great Recession, occurred under the administrations of "Socialist" presidents, FDR and Barack Obama, (4) Democratic Socialism may work in smaller Scandinavian countries, but it will never succeed in the larger U.S., and (5) The Millennial generation is comprised of naive, entitled youth who just want "free stuff" and will never show up to vote.



Allow me to disabuse these talking points one at a time:



1. Raising the minimum wage, according to 600 of the nation's most reputable economists, will create more jobs not fewer. Historical minimum wage increases have proven to have either a net-positive or neutral impact on economic activity. When workers have more disposable income they spend more on goods and services thus increasing business profits and enabling expansion and job creation. This should sound familiar if you think about conservative, trickle-down logic on tax policy. They think we should lower taxes to give people more disposable income. Unfortunately, this logic is flawed ... raising people's wages, especially those on the lower end of the economic spectrum, is more effective at stimulating the economy than lowering taxes on those individuals, a fact which conservatives conveniently ignore.

2. Tuition-free public colleges and universities, under Senator Sanders' plan, would not cost "hundreds of billions of dollars," nor would it necessitate a tax increase on the middle class. It would cost $70 billion per year and would be funded by a 0.5 percent tax on Wall Street speculation. This is a win-win because not only would it provide affordable and accessible higher education, but it would curtail some of the more risky high-frequency trading which destabilizes markets and only benefits Wall Street insiders and hedge fund managers. Look at the fractional tax on speculation as an investment Wall Street is making in our younger generations. Enabling a well-educated and un-indebted populous is beneficial to the U.S. economy at large and, therefore, should be in Wall Street's self interest. It would also make our workforce more competitive in the global marketplace and be one of the first decent, patriotic things Wall Street has done for this country.

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3. The massive market implosions of the Great Depression and the Great Recession were both caused by unregulated capitalism and shady banking practices in place before any so-called "socialist" policies of either FDR or Barack Obama. FDR was elected three years after the 1929 crash, a crisis which was exacerbated by the policies of capitalist crony, Pres. Herbert Hoover. FDR's "socialism" created the American middle class, which is considered one of the greatest economic engines in the history of the modern world. Have you ever wondered why both major parties always give lip service to the "middle class"? That's why. FDR's policies in the post-war era created arguably the largest period of economic prosperity our country has ever seen. He is considered to be one of the greatest US Presidents of all time, right up there with Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and JFK.

4. Democratic Socialism does, in fact, work in larger nations. Countries with large populations across western Europe come to mind, but if you are looking for something closer to home, just look at the middle class of this country, created by FDR's democratic socialist policies (see #3 above). The middle class has been in decline over the past 35+ years because of a return to unregulated capitalism resurrected by Pres. Ronald Reagan's administration. His neoliberal policies, which benefit the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the everyone else, have been perpetuated by presidents from both major parties ever since, to the detriment of the once-great American middle class.
While Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa continues his gallant hunger strike in Punjab, India for the release of Sikh political prisoners, one Sikh political prisoner outside of India continues to face persecution at the hands of the Indian Government.

Paramjeet Singh Saini, husband, father of four, and UK resident, was arrested in December of last year while on holiday in Portugal. Presently, Saini continues to be incarcerated in Portugal under the suspicion of being involved in the political assassination of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (an affiliate of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) President Rulda Singh in India, 2009 (Sikh24, 2016). His arrest came as a result of a red notice alert put out through Interpol and the Indian authorities are demanding his extradition to India.

Several issues arise as one examines this case and the Indian Government's intentions. First it should be noted that over the years Paramjeet's immediate family have fallen victim to brutal harassment by the Indian State. His parents were physically tortured by the Punjab Police, and his elder brother was tortured while in custody and murdered in a case which remains unsolved (Sikh Press Association, 2015). Subsequently, because of this persecution by the Indian State, Paramjeet Singh and his family were granted asylum in the UK in 2000.

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As a refugee given asylum, Paramjeet and his family are allowed not only indefinite stay in the UK but also to travel freely within Europe. Additionally, because of his refugee status and asylum, any red notices placed on Paramjeet through Interpol should have been removed (Portugal Press, 2016). These burning questions remain: Why was there a red notice on Paramjeet Singh if he was granted asylum in the UK? Why was Paramjeet Singh arrested if he is allowed to travel freely with his family in Europe?

Furthermore, in 2009-2010, investigations were carried out by both the Indian and British authorities in relation to the political assassination; both investigations cleared Paramjeet of any wrongdoing (Algarve Daily News, 2015).

Despite these obvious human rights violations, Paramjeet has been kept incarcerated by the Portuguese authorities and his fate lies in their hands. The Indian authorities overseeing this case have been given ample time to present their case for his extradition and the Portuguese authorities will be giving their decision on February 15, 2016. If extradited, Paramjeet not only faces possible torture and inhumane treatment but up to 25 years imprisonment.

Paramjeet's wife, Pinky Kaur, expresses, "It was really distressing to see Paramjeet taken away without knowing what was happening to him. We know that if he gets taken to India we will never see him again" (Express and Star, 2015).

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Several British politicians and Sikh organizations have shown their support for Paramjeet Singh, including British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn:

"This situation has caused a lot of concern to me and many others across the British parliament. It has also become a major issue within the very large Sikh community who live in the UK. It is difficult to attain indefinite leave to remain in the UK and it would not have been granted to Mr. Saini unless there were genuine and serious concerns about how Mr. Saini may be treated by the authorities, if he were to return to India. Significantly, the case raises serious concerns about the rights of those who have been granted asylum and the extent to which they are able to travel within the European Union" (Portugal Press, 2016).

Sikh Federation UK (SFUK), a prominent Sikh organization based in the UK, stated:

"What will become clear in the coming days and weeks is, will Interpol, the Portuguese and British establishment respect human rights, and stand up to the corrupt Indian authorities that clearly do not respect the human rights of minorities?" (Portugal Press, 2016).



(Paramjeet Singh Saini and his four children)



(Paramjeet Singh Saini's wife, Pinky, and their daughter

Algarve Daily News. (2015, December 29). Growing political pressure on Portugal to drop extradition proceedings against Sikh from the UK. Retrieved from http://algarvedailynews.com/news/7573-growing-political-pressure-on-portugal-to-drop-extradition-proceedings-against-sikh-from-the-uk

Express and Star. (2015, December 26). Terror case suspect fighting extradition to India to face murder and bombing charges. Retrieved from http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/12/26/terror-case-suspect-fighting-extradition-to-india-to-face-murder-and-bombing-charges/

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Portugal Press. (2016, January 15). Portugal "may be acting illegally" by holding Indian arrested in Albufeira. Portugal Resident. Retrieved from http://portugalresident.com/portugal-%E2%80%9Cmay-be-acting-illegally%E2%80%9D-by-holding-indian-arrested-in-albufeira#sthash.LOCNxYWe.dpuf

Portugal Press. (2016, January 19). British Labour leader cuts through red tape to save Indian facing extradition from Portugal. Portugal Resident. Retrieved http://portugalresident.com/british-labour-leader-cuts-through-red-tape-to-save-indian-facing-extradition-from-portugal#sthash.NROk74ia.dpuf

Sikh Press Association. (2015, December 22). Sikh community concerned for welfare of asylum refugee arrested whilst on holiday. Retrieved from http://sikhpa.com/news-release-sandwell-resident-arrested-by-interpol-in-portugal/

Sikh24. (2016, January 27). Portugal to Decide on Bhai Pamma's Case on February 15. Sikh 24.com. Retrieved from https://www.sikh24.com/2016/01/27/portugal-to-decide-on-bhai-pammas-case-on-february-15/#.VrEuo6MVGMM

Update:

On February 12, 2016 the Portuguese authorities rendered their decision and ruled against India's attempt to extradite Paramjeet Singh Saini. Mr. Saini was released after serving eight weeks in Beja Jail in Portugal and allowed to return to his home in the UK.

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Portugal's Justice Ministry Francisca Van Dunem stated "a large part of the facts on which extradition is requested occurred in India at a time when refugee status had already been attributed by the United Kingdom" (Portugal Press, 2016). The statement also expressed the need to adhere to legal standards and prevent Paramjeet Singh from being sent back to India where he could face inhumane treatment and persecution.

Mr. Saini said, "I would like to say thank you to all of the people who stood up for me, all of the MPs, politicians and all of the communities. Please continue to stand against injustice wherever it happens in the world. I will continue to remain an activist and a Sikh nationalist." He also added, "If India wishes to continue to accuse me of these crimes I am not absconding. I remain here in the UK" (Sikh Press Association, 2016).

Portugal Press. (2016, February 12). Justice minister rejects India's extradition bid for India Sikh arrested in Albufeira. Portugal Resident. Retrieved from http://portugalresident.com/justice-minister-rejects-india%E2%80%99s-extradition-bid-for-india-sikh-arrested-in-albufeira#sthash.16hhFehG.dpuf
In an age that has grown increasingly loud, Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding never abandoned the magic of soft.

Elliott, above left, died of throat cancer Tuesday at his home in Maine, age 92. He outlived Goulding by 26 years, but he never outlived or wanted to outlive their partnership, which produced some of the most beautifully understated verbal satire of the 20th century.

"They were unique," said their long-time producer Larry Josephson soon after learning of Elliott's death. "There was no one like them and I don't think there ever will be.

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"I've gotten calls over the years from people wanting to license their scripts, and I turn them all down. No one else can do Bob and Ray."

For one thing, said Josephson, Bob and Ray the characters were pretty much Elliott and Goulding the individuals.

"They played who they were," said Josephson. "Ray was loud and blustery. Bob was a classic New Englander, a man of few words."

Elliott parlayed that into characters like Wally Ballou, a dogged and clueless newsman who often showed up at press conferences on the wrong day and always forgot to turn on his microphone until after he had started to speak.

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Josephson said one of his favorite Ballou bits had Wally interviewing a cranberry grower in Times Square. While the grower said things like "You can eat them, but they're kind of sour," Ballou studiously ignored what was going on behind him, which included gunshots, sirens and cries for help.

"Our idea was to satirize media," Elliott said in a 1992 interview. "We heard pomposity everywhere, and we wanted to deflate it."

That extended from Wally Ballou to Western satire with Audrey Meadows (above), soap operas, commercials and whatever else wasn't recognizing its inner absurdity.

Josephson recalled a Queen for a Day satire in which the woman contestant needed an iron lung for her husband, and instead was sent away with a set of wire wheels and a tour of Disneyland.

Elliott's and Goulding's characters never broke their droll, wry delivery to suggest they sensed anything wrong, though Elliott admitted he and Goulding appreciated a good comic line.

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"When we were in a commercial break or off-mic, we'd try to crack each other up," he said. "Thankfully, the audience didn't usually know."

"They were humor for smart people," said Josephson. "There was a lot of wordplay, a lot of jokes involving language.

"They didn't do slapstick, they were never blue. It was humor that made you think. It challenged you. And if they had a good bit, it could go on for a while."

"We were very good at keeping a topic alive after it should have been finished," Elliott said. "We'd take a 30-second issue and spin it out to six or seven minutes, and it got funnier as we kept building. We made mountains out of molehills."

They could also create absurd vignettes in real-life interviews.

During a joint interview in 1986, Goulding got up, produced a flyswatter, announced he was going to track down a heretofore unheard fly, and wove his way out of the room, holding the swatter in a ready position.

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He never reappeared. Elliott continued to talk for another 10 minutes, never referencing Goulding's departure.

That obliviousness to the absurd was a cornerstone of Bob and Ray humor. The head of the Parsley Society of America lamented the decline in consumption. A bridge builder talked about going bankrupt while listeners heard cars splashing into the water behind him. The Bob and Ray Overstock Warehouse sold cans of corned beef stamped "San Juan Hill 1898."

Ironically, they also did a famous series of real-life ad spots, for Piels Beer.

"Bad beer, great ads," said Josephson.

Bob and Ray made only occasional television appearances, mostly as guests with admirers like Johnny Carson. One of their best-remembered TV moments came on Saturday Night Live in 1979, when they sat in chairs with bewildered expressions as Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner mouthed the lyrics to Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy."

Elliott acknowledged their comedy was more verbal than visual, noting it evolved out of their radio background.

Bob and Ray met at Boston radio station WHDH in 1946. Elliott was a disc jockey, Goulding a newscaster. During rainouts or delays in Red Sox games they began to improvise comic bits, and eventually they were given their own show.

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"I don't know exactly how our chemistry worked," Elliott said. "We had the same sense of humor. We found the same things funny."

They moved to New York in 1951 and spent years on WOR, where they did three hours a day, five days a week.

"At first they ad-libbed everything," Josephson said. "But by the time they were on WOR, 15 hours a week, there was no way two people could produce that much material. So they hired Tom Koch."

Koch, whose seamlessly compatible comic voice almost turned the act in Bob and Ray and Tom, died last April.

Bob and Ray finished their main run with several years of Josephson-produced shows on National Public Radio in the 1980s -- though an extensive set of Josephson-produced CD packages continues to keep them contemporary.

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"You'd be surprised," he said, "how many younger people hear them and love them."

After Goulding's death in 1990, said Josephson, "Bob was depressed for quite a while." But he kept working, including a guest stint with his son, the comedian Chris Elliott, in the Fox sitcom Get a Life. He was also a semi-regular guest on Garrison Keillor's The American Radio Company of the Air.
The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are on the verge of an historic peace agreement after 50 years of civil war. Sustainable peace requires a plan for disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating (DDR) ex-combatants. The UN has vast experience with DDR, which can help consolidate Colombia's peace.

Disarming is always difficult. DDR requires a clear understanding of terms and well-defined goals.

DDR is a process that seeks to remove weapons from the hands of combatants, take combatants out of military structures, and help them integrate socially and economically into the society.

Disarmament is the collection and destruction of weapons in the possession of combatants, as well as civilians. It also includes the development of a responsible arms management program.

is the collection and destruction of weapons in the possession of combatants, as well as civilians. It also includes the development of a responsible arms management program. Demobilization involves the dismantling of the command, control, and remobilization capacity. Ex-combatants are typically grouped in camps to prepare for life outside the armed group.

involves the dismantling of the command, control, and remobilization capacity. Ex-combatants are typically grouped in camps to prepare for life outside the armed group. Reintegration works best when the ex-combatant has a job, and the community benefits from recovery and development. Community centered reintegration has proven effective in several post-conflict contexts.

Peace requires incentives. Ex-combatants are wary of promises after years of fighting. Going forward, combatants will weigh the benefits of entering a DDR program to remaining in an armed group.

The "ripeness" theory of conflict resolution is based on the belief that a comprehensive peace agreement can be achieved when combatants grow weary of war. Political will is the prerequisite for peace and DDR.

Of course, each situation is unique. Designing a conflict-specific DDR program relies on good baseline data, political analysis, and cultural understanding. To increase chances for success, directly-affected communities should also be involved in design and implementation of the DDR program.

Security is the universal requirement for any peace agreement. Parties to the conflict need security in order to prevent backsliding and deadly violence. DDR cannot proceed effectively without a cease-fire agreement.

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In addition, DDR must be part of a broader transitional justice plan. Incentives could include pardons or targeted amnesties. Truth commissions versus criminal justice processes can also be considered.

Security sector reform is also part of a transitional justice plan. In Colombia, para-military groups emerged out of drug-trafficking and the reaction of rural landowners to attacks and kidnappings by guerilla groups. The government of Colombia signed an accord with paramilitaries in 2003, allowing them to disarm and demobilize as units. Despite halting progress, paramilitary groups still exist and could undermine current negotiations.

Economic factors are also critical to peace-building. Ex-combatants require livelihoods, sustainable employment and income. Reintegration can incorporate educational opportunities to foster job skills. Cash payments through a guns buy-back program could help kick-start the economy.

Colombia's conflict has been going on for more than half a century. Distrust runs deep. As a procedural breakthrough, both sides have invited the UN to participate in DDR.

The UN must be pro-active. As a first step in confidence building, the UN could establish a trust fund to support both the re-integration of ex-combatants, as well as the needs of recipient communities so they can better meet the needs of returning combatants.

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Transparency is important. Stakeholders must be engaged. The UN should invite DDR participants to discuss what DDR means to them, and how DDR would be implemented.

The UN must show results. It can quickly establish cantonment areas where UN personnel would take custody of weapons and ultimately dispose of them. Additionally, the UN would prepare a list of units and individuals to be demobilized. To avoid the appearance of defeat, the UN could also organize an event where individuals are acknowledged -- before demobilizing.

Colombia is a potential success story. A peace accord would not only end 50 years of civil war. It would also showcase ways that UN agencies can advance the cause of peace through humanitarian and development assistance.
This Monday evening, I stood snapping photographs of what amounted to the most important game of musical chairs I'll ever witness.

As impassioned Iowans at the Waukee Community Centre in Dallas County appealed to each other on behalf of their candidates, I was struck by a feeling of great admiration and gratitude. Being a foreigner in an adoptive land, this was my first close-up view of American democracy in action: a civil, non-violent difference of opinion with a common goal shared by all.

But of the many moments to be had in the Democratic Caucus, one moment stood out for me. As someone from the larger Clinton camp was extolling his candidates virtues, a young man from the Bernie ranks piped up that Hillary was a criminal. But just as he said this, a dear friend who had driven me to the caucus center reprimanded him in a soft and patient voice. "Bernie would never want you to say that," she said, and he instantly quietened down, muttering "Oh, you're right!" under his breath.

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The young man looked sheepish the rest of the night and even apologized to my friend (who, by the way, was caucusing for O'Malley) after all the delegates had been counted. Then, neighbors and friends alike all hugged each other and went home.

This exchange, so small and simple in its decency, only hit me properly once I had returned home... and opened my laptop. For the discourse being had on my screen, between two sides of the same political party, was a truly stark juxtaposition. With Hillary winning by the slimmest of margins, accusations of cheating and criminal conduct were hurled across cyberspace with the heat of a thousand suns. By the end of the first day, I would not have been surprised to read a blog accusing Secretary Clinton of framing Roger Rabbit to boot.

By his own terms, Bernie Sanders' campaign can be taken as a social experiment, a grand national study to prove that a candidate can run without the aid of super-PAC money, negative attack ads, and tabloid-driven debates. In the eyes of magnanimous Bernie and his triumphant supporters that experiment has been a resounding success, proof positive that yes, it CAN be done.

But to end the findings there is to ignore the whole picture, for unfortunately this experiment has more results to yield than that, and a more troubling conclusion to draw.

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The more disturbing realization is that, in the absence of name-calling, smear campaigns, misogyny and conspiracy theorizing by Bernie, his supporters have compensated by doing it all themselves.

Now, let me preface that I am of course not speaking for every Bernie Sanders supporter in this blog, but neither is this some vague generalization. I have a large network of liberal friends in this country, and many of them are in the Hillary camp. The majority of them are women, and every one of them has multiple stories of being on the receiving end of acrimonious Bernie supporters, and I don't mean over this primary period, I mean EVERY day of this primary period. Throw a stone on Facebook and you will find someone who has been harassed or had to block someone else for this reason, and in the wake of the Iowa caucus I have had numerous interactions myself.

The ultimate irony is that, after lionizing their man as the integrity candidate and vaunting their movement for being the "clean" campaign, Team Bernie has muddied their hands on his behalf, pumping so much vitriol through the veins of social media as to render it a zero sum.

The Sanders campaign has no need for attack ads, their supporters write infinitely more toxic slurs and accusations in countless blogs, tweets, Facebook posts and memes. Bernie doesn't have to talk about Clinton's "damn emails", his fans have already upgraded to analysing every caucus coin toss for the merest hint of conspiracy. Neither does he have to resort to the indignity of calling his opponent names, as his loyal mob are already calling her, AND her supporters, every name in the book, and only show signs of getting worse. Even the beloved chorus of "Feel the Bern" has been warped and twisted from its original context, abrogated to the more violent and misogynistic chant of "Bern the witch!", less a policy-based mic-drop and more of a social media petrol-bomb.

And the saddest part: Bernie most certainly DOES NOT approve this message.

Worryingly, the equation seems to be that the nicer Bernie Sanders is, the more his supporters feel entitled to be mean in his name. And while, of course, no side can claim to be perfect in this regard, in the many disparaging posts and messages I've read from Clinton supporters it is Bernie's policies and viability that tends to be targeted rather than the man himself, and they rarely target his supporters personally.

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Now, I can picture many of Sanders' fans proclaiming their right to free speech. They will argue that their commentary is valid and an individual choice not connected with the campaign, which I suppose is fine, except that.. .you can't have it both ways. You can't use your candidate's menschy-ness as evidence of your side's higher moral authority, and then turn around and act like trolls to the other Democrat in the race. It's just so... Republican.

And this is a disquieting notion, because it belies something nasty and insidious at the heart of American politics. The central argument of Sanders' virtuous revolution is that it was the politicians and their convoluted corporate infrastructures that infected the people with spin, hearsay and paranoia, and perhaps he was right. But if this race is any indication, once that manipulation is taken away the masses are just as capable of manipulating themselves, inventing their own bogeyman (or woman) and amassing an arsenal of slings and arrows with which to assault them.

The era of Super-PACs may be drawing to a close, with the Koch brothers scratching their heads at their lack of influence and Jeb finding zero return on his investment. But we may be entering an even more unsettling phase of politics, the era of the "grass roots super-PAC", with all the good AND bad that brings.

If this nation is to move forward in the way that Senator Sanders hopes, into a realm of dignity and high-mindedness, it is going to be a painful birth. Whether it is a destructive habit honed from a lifetime of political indoctrination, the drinking of GOP Kool-Aid, or something darker that lurks on the fringes of idealistic fervour, we ALL need to hold ourselves accountable. What is the point of changing the way our country's leaders comport themselves if we the people remain the same?

So as we move inexorably to the New Hampshire primary and every primary after that, whether we Feel the Bern or Stand With Her, it would behoove us all to consider our moral absolutes.

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Apparently 27.6 percent of Iowa Republican caucus-goers -- 51,666 people -- think Senator Ted Cruz of Texas should be President of the United States. That made him the biggest winner coming out of Iowa, heading into the crucial New Hampshire primary.

Heaven help us if Ted Cruz becomes President. I'm not referring to his policy views, although I find those extreme and disturbing. I'm not even referring, really, to his aggressive embrace of a no-compromise approach to politics, which has alienated him from nearly every United States Senator, Republican and Democrat.

I'm focused on something else. There is so much evidence, mounting every day, that Ted Cruz, the person, is insufferable. Absolutely unbearable to be around. Four years of it could cause many Americans, including valuable contributors to our nation, to flee for the border. And for all we know, Cruz will use the wall he's pledged to build to keep people in.

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Here's some of what we know so far:

1. The endless Iowa victory speech

Claiming victory on the night of the Iowa caucuses, after runner-up Donald Trump gave a short and remarkably gracious speech, Cruz took the stage and launched into a pious monologue that seemed to go on forever. It lasted so long that across town Hillary Clinton, as much as she must have wanted to be polite to Cruz, finally took to the microphone herself to claim victory. CNN and MSNBC, perhaps sweating that Cruz was sending their ratings down, switched to Clinton. When Clinton finished speaking, those networks went to commercial, and if you switched to Fox News at that point, Cruz was still talking, and talking.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy cometh in the morning," Cruz intoned, leading one Daily Show staffer to tweet, "Morning is coming... so wrap it up @tedcruz. I have to work tomorrow." Former George W. Bush White House spokeswoman Dana Perino remarked:

We already knew Cruz knew how to talk, since most people first heard of him when he conducted a near-record 21-hour filibuster on the Senate floor attacking Obamacare, with the highlights being a cutesy adaptation of Green Eggs and Ham and an impression (see below) of Darth Vader.

But the roots of Cruz's insufferableness go way back.

2. The early years

A recently-unearthed video shows that 18-year-old Ted Cruz was already super-annoying. Asked about his ambitions, the '80's-era Houston high school student first says he wants to "be in a teen tit film like that guy who played Horatio" in "Malibu Bikini Beach Shop." Then he gets serious: "Well, other than that, take over the world, world domination, you know, rule everything. Rich, powerful, that sort of stuff."

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OK, maybe all of us were embarrassing at 18. But most people turn to face themselves at some point, and catch a glimpse of how the others must see the, um, faker, as someone once said. Ted Cruz, not so much.

3. The scholar

Cruz's freshman year roommate at Princeton, Craig Mazin, now a Hollywood screenwriter, had this to say about Cruz:

Ted Cruz is a nightmare of a human being. I have plenty of problems with his politics, but truthfully his personality is so awful that 99 percent of why I hate him is just his personality. If he agreed with me on every issue, I would hate him only one percent less.

Mazin later commented to The Daily Beast, regarding Cruz's habit of walking in his bathrobe to the women's part of the Princeton dorm: "I would end up fielding the [girls'] complaints: 'Could you please keep your roommate out of our hallway?'"

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Mazin added, "I would rather have anybody else be the president of the United States. Anyone. I would rather pick somebody from the phone book."

Cruz's Senate colleague Lindsey Graham this month echoed that remark precisely: "Let's just pick somebody out of the phone book if we have to." If you could find a phone book these days, you would see it has a lot of names in it, presumably people with a wide range of skill and energy levels. People who've spent time with Ted Cruz apparently would rather roll the dice on any of them than go with Cruz.

At Harvard Law School, according to an article in GQ, Cruz generally refused to study with graduates of colleges other than Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. A former roommate told the magazine that Cruz "said he didn't want anybody from 'minor Ivies' like Penn or Brown."

Fellow law student Melissa Hart told the Boston Globe that when she gave Cruz a ride from New York back up to Cambridge,"We hadn't left Manhattan before he asked my IQ. When I told him I didn't know, he asked, 'Well, what's your SAT score? That's closely coordinated with your IQ.' "

4. The recounter

Cruz made his first big move in politics as a 29-year-old lawyer helping George W. Bush with the 2000 Florida recount fight. According to the New York Times, Cruz gained a reputation for sharing:

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If anyone was unaware of his resume, Mr. Cruz was vigilant about correcting that... Emails from Mr. Cruz arrived at all hours, co-workers said, providing updates on his recent feats. At least a few colleagues occasionally avoided meetings that included Mr. Cruz, to spare themselves the pontification, according to a top Bush adviser.

Mother Jones offered up a similar account from an unnamed "prominent aide to George W. Bush's 2000 campaign":

"Ted thought he was an expert on everything... He was a smart and talented guy, but completely taken with himself and his own ideas. He would offer up opinions on everything, even matters outside his portfolio. He was a policy guy, but he would push his ideas on campaign strategy. He would send memos on everything to everyone. He would come to meetings where he wasn't invited--and wasn't wanted." In fact, this Bush alum recalls, "the quickest way for a meeting to end would be for Ted to come in. People would want out of that meeting. People wouldn't go to a meeting if they knew he would be there."

There's a person like this in most workplaces. We may try to be nice to them, maybe help them out. But we don't make them President of the United States.

5. The pop culture impressionist

Now we get to another aspect of the terminally insufferable. Ted Cruz is a big fan of comedy, and he loves hearing his own impressions of his favorite characters.

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I don't think Buzzfeed had to twist Cruz's arm to make a video where he minces his way through impressions of characters from The Simpsons. Cruz's Ned Flanders is decent, but you might notice that the Simpsons voices that Cruz tries to do after that also sound like Ned Flanders. That's because Cruz sounds like Ned Flanders anyway.

Although Cruz has famously attacked Donald Trump's supposed "New York values" on the stump, he's a big, big fan of Saturday Night Live, which, I believe, is performed live from New York. After Trump was invited to host SNL, Cruz told CNN that he would consider appearing on the show but "I don't think I've been invited." Appearing on Bloomberg TV, Cruz suggested how much he wanted to be asked: "I grew up as a Saturday Night Live junkie, so I love watching. I'd be thrilled to do it. I would love to." He also volunteered that he's a huge fan of (New York native) Eddie Murphy, and he added, "The problem is I can actually do quite a few of those riffs, but none of them are appropriate in the world of politics."

Yes, that's the problem. Because otherwise we would all love to hear Ted Cruz riff on Buckwheat, Mr. Robinson, Ramon with herpes simplex 10, and Nengue Mboko from Cameroon. Although some of those might sound like Ned Flanders.

I think if I had to sit through Cruz's impressions every night, I might leave the dinner table, walk outside, find a patch of grass, sit down and put my head in my hands.

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6. The show tune belter

Cruz's wife said this week on the stump that when Cruz is stressed, "He'll call me and just sing me a Broadway tune." She marveled that her husband "never ceases to defuse a stressful moment with a moment of levity." But Mrs. Cruz expressed a bit of dismay at her work for the campaign getting interrupted by the bellowing Senator: "I'm thinking, 'I'm on a finance call right now. Do you really need to be doing this?'"

Cruz himself felt compelled to acknowledge the issue of his personality when each candidate was asked in an October debate to identify a shortcoming. "If you want someone to grab a beer with," he said. "I may not be that guy. But if you want someone to drive you home, I will get the job done and I will get you home."

The thing is, if we elect Ted Cruz president, it could be a very, very long drive home.
It seems that this election cycle has introduced us to several different types of ideas of making this country "great again." Everything from building a great wall to making tuition free for incoming freshmen attending a two year institution of higher learning. All of these solutions sound wonderful and the passion with which the candidates repeat these miracles-in-the-making is inspiring. However, what I am wondering is how our passion for the voting process and our candidate of choice is going to influence and/or inspire them to actually do what they say. I have been voting for 30 years. The older I get the more I want to hold my candidates' feet to the fire and tell them to do what I have told them to do when I voted for them. I have heard so much crap from the candidates that I voted for, and seen those who I have not voted for do more for their communities than the government ever thought about doing. Which leads me to Flint, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. (Yes I know it is a stretch.) However, I would appreciate that someone from Michigan or Chicago reply to this blog by answering the question why are your elected officials still in office? Governor Snyder gets an F- for is condescension and his ignorance regarding the water crisis in Flint. What is wrong with that picture? The Governor, if he possessed even half a scrotum, should have long resigned by now. I do not think that anyone that has a beating heart, which cares about humanity feels good about killing someone. However, I could be wrong. Which leads me to another piece of work . . . or piece of something, Rahm Emmanuel. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce you to a simple equation: if you did not know about a video tape that implicates a police officer of your city killing a young African American unarmed man, then you suck as a mayor. It is your job to know. As a mayor, you have a license to be nosy. Your ignorance of what is going on or not going on in your city is not an excuse for your inaction. You are supposed to know every aspect of the people who work in your cabinet, what they do, what they have not done, and how you as a mayor are going to fix it. Why are Governor Snyder and Mayor Emmanuel still there? This is why it is paramount that we call our politicians to task when something isn't right. As more and more young people are voting for the first time, the momentum to vote should mirror the momentum to see to it that your candidates do what they have promised when you voted them in office. There is literally a candidate for every extreme of both political parties. This is an important election, but every election is an important election. What one candidate cannot do, the will of the people can. Keep this mind the next time you have a glass of water.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned for this nation a future of vast potential; a future where every man and woman and child would have an opportunity to get ahead, free from the constraints of injustice and intolerance.

What we see happening across our country shows how far we still have to go to achieve Dr. King's dream.



From gun violence to the racial wealth gap, from lack of diversity to persistent poverty--there are still critical issues affecting our communities that must be addressed.

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In 2015, there were at least 76 gun deaths in my district, New Jersey's 10th Congressional District. One third of the gun deaths in New Jersey last year happened in my district.

If we don't do something to tackle this epidemic, then it's shame on us.

In my district, African Americans face an unemployment rate nearly triple that of white workers. Generations of African American workers are being left behind, without a fair shot at success.



The economic prosperity and the American Dream are on hold for many African American communities.



Instead of working to address the challenges facing our communities, Republicans continue their assault on women's health by trying to defund Planned Parenthood.

On the other hand, Democrats are working on bold, aggressive action that will have an immediate impact on the challenges facing African American communities.

My Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act would create a voluntary federal gun buyback program to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Consumers would trade in working guns for smart debit cards, which they could then spend to help stimulate the local economy. So, the bill keeps our communities safe while providing a stimulus to the economy.



Common-sense gun reform is critical to building a stronger future for all Americans.



So is investing in small businesses and creating well-paying jobs; expanding access to quality health care; and opening doors to affordable education. These are the foundations of real opportunity.

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We also need to protect small and minority owned-businesses, so that they can get on a path toward economic growth.



Last year, I led 82 House Democrats in urging data transparency to increase small business lending to minority-owned businesses. Transparency in small business lending data is the key to understanding the credit needs of women-owned and minority-owned small businesses. This is essential to removing barriers to small business creation.



In today's global economy, we also need protections to ensure economic stability for African American communities.



The unemployment rate for African Americans is almost double that of white Americans. This is highly problematic--it stands in the way of equality and opportunity. So we need to fight for policies that grow jobs.



At the same time, we have to make sure these jobs pay a livable wage. No one should have to raise a family in poverty. But too many African Americans don't make enough to pay their living expenses.

The median income of African American households is nearly $24,000 less than the median income of white households. Closing this gap is essential to increasing economic mobility for current and future generations.



One way we can do this is by raising the federal minimum wage.



Increasing the minimum wage would ensure that workers receive a fair day's pay for a hard day's work, and it would help close the staggering wage gap between the wealthiest Americans and low-income households.



We know that securing well-paying jobs requires a skilled workforce. So we need to invest in job training programs that prepare workers with the skills they need to succeed. And we need to help workers re-train and learn new skills so that they can make themselves more attractive to employers and succeed in the jobs of the 21st century.



A vibrant workforce also necessitates a vibrant education system.

I strongly support President Obama's bold initiative for free tuition to community colleges for responsible students.

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The success of our graduates is being hampered by mounting student debt. So we need to open doors to a college education for all those who want one. These students will come out of school with the skills to meet the demands of our competitive global economy.



As we mark Black History Month, we recognize that the time for a renewed focus on African American communities is now.



Congress has a responsibility to deal with the persistent inequities that exist in our communities. This includes protecting one of our most sacred and fundamental rights: access to the ballot.
City leaders on Tuesday presented plans to soften the blow small businesses receive when construction takes place near the businesses locations.

James Mckissic, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Nick Wilkinson, deputy administrator of Economic Development, explained to the City Council how the Construction Mitigation Program would help maintain existing businesses as investments are made to upgrade aging infrastructure.

The idea for the program sparked when the Wilcox Tunnel underwent construction in August 2015 and was closed to the public. Mr. Mckissic said a group of business owners whose companies operated near the tunnel suffered losses in revenue when the construction began.

The owners went before Mayor Andy Berke to express their concerns. From there, a team of city leaders assembled to find a solution for the small businesses being affected.

They came up with the Construction Mitigation Program, which aims to provide help to small businesses negatively impacted by nearby construction.

Part of the program will be to conduct outreach programs, display signage, and post paid advertising to direct customers to the businesses. It will also offer a website and hotline for more information.

Another part of the program will grant $1,000 to the affected businesses, Mr. Mckissic said.

Marissa Bell, communication coordinator for the city, said business owners would need to apply online to determine if they are eligible to take part in the program.

According to Blythe Bailey, city transportation director, a four-month or longer road closure would trigger potential eligibility.

The Wilcox Tunnel, which is expected to be finished in April, prompted the creation of the program. But, Mr. Mckissic said, it aims to serve businesses in other areas too, where construction creates barriers between the companies and the public.

For more information on the Mitigation Construction Program, call the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 423-643-6702.
The year is 1993. Carlito's Way is our favorite movie. We watched it at least 10 times. We knew the lines of our favorite scenes verbatim. Moya would play Gail, and I Carlito. She was fond of the scene where Gail confronts Carlito as to why they broke up.

Moya was a romantic -- she was fond of saying, "Prison could never come between true love." She thought Carlito was selfish -- thus only protecting himself by breaking up with Gail after he got sentenced to 30 years in prison. I admired her! She was Peruvian with dark wavy hair, long legs, and blessed with the figure of a ballerina.

Moya, was most beautiful in the summer -- her Inca roots when stimulated by the heat of the sun, allowed her a rich, earthy, and somewhat bronzed complexion. She was the Wonder Woman to my Clark Kent. Moya was a Scorpio; she only knew how to love hard!

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Moya was my first true love. It was a loved cultivated by years of trials and tribulations, but most importantly, it was a love founded on friendship.

Moya and I became friends sometime in 1987 -- we were in junior high school. She had a crush on my best friend Rodney; thankfully, Moya wasn't Rodney's type; but to my chagrin, they dated for a few weeks nonetheless. They broke up one day while we were cutting school with friends. She was devastated, but I was silently relieved.

We hung out more after the breakup. I secretly fell in love -- one day, I got up enough courage to tell her. There was a long pause on the other end. "I like you a lot as a friend" finally broke the silence. I cried for days after slowly replacing the receiver on the old black rotary phone, but it didn't change our friendship -- it only got stronger.

It would be a few years before we started dating. It wasn't a storybook romance by any means; Infidelity, racism, pregnancies, you name it. We broke each other's heart many times, but our love and friendship always prevailed.

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"Nothing can stop true love" was the motto. We had been through the fire numerous times; we believed our love and friendship was strong enough to overcome any obstacle, but we didn't count on our lives mirroring the fictional narrative we had come to love.

We were at that magical age of 18 and high on love; living a fairy tale life, in a magical city, till that ominous day -- Wednesday, April 13, 1994 -- I left home that afternoon with promises of dinner and a movie later on that night, but I never made it back.

The "Feds" arrested me in Brooklyn, right across from the Projects on Rockaway Parkway. I was charged with conspiracy to sell drugs and guns. They offered me 40 years to life as a first time offender under the Rockefeller Drug Laws; and as crazy as all this sounds, the truth be told, I was more afraid for my best friend than I was for myself.

We cried non-stop that first visit on Rikers Island. Moya didn't miss a court date. When I got depressed, she reminded me of the motto, and I always believed her!

When the Judge sentenced me to 7 years to Life in prison, she joked, "Well, at least you have 23 less years than Carlito." She wrote everyday when they sent me "Upstate." She knew me better than I knew myself.

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We planned on getting married. I excitedly completed the necessary paper work when I got to Coxsackie Correctional Facility. Moya bought wedding rings. It was US against all odds!

By 8am, I was ready in my crisp state-greens, and pacing my small cell in anticipation of her visit at 9. In over 7 months of incarceration, Moya never missed a visit. I even spoke with her the night before to confirm; so when visits ended at 3pm, and I hadn't been called, my mind ran rampant to find a plausible explanation.

The isolation of prison kept me on the brink of insanity. I was sure she got into an accident; surely something bad had happened? Maybe they didn't let her in?

A few hours later, having been tortured immensely by my fears, I finally felt some relief as Moya's "hello," interrupts the ringing; but before I could respond, the automated machine announces: "You have a collect call from a correctional facility..."

But then something unexpected happened -- the call got denied. My hands are trembling as I quickly redial, but the same thing happens -again, and again, and again, till I couldn't dial anymore.

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My heart is screaming, pounding, threatening to break free of its physical confines. I tried to calm down, remind myself of the motto -- "Nothing can come between true love!"

Years would go by, I would never see, or hear from Moya again. I would however get a letter 7 years later while in Attica. It was from my cousin Gavin. It read, "Please sit down and don't do anything crazy, but I want you to know that Moya and Will (my other best friend) got married".

It's been 22 years since I last saw Moya, I am no longer in prison, but my story is not an aberration -- America incarcerates more of its citizens (and non citizens) than any other nation -- More than 11 million people cycle in an out of prisons and jails each year. Most of the people incarcerated are men of color -- research even indicates that more men of color are incarcerated today than were enslaved in 1850.
I hope that most of you, my friends, have had the pleasure of traveling to Italy at least once, and experienced the glory of Rome --with its thousands of years of history and culture visible on seemingly every street and piazza of this ancient city. And boy, its museums... chock-full of Gods and Goddesses, and I mean Greek and Roman marble sculptures of nude deities.

Last week, two of these marble beauties, in the collection of Capitoline Museum, were temporarily imprisoned in tall white boxes. What was their crime, you ask? Nudity, of course... Italian authorities were afraid to insult the sensibilities of President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, who was scheduled to attend a news conference with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi held in Capitoline Museum's grand hall. The story was reported in the New York Times (January 28, 2016) last week.

Italian authorities were rightfully ridiculed for their lack of --should I say balls? --in dealing with essential cultural traditions representing the glory of Italian art history. The irony is, when President Rouhani visited the Vatican, no one there attempted to shield him from all the glorious nudes that fills its walls and ceilings. Today's New York Times article continues to deal with "Italy's clumsy attempt at courtesy" toward Iran's President. It's still a mystery: who ordered these sculptures to be hidden inside white coops? No one in a position of authority --neither in the government nor in the museum itself --has taken responsibility for this embarrassing decision.

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But let's be fair to our Italian friends, and remember that here in the United States, the fear of nudity among politicians on occasion leads to similarly embarrassing incidents. I recall the reports back in 2002 about covering partially-nude statues in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered to have these statues covered during formal events because he did not like being photographed in front of them.

And speaking of nudes here at home... Our City of Angels is ready to welcome a new beauty, which soon will grace the galleries of The Getty Museum. At a recent Sotheby's auction in New York, the gorgeous Danae by famous Italian painter Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), was acquired by the Getty for the impressive sum of just over $30 million. According to Greek mythology, an oracle warned Danae's father that her son would kill him one day, so Danae's father hid her in a tower to keep mortal men away. The only person who managed to penetrate this tower --and Danae herself --was Zeus, who did so by turning himself into a shower of gold coins...

I bet my bottom dollar that this gorgeous painting, with its life-size nude figure greeting her divine lover, will become a major attraction in the Getty collection. And hopefully, no visiting politicians object to being photographed in front of it.

To learn about Edward's Fine Art of Art Collecting Classes, please visit his website. You can also read The New York Times article about his classes here, or an Artillery Magazine article about Edward and his classes here.

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The right kinds of food, how much to buy, plus all the other things (coolers!) you probably didn't think about.
My sister and I are very close. We each have three kids, work hard, and manage the endless to-do lists. We recently took a short vacation to Aruba with our husbands, thinking the three days away would give us time to reconnect, recharge, and relax.



In the air I did what any self-respecting woman does on vacation, and I picked up the Aruba travel magazine in the seat pocket. My whole body settled as I flipped through the photographs of the crystal clear water, restaurants, casinos, and water sports, until something caught my eye. It was an ad for...WIFI. The Aruba Tourism Bureau is advertising the strength of the WIFI in Aruba as a selling point. One "article" boasted how vacationers could stay connected even when walking all the way down the beach--from one end to the other.

Just think--you're on vacation, and you never have to look up from your phone.



I don't know why this surprised me; after all, it's become a cliche that American workers take less vacation than our counterparts around the world. And while technology enables us to work from anywhere--offering some vague promise of liberation--it also blurs the sacred line between work and home, and we end up working all the time. (Case in point: 82 % of people report checking their email after standard working hours).

I know this, I study this for a living. I live this. And yet, when I saw the hype around WIFI on the beach, it hurt!

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Have real, old-fashioned, take-a-break-from-it-all vacations become obsolete? Something to aspire to? What's happening to us? And what are the effects? On us, and our businesses?



Another cliche is that employee engagement is at an all time low, and stress is a huge contributor, costing our economy 300 billion dollars a year. Maybe our lack of vacation is more than just a drag--maybe it's really costing us. That's what lots of smart business think, which is why they're doing something about it.

Here are three big reasons people skip the holiday, why they shouldn't, and how companies are convincing them to take one.

REASON #1 Employees don't take vacation because they believe that not taking it will impress their boss.

But they're wrong.

THE TRUTH IS: "Project Time Off" found that employees who took vacations were 6.5% more likely to get a promotion.

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REASON #2 The stress of tackling the 7-day build up of overflowing email does not outweigh the benefits of going away.

This just might be TRUE!

Which is why smart companies like Huffington Post, and Daimler, are implementing tools to address this issue. These new-fangled vacation-savers automatically respond to absent employee's emails with a message saying that the person is out and that the sender will need to re-send the email upon their return.



REASON #3 A third reason employees don't take vacation is that IN TRUTH it is often an expensive, and sorely disappointing exercise in complicated re-location rather than a true break. Working all day from the beach, managing the dashed hopes of your spouse and kids can be even more stressful than just going to the office.

Which is why....

FullContact, a Denver based technology company, pays people $7500 to a vacation. Sounds like a no-brainer. But there's a catch: no technology. And Bandwidth, another tech company determined to transform the workplace, demands that employees take all their vacation, every year, and workers are not allowed to even check in with colleagues during that time.

Another enlightened policy that companies like General Electric, LinkedIn, Netflix, Grant Thorton are using to motivate employees to take their vacations is an unlimited vacation model. In other words, we don't care how much vacation you take. Just get your stuff done! This policy is a bit controversial, and doesn't always work, often because leaders aren't modeling it themselves. In fact, in a Harvard Business Review study of 19,000 people, only 25% of managers modeled sustainable work practices.



The bottom line is that human beings need a holiday--a time to meander, enjoy one another's company, sleep in, enjoy mediocre resort food, and do nothing. And in this digital age of 24X7 connectivity, such pleasures are absolutely essential. As Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation, says, "technology makes us forget what we know about life."

So true.
We currently face what is perhaps the most serious threat to peace and security in Europe since the end of the Cold War. We are fully aware of what it means to assume the Chairmanship of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in these difficult times, and of the responsibility we will bear for Europe.

The motto we have chosen for our OSCE Chairmanship is renewing dialogue, rebuilding trust and restoring security. We will work hard for these priorities. Trust in Europe has been greatly diminished over the past few years. It will be difficult to rebuild - but there is no way around doing so! I would like us to be able to say to future generations that we did everything possible to maintain peace on our continent.

But can such a large, diverse organization as the OSCE really foster peace and security in Europe? I actually think it has quite a few advantages over other international organizations. The process of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE's predecessor in the 70's and 80's, has taught us that it is all the more important not to break off dialogue between participating States in times of deep distrust and growing uncommunicativeness between East and West. The fact that the OSCE has now become the largest regional security organization in the world shows just how contemporary this approach is.

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It is also important to realize that without the OSCE, there would be no chance of any success under the Minsk peace process. The OSCE has made a crucial contribution to initiating a political process with the potential to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, through its Monitoring Mission and the key role the organization plays in the Trilateral Contact Group. This has raised the entire organization from a kind of Rip van Winkle slumber and put it back on the international security policy stage - and just at the right time in my opinion.

The conflict in Ukraine, in spite of all the suffering and instability it has brought to the region, has also shown just how indispensable the OSCE is for security in Europe. Without the Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, we would not have made as much progress as we did on military de-escalation and withdrawing weapons, no matter what the setbacks have been. We must now waste no time in making the necessary decisions on the Mission's mandate and budget so that the monitors can continue their important work.

We can already say that the current mandate of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has proven its worth. It gave the mission all the scope it needed to fulfil its tasks. The monitors were able to respond flexibly to the developments on the ground and to meet new demands as they arose. We therefore advocate the mandate's extension.

Unfortunately, the crisis in Ukraine is not the only unresolved conflict in the OSCE territory. I do not want to adopt the kind of fatalism that labels the unresolved conflicts in Transdniestria, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Southern Caucasus as "frozen". Each year they continue to bring hardship to the people affected and stagnation to the regions involved. We want to stabilize the ceasefires, build trust and improve the day-to-day lives of the people by taking small but tangible steps, such as improving economic exchange.

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As regards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, armed clashes along the line of contact and the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan give us cause for concern. Germany is campaigning for an intensification of the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. One important step to this end would be the creation of a mechanism to investigate violations of the ceasefire.In Transdniestria, we are seeking a comprehensive settlement that recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and grants special status to Transdniestria.

In Georgia, too, the situation is not straightforward. Nevertheless, progress has recently been made as concerns practical cooperation between the parties to the conflict. We want to maintain this momentum and underpin it with confidence-building measures and humanitarian action.

Unfortunately, we are all aware of the fact that there are other pressing issues on the international agenda that will shape the work of our Chairmanship at the OSCE. The appalling attack in the heart of Istanbul and last year's acts of terrorism from Paris to Beirut have made it painfully clear that the threat of international terrorism affects all of us. It is also clear that no country can quash this threat on its own. In the coming years we thus have to strengthen the counter-terrorism capabilities of all 57 OSCE states. Switzerland and Serbia, our predecessors in the Chairmanship, have done important work in this field. We want to build on this - for example by hosting an international anti-terrorism conference in Berlin this summer.

Another issue that has kept us on our feet is the refugee crisis. By now, it has become obvious that we will not make headway with national strategies alone - as hard as it may be to reach agreement in Europe, we have to keep on looking for joint solutions. Within the OSCE, we are united by our common interest in combating the causes of the crisis and in improving border management in the OSCE area. We will build on this common ground over the course of the year. In the long term, integration will be a huge task for society. That is why it is so important to act with determination against intolerance, discrimination and xenophobia in the OSCE area right now. The German Chairmanship will focus on these issues specifically, in part because of our responsibility for our past.

Last but not least, defending human rights and fundamental freedoms is right at the top of our agenda as well. We will work to ensure that existing obligations are duly complied with by all OSCE states - including ourselves, of course.

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Good governance also remains a key criterion for sustainable economic exchange - and both are crucial for building trust. We therefore want to engage in dialogue with businesses at an economic conference in Berlin in May, and find out from them how we can strengthen economic ties in the OSCE area in a sustainable way - this would ultimately be of political and economic benefit to us.
Review of The New Deal: A Global History. By Kiran Klaus Patel. Princeton University Press. 435 pp. $35

"We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace," Franklin Roosevelt declared in 1945; "our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other Nations, far away." That lesson, President Roosevelt implied, had not been applied by the United States in the aftermath of World War II. And, Kiran Klaus Patel, a professor of history at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, argues, "the propensity to insulation" had also characterized Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, to the detriment of the American and global economies.

In The New Deal: A Global History, Patel maintains that a nation-centered interpretation of the New Deal is misleading. The Great Depression, he points out, created an "intense global moment." The response of the Roosevelt administration to the crisis was not a digression from a policy "norm" chosen by others, "but a distinct, national variation to a larger pattern, and its domestic and foreign dimensions were powerfully linked." National leaders in the United States and elsewhere watched and learned from one another. The "rather narrow arsenal of alternatives" they drew on included nationalism, government action, welfare state building, and charismatic personalities. Ironically, Patel adds, with a compelling argument that is profoundly relevant to the twenty-first century, by making short term domestic needs a priority, the United States not only harmed itself but failed a global economy which depended heavily upon it.

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Driven by the Great Depression, the failure of laissez-faire policies, and the apparently success of the Soviet Union in transforming itself from an agrarian peasant society to a full-employment industrial power, Patel indicates, nations great and small embraced the concept of a planned national economy but were unwilling to make significant changes in core tenets, especially property rights and profits. And transnational references shaped the details of their initiatives. As she convened a group of experts in 1934 to draft a comprehensive social security program, for example, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins told them to be familiar with every experiment in every country. Significantly, however, although the Social Security Act of 1935 was close to the German model of a mandatory insurance financed by payroll taxes, policymakers were loath to acknowledge the connection, evoking instead the American traditions of individual responsibility and self-reliance.

Ironically, Patel writes, even as New Dealers traveled to Europe to study policies "as diverse as street cleaning and forestry, leisure organizations and labor services," they used transnational precedents to find a "better national solution to the double crisis of democracy and capitalism. Ideas and programs revolving around international cooperation fell on deaf ears in New Deal Washington." In fact, the United States "ultimately contributed to a loosening of the links between societies, and reduced economic globalization and political cooperation."

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It was World War II, Patel suggests, that reinforced New Deal tendencies, such as an active, managerial state, responsible for welfare, regulation and security - and led to a far greater commitment to international engagement. In a sense, the eight point joint declaration issued by Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, now known as the Atlantic Charter, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund constituted attempts to project the principles of the New Deal onto the world.

In the twenty-first century, Patel concludes, the New Deal is no longer iconic in the United States. Indeed, its ramifications appear to be more resonant globally than domestically. And the New Deal seems less and less relevant, in some quarters, at least, to debates about promoting American prosperity and avoiding another Great Depression.

These days, while some politicians rely on policies designed to maintain the stability of financial institutions and currencies, open international markets, and promote free trade, others often sound like the advocates of "isolation" or "insulation" in the 1920s and '30s. The build a wall, circle the wagons, keep the immigrants out mentality clearly connects with some voters in 2016, especially those who are white and/or at the bottom of the economic pyramid at a time of unprecedented income inequality.
Families and Relationships: Pass on Your Life Lessons

By Susan "Honey" Good

We all look back on our childhood with blame and praise. I sometimes ask myself, "Who helped me become the woman I am today?" At the head of the list are my parents, extended family, teachers, peers and, believe it or not, Kankakee, Illinois. They all had a profound impact on my life. It is hard to imagine that a town would be in the top five!

I grew up in a small blue-collar town called Kankakee, Illinois. Laughingly, when people ask me where I grew up, I say, "Kankakee by the Sea." Believe me, there was no sea.

There was the dangerous current of the Kankakee River and the Kankakee State Hospital for the mentally ill. The town had two State Governors who were carted off to prison, and a little Jewish girl (me) who stood out because of her religion and her family's prosperity.

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The environment of the community and its people had a profound effect on shaping my character. For me, "Kankakee by the Sea" was a lesson in mental survival. Little did I know at the time that the town would provide me with an ability to learn values and deal with life.

Growing up in Kankakee was a lesson in true grit. I was one of only three Jewish kids in my high school class of four hundred or more students. I did not come from a blue-collar family. I realized early on that I had a choice: I could sink or swim. I decided to swim and learned to get along with kids regardless of religious beliefs, monetary status or skin color.

I learned to stand up for my beliefs.

I learned humility.

I learned that I had to try harder to be accepted.

I am grateful to you..."Kankakee by the Sea".

At eighteen I left for college and never looked back, but I took lessons from "Kankakee by the Sea" with me. They have served me well over the years. As my husband says, "One of the reasons I am attracted to my wife is because of her small town qualities; her essence." Again, thank you Kankakee!

I carry with me that small town girl value set. As the saying goes: "You can take the girl out of a small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl."

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Today I live a worldly, sophisticated, and charmed life (thank you to my husband, Shelly). I am well educated (thank you to my mom and dad) and yet, I continue to have my small town values; that quality of wearing my heart on my sleeve and gratitude for absolutely everything that happens in my life

How have I passed on my small town values to my Grandchildren?

All of my Grandchildren have traveled to "Kankakee by the Sea" and have seen the home I grew up in, the grade school, and even the high school where I spent hours learning.

I took them to the Synagogue that I studied and prayed in. As we passed by the home of their Great Grandfather, I related the story of his crossing the ocean and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time and crying with joy. Last but not least, they hear their Grandmother's stories of growing up in "Kankakee by the Sea."

I would advise you to take your time to do the same. I promise you an enjoyable adventure. Tell your Grandchildren your stories and take them on a tour of the neighborhood where you spent your youth. The children will love learning about their Grandmother, their family tree, and the lessons you learned in your young life. Learning to value their history through their Grandmother's eyes and to hear your stories will be a keepsake they will forever call upon.

We have the responsibility to pass on our history and values... our very essence. My Grandchildren love my stories. Your Grandchildren will love yours, too.

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I could not have written this blog without you..."Kankakee by the Sea."

I'd love to know how you have shared your life lessons with your Grandchildren. Have you any tricks for making an impression on them? Do tell! You can comment below or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram. Let's chat!
On Thursday, February 4, leaders from nearly 70 countries will meet in London to pledge money for Syrian refugees. For decades, caring for refugees was a simple - if discouraging - challenge. Most often, large camps were set up in sparsely-inhabited areas near the border of the country the refugees came from. A minimum of food, shelter and sanitation was provided to meet people's most basic needs.

These camps were, and several places still are, operated in the hope that conflicts will end soon and people will return home. They are temporary waiting pens; the host country often place severe restrictions on movements and prevent refugees from working - fearing they will take jobs from locals.

Over the years we have learned that many of the assumptions behind such refugee "care" were wrong. The main one: Few modern conflicts of a scale that drive large populations to flee have quick and happy endings. They often stretch on for decades.

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Another obvious lesson: People are fundamentally creatures of community and enterprise. Camps soon turn into cities, with commerce, social structures and pecking orders. The more restrictions and unfulfilled need, the more enterprise is driven underground, breeding black markets, exploitation and violence.

In fact, tens of millions of people are living in such semi-permanent "camp-cities" today: Somalis in Kenya, Afghans in Pakistan, and Sudanese in Chad, to mention a few. These camp-cities are terrible places of violence, fear and lost hope. They waste the productive years for millions of people and breed resentment and extremism.

The crisis in Syria, catastrophic and tragic as it is, is different. The countries surrounding Syria have to a large extent been able to absorb a dramatic number of people - 1.4 million in Jordan, 1.5 in Lebanon, 2.7 million in Turkey and another half million in Iraq and Egypt into their societies. Only a small minority of these are in camps.

There are several reasons for this: extended families reaching across borders and absorbing fleeing relatives; the lessons learned from previous conflicts to avoid putting people in camps; and new and more flexible ways of registering and distributing support to refugees, such as retina scanning, prepaid credit cards and mobile phones to reach, inform and support refuges, making camps unnecessary.

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While every effort should be made to end this terrible conflict, we must realize that large parts of the Syrian population will be refugees for years, and many may not ever return. This crisis is our chance to take 70 years of experience in coping with refugee situations and doing it right. So far, we have not done very well, and the tragic scenes of drowning refugees desperate to reach Europe are only the most visible sign of our failure.

Yes, we must provide the money needed to support food and shelter for these nearly 6.2 million people. (So far, only half of the money needed for humanitarian aid in the countries surrounding Syria have materialized, being one of the reasons so many people have chosen the risky road to Europe.)

But we must go much further. We need to provide education for one million refugee children. The alternative - a lost generation of children with little or no schooling, with few prospects of work and being easy prey for exploitation and extremism - is a guarantee for decades of trouble and instability in the region and beyond. Investment in education can also reduce the steady, tragic stream of children who are sent on their own on the dangerous trip to Europe as their parents hope for a better life for them there.

We must also be smart enough to encourage and facilitate economic activity and enterprise for the refugees and their host communities. Yes, thousands of refugees overwhelming local communities may seem like a threat to jobs for the locals, but this is not a zero-sum game. People are fundamentally a resource - not a burden, and helping them start businesses and channel investments to areas with large numbers of refugees is an investment in growth - not charity. We also need to consider barriers to economic growth in countries dealing with a large number of refugees, to help drive economic development.

The United Nations organizations are driving the thinking and planning for such "smart refugee solutions". The UN organizations, together with the World Bank and others, are hammering out new ideas to treat refugees like the resource-rich, proud and enterprising people they are, and to find ways to help both the refugees and their host countries make the best out of a tragic situation.

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This week, heads of governments of more than 70 countries will come to London to pledge more money for the Syrian refugee crisis. This conference should be the starting point for a commitment to treat refugees in a new and constructive way - not lock them into years of inaction, poverty and despair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coDDZHZfcfc

By, Nadia Watson

Last week, the Supreme Court finally agreed to hear the case on whether or not President Obama is within his legal right to declare millions of undocumented immigrants free to work in the U.S. without the fear of deportation.

Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs, illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as kids and do not pose a threat to public safety can apply for temporary reprieve from deportation.

Those accepted are known as "Dreamers" who "are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every way but on paper," as the president previously stated.

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Immigration is often blamed for many "changes" in the United States, but in truth, as the number of immigrants has increased, the amount of violent crimes have decreased. Immigrants do not flee their old homes and old lives riddled with danger only to come to America and endure more. They come to this country to create a better life and work hard for it. In turn, they grow the economy and prioritize getting an education and establishing job security more than anything else, according to Kica Matos, Campaign Director at the Center for Community Change Action.

The immigration policies we uphold have a direct effect on the way immigrants decide to participate in society. After President Obama enacted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for some undocumented immigrants, many became more motivated to open bank accounts and get better jobs.

Although the Supreme Court will likely wait until April to hear the case, it is the last chance the White House will have to implement the program that will change the lives of five million dreamers and their parents before Obama's successor takes office.

Most Americans agree that immigration policy for undocumented individuals ought to be relaxed with two-thirds favoring of a path to citizenship. Republican presidential front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, however, are still calling for deportation and an overall crackdown on immigration. In fact, building a wall between Mexico and The U.S. has become a key tenet of the Trump campaign. Construction may be postponed, however, as Matos stated that if Republicans wish to win the presidential election, they will "need 47 percent of the Latino vote."

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The Supreme Court will make their decision just a few weeks before Republicans choose their nominee for the 2016 Presidential Election.
Rep. Tom Graves voted to override President Obamas veto of a budget reconciliation bill to defund Planned Parenthood, end Obamacare and cut the deficit by more than $500 billion. House Democrats, however, blocked passage of the veto override legislation.



While the fact that Democrats successfully blocked this measure is bad news, there is a silver lining, said Rep. Graves. The good news is that, by putting legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare on the presidents desk, the Republican-controlled Congress has shown that Planned Parenthood can be defunded and Obamacare can be repealed, all we need is a new president who will sign the legislation into law.



The fights for the right to life and health care freedom are far from over, said Rep. Graves. I am very optimistic that, with a new president, we will finally defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare.





Budget reconciliation is a special legislative procedure that allows the Senate to bring legislation to the floor with a simple majority, instead of the normally required 60 votes.


For the Democrats, the Iowa caucus ended in a virtual tie. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the big winner here is Senator Bernie Sanders. The underdog presidential hopeful, who has been largely ignored and even dismissed by much of mainstream media, faced what is probably the most efficient and powerful political organization in the country and he didn't do bad at all.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has to contend with the fact that half the Democrat electorate in Iowa did not buy her message or find her appealing. That this came after an anti-Sanders media barrage in the eve of the caucus makes his performance even more impressive.

Take for example Prachi Gupta's article in Cosmopolitan: "Do You Really Not Like Hillary Clinton, or Are You Just Sexist?" In an article that relies on guilt-tripping Sanders's followers, Gupta argues that his supporters simply have no substance or a leg to stand on and that when they ask for a political revolution they miss the point that "If we're talking about political revolutions, however, voting a woman into office is pretty damn historic". That argument lacks any substance for Sanders' supporters would gladly vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren in a heartbeat because they are voting on issues not on her gender.

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Amanda Marcotte's Salon article: "Why I'm supporting Clinton over Sanders: Liberals don't need a "savior," but someone who can actually get things done in Washington" came out the very same day of the caucus. Her main argument is that Sanders has presented the public with a plethora of unachievable goals and that he does not know the difference between campaigning and governing. Of course, Hillary knows how to govern because she is pragmatic, experienced, able to compromise and "has shown, repeatedly, that she's open to change and pressure from liberal activists to move to the left." Marcotte misses an important point here- one that explains why Clinton is losing track among progressives and liberals: the Democrat presidential nominee should not have to be convinced to move to the left! Otherwise we have two right wing parties.

Writing for Vox, Ezra Klein took from Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" and penned "Hillary Clinton and the Audacity of Political Realism." Again we have the same arguments about pragmatism and how brave Clinton is for not falling for the "hope" narrative. Like Marcotte he argues that if another Democrat is nominated on the basis of impossible promises (a not-so-subtle reference to Obama) the Democrats and young voters who elected them may not survive the shock. Is he buying into that conservative narrative that portrays Liberals as wimps? Hum! I somehow doubt that if Sanders or Hillary fail to deliver on all their campaign promises half the population will crawl into a fetal position.

Klein calls Hillary a "political realist." If he is using a definition based on political philosophy then he is saying that power is the main end of any political action. Hillary's politics are driven by power. But, power for the sake of power? Once in power, whose interests is she going to represent and defend? A political realist accepts that "might makes right." OK, I can agree with that, but that "might" should come from the sheer strength of a broad electoral coalition and not from the financial might of the 1 percent. Hence she needs to energize and mobilize the electorate.

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Instead of mobilizing the Democrat and inspiring independents she is courting the right. Is this an ill-designed strategy based on the Trump factor? Maybe one of Clinton's advisors told her that the country is moving decidedly to the right and that the Trump factor would drive "moderate Republicans" into the arms of a conservative Democrat. Whatever the case, she has been campaigning like a "moderate" and sometimes "hawkish" Republican -- from declaring that she would be a better friend to Israel than President Obama has been, to calling for more sanctions on Iran.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/197671#.VrDnuebYNIM

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/266173-clinton-calls-for-new-sanctions-on-iran

Both Klein and Marcotte, as so many in mainstream and social media, have come to identify right of center politics with good governance. Hence they identify Clinton's courting of the right as pragmatism while mocking Sanders' "idealism". But it seems many are not buying it.

As an independent, I thought Clinton to be a good candidate for president, tough, experienced, politically savvy. As a matter of fact I wasn't going to support Sanders until Hillary's camp started to act like "moderate conservatives".

She is campaigning like a "moderate" Republican and the press writes that she is a realist because apparently wanting to change the many wrongs in this country is naive. She is distancing herself from Obama and the legacy of the "naive president" who thought that he could bring some sort of unity to this country. The only thing Obama was naive about was underestimating the rampant racism that still exists in this country.

So, even though I'm a realist (ask my progressive friends), I will not buy her courting of the right, and her message that changing minds and hearts is not what we do. It is the job of whoever wants to be the top elected official in the country to inspire and energize their followers--that is what leaders do. And on that matter, Clinton could learn something from Sander's campaign slogan, "A Future to Believe In" which stands in striking contrast to Clinton's "Hillary for America". One is about a promise (and a plan) for a better future. The other is raw cult of personality.

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It is not about who can govern better but a sense that we owe Hillary the nomination and the presidency, as if it was taken from her in 2008.This kind of sounds like the conservative "Take America Back" chant.

Please explain to me, why should I vote for a candidate who has but completely capitulated to the right? A candidate that has lost all hope? Clinton may not be able to change hearts and minds because maybe she does not believe that change is possible. If that is the case, she should step aside for this country needs both hope and change.

Post datum
This article originally appeared on Inverse.

By Ian Stark

Plastic will cover an increasing amount of the Earth's surface by mid-century, while steadily mixing into the ground and oceans, researchers from the University of Leicester, UK report.

Scientists argue that plastic may best define our current period within the Anthropocene. https://t.co/fhvQA45WeJ pic.twitter.com/L3WBzAPL0t  Smithsonian Magazine (@SmithsonianMag) January 23, 2016

A new study, "The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene", published in the journal Anthropocene, proposes how humans have moved into the Anthropocene period -- a time when the Earth's ecosystem and geology are directly affected by human activity -- and how the planet's exterior has been altered by human-produced materials.

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University of Leicester's Jan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Paleobiology from the Department of Geology is the lead author of the article, and explains to Science Daily that "Plastics were more or less unknown to our grandparents, when they were children. But now, they are indispensable to our lives. They're everywhere -- wrapping our food, being containers for our water and milk, providing cartons for eggs and yogurt and chocolate, keeping our medicines sterile. They now make up most of the clothes that we wear, too."

The planet is slowly being covered in plastic. -Prof.Jan Zalasiewicz, Leicester Univ.https://t.co/yVFAHCLj5V pic.twitter.com/ZEfoAtItkw  Plastic Pollutes (@PlasticPollutes) January 26, 2016

According to the research, plastics are not only "evident in terrestrial deposits, they are clearly becoming widespread in marine sedimentary deposits in both shallow- and deep-water settings. They are abundant and widespread as macroscopic fragments and virtually ubiquitous as microplastic particles; these are dispersed by both physical and biological processes," as well as through the overall food chain.

Furthermore, the ocean transports plastics, sometimes via patches of garbage that float around the globe, sometimes sinking to the sea floor or washing up on beaches.

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Professor Zalasiewicz also notes that such materials, poured into landfills over several years, become part of the sedimentary cycle -- even providing the ability to record natural history by preserving artifacts and other buried matter, creating "techno fossils."

"Once buried, being so hard-wearing, plastics have a good chance to be fossilized -- and leave a signal of the ultimate convenience material for many million years into the future. The age of plastic may really last for ages."

MORE FROM INVERSE:
"The presence of the children in wheelchairs, their parents, and their nurses caused quite the commotion in Albany in 2014, but things didn't seem to be changing until Senator Dean Skelos saw young Oliver Miller seize repeatedly in his office. After that, we gained some momentum, and it was looking like the bill would pass. Then, the governor ripped the proposed bill apart and refashioned it into the unworkable remnant we have today. That was when PTSD and other conditions like rheumatoid arthritis were stripped from the bill. As a veteran, I am crushed that PTSD was not added back in to the law when the Health Commissioner [Howard] Zucker had the opportunity to do so earlier this month.

"I've been seeing the same neurologist for almost the whole 17 years since receiving my diagnosis of M.S., and was able to follow her to the V.A. when she switched hospitals. Because she works at a federal facility, I am not able to get a recommendation for medicine from her. She has never wanted to discuss the subject, although in mid-November we finally had a brief conversation about it. I was naive enough to believe that our longstanding relationship and my pleas would cause her to do what was best for me, but she made it clear that she will not be recommending medical cannabis even if she were able.

"With my regular neurologist unwilling to 'recommend' cannabis to me, I put plan B into action. But my plan B doctor has decided that it is too big of a risk to be the only certified neurologist in the area, and has decided against getting certified. My plans C and D of changing neurologists and going to the M.S. clinic in either Syracuse or Rochester have also failed, as the groups of doctors in both places said they 'won't be participating.' So now I am in limbo. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I do have the ability to endure a bit longer, but there are many of those who can't wait much longer. The fragile state of so many make it cruel that their own doctors are not willing to help. Since I began advocating, several advocates and children have died.

"We advocates and patients are still looked upon as drug seekers who are looking for a high. My own brother-in-law accused me of this the other day, and then recanted a bit, saying, 'Well, 90 percent are seekers.' It's so maddening.

"My quality of life is being diminished by not being well. My use of street-grade cannabis won't heal me the way I expect to get restored -- little by little -- by the healing properties of pharmacy-grade cannabis oil. Does it take an acutely ill cancer patient to prove that quality of life matters, or a child with non-stop seizures, or a chronically ill patient whose light dims a bit each day because of the burdens of disease? Not many will understand unless they, or a very precious loved one, are struck by one of those situations. Seemingly, not even the some physicians who are entreated for help.

"So, sure, history was made and New York became the 23rd state to have medical marijuana. I was there in New York City the day the governor signed it with all arrogance and pomp, while the smiling girl who stood beside him was being duped into thinking she was seeing her salvation-by-Cuomo. Wrong. That sweet girl still doesn't have her cannabis medicine and neither do I or thousands of other New Yorkers. I hope that changes soon."
The Syria conflict will soon enter its sixth year. Six long years of violence and destruction have left 250,000 dead, created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and forced some 4.6 million Syrians to leave their country. The impact resonates widely -- on neighboring countries, host to vast numbers of refugees, as well as on Europe, facing rising new demands from asylum seekers. Naturally, the focus of the international community has fallen on meeting immediate humanitarian needs and on efforts to find political solutions to the crisis. Six years on, it is time to think more long term, because a generation of young Syrians is in danger of being lost to despair, to violent extremism -- the foundations for peace in the future will erode if this reality is neglected. The United Nations estimates that 2.1 million Syrian children and youth inside Syria are out of school -- while an additional 0.7 million Syrian refugee children and youth in five host countries are out of school. Millions more are in dire need of support, both inside and outside Syria, with needs ranging from basic to secondary and higher education. Solving the Syrian conflict means investing in the peace process in Syria itself. But building lasting peace requires investing in the future of Syrian society, in Syria's children, young women and men. This is a long term development imperative and a security imperative, for Syria, the region, Europe and further afield. Losing this Syrian generation will throw a shadow over the country's future and the stability of the region, reinforcing the logic of war. Young people lacking an education face a future blighted by marginalization, poverty and despair -a persuasive recruitment sergeant for armed groups and violent extremism. This is also a strong impetus to flee. To address this crisis, we must act at three levels. First, education must no longer be the poor cousin of international efforts. In 2014, overall education needs included in humanitarian appeals received only 36 percent of funding compared to an average of 60 percent for other sectors. Only 3 percent of the humanitarian funding channelled through pooled funding mechanisms was allocated to the education sector. In Syria, in other crises, this cannot go on. We need to invest more in education as a core part of both humanitarian and development assistance. Education should not continue to fall in the cracks between humanitarian aid and development assistance, because education is the best way to protect the green shoots of peace. It is often the first real peace dividend for girls and boys, young women and men, and for communities, bearing a tremendous burden, struggling to get back on their feet. Second, we must do more to support Syria's neighbors and host communities, in meeting the educational needs of both Syrian refugee and host community youth, to provide them with skills, knowledge and opportunities to participate fully and gain decent employment. There are strong developments opening in Syria's neighbors in this respect - these must be underpinned with support bolstering the resilience of national education systems at all levels. Third, in all this, we need to look beyond basic education -- to secondary, technical and vocational and higher education also. This is where youth are falling out of the system, and this is where they are most vulnerable to the lure of violence. Secondary and higher education are essential to provide Syria's young women and men with the skills they need for lives of dignity and peace. Education is the best, long-term way to break the cycle of violence, to prevent violent extremism, and to set a society on the path to peace. It is a basic human right and a core pillar of sustainable development and peace. This message was embodied in the groundbreaking United Nations Security Council Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security of December 2015, highlighting the vital role of young women and men in building peace and countering the rise of violent extremism. UNESCO and its partners are bringing the same message to the 2016 London Syria Conference, hosted by the United Kingdom, with Kuwait, Norway and Germany. Education lies on the frontline of the Syrian crisis; it should be at the forefront of building peace. Education cannot wait until the conflict is over and the dust settles - the seeds of peace must be sown now.
At a time when European nations are turning their backs on Israel, Italy has held steadfast in support of both the Jewish State and its own Jewish citizens. Polls consistently show Italians with the lowest percentage of anti-Semitic views compared to other Europeans, even as anti-Semitism is making a resurgence throughout the continent.

Last week, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, as the world paid formal tribute to one of the darkest periods in modern history, Italy took it a step further when a local newspaper distributed skullcaps to all of its subscribers in a show of solidarity with Jews.

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In an article that accompanied the free token, the paper asserted that "the West should not obscure its roots and its religious symbols," and that in response to the surge in anti-Semitism across Europe, "this year we must do more."

Italy has led the way in commemorating Jewish culture and protecting the rights of Jews in Europe since World War II, and is an active contributor to the fight against anti-Semitism today.

This year, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Italian ambassador to Israel Francesco Maria Talo echoed Foglio's sentiment, emphasizing Italy's special responsibility to remember the Holocaust: "It is especially important to remember what was done to participate in the persecution.... We have more responsibility and we need to do more," Talo said.

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While these words regrettably will fall on the deaf ears of the many Europeans who support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, they will resonate with Israelis, who face a multi-tiered threat from those who continue to seek to undermine the Jewish state. BDS has played a role in inciting the recent wave of killings by Palestinian knife-wielders, and it encourages baseless and misguided rhetorical attacks at academic institutions and college campuses across the world -- some of which have produced violent protests and veiled threats directed at Jewish students and faculty from BDS supporters.

Italy's brave and lonely position last week is a barometer of its support for Israel. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is an ally of the Jewish State, and last year delivered an eloquent speech to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on the dangers of the BDS movement. The American Jewish Congress was lucky enough to have him as a guest at our 2012 International Conference of Mayors in Israel while he was the mayor of Florence.

Italy's ambassador to the UN, Sebastiano Cardi has also been outspoken on the subject of anti-Semitism, addressing the issue at the United Nations General Assembly last year:

"Italy supports multilateral initiatives against anti-Semitism....We must clearly and unanimously condemn every act of anti-Semitism and its ideological roots," Cardi said.

Given the growth of anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant sentiments on the continent, Cardi's admonition is timely. Selling fear and demonizing the "other" in society is nothing new in Europe. Responsible leadership is an uncommon commodity, and the world should be grateful that Italian leaders have stepped forward to remind us that tolerance and inclusivity must be championed at the highest levels of government.

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Mad men. Not the sexy selectively nostalgic program about advertising on TV. We speak of the real guys who go mad.

It could be illness. Madness may have been inflicted upon you by life or incredible circumstance. It could just be the sight of Sophia Loren again, reminding you that she hasn't called you for last 50 years.

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Collettivo FX. O'Barone. Napoli, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

For reasons known and mysterious these are the men who are so idiosyncratic and eccentric in their tastes and behaviors that we are not sophisticated enough to appreciate them fully. Sometimes we say that these men have gone mad, but possibly we are the mad ones. These are the fellas whom the Italian street art collective named Collettivo FX decided to paint in towns across their country late last fall.

The anonymous handful of young men and women have a variety of figurative illustrative styles, from realist to expressionist, and often work with local children to complete painting projects.

Collettivo FX. Hans. Bolsano, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Research was necessary, including entering a town and asking folks for candidates. In what became an anthropologic study of entire towns and how they function, the artists set out to find the one character in each community whom everyone seemed to know because of his unique approach to life. Their theme became "Behind every madman there is a village," as it became clear that each supported the other in some way

The artists say that they learned volumes about behaviors, story telling and memory. Yes, they learned about the men and their fortitudes and foibles, but they also gained a sense of the other characters in the dramatic play that makes up a town. With each inquiry and answer they learned about the stories that are saved and repeated or forgotten; often jogging memories, sometimes along with their passions.

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As a painting was completed people stopped by to discuss it. Some to learn, some to remember, others to enhance with gossip, or to fill in some blanks in lore. Some people said they felt guilty for not having done enough, others directed their displeasure at negligent actors in the town who had not sufficiently assisted in a circumstance when help was required.

Collettivo FX. Totonno, Cosenza, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

"The subject of the tour was the Madman, but the real issue was the village," one of the collective tells us, explaining that many of the subjects are (or were) revered characters whose presence is valued, some earning a sort of amber shaded folklore in the re-telling of the stories. "In fact the Madman is often in the center of the village, almost a symbolic mayor of some kind, because everyone knows and talks with him."

Others were more evidently thought of as outcasts, and the act of placing a portrait of them prominently in the town took on curious results and responses as well, revealing the mindset of the village. People lingered for long periods, some posed for photos in front of the portraits. It's unclear if any of the subjects felt objectified or insulted, but that may be our insecure comprehension of the subtleties of the Italian language.

Collettivo FX. San Francesco. Roma, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

"Everything happened in this tour," reports a member of the artist collective. "People were happy, excited, curious. The relatives of the subject could be flattered or be angry. One thing that happened everywhere is that we provoked memories, anecdotes, and stories of episodes that do not belong only to the life of the individual but also the entire community, making these portraits a reflection of everyone involved."

Following are some highlights from the many stories that were discovered during this project:

They started the tour with "Hans Cassonetto" (Hans Dumpster) a homeless guy who townspeople generally agreed had two hundred and fifty thousand Euros in the bank. The story goes that when his mother died she left him with a legacy of buildings, apartments and a large bank account. However he refused her gifts because he did not want the money from the person who had thrown him out of his house at another time in his life. "While we painted Hans," a collective member says, "the people there said "He was a man, a great gentleman and he never asked anything from anyone."

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Collettivo FX. Oreste. Palagno, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Oreste lives in a village in the mountains that has completely adopted him, according to the artists. He leaves his small house in the morning and one family feeds him breakfast, another family washes his clothes, another gives him small jobs. He's known to never miss a wedding, and he usually brings roses for the couple. "He is of mythic proportions here in this town," says an artist.

Everyone remembers Ciclon for his jokes, and he often was found in the town square talking with passersby. A frequently repeated story about Ciclon is the time he took a rabbit in a bag to pay the doctor with it. According to the story, the doctor was surprised and said, "But Ciclon, this rabbit is alive!" and Ciclon replied, "Doctor for you it's not a problem to kill the rabbit ... you are always killing people!"

Collettivo FX. Messer Raimondo, Castiglione, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

And don't forget Dog Man ("Cane Uomo"), a homeless guy who locals say arrived in town in the late 1930s not long after the disappearance of a famous physicist named Ettore Majorano. Rumors and tales surround his disappearance and what his relationshipship to Dog Man may have been. According to local stories, Dog Man used a walking stick with the letters "EM" carved into it, and he was known for solving impossible science questions posed to him by students.

In general however, he didn't interact with or talk much with people in Mazara del Vallo for the roughly twenty years he lived there and he took care of many stray dogs, earning him the name. Upon seeing his portrait a number of townspeople gathered in front of it and debated whether Dog Man had actually been the disappeared physicist.

Collettivo FX. L'Uomo Cane. Mazara del Vallo, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Genesis in Mantua was a musician of thirty-seven who burned to death in a horrible event a few days before they arrived, although the artists could not provide the exact circumstances that took place. Clearly he had affect a number of folks however and the artists quickly discovered that their portrait of him became a memorial wall - a central location for people to express their emotions and tributes to Genesis, including many tears. There were some who said "we could have saved him." Some asked to paint and others wrote dedications on the poster.

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Collettivo FX. Genesis. Mantova, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Finally there is the story of Bruno Carto, who collected cardboard boxes in the center of Jesi for many years before he went to live in a more formal home. "While we painted his portrait, the people stopped and said, 'I know him!', 'I saw him every day,' and 'He was my friend,'" says one of the artists. But no one knew exactly what had become of him.

Collettivo FX. Bruno. Carto, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Just before finishing the job Bruno appeared onsite in the flesh, surprising many there. "We asked him, 'Bruno, do you like your portrait?'. He said "Yes I like it ... I want a drawing for my room.' We asked him 'What kind of drawing do you want? and he answered, 'One on a cardboard!'" (see Bruno below)

Collettivo FX. Cotgnola, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX. Chiarenza. Messina, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX. Birimbo. Cesena, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX. Beps. Grassano, Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX. The map of their adventures in Italy. (photo  Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX (photo  Collettivo FX)

Colletivo FX are happy to share more of these stories with you if you inquire at their Facebook page.

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TOPSHOT - A Syrian man evacuates a child from the rubble of a destroyed building following air strikes on the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma, a rebel stronghold east of the capital Damascus, on January 10, 2016. / AFP / SAMEER AL-DOUMY (Photo credit should read SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images)

OSLO, Norway -- On Thursday, more than 70 world leaders are expected to meet in London for a conference aiming to raise $9 billion for Syrians. Unless all countries more than double their assistance this year, the conference will have failed.

Previous donor conferences have all failed. Humanitarian appeals have asked for the bare minimum needed for displaced and war-affected Syrians to survive, but the world has given only about half of what's needed.

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It may be a surprise to many that the assistance to the Syrian crisis has been so halfhearted and halfway compared to the magnitude of the needs. More than 18 million Syrians are in need of support: 13.5 million people inside Syria and 4.6 million refugees in the Middle East region. Total global assistance recorded last year equaled less than 85 cents per desperate Syrian per day.

The world has given only about half of what's needed.

A large number of European leaders are echoing the same message: "It is better and more cost-efficient to help people in their own region than to welcome cost-intensive asylum seekers and refugees in our own countries." But it is a myth that they provide Syrian war victims with significant aid. The truth is that most European, American, Arab and Asian countries are neither receiving refugees, nor helping much in the region.

The relative biggest donor, Kuwait, provided $75 per capita to all Syrians in need last year, followed by Norway with $28. The United States and the European Union provided less than $5 per capita, and Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were no better. Many countries have done like Poland the last few years: not contributed significantly at all -- neither by providing many refugees with protection nor by contributing noticeable assistance to the region.

The harrowing photos of starving children in the besieged town of Madaya demonstrate that nothing is more urgent than political agreements between the parties on ceasefires, protection of civilians and access for humanitarian assistance for civilians in the crossfire. There are no humanitarian solutions to political and military conflicts.

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The truth is that most European, American, Arab and Asian countries are neither receiving refugees, nor helping much in the region.

But, if the parties to the Syria talks in Geneva agree to give access to the 1.9 million in the "hard-to-reach" areas, we the humanitarian organizations would have just as meager resources to cover even the most basic needs of people. The funding crisis exacerbates the protection crisis.

Last year, many refugees and displaced in the region saw their food assistance cut in half. In Lebanon, seven out of 10 refugees are now living below the national poverty line. In Jordan, more than half of adults with chronic diseases are unable to access medicine and other health services. There are, in short, only impossible choices: stay in Syria's neighboring countries without means to support your family and without access to essential services, return to Syria's killing fields or sell everything to journey towards Europe.

Syria's neighboring countries are generously hosting 4.6 million Syrian refugees -- five times more than the number of Syrian asylum seekers registered in Europe. However, several of the neighboring countries are closing their borders to Syria -- making it impossible for desperate Syrian civilians to escape the brutal war.

Last year, many refugees and displaced in the region saw their food assistance cut in half.

So enough words about support to refugees and the host countries -- the international community must agree to a bold new deal for Syrians and for the region. We need a Marshall Plan-style initiative -- securing large investments in Syria's neighboring countries, strengthening the infrastructure and public services and creating new jobs for refugees as well as citizens of host countries. In return, the host governments need to allow refugees the permits they need to access services and work legally in these countries.

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This time, failure will throw even more Syrian children, youth, men and women into the abyss or onto rafts towards Greece. Parents see that all their savings are now depleted. They have no possibilities to earn an income in war-ravaged Syria or in Syria's neighboring countries. There is no education for most of the children. And women and girls are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation. No wonder families see no alternative than to embark on a perilous journey towards Europe.
I finally sat down to read a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion on an important issue: are all prisoners serving mandatory sentences of life without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles entitled to new sentences based on an earlier ruling that such sentences constitute unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment?

The opinion, issued in January 2016 in Montgomery v. Louisiana, answered that question: yes. Yes, children who committed crimes cannot be required to serve out a mandatory sentence that forever forecloses their opportunity to show they are rehabilitated and ready to re-enter society. Yes, every prisoner already serving that sentence is entitled to a second look.

The justices ruled 6-3 that Henry Montgomery, who was convicted at age 17 of murdering a deputy sheriff in Louisiana in 1963, must be resentenced. Montgomery is now 69 years old. He has served more than half a century of the life sentence imposed on him as a teenager.

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Here's what struck me about the case, though: not the majority opinion, eloquently written by Justice Kennedy ("Henry Montgomery has spent each day of the past 46 years knowing he was condemned to die in prison. Perhaps it can be established that, due to exceptional circumstances, this fate was a just and proportionate punishment for the crime he committed as a 17-year-old boy. In light of what this Court has said... about how children are constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability, however, prisoners like Montgomery must be given the opportunity to show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption; and, if it did not, their hope for some years of life outside prison walls must be restored.")

What took me aback was this one line in the dissenting opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, and joined by conservative justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas: "none of our business."

That's a direct quote. It's what Scalia wrote about the petition by Montgomery asking that he have a chance at freedom after spending most of his life behind bars: none of our business.

On one hand, I get the legal argument Scalia was making, a complicated procedural and jurisdictional one.

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On the other hand, Scalia's curt dismissal called to mind its opposite: a line from Charles Dickens' novel "A Christmas Carol."

In that story, harsh, greedy Ebenezer Scrooge gets a visit on Christmas Eve from the ghost of his long-dead business partner, Jacob Marley. When Scrooge observes that Marley was always a good man of business, Marley's ghost retorts, "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearances, and benevolence, were, all, my business."

Many of us, on the issue of juvenile life sentences, have been closer to Scalia than Marley. None of our business, we think, even for someone like Henry Montgomery, who was originally sentenced to death, but then given life because of "public prejudice" at his trial. Montgomery is black. The deputy the teenaged Montgomery killed was white.

None of our business, because it doesn't concern us; it concerns someone else's child. None of our business because, after all, why should we care? Montgomery and all the others serving juvenile life sentences took a human life. Under current law, only murderers can get juvenile life sentences.

But it is our business. It is our business because the bleak, unforgiving sentence is carried out in our names. It is implemented with our money, under the authority of our government. It is imposed upon our fellow citizens, even the youngest. It is given in such numbers in our country, the United States of America, as by no other nation on earth.

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It is our business because we would never want this merciless sentence for our own child--and therefore, we cannot condone it for anyone else's child. It is our business if we believe, like Sister Helen Prejean, Catholic nun and author of "Dead Man Walking," that every human being has worth, that every person is more than the worst thing he has ever done.
On January, 27, 2016, radio and broadcast personality, Cody Gough wrote a blog both entitled and entitled, "I Support Bernie Sanders, And I'm Not Stupid or Unrealistic."

It was picked up by HuffPost Politics thus amplifying Cody's impassioned decree that "as a supporter of Bernie Sanders, I fully recognize that this whole 'political revolution' thing is not a guarantee. But right now, the opportunity to start one is a whole lot more appealing to me than the status quo."



This is an open letter in response to Cody and "Berniebros" everywhere:

Dear Berniebro -

You may not realize this or WANT to realize this but you are the status quo and so is Bernie Sanders.

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There is nothing revolutionary or progressive about one white guy voting another white guy supported by a bunch of other white guys - and their female counterparts, for that matter - into office. Especially not based on "potential" when there is a completely qualified female candidate (more qualified in almost all ways according to many credible sources) who has an extremely similar platform to Bernie and who is also being frank about her own approach to winning the election - frank about being moderate and about the necessity of having to be political to actually create change. They are not so dissimilar, Bernie and Hillary - it's just that Bernie is appealing to a majority white, largely male constituency. Yes, you.

Like Hillary or Bernie or not, favoring the promotion of a less qualified white man over a more qualified woman or minority is in no way progressive or moving us forward as a nation.

It's just the same old, same old.

Or as McKinsey & Company calls it, "imbedded institutional mindsets"...based on the reports of "diversity officers and experts who admit that despite their best efforts, women are often evaluated for promotions primarily on performance, while men are often promoted on potential."

So while you may think you are pushing for a more progressive candidate, think again. And don't forget that at the end of the day - or caucus - Bernie is, after all, a politician himself. Don't underestimate the possibility that he is simply campaigning directly to YOU so of course you love what you're hearing.

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Bernie Sanders identified the plight of the young, white male years before this presidential race:

Why is it that two-thirds of white, rural men voted Republican? Why? That's what we have to address. That's crazy. These people are working longer and longer hours. They can't afford to pay $3.50 for a gallon of gas. They're losing their jobs. So why do they vote for President Bush? And the Republican Party? We've got to address this.

It is no coincidence that he is surging mainly among young, white men. In fact, he has done such great job of campaigning to you that some think he may have gone too far and created a monster (though an often adorably passionate, if misguided monster).

Bernie Sanders is not an activist. Bernie Sanders is a politician. Yes, Bernie marched with MLK and leans progressive, but as Ta-Nehisi Coates points out, Bernie either turns a blind eye to or doesn't believe in some pretty fundamental civil rights truths: like the fact that our country was founded on white supremacy. Perhaps this is one reason he didn't win the Iowa Caucus among non-white voters.

Lastly, if you're liberal (which I presume by your avid support of a democratic socialist) and think that Republicans are standing on their last leg with the candidates running on that ticket - as do some others who've shared such opinions - Hillary is your best bet to seal that party's fate.

She is validated when she speaks of major Republican players paying for attack ads against her. That tells me they aren't worried about Bernie - they are willing to ride out his 4 - 8 years to give their party time to recover (and in light of the recent Iowa caucus, the last thing Democrats should want is a Sanders/Rubio face off). The Republican party realizes that with Hillary in office, their recovery could be slowed for years if they ever recover at all.

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The transformation or maybe even the complete unravelling of one party in a two party system? That is revolution. Electing the first black man followed by the first woman into the highest ranking US office? That is revolution. Electing a white guy because maybe, just maybe he's "got potential" when there is an ideologically similar, more qualified candidate running against him - not a revolution. Not even common sense if you're a Democrat, which by the way, I'm not.
(This is abridged from a sermon I gave at the United Church of Simi Valley, CA, on 1/31.)

I begin by saying that I'm hardly the only one qualified to give this address. Any of you in this congregation could do it, because you are living out progressive Christianity every day. You can at least give a short version of this State of the Union: progressive Christianity is alive and well at UCC Simi Valley!

I'm here to give a version of this State of the Union that gives at least a hint of how things are going with this movement globally. And I do it to offer you spiritual encouragement and enrichment. Because understanding our religious identity feeds our spirituality. Knowing who we are in the realm of faith and spirituality helps us to express our religious experiences. And being able to express our spirituality helps us to experience it in our hearts. Language follows experience, but it also induces and inspires experience as well. It's a feedback loop that helps us keep the faith and feel the presence of God.

So let's get started at the beginning: just what is progressive Christianity? More to the point, who are progressive Christians?

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I've been pondering this question for about two decades now, and have been coming up with "tag lines" by way of answers. Here's my list:

Progressive Christians keep the faith and drop the dogma.

For us, God is Love, not a Guy in the Sky.

Since God and Nature are one, science is a way to learn about God.

We do Christianity without pelvic issues.

Faith is about deeds, not creeds.

We take the Bible seriously because we don't have to take it literally.

Spiritual questions are more important to us than religious answers.

The morality of what happens in the war-room and the board-room matters more to us than what happens in the bedroom.

Other religions can be as good for others as our religion is good for us.

Our church parking lot is for cars, not brains.

God is bigger than our ideas about God.

God evolves, and so does our religion.

If you have more "tag lines" to add to my list, please let me know! Like everything else in progressive Christianity, it's a work in progress. But it boils down to this: God is love. Love's power is attractive and persuasive, not dictatorial and judgmental. Jesus taught us how to practice divine compassion. We gather to support each other in following his example. This is the heart of progressive Christianity. The rest is commentary!

Here I offer an overview of history, to ground us in understanding the present situation of our branch of the faith. We might give it a birthdate: 1651. That is the year that Thomas Hobbes, the British political philosopher, publicly concluded that the books of Moses in the Bible could not have been written by Moses. Over the next century and a half, biblical scholars arrived at the same conclusion, and developed what's called the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory posits that originally there were at least four versions of the first five books of the Old Testament. These versions were cobbled together into one narrative. One piece of evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis is the fact that there are two rather different creation stories in Genesis. They came from two of the at least four original versions of the Torah. The 19th century German biblical scholar, Julius Wellhausen, was a well-known proponent of this theory, and his work got wide circulation.

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The Christian clergy who embraced Wellhausen's work began to understand that the Bible should not be read as a book of definitive facts and eternally-valid moral prescriptions, but rather as a mythic and poetic record of humanity's spiritual and social evolution. Pastors who embraced the emergence of science, and the emerging field of biblical textual criticism, preached that Christianity had to evolve and change in light of new knowledge. Many of these pastors also had a strong concern for social justice as a central concern for Christian faith. They preached in the churches of the mainstream, mainline Protestant establishment in Britain, Germany, America, and elsewhere.

But there were plenty of Christian leaders who reacted vigorously against the Documentary Hypothesis and all that it implied. Starting in 1910 in America, these defenders of biblical literalism and traditional beliefs started to codify their ideas into essays that became a book entitled "The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth". It was produced right here in southern California. Those who supported the message of the book were called fundamentalists, and later evangelicals. The Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, pitting supporters of the theory of evolution versus six-day creationists, was a rallying point for the fundamentalist movement. But it also placed fundamentalism in a cultural backwater. Fundamentalism went into a period of relative quiescence for decades, developing its own schools and institutions that avoided contact with the polluting influences of mainstream culture and thought. This network of churches and institutions was diffuse but intertwined. It had all the advantages and disadvantages of subculture: strong institutions with a constituency of people with a strong identity resulting from social isolation.

That began to change in the 1970's and 1980's when evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity went to bed with the Republican Party. In 1983, fundamentalist Bob Jones University lost a court case in which the school was denied federal student aid because it banned interracial relationships or marriages. Fundamentalists were outraged that the government would intervene in what they considered to be a matter of freedom of religion. This outrage was wedded to that of Southern white racists defeated by the civil rights movement. This activated evangelicals and fundamentalists to participate in the political process. Now empowered by the ascendant conservative political movement, conservative Christianity began to have hope that it could conquer America. Abortion had never before been a real concern for evangelicals, but the Roe v. Wade decision led them to pay attention to it and make it part of their crusade for pelvic purity.

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Until the early 1980's, religious discourse in America had been almost entirely what is called the "civil religion" - a vaguely Judeo-Christian rhetoric that avoided any doctrinal details. But suddenly politicians were being subjected to doctrinal tests that they'd never faced before. Liberal-minded people were horrified that the barbarians were now at the gates. The public perception of Christianity was dominated by biblical literalism, religious exclusivism, contradiction to science, and opposition to abortion and homosexuality. Those who had more progressive Christian views were embarrassed to be publicly identified with the faith, for fear of being identified as fundamentalists. Many liberal politicians gave up using the rhetoric of the civil religion for fear of being painted the same way. In the age of astronauts, the good name of the Christian faith was hijacked by past-ronauts who longed for the good old days when everybody thought the world was flat and that fossils were just God's clever way of artificially antiquing the earth so it would look older than it really was.

The megachurch phenomenon exploded in evangelical Christianity, just as many mainstream, mainline churches were imploding. It seemed like the more liberal end of the spectrum was wasting away with the unstoppable onslaught of growing, vigorous conservative churches.

Christians who weren't fundamentalists languished, feeling misunderstood by the wider culture. And then along came John Shelby Spong. In 1991, he wrote a book called "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism". He was an Episcopal bishop in the US who went on the airwaves and said it in no uncertain terms: Jesus did not physically rise from the dead. This gospel story is vitally important as a myth that expresses the transformational power of love. The miracle stories in the Bible are not to be taken literally or factually. Much of the inspiration for Spong's message came from a book called "Honest to God", written in 1963 by an Anglican bishop, John Robinson. Mincing no words, Spong took Robinson's progressive theology and blasted it like a torpedo at the evangelical ship. Outraged conservatives blasted back, but all that did was to put progressive-minded Christians back on the map.

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In the early 1990's, Jim Adams retired as the rector of St Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. He'd been preaching the message of Robinson and Spong for his entire career. As a retirement project, he wrote a "welcome statement" that encapsulated the message, and spread it to his friends and former parishioners. Here's the current version of it:

By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean we are Christians who...

1. Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life;

2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;

3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to:

Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,

Believers and agnostics,

Women and men,

Those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,

Those of all classes and abilities;

4. Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;

5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;

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6. Strive for peace and justice among all people;

7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth.

8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.

The enthusiastic response that his statement drew from Christians worldwide led Jim to establish The Center for Progressive Christianity, now known as ProgressiveChristianity.com. In 1999, I joined its board of directors. In 2000, my first book, Open Christianity, was published: it was an exposition of progressive Christian theology and practice. Other writers put out books that defined and described our movement.

ProgressiveChristianity.org began in the early days of the internet, and I often wonder if we could have been nearly as effective as we were without our website, which attracted a rapidly-growing audience. The organization had, and still has, a miniscule budget, yet somehow it has been able to have an impact far beyond the scale of its resources. Our current president, Fred Plumer, and his daughter, Deshna Ubeda, have greatly expanded the website's resources. Hundreds of congregations became affiliates in the US. Branches of our movement opened in Britain, Canada, and Down Under.

In southern California, John Cobb, the process theologian now retired from Claremont School of Theology, and George Regas, now retired as rector of the big progressive All Saints Church in Pasadena, organized what is now known as Progressive Christians Uniting about 20 years ago, with a focus on regional campaigns for LGBT inclusion, criminal justice reform, action against climate change, and other issues. I now serve on its board of directors and produce resources for its webpages. PCU is now bursting out as a national-level organization under our impressive new, young executive director, Dr. Timothy Murphy. PCU's focus continues to be both theological and activist, grounding our constituent churches with resources for reflection and empowering them to take action for public policy change. In addition to PCU, many other regional groups formed to support and encourage progressive Christians: the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology, the Plymouth Center in Minneapolis, and Faith and Reason in Houston, to name a few.

My focus was on the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spoke at many churches and talked with many pastors to get them engaged in our network. Some churches and pastors balked when I told them how important it was to be explicit about their progressive identity in their signage and publicity. Churches have a tough time seeing themselves from the outside. One UCC church in particular sticks in my memory. I think I spoke there about five times to persuade them to join the network and go public as a progressive church. But they just didn't like that "progressive" word - they weren't used to it - it made their version of Christianity a "marked" one, and that made them uncomfortable. They'd say "Of course we agree with everything your group is about. That's obvious to anybody who belongs to this church! It goes without saying!" But in fact it does not go without saying for those outside the church who might want to come in if they knew what was really going on inside. Most people in America, Christians and non-Christians alike, think that Christianity is about homophobia and six-day creationism. The only way they are going to know that you are different is if you tell them, overtly and succinctly, that you are really quite different. Finally, that church came around and went public, and it turned out to be painless. It turned out to benefit the church, attracting people to it.

This kind of conversation went on in churches around the country. More and more of them claimed the identity, put it on the signs in front of their churches, put it in their publicity. Finally, the press started to notice. The wider culture began to make reference to a category of Christians called progressive.

A turning point in our movement happened at the election in November 2004. An important base of George Bush's support had been evangelicals, so the media was aflutter with punditry about conservative Christians. Jim Wallis, a politically liberal evangelical, was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR around the time of the election. She introduced him as a "progressive Christian". A lot of us were grossed out that Terry Gross would give him that appellation, given that his theology was so old-school. It wasn't until a few years ago that he endorsed same-sex marriage, for example. But at the same time, that was the moment when we knew that our terminology had come into its own. People were starting to talk about us, by name. And in the world of media and culture, this was a huge boost. More and more churches and even seminaries and denominations took on this identity, making it more identifiable. Patheos.com, an interfaith website, set up a Progressive Christian portal.

By that time, also, our movement had evolved. We started out with an oppositional orientation. We positioned ourselves as an alternative to evangelicalism. We blew holes in the hull of fundamentalism. But a negative identity only goes so far. It was time to create a positive identity, and to develop a culture of faith of our own. Hymn writers in New Zealand came up with beautiful new tunes with wonderful lyrics that reflected progressive theology. Progressive Christian authors began to focus more on spirituality and contemplative practices: my own writing reflects this trend. Many of our progressive churches, by clearly claiming this identity, began to flourish, attracting new members who brought wonderful gifts to their congregations. I was the pastor of College Heights Church, UCC, in San Mateo when we got a new member, Polly Moore. She was a mathematician who retired early from a bio-tech firm and was ready for a new career. She went to seminary and then volunteered to run the Liturgy Project for ProgressiveChristianity.org. She's assembled a trove of worship materials and hymns for use by progressive churches around the world, which you can see at the website.

In the last several years, our movement has grown by another means: convergence. The wider culture has made a huge shift toward acceptance of gay and lesbian people, accelerating tremendously just in a few years. With that shift has come a growing disgust among young people with evangelical institutions. Conservative pelvic issues are driving them out of evangelical churches in droves. In America, among US-born young people, evangelical Christianity is in rapid decline. Most of the growth in mega-churches comes from depopulating micro-churches - not from conversion. In fact, as I see every day at the University of Southern California, efforts by evangelicals to evangelize are increasingly counterproductive. There is a growing population of recovering evangelicals who still love Jesus but are burned out on the backward-looking theology and social conservatism of their heritage. A network of what is called "emergent" or "convergent" churches is beginning to converge with our progressive Christian movement. A lot of folks involved in this network show up at the Wild Goose Festival in N. Carolina every summer; it is modeled on the Greenbelt festival in Britain. A number of conferences have been held that have brought together progressives with exiled evangelicals to share strategies and resources. I predict that this trend will continue, and it will significantly swell the scale of our movement. "Emergent" Christians only get more progressive with time.

Three years ago, I hosted Rob Bell for a talk at USC. He was a famous mega-church pastor who woke up one day and realized that nobody is going to hell. For this apostasy, he was derided by the evangelical establishment. He left his church in Michigan and moved here to southern California. "Love Wins", his book about his revelation, got him onto the cover of Time Magazine in 2011. At USC, he mesmerized about 400 recovering evangelicals with his message of Christian inclusion. As he and I walked to dinner afterward, I told him I wanted to introduce him to the world of progressive Christians. "Yeah, I've heard about them, but gosh, they're so quiet, you hardly hear about them," he said. He is a perfect exemplar of the emerging progressive Christian: he doesn't quite know that he is one, but he's catching on! There is a culture gap: he has left the theology behind, but he still talks and acts like an evangelical preacher. This convergence is going to take some time. But I predict that people like Rob Bell are going to bring earnest enthusiasm, vibrant spirituality, and mastery of media to the progressive Christian movement.

Around the world, across America, you will find truly impressive progressive Christian congregations. I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan last May to preach at Fountain Street Church for Pluralism Sunday. It's a grand old sandstone edifice downtown. It's always been progressive: it has an old stained glass window depicting Charles Darwin, after all! But now it's a remarkable community, big and growing, that makes room for Christians and non-Christians alike. It has a major focus on the arts, contemplative spirituality, and progressive public engagement. Another church a lot like it is Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis, a big, vibrant downtown church with a powerful progressive influence on the city and the whole state.

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Go to St Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco and you'll be blown away by a lively progressive community of artists and musicians and activists who worship in an eastern-style sanctuary with a mural of dancing haloed saints above the communion table. Among them are Martin Luther King, John Coltrane, and Dorothy Day, all depicted in an ancient style of church art. The congregation dances around the table before the eucharist.

Go to All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, one of the flagship progressive churches of America - a big and lively congregation with a social witness that extends far beyond its neighborhood. Go to Countryside UCC Church in Omaha, a thriving congregation famous for its jazz worship: it's about to move into a new facility that it will share with a Muslim group and a Jewish synagogue.

Go to the church where I'm a member - Mt Hollywood Congregational UCC in the Los Feliz neighborhood of LA. I love my church! It's full of musicians, artists, actors, writers - and fun. It's a small church with a relatively large population of children. It's multiracial, multicultural, and has diversity of sexual orientation. There are power-packed little progressive churches like it all over the country. Churches that have no pretense about becoming or acting like mega-churches. Churches that believe that small is beautiful. Churches that let their neighbors know who they are, and who they aren't, so that people who want to join them can find them.

This is a taste of the State of the Union for progressive Christianity. And where better to taste it than here, at

, a thriving example of what this movement is all about! I hope that by being aware of your place in the larger picture, you'll do more to claim your space here in Simi Valley, and make your church visible and welcoming to the growing number of people who want to practice your kind of faith!
Over the last few weeks, Mayor Andy Berke received numerous calls from families seeking food assistance, as they had not been able to secure a food voucher. To address the food voucher shortage, Mayor Berke announced Tuesday that the City will purchase 250 food vouchers to be distributed in the two area zip codes most in need. Those two zip codes have been identified as 37404 and 37406.



During the press conference, which was held at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank with interim president Christa Mannarino, Mayor Berke detailed a message he received from a constituent, asking for help in securing a food voucher.



A few weeks ago, I received a Facebook message from a mother, Ill call her Sarah, who desperately needed help for her family.

Sarahs husband was laid off and with two children and no income, their refrigerator and cupboards were bare. She had never needed assistance in feeding her family so she didnt know what to do, said Mayor Berke.Sarah called 211, Mayor Berke said. She went to a church to pick up a food voucher but they were out. She called 211 again and tried to secure a food voucher from a different organization. Again, no food vouchers were available. When Sarah was finally able to secure a food voucher, she did not have the transportation necessary to pick it up. This is a frustrating cycle especially for families already enduring unimaginable stress.Desperate, the only thing Sarah knew to do was send me a Facebook message, asking for help, said Mayor Berke. Molly from my staff called her right away and with the help of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, an emergency food box was taken to her house. This is just one person in need. But unfortunately, this is a situation all too familiar for many in our community.The mission of the Food Bank is to lead a network of partners in eliminating hunger and promoting better nutrition in our region, said CAFB interim president Christa Mannarino. Of the 20 counties we serve in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, Hamilton County has the most need. We know that there are approximately 57,000 people in Hamilton County who dont know where their next meal will come fromthat translates in to approximately 8.2 million meals that go missing each year. Last year, the Food Bank, along with our community partners in the area, was able to distribute just 3.3 million meals. We need to do much more.Mayor Berke went on to recognize that 250 vouchers wouldnt be enough to address the issue of food insecurities families face everyday in Chattanooga.These food vouchers wont fix the long-term issues we face, but they will directly meet the immediate needs of 250 Chattanooga families. This, coupled with the programs around the city and more awareness of the issues of hunger, will get us headed in the right direction, said Mayor Berke. Just this year, the City has started an afterschool and dinner program in our YFD centers. We are serving 500 young people per day our Supper Meal, which is served from 4-6 p.m. Thats 2,500 kids a week that know where they can access food resources after school.The goal with this program is to provide food assistance to those in need, said Ms. Mannarino. The people we serve seek aid for a variety of reasons. Each story is different, but many of those we serve are the working poor. People who have jobs, but are struggling to make ends meet. Our emergency food box program enables us to reach families, seniors, and children when they are most vulnerable. The generous contributions of the Mayors office toward our emergency food box program will help us close the gap between the number of people in need and the number of people served.Mayor Berke and interim president Mannarino urged the community to help in any way they can, pointing out that a dollar donated to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank equal four meals.Much of the food we source comes from the kind donations of retailers, manufacturers and local farmers. But we also purchase food at reduced prices because of our buying powerwhich is why donated dollars can go much farther than donated food items. When purchasing food, nutritional value is important to us as we know it is critical for the people we serve, said Ms. Mannarino. It takes a community to solve hunger. And we welcome the support of individuals and organizations in helping us meet the need in our area.So just by donating $5, you are really impacting the life of a family in Chattanooga, said Mayor Berke. If you cant give money, consider giving your time. My younger daughter volunteers here regularly and is constantly trying to get her friends to bring food here. Volunteering at the food bank is rewarding, and it directly helps get food into the hands of the people who need it most in Chattanooga.Both Mayor Berke and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank encourage residents to donate just $5 dollars for 20 meals. Individuals can visit connect.chattanooga.gov/GIVE5 or text Give5 to 97779 to pledge to give. All donated funds will go directly to feed families in need throughout our area."Please encourage friends and family members to give $5 by sharing this information on social media sites with the hashtag #Give5Feed20," officials said. "If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance please contact United Ways 211. The City of Chattanoogas donated food vouchers will be processed and available through partner organizations in identified zip codes in the coming days."

To learn more about the Chattanooga Area Food Bank including their volunteer opportunities, visit www.chattfoodbank.org.


CLAREMONT, NH - FEBRUARY 02: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at the Claremont Opera House on February 2, 2016 in Claremont, New Hampshire. The New Hampshire primary is February 9. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

There are a lot of things to be gleaned from the results of the Iowa presidential caucuses on Monday night, and one of those is that Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, indeed does have a ton of support among young people. He won Iowa's college town precincts, and the entrance polls showed that he absolutely dominated among voters under 30. The hopeful optimism of his slogan, "A Future to Believe In," is clearly resonating with college students. But are they being realistic in their expectations in what he can deliver?

Look, I am an idealist and a bit of a dreamer myself. Like most who are idealistic in their thinking, I usually eventually come around to facing reality, but always maintain a bit of idealism. For instance, I quit the Republican Party and rejected partisan politics two years ago, but I know that it will take years of hard work on the state and local levels before we have a political system where we don't have to join a party to participate. That's especially true at the presidential level.

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Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator running for president, understands that reality. That's why, after being elected as an independent socialist, he is running in the Democratic Party's primary. The reality is that the Democrats have ballot access and infrastructure needed to be elected in all of the states.

Bernie Sanders has proposed policy proposals that offer a lot of hopeful optimism, but just don't seem to recognize political realities. His proposals for free college and single-payer healthcare recognize real problems facing our country, but he doesn't have realistic ways to pay for his solutions. I understand how his proposals appeal to voters, but I'm a bit baffled at how they look past the fact they aren't likely to be realized.

Those college students and young people are frustrated and anxious about their futures and they're looking for a way to dream big dreams in an uncertain economic climate. I get that. But even these young people accept reality when they have to. For instance, they succumb to reality by checking all the boxes and getting all the right recommendations to get into the best colleges and grad schools to set them on establishment paths in the future. So why are they not taking a realistic look at Sanders's policy proposals?

For help in understanding the energy driving the youth support for Sanders, I reached out to Frederick Lawrence, the former president of Brandeis University and Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School. He certainly has experience working with the demographic groups driving the Sanders movement.

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Bernie Sanders isn't the first presidential candidate to attract the support of college students. How does the Sanders movement compare to student-driven candidate movements in the past?

The excitement and energy for Sanders among so many students is reminiscent of the relatively recent campaigns of Howard Dean in 2004 and President Obama in 2008, and earlier campaigns of George McGovern in 1972 and Eugene McCarthy in 1968. In each case, young people were captivated by the possibility of significant, even radical, change. They were drawn to a campaign that appeared to broaden the options beyond those that the political system had generated. In some ways, it is therefore not surprising that the full practicality of programs those candidates were advancing was not the focus. The very focus on practicality is based on the existing options. To some extent, this is not about ignoring practicality but rather a sense that practicality should not be an initial threshold issue. Practical concerns should be raised subsequently, after the political discussion has been widened and new options are on the table. In the late 60s and early 70s this was largely about foreign policy and linked closely to the Vietnam War. In 2004 and 2008 opposition to the Iraq War played a major role. This year is has largely been about domestic policy.

The emotion of fear is certainly fueling the candidacy of Donald Trump, is the underlying emotion of the Sanders campaign fear as well? How is the anxiety and fear around economic uncertainty different for students than the general population?

There certainly is an anxiety and uncertainty driving much of the interest in Sanders' campaign, but I think that "hope" is a better word that "fear" to describe those drawn to his candidacy. The very belief that there "must be a better way" is inherently idealistic and optimistic rather than fearful.

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I get that they are searching for a better way and want a hopeful future. I hear a lot about student loans and the need for reform of how we finance college. How much of that fear and anxiety related to student loans?

Again, I would not describe this as being about fear but it is about anxiety about the future. There is a concern among many people, not just students, about the cost of higher education. There are many responses to this, but one set of responses is to look to the Government to make a major investment in higher education. This is Sanders approach and it is not surprisingly very attractive to many students.

Do you think they'll grow up, get a job, and become Republicans once they overcome their fear of the future and realize that they can make it out there?!!?

First of all, let's remember that, although we have been talking about the Democratic primaries, there is plenty of energy about young Republicans as well behind some of those candidacies, so "they" does not mean all students. That said, those who support Bernie Sanders this year, just like those who supported Gene McCarthy in 1968 or Howard Dean in 2004 will go through many changes over the course of their lives. Often as not, however, it not just a straight line. If many liberal students become more conservative voters during the Reagan years, many free market advocates become more pro-regulation after the economic collapse that led to the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009. Growing up is not a single event -- it is a life-long process.

Thanks so much for your insights. I'm certainly interested to see how this important group of voters behaves between now and November.
Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association had a big influence on my cause marketing career. Growing up during the 70's, The Jerry Lewis Telethon on Labor Day weekend was must-watch television.

Of course, we didn't have the choices on TV that we have today. We had the major networks, a few local stations and that was it. So it wasn't unusual for the family to be gathered around the television watching the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

After college, I went to work for MDA. I learned about fundraising and worked behind the scenes on the local telethon in my hometown of Boston. I even visited the national office where I got to meet some of the founders of the organization.

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MDA launched my career as a fundraiser and a cause marketer.

THE UNSUNG HERO OF CAUSE MARKETING: JERRY LEWIS & MDA

While American Express is credited with "discovering" cause marketing in 1983, many others can lay claim to that honor.

If American Express is the "Columbus" of cause marketing, Jerry Lewis and MDA were the early Viking explorers that visited North America much earlier. MDA was building win-win partnerships with businesses nearly two decades before American Express ever considered working with cardholders to restore the Statue of Liberty.

Despite being an early fundraising and cause marketing innovator, MDA lost its way as mass media grew up in the 80's and 90's. Telethon lost its relevancy with viewers and critics denounced the show as a "pity party."

After years of declining viewership and a split with Jerry Lewis, MDA scrapped the 21  hour telethon in 2011. A 6-hour show limped along for a few more years. An organization that had bravely sailed uncharted seas now seemed adrift.

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MDA CHARTS A NEW COURSE

Last Friday in New York, the city where MDA and telethon was founded, the Muscular Dystrophy Association set its sights on a new course. The charity unveiled a revitalized brand reflecting its renewed commitment to finding treatments and cures for the kids, adults and families it serves.

As part of its renewed mission focus, MDA will double spending on research toward drug development and clinical trials, and increase the number of families who receive MDA care and support by 50 percent to 150,000 individuals annually by the year 2020. In the next five years, MDA also plans to send 20,000 kids to its highly acclaimed, weeklong MDA Summer Camps, at no charge to their families.

"Our families spoke and we listened," said MDA President and CEO Steven M. Derks. "Just as kids and adults with muscular dystrophy must start a new fight each day, MDA is starting a new era in our fight on their behalf, building on our rich heritage."

Jerry Lewis even joined in via a taped message with words of support. "I think it's great that MDA has a new look and tagline -- we've got to keep giving strength, independence and life to all the kids and adults who are fighting muscular dystrophy and other life-threatening diseases," he said.

There are other changes too. MDA rolled out a new logo, website and campaign called Live Unlimited, a digital hub for supporters at MDA.org.

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MDA has also named a young adult as its new National Goodwill Ambassador. This is the first time in the ambassador program's 64-year history that a child hasn't been selected to serve in this role.

MDA has finally found both its roots and branches.

The organization's early start paved the way for cause marketing and viral sensations like the Ice Bucket Challenge. (The ALS Association wouldn't even be in business if it wasn't for the public awareness Lewis and MDA built for an obscure and rare disease.)

Now, the organization is reaching for the stars with an updated look and a renewed mission.
Co-authored by Nick Schonfeld.

I have a friend called Dagny Warmerdam whom I met during my time in Cape Town. Over the years Dagny has become one of the most important people in my life. We've been through so much together: stressful commercial shoots, an impromptu beached-whale rescue, and most recently spending a week with the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit (I'll tell you more about that in another post). In 2011, while photographing our friend Philipa, we talked about what it was like growing up as a lesbian woman in Cape Town.

Dagny told me that despite a constitution widely regarded as the most progressive in the world, and which supposedly safeguards women's and children's rights, the Rainbow Nation as South Africa is unofficially known, is home to high levels of violence against women and children. Your degree of sexual freedom is based on the color of your skin, and to which social group you belong. If you are white, being LGBTQ in South Africa is no different than in the US or UK: difficult at times, but a personal struggle for acceptance by family or friends. In poor and black communities being LGBTQ can mean exile, rape or even death.

One thing in particular that Dagny said shocked me more than anything else. In South Africa, LGBTQ's are subjected to the shocking practice of corrective rape: a truly awful hate crime in which the perpetrator tries to 'cure' the victim of his or her homosexuality. I couldn't get my head around the fact that in a country I loved so much, corrective rape happens regularly, with possibly as many as ten new cases a week in Cape Town alone.

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Months of phone calls and emails later, I found myself standing outside a town hall in Khayelitsha. Inside, something remarkable was happening: the 2012 Miss Lesbian Beauty Pageant. A celebration of lesbian beauty, right in the middle of Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town infamous for its treatment of LGBTQ's.

Most of the women I photographed for this series were participants in this pageant. The pride with which they strutted their stuff on the catwalk was incredibly moving and it inspired me to take the portraits you see here. They wanted to make a bold statement, in defiance of those who refused to accept them, and out in the open for all to see. They ignored the repressive attitudes that were meant to subjugate them, and instead, chose to celebrate who they were in full view of their community.

The Rainbow Girls opened my eyes to the raw and often contradictory world of sexual identity in South Africa. A world in which simply being who you are means living in constant fear. A world that is ripe for change. But more than anything, the Rainbow Girls showed me that being a black lesbian in South Africa takes real guts.
Mary Beth Goosman was volunteering at her local shelter in 2010 when she met a special dog who changed her life. Watson had short spine syndrome, a rare, genetic condition likely caused by inbreeding that causes the spine to be compressed.

Watson was a border collie but half the size of others of his breed and scrunched up from tail to head. At the time Goodman adopted him from Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C., there were only four other dogs known to be living with short spine syndrome. Not knowing what to expect, Goosman took him home and set out to shower him with all of her love. That was six years ago. Watson never had any health issues but suddenly passed away in December of 2015. He was nearly 14.

Goosman was devastated. The sudden loss of such a unique and loving dog sent her reeling. The void he left was apparent every day. At the time of his death, a total of 12 short spine dogs had been identified and were all living in happy homes. Sadly, just a couple of weeks prior to his passing, another short spine dog named Criket also suddenly passed away from a gastric torsion.

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Time did not heal her heart. I maintain a page for my short spine dog Cuda, a rescue pit bull, called Cuda Cares. Through it, I keep in touch with the parents of the other short spine dogs. Often, people share their special needs dogs with me.

Christina Davidson, Rescue & Adoptions Coordinator at Iredell County Animal Services in Statesville, North Carolina, is one of those people. I had written an article about the short spine dogs for The Dodo and she read it. A couple of weeks ago, she messaged me a photo of a dog at her shelter who she thought had short spine syndrome. His sloped back, long front legs, short rear legs and elongated face made me think she might be right. He weighed just 12 pounds, too! He made me think of Watson.



Watson

Spartacus was recently removed from a hoarding situation. This was not the first time Animal Control had been to this house. This time they found Spartacus struggling among more than 50 dogs, walking on rotting floors and so crowded, the owners had to use the windows to leave and enter the house. Once in the shelter, he quickly became popular, and his easygoing and loving temperament won everyone over. He spent his days hanging in Davidson's office, usually in her lap.



Christina with Spartacus

I had to tell Mary Beth about Spartacus. Still grieving over Watson, who had passed away only a few weeks earlier, she wasn't sure she could be ready adopt so soon. I understood but I pressed on. I knew he belonged with her. But Goosman worried that she could not bear losing another dog after giving her heart to him.

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Davidson jumped in and arranged for Spartacus to get x-rays and bloodwork done to get more insight to his health. Bradford Animal Hospital even offered discounted services to help Spartacus. Spartacus needs dental procedure, but other than that, he looked good to Dr. Bradford for a two year old dog.

Goosman took a leap of faith. She couldn't resist his soulful eyes and silly, long tongue. She agreed that he belonged with her. Davidson agreed to drive Spartacus from the shelter to Raleigh, North Carolina, where she met up with my friend and animal advocate, Erica Pigage. Erica, along with her friend, Theresa Calior-Hall, drove Spartacus to north to meet Goosman.



Erica starts the second leg of Spartacus' journey to his new home

Six hours after he left the shelter, in the parking lot of a Wawa in Richmond, Virginia, Goosman became mom to a second dog with short spine syndrome. Thanks to some incredible individuals, Spartacus traveled nearly 300 miles to go home.



Spartacus and Mary Beth meet for the first time

What are the chances of adopting one of 16 dogs known to have it (14 still living) twice? I believe that Watson sent Spartacus Goosman's way for just one reason: to heal her broken heart, short spine syndrome style.



Spartacus at home with his new brothers, Nikko and Joey



Originally posted on TheDodo.com
If you look at the images of yogis strewn across the Internet, you'd have to believe that all yoga practitioners are continuously and exceptionally happy. In fact, it may have been one of the reasons you've decided to take up yoga yourself. Yoga has been marketed as a positivity pill and that promise of unbreakable cheer has attracted many to it. The downfall has been an increasingly dangerous pressure on yogis and yoga teachers to cleave to a facade of positivity no matter what the situation. This skin deep display keeps us from experiencing and expressing our real truths that are much more healing and helpful to society than going around simulating bliss.

Don't get me wrong, one of the wonderfully contagious benefits of yoga is it helps make you happier. Yoga practice strengthens the observer part of the mind, making you more conscious of your thoughts and drawing you continuously into the present. This is known to increase happiness, as most of our worry and anxiety comes from focusing on the past and future, agonizing over situations that are more often than not out of our control. Yoga can also help release tension from the body, help improve digestion, and help deepen sleep. All of this has a positive effect on our mood. When we are in balance we are happier. Yoga teaches us to find that balance and how to observe a situation from outside our own likes and dislikes. Through this practice we come to understand the fluctuating nature of emotions and therefor view conflict as transitory and non-personal. Happier yet.

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I'd say it's accurate to sell the promise of increased happiness to the yoga curious, but it's extremely problematic. In our desire to convert everyone to the yoga path, we are selling so hard this image of the always positive yogi that there is no room for a dissenting view point. The yoga personas around are all cheery and bright and there is a major pressure to contribute to and keep up that appearance even when not feeling it inside. There is a sense that if you are not a happy yogi you are probably at fault and doing the yoga wrong.

Are all yoga practitioners continuously happy or is someone hiding the truth? These are the questions that taunt the even once in awhile not so happy yogi, increasing their discomfort and deepening their frustration. These feelings are added to the original angers which continue to be internalized and suppressed causing a stress and harm on the individual that has now doubled what it would have been if allowed its original expression.

Happiness is found in yoga, not by searching for it, not by expecting it, but by doing the practice and falling upon it. Trying for a specific result is actually not at all in alignment with the practice of yoga which asks us to be present and observe without categorization. It is in these moments that we stumble upon a feeling even more lasting and stable than happiness. This feeling can not be presented or sold. It stays with us hovering, an increased zen, a higher baseline of contentedness, an ease with the way things are.

More than happiness, a long time practitioner gains a sense of self, insight into others and a strong ability to discern. She can feel energy, interpret intention and light the way with a soft touch or with a sharp word. The pressure on her to always be "happy" and "positive" diminishes and denies her power which is rooted in truth and awareness.

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It's kind of ironic. The very app that has gotten some bad press because of bullying and threats of violence, was created to encourage young people to act out in positive ways to support each other.



After School co-founder and CEO Michael Callahan

After School, which just announced that it raised $16.4 from some prominent investors, was the brainchild of co-founders Michael Callahan, 33, and Cory Levy, 24, and grew largely from Callahan's personal experiences of being abused as a child and bullied as a teen. "In high school I was tall and thin and would dress outside of the norm. I was the kind of the person that was picked on because I was different." Towards the end of high school he found himself "voluntarily helping other people who had issues. " He said that he "even had adults asking me for advice." And he discovered that "helping other people with their problems helped me with mine. " He told me about a phone call he had when he was 17 with a long-time girl friend who, as she hung up, said "I'm going to kill myself." She didn't. But she did leave Michael with a sense of helplessness because she was three hours away and there was nothing he could do to intervene from that distance.

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It was these experiences, he told me, that led him to envision an app that teens could use to express themselves, to reach out to others and to ask for and offer help to fellow teens in distress. He wanted it to be anonymous so that teens didn't face repercussions or ridicule when asking difficult questions or dealing with uncomfortable personal issues. But he and Levy also wanted to create something that was local -- just for kids at the same school.

Listen to Larry Magid's interview with After School's Michael Callahan

They wrote the code and launched the After School app in the fall of 2014 and were shocked at how quickly it took off. "Interest rocketed from 0 to 50% of all US high schools in two weeks, said co-founder Levy. "We didn't have in place yet the ability to monitor and understand the complexities of the eco system," added Callahan. "We then spent time developing safety features."

The company doesn't disclose the exact number of students signed up but claims that it's "the largest social network for teens, replacing Facebook for them as a place to call home."

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Regrettable cases

Callahan struck me as a person who truly regretted the fact that some people had misused his technology platform. As the Washington Post pointed out late last year, there were cases of bullying and at least one case where a student threatened to carry out an attack at school, "I'd rather take my AR 15 to school and practice on my classmates than to the gun range," his attorney told the Post. The student "pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat and using a computer in a crime and was sentenced to 90 days in jail," according to the Post.

"Our technology had positive and negative use cases," Callahan admitted. "Every time you lower the barrier to communicate, you get richer communications and the ability to fix the world's problems, however you are also going to get closer to things that people are thinking about." He said that "the closer we move to the brain itself, the more it allows you to express unfiltered thought. As new communications technologies emerge, there is more need for safety and precautionary things."

Safety features

The negative early experiences, as well as Apple's decision to temporarily remove After School from its app store, led Callahan and Levy to re-think the app and engineer in some safety features including a system that employs mostly offshore human moderators who spend a couple of seconds looking at every post to make sure it isn't mean or otherwise inappropriate. There are also filters designed to pick up forbidden words (even "damn" and "hell" along with hard-core profanity) and there is software that attempts of determine if a user is threatening to hurt him or herself or others. The company, said Levy, has developed a system to contact local school authorities and police if a student appears to be a threat to himself or other people.

There is also a reporting system, but unlike most services, all reports result in the immediate removal of allegedly offensive posts. They are reviewed later and restored if the report is found to be invalid, but the company errs on the side of taking down reportedly offensive posts, according to its founders. "With most (social networking) companies, when you flag something, their systems require multiple people to make the decision to take it down," said Callahan. "With After School, if you report it, it's gone."



After School abuse reporting

Also, the app has parental controls that allow a parent to limit what their child can do with the app, including the types of updates that can be posted or read.

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Callahan and Levy said that After School is committed to encouraging young people to engage in positive actions. They have formed an alliance with DoSomething.org to empower high school students to take on causes such as fighting discrimination and poverty to fighting for a better environment.
Winter doesn't generally happen in Texas. It almost figures that the very week it finally becomes cold enough to bundle up under a few layers, it's the time my university's Pagan Student Alliance decides to hold ritual for Imbolc. But this is an important celebration, which signifies that even in the middle of this spontaneous cold weather, we're looking to the warm, rising sun that'll soon nurture the earth with new life.

Imbolc is one of the eight sabbats in the Wheel of the Year, the cycle of seasonal holidays pagans celebrate. Imbolc is between the winter solstice celebration, Yule, and the spring equinox sabbat, Ostara. As such, Imbolc is the first pagan holiday of the year; rather fitting as it celebrates new beginnings, be it in the coming spring season or within our daily life.

Usually celebrated on the second of February, Imbolc is an opportunity to pay tribute to the Celtic goddess of the hearth, Brighid. With that fire imagery, Imbolc is sometimes referred to as "Candlemas", as observers celebrate by lighting candles in honor of Brighid.

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We usually hold our rituals outside, but this time we gather indoors for an early and humble celebration. There are some new faces among us as we gather in our circle; a good sign given that it's Imbolc - new faces, new beginnings.

Our chieftain puts a new spin on our meditation this ritual - instead of formally calling quarters (or the four elements of fire, water, earth, and air) as we usually do, she asks us to imagine a ball of light right in the middle of our circle. One by one, she evokes visual images of each element spinning and swirling within this ball between us - calm blue, gentle foliage, ribbons of light. The imagery feels appropriate, as if we were beginning to sprout spring right there in the room.

Then comes Brighid. Under the soft guiding voice of our chieftain, we visualize her cradling this ball of light we have all created, full of life and energy. We evoke the elements and Brighid for Imbolc this way, and they watch over us during our ritual as we open our eyes from meditation.

We're passed around pipe cleaners to begin weaving makeshift Brighid's crosses, which is usually made with rushes or straw. I decide to use colors that I correlated to life and firelight to make mine: white, red, and green. As of now, it rests at my window bring protection to my home and soak up the sunlight.

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Fresh tea goes around. I go with a chamomile blend. Its warmth fills us, and reminds us of the earth that will soon melt away its own frost and give way to spring. The herbs and flowers that bring taste and comfort to our tea will sprout again from the soil. The days will grow longer once again as the sun begins to show its face more and more.

Light and life. These are the things we must remember during this day, and I'm reminded of the opportunity to light my own candle in my spirit to bring me guidance from the darkness of the winter left behind. There are many days when I let the cold in, and had my spirits lowered from the darkness. But on this day, I plant new seeds inside me, new resolves to keep close. The light of the candle flickers and is small, which is why it's precious and important to take care of.

When the crosses are done being made and the tea is all consumed, Brighid returns the light we made to us. We bid farewell to her bright presence, and unravel the light in our circle one element at a time until our energy returns right back to the universe and our core. With this, our Imbolc ritual ends.
Open Source, normally referred to within the domain of computer software, also pertains to the availability of the inner workings of physical operations and technology in the modes of hardware and sociological being with my focus here in view of agricultural life and design. There is a wide variety of literature available online providing information on agricultural methods, but where food production is concerned, the most informative pathways towards gaining an understanding of farming is to see, firsthand, how farmers and ranchers operate in their seasonal tasks. I have visited several farms in the past couple of years that have operated in such a way that have allowed for guest study of their daily procedures and thus exist as open source sites of agriculture, with one in particular ringing out as the most appropriate to mention as an open source agricultural operation I have had personal experience with.

I first learned of Polyface Farms through the Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan in relation to how sustainable animal raising can thrive in opposition to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or CAFO's, for short. Upon receiving a chance to visit the farm through the Sustainable Agriculture Club of Penn State University, I couldn't refuse a trip to Swoope, Virgina to join a tour hosted by Daniel Salatin. Daniel's father, Joel Salatin's mission, as the chief owner and architect of the farm's operation, strives to provide high quality livestock in a sustainable fashion by limiting consumers to the bio-regional areas surrounding the farm in Northern Virginia; Joel Salatin refuses to ship any product off-site and allows the animals to fully live out their domestic instincts.

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The Salatin family and farmhands strive to provide answers to all questions posed by those who visit the farm. Any party is welcome to view the farm's operations given that prior notification is exercised. Seasonal tours are also provided to those that seek to become educated attendees and consumers of the overall farming methods.

Though, there exists a farm that I've been interested in visiting for years and have yet to reach upon the life path set before me, The Factor e Farm, part of Marcin Jakubowski's brain child, Open Source Ecology, has alluded me.

Open Source Ecology (OSE) exists as an organization seeking to create what Marcin refers to as the "Open Source Economy." Essentially, the idea is to design, build, and use machines deemed necessary for a community to sustain itself indefinitely using local resources. The project intends to meet and even exceed first world standards of living. Fifty industrial machines have been selected by the organization; the design process and practical building is being documented and presented to the public in an open source format via the internet. Collaboration with other groups and individuals seeking the development of sustainable communities are paramount to the stated mission of Open Source Ecology.

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See Open Source Ecology Paradigm for the stated mission as written by Marcin and collaborators.
Voting Hands and Ballot Box

**Crossposted at www.braintrustlive.com, where Lila co-hosts the Brain Trust Live podcast and blogs regularly about politics.**



Here's a bold declaration: Despite the rancor accompanying this year's races and last year's congressional session, there is only one issue worth voting on. It's a deceptively simple issue too; massively important, but, oddly, still one a vast majority of Americans agree on.

The issue? Campaign finance reform, and in this year of big ideas and big issues and movements and Twitter trolling, many of us will get a chance to meaningfully vote on it the first time in our lives. For millennials and beyond, Bernie Sanders offers a first opportunity to cast a ballot in favor of a major primary player who hasn't bought into the corporate funding system. Even if you think he's a grump of an elderly socialist with nothing else to officer, it's worth taking that option seriously because, whether you know it or not, your vote on campaign finance reform is ultimately the only one that counts.

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We live with some hugely unpopular realities in the U.S., but chances are you don't waste much thought on why, for example Congress can't pass even minor pieces of gun control legislation despite our long history of grizzly mass shootings. You probably also don't spend time pondering why the best we can do in terms of health coverage is a national plan that puts millions of dollars of government money in the hands of for-profit private to insurance companies. You've likely never sat back and thought "why can't we regulate Wall Street so that negligence and greed doesn't periodically put our entire economy at risk?"

You're not lazy, you just already know the answer to all of these questions and the answer is corporate and lobbyist money in the pockets of your representatives, my representatives, strangers' representatives...all the representatives. This money is such a universal part of our electoral system that we don't even ask more of our candidates. Instead, voters are left to determine which candidates are supported by the least worst interests. When we have to think in terms of whether the banking lobby trumps the gun lobby or the health insurance lobby trumps the energy lobby, however, we've already lost. Every two years the Americans that bother to vote in the first place must cast their ballots in favor of policies they don't agree with and don't work in their favor in order to vote at all.

This is frustrating because of the mockery it makes of the democratic system, but it's especially frustrating since, back in June, the New York Times printed a poll showing near unanimous agreement on the need to change our electoral funding system. This isn't an exaggeration -- some people disagreed on the scope of the problem but 0% of them thought that everything was fine as-is. Americans don't reach those levels of unity on any other issue, including the question of comparatively small national importance such as whether snakes and tornadoes are scary.

Unsurprisingly, of course, a majority of those polled by the Times were also pessimistic about anything being done. Candidates can say anything they want about healthcare, education, or "believing in what's best in us," but their ability to deliver on any promises at all is severely hampered by the fact that they can't be as responsive to voters as they are to the money that pays for their publicity. Our lack of campaign finance reform is, in fact, why we can't even get any action on the issue of campaign finance reform.

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As we close in on the bulk of the 2016 primaries we've been asked by candidates on both sides of the aisle to think about what we believe our responsibilities are as voters. Some candidates within the establishment are asking us to vote pragmatically considering the system we have. Other candidates, those challengers like Sanders who are experiencing huge and largely unprecedented surges in the polls, are asking us to think beyond the system and vote towards the system we wish we had.

It's understandable that many of us feel compelled to cut our losses and vote for the best version of the compromised system we know, but if we believe our job is to help decide on a pragmatic party strategy instead of representative party policies, then our opinions on the actual issues will never matter as much as those of the donor class and the flow of corporate money will never stop.
"I have never seen a day of peace in my life," Colombian civil society leaders have told me. As President Juan Manuel Santos visits Washington on February 3 and 4, 2016, there's hope they may see such a day.

Talks with the FARC guerrillas are advancing, with agreement on the thorniest issue, transitional justice, reached in December. In January, both parties called on the United Nations to provide an unarmed mission to verify a bilateral ceasefire and the laying down of arms, another signal that an accord could be signed soon.

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Sixty diverse victims of the conflict have had a chance to speak to the peace table in Havana. They have supported peace, called for the truth to be revealed and demanded guarantees that the brutal past will never be repeated. Women's groups fought for and won space to present their perspectives. But organizations of Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples, who bore the bitter brunt of the conflict and lived in areas in which guerrillas will be demobilized, have not been invited to share their collective views. They must be heard before the accords are finalized.

The Colombian government and the remaining major guerrilla group, the ELN, now in preliminary talks, must also launch negotiations -- or the conflict will not truly end. Is the accord perfect? Far from it, as no peace agreement is perfect. It does sacrifice some justice for peace. The transitional justice agreement provides alternative penalties for those who confess their crimes; guerrillas who committed grave abuses will not get the jail time they deserve. While those who do not confess will face jail.

Human rights groups also remain greatly concerned that soldiers who committed extrajudicial executions and other crimes against humanity and high-level officials who command responsibility in such crimes could be let off the hook. How the accord will affect these cases is murky. These cases must go forward in the civilian justice system.

The Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas should listen to voices of victims as they finalize negotiations. Colombian civil society and the international community will then need to press hard for the maximum possible truth, justice, and reparations once peace is declared. After an accord is signed, Colombians must construct peace from the ground up, day by day, village by village, farm by farm, city by city. Colombians, especially in rural areas, will continue to face threats from mobilized guerrillas; "bacrim" or paramilitary groups, the rightwing insurgents that never fully demobilized; and those local politicians, companies and military members still linked to paramilitary groups and opposed to victims reclaiming their land and rights. Human rights defenders could face escalated violence, and communities in former conflict zones will confront risks of sexual violence. Indeed, Colombian activists warn that we should talk about the "post-accord," not the post-conflict, period.

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The United States and the international community can help by funding and supporting Colombian civil society initiatives to construct peace and verify the accords and Colombian government efforts to strengthen civilian institutions in war-torn areas. The international community must challenge Colombia to address the vast inequality that fueled the conflict.

As President Santos visits Washington, it's uplifting to see the White House supporting peace. But the White House is also celebrating "the success of Plan Colombia," the $10 billion in U.S. support for Colombia since 2000.

For those who have borne the brunt of the conflict, such words hurt. During the time period of Plan Colombia, with the U.S.-funded escalation of war, 4 million people were displaced. Paramilitaries committed massacres of men, women and children, abetted all too often by members of the army. More than 6 million people became victims of the war.

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At the height of Plan Colombia and of U.S. military aid and training, members of the Colombian armed forces are alleged to have murdered more than 4,300 civilians--mainly to up their body count. Most were young men from poor neighborhoods, men whom the soldiers thought would not be missed. They were often recruited with promises of jobs, then murdered and dressed in guerrilla uniforms.

During Plan Colombia, U.S.-funded intelligence services spied on and threatened journalists, human rights defenders, church leaders, opposition politicians and Supreme Court magistrates.During Plan Colombia, more than 1,000 trade unionists were murdered. Human rights defenders were killed, threatened and disappeared. Let's stop being blind to that terrible history. And let's not repeat it anywhere else, ever again.
Student Leaders at UTC  Chattanooga are scheduled to hear a special civic advisory, encouraging them to vote in an upcoming regional Presidential Preference Primary. The topic of the talk: Power in Youth Votes- presented by the John C. Fremont Philanthropy will be presented to the UTC Inter Fraternity Council. The event is sponsored by Fort Oglethorpe Applebees and the Down Town Chilies Restaurants.



One crucial fact, the youth vote became its own demographic following the passing of the XXVI amendment to the Constitution. That allowed the voting age to begin at 18, subsequently; the next National Election gave Richard M. Nixon one of the largest Electoral College Wins in history November, 1972. His resounding numbers also includes the greatest percentage of youth votes 18 to 25, ever recorded.



The key purpose of the Wednesday UTC event is to share with college students that they have, can and will continue to influence our governance.

"Ideally we want students to engage their governance to help perpetuate their own ideals of what is best for our Republic, said Mr. Boyle, spokesman & trainer for the civic organization.

The leadership event is a part of the Civic Society America Programs to encourage collegians to be more active and engaged in governance that often starts with simply being a registered voter and educating themselves about issues and candidates.



Fremont Philanthropies is a civic educational, non-partisan, non governmental organization dedicated to advance civics, leadership and international understanding. Mr. Aleq Boyle, National director and president of the Philanthropy will deliver the message to select students.



Speaker bio:

Aleq Boyle, has been quoted on issues of Ethics, Local & National Policy as well as Military concerns from media outlets like the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Hufington Post, Chattanooga Times Free Press & others, hes also a published author with features from the Savannah Mourning News & a variety of other publications on Civic issues & concerns about governance, political leaders & policy.



Mr. Boyle is a member of the Tennessee Society; Sons of the American Revolution, a U.S. Navy Veteran and in his professional life delivers programs in corporate training, advising clients on new-media platforms, strategy and implementation.

Hes dedicated much of his adult life advancing greater understanding and engagement by citizens in all things electoral and governance.

Hes worked professionally with presidential campaigns as well as candidates for U.S. congressional, state & legislative posts. 2016 represents 30 years of his professional efforts in the public policy and electoral process.
Severina Raimunda holds her granddaughter Melisa Vitoria, left, who was born with microcephaly and her twin brother Edison Junior at the IMIP hospital in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. The zika virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is well-adapted to humans, thrives in people's homes and can breed in even a bottle cap's-worth of stagnant water. The Zika virus is suspected to cause microcephaly in newborn children. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.

Unlike other viruses spread through the bite of the Aedes mosquito -- such as dengue, yellow fever, or chikungunya -- the Zika virus often went unnoticed and was considered a mild tropical disease with most virus carriers being symptomless. Yet Brazil recently found itself in the throes of an unprecedented Zika outbreak -- with more than a million people infected within the past year -- and an unusually high number of babies born with microcephaly. There is growing international consensus, although not yet definitive proof, that the virus has potentially catastrophic implications for infected pregnant women and their unborn children, as well as possible links to other serious neurological conditions. Experts believe that environmental destruction caused the Zika virus to infect humans and is fueling its dramatic spread through the Americas.

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There is no vaccine or cure for Zika, and a health sector response will simply not be sufficient to stop its spread. This means that fear of infection is mounting among people living in the most vulnerable communities across Latin America, where cased have been reported in 25 countries and territories.

Some countries have responded to the threat of Zika by issuing their own recommendations including advising women not to get pregnant, introducing travel warnings and encouraging individuals to cover up and use more mosquito repellent. Unfortunately, these recommendations are mostly focused on individual action: what a woman should do to protect herself and her unborn baby. They assume that all women have full control over their reproductive health and choices, and that they have the resources and knowledge to act.

The WHO Emergency Committee highlighted the importance of aggressive measures to reduce infection rates. To stop the spread of Zika, governments will need to do much more. At a minimum, vastly expanded mosquito control measures are urgently needed. These include residual spraying of houses, a focus on eliminating breeding sites, minimizing urban stagnant water, community engagement to raise awareness, and mapping of the Aedes mosquito to better target efforts. As is true of any disease outbreak, as we saw with Ebola and learned from years working on HIV, health and development are intimately related. The poor, those who live in informal settlements, marginalized populations, and groups that lack power and resources are often the hardest hit.

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With this in mind, UNDP has always advocated for multi-sectoral responses to health, recognizing that vulnerability to poor health is often shaped by inequality, bad policies in agriculture, environment, trade, housing or education, and a lack of a coordinated responses during outbreaks.

In declaring Zika a global public health emergency, the WHO has acknowledged that robust and concerted cross-sectoral global action is needed to stop this virus. UNDP has much to contribute, with our broad experience in supporting the implementation of large-scale health, environment, and development programmes. Through our partnership with the Global Fund, UNDP manages malaria programmes in nine countries. One of the ways UNDP can provide support to the Zika efforts is sharing expertise on multi-dimensional mosquito control responses. In addition, UNDP has strong partnerships with key health agencies, regional organizations, and civil society to help accelerate efforts.
I may or may not have been to France, depending on whom you ask.

This post originally appeared on Map Happy.

I was technically in France for about three hours. My feet even touched the ground (read: the tarmac) before I boarded the terminal shuttle. I ate French food and breathed French air--but I was just passing through on the way to Prague. But what exactly qualifies as having "been" somewhere?

Can I say I've "been" to France? Physically, yes; experientially and culturally, no. (As much as I'd like to pretend airport food counts as a culinary experience.)

I got into "country counting" by way of traveling the states as a kid. I only have six left untrekked: North Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma. But if I'm being completely honest I'd have to go back to Texas, Nevada and Georgia. In those cases I've only done in-airport transfers.

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Some people have minimums such as "three meals, eight people" before they claim they've been somewhere. Others need to spend a certain amount of time in a place--at least 24 hours, at least a weekend. Some require travel to more than one city within the same country.

Everyone has different ways of counting. Touching down is good enough for some; the same with briefly driving or passing through. Getting through customs is another common marker. And while it's certainly more official, it seems like just a start.

Geopolitical considerations

The world is covered with similar geopolitical and cultural ambiguities. A visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Crimea or the South China Sea islands--aside from a set of amazing experiences--can be visits to different nations depending on who, when and where they're from. Placehood is a convoluted mess; lines drawn on a map don't always cover it.

Look no further than China (The People's Republic of China), Taiwan (Republic of China), Hong Kong and the definition of what is "China." In an effort to escape communism, Chinese nationals fled to Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Taiwan continues to function outside Chinese rule with its separate legal and cultural institutions, though mainland China continues to consider Taiwan as a renegade state.

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Hong Kong's story is no less convoluted. Though it is technically under Chinese sovereign rule after being transferred back to the government in 1997, it continues to function independently as an autonomous region (hence its full name: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China).

But because it was under British rule for 156 years, Hong Kong has been culturally and politically distinct from the PRC for decades--which isn't something that changes overnight. To make matters even more complicated, the region has its own set of laws, currency and immigration system.

Do the U.N.'s 195 sovereign states really cover the complexities of the world? Not even close. Surely someone who's only visited Denmark can't claim to have been to Greenland and vice versa.

Discussions of statehood, territory, protectorate or colonial status aside, there must be some way outside international affairs to designate a place as distinct.

According to whom?

The Traveler's Century Club has a much more viable solution. It's an organization for people who have visited 100+ world territories and they've created a list of 324 distinct places possible to visit. Their website reads:

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Although some are not actually countries in their own right, they have been included because they are removed from the parent country, either geographically, politically or ethnologically.

The list is fairly exhaustive and can update to reflect the current state of global politics without depending on them entirely. It's a few steps above relying on maps, but there's still room to expand.

Stefan Krasowski, who runs the Rapid Travel Chai travel blog, is a member of The Traveler's Century Club. He first became interested in country counting in his college days. While traveling through Asia, he was inspired to try and travel to every province in China.

Krasowski hit 100 world territories in 2010 and is up to 221 countries these days, depending on who's asking. And while the Traveler's Century Club's standard for what counts as a visit is rather inclusive (they count airport transfers), Krasowski, like many, has a very personal set of criteria.

"My rule," Krasowski says, "is to see a place in a way that I don't feel like I missed anything that I have to go back for. I only need to spend a night in Liechtenstein but when I went to Iran, I didn't think that less than a week would justify it. However long it takes to get the feel of a place."

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Even with its more inclusive list, The Traveler's Century Club has gaps in its coverage. "There is no North Pole," Krasowski points out. "It's not a 'place', but it is a geographic point." Geographical extremes such as the poles or the summit of Everest aren't included though they arguably should be.

"And there are ways you can take all the islands to the extreme," he mentions. I'm inclined to agree.

So Krasowski advised me to check out another organization with an even more diversified set of locations: Most Traveled People. Their list is truly thorough, dividing Earth into 875 parts outside political boundaries. That's the kind of heightened scrupulousness I was looking for. And they don't count airport transfers!

Now we're getting somewhere.

Sam Wright Fairbanks is an editorial fellow at Map Happy.

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Photo Credit: Margarita Mavromichalis

I came back from Lesbos yesterday with a heavier heart than usual. We keep hearing about the lives that get lost while trying to make the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece on rubber boats. Lives lost due to the harsh weather conditions at sea, the fake life jackets that are given to the refugees and the overloaded boats. Traffickers have no mercy. Bodies are recovered on what seems like a daily basis from the open sea by the coast guards or the fishermen; others are washed to shore, young and old alike.

I decided to visit the cemeteries where some of these people have been buried, because it is one thing to hear about the lives lost and it is another thing to see the graves with actual tomb stones engraved: Ahmad -- 9 months old; unknown baby -- 1 year old; Majed -- 5 years old; unknown girl -- 5 years old; Ajmal -- 23 years old; Ahmid -- 30 years old... The list goes on and on. These are the new Alan Kurdi. All had chosen to live and had the right to live, like we all do. They had chosen life over death but little did they know that life had not chosen them.

Where has our humanity gone? It is in times of trouble that we see the true face of those surrounding us revealed, and what I see could not be uglier. The whole world is standing by watching and doing nothing other than avoiding any kind of responsibility and pointing fingers to Greece for not doing a good enough job in stopping the flow. It is said that Greek authorities were told to push the boats back... a paraphrase to this would be to drown them. Whether this is true or not, the actions of the governments confirm just that, they don't need to say it in so many words.

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us capitol over blue sky ...

Tomorrow, in Auckland, New Zealand, the United States and 11 other countries will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a new free trade agreement that encompasses nearly 40 percent of the world's economy, and includes three of our four largest trading partners.

The United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile and Peru completed the treaty after many years of intensive negotiations that continued as the group grew in size.

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After the U.S. Trade Representative and other trade ministers sign the treaty, the Obama Administration will submit to Congress the agreement, proposed legislation to implement the United States' obligations under the pact, and an assessment by the U.S. International Trade Commission of its economic impact. A simple-majority vote in each house of Congress would serve to approve both the agreement and its implementing legislation.

The Congress should approve and implement the TPP for many good reasons.

A free trade agreement (FTA) expands economic opportunity in foreign markets for American workers and businesses, while doing the same for their foreign counterparts in our market. The increased trade improves the overall economy of each country. But, in order to avoid unwanted side effects, modern FTAs do more.

A modern FTA allows the U.S. to deny our market to unsafe products, fraudulent services, and unfair trade practices. It ensures that American products, services and investment capital bound for foreign markets are not impeded, and our intellectual property is protected after arrival. A modern FTA also improves foreign labor and environmental practices both by setting minimum standards and by accelerating the development of its poorer members. And it has strong mechanisms that guarantee our partner countries will comply with these obligations, just as we do.

In the 22 years since NAFTA entered into force, the United States' free trade agreements have greatly improved with regard to both the quality and enforceability of their provisions. And, the TPP has the highest standards of any FTA we have concluded. But, this undertaking is also an extraordinary achievement for other reasons.

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First, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be the largest free trade area ever created outside a political or economic union. Although the terms of normal trade relations have already been negotiated into large multilateral treaties, the tougher and more complex terms of free trade relations have until now been negotiated by the U.S. into treaties that usually include only one or two other countries. That the U.S. has been able to lead all 12 TPP economies to agreement on the myriad of terms of a free trade agreement is a huge diplomatic achievement, and a testament to the United States' continuing leadership in the rules of international trade.

Second, this treaty will become a significant strategic asset. Its terms include a process by which new countries can join the partnership. Many significant economies, like Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia, have publicly expressed interest. Others have done so only privately. For China and Russia, remaining outside the TPP will become increasingly difficult as its membership grows. When TPP membership inevitably becomes an economic imperative for those powers, the United States will have unprecedented leverage to force their compliance with their preexisting trade obligations to the U.S., and with the tougher terms of the TPP, both as conditions of TPP entry.

Third, as noted above, the TPP's protections will be far superior to those of NAFTA. Though the North American countries intend the two treaties to continue side-by-side for now, the guarantee of free trade among the three countries under the TPP will eventually make possible the U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA that has long been sought by that treaty's critics.

Fourth, the TPP offers a possible paradigm shift for the world's progress toward global free trade. Until now, the presumption has been that global free trade would eventually be achieved by continued liberalization of the global normal trade relations treaties that are managed at the World Trade Organization. However, with WTO talks bogged down for more than 14 years, the TPP offers a new paradigm. Rather than moving vertically to further liberalize the already-global WTO treaties that govern the normal trade relations, the world could move horizontally to expand participation in the already-free trade terms of the TPP to one day make them global.

A global TPP might seem far-fetched. But, the original 12 countries, alone, constitute nearly two-fifths of the global economy. Once China, Russia and most of the other countries touching the Pacific have acceded to the treaty, the European Union's accession would be just one more step after which accession of the world's remaining countries would be clean up. Admittedly, even the idea of the EU joining the TPP is a long way off. But, the U.S. is already negotiating with the EU a free trade agreement with standards not dissimilar to the TPP's, which would greatly simplify an EU accession to the TPP should the parties someday choose to explore that possibility.

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In 2011, with the state reeling from campaign finance abuses exposed in the Rod Blagojevich scandal, Illinois enacted its first-ever limits on campaign contributions.

Boiled down to its essentials, the law limits donations to political candidates to $5,400 from individuals, $10,800 from corporations, unions or trade associations and $53,900 from another candidate's political fund. (There's a lot more to it, of course. The complete law is here.)

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But that doesn't mean candidates can't get contributions bigger than those limits, nor are political candidates the only ones affected by the law.

Committees controlled by the state's political parties, for example, can give unlimited amounts to candidates in general elections. And political party committees can receive unlimited donations from political candidate campaign committees. Thus, Bruce Rauner's Citizens for Rauner fund, which now holds $19.5 million, can easily be channeled to supported candidates through the Illinois Republican Party's committee. Likewise with the four committees controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan.

But there also are circumstances in which contribution limit rules are nullified. If a candidate puts $250,000 of his or her own money into a statewide race or $100,000 into a legislative race, all limits come off for all candidates in that contest. Bruce Rauner's self-funding allowed the 2014 gubernatorial contest to become the most expensive in state history, as large donations poured into both his fund and that of Pat Quinn.

And then there are so-called independent expenditure committees, which are subject to no limits, but are prohibited from coordinating their activities with or donating directly to a candidate. Commonly known as Super PACs, independent expenditure committees exist to support or oppose political candidates or other electoral efforts. Once an independent expenditure committee spends $250,000 for or against a candidate in a statewide race or $100,000 for or against a legislative candidate, all limits come off for all candidates in that race.

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In the 2016 primary election cycle, we've already seen limits dissolved in two races. The independent committee IllinoisGO in January spent $240,000 on behalf of Democratic Chicago State Rep. Ken Dunkin. That opened the door for a $500,000 donation on Feb. 1 to Dunkin's campaign from the conservative Illinois Opportunity Project.

In southwest-central Illinois, an independent expenditure committee with ties to the Illinois Opportunity Project spent $325,000 in support of Bryce Benton, the challenger of Republican incumbent Sen. Sam McCann of rural Plainview in the March 15 primary. With contribution limits now off, we can expect unions to support McCann with donations well above the $10,800 to which they would have been limited had Liberty Principles PAC not broken the barrier.

And this is only for the primary. The real money will get thrown into the Nov. 4 general election. Ever since his election, Rauner has vowed to use his resources to help elect Republicans to the General Assembly, where Democrats now hold three-fifths majorities in both the House and Senate.

We can expect Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and the Democrats' traditional allies in organized labor and the trial bar to respond in kind.

Get ready to see previous spending records in local legislative races fall in a barrage of campaign ads.
Celebrating the centennial of a government agency isn't exactly the norm in America these days, but the National Park Service represents something special. It has taken what Wallace Stegner called "the best idea we ever had" and made it a reality -- a system of national parks that is both the envy of the world and the priceless birthright of every American.

Sierra Club members were excited when the National Park Service was created in 1916, and today we're more than ready to celebrate this centennial. At the same time, though, we want to join the Park Service in using this milestone as an opportunity to think about what we want the next 100 years to look like for America's national parks, monuments and historic places.

That was a recurring theme during an online discussion I had last week with National Park Service director Jonathan B. Jarvis, Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp, Latino Outdoors founder Jose Gonzalez, and Sierra Club Board director Allison Chin. You can watch it here if you missed it.

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We covered a lot of ground, but a couple of themes stood out.

First, our national park system embodies not just our scenery but also our history. Director Jarvis talked about how the National Park Service has consciously chosen to speak more honestly about the Civil War, as well as the relevance of national historic sites such as Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church and Alabama's Tuskegee Institute. Although President Obama has designated some spectacular public lands as national monuments, he's also chosen to preserve important historic sites like the Pullman, Cesar E. Chavez, and Honouliuli national monuments.

Second, history shows that we need to bring more democracy to our national park system. One hundred years ago, it was assumed that national parks were relevant only for a particular class of people, and that attitude has been frustratingly slow to change. That's why the work of leaders like Rue Mapp and Jose Gonzalez is so important, but we can't expect them to do all the heavy lifting. The responsibility also lies with established outdoor organizations like the Sierra Club. As Jose said during our discussion, America's public lands are "both a responsibility and a privilege." Every American deserves to enjoy them, and all Americans share responsibility for their stewardship.

How do we bring all kinds of people to the parks? One approach is outreach like the Obama administration's Every Kid in a Park program, which seeks to get every fourth-grader in America to visit a national park this year by offering a free annual pass. Do that 12 years in a row (which is Director Jarvis's goal), and you've reached an entire generation.

Another approach, though, is to bring the parks to the people -- what we call "Nearby Nature." A great example is the new San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. John Muir once hiked in these mountains, and today they're within 90 minutes of 15 million people in the Los Angeles Basin.

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Gun control has been the subject of debate for years now. Some people want to tighten gun registration and licensing, while others demand their second amendment right be recognized and protected without limitation. Seeing how banning guns seems nearly impossible, people are trying to find a middle-ground. There are many possible solutions out now, but they are all focused on guns themselves, but there maybe another solution. Jim Dwyer, writing in The New York Times, quoted United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan who said: "we have only a three-year supply of ammunition."

In 1993, Senator Moynihan proposed that we ought to give up on gun control as a way to reduce criminal violence. "These mostly simple machines last forever," Senator Moynihan said. "On the other hand, we have only a three-year supply of ammunition." He proposed a tax on bullets. But he proposed a "Ten thousand percent" tax on hollow-tipped bullets. The result, a 20-bullet pack would cost $1,500. "Guns don't kill people; bullets do," said Moynihan.

It didn't happen, but maybe it should have.

I did some research to see how much handgun ammunition costs, and I was shocked. Anyone can buy 50 rounds of basic 9mm ammunition, which is used in any common handgun, for about $12. This rounds out to be about $0.24 per bullet. No ID, no background check, just put in your credit card into Sportsman's guide and wait for your bullets.

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Yes, there are background checks for guns. Yes, people can bypass that background check by buying a gun from someone at a gun show. But, logically, having more guns won't make someone more dangerous. If you have a gun and no bullets, the gun is just for show at that point. If you have a single gun and over 50 bullets, you could be a public danger.

Comedian Chris Rock said, the trick is making bullets more expensive. How many issues do you think Senator Moynihan and Chris Rock agree on? He wouldn't take away peoples guns, but instead create a barrier to stockpiling a militias supply worth of ammunition. If someone lives in a rural part of the country and they want a gun to protect themselves and hunt, that's perfectly reasonable. The amount of ammunition you would need to keep your home safe from potential thieves and those who would cause you harm wouldn't be even close to 100 rounds of anything. A single clip is more than enough to be threatening and protective if worse comes to worse.
In a powerful OpEd written by The NY Times Editorial Board, the numbers are painful. Nearly 12 million Syrians have left their homes. Of those 12 million, nearly half are children. And another point is that these people fleeing their homes aren't all Muslim. Furthermore, many of these refugees are Christian as well. America is so caught up in its fear of Islamic terrorists, that suddenly any refugee from an Islamic or Middle-Eastern country can be a possible threat due to their radical beliefs. The terms Muslim, Syrian, and terrorist have somehow become misconstrued and synonymous with one another.

The issue of Syrian refugees is far too complex to be boiled down to "tag em and bag em," even though the American people seem to be leaning toward that terrifyingly Nazi-esk idea. What everyone needs to remember or learn is that these are people fleeing from BOTH Assad AND ISIS. ISIS has been, and continues to take land from Syria, and Assad's regime has been fighting with all their might to stop them. BloombergView's Editorial Board raises the issue of government sponsored 'barrel bombs.'

Assad wants to stop ISIS so much, that he's willing to use military helicopters to drop barrel bombs, a weapon internationally recognized as illegal and inhumane due to their inaccurate and indiscriminate nature, on neighborhoods where a single ISIS member may be suspected of hiding. Meanwhile, anyone who isn't with ISIS is against them. This leaves us with a huge majority of people who are stuck between ISIS's guns and Assad's barrel bombs, and they're only truly safe choice is to run.

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Ignoring all of this background on the refugees, one must acknowledge the fact that the process to be accepted into America as a refugee is a two year long, document-heavy process. Contrary to popular belief, America's borders are already very closed off already in terms of the difficulty that exists to enter the country as a legal refugee. Many may argue that terrorists can still enter America under the guise as a refugee after the attacks in Paris and because of 8 people who were found to be terrorists impersonating refugees in Morocco. America is safer in the sense that, as a country that is developed and not connected to the land mass of the refugees, it can get away with a more detailed, longer vetting process. Regardless, it's leagues easier to get a visa as a tourist entering the US, and if terrorists are attempting to enter this country to do an attack, why would they ever go through a 2 year long process to stay in America for an extended period of time?

As I keep reading article after article about people who are trying to stop the "Islamization of America" or those who wish to have a "database of Muslims," I keep coming to the conclusion that I have been lied to. I was told America was a land of freedom and opportunity all my life, and the closer I look, the less I believe it.
Our new Pussy Riot video is dedicated to corruption in the higher governmental bodies of the Russian Federation and to the Russian state mafia. Any similarity with real events and people is not coincidental but deliberate. Here is some background information on some of those events to help readers get more context.

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Who is Mr. Chaika?

Yury Chaika is the Russian Prosecutor General. In Russian, "chaika" is literally a seagull -- that's why there are so many birds in this video. The poor bird is unlucky with this namesake, as in Russia the word "chaika" became a symbol of corruption and banditism for many people.

During his career, prosecutor Chaika has been implicated in corruption scandals on numerous occasions. He was accused in being connected to criminal networks murdering people and raiding. Still every time he escaped effortlessly.

In December 2015, Chaika became the protagonist of a major anti-corruption investigation movie by Alexey Navalny, the main Russian oppositional politician. You can see the investigative documentary here. It described in detail the crimes allegedly committed by Chaika and his family. All this information was passed to the top state officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, but they keep avoiding making any comments on the issue.

This documentary about the alleged criminal activities of the Russian Prosecutor General's family was watched by more than 5 million people in less than two months.

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According to the report, the Prosecutor General's son, Artem Chaika, has business dealings with his father's deputy's ex-wife -- a woman known for her alleged involvement in the Kushchevskaya mob town, where 12 people, including four children, were massacred in November 2010. Tsapok and Tsepovyaz, the leaders of the Kushchevskaya mob town, were convicted of murdering 12 people in 2010, including four children. Moreover, Artem Chaika reportedly owns a home in Switzerland and a villa in Greece. The investigation says he began his wealth by capturing control over a state enterprise. Artem Chaika's forcible seizure of the shipping company led to the death of its former CEO in 2003. The local coroner determined that the man had been murdered, but the district attorney refused to open an investigation.

Photo Credit: Denis Sinyakov

"But who's not mafia nowadays?" people say in the streets. "Corruption in our country is in full blossom. Mafia and corruption... and state authorities are keeping everything under control."

According to surveys, 82% or Russians who have heard about Navalny's movie consider corruption schemes and connections to criminal groups represented in the documentary to be a typical phenomenon for modern Russian government.

Is there a new Russian revolution to happen after such a far-reaching corruption and criminal scandal? Is prosecutor Chaika going to prison?

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No... Though Alexey Navalny, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, probably will. The state regularly starts dozens of new criminal trials against Alexey and his associates based on the most preposterous grounds. Navalny's brother is kept in a general regime penal colony at the moment just because Alexey is engaged in politics.

Photo Credit: Denis Sinyakov

Furthermore, the alleged crimes of Prosecutor General Chaika are actually the reason why he is still continuing in office. The Russian state mafia is getting a lot of benefits from placing people that have multimillion thefts and murders as besetting sins, in key governmental positions. These trails make such people easily handled and controllable. The role of the Prosecutor's office and the whole law-enforcement system is getting more and more reduced to punishment of unwanted people and recognition of "cater cousins," i.e., the members of that big criminal family.

There are criminal godfathers sitting on the top of prosecution pyramids who have committed crimes more virulent than 90% of those serving their time in prisons now.

What are you trying to achieve?

Together with the Anti-Corruption Foundation, we demand the immediate resignation of Yury Chaika, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, as well as of the whole governing body of the Prosecutor's office. We also demand execution of a major anti-corruption investigation against all members of the Prosecutor General's criminal family.

Who made this video?

Direction: Nadya Tolokonnikova and Andrey Fenochka

Art Direction: Zhenia Rzheznikova

Choreography: Vika Narakhsa

Prosecutors: Nadya Tolokonnikova, Vika Narakhsa, Marina Ganakh, Viktoria Biryukova, Ludmila Sukova, Ekaterina Shibaeva, Olga Krasnykh

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Policewoman: Alia Datiy

Tortured: Nikolay Mulakov, Stanislav Kovalyov, Kirill Sukov

Hairstylist: Anna Egorova

Makeup: Ashot Aslayan

Administrator: Gala
The thrum of conversation around me faded to silence precisely at 10 a.m. Jose Luis Cancela, Uruguay's vice-minister for external relations, gaveled the United Nations Security Council into session and began the meeting. Around me, other observers in the gallery inserted their earpieces to listen as live translations provided a word-for-word account of the speaker's commentary in the six UN languages -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Reflecting the postwar international system that created it, the UN Security Council has five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- and 10 rotating states that are elected for two-year terms. On this cold Tuesday in January, I was at the Security Council for an open debate on protecting civilians in armed conflict. Protecting civilians has become one of the most complicated tasks faced by the UN and the Security Council, which has a primary role in safeguarding international peace and security. Back during World War II, nations controlled armies, and most fighting took place between combatants on battlefields. But this so-called "conventional warfare" is no longer predominant. Now, non-state actors and terrorist groups often carry out attacks against civilian populations or in heavily populated areas. These types of attacks affect all civilians. But there are additional difficulties and dangers for people with disabilities, who are often unable to flee, and so remain there, neglected or abandoned. Just a few weeks ago, an airstrike hit the al-Noor School for the blind in Yemen, and hostilities continue to affect people with disabilities in the Central African Republic. Just as the means of warfare have transformed, the trends of violence against civilians also have changed in the last half-century. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, International Committee of the Red Cross Vice President Christine Beerli, and Oxfam Senior Humanitarian Policy Adviser Eveline Rooijmans all noted the troubling increase in the use of cluster bombs, which leave behind unexploded bomblets to endanger people in the area for years, the need for earlier planning to protect civilians, and flouting of international law concerning fighting in or near populated areas by combatants around the world. Overall, the debate was a grand exercise in diplomacy. Member states went back and forth, arguing about which international norm should apply to a particular crisis and haggling over a fine balance between state sovereignty and a responsibility to protect civilian populations. In a way, the whole back-and-forth dance seemed futile. At the same time, I recognized this laborious, frustrating, and circuitous process was necessary to hopefully save lives. With so many divergent viewpoints in play, member states need to find some room for compromise amid hard choices. Many of the mechanisms to counter this violence are already available. Guidelines for peacekeeping missions, provisions of international humanitarian law, and multilateral agreements, clearly define the standards of lawful conduct. The problem lies in implementation. Until Security Council member states can agree to act in concert and demand real accountability from those responsible for unlawful attacks, the bloodshed against civilians -- and their suffering -- will continue.
Mock up of history museum that never came to pass - photo by Wes Schultz

Officials associated with the Chattanooga History Center have been mum about what happened to some $10 million that was donated for a world class facility that never materialized.

Kim White, president of the River City Company, said the downtown development group is looking for a new tenant for the valuable space by the Tennessee Aquarium.

She said History Center officials "have let us know they dont have the funding to proceed."

The facility, under former director Daryl Black, was touted as a state-of-the-art presentation of Chattanooga's compelling history.

He chose the New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates to design it at a very hefty price tag.

The fundraising dragged on for over a decade with the cost continuing to escalate. At one point Black said he had mistakenly thought the bill would be much less.

A number of local philanthropists got involved and the Lyndhurst Foundation was among the donors.

Members of the media in 2012 were given a tour of the facility with mock ups of the future exhibits. First Tennessee Bank took the occasion to donate $50,000, and Unum chipped in $150,000.

Ms. White said River City tried to help the project along by suspending payments for two years on the space. She said it was done "in order to assist them with the cash flow and to allow them to concentrate on fundraising and completing the exhibits."

To make way for the history museum, the Visitors Bureau was told to go elsewhere. It now operates from only a kiosk at a nearby bus stop.

Ms. White said there are no plans for the Visitors Bureau to move back in.

She said, "We will be working to find the right fit/development for the building."

Of the space, she said, "There are no exhibits in the building, just the renovated shell."

Jo Coke is president of the History Center and Carl Henderson is the secretary-treasurer.
Jews are a history-oriented people. And the history of the Jewish people has been filled with baseless bigotry and deep-seated religious suspicion, culminating in devastating tragedy. Central to Jewish historical consciousness is Christian anti-Semitic persecution throughout the millennia. The legacy of Jewish humiliation and religious persecution is grim: medieval century massacres of Jews by Crusaders, hostile disputations in the High Middle ages when Jews were compelled to defend their faith against attempted mass conversion by the Church to no avail.

During the devastation wrought by bubonic plague, Jews were accused of poisoning the wells. In response, countless were massacred and displaced across Europe. Already reeling from baseless hatred, Spanish Jews were forced to endure the ignominy and brutality of the Inquisition. Ultimately, many were tortured, killed, banished--their dignity and assets confiscated.

By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Russian pogroms (sanctioned attacks against Jews) grew in magnitude: In 1905 there were nearly seven hundred pogroms; more than 300 Jews were murdered in Odessa alone. In 1919, Ukrainian army units massacred 2,300 Jews in two days, while White and Red Army units murdered thousands of Jews and burned down their towns.

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The most significant catastrophe in modern history began with indifference and collaboration of many Christians: the Holocaust. Pope Pius XII's Concordat with the nascent Nazi regime had disastrous effects, legitimizing the Nazi regime and undercutting the last consequential resistance to Nazi rule in the Reichstag. Pius XII issued no public protest to Nazi atrocities during the war. In October 1943, more than a thousand Jews in Rome were rounded up for transport to Birkenau and again no protest was heard from the Vatican; the overwhelming majority of the two thousand Jews transported from Rome were murdered.

The Catholic Church's change in perspective towards the Jews only emerged post-Holocaust. In 1958, Pope John XXIII quickly moved to modify Catholic prayer to eliminate anti-Semitic references. In 1960, the pope told Jewish leaders: "We are all sons of the same heavenly Father. Among us there must ever be the brightness of love and its practice." Later that year, he put the topic of repairing relations with Jews on the agenda of the Second Vatican Council. In 1965 the Council adopted Nostra Aetate ("In Our Time"), which condemned anti-Semitism, urged a "dialogue of mutual esteem" with Jews, and repudiated hostile doctrines that the Church had replaced the Jewish people as well as claims of deicide, that Jews were responsible for the killing of Jesus.

Pope John Paul II did much to further reconciliation. He stated--repeatedly--that anti-Semitism is both a crime and a sin against God. Under his papacy, the Holy See recognized Israel, and in 2000 he visited Yad Vashem and the Western Wall, apologizing for Church persecution of Jews and praying for the welfare of the Jewish people, who remain the "people of God's covenant." John Paul's work has been taken up in earnest by the incumbent Pope Francis (who counts among his friends Argentinian rabbi Abraham Skorka). He is the first Pope ordained after the promulgation of Nostra Aetate and, while archbishop of Buenos Aires, had a warm relationship with the Jewish community. In December 2015, the Vatican issued a statement that Catholics should combat anti-Semitism and that the Church has no institutional mission to convert Jews. This month, Francis commemorated two events in Rome: the day when Roman Jews were deported by the Nazis in 1943, and the 1982 attack on the Great Synagogue of Rome when Palestinian terrorists perpetrated the largest anti-Semitic attack in Europe of the post-war period.

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Now, history is going in a new direction. Thankfully, five decades after Nostra Aetate, the reconciliation between Jews and Christians continues to strengthen!

The rapprochement between faith traditions is the basis of a heartening recent statement just released on the website of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding & Cooperation (CJCUC) in Israel. What makes it all the more extraordinary is that the statement is signed by leading Orthodox rabbinic luminaries who break away from the apathy that haunts normative Orthodox attitudes on interfaith matters. The opening lines--"We seek to do the will of our Father in Heaven by accepting the hand offered to us by our Christian brothers and sisters. Jews and Christians must work together as partners to address the moral challenges of our era"--indicates that the statement is the most profoundly Jewish-centered interfaith documents ever to be released.

The Orthodox Rabbis' statement, which I proudly signed, doesn't patronize its readers with platitudes about coming together for its own sake. Instead, it acknowledges that the noble faith communities have had centuries of antagonism but that now is the time to overcome past enmity and cooperate under the Godly imperative to repair the world: "Both Jews and Christians have a common covenantal mission to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty, so that all humanity will call on His name and abominations will be removed from the earth."

I found most moving the passage from the very heart of the document. In a mere economy of lines, the ruptures of history and a path for a bright future are laid to bare.

We Jews and Christians have more in common than what divides us: the ethical monotheism of Abraham; the relationship with the One Creator of Heaven and Earth, Who loves and cares for all of us; Jewish Sacred Scriptures; a belief in a binding tradition; and the values of life, family, compassionate righteousness, justice, inalienable freedom, universal love and ultimate world peace.


Look closely and you can find me in the picture below. It was taken last month at the National Press Club. The occasion was the release of the Black Women's Roundtable 2016 election voter guide and the results of its survey of Presidential candidates. A black colleague of mine had invited me to join her.



Rachel Laser at The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation's Black Women's Roundtable National Press Club Event (12/09/15)

Excited by the panelists' presentations, I began to live-tweet.

One panelist, speaking of the need for black women's activism and leadership, proclaimed: "Black women must fight in the streets, sit at the head of board rooms and be delegates at the Conventions for both presidential parties."

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As I typed that inspiring call to action verbatim into my Twitter box, it occurred to me that some followers might misinterpret "fight in the streets."

I showed my draft tweet to my colleague for her opinion, but she had a different concern. "You are a white woman," she explained. "You cannot say what black women 'must' do." She also suggested a better way of saying "fight in the street."

And so, my tweet became:

I had thought that my words, even though unattributed (because of space), were traceable through my previous tweets and the event's hashtag to a black speaker. The reality, though, was that people could also read my tweet, as written, to be a white woman telling black women what to do.

My friend's reaction stuck with me. I had to combat some feelings of defensiveness and felt awkward that I had completely missed her concern. My original tweet seemed to put my white privilege on display.

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As I have written about before, my white privilege can make me blind to black people's different perspectives. I am pretty sure that I would not have missed the problem if a man attending a women's rights event had tweeted about what women must do. Even worse was the thought that I might not have noticed the problem because on some subconscious level I somehow felt comfortable publicly declaring what black women must do. Ugh.

My friend's reaction taught me an invaluable lesson. When I engage as a supporter of racial justice (and in life outside of intentional advocacy), I must be as conscious as possible of where my words or actions either are, or could be perceived to be, perpetuating existing power dynamics around race.

It was not long before I learned another lesson. In writing this article, I interviewed Reverend Jennifer Bailey, whom I first met when she spoke at the Union for Reform Judaism's Biennial this past winter. At the beginning of our conversation, I explained that I was writing an article about how to be a good "white ally," and then prepared to move on to my list of questions.

Reverend Bailey was not ready to move on.

"I have wrestled a lot with the term 'allyship,'" she explained. "It still centers whiteness in the conversation."

She continued:

"I am still wrestling with it, but I prefer the term accompaniment. It's about the ability of white people to be led by people who don't have the same background or may not have the same education, but have something prophetic to say. Like the words of a young black boy who is 17 without a high school degree who might be speaking a certain truth. People have abused allyship to elevate their own voices or center whiteness where it should be about listening to those at the margins."

Just like at the Black Women's Roundtable event, I had arguably chosen language that conveyed the very white privilege I had showed up to work against. But again, I learned something critical from being challenged. White supporters of racial justice need to be sure they are recognizing in their words and actions black people's rightful role as leaders of this movement for change.

Still, like before, my discomfort about my original word choice lingered.

In Uncovering My White Privilege on Yom Kippur, an exploration of white privilege on the Jewish Day of Atonement, I explained that my discomfort about white privilege stems from a myriad of emotions including guilt, defensiveness and feeling responsible.

Today, I am adding to that list my fear of appearing to assume, and of assuming, an inappropriate level of power when I accompany my black brothers and sisters in their work for justice.

I have begun to notice how common this sentiment is.

In white hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's new song, "White Privilege II," Macklemore, describing his participation in a Black Lives Matter march, wonders:

Is this awkward? / Should I even be here marching? ...

I want to take a stance cause we are not free / And then I thought about it, we are not "we" ...

Is it my place to give my two cents / Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth for justice?

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This past November, my oldest daughter, a white freshman at the University of Michigan, joined a group of predominantly black classmates at a rally to support students of color at Mizzou. In the middle of the rally, she wrote a poem called "Listen" (excerpted below), also about her struggle to figure out her role:

I'm trying I promise I'm trying

I don't know how to hear you

I'm so far back here

too far back and won't dare

push forward

I can't hear you

Where do I stand

I need help

Help me please

I can't hear you

She concludes with the best she can offer- a commitment to try to do it right:

Here for you

I will try

I promise I'll try

to be here for you

Both my daughter and Macklemore were clearly trying hard to be white supporters of racial justice. In my experience, the fact that they were trying is more important than any missteps they might have taken as participants.

I have learned that my black colleagues and friends are aware of my genuine intentions. I believe this is a key reason why they have invested in me by challenging me to see where my white privilege is getting in the way.

I imagine they do so in the same spirit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In the letter, Dr. King responds to the public statement of eight white Alabama clergymen, urging him to abandon his strategy of civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham for fear that it would not be constructive.

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Dr. King begins his letter by explaining why he bothered to take the time to respond:

"If I sought to answer all of the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms."

Because Dr. King believed these white men of faith were well-intentioned, he gave them -- and all of us -- the gift of one of the landmark civil rights documents of all times, filled with the promised patient explanation of the perspective the white clergy could not see.

I have accepted the steepness of my learning curve. The more I show up to participate in the work of racial justice, the more I risk bringing along and demonstrating my white privilege. Although when this happens it is both upsetting and uncomfortable, I am becoming less afraid. My experience has taught me that my black friends and colleagues, knowing my true desire to become the most effective "accompaniment" I can be, will continue to challenge me in these moments. From these challenges, I continue to get better at knowing when to challenge myself.
No one is checking a historical trend as disturbing as anything else because our attention is focused on other injustices that surround us 24/7. No doubt, judicial power has grown quietly and discreetly over time. Federal judges seem to have the power to overturn state bans against gay marriage when state legislatures create laws defining marriage as that between a heterosexual man and woman. That seems like an expansion of the civil rights of a particular minority group in society, such as same-sex couples, and therefore something positive in the American experience.

The recent Supreme Court ruling effectively making same-sex marriage a nationally protected right is a seismic event - at once social, political and culture - many have been awaiting for decades. But judges can also jeopardize individuals' ability to put forward legitimate legal complaints by increasing the dismissal of allegations that do not meet a certain factual standard of plausibility. This is what the Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) SCOTUS decision initiated. This means a higher percentage of judges' motions to dismiss complaints, particularly when it comes to due process violations of individual rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of race and religion. What's going on here? How does civil rights expand or contract while judicial power only seems to expand?

People elect representatives to make laws, which lies at the heart of our legislative branch of government. The executive branch enforces those laws, sets the foreign policies, and is primarily responsible for the protection of citizens from internal or external attacks. The judicial branch interprets the laws and activities of both branches to assess whether they uphold what is legally permissible within the constitution; or they can examine what breaches rights, which are protected in principle, by interpreting either the eternal literalism or historical contextualism of the constitution. One can hypothesize that as a democracy ages, say like the U.S.'s, it also atrophies in one dimension: whereby the power of the people to maintain the 'balance of powers' between the branches gives away to an excessive ceding of power to one branch, which goes unmonitored, in this case that of the judiciary.

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For example, watchdog groups and whistleblowers can bring constant attention to elected officials to check for crime and corruption. Occasionally an elected official is held to account as in the case of Senator Menendez from New Jersey. Political activists can use public media futilely or effectively to put a spotlight on lobbying groups financed by corporations: those lobbying groups exist to protect corporations from individual complaints of liability and inversely creating legal loopholes for corporations to expand their profits at the expense of the well-being of individuals, groups and their social and natural environments. The political debates swirling around President Obama's push with the Republicans on the passing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership involving 12 nations and 40% of the global economy is a case in point. People worry when there is no real public deliberation in the creation of these massive platforms to which only corporations seem to be privy. So yes, the legislative and executive branches are scrutinized and challenged but only the judiciary has the power to truly check their excesses. But who or what can check the expansion of an appointed - not elected - judiciary and what does that say about the evolution of democracies, particularly one of the three oldest in modern history, namely the United States?

One can argue that the interpreters of the law, namely judges and courts, exist in an independent reality in which only their 'judicial experience and common sense' exist (Aschcroft v. Iqbal). One can take it a step further, the only reality of the interpreter of the law is language itself and hence a turn of a phrase has the power to alter our social reality and shape the social contract democratic people require in order to live in peace and harmony. Citizens of democracy agree to live by the laws they make. But what happens when the self-interpretation of the law by a few individuals makes all human beings what they are and can do by defining what they are entitled to in terms of basic 'rights' and what they must forgo?

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People elect officials in a representative system of government; but they do not directly appoint judges as that falls to the elected officials, say when a President appoints a Supreme Court Justice. Politics in principle should not play a role in such a decision even though we all know that it does, say the selection of a justice with liberal or conservative leanings. And judges are human beings regardless of the natural tendency to accord them transcendental status. Yet the law is supposed to be based on precedent, tradition, logic, reason and objectivity, not political whim. But the power of this alleged apolitical neutrality of the law cannot completely conceal the growth of judicial power when 'reason, tradition and objectivity' become the means to protect the judiciary from external scrutiny. Simply put, the paradox is that citizens of a maturing democracy seem to lose power to question the expansion of judicial power. And the paradox is not as simple as it looks.
The Illinois medical marijuana program is about two years into its four-year pilot period, but some patients and advocates say there are still plenty of kinks to work out. From high costs to low customer turnout, here's a list of five problems patients and activists cite with the Illinois program so far.

1) Not enough approved conditions

Illinois has approved 39 conditions that warrant the use of medical marijuana, but some advocates say the state is missing a few big ones -- like post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. Illinois officials have accepting petitions to add new conditions to the list, and the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board is recommending eight new conditions, including PTSD, chronic pain due to trauma and autism be approved.

But that decision is all up to Gov. Bruce Rauner. He already turned down the board's recommendation to add 11 new conditions last September, before dispensaries even opened.

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Some veterans suffering from PTSD are calling on the governor to allow those new additions. At a press conference, Medical Cannabis Outreach founder Caprice Sweatt argued the prescription drugs available for patients can be dangerous, while marijuana doesn't cause some of the more serious side effects.

Vietnam veteran Lon Hodge said the psychotropic medications he used after his PTSD diagnosis were extremely damaging to his career as a professor and public speaker -- he described his condition as a "creative lobotomy."

"Those of us who suffer with PTSD to the extent that I do, we say we often carry suicide like a challenge coin in our pocket," Hodge said, "I don't want that for anybody else. Legalize this."

2) Fear of "pot doctors"

Hopeful medical marijuana patients need a doctor's signature before they qualify for the state-issued ID they need in order to get medical marijuana. Illinois' oversight is tougher than some other states -- at least four doctors have been accused of providing marijuana recommendations without a legitimate doctor-patient relationship. Some patients who went to the accused physicians are concerned they could lose their cards.

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From the Associated Press:

Writing a law to restrict how doctors recommend marijuana is tricky. Lawmakers in Illinois, New Jersey and other states have tried to avoid California's drop-in, instant exams by attempting to define in legislation a legitimate doctor-patient relationship. Laws commonly call for a "bona fide" relationship with a physical exam and review of medical records. New Jersey doctors must register in a publicly viewable database and take courses in addiction medicine and pain management.

3) Not enough customers

The Illinois Department of Public Health has approved about 4,000 applications for medical marijuana, including 26 for people under 18 years old. However, business owners argue that number just isn't high enough to sustain dispensaries; they say they need at least 20,000 to 30,000 customers in the next six months to a year to stay open.

From the Daily Herald:

The reason for the disappointing numbers stems from what the operators call unnecessarily tight restrictions on who can buy marijuana. For example, chronic pain and sleep disorders are not considered valid reasons in Illinois to buy medical pot, but they are elsewhere. State politics also plays into it, as does some reluctance within the medical community to embrace the program.

For medical marijuana programs in some other states, chronic pain makes up a huge chunk of the conditions users report. In both Michigan and Colorado, around 93 percent of patients use medical marijuana for severe and chronic pain.



4) Fingerprinting is a pain

Illinois' program requires marijuana patients to be fingerprinted. Some advocates say that's a violation of patients' privacy and civil rights, as no one else is required to be fingerprinted for any other types of medication.

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And for those who can't leave the house or have difficulties travelling, getting fingerprinted can be a huge burden.

Julie Falco has painful, incurable multiple sclerosis. Back when she could still walk, she was well known in the State Capitol as a tireless proponent of medical marijuana. But now with the program at the tipping point, she says she won't be part of it. "Still feel like a criminal because I'm getting fingerprinted. Even though I use a wheelchair. I'm on a walker. I can barely move during the day," Falco said.

5) It's expensive

If you're looking for a medical marijuana prescription in Illinois, you'll need to have some money saved.

From the Belleville News-Democrat:
Close up of man and woman's hands holding together in a cafe. Flirting, romanticising, making out concept. Shot with large aperture lens in shallow focus.

Just as he shed light on the human mind and soul over the course of his celebrated career, the neurologist and writer Dr. Oliver Sacks gave us profound insights in his final year into the most universal of human experiences: dying.

One year ago, diagnosed with metastasized uveal melanoma, he began to chronicle his thoughts, feelings, priorities and vivid observations as he lived what would become his final months. "I have been able to see my life as from a great altitude, as a sort of landscape, and with a deepening sense of the connection of all its parts," he writes in "My Own Life," an essay in his posthumous, best-selling new book, Gratitude. "I feel a sudden clear focus and perspective. There is no time for anything inessential."

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In the hospice and palliative care community, we often talk about the goal of a "good death"--dying as you have lived, surrounded by family and friends and things you love; being in as much control as possible over your environment, your choices and your comfort level; and having a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Dr. Sacks certainly had a good death. "I feel intensely alive," he wrote, "and I want and hope in the time that remains to deepen my friendships, to say farewell to those I love, to write more, to travel if I have the strength, to achieve new levels of understanding and insight."

I recently spoke with Dr. Sacks' longtime friend and editor, Kate Edgar, who described his final months at his Manhattan home, surrounded by his loved ones, including her and his partner Bill Hayes, and doing the things he loved most.

"Home is home," said Edgar, during our conversation. "His favorite place was his desk, since writing (with his fountain pen) was his major joy -- and he was able to sit there and write almost to the end. He had all his books around him, his photographs, his favorite CDs, his favorite foods. He was able to play his piano. I can't tell you how important all that was for his peace of mind--and for ours. In the evenings, we could curl up with him on the couch and watch films together."

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The final days at home were made easier, Edgar says, by his decision, together with his doctors and loved ones, to enroll in hospice care. A nurse from VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care visited regularly to check his status and vital signs, support him and the family with information and resources, advise on medication schedules, and assess and arrange for needs such as medicines, hospital supplies, a wheelchair or a hospital bed. A social worker and spiritual counselor were also available, and the family had ready access to VNSNY Hospice's 24/7 phone support, and was supported through the grieving process by a bereavement counselor.

"At the very end of life, we were able to call one number and get advice and answers at any time of day," Edgar described. "Having not been through the process before, we had many questions: What's normal? What's coming next? How will we know if he is in pain? It was very reassuring, medically and also logistically, to have someone who could calmly advise us on those things, so we could stay focused on Oliver and do the right thing for him."

In addition to the personal support, they appreciated having on hand a concise Guide for Family Caregivers, containing detailed information on how to handle such common end-of-life symptoms as breathing problems, pain, changes in behavior and sleeplessness. "We read it over and over again," Edgar says. The brochure describes what to expect in the final hours, so family members can be prepared.

"Yes, it's painful, and we're full of grief," says Edgar. "But we came away from the experience thinking it was a beautiful time. It was a serene death. Oliver was the first to say he didn't want to die in a hospital. Hospitals are not where you want to be, if you can possibly avoid them."

Most Americans surveyed on the subject express a preference to die at home, yet most, according to the Centers for Disease Control, in fact die in hospitals or long-term care facilities. Continued conversations about end-of-life care and pursuing a good death can help us bridge the gap. (For more on this, see Ellen Goodman's wonderful Conversation Project, to begin talking with your own family and loved ones about their wishes.)

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Dr. Sacks has certainly deepened our conversation and sharpened our insights about how to face the end of life with dignity, clarity and intentionality. His essays, originally published in the New York Times, drew millions of readers, and Gratitude has been on the best-seller list since it was published late last year. It is joined on the list by two other books about end of life, also written by eloquent and compassionate medical doctors: the posthumous memoir When Breath Becomes Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi and Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande.


Image by Gage Skidmore

Secretary Clinton was asked a very interesting question she did not have an answer to: "Why is Senator Sanders beating you 2 to 1 among younger voters?"

Let me lay out some of the major events that America has been through in my own lifetime (est. 1996). Probably the most notable difference between previous generations and my own is that all we have ever known is an America at war. When I first started understanding that there was a whole world outside of my own town, 9/11 happened. Since then we were in Iraq until we moved to Afghanistan. Now we're toeing at Iraq again, with a bonus Syria (in a kind of two for one deal). I'm not saying that our intervention in these countries wasn't necessary, but do you know what it's like to grow up only knowing war? I only know what it's like for people to demonize Muslims and anyone with dark skin. I truly can't remember a time before terrorism and violence and dead American soldiers. I can comprehend that military force is necessary sometimes, but for God's sake, try diplomacy. I mean really try it. This world is going to sh*t and nobody is trying all that hard anymore to remind others that we're all 99.9% genetically identical.

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Financially, things aren't looking good for my generation either. We are the first generation in the history of America that is expected to be worse off than our parents. The economic system is broken, but the only people with the power to fix it are Congressmen who are so old and corrupt that they will never feel the repercussions of a ravaged middle class. For millennials, a career is enough odd jobs to weather all future recessions. Government jobs and pensions are unimaginable (they're all taken). Plus, we know for a fact we will never see a single Social Security check. Absolutely no way. Social Security is just some silly number that we memorize to put on our job applications (of which we can expect to have many). I mean let me put it this way, the youth unemployment rate of African Americans is 50%. Congress can't even pass budgets anymore, how can we expect them to help young black people get a decent paying job?

Probably the worst thing my generation will inherit though is the condition of our planet. Climate change is real, and everyone my age knows it. To see the consistent defunding and attacks on science is absolutely ludicrous. President Obama said, "We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it." Oh boy is that true. Older generations, you are ruining the world that we all share. Let me make this very clear: if real (keyword real) changes are not implemented right now, my generation will be the first to see people around the world die from climate change. The byproducts of climate change, such as starvation, diseases, respiratory disorders, and droughts will be the reaper's scythe. Something has to be done now, and old people are too comfortable knowing it won't affect them.

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Socially, we're tired of the old guard. Racist remarks and homophobic bigotry will die with my generation. We don't care who you choose to love (unless you're a celebrity and you have nude pictures in iCloud storage). It still isn't easy for gay people to come out, but that's because a bunch of blundering dunderheads are running society and trying to make us perfect little puritans. If you tremble in horror at the thought of two people of the same sex memorizing wedding vows, I have some bad news for you: when my generation becomes old geezers, being gay will be like being left handed, an interesting trait, but nothing worth making a fuss about. People of my generation were stupefied by how long it took old people to realize that it doesn't matter who another person loves.

At the same time, we see the old authority in our society imprisoning and targeting African Americans, and we don't understand it. It bothers people. It confuses us that the older generation is still letting this happen. Didn't we talk about this in the 1960's? Scientifically, there is one, and only one, human race: we are all just people. Move on old people, racism isn't cool anymore.

So how does all this relate to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders? Well, simply put, it all comes down to hope. Most young people, for some odd reason are more reasonable than the current generation in power. As we begin to enter the real world, we're seeing that the world we're going to inherit is fraught with war, hate, fear, and serious climate problems. We don't want to inherit America as it stands now. We want hope. We know that Congress isn't going to make passing legislation easy, but we have to have change or our future looks pretty bleak.

Hillary Clinton isn't offering us change. She's not saying that she will fundamentally alter how America works to give us a brighter future. Her platform is that she's the least likely to offend anyone by not pushing for something big. Now, I don't agree with everything Bernie Sanders says and I know some of Hillary Clinton's plans are actually better (especially gun control) - in fact she will willingly get my vote if she is the nominee. But Bernie Sanders is offering something new and different: real change. He's proffering up action on climate change, less war, a justice system overhaul, universal healthcare, and a chance for genuine economic opportunity. Hillary Clinton seemed rather flustered by the question of why millennials support Bernie 2 to 1 against her, but to me it's clear when he offers us something she never has: the promise of revolutionary change towards a future that isn't as bleak as the time in which we grew up.


Hardrock mining has left a toxic legacy in communities across the country. Under a new court-approved settlement, EPA must issue regulations that will force companies to set aside money to clean up the messes they make.



Last Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a settlement the Sierra Club and other environmental groups reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that establishes a timeline for the agency to issue regulations ensuring that polluters--not taxpayers--pay to clean up their toxic messes. The settlement resolved litigation brought by the Sierra Club, Idaho Conservation League, Earthworks, Amigos Bravos, Great Basin Resource Watch, and Communities for a Better Environment, represented by Earthjustice, seeking regulations requiring facilities that produce hazardous waste to maintain evidence of their financial ability to cover cleanup costs.



These financial assurance regulations are long overdue: for more than 30 years, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) has required EPA to develop rules requiring industries that handle hazardous substances to have a financial security mechanism in place, such as a bond or insurance policy, to cover the costs of cleanup from their operations. All too often, polluters declare bankruptcy or shelter assets to avoid shouldering the costs of environmental disasters. When the companies skip town, the burden of paying for cleanup falls on taxpayers. Cleanup bills are paid from a public trust fund, known as the "Superfund," but polluting industries have dodged their responsibilities for so long that this trust is currently underfunded by over $100 million. This shortfall leads to significant delays in cleaning up Superfund sites, prolonging the dangers to public health and the environment.



After the Club and its allies brought a previous lawsuit in 2008 to compel EPA to follow the law, the agency issued findings that financial assurance rules were warranted for four industries: metal ("hardrock") mining; chemical manufacturing; petroleum and coal products manufacturing; and electric power generation, transmission, and distribution (largely focused on coal ash pollution from coal-burning power plants). Although EPA has announced its intent to propose a rule for hardrock mining several times over the last decade, the agency continued to drag its feet, and so environmental groups brought this new lawsuit to force EPA to act.



The court's decision puts an end to this decades-long delay with a binding schedule on EPA to complete the rules, which have been vigorously opposed by industry. EPA must now complete the draft financial assurance regulations for hardrock mining by December 1, 2016, and finalize the regulations by the end of 2017. The agency must also make formal determinations of whether to regulate the three other industries--coal ash ponds, chemical manufacturing facilities, and petroleum and oil refineries--by the end of this year; final regulations would then be due between 2019 and 2024.



Implications for Standing



The D.C. Circuit's decision also is good news for the broader environmental community, specifically for environmental groups' ability to bring agencies to court when they unreasonably delay their mandatory duties. The court affirmed the legal standing of the Sierra Club and our allies based on demonstrations that EPA's lack of financial assurance rules put our members in harm's way and that the required rules would redress that injury.



Recently, in Clapper v. Amnesty International, 133 S.Ct. 1138 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court cast some doubt on the ability of citizens to challenge government regulations--or lack thereof--unless they prove that injury is "certainly impending." Here, the court took a commonsense approach, recognizing that Sierra Club members who live in harm's way--whether next door to a coal-burning power plant, in the shadow of a coal ash dam, or downstream from a petro-chemical facility--and who have been and will continue to be harmed by pollution from hazardous waste, should be able to demand regulations that could make sure the waste is cleaned up. The court rightly recognized that "financial assurance requirements would redress their injuries by incentivizing these industries to limit hazardous releases and by reducing cleanup delays."



The industries subject to financial assurance requirements have left a toxic legacy in communities across the country: the EPA estimates that one in four Americans lives within three miles of a hazardous waste site. Putting these rules in place will help protect public health and the environment by pushing companies to internalize the true costs of their operations and creating much-needed incentives to reduce risk and properly handle hazardous waste.



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Copper Mine Tailing Pond - iStock
DOVER, NH - FEBRUARY 03: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a 'get out the vote' event at Rivermill at Dover Landing on February 3, 2016 in Dover, New Hampshire. With less than one week to go until the New Hampshire primaries, Hillary Clinton is campaigning throughout the state. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The 2016 presidential race is being shaped by religion in a manner that is rare in American history. This has largely been the doing of the candidates themselves, who particularly in the run up to the Iowa Caucuses had eagerly depicted themselves as the most devoted of religious believers. Yet journalists and voters cannot leave the matter of religion in the candidates' hands alone. We need to know more about what they believe and how their beliefs will shape decisions in the Oval Office.

Americans have long become accustomed to the religious symbols and throw-away lines that so often attend presidential campaigns. Usually, there is video of the candidate attending church, Bible in hand. The phrase "God Bless America" adorns the end of nearly every speech. Always, there are the meetings with clergy, the speeches in Sunday services, and the assurances that God has guided the political journey.

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We see all of these in the current presidential race, but there is likely far more to come. The reason is that in this 2016 race every leading candidate for president but one, Bernie Sanders, is an outspoken person of faith, comfortable if not insistent upon with blending religion with politics. On the Republican side, all the candidates claim to be Christians and half are evangelicals. On the Democratic side, there is Hillary Clinton, who is--much to the surprise of many Americans--among the most faith-based politicians of her generation.

In the Republican debates just prior to the Iowa Caucuses, the religion of the right was on full display. Marco Rubio assured the audience "there's only one savior and it's not me. It's Jesus Christ who came down to earth and died for our sins."

Ohio governor John Kasich insisted that all Americans be allowed "to rise to their God-given purpose."

New Jersey governor Chris Christie promised to take on ISIS so that Americans can "conduct our religious affairs the way we find in our heart and in our souls. As a Catholic, that's what I want to do."

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Throughout the debate, there were references to what the Bible commands, insistences that the next president should be influenced by faith and promises that religion would influence all decisions made in the Oval Office.



Grand assertions of faith have also come from the other side of the political divide. The week before the Iowa Caucuses, former president Bill Clinton explained that the best way to understand his wife, Hillary Clinton, was through the lens of her Methodist faith. At nearly the same time, Mrs. Clinton told a Methodist congregation in Iowa, "I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am a Methodist." She also said, "My study of the Bible, my many conversations with people of faith, has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, and that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do."

Even Bernie Sanders, who has used the terms "secular" and "socialist" of himself, felt the need to define himself in religious terms. Though admitting that he is not traditional in his understanding of God, his faith does convince him that "what impacts you impacts me, that we are all united in one way or another."

Americans, having long ago concluded that the religion of the campaign has little to do with the religion of the office, pay little attention to religious campaign rhetoric. Yet recent history proves we cannot afford to do this any longer.

In recent years, Americans have watched a president reverse himself entirely on the issue of same sex marriage and cited the Sermon on the Mount among his reasons. In other words, his faith determined his policy. Another president has taken the nation to war in Muslim lands largely on the basis of the Christian "Just War" theory. Again, faith shaped policy. Presidents have deployed their faith in policy debates over abortion, welfare, capital punishment, prison reform and immigration.

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The truth is that a faith sincerely held will shape conduct in office. We must ask the questions of faith that need to be asked. What is a candidate's faith? What are the implications of that faith for specific policy arenas? What does the candidate know about the faiths of the world? This last question is more important in our modern, religion-infused global society than ever.

We do not want to invade the prayer lives of our political candidates. We do not want to insist that they become theologians to appease us. We do, however, need to press for religious clarity from those who hope to govern us.
Suicide in the South African Police Service (SAPS) is at epidemic levels. Between 2012 and 2013, 115 officers died by suicide compared to 29 officers murdered on duty, an alarming four to one ratio. Unfortunately these statistics are not an anomaly.

Based on calculations from the SAPS annual 2012-13 report and Statistics South Africa, the number of police deaths by suicide was 73.9 per 100,000 officers. By comparison, 0.9 per 100,000 South Africans die by suicide.

While the unacceptably high rate of police murders attracts much media coverage, the bigger problem of suicide among police receives little focus.

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Other countries face similar challenges but do not publish suicide statistics among police officers - even though suicide is the leading cause of death among them in most democratic countries. In the US, for example, the FBI has published only aggregated data of the number of officers injured both on and off duty since 1945 but have excluded statistics on officers who have died by suicide.

There are many challenges in dealing with the issue of suicide in police organizations. In South Africa, the recent Khayelitsha Commission of Enquiry into allegations of police inefficiency heard that dealing with emotive issues within the police is made all the more difficult by the prevailing attitude that:

Cowboys don't cry.

And the Marikana Commission of Inquiry highlighted the high prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress, which are known precursors to suicide, among South African police. According to the report of the 153,000 (estimated) SAPS personnel, 10,000 officers suffered from depression and 2700 from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Language of shame

These difficulties are compounded by the social stigma of suicide often created by the language and reactions that surround it. Suicide is an action which is regularly referred to as having been "committed" - a word normally associated with a criminal act.

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Such language may influence how the police, and society, react to death by suicide. It has yet to be fully recognized that, in policing and elsewhere, people die by suicide; they do not necessarily "commit" it.

Police officers as a group are not skilled in talking about personal issues, especially suicide or depression which are often perceived as shameful, which may prevent them from seeking help.

Such phrasing may also contribute to why the names of officers who die by suicide are excluded on memorial walls and annual rolls of honor. This, despite some of the officers having served society for years before taking their own life.

Why, indeed, would they be included if they are associated with doing something wrong? The language used, plus the denial of a state funeral and exclusion from rolls of honor, all contribute to the continued stigmatization of police suicides.

Fighting stigma and ending bias

Failing to acknowledge the career of an officer, and only focusing on how they died, may stigmatize the issue of suicide even further in policing. Additionally, how an officer died can result in radically different financial results for their bereaved families.

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If a member of the SAPS is killed while on duty, the family gets paid a death benefit and proceeds from life insurances. But should an officer die by suicide, no compensation benefit is received by the family.

These issues surrounding suicide could be addressed by the introduction of a National Suicide Prevention Strategy Plan, which would incorporate some of the most vulnerable groups - such as the police.

The World Health Organization's first world suicide report, Preventing suicide: a global imperative, recommends such a plan. While a national strategy is yet to be defined, the SAPS do have employee health and wellness officers. But they are overwhelmed by an already heavy workload.

They have their hands full dealing with everything from financial difficulties to physical and mental health, including suicide prevention, for members of the police service.

What can be done

In 2008, the Badge of Life organization conducted the National Surveillance of Police Suicides - the first to examine police suicide in the US.

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This study has been continued annually to establish, track and analyze the extent of the problem in law enforcement. In doing so, they aim to provide clarity and continually monitor the issues and circumstances surrounding police suicides.

Having programs such as this would contribute hugely to understanding suicide and its impact in South African police culture. To date very little research has been done on the causes of police suicide. This needs to change.
By Michael Bass

UCF Forum columnist



Many people have written on the fear of failure. In many places it goes under the heading "fear of losing face." I have visited several major laboratories and universities in Japan and China and come away with an uncanny feeling that in many instances they are held back by this fear.

Just one example will serve to show you what I mean. In late spring of 1960, Hughes Aircraft engineer and physicist Theodore Maiman demonstrated the first laser. It was a very simple affair in which a spiral flashlamp was used to excite chromium ions in a rod-shaped sapphire crystal with polished, parallel and silver-coated end faces. It was a flashlamp-pumped ruby laser.

By the time I began working with a laser in the spring of 1961 at least one company was selling a commercial version of Maiman's laser. This very simple device was enabling the birth of modern optics.

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Meanwhile in China, at the premier optics institute in the country, it took over a year to prepare their first version of Maiman's laser. I could not find out if it had ever been used in a scientific experiment. It is now on display at the institute and it is clear why it took so long to prepare it. The laser has every adjustment conceivable and is machined beautifully. It is what we would call over-engineered. This means that the builders didn't understand that a flashlamp-pumped ruby laser did not have to be so complex and rather than risk failure they put in every possible way to avoid it.

Unfortunately, China's Great Leap Forward economic and social campaign in the late 50s and early 60s devastated science in that country so it wasn't until the 1980s when the vast potential of its scientists could begin to express itself. That period and the tradition of fear of losing face seem to make scientists in China risk averse. It is too bad because they now have outstanding facilities and a great pool of talent that can be developed.

The United States is a country of risk takers. Often the risks fail but when they don't you find Apple, Microsoft, Google, FedEx, Uber and so on. Don't stop taking risks.

On a much smaller scale I can tell you about my son who became fed up with working in corporate America. He wanted to be his own boss.

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About 19 years ago he quit his job and started a small magazine in Atlanta for the business and upscale traveler. It was never easy but he made it work. This magazine is now in Atlanta and Chicago and supports my son and his family.

He became known to the Kennesaw State University Business College and now is an adjunct professor in sales and marketing. Recently he started a consulting company. All of these efforts involve risk. But risk not taken is achievement never savored.

This fear of failure is still present in many places around the world. It can be seen in beautiful, clean, neat laboratories where not much is getting done.

My thesis advisor once told me that in such a laboratory it was painfully clear why nothing was getting done. Everyone there was too busy keeping the lab clean and the tools put away. That is not to say that laboratories should be a mess but they are places where ideas are tried out and some degree of disorder goes with that.

Another way that fear of risk becomes painfully evident is in the classroom when students don't ask questions. There are reasons for this. One is that the instructor is so fantastically brilliant and the material was presented so clearly that there is no need to ask questions. That is never true.

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Another is that the students don't want to ask questions because they haven't been paying attention. This is always true of some students in any class.

Then there are those students who were paying attention and who are curious about something but won't ask a question because they are afraid of appearing to be ignorant in front of their fellow classmates and the instructor.

For such students I have the following comment: Which would you rather do: Ask a question and possibly appear ignorant or not ask a question and remain ignorant? The choice is yours.
This letter is to voice my support for Boyd Patterson for Criminal Court judge.

My husband and I have known Boyd for over 10 years. Boyd has an excellent reputation, the highest standards for ethics and has provided his leadership to the community for many years. He would make a respectful, thorough and fair judge for our citizens. In addition to his 25 years of experience in the legal field, he is a dedicated family man and friend. He is looked up to and respected by all that know him. His experience and years of study make him uniquely qualified for Criminal Court judge. Hes capable of, and not afraid to, think outside the box.

The community would be well served by having Boyd as Criminal Court judge and it's my honor to voice support for his campaign.

Melissa M. Woody

Hixson
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a Clinton event in Hampton, N.H., Tuesday Feb. 2, 2016, Clinton's first day in New Hampshire after winning the Iowa Caucus. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

This post originally appeared on The Cut.

By Rebecca Traister

For all those Democrats who fretted for the past year about the probability of a listless primary, and for any who (inanely) predicted a "coronation" for Hillary Clinton (I mean, just as a point of fact, in the U.S. we don't hand out president crowns, and especially not to women), Monday night put every fear to rest. Democrats could not have asked for a more riveting nail-biter. As of this writing, it's still not clear whether Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton "won," and I gather, after eleventy hours of listening to polling analysis, that it may not be clear for another eleventy hours.

That's pretty thrilling. Democrats have two candidates about whom voters feel passionate. The win/tie is tremendous for Sanders, the long-shot challenger from the left. But it's also pretty great for Clinton, who could have decisively lost Iowa but hung on, and who also became the first Clinton (and the first woman ever) not to have outright lost the state.

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Clinton's approach tonight -- her ballsy power-play move of stepping over Republican winner Ted Cruz's victory speech, and her happy-warrior tone -- showed a marked contrast from her 2008 loss in Iowa, a night when she came in nine points behind Barack Obama and one point behind John Edwards. Back then, her concession was dismal, wan, practically consumptive. Eight years later, she was energetic, brassy, and seemed to show she's learning something about navigating the choppy waters of running for president while female.

The key thing she did in her "sigh of relief" speech on Monday was right her flailing message about health-care reform, which in recent days had gone off the rails for her in a very familiar way.

She was firm and positive in her framing of her goal: "I know that we can finish the job of universal health-care coverage for every man, woman, and child!" she shouted affirmatively and warmly, in sharp contrast to the sharper tone she'd deployed in recent days, culminating in a YouTube clip that was swiftly dubbed by her critics "Hillary's Mean Scream." In it, Clinton had bellowed about how "people who have health emergencies can't wait for us to have some theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass!"

Clinton, who has in one way or another spent decades of her career pushing for universal health-care reform, was expressing her obvious lack of patience for a candidate whose idea of starting from scratch, rather than building on the reforms of the flawed but hard-won Affordable Care Act, strikes her as pie-in-the-sky.

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But in failing to present an upbeat take on her disagreement with Sanders, Clinton had sounded like a scold, the disciplinarian, the mean mommy, the pragmatic downer -- all versions of a feminized role that she and many, many women have long found it incredibly difficult to escape.

Recall the days following the 2008 Iowa caucus, when the media took advantage of Clinton's defeat to let loose with their resentment and animosity toward her. That was when conservative Marc Rudov told Fox News that Clinton lost because "When Barack Obama speaks, men hear 'Take off for the future!' When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear 'Take out the garbage!'" It was in the days after Iowa that Clinton infamously got asked about how voters believed her to be "the most experienced and the most electable" candidate but "are hesitating on the likability issue." In late January, columnist Mike Barnicle told a laughing all-male panel on Morning Joe that Clinton's challenge was that she looks "like everyone's first wife standing outside of probate court."

What was true in '08 remains true this year. From her entrance into the campaign, Clinton has been tagged as unlikable, as the practical buzzkill, the boring one with the wonky facts and figures and experience who's going to show up and tell you that your big plans are impossible, but that she's thought of some smaller and more doable fixes. Meanwhile, Sanders, who entered the race shouting righteously and correctly about a system that's broken, has, as his campaign has strengthened, become the unlikely vehicle of idealistic hopes and dreams for America -- Free college! Free health care! A $15 minimum wage! The breakup of the big banks!

His vision of revolution, as Bryce Covert wrote in Monday's New York Times, differs significantly from Clinton's approach, which Covert described accurately as "pragmatism incarnate." Critics argue that his promises have no chance of coming to fruition, but their soaring scale -- and the righteous ideals to which they speak -- make him a candidate it is infinitely easier to feel emotionally inspired by. Clinton's realism may in fact be one of the reasons that her supporters believe that she'd make a more prepared and effective commander-in-chief than Sanders -- something that in fact provokes rational excitement, especially by those thrilled at the idea of an experienced, capable, hard-assed Democratic woman president. But hers is not an easy pose to pull off, if you're trying to win the hearts of America. In fact, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reported tonight that many young voters in Iowa had told her that their decision between Clinton and Sanders had come down to head versus heart, respectively.

That hurts, and it falls into a very old, very well-worn gendered pattern, in which women -- understanding that making promises they cannot back up will not get them taken seriously and that they must prove themselves extra-competent in order to be understood as basically competent -- become the nose-to-the-grindstone wonks, easily compared to know-it-all bores like Tracy Flick and Hermione Granger. They're the wet blankets, the ones all too acquainted with the limitations imposed by the world, and all too eager to explain their various ideas for working around them. Men, and especially white men, whose claims to public or political power are more easily understood, are permitted a slightly looser approach.

There's been some talk about how a female candidate could never be as scruffy as Bernie Sanders, as uncombed and unkempt. A woman could never be as grumpy as Bernie, as left-leaning as Bernie, as uncooperative with party machinery as Bernie. And that stuff is true enough. But the bigger truth is that what Bernie does, to great acclaim, that Hillary Clinton could never do is make big promises of institutional overthrow, tug on our imaginative heartstrings by laying out a future that might not be grounded in reality, and urge a revolution.

Here is a truth about America: No one likes a woman who yells loudly about revolution.

And no, it's not just this woman. This is a paradigm; it's why Mom is the disciplinarian and Dad is the fun guy, why women remain the brains and organizational workhorses behind social movements while men get to be the gut-ripping orators, why so many women still manage campaigns and so many men are still candidates.

So here we are! On our way to New Hampshire, a state that inspiring Bernie Sanders is overwhelmingly favored to win. But for one of the first times, in her speech in Iowa, I saw Clinton work effectively to turn the pragmatic ship around, to take what she wants to say -- that Sanders's soaring promises are empty but her more modest proposals might come to pass -- and make it sound almost exciting.

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It is hard to put into words the impact of attending the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). It is our planet's premier networking event and my experience as a first-timer was simultaneously humbling, inspiring, chilling and empowering. If asked to sum up the significance of this annual pilgrimage to the Swiss Alps, I would have to say that Davos shapes the conscience of the corporate world.

Founded 46 years ago by the remarkable Klaus Schwab, Davos has evolved substantially beyond its early years, which focused on improving management practices and industry/government relations. The growing involvement of civil society actors over the last few decades has helped the WEF create a platform for change-makers of many stripes to grapple with the major issues of the day. The 2016 edition drew 50 heads of government, 25 Nobel Laureates, hundreds of CEOs representing global companies, more than 150 cultural leaders, social entrepreneurs, scientists, technology pioneers, young "global shapers" and 500 media representatives.

This year's theme of "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution" helped focus the proceedings on navigating the creative disruptions that digital technology is causing in virtually all areas of life and business. The conference boasted a star-studded line-up of speakers in a densely-packed program that showcased game-changing breakthroughs and sought solutions to the wicked challenges that confront us. Yet the official program is just part of what happens at the Annual Meeting. Imagine five 16-hour days of meetings, workshops, debates, collaborations, cultural interventions, industry events, announcements, press conferences, dinners and parties and you begin to get a sense of the scale and frenzied pace of the Davos experience.

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As delegates gathered in Davos this year, there was little to celebrate regarding the state of the world. Slowing growth in China, the collapse of oil prices and turmoil in international markets are casting a pall over the global economy. An Oxfam report published days before the start of the conference drew attention to the frightening fact that half of the world's wealth is now concentrated in the hands of 64 people. Officially, there are now 59 million displaced people in the world, though unofficial estimates peg the number closer to 120 million. Add political conflict, climate change and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the roster and it is clear that the complexity of challenges we face has never been greater.



In light of these grim realities, it is easy to be skeptical as some in the media have been about the value and impact of gathering elites in a ski resort to ponder the future. By virtue of accepting an invitation to Davos, are delegates really as the WEF's mission suggests "committed to improving the state of the world?" I can tell you that delegate after delegate I spoke with came away from the experience as I did - with a renewed sense of optimism and a much greater sense of personal and professional responsibility as a global citizen.

The power of Davos comes in part from moments of great inspiration and leadership. This year, Canada was as one Davos veteran put it, "The hit of the conference for the first time in history" thanks to the hopeful outlook and charisma of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He and the five Cabinet Ministers that accompanied him modeled what progressive leadership looks like in keynotes, panels, meetings and lunches and in so doing marked Canada's dramatic re-entry as a constructive player in global affairs. The success of the WEF is also rooted in a powerfully progressive agenda that has catalyzed a long track record of world-changing advances in multiple areas. While leadership and purpose are essential, it is the spirit of Davos that makes it truly extraordinary; that gives it the power to change the world.

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How will this year's delegates apply the lessons of Davos in the real world? A session I attended called "A Day in the Life of a Refugee" is a great example of how Davos works to shape the conscience of the corporate world. Forty of us gathered in the basement of a hotel for this "simulation" that ran three times a day during the conference. I was expecting a glimpse of the difficult conditions inside a refugee camp, but what I got was one of the most profound calls to action I have ever experienced.

As the simulation began, I was given the identity of a 20-year-old Syrian boy, and then hurriedly ushered into a bunker. As the door slammed shut, there were thunderous sounds of bombs going off, the room filled with smoke and we escaped by crawling down a hallway with sniper fire overhead. When we arrived at a refugee camp, we were greeted by armed soldiers who barked orders at us then robbed us of watches, jewelry and wallets. Over the course of the next half hour, we were threatened with guns and violence, forced to cower in tents and subjected to relentless bullying. While each of us knew this was merely a simulation, the experience was nonetheless dehumanizing and degrading. After the welcome announcement that the simulation was over, we heard real-life horror stories from members of the cast about the indignities and atrocities they had suffered in pursuit of their personal security. Before the trauma of experiencing just a fraction of what many refugees go through sunk in, participants were asked to write down the things they were prepared to do to help.

This session gave me a visceral sense of the threat posed to humanity when millions of people are robbed of their identity, belongings and security. It made me recognize that everyone can and needs to do something to help and that those who have the privilege of being in leadership positions can and should do more. As the CEO of an organization focused on leveraging the power of culture to catalyze the transformation of people and places, I began thinking first about the significant role the arts could play in fostering empathy, shifting mindsets and galvanizing people into action. On returning home to Toronto, I've started working on both personal and professional initiatives to help refugees arriving in Canada and plan to engage friends and colleagues in these efforts in the coming weeks.

I was welcomed into the WEF community two years ago through the Schwab Foundation. Since then, I have been repeatedly impressed by both the people in the network and the range and depth of issues in which they are engaged. I am so grateful to Klaus and Hilde Schwab and the entire WEF team for their tireless efforts to ensure that improving the state of the world is a more central part of everyone's business. In these times of great difficulty, the world needs much more of both the spirit and the calls-to-action that Davos so brilliantly engenders.
There is one year left in Obama's second term. He has left no doubt that he is one of the most consequential Presidents we have ever had. The 47-year-old Illinois Senator from the South Side of Chicago had his work cut out for him in January 2009. He walked into destruction and chaos that had previously only been seen in the Great Depression. Add to that two out-of-control wars, then throw in a very obstructive Congress and you have an impossible situation.

Obama more than rose to the occasion. He slayed it.

He is undersold and underappreciated by our media. They are obsessed with reporting on the shock jock fest going on in the GOP presidential campaign. The things that matter don't get reported on, and if you don't do hard research you won't know what amazing things the president has done. Obama's opponents across the aisle not only don't acknowledge his accomplishments, but they blame the actions of his predecessor George W. Bush on him.

But you can't keep a good man down.

I found hundreds of major achievements that this president has done, very little if anything written on them. Below are his legacies. Yes, there is more than one.

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Here's what some of that hope and change looks like:

ECONOMY

Obama walks in with an economy that is categorized as the worst since the Great Depression, some categorized it as worse than that. An economy hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of jobs per month. By the end of his first year as president, Obama's economy had created over 2 million jobs. Obama created more jobs in his first year than George W. Bush did in eight years. George W. Bush doubled unemployment, Obama cut it in half. Obama is leaving with the strongest economy in 15 years.

That's hope going to change. Thanks Mr. President!

HEALTHCARE

The Affordable Care Act is almost miraculous. Talk about achieving what no other president could. The uninsured rate was 18 percent before the ACA it is now at 11.4 percent. Quite a drop. 16.4 million have gained coverage. It is estimated that over 50,000 lives have been saved so far. The cost of this? Over $12 billion in hospital costs SAVED by Obamacare. Not only that, Federal healthcare spending has decreased by $600 billion Obamacare was implemented.

It saves lives, insures millions and cuts costs. Genius in motion.

And Joe Biden was right, it is a big f'ing deal!

CIVIL RIGHTS

Obama's record on LBGT rights is just as impressive. Yet another legacy. Obama ended "Don't Ask Don't Tell". After 17 years this discriminatory policy was done. He ended the legal defense of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). He passed a historic LBGT hate crimes prevention act, extending Federal hate crime laws to cover crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It was major change in policies, to the chagrin of many conservatives who fought him tooth and nail. The list of other protections given to the LBGT community by Obama goes on and it can be seen here.

"Every single American, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of our society. It's a pretty simple proposition," President Obama said.

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Yes, they do Mr. President, and thanks for being the only president to not only see that but to do something about it.

DIPLOMACY

Obama is a diplomat like no other president. This too will be his legacy. In the first six months of his presidency he visited more leaders around the world than the last five presidents. It seemed as though almost instantaneously Obama repaired a totally broken down foreign relations nightmare George W. Bush left behind.

He used this to his advantage in his dealings with Iran. The Iran peace deal was executed with political professionalism that will be looked back on in history as one of Obama's greatest accomplishments. The GOP Congress fought for a war with Iran like nobody's business. Complete with an unprecedented letter to Iran's leaders, going directly over the president, looking to destroy diplomacy. But Iran answered back and humiliated the Congressmen calling their actions illegal.

When prompted by Tom Cotton to read the translation of the letter:

Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Zariff's response once and for all knocked down the chip off of our Congressman's shoulder:

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This drumbeat to war also consisted of a visit to Congress by Netanyahu that also did not include the president. A very hard sell of war and disrespect of our Commander in Chief.

Obama did not let them win, despite these shots at trying to undermine his authority. He pressed on with the grit and determination that comes with the now familiar smile. His administration brokered a deal with Iran, averted war and made Iran Nuclear free. Without one loss of life.

That's how it is done. This was the moment that elevated Obama to a diplomatic class of his own.

He didn't stop there. Relations with Cuba have been restored. The American flag flies over an Embassy in Cuba for the first time in 54 years.

Several presidents couldn't do what Obama did with class, dignity and most importantly without bombs and a war.

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Yes, he did. That's more hope and change. He made it look easy.

VETERANS

Yes, Obama is the president who fought for Veterans. If you doubt that, please read about all the Veteran's Bills blocked by the GOP right here. History will show that Obama has done more for veterans than any president in modern times. And most of it was done by Executive Order because of an uncooperative Congress.

By Executive Order -- 19 Executive Orders -- to expand mental healthcare and quality healthcare for veterans and their families

By Executive Order -- New online system for the VA

By Executive Order -- Initiative to end Veteran Homelessness

Signs historic VA reform and restructuring Bill into law.

Ended Bush Era Stop Loss which forces Soldiers to serve beyond their enlistment date

Gave troops in Afghanistan/Iraq the body armor they didn't have under Bush

Ended 18 year photo/news ban coverage on returning fallen soldiers. Those who pay the ultimate price for their nation deserve the honor, respect and reflection. Obama gave that back to them.

Expanded the Veterans Transition Assistance Program for the first time in 20 years

Small Business help for veterans

Green jobs initiatives for veterans

Online tools to help veterans find jobs. Veteran unemployment is at 3.9 percent

.

The list goes on, and can be seen here. Obama since day one has worked to provide veterans with the care and benefits they deserve. This is historic, it is a legacy and it should be appreciated and recognized.

Obama rebuilt this nation, under the most difficult of political situations, with unprecedented obstruction. Hope and Change happened. His legacies are remarkable. They should be celebrated. He is loved by his contemporaries and supporters and envied by his opponents for his likability, charisma, finesse and ability to do what he sets out to. The GOP tried to take him down. They made it their goal, vowing to do everything to stop him from being reelected. They disrespected him and tried to undermine his authority.

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They failed. He soared. He is the definition of a leader. He will be missed.
For TueNight.com by Bridget Todd

Despite the fact that it was being played in a seemingly endless loop on the news, my mom wouldn't let us watch the video of the Rodney King beating. She'd dive for the remote to quickly change the channel or, in her most extreme moments, she'd send us kids out of the room altogether.

I was already an anxious kid, well on my way to becoming an even more anxious adult. Mom must have known that video would stay with me long after the trial. Even for how frequently the news showed King's savage beating, it wasn't impossible to avoid. This was the 90s. There was no autoplay Twitter video and no refreshing Facebook feed flooded with violence. As much as I wish she could, these days my mom can't shield me from them all.

When I first started working in news in August 2014, I knew I'd probably have to come face to face with horrible material. I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of violence and bloodshed that unfolded during my first year on the job.

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South Carolina. Cleveland. Staten Island. Day in and day out, I waded through horrific videos and details of men and women who looked like my father or my cousin being killed. I had prepared myself for working long hours and keeping ahead of an ever-dizzying news cycle, but I hadn't realized I needed a game plan for constantly dealing with violence, pain and anguish.

My first coping tactic was trying to desensitize myself. I tried to picture myself working in a slaughterhouse or funeral parlor or some other job where you deal in death. "It's just a job. I can forget about it as soon as I clock out," I'd think. But ultimately, this didn't work because I didn't want to become desensitized to videos of people who look like me being killed. Those videos are and should be upsetting.

This was the year videos of unarmed black folks getting shot and killed seemed to surface every week. From California to Cleveland, consuming black death on a loop became commonplace. In many cases, these videos helped create national fervor around police injustice. But to me, it didn't make having to watch them any easier.

Having to package and talk about this content in an "objective" way also started to take its toll. It was always "unarmed man," never "victim." Or "police shot and killed...," never "murdered." When you're a black person working in news, you're trained to create distance and coldness around material that is often very personal.

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The South Carolina AME church shooting is what broke me. Growing up religious in the south, I'd been to the AME church a handful of times. Where I come from, everyone knew someone who belonged to an AME church. The victims looked like my mother. They looked like me. It was just too much.

At work, I pulled extra shifts to stay on top of extended coverage of the shooting. Anyone sitting near me might have thought I looked steely and together, but inside I was falling apart. I wasn't eating or sleeping. Instead I'd spent nights tossing and turning, alternating between hot tears and hot rage. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the mother of one of the victims, her agonizing cries echoing in my mind like a bell. My fingers trembled as I pushed the buttons on the elevator to my office every day. Could I make it through the day without crying? How about just to lunch? I was a mess.

It's easy to talk about "self-care" and "unplugging," but what do you do when it's your job to be plugged in? What do you do when the violence you package for a living hits too close to home? What do you do when you feel yourself start to unravel?

I can't say I have all the answers, but I do know my friends saved me.

After sending up a bat-signal, friends poured in to pull me from what felt like the brink. They surrounded me with love and helped me carry the weight of my worried mind. They were there offering to listen to me talk about work or just keep me company while I binge-watched mindless TV. They helped me realize that I didn't necessarily have to have the perfect solution to all my complicated feelings; I just had to find a way to make it through each day.

Since quitting, I no longer watch videos of people being killed. I've disabled autoplay videos on my social media accounts and make sure others know they have the option to do the same. It's a small thing, but it makes me feel more in control of how I consume these stories that feel so personal. Sometimes video provides a powerful illustration of wrongdoing or injustice, but I don't always need to see video evidence to know something is wrong.
I've just begun to teach a new graduate seminar called "Abrahamic Feminisms" at the University of Virginia this semester. It focuses upon the efforts of Christian, Jewish and Muslim feminists who have investigated the status of women and pressed for equality in all areas of religion. Since feminism's second wave, feminist scholars and activists in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, have been developing strategies for scrutinizing the status of women in our traditions and pressing for women's equality. Reading each other's work, studying together and meeting has inspired and pushed us; it has suggested what could be possible. The intersections have often happened by chance. With much work remaining to be done, my intention is to investigate how we have influenced each other and to discern how we can purposefully move both the scholarship and activism to the next stages.

My belief in the power of these intersections comes from a personal experience that truly changed the course of my life. I became empowered as a Jewish feminist because of the goading of colleague, Marilyn Thie, a professor of religion at Colgate University religion and philosophy and a nun who was teaching a course on "Women and Religion." This being 1980, her course was among the early efforts to bring the subject of women and religion into the university. It was before there were developed syllabi for the study of women in/and religion and before there were formal methodologies for feminist religious scholarship. Scholars were just beginning to ask such rudimentary questions as: "Is women in religion a bona fide academic field of inquiry or a political platform? "If we looked for 'women worthies' in religion, would we find them?" And, "If women had been written out of religious history, short of total invention, could they be rewritten back in?" It was the beginning of wondering if God language and God imagery could ever be coined in a woman's image, and if using that language in prayer would ever feel natural. As for studying patriarchal sacred texts, the terms -- a hermeneutics of remembrance and a hermeneutics of suspicion were not yet in our lexicons.

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I was teaching writing and comparative literature at the time. Out of persona interest, had read Christ and Plaskow's "Womenspirit Rising: A Feminist Anthology in Religion" and in Judaism, I had read Blu Greenberg, Susanna Heschel, Paula Hyman & Charlotte Baum, and Koltun, which is to say, I was versed in the entire corpus of about five books that constituted the texts on women in Judaism. Knowing five books outside ones professional field, even knowing them exceedingly well, hardly made me feel well-versed. So when Thie asked me to lecture to her class on "Women and Judaism," I hemmed and hawed, saying I knew nothing about the subject aside from these five books and my own life as a Jewish woman. Of course, feminist theorists have since taught us to valorize subjective, lived, embodied knowledge as a form of knowing and to question the truth claims of scholarly objectivity. And since then, we now have a huge body of scholarship on women and gender studies in Judaism. But at that long ago time, it wasn't clear to me that living a Jewish woman's life and reflected endlessly upon it counted as expertise.

Thie managed to persuade me I was not an impostor. I reread the five books. I do not recall precisely what she said when I hesitated. Most likely, she told me to be myself and to speak about my own lived experience as a Jewish woman. I could not believe I was hearing correctly: that lived, embodied experience counted as an authoritative way of knowing something. But she persuaded me, and in doing so, she obliged me to claim my authority and expertise as a Jewish woman, and to find my voice, first, literally speaking in her class after and then more figuratively, as I began to write articles and then a book (Words on Fire) on women and the study of sacred texts in Judaism. From there, it was a much smaller step to my being coaxed by others--Phyllis Chesler and Rivka Haut, and Naamah Kelman, at the beginning, to becoming a Jewish feminist activist, and to fighting for Jewish women's religious equality, particularly the battle that has now gone on for too, too long over the right of Jewish women to pray fully as Jews at the Western Wall.

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Thie had an additional obstacle to surmount in persuading me to lecture to her class. In those days, I and most anyone else would have defined expertise in Judaism by a single standard: mastery of sacred Jewish written texts: Bible, of course, but more precisely, Rabbinic literature, and more precisely still, Talmud. Not only was Talmud described as a vast sea in which anybody, female or male, was likely to drown; sophisticated study of Talmud was available, by and large, only to men. (This situation of limited access to sacred texts for Jewish women was improved in the 80's, when women in the Conservative Jewish movement were permitted to enter the rabbinate, and in the 90's, when a variety of maverick institutions sprang up for Orthodox women to learn sacred texts, a phenomenon I chronicled in my book, Words on Fire.)

I would not wish to minimize the centrality of sacred text study in Jewish tradition, or to give the impression that without expertise in sacred texts it would be possible for a contemporary Jewish woman to have the power and authority in her Jewish community or in the academic community of Jewish studies. She would not be seen as an authority or function as an agent of change. One must surely celebrate the remarkable accomplishment of Jewish women who have gained not only access to sacred texts but have created vibrant, funded institutions in which the next generation of Jewish women scholars are taught.

My Christian colleague, in recognizing other ways in which religion is lived by treating me as an expert, ignited a spark which fired all of my subsequent current work. She paved the way to seeing that male, text-based expressions of religion were but one voice, but one part of the story. Another voice of religious experience, the voice of practice, existed as well. Arthur Green once described this as the "living form that has been passed down from one generation to another as an expression of love...God is there in the love with which these forms are passed down.." (Stalking Elijah, R. Kamenetz p.270) Rituals and practices, for Green, are highly cultivated modes of knowing God and through which God is known. That is to say that sacred study, limud Torah, is not the only valued, legitimate, authentic way of being Jewish and of participating in the enterprise of transmitting Jewishness. Since text study had been so limited to the men's camp, and so restricted (by practice, more so than by law) from the women's camp, it had seemed to me that the Jewish women's world, no matter how emotionally or sensually engaging it might have been, was sentenced to be forever an auxiliary to the real thing. (I should note anecdotally, that for a long time, those men who were Jewish scholars in academia and who were not Talmudists, but rather historians, philosophers, theologians, were treated as ignoramuses by those holding that Talmud is the only authentic measure of Jewish intelligence.)

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Anxious, I began my presentation in Professor Thie's class enumerating the problems Jewish feminists were experiencing. It was a long list of sources of irritation, pain, of spiritual contexts in which being a Jewish woman meant you were excluded, ignored, demeaned, silenced or objectified. This was to name just a few things a nice Jewish girl might hesitate to complain about, a shanda for the goyim--meaning it was bad enough we Jews knew we had a little problem--but if the gentiles were to find out--now that was a big problem. Why? Because, as many once believed, Judaism was a fragile, endangered thing that needed protection. The last thing you would do was to talk about internal problems with those outside the fold. Even internal discussion was subdued by a pernicious logic: that not talking about something limited the extent of its reality, that closing your eyes could blot out reality, which explains why Jewish children of my generation were not taken to funerals, and this, theoretically, cancelled death.

This is what Thie had done: she had extended to me the safe and creative and very smart space Christian women in religion had already been creating. It was a space characterized by the possibility of telling women's truths, the possibility of believing that if religion was what it claimed to be, then it would not break if women told the truth, for women were full reflectors of God's image. Nelle Morton, the Mudflower Collective, Rosemary Reuther, Elisabeth Schussler Firorenza--these were names I did not yet know, but it was their teachings that had birthed the possibility of women really being created in God's image. And if this was so, God would not abandon women for daring to ask, "Does it have to be this way?" and God would be with us in our tentative steps toward re-imagining liturgical language, creating feminist midrash, slowly infiltrating and then changing Jewish institutions--efforts which remain in the "stage one" phase.

Were I the only Jewish feminist so influenced by a Christian feminist, my personal story would have anecdotal, but not cultural significance. I tell my story because I think it is common: I think behind many Jewish feminist scholars or activists, behind many women rabbis, may be a Christian sister--encountered in real life or through her writing--who has paved the way. And behind many Christian feminists are surely the mothers of the American feminist movement, many who happen to be Jewish, and who asked provocative questions, such as these posed by Phyllis Chesler in 1972: "How shall we experience divinity as residing in the female body?" and "How can the creative impulse be nurtured in women--we, who have forgotten our myths, who have no rituals from which to proceed?" (Women and Madness, p. 302-303): Our Christian sisters took up the challenge, making facts on the ground happen. From our Christian sisters, Jewish feminists have learned that it is possible to remain in a patriarchal tradition, provided one has enough psychic, physical and spiritual stamina, and a community of the like-minded; it is possible to remain when one has experienced the tradition as having sufficient love and sufficient wisdom and sufficient strength to be transformed to honor the face of God in women.

From my Christian sisters, I learned that women in Judaism cannot be quiet, tactful, subtle and patient and expect that kind, ethically awake, sensitive men in our religions will take the initiative to address the spiritual and concrete ways in which women are oppressed in religious texts, practices, communities, institutions and intimate relationships. And even if a number of good men rise to the task and take up women's issues, the issues will not be high on the list of priorities and they will not receive sufficient funding. I see this all the time in women's institutes for sacred text study: they come into being only when women have the financial means to fund them. I am not suggesting that kitchen table radicalism has no impact--but I am saying it is unreliable and inefficient. And even if men were to rise to the task and make women's issues a priority and fund them appropriately, it's unlikely that men's solutions to women's issues are to the point.

When I studied for a doctorate in Anthropology of Religion at Drew University, nearly all of my professors were Christian feminist scholars of note: Karen McCarthy Brown, Dorothy Austin, Catherine Keller, Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Heather Elkins. As diverse as they were in training and outlook, they all taught me to look at religion from the perspective of unsurfaced assumptions, particularly those concerning power. Gazing at a religious institution, ritual, ceremony, liturgy, belief, or clerical role, I was trained to locate where power resided. Who had power, who maintained it, who benefited, and who was suppressed?

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Leila Ahmed used to come down from Harvard visit us often at Drew; that's when I began to encounter the voices of feminist scholars of Islam. And now, at UVA, a number of my students are researching Islam from a feminist perspective and I am learning along with them.
By Dr. Shay Hershkovitz Wikistrat's Chief Strategy Officer and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Political Science at Tel-Aviv University

The January 12 terror attack in Istanbul was the latest in a series that began last July at the border city of Suruc and continued in October within Ankara's city center. However, this most recent attack can be considered to be fundamentally different. The two previous attacks were aimed at specific groups (the Kurds and human rights activists), while this week's attack was aimed at Western tourists. This attack therefore demonstrates consistency in the strategy of ISIS. The downing of a Russian plane in Sinai last October, the November attacks in Paris, and even the December shooting in San Bernardino demonstrate this deadly organization's commitment, by inspiration or coordination, to a global jihad against the West.

Now that the current Turkish administration has become the target, and that Turkey has become a potential battlefield for ISIS, the recent attack might represent a game changer for Ankara. Turkey's revenue from travel and tourism account for around 12 percent of the country's GDP - a substantial figure. In 2015, Turkey already witnessed a 2.5 percent decline in tourism revenues due to security concerns. Furthermore, the growing tension between Turkey and other regional powers, most notably Russia and Iran, forces Ankara to reorient its geopolitical policy.

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After several years in which Ankara turned its back on Western powers and demonstrated a stubborn and uncooperative foreign policy, it needs to reassess its relationship with the West. Chief among these efforts needs to be the rehabilitation of its relations with Egypt and Israel, as well as the redirection of its economy from involvement with Russia to involvement with the EU and the United States. However, it is likely that such recalibration will be only for the short term.

Indeed, these developments present a good opportunity for the West - most notably the United States. However, Washington needs to understand what stands behind the Turkish motivations and not make errors deriving from unrealistic expectations. Erdogan's Turkey still sees ISIS as a context-specific problem linked primarily to the events in Syria. On the other hand, the U.S. sees ISIS as a regional - if not global - problem.

As for Russia, it is highly unlikely that Turkey can maintain tense relations with the superpower over the long term, especially if Ankara would like to have substantial influence in the Syrian theatre. With regard to Iran, Turkey still sees the Islamic Republic as a potential threat - especially since Turkey has joined the Saudi-led Sunni coalition in Syria. Iran has the potential not only to turn into another problematic neighbor (in case it allows Kurds to cross the joint border and move to Turkey) but also to become a regional economic rival shortly following the removal of sanctions as part of the nuclear deal. Finally, Erdogan remains Erdogan - that is, a political figure that too often lets his ego control his actions.
Yesterday, Ira Chernus had a stimulating article at TomDispatch.com in which he noted the present lack of an American anti-war movement. When it comes to war and foreign policy, Americans face a Hobson's choice: the Democrats with drones and Special Ops and bombing against evildoers, or the Republicans with even more drones and Special Ops and bombing against even more evildoers. The American master narrative, Chernus noted, is essentially all war.

He's right about this, and I think it's mainly for five reasons:

The military draft is gone, so our youth can safely (they think) ignore America's never-ending wars. In Vietnam, with the draft, most of our youth didn't have the luxury of apathy. Today, our youth have little personal incentive (as yet) to push back against the prevailing war narrative. Militarism. Creeping militarism has shifted the American narrative rightwards. In the Vietnam period, General Curtis LeMay's "bomb them back to the stone age" was a fringe opinion; now it's mainstream with "carpet bombing" Cruz and Trump and Rubio, the "top three" Republican presidential contenders after the Iowa caucuses. The Democrats have also shifted rightwards, so much so that now both major political parties embrace endless war. War, in short, has been normalized and removed from partisan politics. As Chernus documents, you simply can't get an alternative narrative from the U.S. political mainstream. For that, you have to look to much smaller political parties, e.g. the Green Party. The U.S. mainstream media has been thoroughly co-opted by corporations that profit from war. Anti-war ideas simply don't get published; or, if they do, they're dismissed as unserious. I simply can't imagine any of today's TV talking heads coming out against the war on terror like Walter Cronkite came out in the 1960s against Vietnam. There is simply no pushback from the U.S. media. Finally, a nebulous factor that's always lurking: FEAR. The popular narrative today is that terrorists may kill you at any time right here in America. So you must be ready to "lockdown"; you must be ready to "shelter in place." You must always defer to the police and military to keep you safe. You must fully fund the military or YOU WILL DIE. Repeated incantations of fear reinforce the master narrative of war.

Chernus makes many good points about how America's constant warring in the Middle East only feeds radical Islam. In short, it's vital to develop a new narrative, not only because the current one feeds war and death, but also because it's fated to fail.

I doubt pacifism will fly in warrior corp USA. But why not containment? Containment worked against the Soviet Union, or so most Americans believe. If it worked against the far greater threat posed by the USSR, why shouldn't it work against radical Islam?

Containment suggests several concrete actions: American troops should pull out of the Middle East. Bombing and drone strikes should stop. Establish a cordon sanitaire around the area. Lead a diplomatic effort to resolve the conflicts. And recognize that violent civil and ideological wars within Islam may need to burn themselves out.

One thing is certain: Because violent U.S. actions are most likely to act as accelerants to radical Islam, we need to stop attacking. Now.

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Yes, the U.S. has a responsibility to help the peoples of the region. American actions helped to create the mess. But you don't "solve" the mess by blowing more people and things to smithereens.

Containment, diplomacy, humanitarian aid. Not a chest-thumping course of action celebrated by the likes of Trump or Cruz or Clinton, but a new master narrative that would be more likely to spare lives and reduce the chaos in the Middle East.
So, on the other hand ... Hillary Clinton won. But there was a big surprise in Iowa after all. Ultra-right Texas Senator Ted Cruz -- that's ultra-right as in falangist -- trailing in the polls and supposedly in danger of finishing third behind Marco Rubio, surged instead to an impressive four-point win over Donald Trump. Which means the next move for Trump is not consolidating the party and beginning to morph into a more general election-friendly "reality" TV-style figure but actually winning next week's New Hampshire primary.

Trump has a big lead in the Granite State, but he had a lead, albeit smaller, in the Iowa caucuses, where he ran a primary-style campaign, over former Iowa poll leader Cruz. It looks like a quarter of Trump's supporters didn't show up at the appointed time and frequently unfamiliar place to caucus. Showing up in an all day-long primary at a familiar nearby polling place is easier to do. And his backers may have figured he would win anyway. All because of his dominance of the new media environment.

Still, kudos to Cruz. Utterly odious as I find his politics -- his Joe McCarthy-like performance at Chuck Hagel's SecDef confirmation hearings springs immediately to mind -- he worked his butt off and did Iowa the traditional Iowa way, with a lot of hard-core organizational work and personal time campaigning up close and personal in the Hawkeye State.

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Over half the Iowa Republican vote went to candidates, Cruz and Trump, whom it's not hard to categorize as proto-fascist. You can't say that's not, ah, exciting.

What of the arguably more responsible, more moderate conservatives (who in Britain would be in the hard right wing of the Conservative Party)? Well, Marco Rubio finished a close third in Iowa. But he has to start finishing second real soon if he is to actually emerge beyond an ongoing hope of conventional journalists and desperate professional Republicans. And in New Hampshire, the Florida chameleon still faces leader Trump, Iowa victor Cruz, and three other more mainstream characters in Ohio Governor John Kasich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and his old mentor-turned-enemy Jeb Bush. The latter three all seem to be doing as well or better in the Granite State.

The big treat this week, of course, will be watching Trump react to actually losing the first contest. Iowa was always problematical for him, since his shock-and-awe Triumph of the Will-style airplane arrival/big Nuremberg rally approach is not how things have been done in a more up close-and-personal caucus state. But Cruz's supposed fade amidst Goldman Sachs revelations and a rough final debate, coupled with Trump's lead in the polls, seemed to presage a Trump triumph. Uh-uh.

Meanwhile, Hillary won, right? Yes she did, and by just about the same margin as when I won a middle school 50-yard dash title. Not very freaking much.

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Yet there is a real perceptual difference in American life between being the champ and not being the champ. (Except among the folks who are most likely to be for Sanders anyway, where moral victories and the joy of participation are, well, you know the rest.) Trust me, it is better to win. The perception carries forward.

Iowa has never been good caucus turf for the Clintons. Bill Clinton skipped it in '92, barely able to do so because home state Senator Tom Harkin was running, and in '08 Hillary finished third behind Barack Obama and John Edwards. So she did much better this time, against a candidate with a more focused and powerful message than Obama's.

If she'd lost Iowa, she'd have been in serious trouble. (So much for the joy of participation and a supposed tie, right?) I expect Sanders to clobber her next week on his near home turf New Hampshire primary. She has leads everywhere else and the combat skills to hold those leads.

And yet ...

As I first discussed at the end of last summer in "The Sanders Saga: Why Is 'A Half-Baked Version of Tom Hayden' Beating the Clintons?," it's not at all clear the Clintons know how to run against Sanders. (Gun control ain't it, folks.) He poses much more of an ideological challenge than did Obama, whose major point of policy contrast with Hillary was a fortunate speech he gave as a state senator just beginning to run for the U.S. Senate in which he opposed the invasion of Iraq. After seven years of the Obama administration, one wonders if he might not have joined Hillary and most the rest in going along if he had already been in the U.S. Senate. As a presidential candidate, Obama was more of a personality challenge to Hillary, a phenomenon because of his race and his very polished young presidential-style 2004 Democratic national convention keynote address.

Sanders isn't so much a plausible presidential figure as he is a highly effective protest leader, an advocate with a powerful and focused message about un-rigging the economy and financial system and promoting a moderate form of democratic socialism.

Since he has use of the Internet, something not available to insurgencies of the past, he can come close to matching Hillary's fundraising. In fact, with the biggest ever small donor operation he and his team have already built, Sanders can use strong showings to perhaps even surpass Hillary's funding. Indeed, he seems to have done it already, at least for January, even before his strong showings in Iowa and likely New Hampshire.

Looking at the structure of the race, with contests set to move beyond the nearly all-white lib enclaves of Iowa and New Hampshire, Hillary's narrow win Monday night should salvage her nomination.

But, while it is not much easier to see Sanders actually winning once you strip away the emotionalism of it all, if Sanders's message keeps getting through -- and the curmudgeonly Vermont senator's lack of developed presidential polish may perversely add to his credibility as a messenger -- Hillary might just be in bigger trouble than she would be had her team better understood how to take on their opponent.

This deserves very careful monitoring. We'll know more as the pre-New Hampshire week goes on.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images JAIPUR, INDIA - JANUARY 25: Bollywood actor Anupam Kher interacts with media persons after his name was being announced as Padma Bhushan award recipient by the government at Jaipur Literary Festival 2016, at Diggi Palace, on January 25, 2016 in Jaipur, India. Ninth edition of ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is set to witness over 360 participants from the fields of literature, history, politics, economy, art and culture debate and discuss on one platform for the five days. (Photo by Himanshu Vyas/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- BJP yesterday termed as "unfortunate" the denial of visa to actor Anupam Kher by Pakistan saying it will be a "setback" to the process of people-to-people contact to help improve ties between the two countries.

BJP also questioned the silence of so-called "pseudo seculars" who are vocal on issues pertaining to performance of Pakistani artists in India and attack BJP and the government, saying it is "shameful".

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"This is very unfortunate that actor Anupam Kher was denied a visa by Pakistan. This is very unfortunate that an actor has been singled out. Though every country has the right to give or deny a visa to anyone, this is a setback to the people-to-people contact approach initiated to help improve ties between the two neighbouring countries," BJP national secretary and media cell head Shrikant Sharma said.

Attacking the 'pseudo-seculars' who are very vocal on issues pertaining to performance of Pakistani artists in India, he questioned why they were silent now when an Indian actor was denied a visa and was singled out.

"Their silence is very shameful," he said, adding why they have turned silent and are not vocal today.

Artist, actor and BJP sympathiser Anupam Kher was denied a visa by Pakistan to attend a literary festival in Karachi beginning Friday.

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The Pakistani High Commission in Delhi, however, claimed yesterday he had never applied for any visa.

Kher was one of the 18 Indians invited to the four-day prestigious event by the organisers but he is the only one who has been denied the visa. The other 17 Indian participants who have been given the travel document included senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das.

The noted actor, who has just been honoured with Padma Bhushan by the government, yesterday said he was very "sad and disappointed" over the matter and wondered whether he was denied visa for raising the issue of Kashmiri Pandits, supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and for being a patriot.

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MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images From left: Indian actors Anupam Kher takes part in a discussion on the links between Indian theater and cinema at Embassy of India on August 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has called up Anupam Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he has applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.

Pakistan High Commission officials said Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

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Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you."

Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now."

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

In another tweet last night, the Pakistani envoy had said, "@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport."

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Kher has been denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi Literary Festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Dear @abasitpak1, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didn't apply for visa," Kher said in a tweet last night.

Dear @abasitpak1, Reality remains that Pak Interior Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited also didn't apply for visa.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 2, 2016

Kher, who said he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the third time, was one of the 18 Indians invited to the four-day KLF starting Friday by the organisers and all of them including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das but excluding the actor were granted the visa.

"I am not angry, I am hurt, upset and somewhere wanting to know the reason. Out of 18 why only I was singled out. It could be either because I am a Kashmiri Pandit, I am not playing a card of Kashmiri Pandit and trying to divide people, or because I've spoken about the issue of intolerance, taken a stand and have applauded my PM. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why the visa was denied to me. This has happened for the third time," Kher had told a press conference in Mumbai yesterday.

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Has my visa been denied because I speak about India's rich tradition of tolerance or I am a Kashmiri Pandit who may expose Pak terror nexus?  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 2, 2016

The Pakistan High Commission in Delhi had said Kher had never submitted visa application and so the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise.

It may be clarified that PHC never received Mr Kher's visa application. So the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise.  PakNewDelhi (@Paknewdelhi) February 2, 2016

Ameena Syed, the spokesperson for the KLF, had told PTI in Karachi that they had been advised by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to tell Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued one.

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From on-site to online, nearly 400 Northwest Georgia high school standouts took part in the Region 1 District SkillsUSA competition hosted by Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) in Walker County.

More than two dozen areas of competition heated up on Jan. 29 on the Rock Spring, Georgia-based campus of GNTC. These students are locked in and really hoping to advance, said GNTCs SkillsUSA Coordinator, Mike Meyer. We couldnt be more proud of the level of competition our schools have prepared these students for in the weeks to come. GNTC also competes each year in the collegiate level of SkillsUSA on the state, and often times, on the national level.

From Fort Oglethorpe to Cedartown, as well as up into the Blue Ridge Mountains, competitors took part in timed contests involving quality and skill of the highest level. All across campus students were vying for spots in the state competition, said Meyer. From Early Childhood Education to Drafting to Broadcast Production, weve got a great list of winners headed to the state competition after todays events.

Student qualifiers from across the Peach State will compete on the state level March 17-19. Competitions will be held at Atlantas Georgia International Conference Center, Atlanta Technical College, and North Georgia Technical College. Heres who qualified to compete from Region 1 which comprises most of Northwest Georgia. For most categories, only the top two finishers in a category will move on to the state competition.

Advertising Design

1. Azlin Cleveland, Calhoun High School

2. Georgia Bronson, Dalton High School

Architectural Drafting

1. Timothy Hodge, Heritage High School

2. Chase Morgan, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School

Automotive Refinishing Technology

1. Caleb Pledger, Chattooga High School

Automotive Service Technology

1. Chase Hasty, Northwest Georgia CCA

2. David Crothers, Cherokee High School

Broadcast News Production

1. Gilmer High School  Karigan Abercrombie, Matthew Fowler, Echo Stover, and Amanda Wheat.

2. North Murray High School  Levi Anderson, Samantha Brown, Christopher Lawson, and Josh North.

Cabinet Making

1. Josh Puckett, Cedartown High School

2. Beck Fletcher, Calhoun High School

Carpentry

1. Logan Fincher, Cedartown High School

2. Jarrod Rollins, Adairsville High School

Collision Repair Technology

1. Dalton Yarbrough, Rockmart High School

2. Gabe Soto, Gordon Central High School

Computer Maintenance Tech

1. Dane Bush, Cass High School

Cosmetology



1. Kendy Manzano, Adairsville High School

2. Alvaro Luna, North Murray High School

Electrical Construction Wiring

1. Gabe Smith, Calhoun High School

2. Andrew Whitfield, Cedartown High School

Esthetics

1. Miriam Madrid, North Murray High School

2. Leslie Bell, Cass High School

Extemporaneous Speaking

1. Ashley Kissinger, Cherokee High School

2. Raven Hogue, LaFayette High School

First Aid/CPR

1. Laura-Ashley Tillery, Cedartown High School

2. Ashley Campbell, Cherokee High School

Job Interview

1. Jacob Engstrom, Gilmer High School

2. McKinley Blassingame, Murray County High School

Job Skills Demonstration A

1. Caitlyn Wynn, Northwest Georgia CCA

2. Bryan Tapia, Floyd County CCA

Job Skills Demonstration Open

1. Edith Loarca, Cherokee High School

2. Nicholas Freelin, Calhoun High School

Masonry

1. Rodrigo Morales-Jiminez, Cedartown High School

2. Jackson Tuck, Adairsville High School

Open & Closing Ceremonies

1. Bartow County College & Career Academy  Cohen Andrews, Meosha Clopton, Madison Healy, Savannah Healy, Steven James, Felicia Miller, and Hannah Shinall.

Pin Design

1. Hannah Raley, Heritage High School

2. Emanual Arroyo, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School

Plumbing

1. Hamilton Noggle, Adairsville High School

2. T.J. Middleton, Chattooga High School

Prepared Speech

1. Emanual Pineda, Dalton High School

2. Ingrid Brindle, Heritage High School

Early Childhood Education

1. Hunter Stillwell, Gilmer High School

2. Kaylee Holtzclaw, Murray County High School

Quiz Bowl

1. Heritage High School  Matthew Chen, Bryce Crichfield, Ryan Harris, Isaac Leal, and Henry Tollett.

2. Dalton High School  Hanna Barry, Romina Mendoza, Elizabeth Ortega, and Mitul Patel.

Team Works Region

1. Adairsville High School  Carter Arrington, Jason Burdette, William Kujaneck, John Reed, and Adam Thomas.

2. Calhoun High School  Noah Ferguson, James OShields, Brett Potts, Shepherd Smith, and Jared Williamson.

Team Works State

(Top 10 statewide performance on region level of competition advance to state)

1. Adairsville High School

4. Calhoun High School

9. Cass High School

Technical Drafting

1. Christian Sawyer, Heritage High School

2. Kaleob Flood, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School

Welding

1. Chase Manning, Cedartown High School

2. Chase Dotson, Chattooga High School

Welding Fabrication (Region Results)

1. Murray County High School  Dakoda Bishop, Jordan Flood, Sean Keener, and Justin Lowery.

2. Chattooga High School  Tufton Blanks, John Hunter, C.E. Massey, and Jay Williams.

Welding Fabrication (State Results)

Eighth Place in State: Murray County High School

SkillsUSA is a national organization for high school and college students who enroll in courses that teach them how to excel in technical, skilled, and service and health occupations.
Agung Parameswara via Getty Images MAKASSAR, SOUTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA - SEPTEMBER 22: A girl from the Islamic commune An-Nadzir looks on as she attends Eid Al Adha mass prayer at Mawang Lake, Gowa Regency on September 22, 2015 in Makassar, Indonesia. An-Nadzir is an exclusive Islamic community of 5,000-10,000 followers across Indonesia, which has one of the worlds largest populations of Muslims.While the beliefs of Muslims in the An-Nadzir community are similar to mainstream Muslims, they observe different prayer times, men wear dark robes, and women wear full burqas. People live a basic life of farming and fishing in the remote Gowa district, and believe in salvation without discrimination and living in peace with others. Based on Rukyah (the observation on the appearance of a new moon) and hisab (astronomical calculations), the An Nadzir muslim community determined that Eid Al Adha 1436 would fall on Tuesday, two days earlier than the date set by the national government. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- French embassy yesterday said there was no ban on wearing turbans in public space while reacting to a charge by a Sikh organisation that the community has been fighting for their rights in France.

"Outside the premises of public schools, wearing the Sikh turban is very much allowed in public space, contrary to the allegations of certain radical organisations. Only the burqa is banned in public places, for obvious security reasons.

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"Furthermore, neither Sikhs wearing turbans in the streets nor Sikh shrines were ever subject to any hostility in France," embassy said in a statement here.

It also noted that the embassy issued this clarification following recent allegations regarding the so-called restrictions imposed on the wearing of Sikh turban in France.

"France upholds the freedom of religion, as well as the right not to have one, and opposes discriminations on this ground. There is no ban on the wearing of turbans. French law in this matter is very precise: the restriction applies to the wearing of all visible religious signs, without any discrimination, and it applies only to public schools.

"It leaves to the heads of public schools to take the most appropriate measures, so that it is implemented in a sensitive manner," the statement added.

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This measure has been explained to the Indian authorities and representatives of the Sikh community in France, with whom a regular dialogue has been established, the embassy said.

The Sikhs of France understand and have assimilated the laws on laicite (French principle of separation between the State and religious institutions) and practical solutions have been found to reconcile their religious practice with the principles of the French Republic, it added.

Protesting against the absence of a Sikh regiment contingent at the Republic Day parade where French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest, Shiromani Akali Dal on Monday said it was a setback to the struggle of Sikhs who have been fighting for their rights in France.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

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angeladini por mi cumpleaAos :D" data-caption="Broche que me ha regalado angeladini por mi cumpleaAos :D" data-credit="Basajaun/Flickr">

Gmail, Google's popular email service, crossed the mark of one billion monthly active users, said Google CEO Sunder Pichai in the Alphabet earnings call. This milestone was achieved in the last quarter where the Gmail, which was found in 2004 joined other 6 Google apps in the 1 billion MAU club. The other six are Search, Chrome, Maps, Android, YouTube, and Google Play Services.

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Before 2004, Microsoft and Yahoo dominated the email with products like Outlook and Lotus notes took hold of the corporate email communication. After being pitched as an internal idea by Rajen Sheth, Google engineer Paul Buchheit developed it. And on 1 April 2004 it was announced public.

"The smart reply feature is very popular amongst the users. From all the replies it forms 10% of the volume. Our smart email app inbox is very popular too," said Pichai. Inbox was launched as an invite-only app which categorizes your emails, scans from spams and even makes smart notes and reminders.

Recently, Google's parent company Alphabet dethroned Apple as the most valuable company in the world. Interestingly, Mark Zuckerberg has also announced that Whatsapp, the popular messaging app has also crossed 1 billion MAU. Gmail's twitter account even released a short video to thank the user for using the services.

Thanks a billion for helping us make Gmail better and better!https://t.co/Rd82YqwGjl  Gmail (@gmail) February 1, 2016

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec, 24, 2015. Modi is on a two-day official visit to Russia. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool photo via AP)

Ruling out scrapping reservation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made a veiled attack on Congress saying a "campaign of lies" has been let loose on the issue of dalits under a "deliberate conspiracy" to disintegrate the country.

"Earlier they tried to instigate farmers. That did not succeed.....now in the name of dalits, lies are being spread.

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Wherever they go, whenever they go, they utter lies. They repeat the lies on top of their voice. A campaign of lies has been let loose to mislead and fool dalits.

It is a deliberate conspiracy to mislead people, make them fight against each other and to disintegrate the country.

"It is a deliberate conspiracy to mislead people, make them fight against each other and to disintegrate the country. They are feeling frustrated because power has been taken away from them. They always believed that they (dalits) are their voters and now Modi is working for them. They fear what to do with Modi. They want to prevent dalits from backing Modi," he said.

Though he did not name anyone, the Prime Minister's attack appeared to be directed against Congress and its Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who recently made two trips to Hyderabad University to join protests over the suicide of a Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula.

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On Saturday, Gandhi had accused Modi and RSS of trying to crush the spirit of students by imposing "one idea from the top".

The public meeting was to kickstart BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu but Modi concentrated on national issues and made no reference at all to the state politics.

Earlier they tried to instigate farmers. That did not succeed.....now in the name of Dalits, lies are being spread.

He said the Opposition was worried over the NDA government taking several steps to highlight the achievements of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.

Utilising the occasion, the Prime Minister said "lies are also being spread that Modi is going to take away reservation from Dalits, OBCs, oppressed and the depressed. Please listen to me carefully. Dalits should progress. I assure the nation that nobody can do away with reservation till the name of Dr B R Ambedkar remains alive."

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He listed various steps and initiatives taken by his government in commemoration of Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary.

Modi underlined that unity, harmony and peace were essential for the country to progress.

He also attacked the Congress over stalling Rajya Sabha saying ever since "a tea seller" came to power at the Centre, the opposition party has not been able to reconcile itself to the defeat and loss of power.

"In the last 19 months, there has been no corruption charge against anyone. No scam. They are worried 'what can we do with Modi'. So they decided not to allow Rajya Sabha (to function). We will stall Modi. Several bills are pending there. What is this politics. Don't damage the country," he said in an apparent reference to the stalling of the GST bill by the Congress in the upper house.

The Prime minister said in Lok Sabha the government was able to carry out its business and pass bills. When they came to power, the government decided to scrap 1,800 antiquated laws which were for the benefit of poor.

Modi said the Lok Sabha has already scrapped 700 laws but they are pending in Rajya Sabha. What the Congress is doing is against the poor and deprived of the country.

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He said the Lok Sabha has passed a bill to provide for higher bonus payment to poor labour but the Opposition did not allow it to be passed in the Rajya Sabha.

"But the government's priority is to work for the welfare of dalits, backwards, the oppressed and the depressed. From our side, we will not spare any efforts," Modi said.

He said that not a single day has passed since they came to power without a good initiative from the government in the interest of the poor.

Modi said steps like dedicating the first two days of the Winter Session of Parliament to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar and acquiring the latters house in London has rattled the Opposition as they thought the dalit community was their vote-bank.

He said the Opposition was blaming the government for any untoward incident against the dalits.

On the economic progress of the country, Modi said the government had put in place several reforms to push growth.

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He said international bodies like the World Bank and IMF had projected India to be amongst the fastest growing large economy.

"Across the world, be it organisations like the World Bank or Credit agencies, if there is one country which they see as a bright spot of growth it is India", he said.

"Imagine how the situation was just two years ago," he said adding it was marred by scams and scandals.

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Pacific Press via Getty Images SUPREME COURT, NEW DELHI, INDIA - 2016/02/02: Members of the LGBT community Show Victory Sign outside Indias Supreme Court, Indias top court agreed February 2 to review a law outlawing gay sex, sparking hope among campaigners that the legislation dating back to the 19th century will eventually be overturned in the worlds biggest democracy in new Delhi. (Photo by Wasim Sarvar/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

EDITOR'S NOTE: On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised Section 377 in a historic unanimous verdict. Even as reactions poured in from across the political spectrum, the BJP did not break its silence. At the time of republishing this piece, the party's official handle was tweeting about the Swachh Bharat Andolan. The article has been republished to offer our readers a perspective on the party's position on the matter.

Now that the Supreme Court has made up its mind about reopening the issue of Section 377, will the government have to do the same? In the wake of the court decision to have a five-judge Bench examine Section 377 afresh, television anchor Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted "No BJP leader was available to speak on SC on Section 377 today; many other party netas too reluctant to take a stand. Says it all, no?"

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It does. The BJP seems to have entered a Don't Ask Don't Tell closet in the wake of the court decision. But as the issue heads to a five-judge bench it too will need to come out of the closet. A curative petition going before a five-judge bench, the first time such a petition has gone before a constitution bench, shows that the court takes the issue very seriously. That's going to make the government's silence sound very loud indeed.

The problem with the BJP is that Section 377 falls dead bang in the middle of the conflict between the party's aspiration and reality. The Narendra Modi-led government aspires to present an image of India as a modern liberal democracy to the rest of the world, a beacon of hope in the region, a bastion against illiberal forces.

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That is why the party has reacted strongly and indignantly to what it sees as a defamation campaign by the award-wapsi intellectuals that posits that intolerance is on the rise in Acchey Din India. Section 377 flies in the face of the very idea of such a modern liberal democracy. And if a government chooses to actively fight to keep it in place, as opposed to passively let it remain on the books, it risks a severe blow to its international image.

When the UN voted on whether it should treat employees with same-sex spouses on par with employees with opposite-sex spouses, India found itself on the same side of the issue as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Russia and China. That must have stung. India could have chosen to abstain but it did not.

"The problem with the BJP is that Section 377 falls dead bang in the middle of the conflict between the party's aspiration and the party's reality."

But the ground reality is the BJP's foot-soldiers, including much of its Internet troll-brigade thinks homosexuality has no place in its vision of sanskari Bharat. Dr. Subramanian Swamy, for example, goes after homosexuality with as much vigour as he goes after Sonia Gandhi and has said "homos" are genetically handicapped.

In short the party has an LGBT problem. It's damned if it does and damned if it does not. Rajnath Singh is on the record as saying his party "unambiguously" endorses Section 377 because "homosexuality is a criminal act and cannot be supported". Arun Jaitley has said: "When millions of people the world over are having alternative sexual preferences, it is too late in the day to propound the view that they should be jailed."

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One is the Home Minister, one is the Finance Minister. Which one should we take more seriously? This seems like a dharam-sankat at the heart of power. Until this court decision either could hide behind the "personal opinion" figleaf. But now the personal will rapidly become the political and the party will be under more pressure to take a stand one way or the other. When a furore erupted over the Supreme Court recriminalizing Section 377, Modi had chosen to say absolutely nothing about it. That silence too will become harder to keep up.

If the BJP had spine it could seize the bull by the horns and see this as an opportunity. Ram Madhav of the RSS already made waves by saying while he did not want to glorify homosexuality, it was debatable whether it should be considered criminal.

Commentator Rupa Subramanya has tweeted "Of all people, Hindus shouldn't oppose scrapping Section 377." She says it's an issue that which would actually be "in line with our civilizational values" that Hindu nationalists in power could take ownership of if they had the vision to do that. An editorial in Mint points out "The religious texts of Hinduism, contrary to the claims of some reactionary elements, are not just open to homosexuality but even treat gender as a fluid concept."

The Muslim and Christian groups supporting Section 377 in court are perfectly in synch with their religious beliefs. Hindu groups do not have to follow suit. This could be an opportunity for the government to hammer home the point that Section 377 is in fact a leftover from the Victorian legacy of the British Raj.

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One is the Home Minister, one is the Finance Minister. Which one should we take more seriously? This seems like a dharam-sankat at the heart of power.

The BJP is not unique in twisting in the wind when it comes to Section 377. When Shashi Tharoor tried to introduce a private member's bill in parliament, most of his colleagues across the aisles either ran away from it or shouted it down. It went down 71-24 with MPs shouting "NO NO". When the Supreme Court recriminalized gay sex Rahul Gandhi said who one has sex with is a matter of personal freedom. But the Congress-led UPA has had its own U-turns. In 2008 the Home Ministry had endorsed Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra when he said "homosexuality is a social vice" and decriminalizing it could cause "a breach of peace."

The Ministry of Health supported decriminalization and ultimately Veerappa Moily, the Law Minister agreed that Section 377 could be outdated. It was a long and winding road but eventually the party arrived somewhere closer to consensus and the top leadership spoke up.

The BJP is now the party in power and it needs to traverse this long and winding road itself. Some members clearly hope that the court will do its job and make it unnecessary for the party to stick its neck out on the issue. When Tharoor introduced his bill, or tried to do so, the BJP's Nishikant Dubey said he was opposing the bill not because of "any religion, Vedas or Puranas but because of the Supreme Court judgement." That shows the BJP was happy to hide behind the court. Now the court has decided to step up to the issue, the BJP will have to decide what to do.

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It could take the easy way out and say the matter is sub judice and it will abide by the decision of the highest court. That would be a lost opportunity for the BJP to project itself as a modern party with a difference but perhaps it would not be a bad thing for those trying to fight Section 377 to keep politics out of it.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

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Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 19: Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi during the launch of a music video, Phool khil jayenge (The flower will bloom), on the subject of immunization, featuring Vidya Balan and Farhan Akhtar, at Taj Place on August 19, 2014 in New Delhi, India. During a launch, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, Lets make a pledge here to become health sainiks and each of us would strive to inspire other ordinary people to become health volunteers to work for a healthy nation. (Photo by Prabhas Roy/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

MUMBAI -- National-award-winning actress Shabana Azmi says the censor board can work with a broader mindset provided the Cinematograph Act undergoes a revision.

Recently, trailer of filmmaker Hansal Mehta's upcoming drama Aligarh was given an 'A' certificate by the board as the movie dealt with homosexuality.

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Azmi, who acted in Deepa Mehta's 1996 controversial film Fire, about a lonely woman falling in love with her sister-in-law, feels the censor board should be called "modern film certification."

"They can be that (broad minded)... But the thing is they are bound by the Act, by whatever is the rule book. The rule book needs to be changed. And for that to happen, it needs an overhaul," Azmi told PTI.

"First you have to call it the modern film certification, you cannot call it the censor board. When you call it the censor board you feel inherently you have to censor. You are supposed to certify, classify. That is your business, not to censor," she added.

The 65-year-old Arth (1982) actress said as the censor board is chosen in affiliation to the current government, it cannot subject to the country's morality.

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"We all know that the board is chosen because of its affiliation to the government in power. That means you are subjecting on country's morality... To the political dispensation of the day, which simply isn't acceptable. So this overhaul is necessary of the 1952 Cinematograph Act."

A new committee, headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal, has been appointed by the government to look into the working of the board, which has been at the receiving end of criticism by filmmakers.

Azmi congratulated the government and said it is a "broad based" committee which is a "healthy" thing.

"I think it's a broad based committee. I would like to congratulate the government for not going with people in the committee who are only... You can't say that Shyam Benegal is a BJP supporter. So that's a good, healthy thing."

The veteran actress hopes the recommendations of the committee is taken up by the board to frame a relevant policy.

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"I do hope they take into consideration the recommendations (of new committee) and then come up with a policy which is more relevant in time.

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Courtesy Four Line Films

Filmmaker Sudhanshu Sarias debut feature, LOEV, has been selected to be a part of this years prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, scheduled to take place from March 11-19 in Austin, Texas, United States.

A relationship drama about gay men, its selection was announced a day before India's LGBTQ community won a small victory in its fight to abolish the Indian Penal Code's archaic Section 377, which outlaws homosexuality. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu describes it as "a film that casts a simple, sensitive and refreshing eye at gay love".

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SXSW, now in its 29th year, is known for its audience-friendly and fiercely independent selection. It is renowned as the

place where world-renowned filmmakers like Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years), Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture, Girls), Duplass Brothers (Puffy Chair, Cyrus), Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Trainwreck) and Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) world-premiered their first films.

LOEV is playing in competition in the festival's 'Visions' section, which seeks "audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape who demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking". It is reportedly the first Indian feature film to be selected in SXSW's history.

"I deeply identify with the cinema of Richard Linklater, Lena Dunham, Andrew Haigh," Saria said, in a press release. "To think that the very festival that introduced these artists to the world will now be hosting the North American premiere of LOEV  it's pretty overwhelming."

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Filmed entirely in Mumbai and Mahabaleshwar, LOEV has been described as a "tender and intimate portrait of three friends [played by Shiv Pandit, Dhruv Ganesh and Siddharth Menon] who struggle to define the boundaries of their friendship and the love that exists between them". Its synopsis on the SXSW website reads:

When hot shot, Wall Street dealmaker Jai thinks of putting some pleasure into his 48 hour business trip to Mumbai, Sahil, his young, music-producer friend, drops everything, including his reckless boyfriend Alex, to help him execute the perfect getaway. Hiking the hills and canyons of Maharashtra, amidst half-attempted conversations and sudden silences, business calls and old jokes, the friends discover there is more than just time-zones keeping them apart. Things take another turn when Alex shows up with a new male-companion at his side, throwing up old conflicts and bringing unanswered questions to the fore.

LOEV had its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Festival in Estonia, in November last year. It is also scheduled to screen at several major international festivals in the coming months as the producers prepare for its theatrical release in India.

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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

A day after WHO declared emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Centre issued detailed guidelines for combating the disease, including a travel advisory that asks pregnant women to either defer or cancel their travel to the affected areas.

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The LGBTQ community let out a collective sigh of relief after the country's highest court agreed to reopen the contentious debate on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality.

Uber is reportedly piloting a new way to check the quality of its drivers  by monitoring their driving, speed and distractedness via their smartphones, using the devices geolocation information, accelerometers and gyrometers (which reveal whether a person is, for example, moving their phone around while driving).

A day after women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi courted controversy over reportedly proposing mandatory sex determination of a foetus, her ministry completely denied the reports. Compulsory determination of foetal sex is an idea given by some stakeholders, it said in a statement.

French schools changed their lesson plans to combat terrorism. Teachers are being trained to encourage discussions about current events that promote inclusion and respect for diverse opinions.School needs to be the place where we can prevent in real time and begin to detect signs of radicalization, said France's education minister.

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The impasse over government formation in J&K continued with PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti making it clear that she was still awaiting a grand gesture from the alliance partner BJP. We dont need assurances we want a new atmosphere, new measures to give some fillip to the government and fill the void, she said, after she met the Governor.

The Islamic State threatened to expand to Kashmir to fight the cow-worshipping Hindus and the apostates from factions allied to the idol-worshippers of Pakistan, such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, its in-house magazine Dabiq reported.

A week after the visit of President Francois Hollande, French Ambassador Francois Richier said the price and the terms of delivery on the Rafale aircraft deal will be better than those negotiated by the previous UPA government, and the terms should take no more than four weeks.

Ruling out scrapping reservation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on Congress saying a campaign of lies has been let loose on the issue of Dalits under a deliberate conspiracy to disintegrate the country.

Actor Anupam Kher said Pakistani authorities denied him a visa to attend a literature festival, a decision that he suggested may have been prompted by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Off The Front Page

Be careful of the 'B' word on a flight. The word bomb was carelessly uttered by a man exasperated with the multiple security checks at IGI airport. But it triggered a security alert that ended up in his detention and a thorough combing of the aircraft which took off about 3 hours late.

Heres a beggar with a heart of gold. A 68-year-old beggar, famed for donating alms to encourage girls' education, presented 10 girls from poor families with a pair of gold earrings each, all bought from the money he received by begging outside temples in Mehsana, Gujarat.

Senior IPS officer Archana Ramasundram was appointed Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the first woman to head a paramilitary force. The SSB is entrusted with guarding the country's frontiers with Nepal and Bhutan.

Over four years ago, a youth from Gorakhpur befriended a 60-year-old woman in California on social media. Gradually, they developed a mother-son bond so strong that when the boy was getting married, she came all the way to his village carrying boxes of jewellery for her bahu.

The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam that recently got a sanction of $6 million by the World Bank, has revived captive breeding of white tigers after a gap of nine years. The zoo has two male and three female white tigers and a pair of lions.

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Opinion

This US presidential election is the most interesting in recent times, writes Seema Sirohi in The Economic Times. There is deep ferment at the grassroots, a near complete rejection of the party establishment and the rise of outsider candidates. The known unknowns  to use Donald Rumsfelds memorable words  are deliciously off the charts. Nothing, so far, has gone according to plan.

Kashmir today is outwardly at peace, but violence hovers. Pakistans appeal and that of separatists is on the ebb, but Kashmiriyat is now only a sad memory. Decentralisation, transparency and accountability are crucial to turn things around, writes Wajahat Habibullah in The Hindu. India is indeed seen as a land of opportunity, but is also seen by Kashmiris as a Hindu nation. And given the States experience with economic packages, the answer can hardly lie in guarantees of implementation of government-administered programmes.

Amid raging debates on gender equality in India, the Delhi high court ruled that the eldest woman member can be a Karta  the manager of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). The landmark ruling will help women break another glass ceiling as traditionally only men used to be the Karta of an HUF, says an editorial in the Hindustan Times.

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Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC announced that Charles Poss has been invited to join the prestigious Claims and Litigation Management Alliance.

The CLM is a nonpartisan alliance comprised of thousands of insurance companies, corporations, Corporate Counsel, Litigation and Risk Managers, claims professionals and attorneys. Through education and collaboration the organizations goals are to create a common interest in the representation by firms of companies, and to promote and further the highest standards of litigation management in pursuit of client defense. Selected attorneys and law firms are extended membership by invitation only based on nominations from CLM Fellows.

Mr. Poss joined the Chattanooga office of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC in 1995 and became a Member in 2001. He concentrates his practice upon insurance defense, employment litigation, and malpractice defense. Mr. Poss has represented a diverse range of clients from individuals and local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to litigating cases in State and Federal Courts in Tennessee, Mr. Poss also represents clients in administrative hearings and provides counsel on contract formation, contract negotiations, general business and risk management issues. Additionally, Mr. Poss has represented clients in cases involving tax liens and sales as well as matters involving debt collection through litigated and non-litigated means. Mr. Poss has also briefed and argued cases in the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court. He is admitted to the courts in Tennessee, US District Court for Eastern Tennessee and the US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
Hurlburt honors Spirit 03 crew for 25th anniversary

Two days after the 25th anniversary of Spirit 03, Air Commandos, friends and families gathered at the Air Park, Feb. 2, to lay a wreath to honor the crew of the AC-130H Spectre gunship.



The crew of Spirit 03, shot down on the morning of Jan. 31, 1991, during the Battle of Khafji, was commemorated by more than 300 people during the wreath laying, as the community reflected on the crews courage, patriotism and dedication to their nation.



They have reminded us that freedom is never free, and that we must reflect, remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live the lives we do today, said Lt. Col. Andrew Koegl, deputy commander of the 1st Special Operations Group.



These crew members gave the ultimate sacrifice to a cause greater than themselves during Operation Desert Storm, where AC-130H gunship crews assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron participated in combat operations against Iraqi forces, flying interdiction missions deep into Kuwait and Iraq. Iraqi air defenses proved to be a challenge for gunship crews and several close calls were experienced early in the air war.



Throughout the nights of Jan. 29-31, four gunship crews supported U.S. Marines and special operations forces during the Battle of Khafji. These gunship crews decimated Iraqi targets under heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire, leaving a wake of damaged and destroyed Iraqi vehicles, armor and personnel.



In the early morning hours of Jan. 31, the last AC-130H on station, Spirit 03, had just finished firing on targets near the Saudi/Kuwait border and was hit in the left wing by an Iraqi SA-7 Grail, a man-portable, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile. The impact and explosion caused extensive damage to the aircraft. The crew initiated emergency procedures, but 14 seconds after the missile exploded, the left wing failed and the aircraft crashed into the Persian Gulf.



The combined actions of Spirit 01, 02 and 03 proved decisive during the battle by interdicting Iraqi reinforcements before they reached the Khafji city limits.



The legacy of these crews, especially Spirit 03 who toughed it out to the very end, speaks volumes in honoring the unsung heroes and strength of the gunship community, said Ret. Chief Master Sgt. Bill Walter, an AC-130H Spectre gunner. The crew of Spirit 03 will never be forgotten.
AC-130H and MC-130P immortalized in air park

Air Commandos, past and present, and their families gathered to celebrate the service of two iconic aircraft, the AC-130H Spectre and the MC-130P Combat Shadow, during dedication ceremonies at the air park here, Feb. 2.



More than 400 people attended the ceremonies for the Spectre and Combat Shadow to cement the legacy of these aircraft at Hurlburt Field. The aircraft were retired as the Air Force and Air Force Special Operations Command modernize the fleet with the addition of aircraft such as the AC-130J Ghostrider and the MC-130J Commando II.



Out of necessity, the Spectre was born from lessons learned from the AC-130A, thus eventually fielding the AC-130E gunships equipped with 7.62 mm, 29 mm and 40 mm guns, as well as upgraded electronics and sensors.



When you talk to the Special Forces guys on the ground, they say, We always want a Spectre overhead, thats when we get a good nights sleep, said retired Gen. Charles Holland, former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and AFSOC.



But, that wouldnt be the last of the weapon upgrades for the AC-130 aircraft. In 1972, the Air Force would replace the 40 mm gun with a 105 mm cannon.



To this day, there is no sound that strikes more fear into the hearts of our enemies than the sound of an AC-130 orbiting and firing overhead, said Lt. Col. Derrick Barton, commander of the 4th Special Operations Squadron and narrator for the AC-130H dedication.



Modernization of the force spurred additional changes and powerful engines were added, and the Spectre was once more re-designated as the AC-130H. Aircraft 69-6575, Wicked Wanda, was the first off the line.



Years from now, people will see Wicked Wanda on her perch and wonder - perhaps imagining the battles and the far-off conflicts written on the brass in front of her. We here know better - It was the men and women who flew her in Grenada and Iraq, and Kuwait and Afghanistan, said Col. Sean Farrell, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing. We who flew her and kept her going know what to fix in our minds; the Airmen, the Spectres who wore the patch. We in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.



The Spectre played a role in operations all over the world, first in Vietnam. Then in the 1980s, the AC-130H gunships participated in Operation Eagle Claw, led Operation Urgent Fury and took part in Operation Just Cause. During the 90s, Spectres contributed to surveillance and intelligence missions in Latin America and flew interdiction missions in Iraq during Desert Storm. The last operational years of the AC-130H Spectre were spent flying combat missions in the Balkans and Somalia, and in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.



From Isaiah 6:8, Here am I; send me, said Holland. And thats what the Spectre community has always done and will continue to do in the future as we look at this bright road ahead.



Like the Spectre, the MC-130P Combat Shadow has been an integral part of the Air Force fleet.



The Combat Shadow series first entered service in 1965 during the Vietnam War, as the HC-130H CROWN airborne controller. Since the establishment of AFSOC in 1993, a version of the Combat Shadow had been flying Special Operations missions. The HC-130 was then modified with internal fuel tanks for aerial-refueling and became the Papa or MC-130P Combat Shadow, to designate its multi-mission capabilities in 1996.



Theres no way you could get anywhere without the MC-130 Papa, Holland said.



The Papa supported special operations missions worldwide including: operations Just Cause, Desert Storm, Northern and Southern Watch, Deny Flight, Deliberate Force and Joint Endeavor. After 9/11, the Combat Shadow supported special operations forces during the final stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed multiple times as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.



Shadows own the night, and we know it, said Lt. Gen. Brad Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command.



Holland echoed the sentiment.



I continue to hear from special operations ground assets how important the Air Commando capabilities in close air support, infiltration and exfiltration are to the heart and soul of the special operations mission, he said.



As for the future of the fleet, two of AFSOCs priorities are to provide combat-ready forces and modernize and sustain the force.



For those of you youngsters out there that are saddling up now and going to fly the replacement, the MC-130J, that is priority one for us in AFSOC, Heithold said.



The MC-130P Combat Shadow and AC-130H Spectre symbolize the embodiment of Any Time, Any Place, and their dedication at the air park serves as a reminder of the heritage and evolution of AFSOC capabilities.



What I am proud of at Hurlburt is that we maintain that passion and we also maintain that pride in providing these legacy aircraft, which are superbly maintained here, now, in this airpark, as a reminder of who we are, who we need to be and if they could only talk, just think of the stories they could tell, Holland said.
Ex-officer was a churchgoer, family man. Police say he may be a serial rapist.
Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton on Wednesday granted the motion to dismiss the will contest of the five children omitted from J. Don Brock's multi-million-dollar estate.

He dismissed the will contest on the grounds the plaintiffs had no standing based on Tennessee law.

The decision is expected to be appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals

Dr. Brock, the founder and former CEO of Astec Industries  an asphalt equipment company  left five of his seven adopted children out of his will before he succumbed to his three-year battle with mesothelioma last March.

Melissa Brock Adcock, Krystal Brock Parker, Jennifer Brock, Daryl Brock, and Walter Brock expected to receive inheritance from their fathers estate.



When they discovered they had been disinherited, they contested the will in a lawsuit, claiming their stepmother Sammye Brock used undue influence to chop them off from the will drawn up in October 2013.

Together, Dr. and Ms. Brock have nine children from former marriages. Of the nine, Ms. Brocks two children and Mr. Brocks two eldest made the will. The left-out children challenged its validity. Ms. Brock was Dr. Brocks receptionist before becoming his wife in 1998, two years after the CEOs 31-year marriage to his first wife ended. It was stated that as his receptionist, Ms. Brock often signed Dr. Brocks name on documents.

Questions thus surfaced about who actually signed the will  especially since Dr. Brock was undergoing aggressive cancer treatment at that time, the lawsuit maintained.

On Wednesday, Ms. Brocks attorney, Richard Bathea, argued for the motion to dismiss the will contest. Under Tennessee law, he said the plaintiffs must have standing for a will contest to proceed.

Because Dr. Brock also had a will drawn up in 2012, attorney Bathea looked at this will in comparison to the 2013 one. "It's a simple process, he said. You look at the two wills. If they both disinherit, there is no standing."

According to attorney Bathea, both the 2012 and 2013 wills of Dr. Brock excluded his five children, meaning by law the children had no standing.

But other wills exist  like the 1994 one that included four of the five children, said Jerry Summers, the childrens attorney.

Attorney Summers argued the 2012 and 2013 wills were falsely created  one to validate the other. It was stated that at the time the children contested the 2013 will, they did not know about the one from 2012  described as a mere scrap of paper  and therefore did not contest it.

They also did not contest the wills prior to the one from 2012. And, as it turns out, they may not be able to because a longstanding rule in Tennessee calls for reviewing only the will drafted before the one under contest. This means the wills that came before the 2012 one may not count in this case, it was stated.

Attorney Summers argued for the judge to grant standing so the will contest could be taken before a jury. He said this exceptional case necessitated a jury to hear from witnesses on what they saw the day the wills were executed.

He said it was clear attorney Bethea, who has long been involved in Dr. Brocks business affairs, did not want "12 people to hear the facts regarding the potential of the wills being fraudulent.

"Standing in Tennessee is standing in Tennessee," attorney Bethea said. He said now was not the time to try this case but to determine if the five children had standing to bring a lawsuit. "And they don't.

Chancellor Atherton said he was "extremely troubled in light of the argument made by the contestants, because it promoted the potential for fraud through the creation of two wills.
by Richard BrownA slew of share price slumps among leading US insurers yesterday brought the impact of currency variations and weak investment returns into sharp focus.Principal Financial Group Inc. fell the most since 2011, at $2.88, or 7.6 percent, to $35.07 in New York trading on Tuesday, while MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc the U.S. life insurance sectors heavyweights, each fell at least three percent. All three firms run significant operations outside their domicile, where a more robust dollar can depress earnings.Principal, MetLife and Prudential also manage vast investment portfolios, which embrace vehicles for third-party clients and holdings backing insurance obligations which are vulnerable to market volatility. Piper Jaffray analyst John Nadel told investors Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal has a difficult business mix amid the current environment.Zurich North America is helping spur apprenticeships across Chicagos insurance and financial services sectors. Mike Foley, Zurich North America Commercial CEO, Aon President & CEO Greg Case and leading figures from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the citys financial services sectors are to discuss encouraging Chicago area students to enter the industry. A breakfast meeting is set for March 7.Case said Building a highly-skilled and diverse workforce is important not only for the U.S. economy but to the future of our industry. President Obama has vowed to double the number of registered apprenticeships in coming years.Steve Koslow has been recruited by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York recently as chief compliance officer. His responsibilities include overseeing the compliance management system for insurance, broker/dealer and investment advisor regulated business, plus legal and regulatory requirements. He reports to Gretchen Cepek, Allianz Life general counsel.Previously Koslow was chief ethics and compliance officer with CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wisconsin and also held director roles with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Madison and Chicago.A U.S. auto accidents and the biggest man-made disaster in Chinese history pushed Zurich Insurance Groups general insurance business to a third-quarter loss of $183 million. Adding to the pain, the company predicted a fourth-quarter loss of $100 million after having to pay out $275 million to cover damage claims from storms in the U.K.As a result, Zurich Insurance Group is prepared to shrink some of its businesses. Chief risk officer Cecilia Reyes, express surprise at the poor underwriting results in the general insurance business. We need to either re-price or, if we cannot get the right level of compensation to the risk, we should walk away from some risks, she added.Zurich is recalling Mario Greco, who ran general insurance before he left in 2012, as CEO in May, replacing Martin Senn who left in December.
Magical 'Tempest' Arrives in Pittsfield this July

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park, with the Office of Cultural Development, will present its third annual free outdoor production this summer, performing "The Tempest," Shakespeare's final play about revenge and redemption on a magical, mysterious island.



The production, sponsored by local businesses and organizations led by Berkshire Money Management, will be directed by PSP's artistic director Enrico Spada and star long-time Berkshire actor Glenn Barrett as the wizard Prospero.

New Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer o ff ered her hopes for another successful season.

"Arts and culture are absolutely fundamental to the vitality of Pittsfield. I've enjoyed watching Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park over the past years. It has provided a way, free of barriers, for the entire community to experience and enjoy amazing theatre in the heart of our city," she said. "I am excited to see it continue playing a role in developing Pittsfield as the cultural center of the Berkshires."

"The Tempest" takes place on a magical island inhabited by spirits and monsters and two humans, castoffs from society: a wizard and his daughter. It is the story of the old man's revenge ... or forgiveness.



The Tempest opens July 21, following Pittsfield's 3rd Thursdays street festival that evening, and runs Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m. for 12 performances ending Aug. 7. Admission is free. Performances take place at the First Street Common in Pittsfield, located next to the Zion Lutheran Church.



Auditions for "The Tempest" will be held by appointment on Saturday, March 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts. Local actors and students ages 8 and up are encouraged to audition; all experience levels are welcome and all roles are open. Email enrico@pittsfieldshakespeare.org for an appointment.
Adam Hinds announces his candidacy for state Senate at Hotel on North on Wednesday. Adam Hinds shakes hands with former Pittsfield City Councilor Churchill Cotton. Hinds makes the announcement at Hotel on North on Wednesday. Hinds with members of the Pittsfield Community Connection. PreviousNext

NBCC Director Adam Hinds Making Run for State Senate

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Adam Hinds is tossing his hat in for state Senate.



Hinds, currently executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition in North Adams, formally announced for the seat on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. at the Hotel on North.



The invitation event included some 50 friends, colleagues and supporters, and local media. His campaign website is here.



"I live in Pittsfield, work in North County, come from Franklin County," Hinds said of his decision to run as the Democratic nominee. "I'm from the small towns, I understand those issues as well. I think I bring a perspective that covers each area of this district."



He is the first candidate to announce for the seat being vacated by state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, who has declined to run this year after 10 years in the Senate. Both state Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouver and William "Smitty" Pignatelli had considered running before bowing out.



Hinds said he began considering a run for office after receiving phone calls from supporters after Downing's announcement. He feels his background in conflict resolution - both in the community and internationally - bodes well in continuing the work of the Pittsfield Democrat in the Senate.



"We can only achieve greatness when we confront these challenges together," he told supporters gathered the hotel, which he pointed to as a prime example of public and private collaboration. "My work in organizing community responses to collective challenges in the North County and right here in Pittsfield.



"It's confirmed we're better off when we face these challenges as a community, as a county and as a region."



High on his list of priorities is the population decline that's putting increasing pressure on schools and taxpayers, the opiod crisis and transportation infrastructure. He said economic rejuvenation is key to the region's growth, noting that more than 200 jobs are now going unfilled because residents lack the skills to fill them.



"A thriving economy is often the best remedy for breaking the cycle of poverty and violence," he said. "Strengthening our economy will rquire a multi-pronged approach, one that takes into account workers, employers and the underemployed.



"We should create a clear path for individuals to fill existing positions. We need to think strategically about our future."

Updated from original article with quotes and images at 1:50 p.m.
'Need to Take Clearance From Govt': BCCI President on Whether India Will Travel to Pakistan For Asia Cup
The Other Side of the Door explores on the forbidden in Asian cultures that have existed thousands of years. In the movie, a family lives an idyllic existence abroad until a tragic accident takes the life of their young son. The inconsolable mother learns of an ancient ritual that will bring him back to say a final goodbye. She travels to an ancient temple, where a door serves as a mysterious portal between two worlds. However, when she disobeys a sacred warning about never opening that door, she upsets the balance between life and death.

Set in India, The Other Side of the Door stars Sarah Wayne Callies and Jeremy Sisto, as Maria and Michael who are both devoted to their children in helping them adapt in a foreign land. Writer-director Johannes Roberts, who had been exploring the concept of a spirit that lived on the other side of a foreboding door says that the film is inspired on beliefs growing up, I remember being reminded don't go up in the attic, don't feed the gremlins after midnight  when youre wondering what's going to happen and when is it going to happen, Roberts recalls.

Roberts learned of an abandoned Indian village, Bhangarh, which was rumored to have a haunted temple that warned visitors it was illegal to enter at night. That notion immediately struck a chord with the filmmaker. The concept of being warned against opening the door, and a village where the ghosts of the dead walk after sunset, really clicked together for me, says Roberts, who began working on a script with his longtime writing partner Ernest Riera.

Johannes came to me with this idea of a woman who lost a son, but who could talk to him through a temple door, says Riera. After months of scribbling ideas on napkins and coffee stirrers, they knew they were onto something special.

As a diehard genre fan, Roberts says he enjoys connecting with my own fears, escaping from everyday life, and experiencing a catharsis. While writing the screenplay, Roberts and Riera felt immersed in their own ghost story. Writing is like watching a horror film  when we start writing we become obsessed, and when we finish it we are possessed by the story, Roberts notes.

Even before travelling to India, Roberts had decided he wanted audiences to experience the genre through a different cultural lens. When I did visit the city of Mumbai in India, I discovered a fascinating, dark city, and not the relaxing Hotel Marigold version, Roberts recalls. I really liked that.

Riera continues, We wanted to find a setting for the film in a faraway country, which would facilitate a suspension of disbelief in ghosts.

Alexandre Aja known for his unforgettable thrilling works in The Hills Have Eyes, Horns, Piranha 3D is also on board as the films producer. Roberts says, They sent the script to Alex Aja and proposed he come on board, given his experience with the genre as a director and producer. Alex understood the project right away and his experience was invaluable. My references and vision resonated with him, and Alex really helped us get to the heart of the story.

Aja and Roberts not only added scares and tension throughout the script, but also elevated the family drama. As a producer, Aja explains he first looks for a story with a real heart because spectacle and action mean little without it. Im interested in stories about human beings, and even though we are operating in the genre, The Other Side of the Door is at its core a story about a mother who loves her son so much she cant bear to lose him, and is willing to destroy her family to get him back.

The Other Side of the Door opens February 24 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

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Devotes up to 24% of annual revenues for infra build, indicates proactive efforts to upgrade network capacities

Globe Telecom posted one of the highest capex-to-revenue ratio in the last two years showing how aggressive the telecommunications provider has been in upgrading and enhancing its network infrastructure.

Globe has a capex-to-revenue ratio of 28% in 2015 and 27% in 2014 while the local telecommunications industry averaged 23% in both 2015 and 2014. By comparison, only Chinas capex-to-revenue ratio of 36% in 2015 and 33% in 2014 exceeded those of Globe Telecom based on the published financial statements online of publicly-listed telcos in the region which were compiled and computed per country.

Other Asian economies registered lower ratios in 2015 and 2014 with Singapore at 26% and 22%, respectively; Indonesia with 24% and 26%, respectively; Thailand with 23% and 21%, respectively; India with 17% and 16%, respectively; Taiwan with 14% and 16%, respectively; Hong Kong with 13% and 14%, respectively and Malaysia with 13% and 12% respectively.

Over the past several years, we have invested in our network to enable our customers to enjoy their digital lifestyle and empower businesses with digital capabilities, enhance their productivity and make globally competitive, Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu said. We are moving to enhance the internet experience of the Filipino people and position ICT as a major development contributor in the Philippines, Cu added.

In 2011, Globe embarked on a $700 million network modernization program that provided among others the adoption of latest telecommunication technologies for seamless customer experience and increased data capacities. The modernization initiative, completed in 2014, delivered the most advanced network infrastructure in the country, putting in a brand new access, transport, and core network nationwide. As part of the initiative, the company also completed a nationwide rollout of 4G network, using the HSPA+ technology. Since 2011, Globe has invested over $2.2 billion in its network and IT infrastructure to enhance the telecommunication providers data network capacities.

In November 2015, Globe signed a five-year partnership deal with Huawei Technologies in a bid to further enhance and expand the providers mobile network. The partnership involves planning and design of a mobile broadband network utilizing latest state of the art technology trends. The project also involves the creation of a mobile innovation center to yield innovative products and solutions that would ensure Globe maintains its competitive edge and leadership in the intensely competitive local telecommunications industry.

To effectively roll-out its network capacity building program, Globe is seeking Open Access legislation for the telecommunications industry to help mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way in the deployment of telecommunication and broadband infrastructure.

Cu emphasized that rationalization of permitting processes in deploying of ICT-related infrastructure is necessary to help the Philippines grow its Internet backbone so that local businesses will remain competitive amid rapid digitization of industries. Specifically, such legislation would expedite the issuance of all the relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level. Telecommunication companies are required to secure a number of permits that could substantially delay deployment of ICT-related infrastructure.

Globe is also clamoring for the equitable distribution of the 700 MHz frequency spectrum to sufficiently provide for rapidly increasing data traffic amid growing smartphone use in the country.

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Press Release: IMF and India Host Regional Conference: Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future

Press Release No. 16/37

February 1, 2016

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of India will co-host a high-level conference in New Delhi on March 11-13, 2016, to take stock of Asias strong economic performance, its increased resilience to shocks, and the regions ongoing economic policy challenges.

Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future will bring together senior officials, corporate executives, academics, and civil society representatives from more than 30 countries spanning Asia and the Pacific.

Advancing Asia provides a forum for Asia-Pacific leaders to discuss a region renowned for its economic successes over the past decades, said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. As Asias advanced, emerging market and developing economies move to the next stage of success, they face the key challenge of how to maintain and enhance the regions high growth record while boosting jobs, reducing inequality, accelerating infrastructure and human capital development and implementing other growth-enhancing reforms. I am very pleased to cooperate closely with the Government of India on this conference that will explore how the region can meet these policy challenges through investments in the future.

Key topics to be discussed at the conference will include the most effective drivers of growth; income inequality, demographic change, and gender; infrastructure investment; climate change; managing capital flows; and financial inclusion.

Prime Minister Modi and Mme.Lagarde will be among the conferences keynote speakers. Other official sector participants will include Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of India; Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank; Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Finance of Indonesia; and Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

Attendance will be by invitation. The proceedings will be streamed live, and portions will be broadcast by Indian and regional television broadcasters. As part of the conference, young people from around the region have been invited to submit short videos on the conference theme to a Youth Video Contest.

Advancing Asia follows the Asia 21: Leading the Way Forward conference, a conference held in Daejeon, South Korea in 2010, where leaders gathered to discuss the regions role in a global economy recovering from the Global Financial Crisis.

For additional information about Advancing Asia please contact the conference Secretariat at apd-delhi-conference@imf.org.
Press Release: IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute Hosts Triennial Asia-Pacific Training Meeting

Press Release No. 16/41

February 3, 2016

The IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute (STI) organized the Fourth STI Directors of Training Meeting on February 1-2, 2016. Thirty three senior officials in charge of training at central banks and finance ministries from countries across the Asia-Pacific region1 attended the two-day meeting. Representing STIs main donors were senior officials from Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Japanese Ministry of Finance, and the Australian High Commission. Senior staff from IMF headquarters and IMF capacity building offices in the region also participated.

The meeting is part of the IMFs ongoing dialogue with member countries to shape its assistance for capacity development in the region, which focuses on strengthening macroeconomic institutions and skills in key including monetary, financial and fiscal policy, and economic statistics. Countries in the Asia-Pacific are facing new challenges and their training needs are evolving. This meeting aims to ensure that the STI can meet these changing needs, said Julie Kozack, Director of the STI.

The IMFs unique strength is that it can bring its unparalleled institutional knowledge to bear when it carries out its capacity building around the world, added Leong Sing Chiong, Assistant Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The seminar featured panel discussions led by Directors of training, presentations by IMF staff, and reflections by STIs donors. Issues discussed during the seminar include the rollout of the new training curriculum, country experience with IMF capacity development, enhanced coordination between technical assistance and training, the regions evolving training needs, the donors perspective on capacity building, and evaluating the impact of training and technical assistance. Participants welcomed the opportunity to exchange views on training strategies with IMF staff and peers from other Asian countries.

This triennial Directors of Training Meeting is a useful platform for all heads of training institutions to discuss pertinent issues related to capacity building, and to review how the STI can better meet the demand for specialized economic and financial courses in the Asia-Pacific region, said Heng Aik Yeow, Director-General of Singapores Technical Cooperation Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The IMF holds training courses at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., at regional training centers around the world and at other locations. The IMF-Singapore Regional Training Institute, which trained over 1,000 officials last year, is jointly funded by the IMF, the Government of Singapore, and the Government of Japan, with important additional support from the Government of Australia.









1 Countries eligible for training at the STI include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR), Timor-Leste, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Fiji, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
Governor Brown Issues Statement on Death of Three California Conservation Corps Members

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the deaths of California Conservation Corps (CCC) members Justin Vanmeter, Rhonda Shackelford and Serena Guadarrama:

Anne and I are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of these California Conservation Corps members. These three individuals had just embarked on a year of service and had so much ahead of them. Our hearts go out to their families, friends and colleagues as they mourn this tremendous loss and our thoughts are also with the others injured today.

Guadarrama, 18, of Fresno and Vanmeter, 21, and Shackelford, 20, both of Clovis, were killed in a traffic accident this morning in Fresno while en route to a water conservation turf removal project.

Vanmeter and Shackelford joined the CCC in January, and Guadarrama last December, for a year of natural resource protection and emergency response work. They served at the CCC Fresno satellite office.

A CCC staff supervisor and two other corps members are currently hospitalized in Fresno and Visalia.

In honor of Shackelford, Guadarrama and Vanmeter, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Under Secretary Gottemoeller Travels to New Mexico

Washington, DC - Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller will travel to New Mexico, February 4-5, to meet with officials from our National Laboratories, as well as to broaden the public conversation on nuclear policy issues.

On February 4, the Under Secretary will visit Los Alamos National Laboratory for discussions on arms control, strategic stability, regional nuclear policy issues, and space security.

On February 5, the Under Secretary will tour the Trinity Site on the White Sands Missile Range, the location of the worlds first nuclear detonation. Jill Hruby, Director of Sandia National Laboratories, will join the Under Secretary.
The FY2017 European Reassurance Initiative Budget Request

Washington, DC - The Administration today announced an FY2017 Department of Defense funding request of $3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI). This request, which quadruples last years ERI funding level, represents a significant augmentation of our efforts to ensure peace and security in Europe. Over the past two years, the United States has increased military activities in Eastern and Central Europe to reassure allies and partners of our commitment to their security and territorial integrity.

The persistent, rotational U.S. air, land, and sea presence in the region provided for by ERI funding began following the Russian occupation of Crimea and continues today. In June 2014, President Obama announced the ERI to increase U.S. force presence in Europe, expand exercises and training with NATO Allies and partners, and augment prepositioned equipment for use in joint exercises. Allies reinforced these efforts at the September 2014 NATO Summit in Wales when they agreed to the Readiness Action Plan, which included a series of assurance and adaptation activities to enhance NATOs defense posture and increase allied readiness and responsiveness. The ERI budget request for 2016 of nearly $800 million, which Congress fully supported, provides continued U.S. participation in assurance activities and additional steps to build the resilience and capability of allies and partners.

The FY2017 ERI request marks a significant upgrade of these efforts and is intended not only to continue assurance measures but also to enable a quicker and more robust response in support of NATOs common defense. ERI funding will enable the United States to expand and deepen activities within five established lines of effort:

Increase Presence: The United States will maintain its commitment to a persistent rotational presence of air, land, and sea forces in Central and Eastern Europe for training. In order to enhance deterrence, the United States will also augment its force presence in Europe through continuous U.S. armored brigade rotations.

Conduct Additional Bilateral and Multilateral Exercises and Training: In addition to increased presence, the enhanced U.S. force presence in Europe will enable more extensive U.S. participation in exercises and training activities with NATO allies and partners, improving overall readiness and interoperability.

Enhance Prepositioning: As announced in June 2015, the European Activity Set (EAS), which includes one U.S. armored brigade combat team's vehicles and associated equipment, is being prepositioned on the territory of several NATO allies, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, in order to support exercises and training throughout Europe. The FY2017 request will place additional Army Prepositioned Stock (APS) in Europe. These additional combat vehicles and supplies are intended to reduce force deployment times and enable a rapid response to potential contingencies.

Improve Infrastructure: Improvements throughout Europe on installations such as airfields, training centers, and ranges, will improve allied military readiness in the region and provide for quick dispersal of forces if required.

Build the Capacity of Allies and Partners: ERI funding will continue to build the capacity of Central and Eastern European allies and partners to defend themselves and enable their full participation as operational partners in responding to crises in the region.

A list of U.S. military efforts to date under the Presidents European Reassurance Initiative can be found at: http://www.eucom.mil/operation-atlantic-resolve
United States Welcomes Renewed MONUSCO Cooperation in the DRC

Washington, DC - The United States welcomes the recent announcement that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) have signed an agreement to permit resumed cooperation against illegal armed groups. This agreement follows nearly a year during which such cooperation had ceased.

We urge both MONUSCO and the Government of the DRC to take action quickly against illegal armed groups, which continue to commit atrocities against Congolese citizens and communities. We note the particular importance of ending the presence of foreign armed groups in eastern DRC  including the Allied Democratic Forces and Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)  which pose a threat to broader regional peace and security.

This agreement provides an important opportunity for MONUSCO and the DRCs armed forces (FARDC) to deal the FDLR a decisive blow. Strong cooperation between MONUSCO and the DRC Government is particularly important during the current electoral period. As the largest financial contributor to MONUSCO and a provider of security assistance to professionalize the DRC armed forces, the United States will continue to support combined efforts by MONUSCO and the DRC Government in civilian protection and the consolidation of peace throughout the DRC.
UChicago Sexual Misconduct Investigation Leads To Professor's Resignation

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Feb 3, 2016 4:54AM



via Jazmin Medrano

A University of Chicago professor found by school officials to have violated the university's sexual misconduct policy has resigned, the New York Times is reporting.

University officials who investigated the conduct of the professor, molecular biologist Dr. Jason Lieb, found that he engaged in sexual activity with a student who was at the time "incapacitated due to alcohol and therefore could not consent," and that he made "unwelcome" sexual advances to molecular biology students during a retreat in Galena, Illinois, according to a letter the NYTimes obtained from the school.

The university received multiple harassment complains against Lieb after he attended an off-campus party with a large group of graduate students and faculty members, according to the NYTimes:

In light of the severity and pervasiveness of Professor Liebs conduct, and the broad, negative impact the conduct has had on the educational and work environment of students, faculty and staff, I recommend that the university terminate Professor Liebs academic appointment, reads the letter, signed by Sarah Wake, assistant provost and director of the office for equal opportunity programs.

Lieb apparently resigned last month.

According to the NYTimes, Lieb raised red flags even before he was hired by the Hyde Park university. Lieb previously faced sexual harassment allegations at Princeton University and the University of North Carolina, and Lieb resigned from his post at Princeton in 2014, only seven months after he was recruited there.

A University of Chicago molecular biologist, Dr. Yoav Gilad, told the NYTimes that efforts to determine why Lieb resigned from Princeton, where he was hired to run a genomics institute, were fruitless. Lieb told Chicago's hiring committee that a complaint of unwanted contact had been filed against him at North Carolina, where he taught previously, but the university's investigation found no evidence to support the claim. But, Gilad said, the hiring committee learned that Lieb had a "monthslong affair" with a graduate student in his North Carolina lab. Nonetheless, his department unanimously voted to hire him.

Lieb's resignation and the sexual miscondunct investigation come at a time when an increasing number of universities, including the University of Chicago, are under intense local and federal scrutiny for the ways they handle claims of sexual misconduct.
AnovoCare Limited, a nursing home based in Swords, Co Dublin, has said it had 89 empty nursing beds at the height of the latest crowding crisis in hospital emergency departments (EDs), which forced some major acute hospitals to suspend admissions, with the lack of step-down beds a significant contributory factor to the crisis, Irish Medical Times reports.

The nursing home has revealed in an entry submitted to the Lobbying Register that it engaged in negotiations with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) seeking economically viable Fair Deal rates.

Under the Nursing Home Support Scheme, which provides financial support for people who need long-term nursing home care, prices charged by private nursing homes are agreed between the nursing home and the NTPF.

AvonoCare Limiteds owner Peter Purcell has lobbied the Minister for Health Dr Leo Varadkar, his Secretary General in the Department of Health James Breslin, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, Super Junior Minister in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Ged Nash, and Jimmy Guerin, a Councillor in Fingal County Council, in relation to this issue.

The intention was to highlight that we have 89 empty nursing home beds in Swords, Co Dublin, as we cannot get the NTPF to agree an economically viable Fair Deal rate of 1,200 per bed, per week whilst Beaumont Hospital had to close its emergency department due to crowding, Purcell stated.

He said: We invested 12 million in building a new 89-bed nursing home facility with the intention of creating over 100 new jobs in the Swords area and wished to highlight the added cost to the State (4,800 per bed, per week) of not availing of our empty nursing home beds at a time it should be encouraging inward investment in building new facilities in order to meet the forecast demand of 8,000 new nursing home beds required by 2021.

lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
The professional body for psychiatrists in Ireland, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (CPsychI), has warned the Department of Health that existing mental health services lack sufficient capacity to absorb asylum seekers and refugees given that some of them will require help to overcome any trauma they endured on having to flee their home countries.

This followed last Sep-tembers special Cabinet decision that Ireland will welcome 4,000 refugees as part of the countrys response to the current crisis, with reception and orientation centres set up around the country, to provide a safe haven for persons seeking international protection.

It was projected that even more than 4,000 could eventually be accepted because of further family reunifications.

CPsychIs Director of Communication and Public Education Dr John Hillery, a consultant psychiatrist, stressed the need for planned and funded structures, protocols and services to deal with the mental health needs of refugees and asylum seekers as the current mental health services did not have the capacity to absorb asylum seekers and refugees.

The College raised the mental health support needs of refugees and asylum seekers in a letter to Siobhan OHalloran, Chief Nursing Officer, and Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, both in the Department of Health.

The Minister for Health Dr Leo Varadkar has already signed regulations to exempt asylum seekers living in direct provision from the prescription charge levied on medical-card holders based on a recommendation by a working group which highlighted concerns of asylum seekers with chronic health issues who struggle paying the charge from their weekly support of 19.10.

lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
A patient support and advocacy organisation last year lobbied the Minister for Health to establish an inquiry into the sexual abuse of patients in the health service when he visited its offices for a reception, it has emerged.

Dr Leo Varadkar visited the offices of Dignity4Patients, which works with people who have suffered sexual assault or inappropriate sexual behaviour while a patient in a medical or therapeutic setting, in Grange Rath, Drogheda, Co Meath on November 13, 2015.

This followed an email sent by the organisation to the Minister outlining the issues of concern to Dignity4Patients that it wanted to raise with him at his visit, and a separate letter of invitation for him to attend the reception.

During his visit, representatives for Dignity4Patients held a brief meeting with Dr Varadkar in which they requested his assistance in addressing patient victim needs, establishing an inquiry into sexual abuse of patients in the Irish health service and ensuring the speedy completion of the organisations current funding processes.

The group intimated in a submission to the Lobbying Register that it had sought the Ministers commitment to engage with Dignity4Patients to seek to address client needs for recovery, address the need for an inquiry into sexual abuse of patients, and ensure the prompt completion of provision of core funding to Dignity4Patients.

lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
Single-handed Cavan GP hasnt been able to take time off in over two years

A single-handed GP in Cavan has found it practically impossible to get a locum at all for the last two years, and has had to do without a holiday in the period, a problem he says is widespread in general practice and worsens the further from Dublin a surgery is located.

Consequently, Dr Michael McConville had been unable to attend a concert booked by his daughter in London just after Christmas for her 18th birthday, because it just so happened he was on the out-of-hours roster, a period for which it was even more difficult to get cover.

Describing the issue as a big problem in general practice, he said: For the last year, two years, I have found it practically impossible to get a locum at all and even to get away for a day just to go to the dentist or to do anything is near impossible. Even when I can get a locum my cash flow is so low that I cant afford it.

To make matters worse a small grant he could access from the HSE to partly cover locum costs takes months and months to get that paid.

So I actually havent had a holiday in over two years, Dr McConville quipped.

Dr McConville, who was at the NAGP AGM on Saturday, told IMT in order to attend he had to make a loose arrangement with a local GP who had recently opened her practice  luckily enough, only a few doors away  to cover him for the Friday so he could attend two out of three days. A Primary Care Conference, which was facilitated by the NAGP, was taking place from the Thursday to the Friday  although Dr McConville could only attend on the Friday  with the AGM on the Saturday. Dr McConville said he had attended in order to get his continued professional development points necessary to meet mandatory professional competence requirements.

He said: But I can really only leave a day or two at a time and thats it. This is an ongoing situation, I dont see any way out of it because all of the locums appear to have disappeared.

I basically had to leave my nurse and my secretary on their own just that they could ring this other doctor if they needed her. I am really unhappy with it but I have no other choice. I cant do anything about it.

Its a huge burden on her. Now, I have agreed to reciprocate the arrangement with her and we are going to try and talk about formalising it, but its still very difficult and you are going to have one doctor looking after two practices, so I dont know whether its going to work for a two- to three-week period or even for one week.

While the local HSE staff had been really great trying to assist, the GPs on the ground were the ones stuck with the problem, he said.

In total it cost approximately 800 a day to hire a locum, with the HSE only contributing around 200 of that, he said.

A motion proposed by new NAGP Vice President Dr Yvonne Williams lobbying the Association to call on the HSE/PCRS to fund GP locum allowances to current market levels was passed unanimously.

lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
Shashi Tharoor, Cat or Lettuce? UK PM Liz Truss's Resignation Has Twitter Looking for New Contender
Teachers Union Calls $100 Million In Public Schools Cuts 'Act Of War'

By aaroncynic in News on Feb 3, 2016 5:24PM



Photo credit: Justin Carlson

Just as Gov. Bruce Rauner pushes his plan for the state to takeover the Chicago Public Schools, the district announced a plan to make $100 million in cuts. In a letter to Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis on Tuesday, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said the cuts, which include layoffs, slashing of school budgets, and a discontinuation of pension contributions after 30 days, would happen as quickly as practicable.

These actions are necessary for the financial health of the district and are being implemented because we no longer have a choice, wrote Claypool.

The announcement comes just after the CTU rejected a contract offer from the Board of Education, for what the CTU saw as a failure to address conditions in schools, a lack of services to students in need, and a disregard for the long-term fiscal health of the public school system.

Simply signing a contract with CPS will not bring them a windfall of resources from the state, said Lewis in a statement on Monday.

The district has been threatening to make layoffs and cuts to help alleviate a $480 million budget shortfall, and the CTU and CPS have been in tense contract negotiations for months.

"Due to [CPS'] attack, we have no choice but to express our outrage at this latest act of war by rallying against CPS and the bankers who are siphoning off millions from our schools, said Lewis, in a press conference.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the union will file charges with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board over CPSs discontinuation of its pension pickup.

Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey said, of the pension situation:

The pension pickup has been paid to Chicago educators for more than 30 years since it first entered our contract. We consider it a legal obligation, and we consider eliminating it unilaterally to be breaking the law  and we will act accordingly if they do that.

Meanwhile, Rauner said Tuesday that hes directed the Board of Education to begin a financial review of CPS and to search for a new Superintendent.

The states going to be ready to step in and take action, Rauner said Tuesday. I asked our administration. I believe its coming. I believe a state takeover is appropriate.

Reactions to both Rauners statement and the districts announcement were harsh.

I thought we'd already addressed this," said Senate President John Cullerton of Rauners plan, according to the Tribune. "The law doesn't allow him to do that. So it's not going to happen."

Claypool called Rauners plan a sideshow.

Alderman Susan Sadlowski Garza of the 10th ward, a former CPS employee, said in a press release that schools cant afford more cuts and called for an elected school board.

We cannot continue to appoint administrators who are out of touch and disconnected from the lives of the working families who attend Chicago Public Schools, said Garza. This again highlights the need for an elected school board accountable to students and parents. Our students are the ones that lose when unelected bureaucrats make decisions on behalf of educators.

Though state law won't allow a CTU strike until May, the union is planning a rally against the layoffs Thursday morning downtown, where it will call for new revenue options to shore up the budget hole.

"CPS has shot down the flag of truce and peace talks are over," the union writes. "It is time for Chicagos educators and public school supporters to take off the gloves and head out to the streets."
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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For more than a millennium some of the greatest figures in British history have walked its aisles and transepts, many to be married, or later to shuffle into the next place via its raised tombs: Newton, Darwin, Chaucer, Wilberforce.

Now, in an unprecedented commercial move that has ruffled some of the Church of Englands more conservative feathers, Gucci finds itself on that illustrious list after Westminster Abbey confirmed plans to host its first fashion show.

In June, the Italian label will show off its cruise collection in the abbeys cloisters. Models will strut over the graves of the monks who once mediated there, just yards from the site of 16 royal weddings including the Duke of Cambridges.

Recommended Read more Jared Leto is the new face of Gucci Guilty fragrances

Alessandro Michele, Guccis creative director, described news of show as magical but some clergy found other words. I think its part of the Disneyfication of all the traditional sacred spaces in this land, the Reverend Peter Owen-Jones told The Independent.

It confuses what the Church is for. Is the central icon of Christianity there to offer spiritual sustenance and love or is it just part of the marketplace of capitalism, added the priest and author from East Sussex.

We are in the process of selling our soul for a pair of trousers.

Guccis creative director described news of the show at Westminster Abbey as magical (Getty) (Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the abbey confirmed the deal with Gucci, but pointed out that the cloisters have been available for corporate hire for some time, if not until now for a fashion show. So far the reaction has been positive, she said.

But even as excitement cut through the fashion industry, some expressed reservations. Anyone else think the context is a little weird for a clothes show? asked the New York Times fashion director and critic Vanessa Friedman on Twitter.

April Alexander, a member of the General Synod, the Church of Englands governing body, was more relaxed. I think its a good thing to share those beautiful cloisters with as many people as possible, especially if, I guess, many of these people are not normal churchgoers, she said.

Churches across Britain facing funding crises have explored new ways to make money, and Westminster Abbey already charges a 20 entrance fee for adults. Last month the buildings famous facade received a neon makeover as part of the Lumiere London festival of light.

In 2014, a Post Office branch opened inside St James church in West Hampstead in a move that its vicar and new postmaster hoped would return it to the centre of the community.

Were going to see churches and cathedrals being put to much wider use in future, Paul Handley, editor of The Church Times, said. We have a feature this week on new uses including skateboarding, street dance, parkour, and beer festivals.

But Reverend Peter said a fashion show crossed a line: And I think when those boundaries are crossed, the very purpose of having a building like that at the centre of our culture is wounded to my mind this will only exacerbate the problems facing the church.
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You can tell a lot from your sweat, apparently. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have just announced the invention of a "multiplexed in-situ perspiration analysis" device which can assess your glucose, lactate, sodium and potassium levels from sweat alone, and instantly send the numbers to your phone, so that you can pore over them endlessly.

Sensors like these, along with chest straps, smart contact lenses and the like, undoubtedly represent triumphs of medical engineering but, while we're told that they give us the ability to continually monitor our health, little is ever said about the unwanted by-product of that ability: anxiety.

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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

You could see it as a newer form of the cyberchondria that was ushered in by the internet. You know the kind of thing: we search online for our symptoms, print off reams of stuff and march into an appointment with our doctor to confidently (but wrongly) assert that we have renal hypodysplasia before demanding appropriate treatment.

Our hunger for information relating to our health is huge, and the market for health-related wearables is increasing, but what's the effect of all the data that's generated as a result? Most debates about that data tend to focus on concerns about privacy, monitoring, information storage and the effect on the market for health insurance, but there's also a data overload issue that affects our mental rather than physical health. We want to amass more information about our bodies, but too much of that information is disorientating.

That disorientation has been likened to the unsettled feeling people get when they're in hospital and hear alarms going off. These alarms are inevitably equated with something bad happening  but health monitoring is, by its very nature, alert city.

Real-time analysis from a wearable might suddenly advise you to drink some water, take some medicine or run about for a bit, but we can easily become slaves to these new signals that we've become inundated with. "Look! The numbers have changed! I must do something!" Because these numbers are linked to our physical well-being, we're bound to be fascinated by them, but this process of continuous assessment isn't always helpful; they're just indicators, after all, and interpreting them isn't always easy.

So the more numbers there are, the more we will rely on software to alert us to worrying outliers and the more we will worry about alarms that we might have missed. The technology ends up in a position of power, but has that power been properly earned? It's not clear why, for example, we'd place more trust in a device that promises real-time monitoring of dehydration and fatigue when our body already has two built in systems  thirst and tiredness  that do a pretty good job already. But as this stuff begins to percolate the consumer market, people will come to rely on them. "How are you feeling?" "I dunno. I'll just check my phone."

Much like the security cameras that are sold on late-night shopping channels by earnest presenters promising that this is the only way for you to properly protect your home and your family, health-related wearable devices tend to come with a "peace of mind" guarantee  but in many cases they provide the exact opposite.

Maybe, as the technology develops, we'll learn to regard the numbers they generate with a kind of weary nonchalance. But in these early stages we're thinking of them as a passport to immortality, when they're often just a pathway to anxiety.

Twitter: @rhodri
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Google will deliver links to anti-radicalisation websites to those who search for extremism-related words, the company has told a government committee.

The pilot scheme was announced at a meeting of the Home Affairs Committee by Google executive Anthony House, who appeared alongside representatives from Facebook and Twitter to give evidence to MPs over his company's efforts to combat extremism.

Speaking about the strategy, House said it was "extremely important" that those searching for potentially harmful things are also able to "find good information."

He said it is important that "when people are feeling isolated, that when they go online, they find a community of hope, not a community of harm."

Extremists like Isis primarily use the internet to spread their propaganda in the West, and it has been claimed that a number of the roughly 700 Britons who have gone to join the group in Syria were radicalised online, particularly on social media.

House also said that Google was working hard to remove extremist content from its services. As the Telegraph reports, he told the committee that the company had removed 14 million extremist videos from YouTube in 2014 alone.

Speaking to the paper, a Google spokeswoman said the search results project involved offering grants to anti-extremism groups and NGOs, which they can use to ensure that links to their websites appear in the AdWords advertising sections that usually appear at the top of Google results pages.

For example, someone searching for the term 'join Isis' could be directed to a link to the website of the Quilliam Foundation, the counter-extremism think tank.

The committee also grilled the internet giants on their more direct efforts to shut down extremism on their networks. Nick Pickles, Twitter's UK public policy manager, said his company employs over 100 people to deal with any inappropriate content posted by Twitter's 300 million active users.

Google and Facebook declined to tell the committee how many employees deal with extremist material.
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A person in the Texas has caught the Zika virus during sex, in what is thought to be the first case of the illness being transmitted in the US.

The patient, who has not been named, had not travelled abroad but had sex with someone who had contracted Zika while visiting Venezuela, according to Dallas County health officials.

Zika has been linked to sexual transmission only twice before, and is a mosquito-borne disease.

While the virus causes non symptons in most cases or a relatively harmless illness which passes after a week, it is most feared to due its links to microcephaly  a condition where babies are born with brain damage and undeveloped heads.

The danger has prompted the World Health Organisation to declare the virus a global health emergency.

However, despite the transmission in Texas, Zika is not a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI).

A sexually transmitted infection is a condition which is largely passed on during unprotected sexual contact between two people. STIs include HIV/AIDs, chlamydia, genital warts and genital herpes.

However, other diseases can also be passed on during intimate and sexual contact, but these are not classed as STIs.

Professor Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Centre of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, told The Independent: "An STI would be an infection where sex is the predominant route of transmission and the infection is maintained in the human population by sexual transmission.

"Neither of these apply to Zika; so it can, probably rarely, be transmitted by sex but it would not be classed as an STI."

Experts have also sought to ease concerns that Zika is spread via sex, by stressing that mosquitoes are the main carriers.

The Zika virus - in pictures Show all 5 1 /5 The Zika virus - in pictures The Zika virus - in pictures A three-month-old, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil. A rise in microcephaly cases is thought to have been caused by the spread of the Zika virus in affected countries Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A mother holds her baby who has microcephaly Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A five-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A pediatric infectologist examines a two-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A baby affected with microcephaly

Prof. Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham, said: "Even though this report [the case in Texas] suggests that Zika virus might be sexually transmitted, it doesnt yet change the overall picture that Zika is spreading in the Americas primarily through mosquito bites.

He added that it is not unusual for viruses to be passed on via rare transmission routes.

"Take hepatitis C virus for example  few of us would argue against the evidence that sexual transmission takes place, yet even fewer would argue that this is the major route of transmission.

But he stressed that men who have potentially exposed to Zika should consider taking precautions.

"With Zika, mosquitoes remain the main reason for the current outbreak, but this finding does support advice that a man should seriously consider using condoms if they have potentially been exposed to, or are infected with, Zika, if their partner is or might become pregnant."
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Deodorant could do more harm to the body than good, new research has suggested.

The study, published in the Peerj journal, concluded that deodorant affects how microbiomes - bacteria, viruses and fungi that live inside us and on our skin - work in the body, by making potentially dangerous bacteria grow back quicker.

It looked at 17 men and women who regularly used deodorant, antiperspirant, or neither, over a period of eight days.

Recommended Read more Teenage boy dies from using too much deodorant spray

The researchers specifically focused on the bacteria that grew back under participants' underarms when they did not wear deodorant.

Scientists found deodorants and antiperspirants - which prevent the glands under the arms from producing sweat - change the microbial "community" that live underneath arms, by eliminating some of the good bacteria and allowing more harmful bacteria to grow.

The results of the study showed people who did not use any type of product have more corynebacteria  which is the bacteria that causes body odour - and less staphylococcaceae - a positive bacteria.

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The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. 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The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. 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Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. 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Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. 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Regular deodorant users showed more staphylococcaceae than the other two groups after not using any products, along with some corynebacteria and only five per cent of unidentifiable bacteria.

For those who regularly used antiperspirants, researchers found they had as much staphylococcaceae as those who used deodorant and more than 20 per cent of unidentifiable microbes. After the eight days, most of the microbial communities died off after using antiperspirants again.

Researchers could only say for definite that bacteria grew back faster after people who usually wore deodorant or antiperspirant had stopped using it.

Co-author of the study and evolutionary geneticist at the North Carolina Central University Julie Horvath said the unidentifiable bacteria, which grows on people who regularly use antiperspirant, may not be anything to worry about. But, she added, some types of staphylococcaceae can be harmful.

Ms Horvath said: When you have all these microbes on your skin, most of them are potentially beneficial, or at least benign."
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A new method to slash mosquito populations by using radiation to make males infertile could soon be rolled out in Brazil, in an attempt to contain the outbreak of the Zika virus.

Over 1.5million cases of Zika have been recorded in Brazil since 2014. Most people do not see symptoms, and the one in five who do will experience a relatively mild fever, rash, joint pain and muscle and joint pain.

However, the World Health Organisation has declared the mosquito-borne condition a global health emergency due to its links to microcephaly, which can cause brain damage in babies and the head to not grow properly.

The UN atomic agency has said that nuclear radiation could be used to tackle the mosquitoes which spread the virus.

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and Brazilian officials are set to meet in mid-February to discuss how to use the Sterile Insect Technology.

If Brazil released a huge number of sterile males, it would take a few months to reduce the population, [but] it has to be combined with other methods, IAEA Deputy Director General Aldo Malavasi said, according to Reuters.

SIT works by exposing male Aedes aegypti mosquito to X or Gamma rays to make their sperm sterile.

The Zika virus - in pictures Show all 5 1 /5 The Zika virus - in pictures The Zika virus - in pictures A three-month-old, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil. A rise in microcephaly cases is thought to have been caused by the spread of the Zika virus in affected countries Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A mother holds her baby who has microcephaly Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A five-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A pediatric infectologist examines a two-month-old baby, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil Getty Images The Zika virus - in pictures A baby affected with microcephaly

The insects are then released into the wild in the hope they will outnumber existing mosquitoes.

However, the ratio of irradiated to normal mosquitoes must be at a factor of 10 or 20 to work - meaning the method is most effective in villages and towns.

The technique has been adapted from previous methods used to target insects such as fruit flies.

But experts have warned of the dangers to the ecosystem of eradicating mosquitoes in the wake of the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses such as malaria.

Their sheer numbers are an essential link in some food webs, notably the Arctic tundras where, for a few brief weeks in summer they hatch in extraordinary numbers, creating visible clouds of adults and a very rich food supply to migratory birds that have come north to exploit this bounty, Mike Jeffries, Teaching Fellow in Ecology, Northumbria University, Newcastle explained on The Conversation.

Mosquitoes also have a role to playin ecosystems such as pollinating plants, he said.
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Britains Eurosceptic newspapers greeted David Camerons new settlement with the EU with hostility. It Stinks, The Sun said in its editorial comment on Wednesday. The Great Delusion! screamed the Daily Mails front page.

It has long been thought likely that Eurosceptic papers would urge their readers to vote to leave the EU once they secured the in/out referendum they have long demanded. But appearances can be deceptive; it is far from certain that they will all endorse the Out campaign.

The betting is that Rupert Murdoch will keep a foot in both camps by splitting the vote of his four UK newspapers. It would be difficult for The Sun to come out for EU membership given its readers views on immigration. But The Times might emerge as a reluctant supporter  on balance-- of continued EU membership.

Mr Murdochs hatred of Brussels may have mellowed with age. The EU regulation he once railed against may now suit his business interests. Amid the row over Googles 130m back tax deal last week, the media magnate claimed: Google has cleverly planted dozens of their people in White House, Downing St, other governments. Most brilliant new lobbying effort yet.

But the Murdoch empire now lobbies hard in Brussels, where it hopes that under Jean Claude-Juncker, the European Commission will crack down on tech companies like Google, a big commercial rival. A single regulatory system in Europe may suit Sky TV, in which Mr Murdochs News Corp has a 39 per cent stake.

Senior Tories including Boris Johnson, who is weighing up whether to become the Out campaigns figurehead, are said to be frustrated by Mr Murdochs reluctance to urge an Out vote with all guns blazing. He talks a good game but doesnt deliver when it comes to the crunch, one Eurosceptic minister complained.

At the Mail, the editor Paul Dacres instincts will be to campaign for withdrawal and he will certainly give Mr Cameron a hard time. But Viscount Rothermere, chairman of Daily Mail and General Trust, is understood to be in favour of staying in the EU, so the Mail may stop short of urging readers to vote Out.

The Daily Express, which endorsed Ukip at last years general election, is certain to urge withdrawal and the Out campaign also hopes to win the support of the Eurosceptic Daily Telegraph. The In camp is confident of winning the backing of the Financial Times, The Guardian, the Daily Mirror and The Independent.
Historic West Loop Building Could House $2,400-A-Month Microapartments

By Mae Rice in News on Feb 3, 2016 4:23PM



The West Loop post office building (via Chicago Boulevardier on Flickr)

A developer plans to turn Chicagos old main post office, located at Canal and Van Buren streets, into a complex of microapartments called The MicroChicago.

British developer Bill Davies plans to build 300 tiny apartments in the landmark bulding, each measuring between 280 and 600 square feet. He could build more, too. According to the Sun-Times, he plans to build 1,200 microapartments in total.

As for rents, tenants could be looking at more than $4 per month per square foot. Ellen Phillips, a managing broker at Loop Apartments who will help rent out the microapartments, told NBC that studios would be priced at $1,140 per month, and two-bedrooms at $2,400.

She added to the Sun-Times, depressingly, that $1,140 for a 250-square-foot studio apartment makes them the least-expensive rents in downtown.

The plans for The MicroChicago mark a change of tack for Davies. Hes owned the erstwhile post office since 2009; two years ago, he shared much more lavish plans for the property, featuring hotel rooms, commercial and office space, and most boldly of all, a tower taller than the Willis Tower.

Construction on the microapartments could start as early as April, according to the Sun-Times. The property, which covers two city blocks, has been empty for 20 years.
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Protesters are calling for a pick-up artist known as Roosh V, who called for rape to become legalised in certain circumstances, to be banned from Britain after he announced a series of meet-up events for his followers across the UK.

Daryush Valizadeh - known as Roosh V - is a neomasculinist who posts blogs on his anti-feminist website detailing his methods for luring women in different countries into sex.

He was widely condemned after publishing a blog in which he said that a solution for rape charges against men would be to make rape legal if done on private property.

The 36 year-old from Maryland argued that a women who consented to go into a mans house, had consented to sex.

Valizadeh has announced plans to stage a series of international meet-up events this Saturday, where heterosexual men only are invited to discuss his views.

Locations for the proposed UK events include London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Newcastle and Manchester. Valizadeh, who is also staging events in Australia, New Zealand, Iceland and Canada, is not expected to attend any of the UK meetings in person.

Followers will be sent details of the venues through a private messaging system after Valizadeh tweeted: Its time to go underground in the cities that threaten the safety of my supporters. Attendees must repeat a code phrase when arriving.

A petition calling on the Scottish Government to stop Roosh Vs meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow taking place, has amassed more than 40,000 signatures.

The petition argues that the events, staged by a militant pro-rape pick-up artistmake our cities unsafe for at least half the population. Promoting rape is hate speech, and should be treated as such. A petition has also being launched urging Theresa May, Home Secretary, to ban Valizadeh from visiting the UK.

Valizadeh, who recently featured in a BBC documentary with Reggie Yates where he discussed his tactics for exploiting women, has suggested that protestors against the UK events will be rebuffed with force.

He wrote: Up to now, the enemy has been able to exert their power by isolating us and attacking with shrieking mobs, but well be able to neutralise that tactic by amassing in high numbers come February 6. I will exact furious retribution upon anyone who challenges you in public on that date.

Valizadehs Welsh male followers were told to meet next to the female statue in front of the Hilton Cardiff on Friary Road on Saturday at 8pm. They will be required to give a secret signal - inquiring where the closest pet shop is - before they are then directed to the meeting venue.

Roosh V's Welsh followers have been told to meet in Cardiff on Saturday

The author of 30 Bangs and 14 pick-up books for different countries, Valizadeh wrote on his blog advocating the legalisation of rape: Less women will be raped because they wont voluntarily drug themselves with booze and follow a strange man into a bedroom, and less men will be unfairly jailed for what was anything but a maniacal alley rape.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jones, head of the South Wales Police's public protection unit in Cardiff, said the force was aware of concerns voiced about the meeting. South Wales Police takes all reports of sexual violence extremely seriously, he added.

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Valizadeh claims to have booked a ticket to Australia where gatherings are planned this weekend for Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Peter Dutton, minister for immigration and border protection, has asked his department to monitor Valizadehs plans to visit.

Valizadeh is the founder of the Return of Kings blog, which he calls a safe space on the internet for men to discuss issues that matter to them and which has provoked outrage with articles such as 5 Reasons To Date A Girl With An Eating Disorder.

The Home Office and the Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the planned UK meet-ups.
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Women scientists frequently suffer being effectively erased from history. Even if they are not, they tend to be subjected to the everyday sexism that undermines the jobs they do.

Now a campaigner has put together a series of tweets describing some of the most famous male scientists ever in the same manner as their female counterparts.

Originally published in Spanish, the author of these short bios, @Daurmith, said: So, I made a small brouhaha recently in Twitter and I thought Id share it in English.

I started to write small bios of famous (male) scientists as theyd be written had they been women.

He told Buzzfeed: "I wrote the bios as an exercise through the glass, so to speak. I find it productive, and a bit cathartic, to use womens tropes on men, a la Hawkeye project. I didnt want to achieve anything special and honestly thought they would get quickly lost."
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A woman who had been the victim of police brutality has died in her prison cell, sparking an investigation.

Sarah Reed, 32, was found to be unresponsive at HMP Holloway on 11 January and pronounced dead shortly after, despite attempts at CPR.

The Prisons and Probation and Ombudsman has launched a probe, which is compulsory for all deaths in custody, and the Ministry of Justice has not yet confirmed any details of how she died.

Ms Reeds family told civil rights activist Lee Jasper that they were informed Ms Reed had 'strangled' herself whilst lying on her bed, which they believe to be a physical impossibility.

 Policeman dismissed after assaulting woman - London Live

Relatives also claimed they were not allowed to see her body during a visit to the prison.

Ms Reed, who reportedly had a history of mental illness and drug addiction, had been the victim of assault by a police officer in 2012.

She was punched, thrown to the ground and restrained by PC James Kiddie after being caught shoplifting at Uniqlo, on Londons Regent Street, in November 2012.

The Metropolitan Police Officer was found guilty of common assault, sentenced to a 150-hour community order and dismissed after CCTV footage showed him grabbing her by the hair and hitting her in the head.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA 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. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2022 The Massed Pipes and Drums parade during the Braemar Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2022 Number 12 Company Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks, central London, before commencing their first Guard Mount at Buckingham Palace PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2022 A salmon leaps up the weir at Hexham in Northumberland, despite the drought warnings and low water levels, the River Tyne is still flowing well allowing the salmon and sea trout to head up river to spawn. Every year tens of thousands of salmon make the once-in-a-lifetime journey along the Tyne to spawn, having been out a sea PA

Speaking at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in 2014 that the violence was the result of an instinctive and immediate retaliation in anger and that higher standards were expected from Kiddie.

The police officer had two previous disciplinary findings of incivility against him on his police record and was also investigated for using CS gas at a UK Uncut protest.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service told the Independent: HMP Holloway prisoner Sarah Reed was found unresponsive in her cell at 8am on January 11.

Prison staff attempted CPR, but she was pronounced dead shortly after.

As with all deaths in custody, the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation.

Additional reporting by PA
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Concern about immigration, Isis and the refugee crisis is rising Europe but the US is still more concerned about government powers and the economy, opinion polls have shown.

Separate surveys conducted by American pollsters Gallup, and YouGov in the UK, asked thousands of people what they believed the biggest problems facing their countries were.

Although core issues such as healthcare, unemployment and terror attacks made it into the top 10 concerns for both countries, their prominence was starkly different.

(Datawrapper)

When asked to select three of their biggest concerns, almost half of the 1,700 British adults questioned picked immigration, closely followed by Isis and health.

The economy, Britains membership of the EU and refugee crisis also appeared prominently in the survey conducted last month, as the Government continued to strike a new deal in the Union before next years referendum.

Separate analysis by Ipsos Mori in August found that concern over immigration spiked during the summers Calais crisis, when refugees from camps at the French port blocked motorways during attempts to board lorries and ferries to the UK.

Their research found that Conservative voters, over-65s and people defined as skilled working class were most likely to be concerned about immigration levels, with professionals, Londoners and those aged 25-24 on the other end of the scale.

(Datawrapper)

Meanwhile, the American government was rated as the biggest problem facing the US in 2015, according to a poll released by Gallup last month.

Dissatisfaction with politicians topped concerns over the economy for the second year running, with 16 per cent of Americans citing some aspect of government as a worry, including President Barack Obama and Congress.

The economy came second, followed by unemployment and immigration. Unlike the YouGov poll, respondents were only required to select one option.

The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures Show all 25 1 /25 The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Members of the public gather to lay flowers and light candles at La Belle Equipe restaraunt on Rue de Charonne in Paris Getty The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People lay a memorial to honour victims of the Paris terror attacks at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Soccer fans display the colors of the French flag in response to the deadly terrorist attack in Paris, France before the soccer match between the New York Cosmos' and the Ottawa Fury for the North American Soccer League championship at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, USA The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Pakistani Civil society activists shout slogans during a protest against Isis militants near the French consulate for the victims of the 13 November Paris attacks in Karachi, Pakistan The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People gather and view messages written on the ground at Place de la Republique in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks French flags and a note reading "We will not let you spoil our children's lives" at the site of the attack at the Cafe Belle Equipe on rue de Charonne in the 11th district, in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A rose is placed beside a bullet hole at La Belle Equipe restaraunt on Rue de Charonne following the terrorist attack in Paris. As France observes three days of national mourning members of the public continue to pay tribute to the victims of deadly attacks The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Bono and band members of U2 pay their respects and place flowers on the pavement near the scene of yesterday's Bataclan Theatre terrorist attack in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A man kneels as he pays tribute to victims at Place de la Republique near the deadly attack sites in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Tributes to the victims at the Place de la Republique square in Paris AFP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks An electronic billboard on a canal show solidarity with Paris in Milan EPA The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People lay down flowers and light candles to tribute victims of Friday's attacks in Paris as the Brandenburg gate is illuminated in blue, white and red in the colors of the French flag, in Berlin Reuters The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A man leaves flowers as a tribute following the deadly attacks in Paris, outside the French consulate in Istanbul Reuters The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People take pictures of flowers placed in bullet holes in the window of a Japanese restaurant next to the cafe 'La Belle Equipe' AFP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People gather at a makeshift memorial next to the Bataclan theatre in Paris on November 14, 2015, The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A woman carrying flowers cries in front of the Carillon cafe and the Petit Cambodge restaurant in Paris AP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People gather in front of flowers that were laid outside the French embassy in Rome AP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks People react near the cafe 'La Belle Equipe' at the Rue de Charonne AFP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A young girl places a candle in front of the Carillon cafe in Paris AP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Flowers placed outside the cafe 'La Belle Equipe' at the Rue de Charonne in Paris, the scene for one of the attacks AFP The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A woman is comforted by others outside the Carillon cafe and the Petit Cambodge restaurant in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks The Brandenbourg Gate featuring French national colors is pictured in Berlin, on November 14, 2015 a day after deadly attacks in Paris The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks Flowers are laid in front of the French embassy in Rome EPA The world mourns Paris attacks - in pictures The world mourns Paris attacks A candle is lit next to flowers outside the French Embassy in Berlin AFP

Last year was the second time in 15 years where no single issue had been chosen by more than a fifth of people, with those surveyed singling out a constellation of problems including ethical or moral decline, race relations and racism, federal debt and education.

Concern about terrorism spiked after Novembers Paris attacks and the massacre in San Bernardino, the research found, while gun control peaked as an issue in October and December following mass shootings.

The European migrant crisis appears to have had far less impact but mentions of immigration rose 10 per cent as the situation intensified in September, although analysts said it may also have been a result of Republican presidential debates gave to Donald Trump's views
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British men who convert to Islam are often targeted by the security services and asked to become informants, causing them to be treated with suspicion by other Muslims, according to new research.

Typically becoming isolated from their families and the rest of society, Muslim converts are commonly regarded as outcasts who have embraced an alien, primitive and threatening culture, the study conducted by the University of Cambridges Centre of Islamic Studies found.

Researchers examined the experiences of 50 British men of all ages, ethnicities and faith backgrounds who converted to Islam. They discovered during the 18-month project that many of them felt demonised by media coverage which usually portrayed them as potential terrorists.

Some of the participants in the study said they had been personally approached by MI5 and asked to work as informants, with agents using either flattery or veiled intimidation to recruit them. The use of this tactic resulted in many converts being treated with suspicion by other Muslims, making integration more difficult, the report said.

Professor Yasir Suleiman, director of the Centre of Islamic Studies, said many converts were made to feel like outsiders by their friends and families but also by other Muslims, leaving them exceptionally isolated. In the West, conversion to Islam has been tarnished by claims of extremism  both violent and non-violent  radicalisation, and, sadly, terrorism, he added.

It has also fallen victim to the general apathy towards faith in largely secular societies causing those who convert to be described by some as not only eccentrics, misfits, outcasts and rebels, but also as renegades, traitors or enemies or a fifth column who have turned their back on their original culture.

The report, entitled Narratives Of Conversion To Islam In Britain: Male Perspectives, said Muslim converts were a minority within a minority and called for specialist groups to be created to help them cope with the feelings of rejection embracing Islam could cause.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA 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. 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Abdul Maalik Taylor, who converted to Islam from Hinduism 20 years ago and now runs Islamic tours of London, was one of the men who took part. He said he had suffered physical and emotional abuse from his family when he decided to change religion.

My relatives thought I had become brainwashed. I was basically given an ultimatum: give up the religion or get out. I was 18 at the time. And I had to leave after being beaten up, he said. Converts who have contributed to society are ignored by the media, which concentrates on those who have been radicalised, he added.

The reasons that British people convert to Islam are varied, the report says, ranging from falling in love with a Muslim partner to spiritual searching or experiencing a personal tragedy. Some even decided to embrace it after having revelatory dreams.

Fears are encouraged by the media

Mark Barrett, from Norwich, converted to Islam eight years ago

Convert Mark Barrett says there is a sense of sympathy among people who think Islam has been misunderstood (Stuart Roberts)

My friends and family do treat me differently. Obviously people dont quite know what to make of Islam in todays world, so they sometimes kind of shy away from engaging in a conversation about it, even if I bring it up. But then at the same time, in the West generally theres a genuine sense of sympathy and understanding in how Islam has not been properly understood historically because of the political wars that have taken place.

I think the fears that come up tend to be fears that have been encouraged by media representations more than anything else.

It was as if Id said I was Jimmy Savile

Adrian Heath, from Nottingham, also converted to Islam eight years ago

I dont think anybody changes their religion unless theres a major upheaval, forcing them to evaluate where theyre at.

I wasnt having a great marriage, and the Islam business completely killed that one off. You find that your wife will support you in many things, but not becoming a Muslim.

My parents found out by accident, and it was like someone had hit them over the head with a frying pan. My in-laws thought I might as well have just put my hands up and admitted to being Jimmy Savile. You can tell people youre a Buddhist or a Wiccan, but Islam has this unjustified shock value.
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The majority of people in Britain would support controversial measures to take valuables off refugees arriving in the country, following similar moves to do so in Denmark.

Danish politicians passed a new law at the end of January which allows border officials to seize cash and assets from would-be asylum seekers to help pay for their stay.

Opponents said the law amounted to a symbolic move to scare people away, while the UN warned Denmark risked fuelling fear and xenophobia.

But according to a new YouGov poll, 54 per cent of Britons would either support or strongly support a similar law in the UK.

Only 8 per cent of respondents said they strongly opposed the idea, which has been compared to the Nazi-era policy of stripping valuables from Jews.

And bizarrely, the policy was actually much more widely supported in Britain than it was by people surveyed in Denmark itself. According to YouGov, of 1,002 Danes surveyed 39 per cent opposed their own new law, while 38 per cent supported it.

In an indication of how opinions have shifted in Germany in recent weeks, more than 60 per cent of people there said they would be in favour of taking away refugees valuables. Just 18 per cent of Germans opposed such a move.

Of seven European nations surveyed, Sweden was the country where people where most likely to be against such a law  44 per cent opposing it, versus 41 per cent supporting.

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.

Before it was passed, the Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen described the proposals as the most misunderstood bill in Denmarks history. The Danish government confirmed body and luggage searches would be carried out, but said refugees would be left enough belongings for a modest standard of living.

The YouGov survey also revealed that immigration and asylum was the top issue cited by the most Britons as the most important facing the country.

Almost 60 per cent of Danes named immigration as a major issue  more than in any of the other countries surveyed.


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Britains bombing campaign against Isis in Syria and Iraq is still seen as a clash of civilisations between Islam and Christianity in some parts of the UKs Muslim community, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will warn on Wednesday.

In a highly unusual move, the Defence Secretary has invited around 30 leading Muslim leaders and opinion formers to the Ministry of Defence to be briefed about the UKs military bombing campaign by, among others, the Chief of the Defence staff, General Gordon Messenger.

The move recognises the difficulties the Government has had in making the case for war to British Muslims against a slick and effective Isis propaganda machine.

However, one of those invited to the event warned that the campaign was coming very late in the day and that the Government would have an uphill struggle to change the narrative about British involvement in Syria within the Muslim community.

Recommended Read more British arms companies ramp up bomb sales to Saudi Arabia by 100 times

In his speech to Muslim organisations, including the Federation of Muslim Organisations and the Association of Muslim Schools, Mr Fallon will liken British intervention in Syria to that of Kosovo and Bosnia in the 1990s  designed to protect Muslim civilian populations  and not an aggressive act or taking sides in disputes between Sunnis and Shia populations.

But he will tacitly admit that the army has not kept up with the transformation of Britain into a multicultural society and will say that it is seen too often as a monolithic entity that does not represent the whole country. He will repeat his pledge for a 10 per cent ethnic minority recruitment target.

I want to see more Muslim soldiers, sailors and pilots in our Armed Forces, he will say. To make headway we need to show our great communities that our Armed Forces arent some monolithic entity remote from their lives but are here for you working on your behalf to preserve the values we all cherish.

Anti-war protesters demonstrate outside the House of Parliament against UK airstrikes in Syria, in December (Getty) (Getty Images)

Turning to Isis, Mr Fallon will tacitly admit the success the organisation has had in appealing to young Muslim by portraying the armed forces as religious aggressors.

Were aware there are already some myths and misconceptions out there and were keen to dispel them, he will say.

Certainly our enemies will do everything in their power to portray our intervention as a clash of civilisations. So let me say categorically this isnt a war against Muslims. It isnt about picking a side between Sunni and Shia and it isnt about targeting innocents.

Mr Fallon will say British forces are only involved in Syria and Iraq to defeat what he will describe as a terrorist group who have killed more Muslims than any others.

While it suits the propaganda purposes of our adversaries to pretend that Britain doesnt care, this country has never backed away when the safety of its own citizens the suffering of many more and the stability of an entire region is at stake.

It wasnt the case in Bosnia. It wasnt the case in Kosovo. It isnt the case now.

Fiyaz Mughal of Faith Matters welcomed the initiative but warned it had come late.

Up until now there has been a big, void space in the Governments communication strategy on our involvement in Syria and Iraq, he said.

That has been filled not only by Isis propaganda but also fears about fears of civilian casualties. While this new engagement is very welcome they really shouldnt be inviting a few of us into the Ministry of Defence but going out there more widely to make the case.
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Conservative MPs have branded a draft proposal to renegotiate the terms of European Union membership for Britain "thin gruel" as David Cameron took questions on the package in Parliament.

The Prime Minister said the raft of measures was the strongest package ever to deal with immigration issues caused by the bloc.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading eurosceptic backbencher told the PM that "the thin gruel has been further watered down". He declared that the Prime Minister had a fortnight to "salvage his reputation as a negotiator".

Recommended Read more David Cameron swears that he got the EU deal he promised voters

The Prime Minister mounted his defence in a statement to MPs on Wednesday afternoon  about 24 hours after the proposed deal was released by the European Council president Donald Tusk.

Mr Camerons deal has however has been criticised by many eurosceptics, including those within his own party.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox branded the document watered down in every area while Sir Bill Cash said Mr Cameron had bypassed so many promises and principles.

The response from eurosceptic newspapers to the deal has also been negative, with The Sun saying it stinks and the Daily Express branding it a joke.

The interventions come amid speculation about which of Mr Cameron's own Cabinet ministers could campaign on the opposite side of the referendum from him - in favour of exit.

Mr Cameron however said the legally binding agreement represented real progress but that the process was far from over.

We want to deal with the pressures of immigration, which have become too great, he told the House of Commons.

The draft text represents the strongest package weve ever had in tackling the abuse of free movement and closing down the backdoor routes the Britain. There are new proposals to reduce the pull factor that our benefit system exerts across Europe by allowing instant access to welfare from the day someone arrives.

People said that Europe wouldnt even recognise that we had this problem, but the text explicitly recognises that welfare system can act as an unnatural draw to come to this country.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA 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. 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[Weve secured proposals for] an emergency brake that will mean people coming to Britain from within the EU will have to wait four years until they have full access to our benefits. The European Commission has said Britain qualifies already to use this mechanism so with the necessary legislation well be able to implement it shortly after the referendum.

People said we would never get something that was legally binding but this plan, if agreed, with mean exactly that.

Labours leader Jeremy Corbyn said the reform package lacked serious measures to deal with the supposed impact of migration from the EU and laid out Labours approach.

What the Prime Minister described as the strongest package ever to tackle the abuse of free movement doesnt actually begin to tackle the real problems on the impact on migration of jobs, wages and communities, Mr Corbyn said.

Those demand action in areas of high population growth to support public services and regulation to prevent the subsiding of low pay and the grotesque exploitation of migrant workers by some very unscrupulous employers.

Mr Corbyn said Labour welcomed another aspect of the package, a power for national parlaiments to block new EU legislation.

The Prime Minister had previously said he would negotiate new rules so that EU migrants must live her e and contribute for four years before they qualify for in-work benefits or social housing.

However, Mr Cameron has only been offered powers to limit in-work benefits partially, with the amount of social security paid to migrants gradually increasing over the four year period.

Mr Cameron will have to convince other EU nations at a summit later this month as well as his own MPs and the British people of the deals effectiveness.

After the deal is taken forward Mr Cameron will hold a referendum on European Union membership  expected before the end of 2017 but possibly as early as this summer.

After pressure from the Scottish Welsh, and Northern Ireland governments Mr Cameron said the referendum would not be held closer than six weeks after the local and regional elections this May.

Those devolved administrations are seeking further assurances on the matter of timing, however.
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David Cameron has urged mainstream Conservative MPs not to be bullied by party activists into campaigning to leave the European Union as he took on his Tory critics with a fierce defence of his reform blueprint.

Prominent Eurosceptics queued up to protest that his proposed deal would leave wide-ranging powers in the hands of Brussels and lacked legal force.

The Prime Minister told them Britains position in the EU would be better and stronger as a result of the proposals, which include restrictions on EU migrants access to benefits and give the UK protection from decisions taken in the eurozone.

He also promised Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London who is suspected of flirting with the Out campaign, that he planned to assert Parliaments sovereignty over EU institutions and gave his clearest signal that he aims to stage the in/out referendum on 23 June.

Mr Cameron appealed to uncommitted MPs to follow their instincts on the subject rather than be swayed by their constituency parties. Around two-thirds of Tory activists are believed to support Britain leaving the EU.

The Prime Minister said: If you passionately believe in your heart that Britain is better off outside the EU, you should vote that way. If you think, even if its on balance, I think Britain is better off in, go with what you think.

 PM on 'emergency brake'

Dont take a view because of what your constituency association might say, or youre worried about a boundary review, or you think it might be advantageous this way or that way. Do whats in your heart. If you think its right for Britain, then do that.

His comments reflect fears among Europhile Tories that pressure of opinion among activists could bounce some MPs into backing Brexit against their private instincts.

Recommended Read more Migrants in UK say plan to curb benefits will not affect immigration

There has also been speculation that the redrawing of parliamentary boundaries to cut the number of MPs from 650 to 600 could give Eurosceptics the edge when competing to stand for the new seats.

A Conservative Home poll last month put support for leaving the EU at 67 per cent among activists, with only 25 per cent wanting to remain.

The latest ORB survey for The Independent showed that Conservative voters at the election are now split 50-50 over remaining or leaving.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Cameron said securing agreement from the other 27 EU leaders at a summit on 18 and 19 February would require hard work, determination and patience. He said there were details to pin down, but insisted Britain was getting closer to the decision point.

In an indication that 23 June had been pencilled in for the referendum, he said the vote would not be held within six weeks of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish elections, which take place seven weeks earlier on May 5.

In an exchange with Mr Johnson, he said he would put beyond doubt the sovereignty of Parliament if Britain votes to remain in the EU. He is understood to be looking at ways of underlining its supremacy over the European Court of Justice.

Mr Cameron will continue his drive for support when he meets several European leaders, including the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of Belgium and Greece, at Thursday's London summit on Syria. He flies to Poland and Denmark on Friday for more talks.

 Boris on EU deal

In the Commons, the veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash denounced the deal as wholly inappropriate and accused Mr Cameron of having bypassed his promise of a fundamental change to Britains relationship with the EU, while Anne Main told Mr Cameron: This is not what the British public wants.

John Redwood, the former Cabinet minister, said: Isnt the only way to get control of our borders, our tax revenues and our welfare system to leave and be a good European and let them get on with their political union?

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the MP for North East Somerset, told him: The thin gruel has been further watered down. You have a fortnight, I think, in which to salvage your reputation as a negotiator.

Mr Cameron replied: We are well on our way to saying that our different sort of membership of the EU is not only safeguarded, but is being extended.

But the former Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, told the Commons: The Prime Minister has achieved more on the big issues in this negotiation than I ever expected and, I suspect, more than the hard-line Eurosceptics ever expected, which is why they are denouncing it so fiercely.
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David Cameron has declined to answer whether the Government will go ahead with its 30-a-week cuts to key disability benefits  prompting hopes of a change in policy.

The Government was defeated in the House of Lords in late January over whether some disabled people claiming Employment and Support Allowance should get a lower rate.

New claimants in the so-called Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) would have been paid around 72 a week instead of 102, but peers rejected the proposals by 283 votes to 198.

The motion to cut the benefits has now been sent back to MPs in the House of Commons  but the Government has now repeatedly declined to say whether it will push ahead with the proposal or listen to the Lords and withdraw it.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked David Cameron to clarify the Governments position at Prime Ministers Questions today. Mr Corbyn noted that 2,300 cancer patients were currently in the group whose rate for new claimants would be cut.

David Cameron did not provide a direct answer to the question and instead emphasised that the proposed cut only applied to future claimants of the benefit.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, watched the exchange from inside the Commons chamber with a distressed expression on his face.

Iain Duncan Smith appeared distressed by the exchange during PMQs (Crown copyright)

Its very interesting the Prime Minister did not answer the question I put which is whether or not he will proceed with the cut to ESA which hits 3,200 people with cancer at the present time, Mr Corbyn said.

I hope he will think seriously about this.

It is not clear whether ministers have yet made a decision about whether to push ahead with the cuts or not.

Disability charities have mounted a campaign against the changes. Previous surveys of people in the WRAG have found that over half per believe they would struggle to stay healthy if hit by the cut.

Around a third people getting help from the ESA WRAG also believe they would be unable to heat their homes or eat.

What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? Show all 8 1 /8 What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? Welfare payments will be slashed One of the most controversial parts of the Conservative manifesto was to cut benefits for the working age poor by 12 bn over the next three years. But during the campaign they only said where 2 bn of these savings would come from. That leaves 10 bn still to find. Some experts think the only way they can close that gap is by means testing child benefit  with millions of families losing out Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? There will be tax cuts for those in work and those who die The Tories will increase the threshold at which the 40p rate of tax becomes payable to 50,000 by 2020. They havent said so but it is also likely that at some point in the next five years they will abolish that 45p rate of tax altogether for the highest earners. They also want to increase the effective inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partners to 1m Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? There will be an in/out EU referendum in 2017 The next two years are going to be dominated by the prospect of a referendum on Britains membership of the EU. First off David Cameron has the daunting task of negotiating a deal with other EU leaders an acceptable deal that he can sell to his party so he can go into the referendum campaigning for a yes vote. This may be unachievable and it is possible that the Tories may end up arguing to leave. Opinion polls show Britain is divided on EU membership, one poll this year showed 51% said they would opt to leave compared to 49% who would vote to stay in Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? There will be more privatisation of the NHS Having won the election the Tories now have a mandate to go further and faster reforming the NHS. In order to make cost savings there is likely to be greater private involvement in running services, while some smaller hospitals may lose services they currently provide like A&E and maternity units Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? There will be many more free schools  and traditional state schools will become a thing of the past The Tories plans to create 500 new free schools and make 3,000 state schools become academies. They will also carry on reforming the Department of Education and remove more powers from local authorities over how schools are run Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? On shore wind farms will be a thing of the past and fracking will be the future Government spending on renewable energy is under real threat now the Lib Dems are no longer in power with the Tories. Subsidies are likely to be slashed for off-shore wind farm and other green energy supplies. Meanwhile there will be generous tax break for fracking as ministers try and incentivise the industry to drill for onshore oil and gas Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? There maybe more free childcare  but not necessarily In the campaign the Tories pledged to double the amount of free early education for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 30. The extra hours would only be offered to working families where parents are employed for at least eight hours a week. However they have not said where the money will come from to fund the pledge Getty What does five more years of the Tories mean for Britain? Workers' rights could be reduced The Tories want to slash business regulation, merge regulator and cut costs. The Lib Dems stopped them from reducing the employment rights of workers in power  but these are now under threat Getty

Research commissioned by charities has also previously warned that the reductions will make it more difficult for people with disabilities to move into jobs  a stated goal of the Government.

Asked about whether the plans would be withdrawn or taken forward last week, a spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions also avoided directly answering the question.

Our reforms are focused on ensuring people get the best support possible, they said.

The vote in the House of Lords is a routine part of the legislative process and next steps will be announced in due course.

Rob Holland, Parliamentary Manager at the charity Mencap, said going ahead with the cut would do nothing for the people it affected.

Today the Prime Minister offered little assurance on our key concerns around the damaging effects cuts to Employment and Support Allowance will have on disabled people's health and their chances of getting into work," he said.

The Prime Ministers said that the cut to the ESA work-related activity group (WRAG) would apply to new claimants only. This is true of course and our concerns lie with new claimants who will suffer from receiving a third less than current recipients of ESA; 28% of whom say they sometimes cant afford to eat with the amount they have to live on. It is important to remember that the proposed cut will also affect new claimants within the new Universal Credit which the Government hopes to have rolled out by 2021.

With the recent defeat in the Lords we urge the Prime Minister to rethink this cut to ESA and Universal Credit, which now widely accepted, will directly contradict the Governments aim to halve the disability employment gap, and push people with a learning disability closer to poverty and further from work. Cutting this key benefit will do nothing to help people with a learning disability find work
Steakhouse Swift And Sons Introduces Birthday Wine List

By John Lenart in Food on Feb 3, 2016 6:06PM



Image Courtesy Swift and Sons

It all started with a seemingly innocuous Instagram photo by Kevin Boehm, Co-Owner and Co-founder of the Boka Group. What it set off was a flurry of calls and social media requests from people wanting to know if their birth year was available.

The Instagram photo was of a new exciting page added to the Swift and Sons wine list called, The Birthday List.

Birthdays, of course, are about celebration, and what better way to celebrate your birthday than to share a bottle of wine from the year you were born. Swift and Sons now has an exciting list of older vintage wines for you to celebrate your birthday with.

But let's take a step back and start at the beginning.

It all began over a dinner in Las Vegas. They had a bottle of 1970 Cheval Blanc on the list and I just said, 'You know what? I'm getting my birth year.' And so I ordered it and I thought, there has to be a birthday wine list out there, where you can go on, find your birth year and order it. I did some research and nobody did it. And I said, What an interesting fun idea for a steakhouse, and we just happened to be developing this steak house, says Boehm.

So after getting Swift and Sons up and running Boehm spoke with Sommelier Marcello Cancelli and had him put the list together. Now guests can come in and order wines from the years they were born.

The list begins with 1964 and extends to 1995. Currently, not every vintage is available, but over the next two or three months the list will comprise wines from every year from 1961 through 1995. Now, Cancelli didn't just select any wine he could lay his hands on from a given vintage, but rather from specific regions that had exceptional vintages. For example, '71 is not going to be a year that we look at France, but Italy did very well. There are vintages where Spain did very well when France suffered; '63 comes to mind. So it's finding wines from a particular vintage that work well somewhere, not just finding wine because it's from a vintage we need to fill the list, says Cancelli.

Once Cancelli has filled each of the years from '61 on, Boehm has charged him to go back even deeper, perhaps all the way to 1945 and beyond.

Cancelli purchases these wines from a variety of sources, including Hart Davis Hart and certain east coast purveyors. The real gamble for a restaurant in purchasing wines like this is if a bottle is tainted. Typically, if you happen to be served a bottle of wine that is flawed the restaurant simply returns the bottle to the distributor for a refund. In cases where the wines are bought at auction or from secondary retail sources however, no such guarantees exist.

So in the unfortunate, but rare, case when a bottle is bad, it's a loss to the restaurant. So Cancelli is taking extra care to source wines of sound provenance.

We do this with a lot of care. We're not just going to buy wine because it's from a certain year. We're carefully curating this," says Cancelli. "Very carefully finding bottles of wine that are in great shape, not only in where they came from and where they were stored, but wines that are a great example of the vintage,

Because these wines are expensive and sometimes difficult to obtain Swift and Sons will stock just a few bottles of each vintage. So, if you want to be sure they have your birth year wine in stock be sure to phone ahead.

Also, one word of advice. While these wines are rare, and pricey, in a few cases it would appear that the markup might be on the high end or above what can be considered industry standard. That being said, a few are priced quite nicely. The '81 Grange Hermitage, while expensive at $850, can be considered a bargain at a restaurant.

Once you're done with dinner, you even get to take the bottle home as a keepsake.

What it all boils down to is having a great celebration and a memorable experience. Boehm somewhat emotionally tells us, Rob (Katz, Boka Co-Owner and Co-Founder) and I were chatting about how special it is that people decide to spend their anniversary with us, or birthdays with us, you know, the most important times of their lives and this kind of fits right along with that. That these people are spending these significant occasions with us and we get to do something like this for them that makes it even more significant and more memorable that when they think back to that special birthday that they remember that time.
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David Cameron has dismissed calls to delay a European referendum in June, following a joint letter from the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister did, however, guarantee that the vote will not happen within six weeks of the devolved elections. It is the strongest indication to date that a referendum on Britains membership in Europe could be held on the rumoured date of 23 June  seven weeks after the Holyrood election on May 5.

Responding to a question from the SNPs Westminster leader Angus Robertson, Mr Cameron said: "There is no agreement, so no date has yet been fixed for the referendum." He said former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond had called for a six week gap between the May contests and the referendum "and I can guarantee that won't happen".

The Prime Minister added: "I do respect the former First Minister of Scotland who said six weeks was what was necessary.

"I also respect the electorates of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the basis that I think people are perfectly capable of making up their minds in a local election or in a Scottish parliamentary election, or in a Welsh assembly election and then, a period of some weeks afterwards, making up their mind all over again on the vital question of the European Union."

Mr Cameron later added further fuel to speculation of a June 23 referendum, telling MPs that if a deal is agreed at the February summit, four months "would not be too short" a period before staging the vote.

In a joint letter Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness warn that with elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May, a referendum campaign running at the same time "risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required."

They write: As you know, elections take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on 5 May. We believe that holding a referendum as early as June will mean that a significant part of the referendum campaign will necessarily run in parallel with those elections and risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required.

It will be virtually impossible for the political parties in our respective territories to plan effectively for, and where appropriate work together on the referendum campaign while our own elections are in progress.

They add: We believe that the European referendum is of vital importance to the future of the whole United Kingdom and the debate leading up to it should, therefore, be free of other campaigning distraction.

The independent Electoral Reform Society has also warned that holding the referendum in June would risk undermining the upcoming assembly elections. The society believes the June vote could overshadow May elections.

Stephen Brooks, Director of Electoral Reform Society Cymru, said: An EU referendum vote so soon after the Assembly elections would risk undermining the elections themselves  knocking the debate off course and away from issues which are actually devolved.

He added: April and May will see the EU debate reaching its peak if the vote was to be held in June  potentially overshadowing the crucial process of Welsh voters choosing their next government.

A June EU vote would only serve to add more confusion to an already busy day of elections, with Police and Crime Commissioners also being picked  despite issues of justice and policing not being fully devolved.

Additional reporting by PA.
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Over two thirds of the British public think David Cameron got a bad deal for Britain in his EU renegotiations, a new poll shows.

The snap poll conducted by Sky News found 69 per cent of people thought the deal was bad for Britain while only 31 per cent said it was good for Britain.

The early public response to the draft document, which was released yesterday, does not look good for Mr Cameron  who has referred to it as the strongest package ever.

A supporter of EU membership, had entered in the negotiations with the aim of shoring up support for his position.

But a number of serial eurosceptic MPs from Mr Camerons own party have derided the offer, which does not appear to deliver the immigration and welfare restrictions promised in the Conservative manifesto.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading eurosceptic backbencher told the PM that the thin gruel has been further watered down. He declared that the Prime Minister had a fortnight to "salvage his reputation as a negotiator".

Former defence secretary Liam Fox branded the document watered down in every area while Sir Bill Cash said Mr Cameron had bypassed so many promises and principles.

The response from eurosceptic newspapers to the deal has also been negative, with The Sun saying it stinks and the Daily Express branding it a joke.

The negative reaction to the package could undermine support for European Union membership.

Polls on the UKs referendum are currently inconclusive and beset by methodological issues, but appear to currently show a small lead for in.

Measures of public opinion on the EU have in the past appeared to be extremely volatile, however  meaning a referendum victory is far from secure for Mr Cameron, who wants to stay in the EU.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA 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. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2022 The Massed Pipes and Drums parade during the Braemar Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2022 Number 12 Company Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks, central London, before commencing their first Guard Mount at Buckingham Palace PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2022 A salmon leaps up the weir at Hexham in Northumberland, despite the drought warnings and low water levels, the River Tyne is still flowing well allowing the salmon and sea trout to head up river to spawn. Every year tens of thousands of salmon make the once-in-a-lifetime journey along the Tyne to spawn, having been out a sea PA

The Prime Minister has said the legally binding agreement represented real progress but that the process was far from over.

We want to deal with the pressures of immigration, which have become too great, he told the House of Commons.

The draft text represents the strongest package weve ever had in tackling the abuse of free movement and closing down the backdoor routes the Britain.

There are new proposals to reduce the pull factor that our benefit system exerts across Europe by allowing instant access to welfare from the day someone arrives.

The Prime Minister had previously said he would negotiate new rules so that EU migrants must live her e and contribute for four years before they qualify for in-work benefits or social housing.

However, Mr Cameron has only been offered powers to limit in-work benefits partially, with the amount of social security paid to migrants gradually increasing over the four year period.

Mr Cameron will have to convince other EU nations at a summit later this month as well as his own MPs and the British people of the deals effectiveness.

After the deal is taken forward Mr Cameron will hold a referendum on European Union membership  expected before the end of 2017 but possibly as early as this summer.

After pressure from the Scottish Welsh, and Northern Ireland governments Mr Cameron said the referendum would not be held closer than six weeks after the local and regional elections this May.

Those devolved administrations are seeking further assurances on the matter of timing, however.
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Britain's turbulent relationship with the European Union is coming to an end, after the UK opted for Brexit in the EU referendum.

David Cameron is resigning after failing to convince the public - and his own MPs - that he gained significant ground in his attempts to renegotiate the terms of Britains EU membership.

But although the UK and EU have had their ups and downs, there are a number of things the Union has done which some may feel could be worth holding on to.

1) It gives you freedom to live, work and retire anywhere in Europe

(Getty Images)

As a member of the EU, UK citizens benefit from freedom of movement across the continent. Considered one of the so-called four pillars of the European Union, this freedom allows all EU citizens to live, work and travel in other member states.

A British person to has the right to stay in any other EU country providing they have a valid UK passport.

The only requirement is that they register in the host country, have enough money to sustain themselves and have comprehensive health insurance.

Should a British citizen remain in another EU country for five years or more they are no longer required to meet any conditions and can only be exported in exceptional circumstances.

Another little-known benefit to EU membership is that UK nationals can retire anywhere in Europe and still receive their UK pension, providing they are registered there.

In fact, if a UK citizen has lived or worked in any EU country they can apply for their pension entitlement in accordance to their insurance record and social security contributions, they just have to inform the country where they last worked or lived, and their working history and all pension entitlements will be arranged.

2) It sustains millions of jobs

A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, released in October 2015, suggested 3.1 million British jobs were linked to the UKs exports to the EU.

Should the UK remain member, that figure is forecast to rise by as much as 790,000 by 2030.

In addition, many large manufacturers argue that the UK currently benefits from being a part of the EUs single market and its free trade agreements, suggesting they directly sustain millions of British jobs.

The EU also provides considerable subsidies to British farmers, helping to bolster agriculture and ensure job stability for the 476,000 directly involved in farming, and those working in sectors related to the industry.

3) Your holiday is much easier - and safer

Freedom to travel is one of the most exercised benefits of EU membership, with Britons having made 31 million visits to the EU in 2014 alone. But a lot of the benefits of being an EU citizen are either taken for granted or go unnoticed.

For example, when visiting other European countries British citizens have the right to receive emergency healthcare.

The EU also blacklists dangerous airlines, while its air passenger rights ensure that Europeans receive assistance and information if stranded. Compensation may be awarded should a person be denied boarding or if a flight is cancelled.

British people travelling outside the EU are also entitled to consular protection from any EU embassy in the absence of a UK embassy.

4) It means you're less likely to get ripped off

Consumer protection is a key benefit of the EUs single market, and ensures members of the British public receive equal consumer rights when shopping anywhere in Europe.

The EUs consumer rights ensure transparency from sellers themselves, and the quality and safety of their products.

A two-year guarantee on all products, and the introduction of a ceiling for roaming charges across member states, are just two examples of things the EU has done to improve the rights of its customers.

5) It offers greater protection from terrorists, paedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime

File photo (Getty Images)

Another example of a lesser-known advantage of EU membership is the benefit of cross-country coordination and cooperation in the fight against crime.

Last month, former director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer told The Independent: We rely very heavily on the EU criminal justice measures and when I say very heavily, I mean 24/7.

"Im talking here about terrorism, people trafficking, cyber-crime, sexual exploitation, trafficking of children and paedophilia: they all go across the borders into Europe.

The ability for member states to share information and coordinate responses, sometimes simultaneously in several countries, is vital to the UKs security.

6) Our businesses depend on it

According to 71% of all members of the Confederation of British Influence (CBI), and 67 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the EU has had an overall positive impact on their business.

The CBI estimates that the net benefit of EU membership is worth 4-5% of GDP to the UK, or 62bn-78bn per year.

In 2014, the ONS reported that the EU, which is the worlds biggest economy, accounted for 44.6 per cent of all UK exports of goods and services, and 53.2 per cent of the UKs imports of goods and services.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows the overall contribution to our economy from exports to the EU was 187 billion last year, and that it could rise by almost half again to 277 billion a year by 2030.

It also claims access to European energy, transport and digital service markets, combined with new global trade deals, could add 58 billion to the UK economy every year by 2030, the equivalent to 1,000 per British citizen.

7) We have greater influence

Robin Niblett, Director of think-tank Chatham House, stated in a report published last year: For a mid-sized country like the UK, which will never again be economically dominant either globally or regionally, and whose diplomatic and military resources are declining in relative terms, being a major player in a strong regional institution can offer a critical lever for international influence.

"In the UKs case, this means committing to be a leading member of the worlds principal civilian power, the European Union.

The largest, proudest European nation cannot hope to shape globalisation  or even retain marginal relevance - by itself. It is only together that we have the weight to influence the big picture. <p>Jose Manuel Barroso, former EU Commision President</p>

Indeed, former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso argued in 2014: The largest, proudest European nation cannot hope to shape globalisation  or even retain marginal relevance - by itself. It is only together that we have the weight to influence the big picture.

Even US President Barack Obama briefly alluded to the importance of the UKs role in Europe in an interview with the BBC last year, in which he stated: [Having the UK in the European Union] gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union and is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after [the] second world war that has made the world safer and more prosperous.
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Ministers were wined-and-dined by the arms trade at a 450-a-head banquet on Tuesday night just hours after MPs called for a halt to weapons sales to autocratic Saudi Arabia.

Parliaments International Development Committee yesterday said the UK should suspend all arms sales to Saudi, which has been accused by the UN of targeting civilians and contributing to a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

The same day MPs released their report calling for action against Saudi, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and other ministers attended the ADS trade association dinner at the Hilton.

Recommended Read more British arms companies ramp up bomb sales to Saudi Arabia by 100 times

The ADS Group, a trade body for the defence industry, said in a statement posted on social media that Mr Fallon had provided tremendous support for its operations at the dinner.

Despite calls from the UN, aid groups, and now Parliament, ministers have insisted that selling bombs to the petro-state is not problematic. David Cameron has also personally endorsed the present of UK military advisors working alongside the dictatorships military.

The British arms trade has cashed in on Saudis ongoing military operation in Yemen, with sales of bombs surging from 9 million to over 1 billion in just three months last year.

Members of ADS include BAE Systems, which builds the Eurofighter and the Tornado, both of which are being used in Saudi Arabias bombing campaign.

Raytheon UK, another member, makes the Paveway guided bombs which are being used in the assault, while MBDA makes Brimstone missiles, which Saudi Arabia also has stockpiles of.

Civilian targets hit by Saudi Arabia include two international hospitals operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres, a wedding, and at leave five schools. Saudi Arabia says it does not target civilians.

Good relations with ministers are valuable for the arms industry because ministers ultimately sign off all arms export licences required by law to send defence equipment abroad. Ministers are currently resisting pressure to add Saudi Arabia to the blacklist of countries.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

Last year the banquet was attended by over 40 MPs, with the full scale of attendance this year still not known.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said the dinner illustrated the political connections between the arms trade and politicians.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is getting worse. 14 million Yemeni people are facing food insecurity and 1.4 million children are acutely malnourished, he said.

At the same time, arms dealers that are profiting from the devastation will be swilling champagne and sitting down to dinner with many of the politicians that support them.

The fact that over 40 MPs attended as guests of arms companies and arms trade lobby groups last year is a disgrace and shows the extent of the arms trade's connections and political lobbying.

Aerospace, Defence and Security (ADS) trade association event was 252 for members and 462 for non members, according to a booking form of the event.

When previously asked about arms export control to Saudi Arabia, a Government spokesperson said: We operate one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world with each licence application assessed on a case by case basis, taking account of all relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations. No licence is issued if it does not meet these requirements.

We regularly raise with Saudi Arabian-led coalition and the Houthis, the need to comply with international humanitarian law (IHL) in Yemen. We monitor the situation carefully and have offered the Saudi authorities advice and training in this area."

In reference to Mr Fallon's attendence at the dinner, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: It is nonsense to suggest that this engagement is directly linked to exports to one country. This is the annual dinner of a forum that represents hundreds of organisations that sustain tens of thousands of UK jobs across aerospace, space and defence.
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Here are the latest updates:

David Cameron asks MPs to back deal: 'If we can't secure these changes I rule nothing out'

PM hints that leaving the EU could threaten border agreement with Calais

Jeremy Corbyn agrees staying in the EU in 'best interests' of UK

But Labour leader brands renegotiation a 'Tory Party drama'

Corbyn says deal is 'tinkering round edges' of EU issues

Jacob Rees-Mogg leads attack from Cameron's own backbenches

The MP says 'the thin gruel has been further watered down'

Critics say deal falls short of what PM has promised

Rivals release letter opposing June referendum

9 key passages in the deal - and what they really mean

Mr Cameron was criticised on Tuesday by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for not coming to answer an urgent question in the House of Commons.

The PM instead held a speech on the package in Chippenham, where he said that he believed "hand on heart" that he had secured the package of reforms promised in his manifesto.

The proposals put forward by the European Union however only allow the UK to reduce in-work benefits for EU migrants over a four year period, rather than block them altogether.

The Conservative 2015 general election manifesto had in fact said migrants would have to work for four years before they were able or allowed to claim benefits.

Senior eurosceptics have rejected Mr Cameron's package. Former defence secretary Liam Fox branded is "watered down in every area"
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A group of Tory MPs has urged David Cameron to take more refugee children from within Europe after witnessing first hand the "sheer scale" of the desperate situation on a Greek island at the centre of the crisis.

The three MPs met with immigration minister, James Brokenshire, after travelling to Lesbos, where up to 6,000 asylum-seekers arrive from Turkey every day to squalid conditions and total administrative chaos.

Last week, the Prime Minister rejected calls from charities to take in 3,000 unaccompanied children who had already arrived in Greece and Italy, saying Britain would focus its efforts on Syria and other conflict zones.

The Independent can reveal that he now faces growing pressure to reconsider that approach from his own MPs, who reported back to Government with their findings last night.

Heidi Allen, the MP for South Cambridgeshire, Caroline Ansell, the member for Eastbourne and Jo Churchill for Bury St Edmunds were taken out to Lesbos by Save The Children, one of the main charities providing relief to the thousands of refugees as they arrive on the island.

The three MPs met with Mr Brokenshire before they left on the trip in order, Ms Allen says, to be filled in on the Governments strategy for the region.

But Ms Allen said that after seeing the discarded life jackets, the broken ships and battered limbs of people arriving in Lesbos, she would bang every drum to get the Government to do more for genuine asylum-seekers within Europes borders.

Ms Allen said she has seen people arriving 'battered and bruised' on Lesbos, and 37 people drowned the night the MPs were there (REUTERS)

Speaking to The Independent, she acknowledged Mr Camerons concerns about the pull factor of providing help to people who have made the journey to Europe themselves  possibly encouraging more to do so.

Nonetheless, she said: I defy any country, and I would drag them to the table myself if I have to, if we identify however-many thousands of unaccompanied children who genuinely have not a soul in the world [not to do more to help them].

We will find homes for them, she said.

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.

Save The Children say around 26-27,000 unaccompanied children turned up on Europes shores last year  but admit that this is just a best guess because of failures processing new arrivals.

And Ms Allen said that Government's must act now to help solve the crisis: At the moment the difficult position is we just dont know how many [unaccompanied children] there are, she said. And the faster we can process these people, the faster we can find out whether they do have true refugee status, then the faster we can work out how to help them and identify those children.

I was prepared to be upset  I wasnt prepared for the sheer scale

Conservative MP Heidi Allen plays with Syrian refugees during a visit to Lesbos, Greece (Matt Crossick/Save The Children)

Ms Allen said she agreed to the trip with Save The Children when she had a gut instinct we should be doing more, without a clear idea of what that would mean.

She says she was told of the need to relieve the administrative pressure, and even wondered whether there could be a military operation with people turning up on an island met by men in green uniforms.

We have seen such uncontrolled immigration, and countries risk losing their compassion because they are overwhelmed, she said. It seems to me if you are a person looking at the statistics and infrastructure you will be terrified and batten down the hatches and say no more.

Ms Allen meets a family from Syria inside the Kara Tepe refugee camp (Matt Crossick/Save The Children)

She said she had been privileged to lead a beautifully sheltered life and, up until last week, had never met anyone who had gone through this.

When the MPs were there, though, they saw the boats people arrive in, helped distribute supplies and sat down with men, women and children who had fled from conflict.

I was prepared to be upset by it all  I wasnt prepared for the sheer scale, she said.

Jo Churchill holds a baby during the visit (Matt Crossick/Save The Children)

Ill never forget the sight of a woman slightly younger than me, walking along with her two little children and barely able to open her eyes because her face was so obliterated by black eyes and bruising.

And she didn't need to say a word, at a glimpse she told you exactly where shes come from. It was absolutely heartbreaking, and Ive never seen anything like it in my life.

'We need to step up'

Ms Allen said she was proud Britain had pledged to take in 20,000 refugees, as well as being second only to America in the amount it has contributed towards solving the crisis financially.

But she said she would also press the Government to do more for unaccompanied children in Europe and called on Europe as a whole to address the administrative issues preventing them from being identified.

She is hoping to go to Italy next with Save The Children, where the authorities have a better grasp on who arrivals are and where they have come from.

If I do get to Italy and I see there are unaccompanied children who have been identified, then I will be pushing hard [on the Government] because I feel that we do need to step up and take some of them, she said.

As the situation evolves and we get better at identifying children, I think there should be a review of that 20,000 figure, she said. I think that should be fluid.

'A proud history of offering safe havens to children'

Ms Allen said her own rural constituency of South Cambridgeshire had not been called upon to take refugees yet as part of the 20,000 pledge, and said there were great reservations in the area about how people would be integrated into the community.

But having seen the situation in Lesbos, she said she would want us to try and do more if called upon by the Home Office.

Caroline Ansell chats to a Syrian refugee in Save the Children's Child Friendly Space at Kara Tepe (Matt Crossick/Save The Children)

We are extremely rural with very poor public transport links, so for the most part they would be stuck in the middle of nowhere and I dont think that would be helpful.

But Ive had lots of people volunteering, and we would look to try and do something in the villages [near the city of Cambridge] where it might work.
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A 72-year-old man convicted of murdering a convenience store manager in a 1979 robbery in Atlanta's suburbs has been executed in Georgia.

Brandon Astor Jones, the oldest inmate on the state's death row, died by lethal injection at 12:46am at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

He accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement, the Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement.

Jones' death was delayed nearly six hours following a flurry of appeals by his attorneys. The US Supreme Court denied Jones' request for a stay of execution late on Tuesday.

His execution was the fifth this year in the United States, and the first of two scheduled this month in Georgia, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors capital punishment nationwide. Texas, Alabama and Florida executed inmates last month, the centre said.

The Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his petition to commute his sentence to life without parole.

Jones was the second man executed in the shooting death of Roger Tackett, 35, inside a convenience store in June 1979, according to court testimony.

Jones was arrested in the store, along with co-defendant Van Roosevelt Solomon, by a police officer who heard four gunshots, according to a Georgia Supreme Court case synopsis.

Jones later told another officer, There is a man in the back - hurt bad, court records said. Police found a badly wounded Tackett in a locked storeroom.

Solomon, also convicted of murder, was executed in 1985. Jones had spent decades appealing against his death sentence.

A federal district court overturned his death sentence in 1989 because a trial judge had allowed a Bible in the jury deliberation room, finding it could have improperly influenced jurors to base their decision on scripture instead of the law.

Another jury again sentenced Jones to death in 1997. Jones had continued to appeal the verdict, saying his trial lawyers failed to introduce evidence of his history of mental illness and childhood sexual abuse.

In pictures: Controversial executions Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Controversial executions In pictures: Controversial executions George Stinney Jr, 14 George Stinney Jr became the youngest person to be executed in the US in the 20th century when he was sent to the electric chair in 1944 during the trial that lasted less than three hours and reportedly bore no evidence and barely any witness testimonies. Reuters In pictures: Controversial executions Clayton Lockett, 38 Convicted of the murder and rape of 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman in 2000 and sentenced to death. Lockett died of a heart attack after a failed execution by lethal injection in April 2014 In pictures: Controversial executions Roy Blankenship, 55 Killed by lethal injection in 2011 after he murdered an elderly woman. Witnesses saw him grimace and jerk as he became the first person put to death in that state with pentobarbital. Medical experts said he suffered greatly In pictures: Controversial executions Michael Wilson, 38 Executed by lethal injection in January 2014. Wilson was convicted of murdering co-worker Richard Yost during a robbery at a convenience store in 1995. He is one of three people executed for the crime In pictures: Controversial executions Dennis McGuire, 53 Sentenced to death following the rape and murder of pregnant 22-year-old Joy Stewart in 1989. After spending 25 years on death row fighting the order to end his life, McGuire was executed by lethal injection in January 2014

Jones, who declined to request a last meal, was to be offered instead the standard prison menu of chicken and rice, rutabagas, seasoned turnip greens, dry white beans, cornbread, bread pudding and fruit punch, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The execution came about two weeks before the planned execution of convicted murderer Travis Clinton Hittson, set for February 17.


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A packed courtroom looked on as the prosecution called its witnesses, who sat just metres from the very men accused of abusing them.

The women, faces hidden by shawls fashioned from brightly coloured Mayan fabric, listened motionless as tales of horrific sexual violence were recounted in the local Qeqchi dialect. Every day I suffer for what they did to me. They raped me many times, said Petrona Choc, now 75 years old.

In a landmark case, which began this week, two retired soldiers, former base commander Esteelmer Reyes Giron and former regional military commissioner Heriberto Valdez Asij are accused of forcibly disappearing indigenous men before enslaving their wives and daughters and subjecting them to systematic rape at the hands of army soldiers during Guatemalas civil 36-year civil war. Both of the accused deny any wrongdoing.

The alleged abuses took place at Sepur Zarco, an isolated civil war-era army base in eastern Guatemala, beginning in 1982 and allegedly continuing for four years in some cases. The civil war, which started in 1960, left more than 200,000 people dead or missing, according to the United Nations.

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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Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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The alleged victims of the abuses  of which 11 were in the courtroom  are now in their 70s and 80s. The Sepur Zarco trial, which is expected to last 40 days, is the first time that a Guatemalan court will consider sexual violence as a weapon of war, and it is hoped that such a case could reduce the stigma surrounding sexual violence in the country, and usher in a new wave of investigations into similar crimes.

It does open the door for other women to come forward and speak about what happened, said Kelly Alford-Jones, director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission USA. A complaint has already been filed by another group of indigenous women who claim to have suffered similar abuse, and investigations are underway in many other cases.

The shadow of the civil war continues to loom large over Guatemala, and experts believe that a history of sexual violence has normalised the mistreatment of women. A lot of the social violence that we are living now is a consequence of the violence that the army implemented in society during the war, Guatemala womens rights activist Rebeca Lane told The Independent.

That legacy has serious repercussions. Guatemala is seen as one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman  with the third-highest rate of femicide globally. Violence against women has been systematic and what women lived through during the civil war continues today, said Ada Valenzuela, director of the National Union of Guatemalan Women.

 Guatemala: 'Volcano of Fire' billows smoke and ash in huge eruption

More than 40 per cent of Guatemalas population of 16 million is indigenous, and among the poorest and most vulnerable members of society are indigenous women, who face extra barriers due to racism as well as sexism. Indigenous women have less access to education, less access to health services, less access to justice, said Ms Alford-Jones.

There are potential signs of change. Guatemalas Attorney General, Thelma Aldana, recently pledged to inaugurate a special prosecutors office for femicide, and another for indigenous rights.

The Mayan women in the Sepur Zarco trial have a chance at setting a legal precedent.

Ms Valenzuela added: Campaigning for justice is a healing process for women. They can fight to make sure similar crimes will not be committed again, not in Guatemala nor anywhere else in the world.
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As heroin- and opioid-related deaths have reached unprecedented levels in the United States, President Barack Obama has asked for an additional $1.1 billion to fund treatment of heroin and opiate addiction.

The White House released the proposal Tuesday, noting that opiate overdoses -- which includes heroin -- killed more people than car accidents in 2014. The majority of the money would go toward working with states to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opiate addiction, according to the proposal. This funding will be included in the fiscal 2017 budget request.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, whose state has been devestated by the heroin epidemic, applauded the proposal in a statement on her website.

The heroin and opioid crisis is the most urgent public health and public safety challenge facing New Hampshire, and combating this crisis requires us all to work together at the state, federal and local levels every single day," the governor said. "Our law enforcement community and public health experts across the state have made it clear that we cannot arrest our way out of this crisis, and I am encouraged by the Presidents recognition that states need additional support from our federal partners to support prevention, treatment and recovery programs."

The Centers for Disease Control reported that in 2014, 28,648 people in the U.S. died from opioid-related overdoses. Since 2000, opioid-related overdose deaths have increased 200 per cent, the CDC reported.

The current epidemic started from an overprescription of prescription painkillers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. People quickly became addicted and, once regulators became aware of the problem, the pills became harder to get. Many turned to heroin, which can be significantly cheaper than painkillers. In New York, heroin is often cheaper than marijuana, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

President Obama has recommended several measures to try and loosen heroin's grip on the U.S., so far to no avail. The most recent proposal has received support on social media from lawmakers.

The president's proposal calls for a two-sided approach to combating the drug epidemic. Mr. Obama is asking for $1 billion in mandatory funding over two years to expand access to treatment, the proposal says, including:

$920 million to support cooperative agreements with States to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. States will receive funds based on the severity of the epidemic and on the strength of their strategy to respond to it. States can use these funds to expand treatment capacity and make services more affordable.

$50 million in National Health Service Corps funding to expand access to substance use treatment providers. This funding will help support approximately 700 providers able to provide substance use disorder treatment services, including medication-assisted treatment, in areas across the country most in need of behavioral health providers.

$30 million to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs employing medication-assisted treatment under real-world conditions and help identify opportunities to improve treatment for patients with opioid use disorders.

Mr. Obama also is calling for Second about $500 million -- an increase of more than $90 million -- to continue current efforts within the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services concerning prescription drug overdose prevention strategies, the availability of medication-assisted treatment programs, access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, and targeted enforcement activities.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.
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Donald Trump has accused Ted Cruz, his main rival in the Republican nomination contest, of illegally stealing the Iowa caucus.

The tweet, which appeared on the tycoons official Twitter page, said: Ted Cruz didnt win Iowa, he illegally stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong any why he got more votes than anticipated. Bad!

The billionaire then hastily deleted his tweet, only to repost his words after correcting an error and taking out "illegally".

The Texas maverick Ted Cruz dealt Mr Trumps campaign a blow on Monday in a surprise victory over his Republican rival  many had expected the billionaire former Apprentice star to come out on top.

Mr Cruz emerged with 28 per cent of the Republican vote while Mr Trump took 24 per cent. Florida senator Marco Rubio also had a strong night, snapping at Trumps heels and running a close third.

"Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives," Mr Cruz declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

Mr Trump, who in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks called for a database to track Muslims living in the Unites States, continued to hurl abuse at Mr Cruz on his Twitter account, adding: During peacetime of the Iowa caucus, Cruz put out at a relast that Ben Carson was quitting the race, and to a caucus (or vote) for Cruz.

He added: Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because Cruz is a fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a voter violation certificate to thousands of voters.

The tweets are a marked contrast from the morning after the Iowa vote, in which Mr Trump offered his congratulations to his rival.

 Iowa Caucuses - Trump's post-result speech

Speaking at the Sheraton hotel, he added: "I'm really honoured. And I want to congratulate Ted, and I want to congratulate all of the incredible candidates, including Mike Huckabee, who has become a really good friend of mine."
This blog welcomes readers who believe that No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top, and Every Student Succeeds Act are misguided educational reform policies that rely too heavily on standardized test scores that are too focused on punitive measures against local schools. This is also the diary of Jesse Turner's 2010/15 walks to Washington DC from Connecticut, and his occupation of the DOE in DC with United Opt Out, and his opposition to public school choice policies without equity.
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The left-wing insurgency in the Democratic party of Senator Bernie Sanders roared into New Hampshire after fighting Hillary Clinton  once the prohibitive favourite  to a virtual draw in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

Few would have expected that Mr Sanders ragged rhetoric and leftist prescriptions would trigger a wave of support, especially from young voters, so powerful it would bring Ms Clinton to the brink of humiliation in the so-called Hawkeye state.

The Iowa drama was not quite over as Mr Sanders refused to concede and demanded access to voting sheets which showed his rival ahead by a fraction of one per cent. Under the arcane rules in Iowa, caucus votes are converted into shares of delegates. Party officials said Ms Clinton had secured 699.57 delegates against 695.49 for Mr Sanders. That was the equivalent of 49.9 per cent and 49.6 per cent respectively, the closest outcome for Democrats in Iowa history.

A combination of counting glitches and disputes at some of the nearly 1,700 precincts fuelled the suspense on Monday night, as big screens at both the candidates victory parties showed each at around 50 per cent. In six caucuses where support was split, some delegates were awarded by the toss of a coin, each apparently going against Mr Sanders.

The terror was real for Ms Clinton, who eight years ago lost unexpectedly to a rival Democrat candidate, Barack Obama. She was first to appear before her supporters on Monday night, even with Too Close To Call still plastered on TV monitors behind her. With husband Bill and her daughter, Chelsea, at her back, she knew she had at least escaped cataclysm.

As I stand here tonight breathing a big sigh of relief  thank you, Iowa! she said.

 Iowa Caucuses - Sanders' post-result speech

Across town, Mr Sanders could only laugh as he stepped onto the podium and his supporters erupted into chants of Feel the Bern. Waving his hands and jabbing his finger in the air for emphasis, he too declared: Iowa, I thank you.

He added: Nine months ago when I came to this beautiful state, we had no political organisation, we had no money, we had no name recognition and we were taking on the most powerful political organisation in the United State of America.

His come-from-behind effort had been driven by a textbook ground operation that harnessed brigades of mostly younger Iowans inspired by his call to up-end the status quo in the country and in his own party  and his promise of a revolution to cleanse the political system of billionaire donations and re-cast the economic system so the spoils would go to all and not the top one per cent.

 Iowa caucuses

Remarkably, Mr Sanders won the backing of 84 per cent of those aged 17 to 29, even out-doing Mr Obamas record here in 2008. He also dominated among very liberal Democrats, according to entrance polls. But that advantage was cancelled out by Ms Clintons equally strong performance among moderate and conservative voters and, in particular, among women.

The effective draw in Iowa ensures that Mr Sanders will threaten Ms Clinton for the long haul, wrecking her initial plan to wrap up the nomination swiftly, conserving money and energy to attack the Republicans. Early polls suggest he remains on course for an easy win in New Hampshire.

But as less white, far less liberal states come into play (Nevada and South Carolina in three weeks and much of the South on Super Tuesday, 1 March), he arguably needed to beat Ms Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire to have a hope of securing the nomination.

Follow this link for the latest coverage of the Iowa caucus
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Having swept aside all challengers, Ted Cruz, the conservative from Texas, was sure who deserved the praise. To God be the glory.

On a campaign already at this early stage filled with intrigue and upsets, Mr Cruz, the anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion son of a Cuban immigrant whose stump speeches court the evangelical right, secured an unexpected result in Iowa.

Already at the next frontier in his run for the Republican nomination, New Hampshire, the 45-year-old is revelling in his achievement of defeating the seemingly unassailable Donald Trump. Short of a miracle, perhaps, but Mr Cruz described his victory in the Hawkeye State as a result for Judeo-Christian values, a win for conservative grass roots. It was also the result of a steady courting, and nurturing of, the Christian right.

His victory had been secured by the votes of Iowas evangelicals, who are numerous. Around 56 per cent of Iowans consider themselves strong protestants and almost two-thirds of those who voted described themselves as evangelicals.

From his first trip to Iowa three summers ago, Mr Cruz was plotting his path to the caucuses. The Washington Post reported that his father, Rafael, journeyed to every corner of the state, again and again, He told the story of his emigration from Cuba and testified to his Mr Cruzs character, conviction and conservatism.

According to reports, to run his Iowa campaign, Mr Cruz chose a former Baptist pastor named Bryan English who had deep ties to the evangelical networks. At the Cruz headquarters in Houston, a team invested several million dollars in an Iowa data analytical operation. While Donald Trump had secured the backing of Jerry Falwell Jnr, the president of the Christian Liberty University and the son of the late and influential Jerry Falwell Snr, many found the Trumps sudden embrace of faith inauthentic.

 Ted Cruz celebrates Iowa win after Trump defeat

There is nothing inauthentic about Mr Cruz. As solicitor-general of Texas, he defended a federal law that bans partial birth abortion. He has fought against planned parenthood.

The married father of two, who once declared any president who doesnt begin every day on his knees isnt fit to be commander-in-chief of this country, unsettles liberals. Why? He says he will repeal every last word of Obamacare, and made headlines with a 21-hour filibuster to defund the medical programme. He does not believe in climate change and wants to expand oil drilling. He opposes stricter gun control and is against equal rights for transgender people.

A first-term senator and fiscal conservative from the Tea Party movement that emerged on the right six years ago, Mr Cruz has presented himself as a strong foreign policy hawk. He vowed to carpet bomb Isis into oblivion in a speech in which said: I dont know if sand can glow in the dark but we are going to find out.

In January, his campaign started a national prayer team to establish a direct line of communication between our campaign and the thousands of Americans who are lifting us up before the Lord. In addition to usual political rallies, he has appeared regularly at churches. Results from Mondays vote show that while Mr Cruz secured the support of 33 per cent of evangelicals, Mr Trump won just 21.

Whether Mr Cruzs social conservatism goes down as well in New Hampshire as it did in Iowa, remains to be seen. But for now, he is relishing his victory. This is the power of the conservative grass roots, he told CNN. One of the greatest lies that gets told on the airwaves... is that this country has somehow embraced Barack Obamas big government. He added: Thats not true. This is a centre-right country. This is a country built on Judeo-Christian values.

Follow this link for the latest coverage of the Iowa caucus
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Now that women are free to serve in all combat roles in the United States military, two generals have said that women should register for the military draft, as men must do when they turn 18.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Gen. Robert B. Neller, a four-star general and commandant of the Marine Corps., said "every American who's physically qualified should register for the draft," according to a New York Times report of the hearing. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley agreed.

These statements came two months after U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter in December opened all military positions to women, for the first time in U.S. history.

Recommended Read more 15 of the most expensive projects abandoned by the US military

"They'll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat," Mr. Carter said at the time. "They'll be able to serve as Army Rangers and Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men."

In the last few years, the Defence Department has steadily been increasing the number of jobs open to women. But until the change in December, 10 per cent of military jobs -- some 220,000 positions -- were closed to women, according to the Defence Department's website.

Gen. Neller and Gen. Milley said women should register for the draft after being asked their views by Sen. Claire McCaskill, Democrat from Missouri, who said she supports women entering the draft.

"Part of me believes that asking women to register as we ask men to register would maybe possibly open up more recruits as women began to think about, well, the military in an option for me," Sen. McCaskill said at the hearing.

Congress would have to amend the law regarding the military draft before women could register. Congress has made no apparent moves in this direction and the White House has not taken an official stance.

The U.S. military draft is run by the Selective Service System, which traces its roots to 1917 and was created ensure the U.S. had enough soldiers ahead of its entry into World War I. It was also used in World War II and in the Vietnam War, the latter causing widespread dissent. The draft has not been used since Vietnam. Almost all U.S. men between the ages of 18 and 26 must register with Selective Service, including non-U.S. citizens living permanently in the country.

Selective Service could not be reached for comment.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.
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This years annual street carnivals which begin across Brazil at the weekend could prove to be an explosive cocktail for the spread of the Zika virus, the countrys leading virologist has warned.

As hundreds of thousands of people prepare to join week-long festivities on the streets and in samba parade stadiums nationwide, Dr Sergio Cimerman warned of a risk of people being contaminated and the disease spreading and proliferating around the globe.

He told The Independent: There will be large concentrations of people wearing skimpy clothing and forgetting to put on insect repellent, making them more susceptible to being bitten by mosquitos.

Recommended Read more European countries urged to prevent spread of Zika virus by WHO

There is likely to be rain, which combined with larger than usual amounts of rubbish on the streets where water will gather encourages mosquito breeding. Carnival could become the conduit for an explosive environmental cocktail that accelerates the spread of the Zika virus.

His warning followed Mondays declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the spread of the virus was a global emergency. The virus causes babies to be born with microcephaly  abnormally small heads  and serious developmental problems.

The number of confirmed cases in Brazil rose to 404, according to a report from its Ministry of Health released on Tuesday, with a further 3,670 suspected cases under investigation. The ministry also revealed that its first known case of Zika being transmitted by blood transfusion had been confirmed in the Campinas district of Sao Paulo.

 WHO Declares Zika Virus an 'International Emergency'

Dr Cimerman, the president of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases, said there was a further risk of the virus being sexually transmitted. The incidence of sexually transmitted illnesses peaks during carnival time and the government will dispense five million free condoms over the next 10 days.

Some cities have put festivities on hold in the face of the epidemic. In the south-east of Brazil, 11 cities confirmed this week that they were cancelling carnival and using the funds saved to bolster the fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the virus. Reported cases of dengue fever, which is carried by the same insect, rose by 60 per cent last year.

Areas seeing active transmission of the Zika virus in February 2016 (Statista)

Other cities had previously cancelled or scaled back their traditional celebrations, leaving millions disappointed, in response to Brazils financial crisis. The country is facing its worst recession in decades and many municipalities have been forced to tighten their purse strings or forego the party.

Some cities in the northeast that have called off their celebrations report they are redirecting their public funds to buying ambulances, improving healthcare, education and coping with natural disasters during the rainy season.

Latin American health ministers meeting in Uruguay focused on why Zika has been linked to birth defects in Brazil but not in other countries where the virus has been detected. Colombias Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria Uribe told Associated Press that researchers needed to look at why this is the case.

The WHO has voiced concern over the reported transmission of the Zika in Texas by sexual contact, as such infections could make efforts to combat the virus even tougher. Health officials in Dallas County said on Tuesday that the first known case of Zika infection in the US had been contracted by a person after having sex with somebody who had returned from Venezuela.

 First sexually transmitted Zika case confirmed in US

International health officials also warned Europe that the risk of the virus spreading into the region would increase with the onset of warmer weather. Now is the time for countries to prepare themselves to reduce the risk to their populations, said the WHOs Europe chief, Zsuzsanna Jakab. Every European country in which Aedes mosquitoes are present can be at risk for the spread of Zika.

Brazils government has declared an all-out offensive to eradicate the Aedes mosquito that breeds in stagnant water. The WHO said the virus has been transmitted in at least 32 countries, from South America to the Western Pacific.

American experts will travel to Brazil next week to start work on the development of a Zika vaccine and come up with a timetable for the effort. A key challenge in tackling the virus is that it shows symptoms in only one in five people who are infected, and for most people symptoms are limited to minor, flu-like aches and fever.

Additional reporting: Stephanie Nebehay and Anthony Boadle (Reuters)
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Japan has put its military on alert to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it, while South Korea warned the North it would pay a severe price if it went ahead with a proposed satellite launch.

North Korea has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the US and other governments suspect that such launches are in fact tests of its missiles. The North notified UN agencies this week of its plan to launch what it called an earth observation satellite some time between 8 and 25 February.

In view of the announcement, I have put the Self-Defense Forces Aegis destroyers and our PAC-3 units on alert and issued an order to shoot down any ballistic missile threat, Japans defence minister, Gen Nakatani, said.

Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said he would work with the US and others to demand that North Korea refrain from what he described as a planned missile launch.

Tension rose in east Asia last month after a nuclear test by North Korea  the countrys fourth  in which the North claimed it tested a hydrogen bomb. Those claims were treated with scepticism by nations such as the US.

 Japan readies to 'destroy' North Korea rocket

A rocket launch coming so soon after the test would raise concern that North Korea plans to fit nuclear warheads on its missiles, giving it the capability to launch a strike against South Korea, Japan and possibly targets as far away as the US West Coast. North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, sending an object it described as a communications satellite into orbit.

South Korea said the North should immediately call off the launch, which was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the Souths presidency said. We warn that the North will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch plan, a presidential statement said.

Russia said a launch would be an unmistakable slap in the face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions, in an apparent reference to China.

China, under pressure from the US to use its influence to rein in the isolated North Korea, said the nations right to space exploration was restricted under UN resolutions.

We hope North Korea exercises restraint on the issue of launching satellites, acts cautiously and does not take any escalatory steps that may further raise tensions on the Korean peninsula, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

Reuters
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A total of 59 per cent of French people think members of the Jewish community are at least partially responsible for anti-Semitism, a survey conducted by the Fondation de Judaisme Francais and Ipsos has suggested.

The foundation surveyed 1,005 people who constituted a sample representative of the French population online over nine days.

Respondents were asked whether they thought Jews held part of the responsibility for anti-Semitism in France.

Of the 59 per cent that answered yes, three per cent thought they had a very important part and 14 per cent said they had a significant part.

Over half of respondents said Jewish people had a lot of power and were richer than the average French person.

A total of 13 per cent of respondents thought there were too many Jewish people in France, despite the Jewish community only making up one per cent of the population.

Reported anti-Semitic crimes in France have more than doubled between 2014 and 2015 according to a report by Human Rights First, who stated that the crimes were becoming increasingly violent.

Approximately 8,000 French Jews migrated to Israel last year, making France the highest source of immigrants to Israel, and many more have migrated to the UK and Canada.

Board of Deputies of British Jews Senior Vice President Richard Verber said: "it is troubling to consider that more than one in 10 French people believe there are 'too many Jews' in the country.

The sad reality today is that visibly-Jewish French citizens are subject to a range of disturbing reactions, from latent anti-Semitism to acts of extreme violence - a number of which have resulted in deaths. For many, this has led to a decision that Jewish life is no longer viable in the country.

In the UK, French Jews have been welcomed with open arms by our own community - there are two French Rabbis both Orthodox and Progressive - while the in-take at some Jewish schools is now made up of 50 per cent Francophone children.

Throughout the Jewish diaspora but particularly in Europe there is deep unease at the trends suggesting anti-Semitism . Governments and wider society must reinforce their commitment to supporting Jewish communities who contribute so much to wider society."
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The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted the EU reform plans offer a fair settlement for Britain, urging MEPs to back the deal aimed at keeping the UK in the bloc.

Mr Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that he had worked hard with David Cameron to shape a deal. We have addressed the Prime Ministers concerns while respecting the treaties, he said. The settlement that has been proposed is fair for the UK and fair for the other 27 member states.

The reform proposals  unveiled by the EU Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday  aim to recast the UKs membership before a likely in/out EU referendum at the end of June. MEPs need to approve parts of the reform plan beforehand, but their backing is being taken as a given. Mr Juncker pointed out: Apart from the Ukip representatives and other political parties on the extreme wings of this house, all members of all political parties have pleaded to keep the UK in the EU.

Mr Juncker acknowledged that the EU treaty reference to ever-closer union  which Mr Cameron sought to scrap  has evolved over time. If the United Kingdom considers that it is now at the limits of its level of integration then that is fine, he said, while adding that other member states can move towards a deeper degree of integration as they see fit.

The former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who heads the parliaments liberal Alde group, said the UK would be a dwarf if it left. It would be a huge mistake if Britain would leave the European Union, not so much economically but most of all geopolitically, he said.

 Umunna on EU deal

Mr Verhofstadt, who has already vowed to travel to the UK and hold a debate with the Ukip leader Nigel Farage during the referendum campaign, said the only winner from a Brexit would be the Russian President Vladimir Putin, because Putin likes a divided Europe.

The German MEP Manfred Weber, who heads the centre-right European Peoples Party group, said the reforms were not just for the British, but for all Europeans. We want the UK to stay in the EU and for the people of the UK to be convinced it is better to stay, he said.

The French National Front leader Marine le Pen said that with the EU collapsing under the weight of its contradictions, the renegotiation was just theatre. Ms Le Pen, who is also pushing for an in/out referendum in France, added: I dont think anyone is being taken in by this masquerade that the Brits can improve whats happening in the EU and stay in.

In the next fortnight intense negotiations will take place to reach a deal before an EU summit on 18 and 19 February in Brussels. Mr Cameron is making another tour of European capitals, stopping in Warsaw on Friday, where he will try to win over a sceptical Polish government. At the same time, the EUs 28 sherpas  officials who prepare the summits  will meet on Friday to discuss the draft deal.
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A state museum on genocide in Lithuania is preparing to publish a list of 1,000 local Nazi collaborators, according to reports.

Terese Birute Burauskaite, who heads the Vilnius-based Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania, said her institution would this year try to publish a book containing over 1,000 Lithuanian residents who are connected to the Holocaust, the news website Delfi.lt reported Tuesday.

The decision to publish the list of suspected perpetrators follows the publication in Lithuania of a book titled Musiskiai  or, Our Own  on local complicity during the World War Two genocide in Europe, in which six million Jews were sent to their deaths.

One of the books authors Ruta Vanagaite began researching the Holocaust after discovering members of her own family played a role in the murder of Jewish people.

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According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, the genocide museum provided Lithuanian authorities with a list containing 2,055 names of suspected perpetrators. The newspaper adds that Rimantas Vaitkus, Lithuainias deputy minister for education made no attempt to investigate the people concerned. We do not have such a list, he is reported as saying.

Historians claim that around 95 per cent of Lithuanias Jewish population  believed to have been around 200,000  were killed by Germans and local collaborators. It is thought that this is higher than anywhere else on the continent.
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The German cabinet has approved a package of measures to speed up the handling of migrants who enter the country, and help cut the number of newcomers.

The new measures  previously agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkels coalition  involve the use of special centres to process speedily migrants who have little realistic chance of winning asylum. The government also plans to declare Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia safe countries of origin, making it easier to return people to those countries  something Germany did last year for several Balkan nations  and the new rules will also mean restrictions are placed on how soon refugees can bring relatives to Germany.

Ms Merkel has come under increasing pressure to reduce the number of migrants after 1.1 million entered Germany last year. Popular support for the Chancellor has tumbled to its lowest level for four-and-a-half years, a poll has shown, with a large majority of voters sceptical that her government has the refugee crisis under control.

The survey for public broadcaster ARD also showed a drop in support for Ms Merkels conservatives, while backing for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party rose to its highest ever point in the poll.

The survey showed just 46 per cent of Germans supported her, the lowest proportion since August 2011. In April last year before the fallout from the refugee crisis began, she enjoyed the backing of 75 per cent.

 Germany: AfD's Petry links illegal immigration with increase in terror threats

The poll also found that 81 perc ent did not believe the government was handling the refugee crisis well.

Finance minister Wolfgang Schauble, a senior member in Ms Merkels cabinet and respected veteran in her centre-right bloc, defended Ms Merkels decision to open German borders.

I think we have done the right thing, Mr Schauble said in a speech in Hamburg, adding that Germany also had a special responsibility in light of its Nazi past and its role during the Second World War. He said the fact that the government managed to hold out despite growing pressure would turn out to be a strong asset for Germany. Backing for Ms Merkels conservative bloc, comprised of her Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), also fell according to the survey.

The results of the poll highlight the challenge faced by Germanys grand coalition parties  the CDU, CSU and Social Democrats  to convince voters they can master the refugee crisis before three state elections scheduled for next month.

The AfD rose three points to 12 per cent. The AfD leader suggested at the weekend that police be given powers to use firearms against illegal migrants.

Reuters; AP
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UK airline, British Airways, has announced it will be resuming direct flights from London to Iran, after nuclear sanctions imposed on Tehran were lifted last month.

Passengers will be able to fly direct from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Tehran from 14 July 14, when the six-weekly service will launch.

The service from Heathrow Terminal 5 will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777.

The flights are available to book from 3 February and will increase to daily flights in the near future.

Return fares to Tehran start from 384 for economy class, 728 for Economy Plus, 2163 for Business and 3763 for First class.

The airline suspended the direct flights in October 2012 when British Midland International (BMI) became part of British Airways and the route was no longer deemed to be commercially viable.

A re-launch of the flights was hinted at last month when Chief Executive Officer, Willie Walsh, said on 18 January, BA was close to reaching a decision on the reinstatement of Tehran services.

Neil Cottrell, British Airways head of network planning, said: Iran is a large and growing economy and Tehran is a brilliant business city so we are incredibly excited to be adding another gateway to the Middle East for our customers.

The recent lifting of sanctions opens up exciting new prospects for Iran as a tourist destination and with its rich heritage, unique architecture and world-class food its unsurprising Tehran is tipped to be a popular destination for 2016.

The Nuclear sanctions imposed by US, UN and EU on Tehran were lifted in January, a move which Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said would open new windows of engagement with the world and allow the country to make an economic leap and development.

Until now, only Iran Air offered direct flights between the UK and Iran.

British Airways has a long history of flying to Tehran and offered the first scheduled flights between London and the Iranian capital in 1946.
You are here: Home

China Southern Airlines, one of the three major Chinese airlines, on Tuesday announced it is cutting flights to the Philippines as tourist numbers shrink amid tensions in the South China Sea. [File photo]

Five domestic airlines agreed on Monday to tackle air rage by blacklisting passengers who misbehave.

Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Spring Airlines will keep records of those who behave badly.

Such behavior will include attacks on check-in counters, forcibly occupying airplanes and fighting on board, according to a joint announcement by the carriers.

Passenger records will be shared throughout the country's civil aviation and tourism industries. Those who are blacklisted will face penalties such as being denied special seats, ticket discounts, or even service.

However, Li Xiaojin, head of Civil Aviation University of China's Air Transport Economy Institute, said, "Airlines do not have the right to limit passengers' travel rights."

Although air passenger blacklists have been adopted overseas, there is no legal provision for them in China, Li said, adding that this may lead to disputes.

Gao Nan, a 33-year old woman living in Beijing, said, "I totally understand the airlines' decision and, as a passenger, I don't want to be affected by air rage."

But Gao said the provisions for the blacklist should be decided by a third party rather than just the airlines.

It is the first time that a blacklist has covered most of the domestic civil aviation industry.

The five airlines and their subsidiaries handle more than 80 percent of China's air traffic.

The decision to introduce the blacklist comes after the China Air Transport Association adopted a new management policy to record uncivilized behavior by air passengers. The measure took effect on Monday.

The association has defined 10 categories of uncivilized behavior by passengers.

Zhang Wu'an, spokesman for Spring Airlines, China's largest low-cost carrier, said, "It will be more effective when the whole industry says no to air rage."

Spring Airlines introduced its own blacklist in 2007 and refused to provide service to some passengers who behaved extremely badly, Zhang said.

After the blacklist was adopted, air rage cases dropped, Zhang added.
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Germanys interior minister has promised Afghanistan it will continue to provide security support to the country, but only if the arrival of Afghan refugees to the country is stopped.

During a visit to Kabul on Monday, Thomas de Maiziere said: Were staying here as long as its necessary. But we also expect that the Afghan population stays here, N-tv reports.

We want the influx of refugees to be stopped.

Germany has been engaged in operations in Afghanistan since 2003 and has trained over 73,000 Afghan police personnel. Around 980 German troops remain in the country since the NATO mission in Afghanistan officially ended in 2014.

Mr Maiziere said German police and soldiers will remain in Afghanistan as long as it asks for security, but stressed, because we want to stay, we do not want that many Afghans to leave their country.

The minister quashed any expectations Afghans may hold upon coming to Germany, stressing chances of asylum seekers finding success were slight.

There is no welcome money in Germany. There is no guarantee of a job or an apartment," Mr Maiziere told state broadcaster ZDF, warning Afghans not to succumb to propaganda spread by people smugglers.

Mr Maiziere called on Afghans to "stay here to build up [the] country", insisting parts of the region are still stable, Reuters reports.

Mr Maiziere promised to bolster deportations of Afghans from Germany, using current flight routes between the countries and hiring charter planes. He also offered Afghanistan financial help to reintegrate returned migrants.

Mr Maiziere made the comments just hours after a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Kabul police station, killing at least 20 people and wounding 29 others - the latest attack in the Afghan capital.

Referring to the attack, the minister said: Of course, the security situation in Afghanistan is complicated. Who could deny?

We also have attacks elsewhere in the world. International terrorism threatens not only Afghanistan, but all of us.

On social media, people remarked upon the German government's call to send refugees back to Afghanistan in the wake of the attack.

One Twitter user wrote: Mr Maiziere is demanding from others that they live in a land that hell only visit with the protection of a division of soldiers

Another said: Despite the attack in Kabul, Mr Maiziere is calling for Afghans to go back

The number of Afghans fleeing to Germany has increased dramatically. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees registered 150,000 Afghan refugees in 2015, a huge rise on the 9,700 Afghans who applied for asylum in 2014, The Local reports.

Afghans are the second largest group of asylum seekers in Germany after Syrians.
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Osama bin Laden planned the September 11 attacks after being inspired by a chance discussion about a plane crash in the US, al-Qaeda propaganda has claimed.

In its weekly al-Masra newspaper, Ansar al-Sharia released an article claiming to tell the untold story behind the 2001 plot that killed almost 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

Just under two years before, EgyptAir Flight 990 had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during its journey from Los Angeles to Cairo, killing all 217 people on board  almost half of them Americans.

A National Transportation Safety Board Official stands with piles of wreckage from EgyptAir Flight 990, 01 November, 2000 (AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptian investigators insisted mechanical failure was the cause but the US National Transportation Safety Board found that co-pilot Gameel Al-Batouti had deliberately downed the plane, continually repeating Tawkalt ala Allah - I put my trust in God  as it plummeted.

Despite speculation over terrorism, his family and friends said he had no strong beliefs and sources said it may have been suicide or revenge against EgyptAir following disciplinary action.

Bin Laden, then the head of al-Qaeda, was apparently less interested in the motive than in how the disaster could be developed into a deadly new strategy.

Osama bin Laden was reportedly 'inspired' by the EgyptAir crash (Getty)

On hearing about the EgyptAir crash, al-Masra claimed he asked: Why didnt he crash it into a building?

The article, published by the Jihadology website and seen by The Independent, claims that moment was the origin of the 9/11 plot.

But it says it was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, identified as the principal architect of the terror attacks by the 9/11 Commission Report, who had the idea to use planes from the US.

The pair then summoned the brothers who had passportsand then sent them to America to be trained to fly planes, the article continued, naming hijackers from American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93 among those to receive pilot training.

The claims were made in the third issue of Ansar al-Sharia's propaganda newspaper, al-Masra

Al-Masra is released by Ansar al-Sharia, which is an alias for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The US State Department said it was established to attract more followers in an attempt for the group to rebrand itself (and) manipulate people to join its terrorist cause in Yemen.

Ansar al-Sharia has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Yemeni soldiers and security forces, as well as suicide bombings, as it continues to fight a bloody insurgency in the countrys ongoing civil war.
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Russian air strikes that target anything that moves in northern Syria are making it ever more dangerous to reach desperate civilians, aid groups have warned.

The Russian air force entered the conflict at the end of September, officially to combat Isis, but much of its efforts have been focused on helping the Syrian army to make gains in rebel-held areas where Isis is not present. As well as targeting opposition fighters, it has bombed residential areas, marketplaces, and lorries carrying food and medicine.

Rae McGrath, director of the Turkey and north Syria programme at Mercy Corps, one of the biggest British-backed charities operating in northern Syria, said that its work had become at least 50 per cent more dangerous since the Russian intervention.

In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

World leaders are due to meet in London this week for a conference aimed at raising $7bn (4.9bn) in funds for Syria, but Mr McGrath said getting aid to those in need was becoming harder. I just see our ability to deliver humanitarian assistance becoming more dangerous every day, he said.

Another British-backed charity, which asked not to be named, said the Russian intervention had forced it to change its delivery methods. They bomb anything that moves, said a source. We needed to take one delivery in 17 lorries but we couldnt find any drivers to take the risk. So we had to do 100 deliveries in little vans.

Mercy Corps has focused much of its efforts on providing food and assistance to enable civilians to remain in their home towns rather than becoming refugees. Mr McGrath warned, however, that the Russian air strikes were not only causing vast numbers of casualties but also driving families towards the border with Turkey. He said there would be far-reaching consequences for European leaders desperate to stop refugees flocking to their shores.

This situation is spiralling downwards, he said. The world is wandering into this nightmare scenario and nobody seems to be willing or able to speak out about it, to challenge the role of the Russians.

He added: We are delivering assistance to keep people alive so they can be killed.
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Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad claimed to have severed the last rebel supply line to Aleppo last night in what would be a devastating blow to the Syrian opposition.

The attack, backed by Russian warplanes, was condemned by France for torpedoing tentative peace talks in Geneva, while the US said it was difficult to see how the air strikes, which the State Department said were mostly on civilian targets, would help resolve the conflict.

Pro-government media said that forces from the Syrian army and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had reached two Shia towns north of the city that had been besieged by rebel insurgents. They claimed to have captured part of the only road that runs from Turkey to the rebel-held half of Aleppo, cutting its only supply route.

With pro-government forces close to surrounding Syrias second city, the United Nations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen OBrien, spoke yesterday of grave consequences for its beleaguered population if Aleppo was besieged by regime forces.

What is happening in Syria is bad enough without something like that happening in Aleppo. But if the situation there gets worse we will have a large population at risk and we would need to get immediate access for road convoys to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance he told The Independent. Aid groups also warned that a huge humanitarian crisis was looming, while people in the area were stockpiling food and supplies in anticipation of a siege.

 Battle for Aleppo threatens Switzerland peace talks

If that were to happen, Mr OBrien said, urgent negotiations would need to be carried out to allow aid to get through. All sides in this conflict need to give this access, he said. International law requires that this access is given; it is not a matter of making a decision whether or not to give this access.

But the chance of successful peace negotiations appeared more remote, after the UN announced a temporary pause in the Geneva talks until 25 February.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Russian air strikes targeted opponents of President Assad, rather than Islamic State militants. It is difficult to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored, Mr Kirby said.

Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, said France condemned the Syrian regimes brutal offensive with support from Russia to surround and suffocate Aleppo.

France fully supports the [UN] special envoys decision to suspend negotiations to which neither Bashar al-Assads regime nor his allies clearly want to contribute in good faith, thus torpedoing peace efforts, he added.

However, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, defied calls to halt the air campaign, vowing strikes would continue until we truly defeat the terrorist organisations Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra.

 Syria rebels face strong government threat in Aleppo

Syrias state-owned news agency Sana said that government forces had reached the villages of al-Zahraa and Nubl, and that other units had completely cut off the terrorists supply route by seizing part of the Aleppo-Turkey highway.

The claim was denied last night by opposition media outlets, which said that the towns had not yet been lost, but all sides said that heavy fighting was taking place in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 750 fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra had been sent to provide reinforcements.

The isolation of Aleppo would also threaten hundreds of thousands of civilians. Zaher Sahloul, president of the Syrian American Medical Society, said that the charitys 10 hospitals and clinics were preparing for the worst. Our hospitals are stocking six months worth of supplies, bracing for a painful siege, he said. He warned that the city had only enough food and fuel to last a month.

There had been reports that the UN has given approval to Western countries to carry out air drops into besieged towns without the permission of the Assad regime. Mr OBrien said: I believe that all options must be considered to provide help to the Syrians who are suffering so much. But road transport is the most effective of way of delivering humanitarian assistance. Air drops are not sustainable in densely populated areas.

In the UK, David Cameron has pledged an additional 1.2bn to support refugees fleeing Syrias war as world leaders from more than 70 countries gather in London for talks on the crisis.

Additional reporting by Nadia Beard in Moscow
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Syrian peace talks have been temporarily halted because of a major advance by Assad forces against rebel forces north of Aleppo.

The government advance - which was backed by Russian air strikes - has choked opposition supply lines from Turkey to the city and disrupted humanitarian aid, a US State Department official said.

The advance saw the army break a three year siege of two government controlled towns in the area - Nubul and Zahraa - which were previously surrounded by opposition territory.

Speaking at a news briefing, the state department spokesman John Kirby said the talks - which officially began two days ago in Geneva, Switzerland - did get under way before the new Syrian army assault on Wednesday.

He said the assault was mainly focused on opposition forces and urged Moscow to focus on routing out Isis.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who suspended the talks, said they will resume on 25th February, adding this is not the end, and it is not the failure of the talks and insisted both sides were interested in [getting] the political process started.

 Battle for Aleppo threatens Switzerland peace talks

But the Syrian governments UN ambassador Bashar al-Jaafari accused the opposition of pulling out of the talks because it was losing the fight on the ground.

He said: "The military developments on the ground were crucial. Notice that the [opposition] decision of withdrawal came after opening the road to Nubul and Zahraa".

Nubul and Zahra have been blockaded by rebel groups for around three years, with the army occasionally dropping food and other aid by air.

In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps A TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

Their capture marks a major victory for government forces, which have made significant advances in Aleppo province in the past few days.

Basma Kodmani, a member of the opposition's negotiating team, described the offensive as a "horrible development," saying it sends the message that "there is nothing to negotiate. Just go home."

Mr De Mistura said both sides had expressed concerns about the talks, with the government wanting to address "procedural issues before talking about [the] humanitarian side."

Recommended Read more How Syrian children are turned into Isis fighters

But he said "the UN cannot allow simply procedural matters to become more important than the result for the humanitarian situation for the Syrian people, who have been waiting for us to deliver... something concrete for them."

The talks are aimed at ending the five year long civil war between the Assad government and rebel groups which has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced 11m more.

Isis and fellow Islamist group Jabhat al-Nusra have not been included.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Three Palestinian attackers have been shot dead in Jerusalem after shooting and stabbing two Israeli paramilitary policewomen, according to Israeli police.

Recommended Read more Jerusalem back on the brink after knife attack leaves two dead

The officers were attacked at the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalems walled Old City. One officer is in a critical condition, according to Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, Israel polices foreign press spokesperson, while the second officer is in a moderate condition.

The officers stopped the three Palestinians at the busy plaza in East Jerusalem for an identity check after the reportedly aroused police suspicion, at which point all three assailants were discovered to be carrying concealed weapons.

At least one assailant opened fire with an automatic rifle, critically wounding one policewoman. The second female officer was stabbed and wounded in the attack before Israeli security forces shot and killed the three Palestinians.

Israeli police said two pipe bombs were found at the scene, which have since been neutralised by bomb disposal experts.

"The weapons indicate that a combined attack was prevented by officers who protected city residents with their own bodies," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.

Violence erupts across East Jerusalem Show all 1 1 /1 Violence erupts across East Jerusalem Violence erupts across East Jerusalem 337069.bin AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Police have identified the Palestinians as two 20-year-olds and one 21-year old from the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Local media have named the three attackers as Ahmed Rajeh Zakarneh, Mohamed Ahmed Kmail and Ahmen Najeh Abu Al-Rub, though this has not been confirmed by officials.

Associated Press video from the scene showed throngs of police officers weaving through a crowd of Palestinians and a row of police cars with sirens blaring. A police spokesman sent reporters a photo of a group of officers standing near a pool of blood near the gate.

The attack is the latest in series of shootings and stabbings that have seen 26 Israelis and one US citizen killed since October. A total of 155 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, many during violent protests. 101 of them were assailants, according to authorities.



Additional reporting by agencies
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In 2015, private-intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, published its Decade Forecast, in which it projects the next 10 years of global political and economic developments.

While international analysts often try their hand at predicting the major events of the coming year, Stratfor believes that it's identified the major trends of the next decade.

In many ways, Stratfor thinks that the world 10 years from now will be a more dangerous place, with US power waning and other prominent countries experiencing a period of chaos and decline.

Russia will collapse ...

(Getty Images)

"There will not be an uprising against Moscow, but Moscow's withering ability to support and control the Russian Federation will leave a vacuum," Stratfor warns. "What will exist in this vacuum will be the individual fragments of the Russian Federation."

Sanctions, declining oil prices, a plunging ruble, rising military expenses, and increasing internal discord will weaken the hold of Russia's central government over the world's largest country. Russia will not officially split into multiple countries, but Moscow's power may loosen to the point that Russia will effectively become a string of semiautonomous regions that might not even get along with one another.

"We expect Moscow's authority to weaken substantially, leading to the formal and informal fragmentation of Russia," the report states, adding, "It is unlikely that the Russian Federation will survive in its current form."

... and the US will have to use its military to secure the country's nukes.

(Getty Images)

Russia's nuclear-weapons infrastructure is spread across a vast geographic area. If the political disintegration Stratfor predicts ever happens, it means that weapons, fissile materials, and delivery systems could end up exposed in what will suddenly become the world's most dangerous power vacuum.

The breakout of Russia's nuclear-weapons stockpile will be "the greatest crisis of the next decade," according to Stratfor.

And the US will have to figure out what to do about it, even if it means dispatching ground troops to secure loose weapons, materials, and missiles.

"Washington is the only power able to address the issue, but it will not be able to seize control of the vast numbers of sites militarily and guarantee that no missile is fired in the process," the Decade Forecast states. "The United States will either have to invent a military solution that is difficult to conceive of now, accept the threat of rogue launches, or try to create a stable and economically viable government in the regions involved to neutralize the missiles over time."

Germany is going to have problems ...

(Getty Images)

Germany has an export-dependent economy that has richly benefited from the continent-wide trade liberalization enabled through the EU and the euro, but that just means the country has the most to lose from a worsening euro crisis and a resulting wave of "Euroscepticism."

The country's domestic consumption can't make up for this dip in Germany's export economy or for a projected decline in population. The result is Japan-style stagnation.

"We expect Germany to suffer severe economic reversals in the next decade," the Decade Forecast says.

... and Poland will be one of Europe's leaders.

(Getty Images)

Look a little to Germany's east, and things won't be quite so bad.

"At the center of economic growth and increasing political influence will be Poland," the report says.

Poland's population won't decline as much as those of the other major European economies. The fact that it's the largest and most prosperous European state on Russia's western border will also thrust it into a position of regional leadership that the country could leverage into greater political and economic prestige.

And it only helps to have the kind of close, longstanding strategic partnership with the US that Poland enjoys.

There will be four Europes.

It wasn't long ago that European unity seemed like an unstoppable historical force, with political and economic barriers between countries dissolving and regionalism and nationalism disappearing from the continent's politics.

But in 10 years, that may all seem like a distant memory. The Decade Forecast talks about four Europes that will become increasingly estranged from one another: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the British islands. They will still have to share the same neighborhood, but they won't be as closely connected as they were before.

"The European Union might survive in some sense, but European economic, political, and military relations will be governed primarily by bilateral or limited multilateral relationships that will be small in scope and not binding," the report says. "Some states might maintain a residual membership in a highly modified European Union, but this will not define Europe."

Turkey and the US will have to be close allies, but for an unexpected reason.

(Getty Images)

Several Arab countries are in a state of free-fall, and the Decade Forecast doesn't see the chaos ending anytime soon. The major beneficiary from all of this will be Turkey, a strong, relatively stable country whose borders stretch from the Black Sea to Syria and Iraq.

Turkey will be reluctant to intervene in conflicts on its borders, but will inevitably have to, according to the forecast. As Ankara's strength and assertiveness increase relative to its neighbors, the country will become an indispensable US partner.

But Turkey will want something in return: a line of defense against a certain powerful and aggression-minded country on the other side of the Black Sea that has military bases in neighboring Armenia. Turkey will want the help of the US in keeping Moscow out of its backyard.

"Turkey will continue to need US involvement for political and military reasons," the report says. "The United States will oblige, but there will be a price: participation in the containment of Russia. The United States does not expect Turkey to assume a war-fighting role and does not intend one for itself. It does, however, want a degree of cooperation in managing the Black Sea."

 World still three minutes from apocalypse according Doomsday Clock

China will face one huge problem.

(Getty Images)

China may have a rough decade ahead as economic growth slows, leading to widespread discontent toward the ruling Communist Party. But the party will not liberalize, which means that its only viable option for controlling the gathering chaos while remaining in power will be to increase internal oppression.

Beijing also faces another, perhaps even bigger problem: China's growth hasn't been geographically distributed evenly. Coastal cities are thriving, but China's interior has less access to international markets and is comparatively poorer. That problem will only get worse as China continues to urbanize.

"The expectation that the interior  beyond parts of the more urbanized Yangtze River Delta  will grow as rapidly as the coast is being dashed," the report says.

And the growing rift between China's coast and its interior could presage even deeper, more ominous splits.

As the report notes, regional fissures have been a persistent driver of political chaos throughout China's history, and there is an unlikely but "still conceivable outcome in which political interests along the coast rebel against Beijing's policy of transferring wealth to the interior to contain political unrest."

Japan will be Asia's rising naval power.

(Getty Images)

Japan has a maritime tradition going back centuries, and as an island nation it is dependent on certain imports. China is building a state-of-the-art navy of its own, and it may become even more aggressive in controlling shipping routes in the East China and South China seas and Indian Ocean that Japan depends upon.

Japan will have no option but to project power into the region to counter China and protect its supply routes. With US power waning, it will have to do this on its own.

"Right now [Japan] depends on the United States to guarantee access," the forecast states. "But given that we are forecasting more cautious US involvement in foreign ventures and that the United States is not dependent on imports, the reliability of the United States is in question. Therefore, the Japanese will increase their naval power in the coming years."

The South China Sea islands won't start a war, but there's a catch.

(Getty Images)

The regional powers will decide that South China Sea island disputes aren't worth a major military escalation, but they will still be a symptom of a volatile power dynamic.

"Fighting over the minor islands producing low-cost and unprofitable energy will not be the primary issue in the region," the report predicts. "Rather, an old three-player game will emerge. Russia, the declining power, will increasingly lose the ability to protect its maritime interests. The Chinese and the Japanese will both be interested in acquiring these and in preventing each other from having them."

Dangerous great-power dynamics are returning to East Asia, even if it may not result in armed conflict in the South China and East China seas.

There will be 16 mini-Chinas.

(Getty Images)

China's economy will slow down, and growth in production capacity will flatline. That's actually good news for a handful of countries. The entry-level manufacturing jobs that China used to gobble up will migrate to 16 emerging economies with a combined population of 1.15 billion.

So while China's growth will stall, leading to unforeseeable political and economic consequences, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia could see improving economic fortunes over the next decade as more manufacturing jobs arrive.

US power will decline.

(Getty Images)

With the world becoming an even more disorderly and unpredictable place over the next 10 years, the US will respond by being increasingly judicious about how it picks its challenges, rather than taking an active leadership role in solving the world's problems.

A growing economy, surging domestic-energy production, declining exports, and the safety of being in the most stable corner of the world will give the US the luxury of being able to insulate itself against the world's crises.

While this more restrained US role in global affairs will make the world an even less predictable place, it's a reality that other countries will have to deal with.

"The United States will continue to be the major economic, political, and military power in the world but will be less engaged than in the past," the forecast says. "It will be a disorderly world, with a changing of the guard in many regions. The one constant will be the continued and maturing power of the United States  a power that will be much less visible and that will be utilized far less in the next decade."

Read more:

 Morgan Stanley: What a world without oil looks like

 Cameron EU deal prompts hailstorm of criticism

 New EU-US data transfer deal has been reached

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2015. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Almost 100 per cent of students have voted to see the United Kingdom remain part of the European Union in an evening of heated political debate in Leeds.

Organised by the i paper and sponsored by student loan specialist Future Finance, the iDebate - which sought to challenge the motion British politics does nothing for young people - saw just two people from a 300-strong audience vote to see the UK break away from the 43-year-old union.

The free debate, held in the premier event venue Aspire on Tuesday, saw politicians from all major political parties in the UK take to the panel to battle out whether todays younger generation is reaping the benefits from the country politics or not.

Chaired by the Independents chief political columnist, Steve Richards, the panel was comprised of Labour MP for Leeds Central and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, SNP MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Stuart Donaldson, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake, and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett.

From the outset, Mr Benn described how he did not agree with the agenda of the night, while Mr Donaldson told of his first steps as an MP in the House of Commons at just 23-years-old last summer, an opportunity he said would have been utterly irresponsible of me not to take advantage of when asked by a member of the crowd why he chose to represent Scotland in Westminster and not go down the same route as Sinn Fein.

Ms Bennett, though, emerged as a firm favourite with many among the crowd, some of whom said they felt her partys policies are the ones striking a chord with young people today, particularly the Green call to abolish all tuition fees.

Leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, emerged as one of the night's firm favourites

An audience member takes the opportunity to grill the panel

One student, who identified herself as Lauren, told the panel of politicians she found it completely disparaging and patronising that 16 and 17-year-olds cannot vote in the upcoming EU referendum, asking: Is exclusivity something to be proud of? Because it is exclusive, and its not fair.

Mr Hollinrake replied: Its the wrong time to change the rules on voting, and I think the age of consent is all over the place: you can go to war at 16, you cant drink until youre 18, and you cant vote until youre 18. We need to have a common position on it, but the status quo - where we are at the moment - is that its 18 to vote.

I have a major issue with changing it. The General Election should reflect the EU referendum, in my view.

Ms Bennett, however, challenged the Tory politician - who has only been an MP for eight months - and hit back: The referendum is the point where youre making irrevocable decisions, effective for decades. If theres one case where there is an overwhelming argument for the long-term future, this is it.

Watch the full debate:

The Green Party leader drew applause from the audience when she added: A General Election lasts for, at most, five years. The referendum and EU decision is potentially irrevocable, and thats exactly where it would be a great place to start with votes at 16.

Ms Bennett, again, received a warm reception when she said the mainstream right-wing media should be held to account for doing massive damage to politics. She said: Whether its giving utterly unreasonable access to people who are climate change deniers, whether its focusing on politics as being about how Ed Miliband eats a bacon sandwich, or how deeply Corbyn bows at the Cenotaph, the mainstream media is doing massive damage to politics.

The audience votes when asked: 'Should the UK leave the EU?'

On the whole, when the audience was asked at the end to put forward their views on the nights motion, an overwhelming majority voted against, therefore agreeing that British politics are, indeed, helping young people in Britain today.

Many attendees told the Independent after the debate they appreciated Ms Bennetts enthusiasm, passion, and her partys stance on looking out for young people.

Leader of the Green Party Society at Leeds University Union, Florence Scott, said she was surprised with the number of people who voted against the nights motion, while Josh Alston, 19, from Leeds University, added how he felt Natalie Bennett did really, really well. He said: I really like her policies, She was really good, incisive and articulate.

Jawad Khan, 18, a student at Heckmondwike Grammar School, described how he felt Ms Bennett had come a long way from her performance in the General Election, and said: Today, she performed very strongly and spoke very firmly. Hilary Benn was very articulate and showed himself to be a very good speaker also.

If you want to help set the next iDebate agenda, please tweet all suggestions using the hashtag #iDebateTopics.
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There are plenty of child-friendly, small-vessel river cruises designed to float everyone's boat  from exploring fairy-tale castles on the Rhine to Venetian ghost walks and meeting French cowboys. So pack your bags  after all, you'll only have to unpack once.

Ghosts and gladiators

Learn how to be a Roman fighter at Gladiator School, a great way to get hands-on with ancient history. Boutique cruise line Uniworld has adapted its 15-day Splendours of Italy cruise, from Milan to Rome, to include activities such as a ghost walk in Venice, gondola rowing and workshops in glass-blowing and Venetian mask-making. Families can also try their hand at pasta-making in Bologna. Departing 24 July, it costs from 5,004pp all-inclusive, half-price for four to 18-year-olds, excluding flights (0808 168 9110; uniworld.com).

Bon voyage

A treasure hunt in the Louvre, searching for clues under the watchful eye of the Mona Lisa, kicks off Tauck Bridges' French journey, which combines a two-night stay in Paris with a seven-night Rhone cruise. Explore France's wild west on a visit to a ranch where gardians, or cowboys, riding beautiful Camargue horses herd the black bulls that roam the vast, marshy delta. Cruise-only fares start from 2,995pp, with all food and drink (0800 810 8020; tauck.co.uk).

Pools and popcorn

Though not suitable for younger children, teenagers will love Emerald Waterways' cutting-edge star ships, which come with modern decor and artwork. The standout feature is the glass- sided indoor pool with a retractable roof that morphs into a cinema by night, complete with headphones to watch the movies with a bowl of popcorn. A seven-night Rhine-Main Discovery itinerary from Amsterdam to Nuremberg starts from 1,395pp, cruise-only (0808 163 8601; emeraldwaterways.co.uk).

Family fun with Tauck

Flexible fun

The German-owned company A-Rosa's fleet of ships sailing the castle-rich Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube, Rhone and Saone feature interconnecting and family cabins. Youngsters under 15 travel free, with one accompanying adult per child, and the international vessels  Flora, Viva, Stella, Donna and Silva  have English-speaking hosts. With buffet-style meals and optional excursions, cruises are relaxed and good value. A seven-night round-trip Danube sailing from Vienna on A-Rosa Donna costs from 1,479pp (1,121), excluding flights (00 49 381 202 6020; arosa-cruises.com).

Highland fling

Keeping a lookout for Nessie and a steam train ride across the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct, featured in the Harry Potter films, are highlights of a six-night cruise on the passenger barge Scottish Highlander. With a crew of four plus an onboard chef, it sails from Muirtown, outside Inverness, to Banavie, near Fort William, across waterways including the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness. Rates for all-inclusive, cruise-only family charters are from 19,700 for up to eight people, including all meals, wines, an open bar (stocked with many fine single malt whiskies) and excursions, through European Waterways (01753 598555; gobarging.com).
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If Hillary Clinton was Feeling the Bern in Iowa yesterday, then David Cameron must have been experiencing a searing ring of fire before entering the inferno that was the House of Commons today.

In what has been a relatively quiet week politically from the medias point of view (unless you are a woman interested in her pension or are concerned about the conduct of banks), the PMs EU renegotiation has caused public school anarchy on his backbenches, a trouncing for him on nearly every front page this morning and accusations of trumpeting national sovereignty abroad but not at home from the opposition.

However, Corbyn chose to lead not on the Europe issue (one can assume owing to the PMs statement later), but instead hold Cameron over the fire on the NHS.

Corbyns opening salvo regarding a 36 per cent increase in 6 week cancer treatment waiting times, and his question of what the PM would be doing to bring that figure down was met with Call me Daves customary response whenever dealing with the NHS: We are treating more patients! Weve put 19 billion more into the NHS! More doctors! More nurses! More cancer specialists! all of which conceals a slightly more complex  and depressing  reality about our health service, if we are to believe the hordes of junior doctors who actually work in it.

Corbyn then moved on to the subject of radiologists, citing the governments Independent Task Force on Cancers assertion that there is a serious shortage of these specialists, and training places were being cut by 5 per cent.

Cameron noted that there are 18,000 more radiographers than there were in 2010, ignoring the fact it takes three to five years to train as one, so the majority of these would have started studying under Labour.

He also cited the fact the Government will be training 10,000 more nurses  with no mention of the cutting of bursaries, something Corbyn would have done well to pick up on.

The PM, somewhat predictably, brought up the subject of the NHS in Labour-controlled Wales  a topic he kept referring back to throughout the rest of his grilling, along with Kezia Dugdales proposed tax increase in Scotland.

Camerons rhetoric today of Labours great plan: Higher taxes and more welfare may be the oldest trick in the book, but with a leader still viewed in the media as a militant throw-back, it may well likely still stick. Undoubtedly todays PMQs was the beginning of an assault that a Corbyn-led Labour will struggle to defeat.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses the Commons at Prime Minister's Questions

Corbyn asked a question from Martin this week, continuing his first name terms strategy so adept at highlighting the difference between his grassroots approach versus Camerons supposed Westminster-centric one. Martin wanted to know if the House of Lords decision to reject the 30 a week cut to Employment and Support Allowance claimants in the work-related activity group would be upheld [so] people dont suffer the cut that [Tories] wanted to make in the first place.

As has become customary with this style of Joe Bloggs questioning from Corbyn, cacophonous, mocking Yahs and guffawing rapidly percolated through the Tory benches.

Unfortunately, Camerons attempts to justify his position (In future, the WRAG should be paid at the same rate as JSA But that is for future claimants That is what a compassionate Conservative government does) will surely fall on deaf ears of anyone who is currently working, but may well end up in a position where they find themselves reliant on ESA, and ignores the stress for the 500,000 people currently in the WRAG group, who have been formally declared to be too ill to work but well enough to undergo work-related interviews or training.

The PM then threw a speeding curveball, reverting again back to Corbyn not being able to wash his hands of the situation in Wales, citing seemingly shocking figures, and instructing Corbyn to pick up the phone, and tell them to stop cutting our NHS. Corbyn by this time was all-out of rebuttals over Wales  a thorn in his side which needs extracting. With doctor strikes on the horizon, an obvious retort should have been on his lips.

Those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest load is a now infamous Cameron quote which Corbyn chose to resurrect today. The PM maintained that the rich were contributing the most  but Im sure I recall something about Google and 130 million of tax last week.

Cameron seemed decidedly pressurised today, looking more red-faced than Trump at the end of the Iowa caucus.

His answers surrounding the NHS are steeped in selective and misleading statistics, and his refusal to provide straight answers to straight questions becomes increasingly irksome as the weeks pass.

Corbyn, unlike his predecessor, is adopting the style of not letting things simply go, and is beginning to develop two recognisable styles  one of pressing the PM on the biggest issue of the day, and the other of targeting subjects which his supporters hold dearly. The latter was used to good effect this afternoon, but the former could use a huge amount of work.

The final verdict?

Cameron  5/10. Lacklustre effort. Must do better. See me.

Corbyn  8/10. Strong performance  but room for improvement.
 Flash

Romanian tourism authorities anounced Monday to ease visa rules for Chinese tourists within two weeks, which would help them get their visa in a week at most.

According to the National Authority for Tourism (ANT), a protocol will be signed in this respect among the authorities, the General Inspectorate for Immigrations, the Foreign Ministry and the National Tourism Agencies' Association.

Above-mentioned facilities will be available only for tourists traveling through tour operators, stressed ANT president Anca Pavel-Nedea.

Some 2 million foreign tourists visited Romania annually, based on incoming data received from Romanian tourist accommodation units. Most of the foreign tourists, over three-quarters, are from Europe, while those from Asia accounted for some 12 percent.

Chinese tourists in the true sense are rare in Romania and local travel operators complained that visa difficulties, especially long visa waiting time, are among the main obstacles which affect the rapid growth of Chinese tourists in the country.

Romania, situated in the north of the Balkan Peninsula on the western shores of the Black Sea, enjoys great natural beauty and diversity and a rich cultural heritage, enchanting visitors with its scenic mountain landscapes and unspoiled countryside areas.
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Drone footage of Homs in Syria published today shows apocalyptic scenes of a city in ruins after five years of ravaging and relentless war that has claimed the lives of over 250,000 people. The video confirms the sheer and irrefutable destruction that has engulfed the third largest city of the country, now almost razed to the ground. It also accentuates the cold and insensitive words spoken by our Prime Minister David Cameron in last weeks reprehensible installment of PMQs when he referred to people escaping the horrors of war similar to those displayed in this footage as merely a bunch of migrants.

 Drone video shows levels of devastation in Homs, Syria

As another edition of PMQs approaches this afternoon, let me point out to Cameron that those bunch of migrants living in the squalid conditions of Calais didnt suddenly wake up one morning and decide they were going to stroll over to France and Britain for croissants and a cup of tea. It was the annihilation of their homes and livelihoods that is evident from these shattering scenes of Homs, and the deaths of precious family members, that have driven hundreds of thousands to make that death-defying journey into Europe.

I would also like to reiterate to our honourable PM that the bunch of migrants he was referring to in Calais are made up of many unaccompanied children, many close in age to the young Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on the shore of the Aegean prompted Cameron to voice his commiseration and claim he was deeply moved. Deeply perhaps, but clearly not moved enough to take in 3,000 orphaned refugee children scattered in camps across Europe, many of whom have lost parents in war-torn countries.

This video footage should be a stark reminder to Cameron and those sitting beside him in the Commons that countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have become uninhabitable places of fear, murder and anarchy. The bunch that Cameron so brazenly referred to last week  that demonised swarm who we are supposed to fear coming into our country - have run away from a merciless murderer known as Bashar al Assad or escaped the knife-wielding Jihadi Johns of Isis whose victims have predominantly been the Arabs of Iraq and Syria.

David Cameron's biggest controversies Show all 8 1 /8 David Cameron's biggest controversies David Cameron's biggest controversies Pig-gate A book released by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft alleged that an MP and Oxford contemporary of David Cameron had allegedly seen a photograph of Mr Cameron performing a sex act on a pig while at university. Downing Street did not comment on the allegations and the peer said they could have been a case of mistaken identity David Hartley/REX Shutterstock David Cameron's biggest controversies Swarm of migrants In July 2015 David Cameron referred to refugees coming into Europe from the Middle East and North Africa as a swarm. He was criticised for using the language, which critics said was dehumanising Getty David Cameron's biggest controversies Child tax credits In April 2015 David Cameron was asked whether hed cut child tax credits. No, I dont want to do that, he said, saying that he rejected reports that he would. Shortly after the election the Government unveiled cuts to child tax credits EPA David Cameron's biggest controversies Cycling to work As leader of the opposition David Cameron was regularly photographed cycling to work. In early 2006 he was photographed cycling but with a driver in a car carrying his belongings. It was suggested at the time the cycling was just for show and that having two vehicles on the road instead of one was wasteful Rex David Cameron's biggest controversies Andy Coulson David Cameron employed former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as government communications director from 2010. After stepping down from the post due to coverage of the phone hacking affairs, Mr Coulson was later found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemails. He served a short prison sentence AFP David Cameron's biggest controversies His personal windmill Early in his leadership of the Conservative David Cameron made an effort to change the partys image by making eco-friendly gesures. As one of these gestures, the future PM put a wind turbine on his house. However, the turbine later had to be removed after neighbours condemned it as an eyesore and the councils planning committee said it had been put in the wrong place Getty David Cameron's biggest controversies Funeral selfie David Cameron was pictured posing for a selfie with Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Barack Obama at Nelson Mandelas funeral. Some in the press criticised the prime minister for showing in an inappropriately low level of respect for the gravity of the occasion AFP/Getty Images David Cameron's biggest controversies Eating a hotdog with a knife and fork The Prime Minister was pictured eating a hotdog with a knife and fork in the run up to the 2015 general election. He was accused of being posh. I had a very privileged upbringing... I've never tried to hide that, he said Reuters

It is easy to disregard those running away from the corrupt government forces of Afghanistan and the Taliban, as international interest in the country wanes and most foreign troops are long gone. When our media turns its lenses away, however, the people remain.

Britain and other nations with similarly imperialist histories have been quick to beat the drums of war by engaging in military action in countries like Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, but have reacted with very little urgency in trying to end the turmoil in those nations. The very least our leaders can and should do, if not take responsibility for some of the chaos ensuing for a number of years in the aforementioned countries, is address those who are in pursuit of safety and economic necessity with the basic human etiquette we all deserve.

My final reminder for our Prime Minister is that, those bunch of migrants are an extraordinary set of individuals to have made that treacherous journey, risking their lives, losing their valuables to criminals along the way and most tragically of all seeing their dearest drown at sea. To still have the resolve and fortitude to want to seek a future in a foreign land with numerous impediments is almost superhumanly courageous.

Indeed, it sounds very much to me like those are the bunch of people Britain should be made up of: determined, self-sacrificing people who continue to smile  and to hope  in the midst of unthinkable adversity.
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The news from the UN last week that Saudi Arabia has been indiscriminately targeting Yemini civilians and that 60 per cent of the population (14.4 million people) are going hungry, marks only the latest milestone to be roundly ignored by the British government since Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemens civil war in March last year.

As these grim milestones are passed, British-made bombs rain down from British-made planes on a terrified and starving population.

In testimony bordering on the absurd, Desmond Swayne, minister for the Department of International Development, pointedly rejected the position of Save the Children, UNICEF, Oxfam and Saferworld: that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia  3 billion in the first six months of the war alone undermine the UKs development efforts in Yemen.

There is no evidence that I have that that is the case, he said. I reject it.

Mr Swaynes faith that Britains 100m of aid projects in Yemen can withstand several billion pounds of its own ordnance is to be applauded.

Mr Swayne is not the only minister scrambling to defend the indefensible. Last month, Secretary of State for the Foreign Office Philip Hammond, responded to a question by his Labour counterpart Hilary Benn on whether British troops on the ground monitoring the bombing campaign had reported potential breaches of international humanitarian law. Mr Hammond said that the troops had not reported any deliberate war crimes, implying reports of accidental war crimes had been passed to him.

Mr Hammond is clearly unaware of the fact that Saudi Arabias lack of intent to bomb civilian populations does not get him around our own arms export laws, which state that we cannot sell arms to states who pose a clear risk of breaking international humanitarian law. Even worse, in an answer to my parliamentary question, Mr Hammonds deputy Mr Tobias Ellwood demonstrated he believes that that Saudi Arabia is not at risk of breaking international humanitarian law. Perhaps he has not read the UNs report, which said Saudi Arabias coalition had done just that  119 times.

The Saudi intervention in Yemens civil war must prompt us to ask ourselves searching questions about our arms industry.

Namely, should the government be promoting, subsidising and providing political cover for the arms industry?

Recommended Read more The US establishment works better than most people think

Through the UK Trade and Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UTI-DSO), part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, we pay 160 civil servants to promote British arms across the world. Since 2012, companies have also received assistance from the MoD's Defence Export Support Group. Last November's Strategic Defence and Security Review promised extra support for arms exports. The promotion of arms is also on the agenda of much of the diplomatic outreach work undertaken by the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence.

In 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that 699m was spent on UK arms subsidies in 2011,through both the DSO and grants to university departments that train weapons engineers. When Labour councils last year backed policies to boycott UK arms sales to Israel, the conservative government proposed laws banning such divestment. Conservative Communities Minister Greg Clarkeven equated such grass roots activism to an apartheid state, adding that it would cost British jobs and poisoncommunity relations.

Transparency International has calculated that 40 per cent global corruption occurred in the arms trade. Despite David Camerons pledge to break the taboo on talking about corruption, when British alleged corruption is investigated, the government steps in, quashing investigations to save blushes in both London and Riyadh.

We must also acknowledge that Britain sells arms to several other dubious regimes including Bahrain, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. In doing so, we must tighten up our arms export licences and end-user certificates.

The government routinely claims that Britain has one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world but this has been shown to be manifestly untrue. If the UN, rights groups and the international media are reporting of Saudi Arabian war crimes in Yemen, why has the UK denied only eight out of well over 100 Saudi requests for UK arms? The answer is sadly clear for all: we are making a killing.
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Sanders has been called the American Corbyn while Corbyn has been dubbed Britains Bernie Sanders.

Both have surged to the forefront of a progressive revival. Each represents the sudden rise of the radical left in countries that until recently appeared hostile to such ideas. Both are tapping into the youthful and angry energy of a population that feels increasingly powerless in the face of corporate democracy. And both have ambitions that go significantly beyond electoral victory and toward broader social, economic and political transformation.

Publicly, they have a clear admiration for each other. Corbyn stated that he was following his counterparts campaign with great interest and indeed, we are exchanging leaflets and badges and things like that. Sanders was even more effusive in his praise for Corbyn, proclaiming: At a time of mass income and wealth inequality throughout the world, I am delighted to see that the British Labour Party has elected Jeremy Corbyn as its new leader.

Yet just as they have inspired millions nationally and internationally, they have also been similarly derided from all sides. For many leftists their version of socialism is a far cry from the revolutionary calls of the past. Sanders, in particular, appears to be less democratic socialist and more New Deal Liberal. At the other end of the spectrum, conservatives veer wildly between calling them national security threats and dismissing them as irrelevant. Meanwhile much of the media, wonder aloud about their electability.

Amidst their clear commonalities lie subtle but substantial differences as well. Corbyn has put forward a much stronger progressive vision of global justice. Let us be a force for change in the world, he urged Britain in his inaugural speech as Leader, a force that recognises we cannot go on like this, with grotesque levels of inequality, grotesque threats to our environment. Sanders has been content to merely tout his opposition to the Iraq war and advocate for a less militaristic version of US hegemony, replete with the continued use of drone warfare.

Domestically, Corbyn has made rather bold commitments to renationalise the railway, curb the profits of the energy industry as well as executives, and provide universal childcare and lifelong education among other proposals. Sanders stops a good deal short of these measures  instead focusing on the goals of universal healthcare, pay equity and increased investment in infrastructure.

However, these policies tell only a small part of their shared story. They are both driven by the desire to refashion modern politics from the ground up. Their aim is to lead grassroots movements that have the power to upend an oligarchic establishment. Corbyn has sought to give literal voice to this bottom up strategy, famously reading the questions of real concerned citizens in Parliament. Sanders has righteously disavowed corporate money in favour of smaller donors from everyday voters.

What further binds them together is their appeal to the past as way to inspire a more progressive future. The brand of democratic socialism preached by Sanders is explicitly linked to the American legacy of Roosevelt. In a slightly more implicit manner, Corbyn evokes the bold and radical Labour party spirit of Hardee and Atlee, as he wages an increasingly bitter battle to recapture the Party from the compromising and ultimately compromised clutches of the Blairites.

It is revealing that such a nostalgic seeped politics resonates so strongly with the younger generation. Despite their age and their old fashioned ideals, Corbyn and Sanders campaigns have been fueled by millenials, who have branded their revolution #InJezWeCan and #FeeltheBern.

Yet it is not so surprising either given that the behind the flash of new technology, the economic inequalities and gilded politics at the beginning of this century are tragically reminiscent of those found in the early 20th century.

Still their popularity resides squarely in their vision of the future. Corbyn and Sanders are pushing back strongly against the widely held belief that we have reached an end of history where progress stops at free markets and liberal democracies.

In this respect, they are forging together a modern radical tradition. Today Sanders and Corbyn are showing that progress is still possible in the 21st century.
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A year ago I woke up stateless. An official statement from the Bahrain Ministry of Interior announced the revocation of citizenship from 72 people. When they took my nationality, they took it from my family too. On paper, my infant son is not Bahraini.

The reasons were vague and ranged from inciting and advocating regime change to defaming brotherly countries. The list included activists, human rights defenders, journalists, religious figures and political exiles. In a shocking move, we civil society members were named alongside twenty men affiliated to Isis and Al Qaeda.

What was my crime? I was there at the Pearl Roundabout  our Tahrir Square  on Black Thursday when in the middle of the night security forces cleared sleeping protesters from the monument grounds, killing four in the process. I bear a scar on my forehead from that night  a permanent reminder of the officers steel-tipped boots. Later I was arrested and tortured.

Recommended Read more Black actors only win an Oscar when they make white people feel better

On my freedom, I fled to Britain, where I claimed asylum.

Some were not as lucky as me. There are 260 Bahrainis who have been denaturalised since 2012 inside the country. Most of them are still in Bahrain. Those who live in government housing are at risk of eviction. Without residency papers they are unemployable, uninsurable, and unidentifiable on any official system. In an ugly twist, in 2014 a court found ten people stripped of citizenship guilty of illegal residency and ordered their deportation.

There are those who are at risk of death. In 2015, the courts sentenced five Bahrainis to death and revoked the citizenship of them all. These death row inmates have been found guilty of killing policemen, and in every case there is significant doubt over the fairness of the trials, amid claims of severe torture.

The threat remains greater than ever after Saudi Arabia broke all the rules with the execution of political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on 2 January this year. Bahrain swings in the direction of Saudi Arabia, which is making desperate moves to stymie the warming relations between its rival Iran and the West.

Bahrain has always been reliant on Saudi Arabia, but since 2011, when Saudi led an army into the country to crush the Arab Spring uprising, it has only grown more dependant. Bahrain now polices not just its own dissenters, but critics of Saudi Arabia too. They threatened to prosecute any citizens who dared question the legitimacy of Sheikh al-Nimrs execution. The country has even imprisoned critics of Saudi Arabias war in Yemen  a war which they eagerly joined. Where Saudi Arabia goes, Bahrain will follow.

It was a little over a year ago, in December 2014, that Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told the country: Your security is our security; your prosperity is our prosperity; your stability is our stability. Bahrains stability  which apparently means the death penalty, denaturalisation and dictatorship  is Britains stability.

The nations' peaceful civil rights movement asks for simple things: respect for our basic human rights, democracy and fair justice. For these requests we are rendered stateless  turned into nothing. Five stateless men sit on death row. If they are executed they will die as no one.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and President Michael D Higgins sign an order dissolving the Dail and starting the 2016 general election campaign

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has announced on Twitter that a general election will be held on February 26.

Mr Kenny informed the Dail he was seeking its dissolution but only revealed the date of the poll in a video message posted on the social networking site.

He made the announcement before travelling to President Michael D Higgins's official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, to formally ask him to dissolve the 31st Dail.

The new Dail will sit again on March 10 after what will be one of the shortest general election campaigns in Irish political history.

In his video message, Mr Kenny fired the opening salvo of the three-week campaign by stating Ireland was on the verge of collapse and its international reputation was in tatters when he came to power five years ago.

"Five years on we still have many challenges and the job is not yet finished, but working together we have made real progress," he said.

"Our public finances are back on track, the economy is growing again - faster than any country in the EU - 135,000 more people are back at work, and there is no more bailout, no more troika and no more dead banks.

"Ireland is now clearly moving in the right direction."

Mr Kenny's centre-right Fine Gael party and his junior coalition partners Labour are hoping to be returned to power, with a key message of their campaign being stability during the economic recovery.

Labour leader and Tanaiste Joan Burton said the coalition was a "very united" government that had turned the country around.

"The real test of any government is whether they leave the country in a better place and I will say with the Fine Gael-Labour Government we have definitely done that," she said.

"We inherited a ruin and we rebuilt it."

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin attacked the Taoiseach for not allowing anyone else speak in the Dail before its dissolution, saying he had hoped to pay tribute to veteran party colleagues not seeking re-election.

"I thought it was it was a shabby end to a shabby government," he said.

"I presumed I would get that opportunity, but people saw the Taoiseach made a speech and ran out of the house - it just didn't look well in terms of the national parliament conducting its business."

Mr Martin accused Fine Gael of regressive policies which he said suited only the wealthiest in society.

"Fine Gael don't care about people who need housing, people who need proper access to healthcare - they just look after the top 20," he added, signalling his party's campaign would focus on homelessness, healthcare, education and crime prevention.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also criticised the Taoiseach's closing of parliament as a "pathetic end to a pathetic government".

"Fine Gael and Labour have presided over some of the most reprehensible policy decisions ever made by a government in this State, and they have brought chaos to the lives of ordinary citizens," he said.

"They cut child benefit, the back to school allowance, the respite care grant, 1.5 million home help hours, and they abolished the bereavement grant.

"They promised a new health service. Instead, last year, we saw the highest number of patients on trolleys since records began and we have the worst A&E waiting times in Europe.

"The aim of this government, if re-elected this time around, is to privatise healthcare."

Mr Adams said for the first time since the foundation of the State, there is an opportunity for "real change".

"The choice is between two visions for Irish society," he said.

"A Fine Gael led government that will deliver more of the same unfairness and inequality, or a Sinn Fein led government that has a plan to deliver a fair recovery for all citizens, and put stability back into the lives of the average family."
The expansion of the dairy industry will add to the challenges of meeting the country's climate change targets, the Taoiseach has warned.

Enda Kenny flagged that growth in the agricultural sector will have to be monitored in light of the agreements from COP 21 in Paris.
 Flash

A meeting on Monday between a Syrian opposition delegation and UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva marks the official start of the Geneva Intra-Syrian talks, aimed to seek a political solution to the Syrian conflict that has entered the sixth year and has incurred 250,000 deaths and over 4 million refugees.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mister (3rd L) holds a meeting with member of Syria's opposition delegation at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Following are the major parties that hold sway in the opposition forces.

1. National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces

Founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012, this group is commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition. It is the largest coalition of the country's major opposition groups overseas.

The main goals of the coalition is to replace the Assad government and build a new Syria. Backed by the United States and other Western countries, the coalition founded an interim government in March 2013.

2. Syrian National Council

Formed in August 2011, this group is based in Istanbul, Turkey. Once the largest member of the Syrian National Coalition, the group has recently quit the coalition to protest the latter's participation in the Geneva Intra-Syrian talks.

The group has gained support from the United States, European countries and some Gulf countries.

3. Free Syrian Army

Formed in July 2011, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is largely composed of defected military officers and soldiers. The FSA is considered as a mild opposition force by Western countries and the Gulf countries. Washington once offered the FSA military training and ammunition.

4. National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change

Known as the NCC, the group is the largest mild opposition force inside Syria. Formed in Damascus in June 2011, the NCC is composed of 15 political parties. The NCC advocates democratic change through peaceful means and aims to build a modern secular Syria featuring multiparty democracy.

5. Ahrar ash-Sham

Known as the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant, the Ahrar ash-Sham is an extremist armed force. It is also a major component of the Islamic Front.

Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Russia have labelled the group as a terrorist organization.

Ahead of the Geneva talks, the group's leader stated publicly that they would not be bound by any results of the talks.

6. Islamic Front

Founded in November 2013, the Islamic Front is composed of seven Islamist armed groups with major goals to overturn the Bashar government and establish a new Syria that will implement Sharia law.

The Islamic Front opposes the Geneva Intra-Syrian talks.

7. Jaysh al-Islam

Jaysh al-Islam, or Army of Islam, is part of the Islamic Front. Formed in September 2013, the group gathered 50 rebel fractions mostly around Damascus. Syria and Russia have defined the group as an terrorist organization.

Prior to the Geneva Intra-Syrian talks, the Jaysh al-Islam urged relevant parties to provide convenience to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the turbulent Syria.

8. Local Coordination Committees of Syria

It advocates the toppling of the Bashar government through nonviolence, as it believes an end to armed resistance and military intervention is the only way toward a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

9. Popular Front for Change and Liberation

Formed in July 2011, the Popular Front is a coalition of Syrian political parties, including the People's Will Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and others.

Seen as a mild opposition group, the Popular Front has called for an end to violence and for the establishment of a coalition government with all relevant parties to solve the Syrian conflict.
From helping farmers update maps over 150 years old, to advising Russians on getting more from grass, Cork's Grasstec has certainly come a long way from the one-man band it was when first established by Bertie Troy in 1996.

The Mallow-based dairy services company is continuing its rapid growth as it seeks civil engineers to increase its workforce by another 10pc this year.

Mr Troy first realised there was an opportunity to provide mapping services to farmers during his college work-experience in New Zealand.

"Many Irish farmers are working with maps that are unaltered since the 1840s and 1850s," he explained.

"There is plenty of work in mapping, but I realised that in order to move on we had to start offering a bigger range of services," said Mr Troy.

"Expanding dairy farms, along with the increasing burden of planning permissions and nitrates to be satisfied by any major farm development, has fuelled our growth.

"We provide the same service to a growing number of UK dairy farmers, where we also facilitate discussion groups focused on grazing."

Mr Troy said that, while UK dairy farmers had traditionally eschewed a reliance on grazed grass, more and more were turning to the system to cope with ever lower milk prices.

High input systems

It seems that this appetite for grazing systems is on the move east, with Grasstec advising clients in France, Luxembourg, and even as far away as Russia.

"You might think that a Russian would look to New Zealand first for advice on maximising grazing, but we're just a four hour flight away, and our slightly colder climate here is closer to what they are dealing with. There's a big push to become self sufficient, and some Russians have access to huge amounts of grassland, but with no idea on setting up a grazing infrastructure.

"We're also picking up a bit of business on the Continent from dairy companies keen to get their farmers using more grass. Basically, they are trying to get the cows out of the shed for a bigger proportion of their working lives," said Mr Troy.

Despite these developments, one of the fastest growing areas of Grasstec's business is now sourcing livestock.

"We've about 5-6 people working full-time on this. We probably trade about 8,000 head a year, but it's growing all the time. About half of that is destined for export, with a growing appreciation of the value of EBI among grazers in the UK.

"It's become very popular in New Zealand because of biosecurity. It also tends to be much more time efficient for both the buyer and seller. We take a 3.5pc margin," added Mr Troy.
The suitability of land for forestry is a big issue at the Teagasc clinics, particularly for those assessing the potential of marginal land for planting.

Such land is often associated with 'poorer' soils and includes areas that have not been cultivated or brought under intensive commercial agricultural use. These lands are generally used for extensive grazing and have low levels of existing agricultural productivity.

This type of land may be classified as 'Unenclosed/Unimproved land' and is currently not eligible for forestry grant aid.

This situation may have resulted in the exclusion of productive land from the afforestation programme.

As a result, afforestation may not have been considered as an option by some landowners.

However, the Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD) recently published the report Land Availability for Afforestation, - Exploring opportunities for expanding Ireland's forest resource.

The report was compiled by the COFORD Land Availability Working Group and chaired by Nuala Ni Fhlatharta, head of Teagasc's Forestry Development Department. The report suggests a very different way of identifying land suitability for forestry.

Based on the recommendations made in this report, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently in the process of putting the final touches to a new Site Classification for Irish Forestry system or SCIF.

It identifies and characterises land using indicators of productivity potential such as soil type, nutrient status and/or plant community analysis.

This new system should result in a more reliable classification of land, based on its productivity potential and its ability to support forest growth.

It will also examine whether land is suitable for woodland creation and eligible for grant aid taking into account ecological and other constraints.

It is clear from this report that there is significant potential for sustainable afforestation in Ireland.

Of course, on much of this land farming will continue to be the owners' preferred land use choice.

However, landowners should consider how profitable and sustainable their farming enterprises are and how farm forestry can significantly contribute to improving the farm's profitability and sustainability while at the same time creating a national much-needed natural resource that will contribute to our economy.

I hope to return to this topic in more detail once the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has finalised the new Site Classification for Irish Forestry system.
Gleneagles, the multiple Group 1 winner, is among several exciting new sires to join the roster at Coolmore Stud and its associate farms this year.

Along with Ivawood and Kingston Hill, all three will join such champions as Galileo, his son Australia, and Camelot at stud for 2016.

Guests attending the recent Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) Irish Stallion Trail had a unique opportunity to see these equine stars at Ireland's top stud farm which was one of 28 farms in total to open up their doors ahead of the upcoming breeding season.

Following the success of the inaugural Stallion Trail in 2015, Coolmore Stud was delighted to be involved again this year and hosted several hundred thoroughbred owners, breeders and producers, as well as the general public, at the 7,000ac farm over two open days.

This coincided with a busy week of racing between the Thyestes Chase at Gowran and the Irish Champion Hurdle meeting at Leopardstown.

Over the course of the week racing enthusiasts from at home and abroad took in visits to several other farms such as Gilltown, Kildangan and the Irish National Stud in Kildare, as well as Castlehyde and Grange studs, both of which also come under the Coolmore banner.

Gilltown Stud is home to seven stallions including Sea The Stars and Born To Sea, both of whom are out of Urban Sea, also dam of Galileo.

Castlehyde and Grange studs share the roster of National Hunt stallions for Coolmore and both Ivawood and Kingston Hill have retired to Castle Hyde, while Grange's current residents include Fame And Glory, Leading Light and Milan.

Owner-breeder Jackie Humphries visited from the UK and said of her experience: "We were very impressed with the quality of the stallions available but even more so with the value the exchange rate represents for the boarding of our mares.

"As a breeder the margin between profit and loss is a narrow one and reducing our costs by sending our mares to Ireland is a sensible financial decision."

Ireland is home to some 13,500 thoroughbred broodmares, and 240 thoroughbred stallions.

During the breeding season which runs from February to May, Coolmore Stud alone will cater for several hundred mares in walk-in coverings, with a further 350 mares boarding at one of the many satellite farms on the outskirts of Fethard.

Veteran

Not surprisingly, Coolmore's veteran resident, the 18-year-old Galileo, commands the highest numbers of mares - up to three per day - and has emerged as a leading sire in recent years following the death of his own sire, the remarkable Sadler's Wells, in 2011.

An unrivalled champion sire between 2010 and 2015, Galileo's 52 Group 1 winners to date include Frankel, Magician and Soldier of Fortune.

Australia, Ruler of the World, Gleneagles, and Rip Van Winkle are also among an elite group and these four stand alongside their sire at Coolmore.

Out of the great mare Ouija Board, the double Derby winner Australia covered his first mares last season and all will be keenly awaiting his first foals in the coming weeks.

Ruler Of The World is also an Epsom Derby winner and retired to stud in 2015.

Gleneagles is the latest member of this wonderful family to stand at stud, having been retired last October with seven wins to his name, including the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes.

He will stand for a fee of 60,000.

Other popular sires to stand at Coolmore again this year include another Derby winner in Pour Moi, as well as English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner Rock of Gibraltar, and 2015 Leading First Crop sire, Zoffany.

This year's Stallion Trail saw several new studs coming on board and all of those that participated were pleased with the increase in numbers countrywide.

ITBA chairman Derek Iceton stands Alhebayeb and Aljamaaheer at his Tara Stud and said of this year's trail: "The Stallion Trail was really great for us this year, with many more visitors in attendance, but more importantly from all over Ireland. We are very happy that we participated."

Darley's Kildangan Stud was another popular destination, estimating that 600 people passed through their gates for the trail, all keen to view the likes of Shamardal and Dawn Approach in the flesh, as well as new stallions Night Of Thunder and Shooting To Win.

"The Irish Stallion Trail was a fantastic weekend building on the huge success of 2015," said ITM's Marketing Manager Sarah Gavin.

"We saw increased numbers visiting the farms, in particular the smaller farms.

"The attendance was a good mix of owners, breeders and racing public, with overseas visitors from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and further afield. Breeders were particularly interested in viewing the new recruits joining the stallion ranks and this created even more interest."
Pig farmers will receive a flat-rate payment of over 3,000 each from the EU farm aid package.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said the monies would issue shortly to all pig farmers with a minimum of 200 pigs slaughtered last year.
Teagasc's forestry advisory clinics are now in full swing. Initially, 38 clinics had been planned but in the meantime, several more dates had to be added in an effort to meet the demand. There is clearly a need for independent and confidential forestry advice.

As could be expected, the queries that are coming up so far at the Forestry Clinics can be broadly sorted into two categories: landowners who are investigating the possibility of planting some land and forest owners who want to find out how to better manage their existing forests.

Research

These clinics are a very valuable tool in assisting landowners tease out important issues about the potential fo their land for forestry. This enables landowners to make informed decisions understanding the implications, advantages and disadvantages of the different schemes.

Establishing a forest is a one way street and it is important to understand what you are letting yourself in for. Teagasc advisors can assist you answering important questions. For instance, do you want to maximise the income from your forest?

In that case, you should consider establishing a commercial crop such as Sitka spruce. Although the annual payment for the first 15 years is attractive, the bulk of the income will be generated after 30 to 40 years when the timber matures and a clearfell can be considered.

If your focus is more on maximising the ecological value of the woodland then you may be more interested in creating a native woodland.

In this case, the first 15 annual payments are higher but the long-term income from a commercial timber crop is not there and a clearfell cannot be allowed.

Other establishment options include the new grant-aided Agroforestry and Forestry for Fibre schemes.

Once your local Forestry Advisor better understands your requirements and objectives, a discussion takes place. This will decide if your land is likely to be eligible for forestry grant aid, guide you through the maze of options, their pros and cons, the effect on other farm schemes, explain the various steps of making a grant application and how to ensure that the job gets done right first time.

Forest management

Forestry is very similar to any other farm enterprise: it needs looking after. The better a forest is looked after, the better it will deliver. Even simply going for a walk and keeping an eye on things will prevent a minor issue becoming a serious problem later on.

The bulk of the management questions centre nowadays around forests that are coming up for thinning. Forest owners want to know how the thinning process works, what the value is of timber and how to organise a timber sale.

Selling timber is quite similar to bringing cattle to the mart. When you bring cattle to the mart you'll have a fairly good idea of the grade and the money you hope to make when offering the animal for sale.

Forestry is the same - you need to understand the product you're selling.

Steven Meyen is a Teagasc forestry advisor email: steven.meyen@teagasc.ie

Potential returns and other forestry essentials

Income streams

It will come as no surprise that one of the most common topics discussed at the Forestry Clinics are income streams. When a commercial timber crop is planted, it is important to understand when and how income is generated. The Teagasc forestry financial calculator (FIVE) is a valuable tool in this regard providing indicative returns. This is a very valuable exercise so that landowners have a better and realistic appreciation when income is generated from a forest enterprise.

GLAS

The interaction with other farm schemes (see panel) is another frequent and very important topic of discussion, e.g. the interaction of GLAS with farm forestry.

Surprisingly, several farmers who had land already committed to GLAS, intended to consider forestry on the same area. This is not possible. If you are interested in the forestry option, make sure not to commit those particular land parcels to GLAS.

Basic Payment Scheme

Many people want to know if planting forestry would impact on their BPS entitlements. The good news is that BPS entitlements will continue to be paid on the planted area if certain criteria continue to be met (see panel).

Native Woodland Establishment

Although the majority of landowners investigate the commercial plantation option, a surprising number of landowners are particularly interested in the Native Woodland establishment option: especially landowners considering planting a small area or where the land may have protective status.

Rather than focusing on the production of a commercial timber crop, the aim of the Native Woodland establishment option is to support the creation of new native woodland.

Not only will an ecologically rich, biodiverse woodland be created but such a woodland will also protect and enhance water quality and create important linkages between different habitats and across the landscape.

Timber sales

As mentioned earlier, selling timber is similar to bringing cattle to the mart. As a farmer, you'll have a fairly good idea of the grade and the money you hope to make.

First thing that is required is to cut inspection paths. This allows you to inspect the different 'grades' of the timber (in forestry, these are called the 'timber assortments') and understand local timber prices.

You'll also want to know the volume per timber assortment you have growing there.

If you attended a Teagasc timber measurement course, you can measure the timber yourself or pay a forestry consultant to do this on your behalf. Once you have this information, the timber sales process can start. If you don't know the above, you're flying blind.

Access, forest roads

As the loading of timber is illegal on public roads, even small forests will require road construction to provide timber loading areas.

This may require planning permission. Luckily enough, attractive roading grants are available from the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Rights of Way are also a common topic. Where this is proving to be an issue, it is very worthwhile to see if cooperation with a neighbouring forest owner is possible. Additional funding may be available to facilitate this cooperation.

Felling licences

A felling licence is required before timber harvesting can take place. This licence usually remains valid for a period of five years. Apply well in advance to the Forest Service (DAFM).

Thinning broadleaves

Broadleaf woodland owners are enquiring how and when to thin broadleaves. Thinning is an essential operation to produce quality broadleaf timber. Unmanaged broadleaf crops will have very low value.

The trees in broadleaf forests have greater variety in form and vigour than in conifer forests.

The emphasis is therefore on the selection and management of quality stems for final crop trees.

This operation is usually carried out when the trees reach six to eight metres in height dependent on the species.

A fixed grant of up to 750/ha is available under the Woodland Improvement Scheme from the Forest Service (DAFM).

Forestry and exisiting farm schemes/entitlements

Eligibility for Forestry Premium Payments

The new Forestry Programme 2014-2020 does not differentiate between 'farmer' and 'non farmer' premium rates. Enhanced premiums are available over a 15-year period.

Forestry and the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)

Eligible land planted with forestry since 2009 and which will be afforested under the new Forestry Programme 2014-2020 can be used to activate BPS entitlements.

Forestry and Greening

While all farmers are required to comply with greening requirements, the majority will automatically qualify for the Greening Payment based on current farming practices (ie permanent pasture).

Arable farmers may have additional commitments. For example, arable farmers with more than 15 hectares of arable land must ensure that at least 5pc of their arable land is an 'Ecological Focus Area' (EFA).

Forestry and Early Retirement Scheme (ERS)

The Early Retirement Scheme (ERS) is closed to new entrants and the new single category for forestry premium may act as an incentive to retired farmers to plant, particularly where lands they had leased to qualify under the ERS are returned to them.

Forestry and Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC)

This scheme has replaced the previous Disadvantaged Area Scheme. The current area threshold for Less/More Severely Handicapped Lowland is 30 hectares, while the equivalent for Mountain type grazing is 34 hectares.

Where farm size is above the relevant area threshold, there may be opportunities to maximise ANC payment on the threshold area and also plant some remaining land.

For farm holdings whose total eligible area is equal to or lower than these threshold areas (30 or 34 ha), planting some land would result in a pro-rata reduction in ANC payment.

Forestry and GLAS

The GLAS scheme is not a whole-farm scheme. Land parcels not associated with GLAS participation may be considered for the Afforestation Scheme.

However, once land parcels are committed to GLAS, they cannot be planted without claw-back of GLAS payments already made. Forward planning is therefore required for potential GLAS applicants, which may allow the planting option to be considered on appropriate land parcels before land is committed to GLAS.
US multinationals in Ireland say that a new transatlantic data deal has averted the threat of job losses here.

Yesterday's agreement between the EU and US on privacy is being hailed as a resolution to the standoff that threatened transatlantic trade.

The two trading blocs agreed to replace the struck-down 'Safe Harbour' data treaty with a new accord, to be called 'EU-US Privacy Shield'.

European Commissioners said that the new agreement will give "certainty" to businesses here that transatlantic data flows would not fall foul of EU law.

The new agreement provides for more transparency and oversight for Europeans worried that their private information is being mishandled in the US.

Last year, the European Court Of Justice nullified the EU-US Safe Harbour data transfer treaty because it found that indiscriminate surveillance by US authorities of EU citizens' data contravened fundamental European rights.

Under the new deal, an "independent" ombudsman will be set up to deal with cases of suspected abuse by US authorities.

"This protects the fundamental human rights of Europeans and lives up to the [principles set by the] European Court of Justice," said Vera Jourova, the European Union's Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

"It will provide a strong and safe framework for the future of transatlantic data flows."

Ms Jourova said that the new agreement could become law in three months with annual reviews to check on compliance issues.

US multinational companies in Ireland have welcomed the deal, with the US Chamber Of Commerce having warned last week that a failure to produce an agreement would threaten jobs in Ireland.

"The announcement of this new agreement goes a long way to eliminating uncertainty, and allowing businesses to plan effectively," said a spokesman for the US Chamber.

The deal sets out tighter conditions for the treatment of European citizens' data in the US.

"US companies wishing to import personal data from Europe will need to commit to robust obligations on how personal data is processed and individual rights are guaranteed," said a statement from the European Commission on the agreement.

"The [US] Department of Commerce will monitor that companies publish their commitments, which makes them enforceable under US law by the US Federal Trade Commission. In addition, any company handling human resources data from Europe has to commit to comply with decisions by European DPAs [data protection authorities]."

The statement also referred to "safeguards" and "transparency obligations" on US government access.

"For the first time, the US has given the EU written assurances that the access of public authorities for law enforcement and national security will be subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms," it said.

"There will be an annual joint review, which will include the issue of security."
You could be in line for a windfall if you check if you're due a tax rebate

ARE you passing up the chance for a monetary windfall?

Tax experts have called on all taxpayers to make one particular New Year's resolution this year - to get what is owed to them back from the taxman.

There are hundreds of euro in refunds being passed up by many householders.

According to Taxback.com, we are getting better at claiming what is ours from the Revenue Commissioners, but we are still not claiming everything that is owed to us. Barry Flanagan, senior tax manager at www.taxback.com, said: "Every year we have the same message - get what's owed to you in tax refunds.

"And while tax efficiency has become more commonplace among the Irish public, there are still thousands of people who will leave millions of euro with the taxman this year - don't be one of them"

Austerity budgets may be over but there's no doubt that the last few years have seen people pay more in taxes and charges, stealth and otherwise, than ever before, he said.

Mr Flanagan said this should really bring it home to people that they absolutely should claim back their entitlements from these years.

Although there have been a variety of cuts to tax reliefs in recent years, many people are unaware that you can go back up to four years -you can claim back any tax refund entitlements from 2012-2015.

The Taxback.com financial expert said their average PAYE refund is 880.

"And that the effort required of people to get this is minimal, to say the least," he said.

"Get hold of their PPS (personal public service) number, gather receipts, sign a form or two, wait two to six weeks, and there you have it - money for nothing essentially," Mr Flanagan added.

If you are an Irish taxpayer who has paid medical bills on behalf of anyone - yourself, your parents, your children - in the last four years, then you are entitled to a refund.

And that's just one of the categories for which you may be able to claim.

"By way of advice, I would begin by telling people to be sure to keep doctors receipts, tuition fee receipts and any correspondence from Revenue - all of these will make the tax reclaim process so much easier," Mr Flanagan said.

The three main reliefs have changed in the last few years, but can still be claimed:

* For medical expenses, relief at 20pc is still available and can be claimed on most unreimbursed expenses incurred and on qualifying non-routine dental expenses.

* Many people wrongly believe that the Home Carer Tax Credit is for those caring for other people's children, the elderly or disabled people. They don't realise that it can be claimed where any housewife or house-husband works in the home, caring for their own children. And with the increase from 810 to 1,000 this year, this credit is more valuable than ever. It is available to any jointly assessed couple with one or more child, where the non-assessable spouse has income of less than 7,000 in 2016.

* The tax credit for tuition fees is still available. For 2015, the relief does not apply to the first 3,000 of qualifying fees paid. Similarly, for part-time courses, the first 1,500 is disregarded in respect of each claim. As the student contribution now falls under the definition of "tuition fees", it means that any family with more than one child in college will usually qualify for a tax refund. Similarly, those paying higher fees in private colleges, above the 3,000 de minimus, will often qualify for a valuable credit of up to 800 even where there is only one child in college.

"Overpaid tax is also an area which results in many people receiving much welcomed refunds from the Revenue," Mr Flanagan added.

"This can occur inadvertently, especially if you have changed employment during the year or returned home from abroad. Individuals should look back on their income tax and USC payments to ensure that they have not overpaid in prior years and should claim a refund before it's too late."

Other tax reliefs and incentives which have remained available are:

* Rent a room relief;

* Flat-rate expenses for certain trades and professions;

* Exemption on income earned from caring for children in your own home;

* Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) scheme.
The Government is to introduce an affordable rental scheme for young workers seeking homes in built-up areas where rents continue to rise due to the lack of housing

Young workers seeking a home in our major cities will have 30pc of their rent paid by the State in a scheme aimed at allowing them live close to where they work.

The Government is to introduce an affordable rental scheme for young workers seeking homes in built-up areas where rents continue to rise due to the lack of housing.

The scheme will not be open to those on social housing waiting lists, but is designed for key workers including newly-qualified gardai, nurses and other workers who would struggle to rent a home.

Some 10m has been set aside for 2016 to fund a pilot project. The measure was agreed at the last Cabinet meeting before the election, and will only apply to developments where at least five units are made available.

Qualifying criteria including income levels will be decided by the Housing Agency.

According to the Private Residential Tenancies Board, the average cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment is 1,240 in Dublin, 901 in Cork and 855 in Galway.

Qualified

A newly-qualified garda earns just over 23,000 a year, meaning they would struggle to afford a home close to a city-centre station where they may be based.

Separately, the Government has also agreed new measures aimed at encouraging the private sector to invest in social housing.

Developers who allocate at least 20 units in new estates or an apartment complex for social housing will receive a guaranteed rental income for 20 years.

The units would be leased back to the State and allocated to tenants by local authorities.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly said the "innovative" measure was a "significant step" towards securing further investment in social housing.

It is hoped to secure 1,000 properties over the coming years under the scheme, but it is subject to State Aid rules.
How to do business in China? If youre an Irish business wondering how to get into the biggest market in the world, this weeks Ready Business show is here to help.

Fiona Craul of Sweetspot sourcing based in Naas and Fujian, and John Cunningham of Epicom, a contract food manufacturing company in Meath that are supplying milk powder products to China, join Brian Purcell to outline how theyve set up in China and built their companies with contracts in the Far East.

Expand Close John Cunningham MD and Founder of Epicom and Fiona Craul Director of Sweetspot with Ready Business Podcast Presenter Brian Purcell. Pic Steve Humphreys 2nd February 2016. / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Cunningham MD and Founder of Epicom and Fiona Craul Director of Sweetspot with Ready Business Podcast Presenter Brian Purcell. Pic Steve Humphreys 2nd February 2016.

Fiona and her founding parter, Susan Dempsey, set up Sweetspot four years ago to assist Irish companies in sourcing manufactured goods from UK, Europe and China. From drinks glasses to aftershave bags and promotional materials, they have built up a large client base in Ireland using their office in China as a central sourcing hub.

For John Cunningham and Epicom, providing milk powder products to the Chinese has meant a longer process in ensuring that everything is quality approved. Face to face meetings and building up trust over time is key to a successful client relationship he says.

China is not a place that you would go as a start-up, John Cunningham cautions. It is a large market who expect companies to be able to deal with larger orders and it is best if you build your company up in Ireland, UK and Europe first before then deciding to approach the Chinese market.

For Fiona and Sweetspot, getting a trusted agent on the ground has been vital to ensure quality of products and goods being sourced.

In our #readybusinessadvice slot, Irish business owners asked about order sizes  usually minimum of 1,000 advises Fiona Craul, to the main obstacles for Irish business  scaling up and giving yourself a few years to build up the necessary trust says John Cunningham.

The benefits of success in China are obvious though and both Fiona and John believe that with the systems and support in place, it is definitely worth exploring as another market for Irish business.

On next weeks Ready Business show, were discussing honest failure in Ireland and asking should more assistance be given to entrepreneurs that dont succeed at first. Send in your questions on Twitter using #readybusinessadvice.

The Ready Business show, in association with Vodafone , is available every Thursday via iTunes , SoundCloud , Stitcher and Independent.ie . Or subscribe to the RSS feed of the Ready Business Podcast using your favourite podcatcher.
Tax and infrastructure will be key to next government, firms say

Changes to employee-related taxes and improvements in infrastructure are the top requirements for the next government as far as Ireland's business community is concerned, a survey suggests.

The study of 350 firms by accountancy group BDO found that the vast majority of businesses  80pc  want the next government to make changes to employee related taxes, and 78pc said improved infrastructure is required.

But when asked which party best represents their needs, 31pc said they were still undecided and 14pc said none of the parties.

BDO managing partner Michael Costello said Irish businesses still face significant challenges, despite the economic growth.

Business owners want the next government, whoever that might be, to prioritise addressing employee related taxes and to improve Irelands infrastructure in order to facilitate business and help companies grow, Mr Costello said.

Likewise there is a strong appetite from business owners for the next government to revisit the Capital Tax Gains threshold, which many feel hasnt gone far enough, despite last years reforms. Business owners will be watching to see how the political parties address the issues which they see as fundamental to the growth of their businesses.

Separately, the threat of Britain voting to pull out of the EU is becoming an increasing concern for business.

Half of all businesses surveyed said a potential British exit is an issue, an increase from the 35pc who raised the issue as a significant concern in the previous BDO poll during last summer.

Issues beyond the control of any Irish government, such as the possibility of Brexit are an increasing concern as the debate within the UK over its future in Europe intensifies, Mr Costello added.
Vodafone shares dropped 1pc to 223.10 pence at 2.10pm yesterday in London, after earlier rising as much as 3.4pc. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Vodafone has launched a scheme for Irish shareholders in the firm to sell their shares at a reduced cost, which they received as far back as 1999 after the initial offering of Eircom.

The new scheme is aimed at small shareholders who have less than 1,000 shares in the firm and will run from February 23 to May 24 of this year.

For shareholders with under 50 shares, the service is free.

Vodafone shareholders are being offered four options to either sell their entire shareholding using the low cost facility, buy more using the facility, to sell and donate proceeds to charity, or to do nothing and retain their existing shareholding.

Vodafone has 334,342 shareholders in Ireland.

Irish shareholders acquired the shares when Eircom (now known as Eir) sold off its mobile phone business, Eircell, to Vodafone in 2001.

Under current rates shares in Vodafone would have to rise by 50pc in order for shareholders to break even on their original investment.
Worrying news - Ireland's at war with China. Not to fret, it's just a war of words. Big words at that.

The well-travelled Punt was interested to see pictures of the Ha'penny Bridge and WB Yeats, inset, plastered all over carriages of Shanghai's gleaming metro recently (alas, if only we had the Chinese running our transport system). It was part of a big effort by the Department of Foreign Affairs to promote Ireland to the world's most populous country.

The Punt thinks Mrs Brown or Roy Keane would have been less obscure.

And we wondered what the good people of China would make of a poet who was broken the heart of many a poor Leaving Cert student?

Round 1 to Ireland. But there's payback for sleepy-eyed morning commuters on Dublin's Dart in the form of poetry from the Asian tiger.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, carriages and stations are festooned with epic poems from the likes of Luo Bingwang (no, doesn't ring a bell) and Li Baw (err...). Yes, some poor Chinese school-goer is probably laughing away that we're up to our necks in tricky historic poetry too. Panda pictures, misty shots of the Great Wall and some nice dim sum breakfast rolls would have been more to The Punt's taste.

Still, we've always got the ultimate weapon - splattering the collected works of Peig Sayers all over the trains of Shanghai.

Say cheese to the markets

An Italian dairy cooperative has sold bonds backed by Parmesan cheese, in what the Reuters news agency described as a rare example of one of the country's plethora of small firms raising funding on capital markets.

Three years of recession have choked bank lending in the country and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government is trying to encourage firms to raise money elsewhere and take advantage of a tentative economic recovery.

And cheese-maker 4 Madonne Caseificio dell'Emilia has done just that, raising 6m in mini-bonds guaranteed by wheels of Parmesan.

The government wants to spur lending to boost the Italian economy, which is estimated to have grown by just around 0.8pc last year.

4 Madonne's chairman said it would use the money raised in the bond issue to improve its facilities and promote the thick-rinded cheese it makes in Italy's northern gastronomic heartland of Emilia Romagna.

4 Madonne's bonds will pay a fixed yield of 5pc each year until they, the bonds that is and not the cheese, mature in January 2022.

A bit cheesy perhaps?

Davy makes it eight straight

Davy's done it again. The Irish broker has been voted the Number One Equity Research Team in Ireland in the Institutional Investor All-Europe Research Team 2016 survey.

It is the eighth year on the trot Barry Dixon's team on Dawson Street has won the accolade, which suggests it might be time to award it in perpetuity.

'Institutional Investor' magazine has a global circulation running to around 115,000. The awards are based on its survey of more than 2,000 money managers at 784 firms - who between them manage around $6 trillion in assets.

Davy's research analyses follows and produces research on 111 companies, mostly in Ireland but including some elsewhere across Europe.

Commenting on the latest win, Barry Dixon, Davy's head of research, said: "At Davy we continue to enhance the depth and reach of our coverage universe for the benefit of our corporate and institutional client base.

"We see this poll of Europe's largest institutional investors as an important benchmark and an endorsement of this strategy."

At a sector level, Barry Dixon also earned a runner up spot in Paper & Packaging across All-Europe, a category that includes his coverage of Irish player Smurfit Kappa.
Rebels: Cian O Baoill, who plays Oisin, and Fionn Foley as Sully in the forthcoming TG4 series, Eipic

A writer of the cult E4 drama Misfits has praised TG4 for taking on the first post watershed teen drama on an Irish channel.

The new Irish drama, following a group of teens as they take over their local post office and kick off a music rebellion, is putting a fresh twist on the 1916 Rising.

Eipic, scripted by Mike OLeary, follows the fortunes of five rural teens who take over their post office in 2016 to start a musical revolution.

Writer Mike O'Leary, one of the writers of the cult E4 drama Misfits, said he was initially daunted when approached about writing a drama through Irish but was determined to make it authentic, real and wild.

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I was the worst man for the job. Ive no Irish but the translations were amazing. It lost nothing and hearing the actors saying it in Irish was such a buzz, he said.

He praised TG4 for taking a chance on a show which morphed from the traditional teen teatime slot to the post watershed time of 10pm.

We had originally been planning a show for the 5pm to 6pm slot but we wanted to make it as authentic as possible and we just went with it, how teenagers really speak, plenty of swear words, what you would hear as the school gates.

We went to TG4 with it and they were up for the changes so it became a post watershed drama. A British channel would have been more rigid, he added.

Set against the backdrop of the 1916 centenary celebrations and featuring a mysterious online friend who looks remarkably like Michael Collins, the six part drama is an irreverent and anarchic take on what it means to be a teen in 2016 Ireland.

The series is the first post watershed teen drama to be broadcast on Irish television and its doing it all as Gaelige.

Producer Ciara Nic Chormaic explained how they hadnt set out to make a show incorporating the Rising but it came about organically as the characters grew.

We were looking at what it means to be a hero in 2016 and the heroes journey and what inspired that and then we started looking at the chatroom character in the guise of Michael Collins.

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Obviously were looking at it in an irreverent way and just trying and bring something new to the table and commemorations in a creative way, she said.

The show follows a band of teenage oddballs who inspired by an anonymous online presence break into the local abandoned post office. There they set up their base of operations for an online music video competition, all in the hopes of escaping the begrudgery of their rural hometown.

The writer credits the popularity of Nordic drama in helping remove stereotypes when it comes to watching subtitled programmes.

Language is no longer a barrier when it comes to television. The storyline and characters are the universal language and as audiences we are much more aware of that, he said.

EIPIC will air on TG4 from tomorrow at 10pm for six weeks.
Alan Kelly has stated with certainty today that Joan Burton is indeed "his boss".

In return, the Tanaiste paid the Environment Minister a glowing compliment, when she described him as "an incredibly obedient employee."

Mr Kelly told the Sunday Independent last weekend he was "very much (his) own boss."

After completing the necessary paperwork to dissolve the 31st Dail earlier this morning, Ms Burton joined Mr Kelly at the Labour Party election Headquarters in Dublin for a press conference.

The Tanaiste issued a rallying cry to the troops, as she told staff at Labour HQ "We really need to go out there now and give it our all."

While launching Labour's election bid she had plenty to say on what the party had achieved during their time in Government.

"We have come a long way and created 135,000 jobs, but have plans to do a lot more.

"Contrast that with a very sterile opposition who really want to paint Ireland as a dull and desperate place," she told reporters.

The Tanaiste said that lower and middle income people need to move from a minimum wage to a living wage:

"Lower and middle income people need to experience a rebalancing of the tax and PRSI system.

"There is no longer a deficit in the social insurance fund.

"We've brought it into balance and have shown that we can maintain it in balance," she said.

Ms Burton also pledged that the Labour party will address the tough issues should they be re-elected.

"We know we've a lot of work to do on housing and we know we've work to do on health but now that we have the resources to do both it can happen."
A British soldier has said he will remember Thomas 'Slab' Murphy as a "mass murderer" who ordered the killing of "many people".

Colonel Richard Kemp, who worked in intelligence at the UK's cabinet office and who served several tours in the North, said soldiers who served in south Armagh were long familiar with Murphy and the IRA unit he led.

Speaking on BBC's 'Spotlight' last night, Col Kemp said: "We were briefed on the main IRA terrorists operating in south Armagh.

"Thomas Murphy was one of the main people on that list, in fact, as we understood it, he was the head of the Provisional IRA in south Armagh."

He added: "We did not believe that he was necessarily the trigger man, the one who would actually position the bombs or pull the trigger of a sniper rifle, but we did know that he was the one that sent those people out to commit murder on behalf of the IRA.

"I think Thomas Murphy will be remembered and I certainly will remember him for being a mass murderer, he killed and ordered the killing of many people."

Former IRA member Kieran Conway, who is now a solicitor in Dublin, told the programme how he first met Murphy in the early 1970s.

"I was director of intelligence. I went to a series of meetings in the border areas with the IRA and that would have been the first time that I met Tom Murphy.

"We might discuss mutual acquaintances, a bad IRA operation or whatever, but no, no the small talk would be very minimal."

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams yesterday said there should be no "hanging" Murphy in relation to his upcoming sentencing at the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Adams yesterday insisted he is not concerned that Murphy's sentencing hearing later this month will damage Sinn Fein's electoral prospects.

Murphy, a former chief of the IRA, was convicted of nine counts of tax fraud in December and is now facing up to five years in prison.

His sentencing is scheduled to take place just days before polling and has caused considerable angst among Sinn Fein figures.

But Mr Adams, who has consistently described his friend Murphy as a "good republican", yesterday denied that he was worried about the hearing.

Speaking to the media outside Government Buildings, the Louth TD said his party is committed to abolishing the Special Criminal Court.

But he was unable to say whether such a pledge will be contained in the Sinn Fein manifesto.

"Whether it's in our manifesto or not is another issue. But it certainly is one of our key objectives. It runs against the whole thrust of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements. But we will see. We haven't closed on our manifesto yet," Mr Adams said.

Mr Adams said he would not pre-empt the decision of the court when asked if he will stand by the use of the term "good republican" in the event of Murphy being handed a jail sentence.
Daniel and Amy McArthur leaving court in Belfast last May after the ruling went against the Ashers bakery

Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company, talk to the media outside Belfast High Court as the Christian bakery owners who were found guilty of discriminating against a gay man are appealing against the court ruling to protect all family businesses with deeply held convictions. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The Christian owners of a bakery are to begin their appeal against a court ruling which found they discriminated against a gay man.

A judge at Belfast County Court said Ashers Baking Company, run by the McArthur family, acted unlawfully by declining an order from gay rights activist Gareth Lee.

Mr Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, had wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the slogan Support Gay Marriage for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia in May 2014.

He paid in full when placing the order at Ashers' Belfast branch, but said he was stunned when - two days later - the company phoned to say it could not be processed.

The high profile case was heard over three days last March.

Delivering her reserved judgment two months later, District Judge Isobel Brownlie found Ashers directly discriminated against Mr Lee who had been treated "less favourably", contrary to the law.

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Ordering the bakers to pay agreed damages of 500, the judge said religious beliefs could not dictate the law.

The Northern Ireland Equality Commission, which monitors compliance with the region's anti-discrimination laws, took the landmark legal action on behalf of Mr Lee.

The publicly funded watchdog had initially asked for the bakery on Belfast's Royal Avenue to acknowledge it had breached legislation and offer "modest" damages but proceeded with the court challenge when the firm refused.

Ashers, which employs 80 staff in nine branches and delivers across the UK and Ireland, was supported by the Christian Institute - which organised public meetings and garnered financial backing.

In evidence, Mr Lee claimed the company's refusal to make the cake left him feeling like a "lesser person".

Karen McArthur, a director at Ashers, said she had accepted the order to avoid a confrontation or to avoid embarrassment in the shop, but as a born again Christian "knew in her heart" it could not be fulfilled.

General manager, Daniel McArthur, 26, said the family could not compromise their deeply held religious beliefs despite the legal ramifications.

The father of two said the legal wrangle had strengthened his faith in God.

He said: "It was clear we did not hate anyone. We didn't want to discriminate against anyone. We did what we did because of our Christian beliefs.

"It's done out of love for God, to obey him.

"Our hope and prayer would be that an appeal will allow us and other Christians to live out their faith in Jesus Christ in every part of their lives, including their workplace."

The issue of gay marriage has split public opinion in Northern Ireland.

In 2005, the region became the first in the UK to allow same-sex civil partnerships but the devolved Stormont Assembly has repeatedly refused to change the law around marriage.

Following last May's referendum in the Republic, it is now the only part of the UK or Ireland to deny civil marriage to same sex couples.

Two same sex couples are now seeking to challenge the ban through a judicial review in the courts.

Gareth Lee arrived at court accompanied by the Equality Commission's chief commissioner, Dr Michael Wardlow.

Mr Wardlow said if the ruling was overturned it would raise "all sorts of issues about the protection of minorities".

"There has been a lot of misinformation in the media that somehow this about closing down religious expression, that faith has to be left at the door of the workplace and that is not true," he said.

"Religious freedom is enshrined in the legislation. The problem is although freedom to believe is absolute, freedom to express that belief is always limited, because if by expressing that belief you discriminate against others then the law must intervene.

"So this is not simply about some form of religious intolerance or closing down of Christian expression because in all of this the other person who has a right in this, who seems to have been forgotten, is Gareth.

"So I would like this to be seen for what it is - this is about if you enter into the public domain and choose to trade as a commercial enterprise you are ruled by the laws of the land."
BUSINESSMAN Jerry Beades, who claimed he was duped into signing a guarantee for a 255,000 loan, has lost an appeal over a summary judgment order against him for the money plus interest.

The Court of Appeal found Mr Beades could not credibly argue he was duped or that he did not give the guarantee willingly in the full knowledge of the legal implications of doing so.

It ordered the couple who loaned the money, Bernard and Nancy McDonnell, Leopardstown Avenue, Blackrock, Dublin, were entitled to judgment for 291,000.

The original 255,000 (IR200,000) loan was provided by the McDonnells between 1998 and 1999, in three amounts, for a property development company, Greencastle Investments.

Its directors were Mr Beades and his business partner Niall Ring, who was also a son-in-law of the McDonnells.

The money was for a mixed commercial/residential development at Greencastle Parade, Coolock, Dublin.

Mr Beades and Mr Ring both entered into guarantees to repay the loans on demand within a year with interest.

When they were not repaid, the McDonnells obtained a High Court summary judgment order in March 2011 against Mr Beades who had opposed the application and argued it should go to a full hearing.

Mr Beades appealed that order and arguing the High Court should have allowed it go to full hearing because there was a genuine dispute surrounding complex transactions.

He claimed neither he nor Greencastle Investments derived any benefit from the loans.

He said no evidence had been produced to verify any efforts were made by the McDonnells to recover the money from their son-in-law since the judgment.

Mr Beades also claimed Mr Ring had misappropriated Greencastle Investment funds to buy a family home in Clontarf, Dublin. As a result, he said, the company finances were fatally undermined and the money had to be borrowed from the McDonnells.

Mr Beades, whose address is Mount Prospect Avenue, Clontarf, also claimed his European Convention right to access to a court and fair trial had been breached by the summary judgment.

Giving the three-judge Court of Appeal's decision dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Alan Mahon said Mr Beades had claimed he was duped "into signing the guarantee while present in the solicitor's office on other business".

However, the judge said, no such contention was made in Mr Beades original opposition to summary judgment in the High Court.

What he had claimed was that Mr Ring had asked him to sign the guarantee and that his father-in-law was going to ask him (Ring) to repay the money. He said Mr Ring assured him the money was in Greencastle's bank account and would be used to repay at a later date.

Mr Justice Mahon said the agreement to provide a personal guarantee undoubtedly informed Mr Beades' decision to later sign the document and assume liability for the loans.

While he complained about having been duped, and while he may have agreed to sign out of "misplaced loyalty" to Mr Ring, it was nevertheless a fact that he signed in the full knowledge of its legal implications.

"He was at the time an experienced businessman well used to dealing with substantial financial matters."

The judge did not believe he had established a credible or arguable defence. The McDonnells were entitled to summary judgment.
A man accused of assaulting a garda claims the officer attacked him instead and beat him with his garda tie.

Stephen Tuohey (25) is alleged to have punched, kicked and spat at Garda John Santry in his cell where he was being held for another matter. Mr Tuohey says that Gda Santry antagonised him before throwing him into the cell and beating him.

Mr Tuohey of Inglewood Drive, Dublin 15 has pleaded not (NOT) guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting a peace officer in Blanchardstown Garda Station on the morning of June 25, 2011.

The main piece of evidence in the trial is a few seconds of CCTV footage from the hallway outside the cell. There is no CCTV footage of inside the cell.

The prosecution maintains the footage shows Mr Tuohey becoming aggressive towards the garda because he couldn't have his own clothes and Gda Santry putting him back in his cell for safety reasons. It states that this was when the garda was attacked.

The defence says the footage instead shows Gda Santry becoming aggressive to Mr Tuohey and getting up in his face before throwing him into the cell and beating him.

Gda Santry told prosecuting counsel Derek Cooney BL that he was acting as jailer that morning, meaning he was responsible for checking on the prisoners and filling out the custody record.

He said he checked on Mr Tuohey several times that morning. He said the prisoner was banging his cell door and covered the viewing hatch with his mattress and with pieces of paper which had to be removed.

Gda Santry said at one point Mr Tuohey told him to F off and used the C word. The garda said that the prisoner demanded a phone call and he replied that he couldn't have one until he calmed down. He said on another occasion when he was removing paper from the hatch, Mr Tuohey lunged at him.

The garda said that at 9am he opened the cell to bring Mr Tuohey to court. He said the prisoner again lunged at him and grabbed at his clip-on tie which came off. Gda Santry said he pushed him back into the cell and roared for assistance.

He said Tuohey spat, kicked and punched at him before other gardai arrived and helped restrain and handcuff the accused. The garda said he suffered minor injuries but needed no medical attention.

Defence counsel Kieran Kelly BL suggested that Gda Santry was antagonising his client by not giving him his right to a phone call. The garda denied this, asking what would be the point.

It makes no sense to wind up prisoners, Gda Santry said. When prisoners are calm everybody's happy.

Counsel put it to Gda Santry that he assaulted the accused and was now trying to dress it up as an attack on you. The garda denied this.

Mr Kelly submitted that the garda pushed Mr Tuohey back into his cell where he took off his tie and beat him with the knot. He said the accused received blows to the ribs, was left gasping for breath and thought he was going to be killed.

He said that a short time later Gda Santry told Mr Tuohey: I have a can of pepper spray with your name on it.

Gda Santry denied all of this, telling Judge Petria McDonnell: These are actually just lies judge. He said it was unfortunate the CCTV didn't have audio which would show Mr Tuohey's aggression.

Counsel put it to the garda that everything he alleged took place in the cell where nobody could see it.

Unfortunately that's correct, Gda Santry replied.

During re-examination the garda agreed with the prosecution that to his knowledge Mr Tuohey never made a complaint about being assaulted by him.

The trial is due to conclude today before Judge McDonnell and a jury.
A 37-year-old man set to be prosecuted for the murder of a Belfast mother-of-three has been detained in Dublin on a European arrest warrant.

The Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland said it had decided to prosecute a suspect for the murder of Jennifer Dornan.

Raymond O'Neill was arrested by gardai in Dublin on Wednesday and later appeared in an extradition court in the city. He was remanded in custody until later this month.

Ms Dornan was found stabbed to death in her burning house in Hazel View in the Lagmore area of west Belfast last August.

O'Neill, who has a previous address in Summerhill Walk, Dunmurry, is to be prosecuted for murder and arson.

PPS assistant director Marianne O'Kane said: "Senior prosecutors, from both the PPS's Serious Crime Unit and Appeals and International Section, have worked closely with the PSNI investigating team over recent months to expedite the prosecution decision in this case and commence extradition proceedings."

PSNI Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: "We will be seeking this man's extradition to Northern Ireland as part of our investigation into Jennifer's murder.

"We have been working closely with the Public Prosecution Service to ensure this matter is expedited as quickly as possible."
A man previously jailed for damaging a 10m Monet painting has been found guilty of possessing 67 stolen antique books, including an extremely rare King James Bible.

Andrew Shannon (51) was accused of illegally handling the books which originated in the library of Carton House in Kildare, the historical family seat of the FitzGerald family.

The books - including a 1660 edition of the King James Bible of which only six exist - went missing after they were put in storage during the restoration of the country house.

Gardai say they were later found in Shannon's house during a search. Shannon told investigators that he bought the books at a fair or fete for about Ir300 and was using them to decorate his house.

Shannon, of Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the books at his home while knowing or being reckless as to whether they were stolen on March 3, 2007. After a five-day trial the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Under the new EU directive on victims, transposed into Irish law last November, Judge Petria McDonnell invited the owners of Carton House to provide a victim impact report for the sentence hearing next April.

Shannon is on bail on this matter and was remanded on the same conditions. He is currently in prison after being convicted in 2014 of criminal damage to a 10m Monet painting at the National Gallery of Ireland on Clare Street on June 29, 2012.
THE only son of missing peer Lord Lucan has spoken for the need to move on now he has been granted a death certificate 42 years after his father vanished.

Lord George Bingham - now the 8th Earl of Lucan - applied for a declaration under the Presumption Of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he could inherit the title.

His father vanished after nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered at the family home in London on November 7 1974.

At London's High Court on Wednesday, Mrs Justice Asplin said that none of Lord Lucan's family members or closest friends had seen or heard from him, or had any reason to believe he was still alive.

Agreeing that the evidence all pointed in one direction, she said she was satisfied that the missing peer had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years.

Afterwards, Lord Bingham said: "My own personal view, and it was one I took as an eight-year-old boy, is that he has unfortunately been dead since that time.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close George Bingham, the only son of missing peer Lord Lucan, speaks to the media outside the High Court in London, where he was granted a death certificate by a High Court judge. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire Lord Lucan. Photo: PA Wire Neil Berriman, the son of Sandra Rivett who was found murdered at Lord Lucan's family home, arrives at the High Court in London, where George Bingham, the only son of the missing peer, is applying for a death certificate so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp George Bingham, the only son of missing peer Lord Lucan, speaks to the media outside the High Court in London, where he was granted a death certificate by a High Court judge. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

"In the circumstances I would think it possible that he saw his life at an end, regardless of guilt or otherwise.

"Being dragged through the courts and the media would have destroyed his personal life, his career and the chances of getting the custody of his children back.

"And that may well have pushed a man to end his own life, but I have no idea."

He added that the title was his legal right and he would be adopting it immediately.

Expressing his sympathy with Ms Rivett's son, Neil Berriman, he said: "Our family has no idea how our own father, my father, met his own end and whether he did so at his own hand or the hand of others on that fateful evening. It is a mystery, and it may well remain that way forever.

"I would ask, with a very quiet voice, for everyone to consider a person did die here in terrible circumstances, and a family lost a father.

"We, none of us, know actually what happened, nor will we ever. And as a British person, I still prefer to consider a person innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

"Nonetheless I am very pleased with the result that we achieved today."

He continued: "To some extent it has been a bit of a jaunt, at other times it has been very difficult.

"I would be very grateful if we all moved on and found another Loch Ness Monster out there."

But Mr Berriman said: "This is closure and a time to move on for him and his family. I can understand that he wants to move on with his life but for me this is something, at this moment, that cannot happen.

"I do feel and hope that the Lucan mystery will come to a possible end in 12-14 months time, through various new evidence and lines of inquiries."

He added: "But at the end we have to get to the truth and justice for Sandra. A horrible death, a young woman beaten - my mother."

Even though Lord Lucan was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy called "Jungly Barry".

Lord Bingham argued that the 1999 declaration had not proved death "for all purposes" and the new Presumption Of Death Act allowed for a "more complete process".

On the night of the peer's disappearance, the nanny's attacker also turned on Lord Bingham's mother, Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub.

Lord Lucan's car was found abandoned and soaked in blood in Newhaven, East Sussex, and an inquest jury declared him the killer a year later.
Shane Smyth who is accused of the murder of Mairead Moran

Mairead Moran died from a wound to her body which went into her heart

A man with a psychotic illness stabbed a young shop assistant in the chest with a hunting knife as she finished a day's work.

Shane Smyth (29) attacked Mairead Moran (26), stabbing her repeatedly in front of shocked shoppers.

The accused had known her years earlier from when they were in their late teens and went out together for several months, but had "very seldom met" by the time of the attack.

The Central Criminal Court was told Ms Moran died from a wound to her body which went into her heart.

Witnesses who heard her screams came to help but were unable to save her.

The jury heard Mr Smyth, a paranoid schizophrenic, had been suffering from a delusion that he was being persecuted and Ms Moran was part of a conspiracy against him.

Mr Smyth, with an address at McGuinness House, Evans Lane, Kilkenny, is charged with murdering Ms Moran on May 8, 2014, at the Holland and Barrett shop in the city's Market Cross Shopping Centre

He is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

John O'Kelly SC, for the prosecution, said a lot of the factual evidence in the case was not disputed.

Outlining the prosecution's case, he said Ms Moran had been working on the late shift.

On the night, Mr Smyth turned up at around 8pm and started speaking to Ms Moran "quite aggressively". People heard him asking: "Why did you want my blood?"

Ms Moran was in tears and a security man told Mr Smyth to leave, which he did "reluctantly". Within five minutes, he got back in and "this terrible attack took place".

Security guard James Coffey saw him with the knife. It was five to six inches long and had a timber handle and blood on it.

"He had a completely blank look on his face, like he didn't even realise what he was after doing," Mr Coffey said.

Afterwards, Mr Smyth got a taxi to his cousin's house and said he had stabbed "his ex-girlfriend".

Gardai went to the house and arrested him.

The onset of illness happened in his late adolescence and Mr Smyth remained mentally ill, Mr O'Kelly said.

He displayed psychosis, suffering from delusions about "spider infestation and thought broadcasting".

According to a psychiatrist's report, he "clearly failed to appreciate the enormity of his actions".

He had believed he was being victimised and that his life was in danger, a second report stated.

Colman Cody SC, for the defence, said that eight facts were being admitted; that Ms Moran died as a result of injuries inflicted by the accused with a knife, that she died of a stab wound to the trunk as determined by the State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.

Other accepted facts are that Mr Smyth was lawfully arrested and detained, he was fit to be interviewed having been examined by a consultant psychiatrist and that the physical evidence was lawfully seized by gardai.

The other accepted facts are that the scene was lawfully preserved, warrants were lawfully obtained and executed and the forensic evidence was not disputed.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan.
A paedophile who carried out sickening sex attacks on two sisters when they were aged just five and seven-years-old has been named after his victims waived their right to anonymity.

School bus driver Leo McFarland (57), of Oak Grove, Millfield, Buncrana, Co Donegal, had pleaded not guilty to 53 charges of indecent sexual assault against Cathy and Caroline Brady.

On the second day of the trial before a jury at Letterkenny Circuit Criminal Court, McFarland asked to be re-arraigned on 11 counts and pleaded guilty to each of the charges.

The victims waived their right to anonymity so McFarland could be named. He was a well-known bus driver in Inishowen for 30 years, providing services to schools, GAA clubs and disabled groups.

Cathy Brady (37) was due to have been cross-examined yesterday.

She had told the jury how McFarland, her best friend's dad, sexually assaulted her at least once a week over a two-year period.

McFarland, who carried out the attacks at his home in Carndonagh in the early 1980s, will be sentenced in April.
Catholic Schools Week is now being celebrated across Ireland at primary and post-primary level. It represents an opportunity for Catholic schools to showcase the good work they do in transmitting the faith and to highlight the contribution they make to society and to the common good.

This year's theme, 'Catholic Schools: Challenged to Proclaim God's Mercy', reflects the motto for this Jubilee Year of Mercy, which was inaugurated by Pope Francis.

So what has the concept of mercy to do with educating our people? In many ways, that concept of mercy is what humanises our education system and brings the person of Christ to Catholic education.

Mercy and charity are sisters. In many of our Catholic schools, students engage in charitable works for those less fortunate. In so doing, they reflect the mercy and compassion of Christ for those who are poor, alone and suffering. Such endeavours are as valuable and as character forming as any subject on the curriculum.

Mercy overlooks and forgives. Perhaps if we overlooked, forgave and did not comment on others' weaknesses, faults, failings and mistakes, particularly on social media, many pupils would be happier and safer. Therein lies a challenge for our pupils in proclaiming God's mercy.

Mercy also has implications for school management. Mercy is an attitude, a disposition, a way of relating to others. It is about giving dignity, giving respect, forgiving, treating others as God treats us. Catholic schools must live up to that expectation in how they treat others, how they deal with disadvantage and how they relate to society.

Recently, the issue of league tables has re-emerged. Such a measure of success values the schools with the academically gifted over others. Can society say that we must value all students equally, as it should and must, and at the same time become fascinated with league tables? The ideology governing Catholic schools cannot be perception, league tables or results, but mercy: a profound respect for the individual. Mercy is about the individual, not the institution, the policy, the rule, the standard or, even, the common good.

Recognising the image of God highlights the need for inclusion in our Catholic schools. Inclusion is not just about religious denomination. Inclusion must also take nationality, ethnicity, socio-economic background and ability into consideration. When these five criteria are taken into consideration, I would challenge anyone to hold that Catholic schools are not as inclusive as any others. Indeed, an ESRI publication on School Sector Variation in Ireland bears testimony to this.

St. Maries of the Isle Convent NS in Cork is a good example. It has 265 pupils from 38 countries and from 10 different faith backgrounds and atheist: 40 are Muslim, 11 are Hindu and four are Buddhist.

The school has three special Autism Spectrum Disorder classes, attended by 18 pupils . It has a further 39 children availing of resource hours. It has 11 SNAs and 25 teachers including three who teach English as an additional language. In a recent Department questionnaire to all parents, 100pc were happy with the school. A vision of mercy permeates the classrooms, the corridors, the staff room and the yard of that school. Every town has such inclusive Catholic schools.

It is also true that Catholic schools teach about the person of Jesus Christ. Experience has shown that the vast majority of parents want that religious education for their children. The recent announcement regarding Rule 68 and the teaching of religion does not impinge upon Catholic primary schools, which will continue to teach religion in accordance with their ethos and as the Minister envisions. Catholic schools have served our communities well and will continue to do so.

Fr Tom Deenihan is general secretary of the Catholic Primary School Management Association
The February 1 deadline for the CAO has passed, and with it comes great relief to many households. While, in many ways, the CAO process is extremely fair, it can mean that students must achieve extremely high Leaving Cert grades to access some of their chosen courses. For those who have passion in a particular area, but are concerned they may not achieve the points, there are other options.

Courses with high points here often easier to access in Europe. In Ireland, points are dictated by supply and demand. Many European universities accept candidates who meet a minimum standard in their school leaving exams - but insist on students meeting high academic standards to continue in their courses of study without the safety net of repeat exams.

A large number offer courses designed specifically for international students and are taught through English. This may be in the areas of business, medicine, veterinary, science or psychology, to name a few. These institutions often rank higher on the world university rankings than Irish universities. As a result any student who feels adventurous enough to travel abroad to pursue their dream course can find a world-class education.

So what is the cost? In reality it may be less than one might first presume. As EU citizens, Irish students are entitled to the same supports in the country in which they choose to study as students who are citizens of that country. Many countries offer free fees: for example, the four Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Other countries charge much lower fees than Ireland. Most countries offer student loans or grants and Irish students may apply and be considered for any funding available. In addition, if a student qualifies for a SUSI grant they can take this grant to public programmes in Europe. There is the cost of travel and accommodation but students will find that the cost of accommodation in most European cities is often no greater or less than the cost in Irish cities.

Some European countries have been actively recruiting in Ireland: universities from the Netherlands have had an increasingly significant presence at career events in recent years. An event will be held in Cork on March 10 for anyone interested in finding out more about studying in Dutch system, with an opportunity to speak to Irish students who are currently studying in the Netherlands. Applications can be made to Swedish, Denmark and Dutch programmes in March or April depending on the country and course. Some places may also be available during 'available places season' this summer. More information on opportunities to study in Europe can be found on eunicas.ie.

Aoife Walsh is a guidance counsellor at Malahide Community School, Co Dublin

Question: My son is interested in doing a particular course, which we have been told is a waste of time. What do you advise?

Aoife replies: The most important part of choosing a course is to select a subject area that you are passionate about. Some courses have better career opportunities than others but I believe the biggest factor in achieving success is the person themselves and not the course they have done.

I suggest that your son speak to the college and ask them where their graduates work and what they do after they have completed this course. All universities conduct follow up research on employment rates and further education of their graduates. Hopefully this will put your and your son's mind at ease. It is also important to remember that Level 8 degrees are a gateway qualification, which allow graduates to access a wide range of postgraduate qualifications, therefore even if your son finds that he has limited employment options after his Level 8, it is easy to diversify in a short space of time with postgraduate study.

Important dates

Today

Interviews (3 Days) - Ballyfermot College of FE

Info Sessions National Learning Network - Roslyn Park College

Tomorrow

Open Day / Interview Day - Killester College of FE

Open Evening - Ormonde College of FE

February 5

Portfolio deadline for AD101 AD202 and AD212 - NCAD

February 6

Interview & Information Day - Marino College of FE

February 7

Registration Open - Mature Students Admissions Pathway (MSAP) Ireland

February 9

Open Evening - Dublin campus and Galway campus, Pulse College
FIANNA Fail leader Micheal Martin has accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of ducking and diving and running away following his failure to appear on RTEs Six One News

Mr Martin said it is clear Fine Gael is sending Leo Varadkar to fight the election on his behalf after the Health Minister was instead interviewed by Bryan Dobson.

Mr Martin, Labour Party leader Joan Burton and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams all agreed to the interview - but Mr Kenny declined.

I think the whole strategy from Fine Gael is quite insulting to the electorate.The idea that wed have the shortest campaign in living history, Mr Martin said.

The idea that wed pick and choose our battles, the idea wed pick and choose the interviews we do, wed pick and choose the debates we do, the ducking and diving and running away, he added.

Mr Martin made the remarks prior to giving a speech at his partys election launch in Swords, North County Dublin.

About 150 members were in attendance.

The Cork TD also said it is condescending for Mr Kenny to claim he wont engage in economic jargon.

And he said it is clear both Fine Gael and Labour are at odds over universal GP care.

After five years they are desperately trying to cover up the scale of their failure, Mr Martin said.

They put all the blame on James Reilly and handed the Department to their media star  and things have got even worse. The highest overspend in the history of the health service and desperate attempts to keep lists under control until after voting is Fine Gaels record.

Speaking to reporters prior to the event, Mr Martin also criticised Gerry Adams over his refusal to answer questions on the Thomas Slab Murphy controversy..

BBC Spotlight this week broadcast an interview from a British soldier who claimed Murphy ordered murders on behalf of the IRA.

Mr Adams said the issue is central to the campaign.

It is a fundamental moral question in terms of where Gerry Adams stands on the most fundamental thing of all in terms of the upholding of the Irish courts, the dealing with issues in terms of tax in that case, Mr Adams said.

There is a real issue there for Gerry Adams in terms of his moral leadership in terms of going forward as a party that wants to go into government.

Asked why the Taoiseach did not take part in the interview a Fine Gael spokesman said: "He will be present to media every day throughout the campaign."
The posters go up following the ending of the 31st.Dail.Photo: Tom Burke

A TOWN famous for its annual political talk shop has banned election posters.

Glenties in Co Donegal is the venue every summer for the Patrick MacGill Summer School.

Cabinet Ministers and opposition leaders give keynote speeches on the future of Ireland.

But for the next three weeks all political election posters have been effectively banned from the towns main street.

It follows a meeting of the Glenties Community Development Group.

Secretary Richard Quigley says he wrote to every candidate last week asking them to respect their decision to ban posters from inside the towns limits.

Glenties has a proud tradition as a tidy town and each year countless hours of hard work and endeavour, not to mention a lot of money, goes into keeping the town looking in the best possible condition all year round, he said.

We as a committee felt that the erecting of election posters is an unsightly practice particularly in a town such as Glenties with its ornate street fixings and floral displays.

He said that in previous elections posters have not been taken down within the allotted time and some left to fall down and lie in ditches whilst the eternal problem of discarded cable ties meant lots of sweeping for the towns hard working volunteers.

However last night Fianna Fail posters were erected on the Narin Road in the town  inside the 5okm/h zone which the group had asked to be respected.

The group says it had been in contact with the party to have the posters featuring Micheal Martin removed.

We feel that this is a reasonable request given the hard work that goes into keeping Glenties looking as wonderful as it does all through the year, said Mr Quigley.

"We've been in touch with Fianna Fail to ask them to remove the posters as soon as possible and respect the wishes of the people of the town."
Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said he does not recall speaking to Tanaiste Joan Burton over her concerns about training extra doctors to cover the extension of free GP care.

Speaking at the Labour Partys election campaign launch, Ms Burton said the health minister should train more doctors to meet the demand from rolling out free GP care for under 12s and over 70s.

Why dont we actually train up more GPs, weve some of the smartest best educated young people in Europe, Ms Burton said.

Asked why she was raising her concern with Mr Varadkars position only today, Ms Burton said: Ive had the conversation about health with the Minister on numerous occasions."

And her deputy leader Alan Kelly added: I can assure you the Tanaiste had that conversation and I can assure you she did ask all that questions.

But hours later, at Fine Gaels first election event, Mr Varadkar insisted he did not meet the Tanaiste to discuss her concerns over free GP care.

I dont recall having a meeting with her about or having discussed it with her but given that I see her nearly every week it is quite possible but I certainly have no recollection of a meeting, he said.

The minister said Fine Gaels health policy, which now does not included universal free GP, is both ambitious and realistic.

There is no point in being realistic if you are not ambitious, he added.

He said the health service trains 160 GPS a year about the same amount retire each year. Mr Varadkar said the next government will have to hire 500 more GPS just to stand still.

It is important that if anyone is proposing to go further than were proposing that they detail exactly how they would train hundreds of additional GPs that are required, he said.

It is up to the Labour Party to demonstrate how they would train the additional GPs to deal with the additional demand, he added.

Mr Varadkar said he did not believe Ms Burtons comments were down to constituency rivalry in Dublin West ahead of the election.

They are different emphasis on policies on health I dont think its to do with constituency rivalry. On a constituency level we actually get on very well, he said.
SINN Fein leader Gerry Adams has stonewalled questions in response to allegations contained in a television documentary that his friend Thomas Slab Murphy order a number of murders on behalf of the IRA.

The controversy surrounding Murphy, who is facing up to five years in jail for tax fraud, overshadowed Sinn Feins General Election launch today.

Last night, the BBC Spotlight programme aired an interview with a British soldier who said he will remember Murphy as a mass murderer who killed and ordered the killing of many people.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who worked in intelligence at the UK's cabinet office and who served several tours in the North, said soldiers who served in south Armagh were long familiar with Murphy and the IRA unit he led.

"We were briefed on the main IRA terrorists operating in south Armagh. Thomas Murphy was one of the main people on that list, in fact, as we understood it, he was the head of the Provisional IRA in south Armagh, Col Kemp told the programme.

"We did not believe that he was necessarily the trigger man, the one who would actually position the bombs or pull the trigger of a sniper rifle, but we did know that he was the one that sent those people out to commit murder on behalf of the IRA.

I think Thomas Murphy will be remembered and I certainly will remember him for being a mass murderer, he killed and ordered the killing of many people, he added.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the calling of the election today, Mr Adams said he did not see the programme, before stonewalling virtually all questions.

Asked whether he wanted to say anything about the allegations against Murphy, who Mr Adams described as a good republican, the Louth TD replied:

Nothing at all.

Pressed again on the issue, Mr Adams responded:

I can only say nothing at all once, or twice if you want.

When it was put to Mr Adams that the questions about Murphy are valid, he replied:

Im not disputing the validity of the questions. But so is the answer, a valid answer. He isnt to my knowledge standing in the election, is he?

When it was pointed out that he is facing a sentencing hearing at the Special Criminal Court for tax fraud, Mr Adams said:

Thanks for that.

Meanwhile, Mr Adams said the manner in which Taoiseach Enda Kenny dissolved the Dail - without giving the Opposition the opportunity to make statements - is seen as being pathetic.

The Louth TD said he had intended to pay tribute to his own outgoing TDs Sandra McLellan and Michael Colreavy, neither of whom are standing.

Caoimhghin O Caolain said to me It was a rather pathetic end to a rather pathetic term. I wanted to say no more than to thank those outgoing TDs who are not standing again, and particularly and especially, Sandra McLellan and Micheal Colreavey from Sinn Fein, Mr Adams told reporters.

Thats the way the Taoiseach works. He genuflects in the Dail chamber but doesnt really leave himself open to the democratic processes.

I have to say his decision to call this election was probably the best decision hes made as a Taoiseach. And that the election day is essentially the Taoiseachs day. And we are hopeful the people will make the right choices and vote for our party and the Right2Change candidates to elect a progressive Government.

Mr Adams said that the party currently has 14 TDs and that winning 15 or above in the election would be a good day for Sinn Fein.

This is a choice whether you want a society that is fair and equal and has decent public services or whether you want more of the same that would seem under Fine Gael and Labour.

He said he wants to be Taoiseach after the election but would not say whether he intends to lead Sinn Fein into another election beyond that.
Former health board staff involved in the foster home abuse scandal are now working for the State's child protection agency.

HSE director general Tony O'Brien said some of the officials named in independent reports detailing major failings in the care of vulnerable children were now working for Tusla, the child and family agency.

Others remain employed by the HSE, he told a hearing of the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The disclosure came after it emerged gardai are investigating as many as five current and former HSE officials over their handling of sexual and physical abuse concerns at a foster home in the south-east.

Mr O'Brien said it had not been possible to discipline or sack any of the staff who remain at the HSE while the gardai probe is ongoing.

But he said he had fired people in the past for issues "a lot less serious than this".

All of those named were involved in making decisions about the care of 'Grace', a mute and intellectually disabled woman who spent 20 years at the foster home despite significant fears being expressed that she was being abused there.

Mr O'Brien's comments came on a day of dramatic evidence at the PAC.

The committee heard how:

The HSE has decided not to mount any defence against a legal case being taken on Grace's behalf.

It also does not plan to defend cases that may be filed by any of the 47 other known residents of the foster home - potentially leaving it open to millions of euro in damages.

The HSE is considering a nationwide "look-back" exercise to see if other cases exist where health staff failed to protect vulnerable children. Mr O'Brien was concerned that other cases would be found.

Three health board officials decided to send Grace back to the foster home in the face of evidence she had been abused. All three have since retired and the reason for their decision has not been disclosed.

Several misunderstandings were to blame for the HSE issuing a statement saying an official apology had been issued to Grace when this was not true. Mr O'Brien said the matter had been "mishandled" by the HSE.

The foster home did not receive a single inspection across a six-year period.

Another woman, 'Ann', remained at the home for four years after Grace was removed. While the HSE informed her family of general concerns about care there, it did not inform them of the sexual abuse allegations.

Grace was among dozens of children with disabilities placed at the home between 1983 and 1995. Concerns about alleged abuse there were first raised in 1992. Although the then health board stopped further referrals in 1995, Grace remained there until 2009.

In that period there were several occasions when the warning signs of abuse were spotted by health service officials.

"There were occasions where there was information, which if treated differently, would have seen Grace removed sooner," Mr O'Brien told the committee.

PAC vice-chairman John Deasy said it was clear to him from the evidence presented that "the HSE has become a danger to the people it was meant to protect in the first place".

During sometimes heated exchanges, Mr Deasy accused Mr O'Brien of "stonewalling" and of "hiding behind reports and the garda investigation".

Mr O'Brien denied these claims and insisted he was precluded from answering certain questions as to do so would affect an ongoing garda probe.

Meanwhile, in the Dail, Taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke of his "revulsion" at the abuse allegations and how they were handled. "Those who left her [Grace] to her fate pressed the mute button on her young life and her appalling experience," Mr Kenny said. "Above all, the mute button was pressed on her dignity, her humanity, on her civil and human rights."

Mr Kenny said he hoped a commission of investigation, which will have to be approved by the next government, would answer key outstanding questions.
Adam McCormack was described as a model student who will be sorely missed

Friends and family have paid tribute to a "bright, beautiful and funny" teenager who died suddenly in his sleep.

Adam McCormack (15) passed away last Friday morning at his home in the Belvoir area of Belfast.

The teenager was a Year 11 pupil at Breda Academy. Principal Matthew Munro said yesterday that the whole school was saddened to hear of his death.

"Adam was a much loved member of our school community who could be relied upon to bring a smile to the faces of his friends, fellow students and staff. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time."

Pupils have made a memory tree and filled a book of condolence, and Mr Munro said four lads at the school had offered to complete Adam's joinery coursework for him.

"He was liked by everyone," the principal said.

A member of staff at the school Adam was "a model student who will be sorely missed" and another added that he was "a really lovely, considerate young man."

The school will be closed today as a mark of respect and to allow staff and students to attend his funeral service.

His family paid tribute to the teenager in family notices yesterday. His parents Lynn and Gary said: "We are sad within our memory, lonely are our hearts today, for the one we loved so dearly, has forever been called away. We think of you in silence, no eye may see us weep, but many silent tears are shed when others are asleep. Loving and kind in all your days. Sincere and true in heart and mind, beautiful memories you left behind. God bless, Mum and Dad."

His sister Jourdan said: "Gone is the face we loved so dear, silent is the voice we loved to hear, too far away for sight or speech, but not too far for thoughts to reach, sweet to remember him who once was here, and who though absent is just as dear. Goodnight beautiful brother, uncle. Jourdan and Maisie."

Brother Matthew added: "The years may wipe out many thing, but this they'll wipe out never, the memory of those happy days spent together. Goodnight brother/uncle. Love Matthew, Danielle and Riley."

The local community have come together to offer support to his parents, siblings and wider family circle.

Milltown Baptist Church, where Adam's funeral service will be held this morning, posted: "Adam's quirky personality and humour will be greatly missed. Our hearts are breaking today by this news. He was one of a kind and had the ability to brighten up anyone's day. Not enough good words can be said about him."

The Belvoir Area Residents Group said: "Adam was a pleasure to know. Such a bright, beautiful, funny boy who put a smile on everyone's face."

Adam was a member of a local church youth group called Dreamscheme NI. Following the news of his death, they said: "We are devastated by the news of the sudden passing of Adam McCormack, who was loved by everyone in Dreamscheme. Adam was a very special young man, and we will all miss his unique humour and friendship." The group came together on Friday night to release sky lanterns and to make collages with messages and memories of their time with Adam.

Over the weekend, friends took to social media to remember the teenager. One friend posted: "Such a smart, loving, funny guy. He will be deeply missed. Never a dull moment when he was around."

Another friend said: "There wasn't a time I was with him when he didn't make me laugh with his sense of humour and cheeky wee comments. My heart is breaking, we lost one amazing young man. "Adam's funeral service will take place at Milltown Baptist Church at 11.30am today, followed by a committal at Roselawn Crematorium.
Irish therapists have noted a 15pc rise in the number of couples seeking their help

One in two couples who sought out the help of a couples counsellor last year revealed that financial issues were at the core of their problems.

Irish therapists have noted a 15pc rise in the number of couples seeking their help to mend the cracks in their relationships throughout 2015.

According to the figures, released by Relationships Ireland, found that money troubles are contributing to problems in the bedroom and revealed that male partners are finding it hard to perform under the pressure.

However therapist Tony Moore said Irish men are opening up about their issues more than they would have done in the past and are more keen to mend the issues facing them through counselling.

January is always the busiest month of the year but last month was particularly busy, up roughly 15% and the busiest start to the year weve had in a long time.

I noticed a lot more men coming in on their own, many who were very stressed and suffering personal confidence issues.

"In a lot of the cases, about 50% of them, financial worries are affecting the relationships, whether thats unemployment, the struggle to get a permanent job, negative equity, houses facing repossession or all the bills that are coming in.

Its particularly daunting in January and people in this situation will often look at the year ahead and wonder how they are possibly going to get through it.

Financial stress also makes it difficult for men to be intimate with their partner because they lose their sense of self-worth and confidence.

The therapist also suggested that Irish relationships are becoming stronger because couples are seeking counselling at earlier points in their relationships.

Were seeing more and more couples just a few weeks after problems start to emerge, whereas in the past couples used to wait years, and by that stage its often too late to help.
Premium

John Downing Opinion Pension reforms are dicey territory  but grand plan by minister Heather Humphreys just might win through

Pension system changes all across the western world have a great propensity to infuriate those most feared by politicians: the grey brigade. And when the oldies take to the streets, they usually play for keeps.
Dublin Wives star Virginia Macari made her name on reality TV, but has turned down a chance to appear on Life on Marbs.

The swimwear designer (40) - who is now living in the millionaire's playground of Marbella - said she was offered a role on the upmarket reality TV series.

The socialite said she turned it down after learning her lesson from past endeavours. She added that she was "not interested" in taking part in any more reality TV following the demise of Dublin Wives in 2013.

"I was asked to do Life on Marbs, but I'm not doing TV - I'm not really interested," Virginia told the Diary

Expand Close Life on Marbs. Picture: ITV / Facebook

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"All of the cast are my friends, but I just don't know if I would go down that road again.

"I would do it if it was good for my business, but other than that I don't really see the point," she added.

Life on Marbs kicked off on ITVBe recently and is about the lives of an elite set living it up in the swanky Costa Del Sol region.

Virginia - who is now based permanently in Marbella with her partner Kaste Dahl and their son, Thor (4) said that she feels settled in Spain, although she does miss the "banter" of Dublin.

"I miss my friends, I miss the banter - going shopping and meeting someone for a drink in Kehoe's - that doesn't exist here. Nobody here drinks and everyone is super fit - the conversation is all about the gym," she added.

Virginia - who starred in Dublin Wives alongside socialites Lisa Murphy and Roz Flanagan - said she was surprised that the show was still aired on TV3 from time to time.

Video of the Day

"I heard that it was aired at like one o'clock in the morning over Christmas," she said.

"I find that funny and mad."

The brunette - who will have her new swimwear line available in upmarket venue Nikki Beaches around the world - turned 40 last month. She said that she was feeling more comfortable in her skin these days.

"I'm working out five days per week so I am definitely more confident now than I used to be," she said. "I have a personal trainer now and we do crossfit and everything, so it's brilliant."

Virginia and her partner, who have been engaged since 2012, have yet to tie the knot and she said that a wedding may never happen as she already sees the businessman as her husband.

"Over here, people don't really say 'that's my boyfriend or my partner.

"They say 'that's my wife or husband' so the way I see it is that we are married already," Virginia added.
Dame Helen Mirren came to the defence of the Oscars

Dame Helen Mirren says it is "unfair" of people to attack the Academy over the Oscars diversity row.

The 70-year-old said Idris Elba failing to receive a nomination for his role in Beasts Of No Nation had "forced the conversation" but that it was "fantastic" the way things "shook out" this year.

During an interview on Channel 4 news she said: "I think it's unfair to attack the Academy. It just so happened this year it went that way.

"He wasn't (nominated) because not enough people saw, or wanted to see a film about child soldiers in Somalia or the Congo or somewhere like that.

"They just couldn't face watching that movie and so not enough people saw that movie. It wasn't in the cinema for long enough.

"The thing is all of these things count, people don't really realise how much these things matter.

"And because of all of that he wasn't nominated which he absolutely should have been. And if he'd been nominated we wouldn't be having this discussion, but we should be having this discussion.

"The conversation is incredibly important.

"It forced the conversation."

Speaking to presenter Jon Snow, Mirren also commented on the US presidential race, saying a Republican win would be "the end of America as a great country".

She said: "There is an extraordinary extreme right-wing voice in America.

"And if that does get into power ... I can't imagine how the world would look.

Video of the Day

"I think it's a very frightening idea myself.

"And this whole idea of making America great, it seems to me that it would actually sort of be the end of America as a great country."
A 10-year-old Afghan boy who was declared a hero after fighting the Taliban has been shot dead by insurgents while on his way to school.

The deputy police chief of Uruzgan province, Rahimullah Khan, said the boy, Wasil Ahmad, was killed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern province.

The boy had fought the Taliban alongside his uncle on many occasions, Khan said. Photographs on social media showed 10-year-old Wasil holding an automatic weapon and wearing a uniform and helmet.

Unknown gunmen, referred to only as insurgents, killed the boy near his home.

Wasil's uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who changed allegiance to the government and was appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International says both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.

In a report presented to the UN Security Council's working group on children and armed conflict, the London-based charity said children were recruited by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police for reasons that included a sense of fulfilling filial duty, patriotism and honour. But the main reason was poverty, it said in the June 2015 report.

It said that in May last year the charity found that half of national police check posts in Tirin Kot "were staffed with visibly younger officers", who all admitted they were under 18 years old.

"They had been performing all responsibilities of a police officer, which included securing check points and engaging in combat for the last few years," the report said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission laid blame for the boy's death with his family, the government and the Taliban, a militant group that has been fighting a 15-year insurgency.

Spokesman Rafiullah Baidar said that local police had hailed the boy as a hero after he battled a Taliban siege following the death of his father in fighting.

"Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his father's death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents," Mr Baidar said.

"One side made him famous and the other side killed him - both sides ignored the law and acted illegally," he added.

Afghanistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, committing the country to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

The Child Soldiers International reports says that in Kunar, Logar and Zabul provinces - all troubled by insurgency - 10% of law enforcement officials are suspected to be underage.

Although statistics are not available, recruitment is believed to be highest where the insurgency is strongest, notably the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, and provinces bordering Pakistan, including Paktiya, Khost and Paktika.

Children are also used by the Taliban in active combat, as spies and as suicide bombers, the report said. It cited a number of cases, including the attack last year on the French Institute in Kabul during a packed performance that killed at least two people and wounded another 20.
Workers of the Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti fumigate against mosquito breeding, as well as to protect against Zika, during a regular fumigation campaign carried out together with FOKAL organisation in Martissant, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 2, 2016

A worker of the Ministry of Public Health and Population fumigates against mosquito breeding, as well as to protect against Zika, during a regular fumigation campaign carried out together with FOKAL organisation in Martissant, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 2, 2016

In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil

A person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sexual contact in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.

The unidentified person had not travelled but had sex with a person who had returned from Venezuela and fallen ill with Zika, Dallas County health officials said.

Expand Close Workers of the Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti fumigate against mosquito breeding, as well as to protect against Zika, during a regular fumigation campaign carried out together with FOKAL organisation in Martissant, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 2, 2016 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Workers of the Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti fumigate against mosquito breeding, as well as to protect against Zika, during a regular fumigation campaign carried out together with FOKAL organisation in Martissant, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 2, 2016

The US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveller was infected with Zika.

The virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted.

There was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

"It's very rare, but this is not new," Zachary Thompson, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services, told WFAA-TV in Dallas. "We always looked at the point that this could be transmitted sexually."

The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant.

The CDC has already recommended that pregnant women postpone trips to countries with Zika outbreaks, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Venezuela. It also said other visitors should use insect repellent and take other precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

In the epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, a species of mosquito called Aedes aegypti - that spreads other tropical diseases, including chikungunya and dengue fever - has been identified. It is found in the southern United States, though no mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States to date. There have been about 30 cases in the US in the last year, all travellers who brought it into the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global emergency over the rapidly spreading Zika virus, saying it is an "extraordinary event" that poses a threat to the rest of the world. The declaration was made after an emergency meeting of independent experts called in response to a spike in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between the virus and babies born with abnormally small heads.

The CDC said that in the recent Texas case, there is no risk to a developing foetus.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It was not believed to cause any serious effects until last year; about 80% of infected people never experience symptoms.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week. Symptoms usually start two days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
The PM thought that 'Silicon Gorge' was a reference to the Chancellor

David Cameron prompted howls of laughter during PMQs after joking that he thought a Tory MP had asked him a question about "silicon George".

David Warburton asked the Prime Minister to continue to support Somerset's so-called "Silicon Gorge".

But much to the delight of his Conservative colleagues the PM, told the House he thought for a second the MP for Somerton and Frome had referred to Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Warburton said: "You will of course know that the West Country is becoming ever more the envy and the engine room of the rest of the country with dozens of companies moving from the dark recesses of London to the bright sunlight of the west.

"Will you keep supporting what they are now calling Somerset's 'Silicon Gorge' by maintaining investment in our roads, in our rail and of course in our digital infrastructure?"

Mr Cameron jokingly replied: "I'm certainly keen to support 'Silicon Gorge'.

"I thought you'd said 'Silicon George' for a moment - I was a bit worried about that.

"I think it is absolutely essential we have a balanced economy and that means a strong economy in the west of our country as well as in the south, as well as in the north.

"We are investing in the vital transport infrastructure, not least the vital roads to the West Country and improving rail links as well, as I saw for myself yesterday in Chippenham.

"But we also need to make sure that this broadband rollout is really effective across the country and that has got to be a big focus - getting to those last 10% of homes in so many rural areas is going to be absolutely crucial to make sure they are not left out."

Mr Cameron visited the West Country on Tuesday to detail his EU renegotiation deal.
Donald Trump has taken issue with the result of the Iowa caucus. (AP)

Donald Trump has accused Ted Cruz of fraud in the Iowa caucuses and Rand Paul has dropped out of the crowded Republican race to become the party's US presidential candidate.

In attacks posted on his official Twitter account, Mr Trump said "either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified" in Monday's Iowa contest. The billionaire businessman placed second behind the conservative Texas senator.

A previous tweet from Mr Trump accused the Cruz campaign of telling Iowa voters that Ben Carson was quitting the race so he could steal Mr Carson's votes.

Meanwhile, Mr Paul said he will now turn his full attention to his Senate re-election campaign in Kentucky. He never caught on with voters beyond the small group of libertarian-leaning Republicans who backed the previous White House bids of his father, Ron Paul.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who placed third among the Republicans in Iowa, said he will try to persuade some of Mr Paul's supporters to redirect their support to him, despite the stark differences the two have on foreign policy.

Both men were elected to the Senate during the rise of the conservative tea party in 2010. Mr Rubio is trying to be the Republican establishment's preferred alternative to Mr Trump or Mr Cruz.

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton was seeking to turn a narrow victory in Iowa over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders into some momentum for her shaken Democratic campaign.

The former secretary of state and first lady defeated Mr Sanders by less than three-tenths of 1%, the closest result in Iowa Democratic caucus history, the state party said.

New Hampshire is the second in a series of state-by-state nominating contests to decide who will be each party's candidate for president in November.

Polls show Mr Sanders leading by double digits in New Hampshire, which neighbours Vermont.

Mr Trump has been leading the Republican polls in New Hampshire, which has historically favoured more moderate candidates than Iowa.

Polls show well over half of Republican voters have yet to make up their minds. Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all hope New Hampshire will breathe life into their flagging campaigns.

Candidates are also looking ahead to the more diverse South Carolina, which holds the first primary in the South later this month.
Neil Berriman, the son of Sandra Rivett who was found murdered at Lord Lucan's family home, arrives at the High Court in London, where George Bingham, the only son of the missing peer, is applying for a death certificate so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

George Bingham, the only son of missing peer Lord Lucan, speaks to the media outside the High Court in London, where he was granted a death certificate by a High Court judge. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

The only son of missing peer Lord Lucan has finally been granted a death certificate 42 years after his father vanished following the murder of his nanny.

Lord George Bingham applied for the certificate under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl.

His father vanished after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered at the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street in central London on November 7, 1974.

High Court judge Mrs Justice Asplin granted the certificate at a hearing today.

The judge made the declaration that Lord Lucan is presumed dead on the basis that she was satisfied that he had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years.

Speaking immediately afterwards Lord Bingham said: "I am very happy with the judgment of the court in this matter. It has been a very long time coming."

At a hearing in December, Miss Rivett's son Neil Berriman was given permission to intervene in the case.

But speaking after today's ruling, Mr Berriman, 49, said: "I think he's (Lucan) dead. It is fantastic and I am very pleased for him (Bingham)."

Even though Lord Lucan was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy called "Jungly Barry".

Lord Bingham argued that the 1999 declaration had not proved death "for all purposes" and the new Presumption of Death Act allowed for a "more complete process".

On the night of the peer's disappearance, the nanny's attacker also turned on Lord Bingham's mother, Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub.

Lord Lucan's car was found abandoned and soaked in blood in Newhaven, East Sussex, and an inquest jury declared him the killer a year later.

The application was made to the court on behalf of Lord Bingham - now the 8th Earl of Lucan - by his brother-in-law, Michael Bloch QC.

He said there had been many rumours about the missing peer reported in the press, but the Metropolitan Police gave no credence to any of them.

He told the judge: "It is pretty straightforward. The evidence is all one way."

The judge said that none of Lord Lucan's family members or closest friends had seen or heard from him, or had any reason to believe he was still alive.

She agreed that the evidence all pointed in one direction.
The US state of Georgia has executed a 72-year-old man, its oldest death row inmate, for the killing of a store manager during a robbery decades ago.

Brandon Astor Jones was pronounced dead in the early hours of Wednesday morning after an injection of barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the 1979 shooting death of suburban Atlanta store manager Roger Tackett.

Jones declined to make a final statement in front of witnesses but agreed to have a prayer read.

Jones was initially still with his eyes closed and then swallowed a couple of times and moved his head slightly. He opened his eyes and turned his head to his left, appearing to look at a clock on the wall. Then he closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths before falling still.

The execution was delayed while the US Supreme Court considered appeals from Jones's lawyers. They asked the justices to block the execution for either of two reasons: because Jones was challenging Georgia's lethal injection secrecy law or because he said his death sentence was disproportionate to his crime.

The court denied the requests for a stay.

The challenge to Georgia's strict execution secrecy law sharply divided the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The law classifies the identifying information of any person or entity who participates in an execution as a "confidential state secret".

Jones's lawyers argued the state's execution method carries "a substantial risk of significant harm", violating his constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. But because of the secrecy law, they argued, they do not have enough information to make that claim, which violates his constitutional right to due process.

Three-judge panels of the 11th Circuit had already rejected similar arguments, setting a binding precedent. But because of divided opinions expressed by judges on those panels, Jones's lawyers asked the full 11-judge court to consider their arguments. The court voted 6-5 to deny that review, but several judges offered strongly worded dissenting opinions.

"Today Brandon Jones will be executed, possibly in violation of the constitution. He may also be cruelly and unusually punished in the process. But if he is, we will not know until it's too late - if ever," wrote Circuit Judge Robin S Rosenbaum, adding that she believes the secrecy law denies Georgia death row inmates of their due process rights and may deprive them of their right to access to the courts.

According to evidence at his trial, Jones and another man, Van Roosevelt Solomon, were arrested at a Cobb County store by a policeman who had driven a stranded motorist there to use a pay phone on June 17, 1979. The officer knew the store usually closed at midnight and was suspicious when he saw a car with the driver's door open and lights still on in the store.

The officer saw Jones inside the store, prosecutors have said. He entered and drew his weapon after hearing four shots. He found Jones and Solomon just inside a storeroom door and took them into custody. Tackett's body was found inside the storeroom.

Tests showed each man had recently fired a gun or handled a recently fired gun, prosecutors said. The cash drawer had been removed and was found wrapped in a plastic bag.

Jones was convicted in October 1979 and sentenced to death. A federal judge in 1989 ordered a new sentencing hearing because jurors had improperly been allowed to bring a Bible into the deliberation room. He was resentenced to death in 1997.

Solomon, who was also convicted and sentenced to death, was executed by electric chair in February 1985.
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather where three bombs exploded in Sayyda Zeinab, a predominantly Shiite Muslim suburb of the Syrian capital, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. (SANA via AP)

The Syrian civil war, which was borne out of the Arab Spring of 2011, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, and created millions of refugees.

As world leaders face new calls to secure a multibillion-pound support package for Syrians, the Press Association analyses the conflict in numbers.

* 250,000 - the estimated number of deaths in Syria during the war as of August 17 2015, according to the latest United Nations Security Council estimate. However, other estimates varied between 150,000 and 350,000.

* 37,010 - foreign opposition fighters killed, as of mid-October 2015, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

* 12 million - people displaced since the conflict began, according to the UN - around half the Syrian population.

* 4 million - Syrians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries since the war started.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Turkish soldiers stand guard as a Syrian refugee boy waits behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal A Turkish soldier stands guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015.REUTERS/Osman Orsal Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal Turkish soldiers stand guard as a Syrian refugee boy waits behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal A woman carries her belongings as she walks at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany Residents inspect a damaged site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany Men gather as one of them removes debris at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany Two women walk at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany A family walks at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany A child sits amid debris at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany A man inspects a damaged building at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany A women pushes her baby in a stroller as she walks with her child at a site hit by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the eastern Ghouta of Damascus June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amer Almohibany Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences as they are pictured from the Turkish side of the border, near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences as they are pictured from the Turkish side of the border, near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal / Facebook

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Whatsapp Turkish soldiers stand guard as a Syrian refugee boy waits behind the border fences to cross into Turkey on the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

* 2014 - the bloodiest year in the Syrian conflict, with an estimated 76,021 deaths according to the SOHR.

* 12,517 - children killed during the war, according to opposition groups and SOHR, as of October 2015.

* 679 - medical workers killed in the Syrian civil war, as of September 2015, according to campaign group Physicians for Human Rights.

* 174 - majority in Parliament for Prime Minister David Cameron during a historic vote on December 2 for air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria. There were 397 MPs in favour and 223 against.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close This picture released on Thursday, May 21, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, shows the Tadmur prison in the Syrian town of Palmyra that was captured by the Islamic State militants after a battle with the Syrian government forces, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) In this picture released on Friday, May 22, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, shows the Islamic State militants flag, top center, raised on the to top of Palmyra castle, in the Syrian town of Palmyra, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) This picture released on Sunday, May 24, 2015, by a militant website which had been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting shows Syrian government soldiers who were captured by Islamic state militants in Palmyra area in Syria. (Militant website via AP) This picture released on Sunday, May 24, 2015, by a militant website which had been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting shows Syrian government soldiers who were captured by Islamic state militants in Palmyra area in Syria. (Militant website via AP) This picture released on Sunday, May 24, 2015, by a militant website which had been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting shows Syrian government soldiers who were captured by Islamic state militants in Palmyra area in Syria. (Militant website via AP) This photo released on Sunday, May 17, 2015, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows the general view of the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, Syria. A Syrian official said on Sunday that the situation is "fully under control" in Palmyra despite breaches by Islamic State militants who pushed into the historic town a day earlier. (SANA via AP) This picture released on Thursday, May 21, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, shows the Palmyra castle is seen from the Syrian town of Palmyra that was captured by the Islamic State militants after a battle with the Syrian government forces, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) This picture released on Thursday, May 21, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, shows a bunker with a heavy machine gun mounted on its top at Palmyra air base that was captured by the Islamic State militants after a battle with the Syrian government forces in Palmyra, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) In this picture released on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, an Islamic State fighter fires his weapon during a battle against Syrian government forces on a road between Homs and Palmyra, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) FILE - This file photo released on Sunday, May 17, 2015, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows the general view of the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, Syria. (SANA via AP, File) FILE - This FILE photo released on Sunday, May 17, 2015, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows the general view of the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, Syria. When Islamic State fighters routed Syrian government forces and took control of the ruins of Palmyra Thursday, May 21, 2015 (SANA via AP, File) This picture released on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 on the website of Islamic State militants, shows black columns of smoke rising through the air during a battle between Islamic State militants and the Syrian government forces on a road between Homs and Palmyra, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp This picture released on Thursday, May 21, 2015 by the website of Islamic State militants, shows the Tadmur prison in the Syrian town of Palmyra that was captured by the Islamic State militants after a battle with the Syrian government forces, Syria. (The website of Islamic State militants via AP)

* 42 - the percentage of Syria's national gross domestic product (a measure of a country's economic prosperity) spent on fighting the civil war, according to the Global Peace Index last year.

* 2 - British Typhoon fighter jets, deployed for the first time to defeat Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in December 2015, leaving from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
SHARE Mike Ellis/Independent Mail Rusty Seawright (left) and his defense attorney, Charles Whiten, appear at a bond revocation hearing.

By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

It began with kicking a cat and got worse from there, a prosecutor said.

Chelsey Moore, an assistant solicitor with the 10th Judicial Circuit, said Rusty Jason Edward Seawright should be kept behind bars because he keeps committing crimes.

"He has continued to be arrested on new charges and these charges are not small, they are violent," Moore said.

Seawright, 25, of Anderson, is accused of trying to steal a car from a church while a baby was inside.

The baby's mother told investigators she had left her car parked and running at the West Anderson Church of God while she took her other child inside for preschool Oct. 19. Investigators spoke to witnesses who said a man attempted to drive off with the woman's 7-month-old baby inside.

Church and preschool workers blocked the man from driving away and he ran away. Seawright was arrested soon after.

He also is accused of trying to steal another car earlier that day at a hotel.

Seawright is charged with kidnapping, two counts of grand larceny and ill treatment of animals.

Circuit Court Judge Scott Sprouse agreed with Moore and ruled that Seawright would continue to stay behind bars.

He had been given a $2,000 bond for the animal cruelty charge and was released less than 36 hours before allegedly trying to steal a car.

Seawright had been granted bond totaling $50,000 for the various other charges, but he did not post it. He has remained at the Anderson County Detention Center since Oct. 19.

The judge's decision removed the possibility of Seawright being released until a further hearing.

Seawright's defense attorney, Charles Whiten, said he would not object to the bond revocation and wanted it paired with a mental health competency hearing.

Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM
Sefton Ipock/Independent Mail Dr. Tim Drake leads a discussion on burial practices in the antebellum South at the Anderson County Museum on Tuesday.

SHARE Sefton Ipock/Independent Mail Dr. Tim Drake leads a discussion on burial practices in the antebellum South at the Anderson County Museum on Tuesday.

By Abe Hardesty of the Independent Mail

Elma Norris, a longtime educator, came away from Tuesday's program at the Anderson County Museum with one regret.

"I wish I had announced this at my exercise program so more people would have had the chance to hear it," Norris said Tuesday night. "That was inspiring and educational."

Husband Al Norris agreed.

"It was a great presentation. I learned a lot," Al Norris said after local historian and Clemson University entomologist Tim Drake led a program that depicted funerals, mourning customs and burials of the antebellum period.

Titled "Crossing the Jordan," Drake described slave customs of the plantation era, many of them from the Lowcountry of South Carolina  and many of them foreign to white residents at the time.

"You can't talk about the history of South Carolina without talking about both cultures," Drake said after the 60-minute presentation, that drew about two dozen to the museum.

Drake described the ancient customs  burial placement, grave decorations, funeral practices and mourning periods  that were part of the culture in West Africa.

Some, such as night burials, were practiced in the United States because slaves were not usually given time away from work because of a death in the family.

Grave decorations, Drake said, included horseshoes and other iron objects, bottle trees, mirrors, memory jugs and water pipes.

Drake, who has visited graveyards throughout the state, said few slave cemeteries remain.

"After the Civil War, free African-Americans were buried in church graveyards rather than at a plantation with other family members," Drake said. "Over time, when the plantations dissolved, the land was farmed or used to raise cattle, and the cemeteries disappeared."

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter @abe_hardesty
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By Frances Parrish of the Independent Mail

Campuses are running out of time to implement a new mandate to instruct children of all ages in public schools about sexual abuse.

Erin's Law was passed into law in 2014, mandating that all schools in South Carolina begin teaching students about sexual abuse and reporting it in the 2015-16 school year.

The nonprofit group Erin's Law is working to get the same mandate passed in all of the states. South Carolina was the 15th state to pass the law.

Erin Merryn, for whom the law is named, is a sexual abuse survivor and activist, fighting for more awareness of and support for victims.

To comply with the South Carolina mandate, some school districts have formed partnerships, while others have let individual schools decide what is best or have used South Carolina Department of Education lesson plans. But not every school has started implementing the new curriculum.

In September, the state began training teachers how to recognize sexual abuse in students and how to report it.

"In one of the training videos, it states that we teach our children what to do in a tornado and a fire, but more students are impacted by sexual abuse than a tornado," said Charlotte McDavid, assistant superintendent of Pendleton-based Anderson School District 4.

To comply with the mandate, city of Anderson-based Anderson School District 5 has strengthened its partnership with Safe Harbor and Foothills Alliance to teach the required lessons. Elementary school students will begin learning the curriculum this semester, and high school and middle school students began learning about the law in October, said Amy McCoy, District 5 director of secondary programs.

"It's just an opportunity for teachers and students to have heightened awareness," McCoy said.

Under Erin's Law, students will get instruction each year, learning more about sexual abuse and how to prevent it. Because of the partnership with District 5, Cristel Stancil, the community outreach coordinator for Foothills Alliance, will visit the elementary and middle and high schools in that school system.

In elementary schools, Stancil teaches a program about safe and unsafe touch. In middle schools, Stancil begins to talk about the Youth Violence Prevention Program, a six-week session, and high school students will hear an overview about sexual abuse and violence.

In the seven years Stancil has been teaching the safe and unsafe touch program, parents can opt to take their child out of that particular class. But under the new law, the lessons are not optional.

"I'm excited about it," Stancil said. "I'm a big proponent of prevention. It starts with the kids."

Jennifer Jones, a District 5 parent, doesn't have a problem with the mandate and said she hasn't heard many other parents complain either.

She's spoken with her oldest son, who attends Lakeside Middle School, about stranger danger and not being alone with adults. Her son has also received a talk, through his activities as a Boy Scout, regarding stranger danger.

"It's another lesson for the kids," Jones said. "We can't be with our child 24/7, and we want them to know what is not appropriate."

Every time Stancil goes into elementary schools to talk about sexual abuse, at least one student comes forward to report being a victim, she said.

Many of the referrals to Foothills Alliance, which serves children ages 3-18 as part of its programs in Anderson and Oconee counties, are elementary school students. The younger kids like to talk, but the older kids are more private, and reporting abuse is embarrassing to them, Stancil said.

Other Anderson County districts, such as District 4, are taking time to complete plans to incorporate the lessons into the comprehensive health classes. District 4 is hosting parent meetings to make sure they are not surprised by any content mandated by the state.

"We want to make sure parents are aware (of)  what we can do to help keep our children safe," McDavid said.

District 4 parent meetings at each school began in February, and by the end of the semester, the students will be taught how to report sexual abuse.

"The intent is to keep the children safe," McDavid said. "It's a broad partnership between the community, school and the parents."

Williamston-based Anderson School District 1 plans to leave it up to the schools how to handle teaching the lessons, whether through a guidance program or in the physical education classes.

Honea Path-based Anderson School District 2 also plans to allow individual schools to decide how to use the state education department-approved guide as a supplemental resource or how to incorporate the Erin's Law concepts into existing programs.

Iva-based Anderson School District 3 plans to expand programs already in place  through the guidance departments in its elementary schools and high school, and in the Impact Pregnancy Prevention program in the district's middle school  to include all concepts outlined in Erin's Law.

Follow Frances Parrish on Twitter @frances_AIM
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By Independent Mail

WALHALLA  The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has concluded that officers with the Oconee County Sheriff's Office and County Detention Center bear no criminal responsibility in the death of an inmate last October.

Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said Tuesday that his office had received an official letter from SLED clearing his department in the death of Ernest Lee Smalley, 33, and that a related letter from the 10th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office indicates the case should be closed.

Smalley's relatives conducted a rally near the Oconee County Detention Center in November to demand accountability from Oconee officials regarding the death, which was already under investigation by SLED at the time.

Smalley, from Seneca, died at Greenville Memorial Hospital around 6:33 p.m. Oct. 27 after being discovered by Oconee jail officers about 28 hours before unconscious and unresponsive in a holding cell.

An autopsy revealed that Smalley died of delirium tremens and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The death was ruled to be the result of natural causes, said Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis.
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Tracie Frost

Indias Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a circular that changes the monetary limits under which the government can file for an appeal in cases before the appellate tribunal and the High Court. The stated objective of the change is to reduce tax litigation.

In October 2014, the CBDT set monetary limits for the filing of appeals in income-tax matters. The limits define when the government can appeal a decision that was decided in the taxpayers favor. Previously, the government was not allowed to appeal cases wherein the tax effect did not exceed 400,000 rupees in the appellate tribunal, 1 million rupees in the High Courts, and 25 million rupees in the Supreme Court.

The new limits will preclude the government from appealing cases in which ax effects do not exceed 1 million rupees in the appellate tribunal, 2 million rupees in the High Courts, and 25 million rupees in the Supreme Court. The revised limits have also been made applicable retrospectively to pending appeals. Moreover, the circular specifically states that the government should not file appeals merely because the tax effect in a case exceeds the monetary limits, but that appeals should only be filed on the merits of the case.

For purposes of determining whether an appeal can be filed, the term tax effect means the difference between the tax on the total income assessed and the tax that would have been chargeable under the taxpayers method of calculating total income. Tax effect does not include interest unless the chargeability of interest itself is the subject of the dispute. Further, the tax effect is calculated separately for every assessment year. The circular does allow composite orders, however, under which an appeal can be filed for all assessment years, even if the tax effect is less than the monetary limits in any single year.

The CBDT also permits appeals under the following four scenarios even if the tax effect is less than the monetary limits:

Where the constitutional validity of a provision is challenged; Where the CBDTs order has been held to be illegal; Where a revenue audit objection has been accepted by the CBDT; and Where the addition relates to undisclosed foreign assets or bank accounts.

Separately, the CBDT has instituted a focus group to consider withdrawal of appeals filed by the Department in cases involving tax effect above the monetary limit. If no question of law is involved, the issue is considered settled by the Department, or the appeal is no longer relevant in view of a subsequent amendment.

The CBDT expects this decision to reduce pending litigation filed by the Department by up to 50 percent and to provide relief to taxpayers facing long-standing litigation.

RELATED: Accounting & Reporting Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Observations

This is another in a recent series of circulars and notifications which are aimed at either reducing compliance burdens and litigation or bringing Indias regulations in line with international standards. It is noteworthy that cases involving undisclosed foreign assets are exempted from the monetary limits, as this signals the governments continued fight against so-called black money. Additionally, it is important to note that these monetary limits apply only to income-tax cases.

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 india@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.

Managing Your Accounting and Bookkeeping in India

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we spotlight three issues that financial management teams for India should monitor. Firstly, we examine the new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) system, which is expected to be a boon for foreign companies in India. We then highlight common filing dates for most companies with operations in India, and lastly examine procedures and regulations for remitting profits from India.

Tax, Accounting, and Audit in India 2014-2015

Tax, Accounting, and Audit in India 2014-2015 offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in India. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who need to be able to navigate the complex tax and accounting landscape in India in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their India-based operations.

An Introduction to Indias Audit Process

In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we provide readers with an overview of Indias annual audit process and offer important tips for the smooth navigation of the countrys audit regulations and accounting standards. We begin by first explaining the two most common types of audit in India, statutory and internal audits, and then outline the standard steps and procedures an Indian auditor will follow in each.
Bangladesh will soon grant India direct access to its Chittagong port even as both sides work on forward linkages, reports a financial newspaper.

Bangladesh is working on a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that will ensure India direct access to the port, according to the business daily.

India has been asking for a direct access to the Chittagong Port for nearly five years.

Hopefully, we will be realising this soon. We are working on SOPs and forward linkages on other aspects that go beyond just access to Chittagong port, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told the paper.

Recently, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had suggested creation of a joint consortium between both the countries in an effort to ensure better use of the port.

Last year, both the nations had signed an MoU on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports.

India and Bangladesh are also working on a joint maritime cooperation, says Haque.

Access to the Chittagong port will help Indian industry save millions of dollars by sending direct shipments to Bangladesh, according to the daily.

The Chittagong port can also be used as a transit hub to access other South East Asian destinations.
Beware an "Eyes Only" Site

Stories All About Alaska and More...

Contact the Ghost of Spam McGee We All Tweet in a Twitter Submarine: @AlaskaChinook E-mail: doctorv.roomvroom@gmail.com

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~ This Machine KILLS Fascists ~

Solidarity National Anthem

"This Land Is Your Land"
Former Infosys director TV Mohandas Pai and Aarin Capital have invested undisclosed amounts in Oust Labs, an edtech startup, whose gamified platform helps students prepare for competitive exams. Mr Pai and Manipal Group scion Ranjan Pai run Aarin Capital, a private equity fund, which invests in life sciences and education startups. (HINDU)Ousts platform allows students to play two-minute quizzes that consist five questions on various subjects on their mobile devices. It also allows students to instantly track their performance on real-time leaderboards and see where they stand compared to their peers. (HINDU)Craftsvilla.com has acquired Mumbai-based virtual logistics startup Sendd, a move that marks the etailer's first acquisition this year. (ET)The state government has given in-principle nod to set up an accelerator programme for startups in Kerala. A delegation from Silicon Valley is expected to arrive here on Monday to sign a formal agreement with the state government in this regard. (TOI)Singapore-based epayment gateway Telr has launched its operations in India with the aim of getting Indian medium and small level enterprises to onboard its online platform seamlessly and without any upfront cost. (ET)The limit on sweat equity for startups could be raised to 50% from 25% of paid up capital, improving the incentives for innovators and giving a boost to the Startup India initiative. (ET)Aerospace components maker Aequs has acquired France-based Si-RA Group for an undisclosed amount, marking an entry into Europe a few months after it set up a base in North America. At the time of acquisition, SiRA employed 300 people and had a revenue of 50 million. (ET)Lookup, the shopping app that connects shoppers with local businesses, announces the appointment of Narayan Babu as its chief technology officer. (ET)
Hindustan Zinc is looking to expand its all operations in a time-frame of 3-5 years, taking current ore production levels of 9.36 MTPA to 14.00 MTPA and finished metal production levels from 0.85 MTPA to 1.10 MTPA.

As Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company in Zinc-Lead-Silver business celebrates its Golden Jubilee, completing 50 years of its existence; the company is all set for its next phase of expansion of its mining and smelting operations with an investment of Rs.8000 crore.

Hindustan Zinc is looking to expand its all operations in a time-frame of 3-5 years, taking current ore production levels of 9.36 MTPA to 14.00 MTPA and finished metal production levels from 0.85 MTPA to 1.10 MTPA.

The Company has its mines located in Agucha, Sindesar Khurd, Zawar, Rajpura Dariba, and Kayad, all in Rajasthan. The smelters are located in Dariba, Chanderiya and Debari, also in Rajasthan.

Hindustan Zinc which was formed under an Act of Parliament on 10th January 1966 is India's only and the world's leading integrated zinc-lead-silver producing company.

Anil Agarwal, the Chairman of Vedanta Group, has expressed his happiness towards providing zinc sufficiency to India. "When we acquired Hindustan Zinc as part of Government disinvestment program in 2002, our focus was to make India self-sufficient in zinc. We are very proud that by adopting latest environment friendly technology, large investment in capacity expansions and continuous exploration, Hindustan Zinc is able to increase the production five-fold and yet have reserves for another 30 years", he said.

The turning point came when in the year 2002, under the disinvestment program by the government, Hindustan Zinc was acquired by Sterlite. Since then, the company has grown multi-fold. The metal production capacity is 1 million tonne in the year today from about 200,000 tonne in 2002. The mine production capacity has also increased to 10.25 million tonne today from 3.45 million tonne in 2002.

The reserves and resources, which were 143.7 million tonnes in the year 2002 today stand at 375.1 million tonne after consuming reserves for about 14 years. The philosophy of the company on exploration has been to add equal reserve for every tonne of ore mined.

The investment of Rs. 12,000 crore in the past years have brought many changes in not just asset optimization but also building new facilities into the business to give value to the shareholders. At the time of disinvestment, Hindustan Zinc did not have captive power generation or wind energy farms. Today the company produces 474 MW of captive thermal power and 274 MW of wind energy.

The turnover of the company has also seen a turn-around, from mere Rs. 1,200 crore in the year 2002 to more than Rs. 14,500 crore in the year 2014-15. The profit too has jumped from just Rs. 68 crore in the year 2002 to Rs. 8,178 crore in the year 2014-15.

The contribution to the exchequer has also seen significant change, which increased from Rs. 364 crore in the year 2002 to more than Rs. 5,000 crore in 2014-15.

"Though the zinc mining in India dates back to over 2500 years old, and the retorts of ancient mining can still be seen at Zawar, about 45 km from Udaipur; the zinc as a metal has been not much known or utilized in India. We are still exploring the new areas where zinc could add value to consumers and also add in the GDP of the country. We are exploring the possibilities of galvanizing of car bodies and structures to increase their life-span accordingly", said Sunil Duggal, the Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Zinc.

Hindustan Zinc is also looking to set-up a new Fertilizer Plant with a capacity to manufacture 0.5 MTPA of Di-Ammonium Phosphate in Debari in district Udaipur with an estimated investment of Rs. 1350 crores.

As the company celebrates its Golden Jubilee year, it is all set to invest another Rs. 8000 crore in the coming 3-5 years on expansions of its mines and smelting operations.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that Investec India, part of the global wealth management giant Investec, has gone live on TCS BaNCS to power its front and back office operations in India. The implementation was completed in a span of 9 weeks enabling Investec India to setup a green field institutional broking operations in India.The solution is providing a low latency, high execution capability at a low operational cost and is also ready for algorithmic trading. The implementation of TCS BaNCS also demonstrates the solution's readiness and configurability required for a dynamic market.Robin Browning COO, Investec UK, said, "TCS ability to deploy such an advanced brokerage solution in quick time is largely due to TCS long experience in delivering such solutions for the Indian brokerage industry. TCS understanding of the Indian securities brokerage industry has enabled us to get off the starting blocks fast; we went live in  of the time normally required for a complex front and back office technology implementation".Commenting on the deployment of TCS BaNCS, Bharat Shah, Principal Consultant TCS, said, "We are pleased to partner with Investec. TCS BaNCS latest technology will greatly benefit Investecs current and long term needs by providing an integrated front to back office solution. Having deployed the best brokerage solution we are confident that Investec business will set new standards in the Indian Capital markets."




GAIL accepts it with humility and will work in close coordination with the Government of Tamil Nadu to restart the pipeline laying work of the 310 km long stretch passing through the state of Tamil Nadu. The ruling passed today by the Honble Supreme Court on GAIL (India) Limiteds Kochi-Kottanad-Bangalore-Mangalore Pipeline project is a heartening development.GAIL accepts it with humility and will work in close coordination with the Government of Tamil Nadu to restart the pipeline laying work of the 310 km long stretch passing through the state of Tamil Nadu.

GAIL (India) Limited, the youngest Maharatna PSU, is committed and deeply engaged in creating the national Gas infrastructure which is the backbone for economic development of the country.



GAIL will continue to work closely with the Government and people of State of Tamil Nadu to execute this project in a time-bound manner. On completion, the project will provide access to modern and clean fuel critical for economic growth and quality of living for citizens in the state.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been rated as the worlds most powerful brand in IT Services by Brand Finance, the worlds leading brand valuation firm.Brand Finances 2016 annual report evaluates thousands of the worlds top brands to determine which are the most powerful, and the most valuable. Scoring highly on a wide variety of measures on Brand Finances Brand Strength Index, such as familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation, TCS emerged as the IT services industrys most powerful brand with a score of 78.3 points  earning it an AA+ rating. Across all industries, Disney was rated as the most powerful brand and Apple as the most valuable brand for 2016.TCS is also the fastest growing brand within its industry over the last 6 years. The companys overall brand value has increased from US$ 2.34 billion in 2010 (when the first evaluation of the TCS brand was conducted) to US$ 9.04 billion in 2016; a growth rate of 286%.David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance, stated: TCS customer focus has been central to its recent success, but a closer look at our data shows strong and improving scores for brand investment and staff satisfaction too. It has emerged as a dominant force in the IT services industry and is the strongest brand in the sector. Its brand power is indisputable.N. Chandrasekaran, CEO and Managing Director of TCS, said; Customer centricity lies at the heart of our organization and is a key driver for growth of the TCS brand. The efforts of our 344,000 employees  our best brand ambassadors  have helped our brand strength to be rated at the top of our industry. I would like to congratulate each one of them and also many of our clients who are listed among the worlds top brands by Brand Finance this year. The value we create for our clients through innovative digital strategies will help continue to boost both their own brands and the TCS brand into the future.Over the last year, TCS has invested in several strategic initiatives to strengthen its brand. Its branding, public relations, sponsorships, employer brand and community programmes have been recognized with 30+ awards worldwide in 2015.
I was not surprised when Senate President Pro Tempore David Long announced that the GOP caucus could not reach a consensus on legislation to add sexal orientation to the states civil rights and so the bill effectively died in the Chamber.

In fact, I told you this would likely happen. So now the question is where exactly does this issue go? Ill tell you. It goes back to the trenches where LGBT rights supporters have had their most success. In other words, they need to refocus on efforts to pass local human rights ordinances.

According to Indiana Competes, currently 24-percent of Hoosiers live in a city or town with a fully inclusive Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) that covers both sexual orientation and gender identity. Thirty-four percent live in communities that have some protections or lack enforceability, for example while there is no ordinance there might be an executive order on the books or theres a city policy prohibiting discrimination in hiring..

Communities with fully inclusive and enforceable HROs include: Indianapolis/ Marion County, South Bend, Carmel, Hammond, Muncie, Anderson, Columbus, New Albany, West Lafayette, Zionsville, Terre Haute and Bloomington.

And ironically this is where most of Indianas economic growth is taking place. One of the criticisms of passing statewide protection is that Indianas economy continues to thrive without one. Well, thats not entirely accurate. Indiana is thriving, but its in the places that have local HROs. More than 82 percent of Indianas the new economic investment commitments announced by the Indiana Economic Development Commission between April and December 2015 were in communities with HROs. And more than 58 percent of new jobs and more than 90 percent of all high-wage jobs announced in Indiana were created in communities with comprehensive HROs.

And thats the key selling point. Based on my conversations with lawmakers from smaller communities, jobs are the big issue as their constituents worry that the job creation isnt coming to their communities. Well, one way to fix that might be with a local HRO. Im not saying its the silver bullet what ails small-town Indiana, but it probably couldnt hurt. Apparently its helping other local communities. And thats where the battle should go next.
At Mahabalipuram, a massive 20-feet-high-5-meter-wide rock stands unbalanced on a slippery slope of a hill. Renowned as Krishnas Butter Ball, the rock is said to be Lord Krishnas favourite food, butter fallen from above. In Tamil, it's called 'Vaanirai Kal', which means the 'Stone of the Sky God'.

Image Credit: pinterest

The rocks position is quite astonishing as it looks like its about to roll down the slope. However, it stands firm and tourists can even take shade under it. It is estimated to weigh over 250 tons! A part of the rock is sheared off, making it look like a half circle. The reason for the erosion is still unknown. Krishna's Butter ball challenges modern technology today, as it fails to answer an important question - how does a 250-ton rock stand on a less-than-4-feet base?

Tanjavur Bommai. Image Credit: thehindu

This rock is also an inspiration behind the famous mud dolls called Tanjavur Bommai. The great King Raja Raja Chola (1000 C.E) was impressed by the rock, and wondered how it did not roll down the slope. Thus, it led to a tradition of making dolls that never fell down! They are made with a half-spherical bottom, which only lets them tilt, but never fall down.

Image Credit: procsilas

It is said that in 1908, Governor of Madras Arthur Lawley decided to remove the ball from its position. Seven elephants were brought to remove it, but that did not move the stone by even an inch! A myth also suggests that the Pallava King Narasimhavarman tried to remove this rock because he gave orders amounting to the "heavenly rock" never being touched by sculptors.

Image Credit: youtube

The stone is believed to have been here for the last 1200 years! In fact, the rock is heavier than the monolithic stones of Ollantaytambo, Peru or Machu Picchu!

I bet you're intrigued now. The best time to visit is between November and February, as winter makes the weather pleasant.
We know our army well enough (at least we try to), but how well do we know the weapons they use? Have a look at India's most powerful weapons, and see if you recognise them all.

1. INS Chakra

defencetalk.net

The INS Chakra, also known as Nerpa, is a Russian, nuclear-propelled, hunter-killer submarine. And unlike the other submarines that India has in its fleet, which need to surface to charge their batteries often (sometimes as often as every 24 hours), the INS Chakra can stay under water for as long as it wants. One of the quietest nuclear submarines in the world, it can go as deep as 600 metres and run at over 30 knots, which is twice the speed of our conventional submarines. Chakra will be used to hunt and kill enemy ships and submarines.

The only other countries to have nuclear-powered submarines are the US, Russia, the UK, France and China.

2. Sukhoi SU-30MKI

bhmpics.com

The SU-30MKI or the Flanker-H is a twin jet multi-role air superiority fighter jet. It is developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under license by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is not only super-maneuverable but is also one of the most powerful and advanced fighter jets in the world. Its all-weather long-range fighter jet is tailor-made for India and equipped with Indian, French and Israeli avionics system.

3. PAD and AAD Ballistic Missile Defence

ruvr.ru

The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme is an initiative to develop and deploy a Ballistic Missile Defence system to protect India from ballistic missile attacks. The system was introduced in the light of ballistic missile threats from neighbouring countries, mainly Pakistan.

The Prithvi Air Defence or PAD is an anti-ballistic missile designed to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. It has the capability of engaging 300-2000 km class of ballistic missiles at a speed of Mach 5. Or in simple words, it can engage enemy missiles at five times the speed of sound.

The Advanced Air Defence or AAD is an anti-ballistic missile designed to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles inside the atmosphere. It has the capability of engaging 15 - 150 km class of ballistic missiles at a speed of Mach 4.5. 4.5 times the speed of sound.

4. Agni V

todayonline.com

Part of the Agni series of missiles, the Agni V is developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is India's first intercontinental missile. Although the exact range of the missile is classified information, it is known to be in the range of 5,500 - 5,800 km.

Agni V has the most advanced guidance system and can carry a nuclear warhead. Oh, and by the way, it travels at an earth-shattering speed of Mach 24. Again, that's 24 times the speed of sound.

5. Brahmos

wikipedia

Brahmos is deadly. Brahmos is the fastest cruise missile known to man right now, travelling at a speed close to Mach 3. It is the world's most advanced supersonic cruise missile that is very accurate and very deadly.

Brahmos can be launched from the ship and from land. The submarine launch version is currently in the testing phase.

6. Mi-35 Hind E / Akbar

wikipedia

The Mi-35 Hind E is a multi-role line attack helicopter with low-capacity troop transport. The Hind E is definitely our most successful helicopter in history and has been put into use in multiple wars in the last four decades.

7. Pinaka

imgur

Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher developed by DRDO. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 65 km for Mark-II,[4] and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds, neutralising a target area of 3.9 km. Pinaka were used in the Kargil War to neutralise enemy activities.

8. T-90 Bhishma

defenceforumindia.com

The T-90 Bhishma is a Russian-made third generation main battle tank. It uses a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an uprated engine, and thermal sights. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel, composite armour, smoke dischargers, Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour, laser warning receivers, Nakidka camouflage and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system.

9. EL/W - 2090

4.bp.blogspot.com

The EL/W-2090 is an airborne early warning system. It is the most advanced AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) system in the world. The primary objective of the EL/W-2090 is to provide air superiority, conduct surveillance and provide intelligence about the enemy. They have an active electronic scanned array that operates on a random set of frequencies that makes it very difficult to track and jam by the enemy.
The Auto Expo has to be one of the most eagerly awaited events for all car lovers across the country. It is by far the biggest auto show in Asia and its here that the car makers put all their wares on display, to gauge market reactions and show the public what they will be offering. Heres what happened on the first day of the Auto Expo.

Maruti

1. Vitara Brezza

Abhishek Saksena

Maruti hasnt had much success with SUVs before, but the company is looking to change that with the Vitara Brezza. The Brezza is a compact SUV that will rival the likes of Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Creta. It is powered by the same 1.3-litre diesel engine that is also found in other Maruti cars and will be sold through the regular Maruti dealer network, and not the Nexa premium outlet.

Chevrolet

2. Beat Activ

Abhishek Saksena

The company showed a crossover concept based on the Beat hatchback at the Auto Expo. The concept has thick black cladding all round for that butch appearance while the pointy headlamps give way to more rounded ones that really gel well with the look of the car.

3. Essentia

Twitter

The surprise at the Chevrolet stand was the Essentia sedan based on the Beat. The squarish headlamps and a stubby boot may not be to everyone's liking, but like all Chevrolet cars we expect the Essentia to be priced competitively.

Ford

4. Mustang

Abhishek Saksena

Apart from the rest of the range of cars, Ford brought the Mustang muscle car to the Expo. First showcased just days ahead of the auto show, the Mustang will be launched in the latter half of the year. And while the pricing is still unknown, what we do know is that it will come with full fat V8 power. A 420 bhp 5.0-litre V8 under the hood sends power to the rear wheels. Ford has also said that the Performance Pack will be a standard fit when the car goes on sale in India.

Hyundai

5. Tucson

Hyundai

The Tucson name makes a comeback to India and looks smashing to say the least. Hyundai really knows how to make good looking cars. Hyundai has placed it between the Creta and Santa Fe in its SUV range and will sell it in both petrol and diesel forms.

Isuzu

6. D-Max V-Cross

Isuzu

The Japanese manufacturer, which has a limited presence in India yet, launched the updated D-Max pickup truck called the V-Cross. Looks much better than the pre-updated model, but you still can't beat the utility and style quotient.

Jaguar

7. F-Pace SUV

Jaguar

The British car makers first SUV offering was showcased in production form at the Expo and it is as sporty to drive and stunning to look at as its range of sedans. To be launched in the latter half of the year at about Rs 60 lakh, it has all the makings of a fat cats preferred choice of wheels.

8. XE

Jaguar

The most affordable car in the Jaguar stables is here and being assembled at the company plant in Pune. The XE competes with the likes of the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-class. The rear wheel drive luxury sedan is built on an aluminum chassis which makes it stiff and light weight.

9. New XF

Jaguar

The all new generation XF luxury saloon was in attendance at the Expo. It is more spacious, lighter, stiffer, and more economical than the car it replaces.

Tata

10. Osprey compact SUV

tata

The Nexon concept of the previous expo became the Osprey compact SUV. It is less than 4 meters in length to meet the small car norms.

Mercedes

11. GLC

Mercedes

Probably the most important launch of the year for Mercedes, the GLC fills an important gap in its SUV lineup. Spacious seating for five with luxurious interiors, the GLC is available with the 2.1-litre diesel engine in two power variants.

12. S-class cabrio

Mercedes

This one seems like an excess of sorts. The super luxury open top car is nearly as long as the S-class; the car its based on! For those who can afford it, there isnt a more flamboyant car you can buy in India this side of a Rolls Royce.

Volkswagen

13. Ameo

Volkswagen

The compact sedan, basically the Polo hatch with a boot, is Volkswagens latest offering. Powered by the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel, it will come in both manual and automatic (only diesel) forms. It has a decently large boot, but the short stubby design is not really to our liking.

14. Tiguan

Volkswagen

This is the SUV that we had been waiting for. The Tiguan is based on the same chassis as the current Skoda Octavia and is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine. It will be a little more expensive than the competition!

15. Passat GTE

Volkswagen

Volkswagen has brought the Passat GTE to India to showcase the new Passat which is to go on sale sometime this year. The GTE is a plug-in hybrid that can travel up to 50 kms on electric power alone! On a full tank of fuel, it can go past 1000 kms!

16. Polo GTi

Volkswagen

A hot hatch if there ever was one, the Polo GTi is powered by 1.8-litre petrol engine with 190bhp and a 7 speed DSG gearbox. And its a three door car too.

Renault

17. Duster facelift

Renault

Not a big change, but the design tweaks do manage to freshen up the popular SUVs looks. What is of more interest is the availability of the AMT gearbox which gives the Duster a fresh lease of life. It has been under a lot of pressure from newer competition, especially the Hyundai Creta.

Honda

18. BR-V

Twitter

Last time around it was the Mobilio and this time its the SUV based on the Mobilio thats drawing crowds to the Honda stand at the Auto Expo. The BR-V has an ace up its sleeve in the form of seating for seven which the competition doesnt have. The SUV will be made in India and have the same engines as the Mobilio. And going by the crowd reactions, it already looks like a winner.

19. Accord

Honda

Another car Honda is bringing to India this year is the Accord, with a hybrid power train no less. Looks like Honda took a leaf out of Toyotas book. Expect better economy than the last car and if the current trend of banning diesels continues, expect more hybrid cars in India.

Jeep

20. Grand Cherokee

Jeep

It has taken them a while, but the iconic Jeep brand is finally in India. And the Grand Cherokee is their flagship. This big American SUV is all the car you need. Its big, has massive road presence and loaded with equipment. We expect the 237 bhp 3.0-litre diesel to be most popular of all the variants.

21. Wrangler

Jeep

If its an off roader you wanted, this is the car for you. The Wrangler will drive up the toughest of off road trails without breaking into a sweat. It is powered by a 2.8-litre diesel engine which produces loads of torque.

22. Cherokee SRT

Powered by a hemi v8 engine, the SRT is the sports car of SUVs.

Mahindra

23. XUV Aero

Mahindra

The Aero is Mahindras interpretation of the coupe like roof line on an SUV. The design elements are a bit too much if you ask us. Hopefully it will be sorted out in the production car.

24. Ssangyong Tivoli

SsangYong

The crossover by Mahindra owned SsangYong was at the Expo. When it is launches later this year it will be powered by the KUV1OOs line of engine family and may also get 1.6-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel.

Toyota

25. Innova

Toyota

After nearly a decade, Toyota has finally replaced the Innova with an all new one. The new Innova now has completely new styling on the outside and new interiors as well. Theres a brand new 2.4-litre diesel engine with more power than before.

Nissan/Datsun

26. Go cross

Datsun

The hopped up look of the Go Cross points to a seven seat variant of the Go+ in an SUV stance. The engine options will include the current 1.2 litre petrol. Cant wait for this one.

27. X-Trail Hybrid

Nissan

Nissan has brought the X-trail to the Auto Expo and this time its a hybrid, powered by a petrol and electric motor. Consequently it costs more than it did the last time around. This new generation X-trail however looks sleeker than before but faces tough competition from the cheaper Honda CR-V.

Audi

28. New R8

Audi

The new generation R8 was the prime attraction at the Audi stand. Powered by a 5.2-litre V10 which makes 602 bhp! This beauty has a top speed of 330 kph, but on our roads, that speed may not be all that useful. Still, one of the fastest car in the world.

BMW

29. 7 Series

BMW

It may look like a mild facelift, but this is the all new 7 series. The car has been built from ground up giving it better ride and handling making it a worthy rival to the Mercedes S-class

30. X1

BMW

Our favourite at the BMW stand, the new generation X1 is more SUV than the confused hatchback-estate-crossover mish-mash the older one was. This one has the potential to become the best selling Beemer in the country given the pricing. Expect the same 2.0-litre diesel to be the staple when it goes on sale.
After more than two years, the Supreme Court decided to re-examine its own verdict after it struck down the Delhi High Court's decriminalisation of consensual intercourse between adults of the same sex.

Yesterday, the court referred the case to a five member bench after a curative was filed by LGBT activists and citizens, who felt such discrimination was unconstitutional.

Opinion in India is divided as Sec 377 has only managed to unite religious leaders and oppressed members of the LGBT community to feel like second class citizens. Many feel this might be a step towards a modern and liberal India and here are some reasons why.

1. Sexuality is not something that should be legislated against

In the context of Indian culture, sexuality was considered fluid with references to alternate sexualities being part of the storylines of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Myths of gods becoming goddesses and homoerotic sculptures on the temples of Khajuraho suggest that Ancient India wasn't so homophobic.

For those of you who do not understand, let's say India criminalises sex between straight people (And why not? Considering the number of rape cases and overpopulation). How would you feel if judges were deciding whether your private life was legal or not? It's time for the constitution to get the hell out of people's bedrooms and stop targeting the love lives of a minority.

Reuters

2. Important members of the Commonwealth have decriminalised it ages ago

Sec 377 of the IPC was introduced by the British government, which subsequently introduced it to other colonies around the world. Currently, 32 members of the Commonwealth do not criminalise homosexuality, but a majority still does.

It's the more developed nations like Canada, the UK and New Zealand that do not criminalise it and have legalised same sex marriage. Wouldn't it show India in a more progressive light if Sec 377 was dropped? It would reaffirm the Commonwealth's commitment to guaranteeing all its citizens basic human rights.

Hanging on to the archaic law is just a reaffirmation that we aren't quite done with our post colonial hangover.

Reuters

3. It labels innocent citizens as criminals

Having an alternate sexuality does not make people inferior and it definitely shouldn't make them feel like they are doing something wrong. Nobody likes to be victimised just because of who they are.

Reuters

4. It won't end discrimination but it is definitely a step in the right direction

There are no laws protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination at the work place or laws that allow them to marry their partner of choice. If Sec 377 is abolished, it opens a window of acceptance and achievement for the LGBT community. Developed nations were fighting for their right to sexual freedom in the '50s, 60s and 70s before legalising same sex marriage all together. Decriminalisation would provide a stepping stone for a better life and more rights for a community that has been oppressed for so long.

Reuters

5. Are love and sex bad things?

Bollywood centres itself around love and sensuality, Indian culture is literally obsessed with marriage, and hey let's not forget that we are the land of the Kamasutra. So why is it all a bad thing in a country that prides itself in being the world's largest democracy?

According to the University of Oslo, homosexuality exists in over 1500 animal species, so why is it so "unnatural" for humans?

Reuters

6. There's no going back

It's not a question of what's natural, it's a question of what's constitutional. Since December 2013 when the SC criminalised homosexuality, activists have worked tirelessly to have their voices heard. NGOs that focus on LGBT rights and welfare have worked with the community and those who are not part of it, with activities and events that empower all. Pride Parades want 377 to go and they won't stop emphasising their message until the law is gone.

Reuters

7. Religious leaders are terrified of LGBT empowerment

Why? We don't know...

It's sad that leaders of different religions can unite in hatred by spewing rubbish that homosexuality is unnatural, against Indian culture and the reason HIV AIDS is spread. It's very sad that in the 21st century, religions focus on power and influence rather than on spirituality and communal harmony.

Reuters

8. Gay men are victim to blackmail and threats

Men who indulge in casual sex with other men fall prey to blackmail and threats when they are tricked into sex and then beaten up unless they pay a huge amount of money or give away valuables.

It has shoved gay men deeper into the closet while empowering petty criminals and goons who are on the look out for their next victim.

armstrongeconomics.com

9. It might just end unhappy marriages that never get consummated

Due to the stigma that surrounds homosexuality many gays and lesbians marry members of the opposite sex to appease their family members. This often leads to unhappy marriages where the unsuspecting spouse is the one who is affected the most.

Legalisation of homosexuality would not make people come out of the closet but it would prevent them from being part of unhappy arranged marriages and exploring their sexuality further.

womenshealthmag.com

10. India should not be in the same league as dictatorships and theocracies

Dictatorships and theocracies around the world, starting with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and ISIS controlled Syria today, have committed crimes against humanity by persecuting the LGBT community. In Uganda, people were encouraged to report homosexual behaviour to the police so that people with alternate sexualities would be wiped out from the face of society.

As a global player and a developing country, does India really want to associate itself with such Third World countries? If we aspire to be like Europe or the US, shouldn't we share similar values?

Reuters

11. Our Asian neighbours are making progress. Where are we?

Nepal, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have legalised homosexuality while some of them even protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination.

Does India want to keep up and be a more liberal society or does it want to continue being the land of bigoted hypocrisy?

newsonjapan.com
If you thought that the much-talked about intolerance debate in Bollywood has fizzled out, let this news remove the blindfold.

After mistakenly following Aamir Khan's footsteps, Shah Rukh Khan too landed up in major trouble after he expressed his views on November 2. His views on extreme intolerance in the country didn't do down well with Vishwa Hindu Parishad Activists.

After around 20-30 Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists had yesterday handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded the withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of Raees, VHP members today protested against the ongoing shoot today. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members on Wednesday protested against the ongoing shooting of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans film Raees in the district, for his earlier remarks on intolerance.

The VHP members didn't just protest outside the district Collectors office, they went out to shout slogans against the actor. They even burnt and tore his posters.

Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) M B Parmar said, From the Collectors office they wanted to go to the place where the shooting is on, which is on the outskirts of the Bhuj city, but we have stopped them and dispersed them."

Watch the video here:

In addition to this, Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said, He should think, living in this country which gave him name, fame and riches; if he goes on speaking about non-existent intolerance, the VHP will never forgive. Today there is news that a Hindu temple was attacked and vandalised in Pakistan. Why are they not giving any statement on the intolerance there."

A similar incident happened in December when the members of right-wing organisations led a mass protest again King Khan in Gujarat and Rajasthan, in order to boycott his film Dilwale.

(With inputs from PTI)
The people behind the 1990 Kuwait airlift of 1.7 lakh Indians have confirmed that there was no 'Ranjit Katyal', but a dedicated effort that brought together several Ministries, Air India and the best of Indian diplomacy. Yet, it is Air India's role that deserves a prominent amount of attention, and a former Air India official said it was carried out with clock-work precision and made it to the Guinness World Records.

Bhargava said as head of AIs Public Relations, he would issue daily media statements about the number of flights that were operated in the past 24 hours, the number of stranded passengers safety brought from Amman in Jordan to various Indian cities, the next days plans of flight operations, etc.

Facebook

Since it wasnt the era of Google which enables one to source information easily, I walked from my office in Air India building to the book store in Eros Cinema complex near Churchgate in Mumbai, picked up a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records to access the address of the editor/publisher of Guinness book, he recalled.

Also read: There Was No Ranjit Katyal. These Are The Heroes Who Airlifted 1.7 Lakh Indians From Kuwait

Armed with that, he posted (the world didnt know e-mails then) a letter to the Guinness editor enquiring if any record of evacuation by a civil airliner existed. A fortnight later, Guinness editor replied through a letter that it did not have a record in their books, Bhargava said.

Mensxp

Meanwhile, the evacuation continued briskly with AI deploying as many aircraft as possible and even the now-merged entity, the domestic carrier Indian Airlines, and Indian Air Force extending a helping hand with their aircraft to bolster capacity to meet the growing demand.

twimg

After the evacuation operation was completed, I sent a comprehensive letter to Guinness providing details of total number of passengers carried, flights operated, duration of the entire exercise, etc. Guinness accepted the record and duly intimated us through a letter, Bhargava said.

Then, there was a long waiting period and it was only after a few months that the new edition of the Guinness Book of World Records was published with Air Indias achievements duly listed.

I once again walked to the same book store from where I had sourced the Guinness address to buy a copy of the book for our companys archives, Bhargava recalls with a smile.

indiatimes

AIs achievement is still a part of historical records, a feat performed between August 13-October 11, 1990. More than 1,70,000 Indians were stranded in Kuwait at that time and AI operated some 488 flights to evacuate them from Amman to Mumbai, a distance of more than 4,000 km. The massive operation was conducted during the Persian Gulf War and helped evacuate Indians living in Kuwait and Iraq.

Michael Mascarenhas  A man who played a key role in Airlifting 1,70,000 Indians from war-torn Kuwait, in 1990. #ProudToBeIndian Posted by Akshay Kumar on Saturday, 16 January 2016





Also read: Son Of Sunny Mathews - The Real 'Ranjit Katyal', Gives An Account Of His Father's Sacrifice!
Sangeeta Dubey had just boarded a 2.04 pm Dahanu-Churchgate fast local from Vasai Road. It was a daily routine - travelling in a second class apartment to ferry official letters and files to the Government Railway Police (GRP) head office in Wadi Bunder -- for Dubey, who works as a police naik with the GRP.

TOI

Just as the train pulled out of the Borivali station around 2.21 pm, she noticed the commotion in the first class. A drug addict, later identified as Rajesh Vishwakarma (25), had entered the ladies compartment and was troubling the three women sitting there.

Despite protests, Rajesh sat close to one of the three. As the woman put some distance between Rajesh and herself, the drug addict started stripping and caught one of the woman commuters by her hair. The other two women froze and stood in the corner. Commuters of the second class, which is sealed off from the first class with horizontal steel rods running up to the ceiling of the compartment, could do little to help. Some started yelling for help while others pulled the chain - but nothing happened as the train driver has express instructions to stop the train only at a station.

Dubey knew she had to something - and do it fast.

"We had to do something there and then to help the woman who was fighting off the man alone. We were telling her to hit the man who by then had pinned her down near the partition. With some difficulty, the woman managed to push the man away who was trying to tear her clothes and came close to the partition."

The woman pushed Rajesh away and ran towards the partition. "It seemed like the man was possessed - he could not see anything but the woman. He followed her towards the partition."

That was Dubey's moment. She put her arm through the iron rods and grabbed Rajesh. "I managed to catch hold of his hair and pull him close to the partition," she told Mumbai Mirror.

Dubey, a state-level kabaddi player and national-level Karate player, grabbed Rajesh in a chokehold. "But I was finding it difficult to hold him as he was trying himself with all his strength. Another commuter removed her scarf using which we tried to tie him up to the rods of the partition."

These women held Rajesh off until the train halted at Andheri station and commuters of other compartments and the GRP came to their rescue. Dubey suffered bruises to her right arm.

This is not the first time that Dubey's bravery and quick thinking has won accolades for the GRP

In 2012, she was felicitated by her office for her help in nabbing a Bihari gang of bag lifters who had created a menace at Kurla Terminus. Dubey posed as a woman in distress to catch the gang members red-handed - she told one of the gang members that she was from Bihar and had eloped from her house with her lover but was stuck in Mumbai as he had deserted her. When the gang member came to meet her at Bandra station, he was arrested leading to the bust of the gang.

It is for this reason that Dubey's 18-year-old daughter - she has a 14-year-old son too and her husband runs a stationery shop in Dahisar - calls her Lady Singham.
Adding fuel to the ongoing row, Anupam Kher has rejected Pakistan's visa offer, saying he "has no dates" now. Ouch!

Kher, who was supposed to attend the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) on February 5, had through a series of tweets and media statements claimed that he was denied a visa by Pakistan. He said he was hurt for being singled out from among 18 other Indians, whose visas were cleared.

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

According to sources, unnamed officials at Pakistan's High Commission had asked the KLF spokesperson, Ameena Saiyid to ask Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued one. This further effectively seconded Kher's claims. While Pakistan continued to be in a denial mode over the controversy, Pakistan High Commission now seems to be ready to issue Kher a visa within 10 minutes if he submits all his papers. Pakistan envoy to India Abdul Basit said this in a statement.

@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport  Abdul Basit (@abasitpak1) February 2, 2016

timesofindia

"I do not want to challenge what Anupam Kher said. No visa application was submitted to us. Visa application is processed when application is received. We wish his office had submitted application as other participants had done." - Abdul Basit, Pakistan High Commissioner to India

Kher who has been bursting with fury, questioned the move, when other invitees including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das, had been granted visa.

tribune

"The Pakistan High Commission says they haven't received my visa application and that's laughable. Has my visa been denied because I speak about India's rich tradition of tolerance or I am a Kashmiri Pandit who may expose the Pakistan terror nexus?" - Anupam Kher

India's ruling BJP came out in full support of Kher calling the entire episode "unfortunate".

While the issue kept gaining flames, the Twitteratti didn't miss their chance of taking a jibe. The internet is buzzing with jokes and memes around Kher and his visa 'torture". We picked some of them for you.

Anupam Kher show on twitter has been upgraded from weekly to daily soap.  dorku (@Dorkstar) February 2, 2016

If Anupam Kher really wants Pakistani Visa, he should just say "There is rising intolerance in India".. :P  *Daily Jokes* (@TeamDailyJokes) February 2, 2016

I thought Kiran Bedi is the worst LOL happened to BJP but Anupam Kher proved me wrong.     (@BhayankarLog) February 2, 2016

Anupam Kher got the Padma without applying for it, he thought procedure for a Pakistani visa is similarly done !!!  Thakursahab (@65thakursahab) February 2, 2016

Dear Pak authorities plz issue visa to Anupam kher he is desperate to come to you guys & Please keep him  We can't tolerate two PM's  Kunal Sehgal (@iambeingkunal) February 2, 2016

Why Anupam Kher did not get Pakistan visa:

1) He is not part of the Indian State

2) He is an actor.

So Islamabad calls him non-state actor!  Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) February 2, 2016

Anupam Kher Ji applying for Pakistani Visa and after the Visa was denied. pic.twitter.com/VcQbddSWTP  Gautam Trivedi (@Gotham3) February 2, 2016

Anupam Kher - Dad mujhe Pakistan jaana hai.

Dad: ......... pic.twitter.com/slxHzuxtSM  Kutta Kahi Ka (@BhayanakPuppy) February 2, 2016

Who knew Anupam Kher would be the bone of contention between India and Pakistan one day  Somya Gupta (@dr_somyagupta) February 2, 2016

With or without Anupam Kher, literature fests make more news for non-literary slugfests these days (satire) pic.twitter.com/vJx7F2IGLZ  Newsflicks (@newsflicks) February 2, 2016

You wish to share some reactions too? Let us know in the comments below.
WHO's global warning against the Zika virus has everyone talking about it. Seen as the next potential world pandemic, the disease has already affected thousands of child births in Brazil.

This is precisely why Mark Zuckerberg's most recent initiative is garnering so much response on social media. The Facebook chief shared an awareness note on Zika virus, highlighting its irreversible effects on health and the need to control the widespread wave it's been creating.

AP

Here's what Zuckerberg posted:

As a community, we can help fight the Zika virus by raising awareness. Facebook has partnered with the non-profit... Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, 2 February 2016



Facebook has partnered with Abrasco Divulga in Brazil and the initiative will soon roll out in Latin America as well.

Zuckerberg writes,

"As a community, we can help fight the Zika virus by raising awareness. Facebook has partnered with the non-profit Abrasco Divulga in Brazil as part of an effort we'll also roll out across Latin America.

The Zika virus has spread to more than 20 countries and is one of the biggest public health challenges right now. For pregnant women who get the virus, it has been linked to brain damage for their babies.

The virus is carried by mosquitoes. There are no medicines to treat or prevent the virus yet, so right now the most important thing is to try to avoid mosquito bites."

On our part, we can share as much information on the virus as we can. Every bit of information on the Zika virus is available on the WHO website http://www.who.int/csr/disease/zika/.
One of the biggest indicators of any government sponsored welfare campaign is girl child education, especially in the South Asian subcontinent. And Pakistan is failing at it.

For years, Fatima would wake up in the morning and dream of going to school but her hopes for an education were crushed.

Flickr

Rather than joining her two brothers in school, from the age of five Fatima would set off with her mother to work in the fields of their village in Bahawalpur district. "I wanted to go to the school and wanted to become a teacher, so that I could help other girls," Fatima, now aged seven, said in a Skype interview from her home.

The daughter of a labourer, Fatima seemed destined to a cycle of illiteracy and poverty and to remain one of more than 13 million girls in Pakistan to never see inside a classroom.

Nearly half of Pakistan's 53m children aged 5-16 are out of school and 55 per cent of those are girls.

Pakistan has the third largest number of out-of-school girls in the world, a fact that hit headlines globally in 2012 after Taliban militants shot 14-year-old schoolgirl and education advocate Malala Yousafzai, now a Nobel Peace prize laureate. Now amid this largely patriarchal society, Pakistani women, be they educated campaigners or illiterate mothers, are at the forefront of advocating for girls' right to school.Fatima's luck changed when local community workers visited her family and, after several meetings, backed her mother and convinced her father to send her to the nearby school, breaking the traditional norm of keeping girls at home.

"My wish came true and I was able to go to school. I like to play with my friends. Teachers are very kind and they take care of me," Fatima said, her dark brown eyes glistening with joy.

She became one of 73,000 children enrolled in school due to a joint project launched in 2013 by Alif Ailaan  an education reform campaign funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development but run by Pakistanis  and local non-profit organisation, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN).

The project has helped raise awareness in rural areas about the importance of learning as well as mobilise communities to demand quality education for their children from their political representatives and education department officials.

Women campaigning for girls

Despite a constitutional article guaranteeing the right of every child in Pakistan to a free education, social researchers blame poverty, a conservative culture and run-down school facilities for the decision by many poor families to keep their children, especially their daughters, from school.

RSPN says much of the success of the project is owed to its grass-roots community and village campaigners who use creative ways to get their message across such as public walks through the villages to raise awareness and coordinating with religious leaders to spread the word.

Social workers report that the most frequently reported reason for girls not attending school is their parents' unwillingness, citing difficult access to schools, poverty, and cultural sensitivities. A recent Oxfam report said 11pc of young girls in Pakistan are married before the age of 15, jeopardising their rights to health, education and protection and fathers needed to be convinced that education was a better path.

Uzma Nazir, a campaigner in Bahawalpur, found that in one case she had to appeal to a father's sense of religious duty as well as his guilt over spending excess cash on tobacco. "If you could afford to smoke daily and have enough money for Dish TV, then it meant that you could afford to pay for your children's educational expenses," Nazir said she told him.

She added that every Muslim man and woman had the responsibility for gaining an education. In the end, she helped him enrol his three daughters in school. Another effective argument that campaigners use are the economic advantages to an education. It wasn't hard to convince Sukhaan Mai to send all her seven daughters and son to school. Mai, who lives in a village 40 kilometres from Dera Ghazi Khan, earns Rs.8,000 a month, working as a day labourer, picking cotton and harvesting wheat in peak season.

Her biggest wish was for a better life for her children, which included sending them all to school, especially her physically-challenged daughter Memoona, 12.

"If my children will get an education there will be so many benefits in their future for better livelihood and they will gain the knowledge about good and bad," said Mai in a Skype interview from her home. According to the United Nation's International Labour Organization (ILO), about 75pc of Pakistani working women aged 15 and above were in the agricultural sector in 2010-2011 where working conditions were harsh and the wages were low.

Global evidence suggests that one additional year of schooling can increase a woman's earning by 10 to 20 pc. So far, the project has raised the awareness of nearly 250,000 people about the value of education. Rural communities have also lobbied for improvements in 741 schools  many of which were functioning without electricity, had no drinking water, and were missing toilets and boundary walls.

But social workers say there is still much work to be done. "In Pakistan, there is a need of an environment where equal access to education is provided from birth. If we manage to do that... I guarantee that will lead to a brighter and prosperous future," said Mosharraf Zaidi, campaign director of Alif Ailaan.
Despite an explosion and a fire immediately after taking off, a commercial airliner made a safe emergency landing at Mogadishus international airport, officials and witnesses said. The pilot said he thinks it was a bomb, and an aviation expert who analysed the photo of the fuselage hole concurred that it could have been explosive device.

Photos of the damage to Daallo airlines taken after the emergency landing. Two passengers were injured. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/2A5XTyOajm  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) February 2, 2016

Two people were slightly injured as 74 passengers and crew of the plane were evacuated after the plane made a safe landing on Tuesday, Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said. It was not certain if all the passengers were accounted for.

However, there were unverified reports that a person fell out of the hole caused by the explosion. Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in nearby Balad town, said residents had found the dead body of an old man who might have fallen from a plane. The flight, operated by Daallo Airlines and headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, was forced to land minutes after taking off from the Mogadishu airport.

Explosion blows hole in fuselage. 2 pple wounded; a 60 yr-old male ejected on impact/sucked out and killed; body found in Bal'ad w/ burns.  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) February 3, 2016

I think it was a bomb, said the pilot, Vladimir Vodopivec, who was quoted by Belgrade daily Blic. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport. Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank God it ended well, the 64-year-old pilot said.

Awale Kullane, Somalias deputy ambassador to the UN who was on board the flight, said on Facebook that he heard a loud noise and couldnt see anything but smoke for a few seconds. When visibility returned they realised quite a chunk of the plane was missing, he wrote.

Though investigations are going on, a bomb explosion is almost certain

Kullane, who was going to Djibouti to attend a conference for diplomats, also posted a video showing some passengers putting on oxygen masks inside the plane. The post was later removed from his Facebook page.

We dont know a lot, but certainly it looks like a device, said John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board and aviation safety expert.

There are only two things that could have caused a hole in the plane that looks like the one in photos circulated online  a bomb or a pressurisation blowout caused by a flaw or fatigue in the planes skin, said Goglia.

The photos appear to show black soot around the aircraft skin that is peeled back, said Goglia. A pressurisation blowout wouldnt create soot, but a bomb would, he said. Also, information about the event posted online indicate it took place during the takeoff phase of flight before the plane reached 30,000 feet, where there is maximum pressurisation, Goglia said. That makes the case for a pressurisation blowout even less likely, he said.

Passengers narrate the horror

Another passenger, Mohamed Ali, told the Associated Press that he and others heard a bang before flames opened a gaping hole in the planes side. I dont know if it was a bomb or an electric shock, but we heard a bang inside the plane, he said, adding he could not confirm reports that passengers had fallen from the plane. Although the Somali aviation official said that there were only two injuries, there were unverified reports that a person fell out of the hole.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in nearby Balad town, said residents had found the dead body of an old man who might have fallen from a plane. Balad is an agricultural town about 18 miles north of Mogadishu. Somalia faces an insurgency perpetrated by the Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab, which is responsible for many deadly attacks across the nation.
After serving nine years in the war-torn African region of Liberia, India's first all-women UN peacekeeping unit is returning home. The Indian Formed Police Unit (FPU) is also the world's first all-women contingent to have successfully served the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) since 2007.

According to The Indian Express, the Indian FPU will depart from Liberia on 14th February as the country now prepares itself to assume the mantle of national security.

PTI

While lauding the contributions of the peacemakers at their farewell ceremony, the Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said:

"The contribution you have made in inspiring Liberian women, imparting in them the spirit of professionalism and encouraging them to join operations that protect the nation; for that we will always be grateful.

"Our security service now has 17 per cent women  we owe all that to you, because it was not even one percent a few years ago. And these women want to emulate you in the way youve served this country."

Since most of us can't recall ever knowing about their existence, here's a quick fact sheet on these bravehearts who served another nation just as they would have served their own.

1. The world's first all-women Formed Police Unit was deployed from India to the UNMIL in January 2007.

UN

2. India supplied personnel from its CPRF force as well as from the Specialized Unit RAF in Liberia.

OZ

3. Mr. Gautam Sawang served as the UN Police Commissioner in Liberia.

4. The Indian FPU made an important cog in the UNMIL machinery.

UN

The current strength of people working for the mission comprises 5,934 total uniformed personnel, 4,400 troops, 125 military observers, 1,409 police (including formed units), 381 international civilian personnel, 823 local staff, and 185 UN Volunteers.

5. The Indian FPU is known to be highly sufficient to work in "high-risk" environments, and display high response capabilities to contingencies.

defencetalk

The bravehearts are now homeward bound after almost a decade-long service. They not only deserve applause but medals to commemorate their valour and patriotism. Hailing India's women peacekeeping unit in Liberia as an inspiration for all, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said that their conduct has served as an example of how women can help the world body in its efforts to combat sexual exploitation and abuse. "Through their unwavering performance, professionalism and discipline, including during the Ebola epidemic, these brave women gained the respect of both the Government and the Liberian people," the Secretary General's spokesman said in a statement yesterday as the first-ever all-female police unit ended its operations after nine years.

Ban commended the Formed Police Unit (FPU) for their contributions in creating an environment for Liberia to assume fully its security responsibilities by June 30, 2016, as mandated by the Security Council.
Follow us on b day special 10 things to know about raghuram rajan

Reserve Bank of India has witnessed 22 Governors since its establishment on April 1, 1935, but none of them has got the kind of attention Raghuram Rajan has received.

Such was the buzz surrounding the economist, when he took charge as RBI Governor in Sep 2013, that noted author Shobha De described him as a guy who has put 'sex' back into the limp Sensex'.

His dapper dress sense has also won him many admirers, a far cry from the usual dull looking Indian bureaucrats who only savour in wearing Safari Suits.

His prompt ways have shaken the very core of babus who are famous for their overarching complacency. Known for not mincing his words, the Governor has also shown a penchant for sweeping comments on matters outside monetary policy.

In October, he made an unusual appeal for tolerance, a territory exclusively reserved for political class where bureaucrats very rarely straddle to.

As the economist turns 53 today, here is what you should know about the incumbent RBI Governor:

1) Born in 1963 in a Tamil family in Bhopal, Rajan later completed his 7th to 12th standard in Delhi Public School, RK Puram.

2) His father was in the IFS and the family moved across continents when Rajan was a kid. He is married to Radhika, a classmate from IIM. They have two children.

3) After studying electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and business administration at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rajan did his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.

4) Rajan's claim to fame is his prediction of the 2008 global financial crisis. In his paper titled Has Financial Development Made The World Riskier?', which he submitted in November 2005, Rajan wrote: "But perhaps the most important concern is whether banks will be able to provide liquidity to financial markets so that if the tail risk does materialize..." The response to this paper was negative when it was published.

5) He became the Economic Counsellor and Director of Research (Chief Economist) of the International Monetary Fund in September 2003 the youngest ever to be appointed to this post. His term ended there in December 2006.

6) In 2003, Rajan was awarded the inaugural Fischer Black Prize by the American Finance Association for contributions to finance by an economist under 40.

7) His most widely-read book, Saving Capitalism from the Capitalist, was co-authored with fellow Chicago GSB professor Luigi Zingales and published in 2004.

8) He was appointed the Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian Finance Ministry in August 2012.

9) Rajan returned to the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago in 2007 where he is the Eric J Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance.

10) Since he took charge in 2013, Rajan has shown the character of an administrator, not toeing under political pressure, sticking to his policy decisions, and working ceaselessly to spruce up the babu' culture in RBI.

Latest Business News
Follow us on volkswagen apologises to indian customers for emission scandal

New Delhi: German auto major Volkswagen today said sorry to its Indian consumers for the emission scandal in India and reiterated that its cars follow the country's norms and its recall of the three lakh vehicles was a voluntary step that was taken by the company.

Volkswagen made some big mistakes. I am truly sorry for that. And I assure you, we are committed to make things right. We want to win back the trust in our brand. I know that many of our Indian customers are wondering whether their cars might be affected too, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Board Member for sales and marketing Jurgen Stackmann told PTI.

We have examined the issue very carefully under the observation of the authorities. And we came to the conclusion that our cars fully comply with Indian emission standards. However, winning back trust means more for us than just obeying the law.

Volkswagen wants totally satisfied customers so we will voluntarily update all the vehicles with EA 189 engines in India, making them as clean as the affected cars in Europe. And we will do this at no cost to the owners. That is our promise to our customers here in India he said.

Stackmann said he is apologising on behalf of the brand for the inconvenience and uncertainty that it might have caused in the country.

Nevertheless, because we believe there is a fine difference between being legal and compliant and actually we are gaining trust of consumers that we started voluntary recall... to give them same upgrade that we do in Europe, he added.

Volkswagen plans to update the engines of over three lakh vehicles that it recalled in India after a government-ordered probe founding it using diesel engines equipped with a defeat device which help cheat emission tests.

When asked if the company aims to complete the exercise in 2016 itself, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Director Michael Mayer had said: We aim to but given the large numbers, we will have to see how the response of people is. But definitely we would like to do the majority of the cars in 2016.

In India the company has announced to recall 3,23,700 lakh vehicles across its three brands -- Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen. The recall covers cars sold from 2008 till end of November 2015.

VW had admitted use of defeat device in 11 million diesel engine cars sold in the US, Europe and other global markets that allowed manipulation of emissions tests by changing the performance of the vehicles to improve results.

As per latest reports, the company could face fine of up to US $90 billion in the US following a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice.

Latest Business News
Follow us on what sushmita sen did to defeat aishwarya rai at miss india

New Delhi: Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, apart from being a talented actress, is considered to be one of the beautiful women in the world.

The actress made her comeback after a gap of five years with Jazbaa' and her performance in the movie won her accolades.

Despite being away from the silver screen for a long period of time, Aishwarya has managed to be amongst the leading actresses of the industry, be it for acting or her fashion sense.

In fact the actress upped her fashion game again on the global stage as she met French President Francois Hollande for a luncheon on Republic Day. Aishwarya looked looking radiant and ravishing in a red Banarasi sari during her meeting with Hollande.

Indeed, it is quite difficult to beat such a brilliant actress and fashionista. But there was a time Aishwarya Rai too faced defeat.

This happened during the 1994 Miss India contest where Aishwarya was defeated by none other than Sushmita Sen.

Sushmita had won the Miss India 1994 pageant and Ash was crowned the runner-up in the contest.

This was quite unexpected for everyone as Aishwarya Rai was a known model and also a favourite contestant of the judges, while Sushmita was relatively new to the circuit.

Everyone was wondering what made Sushmita win despite Aishwarya's popularity?

Well, here's the answer. During the finals of 1994 Miss India Contest, there was a tie between Aishwarya and Sushmita. Both Aishwarya and Sushmita scored 9.33 after the Q&A round and judges had to ask another question from each of the top 5 contestants to decide the final winner.

The judges asked Aishwarya, If you have to look for qualities in a husband, would you look for the qualities in Ridge Forrester from Bold & Beautiful or in Mason Capwell from Santa Barbara?

To this the lady replied, In Mason. Though they do share a lot in common, from what we get to see, Mason does have a very caring side to him and a terrific sense of humour. And that really gels with my character.

On the other hand, judges asked Sushmita, What do you know about the textile heritage of your country and how old has it been?

To this Sushmita replied, I think it all started with Mahatma Gandhi's Khadi. It has gone a long way since then but the basics of Indian textile heritage has been from there.

While Ash scored an average of 9.39 on her answer, Sushmita scored 9.41 which eventually made her win the crown of Miss India 1994.

Talking about their professional career, while currently Sushmita Sen is no where in the limelight, Aishwarya is currently busy shooting for two of upcoming movies Sarabjit' and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'.

Latest Bollywood News
Follow us on when shah rukh khan lip kissed kajol accidentally watch video

New Delhi: Rohit Shetty's Dilwale' created a lot of buzz ever since it was announced as the movie was bringing back the magical jodi of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol on the silver screen after a gap of five years.

SRK and Kajol, considered to be a perfect onscreen couple, often leave the audience awe-struck with their sizzling chemistry

This onscreen couple has been the best of friends for years now and has seen each other grow both personally and professionally.

Infact Kajol is often spotted leg-pulling her bestie King Khan. But there came a moment when the diva was left all embarrassed by Shah Rukh in front of the entire team of Dilwale'.

Surprised?

Well, this happened when the Dilwale' cast featuring SRK, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, were shooting for the song Tukur Tukur' and King Khan ended up lip kissing Kajol accidently.

Actually the cast was practicing their steps for the song. There was a sequence where Shah Rukh was supposed to kiss Kajol on her cheeks.

But when King Khan turned to kiss Kajol, so did she and the two ended up having a lip-to-lip kiss.

We know this is beyond SRK's rules and Kajol was so embarrassed for the incident that she kept on apologizing the Fan' actor, while the rest of the team couldn't control their laughter.

Unfortunately, SRK-Kajol's magic too didn't work out for Dilwale' and the movie failed to impress the audience.

In fact, not just the audience, the cast too is seen regretting doing Dilwale'.

Currently, Shah Rukh Khan is busy with two of his upcoming movies  Fan' and Raees'.

Latest Bollywood News
Follow us on visa row shabana azmi comes out in support of anupam kher

Mumbai: Critically acclaimed actress Shabana Azmi has expressed support for Anupam Kher after he was denied a visa to Pakistan. She says a similar situation was once faced by her husband, celebrated lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Shabana tweeted: "Some years ago Javed Akhtar, chair of delegation to Pakistan was denied a visa. Organiser cancelled the entire trip . I stand with @RoflGandhi... Oh ho! I meant I stand with Anupam Kher if he was denied visa."

Anupam on Tuesday claimed he was denied a visa to visit Pakistan for the Karachi Literature Festival, which begins on Friday. However, while 17 out of the 18 Indians who were due to go for the event, received their visas, the 60-year-old said he was "singled out".

On Wednesday, he said that he has now been offered one. However, the veteran actor has "given away those dates" and won't be travelling.

Latest Bollywood News
Follow us on indian medical firm claims breakthrough in developing world s first zika vaccine

Derabad: A Hyderabad-based vaccines and bio-therapeutic manufacturer, Bharat Biotech, today claimed to have pulled-off a major breakthrough in the development of the world's first vaccine to fight the dreaded mosquito-borne Zika virus which has been declared as public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Bharat Biotech has informed both the WHO and the Indian government of their Zika virus vaccine called ZIKAVAC.

According to the company, it started working on the vaccine about a year ago. "We believe we have an early mover advantage in developing the Zikavac and we are probably the first in the world to file for global patent for Zika vaccine candidates, Krishna Ella, CMD Bharat Biotech, said.

"We have two candidate vaccines in development. One of them is an inactivated vaccine that has reached the stage of pre-clinical testing in animals," he added.

Quoting a WHO report, he said Zika is now present in 23 countries. Brazil, the worst affected country, has reported around 3,530 cases of the devastating birth defect called microcephaly in 2015 strongly suspected to be related to Zika.

"We hope to announce the arrival of Zikavac to the world as early as possible," Ella said.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day. The mosquito-transmitted infection is related to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile virus. It causes serious birth defects in children.



(With agencies inputs)

Latest India News
Follow us on karnataka s bhatkal new recruitment hub for isis

New Delhi: Once known in intelligence cirlces as the breeding ground of the homegrown Indian Mujahideen (IM) terror outfit, Karnataka's small coastal town of Bhatkal, a tourist destination with a lot of history, is unfortunately now being seen in the security establishment to be emerging as a possible incubator of the Islamic State's Indian terror module after a string of arrests from the town and nearby areas in the southern state.

Shafi Armar, who, intelligence agencies say is the main recruiter of Indian men lured to the IS ideology -- some of whom have even gone to fight alongside the Islamist terror militia in Syria -- also belongs to Bhatkal where he was born and lived with his two brothers, before leaving India in 2009.

Knowledgeable sources said Armar started as a member of the IM before fleeing from India to Pakistan with other top operatives of the outfit, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal. Armar's elder brother Sultan, now dead, had also left India with him.

Armar, the sources further said, later went for training in Syria and is now believed to be a key member of Ansar-ul-Tawhid, a recruiting wing which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

He then formed an IS India module called Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind whose 14 members were arrested in a nationwide raid conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week. Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind has reportedly been active since April 2015, the sources said.

After Armar, intelligence sources said, some more IS sympathizers named Suhail Ahmed, Damudi, Mohammed Afzal, Najmul Huda and Muhammad Abdul Ahad - all in NIA custody - have their links with Bhatkal, which is otherwise famous as a tourist destination.

"All the arrested suspected terrorists having links with Bhatkal are being quizzed to ascertain their role in the module. Interrogators are also trying to find out the exact number of people recruited from the town," the sources said.

The sources privy to the investigation, however, said that the arrested IS suspects were not only asked to target Bhatkal to recruit members but to seek sympathisers across India for which they had organised several meetings in Lucknow, Mumbai, Mangalore, Tumkur (in Karnataka), Haridwar and Hyderabad.

Another official, close to the investigation, said that the main India-module recruiter of IS has been targeting his former IM aides who belong to Bhatkal and nearby towns in Karnataka.

Asked if Bhatkal town has become a "breeding ground" for ISIS's recruiters, Additional DGP (Internal Security) Karnataka Sunil Kumar said: "It's a matter of investigation."

"We are in constant touch with the NIA. Several people were recently arrested from Mangalore, Tumkur and Bangalore, but their role to recruit new IS members from Bhatkal or other states is a matter of inquiry and it cannot be shared," Sunil Kumar stated.

Latest India News
Follow us on tanzanian student beaten stripped paraded naked in b luru

Bengaluru: A young Tanzanian woman was today stripped, beaten up and paraded naked for apparently no fault of hers. She was travelling in a car with three of her friends when she was dragged out of her car and attacked.

According to authorities, the incident occurred when the 21-year-old student was travelling in a car with three of her friends on Sunday when a crowd stopped them. The locals, according to police officials, mistook the car for another which had an accident leaving one woman dead around half an hour ago.

The student was then dragged out of the Wagon-R before being allegedly stripped and paraded naked by a mob of at least 200 people. Her other friends in the car were also beaten up by the angry mob. The car was also set afire.

According to the All African Students Union in Bengaluru, the passengers pushed her out when she tried to board a bus. As per reports, a bystander who offered a T-shirt to cover her was also beaten up by the mob.

The incident has prompted the Tanzanian embassy in India to ask the Indian government to take appropriate action in the matter. The High Commission of Tanzania has sent a Note Verbale about reported attacks on African students in Bangalore. The Note Verbale requests the Indian government to follow up on this matter and take necessary legal action against those involved in such attacks and to ensure safety and security of all African students in India.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru," tweeted Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.

Meanwhile, India's Ministry of External Affairs has said it has spoken to the High Commissioner of Tanzania and expressed India's regret at the unfortunate incident. The MEA firther told the Tanzanian envoy that state authorities have assured that they are seized of the matter and have taken action to prevent any recurrence of such untoward incidents.

Acording to Bengaluru Police Commissioner N S Megharikh, after the pedestrian was killed, the driver of the car was assaulted before he was moved to hospital. The Tanzanian woman and her friends had reached the spot later, he said, adding, the mob mistook them for having been responsible for the mishap.

"We have taken up the case very seriously. We have zero tolerance for such incidents. We have registered the statement of the victim. We will be recording the statements of the other victims as well. Investigations are on and those responsible for this attack will be arrested at the earliest," he said later addressing reporters.

However, reports suggest that the attack happened when the student's friends tried to save the driver actually responsible for the accident. Sources said that the accident was caused by a Sudanese national. The mob reportedly continued their attack on the innocent students despite realising that it was a clear case of mistaken identity.

Latest India News
Follow us on after nuclear test north korea plans to launch satellite this month

Seoul: Weeks after its fourth nuclear test, North Korea announced plans Tuesday to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket later this month, in what critics see as a covert test of banned technology for a ballistic missile that could strike the U.S. mainland.

An official at the London-based International Maritime Organization said North Korea declared that the launch would be conducted between Feb. 8 and 25, between 7 a.m. and noon Pyongyang time. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she hadn't been authorized to speak publicly yet.

A South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said Seoul was also informed of the plans, and estimated that the first stage of the rocket would fall off the west coast of South Korea, more debris would land near the South's Jeju Island, and the second stage would land off the Philippines' east coast.

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. The North also told international agencies before that launch of its plans. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

North Korea, an autocracy run by the same family since 1948, is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles, but it closely guards details about its nuclear and missile programs. This means there is considerable debate by outsiders about whether it can produce nuclear bombs small enough to place on a missile, or missiles that can reliably deliver their bombs to faraway targets.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons. It calls its rocket launches satellite missions, but the U.N., the United States, South Korea and others say they are meant to test ballistic missile technology. The U.N. Security Council prohibits North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity.

The North's Jan. 6 nuclear test has led to another push in the U.N. to tighten sanctions, something that followed North Korea's 2012 rocket launch and its 2013 third nuclear test. The North followed that test with an escalating campaign of bombast that included threats to fire nuclear missiles at the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has said that plutonium and highly enriched uranium facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex are in operation and that its scientists have improved "the levels of nuclear weapons with various missions in quality and quantity."

But just what is happening at Nyongbyon is unclear. North Korea booted out international inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.

Latest World News
Follow us on britain financial sanctions list confirm dawood ibrahim is in pakistan

London: Britain has updated its list of financial sanctions that includes underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's name and a few Sikh terror groups.

The UK Treasury department's 'Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets', updated on January 27, shows four recorded addresses of Dawood in Pakistan - all in Karachi.

"Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar" is recorded to have lived at:

(a) House No 37, 30th Street - defence, Housing Authority, Karachi, Pakistan

(b) House no. 29, Margalla Road, F 6/2 Street no. 22, Karachi, Pakistan

(c) Noorabad, Karachi, Pakistan (Palatial bungalow in the hilly area)

(d) White House, Near Saudi Mosque, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan.

The Mumbai-born gangster's nationality is listed as Indian, with a recorded Indian passport which was subsequently revoked by the Government of India and then goes on to list a string of Indian and Pakistani passports acquired by him and misused.

"International arrest warrant issued by the Government of India. Also referred to as Hizrat," the listing, first made on November 7, 2003, concludes.

Dawood has time and again been reported to be based in Pakistan but Islamabad has denied his presence.

Financial sanctions in force in the UK could apply to individuals, entities and governments who may be resident in the UK or abroad. The measures include prohibiting the transfer of funds to a sanctioned country and freezing the assets of a government, the corporate entities and residents of the target country to targeted asset freezes on individuals/entities.

Certain financial sanctions may also prohibit providing or performing other financial services, such as insurance, to designated individuals or governments.

It is a criminal offence to breach a financial sanction, without an appropriate licence or authorisation from the UK Treasury.

Organisations under the entities section on the updated January 2016 list include the likes of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Khalistan Zindabad Force, International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during his Britain visit requested his counterpart David Cameron to crackdown on underworld don in the United Kingdom. Ever since Modi government came to power, it has repeatedly maintained that is committed to bring back the fugitive don to face law for his involvement in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

With PTI Inputs

Latest World News
Follow us on pak court to hear plea on bhagat singh s innocence in sanders murder case

Lahore: In a move that would revive the patriotic memories of pre-independence era, a Pakistani court will hear from today a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer, nearly 85 years after his execution by the colonial government.

Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice Ijazul Ahsan constituted a division bench headed by justice Khalid Mahmood Khan to hear the case from February 3.

The petition was last heard by justice Shujaat Ali Khan in May 2013, when he referred the matter to the chief justice for the constitution of a larger bench.

Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, had in November filed a plea in the LHC for early hearing of the matter.

In the petition, Advocate Qureshi said Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India.

The case was filed against Mr Singh, Mr Sukhdev and Mr Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.

Mr Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931 at the age of 23, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government.

He said Mr Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".

The petitioner further said Bhagat Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Sikhs but also Muslims as the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah twice paid tribute to him.

"It is a matter of national importance and should be fixed before a full bench," he said and pleaded the court to set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with state award.

In 2014, Lahore police provided the copy of the original FIR of the killing of Saunders in 1928 to the petitioner on the court's order. Singh's name was not mentioned in the First Information Report of the murder of Saunders for which he was handed down death sentence.

Eighty three years after Singh's hanging, Lahore police searched through the record of the Anarkali police station on court's order and managed to find the FIR of the murder of Saunders.

Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4.30pm against two 'unknown gunmen'. The case was registered under sections 302, 1201 and 109 of Indian Penal Code.

Petitioner Advocate Qureshi said special judges of the tribunal handling Singh's case awarded death sentence to him without hearing the 450 witnesses in the case. Singh's lawyers were not given the opportunity of cross-questioning them, he said.

"I will establish Bhagat Singh's innocence in the Saunders case," Advocate Qureshi said.

Latest World News
Follow us on kejriwal announces rs 551 cr loan for striking workers mcd mayor slams offer

New Delhi: In a move aimed at putting an end to the ongoing strike by the MCD workers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced a loan of Rs 551 crore for the payment of the salaries to the employees of two municipal corporations.

The workers of all the three civic bodies of Delhi, viz., North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, have been on a strike for the last eight days protesting against the non-payment of their salaries.

"We are giving Rs.551 crore to the north and east municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers," Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment at a naturopathy centre.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will also be paid Rs.142 crore against the stamp duty bill, he said.

"It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find this Rs.550 crore for loan. The Delhi government is facing Rs.3,000 crore value added tax shortfall," Kejriwal said soon after he announced the loan.

Accusing BJP for the entire fiasco, Kejriwal also said that the Modi government had been misusing the MCD and demanded a CBI enquiry over the scam of non-payment of salaries to MCD workers.

However, the MCD Mayors have not taken too kindly to the CM's loan offer. Reacting to statements issued by the Delhi CM, Mayor of the north MCD Ravindar Gupta said, North MCD is ready for the CBI enquiry but Kejriwal should come face-to-face with us instead of playing games from Bangalore.

Directing his ire at Kejriwal, he further said, He should go to Agra for his mental check-up as such talks can severely hamper his mind.

The strike called by civic employees in the national capital over non-payment of their salaries continued today with thousands of workers blocking major roads and creating traffic snarls causing inconvenience to commuters.

As part of their agitation, sanitation workers of the civic bodies staged demonstrations on major roads in Delhi, including the National Highways that skirt it. Among others, traffic was blocked on east Delhi's Vikas Marg, inconveniencing commuters.

Hospitals and schools run by civic bodies were also affected as doctors, hospital staff, teachers and school employees joined the protest.

Protestors dumped garbage on roads and set tyres ablaze at various places. With uncollected garbage strewn along roads, an overpowering stench pervaded most municipal areas.



(With IANS inputs)
Its been five years since Gov. Scott Walker signed Wisconsins voter ID requirement into law, but the measure has been unenforceable for most of that time. That changes on Feb. 16, the first statewide election to require photo IDs at the polls.

We saw this as one of the biggest changes to election administration that most of us have seen in our lifetime, said Government Accountability Board director Kevin Kennedy, speaking at a press conference on Monday.

The GAB is trying to educate voters in the weeks leading up to that election, encouraging them to be prepared.

The photo ID measure was in place for the February 2012 primary, but was then blocked by orders from judges in state and federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2015 declined to hear a challenge to the law.

Since then, 29 special elections in municipalities and counties have been conducted with the requirement in place, but none at the state level. Kennedy said the GAB has learned a lot from those smaller elections, adding that for the most part, they went smoothly.

Heres how to vote now that the requirement is in place:

Have an ID.

This can be a state-issued drivers license or ID card, a military ID or a passport. Some student and tribal IDs will also work, but will require extra documentation to prove current enrollment. For a full list of acceptable IDs, visit bringit.wi.gov.

If you dont have an ID, get one. The state will provide you one for free. Youll need to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles, where youll be required to provide proof of your name, date of birth, Wisconsin residency, U.S. citizenship and proof of identity.

Be prepared at your polling place. Youll have to state your name and address, show the poll worker your ID and sign your name in the poll book. Then you can cast your ballot. If you forget your ID, you can cast a provisional ballot and show your ID by the end of the week.

If you have difficulty getting to the polls, you might not have to show an ID. If you are a permanent absentee voter due to age, illness, infirmity or disability  or youre voting absentee because youre an active-duty member of the military  you can receive your ballot without showing a photo ID. 
Follow us on lalu yadav s son in law s car snatched at gunpoint

Gurgaon: The car of RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav's son-in-law Vinit Yadav was today snatched by some unidentified persons at gunpoint near Sikandarpur metro station on the busy M G road, police said.

The white colour Toyota Fortuner was being driven by Vinit's driver Hari Prakash when four to five assailants intercepted it at gunpoint in broad daylight, a police official said.

According to reports, Vineet Yadav had gone to Sikanderpur at around 2.30 pm in his car. After he got off the vehicle, some men approached the driver and threatened him with a gun. They assaulted him and forced him out of the vehicle and then fled with the car.

"After stopping the vehicle the assailants dragged the driver out of the car and fled with it," APRO and ACP, Gurgaon Police, Hawa Singh said.

The RJD supremo's son-in-law, who is a resident of Delhi, was not in the car at the time of the incident, Singh said.

Police have registered a case under the Arms Act and launched a hunt for the culprits, the ACP said.

Vineet Yadav is married to Lalu Prasad Yadav's fifth daughter Hema Yadav.
Follow us on mehbooba mufti talks tough wants confidence building measures from centre before govt formation

Jammu: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti today toughened her stand on the issue of continuing the party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, saying that the central government needed to undertake some confidence-building measures for the region before the formation of government in Jammu and Kashmir. She was speaking to journalists after meeting the state Governor N N Vohra over the formation of government in the state.

Before formation of new J&K government, I want the central government to take some confidence building measures for the region, Mehbooba Mufti said after the meeting.

J&K Governor Vohra had earlier written to both partners of the PDP-BJP alliance seeking a clarification on their stand on government formation in the state. Jammu and Kashmir has been under central rule following the death of Chief Minister and Mehbooba Mufti's father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. There has been uncertainty over the formation of government in the state ever since the former CM's demise on January 7.

Talking to reporters after meeting Vohra, Mehbooba said the state, which is different from others, needs a "good atmosphere, space and a fillip" if a new government is to be formed. She said her late father Mufti Sayeed, without bothering about his "political career", had aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the hope that the Centre will bring out the state from the difficult situation it is in.

"Jammu and Kashmir is a different state, there are different challenges. In Jammu and Kashmir, there are several forces which need to be tackled. We need the Centre to be fully with us," she said, without ealborating on the measures that she wants the Centre to take.

Though both the BJP and the PDP have maintained that they are committed to the vision for the state laid down in the form of the common minimum programme of the state government chalked out last year during government formation, there have been signs of a rift between the two parties, leading to uncertainty.

The PDP is said to be unhappy about fund flow from Delhi not turning up as promised. According to PDP sources, the party wants a written assurance from PM Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah on supporting PDP's stand on issues such as Article 370 and the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

Speaking to reporters today, the PDP chief indicated that she wasn't too willing to take up the mantle as J&K chief minister either. I don't have that vision which Mufti sahab had, neither do I have the experience right now, Mehbooba Mufti said after meeting the Governor.

Prior to the meeting, BJP's three-member panel from its state's core group yesterday rushed to New Delhi and held consultations with central leadership before meeting the Governor to discuss government formation. The BJP is expected to put forth its views before the Governor when its representatives meet him later today over the formation of government in the state.

Watch video:

(With PTI inputs)
Follow us on arunachal government officials indulging in politics governor

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa on Wednesday said that certain government officials were "indulging in politics", and directed them to ensure that discipline is imbibed down the line in office.

"The governor expressed his disappointment on the reported participation of certain government officials in politics and remarked that officers should serve in the government without any prejudice," Raj Bhavan spokesperson Atum Potom said.

During a meeting with government officials, Rajkhowa told them that the rule of law should prevail to provide good governance in the state.

"Rules are required to uphold civil society and everybody should abide it for the greater good of the society," Rajkhowa was quoted as saying.

He also expressed concern over reports of private individuals moving files in government offices for vested interests and said that such practices must discontinue.

Rajkhowa, who has taken over the reins in Arunachal Pradesh which has been put under President's Rule, also expressed regret that the practice of giving out of turn promotion to certain officers has become an ugly trend.

This was the root cause of corruption, he said.

Reiterating that President's Rule was only a temporary measure, the governor said: "This must be a good time to bring in effective and fearless administration, free of fear or favour. There is an urgent need for change in the mindset of the officers."

He said maintenance of discipline was the need of the hour and that starts with being punctual in office.

Lauding the efforts of government officials in the ongoing "My City, My Pride, I will clean it" campaign in the state capital, Rajkhowa said such endeavours go a long way in ensuring best practices.

He also directed PWD officials to immediately repair all roads in and around the Capital Complex.

Rajkhowa requested all officers to extend their full cooperation to ensure good administration during President's Rule and after, in the interest of the people.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
A trend in U.S. Senate campaigns has worked its way down to Wisconsin's Supreme Court race  a way for independent groups to help candidates without really coordinating with them.

Do you remember "McConnelling?" It gave us gems like this, this and, well, all of these. The idea: a politician uploads a bunch of b-roll footage to a website like YouTube, where it's free for the taking. A super PAC or other independent group can stumble upon said footage and use it however it sees fit  perhaps in an ad supporting the candidate who uploaded it. Perhaps.

Late last month, Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley uploaded her own set of b-roll, three minutes and 34 seconds documenting "A Day in the Life."

On Tuesday, a few of those scenes reappeared in an ad set to air on TV statewide in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 16 primary election.

The ad is part of a more than $400,000 buy from the conservative Wisconsin Alliance for Reform, according to numbers from the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. According to FCC records, the purchase was made by an agent from Nonbox, the Hales Corners advertising firm that has handled ad buys for Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and the Wisconsin Club for Growth.

"A fair and impartial judiciary protects all of our rights," the narrator says. "Justice Rebecca Bradley gets it. Colleagues call her measured, fair, willing to work with anyone. Judges applaud her insight, hard work compassion."

The ad touts Bradley's work helping sexually exploited children and promoting youth mentorship and says her record has earned support from a bipartisan group of judges, prosecutors and sheriffs.

"Tell Rebecca Bradley you believe in a fair and independent judiciary," the narrator concludes.

Bradley's campaign launched an ad of its own on Tuesday which will air on radio stations throughout the state.

Bradley's ad features a young girl coming home from school, telling her mom she talked about the state Supreme Court in class. Her mom notes that one seat is up for election this spring.

"Boy, that's an important vote, mom," the daughter says. "Because justices have to uphold the Constitution."

"I know," her mom replies. "And that's why I already know I'm voting for Justice Rebecca Bradley ... Justice Bradley understands that it's not her job to make laws, but to interpret them."

The ad closes with Bradley asking voters for their support.

Bradley faces Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Joe Donald and Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg in the Feb. 16 primary. The two highest vote-getters will move on to the April general election.

Donald's campaign issued a statement on Monday decrying Bradley's "hyper-partisan campaign tactics," urging both of his opponents to join him in turning down help from independent groups and political parties.

"Rebecca Bradley is running a campaign fit for partisan office to the Legislature, not one that is up to the higher, nonpartisan standards of the Wisconsin Supreme Court," Donald said in a statement.

Kloppenburg campaign manager Melissa Mulliken said the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform ad appeared to conflict with Bradley's previous pledge not to coordinate with independent groups.

"When it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it often is a duck," Mulliken said in an email. "Rebecca Bradley said she wouldn't coordinate. This looks like coordination. Voters want and deserve justices and judges they can trust. This calls into question her trustworthiness."

But a spokesman for the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform pushed back on Donald's and Kloppenburg's suggestions.

"The footage featured in our ad is publicly available and enabled us to highlight Justice Rebecca Bradley's successful record of bringing people together to take on our state's most pressing challenges," spokesman Chris Martin said in an email.
Obama Plans Massive Military Escalation and the Media Barely Seem to Care



U.S. troops are going back into Iraq, our presence in Libya is escalating, and Obama has widened the war in Afghanistanall without much of a public debate.



By Adam Johnson



February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " AlterNet " - Almost five years after the United States and its NATO allies launched a campaign in Libya to overthrow Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the United States is on the verge of massively escalating its military operations in the war-torn country. According to the New York Times, the new effort is expected to include airstrikes and raids by elite American troops. It is unclear how long this newest effort will last. The announcement comes on the heels of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announcing combat troops were going back to Iraq last week. While U.S special forces have been conducting clandestine reconnaissance missions in Libya to identify militant leaders and map out their networks over the past year, the New York Times report marks the first time overt combat troops will be deployed in the North African nation. The 2011 campaign was itself something of a bait and switch. What was originally sold as simply a no-fly zone quickly became regime change. A few weeks after the UN-sanctioned bombing of Libyas infrastructure and air capacity, the scope of the campaign pivoted when President Obama, along with Presidents Sarkozy and Cameron of France and the UK respectively, announced the entirely new objective: NATO airstrikes, in concert with ongoing CIA support of rebels, to overthrow the Qaddafi government. After this was quickly achieved, the pundit classes rallied to congratulate a job well done. As Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept noted Wednesday: War advocates such as Anne-Marie Slaughter and Nicholas Kristof were writing columns celebrating their prescience and mocking war opponents as discredited, and the New York Times published a front-page article declaring: U.S. Tactics in Libya May be a Model for Other Efforts. It was widely expected that Hillary Clinton, one of the leading advocates for and architects of the bombing campaign, would be regarded as a Foreign Policy Visionary for the grand Libya success: We came, we saw, he died, Clinton sociopathically boasted about the mob rape and murder of Qaddafi while guffawing on 60 Minutes. Despite the fanfare at the overthrow of Qaddafi (who suffered a brutal death at the hands of a mob), not much has been made of the U.S. militarys slow escalation of its involvement in Libya over the past year. This time the objective, much like in Iraq after the U.S. deposed its leader, is destroying the presence of ISIS, a process that could take, in the words of former Defense Secretary Panetta, thirty years. And it's an escalation that has largely gone under the public's radar. Slowly trickling wars are a common feature in U.S. policy. The latest war in Iraq against ISIS was originally sold as limited, humanitarian airstrikes to save the Yezidi trapped on a mountain from ISIS, and it has now gone on for over a year and a half, spans two countries, and soon will include boots on the ground. All this with neither the corporate media nor Congress, which hasnt yet brought military authorization to a vote, paying much attention. This new level of indifference on the part of the public about what is an ISIS war spiraling into a massive global effort has even bothered the normally hawkish Times. In the context of Libya, it wrote: This significant escalation is being planned without a meaningful debate in Congress about the merits and risks of a military campaign that is expected to include airstrikes and raids by elite American troops. That is deeply troubling. A new military intervention in Libya would represent a significant progression of a war that could easily spread to other countries on the continent. It is being planned as the American military burrows more deeply into battlegrounds in Syria and Iraq, where American ground troops are being asked to play an increasingly hands-on role in the fight. Its always difficult to tell if public indifference is what leads to a media blackout or the other way around, but the Times is correct that a broad public discussion about the wisdom of committing to potentially decades-long military efforts is disturbingly absent. When the U.S. began its anti-ISIL efforts in August 2014, ISIL was in two countries. Now, after tens of thousands of aerial ordinances have been dropped on two continents, ISIS now has a presence in over 20 countries. The U.S. has even expanded its war in Afghanistan to include ISIS, the White House announced last Thursday. None of the major presidential candidates, including the most progressive member of the U.S. Congress, Bernie Sanders, outwardly opposes the U.S.' current anti-ISIL efforts, including the once-unpopular drone program. Over the past two weeks, the Defense Department and the Obama administration have been peppering the media with their plans to massively increase the war effort in Libya as well as Iraq, Afghanistan and potentially elsewhere. All the evidence points to the fact that war-makers in Washington and Brussels are gearing up for a major effort that could very well last a long time. The question is, will we ever have a public debate about it? Adam Johnson is an associate editor at AlterNet. Follow him on Twitter at @adamjohnsonnyc . See also - Pentagon to hike spending request to fund fight versus Islamic State : The fiscal year 2017 Pentagon budget will call for more than $7 billion for the fight against Islamic State, a roughly 35 percent increase compared with the previous year's request to Congress
How Two-Party Political Systems Bolster Capitalism



By Richard Wolff



February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Mainstream economics has always privileged one debate above all others as its most central. Should production and distribution of goods and services be private or public, done by individuals or the state? Mainstream economists likewise keep aggressively projecting this question as the central debate for politics and politicians. Such arrogant self-confidence is the other side of the insular self-absorption that characterizes so much of the mainstream economics "discipline." To reproduce capitalism is to continue the existence of that particular economic system. On one side of the debate are devotees of (1) private ownership of productive resources and (2) market exchanges to connect the private owners with one another and everyone else. They believe that private property and markets best serve every society's economic interests - growth, efficiency, fairness and rising mass consumption. On the other side are devotees of government economic intervention to correct, moderate or offset the many flaws and weaknesses they find in private property and markets. They believe that society's best economic interests can only be served through such an intervention. Most people interested in economics and politics have long accepted (been trapped within?) these mainstream positions as the boundaries of economic thought, research and policy. However, a much deeper level of discussion about the intersection of politics and economics exists. It concerns economic issues ignored by the mainstream, and questions not raised but rather swept under ideological rugs. Mainstream debates in political economy conceal more than they illuminate. They never explore the complex relation between contemporary politics and the reproduction of the capitalist economic system versus transition to alternatives. To reproduce capitalism is to continue the existence of that particular economic system. By capitalist system, we mean primarily the organization of work around the relationship of employer to employee (a relationship different from that of master to slave or lord to serf in the slave and feudal systems that often preceded modern capitalism). Effects of the Two-Party System For the reproduction of capitalism, the two-major-party structure dominating politics has proven very effective in most nations for some time now. While party names vary, their common relationship to reproducing capitalism does not. Examples include the Republicans and Democrats in the United States, Conservatives and Labour in the United Kingdom, Christian Democrats and Socialists in Germany, and so on. All those parties implicitly endorse and support the reproduction of capitalism, and most do so explicitly as well. The first in each pair differs from the second only on which variant of capitalism they prefer. No matter which party prevails, factories, offices and stores continue to display the same basic employer-employee organization. Usually, one party tilts toward a more inclusive and less unequal variant. It advocates government intervention to secure that variant. The other party tilts more toward markets and existing distributions of private property functioning with strictly limited government economic interventions. The winning party adjusts government economic interventions accordingly to alter the social mix of private and state enterprises, redistribute income and wealth toward more or less economic and social inequality, and so on. No matter which party prevails, factories, offices and stores - whether private or state enterprises, whether more or less taxed and regulated - continue to display the same basic employer-employee organization. The avoidance of any explicit discussion, debate or focus on alternative enterprise organizations serves to hide how both parties support the capitalist mode of enterprise organization. In the laws they pass; the administrative rules they enforce; the cultural meanings they constantly presume, endorse and reinforce for mass media, schools etc., both parties cement the social dominance of the employer-employee relationship that structures capitalist enterprises. They function as if that relationship were the best humanly possible, agreed universally to be such and thus beyond debate This two-major-party arrangement both allows for disagreements yet also keeps dissent bounded by common commitments to reproduce capitalism. Popular disaffection from one party's rule usually flows smoothly into support for the other. Passing government back and forth between the parties makes the enduring capitalist system appear to be above the fray, beyond political dispute, forever. Meanwhile ideologues, academic and otherwise, endlessly reaffirm capitalism as the best possible economic system for humans: something only ignorance or evil would contest or even question. When politics then focuses on other social issues (for example, tax rates, civil liberties, immigration, marriage equality, austerity policies, climate change, school curricula, and so on), their intimate connection to the needs and pressures of a capitalist economic system is lost or minimized. How an alternative structure of enterprises might help address those social issues in other and better ways is excluded from political debate and struggle. Sometimes individuals and groups develop public positions that take tentative steps toward questioning capitalism's reproduction. This usually happens when its instabilities (e.g. business cycles), inequalities (in wealth, income, political power, cultural access), and/or social injustices focus attention on economic policies amid deteriorating economic conditions. In recent times, the crash of 2008, corporate bailouts, austerity policies (or, more broadly, neoliberalism) and widening gaps between rich and poor have provoked oppositions to such policies and conditions. Some within those oppositions reason their way toward identifying capitalism as the systemic problem to be solved. But the "socialism" they sometimes promote as an alternative to capitalism usually turns out not to involve any basic change in the organization of enterprises. They remain trapped in the old debate between more or less government intervention, private versus state enterprises etc. The Suppression of Third-Party Challengers When neither major party adequately addresses an issue important to significant communities, additional parties grow and/or newly emerge into political importance. Recent examples include Green parties, anti-austerity parties, regional parties (e.g. in Scotland, Catalonia etc.) and new or resurging nationalist, anti-immigration and quasi-fascist parties (e.g. France and central Europe). While attacking the two-party system around their issues of chief concern, such parties rarely recognize, question or criticize that system's support for capitalism's reproduction (despite occasional anti-capitalist rhetoric). The two parties' procedures to marginalize or suppress oppositional individuals, groups and new small parties often - but not always - succeed. Recently, failures occurred in elections in Greece, Portugal and Spain: The long dominant two mainstream parties suffered major losses. Government no longer passed between them but instead to different parties or coalitions formerly marginalized or just emerging. In France, the same outcome almost occurred in 2015 and may yet be achieved. Electoral dominance lost by the traditional two-party political system followed in each case from mounting mass opposition to austerity policies and the inequalities they both reflect and reinforce. Three major questions now confront the newly empowered parties and coalitions: (1) Will they sustain their oppositions to austerity and deepening inequalities? (2) Will their oppositions succeed? and (3) If austerity and inequalities persist, what will happen? Will party members and leaders then go beyond those oppositions? Will they become a party opposing the reproduction of capitalism and advocating an alternative economic system that includes non-capitalist organizations of enterprises? Tentative movement in that direction has become visible. In the United States, Occupy Wall Street and then Bernie Sanders have explicitly endorsed worker cooperatives. However vague and undeveloped, such programmatic support for co-ops is an implicit critique of capitalist organizations of enterprise and advocacy of an alternative. The same applies, for example, to the growing global interest in Spain's cooperatively owned Mondragon Corporation, Italy's large and vibrant co-op system, the occupations of factories in Argentina and the growing co-op community in the United States. Marxist, socialist and other left groups are recognizing slowly that co-ops represent a seriously underappreciated alternative to capitalist organizations of enterprises. That recognition enables a rethinking of strategies for social change with new political alliances and programs. The economics of our politics is deepening. It is no longer totally trapped in the tedious old debate over private versus public ownership, and markets versus planning. The 20th century was obsessed with what were two parallel forms of that debate: (1) "capitalism versus socialism" and (2) neoclassical versus Keynesian economics. That obsession is dissolving in the 21st century. Instead, the economic issue now emerging is about the relationships we want among us at work, in the enterprises where we spend so huge a portion of our adult lives. Will they remain capitalism's hierarchical, undemocratic relationships of boss to underlings in factories, offices and stores? Or will we shift politics to a social debate and struggle over democratizing our enterprises and thereby our economy? Will democratically organized cooperative workplaces collaborate with similarly organized residential communities to move society toward the liberty, equality and fraternity that capitalism always promised but never delivered? Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. He also teaches classes regularly at the Brecht Forum in Manhattan.



Visit Professor Wolff's social movement project, democracyatwork.info. This article originally appeared at Truthout.org.
A US Invasion of Syria Next?

Week Sixteen of the Russian Intervention in Syria

By The Saker



February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Unz Review " - - This week was marked by major successes for the Syria military the Sheikh Miskeen region of the Daraa Province in the south of the country. In the meantime in the north, the Syrian Army continues its offensive north of the strategic Kuweires air base. But these military successes were eclipsed by rumors that the US was setting up and air base in northern Syria, possibly near Rmeilan, a town in the al-Hasakah Governorate in the northeast of Syria, and that this might be the preparation for a US ground intervention. Interestingly, the US media also began circulating rumors that the Russian were setting up a 2nd air base in northern Syria. Erdogan even declared that he would not tolerate a 2nd Russian air base in Kurdish Syria. And then, of course, there was the statement of Joe Biden who spoke of a US military solution in Syria if no negotiated solution could be found. Listen to him claim that the US is capable of taking out Daesh:

As for Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, he declared that the 101st Airborne Division would soon be deployed to Iraq to fight Daesh in Mosul and in Syria to fight Daesh in Raqqa (so much for Obamas sixteen promises not to have US boots on the ground!). Predictably, such rumors resulted in some pretty wild headlines such as this one: America and Turkey begin Ground Invasion of Syria. How Will Russia Respond? This is a major exaggeration, to put it very mildly. Instead, lets look at what might really be brewing.

First, it is rather unlikely that the entire 101st will be deployed in the region. At most we are talking about a few battalions, maybe a combat team, but hardly enough to constitute an invasion force. Besides, the 101st is a light infantry division which simply is not suited for a land invasion role. In a conventional war, the 101st would support regular ground forces, but not replace them. In a counter-insurgency war, the 101st could do many things, including security, anti-terrorist operations, training of local forces, intelligence gathering, etc. But to imagine that the 101st will drive down from northern Syria to Damascus to overthrow Assad is simply not realistic. As for the airfield the USA supposedly took over in northern Iraq, take a look at a map to see for yourself where it is located: far away in the northeastern corner of the country, close to the Turkish and Iraqi borders, but very, very far from the city of Damascus or from the Russian radars in the Mediterranean or Latakia.

The Americans have announced that they are planning a two pronged offensive, one towards Mosul and another towards Raqqa. Considering that the US already has airbases in Turkey and Iraq, the only thing which this rather primitive airstrip (used for agricultural purposes in the past, i.e. crop dusting) would give them is a convenient place to bring specialized personnel in and out of the region, but hardly the hub for a major invasion force. Besides, it is still unclear whether the elements from the 101st will be deployed only in Iraq or also in Syria. At least one US magazine seems to think that rather than a combat force, the Rmeilan air base in Syria will be used by various type of US special forces including combat controllers, pararescue jumpers, special operations weathermen and other JSOC personnel. If so, then we are talking about a small and specialized force, not a ground invasion of any kind.

I think that regardless of the public statements made by Biden and Carter, it is too early to determine what Uncle Sam plans to do in Syria next. The airfield in Rmeilan is most likely just seen by the US as a good place to establish a presence and keep options open. I dont believe for one second that the US has any intention of invading Syria, but if it did, we would see a much bigger logistical effort and the concentration of several large formations coming from different directions (Turkey and Jordan, possibly Iraq). In that case, Rmeilan could be used for US helicopters but not for fixed wing-aircraft, at least not without a major upgrade of the runway(s) and infrastructure.

What about the bigger question of whether the US has a military solution for Syria  is that really a possibility? I dont think so for a very simple reason: the only force out there which can fight Daesh on the ground is the Syrian military. Even the Iranians and Hezbollah do not, at least right now, have the force levels needed to take on Daesh by themselves. In purely military terms, Turkey or Iran could, I suppose, launch a full scale invasion, but the political costs would be prohibitive. Plus the Turks probably dont have the stomach for such a bloody war with no clear exit strategy. At most, the Turks want to seize a strip of land in northern Syria and keep the Kurds down. Unlike the Turks, the Iranians could at least be legally invited by the Syrians, but that would hardly assuage the USA, the KSA or the Turks which would be absolutely enraged by such an Iranian move. Having just won a major diplomatic victory over the USA and Israel, Iran probably has no desire at all to create yet another major crisis. Finally, as I said it a gazillion times the Russians are *not* coming. So that means that the only force capable of taking on Daesh is the Syrian military and I dont see the US being able to provide anywhere near the kind of force levels to become a credible actor in this war.
The Weaponisation of the Refugee

Coercive Engineered Migration: Zionism's War on Europe



( Part 1 - 2 of an 11 part series)



By by Gearoid O Colmain February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Dissident Voice " - Artificial mass migration as imperial policy has a long history. To illustrate this, we will cite a few historical examples. According to Bulgarian historian A, Eminov, civil wars in the Balkans in the 13th and 14th centuries led to significant population decline, which greatly facilitated colonisation of the Balkans by the Ottoman Empire. The deportation of nomads and organised transportation of Muslim refugees by the Ottoman Empire played a significant role in the colonisation of this region. Though Turks comprise over 8 percent of the Bulgarian population today, Turkeys neo-Ottomanism has sparked accusations from Bulgarias nationalist party Attack that Turkey has plans to re-colonise the country. Bulgaria has the highest number of mosques in Europe per capita. Given the fact that Turkey is supporting the Islamic State in Syria, while harbouring neo-colonial plans for the Balkans, the decision by the Bulgarian government to erect a fence along the border with Turkey is the right one. Opposition politicians in Bulgaria have described the subservience of their government to the EU and NATO as treachery and tantamount to genocide against ethnic Bulgarians, whose population has been declining drastically since the fall of communism. In the 19th century the British Empire organised the mass migration of Bengali Muslims to Burma to work plantations in the predominantly Buddhist Rakhine State. The purpose of the migration was to create an artificial ruling class that would depend on the protection of the British Empire. The result was more than a century of tension with the indigenous Buddhist inhabitants and the Muslim settlers, a tension that has led to the ethnic cleansing of today, whereby Takfiri fanatics, financed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are committing genocide against local Buddhist peasants with the full complicity of human rights organizations and the mass media as part of a US/Israeli geostrategic initiative to kossovise the Rakhine State by separating it from Myanmar, thereby securing a foothold for Western neo-colonial interests in the highly strategic Bay of Bengal. The so-called Rohingya crisis attests to a new phase in imperialist policy; namely, the ruthless weaponization of the refugee. In the nineteenth century, Imperial Belgium imported hundreds of thousands of Rwandan Tutsi workers to the Congo to staff their work colonies. This artificial migration policy of Belgian imperialism has played a major role in the context fueling the current ethnic cleansing and ongoing neo-colonial proxy wars being carried out by the US/Israeli and European powers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the US /Israeli Tutsi puppet regime of Paul Kagame is murdering and pillaging on behalf of Western corporations. The Wall Street Journal has ironically described Kagames Zionist puppet regime The Israel of Africa. Here Hutu refugees fleeing Kagames genocidal regime have been systematically bombed and slaughtered by the Zionist backed Rwandan military. Refugees fleeing war have been used by the aggressors as a pretext to wage further war and conquest. The US and EU have been destabilizing Burundi since April 2015. Now, terrorists are attacking the country from refugee camps in Rwanda, with full backing by Western powers. A population explosion in London in the 16th and 17th centuries provided much of the impetus behind the colonisation of America. Over two-thirds of the first settlers in North America were indentured servants, 75 percent of whom were young men under the age of 25. The youth were needed to expand the labour capacity of the Empires colonies. The settler culture, imbued with religious fanaticism and a complex of superiority, did not take long to decimate the native American population. One of the reasons for the population decline of the Powatan native peoples was their tolerance and kindness towards the settler culture. Comparing the mass migration of people from the Global South to Europe today to the European colonisation of the United States might appear strained and inappropriate but there are important similarities, nonetheless. Like the 16th and 17th centuries, the world is experiencing a recrudescence of religious war, while population explosions and war in the developing world are driving mass migration. This time, however, as the world has already been divided through centuries of European colonisation, people of the Global South are now moving North. The potential for conflict between a declining native population and an assertive, Muslim-dominated settler culture is great, particularly when this serves the interests of Europes ruling elite who are in cahoots with the Wahhabi sheiks of the Middle East. Whilst the people of the Global South are fleeing the consequences of European imperialism, the indoctrination of Wahhabi Islam among Muslim immigrants constitutes a serious impediment to an awakening of class consciousness necessary for the unification with non-Muslim natives against their internationalist bourgeois oppressors. In seventeenth century Ireland the British government settled lands in the northern province of Ulster with Protestant and Presbyterian settlers who lived in fear of the Catholic neighbours they had displaced. It was an imperial policy of divide and rule which lasted for centuries. In the nineteenth century, famine and mass emigration from Ireland to America were caused by the British states refusal to allow Irish peasants the right to eat the fruit of their labour. The mass migrations benefited the emerging ruling class of the United States who required cheap labour as well as the British government who wanted to reduce the population of Ireland. In other words, mass migration enabled the trans-Atlantic Anglo Saxon financial elite to turn the very social and economic problems they had created to their own advantage. The loss for Ireland was irreparable. Western Europes oldest literary vernacular language was reduced to minority status, while the loss in youthful resourcefulness worked in favour of the status quo, ensuring Irelands subjugation to the British imperial elite, both before and after formal independence. A more recent example of migration used as a tool of imperialism is Eritrea. Since the countrys independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has chartered a unique independent path to national liberation and socio-economic development. The results have been astounding, with economic growth rates surpassing most other developing countries. However, the socially-oriented policies of the Eritrean government have brought it into conflict with neo-colonial interests. As a consequence, sanctions were imposed by the United States in 2009 on the only country in the Horn of Africa that has never failed to feed, clothe and educate its children. Meanwhile, millions flee hunger and poverty in the US client state of Ethiopia, which is currently occupying part of Eritrea since the US backed Ethiopian invasion of that country in 1998. US geostrategy against Eritrea involves smuggling Eritreans into Europe in a vast, logistical operation involving officials in the United Nations and human rights NGOs such as Watch the Met. This neo-colonial outfit is heavily involved in the smuggling of Middle Eastern and Central Asian refugees from Turkey. Watch the Med is a cogent example of how petty bourgeois European prejudice against developing nations is harnessed by elites to further their globalisation agenda. The NGO, which claims to oppose the EU militarization of the Mediterranean and fortress Europe slammed Colonel Gaddafis Libya for its alleged abuse of migrants rights, in spite of the fact that Gaddafis Libya was praised by the UN for its respect for human rights and was integrating thousands of sub-Saharen migrants in the Libyan Jamahirya, where they were able to work and benefit from free health care, education and accommodation. A key figure in this criminal operation is a Nobel Prize candidate who goes by the name of Father Mussie Zerai, a phony Catholic priest who has been coordinating the smuggling of East Africans to Europe from war-torn Libya, earning him lots of cash, kudos and the epithet Archangel of Refugees. Zerai collaborates closely with Watch the Med. It is impossible to tell if Watch the Med is receiving funding from captains of globalisation such as George Soros, but these European do-gooders would certainly deserve decent salaries from the Jewish oligarch. As part of the destabilisation of Eritrea, the EU is giving preferential treatment to refugees if they register as Eritreans. Eritrean researchers have shown that most of the migrants from East Africa are from Ethiopia and Somalia. Yet, they register upon arrival in the EU as Eritreans. The migrants are often lost at sea. Al Jazeera recently did an interview with a trafficker from Ethiopia who confirmed that thousands of citizens from that country are being smuggled into Europe. Yet Eurostat figures for 2013-14 show no Ethniopian citizens whatsoever while Eritreans are astonishingly high. In a Market Watch article entitled Heres my plan to solve the asylum chaos, George Soros slams Victor Orbans policies stating that they threaten to divide and destroy the EU. Soros strongly advocates the creation of NGOs to facilitate the mass migration into Europe. Orban has pointed out that those welcoming the refugees/migrants into Europe are playing into the hands of Soros and global financial oligarchs. The Eritrean government has proof of the CIAs role in smuggling desperate people from the Horn of Africa. They also have proof of Amnesty Internationals attempt to foment political unrest and violence in the country. The phony Eritrean refugee crisis is being cynically used by the corporate media to slander Africas only free and truly democratic, post-colonial nation, hampering its development while filling the coffers of the heinous human rights murder machine, all in the service of empire. This again attests to the weaponization of the refugee. The current escalation of the refugee crisis in Europe should be analyzed in this context. So what is the purpose of weaponizing refugees? In the book Weapons of Mass Migration: Forced Displacement, Coercion and Foreign Policy, Kelly M. Greenhill, US foreign policy consultant, argues that coercive engineered migration is a strategy which has been used by governments to gain concessions from other governments. In other words, governments often use refugees as weapons in order to exert pressure on other governments for political ends. Greenhill documents over 59 examples of refugees being used as weapons since the Second World War. While there are undoubtedly many women and children and innocent victims of NATO/Zionist fomented war among the flux of people migrating to Europe who deserve all the help they can get, it is deeply reactionary and dishonest to ignore the obvious instrumentalisation of migration by imperialism. Rational and honest analysis of this complex phenomenon tends to prevail in developing countries such as Russia and Iran, whose press agencies have provided extensive evidence of this problem. However, spurious political correctness often stifles constructive debate in Western countries with some analysts such as this author being slandered on social media as fascists and racists by soi-disant leftists for discussing these facts. George Soros and company would certainly agree with them. Gearoid O Colmain is a journalist and political analyst based in Paris. His work focuses on globalization, geopolitics and class struggle. He is a regular contributor to Dissident Voice, Global Research, Russia Today International, Press TV, Sputnik Radio France, Sputnik English, Al Etijah TV, Sahar TV, and has also appeared on Al Jazeera and Al Mayadeen. He writes in English, Gaelic, and French
Israeli Settlements, American Money. What's Next?



By Maen Rashid Areikat February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Huffington Post " - The U.S. and the entire world do not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Every U.S. administration, Republican and Democrat, since 1967 has opposed settlement construction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, international law and the United Nations Resolutions, particularly UNSC Resolution 446 adopted on March, 1979. Despite America's longstanding position considering Israeli settlements illegitimate, successive administrations have done very little to stop the expansion of the settlement enterprise. Israel continues to build these settlements unabatedly, precisely because America's position is void of any substantive action. The settlement enterprise in occupied Palestine remains a major obstacle to peace because it swallows up Palestinians land, restricts Palestinian access to natural resources, destroys the social and economic fabric of Palestinian society, breeds violence similar to what has been taking place in recent months, and above all, jeopardizes the creation of a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State. Recent reports have unveiled that scores of American organizations and individuals are using U.S. tax loopholes to subsidize illegal settlements. Between 2009 and 2013 alone, more than $220 Million dollars of tax-exempt money was funneled into settlements and Israeli nonprofits by at least 50 American organizations acting under the guise of charitable nonprofits, known as 501(c)(3) organizations, according to Uri Blau, an investigative journalist with Haaretz. One example of a nonprofit organization, to which Americans contribute tax-deductible donations, is Honenu. A self-described Zionist legal aid organization, Honenu offers assistance to Jewish extremists convicted of murdering Palestinians and supporting terrorism. One of Honenu's clients is Elisha Odess -- an American citizen arrested under suspicion of participation in the firebombing of the Dawabsheh house in Duma, West Bank in July 2015 that killed an infant and his parents. American extremism in the West Bank is not unique and contributes to growing tensions between Palestinians and illegal settlers. Sara Hirschhorn, a research lecturer and fellow at the University of Oxford, has revealed that out of the 600,000 Israeli settlers illegally squatting on occupied Palestinian land, 60,000 in the West Bank are Americans (more than the number of Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq combined), making up 15 percent of the settler population. Efrat, for example, is a settlement between Jerusalem and Hebron, that is heavily concentrated with American settlers. Many of these illegal settlers partake in organizing and executing violent campaigns against Palestinians. These include the burning of olive orchards, grossly racist vandalism, firebombing property, and public marches promoting hatred and violence chanting disgusting expressions like "Death to Arabs." Others are soliciting donations expressly to fund and support occupation activities. American financial and physical presence in Israeli settlements, paired with the lack of appropriate action by successive administrations, not only encourages the Israeli right-wing government to build more settlements, but also erodes the prospect of a viable Palestinian State in line with the two-states solution, a cornerstone of US Middle East Policy. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, an ardent supporter of illegal settlement activity, repeatedly claims that he has built less settlements than his predecessors. Regardless of numbers, the center issue is the principle of building settlements. Netanyahu built an average of 3,000 settlement units a year in his first term (1996-2000). When he took office again in 2009, he built an average of 1,500 units per year (almost 9,000). In October 2015 alone, he approved 2200 new settlements and in recent weeks 3200 more units in area E1 of occupied East Jerusalem were also approved. E1 is particularly critical because it separates the West Bank from Jerusalem and threatens to sever the northern half of the West Bank from its southern half, compromising Palestinian territorial contiguity. The growth in settler population across the West Bank on hilltops and inside cities increases violence. In the last decade alone, settlers have committed more than 11,000 attacks against Palestinians and their properties. The settlers' continuous presence also entrenches the occupation further, as is the case in the Palestinian city of Hebron. The city has 200,000 Palestinians and 850 settlers in their midst who severely restrict their freedom of movement, stifle their economy, and subjugate them to martial law. In fact, to protect themselves, Palestinian residents of the town surround their homes by barbwires and metal fences. After years of impunity for the Israeli government's illegal activities and settlers who commit violent crimes, it is time the US administration held Israel accountable by taking meaningful steps to send a clear message to Israel to stop its violations of international law and U.S. policy. The United States could enhance and enforce its policy concerning labels of Israeli settlement products (issued in April, 1995), which requires "goods which are produced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip shall be properly marked and shall not contain the words 'Israel,' or 'Made in Israel.'" Another step the U.S. could pursue includes issuing an advisory warning against travel, emigration and investment in illegal Israeli settlements. With settlers' violence on the rise, and scores of extremists positioning themselves in the settlements, taking such a step would significantly reduce tensions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Drying up the sources of funds subsidizing settlements coming from tax-exempt dollars is another essential step. The United States has in the past taken action against foreign countries and individuals accused of violating US policy and international law. In the absence of such firm action, some American citizens have taken the initiative: on December 21, 2015, a group of American citizens filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Treasury seeking to stop nonprofit groups and individuals from sending millions of dollars worth of tax-exempt donations to support illegal Israeli settlements. There is a growing consensus in the United States that settlements are a real and serious threat to peace. According to a public opinion survey published by the Brookings Institute, 37 percent of Americans think the United States should respond to ongoing Israeli settlement construction with economic sanctions, or harsher measures. American condemnations can only do so much, particularly when one considers the proactive and tangible steps many other governments have taken to safeguard the prospects of peace and ensure the viability of the two-states solution. Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat

Chief Representative

The General Delegation of the PLO To the United States

Washington DC
Insane UN Claim: Bandung - Creative City



By Andre Vltchek February 02, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " NEO " - The Empire has developed a complex system of slapping faces and humiliating all those who defy its dictate. It has also become increasingly generous when rewarding its allies and lackeys. Of course no medals are distributed. But much better goodies are offered. The Empire uses all sorts of propaganda tricks, even employing some international organizations, like the United Nations, to reward its best pawns. Very often then, what is obviously black is redefined and propagated as white. Something dreadful is hailed as a great indisputable achievement. And some totally collapsed, failed country or city is suddenly singled out and showered with praises and rewards. This is exactly what took place in 2015, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) put the Indonesian city of Bandung on its newly created list of World Creative Cities. * There is absolutely nothing creative about Bandung. Its 2.5 million inhabitants, like the inhabitants of all other Indonesian cities, are condemned to only three social and cultural activities: eating, family gatherings and praying. Not one permanent concert hall now brightens the life of this former Dutch hill station turned into some sort of city of learning. There are no art cinemas and not one decent museum (save one that, had it been located in the Peoples Republic of China, could serve no more than a city of 50,000 inhabitants). There are a few parks in Bandung, but they are tiny, dirty and disconnected. There are several malls and commercial cinemas showing the lowest level pop Hollywood junk. The rest is, as elsewhere in Indonesia, an over-commercialized and desperate urban sprawl with no planning. Of course there are hundreds of boutiques, or more precisely, of makeshift, badly put together shops selling fake goods to both locals and foreigners. These fakes are so openly forgeries that the sellers are even rating them; depending on how closely they resemble the originals. To be precise, there are 5 levels of forgeries. One wonders whether these mountains of counterfeit garments and apparels are what UNESCO actually considers to be an expression of creativity, as in Bandung there seems to be very little else. Certainly, the inspectors and investigators of the World Trade Organization (WTO) would raid the city, were it on the territory of a Western foe, like China or Vietnam, But since the 1965 massacres orchestrated by the West, during which between 2 and 3 million local Communists and intellectuals were slaughtered, Indonesia is firmly considered a friend and a trusted ally. Bandung has seen its share of massacres. Could those slaughters be considered creative, could they still be hailed and commemorated by the international community, after all those years? Am I being too cynical, or is it the UN that is cynical? * Bandung has no public transportation to speak of. Imagine a city the size of Amsterdam and Brussels combined, or like Nagoya, choking on its fumes, over flooded by stinking scooters, a city without subways, without a heavy-duty train network, without trams, without underpasses. But it gets much worse: there are no large libraries, no art projects except for one or two decent galleries located on the outskirts of the city. When my Chinese-Indonesian friend (a concert pianist and a graduate of the renowned Manhattan School of Music) was forced to return from New York to Bandung by her conservative Christian family, she tried to resist the deep gloom by working and trying to enlighten her city. She bought a keyboard (no tuners were found for concert pianos) and she practiced day and night. And she played concerts, at least once a year. These concerts were of the highest world caliber. But she did not last long. Her art went totally unappreciated. The last blow came during her appearance at the French Cultural Institute, where she was attempting to play Chopin. The dirty and small hall was rat-infested, but it was the only option available with a concert piano. During the concert, the public would get up and come up to her. People were sticking their mobile phones and cameras straight into her face, with the flashes blinding her. After this, she sold everything and began losing her hair. That was it for her, life as a musician in Bandung, a creative city. * There are several bizarre institutions in Bandung, like an extremely popular Nazi bar, called Soldaten Kaffee. It is full of Swastikas and portraits of Adolf Hitler. Is this really what UNESCO means by creativity? There is also an outdoor amphitheater, which periodically performs Angklung, a traditional form of Indonesian music, an art form based mainly on bamboo pipes, which has made it on to the list of intangible world heritage. The problem is that the place has cannibalized, literally perverted its own heritage, as the orchestra mainly performs Western pop music using traditional instruments. You can hear plenty of Delilah and I did it my way, and very little of the great original West Javanese music. UNESCO should complain and threaten, but it doesnt. Yes, a city of 2.5 million, almost entirely stripped of creativity, is now declared a World Creative City. Life without great music, without theatre, daring architectural concepts, parks, public places; it is all the result of 50 years of horrendous turbo-capitalism and anti-intellectualism injected there by the West and implemented by the treasonous cadre  General Suharto  and his cohorts. This is exactly how things are supposed to function in the Empires colonies. Brainless television shows, pop music, crappy films, urban fragmentation, collapsed infrastructure, all sorts of religious and oppressive family structures. No variations, no escape. This is where Indonesia has ended up. So lets celebrate the great creativity of the city, which has redefined boredom and tastelessness! Right near the city center, there is a huge statue of Rambo holding a shoulder missile launcher. There are Hitlers posters sold by the road. There is a poor tiny blindfolded little monkey forced to dance to a Sudanese tune, right next to the highway entrance into the city center. And there are child beggars and vendors and deformed people, all calling for our attention. I would like to see UNESCOs criteria for this inscription. I would like to meet the person who worked on putting Bandung on the list; a person no doubt so thoroughly obsessed with promoting a fascist state and concept implanted by the Empire. Shame on you! I would say to him or her.* There is one place in Bandung that UNESCO should be interested in, but isnt. It is perhaps one of the most important structures in Asia, and it is called the Museum Of Asia Africa Conference in Bandung. This is where the great 1955 conference of the non-aligned movement was held, bringing together nations that were resisting imperialism. But it is not even inscribed as a world heritage site. This magnificent tropical art deco building is where the roots of Bandung and Indonesias collapse really lie. This is where the great Indonesian leader, President Ahmed Sukarno spoke against colonialism. And after that, the West decided: it is time to destroy the country and its government! Bandung world creative city, is nothing other than a stamp of approval UNESCO has given to the terror that Indonesia has been suffering by the United States, Europe and its own whoring elites. And how paradoxical and cynical this stamp really is! UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. During and after the 1965 coup, education, culture and science were thoroughly destroyed in Indonesia. Today, this fourth most populous nation on earth does not have one single writer, thinker or scientist of international caliber. Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. His latest books are:  Exposing Lies Of The Empire  and  Fighting Against Western Imperialism .Discussion with Noam Chomsky: On Western Terrorism . Point of No Return is his critically acclaimed political novel. Oceania  a book on Western imperialism in the South Pacific. His provocative book about Indonesia:  Indonesia  The Archipelago of Fear . Andre is making films for teleSUR and Press TV. After living for many years in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East Asia and the Middle East. He can be reached through his website or his Twitter .
Valentines Day comes in less than 12 days and Nigerian girls are patiently waiting for what their boo will get them, while gradually shopping for the latest boxer and singlet they will give in return. Valentines Day is celebrated almost everywhere in the world, which means it is widely accepted. However, there are things about the day most people who have marked it for decades probably never knew. Just so you do not celebrate in ignorance, INFORMATION NIGERIA brings you 7 facts about Valentines Day you should know

 The most popular theory about Valentines Day origin is that Emperor Claudius II didnt want Roman men to marry during wartime. Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret weddings. For this, Valentine was jailed and executed. While in jail he wrote a note to the jailers daughter signing it from your Valentine.

 In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression to wear your heart on your sleeve.

 In 1537, Englands King Henry VII officially declared Feb. 14 the holiday of St. Valentines Day.

 Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentines Day in the late 1800s.

 The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

 On average, men spend double the amount of money on Valentine`s Day gifts than women spend.

 Alexander Graham Bell, one of the primary inventors of the telephone, is credited with patenting the first practical telephone on Valentines Day in 1876.

 Every Valentines Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeares lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.

If you didnt know, well now you do!!!
It is no longer news that popular Nigerian actor, Olumide Bakare has been battling with a heart related ailment.

The veteran actor is currently admitted at the University College Hospital, UCH, in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he is receiving treatment.

A top Yoruba programme presenter, Jide Moronfolu, who recently visited the actor at his hospital bed, disclosed that Olumide Bakare has called on Nigerians to come to his aid.

I am now helpless, kindly tell Nigerians to come to my rescue, especially with money and prayers, the actor was quoted to have said. (agbara mi o ka mo o, ba mi be a won Omo Nigeria mi won ran mi lowo pelu owo ati adura).

Source: Aproko247
Hearing on a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Minister of Aviation, Babalola Borishade and four others, has been stalled on the request of the Attorney General of the Federation for a brief on the matter.

Mr Borishade and four others were to appear before Justice Abubakar Umar of the High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Wednesday.

In a statement issued by the spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, both parties were present in court, but Justice Umar informed them that the matter could not go on as planned, as the AGF had requested for a brief on the case by the EFCC since the matter had been in court for about seven years.

He presented a letter dated February 2 from the AGF requesting for an adjournment of the case and records of court proceedings so far.

Counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, told the court that his hands were tied with regards to continuing the proceeding, as the AGF, being the Chief Law Officer, has power over him, the statement read.

The statement further read that Mr Okoroma said that under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and Section 174 of the Constitution, the AGF has the power to take over, continue or discontinue a case.

Justice Umar adjourned the case to February 17, 2016 for ruling and continuation of hearing pending the decision of the AGF.

Mr Borishade, his former personal assistant, Tunde Dairo, and two others allegedly mismanaged a 5.2 billion Naira Aviation Safe Tower contract.

Others on trial for the alleged offence are former Managing Director of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Rowland Iyayi; an Australian, George Eider and Avsatel Communications Limited.

The suspects were arraigned on November 19, 2009 by the EFCC on a 15-count charge of taking bribe and forging aviation contract documents.
A worker with Arik Air, Grace Utum, has gone missing after a visit to her lover, Ihuoma Amelogu, who lives in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the 29-year-old Cross River State indigene had left her Ikeja office for her lovers house on January 1, 2016.

However, her whereabouts had since been shrouded in mystery.

Grace, a graduate of Accounting, University of Calabar, was said to be working in the hospitality department of Arik.

The case was reported at the Ojodu Police Division and Amelogu was reportedly arrested.

It was learnt that a mobile phone and a handbag belonging to the victim were found in his apartment on the day Grace went missing.

He was, however, released after police said there was nothing to connect him with the disappearance.

An uncle of the victim, Felix Omini, explained that the family became worried after her mother called one of her telephone lines and a stranger picked the call.

He said, Her mother called her that night and discovered that it was a stranger that picked the call. The stranger said the phone was missing and its owner had called him and said she was coming for it in company with a man.

Graces mother called her boyfriend, Amelogu, thinking he was the man the stranger was referring to. But he said he had also been trying to reach her without success.

Omini said he called 32-year-old Amelogu and together they went to report the matter at the police station.

The victims father, Obongha Utum, said Grace and Amelogu had been dating for three years and would have been married, but for a problem with their blood compatibility.

He said, The police said we should talk to the boyfriend because that was where she said she was going, but I dont know what to think. They are church members and were supposed to have been married; but that became impossible after they discovered their genotypes were not compatible.

We have also gone to Agbado Crossing in Ogun State, where she lived with a friend. We didnt meet anybody in the house; everywhere was deserted.

When contacted, Amelogu said he last communicated with Grace around 3pm on January 1.

He explained that efforts to get across to her through her friends had been abortive.

He said, We were together on December 31, 2015; she slept at my place. She sometimes stayed at my place because her office in Ikeja is closer to my house in Ojodu Berger. She rented an apartment in Agbado Crossing, Ogun State.

Around 6am on January 1, she said she was going to the office. We always had a family reunion every New Year at my uncles place in Ajah, so we planned to meet there.

I spoke with her around 12 noon. Then around 3pm, when I was at my uncles place, we communicated again and I asked if she was still coming. She said she was rounding off at the office and would soon join me.

The civil engineer said his girlfriends line, however, became unreachable around 5pm and despite calling till 7pm, he didnt get through.

He said her mother called him from Port Harcourt around 10pm to ask if he had seen her daughter.

Her mother said she called her and a stranger picked it and said the phone was missing. I was surprised because she (Grace) didnt call me that she had misplaced her phone.

I decided to call the number myself, but it was unreachable. I kept calling till 2am, when it was switched off, he added.

It was gathered that Graces family contacted a telecommunication company to track her calls, but they were asked to get a court order.

Access to her bank accounts were also said to have been blocked.

The Arik Air spokesperson, Adebanji Ola, confirmed the incident, adding that the company was working with the family and the police to get to the roots of the case.

He said, Yes, she works with us. She has not reported for duty for some time now and we were told she was missing. The family and the police have been here and we are doing everything possible to support investigations.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, also confirmed the incident, adding that the police arrested Amelogu and later released him.

She said, Necessary police procedure to be done in the case of the missing person has been done. The boyfriend, who was actually the complainant, was arrested and investigated, but there was nothing to link him with Graces disappearance, hence his release. But investigation is ongoing.

Source: Punch
The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has condemned the terrorist attack on Dalori, near Maiduguri, in north eastern Nigeria, on Saturday, 30 January 2015, by elements of the Boko Haram terrorist group, which left at least 65 people dead and 136 injured.

She expresses AUs solidarity with the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and extended her condolences to the bereaved families and wishes speedy recovery to all the injured.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates the AUs determination, through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) that was established by the Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin to eliminate the Boko Haram terrorist group. She commends the (MNJTF) for its relentless efforts in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group and calls for stronger global cooperation in the efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, in line with various AU and international instruments.

Members of the UN Security Council have also condemned the attacks. They underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. They stressed that those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.

The members of the Security Council also reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever, and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
The China-Exim bank has agreed to fund Nigerias railway projects linking Lagos to Kano and Lagos to Calabar, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said Tuesday.

Osinbajo, a Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, added that the federal governments plan to raise a $25 billion Infrastructural Fund from the global community and establish long term bankable projects, is gaining traction.

We have seen considerable, favourable interests from some sovereign wealth funds and other nations, the vice president told a delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry when they paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Tuesday.

Explaining the idea of the fund to the delegation, Mr. Osinbajo said the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, which manages the countrys sovereign wealth fund is leading the project, adding that the Infrastructural Fund would create opportunity for commercial partners to participate in the building of the nations infrastructures alongside the federal government.

This would be done through the establishment of bankable projects that involves such commercial partners, he said.

On the benefits of the China-Exim Banks decision to finance the railway projects linking Lagos to Kano and Lagos to Calabar, he said we expect these will generate some economic activities and create jobs.

Vice President Osinbajo reassured the federal governments determination to raise revenue internally to fund the budget including through an expansion of VAT coverage but not an increase of the VAT rate.

At 20% of the VAT coverage now, the federal government intends to do much better giving a boost to the countrys tax revenues, he said.

The delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry was led by Nike Akande, who declared the support of the chamber for the federal governments fight against corruption and acknowledged that in the current economic situation that the Buhari presidency is having to deal with, there are no easy choices.

Mrs. Akande, a former minister for Industry, however, urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to find a foreign exchange regime that would boost the confidence of investors and remove uncertainty.

The vice president told the delegation that the federal government was focused on finding solutions to the economic situation, including through a focus on building infrastructure and also diversifying the economy, especially through agriculture. Besides, the government is also focussing on creating an enabling environment for business and investments in the country.

Mr. Osinbajo also received a delegation from the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.

He praised the telecom operators stating that there is no question at all about the importance and contribution of the sector especially since the 2001 privatization.

He noted that the telecom sector is one of the sectors in the economy that has created a significant impact.

He reiterated federal governments resolve to develop critical infrastructure in the country including in the power sector, which was an area of concern expressed by the operators at the meeting.

Earlier the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, presented an industry report to the vice president entitled The Socio-Economic Impact of Telecoms in Nigeria.

Mr. Adebayo also expressed the concern of telecom operators regarding multiple taxes and some of their equipment destroyed by insurgents in the Northeast.
A Chief Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti has ordered the State Commissioner of Police to arrest the former State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Temitope Aluko over alleged perjury.

Chief Magistrate Adesoji Adegboye gave the order Wednesday, upon a Motion Ex-parte number MAD/10cm/2016, filed by the Ekiti State Government against Mr Aluko and the State Commissioner of Police, pursuant to Section 117 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C16, law of Ekiti State 2012, Section 79 of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2014 and Section 23 (D) of the Magistrates Courts Law 2014.

In the Motion, which was filed and moved by the State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr Gbemiga Adaramola, an order of the court was sought to issue warrant of arrest against Mr Aluko to be executed by the State Commissioner of Police for the purpose of committing him (Aluko) for trial for the offence of perjury.

The matter was premised upon an application to the State Attorney General by Mr Sunday Olowolafe, calling for the prosecution of Mr Aluko for alleged perjury.

I hereby apply to your office that Dr Temitope Kolawole Aluko be arrested and sued for perjury in view of the interview recently granted on Channels Television by 8:00pm on Sunday 31 January, 2016, Olowolafe said.

The said Dr Temitope Kolawole Aluko now recanted the evidence he gave in the cause of the hearing of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition as a star witness even up to the Supreme Court. The Certified True Copy of the State on Oath, evidence of Dr. Temitope Kolawole Aluko in Court on the 12/11/14 and Nigerian Tribune and The Punch newspapers of Monday, 01/02/2016 that reported the interview granted are hereto attached.

It is to be noted that if this act (Perjury) is not looked into, it will definitely defile the cause of justice and consequently rubbish the judicial proceedings.
Almost everyone was blown away by the creativity of the 2015 hashtag FeBuhari coined by the social media supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari, when he stood to contest in the presidential election last year. It wasnt just a hashtag but a symbol of hope and change for Nigerians regarding the economic and political life of Nigeria. One year after the hashtag and Buhari now President for over 8months, INFORMATION NIGERIA a look at the 6 things Buhari must do to make Nigerians not regret voting him

 Buhari must lay strong foundations for the future leadership of Nigeria to operate years and years to come. This he has already begun with his anti-corruption fight but must ensure to make it all encompassing and not selective.

 Buhari must create an enabling system that would spur the growth of entrepreneurs and unlock wealth. His government must be ready to team up with Nigerian youths who have what it takes to succeed as entrepreneurs.

 Nigerians in their millions decisively voted for change, therefore the onus is on Buharis administration to ensure the change they voted for. The change should include building of infrastructures, institutions and people which would ensure that revenues and benefits from mineral resources could be better captured for national budgets and generation of more jobs.

 Buharis administration should focus on increased self-reliance and considerable reduction of Nigerias continued dependence on the external sector in general and the Petroleum sector in particular.

 Despite being the third biggest economy in Africa, Nigeria ranks 160 out of 177 countries on the scale of the Human Development Index (HDI), because a huge amount of the nations wealth remains concentrated within a few individuals, most of whom have strong political connections, therefore Buhari must do all he can to ensure an even distribution of income.

 Buhari must do all it takes to fight insecurity. Innocent children, women and men can no longer continue to die in the hands of cruel insurgents. Buhari must make the Northeast in particular and Nigeria in general safe for Nigerians.

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes, Buhari must take note!!!
The trial of a former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, resumed on Tuesday with a statement he made in 2007 forming the focus of the days proceedings.

The former governor is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering and diversion of funds.

His trial before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of a Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Gudu, Abuja, commenced last Tuesday with the EFCC presenting exhibits, including the statement, as part of documents to prosecute Dariye for allegedly diverting N1.162 billion Ecological Fund meant for the state, to private companies and individuals.

In the statement, Mr. Dariye had acknowledged giving instruction to All States Trust Bank, (now defunct), on the disbursement of the said N1.162 billion fund, which had been released by the Office of the Ecological Fund and credited to the bank.

A document from the bank confirming the disbursement of the fund as instructed by Mr. Dariye was also presented in court.

In the document, the then state governor instructed that N250 million be paid to Pinnacle Communications Limited, PCL; N80 million to Union Savings & Loans; N550 million to the Plateau State government; N100 million to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South-west; and N176,862,900 to Ebenezer Retnan Ventures, ERV.

Prosecution witness, Musa Sunday, who was cross-examined by G. S. Pwul, counsel to Mr. Dariye, told the court that the documents, including Mr. Dariyes statement, were obtained in the course of investigations into the alleged diversion of the N1.162 billion Fund.

According to him, though during investigation the owner of PCL  a contractor with the state government confirmed the receipt for work done for the state, ERV was a company owned by the former governor, and actually got paid N160 million (instead of N176,862,900 as earlier instructed by Dariye) for no services rendered to the state government.

He told the court that during interrogation of Mr. Dariye, he admitted that the balance of about N16 million was shared between the then Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Nasir Mantu, who got N10 million, and the remaining N6 million given to the PDP in the state.

He said, We invited the owner of Pinnacle Communications Limited who confirmed that he was a contractor for the Plateau State government.

The N80 million credited to Union Savings was traced to Kingsley Nkomah the Permanent Secretary in the Ecological Fund office, which investigations later showed was the share of Nkomah to facilitate the release of the Fund.

During interrogation, the defendant volunteered his statement and made it clear that the N100 million paid PDP South-west was different from the N100 million we traced to Marine Float Nigeria Limited.

Mr. Sunday told the court that the N80 million was, however, recovered from Mr. Nkomah.

Justice Banjoko, thereafter adjourned till February 3, 2016 for continuation of trial.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State would get a deputy immediately after consultations with lawyers and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Kingsley Fanwo, has said.

Fanwo, who stated this yesterday on a live radio programme on Ray Power Radio, said: The governor will listen to the lawyers and the party. In due course, a deputy governor will emerge.

The CPS made this known in response to a question of what his principal would do, since Hon. James Faleke, the preferred deputy governor, has refused to accept the position.

He also dismissed the allegation made by the media director of the Audu/Faleke Campaign Organization, Mr Duro Meseko, that the choice of Bello as a governorship candidate was wrong because he worked against the party after he lost at the gubernatorial primary election.

Fanwo insisted that Bello was instrumental to the success of the APC in Kogi State during the 2015 general elections and advised Falekes aide to be factual in his arguments.

According to him, Faleke did not work for the party during the 2015 general elections as he was then busy with his campaigns in Lagos State for the House of Representatives elections.

Also speaking during the same programme, Mr. Meseko insisted that the election of November 21, 2015, in which Faleke ran as running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu was already won and lost.

Meseko wondered why the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, handled the Kogi scenario differently when the winner of the governorship election in Bayelsa State was announced, despite the fact that the number of cancelled votes was higher than the margin between the leading candidate and the runner-up.
Japan vowed on Wednesday to shoot down any missiles or rockets fired over its territory after North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite in the coming days. Today the defence minister issued an order to destroy any projectiles if confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory, the defence ministry said in a statement.

North Korea on Tuesday informed international organisations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between February 8-25. Last month, North Korea announced it tested a hydrogen bomb  the reclusive countrys fourth nuclear test. Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett said Japans defence systems were being mobilised for the Norths launch, noting Aegis-equipped destroyers were set to sea off Japans west coast.

Japans military has been put on alert. Japan is saying it will  if any parts of this rocket come down in various stages in Japanese territory  they will shoot them down if necessary, Fawcett reported. South Korea, meanwhile, said Pyongyang will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with what the international community sees as a long-range missile test.

In Seoul, the presidential office said North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. South Korean and US officials said North Koreas move would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from engaging in any ballistic missile activities.
The government of the southern African nation of Lesotho has declared a national emergency as drought continues to hit farming communities. The World Food Programme (WFP) said hundreds of thousands of people will need food aid in the coming year. In the Leribe district of the country, Mapuleng Khalala, a farmer, packs away her empty corn bag as her crops fail to produce food for her family.

It is going to be very difficult to live in this situation, because I live on farming, so I dont know what I am going to feed my children, she told Al Jazeera. The WFP said the drought will hit 80 percent of Lesothos rural population the hardest. Most people in rural areas are dependent on subsistence farming, and a severe shortage of potable water is making the situation worse. Already, more than half of the countrys population survives on less than a dollar a day.

The worst-case scenario  if we do not react now, we will have people without their assets, their cows, their sheep, Mary Njoroge, a WFP official, told Al Jazeera. They are selling whatever asset they have. It means they will fall into deeper poverty where it will be more difficult. The government has pledged $10m for drought relief. But it needs three times that amount.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, on Tuesday called for collaboration between all relevant agencies of the Federal Government for the war against corruption and other related crimes to succeed.

Justice Mohammed spoke at a workshop on combating financial fraud, cyber and cross-border crimes in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, who also spoke at the event, said he was currently working with the judiciary to ensure the success of governments efforts to end impunity in the land.

Malami also said, more than $2tn has been confiscated and recovered in the last 12 years by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Speaking, the CJN said the prompt disposal of criminal cases could only be achieved where stakeholders in the justice sector work in tandem towards a common objective as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The CJNs speech came on the heel of a comment credited to President Muhammadu Buhari who was quoted to have in faraway Ethiopia said that the judiciary was his only headache in his fight against corruption.

Justice Mohammed said any efforts to end impunity in the country must first consider and prioritise reforms of the nations laws.

He said reform efforts must begin with the establishment of the Administrative of justice Commission as provided for in the Administration of Justice Commission Act, 1991.

He added, The justice sector must be better coordinated and develop synergistic avenues for the exchange of information and best practices. It is time to leave the rhetoric behind and take visible steps forward in this fight against transnational crimes.

I believe that if we work in harmony and in sincerity of purpose towards concrete outcomes, then, the efforts that we make will doubtless create a butterfly effect of positive change that is so sorely required in the justice sector.

Achieving success in fighting fraud, cybercrime and other cross-border crimes depends on all stakeholders working together towards developing intelligent initiatives, which will result in tangible and pragmatic solutions to ending and ridding ourselves of these emerging crimes.

Malami lamented the negative impact of corruption, fraud, cyber and other cross-border crimes on the nations growth efforts.

He assured Nigerians that the reforms efforts being championed by the Justice Ministry under his watch, were intended to lead to an improved anti-corruption and criminal justice system for the country.

Malami said, I am already working closely with the judicial leadership. In the past few weeks, my team and I have held several interactions with the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other judicial leaders. While the discussions are still ongoing on the best way the Federal Ministry of Justice can support the work of the Judiciary, we are hopeful that we will work in a manner that will reduce delay of complex cases, and improve justice delivery for ordinary Nigerians without compromising the rights to fair hearing.

The essence is to establish a collaborative buy-in between the Executive and the Judiciary in consensus building in the fight against corruption and organised crimes.

The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, expressed confidence in President Buharis commitment to curbing corruption and impunity in the country.

Source: Punch
A supposedly mentally ill man stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death as she finished work in a health food store, a court heard.

Shane Smyth, 29, is believed to have been suffering from a psychotic illness when he allegedly murdered Mairead Moran, 26, in May 2014.

Smyth, from Evans Lane, Kilkenny, pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Moran by reason of insanity in court on Tuesday, the Irish Mirror reported .

Prosecution counsel Mr John OKelly SC said the factual evidence of the case would not be disputed and the major factor in the case is whether or not Smyth was suffering from a mental disorder at the time.

He said that two consultant psychiatrists had prepared reports indicating that Smyth was suffering from a form of psychosis.

Mr OKelly told the court that the evidence in this case will be that Smyth attacked Ms Moran with a knife and stabbed her repeatedly at the Market Cross Shopping Centre in Kilkenny City.

The court heard that Shane Smyth had known Mairead Moran years earlier in their late teens when they went out together for a brief period of seven months after which they went their own ways.

Counsel said Ms Moran was away for some time and when she came back to the area, she started working in the Holland and Barrett store.



The court was told that Smyth had been diagnosed in 2005 as suffering from schizophrenia, he had treatment for a number of months at the time in a psychiatric hospital and since then was back out in the community.

Mr OKelly said in the months leading up to May 2014, Smyth had become aware of where Ms Moran was working and there had been a previous occasion when he had confronted her.

He said:

He had in fact spat at her and this was disturbing for her, she was upset about it.

At 8pm on the evening of May 8, 2014 counsel said Smyth came into the shop and started speaking to her quite aggressively.

Counsel said:

You will hear evidence from people saying they heard Mr Smyth asking a question to the effect of why do you want my blood.

The court was told that Smyth had a verbal altercation with Ms Moran but was sent away from the shop by a security guard.

Counsel said that within five minutes, Smyth was back in the shop again and this terrible attack took place.

The court heard Ms Moran was stabbed repeatedly with a knife which Smyth had brought to the scene and then dragged outside.

Smyth fled the shopping centre and got a taxi to his cousins home, the court heard.

Counsel outlined that Smyth told his cousin he had stabbed his ex girlfriend.

A report compiled by psychiatrist Dr Brenda Wright outlined to the court read:

He believed he was being persecuted and people were conspiring to harm him and Ms Moran was part of this conspiracy.

He delusionally believed he was being victimised and his life was in danger and Ms Moran was part of the plot against him.

During the trial on Monday, Mr Coffey who is the security guard said that Ms Moran told him that Smyth had accused her of kidnapping him and stealing his blood.

The security guard then ordered the accused to leave the shopping centre immediately, the court heard.

The court heard after Mr Coffey radioed a colleague in the centre to tell him Smyth was not welcome there again, he got another call on his radio.

Mr Coffey said:

All I heard on the radio was Holland and Barrett, I heard the girl crying out Oh my god, Oh my god, I dont believe it.

Ms Moran was slumped at the door of the shop and Smyth was standing a couple of feet away.

The court heard Smyth had a complete blank look on his face.

Another witness Seamus Walsh told the court he heard screams coming from just inside the Holland and Barrett shop.

Mr Walsh said the man shouted twice at the girl you stole my f**king blood.

The trial continues.

Source: Irish Mirror
It been almost a month since news hit that Nollywood actor, Olumide Bakare was admitted in Ibadan University Teaching hospital, with a stroke.

The veteran actor is now in critical condition since he suffered the cardiac arrest weeks ago.

Olumide is now crying out for help, begging Nigerians to assist him with money and prayers to help his poor state of health.

Radio/TV presenter and voice-over artiste, Babajide Moronfolu recently visited Olumide Bakare at the hospital.

He shared photos of the veteran actor on his sick bed on his Facebook page and wrote a message on behalf of the actor.

This is Olumide Bakare on his sick bed at UCH, Ibadan diagnosed of heart/Lungs disease, in his words to me  Jide Omo Moronfolu, agbara mi o ka mo o, ba mi be a won Omo Nigeria ki won ran mi lowo pelu owo ati adura Orisun TV has taken the lead, pls join in raising funds for this great fantastic actor, Chief Koko of Koko close, Olumide Bakare. A/C No. 3872003592. OLUMIDE BAKARE. ECOBANK read the Facebook message.

Olumide Bakares state of health has not been good state since he was hit with cardiac arrest, early 2013.
A Syrian military offensive backed by heavy Russian air strikes threatened to cut critical rebel supply lines into the northern city of Aleppo, as peace talks in Switzerland appeared to be in jeopardy on Wednesday. The government attack north of Aleppo that began in recent days is its first major offensive there since Russian air strikes began on September 30.

Rebels described the assault as the most intense yet, with activists reporting that 45 civilians have been killed. One commander said opposition-held areas of Syrias largest city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the government and allied militia, appealing to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons. Chances of achieving a ceasefire at talks in Geneva appear to be receding as the government, supported by Russian air power, advances against rebels, some of them US-backed.

The refugee crisis and spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group through large areas of Syria, and from there to Iraq, had injected a new urgency to resolve the five-year-old Syria war. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Moscow to stop the bombing during the peace process. We are beginning the talks, we are at the table and we expect a ceasefire, he said after a meeting in Rome of countries opposed to ISIL.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference from Oman on Wednesday that Russia would not stop its air strikes on Syria until we defeat terrorist organisation like al-Nusra [Front].

Aljazeera.
The merchant ship, MT LEON DIAS and its crew hijacked by pro-Biafra militants weekend, has been released, according to the latest report.

The vessel was flying the Liberian national flag when it was hijacked by the militants off the coast of Cotonou, Benin Republic.

The ship is said to be a chemical/oil tanker and is currently under the custody of the Beninois Navy.

The release of the ship and her crew members was confirmed by Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Kabir Aliyu, on Tuesday.

Commodore Aliyu, said through a text message: The name of the ship is MT LEON DIAS (9279927). An oil tanker, the ship is presently in Benin waters, about 75 nautical miles off Cotonou Port and she is under the watch of the Benin Republic Navy.

Defence spokesman, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar also confirmed the ship was last night under the watch of the Benin Republic Navy.

Pro-Biafra militants, who seized the vessel, said to be an oil tanker about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off Nigerias Bakassi Peninsula, along Nigerias south-eastern Atlantic Ocean coastline, near the border with Cameroon, had threatened to blow her up along with its foreign crew of the Federal Government did not release leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu within 31 days.

Kanu, who is also director of Radio Biafra, has been in detention since last year October and is currently on trial in Abuja for treason.

The ultimatum was given at the weekend by a militant, who simply identified himself as General Ben.

Uchena Madu, a factional leader of another separatist group  Movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign State of Biafra  said Ben was not a separatist but some Niger Delta militant who has shown interest in working with us.
Recently the federal government of Nigeria warned Nigerians especially pregnant women to avoid going to Latin America because of the recent outbreak of the Zika virus. A lot of Nigerians might worry less about the virus because it can not to be contracted from the kind of mosquitoes we have here, however, there is a reason why Nigerians should also be concerned, because recent report claim the virus can now be contracted through sex. Based on this new development, INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together the 6 things you need to know about Zika virus

 The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes and people, but usually spread by mosquitoes. Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

 A mosquito can give it to you and then another mosquito could get it from you  and that second mosquito could pass it on to others.

 In adults, the virus can cause a mild rash and a slight feverbut evidence suggests that if a pregnant woman is infected, her child could be born with a devastating birth defect: a shrunken head and brain, called microcephaly.

 Currently, the Zika virus is circulating in more than 20 countries, and can be found in the following locations: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin, Samoa, Suriname, United States Virgin Islands and Venezuela. Now you know which countries not to travel to.

 Between 2010 and 2014, the average in Brazil was 163 cases per year. As of the beginning of 2016, Brazil had reported 3,530 cases, including 46 deaths

 A Dallas County resident has become the first Zika patient to contract the virus in the U.S. without traveling abroad, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A person who recently traveled to an area with Zika virus transmission returned to the United States and developed Zika-like symptoms. The person later tested positive for Zika, along with their sexual partner, who had not traveled to the area, the CDC said in a statement.

Theres no vaccine to protect against the Zika virus!!!
The founder of the Node Security Project says Node.js still has common vulnerabilities, but progress has been made to make it more secure.

Appearing at the recent Node Community Convention in San Francisco, project founder Adam Baldwin, chief security officer at Web consulting company &yet, emphasized risks, protections, and progress.

[ Need a JavaScript tool for your dev shop? InfoWorld looks at 17 JavaScript editors and IDEs ready for adoption. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's Strategic Developer blog and Application Development newsletter. ]

Baldwin sees four risks within the Node ecosystem pertinent to the enterprise: the code dependency tree, bugs, malicious actors, and people. "I think of [the dependency tree] more as the dependency iceberg, to be honest," Baldwin said, "where your code is the ship and your dependencies that you have with your packaged JSON is that little tiny iceberg at the top." But developers need to be aware of the "massive" iceberg underneath, he stressed.

The second risk is bugs in both code created and code consumed, Baldwin said. When used by the buffer, JavaScript can turn out uninitialized memory. "The enterprise perspective here is that if I use JavaScript, I'm supposed to be protected from these low-level problems of dealing with memory initialization and all that," noted Baldwin. The buffer problem can be protected against by leveraging the .fill function and checking the type of the first parameter when calling the new buffer. "It's a pattern that I don't think developers are aware of," he said. "We've found it exploitable in production once over two years."

The third risk and fourth risk categories -- malicious actors and people -- are closely related. The former deliberately upload malicious code, and the Node Security Project has an effort afoot to detect those modules, Baldwin said. With the latter, people, there may or may not be a malicious actor in the creation of modules. "I trust these people will write good code or at least not have malicious intent for my project," said Baldwin. The point is not that people are untrustworthy or will write bad code, but the organization as a whole bears risk for bad security habits.

Baldwin offered risk mitigation strategies involving moving to npm onsite, auditing, white-listing modules, using the Node Security Project command-line tool, and changing passwords. As a general rule, Baldwin recommended that users "treat confidential information that you are in possession of with respect."

The Node.js Foundation, which oversees the platform's development, recently disclosed two vulnerabilities, including a denial-of-service risk. Patches were released roughly a week later. Developers also should report security issues.
On Western Sahara, ICP Asks UN Haq Why No Read-Out From Addis



By Matthew Russell Lee



UNITED NATIONS, February 2 -- After the UN Security Council convened for a closed door meeting about Western Sahara back on December 8, neither the briefer, UN envoy Christopher Ross, nor any other official or ambassador came to speak at the televised Security Council stakeout. Inner City Press had asked the UN to ask Ross to "do a stakeout," but none happened.



Here's the text of Ross' briefing to the Council's closed door meeting, which Inner City Press has exclusively obtained and put online here .



Now on February 2, Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, transcript here:



Inner City Press: I've seen a readout of a meeting the Secretary-General had with, I guess, a Polisario official about Western Sahara. Also they're reporting that there's some obstruction to the Secretary-General's long-announced intention to visit Western Sahara. One, can you confirm that a meeting took place in Addis on the issue on this issue? And, if so, what's the readout? And, two, what is his current plan to travel or not to Western Sahara?



Deputy Spokesman: First of all, no, there I wouldn't have a readout of that meeting. But, second of all, the main point is that the Secretary-General is very firm in his intention to visit Western Sahara and the region. We do not have a precise announcement on dates to give you right now, but he does intend to do that, and we will announce it when we can.



But why DIDN'T the UN issues a read out of this meeting, like it did so many others? Note that Ban canceled his trip to Western Sahara on the off chance he could get to North Korea -- which failed.



Meanwhile, on January 29, the UN Spokesman threw Inner City Press out of the UN Press Briefing Room then on February 1 made this threat, here. This was echoed on February 2.



On December 8, the Security Council meeting scheduled right after Western Sahara, about Turkey and Iraq, drew the larger crowd.



This remained true afterward, when correspondents crowded around the ambassadors of Russia, Iraq and Turkey. Behind them, Inner City Press saw and Periscoped, France's Deputy Permanent Representative Alexis Lamek whispered with the Moroccan diplomats who'd waited at the stakeout, in what's called the Turkish Lounge.

The UN itself has to some degree dropped the ball. Inner City Press got confirmed, not from the UN, that Ban Ki-moon was slated to visit on November 25-27 but then canceled, so he could go to North Korea (which he ended up not doing). Priorities. It's worth noting, and we do, that Morocco invited Ban back in November. And now, with Ross? Watch this site.





After the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's envoy on Western Sahara Christopher Ross was quoted that Ban will travel there in early 2016, Ban's spokesman would not confirm it to Inner City Press. From the November 24 UN noon briefing, video here, transcript below.



On December 7, after UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq offered a canned answer on Western Sahara, Inner City Press asked why Ross hadn't gone there, and if Ban canceled a visit in November. Transcript here:



UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq: we provided the details of Christopher Ross recent visit to the region, where he visited Algeria, Morocco and Tindouf. The way that he proceeds with his travel, of course, is according to his own discretion, and we have defended and continue to defend his right to travel throughout, including to all of Western Sahara. There are some areas that he didn't visit this time around, but that, again, like I said, is at his discretion, and we will continue to insist upon his freedom to visit those areas.



Inner City Press: I wanted to follow up on the Western Sahara. Given that the Moroccan foreign minister was quoted publicly in EFE and there was a whole Security Council meeting basically about that quote, can you what does it mean that he didn't try to go? It seems to be kind of a concession that he couldn't go, as many people some people read it. And I wanted to ask you one separate question. You can answer them both at once. Can you confirm that the Secretary-General was, in fact, going to visit Western Sahara and had received Moroccan approval in November but, due to his own schedule, did not go?



Deputy Spokesman: First of all, on Christopher Ross, as I explained to Ali just now, we defend his right to visit throughout the territory all the places that are part of his mandate. This is a mandate, mind you, that was given to him by the Security Council, which also has defended his right to conduct his work in accordance with his mandate. In terms of the judgment calls that he makes as he goes about his travels, it's his own decisions as a professional diplomat to determine how to go about his schedule, but he knows, in doing that, that he is free to go where he is where he intends to, and that we support that. Regarding the Secretary-General, no, we don't have any plans to visit Western Sahara to announce on his behalf.



Inner City Press: And can Christopher Ross speak to the press after his briefing tomorrow? Can you at least ask him for that because there seems to be some confusion.



Deputy Spokesman: We'll certainly check. That's his choice, of course, but we'll check.



Back on November 24:



Inner City Press: I wanted to ask about Western Sahara. You gave the readout of Mr. Ross being in Algeria and on the move. You may have seen it. Theres a report by EFE from Algiers saying Christopher Ross confirmed on Tuesday that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit the territory in the coming months in an attempt to give impetus to the peace process. So I know that youve said I mean, he is Mr. Ross. He is the envoy.



Spokesman: He is Mr. Ross.



Inner City Press: Was he misquoted?



Spokesman: I dont know if hes misquoted. But what I can tell you is that any travel by the Secretary-General is confirmed from this podium in a statement, and thats what I would say.



On November 18, nine days after Inner City Press asked the UN Spokesman about Morocco's foreign minister saying UN envoy Christoper Ross couldn't or shouldn't visit the desert areas of Western Sahara, the UN Security Council finally met about it.



InnerCityPro.com was the first to report it, mid-afternoon on November 18, as four Moroccan diplomats huddled outside the Security Council consultations, click here for that.



When the Security Council's President for November Matthew Rycroft of the UK emerged with a "Press Element" about the Security Council supporting Ross, and after a question which did not provide any insight into what the Council was saying, Inner City Press asked Rycroft to confirm that the Moroccan minister's comments, that Ross can't visit, had been raised in the Council.



Yes, he said, and the result is the statement of support for Ross.



Inner City Press understands that Security Council member Venezuela raised the issue, stating that waiting for Ross' briefing in two or three weeks was not good enough. (Angola's Permanent Representative, it was pointed out, was in Washington DC with his minister.)



Speaking for Morocco, Inner City Press is informed, was not its main sponsor France -- they like to not be seen in this role, instead using their "implicit" veto, here -- but rather Jordan. Has Jordan been active on the Western Sahara issue? Or is this a question of Kingdoms?



Even supports of Morocco - and Inner City Press does speak with them -- have said Morocco's current foreign minister is "not the brightest bulb," as one of them put it.



The UN has been charged with holding a referendum in Western Sahara, but has yet to do it. In October, when there is usually a Security Council briefing about Western Sahara, there was none.



Inner City Press was told it was because UN Envoy Christopher Ross was "in the region." Other sources tell Inner City Press the King of Morocco declined to meet with Ross, preferring to wait out the UN, or at least under the next Secretary General (and next US President).



Still other sources told Inner City Press the King would travel to Western Sahara on November 6; they call it a provocation. Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it; he said he might have something later.



After the King did visit Western Sahara, and as summarized rejected ceding anything toward a referendum; Ban Ki-moon said... nothing.



On November 9, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman:



Inner City Press: the foreign minister of Morocco, Salaheddine Mezouar, told EFE that Mr. Ross cannot visit the, quote, desert regions of Western Sahara by order of the Moroccan Government. So is he going to? I guess I want to ask you to tailor this generic statement to the foreign minister saying [cross talk]



Spokesman Stephane Dujarric: What I'm saying what I said to Ali, which I will repeat, is that, while he has no immediate plans to visit Western Sahara, he has a right to do so, and that right should not be open to question, whether it's the scope of Mr. Ross' work and his range of activities are set forth by the relevant Security Council resolutions and the Secretary-General.



Inner City Press: Right. So I guess what I'm just saying is, was this statement that you're reading, this is you're aware of this Moroccan foreign minister statement?



Spokesman: You've asked me a question. I've answered it.



Inner City Press: Okay.



Spokesman: My answer is a direct response to the question you've asked.



Before the King's trip, wwhen Ban Ki-moon was touring a photo exhibition in the same UN lobby where now indicted Ng Lap Seng sponsored events (even Wednesday night there was another, trying to sell seats at Ban's table at a Wall Street event in December for $6,000), the UN issued a statement.



On November 5, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Dujarric, video here, UN transcript here:



Inner City Press: On the Western Sahara statement yesterday, two questions. Is the Secretary-General aware of a plan by the King of Morocco to actually visit Western Sahara on 6 November, which many people, some people call it a provocation, some people say it's totally within his rights but?



Spokesman: I've seen those press reports.



Inner City Press: Is the statement in some way related to that? What's his message to the King of Morocco in terms of actually going?



Spokesman: I think the message to the, the message to the parties, I think, is very much in the message. It's not a statement to the King of Morocco or to the Front Polisario. It's a message to the partiers to mark the sombre anniversary of 40 years of unresolved conflict.



Inner City Press: But is a visit by the king at this time helpful to what the statement is trying-- ?



Spokesman: I think we'll we may have more to say on that later.



Inner City Press: Okay. And also on this, is it true that Mr. Ross, in the course of his journeys, has been unable to meet with the King of Morocco?



Spokesman: I don't know. I will see when his last time was.





On October 9 when the UN's Fourth Committee took up the question of Western Sahara," the first order of business was a procedural fight about who could testify, on what request and on what topic. The speakers, over several rounds, were Morocco and Senegal on the one hand, Algeria and Uganda on the other.



Uganda, when on the Security Council and otherwise, believes there should be a referendum on independence in Western Sahara; Senegal apparently does not.

Inner City Press ran to cover the dispute, but UN Security said it couldn't enter through the main entrance to Conference Room 4, but to enter the gallery through the UN lobby. But that gallery door was locked. Finally from a media booth about the Conference Room, Inner City Press filmed and tweeted as Moroccan diplomats worked the room, running over to speak with Cote d'Ivoire for example.

After it was resolved - the witness would speak, but should focus on Western Sahara - two countries got up and left: Burundi and Burkina Faso. They had apparently come to support Morocco, or France. They left before the first speaker on Western Sahara (who in his first line called it Moroccan Sahara). There will be more sessions: watch this site.

There was also testimony about French nuclear tests in French Polynesia, New Caledonia and several rounds between Spain and the UK about Gibraltar: is it or is it not a tax haven? The room was emptying out. This will be continued.



In advance of the Western Sahara session in the UN's Fourth Committee, SADR Foreign Minister Ould Salak spoke and took questions at Independent Diplomat on 20th Street in Manhattan on October 8. In his opening he said France uses it veto on the UN Security Council to block human rights monitoring. Inner City Press asked him about the denial of that by France and its previous Ambassador to the UN, now to Washington. Ould Salak replied that France uses the Group of Friends -- the P5 minus China but plus Spain -- so it doesn't have to openly use its veto.

This puts France's veto restraint proposals in a different light - but we'll have more on that in a separate story. In this piece, written at ID on 20th Street, we note that Carne Ross called it the Group of Enemies of Western Sahara, and the worst form of diplomacy.

AFP asked if Ban is going to Western Sahara -- seems Morocco is blocking it (with Ban Ki-moon, it doesn't take much); a Spanish journalists asked about the role of Spain, on which he hope to have more. The Security Council was meeting about Haiti, with its own colonial history. We'll have more on this.



The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, which has yet to hold any referendum, was unanimously "renewed" for a year back on April 28, 2015 by the UN Security Council. Inner City Press published Explanation(s) of Vote, below.

On September 25 when UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Spain's King Felipe VI, the UN said Ban "emphasized the need for a renewed push to resolve the situation in Western Sahara." Full readout below. Ban also raised Western Sahara with the President of Mauritania. The word "human rights" was not in either read-out. Here's Spain:



"The Secretary-General met today with H.M. King Felipe VI of Spain. They discussed a number of global challenges, including sustainable development and climate change.The Secretary-General thanked Spain for its support for the UNs efforts in Libya. He also commended Spain for its role in the Security Council. Finally, the Secretary-General emphasized the need for a renewed push to resolve the situation in Western Sahara."



There was some "pool" color, concluding that "speaking in English, but hardly audible, Ban and the Spanish King mentioned the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. Felipe VI was wearing today a lapel pin with the logo of the event. "



And here's Mauritania:



"The Secretary-General met today with H.E. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and requested Mauritanias active support in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



"The SecretaryGeneral and President Abdel Aziz discussed the security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel and the need to enhance regional cooperation to address terrorism, displacement, migration and illegal trafficking. The Secretary-General stressed the urgency of resolving the question of Western Sahara and thanked Mauritania for its continued support to the mediation process. [He also commended Mauritanias efforts to promote an inclusive political dialogue in Niger.]"



And on human rights monitoring? And on Anders Kompass?

Update: the bracketed final line was removed two hours later by the UN.



Back in April, Venezuela said human rights monitoring should have been included, and the African Union should have been allowed to address the Council. Angola, citing Chad and Nigeria as well, echoed this.



Afterward Inner City Press asked Moroccan Permanent Representative Omar Hilale a series of questions: about what Venezuela said, about the African Union, injured protesters, and why Frente Polisario couldn't speak at the same microphone.



Hilale asked if Venezuela was the right country to speak of human rights. Here now is Inner City Press' transcription of Venezuela's explanation of vote:



"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has voted in favor of the resolution renewing the mandate of MINURSO. MINURSO, as we are convinced of its important role in supervising the cease fire, reducing the threat of unexploded ordnance and mines, fostering confidence building measures between the parties in order to bring about the referendum, that is in step with the primary mandate in step with Resolution 690 of 1991. These efforts and the facilitation and the efforts deployed by the Secretary General are aimed at bringing about an agreement between the parties. MINURSO, to support this, must continue to provide its support to a series of assistance programs aimed at addressing the difficult situation faced by the Sahrawi families that are separated, in many cases, also breathing a new life into direct negotiations between the Polisario Front and Morocco.



"However, we wish to express certain concerns over the procedure used in the drafting of the resolution we have adopted. We are presented a text that was previously agreed upon by the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, which did not address the legitimate concerns and proposals that were made by numerous countries that are interested in this issue, Venezuela among them. These proposals were aimed at strengthening the role of MINURSO and the promotion and protection of human rights of the population in the Western Sahara, bearing in mind the recommendations made by the Secretary General in his report and the features of all the UN missions. It is necessary, then, that the future negotiation processes on the matter before us sees an improvement in the working methods with the aim of helping to bring about a broad discussion that is inclusive and transparent.



"In the context of the proposals made, the amendment that sought to increase the regularity of the review of the topic by the Council was not taken on board. There is also one aimed at reaffirming the responsibilities of this body in bringing about a fair and lasting solution to the situation in Western Sahara, through the holding of a referendum on self determination, that would allow for a process of decolonization, a situation that has has lasted for more than four decades. It is essential that we ensure the implementation of resolution 690 of 1991, which set forth for, provided for the holding of the referendum.



"We are concerned that without a referendum, the process of colonizing Western Sahara will continue including the deterioration of human rights for the Sahrawi people and the illegal exploitation of their natural resources, all of this to the detriment of stability and peace in the region. Further, we lament that the consultations held on this topic were not proceeded by an open meeting in which we could ensure the participation of the special envoy of the African Union for Western Sahara, the former president Joaquim Chissano.



"In the light of the request from that regional organization which, together with the United Nations, is facilitating the negotiation process between the parties, it is a paradox that there is exclusion from the dialogues in this body of a strategic UN ally in the efforts to find solutions to conflicts that affect peace and security in the African continent. We hope that the Council can correct this omission in the short term.



"To conclude, we should like to reiterate the responsibility that this Council has in working with resolve toward a fair and lasting solution to the colonial situation endured by the Sahrawi people, solving it with a move towards self determination in including the option of independence pursuant to international law and working, with resolve, towards a fair and lasting solution according to to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter."



And from China, as transcribed by Inner City Press:



"Thank you Madam President. China supports the extension of the mandate of the UN mission for the referendum of Western Sahara and hopes that the mission will continue to play a constructive role in stabilizing the situation in Western Sahara and assisting the implementation of confidence building measures.



Chinas position on the question of Western Sahara is consistent and remains unchanged. Based on the above, China has voted in favor of Resolution 2118, adopted by the Council just now.

China knows that some Council members have concerns about the resolution. While the council members were having consultations on this resolution there should have been more time arranged for it, and there should have been more patience, so as to listen extensively to different opinions, and through more sufficient consultations seek a maximum consensus and get the widest support. I thank you."



UNlike China, Morocco's Hilale called the African Union "toxic" on this issue, saying that having made up it mind the AU should not address the Council.



Inner City Press asked how this is different, say, from the European Union addressing the Council about Kosovo. (Hilale said every situation is different: the old "sui generis").



Inner City Press asked why Polisario couldn't speak at the UNSC stakeout where, for example, private citizen Hilary Clinton recently did. Hilale said Hilary Clinton is with a member state. But so are a lot of people.


I've written before about how timing frequently plays a major role in higher education giving. In one gift I wrote about, an anonymous alumni family gave $25 million to a liberal arts college in Minnesota just before the end of the school's capital campaign. I've also written about donors who've been heavily involved with a school's board of trustees, even serving as chair; these leadership roles often influence the timing of a gift.

Related: One Final Push: Anonymous Alumni Family Bolsters Capital Campaign

Wesleyan University recently received a $20 million gift from alumnus Joshua Boger and his wife Amy to the university's "THIS IS WHY" fundraising campaign, which ends on June 30th. The campaign has raised over $400 million so far, which is big money for liberal arts school like Wesleyanespecially a school known for a more creative student body, whose grads don't flock en masse to Wall Street.

Boger graduated in 1973 with a degree in philosophy and chemistry from Wesleyan, before earning degrees from Harvard. In 1989, he founded Vertex Pharmaceuticals and retired as the company's CEO at the end of last decade.



Boger and Amy are heavily involved in civic life, and many of these commitments focus on New England, particularly Boston. Down in Connecticut, Boger has been a member of Wesleyan's board of trustees since 1999. A decade later, he stepped into his role as chair of the board of trustees and in 2010, the couple gave a $12 million gift to establish the Boger Scholarship Program and the Joshua Boger University Professorship of the Sciences and Mathematics. So Boger has a history of past philanthropy at his alma mater. But more than that, it's worth pointing out that the Bogers gave this gift just around the time that Boger began his tenure as chair.

This recent $20 million gift, meanwhile, comes just as Boger steps down from his role as chair. Talk about coming in with a splash and leaving with a bang!

The couple's contributions to the THIS IS WHY Campaign include $11 million to establish the Joshua '73 and Amy Boger Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Program, $3 million will endow the Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, and $2 milion will create the Joshua Boger Endowed Fund for Student Research. Wesleyan will name the building, which houses the school's Career Center, College of Letters and Paoletti Art History Wing, Boger Hall.
Economic uncertainty in Asia could indicate a challenging year ahead for self-storage operators in the region, according to Helen Ng, deputy chair of Self-Storage Association Asia (SSAA) and CEO of General Storage Co. Pte. Ltd. (GSC), which operates facilities in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Ng expects residential and business customers to tighten their purse strings in anticipation of tougher times ahead, she said in a press release.

Although she indicated a cautious forecast for 2016, Ng said seasonal demand and an increased reliance on self-storage from small businesses, including online companies without physical storefronts, could help offset setbacks from general consumers. Households may try to discard their belongings instead of storing them, and businesses may reduce their inventory to reduce overstock, she said. However, unlike traditional warehousing where there is a lengthy lock-in period, the self-storage industry is uniquely poised to weather tough economic conditions. Our storage terms are flexible and, therefore, more appealing to households that need short-term storage and businesses that want the flexibility to adjust their inventory according to seasonal demand.

One of the rising customer demographics is entrepreneurial women, particularly in online retailing, who use self-storage for inventory, according to Ng. In Asia, there is a trend of women entrepreneurs leading the e-commerce revolution by setting up online stores retailing fashion and lifestyle products, she said. They eschew traditional brick-and-mortar stores for self-storage, and choose to operate from homes instead.

This influx of online-business owners appreciates the convenience and services offered by self-storage operators in comparison to general warehousing and logistical companies, according to Ng. Some entrepreneurs also have invested in office space at storage facilities. The [self-storage] industry is agile enough to respond to economic headwinds and creative enough to recognize and create new growth opportunities, she said. From offering bulk parcel drop-off and delivery services for our SME [small to medium-sized enterprises] storers to launching small offices on site, we have to constantly reinvent ourselves to stay relevant for customers and weather the economic downturn.

Storing needs tied to the Chinese New Year could also assist self-storage operators endure any setbacks during the year. Demand from celebrating the Year of the Flame Monkey could come from retail businesses needing to store monkey-themed products as well as households undergoing renovations, the release stated. Chinese New Year traditions include a thorough cleaning of houses, decluttering and new purchases, which symbolizes the removal of the old to welcome the new, according to Travel China Guide. The Chinese New Year begins on Feb. 8.

GSC is owned by Singapore Post Ltd. (SingPost), the national postal-service provider in Singapore. SingPost acquired the storage company in 2013. GSC operates the self-storage brands Lock+Store in Malaysia and Singapore, Store Friendly in Singapore, and The Store House in Hong Kong.

Launched in 2014, SSAA is a trade association dedicated to assisting self-storage operators and industry suppliers working in emerging markets along the Pacific Rim.
Morgan Stanley leaps from No. 5 to No. 2; Deutsche Bank tumbles from first place to third.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch rises one rung to finish on top of Institutional Investors All-Europe Sales Team for the first time in the five-year history of the survey. Morgan Stanley rockets from second place to fifth; while last years winner, Deutsche Bank, falls to No. 3. J.P. Morgan Cazenove and UBS finish in fourth and fifth place, respectively; each is down a notch from last year.

I like the Bank of America Merrill Lynch sales team because they are always fast and efficient at getting things organized and putting me in touch with the right people, says one Dublin-based money manager. Theyre also great at problem-solving.

Unless instructed otherwise, II keeps confidential the identities of survey participants and their firms to ensure their continuing cooperation.

Some respondents single out specific individuals for special recognition. Among the comments we heard:

 Jonathan Cumby is hands down the best idea generator.

 Paul Rogers is the specialist salesperson in oil and gas and utilities for Europe. His experience and ability to see across both sides of the energy divide give him exceptional insight.

 Joanna Sanders gives excellent insight into markets and is never afraid to give an anticonsensus call. She brings together information very well from investors and has a very good feel for which ideas to really push. Very helpful with requests, and the go-to person in volatile markets to get a real perspective.

The sales force at the No. 2 firm, Morgan Stanley, garners similar praise from clients. First, they have a great product to work with, says one. The energy guy, [Martinus] Martijn Rats, has been consistently levelheaded in an oil sector gone mad. Second, experience counts. James Cartwright, the energy salesperson, has seen a number of cycles before and so knows what happened last time and how sentiment always oscillates  and because he and the team know everyone in the market, he is able to give great feedback on market sentiment and positioning, which is extremely helpful in working out whats priced into stocks.

Other individuals mentioned for their exceptional service include:

 Jelena Bjelanovic is very good at communicating the views of her analyst team while also adding a lot of market texture, as well as regularly updating clients about various events the team organizes.

 Martin Borghetto and Christoph Schmuck provide strong insights on the stocks mentioned [in the analysts reports] and also add their own views and comments. They know how to properly serve clients.

 Jonathan Haycock is smart and proactive. He has his own very sensible views and puts the best analysts in front of me.

A fan of the sales force at the German financial services firm says he finds particularly interesting some of the investment events held in London, such as Deutsche Banks [technology, media and telecommunications] conference, or the sales teams insights into German small- and midcap equity markets. I would highlight the pan-European institutional sales coverage done by Luis Risco, a long-standing salesperson with a remarkable track record and market knowledge.

A portfolio manager in Denmark is particularly appreciative of Sarai Assoulines efforts to bring companies executives to Copenhagen and her willingness to provide my team with one-on-ones and small group meetings. Copenhagen is a small investment community, and her many years of loyal service to our region stands out among more volatile research providers.

Each year II invites participants in the broader All-Europe Research Team survey to name up to four firms that they feel have the best sales forces serving clients that invest in the regions equities. We received responses from 1,560 buy-side analysts and money managers at 692 firms that collectively oversee approximately $5.4 trillion in European equity assets. Roughly 73 percent of the people who cast votes in the research team survey, representing 88 percent of the participating buy-side institutions, answered our question about the best sales teams.

To view the full list of winning groups, click on the Leaders link located in the navigation table on the right.

For information about how we compiled this ranking, click on Methodology.
Insurance law firm Barry.Nilsson have continued their East Coast expansion with four new hires for their insurance team based in Sydney.The firm welcomed senior insurance partners Wendy Blacker and Con Kakakios to the business alongside special counsel Rory OConner and senior associate Jack Geng.Barry.Nilsson. managing partner, Don Leembruggen said that the moves highlight the growth aims of the firm.After opening our Sydney office in 2014 and in Melbourne last July, these latest appointments demonstrate Barry.Nilsson.s success in expanding beyond our Brisbane base, while remaining committed to our core values of dedication, excellence, loyalty and trustworthiness.We are fortunate to have attracted such high-calibre recruits, allowing us to continue the delivery of exceptional legal services to the insurance industry.Blacker is regarded as one of the top insurance lawyers in Australia with recognition in legal directories such as Chambers Asia-Pacific and the Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Geng is also an experienced litigator and insurance law practitioner.Kakakios is a personal injury specialist over areas such as public liability, professional negligence, travel and life insurance and personal injury claims whilst OConnor has over a decade experience in insurance, litigation and professional discipline.Leembruggen said that the experience of those joining the firm will help the business as it moves through 2016 and beyond.The considerable experience of our new partners will ensure they hit the ground running, and we look forward to applying their extensive insurance industry knowledge to our broader client offering.The move follows the announcement of the strengthened team as fellow law firm Clyde & Co welcomed five new partners to its business yesterday.
Ames & Gough, a specialty insurance broker based in McLean, Virginia, has promoted Jared Maxwell to vice president and equity partner from assistance vice president. Maxwell is based in the firms Boston office.

The appointment brings to 14 the number of equity partners of Ames & Gough.

Maxwell joined Ames & Gough in 2013 after serving at Marsh in a variety of sales and client service positions. At Marsh he focused on design firm professional liability and executive risk insurance, and was a member of Marshs ACEC Business Insurance Trust (ACEC BIT) team.

Established in 1992, Ames & Gough is an insurance broker and risk management consultant specializing in serving design professionals, law firms, associations/nonprofits and other professional service organizations. The firm has a team of nearly 40 professionals and staff located in offices in Boston, Philadelphia and McLean, Virginia.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions
Amish safety on Wisconsin roads needs to be addressed in the wake of recent fatal buggy crashes, according to a state lawmaker.

Republican State Rep. Bob Kulp of Stratford hopes the Amish communities in Wisconsin would be open to a discussion about making horse-drawn vehicles more visible. Many Amish dont realize how difficult it can be for a driver to see a buggy when their vehicle is traveling 55 or 60 mph down a highway, he told Daily Tribune Media.

Kulp, whose mother and father were born into Amish families, spoke with Amish leaders shortly after a drunk driver crashed into a horse-drawn wagon, killing Christian Kempf and his 10-year-old son, Melvin, on Nov. 20 in Wood County.

County officials have spoken with representatives from Marshfield Clinic, Farm Machinery and Ministry Saint Josephs Hospital in an effort to seek money to pay for battery-powered lights to install on the buggies and wagons, said Wood County emergency management director Steve Kreuser. The officials also met with about 30 members of the Amish community to discuss road safety.

Sheriffs deputies are able to issue citations to people driving horse-drawn vehicles on roads without meeting the state requirements for two red lights on the back and one on the front, but Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert said he would rather educate Amish offenders and encourage them to comply than issue tickets.

Republican State Rep. Scott Krug of Rome doesnt believe the state needs new laws regarding vulnerable users on roads, including pedestrians, bicyclists and people with horse-drawn vehicles, but he said he has supported such legislation in the past and would again consider a change.

Legislators plan to study the situation and develop a single set of rules for the entire state.

Republican Rep. John Spiros of Marshfield has been contacting officials in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana to learn how those states with large Amish populations deal with the issue of horse-drawn vehicles on roads.

Spiros wants to set up a meeting between state lawmakers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to further evaluate what rules exist in other states, how those rules have worked and what would be worth trying to improve road safety in Wisconsin.

Kulp said he is among the lawmakers on board with trying to find ideas to address the fatal buggy crashes.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Wisconsin
General Motors Co. has asked a judge to reject efforts by a lawyer who first publicly exposed a faulty ignition switch in GM vehicles to undo a settlement fund resolving 1,380 death and injury lawsuits.

In a separate filing, the lead counsel for people suing over the defect called attempts to undo the settlement fund both disappointing and disingenuous and joined GM in asking U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of Manhattan to reject motions filed last week by Georgia-based lawyer Lance Cooper.

Cooper said that one of the lawyers leading federal switch litigation, Robert Hilliard, struck the settlement mostly to enrich himself and his own clients, an allegation Hilliard denied.

Furman is overseeing federal litigation that hit GM after its 2014 recall of 2.6 million vehicles over defective ignition switches that can slip out of place and have been linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths.

Cooper had accused Hilliard of working with General Motors to cut a mutually beneficial deal and strategy. GM and the lead counsel for plaintiffs both denied that claim.

The settlement was announced in September, alongside a separate resolution with shareholders over GMs recall. GM said it would take a $575 million charge related to those settlements.

Cooper has asked Furman, who oversees federal switch lawsuits, to rescind approval of the settlement fund, and to remove Hilliard and co-counsel Steve Berman and Elizabeth Cabraser from lead roles in the litigation.

Coopers motions were filed days after the abrupt dismissal of a first bellwether, or test, trial when evidence surfaced calling the plaintiffs testimony into question. Cooper said that lead counsel bungled that case and excluded other attorneys from the process.

Lead counsel said they had worked tirelessly and cooperatively for all plaintiffs. Although the bellwether fell apart, they defended their selection and said that their work on that case would ultimately benefit other plaintiffs.

GM and lead plaintiffs counsel also said Cooper waited more than a month to object to Furmans order, despite a 14-day cutoff for such filings.
An Oklahoma state lawmaker has filed a bill that would reform Oklahomas civil asset forfeiture law, an effort he says is supported by small businesses in the state.

In May 2015, Sen. Kyle D. Loveless (R-Oklahoma City) filed Senate Bill 838, the Personal Asset Protection Act, which he says has been the subject of intense debate during the interim.

I have heard a lot of concern from district attorneys and from some in the law enforcement community about my fight to protect private property rights and due process. This new language is an attempt to address some of those concerns while not compromising my goals for reform, said Loveless.

The bill package includes three stand-alone bills and one omnibus reform bill.

The new language still requires a criminal conviction before the government can forfeit property, but it provides for five exemptions to this requirement including the death of the owner or the owner was given immunity as part of a plea agreement, Loveless said in a legislative media release. The government currently has the ability to forfeit personal property without proving a crime was committed in a court of law. My legislation corrects that but leaves the authorities with some flexibility.

Another major difference in the legislation involves where the forfeited proceeds are deposited. The original version sent the funds to the states General Revenue Fund.

My intention is to remove the direct profit incentive of forfeiture. An agency shouldnt be able to grow its budget based on how much property it takes. At the same time, the states General Revenue Fund shouldnt rely on that either, Loveless said . I want to create a new fund that would be run by a citizen oversight board with funds being used to address our states continued drug crisis.

The 15-person board would issue grants from the fund to drug treatment facilities, drug courts and law enforcement agencies.

Loveless says his reform package is supported by Oklahoma members of the National Federation of Independent Business. In the groups report on its annual legislative priorities. civil asset forfeiture reform garnered the most support of all the topics, Loveless says.

Civil asset forfeiture is not just a private property or liberty issue  its a business issue, he said. I am pleased 93 percent of small-business owners polled support legislation to reform civil asset forfeiture.

He said the reform efforts have also gained support from organizations such as the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and the Oklahoma Policy Institute

The legislative session began February 1.

Source: Oklahoma Legislature

Topics Legislation Commercial Lines Business Insurance Property Oklahoma
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens and the Roswell Police Department announced the arrest of a Fulton County woman on multiple counts of insurance fraud and other charges.

Rommys Alemania Beltran, 45, of Roswell, Georgia, was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with 12 counts of insurance fraud, 18 counts of theft by deception, one count of practicing psychology without a license, and one count of tampering with evidence. Beltran, who owned and operated the Alternative Youth Academy, located in Alpharetta, is currently being held in the Fulton County Jail. Bond has been set at $190,000.

According to a joint investigation conducted by Hudgens Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Roswell Police Department, Beltran allegedly billed health care providers for services such as family counseling and psychotherapy sessions that were never rendered. Investigators determined that Beltran was not licensed to perform counseling and psychotherapy sessions. In addition, the case revealed that Beltran deceptively marketed the academy as an accredited school in an effort to increase attendance and tuition monies.

We have discovered more than $300,000 in insurance claims submitted for payment by Beltran before her arrest yesterday, Hudgens said. My Investigators believe that many of the claims are fraudulent.

The Alternative Youth Academy educated children that either had been suspended or had

difficulties in traditional schools. The school lost its state accreditation in September 2014, but only closed its doors following a search warrant by the Roswell Police Department and the GBI in August 2015.

Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Fraud Georgia
Ever since one of its wells in California started spewing natural gas in October, Sempra Energys message to residents has been the same: Dont worry  the leak poses no public safety threat and wont cause long-term health effects.

They arent buying it.

Californians are worrying plenty and starting to take action. State Attorney General Kamala Harris said Tuesday that she had joined a lawsuit against the company, describing the leak as a public health and statewide environmental emergency. Hours later, Los Angeles County said it had filed misdemeanor charges. University of Southern California researchers are looking to study the health effects of the leak, saying its impossible for anyone to rule them out, and air quality regulators are ordering Sempra to pay for a review.

The charges, the lawsuit and the health challenges all underscore the resentment swelling in Sempras own backyard after it was seen as slow to respond and then failing to take the matter as seriously as residents, environmentalists and policy makers say it should. The response has drawn analogies to Flint, Michigan, where complaints over tainted water went unanswered for months before the problem exploded into a full- blown crisis.

Telling people who are upset that it is not a problem or serious is a terrible crisis management strategy, said Susan Tellem, a partner at Tellem Grody Public Relations in Los Angeles. Everything moved in slow motion with this leak.

According to Los Angeles County prosecutors and the states lawsuit, Sempras Southern California Gas utility didnt report the leak to state authorities until about three days after discovering it.

In Flint, officials are facing similar criticism after the discovery of lead in the citys water supply. Democrats say Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, and other state officials ignored the problem in the majority black city of 100,000 north of Detroit.

The thing I thought of when this first happened was the problem with lead in the water in Flint, said Daniel Keeney, president of Dallas-based DPK Public Relations. I would be advocating for very close and constant contact with residents to try to keep them happy.

Sempra discovered the leak on Oct. 23. In its first public statement five days later, it told nearby residents in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles that there was no imminent threat to public safety. Humans can detect the smell of the odorant at levels much lower than any level of concern, it said.

Since then Californias governor has declared a state of emergency, public health officials said the leak is making people sick and thousands of people have been forced into temporary housing. Homes are becoming infused with this horrid smell and the chemicals, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, said Tuesday in Washington.

The best way to prevent future public health threats is using the sanctions available through a criminal conviction, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Tuesday.

We will defend ourselves vigorously through the judicial process, Southern California Gas spokeswoman Kristine Lloyd said by e-mail.

Sempras response has fueled a backlash from senators calling for a federal probe to city officials threatening to permanently shut its entire field, which can deliver more gas daily than any storage site west of the Rockies, according to government data.

We have made a concerted effort through this incident to communicate with all the key stakeholders, Javier Mendoza, a spokesman for Southern California Gas said by phone. When we have time to reflect, we will no doubt pinpoint areas where we can improve.

One of Sempras earliest public-relations blunders was to ask people displaced by the leak to submit receipts for expenses, Keeney said.

That is something I could have told them early on was not a good idea, Keeney said.

State air regulators have estimated emissions from the well at 2.2 million tons as of Jan. 26, more than an oil refinery south of the leak site released in all of 2014. The San Diego- basedutility owner maintains there is no long-term threat even as regional air quality officials say there isnt enough information to make that claim.

We dont know if there are or are not long-term effects from the leak, said Edward Avol, a professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. We shouldnt just dismiss this out of hand.

Sempra says it can plug the leak by the end of February. Civil liabilities, administrative penalties and other costs will probably be well below the $1 billion in insurance the company says it maintains, based on a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Defense Fund has distributed a video recorded using a infrared camera that shows a black plume expanding over the site. It had been viewed about 1.3 million times on YouTube as of Tuesday.

The gas company kept insisting there was no danger, that methane itself is not poisonous, Paul E. Hunt, who lives in Porter Ranch, said in a telephone interview. I left because of health concerns. It was pungent, designed to be displeasing. When youre sleeping with it and thats what your house is full of, its miserable.

 With assistance from James Nash

Related

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics California
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"Bless that which you want"

Hawaiian Saying



"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien"

Voltaire



"We see the world not as it is, but as we are."

Ken Keyes



"If you have no enemies, find a way to make them"

48 Laws of Power



"In order to live, man must believe in that for which he lives."

Huston Smith



"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

Winston Churchill



"Do not go past the mark you aimed for; In victory learn when to stop"

48 Laws of Power



"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimension."

Oliver Wendell Holmes



"Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other"

 Charles Lamb



"The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite."

W. Ross Adley



"Understand a man by his own deeds and words. The impressions of others lead to false judgment."

Saying from the Talmud



"If someone tells you that money isn't important; know that he/she just doesn't have any! "

T. Harv Eker



"When we come close to those things which potentially break us down, we are walking the path that will break us free."

 James Arthur Ray



"When one is frightened of the truth...then it is never the whole truth than one has an inkling of."

Ludwig Wittgenstein



"This really revolutionary revolution is to be achieved, not in the external world, but in the souls and flesh of human beings."

Aldous Huxley



"Forget about likes and dislikes, they are of no consequence. Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness."

George Bernard Shaw



"Opinion is itself is one of the greatest active social forces. One person with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests."

John Stuart Mill



"Acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it performs an act of piety; he who speaks of knowledge, praises God: he who seeks it, adores God."

Mahomed the Islamic Prophet



"Never look at a person of boredom or slowing in a path as a sign of failure. It is more a sign of success on that path, and indication of the need to learn, to change and start growing again."

Harry Dent



"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Saint Paul the Apostle



"The Warrior lives a life full of adventure, living on the edge of opportunity. Life on the edge keeps him in a space of heightened awareness and totally in the moment; therefore no matter what comes his way he is always prepared."

James Arthur Ray




Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has lauded the efforts of Kenai Peninsula agencies in their response to the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that resulted in highway damage and the destruction of four homes.

Representatives of public safety departments, utility companies and public officials from Kenai, Soldotna and the Kenai Peninsula Borough briefed Walker on the quake Sunday. Walker commended the agencies for their communication and execution of their training during the aftermath of the record-breaking tremor that struck southcentral Alaska on Jan. 24, The Peninsula Clarion reported.

You did all the right things because you had the training, you knew what to do, you knew who to contact, Walker told the representatives.

Four homes on Lilac Lane in Kenai were destroyed by natural gas explosions or fire following the quake, and a stretch of highway on Kalifornsky Beach Road was damaged in the community of Kasilof. Enstar Natural Gas Co. President Jared Green said Enstar members were working to ensure the area in Kenai was safe up until Friday.

Kenai Fire Chief Jeff Tucker said the fire department is still working with Enstar to determine what caused the explosions.

Several people in attendance at Sundays meeting at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center mentioned how efficient first responders were in handling the situation in the Lilac Lane area.

Within four minutes of the 911 call, you had an officer on scene to verify that everyone was out of their house when the initial explosion occurred, said Kenai Police Chief Gus Sandahl. A captain with the fire department made the call to begin evacuating homes, Sandahl said, which started within the first six, seven minutes.

Joe Gallagher, director of member relations for Homer Electric Association, said the quake caused the Quartz Creek substation in Cooper Landing and the Bernice Lake substation in Nikiski to go offline. Crews were able to get them both back online and thousands of the companys meters had regained power the same day.

In the wake of the earthquake, Walker said he has received calls and questions regarding funding for public safety. He said he plans to include funding for the Alaska Land Mobile Radio system in his supplemental budget. The system is a cooperative that provides communications for state, local and federal first responders through an integrated wireless network.

I do get a lot of inquiries of people expressing concern about, will our cuts in budgets impact safety? And were going to do everything we can to make sure that they dont, Walker said.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Agencies
More insurance providers are open to setting up aggregator sites to sell their own and other insurers' products, according to a new study released by professional services firm Accenture.

The report, Coming to Terms with Insurance Aggregators: Global lessons for Carriers", surveyed 400 insurance companies to determine emerging trends in distribution models and the changing role of agents and brokers.

Accenture found that 57 percent of insurers surveyed were currently considering building aggregator sites, even if it means listing competitors prices alongside theirs. Customer demand for a variety of coverage options and plan transparency drive the aggregator model. In return, insurance companies gain visibility, traffic and more business premiums.

Companies are interested in knowing what a platform economy, similar to Amazon and Alibaba, would look like in insurance, said Erik Sandquist, managing director of Accentures North American distribution and marketing services. Setting up an aggregator site requires a large expansion in digital presence and customer engagement in order to have a superior online experience.

It is only recently, Sandquist says, that insurance buyers have been able to purchase a policy through an aggregator site. For a long time the platform would only refer customers to an agent. Today, between 60 and 70 percent of auto insurance premiums in the United Kingdom are completed on aggregators.

The ability to purchase a policy on aggregator sites varies by geography and line of business, said Sandquist. So the challenge for insurers is figuring out how to expand the purchase funnel. Clearly, theyre going to need a lean and agile IT operations team to keep up with the changing market landscape.

Accentures study also found a large disparity in geography when it comes to interest in creating aggregator sites. Only 58 percent of U.S. based companies are in favor of it, compared to 83 percent in the UK where aggregator sites are vastly more popular.

The hesitation on the part of U.S. companies is explained by prominent carrier brands like GEICO who invest large amounts of funding on advertising annually. On one hand, these brands have built up enough equity, but they have also kept smaller insurers from penetrating the market. As it stands, a cost comparison platform would do either side little good.

UK carriers arguably need aggregator sites more to grow business, as they lack U.S. insurers marketing budgets. In 2013, top UK aggregators spent just $187 million dollars on ads compared to over $1 billion for GEICO, according to Accentures report. Another issue remains the requirement for U.S. companies to comply with state-level regulations, hindering them from operating on a national level.

Still, Accenture believes the aggregator model is here to stay.

We believe the future of the aggregator model is a bright one as it will continue to grow into new geographies and from a line of business standpoint, said Sandquist. This will be driven by deeper customer engagement and the growing trust in making complex purchases more easily online by customers.
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.
E arrivata lufficialita, dopo una giornata di voci rincorrenti: per il triennio 2018-2021 sara lemittente Sky a godere dei diritti televisivi per trasmettere, in esclusiva assoluta, le partite non solo delle prossime edizioni dellEuropa League ma anche quelle della massima competizione continentale, la Champions. Un pacchetto da favola per il quale la tv satellitare di Rupert Murdoch avrebbe messo sul piatto unofferta giudicata piu congrua di quella presentata dalla concorrente Mediaset. A dare lannuncio dellaffare concluso e stata la stessa Sky che, in un comunicato, ha spiegato che il nuovo format sviluppato dalla UEFA ci consentira di portare ai nostri abbonati un prodotto rivoluzionario per il calcio europeo in Italia. Per la prima volta la UEFA Champions League e la UEFA Europa League saranno insieme in unesclusiva offerta integrata, che permettera agli appassionati di seguire fino a 7 squadre italiane, mai cosi tante prima dora, impegnate nelle sfide con i migliori club europei.

Sky: Rafforzata leadership

Anche il livello tecnico dellofferta sara altissimo ed e ancora lemittente a rivelare i dettagli: Continueremo a fare innovazione, trasmettendo le partite piu importanti anche in 4K HDR. Questofferta senza precedenti rafforza la posizione di Sky come leader della programmazione sportiva in Italia ed e anche un altro passo importante di sostegno al calcio italiano. Insomma, per i prossimi tre anni, sara unegemonia totale quella della satellitare sul calcio europeo, avendo mantenuto il pacchetto Europa League (gia sua esclusiva) e affiancandola a quello ancor piu appetibile della Champions League ad appannaggio Mediaset dal 2015 al 2018.

Sfida Serie A

Ora la sfida fra i due colossi delle trasmissioni sportive si spostera sui diritti televisivi della prossima Serie A, per la quale si e ancora in attesa di un nuovo bando che, come annunciato dal commissario della Lega, Carlo Tavecchio, avra le stesse caratteristiche del precedente, andato pero a vuoto: solo una delle offerte presentate per i cinque pacchetti, infatti, superava la soglia minima richiesta dalla base dasta. Niente di fatto, quindi, anche in virtu della stessa Mediaset che, in sostanza, ha disertato il bando (giudicato inaccettabile) non presentando alcuna offerta. La battaglia, anche in questo caso, sara sulle esclusive: del resto, dopo essersi vista scivolare via una componente importante come la Champions, sulla Serie A Mediaset dara sicuramente battaglia.
Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese.

Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa.

Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista.

E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa  ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta.

A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito.
Agriculture dividend stocks are equities of companies engaged in some aspect of agribusiness and which pay out regular dividends. Agribusiness includes farmers that raise animals and harvest fruits and vegetables, farm equipment manufacturers, processing plants that clean and package livestock for shipping, and chemical producers that develop crop fertilizers.

Companies with a history of paying stable dividends at regular intervals tend to be more established and at a more mature stage of their growth cycle, allowing them to return more of their earnings to shareholders. For investors, these companies can provide a stable source of dividend income even if their stock prices decline sharply with the overall market, which has happened in recent months. However, dividends are not necessarily guaranteed, especially in difficult economic times, such as a bear market or recession. Established companies may cut dividend payments if cash is running low.

Below, we look at the top agriculture dividend stocks in the Russell 1000 by forward dividend yield. Companies with payout ratios that are either negative or in excess of 100% were excluded, because the dividends of such companies are likely not sustainable. A payout ratio that exceeds 100% or is negative (meaning net income is negative) indicates the company may be borrowing to pay dividends. In these two cases, the dividends are at a relatively greater risk of being cut.

Agriculture dividend stocks do not have their own benchmark index, but they are broadly represented by the VanEck Agribusiness ETF (MOO). MOO has outperformed the broader equity market. The index has provided a total return of -3.5% over the past year, above the Russell 1000's total return of -13.1%. These market performance numbers and all statistics below are as of Sept. 15, 2022.

Forward dividend yield: 16.26%

Payout ratio: 42.09%

Price: $125.93

Market cap: $1.3 billion

1-year total return: 148.2%

CVR Partners is a company that manufactures and markets nitrogen fertilizer products, which are used to increase the quality and yield of crops. It sells its products on a wholesale basis. CVR Partners' operations include an ammonia unit, a urea ammonium nitrate unit, and a gasifier complex. CVR's latest cash distribution of $10.05 per common unit was paid on Aug. 22, 2022.



Forward dividend yield: 8.83%

Payout ratio: 38.23%

Price: $8.45

Market cap: $10.9 billion

1-year total return: 26.0%

ICL Group is an Israel-based specialty minerals and chemicals company. It produces a variety of fertilizer products, salts, flame retardants, food additives, and ingredients for personal care products.



Forward dividend yield: 2.74%

Payout ratio: 18.39%

Price: $91.20

Market cap: $13.9 billion

1-year total return: 14.9%

Bunge is a global agribusiness and food company. It supplies and transports agricultural commodities, including sugar, ethanol, wheat, and corn. The company also processes oilseeds and grains. Bunge announced on Aug. 11 a quarterly cash dividend of $0.625 per common share. The dividend is payable on Dec. 2 to shareholders as of Nov. 18, 2022.

Forward dividend yield: 2.55%

Payout ratio: 16.03%

Price: $72.10

Market cap: $25.9 billion

1-year total return: -3.3%

Tyson Foods produces a range of frozen and refrigerated beef, pork, chicken, and other food products. The company's operations include breeding stock, contract farmers, feed production, processing, marketing, and transportation. On Aug. 11, Tyson announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share on Class A common stock and $0.414 per share on Class B common stock. The dividends are payable Dec. 15 to shareholders as of Dec. 1, 2022.



Forward dividend yield: 2.44%

Payout ratio: 76.82%

Price: $24.58

Market cap: $1.2 billion

1-year total return: -18.4%

Fresh Del Monte Produce is a producer and distributor of a variety of fresh produce and prepared foods worldwide. The company's offerings include bananas, pineapples, melons, and deciduous fruit, among other similar products.

The comments, opinions and analyses expressed herein are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or to adopt any investment strategy. While we believe the information provided herein is reliable, we do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. The views and strategies described on our content may not be suitable for all investors. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, all comments, opinions, and analyses contained within our content are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment, or strategy.
Who Is Jerome Kerviel?

Jerome Kerviel was a junior level derivatives trader for French securities firm Societe Generale. He was charged with losing more than 4.9 billion in company assets by conducting a series of unauthorized and false trades between 2006 and early 2008. When company managers discovered that Kerviel had conducted tens of billions of euros worth of unauthorized trades, they rushed to close out the open positions (most of which were specialized equity arbitrage trades) and contain the extent of the fraud. Several of the trades were closed out with heavy losses due to a falling market at the time of sale.

Key Takeaways Jerome Kerviel is a French rogue trader convicted of conducting false and unauthorized trades at Societe Generale.

To offset his one-sided bets with the opposite position that did not actually exist, Kerviel created fake trades in the system's computers and logs.

To conceal his success, he began creating losing trades intentionally to generate losses to offset his early gains.

Kerviel's trades resulted in losses of 4.9 billion in company assets.

Kerviel served five months in prison and was required to pay 4.9 billion in fines, which was later cut down to 1 million.

Understanding Jerome Kerviel

Jerome Kerviel was born on Jan. 11, 1977, growing up in Pont L'Abby, Brittany, France. Kerviel completed a bachelor's degree at the University of Nantes in 1999 and then a master's in finance at the University of Lyon in 2000.

Jerome Kerviel joined Societe Generale in the summer of 2000 at the age of 23. His first position at the company was in the compliance department, but in 2005 he moved to a junior trader job working with derivatives. Kerviel's role was to capitalize on pricing discrepancies between equity derivatives and the market price of stocks upon which the derivatives were based.

Understanding Derivatives

Derivatives are investment instruments that derive their value from another asset, such as the price of corn, a stock, or an index. There are many different kinds of derivatives, such as futures, options, and swaps.

To limit risk in derivative trades, a long derivative position is generally offset with a similar short position. For example, if a trader purchased Euro stock market futures hoping the market would go up, typically, this bet would be offset by shorting U.S. stock futures to profit if markets decline, as European and U.S. stocks tend to move in a similar fashion. Kerviel began making only one side of these bets.

Kerviel and Unauthorized Trades

With several years' experience in Societe Generale's back office, Kerviel was well-versed in the company's policies for approving and regulating trading among its brokers. He took advantage of this knowledge in late 2006 and early 2008 to offset his one-sided bets with the opposite position that did not actually exist by creating fake trades in the system's computers and logs, so the trades were not flagged by the bank's oversight systems.

Initially, these trades were profitable. With so much early success, Kerviel feared the bank would discover the false transactions. To conceal the activity, he began creating losing trades intentionally to generate losses to offset his early gains.

Managerial staff at Societe Generale uncovered unauthorized trading activity in January 2008 and took steps to unwind the positions created by Kerviel. When the dust settled, Kerviel's losses were estimated at 4.9 billion. Kerviel maintains that his bosses knew about his fraudulent trades but intentionally looked the other way as he was making profits for the bank. An appeals court in Versailles sided with Kerviel in 2016 and stated in a judgment that it was not "occasional negligence" but "managerial choices" that ensured Kerviel could get away with his criminal acts.

Special Considerations

There are conflicting accounts about Kerviel's talents as a trader and student. Professors at his alma mater, the University of Lyon, are reported to have said that he was a student just like any other. The former governor of the Bank of France described Kerviel as a "computer genius" but colleagues claim that he was not a star trader within their ranks.

Notably, Kerviel is not believed to have profited personally from his reckless trading, though he now falls into the infamous group of rogue traders that have collectively lost their employers billions of dollars through risky and unauthorized trading activity.

While Kerviel's case was being considered, he made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome from Paris to meet the Pope. Together they discussed the problems of capitalism.

Kerviel was convicted of breach of trust and other charges in the French court in 2010. He was sentenced to at least three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of 4.9 billion. He served five months in prison in 2014 before being released. His fine amount was also reduced to 1 million in 2016.

Jerome Kerviel FAQs

What Does Rogue Trader Mean?

A rogue trader is one who trades on behalf of others; clients or a company, and does so in a reckless manner, often flouting company policy and risk management procedures. The actions a rogue trader takes are usually on a speculative basis involving high-risk securities and significant amounts of capital.

What Is Jerome Kerviel's Net Worth?

Jerome Kerviel does not have a positive net worth. After his sentence, he owed 4.9 billion but this amount was cut to 1 million in 2016. Therefore, he has a negative net worth of approximately 1 million euros.

What Does Jerome Kerviel Do Now?

Jerome Kerviel is currently working as an IT consultant at Lemaire Consultants.

Is Societe Generale Still In Business?

Yes, Societe Generale is still in business. It is a global financial firm with offices all over the world. It is headquartered in Paris. The company has extensive retail banking services, along with sales and trading and investment banking.

The Bottom Line

Jerome Kerviel was a trader for the French investment bank, Societe Generale, where he made rogue trades using derivatives. His trades resulted in losses of 4.9 billion for the bank. He was sentenced to three years in prison, serving only five months, and was ordered to pay fines totaling 4.9 billion but that was later reduced to 1 million.
Pro-life Coalition to Give 100K Signatures Backing Daleiden to Harris County District Attorney

Petition signers demanding DA drop charges against pro-life whistleblowers from the Center for Medical Progress



Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com



HOUSTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- More than 100,000 people who signed a LifeSite petition backing David Daleiden will have their voices heard at the Harris County District Attorney's office after a pro-life coalition's press conference on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Central Time.

Press Conference details:



Address: Harris County District Attorney's office - 1201 Franklin Street, Houston, TX



Date: Thursday, February 4, 2016



Time: 11 a.m. Central Time



Purpose: Urge District Attorney Devon Anderson to drop charges against pro-life activists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt - and reopen an investigation into Planned Parenthood



Confirmed speakers: LifeSite Managing Editor John Jalsevac, Christian Defense Coalition's Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Texas Right to Life Senior Legislative Associate Emily Horne, and Operation Rescue Senior Vice President Cheryl Sullenger



Possible speakers: Pro-life attorneys, Pastors, and representatives for Members of Congress

"Petition signers are urging District Attorney Anderson to reverse the miscarriage of justice that last week indicted two pro-life investigators and let Planned Parenthood walk scot-free," said LifeSite Managing Editor John Jalsevac, who will speak at the press conference and deliver the petitions to Anderson's office.



"This is no small issue. Planned Parenthood kills children and harms mothers every day, often illegally, yet they have not been held accountable for their violations of both law and human decency."



Christian Defense Coalition president Reverend Patrick Mahoney likewise urged Anderson to reverse the grand jury's indictment. "The tactics of David and Sandra are those used by journalists every day," said Mahoney. "Yet rather than stop the destruction and exploitation of innocent human life, the grand jury targeted them for engaging in this most important of work - exposing those who profit from the violence of abortion and the diminishing of women."



Petition signers have urged District Attorney Devon Anderson to override a grand jury's indictment of Daleiden and his compatriot Sandra Merritt. The pro-life investigators were charged with offering to purchase fetal parts and using fake identifications as part of their work to expose Planned Parenthood's use of illegal abortions to illegally profit off of the sales of fetal organs and other body parts.



Joining Jalsevac and Mahoney on Thursday will be Texas Right to Life and Operation Rescue, as well as possibly representatives of several Members of Congress and pro-life attorneys.



"While indictment is not indicative of guilt, we urge District Attorney Anderson to drop all charges against David and Sandra, and turn her attention to the lawbreakers of Planned Parenthood who commit injustices against unborn Texas children every day," said Texas Right to Life Senior Legislative Associate Emily Horne.



Operation Rescue's Cheryl Sullenger said that the indictment of Daleiden and Merritt should lead to Anderson's resignation. "In light of this latest outrage, District Attorney Anderson must resign her position. Operation Rescue has uncovered information showing one of Anderson's biggest donors is pro-abortion lawyer Chip Lewis, who represents a corrupt late-term abortionist," said Sullenger. "A special investigator should also be appointed to once again investigate Planned Parenthood, which we now know from evidence uncovered by Operation Rescue is unquestionably making illegal profits from the sale of fetal baby parts."



About Operation Rescue

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Click here to support Operation Rescue.
(Note: The author of this fundamental analysis is a financial writer and portfolio manager.)

Johnson and Johnsons (JNJ) stock has been on a hot streak since late May with the shares rising by almost 16%. Options traders and technical analysis suggest the stock could continue to increase over the coming months by as much as 7%. Should that happen, it would amount to a surge in the shares of almost 24% since the May lows.

Part of the reason investors are growing more bullish on the stock is its attractive valuation and robust growth forecast in 2018. (See: Johnson & Johnson's Breakout May Boost Stock 11%.)

JNJ data by YCharts

Trending Higher

The technical chart suggests the stock can rise to around a price of $148. That is back to the highs in late January. The stock is now resting above an uptrend at $137 while also trading above a technical support level around that same price. Should the stock continue to rise along its uptrend, it should have a clear path to continue to rise to $148.50 an increase of about 7.3% from its current price of around $138.50

The relative strength index has been trending higher in recent months. It suggests that bullish momentum is continuing to move into the stock.

Bullish Bets

Options traders are betting the stock will rise by about 4% by the middle of January. The number of bets the stock increases outweighs the bets the shares will fall by over 2 to 1. There are about 6,600 open calls at the $140 strike price, and a buyer of those calls would need the stock to rise to at least $144 to earn a profit if holding the calls until expiration.

Slowing Growth

Fundamental Chart data by YCharts

One reason for the optimism in the stock is that analysts see earnings rising by over 11% in 2018 while revenue is forecast to grow by over 6%

The bad news is that analysts are predicting earnings growth to slow in 2019 to just 6% on revenue growth of less than 3%. It leaves the stock trading with a 2019 PE ratio of about 16 which is almost three times the stocks 2019 earnings growth rate giving it a PEG ratio of 2.7. However, the stock has traded with a one-year forward PE ratio between 14 and 18 since the start of 2015 putting its current valuation right in the middle of that range. (See: Why J&Js Fallen Stock Is Still Too Pricey.)

The short-term outlook suggests the stock can continue to rise given an attractive valuation and strong 2018 growth. But slowing growth in 2019 poses as a longer-term problem.

Michael Kramer is the Founder of Mott Capital Management LLC, a registered investment adviser, and the manager of the company's actively managed, long-only Thematic Growth Portfolio. Kramer typically buys and holds stocks for a duration of three to five years. Click here for Kramer's bio and his portfolio's holdings. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Upon request, the advisor will provide a list of all recommendations made during the past twelve months. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Silver is valued both as an industrial metal and as a precious metal. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and photography. Many investors use it as a safe haven in times of economic turmoil and sometimes as a hedge against inflation. Silver mining companies are engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. These companies often mine for other metals and minerals besides silver, such as zinc, lead, copper, and gold. Silver is often a byproduct produced from mining these other metals. Some big names in the industry include Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM), Hecla Mining Co. (HL), and SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM). Silver futures rallied in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but they have drifted downward since then.

Silver stocks, represented by the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), have underperformed the broader market over the past year. SIL has provided a total return of -30.9% over the past 12 months, well below the benchmark Russell 1000's total return of -17.0%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of Sept. 29, 2022.

Here are the top three silver stocks with the best value, the fastest growth, and the best performance.

These are the silver stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows youre paying less for each dollar of profit generated.
Billionaire Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners submitted its Q4 2017 13F filings to the SEC, and now analysts are poring over the documents to find out how the billionaire investment giant moved his assets and holdings in the final months of last year.

Jana Partners ended 2017 with a total of 43 holdings as reported by its 13F, according to Nasdaq.com. Of those positions, 12 were newly added in the final quarter of the year. Sixteen positions saw an increase over the course of the fourth quarter, while 25 were decreased.

The total of 43 positions also included 14 positions which had been sold out entirely from the previous quarter. Among Rosenstein's most significant purchases for the fourth quarter were Facebook (FB), Comcast (CMCSA), and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA).

New Positions in PTC, Facebook and Comcast

Of Rosenstein's 12 new positions for Q4, the largest purchase was for software company PTC Inc. (PTC). Jana bought more than 1.4 million PTC shares over that three-month period.

Facebook was the fourth-largest new buy for Jana Partners, with a total of 473,526 shares purchased as of December 31, 2017.

Comcast followed that, as Jana amassed a stake of more than 2.1 million shares valued at $84 million. The fund bought more than $69 million in Teva stock, accounting for more than 3.5 million shares.

Teva was popular more broadly in the fourth quarter. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed holdings of more than $300 million in the pharmaceutical company, prompting a quick boost in the stock price upon the release of 13Fs. (See also: Hedge Funds Bet on Consumer Discretionary Stocks: 13F Filings.)

Largest Positions Are EQT and Zimmer

Rosenstein's largest holdings are energy company EQT Corp. (EQT), Zimmer Biomet Holdings (ZBH), and Tiffany & Co (TIF). His firm holds more than $463 million in EQT stock, over $453 million in Zimmer stock, and close to $388 million in Tiffany stock. The 12 new positions added in Q4 do not come close to topping these three leading holdings.

Jana Partners' portfolio is more than 29% weighted toward consumer cyclicals. Industrials stocks make up about one-fifth of its holdings, while energy companies account for about 13%. The total market value of Jana's holdings as of December 31, 2017 was more than $3.5 billion.

Notable sell-offs for the final quarter of 2017 include the investment company Altaba Inc. (AABA). Billionaire Barry Rosenstein sold off shares worth more than $113 million over the course of the final three months of the year, eliminating the position in the process. (See also: Citadel Advisors' Stock Holdings Rose 18.2% In 4Q: 13F.)

13F reports do not provide a full picture of a firm's holdings. Further, they are out of date by the time the reach the public, as they reflect holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
What Is a Digital Nomad?

Digital nomads are people who are location-independent and use technology to perform their job, living a nomadic lifestyle. Digital nomads work remotely, telecommuting rather than being physically present at a company's headquarters or office. The digital nomad lifestyle has been made possible through several innovations, including content management software, cheap Internet access through WiFi, smartphones, and Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) to contact clients and employers. In addition, the growth of a gig economy has played a role, too.

Key Takeaways A digital nomad refers to individuals who work remotely using information and communications technology.

A digital nomad may work out of cafes, beaches, or hotel rooms, as they are not tied down to any one location.

The 2020 economic crisis and lockdown caused a swell of remote workers, some of whom became digital nomads for the first time, opting to work in new states or countries if they could gain access.

Digital nomads may also be families who work and study on the road.

Digital nomads are not necessarily only young people. The average age, according to one survey, is 35 years old.

Understanding Digital Nomads

The term digital nomad was coined in 1997 in a book called The Digital Nomad, written by Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners. Their book prophesized the invention of a singular, all-powerful communication device that would allow employees the ability to work from anywhere, among other hypotheses.

In the 21st century, digital nomads use their skills to work via laptops, social media, and mobile phones. Digital nomads might spend a few months working from a beach community in Costa Rica and then another few months in a part-time share in London or Rome. The freedom to choose where to live and work is part of the benefit of being a digital nomad. The rise in short-term home and office shares available worldwide via online platforms means it is easier than ever to book a stay for a few days, weeks, or months.

While being a digital nomad sounds appealing, there are downsides. Although the location may be majestic, the available work may not always use your skills to the fullest or pay all that well. So, to maintain a digital nomad's lifestyle, you may actually work harder for less pay compared to a traditional office job. The rise in remote work and job opportunities has made it easier for workers to try out a digital nomad lifestyle while earning income and building a career.

However, the best way to make being a digital nomad a reality is to have a stream of passive income to supplement the contract work you'll be picking up on your travels. This removes some of the financial pressure not to spend your entire time abroad staring at your screen.

According to a 2020 Gallup poll, almost two-thirds of U.S. workers who have been working remotely during the pandemic would like to continue to do so after it ends.

Who Are the Digital Nomads?

Digital nomads tend to be younger people and can be found working in most industries in the knowledge economy: marketing, design, IT, writing, media, tutoring, and consulting. According to a 2020 study by MBO Partners, there are 10.9 million digital nomads in the U.S. alone, and 19 million more Americans reported they are considering a digital nomad lifestyle.

Digital nomads may either be remote employees or knowledge process outsourcing employees. Although most telecommuters and freelancers are technically digital nomads, the term is most often used to describe people living or traveling abroad or domestically while working. Some digital nomads have a wide range of clients and make a living through the combination of jobs, while others have formal or semi-formal agreements with clients guaranteeing a certain amount of work or billable hours.

Outsite is an online community of digital nomads that provides access to coliving/coworking, plus offers services to support remote workers. Outsite reports the average age of their members is 35 years old, and 65% of members were either single or divorced.

When Digital Nomads Settle Down

Many digital nomads eventually end uprooted to their home offices. When the wandering is over, the client portfolio a digital nomad has developed often sets up the transition to being a full-time freelancer from whatever local they choose. If a digital nomad is strategic about the location, they can leverage currency and cost of living differences to find a locale where the dollars they earn go much further, reducing the amount they need to work. Some digital nomads stay put after starting a family, and others take their families with them, joining other like-minded travelers with children.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Digital Nomad

Digital nomads are often individuals who want to have freedom and flexibility with the jobs and time to travel. Digital nomads often live a minimal existence rich in experiences versus physical objects. They get to explore new cultures by putting down temporary roots in many locations each year. Digital nomad lifestyles are not for everyone. If you can't earn enough on the road, you may find yourself broke without the money to return home.

You may have to work non-traditional hours and juggle multiple clients. Digital nomads must have access to reliable internet and work and meet deadlines in different time zones. Some digital nomads report feeling lonely on the road without family or close friends, and it may be hard to form long-term relationships. It may be expensive to buy travel health insurance, and even if medical care in some countries is cheaper than in the U.S.

Pros Freedom from traditional office settings

Opportunities to travel and learn about new cultures

Time to engage in outdoor hobbies like surfing

More control over your own time Cons Can be expensive to travel on a regular basis

You may have to work for clients in multiple time zones

Loneliness or isolation from family and friends

Must be highly organized for ultimate life/work balance on the road

Examples of Digital Nomads

In early 2020, the crisis hit, countries locked down, and many desk jobs went remote. This new breed of digital nomads was created in response to this situation. The population of digital nomads during this period rose high very quickly, with a 50% increase from 2019. However, some digital nomads found themselves competing for resources as a new increase in remote work swelled, and others were forced to relocate back home to family members as countries closed their borders to help curb the spread of the virus.

Another example of digital nomads is families living a nomadic lifestyle, while the parents work remotely and often blog or write about their adventures. Many families who opt for a digital nomad lifestyle either homeschool their children or send them to virtual classrooms.

Digital Nomads FAQs

How Much Money Can You Make as a Digital Nomad?

A digital nomad isn't a specific job that earns a salary, so what you earn as a digital nomad depends on the type of work you do, like working from home versus in an office.

According to a 2018 survey (the most recent figures as of April 2021) from FlexJobs, 18% of digital nomads report making six figures or more, and 22% make between $50,000 and $99,999. These figures show that 40% of digital nomads make $50,000 or more, but 60% make less than $50,000 a year. This indicates that a significant portion of digital nomads is making less than $50,000 a year.

Which Digital Nomad Jobs Pay the Highest?

Computer programmers who work remotely may command some of the higher salaries based on figures from ZipRecruiter. But how much you make as a digital nomad depends on several factors, including if you have a full-time remote job or if you are a freelancer.

What Are the Best Websites for Digital Nomads Looking for Work?

There are dozens of websites for finding remote work. We Work Remotely, Flex Jobs, LinkedIn, and Stack Overflow is great for web developers and IT professionals.

How Many Digital Nomads Are There in the United States?

While it may be difficult to count every single remote worker living a digital nomad lifestyle, according to MBO Partners, there are approximately 10.9 million digital workers in the U.S., as of 2020, the most recent statistics available.

How Many Digital Nomads Are There in the World?

Too many count, but the figure is most likely in the millions. One company's research suggests there are 4.8 million global digital nomads, and that 17 million workers dream of going nomadic in the future.

The Bottom Line

As more jobs can be done remotely, living a digital nomadic lifestyle may likely continue to grow. The choice to make your own hours, have variety in your work environments and give up on commuting while traveling the world are just a few reasons for becoming a digital nomad. However, being a successful digital nomad takes hard work, planning, plus budgeting and networking skills.
How safe is it to travel in Thailand? It depends on whom you ask, what you plan to do when you get there and the kinds of precautions youre willing to take while you travel. Some of the advice that you would give to a friend traveling in any U.S. city (including yours) would be the same advice you would follow when traveling around Thailand.

As is so often the case, some of your biggest fearsthe threat of terrorism, for instance, or street crimemight be greater than your fear of crossing the road when the latter, statistically, would be a much more realistic threat.

Key Takeaways Regularly monitor the State Departments website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution.

Pedestrians don't have the right of wayon busy intersectionswithout traffic lights, traffic is often controlled by the traffic police.

Thailand has lots of fun activities to offer apart from spending lazy days on the beach.

It's a serious offense to defame, insult, threaten or defile any image of the Thai royal family.

Thailand will be safe as long as you exercise the kinds of cautions that are necessary anywhere in the world.

The Department of State is one of the best and most thorough sources of information on how safe it is to travel to Thailand. It issues Travel Alerts and Travel Warnings for the parts of the world that pose any perceived threat to citizens traveling there. Travel Alerts are meant for short term threats such as demonstrations or health-related events; Travel Warnings are for more serious threats such as terrorist attacks or civil wars.

Since October 7, 2014, there have been no Travel Alerts or Warnings issued for Thailand. However, on August 11 and 12, 2016, multiple bombing incidents occurred in a number of Thai locations, including Hua Hin, Phang Nga, Trang, Surat Thani, and Phuket. Thai authorities reported at least four deaths and 37 injuries.

Click here for the U.S. Embassy and Consulate's warning. Its advice for residents and travelers: "Regularly monitor the State Departments website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for Thailand."

For further in-country help: "The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy is located at 95 Wireless Road in Bangkok, and can be reached by calling +66-2-205-4049, or by emailing acsbkk@state.gov. The Embassys after-hours emergency telephone number is +66-2-205-4000. You can also follow us on Twitter @acsbkk."

The last bad incident, described on to the State Departments website on Thailand, was an August 2015 explosion that took place at a crowded intersection in Bangkok that killed 20 people and injured more than 20, prompting the Department to post that it is concerned that there is a continued risk of terrorism in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand.

The same post says that the U.S. Embassy prohibits its personnel from traveling to the far south of Thailandspecifically, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala Provinceswithout prior approval, and Embassy personnel may go there only on work-essential travel.

if you want to hunt around for cheap goodies stick to the markets or bargain shopping malls such as MBK and avoid the brand names.

Some First-Hand Observations

Amy Rinehart, a 28-year-old American who lived and worked in Bangkok for two years and returned home just last month, says that she felt absolutely safe on the streets of that country wherever she went  to the mountains in the north, the beautiful beaches in the south and even in the organized chaos that is the capital city of Bangkok.

Just after Rinehart arrived, the military staged a coup in Thailand. She says that she hardly noticed: In one part of Bangkok, there were military police everywhere; two stops away on the Skytrain you wouldnt know anything was going on. The Thais are used to coups.

And thats not just the opinion of young travelers. Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, knows the older market, specifically folks who are considering retiring in Thailand. According to Stevens, We feel very comfortable sending our readers to the parts of Thailand we recommend for retirement living. Places like Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Koh Samui and Phuket, for instance, we feel are quite safe. Thousands of expats living in Thailand are at once very happy there and indifferent to the political situation.

The advice shed give to travelers to Thailand, she says, is the same she would give to someone going to Rome: Dont stay out late in seedy parts of town, dont carry all your money and your passport on your person, etc.

Some of the more likely dangers of traveling in Thailand are the traffic, local laws that are difficult for U.S. travelers to understand and the risks inherent in the countrys many outdoor activities.

The Traffic

Pedestrians dont have the right of way in Thailand, says Rinehart, and motorcycles, the most popular means of transport, weave in and out of traffic at a dizzying rate. According to information passed on to us by Kathleen Peddicord, founder and publisher of Live and Invest Overseas, the combination of heavy traffic and inebriated drivers in some areas, like Phuket, poses a real threat. And, from a foreigners perspective," she says, the main danger is being overcharged by tuk-tuks (three-wheeled motor-powered bikes); metered taxis are a safer alternative.

Outdoor Adventures

From zip-lining to hiking, mountain biking, swimming and divingvisitors to Thailand can choose from a dizzying array of outdoor sports. Which they should, says Rinehartbut not without exercising some caution. Some of the safety features of the sponsored adventures may not be quite up to the standards that U.S. folks are used toequipment may not be as safe, first aid capabilities may not be all that great. Just do a little digging before you sign on, she says.

Watch What You Say About the Royal Family

For travelers from the U.S. who are used to the First Amendment guarantees of this country, it is difficult to comprehend how dire the results can be if you are accused by a Thai court of saying something that insults the royal family. Not long ago, a man was sentenced by the military junta to 30 years in prison for insulting the Kings dog.

The Bottom Line

Be especially alert and careful now, but the odds are that your trip to Thailand will be safe as long as you exercise the kinds of cautions that are necessary anywhere in the world. Heed the warnings of the U.S. Department of State.

Sign up with the Departments Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that the Embassy or nearest consulate knows where to send you up-to-the-minute safety reports for Thailand, how to contact you if necessary and so that it can help your family and friends get in touch with you in case of an emergency.

Thailand has a lot to offer travelers  no matter your budget. You can backpack Thailand here on a limited budget or you can live the luxurious travel life in fancy resorts on the beach.


The Northern Ireland Executive must be fully confident that nuclear warfare is not going to break out any time soon they have made the decision to sell off the province's sole nuclear bunker. Havent they heard that Trump could be President?

Built to house up to 235 people, the 3.74-acre, heavily-fortified site on the outskirts of Ballymena, Co. Antrim, is now up for sale for just $830,000 (575,000), available to any concerned citizen  with the monetary means  looking for an underground safe haven in the event of nuclear fallout.

The bunker is in the Woodside Road industrial estate and is officially known as the Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ). It was commissioned by the government in the latter years of the Cold War and construction began on the mainly underground site in 1987.

Read more: Amazing tale of the Irish nun who survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

The very existence of the bunker did not become public knowledge until 2007 when the BBC revealed the site in a report after submitting a Freedom of Information request.

It has been kept in good working order, however, and comes ready to host the lucky 235 chosen to reside there in the event of nuclear catastrophe. It contains dormitories, kitchen facilities, a television studio, meeting rooms, decontamination chambers, and it is also well stocked with canned foods.

The Ballymena Bunker is completely hidden with a grass roof so if youre looking to get away from it all with a trip to Ireland, this would definitely be the perfect place to ensure that youre not disturbed.

There are just three ways into the space through massive interlocking double blast doors surrounded by walls that are three feet thick in concrete and reinforced with steel. Needless to say there is no cellphone signal once inside.

The bunker is currently owned by the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland, who have decided to make a bit of money and sell it to anybody willing to take it off their hands.

A year after the site was revealed by the BBC, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) showed their concern at the people who would be carted into the bunker in the event of a disaster, questioning Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness about an alleged list of the chosen people.

McGuinness told the SDLP he was not aware of a list and hoped that he was not on it. If such a list existed, it would be interesting to read who the government felt was important enough in Northern Ireland to save.

Although the bunker is not the only nuclear monitoring post constructed by the UK government since the height of the Cold War, it is one of the last to be built and the most technologically advanced. Two others were planned for Craigavon and Omagh but were never built.

The property agent presiding over the sale, Lambert Smith Hampton, stated that the Ballymena bunker was "believed to be one of the last and most technically advanced buildings of its kind ever built in the UK".

"I was surprised to know that we even had a nuclear bunker in Northern Ireland," Andrew Fraser of Lambert Smith Hampton told the Belfast Telegraph.

"It was fascinating walking around and seeing all the fixtures and fittings. I didn't feel at all claustrophobic, but if you were inside for a long time, during an emergency, some people might feel that way."

"The bunker is in a very good state of repair and has been well maintained over the years. It has everything that would be needed in a state of emergency."

Some suggestions for possible future uses for the bunker include tourism as a unique (and slightly creepy) guest house, a museum about the Cold War, for media purposes, or simply for storage purposes.

"There are some bunkers in England and Scotland which have been turned into museums," said Fraser.

"The Ballymena bunker would likely be suitable for something like this. It could be used for secure data or document storage. It's quite large, at 46,000 sq ft, and occupies a self-contained site. Security could be racked up if needed."

It could, of course, be simply bought as a home.

"It certainly could be used as a house," continued Fraser, "although it would be the most secure house in the world.

"I'm not sure who would want to live underground, but the property is open to any individual's interpretation, as weird and wacky as they like, subject to planning, of course."

Who would you put on a list of people taken into the Ballymena Bunker? Leave us your suggestions in the comments section, below.
New CMP Video Details How Planned Parenthood Pads Invoices for Profit Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com



HOUSTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Center for Medical Progress has released a new video detailing how Planned Parenthood used bogus line-item entries to hide profits from the sale of aborted baby remains.



The video focuses on invoices obtained by Operation Rescue's Texas attorney Briscoe Cain through Freedom of Information Act requests and connects the dots to Planned Parenthood's duplicitous book-keeping scheme with clips from the CMP's undercover investigation at the Houston Planned Parenthood, one of the largest volume late-term abortion facilities in the country.



"The invoices clearly show how Planned Parenthood padded invoices in such a way as to hide the fact they were making illegal profits," said Operation Rescue Senior Vice President Cheryl Sullenger. "This is not only hard evidence that Planned Parenthood broke the law, but also shows that The Harris County grand jury indicted the wrong people."



A Harris County Grand Jury recently indicted CMP leader David Daleiden and his associate, Susan Merritt, who conducted the on-site undercover sting in Houston. While the same grand jury is said to have "cleared" Planned Parenthood, Operation Rescue has uncovered evidence that bias in the office of District Attorney Devon Anderson tainted the process and turned the investigation against the whistleblowers who reported evidence of Planned Parenthood's obvious criminal conduct.



Daleiden and Merritt will turn themselves in at the Harris County Courthouse on Thursday when a press conference by national leaders will present over 100,000 signatures calling on Anderson to drop the charges against Daleiden and Merritt.



A coalition of pro-life leaders, including Sullenger of Operation Rescue, plan to present over 100,000 signatures to Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson after a press conference also Thursday morning.



Operation Rescue President Troy Newman served as a founding Board Member for the Center for Medical Progress. He, along with Daleiden and others, have been sued in a San Francisco Federal Court by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation, who are attempting to use the courts to silence the evidence against them deflect public attention from their own wrongdoing.



"We call on District Attorney Devon Anderson to resign due to her inability to conduct her duties without bias," said Sullenger. "We also call for all charges to be dropped against Daleiden and Merritt and for special prosecutors to reopen the Planned Parenthood and Karpen cases."



Houston abortionist Douglas Karpen was accused by former employees of murdering babies who were born alive during late-term abortions, but was "cleared" by another Anderson grand jury in 2013. Karpen was represented by attorney Chip Lewis, who is a personal friend of Anderson's and is her largest political donor, who recently indicated he has improper inside knowledge of both grand juries.



View the invoices



Watch the new CMP video.



About Operation Rescue

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Click here to support Operation Rescue.

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What happens when inequality, the canyon separating rich and poor, actually becomes dangerous?

Historically we usually see the rise of crowd pulling far-right populists, ideologues who point the finger of blame at vulnerable minorities, candidates who would ordinarily be laughed off the stage at any other time but this one.

That's why the inconceivable, a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz presidency, is starting to look conceivable now. And this development, if it actually happens, will almost certainly not make America great again.

Instead it will lead to an unpredictable new era of yeehaw militarism conversely tied to an era of political isolationism, with wall building and border closings. The famous beacon of freedom will become a gated community (no Mexicans, no Muslims) and the great democratic experiment will sadly conclude with a closed sign placed on the Statue of Liberty.

It could happen. It's very close to happening now.

After the financial collapse not many people know just how exposed our financial markets still are. Our too big to fail financial institutions have only gotten bigger since 2007.

Why did we allow this? Because we work longer hours for less than our parents our or grandparents. It's hard to reform an entire financial system when your own finances are perpetually on the line.

Greed, of course, is a much more powerful stimulant than common sense and it still rules our banks and money markets, which managed not to reform themselves after the banking collapse of 2007 (which, by the way, we are still paying for).

The collapse did more than just cost us financially. It shattered a crucial public trust, making way for the rise of sulfurous candidates like Trump and Cruz. We watched as financial heads walked away from the far reaching economic vandalism they had perpetuated without so much as a dressing down.

Not one CEO was forced to return so much as a single paycheck for setting off that financial bomb we're still paying for. If they lose they still get to keep their money. Heads they win, tails they win. It's everyone else who loses.

The sense of looming crisis appears to be driving voters toward more and more hardline ideological positions on the right and left, on a global scale. The need to find a scapegoat is self-evident too.

Voters under 40 in particular appear to be in a mutinous mood. For them the status quo is no longer really an option. Obamacare is only a start, and often a bad one, but college tuition is increasingly unaffordable or bankrupting them, while jobs are poorly paid, without a sustainable career path. They aren't thinking at all about a return to a Clintonian golden age that they don't even remember.

Instead they want far reaching, radical change. They want to hit the national reset button.

But the crisis in our politics has most of its roots in our unregulated financial markets. We have watched in Ireland and the United States the way gilded CEOs can make decisions that alter the life path and trajectories of individuals and nations, bringing us all untold suffering, without significant consequence to themselves.

It's the ultimate bait and switch. Politicians talk about leveling the playing field while the financial markets actually tear it to shreds. We cannot belong or find shelter in a nation where every ideal of the common good is mocked or ripped apart by predatory capitalism.

These days money travels and taxes stay at home. The global markets simply aid the highest earners in their international shell games, and they only address the rest of us when the bill for all this abuse comes due.

Our politics has been poisoned by these financial shenanigans. Profits are all, the public good is a joke.

All the old verities have been turned on their heads. Plutocrats position themselves as populists. They call for a restoration while plotting to unmuzzle the markets even more.

The historic levels of inequality we now live with didn't arise through some kind of magic. They were carefully planned for through the nonstop deregulation of the Reagan era.

But the plan was to deregulate the free market, not turn it into an unprincipled beast that devours the very capitalist system itself.

Deregulation now turns every decision into a bottom line, one that puts the interests of the shareholders and managers above all others. Everyone else gets screwed.

If that sounds familiar it's because that's what happened to our economy, our society and our politics.
The Grand Central Terminal, an architectural marvel in the heart of New York City, is celebrated its 104th birthday on February 1 2017. However if it had not been for Jackie Kennedy Onassiss efforts in 1975, the monument to human achievement in the heart of the Big Apple may not be with us today.



Building began in 1869 after Vanderbilt purchased the property. It became the largest indoor space in New York and the architecturally stunning building became a central hub of the city.

As Sam Roberts, columnist for The New York Times said, Grand Central did more than just transform New York, it became synonymous with America on the move.



However in 1968 the iconic New York building was almost demolished when plans for much needed refurbishments were blocked. The citizens began a stand against the decision.



Jackie Kennedy Onassis began her involvement with the campaign mildly at first by joining the citizens committee at the Municipal Art Society.





A colleague noted, "Jackie brought enormous visibility to the campaign...By standing up and speaking out for the terminal, she made it a success. And she made it not just a struggle involving New Yorkers, but people all over the country."

Read More: Jackie Kennedy disliked the Irish and cooking Irish stew



Jackie brought great attention to the campaign and led the fight by forming the Committee to Save Grand Central Station, and within this committee she participated in rallies at the terminal.



She and a group of campaigners also traveled to Washington, DC to bring attention to the Supreme Court Hearing.



The station was saved, refurbished and is now a celebrated tourist attraction of old New York City.



A History of Grand Central Station



1869 was the year that Grand Central first would rise when Vanderbilt purchased property between 42nd and 48th streets, Lexington and Madison Avenue to construct a new train depot and rail yard.



It was reborn in 1900 as "Grand Central Station," the depots most prominent feature was its enormous train shed. Constructed of glass and steel, the 100-foot wide by 650-foot long structure rivaled the Eiffel Tower and Crystal Palace for primacy as the most dramatic engineering achievement of the 19th century.

Grand Central Station officially opened its doors on Sunday, February 2nd 1913, with more than 150,000 people visiting the new terminal on its opening day, Grand Central had arrived and New York City would not be the same again.





In 1968 trouble began to brew for Grand Central as Penn Station filed an $8 million lawsuit against the City of New York, blocking the renovation. Jackie makes history as she rallies against changes to Grand Central. By December 1975, Central Station is named as a national historic landmark.



Grand Central, the Citys crown jewel, has become an international example of a successful urban project that gave new life to an historic building which otherwise would have been discarded and destroyed.



CBS News reports that after it was completed in 1913, the New York Times predicted the terminal would eventually handle 100 million people a year. A hundred years later, according to Roberts, that's about to happen. Eighty-two million people passed through last year and with expansion projects underway, the total is likely to reach 100 million in a couple of years.

* Originally published in Feb 2013.
Twelve Irish-Australian women were honored in Sydney last Friday for their achievements in politics and the trade union movement in the first ever Brigid Awards.

Winners of this years awards include Susan Ryan, former Australian senator and the countrys first age discrimination commissioner; Ursula Stephens, Wicklow-born former Australian senator and president of the New South Wales Labor Party; and Karen McKeown, mayor of Penrith, the Irish Times reports.

This is the first year the awards ceremony has been held. The event is named after St Brigid, whose feast day falls on Feb. 1 and who represents strong, independent women.

The Irish Friends of Labor, the group organizing the event, said that next year the award will be broadened out to include Irish-Australian women active in sports, business and the arts.

Women of Irish heritage have contributed enormously to making Australia what it is today. These awards are about recognizing that work but it is also about encouraging a new generation of women to participate and contribute, said Senator Deborah ONeill, patron of the Irish Friends of Labor.

The Irish Times reports that money raised from the event will go towards supporting women candidates running for the Australian Labor Party during the upcoming general election, which must be held in or before January 2017.

Here are this years winners:

The Hon Susan Ryan, Age Discrimination Commissioner and former Australian Labor Party senator

Dr Tricia Marie Kavanagh, former deputy president of the Industrial Relations Commission

Ursula Stephens, former member of the Australian Senate, former president of the NSW Australian Labor Party

Kayee Griffin, former member of NSW parliament upper house

Siobhan Armson-Graham, Young Labor activist

Jude Cooke, Blue Mountains trade union activist

Anne Faraday, Goulburn Australian Labor Party activist

Dee Madigan, Creative Director of the 2013 Federal Australian Labor Party and 2015 Queensland campaigns

Karen McKeown, Mayor of Penrith

Tara Moriarty, secretary of the Liquor & Hospitality Division of United Voice NSW and senior vice president of the NSW Australian Labor Party

Patricia Okon, Order of Australia recipient; longstanding community and Australian Labor Party activist

Noreen Solomon, longstanding Australian Labor Party activist and candidate.
Us Irish don't have to deal with snakes anymore and we've always believed that's down to St. Patrick, our patron saint... or is it?!

Legend tells it that in addition to introducing Christianity to Ireland, St. Patrick banished all the snakes from the Emerald Isle, chasing them into the sea from atop a cliff where he had undertaken a 40-day fast.

As beloved as this element of St. Patricks story may be, a brief scientific inquiry and look back through history  such as the one National Geographic conducted in 2014  reveals that while St. Patrick did a great many things, sending snakes slithering away from Ireland was not one of them.

Read more The best stories from Irish mythology

Snakes never came to Ireland

The truth is that there were never any snakes in Ireland to begin with.

There are no signs of snakes in Irelands fossil record. In fact, its likely that for millennia there werent any snakes in either Ireland or Britain, though Britain eventually gained three species of snakes: the Grass Snake, the Adder Snake, and the Smooth Snake.

So, how did that happen?

During the Ice Age, Ireland and England were too frigid to be suitable habitats for cold-blooded reptiles such as snakes. But then, 10,000 years ago, when the glaciers shifted and land emerges connecting Europe, England, and Ireland, allowing for migration. Animals that did make it to Ireland during this time period included brown bears, lynx, and wild boars.

As Popular Science noted, when the glaciers began melting, the land between Ireland and England was covered over 8,500 years ago, but the land between Britain and Europe went underwater 6,500 years ago, allowing more time for snakes to slither over.

Ireland is one of many countries where there are no snakes

Ireland is not the only place in the world without snakes  there are no native species of snakes to be found in Iceland, Greenland, Hawaii, New Zealand, parts of Canada, northern Russia, or, not surprisingly, Antarctica . . . meaning St. Patrick would have been a very busy fellow.

Rather, it seems that the snakes have served as an allegory for paganism, which St. Patrick banished when he brought the Catholic religion to Irelands shores.

"At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland. [There was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish," Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, told National Geographic.

Or, as Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, told the magazine, There are no snakes in Ireland for the simple reason they couldn't get there because the climate wasn't favorable for them to be there."

The only courageous reptile that did make it all the way to and populate Ireland was the common lizard. The Slow Worm, a non-native species of lizard that does not have legs, is often mistaken for a snake even though it was not one.

Interestingly, during the Celtic Tiger, owning exotic snakes became something of a status symbol in Ireland. But when the Irish economy collapsed, many snakes wound up abandoned due to the high cost of care.

For St. Patricks Day 2013, the New York Times reported on the phenomenon and talked to Kevin Cunningham, founder of the National Exotic Animal Sanctuary, which took in many abandoned snakes.

He said that he believes Irish people have an inbred fear of snakes.

He added: We have it deep inbred in us that theyre evil and nasty and tempted Eve and were led out of Ireland.

One six-foot snake ended up with us recently after its owner lost his job and had to move in with his parents.

Being a good Irish mother, she said, Of course Ill take you back home  but Im not taking your boa constrictor.'

* Originally published in February 2015.
Emily Dickinson's poetic prowess has been understood as the product of her reclusive lifestyle for the past one hundred and fifty years. Dickinson witnessed the shaping of a country during the turmoil of the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln. But, unlike her contemporary Walt Whitman, who became the mouthpiece for a kinetic city overflowing with new immigrant life, Dickinson wrote poems that reflected her own circumstances, the solitary spaces of her own mind.

The portrayal of Emily Dickinson in most American classrooms is a grim one  the anti-social Dickinson sat in her room for most of her life, writing poems with strange grammatical impulses and macabre subject matter seemingly from another world.

The sheer volume of her work attests to this theory. Over the course of her lifetime Dickinson wrote almost 2,000 poems and countless letters. The perception of Emily Dickinson as the lone literary wolf of Amherst has gone unchallenged. Dickinson has no living descendants and her place in the canon of New England literature has long been cemented.

What new research could possibly rock Dickinson scholarship after practically every stone of her life had been turned? It was a small fact that seemingly had no immediate connection to Dickinsons poetry: Emily Dickinson shared her kitchen with an Irish immigrant for the last 17 years of her life.

Dickinson wrote on whatever she could  a chocolate wrapper, old shopping lists  all while baking for her familys household alongside Tipperary-born Margaret Maher. That relationship was all but forgotten until Aife Murray came across a picture in the library that inspired over ten years of art, poetry, education and research.

In her 2010 book "Maid as Muse," Murray explores the relationship between Emily Dickinson and her Irish servants, focusing on the Maher and Kelley families. Murray not only proves that their mere presence helped increase Dickinsons writing by relieving her of household work, but that they may even have inspired some of her unusual syntax through exposure to the Hiberno-English dialect.

Read more: The genius of William Butler Yeats and his inspiring muses

Both the Maher and Kelley families were post-Famine immigrants, arriving in the U.S. around 1854-55. Both were from Slievenamon (in Irish, Sliabh na mBan, meaning the mountain of the women) in South Tipperary, which was bilingual until very late in the 19th century. Murray describes the Mahers as moving up in the world: The poorest people couldnt get beyond New York and the neighborhoods near the docks in Boston, but [the Mahers] made it all the way to Amherst. After the Famine, the families who did survive made economic gains, and the Mahers did. They were definitely on firmer ground right before they emigrated.

The Kelleys were less well off and did a chain migration, sending members of the family over one by one as they raised the money. Though they moved up and down the East Coast, both families ended up in Amherst, MA where many other Irish had found work.

Over the years, Dickinson had employed several Irish servants, beginning in 1851 with Rosina Mack. Next came Margaret OBrien, a maid who stayed with the Dickinson household until 1865. Searching for someone with a mediating effect on her family life and writing, Dickinson finally employed Margaret Maher, whose arrival changed the course of Dickinsons writing. Not only did Dickinson write in the kitchen while cooking with Maher, she trusted her with her poems.

Dickinson starts storing her poems in her maids trunk, the one she brought over from Ireland. Its still in the family, says Murray. That always gets Irish people going Whoa! and I think Dickinson kind of knew it. The one [trunk] that comes bobbing across the seashe didnt travel broadly but decided to put the poems in the trunk that had been across the Atlantic and up and down the eastern seaboard with Margaret Maher.

They also shared writing to some degree  Maher came from a locus of literary interest and the home most famously of writer Charles Kickham in South Tipperary and spent her life around people who wrote. Although she wrote sparingly, Margaret also wrote creatively, and Dickinson would often respond to these short letters or poems with her own poetry, creating a bond of words between the two women.

Shockingly, Dickinson told Maher to destroy the poems upon her death. While her sister Lavinia burned Dickinsons correspondence after she died, Margaret found that she could not bring herself to destroy Dickinsons lifetime of work. In tears, she brought the poems to Dickinsons brother, who agreed that they should be saved. Maher also saved one of the few pictures we have of Emily Dickinson today, a daguerreotype that the family had discarded earlier.

Murray describes these borderline miraculous events as material, focusing instead on the creative impact Maher and the other servants may have had on Dickinson. Dickinson was very attuned to languages, says Murray. Not just Irish but a lot of them. When she was a teen, she was really into Robert Burns  he uses a lot of that Lowlands Scottish vernacular as part of his poetry. She adores him  she goes around the house talking this way. So shes really into that and I like to think of this in terms of continuity. As she gets older and more into her vocation as a writer in the later 1860s, shes not associating with her peers  the white wealthy  shes associating with the people in the kitchen, and more and more of them are Irish.

The most potent draw in the kitchen is Margaret Maher, who Murray describes as quite a force. While we cannot draw definite conclusions about the influence of Irish language on Dickinsons writing, Murray points out that Maher was possibly bilingual (her letters seem to suggest this with her overuse of the dative case) and that Hiberno-English made its way into some of Dickinsons poems.

As an example, Murray points to the use of himself in Silence is all we dread:

Silence is all we dread.

Theres ransom in a Voice

But Silence is Infinity.

Himself have not a face.

Murray also considers Dickinsons attitude towards death, which was macabre compared to the consolation poetry of the time. When I think of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died I think of the whole Irish sense of the grotesque with death. I dont think she was ever in a wake house but I think its like the Irish take on death  laughing death down. She may have arrived on it independently but there is a similarity, Murray says. Upon her death, rather than having her family and close friends as pallbearers, Dickinson planned for six Irishmen  all former employees  to carry her casket. They carried her out the back door of the Dickinson residence, used primarily by the employees of the household.

For Irish Americans, Murrays research for "Maid as Muse" reveals yet another exciting example of the incalculable influence that Famine and post-Famine immigrants had on the shaping of American literature, history and culture. For everyone who has ever read a Dickinson poem, this work, in the words of Dickinson scholar Martha Nell Smith, represents a sea change. Not only will researchers approach their understanding of Dickinson in a different way, museums are now changing their exhibits to reflect new discoveries.

Murray is a third-generation Irish American on both sides (her fathers grandparents are from Cork), and "Maid as Muse" gave her the opportunity to insert herself into a literary lineage that is well-worn but still open to interpretation. More people...can relate to the servants because thats mostly our story, Murray says. Its the immigrant story. So Dickinson becomes more human; she becomes more fully realized.

Keep up-to-date with IrishCentral's news on books here

*This article originally appeared in sister publication Irish America magazine in 2010. For more stories from their archives, click here.
By Juno McEnroe

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has refused to comment on reports that Republican Thomas Slab Murphy ordered the killing of "many people".

Mr Adams is also refusing to say whether his partys manifesto will include calls for the special criminal court to be abolished.

The party leader was speaking in Dublin, after February 26 was officially announced as the general election date by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

A British soldier told a BBC spotlight programme this week that Mr Murphy was a mass murderer who had ordered the killing of many people.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who had served in the North, said soldiers in Armagh were very familiar with Mr Murphy and an IRA unit he had led. He claimed Mr Murphy had been head of the Provisional IRA in South Armagh.

The soldier said Mr Murphy was not necessarily the trigger man but that he had sent those people out to commit murder on behalf of the IRA.

"I think Thomas Murphy will be remembered and I certainly will remember him for being a mass murderer, he killed and ordered the killing of many people," the soldier told the BBC programme.

Mr Murphy was convicted of nine counts of tax late last year. He is now facing up to five years in prison and will be sentenced by the special criminal court in a few weeks time.

Mr Adams yesterday refused to comment on the BBC programme. He also said he had not seen it.

Mr Adams has previously said that Mr Murphy is a good Republican.

The party leader said he had nothing to say about the allegations, other than Mr Murphy was not standing in the general election.

Mr Adams said the Sinn Fein manifesto would be signed off on later today by the party. He has refused to say if the party will call for the special criminal court-which Sinn Fein opposes-to be abolished.
Malteser International Americas Announces Second Annual 'Make Lent Count' Campaign to Help Feed the Less Fortunate



CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2016 /



"Lent is a time for giving and not just giving up. Fasting encourages to easily put ourselves and our needs aside for a bit so that we can walk in the shoes of our fellow human beings," said Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas, "The selflessness of it helps individuals to grow, and brings together families and communities. Often, this makes us realize more acutely the problems faced by others in the Americas and around the globe."



HOW IT WORKS



For the seven Fridays leading up to Easter (beginning February 10), Malteser International Americas is encouraging all supporters, friends and colleagues to help "Make Lent Count" by fasting from their usual lunch or dinner and instead eating a simple bowl of rice or vegetable soup instead, and donating the money saved to Malteser International's food and nutrition projects. Malteser International Americas is looking for local organizations which would be interested in participating to contact



Malteser International Americas is asking all who are fasting to visit



Each of the weeks of Lent will feature a different nutrition project in one of the countries in which Malteser International Americas is active. The campaign will again feature the social media hashtag #MakeLentCount to connect supporters and encourage them to share about their contributions from around the world.



Malteser International Americas is a global humanitarian organization with a mission of supporting the vulnerable and marginalized so that they may live a healthy life with dignity. Through our U.S. headquarters, Malteser International Americas provides immediate disaster response and preparedness as well as vital healthcare and nutrition to vulnerable people in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.



We are part of Malteser International, the humanitarian relief agency of the Order of Malta. With more than 100 projects annually in some 25 countries worldwide, we provide emergency relief after disasters and support recovery efforts, bridging the gap between humanitarian aid and sustainable development. For nearly 60 years, we have been standing by those affected by poverty, disease, conflict and disaster.

Share Tweet Contact: Kevin Lampe, 312-617-7280CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Building on the success of their inaugural 2015 campaign to remind believers that Lent is a time for giving, not just giving things up, Malteser International Americas is again going to help "Make Lent Count" and enable friends and supporters to help feed those who are struggling to find their meal, or those who do without food altogether."Lent is a time for giving and not just giving up. Fasting encourages to easily put ourselves and our needs aside for a bit so that we can walk in the shoes of our fellow human beings," said Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas, "The selflessness of it helps individuals to grow, and brings together families and communities. Often, this makes us realize more acutely the problems faced by others in the Americas and around the globe."HOW IT WORKSFor the seven Fridays leading up to Easter (beginning February 10), Malteser International Americas is encouraging all supporters, friends and colleagues to help "Make Lent Count" by fasting from their usual lunch or dinner and instead eating a simple bowl of rice or vegetable soup instead, and donating the money saved to Malteser International's food and nutrition projects. Malteser International Americas is looking for local organizations which would be interested in participating to contact Julie.Angulo@malteser-international.org Malteser International Americas is asking all who are fasting to visit www.orderofmaltarelief.org and make their donation. Exchanging one $10 meal is enough to feed a child in Peru for one month. Eating simply for the seven weeks of Lent results in enough to feed a family for two months.Each of the weeks of Lent will feature a different nutrition project in one of the countries in which Malteser International Americas is active. The campaign will again feature the social media hashtag #MakeLentCount to connect supporters and encourage them to share about their contributions from around the world.Malteser International Americas is a global humanitarian organization with a mission of supporting the vulnerable and marginalized so that they may live a healthy life with dignity. Through our U.S. headquarters, Malteser International Americas provides immediate disaster response and preparedness as well as vital healthcare and nutrition to vulnerable people in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.We are part of Malteser International, the humanitarian relief agency of the Order of Malta. With more than 100 projects annually in some 25 countries worldwide, we provide emergency relief after disasters and support recovery efforts, bridging the gap between humanitarian aid and sustainable development. For nearly 60 years, we have been standing by those affected by poverty, disease, conflict and disaster.
An aid convoy is on its way to the besieged Syrian town of Moadamiyeh, the International Committee for the Red Cross said.

ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said 12 trucks carrying food, medicine and medical equipment are expected to be distributed to residents of the rebel-held town, south-west of Damascus, later on Wednesday.

Fourteen trucks of aid were delivered on Tuesday to al-Tal, a besieged rebel suburb of the capital, Mr Krzysiek said.

The aid delivery appears to be an attempt towards a goodwill gesture after UN-mediated indirect peace talks got off to a rocky start.

The Syrian opposition has dismissed the deliveries as too small and demanded an end to the bombardment of civilians for the Geneva talks to go forward.

Fighting between Syrian President Bashar Assads forces and those trying to topple him has intensified over the past year, and the latest attempt at UN-brokered peace talks got off to an acrimonious start in Geneva over the weekend.

Attempts to broker a ceasefire and political transition deal for Syria are further complicated by the involvement of world and regional powers facing off on opposite sides of the conflict.

The aid deliveries come as international diplomats prepare to gather in London for an annual Syria pledging conference with a record request of 5.4 billion for aid agencies for 2016.

The expectations are partly based on the reframing of the aid debate over the past year, following the chaotic migration of hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians to Europe.

The donor conference in London is co-hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations. World leaders and representatives of dozens of countries have been invited, along with officials from international organisations, aid agencies and civic groups.
The firm, which employs 2,000 workers across seven offices worldwide, has been acquired by Swiss company TE Connectivity, which specialises in connectivity and sensor technology.

Creganna Medical, which reported sales of $250m in 2015, was sold by London-based global investment firm Permira.

Creganna Medical chief executive Chip Hance lauded the success of the company over the past number of years and said he was looking forward to its next chapter.

We are pleased to be joining TE Connectivity to continue our journey to become the leading supplier of minimally invasive medical device delivery and access solutions for interventional medicine, he said.

With Permiras support, we have been able to focus our efforts on critical markets, make the necessary investments, and achieve strong results over the last few years.

"Now we are ready to take the next step in the evolution of the business.

Having been acquired by Permira in 2010, Creganna last year grew its revenue from $131m to $249m.

The acquisition of Creganna Medical is part of our well-established strategy to expand our leadership position in harsh environment applications, said TE Connectivity chief executive Tom Lynch.

TE, which has a number of Irish offices, said it expects the acquisition to boost revenue growth and EBITDA margins.

It also expects the deal to add $0.03 to TEs adjusted earnings per share in the first full fiscal year.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes, which has its EMEA headquarters in Cork, has received a $50m investment that will help continue its European expansion.

Mutual funds giant Fidelity announced the investment in the Silicon Valley-based company founded in 2008 by then-teenager Marcin Kleczynski.

This investment is very significant for growth in the enterprise market in Europe, said said Malwarebytes EMEA vice-president Anthony OMara, who added that the funding round will support its expansion via the Cork offices.

The company announced the creation of 50 new roles in Cork last year and will move into its new offices at One Albert Quay in the coming months.
This time, we cannot blame local or national politics, airport administration, or any regulatory hold-ups within Ireland.

Instead, it is patently clear that the plan by Norwegian to launch innovative flights from Cork are being banjaxed by plain old anti-competitive practices.

Norwegian Air Shuttles plight joins that of three gulf carriers  Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar.

All three bring intense competition to the marketplace and offer products and services that have been unparalleled in global commercial aviation.

Instead of embracing these new entrants to the Atlantic market, forces within the US has aggressively lobbied to keep the Gulf airline ambitions in check.

There are even calls for the gulf carriers growth to be stunted and reversed.

Nefarious arguments have been put forward to explain this resistance to competition.

The key allegation is that Gulf airlines receive huge subsidies from their home countries and this gives them an unfair advantage.

A secondary criticism is they are not unionised and this is an affront to practices within American industry.

These arguments are fatuous and risible.

A number of mega airlines in the US exist because of legislation known as Chapter 11.

That law allows companies to effectively go bust, walk away from existing employment, pension, and aircraft ownership contracts, and re-emerge free of those financial burdens to compete actively in the market.

Moreover, those Chapter 11 companies often resurface larger and in more control of key markets than was the case prior to, in reality, going bust.

The charge about non-unionised workforces is also a bit rich coming from a country that has produced a large number of globally successful companies that tend to have few unions.

A cursory glance across a wide range of US IT and other industrial businesses which employ large numbers in Ireland shows a very patchy level of union representation.

So, if whats good for the goose is good for the gander, why is America listening to voices that are effectively deploying oligopolistic tendencies?

An oligopoly is defined as a market structure in which a few firms dominate.

The US airline industry looks, smells and feels like an oligopoly after a bout of consolidation and Chapter 11 events that have created four giant carriers. These now dominate the lobbyists and powerbrokers that represent the US airline sector which, in turn, has been a vociferous critic of Gulf airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

The ultimate irony in this spat is the fact that Gulf airlines and Norwegian have ordered billions of dollars worth of Boeing equipment to compete in the market.

Boeing is a major US industrial employer yet the airlines that are based in that jurisdiction seem hell bent on stopping expansion by these key Boeing customers.

What Norwegian is trying to do in Cork is truly innovative.

It wants to deploy all new technology narrowbody Boeing 737 Max (which flew for the first time this week) on so-called thin routes such as Cork-Boston.

The Max offers efficiencies that make such a mission viable and if the concept is proven, expect flocks of Max aircraft to ply routes between Europe and the US that were not feasible before that aircraft was invented  by American engineers.

The fight that Norwegian and the Gulf airlines are undertaking reminds me of another battle in the 1970s.

Then, too, it was a new entrant who wanted to offer no frills and low fares in competition with domineering high fare incumbent carriers.

They nearly broke that new entrants resolve by using the law, politics, and short-term fare crushing to eliminate his airline.

They failed, and Herb Kelleher went on to create Southwest Airlines, one of the great successes in US airline history.

Mr Kelleher, whose family hailed from Macroom, had to dig deep to stay afloat and today his carrier operates a fleet of more than 700 aircraft.

Joe Gill is director of corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.
The draft got a largely positive response with British Prime Minister David Cameron saying he would campaign for a yes vote in the in-out referendum which could come as soon as June, while the Czech Europe minister called the draft reasonable.

A statement from the Taoiseach was non committal, saying the complex document would be studied. It would not apply to the estimated 420,000 Irish working in the UK, but would affect newcomers.

Polands Europe minister Konrad Szymansk, however, said the draft on migrant workers as a problem. We cant accept discrimination, he told media ahead of the first meeting on Friday of representatives from all the member countries.

While the draft released by European Council president Donald Tusk does not directly allow a country to ban workers from other EU countries, it will be able to do so under legislation due to be drawn up by the European Commission on labour mobility which has been held off until the deal with Britain is agreed.

The draft clearly would allow countries to make new social security rules for non national EU workers without creating unjustified discrimination to avoid or limit flows of workers of such a scale that they have negative effects for member states.

It also broadens the definition of overriding public interest that would allow a country restrict the free movement of workers. This reasons are: encouraging recruitment, reducing unemployment, protecting vulnerable workers, averting the risk of seriously undermining the sustainability of social security systems.

The draft says the Commission accepts that Britain meets these conditions and so believes that once they vote to remain in the EU, they can impose restrictions.

Britain can also restrict in-work benefits  tax reductions for the low paid  for newcomers, introducing them gradually over four years. However by the time they could so it is expected that their Universal Reform System will replace the current system.

The other three basket of issues that Mr Cameron said he wanted from his fellow EU leaders to allow him campaign for a yes vote are more technical and much of it is about clarifying existing EU treaties.

They will not require a change to the treaties, a senior EU source confirmed, but some of it at least will be added to them the next time they are revised, including a clause saying that the UK is not committed to further political integration into the European Union.

It commits to setting up a permanent review of existing EU law to see if it should be abolished on the basis that it could be better done at national level. It says that if national parliaments of at least 16 member states objects to draft legislation on this subsidiarity basis, the Council  representing member states  can reject it. It appears to bypass the European Parliament that is a co-legislator in most areas.
Heineken Ireland CEO Maggie Timoney made the comments at the annual conference of retail industry magazine Checkout in the Mansion House in Dublin.

Addressing the conference, Ms Timoney said that those in the alcohol industry are not the most beloved in the media.

It would be remiss of me to stand up here and not talk about responsibility and the responsibility we have as brewers, she said.

She said Heineken commits 10% of its media spend to the area of responsible drinking and is one of the funders of a relaunched and independently run Drink Aware campaign.

However, she said she believes a blanket ban on alcohol advertising will not work, and the industry should instead promote responsible drinking.

Im not here standing for a popularity contest, she said. I dont give a shit if you vote for me or if I get fired tomorrow from Heineken. I dont care. There is a moral obligation for the people in this room, suppliers, retailers, to do it for the right reasons so that in 15, 20 years time, the footprints in the sand will be that well have made it uncool to be drunk in Ireland.

Behaviour change is the only way to do that.

Ms Timoney cited industry partnership with government in Sweden as an example of public awareness campaigns targeting responsible drinking.

She said Heineken is to launch an advert to encourage its customers to drink less. She said that, having lived abroad for a number of years before returning to Ireland, she was shocked at the negative sentiment towards the drinks industry.

A spokesperson said the company stood by Ms Timoneys comments, and that the company wanted to ensure it had a long future by encouraging its customers to drink responsibly.

We have invested in the moderation message over the past couple of years, the spokesperson said. We have invested in our Dance More, Drink Slow and Sunrise campaigns to encourage moderate alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Action Ireland says alcohol is responsible for 88 deaths every month in Ireland, that it is a factor in half of all suicides in the country, and that 900 people in Ireland are diagnosed with alcohol-related cancers every year. The charity also says that one in four deaths of young men aged 15 to 39 in Ireland is due to alcohol.
Director general Tony OBrien was speaking during an emergency Dail Public Accounts Committee meeting in which he confirmed managers involved in what happened now hold senior child services roles.

Speaking to the cross-party group in response to the Governments decision to set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbing allegations detailed by the Irish Examiner, Mr O Brien said the HSE has failed people in its care.

He said the failure to vet the Waterford foster care home for six years, not informing the family of one woman left there the complaints involved rape, and ignoring a whistleblower letter about the case in November 2014 are missed opportunities the health service is responsible for.

He admitted the alleged Waterford abuse may be repeated elsewhere.

I would be concerned if we were to look back in time there would be cases, he told PAC member and Fine Gael TD Gabrielle McFadden. Only a fool, a complete fool, would say to you there were not cases in other parts of the country.

The HSE director general confirmed Grace  the pseudonym of the first woman left at the home until 2009, 14 years after all foster care placements were meant to end  has taken a civil action against which the HSE has no conceivable defence. He said 46 other people placed with the family between 1983 and 2013 may also take cases, which could cost millions of euro.

Mr O Brien said one, given the pseudonym Anne, was placed as part of a private agreement through her own relatives aged 12 in 1992, the same year as the first sex abuse claims were made.

At the weekend, the HSE was forced to admit Anne was not removed until October 2013, despite the fact all placements were meant to end in 1995 and that the HSE had been told Anne was still there in 2009.

Mr OBrien said that, as Anne was placed directly by her family, the HSE did not have the authority to end the placement. However, under questioning he told the committee her family was never told she was receiving care from people facing serious rape, physical and financial abuse claims, and were instead only told about unstated concerns.

Mr O Brien also said while a whistleblower letter about the lack of action over Anne was sent to the HSEs then national director for quality and patient safety Philip Crowley in November 2014, no response was given.

After HSE national social care director Pat Healy told Fine Gael TD John Deasy he first heard of the case in 2009, the TD asked Mr OBrien if anyone responsible remains.

There are people referenced in the reports who are currently in the health service or in Tusla [The Child and Family Agency], he said, explaining no one can be sacked or disciplined until the concluded Conal Devine and Resilience Ireland HSE reports are published  a move he said would be guaranteeing no one be convicted if it occurred now.
Just like in the middle of the last century, customers yesterday came and went at 112 OConnell St on the corner of Shannon St.

In the 1940s and 1950s Limericks merchants and the country gentry shopped there for the exclusive range of foods stocked by Leverett and Frye a company with about 20 stores around the country

The address is now a mens outdoor clothing and footwear outlet run by Richard and Tim Deasy from Bantry, who have the Timberland franchise. Aoife Kelleher from Shannon, who manages the store, yesterday recalled Terrys last visit to his dads old shop.

She said: Terry called in here four years ago, this very week. He just wanted to see the shop and share memories of the grocery business his father used to manage. He chatted with all of us and was so nice. He was able to tell us where the cash register was and where all the different fruit, veg and meats were located in the store.

He showed us where he sat when, as a young boy, when he called in to see his dad and might help a bit. It was very upmarket back in those days. He knew the history of the different businesses which were here after Leverett and Frye closed. Apparently he kept track of the shop after he left Limerick for Dublin when his father was made manager of all the Leverett and Frye shops around the country.

We knew from the first time we moved in here 13 years ago that Terry Wogans father had a shop here. Limerick people are very proud of him and often people came in and talked about the olden days when Mr Wogan (senior) ran the Leverett and Frye business here.
St Patricks National School in Limerick celebrated the historic occasion with a special re-enactment walk yesterday.

Dressed up in period costumes, teachers and pupils walked from the original girls primary school behind St Patricks Church on the Dublin Road, which had first opened in 1865, to the present school building, which opened exactly 100 years ago.

The Defence Forces also marked the occasion by presenting the flag and Proclamation to the school as part of the 1916 commemorations.

This exact walk was done on February 1, 1916 when teachers and pupils walked from the old school to our present school building, said principal Donal OGorman.

Its a massive day for the school. Our only disappointment: we were supposed to have a horse-drawn cart but the stormy weather unfortunately put a stop to that.

Although the National Schools Board was founded in 1831 to provide primary education in Ireland it was not until 1865 that the first national school opened in St Patricks Parish and was located to the rear of St Patricks Church.

In 1916, the teachers in the girls school included the principle Mrs Seoirse Clancy (Molly Kileen) the wife of George Clancy who was mayor of Limerick in 1921, and after whom Clancy Strand is named.

Students from St Patricks National School in Limerick who elebrated the centenary of the school yesterday by dressing up in 1916 costume and re-enacting a walk that took place a hundred years earlier from their old school building to their present dwelling on the Dublin Road. Brian Gavin/Press 22

He was shot and killed at his front door by the Black and Tans on March 7, 1921.

Our school is steeped in history. Our sixth-class teachers Sinead Clancys grand aunt Margaret Byrnes, was one of the children that transferred up from the old school on this day 100 ago so she is doing that same walk 100 years later, said Mr OGorman.

More than 400 people were invited to yesterdays event which also saw school lollipop woman Jeanette McCarthy don 1916 attire under her high-visibility jacket.

Everybody got into the spirit of the occasion and we certainly turned a few heads of motorists during the early morning school rush, said Mr OGorman.
The councils plan, adopted in March 2014, demonstrates a clear attempt to house Travellers in standard social housing, even after 14 families requested group housing and one requested a halting site.

Louths Traveller accommodation scheme has been thrown into sharp focus after 23 families were removed from a halting site by the council, citing health and safety concerns in the wake of the Carrickmines fire last year.

Recently, the council stated that a a review of the Louth Traveller Accommodation Programme would commence, with a view to providing Traveller-specific accommodation, specifically group housing.

However, as noted in the Traveller Accommodation Strategy, the council has been aware for some time that families were requesting Traveller-specific accommodation.

The document notes that in September 2013, 14 families requested group housing.

The council determined it would accommodate three families in a group housing scheme in Dundalk, through casual vacancies.

For the remaining 11, the council noted: In view of their short time living in the County Louth area and their previous experience in group housing it is not proposed at this time to make any plans to provide group housing.

The document states that apart from the families noted above, and one other family that requested halting site accommodation, some 140 Traveller families were identified as needing accommodation.

Since most Travellers in the area are waiting for social housing, it is difficult to estimate the number of families who will be allocated social housing during the lifetime of this programme, the council said in a statement.

Although significant funds are available from the Department of the Environment to help accommodate Travellers, in 2014 and 2015, Louth was not allocated any money for Traveller specific accommodation.

The previous two years it received 150,000 and 155,000. Councils are allocated money based on perceived need, which is in turn based on the councils assessment of that need, and proposals submitted to the department.

A study on Traveller housing published by National Traveller MABS in 2012, concluded that the choice by many Travellers to live a nomadic way of life is deeply hindered by the non-existence of transient sites in Ireland.

The study, An overview of housing policy for Travellers in Ireland by Elizabeth Colhoun found that legislation, including the Roads Act 1993 and Section 24 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002  which makes it illegal to trespass on land with objects, such as a caravan have a discriminatory impact on Travellers lives.
President Higgins took issue with the varied promises being made by parties to cut taxes if put elected.

In what some saw as an unprecedented intervention, he questioned whether it was possible to have a decent society and at the same time lower taxes to secure short-term benefit.

His comment came after Fine Gael promised to abolish the universal social charge for everyone, while Labour said it would remove the tax for low and middle- income earners.

Fianna Fail has promised to reduce the charge for workers, while Sinn Fein said it will ensure anyone earning under 20,000 does not pay it.

For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE

President Higgins said his comments did not pertain to any one political party. However, they were seized upon by the Social Democrats. Co-leader Roisin Shortall said her party had not promised any tax cuts ahead of the election. She said the Presidents comments reinforced her partys core message.

There is a clear choice to be made, she said. Do we want an Ireland of US-style tax cuts where vital public services are run down or do we want to take a more long-term view and construct an inclusive and fair society by investing in essential infrastructure and quality social services?

The Green Party also said Mr Higgins remarks are a reminder to voters that the election should not go to the highest bidder.

Ms Burton said that President Higgins had not crossed a constitutional line. His remarks did not amount to political intervention, she told Newstalks Lunchtime show.

For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE
The affected inmates reportedly keep their mouth shut and head down to survive in prison and fear attack if their sexual orientation is known.

The abuse, including threats of physical violence, has placed some of these inmates at risk of self-harm and suicidal tendencies.

The research, the first of its kind in Ireland, said the risks were greatest for transgender prisoners, many of whom cannot hide their identity.

It said the response of authorities to complaints from prisoners varied widely, with one inmate reporting a sustained period of further abuse after the authorities failed to act.

The report said there was some evidence prison bosses use protective segregation, involving long periods of being locked in a cell as a response to the safety needs of transgender prisoners.

The report was commissioned by the Irish Penal Reform Trust and conducted by Nicola Carr, Siobhan McAlister, and Tanya Serisier of Queens University Belfast.

We found evidence of harassment and bullying of LGBT prisoners in an Irish context, particularly in male prisons, the report said.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Carr said the research was a small-scale exploratory study and there was still no prevalence estimate on the LGBT community in Irish prisons.

She said international research suggested incarceration rates were at least comparable to the general population.

She said research documented a hyper-masculinity in prisons, often maintained through violence. She said this culture, with its stigmatisation of LGBT, was referenced by prisoners in the research study.

One inmate said LGBT people had to keep your mouth shut and your head down, while another said being gay in prison is seen as a weakness and people prey [on] that weakness.

Dr Carr said female prisoners indicated less stigmatisation, but there was still an undercurrent.

The research cited reports from oversight bodies and legal cases which provided some indication that sexual assaults occur within Irish prisons, including one case of the rape of a gay prisoner.

One unnamed criminal justice source had told researchers he suspected prison rape was a very under-recorded problem.

One inmate added: Just because you dont necessarily hear about it doesnt mean that it doesnt go on. I mean I am aware of people who were tied up and raped.

The research recommended the Irish Prison Service (IPS) develop a comprehensive plan which would ensure that the needs of LGBT prisoners are explicitly considered and addressed.

Both the researchers and Irish Penal Reform Trust executive director Deirdre Malone praised the openness of the IPS towards the study and the issue.

Fergus Black, IPS director of care, said the issue posed a challenge but, with the fall in prison numbers, the service was better prepared to respond.

iprt.ie; glen.ie; teni.ie

Prejudice in prison

When I was in prison, in relation to LGBT, if you were openly gay or you were camp or it was suspected that you were gay, you were avoided and your place was to keep your mouth shut and your head down.

Rachel, trans woman

Being gay in prison is seen as a weakness, and people prey [on] that weakness, because it singles somebody out. And that makes them a target for verbal abuse and physical abuse and emotional abuse and psychological abuse, the whole lot, right.

BrendanOh, you make a choice not to [be out], to avoid hassle.

Patrick, gay man

I dont think there is anything there for gay people because they dont know who is gay. they dont like, they need someone like, if, If another 30 people stands up and says yeah we are gay and bisexual, and they talk about it, well then you will have to bring in issues there to protect them, but because thats not there, there is no protection.

Damien, bisexual man

I put up with two years of horrific abuse while I was locked in my cell. This guy, he was outside during the day, all day, and while I was locked in my cell every day he was outside my door, [saying] you dirty steamer, you filthy faggot.

Patrick

Id be down playing snooker and people would be like, do you like playing with balls? But like an awful lot of shit you come against.

Damien

My experience of homophobic harassment and the response of management and staff has been deeply traumatising, dehumanising and degrading.

Patrick

[Theres] a lot of name calling. In the last week or two there is one particular prisoner who...called me the most horrendous names. And its constant.

CJ07, prison officer
It found that distress caused by domestic violence showed itself in infants and toddlers as excessive irritability, a fear of being alone, sleep disturbances, and regressed behaviour.

A seminar on the issue also heard from one contributor who was aware of a case in past years involving a child who was hung from a nail on a wall by her father to watch while he physically abused her mother.

In research entitled The Impact of Exposure to Domestic Violence on Very Young Children, Stephanie Holt, assistant professor in social studies at Trinity College Dublin, said infants and toddlers are considered a particularly vulnerable group as they are totally dependent upon others for care.

The research includes interviews with public health nurses, domestic violence workers, social workers and family support workers and found that childrens exposure to domestic violence had biological and behavioural influences.

The effects included the risk of impaired growth rate and nutrition issues  such as financial abuse taking the form of restricted access to formula or nappies  and other risks associated with mothers whose parenting abilities can be compromised by living in an abusive situation.

On a behavioural level, risks included direct and indirect involvement in abusive incidents, permissive or inconsistent parenting and risks associated with an absent or angry, aggressive father.

It also suggested that the impact of domestic violence could affect a childs longer- term development, such as fear and instability inhibiting exploration, play becoming aggressive, parents not being able to consistently respond to an infants needs, and loud noises or vivid visual images associated with violence causing distress.

At preschool level the study suggests children can begin to show signs of mental and behavioural disengagement, a preoccupation with their own safety, and other problems.

Other effects could be children learning unhealthy ways to express anger and aggression, a sense of distress at perceived unfairness, self-blame and confusion, and a lack of a sense of independence.

Interviews with professionals who work with families affected by domestic violence said the mother-child relationship was sometimes hampered and that in some cases children struggled to communicate.

One public health nurse interviewed for the study said: Ive a little boy at the moment who is banging his head off the wall and the reason is domestic violence.

Another public health nurse said during a check on a baby the child was clenching her fists next to her ears  something which stopped once she was removed from the abusive setting.

Those interviewed stressed the need for sound clinical practice, inter-agency relationships, good clinical and assessment skills, and the need for early years intervention.

One seminar speaker, Colm Dempsey, a child protection trainer and consultant, said domestic violence was not just adult v adult, but adult v adult v children.

He referred to his past as a garda and cases including the one in which the child was hung from a hook and watched a violent episode unfold.

The seminar was held at the Bessboro Centre in Cork.
Election counters have already been told the same cannot happen again, and the returning officer has warned Wicklow cannot be the last past the post.

The constituency is diverse, encompassing urban enclaves that are extensions of southside Dublin, remote mountain farms, marine industry, and some of the most visited tourist sites in the country.

With many people commuting from across Co Wicklow into Dublin each day, childcare is an issue which impacts on a large percentage of the constituency. Young families will be eager to hear policy proposals on childcare, as will many pensioners who take care of grandchildren while parents work.

While the northern end of the constituency is flourishing, other centres, such as Arklow and Wicklow town, still suffer social and unemployment issues which will no doubt be raised at voters doors.

For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE

The urban-rural divide is stark and the constituency is divided roughly between the built-up east and less developed west.

Fine Gael is therefore well placed to collect votes on both fronts, with junior minister Simon Harris expected to take the chai latte- drinking set around Greystones, while sheep farmer Andrew Doyle will appeal to their country cousins.

Mr Harris preformed strongly in dealing with the floods, increasing his profile nationally, which has put him on a good footing to secure a prominent cabinet role if the main Government party is returned.

Independent Stephen Donnelly is now part of the Social Democrats, while Billy Timmins is on the Renua Ireland team. Both will be battling for the final two seats along with the Fianna Fail pair.

Labours Anne Ferris is unlikely to retain her seat as the party slumps.

For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE
For most young children, the biggest concerns in their daily lives are how much homework they have, how much screen-time they will be allowed and whether or not they will get away with sneaking an extra treat after dinner.

But for thousands of children across the country, their worries are a lot bigger as they face the daily stresses of living with and caring for a sick parent.

There are officially over 14,000 young carers in Ireland and while the newly-formed organisation Family Carers Ireland (FCI) offers support and advice to many, lack of funding means that thousands of others have to carry emotional burdens which are far too heavy for their shoulders.

FCI - an amalgamation of the Carers Association and Caring for Carers - is urging people to be aware of the plight of these young people who are often forced to grow up very quickly.

Jamie Mooney from Shankill in Dublin is 18-years-old. He lives with his parents Sabrina and Michael (both 37) and 9-year-old sister Lexie and helps his Dad in the family pub  The Whiskey Fair.

His mother has Grand Mal Epilepsy and throughout his life, he has learned how to deal with the condition and be on hand to offer help whenever a seizure occurred.

My mum has had epilepsy for as long as I can remember and I have grown up learning how to deal with seizures, he says.

Its probably always been in my nature to care and I dont remember having any problems with looking after her but even as a young child my Dad taught me simple stuff such as bringing my mum water and learning how to call for help.

My help at the start wasnt much but it grew over the years and as I got a little older, I learned how to put her in the recovery position, call an ambulance and to give her the medication she needed  I needed to know how to deal with different situations as my mother could and did go into a seizure at any time of the day or night.

Jamie, who won Young Carer of the Year 2015, is very modest about the important role he played in his mothers life, but says he couldnt bear to see his little sister having to care for someone in the same way.

My mum is convinced that helping to care for her over the years has impacted my life in a major way, but I feel the complete opposite, he admits.

Sure I missed out on school days here and there or the odd event and evening out, but because I didnt know any different, I didnt see it is as something out of the ordinary.

In fact I wouldnt have even called myself a carer until I won the award.

Jamie with his family after being named Young Carer of the Year 2015

Even when I was a teenager I didnt feel like it was too much of a problem as missing a few occasions wasnt life changing for me.

My family say that I had to put up with a lot but I dont think it affected me much and I didnt have to have counselling or anything as I have great friends and family around me who have always reassured me that they are there if I ever need them.

But while I have no bad memories of any incidents, I think of all the things I did when I was nine and would feel very nervous even thinking of my little sister having to do the same.

As if looking after a sick parent wasnt enough, the Dublin teenager was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness himself in 2014  but still remains upbeat and positive about the future.

When I was 16, I felt a small lump on my chest which was diagnosed as Hodgkins Lymphoma, he says.

Needless to say hearing that I had cancer of the lymphatic system was a huge shock to everyone me, my family and my friends.

But we have a great family bond and everyone was hands-on-deck from the minute I was sick making sure that I was looked after.

I started chemotherapy two weeks after diagnosis and went through six months of intensive treatment  so it was a very fast process but I was always comfortable and confident that I was going to be fine as positivity is a major part of beating a big illness like cancer.

My own sickness has definitely made me 10 times stronger as a person but also being a carer has played a huge part in making me mature at a young age.

Thankfully both my mum and I are strong independent people who are steadily on the mend and I believe we will both be fine.

Padraig McGrath, Young Carer Manager for FCI says Jamies story is not unusual and there are probably a lot more young people looking after relatives than official statistics state.

Figures from Census 2011 showing 14,205 young carers under 24-years-old mask the reality of the prevalence of young carers in Ireland, he says.

A study undertaken by Dr Saul Becker, a leading international specialist on young carers, estimates that Ireland could have as many as 28,000 young carers under 18 and 52,700 under 25 years of age.

And a more recent study commissioned by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs published in 2016 shows that 11.9% of 10-17 year olds surveyed stated that they provide regular unpaid personal help for a family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability.

If extrapolated out to the national population this would mean that some 56,118 young people in the 10-17 year age group alone provide regular unpaid care.

www.familycarers.ie or call 1800 24 07 24
Contestants are being asked to design the coolest vehicle that they can imagine. The entry, according to the press release, can be anything from a toddlers doodle to a highly-detailed concept art.

Fingersoft will pick out a bunch of finalists that will then be put forward for the community to vote on. The winning entry will be turned into a playable vehicle in Hill Climb Racing with the designer credited as one of the developers.
Republicans and Democrats scrambling for their partys 2016 nomination for president have descended on New Hampshire after Ted Cruz swept to victory over billionaire Donald Trump and Florida senator Marco Rubio in the Iowa caucuses.

Among Democrats, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders rode a wave of voter enthusiasm to a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton, long considered her partys front-runner.

The outcome in the countrys first nominating contest drew a line under voter dissatisfaction, especially among Republicans, with the way government in Washington operates, with anger over growing income inequality and fears of global turmoil and terrorism.

Mr Cruzs victory in Mondays caucuses, which drew a record turnout, was a blow to businessman Mr Trump, who has roiled the Republican field for months with controversial statements about women and minorities.

Mr Cruz, a fiery, conservative Texas senator loathed by his own partys leaders, now heads to next Tuesdays first-in-the nation primary vote in New Hampshire as an undisputed favourite of the furthest right voters, including evangelical voters and others who prioritise an abrupt break with president Barack Obamas policies.

However, Mr Trump still holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire and national polls.

Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment, Mr Cruz told gleeful supporters.

Mr Trump came in second, slightly ahead of Mr Rubio, whose stronger-than-expected finish could help cement his status as the favourite of mainstream Republican voters who worry that Mr Cruz and Mr Trump are too radical to win the November election.

Mr Trump sounded humble in defeat, saying he was honoured by the support of Iowans. And he vowed to keep up his fight, telling cheering supporters that we will go on to easily beat Hillary or Bernie or whoever the hell they throw up.

In the Democratic race, Iowa caucus-goers were choosing between Ms Clintons pledge to use her wealth of experience in government to bring about steady progress on party ideals and Mr Sanderss call for radical change in a system rigged against ordinary Americans. Young voters overwhelmingly backed Mr Sanders.

Ms Clinton, the former secretary of state, US senator,and first lady, was hoping to banish the possibility of dual losses in Iowa and in New Hampshire, where she trails Mr Sanders, who is from neighbouring Vermont.

Two straight defeats could throw into question her ability to defeat the Republican nominee.

For Ms Clintons supporters, the tight race with Mr Sanders was sure to bring back painful memories of her loss to Mr Obama in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Ms Clinton appeared before supporters to declare she was breathing a big sigh of relief. She stopped short of claiming victory.

Mr Sanders had hoped to replicate Mr Obamas path to the presidency by using a victory in Iowa to catapult his passion and ideals of democratic socialism deep into the primaries.

It is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics, said Mr Sanders, who declared the Democratic contest in Iowa a virtual tie.

Mr Sanders still faces an uphill battle against Ms Clinton, who has deep ties throughout the partys establishment and a strong following among a more diverse electorate that plays a larger role in primary contests in February and March.

Iowa has long led off the state-by-state contests to choose delegates for the parties national conventions.

Historically, a victory has hardly assured the nomination, but a win or an unexpectedly strong showing can give a candidate momentum, while a poor showing can end a candidacy.

Some of the establishment Republican candidates have been focusing more on New Hampshire than Iowa, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Ohio governor John Kasich, and New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

The caucuses marked the end of at least two candidates White House hopes.

Former Maryland governor Martin OMalley ended his longshot bid for the Democratic nomination and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee dropped out of the Republican race.

The states 30 Republican delegates to the national convention are awarded proportionally based on the vote, with at least eight delegates going to Mr Cruz, seven to Mr Trump, and six to Mr Rubio.
The Iraqi army, police and Iranian-backed Shiite militias  backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition  late last year imposed a near total siege on Falluja, located 50km west of Baghdad in the Euphrates river valley.

The citys population is suffering from a shortage of food, medicine, and fuel, residents and officials said by phone, and media reports said several people had died due to starvation and poor medical care.

Insecurity and poor communications inside the city make those reports difficult to verify.

Sohaib al-Rawi, the governor of Anbar province where Falluja is located, appealed to the coalition to air-drop humanitarian supplies to the trapped civilians.

He said this was the only way to deliver aid after Islamic State mined the entrances to the city and stopped people leaving.

Iraqis running out of food and medicine in besieged Falluja https://t.co/h9VSdiTtUO  Reuters (@Reuters) February 2, 2016

Falluja  a long-time bastion of Sunni Muslim jihadists  was the first Iraqi city to fall to IS, in January 2014, six months before the group that emerged from al Qaeda swept through large parts of northern and western Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

Since recapturing the city of Ramadi  a further 50km to the west  from IS a month ago, Iraqi authorities have not made it clear whether they will attempt to take Falluja next or leave it contained while the bulk of their forces head north toward Mosul, the largest city under the militants control.

Falih al-Essawi, deputy chief of Anbars provincial council, said Islamic State had turned Falluja into a huge detention centre.

Security forces managed to control almost all areas around Falluja.

"This victory has helped to reduce Daesh [Islamic State] attacks outside the city, but it cost too much because civilians now are paying the price, he said from Ramadi, warning of a potential humanitarian disaster.

A doctor at a hospital in Falluja said medicine and supplies were running low, especially for post-natal care.

Spokesmen for the Iraqi army, police, and Iranian-backed Shiite militias besieging Falluja were not immediately available to comment.
This kind of rocket launch would cause international outrage because such tests are seen by the UN and other critics as covers for banned long-range missile tests meant to further North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes.

An official at the London-based International Maritime Organisation said North Korea declared an Earth observation satellite launch would be conducted between February 8 and 25.
Pregnant women are advised not to travel to Brazil during the 2016 Olympic Games to avoid potential birth defects related to an outbreak of the mosquito-borne zika virus, president Dilma Rousseffs chief of staff, Jaques Wagner, said.

Its a serious risk for pregnant women, Mr Wagner told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting, adding its not recommended for them to travel to Brazil.

The risk for other adults is relatively small, and most people never even show symptoms, he said.

Mr Wagner said the chance of the Olympics being cancelled doesnt exist.

The zika virus in Brazil has been linked to more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and development problems.

Ms Rousseff welcomed the World Health Organizations decision to declare a public health emergency about the virus because it will help raise awareness, Wagner said.

The WHO has estimated that there could be 3m to 4m cases of the zika virus in Latin America.

The travel industry has begun to feel the impact of the virus outbreak as worried holidaymakers and business customers avoid the affected areas.

Cases have been found in at least 23 countries and territories in the Americas.

There is no vaccine for the virus, which has long been endemic in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa where many people have developed immunity.

It is new in the Americas, however, and a treatment or a vaccine could take years to be made available.

As an alternative, health officials are emphasising mosquito control to try and stop the virus spreading.

This has to be a long-term effort, or the mosquito will return, said Mr Wagner. For now, the only vaccine is awareness.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old man has contracted the zika virus in Thailand, officials said. Authorities said he is likely to have caught the same strain of the virus which was was confirmed by blood tests, Air Vice Marshall Santi Srisermpoke, director of Bangkoks Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, told reporters.

His symptoms were a fever, a rash and redness of the eyes, he said, adding he had not travelled abroad.

The man has recovered and been discharged from hospital, he added, without giving further details of how long he was in hospital, or where he contracted the sickness.

British ministers have insisted the risk posed by the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne virus to the British public remains extremely low.

Shadow international development secretary Diane Abbott has called on the government to back research into the outbreak.

Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons, international development minister Nick Hurd said the government is going to review its approach.
Burma Media Experts Support Shuttering of Info Ministry

With the incoming National League for Democracy-led government pledging to cut government spending, the Ministry of Information may be in the firing line.

RANGOON  With the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government pledging to cut or consolidate government ministries to reduce state expenditure, many observers have pointed to the Ministry of Information as in line to be scrapped.

Kyaw Min Swe, editor in chief of The Voice Daily newspaper, described the information ministry as a free propaganda mechanism for Thein Seins government and said it should be disbanded.

The ministry, which since August 2014 has been headed by Ye Htut, has three state-run daily newspapersThe Global New Light of Myanmar, Myanma Alinn and The Mirrorunder its purview, alongside TV and radio broadcasters.

Some lawmakers say if there is no state-run newspaper, how will people know about Parliament and government news? I say, there are many private newspapers and you can advertise there. It would cut costs, Kyaw Min Swe said.

Since late 2012, the information ministry has championed a plan to transform state-owned newspapers into public service media, a proposal criticized by many industry experts who contend state-backed print media is unnecessary, with few comparable initiatives around the world, and would keep other private, independent dailies at a disadvantage.

Myint Kyaw of the Myanmar Journalist Network also calls for the shuttering of the information ministry, arguing that it cant possibly keep abreast of the workings of each government ministry and convey accurate information to the public.

He said each ministry under the new government should have its own public relations department, eclipsing the need for a separate information ministry.

The state-owned broadcaster MRTV should be utilized as a public-service outlet, with an independent board, to publicize information in the public interest, Myint Kyaw said.

Independent broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) recently opened an online survey on the ministrys future, with over 80 percent of netizens (453 votes) in favor of its closure at time of publication, with voting still open.

Toe Zaw Latt, DVBs Burma bureau chief, said state-owned media should largely vanish under the incoming NLD government and called on the new ruling party to ensure more transparency on any decisions related to Burmas media landscape.

Providing information through a single ministry [MOI] to all media houses was absolutely the wrong system, he said.

Nyan Lynn, editor in chief of Maw Kun Magazine, concurred that state-owned newspapers, overseen by the information ministry, had no place in a democratic system.

If there is an information team in every ministry, state-run newspapers are not necessary. The only thing that needs to be considered is how to manage employees under the MOI, he said.

Speaking to reporters in December, Ye Htut, who is also presidential spokesperson, said he hoped the NLD would consider the careers and livelihoods of the ministrys 7,000 employees3,000 of whom work for its various media enterpriseswhen implementing bureaucratic reforms.

There should be no state-run newspaper, radio or TV as they are spending a lot, said political analyst Yan Myo Thein, another commentator who backs the disbanding of the information ministry after the NLD assumes office in April.
Burma NLD Sources Signal Push for Charter Change in Parliament

A proposal to suspend Article 59(f) of the Constitution to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to be president may be put to Parliament as soon as next week, NLD sources say.

NAYPYIDAW  A proposal to suspend Article 59(f) of Burmas Constitution to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to assume the presidency may be put before the Parliament as soon as next week, according to at least two National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmakers, who wished to remain anonymous.

The first session of the Union Parliament is scheduled to take place on Feb. 8 where the proposal could be tabled, according to a Lower House MP with the NLD, who acknowledged that such a motion was not outlined in the official legislative agenda.

Now weve got the agenda for the Union Parliaments session on Feb. 8, but it does not include a proposal to suspend Article 59(f). But then, urgent proposals are not usually mentioned in the agenda, the lawmaker said.

Another NLD lawmaker in the Lower House who has close ties with Suu Kyi claimed that the proposal would be tabled soon and that negotiations on the legal permutations were underway.

The proposal to suspend 59(f) will be submitted [soon], the lawmaker told The Irrawaddy.

Article 59(f) of Burmas military-drafted charter disqualifies anyone with a foreign spouse or children from becoming president, effectively barring Suu Kyi whose two children are British nationals, as was her late husband.

In early December, Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) lawmaker Thura Aung Ko suggested the clause could be suspended with a majority of lawmakers in an interview with the BBC Burmese service. However, some lawmakers have cautioned that the proposal would be unconstitutional and it is unknown whether military lawmakers would support it.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, lawyer Ko Ni explained that, if it proceeded, an initial vote would only be on a proposal to determine whether legislation should then be drafted.

An opinion piece in the army-owned newspaper Myawaddy on Monday, written under the pen name Sai Wai Lu, stated that the clause should not be amended for all eternity, according to a translation by the Myanmar Times.

In recent days, reports in local media suggested NLD representatives have been in negotiations with the military on the question of the presidency.

When asked about the presidency at a press conference in Naypyidaw on Wednesday afternoon, Suu Kyi replied that she would comment when it is time.
Burma No Reprieve for Student Activists as Courts Pile on More Charges

One detained student activist says she was slapped with additional illegal assembly charges by five Rangoon courts, tied to a campaign against controversial education legislation.

RANGOON  Detained critics of Burmas controversial National Education Law are facing mounting legal pressure for their campaign against the legislation last year, with one student leader saying she was slapped with additional illegal assembly charges by at least five Rangoon courts.

While the trials of more than 50 students and their supporters in Thayawady Township, Pegu Division, continue to drag on, courts from the commercial capitals Kamayut, Botahtaung, Tamwe, Hlaing and Mayangone townships have now tacked on charges against at least one prominent student activist under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law.

Phyoe Phyoe Aung, the 28-year-old student activist, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that she had received summonses from courts in the five Rangoon jurisdictions this week. Between Rangoon and Pegu divisions, the student leader said she is facing charges in more than 30 cases making their way through the courts, most of them on Article 18 violations.

Fellow student leader Nanda Sitt Aung, who appeared with Phyoe Phyoe Aung at a hearing in Botahtaung Township on Wednesday, is facing more than 80 cases, she said.

While many of these prosecutions pertain to Article 18, there are also more serious charges filed against the students by the Thayawady Township Court, including articles 143, 145, 147, 332 and 505(b) of the Burmese Penal Code.

Article 18 charges come with a maximum sentence of six months in prison and or a fine not exceeding 30,000 kyats (US$23), while the Penal Code charges carry maximum sentences of one to two years imprisonment.

Fifty-three students remain detained at Thayawady Prison in Pegu Division, among them Phyoe Phyoe Aung and Nanda Sitt Aung. The pair appeared along with Kyaw Ko Ko, James a.k.a. Linn Htet Naing and supporter Win Kyawt Hmue at the Kamayut Township Court in Rangoon for a hearing last week.

Phyoe Phyoe Aung said that current government is bringing more prosecutions to bear on the student protesters even as the international community and local advocacy groups have raised pressure on President Thein Sein to release all political prisoners unconditionally.

The government is going to leave many unsolvable problems to the incoming government. They are purposely making our case more complicated, she said.

Members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and their supporters have been detained in Thayawady Prison since March 10 of last year, when a months-long campaign against the National Education Law was brutally quashed by police in neighboring Letpadan Township.

Human rights watchdogs have criticized the Peaceful Assembly Laws Article 18, contending that it has been used as a tool to arrest peaceful protesters and to suppress freedom of expression.

A coalition of groups last week released a report in which they claimed some of the 53 detainees at Thayawady Prison faced illnesses that were potentially life-threatening, calling for their immediate release.
Burma U Gambira Returned to Jail after Brief Court Hearing

The detained monk and former political prisoner filed a bail request at a Mandalay court Wednesday, requesting leniency due to ongoing health concerns.

MANDALAY  Detained former monk U Gambira, a prominent figure in Burmas 2007 Saffron Revolution, appeared in Mandalay Divisions Maha Aung Myay Township Court on Wednesday on charges of violating immigration laws.

Gambira, also known as Nyi Nyi Lwin, was arrested on Jan. 19 in a Mandalay hotel and remanded in Obo Prison. After a brief court appearance on Wednesday, he was returned to jail, with the next hearing scheduled for Feb. 10.

Known to suffer from mental health issues, Gambiras family and lawyers have asked that he be released to receive necessary medical treatment.

The court said it will consider bail for the ailing detainee, said one of his lawyers, Robert San Aung. Although the court may think it is a case that does not allow bail, they should give bail to Nyi Nyi Lwin for his health.

The 36-year-old former monk and political prisoner has been in Thailand receiving treatment for severe mental health issues since his release from a Burmese prison in a general amnesty in 2012. He was serving a sentence for his role in organizing monks in an anti-government uprising in 2007.

Last month, Burmese immigration accused him of crossing the border illegallya charge the monks supporters have dismissed as spurious.

His mental health needs special care as he needs to take medication at precise times and in specific amounts. He also needs regular exercise and meditation for his health, said Daw Yay, his mother.

He is just recovering and we are worried for him. We dont believe he received proper treatment inside the prison, she explained. He is very sick and shouldnt be in prison. If the government is kind enough, they should look at his case with humanity.
Economy Beer Brands Return to Heineken from Military-Owned Brewery

Two well-known beers, Tiger and ABC Stout, are returning to their mother company after two decades with military-backed Myanmar Brewery.

RANGOON  Two well-known beers, Tiger and ABC Stout, are returning to their mother company after two decades with the military-backed Myanmar Brewery, Heineken announced on Wednesday.

Tiger and ABC Stout, which Myanmar Brewery has produced and distributed for the Burmese market since 1995, are finally going back to Heineken and its local partner, Asia Pacific Breweries-Alliance Brewery Company Limited (APB-ABC). As of late last year, Myanmar Brewerys license to produce the two beers expired, said Lester Tan, managing director of the Heineken joint venture APB-ABC.

Actually, were the original owner of both Tiger and ABC Stout. Thats why now, well take them all back and sell to this expanding market, Tan said on Wednesday at a press conference.

Tiger and ABC Stout will now be brewed in Heinekens own US$60 million brewing facility in Rangoons Hmawbi Township, which opened in July last year. The brewery has the technical capacity to produce 33 million liters of beer per year, but this year the company plans to expand production to about 45 million liters, according to Tan.

Of the current Tiger and ABC Stout brand designs, Tan said the company will make changes to reflect an updated product look, but assured that the taste of the beers will remain the same.

Were excited to welcome both brands. It feels like a true homecoming and were pleased to bring these two beers to beer stations, restaurants and supermarkets in Myanmar, he said.

Heineken and Myanmar Brewery have maintained a professional relationship since 1995. In the following decade, Heinekena Dutch companyleft the country due to economic sanctions imposed by the European Union against Burmas military government. At this time, the Myanmar Brewery took over licenses for Heinekens products and continued to produce Tiger and ABC Stout.

Myanmar Brewery is the producer of Myanmar Beer, Andaman Gold and Myanmar Double Strong, and currently has a strong lead in the domestic beer market. The companys total revenue for the 2014-15 fiscal year topped 300 billion kyats (US$233 million), according to company figures. Their products are brewed in facilities in Rangoons Mingaladon Township.

Myanmar Brewery Limited (MBL) was established in 1995 as one of the earliest major joint-venture projects in Myanmar with a total invested capital of US$60 million.

It seems the previous company [Myanmar Brewery] didnt want to extend the license and did not contact us about an extension, so thats why we took this license back, Tan said.

In 2013, Heineken began working with ABC, which is led by Aung Moe Kyaw, a Burmese entrepreneur well known in the beverage industry. Of the companys shares, ABC claims 43 percent and the remaining 57 percent are owned by Heineken. In the last three years, they have also introduced a new beer in Burma: Regal Seven.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="105876,105875,105874,105872,105873,105870,105871,105869,105868,105867,105866"] MANDALAY  On Tuesday, the day of his 86th birthday, veteran Mandalay artist Aye Myint launched a showcase of his traditional Burmese designs at Mandalay Hill Art Gallery, attracting both fresh and more seasoned artists and art goers. The gallery, opposite the hills famous figure of two white lions, was filled with colorful pieces by the artist, mostly featuring scenes from the Jataka tales. Accompanying the artwork were frames embedded with images of Burmas currency and stamps adorned with pictures of the late General Aung San, some of which were designed by Aye Myint in the 1970s. Aye Myint is widely known for his old-fashioned designs, as his work is largely inspired by styles found in ancient stone carvings and murals dating back to the sixth century. After being expelled from Magwe Divisions Wazi, site of Burmas national mint, Aye Myint moved to Rangoon to take up a job designing for a Buddhist literary magazine. Most of his artwork from this 11-year period was also on display to show milestones in his career. Today, at 86, Aye Myint has held onto his enthusiasm for designinghe is currently a consultant for a traditional weaving academy in Amarapura, Mandalay Division, and helps with the restoration efforts of the ancient Shwe Nan Daw Palace Monastery. Perhaps above all, the venerated artists wish for young people is to carry on learning about traditional Burmese art, even in the face of rapid cultural change. Were witnessing developments in many sectors, in culture as well. I want Burmas youth to know the value of our heritage, Aye Myint said. We should preserve our culture. Aye Myints exhibition will run at the Mandalay Hill Art Gallery, open from 9am to 9pm, until Feb. 6, and it is free of charge to anyone wishing to enjoy traditional Burmese art.
Noah Lazes is ready to get back under construction on the $173 million Irving Music Factory development in Irving and expects the project to begin to come out of the ground with the help of hundreds of workers starting Wednesday.

Construction was delayed for months as the developer, the city and the general contractor signed a new contract, which brought international construction firm Skanska in from the wings as Dallas-based Construction took its leave, stage left.

Real estate sources said the hot construction market helped drive the general contracting switcheroo, which helped keep the construction costs on budget at $173 million.

Skanska has a lot of experience with Live Nation venues and we felt good with Skanska, Lazes, president of The Ark Group of North Carolina, told the Dallas Business Journal.

There wont be much impact to the Live Nation-anchored mixed-use development because Irving Music Factory always had a horizontal and vertical phase of development. Balfour Beatty had finished the horizontal phase of development before leaving the project.

We already had this broken up; its not like we had a partially built building or anything like that, he added. The biggest message I have to give to the business community is to stop by this week and see construction is really happening.
How to Mitigate the Risk of Data Loss and Disruption in 2016

One of the story lines that inevitably emerges in the coverage of major snowstorms like the one that hit the East Coast late last month has to do with predictions of a baby boom nine months later. But heres an interesting factoid for you: The cities that were most severely affected by that snowstorm experienced enormous spikes in computer malware infections. It seems that in a lot of cases when people are stuck in their homes, theyre more likely to gravitate toward their computers than toward each other.

Those malware spikes were noticed by the folks at Enigma Software, maker of the SpyHunter anti-malware tool. Each time SpyHunter does a scan for infections, Enigma receives a report with data including the type of infection and the location of the computer. They looked at more than 225,000 infections during January in the states hit hardest by the storm, and found that during the two-day peak of the snowstorm, there was a 69 percent increase in the number of infections in those states. The large cities that were most severely affected told their own stories: Washington saw an 88 percent spike; in New York it was 90 percent; and in Boston it was 155 percent. The Enigma folks arent blowing the ramifications of those numbers out of proportion, however.

Is there a giant lesson that anyone can learn? Should someone be more vigilant when its snowy outside vs. when its sunny outside? No, said Enigma spokesman Ryan Gerding, in an interview. So I dont know that theres any broad lesson, other than to show that its clear that when folks are stuck inside, they go online.

It turns out, theres quite a bit of other information about our lifestyles that Enigma has gleaned by analyzing the data in the reports generated by the scans.

Weve noticed that there is a spike in infections during the holiday shopping season, Gerding said. In general, over the last couple of years weve found that in the days following Cyber Monday, infections across the board jump about 40 percent, and they stay pretty high throughout the holiday shopping season.

During a snowstorm, the spike occurs simply as the result of more people being online. But in the case of the holiday shopping season, one of the factors that causes the spike is increased activity by the malware bad guys.

At that time of year, I think the bad guys do target people, not in any geographic area, but target them with things like spam emails saying things like theres a problem with their Amazon order, so click here to fix it, when in reality it takes them to someplace that gives them an infection, Gerding said. So I do think theyre smart enough to take advantage of times like that.

Another phenomenon Enigma has looked at, Gerding said, is the question of whether or not people who are older might be more susceptible to clicking on links that would result in infections.

While it was by no means a scientific study, we did take a look at the infection rates of the cities with the highest average age in the U.S., and with the lowest average age in the U.S., and in fact did find that cities with older residents do have a higher infection rate than cities with younger residents, Gerding said. Its hard to pinpoint exactly why, but our supposition is that older folks are probably more likely to have a higher percentage of PC ownership vs. Mac ownership, and our software is just on PCs. Our supposition is that older folks may not be as likely to have updated their software and their security settings as often as someone who is younger. And our supposition is that older folks probably use a desktop or a laptop PC more than a younger person who might use a mobile device more. So when we put all those factors together, we think that might be why there is a higher infection rate per capita in older cities vs. younger cities.

Finally, it seems we can expect to see a decrease in the number of malware infections during the upcoming Lenten season, when people give up certain things for Lent.

You cant say with 100 percent certainty cause and effect, but the number of infections during Lent actually drops. We think that might be because there are people who are giving up social media or online shopping for Lent, Gerding said. So in those cities with a higher than average Catholic population, we actually see a bit of a decrease in infections, and we think thats because they are giving up, at least temporarily, some of the activities that could lead them to getting infections. And then as soon as Easter is over, it goes right back up again.

And it might not just be social media and online shopping that people will be giving up.

They could very well be giving up porn for Lent, Gerding said. What weve found is that a large percentage of the malware that ends up on our customers computers is because they were visiting adult websites.

A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant.
5 VM Routing Mistakes Made in Private Clouds

The cloud is a common facet of virtually every enterprise on the planet these days, but the overriding perception is that it should be kept away from mission-critical functions.

So it came as a surprise late last year when Verizon issued a report on the state of the cloud market indicating that 87 percent of enterprises are running mission-critical apps in the cloud, up from 60 percent two years ago. More than half of this group uses up to four cloud providers to support these functions, while a quarter are porting them over 10 or more. And the trend is particularly pronounced among start-ups, many of which are eschewing internal infrastructure for an all-cloud approach that drives high degrees of flexibility, if not entire transformations of existing business models.

But is this wise? Does the cloud, even at this stage of its development, really have the chops to support critical workloads and applications? Or are early adopters merely setting themselves up for failure when their plans fall victim to poor reliability, availability and security?

Perhaps not, according to a recent report from Gigaom. While concern over the clouds trustworthiness remains high, many organizations now have enough experience under their belts to more clearly assess both its strengths and weaknesses, and to formulate strategies to shore up the weaknesses. Security, of course, remains high on the list of concerns, but tools like access management and virtual private networks go a long way toward mitigating the risks. As well, SaaS, DBaaS and other service providers have made security and reliability top priorities and are being rewarded with increased flows of mission-critical workloads.

It also helps when companies that are primarily responsible for legacy, in-house applications are forging ties to cloud infrastructure. A case in point is Microsoft, which already dominated apps like email in the pre-cloud era and is now linking not just Exchange but the entire Office suite to its Azure cloud. At the moment, the mission-critical cloud market is incredibly small and fractured, with Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others having single-digit shares at a time when 90 percent of the workload is still sitting on legacy systems, but it stands to reason that most organizations will want to build cloud capabilities into legacy platforms rather than recreate entirely new ones in the cloud, at least at first. But this link between Exchange and Azure could be a double-edged sword for Microsoft as revenue from high-margin, high-stability licensing models gives way to the more free-wheeling nature of the cloud.

And it might not be that much longer before the open community starts to push mission-critical services as a means to propel the enterprise into broadly distributed hybrid cloud infrastructure. A Dutch services company called Schuberg Philis recently launched its own Mission Critical Cloud project by forking the CloudStack platform initially launched by Citrix. Forking an open source project is never a popular move, but the company says it had no choice due to the slow pace of development and disjointed reaction to external threats. Company execs say they hope their fork wont deviate too much from CloudStack, but in the end they require stronger support for critical workloads, and this can only come about by building on the open cloud platform that provides a more stable, if less flexible, core framework than rival projects like OpenStack.

The idea of specialized cloud infrastructure for mission-critical workloads is another example of the transformation from the cloud to many clouds. Now that many enterprises know what the cloud can do in terms of cost, flexibility, ease of use and management simplicity, organizations are starting to look for optimized solutions that give their apps and processes an edge. These can take the form of clouds built around industry verticals and compliance requirements, app-specific support for, say, ecommerce or backup, or increased reliability for the important stuff.

This will put more pressure on the enterprise to ensure that the right workload gets to the right cloud, even as business managers and other users take it upon themselves to spin up their own resources. But if it all goes well, the result will be a strong, vibrant data infrastructure that spans internal and external resources, with broad portability across the physical, virtual and software-defined layers of the stack.

It also points up the fact that even in fully automated, cloud-facing environments, IT will still have plenty to do.

Arthur Cole writes about infrastructure for IT Business Edge. Cole has been covering the high-tech media and computing industries for more than 20 years, having served as editor of TV Technology, Video Technology News, Internet News and Multimedia Weekly. His contributions have appeared in Communications Today and Enterprise Networking Planet and as web content for numerous high-tech clients like TwinStrata and Carpathia. Follow Art on Twitter @acole602.
Offering generous benefits and perks can be an advantage for employers when competition for talent is tight. Glassdoor, the jobs and career marketplace, today released its ranking of the top 20 employee benefits and .

Among the standout companies in Glassdoors new ranking, 14 out of 20 are in the consumer or enterprise tech industry. The top 20 list is, by design, intended to single out some of the more unique benefits employees are enjoying at companies. It doesnt list every benefit a company offers.

Netflix ranked No. 1 for its paid year of maternity and paternity leave for new parents. Netflix also lets parents return to work part-time or full-time and take time off as needed throughout the year.

On the enterprise tech front, Salesforce ranked third; employees receive six days of paid volunteer time off a year, as well as $1,000 a year to donate to a charity of their choice, Glassdoor reports.

Evernote came in at No. 15 for providing team-building courses such as macaroon baking, followed by Epic Systems (No. 16), which offers employees a paid four-week sabbatical to pursue their creative talents after five years at the company; and Adobe (No. 17), which shuts down the entire company for one week in December and one week over the summer.

Two management consulting firms made an appearance on the list: PwC (No. 7) offers its employees $1,200 per year for student loan debt reimbursement, and Accenture (No. 13) covers gender reassignment for their employees.

A number of consumer tech companies ranked highly on the list. At No. 4, Spotify provides six months of paid parental leave, plus one month of flexible work options for parents returning to the office. Spotify also covers costs for egg freezing and fertility assistance.

Airbnb (No. 6) gives its employees an annual stipend of $2,000 to travel and stay in an Airbnb listing, and Pinterest (No. 8) has a parental leave policy that includes three paid months off, an additional month of part-time hours, and two counseling sessions to create a plan to reenter the workplace.

In the middle of the pack, Twilio (No. 10) offers employees a Kindle plus $30 a month to purchase books, while Twitter (No. 11) made the list for some of its lesser-known benefits, including on-site acupuncture and improv classes.

Facebook came in at No. 14 for providing $4,000 in baby cash to employees with a newborn.

Google, which is widely known for its workplace perks, anchored the list of unique perks for providing the surviving spouse or partner of a deceased employee 50% of their salary for the next ten years.

Employees determine Glassdoors ranking, which is based on its benefits reviews. Employees rate their satisfaction with their employers overall benefits package and describe the best and worst facets of their benefits and perks. The types of benefits covered include: health and wellness; financial and retirement; family and parenting, such as onsite daycare and adoption assistance; vacation and time off; perks and discounts, such as free lunches, dog-friendly offices and company cars; and professional support, such as diversity programs and tuition assistance.

These days, 57% of Glassdoor survey respondents say benefits and perks are among their top considerations before accepting a job, and 79% say they would prefer new benefits over a pay raise.
ESSEX were all at sea when they were dumped out of the Benson and Hedges Cup by some breathtaking Sussex batting at the County Ground, Chelmsford on Easter Monday.

The South Coast side smashed the club's highest ever total in the competition ? even though it is now played over 50 rather than 55 overs ? and with Chris Adams and Michael Bevan at the crease, they recorded the highest ever third wicket partnership in the competition's history.
Library bond unanimously approved Voters waited in line for 45 minutes Tuesday to participate in an eight-minute meeting that resulted in the unanimous approval of a $600,000 bond to help renovate the North Road...

Ferryboat business told to halt operations The ferryboat company operating from the municipally owned docks at East Ferry is illegally using that space, according to correspondence mailed to business owner Bill Munger. Town Administrator Jamie Hainsworth...

A DOGGONE NEW BUSINESS A former business that used to clean peoples clothes is reopening as a groomer to tidy up the fur of those peoples four-legged companions. The defunct laundromat at the McQuades...
The procedural rules of the Council require the US, and any other State that has served two consecutive three-year terms, to remain off of the Council for one year before it will be eligible for membership again. During 2016, when the US is off the Council, JBI urges the United States to use its substantial influence in Geneva to appeal to current members of the Council to continue the positive trends its engagement brought about. Such trends included a noticeable increase in the number of resolutions that address human rights abuses in particular countries. JBI also encourages the US to take action to ensure the Councils credibility and professionalism, both with respect to its treatment of Israel and other key issues. We also encourage the US to act on the commitment it has made to seek re-election to the Council for another three-year term from 2017-2019. The elections for this term of Council membership will take place at the UN General Assembly in October 2016.

While there remain many aspects of the Councils performance that states should continue to work to improve, and while the Council still devotes a highly disproportionate degree of its country-specific action to Israel, JBIs review reveals that US engagement has had a number of beneficial effects on the Councils performance.

At the end of 2015, the United States completed its second consecutive three-year term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, the intergovernmental body created in 2006 to replace the Commission on Human Rights. In an effort to review the effect of US membership on the Councils performance, the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights has periodically documented the number of country-specific resolutions adopted by the Council, the special sessions convened by the Council on country-specific human rights crises, and the number of independent special procedures created by the Council to investigate country-specific and thematic human rights issues. These are a number of areas to which the US has devoted substantial attention during its time on the Council.

Background

In the first few years following the creation of the Human Rights Council, the US refused to seek election to the body on the grounds that it suffered from structural flaws that prevent its performance from improving upon that of the discredited Commission on Human Rights, its predecessor institution at the United Nations. The cited flaws included the fact that all UN member States are eligible for membership on the Council, no matter how poor their human rights record or questionable their commitment to universality of human rights.

Indeed, in the Councils initial years of operation, from 2006 to the end of 2008, its performance was decidedly problematic. Certain Council members, including Algeria, Cuba, China (joined by non-Members including Iran, Pakistan, Syria, South Africa and India) called for the elimination of all country-specific scrutiny  except in the case of Israel, which remained the subject of several annually adopted resolutions and mechanisms, and is the subject of the Councils only country-specific agenda item.[1] In its early years, the Council did not adopt a significant number of country-specific resolutions on human rights. The Council also discontinued several country-specific special procedure mandates that had been carried over from the Commission on Human Rights, such as those of the Special Rapporteurs on Belarus, Cuba, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The few country-specific actions the Council did take focused to an extraordinarily disproportionate extent on Israel.

In March 2009, the US changed course and announced its intention to seek a seat on the Council. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice justified the decision on the grounds that we believe that working from within, we can make the Council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights. The US was elected to membership on the Council in May of that year, and began its term on the Council in November 2009 at the Councils 12th session.

The Human Rights Councils Performance Prior to and During US Membership

From September 2009  December 2015, the period in which the US served on the Council, while the bodys performance still left much to be desired, it addressed human rights conditions in countries other than Israel far more often than before. The US championed a number of initiatives at the Council and played an important behind-the-scenes role in supporting many others that have placed much-needed attention on key human rights situations that merited international scrutiny. The US was among those leading calls for the Council to hold special sessions on the government crackdowns in Libya and Syria and pressed for the establishment of country-specific special rapporteurs on Iran and Belarus. It also advocated successfully for creation of a thematic rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association as well as a working group on laws that discriminate against women. The US also provided critical support for the successful effort for the Council to adopt its first-ever resolution condemning violence and discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and calling on the High Commissioner to report to the Council on these abuses. The US led or supported calls for the Council to create independent commissions of inquiry on country situations including Libya, Syria, Cote dIvoire, North Korea and Eritrea and to request that the High Commissioner for Human Rights undertake investigations into abuses perpetrated in many places around the world, including Sri Lanka and by the Islamic State in Iraq. Each of these accomplishments is important; and cumulatively they have led to substantial changes in the Councils performance.

Increase in number of country-specific resolutions and countries identified as having human rights records of concern

The number of specific human rights situations addressed by the Council has increased significantly during the six-year period of US membership. During the years prior to US membership (2006-2008), the Council adopted a total of 33 resolutions that identified countries as deserving of attention to their human rights records. Of these, 17 (or about 52 percent) addressed Israel.[2] In contrast, in the years from 2009-2015, the Council consistently has adopted more country-specific resolutions each year than in any year in the period of non-US membership. As a result, the relative degree to which the Council focused on Israel has diminished, although the total number of resolutions adopted on Israel  both annually and as a proportion of all country-specific resolutions adopted since the Councils creation in 2006  remains numerous. Indeed, no country has ever been the subject of more resolutions per year than Israel (in 2012, Israel and Syria were both the subject of five resolutions). From 2009-2015, during the period of US membership, 44 of the 180 country-specific resolutions adopted by the Council (24 percent) focused on Israel. Over the ten years of the Councils existence, 61 of its 213 country-specific resolutions (29 percent) have focused on Israel.

Country-Specific* Resolutions Adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, 2006-2015[3]

Country-Specific

Year Resolutions # on Israel % on Israel 2006 [4] 7 7 100% 2007 [5] 11 4 36% 2008 [6] 15 6 40% 2009 [7] 17 7 41% 2010 [8] 18 8 44% 2011 [9] 29 7 24% 2012 [10] 30 5 17% 2013 [11] 28 6 21% 2014 [12] 27 6 22% 2015 [13] 31 5 16% Total 2006-2008 33 17 52% Total 2009-2015 (US Term) 180 44 24% Grand Total (2006-2015) 213 61 29%

* In this study, the term country-specific is used to designate resolutions, special sessions and mechanisms of the Council that are aimed at monitoring human rights conditions in a particular place, and includes resolutions that are primarily aimed at monitoring human rights abuses perpetrated by non-State actors, such as armed terrorist groups.

Increase in number of special sessions convened and States addressed in such sessions

US engagement with the Council also had the effect of significantly increasing the number of Special Sessions convened by the Council to address human rights emergencies. These sessions are only convened if one-third of Council members agree to do so. From 2006-2008, the Council convened seven country-specific special sessions, four of which (or 57 percent) were on Israel. From 2009-2015, the Council convened twice as many special sessions, yet less than half as many (or 21 percent) were on Israel. Still, over the course of the Councils 10 years of existence, one-third (33 percent) of its special sessions have focused on Israel.

Country-Specific* Special Sessions Convened by the Human Rights Council, 2006-2015

Country-Specific

Year Special Sessions # on Israel % on Israel 2006 [14] 4 3 75% 2007 [15] 1 0 0% 2008 [16] 2 1 50% 2009 [17] 3** 2 67% 2010 [18] 1 0 0% 2011 [19] 4 0 0% 2012 [20] 1 0 0% 2013 0 0 0% 2014 [21] 3 1 33% 2015 [22] 2 0 0% Total 2006-2008 7 4 57% Total 2009-2015 (US Term) 14 3 21% Grand Total 21 7 33%

* In this study, the term country-specific is used to designate resolutions, special sessions and mechanisms of the Council that are aimed at monitoring human rights conditions in a particular place, and includes resolutions that are primarily aimed at monitoring human rights abuses perpetrated by non-State actors, such as armed terrorist groups.

**Includes the May 2009 special session on Sri Lanka in which the Council did not condemn the government for its indiscriminate use of force in its conflict against the LTTE. Does not include the May 2008 special session on the negative impact of the worsening of the world food crisis, the February 2009 special session on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights, or the January 2010 special session on the support of the HRC to the recovery process in Haiti after the earthquake of January 12, 2010: a human rights approach.

Increase in number of special procedures mandated by the Council, including on countries of concern

The period of US membership on the Council also coincided with a significant increase in the number of independent special procedures mandates designated by the Council to investigate human rights issues or country situations. While US championed all of the country-specific special procedure mandates that the Council has created or maintained since 2009, several thematic special procedures mandates have been created notwithstanding US objections. Since 2009, the Council has maintained several important country-specific mandates that existed prior to the beginning of US membership, including those on Burma, Cambodia, Haiti, North Korea, Somalia, and Sudan; and it has created new mandates on Belarus, the Central African Republic, Cote dIvoire, Eritrea, Iran, Mali, and Syria. The increase in the total number of country-specific special procedures mandates from 8 in 2008 to 14 in 2015 thus represents a significant achievement for the United States.

Special procedures mechanisms reporting to the Human Rights Council, 2006-2015

Country Specific

Year Mandates Thematic Mandates 2006 [23] 13* 28* 2007 [24] 12 28 2008 [25] 8 30 2009 [26] 8 31 2010 [27] 8 31 2011 [28] 11** 35 2012 [29] 12** 36 2013 [30] 14** 37 2014 [31] 14** 39 2015 [32] 14** 41

* All were previously established by the Commission on Human Rights and automatically transferred to the new Council in 2006.

** Includes the Special Rapporteur on Syria, a mandate which was created in 2011 but will not become active until the conclusion of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Syria.

Conclusion

The six-year term of US membership on the UN Human Rights Council has in many respects demonstrated that engagement with this international body can and has improved its effectiveness and credibility. In particular, the US has been successful in significantly increasing the attention that the Council devotes to country-specific human rights issues. Yet despite these positive changes, the Human Rights Councils performance remains inconsistent. The Council continues to focus its attention exceedingly disproportionately on the human rights situation in Israel and to refrain from criticizing many States that bear responsibility for the commission of serious violations of human rights around the world. The US record of achievement is significant enough to justify support for its pledge to seek re-election to the Council for 2017-2019. However, the US should devote substantial effort in 2016 to persuading current Council members to preserve the achievements it has realized thus far, and should it be elected to a third term, the US should increase its resolve and commitment to ensuing more objectivity in the Councils treatment of country-specific human rights situations.

----------

[1] See Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council takes up situation of human rights in Belarus and Cuba, (12 June 2007),http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=7267&LangID=E. At this meeting, Council members Algeria, China, Cuba, and India and observers Angola, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, along with the Palestinian representative, called for the categorical elimination of all country-specific special procedures, and many other States called for limiting their mandates. See also, Keith Harper, Statement by US Ambassador Keith Harper on the Human Rights Councils agenda item 7 (Israeli violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories) (13 Mar 2015), https://geneva.usmission.gov/2015/03/23/statement-by-u-s-ambassador-keith-harper-on-unhrc-item-7-israeli-violations-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territories/. The US has declared that it strongly and unequivocally opposes the very existence of Agenda Item 7 and any HRC resolutions that come from it commenting that no other country has a separate agenda item to deal with it. The US does not participate in Council debates on this agenda item as a demonstration of its view that it is illegitimate. See also, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (23 Mar 2015)

http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un_geneva/documents/eu_statments/human_right/20150323_id_sr_opt.pdf. The EU has taken a similar position, suggesting that the issues addressed under Agenda Item 7 would be better addressed under Agenda Item 4 (Human rights situations that require the Council's attention) under which many of the Councils other country-specific resolutions are proposed.

[2] 2006  7, all on Israel; 2007  11, 4 on Israel; 2008  15, 6 on Israel.

[3] Some commentators have calculated the number of country-specific resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council according to a different methodology than that applied here. For example, some would consider the Councils resolutions on the Durban World Conference to be country-specific with regard to Israel even though the texts of those Council resolutions do not expressly discuss the human rights situation there. Some commentators exclude from the list of country-specific resolutions a significant number of resolutions that the Council has adopted that discuss the human rights situation in particular countries without using explicitly condemnatory language to be country (these resolutions are adopted under the Councils agenda item 10 on technical assistance).

[4] 2006: Res. 3/3, Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon); Res. 3/1, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolution S-1/1); Res. 2/3, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan); Res. 2/4, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan); Res. S-3/1, Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent one in northern Gaza and the assault on Beit Hanoun ); Res. S-2/1, The grave situation of human rights in Lebanon caused by Israeli military operations); Res. S-1/1, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory).

[5] 2007: Res. OM/1/2, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolutions S-1/1 and S-3/1; Res. 6/19, Religious and cultural rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; Res. 6/18, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolutions S-1/1 and S-3/1; Res. 4/2, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolutions S-1/1 and S-3/1; Res. 6/35, Human Rights Council Group of Experts on the situation of human rights in Darfur; Res. 6/34, Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan; Res. OM/1/3, Follow-up to resolution 4/8 of 30 March 2007 adopted by the Human Rights Council at its fourth session entitled Follow-up to decision S-4/101 of 13 December 2006, adopted by the Council at its fourth special session entitled Situation of human rights in Darfur); Res. 4/8, Follow-up to decision S-4/101 of 13 December 2006 adopted by the Human Rights Council at its fourth special session entitled Situation of human rights in Darfur); Res. 6/33, Follow-up to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res/S-5/1, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res. 6/5, Advisory services and technical assistance for Burundi.

[6] 2008: Res. 9/18, Follow-up to resolution S-3/1: human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the shelling of Beit Hanoun; Res 7/30, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan); Res 7/18, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; Res 7/17, Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; Res 7/1, Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip; Res S-6/1, Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip; Res 8/14, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res 7/32, Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res 7/31, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res. 9/17, Situation of human rights in the Sudan; Res 7/16, Situation of human rights in the Sudan; Res. 9/15, Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia; Res 7/15, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; Res. S-8/1, Situation of human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Res 7/35, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights.

[7] 2009: Res. S-12/1, The human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; Res 10/21, Follow-up to Council resolution S-9/1 on the grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly due to the recent Israeli military attacks against the occupied Gaza Strip; Res 10/20, Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; Res 10/19, Human rights violations emanating from the Israeli military attacks and operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; Res 10/18, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; Res 10/17, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan; Res. S-9/1, The Grave Violations of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip; Res. 12/20, Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Myanmar; Res 10/27, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res. 12/26, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; Res 10/32, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; Res. 12/25, Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia; Res 10/16, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; Res 10/33, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services; Res. 12/14, Situation of human rights in Honduras since the coup detat on 28 June 2009); Res. 11/10, Situation of human rights in the Sudan; S-11/1: Assistance to Sri Lanka in the promotion and protection of human rights.

[8] 2010: Res 15/1, Follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the incident of the humanitarian flotilla; Res 15/6, Follow-up to the report of the Committee of independent experts in international humanitarian and human rights law established pursuant to Council resolution 13/9; Res 14/1, The grave attacks by Israeli forces against the humanitarian boat convoy; Res 13/5, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan; Res 13/8, The grave human rights violations by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; Res 13/7, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; Res 13/6, Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; Res 13/9, Follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; Res 14/15, Addressing attacks on school children in Afghanistan; Res 15/20, Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia; Res S-14/1, Situation of human rights in Cote dIvoire in relation to the conclusion of the 2010 presidential election; Res 13/14, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; Res 13/22, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services; Res 13/21, Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in the Republic of Guinea; Res 14/14, Technical assistance and cooperation on human rights for Kyrgyzstan; Res 13/25, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; Res 15/28, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; Res 15/27, Situation of human rights in the Sudan.

[9] 2011: A/HRC/RES/17/10, Follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the incident of the humanitarian flotilla; A/HRC/RES/16/30, Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; A/HRC/RES/16/31, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; A/HRC/RES/16/29, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; A/HRC/RES/16/20, Follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the incident of the humanitarian flotilla; A/HRC/RES/16/32, Follow-up to the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; A/HRC/RES/16/17, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan; A/HRC/RES/S-18/1, The human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/S-17/1, Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/S-16/1, The current human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic in the context of recent events; A/HRC/RES/17/21, Assistance to Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/16/25, Situation of human rights in Cote dIvoire; A/HRC/RES/17/17, Situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; A/HRC/RES/S-15/1, Situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; A/HRC/RES/17/24, Situation of human rights in Belarus; A/HRC/RES/18/25, Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia; A/HRC/RES/16/8, Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; A/HRC/RES/16/35, The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and advisory services; A/HRC/RES/16/9, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; A/HRC/RES/17/20, Technical assistance and cooperation on human rights for Kyrgyzstan; A/HRC/RES/16/24, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; A/HRC/RES/17/25, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/18/16, Technical assistance for the Sudan in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/18/19, Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights; Res 18/17: Technical assistance and capacity-building to South Sudan in the field of human rights; Res 18/24: Advisory Services and technical assistance for Burundi; Res 16/34: Advisory services and technical assistance for Burundi; Res16/36: Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in Guinea; Res 16/19: Cooperation between Tunisia and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

[10] 2012: A/HRC/RES/19/14, Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan; A/HRC/RES/19/15, Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; A/HRC/RES/19/16, Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; A/HRC/RES/19/17, Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; A/HRC/RES/19/18, Follow-up to the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; A/HRC/RES/20/22, Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/21/26, Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/S-19/1, The deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent killings in El-Houleh; A/HRC/RES/19/1, The escalating grave human rights violations and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/19/22, Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic; A/HRC/RES/20/21, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/21/31, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/19/28, Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/20/20, Situation of human rights in Eritrea; A/HRC/RES/21/1, Situation of human rights in Eritrea; A/HRC/RES/20/17, Human rights situation in Mali; A/HRC/RES/21/25, Situation of human rights in the Republic of Mali; A/HRC/RES/21/22, Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human Rights; A/HRC/RES/19/29, Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/20/13, Situation of human rights in Belarus; A/HRC/RES/20/19, Technical assistance to Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights; A/HRC/RES/19/13, The situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; A/HRC/RES/19/27, The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the strengthening of technical cooperation and advisory services; A/HRC/RES/19/30, Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in Guinea; A/HRC/RES/19/12, Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; A/HRC/RES/19/21, Situation of human rights in Myanmar; A/HRC/RES/19/2, Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka; A/HRC/RES/21/27, Technical assistance for the Sudan in the field of human rights; 19/39: Assistance to Libya in the field of human rights; 21/28: Technical assistance and capacity building for South Sudan in the field of Human Rights.

[11] 2013: March Session: 22/1 Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka [item 2]; 22/13 The situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [item 4];22/14 Situation of human rights in Myanmar [item 4]; 22/17 Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan [item 7]; 22/18 Assistance to the Republic of Mali in the field of human rights [item 10]; 22/19 Technical assistance for Libya in the field of human rights [item 10]; 22/23 Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran [item 4]; 22/24 Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic [item 4]; 22/25 Follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict [item 7]; 22/26 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan [item 7]; 22/27 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination [item 7]; 22/28 Human Rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [item 7]; 22/29 Follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [item 7]. June Session: 23/1 The deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent killings in Al-Qusayr [item 1]; 23/15 Situation of human rights in Belarus [item 4]; 23/18 Technical assistance to the Central African Republic in the field of human rights [item 10]; 23/21 Situation of human rights in Eritrea [item 4]; 23/22 Technical assistance to Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights [item 10]; 23/23 Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in Guinea [item 10]; 23/24 Technical assistance and capacity-building for South Sudan in the field of human rights [item 10]; 23/26 The deterioration of the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the need to grant immediate access to the commission of inquiry [item 4]. September Session: 24/22 The continuing grave deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [item 4]; 24/27 Technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [item 10]; 24/28 Technical assistance for the Sudan in the field of human rights [item 10]; 24/29 Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia [item 10]; 24/30 Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights [item 10]; 24/32 Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights [item 10]; 24/34 Technical assistance to the Central African Republic in the field of human rights [item 10].

[12] 2014: Special Session 1: S-20/1 Situation of human rights in the Central African Republic and technical assistance in the field of human rights (21 January 2014); March Session: 25/1 Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka [Item 2]; 25/23 The continuing grave deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [Item 4]; 25/24 Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran [Item 4]; 25/25 Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [Item 4]; 25/26 Situation of human rights in Myanmar [Item 4]; 25/27 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination [Item 7]; 25/28 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan [Item 7]; 25/29 Human rights situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [Item 7]; 25/30 Follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict [Item 7]; 25/31 Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan [Item 7]; 25/35 Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in Guinea [Item 10]; 25/36 Assistance to the Republic of Mali in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 25/37 Technical assistance for Libya in the field of human rights [Item 10]. June Session: 26/23 The continuing grave deterioration in the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [Item 4]; 26/24 Situation of human rights in Eritrea [Item 4]; 26/25 Situation of human rights in Belarus [Item 4]; 26/30 Cooperation and assistance to Ukraine in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 26/31 Technical and capacity-building assistance for South Sudan in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 26/32 Capacity-building and technical cooperation with Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights [Item 10] Special Session 2: S-21/1 Ensuring respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (23 July 2014); Special Session 3: S-22/1 The human rights situation in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups (1 September 2014); September Session: 27/16 The continuing grave deterioration in the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [item 4]; 27/19 Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights [item 10]; 27/27 Technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [Item 10]; 27/28 Technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights in the Central African Republic [Item 10]; 27/29 Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in the Sudan [Item 10].

[13] 2015: Special Session 1: S-23/1, Atrocities committed by the terrorist group Boko Haram and it effects on human rights in the affected states (21 May 2015); March Session: 28/20 The continuing grave deterioration in the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [Item 4]; 28/21 Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran [Item 4]; 28/22 Situation of human rights in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [Item 4]; 28/23 Situation of human rights in Myanmar [Item 4]; 28/24 Human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan [Item 7]; 28/25 Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination [Item 7]; 28/26 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan [Item 7]; 28/27 Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [Item 7]; 28/30 Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in Libya [Item 10]; 28/31 Technical assistance and capacity-building for Mali in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 28/32 Technical assistance and capacity-building in strengthening human rights in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by Daesh and associated terrorist groups [Item 10]; 28/33 Strengthening of technical cooperation and consultative services in Guinea [Item 10]; June Session: 29/13 Mission by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to improve human rights, accountability and reconciliation in South Sudan [Item 2]; 29/16 The grave and deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [Item 4]; 29/17 Situation of human rights in Belarus [Item 4]; 29/18 Situation of human rights in Eritrea [Item 4]; 29/21 Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar [Item 2]; 29/23 Cooperation and assistance to Ukraine in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 29/24 Capacity-building and technical cooperation with Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 29/25 Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [Item 7]. September Session: 30/1, Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka [Item 2]; 30/10, The grave and deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Syrian Arab Republic [Item 4]; 30/18 Technical assistance and capacity-building for Yemen in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 30/19 Technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights in the Central African Republic [Item 10]; 30/20 Assistance to Somalia in the field of human rights [Item 10]; 30/22, Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in the Sudan [Item 10]; 30/23, Advisory services and technical assistance for Cambodia [Item 10]; 30/26, Technical assistance and capacity-building for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [Item 10]; 30/27, Technical cooperation and capacity-building for Burundi in the field of human rights [Item 10]. Special Session 2: S-24/1, Preventing the deterioration of the human rights situation in Burundi (17 December 2015).

[14] S-1, Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 5 July 2006; S-2, The gave situation of human rights in Lebanon caused by Israeli military operations, 11 August 2006; S-3, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Beit Hanoun, 15 November 2006; S-4, Situation of human rights in Darfur, 12 December 2006.

[15] S-5, Situation of human rights in Myanmar, 2 October 2007.

[16] S-6, Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military attacks and incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 23 January 2008; S-8, situation of human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 28 November 2008 (does not include S-7, the negative impact of the worsening of the world food crisis, 22 May 2008).

[17] S-9, The grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip, 9 January 2009; S-11, human rights situation in Sri Lanka, 26 may 2009; S-12, human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, 15 October 2009 (does not include S-10, the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights, 20 February 2009).

[18] S-14, situation of human rights in Cote dIvoire in relation to the conclusion of the 2010 presidential election, 23 December 2010 (does not include S-13, the support of the HRC to the recovery process in Haiti after the earthquake of January 12, 2010: a human rights approach, 27 January 2010).

[19] S-15, situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 29 April 2011; S-16, situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, 29 April 2011; S-17, the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, 22 August 2011; S-18, the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, 2 December 2011.

[20] S-19, the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, 1 June 2012.

[21] S-20, the human rights situation in the Central African Republic, 20 January 2014; S-21, the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, 23 July 2014; S-22, The human rights situation in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups, 1 September 2014.

[22] S-23/1, Atrocities committed by the terrorist group Boko Haram and its effects on human rights in the affected states (21 May 2015); S-24/1, Preventing the deterioration of the human rights situation in Burundi (17 December 2015).

[23] 2006: See OHCHR Annual Report (2006) http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/AboutUs/annualreport2006.pdf.

[24] 2007: See OHCHR Annual Report (2007)http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Press/OHCHR_Report_07_Full.pdf.

[25] 2008: See OHCHR, Annual Report (2008)http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Press/OHCHR_Report_2008.pdf.

[26] 2009: See OHCHR Annual Report (2009) .http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/I_OHCHR_Rep_2009_complete_final.pdf. Country Specific: Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cuba, DPRK, DRC, Haiti, Liberia, Myanmar, OPT, Somalia, Sudan; Thematic: New mandates created on slavery, right to water.

[27] 2010: See OHCHR Annual Report (2010)http://www2.ohchr.org/english/ohchrreport2010/web_version/media/pdf/24_Human_Rights_Council_SP.pdf. Country-specific: Burundi, Cambodia, DPRK, Haiti, Myanmar, OPT, Somalia, Sudan.

[28] 2011: See OHCHR Annual Report (2011) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/ohchrreport2011/web_version/ohchr_report2011_web/allegati/30_Human_Rights_Council_and_Special_Procedures.pdf. Country-specific: Burundi, Cambodia, Cote DIvoire, DPRK, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, OPT, Somalia, Sudan, Syria. Thematic: Adequate housing; people of African descent; arbitrary detention; sale of children; cultural rights; democratic and equitable international order; education; enforced or involuntary disappearances; extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; extreme poverty; food; foreign debt; freedom of peaceful assembly and association; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of religion or belief; health; human rights defenders; independence of judges and lawyers; indigenous peoples; internally displaced persons; international solidarity; mercenaries; migrants; minority issues; truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; racism; slavery; terrorism; torture; hazardous substances and waste; trafficking in persons; transnational corporations; violence against women; water; discrimination against women.

[29] 2012: Country-specific: New mandates created on Belarus and Eritrea, discontinued on Burundi; Thematic: New mandates created on democratic and equitable international order; peaceful assembly and association; truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; or discrimination against women.

[30] 2013: Country-specific: New mandates created on the Central African Republic and Mali; Thematic: New mandate created on human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

[31] 2014: Country-specific: No change; Thematic: New mandates created on the rights of persons with disabilities and unilateral coercive measures.

[32] 2015: Country-specific: No change; Thematic: New thematic mandates created on the rights of persons with albinism and privacy.
Jewish Humor Central is a daily publication to start your day with news of the Jewish world that's likely to produce a knowing smile and some Yiddishe nachas. It's also a collection of sources of Jewish humor--anything that brings a grin, chuckle, laugh, guffaw, or just a warm feeling to readers. Our posts include jokes, satire, books, music, films, videos, food, Unbelievable But True, and In the News. Some are new, and some are classics. We post every morning, Sunday through Friday. Enjoy!
What is a Jew? Israeli museum attempts an answer

JERUSALEMI was on a short visit to Israel and spent time with a friend with whom I have been engaged in a 30-year argument. Elli...

When anti-Semitism rears its head, we must be ready to fight it

Anti-Semitism is a force that is persistent as well as pernicious. When it occurs, it must be fought both by being confronted in real time...
Air-bag supplier Takata Corp's biggest customer Honda Motor Co has reported that they have missed their profit forecasts costly recalls for replacement devices expand.

The company has reported a net income of 124.2 billion yen ($1 billion) in the last quarter of last year. This figure is compared with the 149.3-billion-yen average from eight analysts. However, despite its failure to meet the expected profit, the automaker is still positive that its profit will rise to 525 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March.

The missed target is said to be partly caused by Honda calling back more than 20 million vehicles to fix Takata-made air bags. The malfunction of the air bags has been linked to 10 deaths and at least 100 injuries of motorists in the USA alone.



"Although there are signs of improvement in earnings, the uncertainty over the quality issue cannot be wiped out," Takaki Nakanishi, an analyst at Jefferies Group LLC, wrote. "Future prospects of Takata-related costs remain unclear."



Honda and other automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp, have met with Takata last Friday to discuss the state of its business. Unfortunately, representatives of the different companies have all declined to discuss details.



Takata, Honda and a number of other automaker companies have joined forces in terms of investigating the root cause of the air bag ruptures. "Those efforts will determine how much Takata will contribute to paying recalls that have already cost automakers 600 billion yen to 700 billion yen, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this week."



The situation has caused frustrations not only from the automakers themselves but also from car owners. It has been eight years since Honda has begun to recall vehicles with defective air bags in 2008.

The longer it is for the investigation to come up with results and conclusions, the costlier it would be for Honda, especially that an 11th death involving the malfunction of its inflators have been reported just within the week.
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Plugged In Thomas Content offers insight on changes in the world of energy, climate change and efforts to build a greener economy. SHARE

By of the

WEC Energy Group Inc. has reached an agreement to sell its company that builds and operates fueling stations around the country that dispense compressed natural gas for trucks and other vehicles.

Trillium CNG would be sold to Loves Travel Stops of Oklahoma City under a deal announced Tuesday by Loves, which operates more than 360 stores in 40 states.

The Milwaukee-based parent company of We Energies acquired Trillium CNG last summer when it bought Integrys Energy Group Inc. of Chicago.

Integrys had been investing in helping Trillium expand its network of stations, but WEC Energy decided that the company wasnt a good fit with its core business of monopoly electric and natural gas utilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

"We believe that the proposed sale to Loves will allow Trillium to grow and thrive with an entity that is focused on the national distribution of CNG, said Brian Manthey, a WEC spokesman.

Financial terms of the deal werent disclosed by Love's or by WEC Energy. WEC told securities regulators last fall that Trilliums assets were valued at $140 million.

The deal, which needs regulatory approval, would add 37 public-access CNG stations, boosting Loves lineup to 65. Trillium CNG provides fuel for thousands of natural gas vehicles daily and delivers more than 55 million gallons of CNG per year.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of March, Manthey said.

"Trilliums established network of CNG locations and its deep expertise within the industry will also allow Loves to serve new types of customers in new markets while expanding reach to existing customers," said Frank Love, co-chief executive of the privately held convenience store operator, in a statement.

Historically, Loves customer base has been focused on heavy-duty and light-duty fleets, whereas Trillium's customers include transit authorities, school districts, airport fleets and and consumers.
Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. and County Executive Chris Abele. Credit: Mike De Sisti

By of the

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. scored a huge victory late last year when county supervisors overrode plans by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele to cut the sheriff's budget by $4 million.

But Clarke was not done with his longtime political foe. The sheriff has now sued Abele over that budget fight.

Clarke's claim: His First Amendment rights were violated by the county exec.

"We're asking a judge to enjoin the county executive from using the budget process to retaliate against any county official for speaking out on matters of public concern," said Michael. A. I. Whitcomb, the private attorney representing Clarke.

In other words, the sheriff is asking a judge to issue an order telling Abele to follow the U.S. Constitution.

Clarke declined to answer about the litigation, which was filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court last week and assigned to Judge Richard Sankovitz. "No, thank you, unless you are the judge the case has been assigned to," Clarke said by email when asked for comment.

But in threatening such a suit late last year, Clarke said Abele was punishing the sheriff for his freedom of expression. The sheriff has made a career issuing incendiaryremarks via Fox News, various local radio stations, his national podcast, Twitter, news releases and public service announcements.

"He may not agree with my views," Clarke told conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes, "but I'm still entitled to express my views."

Melissa Baldauff, spokeswoman for Abele, said in a statement that the county exec didn't infringe on Clarke's rights to free speech. Abele recommended the $4 million cut, she said, to try to run county government more efficiently.

Baldauff said Abele would leave it to the court to decide if Clarke's suit has merit.

"The sheriff in the past three years  at a time when our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform  has chosen to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars filing frivolous, vanity lawsuits against the county that have been dismissed," Baldauff said.

"The County Board raised taxes by $4 million to give the sheriff more money in his budget, and one of his first actions is to spend that money to sue the county yet again. I would ask supervisors if they think that this money is well-spent."

The suit is the latest in a lengthy, ongoing squabble between two of the county's top officials.

In the past, Clarke has accused the county exec of having "penis envy" and being an "expert on immaturity."

Abele, for his part, once labeled the sheriff "crazy" and a "childish bully" in an email to a staff member. In addition, Abele spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from his own pocket to help a challenger in an unsuccessful bid to defeat Clarke in 2014.

In his November veto message, Abele said he could not support raising property taxes by 1.4% "to validate the sheriff for his repeated incendiary comments and his out of touch views on criminal justice and our society."

Abele cited a No Quarter column and one by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist James Causey as well as a news release issued by Clarke's office.

"Rather than participate in constructive ways to address real and serious issues in our community, the sheriff offers instead what the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calls his 'extreme and attention grabbing comments,'" Abele wrote.

"The sheriff may choose to refer to people in the Black Lives Matter movement as 'subhuman creeps.' These statements aren't just categorically untrue, they are divisive, foster anger and intolerance, and only serve to exacerbate the issues they purport to address."

Clarke, who is African-American, has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement  which he calls Black Lies Matter  and said African-Americans end up dealing drugs because they are "lazy" and "morally bankrupt."

In his eight-page lawsuit, Clarke stated that he was speaking out on matters of public concern with his statements. He also said the remarks were made in his capacity as a citizen and not as a part of his official duties. That includes the news release from his office accusing Abele of engaging in "race politics."

Clarke said he made those comments in an attempt "to bring about change with public ramifications extending beyond the personal." Instead, the suit said, Clarke's remarks "precipitated the adverse action of the veto."

"Executive Abele violated Sheriff Clarke's First Amendment rights by vetoing the County Board's amendment that added $4 million for the Office of the Sheriff in the 2016 budget in retaliation for Sheriff Clarke's speech criticized by Executive Abele in his veto," Clarke's suit said.

Members of the County Board overrode Abele's veto on a 15-1 vote in November.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Two bills targeting Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in all likelihood are headed to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature. Both may do nothing. Credit: Getty Images

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Two bills targeting Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in all likelihood are headed to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.

Both may do nothing.

The two bills are designed to cut  though not eliminate  the funding that Planned Parenthood receives from the state and federal government.

But one bill, which has been passed by the Legislature, deals with money that the state doesn't control. The other, which still awaits approval by the Assembly, would mandate a change that would require federal approval, and, even if that was successful, could be challenged in court.

"It seems like a waste of time and effort on everybody's part," said Jacquelyne Bodden, a nurse practitioner and president of the Wisconsin Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association.

Federal and state dollars cannot be used to pay for abortions, except in the case of rape and incest or to save the life of the mother or when continuing the pregnancy would gravely affect the mother's health.

The bills have the support of legislators and groups who oppose any tax dollars going to organizations that perform abortions.

"There absolutely is that element to it," said Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere), who took the lead on the bills.

The bills were introduced in the wake of secretly recorded videos by abortion opponents that purportedly showed a Planned Parenthood official in California discussing the cost of providing fetal tissue for medical research.

They have resulted in a familiar divide.

Republicans overall support the bills. Democrats overall oppose them.

Groups such as Pro-Life Wisconsin, Wisconsin Catholic Conference and Wisconsin Family Action support them. Groups such as the Wisconsin section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health and Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault oppose them.

The bills  AB 310 and AB 311 and the companion bills SB 238 and SB 237  don't name Planned Parenthood but instead refer to any organization that performs abortions.

Planned Parenthood, which has 22 clinics in the state, including five in Milwaukee, performs abortions at three of its clinics. Those clinics are in Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton.

The organization last year provided care to 59,234 people in Wisconsin, including 27,921 in Milwaukee County.

Planned Parenthood estimates that 69% of its patients  more than 40,000 people  are covered by Medicaid programs. Even if the bills are signed, Planned Parenthood still could bill the two Medicaid programs that cover family planning and other health services, such as screenings for cervical cancer and sexually transmitted diseases, for low-income women and men.

The health plans sold on the marketplaces set up through the Affordable Care Act also cover family planning and other reproductive health services.

Chasing federal money

The bill passed by the Legislature directs the state to apply for a federal grant, known as Title X, that is currently awarded to Planned Parenthood and that it shares with Essential Health Care in La Crosse and First Choice Health Center in Janesville.

The grant, which is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is for $3.5 million, with $705,745 going to the other two organizations, and runs through 2018.

The grant can be used for family planning services, training, research and education, such as services that are not covered by the state's Medicaid programs.

"Title X helps fill the gaps," said Nicole Safar, director of government relations for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, the advocacy affiliate of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

The grants are available only in certain areas.

Nine of Planned Parenthood's 22 clinics and nine clinics run by Essential Health Care and First Choice Health Center receive money from the grant, according to Planned Parenthood.

Safar views the bill as grandstanding.

"They can't take that federal money away from us, because they have nothing to do with the decision-making process around it," she said. "But they have presented it as, 'We are working hard to defund Planned Parenthood and take their federal money away,' even though in the real world, they have no actual power to do that."

The organization has received the grant for more than 30 years and plans to continue applying for it.

The state Department of Health Services would have to do some work before it could even apply for the grant. That includes putting together a network of clinics. The Department of Administration estimated that preparing a grant proposal will cost about $150,000.

Jacque said that in most states, public entities get the Title X grant.

But Planned Parenthood clinics in more than 20 states receive Title X grants, according to the Health and Human Services website.

Without question, losing the Title X grant would hurt Planned Parenthood.

In its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2014, Planned Parenthood reported net income of $689,341  a less than 3% margin  on revenue of $25.3 million.

That organization depends on contributions  $4.2 million in the 2014 fiscal year  to remain in the black.

Reimbursement change

The other piece of legislation would change the way the state reimburses Planned Parenthood for contraceptives and other prescription drugs.

The bill, which has won approval from the Senate and awaits consideration by the Assembly, applies only to Planned Parenthood, though other family planning clinics are reimbursed the same way.

Those clinics initially were included in the bill, Jacque said, but were later removed.

"That was based on feedback from other legislators," he said.

Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics are among the health care organizations that can buy prescription drugs at a discount under what is known as the federal 340B program.

The BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid programs agreed to pay the clinics more than the discounted drugs cost to offset the low fees the health programs pay for clinical services, according to the clinics.

At the same time, BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid reimburse the family-planning clinics less than the programs pay other providers and far below what private health plans pay.

The reimbursement rates have been in place since the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat.

Federal approval needed

Changing the way that the state pays Planned Parenthood for prescription drugs will require approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to the state Department of Health Services.

Jacque said he was not aware that the change specified in the bill would need federal approval.

Diane Welsh, a lawyer who represents Planned Parenthood, said she is optimistic that the federal government would not approve the change.

If that happened, though, the organization would have a valid reason to challenge the law in court as arbitrary given that it would affect only Planned Parenthood, she said.

"It's hard to say there's a rational basis for the bill as it now stands," said Welsh, the former chief legal counsel for the Department of Health Services.

But Jacque said that the federal program that enables health care organizations to buy prescription drugs at a discount is facing increased scrutiny.

He believes the program eventually will be changed for all family planning clinics and other organizations eligible for the program.

Planned Parenthood and the other family planning clinics might welcome that.

"We would like overall restructuring of the reimbursement system," Safar said. "That's something we'd be been advocating for 10 years."

Whether the two bills succeed in cutting the organization's funding won't be known for several years.

"The legislative process is about the art of the possible, particularly as you get to the end of the session," Jacque said.

For now, Planned Parenthood is confident the bills will not result in its receiving less funding. And it even sees a potential benefit in the debate that has surrounded them.

"Controversy is a great chance for public education for us," Safar said.
By of the

A Milwaukee developer is proposing a four-story, 56-unit apartment building for the Walker's Point neighborhood and is seeking federal affordable housing tax credits to help finance it.

Brandon Rule, who operates Rule Enterprises LLC, would develop the building at 704-710 W. National Ave., according to information filed with the Department of City Development. That site now has an older industrial building owned by El Rey Enterprises LLP, according to assessment records.

The development, known as 704 Place Apartments, is among 39 apartment proposals statewide seeking the tax credits in this year's competition, according to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

Developers who receive tax credits are required to provide apartments at below-market rents to people earning no more than 60% of the local median income.

704 Place would set aside 47 apartments for below-market rents, with the remaining units provided at market rents, according to the authority.

It would feature three-bedroom units for larger families, according to Rule's proposal. The building also would have one-bedroom and two-bedroom units for smaller families and others.

The building would include a community room, fitness center, laundry room and ground-floor covered parking as well as surface parking stalls.

The development site "is within convenient walking distance of several employers, retail shops and restaurants," the proposal said. It is near the former Esperanza Unida building, 611 W. National Ave., which is being converted into Mercantile Lofts, with 36 higher-end apartments.

The authority usually announces tax credit awards in April.

Rule's proposal is among 12 Milwaukee proposals, including one that would convert four floors of the eight-story Century Building, 808 N. Old World 3rd St., from offices to 50 apartments.

Other proposals target the former Garfield Avenue Elementary School, the former Fifth Street School and the former Esser Paint site, all on Milwaukee's north side, and the proposed Mill Road Library redevelopment on the northwest side.

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While consumers enjoy lower gasoline prices, some Wisconsin companies are feeling the pain of cheap oil.

The companies that have been hurt by oil prices vary widely, from Harley-Davidson Inc. to Twin Disc Inc., a Racine-based maker of power transmission equipment used in the oil and gas industry.

Tuesday, Twin Disc reported a loss of $2.3 million, or 21 cents per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2016  compared with a profit of $3.7 million, or 33 cents, for the same period a year earlier.

Twin Disc suspended its dividend payment. The company said sales fell 38% in the quarter.

"The significant decline in fiscal 2016 sales is the result of reduced demand for the company's oil and gas related products in both North America and Asia, driven by the global decline in oil and natural gas prices, along with softening demand in Asia for the company's commercial marine products," Twin Disc said in a statement.

Last week, Harley-Davidson said its sales had slipped in areas where oil and gas production was down, including the U.S. and the Middle East, where thousands of oil field workers have lost their jobs.

"Within the United States, the 'oil patch' represents a minority of our overall (sales) volumes, but it is of concern, and we've seen it getting a little bit worse over the last several quarters," John Olin, Harley's chief financial officer, said in a conference call with analysts.

Over the past 19 months, oil prices have plummeted from $107 a barrel to less than $30. U.S. households have saved hundreds of dollars on gasoline and heating oil, putting money in their pocket for other things.

"The savings from the big decline in oil prices amounts to about $3 trillion to global consumers," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment analyst for Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co.

However, layoffs and spending cuts by oil drillers have offset some of the economic boost from steady consumer spending.

Globally, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs as oil drillers have slashed production. Oil-dependent states North Dakota and Alaska face $1 billion and $3.5 billion budget shortfalls, respectively.

Wisconsin doesn't produce oil, yet many companies here have ties to the industry through sales of equipment, oil field frack sand or consumer products.

When the industry's capital spending is down, "we catch a bit of a cold," said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

"The depressed price of oil, while I think is extremely good for the consumer and lots of other businesses, is clearly hitting some companies hard," Sheehy said.

Generac Power Systems of Waukesha and Kohler Power Systems, a division of Kohler Co., sell generators used in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota.

The portable generators, some roughly the size of a pickup truck, burn waste gas as fuel and provide electric power to oil pumping operations. The generators also are used in oil fields in Texas, Oklahoma, Canada and overseas.

Joy Global Inc. of Milwaukee and the South Milwaukee-based mining equipment division of Caterpillar Inc. build mining shovels used in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada.

The region's tar-like grade of crude is used to make gasoline and other fuels, and flows through a network of pipelines to refineries across North America  including Wisconsin's only refinery, in Superior.

For new oil sand mines in Alberta to break even, however, the price of oil needs to be $85 to $95 a barrel, according to IHS Global Insight.

Western Canadian Select oil sands crude recently sold for about $15 a barrel. Canadian oil companies have slashed budgets, laid off tens of thousands of workers and cut dividends.

Joy Global and Caterpillar also have laid off hundreds of employees in Milwaukee and elsewhere as the overall mining industry remains in a slump.

Those jobs pay higher-than-average wages in the region, so when there's a decline in mined commodities, obviously we are affected, Sheehy said.

Currently, there's a worldwide glut of oil. A recovery in the price depends on when supply and demand get close to equilibrium, and that could be a while.

"The U.S. is such a machine, in terms of generating new technology, that we have become the largest oil producer in the world, almost overnight," Bittles said.

He added: "I don't see that as a negative. Short-term it's going to produce some ripples throughout the economy because it came so fast, and the price swings were so big. But I think eventually the price of oil will go where it's supposed to, where supply meets demand.

"The oil patch has had price swings like this in the past, but as long as you let the free market forces work, the price will come back to where it should be."

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Doing Nothing class at Lawrence University garners national attention

The Doing Nothing course meets for one hour every week and is taught by a new professor each week. Students are graded either pass or fail and can't have their phones during the class.
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Publications International Ltd. will close three facilities in Racine County, cutting 50 jobs.

The locations to be shuttered by the Lincolnwood, Ill. firm, a publisher of consumer periodicals and more than 400 new book titles a year, are all in the Grandview Business Park, just west of I-94 and south of Highway 20.

In a notice to state officials Tuesday, the company said the closure was prompted by the loss of a distribution agreement with Phoenix International Publications. The job cuts are expected to begin on April 1 and continue through June 30.
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A proposal setting the stage for Wauwatosa to eventually spend nearly $54 million to help finance The Mayfair Collection mixed-use development's expansion has been approved by the Common Council.

The council Tuesday night voted 11-1, with Ald. Tim Hanson opposed, to change the project plan for a tax incremental financing district that covers the development site.

That change calls for city funds to help finance The District, a proposed residential development next to the Mayfair Collection; the retail project's current expansion; and nearby roads, bike paths and other public improvements.

The budget includes $19.8 million for parking structures, $11.5 million for public improvements, $11 million for demolition and redevelopment, $3.5 million for payments to the developers, and $7.6 million for city borrowing costs.

Separate votes will be needed for those future spending items, City Administrator James Archambo told council members.

The project's expansion, including stores, restaurants, a hotel and more than 1,000 housing units, is expected to add nearly $193 million in new taxable property value by 2024, Archambo said.

New property taxes from those developments will pay back the city's funds, he said. That is expected to happen within 12 years, he said.

The council in 2012 agreed to provide $8.5 million to help develop the Mayfair Collection's first phase. With borrowing costs, that increased to $10.8 million, and is expected to be paid back by 2027.

The development is on 67 acres east of Highway 45 and north of W. Burleigh St., and is replacing some former warehouses.

In the project's first phase, Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate Inc. created retail space split between a renovated warehouse and new buildings

That phase opened in 2014, anchored by Nordstrom Rack, and is valued at $48.2 million. The city funds helped cover demolition; environmental cleanup; new sewers, water mains and roads; and other improvements. The city also provided $2 million to HSA.

Construction of the second phase, anchored by a Whole Foods Market and a Homewood Suites hotel, started that same year. That phase, which includes several restaurants, will have an estimated value of $52.7 million. Most of those buildings will be completed this year.

Meanwhile, Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc. is planning to develop The District, with up to 1,050 luxury apartments and other housing units built over the next eight to 10 years.

Fiduciary hopes to begin construction this year on the District's first phase: two buildings totaling 268 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

The District's future housing units and commercial space have an estimated value of $140.1 million.

After the new property taxes pay off the city's debt, that revenue will go to the city, its school district and other local governments.

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Milwaukee Public Schools and local restaurateurs announced a new two-year culinary arts program Tuesday aimed at better preparing students to work in the hospitality industry.

The ProStart program, developed by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation, is already offered in more than 100 schools around the state. This marks its first foray into MPS, which will launch pilot programs this fall at Bay View, Vincent, Washington and Madison high schools.

"It's basically a workforce development program," said Joe Bartolotta, who sits on the board of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and has rallied industry colleagues to support the collaboration.

"One of the frustrations in the hospitality industry... is we have a hard time getting young, bright, engaged people into our businesses," he said. "Our thought is if we bring ProStart into MPS, we can try to give kids an idea of potential jobs in the future."

Other local participants include SURG Restaurant Group and Hospitality Democracy, which between them own several well-known restaurants around the city.

MPS and its partners  including Bartolotta and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association  will officially launch the program Thursday at Washington High School of Information Technology.

Bartolotta said the restaurants are committed to financially supporting the program, but said they are still trying to get a handle on what those costs will be. He said local hospitality professionals will work with students and teachers in the classrooms  on everything from food preparation to management skills  and that there will likely be internship opportunities for students at local restaurants.

MPS called the program "a natural fit for Milwaukee," saying restaurants are "a driving force in Wisconsin's economy." It cited National Restaurant Association data showing restaurants account for 1 in 10 jobs in Wisconsin.

ProStart is not intended to compete with the culinary arts program at Milwaukee Area Technical College, but would better prepare students who may enroll in its program, said Richard Busalacchi, associate dean of MATC's hospitality program. Students who graduate from the ProStart program would receive credits toward MATC's culinary or management degree.

"It's become a great feeder and weeder for students interested in going into the culinary industry," said Busalacchi, who sits on the restaurant association's education foundation board. "It begins the pipeline for creating a talented workforce."

MPS said a fundraising campaign would be launched in the spring to help defray the costs of the program.

All of the schools selected to take part in the ProStart program already have some connection to food industries. Among those:

 Bay View High School launched a partnership with Arts @ Large and local restaurant Honeypie to connect students to culinary arts.

 James Madison Academic Campus offers a National Academy Foundation program in finance for students interested in the business aspects of the hospitality industry.

 Vincent High School's agriculture program works with the local food and beverage industry.

 Washington High School of Information Technology offers a National Academy Foundation program in hospitality and tourism.
Back when Gustav Marx was jumping into icy Lake Michigan, newspaper articles called him and his friends polar bears, but in lowercase letters.

That was 1916, several years before the Polar Bear Club of Milwaukee would be established enough to merit capital letters.

Marx's grandson, Steve Lister, recently came into possession of a photo album that his grandfather had titled: "Pictures of winter swimming, season 1916-17 at McKinley Beach."

It's evidence that people of that era were perfectly capable of putting good sense aside and plunging into numbing water as a lark.

The men are wearing shoes, even now a wise move on the frozen beach. Photos show they favored mittens and T-shirts along with their swim trunks. Bundled-up supporters stand by to watch the fun.

Hundreds of their modern-day descendants will storm Bradford Beach on Thursday at noon and frolic in the 30-something-degree water in our annual New Year's Day ritual that says we're tougher than winter around here and don't you forget it. (Bragging alert: I did it once, in 2004.)

Marx was about 21 years old when he and two friends, Jim Brazell and Frank Sutter, took regular Sunday dips in the lake all winter long, not just on New Year's. One Sentinel article from the time, carefully pasted in the album, called them "Milwaukee's midwinter mermen," and said they had been swimming out of season for the past three years, which dates the practice to as early as 1913.

"Cold water has been around a long time. At some point, it became newsworthy," Lister said as we flipped through the album this week.

Brazell would become president of the Polar Bear Club by the 1920s, Journal Sentinel archives show. Joseph Sutter, a Milwaukee police detective and perhaps a relative of Marx's buddy Frank Sutter, took over in the 1930s and led the club until 1975, when his doctor told him to knock it off.

The group then crowned its first female president, 23-year-old Jean Pieri. But much of the 20th century was the Garth Gaskey dynasty. The Brookfield man said he will take his 57th consecutive New Year's plunge on Thursday, five days before turning 80.

Until Lister showed up with the photo album, the earliest mention of the Polar Bear tradition I could find was an article in the newspaper morgue from Dec. 18, 1922. Long before the global climate crisis kicked in, the headline was: "Polar Bear Club disgusted to find lake too warm."

Lister, 60, a remodeling contractor who lives in Greendale, said his grandfather was a German immigrant and a larger-than-life figure who left hundreds of photo albums behind when he died in 1972 in Milwaukee.

There's a photo of Marx riding a motorcycle and shooting a bow and arrow at the same time. When he was in his 60s, he came as a guest to Lister's elementary school tumbling club and dazzled the kids by walking on his hands.

"Gus took a picture of nearly every breath he took most of his life," Lister said. "He was just a good historian. Anything of interest to him or the people around him, he had in a book."

By the 1920s, his name stopped showing up in Polar Bear articles as he got married and began focusing on the advertising career that spanned the rest of his life. He was ad manager for Gimbels before opening his own firm, Gustav Marx Advertising Agency, which remains in the family today as Marx Creative in Glendale.

Clearly, those years as a human ice cube at McKinley Beach didn't hurt Marx. I was telling Lister that he should go jump in the lake Thursday to honor his grandfather.

"I've always wondered about it," he said. "But I've never wondered about it enough to want to do it."
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The Milwaukee County Board on Thursday will be asked to declare a "state of emergency" for the nearly 160 county youths placed in Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, the troubled state-run juvenile prisons for boys and girls, in northern Wisconsin.

An ongoing federal and state probe into allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual assault and excessive use of force at the adjacent prisons near Irma in Lincoln County confirms youth there are in "an unsafe environment" that is a threat to their health and welfare, according to a resolution drafted by Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. and Supervisors Supreme Moore Omokunde and Marina Dimitrijevic.

On Jan. 27, Milwaukee County Circuit Chief Judge Maxine White said treatment of youth at the prisons was "inhumane." White asked the County Board to provide judges with alternatives to sentencing youths to the state prisons.

The resolution authorizes spending up to $500,000 to create a local secure detention facility that could house some of the youth and urges the county Department of Health and Human Needs to expand an existing alternative to imprisonment at the detention center on Watertown Plank Road.

That alternative, known as the Milwaukee County Accountability Program, currently is limited to 24 spaces for boys.

A special meeting of the board's finance committee has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday to act on the resolution so it can be considered by the full board at its meeting that same day.

"Allegations of physical abuse of a child, second-degree sexual assault, victim and witness intimidation, and suicide attempts at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake have resulted in a John Doe investigation, a raid of Lincoln Hills by law enforcement, a reduction in staff due to the investigation, and questions of civil rights violations," the resolution says.

If the board approves the emergency resolution, county departments could bypass routine bidding on projects to renovate space for the local secure detention facility.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said last week that about 24 youth could be placed at the House of Correction following limited reconstruction of available space there.

Since mid-December, a dozen boys and two girls have been transferred out of the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake prisons north of Wausau, according to Thomas Wanta, delinquency and court services administrator.

On Tuesday, the detention center was near capacity, with 118 beds filled. The census included 16 girls and 102 boys.

One of the boys who was transferred to the detention center was injured in a Nov. 29 incident when a Lincoln Hills employee pushed the teenager partially into his room and his foot was caught in the door as it slammed shut.
Teacher Holly Hill works with students in a class that is part of the Milwaukee County Accountability Program at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center, 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road in Wauwatosa. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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After the Ethan Allen School in Wales closed in June 2011 and Milwaukee County juveniles were transferred to the Lincoln Hills prison north of Wausau, Tom Wanta asked county officials to experiment with a local alternative to sending youth so far away from families.

Now Wanta's experiment  described as a success by county officials  could be expanded 180% this year by adding 44 additional beds to help in transferring some of the nearly 160 county teens out of the troubled state juvenile prison in Irma. Wanta is administrator of the Children's Court Center on W. Watertown Plank Road and a former detention center superintendent.

Lincoln Hills is the target of an ongoing federal and state investigation into allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual assault and excessive use of force.

Both County Executive Chris Abele and Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb support boosting capacity of Wanta's Milwaukee County Accountability Program at the detention center as part of a larger plan to move all of the youth back to secure facilities here.

This week, Abele asked the board to approve hiring 12 new staff for expansion of the accountability program and to monitor the safety of county youth at Lincoln Hills while they are waiting to be moved to Milwaukee County this year.

Abele also has suggested renovating available space at the House of Correction for 24 youth.

The County Board on Thursday is expected to declare a "state of emergency" for the county youths at Lincoln Hills School for boys and the adjacent Copper Lake School for girls.

A law enforcement raid of the prison in December and the ongoing investigation of the allegations confirm youth there are in "an unsafe environment" that is a threat to their health and welfare, according to a resolution drafted by Lipscomb and Supervisors Supreme Moore Omokunde and Marina Dimitrijevic.

The resolution authorizes spending up to $500,000 to create local secure detention space for the youth.

A few years before the alleged abuses of youth at Lincoln Hills became known to the public in 2015, the county Health & Human Services Department had established other community programs that provided judges with sentencing alternatives, Director Hector Colon said.

MCAP and those programs resulted in a 28% decrease in sentencing to juvenile prison between 2010 and 2015, said Colon. The department spent $3.7 million less last year on costs of imprisonment than it did in 2010.

Those dollars were reinvested in a recent expansion of MCAP and in support of the community alternatives, such as Community Service and Restitution Coordination, Saturday Alternative Sanctions Program and Evening Report Center.

County circuit judges have sentenced 73 boys to the Milwaukee County Accountability Program since it started in October 2012, Wanta said.

The program was limited to 12 beds in a separate unit at the center through December 2015. MCAP doubled in size last month when a second unit for 12 boys opened.

Wanta said the program could add another 22 boys who could be placed in secure units at a nearby county-owned building. And he is seeking approval to create a separate secure space there for 22 girls, a first for the program, that would bring the total capacity of the program to 68.

Then a large number of county teens could be moved out of the state-run Lincoln Hills prison at Irma in Lincoln County if judges and prosecutors here agree they are good matches for the program. Not every child is a good fit for a program that holds them accountable for achieving educational and behavioral goals.

At midweek, there were 118 youth in the detention center. It has a capacity of 120 beds.

The count included 16 girls and 102 boys. There were 14 boys assigned to MCAP and the remaining 88 boys were in regular detention units. Youth are held in detention an average of eight days while they wait for court hearings.

Youth sentenced to MCAP for one year are facing prison time and considered at risk of committing another crime.

They are held in the program's unit at the secure detention center for up to 180 days before being released to community programs to complete the sentence under a unique intensive monitoring program. Most are released to the community after five months when meeting their MCAP goals. They must wear GPS monitoring devices for a short time after their release.

Twenty of the 73 boys sentenced to MCAP currently are in the one-year program. About half of the others, 26 of 53, completed the full year, Wanta said.

Of the 26 who completed the program to date, 14 have been out a year or more and only five of them committed another crime, he said. That recidivism rate of 36% is lower than Lincoln Hills and statewide rates.

"MCAP shows promise," Wanta said.

All of its graduates can claim other significant accomplishments from their months at MCAP, from improving reading and math skills to achieving high school credits that can be transferred, said Eric Weaver, director of court-ordered programs for Running Rebels Community Organization. Drug and alcohol abuse rates also go down.

Running Rebels is one of many partners the county relies on to make the accountability program work, Wanta said.

Another is the Wauwatosa School District. It provides a team of more than a dozen teachers and special education instructors for MCAP and other secure detention units, said Dean Heus, administrator of the Detention Center School and Wauwatosa Virtual Academy.

Youth at MCAP during 2014 and 2015 each earned between 1.5 and 3 high school credits, Wanta said.

Each day inside the detention center, a dozen or more male teens  some of them former members of competing gangs  are focused on completing the second chance they have been given as part of the MCAP option to imprisonment at Lincoln Hills.

"They get along here," Wanta said.

The 12 youth sentenced to the original MCAP secure unit live together in one large half-circle shaped room lined with a dozen individual locked cells. A detention officer observes the activity behind a counter opposite the cells. The new MCAP unit is similar in design, Wanta said.

Apart from once a day activities in a gym, they do everything in this unit: attend school classes; eat meals; participate in therapy and art projects; and adjust to constant supervision of the officers as well as a personal monitor from Running Rebels. They are expected to participate in weekly family counseling.

Running Rebels monitors will stick with them after they return to the community and will be responsible for knowing their schedule 24 hours a day, whether they are in school or job training, Weaver said.

"Nothing ends here," he said. The juveniles can turn to their monitors for advice and counsel at anytime, and those monitors encourage them to comply with requirements of their sentence.

Youths at MCAP also begin alcohol or other drug counseling, if needed, and all join in difficult group conversations about changing behaviors and making better choices in their lives once they return to the community.

Those conversations are led by Running Rebels representatives.

They attend once a week art therapy classes provided by Express Yourself Milwaukee where they work together on projects. A mural completed by MCAP youth last year is mounted in a corridor at the Children's Court Center outside the Public Defender's Office.

Their school classes this semester include math, reading, writing, health and civics, Heus said. They are required to read 40 books as part of class requirements. They also can select other classes from the online Wauwatosa Virtual Academy.

Other semesters offer science and social studies classes.

Heus said he has observed boys "gain traction" in their studies after a few months. "This is the most consistent school attendance these kids have had" in years, he said.

Looking around the MCAP unit with its individual cells and the correctional officer, Heus said: "Sometimes I'm not sure if this is the saddest setting for education or the most inspirational setting I've seen."
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Iowa puts religion on display

When politics get mixed up with religion, both lose credibility. That was never more evident than in the Iowa Republican presidential race.

Iowa Republicans support candidates who flaunt religion. First, it was Gov. Scott Walker who said that God told him to run for president. When Walker mismanaged his campaign budget and dropped out, Iowa Republicans went for the next most ostentatiously religious candidate, Ben Carson. Walker, by the way, never explained God's change of heart.

After Carson's eccentricities caused him to falter, Iowa Republicans flirted briefly with Donald Trump before voting for the next religious extremist, Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz took a bigoted and cold-hearted view of accepting Syrian refugees, declaring that the United States should accept Syrian Christians but not Muslims. He said we cannot tell the few bad Muslims from the rest, but he ignored the same problem among Christians. He apparently was not concerned about pedophile Christian clergy, for example, even though that has been a serious problem. Cruz's carpet bombing and wall-building statements revealed his arrogance and lack of compassion.

Extreme religion is always accompanied by extreme hypocrisy, and Iowa Republican politics put it on display.

Dave Wester

Elroy



Facts needed on concealed carry

As a retired Milwaukee police supervisor and current law enforcement instructor, I would like to respond to the article, "Flynn ties homicide rise to ease of getting guns," (Jan. 31).

The article states, "Flynn and Barrett have continued to single out Wisconsin's concealed carry law as a possible factor in rising violence."

The department says it's impossible to know from their records how many homicides involve a permit holder. If that is truly the case, how can they attribute any homicide to a "concealed carry license" holder? They can't. If they could, they would have publicized those numbers, but that didn't happen.

One of the questions when a suspect is in custody should be: Does the suspect have the legal right to carry the weapon. If the suspect says yes, the suspect would have to provide the license as proof, and it doesn't appear that has occurred. Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and Mayor Tom Barrett provide no facts to prove their point. There is a big difference between owning a firearm legally and actually using it while "licensed to carrying it concealed." They don't mention that either.

Until I see proof and actual statistics of how many of the 145 homicide victims were shot by someone "licensed to carrying a concealed firearm," I won't believe their assumption. A good rule of thumb is: Don't make statements unless you can back it up with facts.

Scott Campbell

Muskego



Guns aren't the problem

Again, the rise in Milwaukee homicides is blamed on guns. According to Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn, they are too easy to obtain ("Flynn ties homicide rise to ease of getting guns," Jan. 31).

Have laws changed that make it easier to get guns? I don't think so. Are guns easier to obtain in Milwaukee than they are in, say, Brookfield, Pewaukee or Delafield? No. Do people own guns in those jurisdictions? Of course.

I recently went to a shooting range in Waukehsa, and the wait to shoot was two hours. I can't recall the last time I read about a gun homicide in the above mentioned cities (and most other suburban jurisdictions as well). I personally own seven guns. I keep thinking that some day I'm going to get a call at work with news that one of my guns killed someone. Oh, that's right, someone has to pull the trigger.

So perhaps it's the people pulling the triggers who are the culprits. The homicides are a symptom of a far larger problem. Crime and disrespect for the law run rampant in certain parts of the city. Until that is changed, homicides will continue.

But most people already know this. Too bad the politicians don't have the backbone to do anything about it. As an aside, there are no gun stores in Chicago, and it's illegal for any citizen to own a gun in Mexico.

E.T. Hennig

Pewaukee

Please email your letters to jsedit@jrn.com, or mail them to Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, Wis. 53201-0371. Letters are generally limited to 200 words and are subject to editing.
Authorities are investigating a range of potential crimes at Lincoln HIlls School for Boys in Irma, including second-degree sexual assault, physical child abuse, child neglect, abuse of prisoners, and intimidation of victims and witnesses. Credit: Mark Hoffman

By of the

Madison  A state Department of Corrections spokeswoman said Wednesday that a supervisor at a facility for young offenders had been cleared of wrongdoing in an incident last year in which a juvenile's arm or wrist was fractured.

But the spokeswoman, Joy Staab, did not fully explain why Lincoln Hills School supervisor Kyle Hoff had not been placed on paid leave while the matter was investigated, as Attorney General Brad Schimel has said is standard practice.

Three weeks ago, Staab declined to release documents about the investigation under the state's open records law, stating that the probe was ongoing. On Wednesday, however, she said Hoff was cleared in May, a month after the incident.

Records were not released to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month because at the time the incident was being reviewed again, she said. That review found Hoff had acted appropriately, and the agency will soon fulfill the newspaper's request for records now that the latest review has been completed, Staab said.

Details about the April incident are coming to light amid a broad investigation into Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake School, which share a campus 30 miles north of Wausau and house offenders up to age 20.

That yearlong probe, which could last another 12 months, is looking into whether crimes occurred including child abuse, prisoner neglect, sexual assault and excessive use of pepper spray. About 50 state Department of Justice agents and attorneys raided the schools in December and occupied them for days while they gathered documents and interviewed staff and inmates.

No one has been charged, but 20 employees have been put on paid leave as part of the probe. Of those, two have been fired, one has returned to work, and five have resigned or retired, according to the Department of Corrections. That leaves a dozen who remain on paid leave.

Hoff was holding a juvenile's arm as he and other Lincoln Hill staffers tried to secure him after the juvenile became disruptive, according to one of the people involved and two others familiar with the incident. Hoff was never put on paid leave, as has happened in the last year for others who have been investigated for excessive use of force or other rule violations.

Dave Johnson, who retired from Lincoln Hills on Monday after working there for decades, said he and Hoff took hold of the resident's arms and brought him to the ground after he became disruptive. Hoff was holding the arm that was injured, said Johnson.

Johnson said he believed he, Hoff and other staff acted appropriately. He said he was recently interviewed by internal investigators about the matter and shown a video of it.

Staab said Hoff was never put on paid leave because any claim against him had never been substantiated. But in other instances, employees have been put on paid leave for extended periods even when the allegations against them have not been substantiated.

The attorney general, who is heading the criminal probe, said last month that whenever there are allegations against employees, the Department of Corrections is putting them on leave so there is no risk of further harm to residents of the facilities.

"We've erred on the side, and DOC has, of removing the threat, the potential threat, from the institution" whenever there is a claim of abuse, Schimel told the Wisconsin Eye Public Affairs Network last month.

The incident was also investigated by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and Lincoln County's Social Services Department, Staab said.

Troy Bauch, a union representative for Lincoln Hills employees, said the Department of Corrections treated Hoff differently than front-line workers, who he said are told they are ultimately responsible for injuries that occur in their care.

Bauch and some corrections employees have complained that supervisors get treated better than lower-level employees. As an example, they cite an incident last year in which a Stanley Correctional Institution supervisor received only a written reprimand after he got in a drunken-driving accident, was found with several grams of marijuana and refused to tell his bosses where he got the drugs.

"Judge them by their actions, not their words," said Bauch, of Council 32 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Staab, the department spokeswoman, noted two Lincoln Hills supervisors are among those on paid leave. She has not released their names.
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Madison The state would implement online registration for voters by the spring of 2017 and forbid Milwaukee officials from moving forward with a plan to provide local IDs, under bills approved by a Senate committee Wednesday.

Republicans on the Senate Elections Committee approved the registration proposal, SB295, on a party-line 3-2 vote. As rewritten by a late-breaking amendment, the bill would in turn make a number of changes to state elections law.

By another 3-2 vote, the panel also approved a separate proposal, SB533, that would prohibit county and town governments from issuing  or spending money on  photo identification cards. That legislation would also make it even more clear that photo ID cards issued by cities or villages could not be used for things like voting or obtaining public benefits, such as food stamps.

Under the registration bill, citizens could register online to vote if they have a current and valid state driver's license or ID card and if they use the same name for voter registration that they use on their state license or ID.

At the same time, the proposal would eliminate the use of special registration deputies by political parties or nonprofits to help citizens sign up to vote. Those workers and groups could still potentially use an iPad or other device in public places and help citizens use it to sign themselves up to vote in real time.

The League of Women Voters sent out an alert to members Wednesday opposing the bill, saying it backed the idea of online sign-ups but the measure would prevent it from continuing its voter registration drives.

The bill would also:

Require voters to re-register when changing their name or address, a change from the current practice of allowing registration to be transferred.

Order the state to compare voter registrations in Wisconsin with those in other states through a consortium known as the Electronic Registration Information Center. That could help to turn up potential issues to correct, such as voters registered in two states at once.

Allow the state's elections agency to approve electronic voting equipment that has not been certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Permit the use of a veterans ID card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an acceptable form of photo identification for obtaining a ballot. The measure would also allow nursing home residents to use their paperwork at the facility as proof of residence for the purpose of voter registration.

Require all absentee ballots to be received by 8 p.m. on election day, held on Tuesday in Wisconsin, rather than the current practice of allowing such ballots to be received by the Friday after election day if they are postmarked by election day.

Require county clerks to post all election returns on a county website within two hours of receiving the returns. The state would have to provide a central page with links to all those county pages.

Limit contributions by political action committees of legislative leadership to political parties and leadership committees of lawmakers to $12,000 a year.

On the ID card bill, Democrats on the committee said it was an attack on the authority of local officials and on immigrants. They said it targets a plan recently put forward by county officials in Milwaukee to issue local identification cards to the homeless, immigrants in the country illegally and other residents unable to obtain state driver's licenses or other government-issued ID cards.

The bill would also prohibit an ID card issued by a city or village from being used for obtaining public benefits such as food stamps, Wisconsin Works and medical assistance programs. Under the legislation, any local ID cards would be also required to state clearly that the card isn't authorized for voting purposes.

Sen. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) said the bill is preventing counties from getting involved in primarily state programs.

"It is very clearly saying that the jurisdiction we want control over are programs administered by state agencies," he said.

But Sen. Mark Miller (D-Madison) pointed to earlier testimony on the bill and said Republicans were ignoring the benefits the cards could bring for residents who may lack ready access to a state ID, such as a domestic violence victim.

"It was heartbreaking testimony," he said.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaks to employees and reporters gathered near a prototype Joint Light Tactical Vehicle during an Aug. 2015 ceremony in Oshkosh. Credit: Mark Hoffman

By of the

By almost any measure, Ron Johnson is becoming a pretty big deal in Washington, D.C.

He has been in the U.S. Senate for a little more than five years, clashed with Hillary Clinton in a heated exchange over the attack on the American diplomatic compound at Benghazi, Libya, and was given the gavel to chair the high-profile homeland security and government affairs committee.

But back home in Wisconsin, it turns out a lot of people may not know much about the Republican lawmaker who is running for re-election against Democrat Russ Feingold.

The most recent Marquette University Law School Poll found that 4 in 10 registered voters surveyed lacked an opinion about whether they held a favorable or unfavorable view of Johnson. Just 1 in 4 said the same about Feingold.

In the head-to-head horse race numbers, Feingold was supported by 50%, compared to Johnson's 37%.

What do the numbers mean?

In essence, Johnson will be reintroducing himself to voters during the long campaign.

Friday, he'll appear at Marquette University Law School in an "On the Issues" program moderated by broadcaster Mike Gousha.

Charles Franklin, the Marquette pollster, said the numbers on Johnson show "that activity in Washington including in media doesn't necessarily translate into visibility back home. I'd speculate Ron Johnson has had more television time on cable news in the first five years than the average senator does. But that kind of national attention or national media attention won't necessarily be picked up by the folks back home, or at least 41% of them."

But Franklin also puts the nonrecognition numbers on Johnson into perspective, noting that Democrat Tammy Baldwin started her 2012 U.S. Senate campaign with 55% of those polled unable to offer an opinion about her. She triumphed over Republican Tommy Thompson, a popular former governor elected four times.

Meanwhile, 35% of those polled in Wisconsin couldn't offer an opinion on U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, a Janesville Republican, before he was named the vice presidential running mate to Mitt Romney in 2012.

There are several reasons why Johnson may remain relatively unknown to voters.

And they start with how Johnson came to the Senate, said Mark Graul, a Republican operative. Johnson, a businessman from Oshkosh, expertly ran an outsider campaign to topple Feingold in 2010.

"It's not like he was a person who had been around politically for years and years," Graul said. "He was a regular citizen who came out of nowhere to win an election. He did not have that built-in name ID when he ran like a lot of people do when they run for higher office."

Then, Johnson was off to Washington.

The real political action was back in Wisconsin, though, with pitched battles over collective bargaining, recalls, and the rise to national prominence of Gov. Scott Walker and Ryan.

"Why does a pretty good chunk of Wisconsin not know enough about me to have an opinion?" Johnson said in an interview last month. "First of all, I view it as an opportunity, but it's also easily explainable. Look what's happened politically in the state. You had Scott Walker in the recall. Then you had Paul Ryan as vice presidential candidate. Then you had Scott Walker re-elected and then Paul Ryan (was elected) speaker.

"So, it's not like I haven't been around. I've traveled this state tirelessly. In terms of getting out on media, I don't do it because I like seeing myself on TV or like listening to myself on the radio. I think it's extremely important that the citizens of Wisconsin know the positions I'm taking. So I can explain what I've learned about different things.

"I've put myself out there," he said. "I've certainly honored the two promises I made: Always tell you the truth; never vote with my re-election in mind."

But there's also another potential narrative that Johnson, bogged down with responsibilities in Washington and trying to learn the ins and outs of the Senate, may not have done quite enough in the years between elections connecting to the voters back home.

"How much work did Ron Johnson do in those first couple of years in terms of coming back to Wisconsin? That's a valid observation," said Brandon Scholz, a lobbyist and Republican operative. "He probably could have done more (to connect with state voters). He chose to do that thing in Washington and learn the system. He was wrapping his arms around a pretty big package, whether Obamacare, the budget, chairmanship of the committee. Those are very big things."

Johnson's campaign said that he has held hundreds of public events with tens of thousands of constituents over the past five years. The campaign said Johnson has also reached more than 530,000 Wisconsinites through teleconference town halls, and social media question and answer sessions.

During the U.S. Senate's August recess, Johnson held 50 public events, including 14 town hall sessions. Last summer, Johnson toured the state's 72 counties in 42 days.

Brad Todd, a Republican strategist working with Johnson, said: "Both candidates are going to be known by 100% of voters who walk into the voting booth in November. Feingold's problem is he is already viewed as too liberal by far too many people in Wisconsin. Feingold was fired by the voters of Wisconsin in 2010 because they knew plenty about him, and he will not be rehired for the same reason."

During the campaign, each side will try to draw a picture, not just of their own candidate, but also the opposition.

"That leads to the question whether as more people form an opinion of Johnson will those opinions be on balance favorable or on balance unfavorable," Franklin said. "That's what the two campaigns will be fighting about."
Gov. Scott Walker said he has paid off one-third of his more than $1 million campaign debt and should retire it by the end of 2016. Credit: Associated Press

By of the

Madison Gov. Scott Walker said he has paid off one-third of his more than $1 million campaign debt and should retire it by the end of 2016.

Walker said he is drawing on more than 300,000 donors to help with that effort and is making progress on reducing the debt that he was left with after his unsuccessful presidential campaign.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the Republican governor said he wasn't surprised by the victory this week of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in Iowa's GOP presidential caucus over billionaire Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and others.

"I had predicted that a couple weeks ago," said Walker, who didn't say if he had done so publicly. "Cruz has by far the best organization."

Walker said it was unclear how much money Cruz had brought in by urging followers on Twitter to help pay off Walker's debt. The governor said there was no specific way to track that since the appeal was made through social media rather than a website.

Addressing local officials from the Wisconsin Counties Association at a hotel in Madison, Walker urged them to spread the word about blue-collar jobs in fields such as welding. Employers, he said, are in some cases "desperate" for workers in some skilled trades and aren't taking on more clients and expanding production because they can't fill their openings.

It has been a frequent theme for Walker in his speeches to Wisconsin audiences.

State parents and schools need to stop stigmatizing those careers, which often now require a two-year associate degree, Walker said. By working overtime, some welders in the state could make nearly $100,000 a year, the governor said.

Figures on the website of Walker's Department of Workforce Development listed the average statewide wage for "welders, cutters and welder fitters" of average experience at $18.89 an hour, or $39,290 a year.

To make up that remaining amount to get to $100,000 a year by working overtime at time and a half, the average worker in those occupations would have to work just over 41 hours of overtime a week for every week of the year. That's 81 hours a week in total, or the equivalent of more than two full-time jobs.

Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick pointed to a Green Bay Press Gazette article that had welder wages of between $13.50 and $24 an hour but also quoted an executive saying highly skilled welders could exceed $100,000 with overtime.

Matt, Walker's older son and a Marquette University student, is an intern with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Janesville Republican. Alex, Walker's younger son, goes to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Walker didn't directly answer a question about whether he had ever suggested to his sons that they consider a career in welding or another skilled trade.

"For me, I've always said, 'Pursue what you love and then find a way to make a living doing that,'" Walker said.

He said there's still a need for people to attend a four-year university, especially for in-demand careers such as engineering, nursing or information technology.
The state Department of Justice is investigating Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake secure juvenile detention centers into whether nto whether crimes occurred, including child neglect, prisoner abuse, sexual assault and excessive use of pepper spray. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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By of the

A supervisor at a troubled prison who was allegedly holding a juvenile offender's arm when a bone was broken nine months ago was never put on leave while the matter was investigated, even though Attorney General Brad Schimel has said that is supposed to be standard practice.

The decision to keep supervisor Kyle Hoff at Lincoln Hills School comes as 20 other employees have been put on paid leave over the past year amid an extensive criminal investigation at the secure facility for young offenders in Irma, about 30 miles north of Wausau.

Department spokeswoman Joy Staab declined to release records about the incident involving Hoff because she said it was under investigation. She did not answer questions about why Hoff has not been put on leave while that probe continues.

Hoff could not be reached by phone Tuesday and did not respond to an email.

Schimel's Department of Justice has been investigating Lincoln Hills for a year, and the probe could continue for another year. It spilled into the public in December, when about 50 agents and attorneys raided Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake School, which houses females and shares a campus with Lincoln Hills.

The probe is looking into whether an array of crimes occurred, including child neglect, prisoner abuse, sexual assault and excessive use of pepper spray. No one has been charged.

Bone broken in April

Dave Johnson, who retired from Lincoln Hills on Monday after working there for decades, said he and Hoff escorted a resident to a secure room in April after he became disruptive at intake. Once in the room, Johnson said he unlocked the handcuff on his left wrist.

The resident was told to put his hands on his head, but he instead put them into the air and wouldn't follow orders. Johnson said he took hold of the resident's left hand, while Hoff tried to secure his right hand, which had the set of handcuffs dangling from it.

Johnson and Hoff brought the juvenile to the floor and another supervisor, Dusty Meunier, unlocked the handcuffs from the young man's right hand. The resident then asked to see a nurse.

"The kid said, 'My arm hurts,'" Johnson said.

Johnson said he later saw the resident in a brace and heard that his right arm or wrist  the one Hoff had been holding  was broken.

Johnson was not put on leave but was recently interviewed by internal investigators about the incident and was shown a video of it.

"They seemed to be trying to get at who injured the kid," Johnson said.

He said he did not believe Hoff or any other staff did anything wrong.

Meunier would not discuss the incident. Meunier was put on paid leave in January, but Department of Corrections officials have not said why.

"I don't know anything about anything. Goodbye," Meunier told a reporter Tuesday before hanging up.

Hoff testified on Dec. 21 at a John Doe hearing on Lincoln Hills, but it's unknown if he was asked about the April incident. John Doe probes allow prosecutors to compel people to give testimony in secret.

A month after the incident, in May, Hoff and Meunier trained Lincoln Hills employees on the use of force. By then, two other staff members had been placed on leave for other incidents in which youth were injured.

Ron McAllister, the president of the union local, said he questioned why Hoff was being treated differently at that training and in a later phone conversation with Paul Westerhaus, who then was the head of the state Division of Juvenile Corrections.

"It's unfair," McAllister said. "I said, why are two of my people out for excessive use of force and here you have a similar incident with a supervisor and yet he's still there?"

The handling of Hoff's case comes at a time when front-line workers have complained that supervisors get better treatment than they do. Last year, a Stanley Correctional Institution supervisor received only a written reprimand after he got in a drunken driving accident, was found with several grams of marijuana and refused to tell his bosses where he got the drugs.

The decision to keep Hoff at work appears at odds with comments by the attorney general and policies by the Department of Corrections. Schimel said last month that whenever his agents learn of an injury, they alert corrections officials and the staff involved are put on leave while the matter can be investigated.

But in the case of Hoff, he has continued to work for the nine months since the incident, despite questions being raised from the time that it happened.

Twenty Lincoln Hills employees have been put on paid leave since last year, but the Department of Corrections has declined to name many of them or say how much taxpayers have paid them to not work.

Two of the 20 employees were recently fired. Five others have resigned or retired and one has returned to her job, according to department spokesman Jeff Grothman. That means a dozen employees remain on paid leave.

Having employees on paid leave has exacerbated a worker shortage at the facility. To help resolve that, the Department of Corrections has reassigned four youth counselors from southeast Wisconsin to work at Lincoln Hills, with taxpayers picking up their room, board and transportation costs. Grothman did not provide estimates of those costs.

The two top officials responsible for the school  Westerhaus and school superintendent John Ourada  abruptly retired soon after the raid. Those two retirements are in addition to the 20 employees who were placed on leave.
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By Sarantis Michalopoulos | ( EurActiv.com ) |  

While EU politicians are still bickering over their share of the burden of refugees in Europe, Canada is seeking ways to rapidly integrate 25,000 Syrians into its society.

Speaking to journalists in Brussels last week, David Manicom, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, explained how his country managed to address the refugee crisis by building up permanent structures and institutions.

The government in Ottawa is committed to resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February 2016. The number is small compared to the number of people arriving in Europe, but the total population of the North American country is only around 36 million.

Currently, Canada has accepted more than 13,000 Syrian refugees on its soil and the rest of the 12,000 are expected at the end of the month  while by the end of 2016 the country is planning to host between 35,000 and 40,000 refugees.

The Canadian philosophy

Manicom noted that the issue of successful integration of refugees in Canada is important in terms of respecting the countrys values.

We take integration very seriously. We want to be respectful of peoples tradition, but we are a democratic society [] women should be treated equally in society and workplace, he noted, adding that the Syrian population is quite diverse.

He continued, saying that all refugees have support services available to help them learn English and French, and prepare for employment.

Behind refugee resettlement for Canada, a fundamental philosophy is the integration into employment and communities [] its the best way to build communities.

Screening abroad

The Canadian official said his country is in close coordination with the governments of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

There are special reception centers in Montreal and Toronto receiving 400-500 refugees everyday by aircraft.

All the security, medical and other screening take place abroad with the cooperation of the International Organization for Migration and other logistical organisations to deliver orientation services before the refugees depart.

Every refugee is, also, interviewed in detail by specialised visa officers and comes through a thorough security check.

Upon their arrival in Canada, the refugees become permanent residents, and therefore, can travel freely in the country.

Regarding their distribution within the country, Manicom said that the main objective is to avoid putting a family in an isolated situation.

If we can bring two brothers in one city, there is no reason not to do it, he stressed.

Private sponsorship

Private sponsorship is a key element for the refugee resettlement programme of Canada, which can be supported by individuals or organisations offering help for housing, clothing and food.

A number of organizations have signed sponsorship agreements with the Government of Canada to help support refugees from abroad when they resettle in Canada.

These organizations are known as sponsorship agreement holders. They can sponsor refugees themselves or work with others in the community to sponsor refugees. Most sponsorship agreement holders are religious, ethnic, community or service organizations.

Another rapidly growing and promising for the future model is the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program.

Its a 50-50 cost sharing arrangement between the government and the private sector, he said.

The goal of this programme is to engage in a three-way partnership among the Government of Canada, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and private sponsors.

The UNHCR identifies the refugees, the Government of Canada provides up to 6 months of income support through a Resettlement Assistance Program, while private sponsors provide another 6 months of financial support and up to a year of social and emotional support.

Last but not least, is the Syrian Family Links initiative. Through this initiative, Syrians in Canada can identify family members who are refugees in Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey and help link them with local sponsorship groups in Canada who are seeking someone to sponsor.

Safe pathways

Asked by EurActiv to comment on the current refugee crisis deadlock in Europe, the Canadian official said that it would not be appropriate to have a strong opinion, but noted:

There is one clear lesson: If you dont provide safe and legal pathways people will pursue dangerous and illegal pathways.

He explained, though, that this was a huge challenge and a difficult task for the political leaders.

The official added that Canada was a federal state and had the experience of reaching the consensus for the refugee programmes.

Manicom underlined that throughout history immigration has never stopped and, thus, permanent structures need to be created in order to address it.

The international community has dealt with many immigration flows in many parts of this world [] the current refugee crisis is of large scale but not larger than the scale of Afghanistan, he stated.

Via EurActiv.com; by Sarantis Michalopoulos



Related video added by Juan Cole:

AJ+: First Canadian Winter For Refugee Kids
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By: Amal Ahmad | al-Shabaka | Maan News Agency |  

The Palestinian people began the New Year facing a bleak political situation, with a weak and compromised leadership, a geographically and administratively fragmented people, and a civil society increasingly marked by individualism and loss of political anchor. The state-building project that promised so much in the 1980s and 1990s is fast losing adherents  a recent poll revealed that nearly two-thirds of Palestinians no longer believe it is practical even though 137 countries now recognize Palestine. Yet little has emerged by way of an alternative political goal that enjoys popular support.

This commentary argues that the current political weakness of the Palestinian people derives in large part from the absence of strategic thinking, despite some organized efforts in this regard including by the Palestine Strategy Group and Masarat, for example. Yet it is vital that Palestinians strategize with or without the political factions within and outside the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): Without a clear and agreed strategy, some of the tools and tactics being adopted risk draining energies and proving ineffective or producing unwanted results.

Advancing Strategic Analysis

Sound strategic thinking rests on an accurate assessment of the existing political environment, including the opportunities and challenges both internally and externally. For Palestinians, it is particularly vital to accurately assess the strategies of the Israeli state because it is the stronger party that largely defines the scope and direction of the conflict. It can be argued that a main reason Oslo was a political disaster was because Palestinian leaders, incompetent and desperate for a solution, took at face value Israels professed interest in the creation of a Palestinian state and worked towards that political goal. This miscalculation and the concessions that followed have proven catastrophic for the bargaining power of Palestinians, for their unity, and for their ability to formulate a cohesive national strategy.

It is past time to recognize that Palestinians are in a no-state solution in which Israel hopes to contain them for as long as it takes to achieve its ultimate vision. That vision is one of different (and greater) rights for Jews versus non-Jews, with a Jewish majority in the land under its direct control. The Israeli strategy for the fulfillment of its vision has been largely consistent since it occupied the Palestinian territory in 1967: To contain Palestinians by rejecting final status arrangements, whether Palestinian sovereignty in two states or equal rights in a single bi-national state. I have argued previously that the de facto customs union imposed by Israel on the Palestinians is a concrete illustration of Israels intention to maintain this no-state solution. Palestinian actions, resistance, and any future negotiations should be informed by this reality.

Given that Israels strategy is predicated upon fulfilling rights for Jewish Israelis and settlers and limiting them for Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the occupied territories, then a Palestinian rights-based strategy could be particularly effective in exposing and challenging Israels plans. In such a strategy the Palestinian political goal would shift from statehood, an unrealized project that obfuscates Israels strategy on the ground, to a struggle for human rights  political, civil, economic, social, and cultural. Palestinian rights may be achieved in a number of national arrangements, one or two states or a confederation.

Besides confronting the Israeli national project at its core, a Palestinian rights-based strategy offers several distinct advantages. It provides a set of guiding principles for the struggle; it narrows the differences between Palestinians in the occupied territories and within Israel; and it resonates with an international discourse on rights and anti-racism that is very difficult to dismiss, helping to forge strong alliances in support of the struggle.

Any successful strategy must not only accurately assess Israels motives and identify the weak points in its armor; it must also garner consensus in the Palestinian community. This is a difficult challenge, in part because of the fragmentation of the Palestinian people but also because of the deep attachment to the idea of a Palestinian nation state despite the unrealized two-state solution. It is therefore important to try to reconcile a politically sound strategy with Palestinian nationalist sentiment to the extent possible. Arguments for a rights-based approach, for example, may need to emphasize that relinquishing the focus on statehood does not mean relinquishing ties to the land and to examine the ways in which the narrow conflation of nationhood with statehood can be transcended.

Adopting Tactics for Results

The fastest, safest, and most efficient way to promote a national strategy is through a more representative  and effective  political system. In the absence of prospects for effective and non-compromised leadership within the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) or for the Palestinian people at large, this becomes a difficult task. In the interim, Palestinians can draw on some of the tools developed by existing institutions and networks in Palestinian and global civil society to advance strategic thinking and action, with the hope that steps in the right direction will hasten or complement the formation of a new leadership.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement remains the most powerful civic tool for framing the Palestinian struggle in the language of rights and for challenging Israels repression on the basis of apartheid. BDS is well known for the costs it regularly exacts on the occupation, but the movements far greater importance lies in the philosophy and the vision it provides. It offers a discourse that many Palestinians can relate to, that the world can empathize with, and that does not get stuck in the labyrinthine discussion of solutions and endgames. It also goes straight to the heart of Israels vision for the region; Netanyahu was not being dramatic when he dubbed the BDS movement a strategic threat to the Israeli national project given its racist and colonial-settler form. Even though the BDS campaign faces limitations within the occupied territories due to the OPTs structural dependency on the Israeli economy, the fact that the language of rights is becoming more mainstream is an encouraging sign. Adopting the discourse of BDS and launching BDS campaigns on campuses and in local councils, business boards and other institutions is a concrete step to helping Palestinians resist apartheid and move closer to realizing human rights.

Palestinians can also capitalize on existing legal frameworks that directly address human rights and the rule of law. Legal tools already available to the Palestinian people include the International Court of Justices 2004 advisory opinion on the Separation Wall, which reinforces the international consensus that settlements are illegal under international law. Such tools can be leveraged to point out to third states that their involvement with Israel compromises their legal authority and to demand that these states uphold international law by suspending trade or treaties with Israel so long as it maintains its apartheid regime. Palestines membership of the International Criminal Court may also offer tools to challenge Israels human rights violations, but it is important to be realistic and to continue to marshal international support.

Within the OPT, cycles of confrontation with the occupier also help to break the monopoly over politics held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and may help to hasten and legitimize the search for alternative strategies. The recurrent waves of anger redefine the relationship of Palestinians to the Israeli state as one of conflict rather than understanding and often openly call for a cancelation of the Oslo Accords. While, as noted in a recent Al-Shabaka roundtable, the ability of these waves to achieve political goals is very limited due to weak organizational capacity as well as to backlash from the PA and Israel, they still provide a radical discourse shift and serve to unify, if only symbolically, the message of Palestinians.

Crucially, the Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have been marginalized by the PLO and the PA in the search for statehood, would stand front and center of a rights-based approach. Indeed, this explicitly underpins their struggle for justice and equal rights within Israel. Moreover, their close contact and familiarity with the Israeli state and their accumulated struggles within it represent a major source of strategic understanding that other Palestinians can tap. Some have not only noted that this is a still underutilized source of Palestinian agency but have even argued that, with the formation of the Joint List, the Palestinian people should look to the Palestinian political parties in Israel for leadership. Palestinians in the occupied territories, in refugee camps, and in the Diaspora would do well to more seriously examine the links they can forge with their counterparts inside and to adapt some of those experiences and tactics to their domestic environment, where possible and appropriate.

At the same time, and as noted above, the lack of a strategy poses risks in terms of not knowing what type of tools and tactics to avoid. Although recognition of Palestine as a state opened the door to the ICC, rallying for membership as an observer state at the UN or for verbal recognition of statehood by third states carries serious risks. It conceals the reality that Israels strategy is to make such a state impossible. It also validates the defunct model of Oslo and undercuts the argument that Israel is responsible for the rights of the population it occupies and oppresses. Other risk-laden tactics include mobilizing for elections for the Palestinian National Council, a body that has had limited effectiveness. Nor are democratic elections that enshrine the rule of undemocratic parties or that occur amid an absence of a national strategy particularly desirable.

Similarly, the institution-building approach adopted in recent years, by which aid is funneled into a purported state-building project, has proven fragile and unrealistic. Instead, it must be recognized that Israels current strategy of containment prevents not only an independent Palestinian state but also a viable Palestinian economy. More work is needed on the ways in which the no-state solution keeps the Palestinian economy dependent, unproductive, and structurally backward. At the same time, it remains critically important to provide jobs for Palestinians not as development under false pretenses but to support steadfastness and to keep Palestinians in Palestine.

To sum up, the issue is not whether certain tools and tactics are good or bad in principle but whether they directly confront or actively obscure the existing political reality and whether they advance or hinder a specific strategy meant to address that reality. This brief discussion is offered as a contribution to the process of identifying such a strategy, one that can unite the Palestinian people behind a struggle that effectively challenges Israels vision for an apartheid regime.

The views expressed in this article are the authors and do not necessarily reflect Maan News Agencys editorial policy.

This analysis was originally published by Al-Shabaka, an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law.

Amal Ahmad is an Al-Shabaka Policy Member and Palestinian economic researcher. Amal interned at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute in Ramallah before completing a Masters degree in development economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Her work focuses on fiscal and monetary relations between Israel and Palestine; she is also interested in the political economy of development in the broader Middle East.

Via Maan News Agency



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Middle East Monitor: Palestinian member of Knesset speaks out against Israels crackdown on Arab citizens
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, has called for an immediate non-binding referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan over whether its people want to secede from Iraq and form an independent Kurdish state.

A delegation from the KRG visited Baghdad yesterday, as well, headed by Barzanis son.

Rudaw satellite television reported, according to BBC Monitoring,

1.0130 Iraqi PM Haydar al-Abadi tells Kurdistan Region delegation headed by PM Nechirvan Barzani that there is no enough funds to assist the region in financial crisis; Abadi does not approve referendum in Kurdistan Region on independency; Abadi has asked the delegation for assisting Iraqi government in the liberation process of Nineveh Governorate.

So the Baghdad government immediately said no to this referendum. But it could not offer any funds to Iraqi Kurdistan (because of the collapse of oil prices), and pleaded for the help of the Peshmerga in liberating Mosul from Daesh. No wonder Barzani feels in a strong position a the moment!

In summer of 2014, after Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) took Mosul and detached northern and western Iraq from the rule of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, Kurdistan Regional Government head Masoud Barzani called for a referendum within 6 months on the independence of Kurdistan. His argument was that his region no longer had a border with Iraq proper, only with Daesh, and that since Iraq de facto lay in pieces, the Kurds own aspirations may as well be achieved.

US President Barack Obama appears to have prevailed on Barzani to put away those plans for a referendum, in return for US air support in the struggle of the Peshmerga (the Kurdistan national guard) against Daesh. We havent heard much about the referendum until Tuesday.

It may be that Barzani now feels strong enough to buck the US (which is inclined to defend the national interest of allies in Baghdad and Ankara despite Washingtons close working relationship with the KRG). The US and Baghdad need the Peshmerga for the planned offensive against Daesh in Mosul later this year or early next, and perhaps Barzani is counting on being cut slack for that reason.

Turkey is extremely threatened by the specter of Kurdish nationalism and separatism, since it has a large Kurdish population of its own in eastern Anatolia and could be dismembered by a South Sudan scenario. Iran is also worried about Kurdish separatism, since it has its own province of Kurdistan, where some 4 million people live. Damascus is too weak to do anything about it, but it too would be opposed to an independent Kurdistan. Syrian Kurds in any case say they want a loose federal state in Syria where their Rojava or Kurdish super-province would have substantial states rights.

Barzani said Tuesday that now is the time for such a referendum: The time has come and the conditions are appropriate now for the Kurdish people to take a decision via referendum regarding its future. He added, The referendum does not mean announcing the establishment of a state, but rather means that we would know the will and opinion of the people regarding independence. The Kurdish political leadership must implement the will of the people at the right tie and under the appropriate conditions.

Al-Hayat points out that in recent years Iraqi Kurdistan has attempted to reinforce its semi-autonomy from the national Iraqi government via an oil pipeline through Turkey through which it can export petroleum independently of Baghdad.

Barzani said, If the Kurdish people wait until someone else comes to offer them the right to self-determination, as a bestowal on them, then independence will never be achieved.

Rudaw news agency reports his further remarks:

It is clear to all that this region and Kurdistan in particular was divided without regard to the will of its indigenous people which in turn led to a hundred years of troubles, war, denial and instability. . . Those who caused this division know very well what a big mistake they made, but they are not ready to admit their political failure of the last one hundred years . . . It is not fair to discard the rights of the Kurdish people for political reasons or to appease others. Would they allow themselves to stop the rights of their own people? Kurdistan has every geographic, historic and human factor just as Scotland, Catalonia, Quebec and others do. The same way people in those places have the right to decide their future the Kurds too have that right and this is not open to argument.

Al-Hayat says that Barzanis critics are charging that his call for a referendum is a stunt whereby he is seeking to unite the very divided Kurds behind him. Barzanis term as president actually ended last year, but no new elections have been held and he continues to cling to power.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 3, 2016) - Gowest Gold Ltd. ("Gowest" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:GWA) is pleased to provide an update on its development plans for the Company's North Timmins Gold Project ("NTGP"), including plans to build the next new gold mine in the Timmins gold camp on the Frankfield Property at the Bradshaw Gold Deposit ("Bradshaw").

Advanced Exploration ("AE") permitting process is in the final stages of review, but has been delayed by Ontario government processing



Revised target to commence site preparation work and mine development at Bradshaw: Q3 2016 and AE bulk sample collection to begin latter part of Q4 2016



Previous Bradshaw area drill results proximal but not included in the resource estimation, due to insufficient drilling, provide opportunity with further drilling to expand resources - drilling plans are being prepared



Ongoing technical review indicates excellent potential to expand the global NTGP gold resource beyond Bradshaw deposit area



Planning new geophysical surveys followed up by drill programs at Sheridan and Roussain gold zones



Gowest's President and CEO, Greg Romain, said, "While we have accomplished a great deal in 2015, both on the technical side and in financing, it remains clear that the current uncertainty in equity and commodity markets has forced us to delay near term development of the Bradshaw gold mine. However, in addition to Bradshaw, we have a very large asset in the NTGP and we believe it is possible to expand the current project resource. Importantly, we also have a strong partner in Fortune Future that has independently come to the same conclusion. Working with them, as well as examining a number of other financing alternatives, we look forward to making 2016 a year of significant progress for all of our shareholders. We will continue to provide the market with updates as developments occur."

2015 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Completed a robust pre-feasibility study on the Bradshaw Deposit (SEDAR July 2015)



Filed a closure plan for advanced exploration on the Bradshaw with Ministry of Northern Development & Mines (Q3 2015)



Submitted all permit applications for advanced exploration (Q3 2015)



Purchased the 1.5% royalty held by SPG Royalty on the Frankfield Property (includes Bradshaw Deposit) (SEDAR December 2015)



Acquired patented contiguous claim block to our Whitney Claims (SEDAR August 2015)



Raised a total of $3.92 million (Exercise of Warrants SEDAR October 2015; and, Private Placement SEDAR December 2015)



Upgraded and expanded haul road to access planned Bradshaw portal (Q4 2015)



2016 OBJECTIVES:

Secure all necessary permits from the Ontario government to begin AE (H1 2016)



Secure all required contracts and funding to allow for the mining and processing of the Bradshaw AE bulk sample (Q3 2016)



Complete the necessary exploration work to satisfy the option/joint venture agreement with Transition Metals (April 2016)



Complete strategic exploration plans to increase the resource at Bradshaw, to develop new resources at Sheridan, Roussain and Dowe zones at NTGP and investigate the Whitney Property



Investigate strategic opportunities outside NTGP



The Company will be attending the PDAC from March 6-9 at the Toronto Convention Centre. Please come by our booth #2824 located in the Investor Exchange to learn more about the project and meet the team.

Qualified Person: The scientific and technical disclosure in this press release has been has been prepared and approved by Mr. Kevin Montgomery, P.Geo., Gowest's Manager of Exploration and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Gowest

Gowest is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the delineation and development of its 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit (Bradshaw), on the Frankfield Property, part of the Corporation's North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP). Gowest is exploring additional gold targets on its +100-square-kilometre NTGP land package and continues to evaluate the area, which is part of the prolific Timmins, Ontario gold camp. Currently, Bradshaw contains a National Instrument 43-101 Indicated Resource estimated at 2.1 million tonnes ("t") grading 6.19 g/t Au containing 422 thousand oz Au and an Inferred Resource of 3.6 million t grading 6.47 g/t Au containing 755 thousand oz Au. Further, based on the Pre-Feasibility Study produced by Stantec Mining and announced on June 9, 2015, Bradshaw contains Probable Mineral Reserves, using a 3 g/t Au cut-off and utilizing a gold price of US$1,200 / oz, totalling 1.8 million t grading 4.82 g/t Au for 277 thousand oz Au.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.
#JustAnOutdoorGal: Lesley Glenn

Want be featured in our #JustAnOutdoorGal series {or know someone youd like to nominate}? Shoot us an email!

This #WomenCrushWednesday, were feeling all kinds of love for Lesley Glenn, badass mountain climber, hiker, and cancer fighter.

Growing up in Hawaii, Lesley hated the beach; sand and surf were never her thing, and every year she lived for the times when she would visit her grandparents in Oregon. She spent half her summers on the coast of Oregon, and absolutely loved camping, hiking, and fishing in the mountains. Lesley isand always has beena woman deeply in love with the mountains.

Lesley moved to Seattle when she was 21, and while she did some hiking here and there, a lot of her focus was on her family. She found ways to incorporate hiking into her life: going on Mothers Day hikes with her kids and getting out on local trails whenever she could. But hiking wasnt a huge part of her life until more recently.

In 2012, a cancer diagnosis threw Lesleys life off its axis. She spent a month in the hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries and almost dying from sepsis. Then, Lesley was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. She knew then that she was not going to survive the cancer, but it took her a bit of time to figure out what to do about it.

Lesley decided that she was going to prioritize the things in life that mattered; if her days were numbered, she was going to spend every one of them doing the things that made her happiest and set her passions ablaze. She and her husband started taking road trips, and were able to visit Yosemite for the first time.

Shortly after rounds of chemotherapy, Lesley found herself unable to hike the Nevada Falls at Yosemite. As she was taking a break on a bridge, she spoke with a couple hikers coming off of the John Muir trail. In that moment, she decided that she was going to climb Mt. Whitney.

She solicited the help of two girlfriends and set out on her journey. Despite setbacks from medicine-related fatigue and muscle soreness, Lesley was determined to make the climb. She chose to stop her treatment until she had summited Mt. Whitney  she wasnt about to let anything or anyone slow her down!

Lesley and her friends trained for eight months before getting the opportunity to hike Mt. Whitney in September, 2015. Unlike the majority of those attempting Mt. Whitney for the first time, they summited!

Now, just months after standing atop Mt. Whitney, Lesley has more travels and hikes in mind. She and her husband are heading to Iceland later this year, and she and her girlfriends are planning to hike Havasupai Falls. She holds an annual Climb for the Cure, and has been a huge advocate for women with metastatic breast cancer. Lesley has made it her goal to live an inspired life, and from our perspective, she is definitely succeeding!

If youre looking for someone awesome to follow on IG, check out Lesleys account. If youre interested in reaching out to her, you can do so at her personal blog or her metastatic blog.

As always, a huge thanks to Anagha for organizing, interviewing and writing this post!

********************
KEARNEY  Students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney are ready to ring in the Year of the Monkey Saturday at the ninth-annual Chinese Spring Festival.

The festival, which celebrates the Chinese New Year beginning Feb. 8, is a traditional Chinese holiday with an emphasis on family, feasting and fun.

Zhishen Huang, a senior agribusiness major from Nanjing, China, said in China the changing of the lunar calendar is a family holiday celebrated by all.

Huang said that most Chinese return home to be with their families during the holiday, and said that in China it is as important as Christmas is to many Americans. Because many Chinese students cant return home during the semester, it is important to celebrate with friends and the community in Kearney.

The Chinese Spring Festival is put on by the UNK chapter of Chinese Students and Scholars Association. The event will offer a variety of traditional performances and free Chinese food.

Performances include traditional Chinese music and dances as well as skits. The festival menu includes spring rolls, sweet potato rice, tomato shrimp and more.

Huang said the festival usually draws a crowd of 500 or more and student volunteers are preparing accordingly. Huang hopes people come to share in the festival.

We want to treat them to good food, good performances and show them our culture, he said.

Huang emphasized the importance of cultural exchange and said the festival is an opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture.

Huang added that student volunteers were working hard to prepare for the event. Planning began in November.

The event will be 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Ponderosa Room of the Nebraskan Student Union.

@JoshMoodyKHUB
KEARNEY  Hub Territory crews struggled to keep roads clear Tuesday, and officials were asking people to curtail driving so they could do their jobs.

Its going to take all day for these roads to be passable, Custer County Sheriff Dan Osmond said. Theres a lot of work to do.

He said two vehicles went off Highway 92 before 6:30 a.m. today between Arnold and Merna. At 8 a.m., he said, the motorists still were stranded because his officers couldnt get there before the snowplows had opened the road.

Osmond asked motorists to stay home today.

Buffalo County Highway Department Maintenance and Bridge Foreman Mick Shiers said Tuesday afternoon that crews werent out pushing snow on county roads because of poor visibility, but they would go back out once the winds died down. He added that a few crew members were on call at the shop for emergency purposes only.

Road crews should have a short break in the weather to get their jobs done. After a cold night with lows around 9 degrees, Thursday should be sunny with highs in the upper 20s and west winds 10 to 15 mph, the National Weather Serivice said. But beginning Thursday night and into Friday, theres a 20 percent chance of snow. Friday should be mostly cloudy with highs in the lower 30s.

Carlos Campa, superintendent at Nebraska Department of Roads District 6 in Lexington, said his crews have been working around the clock.

They were plowing in the Gothenburg area Tuesday afternoon, but the Lexington area crews were dealing with zero visibility, he said.

We will get back out there as soon as visibility is good, Campa said.

Highway maintenance crews were able to work Tuesday in Nebraska Department of Roads District 7.

Superintendent Dan Jones of Holdrege said he had trucks working Tuesday afternoon on Highway 34 from Oxford Junction to Heartwell, on Highway 183 from the Nebraska-Kansas line to Interstate 80, and on Highway 10 from the Nebraska-Kansas line to Interstate 80.

Though all major roads were open in Jones district, he said, You kind of have to watch for drifting.

He added: Theres places I cant hardly see 50 feet in front of me.

The winds affected the work that crews had already done in the region.

East and west roads are filling in as fast as we can clean them up, Jones said.

Jones said he hoped to start working on secondary roads, but he wasnt sure if that would happen with the wind. His crews stopped work at 8 p.m. Tuesday and began again at 5 a.m. today.

Winds also affected work that had already been done in Nebraska Department of Roads District 6. Highway Superintendent Larry Ferguson of Broken Bow said north and south roads were pretty good, but the east and west roads were a problem.

He said his crews also started at 5 a.m. today.

With winds subsiding after midnight, Ferguson said, We should be able to make some headway and get drifts pushed back.

Crews on Custer County roads were not as successful at pushing back snow.

Highway Superintendent Chris Jacobson said, Visibility is so bad. . . we have trouble getting ourselves stuck.

He added that with the snow from the plows blowing up onto their windows, his crew members could lose a sense of where they are at while plowing the roads. It is extremely dangerous traveling these roads because there are no lights and with drifting snow you could easily drive off a cliff, he said.

His crews were to begin snow removal at 7 a.m. today, and roads probably wont be cleared until evening, Jacobson said.

Kearney County road crews also were unable to continue plowing Tuesday. Kearney County Department of Roads Highway Superintendent Randall Smith said his crews were out for a while but gave up after a few miles because there were too many whiteouts.

He scheduled his crews to begin work a little before daylight this morning.

Were getting our workers dug out of their houses so theyre able to make it to work in the morning, Smith said.

Smith said other than the storm that hit central Nebraska during Christmas in 2009, this is the biggest snowstorm he has experienced since starting at the roads department in 1995.

Jones had the same sentiments.

Ive been here for over 40 years, and Ive seen a few. This one ranks right up there in the top, he said.
KEARNEY  Snow may be ending today and Hub Territory residents are trying to dig out, but dangerous cold is predicted for the next few days.

A winter storm dumped up to a foot of snow in parts of Hub Territory this weekend, closing schools and offices today and causing several accidents.

The storm began Saturday and continued into this morning with areas across central and south-central Nebraska reporting 8 to 12 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service in Hastings.

Kearney city streets are a mess, a city official says.

They are deep and at least a foot in places, said Roger Petersen, city street supervisor.

This morning, Petersons street crews were trying to clear residential areas where many motorists found themselves stuck.

As winds pick up and the fine powdery snow starts to blow and drift today, Petersen said, residential areas could quickly close again.

Peterson asked residents to be patient, but warned that street crews will be putting a ridge of snow on their sidewalks and driveways. Theres nothing else crews can do.

Weve got to get it off the streets, Petersen said.

Buffalo County Highway Superintendent Ron Sklenar said the light blowing snow was making it difficult to keep roads clear.

We started yesterday morning about 5 oclock and again 4 a.m. this morning with all the trucks on the paved roads. We ran some motor graders yesterday from about noon to dark last night, and theyre all running again today. I dont know how much longer were going to leave them out there with this wind blowing like it is, Sklenar said.

This light stuff is really blowing bad. Its just the amount of snow we had. Its fairly deep, and its really light, so it doesnt take much wind to really create a ground blizzard.

On Interstate 80, Capt. Chris Kolb of the Nebraska State Patrol in Grand Island said snow on roads between Elm Creek and York is deep and packed and the roads are all covered with snow. As the day progresses, he expected I-80 to become less and less passable.

This morning, no serious accidents or injuries had been reported in Kearney or on the interstate. However, Kolb said there were several vehicles that had slid off I-80 and several semis had jackknifed.

Officials closed 11 miles of Interstate 80 between Gothenburg and Cozad Sunday afternoon because more than a dozen vehicles were involved in accidents, according to AP.

No serious injuries were reported, but traffic was rerouted onto Highway 30 while the accidents were cleaned up.

Hotels near I-80 werent overrun by stranded travelers because the travelers had been rerouted or stopped.

Craig Link, director of sales at the Holiday Inn at 110 Second Ave. said the hotel isnt busy.

He said the events scheduled at the Holiday were canceled, and since the storm was well-announced, there werent any emergency check-ins. He also said most travelers on Interstate 80 were stopped well in advance of Kearney.

Its one of those deals where they caught everybody, he said. Theres almost nobody here.

Candy Smith, a front desk supervisor at the Wingate Hotel at 108 Third Ave., said her current guests are extending their stays.

She said, since Sunday afternoon, there had been only a few new guests who checked in at around 1:30 a.m. She said anyone who had a reservation called ahead to cancel.

Snow will continue most of today, with additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, before tapering off this afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service said.

In addition to the snow, north winds are expected to increase to 15 to 25 mph today from west to east across the region. These stronger winds will create blowing and drifting snow and reduced visibility.

Buffalo County Emergency Manager Darrin Lewis said no emergency shelters had been opened Monday morning, but he was keeping his responders and volunteer organizations in the loop on storm information.

Lewis said he is still carefully watching the flooding on the Platte River near the I-80 interchange, which spiked to a new high of 7.5 feet over the weekend.

Over 7 feet, they consider it a possibility of some major flooding. Its about 6.8 feet now, Lewis said.

He said the flooding doesnt appear to be threatening any buildings or roads and no one has called in to report being flooded out. From the roadways I can get on, everything looks pretty decent so far, he said.

Kearney Public Schools, Kearney Faith Christian School, Kearney Catholic High School, Zion Lutheran School, Kearney Head Start and Early Head Start were closed Monday.

Also, classes at the University of Nebraska at Kearney were canceled. The University Daycare Center also was closed.

CLOSINGS: click here

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VIDEO: See video and snowfall amounts here.
OMAHA -- A man who held law enforcement authorities at bay over two days in late January when they went to his northwest Omaha house intending to take him to a hospital for a psychological exam died Tuesday, officials said.

Mark LHeureux, 59, who was married and had a teenage son and daughter, was accused of firing at deputies and shooting dead a police dog in his home near 83rd Street and Keystone Drive during the standoff on Jan. 22 and 23. He eventually surrendered and was charged with attempted second-degree murder and other crimes.

The deputies had intended to serve LHeureux with a Board of Mental Health warrant.

Tuesday, he was taken from the Douglas County Jail to Nebraska Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 1:15 p.m., the countys Department of Corrections said.

The cause of LHeureuxs death was unclear, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine and Chief Deputy Tom Wheeler. A Sheriffs Office-led investigation was underway, and an autopsy will be performed.

A grand jury will review LHeureuxs death.

In June, LHeureux walked to a neighbors yard and used shears to cut daylilies that he intended to put in a bouquet to take home with him, the neighbor said.

During the standoff, he at times wore a towel wrapped around his head.

On Jan. 26, a district court judge ordered LHeureux to submit to a competency evaluation at the Lincoln Regional Center. He refused to leave the jail to attend the hearing.

World-Herald staff writer Todd Cooper contributed to this report.
This little piggy went to market  this little piggy stayed home. Its not the destination that has caused one of the biggest urban-rural disputes in the Nebraska Legislature since Initiative 300 was offered as a solution to the farm crisis in 1982. This years debate is about LB176, a bill that would allow corporations to own hogs being prepped for market.

The measure, awaiting a final legislative vote and a signature from Gov. Pete Ricketts, is bigger than an urban-rural split. It is about corporations and big farms versus small farmers. It pits the post I-300 days (the initiative was ruled unconstitutional in 2007) of farming against the romance of the bucolic farms and ranches that dot greater Nebraska.

Opponents like Sen. Al Davis who ranches near Hyannis in Nebraskas Sandhills and members of Bold Nebraska, the folks who fought the Keystone XL pipeline, worry that corporate ownership will lead to the further demise of family farms.

Supporters, like Ogallala cattle feeder and farmer Sen. Ken Schilz, say it is the only way to save the hog industry and the farmers who rely on it for their livelihood. Under Schilz priority bill, a person who owns, leases or holds a legal interest in a swine production operation could enter into a contract to produce swine for a packer. The producer, or contract grower, would own the land and facilities used to raise the livestock and the packer would own the swine.

Davis said the number of hogs raised in Nebraska has been increasing without allowing meatpackers to own hogs. The bill would eliminate the open market in the pork industry in Nebraska, allowing large corporations to set prices for hogs. He says this will change Nebraska agriculture for a long time.

Center for Rural Affairs spokeswoman Traci Bruckner said the current ban on packer ownership prevents meat companies from dominating the pork industry the way they do the chicken industry. She says there will be more hog buildings on fewer farms. Ideally, the opponents would like to see more farms adding smaller numbers of pigs. Davis said producers are often locked into long-term contracts, many with confidentiality clauses that prevent them from sharing information with their banker, their spouses and others. He said that chains farmers to a corporation.

Opponent Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said letting meatpackers own the hogs that farmers feed would hurt farmers because when the corporation owns the pig, they own everything. The pig is everything and the corporation doesnt care about the barns or the silos because the corporation will tell the farmer what, when and how much to feed. That, he says, makes farmers servants to the corporation.

Schilz says those concerns have been addressed by amending the bill to ensure a producers right to cancel a contract with a packer. The amendment also would allow the state Department of Agriculture to adopt contract regulations that would protect producers from coercion and unfair business practices. Another change would ban confidentiality clauses in contracts between growers and packers so that growers would be free to share details of the contract with others. He says he just wants to allow packers with facilities in the state to contract with Nebraska hog farmers, something current law prohibits.

He points to successful programs in top pork producing states such as Iowa, Minnesota and North Carolina where packers such as Tyson or Smithfield Foods actually own the pigs and pay the farmers to raise them.

Nebraskas ban on meatpacker-owned livestock is one of the only laws still standing. Bold Nebraska and other opponents have noted Smithfields recent political contributions to the governor and to senators supporting the lifting of the ban.

There appears to be plenty of emotion and rancor involved. Lets hope that providing oversight to the state Department of Agriculture to adopt contract regulations will be a step in the right direction so that this little piggy can go wee wee wee all the way home.

J.L. Schmidt is the statehouse correspondent for the Nebraska Press Association.
Nebraska has a rich and powerful history of answering the call to serve. For nearly 150 years, our state has witnessed this bravery in each of Americas wars. The past decade is no different. Time and again, the men and women of Nebraska have risen to defend our precious freedom in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on American soil. These events changed our lives forever. Nebraskans stepped up, ready to fight. Those serving in uniform, be it active duty, the National Guard, or reserves, knew they would likely wind up on the battlefield at some point in the future.

Many young Nebraskans enlisted after high school. Reserve Officers Training Corps units in Nebraska had no problem filling their ranks, and applications for military academy nominations poured in at record numbers. We should all be thankful to these Nebraskans for answering the call and standing up to defend freedom around the world.

To honor this generation of Nebraskas heroes, I recently began a new initiative on the floor of the U.S. Senate. My focus will be on those who lost their lives in combat.

Each of our fallen Nebraskans has a special story. According to the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 77 Nebraskans who lost their lives to combat-related incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Telling their stories keeps their service and sacrifice alive in our hearts. These tales also remind us of the principles so many Americans fought and died for.

I began this new initiative by honoring Sergeant Josh Ford of Pender. He was killed in Iraq on July 31, 2006. His parents, relatives and high school classmates look back lovingly on the boy who quickly grew to be a courageous soldier. As a young teenager, Josh was described as a couch potato who liked video games, painting and watching horror movies. But deep inside, there grew a strong desire to serve his country in military uniform.

He joined the Nebraska Army National Guard between his junior and senior year at Pender High School in 2003. That same year, he began basic training at Fort Jackson. He was just 17 years old, and it was a tough transition. Joshs parents, along with his classmates and friends, noticed how dramatically Josh had changed when he returned from basic training.

A year later, after graduating from Pender High School, Josh attended the Armys heavy-vehicle driver school at Fort Leonard Wood. He was assigned to the 189th Transportation Company, Detachment #1, in Wayne. A senior sergeant remembers that Josh grew up from a kid to a soldier, almost overnight.

In the early evening of July 31, 2006, near An Numaniyah, Iraq, the heat was unbearable, but it was typical for summer in Iraq. Specialist Ford and his battle buddy, Specialist Ben Marksmeier, were part of a 189th convoy that was driving through an area they had patrolled many times. Out of nowhere, a blast from an improvised explosive device obliterated their vehicle. Specialist Marksmeier was seriously injured, but Specialist Ford died at the scene.

For his service to his country, Specialist Josh Ford earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge. He was also promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant.

Our nation and all Nebraskans are forever indebted to his service and sacrifice. Sergeant Josh Ford is a hero, and I was truly honored to tell his story, lest we forget his life and the freedom he fought to defend.

Throughout this year and beyond, I plan to pay tribute to more of these brave Nebraska heroes. Our nation must know of their sacrifice and the honor they brought to our state.

Deb Fischer is Nebraskas senior representative in the U.S. Senate.
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Its amazing what you can learn from the stranger sitting next to you on a flight.

As I wait for my neighbor to grab her seat next to me, I secretly hope she embodies the qualities I hope for in a fellow passenger  keeping to herself and not requiring in-flight medical assistance. I make eye contact with a young woman who gives me the nod that she has the middle seat, and as I let her in, she unloads an anatomy book. With my interest piqued, I break one of my fundamental rules and ask her, Are you in medical school? My flight neighbor chuckles a bit and replies, No, I am in school to be a physical therapist. I wanted to be a doctor, but I want a family, and I know I cant have both. My aunt is a doctor, but she told me that to succeed in a mans world you have to sacrifice all that you want as a woman.

That was the end of our conversation. My mind was racing: I was so proud of myself for assuming that she had been studying to be a physician since I myself had never been asked this. Countless memories replayed in my mind of being interrupted by strangers while studying at coffee shops. I never was able to hide my annoyance when they automatically assumed I was studying for nursing school because of my gender. Admittedly, the road to my current role as emergency physician was not easy. While applying for residency, I was often aware of being scrutinized for my gender. Surprisingly, it wasnt male physicians, but my female peers who seemed to challenge one another the most  as though we were all competing to be the token female accepted in a residency class.

Throughout my life, I have always had lots of girlfriends. I attended an all-girls high school, and my college years were filled with healthy friendships with both women and men. It was not until I entered the world of medicine that I felt so distant from other women, and it was highly unsettling.

And then I became a mother. Like many new moms in the age of Facebook, I joined a (non-medical) mommy group for moms to come together and discuss the typical parenting struggles that many first-time mothers have. These social media support groups are extremely popular and so valuable to many mothers, but I quickly realized that most of the members couldnt relate to my unusual situation. So many of my questions simply would not resonate  I needed advice on finding childcare that was flexible with my unpredictable hours, but most of these mothers wouldnt be able to identify with the unique lifestyle that my career requires.

A few months after that flight, I found myself feeling overwhelmed about my future. I was 31-weeks pregnant with twins, working a full shift load, and still had no plan for how I would care for these babies and my 16-month-old daughter when I went back to work. As an emergency medicine physician, I thrive in high-pressure situations and perform well under stress, yet here I was struggling to figure out the logistics of childcare for my children. How did other female physicians do it? Was my flight neighbor right? Was I wrong to think I could have it all as a woman physician?

I knew I couldnt be the only one feeling this pressure, but I had been taught to never show weakness, especially in medicine. I nervously invited 20 friends who were also physician mothers to join a Facebook group I had created for physician-mothers, hoping I wouldnt be viewed negatively for seeking support. A week later, the Physician Moms Group (PMG) had grown to 1,000 members, and all my fears were dispelled. These women needed exactly this kind of network, but like me, had been too afraid to ask for it. We needed a safe space to discuss the challenges and rewards of being a physician and mother, seek advice on family and work matters, and celebrate the sacrifices we made for motherhood and medicine.

It is apparent that female physicians have unique challenges, but we also share many of the frustrations of our male colleagues. The days of leaving the hospital or clinic feeling satisfied due to patient gratitude are becoming less common. A frequent theme in our group is the frustration that many patients do not even recognize that we are the doctors! Despite wearing a long white coat, introducing myself as doctor multiple times and the large D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) label on my badge, I often hear the patients ask the nurse as I walk away, When will the doctor be here? How many times have I been overlooked while a patient directs all their attention to a male nurse or medical student although I am the one asking the questions? In a world of Press Gainey scores and customer-based medicine, this lack of recognition in the face of tremendous responsibilities contributes to female physician burnout.

In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of female physicians roles in medicine, PMG has declared February 3rd as National Women Physicians Day in partnership with Physicians Working Together (PWT) and Medelita. This day marks the birthday of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States in 1849. Dr. Blackwell initiated the movement that helped women gain entry and equality in the field of medicine. As part of her ongoing activism, Dr. Blackwell is quoted saying, If society will not admit of a womans free development, then society must be remodeled. A lot has changed since Dr. Blackwells entry into medicine, and yet there are still challenges achieving the same respect and opportunities as our male colleagues. According to the 2014 Census of Actively Licensed Physicians in the United States, only 32 percent of all physicians are female. While it is unclear whether this is due to barriers women face in the male-dominated workplace or the perceived inability to achieve work-life balance, this imbalance must be addressed so that women are encouraged to pursue careers as physicians and not fear answering their call to medicine.

My hope is that we can show unity celebrating this special day and honor the many accomplishments women have made in the name of medicine. I am optimistic that the sacrifices we make in our own lives to care for others will come to be recognized and appreciated. We must remodel the structure of medicine to make it possible for women to excel professionally while balancing a family. We have a responsibility to protect and nurture the practice of medicine, and I believe this starts by reshaping the way society treats the woman physician.

On February 3rd we are asking the medical community to observe National Women Physicians Day in hospitals and clinics and for the public to do the same on social media by using hashtags #Iamblackwell and #NWPD. Together we are creating a collective voice that has the power to bring about positive changes for physicians and patients alike.

Special thanks to the strong women in PMG who helped make this monumental day happen! Especially to Drs. Dina Seif, Joyce Guirand and Lourdes Bahmonde for their support and guidance not only in motherhood and medicine but also for their sacrifices to expand the organization of PMG.

Hala Sabry is an emergency physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Let me start by saying that I love the 401(k) plan. Its the single best wealth accumulation vehicle available to the vast majority of Americans. At todays contribution limits, you can defer up to $18,000 of income  and $24,000 if youre 50 or older  tax free. And many companies offer corporate matches dollar for dollar (most companies match the first 20-60% you save.)

Thats great for middle-class Americans, and many can contribute the maximum allowed with a little bit of discipline. But if you have an annual income of $500,000 or more, that amounts to a paltry savings rate of less than 4%. Any savings above that amount would be subject to punishingly high taxesand even the dreaded Obamacare surcharge.

Well, I have good news. If you earn a high income and own your own business (or are paid as a 1099 contractor), you have vastly superior savings options at your disposal. If done right, you can save well over $100,000 per year in tax-sheltered accounts.

Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up

This strategy is designed for the self-employed, but it can also work if you get a paycheck but also earn additional income from a side business or additional contract income. A lot of doctors and consultants would fall under this umbrella.

We all know that the traditional defined-benefit pension is dead. The days when your employer guaranteed you an income for life are now something we read about mostly in history books.

Well, that might be true for corporate plans. But there is nothing stopping you from starting your pension for yourself and your spouse.

The One-Man Pension

The best retirement savings strategy is actually a combination of two separate vehicles:

1. An Individual 401(k) plan, which consists of regular salary deferral and additional profit sharing based on your companys profit for the year.

2. A cash-balance, defined-benefit pension plan.

Ill tackle the Individual (Solo) 401(k) plan first. Most investors consider a Solo 401(k) plan to be more or less interchangeable with a SEP IRA.

Theyre wrong.

While both plans max out at $53,000 per year in contributions, the Solo 401(k) allows for front loading. Lets look at an example. Lets say your business earns $100,000 in net income. With a SEP IRA, you can contribute 20%, or $20,000, tax deferred. This is a profit-sharing contribution made on your behalf by your employerwhich happens to be you.

With the Solo 401(k), you can make that same profit-sharing contribution of $20,000. But you can also defer $18,000 of salary, for a total of $38,000.

Of course, were talking about high-income earners, and both the Solo 401(k) and the SEP IRA max out at $53,000 on incomes of $265,000.

So, if you earn $265,000 or more, the SEP IRA and Solo 401(k) are interchangeable, right?

Wrong!

If you save via a Solo 401(k), you are also eligible to contribute to a defined-benefit plan. If you save via a SEP IRA, you cannot.

This brings me to the second prong of the retirement plan, the single-person defined-benefit plan.

Yes, you can actually make a traditional pension planfor yourself. There are administrative fees involved, and youll want to hire a professional to draft the plan documents and monitor compliance. But doing all of this opens the door to massively increasing your retirement savings if you can afford it.

Annual contribution levels here depend on your age and other actuarial assumptions, but the chart below shows how they shake out. The contribution limits depend on two main variables: age and income. Thats very different from IRAs/401(k)s, so it takes some getting used to. These are sometimes (though not always -- see a list of exceptions here (opens in new tab)) insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Putting It All Together

Combining the Solo 401(k) with the cash-balance, defined-benefit plan is complicated, so I cant stress enough the importance of hiring a knowledgeable pro to set it up correctly. But here are the basics.

Normally, you can contribute $18,000 in salary deferral and 20% of profits to a Solo 401(k) plan, up to a maximum of $53,000. But if you also contribute to a cash-balance pension plan, your profit-sharing percentage gets bumped from 20% to 6%. That effectively drops your $53,000 contribution to $33,900 if youre under 50 and $39,900 if youre 50 or older.

But heres where it gets fun. If youre 65 years old, your combined contribution to the Solo 401(k) and cash-balance pension is a whopping $284,400 ($244,500 cash balance + $39,900 401(k) plan). The numbers get smaller the younger you are, but at age 35 you can still contribute a not-too-shabby $102,200. (Breaking out the math, this is $18,000 in salary deferral, $15,900 in salary deferral at the maximum 6% rate, and $68,300 in defined-benefit contributions.)

Is There a Downside?

So, stashing away hundreds of thousands of dollars per year sounds pretty great, right? Whats the catch?

Believe it or not, there really isnt one, assuming you earn a high enough income. This isnt for everyone. You have to own your own business (or earn significant contract income), and you need to have a high income for this to make sense. If the business has any employees, contributions must also be made for them, which can be very expensive. And there are other costs. Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,000 in administrative expenses. But if you fall under this umbrella -- and if youre eager to shield some of your savings from the tax man -- this is the best combination Ive seen.

Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA, is chief investment officer of the investment firm Sizemore Capital Management and the author of the Sizemore Insights (opens in new tab) blog.
(Kitco News) - The U.S. service sector, although a bright spot in the U.S. economy, lost momentum last month, according to the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).



Wednesday. The ISM said that its non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index showed a reading of 53.5%, down from Decembers reading of 55.8%. The reading was also weaker than expected as consensus forecasts were calling for a level around 55.1%.

Readings above 50 are seen as a sign of economic growth; the farther an indicator is above or below 50, the greater or smaller the rate of change.

"The majority of the respondents comments are positive about business conditions; however, there is a concern that exists relative to global conditions, stock market volatility, and the effect on commercial and consumer confidence," the report said.

Looking at the components of the report, the business activities index fell to a reading fo 53.9%, down sharply from the previous reading at 59.5%, at the same time the new orders index fell to 56.5%, compared to 58.9% seen in December.

The closely watched employment component  used as a predictor for Fridays nonfarm payrolls data  shows some softening in the labor market. The employment index fell to 52.1%, down from Decembers reading of 56.3%.

The service sector is also seeing a drop in prices pressures as the prices index fell to 46.4%, compared to Decembers reading of 51%. This is the third time in the last five months, prices have fallen, according to the report.

Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said the report did very little to quell concerns surrounding the U.S. economy.

While the manufacturing sector has been understandably depressed, many had hoped that the rest of the economy wouldnt be dragged down with it, he said. The drop will be another headwind to the Feds desire to normalize rates.

Despite Januarys drop, the service sector remains in expansion territory and is holding up better than the manufacturing sector, which fell to a reading of 48.2 in January, deeper in to contraction territory.

The renewed worries of the U.S. economy appear to be supporting the gold market, as prices have pushed higher following the weaker than expected data, as of 10:14 a.m. gold was trading at $1,135.40 an ounce.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com

Follow Neils Christensen @neils_C
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By Chris Henry

BREMERTON  Olympic College announced Tuesday that it has received a $100,000 donation from the owners of Tim Ryan Construction to fund scholarships for nursing students.

The gift, from Tim and Bev Ryan, will fund scholarships of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 each year for the next 10 years.

Tim Ryan, whose mother was a nurse, gave the gift to honor the profession, OC spokesman Shawn Devine said. Ryan established his commercial construction company in 1957 in Kirkland and relocated to Kingston in 1972.

"We could not be happier to be among the many organizations the Ryan family has supported through the years," OC President David Mitchell said. "These scholarships will have a lasting impact for our nursing students, many of whom are place-bound and would not have access to these programs if they were not available locally."

The Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship will be awarded in June for the 2016-17 academic year through the Olympic College Foundation, which provided more than $370,000 in scholarship support to students in 2015.

For information, go to www.olympic.edu/olympic-college-foundation/available-scholarships.
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By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun

PORT ORCHARD  A man suspected of scouting houses to burglarize by leafing though newspaper obituaries was charged Monday for having burglary tools after the father of a 12-year-old girl who died from the flu last month correctly guessed the thief's next move.

Brian Lowery was at the Jan. 23 funeral of his daughter, Piper, when a man came to the door of his house asking about a lost cat. A friend stayed behind at the house, and the man seemed surprised that somebody answered the door. He made a quick exit, but not before Lowery's friend was able to snap a photo of the man's Honda.

Late one night after the funeral, Lowery was thinking about Piper, and looking at her obituary in the paper and started wondering about how his house was apparently targeted.

Lowery also started thinking about what belongings would have been stolen if his house had been burglarized. Piper's camera and laptop were out in the open. Stored on them were selfies and videos of her singing, priceless possessions.

"I would have never got it back," he said.

His hunch was that the would-be burglar targeted his house because of the obituary, so he started researching another obituary. He discovered that the funeral was scheduled for Friday. The deceased person lived near Long Lake, so Lowery contacted the person's family and recommended somebody stay behind. Meanwhile, he parked nearby with a friend who was armed with a video camera and waited.

"I don't want anybody to go through the hurt I would have gone through," Lowery said, acknowledging it is especially despicable to target people who are grieving.

Two relatives of the deceased person stayed behind at the house, one was an off-duty police officer.

Sure enough, the same Honda showed up, driving up the long, dirt driveway. The suspect knocked on the door with a photo of a cat in his hand. The person who answered the door told a deputy that from his reaction she assumed she had surprised the man.

"(She) stated it was pretty obvious that he was not there looking for a cat," the deputy wrote.

Lowery and the others were able to block the man in the driveway, and got him out of the car.

In the backseat was a crowbar, Lowery said, and while the off-duty officer questioned the suspect, Lowery called Sheriff's Office deputies, one of who wrote in reports that he immediately recognized the suspect from dealing with him in the past.

The suspect arrested at the scene, Shane Michael Grinde, 38, was charged in Kitsap District Court with making or having burglar tools, a gross misdemeanor.

Lowery said Grinde, surprisingly, was docile and did not fight or swear at them. Grinde has felony convictions for possession of stolen property and drugs, according to court records.

"He was pretty nice, actually," Lowery said.
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OLYMPIA (AP)  State Rep. Graham Hunt, of Orting, announced his resignation from the Legislature on Tuesday after recent questions that he exaggerated his service in the military.

Hunt has faced increasing scrutiny over his military record since The Seattle Times reported last month that records did not verify his claims of being a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He also claimed three medals the military has no record of him receiving.

In a statement on his website, Hunt wrote there are inconsistencies in the record of his military service. He said his constituents "deserve a full-time representative who can zealously advocate for their objectives without distraction."

Most recent, the state's Libertarian Party Chairman Steven Nielson said Hunt's statements last week saying he only suffered post-traumatic stress disorder is contrary to claims the lawmaker made in 2014 about being stabbed, according to The News Tribune.

"I was stabbed in Afghanistan and I was shot in Iraq so before you start talking about your thoughts and feelings on veterans realize first of all that I'm sorry that you've lost a loved one but I've lost brothers," Nielson claims Hunt wrote in a social media message in June 2014.

Nielson provided The News Tribune screen shots of the conversation, which he says was about Nielson's work to help restore a veteran's wall in Orting.

"We ought to hold our elected representatives to the highest ethical standards and I believe that misrepresenting your military record not only violates the honor of the service, but it dishonors the integrity of the very office he holds," Nielson said in a news release.

Nielson had called for Hunt to resign, echoing House Minority Leader Dan Kristiansen's call Tuesday for Hunt to clarify his military service record or resign. Kristiansen said before Hunt's resignation that the lawmaker met with the Republican leadership on Tuesday.

Hunt continues to say he did not intentionally mislead anyone about his military service. He said Monday that he isn't friends with Nielson on Facebook and that he doesn't remember the conversation in question.

In his statement he wrote he has "exerted my best effort in trying to compile a complete set of my military personnel files" and has "worked to identify and explain any remaining confusion to the best of my ability."

Hunt has released documents confirming that he served in the Air National Guard based in Arizona, and that he was deployed to Saudi Arabia and another location that was classified.

On Friday, Pierce County Charter Review Commission member Joshua Penner said he heard Hunt say on several occasions that he was a Marine, although Hunt never served in the Marines. Penner served with Hunt on the Orting City Council.

"It hurts because it is through him telling me he served in the Marines that I believe him to be a Marine. It hurts because I have told countless people, in his presence, and elsewhere about him being a Marine," said Penner.

Hunt posted online Friday that he has served alongside Marines on deployment, and that if anyone has been misled to believe he was claiming he served as a Marine, that was not his intention.

Hunt was appointed to the Legislature in 2014 and won election to a full term in November of 2014.

"I apologize to all of those who have been affected by this situation," he wrote in the statement. "The journey I have shared with the citizens of my district, as their representative, has been a distinct honor for which I am forever grateful."
Axel Lovinaria (left) of Vape on the Beach in Bremerton and customer Orlando Josafat, of Bremerton, exhale Tuesday at the business on Kitsap Way. A new vaping ordinance was discussed at the Kitsap Public Health District board meeting Tuesday.

SHARE Axel Lovinaria, a sales associate at Vape on the Beach in Bremerton, blows smoke rings Tuesday in the business. Axel Lovinaria, a sales associate at Vape on the Beach in Bremerton, works on vaping equipment as manager Solon Fleming watches Tuesday. A new vaping ordinance was discussed by the Kitsap Public Health District board Tuesday.

By Tad Sooter of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  Kitsap health officials want to clear the air on vaping, an activity that's gained mainstream popularity while remaining virtually unregulated.

An ordinance being developed by Kitsap Public Health District would prohibit the use of vaporizers and e-cigarettes in public places  following similar rules for cigarette smoking  and place new requirements on vape shop operators. Health district staff presented a draft of the proposed ordinance to the Kitsap Public Health board on Tuesday and will begin gathering public input this month.

The draft vaping ordinance and other materials have been posted at kitsappublichealth.org/vaping. The board likely will vote on the ordinance this year.

The health district began work on the ordinance to respond to a rampant rise in both vape users and vape product retailers. Vaping has gained popularity in recent years, with many people turning to vape as an alternative to smoking. Vaping devices use heat to vaporize liquids, which are flavored and often contain some amount of nicotine. The vapor is inhaled by users.

The health district estimates there are 15 dedicated vape stores in the county, and about 200 retailers selling vape products.

"There are a lot of retailers," district environmental health director Keith Grellner said in a presentation Tuesday. "It's really skyrocketed in the last few years."

Troublingly, vaping among teens also is on the rise. In a 2014 Healthy Youth Survey, 27 percent of high school seniors in Kitsap reported vaping in the previous 30 days, while 22 percent reported smoking or chewing tobacco.

"We're seeing rapid increases of use among high school kids, which is concerning," Grellner said.

Even as vaping enters the mainstream, "short- and long-term health effects of using vapor products are not well understood or documented," according to the language of the draft ordinance. Chemicals used in vaping liquids vary, the ordinance notes, and some common ingredients, including nicotine, are known to be harmful. Grellner said there is particular concern that vape products appeal to children.

With the science on vaping still hazy, the sale and use of vape products remains almost entirely unregulated. Federal law hasn't addressed the booming industry. State law simply prohibits sales of vape products to minors. Only a handful of Washington counties have enacted vaping restrictions. Vaping proponents recently sued Pierce County over its restrictions.

Grellner said Kitsap's draft ordinance was modeled on an ordinance enacted by Snohomish County. Some key components include:

Vaping would be restricted in public places and workplaces, following similar rules in place for tobacco smoking. "No vaping" signs would be required in those areas.

Vape retailers would be required to check IDs before making sales. Minors would be prohibited from purchasing, possessing or using vapor products.

Coupons for vape products could only be used in person.

Retail outlets would have to obtain permits from the health district.

A retailer could allow sampling of products within the store if they obtained the proper permit and met certain conditions. Outlets would be limited to five seats for sampling, and store employees would not be permitted to vape on the premises.

The health district would have authority to enforce the regulations and issue warnings, permit suspensions and fines for violations.

The health district last considered vaping regulations in 2013, but no ordinance was passed. Retailers might be leery of the new proposal, judging by the reaction Solon Fleming, manager of Bremerton's Vape on the Beach store.

After reviewing the basics of the draft ordinance, Fleming was especially concerned by proposed limits for sampling in stores. He said it's common to have large groups of people trying out vape products in the store. If only five people are allowed to sample at one time, "it will be a huge impact here," he said.

Fleming believes regulators are taking advantage of the confusion surrounding the health effects of vaping to crack down on the industry.

"They're just throwing out scare tactics and misinformation," he said.
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PARIS  Despite living in an increasingly disenchanted world, we seem to be in the grips of a global epidemic of naivety. People are far too easily seduced by exalted words and fine sentiments, and the result is a lot of severely dysfunctional relationships.

No, this is not a column about dating  it's about electoral politics  although the dynamics are exactly the same. People often seek to align their votes with their ideals  and end up getting bamboozled. Before they know it, they're actually enabling even more dumb choices by those who suckered them in the first place. It's political Stockholm syndrome.

If you were dating someone for a week and that person proclaimed you to be the love of his or her life and promised you the world, would you believe it? Only someone desperate or gullible would, right? A more rational approach is to test a relationship over time, to approach ardor and wild promises with healthy skepticism.

So then why are people so easily hoodwinked by politicians who talk this way? I'm really not sure how else to explain the popularity, in the wake of the Iowa primaries, of candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders or Ted Cruz.

If Sanders, a Democrat who avows being a democratic socialist, showed up in Russia and asked to join President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, I suspect that he'd be reminded that the Soviet Union already tried his brand of thinking and it didn't work out very well. A lifelong professional activist, Sanders has a lot of free stuff built into his platform. I see a lot of spending and not much in the way of plans to create more wealth to pay for it all.

Meanwhile, Cruz, a Republican, says that he wants to "restore leadership on the global stage" while he simultaneously badmouths Putin  who is now doing the heavy lifting against the Islamic State in Syria  as a "KGB thug." Cruz believes that getting America more deeply involved in Syria and Iraq isn't a good idea. He told The Economist that "America's armed forces shouldn't serve as 'al-Qaida's air force.' " While some may be impressed by such words, in practice this kind of rhetoric works about as well as: "You look fat in that dress. Would you care to buy me dinner?"

Cruz reminds me of the guy whose text messages I blocked after a date in which he was oblivious to the fact that he contradicted himself at least four times in his effort to impress me. The fact that there were enough Iowans this week who were keen to "put a ring" on this rhetorical mess in the caucuses is puzzling.

In Europe, the focus on rhetoric over pragmatism has led to security and demographic problems so severe that urgent action is needed even make a dent in resolving them. But if you think Europe's political class has since awoken, you'd be wrong.

Germany and other European countries have been flooded by refugees and by opportunists posing as such  to the point where elected officials and intelligence services have now outright admitted that Islamic State fighters have exploited Europe's open door to smuggle in terrorist sleeper cells. And we've already witnessed widespread reports of migrants attacking European women and committing crimes.

For months, no one dared credit the common-sense warnings that these problems could arise if refugees were admitted in great numbers. The nice words and thoughts related to the humanitarian aspect of the migrant phenomenon somehow prevented a whole lot of people from being able to foresee the darker repercussions.

According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is actually considering scrapping the requirement that asylum applications be limited to the first country of refuge. This is another case in which politicians fail to foresee how the migrant problem could be further spread throughout Europe like a metastasized cancer.

Meanwhile, despite having at least reinstated its borders, France is now trying to contend with an internal enemy. It is debating ridiculous propositions like stripping terrorists of citizenship. To be punished in this way, the terrorists must first be dual nationals, and then they must be convicted of terrorism  which is hard to do after they've blown themselves up. Why do people even bother to engage in this exercise in intellectual self-flagellation?

When citizens satisfy themselves with high-minded but empty rhetoric, and elected officials echo these vaunted ideals to silence dissenting voices, nations will find themselves locked in a death spiral. If the rest of us don't more aggressively point this problem out, we may very well go down with them.

Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist and former Fox News host.
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By Kristi L. Nelson of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Expanding Medicaid could help Tennessee halve its number of uninsured workers, a new report suggests.

The study, released by advocacy group Families USA, looked at the decline in the percentage of uninsured workers in states that expanded Medicaid, versus states that did not.

States that expanded Medicaid in 2013 averaged a 25 percent reduction in 2014 in the rate of uninsured workers, compared with the 13 percent average decrease in non-expansion states.

PDF: Read the full report

In Tennessee, one of 19 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid, the drop was 15 percent, the report said.

The study looked only at workers ages 18-64, the demographic "most likely to benefit from Medicaid expansion," said Dee Mahan, Families USA's director of Medicaid advocacy, and didn't consider the type of coverage workers got.

Medicaid expansion was originally a mandatory part of the ACA, until the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot force states to expand their Medicaid Plans. That left a "gap" of some 200,000 Tennesseans who don't qualify for TennCare yet have an income too low to qualify for federal tax subsidies to help them purchase health insurance through the federal ACA marketplace.

Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, expressed frustration that Gov. Bill Haslam's alternative Insure Tennessee plan "failed miserably" last year, in part because of partisan politics and mistrust of the federal government, he said.

"We still have a large number of our population that can't get care," said Briggs, a cardiovascular surgeon. "It affects not only people, but the economy of our state.

The ACA mandates the federal government pay 100 percent of expanding Medicaid through the end of this year, but the federal share gradually declines beginning in 2017 until it reaches 90 percent in 2020. Opponents have expressed concern about the long-range cost to the state, but Briggs said Tennessee hospitals, which are in favor of expansion, would pay the state's share through a tax.

Cara Stewart, a health law fellow at the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, said her state saw its rate of uninsured workers "plummet" when it expanded Medicaid, including a 30 percent reduction in the number of uninsured restaurant workers and a 60 percent decrease in the number of uninsured retail workers, as well as a reduction in the number of cancer deaths and cardiovascular events.
Henry C. Taylor

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By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

The shooting death of a homeowner by a Blount County deputy was avoidable but not an unconstitutional abuse of power, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Pamela Reeves has granted Blount County Sheriff's Office Deputy Ernest "Ti" Ragland immunity from a civil-rights lawsuit filed in the August 2013 shooting death of retired military veteran and longtime postal worker Henry C. Taylor Jr.

The grant of immunity at the request of attorney Gary Prince drops Ragland from the federal lawsuit, although attorney Gregory P. Isaacs, who represents Taylor's widow, can still pursue negligence claims in the state court system under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, Reeves ruled. The Tuesday ruling does not affect Blount County government, which remains a defendant in the wrongful-death federal litigation.

Taylor was inside a detached garage he and his wife, Cynthia Ridinger, owned on Mentor Road in Louisville when Taylor's path crossed Ragland's with fatal consequences. Both men were armed. Both were on the hunt for burglars who had stolen nearly $40,000 in goods from the garage and a nearby house on the couple's property the day before.

Ragland did not identify himself as a law enforcer, although he initially claimed he did, prior court rulings have shown. Other details of his account also have changed over time, but Reeves opined one thing hasn't changed  Ragland was confronted in the dark by a man with a gun, as was Taylor.

"To be sure, Mr. Taylor's death may have been avoided," Reeves wrote. "While (Ragland's) search of the property may have been undertaken negligently, possibly leading to the need to employ deadly force, the 6th Circuit (U.S. Court of Appeals) has rejected the notion that an officer should be held liable for an otherwise constitutional exercise of force because the officer's negligence may have led to the need to employ that force in the first place."
SHARE Humberto Cerezo (Knox County Detention Facility) Marcelino Cerezo (Knox County Detention Facility)

By News Sentinel Staff

KNOXVILLE  A West Knox County man is accused of shooting at a couple and two children following a hit-and-run crash over the weekend, according to arrest warrants.

The collision was reported shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Cross Creek and Ten Mile roads.

The victims  a 27-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man  told authorities a silver Honda Accord with several passengers fled the crash scene after striking their vehicle.

As the couple followed the Honda in an attempt to get the driver's information, the car briefly stopped as one of the passengers, identified as 20-year-old Humberto Cerezo, jumped out and ran up Cross Creek Road.

The Honda circled the block, and as it returned to the spot where the man had gotten out, Cerezo "stood in the middle of the road and pointed a gun at their vehicle. Victims stated that they heard one shot and they drove off the roadway to get away from the suspects," the warrants state.

The woman's two sons, ages 6 years old and 6 months old, were in the vehicle with her at the time.

No one was injured.

Cerezo, of Knoxville, was arrested by the Knox County Sheriff's Office on a felony charge of reckless endangerment.

The Honda's driver, Marcelino Cerezo, 18, is charged with driving without a license and leaving the scene of an accident.

Both men remained free on bond pending arraignment in Knox County General Sessions Court on Feb. 9.

More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel.
PAUL EFIRD/NEWS SENTINEL Medical Assistant Karen Whaley administers a rapid flu test to Dustin Ellis on Wednesday at Summit Express in Fountain City. East Tennessee hasnt seen large numbers of flu cases this season, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that flu is beginning to increase everywhere.

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By Kristi L. Nelson of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Flu season hasn't hit East Tennessee hard yet, but health officials warn it's on the way.

If you go in with a likely case of flu, and you're either very sick or very susceptible to flu complications, you're likely to get a prescription for an antiviral drug  such as Tamiflu  before a lab confirms you have influenza.

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned doctors that flu activity is increasing across the country, with some severe cases, and told doctors to treat those already sick and at especially high risk of getting sick with antivirals, even if the rapid in-office test used to diagnose flu is negative.

Getting the drugs early  ideally, within 48 hours of when symptoms start  makes it more likely the drugs will reduce the length of time you're sick and how sick you get, the CDC said. There's no shortage of Tamiflu now, officials say.

A and B flu viruses have been circulating in small amounts since October, but in recent weeks, the CDC has seen more cases of an H1N1 virus and gotten reports of serious illness, intensive-care unit admissions and even some deaths of young to middle-aged adults infected with the virus. Most had not been vaccinated, and many were given rapid tests that were negative for flu, the CDC said.

An H1N1 virus that was the predominant flu strain during the 2013-2014 flu season caused severe illness in children and young and middle-aged adults, in addition to the usual higher-risk groups: babies, the elderly and the chronically ill. This year's vaccine contains the H1N1 strain, along with another A strain and a B strain, and is expected to be 60 percent to 70 percent effective. Last year's vaccine was half or less effective than usual after a strain of the virus mutated.

Family nurse practitioner Michael Norman of Summit Express clinics said he is prescribing Tamiflu to very sick patients who might have flu.

Norman said he saw a few positive flu cases  an A strain  back in the fall.

"I thought there was going to be an outbreak then," Norman said, "but it just sort of disappeared."

Now he's getting few positive flu tests but lots of patients with flu-like symptoms: fever, body aches, coughs and clear mucus. Flu and similar illnesses generally last seven to 10 days, he said. Using acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen to bring the fever down can help you "feel tremendously better," he said, because body aches will decrease.

But seek medical attention if you're not feeling better after about a week, or if you start to feel worse, are short of breath or start coughing up green or yellow phlegm, Norman said. He's seen flu-like illnesses lead to ear or sinus infections or even pneumonia.

"It's definitely nothing to take lightly," he said.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center and East Tennessee Children's Hospital report only "scant" flu activity now, but "we expect flu activity to increase over the next several weeks, and the vaccine is still the best protection available from this virus and its potentially serious complications," said Dr. Martha Buchanan, Knox County Health Department director.

Flu vaccine is available at the health department's main, West and Teague clinics; call 865-215-5070.

Buchanan also urged frequent hand-washing and said sick people should stay home to avoid infecting those at high risk, including people unable to get flu shots.
Tim Burchett

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By News Sentinel Staff

KNOXVILLE  The Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard on Wednesday is expected to present Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett with a plaque and patch recognizing him as an honorary member of the organization.

The Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard, according to the news release, was assembled to offer military funeral honors to all East Tennessee county veterans who are honorably discharged.

Honorary membership is awarded to members of the community who don't qualify to join the group, but are outstanding supporters and advocates for veterans, the release said.

More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel.
SHARE Margie Nichols, vice chancellor for communications and marketing, has announced her plans to retire from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, later in 2016.

By News Sentinel Staff

KNOXVILLE  Margie Nichols, the University of Tennessee's vice chancellor for communications and marketing for more than seven years, announced Wednesday her plans to retire later this year.

Nichols oversees a variety of offices on the Knoxville campus. The university has started a national search to fill her position and Nichols will stay until her successor is named, according to a UT news release.

"I have had an amazing career, and it's been an honor to serve the University of Tennessee and its distinguished faculty, staff and students," Nichols said in a news release. "I have accomplished the goals I set eight years ago when I came to UT. The time is right for my husband and me to focus on our list of things we want to do together."

Previously, she was chief of staff to former UT President John Peterson and was senior director of communications and government relations for then-Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. She has 26 years of experience in television news, including news director at Knoxville's WBIR-TV.

"Margie has been a critical part of our cabinet and has done a stellar job. She has brought valuable expertise and knowledge to our team," UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said in the release. "We'll miss her greatly at the University of Tennessee, and I will personally miss her counsel on the many issues we have faced over the years. I wish her and her husband, John, great happiness and I hope to see her often."

More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.
By Megan Boehnke of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Amelia Parker's frustration hit such a pique Tuesday evening that by the end of her five-minute remarks to Knoxville City Council members, she shouted and banged her fist on the lectern.

"Tonight we're talking about committing $3 or $4 million to this project, and you have not considered anything this community has wanted or needed," Parker said, referring to the city's Magnolia Avenue streetscape project.

Map: See which downtown streets Knoxville plans to resurface in 2016 and 2017

"All you want to put money into is police for this community  we need more than that," she continued, her voice rising. "We need more, we deserve more and quite honestly, our tax dollars pay for it!

"We are not asking, we are demanding! As citizens! We are citizens!"

Parker was one of six people to address City Council over what they see as a move to gentrify the Magnolia Avenue area in East Knoxville. About a dozen other people sat in the audience with signs reading "Black Lives Matter," "Whose East Knoxville?" and "Be fair to all areas of the city."

Most of them had gathered outside the City Council Building for a protest an hour or so before the meeting started.

The group asked City Council to halt the Magnolia Avenue plan and reconsider how to move forward with input from the community.

A meeting late last month on the project drew about 70 residents to the John T. O'Connor Senior Citizen Center, where many of the attendees  including Parker  expressed concerned then about the potential gentrification of the neighborhood.

Mayor Madeline Rogero was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Her deputy and the city's chief operating officer, Christy Branscom, said after the City Council meeting the administration would regroup and talk to the mayor about the feedback they've received.

Councilman Daniel Brown, who represents East Knoxville, said he would like the city to take another look at the plan and the community's response.

The frustration in the city's black community has been building over several weeks, Brown said, pointing to the contentious meeting at the O'Connor Center and the community forum on violence held at Fulton High School last week.

"There's a lot of frustration and some anger in the community right now," Brown said. "A lot of it is historical, people are resentful of various things and some is perception that certain parts of town are not receiving as much development as others."
SHARE Nathan Rowell Richard "Bud" Armstrong

By Georgiana Vines of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Attorney Nathan Rowell, challenging Knox County Law Director Richard "Bud" Armstrong in the March 1 Republican primary, has received contributions of $66,420 compared with $50,599 that the incumbent raised, according to financial disclosures filed this week.

Rowell's contributions include a $7,000 loan that the candidate has made to the campaign. He's also contributed $1,500 to the campaign, along with six others in the Watson Roach law firm with which he is associated and the widow of law firm founder Bob Watson.

The reporting period covered July 1, 2015 to Jan. 15, 2016. Armstrong's report shows a $32,245 loan outstanding from his campaign four years ago.

Armstrong has received support from longtime members of the Republican establishment, and Rowell has picked up support from the business community, particularly from businessman James Haslam II. Haslam contributed $1,000 to Armstrong; he and wife Natalie also contributed $1,500 each to Rowell.

Armstrong's disclosure shows he spent $10,211, with the biggest items for fundraisers at the Crowne Plaza hotel, and has $4,677 on hand for the rest of the campaign.

Rowell spent $7,179 on signs and has an obligation of $10,000 for billboards. He has $59,240 on hand.

Several Knox County officeholders, former elected officials and political party operatives are backing Armstrong, a former county commissioner and Tennessee Valley Authority manager, in his bid for a second term. Their contributions include $1,000 from the campaign account of U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.; $150 each from state representatives Roger Kane and Jason Zachary; $100 each from state Rep. Harry Brooks, state Sen. Doug Overbey, county commissioners David Wright and Bob Thomas, county Mayor Tim Burchett's Elect Burchett campaign and the Elect Sherry Witt Register of Deeds campaign; $50 from state Rep. Bill Dunn; and $25 from state Sen. Randy McNally.

Lawyers in Armstrong's office also made contributions, which is not unusual. Those donors included his chief deputy, David Buuck, who gave $1,500; Susan Crabtree, $300; and David Sanders, $50.

Armstrong, who has been criticized by Rowell for his handling of a contract for outgoing school Superintendent Jim McIntyre, received $200 from school board member Patti Bounds, $100 from her husband, Thomas, and $100 from Tony Norman, a former county commissioner and McIntyre critic running unopposed for the 3rd District school board seat.

Rowell received $500 from school board member Karen Carson, from proceeds left from her unsuccessful campaign for the state House.

Among other business contributors to Rowell's campaign are banker Jim Clayton, who gave $3,000 for the primary and general election.

Steve Bailey and his wife, Ann, who is Haslam's daughter, also contributed $3,000. An individual can contribute up to $1,500 per election.

Rowell said if he loses, he will have to give $1,500 back to Clayton, so he doesn't plan on spending it.

Rowell and Armstrong said they held political forums Monday night after receiving the financial information but had not had time to study the other's disclosures and had no comment on them.

In the other countywide race  for property assessor in the Republican primary  Jim Weaver, deputy property assessor under incumbent Phil Ballard, reported raising $55,907, while former assessor John Whitehead reported receiving $98,625, but that figure included a loan of $85,000. A third candidate, Andrew Graybeal, said he received $3,475.

Weaver had loans of $2,000 to his campaign. Ballard's campaign committee chipped in $1,500.

Several businessmen made $1,000 and $1,500 contributions to Weaver, as did former county commissioner R. Larry Smith and his wife, Sharon, each of whom gave $1,000.

Whitehead reported a son, John R. Jr., employed in the Trustee's Office contributed $1,000, as did Lori Moore and Raymond Moore, both associated with the Sheriff's Office.

Weaver said he spent $12,334 and has $4,295 on hand. Whitehead said he spent $11,1500 and had $87,475 on hand, while Graybeal spent $17 and had $3,458 on hand.

No Democrats are running for law director or property assessor.

A few candidates missed deadlines because of illness or other unforeseen reasons, but it's not a problem, Elections Administrator Cliff Rodgers said Tuesday. No Independents are included.

In other races:

1st District County Commission: Michael Covington, Republican, no report filed. Evelyn Gill, Democrat, no report filed. Rick Staples, Democrat, raised $4,950, spent $4,357, on hand, $623.

2nd District County Commission: Michele Carringer, Republican, raised $23,729, spent $9,088, on hand $17,476. John N. Fugate II, Republican, raised $5,600, spent $978, on hand $4,621. Laura Kildare, Democrat, on hand, $650.

4th District County Commission: Hugh Nystrom, Republican, raised $57,695, spent $13,604, on hand $44,090. Jeff Ownby, Republican, raised $10,414, spent $8,051, on hand $2,363. Janet Testerman, Republican, raised $44,160, spent $12,557, on hand $31,603. Marleen Davis, Democrat, no report filed.

5th District County Commission: John Schoonmaker, Republican, reported nothing raised or spent. Sheri Ridgeway, Democrat, reported nothing raised or spent.

6th District County Commission: Brad Anders, Republican, raised $8,950, spent $3,588, on hand $5,739. John Ashley, Republican, raised $4,800, spent $3,595, on hand $1,206. Donna Lucas, Democrat, no report.

8th District County Commission: Dave Wright, Republican, raised $860, spent $150, on hand $710.

9th District County Commission: Carson Dailey, Republican, no report filed. James "Brandon" Hamilton, Democrat, raised and has on hand $1,035.

2nd District School Board: Jennifer Owen, raised $525, spent $122, on hand $402. Grant Standefer, raised $29,600, spent $3,180, on hand $26,419.

3rd District School Board: Tony Norman, raised and has on hand $3,550.

5th District School Board: Lori Ann Boudreaux, raised $3,296, spent $2,341, on hand $955. Susan Horn, raised $5,105, spent $1,262, on hand $3,842. Reuben "Buddy" Pelot, raised and has on hand $23,750.

8th District School Board: Mike McMillan, raised and has on hand $450.
SHARE Gloria Johnson

By Richard Locker

NASHVILLE  Former state Rep. Gloria Johnson, a Knoxville Democrat, plans a rematch this year with Rep. Eddie Smith, the Republican who defeated her by 182 votes out of 13,278 votes cast in their 2014 race.

Johnson announced her candidacy Tuesday for Knoxville's sprawling the 13th House District seat, which she held for one two-year term. She worked for 25 years as a special-education teacher in the Knox County school system until retiring from Holston Middle School last April when she became Tennessee field director of Organizing for Action, the national nonprofit group working to advance President BarackObama's agenda.

She made it clear she's running on traditional Democratic themes of health care and education.

Johnson said she will work to win approval of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's Insure Tennessee plan, which would extend health coverage to 280,000 uninsured working Tennesseans. It has been blocked for two years by Republican opposition. Johnson participated in a rally for Insure Tennessee when the Legislature opened its 2016 session last month.

"Today, 280,000 Tennesseans woke up again without access to health insurance. Almost 1 million Tennessee students woke up again as special interests try to cut funding from public education. More than 3 million Tennessee women woke up again knowing they will continue to earn about 20 cents less per dollar than a man makes," she said in a media release.

"Day after day, Tennesseans are waking up just like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day, knowing that their futures will not change because the Republican-led Legislature is focusing this day just like they did the last, on the wrong priorities for Tennessee," she said. "Our neighbors deserve a representative who will wake up every single day, committed with dogged determination to stand up and fight for Tennessee's working families who deserve better."

Smith, an events production director, is chairman of the Knox County legislative delegation and is running for re-election.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes, who served with Johnson in the Legislature, greeted Johnson's announcement with scorn.

"Typically in Knoxville, when we talk about the words 'failure' and 'ineffective,' we're talking about (football coach) Derek Dooley's time at UT. But Democrats today decided to trot out their own version in the form of Gloria Johnson.

"Johnson quickly garnered a reputation in Nashville for fighting tooth-and-nail against Gov. Haslam's vision of reform and opportunity. In doing so, she became one the most divisive and ineffective members of the General Assembly  and our community suffered. Voters rightly sent her home in 2014."

The 13th House District includes much of North Knoxville, Sequoyah Hills, Bearden and South Knox County.
12:15 p.m. February 3, 2016

North Carolina man accused of planning to kill masses under ISIL thumb







Justin Nojan Sullivan was indicted on Tuesday, February 2 on seven counts for plans to kill masses of people. Image courtesy of Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Dept.



KNOXVILLE  A North Carolina man has been indicted on seven counts as part of a scheme to kill masses of people under the thumb of ISIL. Justin Nojan Sullivan, 19, of Morganton, North Carolina, was charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIL; receipt of a silencer in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony; receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm; concealment and storage of a stolen firearm; use of interstate facilities in the attempted commission of a murder-for-hire; and two counts of making false statements to FBI agents.



According to allegations in the indictment, Sullivan attempted to provide material support to ISIL by acquiring weapons and planning to conduct deadly attacks on our soil, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin. Countering threats to the safety of the American people is the highest priority of the National Security Division, and we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations.



According to the indictment, Sullivan had pledged allegiance to ISIL and planned to carry out assassinations and mass shootings against innocent people.



Justin Sullivan had elaborate plans to kill hundreds of innocent people to show his support for the terrorist organization, ISIL, said Special Agent in John A. Strong of the FBIs Charlotte, North Carolina, Division. During the course of our investigation evidence was uncovered linking Sullivan to John Bailey Clarks murder six months earlier. Any loss of life is tragic; due to the work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, other planned attacks were thwarted preventing more violence.



According to allegations contained in the indictment and information in related court filings, Sullivan watched violent ISIL attacks on the Internet, such as beheadings, after converting to Islam. The indictment alleges that Sullivan openly expressed support for ISIL in his home and destroyed religious items that belonged to his parents. The indictment also alleges that beginning no later than June 6, 2015, Sullivan attempted to provide material support to ISIL by planning terrorists attacks and discussed those plans on social media with an undercover FBI employee (UCE), who Sullivan attempted to recruit to join in such attacks.



As alleged in the indictment, Sullivan told the UCE via social media that it was better to remain in the United States to support ISIL than to travel. Sullivan suggested that the UCE obtain weapons and told the UCE that he was planning to buy a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle at an upcoming gun show in Hickory, North Carolina. On or about June 20, 2015, Sullivan attempted to purchase hollow point ammunition to be used with the weapon(s) he intended to purchase.



Allegedly Sullivan had researched on the Internet how to manufacture firearm silencers and asked the UCE to build functional silencers that they could use to carry out the planned attacks. The indictment further alleges that Sullivan told the UCE he planned to carry out his attack in the following few days at a concert, bar or club, where he believed as many as 1,000 people would be killed using the assault rifle and silencer.



According to allegations in the indictment, on or about June 19, 2015, the silencer, which was built according to Sullivans instructions, was delivered to him at his home in North Carolina, where Sullivans mother opened the package. The indictment alleges that Sullivan took the silencer from his mother and hid it in a crawl space under his house. When Sullivans parents questioned him about the silencer, Sullivan, believing that his parents would interfere with his plans to carry out an attack, offered to compensate the UCE to kill them.



On June 19, 2015, Sullivan was arrested at his parents home, where law enforcement also executed a search for the silencer and other items. The indictment alleges that law enforcement interviewed Sullivan on separate occasions and that Sullivan made false statements pertaining to the weapons in his possession and his involvement in the murder of his neighbor, John Bailey Clark, 74. In particular, according to the indictment, Sullivan was asked on June 19, 2015, if he had a rifle, to which he answered no. However, the FBIs search found a .22 rifle, a black ski mask and a lock pick kit hidden in the crawl space with the silencer. The indictment alleges that on June 20, 2015, Sullivan admitted that he had stolen the rifle from his fathers gun cabinet and hid it in the crawl space. Forensic testing shows that the .22 rifle hidden by Sullivan was used to murder Clark.



Sullivan is currently in federal custody and has waived arrangement on the federal charges. Trial is set for Feb. 22, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger of the Western District of North Carolina.



The charge of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign organization carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of receiving a silencer in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The charge of receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. The charge of possession, concealment and storage of a stolen firearm carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The charge of using interstate facilities in the attempted commission of a murder-for-hire carries a maximum prison term of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of making a false statement to an agency of the United States carries a maximum prison term of up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.



In making the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S. Attorney Rose thanked District Attorney David Learner for his offices continued assistance and coordination. Both also praised the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Burke County Sheriffs Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in this case. Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S. Attorney Rose also thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Services Charlotte Division, the U.S. Secret Service, the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the Hickory Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.



The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage of the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism section.





Source: FBI

Published February 3, 2016










By Choi Sung-jin



The "export shock," which saw foreign shipments in January record the sharpest year-on-year drop since 2009, may continue through much of this year and put a damper on the real economy, industry sources said Wednesday.



According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, total exports plunged 18.5 percent to $36.7 billion in January, the steepest drop since August 2009 when the monthly overseas shipment plummeted 20.9 percent in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.



Especially disappointing is exports plunged not just in value but also in volume. The export volume, which sank 10.4 percent in October, rebounded in November and December but fell back in January.



Equally inauspicious was that all 13 major export items recorded shipment setbacks. Hit by low international oil prices, shipments of petroleum products and petrochemicals plunged by 36.5 percent and 18.8 percent, respectively. Negative growth rates for exports of automobiles, (-21.5 percent), mobile phones (-7.3 percent), semiconductors (-13.7 percent), displays (-30.8 percent), shipbuilding (-32.2 percent) and steel (-19.9 percent) were also recorded.



By region, exports to the EU grew 7.3 percent but shipments to all other major markets dropped: the U.S. (-9.2 percent), ASEAN (-19.7 percent), Latin America (-35.8 percent), Russia and CIS (-21.0 percent). Exports to China, the nation's largest export market, also plunged 21.5 percent.



Trade experts, while pointing to usual suspect factors such as low oil prices and an economic slowdown in emerging economies as major reasons for the export slump, took particular note of the "changing export environment" in China.



In the past, for example, Korean manufacturers mainly exported intermediary goods of parts and materials to China, and Chinese importers turned them into finished products to sell abroad. However, such "processing trade" is rapidly on the wane because of the technological progress of the Chinese industries that produce an increasing portion of parts and materials for themselves, said economics analysts.



"The technological gap between Korean and Chinese companies is rapidly narrowing, reducing the nation's export to its largest market in the form of processing trade," said a researcher at a think tank affiliated with a large business group. "That means the recent export setback to China is not a transient phenomenon but there is a structural change in the export environment."



In order to get over this crisis, there must be massive changes in industrial structure and export strategy, they said. Above all, Korean exporters need to shift their focus from the manufacturing industry and exports through processing trade to the services sector and the shipment of finished products, they said.



Government and business officials should also join forces to boost moribund domestic demand, while speeding the realignment of business structures at major exporters to throw off Chinese competitors.



"Export's contribution to economic growth is likely to remain in the negative territory for the time being, forcing the government and central bank to go all to prevent the economy from contracting further," said the researcher at the chaebol-affiliated think tank. "All this will eventually depend on exporters, however, who should restore competitive edge through extensive research and development and creative marketing."




By Park Jin-hai

A court hearing on Lotte's ousted founder Shin Kyuk-ho's mental health kicked off Wednesday. The hearing is deemed critical to the future course of the retail giant, embroiled in an ownership feud between siblings.

Seoul Family Court, by a request made in December by the founder's sister Shin Jung-suk, will review his mental health and decide whether his estate requires adult guardianship.

An adult guardian will have the legal authority to care of the personal and property interests of the founder, since the latter is regarded as incapable of looking after his own interests due to incapacity or disability.

Shin's two sons, Dong-bin and Dong-joo, have made differing claims on their father's mental health, each claiming to be the legitimate heir of the retail giant that operates both in Korea and Japan.

The mental state of the 93-year-old founder and father of the two heirs has been continuously questioned by inner circles of the group, which Dong-joo contradicted in his claims.

Dong-joo, chairman of SDJ Corporation, was ousted from his management position at Lotte Japan before his father was also sacked from the chairmanship of Lotte Holdings in Japan by his younger brother Dong-bin, who won the approval of board members there. The founding family's eldest son sued his younger brother at the behest of their father, showing a short clip of the founder signing a document giving him power of attorney.

If the court decides the father requires guardianship, Dong-joo will lose the grounds that his ownership succession was a legitimate decision made by the company's founder.
By Park Jin-hai



Hyosung Group, a conglomerate focusing on textile and chemical businesses, posted a record high operating profit last year, double the figure of just two years ago, according to the company's regulatory filing Wednesday.



Despite the global economic slump and the absence of the company's chairman Cho Seok-rae, sentenced to a prison term for tax evasion, Hyosung reported 12.46 trillion won in sales and operating profit of 950 billion won in 2015, which is the first time it has done so since the company was founded in 1966.



Compared with the previous year, its sales have increased 2.3 percent, while its operating profit grew nearly by 60 percent.



"Apart from our core textile business, our other business areas also showed tremendous growth last year, lowering our dependency on our textile business in our profit structure," said a company official.



The portion of its key textile business, which churned out 60 percent of the company's operating profit in 2014, has been lowered to 44 percent, while its heavy industry business has seen a remarkable 2,800 percent operating profit growth at 152.2 billion won, from 5.2 billion won in 2014.



The stable profit structure, from balanced profit growth in diverse product portfolios, also improved the company's financial structure.



Its debt-to-equity ratio also posted 159 percent last year, down 44.4 percent from 203 percent in 2013. It is at its the lowest level in six years, since its 2009 figure at 128.1 percent.



Contributing to the landmark performance were brisk sales of its spandex brand, "Creora," which takes up 31 percent of global market share, Hyosung said its profit has been boosted through top-tier technology development and expansion of its overseas plants.



Under the technology-first management of Chairman Cho, the group invested heavily in research and development even in the middle of the financial crises, despite numerous calls for downsizing.



It recently developed a technology called STATCOM that saves power loss in transmitting electricity. The energy solution has been exported to India, Panama and Mongolia.



Hyosung is one of only three companies in the world, and the only one in Korean, that has successfully commercialized the technology.



The conglomerate has also been investing in overseas markets and expanding its global production bases, which have started to make visible performances.



"With the Creora and tire cord plants in Vietnam and China, the operation of the newly added plants in Turkey and Brazil, targeting European and Latin American markets, have been on track," said the official.



With its 20 global production plants, Hyosung has reaped 5.2 trillion won in sales and nearly 400 billion won in operating profits from overseas last year.



Its Vietnam plant, established in 2007, has grown into its largest single production base, which posts annual sales of $1 billion, taking account of over 10 percent of the group's global sales.




The head of a South Korean policy lender has been appointed a vice president of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the finance ministry here said Wednesday.



Hong Ky-ttack, the president of state-run Korea Development Bank, will serve as the chief risk officer of the AIIB. The new bank has five vice presidents.



He will start his three-year tenure after the AIIB sets the exact inauguration schedule, according to the ministry.



It is the first time in 13 years for South Korea to take a vice presidency post in an international financial institution.



The AIIB was formally launched on Jan. 16, with 57 founding members including South Korea, in a bid to promote economic growth in the Asian region by supporting infrastructure investment.



South Korea has a 3.81-percent stake, the fifth-largest among member countries.



(Yonhap)




4Minute





By Kim Jae-heun

Idol girl band 4Minute have released a new track, "Hate," produced by popular American electronic music producer and DJ Skrillex. The new song features much stronger charismatic tone which is a big change from the group's original girl-crush concept.

"We met Skrillex when he visited Seoul," main vocalist Heo Ga-yoon said during a press meeting at club Octagon in Gangnam, Seoul, Monday. "We thought that it would be fun to do a collaboration with him because we all enjoy his music.

"We worked many hours online when Skrillex went back to the United States. Hate is not the only song that Skrillex produced for us, but we choose the song as the first release because it was addictive," added Heo.

Rapper Jeon Ji-yoon suggested that the viewers watch the group's performance at the same time while listening to the song.

"We played our track to our parents first before releasing it to the public, and they thought the music was too difficult. But when they watched our dancing in the music video, they liked it much more," said Jeon.

The beginning of Hate is a soft and sentimental ballad but turns into a hip-hop electronic dance music beat in the chorus. Popular American choreographer Parris Goebel designed the dance moves for the song.

The new song comes one year after the release of the album "Crazy" in Feb. 2015. That album topped the Chinese music chart "QQ Music" for 10 consecutive weeks, raising the girl band to stardom.

"It has been eight years since we debuted and our fans have high expectations. The new album was difficult for us because our previous album was very successful. However, we will do our best to meet expectations" said Kim Hyun-a.

The K-Pop group's contract expires this year and one of the members Nam Ji-hyun said the new album will decided whether the group will go on together or not.

"We haven't talked about our contract expiration yet, because we were concentrating on working on our new album. It has to turn out a success for us to go on," Nam said.

4Minute's 7th mini album "Act.7" was released online worldwide Tuesday. The track Hate has entered iTunes' top 10 in six Asian countries including Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Ukraine, Singapore and Taiwan.
A scene from the documentary film "The FUSION: Being Physically Spiritual, Spiritually Physical"

/ Courtesy of Yang So-young



By Yun Suh-young

"Spirituality" may seem to be an ambiguous and intangible concept. Director Yang So-young, however, challenges that notion in her debut film, "The FUSION: Being Physically Spiritual, Spiritually Physical."

The 84-minute feature documentary film, which was previewed to The Korea Times before its official distribution, is a collection of 22 interviews of ordinary people living in big cities. Through each interviewee, the director tries to discover spirituality in a contemporary urban dweller's everyday life.

"I wanted to show that spirituality was actually present in our daily lives and that everyone could find it," said Yang. "I wanted to express how the physical life as it is has a spiritual quality in itself. So I purposely tried to find people living in metropolitan areas and traveled to big cities, such as Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul, New York and San Diego."

Yang, originally a video artist, put the film together as if it is a piece of visual artwork in a freestyle format, with letters and photos as materials for expression. The use of vibrant colors is also notable.

The documentary is divided into sections with headings such as "fear" or "intuition," where the interviewees' thoughts on a particular theme are discussed. Among those interviewed are an artist, a consultant, a neuroscientist, a spiritual teacher, an izakaya owner, an entrepreneur, a graphic designer, a dancer, a journalist and a professor. The 22 interviewees come from 11 countries. The interviewees share their thoughts on spirituality and what spirituality means to them in their daily lives. Surprisingly, their answers are as spiritual as any spiritual guru might have offered.

"There is no such thing as mistakes," says one of the subjects. "There are no such things as wrong choices because there's no right or wrong. Everything is just a new experiment. Failure became the best teacher for me to learn and grow."

Walking, to another interviewee, is a spiritual activity. "It leads to a healthier body and healthier mind," he says. "I'm spiritual because I'm living."

A psychology professor backs the idea, saying: "The body and mind are one. Emotions and consciousness all reflect changes in our body."

A neuroscientist's view of spirituality is that it is "an unknown part of science and there's no full explanation for it," whereas a "spiritual teacher" says: "The highest of spiritual states can be in everyday life. Physicality has value."

Combining similar ideas about spirituality by themes, the director sends a message to the viewers that in all emotions, all types of activities, regardless of a person's profession or location or nationality, spirituality can be found.

"We seem to have created the idea that 'spirituality' is something lofty and separated from reality," said Yang. "But it could be as simple as individuals being content with themselves  something that makes us less stressed and more productive.

"I wanted us to look inwardly and find ourselves within. How do we deal with fear? What do we do with our feelings and emotions? The film looks at the strength of human beings."


Suwon District Court has sentenced a high school teacher in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to six years' jail for sexually harassing and blackmailing a student.

The teacher, identified as Kim, 38, was also ordered to spend 80 hours at a class for sexual offenders and to have his personal information disclosed for six years.

Kim forced his student, 19, identified only as "A," to take off her clothes and had sexually harassed her 43 times from August to October last year. He also filmed body parts to blackmail her, police said.

Kim approached the student, offering free personal tutoring, because "A" could not afford private lessons. "A" was preparing for a civil service examination.

The court said it handed down a heavy sentence because Kim forgot his duty as a teacher and treated his student as a sex object.

But the court took into consideration that Kim admitted guilt and had paid 30 million won to the student.
South Korea will tighten monitoring on the spread of the Zika virus and increase its quarantine infrastructure to effectively deal with any possible outbreak, the government said Wednesday.



Airport authorities will strengthen the monitoring of passengers returning from Zika outbreak countries, as well as imported animals and plants from there, officials said.

The government will also conduct a simultaneous investigation into mosquitoes within this year as the mosquito-borne illness poses a serious health threat, especially to pregnant women and their unborn babies.



These countermeasures were drawn up during an emergency government meeting attended by the vice ministers of the health, foreign, and justice ministries and officials from relevant government agencies.



The virus has been linked to thousands of birth defects in newborn babies like abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains.



The government will be as transparent as possible in the dissemination of information on possible suspected cases to reassure the public, officials said.



The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will also make treatment guidelines and distribute them to local hospitals across the country. (Yonhap)




An immigration official apprehended a Vietnamese man accused of illegally entering South Korea, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday.



The 25-year-old was detained in the southeastern city of Daegu around 2:30 p.m., the ministry said.



The detention came five days after he forced his way through the gate of an unmanned automatic immigration checkpoint at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.



The suspect was supposed to leave for Tokyo at 10:10 a.m. on Jan. 29 after arriving at Seoul via Korean Air at around 5:05 a.m. from Hanoi.



Last month, a Chinese couple was caught by immigration authorities after illegally sneaking into South Korea at the airport.



On Tuesday, President Park Geun-hye instructed Cabinet officials to strengthen security at the country's main gateway to ensure that safety breaches do not recur.



(Yonhap)




By Kim Se-jeong



Fourteen heads of regional education offices have proposed a formal dialogue channel to solve the conflicts over a free preschool program for children aged three and five.



They asked the government to form a consultative body comprised of the office heads, government officials, representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties, and childcare experts.



"We've asked for talks and urged President Park Geun-hye to make a decision to solve the problem and finance the program, but the government has provided no answers," they said during a media briefing in Seoul, Wednesday.



They said President Park made the promise for the free childcare program, and she should be responsible for the cost.



"In December 2012, President said the central government should be responsible for the national-level childcare project. Now, she is saying regional offices are responsible. Trust and responsibility are important in politics."



Of the nation's 17 education offices, superintendents from Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan did not participate in the statement.



All 17 offices suffer from a lack of funds, but 12 offices came up with temporary plan to cover the costs, either in full or in part, under pressure from parents and kindergarten and daycare center operators.



Introduced in 2013, the free preschool program was one of President Park's campaign pledges as a presidential candidate in 2012. Under the program, children between the ages of three and five at either kindergartens or daycare centers can use the facilities for free.



President Park did not specify the source of the funding, which has become the root cause of the ongoing controversy.



The government subsidized the program in the beginning, but the money gradually dried up and it ordered the regional education offices to assume the burden of funding the program from 2015.



The offices have refused, citing a lack of money. They also claimed that they are not subject to paying for daycare centers, because they are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Kindergartens only are under the Ministry of Education and the education offices.



But some municipal councils have refused to allocate the offices' funds for kindergartens as well, citing fairness with daycare centers.



In January, the suspended funding resulted in a delinquency of wage payment for employees at daycare centers and kindergartens in many regions. Operators of the childcare centers asked parents to pay, which upset the parents.



Daycare center and kindergarten operators began demanding solutions from lawmakers. Korea Edu-care Association, a private group consisting of daycare center operators, said, "We need real solutions, not temporary ones. Unless there's a meaningful solution, we'll start campaigning against candidates who do not support us."




By Kim Rahn





Passengers board a subway at Seoul Station where an 81-year-old woman died after being caught between the train and the platform screen door, Wednesday. / Yonhap

An elderly woman died Wednesday after her purse was caught between a subway train and a platform screen door at Seoul Station, and she was dragged until she fell onto the tracks.

According to police, the woman, surnamed Seol, 81, got stuck while exiting the train at 9:04 a.m. She was pulled for about seven meters between the glass and the train and before falling on the tracks.

Witnesses said the accident happened because her purse was caught in the closing subway doors and she tried to pull it out.

The subway doors and the platform screen doors closed at the same time and the woman was caught between them, but the train departed without the engine driver noticing this.

"When the rescue team arrived, she was already dead with a serious head injury," a police officer said.

Police are investigating the exact cause of the accident, reviewing surveillance camera footage. They are also looking into whether the engine driver followed safety rules. Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 4, said the platform screen door was operating normally at that time.

The accident caused a suspension of subway operations between Seoul Station and City Hall Station for about five minutes.
By Chung Ah-young

More than 157,000 Chinese tourists are expected to rush to Korea during the Lunar New Year, known there as Spring Festival, a week-long holiday from Feb. 7 to 13.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the number of Chinese visitors during the holiday this year will jump 18.7 percent from last year.

The KTO plans to hold various events to promote Korean tourist products.

KTO CEO Jung Chang-soo will deliver welcome messages and hand out souvenirs to Chinese visitors at Incheon International Airport on Friday.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Tourism Association (JTA) said that some 60,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit the island during the period, up 17.5 percent from last year.

"We will check all the facilities, airport and accommodation to help Chinese tourists visit the island safely and conveniently," the JTA said.

Seoul Metropolitan Government said that it will hold various cultural events such as traditional concerts and K-pop performances and provide travel information at major tourist spots during the period.

According to the China Daily, some 6 million Chinese are expected to travel outside the mainland during the festival, citing data released by online travel giant Ctrip.

"Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries remain popular destinations," the newspaper reported.

Some Chinese travelers will opt for cruises which enable visa-free visits to Jeju Island and certain Japanese ports.

Ctrip said that average per-capita spending in flights, accommodations and shopping by Chinese people will surpass 10,000 yuan for this year's holiday.

In the past year many Chinese visitors have been opting for Japan over Korea as a holiday destination due to the fall of the Japanese yen and its relaxed visa policy, along with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak here last year.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea fell 2.3 percent on year to 5.98 million people last year. Japan has already eased requirements for multi-entry visas to attract more Chinese visitors.

Korea aims to attract 8 million Chinese tourists this year. To reach that, the nation has recently eased visa rules and exempted visa fees for Chinese group travelers.

Also, Korea will reduce the age of Chinese tourists who are eligible for multiple entry visas from 60 to 55.
A 44-year-old South Korean has been arrested on charges of smuggling methamphetamine worth more than 10 billion won from the Philippines, Seoul police said Wednesday.



The suspect, identified only by his surname Song, has allegedly smuggled 3 kilograms of meth from the Southeast Asian country through Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, since October 2015, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said.



The smuggling occurred on three occasions, with the amount estimated to be enough for 100,000 people, the SMPA said.



It is more than twice the total amount confiscated in Seoul last year -- 1.3 kilograms, according to police.



The suspect hid the drugs in his backpack and sent them on to Busan, the country's largest sea port and No. 2 city, for distribution via KTX express train, police said.

Song was arrested while on his third operation at Incheon airport in December by police who had received a tip. Police said they confiscated 1 kilogram of meth that was on his person at that time.



Police said the suspect committed the crime under the instruction of a 56-year-old fugitive, identified only by his surname Kim, who fled to the Philippines in 2008 after being put on the wanted list for selling drugs in Busan.



"We will block the distribution of drugs in the country by arresting Kim as soon as possible in collaboration with Interpol and Filipino authorities," a SMPA official said.



(Yonhap)






Beijing urges Pyongyang to act prudently



By Jun Ji-hye

The government warned North Korea, Wednesday, that it will pay a "harsh price" if it proceeds with its stated plan to launch a long-range rocket into space.

The warning came after Pyongyang notified the International Maritime Organization, Tuesday, of its intention to launch an Earth observation satellite called "Kwangmyongsong," between Feb. 8 and 25.

The launch is widely believed to be a cover for testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of approximately 13,000 kilometers. This means the missile, if successfully tested, could feasibly hit targets on the U.S. mainland.

The notification came almost a month after the North conducted a fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.

Experts say that the technologies applied to the launch of long-range rockets and ICBMs are basically the same  the only differences are the payloads. If a rocket is loaded with a satellite, it becomes a space launch vehicle, and if loaded with a warhead, it becomes a missile.

The South Korean military strengthened its reconnaissance posture by increasing the number of the Navy's Aegis destroyers deployed to two following the North's notification. The Aegis is capable of tracking rocket trajectories.

Cho Tae-yong, deputy chief of the presidential national security office said that the notification, which comes at a time when the United Nations Security Council is discussing fresh sanctions against the North's fourth nuclear test, is a clear provocation against the international community.

"If the North goes ahead with the launch, it will pose a serious threat to peace and stability in this region and the world. Then, the North will have to pay a harsh price," he said.

The remarks came after Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council early in the morning.

In a letter to the IMO, Pyongyang provided coordinates for three maritime areas where rocket stages are expected to fall. The first is expected to fall in the West Sea, the fairing in the East China Sea and the second stage in the Philippine Sea.

"It is my pleasure to inform you of the decision of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch an Earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong' pursuant to the national space development program," Jon Ki-chol, director-general of the North's Maritime Administration, stated in the letter.

Countries are required to give international organizations advance notice of rocket launches to warn planes and ships to stay away from the areas affected. The isolated state has done so in its previous rocket launches.

Pyongyang keeps arguing that its rocket launches are aimed at putting "peaceful satellites" into orbit, claiming that the peaceful use of space is the sovereign right of any nation.

However, Pyongyang is banned from undertaking such launches under U.N. Security Council resolutions because it is accused of using them as ICBM tests.

The Ministry of National Defense said it is coming up with countermeasures in the wake of the North's announcement, including analysis of the possible timing of the launch and the areas to which the rocket parts are expected to fall.

One ministry official said, "The military is maintaining a heightened alert and is closely monitoring the North's movements by mobilizing intelligence assets."

For its part, China, traditionally an ally of the North, called on Pyongyang to act with prudence.

"North Korea of course has rights to use space, but it is currently under sanctions of the U.N. Security Council," Lu Kang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a media briefing.

Washington also said that the North's planned satellite launch would violate numerous U.N. resolutions, stressing that the international community must impose "real consequences" on Pyongyang for its provocative actions.

"This latest announcement further underscores the need for the international community to send the North Koreans a swift, firm message that its disregard for U.N. Security Council resolutions will not be tolerated," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a regular briefing, Tuesday.

Separately, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani ordered Tokyo's Self-Defense Forces to destroy the North Korean missile if it enters Japanese waters, land or airspace, according to the Japan's Kyodo News.

The North is believed to be developing a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on its new KN-08 ICBM through a series of test launches with the latest one in December 2012, during which it fired the Unha-3 long-range rocket from its Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri.

The Unha-3, which the North claimed put a satellite into orbit, is believed to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers. The Defense Ministry's 2014 White Paper stated that the 2012 launch was believed to be a test of an improved version of the Taepodong-2 long-range missile.

The North has conducted four nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, 2013 as well as the one last month.



Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
By Jun Ji-hye



North Korea's planned long-range rocket launch is expected to prompt talks between South Korea and the United States on deployment of the U.S. terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula, analysts said Wednesday.



The launch, if conducted as planned, will increase calls for the advanced missile defense system, because of the North's continued pursuit of its ballistic missile program, they said.



Military officials consider the North's launch of a satellite as the de-facto test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), given that the technologies for both are almost identical.



"North Korea has continued conducting nuclear tests and developing long-range missiles," said Jung Young-tae, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. "This is prompting calls for deploying THAAD here to maintain national security."



Pyongyang notified the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Tuesday, that it will launch an Earth observation satellite called "Kwangmyongsong" between Feb. 8 and 25.



If the North actually goes ahead with the plan, the THAAD debate will be advanced further, considering such discussions have already been underway since the isolated state's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, observers said.



They said the North's launch would attenuate arguments from objectors of the deployment, including China and Russia, as Pyongyang's continuous tests of its nuclear program and long-range rockets mean that it is accumulating skills and knowledge on how to build a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on its new KN-08 ICBM that could potentially be capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.



THAAD is capable of detecting and destroying North Korean missiles.



The United States has been hoping to deploy its advance missile defense system here to cope with the nuclear and missile threats, and to protect its troops stationed here and their families.



But the government had until recently been reluctant about expressing opinions on THAAD, only sticking to the "three Nos": no request from the U.S., no negotiations with the U.S. and no decision made about it.



This was mainly because China, Seoul's No. 1 trading partner, has been strongly opposed to having THAAD on Korean soil, out of concerns that its radar system could snoop on Beijing's military activities and missile capabilities.



However, in the wake of the North's recent nuclear test, the government is showing a subtle change regarding THAAD.



The Ministry of National Defense said at the end of last month, "THAAD will help strengthen national security and defense," indicating that Seoul is leaning toward the deployment.



Experts said such a change in the government's attitude is apparently intended to try and increase pressure on Beijing to play a much-needed role in discouraging the repressive state's nuclear ambitions, because China is refraining from joining international efforts to toughen sanctions against the North.



"If China does not actively discourage the North from developing a nuclear warhead-loaded missile, it would have no grounds to object to THAAD being deployed in Korea," Jung said. "It would be an embarrassing situation for Beijing."





Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye




By Kang Seung-woo



China is expected to face greater pressure from the international community to curb North Korea as the latter gets ready to launch a satellite this month  believed to be a cover for a ballistic missile test.



Beijing sent its top nuclear envoy to Pyongyang on Tuesday, but hours later it was known that the North plans to launch a rocket sometime between Feb. 8 and 25.



Analysts said that the Kim Jong-un regime is testing China's patience based on the belief that the Chinese government will not be able to join the international move to punish the North for its Jan. 6 nuclear test.



A U.S.-led push for the toughest-yet sanctions on the North are underway at the United Nations (U.N.), but China is apparently against going too far out of concern that strong sanctions could destabilize the country, which in turn could hurt Beijing's national interests.



"Wu Dawei visited Pyongyang on Tuesday to prevent the North from testing a long-range missile, but the North announced it would launch a satellite. It is an apparent slap in the face to China," said Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong University. Wu is China's special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs. He met with his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim last week in Beijing and discussed the North Korea issues.



"China is more sensitive to the North's ballistic missile program than its nuclear program because the former can lead to the deployment of THAAD on the peninsula and furthermore South Korea's participation in the U.S.-led missile defense system to contain a rising China in the region."



Amid increasing nuclear and missile threats from the North, Seoul and Washington are moving toward deploying THAAD, or terminal high-altitude area defense, here. China opposes its presence, claiming it could threaten its security.



"Considering the deployment of THAAD in Korea, China will have no other choice but to join the U.N. sanctions this time," Park said.



Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, echoed Park's view.



"China may have felt insulted by the announcement, with Wu visiting Pyongyang. In addition, the range of dates for the launch overlaps with the Chinese New Year holidays, the nation's biggest festival from Feb. 7 to 13, again following its third nuclear test on Feb. 13, 2013," he said.



"This time, the Chinese government is expected to take strong measures against the North."



Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow of the Sejong Institute, said that should the repressive state fire a long-range missile despite its major ally's opposition, China may impose harsh sanctions for a certain period of time as it did in 2013 following the third nuclear test.



"For example, the Chinese government could tighten its customs clearance at its major trade route between the Dandong and Sinuiju route, strengthen requirements for visa issuance to North Koreans or limit the emigration of North Korean laborers to China," he said.




By Lee Kyung-min

The immigration authorities said Wednesday that they had detained a Vietnamese man who entered the country illegally last month.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the 25-year-old man, whose identity is being withheld, was apprehended in Daegu, at around 2:30 p.m., five days after he disappeared from Incheon International Airport, Jan. 29.

The authorities said he is suspected of having forcibly opened a door at an automatic immigration checkpoint at 7:24 a.m. No officials were present at the site.

He arrived in Korea from Hanoi, with a transfer flight scheduled to leave at 10:10 a.m. for Tokyo, Japan. The authorities noticed the illegal entry after Korean Air reported to them that he failed to show up for the flight's departure.

Surveillance video footage showed the man leaving the airport terminal and walking toward the parking lot east of the terminal building.

The authorities questioned the Vietnamese community here following suspicions that he had possible ties to others settled here earlier.

They are investigating how he planned to come here and whether he had a help from a broker during the process.

The Korea Immigration Service will ask the prosecution to seek an arrest warrant for him on charges of violating the Immigration Law.


By Yi Whan-woo

It is believed that North Korea may launch a rocket with a range of 13,000 kilometers during its purported satellite launch scheduled for later this month, according to analysts and officials, Wednesday.

It will likely be a three-stage rocket capable of carrying a satellite weighing up to one ton. If the test succeeds, North Korea could load a nuclear warhead onto the rocket that could theoretically hit a city on the U.S. mainland.

It remains to be seen whether the rocket can withstand heat of up to 7,000 degrees Celsius caused if it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after making it into outer space.

The re-entry phase of a rocket to the Earth's atmosphere is essential as part of the inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) technologies that Pyongyang has pursued.

It is also questionable whether North Korea's ICBM can hit a targeted area, most likely one on the U.S. mainland, even after it successfully re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.

"It's convincing to say that North Korea will fire a rocket that has longer travel distance than the Unha-3 rocket, which is believed to have a range of 10,000 kilometers," said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

North Korea has continued to make progress in its rocket program since December 2012 when it launched the Unha-3 rocket.

Yang pointed out that the Kim Jong-un regime recently renovated the launch pad at its satellite launch station at Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province where the Unha-3 rocket was fired.

The launch pad is now 67 meters tall, up from 50 meters in December 2012.

"The height of a launch pad varies depending on the height of a rocket," Yang said. "And the taller a rocket is, the farther it can travel."

Kim Jong-dae, a military commentator, also said that the payload of a rocket increases if its height is taller.

"Given that the Unha-3 rocket had a payload of 150 kilograms, I think the rocket to be launched this month can carry up to 1 ton of material," he said. "North Korea has repeatedly claimed it can miniaturize nuclear warheads, and if this is true, it means it may be able to load four nuclear warheads at the most this time."

Kim and Yang joined military officials who remain skeptical about North Korea having technologies capable of building an ICBM that can endure the tremendous heat when re-entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

"It's likely that North Korea will fire a modified version of KN-08," Yang said, citing an ICBM that Pyongyang has been developing for years. "I wouldn't raise any doubts about KN-08's travel range of 13,000 kilometers but its endurance capability is a whole different story."

Kin echoed a similar view.

"An ICBM will fall to the Earth at higher speed if its travel range is longer and consequently its flight in space longer," he said.

"The control of speed is what makes a successful ICBM. And I believe North Korea mainly has focused on range in its rocket program."

If the launch goes as planned, it is likely that the rocket's first stage will fall in waters off the west coast of South Korea, and the second stage in waters east of the Philippines.

But it is not certain whether the rocket can accurately and ultimately reach an intended target, according to officials.

"North Korea's divert and attitude control system (DACS), which plays a key role for a rocket or an ICMB to land on a targeted area, is still questionable," an official said.
The Air Force said Wednesday it is carrying out a biannual war simulation exercise involving combat pilots and a fleet of main battle aircraft.



The first round of this year's Soaring Eagle exercise kicked off on Jan. 29 and will run through Friday to train combat pilots under virtual war situations, according to the Air Force.



Some 50 combat jets including the F-15K, KF-16, FA-50, F-4E and F-5 are participating in the drill, along with 370 Air Force troops including 102 combat pilots, the Air Force said.



The main part of the training involves simulated ground-to-air artillery attacks by North Korea as well as simulated infiltrations of North Korean drones against which a group of South Korean fighter jets must make an emergency sortie.



The pilots also were trained under a scenario in which they detected, intercepted and bombed North Korean fighter jets, according to the Air Force.



South Korea's military is on alert as North Korea is gearing up for a long-range missile test following its defiant nuclear test conducted on Jan. 6.



South Korea's deputy chief of the presidential office of national security, Cho Tae-yong, said earlier in the day that "We sternly warn that North Korea will pay a harsh price," prodding the North to drop the missile launch plan.



North Korea has informed international maritime, aviation and telecommunication agencies that it will carry out a rocket launch to put a satellite into orbit sometime between Feb. 8 and 25, hinting at an imminent missile launch. (Yonhap)




South Korea held a National Security Council meeting Wednesday to deal with North Korea's planned rocket launch, an official said.

Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office, plans to announce South Korea's position at 8:30 a.m., presidential spokesman Jeong Yeon-guk told reporters.

Jeong said Tuesday that South Korea is taking necessary measures over the North's planned launch of a long-range rocket.












On a surprise visit to North Korea, China's top nuclear envoy wore what some would say is an unusual set of clothes for a career diplomat, leading some observers to draw a link to the purpose of his trip.



Wu Dawei, China's top envoy to the now-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday wearing a leather beret, dark glasses, a red scarf and a colorful patterned necktie -- possibly sending a message that he was there for casual talks albeit on a serious subject.



Wu is the first high-level Chinese government official to visit Pyongyang since the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6. Beijing has again come under international pressure to exercise its leverage over Pyongyang and rein in the neighboring nation's nuclear weapons program.



"It looks like Wu Dawei is trying to make the other side feel at ease with his casual attire," said a former South Korean diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We can see the skillfulness of a veteran trying to persuade his interlocutor in comfortable wear."



Lee Soo-hyuck, a former top South Korean envoy to the six-party talks, said Wu is known to be an easygoing man without much concern for formalities.



Upon arriving at the airport in Pyongyang, Wu could also be seen heartily shaking the hands of Pak Song-Il, deputy chief of the North Korean foreign ministry's North American affairs bureau.



He is expected to meet with senior North Korean officials during his stay, including his six-party talks counterpart, Ri Yong-ho.



The visit has drawn further attention amid North Korea's plans to launch a satellite later this month, revealed only hours after Wu's arrival.



The North's satellite launches are widely seen as a disguise for testing long-range missiles. (Yonhap)




South Korea's military has put two of its three Aegis destroyers on a mission to detect and track North Korea's missile as the communist country appears to be gearing up for a long-range missile launch, a military source said Wednesday.



The North has informed international maritime, aviation and telecommunication agencies that it will launch a rocket to put satellite 'Kwangmyongsong' into orbit, taking a preparatory step to launch a long-range missile.



The outside world denounces the satellite launch as a pretext for testing a ballistic missile, which the North is developing in defiance of the United Nations Security Council.



"The military has increased the number of Aegis destroyers from one to two in preparation against the possibility of North Korea's long-range missile," the military official said.



Now, one is standing by in the Yellow Sea and the other is waiting in the waters south of Jeju Island, the official said.



Special features of the Navy's destroyers equipped with the U.S.-developed Aegis Combat System include a multi-function radar system that can detect ballistic missiles coming from some 1 kilometer away.



It took 54 seconds for the Sejong the Great Aegis destroyer to catch North Korea's long-range missile launched in December 2012.



The locations of the two deployed warships are meant to track the first and second stages of North Korea's multi-stage missile when it is launched.



Along with the destroyers, South Korea has also given a mission to the early warning and control aircraft 'Peace Eye' and the anti-ballistic radar 'Green Pine' as the country is bracing for the missile launch, according to other officials. (Yonhap)




Solutions needed to draw NK back to dialogue



North Korea has confirmed its plan to launch a "space rocket" in what appears to be a disguised long-range missile test. The repressive state notified three U.N. agencies, including the International Maritime Organization, Tuesday, of its intention to launch an Earth observation satellite between Feb. 8 and 25. Should the North go ahead with the ballistic missile launch, it will be the first since December 2012.



Hours before Pyongyang issued notification of its intended rocket launch, Wu Dawei, China's top envoy on the North's nuclear issue, arrived in Pyongyang with a mission to deter the rogue regime from carrying out the imminent missile test.



South Korea on Wednesday urged the North to drop its plan to launch the rocket, warning that it would pay dearly for doing so. ''North Korea must immediately drop its plan to launch, paying heed to the fact that any launch using ballistic technology is in breach of U.N. resolutions against it,'' said a statement issued by the presidential office.



The United States, which has been leading diplomatic efforts for harsher sanctions on Pyongyang since its fourth nuclear test last month, condemned the planned launch. ''This argues even more strongly for action by the U.N. Security Council and the international community to impose  tough additional sanctions,'' AFP quoted Daniel Russel, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for Asia-Pacific Affairs, as saying.



Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also condemned Pyongyang's launch plan, calling it a ''serious provocation'' that would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.



The North's plan is an anticipated move following its Jan. 6 nuclear test. It is intended to send a message to the international community that the secretive state won't retreat even in the face of tougher sanctions ahead of the 7th Congress of the North's Workers' Party scheduled for May.



If the past is any guide, the rocket could be fired after fresh U.N. sanctions are slapped against Pyongyang. Or the launch might coincide with the Feb. 16 birth date of the late leader Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader Kim Jong-un. Or the North might conduct a surprise missile test during next week's Lunar New Year holiday.



It's no secret that Seoul has no effective tools to make Pyongyang pay dearly without Beijing's endorsement of tougher sanctions led by Washington. That North Korea clarified its rocket launch plan while Wu Dawei was in Pyongyang may be a humiliation to China, which has been resisting America's push for tougher sanctions on the North.



China has every reason to persuade the recalcitrant regime in Pyongyang to give up on the rocket launch, given that another provocation will put Beijing in a quandary. In fact, pinning high hopes on the Chinese envoy is not without reason, considering that Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of China's Communist Party, deterred the North's possible nuclear test last October through his visit.



But it can be erroneous to rely too much on China. The most important thing is for our diplomats to come up with creative and effective solutions that could help draw the North back to the negotiating table.




Lee Byung-yong

By Yi Whan-woo

Lee Byung-yong, a 58-year-old professional photographer, has been taking photos of Korean War veterans since 2007.

He has continued the project despite time and budget constraints because he believes that they are "worth a shot" and this is "the best choice I have ever made."

"My belief remains unchanged although time and money problems continue to bring challenges to my project," he said in a telephone interview with The Korea Times, Monday.

Lee said he realized the importance of "capturing and preserving the memories" when his house was flooded in the early 2000s and he lost all of his artworks.

He was also shocked when descendents of the 1950-53 Korean War veterans from Ethiopia sought political asylum during their visit to Chuncheon, Gangwon Province in 2006.

The descendents were visiting South Korea to attend a ceremony for the establishment of a memorial in Chuncheon in honor of the Ethiopian war veterans.

A total of 6,037 Ethiopians, including 121 dead and 536 wounded, fought for South Korea during the Korean War. Chuncheon has a sister city relationship with Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

"It was then that I learned that we, South Koreans, barely know about Ethiopia and its sacrifices during the inter-Korean conflict," Lee said. "And I thought something must be done to help the African country be remembered here as a U.N.-allied nation, not merely as a country suffering under dictatorial rule," Lee said.

Ethiopia and Turkey are two of the 21 U.N. allied nations he has visited and where he has taken photos of Korean War veterans as part of his project.

"There are no rules in determining the order of the countries I will visit concerning my project. I especially felt close to the Turks because I had the chance to talk to some of them when they stayed here," he said.

Some 15,000 Turkish troops fought against North Korea and its allies. A total of 741 of them died, 163 went missing and 2,068 were wounded.

He said carrying out his project in Turkey was a tough job because the Korean War veterans who lived in Turkey were "scattered nationwide."

"The Ethiopian veterans were mainly concentrated in Addis Ababa but in Turkey I had to travel across the country to meet the veterans and their families at my expense," Lee said. "The project in Ethiopia took less than a year while the work in Turkey took two years until 2010,"

To fund his project, he held photo exhibitions about the war veterans from the two countries from 2011 to 2015. He also published a photo collection of the Turkish veterans.

Lee plans to visit Colombia as the next step in his project, although he is uncertain when the visit will take place.
Korean Education Minister Lee Joon-sik, fourth from left, and his Japanese counterpart Hase Hiroshi, fourth from right, pose with the winners of the Korea-Japan Education Exchange Award. The winners are, from left, Ryu Dae-sung, a teacher at Incheon Marine Science High School; Sin Sun-gyun, a teacher at Cheongseok High School and president of the Korea Japanese Teachers' Association; Jung Gi-young, professor of Japanese studies at Busan University of Foreign Studies; Takeda Jichi, president of Kyushu High School; Nakano Hitoshi, head of the Kyushu University's Research Center for Korean Studies; and Naito Hiroyuki, representative of the Japan Forum. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Education



By Chung Hyun-chae



Two high school teachers and one university professor were honored by an inaugural award for promoting educational and cultural exchanges between Korea and Japan.



The winners of the Korea-Japan Education Exchange Award are Sin Sun-gyun, Ryu Dae-sung and Jung Gi-young. Sin is a teacher at Cheongseok High School and president of the Korea Japanese Teachers' Association. Ryu is a teacher at Incheon Marine Science High School. And Jung Gi-young is a professor of Japanese Studies at Busan University of Foreign Studies.



The award ceremony took place at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul, Saturday



Marking the 50th anniversary of Korea's diplomatic relationship with Japan, the education ministries of the two countries jointly launched the award to honor individuals and institutions for their contributions to bilateral educational exchanges.



"It is meaningful that growing children can experience Japanese culture while becoming friends with Japanese students," Ryu said. "I believe this kind of personnel exchange could raise awareness of Japan and its culture amid heightened anti-Japanese sentiments among the Korean public over some thorny issues."



Under his guidance, in 2000 the Incheon marine science school formed sisterhood ties with Namerikawa High School in Toyama, Japan.



The two schools have run diverse programs in which students from both countries try a navigation simulation and go scuba diving.



Prof. Jung has dedicated himself to Japanese language education at the Busan university since 2004.



"I think it is also important to exchange skilled personnel between the countries," Jung said. "Our university encourages students to get jobs overseas, widening their horizons."



According to him, the university annually sends 120 students to other countries for employment, more than 30 of whom opt for Japan.



He also created a so-called Japanese village in the southeastern port city in 2011 to support children from biracial families with a Japanese parent.



"We teach them the Japanese language which I believe fosters better self-esteem," Jung said.



Sin, as a Japanese language high school teacher in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, has focused on enhancing Japanese language and culture education for Korean students by holding various school events such as a Japanese speech competition.



"I think Korea-Japan exchange programs should be more diversified in order to deepen mutual understanding," Sin said, calling on the nation to strengthen Japanese language education. "Proper education should be a prerequisite to any exchange program."



Beyond the three Korean educators, three Japanese institutions were also awarded for promoting bilateral cooperation in the education sector.



The Japanese winners include the Japan Forum, Kyushu High School and Kyushu University's Research Center for Korean Studies.

The award ceremony will be held every five years.
By Kim Yoo-chul



LS Cable, the world's leading cable supplier, said it has clinched a deal with BAIC Group of China to supply its high-voltage cables for BAIC-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs).



Financial terms of the details about the deal were unknown, said Keum Dong-hee, a spokeswoman at LS Cable.



The latest agreement is calling for LS Cable to supply its products to BAIC's EV200-branded new EVs which will be commercially available in China beginning in August of this year, said LS in a statement.



"The agreement will help us expand the company's parts business in China," according to the spokeswoman.



The automaker BAIC is owned by the Beijing municipal government. It recently said it will boost its EV sales by as much as 35-fold by 2020, helped by government subsidies and investments in infrastructure.



LS Cable said BAIC will release an additional 14 EVs by 2017.



Demand for EVs in China is expected to rise 2 million units by 2020 from an estimated 220,000 units in 2015



Keum said the LS Group affiliate plans to increase its share for the harness-branded high voltage cable market to 10 percent by 2020 from the current 6 percent.



LS's harness cables connect a vehicle's electronic control system to its communication module and supply power to operate a number of sensors. In EVs, harness cables with over 600-volts(V) are used rather than gasoline-powered models with 12V batteries, making the harness cables more profitable.




By Lee Min-hyung

Oracle Korea said Wednesday that it will increase its footprint in the nation's database cloud market by launching more cloud services this year.

The local subsidiary of the U.S.-based enterprise solutions giant said it will expand its presence as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) provider in the local market. The company previously launched its on-demand clustering cloud service and "Exadata" cloud software to meet the growing demands from local information and technology (IT) giants.

"The main purpose of adopting cloud computing for enterprises is a cost reduction to lower capital expenditure and operation expense," Chang Sung-woo, senior director at Oracle Korea, said in a press conference at its headquarters in southern Seoul.

In the press conference, Oracle Korea unveiled its yearly achievement for its cloud business here. The company said it saw the biggest growth in the Korean market among its Asia-Pacific counterparts, last year. In particular, the company stressed it recorded a three-digit growth, compared to a year ago.

The company said Cisco, the U.S.-based network equipment manufacturer, has achieved a 75-percent increase in database management efficiency after adopting Oracle cloud solution. Verizon, the telecommunication giant, could reach nine times faster database accessing speed by using the Oracle cloud service, the company added.

"Enterprises should consider selecting customized database cloud solution to enhance business agility  for that Oracle meets the need of advanced database cloud with a wide range of portfolio including public, private and hybrid cloud to meet enterprises' various needs," he said.

Last month, the company held Oracle CloudWorld Seoul event in Seoul, for the first time in the world, stressing the potential of the Korean market with Asia's most-developed IT infrastructure. Steve Daheb, senior vice president at Oracle, previously said the company aims to expand its presence here by launching what it calls "migrated solutions" which include cloud services supporting multiple operating systems (OS) and other forms of platforms.
The global mobile payment market is expected to jump 38 percent on-year in 2016, data showed Wednesday, with Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. set to engage in a fiercer competition in China and other emerging markets.



According to the data compiled by industry tracker TrendForce, the combined amount of transactions processed via mobile payment platforms is estimated to reach US$620 billion this year, rising sharply from $450 billion posted in 2015.



The amount will continue to expand, eventually to reach $1.08 trillion in 2019, according to the data.



Samsung and Apple are set to kick off their mobile payment services in Asia's No. 1 economy this year.



"Apple Pay and Samsung Pay especially have been scrambling to China, which makes up a huge slice of the mobile payment market," the researcher said. "The rival service providers both struck a deal with the government-run Chinese bank-card payment processor China UnionPay earlier this year."



Samsung Pay supports magnetic secure transmission technology that works on traditional credit card machines. Like rivals Apple Pay and Android Pay, it also supports near field communications technology that requires a separate transaction device.



Samsung Electronics plans to rake in 17 million Samsung Pay users by 2020. The service, currently available in South Korea and the United States, will be released in China, Britain and Spain this year.



In line with its efforts to expand the number of users, Samsung also released the new Galaxy A5 and A7 in South Korea last month, the first mid-end smartphones equipped with the Samsung Pay platform.



Apple Pay is currently available in the U.S., Britain, Canada and Australia.



Industry watchers added the boom of mobile payment platforms will also lead to the growth of smartphones equipped with biometric technology.



"The takeoff of the mobile payment has led to the rapid market growth of fingerprint sensor chips," added Kelly Hsieh, senior manager at TrendForce. "We can expect over 40 percent of the smartphones worldwide will be able to read fingerprints by the end of this year." (Yonhap)




With a hit new album topping charts in Japan, SHINee are taking the next big step - a tour.

After gaining the number one spot on the first Japanese Oricon music chart of the year with their fourth Japanese album DxDxD, SHINee embarked on their fourth Japanese tour titled SHINee World 2016 DxDxD.

The group kicked off the tour in Fukuoka on Jan. 30 and 31 and will make their way around nine cities in Japan, including stops in Tokyo and Osaka, until May.

According to Korea Times, SHINee will perform hit songs such as "3, 2, 1," "Lucifer," "Married To The Music," "Your Number" and, of course, their recent hit "DxDxD."

In addition, it has been reported that the group will perform for a total of 350,000 people during the course of the tour as they put on 20 sold out shows.

SHINee's fourth Japanese album includes "Your Number," "Sing Your Song," and the Japanese version of their hit summer single "View."

Check out the music video for "DxDxD" below!
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

Read more
LA School Report, the three-year-old education news site started and funded by school reform supporter Jamie Alter Lynton, has merged with a New York site started by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown (right) that is even more closely associated with charter school advocacy. Michael Janofsky, the former New York Times reporter who was editing LA School Report, has left. The new editor is Laura Greanias, until recently the city editor of the LA Daily News and a former editor at the LA Times.

The staff at LA School Report will now be under The Seventy Four, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site with the mission of exposing an education system in crisisto challenge the status quo, expose corruption and inequality, and champion the heroes who bring positive change to our schools. The name is a reference to 74 million students attending public schools in the United States. Brown, who is editor-in-chief, is part of a lawsuit seeking to overturn tenure protections for teachers in New York, and her efforts are anathema to the teacher unions.

Lynton has moved to New York City and says she needed a partner to keep LA School Report going.

From the LA Times story by Howard Blume:

[Seventy Four's] entry into Los Angeles has alarmed union leaders and some supporters of traditional public education. They say it could undermine trust in the reporting of education controversies. They had expressed similar concerns when The Times recently accepted outside funding to supplement its education coverage... Critics call The Seventy Four an advocacy effort on behalf of a pro-charter school, anti-union agenda. The organization, critics say, uses opinion pieces and reported stories to promote charter schools and to find fault with traditional campuses and teachers unions. Not so, said co-founder and Chief Executive Romy Drucker. We try to highlight whats working, Drucker said. Part of the mission also is highlighting whats broken and needs to be fixed and highlighting the solutions.



The position of those on the teachers union side of the debate over charter schools is concern about news coverage in LA going forward. "LA School Report has been a legitimate and credible news organization, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. [The 74] is not. LA Board of Education president Steven Zimmer also was negative about the change. According to the Times story, he urged Janofsky to stay on as editor. "Truth itself, as it relates to public education in Los Angeles, will be filtered through an orthodox reform lens at every turn, Zimmer said of The Seventy Four.

Alexander Russo, the former editor of LA School Report who had a falling out with Lynton, writes at the Washington Monthly that the merger raises questions about the quality of Los Angeles schools coverage going forward. Initial takes have not been positive, he writes, though Campbell Brown dismissed some of the criticism has been about union officials, and Zimmer, not embracing coverage by "actual reporters."

From Russo's piece:

In particular, charter critics in LA are worried about the impact of The Seventy Fours arrival on the delicate and controversial issue of expanding charter school options for LAUSD parents: Is there a connection between the Seventy Fours takeover of LA School Report and the Broad-Walmart plan to privatize LAUSD schools? Of course there is, said UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl in the LA Times piece.

The LA Times is also funded in part by the Broad Foundation, which is not indicated until the bottom of Blumes piece. [skip] To be sure, publishers Lynton and Brown share a journalistic background and an impatient advocate approach to education issues. Neither adheres to the balanced/objective model of journalism that sometimes results in the traditional he said/she said approach to story selection and news coverage. Logistically, it also makes sense. Lynton and her family have reportedly moved to New York City, and Lynton was bankrolling the site on her own. With an annual budget reported at $4 million, The Seventy Four is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies. However, Im not as clear how taking on a West Coast bureau fits into The Seventy Fours larger plans or fills an appetite from readers. National interest in Los Angeles is notoriously thin, despite the citys importance.



The way it will apparently work is that the editor and two reporters at LA School Report will now be paid by The Seventy Four, which employs 11 staff members in New York plus a reporter in Washington. Lynton will join the governing board of The Seventy Four.

Greanias' title under the merger is West Coast bureau chief of The Seventy Four and executive editor of LA School Report.

Here's the flackage by The Seventy Four itself. Excerpt:

The 74 and LA School Report  two rapidly growing education news sites  will partner to expand coverage of education in Los Angeles and Americas second-largest school district, the founders of the sites announced today.

In less than four years, LA School Report has become a must-read for insiders and everyday Angelenos alike. The site has followed the politics and policy of the public school system in Los Angeles, shining a light on underreported but critical developments in education. The 74 brings with it a deep bench of veteran journalists, and together with our team at LA School Report we will be positioned to expand our reach and deliver a more robust news site that helps keep education front and center throughout the city, said Jamie Lynton, founder of LA School Report who will join The 74s board as part of the partnership. All of us at The 74 and LA School Report firmly believe there is a real opportunity to expand coverage throughout Los Angeles and the West Coast and put an even greater spotlight on the system, said Campbell Brown, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The74Million.org. We will bring the same kind of aggressive and substantive coverage that has defined our reporting since we launched to an even greater audience.



By the way, the Los Angeles Times story on the merger carries this disclosure at the bottom about the outside sources of income that finance education coverage at the newspaper these days. In case you had not seen how things are done now:

Editors note: Education Matters receives funding from a number of foundations, including one mentioned in this article. The California Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles administer grants from the Baxter Family Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the California Endowment and the Wasserman Foundation. Under terms of the grants, the Times retains complete control over editorial content.
PRESS RELEASE

China Warns of U.S. Nuclear War Threat

Feb. 1, 2016 (EIRNS)Global Times, a publication put out by Peoples Daily, Chinas official government paper, published a lead editorial today warning that the United States is preparing for war, nuclear war, against China. It called for China to "accelerate its speed of building up strategic strike capabilities, including a nuclear second-strike capability."

Titled "Build up defense to thwart U.S. provocation," the editorial references the U.S. deployment of a warship within the 12-mile limit of one of its islands in the Xisha (Paracel) Islands on Jan. 30, noting that this is not an unoccupied island, nor an artificially created island, as in cases of the U.S. provocations in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands; but rather, the Zhongjian Island is

"under Chinas actual control, and China has released the territorial sea baseline of the Xisha Islands, including Zhongjian Island. Therefore, the U.S. provocation this time is more vicious."

The Obama Administration used the excuse, in the case of entering the 12-mile territorial limit of the island artificially created by China, that the UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) does not recognize territorial sovereignty around such islands. This is clearly not the case in the case of Zhongjian, and explicitly demonstrates Obamas lying pretense that he does not take sides in the territorial claims themselves. The fact that about 90% of the trade which passes through Chinas claimed territory of the South China Sea (the "nine-dash line") is with China itself, demonstrates that it is China alone that must be concerned about "freedom of navigation" from the U.S. provocations and the ongoing U.S. military occupation of the Philippines.

The Global Times editorial also notes that

"Chinas military strength still significantly lags behind that of the U.S. If the U.S. is ready for a face-off in the South China Sea, it can quickly gather its military strength despite the far distance.... Chinas military budget only takes up 2% of its GDP, much lower than the U.S. figure of 4%."

The paper concludes with the above call for a military build-up to prepare a response to a nuclear assault from the United States.
PRESS RELEASE

Hillarys Biggest Financial Backer Is a British Wall Street Agent

Feb. 1, 2016 (EIRNS)The single largest contributor to Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign has been revealed to be none other than the Wall Street hedge fund mogulor, as Lyndon LaRouche referred to him, the "British agent of financial destruction"George Soros. As revealed in year-end campaign filings made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Soros contributed a whopping $6 million to the Clinton-supporting super-PAC Priorities USA Action in the last six months of 2015, or almost 25% of the $25 million the PAC raised in that period. Soross gift was a significant increase from the $1 million he gave in the first half of 2015 period, which, along with another $1 million donation to the Clinton-backing American Bridge 21st Century, brought the annual total of Soros push for Clinton, to $8 million.

Wall Street does like Hillary for President; clearly the City of London likes her even more.

This new-found generosity is a marked shift for Soros, who basically sat out the 2012 election, after "becoming dissatisfied" with British agent Barack Obama, giving Priorities USA Action only $1 million for that election year. At that time, Soros had sent an emailconveniently revealed just last monthto Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, saying he "regretted" his support for Obama at the time, and that he wished he would have backed Hillary. Possibly the best case of "20/20 hindsight" ever, or, more likely, "20/20 FOREsight."

If America is to survive, and not be pushed into depression or war, it must wrest itself from this British imperial parasite, and that within the coming days and months, not sometime after we select a new President late this year. The entire British trans-Atlantic financial system is crashing, now, and needs to be severed and buried. We do not need their money in our politics, nor their ideas in our institutions.
Early last year, with little fanfare, the buyers advocate magazine Consumer Reports began rating motorcycles for reliability and customer satisfaction.

The results of their first study have confounded some bike owners and manufacturers.

The study, conducted among the 3 million subscribers to the publications magazine and website, had responses from 1 million automobile owners, and got responses from more than 11,000 motorcycle riders. They shared their experiences and opinions on more than 12,000 individual motorcycles purchased new from 2008 to 2014.

Advertisement

The survey found that the Japanese brands Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki were the most reliable brands, while Triumph, Ducati and BMW were, in the reports delicate language, more repair-prone.

Statistically, that meant that Yamaha owners are least likely to experience serious problems with their bikes, and owners of the Can-Am three-wheelers are most likely -- four times more likely, of the brands included in the survey.

In raw numbers, the study said, only about 11% of new Yamahas will need serious attention in their first four years of life.

Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki ranked very tightly behind Yamaha -- all under 15%. Then came everyone else.

Harley-Davidson owners are twice as likely to experience problems that require repairs as owners of the Japanese brands, with 26% of new bikes needing attention. Triumph owners were a little more likely than that. But Ducati and BMW owners can expect problems. The study predicted that 33% of new Ducatis and 40% of new BMWs will require repairs. Can-Am scored lowest, with 42%.

There is a four times greater chance that a BMW will need repair than a Yamaha, said Consumer Reports deputy editor Jeff Bartlett. Thats pretty significant, when you consider the cost of servicing a BMW is substantially higher. BMW makes great bikes, but the BMW owner has to have a few dollars set aside for repairs.

The report drew measured responses from motorcycle brands. Most major manufacturers declined to discuss or comment on the studys findings. Others said studies of this kind can be helpful, under certain conditions.

Its a great thing for consumers as long as the ratings are overseen by experienced motorcycle editors, said Indian Motorcycles Robert Pandya.

People really know and trust Consumer Reports, said Victorys Gary Gray, who said the study may have contributed to an uptick in Victory sales. They didnt double, but these things are always good for retail.

Bartlett said multiple factors went into analyzing the results. The publications readership skews older and more affluent, he said, and among motorcycles prefers Harley-Davidsons and BMWs. Those big bikes tend to be ridden more miles, too, than do smaller size Japanese bikes.

Curiously, despite these statistical results, the most reliable motorcycles were not the best loved by their owners. Harley-Davidson owners rated their machines second-highest, after the smaller Victory brand, among those who were asked whether they would buy the same motorcycle again.

An impressive 72% of Harley owners said they would, as compared to 70% of Honda owners, 68% of BMW owners, 66% of Ducati owners and 63% of Yamaha owners.

Of major brands, Kawasaki and Suzuki scored lowest, with slightly more than half of owners saying theyd buy the same bikes again.

But survey participants were also asked to rate their brands in terms of overall satisfaction, styling, acceleration, handling, cost of maintenance and repairs, comfort and fun.

By those terms, the results differed somewhat. Only 66% of Ducati riders said theyd buy another, but that brand ranked at the top, category by category, hitting the highest grade for everything but cost of repairs and owner satisfaction. BMW was just a tick behind, giving up a bit on comfort.

Enthusiasts really are more motivated by style, cool factor and brand image, said Bill Nation, co-owner of the high-end Los Angeles motorcycle shop ProItalia.

And paying more for purchase and maintenance may actually support brand image.

There is a truism that [the customer] who pays retail seems to be more satisfied with his purchase than those who grind us on price or seek out the low-ball dealer, Nation said.

Bartlett agreed the numbers were a little surprising -- especially the Harley numbers.

Weve all heard stories about their darker days, but what came through is their reliability is about average, Bartlett said. But when we looked at owner satisfaction, we found that people really enjoyed their Harleys.

Harley owners were more likely than others to dispute the results of the study too.

Theyre very passionate, and they would say, My bike has been reliable, Bartlett said. But an anecdote doesnt make a trend.

Bartlett said marketing and the culture of the brand might explain that disparity. Theres a certain kind of lust around Harley-Davidson that extends past the actual motorcycle. Its a lifestyle choice, and a club you belong to that helps define you. The Japanese brands dont have that.

One owner of multiple brands made a similar point. Chris Day, head of corporate communication for the talent agency UTA, is a passionate motorcycle enthusiast who currently owns bikes made by BMW, KTM, Suzuki and Honda.

The two European brands are reserved for street riding, usually cruising the Southern California coast and canyons on the weekend. The two Japanese bikes are for the race track or the open desert.

Its telling that the bikes I ride on the street are a BMW and a KTM, but the bike I ride at the race track is a Suzuki and the bike I ride in the dirt is a Honda, Day said. The ones where reliability is a real factor are Japanese.

Whats the difference?

European bikes are engineered for character and sex appeal, and Japanese bikes are engineered for reliability, Day said. The Japanese bikes are bulletproof, but theres a perception of exclusivity that comes with the Ducatis and KTMs. The idea of owning a European bike still feels more special.

The 2015 study, Bartlett said, is the first of a planned seres of ongoing surveys. A new one is underway now and may include brands for which the first survey didnt have enough data -- Indian, KTM and Motoguzzi, for example. The results will be published in 2017.

Twitter: @misterfleming
Are house calls really dead, as we suggested in a blog post Monday? Dr. Michael Oppenheim begs to differ.

Oppenheim, 76, has spent virtually his entire career making house calls in Los Angeles. The core of his practice is serving as an on-call doctor for hotels and for travel insurance companies whose foreign subscribers fall ill while visiting here. But he also does shifts for Heal, a new Uber-like service that dispatches doctors to homes at a charge of $99 per visit to patients without insurance to cover the house call. (Heal is an in-network provider for some insurers, whose patients are charged merely a standard co-pay.)

I enjoy what I do. I dont mind long drives, or getting up at night. I dont have to go to an office in the morning.  Dr. Michael Oppenheim, house-call doctor

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I enjoy what I do, Oppenheim told me. I dont mind long drives, or getting up at night. I dont have to go to an office in the morning.

Oppenheim reached out to us in response to our post Monday expressing skepticism about the idea of an Uber for healthcare. The post observed that physician house calls, which are the stock in trade of new Uber-like services such as Heal and Pager, are poorly suited to the modern healthcare market.

Because theyre massively inefficient uses of doctors training and time, the argument went, theyre unlikely to be priced affordably for most patients or to attract a sizable cadre of doctors.

Oppenheims experience illustrates both the virtues and the limitations of the house call. He chronicles many of these aspects of his practice on his very entertaining blog, thehoteldoctor. Lets hear him out.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his medical training at New York University, Oppenheim came back west to do his residency in Santa Barbara, then worked at the Veterans Affairs hospital in North Hills. (The hospital was torn down after sustaining damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.) In 1979 he answered an ad placed by a Malibu doctor with a house-call practice, and took over the practice entirely in 1983.

At the time, only luxury Beverly Hills hotels kept doctors on call. But over time, Oppenheim managed to persuade even mid-level hotels that having a hotel doctor was a good idea. Eventually he made it onto the on-call rosters of travel insurance companies and airlines that needed coverage for their traveling crews. By 2003, when he retired to Kentucky, his annual earnings had peaked at about $140,000 and he had maxed out at about 1,200 calls a year.

He didnt care for retirement, so he moved back to L.A. in 2007 and rebuilt his practice from scratch. Now he makes 350-400 calls a year, charging $300-$350 (slightly more for distant or off-hour runs) and grosses an average of up to about $120,000.

Most of his calls involve minor health complaints; when he gets a call from a hotel, he always insists on speaking with the guest, and roughly half the time he concludes that a visit isnt necessary. Anything serious, and he refers the patient to an office visit or sends him or her to the ER. Normally, he spends 15 minutes or so with a patient, or at most, an hour for a more complicated case.

You cant really deliver sophisticated medical care in a house call, he acknowledges. And hes understanding with hotel guests who might call with a complaint that turns out to be routine. You cant blame people for calling the doctor for something thats not that serious, he says. People call the doctor when they feel sick.

Oppenheim knows his professional lifestyle isnt for anyone. My record was eight to 10 visits a day, and that was exhausting, he says. If youre on the freeway, five visits is exhausting. Doing it in Los Angeles, unless a doctor limits himself to the Westside, he really couldnt do more than eight or nine house calls in 10 hours.

As he wrote on his blog in 2012, I never considered myself unique until I tried to find a helper. My ideal would be competent, likable, available 24 hours a day, and willing to travel anywhere. That describes me. Many of those who answered the ad he placed in a local medical journal had day jobs, or lacked malpractice insurance that would cover them outside a clinic. A surprising number of doctors announced they were free during the day and eager to make visits no matter how distant. All made me uncomfortable. Why didnt they have a job?

Oppenheim also wonders about the business model of services such as Heal, which keeps doctors on eight-hour shifts at $75 an hour. (He occasionally takes two-hour sub-shifts to help out busy Heal doctors.) They must be hemorrhaging money, he says, because they cant make money charging $99.

Heals co-founder and chief medical officer, Renee Dua, says that the service is profitable in Los Angeles and has 150 doctors on its roster -- and a waiting list to join in. From the physicians standpoint, she says, an in-office doctor who sees 40 patients/day [has] to see about 30 just to pay for the office, staff, bureaucracy, collections, etc. We eliminate all those costs.

Oppenheim doubts that healthcare will be moving back to the old paradigm of a family doctor making neighborhood rounds with thermometer, stethoscope and black satchel. But that doesnt mean theres no place for the relationship. If this country ever gets organized with some sort of national health policy, house calls wont be a terribly important part of it, he says, but they will be some part of it.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see our Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.
A Chinese state-owned chemical maker offered to buy Swiss pesticide giant Syngenta for $43 billion in what would be the biggest-ever foreign acquisition by a Chinese company.

Syngenta said Wednesday that its board is recommending shareholders accept the offer from China National Chemical Corp., also known as ChemChina. Basel-based Syngenta said in a statement that ChemChinas cash offer is worth about $480 a share, including a special dividend for shareholders of about $5 if the deal goes through.

The deal is part of a global acquisition spree by Chinese companies, which are diversifying abroad to counter a slowdown at home while also seeking foreign expertise and technology. Last month, Chinese home appliance maker Haier Group bought General Electrics home appliance business, and conglomerate Wanda Group acquired Hollywood movie studio Legendary Entertainment.

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The Syngenta deal, if completed, would overtake CNOOCs 2012 purchase of Canadian energy company Nexen as the biggest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company, according to Dealogic data.

Beijing-based ChemChina would keep existing Syngenta management in place. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. ChemChina said it would also consider an initial public offering of the business in the years to come.

We think its a very good deal for Syngenta and all the stakeholders will benefit, Syngenta Chairman Michel Demare said in a video posted on the companys website.

Last month, ChemChina bought German machinery maker KraussMaffei for about $1 billion and took a 12% stake in Swiss energy trader Mercuria. In March, it bought Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli.

The Syngenta deal is also part of a shake-up of the global agricultural and chemical industry, which is being pressured by tumbling commodity prices that are causing farmers to spend less on seeds, pesticides and equipment. Syngenta reported Wednesday that net income for 2015 fell 17% to $1.3 billion as it struggled with low crop prices, instability in emerging markets and currency fluctuations.

For China, its an opportunity to beef up its expertise in the ag-chem industry as part of President Xi Jinpings plan to modernize the countrys farms to keep up with demand from a rising middle class.

Our vision for Syngenta is all about growth, ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin said in a video posted online. We see big opportunities for the company to expand its presence in emerging markets and notably in China, where there is rapid modernization driven by the need to increase grain productivity and increase food quality.

Syngenta agreed to the takeover bid after spurning a $46.5-billion offer from agricultural giant Monsanto.
Toyotas financing arm will pay as much as $21.9 million to black and Asian borrowers who paid more for auto loans than whites, settling allegations of discrimination by federal regulators.

Toyota Motor Credit Corp. in Torrance had been under investigation by the Department of Justice and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2013. It had been targeted as part of a broad probe into auto lending practices that has led to similar settlements with other major auto credit companies.

The agencies didnt find that Toyota Motor Credit discriminated directly, but rather that the automakers dealerships increased interest rates more for black and Asian borrowers than for whites.

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Lenders like Toyota Motor Credit offer a base rate for buyers based on their credit-worthiness. Dealerships then are allowed to tack on additional interest -- known as a dealer markup.

Regulators didnt take issue with the markups themselves, but rather that dealerships added extra interest to loans for black and Asian borrowers.

No consumer should be forced to pay more money for a loan because of their race or national origin, U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California said in a statement announcing the settlement.

Investigators found that black borrowers paid 0.27 percentage point more for loans than whites with similar loans and credit histories. Asian borrowers paid 0.18 percentage point more.

The extra interest meant that black borrowers, on average, paid as much as $200 extra over the course of their loans, while Asian borrowers paid $100 extra. Its not clear how many borrowers were affected, but the size of the settlement implies more than 100,000 borrowers.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, the Justice Department said Toyota knew that allowing dealerships to mark up loans created a substantial risk of discrimination, but Toyota did not start monitoring markup disparities until 2014 -- the year after federal regulators started their probe.

Toyota Motor Credit has agreed to pay about $20 million in restitution to borrowers who took out loans from January 2011 to Tuesday.

The company also will set aside $2 million to compensate new borrowers until Toyota puts controls in place to prevent overcharging.

The company said it would limit the amount of extra interest dealerships can charge. They had been able to add as much as 2.5 percentage points to a loan, but the dealer markup will now be capped at 1.25 points and just 1 point for loans longer than five years.

In a statement, Toyota Motor Credit noted that its actions in response to the probe were voluntary and that the company does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, even perceived or unintentional, from its employees or business partners. This practice extends to fair lending practices.

The CFPB, a consumer watchdog created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, has taken similar actions against other auto lenders in recent years. In 2013, it fined Ally Financial, formerly General Motors subsidiary GMAC, $18 million and ordered it to pay $80 million in restitution.

Last year, American Honda Finance Corp. and Fifth Third Bank, also big auto lenders, agreed to pay restitution over allegations of discriminatory lending.

james.koren@latimes.com

Twitter: @jrkoren

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Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $1.2 billion to settle claims that it duped the federal government into insuring thousands of risky mortgages in the years leading up to the housing crash, the San Francisco banking giant said Wednesday.

If approved by a federal judge, the settlement would close the books on a 2012 lawsuit that the government filed against the bank over bad loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Its one of the biggest fines paid by Wells Fargo related to the crash.

Prosecutors alleged that the bank engaged in a regular practice of reckless origination and underwriting of FHA loans backed by federal insurance and intended to help first-time home buyers.

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Between 2001 and 2005, prosecutors said, the bank issued thousands of FHA loans that did not meet the programs requirements, which include minimum incomes and credit scores for borrowers. They also said that from 2002 to 2010, the bank violated federal reporting requirements by keeping problem loans under wraps and collecting insurance payouts when loans went bad.

Banks are required to report loans if they find problems in their underwriting  for instance, if a loan officer approved an FHA-backed mortgage even though the borrower did not meet criteria or provided fraudulent information when applying.

Prosecutors said Wells Fargo internal reviews found more than 6,500 problem FHA loans from 2002 through 2010, but the bank reported only 238 of them. Prosecutors said the lax underwriting was partly the result of incentives that encouraged employees to approve more loans.

The loan defaults caused the FHA to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims to Wells Fargo to cover the banks losses, even though those loans should not have been insured, according to the suit.

Wells Fargo reported the settlement Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, noting that the deal has not been finalized. Bank spokeswoman Catherine Pulley said she could not provide additional details.

The bank initially fought the federal allegations, denying them in court filings. Other big banks, meanwhile, were quicker to settle similar suits.

In 2014, Chase agreed to pay $614 million for submitting shoddy FHA loans and Bank of America agreed to an $800-million settlement over similar allegations, part of a much larger deal with multiple state and federal regulators.

Wells Fargo has paid other fines relating to problems with mortgage origination and servicing during the housing boom, including a $5.3-billion payment into a national mortgage settlement in 2012.

In the wake of settlements over FHA loans, Wells Fargo and other big banks have cut back on FHA lending, saying it invites too much risk of legal entanglements.

Although borrowers with credit scores as low as 580 can qualify for FHA loans, in the last few years big banks have been willing to make FHA loans only to borrowers with higher scores.

Wells Fargo shares fell 86 cents, or 1.8%, to $47.60 on Wednesday.

james.koren@latimes.com
Identical twins Emily and Elizabeth Hinkler were born an hour apart. They attended the same college, grew up to be actresses and live together in Los Angeles. They are both getting married this year. To hear them tell it, these similarities are merely the serendipitous result of knowing each other intimately throughout life, not the kind of cosmic identical-twin connection that people often ask about.

Whether such a connection exists or not, the idea of it is partially responsible for the allure of watching them perform in a two-woman show, My Sister, playing at the Odyssey Theatre through March 13. Set at the bitter end of the decadent Weimar era in Berlin, just as Hitler is cementing his rise to power, the play explores the lives of twin sisters living in a one-room flat, struggling to survive on dreams and meager rations of sausage and cheese.

The twins, Magda (played by Emily) and Matilde (played by Elizabeth), are identical in every way except for one: Matilde is afflicted with cerebral palsy that has drastically impaired her speech and rendered her left side dysfunctional. A whip-smart cynic with a knack for political satire, Matilde writes material for Magda to perform at a local cabaret. Although her disability makes it nearly impossible to leave their flat, Matilde lives vicariously through Magdas stories of the theater while the dark shadow of Nazi persecution gathers at their doorstep.

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It slowly becomes clear that the Nazis will no more tolerate Matilde and her disability than they will the Jews. Although the story is set more than 80 years ago, the Hinkler sisters are quick to point out that it remains relevant today because it trades currency in rich themes including human rights, freedom of expression and disability awareness.

The audience doesnt see her as having a disability, Emily says of Matilde. They see her for who she really is because her sister does  a smart, intelligent writer who is passionate about the world.

The play was written for the Hinklers by Janet Schlapkohl while she was a student at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, a masters program at the University of Iowa, while the sisters were juniors at the school. Schlapkohl is also the founder of Combined Efforts Theatre, which practices inclusion by making all roles available to actors with disabilities. At the time of the companys founding in 2002, Schlapkohl was a special-education instructor at a high school in Iowa City.

Schlapkohl worked closely with the Hinklers, a process that resulted in 75 drafts of the play before the sisters first performed it at the university in 2013. My Sister was so successful that it soon moved from a 60-seat theater to a 200-seat theater and later toured the state.

When the Hinklers decided to move to Los Angeles about a year ago, they came across an ad for the Hollywood Fringe Festival, which champions emerging artists each summer.

My Sister became one of the most talked-about shows of the festival, and the Hinklers won the Duende Distinction award for acting and an Encore Producers Award, which resulted in their current run at the Odyssey.

As artists we realize that we cant wait for opportunities to come to us, Elizabeth says of the sisters decision to play the Fringe Festival despite being new to town and having few connections. Its about creating our own opportunities.

They produced the show themselves, and director Paul David Story came onboard. While Story helped them to bring the world of the play to life, the Hinklers made it their mission to reach out to audiences who might take a special interest in the show and its message, including the United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, retirement homes and organizations for Holocaust survivors and twins.

The Hinklers are petite, standing 4 feet 11, with striking eyes and short-cropped brown hair. They were born three months premature and were each only 2 pounds when they entered the world, raised in the Chicago suburbs by math-minded parents who also placed great value on the arts. The sisters said their time in L.A. has encouraged their impulse to have more empathy for others, especially in a city where it can be so easy to lose.

Sitting backstage at the Odyssey after a recent matinee, the women tuck their legs up on a couch, finishing each others sentences as they recall a chance encounter that they cant seem to shake.

They were driving to the theater a few nights back when they passed an intersection near Sepulveda and Olympic boulevards that is often frequented by homeless panhandlers. On this particular night, however, the corners occupant wasnt a homeless man. It was a man with a cane and glasses who looked as if he could have been their father. He was holding a sign announcing that his daughter had a terminal illness and he could not afford her medication.

The Hinklers drove past him in silence, but when they got to the theater, even though they were late preparing for that evenings performance, they decided to go back. They had no cash on them but Emily urged Elizabeth to get out of the car and talk to the man to hear his story and take one of his slips of paper with information on how to help.

We get nervous for shows, but that was one of the most fearful things Ive ever done, recalls Elizabeth, who gave the man a hug, which nearly brought him to tears. I was heartbroken.

They dedicated that nights performance  and the next days too  to the man and his family.

Our goal is to give a voice to people who dont have one, especially in L.A. says Emily, adding that they are working to develop My Sister into a feature film. So people can see others for who they really are and do something to make this world better.

jessica.gelt@latimes.com

------------

My Sister

Where: Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. some Wednesdays, some Thursdays, all Fridays and all Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends March 13.

Tickets: $15-$34

Info: (310) 477-2055 or www.odysseytheatre.com

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Saoirse Ronan was an Oscar nominee at 13 for her role as the young sister in Atonement who, through a misunderstanding, ruins the lives of others. At 21 the Irish actress has been nominated again, for her work in Brooklyn, in which she plays an Irish woman on the cusp of adulthood, of discovering who she is and where she belongs  much like Ronans experiences. Here is an excerpt from her video conversation with The Envelope about the film directed by John Crowley with a screenplay from Nick Hornby.

So do you have strong memories of being at the Oscars?

I remember being starving at the Oscars because you dont eat, you know, for like four hours. I know now you eat before you go to these things.

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Unless its Ellen DeGeneres year where she brought the pizza out.

But it wasnt Ellens year. Jon Stewart was hosting and he did bring around, like, a big bucket of licorice in the commercial break, which was lovely. But only like the first three rows got the licorice and everyone else had to starve, so. And we were knackered  we were on New Zealand time. And the next day I went back to New Zealand and I was shooting the murder scene in The Lovely Bones with Stanley Tucci, so it was like back down into a hole [laughs]. After being at the Oscars, I went into a hole in New Zealand with Stanley and was murdered the next day.

Lovely. So, lets talk about Brooklyn. Do you want to tell us a little bit about it?

Brooklyn is based on a Colm Toibin novel by the same name. Its set in the early 50s. And its about this girl who moves over from Ireland to Brooklyn, New York. Its simply about somebodys life and what they go through in the space of about two years, and the experience that I think everyone has when they leave home, which is sort of a sense of loss and a sort of grief that starts to kick in when she kind of has to create this life for herself. And we really start to see her become a woman, become her own person.

Oscars 2016: Full Coverage | Complete list | Snubs, surprises and reactions | Top nominee photos

Shes 22 but still very young in a world of adults  did you draw any parallels there?

Not with work, funnily enough, because I did have my mom with me wherever I went. And I was very lucky because of her, and because of the people that I worked with, I never lost touch with childhood. It was really when I moved away from home myself and I had my first real kind of personal life experiences that was separate from work. I needed to move to a different place to be a 19-year-old and be anonymous and be silly and do all that. Also I was very wary of becoming a kid who had grown up in this type of industry where so often everythings kind of done for you.

Yeah.

If you want your laundry cleaned, someone else will do it for you. Your food is made for you every day when you go into work. Youre picked up at a time thats given to you by someone else. And so you dont really have to think about any of those aspects of, you know, grown-up life. So I felt it was really important to do all that, even though I do hate bills and I hate changing my bedcovers and I hate washing clothes. And I had gone through that after I had signed up to the film. So I was really homesick when we made the film.

So you must relate to Eilis a lot?

I do, yeah. When youre homesick and you are given a piece of material like that, that just captures that feeling so brilliantly in the way that Nick did, it really hits you. Sometimes I had to leave set because I was very overwhelmed.

What was the most important thing for you?

It was very important to get it right for a lot of people. And Ive never felt that pressure before. This was for Ireland. This was for my mom and dad. And I know if I was an audience member who had just left home and I went to see Brooklyn and it didnt quite capture that experience  I wanted people to feel like we understood. And I think thats why it affected me so much.

amy.kaufman@latimes.com

MORE:

REVIEW: Saoirse Ronan soars in the emotionally rich immigrants tale Brooklyn


In director Evgeny Afineevskys Oscar-nominated documentary Winter on Fire, the viewer is plunged into a singular cinematic experience: a revolutionarys view of a spontaneous civil rights uprising that actually toppled a government. The riveting feature, which arrived in limited release in October and has been streaming on Netflix ever since, traces Ukraines burgeoning self-determination to integrate with Europe, beginning with peaceful student protests in 2013. But faced with unchecked brutality by special police called the Berkut  who used kidnapping, tear gas and snipers bullets to suppress fellow Ukrainians  demonstrations in Kievs Independence Square (known as Maidan) evolved into a spasm of nationalism. And a million citizens eventually mobilized against the regime of President Viktor Yanukovich to drive him into exile. Afineevsky (Divorce: A Journey Through the Kids Eyes, Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!) chronicled the conflict for 93 days over 2013-14 and returned with a case of secondary post-traumatic stress disorder as well as a broad outlook on the importance of unity.

You were born in the former USSR, immigrated to Israel and now live in the U.S. What compelled you to go to Kiev during these demonstrations?

One of my friends who produced Divorce: A Journey Through the Kids Eyes lives in Russia and was there in Maidan when it all started. This revolution was unusual. It was self-organized. Young people with the help of social media getting together and trying to hoist themselves into this space to get the attention of the government. The first day, he called me and said, You should come. We should try to make a movie.

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I never was expecting such drama. But when I saw what was going on, I thought, I cant leave them.

Oscars 2016: Full Coverage | Complete list | Snubs, surprises and reactions | Top nominee photos

Tell me about the risks you and your crew of 28 cameramen faced.

[Police] shot at us. Some of our friends were horribly beaten on the 1st of December. They allowed the cameras to get very close, then most of the people beaten at first were journalists. The tear gas and police batons; a horrible thing. The cold water they sprayed on us. I have a scar from a splinter that came from the [stun] grenades. Some people who have watched this film are calling it the Les Mis of our time. It is Les Mis  the barricades, the kids. But its our days. And its much more horrible.

What do you hope people will take away from watching this movie?

What I felt obligated to bring to the world is the importance of unity. There in Maidan, all social classes, all ages, all religions were all brought together  rich ladies in high heels got out of their Mercedes to cut sandwiches in the square. Jews, Christians, Muslims stood together without saying, You need to believe in my God! Priests standing on the front line before police. They were risking their lives. I think people can learn from this unity.

What does an Oscar nomination mean to you?

Its recognition. Not for me, its for them. Im telling the story through the eyes of the people who came to this square, who stood under these bullets, who stood through the cold water and gas the Berkut sprayed us with. These people came with their beliefs: in democracy and freedom. As much as it was dangerous, I was surrounded by them like a family. I only had my emotional breakdown later: I was diagnosed with secondary PTSD. I met friends and then I lost them. And then I saw footage of them being killed. An Oscar can give more importance to their story. And more people can learn.

So the nomination is already a win.

Netflix brought this movie to 130 countries. Im getting Facebook messages from all over the world, from people telling me it changed their lives. If it did, its already a huge achievement. For a lot of Americans, I hope its an eye-opener about real freedom and democracy.

calendar@latimes.com
They gathered at the Beverly Wilshire, the men in tuxes, the women draped in evening gowns. The finest black talent in Hollywood was there that night in 2002, Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, James Lassiter, Doug McHenry and Sean P. Diddy Combs among them.

It was an annual gathering held at one posh hotel or another on the eve of the Academy Awards. Officially, it was called the Tree of Life Awards. But most people called it by its informal name: the Black Oscars.

It was always a celebration of what accomplishments black people had done in the film industry, said actress and director Debbie Allen, who was honored by the Black Oscars and its sister event, the Black Emmys. Sound, music, directors, actors, whatever your participation was, you were honored.

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The annual event was launched in 1981 at a time when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rarely recognized black achievements. By that time, only 27 African Americans had been nominated in the 52-year history of the Oscars, with only three winning. The Tree of Life Awards ended in 2007.

Oscars 2016: Full Coverage | Complete list | Snubs, surprises and reactions | Top nominee photos

But with the academy nominating an all-white slate of actors for the second year in a row, Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Assn., says the circumstances that prompted the Black Oscars are prevalent again.

It began as a way to fill a void in the city and in the community, he said. People work hard and invest in their craft and were being ignored  so the Black Oscars became a way for them to receive acknowledgment of their talents and their craft.

The Tree of Life Awards were created by the late Albert Nellum, a Washington, D.C.-area attorney, the event taking its name from the ancient African symbol of family, unity and struggle for survival. A private group called the Friends of the Black Oscar Nominees ran the ceremony. Those involved in putting on the dinner included Jones, Sidney Poitier, Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson and casting agent Reuben Cannon.

Black Oscar nominees were automatically invited along with others who had created important and influential work to the black community. Winners received black and bronze carved statuettes.

Louis Gossett Jr., who won an Academy Award for supporting actor for his portrayal of a Marine Corps sergeant in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, said the evening was a way for black Hollywood to uplift its own.

It was something that was needed because we were all over the place trying to make our careers, which were dependent on [mainstream] acceptance, Gossett said. This got us back to the roots to recognize one another and encourage one another to continue on. It was an extremely important thing.

#OscarsSoWhite: The boycott, reaction and more

Gossett hosted the Black Oscars in 2002 with actress CCH Pounder, a regular on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS. The tributes and calls for continued unity included honors for the years Oscar nominees Denzel Washington (Training Day), Halle Berry (Monsters Ball) and Will Smith (Ali). Smiths Ali costar and wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who also starred in Kingdom Come, was also honored along with Baby Boys Ving Rhames, Oceans 11s Don Cheadle and the late Bernie Mac.

Over the years, honorees and attendees have included Queen Latifah, Billy Dee Williams, Eddie Murphy, Vivica A. Fox and this years Oscars producer Reginald Hudlin.

Showing up, if invited, was imperative, Allen said. She remembers having to persuade Djimon Hounsou, star of Steven Spielbergs Amistad, to attend.

He didnt understand how important it was for him to come until I told him, she said. We were anointing ourselves. We were acknowledging our presence and our worth, our value and our accomplishments.

Debbie Allen (Paul A. Hebert / Invision / AP)

Today, Hollywood awards ceremonies are covered with an intensity equal to a presidential race. But the Tree of Life Awards were virtually unknown outside black Hollywood  and organizers were OK with that.

Though some years would include a red carpet with media, reporters invited to the dinner were not supposed to write about the event. Most complied; an archival search turns up scant references to the evening besides a story or two in the L.A. Sentinel and Jet magazine.

It wasnt something that was clandestine, Robertson said. But if youre a part of the community, you knew. If you werent, you didnt know.

Robertson remembers being told explicitly to leave his notebook at home. The event was less of a moment for public consumption, but a symbolic gesture [to black Hollywood] to say, I see you. We can do this, and so we are, he said.

The off-the-record nature of the event allowed honorees to be honest about their shared experiences of being black in Hollywood when they took to the stage to accept their awards.

It allowed people to be transparent, Robertson said. It allowed people to be forthright with a different level of openness because you know youre not going to be quoted. Its like you went to a house party and youre just chilling out.

The day following the Black Oscars, those who were invited to the Academy Awards would attend that ceremony.

With eight black actors nominated for the 2007 awards show, the Friends of the Black Oscars decided it was time to retire the ceremony. Jennifer Hudson, sound mixer Willie D. Burton and Forest Whitaker secured Oscars that year.

But following the fallout from the #OscarsSoWhite conversation, Allen says some people have raised the prospect of reviving the tradition.

To Robertson, the recognition of achievement by fellow African Americans might even have more meaning now.

I think that we need to become content with the kind of validation [we get from our own] and if other validation comes, great, he said. Its just the whip cream on top. But Im gon have the milkshake regardless.

trevell.anderson@latimes.com

Twitter: @TrevellAnderson

MORE:

#OscarsSoWhite joins a long line of Oscar controversies

Black films matter at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival

2016 awards season database: Search all of the nominees and winners
Members of the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition announced a new plan Wednesday to meet with the major movie studios in an effort to boost diversity within the film industry. The group -- which includes the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition and American Indians in Film and Television -- will discuss details of its new initiative at a media conference in Pasadena on Thursday morning.

Since 2000, the coalition has met annually with the four major broadcast TV networks in a campaign to increase the representation of minorities both in front of the camera and behind the scenes of the TV business. Now, in the wake of this years Oscar nominations, in which for the second year in a row, no actors of color received any nods, the group is reaching out to the six top film studios -- Sony, Warner Bros., Fox, Universal, Paramount and Disney -- to try to spur the movie business to take similar steps.

#OscarsSoWhite: Full coverage of the boycott and Hollywoods reaction

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The #OscarsSoWhite controversy led the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce sweeping new changes aimed at doubling the number of women and minorities in its ranks by 2020. But many argue that the ultimate responsibility for the issue should be laid at the feet of the studios, which determine the kinds of films that are made in the first place.

Individuals from all of our communities have been denied meaningful opportunities for their work to be considered for Academy Awards, Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said in a statement. Studios need to know that representation matters -- for recognition of hard work and talent, for combating negative stereotypes in our public discourse and for the next generation of our future leaders in the film industry.

Sonny Skyhawk, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and founder of American Indians in Film and Television, said in a statement that the group is looking to extend the successes of its diversity campaign in television into the film world.

Each year, [the TV networks] provided data on the minorities theyve hired as writers, producers, directors and actors, and weve discussed how accurately their series are reflecting reality, Skyhawk said. The great improvements youve seen on the small screen have been due in large part to our efforts. Now, were setting our sights on meeting with the top six movie studios and asking them to do the same on the big screen.

Twitter: @joshrottenberg
El Sereno is a mostly quiet community, not commonly known by those outside of its immediate vicinity. But the neighborhood has plenty to offer despite its low profile, including a vibrant and diverse collection of Mexican restaurants. There are trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants, kitchens in convenience stores and some truly fabulous unmarked stands, and many of them focus on iconic dishes from Baja to Jalisco, Puebla to Nayarit and beyond.

There are wonders to be found on El Serenos winding back avenues, anonymous tables from which taqueros sling palm-sized tortillas full of delicious mesquite-grilled carne asada or buche straight from the comal, but you dont need to throw yourself on the whims of the streets. There is a large cluster of great and interesting Mexican food on busy Huntington Drive too, distinctive restaurants that operate in daylight and maintain mostly regular hours. Here are three excellent regional Mexican restaurants on Huntington Drive in El Sereno:

El Vaquero

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El Vaquero is a narrow storefront on a crowded stretch of Huntington, a long room with about a dozen tables equipped with leather armchairs, and a menu on the wall just above the counter, where you place your order. Its specialty is the Guadalajara-style torta ahogada, a crusty baguette filled with rich carnitas drowned in a fiery red salsa, spicy enough to give you pause, but too delicious to keep you away for long. What you really want, though, is another Guadalajara specialty: the tacos dorados de barbacoa, a double layer of tortillas wrapped around a generous fistful of barbacoa and then fried in oil until the outer layer blisters. They are simultaneously crispy and soft, meaty, smoky and bright from the salsa and lime that you should pour on top, oily and hot in a way that will burn your fingers and probably the roof of your mouth too. 4884 1/2 Huntington Drive, El Sereno, (323) 441-8536, www.elvaquerorestaurante.com.

Los Pinos Market

Theres a giant sign that reads MEXICAN FOOD on top of Los Pinos Market, the only indication that it isnt just another convenience store. It is nestled into an awkward crook just off of Huntington, such that it requires a careful eye and a little daring to make the sharp turn to reach its oddly trapezoidal parking lot. When you walk in the door, things dont get more promising  next to the entrance is a wall of canned goods and remote control toys, a few fridges of sodas and a scattering of tables. Beyond the jarred salsas and behind the counter, though, there is a kitchen that churns out excellent plates of food, with a number of dishes from central Mexico.

Los Pinos Market specializes in lovely chicharrones and big, hearty cemitas poblanas, sandwiches in the style of Puebla, and there is a particularly outstanding bowl of birria, the richly flavored goat stew that is most associated with Jalisco. The version at Los Pinos is heavily spiced and funky, full of tender goat bits and served with a stack of steaming tortillas and a little gravy boat of spicy habanero salsa. And to accompany your bowl of stew or hearty sandwich, there is a jug of the wonderfully tart and lightly spiced pre-Columbian pineapple drink tepache, fermented in-house. 4822 Huntington Drive, El Sereno, (323) 225-2594.

Mariscos Los Lechugas

Its easy to pick out Mariscos Los Lechugas on a sunny day in El Sereno, and not just because the truck is painted with a very strange but happy mural of the owners with their lower halves depicted as sea creatures. Los Lechugas will be the truck with the crowd, people leaning against the wall in anticipation of what may be the finest warm-afternoon lunch around, a giant ceviche tostada.

There are good seafood cocktails and tacos, of course, but it is the tostadas that are truly special, tuna ground Ensenada-style with a generous helping of avocado, or the mixta especial, a massive pile of tuna and shrimp and jaiva (imitation crab) and octopus and more, bright and refreshing and pretty shockingly filling, the solid octopus playing well off of the thin sheets of jaiva. Dress it with a few of the trucks large collection of hot sauces and carry your plate somewhere convenient  maybe to the benches stationed outside the nearby El Sereno public library  and dig in. A $5 lunch never felt so good. Parked most days during daylight hours near 5244 S Huntington Drive, El Sereno, (323) 537-3234.

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A man whos been lying anonymously in a hospital bed at Sharp Coronado Hospital for 16 years finally has a name.

The man, known for years as Garage 66, is severely brain damaged and on life support. The San Diego County hospitals Villa Coronado Skilled Nursing Facility has been his home since 1999, when a car accident left him fighting for his life.

On Friday, the Mexican Consulate in San Diego announced that an effort by doctors, immigration authorities, politicians and educators has led to discovery of the mans identity.

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But his name will not be made public. Because of confidentiality laws that protect patient information, Sharp HealthCare said it could not disclose the patients name, details of his condition or the circumstances of the accident. The mans family members declined to talk to the media and have asked that their privacy be respected, according to the consulate.

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But his Sharp caregivers can now address him by name, and we are all celebrating the dignity afforded a person who has an identity and a history, as well as the peace of mind afforded a family who for many years has not known the condition or fate of their loved one, said spokesman Tom Hanscom.

The man cannot speak and does not react to his environment. Little was known of his life.

The hospital worked with local media in 2014 to make the patients story public in an effort to locate family members.

Several families came forward believing the patient to be a long-lost relative, according to Hanscom. A committee of community members and government officials sponsored DNA testing and the matches were confirmed in December, he said.

The man, believed to be in his mid-30s, was ejected from a van when it crashed near the U.S.-Mexico border near El Centro, according to the investigative news outlet Inewsource.

The patient was transferred to the UC San Diego trauma center, where he spent a year in the hospital, Inewsource reported. He was assigned the random name Garage 66, a common practice for patients who are not alert or awake and have no identification, a hospital spokesperson told the publication.

The mans medical costs  estimated at $700 per day  have been paid by Medi-Cal, Californias program for the impoverished and the disabled, according to Inewsource.

Enrique Morones, founder of the immigrant rights organization Border Angels, first learned of Garage 66 last year and was involved in efforts to locate his family. He got a call Friday morning with news of the patients identity.

I was just overjoyed, he said.

Morones said more light needs to be shed on the thousands of people who go missing at the border and are never reunited with family.

There are a lot of Garage 66s out there, Morones said. Maybe its not a 16-year-old case, maybe its a 6-day-old case. But theres a mom who still wants to know, Did my son make it? This is going to give a lot of people hope.

tatiana.sanchez@sduniontribune.com

Sanchez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Manhunt is underway for a murder suspect mistakenly freed from L.A. County custody
The witness looked straight ahead and remained silent.

Steven Lawrence Wrights refusal to testify in the murder trial of two gang members earned him a five-day sentence for contempt of court. But that defiance also proved to be his ticket to freedom, at least for now.

Wright, who was in jail on a murder charge and pending sentencing for attempted murder, was mistakenly released Saturday from custody after serving the contempt sentence.

Wright, 37, is now the subject of a manhunt as urgent as the one touched off last month by the escape of three inmates from an Orange County jail.

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L.A. County Sheriffs Department officials, like their Orange County counterparts, are examining their procedures to see what went wrong.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Sheriffs Cmdr. Keith Swensson said it appeared that a series of errors made by the court clerk and three Sheriffs Department employees led to the mistaken release.

A copy of the clerks instructions released by the court Tuesday shows that the clerk entered the court docket number of Wrights murder case, instead of the contempt charge, next to details of his sentence.

This one page erroneously told us to release this person on the murder charge, Swensson said.

The clerks mistake was then compounded during a three-step review at the jail, Swensson said. No one there noticed that the clerk also left a handwritten note at the bottom of the form with the case number of the contempt charge. Though ambiguous, it was a red flag, Swensson said.

In a practice established recently to cut down on human errors, a reception clerk, a supervisor and a backup checker all reviewed the transmittal from the court.

All three looked at it and believed the information was correct, Swensson said. But it wasnt.

On Tuesday, the Sheriffs Department offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Wrights capture. Authorities are following numerous tips.

We believe he is still close by, Swensson said.

Before his release, Wright was being held on suspicion of killing Donnell Taylor, 47, in January 2011.

During the trial, Wrights former girlfriend testified that he was a leader of the Altadena Blocc Crips gang and was known by the moniker Trey Mac.

A month after Taylor was killed, one of Wrights friends was also killed, and his girlfriend turned against him.

I was seeing how it was affecting more people, how many more people were getting killed, and like, the retaliation process, she testified.

She said she felt conflicted because of her feelings for Wright but wanted the violence to stop, so she agreed to cooperate with authorities.

I loved him, but I knew or felt that, you know, a lot more people would be hurt in the long run, she testified.

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Wright was convicted in 2014. But in early 2015, a judge overturned Wrights conviction because prosecutors had failed to turn over to his defense information that would have challenged the credibility of his girlfriend, said Stacie Halpern, one of Wrights attorneys.

Wrights next court appearance was scheduled for Feb. 24. He was expected to be sentenced for a separate attempted murder conviction with gang enhancements and faced at least 32 years to life in prison, said another defense attorney, James Sussman. He was also scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing related to his retrial on the murder charge.

I found out late Sunday and I was really surprised that the county jail would make such an error, Halpern said. I havent had something like this happen in my 16 years of practice. It was nothing my client did. My client had a good shot at his murder trial and a good defense.

The Inmate Reception Center, in the downtown jail complex where Wright was held on the contempt charge, processes more than 100,000 releases annually and only a fraction of those are errors, Swensson said. In 2013, deputies accidentally released 24 inmates early, he said. In 2014 the number fell to 21, and last year that was cut to six, he added.

In 2013, deputies accidentally released Johnny Mata, who was being held on suspicion of murder for a killing in Baldwin Park. Police found him about a year later in Mexico.

That was really the last one that was significant, Swensson said.

Still, Swensson concedes that the system for processing about 1,000 inmates a day from 42 courtrooms badly needs modernizing.

Though inmate records are eventually entered into a database, theres no electronic path for communications from the court, he said.

We believe there should be an automated system between the court and the jail that would prevent human errors, he said.

Its all done by hand, he said.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

cindy.chang@latimes.com

doug.smith@latimes.com

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.

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San Bernardino police have been widely commended for their quick and effective response to the Dec. 2 terrorist attack. Within four hours of the mass shooting that left 14 people dead, the suspects had been tracked and were later killed in a gun battle.

But when San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan reflects on what happened in those frantic hours, he knows not everything went smoothly.

Weve had a lot of people who have come to us and theyve said this appeared to be a perfect response or a textbook response, and I think a lot of that is a byproduct of how it ended, Burguan said last week. But we know that internally we still had some pretty chaotic things going on.

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Officers who responded to the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, have asked Burguan to consider several changes to help police respond in similar situations, the chief said.

They include improving medical training and supplies, buying more rifles and equipping officers with body armor that protects against rifle fire.

Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were armed with semiautomatic rifles when they entered a gathering of county health employees at the Inland Regional Center and opened fire.

Last week, the Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C., research group, began a U.S. Justice Department-funded review of the response to the shooting. The group reviewed police actions during the 2013 manhunt for Christopher Dorner, praising police but also highlighting significant shortfalls.

Robert Chapman, deputy director of the Justice Departments Community Oriented Policing Services, said the review is meant to help train law enforcement in the event of future attacks.

A lot of people ... have ... said this appeared to be a perfect response.... But we know that internally we still had some pretty chaotic things going on.  Jarrod Burguan, San Bernardino police chief

We really are going to objectively review the entirety of the law enforcement response [to] ultimately develop lessons learned that law enforcement nationwide can use to help prepare, he said.

Officers around the nation respond to active shooter incidents in ways that are strongly influenced by the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. The goals, experts say, are to stop the killing and then stop the dying. Time is essential.

If youve been here since Columbine, youve probably been through that training 10 times, Burguan said.

The lessons kicked in Dec. 2. The first officers arrived about four minutes after the attack was reported. Unaware that the shooters had fled, they quickly formed into a team of four and entered the building to track the suspects down. Another four-man team soon followed.

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Most officers who first entered Inland Regional Center were equipped with handguns, Burguan said. They wore soft body armor, which is not designed to stop rifle fire.

Other officers at the scene  about 300 emergency responders arrived that day  searched the building for explosive devices, escorted people out of the center and began interviewing witnesses.

Burguan calmly coordinated with various agencies and began informing the public as best he could.

As police worked, the suspects were driving around San Bernardino in a rented black SUV with Utah plates, at one point even showing up about one mile from the chaotic scene, federal officials have since learned.

The bulk of the response was focused on the scene, not on the possibility that the suspects might be driving around nearby.

Almost everybody was working the event itself, there were not many units out just looking for cars, Burguan wrote in an email.

Police found the suspects about four hours after the shooting, when they drove past their Redlands home.

Meanwhile, officers, who know basic CPR and first aid but do not have specialized medical training, carried injured victims out of the building and put them in trucks to get them to emergency medical providers at a triage site.

Pete Blair, of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University, said asking officers trained only in first aid and CPR to move victims could mean delaying their access to lifesaving medical care.

Some departments have begun giving officers basic medical training based on lessons learned by the military in combat zones, Blair said.

Others are also training officers to stand guard so emergency medical workers can go directly to victims, he said.

A report commissioned in the aftermath of the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., recommended that departments improve officers medical training and provide them with better medical equipment.

Todd McGhee of Protecting the Homeland Innovations, which trains law enforcement, said some departments are also reconsidering four-man teams, like those that joined together to enter the Inland Regional Center, in favor of allowing one or two officers to enter.

San Bernardino police showed a tremendous response, arriving within four minutes and quickly gathering together, he said.

But every second is crucial for victims, he said, adding, How does an individual survive in those life-threatening moments?

Burguan said giving officers some basic medical equipment, such as blankets to carry injured victims, could be an easy fix.

Nothing there stopped officers from doing what was needed, he said. They did the best they could, they improvised with everything, but  thats a relatively low-cost item potentially.

Hes also thinking about increasing medical training for some or all his officers and weighing requests for more rifles and improved body armor. The department of about 230 officers has 30 rifles, he said. Some officers purchase their own.

As Burguan considers the changes, hes also trying to determine how the cash-strapped city might pay for them. Local business leaders have expressed interest in funding the efforts, he said.

He also knows that giving officers more rifles and armor plates could raise questions about the militarization of police.

Stanford Law School professor David Sklansky, who has studied policing, called for balance when it comes to beefing up equipment.

There are legitimate uses in policing for military-style equipment, he said. At the same time, that type of equipment can be overused.

Burguan said hes trying to find that balance as the department adapts in the aftermath of a terror attack few ever imagined would happen in his city.

Were still policing a community, he said.

paloma.esquivel@latimes.com

Twitter: @palomaesquivel

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Sexually transmitted diseases are becoming increasingly common throughout the country, and thousands of people in Los Angeles County have been infected. Many of them dont know it.

Regular testing for STDs can help prevent their spread and stop them from causing irreparable harm. It can be difficult to navigate your way through testing in Los Angeles. Heres everything you need to know:

How do I know if I have an STD?

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Youre at risk of having an STD even if youve only ever had sex with one person. And you can get them from any kind of sex  vaginal, oral or anal.

You can read about the symptoms of different STDs, including herpes and HIV, on the TeenSource website. Some of the most common ones  chlamydia and gonorrhea  often dont have symptoms, but can still be extremely harmful. Untreated, both can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and even infertility in women.

The only way to really know is to get tested. If you think you might have an STD, you can call a county hotline at (800) 758-0880 to figure out what to do next.

When should I get tested?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following:

Sexually active women should be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea once a year at least until theyre 25. Older women should continue getting tested annually if they have risk factors, such as new or multiple sexual partners.

Women should visit a gynecologist to get Pap tests, which check for HPV -- an STD that can cause cancer -- every three years between the ages of 21 and 65.

All men who have sex with men should be tested for syphilis, and probably also chlamydia and gonorrhea, at least once a year.

All pregnant women should be screened for syphilis, HIV, chlamydia and hepatitis B.

Everyone should talk to their doctor about whether they need an HIV screening test.

The CDC generally doesnt recommend testing for other STDs unless you have symptoms, ask for a test, or live in an area with high rates of STDs.

Sexually active people should get tested at least once a year just to be safe, said Michelle Cantu, director of community-based STD prevention initiatives at the California Family Health Council. Los Angeles County has some of the highest rates of chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea in California.

A healthcare provider can tell you if you should be getting tested more often.

If youre thinking about sleeping with someone new, and youve both been sexually active with other people, its a good idea to get tested before you start having sex.

Which diseases should I get tested for?

If you go into a clinic and ask for STD tests as a sexually active person younger than 25, you will most likely be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea, because those are the most common.

The healthcare provider will ask about your sexual history, and its important to be honest. This is how they will determine whether to test for other STDs, like syphilis or herpes. HIV testing is also recommended routinely  the provider will talk to you about how often you should get tested.

You can also ask for specific tests. Most STD tests are covered by Family Pact, Medi-Cal and private insurance providers. You can check with the healthcare or your insurance provider to see if you need to pay additional costs.

Where can I get tested?

There are clinics all over L.A. County. TeenSource has a comprehensive list of clinics that offer STD testing and treatment in California, and you can search by ZIP Code. Planned Parenthood Clinics also offer testing, for both men and women.

L.A. County offers free STD testing and treatment at a number of clinics and at mens wellness centers, which serve gay, straight and transgender men.

There are also wellness centers at Los Angeles Unified School District schools that offer STD testing, treatment and family planning. They treat the students of those schools as well as community members.

Can I do it online?

Yes, for some STDs. L.A. County offers free chlamydia and gonorrhea home test kits for women under 25. To order a kit, call (800) 758-0880.

Planned Parenthood also offers an at-home chlamydia and gonorrhea kit for $120, which you can order by downloading their app.

For more extensive home testing, MyLab Box is one option.

Can I get free STD testing and treatment?

Yes.

All STD clinics run by L.A. Countys Public Health Department provide free services.

California also has the Family Pact program, available through many of the clinics already listed, that offers free STD prevention, testing and treatment services for uninsured people.

To qualify for Family Pact, you need to be uninsured and have a family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. For minors, that doesnt include your parents income, so if you are a teenager or a student under 18 without a full-time job, chances are you qualify, said Michelle Horejs, associate director of youth education and community engagement at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.

If you are on a parents or spouses insurance and do not want them to know that youre receiving STD testing or treatment, you can ask for confidential services through Family Pact as long as you meet the income eligibility, said Christina Moreno, chief of the California Department of Health Care Services Office of Family Planning. However, your familys income might be taken into account if youre over 18.

You may also qualify for Medi-Cal, which covers most STD testing and treatment, but it might be easier to sign up for Family Pact because you can do so at the clinic.

Its a good idea to call the clinic youre planning to visit beforehand and find out if youre eligible for Family Pact, or to learn the costs of the services you need, Horejs said.

What happens if I get an STD?

It depends on the disease. A number of STDs can be treated with antibiotics, but you can contract them again. Some STDs, like herpes and HIV, have no cure, but doctors can help you manage the symptoms.

Some STD treatments will probably be covered by free clinics or insurance, but its a good idea to check.

How do I prevent STDs?

The most effective way to prevent an STD is to not have sex.

You can lower your risk of STDs by limiting your number of sexual partners and having sex with only one person, who is also having sex with only you.

Aside from that, its important to use always use dental dams or condoms, and to be careful with them  that means learning to put them on right, and not ripping them open with nails or teeth.

Health officials recommend that preteens whove never had sex before get the vaccine that protects against HPV, an STD that can cause cancer. The shot can be administered effectively to women through age 26 and men through age 21, according to the CDC.

Where can I get condoms?

L.A. County residents can visit lacondom.com and request 10 free condoms via mail.

There are also hundreds of barber shops, bars, clinics and other businesses that stock free condoms, which they receive from the county. Since the program began in 2013, more than 5.6 million condoms have been distributed, said Harlan Rotblatt, who coordinates STD prevention projects for the county. They come in two sizes  normal and extra large.

The price and access should not be barriers to getting a condom  no pun intended, he said.

The county also provides condoms to all LAUSD high schools and some of the school wellness centers have condoms.

Does birth control protect against STDs?

Condoms can protect against STDs, but hormonal forms of birth control like the pill, IUDs, patches and shots do not.

Will anyone find out about my STD testing and treatment?

Minors over age 12 in California have the right to confidential treatment, so parents wont be notified if you sign up for Family Pact or go to a free clinic, Cantu said. Health professionals encourage young people to discuss STDs with trusted adults.

Many clinics are open during business or school hours. Schools are required to excuse students older than 12 for confidential minor consent health services, which includes STD testing and treatment, without asking your parents for permission or notifying them.

If youre using your family members or spouses insurance, you can submit a Confidential Communication Request to your healthcare provider, and they will send the details of your STD treatment and care directly to an address you provide.

There are exceptions. If there is evidence that you are being harmed, that you are harming yourself, or that you are a minor and are having sex with someone who is old enough so that it qualifies as statutory rape, the healthcare provider is obligated to inform the appropriate authorities.

Reach Sonali Kohli on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli or email her at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com. Reach Soumya Karlamangla on Twitter @skarlamangla or email her at soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com
Like a magical horse-drawn carriage that transforms into a pumpkin at midnight, someones winning $63-million lottery ticket is about to turn into a worthless scrap of paper, according to California Lottery officials.

A winning SuperLotto Plus ticket purchased at a Chatsworth convenience store in August has yet to be redeemed at a California Lottery office, even though a deadline is fast approaching.

If the lucky winner fails to show up at a lottery office by 5 p.m. Thursday, he or she will forfeit the jackpot, officials say.

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At this point, the odds are slim of anybody coming forward, lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said.

On Wednesday morning however, a Los Angeles County man filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that he already submitted the winning ticket to lottery officials, but that they are improperly witholding payment.

In court papers, plaintiff Brandy Milliner said that lottery officials may have destroyed the ticket after he gave it to them. He now wants a judge to declare him the winner of the jackpot.

Lottery officials have insisted that nobody has claimed the jackpot, not even someone with a fake ticket.

The excitement is building, Traverso said Wednesday.

The California Lottery put out a public call in November, warning the ticket holder that he or she had 180 days to claim the $63-million jackpot. Now, the clock is really winding down. Lottery officials hoped to jog someones memory, forcing the winner to look inside couch cushions or a car glove box for the ticket, Traverso said.

Officials say the ticket was sold Aug. 8 at a 7-Eleven store at 20871 Lassen St. The winning numbers are 1-16-30-33-46, with a Mega number of 24.

If a winner does not come forward, the multimillion-dollar cash prize would be the largest unclaimed SuperLotto Plus ticket in California. The current largest unclaimed prize is $28.5 million for a ticket sold in San Lorenzo in 2003.

If the winner should somehow realize after 5 p.m. Thursday that he or she had the winning ticket, Traverso said, it would be too late.

My hope will be for them ... that they never find it, Traverso said.

But not all is lost.

The cash sum of the unclaimed winnings will go toward funding schools in the next quarter, he said.

However, if the winner is someone who just likes to cut things a little close and walks into a lottery office by the close of business Thursday, that person will have the option of receiving a lump-sum, one-time payment of $39.9 million, or $63 million in payments over 30 years.

The retail store owner who sold the ticket will still receive $315,000, even if no one shows up to claim the $63 million.

Lottery officials say they also have yet to hear from the person who walked into a Chino Hills 7-Eleven last month and purchased a winning ticket in a massive $1.6-billion Powerball drawing.

In that case, however, the winner still has a year to claim a $528-million share of the jackpot before the ticket turns to trash.

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA.

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With officials still struggling to find money to create an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast, a private foundation, Intel Corp. and an arm of Amazon.com Inc. said they will pitch in money or other support, officials said at a White House summit Tuesday.

But theres still not enough funding to build out the $38-million system that could provide seconds or minutes of warning before the worst shaking from an earthquake arrives. Despite an infusion of $8 million from Congress and President Obama in the current budget, there is still a long way to go before full funding can be provided to get the system operational in as little as two years.

While this federal investment is hugely important, we also need to look at state and private sources of funding to build out the system of sensors, said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). The cost of the system pales in comparison to the fact that we can save lives with the system.

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In an interview, Schiff pointedly needled the state of California for declining to back the system with money. Across the West Coast, the system has about 650 stations contributing to the early warning system, but there needs to be hundreds more.

We can save lives with the system.  Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)

We really need the state of California to embrace this financially, Schiff said. This is not something that the federal government is in a position to build out or operate on its own, he said.

H.D. Palmer, deputy director for Gov. Jerry Browns Department of Finance, said Tuesday that the states policy is to not use money from the general fund for the early warning system. The Governors Office of Emergency Services is continuing to search for other sources of funding.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which has been working on an initial prototype for years, this week unveiled a more robust, operational version that is far faster and more reliable.

The more stable system will allow the USGS and other entities to test other ways the data can be used. One idea already in place is the automatic slowing of San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit trains before seismic shaking arrives.

Even just one packed 10-car train, with about 150 people per car, derailing at high speed from shaking would be a disaster  during rush hour, as many as 40 BART trains out of 64 on the system are traveling as fast as 70 mph, a BART official said.

The USGS can now explore approving ideas such as automatically opening fire station garage doors before they get jammed from the shaking, and triggering a backup generator and notifying emergency personnel at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

More advanced solutions are already in place in Japan, which for years has had a robust warning system that sends alerts through TVs, computers and cellphones. When the magnitude-9 earthquake hit east of Japan in 2011, many people in Tokyo, 200 miles away from the epicenter, had 30 seconds of warning that the shaking was coming.

In Japan, one factory has figured out a way to secure noxious chemicals between the time of a quake warning and the actual shaking.

Although there are enough sensors to provide good warning for Los Angeles and San Francisco, there are gaps in the network in sparsely populated areas of California, as well as in Oregon and Washington. The station density is not sufficient to support timely alerts, said Doug Given, USGS earthquake early warning coordinator.

For instance, a limited number of stations in Cape Mendocino could provide less warning if an earthquake on the massive San Andreas fault began barreling south toward the Bay Area, Given said.

On Tuesday, backers of the system welcomed announcements of private foundation grant money and statements of support from tech companies at the summit hosted by the White Houses Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Palo Alto-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation said it would contribute $3.6 million in new money to UC Berkeley, Caltech and the University of Washington. The foundation has now donated about $10 million to the effort since 2011.

The researchers will explore using sensors common in smartphones to detect earthquakes for the warning system, develop a computerized decision-making process to issue fast, reliable alerts, and study how to install sensors on the Pacific Ocean floor to provide faster warnings for earthquakes from the Cascadia subduction zone.

The subduction zone, west of Californias North Coast, Oregon and Washington state, is capable of producing a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that could wash away coastal towns, destroy U.S. Highway 101, and obliterate 100 bridges and kill as many as 10,000 people.

Amazon Catalyst, an arm of Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., said it is funding the University of Washington to create MegaShake, a new system that will combine GPS and seismic data to accurately identify incoming earthquakes above magnitude 7. The amount of the grant was not disclosed. A nonprofit in Washington, the Puget Sound Energy Foundation, announced a $100,000 grant to buy eight seismic sensors.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif. and the largest private-sector employer in Oregon, said it will lead an effort to encourage businesses to play a role in building and maintaining the early warning system, known as ShakeAlert. Early notice could allow workers to drop, cover and hold, halt elevators, and stop sensitive manufacturing processes before shaking arrives, potentially saving millions of dollars in downtime.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said it is important that the warning system eventually expands beyond California, Oregon and Washington to other states across the country. States such as Alaska and Nevada are logical next steps, she said, but other states would also benefit.

The earthquake hazard is real in other areas of the country. Magnitude 7 earthquakes shook up Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas in 1811 and 1812. About 60 people died in South Carolina in 1886 when a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit Charleston. And an earthquake in the Boston area in 1755 brought down chimneys and roofs, and was felt as far away as Maryland and Nova Scotia.

And in 2011, a 5.8 earthquake that struck Virginia and damaged the Washington Monument caught people by surprise because they didnt expect an earthquake in the region.

It could happen anywhere, Jewell said. People were shocked. And it certainly was scary for the people in the Washington Monument, where the elevator failed and mortar tumbled on to the ground below; the repair took three years to complete.

Unlike the federal government, state governments in California, Oregon and Washington have not allocated money for the system as part of their regular budgets.

Japan is ahead of us, China is ahead of us, Turkey is ahead of us, Mexico is ahead of us. There is no reason we cant do this, Jewell said.

Schiff welcomed the White Houses interest in the early warning system, saying: It shows a whole new level of engagement by the White House in this initiative.

John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said its good that the warning system has half of its $16 million annual operating cost from the federal budget, but more funding is needed to make the system reliable for public use.

We have it operating now, basically, but we can see that its slow and its inaccurate, and it sometimes gives out false alarms. Its really a matter of getting the right equipment in place and testing it all before we can let it loose on the public, Vidale said.

Also Tuesday, President Obama issued an executive order calling for new federal buildings to be constructed to the most current earthquake-resistant design. Officials were also instructed to ensure that new leases of federal buildings were built to the latest seismic codes.

Stronger seismic standards for federal buildings will help protect public safety, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has called for improving seismic safety of federal buildings, said in a statement. Its encouraging that the administration will ensure that federal facilities are taking simple, common sense steps to improve preparedness.

rosanna.xia@latimes.com | ron.lin@latimes.com

Follow us for the latest news in earthquake safety, El Nino, and the drought: @RosannaXia and @ronlin
Erwin Mena called himself Padre and celebrated Masses, confessions and baptisms, police say, but he was not your typical man of the cloth.

He was a con man posing as a priest, swindling churchgoers out of several thousands of dollars, police allege in court documents.

Officers arrested Mena, 59, Tuesday in Elysian Park on suspicion of grand theft. LAPD Det. Gary Guevara alleged in court documents that Mena sold parishioners bogus trips to see Pope Francis last year in Philadelphia and New York. He has been charged with 22 felonies and 8 misdemeanors, according to a criminal complaint filed by the L.A. County district attorneys office.

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When asked to comment on the charges while being escorted from LAPD headquarters, Mena said, Not at this time. It was unclear whether Mena was being represented by an attorney.

Mena, who also used the surname Menacastro, posed as a priest at St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in Highland Park. for about five months beginning in January 2015, according to Guevaras affidavit filed in L.A. County Superior Court. Mena traveled from parish to parish, selling CDs that he recorded and peddling a book he claimed to have written titled: Confessions of a Renegade Catholic Priest, the affidavit states.

In early June, the pastor of St. Ignatius reported Mena to police. Days later, detectives met with the top lawyer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and an investigator who works for the church, according court papers.

Church officials told detectives that Mena had misrepresented himself as a priest in the archdiocese since the mid 1990s, according to court documents. Whenever the archdiocese caught wind of his activities  leading prayer groups or working in parishes  he would disappear, the affidavit said.

He also turned up at Catholic parishes or prayer groups in San Bernardino, Stockton, Fresno and Orange County, authorities said.

Archdioceses across the nation have procedures in place to prevent impostors from claiming to be priests. In Los Angeles, the archdiocese keeps a list of unauthorized priests and deacons, which numbered more than 95 people as of Sept. 1. Menas name has been on the list since it was first created in 2008.

When a priest arrives in a new diocese, he needs to present his credentials, said Sr. Terry Davis, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Stockton.

This request is accompanied by a letter from his bishop and identification that he is who he says he is. That has to check out before he operates, Davis said.

But Guevara, the LAPD detective, said Mena found a parish that needed a substitute. The pastor of St. Ignatius allowed Mena to celebrate at the church without referencing the archdioceses list, said Doris Benavides, a spokeswoman for the L.A. archdiocese.

Those who met him say he showed charm and good humor.

He smiled, talked about how good things were. There was never anything negative, said Joaquin Oviedo, a retired high school teacher. He was not a fire and brimstone kind of preacher.

After Mass, however, he would hawk a video for $25, a price some found to be high, said one parishioner who asked not to be identified.

An organization lent about $16,000 to Mena for recording and producing CDs about Pope Francis, Guevara said. Investigators concluded that Mena had pirated the video, which was originally produced in Madrid.

But his biggest scam, police allege, was the trip to see the Holy Father. Guevara said Mena solicited between $500 and $1,000 from people to go see the pope back east. The money was supposed to cover airfare and lodging in convents, he said, adding that more than two dozen people signed up.

When Michelle Rodriguez first found out about the trip, she said she jumped at the opportunity and handed over more than $900 in cash. The 60-year-old legal secretary said she learned about the trip from a close friend who often hosted Mena for dinner.

We were thinking, Oh, well have this great time in New York. Well see the pope and it will be a great experience,' said Rodriguez.

But their interactions grew increasingly suspicious, she said.

Rodriguez and others would press him for details on the trip, like flight departure times. He typically urged Rodriguez to be patient.

She joined scores of others for a special meeting with LAPD investigators this fall at St. Ignatius church. Her name was among those listed as victims in the criminal complaint.

He used us, he stole from us, and thats it, she said.

When parish staff tried to obtain Menas credentials, he also stalled, police said.

The archdiocese has reimbursed some victims. Any witnesses in the criminal case against Mena could possibly be reimbursed after the case concludes, Benavides said in an email.

A marriage performed by Mena has been re-celebrated, and those who received sacraments from Mena are able to receive them again, she added.

At St. Ignatius, Menas brief tenure has left some parishioners feeling betrayed.

We had always been raised not to question authority figures. Hes a priest  what he said is holy writ, Oviedo said. We never imagined he was a phony.

For breaking news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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A San Francisco homeless man is being credited with helping catch the two Orange County jail escapees who were arrested Saturday in the Haight Ashbury District.

Matthew Hay-Chapman noticed a van parked in a lot near a Whole Foods Market matching the description of the one they had allegedly stolen, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle interviewed Hay-Chapman. He said he had just been reading about the case in the newspaper -- and noted that the escapees were supposed to be in a white van. He said he also recognized one of the men.

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Authorities said police were attending to an unrelated medical emergency when a man flagged down officers. The man told them he suspected that a white van parked near the market at Haight and Stanyan streets was the one wanted in the Orange County jail escape, said San Francisco police Officer Grace Gatpandan.

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Officers began looking in the immediate area for the man -- later identified as Hossein Nayeri -- and found him near Waller and Stanyan streets, Gatpandan said. Police chased and arrested him after a short pursuit.

When the officers went back to the van, they found the second suspect, Jonathan Tieu, hiding inside.

Hay-Chapman told the Chronicle he feel he deserves some of the reward offered in the case.

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A federal jury found two Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies guilty Tuesday of falsifying records about the beating of a jail inmate but deadlocked on whether the deputies used excessive force.

The deputies were acquitted of conspiring to violate the inmates civil rights.

The verdict was a mixed bag for federal authorities after a string of victories in cases that have focused on allegations of misconduct and abuse inside the nations largest jail system.

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Joey Aguiar and Mariano Ramirez were charged in U.S. District Court with violating the civil rights of inmate Bret Phillips by beating him and then lying about the February 2009 incident to cover it up.

Prosecutors argued during the eight-day trial that Phillips had done nothing to justify the assault. They tried to portray the deputies as angry and bent on punishing Phillips for acting out and said that Phillips posed no serious threat since his hands were shackled to a chain around his waist throughout the beating.

Defense lawyers presented a sharply different story, saying the deputies used necessary force to subdue Phillips after the inmate attempted to attack Aguiar.

The deputies acknowledged in internal department reports they wrote at the time that they repeatedly punched Phillips, struck him with a flashlight and pepper-sprayed him in the face. They said Phillips, now 44, had attempted to head-butt Aguiar and continued to struggle after being pinned on the ground.

After nearly two days of deliberations, however, jurors announced to Judge Beverly Reid OConnell that they could not reach a decision on the question of whether the deputies had gone too far in their use of force.

In a brief interview after the verdicts, the jury forewoman said that 10 jurors were in favor of convicting the deputies on the excessive-force charge, but could not persuade the two remaining holdouts.

Discrepancies between medical records that showed Phillips suffered minor injuries and dramatic accounts of a brutal beating from the prosecutions witnesses were a stumbling block, said the forewoman, Janet Giampaoli.

For the two, I think it was that the injuries that we were shown didnt match up to what the prosecution said happened, Giampaoli said.

Nonetheless, Giampaoli said the jurors quickly concluded the reports Aguiar and Ramirez submitted about the violent encounter did not accurately reflect what occurred.

The fact that the two reports mirrored each other verbatim in several parts was a red flag, Giampaoli said.

She added that jurors were also quick to decide that prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the deputies conspired to violate Phillips constitutional rights.

The deputies could face up to 20 years in prison on the false-report convictions, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office.

No decision has been made on whether to retry the men on the excessive-force charge, Mrozek said.

The trial centered on a morning nearly seven years ago when Phillips was being held in a special unit of Mens Central Jail used to separate violent and other high-risk inmates from the facilitys general population.

Phillips, who testified that he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was in custody after being arrested on a charge of domestic violence. He was housed in the high-security unit because he had been an informant while serving a previous prison sentence and was at risk of retaliation.

Two prosecution witnesses  a Catholic minister and a former gang member serving time for manslaughter  testified that they watched the deputies ruthlessly punch and kick Phillips as he lay motionless on the floor. Phillips testified he was attacked after angering the deputies by throwing milk cartons from his cell in frustration.

But Aguiars attorney, Evan Jenness, and Ramirezs attorney, Vicki Podberesky, sought to expose inconsistencies between the various accounts of the incident and to cast doubt on the witnesses credibility.

The chaplain, for example, made repeated claims of seeing blood on the floor beneath Phillips head. In one statement to authorities shortly after the incident, he described a pool of blood about 2 feet wide.

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Podberesky and Jenness zeroed in on medical records, a nurses testimony and a video taken by jail staff shortly after the beating, which indicated Phillips had not suffered serious injuries and had not bled significantly from a small cut on his forehead.

A deputy working alongside the men that day testified he saw Phillips try to head-butt Aguiar. The units supervisor took the stand to say he arrived on the scene to find Phillips on the floor trying to break free from the deputies.

Aguiar was relieved of duty in 2012 for an unrelated incident, according to sheriffs officials. Ramirez joined him in February 2014, when the indictment against the men was announced. Neither man was paid as they awaited trial, the department said. It was not immediately clear whether they would be reinstated following their acquittals.

The case was one of several that critics of the Sheriffs Department said exemplified the failure of top officials to adequately address allegations of abuse and hold deputies accountable.

Aguiar, who was 21 at the time of the incident, and Ramirez, who was 33, were cleared by department officials of using excessive force on Phillips. The Sheriffs internal watchdog agreed with the departments findings.

The Los Angeles County district attorney declined to pursue criminal charges in the case after an investigation by a special Sheriffs Department task force was submitted past the legal deadline.

The U.S. attorneys case against Aguiar and Ramirez was more tenuous than the one prosecutors built against another group of Los Angeles County deputies accused of beating an inmate. In that trial last year, two accused deputies struck deals with prosecutors and testified against three of their former partners, who were convicted. Other deputies are awaiting trial in a third case alleging jail brutality.

In all, federal officials have won convictions against more than a dozen former sheriffs officials in cases stemming from the FBIs investigation into claims of misconduct and abuse in the countys jails.

The investigation also upended the career of longtime Sheriff Lee Baca, who stepped down in 2014, and led to obstruction-of-justice charges against his former top aide, who is awaiting trial.

The new sheriff, Jim McDonnell, spent his first year in office working to reorganize the agency and to enact reforms meant to increase accountability.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

Find me on Twitter: @joelrubin

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The Southern California Gas Co. was charged Tuesday with failing to immediately notify state authorities of a natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon.

The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office filed four misdemeanors against the gas company for allegedly releasing air contaminants and neglecting to report the release of hazardous materials until three days after the leak began Oct. 23.

We will do everything we can as prosecutors to help ensure that the Aliso Canyon facility is brought into compliance. I believe we can best serve our community using the sanctions available through a criminal conviction to prevent similar public health threats in the future, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

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The charges could result in a maximum fine of $25,000 a day for each day the leak went unreported and $1,000 a day for each day the well has polluted. An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 17 in Santa Clarita.

We have just been notified of this filing and we are still reviewing it. We have been working with regulatory agencies to mitigate the odors associated with the natural gas leak and to abate the gas leak as quickly as safety allows. We will defend ourselves vigorously through the judicial process, said Kristine Lloyd, a spokeswoman for the utility.

The leaking well has released about 80,000 metric tons of methane, a number that continues to grow. Noxious fumes from odorants in the leak have driven residents out of more than 5,000 homes in Porter Ranch and the surrounding communities, the utility has said. Residents in that area have complained of headaches, nosebleeds and nausea, which are short-term symptoms associated with the smell in the methane.

The criminal charges came hours after state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris joined those suing Southern California Gas Co. Harris said the litigation was necessary to hold the utility accountable.

The attorney generals action amends a civil suit filed in early December by Los Angeles city and county officials in Superior Court. The revised joint complaint accuses the gas company of violating health and safety codes, public nuisance laws and hazardous materials reporting requirements, as well as engaging in unfair business practices. The suit seeks civil penalties, restitution and injunctions to enforce regulations.

Harris joining in the litigation brings to 11 the number of local, state and federal agencies now either investigating or suing the gas company. Her office is the only one that can press some claims, such as alleging statewide harm through greenhouse gas emissions.

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Quite frankly, its not litigation overkill at all, said L.A. City Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents communities affected by the leak. The damage the gas has caused to residents, the environment, the economy, is unprecedented.

Though the amount of gas escaping from the companys Aliso Canyon underground storage field has fallen since peaking in late November, the utility does not expect to be able to attempt to stop the leak until late this month.

The lawsuit includes yet-unnamed corporate officers of the gas company who were in a position of responsibility to either prevent, or immediately correct, the leak. Southern California Gas Co. is owned by San Diego-based Sempra Energy.

In a news release, the attorney generals office said it was best suited to coordinate multiple agency claims while seeking to force the gas company to address the environmental effects of such a large release of methane. The gas has a short life span in the atmosphere but has a powerful greenhouse effect in trapping the Earths heat radiation.

Against the backdrop of Californias ongoing efforts to reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions generally, this leak is a monumental environmental disaster, the lawsuit contends.

Harris is representing both her office and the California Air Resources Board.

The attorney general is already serving a crucial coordinating role with state, federal and local agencies, her office said. That effort includes mapping out what potential enforcement actions those agencies can take against the gas company.

The behind-the-scenes coordination and lack of public involvement in the leak investigation have been criticized by some consumer advocates.

This is a coup of government agencies working in secrecy, to figure out how they dont step on each others toes, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a California nonprofit organization frequently involved in insurance and utility regulation.

The public needs to be part of this process, Court said. There are too many political alliances and allegiances here.

Also on Tuesday, Reps. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) and Brad Sherman (D-Porter Ranch) filed separate pieces of federal legislation requiring the Department of Transportation to set safety standards for natural gas storage facilities.

The agencys Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulates transportation of natural gas; it has the authority to regulate gas storage as well, but has mostly left that to state officials.

Knight said he expected his legislation to be heard by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure later this month. President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden assured Sherman last week that they would push the agency to issue the regulations without congressional action. Sherman said Tuesday that he filed the bill as a backup to their promise.

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

Times staff writers Sarah D. Wire in Washington and Alice Walton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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A day after the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled an officer violated LAPD policy in fatally shooting an unarmed man in Burbank, his family and their attorney called on prosecutors to file manslaughter charges against the cop.

Flanked by Sergio Navas parents and the mother of his children, the lawyer said Officer Brian Van Gorden showed enormous negligence when he shot and killed Navas at the end of a car chase last year and should be charged accordingly.

Not every day do you see the Police Commission admit that a police officer has gone astray, that a police officer has acted incorrectly, attorney Luis Carrillo told reporters. And for that we are happy. The next step is he should not be a police officer.

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The March 5 shooting of Navas quickly raised concerns within the LAPD, but was publicly overshadowed by another LAPD shooting that drew international attention: the killing of Charly Africa Keunang on skid row. Keunang, 43, was shot by officers four days before Navas was killed.

Officers tried to stop Navas after they spotted him speeding in a gold Mercury Sable in Toluca Lake, but the 35-year-old took off toward Burbank, according to a report LAPD Chief Charlie Beck submitted to the Police Commission.

Navas came to an abrupt halt on National Avenue, a dead-end street. The officer who was driving the police SUV told investigators he was driving too fast to stop behind the Sable and had to veer alongside the car to avoid hitting it, the report said.

The officer sitting in the passenger seat said Navas then got out of the car, slammed the door and turned to face him, according to the report. At that point, the officer said, he couldnt see Navas hands and thought he was trying to trap me in the car and ambush me.

I was like, this guy is going to try to shoot me, the officer told investigators. I didnt want to wait around to find out.

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Navas was shot twice, according to his autopsy, then ran to a nearby alley where he died.

The Police Commission agreed with Becks conclusion that an officer with similar training and experience would not have considered Navas a threat. The board faulted both officers for their tactics leading up to the shooting.

On Tuesday, Van Gordens attorney said the officer thought he was in danger when Navas got out of the vehicle.

The officer was face-to-face with the suspect and believed he was going to shoot him, attorney Gary Fullerton said. If you wait, theres a good chance youre a dead man.

Christel Emmet, the mother of Navas three children, said she wasnt expecting the commission to declare the shooting out of policy. When Carrillo called her with the news, she said, she was overjoyed.

I just want to see what the next move is, she said. I want to see what the D.A. is going to do.

Carrillo, who is representing Navas parents and children in a federal wrongful death lawsuit they filed against the city, also urged LAPD Chief Beck to recommend charges for Van Gorden. Last month, the police chief publicly called for criminal charges against an officer who fatally shot an unarmed homeless man near the Venice boardwalk.

I would hope that Chief Beck does the same thing he did in connection with the Venice shooting, Carrillo said.

Beck declined to say Tuesday whether he thinks Van Gorden should be charged, saying the investigation was much less clear than the Venice shooting.

This is something that the district attorney is going to have to look at, he said.

Laceys office will ultimately decide whether to charge either officer. On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the district attorneys office said prosecutors received the LAPD investigation into Navas death on Friday and were still reviewing the material.

Navas mother, Rosa, grew emotional as she talked about the deadly encounter. Its not fair, she said in Spanish, that the officer killed her son.

All I beg for is justice, because nothing will bring my son back, she said.

As she spoke, Navas father nodded silently at the end of the table. His eyes brimmed with tears.

Times staff writer Veronica Rocha contributed to this report.

Follow @katemather for more LAPD news.

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Though theres only one confirmed case of Zika virus in Los Angeles County, several more people who might be infected are being tested for the illness, public health officials said Wednesday.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health has received numerous reports from physicians of possible Zika cases, and officials have sent a number of patient specimens to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing, said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the countys interim health officer. He said that fewer than 20 samples had been sent to the CDC.

So far, there have been no cases of Zika virus  a mosquito-borne illness that is linked to serious brain defects in newborns  that were acquired through mosquitoes in the United States.

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The single confirmed L.A. County case was in a young girl who traveled to El Salvador in November. California officials said earlier this week that there have been six cases of Zika infections in the last three years, all in people who visited countries with outbreaks.

Zika is transmitted when a mosquito bites someone who has been recently infected, and then bites another person. The infection doesnt have symptoms in as many as 80% of people.

But public health officials became worried about the virus when cases of microcephaly, a condition in which a babys head is unusually small, skyrocketed in Brazil after a Zika outbreak began there last year. The virus has been rapidly spreading, and cases have since been reported in more than 20 countries in the Americas.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika virus an international public health emergency.

There have been some cases that appear to have been transmitted through sex. Guzenhauser said the health departments focus remains on mosquitoes as the main way people are becoming infected.

But, he added, if someone traveled to a country with an outbreak and thinks they could have been infected, they should use a condom to prevent possible transmission.

The most important thing people can do in L.A. County, however, is to stay away from mosquitoes.

The mosquitoes that transmit the virus are not native to California, but have been found here in the last few years. Theyve been detected in 12 of the states 58 counties, officials say.

The Asian tiger and the yellow fever mosquitoes  Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, respectively  are about half the size of normal mosquitoes and have black-and-white stripes. Unlike mosquitoes more common to California, which usually come out in the evening, these mosquitoes bite during the daytime.

They will follow you indoors, Gunzenhauser said. Theyre very aggressive.

In L.A. County, theyre largely concentrated in the San Gabriel Valley. Gunzenhauser said Wednesday that late last year, there were several reports of patients with red welts, most likely caused by bites from these mosquitoes.

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The insects need water to breed, but can do so in pools as small as that collected in a bottle cap, or in droplets of water stuck between leaves of plants. Officials said that people should inspect their backyards, and clear out any place where there is standing water.

This is the only way we will be able to combat and defeat these insects, said Truc Dever, general manager of the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

Infestations can be reported to the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, which can also help rid backyards of mosquitoes.

Guzenhauser emphasized the importance of reaching pregnant women and warning them not to visit countries with outbreaks.

We need to make sure that theyre aware of this serious condition, he said. He said they should look at the CDCs travel advisories, which are being updated when new outbreaks occur.

He also said that other people who travel to countries with outbreaks should wear clothing that covers as much of their body as possible, even if its hot there. Officials also recommend that people use insect repellent.

Follow @skarlamangla on Twitter for more health news.

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Los Angeles, a metropolis studded with hundreds of active oil and gas wells, is supposed to have someone who handles a long list of duties tied to petroleum, according to city codes.

Yet for decades, no one has held the job full time.

That vacuum has troubled some environmental and neighborhood activists, who argue that without an active, involved petroleum administrator, the slew of government agencies involved in regulating oil and gas have failed to coordinate to protect neighbors.

Now the head of the City Council says that has to change and is calling for the city to immediately hire a full-time expert.

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This is something that we dont have, something that we used to have, and something that, to me, is obvious that we need to have again, City Council President Herb Wesson said.

The push comes as thousands of Porter Ranch residents have fled their homes to avoid the stink of a massive gas leak just north of the city -- a debacle that has drawn fresh attention to the risks of oil and gas operations close to homes. It also follows pressure from environmental activists and residents who complain that the city has failed to fully exercise its municipal powers over drilling.

The proposal, introduced Tuesday at City Hall, says that the city needs to take a more proactive approach to ensure that oil and gas production in the city is conducted in the safest manner possible.

Six other council members quickly seconded the proposal. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he would fund the position and that his office had already been talking to possible candidates.

I couldnt believe that a city that was built on oil no longer had a full-time person dealing with oil, Garcetti said.

City codes dating to 1958 say a staffer is supposed to coordinate all matters tied to petroleum production in the city, make recommendations on existing restrictions on drilling and handle any other duties related to oil and gas that the council asks, among other responsibilities.

As oil drilling continued to spread across the city in the 1960s, the petroleum administrator was a familiar role. The Times described the position as ensuring orderly development of the booming industry and protecting neighbors against any infringements of their rights to peaceful lives.

But the job was scaled down with time. It is now held by a city analyst who provides reports only when requested  and last fielded a request more than five years ago, according to City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.

Steven Peckman, who lives in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Jefferson Park, said the result has been a totally uncoordinated response to community concerns.

As a citizen, you may call the agency that you think is responsible, they point their finger at some other agency, Peckman said. Someone needs to mind the store.

Peckman pointed to what happened at a South L.A. site run by AllenCo Energy Inc. Decades ago, the city had imposed rules meant to ensure that drilling at the 23rd Street site didnt cause fumes.

But when neighbors started to complain about foul odors and nosebleeds near the AllenCo site, they took their complaints to another government agency, the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Complaints piled up for years before AllenCo grabbed headlines, environmental officials fell ill while visiting the site and a senator successfully urged the company to suspend its operations.

If L.A. had a proactive petroleum administrator on the job, the air quality agency could have called that official and said, Heres whats happening, use your knowledge to coordinate with the city and county, state and federal overseers and make sure that the issues are being addressed, said Angela Johnson Meszaros, a staff attorney at Earthjustice.

While community activists stress the possible benefits for neighborhood groups, others say having a knowledgeable person serving in the position could also protect the industry from bogus complaints. The California Independent Petroleum Assn., an industry group, said the job should be filled by someone with technical expertise.

With an expert on the job, the city could turn to them and say, Are these problems as bad as people say they are? said attorney Ed Renwick, who represents oil producers and royalty owners.

Newspaper articles from the 1960s and early 70s chronicle Arthur Spaulding, who had worked as a petroleum engineer, weighing in on a host of issues, including disputes over slant drilling from L.A. into Beverly Hills and the risk of a blowout on a San Pedro Channel drilling site.

The focus of the job, Spaulding said recently, was to make sure all departments of the city knew what was going on.

When Jeff Druyun held the job in the 70s and 80s, he had to juggle his responsibilities with serving as a budget analyst. Still, he said he was active in city debates over oil issues, proposing changes to city codes and meeting with fire inspectors to monitor drilling sites.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

But Santana said that in recent decades, the job had been a reactive position, held by analysts who were not experts in the oil and gas industry.

Residents pushing for the city to step up its oversight say that isnt enough.

The administrative code spells out these duties very specifically, said Michael Salman, a West Adams resident who has repeatedly raised the issue. And the city for at least 25 years has not been doing them.

Wesson said he envisioned the petroleum administrator as both an expert and a skilled coordinator. For instance, Wesson pointed out that after the Southern California Gas Co. leak started north of Porter Ranch, Councilman Mitch Englander asked for several agencies to report to them on what was happening.

The petroleum administrator could have helped to coordinate that response, Wesson said, adding, You dont want to just have a brilliant scientist locked in a room somewhere.

Some environmentalists questioned, however, whether beefing up the city position would address their concerns. Communities for a Better Environment staff attorney Gladys Limon, who is representing a youth group suing the city over drilling, said the job would mean little unless its main mandate was protecting residents.

Spaulding, for instance, was criticized by environmentalists during his tenure for backing proposed drilling, including a bitterly contested plan for Pacific Palisades that became a campaign issue.

If the city is to fill a position, it should be for a health and safety administrator, Limon said.

Twitter: @LATimesemily

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The Los Angeles County District Attorneys office has charged a transient with capital murder, accusing him of bludgeoning an elderly La Verne couple to death and stealing the wifes cellphone.

Luke Fabela, 23, was charged in the deaths of Shirley Isom, 74, and Armie Troy Isom, 89, the owners of a construction business who were found in their hillside estate on Roughrider Road on Dec. 26, 2014.

In a statement released Wednesday, prosecutors said the couple was killed for a cell phone. Nothing had been removed from the 80-acre property except Shirley Isoms cellphone, they said.

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Shirley Isom, who suffered stab wounds and blunt force trauma, died at the scene of what authorities called an extremely bloody attack. Her husband was taken to a hospital, where he died later that day.

Fabela has been charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders in the commission of a robbery; one count of second-degree robbery; and one count of first-degree residential burglary.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty, the district attorneys office said in a statement released Wednesday.

Authorities said a groundskeeper called police after discovering the couple inside their home. Neighbors told investigators they saw a man in a hoodie walking away from the house shortly before then, carrying a large backpack.

DNA evidence from a jailhouse swab led investigators to Fabela, who had served state prison time and was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft in San Bernardino a few weeks after the slayings. Los Angeles County sheriffs detectives announced in May that DNA had linked Fabela to the case and that he was already in custody in state prison after pleading guilty to the vehicle theft.

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Dave Coleman told The Times last year that the Isoms did not know their killer and that they were bludgeoned and stabbed to death near their front door.

Fabela has a lengthy record of property crimes, including theft and burglary, as well as a domestic-violence conviction. He had no fixed residence, having lived with relatives and acquaintances in Claremont, Pomona, Montclair, La Verne, San Bernardino and elsewhere, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department is continuing its investigation in the case.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Follow me at @haileybranson / Google+

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First came an honor guard of Muslim Boy Scouts proudly carrying a U.S. flag. Then a rousing Pledge of Allegiance from hundreds of Muslim Americans. Then an introduction from a Muslim college student, wearing a hijab over her head, who wants to be a doctor.

The symbolism was unmistakable Wednesday when President Obama visited the first American mosque of his tenure, a politically fraught trip to the sprawling Islamic Society of Baltimore, where he condemned Islamaphobia on the campaign trail and tried to reassure Muslim Americans not to become isolated in their own country.

Though he never mentioned Donald Trump or other Republican presidential candidates, Obama called for an end to invective that confuses millions of patriotic Americans with a radical, tiny minority who engage in violence.

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Since 9/11 and more recently, since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, youve seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith, he said. And of course, recently, weve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country.

We have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias, and targets people because of religion, he said. We cant be bystanders to bigotry.

Threats and harassment of Muslim Americans have surged, Obama said. Here at this mosque, twice last year, threats were made against your children. Weve seen children bullied. Weve seen mosques vandalized.

Muslim Americans keep us safe as police, firefighters, intelligence officers and members of the military who fight and bleed and die for our freedom, Obama said.

So the first thing I want to say is two words that Muslim Americans dont hear often enough  and that is, thank you, he said.

The 45-minute address mirrored Obamas outreach to the Islamic world in 2009, when he stood at a pulpit in Cairo and sought to explain America to Muslims skeptical of Western values. His goal then was to rally Islamic allies to help stabilize the Middle East and fight terrorism.

On Wednesday, Obama tried to explain Islam to Americans, quoting Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other Founding Fathers who welcomed the ancient religion to the new nation. The first U.S. mosque was in North Dakota, he noted. The oldest surviving mosque is in Iowa.

Islam has always been part of America, he said.

Two Muslim members of Congress joined him at the mosque, which serves about 3,000 Muslims in Baltimores western suburbs and is one of the largest in the mid-Atlantic region. He paid tribute to its school, baseball and football teams, Girl and Boy Scout troops, and its health clinic for low-income patients of all backgrounds.

The event was a personal milestone for the president with the Islamic name, who was elected only after convincing Americans that he was a Christian and not an adherent to the religion of his Kenyan grandfather. Polls show millions of Americans still believe, inaccurately, that he is a Muslim.

In the kind of joke he never told in his early presidency, Obama noted that Jeffersons opponents tried to stir things by suggesting he was a Muslim  so I was not the first. Im in good company.

But he also batted back charges from Republican candidates that he is deliberately downplaying the threat of terrorism by refusing to refer to Islamic State as Islamic radical extremism.

The suggestion is somehow that if I would simply say, These are all Islamic terrorists, then we would actually have solved the problem by now, apparently, he said, to laughter.

We must never give [terrorists] that legitimacy, he said. Theyre not defending Islam. Theyre not defending Muslims. The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women and children.

His message stems from intense awareness at the White House that Obamas legacy depends in large part on whether a Democrat replaces him.

Obama and his team have urged Democrats to embrace an upbeat, hopeful message, and are taking every opportunity to characterize the Republican presidential candidates as fear-mongers.

They point to Trumps call for a moratorium on allowing Muslims into the country, and the Republican candidates opposition to admitting refugees from Syrias civil war out of concern that the vetting process cannot distinguish between those deserving asylum and those with ties to extremist groups.

The choice of the west Baltimore mosque was a study in how difficult that exercise that can be. After the White House disclosed the planned visit last weekend, conservative groups quickly cited its supposed links to extremists.

Mosque attendees have included Majid Khan, an Al Qaeda member who pleaded guilty to transporting money that helped pay for a deadly hotel bombing in Indonesia, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Khan, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2003, now is held at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, a site Obama has vowed to close.

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Also, the mosques former longtime imam, Mohamad Adam El Sheikh, was quoted by the Washington Post in 2004 saying that suicide bombings might be acceptable in some cases. In an email to the Sun this week, El Sheikh insisted he had never condoned suicide attacks. He called them un-Islamic.

Others believe Obamas visit is long overdue.

He probably should have done it seven or eight years ago. Hes using this opportunity to gather votes for Democrats, said Saba Ahmed, president of the Republican Muslim Coalition based in Washington.

Still, she cheered the decision given what she sees as a frightening turn toward anti-Muslim sentiment.

Obama coming to a mosque is a perfect counter message to Islamaphobia, she said. Its opening a door for a lot of other people to do the same thing.

White House aides dismissed concerns about the mosque and its alleged ties to extremism as mere politics.

No one should be surprised to see that the presidents visit to a mosque is going to be criticized by the presidents political opponents, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. Were not concerned about that at all.

For news about President Obama and the Obama administration, follow me on Twitter: @cparsons

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One of two antiabortion activists charged by a grand jury last month in connection with filming covert videos at a local Planned Parenthood surrendered Wednesday and appeared outside court to applause from supporters who clutched homemade signs calling her a pro-life hero.

She has broken no laws, attorney Mat Staver said of client Sandra Merritt as she stood outside the county courthouse in downtown Houston after being booked. We believe this case should be dismissed and that she should never have been indicted.

Merritt declined to comment, standing silently beside her attorneys as they explained her position.

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Staver said Merritt was doing anything a journalist would do to get information to the public.

Merritt, 62, an employee at the Irvine-based antiabortion nonprofit Center for Medical Progress, was indicted Jan. 25 on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record, as was the director of the center, David Daleiden, 27.

Supporters gather as Sandra Merritt appears at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse in Houston. (Eric Kayne / Getty Images)

She planned to return home to California on Wednesday after posting bond, said Staver, founder of the Orlando-based conservative law firm Liberty Counsel.

According to indictments, Merritt and Daleiden used fake California drivers licenses to gain entrance to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and covertly film on April 9, 2015; their most recent video using that footage was posted online Tuesday. If convicted, they face a fine of up to $10,000 and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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Daleiden is also charged with a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine related to an email he sent last June offering to pay Planned Parenthood $1,600 per specimen of fetal tissue, authorities said.

Daleidens bail was set at $11,000, and he is expected to surrender Thursday morning.

Merritts bail was initially $10,000, but that was reduced to $2,000. Her next court date is March 28. She has been offered pretrial diversion, but her attorneys said they are still negotiating with prosecutors to have the charges dropped.

We believe we will prevail, Staver said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton have said the state is still investigating Planned Parenthood. Merritts supporters said they hope the charges against her are dropped.

We think its a real travesty of justice that the undercover journalist was indicted and not Planned Parenthood, said Christine Melchor, 64, director of the Houston Coalition for Life, who was among those greeting Merritt with signs saying, I stand with Sandra Merritt.

Planned Parenthood officials applauded the pairs prosecution.

The wheels of justice have only begun to roll. We dont expect this to be the last time these extremists are booked and fingerprinted, said Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Were glad theyre being held accountable, and we hope other law enforcement agencies pursue criminal charges as well.

He disputed the pairs contention that they acted as journalists.

They didnt document wrongdoing -- they fabricated it. We dont know of any journalists who have engaged in wire fraud and mail fraud, lied to multiple government agencies, tampered with government documents and broken laws in at least four states -- only to lie about what they found. Its hard to imagine anyone calling that journalism, Ferrero said.

The grand jury that charged the activists found no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which cooperated with the investigation.

Pictures of the activists fake licenses  as well as phony business cards and brochures  were provided to San Francisco federal courts by the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood when they filed civil lawsuits against Daleiden, Merritt and the Center for Medical Progress during the last year. The plaintiffs demanded that the activists be barred from releasing videos illegally obtained using fake IDs.

The videos sparked national outrage and investigations by state officials and Republican-led committees in Congress. So far, none of the investigations has uncovered wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood.

Follow me for the latest in national news @mollyhf

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

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He roams alone: El Jefe may be the last wild jaguar in the U.S.
They call him El Jefe and he roams alone.

Pictures have appeared for years, just glimpses of the rare beast prowling the Santa Rita Mountains outside of Tucson. Then, on Wednesday, video surfaced and there he was for all to see in muscular motion  what some scientists say is the only wild jaguar known to be living the United States.

In three brief clips totaling about 40 seconds, the big cat ambles quietly through an arid forest and down a rocky stream, head down, in no hurry. El Jefe  The Boss  seems unaware of being watched.

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We use our specially trained scat detection dog and spent three years tracking in rugged mountains, collecting data and refining camera sites, Chris Bugbee, a biologist with Conservation CATalyst, the preservation group that captured the video, said in a statement released by the Center for Biological Diversity.

These videos represent the peak of our efforts.

Aletris Neils, the executive director of the group, added, We are able to determine he is an adult male jaguar, currently in prime condition. Every new piece of information is important for conserving.

Arizona historically has been near the northern end of jaguars range, which stretches through Mexico, Central America and South America. The animals are listed as an endangered species in the United States and last year the Fish and Wildlife Service, urged by the center, set aside nearly 800,000 acres near Tucson as protected habitat.

These big cats  the only ones bigger are tigers and lions  were more plentiful before losing habitat to development and their lives to hunters. The last one legally taken was a female, shot in 1963.

Conservation groups on Wednesday pointed to the video of El Jefe as further reason to prevent the development of a planned open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. The area is also home to a smaller endangered cat; a lone male ocelot was photographed there in 2014.

At ground zero for the mine is the intersection of three major wildlife corridors that are essential for jaguars moving back into the U.S. to reclaim lost territory, said Randy Serraglio of the Center for Biological Diversity. The Santa Rita Mountains are critically important to jaguar recovery in this country, and they must be protected.

El Jefe was named last fall by students at Felizardo Valencia Middle School in Tucson, whose mascot is a jaguar.

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As Bernie Sanders rolled into New Hampshire on Tuesday, he found himself playing a role that is new to his campaign: that of the juggernaut.

The opportunity to take up the part may be fleeting for Sanders, the democratic socialist, independent senator from Vermont and Hillary Clintons rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. Once he moves past New Hampshire, the primary race gets a lot more complicated for him. But for now, he seems to be delighting in the worries of the Clinton campaign  wounded after a closer-than-expected win in Iowas caucuses Monday night  as he shores up support here, where most polls show him leading, some quite comfortably.

Sanders is holding the cards in the race this week, and he is using them.

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TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >>

On the stage of a nearly century-old theater that anchors this quaint downtown where the scenery calls to mind the small Iowa cities Sanders got to know well  but the accents are decidedly different  the Vermonter exuded confidence.

In front of a massive gaggle of press, he mocked Clintons sudden eagerness to schedule an additional presidential debate in New Hampshire before its Feb. 9 primary  but he said hed go along, if only she would agree to later matchups in California and New York. (After all, he said, why wouldnt she?)

As Clintons campaign struggled to make the case that it won an indisputable victory in Iowa, Sanders patiently pointed out that the race was so close that some deciding delegates appear to have been awarded by coin toss. And Clintons renewed pronouncement that she is, like him, a progressive? Sanders shrugged. Sure, he said, on some days. And then there are the others, he said, when she calls herself a proud moderate.

He also suggested that all the talk from the Clinton campaign that he has an unfair advantage in New Hampshire, a state that has long favored fellow northern New Englanders who run for president, is silly. As he pointed out, Clinton is the one on the ballot who has actually run for president in this state before  and she won.

But Clinton was an underdog in that primary election against Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, and on this unseasonably warm day in Keene, Sanders made clear he has no intention of giving her any space to regain ground like she did then. Sanders had some pointed words to share with an enthusiastic mix of old-timer locals, idealistic students and professionals who took the afternoon off to hear him and join in on Feel the Bern chants.

Last night in Iowa, we took on the most powerful political organization in this country, Sanders said. We came back from a 50-point deficit in the polls.

He avoided mentioning Clinton by name in his address to a packed downtown theater, but made sharp jabs, putting Clinton on notice that he is going to aggressively protect the gains he has made here.

He quickly took aim at Wall Street speaking fees  the acceptance of which have become one of Clintons major vulnerabilities with Democrats  and delivered a broadside on the family that runs Wal-Mart, whose board of directors once included Clinton.

Wal-Mart is the largest private-sector employer in America, yet many of their employees are forced to go on food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing you pay for through your taxes because the Walton family refuses to pay their workers a living wage, Sanders said.

Lets be clear: The major welfare abuser in America is the wealthiest family in America.

For her part, Clinton worked through the day to avoid giving the appearance that she is playing catch-up here. At her morning campaign stop in a gymnasium, she confidently declared herself the winner in Iowa. She spoke as if the momentum were on her side, even as polls suggest otherwise. Somewhat conversely, she expressed confidence that New Hampshire voters would come to their senses.

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One of the things I love about New Hampshire voters is you sift through it, you give it the once-over, you make up your minds about what makes sense, she said. You take a hard look about what people are proposing. You ask yourselves: Does this just sound good on paper or can this get done, and whos most likely to be able to deliver what you need?

Her argument is an implicit rebuke of Sanders pitch as uncompromisingly liberal. Clinton pitches herself as the candidate most likely to effect change, even if its incremental.

As she did in the days leading into the Iowa caucuses, Clinton portrayed herself as best-suited to preserve the legacy of President Obama, who is popular with primary voters. She raised doubts about Sanders commitment to doing the same.

There are those who said, Oh, he should have done more, he should have gone harder, he should gone farther, she said.

I watched it up close. I was in that Cabinet. I watched him save the auto industry and the millions of jobs that went with it. I watched him push through the toughest regulations on Wall Street since the 1930s. And I watched him achieve the Affordable Care Act to make sure that Americans have access to quality affordable care.

While Clinton is positioned to do well in the primaries that follow New Hampshire regardless of what voters here decide, her path to the nomination is a lot simpler if she can eke out a win. A victory would undercut Sanders ability to launch a state-by-state trench battle for delegates as she did against Obama eight years ago.

Showing only hints of fatigue after a red-eye flight from Iowa, Clinton bounded onstage in Nashua and immediately did what she had been unable to do publicly the night before: declare she had won Iowa.

Ive won and Ive lost there, and its a lot better to win, she said.

evan.halper@latimes.com

michael.memoli@latimes.com

Halper reported from Keene and Memoli from Nashua.

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A handmade sign follows Ohio Gov. John Kasich, tallying his time in New Hampshire in red and blue paint. Chris Christies wife knows the number of questions hes answered at town halls, one of them about bobcats. Before he dropped out, Lindsey Graham followed the model of his good friend and two-time primary winner John McCain and met with voters nearly 200 times.

The Republican front-runner, though, has eschewed these intimate rituals of presidential politicking in New Hampshire for a far different pitch.

I dont even think I have to campaign anymore. Why am I even wasting my time? Donald Trump said recently in Nashua to a crowd that was massive by retail campaigning standards. I can leave here right now; theyre going to vote for me.

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As the state celebrates the 100th anniversary of its presidential primary, Trumps bravado has given rise to an uncomfortable argument here: that New Hampshire itself has as much to lose as any of the candidates, should his double-digit lead hold until the Tuesday primary.

Such an outcome would strike at the heart of the states claim to first-in-the-nation status, as a presidential proving ground where celebrity and a sizable campaign war chest matter far less than candidates willingness to subject themselves to the rigorous scrutiny that voters here see as their birthright.

For months, prominent New Hampshire politicos have scratched their heads as poll after poll showed not only Trump in the lead, but Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, another Republican hopeful who has only occasionally visited, right behind him.

If a candidate can come in and win because hes a celebrity with huge name recognition and deep pockets, and he doesnt do any traditional retail  then you undermine not just the parties justification for scheduling New Hampshire first, you undermine the candidates motivation for coming here, said Drew Cline, the former editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchesters main daily newspaper and traditionally a force in swaying public sentiment here.

When you lose the ability to attract those other candidates here, part of what made New Hampshire unique and special and attractive is undermined, Cline added.

Kasich and Christie are perhaps counting the most on a strong showing here in order to vault their candidacies into the top tier and have followed the traditional New Hampshire playbook. A tally maintained by New England Cable News network showed that Kasich had held 180 campaign stops overall, just ahead of Christies 176.

Whether I win or not, I believe in this process, John Kasich said. I believe that folks in New Hampshire are the best screeners America can have to recommend to the country.

Trump has held only 39 events in 30 trips to the state. And while most candidates arrived in New Hampshire from the Iowa caucuses with busy schedules through primary day, Trump originally planned to stop in only briefly -- with just five scheduled events here before votes are cast Tuesday.

In what would be one of the last 174 events he held here before dropping out of the race last December, Graham bluntly warned voters about Trump.

Dont reward him, he said, noting that the billionaire hadnt even spent a single night in the state.

Former New Hampshire Rep. Dick Swett, a Democrat who supports Hillary Clinton, said he has observed the process changing here with every cycle, as national trends increasingly influence campaigns.

But I still believe that you get a better look at all of the candidates because of the process that we represent, that we offer here in New Hampshire, he said. And if you take that out, then youve really given in to reality television, celebrity, big money. And it will change much, much more rapidly.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Clinton, who trails Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by double digits here, according to public polling, has signaled that she will push aggressively to narrow the gap, relying on what she called residents insistence on giving candidates the once-over, twice-over, thrice-over.

On Wednesday, she dismissed pundits advice that she pass on what could prove to be a futile New Hampshire campaign.

I just could not ever skip New Hampshire, she said in Derry. I cannot even imagine not being here, not being in settings like this.

Sanders, meanwhile canceled his only public event Wednesday in preparation for two nationally televised prime-time forums.

Tom Rath, a former state attorney general and long-time Republican power broker here, noted that New Hampshire has faced a number of threats to its preeminent status but argued for its importance.

There needs to be a time when the person who would be president answers questions directly from a human being, he said. And until that can be replicated someplace else, there will be a place for this.

Though Rath is leading Kasichs campaign, he said that if Trump were to win, it would simply reflect that many of the concerns that fueled Trump nationally are relevant here.

The vitality of this is determined not so much by who wins but by how involved the electorate is, he said. If Trump were to win here and we were to turn out 75% of our voters, that tells you something.

But, he added: Im not sure theres going to be a Trump in every election. And Im not sure hes going to win.

For more campaign coverage, follow @mikememoli

Hoy: Lea esta historia en espanol

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As Democratic race hits New Hampshire, its Bernie Sanders who holds the cards

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The other day Jeb Bush said something about the presidency so fundamentally wrong that it crystallized why his campaign has the vapors, sputtering to just 2.8% in Iowa.

During one of many harangues against Donald Trump, Bush told a small gathering in New Hampshire, Were not electing a personality. Were electing someone who has to sit behind the big desk and make tough decisions. Separately, he proclaimed himself an introvert, one who would rather read a book than go out and get in a conga line and go dancing. (One wonders who gave him that choice of options.)

The thesis of the Bush campaign is that voters crave a competent manager to make reasonable decisions  not a celebrity or a personality. This, of course, is ludicrous, a total misunderstanding of the modern presidency. And I can prove it. My first witness is his father.

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In 1988, when George H.W. Bush sought the presidency, he lambasted his opponent, Democrat Michael S. Dukakis, for claiming the election was about competence. This election isnt only about competence, the elder Bush declared. Competence makes the trains run on time but doesnt know where theyre going. Competence is the creed of the technocrat who makes sure the gears mesh but doesnt for a second understand the magic of the machine.

Bush understood that the American people wanted something bigger in their presidents. Which is why he created a persona that they might favor. In the 1980s, at least, the private Bush was a kindly aristocrat with moderate tendencies. The public one was a just-folks Texan who liked pork rinds and country music.

His son  and my former boss  George W. Bush was an even better political performer. In private, Bush was a pragmatic guy. But he ran for president as an even more macho version of his dad: the ultra-confident decider who would restore the Reagan Revolution and dismantle the legacy of Bill Clinton. He was dismissed by critics as an arrogant frat boy, which was fine with him. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, he acknowledged. Which in Texas is called walkin.

Sometimes, when I observed [president George W. Bush] with his boots on the desk and his muscular syntax, Id think, This isnt really him. ... Now, I realize it was necessary.

Sometimes, when I observed the president with his boots on the desk and his muscular syntax, Id think, This isnt really him. I thought he was putting on a show. At the time, I found that fraudulent. Now, I realize it was necessary.

There is no more important role for a president than that of a performer. A leader who will vow to avenge a day that will live in infamy. Or go to Berlin and call on a Soviet leader to tear it down. Or stand on a pile of rubble with a bullhorn and promise to bring the bad guys to justice. The parent who drives through a blizzard, feeling the ice tug on the tires, the car shifting on the slippery road, while telling the kids in the back seat that everything is going just fine and getting them to sing a song.

In the modern era the president is also celebrity-in-chief, expected to comment on the deaths of popular actors or to watch the latest Star Wars film or to appear on Jimmy Kimmel alongside beloved comedians.

Does anyone other than Jeb Bush believe that Americans marvel at how efficiently the president cleans out his inbox? Or applaud him for successfully refereeing a dispute between the secretaries of commerce and agriculture? The voters arent looking for an administrator-in-chief. Last fall Bush gambled otherwise  and released a 644-page book full of emails that he wrote as governor of Florida. If anyone read it  and if Amazon is any guide, almost no one did  they would first have had to wade through six pages of acronyms such as the BOG and the DCA (not to be confused with the DCF).

Thats why Bush, the guy who was supposed to win, is losing. Even if he does somehow negative-ad his way to the presidency, hes doomed to fail because he doesnt understand the theater of that office.

Which brings us back to Trump. Whether he makes it to the nominating convention or not  now a shakier prospect than it was just 48 hours ago  hes clearly figured out that this running for president thing has everything to do with creating a persona. His jumbo jet, his photogenic family, his boasts, his feuds against powerful people, his efforts to tie himself to Ronald Reagan and John Wayne and Arnold Schwarzenegger, all convey a message. He can handle anything people throw at him. Hes a winner, even when he isnt, if only because hes ingrained that word in our heads over and over again.

The final key to the way I promote is bravado, Trump wrote in The Art of the Deal, his 1987 memoir-cum-advice manual. I play to peoples fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. Thats why a little hyperbole never hurts.

The Art of the Deal, Trump tells us, is the bestselling business book of all time. It matters only to fact-checkers and the faltering campaigns of his rivals that this claim is demonstrably false.

Matt Latimer is a former speechwriter for George W. Bush. He is currently co-owner of Javelin, a literary and communications agency in Washington.

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Curvy or no, Barbie is still a mean girl

Iowa votes. Ted Cruz wins. Readers yawn.

With Rand Paul gone, which candidate will ask the tough questions?
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul isnt the first of the 2016 GOP presidential wannabes to find the distance to the stage too far (to borrow a phrase from Pete Townshend), but his departure from the race Wednesday is the first that will really change the debate. And not in a good way.

The candidates havent been shy about criticizing one another, with the perceived front-runners getting the most attention. But more than any of his rivals, Paul highlighted the substantive differences among the candidates, particularly on foreign policy and budgeting.

Granted, Paul was a real outlier on foreign policy, reflecting his libertarian streak. And that may well have been his undoing, given how focused the race became on terrorism and the use of U.S. power abroad after the San Bernardino shootings. Yet his presence on the campaign trail and at the debates forced his rivals to defend the views they were embracing en masse in pursuit of a political tailwind.

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While other Republicans called for increasingly extreme military action against Islamic State (with Sen. Ted Cruz winning the prize with his promise to drop enough bombs to make the sand glow), Paul stuck to his position that American intervention in the Middle East had only made matters worse there. And when other Republicans pledged to spend a kings ransom rebuilding the military, Paul chastised them (and especially Sen. Marco Rubio) for running up the national debt.

Policy differences matter, even when theyre just between different gradations of conservatism.

Regardless of what you think about Pauls governing vision, the pushback he offered against the conventional party wisdom helped keep voters focused on the policies at stake in the election, rather than the attention-grabbing personalities. And policy differences matter, even when theyre just between different gradations of conservatism.

For instance, Cruzs reputation as the most disliked man in the collegial Senate has drawn some barbs from other candidates, and its worth considering whether he could establish the rapport with lawmakers hed need to advance much of his presidential agenda. (For a reminder on why thats important, witness the struggles of the White Houses current occupant.) But this issue is no more important than the pros and cons of Cruzs tax proposals, his particular version of a muscular foreign policy and his approach to the growing cost of such cherished federal entitlements as Medicare and Social Security. And Pauls departure means there will be less debate over Cruzs positions, and everyone elses.

At least five major candidates withdrew before Paul, and while each had his own talking points, none was so very different from the candidates still in the race. Four of the dropouts were governors who touted their records in cutting taxes and regulations, which leaves three current or former Republican governors with active campaigns, all of whom tout their records on fiscal and economic policy. The fifth erstwhile candidate is a U.S. senator who wanted to dispatch thousands of U.S. troops to wipe Islamic State off the map; seemingly every Republican in the race now takes a similar position.

You cant say that about Paul. His voice was a distinct one, and its absence will make the campaign a lot less interesting.

Email Jon Healey

Follow Healeys intermittent Twitter feed: @jcahealey

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Iowa votes. Ted Cruz wins. Readers yawn.

Iowa manages to defy expectations, even as the favorites win

The big winners in Iowa: voters on the outs with their own parties
If you thought there were a lot of news stories last year about wrongfully convicted people finally getting justice, well, you were right. According to a report by the National Registry of Exonerations, at least 149 people were cleared in 2015 of committing crimes for which they had been convicted. More than a third of the cases involved homicides (including manslaughter), and five resulted in people being freed from death row.

Given how many criminal convictions there are in this country each year, 149 exonerations is a small number. But the most interesting thing about the report is that the exonerations followed an increase in the creation of conviction integrity units -- usually prosecutors panels with the responsibility for reviewing closed cases in which fresh questions have been raised about the guilt of the defendant.

In other words, the more investigators looked, the more wrongful-conviction cases they found, which suggests that the 2015 exonerations, while a record, are likely just the tip of a poorly understood and underdocumented iceberg.

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And despite common perceptions of new DNA testing undoing bad convictions, such cases only accounted for a quarter of all exonerations. Most were undone through re-investigations by defense attorneys, activist groups and the conviction integrity units, and they hinged on misconduct by police and prosecutors, or lying witnesses. In 27 cases, police obtained false confessions, most often through coercion or tricking intellectually disabled suspects into confessing.

Further, 45% of the exonerations came in cases in which the defendant pleaded guilty -- again, acceding to misconduct and often as a tradeoff, believing it better to take a short sentence than risk a longer one at trial.

That is an atrocious miscarriage of justice, with repercussions not only for the defendants, but for their families.

As Ive argued before, this clear fallibility of the criminal justice system is one of the strongest arguments against capital punishment. But falsely imprisoning people for lesser crimes is nearly as abominable. Local jurisdictions need to get more proactive in addressing the issue, including establishing more conviction integrity units. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey established such a unit last summer, using nearly $1 million to hire three lawyers and a paralegal to review potential cases.

Of course, such units are only as effective as top prosecutors make them, and critics fear they serve as window-dressing rather than real reform. But in some jurisdictions, such as Brooklyn, N.Y., and Harris County, Texas, the units have made a difference, as has the nations only statewide office in North Carolina.

Still, it takes diligence by such groups as the Innocence Project and clinics established at various law schools around the country to unravel most of these cases. That such efforts are so necessary, and so successful, underscores the failure at the beginning of the process, with police and prosecutors too often subverting justice in the quest for a quick close or another conviction, and too often with no repercussions.

Its hard to find the line between travesty and tragedy here.

Twitter: @smartelle
To the editor: So, undergraduate students at USC are charged more than $49,000 in tuition to take classes from a faculty that is almost three-quarters overworked, underpaid temps? (As USC faculty awaits results of a union vote, some hope for a bigger voice, Feb. 1)

An alumna, I will keep this in mind when young people ask if I recommend applying to USC.

Carolyn Seeman, Valley Village

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..

To the editor: The USC described in The Times article bears no resemblance to the school at which I was a non-tenure track lecturer from 2002-13.

A six-course load earned me almost $80,000 (without a missed paycheck), was for 34 weeks of work, gave me the same health benefits as tenure-track faculty and got me teacher assistants and graders to help. Its true that I taught in the Viterbi School of Engineering, but its hard to imagine things are that much different in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences or the Roski School of Art and Design.

Its true that non-tenure-track faculty are second-class citizens, but complaining about it is like bemoaning the fact that youre a member of the upper-middle class.

David Wilczynski, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: Full-time faculty at private universities do not have unions because a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case effectively bans them. The ban does not apply to part-time faculty.

Current efforts by part-time faculty nationally to seek collective bargaining at private universities may open the door to reconsideration of the 1980 case. A recent National Labor Relations Board decision involving full-time but contingent faculty at Pacific Lutheran University points in that direction.

Its misleading to say that unions are common at public universities because, allegedly, they wield political pressure. If full-time private faculty had the right to bargain, unions might become more popular there too.

For the record, full-time faculty at the University of California do not engage in collective bargaining at this time.

Sanford Jacoby, Los Angeles

The writer is an economic historian and labor economist at UCLA.

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Donald Trump may have hit a ceiling of support  at least thats a prime storyline coming out of the Iowa caucuses where he came in second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But an equally significant story is that the roof crashed in on Jeb Bush and the Republican establishment.

For Trump, Iowa will be a mere blip on the radar if, as predicted, he wins the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. For Bush, though, it appears the race is all but over. Nearly $15 million was spent to sell Jeb to Iowans. That turned out to be more than $2,800 for each vote won and an embarrassing sixth-place finish for the man who, a year ago, was assumed to be the partys most likely nominee.

All the money and conventional wisdom invested by the billionaire and millionaire donors, congressional leaders, party operatives and campaign gurus who comprise the GOP establishment have failed to pay dividends this year. Bush was supposed to be the Mitt Romney of 2016 and, if not him, then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (remember him?). Instead, the rebellious Republican base has flocked to Cruz, the much loathed Senate maverick, and Trump, the rude, rich celebrity outsider, both of whom treat the establishment crowd like lepers.

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By default, establishment hopes have shifted to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who came in a surprisingly strong third in Iowa, nearly edging out Trump for number two. Rubio was not the ideal choice for GOP insiders because he is actually an outsider, having won his Senate seat by leading a tea party rebellion and beating the establishment favorite, then-Gov. Charlie Crist, in the 2010 Republican primary. Nevertheless, Rubio is not as belligerently off the reservation as Trump or Cruz. He has proven to be much more of a team player in the Senate. Unlike Cruz and Trump, he is not running on anger and resentment. His campaign is built around his own inspiring immigrant story and his well-spoken, uplifting rhetoric has led some to call him the Republican Obama.

It is true that Rubio is as right-wing as Cruz, but that is no handicap in todays GOP. There are no moderate Republicans anymore; there are only uncompromising conservatives and pragmatic conservatives who care more about winning than maintaining ideological purity. It is the pragmatists who cannot stomach the self-righteous disdain of Cruz. They dislike him so much, they have even shown a willingness to accept Trump as their nominee if it means Cruz loses.

Of course, having Rubio as an alternative makes the pragmatists far happier. Not as happy as they would have been with Bush, certainly, but that horse never even made it out of the barn as the angry voters burned it down.
The phone rang at 1 a.m. on Tuesday at the home of Gary Gelner, the Democratic chairman of Iowas Hancock County. State party officials wanted the results from two caucus precincts in his rural swatch about 100 miles north of the state capital.

For one location, the state party simply wanted to confirm the outcome; a razor-thin margin separated rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the first nominating contest of the 2016 presidential election, and a correct count was crucial. But in the second, they had not received any results at all.

Turns out, no one had shown up.

I had to make a phone call at 1 oclock and report the results of 0-0-0 back to the state party, Gelner said in an interview Tuesday.

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Once again, the Iowa caucuses were marred by reporting problems, but unlike four years ago, the Democrats were the party struggling Monday. Party leaders were unable to track down tallies in several precincts, meaning they could not officially name Clinton the winner until just before noon on Tuesday, more than half a day after the caucuses ended.

Such problems are inherently baked into the caucus process, political experts say  despite technological innovations and procedural improvements, the system relies on hordes of volunteers to carry out a complicated ritual in nearly 1,700 schools, homes and church halls across the state.

Sometimes, they go to bed without reporting their tallies, which happened in more than one precinct Tuesday night. In one instance, party officials sent someone to knock on a precinct chairs door after midnight in Des Moines, seeking results. She did not answer.

Its normal that we have to track down some of the volunteers, said Norm Sterzenbach, a former executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, who noted that it was also a problem in 2008, the last time the Democrats had a contested caucus.

Large turnout can rapidly add to the duties of a precinct chair, who is not only responsible for running the caucus but also the event site.

Its easy to get distracted, Sterzenbach said. In 2008, some of them finished all the business of the caucus, were cleaning up and putting the chairs away. We had a few that went home. We had to track them down and they said, Oh, shoot, I didnt get the results in.

Similar miscues were magnified this year by the closeness of the race. Ultimately, Clinton edged Sanders by 0.3%.

Any time any election comes down to [a fraction] of a percent, there are going to be some problems, said Pat Rynard, who runs the political website Iowa Starting Line and worked as a Democratic organizer in the state for a decade.

Larger problems plagued the GOP four years ago, resulting in Mitt Romney being wrongly labeled the victor on caucus night. More than two weeks later, state GOP officials announced that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had actually won, but at that point, Romney was riding the momentum from his Iowa win toward the partys nomination.

Critics of Iowas first-in-the-nation status pointed to 2012 as a reason to stop allowing the state to hold the first presidential nominating contest. Democrats here expect similar scrutiny this year.

The caucuses werent designed for this kind of burden, said a veteran Democratic operative who would not be named questioning the partys preparations. Im sure theres going to be quite a few questions about what kind of boiler room was prepared.

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Caucus backers counter that races managed by government agencies can take weeks to finalize a tight race, and that such systems themselves can be rife with problems  such as the Al Gore-George W. Bush fiasco in Florida in 2000.

That election controversy centered on the use of paper ballots and the detritus from hole punches that introduced the country to the vote-counting term hanging chad.

In Iowa this year, the memorable image may be the caucus quirk of the game of chance, in which a coin toss is used to break ties to award county delegates, which are worth such a small fraction of support that they would not have changed the results, according to several state party officials and Democratic strategists.

It wasnt clear how many county delegates were awarded by coin toss  the state party counted seven instances; unconfirmed reports of others surfaced.

Sanders told reporters Tuesday in Keene, N.H., that his campaign wants to review cases in which delegates were awarded based on a coin flip.

Not the best way to do democracy, he said.

Mehta and Megerian reported from Des Moines. Times staff writer Evan Halper in Keene contributed to this report.

For more political coverage, go to www.latimes.com/politics.

MORE FROM POLITICS

A dramatically reshaped presidential race drives into New Hampshire

Marco Rubio is peaking as planned, but will Marcomentum continue?

An Iowa caucus yields scrums, bribery and cajoling: The only thing people get excited about here
Im Christina Bellantoni, and this is Essential Politics.

In a new, officially two-person race, the Democrats who want to be president will answer questions from New Hampshire voters Wednesday night. There has been little rest for the candidates since they left Iowa, and little celebration for either.

Hillary Clinton sent supporters an email asking for donations late Tuesday, noting almost in passing, this team made history, without explicitly saying she was the first woman in history to win the caucuses. Instead she focused on the road ahead.

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We have a lot of work ahead of us and a real fight on our hands, she wrote. Next up: We take New Hampshire by storm. Are you with me?

For his part, Sen. Bernie Sanders didnt let up, and his team hoped his strong lead in the first-in-the-nation primary wouldnt let up, either.

But considering there were only five days between the Iowa and New Hampshire contests in 2008, the eight days between them this year might end up seeming like an eternity.

And as the nation evaluates  again  the efficacy and sense of a first-in-the-nation caucus, our team takes a detailed look at how the process worked.

Kate Linthicum brings readers inside a caucus in Des Moines, finding chaos, lobbying, and even a little low-level bribery, while Chris Megerian, Seema Mehta and Evan Halper report the great lengths party officials went to actually count the votes on caucus night, delaying a call for Clinton as the victor until almost noon the following day.

On the Republican side, the attention focused on Sen. Marco Rubio, who aimed to galvanize attention of his close third-place finish in what looks to be an even more competitive race. Lisa Mascaro evaluates Marcomentum and how each of the other candidates will try to stop it.

Our team calculated how much each candidate and their affiliated super PACs spent per vote received in Iowa. The results might surprise you: from former Sen. Rick Santorums $2 per vote to Donald Trumps $73 and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs $2,845.

We tracked the rest of the candidates from the ground in New Hampshire, so catch up quick here and keep an eye on Trail Guide during the day.

LEGISLATORS ASK BROWN TO INTERVENE IN COASTAL CLASH

Next weeks meeting of the California Coastal Commission in Morro Bay will be one to watch, as an epic battle may be brewing over the fate of the agencys executive director. Weeks after Charles Lester was told he may be dismissed, lawmakers and environmentalists are rising to his defense. Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers reports that 16 legislators sent Gov. Jerry Brown a letter on Tuesday asking him to intervene on Lesters behalf, though a spokesman for the governor said its an issue for the commissioners to resolve.

Accusations of pro-development forces pushing for Lesters ouster have been rampant, and hes asked for his fate to be discussed next week during the commissions public meeting. Dan Weikel and Tony Barboza note that 35 former members of the California Coastal Commission declared that they oppose the effort to fire Lester, arguing his termination would significantly undermine both the agencys work and Browns legacy to protect Californias vast coastal resources.

Track the latest in California politics and whats happening in government on our Essential Politics news feed.

ANOTHER GOP CHALLENGER IN SAN BERNARDINO

Javier Panzar has the story of Sean Flynn, a Republican professor hoping to unseat Rep. Pete Aguilar who literally wrote the book Economics for Dummies. But Flynn is trying in an already crowded race, with Paul Chabot aiming for a rematch with Aguilar.

Campaign officials for Flynn and Chabot said they are hoping to raise enough to have the $100,000 in the bank needed to qualify for the National Republican Congressional Committees Young Guns program, which promotes candidates among national donors.

WELCOME, LIAM DILLON

We announced Tuesday that Liam Dillon will be joining our Sacramento bureau later this month as a reporter covering politics and policy in state government as we expand our coverage of the executive branch  the myriad agencies and departments that play an important role in Californias governance.

In six years at the nonprofit Voice of San Diego news site, Dillon has won a host of local, state and national awards for his stories about San Diegos crumbling infrastructure, racial profiling by its police department and cross-border corruption involving a Mexican businessman who made illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

 San Diego on Tuesday agreed to pay $667,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Mayor Bob Filner.

 A former volunteer treasurer for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher was arrested Tuesday on suspicion that he embezzled more than $200,000 from the congressmans campaign chest, prosecutors said.

 John Myers reports Californias Democratic Party has about four times as much cash on hand as does the state GOP, a sizable advantage as the 2016 election cycle begins.

 Someone painted a swastika on Trumps star on the Walk of Fame.

 The networks earned strong ratings for Iowa coverage Monday.

 President Obama and Speaker Paul Ryan compared to-do lists for 2016, Christi Parsons and Lisa Mascaro report.

 Concerned about a possible influx of commercial medical marijuana farms, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to put a temporary moratorium on cultivation of the crop in county unincorporated areas and to study a permanent ban.

 Doyle McManus notes this should be Rubios moment, but that the senator has a substantive problem too.

 Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and the Congressional Makers Caucus hosted artists Tuesday at the Capitol. Exhibits included 3D-printed architectural models, sculpture and jewelry, hand-knitted basketball nets, a collaborative 3D-printed bust of Benjamin Franklin, and 18k gold-plated 3D-printed shoes. Takano, who says hes the only member with a 3D printer in his office, organized the event highlighting groups like the Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh, Catholic University of America Fabrication Lab of Architecture.

 With the government still struggling to find money to create an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast, a private foundation, Intel Corp. and an arm of Amazon.com Inc. said they will pitch in money or other support, officials said at a White House summit Tuesday.

 Ill be speaking on a panel at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Sacramento during the California Newspaper Publishers Assn.s Governmental Affairs Day.

LOGISTICS

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Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
State legislators are calling for a major overhaul of Californias utilities regulator by striking it from the state Constitution and reassigning its sprawling portfolio in the wake of a series of controversies, including the natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) said his measure would decentralize the California Public Utilities Commissions oversight of myriad utilities, including electricity, railroad safety and ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.

After hearing about how the clear warnings of the impending Aliso Canyon gas leak were lost in the shuffle, I concluded that we need to rethink the way we regulate utilities in the state, Gatto said at a news conference Wednesday in Sacramento. Its the opposite of too big to fail. Our concern is that the CPUC is too big to succeed.

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The proposal by Gatto, chairman of the Assemblys utilities committee, would give the Legislature two years to divvy up the functions of the commission among other agencies, which Gatto said would result in a more logical assignment of responsibilities.

Terrie Prosper, spokeswoman for the PUC, said the commission has taken steps toward reform in the last year.

But there is still much to do, and we look forward to working with the Legislature on any constructive and helpful reform initiative that is put forward, she said in a statement. Only by working together on real changes that have the ability to succeed can we make the CPUC stronger and more efficient, and our relationship with the Legislature more productive.

Calls for restructuring the commission have grown louder after events in San Bruno, San Onofre and now Porter Ranch.

An underground well at the Aliso Canyon storage field owned by Southern California Gas Co., a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, has been spewing thousands of tons of natural gas into the skies above the San Fernando Valley since October.

Thousands of residents have been forced from their homes because of headaches, nosebleeds and other health effects.

Meanwhile, the commissions response to the San Bruno pipeline explosion in 2010 and the 2012 closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station have become the subjects of criminal investigations by state and federal prosecutors.

The San Bruno disaster, which left eight people dead and dozens injured, led to closer scrutiny of the regulators cozy relationships with the pipelines owner, PG&E, and the state launched an investigation into allegations of improper back-channel communications between former commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E officials.

Peevey is also under investigation for his role in the shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

The recent history of the PUC has been riddled with questions of the commissions ability to regulate with the peoples best interests in mind, said Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), a coauthor of the measure.

When Peevey stepped down in December 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed a former advisor, Michael Picker, to take the helm. Although Picker has pledged to revamp and increase transparency at the commission, lawmakers and advocates say those promises have come up short.

Brown faced an outcry from PUC critics last year when he vetoed a package of transparency bills directed at the agency. He declared some of the proposals to be unworkable but promised to work with legislators to address their concerns.

The state Senate approved two similar transparency bills last week.

Eliminating the commissions constitutional autonomy may face resistance from Brown, who has been loath to cede power of the executive branchs agencies. But Brown would not need to sign off on the proposal; instead, the Legislature would have to pass it by a two-thirds vote and place it on the November ballot for approval by voters. His office declined to comment.

The two-thirds threshold would be a steep climb for Gattos bill, but he said the raft of negative news about the PUC may aid his efforts.

Its very hard to find a member of the Legislature whose district has not been affected by some of the recent headlines, Gatto said.

Consumer advocates said they were leery of doing away with the commission.

Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, said he is unlikely to support doing away with the panel.

It would be a mistake to get rid of an independent constitutional body, he said. This should be a wake-up call for the Public Utilities Commission to let the public in and to let the sunlight in.

Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), a longtime commission critic whose district includes San Bruno, said the Gatto proposal merits serious consideration.

Weve been working to try and reform the PUC for the last five years, with some success and some failures, Hill said. Its time to start talking about what we want the PUC to look like. The organization has done too many jobs too poorly for too long, and a reorganization is probably overdue.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com

Mason reported from Sacramento; McDonald from San Diego.
Some Burbank City Council members questioned the value of a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where local city government and airport officials met with senior Federal Aviation Administration officials.

Last week, the council discussed the matter in a public meeting for the first time since Mayor Bob Frutos and Vice Mayor Jess Talamantes, along with Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority officials, met with federal officials on Capitol Hill in the office of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in the 818 >>

Schiff had arranged the meeting after the council and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority each agreed late last year to a set of conceptual terms for a proposed replacement terminal at Bob Hope Airport. The trip was contained in the latest version of the conceptual terms sheet describing the points of agreement.

After returning, officials said in December they had discussed the terms with FAA officials and also broached the subject of a mandatory nighttime curfew at the airfield, which Burbank officials have sought for decades.

However, Councilman David Gordon suggested last week that, for all it seemed to have accomplished, a phone call would have sufficed.

The purpose of going back was to find out if there was a way to get a curfew, Gordon said. As I read this [two-page memo about the trip], they basically said, no.

City Atty. Amy Albano, who had also been on the trip, said the citys memo did not give justice to the substance of the meeting. She said one thing the meeting accomplished was to convey unanimous support among city and airport officials, and their congressman, for a mandatory curfew, even to the point of pursuing federal legislation.

In an interview this week, Frutos repeated that point, saying it was important for [the FAA] to hear that the people of Burbank still want a mandatory curfew and to tell Schiff that a legislative effort is still supported.

Councilman Will Rogers, however, said his list of concerns was longer than the citys memo. He complained that the trip had been scheduled too hastily to allow a proper public meeting for council members to discuss their agenda, goals and representation on the trip, in order to make the most of the opportunity.

He felt that without its own agenda, the council may have been seen as having its agenda set for it by the airport and may have been used as a prop.

This was used for public relations ... to create the appearance of something that wasnt there, and thats the five of us having agreed on terms for a new airport terminal and now were going to go tell the Feds about it, Rogers said. And thats not the case.

No final agreement has been inked. Rogers said he and others were assured that nothing was set in stone in the conceptual terms that were discussed with the FAA.

Rogers noted that airport officials have set a goal of putting the replacement terminal issue on the November ballot and said he felt the city was being put under enormous pressure to help meet that deadline. But, he said, Im not responding to that [pressure].

Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy said she did not feel the city was window dressing, and said she wasnt sure the council could have said no to Schiffs assistance in scheduling it.

This week, Frutos, who has said he took Rogers critiques as a lack of confidence in him, said in a perfect world, I would agree with him 100%, but delaying the trip could have jeopardized any meeting at all and kept things from moving forward.

--

Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland
The impacts of a possible higher minimum wage in Glendale are being studied by city staffers as the City Council prepares to eventually discuss the issue.

On Monday, neighboring Pasadenas council voted unanimously to gradually hike its minimum wage rate to $13.25 an hour in 2018.

The Los Angeles City Council last year elected to boost its own to $15 by 2020, as did Los Angeles County.

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in the 818 >>

Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian said on Tuesday that city officials are already looking into the outcomes of implementing a local pay hike and will rely on data thats particular to the community, not conjecture or anecdotal stories.

The two likely affected groups: business owners and low-income earners, he said.

The goals are simple, Najarian said in a phone interview. We want to make sure that our businesses are still viable, that none of them are forced out of business by the minimum wage and none of them have to cut back on their workforce as a result.

Part of the information the mayor said he also wants to see is how many minimum-wage jobs are currently filled in Glendale.

We want to make sure that the minimum wage, if raised, is going to truly have a positive effect on those members of our workforce that were trying to help, Najarian said. We want to make sure its getting down to those low-income earners.

According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2009 to 2013, 14.2% of local residents live below the poverty level compared to the states 15.9% average.

Glendale operates under the state minimum wage, which increased to $10 on Jan. 1.

Melinda Clarke, executive director of the Montrose Chamber of Commerce, said the organization hasnt taken a stance on the minimum-wage issue yet.

However, she said the city at this point is trying to stay ahead of the curve.

I think the one concern they have is they dont want to be surrounded by cities that are raising the minimum wage and theyre not, like they would lose out somehow, Clarke said.

But Najarian said that while he thinks Glendale tries to be a team player in the region, keeping up with other cities on this issue is not a driving force.

Clarke said while most of the businesses in her area, the Montrose Shopping Park along Honolulu Avenue, are owner-operated, its hard enough staying in business without a rate hike in place.

Its difficult up here to stay in Montrose, she said. The rents are going up on Honolulu [Avenue], everything is going up.

City spokesman Tom Lorenz said the council could discuss a higher local minimum wage as early as a few months.

--

Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian
Huntington Beach safety officials have plenty on their plates as they ensure the well-being of residents. However, 12 of Surf Citys finest took on a challenge that was more than some could swallow.

More than 50 people gathered inside Ways & Means Oyster House in the Pacific City shopping center Friday to watch Huntington Beach police officers, firefighters and lifeguards slurp down as many fresh oysters they could tolerate in four minutes.

Ways & Means organized the event as a way to build a relationship with safety officials, restaurant co-owner Dena Mathe said.

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The group that won the contest received $300 from the restaurant to donate to a charity of their choice. The runners-up received $100, also for charity.

Mathes son-in-law and co-owner of Ways & Means, Parnell Delcham, has hosted eating contests at every restaurant that he has owned. The last competition he held was at the 25 Degrees restaurant in downtown Huntington Beach, where safety officials ate hamburgers.

Its kind of a tradition with us, Mathe said.

Fridays event was a relay-style eating contest, where one by one the four members of a group had one minute to down as many oysters as possible. When one person finished, the next member of the team would jump in and try to do the same.

Every safety official, perhaps because of the courage they have to face on their jobs, was optimistic about his and her  one woman participated  chances, including firefighter Eric Blaska, who said he was planning to eat one oyster per second.

Im going to use one hand to feed myself an oyster while my other hand is grabbing the next one, he said. It takes some coordination, but as firefighters we have a lot of coordination, so well be able to handle it.

To begin, the participants gathered around a tall bar table near the middle of the restaurant and watched servers place freshly shucked oysters in their shells.

When they received the go-ahead, the safety officials, one per team, started devouring every oyster they could get their hands on. Firefighter Jason Raymond did what Blaska suggested and practically inhaled oysters using both hands. He finished those in his tray so quickly that he restored to stealing the mollusks from his opponents trays.

While the firefighters were eating every oyster in sight, one lifeguard was struggling to keep his oysters down. Lifeguard Sterling Foxtrot managed about a half-dozen in a minute, which was mostly spent gagging.

I had never eaten raw oysters before, and they were really salty, he said.

The firefighters ate a whopping 93 oysters, giving them the victory and the $300 prize. Blaska said the money will be donated to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

The Police Department knocked down 81 oysters, while the Marine Safety Division managed to put away 63. Police will be donating their money to the 9/11 victims fund, and the lifeguards will allocate their winnings toward a scholarship for the junior lifeguards.

Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis said the lifeguards should have won the competition because they are always in the ocean. While the Marine Safety Division is a part of the Fire Department, Panis did not hold back from throwing a playful jab at his firefighting colleagues.

Those fire guys sit around the station cooking and eating all day, he said jokingly. They are professional eaters. Theyre great, as far as the job they do, but theyre good cooks and know how to eat, so we had a disadvantage from the start.
The outgoing commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan warned Congress on Tuesday that security there will deteriorate further from a resurgent Taliban unless the U.S. military makes a long-term commitment to stay.

Army Gen. John F. Campbell, who has led the international force since August 2014, said the Afghan military is uneven and inconsistent on the battlefield and is beset by corruption. He said the central government in Kabul probably wont be able to fully defend itself until the 2020s.

The warning is the latest from a U.S. military officer that suggests the Pentagon wants to reconsider President Obamas plan to cut the current U.S. deployment of 9,800 military advisors and Special Operations troops in half by the time he leaves office.

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It comes after a year that saw Afghan army and police suffer thousands of casualties as U.S.-led coalition troops steadily withdrew from the battlefield as part of Obamas effort to end Americas longest war.

Campbell indicated to the House Armed Services Committee that he favors keeping the full complement of U.S. troops in Afghanistan at least through this year to bolster the fragile Afghan government.

Afghanistan is at an inflection point, Campbell said. I believe if we do not make deliberate, measured adjustments, 2016 is at risk of being no better, and possibly worse, than 2015.

Last week, Army Lt. Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., who has been nominated to replace Campbell, gave a similar message to the Senate committee. He promised to prepare a detailed assessment within 90 days of taking the job to determine how many U.S. troops are needed.

Most U.S. troops are focused on advising Afghan police or military troops, or are tracking and killing fighters from Al Qaeda and, in recent weeks, Islamic State. Both extremist groups sought to establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan in 2015, he said.

Battles with the Taliban last year also revealed glaring weaknesses in Afghan security forces.

In September, Taliban fighters overran the northern town of Kunduz, the first urban area they had captured since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks.

On Oct. 3, a U.S. AC-130 gunship attacked a hospital in Kunduz run by Doctors Without Borders, an international aid group, killing more than 40 people in the worst such incident of the war. The Pentagon called the airstrike a mistake.

Security remains in flux, Campbell told the committee.

At any given time, about one-fourth of the 407 district centers are at risk of falling to militant groups, including Islamic State, he said.

A report released Jan. 30 by the Pentagons independent inspector general said the Taliban controls more territory now than at any time since the war began.

The White House has authorized more airstrikes against Islamic State positions, particularly in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where the group has gained strength.

The Sunni Muslim extremist group has attracted 1,000 to 3,000 fighters, U.S. officials say. Many shifted allegiance from other militant groups, including Al Qaeda.

According to local media reports, U.S. airstrikes on Monday killed 29 militants and destroyed a radio station, known as Voice of the Caliphate, that was used to broadcast propaganda for Islamic State.

Last month, a U.S. Army staff sergeant was killed and two fellow Green Berets were wounded in a battle between coalition forces and Taliban near Marjah, in the southern province of Helmand.

Campbell was asked why the Afghan government could not fend for itself after the U.S. and its allies have spent tens of billions of dollars over the last 15 years.

He replied that the Afghan army was essentially a collection of guerrilla fighters and militias at the start of the war.

Too many times we try to compare the Afghan security forces with the U.S. Army, Campbell said. The U.S. Army has been around for 240 years.

Follow @wjhenn for military and defense info.
Wasil Ahmad learned to fire a gun at age 9, after his father was killed by Taliban militants.

Before long, his uncle said, the boy had become a celebrated Taliban killer, credited with gunning down six insurgents during a battle last summer.

Wasil was waiting Monday at a fruit stand in Tirin Kot, the capital of southern Afghanistans Uruzgan province, when he was shot dead by two gunmen. His uncle said he was 12 years old.

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The boys death  in a conflict that began before he was born  has made national headlines and served as a grave reminder that children continue to fight and die on all sides of the enduring hostilities in Afghanistan.

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The United Nations documented 68 cases of children  including three girls  being recruited by either government forces or insurgents in 2014. Afghan news media often broadcast video confessions by reported child bombers recruited by the Taliban. The Afghan government signed a 2011 U.N. plan to prevent the recruitment and use of underage fighters, but the practice continues, particularly among anti-Taliban militias in remote areas that have government support but are not formally part of Afghan security forces.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said via text message Wednesday that the government doesnt recruit children. Wasils uncle, Abdul Samad, a local police commander in Uruzgan, said in a telephone interview that the boy was not a member of the Afghan Local Police, a U.S.-backed government militia, or any other formal fighting force.

Wasil was doing what anyone in his situation would do, Samad said.

He had to take up arms, he said in a phone interview. He was defending his home, his family.

In Samads telling, Wasil picked up an AK-47 rifle after his father was killed three years ago in battle against the Taliban. He said he wanted revenge.

Teach me how to shoot this, his uncle said Wasil asked him.

The boy proved a quick study, learning to fire everything from shotguns and pistols to heavy weapons. He even got behind the wheel of a police pickup.

The real test of Wasils ability came last summer, when the family home in Khas Uruzgan district came under a 71-day Taliban siege.

According to his uncle, Wasil single-handedly shot and killed six Taliban fighters in that two-month period. In his years fighting the Taliban, Samad said Wasils father killed 13 Taliban members.

You could circle the globe and you wouldnt find someone this brave and this courageous at such a young age, Samad said.

The circumstances of the boys death remained murky. Samad said Wasil was carrying a pistol Monday but did not get off a shot. He was shot twice, in the head and the shoulder, he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the killing. The Taliban did not respond to questions from The Times.

Local officials in Uruzgan and others hailed Wasil as a hero, but some said his story offered yet another example of the price paid by Afghan youth in the more than 14-year conflict.

In the first six months of 2015, the U.N. Mission in Afghanistan documented 1,270 casualties among children  320 deaths and 950 injuries  a 13% increase over the prior year.

Turning children into warlords is wrong in the first place, WazhmaFrogh Zulfiqar, a civil society activist in Kabul, said on Twitter.

Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in an interview Wednesday that despite a law passed by President Ashraf Ghanis government last year outlawing people younger than 18 in the armed forces, children continue to be used in this way by all sides.

The Taliban even seized on Wasils death. A pro-Taliban Twitter account accused the government of hypocrisy and said the use of child soldiers for fighting and other purposes [is] widespread among government forces.

The Taliban have long been accused of employing child soldiers. Afghan media frequently broadcast stories of children allegedly recruited by the insurgent group to become suicide bombers. In December, two 12-year-olds in Sar-e Pol and Faryab provinces turned themselves into police, saying the Taliban trained them to carry out suicide bombings against local officials.

They were the same age as Wasil, whose family said he was about to start seventh grade.

Some may call Wasil Ahmad a hero, Gossman said, but in fact, its a tragedy that a 12-year-old should die in this way.

Special correspondents Latifi reported from Kabul and Amiri from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

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Looking for another sign of a weakened China economy? Try the rent-a-foreigner market
To take stock of the Chinese economy, you can look at any number of traditional measures: Gross domestic product is growing at a slower pace, the equity markets are plunging, the currencys value is ebbing.

And now theres another indicator of change: The rent-a-foreigner market appears to be weakening, and going downscale.

Just a few years ago, foreigners who came to China to study or teach English were in high demand. Agencies hired them to pose as scientists, architects, engineers and models to lend an international, high-class flair to press conferences, meetings and sales pitches, thereby goosing business transactions. The phenomenon was in many ways a symptom of  and further fuel for  go-go growth built on dubious foundations.

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The jobs were often absurd: One expat, Mitch Moxley, was paid $1,000 to pose as a quality control expert representing a nonexistent California-based company; he chronicled his experience in a 2010 piece for the Atlantic headlined Rent a White Guy.

In 2008, a Scottish woman was hired to pretend to be an oil tycoon at a petroleum drilling conference in Shandong province. We just had to be at the dinner and an opening ceremony  we were told not to mention that we live in China, she said, requesting anonymity to avoid damaging her future employment prospects.

A few years ago, professional foreigners in Chengdu could make about $160 to $220 for just a few hours of standing around  enough to cover a months rent, said David Borenstein, the director of a TV documentary about the phenomenon called China Dreamland.

But times are changing. Especially in larger metropolises, the practice seems to have waned. The factors behind the shift are complex, but may include a corruption crackdown, the increasing sophistication of the Chinese consumer, and growing scrutiny from authorities and cultural critics.

The slowdown in the foreigner industry has made it really hard for a lot of good people who were supporting their families as professional laowai, said Borenstein, using the Chinese word for foreigners. He calculates rates have fallen by as much as 75%.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese literature and language at Peking University, called on companies last year to abandon rent-a-foreigner gigs. After 30 years of economic reform and opening, he wrote in an op-ed in the Global Times newspaper, China needs to have more cultural confidence and halt this absurd phenomenon.

Max Liu, founder of Fun Model Management, said the rent-a-foreigner fad in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai has worn off.

Its less and less in Beijing and Shanghai, because people are used to seeing foreigners, he said. But still, if you go to cities like Wuhan, Chengdu, those people there, its like Oh, you brought someone from abroad, they must be an expert in something.

In Chinas so-called first tier cities, the casual gigs that expats are getting have become more campy and lowbrow. Last summer, a company called Sweetie Salad grabbed attention when it hired dozens of foreign men to dress up as Spartanswearing skin tight-shorts, sandals, capes and little elseto promote its delivery service in Beijing.

Last week, the appliance retailer Suning  sort of a Chinese Best Buy  made headlines with a PR stunt in which foreigners were hired not as faux Ph.D.s, but for the menial job of delivering packages ahead of the busy Chinese New Year holiday.

In both cases, Chinese authorities were not amused. The Spartan spectacle was quickly brought to an end by Beijing police, who detained the performers for disrupting public order. And publicity around the deliverymen gigs prompted immigration officials to investigate whether some of Sunings temp workers were violating the terms of their student visas.

Still, in a racially homogeneous society like Chinas, and particularly in smaller cities, foreigners still are objects of fascination. Sunings marketing stunt grabbed the attention of the Chinese press, which seemed intrigued by the notion that expats might stoop to delivering packages.

The state-run China Daily ran not one but two stories on Sunings recruitment drive, splashing a photo of Minnesotan Samuel Keith across the front page on Friday.

Akmal Abdurakhimov, 21, a Muscovite enrolled at the China University of Petroleum, indicated that the work had an almost minstrel flavor: People open the door, see me and go, Laowai! he said, recounting how customers reacted to his presence as some sort of exotic practical joke.

Which, in some sense, may have been true.

Keith, a 26 year-old Mandarin student at Peking University whos an international business major at the University of Arkansas, couldnt read the addresses on the boxes, hardly speaks enough Chinese to call customers to see if theyre home, and is unfamiliar with Beijings streets.

Im supposed to knock on the door, and when the customer answers, pull this out and say, Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year), Keith said, explaining his duties and awkwardly holding up a large red-and-gold decorative knot festooned with auspicious Chinese characters.

Although a regular Suning deliveryman held Keiths hand every step of the way, it was still slow going.

In his first two days with Suning, Keith said he delivered just five or six packagesand gave as many interviews. (At midday Thursday, after Keith and his hand-holder, Li Yunwang, finally managed to deliver their first package with a gaggle of press in tow, Li turned to one reporter and said dryly, Normally by this hour Ive delivered 30 or 40.)

Suning marketing specialist Jessica Fan wouldnt say how much the foreigners were being paid. But recruits indicated the scale ranged from about $90 to $150 per day  hardly stratospheric, although double or triple what a typical deliveryman makes. Fan insisted that the company was hiring foreigners mainly because they were facing a deliveryman shortage as the holiday approached.

But Jeffrey Towson, a professor of investment at Peking University, said the notion was preposterous. China has a lot of shortages, he said. People isnt one of them.

Keith was later questioned by immigration authorities; he said he was not taking any money for the Suning gig.

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For expats who do take rent-a-foreigner jobs, the blatant racism in the pay scales can be a bit jarring.

Zhang Rui, a marketing employee of Liaocheng Global United America Cultural Communications, an employment agency, said the pay for black hires to appear at trade fairs and business meetings starts at about $75 a day. Whites, Zhang said, begin at $150.

White people are very confident....They have more class. If it is a formal meeting, a white persons presence is more convincing, Zhang said. So white people are normally preferred for the culture or academic-related events. Black people are hired for bar openings, trade events and commodity promotions.

In a certain light, the changes in the rent-a-foreigner marketand the governments increased scrutinycould be seen as a positive indicator for the Chinese economy. It may reflect consumers growing savvy and more sophisticated tastes, not to mention an unwinding of over-leveraged, smoke-and-mirrors deal-making with little grounding in economic reality.

Its cringe-worthy to see people pretending to be fake engineers to sustain a real estate bubble, Borenstein said. At least they can remind us of how utterly absurd finance capitalism has become.

Staff writer Jonathan Kaiman, and Nicole Liu and Yingzhi Yang in The Times Beijing bureau, contributed to this report.

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When Chen Xue landed a job as a sales team manager at a high-flying Internet startup in May, she thought she was getting in on the ground floor of Chinas next e-commerce boom.

And so it seemed. The company, an online lender named eZubao, was going gangbusters, adding tens of thousands of customers a week thanks to promises of high-yield investments  between 9% and 14.6%.

I saw eZubaos advertisements on [state-run] CCTV at prime time, so I thought it was a big and competitive company, said Chen, 33, who was so impressed that she sank the equivalent of about $31,000 into eZubaos financial products. Most of the money came from her husbands parents.

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Then, disaster struck. In December, eZubao abruptly shut its doors after 18 months in business. Police started investigating. Customers began protesting. This week, authorities broadcast interviews with eZubaos detained founder and CEO confessing (perhaps under duress) that the entire operation was a Ponzi scheme. The state-run New China News Agency said the company had cheated 900,000 clients out of $7.6 billion, possibly the largest financial fraud in Chinese history.

Police urge eZubao depositors to follow procedures as they line up outside the State Bureau for Petition on Dec. 28, 2015, to file complaints in Beijing. (Andy Wong / AP)

In the last decade, China has seen an explosion of shadow banking, with financial firms like eZubao performing bank-like functions but operating with much less oversight. On the upside, thats given millions of lower-income individuals and small businesses unprecedented access to credit as well as new ways to invest their savings, no matter how modest their nest eggs may be.

But analysts have been warning for years that the lack of regulation and transparency in the sector could be a ticking time bomb.

Just how severe the problem might be, though, is a matter of contention, since experts cant even agree on how big Chinas shadow banking sector is. A report last year by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, said estimates range from $769 billion to $7 trillion.

Brookings researchers concluded that the industry is still small enough that it presents a relatively low risk of triggering a financial crisis similar to that experienced by the U.S. in 2008, and that China has relatively large reserves to deal with any minor meltdowns.

Still, they warned that if that optimistic view is wrong, it is likely to be because the lack of clarity about shadow banking has hidden larger problems.

Some of the biggest of those problems are with peer-to-peer lending  the business that eZubao was in. Such companies serve as matchmakers between borrowers and investors. Last year, some 800 P2P lenders in China shut down  three times as many in 2014, the New China agency said. The biggest to fail was eZubao.

How authorities respond to the eZubao meltdown will be a test: Chinese officials promised this week that clients could soon register their grievances on the Ministry of Public Securitys website. But police have also detained protesters to discourage demonstrations, and propaganda officials have deployed censors to contain online complaints and promote the official line on the case.

Despite salacious disclosures from eZubaos high-school dropout founder and luxury brand-loving CEO  including that they purchased a $20-million villa in Singapore and bought out the entire inventory of a Louis Vuitton store  public wrath has shifted rapidly toward the government.

After seeing eZubao closed, I dont believe in the Chinese government anymore; I dont believe in this country anymore, said Chen. My passion and love towards this country is all gone.

Chen is facing a quadruple whammy: Shes out of work, her in-laws have lost their life savings, her former clients are badgering her for their money back, and shes having trouble finding a new job.

Once a company hears that I used to be an eZubao employee, they reject me right away, said Chen, who lives in Inner Mongolia and has a 3-year-old son. My life has become such a mess. Im under so much pressure now.

In many ways, eZubaos founder, Ding Ning, seemed to be living the China dream. The 34-year-old from impoverished Anhui province began working with his familys metal buckle business at age 17, and later branched out into manufacturing can openers and screws.

In 2012, with China in the midst of a tech boom, Ding  despite no experience in banking or finance  set up a new company, Anhui Yucheng Financial Leasing. Two years later, apparently with help from a cousin in Australia, Ding launched eZubaos commercial operations.

Ding found attractive women to staff the executive ranks; former staff have come forward in recent days to say Ding recruited them through a high-end matchmaking service called Enzo.

Chief executive Zhang Min told investigators Ding asked many of his female employees to wear luxury brands such as Gucci and Chanel to appear professional. Authorities say Zhang herself was given an expensive diamond ring, pricey watches, luxury cars, $84 million in cash and the mansion in Singapore.

Zhang became one of the prominent faces of the company. In one TV commercial  filmed in eZubaos now-abandoned offices on the 27th floor of a Beijing skyscraper, she glides confidently through the tastefully appointed suite. eZubao. Enjoy your life easily. Collect success in your hands. eZubao, Yucheng Group, the script murmurs.

The company bought prime-time slots on state-run TV and plastered its ads on bullet trains and airlines. It touted its certification as a Credible Model Company of Chinese Internet in 2014, although the designation came from a dubious outfit that collects money for its certificates.

In late November, eZubaos parent company, Yucheng, was honored as one of the Most Responsible Enterprises of 2015  alongside major brands including Samsung, Porsche and Amway  at an event called the 11th Corporate Social Responsibility International Summit.

Such publicity, said Kang Ting, a 27-year-old from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, created a strong impression that eZubao was legit  and well-connected.

Because of eZubaos advertisements on CCTV, we never questioned its credibility, said Kang, who until last summer had worked as a stock and futures trader in Hohhot. She had $4,600 of her savings in eZubao when it shut down.

Kamel Mellahi, a China specialist at Warwick Business School in England, said P2P platforms have surged in popularity in China because banks in China still do not provide enough credit to small and medium business  they favor large state companies. Chinas P2P business remains in its infancy, he added, and fraudulent platforms such as eZubao are expected to surface.

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Nevertheless, perhaps what is unique in this case is the suggestion that investors trusted eZubao because it used reliable state-backed channels such as high-speed-trains and CCTV to market itself, which consumers mistakenly took it as an indicator that it had the government backing, he said.

Many customers of Chinas P2P lending platforms are relatively poor and inexperienced with financial institutions. In a case study on one major P2P lender published this fall, the Assn. of Chartered Certified Accountants, a global body of professional accountants, found that 56% of customers had never borrowed from banks or other institutions, the majority had only a high school degree, and 52% of borrowers had income between $310 and $770 a month.

Between the end of 2011 and 2014, the number of online P2P lenders in China jumped from 50 to more than 1,500. Only in July did China introduce what the accountants group called relatively light regulatory measures aimed at offering greater protections for borrowers and lenders.

Those guidelines, however, were not immediately implemented. In late December, after eZubao shut down and protesters hit the streets, Chinese authorities issued a draft plan to impose greater restrictions on P2P platforms, including prohibiting them from accepting deposits or providing any guarantees for lenders.

For eZubao investors like Kang, those regulations may be too little, too late. So far, she has no idea whether shell see any of her funds returned.

Investigators say that theyre sorting through records nowand claim they had to use backhoes and other equipment to unearth thousands of documents that eZubao executives buried 20 feet underground, on the outskirts of Hefei, in Anhui province.

For a long time, it was rumored that we would all get our money back, said Kang, whos unemployed. But we have not heard anything positive since then.

Nicole Liu and Yingzhi Yang in the Times Beijing bureau, and special correspondent Chuan Xu, contributed to this report.

Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from China

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As Colombia nears a historic treaty to formally end the oldest armed conflict in the Americas, its president, Juan Manuel Santos, came to Washington on Wednesday to ask President Obama for money and other help for the complicated task of post-war reconstruction.

Santos three-day visit is timed to mark the 15th anniversary of Plan Colombia, the controversial U.S.-backed $10-billion program that helped Colombia battle leftist guerrillas and eradicate coca fields but also gave rise to grievous human rights abuse.

Human rights activists, academics and others argue that any new U.S. plan for Colombia should shift its focus from military aid to the peace-time challenges of removing land mines, granting land titles to indigenous communities, building government institutions in rural areas and providing recovery for victims.

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For more than half a century, Colombian governments have fought largely peasant armies of leftist guerrillas, who claimed they were fighting to eliminate gross inequalities in land distribution and elsewhere in the economy.

Drug traffickers in a country that is the leading producer of cocaine corrupted the political process, often co-opting one side or the other and undoubtedly prolonging the fight.

Nearly four years ago, however, Santos and the principal remaining guerrilla faction, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, entered into serious peace talks in Havana, Cuba.

After the hammering out of numerous issues, a March 23 deadline has been set for an accord, and, though earlier efforts repeatedly failed, all indications are that the two sides will sign an agreement this time.

Most Colombians have never seen one day of peace, Santos said Wednesday in his first public event in Washington. Colombia got accustomed to war. You ask people what they think about peace, and they are afraid. It is change.

We have to teach them that peace will be marvelous, he told a packed auditorium at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a think tank.

Santos is scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Thursday and is courting congressional and administration officials.

Administration officials said Obama will request increased funding for Colombia in his next budget, to be submitted to Congress this month.

Mark Feierstein, senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, would not give a figure but said the request would exceed the roughly $300 million Colombia now receives annually.

That amount is down from $1 billion at the height of Plan Colombia.

Santos has declined to put a price tag on what are expected to be ambitious peace-and-reconciliation efforts. Reports in Colombia have estimated he would seek around $500 million annually.

It is not clear what kind of reception Santos pleas will receive. Some U.S. officials have said they worry that Colombia fatigue has settled in, and Congress might be reluctant to increase aid for the troubled but relatively prosperous country.

A bipartisan group of 57 House members, however, issued a letter this week urging Obama to provide Colombia with robust and concrete support to enact peace accords.

Given the investment in war through Plan Colombia, the letter stated, the U.S. needs to demonstrate that same commitment to peace now.

Plan Colombia helped the nation move from a harshly violent country on the brink of becoming a failed state to its current position of economic success, with a stronger democracy and at the threshold of peace, Santos said.

But the plan came with a sharp downside. U.S.-trained Colombian security forces have been accused of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and spying on opposition, church and union figures.

Guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary squads often in the employ of the landed elite also committed abuses, including killings, kidnappings and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

Plan Colombia achieved security, but those gains came at a high price, said Gimena Sanchez Garzoli, an expert on human rights in Colombia at the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization. Celebrating Plan Colombia is a mistake.

Several army commanders under investigation on suspicion of murder are up for promotion. And more than 100 defenders of human rights have been slain in the last two years, according to Sanchez group.

Before 2008, 80% of the nearly $10 billion in U.S. aid went to the military side of the conflict, including a fleet of Black Hawk helicopters.

More recently, the share allocated to the so-called soft side, such as humanitarian and social programs, grew somewhat, and some of the aid was conditioned on progress in human rights.

Activists want to see those conditions strengthened in future allocations.

It is imperative that the U.S. government not forget the grave human rights abuses that occurred at the high-water mark of U.S. assistance, said Lisa Haugaard, executive director of the Latin American Study Group Education Fund, which monitors aid programs. The U.S., having invested so much in war, has an obligation [now]. Peace is expensive.

The peace accords will not bestow amnesty on those who committed crimes against humanity or war crimes. But it will allow the wars minor offenders to escape jail time if they confess, apologize and renounce violence.

In his remarks Wednesday, Santos said he was surprised to learn that many of Colombias victims are the first to forgive. He put the number of victims at 7.5 million in a country of just under 50 million people.

Colombias indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and other rural peasants were disproportionately harmed. The peace plan contains a section promoting rural development and outlines political participation for former combatants.

The FARC will also be required to sever ties with drug-trafficking gangs. Santos said the guerrillas have pledged to do so. The last details being negotiated now, he said, are demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of approximately 8,000 guerrilla fighters.

Eventually, the peace plan will be submitted to popular vote in the form of a plebiscite.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who will meet with Santos on Friday, voiced support for more aid for Colombia as part of a successor strategy that will also continue to put emphasis on fighting drug trafficking.

Colombians now have an historic opportunity to embrace a future free from conflict and violence, Kerry wrote in an op-ed article published in the Miami Herald. The United States has good reason to stand by their side.

For more news about global affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson
Syrian peace talks that opened less than a week ago after months of diplomatic maneuvering seemed on the verge of collapse Wednesday, as the chief United Nations mediator declared a pause and each side blamed the other for the setback.

The U.N. envoy, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters in a surprise announcement in Geneva that he was calling a temporary pause in the talks, which he said would be scheduled to resume Feb. 25.

It is not the end and it is not the failure of the talks, De Mistura told reporters.

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Whether the talks would actually resume in three weeks remained unclear amid recriminatory salvos from rival sides in the Syrian conflict and their foreign backers.

The talks are considered the most robust diplomatic effort to date to end the Syrian conflict, now approaching its fifth year.

U.S. officials, who strongly supported the talks, put part of the blame on Russian airstrikes backing a Syrian government offensive making significant advances in the northern province of Aleppo, which has long been split between opposition and loyalist forces.

It is difficult in the extreme to see how strikes against civilian targets contribute in any way to the peace process now being explored, John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington. These attacks run counter not only to the desires of the Syrian people, who want to see this political process succeed, but also to the stated intentions of the Russians themselves, who joined with U.S. officials to help craft the peace-talk process.

Moscow says its air power in Syria targets terrorists fighting to overthrow the Syrian government and not civilians.

The Russian airstrikes, which began Sept. 30, have been a major boost for the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the run-up to the Geneva talks. Russian air power has helped turn the tide of the war on several battlefronts, including the Aleppo area, leaving little incentive for Damascus to yield concessions demanded by the opposition. Russia says it has no intention of letting up.

I see no reason to stop these airstrikes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in a visit to the Persian Gulf state of Oman.

The top Russian diplomat also took a verbal swipe at the main Syrian opposition bloc, the High Negotiations Committee, saying some members are too spoiled by their sponsors, apparent references to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which have backed armed insurgents seeking to topple Assad.

After the postponement in talks was announced, Riyad Hijab, head of the opposition committee in Geneva, issued what amounted to an ultimatum, saying his group would not return absent some concessions from Damascus. The opposition bloc has demanded that the government and its Russian allies halt bombardment and that Damascus end sieges of rebel-held areas and release some prisoners.

We will not return here unless we see something on the ground, Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who defected to the opposition, told reporters in Geneva, speaking only hours after arriving in the Swiss city.

The chief government negotiator, Bashar Jaafari, blamed the breakdown on the opposition, accusing the antigovernment bloc of a childish attempt to subvert the talks by demanding preconditions before negotiations even began.

The suspension of talks was a significant setback for a process that began less than a week ago and was backed by major powers on both sides of the conflict, including the United States and Russia.

The various outside powers supporting the Geneva talks, known as the International Syria Support Group, are scheduled to meet Feb. 11 to discuss the fate of the negotiations.

In his comments, the U.N.s De Mistura expressed frustration that the Syrian people had not yet seen concrete humanitarian results from the talks, such as lifting of sieges and a reduction of bombardment  steps that the opposition has demanded before formal negotiations begin. He had been pressing for such steps.

The talks would not be meaningful unless they were also accompanied by immediate tangible benefits for the Syrian people, De Mistura said, adding that he had repeatedly made that point to the United Nations and countries backing the talks.

The veteran diplomat, speaking under umbrellas in the rain outside a lakefront hotel in the Swiss city, emphasized that both sides  the government and opposition representatives  were committed to starting the peace process envisioned in the agenda of the Geneva talks. Supporters of the talks hope they will result in a cease-fire in the Syrian conflict, political reforms, a new constitution and U.N.-backed elections.

Although experts said that achieving such goals was a long way off in war-ravaged and deeply divided Syria, the talks were widely viewed as a potentially positive development in a conflict that has left more than 200,000 people dead, destroyed towns and cities, and sent refugees streaming throughout the region and into Europe.

Both sides insisted on the fact they are interested in having the political process started, De Mistura said.

The decision to postpone came after days of uncertainly about the talks, which formally opened Friday, though the major opposition delegation did not arrive until Monday. Ambiguity has plagued the process.

De Mistura has held meetings with both sides, but the government and opposition delegations say no substantial talks have occurred, only preliminary discussions.

The High Negotiations Committee, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the talks if the Syrian government does not halt sieges and bombardment of rebel-held areas and release prisoners. Damascus said such questions should be dealt with as part of the negotiations and refused to consider preconditions.

Meanwhile, Syrian government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, were making sweeping gains.

On Wednesday, the Syrian government said its forces had broken opposition sieges of a pair of northern towns, Nubul and Zahra in Aleppo province, after more than two years. The two towns, with majority Shiite Muslim populations, are pro-government bastions and had been encircled by Sunni Islamist rebels, including Al Qaeda-linked forces. The government said it has also succeeded in blocking key rebel supply routes from neighboring Turkey.

Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington and special correspondent Nabih Bulos in Paris contributed to this report.

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The World Health Organization declared the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus as a "public health emergency of international concern" after it was linked to a sudden increase in birth abnormality cases in Latin America.

In an official statement posted on the WHO Media Center, the international health authority announced that the Zika virus signifies a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)" after it manifested connection to an unprecedented increase in microcephaly in Europe and the Americas.

Because of this, a committee has been created to study and find a solution to the dilemma. It is now being called the "Emergency Committee on Zika Virus."

According to the statement, the cases of microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne virus manifested in several western countries, including Brazil, France, the U.S., and El Salvador.

Furthermore, the committee made recommendations regarding the study of the virus as well as the health conditions being linked to it.

One of these is a standardized and enhanced surveillance of cases of microcephaly as well as a serious neurological condition known as the Guillame-Barre Syndrome, particularly in the areas where Zika virus is known to spread.

In a separate statement posted on the WHO Media Center, WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan revealed that experts from the Emergency Committee agree that "a causal relationship between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly is strongly suspected, though not yet scientifically proven."

Chan dubbed the spread of the virus as "extraordinary event" because of the apparent lack of diagnostic tests to properly identify the illness, and the absences of vaccines and other immunity boosters for the populations affected.

Because of this, Chan decided to declare the increased cases of microcephaly and GBS reported in Latin America last year and French Polynesia in 2014 as "a public health emergency of international concern."

She also advised pregnant women to postpone their travel to affected areas, and seek medical advice on how to avoid catching the virus if they live in the affected areas.

As of the writing of this article, Zika virus has already reached Panama where 50 suspected Zika virus cases were confirmed on Monday, according to a report from Tico Times.

"Let's be clear: [Zika] is going to enter, it is going to spread," Panama health ministry epidemological department head Israel Cedeno told the country's TVN-2 as cited by the outlet.

In Colombia, over 1,500 cases of the Zika-linked Guillain-Barre Syndrome is being expected due to the continuous spread of Zika virus.

"We are currently talking about a rate of 2.3 cases of Guillain-Barre for every 1,000 patients with Zika. That is quite a lot," Colombia Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria explained.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new deal aimed to strengthen the Latin American market has been signed by the presidents of Chile and Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet, signed the deal in Chile's La Moneda Palace on Monday, teleSUR reported. Erdogan's meeting with Bachelet was part of a tour that will extend to Ecuador and Peru in search of new markets, which will also open Turkey's strategic entrance to Latin America.

"Chile is a key country for our opening in Latin America and the Caribbean. This strategy of opening in the last 10 years has had a very important impetus," Erdogan said after the meeting, according to a translator quoted by teleSUR.

Bachelet said that Turkey began its Latin America approach in Chile, the news outlet further reported.

"We believe that there is space to expand and diversify our commerce," the Chilean leader took note, specifying the inclusion of "new products and services," teleSUR added. Bachelet said that her administration is hoping to start negotiations in the short term.

Turkey has carried out new diplomatic missions to boost its presence in the Latin American region in the last decade, teleSUR wrote. Since then, commercial exchange has multiplied and reached $10 billion in 2014.

Aside from being a major copper producer, Chile is also home to most of the world's lithium supply, which is used in rechargeable batteries and electric cars, according to Anadolu Agency.

Erdogan also said that tourism will be improved. The number of tourists from Chile visiting Turkey annually was around 17,000, the Turkish leader added.

"We will see some improvements in the near future on that with the opening of a non-stop flight between Istanbul and Santiago by Turkish Airlines which holds the title for the airline flying to the most destinations," Erdogan said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

Chile is the first Latin American nation to sign a free-trade deal with Turkey in 2011, the news outlet added. The two countries' trade volume amounted to about $417 million last year, a decline from 2014's $562 million. Erdogan said that through belief and trust, Chile and Turkey's trade volume could go up to $1 billion in the short term.

The two nations also signed an agreement on added cooperation between their government aid agencies, Anadolu Agency noted.

Erdogan also discussed the crisis of refugees fleeing to Turkey from Iraq and Syria, adding that the issue cost his country to shell out a whopping $9 billion. The Turkish president said that the people who have died because of the refugee crisis "are symbols of the conflict," teleSUR reported.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The first confirmed case of locally-transmitted Zika virus in the U.S. may have been acquired through sexual contact, increasing worry that the 'explosive' pandemic in Latin America has widened its spread.

According to the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS), a patient in Texas tested positive for the Zika virus, making it the first locally transmitted case in the U.S.

What makes this news more terrifying is that health authorities found out that the patient, whose personal information is kept confidential for privacy reasons, got the virus from engaging in sexual intercourse with an infected person from a country where Zika is present.

Previously, identified means of transmission of the Zika virus was only limited to mosquito bites.

Based on a recent update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, evidence has shown that the virus can also be transferred from one person to another, from mother to child through pregnancy, sexual contact and blood transfusion.

However, CDC Director Tom Frieden told CNN that it was an isolated case and should not raise any alarm, especially since they are already examining how the virus can be stopped from spreading.

"There have been isolated cases of spread through blood transfusion or sexual contact and that's not very surprising. The virus is in the blood for about a week. How long it would remain in the semen is something that needs to be studied and we're working on that now," he said.

Even so, Zachary Thompson, the director of the Dallas County health services bureau, called for an awareness campaign regarding the matter.

"Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others," he said in a statement posted on the DCHHS website.

He further noted that aside from avoiding intercourse, sexual protection products like condoms should be used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

The DCHHS site also shared other ways of preventing the spread of Zika virus, which includes DEET, dress, drain and dusk & dawn, or the so-called "4Ds."

The CDC has also issued a travel warning that pinpointed specific countries to be avoided.

Symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, though only one out of five people with the virus actually feel ill.

So far, there is still no specific treatment and vaccine for the virus, but because of its sudden "explosive" spread, authorities are now working on finding ways to end the outbreak.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Malaysian government has advised its citizens not to visit South American countries amid the spread of the Zika virus in the region.

Malaysia Kini said Health Minister Dr. S Subramaniam gave out the advisory to prevent the virus from entering and spreading in the country.

Subramaniam also claimed that this move will also challenge the health ministry to have screenings at the entry points of the country.

"The mosquito-borne disease does not have any clear symptoms such as dengue and those infected with the virus looks like a normal healthy person and will certainly not going to seek medical treatment," the health minister added in the Malaysia Kini report.

It is also expected that a comprehensive list of guidelines will be released by the government in the coming days in order to control and prevent the virus.

Subramaniam noted that they will also find and destroy breeding places of Zika and dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes.

A similar The Malaysian Insider report noted that they are taking these efforts since the country already has the mosquitoes, which also carry the dengue virus.

"Malaysia will face a challenge of the virus spreading very fast if it is found in the country, as we already have the mosquitoes -- the same one that causes dengue fever," the health minister added.

He also claimed that the travel advisories of the country will not only warn travellers about going to Zika-infected countries but also educate them that they should immediately inform the ministry if they are coming from a country where the virus is active.

"It is a challenge to us as the individual carrying the virus shows no symptoms," he noted.

The New York Times said that as of December 2015, the virus has been transmitted to about 45 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Pacific Islands, based on a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some of the infected countries in South America with reported Zika virus cases include Brazil, Colombia, Honduras and El Salvador.

A CBS News report said that the mosquito-borne disease has been associated with giving birth to babies with very small heads and undeveloped brains -- a condition dubbed as microcephaly.

Last year, more than 3,5000 women in Brazil had babies born with the said condition.

The World Health Organization has also declared the virus as "an emergency health issue" in the international realm, as per The Rakyat Post.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Peru's corrupt officials have reportedly taken 3 billion soles ($860 million) from the country's public funds since 2010.

The news was announced by Peru's Controller General Fuad Khoury on Tuesday at the inauguration of the 6th International Anticorruption Conference, or CAAI, EFE reported (via Fox News Latino).

The three-day conference, with the theme "Anti-Corruption Political Agenda for 2012," was organized in the capital Lima by the office, Peru this Week wrote.

According to Khoury, the Controller General's Office has identified over 21,500 criminal irregularities committed by more than 11,000 officials over the past six years, the news outlet wrote. Khoury said that there are currently 11 regional governors who have been slapped with charges for alleged corrupt acts.

To combat corruption, the office introduced administrative procedures to punish 7,000 officials since 2011, EFE further reported. Thus far, however, it only managed to sanction 747 of the corrupt officials with punishments of up to 5-year bands on holding public office positions.

"The pending task is to see how we can solve the problem of decentralization, given that it has transferred a significant percentage of responsibilities without having organized (them properly)," Khoury said, as quoted by EFE.

Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano said that one of the key facets to combat corruption in the country is the establishment of a political deal between parties and players on the domestic political section, Andina news agency reported.

"A political agreement between parties with nationwide presence is required [...] one of the dramas of Peruvian democracy is the lack of solid parties that have remarkable presence all over the country and seek to represent all citizens' interests," he said, as quoted by the news outlet.

According to Cateriano, a constitutional debate is needed to analyze the Magna Carta aspects like regionalization, which aided the rise of corruption over the last few years at some regional government offices, Andina wrote. Cateriano insisted that the current administration, led by President Ollanta Humala, has worked on eradicating corruption, but it continues to be a pending matter that the next president will have to address.

Cateriano added that the State should adopt all international commitments to end corruption, Andira noted.

The conference will also present agendas and ideas by experts and candidates running for the South American country's April 10 presidential election, Peru this Week noted. Among the speakers are Keiko Fujimori, Antero Flores-Araoz, Renzo Reggiardo, Felipe Castillo, and Daniel Urresti. The presidential candidates are required to explain their anti-corruption policy; strategy and goals on the prevention, detection, and punishment for corruption, and the implementation of specific actions in the short, medium, and long term.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A shocking viral video of six armed Mexican federal police retreating from the Sinaloan town when it became apparent that they were outnumbered by a Mexican criminal gang on a shooting rampage has surfaced. The armed criminals executed a businessman in front of his family in broad daylight. This latest incident is bound to be another strong blow to the Mexican government, who is trying to keep up efforts to maintain peace and order in the country.

In a report with Fox News Latino, the businessman was identified as Elias Constantino. He was dragged out of his family home in Cristo Rey, Sinaloa. A distress call was made, but when the six armed policemen arrived at the scene, they realized that they were outnumbered.

Instead of attempting to help the victim and his family, the cops began to run away from the scene. A desperate woman's voice can be heard in the background telling her companions to "puncture the tires." Constantino's family tried to stop the police from fleeing in their municipal police car. However, it was too late, as the police team had already fled in their car.

The family could only watch helplessly as Constantino was dragged to the street, where shots are heard. The website said that a black vehicle can be seen leaving a few seconds later. As expected, the incident drew outrage as many citizens feared for their own safety once the video went viral.

The Mexican drug gangs are a thorn in President Enrique Pena Nieto's side. Since his rise to power, Pena Nieto has vowed to raise security efforts in the country. However, Newsweek said that Pena Nieto has failed to establish a clear strategy against organized crime in his six-year term.

He has prioritized economic reforms during his term but has only begun efforts on the country's security. The capture and recapture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman became a source of embarrassment for the country, as Pena Nieto tries to establish a clear-cut plan for imposing the rule of law on organized crime.

Violence and organized crime have become more commonplace in Mexico. The war on narcoterrorism must be given a clear plan -- and soon.

Constantino's body was later found dumped on the Mazatlan-Durango highway. No clear motives have been given behind his execution. The officers, composed of four state police officers and two municipal officers, have given their reasons for their fleeing town, telling investigators that they were "outnumbered."

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
One of the most common childhood conditions that can persist through adolescence and adulthood is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. The National Institute of Mental Health's website describes the disorder as "difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity)."

Over the years, ADHD can be treated with pharmaceuticals and behavioral modifications by a specialist. The disorder's diagnosis, however, is still regarded as unclear or at times, defined in black and white. The New York Times wrote that this vague diagnosis could be a disservice to many children who has ADHD.

Children with ADHD symptoms often prefer impulsivity and inattention, and also face issues of executive function, The New York Times noted. With better executive function, children and adults are able to make more sound judgments and considered choices, which can significantly, affected a person's life and relationships.

A study also found that a healthy executive function early in life is linked to lesser rates of substance abuse, divorce, and incarceration.

Dr. Sonia Krishna of the Texas-based Seton Healthcare said that some children are misdiagnosed with ADHD, while some who need help aren't being diagnosed by specialists at all, according to a report from KXAN. Currently, doctors will declare that a child has ADHD if they meet six out of nine criteria. Krishna argued that this type of template is not the best and recommendable way to properly issue diagnostics.

"That's one of the troubles with psychiatry in general but with ADHD it's a bit subjective in that you do have to meet this arbitrary number," Krishna said, as quoted by KXAN. "Now there is a new idea about thinking about it more on a spectrum."

The assessments to determine ADHD is usually completed by a parent and teacher, which makes the process all the more subjective. For example, they must decide whether a child "often" or "very often" has "difficulty organizing tasks and activities," The New York Times wrote.

If the answers fall in ADHD's range, the child is then prescribed with medication and therapy, along with a qualification for certain disability accommodations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the news outlet added.

The circumstances, however, are different for those who feal below the cutoff and are declared free of the disorder. These children who do not qualify in the spectrum are not given extra time on standardized testing. Some might think that these children would be better off if they scored 1-2 points worse in their evaluations so they could get benefits as well.

It seems like it's better to dismiss ADHD as a clinical disease, and start looking for the best paths to help children improve their ability to focus. After all, better executive function that would start in early environments would undoubtedly present benefits later on in life.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Perhaps the best way to experience a country is to experience its food. Latin America is home to one of the best cuisines the world over. Tasting food during one's travels can add a new level of experience to the destination.

Some of the best examples of Latin American foods can be found on the streets. Not only are they cheap, but they are tasty too. One simply cannot say that they have travelled Latin America without indulging themselves in some authentic Latin American fare. While you can always go to a restaurant, it won't hurt to try food out in the streets.Here are some Latin American street food staples that you should definitely try to sate your palate, per Saveur.

1. Chorizo, Argentina.

These flavorful smoked sausages are a popular Argentine fare. Argentines consider it to be the "King of Sausages." These are cooked on the barbeque grill and are very tasty. Pair these smoked sausages with a cold mug of beer and you are good to go!

2. Tapioca omelette, Brazil.

Tapioca is a favorite in Brazil. This light and fluffy dessert is like a pancake that can be eaten either sweet or savory, depending on the fillings you choose. Some of the popular alternatives are cheese and ham, shrimp or coconut with condensed milk.

3. Platanos Fritos, El Salvador.

Bootsnall describes this popular street food dessert as a bunch of slow-fried bananas topped off with caramel sauce. The snack has a soft and sweet texture and goes really well with the melted caramel. While many Latin American countries have their own variations, this is a definite try.

4. Baleada, Honduras

This is a light, tortilla stuffed with re-fried beans, cream cheese, and sour cream. You can also ask the street vendors for a variety of fillings. Scrambled egg is a popular choice for a breakfast meal.

5. Papas con cuero, Colombia.

This unusual street snack is a popular street food among Colombians. It is a dish of pork rinds mixed with chopped potatoes and a lettuce and carrot salad. At just $1.00 per serving, it is certainly worth a try.

Seasoned travellers would usually advise fellow wanderlust people to experience everything when in a foreign land: the sights, the sounds, the culture, and of course, the food. Eating Latin American street foods is one way to take a bite out of the country without breaking one's budget.

 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Zika Virus Update: First US Case Transmitted Through Sexual Contact

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Writer Feb 03, 2016 05:30 AM EST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Dallas County health officials announced that the first known Zika virus case in the country was sexually transmitted.

The Dallas County health officials issued a press release explaining that it is possible to acquire the Zika virus through sexual transmission. The infected patient had intercourse with an individual coming back from Venezuela where the outbreak is present.

"Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others," Dallas County Health and Human Services director Zachary Thomspon said. "Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections."

However, the Texas Department of State Health Services was wary in issuing a statement saying that the mosquito-borne virus infection through sexual transmission is only "likely" in the case. The CDC has not yet looked into how the virus was transmitted. Reuters reports that the CDC has confirmed that this case is the first of its kind where it was locally acquired in the US.

CDC Director Tom Frieden told CNN that the case isn't so surprising as the virus remains in the blood of the infected fror a week.

"There have been isolated cases of spread through blood transfusion or sexual contact and that's not very surprising. The virus is in the blood for about a week. How long it would remain in the semen is something that needs to be studied and we're working on that now," he told the outlet.

Additionally, the government agency will be issuing guidelines on Zika virus sexual transmission focusing on males with possibly pregnant female partners. While it won't be easy to do studies on how the virus is transmitted sexually, the best way form of protection is to use condoms during intimate intercourse and by avoiding getting bitten by mosquitoes.

"What we know is the vast majority of spread is going to be from mosquitoes," said Frieden. "The bottom line is mosquitoes are the real culprit here."

The Zika virus is linked to a significant rise of babies born with microcephaly, a condition where infants have abnormally small heads in Brazil and French Polynesia.

The Summer Olympic Games is set to be held in Brazil and in a news conference for the upcoming games, the Zika outbreak was discussed and how it could affect the participants and the activities.

"Athletes are not at risk," said the organizer's medical director Joao Grangeiro, as reported by New York Times. "We will have Summer Games, but for us it's winter time."

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Easily Stressed Male Teens, Young Adults Have Increased Risk of High Blood Pressure, Hypertension Later in Life

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Writer Feb 03, 2016 05:30 AM EST

A study led by researchers at Stanford University Department of Medicine found that males who were less resilient to stress were likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure later in adulthood. Additionally, those with higher body mass index (BMI) were thrice more likely than those who were normal weight. The study published in the journal Heart followed more than 1 million 18-year-old men who were in the Swedish Army between 1969 and 1997.

New military recruits underwent mandatory psychological testing. Their stress responses were assessed through a 20-30 minute interview with which they were scored from 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest in terms of resilience, Medical News Today reports.

The researchers followed the men for decades and found that more than 90,000 of the participants were diagnosed with high blood pressure when they were around 47 years old in 2012. This means that those with low resilience scores when they were 18 had 40 percent increased risk of developing hypertension in their late adulthood. In addition to higher BMI, type 2 diabetes also played a role in increasing the risk.

"These findings suggest that low stress resilience may contribute to etiological pathways for hypertension and accounts for more cases among those with high BMI," they wrote in the journal. "If confirmed, this knowledge may help inform better preventing interventions by addressing psychosocial risk factors and stress management across the lifespan."

According to Medical Daily, stress raises the blood pressure temporarily. Constant exposure to stress may cause adverse health effects and negatively impact the body including the liver, heart, lungs, muscles, libido and stomach. It can also damage the brain and mental health as well.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports high blood pressure affects 1 in 3 adults in the US. It is a condition that increases the risk of stroke and heart disease which are the two leading causes of deaths in Americans. It is often called a "silent killer" as people with the condition often don't show any warning signs or symptoms before a hypertensive episode.

While there are many risk factors that increase high blood pressure, preventing chronic stress could help. The American Heart Association recommends managing stress through humor, meditation, calming and relaxing techniques as well as practicing healthy living habits.

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How Latinas can Fight the Zika Virus Through Contraceptives

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Reporter Feb 03, 2016 05:30 AM EST

Zika virus has been making headlines during the past weeks due to outbreaks in several parts of the Americas. In fact, it is now considered as a global health threat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), zika virus is "an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow fever."

Today, it is being transmitted via the Aedes mosquitoes, but a report from BBC reveals how a patient in Dallas, Texas, has been infected with the zika virus through sex. The infected patient did not travel to places in which zika virus had spread, but his or her partner had returned from Venezuela. The CDC claims that this is the first case during this outbreak in which the virus was spread through sexual contact. Another similar case occurred in 2013.

According to the CDC, the zika virus is a threat most especially to pregnant women, as reports of birth defects, specifically microcephaly, has been reported as a result of becoming infected with the virus during pregnancy.

Because the zika virus can be transmitted through both mosquito bites and sexual contact, health authorities are highlighting the importance of contraceptives in the fight against zika virus infactions. In fact, Latina reports that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) seems appalled at some government organization's recommendations to delay pregnancy because of the spread of zika virus. PAHO believes that instead of delaying pregnancy, governments should instead expand access to contraception in Latin American countries.

Countries that have urged their people to delay pregnancy include Ecuador, Colombia, the Domininan Republic, Jamaica, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador, as well as Puerto Rico.

"That's not the solution," PAHO's Latin American Center for Perinatology, Women and Reproductive Health director Suzanne Serruya said. "We've got to reduce the vector [the Aedes aegypti mosquito] and to ensure women have greater access to contraception."

The zika virus health issue has brought forth light to the pressing concerns of women's health in Latin American countries because of the lack of access to safe, legal abortions. Only Uruguay, Guyana, and Guiana have legalized abortion, while Mexico, Colombia, and Panama allow abortions because of fetail impairment.

Now that the zika virus is hitting the Americas hard, it seems that more reproductive health reforms are required to address not only the zika virus issue, but also the issue on how Latin American women are deprived of their right to quality reproductive health products and services.

Zoe Schlanger wrote on Newsweek, "Others have wondered whether Zika could become for Latin America what a rubella scare was for the United States in the 1960s."

"Before then, abortion was characterized in the U.S. as a procedure relied on only by sexually promiscuous women of low socioeconomic status," Schlanger explained. "But then a rubella epidemic explodedand women who contracted the disease began giving birth to permanently disabled babies. That began to change the conversation about abortion."

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What is National Pisco Sour Day? 5 Pisco Sour Recipes to Help Celebrate This Peruvian Holiday

media@latinoshealth.com By Staff Reporter Feb 03, 2016 06:27 AM EST

The Peruvians give tribute to their national drink, pisco sour every first Saturday of February. This annual event is official known as the "Dia del Pisco Sour" or the Pisco Sour Day.

The National Pisco Sour Day was created in the 1920s in Lima, Peru. In fact, Peru declared pisco as part of the country's national heritage in 1988, according to Go Peru website. This is an honour shared with other Peruvian exports such as coffee, cotton and quinoa. This year, the holiday will fall on Feb 6.

On a separate celebration, the pure unadulterated version of pisco is honoured every fourth Sunday of July throughout Peru. The celebration is known as the "Dia del Pisco" or the Pisco Day. The event is mainly celebrated in pisco-producing regions of Peru including Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna.

Go Peru shared how the Peruvian cocktail should taste. The Peruvian pisco sour combines pisco with lime juice, syrup, egg white, ice and Angostura bitters. It is said that a perfect pisco sour should have a balance between sweet and sour.

In preparation for the pisco sour day celebration this coming Saturday, we give you five pisco sour you can enjoy even in your own homes:

Chicha Sour Cocktail

The Latina Kitchen offers this great pisco sour cocktail inspired by the Peruvian "chichi morada," which includes purple corn-infused pisco, cinnamon pineapple syrup, lime juice and egg white. Check out the full recipe here.

Traditional Pisco Sour

History tells that pisco sour cocktail was created by an American bartender working in Cerro de Pasco, a city in central Peru. Victor Vaughen Morris opened Morris' Bar in Lima in 1916, making the cocktail popular among the Peruvian upper class and visitors, according to Forbes. Try this classic recipe of the pisco sour from Latin Kitchen.

Mardi Gras Pisco Sour

Piscotrail created a unique flavor reminiscent of Cafe Au Lait with thick, creamy and dark flavour. It has a unique flavor coming from the chicory-infused simple syrup. Check out the full recipe in this link.

Sesame Sour Cocktail

This Asian fusion cocktail combines Japanese whisky and black toasted sesame seeds. This will definitely give the classic pisco sour an added twist. Check out the recipe from Latina Kitchen here.

Habanero Pisco Sour

Since hot peppers are at the heart of Peruvian cuisine, it makes sense to add some heat to this cool classic cocktail, says Piscotrail. More so, hot peppers and lime complement each other. For this recipe, there are four ways to add the hot peppers to the drink: infused with the spirit, infused in the syrup, muddled or garnished. Check out the full recipe here.

Check out this video from Liquor.com for the classic pisco sour recipe:

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A coalition of immigrant, social justice and faith groups have joined the call against President Barack Obama and his administration's deportation raids.

Late Tuesday morning, groups delivered a petition addressed for Obama to halt further deportation raids and provide relief to Central American refugee families. According to a statement sent to Latin Post, the White House received a petition including more than 130,000 signatures and a letter on behalf of over 75 diverse organizations, including the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), Presente.org, America's Voice and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC).

The groups echoed a call similar to fellow advocacy groups and figures calling for Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorians currently in the U.S.

An excerpt of the letter read as follows:

"Reports indicate widespread problems with due process for many of those in immigration proceedings: a large number of individuals with deportation orders never received notification to appear in court, and never had a chance at a fair hearing. This is largely due to the accelerated and aggressive deportation processes put in place recently by your administration. Others had no legal representation on, fending for themselves in a system that is very complicated. President Obama, we have a moral obligation on to provide aide to people seeing violence and these people have a right to make their case. Your administration on must stand up for the rights and the dignity of people seeking refuge in the U.S."

The groups added that the deportation raids are inhumane and unacceptable, and there is no way to undo the trauma immigrant families endured during the raids. SEARAC executive director Quyen Dinh said the administration's raids target asylum-seeking children and families, and law enforcement are making a terrible mistake that only creates fear across all communities.

As Latin Post reported, the raids started during the weekend following New Years Day. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed at least 121 immigrants were apprehended. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said additional raids may occur under his discretion.

"The Obama administration has sunk to a new low with these raids. We already know that the Republican presidential candidates, led by Donald Trump, are committed to harsh anti-immigrant policies. But with President Obama initiating these raids, it's less clear what the Democratic Party's position is on immigration," said Presente.org Managing Director Matt Nelson. "This isn't who we are as a country, and President Obama still has time to do the right thing and stop these raids and subsequent deportations now."

"We cannot and we will not remain silent when our families are living in fear of being separated and sent back to face possible harm, including death," said FIRM spokesperson Kica Matos. "The government must work to ensure that anyone in the country seeking protection is afforded safety, not deportation. Until then, our nationwide movement and its supporters will fight hard to stop these deportations from taking place."

Matos added that Obama, Johnson and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah Saldana betrayed Latino and immigrant communities, and the deportation raids will be one that will mark the president's and his administration's legacy.

Must Read: Obama's Deportation Raids Denounced by US Commission on Civil Rights

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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.
Latino college enrollment is at an all-time high, but a new study finds that institutions receiving these students are often public and limited to a small number of states.

Excelencia in Education released their annual list of colleges and universities deemed Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), those with a student body at least 25 percent Latino. Of over 4,000 public and private schools in U.S. territories, only 13 percent identified as HSIs. Almost 70 percent are public, and more than two-thirds can be found in California, Texas and Puerto Rico.

"HSIs enroll about 1.75 million Latino students; this is an increase of over 350 percent since HSIs were recognized in federal law," Deborah Santiago, the non-profit organization's chief operating officer and vice president, said in a press statement. "With 62 percent of Latinos enrolled in HSIs, the role of these institutions in retaining and graduating Latinos to meet our national needs for an educated workforce and citizenry is critical."

Excelencia in Education tracked Latino graduation rates since 2004, 12 years after Congress first allocated funds to HSIs as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965. While lawmakers reauthorize the act every five years, it wasn't until 1992 that minority advocacy groups like the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities successfully championed for provisions.

Schools identifying as HSIs have gradually risen in that time to encompass 18 states and 435 institutions. An additional 310 colleges in 33 states are considered Emerging HSIs, or those with a full-time Hispanic student population between 15 and 24 percent. Just two years ago, this number stood at 296 across 29 states.

"Accelerating Latino student success requires better understanding the institutions where students are choosing to enroll," said Excelencia in Education President Sarita Brown, adding that their report is part of an unprecedented body of data on HSIs as they continue to analyze with institutional practices, policies and leadership "that serve students' academic aspirations and increase degree completion."
Iowa's caucuses results were a bit shocking for many, as reported by Fox News Latino. Marco Rubio surprised everyone by coming in very close to Ted Cruz, who won last Monday, and behind Donald Trump by only one percent.

The publication reveals that Rubio was just one percent behind Trump since the Florida senator received 23 percent of the votes while Trump was at 24 percent. However, the news agency revealed an even bigger surprise for the evening with Rubio very close to Texan senator Cruz with only five percent away since Cruz received 28 percent from the Republican caucus voters.

The news comes after Rubio was previously reported to not be a threat to the two leading Republican candidates, Trump and Cruz. However, after Monday night's voting results in the Iowa primaries, Rubio is now seen as a threat, especially to Cruz who shifted his attention to him after slamming Trump in the past, the New York Times reported.

Cruz's latest advertisement, where he called himself an "Obama Nemesis" also mentioned Rubio as "The Republican Barack Obama," the publication said. According to the outlet, Cruz is using Rubio's platform in immigration reform to slam his opponent by calling it an "amnesty."

"If that's one of the issues we're talking about heading into Monday that's a good thing," a senior advisor of Cruz told the news agency before the votes were cast. However, Rubio's party are in high spirits after receiving the results.

According to the publication, although Rubio came in third as projected, he did so very close to his opponents which was promising for his campaign. "What we witnessed in Iowa yesterday was the result of the strength of Marco's candidacy," a statement from the Rubio campaign said as quoted by the news outlet.

"A vision for a New American Century that resonated across a broad spectrum of caucus-goers, and a campaign built from the ground-up over the last few months that was ready to persuade and turn out the vote," the statement added.

Vanity Fair even reports that Rubio is the unofficial winner of the Iowa caucuses behind Trump and Cruz by only a few points. And as the results are promising for the Florida senator, he heads to New Hampshire where the Feb. 9 votes will be cast before the general elections in November.


"Gangster Warlords" author Ioan Grillo recently revealed how the notorious Mexican drug cartels are making billions of dollars because of drug trade in the United States. In a video published on Business Insider, Grillo explained how traffickers invest in drugs and how much profits they earn.

Mexico has been known to produce substantial amounts of marijuana and crystal meth, as well as smaller quantities of heroin. While South America is the source of cocaine Mexican drug cartels and gangs smuggle into the United States.

In the video entitled, "Narconomics: How Drug Cartels Make Billions," Grillo noted that Mexican drug cartels mainly smuggle marijuana, cocaine, heroin, crystal methamphetamines and Ecstasy in America. He also revealed that traffickers make a lot of profits because of cocaine.

Mexican cartels can buy a kilo of cocaine in the highlands of Colombia or Peru for a wholesale price of $2,000. But its value increases as it makes its way to the market, New York Times noted.

In Mexico, a kilo of cocaine brings more than $10,000. And once drug trafficker sell it on the U.S. border, they can earn as much as $30,000, 15 times its original price. But when they break it down into grams to distribute retail in New York, that same kilo of cocaine can be sold up to $100,000. In Europe, a kilo of cocaine can cost up to $101,490.

The numbers are only for cocaine, just imagine how much Mexican drug cartels earn through producing and exporting marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines as well.

Mexican authorities have also revealed that drug cartels earn $64.34 billion for their sales in the United States. According to Mexico's Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, figures compiled by international entities showed the production of cocaine in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia has remained stable over the past nine years at an average of about 900 tons a year, Latin American Herald Tribune has learned.

He also acknowledged Mexico's domestic drug problem, where Mexicans spend an average of $431 million per year on illegal drugs.

Criminal organizations have also taken advantage of globalization. The secretary stressed that drugs cartels have expanded their activities through the opening up of the financial markets and technological development.

Aside from drug trade, criminal organizations are also involved in trafficking of weapons and migrants, smuggling other items, money laundering, vehicle theft, kidnappings-for-ransom and extortion.

Meanwhile, estimating the precise scale of Mexican drug cartels, however, can be complicated. Underground economies or black market statistics are inherently speculative because they don't make annual disclosures and no auditor inspects their books.

In other news, U.S. and Mexicans officials reported that 22 members of the notorious Sinaloa cartel have been arrested while two were killed during a police raid near the U.S.-Mexico borders on Friday, Jan. 29. According to Reuters (via Aol), the authorities have also seized assault-type weapons.

The undisclosed operation came just weeks after the arrest of cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
A huge amount of money involved in corruption in Peru is reportedly at $860 million, per EFE. In light of this, an international Anticorruption Conference kicks off as the country fights for corruption which has been evident since the 1990s, Fox News Latino reports.

As the corrupt officials are reportedly continue doing their deeds, leading the nation to poverty, presidential candidates in the April 10 elections in Peru will be presenting their platforms against corruption. The conference is a three-day affair that marks as a hopeful start to finally eradicate corruption, the news agency notes.

Apparently, less than $1 billion, or exactly $860 million, have already been taken by corrupt officials since 2010, according to Fuad Khoury. The publication adds that there are already a recorded 21,500 criminal irregularities allegedly by 11,000 officials. Initial actions have already been taken, including banning officials for five years to hold public offices and indicting regional governors.

"The pending task is to see how we can solve the problem of decentralization, given that it has transferred a significant percentage of responsibilities without having organized (them properly)," Khoury said as quoted by the news outlet.

However, despite the move to stop corruction, top corruption buster Jose Ugaz reveals that Peru is in trouble as corruption is still evident and its people don't even know that they are affected by it, AQ reports.

"The big corruption cases raise awareness and provide lessons for the future, but the problem in Peru is that the lessons haven't been learned," Ugaz said of Peru's current political situation as quoted by the publication. "The worst part is that the victims of corruption aren't even aware they're victims."

Ugaz adds that one woman even thought that she isn't affected by it because she is not paying taxes. This is highly criticized by Ugaz, the famed lawyer who put a judge in prison after busting the magistrate for accepting bribes.

"She didn't know that her poverty is a consequence of corruption, that she lacks education, health care and housing because someone ran off with the money that should have been distributed to her," Ugaz said as quoted by the news agency. "In countries like mine, corruption has turned into a way of life."

Ugaz, known for cracking down high-profile politicians in corruption cases has opened up 200 cases against more than 1,500 officials, the news outlet reports.
The government of North Korea has sent a shipping warning to the International Maritime Organization confirming its intention to launch a long-range rocket carrying Earth observation satellite between Feb. 8 and 25.

The agency said Tuesday, Feb. 2, that it had received the North Korea's notification about the plan of launching a multistage rocket between 7 a.m. and noon. Natasha Brown, the agency spokeswoman, described North Korea's payload as an Earth observation satellite with a name Kwangmyongsong which means Lordestar.

CBS News reported that if the launch goes as planned, the first stage of the rocket will fall in the west coast of South Korea while the second stage in the eastern sea of the Philippines.

North Korea says that the launch's goal is to put the Kwangmyongsong satellite into the Earth's orbit but others interpret the move as a "destabilizing provocation" and a front for a missile test especially that the launch is scheduled just a month after the country's underground nuclear test. In fact, U.S. officials have stated that the same type of rocket which will be used by North Korea is the same rocket which could someday be used to fire off a miniaturized nuclear warhead with a long-range missile.

Japan, South Korea and United States have expressed their opposition to North Korea's plan to launch saying that the launch could be a step for a developing an intercontinental missile that can be used to create a nuclear bomb. According to them, such a move also violates the United Nations Security Council's rules of prohibiting North Korea in creating weapons for mass destruction such as missiles and nuclear weapons dated Dec. 2012.

Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, told parliament Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2016: "If North Korea goes ahead and launches the rocket, it would clearly violate UN Security Council resolutions and pose a serious provocation."

John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, also said in an interview: "This latest announcement further underscores the need for the international community to send the North a swift, firm message that its disregard -- that their disregard for U.N. Security Council obligations will not be tolerated."

As reported by The Guardian, South Korea has urged Pyongyang not to pursue the launch on Wednesday describing the launch as a "grave threat" to world security and peace.

"North Korea must immediately drop its plan to launch, paying heed to the fact that any launch using ballistic technology is in breach of UN resolutions," the report stated.

Meanwhile, the government officials of North Korea have yet to comment about the details of their plan.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) linked the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to the massive drug cartels in the Latin America region. According to Independent, Project Cassandra, includes seven countries such as Italy, Belgium, France and Germany monitoring the international activities of Hezbollah.

The U.S. considers the group as a terrorist organization because of its apparent relationship and support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during the civil war. The DEA has arrested several members of the group over an alleged purchase of weapons using funds from the sale of cocaine in the U.S. and Europe. Lebanese money launderer Mohamad Noureddine is among the members of the group who has been captured by the DEA.

In a report by Jerusalem Post, the U.S., on Tuesday, revealed Hezbollah's involvement in drug trafficking to finance its group and weapons. The said arrests were made in coordination with the seven countries involved in Project Cassandra.

DEA's Acting Deputy Administrator Jack Riley said as quoted by the publication, "DEA and our international partners are relentless in our commitment to disrupt any attempt by terrorists and terrorist organizations to leverage the drug trade against our nations. DEA and our partners will continue to dismantle networks who exploit the nexus between drugs and terror using all available law enforcement mechanisms."

In early 2015, DEA and its international counterparts started following Hezbollah's External Security Organization Business Affairs Component (BAC), where several discoveries about the group unfolded. The international law enforcement was able to expose how the funds were transferred, including where they were used.

Deposit accounts of the group and its affiliated members in the U.S. were immediately put on hold and frozen. All agencies in the U.S. who were involved in the irregular transaction will also face sanctions.

Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said, "Hezbollah needs individuals [like Mohamad Noureddine and Hamdi Zaher El Dine] to launder criminal proceeds for use in terrorism and political destabilization. We will continue to target this vulnerability, and expose and disrupt such enablers of terrorism wherever we find them."

According to YNet News, Hezbollah's major transactions are with South American drug cartels, mostly known to finance the group from funds taken from cocaine revenues. The developing relationship between the terror group and Latin America's drug cartel has also been provoked by Iran's diminishing support for the group.
Aside from the Aedesaegypti mosquito, U.S health officials recently confirmed that Zika virus can also be transmitted sexually. The first case of Zika virus infection in the United States was confirmed on Feb. 2, 2016. It is also the first recorded to be transmitted sexually.

According to BBC News, the case was identified in a Dallas resident who had sexual intercourse with a person infected by the Aedes aegypti mosquito in another country. The affected individual did not travel to infected areas but the partner had reportedly returned from Venezuela.

Anne Schuchat, CDC principal deputy director, said that the Dallas case was the first that they dealt with involving a non-traveler.

We dont believe this was spread through mosquito bites, but we do believe it was spread through sexual contact, Schuchat said. The case is significant and parallel with HIV or AIDS. It can also be worse in certain ways, because transmission can happen in two modes.

Until the recent U.S. case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already recorded 31 cases of individuals, including six from Texas, of infections from mosquitoes outside the United States. Based on recent CDC data, there were 19 cases of Zika virus that were locally transmitted by mosquitos in Puerto Rico and one case in the Virgin Islands.

Fox News Latino reported that after the confirmation from the CDC laboratories, the Dallas Health County Health and Human Services Department said that the recent case increases their awareness campaign to educate the public about protecting themselves and others. Health Department Director Zachary Thompson added that aside from abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against sexually transmitted infections.

The CDC also added that the best ways to avoid Zika virus are to prevent mosquito bites and avoid being exposed to the semen of an infected person.

The same BBC News article also noted that Zika virus is spreading in various parts of North and South America. The World Health Organization (WHO) already declared the virus a global public health emergency, putting it in the same category of concern as Ebola.

The American Red Cross, in the meantime, encouraged potential blood donors coming back from infected countries to wait at least 28 hours, before giving their blood.

Brazil is the country most affected by the virus, with thousands of reported cases at present and babies being born with microcephaly. The WHO warned that it might take up to nine months to determine whether Zika virus and infants with microcephaly have a connection.
One school in Minnesota banned the exchange of cards and candy among classmates for Valentines Day 2016.

Bruce Vento Elementary School in St. Paul posted on its website that 63 percent of its student population are Asian-American, 24 percent are African-American, 10 percent are Hispanic-American and four percent are Caucasian. The wide mix of racial background is also the reason why the school will no longer be celebrating events and holidays like Valentines Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

According to WKBW, Principal Scott Masini sent a letter to the parents of the students with the intention to create a school climate that will be welcoming and respectful of all cultures. According to a St. Paul School Board policy on holiday observances, schools should only celebrate Veterans Day, Presidents Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The letter also came out on an invitation-only Facebook page with the title Supporting St. Paul Students and Teachers.

The Star Tribune said that Masini announced to the staff that Bruce Vento will ban the celebration of dominant holidays, to be more culturally sensitive to its predominantly non-white student body.

My personal feeling is we need to find a way to honor and engage in holidays that are inclusive of our student population, Masini stated in the letter. The announcement garnered a number of mixed reactions from people. Some commented that fun was being taken out of schools. Masini answered that he was struggling with the concept and is not certain about the right answer. However, he knows that only celebrating certain holidays is not inclusive of all the students that they serve.

However, not all schools in Minnesota are keeping their students from spreading the love on Valentines Day.

The Star Tribune wrote that Wellstone Elementary School in St. Paul teachers are not prohibited from celebrating the February event in their classrooms. The nearby Wayzata school district also excluded Valentines Day from its no-holiday policy. At Phalen Lake Hmong Studies Magnet on the East Side, Valentines Day is used for academic purposes. Preschoolers are asked to cut out paper hearts during an exercise.

Other schools opt for seasonal celebrations, such as having a winter party before the winter break starts or a harvest party in the same period as Halloween. However, some schools in other states, like the Seth Boyden Elementary School in New Jersey, do not celebrate Halloween, wrote NJ.com. There are still many who prefer not to eliminate the traditional celebrations, with the main objective of preserving fun for both kids and adults.
A popular Chinese travel-reality show is promoting tourism in Latin America. Season 2 of Huayangjiejie will be shot in Peru, Mexico and Argentina and it plans to showcase many of the nations best tourist attractions for Asian viewers.

According to Latin American Herald Tribune, the first season of Huayangjiejie was shot in Turkey and Italy and turned out to be a huge hit and was watched by millions of Chinese viewers. The title translates into Sisters Over Flowers, while the show is based on a South Korean TV series of the same name. The shows second season is set to launch in March 2016 on Shanghais Dragon TV.

EFE says that five famous Asian actresses will backpack through Latin America for a period spanning over a month. The stars of the show include Lin Chi-ling from Taiwan, Wang Lin, Jian Yan and Jin Chen from China, and Song Dandan, a 54-year-old comedian. The show will follow the group as they travel to different countries to highlight the various wonderful sights and sounds.

This is going to showcase Peru, said Vladimir Kocerha, Economic and Commercial Counselor of Peru in Shanghai.

He added that they hope that they get to see footage from before and after the show and that Chinese tourism will be boosted as millions continue to watch. Kocerha said that before, Chinese travelers generally relied on groups and packages, but there has been a growing number of independent young travelers recently.

Laht also reported that Kocerhas team in Shanghai collaborated with the show producers to combine the tourist attractions in Peru, which used to be marketed independently, with other aspects like fashion and gastronomy. The sisters will be have several unique experiences that highlight Peruvian culture and products, such as attending a fashion show, trying local cuisine, visiting famous landscapes and interacting with the locals.

"Unfortunately, not much is known of Peru in China, but through this I am sure that millions of people are going to learn quite a lot about what Peru has to offer, Kocerha said.

The same goes for Argentina and Mexico, which will also be featured on the show.

Huayangjiejie will start reportedly shooting on Feb. 11, 2016. The main characters will visit Mexico City, Quintana Roo and Yucatan, and then travel to Peru on Feb. 17, where they will see the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, Amazonas, Cuzco, Puno and Lake Titicaca. The team will go to Argentina on Feb. 28 and witness Eva Perons tomb, Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires and Cafe Tortoni. The sisters will also go on an Argentine cruise to Antarctica.
Mexico is now being eyed by Medical Marijuana Inc., an industrial hemp giant based in California, as the next big market for the medical usage of marijuana.

The company's announcement came in light of the country's announcement that it issued two additional permits for medical marijuana, Puerto Vallara Daily News reported.

According to the report, Mexico's Federal Health Commission said that it will allow citizens' requests to import hemp oil to the country, which may be used to treat specific medical conditions like Epilepsy.

As for Medical Marijuana Inc.'s head Stuart Titus, he sees this as an opportunity that could potentially bring a $1 or $2 billion revenue over the next 10 years, if Mexico starts to fully allow medicinal use of the drug. The company is already importing its hemp oil to other Latin countries such as Brazil and expects that the situation in Mexico will be the same.

Apart from Medical Marijuana Inc., Business Insider reported that other companies that also manufacture medical marijuana also see Mexico as a thriving market for its product after the country's Supreme Court decision in November. The court's decision opened discussion for the legalization of the use of the drug, be it for recreational or medicinal purposes.

It should be clear that Medical Marijuana Inc.'s product called Real Scientific Hemp Oil or RHSO-X, lacks the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, which results into users getting that "high," but it contains cannabidiol.

According to research, cannabidiol has anti-convulsant and anti-psychotic effects, making it effective on treating various neurological and psychological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

As noted by Yahoo! News, Mexico's health ministry has already authorized imports of RHSO-X to be used on two patients that suffer from epilepsy.

This is expected to be the first of many permits, which will allow Mexicans suffering from conditions to have access to medical marijuana. For quite some time now, the debate for the legalization of the drug has been on going with many speaking for and against it.

The support for the legalization of marijuana has already garnered high profile support from Mexican politicians such as Jesus Zambrano, a lower house speaker.

According to him, "We have the challenge of proposing an alternative to the problem of the illegal market for marijuana and its negative consequences. Or remain as we are, running the risk of compromising the health, security and dignity of people."

Another supporter for the legalization of marijuana comes from Senate President Roberto Gil, who also added that Mexico's current drug policies need to change.

If the drug becomes fully legal, but regulated in the country, it could prove to be a very lucrative business for many investors.
A Mexican man named Benito Alvarez-Gonzales was deported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on his country and is set to face allegations of rape and murder.

According to Latino Fox News, the 31-year-old Alvarez-Gonzales is accused of kidnapping two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, in Mexico last December of 2015. As noted, he allegedly raped the 17-year-old boy and then shot him five times, which ended his life.

The 15-year-old escaped and alerted the authorities, which led to Alvarez-Gonzales' arrest. He was apprehended earlier last month and was handed over to Mexican authorities last Thursday, Jan. 28.

However, this is not the first time Alvarez-Gonzales was deported and was convicted of crimes. Before his latest arrest, he was deported two years ago after he was convicted of an arson case he did in 2011, and was sentenced to three years in prison by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2013.

He was released in March of 2014 and was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) custody and was sent back to Mexico. But he somehow escaped justice and managed to illegally return to the U.S., with the ICE clueless on how he crossed the country's border.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs said that Alvarez-Gonzales was a permanent resident of the U.S. at one point, but was convicted of driving under the influence in Dallas County in 2004 where he was sentenced with 150 days of jail time, in addition to 24 months of probation, Dallas Morning News reported.

According to Simona Flores, field office director of Enforcement and Removal Operations in Dallas, "Identifying and removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority." She added that cooperation between the two countries has led into the identification and safe capture of Alvarez-Gonzales, returning him to Mexico where he will deal with his allegations.

On Jan. 14, 2016, Mexico's Attorney General alerted the immigration authorities in Dallas that the man had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on the grounds of murder. He was arrested on the same date during a targeted fugitive operation.

This just the latest of arrests over gruesome crime, as federal authorities also arrested a 23-year-old former seminarian that allegedly plans to "buy" infants and young girls in Mexico.

The man was identified as Joel Wright of Columbus, Ohio and was detained by the Department of Immigration and Customers Enforcement agents in San Diego, People has learned.

Reports said that Wright intends to engage in sexual acts with minors in addition to engage in illegal sexual conducts in a foreign country.
Years ago, Peruvian gastronomical culture has never always been the world's "next big thing." But one day, a man created a change. He revolutionized the culinary field in Peru which turned the world upside down. Today, Peru has become one of the world's leading culinary capitals. The man who is guilty of starting that change is none other than Chef Gaston Acurio.

"Gaston made Peruvian food fashionable," said Indira Vildosola, a restaurateur who worked as a chef in the US, the Caribbean and Chile before opening her own restaurant in Lima.

With his great talent and extraordinary skills in the kitchen, Chef Gaston Acurio became one of the reasons why Peruvian cuisines are getting the globe's attention which creates more business and job opportunities for other Peruvian suppliers and chefs.

Vildosola also added, "We used to take pride in Machu Picchu, and now we're proud of our food."

In 1980's, Acurio was almost an inch of working as a lawyer as he studied the field his family has chosen for him. But because his love for food was stronger, he decided to take a different path and chose to become a chef. He studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu Paris where he met his wife and soon to be business partner, Astrid Gutsche.

For Acurio, his delicacies are more than just a good-looking meal, according to The Guardian. To him, the ingredients used to prepare his masterpieces are like a series of moral and political decisions shaped by ethical choices, environmental principles and cultural statements.

"Cooking allows you to promote a series of values," Gaston Acurio said. "The chef is someone who acts as a bridge between consumers and farmers, fisherman, industry and nutrition and health," he added.

Acurio has been awarded by America Economia Magazine as the "2005 Entrepreneur of the Year." Aside from that, he has also been included in the international Prince Clause of Holland Award under "Collective Memories and Journalism" category.

Author of 'Peru: The Cookbook', Acurio now owns more than 44 restaurants making every "journey through modern Peru" accessible not just in Lima, Peru but in all parts of the world. There are already three Peruvian restaurants in the U.S. and Acurio is still planning to open a new place in Washington soon. One of his high-end bistros, Astrid y Gaston, has also been recently included in San Pellegrino's "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list.
The Zika virus that has scared Latin America for months was reported in the United States for the first time on Feb. 2, but the transmission apparently occurred via sexual contact rather than through a bite from the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Local health officials in Dallas said a patient in the area had contracted with the virus through sexual contact with someone who had traveled to Venezuela, Reuters reported. The infected individual had not traveled to the South American country.

Meanwhile, the Texas Department of State Health Services limited its assessment to saying that case details were being evaluated, but "the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person is likely in this case."

CDC confirm first U.S. case through lab tests

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meanwhile, similarly reported the case on Feb. 2, noting that it had been "confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental United States," according to Voice of America.

Tom Frieden, the head of the federal health agency, noted on Twitter that the case was transmitted to the infected person's sexual partner, who had not left the United States.

CDC has confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of #Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental U.S.  Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrFriedenCDC) febrero 3, 2016

The virus has now been reported in more than 30 countries, and experts believe it to be linked to microcephaly, a birth defect whose occurrence has skyrocketed over the last few months in areas affected by the Zika outbreak, particularly in Brazil.

'We will partner up with the U.S.,' Brazilian president says

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told lawmakers on Feb. 2 that her government would spare no expense in fighting the Aedes aegypti mosquito mosquito and would collaborate with the United States in that effort.

"My entire government is working on fighting this emergency. There will be no lack of funding and I'm certain that I will be able to count on the Congress' support," she said. "We will partner up with the U.S. government, with President Obama with whom we have spoken, to establish our capacity and improve it in order to develop as quickly as possible a vaccine for the Zika virus."
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) have been working this week to address the financial and health care challenges affecting Puerto Rico.

Healthcare Challenges

Most people are aware of the financial issues afflicting the U.S. commonwealth, but there are also growing health concerns. On Tuesday, the CHC and the Puerto Rico Healthcare Crisis Coalition (PRHCC) gathered at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., to address the health problems ranging from hospital closures, extreme wait times for patients, doctors exiting the island for mainland U.S. and lack of funds.

According to PRHCC President Dennis Rivera, Tuesday's briefing was to make another case to Washington for urgent action for the island's 3.5 million population, who are also U.S. citizens.

"Without Congressional action, billions will continue to be cut from the Island's healthcare system," said Rivera in a statement. "These cuts would escalate an already-fragile situation into a profound humanitarian crisis. Washington must give Puerto Rico the tools it needs to protect its people."

Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, the non-voting congressman for Puerto Rico, said the commonwealth's status as a "U.S. territory" prohibits the island from receiving similar to the same benefits as U.S. states, specifically Medicaid, Medicare and the health insurance exchanges as provided through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The congressman noted that despite Puerto Ricans not receiving the same medical benefits, they still pay the same Medicare and Social Security taxes as mainland citizens.

"These inequalities have severely undermined quality of life in Puerto Rico and contributed to mass migration to the states," Pierluisi said. "In December 2015, two of my bills to provide equitable treatment to Puerto Rico hospitals under Medicare became law. Nevertheless, many health-related disparities remain. This briefing will serve to educate Members of Congress and their staffs about these inequalities, with the goal of spurring Congressional action."

Economic Challenges

Pierluisi also addressed the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs of the House Natural Resources for Puerto Rico's financial stability and economic growth. Based on his prepared opening statement, a lack of congressional legislation addressing the "already-grave situation" in Puerto Rico will make matters worse. He issued his support for an independent board to approve the Puerto Rican government's long-term financial plan and annual budgets, debt restructuring and improved treatment for the island as regular U.S. states in federal spending and tax credit programs.

"Before you try to come up with all sorts of clever and convoluted ways to respond to the crisis in Puerto Rico, you should simply extend to the territory those federal programs and policies that have already proven effective in the states that you represent. This is not the time to experiment; equality is the best policy," said Pierluisi.

As Latin Post reported, Puerto Rico's debt has climbed to over $70 billion. Puerto Rico Gov. Alejando Garcia Padilla previously acknowledged that the island's request for congressional help is not a bailout but simply wants the "tools" to help restructure.

Must Read: Declining Population, Jobs in Mainland US Linked to Puerto Rico's Troubles

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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.
In an effort to score points with a key electoral demographic, Republican leaders underlined this week that more than half of GOP caucus-goers voted for a Hispanic candidate in the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.

With Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio taking first and third place in the Hawkeye State, respectively, some 50.7 percent of Iowa Republicans backed a candidate with Cuban heritage. Cruz had won the race with 27.6 percent support, while Rubio (23.1 percent) slightly trailed national front-runner Donald Trump (24.3 percent).

Latino activist: Result is 'bittersweet' for community

Joe Enriquez Henry, of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, told KCCI that Latinos would likely take note of the result which, to a certain extent, helps to relativize Trump's frequently controversial comments that have often been seen as anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant in general.

"(It is) very interesting because on the Republican side, the hate rhetoric has been against Latinos," he told the Des Moines CBS affiliate. "But yet we had Latinos supported last night, so it is bittersweet."

RNC chair slams media for lack of coverage

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Reince Priebus, meanwhile, celebrated the result in an interview with Fox News.

"Ted Cruz (was the) first Hispanic out of Iowa from a major political party" to win the caucuses, Priebus underlined. "(And with) "Marco Rubio, two out of our top three (were) Hispanic. You know, where is the media on this? This is a big deal."

The great result for Latinos in Iowa, meanwhile, has much to do with Rubio, political analyst Dennis Goldford told KCCI, as Cruz's successful performance had been largely expected.

"To a great extent, caucus night was a vindication of the Rubio strategy of trying to become the main alternative to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz," Goldford explained.
On Monday, United Nations announced that the government of Syria approved a United Nations request for an aid delivery to Syrian towns of Madaya, Kefraya, and al-Foua. Also known as the 'in principle,' the request aims to provide humanitarian help to the besieged cities in Syria.

In Geneva, peace talks are getting under way to end the five-year-old Syrian war. However, opposition parties from Syria underlined that it will not cooperate in full discussions until all sieges are lifted, as reported by Yahoo News.

Madaya is located near the border with Lebanon and has a population of about 40,000. For six months, the town has been besieged by the Syrian government-allied forces. Meanwhile, the UN estimates that the towns in Idlib province in northwest Syria like al-Foua and Kefraya contain around 12,500 people. Since 2015, these locations have been surrounded by insurgents.

On Monday, Jenes Laerke, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesman said that they will submit a detailed list of supplies and other details. Mr. Laerke said that they would include and reiterate the request for nutrition supplies and entry of health and nutrition assessment teams.

World Policy reported that the siege of Madaya and the shocking images of malnourished children had brought renewed global attention to the Syrian conflict. Over the past months, it is now clear to the public that the people in Syria are suffering from starvation and that the death of hundreds is guaranteed if humanitarian agencies don't do anything to alleviate the situation.

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) insisted that humanitarian aid reach should be prioritized before they will agree to enter indirect talks with the government of President Bashar al-Assad, as reported by ABC. However, OCHA did not release any specific time or date yet regarding the aid shipment.

The International Committee of Red Cross, Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the United Nations gave synchronized aid deliveries to Madaya, al-Foua, and Kefraya. The support started in October 2015, and reports say that the delivery happened three times in January.
Trial has begun for Sepur Zarco case where a retired soldier and a former paramilitary appeared in court for the alleged murder, disappearance, slavery, and rape of at least 15 women. Both defendants asserted that they are not guilty of such crimes.

As reported by Buenos Aires Herald, Esteelmer Francisco Reyes Giron and Heriberto Valdez Asij appeared in the Court for High Risk Cases for enslaving and sexually assaulting women during the armed conflict in Guatemala. Reyes Giron was accused of crimes against humanity, consisting of sexual violence, injury to personal dignity and murder, while Asij was tried for crimes against humanity of sexual violence and forced disappearance.

The case stated that the abuse towards women occurred in 1982 and 1983 where at least 15 women were kept at the Sepur Zarco military camp. According to The Guardian, the military forces first seized and killed the men Sepur Zarco and later took the women who they raped in front of their children, and destroyed or took their property.

For every two to three days, women allegedly took "shifts" and "work" for the military where they were forced to cook, clean, and were sexually assaulted by the military men. The slavery "shifting" ended after ten months, however, some remained tied up for several more years.

The litigation process has also become more difficult as the women are now in their 70s to 80s who are frail and cannot speak Spanish. The victims only speak Q'eqchi'. With such condition, the judge ordered a pre-trial in 2012 to have their testimonies on record.

According to BBC, 11 of the alleged victims appeared in the courtroom donned their Mayan indigenous dress with their heads and faces covered. The other women in the court room covered their heads and faces as well in solidarity.

Both of the defendants insisted that they are innocent. The trial is expected to last for 40 days. The trial is the continuation of the trial that was supposed to take place in June 2014 which was postponed because of the defence. The case began in 2011 when witnesses came forward backed by advocacy groups.
Two suspects were sentenced to death in a Bangladeshi tribunal court. The two were convicted of killings during the 1971 conflict which started in the dismemberment of Pakistan.

Obaidul Haque and Ataur Rahman lawyers said that they would seek to inverse the decision of the International Crimes Tribunal which they say lacks international oversight. The two were convicted of killing seven people and also raping women in the northern district of Netrokona plus torturing six others until their death after abducting them.

A total of 23 witnesses had testified against them during the court hearings last year. After the chaos in East Pakistan which is now known as Bangladesh, the court has convicted total of 21 people. Most of them were senior figures in Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest Islamist party.

Two of the leaders of this group have been executed together with one senior leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The BNP was the group who accused the prime minister presiding over politically motivated killings. Jamaat, however, was banned from entering the elections last 2014 and said that the executions are government's way of eliminating them from leadership contention.

The prosecutions attorney, Khlesur Rahman Badal said that he was happy with the decision. Another prosecutor Ziad al-Malum said that the decision gave a clear idea about the millions of martyrs who sacrificed to give them an independent state. They added that Haque is not only a leader of the anti-independence group in 1971 but also the head of an armed group that's behind the attacks on civilians while Rahman was also identified as part of the group.

The defense however with their lawyer Gazi Tamim said that they will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court and hope that his client will be proven innocent and be acquitted at the same time. But the government of Sheikh Hasina believed that the trials are needed to heal the wounds of conflict.
The 250 asylum seekers are bound to be sent back to South Pacific island of Nauru. This decision was given after the Australian court found that the offshore processing of refugee is legal.

The government agreed with the court's decision as it is a threat to its immigration and asylum policy that tends to maintain the right to lock up refuge seekers outside of its territory. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sternly said that people smugglers will not win over sovereignty and that the line has been drawn somewhere out of their borders.

Because of this decision, refugee advocates showed their disappointments to the government. Daniel Webb, director of legal advocacy, said that legality is one thing, morality is another. He said that 267 asylum seekers including 33 babies were likely to be sent back to the poverty stricken island of Nauru. He added that removing kids out of primary school and sending them back on a tiny remote island is very wrong.

The arrival of illegal migrants, on the shore of Australia has been reduced since the policy on detaining asylum seekers has been imposed. This move also pressed Europe to follow their lead. But this policy has been criticized by the United Nations, health professionals and the refugee themselves. They said that putting people in jail for fleeing persecution in their land is also tantamount to torture.

A raised in the mental and medical problems of children has alarmed health workers. Karen Zwi, a pediatrician said that some of these children are extremely traumatized. They are depressed and loses hope easily and signs of physically, emotional and developmental deterioration are showing.

The High Court, however, relies only on the amendments to the Migration Act, which was rushed through parliament with bipartisan support. These, in turn, gave the government greater powers to detain asylum seekers. For more than two years, more than 1000 asylum seekers are detained on Nauru and Manus Island and only more than a handful were resettled in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.
by

I love Dubai. I really do. I could live in Dubai and be quite happy. Its central to pretty much everywhere in the world. Its big, its bold, its clean and its really nice. I have been to Dubai more times than I can count and have used it as a transit base for traveling to many countries in the Middle East and Africa. Ive stayed at some of the nicest hotels in the world in Dubai and in many different areas. However, on my recent trip I was excited to be staying on the Palm Islands of Dubai!



As part of my ongoing campaign with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts I actually spent one night at the Fairmont Dubai because I arrived quite late the first night coming in from the Masai Mara in Kenya and then two nights at Fairmont The Palm, Dubai.



The Fairmont Dubai is a big, beautiful, modern business hotel about 10-15 minutes from the airport. It has all the amenities youd expect from a top business hotel including great views and a really interesting pool!



Its also right on the Dubai metro; which I had never used before. I was a little hesitant but it was so easy. I needed some clothes at the Dubai Mall; which is a ridiculous spectacle of excess to experience and where the Burj Khalifa is located aka the worlds tallest building. 2 stops-boom!



However, my favorite thing about the Fairmont Dubai was far and away Cafe Sushi. I know it sounds odd that my favorite thing about a hotel was a sushi place, especially in Dubai but Im telling you it was fantastic. It would crush it in New York or Los Angeles. Locals come from far and wide to eat at cafe Sushi and I can see why.



Then I headed out to Fairmont The Palm, Dubai; which was absolutely phenomenal. Its one of those hotels where you never want to leave. The service was beyond outstanding. The restaurants were each tremendous. The pool was great and the adult pool was separate from the family pool; which is a must for me!



However, my favorite thing was the view from pretty much everywhere in the hotel of the Dubai Marina and its beautiful skyline. I could look at it forever and it looks different at different times of the day with the vast desert sunrises and sunsets.



I also have to say and show you and example of service that will be hard to beat. I did a Bermuda weekend getaway where I had excellent service. I did a staycation at the Plaza Hotel with top-notch service. I also experienced Chinese hospitality along with 5 awesome things to do in Shanghai but Fairmont The Palm takes the cake for service in my view.



They simply wrote Good Morning Lee in massive letters along the beach in front of the hotel. I nearly fell over when I saw it and was completely floored by the gesture. Obviously, the hotel knew I was coming and they were hosting me but this went far and above anything I would have ever expected or have ever experienced! Fairmont The Palm, Dubai has a fan for life!



Since I was staying on the Palm Islands of Dubai I wanted to take advantage of the location. Fairmont The Palm offers many water activities but what I wanted to do was take a boat tour around the Dubai Marina.



This was the perfect way to see the Marina in a chilled out way. It was also a great way to get some sun. It was a private boat and the driver was a very knowledgeable guide and taught me about an area of Dubai I didnt know much about as its mostly brand new and still developing. Needless to say, like just about everything in Dubai-it was gorgeous.



Back on the beach of Fairmont The Palm; I tried to do some falconry. Falconry goes back forever in the Middle East and is something Ive always wanted to check out. I have to admit, I didnt actually do much aside from watch the expert but I did get to hold the falcon and get some cool photos. Its amazing how the falcon just knows where to go and what to do!



Honestly, the rest of my time at Fairmont The Palm was spent relaxing at the awesome pool, eating and drinking. One other thing worth noting is the amazing cigar bar in the hotel right next to the Brazilian Restaurant. Aside from having a fine selection of cigars and the fact that is in old school oaken bar decor, they had a bottle of scotch that cost $46,000 and they actually have 3 of them! I didnt try it. I would have felt bad because each shot costs over $1000!



My stay on the Palm Islands of Dubai was too short as it always seems to be but my Fairmont experience at both Fairmont Dubai and of course Fairmont The Palm was fantastic: note the personalized robe below. I look forward to going back to Dubai in May and October and hope to once again stay in the Palm Islands of Dubai.



Disclaimer: My stays at Fairmont Dubai and Fairmont The Palm, Dubai were fully hosted as part of my ongoing campaign with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Everything Ive written has been based on my experience at the hotels and has not been influenced in any way-as always.



Sharing is caring!
Feb 3, 2016, 10:37am ET

Citing 3 injuries, FCA to supply wheel chocks for Dodge Chargers

The problem is being handled as a formal safety recall.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has issued a unique recall campaign for the Dodge Charger, following several injuries while attempting to use the vehicle jack.

The company will supply free wheel chocks for approximately 442,000 vehicles sold in the US market. The program is focused on the 2011-2016 model years.

"The chocks are for use, as instructed in the vehicle's owner's manual, when employing a tire jack to change wheels," FCA said in a statement. "Failure to follow the manual's instructions with an affected vehicle may cause the vehicle to come off the tire jack. FCA US is aware of three related injuries - all minor."

The equivalent Canadian recall announcement appears to provide a bit more context, warning that the body side-sill assembly may deform during jack use if the wheel chocks are not put in place, according to an Auto123 report. The new wheel chocks will be installed with the spare tire, preventing the spare from being removed without first pulling the chock.

"When positioned diagonally opposite to the wheel being changed, the chocks will help stabilize the vehicle," the US statement adds.
Feb 3, 2016, 3:22pm ET

Ford to restructure European operations, drop unpopular models

The company will launch seven new or refreshed models on the continent, before trimming the lineup to achieve higher profits.

Ford has outlined a restructuring plan for its European operations, aiming to further reinforce profits in 2016 and beyond.

The region posted its first annual profit in 2015 after three years of losses on the continent. A 10-percent sales increase brought Ford's European financials back into the black, while elevating the Blue Oval to claim the title of best-selling commercial vehicle brand.

"In the past three years, Ford of Europe has improved its business in all areas and moved from deep losses to a $259 million profit in 2015," said Ford Europe executive vice president Jim Farley. "We are absolutely committed to accelerating our transformation, taking the necessary actions to create a vibrant business that's solidly profitable in both good times and down cycles."

The automaker already closed three manufacturing facilities in Western Europe since 2013 to trim costs. The latest strategy involves a voluntary separation program, potentially saving another $200 million annually.

Perhaps most importantly, the company plans to eliminate "less profitable vehicles" from its European lineup in the coming years. The trimming will not affect launch plans for seven new or refreshed models this year, ranging from the Focus RS to the Kuga and Edge SUVs.

"SUVs remain Europe's fastest-growing market segment, and Ford expects to surpass 200,000 SUV sales in Europe for the first time in 2016 - a growth of more than 30 percent compared with 2015," the restructuring statement notes.

The company also plans to expand its 'Vignale' luxury sub-brand, starting with the Mondeo before adding the S-Max and three other models by 2017. Performance cars will also be maintained as the Mustang completes its first year of availability in the region. At the other end of the spectrum, new plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles will arrive before the end of the decade.

"We are creating a more exciting and distinctive Ford line-up in Europe," Farley added. "When we play to our strengths, we can compete and win in Europe - even against premium brands."
Feb 3, 2016, 9:20am ET

GM posts record $9.7B profit in 2015

Sales of SUVs and luxury vehicles in China has helped maintain growth despite signs of trouble in the world\'s largest automotive market.

General Motors has posted a record profit of $9.7 billion in 2015, closing out the year with a strong fourth quarter.

The full-year performance is significantly higher than last year's $2.8 billion net income, though both 2014 and 2015 included financial setbacks associated with the ignition-switch defect.

"It was a strong year on many fronts, capped with record sales and earnings, and a substantial return of capital to our shareholders," said CEO Mary Barra.

GM achieved an EBIT-adjusted profit of $11 billion in the North American region, with an adjusted margin of 10.3 percent. Both figures represent new record benchmarks. The company lost money again in Europe, offset by a strong $2.1 billion in equity income for the full year in China.

The company expects to pay its eligible North America unionized hourly employees up to $11,000, as per the profit-sharing agreement established in the wake of the 2008-2009 industry crisis.

"We believe the opportunities this will create in connectivity, autonomous, car-sharing and electrification will set the stage for driving value for our owners for years to come," Barra added.
Geneva LIVE: NanoFlowcell Quantino

Mar 1, 2016, 10:00am ET

The car runs with just 48 volts, providing 107 horsepower split between four electric motors.

NanoFlowcell has revealed a revised Quantino concept, claimed to represent the first production-ready low-voltage electric vehicle.

The accompanying image of a yellow Quantino does not look much different from the blue concept that was revealed early last year, aside from a few tweaks to the front fascia. The company promises the new Geneva-bound build will be presented in a "near standard" configuration.

NanoFlowcell's unique powertrain employs oppositely-charged electrolyte solutions and fuel-cell stacks rather than traditional batteries. The system is claimed to provide the Quantino with 621 miles between charges. Despite running at low voltage, the tech is said to provide enough power to reach 124 mph.

"Rated at just 48 volts and with an output of [107 horsepower] split between four electric motors, the all-wheel drive Quantino represents a significant improvement on the one-fill, one-charge range achievable with electric vehicles," the company notes.

The Quantino is said to be 'essentially' ready for a small-batch production run. The car will not begin rolling off the assembly line until the company completes a feasibility study later this year, however.

Live images by Ronan Glon.
Feb 3, 2016, 10:13am ET

Toyota kills struggling Scion brand

The Scion lineup will keep existing namaplates, but with Toyota badging.

Toyota has confirmed plans to kill its Scion brand, introduced in 2003 as an experiment to attract younger customers.

The Japanese automaker claims Scion has "achieved its goals" of developing unique products and wooing younger buyers. With collective sales surpassing a million units, 70 percent of Scions were purchased by customers new to Toyota and half of buyers were under 35 years old.

The marque may have succeeded in fulfilling its youthful focus, however it has struggled to grow in terms of overall sales. Delivers were up in January by 38 percent, likely associated with the arrival of the new iA and iM, however 2015 sales slid by 3.2 percent and 2014 numbers plummeted by 15 percent.

"This isn't a step backward for Scion; it's a leap forward for Toyota," said Scion CEO Jim Lentz. "Scion has allowed us to fast track ideas that would have been challenging to test through the Toyota network."

Scion is said to be the "youngest brand in the auto industry" with an average age of 36 years old. The average tC buyer is just 29 years old, claimed to represent the lowest in the industry.

The company is not planning to discontinue the Scion lineup, instead rebadging the vehicles with Toyota logos starting in August for the 2017 model year. The company will then sell the Toyota iA, Toyota iM and Toyota FR-S, while the tC will end with a final release series. The upcoming C-HR will also become part of the Toyota lineup.
Bethlehem parking meter

A parking meter is seen in August 2013 in Bethlehem. The city's parking authority is expected to vote in February 2016 on a proposal to increase rates to help fund a new garage on South Side and repairs to two existing garages. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Bethlehem is considering raising its garage and surface lot rates to help fund a new South Side parking garage and repairs to two city garages.

The Bethlehem Parking Authority must vote to approve the changes and a vote is expected this month, said Kevin Livingston, parking authority executive director.

The proposal calls for the hourly garage and parking lot rate to rise a quarter, to $1 an hour, Livingston said. The daily maximum charge for a garage would rise from $6 a day to $10.

That would put garage and lot rates in line with existing meter rates. The city doubled meter rates from 50 cents to an hour in 2012.

The increase is projected to bring in an additional $250,000 to $300,000 in revenue, Livingston said.

When meter rates rose and garage rates dropped in 2012, the authority wanted to get more people to use the Walnut and North street garages. And it seemed to succeed.

The new proposed rates come from an analysis by Desman Design Management, a Manhattan-based parking consultant. The study looked at 15 cities with similar parking authorities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and issued recommendations on rate hikes.

Easton charges $3 an hour for daily garage parking from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. and $1 an hour at other times. It costs $60 a month in the Pine Street garage and $45 a month in the North Third Street surface lot. Meters are $1 an hour.

Allentown's garages cost $1 an hour. Monthly rates in garages and lots range from $20 to $75. Most meters cost $1 an hour, except for those on Hamilton between Fourth and 10th streets, which cost $2 an hour.

The Desman study found that many of the cities don't keep their meter rates below their garage rates, Livingston said.

"We ensured our rate increases still put us below or on target for the market rate," he said.

Under the plan, monthly garage rates will rise from $57 to $65 a month while the Broad Street lot will go from $47 to $55 a month. The South Side lot will rise from $31 a month to $40.

The rate increases will help the authority fund three major upcoming projects.

Dennis Benner's six-story office and retail building at Third and New street relies on a proposal for a nearby 626-space city garage for parking. The garage is estimated to cost $17.7 million.

The Walnut Street Garage, which serves Center City businesses and residents, needs repair or replacement in the coming years. Repairs are estimated at $5 million while the replacement cost is not known, Livingston said.

The North Street garage will also needs repairs to extend its life. A study still needs to be completed but those repairs are estimated to be at least $2 million, Livingston said.

The city also plans to build a new 600-space garage at East Third and Polk streets.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Starters Riverport

Bethlehem City Council tabled plans to put a bus station outside of the Riverport building, which is shown in this lehighvalleylive.com file photo.

Riverport condominium residents implored Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday night to not consider creating an intermodal facility outside of their homes.

Resident Mike Fegley told council he and his wife moved from the country to Riverport, drawn by South Bethlehem's restaurants and shops.

They're the type of people the city hoped to draw in its revitalization, he said.

"We would never consider buying a place with a bus station," Fegley said.

Council voted 6-0 to table plans to spend $90,450 of a federal planning grant to study whether the Riverport building could house an intermodal facility.

Council members wish to expand the scope of the study to the entire South Bethlehem community.

"I feel the search needs to continue," Councilman Eric Evans said. "That's where I'm at right now."

Currently, there is a bus station, housed in a modular building, on Mechanic Street adjacent the South Bethlehem Greenway.

When the city was awarded the $390,820 federal grant in 2008, plans called for a 1,000-space parking garage and intermodal facility on Third Street across from the shuttered Bethlehem Steel Corp. General Offices.

Those plans fizzled.

Now Mayor Bob Donchez's administration is looking at a much more modest ticketing booth and bathroom facility for bus patrons, said Alicia Miller Karner, city director of community and economic development.

Riverport was identified as an option because it's already owned by the Bethlehem Parking Authority and there's limited land available in South Bethlehem, Karner said. It would be an exterior facility, she said.

Karner cautioned if the city delays too long it risks losing the federal grant, which expires Jan. 1, 2017. The proposed study was expected to take six to nine months to complete. The money can only be used for planning.

"We have no expectation of having to spend any city money for this project," Karner emphasized.

Two residents suggested busing Lehigh University students, who residents and city officials believe to be the top users of the current station, to the Sands Casino's bus terminal.

Riverport resident John Whelan said council is floating putting a bus depot in his backyard.

"That happens to be my home," Whelan said. "There are 172 units in that building."

Multiple residents expressed concerns about the negative impact a bus station would have on property values. Riverport condo values took a major hit in the housing market crash and things are just rebounding.

"It's been a tough ride with the housing bust we've all gone through," resident Tom Donchez said.

Condo residents lease 262 garage spaces from the Bethlehem Parking Authority under a 20-year agreement, Tom Donchez said. The remaining spots are for retail patrons, and bus riders could take spots meant for customers, he said.

Residents fear the impact of buses idling near their front windows and bus patrons loitering and littering.

"You should not put a bus terminal in people's homes," resident Alicia Pereira said.

Council peppered Karner with questions but she couldn't answer many of them. They were all issues Maser Consulting would tackle, if hired. The consultant would look at current bus ridership, demand, traffic, pollution and solicit community input.

Most council members leaned toward supporting a broader analysis of South Bethlehem and the demand for an intermodal center.

"How do we get the answers to these questions if we don't go ahead with the study?" Councilman Shawn M. Martell asked.

The administration supports looking at other locations, especially if Riverport residents are staunchly opposed, Karner said.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Route 33 spill said to involve cancer-causing material, police say

A dump truck lies on its side Feb. 1, 2016, after rolling over and partially spilling its load on Route 33 North in Bethlehem Township. Initial reports indicated the material was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast said. (Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com)

(AAAAAAAA)

UPDATE: Toxic soil in Route 33 crash was from Jersey City

The dump truck that rolled onto its side Monday afternoon on Route 33, spilling a hazardous load that took about eight hours to clean up, faces three citations in the crash, Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday.

Police also said the driver, 55-year-old Salvatore J. Gagliano, of Hellertown, suffered a possible head injury in the crash. The dump truck overturned just before 3 p.m. at mile-marker 3.6 of Route 33 North, between the William Penn Highway and Route 22 interchanges in Bethlehem Township, state police at Belfast said.

Gagliano drives for Horwith Trucks Inc. in Northampton, Trooper Gregory Pappas said. He was hauling a sealed bladder containing freshly dug soil laced with hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing material, from New Jersey, authorities said.

"The slang for it was 'dirty dirt,'" Pappas said. "That's what the trucker told me it was."

The bladder survived the crash, but the cleanup required opening it and offloading the material into multiple containers, Northampton County's acting emergency management director Todd Weaver had said.

Fastlane Towing cleaned up the hazardous material spill under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, then towed the vehicle, police said. The Lehigh County Hazardous Materials Response Team also responded, Weaver said.

The crash initially closed one lane of Route 33 North then both lanes, and the highway didn't reopen until just before midnight, Pappas said.

Neither the incident nor cleanup posed a public health risk, Weaver said Monday.

Gagliano was driving the 2011 Freightliner Coronado in the left lane of Route 33 North when the driver's side wheels traveled off the road into the grassy center median, with the passenger-side wheels on the left shoulder, police said.

Gagliano then made an abrupt steering maneuver back into the left lane, causing the load to shift, police said. The truck rolled onto its driver's side and slid across both northbound lanes, coming to a rest off the eastern shoulder.

The driver climbed out through the front windshield. He was not wearing a seat belt and was taken by Bethlehem Township EMS to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill with the possible head wound, according to police.

Bethlehem Township's Nancy Run Fire Co., Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Northampton County Emergency Management also assisted at the scene, police said.

Gagliano faces a traffic citation as well as citations under state law on securing loads in vehicles and failure to wear a seat belt, according to police.

Police could not pinpoint Tuesday where the soil was coming from or where it was headed to.

A call for comment to Horwith Trucks was sent into voicemail and not immediately returned.

A DEP spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Horwith Trucks, based at 1449 Nor-Bath Blvd. (Route 329) says on its website it assists with private and Superfund cleanups throughout the Northeast, hauling hazardous waste to state-approved landfills across the United States.

Hexavalent chromium is a form of the naturally occurring metallic element chromium, and is used in electroplating, stainless steel production, leather tanning, textile manufacturing and wood preservation, according to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

A known carcinogen, the material has been shown to cause lung cancer when inhaled.

"Studies have consistently shown increased lung cancer rates in workers who were exposed to high levels of chromium in workroom air," the institute says.

A federal study has also linked cancer in laboratory animals to oral ingestion of a compound containing hexavalent chromium.

Other hazards of exposure include nasal and sinus cancers, kidney and liver damage, nasal and skin irritation and ulceration, and eye irritation and damage.

The material was the subject of an investigation in California championed by Erin Brockovich, which was fictionalized into an eponymous 2000 movie starring Julia Roberts.

Here is more information from the institute on hexavalent chromium:

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Philadelphia woman was drunk when she crashed into a van carrying five school students last month in Williams Township, Pennsylvania State Police confirmed Tuesday.

Pennsylvania State Police said Feb. 2, 2016, chemical testing showed Janet Porreca, 52, of Philadelphia, was drunk when she crashed Jan. 14, 2016, into a van carrying five children on Route 611 in Williams Township, injuring four people in all. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Janet Porreca, 52, showed signs of being under the influence of alcohol following the crash just before 8 a.m. Jan. 14 in the 200 block of South Delaware Drive (Route 611), state police at Belfast said the day of the crash.

Taken for testing, Porreca registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.14, police now say. Penalties begin for most drivers at 0.08.

Four people were hurt in the crash including two of the students, police said.

Porreca was driving north in a 2001 Pontiac coupe when she crossed into the southbound lane, police said. She struck the 2012 Ford van carrying the juvenile students and driven south by Julie Smith, 42, of Easton, according to police.

Both drivers suffered minor injuries, as did a 12-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl in Smith's vehicle, police said. A 12-year-old girl, 8-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl also in Smith's van were unhurt, police said.

Porreca also had marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said.

Police said drug-related charges and a drunken-driving charge would be filed at District Judge Daniel Corpora's office.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Lehigh River Bethlehem

The Lehigh River near the Fahy Bridge in Bethlehem. Two groups are seeking a public discussion on building a pedestrian bridge as an option to the city's three vehicular bridges.

(lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Where would it be built? Would it make Bethlehem more walkable and bikeable, changing commuter patterns and reducing motor vehicle use? How much would it cost? Who would pay for it?

Those are some of the questions surrounding a proposed Lehigh River pedestrian bridge that would connect Bethlehem's South Side with Center City, which is still in the early talking stages.

But to start the conversation, Lehigh University's South Side Initiative and the Lehigh Valley Sierra Club plan to make a presentation about the effect of pedestrian bridges in other urban areas -- and then turn the meeting over to the public for residents' input.

That opportunity will come tonight, at a community meeting at 7 o'clock at the Charles A. Brown Ice House on Sand Island. Advocates want to talk about creating a safer river crossing for pedestrians and bicyclists, which would also connect the South Bethlehem Greenway with the canal tow path, and look at the procedural, architectural and funding challenges involved.

What do you think? Is this doable? Would a pedestrian bridge help the city grow and open new possibilities for walkers and bicyclists -- or end up as an expensive amenity for taxpayers who would never use it?

Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to join the ongoing discussion in the comments section below. We've posted a sampling of comments at lehighvalleylive.com in reaction to reporter Sara Satullo's story about the bridge idea and the community forum.

The traffic safety issues for pedestrians are real. The Fahy Bridge is too narrow to expand sufficiently. ... South Side is already backed up, especially waiting to enter the Fahy. The new construction and parking lot will only add to the traffic. The money ($10 million a year) from the casino was absorbed into the municipal payroll, health care and pension "obligations". How about something for the people?

As a runner local to the area, I am a big fan of a pedestrian bridge like this. I also have to imagine the costs would be pretty staggering... I don't think it's a healthy mindset to have tunnel vision about the project, and blindly chastise any potential to improve the community. It may wind up that the costs outweigh the benefits. Having a meeting to discuss all of this seems to be the best way to settle this.

Maybe we should fix our streets first. Mine is full of holes.

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize a pedestrian bridge to serve 500 people a day is not worth the tens of millions it will take to build and provide access.

A foot bridge will open the door to Lehigh & Delaware river, which has many options. Just observe what's along the bike trail.

By foot it's easy and safe to traverse the pathways on the city's 3 existing bridges. By bike it isn't as simple. Simply sharing the road with cars on the Fahy bridge has almost gotten me run over by impatient drivers. The lane has been narrowed to accommodate another walkway in the travel lane while repair starts to the bridge this spring, but there isn't any wiggle room for bikers in the travel lane. ... Most city folk don't respect the "share the road" mentality with bikers.
The whole of Commerce Park is now in a developer's hands, paving the way for a massive multimillion-dollar warehouse project.

The nearly 400-acre Commerce Park land in Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township was essentially divided between three owners. (lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Phillipsburg Mayor Stephen "Rogie" Ellis announced the closings at a town council meeting Tuesday.

Medford, New Jersey-based Opus Investments has proposed building 4 million square feet of warehouse space on the nearly 400-acre site spread between Phillipsburg and Lopatcong Township.

Various efforts at redeveloping the land, which includes the former Ingersoll Rand site, have been made since 2000.

The closing process for Opus required coordination among the municipalities, state agencies and the land's three owning entities: A holding company from a previous redevelopment effort, the town of Phillipsburg and Ingersoll Rand.

Phillipsburg in September agreed to sell its portion -- acquired in 2012 from the previous redeveloper for $1 in exchange for tax forgiveness -- to Opus for $2.5 million, receiving a $100,000 down payment.

Town officials estimated Opus paid close to $10 million for the other properties.

The developer hopes to begin work this year and complete construction by 2021.

Opus predicts that when the eight warehouses are complete and occupied by 2022, the site will produce almost 3,000 jobs and $425 million in annual economic output. It also projects Commerce Park -- both directly and through its impact on other local businesses -- will produce $3.7 billion within Warren County over the next 10 years.

Playgrounds and a walking trail on the property's southern end are also proposed early in the four-phase development.

Ellis and others on council also discussed finding ways to preserve elements of the site's industrial history before its eventual demolition. The mayor likened it to Bethlehem's SteelStacks campus built from the remnants of Bethlehem Steel.

"We felt Ingersoll-Rand was like that for Phillipsburg," Ellis said. "Once it's gone, you'll never get it back."

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Man dies after fight Jan. 19, 2016, in White Township

A White Township man died following a fight Jan. 19, 2016, outside the home at 94 Route 46, according to the Warren County Prosecutor. A man and woman detained at the Canadian border have been charged. (Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com)

A Mansfield Township man charged in a deadly brawl and detained last month crossing into Canada has returned to Warren County.

Steven Segarra, of Mansfield Township, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of John Ranallo in a fight Jan. 19, 2016, outside a White Township home. (Courtesy photo)

Steven Segarra, 37, of the Mansfield Village apartments, had his first appearance Monday in state Superior Court in Belvidere, nearly two weeks after the fight in White Township that killed 39-year-old John Ranallo.

Segarra is charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter and has been held in the Warren County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail since Sunday, according to a corrections officer. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

Ranallo, a White Township resident and father of two, on Jan. 19 had gone to the home at 94 Route 46, near the eastern edge of the township, to pick up his daughter when Segarra called him outside and a fight ensued, according to the Warren County Prosecutor's Office.

Ranallo was knocked to the ground and hit repeatedly, authorities said. He was reportedly able to get up and go back inside, where he collapsed and never regained consciousness. Ranallo died on the way to the hospital, investigators said.

A criminal complaint filed by New Jersey State Police says Segarra's punches caused the fatal injuries.

Charity Bucey (Courtesy photo)

Segarra is the second person to be arraigned on charges connected to the fight. Charity Bucey, 37, also of the Mansfield Village apartments, was charged last week with hindering apprehension after allegedly providing transportation to Segarra. They were detained Jan. 20, the day after the fight, at the Canadian border just north of Niagara Falls, authorities said.

Bucey, who was sent to the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bail, is also charged with simple assault for kicking a woman in the face during the fight, according to the criminal complaint.

A second woman from the upstate New York area was with Segarra and Bucey when they were detained but is not charged, Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke said.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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Narborough Road, south west Leicester, LE3. A mile-long stretch of shops and bars, cafes and restaurants.

For the 11,644 people who live in this busy suburb of Leicester, this is the commercial heart of their community, the fulcrum around which everything else turns.

For the academics at the London School of Economics and Political Science it's more than that, though. It's a nationwide curiosity. Narborough Road is, officially, the most diverse street in England, they have discovered.

There are 222 shop units on Narborough Road. Researchers at the LSE found that the owners of those units come from 22 countries around the world.

It was once said that England is a nation of shopkeepers. Today, those shopkeepers come from all corners of the globe.

Dr Suzanne Hall is the lead researcher at the LSE's Super Diverse Streets projects.

"What we found in Narborough Road was staggering, really," says Dr Hall, "and we didn't interview every owner of every business. There will be more people, from more countries, undoubtedly.*

"What is interesting about Narborough Road is that it's not a Little Italy, it is not Chinatown, it is not Belgrave Road.

"It is the world in microcosm; all these people, from all these different places, different cultures, living cheek by jowl, working with each other and living in harmony."

Narborough Road has the whole world in its hands (almost).

And it works, too, she says.

It doesn't work because the Government has made it work, or the local council has made it work. It has worked despite the state, not because of it.

"These are hard times, but streets like this  diverse streets in areas of economic deprivation, streets where people gather round and help each other  are forging their own way forward."

On a practical level, this means store owners trade their skills with each other as a kind of parallel currency.

"There is a Canadian couple who run a book shop on Narborough Road. They're what's known as 'anchor immigrants', they've been there a long time.

"Because their English is good and they know about forms and bureaucracy, they help the other traders."

In return, they get a free haircut, or lunch at a restaurant, on the house.

"They trade their services with each other as favours," says Dr Hall.

It's true, says Ian Smalley. Ian, who came to Leicester from Canada and set up the Narborough Road book shop, Tin Drum, in 1986.

"That's how it works," says Ian, who is fiercely proud of not just his shop, but his street.

"You know, we were given a pair of nice chairs by the local music shop, which we used for a long time  and then we gave them to the local charity shop, who sold them for a decent amount of money. It's nice to be able to do that."

Researchers found traders in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester in similar environments employed the same methods.

"It works," says Dr Hall. "It works for them. The story of streets like this is the story of our times. It is a story of austerity and the growing entrepreneurship of the people who it affects most of all.

And they learn from each other, too. That's interesting, she says.

In the traditional homogenised English High Street, or in Belgrave Road, Leicester, for example, business is conducted in a certain way.

"In Narborough Road, and in diverse streets such as Narborough Road, the traders, from all of their different backgrounds, learn from each other.

"These are the invisible dimensions of race, which tell you about how they live, how they cope, how they prosper.

"In austere times, people are not just investing money, they invest hope and care."

It was an interesting research project to be part of, says Dr Hall. The people were interesting. Their stories were interesting.

Leicester, a city she had never visited before, was intriguing, too.

"The first day I arrived in Leicester, I walked from the train station, through the city, to Narborough Road," she says.

That's important, too, she says. "You need to get a feel for the place." Her first impressions, then? They were mixed, she says. It was busy, which was good.

"But I also thought it seemed a bit depressed.

"It felt like I had been transported back to the '70s or '80s, walking through Leicester city centre."

Why is that?

"Some of the stores, the street scene. The environment. The M&S store, in particular, I remember. Stores like that, which didn't look like they'd been touched or revamped since the '70s or '80s. There seemed to be a few like that.

"And I was struck by the fact that Leicester city centre had a significantly high number of older people. I don't know. Maybe it's not like that at the weekend."

She caught a bus one day, to see other parts of the city: Belgrave Road, the outskirts of Leicester, the suburbs.

"The first thing that struck me is that bus travel in Leicester is so expensive  as expensive as London, I would say," she adds. "I was surprised by that."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Narborough Road wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as the city centre, says Dr Hall, but you could see, as you left the city and drew nearer to Narborough Road, that the people you encountered were generally younger.

"It's a good sign," says Dr Hall.

The close proximity of the universities also helps to sustain the street and its many bars and restaurants.

The story of Narborough Road is a noble tale of triumph in the face of widespread economic disaster.

"Places like Narborough Road have struggled  but they have survived. Narborough Road is a story of success, of people enduring through difficult times. But it is not a utopia. It is not without its problems.

"Overall, though, the story of the street's success belongs to the people who live there, the people who have made it work.

"There has been no big Government or local authority investment; no widespread, robust regeneration. No big private firm that has swept in and transformed the place.

"This is a gritty, tough environment. It is a narrative of people living under a lot of pressure  increased poverty, higher rents, the ongoing recession. But they have survived."

One of the most enduring trades are the street's massage parlours.

"They're hanging in there. There are more of them, too. We did try to speak to them. I think they would have had a story to tell."

It didn't happen, unfortunately, she says.

"They wouldn't speak to us.

"The regeneration on Narborough Road has been small scale, funded by the entrepreneurs, the businessmen and women who have settled here and turned Narborough Road into a thriving area.

"We should not ignore the role migrants play in places like this," she says. "They don't just live here. They invest here. They make them work.

"With the demise of industry, the huge cutbacks we are seeing in public spending, it is the other economies which are becoming integral to cities such as Leicester. It is the micro-economies of the street."

The perfect example of this is Narborough Road, says Dr Hall.

"We have to understand that, embrace it, learn from it," she says.

"Maybe our long-held measure of what makes a city a success  do they have all the leading shops? Does it look pretty?  should change.

"Perhaps we should start looking at their range of economies, their duration, age, backgrounds."

If we do that, she says, that makes Narborough Road one of the most interesting and important destinations in the country.

"We will, undoubtedly, see more 'Narborough Roads'  in Leicester, and in cities such as Leicester  because they work. They have endured. We've seen that. And it's the people that make them work."

* The research is incomplete, too, admits Dr Hall. "We spoke to about 70 per cent of the business owners. There are undoubtedly more out there, from more countries. It really is an incredible array of nationalities in one place."

Life on the UK's most diverse street

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Razzaq Mohammad

Pakistan/Italy

Al Madina halal butchers, 82 Narborough Road

People assume it's sunny all the time in Italy, that it's all dusty olive groves and rustic pizza and roads throbbing with smart men riding Lambretta mopeds.

It isn't like that, says Razzaq Mohammad. He knows. He lived there.

"Winter is just as cold there as it is here," he says.

In 2012, he moved from the Marche area of Italy to Leicester.

Today, Razzaq, runs a halal butchers, Al Madina, on Narborough Road.

Razzaq, originally from Islamabad, Pakistan, came here because of his three children.

"I want my children to do well. The education is good here," he says. "And the economy is stronger, too. I had a supermarket in Italy, but it is better to have a butcher's shop in Narborough Road than a supermarket in Italy."

His wife's uncle, a professor, helped them to settle in Leicester.

They lived in Highfields at first, then moved to a new place near the riverside, off Narborough Road.

Razzaq works seven days a week in the butcher's shop.

"I like it here. There are a lot of different people in Narborough Road and they are mostly good. Good people."

But not the one who came in and stole his charity box a few weeks ago, he says.

"Not him. But look," he says, "I've tied the box to the counter. He can't steal it again."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Tajinder Reehal

India/Kenya/Germany/England

Scorpion smoking shop, 91 Narborough Road

Right, are you sitting comfortably?

This is Tajinder Reehal. Her story is complicated.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, of Indian origin, Tajinder, 55, came to England when she was five.

Her family settled in Coventry, where Tajinder grew up.

"I didn't really like Coventry," she says.

She married her husband, Gurmit, moved to Germany, returned to England, made her home in Leicester, worked for the Inland Revenue and the NHS and then opened her own shop on Narborough Road, which stocks all kinds of exotic-looking smoking paraphernalia, some of which looks like it's come straight from the set of a sci-fi film.

Tajinder can speak five languages  Punjabi, English, Hindi, Swahili and German, "six if you count my French, which isn't great," she says  and you'll find her, most days, this woman who has been there and done that, behind the counter at Scorpion, in Narborough Road, which she opened with Gurmit in 2000.

They used to have a stall on the market, but it was cold. "It wasn't good for Gurmit, so we came here," she says.

It was slow going for the first four or five years  it takes longer than you think for people to get to know who you are and what you do, she says.

But today, as the city limps out of a recession, trade is good.

"I've seen the street change in the past 16 years," Tajinder says. "It's come alive. More bars, more restaurants. It's much more vibrant.

"I've seen the different nationalities come and go, too. Lots of Polish and eastern Europeans now, but before that, it seemed to be mainly Turkish and Spanish. I like it. It gives the area its identity. It feels cosmopolitan. You don't have to go into Leicester if you live here. It's all on your doorstep."

The flipside to all these new bars, new restaurants, this new vibrancy which Tajinder enjoys, is that there's also more street drinking, more drunken behaviour, something you barely saw in 2000 when Tajinder arrived.

"I don't like to be here, in the winter, when it's dark, past 4pm. I don't feel as safe as I used to," she says.

But maybe that's just her, she says. "Perhaps that's just me getting old."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

The Wright brothers - Lloyd and Alex Wright

Half-English/half-Polish

Intasound, 70 Narborough Road

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Narborough Road is an important part in Lloyd Wright's life.

He works here, at Intasound, the music shop his dad started 40 years ago. He's worked here for most of his life. He lives just round the corner. Narborough Road is almost part of his DNA.

"It's not until you really look back, 10 years, 15 years, longer even, that you realise how much it has all changed," he says.

"It was all hosiery down here back then. Clothes shops. Fabric stores. Then the first bars opened, which brought the students in and made it more of a destination.

"It's evolved. And it's still evolving. Now it's restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets from all over the world.

"I see it all day, because I work here, and I see it at night, because I live here. I love it. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

Intasound was started by his father in 1976. Lloyd's first job was as a Saturday errand boy and tea-maker, earning pocket money as a kid.

Lloyd travelled to Ireland, with a hatful of vague dreams and no real plan, which came to an abrupt end the day his dad called and asked him to take on the shop for him.

"And that's where I've been ever since," he says. He runs it with his younger brother, Alex, a former Tigers youth rugby player.

"I'm not surprised this is the most diverse street in Britain. There are people here from all over the world, but there's no tension. It's a very relaxed atmosphere. We all seem to rub along just fine. There's a mutual respect.

He hears people complain about small groups of Polish men, drinking in the street. "But they don't cause any trouble. Culturally, they just don't drink at home."

He shrugs his shoulders. No-one complained about that when they did it on the cartoon King of the Hill

"I'm proud to tell people this is where I'm from. I live here, I work here. My life  past, present, future  is here. I'm not moving."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Michal Szudzik

Poland

Deliqia Polskie Delikatesy, 274-276 Narborough Road

Michal Szudzik ended up in Northampton when he left his home in Poland, aged 20. When he arrived, he wondered if he'd made a big mistake.

Michal is from a small town called Czestochowa, south of Krakow. He imagined England would be bigger, better, faster, more colourful, somehow. But Northampton didn't seem better. Not the bit where he was, anyway.

"It is, how you say, a bit of a sh*thole," he laughs.

He likes Leicester better. He worked in factories when he first came here, but he always had this nagging ambition to run his own business.

"Well, not always," he says. "When I was about 10, I wanted to be a lawyer, but running your own business means you don't have to answer to anyone. I like that."

So he spoke about it with his missus  "we're not married, but in England you all call your partner your 'missus', no?"  and they decided to do it.

The UK was still in a recession. Michal had no money. "But that's the best time to do it," he says, "because everything is cheaper."

He got a 3,000 bank loan and set up his own shop.

It's been good, he says.

"I have good customers, mainly Polish but English, too. English people like Polish beer.

"I am, I think, the wrong side of Narborough Road. It

is busier down there, past Upperton Road. I'd do better down there, but I do ok. I like how people seem to get on well here. There's people from all over the world.

"Sometimes you hear police sirens. Sometimes there are fights. Sometimes there are drunken people in the street  but it's not bad. People are not running down the street with guns, at least."

(Image: Chris Gordon)

Nicky To

Hong Kong

Zarcone's fish and chip shop, 247 Narborough Road

'Zarcone's' it says above the door at 247 Narborough Road. Fish and chips. Italiano.

But that's last year's story, yesterday's fish and chip wrappers.

There's a new owner at Zarcone's  and he's come all the way from Hong Kong, via a 40-year-long stop off in Bermondsey, south London

Nicky To and his wife Debbie  they both sound like they could walk straight onto the set of EastEnders and slot right in  came to Leicester for the first time last year, when they bought the shop.

"I knew nothing about Leicester," he says. "Nothing at all. I knew it was in the Midlands. That's all."

You must have known something.

"No, I don't think I did."

You must have known Gary Lineker was from Leicester...?

"I didn't know that, no."

So why? Why leave London, their home of nearly 40 years?

"Because we're being priced out," he says.

Bermondsey was an unfashionable, working class enclave of south London 10 years ago. Now it's been gentrified and modernised and cleaned up  and normal, working Londoners like Nicky and Debbie can't afford to live there any more.

It's sad, he says.

They looked at Bristol and Bath. They didn't fancy either of them. And then they saw Zarcone's.

"I liked it when I first saw it. I like it that he's traded here, selling fish and chips, for 40 years. I like how busy it is."

You could argue that Nicky should have done more a bit more homework, and he wouldn't necessarily disagree, but he had a gut feeling about the place.

"It's going to be ok," he says. "I know it is."

Nicky is a trained chef. His speciality is Chinese food. "But we're not going to do Chinese. We're doing fish and chips. That's what people want. That's what we'll give them.

"I'm going to call it something else soon, though," he says, "but I don't know what to call it yet."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Ufuk Gundogdu

Turkey

Yesim Turkish cafe, grill, meze, 29 Narborough Road

Ufuk Gundogdu is a charming young Turkish man who came to London from Istanbul to learn English.

That was the plan, if you could call it a plan.

"I didn't think about it beyond that," he says.

He lived with his brother in Stoke Newington, north London, which was nice, but expensive. Here, I can rent a house for 550 a month," he says.

"In London, that gets you one room."

One room, he says, and he shakes his head as if the world is going ever so slightly mad. He may well be right.

And then, one day, he saw an advert. A patisserie for sale in Narborough Road, Leicester. He didn't know much about Leicester.

"I know about Leicester City, but only because Muzzy Izzet played for them," he says.

It was nice, he says. A good building. A decent patisserie, he remembers  but he knew it would be a better restaurant.

So he took it on. He moved to Leicester in October 2011. He lives with his cousin on Hinckley Road. Yesim's became one of the first Turkish restaurants to open in Narborough Road.

"It's a good layout, it's cosy and chilled. It's worked, which is what we thought."

He's happy living here. Narborough Road is nice, he says.

"It's like Stoke Newington in many ways  it's multi-cultural and it's friendly  but it's cheaper, and you can walk everywhere. I used to spend 25 a week on travel in London. Here, it feels so compact. Leicester is a good option for people like me."

(Image: Alex Hannam)

Cecilia Munikwa

Zimbabwe

Classique Styles, 96 Narborough Road

And so it comes full circle. A road once festooned with fabric stores and fashion emporiums has welcomed a new clothes shop.

Classique Styles, 96 Narborough Road, nestled conspicuously between takeaways and bars, opened just before Christmas.

It was Cecilia Mukiwa's dream. Her own clothes store. When she came to Leicester, back in 2002, aged 22, and working all sorts of jobs to pay the bills, the aim was always to open her own shop, a business where she was the boss.

"It's good, it's a bit quiet at the minute, but Christmas was good, and I'm going to get more stock," she says.

"I like business. I am a businesswoman. That's what I studied. I'm doing this with my sister and we want to make it work.

"If only the council could do things to make the shops look prettier, that would be good.

"And the parking. Oh, the parking  they sort out the parking for the residents, I understand that, but it means there's no parking for people who want to shop or eat here.

"I work here and I don't have a permit. I have to park half-a-mile away. That's crazy."
The latest issue of the Law Society Gazette has reported the story of a Portlaoise-born solicitor who was struck off for misconduct after leaving three clients short of 1.1 million in a money-lending scheme.

The latest issue of the Law Society Gazette has reported the story of a Portlaoise-born solicitor who was struck off for misconduct after leaving three clients short of 1.1 million in a money-lending scheme.

Brendan McNamara, a former partner in the practice of Devitt, Doorley, MacNamara in Roscrea, was struck off by the High Court in January, 2013, for operating what the Law Societys Sean Guerin BL described as a form of Ponzi scheme.

McNamara was receiving money from clients for property purchases, but used the money to pay others in an informal money-lending scheme which left three clients at a total loss of around 1.16 million.

McNamara was initially found guilty of misconduct at a disciplinary tribunal in July, 2011.

The tribunal heard that in one case, McNamara gave an undertaking to hold in trust the title of a specific property for Roscrea Credit Union after 270,000 was borrowed. However, no title was obtained and the money drawn down was paid out to moneylenders.

A second client borrowed 170,000 from Bank of Ireland to buy a property over which there was already a charge, which McNamara was aware of. Good title over the property was not received.

In the third case, McNamara received 750,000 for the intended purchase of six units in a development, but only 305,000 of this was paid to the vendor and McNamara failed to obtain good title to the property.

What Mr McNamara did went beyond gross negligence and was a dereliction of duty, said Mr Guerin.

McNamara was found guilty, censured and ordered to pay 12,000 to the Law Societys compensation fund. He was also ordered to pay the whole costs of the society, including witness expenses.

However, the society did not consider this adequate and sought McNamara to be struck-off.

At the High Court on January 21, 2013, Mr Justice Kearns ordered that the name of the respondent solicitor be struck off the roll of solicitors.

The order of the tribunal censuring McNamara and directing him to pay 12,000 to the compensation fund was rescinded, and McNamara was ordered to pay the society the costs of the tribunal and the High Court proceeding.
Naas residents will be asked to take part in a vote to change the change the

official Irish name for Naas from An Nas to Nas na Riogh.

Long serving politician Seamie Moore believes there is a strong surge in support among local people to have Naas known as Nas na Riogh in Irish.

He wanted a vote to take place along with the forthcoming General Election but this is unlikely because Naas councillors have first to agree and this is followed by a public consultation process.

In October 2006 voters in Dingle voted to change the name of the Co Kerry town to Dingle/Daingean Ui Chuis.

Cllr Seamie More said he hoped the other eight councillors on the Naas Municipal District would agree with the move.

This has nothing to do with me; its about giving Irish back to Naas. The suppression of Irish in Naas has been successful and only one local address (Loch Bui in the Corbans Lane/Fairgreen area) has survived, Cllr Moore told a NMD meeting.

He said that many other old addresses in the town have been Anglicised and An Nas is an Anglicised description. The legislation covering nameplace changes dictates that half of the NMD councillors representing the Naas area only) must agree and the support is likely to be unanimous.

The boundary must be mapped and then a secret ballot is held after members of the public have been given two months to make any submissions. Ancient records indicate that there are many historical references to An Nas as well as Dun Nas for Naas town.
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IFA Rural Development Chairperseon, Flor McCarthy, has criticised the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney for ruling 2,500 farmers out of the second phase of GLAS and backtracking on a commitment that he made at Budget time that at least 13,000 farmers would be allowed into the scheme.

Mr McCarthy said that with 11,500 farmers being accepted under Tier 1 and Tier 2, the exclusion of 2,500 farmers who are Tier 3 farmers is a major problem as many of these farmers are on low incomes.

The agri-environment GLAS payment would be a significant part of the overall farm income and Minister Coveneys decision to exclude them is totally unacceptable, he told the Leitrim Observer this week.

The IFA Rural Development Chairperson said that in the Rural Development Plan 2014-2020 it is envisioned that 50,000 farmers would join the GLAS scheme. At this stage nearly 38,000 farmers will be in the scheme.

Telling the 2,500 farmers that they can apply later in the year for the next phase of GLAS will result in these farmers getting no payment at all in 2016.

He has called on the Minister to reverse this decision and to allow all 14,000 farmers who applied in the first phase of GLAS into the scheme.
Orla McNabola from Carrick-on-Shannon won a National Recognition Award at the weekend for her CPR practice which saved a man's life last April.

Orla was awarded the Special Merit Award at the Local Authority Members association Awards on Saturday, January 30.

Readers may recall the Leitrim Observer's front page story from May last year about the 76 year old man whose life was saved by the actions of a number of locals.

Johnny Martin suffered ventricular fibrillation on April 24, 2015. He collapsed hitting his head. The incident resulted in his hear stopping.

The 17-year-old Carrick-on-Shannon Community School student was one of the people instrumental in saving Mr Martin's life.

She told the Observer after the event I was in Subway and one of my friend's little sisters had been in Francesco's and saw Johnny collapse. I went down to Francesco's thinking 'I wonder will they need help with CPR?'

So I went down on the off-chance and saw Johnny through the glass. I ran in and told the two ladies who were working in the shop that I could help.

Orla who is a part time Lifeguard at Aura Leisure Centre and trained in CPR and was familiar with the workings of a defibrillator. She worked on Mr Martin until a defibrillator was delivered by Rosie Dolan and Brenda Dunne who were also trained to use the defibrillator.

Orla's CPR procedure was essential along with the defibrillator in keeping Mr Martin's heart working until the ambulance arrived on the scene.

Councillor Finola Armstrong-McGuire who was very impressed by Orla's actions.

"She is a young girl and for her to kneel down beside someone she did not know and administer CPR in front of older people, her friends and strangers took a lot of courage and strength" she told the paper.

Cllr Armstrong-McGuire nominated Orla for Emergency Response Person of the Year.

At the awards ceremony Noel Brady from Dublin who had worked with St Johns Ambulance for 75 years won the Emergency Response award.

The judges were so impressed with the heroic actions of the local student they awarded her a Special Merit Award.

This is presented to a person or project that deserves recognition in their own right. It is for the person or project that goes above and beyond within their community to improve the lives of others and the community.

Orla has started her Mock Leaving Cert exams in Carrick on Shannon Community School this week.

Her parents Antonia and Micheal, brothers and the community of Carrick-on-Shannon are very proud of Orla's life-saving actions.
Regional writers Monica Corish and Tom Sigafoos are offering a series of Writing: The Craft workshops in Kinlough on 6 February, 5 March, and 2 and 30 April.

The workshops will take place on Saturday afternoons from 1-4.3opm. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. For further detail, contact Tom at (087) 94 0584 / tomsigafoos@gmail.com, or Monica at (087) 641 4185 / monicacorish@gmail.com.

At the workshops, Monica and Tom will offer feedback and constructive critique on participants work, guidance on publication, and exercises in the skills of creative writing. Feedback and critique will follow the guidelines detailed in Writing Alone, Writing Together by Judy Reeves.

Monica Corish is a writer, a mentor and an experienced and inspirational AWA-trained writing group leader. She won the 2014 North West Words Poetry Prize; her short story Sepia is included in the Hennessy Book of Irish Fiction 2005  2015; and her memoir writing has been broadcast on Sunday Miscellany and Lyric FMs Quiet Quarter.

Monica was SPARK writer-in-residence at the Leitrim Observer, and Gleanings  Poetry Inspired by the Observer was published by Leitrim Arts Office in July 2015. Her second full collection, A Dying Language, will be published by the Irish Hospice Foundation Press in May 2016.

Tom Sigafoos is the author of Pool of Darkness, shortlisted as one of five finalists for the Penny Dreadful Novella Prize. His short stories have been published in The Quiet Quarter Anthology  Ten Years of Great Irish Writing, in Crannog Literary Magazine, in The Cathach Literary Journal and in The Irish Times.
This type of activity seems to have increased since the mid-2000s, and has been accompanied by a resurgence in violence. Hostage situations are different now from those previously documented in the Gulf of Aden, for example. BMI (the International Maritime Bureau) recorded 177 attacks in 2012 and 138 in 2013; it is estimated that only one in three attacks are reported. In this region, where the locals have a much lower standard of living, the ransom that pirates can hope to earn is much lower than their income from the black market and from more frequent assassination orders.



The Kerala incident is a telling example of this type of activity, which has helped bring the issue to the attention of the international community. On January 18, 2014, a Greek shipping company lost radio contact with its oil ship Kerala, though it was only a few kilometers from the port of Luanda, Angola. Contact with the vessel was restored after a week, when it was found near the Nigerian coast. 12,000 tons of oil had been stolen. The captain then confirmed that he had been taken hostage, which is common practice among pirate groups. According to maritime experts, the disappearance of this ship is.... a sign of the increase in piracy that is increasingly present in the Gulf of Guinea and spreading in the south.
Camerons renegotiation package is clearly the current referendum news story. There will be much analysis over coming days and many people (particularly Conservative MPs) who have sat on the fence will have to make their minds up.

The Liberal Democrat position is clear:

We think being in Europe is good for Britain. We continue to think that after Camerons proposed reforms.

One of the proposals is a Red Card whereby 55% of member states national parliaments (i.e. 15 out of 28) can block proposed EU law. This is a reform Liberal Democrats should welcome as supporters of parliamentary scrutiny.

The proposed UK-EU settlement will be published ,so we can all read it, then it will be debated by governments on 18-19 February. (BBC)

The City has given the proposals, as reported so far, a cautious welcome (FT )

The Guardian reports that a short campaign with voting on 23 June is now very likely.

The UK Labour Party is backing the June date even though Welsh Labour is not (BBC).

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Cameron says he is delivering substantial change (MSN)

Example of an MP collecting voter data

Bath was Liberal Democrat from 1992 to 2015 and will likely be a Liberal Democrat target in 2020. The Tory MP has launched a survey, reported in the local paper, with a link to it.

No doubt he is interested in his local residents views but the survey will also produce data that he will find useful in any number of ways.

It has been widely reported that collection of vast amounts of data used to target and individualise communications was the heart of the Conservatives general election campaign this year.

Risks of Brexit

Major investement firm First State says that house prices in the UK will be hit in the event of Brexit, reports Fund Strategy.

Jeremy Warner in the Telegraph considers how Brexit would damage the EU and how that would be very bad for Britains own interests:

the EU would survive, albeit in bruised, battered and defensive form, and that without the influence of Britain to fly the free market flag, the very worst of its corporatist, statist and protectionist instincts would come to the fore. The European hegemon Britain has spent the best part of five centuries trying to thwart would finally have arrived. These are dangerous enough times as it is without wishing to make them worse.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is an excellent example of how you can have functional government without coalition parties having to pretend to agree on everything. NI Agriculture Minister Michelle O Neill (Sinn Fein) has said that Brexit would be a disaster for farmers. EU support for farmers, which would be lost, may not be replaced by the UK government  which is a real risk much reported in the Farming Press. The pro-Brexit DUP, coalition partners of Sinn Fein, dont agree  (Belfast Telegraph).

British Voters Living Elsewhere in Europe

Dutch News reports that the UK government is making an effort to ensure British citizens living in the Netherlands are registered to vote for the referendum.

* Antony Hook was #2 on the South East European list in 2014, is the English Party's representative on the Federal Executive and produces this sites EU Referendum Roundup.
Tim Farron has missed Camerons Deal or no deal performance today as hes been away in Manchester and Edinburgh, but hes been keeping an eye on developments. This is what he had to say:

The Prime Ministers draft deal means the first stage of the campaign to keep Britain at the heart of Europe and global affairs is complete. Now, the Liberal Democrats will play a leading role in working and campaigning to deliver a Remain result that will safeguard our economy.

Next Wednesday we will be launching our Liberal Democrat campaign to keep Britain in Europe. Our unity contrasts with the Tories.

Whatever the Prime Minister delivered some of his backbenchers would say it is not enough. The Prime Minister could have built a wall and demanded Europe pay for it, delivered the closure of all borders and the ending of any payment to the EU and still some of his backbenchers would say it is not enough.

They will always say that he should have demanded more. They are an utter farce and Britain deserves better than seeing Tory MPs fighting like rats in a sack.
Way back when I was first involved in politics, the ideas that everyone should have a basic income and that tax and national insurance should be integrated were mainstream SDP/Liberal Alliance ideas.

The Greens have in recent years been the only party to advocate such a change but during the General Election, Natalie Bennett was unable to convince people that it was affordable.

This week, think-tank Reform Scotland has come up with a costed scheme to give every adult a basic income of 100 per week and every child 50. The authors, Liberal Democrat Siobhan Mathers and Scottish Green candidate James Mackenzie, acknowledge that there would be a cost, around 2 billion in Scotland, 12 billion across the whole UK and that personal taxation rates would have to rise by about 8%, but that nobody earning under 26,000 a year would be worse off. However, with 2 children, a 100k household would be over 1200 a year better off

Its certainly radical, with those on lowest incomes gaining and those on 100,000 without children being around 2,200 a year worse off, but isnt that what a progressive tax system is supposed to do? There is a question, though, around whether a 100k household needs to be mae 1200 a year better off courtesy of the state.

The report argues that there are seven big advantages of such a scheme:

Simplification: The current system is overwhelmingly complicated. The Basic Income is very straightforward, as all citizens receive a payment. This also hugely reduces the administration involved, as means testing is removed and the payment can be automated. Individualisation: Every citizen would have a small independent income, whether or not they were in paid employment, since the individual would be the unit, as opposed to the household. As a result, people would be treated equally irrespective of gender, and marriage or cohabitation would not be subsidised or penalised. Incentivises those who can work, but additional benefits remain for those who cannot: The income is non-withdrawable and is not means- tested. As a result, work always pays. It guarantees, unlike at present, that every hour worked generates additional income for an individual. However, additional benefits aimed at housing and disability remain in place. All work pays: Not all work is permanent or full time, and some work is seasonal or sporadic. As a result, it can be difficult for individuals at present to accept such work without losing out on benefits and facing uncertainty as to what such work opportunities mean. However, all work, no matter the regularity or permanence, would bring additional income to an individual. There would be no constant changes to benefits as working hours changed. Income Tax and Basic Income would balance each other: Although everyone would receive the Basic Income there would be limits to the pressure for it to be increased. It is likely that increases in the level of the Basic Income would need to be paid for by increases in Income Tax. As a result, Income Tax and Basic Income levels should keep each other in balance. Would increase employment: The safety net which ensured all work, no matter the hours or permanence, would pay removes the current welfare trap therefore boosting employment. No availability-for-work rule: Currently, some people who study or train for more than a few hours a week can forfeit some benefits. This would not be the case with a Basic Income. As a result, there would be no disincentive to train/retrain or carry out voluntary work.

I wondered what would happen to those people who werent able to work as the BIG is nowhere near enough to live on:

It is important to remember that a number of benefits, such as Employment & Support Allowance (which is aimed at the sick and disabled) and Housing Benefit are not included. Therefore, households which include those with disabilities or carers, for example, would still receive additional income and they would not be subject to any benefit cap.

In a blog post on the Reform Scotland website today, Siobhan Mathers wrote:

The beauty of the Basic Income Guarantee to me is that every man, woman and child is entitled to it (we use the example of 100 per week for each adult and 50 per child) whatever they do and what they earn. It is a security and an absolute. And every pound earned on top of it is worth it. No more ridiculous complexities meaning that it sometimes isnt worth taking on certain jobs. It could also allow for a more flexible labour force which could particularly benefit Scotlands Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. The scheme we have proposed is demonstrative rather than definitive, an opening gambit in the debate about a new welfare system for Scotland. Yes some would pay more tax; disruptive change always has consequences. But after the heat and light of the referendum debate, do we really want to settle for tweaking at the edges an outmoded UK welfare system? Or do we want to create a welfare system which could be the envy of the world in responding to changing economic realities while supporting our citizens and encouraging a dynamic economy?

This is a proposal that comes with a significant price tag, though. What would have to be cut to pay for it? Its tempting to look at things like Trident to make up the shortfall, but the annual expenditure on that, correct me if Im wrong, wouldnt be enough to cover it. There may well be some savings in administration, but there would still be a significant bureaucracy involved. You would certainly eliminate all the issues around tax credit overpayments because this is a payment that is made regardless of income. However, it may well be that this overall might impact heavily on the poorest simply because public services that they rely on more than more affluent people, would have to be cut to pay for it. More work needs to be done on the wider effects in a more holistic manner. What the report does do, however, is give credibility to an idea that had been widely, and rather lazily, dismissed.

What do you think?

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
EU referendum: David Cameron wins Theresa Mays backing  reads the Guardian headline this morning.

Hello? Theresa May is the Home Secretary! It is incredible that her backing for Cameron on this is presented as some sort of surprise. What the Prime Minister does should automatically have the backing of the whole cabinet. Are we saying that there are cabinet ministers who do not support the Prime Minister on his referendum stance?

The cabinets support for the PM on a crucial national matter appears to be in question. This is quite an extraordinary state of affairs.

And it is also extraordinary that the national debate and focus is reduced to the ridiculous and narrow question of migrants benefits.

Hello? (Again).

We have 2 million-odd British migrants in the rest Europe who are entitled to benefits there too.

Migrants to this country pay tax and national insurance when they are in work (which is the overwhelming majority of them  why come here not to work? They may as well stay at home with their families and not work). So they are entitled to benefits. All the studies show that migrants are net contributors to the UK purse.

Due to the lack of any substantive problem here, I can only conclude that this subject of migrants benefits is a proxy debate in some quarters, as evidenced in the Dailies Mail and Express. For some, it is a way of channeling all the hatred of foreigners, all the Little Englander and all the pull up the drawbridges vitriol into something which sounds like an acceptable area of argument. That said, I acknowledge that many have genuine and sincere concerns about this policy area for legitimate reasons.

This article was updated by the author on 3rd Feb 2016 at 15:08 to include the italicized words in the last paragraph and the words in some quarters in the title.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is currently taking a break from his role as one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Remember back in 2014, Greg Mulholland and others secured a Government defeat to give tenant landlords the right to request a fair rent and end the beer tie?

Unsurprisingly, the Government did what it could to put as many obstacles in the way of landlords seeking that fair rent as it could. Sure, they could have it, as long as the pubco could increase the rent at the end of the year. Theyve had to u-turn on that now.

Pub champion Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland (known in some quarters as the Casked Crusader) has long fought for the Market Rent Only (MRO) option, said that the u-turn was a major victory against a Government which has consistently refused to support landlords to get a fair deal.

The u-turn comes after Mr Mulholland submitted a Freedom of Information request to investigate the Governments plans which would only allow an MRO if the pubco increase the rent at the end of the year.

Greg said:

This is a massive climbdown for the Government over this deeply flawed plan which totally undermined attempts to ensure local pubs get a fair deal.

The Government has protected the large vested interest of the pubcos every step of the way and this climbdown shows they are only now listening to local people who want success for British pubs.

This, from the Halifax Courier, gives greater background and has an earlier quote from Greg saying why the Market Rent Option is so important for the pub industry:
LIMERICK can be an antidote to the saturation of Dublin and Galway over the next decade, a top businessman has said.

Tony Hanway, the chief executive of Virgin Media, which has recently taken over UPC, is very optimistic about the future of the city, saying he can guarantee the next ten years are going to be infinitely better than the previous.

He said he is looking forward to his company playing a part in what he hopes is growth in Limerick  Virgin Media employs hundreds of people at its call centre at the Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP).

And he said Limerick is ready to cater for the overspill from the capital.

Speaking at the Chambers first business strategy conference in Thomond Park, Mr Hanway said: If Dublin grows in the next five years like it has grown in the last five years, it is going to become unbearable. I dont think people realise that. The roads are clogging up now. Its going to be difficult to find the talent and skills which are needed.

"Prices are going to increase on the property side. I think there will be a huge talent crunch in Dublin, and I think it's going to necessitate the need to look outside. Limerick can be the antidote to Dublin and to a lesser degree the saturation we see in Galway. There is ample room to expand here.

Ubers Ireland manager Kieran Harte said he is sure his firm  which he says is the fastest growing ever  has made the right decision in coming to the city.

Our short history proves we do not make many wrong decisions. I would be positive about why we chose Limerick. We know Limerick is going to give us exactly what we need moving forward. It has fantastic talent and really bright young minds.

Fellow panellist, the FAI chief executive John Delaney said: Maybe Limerick was too dependent on Dell. We need to make sure into the future, we are not too dependent on certain industries, as this leads to a whole host of problems in the future.

St Marys Park born Trish Long, who is now the vice-president and general manager of Walt Disney Studios in Ireland added: I genuinely from a practical point of view feel a tangible sense when it comes to Limerick of peoples warmth and confidence.
THE University of Limerick will host the first ever RTE general election TV debate to be held outside Dublin in a fortnights time.

After the Dail was dissolved this Wednesday monring, and the general election called for Friday, February 26, UL has followed by officially announcing that the event will be broadcast live from the University Concert Hall as part of RTEs Claire Byrne show on Monday, February 15.

The university will also host a live post-debate analysis show capturing commentators reactions, which will be broadcast from the campus directly after the leaders debate.

Leaders debates have a prominent place in Irelands general election folklore, said Mark Mulqueen, ULs director of marketing and communications.

One of the first took place in February 1982 with Garret Fitzgerald and Charlie Haughey. Even in this digital age, this association connects UL with audiences nationwide through an occasion of real importance, so were delighted to host RTE and party leaders next week, said Mr Mulqueen.

This is not the first time UL has hosted live national TV broadcasts. UCH has in the past hosted The Late Late Show in 2006, the live Eurosong Selection Show in 2008 and Gradham Ceoil TG4, 2012  2014.

The audience make-up is outside both ULs control and that of RTE. To ensure fairness and impartiality, a polling company will select the audience for the leaders debate.
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Does the size of your brain say anything about your smarts?

Plenty of brainy scientists have pondered the link between a person or animal's grey matter and their cognitive skills.

Perhaps fitting for a question about the human brain  which packs in more than 100 billion neurons, according to the National Institutes of Health  but the answer is mired in complexities and unknowns.

For one, scientists still debate over the definition of intelligence. For any IQ definition, how do you measure it? Further, do differences in IQ show up in daily life? And finally, does more brain tissue or a heftier brain equate with higher IQ?

One thing scientists do agree on: A big brain alone doesn't equate with smarts. If it did, elephants and sperm whales would win all the spelling bees. Rather, scientists look at brain mass relative to body mass in order to make any speculation about a creature's cognitive abilities.

So while an elephant noggin, at 10.5 pounds (4,780 grams), could squash a human think box in a purely physical battle of brains, you and I take the cake in a war of wits. Our brains, which weigh an average of 2.7 pounds (1,200 grams), account for about 2 percent of body weight, compared with an elephant's under one-tenth of a percent.

Studies have shown that across species relatively large brains "do seem to provide some complex cognitive skills, such as innovative solutions to ecological problems, more efficient resource mapping and food acquisition, and more complex social strategies (such as deception)," said Nancy Barrickman, a graduate student in Duke University's Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy.

A study by Sarah Benson-Amram, of the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and her colleagues revealed experimental data linking animal smarts with relative brain size. In that study, detailed Jan. 25, 2016, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers gave 140 zoo-dwelling mammalian carnivores, from 39 different species, a tasty problem to solve. The animals had to open an L-shaped latch to open a box and grab the treat inside. They found that animals in the bear family did best, while two species of mongoose never managed to open the latch. After accounting for other factors that could led to successful latch-opening, such as manual dexterity and sociality, the researchers concluded that relative brain size was the most significant predictor of success in the task.

Differences in brain size within a species, such as humans, are relatively small, making it difficult to tease out the effects of brain size and the effects of other factors. For instance, the difference in intelligence between an individual with, say, a brain that's 1,100 grams and one that's 1,400 grams (which could be found in humans) is confounded by other variables, including differences in density of neurons, other structural brain differences and socio-cultural factors.

Take genius Albert Einstein, who's brain was not significantly bigger than the average human's. Rather, some scientists have found, his ability to grasp mind-boggling concepts and make seemingly impossible mental leaps may have come down to connections. Turns out, his noggin was likely highly integrated so that several paths would have connected distant regions to one another. [What If Humans Were Twice as Intelligent?]

And the debate continues 

Brain size seems to have nothing to do with scores on standardized intelligence tests, according to a brain-scan study of young children.

Michael McDaniel, an industrial and organizational psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, has claimed that bigger brains do make for smarter people. Many researchers, however, disagree with McDaniel's conclusion. His research, published in 2005 in the journal Intelligence, suggested that across all age groups and sexes, brain volume is linked to intelligence.

Men are smarter than women, according to research published in 2006, which the study researchers say could be due to men having relatively larger brains, a difference of about 0.2 pounds (100 grams). Another scientist put forth several socio-cultural factors that would make the men-smarter results null.

Average brain weights for primates (not relative to body size):

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)  0.77 pounds (350 grams)

Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei)  0.95 pounds (430 grams)

Mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)  0.004 pounds (2 grams)

Sizing up brains for the rest of the animal kingdom, would include:

Sperm whale  17 pounds (7,800 grams)

Walrus  2.4 pounds (1,100 grams)

Domestic cat  0.06 pounds (30 grams)

If brain size had anything to do with innovation and creativity, some scientists expected to see a link between the so-called Mind's Big Bang (the emergence of bone tools and cave paintings that occurred between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago) and the emergence of modern-size human brains. Not the case.

Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
Winter storm Jonas brought with it record-breaking amounts of snow and blustering winds when it plowed through the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States in late January. Now, scientists at NASA have created a new map showing the direction and speeds of the massive storm's wind gusts.

The map, released by NASA's Earth Observatory on Jan. 29, shows especially strong winds along the coasts of Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey.

Winds during winter storm Jonas wreaked havoc in coastal areas, with some gusts reaching 90 mph (145 km/h)  strong enough to be considered hurricane-force winds, according to NASA. The arrows on the map represent wind direction, and the shades of blue indicate wind speeds increasing from dark to light blue. [Winter Storm Photos: Watch Jonas Wallop the Eastern US]

But the new map does not use direct measures of wind speed and direction. Instead, it is based on data from RapidScat, a sensor mounted on the International Space Station.

RapidScat measured microwave pulses that were reflected off the ocean surface back toward the sensor. Waters that were disturbed more by the wind returned a strong signal, while calmer waters returned a weak signal, allowing scientists to infer wind speed and direction based on the position and roughness of the waves, NASA officials said. RapidScat is an important tool for meteorologists, because maximum sustained winds are not always equally distributed in a storm, agency officials added.

Aerial photographs of Assateague Island show the beach before the storm hit (above) and just days after with significant erosion and several new breaches (in the top-left corner of bottom image). (Image credit: Patrick J. Hendrickson / Highcamera.com)

As the storm worsened on Jan. 23, the formidable winds caused a storm surge, or an abnormal rise of the water level, leading to significant coastal flooding. Along the New York Harbor area, the storm surge added around 3 feet (0.9 meters) to the normal tides, said Patrick Maloit, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The massive storm caused historic coastal flooding and widespread power outages in New Jersey. The town of Cape May, New Jersey, experienced its highest coastal flood on record, beating the levels that resulted from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, according to Gary Szatkowski, another meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Hurricane Sandy was pivotal in highlighting the problem of expanding coastal cities in the Northeast without adequate infrastructure to deal with extreme weather. With sea levels rising at a faster rate than ever before, according to climatologists at NASA, storms like Sandy and Jonas have the potential to cause even more devastation to both infrastructure and natural resources.

In Delaware, beaches in Rehoboth and Bethany lost sand dunes due to winter storm Jonas, according to news reports. And in Virginia, aerial photographer Patrick Hendrickson captured an image (above) of several new breaches in a beach on Assateague Island.

Sea-level rise and the resulting beach erosion hit especially close to home for NASA because half to two-thirds of NASA's assets stand within 16 feet (5 m) of sea level. In fact, the beach on Assateague Island helps protect launch infrastructure on Wallops Island, where several commercial and government rockets are launched each year  and it's increasingly threatened by rising sea levels.

Follow Knvul Sheikh on Twitter @KnvulS. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Health officials issued new recommendations this week in an update to the vaccine schedule for children, including a recommendation to get a new type of vaccine against HPV, and an update to the timing of this vaccine for some children.

The updated schedule for children and teens was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with a corresponding policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The update is an opportunity to remind people that "vaccine-preventable disease is at historically low levels for almost every single vaccine," said Dr. Cody Meissner, a co-author of the new policy statement and a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at Tufts University in Boston. "And the reason for that is because vaccine uptake is at historically high levels."

"If we have a decrease in immunization rates, we are going to see these diseases return," Meissner said, citing the recent outbreaks of measles and whooping cough as possible examples of this.

One change in the updated schedule is the introduction of a new type of HPV vaccine, called 9vHPV, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2014. The previously recommended vaccine, called 4vHPV, offered protection against four types of HPV associated with certain types of cancer.

The new vaccine adds protection against five more types of HPV linked to cancer, particularly cervical cancer, Meissner said. [5 Dangerous Vaccine Myths]

"That means that the HPV-4 vaccine covered about 65 percent of the viruses that cause cervical cancer, and the HPV-9 will prevent about 80 percent of the viruses that cause cervical cancer," Meissner told Live Science.

The new schedule continues to recommend that the HPV vaccine be given to children beginning at age 11. However, the new schedule now recommends that children with a history of sexual abuse receive the first dose of the vaccine at age 9, because they have an increased risk of HPV infection.

This increased risk is partly because children who have suffered abuse are more likely to become sexually active at an earlier age, Meissner said.

Meningitis prevention

The updated vaccination schedule now also includes the addition of the meningococcal B vaccine for some adolescents. The vaccine protects against the rare but potentially life-threatening bacterial infection that can affect the brain.

The vaccine is recommended at age 10 for children who are at an increased risk of contracting the disease. This high-risk group includes kids with certain immunodeficiencies, such as those who have had to have their spleen removed, Meissner said. Individuals who don't have a high risk of contracting the disease can be considered for the vaccine between ages 16 and 18, depending on their doctor's recommendation.

The meningococcal B vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2014 in response to several outbreaks of bacterial meningitis at colleges in the United States.

Vaccination schedules for children and teens are approved annually by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The AAP policy statement was published Monday (Feb. 1) in the journal Pediatrics.

Follow Agata Blaszczak-Boxe on Twitter. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.
People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could someday be treated with the help of an electric patch worn on their head when they are sleeping, researchers say.

However, much further research is needed to confirm whether this treatment is actually effective or not, experts added.

In the small new study, 12 people who had been suffering from PTSD and depression for an average of 30 years  and were already being treated with psychotherapy, medication or both  wore the patch each night while sleeping, over an eight-week period. The researchers found that the severity of the participants' PTSD decreased by an average of more than 30 percent, and the severity of their depression dropped by an average of more than 50 percent, over the study period.

"Most patients with PTSD do get some benefit from existing treatments, but the great majority still have symptoms and suffer for years from those symptoms," Dr. Andrew Leuchter, senior author of the study and a psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. "This could be a breakthrough for patients who have not been helped adequately by existing treatments."

PTSD is a mental illness marked by severe anxiety, flashbacks and uncontrollable thoughts about a traumatic event. About 3.5 percent of the U.S. population has PTSD, the researchers said, including soldiers who have been in combat, and people who have survived terrifying events.

People with PTSD may try to avoid situations that could trigger flashbacks, which sometimes makes them reluctant to socialize or venture from their homes, leaving them isolated, the researchers said. People with the disorder are six times more likely than people who don't have PTSD to die by suicide, and they are at increased risk for marital difficulties and dropping out of school.

For the participants in the new study  who were survivors of rape, car accidents, domestic abuse and other traumatic events the new patch delivered a kind of treatment known as trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS). Prior research found that TNS can treat people with epilepsy who aren't helped by medication as well as people with depression who aren't helped by therapy, the researchers said. [Bionic Humans: Top 10 Technologies]

While a patient sleeps, a 9-volt battery powers the patch, which sends a low-level electrical current to nerves that run through the forehead. These nerves send electrical signals to parts of the brain, such as the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex, which regulate mood, behavior and cognition, and that previous studies found were linked with PTSD.

The study participants had chronic PTSD and severe depression. An average of 30 years had passed since the traumatic events that had left them depressed, anxious, irritable, hypervigilant, unable to sleep well and prone to nightmares.

While they continued their regular treatments, they also wore the patch when they slept, for 8 hours a night. The participants completed questionnaires about the severity of their symptoms and the degree to which the disorders affected their work, parenting and socializing at the start and end of the study.

"We're excited that we're seeing strong evidence that TNS may be helpful to patients with PTSD," Leuchter said. "This was a group of patients that had been ill for years, and had been through all the best available treatments without significant relief for most of their symptoms. The fact that we could relieve symptoms in this chronically and seriously ill group was surprising and very encouraging."PTSD symptoms stopped completely for one-quarter of the patients in the study. In addition, participants generally said they felt better able to take part in daily activities.

The treatment worked best in patients who used the device consistently for eight weeks  participants who were inconsistent in using the device did not have as good outcomes, Leuchter said. Future research will examine the long-term effects of this treatment, he added.

"I recall one woman who came in who was just delighted," Leuchter told Live Science. "After using the device for just a few weeks, she said she was able to sleep through the night for the first time in years without nightmares."

This is the first evidence that TNS can help treat people with chronic PTSD, the researchers said. The treatment showed no serious side effects during the course of the study. "Some subjects showed some slight skin irritation on the forehead where the patch was applied, and this was easily addressed by moving the patch or applying some skin cream," Leuchter said.

"Some of the study subjects have continued to use the device for months or years as part of the study and have continued to show benefit," Leuchter said. "Some other subjects who stopped using the device also have maintained their improvement." [5 Amazing Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]

One of the participants died by suicide in the seventh week of the study. The person had denied having any suicidal thoughts at the start of the research and throughout it. The researchers noted the participant's treating psychiatrist, who was not affiliated with the study, concluded the suicide was more likely related to the person's underlying psychiatric illness than to the device or study.

Much further research is needed to see whether this strategy is actually effective at treating PTSD, said Dr. Paul Rosch, a clinical professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College who was not involved in the new study.

He noted this preliminary study was small, and no sham treatment was given to participants to examine whether any benefits of the study were due to the device itself or just the placebo effect, "which is not uncommon in electric and magnetic stimulation studies," Rosch told Live Science.

The researchers are now testing the patch in a larger study  they are recruiting 74 veterans who have served in the military since 9/11. PTSD affects a greater percentage of military veterans than civilians an estimated 17 percent of active military personnel experience symptoms, and about 30 percent of veterans who have returned home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan have had signs of the disorder, the researchers said.

In this larger study, half of the veterans will get TNS, and half will receive a fake TNS patch. At the end of this study, volunteers who got the fake patch will receive the option of undergoing actual TNS.

"PTSD is one of the invisible wounds of war," study lead author Dr. Ian Cook, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. "The scars are inside, but they can be just as debilitating as visible scars. So it's tremendous to be working on a contribution that could improve the lives of so many brave and courageous people who have made sacrifices for the good of our country."

Cook, who co-invented TNS, is now on leave from his position at UCLA and is serving as chief medical officer at NeuroSigma in Los Angeles, which is licensing the technology and funding the research. NeuroSigma is already marketing the patch overseas and has plans to make it available to patients in the United States.

The scientists detailed their findings online today (Jan. 28) in the journal Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.
For law enforcement officers around the world, partnering with animals is a time-honored tradition. Mounted police do their duty on horseback  and, in some countries, camelback. Specially trained dogs serve and protect by sniffing out drugs and explosives. But in the Netherlands, police officers are inaugurating a new species of animal partner  eagles  to take down illegal aerial drones.

In a statement released Jan. 31, the Dutch National Police Corps announced a new initiative using birds of prey to intercept unwanted drones. The program was developed and tested in partnership with Guard from Above (GFA), a Dutch company located in the Hague that specializes in training large, predatory birds to "hunt" and subdue robotic prey.

A video published by the National Police Corps of an indoor demonstration shows a handler releasing an eagle, which swoops toward a hovering quadcopter drone, snatching the machine out of the air and flying off with it into a corner of the training ring. [In Images: Amazing Harpy Eagle Chick]

According to Mark Wiebe, innovation manager of the National Unit of the police, the eagle reacts to the drone as it would to its normal prey  not only grabbing it while in flight, but taking it immediately to ground, as it would any animal that it had just nabbed and was ready to eat.

"For years, the government has been looking for ways to counter the undesirable use of drones," Sjoerd Hoogendoorn, GFA co-founder, said in a statement. "Sometimes a low-tech solution for a high-tech problem is more obvious than it seems. This is the case with our specially trained birds of prey. By using these birds' animal instincts, we can offer an effective solution to a new threat."

The bird taking down the drone in the video appears to be a golden eagle, a powerful bird that typically preys on small mammals, but is capable of fighting off bears or coyotes when defending its prey or young, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In 2012, a viral video convinced many that a golden eagle had carried off a small child, though the video was later proven to be a hoax.

Dutch police are currently investigating different approaches to contain rogue drones, which can interfere with helicopter flights, cause injury to bystanders, and even be used for criminal purposes, Wiebe said in the statement. Safety nets, which were tested by Tokyo police in December 2015, are also being considered. The police will make their final decision about making the eagles a permanent part of the squad after the test period concludes  "in a few months," according to the statement.

Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
The Millennial Generation  people born between 1982 and 2000  has been described in a number of ways, many of which are not complimentary.

Millennials, roughly defined as the generation born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, often hear that they're the most narcissistic, entitled generation of all time. Now, a new study examines how these young adults feel about those labels. Spoiler alert: Not that great.

Millennials do view themselves as a bit more narcissistic than generations before them, but not to the extent that older generations do, according to new research presented Jan. 29 at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in San Diego. But in general, millennials do not appreciate being called narcissistic and entitled, said study leader Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

"People don't like that," Grubbs told Live Science. However, he said, people who personally ranked high in narcissism were less bothered by the label. [7 Personality Features That Are Bad for You]

Narcissism rises

Different research methods have found that individualism is on the rise in American culture, with younger generations reporting less empathy and more self-focus than generations before. Although this narcissism is often pinned on millennials alone in the popular press, research going back to the early 1900s suggests that these forces have been in play for at least a century.

"There is a very consistent and reliable trend where all indicators of individualism [have] been on the rise over the course of the last 100 years," University of Waterloo psychologist Igor Grossman, who was not involved in Grubbs' work, told an audience at the SPSP meeting. The youngest generation is more self-centered than those before it, Grossman said, but the same could have been said of the youth of the 1950s versus the youth of the 1930s, and so on.

The changes from generation to generation are subtle  the difference in 1 or 2 points on a 40-point narcissism scale, Grubbs said. In other words, though narcissism is on the rise, media reports of millennials as almost crippled by self-absorption compared with the selfless generations of the past are a bit overblown.

"We're not talking about two generations ago, people were just completely selfless, and in this generation we're trying to kill each other to watch the next season of something on Netflix," Grubbs said.

Grubbs was interested in how the public might be responding to this exaggerated narrative. As a millennial himself, he also wanted to know how his peers viewed narcissism trends.

In a series of seven studies, he and his colleagues asked millennials and older generations to rank each other's narcissism and their responses to media about generational change (in particular, a negative section of a 2013 Time magazine article entitled "Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation.")

Questioning labels

The millennials surveyed in person and online rated themselves as more narcissistic than previous generations, but saw themselves as less narcissistic than other generations did. In an online survey of 750 adults of all ages, millennials ages 18 to 25 rate themselves at 61.4 on a zero-to-100 scale of narcissism. They ranked adults 60 years and up as 38 on the same scale, a 23-point difference.

In comparison, adults 60 years and older ranked millennials at 65.3 on the 100-point narcissism scale, and ranked themselves at a mere 26.5, a spread of nearly 40 points. In other words, older generations perceive the generation gap as wider, in their own favor. (Notably, every generation saw itself as less entitled and narcissistic than other generations said it was.)

"If you say something just terrible about the generation, they tend to be somewhat offended as a general rule," Grubbs said.

The only exception to this rule was people who were personally high in the trait of narcissism. These people didn't love the labels, either, Grubbs said, but they were less offended than people lower in narcissism. This fits with previous research suggesting that narcissists are self-aware, Grubbs said. They know they're self-absorbed, but think they have a right to be.

The burning question now is whether being bombarded with negative messages about themselves is bad (or good) for millennials in the long term, Grubbs said. It's not clear if people suffer ill effects over time from these labels. The team is currently studying whether being called narcissistic makes people decide to live up to the label, or if they overcompensate and show increased altruism and empathy instead.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitterand Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.
An Alpine photographer follows extreme runner Kilian Jornet Burgada, who holds the record for fastest descent of Mont Blanc.

It's now possible to scale the brilliant, snowcapped peaks of Mont Blanc, one of Europe's tallest mountains, from the comfort of your couch.

A new Google project lets Alpine enthusiasts see close-up, 360-degree views of Mont Blanc on any device that supports Google Street View.

The company mapped Mont Blanc, dubbed the "monarch of mountains" by poet Lord Byron, through several partnerships with renowned mountain photographers, skiers, mountaineers, climbers and runners, who gathered images of the Alp's tallest peak, Google announced Jan. 21 in a blog post.

For instance, Alpine runner Kilian Jornet Burgada  who ascended and descended Mont Blanc in only 4 hours and 57 minutes, a world record  helped with the project. So did Ueli Steck, a mountain climber who scales Mont Blanc's blocks of glacial ice (called seracs), and Patrick Gabarrou, a famous guide who leads mountaineers up Mount Blanc's snowy slopes. [13 Strangest Sights on Google Earth]

Laetitia Roux, a 14-time ski-mountaineering champion, pitched in, too, Google said.

Each athlete filmed a different part of the mountain. For instance, French climbing legend Catherine Destivellecan be seen on the 12,605-foot-tall (3,842 meters) Aiguille du Midipeak near Mont Blanc. And Candide Thovex, a filmmaker and free skier, flies through the air as he explores the mountain.

Elite guide Korra Pesce leads Google Street viewers to the top of Mont Blanc by carrying the Street View trekker up and down the Gouter Route, giving fans a first-person perspective with each step.

That view could change in the future, however, as it's unclear how Mont Blanc's ecology will shift with climate change. The mountain's glaciers are already receding as temperatures rise, and the newly captured Street View may serve as a time capsule for how the mountain looks now, Sandy Russell, Project Lead for Google's Mont Blanc Street View, wrote in the blog post.

"You can learn more about how the rising temperatures are directly affecting the mountain from legendary guide Patrick Gabarrou, who describes the glacial melt on the Mer de Glace," Russell said.

This is one of many projects Google Street View has tackled at extreme sites. Last year, Google created the first-ever vertical imagery collected of El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park. In past years, the company has catalogued coral reefs, the base camp at Mount Everest and a float trip down Colorado's Yampa River.

Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
To the editor:

In his January 27th letter Mr. Pelto asked what the real target of my previous letter was; religions should stay out of politics. That is my thesis.

Churches should not support political parties or candidates.

The Constitution is the law of the land.

The Bible, Catholic tradition, and other religious beliefs have turned Christianity into a cafeteria where people pick and choose the religious practices which are convenient to them.

Martin Luther made the Bible the sole religious authority for Protestants, but the Bible can be interpreted many different ways, as seen in these examples.

Recently Kentucky official Kim Davis refused to grant homosexual couples marriage licenses because she claimed that it violated her religious principles since the Bible condemns homosexual activities.

A Baptist group called her a hypocrite because she was enforcing a religious law from the Old Testament but was disregarding a law by Jesus that prohibits divorce and remarrying.

She has divorced and remarried three times.

Some Christians believe the Biblical passage which states that poisonous snake bites have no harmful effect on the true believer.

The leader of one of these groups was bitten, refused medical care, and died from the bite.

His followers blamed his death on lack of faith.

When the state prohibited the use of poisonous snakes in their church service, they argued that if Catholics can drink wine at Mass, they should be allowed to use snakes.

Sexual depravity based on personal interpretation of the Bible occurred with the Branch Davidians.

David Koresh, their leader, came up with a Biblical passage which, according to him, allowed him to have sex with the children in the congregation.

Catholics have the Bible, tradition, and the Pope, but some conservative bishops disregard the advice of the Pope.

They concentrate only on attacking abortion and same sex marriage.

Jesus stressed love of neighbor.

He said that as often as we do a kind deed to the poorest, most insignificant person, we are doing the kind deed to him.

Consider what conservative politicians are doing to illegal immigrants and to poor American citizens.

They want to send the poor immigrants back to their war-torn countries, and to our poor American citizens, they want to deprive them of food stamps, welfare benefits, and health care.

They argue there is no money to help the poor.

But according to Trump, we have already spent four trillion dollars fighting wars in the Middle East.

Most of what the Republican and Christian conservatives are proposing violate the teachings of Jesus and will violate the Constitution, if they are carried out.

Republicans want to fool Christians into believing that they are the protectors of Christianity.

All they are doing is causing more people to abandon churches when people see conservatives supporting religious fakes like Donald Trump and religious fanatics like Ted Cruz.

Sincerely,

Manuel B. Blanco, Sr.
The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) has acquired New Hampshire Public Radios digital collection of interviews and speeches by presidential candidates from 1995-2007. The entire collectionnearly 100 hours of contenthas been digitized and is now online, along with other presidential campaign content from the AAPB collection, in a new curated, free presentation, Voices of Democracy: Public Media and Presidential Elections. External

AAPB, a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the WGBH Educational Foundation, preserves and makes accessible the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60-plus years.

Voices of Democracy features historical interviews, panel discussions, speeches and debates among presidential candidates from 1961 to 2008. These historical materials document the evolution of issues and presidential candidates positions on important election topics including the American economy, education, religion, civil rights, foreign policy, climate and the environment, labor and unions and campaign and election reform. The materials also document public broadcastings coverage of the process of elections and voter rights, as well as commentary and analysis of campaigns. The presidential elections presentation was curated by Lily Troia, a graduate student at Simmons College.

A centerpiece of the presentation is the new content from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). We are fortunate to live at the epicenter of the political universe every four years. It is from this vantage that we are able to capture and keep some of the most memorable and historic moments in the past 35 years of our democracy, offered Betsy Gardella, president and CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio. Knowing that this archive can now be tapped and used by anyone with internet access is an extension of our public service mission realized, we are grateful for the AAPB.

Candidates featured in the New Hampshire collection include Lamar Alexander, Gary Bauer, Joe Biden, Bill Bradley, Carol Moseley-Braun, Sam Brownback, Pat Buchanan, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Christopher Dodd, Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, John Edwards, Steve Forbes, Al Gore, Mike Gravel, Orrin Hatch, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunt, John Kasich, John Kerry, Alan Keyes, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, Barack Obama, Dan Quayle, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, Bob Smith, Arlen Specter and Tom Tancredo.

AAPB in October officially launched its Online Reading Room, which now features 2.5 million inventory records and more than 11,500 audiovisual streaming files of historical content dating back to the 1940s, from public media stations across the country.

The Library of Congress, WGBH Boston and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in collaboration with more than 100 stations and archives, have embarked on an unprecedented initiative to preserve historical public television and radio programs. This extraordinary material includes national and local news and public affairs programs, local history productions that document the heritage of our many, varied regions and communities and programs dealing with education, environmental issues, music, art, literature, dance, poetry, religion and filmmaking on a local level. The project ensures that this valuable source of American social, cultural and political history and creativity will be saved and made accessible for current and future generations.

More information is available at americanarchive.org External.

About The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, the nations first-established federal cultural institution, is the worlds preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. The Library holds the largest collection of audio-visual recordings in the world and has been collecting and preserving historically, culturally and aesthetically significant recordings in all genres for nearly 120 years. Many of the Librarys rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Librarys website, loc.gov.

About WGBH

WGBH Boston is Americas preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur, Curious George, and more than a dozen other prime-time, lifestyle, and childrens series. WGBH also is a leader in educational multimedia, including PBS LearningMedia, and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to the 36 million Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards  even two Oscars. More at wgbh.org External.

About CPB

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal governments investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services. More at cpb.org External.

About NHPR

Since 1981, NHPR has shaped the media landscape in the Granite State and beyond. Its mission is to help create a more informed public, one challenged and enriched by a deeper understanding and appreciation of state, national, and world events, ideas, and culture. NHPR is broadcast from 13 different sites, making it by far New Hampshires largest (and only) statewide radio news service. Every week NHPR is the choice of more than 178,000 listeners as a primary source of in-depth and intelligent news coverage. Each day New Hampshire Public Radio delivers several hours of local news reported by NHPRs award-winning news department, locally produced shows such as The Exchange and Word of Mouth, and national and world news from NPR and the BBC. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR news in the Granite State and broadcast national weekly programs such as Fresh Air, Wait Wait  Dont Tell Me! and This American Life.
There was a mixed reaction to the Bord na Mona proposal to build a wind farm in South Longford at an information meeting held in Killashee this week.

Some local people who spoke to the Longford Leader raised concerns about the planned development, which would see between 20 and 30 wind turbines built in the area circumscribed by the communities of Derraghan, Kenagh, Killashee and Lanesboro.

However, others at the meeting were focused on the potential benefits such a development could bring to the area.

The Killashee meeting was one of a number of information meetings held throughout the area last week.

Speaking to the Longford Leader, Brian Connolly of Bord na Mona explained: We believe the site will be able to accommodate 20 to 30 turbines and electricity generated will connect into the Irish grid and sell into the Irish wholesale market.

He added that the main concerns that people have centre around noise levels and shadow flicker, while some people asked about the potential benefit to the local infrastructure.

See page 4
School & Education, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 03 2016

Suffolk County Legislator Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) recently had the honor of speaking before the members of the Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition (Lindy Cares) during a regular meeting held at Lindenhurst High School.

Lindenhurst, NY - February 1, 2016 - Suffolk County Legislator Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) recently had the honor of speaking before the members of the Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition (Lindy Cares) during a regular meeting held at Lindenhurst High School. Attending the meeting were its regular members, students, law enforcement, elected officials or their representatives, and a variety of other concerned citizens.

Leg. Kevin McCaffrey addressing the Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition.

During the meeting, updates were provided on the latest initiatives of Lindy Cares, primarily with respect to its efforts to curb substance abuse in the community. In addition to being briefed on the progress and hearing some facts and figures, the conversation shifted slightly to focus on the Superstorm Sandy recovery process. It was no surprise to those attending that significant work remains to be done with respect to rebuilding homes and fortifying against future storm events.

Lindy Cares is an extremely hands-on and multifaceted organization, said McCaffrey. While preventing underage drinking and other forms of substance abuse are their primary objectives, they are eager to tackle just about any issue that directly impacts the safety and overall quality of life in the community. I value the relationship that my office has with Lindy Cares, and I look forward to another very productive year of working towards common goals.

In addition to giving accolades to Lindy Cares for the progress they have made in their short history, McCaffrey explained how his office is a proactive community partner that is eager to address the issues and concerns of all the residents. Furthermore, McCaffrey distributed a number of drug testing kits that were acquired through the Suffolk County Sheriffs office. The test kits are provided to parents free of charge and can be picked up at McCaffreys district office in Lindenhurst.

It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to drug use and our children, added McCaffrey. I strongly encourage parents to have the kits on hand for use when they have even the slightest suspicion. We have to be constantly vigilant in this fight and we have to continue working together.

To learn more about Lindenhurst Community Cares and their upcoming events, those interested are strongly encouraged to visit their website. To acquire free drug test kits, parents can stop by Legislator McCaffreys office during normal business hours, at 125C South Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst.

Legislator McCaffrey represents Suffolk Countys 14th Legislative District which encompasses the Village of Lindenhurst, Babylon Village, the hamlets of West Babylon and North Lindenhurst, portions of Copiague, North Babylon, and Babylons barrier beach communities.
Family & Parenting, Local News, Travel & Local Attractions, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 03 2016

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the New York State Department of Health will offer advanced lab testing for individuals with symptoms who have traveled to areas where Zika virus infection is ongoing.

Albany, NY - February 1, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the New York State Department of Health will offer advanced lab testing for individuals with symptoms who have traveled to areas where Zika virus infection is ongoing. This will be done by the Wadsworth Center  one of only three state laboratories in the nation with the ability to conduct this kind of advanced testing  and will also include screening and confirmatory tests for antibodies against Zika and other related viruses. Additionally, the state has launched a new information hotline (1-888-364-4723) for New Yorkers to call and learn more about the virus.



Protecting the health of this state and its residents is this administrations highest priority, said Governor Cuomo. Were working closely with the CDC and local health departments to address potential cases of Zika Virus, and by offering free testing we are helping to stay ahead of this disease and protect the public health. I encourage any New Yorkers who have recently traveled to impacted countries to stay informed and consult their health care professionals if they develop symptoms.



Governor Cuomo said, Once again, New Yorks Wadsworth Center is at the cutting edge of laboratory science and, as a result, New Yorkers are safer from Zika virus and other infectious diseases. I have also directed DOH to work closely with local health departments and healthcare providers to ensure that everyone has the most up-to-date information on the Zika virus.



The testing is being conducted in collaboration with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which is providing some of the reagents to conduct Zika tests. In addition, Wadsworth and DOHs epidemiologists are working closely with the CDC to evaluate other risk groups who may also need testing. The testing guidelines are expected to evolve as more data on the virus becomes available. DOH will also issue health advisories to local health departments as new information and guidance on Zika virus becomes available.



Additional information on Zika is available here. DOH has also set up a Zika virus information line which will be staffed weekdays from 9am to 6pm. The number is: 1-888-364-4723.





The symptoms of Zika virus infection are usually very mild, and many people might not even realize they have been infected and they recover without any issues. However, there have been reports of increased cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly that may be associated with Zika virus infection among pregnant women. Individuals with symptoms and a history of recent travel to affected countries should contact their healthcare provider to arrange testing. The most common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.



Clearly we are most concerned about providing testing for pregnant women, which will provide them and their doctors with the information they need to make the right healthcare decisions, said DOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. The testing will also give scientists a better understanding of the Zika virus, for which little data currently exists.



Dr. Zucker presented a webinar on the Zika virus today to more than 1,200 participants across New York State and also shared the activities that the DOH is undertaking to protect New Yorkers. The presentation can be viewed here.



There have been nine positive cases of Zika virus infection among New York State residents. All of the infected patients are returning travelers from countries where Zika virus is ongoing. Zika virus cannot be spread through casual person-to-person contact, however, it is likely that there will be many travel-associated cases of people with Zika virus infection living in and seeking care in New York. The CDC has issued a travel alert (Level 2-Practice Enhanced Precautions) for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.



Pregnant women in any trimester should consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. Pregnant women who do travel to one of these areas should talk to their doctor or other healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip, including:
Local News, Business & Finance, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 03 2016

Bethpage Federal Credit Union Initiates Employee Wellness Program & Earns AHA Gold Status Recognition.

Bethpage, NY - February 3rd, 2016 - For the first time in 25 years, the American Heart Association of Long Island has chosen its first female corporate chairperson to head up the 2016 Long Island Heart Walk. Dix Hills resident, Linda Armyn, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, and a large advocate for health and wellness initiatives on Long Island, will take the lead in helping to secure and organize Heart Walk participation, involvement and support from local businesses across Long Island.



The American Heart Association is honored this year to have Linda Armyn as our Long Island Heart Walk Chair, said Marc Hamroff, American Heart Association of Long Island Board of Directors, and Managing Partner, Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP. Linda is the first woman to hold this title, and under her leadership, Bethpage Federal Credit Union has truly embraced a community of wellness in their workplace, helping many Long Islanders live a life free of heart disease and stroke. We are excited to see what great things Bethpage will continue to do.



Along with Armyns new role as Chairperson for the Long Island Heart Walk, Bethpage Federal Credit Union is also the recipient of the American Heart Associations coveted AHA Gold Status Award  recognizing Bethpage as a Fit Friendly Worksite for its initiatives to promote employee health and fitness. I am honored and very pleased to have been named Chair of this years AHA Long Island Heart Walk and for playing a role in Bethpages receipt of the American Heart Associations highest Gold Status recognition, said Linda Armyn.

Helping to educate others about heart disease and promoting a healthy lifestyle are two causes I hold close to my heart, having lost my father to heart disease at a very young age. Along with my selection comes the role of being the first female chair of the walk  hard to believe since heart disease is the #1 killer of women, yet awareness continues to remain low. I look forward to leading Long Islanders in their fight against heart disease one step at a time at the Heart Walk and strongly encourage other Long Island business leaders to do the same.



In response to her appointment as chair, Bethpage launched 52 Weeks to Fitness  a year-long company-wide fitness challenge for employees to get into shape while preparing for the Heart Walk, asserts Armyn. 52 Weeks to Fitness concludes on October 28, 2016, Bethpage Federal Credit Unions 75th anniversary. Bethpage partnered with Fitbit Corporate Wellness to develop the initiative, to assist staffers in meeting their goals. In addition to a discount offered to Bethpage employees by Fitbit, Bethpage subsidized $50 for each Fitbit purchased.



To date, 450 out of 650 Bethpage employees are signed up for the initiative which includes:

Competing Bethpage employee fitness teams.



Four quarterly rounds of competitions where teams producing the highest average daily steps win exciting prizes such as Beats by Dre Headphones, Apple watches and fitness equipment such as a beach cruiser bicycle.



Mid-round prizes acknowledging most improved teams, and mini-themed challenges such as: Stepping your way to Plymouth, Massachusetts in time for Thanksgiving, stepping to Times Square in time for the New Years Eve ball to drop, and currently, walking to Nashville, Tennessee in time for Bethpages Nashville Chic themed employee appreciation party.
Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 03 2016

On 2/01/16 at approximately 11:30pm T.F Green Airport Police, Warwick Rhode Island, informed the New York State Police Troop L Headquarters of a laser pointing incident originating from the north shore of Long Island.

North Shore, NY - February 2, 2016 - On 2/01/16 at approximately 11:30pm T.F Green Airport Police, Warwick Rhode Island, informed the New York State Police Troop L Headquarters of a laser pointing incident originating from the north shore of Long Island. The incident reportedly involved a United Airlines Flight which departed Newark Airport, Newark, New Jersey, en route to Rhode Island. The 1st officer of the airline reports while traveling approximately 11,000 feet in a northwest direction a green laser beam was observed in the cockpit while flying over the area of Mattituck, Long Island. Units from the State Police in Riverside and the Southold Police Department responded and searched the area with negative results. The FAA New York Terminal Radar Approach Control Office (TRACON), was contacted and confirmed the United Airline incident. The New York State Police in conjunction with the FAA Rhode Island Office is actively investigating this matter.



Anyone with information is asked to contact the New York State Police at 631-756-3300. All calls will be kept confidential.
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
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took control of Azzan, a town in Yemens southeastern Shabwa province, earlier this week. The jihadists reportedly faced no resistance as they settled in. Citing local residents, Xinhua reported that many checkpoints were established in Azzan and al Qaeda members distributed leaflets asking people to abide by Islamic teachings.

Azzan, with an estimated population of 50,000 residents, is the latest area to fall to AQAP since it launched a new offensive last year.

In early April 2015, AQAP seized Mukallah, the capital of Yemens eastern province of Hadramout. In addition, the jihadists overran Zinjibar, the capital of the Abyan province, and the nearby town of Jaar in December. AQAP controls other towns and villages in the south as well, while regularly launching operations in other parts of the country.

AQAP first seized Azzan after the 2011 Arab uprisings shook the Yemeni government. However, the jihadists lost control of the town in June 2012 when forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi evicted them. The battle for Azzan was a big victory over al Qaeda elements, Hadi said at the time, according to Agence France-Presse.

Government loyalists and AQAP fought one another in Azzan repeatedly over the next two years. During one battle in May 2014, for instance, AQAP failed to retake the town from security forces.

Houthi rebels toppled the Yemeni government after surging in late 2014 and early 2015. AQAP has claimed hundreds of attacks against the Shiite Houthis since then, and has used the chaotic multi-sided war to gain ground from other opponents. AQAP has also capitalized on the Saudi-led campaign, which has failed to dislodge the Houthis.

As the jihadists gained ground throughout 2015, the US did kill several top AQAP figures in airstrikes. Among those killed was AQAPs emir, Nasir al Wuhayshi, who also served as a top official in al Qaedas global organization. However, the successful drone strikes havent slowed al Qaedas guerrilla war in Yemen. And AQAP quickly introduced new leaders to be the public faces of the organization.

Promoting implementation of sharia law, provision of services in southern Yemen

When AQAP first seized territory in 2011 and 2012, the group created a new name to market its governance efforts: Ansar al Sharia.

The US State Department subsequently described Ansar al Sharia as simply AQAPs effort to rebrand itself, with the aim of manipulating people to join AQAPs terrorist cause. Ansar al Sharia has publicly stated that the particular brand of sharia they hope to implement is the same as that espoused by the Afghan Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq, a militant umbrella group that included al Qaeda in Iraq, the State Department noted in October 2012.

The Islamic State of Iraq evolved into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham after expanding its operations into Syria in 2013. Now known simply as the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadis organization has become al Qaedas jihadist rival.

The Islamic States propaganda regularly highlights the caliphates brutal implementation of sharia law, including amputations and other harsh punishments. AQAP has taken a different approach. AQAPs leaders have consistently argued that sharia laws should be gradually implemented, because the Muslim populace is not accustomed to the jihadists ways. And al Qaeda does not typically disseminate graphic images of the punishments its fighters give out on others. (These punishments are often the same as those mandated in the areas under the Islamic States rule.)

Still, AQAP is implementing sharia-style governance in at least some of the areas under its control in Yemen. And newly launched social media sites are intended to highlight these efforts, as well as the organizations other social services.

On Jan. 23, a Twitter feed for Al Ather news agency began publishing photos and videos of Ansar al Sharias supposed good works. (Some of the images from Al Ather can be seen at the end of this article.) The first photos showed food baskets that were handed out to the needy in Mukallah, the port city that fell to AQAP last year.

A second set of images tweeted on Jan. 26 documented a project intended to improve the residents access to electricity, a crew of workers paving streets, and garbage trucks hauling away trash in the Hadramout province. In a separate series, packages allegedly containing narcotics taken from residents in the Abyan province were displayed.

Two photos tweeted on Jan. 27 are intended to reassure readers, as the captions put it, that life has returned to normal in the city of Zinjibar now that it is under Ansar al Sharias control.

Several additional images released on Jan. 28 purportedly show toxic chemicals confiscated in Waqar, which is what AQAP calls the town of Jaar.

The Al Ather news agency touted Ansar al Sharias destruction of a polytheistic shrine or tomb, as well as its provision of medical services, in subsequent images released from Hadramout.

Consistent with AQAPs (and Ansar al Sharias) approach to imposing sharia, Al Ather does not give readers an close look at the victims who are punished under the draconian laws. For example, four photos tweeted on Feb. 1 document the stoning of a Muslim who committed adultery. The actual stoning is not pictured, nor is the victim. Instead, the scene is photographed from some distance. It is likely that al Qaeda wants Muslims (including the large crowd that attended the execution) to know that it is imposing sharias punishments, but was reticent about widely publicizing the results of the gruesome death sentence.

AQAP has long documented the jihadists war against the Houthis and others. Ansar al Sharia has maintained social media accounts responsible for reporting on the groups military operations against the Houthis and others. Al Ather news is part of al Qaedas attempt to market Ansar al Sharias other activities, including those intended to woo more Yemenis to its cause.

Al Ather is also likely part of an attempt to answer the Islamic States argument that al Qaeda does not implement sharia in the areas under its control.

Select images released by Al Ather news agency

The four photos below promote Ansar al Sharias stoning of a Muslim who allegedly committed adultery, although the victim is not shown:

Ansar al Sharia handed out food to the needy in Mukallah:

Ansar al Sharia providing other services to local residents:

Life has supposedly returned to normal in Zinjibar now that it is under Ansar al Sharias control:

Ansar al Sharia destroys a shrine or tomb:

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 West Africa (ISWA), which is formerly known as Boko Haram, has exploited more than 100 women and girls as suicide bombers since June 2014, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The majority of these suicide bombings have occurred in Nigeria, however, the violence has spread to other countries.

In its most recent assault, ISWA attempted to target a internally displaced persons (IDP) camp with three females near the northeast Nigeria town of Maiduguri, killing at least 69 people on Jan. 31. On Dec. 28, a mosque in the city was also targeted by a female bomber, which left at least 20 people dead. That bombing came a day after ISWA began a massive assault on the city, including two females used as part of the coordinated assault in various neighborhoods. As this was occurring two other female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded market in the town of Madagali. According to the BBC, at least 30 people have been killed in those explosions. [See LWJ report, Islamic State West Africa launches coordinated assaults in northeast Nigeria.]

Just a few days before the Jan. 31 attack, the jihadist group killed 9 when five women detonated themselves in the town of Chibok. Chibok came into international attention in 2014 when ISWA kidnapped over 300 schoolgirls from the town, of which, many are still missing.

Two days before the attack in Chibok, four ISWA female suicide bombers killed at least 35 people in a market in Cameroons Far North Region. The assault led the Cameroonian government to close down the regions markets in an effort to cut down on allowing ISWA to target civilians. However, it is unclear how effective this measure will be as ISWA is known to also target mosques, churches, bus stops, and various other places that civilians gather.

Despite a coordinated military offensive by Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon  which has targeted ISWA strongholds in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region  the jihadist group has maintained the ability to launch coordinated attacks and assaults throughout the region. Many of these include the use of women and/or girls as suicide bombers.

According to data compiled by The Long War Journal, ISWA has utilized at least 101 women and girls as suicide bombers in Nigeria, Cameroon, and in Chad since June 2014.

The majority of the suicide attacks involving women have occurred in Nigeria. At least 11 have occurred in neighboring Cameroon, though, and three or more took place in southern Chad in the Lake Chad region.

The ISWAs deployment of women and girls as suicide bombers is a common tactic in Nigeria over the past two years. The groups first known instance of using a female suicide bomber was on June 8, 2014, when a middle-aged woman on a motorcycle detonated near a Nigerian military barracks in Gombe, killing one policeman. In one of the deadliest attacks, on Nov. 27, 2014, two women killed 78 people and wounded scores more at a market in Maiduguri.

The use of women make it easier for jihadist groups to carry out suicide attacks, as explosives are often easier to hide, and men are less likely to search women due to cultural sensitivities. The ages of the bombers have ranged from just nine-years-old to middle-aged. Many of the women and girls used in these bombings are likely forced into committing the attacks, however, some could be the widows or daughters of killed fighters. In Russias southern Caucasus region, several widows of killed fighters, dubbed Black Widows, have conducted various suicide bombings in the region. Despite efforts by regional countries to make it harder for ISWA to use females, like the banning of the niqab (face veil), the jihadist group will likely continue to exploit females in its attacks in West Africa.

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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.
Sajna Mehsud. (Photo credit: Dawn)

The US is reported to have killed 18 Taliban fighters from Pakistan in an airstrike last night in an eastern Afghanistan area known to serve as a safe haven for several terrorist groups. The Taliban fighters who were killed are believed to belong to a group led by Sajna Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked commander wanted by the US.

Afghan officials said that the airstrike took place in the Afghan province of Paktika, which borders Pakistans Taliban-infested tribal agency of South Waziristan. Xinhua reported the strike took place in the Gomal district, while Dawn claimed it occurred in Bermal. The discrepancy may be due to the fact that the two remote districts border each other, as well as Pakistan. Both districts are known to be jihadist strongholds.

The identities of the Taliban members killed in the airstrike were not disclosed. Taliban sources told Dawn that Sajna Mehsud, who is also known as Khan Said Sajna, was expected to appear at a meeting. It is unclear if he was present at the meeting at the time of the airstrike. There are no reports that he has been killed or wounded.

Sajna heads a splinter faction that broke away from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) in May 2014 due to a leadership dispute. Sajna, who is said to support peace talks and has allied with North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar, formed the Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan after breaking away from the TTP after a leadership dispute. At the time of the split, the spokesman for Sajnas group accused its parent organization of being un-Islamic. It is unclear if Sajna has since reconciled with the TTPs leadership, as some other factions have. [See LWJ report, Discord dissolves Pakistani Taliban coalition.]

The US added Sajna, who is also known as Khan Said and Khalid Mehsud, to the list of specially designated global terrorists in October 2014. His forces are known to wage jihad in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sajna has executed several high profile attacks in the region, including the May 2011 assault on Naval Station Mehran in Karachi that resulted in the destruction of two US-supplied P-3C Orion maritime surveillance planes, and the 2012 prison break in Bannu, which freed Adnan Rasheed, a commander who has a long history with Pakistani terrorist groups as well as al Qaeda.

US intelligence officials who track the TTP and al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region have told The Long War Journal that Sajna remains a close ally of al Qaeda.

[Sajna] still supports al Qaeda and coordinates activities with the group despite the divisions within the Pakistani Taliban, an official said in September 2015.

Paktika: Jihadist haven

The presence of Sajnas forces in eastern Paktika is not surprising, as multiple Taliban factions  including the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda  are known to operate there. Last summer, two senior al Qaeda leaders were killed by the US in airstrikes in Paktikas Gomal and Bermal districts.

At the end of July 2015, the US killed Abu Khalil al Sudani, a senior al Qaeda leader who took direction from Ayman al Zawahiri, in an airstrike in Paktikas Bermal district. Sudani had a hand in al Qaedas external operations network, which plots attacks against the US and the West. On Sept. 14, Afghan intelligence said that it killed an al Qaeda commander known as as Khuram in the Gomal district.

Additionally, al Qaeda is known to have operated a camp in Bermal as recently as last summer. The raid on the Bermal camp gave the US information on the existence of two other al Qaeda training camps in the Shorabak district in Kandahar province, the outgoing commander of US forces in Afghanistan,General John Campbell, told The Washington Post last year.

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.
The air was thick with emotion as she had been waiting for this moment since the love of her life passed away more than 46 years earlier.

Andi Dice was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross Jan. 27 at Luke Air Force Base on behalf of her husband, Maj. Carl Dice, for his extraordinary heroism and aerial achievement displayed Dec. 8, 1969, during an F-105F combat mission.

Fellow pilot and witness to the event, retired Lt. Col. Bruce Cox, shared what occurred that day.

Dice was the leader of Scotch flight, a two-ship interdiction mission into a heavily defended area of northern Laos, he said. His wingman was 1st Lt. Emerson Taylor. After the flight briefing, they went to the duty desk for aircraft assignments and final updates to their mission. Dice learned his aircraft would be F-105F 63-8352, while Taylor was assigned an F-105D.

Although Dice could have flown the aircraft with the rear cockpit empty, the duty officer quickly canvassed others in the squadron to offer them the opportunity to go on this mission. Cox, who was a first lieutenant, was chosen to go.

The pilots headed toward their target north of Plan of Jars region of the Xiangkhoang Province Laos, which was controlled by communist Pathet Lao.

On this day, Raven 41, a Forward Air Controller, had located a lucrative cache of military equipment and supplies critical to North Vietnamese offensive incursions, which was being moved during the cover of darkness from China to North Vietnam, he said. Dice led his flight to the rendezvous point and visually acquired Raven 41. After a short target briefing, the FAC requested two passes from each aircraft to saturate the target area with ordnance. Dice saw the smoke marking the target, received quick target refinement instructions from the FAC, and rolled in for a manual 30-degree diving delivery.

After a successful first-run precisely hitting the target, it was during the second pass Cox sensed something was wrong.

We felt several distinct thumps in the aircraft, Cox said. Dice attributed these thumps to either turbulence or airflow disturbance associated with asymmetric weapon separation from the aircraft. Even though there were numerous known anti-aircraft artillery sites in the target area, he continued the attack, discounting the possibility that the shudders in the aircraft could be from enemy ground fire. But several seconds after climbing away from the target, he observed a red warning light in the landing gear handle, red unsafe landing gear indications for the nose and right main landing gear, and both red unsafe and green safe indications for the left main gear. He then heard a loud whine and the utility hydraulic pressure dropped to zero.

Dice notified Taylor of the situation and did what he could to keep the aircraft flying.

The aircraft was flying solely on the emergency hydraulic system powered by the ram air turbine, Cox said. Taylor saw several holes in the left wing close to the fuselage. Dice and I instinctively looked toward the left wing, and I could clearly see a line of anti-aircraft artillery holes in the wing. Blue flames were darting from each hole, and the area behind the wings leading edge flap was blackened. Since there was no fuel in the F-105 wings, it was apparent the fire in the left wing was being fed by highly flammable hydraulic fluid. The situation was going from bad to worse, and the closest emergency landing field was nearly 150 miles away.

Neither pilots saw ejecting out of the aircraft in unknown hostile territory as an option. Dice attempted to land at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, an F-4 base in northern Thailand, 150 miles away. Dice had to take critical steps to stop the aircraft.

The throttle was placed to off, the emergency brake handle was pulled, and the drag chute was deployed at 200 knots, Cox said. At 160 knots, he lowered the nose to the runway and applied wheel brakes. Even using the emergency brake system, braking was not available because of the total loss of utility hydraulic system integrity.

Little did they know, a large drainage ditch would be their last hope after several failed attempts to stop the aircraft.

The aircraft impacted the flood control ditch at about 75 to 80 knots, Cox said. The planes nose dropped and impacted the far side of the ditch, shearing off the nose gear, the radome, and about ten feet of fuselage. Dice was killed instantly by the impact.

Because of Dices efforts, Cox survived the crash.

While its been several years since his passing, his memory was not forgotten as Dices wife and two daughters, Tamara Dice and Judy Webster, family, friends, colleagues and Luke Thunderbolts came together to honor his memory and present his wife, Andi, with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

As Andi reminisced on all the positive memories they had together, she remembered the person her husband was.

He was absolutely devoted to his country, she said. He felt he was doing his part and loved flying the Thuds, as they called the F-105s back then. He loved what he was doing and felt flying was his way of serving his country. All these years later, the loss is still there. I felt like the world, as well as me, was cheated of somebody pretty special.

For Col. David Shoemaker, 56th Fighter Wing vice commander and presiding officer of the ceremony, presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Andi was an incredible experience.

The opportunity to make this right with the family was an amazing honor, Shoemaker said. As the prior commander of a squadron with F-105 heritage, it was really special for me. We talk a lot about taking care of families in the Air Force and sometimes we forget theres a whole segment of family out there who are the survivors when our combat heroes make the ultimate sacrifice. There are spouses and children who are still a part of the Air Force family that we need to take care of. The medal presentation was really two things  one, it acknowledged and recognized a hero extremely important to our Air Force and country, but it also took care of a debt we owed to his family.
The Australian Appeal Court has recently clarified the position of software and business method patents in Australia. In Commissioner of Patents v RPL Central Pty Ltd, the Full Federal Court again aligned Australia with a US-centric position akin to that set out in the Alice Corporation case.

The court set out the following statements of principle: 1. "A technical innovation is patentable, a business innovation is not", and 2. "Simply putting a business method or scheme into a computer is not patentable unless there is an invention in the way in which the computer carries out the scheme or method".

In a clear statement, the court found that any standard operation of a generic computer with generic software to implement a business method is unlikely to result in the business method being patentable.

The court's pronouncement amounts to the creation of a judicial exception to patentability, in line with the position in the United States and Europe. Determining what amounts to the generic operation of a computer is likely to prove difficult in practice and lead to some uncertainty in Australian decisions. It also means that many extremely innovative business methods may no longer be patentable in Australia. It is also likely that our courts will continue to look to the United States and Europe in deciding the limits of business method patents.

Peter Treloar

Shelston IPLevel 21, 60 Margaret StreetSydney NSW 2000, AustraliaTel: +61 2 9777 1111Fax: +61 2 9241 4666email@shelstonip.comwww.shelstonip.com
Marie Claire newsletter Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Thank you for signing up to . You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) and are aged 16 or over.

Cindy Crawfords 14 year-old daughter Kaia Gerber has nailed her first ever fashion campaign shoot...

Cindy Crawfords 14 year-old daughter Kaia Gerber has nailed her first ever fashion campaign shoot, proving that shes destined to follow in the footsteps of her supermodel mum.

Posing for the achingly cool LA leather and accessories brand Chrome Hearts, Kaia is an actual doppelganger of 90s Cindy, having inherited her mums big doe eyes and bouncy hair.

Laurie Lynn Stark, the co-owner of Chrome Hearts, shot the nine SS16 advertising pictures on the streets of New York, also raising awareness of the brands new flagship store which is due to open there soon.

Gigi Hadid and Suki Waterhouse previously cut their teeth modelling for the cult label, so Kaia can be sure that this gig is a great first step for her future career.

What a privilege it has been to watch Kaia blossom into her own, Laurie Lynn tells CR Fashion Book, the first publication to have featured Kaia in its editorial shoots, before she was signed by IMG Models last year. Our families have been dear friends for so long so this was emotional for meKaia is an incredible talent, truly finding her own style as a model!
Modern Terminals Limited (MTL), Hong Kongs longest established container terminal operator, today announced the appointment of Mr. Keith Saunders as its new Managing Director  Hong Kong, effective from 1st February 2016.



Mr. Saunders will lead Modern Terminals Brand Promises initiatives in Hong Kong, especially in the areas of operational excellence, innovation and infrastructure development.



Mr. Saunders brings three decades of container terminal and operating systems experience to Modern Terminals. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Saunders held a number of senior management positions in American President Lines (APL) focusing on US West Coast terminal, rail and cargo management operations. Prior to APL, he was involved in the development of port security systems with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).Mr. Saunders holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of the Pacific.



In a further development MTL informed the appointment of Mr. Frank Jensen as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Mr Jensen has over 26 years of experience within the transportation and logistics industry including the last 16 years with Modern Terminals.



Reporting to Mr. Peter Levesque, the MTL Group's Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Jensen will lead the Company's commercial activities including sales, marketing, customer service, and supply chain management.


Shipments of iron ore to China from Port Hedland, Australia, which handles a fifth of the world's seaborne trade, fell 17.6 percent in January from the previous month after a tropical cyclone closed the port temporarily, port data showed.



Tropical Cyclone Stan made landfall as a Category 2 storm early Sunday about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Port Hedland. The storm closed the port for 48.8 hours, Pilbara Ports Authority, which operates the facility, said in a statement on Wednesday.



The disruption occurred as the appetite for iron ore in China, the top consumer of the steelmaking raw material, has declined amid a slowdown in the country's economic growth and a sharp downturn in its property sector.



Shipments from the port to China retreated to 26.52 million tonnes last month from 32.17 million tonnes in December, the Ports Authority said.



Overall throughput fell 9 percent from the same month a year earlier to 34.1 million tonnes.



The slump in China iron ore exports coincides with the iron ore price <.IO62-CNI=SI> lingering near multiyear lows because of caution about future demand from Australia's biggest export partner China.



The commodity hit a low of $39.30 per tonne during January, little more than half its $71.20 level of the same month a year earlier, when 30.15 million tonnes of iron ore moved through Port Hedland to China.



Overall iron ore exports from Port Hedland fell 8 percent in January, the authority said.



Reporting by Byron Kaye
The Coast Guard medevaced a 61-year-old woman Monday from a cruise ship 230 miles east of Cape Hatteras.



Fifth Coast Guard District watchstanders received a report at 1 p.m. stating a woman aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway was found unconscious.



An MH-65 helicopter crew and C-130 aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched to medevac the woman at 2 p.m. The helicopter crew arrived on scene at 3:50 p.m. and transferred the woman to the helicopter.



The helicopter crew arrived at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va., at 6 p.m where the woman was transferred to awaiting EMS personnel in stable condition.



"We were very pleased with our crew's ability to hoist the woman from the cruise ship and deliver her safely, said Thomas A. Botzenhart, search and rescue controller with Fifth District Command Center. "Its a testament to the Coast Guard's continuing commitment to saving lives at sea."
The Rotterdam, which connects supply and demand online, has officially rounded off the test phase. It has been six months since the port of Rotterdams innovative new website Rotterdam Port Connector went live, and by now, some 25,000 individuals, employed by a range of international firms, have joined the network  and benefit from the tools offered by Rotterdam Port Connector almost every day.

The website was set up to bring potential international clients in touch with Rotterdams port business community. And it has proven to be a success: so far almost 100 inquiries have been made that have generated business.

Rotterdam Port Connector is primarily intended to make it easier for international companies to find a service provider in the port. The members of the Rotterdam Port Promotion Council (RPPC), the organization that took the initiative for the website, are mainly active in the transport, logistics and supply chain sectors.

For us, the logical choice was to make a website that is anonymous, free of charge and secure, explained RPPC Managing Director Marjolein Warburg. It creates new opportunities for businesses all over the world. By now, we not only have visitors from Germany, France and the U.S.A., but also from, for example, China, Africa and India and other parts of Asia. Up till now, we mainly focused on promotional trips at RPPC, and had limited opportunities to include such far-flung destinations in our program. And while we will never underestimate the value of meeting each other face-to-face, we have nevertheless succeeded in making the world a bit smaller with the tools offered via Rotterdam Port Connector. Incidentally, Rotterdam Port Connector also offers a number of functionalities that allow for more personal interaction.

For international clients, it only takes a few mouse clicks to get in touch with a service provider that is active in the port of Rotterdam or connected to the network of satellite ports and inland terminals linked with Rotterdam. And since Rotterdams port and industrial complex is home to a wide range of businesses and services, literally every type of cargo can be handled by the port  after which it can be forwarded to its next destination via one of a comprehensive array of transport options. Rotterdam Port Connector also provides the answer for companies with a specific logistics requirement in the area of the transport, storage or handling of cargo or a particular service. The inquiry is automatically forwarded to those companies that can accommodate the clients request.

RPPC has been bringing parties together for over 80 years, and now we have taken it a step further  online, Warburg said. This is a wonderful development, since no other port has such a platform. This is a true Rotterdam innovation, one that the rest of the world can benefit from.
Enseada Shipbuilding was established to build deepwater drillships for Petrobras. Seventy percent of the company is owned by a consortium composed of Brazilian companies, Odebrecht (50 percent), OAS (25 percent), UTC (25 percent), with the remaining 30 percent belonging to Japanese shipbuilding giant, Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). With all the Brazilian shareholders involved in the Car Wash Lava Jato operation, investigating corruption and embezzlement schemes with Petrobras, Kawasaki is a key partner, as is it not only responsible for technology transfer and providing professional training for the local workforce and operational consultancy in several areas within the shipbuilding process, as it also offers credibility to the shipyard. Kawasaki is the pillar, which may well guarantee the brand new shipbuilders survival.



Brazilian Shipbuilding in Crisis

In December 2014 there were around 80,000 workers in the Brazilian shipbuilding industry, and six months later at least 15,000 jobs were lost in shipyards throughout the country. By August, we at Enseada Shipbuilding, were forced to lay-off 7,500 workers and this number may reach 9,000. On top of that we have the city of Maragogipe in Bahia, (where the shipyard is located) which had a very quick and intense growth due to the implementation of the shipyard and now finds itself paralyzed, said Humberto Rangel, Director of Enseada Shipyard.



Sete Brasil

Sete Brazil was created in 2011 for the construction of part of the 29 drillships which Petrobras was to use on its pre-salt drilling campaign, however this number has been cut to 19 drilling units due to Petrobras decreased investment plans. Sete Brasil is partnered with banks, pension funds and Petrobras itself. It was dependent on $3.2 billion of funds from the National Development Bank (BNDES), which has decided to withhold the money in the light of Operation Car Wash. Sete Brasil had commissioned Enseada Shipbuilding to build the four FPSOs, at a cost of $800 million each. But with Enseada struggling due to Sete Brasils $324 million debt following the Brazilian Federal Polices Operation Car Wash, Kawasaki decided to persuade other investors in Japan to participate in the project. If the new investors go ahead with the plan, Sete Brasil will no longer participate in these four FPSOs, which Petrobras will instead rent directly from Odebrecht Oil and Gas (OOG) and the Japanese partners.



Enseada Shipbuilding Order Book

Enseada Shipyard has a delivery portfolio valued at $ 6.5 billion, including the conversion of the hulls of four FPSOs for Petrobras, as well as the development of six deepwater drill rigs for Sete Brasil. Enseada shipyard is investing heavily in state-of-the-art equipment and technology transfer with our Japanese partners from Kawasaki, in order to become internationally competitive. We are working on innovations to the fabrication process through research, to develop new technologies. We believe we can increase our productivity, but the whole production chain, including equipment suppliers, needs to be productive and presently there is little government support for the local maritime equipment production chain, said Guilherme Guaragna, Vice-President of Enseada Shipyard, during the Marintec South America conference in Rio de Janeiro.



Shipyards

In the Brazilian Northeast state of Bahia, Enseada is implementing the state-of-the-art Paraguacu Unit worth around $930 million, and is expected to be finalized by early 2016. Designed to develop complex naval engineering projects, using the latest technology, the facility has been planned to match the quality, productivity and technology standards of the best shipyards in the world, through technology transfers and supervision by KHI. It aims to maximize efficiency and minimize waste at every stage of operations. This Paraguacu shipyard project, in turn, has given rise to actions for the development of the supply chain with the Federation of Industries of the State of Bahia and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. It represents the largest private investment in the state in the past 10 years.



At the Sao Roque Unit, also in Bahia, located at the other side of the Paraguacu River, workers are cutting the plate for the topsides for FPSOs and drillships. The Sao Roque Unit is located at the Sao Roque do Paraguacu Construction Site, established in 1976 and covering an area of 400,000 sq. m. The unit has infrastructure to build modules, drillship topsides, production platforms, FPSOs and fixed steel jackets. It has three finishing docks with a 10-m draft, plus workshops for welding, painting, block assembly and mechanical cutting of steel plates, with a capacity to process 2,700 tons of steel, up to 1,300 employees. Eight topside modules for the drillship Ondina are being built at Sao Roque.



In Rio de Janeiro, Enseada operates the Inhauma Unit in the Caju District, leased by Petrobras since 2010. The company has revitalized 97 percent of the facilities, as well as renovating and purchasing equipment, and has performed preliminary services on the P-74, P-75, P-76, and P-77 hulls. The Inhauma unit in Rio de Janeiro is working on the conversion of four VLCCs into FPSOs. Intended for the Cessao Onerosa (Onerous Concession) areas, in the Santos Basin pre-salt, the FPSOs will produce up to 150 thousand barrels of oil and compress up to 7 million cubic meters of natural gas a day at the giant Buzios pre-salt field. The P-74 hull has been in drydock at the Inhauma unit in Rio de Janeiro for nearly three years. In order to avoid further delays, most of the conversion work on the other two FPSOs (P-75 and P-77) will be done at the Dalian Cosco shipyard in China. It is quite possible that the P-76 will be the first to be launched as it is already docked at the Inhauma quayside, and the rest of its integration process will be undertaken at Techints Pontal do Parana shipyard, which has been modernized with carbon and special steel pipe workshops, and upgraded integration quays. 15 of the 20 modules contracted to Techint are being built locally, with other structures and modules being imported from Indonesia, Turley and Vietnam.



FPSOs & Kawasaki

Kawasaki and a group of Japanese partners are planning to take over the four FPSOs commissioned by Sete Brasil to Enseada. Last June, Shigeru Murayama (President of KHI), Tomotsu Saito (President of the IHI Corporation), and Seiji Shiraki (President of Mitsubishi in Latin America) met with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in the countrys capital Brasilia, hoping to ensure the governments support for the venture. Their efforts were successful, and since then, government executives and executives from the partnership have been assessing the project. If the investment is approved, the Japanese group will assume the 85 percent currently in the hands of Sete Brasil. JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) is also expected to join the venture.



Drillships

The Paraguacu Unit is also building six deepwater drillships for Sete Brasil. The vessels will operate in the exploration of the pre-salt reservoirs, at depths of up to 3,000 m. Four of these ships, the Ondina, Pituba, Boipeba and Interlagos, are being built in partnership with Odebrecht Oil & Gas. The other two, Itapema and Comandatuba, involve another partnership, Etesco/OAS. The total value of the contract is of around $ 4.8 billion and these will be the first drillships ever built in Brazil. The drillship Ondina is already under construction, and will be delivered to the client in 2016. The last ship, the Comandatuba, is due for delivery in 2020.





(As published in the January 2016 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News - http://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeReporter)
BAE Systems announced it has signed a contract with Bangkok Dock to assist in the licensed construction of a second 90-meter Offshore Patrol Vessel for the Royal Thai Navy. Under the agreement, BAE Systems will provide engineering support and advice during construction of the vessel in Thailand.

Nigel Stewart, Commercial Director, BAE Systems Naval Ships business, said, Were looking forward to building and strengthening our relationship with Thailands shipbuilding industry. This contract to support delivery of a second Offshore Patrol Vessel to the Royal Thai Navy is a clear endorsement of our versatile Offshore Patrol Vessel design.

"With three of these ships already in service in Brazil and a further three Offshore Patrol Vessels under construction for the U.K. Royal Navy, our design continues to attract significant interest internationally," Stewart said.

According to BAE Systems , the Offshore Patrol Vessel is a highly versatile ship, making it a cost-effective solution for many navies, with options for us to construct vessels at our facilities in Glasgow, Scotland, or for international customers to build ships under licensed design agreements using their own indigenous industries.

The Royal Thai Navy accepted its first 90 meter Offshore Patrol Vessel, HTMS KrabiI, from Bangkok Dock in 2013, which is a variant of the baseline BAE Systems design. HTMS Krabi has already completed around 1,000 days at sea with the Royal Thai Navy. BAE Systems delivered three Offshore Patrol Vessels built in the U.K. to the Brazilian Navy from 2013 to 2014.

BAE Systems is also constructing three Offshore Patrol Vessels for the U.K. Royal Navy at its facilities in Glasgow, Scotland. The ships are of the same baseline design, with modifications to meet U.K. Royal Navy requirements. The U.K. Government committed to buy two further Offshore Patrol Vessels in its recent Strategic Defense and Security Review.

The Offshore Patrol Vessel is designed for management of economic exclusion zones and the provision of effective disaster relief, with the range and capability for ocean patrol and deployment anywhere in the world. The design is based on the proven pedigree of the 80 meter River Class vessels operated by the U.K. Royal Navy since 2003. Good sea-keeping, speed and fuel economy have been improved further by the lengthened hull of the 90-meter variant, while the rugged commercial components in the ship systems are suited to high annual operating hours and rapid repair.

The design can be modified for either naval or coast guard needs, including options for a hangar, alternative combat systems, boats and internal compartments, such as additional aft accommodation. The ships capacity for Special Forces deployment, pollution control, operation of remotely operated underwater vehicles to provide mine countermeasures and carriage of standard containers add to the versatility of the design. The optional commonality with U.K. Royal Navy command systems provides significant potential for minimizing future obsolescence as well as providing scope for training in the U.K.
Saam Smit Towage Canada will support the Heart and Stroke Foundation during the month of February by donating a portion of its revenue from each vessel it assists in British Columbia. The company also plans to have various internal employee participation fundraising initiatives.

Saam Smit Towage (SST), a joint venture between SAAM and Royal Boskalis, and operating in various locations in the Americas, announced its support to the Heart and Stroke Foundation during the month of February. For the week of February 8, the company will make a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation for every ship it kisses (assists) in all ports in which it operates in British Columbia. Two of the companys 21 tugs, SST Capilano and SST Tiger Sun, will have a large pair of lips attached to their bow, a unique way of fundraising in the maritime industry. Additionally, employees of SST Canada will be encouraged to participate in the Walking Challenge in support for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

We are excited to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Heart diseases and strokes are leading causes of death in Canada and we are happy to play a small part in reducing them, both within our team and for the wider community. The efforts of the Heart and Stroke Foundation align strongly with our core values, said Frans Tjallingii, President of Saam Smit Canada.

We are grateful for Saam Smit Towage Canadas support, said Joan Mann, Area Manager, Coastal Vancouver, BC and Yukon for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. We are happy to see more support in the community to joining us in raising awareness about heart disease. Our goal is to reduce the death rate from heart disease and stroke by 25 percent by 2020. The initiave of Saam Smit Towage truly helps us to reach this goal.
Noses and cheeks are red and breath makes an appearance with every exhalation. It has been below freezing, but that doesnt stop these II Marine Expeditionary Force Marines from being outside in the mountains and snow, preparing to participate in upcoming exercise Cold Response 16 by training at the Mountain Warfare Training Center from Jan. 11-21, 2016.



Cold Response is a joint, multi-nation exercise involving 12 NATO partners and allies. The exercise challenges their abilities to work together and grow as an organization and will take place in Norway in March of this year.



Approximately 900 Marines participated in Mountain Exercise 1-16 and trained to survive in below freezing and sometimes negative degree weather, focusing on moving, communicating and surviving.



The instructors at MWTC, also known as red hats, taught Marines how to traverse the mountainous terrain, how to react to an avalanche and how to melt and purify snow to use as drinking water in the wilderness, all while encouraging Marines to keep a positive mental attitude.



Were here to train the human factor, said Col. Scott Leonard, Commanding Officer of MWTC. The number one critical factor is you. You need to overcome any fear of operating in the cold. It takes a lot of personal discipline and unit discipline to survive and be successful in this type of environment.



Snow shoes and gloves became everyday attire on the steep mountains and cold weather sleeping bags and suits were very much appreciated while spending the nights outside.



Challenges arise daily in the Marine Corps, but this environment was especially testing.



This training is physically demanding, but more than that; it is mentally challenging, said Sgt. Maj. Steven Brunner, Sergeant Major of MWTC.



Though the exercise was difficult at times, it allowed Marines to gain the confidence they will need to work alongside their allies in March. Cold Response will demonstrate NATO participants ability to unify, learn from one another and act together to respond to potential crises.



We may all come from different countries and speak different languages, but the biggest thing that I think we are going to take away from Cold Response is that all these militaries work hand-in-hand with each other, said Capt. Stephen Lanpher, operations chief with Combat Logistics Battalion 252. Together as a combined joint-task force, along with our NATO partners, the Marine Corps and the United States military can accomplish and will be successful with whatever mission were given.





More Media
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Officer Candidate School and The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Jan. 27, 2016 to see how Marine Corps candidates and officers train.

Mabus began his visit at OCS, where he was introduced to Marine Corps leaders from OCS and their higher headquarters. He observed a platoon of officer candidates perform Marine Corps drill, toured candidate squad bays, and discussed training with OCS drill instructors.







The drill instructors talked about their responsibility to screen and evaluate officer candidates at OCS and the need to constantly be present during training to observe candidates. They pointed out that that presence is continuous and extends into each platoons squad bay. The squad bay serves as an integral part of the Marine Corps entry level training model and is the first place Marines learn how to act as a cohesive unit. Having drill instructors there maximizes learning opportunities for future Marine officers.

After the tour of OCS concluded, Mabus proceeded to TBS where he observed students in the Infantry Officers Course conduct machine gun training and ate lunch with students and staff. He also visited a classroom of officers to talk about future initiatives in the Marine Corps.

The officers used this chance to ask the Secretary about what they had to look forward to regarding technological advancements and weapon systems.

I am always impressed with the quality of leadership and the quality of the Marines who are going through OCS and TBS, said Mabus. They are going to be leading very soon from the front as Marines always do, and the questions I have gotten, the concerns I have gotten, and the understanding of the mission of the Marine Corps is always incredibly impressive and this visit is no different.

At both schools, Mabus took the time to meet with staff, students and leadership to talk about future gender integration policies and receive their feedback about the topic.

When discussing the correlation of gender and standards, Mabus used the phrase equal shot, not equal result. When a staff noncommissioned officer asked, do you see a situation in the future in which we will be encouraged to lower the standards if we are not producing the number of desired females in combat MOSs?, Mabus assured the Marine that he would not allow standards to be changed in order to allow a certain group into an MOS.

Mabus had two primary messages throughout the visit. The first: standards will be driven by operational requirements and those set for individual jobs will not be relaxed. The second: a more diverse force is a more capable force.

Marines have been integrated for years; women have been in combat for years. We are just opening up the last few MOSs and now it is just setting up the standards for those MOSs and making sure they are job related, said Mabus. Its not about the groups we are bringing in or that are serving, its about the different experiences and the different thought processes that make up a more lethal military.

We have the greatest expeditionary fighting force in history, and it is part of our job to keep it that way, said Mabus.
David Chamberlain Cameron, Britain's Last Chance for Freedom From Emerging European Super State

Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron emerged Tuesday waving a piece of paper Chamberlain style of a 'draft' agreement that follows several months of negotiations that had the PM running around europe begging the likes of Donald Tusk (a former Polish Prime Minister) and former eastern block nations for some return of sovereignty. A piece of paper that is heavy on printed pages but light on anything that even comes close to matching the Conservative Manifesto pledges of a series of red lines ahead of Britain's EU In / Out referendum.

The full text of the 'draft' gobbledygook agreement can be read here - EU UK Draft or Daft Agreement By Donald Tusk

Unfortunately for David Cameron and despite his best efforts at putting up a propaganda smoke screen of success, the 'draft' agreement fails to deliver anything of substance, falling far short of ALL of David Cameron's so called red-line pledges -

Benefits Ban for Four Years

A ban on both in work and out of work benefits such as Tax credits and Housing benefit for four years that currently amount to a transfer payment from the UK tax payer to Eastern Europe of an estimated 15 billion per year.

Outcome: No Benefits Ban, instead the EU will decide tapering of benefits if any which is pending approval from individual member states, some of whom may or may not agree to any tapering.

Child Benefit Ban

David Cameron proposed that that the UK would no longer pay for the children of migrants living abroad.

Outcome: No Ban, child benefit will continue with some tweaking on the rate of payments inline with local rates, subject to heavy recipient nations such as Poland and Hungary agreeing to such reductions in UK tax payer child benefit subsidy.

Out of Control Immigration EMERGENCY BREAK

Whilst the eastern european states balk at letting even a couple of thousand Syrian refugees into their economically and socially backward states, in the meantime have been busy sending 1/2 million economic migrants per annum to profit from Britain's in work benefits and welfare state.

Recent ONS data continues to show a record busting net migration figure of 336,000 in the year to June 2015, an increase in the rate migration of 32% on 2014. Which literally translates into a DAILY flood of a net 1000 people turning up on Britain's shores and demanding housing, education and school places, jobs with benefits such as tax credits, health & social services that have been buckling, breaking and ultimately freezing as the social housing has in many cities already for several years in the wake of a 15 year long trend of out of control immigration.

The immigration statistics break down into the following facts:

Total immigration Year to June 2015 636k Total emigration Year to March 2015 300k Net immigration Year to March 2015 336k Total Immigration since 2004 6.3 million Total Emigration since 2004 3.8 million Net Immigration since 2004 2.5 million

Key points that stand out from the ONS data release is the doubling in Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants over the preceding year, something that is being felt hard in cities right across the UK such as Sheffield that is facing a huge crisis in housing, school places and social cohesion that is consuming local council budgets like a black hole to deal with the consequences of.

Another key point that the mainstream press has apparently missed is that the net figures mask the reality of what the gross immigration figure of 636,000 implies, which effectively means that the impact of immigration is DOUBLE that which the headline figure of 336k suggests i.e. in terms of social cohesion and housing and services for those pockets of the UK most effected by immigration such as the South East and the inner cities.

David Cameron promised that the UK would be able to control its borders, choosing who to let in.

Outcome: No control over UK borders, instead there will be a temporary emergency break on benefits where a member state is experiencing a migrant crisis. However whether this brake can be triggered will be at the sole discretion of the European Union and NOT the member state. Net effect ZERO impact on continuing out of control immigration.

Immigration Crisis to Get Much Worse

Britain, Europe are not just dealing with the likes of the Syrian civil war that has produced over 4 million refugees, most of whom are determined to find their way to the likes of Germany and Britain, but also the fact Africa continues to undergo a population explosion, where the continents population looks set to DOUBLE once more over the next 30 years from 1.1 billion to 2.2 billion that will result in a migration exodus that will be exponentially greater than that which is taking place today, which implies an trend for ever increasing number of economic migrants from Africa alone, let alone the continuing increasing flows from a more preposterous Asia (China) and elsewhere who can afford to pay people smugglers for transportation to a new life in the UK as I have covered in depth in the following video analysis -

Therefore, whilst today the mainstream broadcast press crisis coverage of immigration is focused on the camps of tens of thousands of migrants on Europe's southern borders and even some 5,000 near the port of Calais. However Britain should prepare itself for what the trend implies looks inevitable that within the next few years already buckling and highly stressed state services will break under the weight of numbers in response to which the government will be forced to introduce unprecedented measures such as cordoning off pockets of Southern England into self contained migrant camps of first in the tens of thousands and ultimately numbering in the hundreds of thousands in an attempt to contain the consequences of the immigration catastrophe that is the implied as a consequence of 10 million immigrants entering the UK (net 5 million) over the next 10 years that will be in addition to natural population growth of at approx 4 million.

In fact 10 years from now the UK will likely have whole villages and even towns cordoned off as permanent migrant camps in an attempt to contain the crisis.

I covered Britain's housing crisis consequences of out of control immigration in the following comprehensive video analysis -

Youtube 26 Mins - https://youtu.be/yQJIB7AuqRQ

Treaty Change

And lastly the deal was supposed to involve a treaty change so as to make the deal legally binding on all member states. Instead there will be no treaty change which means even if today's eastern european governments agree to the UK EU deal, i.e. in the run up to the UK referendum. However, they can afterwards change their policy towards the UK and vote for Britain to SCRAP today's deal in its entirety which is probably what the eastern european states have in mind.

Britain's Last Chance to Gain Freedom from Emerging European Super State

What most pundits fail to recognise or lack experience of is trend and momentum both of which for the past 40 years have been moving in one direction that for the emergence of a highly centralised European super state that the financial crisis and subsequent economic depression of southern europe is accelerating the trend towards.

So whilst it is too late for the euro-zone members who for better or worse are locked into a death embrace that has all but nullified democracy for most of the euro-zone states as the elections in Greece, Spain and Italy have clearly demonstrated the lack for even radical governments such as Syriza to do anything other than obey their German paymasters who control the euro currency and can within a couple of weeks bring fellow euro-zone members to the brink of collapse as was repeatedly demonstrated by Greece last year.

Thus, for Britain the saving grace of not being in the euro-zone offers the UK a unique final opportunity to make the choice of either FREEDOM or become another satellite state revolving around a German centre that will increasingly dictate terms and conditions.

Therefore, given that there would probably not be another referendum for at least 20 years, then this really is Britain's VERY LAST CHANCE. There WON'T be another opportunity because with each passing year the price for a BREXIT increases, and we are not that far off from the point of no return when an exit would result in an economic collapse, much of the situation the euro-zone members have been since they signed up to scrap their currencies and join the Euro-zone.

Of course both the LEAVE and the REMAIN camps put out a lot of propaganda and spin on the others consequences. For LEAVE it's a case of everything smelling of roses in a Britain that has been freed from increasing European bureaucracy and interference, that would be in full control of Britain's borders. Whilst the REMAIN camp paints a picture of FEAR, of economic and financial catastrophe coupled with punitive terms for exit that would seek to punish Britain for daring to exit the euro-zone, so much for so-called european unity built on common purpose and friendship instead the European Union is increasingly a club of FEAR and PARALYSIS.

The Price for Freedom

The truth is that a BREXIT WILL BE ECONOMICALLY PAINFUL despite all of the benefits of being outside of the E.U. The cost of BrExit will be anywhere from 2% to as high as 5% of GDP if the euro-zone is determined to make an example of Britain to act as a warning to others by raising punitive tariffs on trade. However remember that attaining FREEDOM ALWAYS carry's a PRICE, in which respect even the worst case scenario for a 5% loss of GDP in the grand scheme of things does not compare against the infinitely greater price the people of Britain paid for their freedom in both past World Wars and so it is now THIS generations turn to pay a price for the freedom of future generations.

What the people of Britain need to fully understand is that this really is their VERY LAST CHANCE for Freedom!

Though given the backtracking of Schengen currently underway, and Greece, well still bankrupt then the European project could yet unravel all on its own even BEFORE a BrExit referendum is held! In fact a BrExit would likely be THE nail in the European Unions coffin that would literally start to disintegrate and it could all unravel quite quickly as I have been warning of for some time:

23 Sep 2015 - Poland, Czech, Slovakia and Hungary Refugee Hypocrisy After Flooding UK with 4 Million Economic Migrants

The bottom line is that the migration crisis as did just a few weeks ago the euro debt crisis illustrate that the European Union is BROKEN and is trending towards an apocalypse of sorts the magnitude of which cannot be discerned at this point in time. So this is a wake up call for the people of Britain to vote to LEAVE THE E.U. before it starts to disintegrate in unpredictable and probably very violent ways!

Ensure you are subscribed to my always free newsletter (only requirement is an email address) for the following forthcoming analysis -

UK interest Rates 2016

US Interest Rates 2016

US Dollar Trend Forecast

Stock Market Trend Forecast 2016

US House Prices Forecast 2016 and Beyond

Gold and Silver Price Forecast 2016

Source and Comments: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article53912.html

By Nadeem Walayat

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Copyright  2005-2016 Marketoracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd). All rights reserved.

Nadeem Walayat has over 25 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of five ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series that can be downloaded for Free.

Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 1000 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

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 trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities.

Nadeem Walayat Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Fun Easy Learn has come out with a new material design for their Spanish language learning app. Users can now download the app from the Play Store. The company has made it clear that the app will be free like before. In a company release, an official has also stated that some other minor bugs in the app have been fixed. These include blackening out of screen and occasional delay in touch responses. The Learn Spanish 6000 Words app will also retain the strength of 6000 words divided under the 140 thematic topics. These topics will be based on common subjects of the Spanish lifestyle.

Sources from Fun Easy Learn have also informed that there will be lesser ads in the updated app. This comes as a relief to those users who had written to the company about the frequent ads that interrupted learning. Apart from that, the company has decided to retain the 3 difficultly levels and classification of words under them. The Beginner level will continue to have 1000 words. The Intermediate level retains its 2000 words and the Advanced Level will have 3000 words like before. The company has also retained the five components of learning that had won much acclaim in the previous version of the app.

Speaking to the press, the lead app developer at Fun Easy Learn commented: The redesigning has been done primarily to engage more users who want to Learn Spanish . The app still remains free for anybody that would like to use it. There are several minor bugs that have been fixed as well. We have also made an effort to make the language learning games more interactive in the new material design of the app. There is also a new Match Words game that would aid in interactive learning. We have received very good feedback so far and we are committed to improving the app as and when there is a requirement.

About the Company

Fun Easy Learn is a language app developer that has added a new material design to the Spanish learning app.

Here are some more features that have been a part of the new design update: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.funeasylearn.spanish

For a hands-on feel of the material design, watch the explainer video: https://youtu.be/o02losjvQy0

Media Contact

Company Name: Fun Easy Learn

Contact Person: Andrian

Phone: +37369079967

Address: Chisinau

Country: Moldova

Website: http://www.funeasylearn.com/

For more information: http://www.funeasylearn.com/
Inside the Hungarian Parliament. All of our mouths dropped open when we walked in. And this was about the point when John Shea bolted down the roped-off hall, laughing hysterically, with Cam and one of the guards after him.

I asked these guards if I could take their photo and they both nodded yes as they continued marching. They even gave me a few smiles!

The view of Pest from the Buda side of the Danube, with St. Stephens Basilica towering above the skyline.

Sandor Palace, the President of Hungarys residence.

The Metropolitan Library in Budapest looks like a normal library from the outside and even when you go in.

But when you take the elevator to the fourth floor, you are transported to opulent rooms covered in gold, huge chandeliers, spiral staircases and grand entrances. I think that was one of the coolest parts about Budapest: inside unsuspecting buildings are hidden gems from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Budapest was amazing to see! We really enjoyed our time together there. People were friendly and warm, we tried Hungarian goulash, chicken paprika and the famous cakes from Ruszwurm that has been around since 1827 (I stopped in and bought the kremes and marzipan cakes to take back to our hotel room with us; they were incredible!), and we also got to meet up with some of our friends who are fellow Olmsted scholars. Budapest is a really fascinating place especially when you look at it through the lens of its history. A lot of the Hungarians we interacted with had lived and survived behind the Iron Curtain, through the brutality of communism and of the secret police known for vanishing people. Their first free election was in 1990! Their warmth made that much more of an impression on us. Living and traveling in Eastern Europe is giving our children (and Cam and I, too) a daily hands-on world history lesson. They dont understand it now, and will probably only have vague memories of all that were getting to do, but were setting a base to teach them in the future and that is something we are really excited about.
A former Martinsville city public works employee pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) Tuesday in Martinsville Circuit Court to 12 felony counts of embezzlement stemming from unauthorized purchases totaling more than $4,000 he allegedly made on a city-issued credit card.

The items purchased were a laptop at OfficeMax and 11 iPads at Walmart, according to testimony.

James Dempsey Cartee, 30, of 65 Navajo Trail, Martinsville, entered the plea as part of a plea agreement, which was accepted by Judge G. Carter Greer.

Under the agreement, the court takes the matter under advisement for one year  meaning Greer did not make a finding of guilt or innocence on Tuesday but deferred the matter for one year  and during that year, Cartee is placed on supervised probation, ordered to be on good behavior and ordered to pay restitution to the city of Martinsville in the amount of $4,351.02 (minus some back pay he is owed).

Upon Cartees successful completion of the 12-month advisement period, the 12 counts of felony embezzlement will be amended to misdemeanor embezzlement, and the sentence on each count will be 12 months of incarceration, suspended on condition of three years of good behavior.

If at any time during the advisement period, Cartee is found by this court to have violated the terms of his probation or good behavior, the advisement period will be terminated and Cartee will be found guilty of all pending felony charges and sentenced accordingly.

Each count of felony embezzlement carries a maximum 20 years in prison, Greer said. Greer pointed out that a nolo contendere (no contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea.

Andy Hall, Martinsville deputy commonwealths attorney, said in court and in an interview that Cartee, who was a utility locator for the city, made the purchases between June 23 and July 15, 2015, without authorization from a supervisor.

Leanne Watrous of the Public Defenders Office, who represented Cartee, indicated in court that Cartee thought he was authorized to buy items so that workers could work remotely. She also said some of the items had been returned. She added that Cartee had no criminal history, that he been deployed several times as a security officer in the Air Force, and had a shrapnel injury.
Virginians were split over Attorney General Mark Herrings decision on conceal carry reciprocity, but a majority backed Gov. Terry McAuliffes move to ban guns from most state buildings, according to a new poll.

The Roanoke College Poll, conducted in January and released Tuesday, found 49 percent of those interviewed opposed Herrings announcement that Virginia would stop recognizing concealed handgun permits from 25 other states deemed to have looser standards.

The poll found 42 percent of respondents supported Herrings original decision. Nine percent were either unsure or declined to answer. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

McAuliffe and leaders in the GOP-controlled General Assembly have struck a bipartisan deal to reverse that decision and expand recognition to more states in exchange for setting up a voluntary background check program for unlicensed sellers at gun shows and requiring that subjects of a permanent protective order be required to get rid of their guns while the order is in effect.

The deal, which must still work its way through the legislative process, has been criticized by gun-safety advocates who feel McAuliffe gave away too much in exchange for minimal concessions.

Lawmakers hailed it as a major breakthrough on an issue where political agreement has been hard to come by. The Roanoke College Poll was conducted before the deal was announced late last week.

There was stronger support for McAuliffes executive order banning guns from most state-owned buildings with 59 percent of those interviewed in favor of the move.

The poll took the temperature of 605 Virginians, ages 18 or older, on a variety of legislative issues including ethics reform, redistricting and Medicaid expansion.

More than 70 percent of respondents opposed a measure that would allow court clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the clerk has moral or religious objections.

Most of those interviewed sided with the General Assembly in its standoff with McAuliffe over the Virginia Supreme Court appointment that has been hotly contested since last year.

But most also felt judges shouldnt be unilaterally appointed by the legislature. Forty-five percent preferred for judges to be elected and 31 percent supported the creation of a bipartisan commission that would make recommendations to lawmakers.

This divide is substantially the same as when the Roanoke College Poll last asked that question in January 2015.

The poll was conducted by Roanoke Colleges Institute for Policy and Opinion Research.
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The Companion to Raymond Aron, edited by Jose Cohen and Elisabeth Dutartre-Michaut (Palgrave Macmillan, 304 pp., $110)

Liberalismdefined broadly as a democratically elected regime with a limited government and a market economy that protects individual rightsremains a hotly contested political persuasion in France. Today, liberalisme is associated with savage capitalism and the Anglo-Saxon model. If someone calls you a liberal in a Left Bank cafe, he likely means it as an insult.

Such attitudes have deep roots. Over the course of the twentieth century, liberalism had few defenders in Paris and was overshadowed by seductive varieties of nationalism, existentialism, structuralism, surrealism, and Marxism. It wasnt until the end of the century that the non-liberal alternatives were spent and interest in liberalism was renewedat least among scholars.

It would be nearly impossible to speak about French liberalism today if Raymond Aron had not kept the flame alight while other philosophical fashions tried to blow it out. Therefore, The Companion to Raymond Aron, edited by Jose Cohen and Elisabeth Dutartre-Michaut, is a welcome new addition to the work on Aron available in English. It brings to light Arons characteristic mode of political reflection, which remained close to political actors realistic options and the concerns of citizensrather than elaborating the sort of high-minded theoretical schemas that often typify French thinking.

Arons life tracked the short twentieth century. He was born in 1905 just prior to the Great War and the Bolshevik Revolution. He died in 1983 just prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In between, his political judgment was extraordinary. Calling him the Thucydides of the twentieth century isnt an overstatement.

After studying in Germany just prior to the rise of Hitler, Aron adopted the position that Nazism had to be unequivocally opposed. After Paris fell to the Wehrmacht, Aron went into exile in London to join General Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance. After the war, he consistently championed Western democracy over Soviet totalitarianism. He endorsed the Cold War strategy of undermining and outlasting the Soviet Union. He favored decolonization of French North Africa. During the events of May 1968, he rejected the students fantastical utopianism. Throughout his career he championed the basic liberal values of Western civilization. Compared with Jean-Paul Sartre, who got almost all of these questions wrong, Aron looks prophetic.

Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Aron paid for his good judgment with isolation from French intellectual circles. The Left regularly derided him as a Cold Warrior, especially after his most famous book, The Opium of the Intellectuals (1955), exploded the cherished myths of the Left, the proletariat, and the revolution. Soon thereafter, the French Right abandoned him because he favored Algerian independence. Arons caustic analysis of the psychodrama of May 1968 once again placed him firmly outside the fashionable trends of his time.

Sartrea former schoolmate and friend, whom he had introduced to German existentialismquipped that Aron was unworthy to teach. Others censured Aron for the icy clarity of his analyses, which supposedly lacked compassion. It became a commonplace in French intellectual circles that it is better to be wrong with Sartre than to be right with Aron. In that light, Arons intellectual fortitude and independent-mindedness were truly remarkable. It was only near the end of his life, in the late 1970s, with publication of Alexander Solzhenitsyns work on the Soviet gulag and the revelation of the horrors of Communism in Cambodia and Vietnam, that French opinion shifted in Arons favor. He now appeared to have been right all along about the nature of Communismand much else. Claude Levi-Strauss called Aron a teacher of intellectual hygiene.

The Companion to Raymond Aron is an excellent introduction to the main events of his life and the core themes of his work. The various authors reveal how and why Aron became recognized as one of the worlds most thoughtful analysts of the moral, political, economic, military, and sociological dimensions of modern democracy. His interests ranged from nuclear strategy to Tocqueville.

Primarily known outside France as an analyst of international relations, Aron was one of the first to develop the idea of totalitarianism. He argued that the Nazi and Stalinist regimes were without precedent in human history because they were based on secular religions. Each expressed a notion of providential destiny: for the Nazis, the victory of a race; for the Soviets, the victory of a class. These totalizing ideologies were what made these regimes so dangerous. Aron concluded that Marxist-Leninism as an ideology is the root of all (in the Soviet regime), the source of falsehood, the principle of evil. Ultimately, the Soviet regimes attempt to make man into an angel in fact create a beast, while the Nazis experience showed that man should not try to resemble a beast of prey because, when he does so, he is only too successful.

The lessons that Aron drew from the twentieth century were that history is tragic, human freedom fragile, and theories of historical determinism pernicious. In his defense of liberal principles, Aron described himself as an adherent of democratic conservatism. Compared with the totalitarian regimes, we are all the more conservatives because we are liberals who want to preserve something of personal dignity and autonomy.

Aron sought to distinguish politics as a prosaic activity from the quest for salvation. Modern society is a democratic society that must be observed without transports of enthusiasm or indignation, he once remarked. It is not the ultimate fulfillment of human destiny. Arons outlook was characterized by modesty about what politics could achieve and what one should thereby expect from it. His liberalism fits into the French historical tradition more than the classical liberalism of England or the United States. For instance, Aron did not stress ideas of natural rights, which are the root of American liberal principals.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris raise profound questions for both France and the Western democracies. How can the West develop a foreign policy that addresses the threats of Islamic terrorism and the reality of evil in the world but doesnt get trapped trying to transform other regimes through nation-building and social engineering? Arons hostility to philosophies of historysuch as recent claims about the end of history and the democratization of the worldis a powerful reminder that a hard-headed realism about what needs to be done can be combined with a balanced notion of how much can be achieved through political action. The presence in Europe of large numbers of Muslims citizens along with immigrants from the Middle East and Africa means that domestic and foreign policy are closely intertwined. How can France, which has the largest Muslim population in Europe, simultaneously preserve its own traditions and values and address increasing cultural and religious diversity? How can France integrate its Muslim population while simultaneously taking military action in the very regions from which its immigrant population hails?

These are enormous questions, but Aron provides some helpful guideposts. His skepticism about historical determinism casts doubt on the reigning secularization thesisor dogma. This thesis holds that, as society modernizes, citizens will slowly lose their religious convictions, and those that cling to them will agree to do so exclusively in private. Reading Aron helps to break such spells. A broad understanding of his work would temper optimism about what laicite (or secularism) can do to transform Europes Muslims. Europeans in generaland the French in particularneed to come to terms with the fact that Islam is not likely to follow Christianitys historical trajectory in Europe. Only then can realistic approaches to religious diversity begin to be developed.
SPRINGFIELD - The major rehabilitation work on Interstate 91 through Downtown Springfield is at or ahead of schedule thanks to a mild, snow-free winter and to an incentive clause that pays contractors a bonus for getting the project done even sooner.

The $183.3 million project is estimated to be completed in the late fall of 2017.

Stephanie Pollack, secretary and chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation, delivered the good news Wednesday meeting with reporters at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in Springfield.

"My understanding is that the project is ahead of schedule," she said.

The state's contract with the contractor, a partnership between J. F. White in Framingham and Schiavone Construction Co. in New Jersey, has early completion incentive payments and late completion disincentive deductions, MassDOT has said in written materials. Payments or deductions of $50,000 per day for up to 180 days will be applied based on whether the contractor meets the original goal of having the highway ramps and lanes open to traffic by August 6, 2018.

Lanes close on the Interstate 91 Northbound at the viaduct project in Springfield. (Dave Roback / The Republican)

Instead, MassDOT has said White-Schiavone expects to achieve full beneficial use of the highway and ramps in December 2017 which, if met, would earn the maximum incentive payment of $9 million.

Final completion on the contract would take longer, but would involve punch-list items, signs and landscaping.

Pollack acted as chairwoman for the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Springfield on Wednesday.

The 2.5-mile-long elevated section of interstate highway was built in the 1960s. The deck showed signs of disrepair as falling chunks of the structure have forced the closure of parking decks under the road.

A major north-south artery, Interstate 91 carries around 75,000 cars a day through downtown.

MassDOT and its contractors started prep work on the reconstruction this summer and began major lane closures and other traffic disruptions in December of 2015.

Crews on the highway have not lost time due to snow or inclement weather. Other contractors have completed paving projects -- including work on Union and on State streets related to the MGM Springfield casino project -- in December rather than push completion off until spring 2016.
SPRINGFIELD - Planning is in the early stages, but a pilot program to run frequent north-south commuter trains on the "Knowledge Corridor" tracks from Springfield stopping in Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield could begin a year from now in the spring of 2017.

Stephanie Pollack, Massachusetts secretary and chief executive officer of the state Department of Transportation, made the prediction Wednesday following a meeting with local transportation and transit planners and the mayors of Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Agawam.

She said MassDOT is working now on a memorandum of understanding for long-dreamed-of project with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

But to earn her OK, the Pioneer Valley Commuter rail pilot project must have from the start a set time frame and a clear definition of how many riders and how much ticket revenue the trains must attract in that time period in order to be considered enough of a success to warrant making the trains permanent.

A clear definition of success is important Pollack said. In 2014, the MBTA started offering late night bus and subway service in Boston without a clear rubric.

"We are now trying to untangle that," she told reporters Wednesday in Springfield where she acted as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization conducted at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Details for the rail demonstration project here, like frequency of service and ticket cost, still need to be worked out.

Cities and town along the route are calling for more train service on the route now served mostly by just one north-south train, Amtrak's Vermonter. That's not much traffic for a set of train tracks along the Connecticut River that the state and federal governments spent $125 million purchasing and upgrading.

The service would would make better use of the new $88.5-million rehabilitation of Springfield Union Station. It will be an intermodal bus-rail-transit hub is the highest profile rail project in the region.

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has a study saying frequent commuter service from Springfield to Greenfield might cost $3 million to $4 million a year in operations subsidy. That wouldn't count the cost of the actual trains which would be hand-me -down equipment from the MBTA.

Planners talked Thursday as well about the prospect of long-distance trains from Boston through Worcester and Springfield to New Haven, from Boston through Worcester and Springfield then north along the river and on to Montreal or from New Haven through the Pioneer Valley to Montreal.

That service might cost as much as $1.1 billion and might not happen until well into the next decade.

Any kind of east-west service through Springfield and Worcester to Boston, even commuter-type service , is hard to achieve because those tracks are owned by CSX and very busy with freight traffic. Also South Station in Boston needs to be expanded.

At the meeting, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said east-west commuter service would help Springfield, with its relatively low housing costs, take advantage of a costly housing crunch in Boston and its near suburbs.

Massachusetts is developing statewide passenger and freight rail plans and a five year capital project plan, Pollack said.

And she wants everyone to start thinking of transportation not in terms of roads versus trains versus bicycle paths. instead thinnk of networks.

"A comprehensive rail program might do a wonderful job of getting someone to the rail station ," she said. "But the rail station is not their final destination. After that they need to get their car, or get on a buds or grab a bike to get where they are going."

Mary MacInnes, administrator of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, said her bus operation is happy to hear of more rail service.

"Because then we get another job," MacInnes said. "We then become the feeder system."

MacInnes has said she expects bus ridership to increase when Springfield Union Station with its parking, security and amenities becomes the hub of its local system.
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack

SPRINGFIELD - Expanded passenger rail service through Springfield and the Pioneer Valley will be just one topic on the agenda Wednesday, Feb. 3, when Stephanie Pollack, Secretary & Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Transportation, leads a meeting in Springfield.

Pollack will act as chairwoman for the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The public meeting is from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 3 at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission at 60 Congress Street, 1st Floor.

The meeting will also include an update on MassDOT's Five Year Capital Investment Plan for the region and updates on large scale MassDOT projects int eh region, including the ongoing rebuilding of Interstate 91 and its viaduct through Springfield.

A meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization is a fairly routine event, said Timothy Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planing Commission. What is unusual is having the state secretary of transportation on hand to lead the meeting.

Brennan said he expects mayors or select board members from area towns to attend and voice concerns to Pollack, especially about planning for future transportation.

With the $88.5 million rehab of Springfield's Union Station nearing completion at the end of the year and new rail and station s in place in Northampton, Greenfield and Holyoke, boosters are looking to inicrease the number of trains serving area communities.

Brennan said that might include long-distance trains from Boston through Worcester and Springfield to either Montreal or New Haven. or it might mean north-south commuter service using surplus equipment already owned by the MBTA.
On Newsstands Now: Here's Everything You'll Find in CityBeat's Latest Issue

From a Bigfoot hunt to delightfully spooky ghost stories from one of Cincinnati's watering holes, here are the stories you'll find in CityBeat's latest print edition.

By CityBeat Staff Oct 19, 2022

For many of us, Bigfoot is a legend present only on an episode of Ancient Aliens, or perhaps only among the towering, mysterious pines of the Pacific Northwest. However, for CityBeat's latest issue, we went on a hunt for Bigfoot in a place where the massive furball had allegedly been spotted before  Ohio's Pleasant Hill Lake Park...
The Montana Department of Commerce (DOC) has completed a competitive RFP process to award 11 Certified Regional Development Corporation (CRDC) contracts.

CRDCs receive state funding to facilitate economic development in their regions. Core activities include strategic planning, revolving loan fund management and business technical assistance. CRDCs also apply for state and federal funding programs, including those offered by DOCs Office of Tourism and Business Development, on behalf of their constituents and administer those funds.

Author: Daniel Iverson

Full Story: http://commerce.mt.gov/News/PressReleases/ArtMID/19685/ArticleID/3061/Department-of-Commerce-Certifies-11-Development-Organizations
Department of Commerce (DOC) Director Meg OLeary on Monday joined five companies in celebrating their completion of the ExporTech program at a graduation event in Bozeman.

ExporTech is a national export assistance program administered in-state through the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) at Montana State University. The DOC is an official partner of the program, which helps companies develop export plans.

Author: Daniel Iverson

Full Story: http://commerce.mt.gov/News/PressReleases/ArtMID/19685/ArticleID/3060/Five-Companies-Ready-to-Expand-After-Completing-%E2%80%98ExporTech%E2%80%99-Export-Assistance-Program
Le ministre de la Sante a annonce quil y a eu trois nouveaux cas de contamination au Coronavirus en fin de journee du 12 mai 2022.

Deux cas sont en J7 em quarantaine et un au Flu Detection Centre de Lhopital Jeetoo a Port-Louis.

Il sagit dun caretaker du SSS GMD Atchia

Aussi le 6 mai trois cas detectes lors dun vol venant de la Grande Peninsule.

Partager et informez vous aussi......

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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.
The Washington Post, Tuesday, February 2, 2016 10:34 AM

Oral Roberts University in Tennessee now requires its 900 freshman to wear Fitbits, which report students' steps and heart rate information to a school computer. The school will eventually require all of its students to wear the devices. Students must average 10,000 steps each day and 150 minutes of intense activity per week, according to The Washington Post. Provost Kathaleen Reid-Martinez told the Post that the school -- which has a "whole person education" mission -- hasn't yet faced complaints about the mandate.

Read the whole story at The Washington Post 
by Felicia Greiff , February 2, 2016

RB, the British consumer goods company RB, the British consumer goods company (formerly Reckitt Benckiser) that owns such well-known brands as Mucinex, Woolite and Lysol, announced an analytics partnership with Nielsen on Tuesday.

Media research firm Nielsen will provide measurement and marketing analytics on RB's brands, which also include Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Veet, Calgon, Air Wick and French's.

Laurent Faracci, SVP-global marketing & digital Excellence, RB, said in a release that the company is excited to work with Nielsen on shaping the future of how the industry is enabled by Big Data.

Nielsen's "Buy" segment offers consumer packaged goods marketers and retailers a global view of retail performance measurement and can be integrated with Nielsen's "Watch" segment, which offers clients measurement services on consumption across devices.

Last July, an RB executive predicted that nearly one-third of the company's sales in India will come via mobile commerce in the future.
by Felicia Greiff , February 3, 2016

UK-based ad tech company Grapeshot raised $8.5 million in C round funding, for a total of $14.25 million in external funds raised. The company plans to use the new round to fuel its global expansion, including new offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sydney.

IQ Capital and Draper Esprit led the round, along with participation from existing investor Albion Ventures.

Grapeshot also named a COO, Kurt Kratchman, who will work from New York and oversee Grapeshot's global operations. Kratchman was previously chief strategy officer at Schematic (now POSSIBLE), and general manager at Blast Radius before both companies were acquired by WPP.

John Snyder, Grapeshot founder and CEO, said in a statement that the investment will drive rapid expansion of the company's current presence in New York and Singapore, along with the new locales planned. (There's also an office in London.)

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Grapeshot, whose technology analyzes content on a page before an advertiser buys ad space on a page via real-time bidding, counts Chase, Dyson, IBM, AppNexus, Johnson & Johnson, British Airways, MediaCom and MailOnline as clients. It's also integrated with major programmatic marketplaces including AppNexus, MediaMath, Turn and The Trade Desk.

The company claims to crawl 100 million web pages per day and stores information on 1.7 billion pages and mobile apps.
Fed Scoop, Wednesday, February 3, 2016 9:05 AM

A shirt that collects first responders' vital signs and transmits them to headquarters could become standard equipment for police and firefighters thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Securitys Science and Technology Directorate. Two Canadian companies  Calgary-based data company SensorUp and Montreal-based wearable manufacturers Hexoskin  have partnered to create a system that monitors first responders vitals via an Internet-connected shirt. Hexoskin CEO Pierre-Alexandre Fournier told FedScoop he sees this technology as a complement to body cameras and other remote sensors first responders might carry.

Read the whole story at Fed Scoop 
by Jess Nelson , February 2, 2016

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign claimed a slim victory over Bernie Sanders in Monday's Iowa Caucus as questions over her use of a private email server as Secretary of State linger.

Clinton won the Iowa Democratic primary by less than half of a percentage point over Sanders. According to Politico, Clinton received 49.9% of the vote and 29 delegates from the Iowa caucus, while Sanders followed extremely close behind with 49.6% of the vote and 21 delegates.

Martin OMalley finished in third place with less than 1% of the vote, and announced his intentions to suspend his presidential campaign after the poor turnout. He has yet to endorse either of the remaining Democratic candidates.

Clinton triumphed in avoiding a repeat of the 2008 Iowa primary, where she finished third behind John Edwards and soon-to-be President Barack Obama. But Clintons narrow victory might raise doubts over her national candidacy, especially considering that she was once the overwhelming favorite to win the state primary.

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Questions remain about Hillary Clintons use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating whether any classified information was mishandled. State Department officials told the Associated Press Saturday that 22 emails contained "top secret" information, but would not specify what information they contained or if Clinton herself had sent them.

Amidst the investigation, Clinton still maintains a sizable lead against Sanders in overall delegate count. Clinton has the endorsement of 385 delegates, while Sanders trails with 29, according to the latest estimates from the Associated Press. Clintons substantial lead is derived from her 45-1 advantage over Sanders in Democratic super-delegates, reports NPR.

Some 2,383 delegates are needed to secure a Democratic presidential nomination. Republicans require 1,237 delegates.

With Sanders likely to win the New Hampshire primary, all eyes are turned to the Nevada primary on February 20 and the South Carolina primary on February 27.
by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, February 3, 2016

The Latino vote will be a hot commodity in the 2016 presidential election. Eligible Latino voters are growing at lightning speed and are increasingly well-educated, offering candidates millions of new votes that could sway the final count.

In the 2012 cycle, there were 23.3 million eligible Latino voters. That number is projected to grow to 27.3 million this cycle, per Pew Research. From 2004 to 2016, Latinos share of the total voting population has grown from 9% to 12.6%, as New York Times journalist Thomas Edsall pointed out at Columbia Universitys conference on the Latino vote last Friday.

According to NBCNews.com senior writer Suzanne Gamboa, who also spoke at the conference, any increase in the Latino vote this election will be incremental. We are not only a young population, but were young in organizing.

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Potential Latino voters are significantly younger than other demographic groups. Pew puts the share of eligible Latino voters who are millennials at 44%. That is compared to 27% of whites and 35% of African Americans in that younger age group.

As Gamboa pointed out, organizing and engagement will be crucial to courting the Latino vote.

The xenophobic rhetoric from the Republican Party may motivate offended Latinos to vote, especially younger voters who were born in the United States and feel rejected by their nation of birth.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson, also in attendance at the Columbia conference, believes the Republican Party is doomed with Latino voters.

RNC chair Reince Priebus and GOP heavyweight Karl Rove have come to this realization, supporting comprehensive immigration reform.

The party, however, has not. Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, both sons of immigrants, often spar over immigration and each has recently taken a much more conservative stance than in the past.

Contrary to the media focus, immigration is not the most important issue for most Latinos. Univision VP of local digital sales Ted Gurley told Marketing Politics Daily that Latino voters care deeply about issues surrounding crime, education and the economy (jobs), more so than immigration.

Gurley noted that 83% of Latinos consume content on their mobile phones. With such a large portion of young eligibles, there are myriad opportunities for novel targeting techniques.

55% of Latino voters considered themselves persuadable in the 2014 election cycle. Developments in cross-device targeting and engagement strategies will come in extremely handy for campaigns looking to court the Latino vote.

Many political strategists assume Latinos will vote primarily for Democrats, but that could change.

Barring a Trump nomination, many Latinos could vote conservative. Former deputy director of intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Dept. of the Interior during George W. Bush's presidency, Daniel Garza, another panelist at the Columbia conference, believes that Latinos are mostly conservative in the economic and social spheres: The difference is outreach.
by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, February 3, 2016

Why is Microsoft is dropping $250 million on keyboard app maker SwiftKey? I mean, the companys phones could use plenty of improvements, but a better keyboard aint one of them.

The deal clearly has more to do with SwiftKeys artificial intelligence assets -- which supported the recent launch of an Android keyboard that uses a neural network in place of standard algorithms to predict ones word selection.

As a source close to the deal told The Financial Times: Theres a war for talent in artificial intelligence.

To that end, Apple recently bought Perception -- a startup that specializes in technology for companies that want to run advanced artificial intelligence systems on smartphones.

In general terms, Harry Shum, EVP of technology and research at Microsoft, admitted that AI lay at the heart of the deal.

SwiftKeys predictive technology aligns with Microsofts investments and ambition to develop intelligent systems that can work more on the users behalf and under their control, Shum said on a blog post.

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And dont forget that Microsoft has been baking AI into its strategic game plan for some time. Along with its personal assistant, Cortana, the software giant has been exploring AIs marketing potential. About a year ago, for instance, Bob Bejan, VP of North American sales & marketing at Microsoft, told me how the technology was revolutionizing adverting.

More broadly, Forrester analyst Thomas Husson recently said that AI is top-of-mind for many brands and technology platforms.

Yet exactly what Microsoft has in store for SwiftKey remains to be seen.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 3, 2016

The Federal Trade Commission is urging a federal judge to rule that Amazon engaged in an unfair business by charging parents for in-app purchases made by their children.

"Amazon billed parents and other account holders millions of dollars without their consent for charges children incurred while playing games on mobile devices," the FTC says in papers filed Tuesday with U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenor in Seattle.

The FTC says it's entitled to summary judgment against Amazon because there aren't any disputed facts that would warrant a jury trial. Consumers "suffered significant monetary harm that they could not reasonably avoid and that was not outweighed by any benefits to consumers or competition," the FTC says in its motion.

Amazon counters in separate papers filed Tuesday that it "is confident that the evidence at trial will demonstrate that it acted responsibly, proactively, voluntarily, expeditiously, and ultimately successfully to address an unanticipated issue that affected only a small percentage of Appstore customers."

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The legal disputes dates to July of 2014, when the FTC sued Amazon for allegedly allowing children to make in-app purchases without their parents' consent. Before suing Amazon, the FTC settled similar cases with Apple and Google; both companies agreed to provide refunds to parents.

When Amazon initially launched its app store, in November 2011, the company allowed children to make purchases without entering a password, according to the FTC. Amazon later began requiring passwords, but only for charges of more than $20, the FTC alleges.

The FTC says these practices resulted in bills to parents for unauthorized in-app purchases by their children. The agency is seeking an order order requiring Amazon to reimburse parents for any charges that were incurred without their consent, and an injunction prohibiting the company from engaging in unfair practices in the future.

Amazon says in its new court papers that it has always "made design choices to enable parents to avoid unwanted purchases by children."

The company adds that it enabled parents to require passwords, and always sent confirmatory emails after purchases were made. "Any Amazon account holders who did not make the in-app purchase themselves immediately would be able to see in the confirmatory email the price paid and the source of the charge," the company asserts.

But the FTC argues that Amazon's policies weren't clear. "Consumer feedback about unauthorized in-app charges by children was visceral and revealing, displaying the depth of consumer confusion about Amazons practices," the agency writes.

Amazon also argues that in June of 2014, one month before the lawsuit was filed, it changed its billing policies. Since that date, the company has asked account holders to decide at the time of a first in-app purchase whether to require a password for all future purchases.

While the online retailer is seeking a trial on the question of whether its practices were unfair, it's also asking Coughenor to rule now that the FTC lacks grounds to obtain an injunction that could affect future billing practices.

"There is no evidence showing a cognizable risk of future harm that would warrant a permanent injunction in this case," the company says. "Amazon has demonstrated its voluntary, good-faith, responsible commitment to resolve the issue since the launch of in-app purchasing -- both long before and continuing after the FTC began its investigation -- through today."

Coughenor will hold a hearing in the matter on Feb. 26.
Club culture' in British medicine must be replaced, argues senior heart doctor.

The system that awards national and academic honors to doctors is called into question by a senior doctor writing in The BMJ.

Consultant cardiologist, Peter Wilmshurst, tells the story of Anjan Kumar Banerjee, a surgeon who spent the years 2002 to 2008 erased from the medical register for serious professional misconduct related to research fraud, financial misconduct, and substandard care.

Yet in 2014 he was awarded an MBE "for services to patient safety."

The MBE was forfeited two months later, but he remains a fellow of three medical colleges, explains Wilmshurst. The University of London has also ignored repeated requests to withdraw his Master of Surgery (MS) degree during the 15 years since it was confirmed to be based on fraudulent data.

"We need to get rid of the existing 'club culture' in British medicine and replace it with a culture that values integrity and transparency," he argues. And he warns that the inappropriate award of honours and medical qualifications to Banerjee "is not an isolated case."

British medicine has opaque procedures that can be manipulated to gain honours, advancement, and money (for example, clinical excellence awards), he writes. When errors occur, "the establishment would usually rather close ranks and silence whistleblowers than correct the error."

He says he is aware of other cases in which serious misconduct has been concealed and the culprits have received honours and awards, and calls for action to tackle a "systemic problem" in British medicine.

Peter Wilmshurst's story raises serious questions about the integrity of medical and scientific institutions, writes Richard Smith, in an accompanying editorial. Smith is former editor of The BMJ and now London-based Chair of the Board of Trustees for the international research institution icddr,b.

He argues that Britain has never taken the problem of scientific fraud seriously, and that "we have no way of knowing how many cases are successfully covered up."

"We need to move to a world where universities recognise the rightness of investigating allegations of misconduct and commit to punishing those found guilty and to publishing the results of their investigations, correcting the research record, and retracting fraudulent research," he writes.

And he says it's "shameful that the colleges do not retract Banerjee's fellowships, and their failure to do so raises questions about their competence and integrity."

"Something is rotten in the state of British medicine and has been for a long time. Statutory regulation is needed," he concludes.
Chlorhexidine bathing in ICU not a contributing factor in increased drug-resistant MRSA.

Long-term use antiseptic soap in bathing critically ill patients to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) did not cause high levels of resistance in bacteria on the patients' skin, according to a new study published online in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

"There has been concern in the healthcare community about the impact of routine, daily chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing on fostering the spread of bacteria resistant to this agent," said David Warren, MD, MPH, lead author of the study and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine and Hospital Epidemiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. "We did not see sustained increase in MRSA resistant to CHG.

Based on studies that showed that CHG used for daily body washing decreases MRSA infections, this practice has become widespread in hospitals. However, the long-term effects of the daily bathing on the prevalence of the qacA/B genes that lead to resistance to CHG in MRSA isolates is largely unknown.

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to the ICU at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri from 2005 through 2012. They reviewed more than 500 randomly selected isolates of MRSA from surveillance cultures to determine drug resistance. The prevalence of CHG-resistant MRSA isolates fell from 6.2 percent in the year CHG bathing began to zero to 1.5 percent from 2006 to 2009. The prevalence spiked to 16.9 percent in 2009 and 2010 before subsiding to 4.6 and 7.7 percent in 2011 and 2012.

The authors note that increased prevalence of resistant MRSA isolates at certain points in the study period likely stemmed from patients entering the ICU already colonized with that organism prior to CHG exposure. This allowed the research team to rule out the daily baths as a factor for the increase in CHG-resistant MRSA and the hospital continued to use CHG bathing as a strategy to prevent HAIs.
Findings from the British Psychological Society (BPS) and New Savoy staff wellbeing survey in 2015 show that 46 per cent of psychological professionals surveyed report depression. 49.5 per cent report feeling they are a failure. One quarter consider they now have a long-term, chronic condition, and 70 per cent say they are finding their jobs stressful.

All these findings are increased from 2014, with reported stress at work up by 12 per cent. Incidents of bullying and harassment had more than doubled. The overall picture is one of burnout, low morale and worrying levels of stress and depression in a key workforce that is responsible for improving the mental health of the public. Whilst the majority of respondents made negative comments about their work environment, 10 per cent of comments were more positive:

"Being target driven is the bane of our lives."

"IAPT is a politically driven monster which does not cater for staff feedback/input in any way. All we are told is TARGETS!!! and work harder."

"It is invigorating to work in a team where thoughtfulness, understanding, support & compassion are central to what we do, not seen as an optional extra or a luxury."

"I am so disappointed I have just resigned."

"I carry my resignation in my diary now as I feel that I'm on the verge of giving up battling."

The results and analysis of the survey of over 1300 psychological professionals in the NHS will be presented today, Wednesday 9 February 2016, at the 9th Annual Psychological Therapies in the NHS conference.

From being one of the most attractive careers with high levels of satisfaction, the survey shows psychological therapists now have lower levels of job career satisfaction than other NHS staff, with poor employee engagement and loss of autonomy. This reflects a worrying trend. Last year the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies warned that "an NHS management culture of bullying and intimidation, [is] preventing us from openly raising our concerns, and undermining our clinical judgment".

Common themes identified by our survey were a managerial fixation on targets, complained about by 41 per cent, and workplace environments creating stress and burnout, complained about by 38 per cent. Extra administrative demands, an increase in having to work unpaid hours and staff being prevented from providing adequate therapy due to resource cuts were other frequent themes.

Figures yet to be published by NHS England show some commissioners spend three times less per patient on therapy than others. Our document 'The Case for a Charter for Psychological Wellbeing and Resilience in the NHS' sets out why this is now becoming unsustainable.

Leading organisations in the mental health field are committing to support a collaborative effort to improve the wellbeing and resilience of psychological staff who deliver key services.

They include the mental health charities Mind and Rethink, together with mental health trusts the South London & Maudsley and Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trusts; the British Psychological Society, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Psychotherapy Foundation, the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies; leading third-sector providers Westminster Pastoral Foundation, the Tavistock Centre for Couples and Relationships, and the Anna Freud Centre; organisational research consultants and care quality bodies Quality of Working Life, the Tavistock Institute and the Care Quality Commission; digital provider Ieso and the UK's major provider of employment and health support, Ingeus; the NHS in Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities.

Today, we launch a Charter that aims to reset the balance. The findings of our survey call for urgent action. The Charter aims to reset the balance in the drive to improve access. It asks for a greater focus on support for staff wellbeing to sustain the impact we know psychological services have when delivered effectively. Those services which have good staff wellbeing will be more sustainable and make the most difference to those they are helping.

Politicians and Public Health England welcome the new Charter for Psychological Wellbeing and Resilience

In response to the warning signs in 2014 the Leadership and Management Faculty of the Division of Clinical Psychology, British Psychological Society, jointly with the New Savoy conference, consulted with leading professionals on a way to turn this around. The launch of the Charter and setting up of a new Learning Collaborative Network supported by key providers is our response. We are delighted that this is being supported by Public Health England and the NHS in Greater Manchester, as well as by leading providers.

Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, BPS President, in endorsing the Charter and, through the BPS's Professional Practice Board, seeking to pursue acceptance for the Charter across the devolved administrations during 2016, says:

"Health and wellbeing at work are vital issues which we of all people should be particularly concerned about. This is an area close to my heart ... I have worked in, led and managed NHS services and have seen the effects of stress, overwork, inadequate supervision and consequent burnout at first hand."

The Charter, which is endorsed by Public Health England, will be launched by Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health and Wellbeing, Public Health England, who says:

"The work behind the Charter being launched today is invaluable in highlighting some of the challenges present amongst the NHS workforce. The detailed statistics and figures quoted make the case for action clear ... Public Health England is strongly supportive of such efforts emerging from clinical leaders, which will help address the needs of NHS staff from an informed perspective. It is a real statement that BPS members are committing to bring the skills of psychological therapy experts within the NHS directly to bear on its own needs. Not only will this improve the wellbeing and productivity of NHS staff, but ultimately outcomes for patients."

Former Care Minister, the Right Honourable Norman Lamb MP has welcomed the Charter saying:

"Psychological staff play an invaluable role in the drive to rectify the imbalance between mental and physical health in the NHS, but we know all too well the enormous pressures that they face. Quite apart from the clear moral argument for taking staff wellbeing seriously, we cannot hope to achieve equality for mental health unless the psychological workforce is properly supported. The Five Year Forward View highlighted the importance of staff wellbeing in NHS organisations, and I welcome the launch of this charter as a timely and important contribution in this area."

Current Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health, Luciana Berger MP has welcomed the Charter saying:

"I am delighted to welcome the Charter for Psychological Staff Wellbeing and Resilience. The mental health of people in the workplace, and particularly of those who provide psychological support, is of the utmost importance. It is unacceptable that the dedicated psychological professionals who provide vital support to those in need, are themselves increasingly suffering from stress and other mental health conditions. The Charter will play an important role in helping employers promote and improve the wellbeing of their staff. I wish all the organizations signed up to the Charter every success in fulfilling its aims."

What are we intending to do with the new Charter?

The importance of parity between psychological and physical health is now widely recognized by policymakers. Dr Geraldine Strathdee, the current National Clinical Director for Mental Health, has driven the sea-change in priority given to mental wellbeing. The economic case for this agenda is well established: depression alone costs 7.5bn. Over 75 per cent of these costs fall on welfare.

At the conference, the Minister for Community and Social Care, the Right Honourable Alistair Burt MP will make a speech to set out how he expects the NHS to meet this challenge. On the second day Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, will also make a speech to set out how better joined-up investment led by the Joint Unit for Work and Health can contribute to improving wellbeing. We will ask them what role they see for the Charter in their plans.

The BBC's Mark Easton will be chairing plenary sessions with both Ministers in which frontline clinicians can ask the questions.

It is to their needs and concerns the Charter speaks directly: if the new target is to move from 15 per cent access to 25 per cent by 2020, within new waiting time targets of six weeks from referral to treatment, where is the workforce plan from Health Education England for this? Unless there is a significant increase in capacity to deliver the full range of evidence-based therapies before the government's Work Programme comes to an end in 2017, leaving large numbers of people with depression still without support, there will be a huge crisis. The Charter Network has a vital task to understand how teams with good staff wellbeing can step up to this challenge. We will report back from a Round table discussion what some of the key leaders see as next steps for taking the Charter forward.

The former Health Secretary, the Right Honourable Alan Johnson MP, who launched the national IAPT initiative in 2008, has welcomed the Charter saying:

"The introduction of IAPT was one of the highlights of my time as Health Secretary and I'll never forget the help I received from the BPS in formulating the policy or the reception it received at the New Savoy Conference. It was and remains the most important mental health initiative for a generation and I fully support your ongoing work through this Charter to sustain the wellbeing of its staff who are the key to its success."

To do this the Charter must help reset the balance.
Researchers from the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GPI RAS) and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have developed a new biosensor test system based on magnetic nanoparticles. It is designed to provide highly accurate measurements of the concentration of protein molecules (e.g. markers, which indicate the onset or development of a disease) in various samples, including opaque solutions or strongly coloured liquids.

The new development is similar (in its principal) to a pregnancy test. The analysis is conducted using small test strips made of porous material with two test lines. A droplet of the sample liquid is applied to one end of the strip and after a short period the result is shown as the activation of one or both lines. These test strips can be stored for a long time before being used. The test can be done quickly and does not need to be carried out by specially trained staff; tests can easily be performed next to a patient or even in field conditions.

At molecular level, the magnetic nanoparticles "link" with antibodies to the required protein and then they are placed on a porous plate close to the intended point of contact with the test solution. The liquid, which spreads along the plate due to capillary action, captures the magnetic particles. It then meets two lines - the test line and the control line. The test line contains antibodies that capture the protein in question and also the magnetic markers that became attached to molecules of the protein due to the fact that the nanoparticles are also "linked" to the antibodies. The control line only captures the antibodies with magnetic markers, and it will be activated in any case, if the test strip is usable. The control line serves as an indicator as to whether the test is suitable for use, the protein antibodies in it have not been destroyed due to improper storage, and the test liquid has been applied correctly.

After the sample has permeated the test strip and the antibodies have interacted with one another, the result can be read. This is as far as the resemblance to a pregnancy test goes. In a "classic" pregnancy test, the result can either be "yes" or "no". With this test, however, scientists are not only able to, with a high level of sensitivity, detect a protein, but they can also accurately determine the concentration of the protein. The accuracy of determining the concentration will even exceed the accuracy of methods that are only performed in laboratory conditions by trained staff.

Alexey Orlov, the corresponding author of the study and a Research Fellow of GPI RAS (who also completed an undergraduate degree at MIPT in 2010, and a postgraduate degree in 2013): "Normally, tests that can be performed not only under lab conditions but also in the field, use fluorescent or coloured markers and the results are determined visually, by sight or by using a video camera. In our case, we are using magnetic particles, which have a significant advantage: they can be used to conduct analyses even if the test strip is dipped into a completely opaque liquid, to determine the substances in whole blood for example. The precise numerical measurement is conducted entirely electronically using a portable device. This completely excludes any ambiguity."

Share on Pinterest A droplet of the test liquid is applied to the strip (1). The liquid, which spreads along the strip due to capillary action, captures magnetic particles that are "linked" with antibodies to the test protein (2). As they move along the strip, the particles bind to the required protein. The liquid then meets two lines - the test line (3) and the control line (4). The test line contains antibodies that capture the protein and also the magnetic markers that were bound to it. The control line is activated in any case if the test strip is suitable for use

Image courtesy of MIPT Press Service

The scientists note that along with the high level of sensitivity of determining the concentration of a protein, the new test system also allows measurements to be taken over a wide dynamic range: the upper limit of the test concentration is more than 4000 times greater than the lower limit.

Dynamic range is a familiar term in photography: in relation to a camera, it means the ability of the image sensor or film to distinguish gradations of brightness without washing out to white or converting an image into a dark spot. In biochemical measurements, dynamic range implies the ability to measure the concentration of a protein in a very dilute solution as well as in a very saturated solution.

The new system was tested by measuring 0.025 nanograms per millilitre of prostate-specific antigen in the blood (the "healthy" range is anything lower than 4 nanograms). Prostate-specific antigen is one of the most commonly monitored markers in clinical examinations on men.

Prostate-specific antigen, PSA, is one of the possible markers for prostate cancer - and it is also used in forensics to detect traces of semen. Both applications have certain limitations and they are not able to conclusively provide a diagnosis/prove the guilt of a suspect, but the new biosensor platform will be able to do more than analyse PSA; this particular protein was chosen as a demonstration of the method's capabilities.

This level of sensitivity of determining PSA is enough to tell whether there has been a recurrence after the removal of the prostate, and the results obtained give an idea of the potential of the new development. It is not only able to indicate when a particular indicator is outside of the normal range, but it can also be used to easily trace the dynamics of the concentration of protein markers in a disease.

Having checked the results obtained by the new method against the "gold standard" for determining PSA - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the scientists proved that the new test system works well and that it has significant advantages over traditional methods.

In the new test system, the researchers used their own patented method MPQ (magnetic particle quantification) to precisely count magnetic nanoparticles by their nonlinear magnetization. Using this method, scientists are able to record anything above 60 zeptomoles (the prefix zepto- means ten to the minus twenty-first power!) of nanoparticles in a linear range exceeding ten million times. These parameters have never been recorded at this level before. The method involves applying an alternating magnetic field to the nanoparticles at two frequencies and monitoring the induction response at combinatorial frequencies.

Many methods of analysing substances are based on the fact that test objects, whether they are particles or molecules, are affected by an electromagnetic field. At the correct frequency, a sample starts to either actively absorb radiation, or radiate in response. In this case, the scientists used a combination of two frequencies of the magnetic field and monitored the response at the frequency which is their linear combination - this is called the "combinatorial" frequency.

Maxim Nikitin, the Head of MIPT's Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology and a co-author of the study: "We previously demonstrated the high level of sensitivity of this method of detecting magnetic particles in a joint project with US researchers from the University of Chicago. We used our sensors to record magnetic radioactive nanoparticles based on the isotope 59-Fe in the bodies of animals in vivo (see . Nikitin et al., J.Appl. Phys. 2008, 103, 07A304). In particular, it was found that the threshold for detection using this electronic method coincides with the reporting threshold of accompanying gamma radiation, which means that radioactive markers can be replaced with magnetic nanoparticles in a number of various biophysical studies. In the present study, we use this methodology to achieve ultra-sensitivity for conducting immunoassays."

"...the threshold for detection using this electronic method coincides with the reporting threshold of accompanying gamma radiation" means that in a number of biomedical research magnetic markers and the special device to detect them can be used to identify that was previously possible using radioactive preparations. From a doctor's point of view, magnetic products are clearly better for diagnostic studies as they prevent patients from being exposed to excess radiation.

Dr. Petr Nikitin, Head of Research and Head of Laboratory at GPI RAS (graduated from MIPT in 1979): "The magnetic methods developed and the recorders for counting nanomarkers on test strips not only provide these limits and ranges of measurement of concentrations of antigens, but they are also able to effectively control all stages of the process: from the development and optimization of immunoassay protocols to conducting and interpreting results. This, in particular, is achieved by conducting quantitative monitoring of the redistribution of nanomarkers during biochemical reactions along all three-dimensional porous components of test strips, which has not previously been possible using any other method. Furthermore, the iron salts used to synthesize the nanoparticles are comparably more accessible and cheaper than the reagents used to synthesize gold nanoparticles, which are commonly used in threshold tests such as the pregnancy test."

The combination of reliability, accessibility, and high accuracy and sensitivity of the new method means that it is likely to make a rapid transition from a laboratory prototype to mass production. The developers have not yet given a specific timeframe, but they emphasize that their test system can be used not only to diagnose diseases, but also for a number of other applications. The biosensor is able to conduct analyses on food products and medicines; it will also be able to be used to conduct environmental monitoring. And it will be able to do all this at the location itself, without any complicated or expensive equipment.
Scientists at the Universities of York and Torino have used mathematics as a tool to provide precise details of the structure of protein nanoparticles, potentially making them more useful in vaccine design.

Working with a world-leading group at the University of Connecticut in the USA, who pioneered the development of self-assembling protein nanoparticles (SAPNs) for vaccine design, they have used advanced mathematical calculations to create a complete picture of the surface morphology of these particles. The research is published in the Biophysical Journal.

The nanoparticles self-assemble symmetrically using protein building blocks to create cage or shell-like architectures, which serve a range of functions such as storage, catalysis and structural scaffolding, or as enclosures for viral genomes. But electron microscopy and neutron scattering data has limited effectiveness for researchers attempting to classify the morphology of the nanoparticles.

Using mathematics to predict the geometries of nanoparticles can help scientists to select those whose structures are the most advantageous for the design of new vaccines. The constant need for vaccine development as new strains of disease evolve has generated a world market worth $56 billion a year.

The new study focused on a class of artificial SAPNs designed by Professor Peter Burkhard, a structural biophysicist at the University of Connecticut. When chemically attached to antigens from pathogens, nanoparticles can create simple, potent and cost-effective vaccines. Clinical tests on a malaria vaccine designed in this way are due to start soon.

Researchers at York and Torino, led by biophysicist Professor Reidun Twarock, of the University of York's York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis and the Departments of Mathematics and Biology, used a mathematical tool called tiling theory to predict the symmetric classification of different particle morphologies of SAPNs. They adapted the tiling approach Professor Twarock previously pioneered in the context of virology to model protein nanoparticles with a mixture of local five- and three-fold symmetry axes.

Professor Twarock said: "We have developed a mathematical approach that allows you to identify the surface structures of these nanoparticles that you cannot get from experimentation alone. Mathematics plays an important role here because it acts like a microscope and helps to give researchers insights they couldn't get experimentally."

Professor Burkhard added: "The protein nanoparticles show great promise as future vaccine carriers and our malaria vaccine will be tested in a clinical setting within the next year. Understanding the geometric principles of the self-assembly to nanoparticles is essential for the successful design and development as vaccines."
Listeria bacterium found in food, which can infect people and cause temporary gastro-intestinal distress, is a serious health risk for pregnant women and for people with compromised immune systems. According to a dissertation from Umea University in Sweden, the bacterium, which sometimes causes the lethal illness listeriosis, reacts to light by activating defence mechanisms.

Listeria monocytogenes, named after the British surgeon Joseph Lister, is ubiquitous in nature but can sometimes spread to food, especially to unpasteurised dairy products and charcuterie. The Listeria bacterium can grow in food stored in the fridge, and if contaminated food is consumed without being properly heated, the bacterium can cause infection.

Researchers have now discovered a new property in Listeria; namely that the bacterium activates protective mechanisms when exposed to light. This discovery can, in future, be used by the food industry to prevent the spread of Listeria.

In the dissertation, doctoral student Christopher Andersson also describes the discovery of two new molecules that combat the pathogenicity of the Listeria bacterium. The researchers also studied how the molecules can be used to prevent the bacterium from causing disease.

For healthy individuals, the Listeria bacterium usually causes no extreme harm apart from a few days of stomach problems. For individuals with a compromised immune system or for pregnant women, however, the bacterium can be very dangerous. If a bacterial infection spreads to the brain it can progress to "listeriosis", which has a mortality rate of 20-30 percent. If a pregnant woman is infected, the bacteria can spread to the foetus and cause miscarriage.

"Hopefully, this new knowledge on how light and these small molecules affect the bacterium can, in future, be used to prevent the spread of Listeria and help treat listeriosis," says Christopher Andersson, doctoral student at the Department of Molecular Biology at Umea University and author of the dissertation.
A new technique promises to reduce the radiation risk for patients and staff, a study recently published in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology shows1. Researchers who led the study at the Nuclear Medicine Department at Central Manchester University Hospitals believe that these findings will offer a more efficient and sustainable approach to delivering myocardial perfusion imaging. The department provides scanning for patients with heart conditions across the North West region and performed approximately 2300 scans in 2015.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the UK's largest killer and those living in the North West are more likely to die from the condition than anywhere else in England2. In patients with CAD, the arteries that supply the heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty deposits. Eventually this may block the delivery of oxygen to the heart causing permanent damage to the heart, known as a heart attack. A myocardial perfusion scan is a non-invasive scan that gives doctors information about the blood supply to the heart muscle. It is one of the tests that have an important role in the management of patients with CAD, with thousands of scans performed across the UK every year.

A myocardial perfusion scan uses a short-lived radioactive tracer that is injected into a vein in a patient's arm and accumulates in the heart muscle. The radioactive tracer emits gamma rays and the position of these is detected using a gamma camera. The gamma camera has a lead filter (collimator) attached to the front of the camera to control the amount of radioactivity it detects.

In the published study, a perspex model filled with water was used to mimic the distribution of radioactive tracer from a patient heart scan. This approach allows researchers to evaluate alternative techniques without unnecessary radiation risk for patients.

The researchers compared the quality of images using alternative collimators, that allow more radioactivity through to the camera, against standard collimators. The benefit of the alternative collimators is that less radioactive tracer can be used and the images can be acquired in less time. However the images produced have less fine detail.

In this study, the researchers found that by using an advanced image processing technique called "resolution recovery" they were able to create images using the alternative collimator, which were of similar or better quality than the standard procedure. This new approach reduces the amount of radioactive tracer required and will lead to a reduction of patient radiation dose by 35-40%.

Ian Armstrong, Principal Physicist in Nuclear Medicine, said "We undertake considerable research into optimising nuclear medicine techniques for the benefit of our patients and to also help our staff work more efficiently. As physicists, we have a responsibility to drive efficiencies in the way our departments work. As well as reducing the radiation risk, we hope that this new approach will enable us to provide the same high-quality scans using less radioactive tracer."

"The next step is to undertake a clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of the new procedure against standard practice in patients. We hope to start recruiting patients to participate in this trial in spring 2016."
The Medical Research Council has announced a 'Rapid Response'1 call for research applications aimed at tackling the risk posed by the Zika virus.

Initially, up to 1 million from the Government's Global Challenges Research Fund will be made available to researchers applying for grants to investigate the nature of the virus, its transmission and the potential links to neurological conditions including microcephaly.

Possible avenues of research to be funded by this initiative could include:

Epidemiological characteristics, e.g. vector transmission potential, geographical spread, interactions with other arboviruses, changing viral genotype, host susceptibility, incubation period, etc.;

Development of more specific rapid diagnostic tests for Zika virus that can reduce misdiagnosis that may occur due to the presence of dengue or other viruses in a test sample;

Viral pathogenicity, association with and potential mechanistic links to neurodevelopment / microcephaly;

Mechanisms of infection and host immune responses and potential therapeutics / vaccines.

Professor Sir John Savill, the MRC's chief executive said: "It's critical that we find out more about the Zika virus as soon as possible, so we are allocating funding to help researchers answer some of the most pressing questions about the disease. We need to be able to develop treatments and vaccines but first we need answers to vital questions about the nature of this virus - such as if and how it is changing, how to control the spread of the disease, and how to both diagnose and prevent infection.

"The UK has a wealth of excellent scientists working in virus research and in the fields of genetics, immunology, epidemiology and mosquito vectors.

"Zika is unlikely to be a serious public health problem in the UK, because the virus is spread by tropical mosquitos, but it's hugely important that we use our home-grown expertise to help tackle health problems of significant global impact."

At the Spending Review the Government confirmed its plan to protect the science and research budget in real terms through this Parliament, and announced a 1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund to keep the UK at the forefront of research into issues of global importance.

Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said: "The spread of the Zika virus to a growing number of countries in Central and South America has now been recognised as a global emergency by the WHO. Zika needs to be fought on a number of fronts, and the UK's world-class scientists have an important role to play. Thanks to the Government's decision to protect the science budget and establish a new Global Challenges Research Fund, UK scientists can immediately start tackling this problem."

At the same time as the rapid response initiative, the UK MRC and the Foundation for Science and Technology of the state of Pernambuco (FAPERPE) have recently agreed to jointly fund a research proposal to investigate the viral features and host responses to Zika virus with a view to designing new preventative strategies. This agreement follows a joint call for research applications under the UK Government's Newton Fund.

Researchers at the UK MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow will be working with a team at the Research Center Aggeu Magalhaes at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Pernambuco, Brazil. The joint award is around 300,000 in total. The main objective of the project is to study the presence and epidemiology of the Zika virus in Brazil and to understand how the immune system of people infected with the virus responds to the infection. Genetic techniques will be used to support diagnostics and vaccine development studies as well as helping to understand the biology of the Zika virus during infection.
MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a viral disease that affects the respiratory system causing severe breathing distress, although the infection can be asymptomatic at times. The disease first surfaced in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since it is a newly emerging disease, most people are less aware of it. The condition has spread to several countries across the world, including the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. While there is a high risk of an outbreak in India because of the high traffic between the Middle East and India, healthcare experts reiterate that there is no need to panic.

What are the Causes of MERS?

MERS is caused due to a novel coronavirus (MERS\CoV). Coronaviruses are a big family of viruses that can lead to diseases varying from common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). MERS is a strain of coronavirus which is a cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in 2002-03, killing almost 800 people around the world. The common MERS symptoms are acute respiratory illness, such as pneumonia, with high fever, coughing, and breathlessness. Other symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, body aches and kidney failure have also been observed. Although the infection may not be as deadly as other recent outbreaks like Ebola; the fatality rate can be high among individuals with a weakened immune system, such as the aged or an underlying medical condition. While some had only mild symptoms like common cold or they showed no symptoms at all and recovered.

The infection itself is believed to occur as a result of close contact with an infected individual. The symptoms caused by MERS are described as atypical pneumonia, as the cause is not traced to one of the common bacteria or viruses, but is caused by a less common subtype of the coronavirus. There are better-known variants of the virus that cause the common cold and SARS, but this particular subtype only appeared in 2012. Although more research is needed into the spread of this virus, it is clear that contagion does not occur as easily as in the case of SARS.

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MERS Health Facts

Originated from Bats - A zoonotic virus is a type of virus that can be passed on to humans from animals, as in the case of the coronavirus subtype responsible for MERS. The evolution of the virus is not fully understood, but based on current knowledge it appears that the virus originated in bats and transmitted to bats long-time back. Scientists were able to arrive at this detection through a detailed analysis of different virus genomes. Transmission from Camels - Although the virus may have originally evolved in bats, it was transmitted to camels in the distant past. Strains of MERS-CoV similar to human strains have been found in camels in many countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE and Oman. As the virus continued to evolve, it eventually made an evolutionary leap, allowing for transmission to humans. This would earn it the classification of a zoonotic virus. First Recorded Case of MERS - The first confirmed case of MERS infection was recorded in Saudi Arabia in 2012. This first patient was a Saudi national, who owned four camels. Scientists investigating the origins of the virus later found that there were traces of the MERS-CoV in 74% of the single-humped camels in the country. Today, the infection can also be spread through human to human contact. High Fatality Rate - MERS symptoms include those similar to many other upper-respiratory tract infections, but it can also cause complications like kidney failure that proves to be fatal in many cases, as there is a mortality rate of roughly 36 percent. Serious illness can result in respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation and treatment in intensive care unit (ICU). As pointed out by medical professionals most of these fatalities are limited to individuals suffering from compromised immune functions, such as those suffering from conditions like AIDS, diabetes, chronic lung disease and cancer, as well as old aged people. MERS is Just One of Many Diseases Caused by this Family of Viruses - As of today; there are five different types of the coronavirus. Most of these cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract infections like the common cold, but the infamous SARS disease is a more worrying disease caused by one of these subtypes. The SARS outbreak of 2002-03 claimed over 800 lives worldwide. The Risk of Contagion - The risk of infection via human to human contact is relatively low. This is most likely to occur when there is direct close contact, such as when providing care to an infected patient, without the use of adequate protection. A higher risk of infection is posed from interacting with camels and through poor hygiene practices when on farms, barns and settlements with camels.

Increased Risk of Contagion from Longer Incubation Period - Initially the disease was thought to have a short incubation period, but doctors found that this duration could be longer, as much as 14 days, during which time the asymptomatic patient could pose a risk of infection to others. Middle East Travel, Mainly to Saudi Arabia Puts you at Greater Risk - Healthcare experts and WHO have cautioned visitors about travel to the infected regions in the middle-east, with an especially high risk for older men and those who are sick. Postpone your visit to the affected areas and if it's important to travel to these areas, then it is recommended to follow few precautions to keep yourself protected and safe. However, this trend could change fairly rapidly and the global health body has not issued any advisory warning against traveling to these countries. No Reason to Panic - Although, the disease itself is more deadly with a higher fatality rate as compared to SARS, the risk of infection is much lower as it is not transmitted easily. Precautions to Follow in the Middle East - Anyone living or passing through the Middle East or in any of the affected areas should avoid the consumption of camel milk or any raw or undercooked camel products. Camel meat and milk are healthy to eat and can be consumed after pasteurization, proper cooking and other heat treatments; but should also be handled carefully to avoid cross-contamination with the raw foods. Anyone coming in proximity to camels should also wear masks, gloves and protective clothing which should be washed every day after coming in contact with the animals. Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with uncleaned hands. Always make it a point to wash and sanitize hands thoroughly before and after coming in contact with the animals. Try to stay away from sick animals. Treatment and Vaccination for MERS - Till date there is no known cure for MERS. Treatment at present is limited to providing relief from the symptoms and preventing any complications to occur. You can use a room humidifier or a hot shower to lessen your symptoms like cough or sore throat. Always be hydrated and take rest. If you are worried about your symptoms then contact a doctor. For serious cases, treatment is to care for vital organ functions. Researchers are working on the development of vaccines, but there have been no breakthroughs so far. 26 Countries Have Reported Cases of MERS - The infection has appeared indigenously only in 9 countries in the Middle East, but this does not make it any less serious to the rest of the world. Through international travel, MERS infection has also spread to other countries in the world, including Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Republic of Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, among others. The WHO has reported 1,626 cases globally, with 586 fatalities. The majority of these cases were reported from Saudi Arabia, with more than 300 of the deaths from the country alone. Most recently, a case of MERS infection was detected in Bangkok, Thailand, on the 22nd of Jan, resulting in quarantining of many who may have been exposed to the virus.

References:
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Identified via mammography and other screening technologies, DCIS is currently diagnosed annually in about 60,000 women in the U.S., and is generally treated similarly to other more advanced breast cancers with surgery and radiation therapy.In recent years, physicians and researchers have questioned whether those treatments are necessary in all cases, given that DCIS lesions do not grow rapidly or spread in the majority of women with the diagnosis. Treatment can result in side effects, including long-term pain and altered body image, along with significant financial costs to both patients and the health care system. Actively monitoring many of these patients has been recommended as an alternative if research demonstrates it is safe and effective."This will be a definitive clinical trial that will help set the course for future DCIS treatment," said Hwang, who has been a leading voice in the national debate calling for a more informed approach to treating DCIS. "It is based on what we are discovering about the tremendous variety we see even in one disease such as DCIS, and how we must design our future treatments to more precisely reflect those differences."Hwang will work with co-principal investigators Alastair M. Thompson, M.D., from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Ann H. Partridge, M.D., from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, partnering with The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.The study will enroll 900 patients diagnosed with low-risk DCIS from 100 cancer centers throughout the U.S., with enrollment slated to begin later this year. The trial will take four years to accrue all patients, with follow-up and analysis to continue for at least five years.Women with a DCIS diagnosis who participate in the study will be randomized to receive one of two treatment approaches: The current standard of care consisting of surgery and radiation therapy, or careful monitoring with mammograms and physical exams every six months."Anyone whose DCIS progresses would be immediately treated with standard therapy," Hwang said. "When detected early in this way, the outlook for long-term survival and even a cure is excellent."Hwang said the study would provide data about the best candidates for active surveillance, and create a repository of imaging and cell samples to advance knowledge into the molecular biology of DCIS and what fuels or deters its growth.The study is also designed to collaborate closely with a similar trial that was initiated last year in Europe, providing the ability to combine findings that will then strengthen the statistical conclusions globally."This study will provide so many answers to questions that are critical to resolve," Hwang said. "One of the key features is the assessment of patient-reported outcomes with each approach, as we believe how patients view their disease and their care must be central to any advances in cancer treatment." The funding award for the DCIS study has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract.Source: Newswise
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Most local cases of the virus were mild, resulting in rash, fever, and red eyes in a small fraction of cases. Global health authorities barely took notice until an outbreak on the Micronesian island of Yap in 2007.An outbreak that began in 2015 in Brazil has been blamed for a surge in birth defects with thousands of babies born with small heads, an incurable and sometimes fatal condition known as microcephaly.Uganda's health ministry is keen to point out it has no known cases of the virus, and that the current Americas' outbreak did not originate in East Africa. The ministry said, "We have not recorded a case in Uganda in several years and we don't have such an outbreak. As a country, our disease and epidemic response systems are strong as evidenced in the way we have handled past viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks."Uganda has suffered outbreaks of Ebola in the past, as well as a mysterious illness known as 'nodding disease'.Today the forest, close to the main highway from Uganda's international airport at Entebbe to the nearby capital Kampala, remains a research site for the Uganda Virus Research Institue (UVRI), an environmental health and protection agency founded in 1936, which is headquarted some 15 kilometers (nine miles) away.'Warning! Uganda Virus Research Institute Land. Don't Trespass', reads one metal sign amid the thick vegetation, the red paint peeling in the sun.Ruth Mirembe, 24, who lives beside the forest, learnt about the virus on Facebook. "I'm not worried," she said.Also spelt Ziika, the 12 hectare (30 acre) site with over 60 different types of mosquito, means 'overgrown' in the local language, Luganda.UVRI notes proudly the 'most prominent visitor' to Zika was the former US President Jimmy Carter 'who came on a bird watching tour'.The details of the virus' discovery, written up in a 1952 paper by Britain's Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, described the 'forested area called Zika', where scientists were researching yellow fever among small rhesus macaque monkeys.The paper read, "This area of forest consists of a narrow, dense belt of high but broken canopy growth with clumps of large trees. It lies along the edge of a long arm of Lake Victoria from which it is separated by a papyrus swamp."Top UVRI scientist Julius Lutwama, 56, described how caged monkeys had been placed at different heights, with a 36 meter (120 foot) steel tower allowing researchers to carry out studies in the canopy of the thick trees. He said, "Blood samples would be taken from these monkeys to try to diagnose yellow fever, but actually that is how this disease was found."There is no vaccine against Zika, which top US health authorities described as a 'brand new' virus that has expanded swiftly in recent years and been linked to brain damage in babies.Lutwama said, "What has happened in South America is that it has changed a little bit and through these changes it has become more aggressive towards humans. This small change has resulted in it posing deep problems in the human population."But Lutwama, like Uganda's health ministry, say he is not concerned and it poses little threat to Uganda, where people have always lived with it. Lutwama added, "Zika virus has always been a mild infection. Out of say five or 10 people who are infected, only one or two may actually show some fever that is noticeable. Probably the other thing for us is that we have so many other viruses in the same group, so they confer some kind of immunity towards each other."Source: AFP
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The researchers looked at anonymized patient records for all Ontario children and youth aged 10 to 24 years from 2006 to 2011. They identified mental health and addiction-related outpatient visits, emergency department visits and hospitalizations, examining the results by physician specialty and diagnostic categories. While this step provided the numbers of visits, the rates relative to the population were then calculated using census estimates of the number of young people in Ontario from Statistics Canada.Among the trends identified from 2006 to 2011: Mental health related ED visits rose from 14.6 to 19.3 per 1,000 people (from 36,229 to 49,294), an increase of 32.5 percent. Hospitalizations increased by 53.7 percent. However, the researchers note that child and youth mental health related hospitalizations remained rare, at 4.5 per 1,000 (11,459 psychiatric hospitalizations) people by 2011. Anxiety disorders, the most common reason for ED visits, rose by 2.2 per 1,000 people. They accounted for 47 percent of the total increase in mental health-related ED visits. Office-based physician visits increased by 15.8 percent. Family physicians accounted for the majority of these visits at 28.7 per 1,000 people (from 502,643 to 591,983 family physician visits).The researchers say that further investigation should be undertaken to understand how a lack of access to outpatient care may be driving this growth in ED visits. "If a family has trouble getting mental health or addictions care for their children in a community-based setting such as a family doctor's office or specialty clinic, they likely have no other option but to head to their local emergency department when they need care," says Dr. Kurdyak, who sees this need first-hand as an emergency department psychiatrist at CAMH. "Some of the ED visits we observed were likely unavoidable mental health emergencies, but the overall increase in ED visits likely reflects a problem with access to care in community settings."He adds, "We hope that by quantifying this growth and looking for patterns, our research will provide health planners with the evidence they need to better coordinate child and youth mental health care across Ontario, so that kids can get the care they need when and where they need it."Source: Eurekalert


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Although the mosquito-borne virus's symptoms are relatively mild, it is believed to be linked to a surge in cases of microcephaly, a devastating condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and brain.While it has yet to be definitely proven that the microcephaly cases are caused in some way by the Zika virus, WHO chief Margaret Chan warned last week the causal relationship was strongly suspected.Zika is also suspected of links to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.Brazil, the hardest hit country, sounded the alarm in October 2015, when a rash of microcephaly cases emerged in the northeast.Since then, there have been 270 confirmed cases of microcephaly and 3,448 suspected cases, up from 147 in 2014.Amid alarm over the surge in microcephaly cases, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and Puerto Rico have even warned women to delay conceiving until the Zika outbreak is brought under control.Jitters over Zika have spread far beyond the affected areas to Europe and North America, where dozens of cases have been identified among people returning from vacation or business abroad.In a bid to clarify what the response to the outbreak should be, WHO chief Margaret Chan called for a closed-door meeting of the organization's emergency committee to determine if Zika should be considered a public health emergency of international concern.Taking the form of a telephone conference between senior WHO officials, representatives of affected countries, and experts from around the globe, the meeting is not expected to make its decision public until Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at the earliest.But the scale of concern is underlined by the WHO emergency session itself - such consultations are relatively rare.The UN agency is likely to be eager to be seen taking resolute action on Zika, as it continues to try to live down the stinging criticism of its initially sluggish response to the devastating west Africa Ebola outbreak.Ebola, which has taken more than 11,000 lives in west Africa since late 2013, was declared a global health emergency in August 2014 and continues to carry that label.As for Zika, there is currently no treatment and the WHO has said it would likely take more than a year to develop a vaccine.The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and the chikungunya virus. It produces flu-like symptoms including a low-grade fever, headaches, joint pain and rashes.WHO has so far refrained from issuing travel warnings related to Zika, stressing that the most effective form of prevention is getting rid of stagnant water where mosquitoes easily breed, and personal protection against mosquito bites such as using bug repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets.Source: AFP
Introduction

According to the IAEA report released January 16, 2016, Iran has implemented its commitments under the JCPOA. This means that Iran has not refrained from meeting its obligations, despite Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's nine preconditions, which he set out in an October 21, 2015 letter to Iranian President Hassan Rohani.[1] Obviously, Khamenei, the head of Iran's ideological camp which had opposed the JCPOA, has capitulated to the pragmatic camp which demanded that the JCPOA be honored and that Iran fulfill its commitments under it, with no further conditions.

How Can Khamenei's Capitulation Be Explained?

One explanation for Khamenei's capitulation over Iran's implementation of the JCPOA is that the ideological camp has, in recent months, found itself fighting on several fronts simultaneously:

1. The deteriorating Iranian economy and the need for sanctions relief.

2. The increasing conflict with the pragmatic camp in advance of the upcoming elections for the Majlis and Assembly of Experts;[2] as noted, the pragmatic camp has insisted that Iran implement the JCPOA.

3. Difficulties in Iran's multi-front war against the Sunni camp of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, the Gulf states, Egypt, and Jordan.

4. Additionally, Iran's failure to carry out its implementation commitments could have placed Khamenei in direct conflict with the West.

In light of all this, Khamenei has chosen not to confront both the West and the Sunni world at the same time, focusing on Iran's domestic front. By doing so, Khamenei has recruited the entire Western world, particularly the U.S., to the side of Shi'ite Iran in its struggle against the Sunni threat against it.

Khamenei's main struggle at this stage is domestic: there is a need to strengthen the ideological camp, and through it, the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so that in future it can operate more freely on the nuclear front as well.[3]

Another explanation for this capitulation is that Khamenei's position was from the outset for purposes of bargaining, with the aim of maximizing Iran's gains under the JCPOA. Ultimately, the West enabled Iran to carry out its commitments in a way that benefited Iran more than the original JCPOA did, as follows:

What Iran Has Achieved With The JCPOA

With the JCPOA, Iran has achieved the following:

1. International recognition as a nuclear state, with the right to enrich uranium and to trade in nuclear products, as it maintains its membership in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).[4] This is in spite of its years of striving for nuclear weapons, as was recently reaffirmed by the IAEA's December 2, 2015 report on the Iranian nuclear project's Possible Military Dimensions (PMD).[5]

2. Legalization and upgrade of its nuclear program, and at the same time the lifting of most of the sanctions put in place because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons. In return, it is subject to a series of restrictions extending its breakout time, that is, the time it needs to produce enough highly enriched uranium to make one nuclear weapon, from two months to one year.[6]

3. Upgrade to a regional superpower with nuclear capabilities, and strengthening of the resistance axis, which it leads. This comes at the height of a regional Sunni-Shi'ite struggle against the U.S.'s traditional allies - Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt.

4. Even the nuclear restrictions imposed on Iran involve substantial benefits that upgrade and industrialize its nuclear program. Some of these restrictions, which have been described by the U.S. administration as substantially and irrevocably extending breakout time to produce a nuclear bomb, do not actually do so reliably:

* Enriched uranium - In return for its removal of 11 tons of uranium enriched at a level of 5% to Russia, Iran received 197 tons of yellowcake (uranium ore). However, in a February 11, 2016 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation Stephen Mull acknowledged that the U.S. had lost track of Iranian nuclear shipments. He said that tons of Iranian low-enriched uranium sent to Russia had been taken to an unidentified location, and acknowledged that Washington did not verify the Iranian shipment, which was part of the JCPOA. Russia, he said, not the IAEA, was responsible for the Iranian uranium; the IAEA had attended the loading of the Iranian uranium onto the Russian ship. [7]

* Enrichment capability - Iran maintains its uranium enrichment capabilities at its "declared facilities," as stated in the January 16, 2016 IAEA report, which does not refer at all to nuclear and/or undeclared sites regarding which Iran announced that it would not permit IAEA inspections.

* Number of centrifuges - Iran's ostensible reduction in the number of its centrifuges from 20,000 to 6,000 is false, because of the original 20,000, only some 10,000 were active, and most of these were first generation. Therefore, the actual number of first-generation active centrifuges that were shut down was only 3,000-4,000.[8]

* Research and development - Iran is permitted to continue research and development of advanced centrifuges.[9] It should be noted that the JCPOA even allows Iran to create a nuclear detonation installation for research purposes only.

* Heavy water from the Arak reactor - The heavy water from Iran's Arak plutonium reactor was removed to Oman, a tiny satellite state bordering Iran that is incapable of standing up to any potential pressure from its neighbor. Thus, removing the heavy water to Oman was practically a joke.

* Removal of the reactor core at Arak - The reactor core was indeed removed from Arak. However, as Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) director Ali Akbar Salehi said, in any case Iran had no capability to produce plutonium.[10]

* Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of the MEMRI Iran Media Project.

Endnotes:
Peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian opposition and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, originally slated to begin on January 29, 2016, finally did start on February 1. On the eve of the talks, several unaffiliated pro-opposition Syrian pundits published articles harshly criticizing the Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which was chosen at the December 2015 opposition conference in Riyadh to lead the negotiations. Besides criticizing the international community's failure to press the Assad regime and its allies on implementing the humanitarian measures decided by the UNSC, the writers claimed that the HNC had backed down from the principles that the opposition has, for the past five years, insisted on as preconditions for negotiations - first and foremost the Assad regime's removal. Instead, the HNC had yielded to U.S. and international pressure to negotiate with the regime as it continues to bomb and starve the Syrian people. They also expressed doubts regarding the committee's ability to actualize the Syrian people's demands.

In light of the pressure that the committee has faced, one writer even urged it to trick the world and use the talks as an opportunity to transform the negotiations into a moral indictment of the Assad regime. This, he said, could happen if the committee abandoned its narcissism and allowed "real Syrians" who had suffered at the hands of the Assad regime to confront "their hangmen." This would cause the collapse of the entire peace process, he said, thus clearing the ground for restarting it on a more just basis that would allow real progress in resolving the crisis.

This report will include excerpts from several of the articles:

Turn Geneva Negotiations Into Moral Indictment Of The Regime

Syrian oppositionist writer and pundit 'Abd Al-Nasser Al-'Ayed wrote in the London daily Al-Hayat: "The international community and its interests have forced us to sit at the negotiating table with our chief executioner [Bashar Al-Assad] according to a prior decision that practically states [explicitly] that we have no choice but to accept that the regime and its head will remain in power. Therefore, the political opposition must upgrade its capabilities, so that it will be able to deceive the world, and convene the Assad regime [officials] in the place they deserve - that is, the courtroom. This wouldn't be difficult if those who are conducting the negotiations would display a minimal level of self-sacrifice, responsibility, and political acumen.

"The [Syrian High Negotiations] Committee , which was tasked with staffing the [opposition] delegation for the talks, can choose, as delegation leader, the doctor from Daraa who lost his seven children to Assad's barrel [bombs]; it can select as his deputy a certain educated lady from among those who lost loved ones in [Assad's] chemical attacks - and there are many such ladies; as second deputy, it can choose a man who lost his children to torture in the regime's detention camps. It can include more victims who maybe had their limbs amputated, or their faces burned, in the war waged by the criminal [Assad] against the Syrian people. Nothing would be easier than finding hundreds of such people [already] possessing educational, cultural, and political skills, who could devote their talents to the negotiations and, before the eyes of the world, transform the Geneva [talks] into a symbolic tribunal for the regime and its supporters and for those who remained silent [about its crimes], and set the moral red line that must not be crossed by either the opposition or the global superpowers. [That red line] is the horrific crimes against humanity carried out by the Assad regime, that have been ignored by those who drafted [UN Security Council] Resolution 2254, in a way reminiscent of the silence of the fiends.

"On the day that the [Geneva] conference [convenes]... they can issue a communique presenting the leader and members of the delegation, distribute it to all relevant parties, and insist that they are [there] not because they are victims whose tragedies are being exploited to achieve political goals, but rather because they are negotiators with full authority as well as the most legitimate and reliable representatives of the Syrian people and its problem.

"Thus, the [Syrian High] Negotiations Committee can achieve a moral and human victory that the superpowers are trying to deny us with a false political solution that actually provides no chance for a permanent and just peace in our land...

"The [political] opposition, by abandoning its narcissism, can take a step back and, for once, allow the spotlight to shine on real Syrians - the unfortunate Syrians in [Syria] - thus earning many points among the people... [because the Syrian people] itself has long accused this opposition, largely justifiably, that it represents no one but itself and the regimes that operate it...

"Ultimately, [Syrian] victims confronting their hangmen will transform negotiating sessions into a grand moral tribunal, will lead to a retreat by the regime and its allies and to a collapse of the negotiations - and it exactly this to which the [Syrian High] Negotiations Committee should aspire in the current round. This is because a collapse of the entire process, its systematic halting by methods that do not exceed diplomatic conventions, and its restarting based on more equitable foundations is the only way to move forward in the [political] process, if that is what we desire. Otherwise, Syrians should loudly proclaim its collapse - and the moral collapse of the nations of the world."[1]



'Abd Al-Nasser Al-'Ayed

The Syrian High Negotiations Committee Lacks Authority To Conduct Negotiations That Will Legitimize The Assad Regime In Accordance With UNSCR 2254

Syrian oppositionist political analyst and pundit Khalil Al-Miqdad wrote on the oppositionist website Zamanalwsl.net: "The negotiators will sit in Geneva while the Assad regime's military machine pounds Syrian cities from Deir Al-Zor to Busra Al-Sham via Duma and Dariya. The negotiators will speak amongst themselves and enjoy their large meals, as the residents of Madaya and Al-Zabadani lack the food they need to exist and are dying of starvation as the result of an arbitrary and cruel siege imposed by the sectarian Assad regime and Hizbullah on Wadi Barada. The negotiators will enjoy saunas, massages, and Jacuzzis while the residents of Duma cannot even bathe, except in their own blood. And why not? This is the strategic option taken by the opposition.

"The six months of talks will beget a transitional government that includes both the Assad regime and opposition. This is because there is no way to discuss Assad's withdrawal prior to March and even [prior] to August 2017 - during which time, it is estimated, a new, detailed constitution in line with Assad's specifications will be drafted. The characteristics [of this constitution] are predetermined by the statements of the superpowers and the recent Security Council resolution 2254, which states that the voting on [the constitution] will take place in late 2017, and that its ratification will follow.

"No one today is happier than Assad. How could he not be? The winds bring what his ships yearn for. His throne is guaranteed for the next two years, with the option of presenting his candidacy in the future [presidential] elections, and even winning them. Are we not in a democratic country with a constitution specially designed to ensure the right of every Syrian to present his candidacy and have it approved by the government?

"The opposition, which is represented by the [Syrian High] Negotiations Committee, does not miss a single opportunity to stress the foundations of the political process, which are: the removal of Assad and his regime, and a reorganization of all security and military institutions, and that it will not negotiate except on this basis. But at the same time, it follows the path of negotiations until it can share power with the regime, whose ouster it is demanding from morning to night...

"The opposition delegates have no authority to speak for the Syrian people and share power with the Assad regime, which should be tried before the international war crimes tribunal...

"The political arrangement in its current format in accordance with the recent Security Council resolution, and even reliance on the [2012] 'Geneva I' decisions as a source of authority for a solution, will not help end the Syrian people's tragedy, since it aims to cement the Assad regime's presence and to legitimize its war against us under the guise of a war on terror - in this way transforming all military conflict from fighting against the Assad regime to fighting in its ranks. The political arrangement will turn the Syrian into fuel for a war [against the opposition] that is not his own.

"The talk of a new constitution and democratic elections is mere illusion and images. This is because any constitution drafted at this stage by the Assad regime and the current opposition will be flawed and illegitimate, as it will be tailored to suit certain groups and will abandon the just demands of the vast majority of the people, who have sacrificed all they have for liberty and honor...

"We predict that the political arrangement will progress towards the end desired by both participating sides, since the decision on the matter has already been made and the only thing that remains is to legitimize it with the presence of Syrians whose entire role is to act as paid false witnesses. This is why the participants in this farce are stripped of the popular and revolutionary legitimacy that they achieved by fighting or opposing the Assad regime. Therefore, we can say that imposing any arrangement on some Syrian parties is one thing, while spreading it throughout Syria is another.

"How can an opposition that is powerless to send food into areas whose residents are besieged under the slogan 'starve or surrender' impose conditions and solutions on a regime that is supported by all the world's evil forces? How can [such an opposition] actualize the Syrian people's demand for a free country with justice and equality, free of Assad and his lackeys?

"Congratulations to us and to you for a five-year revolution that managed to produce the same [ruling] gang, albeit slightly polished."[2]



Khalil Al-Miqdad

The Opposition Has Relinquished Principles To Which It Has Adhered For Five Years

Nasser Al-Rabbat, a Syrian oppositionist pundit and history professor who lectures on Islamic architecture at MIT, wrote in the London daily Al-Hayat: "The revolution has become military, Islamic, and international. Moreover, the rug may have been pulled out from under the Syrian rebels, and stolen by cruel medieval foreigners that wander across Syria and have come there from around the world, and are funded by a network of murky interests.

"As for the regime, it carries on as usual - fighting as though it was in a war of survival against a foreign enemy rather than against the majority of its own people. It has increased its use of internationally banned weapons of mass destruction, and opened Syria to sectarian allies who rival takfiri jihadis in cruelty, rhetoric, racism, sectarianism, and narrow-mindedness. Additionally, Russia has aligned with the regime in order to test its new weapons on the flesh of Syrians under the guise of combating terrorism. The revolution has become orphaned, the land is destroyed, the people are expelled, and those that remain have wearied of the situation and are so desperate that most curse the moment that this revolution began, not out of hostility towards it or opposition to its intentions, but rather out of frustration with its outcomes.

"From this stems the political realism that we are witnessing today among opposition movements, even the armed and Islamic ones, which have agreed to the principle of dialogue with the regime without the conditions on which they had insisted for the past five years - including the ouster of the tyrant Bashar Al-Assad, who has led the violent and savage oppression since day one.

"This realism is necessary and even logical in light of the power balances dominating the world and the region, and in light of the immense suffering of poor Syrians in the regions where there is shelling, siege, and starvation, as well as in light of the [creeping] ISIS [control in those areas]. However, realist thinking should be backed up by a number of principles and a strong strategy, accompanied by flexible tactics that take into account the sum of variables in both the near and distant future. It seems to me that the statement by the supervisor of talks in the National Coalition of [Syrian Revolutionary and] Opposition Forces... made several days ago, that 'negotiations are our strategic choice,'[3] is the core of this equation. It presents a flexible strategy [accompanied by] a rigid tactic: talks and only talks...

"I fear that if the national coalition uses this strategy, it will also lose in the negotiations before they even start. The coalition's strategic choice should stem from the founding principles that represent the demands of the Syrians who carried out a true revolution five years ago - meaning that they liberated themselves from a tyrannical regime. Is this the basis for the framework of any political action by the opposition when it enters into talks with its rival - i.e. the Syrian regime that insists not only on its president remaining in power until the end of his current term, but also on his right to present his candidacy for another term 'after the peace?'

"Political realism means coming to the negotiations armed with principles that define your goal in the talks and with data over which you can negotiate. Then you enter into talks in order to examine what you can agree on with the other side, and what advantages on our side can be exchanged for advantages on the opponent's side, which can advance your cause while leaving all other options on the table."[4]



Nasser Al-Rabbat
Nobody dreamt of a future where humans would outweigh vehicles and wouldnt be able to walk for years because they are obese. Sadly though, we are living that future. Thanks to the thriving fast food industry and extreme ignorance about fitness, obesity is becoming more rampant than ever. Here are 10 cases of morbid obesity that will make you go WTF!

10) Paul Mason

Peak Weight: 444Kgs

 healthadvisor (dot) com

The worlds former most obese man, Paul was only able to walk after multiple weight-loss and skin-removal surgeries made him lose a staggering 304kgs. His most recent surgery to remove 27 kgs of loose skin was conducted successfully last year. As of now, the man weighs around 140-150 kgs.

9) Jose Luis Garza

Peak Weight: 449kgs

 thesun (dot) uk

At the time of his death, Garza held the not-so-desired title of the heaviest man on earth. Extreme unhealthy eating habits and a fatal dependence on sugar took Garzas life in 2008 after he was bedridden for over 6 months.

8) Rosalie Bradford

Peak Weight: 477

 amakuru (dot) uk

Hooked to binge eating, Rosalie started gaining weight after her marriage. A blood infection landed her in a hospital and whatsoever little exercise she did, was put on hold. Her weight shot up and she soon found herself to be the heaviest woman on earth. She remained immobile for 8 long years.

7) Patrick Deuel

Peak Weight: 486Kgs

 blogspot (dot) com

Subject of the much popular documentary Half Ton Man, Deuel was bedbound for as long as 7 years in a row. He got so obese that his bedroom wall had to be destroyed to pull him out. Even the ambulance he was carried in was custom-made. After multiple gastric bypass surgeries, Deuel lost a massive amount of weight.

6) Michael Hebranko

Peak Weight: 499 Kgs

 huffpost (dot) com

An extreme case of morbid obesity, Hebranko held the world record for losing approximately 400kgs in 1990. The weight loss was short-lived though and his weight again shot up to 453 kgs in the coming years.

5) Walter Hudson

Peak Weight: 543 Kgs

 vignette

The most infamously iconic example of lack of exercising and living on junk food is Walter Hudson. The man became a media attraction when he got stuck in the door of this bathroom and had to be pulled out by the fire department. As a result of reckless eating, Walter weighed 100kgs by the time he was 12. He once told the doctors that he spent most of his waking time by eating junk food. His typical breakfast was composed of 32 link sausages, a pound of bacon, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread with grape jelly and a pot of coffee. Even repeated weight-loss surgeries couldnt save his life and the mans coffin was lowered by a forklift machine in 2013.

4) Carol Yager

Peak Weight: 544kgs

 amakuru (dot) u

One of the most obese women ever recorded, Carol was as much as 5-feet wide. Her rooms door was custom-built so she wouldnt get stuck, and her rooms window had to be taken down to retrieve her dead body.

3) Manuel Uribe

Peak Weight: 597 kgs

 i (dot) ytimg (dot) com

Popularly known as the man who suffered from obesity to one of the worst extents known in recorded history, Manuel reached close to 600 kgs and was immobile for as long as 10 years. Even after losing a massive 300 kgs, the man died of liver and heart failure while weighing over 350 kgs.

2) Khalid Bin Mohsen Shaari

Peak Weight: 610 kgs

 cdn (dot) turner (dot) com

The fattest man in recent human history, Shaari is still only in his late teens. After not having left his house for over 2 years, the Saudi Arabian boy was ordered by King Abdullah to be removed from his home. It was done by taking the doors off his room, extracting him out of his house by a forklift machine and, ultimately, transporting him to the hospital via helicopters.

1) Jon Brower Minnoch

Peak Weight: 640 Kgs

 bebiviral (dot) com

The heaviest human to ever walk our planet was Jon Brower. Some say that he went well past the 700 kg mark but this was never officially confirmed. He became morbidly obese because he was suffering from generalized edema in which cells retain extracellular fluid. He also lost as much as 450 kgs, the highest weight loss ever documented.
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Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Page 1

Court of Appeal Upholds Maywoods Decision to Disband Its Police Department

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The City of Maywood legally disbanded its police department and is not liable to its former officers, the Court of Appeal for this district ruled yesterday.

Maywoods 2010 decision to turn law enforcement responsibility over to the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department was a legitimate response to the citys fiscal crisis, Justice Judith Ashmann-Gerst wrote in an unpublished opinion for Div. Two. The citys need to respond to the emergency, she said, took precedence over the no-contracting-out provision in the citys collectively bargained memorandum of understanding with its officers.

The city took the step after the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority cancelled Maywoods $50 million-per-occurrence liability coverage and its $10 million- per-occurrence workers compensation coverage. The city incurred more than $18.8 million in general liability claims between 2005 and 2010, 92 percent of it related to the Police Department.

The CJPIA cited the citys failure to meet the terms of a performance improvement plan that it had agreed to 11 months earlier. The police department was also the subject of a separate review by the state attorney general, conducted between 2007 and 2009, resulting in findings that it lacked oversight, used questionable hiring practices, failed to maintain written practices and procedures, and failed to investigate citizen complaints.

The solution, council members determined, was to lay off nearly of its employeesan action local government experts described as unprecedented in Californiaand turn policing over to the sheriff and the rest of its operations over to the neighboring City of Bell.

The city remained liable to the CJPIA, however, for more than $11 million for past coverage, at a time that is receipts were about $750,000 per month and its operating costs were more than $1 million monthly. After the decision to disband the Police Department was made, but before it took effect, the Maywood Police Officers Association and the Maywood Police Middle Management Association filed suit.

The unions sought a writ of mandate and/or an injunction seeking to block the handover to the sheriff. They subsequently filed an amended petition and complaint, asking the court to order that the department be reestablished and to award damages for breach of contract.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Barbara Meiers denied the writ and granted summary judgment in favor of the city.

Defenses Established

Ashmann-Gerst, writing for the Court of Appeal, said the city had established, on the undisputed facts, the defenses of frustration of purpose, impracticability, and impossibility.

The citys inability to get the insurance coverage situation under control, resulting in the cancellation of coverage, frustrated the purpose of the no-contracting-out provision, the justice said. She acknowledged that lack of supervision by the city, and its failure to retain qualified officers, contributed to the problems, but said it was the officers who engaged in the misconduct leading to the civil rights violations and claims history.

Ashmann-Gerst went on to say that the loss of insurance coverage made it impossible for the city to continue operating the department, rejecting the argument that Maywood, by extending the MOU with the MPOA while the CJPIAs improvement plan was in effect, assumed the risk that it would lose the coverage.

The undisputed evidence, the justice explained, showed that the city agreed to the extension in order to improve its cash position, as the union agreed to give up a 2009 pay raise and to accept a salary adjustment in 2011, not because it anticipated losing its insurance coverage.

Union Ignores Reality

Another argument, that the city could have obtained alternative coverage in the commercial market or self-insured, was speculative and ignores the reality of the CJPIA insurance, the jurist said. In any event, she added, the citys general fund was nearly $1 million in the red, and would have been forced to choose between maintaining a police department without adequate insurance and risk exposing itself to bankruptcy, on the one hand, and being exposed to contract damages after making a last resort decision to disband the police department due to the loss of insurance and inability to obtain adequate replacement insurance, on the other hand.

Disbanding the department, she wrote, was the sole means of assuring the citizens of police protection, excusing performance of the MOUs as a matter of law.

The case is City of Maywood v. Maywood Police Department, B256417.

Copyright 2016, Metropolitan News Company
We stand with Ibrahim Halawa

Shatter to table Dail motion calling for release of jailed teen in Egypt

By Chinedu Onyejelem

Former Justice Minister Alan Shatter will table a Dail motion as part of efforts to secure the release of Ibrahim Halawa from imprisonment in Egypt.

The Tallaght teenager has been detained since August 2013 after his arrest for alleged involvement in anti-government protests.

Since then the date for his trial has been pushed back multiple times, which has prompted increasing concerns over his treatment.

Alan Shatter TD says since he initiated steps for the tabling of a Dail motion in consultation with the Halawa family to enable the Dail to officially express our concern about his circumstances and seek his release.

He adds a number of TDs from all benches have already contacted him to support the motion, which he hopes will be debated in the Dail in early February if not dissolved ahead of the imminent General Election.

If the Dail is dissolved and this does not prove possible, it is my hope that the next Dail will adopt the motion if Ibrahims trial has not occurred and if he remains imprisoned, said Shatter, adding that the motion he lodged is similar to the one recently passed by the European Parliament.

Since Halawas arrest, Shatter says he has been in regular contact with his family and with successive Ministers for Foreign Affairs regarding his circumstances.

I have also met with and discussed his circumstances with the Egyptian Ambassador, he says.

Halawas trial, part of a mass trial of nearly 500 accused, was most recently listed for March 2016 after already being adjourned on 12 separate occasions.

There is no certainty that the trial will take place on its next scheduled date, said Shatter. Together with his family and others, I have very major concerns as to how a trial can properly proceed with such a large number of defendants before the court.

Shatter also highlighted the efforts which the Minister for Foreign Affairs Charles Flanagan has made to secure Halawas release, including expressing his concerns at European Union level and to the Egyptian authorities.

Meanwhile, UCD Sinn Fein recently organised a demonstration to show their solidarity with the detained Halawa.

The protest, held outside the Egyptian embassy in Dublin, attracted a cross-section of students, activists and politicians, according to Sinn Fein UCDs public relations officer Oisin MacCanna.

The campaign is at its strongest yet, with all of Ireland and the majority of the European community backing Ibrahim, so we need to keep the momentum going to get him back home to his friends and family safely, he said.

It is totally unjust that Ibrahim has been in detention for this length of time, and there need to be questions raised about the conditions in which he is being arbitrarily held, added Sinn Fein TD Padraig MacLochlainn.

Other speakers at the protest included UCD Students Union president Marcus OHalloran and Lynn Boylan, Sinn Fein MEP for Dublin.
EU committee proposes measures to support asylum-seeking women

By Staff Reporter

Brussels has proposed comprehensive measures to make asylum-seeking women feel safer on arrival at reception centres in Europe.

The European Parliament Womens Rights and Gender Equality Committee said such measures should be adopted as part of broader reforms on migration and asylum policy.

MEPs on the committee also expressed their belief that gender-based violence should be a valid reason to seeking asylum in the EU.

This report aims to highlight the exceptionally vulnerable situation of women refugees in the European Union, said rapporteur Mary Honeyball. They have fled persecution in their home countries only to undertake a perilous journey in order to reach a place of safety.

On arrival at reception centres these already vulnerable women, who may be victims of sexual violence, trafficking or other violent crimes, face additional barriers which further increases their already vulnerable positions.

Asylum policies and procedures, including the assessment of asylum claims, need to be gender sensitive, said the committee. And violence-related asylum claims in particular should in fact be accepted to protect women from secondary victimisation.

MEPs also stressed the need for LGBTQ-sensitive reception as violence against people in those communities is common in reception facilities.

Pressure on the asylum reception systems should never excuse failure to protect women from violence nor should women seeking asylum experience any double standards; they should have the same rights as other victims of gender-based violence, said Honeyball.

The report calls for a number of measures to ensure that womens needs are met throughout the asylum process, such as gender-specific training for staff including comprehensive training on sexual violence; gender-segregated sleeping and sanitation facilities; and the right to request female interviewers and interpreters, as well as childcare during screening.

Also recommended are access to gender-sensitive health services, including prenatal and postnatal care; trauma counselling for women who have experienced gender-based violence; access to high-quality legal advice; and informing married women of their right to make an asylum application independent of their spouse.

MEPs are calling for an end of the detention of children, pregnant women seeking asylum, and survivors of sexual violence and trafficking  the latter also requiring safe and legal routes to the EU.

The committee expressed their belief that any list of safe countries of origin should not result in less favourable procedural treatment for women whose claims for asylum are based on fear or experience of gender-based violence.
Dublins Chinese New Year Festival is monkey business

By Staff Reporter

Once again Dublin will transform for two weeks into a city of carnivals, culture, celebration and Chinese dragons as the Chinese community welcomes the Year of the Monkey.

The ninth year of Dublin Chinese New Year Festival from 6-21 February is set to be the biggest one ever, showcasing the very best of Chinese culture in Dublin  with some performers even flying all the way from China to give Dubliners a real of taste of Chinese traditions.

Kicking off the festival on 6 and 7 February will be the Spring Festival Carnival Experience in the chq Building on Custom House Quay, with everything from fireworks to lantern making and tea tasting to cookery demonstrations.

Throughout the fortnight the Chester Beatty Library will be a hub of activity including painting workshops with Dutch-Chinese artist Hoi-Shan Mak.

Those hoping to learn more about Chinese culture can dip their toes into the Asian countrys traditions with a lecture from the Trinity College Dublin Asian Studies department on historical and contemporary Chinese topics.

Asia Market will provide a taste of China with cookery demonstrations and food stalls, as well as a guided tour of its Drury Street supermarket.

And for those that want to find the very best in authentic Chinese cuisine in Dublins Chinatown, the Le Cool Chinese Experience Walking Tour will lead you through the vibrant Chinese community in Dublin and help discover the impact the community has made on the face of the capital.

From food to business, the festival offers Dubliners the chance to discover, experience and celebrate the magnificent traditions of Chinese culture in our city, said Dublin Lord Mayor of Dublin Criona Ni Dhalaigh. I would like to thank Dublin City Council for their continued support of the festival and look forward to the city enjoying the celebrations together as we enter the Year of the Monkey.

For the full programme of events for the 2016 Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, visit dublinchinesenewyear.com.
South Dublin mayor welcomes Roma healthcare project report

By Staff Reporter

Mayor of South Dublin Sarah Holland, has commended the Tallaght Roma Integration Project (Trip) on their work with the Roma community in Dublin 24.

The Trip team concentrated on accessing health care, as members of the Roma community had reported falling through the safety net and were finding it incredibly difficult to get GP care.

This resulted in long waits at A&E or avoidance of medical care altogether due to a lack of money, according to Trip.

In response, the project set up a mobile GP bus outside Tallaght Hospital before moving to a premises in Chambers House.

The service is run by the HSE with Roma volunteers who act as translators and encourage members of the community to access the service.

Mayor Holland said Trip had provided an enormous service to our community as a whole, particularly to the Roma community, who suffer an inordinate amount of discrimination.

In some instances, the volunteers did not feel safe going home alone from their work in Chambers House, and had to be escorted for fear of being accosted.

In this day and age, we should hang our heads in shame that citizens who are giving their time free of charge to provide a community service are being targeted, simply because of their ethnicity. 

The mayor described the project as a huge success, with attendance increasing annually, and called for the modelss expansion all over Dublin local authorities and beyond, anywhere that groups of Roma are living.

Healthcare in Ireland certainly has its problems, but us as a society should not countenance the exclusion of certain groups from this vital service, she added, saying that South Dublin County Council is leading the way on social inclusion projects, and other local authorities should follow their example.
Irelands naval rescue mission in Med must be restored - ICI

By Staff Reporter

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) has called for an immediate renewal of the Naval Services life-saving mission in the Mediterranean following reports of more migrant lives lost off the Greek coast.

The reports coming from the Mediterranean are a grim reminder of the humanitarian crisis which continues to unfold on Europes doorstep, said ICI chief executive Brian Killoran, who added that delaying any decision on the Irish response till after the General Election would cost further lives.

We can be proud that in 2015 our naval service led Europe in search and rescue, but just three weeks into 2016 it is clear the need remains great, he said. It is important that the Irish response is not put on hold while politicians canvass. The Government should immediately make the decision to redeploy the navy so a ship can be prepared to leave for the Med.

The ICI says more than 8,000 people are alive today as a direct result of actions of the members of the Naval Service in 2015.
Eight dead as IS threat rears head in Indonesia

By Asdrubal Santana

At least eight people were killed last month in terrorist attacks by the so-called Islamic State in the capital of the worlds largest Muslim country.

A Dutch national working for the United Nations was among those who died in the series of suicide bombings and shootouts in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on 14 January.

And at least 20 more were injured in the attacks that were widely condemned as an act of terror by local authorities.

We all are grieving for the fallen victims of this incident, but we also condemn the act that has disturbed the security and peace among our people, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

According to a survey commissioned by the Pew Research Center before the attacks, four per cent of Indonesians claimed a positive view of IS.

The study, which included 10 other countries with significant Muslim populations, reported an overwhelmingly negative view of the terror group in most states surveyed.

The only exception was Pakistan, where although only nine per cent were said to have a favourable opinion, 62 per cent elected not to respond.

In Lebanon, another recent victim of terrorism, 99 per cent voiced overwhelming opposition to IS and their tactics, while in Israel the figure was 97 per cent. In the case of the Palestinian territories, 84 per cent said they were opposed to IS, both in the Gaza Strip (92%) and the West Bank (79%).

Other countries interviewed included Turkey, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, Nigeria and Senegal. In every case, no more than 14 per cent shared a positive opinion towards the terrorists.

[Respondents] know that by their actions, IS is trying to turn the non-Muslim world against them, as Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) told the UKs Independent newspaper. These results are not a surprise.

In another poll commissioned by the Statista for the Independent, which included other countries with large Muslim communities such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the results were similar.

The highest support was shown in Syria, an IS stronghold, where up to 21 per cent said to have a favourable view of the extremists.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians live in swathes of the country controlled by [IS] and more than four million refugees have fled the country, the newspaper pointed out regarding the Syrian case.

As for Iraq, where IS was formed, only five per cent were reported to support the terrorists.

Similar low favourable opinions were recorded in Saudi Arabia (4%), Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (3% each), Egypt (2%) and Iran (0%).

IS is seen as a threat to communities across the Arab world, according to Doyle.

Muslims are their primary victims after all. The brutal nature of their rule, the way they have treated women, all the beheadings, have not endeared them to people, he added.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas met, at their request, with the Ambassadors to Athens of the countries of the ASEAN Committee in Athens (ACAT): the Ambassadors of Vietnam, Tran Thi Ha Phuong; Indonesia, Benny Bahanadewa; the Philippines, Nestor Ochoa; and Thailand, Joompol Manaschuang.



During the meeting, which took place in an excellent climate, the ASEAN-country Ambassadors briefed Mr. Mardas on the current developments in ASEAN economies (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar), underscoring the significant and increasing economic weight they represent, as the total GDP of the top ten countries stands at some $2 trillion, while the total population of the ASEAN countries is about 625 million.



With regard to bilateral economic relations with Greece, the Ambassadors briefed Mr. Mardas on the Committees activities here (participation of National Stands in international exhibitions, such as the TIF; presentation of the economic environment of their countries at workshops, including at the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises [SEV]; organization of business missions, etc.) and underscored the need to deepen economic cooperation. They highlighted the major potential for trade cooperation between Greece and ASEAN countries, mainly in the sectors of shipping, food and beverages, transport, and tourism, while they also noted the increasing interest of their enterprises in being informed of the growing potential for investments in Greece.



Mr. Mardas, too, underscored the need to strengthen economic/trade cooperation between Greece and ASEAN countries, stressing that, beyond any initiatives on the diplomatic level, an important role can be played by the bilateral chambers of commerce and the bilateral business councils, which can be used as a tool for cooperation between entrepreneurs and as a means for carrying out specific actions.


































































































































































N. KOTZIAS: It is a great pleasure to be in Azerbaijan for the first time in my life, in beautiful Baku. And it is a great pleasure to see my good friend, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan once again.



And I would also like to express my great pleasure at being in Baku. I thank you very much for the invitation and for your hospitality.



Greece has traditional, good relations with the geographical space of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. And I think it is very important that we have developed this very deep relationship in recent years.



It is important that we have this communication channel, and I am very pleased to have seen here today, on my first visit to Baku, President Aliyev. And we had a long discussion with him about the European perspective of Azerbaijan and the cooperation between the two countries. And I think that the plan was for this meeting to be for a half hour, but the discussion was longer that one and a half hours. It was a great honor for me.



And we are willing to contribute in any way, in all the forms we can, to promote the relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan. We are a good advocate for Azerbaijan in the European Union. We are truly friends. We are not neighbours, but we are friends. Sometimes the friends who are a little bit far away are the best friends for such kinds of cooperation.



As we know, Greece is in very difficult times. We are inside a triangle of destabilization, between Ukraine, Syria and Libya  three wars are underway there. In Ukraine, as I discussed with my colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, we are for the implementation of the Minsk agreements.



In the Middle East we are supporting the discussion that will take place tomorrow in London, to support Jordan and Lebanon. We are supporting all the discussions to find a way to end the Syrian war. And, as you know, the Syrian war created one of the biggest problems in this century for Europe: the refugee problem. More than one million came through the Greek islands to Europe.



So we have all the reasons to support diplomatic efforts towards ending the civil war in Syria.



And in this space, in this framework, we welcome the initiation of the implementation of the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme.



And we discussed with my colleagues about Cyprus and Balkan issues. I presented our positions. And I think what is very important in our relationship is that both countries support the implementation of international law. There is no other way to find solutions to the big problems of the 21st century. Cooperation, friendly discussion, negotiation based on international law, solutions based on this law.



I express my willingness to see you in Athens. I hope that we can do it this year. And I express my support for the Minsk Groups efforts to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs gave me information for a better understanding of the position of our friends in Azerbaijan on this issue.



Our countries are closely linked, not only on the political level, but in the energy sector, too. We are finishing one of the biggest projects we are doing together, the TAP, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, bringing gas from Azerbaijan to Greece and to western Europe, Italy and so on. And we have completed the most important steps in this project, so we hope that in two years we can start it  that Azerbaijans gas can make Europe warmer than it is today. And we have discussed all the details and all the parts of this plan.



We also focused on cooperation in the economic and trade sectors. We have many possibilities, and we have to do big jobs. And I was very pleased that we discussed cultural and educational cooperation.



As I told the Minister, Greece is the nearest friend of all the European countries to Azerbaijan. We smell what happens in this regions, and we have more understanding than any other country of the feelings, the way that the people of Azerbaijan think.



So, once again, Elmar, many thanks for your hospitality, for your invitation. And we are waiting for you in warm Athens. I think today we had 22 degrees Celsius, a very beautiful day. I was wondering, Why am I leaving this city? But being here I know: Because of our friendship.



Thank you very much.



JOURNALIST: [Question on energy issues.]



N. KOTZIAS: I have to say that Greece is supporting any peaceful solution to all of the conflicts all over the world, based on international law. Those are the two principle things.



About energy, we have a very specific political situation. We are situated in a very important corner for energy. We are now getting energy from the Eastern Mediterranean space. As you know, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus have found large energy deposits, and for us it is very important to make a connection between these possibilities coming from the Eastern Mediterranean and the possibility of getting gas from Azerbaijan, through the TAP gas line. And we are creating, together with Bulgaria and Romania, another gas line, which will also use Azerbaijans gas.



And we have made all the preparations in Greece. We have finished all our duties. And I hope and I think that in two years we will get gas from Azerbaijan, for Greece, but for other European countries too.
An official at the London-based International Maritime Organization said North Korea declared that the launch would be conducted between Feb. 8 and 25, between 7 a.m. and noon Pyongyang time. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she hadn't been authorized to speak publicly yet.

The declaration, which is meant to warn civilians, shipping and aircraft in the area about the rocket and falling debris, follows North Korea's claim last month to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the country's fourth nuclear test. It will be seen as a snub by North Korea of its only major ally, China, whose representative for Korean affairs landed in Pyongyang for talks on Tuesday.

Japan's Kyodo News agency reported that North Korea also notified the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union "via diplomatic channels" that it will launch a Kwangmyongsong (Bright Star) -type satellite with a four-year operational life later this month.

A South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said Seoul was also informed of the plans, and estimated that the first stage of the rocket would fall off the west coast of South Korea, more debris would land near the South's Jeju Island, and the second stage would land off the Philippines' east coast.

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. The North also told international agencies before that launch of its plans. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

North Korea, an autocracy run by the same family since 1948, is estimated to have a handful of crude nuclear devices and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles, but it closely guards details about its nuclear and missile programs. This means there is considerable debate by outsiders about whether it can produce nuclear bombs small enough to place on a missile, or missiles that can reliably deliver their bombs to faraway targets.

North Korea has spent decades trying to develop operational nuclear weapons. It calls its rocket launches satellite missions, but the U.N., the United States, South Korea and others say they are meant to test ballistic missile technology. The U.N. Security Council prohibits North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity.

The North's Jan. 6 nuclear test has led to another push in the U.N. to tighten sanctions, something that followed North Korea's 2012 rocket launch and its 2013 third nuclear test. The North followed that test with an escalating campaign of bombast that included threats to fire nuclear missiles at the United States and South Korea.

North Korea has said that plutonium and highly enriched uranium facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex are in operation and that its scientists have improved "the levels of nuclear weapons with various missions in quality and quantity."

But just what is happening at Nyongbyon is unclear. North Korea booted out international inspectors in 2009, and independent assessments by outside experts since then have been spotty.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. John F. Campbell said the Afghan National Army has replaced 92 general officers, including a high-level commander in volatile Helmand province.

The Afghan interior ministry is still "lagging behind" in making leadership changes, he said. U.S. forces are "taking steps to remedy this through our train, advise and assist mission," Campbell said. He cautioned that the institutional changes that are required will take time.

Campbell's testimony comes as lawmakers are growing skeptical amid concerns that worsening security conditions demand a greater number of U.S. forces to ensure the gains made in the war-torn country since 2001 aren't lost.

President Barack Obama plans to cut American troops numbers from the current 9,800 to 5,500 before he leaves office. Obama backtracked from his initial plan to reduce the force to 1,000 by the end of 2016.

Afghanistan "is at an inflection point," Campbell told the committee. "I believe if we do not make deliberate, measured adjustments, 2016 is at risk of being no better, and possibly worse, than 2015."

"Ultimately, Afghanistan has not achieved an enduring level of security and stability that justifies a reduction in our support in 2016," Campbell said. He called Obama's decision to maintain the U.S. force at 9,800 through most of 2016 "welcome and important."

Campbell is expected to retire soon and Obama has nominated Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson, Jr., to replace him.

Republicans have long assailed Obama's exit strategy, arguing that conditions on the ground in Afghanistan, not a calendar, should determine the pace of the withdrawal. With the Taliban staging new offensives and the Islamic State extremist group seeking a presence in Afghanistan, congressional Democrats also are raising the prospect of an extended stay.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the committee's chairman, noted that the reductions in force have reduced the capability to gather intelligence on looming threats. "It is harder to keep up with the enemy and prevent another attack on our homeland," Thornberry said. He said he is concerned Campbell does not have the resources and authority he needs.

Campbell said Islamic State militants continue to conduct brutal attacks against civilians, and directly compete with the Taliban for resources to establish a foothold in the country." But he said U.S. forces have had considerable success in "degrading their capabilities."

While campaigning for his second term, Obama promised the war in Afghanistan would end on his watch. At the end of 2014, the White House declared an end to combat operations there. Yet American forces and money remain committed as Afghan troops and police slowly take over the fighting.

The mission of the U.S. troops in Afghanistan is to conduct counterterrorism operations and to train and assist the Afghan security forces. Nicholson assured the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing last week that he would do a thorough review to make sure there are enough American forces to accomplish both assignments.

Nicholson acknowledged, however, that security conditions are worsening in Afghanistan. The Afghans held their own in 2015 during combat against the insurgency, he said, but are still not self-sustaining. The U.S. continues to provide the bulk of the money to train and equip the Afghan military and police  more than $4.1 billion was allotted in fiscal year 2015 alone to the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, according to the Defense Department.

"The Taliban came at the (Afghan forces) more intensely than perhaps we anticipated," Nicholson said. "Because of that, we did not make the advances we projected we thought we would make."

Overall, the U.S. has committed $113 billion since 2002 for reconstruction projects in hopes of establishing a stable, functioning Afghan government. Yet, nearly 15 years later, Afghanistan still lacks the capacity to independently operate and maintain the hospitals, roads, power plants, and more built with all the money.
Battling substance abuse or mental illness can be tough. Obstacles like feelings of hopelessness, loneliness and misunderstanding often get in the way of treatment. Very often, Veterans struggling with these problems feel that their doctors do not understand them.

However, for about a decade, VA has been breaking down these barriers using peer specialists to help guide patients through their treatment. These trained individuals can establish a bond and provide support in a way most providers cannot. Not only are peer specialists Veterans, but they have also overcome substance abuse or are successfully managing their life with a serious mental illness. They serve as role models, provide hope, engage patients in their care and help patients access supportive programs, peers and community resources.

"Peer specialists draw upon their lived experiences to share been there' empathy, insights and skills", said Dr. Matthew Chinman a VA researcher from the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Chinman understands the importance of peer specialists in mental health care. He started his research on mental health peer specialists in 1995, as a psychology intern at the Yale School of Medicine and now currently leads the Peer Resource Center, where they have conducted the first clinical study evaluating the effectiveness of peer specialists in VA. The study revealed Veterans with the support of a peer specialist have an increased involvement in their care. This is a significant finding because patients who take an active role in their care often have better health outcomes. They also recently completed a review of research literature evaluating the impact of peer specialists.

"We did a review of all the studies that tested peer specialists' impact and found that a majority of studies did find some impact on issues like hospitalizations, quality of life, hopefulness, active participation in their own care and recovery, " he said.

In 2007, there were approximately 90 peer specialists working at the VA. In 2012, President Obama issued an executive order to enhance mental health services by hiring 800 peer specialists. VA has surpassed this goal, with about 1,100 peer specialists currently supporting other Veterans.

Fred Nardei is one of those peer specialists. He is a Veteran who shares his story to help other Veterans. He explains how he became addicted to pain medication after a car accident and later began trading his medication for stronger drugs, which led to a heroin addiction. After successful completion of therapy, he has been clean for six years. During that time, Fred completed a 40-hour training course to become a certified peer specialist.

The VA contracts with non-profit organizations to provide certification training for its peer support apprentices (those hired before completing training) and also accepts non-VA training that results in certification by states. The training ensures peer specialists have certain basic competencies in psychosocial rehabilitation and many other elements of patient care including communications skills, crisis management, problem-solving, and understanding various mental health and addiction conditions. Fred now works with other Veterans as a peer specialist within the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

The VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers' Peer Resource Center within the Pittsburgh Healthcare System, plays a vital role in the effective utilization of peer specialists within the VA. They assisted in developing the proficiencies that each peer specialist must possess and are currently co-leading, along with the VISN 5 center, the evaluation of the White House's Executive Action of deploying peer specialists on patient aligned care teams at 25 medical centers.
The deputy director of the Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday said he plans to seek new disciplinary action against former executives accused in a job scam after judges overturned their demotions.

Deputy Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson didn't say what type of action the department may take against the two Senior Executive Service, or SES, employees, but pledged some form of "lesser" punishment.

"If I were to say, 'Well, instead of removing them from the SES, I'll remove them from federal service,' that would not be consistent with the judge's order, so yes, it would be a lesser penalty," he said.

In a statement released later in the day, Gibson said, "I will continue to take accountability actions based on my review of the evidence, not on media reports, hearsay or political pressure because we know that is how we ultimately best serve Veterans."

The VA twice tried to demote the two women -- Diana Rubens, director of the Philadelphia office, and Kimberly Graves, director of a regional office in Minnesota -- after an IG report concluded they manipulated the hiring system to force colleagues out of jobs they wanted for themselves.

But judges in separate rulings over the past week disagreed with the VA's decision and overturned the demotions, arguing that the women didn't break any laws and that other agency officials have engaged in the practice without repercussions.

While Gibson vowed to pursue some type of new disciplinary action, he downplayed the idea of reassigning them to new jobs in different locations -- a scenario that would result in added expense to the department.

As it stands, the judges' rulings mean "they go back where they were -- unless the decision is made to move them someplace else," he said. "But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it if I believe that veterans are best served by that."

He added, "I would also remind you that if we were to relocate them we'd have to pay their relocation expenses. So someone help me understand how that is the right thing for taxpayers."

Draft Report

Gibson also said he has asked the IG office to turn over an early draft of the report that purportedly found no wrongdoing by the women.

"I was not aware of that" document, he said. "I have now requested of the IG  that if such a draft exists that I be provided with the draft and an opportunity to speak with the investigator who wrote it."

Ultimately, the released IG report -- authored by several officials, including directors Nick Dahl and Linda Fournier -- concluded that Graves and Rubens forced the previous directors of the St. Paul, Minnesota, and Philadelphia regional offices into taking transfers, then moved into the jobs themselves.

Gibson also said a new investigation would determine if other VA officials involved in job transfers should be disciplined. The Merit System Protection Board judges who reversed the demotions of Graves and Rubens said other officials involved in the transfer process had also been found culpable by the IG report, yet were not disciplined.

Gibson said he saw nothing in the report warranting disciplinary action against others, but pledged to review the evidence again because new information has come to light through the appeals hearing. He didn't say what action would be taken if an earlier version of the report was rewritten for the express purpose of finding that Graves and Rubens committed wrongdoing.

The VA inspector general's office initially forwarded its report to the U.S. Attorney's office for possible criminal charges against Graves and Rubens but the office declined to prosecute.

While lawmakers and some veterans' advocates demanded the two women be fired, Gibson said he saw no grounds for firing, but did demote them to assistant regional directors and reassign them. The charge against them was exercising poor judgment and creating the appearance of impropriety.

In both cases, judges said other officials involved in the job switches arguably were guilty of the same actions but that VA chose not to discipline them. Because of the unfair application of the discipline, they overturned the demotions and reassignments, including restoring the women to their former SES-level status and the additional $50,000 it their annual salaries.

'Errors in Judgment'

Gibson made the decision to discipline Graves and Rubens, calling their actions "errors in judgment." Yet he has since defended their character -- and turned up his criticism of the IG's office.

"The IG published a report, which I have in my hands, which is not supported by the evidence," he said. "There was a vast amount of exculpatory evidence  that the IG chose to ignore here. The IG picked and chose pieces that they put in their report  in order to support a conclusion they wanted to reach."

Gibson added, "There are people who took this report and rolled it up and beat people over the head with it. This became a media sensation and quite frankly I think it's a disgrace to the process that this is allowed to happen."

He noted that the judges in both cases upheld the VA's contention that Graves and Rubens failed to exercise good judgement, but he also offered a defense of their character.

"What has happened is we have taken two good people who made an error in judgement  people who could make a difference for the veterans we swerve day in and day out, and their reputations have been trashed," he said.

The judges said Graves and Rubens' claims of unfair treatment by the VA was legitimate, given the other agency officials who had knowledge of the job transfers taking place, including Danny Pummill, acting undersecretary for benefits, and Beth McCoy, deputy undersecretary for field operations.

Like Graves and Rubens, Pummill and McCoy should have realized the job transfers -- which include a significant relocation assistance package -- could create a perception of impropriety, the judges said.

Gibson said he found no evidence when he first reviewed the IG material that other officials' actions warranted punishment, but will take another look because of evidence that surfaced during the appeals process. In the court ruling in Rubens' case, the judge said the VA acknowledged that McCoy had pressured Philadelphia regional director Antoine Waller to transfer to the Baltimore office.

The investigation will take about one week, Gibson said, and will include testimony to be taken under oath by both Pummill and McCoy.

"If there is evidence supports misconduct that was not available for my consideration previously," he said, "I will take appropriate action."

-- Bryant Jordan can be reached at bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bryantjordan.
Air Force Gets Its Own Combat Dive Badge After Using the Navy's for Years

Air Force officials said there is a notable distinction between Navy divers and their divers, which was a key reason for...
A couple of decades ago, the Navy had an idea for an "arsenal ship" that went nowhere, but Defense Secretary Ashton Carter did the service one better Tuesday with his surprise proposal for an "arsenal plane."

Nobody knows yet what an arsenal plane would look like, or what its potential missions would be, other than that it would fashioned from an existing large aircraft platform -- maybe a B-52 bomber -- and it would be crammed with all manner of munitions. It might be manned or unmanned.

The arsenal plane concept was the most striking in a range of ideas for new weapons and military technology Carter unveiled in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington in a preview of Pentagon's proposed $583 billion fiscal 2017 budget.

Other new systems included anti-missile railgun projectiles for Navy ships and Army artillery, "swarming microdrones" for battlefield intelligence, and mini-cameras for precision-guided munitions.

The new ideas were coming out of the Pentagon's secretive Strategic Capabilities Office, which was Carter's brainchild and which, he said, "we don't often talk about."

"I created SCO in 2012 when I was deputy secretary of defense to reimagine existing DoD, intelligence community, and commercial systems by giving them new roles and game-changing capabilities to confound potential opponents," he said.

The office was included in Carter's proposal to boost Pentagon research and development accounts in fiscal 2017, which begins Oct. 1, to $71.4 billion.

A potential game-changer in war "is one that we're calling the arsenal plane, which takes one of our oldest aircraft platforms, and turns it into a flying launch pad for all sorts of different conventional payloads," he said.

"In practice, the arsenal plane will function as a very large airborne magazine, networked to 5th-generation aircraft (F-35s) that act as forward sensor and targeting nodes -- essentially combining different systems already in our inventory to create wholly new capabilities," he added.

And that was it.

Carter made no further mention of the arsenal plane in his speech. The subject also didn't come up in a following question-and-answer session, but the history of the arsenal ship did not bode well for the arsenal plane.

In 1995, the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency conceived of an arsenal ship that would have a small crew and as many as 500 vertical launch tubes for missiles to provide ship-to-shore bombardment for invading troops much as battleships did in World War II. The Navy came up with a $450 million price for the arsenal ship but Congress scrapped funding for the project in 1998.

The arsenal plane was only one of the many new ideas for enhancing U.S. military capabilities on the shelf at SCO, Carter said.

Another was advanced navigation, which would involve "taking the same kinds of micro-cameras and sensors that are littered throughout our smartphones today, and putting them on our Small Diameter Bombs to augment their targeting capabilities," he said.

"Another project uses swarming, autonomous vehicles in all sorts of ways, and in multiple domains," Carter said. "For the air, they've developed microdrones that are really fast, and really resilient," he said. On the ground, "they can be thrown into the air by a soldier in the middle of the Iraqi desert."

Carter said, "And for the water, they've developed self-driving boats, which can network together to do all sorts of missions, from fleet defense to close-in surveillance -- including around an island, real or artificial, without putting our sailors at risk."

The secretary also touted "gun-based missile defense, where we're taking the same hypervelocity smart projectile developed for the electromagnetic railgun, and using it for point defense by firing it with artillery we already have in our inventory."

The hypervelocity railgun projectiles would be adapted for the five-inch deck guns of the Navy and the 155mm howitzers of the Army's M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, Carter said.

"This way, instead of spending more money on more expensive interceptors, we can turn past offense into future defense  defeating incoming missile raids at much lower cost per round, and thereby imposing higher costs on the attacker," he said.

"In fact, we tested the first shots of the hypervelocity projectile out of a Paladin a little over a month ago, and we found that it also significantly increases the range," Carter said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
A Navy SEAL who was part of a courageous hostage rescue in Afghanistan in 2012 will receive the military's top award for heroism later this month, the White House announced today.

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Feb. 29. He will be the 11th living service member to receive the award for actions in Afghanistan.

Byers, 36, was a member of the team that conducted a heroic raid Dec. 8 and 9, 2012 to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph, an American who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Taliban days before. Joseph was in the country as the medical director for Morning Star Development, a nonprofit organization training Afghan healthcare workers.

While Dilip was recovered safely from his captors, the operation proved costly. Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, 28, a member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, was shot and killed during the raid.

Byers, a native of Toledo, Ohio, began his 17-year Navy career as a hospital corpsman, serving with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He attended the elite Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course in 2002 and completed the Special Operations Combat Medic course the following year.

His previous valor awards include five Bronze Star Medals with Combat "V" device, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat "V" device, and two Purple Hearts, signifying wounds received in combat.

Byers is now working to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, and plans to graduate in early 2016.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

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U.S. military leaders on Tuesday told lawmakers that women should be required to register for the draft the same way men do.

"I think one of the questions we have to address now is registering for the Selective Service," Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss the military's integration of women into ground combat units.

McCaskill said the 1981 Supreme Court decision to exempt women from registering for the draft was directly related to the restrictions in place that prohibited women from serving in direct combat units such as the infantry.

"The purpose of the registration was to prepare for a draft of combat troops," she said. "Since women are excluded from combat, Congress concluded that they would not be needed in the event of a draft and therefore decided not to register them."

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter changed all that in December when he reversed centuries of U.S. military tradition with the historic announcement that all military occupational specialties would now be open to women.

McCaskill asked Army, Marine and Navy leaders testifying at the hearing if Congress should reconsider the decision.

"Senator, it is my personal view that based on this lifting of restriction for assigning MOSs, that every American that is physically qualified should register for the draft," said Marine Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, referring to the acronym for military occupational specialties.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, agreed with McCaskill that lifting the restrictions on women will help recruiting efforts to encourage more women to consider serving in the military.

Undersecretary of the Army Patrick Murphy said there should be a national debate over issue.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley also supported the draft for women. "I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft," he said.

McCaskill agreed.

"I do too," she said. "I think it is the right thing going forward."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
The U.S. Army's chief of staff told Congress on Tuesday that female soldiers could begin their training to serve in direct combat arms jobs such as infantry and armor by this spring, but it could take up to three years to form gender-integrated units.

Gen. Mark Milley joined Marine Corps and Navy leaders at a Feb. 2 hearing to testify before a skeptical Senate Armed Services Committee about future plans to merge women into ground combat units across the services.

"Readiness is the Army's number-one priority, and I believe that full integration of women in all career fields will either maintain, sustain or improve the overall readiness of the United States Army ... if and only if we maintain and enforced rigorous combat readiness standards, we retain a merit-based results-oriented organization, and we apply no quotas," Milley said.

Currently, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is reviewing plans from each service that detail how female troops will be integrated into units that were closed to women until his decision in December that all military occupational specialties would now be open to women.

The first step for the Army, Milley said, will be to begin gender-neutral training for all officers, noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted.

"This spring, female cadets and officer candidates who meet the gender-neutral standard will be given the opportunity to request either infantry or armor branches," Milley said.

Currently, infantry and armor training for enlisted soldiers is not gender integrated at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia.

"We will probably enter women into infantry and armor basic training at the Maneuver Center down at Fort Benning sometime the early fall, probably September or October of this year," Milley said.

The Army intends to follow a "deliberate, methodical approach that begins with assessment, selection, training and assigning of female infantry and armor leaders -- both officers and NCOs to units," Milley said. "Then we will assign female junior enlisted to those units.

"I estimate that effective female integration into infantry, armor and Special Forces will require no less than one to three years of deliberate effort to develop the individual skills and grow our leaders."

Navy and Marine Corps leaders were less detailed about their plan to move forward with the integration of women.

"The Corps has already notified 231 women who have successfully completed ground combat arms MOS [training] ... that they can switch to these previously closed jobs immediately if they chose to," Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said.

While the policy is already in place, lawmakers pressed Army and Marine Corps leaders to explain their decision to allow women to serve in direct combat roles such as infantry and special operations units.

"This hearing is not about whether women can serve in combat," said SASC Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, listing many of the achievements of women serving in combat over the years. "Many women have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation."

McCain said he supported former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's 2013 decision to require all services to open direct combat jobs to women, but he also stressed that it is critical for the military to maintain high standards.

"We have the responsibility to do the right thing, but we also have an equal responsibility to do the right thing in the right way; that is what this hearing is about -- ensuring that as women move into more and more positions across our military, readiness, combat effectiveness and the safety and well-being of all service members -- both men and women -- remain our paramount priority."

Much of the hearing focused on the controversy surrounding the findings in a 1,000-page study that emerged last fall from the Marine Corps Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force, or GCEITF.

The effort showed that gender-integrated units made up of males and females did not perform as well as all-male units. The study also showed that gender-integrated units suffered a higher injury rate than all-male units.

The study's findings put Mabus at odds with the Marine Corps leadership. Many criticized Mabus for denying a request by Marine leaders to keep several combat arms jobs closed to women.

McCain and other senators openly doubted that Mabus read the report before publicly criticizing it.

"Secretary Mabus, this would have been a lot easier if you hadn't called in the press immediately and debunked what many of us view as a legitimate study without even reading it, and I don't believe you read a 1,000-page document in one day," McCain said.

"Your handling of this issue has really complicated [the] whole situation for those us who fully support integration of women in the military."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, read several findings from the Marine study to highlight how it found that women did not perform as well as men.

Once testing was complete, the study showed that all-male units demonstrated higher performance levels than gender-integrated units on 69 percent of tasks evaluated.

Gender-integrated teams performed better than their all-male counterparts on two of the 134 tasks, the study said. All-male squads also had a "noticeable difference in their performance of the basic combat tasks of negotiating obstacles and evacuating casualties."

But Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, criticized the Marine study, calling it "fundamentally flawed."

"The design of this research was very flawed," she said. "First of all, female Marines were screened for the basic physical fitness test and were competing in a large part with male Marines who had years of experience and training and many had combat positions.

"All we really know from the study is that groups who had the right training and more training did better. We don't actually have data that can be used because these women did not have the same training and experiences as those who had been doing it for a long time."

The female Marines who participated in the effort were first sent to the MOS schools such as infantry and other combat arms jobs, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller.

They were then formed into the ground combat task force for four months of preparatory training, where they trained with men and developed the skills that they needed do this evaluation, he said.

Neller conceded that the men in the all-male units did have more experience in combat arms jobs such as infantry.

"It is fair to say -- I will agree with you -- that their experience in these MOSs was probably not up to the level of their male counterparts," Neller said.

The Marine test did, however, codify the standards that each individual Marine in a unit had to meet, Mabus said.

"If an individual meets the gender-neutral standard, then "that person should get to do the job," Mabus said.

McCain asked Neller to lay out his concerns about this effort.

"There are a lot of concerns we have talked about ... there are a lot of things we don't know," Neller said. "One of my biggest concerns is the perception that the Marine Corps doesn't value the service of females that serve in the Marine Corps.

"I have concerns about retention, I have concerns about injury rates, I have concerns about propensity to re-enlist and career progression; I have concerns about what is going to happen if the numbers low, which they probably will be in the beginning."

But Neller did say that his plan should address these concerns.

"We have been given an order to integrate, we have a fully detailed plan to integrate and we are going to give every Marine opportunity to compete and we have the standards that allow them to be successful," he said.

Milley also said the Army faces many hurdles in the days ahead.

"Make no mistake about, this process is going to have challenges, but if we proceed with a methodical, deliberate execution ... it is my belief that the Army will be successful.

"I have absolute no doubt in my mind -- in my professional judgment -- that women, some women -- can perform every single job in the United States Army to include infantry, armor and Special Forces."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related video:
A Navy hospital corpsman serving with the Marines' elite special operations command will be recognized this week for heroism shown when he braved enemy fire to rush to the side of wounded troops in Afghanistan's Herat province in 2014 when they were attacked by a rogue Afghan commando.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Alejandro Salabarria, 28, will receive the Silver Star, the military's third-highest combat honor, at a ceremony Friday at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Salabarria, a member of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, earned the award Sept. 15, 2014, while deployed to Afghanistan as a team medic with Marine Special Operations Team 8214. The Marine Corps would formally pull out of the country the following month.

The team had been gathered at a helicopter landing zone with a group of Italian special forces troops and Afghan special operations commandos, who received training from the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC, Raiders and conducted missions alongside them.

Suddenly, according to Salabarria's medal citation, one of the commandos turned his weapons on the American, Afghan and Italian forces, firing on them with his M4 assault rifle and M203 grenade launcher. Known as insider attacks or green-on-blue attacks, such assaults have been responsible for dozens of U.S. and coalition deaths. In 2014, an Army two-star general, Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, was killed in one such attack.

In an instant, the troops' planned helicopter assault mission was thrown into chaos. Multiple MARSOC troops and Afghan personnel were wounded in the first seconds of the attack, according to Salabarria's citation. But the corpsman didn't hesitate. He charged into the kill zone, firing on the rogue commando with his own M4 rifle as he maneuvered to the side of a wounded fellow medic.

Placing his body as a shield between the commando and the wounded medic, Salabarria continued to fight him off, ultimately killing the rogue soldier with his M4. Then, after making sure the area was secure, he treated two other wounded team members and coordinated their evacuation via helicopter, according to his citation.

Although none of the wounded are named in the citation, one Marine raider was killed in the green-on-blue attack. Sgt. Charles Strong, 28, a critical skills operator with 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, would succumb to his wounds, becoming one of the last Marines to die in Afghanistan.

Salabarria, a Miami native, will be the 25th member of MARSOC to receive the prestigious Silver Star since the command was formed 10 years ago.

Prior to serving in MARSOC, Salabarria had completed the Army Basic Airborne School and served as a senior line corpsman for a scout sniper platoon attached to 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines out of Camp Lejeune.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Convicted felon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who was found guilty in a sensational leak case, has resurfaced on the fringes of government in an unpaid position on a biodefense advisory panel whose experts will testify at a House hearing Wednesday.

Libby was listed as an ex-officio member of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, which is privately funded by the conservative Hudson Institute and several corporations and pharmaceutical companies.

Expert members of the Study Panel, including Kenneth L. Wainstein, a former assistant attorney general for National Security and Homeland Security adviser to former President George W. Bush, were scheduled to testify Wednesday afternoon before the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing on "Outside Views on Biodefense for the Department of Defense."

The Army scandal last year on the shipment of live anthrax to all 50 states and around the world has renewed concerns on biodefense issues.

The study panel is co-chaired by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Connecticut, and former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pennsylvania. Members of the panel include prominent Democrats such as former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-Montana, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

The bipartisan study panel issued a lengthy report last October charging that the U.S. was unprepared for attack by biological weapons and lacked centralized planning to mount a defense.

Libby, 65, the former chief of staff and assistant to Cheney for National Security Affairs, was indicted in October 2005 by a federal grand jury in the leak of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. She was the wife of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who had rebutted a Bush administration claim that uranium was secretly being shipped from Niger to Iraq.

In March 2007, Libby was convicted by a federal jury of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and two counts of perjury. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison but the sentence later was commuted by President Bush. Bush's refusal to grant a pardon reportedly led to friction with Cheney.

Defenders of the Bush administration and Libby maintain that he was made a scapegoat by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, whose main targets in the investigation allegedly were Cheney and top Bush political adviser Karl Rove.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at richard.sisk@military.com.
How do you plan on finding employment in the civilian world? Don't know, don't care? With the current realities of the job market, a blase attitude won't get you very far. Unless you're immensely well-connected, you'll have to do a lot of leg-work to find stability in civilian life. Although the process might seem chaotic and unnerving, there are some very simple, easy steps every veteran can take to find success as a civilian. Inspired by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, here are 7 steps towards finding civilian employment.

1. Set Your Own Goals

Think back to your military service: where did you live, what was your MOS group, what was your job code? How much control did you have over any of those things? Unless you worked specific language into your enlistment contract, the military most likely answered all three questions for you. Once you enter the civilian world, that all changes.

Opposite the rigid structure of the military telling you where to go and what to do, veterans working in the civilian job market need to define these goals for themselves. This can be an extremely stressful experience, or a rewarding one depending on your interests, location, financial stability, and work experience. If you're struggling to set job goals for yourself, think about your needs and research the industries and jobs that fill them.

Setting your own goals will help you keep perspective while searching for jobs. It's easy to flounder and despair if you don't find something in a short period of time, but aiming for a target aids with focus and perseverance.

2. Collect Intel

Were you ever ordered to do something without being given adequate information? Did you enjoy that experience? Do yourself a favor and don't relive that memory: gather as much intelligence as you can before you act. In the civilian world, discerning the right and wrong way to do things can be difficult.

Related: Search for Veteran Jobs

Your first step is to pick an industry you're interested in. Ask a few fundamental questions that will help guide your job hunt and search for the answers. How is the industry expected to grow in the next five years? Which companies are doing the best in the industry, and what's their company culture like? What experience and education to successful professionals in that industry have? How do you give yourself that experience and education?

At worst, you may discover that a certain industry isn't right for you, but at best you'll be giving yourself a clear view of the big picture, and that will inform how to successfully prepare and proceed.

3. Expand Your Network

Take a second to think about the role of a recruiter. They have a lot of jobs to fill and an exponentially higher number of applicants to fill them. How would you tackle that? The way many companies cut through this Gordian knot is to simply take a closer look at people recommended by trusted professionals. How do you get someone to vouch for you? Network.

Networking is most effective when you make genuine connections with like-minded professionals in your industry. Shoving business cards into every open palm won't get you very far. But, making an impression and connecting will take you a long way. Don't just cruise forums and boards on the internet, go out to events in the real world and search for opportunities to meet people face to face.

Note that you should never outright ask to be hired while networking. Professionals want to help qualified, earnest people grow, not pass out jobs to the people who push for them.

4. Customize Your Resume

All job openings, even ones with similar titles and work requirements, are different. Always customize your resume to the specific job you're applying for so it has a better chance of getting you noticed and landing you an interview.

Pay attention to the job listing. What do they ask for? How does your experience match up? Again, even if you apply for the same type of position over and over, each company looks for something unique to their needs.

What do you know about the company's culture? You should take into consideration any noteworthy quirks or cultural values.

5. Strengthen Your Interview Techniques

Being interviewed for a job is like taking a test while acting in a play at the same time. You have to balance your professional image with having good responses. Fortunately, it's not quite as intense as either of those things.

If you brush up on the culture of the industry you want to work in, you'll have a solid understanding of how to behave during an interview. If you study common interview questions and prepare some natural responses, you'll be able to answers questions naturally and easily.

6. Take the Initiative

Always take the initiative on a job hunt. Send out your resume, follow up on whether or not it was received, send a thank you note after interviewing for a position, and never let your potential new employer take all of the responsibility in communicating.

The key here is not to be pushy. Wait one to two weeks between communications to send a follow-up note. It's normal to check in with people in the civilian world, but if you don't give them enough time you'll come off as overly aggressive or pushy. The one to two week rule is generally a safe bet, even if you end up sending a second check-in because your first didn't get a response.

7. Reach Out for Assistance

If you lack information or experience and need a point in the right direction, asking for help is sometimes the only way to get it taken care of. Similar to taking the initiative, asking for help when you need it is a sign of professionalism. Employers want things done well, and reaching out to friendly experts is an excellent way to ensure that happens. Whether you need a friend to look at your resume or want to grab an industry professional for an informative interview, arming yourself with the knowledge of others is always a good thing. In some fields, learning from the long-timers is the only way to progress.

Find the Right Veteran Job

Whether you want to polish your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Sign up for a free Military.com membership to have job postings, guides and advice, and more delivered directly to your inbox.
12:46pm: Right-hander Yoervis Medina, himself just designated, will go to the Phils in the deal, the team announced. Since he was already outrighted from Pittsburghs 40-man, he wont require an immediate roster spot with the Phillies.

10:31am: Biddle is headed to the Pirates, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets.

10:20am: The Phillies have reached a deal to trade southpaw Jesse Biddle to an unidentified club, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link). The former top prospect had recently been designated for assignment.

Since he was in DFA limbo, Biddle was destined to land elsewhere unless he went unclaimed on waivers. Clearly, with a trade being reached, there was sufficient interest that a claim was inevitable anyway.

Once a consensus top-100 prospect league-wide, Biddle showed plenty of upside to go with some command issues while rising through the system. Still just 24, Biddle is set to miss the coming year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall.

But he had fallen off track even before the elbow issue cropped up. Since a promising 2013 at the Double-A level in which he posted a 3.64 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9, Biddles strikeout numbers have fallen even while hes continued to issue too many free passes. Clearly, though, theres still enough talent to bet on that multiple other organizations were willing to commit a 40-man spot to the lefty  at least for the time being.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Akron Fairlawn

A Homewood Suites has been proposed on South State Street in Ann Arbor.

(Copyright Homewood 2016)

Another extended-stay hotel is in the works for Ann Arbor.

Stellar Properties LLC, a Pennsylvania-based developer has submitted plans for a five-story 110-room Homewood Suites hotel on South State Street less than a mile from Briarwood Mall. The developer is also behind the Staybridge Suites hotel being built on Research Park Drive in Ann Arbor.

Information on the hotel is limited, but plans for the hotel show amenities would include a pool, business center, a fitness center and a handful of meeting spaces. A total of 112 parking spaces will be built on site as well.

The property is zoned C-3 for commercial use.

The total cost for construction is estimated to be roughly $5 million and would require the demolition of a commercial building on site. That building is home to Computer Medic and other businesses on the property.

Stellar Hospitality has a purchase agreement in place with the property owner to buy the property should plans be approved. The plans are currently being reviewed by the city of Ann Arbor Planning Department.

If approved, this hotel would join several others that are in various stages of development in Ann Arbor.

Along with the Staybridge Suites, work is ongoing for a Hampton Inn on Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor. Last year, plans were approved for a six-story Hyatt Place, also on State Street in Ann Arbor.

Plans are also being reviewed for The Glen hotel in Ann Arbor on Glen Avenue near downtown. Renovations are currently underway at The Graduate - formerly known as The Dahlmann Campus Inn - and are expected to be done this spring.

Last year, a Holiday Inn Express opened on Zeeb Road in Scio Township and The Residence Inn opened on Ashley Street in Ann Arbor.

Matt Durr is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.
UPDATE:: Amway chairman explains how company will respond to 2 years of revenue declines

ADA, MI -- Amway sales fell 12 percent in 2015 to $9.5 billion, marking a second year of revenue decline for the Michigan-based direct sales giant.

The privately-held company, headquartered in the Grand Rapids suburb of Ada, released its overall 2015 sales figure this morning, which were $1.3 billion less than 2014.

It's been five years since Amway had sales under $10 billion. Revenues peaked at $11.8 billion in 2013.

ANNUAL AMWAY SALES

 2015: $9.5B, down 12%

 2014: $10.8B, down 8%

 2013: $11.8B, up 4.4%

 2012: $11.3B, up 4%

 2011: $10.9B, up 17%

 2010: $9.2B, up 9.5%

Source: Amway



Lower revenues in China and fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates are blamed for the falling revenues. They were the same economic headwinds that pushed 2014 revenues down 8 percent to $10.5 billion.

Aside from those factors, Amway had a strong year, said Chairman Steve Van Andel. Sales were up in 70 percent of Amway's top 20 markets.



"Several markets achieved record sales levels in 2015 with others producing their best performance in some time," Van Andel said. "An increasingly competitive environment in China and unfavorable currency exchange rates mask a positive year overall for Amway globally."

Van Andel said there were signs that China's slowing economy might be starting to rebound.

"I think China is going through a little bit of a cycle," said Van Andel. "I think part of it is us. We have been in business for 20-plus years and we have watched the business have tremendous growth over the last couple of years."

Sales in China accounts for about one-third of company's sales. Amway's biggest market continues to be Asia.

While not disclosing sales figures by country, Amway reported "notable" growth in legacy markets like the United States, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia, along with emerging markets such as Brazil and Mexico.

The top 10 markets for Amway in 2015 were China, South Korea, United States, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Taiwan, Malaysia, India and Ukraine.

Amway's Malaysia market hit a longtime sales goal of a billion Ringgit for the first time, while the U.S. had double-digit growth.

The biggest chunk of sales came from the company's nutrition products -- from vitamins to weight management products -- which accounted for 46 percent, up from 43 percent in 2014. Beauty and personal care products represented 25 percent of sales.

Durable products, which includes the eSpring water treatment systems and Atmosphere air treatment systems, represented 16 percent of sales, a drop from 19 percent a year earlier. Home care products generated 7 percent of sales, and other offerings such as the company's downtown Grand Rapids hotels accounted for 6 percent of sales.

Van Andel sees the last two years of declining sales as cyclical.

Amway continued its investment path in 2015, focusing on manufacturing and R&D, along with digital platforms and training for distributors, who are known as Amway Business Owners. In most countries, Amway's products are sold through a network of distributors, instead of in stores.

The company completed a $335 million expansion that included the opening of five manufacturing facilities and a major R&D site.

One reason Amway is optimistic about its future is that the company's annual entrepreneurial survey shows a growing number of people want to do something on their own, whether it's to earn a little extra money on the side or have a full-time business.

"We're well positioned to meet that demand with a low-cost, low-risk business opportunity selling world-class products," said Doug DeVos, Amway president and chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. "The changing definition of entrepreneurship positions our entrepreneurs - Amway Business Owners - well as they meet the needs of the global customer."

RELATED: Amway survey finds 4 qualities you should have to be your own boss

Shandra Martinez covers business for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.


Don't Edit

AP file photo

Breaking down the Best Actor and Actress races

Armed with the wisdom of some foregone conclusions affirmed by the 2016 Screen Actors Guild awards last weekend, I will break down the Best Actor and Best Actress Oscar races. The former category still feels like an inevitability on par with humanity's futile attempts to truly control nature, and the latter is slowly becoming that - but there are a few complications worthy of snarky repartee- er, I mean, analysis.

- John Serba

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Courtesy photo | Bleecker Street

BEST ACTOR: Bryan Cranston, 'Trumbo'

Hollywood, despite a track record of considerable self-importance and self-indulgence, rewarding movies about movies and therefore adding a second layer of self-congratulation to the whole affair, will not give Cranston the Oscar for playing Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. It's a charismatic and entertaining performance, but Trumbo only survived a verbal attack by John Wayne and chewed on a cigarette holder.

Odds: Slim

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Courtesy photo | Warner Bros.

Matt Damon, 'The Martian'

A truly singular performance from Damon, playing an astronaut stranded on Mars and forced to talk to himself in that contrived manner in which only people who know they're in movies talk to themselves. (Or to their environment: "(EXPLETIVE) YOU, MARS!" is one of the actor's more memorable line-readings.) Yet the character only had to survive crippling loneliness, existential despair, starvation, a hostile atmosphere, a moderately gross beard and enough sand to drive Anakin Skywalker to drink.

Odds: Slim.

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Courtesy photo | Universal

Michael Fassbender, 'Steve Jobs'

I keep forgetting that Fassbender was screwed out of an Oscar nomination for "Shame," and this is his first-ever lead-actor nod (he was up for supporting actor for "12 Years a Slave"). Considering his reputation as one of the best actors working today, it feels like he's been part of the Oscar conversation for a decade. Anyway, he's great as the Apple founder and self-appointed guru/world changer/quasi-cult leader, wrapping his thespian skills around all that wordy, walky-and-talky, impossible and enjoyable Aaron Sorkin dialogue. Yet, all the character had to survive was his own repulsive ego.

Odds: Slim.

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Courtesy photo | Focus Features

Eddie Redmayne, 'The Danish Girl'

Redmayne's affectations tend to take me out of the experience of watching his films, so I'm a bit baffled by all the love he gets on the awards circuit (he won the best actor Oscar in 2015 for playing Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything"). Here, he plays a woman trapped in a man's body, and all the character has to survive is cruel societal oppression, a tragically fractured marriage, shock therapy and scary early-20th-century gender-reassignment surgery.

Odds: Slim

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Courtesy photo | 20th Century Fox

Leonardo DiCaprio, 'The Revenant'

This is more like it: The character survives a freaking bear attack (and just when you thought it was over, the beast comes back for another nibble or three), assaults by angry American Indians, starvation, cold, infection, river rapids, a fall off a cliff and wounds, wounds and more wounds. On top of that, it was really uncomfortable out in the Canadian wilderness for DiCaprio and his extra-gross beard, and for added authenticity in the realm of ickiness and suffering, he ate a real raw bison liver and crawled naked inside a horse carcass. This is the clearest path to gold, people.

Odds: 1:1

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Courtesy photo | The Weinstein Company

BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett, 'Carol'

Good mighty great grief and goddess of the silver screen, I want to give Blanchett the moon for her performance in the magnificent melodrama "Carol." She plays a mid-century lesbian torn between the true proclivities of her heart, and the superficial life that has given her the daughter she adores. The 1950s - that cruel, cruel decade - make her suffer so, and it's heartbreaking. Blanchett's Oscar competition is daunting, however, and her rich history (six noms now, with two wins) likely nudges votes away.

Odds: 4:1

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Courtesy photo | A24

Brie Larson, 'Room'

She just won the SAG award, which positions her as frontrunner in the race (Golden Globe and Critic's Choice victories sort of point in that direction, too). Oscar voters tend to reward intensity, portrayals of suffering and redemption, and Larson's character works her way through so much of the former as the object of repeated sexual assaults. The film puts us through the wringer via her remarkable performance.

Odds: 2:1

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Courtesy photo | 20th Century Fox

Jennifer Lawrence, 'Joy'

The Academy really blew it last year, not nominating their perennial favorite Lawrence in whatever it was she was in. I call this the Meryl Streep Consolation Prize, which is essentially a nomination for a beloved, talented actress in a lesser role because nobody apparently could come up with a better nominee. J-Law is one of the best in the business, no question, but - her goofy Golden Globe win be damned - praise has been faint for this movie and performance.

Odds: 15:1

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Courtesy photo | IFC

Charlotte Rampling, '45 Years'

The veteran actress, frequently great in character performances, finally gets a substantial lead role and hits a home run, playing a woman whose 45-year marriage is fundamentally shaken by a few old secrets finally overturned. And then she says controversial things about the hot-button Oscar-diversity issue, essentially torpedoing her chance at wooing voters. It was an outside shot, but a shot nonetheless.

Odds: 20:1

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Courtesy photo | Fox Searchlight

Saorise Ronan, 'Brooklyn'

There's nothing showy, flamboyant or uberdramatic about Ronan's performance in "Brooklyn" - she's understated, charming, witty and quietly insightful. She's doomed. What kind of Oscar clip features an internalized conflict emerging via nonverbal cues? A boring one, that's what. She and Blanchett are not asked to get hysterical or channel extreme physical pain for their roles, which therefore opens the door for Larson's victory. I'll gladly host a consolation party for Cate and Saorise; do you think they'd enjoy tea and crepes?

Odds: 4:1
Random thoughts from a Brit in the North West. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Quite often curmudgeonly.
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Featured Post The Occasionally Fabulous Cartooning Life of Eric Orner, part 1: Ethan Green and Disney by Mike Rhode Eric Orner has been a professional cartoonist for decades, and worked his way through many types of cartooning. Early in the s...

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Our First Principle "I try to be interested in very nearly everything. I always think boredom is to some extent the fault of the bored." - Julian Kestrel, the hero in Kate Ross's novel Cut to the Quick .
Advances in the campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq are forcing the extremists to abandon territory there, generating concerns that they are carving out a new stronghold in oil-rich Libya, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Tuesday.

As everybody here knows, that country has resources, Kerry said at a conference of 23 foreign ministers from nations that form the core of a coalition fighting the Islamic State. The last thing in the world youd want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars in oil revenue.

Both Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the radical Islamist group is expanding its presence in Libya, as fighters pushed out of Iraq and Syria relocate there and are joined by others new to the battle.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers expressed concern over the growing influence of the Islamic State in Libya. They vowed to continue to monitor closely developments there, and stand ready to support the Government of National Accord in its efforts to establish peace and security for the Libyan people.

Kerry ruled out military intervention in Libya by the United States in the near future. But he said that could change if there were some turn of events, like weapons of mass destruction ending up in the hands of the wrong people.

Libya has been in a state of chaos since 2011 when longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi was ousted. Two rival governments subsequently emerged, and continuing conflict has foiled efforts to establish a united Libyan government.

Though the emerging threat in Libya commanded much of the diplomats attention, the situation in Syria remains troublesome. Success in pushing Islamic State fighters out of an estimated 40 percent of territory they controlled in Iraq and 20 percent to 30 percent of the land they held in Syria has created its own set of urgent problems.

Fleeing fighters often booby-trap homes and demolish buildings, which then need to be cleared and rebuilt before residents can return. Kerry urged his fellow foreign ministers to donate more money to a stabilization fund for rebuilding and restoring services in those areas. Now that U.N.-backed Syria peace talks aimed at ending the war have started in Geneva, Kerry called on Russia to stop bombing opposition fighters and the Syrian government to grant humanitarian access to besieged towns.

We are at the table, and we expect a cease-fire, he said. And we expect adherence to the cease-fire, and we expect full humanitarian access.

In Geneva, where U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura on Monday declared the official opening of talks between the Syrian government and opposition, both sides said that as far as they were concerned, negotiations had not yet begun.

In a statement, the opposition delegation said Syrian rebels are facing a massive acceleration of Russian and regime military aggression . . . including attacks on hospitals and critical infrastructure near the cities of Aleppo and Homs over the past two days. It repeated the oppositions insistence that formal negotiations cannot start until the attacks cease.

The Syrian government delegation accused the opposition of acting like amateurs and not professional politicians. Syrias United Nations ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, representing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said his side challenged the participation of two terrorist groups in the opposition delegation, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

The Obama administration is eager for the peace talks to begin and has pressured the opposition to participate. Opposition representatives have said the agreed-upon rules for the negotiations, in a U.N. resolution, call for an end to bombardments and government sieges of civilian areas, as well as the release of prisoners.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, told reporters there that his government considered members of Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham to be participating in the opposition delegation in their personal capacity rather than as official representatives. Russia and Syria consider the groups, which control thousands of opposition fighters in Syria, to be terrorist organizations, and Syria has objected to their inclusion. Lavrov also said that he considers it the responsibility of the United States, as leader of the coalition against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, to prevent conflict among the various participants operating strike aircraft over those countries.

Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
Three Christian high school students will stand trial for blasphemy in Egypt Thursday on charges that they insulted Islam, after a video of the students emerged in which they allegedly mock Muslim prayers.

If found guilty, the three teenagers could face up to five years in a juvenile detention center for violating the countrys strict blasphemy law.

The 30-second video shows one the boys reciting Muslim prayers while another behind him laughs, as well as parodies of the students slitting each others throats. The boys teacher reportedly filmed the video in a hotel room during an overnight trip, shortly after Islamic State militants slaughtered 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya last February.

The three high schoolers are to appear in court in the southern city of Minya. According to the boys lawyer, Maher Naguib, their teacher, who is also Christian, will stand trial under the same charges and faces a prison sentence if convicted.

Naguib downplayed the significance of the video , calling it the result of a random and spontaneous action by some youngsters that lasted for only few seconds.

The lawyer also said that the boys already face serious retaliation from the local community because of the video, and have had to hide out in their homes to avoid insults, beating and harassment.

The video reportedly came to light in April 2015, after which angry Muslims called for the expulsion of the students and the teacher from their village. At that time, officials detained the boys, and ordered the teacher and his family to leave the village.

Others have come out in defense of the boys actions, such as Mina Thabet, a researcher at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, who claims that the teenagers behavior was harmless.

They are some kids who decided to have fun in a private place, Thabet said. They were on a trip with their teacher, but somehow rumor got out that theyd thrown down the Quran, and had insulted Islam, so that led to their arrests.

Thabet suggested that the boys did not intend to insult Muslims, and took the occasion to advocate for greater freedom of speech in Egypt.

They use some words that are used in Muslim prayers, but they are in no way being disrespectful to Islam, she said, and even if they were, they should have the right to free speechbut in Egypt we have this law.

In December, leaders of Egypts Coptic community attended a UN minority rights forum in Geneva, where they condemned the countrys blasphemy law. Medhat Kelada, head of the European Coptic Organizations Union, claimed that the law has been badly exploited against the Copts.

Father Mina Adel, a priest at the Church of Two Saints in Alexandria, said that most Christians in Egypt live in fear . Not a few are leaving  for America, Canada and Australia. Dozens of families from this church alone are trying to go, too, he said.

Christians make up some 10 percent of Egypts population. Despite assurances of fair treatment from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt continues to see a rash of blasphemy charges, mostly against Christians, though Muslims have come under fire as well for advocating free speech.

On Tuesday, an Egyptian court upheld a one-year jail sentence for Muslim researcher Islam Al Behery convicted of blasphemy for a television program in which he questioned the credibility of some widely accepted sources of the Prophet Mohammads sayings.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome
[February 03, 2016] GrubHub Expands Delivery Service to Washington D.C.

CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GrubHub, the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform, announced today that its delivery service is available in Washington D.C. Through GrubHub's delivery service, restaurants in Washington D.C. area, including those that did not previously offer delivery, can now expand their customer base and grow their order volume. It will also bring new delivery options to GrubHub diners. GrubHub currently provides delivery services for more than 15 restaurants in Washington D.C., a number that will continue to grow, including local favorites such as: Halsa

Laliguras Indian and Nepali Bistro "We're excited to bring delivery to more restaurants in the Washington D.C. area," said Stan Chia, senior vice president of operations, GrubHub."But even more importantly, we're thrilled to be partnering closely with local restaurants to help drive order volume, revenue growth and efficiency, and to bring a wider variety of choice to D.C. diners."



GrubHub's national scale lowers the overall cost of delivery to diners, which in turn, helps encourage diner loyalty. And when GrubHub handles the delivery, restaurants can focus on making great food. The efficiency of GrubHub's delivery service, combined with great food, creates a win-win for local restaurants. GrubHub's delivery service launched in June of 2014 and has since expanded to more than 40 markets across the country. In 2015, GrubHub announced a national delivery partnership with Fatburger, and is currently testing delivery with seven other national chains. "Halsa is in an up and coming area of D.C., so being able to tap into GrubHub's large network of diners has been a great way for us to market our brand and introduce our food to more customers," said Melissa Beazer, General Manager at Halsa.

To find takeout restaurants available in your area, check out GrubHub.com. If you are interested in becoming part of the GrubHub Delivery team, please visit driver.grubhub.com. To learn more about GrubHub and its portfolio of brands, please visit http://media.grubhub.com. About GrubHub

GrubHub (NYSE: GRUB) is one of the nation's largest portfolios of online and mobile takeout food ordering and delivery services. Connecting diners to more than 35,000 restaurants in more than 900 U.S. cities and London, the company's platforms and services strive to make takeout better through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. The GrubHub Inc. portfolio of brands includes GrubHub, Seamless, AllMenus, MenuPages, Restaurants on the Run, DiningIn and Delivered Dish. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-expands-delivery-service-to-washington-dc-300214631.html SOURCE GrubHub

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[February 03, 2016] Rapidly Changing Technology Will Expedite the Global MEMS for Mobile Devices Market by 2020, says Technavio

Technavio analysts forecast the global micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for mobile devices market to grow at a CAGR of over 9% by 2020, according to their latest report. The demand for MEMS has risen in the wake of a shorter product replacement cycle for mobile devices. Technological advances have also compelled original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce product size and enhance product performance, thus resulting in a demand for more compact internal components like sensors, actuators, and microphones. Two of the most important features of smartphones and tablets are navigation and gesture recognition, both of which are enabled by MEMS technology. The demand for these features in all new mobile devices has led to the growing use of MEMS in smartphones and tablets. According to Asif Gani, one of Technavio's lead research analysts for embedded systems, the declining prices of smartphones are leading to increased demand for these mobile devices and their associated parts, including MEMS. According to the new report by Technavio, the global MEMS market for mobile devices is segmented into smartphones and tablets. The growing demand for smartphones is driving the market for MEMS in these devices. The penetration of mobile devices is growing due to introduction of low-cost smartphones by new regional vendors such as Micromax and Lenovo (News - Alert), thus driving the market for associated parts such as MEMS devices. Tablets such as the iPad, Nexus 7, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 are driving the MEMS market in this segment. However, the revenue contribution from this segment is lower than that of smartphones due to the longer replacement cycle of tablets. Geographically, APAC leads the global retail display market with more than 44% of the total market. China contributes the largest of any country in the region, accounting for about 47% of total revenue generated. Technavio's market research analysts have identified the following four factors as the driving forces behind the growth of MEMS for mobile devices: Consistently changing technology

High demand for mobile device components from emerging markets

li > Availability of low-cost smartphones Short replacement cycle of mobile devices



Consistently changing technology With rapidly changing technology, new features and applications are being installed in mobile devices that require integration of MEMS. MEMS like accelerometers, gyroscopes, and oscillators consume less power and are used for tap, scroll, tilt, rotate, and switch display features in mobile devices. Microphones, which provide high-definition audio quality for video recording and improve accuracy of voice command functions, drive a large part of the MEMS market for mobile devices.

Technavio analysts expect growing global Internet penetration to boost the demand for smartphones integrated with MEMS devices during the forecast period. Smartphone manufacturers like Apple have contributed to the adoption of MEMS microphones by employing them in popular iPhone (News - Alert) and iPad devices. High demand for mobile device components from emerging markets Emerging economies like China, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are witnessing significant demand for mobile device components due to the high concentration of device manufacturers. Low labor costs, availability of resources, and the rising disposable income of people encourage manufacturers to set up new facilities in the region. "As these countries are showing immense potential for growth in this market, the number of mobile device manufacturers in APAC is growing. New companies that have established a market presence within a short period include OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi. This indirectly boosts the market for mobile device components in emerging countries," says Asif. Availability of low-cost smartphones Smartphone manufacturing companies like Huawei (News - Alert), Lava, Oppo Electronics, Gionee, Xiaomi, and many other local brands are providing inexpensive smartphones that still offer all the features of a smartphone manufactured by Samsung (News - Alert) or other prominent vendors. Developing countries like China and India are major markets for cheaper smartphones. The cost of the internal components of smartphones is declining, which enables manufacturers to deploy advanced features in less-expensive models, thus boosting the market for components such as MEMS. Short replacement cycle of mobile devices The buying pattern of consumers is changing with rising disposable income levels and technological advances. Smart devices such as smartphones and tablets have short product replacement cycles, as most of these products are quickly cannibalized by newer versions. For instance, 70% of Apple's (News - Alert) total iPhone sales are replacement sales, which is likely to increase to 80% in the coming years. This factor has been contributing significantly to the growing demand for semiconductor components such as MEMS. Browse Related Reports: Global Optical MEMS Market 2015-2019

Global MEMS Gyroscope Market 2015-2019

Global MEMS Market for Consumer Electronics 2015-2019 Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact [email protected] with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160203005033/en/

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Resources for all concerned with culture of authoritarianism in society, banalisation of communalism, (also chauvinism, parochialism and identity politics) rise of the far right in India (and with occasional information on other countries of South Asia and beyond)
Nana Aba Anamoah

03.02.2016 LISTEN

Nana Aba Anamoah, of GHOne Television (formerly of TV3) has donated an amount of Thousand Ghana cedis (GHC1000.00) to support the husband and children of Cynthia Nuworsu, the 38-year-old lady who died during childbirth at the Madina Polyclinic a couple of months ago.

Presenting the cash amount to the widower, Mr. Bernard Otoo, in the studios of Starr FM shortly after their interview session on the Morning Starr, Nana Aba who was sitting in for Nii Ardey Clegg, the regular host, said This is my personal contribution to keep you and your children going in this moment of grief. I hope other individuals and institutions will do same to help sooth your sorrow.

Mr. Otoo who received the package with mixed feeling said This gesture is totally unexpected; it means so much to me and I know God will reward you for this gesture.

Details of the story on the death of Cynthia and her baby are available here: http://thekroboquill.blogspot.com/2016/01/madina-polyclinic-killed-my-wife-baby.html
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Controversial and out spoken radio and television personality, Deloris Frimpong Manso aka Delay has come under constant criticism and often caught in between several misunderstandings in the news.

Just last week, the television presenter got into it, carrying on two of the strongest women in showbiz, Ahuofe Patri and Yfm's Caroline Sampson.

Ahuofe Patri was accused of trying to own "Cocoa Brown" which is said to be one of Deloris' many nicknames. And she received a backlash for that from the television presenter.

Caroline was outplayed in the end though in what looked like a publicity stunt according to reports.

This week, shes trending once again with shots fired by her former counterpart Afia Schwarzenegger still the talk of the town.

Amidst all the brouhaha, there's been one musician who's been observing from afar whatever's been happening and shares the sentiments of Deloris.

According to rapper Genesis, Delay is one of the most attractive and beautiful women in Ghana and anyone who cannot attest to that fact is definitely a hater.

He believes, she is human and as human, we're programmed in our own individual ways.

The "dangerous" rapper also states that, they share the same birthday and what makes it more interesting is, they were born same year, 25th June, so that alone must account for something.

"I've been keeping tabs on her for quite a while, i admire her a lot, not just her personality but she's a very charming lady". I have not told her in person but i'm hoping to get the opportunity to meet her and share what i've kept for all this while"- he said.

Genesis was formerly a member of the popular group D2 who had hits such as fever, Backside, mama ne dada etc, Genesis was to most D2 fans, the strongest member of the group with his versatile rap skills and a sting for singing. They parted ways due to individual reasons.

The rapper recently released his video for the smashing hit single dangerous which featured Zeal(VVIP).

Well, its only a matter of time, we wait to see how his love story with Delay transpires.
Samuel Attah Mensah

03.02.2016 LISTEN



Citi FM has launched the 'Heritage Caravan' as part of its annual Heritage Month event in March.

The event will bring individuals desiring to experience the allure of Ghana in a unique and fun way together.

The caravan will transport patrons across boundaries of language and culture that exist within Ghana to showcase the diversity that is calling out for attention in a country whose citizens rarely value the culture of sightseeing.

A convoy of buses will depart from Accra on March 7, 2016, to some of the most captivating parts of Ghana overflowing with history and culture.

The 'Heritage Caravan' was officially launched on the Citi Breakfast Show by some members of staff, including CEO, Samuel Attah Mensah, who outlined the programme line-up for the seven-day road trip around Ghana.

Some of the highlights on this road trip include a stop at the Adaklu Mountains in the Volta Region, the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in the Brong Ahafo Region and the Manhyia Palace Museum in the Ashanti Region.

Patrons of this road trip will also partake in some other special activities like the 'Cultural Night' in the Northern Region and a dinner dance in the Ashanti Region.

On March 13, the team will visit one of Ghana's most iconic tourist spots, the Cape Coast Castle in the Central Region.

The 'Heritage Caravan' is sponsored by SASSO and JOVAGO, Africa's number one online hotel booking portal. Deadline for registration is on February 26.
Reggie of Reggie N Bollie fame seems to have been the latest victim of what could be a carefully orchestrated plan by a lady who is known to serially trap and scam male celebrities.

Last Sunday, UKs Daily Star reported a story of Reggie, a member of X-Factor UK finalist group, Reggie N Bollie, cheating on his wife.

Read: Married X Factor runner-up Reggie sends string of sordid sex texts to fan

According to the report, Reggie, born Reginald Kojo Ainooson, had intimate and explicit chats/conversations with a female fan. Daily Star even shared screenshots of some of their Whatsapp conversations.

The fan, Marie, claimed she had been abused by the Ghanaian and described Reggie as fake.

Daily Star quoted that fan as saying, Being a good husband and dad is Reggie N Bollies brand but in Reggies case its a fake. He is living a double life. I thought he liked me but he just used me and then dropped me, Marie told how she and Reggie exchanged more than 500 texts as he shot to fame on The X Factor.

As the UKs Daily Star released a phone conversation between the two planning to meet at a hotel for sex, Maries credibility has been called into question.

Marie, age 36, apparently has been a mastermind of series of scams in the past.

She was the lady behind Daily Stars headline story Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli pleads for woman's bedroom secrets in dirty phone chat that grabbed world headlines on November 10, 2015.

Read: Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli pleads for woman's bedroom secrets in dirty phone chat

Daily Star reported that a 36-year-old woman gave her number out to the Liverpool star after he caught her eye on Instagram. But she was so shocked at the hot headed Italian's sordid pleas she decided to record part of their late-night conversation.

In the minute-and-a-half clip the striker  currently on loan at AC Milan  asks Marie whether she likes "to play with herself" before going to sleep.

And the 25-year-old begs to know what she is good at in bed before pleading with her to "concentrate and try to remember when she laughs off the question.

Before that report, the same media outfit also put out a story that LISTEN: 'I''ll w*** over you' Amy Childs' fella exposed in phone sex with other woman - AMY Childs' relationship has been left in tatters after her boyfriend of 18 months has been exposed as a sleazy love-rat on October 1, 2015.

Read: LISTEN: 'I''ll w*** over you' Amy Childs' fella exposed in phone sex with other woman

Marie, Marie Asemota, was once again at the centre of this controversy all reported by UKs Daily Star.

Daily Star reported their alleged expose on Reggie that a spokesman for the Ghanaian confirmed he was in communication with Marie but is no longer in contact with her. He added: Reggie never met this woman  and is not in communication with her.

Listen to Reggie and Marie's phone conversation below:

Follow me on Twitter: @delaXdela and Instagram: citizendela

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)
US-based Ghanaian movie producer and director, Leila Djanis has incurred the wrath of Nollywood over some remarks she made about the worlds second largest movie industry.

Some popular faces in Nollywood, including Stella Damasus and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, are not happy with Leilas comments in a documentary that that new producers should not be put under the blanket of Nollywood as that would not help their reputation.

Leila further said that the new producers aligning themselves with Nollywood was as bad as a mother calling her son Hitler.

I dont think those people; this crop of filmmakers should be put under the umbrella of Nollywood. They should be put independent film because the name carries a lot. If you start tagging it Nollywood, every negative connotation that comes with Nollywood is like calling your son Hitler, she said.

Nollywood actress Stella Damasus, in a video posted on Youtube, was quick to condemn Leila comments and said she was so hurt by them.

That is the most derogatory thing that anybody can ever say about the Nigerian movie industry, she said and added that Leila has insulted some of Nollywoods celebrated actors.

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde also commenting on the issue on twitter said thank You @stelladamasus for saying this better than anyone could have!Ur intelligence has never been in question.

The actress, who starred in Leila's movie, Ties That Bind, called on her to apologise. Just got calls from some of my team here in Ghana that #NollywoodNotHitler is being discussed on Ghanaian Radio. #leilaneedstoapologise.

Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw also waded in by saying, WAY TO GOOOOOOO @stelladamasus !!! I am totally Nigerian!! Woooop! Woooop!!!

You brought goose pimples on my skin!! Ohh Gbole!!!

@stelladamasus Haters all round. Nollywood can never be deameaned! I stand with you! she added.

Meanwhile Leila Djanis says she is not going to apologise for the comments.

Nollywood is the second biggest film producer in the world. The film industry, is now priced at $5 billion and makes more films than Hollywood in the U.S.

Follow me on Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)
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Germain Katanga sits in the military court in Kinshasa, on February 3, 2016. By Papy Mulongo (AFP)

03.02.2016 LISTEN

Kinshasa (AFP) - Notorious Congolese warlord Germain Katanga was back in the dock Wednesday for crimes against humanity after completing a first 12-year sentence handed down by the International Criminal Court.

Smiling and relaxed, the former general nicknamed Simba the lion due to his alleged ferocity, entered the military court in uniform, warmly greeting senior officers before the trial began.

He and five others are accused of "war crimes, crimes against humanity and participating in an insurrectional movement" in Ituri near the Ugandan border, where some 60,000 people died in fighting between 1999 and 2007.

Katanga's defence lawyers called on the court to drop the charges during the three-hour hearing and denounced his "arbitrary and illegal detention".

Rights groups Human Rights Watch said he not been given sufficient time to prepare his case.

His prior ICC sentence for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity was reduced in November by the court based in The Hague, for good behaviour and after he voiced regret.

Katanga was only the second person to be sentenced by the tribunal since it began work in 2003 as the world's first permanent court to try war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He was brought back from the Dutch city to Kinshasa late last year to complete his term and had been scheduled to walk free on January 18. But Democratic Republic of Congo authorities announced they would keep him behind bars to prosecute for "other cases".

The 37-year-old was convicted by the ICC over a 2003 attack on the village of Bogoro that saw 200 people shot and hacked to death. He was acquitted of sexual slavery and using child soldiers.

- From warlord to general -

Congolese authorities have claimed that in Ituri he played a role in the killing of nine UN peacekeepers in the violence-torn northeastern region in 2005.

But there was no specific mention of that incident during Wednesday's hearing. The next court hearing will take place on February 19.

Katanga headed the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri (FRPI), one of the many largely ethnic-based militias that fought for control of the gold-rich region.

He became a general in the DR Congo army in 2004 in exchange for disbanding the militia.

He was arrested however in 2005 and handed over to the ICC in 2007.

DR Congo itself, a country of more than 67 million people that is Africa's second largest, was torn by two wars between 1996 and 2003 estimated to have cost at least two to three million lives.

Its eastern provinces remain ravaged by conflicts between ethnic groups and local warlords over control of land and mineral resources.

Many atrocities such as rape, killing and enslavement have been committed, most of them unpunished until 2014 when the authorities began to take measures to end impunity.
Yet, since Boorse defines disease in terms of statistical abnormal functioning of a specific trait in comparison with the average functioning of traits of the same type in individuals of a concrete "reference class" (members of the same species, gender and age), and health, instead, as simply the absence of disease, its view raises many difficulties to establish a clear frontier between healthy (normal) and unhealthy (abnormal) levels of functioning without adducing subjective and arbitrary considerations. And in this sense, it is dubious that this approach can be really consistent with a biologically grounded theory of functions.

Another philosopher who played an important role was Christopher Boorse, who proposed in 1976 to define function as the causal contribution of something to a goal in a teleological system [3] . This concept is close to Cumminss concept, but the originality of Boorse was to connect the debate of function with the debate on health and disease. For Boorse, function is a non-normative concept, itself part of a non-normative concept of disease and health: disease is no more than dysfunction; and health is typical functioning, defined in terms of available physiological knowledge and statistical normality [4] . Correlatively, for Boorse, in sum, normative issues come into play only for a subclass of human disease, which he calls illness. Illness is disease plus subjective and social components [5]
03.02.2016 LISTEN

North Korea has announced plans to launch a satellite later this month, a UN agency says.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says it has been notified of Pyongyangs plans to launch a satellite between 8 and 25 February.

It comes after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on 6 January, drawing international condemnation.

Critics have called Pyongyangs last satellite launch a cover for a test of ballistic missile technology.

Last week, US officials said that North Korea appeared to be preparing for a rocket launch, citing increased activity around the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, also known as Tongchang-ri.

North Korea has said its space programme is peaceful, but it is believed to be developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the US.

-bbc


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Hillary Clinton appeared to squeak past insurgent rival Sen. Bernie Sanders in Iowa's presidential vote, according to results Tuesday, redeeming a crushing loss here in 2008 but revealing the shortcomings of a candidate who once seemed invincible.

Results from Iowa's Democratic Party, announcing 100 percent of the precincts counted, gave Clinton a whisker-thin margin: 49.8 percent to Sanders's 49.6 percent  setting up what is likely to become a prolonged nominating contest.

Under the state's caucus system, delegates are assigned by percentage of the vote.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley received less than 1 percent of the vote, according to the results released hours after he dropped out of the race.

The outcome from Monday's caucuses was a relief for Clinton loyalists confronted in recent weeks with the wrenching possibility that Clinton's second-chance candidacy, like her first, might falter out of the gate and never recover.

It was also a shock to the system that a candidate universally known in Iowa, with deep pockets and long experience, could come close to losing to a relative unknown who was initially considered little more than a protest candidate.

Sanders claimed a kind of victory nonetheless, since he so far exceeded expectations. En route to New Hampshire, he said he was in the race for the long haul.

Sanders had erased Clinton's once-commanding lead here in recent weeks, but then fell back. Although he could not overtake her, Sanders's strong performance leaves Clinton more battered by the Iowa caucuses than she or her supporters ever expected her to be. She now heads to New Hampshire, where Sanders is heavily favored to win next week's primary.

At the very least, Sanders's competitiveness portends a longer, more costly and more difficult primary battle than anyone predicted when Sanders entered the race six months ago. He has money and enthusiastic support to carry his fight

Clinton began her campaign in Iowa 40 points ahead of Sanders  and projecting an aura of inevitability that, after her loss to Barack Obama eight years ago, her time had finally come. Her supporters believed that the party's base would embrace her experience, as well as the chance to elect the first female president.

Sanders, 74, a long-serving independent in Congress, tapped into the electorate's economic anxiety with a call for a political revolution aimed at curbing the outsized influence of the billionaire class and leveling the playing field for ordinary Americans.

His vision of a country with universal health care and free college tuition was dismissed by his critics  including Clinton and her allies  as unworkable. But it resonated with large swaths of voters disillusioned with the political process and wary of Clinton and the political establishment generally.

Over the summer, Sanders saw his crowds at rallies around the country swell into the thousands, with supporters turning out for festival-like event with homemade Feel the Bern signs where Sanders typically spoke for an hour or more.

You want a radical idea? All right, here's a radical idea, the rumpled white-haired senator shouted at his audience at his final campaign rally Sunday night in Des Moines. Together, we're going to create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.

Despite her history-making potential and the magic of the Clinton name, she has run a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other campaign in Iowa that prized mechanics over majesty.

And in a political season of insurgent fervor, the former secretary of state, senator from New York and first lady can struggle to expand her rationale for running much beyond her own lengthy resume and the enduring popularity of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Clinton has also spent a good part of her time trying to get past, or explain away, her decision as secretary of state to use a private email system whose security the FBI is now examining.

I don't think she's a saint, said Cindy Roeser, 55, a new Iowa resident and first-time caucus-goer who supported Clinton. She's had to make some very difficult choices when there was no easy, good choice to make, but she's always made the best choice. She's committed to her causes.

Sanders and Clinton will continue their battle in New Hampshire.

Clinton's showing blunts Sanders's momentum, but the close outcome sets up what is likely to be a prolonged Democratic contest. Clinton remains the favorite to win the Democratic nomination next summer, but she starts the primary season hobbled by her close call here.

For his part, Sanders faces considerable obstacles once the nominating contest moves beyond New Hampshire. He has been rattled by attacks from Clinton and her allies that his record was to weak on gun control and women's issues, charges he denied with increasing agitation.

.

And despite a long history of civil rights activism, Sanders has acknowledged he faces a challenge connecting with Latino and black voters, who will be crucial to the outcome of upcoming contests in Nevada and South Carolina. Vermont, the state Sanders has represented for than a quarter century on Capitol Hill, is 95 percent white.

Although Sanders has vowed to get money out of politics, his campaign has not suffered from a lack of resources. In the two most recent fundraising quarters, he nearly matched Clinton's haul. And on Sunday, Sanders's campaign announced it had taken in an eye-popping $20 million in January alone.

His take, fueled by hundreds of thousands of small online donations averaging $27 apiece, enabled Sanders to put on a robust television advertising campaign in Iowa that matched if not exceeded that of Clinton in the closing weeks. Aides said they expect a new wave of donations after the Iowa voting.

For much of the race, Sanders avoided direct criticism of Clinton. That changed in the fall, when he began to more aggressively draw contrasts with her on issues including Wall Street reform, expansion of Social Security and her late opposition of a pending trade deal he had vigorously opposed.

Clinton responded in the closing weeks of the contest, accusing Sanders of being too cozy with gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association, unrealistic about healthcare and uninformed or misguided about foreign policy.

Clinton's Iowa victory  narrow as it was  made good on nearly a year of dutiful campaigning and heavy investment in Iowa. She was determined not to repeat the mistakes of 2008, when Obama's nimble, numbers-driven operation outmaneuvered her buttoned-own one.

At stops across the state, Clinton jumped easily from topic to topic  prescription drug price gouging, rapacious banks, crumbling bridges, Chinese cyber attacks, Iranian nuclear negotiations and more.

On Wednesday in Newton, Clinton sought to comfort Annette Bebout, a retiree who lost the home where she had raised five children. Clinton patted Bebout's arm and spoke of her hopes to better protect widows who lose Social Security income when their husbands die.

Hillary is a down-to-earth person and she just wants to help common people, Bebout said afterward.

Bebout added that she would show up to caucus for Clinton, and joked that she had no choice because a young organizer for Clinton calls me every day to remind her.

That kind of ground-level organizing was at the heart of Clinton's second effort here, and the defense her backers hoped would withstand Sanders's insurgent enthusiasm among new and nontraditional caucus voters.

Clinton built a colossus of paid staff and volunteers, and spent millions on television advertising when no other Democrat loomed as a serious threat. She held scores of events, many of them small discussion groups.

She also pumped out a steady stream of policy proposals and big-name endorsements that Sanders has not matched. She promised to work hard and fight for better wages, fairer workplaces, lower prescription drug prices and more gun control.

For weeks, Republicans gleefully played up the improbability of Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, becoming a giant-killer in Iowa. Now Republican opponents and their allies are sure to cast her near-miss in Iowa as evidence that Clinton has feet of clay.

The lingering questions surrounding Clinton's State Department email have added grist to that argument and contributed to voter unease about her basic trustworthiness. Even when she was polling much better in Iowa, surveys found distrust and dislike for Clinton among many of the same voters who said they found her qualified.

The State Department said Friday that 22 emails that passed through Clinton's unorthodox private email server contained top secret information. The messages were not marked as such at the time, and her campaign took the unusual step of accusing intelligence agencies of retroactive overclassification run amok.

Clinton has said she regrets her decision to exclusively use the separate communication system for her government work but maintains she did nothing wrong. The Justice Department is probing whether secrets were compromised, an open question that hangs over Clinton as presidential voting begins.

The Benghazi attacks blotted Clinton's record at the State Department, and she has called the deaths of four Americans there her greatest regret. But Clinton campaigns on her foreign policy expertise, regularly noting that no other candidate on either side of the race has had to make decisions in the White House Situation Room.

Clinton also had a lift over the weekend from a laudatory New York Times endorsement, atop those of the Des Moines Register and several smaller Iowa newspapers.

The Register editorial, which came out slightly more than a week ahead of the caucus vote, said no other candidate can match the depth or breadth of her knowledge and experience.

The presidency is not an entry-level position. Whoever is sworn into office next January must demonstrate not only a deep understanding of the issues facing America, but also possess the diplomatic skills that enable presidents to forge alliances to get things done, the newspaper wrote.

-msn


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Education in Ghana was informal before contact with the Europeans, in the informal setting people served as apprentices and understudied their masters. With time, they gained the relevant knowledge and skills hands on to start the business or the profession on their own. Today, we practice the FCUBE system which is Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education where we have formal classroom structures and organised systems to facilitate teaching and learning through reading, writing, speaking etc.

In a world where education is one key among several to success, Ghana has misplaced its keys to success, no wonder we have placed little value on education of school children at the basic level in public schools as a nation. It is easy for one to conclude that, basic education is being treated the same across my beloved country Ghana, until one gets to see the situation on the ground.

There is an albatross of an education gap between northern Ghana and southern Ghana that remains despite education indicators. A recent fact finding visit to some four schools in Tamale in the northern region of Ghana gives credence to the assertion. Perhaps education does not make it to the priority list of the national budget. Maybe it is just an item like many trivial others in the eyes of policy makers and implementers or we have misplaced our priorities as a nation.

Above is a wooden classroom structure for children in a basic school in Tamale the capital of Northern Ghana even though the foundation has suffered some cracks, a clear indication of our education system. Most public schools in the north have either cement block structures, schools under trees or sheds or wooden structures. Public funds must be used to put up permanent classroom blocks to replace such frail structures.

As though the crevices and gaps in our walls are not enough, the situation is worsened by insufficient desks in classrooms. A visitor will often see four students using a dual desk meant for two students, it is very serious to the extent that some of the desks are rickety and the children are ushered to sit on the floor during class sessions, some are caught shuffling between standing, squatting, sitting on the floor and lying on the floor while they struggle to share textbooks. This must change, adequate new desks must replace the old ones, if it persists chances are we will have youth with spinal cord challenges in the future.

One of the challenges that basic schools in Ghana face especially those in the north is the inadequate supply of core text books to facilitate effective teaching and learning. Core textbooks are books on the compulsory subjects that are taught in school like the native language and mathematics, these textbooks are needed by both teachers and students to ensure effective teaching and learning. Enough funds from tax revenue must be appropriated to ensure both teachers and their students have enough books.

Though the condition of classroom structures speaks volumes in Southern Ghana, the situation is very dire up north the country. These situations in public schools de-motivate most teachers from going to public schools where they are posted; hence the plight and future of the so called future leaders are worsened. In farming communities during harvest, parents initiate their wards into child labour due to teacher absenteeism by making them assist with harvesting farm produce.

Our current education system must not be the case in a country where tax forms a vital part of the annual income of the state.Tax is what already pays for most public services  schools, hospitals and clinics, roads, power, water in most countries, especially developing countries. 2

To downplay on the essence of tax for developing countries like Ghana is not only futile but fatal. The ordinary citizen and market trader pay more taxes than big companies and corporations due to tax incentives offered to corporations, tax dodging/evasion and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). However, the ordinary citizen and market woman are not enjoying the fruits of taxes as they should because this shows in the poor nature of our education system and the type of education our children are receiving.

Governments must make strict tax reforms where necessary. Governments can decide to reduce the tax incentives they offer, in particular the most harmful types such as tax holidays and discretionary incentives. They can also make sure that they critically assess the full costs of tax incentives through published 'tax expenditure studies', and that tax incentives are subject to parliamentary scrutiny and public debate to make sure we reap the full benefits of the taxes due us as a nation. 1

In addition, the public must be involved in making decisions that affect them from the grassroots level up so that they are not merely presented with what has already been decided upon when they will bear the consequences the most. If governments of developing countries fail to involve the masses in issues that affect them, a time will come when political leaders will incur the wrath of the masses.

Daniel Nii Ankrah 

+233249749489

[email protected]

REFERENCES
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Most importantly, our deep concern is her record which showed that she dumps political parties at will, leaving the parties in its wake factionalized - from the Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Grand Alliance, to Progressive Peoples Alliance, back to PDP or vice versa and now to APC. She is more or less a fair-weather-hen.

Ouch!

Those are not my words. That was the verdict delivered by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial Screening Committee a couple of weeks ago as it rejected the candidacy of Mrs Uche Ekwunife on it partys platform for the Anambra Central Senatorial District.

Sad to say, Ekwunife had it coming.

Last month, a Court of Appeal had annulled Ekwunife election as a Senator. The court ordered that a fresh election be conducted within 90 days. Madam has been scrambling since then to return to the Senate by fire, by force. Ekwunife had won a seat in the Senate as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, but something funny happened and the lady refused to return to the party - or vice versa.

Well, lets hear it from madam herself: My good people of Anambra Central, the outcome of what we witnessed was a conspiracy between some elements in PDP and the State Government who were panicking over what they referred to as my rising profile.

Strictly speaking, this is not exactly true. Mrs Ekwunife bolted the PDP because that party advertised in four national newspapers that it would not participate in further political elections or congresses including the Anambra Central Senatorial election re-run until its National spokesman, Olisa Metuh, who was back then still grooming his now luxurious beard within the confines of a lonely cell in Kuje prison, is released. Nigerian politicians  especially Mrs Ekwunife - dont play that kind of game. Party primaries are time-bound; so the lady quickly moved on.

Before she moved on to another party however, Ekwunife had to tidy up some loose ends. She claimed, ...some leaders from South East called me on phone and said that since they have nullified the election and requested for fresh election, why dont we use this opportunity to play national politics? Hmm. Also, Ekwunife had to reach out to the APC. You see, whilst previously campaigning for the Senate as a PDP candidate, Ekwunife happily referred to the APC as a terrorist party. She had since apologised to the APC. She said she was only joking when she made that comment.

She then added the coup de grace: It is true some of us did not give our support to APC in the previous election We Ndigbo cannot continue to be relegated from the national bargain which we are co-owners. This is the time to join forces with the Federal Government to move our country forward. Hmm, again.

Im sure you now get the full picture. However, for the record:

In just 7 years, Mrs Ekwunife changed political parties 4 times. She was another average Jane, living a normal quiet life somewhere in Awka. Post 1999, Ekwunife was appointed a bank manager. Within a short time, the small bank ran into financial difficulties. Curiously, as the banks fortune nose-dived, Ekwunifes skyrocketed. Before you could say external audit,' Ekwunife left the struggling bank for politics. She joined forces with then governor, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, and the formula was repeated: as Anambra financial resources dwindled, that of Ekwunife and Mbadinuju soared.

Not a lot of people were aware that when Chris Ngige, a former half-term governor of Anambra state was abducted, smuggled into the boot of a small car and held for over five hours in an audacious Igbo-made coup in Awka in July 2003, Ekwunifes was the only head-tie sighted among the jubilant Chris Uba crowd.

By 2007, Ekwunife was in the House of Representatives courtesy of the PDP. You dont need me to tell you that she signed her name then as Hon. Dr. (Mrs.) Uche Ekwunife. Chief came afterwards. Four years later, her nose to the ground, she followed the political wind of change in Anambra, dumped the PDP and sailed into the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Before her election into the Senate last March, she had twice contested the governorship of Anambra state under PPA and APGA and lost both times.

Now shes tried to follow another wind of change back to the Senate, but the APC screening committee has only gone and said mba.

Where Ngige could not sweep well with an APC broom because the people are not too sold on APCs seemingly segregationist policies, Ekwunife was desperate enough to want to try. Alas, even the APC says Iyom is not good enough for them.

Mrs Ekwunife now finds herself effectively stranded. Whats a gal to do...?

[email protected]

Twitter: demdemdem1
Visiting deputy IMF boss Min Zhu has asked government institute additional measures to ensure it spends within the approved budget and fast track expected economic recovery.

The much talked about market confidence in the Ghanaian economy is yet to be restored almost a year after signing onto the IMF programme.

This has raised concerns about whether the Fund program has really helped stabilize economy.

However, speaking at a press conference in Accra Monday, Mr. Zhu insists the programme is yielding the desired results.

Were making good and big progress. We are building the base to move further. The whole programme has multiple goals and one issue in the short term is debt sustainability, he said.

According to him, managers of the economy have been making significant progress with cutting down debts.

We see government deficits coming down from 10 to 7 [percent] and further to 5 percent and that is a big achievement, he adds.

He also indicated that there might be need for government to review its bench mark price for oil exports, which is currently pegged at 53 dollars a barrel.

Min Zhu has been engaging policy makers and other stakeholders in Ghana in a bid to strengthen the Funds engagement with the country.

Click audio link to listen to Deputy IMF Managing Director.

Min Zhu also says accurate data from the statistical office is crucial in solving current economic challenges facing Ghana and other African countries.

Some economists have argued that several economic policies aimed at stabilizing the Ghanaian economy has not worked because of challenges with data collection.

The IMF deputy boss says it is important that the economic data obtained is precise to ensure that the various policies by the Fund work.

Click audio link for more.


2 GROUPS RAISE RED FLAGS OVER HIGH TAXES, LEVIES

The public agitation against hikes in tariffs, levies and taxes seems not to end, as two groups on Tuesday raised red flags and threatened various protests if the government did not review the current tax regime.

GHANAS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK POSITIVE  IMF

The International Monetary Fund has passed a vote of confidence in Ghanas economy, forecasting that the current pains of stabilizing the economy will begin to yield good fruits next year.

PRESIDENT PRESENTS VEHICLES TO FOUR SECURITY AGENCIES

The government on Tuesday presented 253 vehicles to four security institutions to facilitate their operations.

2 SHOT DEAD AT AGOGO

Two people have been reportedly killed at Asante-Akyem Agogo in the Ashanti Region in a renewed clash that erupted between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers in the area.

A-G HOT OVER SMARTTYS DEAL

Pressure group Occupy Ghana has given the Attorney General one week ultimatum to provide information on the infamous a3.6 million bus rebranding transaction involving Smarttys Management and Production Ltd, owned by actress Selassie Ibrahim.

CREATE JOBS  ITALIAN MP TELLS MAHAMA

The Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, yesterday made a passionate appeal to African governments to respect human dignity by creating avenues for their people to get jobs to do.

BOST PERKS UP TOR: ONE MILLIONS BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL DELIVERED FOR PROCESSING

A vessel carrying one million barrels of crude oil belonging to the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company Limited (BOST) arrived at Tema Port on Saturday and will be processed by the Tema Oil Refinery under a tolling arrangement.

ELECTION 2016: POLICE VISITS NPP, NDC

The Accra Region Police Command on Tuesday paid a courtesy call on the regional executives of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

REVIEW GHANAS BAD DEAL WITH ENI  NPP TELLS ITALIAN PM

The opposition New Patriotic Party has called on Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who is on a two-day visit to Ghana, to prevail on ENI, a state owned conglomerate, and the government of Ghana to review some terms of an oil deal between the entities, in order to maximize mutual benefits.

4 YEMENIS ENTER GHANA WITH FAKE PASSPORTS  COURT ORDERS POLICE TO ENSURE PROMPT PROSECUTION

An Accra Circuit Court has called on the police to ensure that the trial of four suspects from Yemen, who allegedly entered into Ghana with fake Emergency Entry Visas and French passports, proceeds in earnest.

AGAMS HOLDINGS BREAKS SILENCE OVER LOAN REPAYMENT

Agams Holdings, the parent company of Rlg, Craftpro and Asongtaba who were implicated in reports of investigations into the GYEEDA scandal, has broken its silence over the question of whether or not it has refunded monies it woes the government, with interest.

TWO CHINESE ARRESTED FOR MANUFACTURING FAKE DETERGENTS

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the Ghana Police have arrested two Chinese for the manufacturing and distribution of fake/counterfeit So Klin detergents into the Ghanaian market.

IMPORT DUTIES INCOME DROPS

Governments revenue from import taxes has fallen short of expectation for the fourth consecutive year, amid a slowdown in import trade following the introduction of an avalanche of import duties that have been met with disgust by traders.

TERKPER COMMITS TO IMPROVE MACROECONOMIC DATA

Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Seth Terkper has expressed governments commitment to turn to the International Monetary Fund and other donor partners to enhance its ability to churn out reliable macroeconomic data and derive the most out of that data.

AIRLINES RECOVER FROM EBOLA SHOCK

International passenger throughput at the Kotoka International Airport has been steadily rising as the deadly Ebola epidemic that plagued the West African region in brought under control.
The Electoral Commission (EC) says it will continue to use established procedures to rid the register of ineligible voters.

In a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs at the EC assures that wherever multiple registrations are detected, due process will be applied to ensure a cleaner register ahead of this years general elections in November.

EC Chair, Charlotte Osei

The EC outlined the following process to de-duplicate multiple names from the electoral roll:

- Matching of fingerprints by AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System), a software which detects and brings out multiple registrations, examination of facial and personal data of all applicants with multiple registrations by officers of the Commission, confirmation or rejection of each case and the decision thereon by adjudication supervisors of the Commission, printing out of adjudication reports,

- Review of reports by the Adjudication Review Committee made up of Head Office Directors of the Commission, selected senior staff of the head office, political party representatives and representatives of selected Civil Society Organisations, to determine all cases of suspected multiple entries, and submission of adjudication review committee report to the Chair of the Commission for authentication and approval.

- Following the conclusion of adjudication, names approved are either move from the Exceptions List and added to the register, or deleted.

Read the full statement from EC below:

REMOVAL OF CASES OF MULTIPLE REGISTRATIONS FROM THE VOTERS REGISTER

Following calls by political parties for the publication of the list of multiple registrations, the Commission wishes to clarify the process of de-duplication after the 2014 limited registration of voters.

The following numbers of voters were registered and cases of multiple registrations per region were recorded;

The Commission wishes to stress that it will continue to use the established process of de-duplication to remove multiple names towards ensuring a cleaner register ahead of elections 2016.

The adjudication process entails;

Matching of fingerprints by AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System), a software which detects and brings out multiple registrations, examination of facial and personal data of all applicants with multiple registrations by officers of the Commission, confirmation or rejection of each case and the decision thereon by adjudication supervisors of the Commission, printing out of adjudication reports,

Review of reports by the Adjudication Review Committee made up of Head Office Directors of the Commission, selected senior staff of the head office, political party representatives and representatives of selected Civil Society Organisations, to determine all cases of suspected multiple entries, and submission of adjudication review committee report to the Chair of the Commission for authentication and approval.

Following the conclusion of adjudication, names approved are either move from the Exceptions List and added to the register, or deleted.

The Commission wishes to state that it has no plan to remove names of suspected cases of multiple entries from only one region.

We wish to assure the nation that wherever multiple registrations are detected, due process as outlined above and agreed with stakeholders would be applied.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

It is obvious that most terrorist and terrorist groups in the world were formed with the political motive of toppling or controlling governments of their various countries,rather than the religious tag as it is sometimes being misconstrued.

The Taliban for instance, at one time was assisted by the U.S to fight the Soviet union invasion of Afghanistan,this group(Taliban) later ruled Afghanistan and formed government between 1996 - 2001,and now are the no. one enemy of the U.S

The Hezbollah as the name suggest, means 'the Party of Allah' in Arabic.This group was formed to resist Israel's occupation of Lebanon in 1982.They have members occupying key positions of this current Lebanese government.

Lydia Wilson a renowned journalist did an interview with members of the ISIS terrorist group and she found out that they had no knowledge of even the basic tenets of Islam, and had difficulty answering questions about sharia law, jihad,etc and as such thinks the ISIS are just group of criminals perpetuating violence on innocent individuals.

Polls conducted by the renowned international media networks shows that muslims hate ISIS.

T

he Lord's resistance Army (LRA) operating in Uganda,The Tamil tigers of Sri Lanka,The Fatah movement all have absolutely nothing to do with religious extremism but rather political.

The al-Qaeda network whose founder was Osama bin Laden,was raised from a very wealthy family ,he attended the most prestigeous schools in Saudi and graduated with a degree in civil engineering .He lived a luxurious life until he was declared wanted by the US

Osama through his travels and education saw poverty with his own people even with the abundance of oil resources.

It is believed his aggression against the U.S started as a result of the U.S presence in Saudi and also their connivance with corrupt middle eastern governments, and therefore warned the U.S (not any religious group) to take hands off middle east.

Most terrorist groups in middle east and Arab world thinks the US have their own selfish interest whenever they are meddling in the politics and governance of their countries and therefore will do everything to see the U.S fall.

It is extremely outrageous to merge terrorism with religion as it will not be the solution to this canker.

Yakubu Abdul Razzaq

[email protected]

Bachelor of Business Administration - UEW
The public agitation against hikes in tariffs, levies and taxes seems not to end, as two groups yesterday raised red flags and threatened various protests if the government did not review the current tax regime.

While members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) threatened various forms of action in two weeks if the government did not review taxes that they said were crippling their businesses, road transport operators warned to embark on a nationwide strike from Monday, February 8, to protest against a 500 per cent increase in insurance premium.

At a press conference yesterday, executives of GUTA, with the Ghana Institution of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) shared with journalists 'the excessiveness' of the government's tax regime, some of which were 'imposed without the slightest regard for the views and plight of all stakeholders'.

According to them, they had given a two-week notice within which members would be wearing red armbands and draping red cloths at their places of business to show their displeasure with the government and Members of Parliament (MPs) for increases in the rates of some taxes and the imposition of new ones that were 'overburdening already exhausted members'.

Addressing the press conference, the President of GUTA, Mr G. K. Ofori, said the association could not hide its total disappointment in MPs who were supposed to represent the interest of the people.

'What we have observed is that they are always quick at passing any bill brought before them by Cabinet, without due consultation with stakeholders.

'Our MPs, therefore, cannot escape blame of helping the executive arm of government to worsen the plight of Ghanaians,' he maintained.

Mr Ofori also shared with journalists how the various tax regimes provided the opportunity for those in power to wantonly use their positions to destroy businesses.

Charged members of GUTA intermittently shouted yentua (we won't pay); Ghana abre (Ghana is tired)'; Bo ho biem (say it again)' as their executives briefed the media.

When the executives announced a two-week period before any mass actions, members besieged them, while protesting that the two-week period was too long.

Mr Ofori said the government was employing all kinds of tactics to smuggle through the back door and institutionalise taxes that the public had condemned.

'For instance, the 17.5 per cent VAT/NHIL on bank service charges is still being charged by the banks,' he said.

He challenged all to check their bank balances after each transaction as that would give them the evidence of the ongoing practice.

Similarly, Mr Ofori charged Ghanaians to ensure that the one per cent withholding tax on investments was removed and not smuggled through the back door like the bank service charges, as it was a 'killer' tax.

'Also, an obnoxious tax like the two per cent special tax on imports, that the government had promised to remove, has not been done,' he said.

Mr Ofori added that a Post Clearance Audit that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) said would be carried out between one and six years was against trade facilitation and could be a 'very dangerous instrument and recipe for harassment and intimidation of members.'

He said members were not against any 'genuine' post clearance audit if the Customs Division of the GRA was able to prove 'beyond reasonable doubt that an importer is really engaged in a deal that may lead to tax evasion'.

Taxes

Mr Ofori said a one per cent tax on CIF value for the defunct Destination Inspection Companies (DICs) had surreptitiously been converted into a Customs Classification and Valuation Report (CCVR) fee.

'This is a complete extortion of importers' money by the government in the name of revenue mobilisation,' he stated.

He explained that the Customs Division of the GRA was a state agency financed by part of the taxes like import duties paid by members.

He said it, therefore, defied logic for the tax to be maintained with the scrapping of the DIC's, particularly when assurances had been given of efficiency with the single window system that replaced it.

According to Mr Ofori, a 20 per cent tax on mobile phones and accessories which met with protests and was followed by a series of negotiations with the government and the subsequent announcement that the tax had been cancelled was surprisingly still being collected at the country's ports by the Customs Division under 'the pretext that they have not received any official communication from the government to that effect.'

Common external tariff

Mr Ofori said the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs, that took off on February 1, 2016, had to be suspended to allow for proper consultation.

He said the association was baffled by the government's hurry in imposing the tax as an excessive addition to the excruciating tax burden, when the common currency better integration of the sub-region had yet not been achieved.

RTOs

For their part, the transport operators, made up of the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU), Ghana Committed Drivers' Association (GCTDA) and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC), said their decision to go on strike had become necessary following the recent increases in road transport-related charges and the failure of the relevant institutions to heed their call for a reduction.

At a press conference in Accra, the Chairman of GCTDA, Mr Charles Danso, who spoke on behalf of the group, accused the Ghana Insurance Association (GIA), the Ministry of Transport and the National Insurance Commission (NIC) of acting in bad faith.

'It will be recalled that in June, 2015, the Ghana Insurance Association (GIA) attempted to impose an 800 per cent increase in motor insurance premiums (third party),' he said.

That, he said, was, however, fiercely resisted by the GPRTU, GCTDA and GRTCC, leading to a reduction of the premium to 400 per cent increase, which they again rejected.

Following continued negotiations between the Ministry of Transport, Road Transport Operators, GIA and NIC, a mutually agreed incremental rate of between 240 per cent and 260 per cent was arrived at,' he said.

According to Mr Danso, instead of applying the agreed incremental rate of between 240 per cent and 260 per cent, the GIA had this year, rather increased the 400 per cent premium rate to 500 per cent.

He said the group had given the relevant institutions two days to reduce the motor insurance premium rate to the agreed percentage of between 240 per cent to 260 per cent, otherwise they would proceed on their intended strike.
The Writer

03.02.2016 LISTEN

Barely six weeks since the arrival and the beginning of the operations of the long awaited power barges which the current administration promised Ghanaians as the permanent solution to the power crisis that hit the nation over three years, I feel obliged to analyse the effect of this decision on Ghana, Ghanaians and to a large extent the NDC Government.

With the nation undergoing it longest load shedding, government had a point to prove that the crisis was not beyond them as alleged constantly by the opposition on countless occasions.

As it were, it became apparent that President Mahama will provide power for the people of Ghana so that in return the people of Ghana give him power to keep occupying the Flagstaff House and more comfortably enjoy a trafficless life for four more years after 2016 polls.

It will be unfair for me to blame government for trying to score some political points with the power crisis that hit their popularity than anything since the NDC took office in 2008. If it had the potency of costing the NDC power, then they have the right to right the wrong to retain power.

My concern however is the form in which the solution came and this is what has prompted me to write this piece as a citizen, a businessman who pays thousands of Ghana Cedis in utility and more so as someone who is ready to help the nation out of this perennial power mess.

I dedicated the whole of 2015 trying to get VRA to take a look at my proposal which was on offer for free and one that their engineers could not discount it's possibility and feasibility.

In my previous article, i said that the long-term solution to the power crisis cannot come from power batches because they are too expensive for our economy, environmentally not advisable and therefore hydro is the best by a mile. Solar, batches and other alternative power generation methods can best serve as backups. As a matter of fact, no country rely on power batches as permanent source for electricity power.

However, the government seemed from the very onset bent on resorting to the batches and I have a feeling, based on logic and fact about the batches that they have given us the power which may as well cost them the power. These are the reasons:

Too expensive for the consumers

Despite the fact that many Ghanaians could hardly wait for the crisis to end, the restoration of power as promised by Dr Kwabena Donkor was not received with the expected excitement because it came with an extra burden on the pockets of Ghanaians which people evidently werent ready for.

Coming on the back of a power crisis that collapsed a lot of business and unstable macro-economic environment, I am tempted to think that the nail is already in the coffin of the government unless something changes dramatically in the next 10 months. When you solve a problem and you are not any popular, then you sure know your solution is either substandard or isnt appreciated.

Economically unfavourable for the state

I am one person who advocates that utility consumers should pay the full cost of what they consume. This is also the reason why I am an advocate for cheaper power generation options. When the various labour groups kicked against the percentage of power increment, government was forced to reduce the tariff to 45% and 50% for lifeline consumers who spend between 0 to 50GHc and 50 to 300 Ghc respectively. My question is, where is government going to raise the money for the cost of reduction? It is going to be another burden on the state coffers and we all know what that means- DEBT.

I heard we are still thinking of the TOR Debt; watch out for the ECG debt in the next couple of years.

Companies will run at a loss and unemployment will be on the rise

Coming from a 2015 that saw virtually every business that run on power using fuel for the better part, most companies looked forward to the restoration of power with the hope that they will recover from the slump of 2015 and possibly make profit this year. Unfortunately, the power came with over 50% increment and that will surely hit some companies to the core.

This is a blow many companies that survived dumsor did not anticipate and this is why a number of them will be unable to keep up.

When companies underperform, fold up or incur debt, we all know that the result is laying off of workers and freezing of employment.

Not likely to yield dividend politically for President Mahama either

Throughout 2015, what the government and NDC communicators kept saying was that the NPP will have nothing against the government again when the crisis are resolved. The notion was that once the crisis is resolved, the government will be so popular and that will make their chances of winning the election brighter and more importantly silence the opposition.

As matter of fact, the hype and attention given to the arrival of the batches can attest to the fact that government thought it will position them brightly for more power. Unfortunately, the argument shifted from the solution to the extra burden imposed on Ghanaians and the fact that it attested to the NPPs claim that the government cared less about the plight of Ghanaians. The opposition is louder than ever.

The agitations and strike that accompanied the increment in tariffs as a result of the operating cost of the power batches gives credence to the fact that the government isnt likely to benefit from the restoration of power. On the contrary, it might go against them.

I commended President Mahama for resolving not to respond to the crisis in a panicky fashion and resort to long-term solution to the problem. Unfortunately, turning to power batches betrayed the president and pointed to the fact that those paid to manage our power are either clueless or consciously demonstrating incompetence for personal gain. The president has either been deceived or compromised

Environmentally we are not safe. The emission of carbon dioxide and carbon mono oxide consistently into the environment should be a cause to worry about. I have no imperial evidence to prove it for now but I can assure you if this should continue for ten years it should have serious negative consequences on our climatic changes and other environmental health issues

The solution provided government to resolve the crisis is undoubtedly not a blessing but a complete curse for every Ghanaian and likely to be a big blow to the president quest to retain power.

One major clue can be taken from how Dr Kwabena Donkor was forced to resign despite seeing the implementation of the whole project. If the power batches are considered a novelty, then the man who saw to the implementation of the whole project deserved nothing but praise. In the current case, he was compelled to resign and that calls for answers.

Dr. Ekow Spio Gabrahs comment didnt go unnoticed too.

The bottom line is that the power batches can only provide us power we cant afford at a risk we are not ready to manage

Mr President, it's time for us to think outside the box. My doors are always opened and I am ready to help you get the water behind the dam to get Ghanaians abundant electricity at a cheaper cost. OH YES WE CAN !!! Turning our back on hydro due to inadequate water simply means we lack thinkers or dont give innovators the chance to contribute to building this nation.

In conclusion I will like to say on authority that this power batch is like a cancer virus which will kill every cell it comes into contact with and at the end of the day die when it is done consuming every living cell including the government of the day

Companies are going to run at loss, investors are going to be scared of bringing their money here and worse of all; the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian is going to get worse.

We just got the power that will eventually leave everyone powerless including the government of the day.

Until we get Akosombo Dam operating at full capacity and increase our power production the hydro way, we will be feeding on an electricity power that will live the nation in huge debt and the people of Ghana poorer by the day.

The million dollar question is: how can a government interested in winning power, with all the experts around to help them do things right, adopt such a solution that benefits virtually no one?

Watch out for my next article:- Power for Power; the result of electricity politics

Over to you Mr President!

Kofi Anokye

CEO of Koans Building Solutions
STOP people peeing on our walls! That is a Paris residents plea as he asks the city to use anti-urine paint on walls so drunks get their own back.

Xavier Delaporte, 31, says drunks are making the 18th arrondissement a disgusting place to live as they urinate on walls and especially the local supermarket.

He told 20 Minutes newspaper they buy their beers first thing in the morning and then pee it up the walls and the front of the supermarket.

Now he has taken advantage of the capitals public budget consultation to demand that it include funds to cover the walls with anti-urine paint  so any urine would rebound back.

He told the paper the paint had already been tested in Hamburg in Germany and he thought that rather than a repressive approach it was better to use a deterrent.

Saying the worst-affected walls should be covered with a coat of hydrophobic paint, he added: Anyone who decided to have a pee would see it bounce back off the walls and on to their trousers.

Quentin Tarantino fans will know the area where he lives, just off Boulevard Ney, as it was shown in the film Inglourious Basterds for a bistrot scene and Mr Delaporte says that everything is disgusting in the area.

He wants to extend the project to cover several of the worst-hit parts of Paris, especially as it was a public health problem and a terrible example for children. Painting walls in the 18th for a test and extending it to the Canal Saint-Martin would cost 100,000.

Paris mairie says it is testing several similar ideas, including corrugated walls, to stop this behaviour in the 10th and 3rd arrondissements. Urinating in a public place is liable to a 35 fine.

Hydrophobic paint has already been tested in Pauli, Hamburg, where Mr Delaporte got his idea... 20 Minutes used this film to show it in action...

However, Paris has more to offer... with our website connexionfrance having featured a book giving details of loos where you can combine a trip to the loo with a culturally enriching experience
03.02.2016 LISTEN

In recent years, major international Media organizations have been constantly talking about Piracy and the potential and subsequent relative problems to Boaters, Trawlers, and Cargo Carriers. Meanwhile, no reference is made to what could possibly cause and or drive such apparent desperate behavior or the current demands placed upon these alleged perpetrators of criminal acts.

This article is not intended to defend the ideas behind any alleged wrong doing (Piracy) but to critically and rationally analyze the possible causes of the resurgence of this ancient work and activity that had been used for Centurys in the world and in particular in the Western World. During the American Revolution, George Washington and America's founding fathers did not hesitate to pay Pirates to protect America's territorial waters on the basis there was no navy or coastguard to protect themselves.

At that time, the majority of the American population supported this initiative. How is this situation different from the case of small developing countries? (Of course serious consideration needs to be given to the intention of the Act of Piracy at any given time - In todays world Defending ones territory is considered acceptable regardless of the method used and an Act of Piracy on the grounds of pure theft, Tyranny or persecution is considered morally wrong)

History indicates that Piracy was probably the initial concept of an individuals ability to rebel against injustice and exploitation whilst in the employment of others. They mutinied against Tyrannical Captains and Sea Lords hence creating an entirely different method and approach to Working at Sea on behalf of Employer and Employee. Once a vessel had been over turned in favor of the Pirates, the then Pirates would elect a Captain and the decision making process thereafter would be made collectively. (An Egalitarian Democracy maybe?-questionable acquisition, cause and effect methods-does the end justify the means?)

According to Marcus Rediker, (Renowned historic Maritime Author and Writer-www.marcusrediker.com) Pirates shared equally their booty (Rewards) and claims it is a method and plan of egalitarian ideas for the disposition of wealth and resources. Pirates would even accept into their ranks the likes of escaped African slaves whom would then live and work with them as equals. Pirates have shown historically that they do not share the brutal way that sovereign Merchant or Royal Navys ran their nautical endeavors. Any booty was shared equally amongst the members of the crew. Hence why, despite their status as thieves, they were popular within the circles of the common man and ordinary sailor. (Could be considered the Robin Hood Effect)

During the past 25 years, it is argued that the country of Somalia is directly to blame for the Piracy resurgence. However, the actual causes of these behaviors maybe deliberately concealed and could in real terms be classified via reasons of third party influence and or conspiracy. The objective of this article is not to relieve the developing countries from their responsibilities or obligatory behavior, but to highlight that the northern countries maybe playing a role in helping create or facilitate the current situation of developing countries like Somalia. (George Washington and the founding fathers !!!)

Somalias capital Mogadishu has a population estimated by the World Bank at 10.5 million. The coast line is extensive. It extends over 3300 km and is located in the Horn of Africa and has a very important geo-strategic position: it is the commerce route for large oil tankers and container ships alike. Historically Somalia has been both Italian and English colony wise. Under the chairmanship of Mohamed Siad Barre and between 1969 and 1991, many social programs were undertaken in the areas of Health, Education, Agriculture and Infrastructure. Good Literacy programs were also established in the 1970's. Somalia has untapped reserves of numerous natural resources, including uranium, iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt and natural gas. Due to its proximity to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the nation is also believed to contain substantial unexploited reserves of oil.

What are the external forces that contributed to the destruction of the Somali state?

Somalia was a prosperous and self-sufficient country in the field of agriculture whose economy was sabotaged in the 1980s. This massacre has been accentuated by the ten years of presence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which through the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) has contributed to socio-economic problems and famine of 1980s and 1990s. Thus, Somalia as was fell apart and into the general social chaos of today.

According to the New York Times, before the coup that ousted President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, four major US oil companies Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips were listed and controlled 2/3 of Somali oil.

Albeit the Administration and the US State Department did not publicly affirm that American military presence at the time in Somalia was strictly justified by and for the protection of the Oil and exploration personnel, official documents and US oil companies have largely proven that American troops were there to ensure the safety of US lead explorations and not for reasons of Humanitarian protection as alleged at the time.

According to Michel Chossudovsky, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Ottawa, the experience of Somalia shows that the famine in the late 20th century is not the consequence of a lack of food by any means, but rather that famines are the result of a global cereal overproduction and greed.

Since the 1980s, grain markets have been deregulated by grain surpluses from the World Bank and the United States who do not hesitate to use this surplus, as in the case of Somalia, to destroy the local peasantry and destabilize national food agriculture. The latter becomes, under these circumstances, vulnerable to the vagaries of drought and environmental degradation.

Across the African continent, the pattern of "sectoral adjustment" in agriculture under the auspices of the Bretton Woods institutions has led to the destruction of food security. The dependency of the world market has been strengthened; "food aid" to sub-Saharan Africa increased by more than seven times since 1974 and commercial grain imports more than doubled. These imports are thus increased from 3.72 million tons in 1974 to 8,470,000 tons in 1993. Food aid increased from 910,000 tons in 1974 to 6,640,000 tons in l993 and is constantly to increase.

In 2009, the United Nations and the United States accused Al Shabab of imposing "a ban on foreign assistance in their territories", but what has not been said or mentioned in this report is that Harakat al Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM) is funded by Saudi Arabia and supported latently by the services of the West.

The support of the Islamic militia by Western latent driven service is part of a larger historical pattern of covert support to Al-Qaeda and its affiliated branches in countries such as Libya, Syria. One can legitimately think that this support also extends to Boko Haram.

Who would have thought that in 2009 the Governments of the United States, Europe, and China would declare war on the Pirates? The British Royal Navy ships supported by more than two dozen countries sailing in Somali territorial waters in search of Somali pirates, with the aim of combating them. They do not hesitate also to continue to the interior of Somali land.

A young British man called William pirate Scott, said just before being hanged in Charleston (South Carolina): "What I did allowed me to survive and I had to hack for a living."

In 1991, the collapse of the government of Somalia has led to a general destabilization of the country and famine conditions. Nevertheless, some Western countries have found grace in this situation, the opportunity to use for free the country's natural resources while discharging nuclear and other toxic wastes into the sea.

The civil war has had the effect of removing the central government (President, Government and various offices in charge of national affairs), as soon as it began, mysterious European ships appeared off the Somali coast and dumped in ocean barrels of nuclear waste. The coastal population began to sicken. At first it was strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of barrels that are found on the coast of Mogadishu and other questionable liquids came from the barrels. People began to suffer from radiation and there were more than 300 dead. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia, said: "Someone is responsible for the unloading nuclear waste on the coast, there is also Lead and other heavy metals such as Cadmium, Mercury and others. Much of this waste can be traced to hospitals and factories in Europe, which seem to have made provisionof the Italian mafia mentality. The question was put to Mr. Ould-Abdallah: Do you know what the European governments are doing about it?? He replied with a sigh: "No cleaning, no compensation, and prevention or treatment has been done." At the same time, the European media are quick to show pictures of children and women with diseases that their States are allegedly responsible for.

Several European and Asian vessels have looted the greatest resource of the Somali seas and its catch; Europe after destroying its own fish stocks by overexploitation, has now turned towards Africa and especially to countries that have no ratified sovereignty such as Somalia. In the Western media, Somalia "is one of the poorest countries in the world and also one of the most barbaric." However, this country provides more than $500 Million dollars worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster, and other seafood each year. These natural resources are taken by big trawlers illegally sailing in unprotected waters of Somalia. Since the civil war was declared in 1991, Somalia suffered a loss of annual revenue of $ 500 million in fishing alone. Hence for 24 years, Somalia has lost a minimum of 12 Billion dollars. It is therefore understandable why Somalia is still in this disastrous situation. Somalia really needs help? Africa needs help? Where is the help? This causes the local fishermen to lose their livelihoods, and they are hungry. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman living in a city 100 km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there will soon be no big fish in our coastal waters."

October 2016 - Conference on Maritime Security in Togo, Africa

The Organizing of a conference on maritime safety is obviously an excellent initiative. However, what decisions need to be taken there?

Firstly, is to prohibit Western countries imposing their laws and visions on the world by trying to give carte blanche to fish and pollute the maritime waters of poor countries.

Secondly, research the sources of the real problem which forced some people to react on the basis they were doing no more trying to protect their waters edge.

Thirdly, the opportunity for discussion at the summit of the global growing insecurity due to the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Syria, etc. and also less severe conflicts in the unstable areas like Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Mali, etc. Also to address the problem of Mercenaries who are paid outlaws, which could be the real threat to maritime safety? Albeit Mali is not a coastal State it has been destabilized by armed men who have managed to compromise its territorial integrity.

Fourthly, the willingness of all attendees and their respective governments to apply faith and courage to the concept of doing the right thing.

It would be desirable to invite one or more Somalia representatives to the summit to talk about what really is happening and what is really needed for a legitimate, safe, ally going onmmore proper and achievable local humane solution to be found.

The problem is the same for Libya, despite of the personality of its former leader, Libya was a stable state. This stability has enabled Libya to prevent the current carnage caused by the migration of thousands of Africans trying to cross the Mediterranean. This stability also initially helped prevent the North African region becoming a base for terrorists. It should be noted, that it was only after the death of the "Libyan Guide" that Libya became a stronghold of terrorists, radicals, and mercenaries of all kinds who gradually extended their sway over the Middle East (Iraq), Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, etc.

When one looks closely at the war in Libya, national belligerents in this conflict account for only about 10%. And of those 10%, we can consider 2% as disgruntled. 4% are moderate and remaining 4% are radicals. The remaining 90% are mercenaries, jihadists; moderate or radical terrorists recruited from different countries and are paid by agencies belonging to foreign States. These mercenary and other converted businessmen gradually take control of the petroleum fields and refineries in conflict states. It is important to ask where such individuals obtain their weapons. Who informs or provides their intelligence? Who advises on logistics? Who buys the products from oil wells and refineries they control? Who profits from this situation?

Continuing the reflection, one must ask about how our governments work to protect us against terrorism and the growing insecurity that grows in our cities, our regions and our countries. However, we must remember that there are countries that do not hesitate to sponsor terrorism by financing and arming such terrorists. As the Russian President said at the G20 summit in Turkey, November 2015, 40 countries fund and help equip international terrorism. At the forefront of these countries, we can count 20 Western countries.

Also, in the fight against terrorism, it is important to first identify the countries that finance, arm, train, and give air cover to terrorists. By simply declaring war on all terrorists will not solve the problem. We must focus on the countries sponsoring the terrorism. Strange also that when considering these sponsoring countries of terrorism continue to be welcomed on the red carpet around the world.

For many months, the Chadian Minister of information publicly stated that 40% of the weapons used by Boko Haram are of French origin. However, no investigation has been launched by the French Government to determine the real origin of such. Meanwhile, the French Government has not denied the words of the Chadian Minister of information.

In a video clip James Corbett shows three cases clearly demonstrate that the war against terrorism is a fraud and is actually a series of made shots created for a specific political purpose.

The First case :

James Corbett begins with what he calls "unlikely source" Washington Post, with title "The absurdity of the war in Syria," accompanied by a video which clearly shows an American anti-tank missile guide, used by a fighter FSA (free Syrian Army) to destroy what is clearly an American-made Humvee driven by ISIS. In other words, a US-backed army pulling a US missile on a US target, likely driven by an American soldier trained fighter for ISIS.

For months James Corbett declared simultaneously with Mr. Edmonds, an Turkish-Azerbaijani FBI Whistleblower, how many ISIS fighters were trained in Jordan in the last few years, via a covert operation, prior to the big traditional media organizations finally reporting on such he said.

The second case:

In the video, for 5 seconds, Corbett sums up the absurdity of all-out war in Syria, which was officially represented for years as an "internal type of civil war conflict, despite the fact that all the players and all their equipment, all military action weapons, funds, logistical and everything concerned is provided by foreign countries, and in association with finance also borne by foreign countries. And all is regarded in the media as an alleged Syrian internal conflict and accordingly want the population of other foreign countries to believe such?

Corbett then continues with a little heartwarming story about how PBS '"News Hour" has used the image of an air strike on an alternative target as the images of air strikes on oil infrastructures held by the Islamic State. Rigging is increasingly difficult to stop when the deceit of people is the intended ethos. (Smoke and Mirrors)

The third case

Colbert goes on to show how an alleged terrorist plot in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, was recently tried by a judge of the Supreme Court of this province, Catherine Bruce who oke and Mirrors)osage of thnconcluded that there was close link between unlawful acts by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka "RCMP") and those accused of a crime, hence it could be argued the RCMP were guilty of supporting an "abuse of process" at best.

The policemen in civilian clothes, posing as jihadist warriors, provided the associated accused with not only groceries, cigarettes, bus cards, cell phones, phone cards, clothes, cash, and a portable hard drive, they also provided them with a place to work on their terrorist plot and activities and a location to build explosives. Also a "driver" to lead them to different stores to buy bomb-making equipment and also led them to Victoria and its surrounds during the four months in mention to assemble the operation in full. In other words, the "Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka" the RCMP were actively involved throughout the various stages of the terrorists plots. Without the active involvement of RCMP, potentially, terrorists would not be successful in executing these attacks. However, Canada is not the only country to use these unfortunate actions in the fight against terrorism. These types of procedures are becoming normal practices around the world.

The conference on Maritime Security was in the days of Colonel Gaddafi, 70% funded by Libya. However those days are history.

It is very difficult if not impossible to organize an international conference when one (a country and or region) does not have the financial means or international weight required to be taken seriously. More importantly, basic infrastructure such as hospitals, education and personal well-being or security may be missing in the country hosting or coordinating such an event.

On the basis the conference will be secured largely via external funding, the turn of events and agenda will probably be purely a pre-determined formality. Ultimately all and any contributions to the host country and Africa as a whole are more than uncertain. It is likely the conclusion of events as a result of the third party funded conference will be on an our way or no way basis. Topics and issues for discussion and hopeful resolution will be progressive at best and certainly not conclusive and assistance of certainty for the benefit of the African nations and its Maritime reform!!

In the case of the Somali Pirates, the so-called "pirates" do not identify with that name. All Somalis agree that they were ordinary Somalian fishermen whom took their speedboats to try to dissuade foreign trawlers and vessels from illegally poaching their catch. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and it's not hard to understand why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters ... We do not see ourselves as bandits of the sea. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish and dump in our seas, nuclear waste, and carry weapons in our seas." (Irony)

The war against piracy was best summarized by another Pirate, who lived and died in the fourth century BC. He was captured and brought before Alexander the Great, who demanded to know "what the Pirate meant by taking to own the sea-The pirate smiled, and responded,-What do you Sir mean by taking to seize and own the entire earth,-because I take to the sea and do such with a little ship, I am called a Pirate, when you do such with a great fleet, you are called an emperor. Like in Alexanders time, "The great imperial fleets sail on today.

In Conclusion:

Are you fishing illegally in the waters off Marseilles in France, on the Italian coast etc.? Do you dump nuclear waste in the Russian waters, American or French?

Be certain in advance that your actions will contribute to a major catastrophe. Please spare a thought for countries like Somalia and other African nations whom are suffering at the hands of global and corporate governance, greed, deception, legerdemain and sleight of hand!!!
President John Dramani Mahama

03.02.2016 LISTEN

The District Chief Executive for Gomoa West in the Central Region, Hon. Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah as part of his community visit has advocated that Ghanaians should continually support President John Dramani Mahama led NDC government and to vote massively for him to complete the Better Ghana Agenda.

Interacting with the Chiefs and people of Gomoa Techiman in the district, the DCE noted that a vote for H. E John Dramani Mahama means a vote for development and uplliftment.

"President John Dramani Mahama has performed creditably well. Since he took over the administration of this country, the image of the country has been enhanced internationally. Provision of social amenities to improve the lives of the people are there for all to see" he said.

"Today, health facilities have been put up across the country to offer health delivery at the door steps of the people. Classroom blocks have been constructed to enhance education in the country. There has been tremendous growth in all sectors of the economy. We in the Gomoa West District have benefitted a lot from President Mahama and we should therefore reciprocate this kind gesture by voting massively for the NDC on November 7, presidential and parliamentary elections. I have no doubt that President John Mahama will win the forthcoming elections hands down" he added

Hon. Aidoo-Mensah lauded the people of Gomoa Techiman for supporting the NDC all this while.

He promised the people to construct a new classroom block for the community. The DCE also announced that the people would soon enjoy continual flow of potable drinking water from the Anteadze Water Headway which currently supply water for communities in Gomoa and the Ekumfi Districts.

"I will like to commend the chiefs and people in the Gomoa West District for the peaceful manner they have conducted themselves over the years. This 2016 general is crucial and would like to caution all and sundry especially the youth to desist from political related violence. Let me also warn that security is solid and perpetrators would not be spared"

The Omankrado of Gomoa Techiman, Nana Kester Atta II appeal to the Ghana Education Service through the Assembly to post an ICT teacher to the local basic school for the children to be abreast with the global world adding that the ICT center was becoming waste.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

A politician, the General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, has elsewhere in this edition spoken for most Ghanaians, echoing their lamentations as they struggle to eke out a living.

His concern, representative of all Ghanaians but politicians in the fold of the ruling party, is an abridged version of the country's sorry state as privileged politicians lead lives of obscene extravagance, the majority impoverished as they are almost heading for the garbage bins.

Dwindling real incomes, rising cost of living and outrageous cost of fuel which repercussion is the dwarfing pressure on the already insignificant salaries of workers have all contributed to reducing the average worker to a state of painful penury.

It is even more disturbing when the cause of the state of near hopelessness in which most Ghanaians are is traceable to the proclivity by the political establishment to spend beyond acceptable limits just so elections can be rigged and ensure their hold onto power.

The obsession to borrow even when the pastime does not make economic sense has become a favourite policy of the government, antagonists of the preference coming under a barrage of invectives by hired social media hoodlums for their (antagonists') outspokenness.

We are almost getting to the end of the road where the continuous application of unproductive and insulting rhetoric by the president and his team would not make any impact on the impressions of the people.

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Government's incessant imposition of taxes on almost everything leaves much to be desired: in the face of this reality petroleum products, even when the price of crude oil has witnessed its lowest fall in decades, are one of the most expensive commodities on the market. The recent crazy price increases, especially fuel, have set Ghana apart from others in terms of the exorbitant cost of the commodity. The repercussion is being manifested already as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has upped transport fares.

The health challenges associated with poor eating habits when the prices of foodstuff hit rooftop in the face of a collapsed National Health Insurance Scheme can only be imagined, especially in poverty-stricken parts of the country.

Ghanaians would have borne the challenges of outrageous housekeeping and others stoically had those in-charge of running the country not been leading a lifestyle of vulgar extravagance, displaying their ill-gotten wealth with reckless abandon. That is where Ghana has reached today.

From humble beginnings they have been exceedingly fooled by the pecks and glitters of government appointments, their birthdays marked by the summit of shameless opulence cakes for the occasion standing majestically when most of their compatriots think with tears swelling in their eyes how the next meal would come.

The total confusion which has greeted the replenishing of electricity credit at vending points in the past few days adds to the gloomy picture of the country.

Management of the country has never been so bad and messed up: this, when juxtaposed with the opulence aforementioned, presents a gloomy picture of a country which does not deserve this description.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, yesterday made a passionate appeal to African governments to respect human dignity by creating avenues for their people to get jobs to do.

He said by so doing the youth would stay in their respective countries with their dignity intact and contribute to the development of their countries instead of risking their lives by using unorthodox routes to travel to Europe for economic reasons.

According to the Italian Prime Minister, because of high rate of unemployment in Africa, many youth risk their lives by travelling through the Sahara Desert and cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and other parts of Europe to seek greener pastures, with all the uncertainties staring them in their faces.

Mr Matteo Renzi, who was addressing Ghanas Parliament before returning to his base, said that in Italy where many African migrants end up or transit to other parts of Europe, their heritage is high respect for human dignity and that is the reason why with all the economic and security implications his government had been accommodating and granting asylum to these African migrants.

You must create jobs and implement policies that will attract investments to stop these migrations, he charged, stressing that Italy is ready to partner African countries that have open democracies and vibrant economies for shared growth.

With the Minority urging the Prime Minister on with hear hear, the Italian leader noted that human trafficking to Europe, especially Italy, had also reached unprecedented levels with more than 1,000 people who are associated with that trade languishing in Italian jails.

Mr Matteo Renzi therefore called on African governments to cooperate with the Italian government to stop human trafficking.

He also touched on the threat of terrorism in Africa and the world at large, saying that Africa must play its part and unite with the rest of the world to stop these terrorists from making the world unsafe to live in.

Terrorism aims at disintegrating the society. They try to kill us and force us to live in fear. We must refuse this message and together in the name of culture, ideas and democracy fight against this terrible message and work together in unity because the future is for our children and grandchildren, he said, adding that all Ghanaians must be involved, whether in the church or the mosque, to fight against terrorism.

On the purpose of his visit to Ghana, the Italian Prime Minister told Members of Parliament that he was here with a delegation to build on bilateral relationship with Ghana.

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According him, his government is particularly interested in helping Ghanas energy sector to improve power generation and also help to boost agriculture by investing in agro-processing.

He said that the $7 billion ENI gas project at the Sankofa Field, which an Italian company is involved in, would be a game-changer for the country.

He praised Ghana for its good democratic credentials and said the country had been a great model of democracy in Africa.

Earlier at a state banquet in the Prime Minister's honour at the Flagstaff House, President John Dramani Mahama appealed to the European Union (EU) to help create jobs for the youth in Africa to reduce the surge of Africans migrating to Europe.

Thousands of migrants, especially from Africa, died in 2015 on the Mediterranean Sea while trying to enter Europe.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said over one million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe the same year.

President Mahama has also called on the European Union to support troubled African countries like Libya, where most migrants cross to Europe, and also urged countries that participated in the migration summit held in Valetta to implement the five-point political declaration and 16 concrete action plans agreed on at the summit which are to be implemented by the end of 2016.

Commenting on the Italian Prime Ministers address, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Kwadaso, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, told DAILY GUIDE that it was refreshing for Matteo Renzi to assure the country that his government would support agriculture, which is the main driver of the economy.

He however pointed out that the Prime Minister ought to use his influence to look at the terms of the ENI power project.

According to him, the whole agreement is a rip-off for the country because the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) could not pre-finance the project with $150 million at such an extraordinarily high price of gas to be produced for the local market.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Pressure group OccupyGhana has given the Attorney General (AG) one week ultimatum to provide detailed information on the infamous GH3.6 million bus rebranding transaction involving Smarttys Management and Productions Ltd, owned by actress Selassie Ibrahim.

The group threatened that should the government refuse to provide information relating to the controversial deal within a week, the AG should consider the letter as a notice of intention to sue the government in court.



Contract Details

The GH3.6 million being the cost of the rebranding to the taxpayer, set tongues wagging recently, leading to the resignation of Dzifa Attivor as Minister for Transportation.

We have closely followed the matters surrounding the bus rebranding transaction involving Smarttys Management and Productions Ltd (Smarttys), leading to the investigation conducted by the Attorney General at the request of the Chief of Staff. This culminated in the resignation of the immediate past Minister for Transport, Madam Dzifa Attivor, and the subsequent agreement between the Ministry of Transport ('Ministry') and Smarttys for the refund of some GH1.5 million to the state.



Suppressing Information

OccupyGhana said the group is not satisfied with the position of the government that the said resignation and refund should conclude the matter, adding, and we note sadly that the government has not been forthcoming with any information about the Attorney Generals investigation and its findings and full details of the impugned transaction.

The group said it strongly believed that the government was deliberately suppressing information on the matter and it was with the aim of preventing the proper legal steps from being taken to tackle this serious allegation of corruption.

It believed that all the information surrounding what it called the impugned bus branding contract constituted information that should be made available to all Ghanaians, adding, We are fortified in this belief by Article 21(1)(f) of the Constitution which provides that 'all persons shall have the right to information, subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society.'

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Conceivable Public Interest

OccupyGhana said there is no conceivable public interest privilege that applies to deny us access to that information and wants the government to give cogent answers to some pressing questions relating to the transaction.

The pressure group would like to know if it was Smarttys that approached the Ministry of Transport with a proposal to brand the buses or the other way round. If it was the ministry that wrote to Smarttys, did the ministry receive a written response from Smarttys giving quotations for the impugned transaction; and if so, may we have a copy of that letter?



Other Quotations

It further wants to know if the ministry at any time relevant to the transaction wrote to request for quotations from any other companies or entities apart from Smarttys, or whether it received any quotations from any other entities and whether there was any adoption of public procurement procedure in the selection of Smarttys.

Did the ministry receive written approval from the PPA for the procurement of services from Smarttys? If PPA approval was obtained, did the ministry communicate that approval in writing to Smarttys; and if so, may we have a copy of that letter and any attachments to it?

OccupyGhana would also like to know if the ministry executed a contract in respect of the transaction and a signed contract with Metro Mass Transit (MMT), adding, When did MMT surrender the buses to Smarttys to begin the actual work of branding the buses, and when was that work completed?

Did the ministry write to the Ministry of Finance requesting the release of funds for payment to Smarttys for the impugned transaction; and if so, may we have a copy of that letter? Did the ministry receive from the Ministry of Finance an approval in writing to any request to release funds for the impugned transaction; and if so, may we have a copy of that written approval?

It also would like to know the number of times payments were made to Smarttys as well as the taxes paid or withheld.

By William Yaw Owusu


03.02.2016 LISTEN

TWO people have been reportedly killed at Asante-Akyem Agogo in the Ashanti Region in a renewed clash that erupted between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers in the area.

David Atiah, 25, and another person who is yet to be identified were said to have been shot dead at close range by a Fulani herdsman following brief exchanges.

David Atiah was reportedly working in his groundnut farm at about 2pm when he was allegedly shot by the Fulani who was keeping a herd of cattle.

The Fulani herdsman was also purportedly shot in the thigh by a native of Agogo in retaliation, but he was said to have survived the gun attack and is responding to treatment, according to an anonymous police source.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, confirmed the tragic incident and said it happened at Kowereso, a farming community near Agogo, yesterday.

According to him, David Atiah and the unidentified person were working in their farms when the herdsman invaded there with his cattle to graze.

The MP stated that the nomad reportedly hit the roof when David protested the presence of the animals in his farm, and pulled the trigger at the victim, killing him on the spot.

The herdsman again allegedly shot and killed the second person who attempted to intervene during the impasse at Nsuyameye, DAILY GUIDE gathered from sources in the community.

David's body has since been retrieved from the bush, while the police and community members have mounted a search for the body of the second person.

Alfred Gyimah, Agogo Youth Secretary, also corroborated the Kowereso report.

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Agogo has not known peace for some time now after people in the area, led by the MP, declared war against Fulani herdsmen living among them.

The police source told DAILY GUIDE that about 500 cattle belonging to some Fulanis had been slaughtered at Agogo and the nearby areas in recent times, resulting in chaos.

The latest incident follows the recent gruesome murder of Akwasi Badu, a fetish priest, by a 16-year-old Fulani cowboy at Agogo, forcing the Ashanti Regional Security Council to send military personnel to the town to quell potential upheaval.

Thirty-year-old Akwasi Badu was shot to death at close range at his farm by Aliu Baba, after the victim had protested against grazing on his farm by cattle that were being tended by the teenager.

Outgoing Ashanti Regional Minister Peter Anarfi Mensah, at that time, said the development renewed the tension that tended to breach the peace and security of the area, which therefore compelled the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to send the military personnel to deal with the situation.

He told DAILY GUIDE in an interview that even though the soldiers had since been withdrawn, it was most likely they would be sent back to flush out the Fulanis and their cattle after a review meeting by REGSEC.

We have also decided to link up with the Eastern Region to draw a strategy so that we can put up a common front to combat the situation, Mr Anarfi Mensah disclosed.

The former regional minister, who assured residents of maximum security and protection of lives and property, indicated that the security officers had been able to bring the tense situation under control.

We have not let the people down. In fact, our [security] men have been on the ground since; only that we reduced the numbers because in the rainy season these people move about. It is only in the dry season that you see a bunch of Fulanis and their cattle moving into the area, he noted.

According to him, the tenacity of the various security agencies to deal with potential threat and breach of security had kept the Ashanti Region in peace, with accompanying reduction in crime wave.

From Ernest Kofi Adu & .F. Joe Awuah Jnr. Kumasi
The items being presented

03.02.2016 LISTEN



IT WAS all merrymaking at Dagomba Line, a densely populated area in Kumasi on Thursday, following a donation made to fire victims in the area by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

An NPP team, led by Stephen Amoah aka Sticker, the regional organizer of the party and Eugene Boakye Antwi, the parliamentary candidate for Subin, presented valuable items to the people to lessen their plight.

The items presented included 100 bags of cement and five packets of roofing sheets, geared towards helping the fire victims at Dagomba Line to rebuild their destroyed houses.

The presentation was in fulfillment of a firm promise made to the fire victims by Nana Akufo-Addo, who visited the area recently to console the.

The NPP team also presented 200 bags of cement to other victims of fire at the Kumasi Central Market later in the day, also in fulfillment of a promise made to them by Nana Akufo-Addo.

.

Mr Stephen Amoah said the delivery of the items gave credence to the fact that the NPP always delivers when it promises saying, this is the political party that you can trust to develop Ghana.

He charged the head porters and Ghanaians in general to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo, stressing that the NPP leader would restore Ghana to the path of prosperity once again as president.

Eugene Boakye Antwi said Nana Addo's visit to the area and the presentation of the items were a clear indication that the NPP leader cares for the less privileged in society.

Hajiya Zenabu Sallow, the Ashanti Regional NPP Treasurer, admonished the head porters to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo, assuring them that an NPP administration would make life better for them.

President of Head Porters in Ghana, Adiza Zongo Pioneer, who received the items on behalf of the fire victims, said Nana Akufo-Addo is a kind and visionary person and so the head porters would vote for him on November 7.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi


03.02.2016 LISTEN

We are all well aware that Mr. Ben Ephson is on the payroll of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC). And so the so-called Managing-Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper should stop holding himself off as a seasoned journalist endowed with any modicum of professional integrity. He is simply a filthily paid party hack. It is not clear upon what basis Mr. Ephson arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Spio-Garbrahs decrying of the 50-percent hike in utility bills was taken at a cabinet meeting at which the Trade and Industry Minister was present as an active participant (See Spio Must Resign Over Outrageous Tariff Hikes Comment  Ephson Starrfmonline.com / Modernghana.com 1/29/16).

I am here far less concerned about the motive behind Mr. Spio-Garbrahs critical comments, for it is quite obvious that it was politically motivated. In other words, the Trade and Industry Minister is far less concerned about social justice, the objective that any conscientious politician would be guided by or be in pursuit of, than the mundane and vulgar fact that 2016 is a watershed election year. In the implicit opinion and imagination of the former Communication and Education Minister, therefore, any price hikes in this election year ought to be studiously guided by the ballot box than either by the general economic climate or temperature.

In the foregoing sense, therefore, one can aptly conclude that there is fundamentally no difference between the political ethics of both Messrs. Ephson and Spio-Garbrah. In other words, if Mr. Ephson is convinced that it is insufferably unprincipled for Mr. Spio-Garbrah to criticize some of the incontrovertibly harsh socioeconomic policies of the Mahama government and still maintain his cabinet status, then, of course, it also stands to reason for Mr. Ephson to stop passing himself off as a professionally remarkable pollster, or a serious pollster of integrity, and aptly assume the status of the indisputably cynical and patently unconscionable Mahama tout that he veritably is.

What is fascinating here, as already adumbrated above, is the fact that neither man is any remarkably concerned about the bleak and steadily depressing quality of the life of the proverbial hardworking average Ghanaian citizen. Rather, it clearly appears that Mr. Ephson was hired to Baba Jamalize the true state of the countrys economy. For that matter, for the Daily Dispatch publisher, Mr. Spio-Garbrahs public criticism of the Jantuah Posse at the PURC  that is, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission  makes Trade and Industry Minister seem like an ungrateful Mahama appointee.

In this context, therefore, Mr. Spio-Garbrah could be aptly likened in mindset and attitude to Mr. AmetorQuarmyne, the NDC Communication Team hack who ran Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, the IMANI-Ghana think-tanker, who made the grievous error of thinking that President Mahama seriously meant it when he constituted the Ho Fiscal Streamliners Committee, or whatever it was called, to trim the proverbial fat off the public service payroll, off that otherwise well-intentioned committee. For Mr. Quarmyne, the fiscal disciplinary measures spiritedly advocated by Mr. Cudjoe unwisely aimed to surrender the ballot to the Akufo-Addo-led main opposition New Patriotic Party.

Ironically, and it is quite obvious that his age and media experience notwithstanding, Mr. Ephson knows a diddly little about the various branches of the public service, thus his patently sophomoric confusion of the latter with the NDC-rigged Mahama government. Put in simpler terms, unlike the relatively more seasoned and sophisticated Mr. Spio-Garbrah, Mr. Ephson has practically no informed idea or credible picture of the difference between the public service and the executive arm of the government. And this is a criminally great shame!

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Some of the aggrieved traders

03.02.2016 LISTEN



Traders have complained about excessive taxes in the country, saying they will collapse businesses.

According to them, the recent taxes were not only abnormal but intolerable.

George Ofori, President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) disclosed this at a press conference in Accra yesterday.

The traders have therefore given government a two-week ultimatum to review the high taxes because we cannot bear it any longer.

George Ofori (2nd) at the press conference

Import Charges

He enumerated some of the numerous taxes and levies that are charged at the ports.

These include import duty of between 10 and 20 percent, import VAT/NHIL  17.5 percent, ECOWAS Levy  0.5 percent, EDIFF  0.5 percent, GCNet  0.4 percent, GCNet VAT/NHIL 17.5 percent, Ghana Shippers Authority  GHS9, Income Tax in Imports  1 percent, I.D.F (GHS5), Special Tax on Import  2 percent, CUBAG  (GHS5) and CCVR  1 percent.

This is aside other charges imposed by state agencies like the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Standards Authority and Food and Drug Authority (FDA) among others, as well as other private operators at the ports like the shippers Lines, whose charges are illegitimate, he said.

Mr Ofori said the government did not consider the views and plight of stakeholders before imposing the taxes.

.

This means that if a trader imports goods worth $10,000, he or she has to find $5,000 for payment as taxes and levies before he or she can clear the goods from the port.

That, he said, was simply impracticable and unacceptable and could be said to among the worst form of import tax systems in the world.

Withholding Tax



Mr. Ofori bemoaned the recent increase of withholding tax to 15 percent even though it was later slashed to 7.5 percent.

How practicable on this earth should a government atrociously hold such a gargantuan amount of the peoples trading capital.

What it implies is that if a supplier puts a margin of 20 percent mark up on total cost of GH100,000, which is equal to GH120,000 inclusive of profit and other overheads, the government is going to take a colossal amount of GH18,000, leaving the supplier with only GH2,000.

This is even without regard for other overhead cost which means that the trader will run the business at a total loss, he said.

The GUTA president expressed the hope that government will address their grievances urgently.



By Cephas Larbi

[email protected]


Emmanuel Yao Adzator & Matilda Baffour-Awuah

03.02.2016 LISTEN

The President of Ghana, upon the recommendation of the Prisons Service Council, has appointed Emmanuel Yao Adzator, Deputy Director General of Prisons, as Acting Director General.

His appointment follows the retirement of Matilda Baffour-Awuah, the Director General of Prisons, on February 1, 2016.

Mr Adzator, until his appointment as the Acting Director General of Prisons, was the Deputy Director General of Prisons in charge of Finance and Administration of the Service.

The Acting Director General is a product of Kpando Secondary School and holds a Degree in Psychology from the University of Ghana. He also studied Human Resource Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, and has attended several capacity training courses both home and abroad.

Mr Adzator has also undertaken several training and leadership programmes in Correctional Administration and has been trained at the Evidenced Based Strategy and Tactics for successful Correctional Reforms, Re-Entry and Reintegration in Joyfields Training Institute, Las Vegas, Navada, USA.

Also, he trained in New Approaches to Psychological Services in Correctional Institutions at the Galilee College, Israel, as well as in Advanced Prisons Management at the Galilee Management Institute, Israel.

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He has also participated in several Correctional Management Conferences at the international level.

He was enlisted into the Ghana Prisons Service in April 1989.

Mr Adzator has held several key positions, notably Deputy Director General of Prisons in charge of Finance and Administration, Director of Prisons in charge of Operations and Acting Director of Prisons Administration.

Other positions he held were Regional Commander, Ashanti Region; Second- in-Command, Medium Security Prisons, Nsawam; and Officer in charge, Obuasi Local Prisons.

He was the General Staff Officer as well as the Criminal Records Officer at the Prisons Headquarters.

Mr Adzator has served with the United Nations Mission in Darfur, (UNAMID) as a Corrections Advisor to the National Prisons Service at El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan.
Liberty? "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear" George Orwell , '1984'

Church of Christ The Church of Christ [the Catholic Church], therefore, is one and the same forever. Whoever leaves her departs from the will and command of Our Lord Jesus Christ; leaving the path of salvation, he enters that of perdition. Whosoever [says St. Cyprian] is separated from the Church is united to an adulteress. He has cut himself off from the promises of the Church. Whosoever leaves the Church of Christ cannot arrive at the rewards of Christ. ... Whosoever observes not this unity observes not the law of God; whosoever holds not the faith of the Father and the Son, holds not to life and salvation. - Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum

Thorn "If you're not a thorn in somebody's side, you aren't doing Christianity right." Mother Angelica

Say NO to ignorance "Ignorance is no excuse when we have neglected to learn what we are obliged to know."St. Ambrose



Church Militant "We belong to the Church militant; and She is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass Her destruction." -Pius XII, AD 1953

Thank God Never forget to thank God daily for having made you a member of His indefectible Church, and grow daily in your attachment, devotion, and loyalty to the Vicar of Christ. Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia: Where Peter is, there the Church is. BECAUSE Because we are human, we are not strong. Because we are not strong, we pray. St. Augustine

The Golden Arrow The following prayer is from 1843, and is by Our Lord Who said: "This Golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully and heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy."



'May the Most Holy, Most Sacred, Most Adorable, Most Mysterious and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven, on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.'

Just a thought We're in the midst of climate change--one that's getting colder and colder toward religion.

Council of Trent, on the Sacraments "If anyone says that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, accustomed to be used in the administration of the sacraments, may be despised or omitted by the ministers without sin and at their pleasure, or may be changed by any pastor of the churches to other new ones, let him be anathema."



Canons on the Sacraments in General, Session 7, Canon 13

DON'T BE ROADKILL!



DON'T DO IT! Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it (Albert Einstein) Be watchful and diligent

"Be watchful and diligent in the service of God, and think often: why have I been created? If you are faithful and fervent in the performance of your work, God will be faithful and generous in rewarding you." St. Thomas a Kempis FIGHTING LIBERALISM! Considering 'Catholic 'liberalism': "to fight...this great evil of the present time that is pretending to please God without offending the devil, or, to put it better, to serve the devil without offending God."

Cardinal Louis Billot (1846-1931), teacher of Dogmatic Theology appointed by Pope Leo XIII

St. Fidelis

ERRORS?

OBEYING? Card. Torquemada, 15th century theologian: "Were the Pope to command anything against Holy Scriptures, or the articles of Faith, or the truth of the Sacraments, or the commands of the natural of Divine Law, he ought not to be obeyed, but in such commands he is to be disregarded."



And, from Pope Innocent III(16th century): "...it is necessary to obey the Pope in all things as long as he, himself, does not go against the universal customs of the Church, but should he go against the universal customs of the Church, he need not be followed..."

Scotland's William Wallace


COP Dr Dampare addressing regional executives of the NPP

03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Accra Regional Police Command has called on the executives of the two major political parties in the country as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the police and the political parties.

The visit was also part of efforts to make the upcoming elections peaceful.

Commissioner of Police Dr George Akuffu Dampare, the Regional Police Commander, who led the delegation comprising all the divisional commanders within Accra, first called on the regional executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) before proceeding to the regional headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC).

The regional commander in a statement at the office of the NPP said the meeting was the first in a series aimed at establishing regular interaction between the police and other stakeholders to ensure that they did not engage in any activity which could disrupt peace and security in the region.

Soon political parties will be engaging in campaigns to seek the mandate of the people and it is the responsibility of the police to ensure law and order. We are here to share ideas on the meeting held three weeks ago and to establish a cordial relationship to have access to each other, the police commander said.

The call, he said, would also offer executives of the political parties the opportunity to state their expectations of the police as well as share with the police their concerns and other security concerns before they escalate.

Police Not Partisan

He averred that the police cannot help any political party to win any election in this country as being perceived by the public.

The police administration is made up of different sets of people who belong to different political affiliations but because the police are not allowed to engage in active politics unless personnel put away the uniform, it is not seen.

We have personnel with different political backgrounds in the service, but we strive to be professional, firm, objective and transparent so that the integrity of the service will not be lost, he added.

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He urged the political parties to have faith in the police and strive to support the police to maintain peace before, during and after the elections.

Commendation

The Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Honourable Ishmael Ashitey, in a statement, commended the regional commander and his entourage for the partnership that he had established between the political parties.

He said anytime a party was in opposition, it often suspected the activities of the police, adding that but this engagement had given the NPP hope and trust in the police and they believed that the police would ensure fairness and equity in the discharge of their duties during the elections.

Hon Ashitey assured the command of NPP's readiness to work closely with the police to ensure peace in the region.

The leadership of the party also appealed to the police to ensure that members put on their name tags during the elections so that personnel who act unprofessionally at the polling station level can be reported to their superiors.

Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson, a member of the council of elders at the regional office, also appealed to the police to involve the other security services in their deliberations.

We have suffered enough in the hands of Customs and Fire Service officials who are sent to the polling centres to ensure security in the past, so please engage them also to ensure peace for mother Ghana, he said.

At the office of the National Democratic Congress, Mr Ade Coker, the Regional Chairman, said there was the need for political parties to send the message of peace being preached by the police to their members at the grassroots.

He promised that his party would not engage any vigilante group to create problems during the elections.

By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey

( [email protected] )


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Michael Kwabena Ampong, Executive Director of the National Youth Leaders' Forum, is said to be receiving sponsorship from the National Security to carry out a campaign to ensure the maintenance of peace before, during and after this year's general election.

He has called for the disbandment of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) Invisible Forces  a security group tasked with guarding the party's headquarters.

Mr. Ampong, a former Greater Accra Region Communications Director of the NPP who was currently said to be in bed with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), asserted that the formation of the paramilitary group was a threat to society.

Speaking at the launch of the 'Campaign Against Politically Motivated Violence' in Accra last week, Mr Ampong alleged that the Invisible Forces was made up of unemployed, well-built guys who could not be contained by the NPP.

He stated that the NPP would not be able to contain the Invisible Forces if it did not win the 2016 elections.

.

As we have entered into the election year, tempers are gathering and with the current formation of paramilitary groups, care has to be taken. Every political party has action troopers like Invisible Forces. Our boarders are being beaten with the influx of sophisticated weapons. Now when you put up such a group  a group of unemployed, well-built guys  and assuming you don't win after the elections, how do you contain them? Won't they be a threat to society? he quizzed.

He said the main aim of the 'Campaign Against Politically Motivated Violence' was to urge the youth and the electorate to say No to ethnocentric politics, politics of hatred and insults, politics of intolerance for dissenting views and politics of wild and unfounded allegations.

The youth have a greater stake in the future of this country. We should also be able to push politicians to talk about the issues that affect our welfare like youth unemployment among others. Most of our graduates are coming out unemployed, what is the reason? There are serious national issues and people who are aspiring to become presidents and MPs should demonstrate that indeed they have what it takes to assume such positions, he added.

Prof. Nii Noi Dowuona, a board member of the National Council on Tertiary Education (NCTE), urged the youth to use their efforts to 'harass' the leadership to champion causes or policies that would address their needs.

The event was attended by various personalities, including Kwesi Pratt, managing editor of The Insight newspaper.

By Nii Ogbamey Tetteh


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Residents of Savelugu and its surrounding communities in the Northern Region have received their share of Vodafone Ghana Foundation's free medical screening.

The visit of the medical team to the region adds to the list of communities that have benefitted from the company's efforts at keeping the citizenry healthy.

The screening exercise dubbed 'Healthfest', has so far visited communities, including Alajo, Ashaiman, Glefe, Accra New Town, Tema New Town, La, Nungua, Teshie, Sogakope, Betom (Koforidua), Duayaw-Nkwanta and other communities across the country.

Since the establishment of the foundation six year ago, more than 20,000 Ghanaians have benefitted from the foundation's health programmes.

Basic health examinations, including blood sugar level, blood pressure, dental, eye screening as well as a free medication were offered to community members.

.

Aminatu Fuseini, a 56-year-old resident of Savelugu, expressed her gratitude to Vodafone Ghana Foundation for coming to her aid.

I have not been feeling well for quite some time; I'm unable to go to the hospital because of the money involved. This exercise has given me free medical screening, now I know what is wrong with me and I have been given medicinefor free. Thank you Vodafone, she said.

On his part, 39-year-old farmer Inusah Yakubu was grateful to Vodafone for coming to the community to meet his health needs.

He said he didn't have any insurance policy, so it has been difficult going to the hospital.

Thanks to the Vodafone health screening, I have been able to get free medical attention and given medications too, Inusah Yakubu mentioned.

A section of the screening activity at Savelugu community
DCOP Angwubutuge Awuni

03.02.2016 LISTEN



The Eastern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Angwubutuge Awuni has advised hotel operators to reject clients who refuse security checks at their premises.

According to DCOP Awuni, such measures had become necessary to avert armed robberies and terrorist attacks following the rise in such attacks across the West African sub-region.

He said players in the hospitality industry should be security conscious to help avert nefarious activities of criminals.

Dont be afraid of losing the little monies from clients who refuse security screening. They pose a danger to your lifetime investments and you must do all you can to protect your investments from such persons.

The Eastern Regional Police chief disclosed this while speaking at a meeting with hotel owners and operators in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital over the weekend.

I sincerely believe that it is better for me to lose the money that I will get from one client than losing the whole hotel because if the person is a terrorist and enters the hotel and decides to take hostages and kill, I will lose a lot of clients and therefore, if anybody refuses security checks, I think its best for the hotel owner to allow him go wherever he wants, he said.

A recent terrorists attack in Ghana's northern neighbour, Burkina Faso during which about 29 people died has prompted Ghanas security forces to be on alert.

DCOP Awuni told the hoteliers that what happened in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso could be repeated in Ghana, hence the need to take precaution.

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The fear of terrorist attacks has also been heightened with the presence of two ex-detainees from Guantanamo Bay in Ghana.

DCOP Awuni stressed the need for hotel managers to screen employees before hiring them.

If you are employing, take time and do a little bit of screening on employees so you don't pay someone to come and create havoc against us.

The Eastern Police Commander however advised hotel managers to make the Ghana Tourism Act their guide and also adhere to Section 35 of the law, stating emphatically that hoteliers could stay out of trouble if they do so.

The Secretary of the Regional Hoteliers' Association, Ustaz Yakubu, on behalf of his members, said the recent terrorist attacks in the sub-region have made security a top priority in the region.

FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua


The Western Cape regional fruit production sector has suffered losses amounting to R 720m. The wine industry alone has suffered damage to the tune of R 20m thus far, as around 82 hectares of vineyards have been lost due to drought and fires. This was revealed during todays committee briefing on the impact of drought and fires on agriculture in the Western Cape.

National government must take head of this reality and declare the region a disaster area. The Stellenbosch region has seen a 33% drop in rainfall during winter 2015, with surrounding regions facing similar challenges.

VinPro advised the committee that the South African wine industry has seen a 15% drop in wine production in 2015. While wine producers have managed to keep the increase in the cost of wine production at 8%, it will most likely rise by 10  15% as of 2016. The dip in production and rise in production cost in addition to the current fires and drought, is expected to result in further losses for the this sector, which employs 300 000 people nationally and contributes 3.5% to the national GDP.

The impact of the fires extends beyond the damage to vineyards. The international demand for South African wines has declined due to fears of smoke damage. This despite the fact that local winemakers have the facilities to treat the grape for smoke damage, thus eradicating the impact on the flavour. It is critical that government communicates this to international consumers.

HORTGRO advised the committee that the R 720m loss will have a devastating humanitarian impact as the most vulnerable will see food prices soar beyond their reach.

Despite the grave losses suffered, there will not be an immediate threat to farm worker employment. However, a number of farmers who are in the red, may exit the industry. This jeopardise farm worker jobs the long term.

Recovery will not be quick as some affected regions will take years to recover. The full extent of the damage caused by the drought and fires will be assessed in the weeks to come. As such, the Standing Committee will continue to engage with stakeholders to get a grasp on the full extent of the damage.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

I get an idea for an article, I enter it on the computer. Consequently my computer has numerous articles some completed and others not. Here is something I wrote back in 2011 that I wish to share with you.

One might say that the title is odd and question the implication thereof. Seriously speaking one never knows from where the inspiration for the next writing will come. My sources come from a variety of avenues. All I have to do is close my eyes and reminisce and dozens of evocations stimulating memories of the pat begin to flash on the closed lids of my eyes as if they were on a movie screen. These evocations carry me back to my childhood where I am, unknowingly, being prepared to answer the invocations of my ancestors even though I do not know who they were of from which country in Africa they hailed.

The incantations of my ancestors are summoning me to accomplish a task for them, something they have been wrestling with for decades, if not centuries. Their summoning comes in the form of rhythm and movement. I on this side of the Atlantic Ocean do not fully comprehend what is happening to me. All I know is that something is pulling on me like the force of the moon causing the tide to rise. These silent incantations fortify my interest in rhythm and movement. The sound of a drum would provide a buttress or support wall that would later become the foundation of my percussion notation system, Greenotation

Things would begin to take shape and form when I was in high school. I was a student of music and dance. As a dancer I appeared in an annual concert at Carnegie Hall. There was an allotment of time that needed to be filled. Congo drums were brought to the stage, and a routine was choreographed. I volunteered to be one of the dancers who would perform this routine. When the drummers began to play we came out on stage. I became extra energetic and the other dancers stopped and I continued my creative rendition of the movements I believed my ancestors performed in their villages. Thus I was granted a solo spot called Queen of the Jungle Mist. I would perform this dance each year.

I had to choreograph a new routine each year for my solo. As a musician, I realized that the musicians, drummers who played Congo drums, could not read music and never played the drums in the same manner at each rehearsal. I tried to express the rhythms I wanted with written notation, but that fell on deaf ears. I had to find a way to write the sounds I wanted through another method. This method would have to be pictorial wherein they would see a symbol and that symbol would indicate to them where to place their hand on the drum to produce a certain sound. I did not know how I would do this, but knew I had to do it.

One day as I was seated in the stenography class, I heard the teacher remark that any sound could be written with Pitman Stenography. She wrote the symbols for the words may and we on the board. We thought it was English and she said it was French. The same symbols in French indicated the words Mais and Oui. I pondered this statement and thought to myself if any sound can be written, why not write drum sounds. I picked up my pencil and wrote, using the word drum in shorthand, I factored out the consonants D and M. With that I wrote the sounds Do-do-do-Dum. I ended this rhythmic phrase with a sharp slap to the drumhead that was represented by the stenographic symbol for the words eye or I. In actuality the symbol was the music symbol used for accent in music. Thus my first drum phrase was Do-do-do- Dum Chak. This was a rhythm commonly played on the Congo drum. It represented open strokes (Do); closed stroke (Dum); and (Chak) a slap to the drum. Thus my journey into percussion notation had begun.

Let me flash back to the continent of Africa at that time. As we all know the music of Africa is largely a percussive oral tradition that is passed from one generation to the nest by a mouth-to-ear process. Most of this music is held in the heads of a caste of people called Griots in West Africa, who are in charge of the dissemination of these massive cultures. Unfortunately any society that is entirely dependent upon oral transmission for the distribution of their culture between generations is doomed to failure because of the breakdown of the human memory and outside interpretation. Unlike other forms of music in the western world, written notation can support and document the music because of its melodic nature. There was no system in place that could transfer the percussive music of Africa into written documents. Therefore, I ask what happens to the music when the Griots die? In actuality each time a Griot died, he literally took archives of African music to the grave with him where it was lost forever. Realizing that the death of these Griots would eventually completely deplete centuries of African music and dance cultures, Africans launched a quest to find a way to preserve their musical culture in written form not only to safeguard them but, to give it perpetuity just like the western system has done for melodic music of the western world.

Seated on this aide of the Atlantic Ocean, I had no idea which African country or individual was behind the search for a system to write African music, But I was made aware that there were meetings under the name of African Music Rostrums between African nations and the United Nations where discussions on African music was the predominant topic on the agenda.

There is a Yoruba expression that is played on the Iya-Ilu drums of Nigeria that sums up the incantation that would eventually bring me to the continent of Africa to study, research and share my work with Africans.

Iwo la fi sagba, Iwo la fi sagba, Iwo lal fi se

Beni Kan se kandu, kandu, kandu, Iwo la fi se.

Translation

You have been elected as the leader. You have been elected as the leader.

You are the anointed one.

In spite o rivalry and opposition, you are the anointed one.

I strongly believe that this is the collective incantation that was being expressed by my ancestors and firmly implanted in my mind as a gift from God. This would lead me back to Africa. African Music Tomorrow means that Africa now has a notation system of her own.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Peter Anarfi-Mensah says the Ashanti Regional Security Council will evict Fulanis and their cattle from Agogo if they cause any further destruction of farms.

This comes after two people were allegedly killed by Fulani herdsmen in Agogo in the Ashanti region.

He made the comments on Adom FMs Morning Show Dwaso Nsem, Wednesday during an interview with the host, Captain Smart.

Below is what transpired between Captain and the regional Minister.

Captain Smart: Honorabele, how far have you gone with the enforcement of the court rulling that came in 2012 ordering the eviction of the Fulani herdsmen?

Minister: People have been misinterpreting the court rulling. Point:

1. The court rulling gave some selected areas where nomads and their cattle had to be evicted.

2. The order also said cattle that were confined should remain. And

3. The court did not state where the nomads and their cattle had to be transferred to.

But progressively, all efforts were being made to remove them until the recent happenings.

Background

The nomads have been accused of perpetrating crimes including murder and rape besides the destruction of farm crops through grazing by their cattle.

Residents of Agogo and surrounding communities have for years raised concerns about the activities of Fulanis and their cattle in the area.

Despite a court order in 2012 for the eviction of the Fulanis, the nomads are still around with no immediate sign of the conflict with residents abating.

An Operation Cow Leg, introduced by security forces in a renewed effort to curb the menace in January last year, has also not yielded results.

A bout a week ago, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang led a campaign at Agogo, dubbed "operation kill any cattle seen on farmlands."

The youth in the area said the action is a last resort as traditional leaders of the area had failed to solve the age-long Fulani menace.

But in a press statement, the youth of the area have vowed to prevent chiefs from celebrating any festival until the Fulanis are evicted.

They also accused some chiefs of exploiting the issue to their advantage and urged all citizens of Agogo to disregard any announcement from the Agogo Traditional Council.

They warned citizens of Agogo not to render any kind of services such as selling of food items, transport services to the Fulanis and threatened to continue with the peaceful public campaign until the last Fulani and their cattle leave their land.

Police in the Ashanti region threatened to arrest the Member of Parliament for inciting the youth of the town to be lawless.

On Tuesday, February 2, a 27- year - old man who has been identified as David Atiah and another person yet to be identified were allegedly shot by a Fulani herdsman after brief exchanges at Kowereso in Agogo. David died instantly but the other survived and is still recieving treatment, reports say.

But on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem, the regional minister said he and the security agencies will do everything possible to flash out the nomads if they commit more crimes.

Below is a continuation of the interview between him and Captain Smart.

Captain Smart: Are you saying that the court should have stated where we should take them to?

Minister: No that is not what I mean, all I am saying is that the rulling said we should remove them but we have to treat it in such a way that we will drive them away totally from the entire area. That is what I am saying.

Captain Smart: Have you been able to remove some since the order?

Minister: The enforcement of the rulling needs a tactical and technical approach in the enforcement. It is not all that easy to say that they should all go.

2. And another issue is that as soon as you sack one batch, another batch emerges from other places like the Eastern region and some other places. So you need a strategic enforcement plan to evict them.

Captain Smart: Honourable, on the day of the rulling I was in court and the court did not say that the batch that was there should be driven out and then everything ends. But as the chairman of the regional Security Council, are you trying to tell me that for the past four years or so of the rulling, there is no security strategy?

Minister: No that is not what I am saying.

Captain Smart: But that is what you are implying.

Minister: Hold on, hold on, that is why I said that for some time now some sanity has prevailed in the area until recently. Unlike initially when there were rape cases and murder cases- all these crimes had reduced.

Captain Smart: Honourable

Minister: I am making a point, listen to me

Captain Smart: No wait, in the wisdom of the court, it knew that some things would happen in future that is why it ordered that the nomads and their cattle be removed.

(Minister interrupts): I know that but

Captain Smart continues: With all due respect honourable, listen to me. The court did not say that the people should be protected it ordered that the cattle and nomads be removed from those selected areas. You could not do it and that same community is where the killings happened

Minister: That is what I am saying that the twelve communities were cleared of the nomads and their cattle...

(Captain interrupts) Honourable, repeat that for me pleaseCan you say it on authority? That the REGSEC has driven away some Fulanis after the court order?

Minister: Listen, the court rulling stated that the 12 communities but however, it stated that the confined ones be remained.

Captain Smart: Honourable I understand that one. What I want to find out is that the communities that the court ordered that they be removed. The court order was explicit. Did you remove them?

Minister: Yes we removed them but what happened was that some others emerge after some are sacked

(Captain interrupts again) Did you remove the cattle from the selected areas?

Minister: Yes we did

Captain Smart: Honourable with all due respect that is not true. I was at Fox FM when the court order came and I spoke with the then police commander and your predecessor and he said plans were being made to remove them. A year later the then minister said plans were far advanced.

Exactly 2 years after the court order, the Fulanis shot a man in front of his pregnant wife, and raped the woman until she had a still birth. And the police commander said they had called for reinforcement from Accra to drive them out. So if you say that you drove them out, I beg to doubt!

Minister: I have no problem if you doubt it. During our last meeting we had some new discoveries. When the security went to evict some nomads, some indigenes came to us to claim ownership of the cows. So some indigenes have been fronting for the Fulanis and we know them.

Captain Smart: So now you know the people who own the cattle, right?

Minister: Very good

Captain Smart: No I want a yes or no answer, honourable. Do you know the owners of the cattle in Agogo or not?

Minister: It wouldnt be nice to disclose to you on air but we know them.

Captain Smart: Are they politicians?

Minister: No there isnt a single politician on the list

Captain Smart: Are they Chiefs?

Minister: I havent seen any chiefs name on the list

Captain Smart: Are there businessmen?

Minister: Yes that I can confirm

Captain Smart: And the rest are they carpenters of masons.

The Minister laughed and said They are Ghanaians.

Captain Smart: So are you going to evict the Fulanis and their cattle or not?

Minister: When they cause havoc, we will.

Captain: Within one month, they have killed two people and set fire to peoples farms, which other havoc are you waiting to see?

Minister: You are not getting meCaptain what I am saying is that if the confined ones cause havoc, then we will evict them.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com| Akosua Asiedua Akuffo| [email protected]
The Writer

03.02.2016 LISTEN

For more than 40 years in the political arena of Spain two parties had been dominating, the Peoples Party and the PSOE Party (Spanish Socialist Workers Party), which alternated in power. The last catalytic elections of December 20, 2015 resulted in a significant weakening of these traditional political forces and the emergence of new antiregime parties. Thus, the Peoples Party of Mariano Rajoy got the lowest percentages since 1993 (28.72% of votes and 123 seats out of the 350 of the Parliament, compared to 44.6% of the votes and 186 seats in 2011), while the PSOE Party of Pedro Sanchez recorded the worst result in its history (22% of the votes and 90 seats, compared to 28.73% of the votes and 110 seats in the previous elections of 2011).

The emergence of the left party Podemos of Pablo Iglesias  product of the so-called movement of the Indignant  and of the center-right party Ciudadanos of Albert Rivera (which was supported by some mass media), in the third and fourth place respectively with high percentages (20.6% of the votes and 69 seats and 14% of the votes and 40 seats), shows the end of the forty-year-old two-party system and marks a new period for Spain.

This result, of course, is due largely to the economic crisis in Europe. The anti-popular austerity policy which was faithfully implemented by the government of Mariano Rajoy in the past four years, combined with a corruption scandal regarding his party, transformed the party map of Spain and led to the emergence of a new four-party political scene.

The new parliamentary reality, where no party has an absolute majority, leads inevitably either to a coalition government that the majority of Spaniards seems to prefer or to new elections. After four years of governance with strong majority, Spain is now facing the prospect of some kind of political instability that torments the other European countries as well, since the fragile government coalitions and the traditional parties that dominated the political scene for decades, feel strongly the pressing effects of the years of economic hardship and the growing wave of immigration.

The new Spanish government, whenever it may occur, with or without new elections, shall immediately be confronted with very serious problems and challenges. Although this European economy came out of the recession and entered the road to recovery, it will take several years, without regressions, to recover the lost ground. Otherwise, if the Spanish economy gets into reverse mode again, this precarious recovery will resemble the suspended step of the stork.

The country is beset by the second highest unemployment rate (21.18%) in the Euro-zone following Greece, and the unemployed Spaniards are more than five million. Poverty increases on a daily basis and threatens to disintegrate the social web of the country. Poverty is the worst form of violence once Mahatma Gandhi declared. With the applied vast neoliberal policies the gap between the rich and the poor is constantly growing. In 2013, 22.2% of the households, based on the most recent data of the National Statistics Institute (INE) of Spain, lived below the poverty line, i.e. their income was less than 60% of the mean national disposable income. Many people are living today without heating and without electric power, countless families face eviction and have no other residence (34.680 first houses, that is 95 a day, were confiscated in 2014 by the banks to be sold, according to the INE), many pensioners cannot pay for their medicines. Also, more than one in three children - or 2.6 million  are now faced with the risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to the most recent data of the European Commission. The high percentages of the long-term unemployed combined with the drastic cuts in expenditures on health and education have led more families and children to poverty in spite of the financial recovery.

The public debt is continuously showing an upward trend and based on the latest official figures, is at 98.8% of the GDP, approaching the high level of 100% of the GDP that reached or exceeded in the years 1900 and 1909. The informal economy is estimated at 25% of the GDP, i.e. 235 billion Euros that have not been declared, thereby depriving the Spanish State from some very substantial financial resources.

Meanwhile, the new Spanish government shall have to tackle the urgent issue of Catalonia. The election of the separatist Carles Puigdemont, who shall be responsible for starting the process of independence, to the presidency of Catalonia, is a resounding wake-up. We need to commence the process to create an independent State in Catalonia, so that the decisions of the Catalan Parliament are sovereign, he declared on Sunday 10th January 2016, under the cheering of the Members, only hours before the Catalan Parliament elected him head of the local government and successor Artur Mas.

The direct consequences of the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia, which is the richest region of Spain with a product of about 200 billion Euros, shall undoubtedly be extremely painful: without Catalonia, Spain shall lose 16% of its population, 25% of its exports, and 19% of its GDP according to the OECD.

More than 586,000 companies are based in Catalonia  out of those 2,150 large companies employing more than 200 workers each, such as Gas Natura and the giant of garments Mango. In Catalonia there is the factory of the Volkswagen group as well producing cars of the brand Seat.

Besides, Barcelona is by far the first tourist destination across the country and one of the leading worldwide, with net proceeds from the arrival and stay of tourists reaching tremendous heights. Meanwhile, both in the commercial and the industrial sector, Barcelona is perhaps the most fundamental pillar of the Spanish economy.

The tendency of Catalonia for independence, this should be emphasized at this point, was born and acquired gigantic dimensions due to the austerity policies imposed by Brussels and mainly Berlin on Spain and of course throughout the Euro-zone. This is the main reason why the Catalans want to become at least autonomous. They want to have their own laws and their taxes not to go to Madrid to pay the austerity programmes. The reasons for the apparent break-up are therefore primarily financial, but and cultural.

In conclusion, the extreme austerity policies have hurt obviously and heavily Spain, like other countries in the Euro-zone. Therefore it is needed by the new Spanish government, which will be faced with a historic crossroad, to formulate a very clear progressive policy that will be built upon the re-examination of the Constitution, the direction of specific popular social reforms, the inhibition of uncontrolled privatization suffering, among other things, from issues of transparency, and the protection of the first housing to low income groups. The effective combat against tax evasion and financial crime is also needed, as well as the appropriate restructuring of the production model and the significant easing of major structural imbalances, such as unemployment, budget deficits, and the public debt.

About the author

Isidoros Karderinis was born in Athens, Greece in 1967. He is a novelist, poet and economist with postgraduate studies in tourist economy. His articles have been republished in newspapers, magazines and sites worldwide. His poems have been translated in French and have been published in literary magazines. He has published seven books of poetry and two novels. Five of which have been published in the USA and in Great Britain.

Personal elements

Email: [email protected]

Facebook:: Karderinis Isidoros
03.02.2016 LISTEN

From Adu Gyamfi Odopa, Acherensua

The Minister of Local Government and rural development, Alhaji Collins Dauda says the NDC Government has resorted to excessive borrowing because Ghanaians have refused to honor their tax obligations.

According to him, governments all over the world depend on taxes for development, but if the people are not prepared to pay taxes, must the country remain undeveloped in the name of no money in the state purse, NO.

To him, the government has to secure funds from other sources for the general improvement of the economy so that at the end of the four year term, the president can account to the electorate. He cited an example with the biblical story in Matthew 25:14-30, where a landlord gave talents to his servants to do business according to their strength, while he travelled .He came back and asked his servants to account to him individually.

He added that President John Dramani Mahama was focused and would not be detracted by the opposition's continuous mocking and unnecessary noise about the loans he had acquired to improvement upon the living conditions of the people of Ghana.

He also lamented on the springing up of many radio and TV stations in the country, which has given many people the chance to insult leaders and cast negative insinuations, all in the name of freedom of speech and expression.

Ghana has been a peaceful country, but if we don't control the negative comments and insults on our media platforms, it can bring conflict into the country one day, as has happened in many countries in Africa, he warned.

Collins Dauda made these comments at Acherensua in the Asutifi South District of the Brong-Ahafo Region, when he joined the Acherensua District of the Church of Pentecost to worship with them as their Member of Parliament.

The District pastor of the church, Isaac Bosompem Yamoah, led his congregation to pray for the president and the government for wisdom to govern, and also for the general peace and security before, during and after the election 2016.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

A LEADING member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. George Ayisi Boateng has asked members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to focus their energies on seeking answers to the mystery behind the demise of the late President John Evans Attah Mills, instead of concentrating on the first wife of Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo.

Mr. George Ayisi Boateng contends that since members of the ruling party and the press houses sympathetic to them are so much interested in unearthing circumstances behind deaths of people, they would do Ghanaians lots of good if they will spend little time digging into the much rumoured circumstances surrounding the late Presidents death.

Obviously if the late wife of Nana Addo, who left this world when he (Nana Addo) was not even a minister let alone a flagbearer, matters to the NDC, then a whole President who died under mysterious circumstances, must engage their attention, he insinuated.

Some members of the ruling party, in a desperate move to smear the NPP flagbearer, whose incorruptible character appears to have become an envy of his political opponents, embarrassingly claimed they had laid hands on an autopsy report implicating the NPP leader for the death of his late wife, Obaa Yaa Nkansah Dwamena, who died in 1993.

But addressing a group of party volunteers in Kumasi over the weekend, Mr. Ayisi Boateng charged members of the party to also demand answers from the NDC and President Mahama over the death of the late President Mills.

If the circumstances leading to the death of an ordinary innocent woman should be a matter of contention, then how much more a whole President of this country, whose mortal remains, we are told, was discovered at a Maternity Ward; how long will Ghanaians be kept in the dark about what happened to our dear late President, Mr. Ayisi Boateng observed.

The NPP founding member, therefore, charged the party volunteers to rise and defend all forms of allegations fabricated by the NDC to soil the incorruptible integrity of the NPP flagbearer.

He further entreated them to use every opportunity available to them to explain the good policies and programmes of the NPP, but more importantly, also debunk all negative propaganda engineered by the NDC in their desperate attempt to discredit Nana Akufo Addo.

Let me assure you; now that the NDC and their functionaries know they cannot accuse Nana Akufo Addo of any wrongdoing, their modus operandi is to attack his personality by fabricating all kinds of rumours about him,but it is my duty to counter them and set the records straight, Mr. Ayisi Boateng noted.

The myth surrounding President Mills' death would unfold should Ghanaians give the nod to Nana Addo, as the next President. President Mahama concealed the cause/causes of the death of the Late President; Ghanaians should be assured that the next NPP government under the Presidency of Nana Addo would set up a Presidential Commission to investigate it.

Ghanaians need to know how a whole President could die so mysteriously, he said.

According to Mr. Ayisi Boateng, another rumour being peddled by the NDC in remote areas is that it is Nana Addo who has refused to append his signature for the release of cash for the payment of bonuses to cocoa farmers, hence the delay.

So you see how the NDC and their cronies are so desperate to push blame of their incompetence on Nana Addo and the NPP, this means you need to work hard and tell Ghanaians the truth, he observed.

The meeting with the volunteers formed part of the partys outreach programmes aimed at empowering members with the requisite information to be able to market the partys policies and programmes.

Mr. Ayisi Boateng also promised that the NPP, when elected into power, will investigate the real cause of the death of the late President in order to settle the minds of Ghanaians.

From Issah Alhassan, Kumasi
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Danquah Institute, a Public Policy and Research Centre, has beseeched the Electoral Commission (EC) to break its silence on the validation of the current voters' register, as recommended by the five-member panel set up to work around the call by some political parties and civil society organisations for a new register.

It accused the EC of being predictably quick in agreeing with the panel's report that the nation did not need to go through the cost and time-consuming process of compiling an entirely new biometric register.

But, the EC was disappointedly completely silent on the suggestion, which the panel proposed to fix what was wrong with the register, it pointed out, adding that critical among the findings of the Justice VCRAC Crabbe Panel is that the number of names on the voters' register is dangerously and unacceptably more than the total estimate of people eligible to register to vote in Ghana.

For the Institute, the proposal by the panel, which, it claimed, was the most reasonable solution to having a credible register ahead of the 2016 general elections, appears to have been totally ignored by the Electoral Commission.

In October 2015, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, constituted a panel of five prominent people and experts, including a former Supreme Court Judge and former Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Justice VCRAC Crabbe, who was the chairman of the Panel; a former head of the Ghana Statistical Service, Dr. Mrs. Grace Bediako; a renowned ICT expert, Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor, and two other prominent religious leaders.

The panel was tasked with the responsibility of hearing proposals from the various stakeholders, analyse the views, and conduct hearings at a public forum on the issue of the register, come out with findings, and provide recommendations to the Electoral Commission.

The constitution of the panel was occasioned by petitions and calls by some political parties, including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convention People's Party (CPP), the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the People's Progressive Party PPP) and civil society groups, such as the Danquah Institute and Let My Vote Count Alliance, a number of prominent groups and individuals, including religious groups and former heads of state, and many Ghanaians, calling for a new and credible voters' register.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Nana Attobrah Quaicoe, downplayed the efficacy of the exhibition process which the EC had undertaken over the years, arguing that validation of the register was the only way the results of the elections could be accepted.

Citing the Republic of Togo as an example, he recalled that it was only when the country's voters' register was validated that the opposition became assured of a credible election.

Ghanaians should recall that validation was what was used in Togo to the satisfaction of the opposition parties, which had issues with the credibility of the voters' register used for the last elections there, he revealed. According to the Executive Director, the process of validation should be mandatory, which would mean that anyone who did not show up at their polling centres to ensure that their details have been captured must be disenfranchised.

Positing that validation would save the country a lot of money, Nana Attobrah was of the view that the process would give all registered voters an opportunity to authenticate the inclusion of their names on the register, by turning up at a registration centre during a period of limited or special registration to have their fingerprints biometrically verified, their facial image cross-checked with the EC database, and that they should turn up with, not only their voter ID, but also an additional, legally approved personal identification document to justify their eligibility and names remaining on the electoral roll.

He, therefore, called on the EC Chairperson to, as a matter of urgency; consider the option to validate the current voters' register, which would be free from double registration, and the names of the deceased, among others.

By Pascal Kafu Abotsi

([email protected])
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The newly-elected presidential candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, has repudiated an allegation that he paid delegates to win the CPP's flagbearership contest on Saturday. He said he never paid a dime, and that such claims were borne out of hatred and sour grapes.

Ivor Greenstreet, last Saturday, beat four others, including Samia Yaaba Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana's first president and the founder of the CPP, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

He garnered 1,288 votes, representing 64% of the valid votes cast, as against Samia's 579 votes.

The total votes cast were 2,006 with 14 rejected, according to officials of the Electoral Commission who supervised the election. Bright Akwetey and Joseph Agyepong were the other presidential aspirants. Samia Yaba Nkrumah, who observably couldn't hide her pain after her abysmal showing against Ivor Greenstreet after the results were declared, accused the latter of vote buying.

She told journalists after her painful defeat that the newly-elected flagbearer of the CPP paid delegates monies ranging from GH200 to GH500 for their votes. No. I'm obviously not happy with the results, she declared, alleging that every delegate was paid GH200 and GH500 actually, amongst many other things.

 So, it was down to money, and of course, we cannot be happy about that, but we accept the results, and we move on, said Samia Yaba Nkrumah. Also, Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, a leading member of the CPP, believed delegates who participated in Saturday's presidential primaries voted for money. In an interview with Class FM, he said: CPP has voted for moneythat is the choice of congress, sadly.

However, Ivor Greenstreet, speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, dismissed the allegations. He said the outburst from Samia Yaba Nkrumah and her quarters were sternly regrettable and unfounded, and that if he were a delegate, he would be highly offended.

So, if I was a delegate, I will be highly offended for someone to say I could be influenced by those monetary considerations to give a victory of this resounding nature, said Ivor Greenstreet.

The election was bought

Notwithstanding Samia Yaba Nkrumah's tenuous allegations, he admitted that the victory was truly bought, but it was based entirely on merit. He said: So they (Samia and co) know that this election was bought but bought by my service; bought by loyalty; bought by my commitment, and bought by the fact that they (delegates) knew that I'm the best placed person to speak for the party.

According to him, the CPP fraternity listened to him speak and provide solutions on issues hampering the nation's development, and that resonated with them, thus the overwhelming endorsement.

He further contended that the CPP delegates handed him the honour to lead them into the November 7 elections, because they believed in his ability to uphold the true values of the CPP, and that he was the only one who can unify the sternly divisive front of the CPP.

So, it is based entirely on merit, stated Ivor Greenstreet, adding, I really believed I bought them (delegates) with my eloquence; I bought them with my neutrality; I bought with my service; and I bought them with my clean heart and my capacity to speak the truth.

By Mohammed Awal

([email protected])
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Last Saturday, over 2,400 delegates of the Convention People's Party (CPP) converged at the Accra International Trade Fair Centre to elect one of their four presidential aspirants to lead the party in the forth-coming general election.

The event preceded with a debate on TV Africa three days earlier for the four aspiring candidates, including, Samia Yaba Nkrumah -immediate past National Chairman of the party, Bright Akwetey -head of the legal committee of the party, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, former General Secretary and Joe Agyapong -Chairman of the party in Canada.

The congress, which finally took place last Saturday, according to political watchers, was peaceful and many were those who felt that the CPP had proved that they have come of age, given the peaceful nature the whole process went.

The over 2,400 delegates gave the former General Secretary the nod to lead the party, come November 7, 2016, to the admiration of political connoisseurs who believe that the choice of Mr. Greenstreet was a welcome idea for Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's followers.

Unfortunately, some of his own contestants and party comrades, including Samia Yaba Nkrumah, Bright Akwetey and Prof Agyemang Badu Akosa, a leading member of the party, have leveled allegations against the CPP 2016 flagbearer, accusing him of using money to influence the delegates.

In a story carried on the front page of the Monday 1stt February, 2016 edition of The Chronicle, Bright Akwetey, who expressed conviction that the former General Secretary of the CPP was not engaged in a clean campaign, said Some of us are aware of what he did, which made him get that kind of support.

Speaking to a section of the media after the congress, Samia Yaaba Nkrumah, daughter of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, stressed that  I'm obviously not happy with the results, but I accept them. She revealed that; every delegate was paid GH200 and GH500, among many other things. So it was down to money and of course we cannot be happy about that, but we accept the results, and we move on.

Prof. Badu Akosa, who hinted that he agrees with the decision of the delegates of the party, said he was saddened by the fact that the delegates have allowed money to determine the winner of such a contest. He said; This is not the results that I expected, but congress has spoken and as a democrat I have to accept the results. CPP has voted for moneythat is the choice of congress sadly and as a democrat I have to accept it, but congress has voted for money.

The Chronicle believes once the elections are over, members of the CPP must accept the outcome of the congress and stop muddying the waters. Perhaps, they have forgotten that the more they smear their flagbearer with negative and unprintable language, the more they soil the image of the party.

It will not be in the interest of the party for its members to go round washing their dirty linen in public, exposing the presidential candidate to public ridicule, forgetting that whatever they say today shall become a weapon for their political opponents in the elections.

Congratulating the CPP for a good job done, The Chronicle wants to advise members of the party to bury their differences, come together and with a common purpose put in place the needed plans to return the party as the third political force in the country.

The CPP is not the only political party that has gone to congress and come out with reports that monies changed hands in the process of the voting, as there have been similar complaints amd speculations coming from the camps of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Chronicle wishes to urge the CPP to think of how best it would be able to re-organize the Nkrumahist parties to come under one umbrella to to win more parliamentary seats to solidify their front as a political party.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

03-02-2016

Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah

Ofori Panin fie

Kyebi  Eastern Region

Dear Dr. Danquah,

TROUBLE LOOMS AT

HOME.

Accept my fraternal greetings and profound apologies for disturbing your long sleep of death. Since your untimely and painful demise a lot has burned under the furnace  our political tradition has had its moments of glory - not in the too distant past, we uninterruptedly enjoyed the sweets of state power for two-terms under John Agyekum Kufuor as President of the Republic of Ghana. I believe the likes of Prof. K. A Busia, S.D Dombo, Victor Owusu, Paa Willie, R.R Amposah, Tolon Naa, Prof Aduboahen, Madam Hawa Yakubu et al, some of whom were your contemporaries, have already given you a detailed account of the happenings during their epoch after you had long gone to your Maker.

Truth, as it is stated, is like poetry and people unfortunately hate poetry. I do not wish to bore you with so many words, nonetheless, the truth can no longer be concealed under the guise of protecting the partys image since it has far reaching consequences on the present and future of our tradition, which together with other like-minded persons, you firmly laid its cornerstone some many years ago at Saltpond  it must also not escape your lenses as a person who was deeply rooted on fundamental issues surrounding the affairs of men. However, I shall be measured and guided not to be dangerously revealing such that I do not throw away the baby with the bathing water.

Sir, trouble looms at home. I know you wont be a happy man after my narrative  a belly burning disappointment is what will greet u wherever u are, after all, this certainly wasnt the sterling virtues you stood and died for. I am greatly afraid of burying my conscience and principles for any fleeting vanity. It is this resolve that has inspired me to rise to the occasion and ask for your intercession by speaking life beyond the grave back into our tradition before the inevitable happens. Like Edmund Burke posited, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. He also lamented that nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. Great nations and institutions were built on courage, fairness, truth and justice. I have no doubt that the change we seek with-OUT, must be seen with-IN, only then can we demonstrate CHANGE GHANAIANS can BELIEVE.

For this reason, I ask to quickly to revert your attention to the newest craze of the extremes of our internal party politics. Our party has in recent times seen a departure from its foundation values and embraced political wrongs such that travesty of justice, intimidation, insults, unfairness, vilification, intolerance of divergent views, violence and the culture of silence is now its anchor  this is curmudgeonly, regressive and backwoods communism clothed in the sheep-skin of instilling discipline into the party coupled with the twinge of conspiracy theories for good measure. Ironically, the application of these unjustifiable acts and rules guiding our tradition are selectively manifested depending on which bloc of the divide one is perceived to be aligned to by those who claim to be the mightily even in the wrenches of opposition as a political party.

The NPP has been fractured in such a way that it will take greater effort, maturity, honesty and sincerity by noble men to bring the party together. Our current crop of leadership have failed to set the conditions for the survival of this party. The politics of opportunism, sycophancy, convenience, and alienation has given rise to suspicion which is worsening the superb opportunity for the NPP to recapture power in 2016. Like a friend sarcastically puts it, those who accuse everybody of eating from the pots of the NDC forget that they are the once who wash the kitchen utensils.

Sir, what I have witnessed over the last two years of my young life, has given me a painful sense of how politics can be cruel and Machiavellian. It reminds me of the similar fate you suffered during your time whilst trying to selflessly put this country and her people on the path of progress and honour. I have seen how fantastic ideas where rejected because it came from certain particular leaders of our party.

I have seen how efforts to reform the party into a dignified and a purposeful electoral machinery was cantankerously abated because some unseen hands believed it will strengthen those leaders who sought to make that proposition possible  it was very embarrassing for those persons to have focused on individuals rather the benefits and opportunities the party would have derived from those reforms. I have also seen how daily lies and plots were calculatedly unleashed on certain leaders of our party in order to fit into a well-thought out agenda to short sleeve their mandate.

This was because some people never understood how they defied all odds to clinch to the seats of authority within the party. I am bedevilled, and sometimes left to wonder why we all voluntarily decided to join this tradition of ours and for which purpose? Our wounds are self-inflicted and the party today is characterized by progressives as a weaker government in waiting.

As a die-hard adherent of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition, I must canvass courage and integrity to stand up against injustice, arbitrariness and the rule of men which has dominated our party in recent times.

Fortunately for me as a student pursuing law, I have read in extenso the infamous Re Akoto case which you advocated for as the lead Counsel for the accused persons. The decision by the Learned Justices in that very case was one that has till date left a scar on the judicial system of our land - posterity has proven you to be right. The judgement in that case was legally defective, thoroughly criticized and against the spirit and letters of the then 1960 constitution. In your erudite submissions to the then apex court of the land, you largely emphasised on the Supreme authority of the constitution, discrimination against political beliefs and the inalienable rights of the individual. Undoubtedly, the tradition you greatly help founded with these values is suffering from almost a similar fate today.

Sleep they say is the cousin of death, and I believe strongly with everything within my bones that the purported suspension that was meted out to the high profiled persons within our party including some constituency officers who came to Accra to express their disgust through a peaceful protest is a cousin of the judgement in Re Akoto. It was a parochial political decision rather than a legal decision based on facts and law. Our party constitution has been thorn into pieces and our virtues defiled without reason by men who ought to have known better. I do not wish to remind you of your own agony, but, as fate will have it, you died similarly as a result of the iron fist of men in authority through the dreaded Preventive Detention Act. It is for this reason, that I boldly ask all those who condemned the decision in Re Akoto to resoundingly condemn the injustice in todays NPP.

For an educative measure Dr. Danquah, permit me to also quote for you portions of the book Politics in Ghana which was authored by Prof. Michael Aaron Quaye. On page 70 and 71 of his book, he indicated that the rule of law also lays down certain rules of procedure which must be followed by whoever adjudicates on the right of the citizen. This is to prevent a Kangaroo Court System  the existence of which precludes a regime from claiming to be democratic. The tenets of Rule of Law include the following I) every adjudicator must hear both sides before arriving at a verdict relating to any controversy or accusation; II) every side in a controversy is entitled to have its case duly considered before a decision is taken.

This includes all relevant factors in an issue III) no man shall be a judge in his own case IV) reasons must always be given for a decision reached V) justice must not only be done but it must manifestly be seen to be done. Unfortunately, all these ingredients were lost against all the persons who were premeditatedly removed from their various office through a higher penalty, thus, indefinite suspension. Surprisingly the learned Prof and author, was part of those who took that decision to reverse the mandate the people had entrusted through elections in Tamale. The staggering irony is cancerous even, to say the least.

Sadly, the people of Ghana whom we shall be engaging to mandate us with political power this year are caught up between Scylla and Charybdis. They look to the right and see a troubled opposition party pretending to be formidable and to the left, a ruling government struggling to get the fundamentals of the economy right and also pretending to be changing lives and transforming the country.

It is for this reason that I have chosen today, the day of my hallowed birth to call your spirit to action, to invoke the immortal spirits of all foundation members of our enviable tradition to intercede for the once enviable peace and cohesion back to our esteemed party.

In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot. Though an unbelieved truth can hurt a man much more than a lie, it takes great courage to speak the truth unacceptable to our times.

There's a punishment for it, and it's usually crucifixion; one I would gladly take if it means the restoration of a much revered tradition of the peace that comes with standing in our own truth as a political party.

I am confident that the change Ghanaians seek, is one the NPP can undoubtedly give, but our words are only as good as our deeds; what Ghana needs is CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE, the demonstration of which begins at home.

Beyond the grave, grant the wisdom of counsel to our leaders on the depth of insight expressed in the proverb of the broom, of unity that focuses on the strength of numbers but not parochial, of freedom of expression that focuses on the trusted tenets of democracy which you so passionately fought for and to refocus our energies on the important job of re-capturing political power to give every citizen of our land the dignity and opportunity to attain prosperity.

Till we meet again, continue to rest in peace Dr. Danquah.

Yours Truly In Service To Party and Country,

Chief Obosu Mohammed

NPP member, Mfantseman

[email protected]
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Dr. Edward Nasigri Mahama, Presidential candidate for the Peoples National Convention took his Thank You Tour to the Upper East region over the weekend, with the declaration that God has prepared him to become the next president of Ghana.

Recounting his 20 years of political ambition, the medical doctor said this was his turn and he would ride on the elephant and the umbrella in the November polls to be sworn in as president on January 7, 2017.

When I say I have been prepared by God for this moment, this is an example of it; 1996 there were only 3 candidates for president- J.J Rawlings, J.A Kufuor and Edward Nasigri Mahama. That year God said J.J Rawlings should take it. The following year Ghanaians were saying be patient because Kufuor has been trying for this for almost 20 years, your turn would come. They voted for Kufuor. Now 2016, 20 years later and it is Edward Mahama's turn. God has ordained it, he said.

Accompanied by the national and regional executives of the PNC, Dr. Edward Mahama, upon his arrival in the region on Saturday first visited Sandema, where he paid courtesy calls on the paramount chief and chief imam of the area.

They later proceeded to Chiana and to Navrongo where he and some executives took turns to address some constituency and polling station executives. Dr. Mahama told the people of the region that both the NDC and NPP neglected agriculture and as a result most of the Ghanaian youth did not have any work to do.

He cited that in 2015, government spent about US$ 600 million on importation of rice which should have been produced here in Ghana. According to him, a PNC government under his watch would grow agriculture by 10% per annum under his new policy of transforming agriculture with guaranteed prices. He rejected the assertion that a vote for PNC was a wasted vote.

You have been wasting your votes for voting NDC and NPP, because all they have given you is hardship, increased tariff, increased water bill, increased transportation cost, unemployment and even to the point where they have unemployed graduates association of Ghana, it's a shame. Why do we send them to school if we can't give them jobs? he asked.

The National Chairman of the PNC, Bernard Mornah said the youthful breed of leadership of the party was an indication that the party has the youth at the center and urged Ghanaian youth to vote the PNC into power and find space in the governance of the country. They would also be given jobs or provided with job opportunities.

National Executives who accompanied the candidate included the party's General Secretary Atik Mohammed, National Organizer, Desmond Ntoo, Adams Akane -Treasurer, Awudu Abdulai-Youth Organizer, Hajara Issah -Third vice chairman, Nbila Janet -Women's organizer and deputy General Secretary Mohammed Haruna.

From William N-lanjerbor Jalulah
03.02.2016 LISTEN

We act as solicitors for Mr. Okoe Vanderpuije (our Client), and write pursuant to his instructions.

Our Client's attention has been drawn to your article published in the Wednesday January 20th, 2016 edition of your newspaper The Chronicle with the above-stated caption.

The article contained several distorted and false allegations regarding our Client and he is minded to respond to same.

Our client instructs us that, he agreed to do a job for Dr. Bruce in 2008. However, upon his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in 2009, he resiled from the agreement in order to avert a conflict of interest situation.

He returned to Dr. Bruce all monies received from him for the purpose. At no time, either before or after he was appointed as C.E.O of AMA, did our Client promise Dr. Bruce or any other person the award of a contract from Government. We hope you give this rejoinder the same prominence you gave to your earlier publication.

Yours faithfully,

Signed

Tony Lithur
Guwahati, 3 February: The Ajmal Foundation has offered financial supports to five ailing journalists of Assam. Khasrul Islam, manager of Ajmal Foundation handed over the amount totalling rupees 1,15,000 to the beneficiaries at a brief function held at Guwahati Press Club on Wednesday.

The beneficiaries under the Ajmal Media Welfare Scheme include Pitamber Newar (Dainik Purvoday), Bitul Bora (News Live), Arup Chakrabarty (Nababarta Prasanga), Pankaj Bora (News 30) and Basharullah Mujadaddi (Asomiya Pratidin).

Dr MRH Azad, deputy manager of Ajmal Foundation with NI Laskar & Haidor Bora and journalist Nava Thakuria were also present on the occasion. Earlier on 14 January a sum of rupees 50,000/- was handed over to Ismail Ali of Protidin Time at a function held at Hojai.

It may be mentioned that Ajmal Foundation is a premier non-government organisation in northeast India with a very clear cut policy to help artistes and media persons in the time of crisis. Ajmal Foundation announced the launch of the Ajmal Media Welfare Scheme with a corpus of rupees 25 lakh in February 2009 .

The management of Ajmal Foundation now plans to raise the corpus in future so that more media persons can get the benefit under the scheme. The total amount released under the scheme since its inception (up to December 2015) stands at rupees 1554838, where the number of beneficiaries is 80 scribes belonging to various media outlets.
Dont get me wrong; Ghana as a country is quite significant in its own right. It also has quite an enviable sociopolitical and cultural history. But that is about all that there is to the country presently. In the global scheme of politics, economics and culture, our country pales far in significance to the image and stature it ought to be sporting by now.

And this has absolutely nothing to do with the way and manner in which Ghanaian journalists project the image and reputation of the country abroad. In the pre-Internet era, what the 2016 Presidential Candidate of Ghanas main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) cautioned media operatives about recently would have been smack-dab on point or target (See Ghanas Reputation Hinges on 2016 Election  Akufo-Addo Starrfmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 12/30/15).

What media operatives  or pressmen and women  often report is far more mediated and/or modulated by the behavior, policies and actions of politicians and the leaders of the various fields of human endeavor, than the private and collective perspectives of these information purveyors themselves. For at the end of the day, agree with it or not, journalists closely monitor, reflect on and then produce for public consumption the goings-on at the highest levels of government, as well as the lowest levels of society.

And in as much as the media may be aptly envisaged to wield considerable political clout, largely in the form of image-making, opinion-shaping and image-breaking, of course, nevertheless, the pulse of any civilized society or one that is steadily approaching the status of democratic civilization/civility like Ghana, is predominantly regulated by the caliber of the leadership produced by the concerned society.

The most acute problem of the Ghanaian media, particularly the non-entrepreneurial aspect of the media, composed largely of print and electronic media operatives, is working conditions or the right and privilege of being afforded a comfortable and livable paycheck or livelihood.

And so politicians like President John Dramani Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo do not creditably advance the cause of the operatives of the proverbial Fourth Estate when they harp on the imperative need for the media to be circumspect in how they select and present the news for the consumption of the public, both local and foreign.

In recent months, both two major leaders have had quite a bit to say about the generally lackluster performance of the national media. Both leaders also have a remarkable relationship with the media as an institution.

Nana Akufo-Addo has been widely associated with the print media, largely with the proprietary or the managerial side of the media, in the form of his newspaper The New Statesman, which he allegedly inherited from his judicial-luminary father and former ceremonial president, Justice Edward Akufo-Addo, which prides itself in being the foremost consistently and longest-continuously published daily in the country. President Mahama has also been variously called a communications and/or media expert and a historian.

Whatever the reality of what the much older professional lawyer and his younger political rival and/or break-neck competitor may think of the media, one thing they each could do more of in order to healthily induce the development and production of the caliber of media operatives both seem to closely agree is desired in the country, if democratic accountability is to be advanced and enviably promoted, is to vigorously campaign for the working conditions of journalists and other media operatives to be significantly improved.

In other words, merely issuing pontifical statements about what media operatives ought to be doing with their skills and talents would not cut it, even as Gen. Colin Powell would have forthrightly and poignantly put it.

Cast more pointedly, what Messrs. Akufo-Addo and Mahama need to do is to put their wallets where their mouths are. I also just happen not to fully agree that much of the outcome of Election 2016 depends on the tack/approach taken by reporters and other media operatives in the coverage of the same.

Actually, much more depends on how politicians conduct themselves, both in public and private, vis-a-vis the entire electoral and electioneering process. For believe me, you can always count on the creme-de-la-creme of the Ghanaian journalistic cohort to call the shots as they see it, both objectively and subjectively. There is, of course, the rented press, so-called. Virtually every country has it. They are almost invariably wired to play their tunes the loudest wherever the manna of cedi/dollar notes rain down the hardest.

The rented press has also been observed to be most effective in countries where the lot of media operatives leaves much to be desired. Which means quite a remarkable slew of countries. This is where Ghana can beneficently angle up in order to acquire the enviable status of a standout. It is a leadership policy responsibility. For ultimately, journalists do not ply their trade in a vacuum, even as a soldier has been routinely said to walk on his/her stomach.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Ghanas bid to preserve and grow its forest resource may soon receive a boost from some investors from Finland.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Nii Osa Mills on Wednesday met the business delegation from Finland who are in the country to explore investment opportunities.

Ghanas forest cover has been declining at alarming rate - affecting the countrys foreign exchange from timber.

But speaking with JOY BUSINESS after the meeting, Nii Osa Mills was optimistic of a turn-around soon.

He noted that the country had over 8.2 million hectors of forest cover, but currently, we have only 4.6 million.

Weve lost a lot of forest cover. Many efforts are being made to grow the forest bag but the challenge constantly has been illegal mining activities, chain saw operators, slash-and-burn of the forest by some farmers and wild fires he emphasized.

For him, Ghana should be able to address the challenge as other countries have. Within 15 years Uruguay, a small country in Latin America has gone from zero forest to a situation where they are now obtaining billions of dollars in revenues from the forest that they created within the 15-year period. We should ask ourselves whether or not we can do a lot more.

Hon. Nii Osa Mills is highly optimistic the engagement with the delegation led by the Finnish Deputy Minister for External Economic Relations Matti Anttonen.
The attention of the Ghana Chamber of Mines has been drawn to a research publication by the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) on the contribution of mining to Ghanas economy. The publication has subsequently received generous reportage in both the print and electronic media.

While we encourage independent systematic and robust analysis of the mining sector, we are of the considered opinion that the findings and conclusions of ACEPs study diverge from the documented outflows from the mining sector to the national kitty. Again, we regret ACEPs inability to share its research findings with the Chamber prior to publishing it, especially on account of our leadership in the mining industry and healthy relationship with ACEP. In the light of these developments, the Chamber wishes to remedy some palpable deficiencies in the report as published extensively by the media and reported by www.myjoyonline.com .

We wish to respond to ACEPs publication as follows:

The report stated that the country earned $ 1.7 billion out of the total receipts of $ 23 billion realized from the export of gold from 2016 and 2013. While we are inclined to ignore the error in the time period stated in the reportage (2016-2013), the implied conclusion of the analysis is misleading. Certainly, the countrys take from mining transcends the fiscal revenue that accrues to the state. It includes the indirect and induced value that are elicited as a result of the presence of the mine. For instance, a recent study by Steward Redqueen and African Center for Economic Transformation suggests that for every job on the mine, a further fifteen (15) jobs are created indirectly. Consequently, it will inaccurate to account for the benefit of mining without taking into consideration the value that is created on account of the symbiotic relationship between the mineral and non-mineral economy.

Further, the statement compares the share of mineral revenue returned to the state with the total receipts from the export of gold and not the profit reported by the mining companies. Since profit is measured as the excess of revenue over cost, it provides a good barometer of the health of any business. Outflows to government, community members and shareholders are predicated on the profit reported by the company and audited by tax authorities. Consequently, it will be erroneous or misleading to draw any conclusion on the governments returns from mining based on revenue realized from the sale of gold.

Nonetheless, the Chamber regularly publishes data on the distribution of mineral revenue to various stakeholders in the mining sector on its website and in its annual report and newsletters. Although the information provided in Table 1.0 reflects the schedule of outflows from the Producing Members of the Chamber, who account for nearly 70% of gold output, it clearly shows that the revenue that accrues to the state is relatively higher than that of the equity shareholders. On the average, the state received 12% of mineral revenue as compared to the latters share of 3% from 2011 to 2014. This observation is in line with the findings of a study by Steward Redqueen and African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), which submits that the host government benefits more from mining relative to investors over the life cycle of a mine.

Table 1.0: Distribution of Mineral Revenue (2011-2014)

2011 2012 2013 2014 CAPEX 19% 25% 6.7% 12% Local Purchases 18% 29% 21.4% 20% Imported Consumables 15% 17% 7.6% 6% State 13% 14% 11.8% 11% Electric Power 7% 14% 17.2% 17% Employees 7% 8% 14.3% 10% Amortizing loans, including interest 7% 1% 2.5% 11% Other Shareholders 5% 2% 1.1% 3% CSR 1% 1% 0.3% 1%

Furthermore, the report attempts to measure the unit revenue realized from the sale of gold by comparing the market price with the cost of production. While this is a proven and standard methodology, the data on cost cited by ACEP refers to cash cost instead of all-in- cost (AIC). Cash cost measures only the on-site cost incurred by a mine in producing an ounce of gold. This does not take into consideration other associated production costs such as exploration, development, depreciation, depletion, amortization and closure and post closure. In view of its tendency to overestimate profits, the mining industry has shifted away from the use of cash cost as a measure of net revenue. In tandem with this development, the Chamber regularly publishes data on the true cost of mining, which is AIC, in its annual report. In essence, the net revenue from the sale of an ounce of gold can only be established by juxtaposing the sale price with AIC. Again, the report contrasts growth in the mining sector against overall economic growth and suggests that the latter was expanding at a decelerated rate while the growth rate of the former was considerably high. A careful analysis of the data published by the Ghana Statistical Service does not support such a conclusion. Mining and quarrying comprise three sub-sectors, namely, mining, quarrying and oil & gas. Naturally, the reported sectoral growth rate will be a summation of the average rate of these sub-sectors. In order to ascertain the growth rate of the mining sector, we would have to isolate quarrying and oil/gas from mining. However, we are unable to determine the precise growth rate of the mining sector based on the data published by GSS. Nonetheless, we can infer or deduce this statistic by simply subtracting the growth rate of the oil and gas sub-sector from the sectoral growth rate. In this case, the GSS indicated that the former expanded by 18% while the entire mining and quarrying sub-sector grew by 11.7%. Based on these figures, it is obvious that the mining sector contracted in 2013, which is in consonance with the Chambers position on the declining fortunes of the mining industry. In principle, the Chamber is not opposed to the suggestion by ACEP that the government should introduce a resource rent tax to capture a share of excessive profits and introduce other exempted taxes without negatively affecting long-term mining investment. However, the thrust of our argument on this proposal is that the so-called resource rent tax regime should accommodate the mood swings of the bullion market. In this way, investors will not be made worse-off during periods of downturn and thereby guarantee the continuous operation of the mine as well as steady flow of revenue to the state to support its development activities. As alluded to earlier, the recent past and indeed, the current climate shows a contraction of the industry and a consideration of resource rent will not bode well for the country. On the other hand, the Chamber fully supports ACEPs proposition for a mining investment law to guide the collection, disbursement and utilization of mineral revenue. As a founding member of the Extractive Industry Transparency (EITI), which is a preeminent transparency and accountability-driven extractive industry initiative, the Chamber has relentlessly urged the government to promulgate a Mineral Revenue and Management Act. This law will be analogous to the Petroleum Revenue and Management Act in promoting transparency and accountability in the mining sector.

The Chamber wishes to therefore indicate its willingness to continue working with civil society organisation and the media to provi de information on the industry through open engagements.

Thank you

Sulemanu Koney

Chief Executive Officer
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in the Brong-Ahafo Region has attributed the huge loss of depositors' monies to fraudulent micro finance institutions in the region to the lackadaisical attitude of the Bank of Ghana and President John Dramani Mahama.

According to the NPP Brong-Ahafo Minority Caucus in Parliament, if the President and the Bank of Ghana, including all the security organisations  National Security, Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and Police Service had not conducted themselves negligently, the people would have been protected from the hands of such quack organisations.

Speaking at a press conference at Techiman, the Spokesperson for the members of Parliament (MPs), Kwaku Agyeman Manu, noted, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that crooks are not allowed to operate at the scale and level at which they operate in the financial sector.

Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Manu continued that the President's pronouncement that neither he nor his wife knows DKM is neither here nor there. He stated that the President, knowing them in person does not exonerate the Commander-In- Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces from blame, asking, does the President want to tell us that with all the security apparatus under his command, he did not receive any intelligence report of the activity of these microfinance operators?

The MP for Dormaa Central, on behalf of his colleagues, also asked whether the President did not understand the negative outcome of such activities, and how negatively it would impact on the financial sector of the economy.

He said the people of the Brong-Ahafo had been deceived and feel cheated in a country over which President Mahama presides. He can deny his direct involvement, but we shall continue to blame him for his incompetency, because a good president does not sit as head of the security agencies for this to happen.

According to the Minority MPs, after their December 28, 2015 encounter with the press in Sunyani, new developments have emerged in the form of allegations, some of which, they said, include; the President's wife's involvement, and how she managed to cajole unsuspecting youth and other citizens to invest in these scandalous organizations.

The MPs described as unfortunate chiefs and queens in Brong-Ahafo who have been demonstrating and organising press conferences to defend the First Lady and her husband, the President.

The people you exercise overlord responsibility [over] have got their fingers burnt; they have been defrauded and have lost huge amounts of monies in the process; some have died and they continue dying; school fees have become a huge problem hanging on the necks of parents who have become victims; some cannot service their loans they have procured from banks, the MPs indicated.

According to the MPs, they will continue to give the respect due Nananom, since disrespect for Nananom by eminent people like them will not augur well for their traditional communities, however, the blatant disregard and violation of the provisions of the Constitution, which does not permit the traditional authorities to actively participate in politics, cannot continue the way it is going.

The MPs described the attempt by the BoG and the security agencies to bring the culprits to a forum to address the victims as a hoax and a well-engineered propaganda event just created to allow the President and his supporters label the victims as politically motivated people.

The MPs reiterated that they were still demanding from the government, as a matter of urgency, an explanation of the conduct of the Bank of Ghana and its allied institutions, as well as all other security agencies to the victims and people of Brong-Ahafo.

They also demand an explanation to the people from the government as to what chances the victims have in retrieving their monies from the quack financial institutions and how soon this could be done.

They assured the victims that they will never be alone in their fight for justice, as they strive to retrieve their monies from the fraudulent institutions, stressing that the government has its hands in all these matters, and as their representatives will continue to put the necessary pressure at their disposal to ensure that the government does not run away from the mess.

The MPs said they were working to summon the Minister for Finance to Parliament to explain the negligent conduct of the Bank of Ghana, and whether the government is actually planning to pay back the depositors' monies to them, and how quickly that can happen, adding that if that fails, the Minority Caucus in Parliament would have no option than to take the Bank of Ghana and government to court for negligence, and to retrieve the monies for the victims.

From Michael Boateng, Techiman
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The National Vice Chairperson of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anita De-Soso, says the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is not the brainchild of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and that the idea was conceived by the Catholic Church, and former President Jerry John Rawlings decided to pilot the concept in Dodowa and northern parts of Ghana.

She said as soon as the NPP came into power in 2000, they started working on means to implement the Scheme. The party executive said this while addressing the Ashanti Regional Women's Wing of NDC at a three-day workshop and orientation function in Kumasi themed: Transforming the feminine front objective grassroots structure playing an active role in 2016.

According to her, the NPP implemented a Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, which was only accessible to card bearers in a defined location, but the NDC has made it national. The forum is meant to strategise for the NDC to maintain its stay at the Flagstaff House.

De-soso explained that NDC has changed the face of the NHIS to the extent that it is now national and Ghanaians can access it everywhere. On the vibrancy of the scheme, she told the Ashanti Regional NDC Women's Wing that the NHIS has not collapsed, and that the government injected a whopping one billion cedis into its operations last year.

Anita De-soso revealed that the total enrolment of the NHIS has increased from 160,000 households in the NPP regime, to 178,000 under the Mahama-led administration, adding that the recent increment in NHIS subscribers is a sign of the government's effort at ensuring that the downtrodden had access to affordable healthcare in Ghana.

On the School Feeding Programme, she claimed that the NPP owed caterers four months, and these arrears were paid by the NDC when they came into power. NPP left school feeding with a total enrolment 414, 000, students, but, as of now, the school feeding is covering 1.3 million kids, and we (Government) look forward to expanding it further.

She urged Ghanaians to vote for the government which respects the poor, needy and uneducated, and not a party and disrespectful government which is on fire, saying Ghanaians have no place apart from Ghana, and we cannot afford to give Ghana to a party which is on fire.

The NDC Vice Chairperson appealed to the Ghanaian clergy to be patient with the Presidency when issues crop up. The best they can do is to come to us for explanations, she said.

Hajia Siddiq, Ashanti Regional NDC Women's Organiser, pledged that the women would campaign vigorously for President Mahama ahead of the November 7 pools, stressing we want to put the elephant (NPP) at bay. She urged the women to forge ahead and campaign for President John Dramani Mahama.

From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi
Accra, Feb. 1, GNA - Dr Betty Annan Shirazu, Director, Environment, Food Safety and Quality Management, Jabeny Services Limited has said most small food processors lack capacity and technical know how to handle their business.

She said majority of these food and fruit processors do not adheres to strict regulations in their business operations.

Dr Annan Shirazu was speaking at three-day training on Hazards, Critical Control Points (HACCP) and its applications in food safety and quality management for African Youth Agripreneurship Programme (AYAP) beneficiaries in Accra.

The programme is to create and empower a new generation of entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector in Africa and it is being implemented by TechnoServe, a non-profit organization with funding from Barclays Africa.

The AYAP is a technical and business skills development programme, focusing on youth operating businesses in the agricultural value chain.

She urged the beneficiaries to adhere to strict safety regimes, because the sort of businesses they operated has direct consequence on the public.

She commended Technoserve for putting up the event to build the capacity of these entrepreneurs to support in the development of the economy.

Mr Samuel Baba Adongo, aZDeputy Country Director, TechnoServe said the training was necessitated by the increasing food safety concerns in the country.

He said for these food and fruit processors to be competitive in their business operations, they needed to build their capacity.

He said with the programme, enterprising youth within the age range of 20-35 years operating in the agricultural value chain would be equipped with valuable access to financial linkages, technical and business skills development.

He said capacity building was to stimulate start-ups with high growth potential, whiles accelerating the growth of existing businesses in this field.

'AYAP also aims to improve the ecosystem for productive economic engagement through a combination of improving financial literacy and equipping prospective beneficiaries with SME acceleration programme,' He added.

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Feb. 02, GNA - Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Duah, Industrial Coordinator, Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs), has commended ENGEN Ghana Limited, an affiliate of Engen Petroleum South Africa for injecting healthy competition into the operations of downstream oil marketing in the country.

'ENGEN Ghana's safety records, environmental protection, adhering to healthy working conditions, smart turn out of attendants, as well as managerial competencies exhibited at its filling stations across the country are enviable records,' Mr Agyemang-Duah stated in Accra.

Mr Agyeman-Duah, who was a special speaker at ENGEN Ghana 2015 annual Customer Appreciation and Awards Dinner night at the weekend, noted that ENGEN Ghana since its entry into the Ghanaian market in 1998, with its first service stations opening in Tema and Accra in 1999 had stamped its trade mark in the country.

Ms Lulu Xingwana, the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, also commended ENGEN Ghana for maintaining industrial standards reminiscent of its parent company in South Africa.

The South African High Commissioner urged management of Engen Ghana to continue and build on the gains of 2015; adding '2016 will offer its own new business challenges but with the right operational and managerial attitude you will breakthrough.''

Ms Xingwana noted that Engen had adopted the right balance between environmental performance, social equity, and financial prosperity in all their decisions and activities.

Mr Henry Akwaboah, Managing Director of ENGEN Ghana, commended staff and customers for the confidence reposed in the ENGEN brand in a very robust business environment.

He noted that as a young and thriving company, ENGEN Ghana had to scuffle with industrial giants for market share under the deregulated regime; 'but we have survived the difficult moment of the deregulation regimenow the sky is the limit'.

He said 'Engen is an Africa-based energy company focusing on the downstream refined petroleum products market and related businesses. The company's core functions are the refining of crude oil, the marketing of our primary refined petroleum products, and the provision of convenience services via our extensive retail network.'

Mr Akwaboah said ENGEN Ghana continued to ensure a standardized integrated system to manage Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) at all its sites of operation.

On notable achievements for 2015, the Engen Ghana Managing Director, noted that the Company appointed Samir Engineering and Trading Company Limited (SETL)/ Quantum Petroleum, as the official distributor of Engen's full range of lubricants in the country.

He explained that Samir Engineering had an extensive market presence, and a dedicated marketing arm, and was in a strong position to deliver excellent service to customers.

He said Engen Ghana had also launched an online tool that makes real-time recommendations on the best possible lubricating oil for a customer's make and model of vehicle.

The tool provides marketing and strategic support for Engen Lubricants which enables customers to search through an international database of automotive manufacturers.

In all 42 retailers and staff were awarded in the category of: Best Worker; Overall Best Dealer; Best Paying Commercial Customer; Best Commercial Customer; and Top Dynamic Diesel Pumping Site.

The rest are: Top Primax Pumping Site; Best 1Card Customer Oriented Service Station; Best Paying Dealer; Best Housekeeping Site; Best HSEQ Performer; The Most Improved Retail Outlet; Best Performing Takeover Site; Best Lube Selling Outlet; Best LPG Retail Seller; Top Pumping Commercial LPG Outlet; and Outstanding Supervisor.

GNA
Accra, Feb 03, GNA - Nii Osah Mills, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has said Ghana and Finland must have greater socio-economic collaboration for their mutual benefits.

He said: 'The two countries could cooperate in areas such as forestry and mining, especially in this era of low gold prices, where we are looking for low cost mining'.

Nii Osah Mills made these remarks, on Tuesday in Accra, when a high-powered Finish Delegation had discussions with officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Led by Mr Matti Anttonen, the Under-Secretary of State for External Economic Relations, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, it represents a wide range of companies.

It is in Ghana to explore business opportunities, strengthen the existing political relationships and further develop the economic ties between the two countries.

Nii Osah Mills hailed Finland for its excellent forest cover, which he said, had been well managed from generation to generation; and said Ghana could learn lessons from it.

He cited: 'If Uruguay, a small country in Latin America could use 15 years to turn its forest cover from zero into a timber exporting nation, then there is so much more which we can do to save Ghana's forest cover.

'The possibilities are there for us, and it shows that there is so much more that we, as a country, could do in the forestry sector, than we are doing now'.

Nii Osah said Germany was reportedly raking in a lot of revenue annually from its forestry sector and that was so incredible.

'On the other hand, Ghana is constantly losing its forest cover and the challenge is constant so we have a lot more to do to stop the situation,' he said.

He said somehow Ghana had to be able to get 'a hard core' group of people like they had in Finland, where generations guarded the forests that their parents had planted and they even made it better.

'And they probably spend their whole life literally guarding it. Where are we going to get such people in this country?' he asked.

'We have to nurture our children; that is to let the children grow up with a kind of love for the forest.

'You can plant a forest but if there is no one dedicated to keep it and to fight for it, it will go away,' the Minister stated.

Nii Osah Mills stated that at the turn of the century Ghana had 8.2 million hectares of forest cover, which had within 15 years dwindled to 4.6 million hectares.

'We have to somehow get that dedicated cadre of the youth to buy into forest plantation, buy into ownership of forest and to literally guard the forest with their lives,' he stated.

On his part, Mr Anttonen lauded the excellent relationship that had existed between the two countries for a long period, but explained that, Finland did not have big mining companies as other European nations did, but it had several good technology providers to work with.

He said Finland was one of the most forested countries in the world having some 23 million hectares: three-fourth of the land area (76 per cent) under forests.

On how Finland had been able to maintain an excellent forest cover, he said their forest model merged conservation and economic models, with the aim of maintaining the forest in a better shape than previous times.

'The forest sector in Finland provides livelihood for many people and has a very bright future,' he said.

Mrs Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, the Finland Ambassador to Ghana and Nigeria, said the aim of the visit of the delegation was to promote strong trade and economic cooperation; for a win-win situation for both countries.

Mrs Edith Hazel, Ghana's Ambassador to Denmark and Finland, said Ghanaians were interested in getting investors into the Ghana for a win-win relationship.

Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in-charge of Mining, called for the promotion of technical and economic cooperation between the two countries.

GNA
GNA feature by Alexander Nyarko Yeboah

Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - One of the things that distinguish human beings from animals is the sense of law and order.

Apart from our ability to create an ordered and law abiding society, mankind would have been living like wild animals hacking each other down and tearing flesh off their owners to feed hungry stomachs.

Indeed we are humans because we know when it is right to do what. This has made us able to package a set of rules we call law by which all our actions are weighed.

But the law would have to be administered by humans who have acquired the skill to interpret the actions and inactions of mankind.

These individuals are indeed special because they have taken God's position as judges of the earth. It means that through their operations judges must assume a nature that makes them different from all persons within society in order to be fair to all.

For this reason, the state pays judges well such that they would not be tempted to sell justice. The remuneration of judges anywhere on the globe is better than most citizens of their respective countries.

They are well housed and given privileges ordinary citizens may never get. In fact one cannot easily become a judge because one must have practiced law for not less than 10 years in some countries. Even then one must be called to the bench, and that means a lot.

In the end the one who qualifies as a judge is seen to be refined with great understanding of who and what the law is.

With this knowledge one does not expect them to take bribes. Bribes are gifts taken by public officers to influence their actions. And so when a judge takes bribe it influences his interpretation of the law. This then returns us to the jungle where the law no longer functions.

Here the predator is the one with enough money to influence justice. When he or she gets this illegal judgement it is equal to tearing off flesh from the skin of an innocent prey.

In this regard we should see bribery as an uncivilised act capable of making us lose our sense of humanity to become wild beasts. No wonder wild beings like armed robbers who take human life, rape, steal, etc. are sometimes let loose by the courts because jungle justice has replaced the law.

Even an ordinary gift that is not intended to influence justice cannot be taken by a judge. This is because, like the Bible says, 'a man's gift maketh room for him,' (Proverbs 18:16a, KJV). So ordinarily judges are not to take hampers, artworks, goats, etc. as gifts, because in doing so they are cultivating the desire to receive and may end up hooked up.

So a typical judge would reject even a genuine gift from a friend who just wants to be nice. It is increasingly so in the advanced countries where gifts worth a certain amount of money are to be given through recognised gift agencies, which pay tax to the state..

It is unfortunate that in our part of the world even a gift of a car could go without proper procedure that not only rob the state of revenue but hides the recipients of the gift, be they medical doctors, lecturers, judges, etc.

And so for judges to help us safeguard the rule of law, they should have control over their intellect such that they would not behave like the shark in the ocean, who thinks the fish at the end of the hook is ready meal.

They should know that they are the protectors of the rule of law and therefore breaking the law means sending us back to the Stone Age.

A judge may escape bribes and gifts, but not political or partisan influence. And so we are not yet out of the jungle if a judge's political interest in an issue inspires him or her to toll a certain course.

We have seen judgments that clearly told of how much the judge was in favour of one party or the other. Indeed there are instances when judges allow themselves to be influenced by ruling governments to misinterpret law.

In this case it is still the predator which has changed from using money to influence. This time it is using coercive powers of state to get justice in a certain direction.

All of a sudden we see judges empanelled from lower to higher courts to increase the presence of pro-government justices so they may vote in favour of government.

We are not there yet and should not pride ourselves as being proponents of the rule of law. For us to pursue law and order, we must allow the law to run its full course, free from politics, money and judges own preferences to a state where the respect for the law supersedes any other consideration.

In this regard we would be getting closer to civilization, which demands that we live as equal citizens in a free and fair society with opportunity for everybody irrespective of gender, creed, status or tribe.

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday presented a total of 253 vehicles to four state security institutions to enhance their performance.

The vehicles, which are made up of buses, Pick-ups, saloon cars and motorbikes were handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Ghana Prisons Service, Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and the National Security Secretariat.

In all, the BNI received a total of 88 vehicles, the Ghana Prisons Service received 77 vehicles, NACOB received 62 and the National Security Secretariat received 26.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Mahama said the presentation formed part of the retooling exercise being carried out by government to strengthen the security network of the country.

He said second batch presentation would include the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service, among other government agencies.

The President said the presentation would step up surveillance and eliminate any kind of security threat especially in this election year.

He appealed to the recipient institutions to make judicious use of the vehicles by maintaining them regularly.

President Mahama was earlier conducted round an installed National Emergency Command Centre that can monitor various activities, especially criminal activities, in the capital.

The installation would be managed and monitored 24 hours by the National Security Secretariat.

GNA
Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) Project has held its second bi-monthly consultative meeting with its key stakeholders following the inaugural meeting held in November, 2015.

A statement issued by Nii Lamkai Lawson, the Communications Manager of the GCX Project, said the consultative session, known as the Market Council meeting, is a platform for the GCX Project secretariat to solicit feedback on the various outputs of the Project which is in its implementation phase from council members.

The consultative session which deliberated on concerns that bordered on trading related considerations, market surveillance and other key issues critical to the successful execution of the Project, brought together all members including key producers, aggregators, traders, wholesalers, processors and other stakeholder groups who interact with market actors in the value chain process of the commodity market.

In his opening remarks at the second Market Council session, Mr Robert Dowuona Owoo, the Acting GCX Project Director, said Ghana is still on course to deliver the first commodity exchange in the West African sub region and was well placed to lead the re-writing of Africa's economic renaissance narrative which is to create wealth through the transformation of the agricultural sector.

He commended the Market Council members for the level of commitment demonstrated towards the establishment of the first Commodity Exchange in West Africa as it promises a bright secure future to market actors in Ghana's agricultural value chain.

On behalf of Mr Joe Tackie, the Chairman of the Project Steering Committee of the GCX, Mr Owoo rallied stakeholders support for the Project team to work towards the creation of an orderly organised path that would enhance market efficiency, transparency and integrity through the dissemination of market information in real time to all market players.

Launched in June 2015 by the President John Dramani Mahama, the GCX Project is a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiative aimed at transforming Ghana's agricultural sector through the establishment of the first modern commodity exchange in the country.

The GCX Project is being financed with equity investment by the Government of Ghana under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and a private sector financing consortium made up of domestic and global institutional investors.

GNA
Accra, Feb. 03, GNA - Ghanaians have been urged to support relevant government agencies to manage wetlands and associated water bodies to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets adopted by the United Nations.

Most wetlands in the country have been destroyed because of uncontrolled activities such as inappropriate farming practices, pollution of water bodies, unregulated excessive water withdrawals, and illegal mining.

Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah, the Executive Director, Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, gave the advice in a statement, issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, to mark World Wetlands Day, which falls on February 2.

The day marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

It is to raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands across the continent.

Wetlands are explained as the land areas that are saturated with water either seasonally or permanently such that that they take on the characteristics of distinct ecosystems.

They are also said to be the link between land and water. Examples are marsh, swamp and bog.

The theme for this year's celebration is: 'Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods'. It seeks to demonstrate the vital role of wetlands for the future of humanity and their relevance towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The statement said the sustainable use of wetlands was critical to enable the society to achieve sustainable social and economic development, adapt to climate change, and improve social cohesion and economic stability.

It said the goals recognised the need for the restoration and management of water-related ecosystems.

Mr Adu-Nsiah noted that wetlands provided water in quantity and quality, food and fisheries resources, reduced the impact of flooding, removed pollutants from water, recharged groundwater, and served as important recreational and cultural sites.

He said it was estimated that the aggregate value of services generated by wetlands in the world was 4.9 trillion dollars per year and that if wetlands were lost, the cost of replacing them could be extremely expensive.

'Global estimates indicate that 64 per cent of wetlands have been lost in the last century and there is the need to draw attention to the urgent need for practical actions that will slow, stop and reverse wetland loss,' he explained.

GNA
Bolga East MP has defended the building of an imposing National Democratic Congress constituency office in the Upper East region where 8 out of every 10 persons are considered poor.

In a run up to the parliamentary primaries, the MP who is also deputy Attorney General told A1, a Bolga-based radio station, it is much easier to raise money to build a party office than a health post in the community.

If I go and tell people [to] give me money to build a health center, those who are donating the money to me like Tony Lithur, and my own boss [Marrieta Oppong-Brew Appiah], it is much easier to sell the idea of housing party office than building a health infrastructure

They [financiers] will tell you to go to government, he explained the reluctance of his financiers to support community based developmental projects.

The building, he said was his vow to delegates in the NDC parliamentary primaries ahead of the 2012 general elections.

That was the first promise I made to my delegates, he recalled the August 2012 campaign- a promise that resonated with the people and made him to win the primaries and subsequently the Bolga East seat, which is known to be a stronghold of the NDC.

The delegates did not fail him in the parliamentary primaries and he did not have to fail them either- there is now an iconic building where party strategy and meetings can be held.

The Bolga constituency office for the NDC

The deputy legal advisor to the president said he was saddened by the struggles the party faced after losing the 2000 general elections.

Landlords drove the party out of rented offices because they did not want to associate with the party in opposition. According to him, NDC operatives were sacked from offices in some constituencies in the Ashanti region.

He vowed to help the party with landed properties if he was elected MP.

Even if we are in opposition, that party office will stay as the property of the National Democratic Congress, the MP said.

But some residents in the area have labelled the edifice an example of misplaced priorities. They say in the face of poverty, a party office as impressive as that is unnecessary.

Faced with a re-election bid in the NDC parliamentary primaries in November 2015, Dr. Dominic Ayine was on radio to account for his tenure as MP.

The deputy minister explained he has invested in developmental projects in the constituency.

Jacobsen Ghana Ltd has given the area six boreholes Voltic has sunk two more and Hydronomics has dug 10 more free of charge, he counted progress. He bought the pumps for the boreholes at 32,000 cedis.

I am getting companies to provide social services to the people he said. Dr. Dominic Ayine added he is building a library through corporate lobby without any support from government.

He also rejected claims he is not creating jobs. The lawyer explained all the cement and building materials were bought in the area as a way for helping local businesses.

I buy all the cement from Bolga East. I buy all the iron rods from Bolga East, nails and everything from Bolga East

He said resolving the unemployment challenge in the region requires investment in education.

If you take my record in education, the payment of school fees  from secondary school to the university- it is unparalleled. Using my personal resources to assist the youth

He said by paying for the education of youths in Bolga, he is teaching them how to fish for themselves.

Listen to audio

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug for the treatment of nasal polyps has shown promise in a small, preliminary trial involving a group of patients struggling with chronic sinusitis.

Dupilumab, which is injected, is aimed at helping those patients who do not respond well to current first-line treatments, such as corticosteroids.

"The more severe patients are the target of the new treatment option," explained study author Dr. Claus Bachert, head of the Upper Airway Research Laboratory at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium.

"A new treatment is needed because the currently available treatments -- nasal and oral glucocorticosteroids and surgery of the sinuses -- are often insufficient to control the disease and may have side effects," he added.

Bachert and his colleagues published their findings in the Feb. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was funded by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the manufacturers of dupilumab.

The study authors noted that chronic sinusitis is a common ailment, affecting an estimated 12 percent of those living in Western nations.

Roughly one-third of those patients have a specific form of chronic sinusitis characterized by the presence of nasal polyps. Though the polyps vary in size, such growths are typically small, benign and teardrop-shaped. They take root in the mucus membrane lining of the sinus region and/or nasal cavity, the researchers said.

Patients suffering from chronic sinusitis with polyps often struggle with a long-lasting range of symptoms, which can include nasal obstruction and congestion, drip, discharge, headaches, facial pain and pressure, and a diminished sense of smell.

Standard treatment aims to reduce tissue inflammation and usually involves corticosteroids, antibiotics and/or oral steroids. Surgery is an option in some cases.

"Even after oral steroids, polyps recur after just a few weeks, and also after surgery. The recurrence rate is as high as 80 percent over 12 years," said Bachert.

Surgery also raises the risk for serious complications, he added, while oral steroids can end up weakening bones and boosting the risk for developing diabetes.

With that in mind, the Belgian researchers decided to test the potential of dupilumab, an experimental medication that has already shown promise as a treatment for both severe asthma and the skin rash known as eczema.

The research team focused on a pool of 60 patients, average age about 48, who were being treated at 13 different health care centers in the United States and Europe.

Half of the participants received a 16-week regimen of dupilumab injections, while the other half received a dummy drug (placebo). All patients were additionally prescribed a nasal spray, the study authors said.

After comparing results among the 51 patients who completed their respective course of treatment, the investigators concluded that dupilumab triggered a significant and lasting elimination of polyps, and/or reduction in size. Patients who received the drug also appeared to see benefits in terms of an improved sense of smell, a drop in nasal congestion and obstruction, and improved sleep, the findings showed.

No serious side effects were reported.

"The effects of dupilumab are comparable or better than oral corticosteroids, but last much longer," said Bachert.

He added that, in some cases, eliminated polyps didn't return for several months following the termination of treatment. However, he said that patients would ultimately require continued treatment.

According to Bachert, the next step will be larger trials to help determine the best dosage of the drug, and to directly compare dupilumab with oral corticosteroids and/or surgery.

Dr. Mark Glaum, an expert who was not involved with the study, said the new drug would likely be most beneficial for patients in whom corticosteroids have failed, leaving surgery as their only option.

Glaum is an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of allergy and immunology at the Morsani College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and the University of South Florida in Tampa.

"In approximately 60 percent of cases of nasal polyposis, the polyps return even after they've been removed surgically," making surgery a less than perfect solution, Glaum explained.

At the same time, Glaum cautioned that "the cost of dupilumab will likely be high, typically thousands of dollars per month. So the cost/benefit analysis will have to be tailored to patients who are still symptomatic after failing to improve with standard therapies."

More information

There's more on chronic sinusitis at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Conference Hall of the Institute of Economic Affairs has been named after the former Danish Ambassador to Ghana Birgit Storgaard.

This is in recognition of her unflinching support to the development of the arms of Government, particularly the Legislature and the Judiciary, as well as key governance institutions in Ghana, the Board of the Institute indicated.

Birgit Storgaard was Danish Ambassador to Ghana from 1994 to 1998, a period when Ghana had just been ushered into democratic rule after almost 11 years of military dictatorship.

"This was barely two (2) years after the 1992 elections. The long years of military rule in Ghana had left in its wake, weak and in some cases non-existent institutions of State. A culture of silence loomed and there was hardly any open dialogue on pertinent national issues," a statement from the IEA said.

The statement said the Ambassador recognized the need to build strong institutions to support Ghana's fragile democracy .

"Ambassador Storgaard contributed a legacy of initiatives to strengthen dialogue and consensus building within Ghanas democracy. Her support led to the development and implementation of several capacity-enhancing initiatives for the institution of Parliament and for parliamentarians. These groundbreaking programmes include: The Orientation Programme for new members of Parliament which ensured that all new MPs were oriented to understand the workings of Parliament and their role as MP.

"This program has now been adopted and institutionalized by Parliament. The Legislative Assistants Programme  The IEA with the support of DANIDA, recruited bright young graduates from Ghanaian Universities and trained them as research assistants to support the work of parliamentarians.

"This programme has been institutionalized by Parliament and several pioneer research assistants have become parliamentarians and clerks in the House.

She is also credited with the work of The Speakers Breakfast Forum "which has brought together the Speaker of Parliament and relevant stakeholders from various sectors of national life to discuss key development issues confronting Ghana at the time.

"This forum helped to demystify Parliament, and enabled the leadership of Parliament to hear firsthand what the views of the public on various subject matters were. Amb Storgaards initiatives and work have contributed to the recognition of Ghana as a beacon of hope for democracy on the continent. Today, leaders of political parties in the region undertake exchange programmes to Ghana and the IEA to learn about interparty dialogue and consensus building."

The renaming ceremony of the IEA Conference Hall, now The Ambassador Birgit Storgaard Dialogue Centre, was attended by ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor, Mr Tove Degnbol, Danish Ambassador to Ghana; Ms. Elsie-Marie Storgaard-Fog, sister of the late Ambassador; Doe Adjaho, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, Majority Leader of Parliament; and many other distinguished personalities.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Somalia has launched an investigation after a commercial plane made an emergency landing with a gaping hole in its fuselage in the capital, Mogadishu.

There were fears that the hole in the Daalo Airlines flight, bound for Djibouti, was caused by a bomb.

Reports said a person fell out of the hole, which appeared shortly after the plane took off from Mogadishu airport on Tuesday.

But Daalo Airlines says all 60 people on board have been accounted for.

Security officials say two passengers were hurt in the incident.

Some reports say a fire broke out shortly after take-off.

Serbian captain Vlatko Vodopivec said he and others were told the explosion was caused by a bomb, though civil aviation authority officials said they had found no evidence so far of a criminal act.

.

It was my first bomb; I hope it will be the last, Mr Vodopivec said. He said the blast happened when the plane was at around 11,000ft (3,350m).

It would have been much worse if we were higher, he added.

Darren Howe, who had a colleague on the plane, told the BBC that it was not an explosion but a fuselage failure at 10,000ft.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in Balad, an agricultural town 30km (18 miles) north of Mogadishu, said residents had found the body of a man who might have fallen from the plane.

Abdiwahid Omar, the director of Somalias civil aviation authority, told state-run Radio Mogadishu that authorities were not sure if the body was that of a passenger.

Daallo Airlines flies regularly from its base in Dubai to Somalia and Djibouti.

Somalia is battling militant Islamist group al-Shabab that has been carrying out deadly attacks in its quest to establish an Islamic state.

-bbc


03.02.2016 LISTEN

David Cameron has mounted a defence of his EU reform deal after it was questioned in the Commons by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson  among the big hitters exit campaigners are hoping will join their side  has said the prime minister is making the best of a bad job.

He asked the prime minister what the package would do to restore UK sovereignty and curb EU regulations.

Mr Cameron insisted he would get back powers over a string of areas.

Jabbing his finger on the despatch box to emphasise his point, Mr Cameron told his Conservative colleague: I am not saying this is perfect, I am not saying the European Union will be perfect after this deal  it certainly wont be  but will the British position be stronger and better? Yes it will.

Mr Johnson has argued that it would be better if Britain was able to block EU laws on its own, without having to rely on the support of other member states.

Asked before the debate about whether he supported Mr Camerons reforms, he said the PM was making the best of a bad job.

But he added: Most people looking at this will think theres a lot more to do.

Mr Cameron is aiming to get agreement from all member states at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight, paving the way for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU in June.

He told MPs the details would need to be pinned down during the course of the intense round of negotiations  but the draft deal hammered out with top EU officials was the strongest ever achieved on freedom of movement rules.

The prime minister urged Tory MPs to vote with their hearts based on what they believed was right for Britain and not what might be advantageous to them personally.

That did not stop Eurosceptic Tory MPs lined up to criticise it, with Jacob Rees-Mogg saying Mr Cameron had two weeks to salvage his reputation as a negotiator after serving up thin gruel which had been further watered down.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the UK to remain in the EU but he dismissed the prime ministers renegotiations as a smoke and mirrors sideshow and said he had ended up exactly where he knew he would be, making the case to remain in Europe.

In a separate development, the first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to Mr Cameron calling on him not to hold the EU referendum in June.

In a joint letter Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness warn that with elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May, a referendum campaign running at the same time risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required.

They also say it would make it virtually impossible for political parties in these areas to work together on the referendum campaign while their own elections are in progress. Alan Johnson, who is leading Labours remain campaign, has said he will not oppose a June referendum. Cabinet ministers for exit?

.

At Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Cameron insisted voters would be perfectly capable of coping with two separate ballots.

Downing Street says ministers have agreed not to challenge Mr Cameron until he has secured a final deal at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight.

But the BBC understands several Eurosceptic ministers  including Commons leader Chris Grayling  are discussing whether to break ranks before Mr Cameron announces the date of a referendum.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox said he was certain four or five cabinet ministers would eventually join the campaign to leave, adding that the offer on the table meant that what we can get, at best, is better membership of the wrong club.

Home Secretary Theresa May  who is on the list of Conservative big names the out campaign want to recruit  released a statement on Tuesday saying the reform proposals provided a basis for a deal.

She said it was encouraging that key UK concerns about the abuse of EU free movement rules and the use of European law to block the deportation of foreign criminals were being addressed.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has, meanwhile, told MEPs Mr Camerons deal was hardly worth the wait and really rather pathetic, adding that it had no treaty change, no powers returned, and no control of our borders.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker talked up the draft deal in a speech to the European Parliament, saying: The settlement recognises this  it recognises that if the United Kingdom considered that it is now at the limit of its level of integration then that is fine.

At the same time it makes clear that other member states can move towards a deeper degree of integration as they see fit. In this way we have addressed the prime ministers concern while respecting the treaties.

The draft deal includes an emergency brake to restrict in-work benefits for EU migrants. But it would have to be agreed by other EU nations and it would be graduated, with more money from tax credits paid to migrants the longer they remain in the UK.

The draft says Mr Camerons demand to exempt Britain from the EU principle of ever closer union between member states would be written into a future treaty, and there are also measures relating to protection for non-euro countries in the EU, a new way for member states to club together to block some new EU laws and on business regulations. What the papers say

After weeks of speculation about David Camerons talks over the UKs relationship with Brussels, the papers finally get to assess the full package of proposed reforms.

EU chief Donald Tusk saw him coming, the Sun says. The Daily Express is also scathing saying: The only good thing that can be said for his efforts is that they clear the way for a referendum this summer. We say bring it on.

The Mirror argues there is a good case for Britain staying in the EU but that Mr Cameron isnt communicating it when hes more interested in presentation than substance.

But the PM wins support from the Financial Times, which says: For all the criticism, Mr Cameron looks set to secure a reasonable deal for Britain. In each of the areas where he has sought reform, the prime minister has made tangible progress.

-bbc


03.02.2016 LISTEN

Republican Senator Rand Paul has dropped out of the race for US president after a disappointing fifth place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

Mr Paul often clashed with his Republican rivals over their hawkish views on foreign policy and their support of government surveillance.

He ended his bid in part to focus on his re-election to the US Senate.

He is seen as representing the Libertarian wing of the party, which promotes individual rights and privacy.

Across the country thousands upon thousands of people flocked to our message of limited government, privacy, criminal justice reform and a reasonable foreign policy, he said.

Although, today I will suspend my campaign for president, the fight is far from over.

Mr Paul, an ophthalmologist, represents Kentucky in the US Senate and is the son of former Congressman Ron Paul, who ran for president several times.

He has said in the past he is the right candidate to stand up to both the right and the left.

Last year, a Time magazine cover labelled him the most interesting man in politics.

There are now 10 Republicans left in the White House race, down from the original 17.

.

The 52-year-old hoped to gain the attention of young people hoping for change but was ultimately overshadowed by billionaire businessman Donald Trump.

Mr Paul is known for holding up the Senate floor for nearly 13 hours to delay the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director because of his opposition to the Obama administrations use of drone strikes against terrorists.

He also was criticised last year when he said vaccines could give children profound mental disorders. He later said his children are immunised.

Mr Paul was passionate about criminal justice reform, saying the US needs to break the cycle of incarceration for non-violent ex-offenders.

He was praised for level-headed debate performances, but ultimately was hurt by his non-interventionist polices after terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California and Paris.

Mr Paul had trouble raising money for his campaign, as well, not attracting wealthy donors flocking to candidates like Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz.

With such a large field of candidates, underperforming Republican candidates are under increasing pressure to drop out of the race.

Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee dropped out on Tuesday as votes were being cast in Iowa.

-bbc


03.02.2016 LISTEN

A British millionaire was the main cause of a crash which saw dozens of people injured when a Porsche ploughed into spectators, a report concluded.

More than 20 people were seriously injured at the Paqpaqli event in Malta in October when Paul Bailey, from Rutland, lost control of the supercar.

A magisterial inquiry found he was driving at excessive speed and was not a professional driver.

But the report also said there were inadequate safety measures in place.

Mr Bailey, who owns several supercars, was taking part in the annual Paqpaqli event in aid of charity when he lost control of the Porsche 918 Spyder, spinning on the airport runway and crashing into spectators.

More than 20 people were seriously injured  including a six-year-old girl  and one remains in hospital, the Times of Malta reports .

.

There were no mechanical faults with the car, the report concluded.

A spokeswoman for the Maltese Ministry for Justice said: The driver lost control of the vehicle because he was driving at an excessive speed.

In addition, although the driver is a supercar enthusiast, and owns a large collection of supercars, the inquiry concludes that he is not a professional driver and that he lacked the necessary skills and ability to drive the supercar in question at such high speeds.

In fact, his lack of experience in terms of handling techniques and corrective measures was a factor which contributed to the loss of control of his vehicle.

But the inquiry also concluded that health and safety measures were not taken including a lack of signage on the circuit, no concrete safety barriers and a poorly designed chicane.

It was reported Mr Bailey was the first person in the world to own a Porsche 918 Spyder, a McLaren P1 and a Ferrari LaFerrari  known as the holy trinity of hypercars.

-bbc


The Rt.Hon Baroness Northover has been appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron to act on behalf of the British Government to increase trade and economic co-operation between the United Kingdom and Angola.

Speaking in Luanda, the British Ambassador to Angola, John Dennis welcomed the appointment;

I am delighted that Baroness Northover has been appointed to this key role. There are major opportunities for the UK to help Angola diversify its economy, in the process increasing trade and investment to the benefit of both countries and peoples. Baroness Northover will bring to bear on this task her wealth of experience and skills. I and my team are greatly looking forward to working closely with her.

Speaking in London, Baroness Northover said:

I am delighted to have been appointed as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy from the UK to Angola. I look forward very much to building on the work of my predecessor, David Heath, and seeking out opportunities for the UK to build its trade with Angola, in a way which will benefit both the UK and the Angolan people.

Further Information:

Rt Hon Baroness (Lindsay) Northover was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of International Development (DFID), and Minister for Africa, 2014-15, in the Coalition Government. Prior to that she served in a number of other Government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Government Equalities Office, as well as serving as Lead Government Spokesperson for DFID from 2010-14.

She is an Honorary Associate Professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, and is a former Member of Council of the Overseas Development Institute, Trustee of the Tropical Health and Education Trust, and Trustee of UNICEF UK. She is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, serving as Spokesperson for her Party first on Health and then on International Development. She has served on a number of House of Lords Select Committees. Her first degree is from Oxford University, and her Master's and PhD are from Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. Lindsay Northover was formerly a Lecturer at the Wellcome Institute and University College London.
President Mahama with Ambassador Jackson

03.02.2016 LISTEN



The newly appointed US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Porter Jackson, on Wednesday February 3, presented his letter of credence to President John Dramani Mahama at the Flagstaff House.

Ambassador Jackson has served as the U.S. Department of State's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs since October 2013.

He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon from 2010 to 2013.

.



He has also served in Washington, D.C., as the Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy; as the Country Officer for Zimbabwe, Botswana and Nigeria; and as the Coordinator of the Entry-Level Officer Training Program and Deputy Director of the Orientation Division at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute.

He replaces Ambassador Gene Cretz.



By citimonline


03.02.2016 LISTEN

A Close interaction with a former Senator of Nigeria who speaks Big Grammar

Punch - Did you write exams in sc hool in these big words?

Hourable- I used such words very-very freely in my exams both at the secondary school and in my university and little wonder I had the misfortune of my English results being seized intermittently in my O' Levels. WAEC released my results for the other subjects and withheld my English result. This happened for about three years. Twice, I passed the University Matriculation Examination but I could not proceed to the University because of my English results that were not released. At the end of the day, it was released after the third attempt.

Punch  Why do you always use 'big grammar'?

Honourable- I am not really consensus ad idem with those who opine that my idiolect is advertently obfuscative. No no no, it's just that I am in my elements when the colloquy has to do with the pax nigeriana of our dreams and one necessarily needs to fulminate against the alcibiadian modus vivendi of our prebendal political class.

Punch  How do you talk to your wife, children and even your friends?

Honourable- I relate with my family and friends very warmly and in an atmosphere of camaraderie, stripped of my confutational habiliment and gladiatorial homilies. I am a very peaceful, calm, level-headed and celestially attuned soul personality.

.

Punch  Is this the way you proposed to your wife, speaking high tech grammar?

Honourable  Of course, the business of the day when I interfaced with my wife on matters of the heart had to be in plain Caeser's language and you can decipher why that had to be so. The matter in view did not permit itself of sphinxian conundrum.

Punch  Do you know that many people don't take you too seriously when you talk because they think you are not communicating?

Honourable  Why will I be perturbed from ensconcing myself in the palatable arms of Morpheus because people have deprived themselves of the cultivation of the regime of the mental magnitude? I read all the farrago of baloneys and vacuous bunkum from pepper soup objurgators. The spirit of animadversion remains their fundamental human right. It also remains an indubitable fact that I get millions and millions of requests daily from people all over the world requesting for my verbal mentorship which positive cosmopolitan reactions have assisted my equipoise and righteous sense of pachydermatous garb. I cannot put my nose to the grindstone daily and expect to be understood by those luxuriating in a modus vivendi, verging on pepper souping, goat heading, suyaing, big stouting and isiewulising. Has a philosophical wag not once pontificated that things of the spirit are spiritually discerned and that it takes the deep to call the deep? We will speak more on this matter of critiques and chichi dodo another day.

Punch  Why do you pull your trousers up beyond the waist?

Honourable  Hahahaha.That trousers style is called Yohji Yamamoto. It was my own audacious statement to remonstrate against the pervasive tendency of Nigerians especially our youths that took to the practice of putting on trousers exposing their lower anatomical contours and I will do it over and over again.

Credit: Punch


president John Mahana handing over the vehicles to National Security boss Tuesday

03.02.2016 LISTEN



President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday presented 183 vehicles and 70 motorbikes to four security agencies to improve their operations.

The vehicles, comprising saloon cars, pick-ups and buses, were presented in response to concerns about the negative impact on the lack of it on effective security.

This is to enable the national security agencies to carry out their mandate more effectively, the President said, adding, As we all know, we face many security threats, and as we are in a particularly sensitive election year, it requires us to support the security agencies to deliver on their mandate.

The National Security Council Secretariat received 26 of the vehicles, while the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) had 58 vehicles and 30 motorbikes.

The Narcotics Control Board had 42 vehicles and 20 motorbikes, while the Ghana Prisons Service received 57 vehicles, including 10 buses, and 20 motorbikes.

.



According to President Mahama, the Prisons Service was considered in view of the urgent need to address its mobility deficiency that had led to situations where prisoners were conveyed in commercial vehicles.

Tuesday's presentation, he explained, constituted the first phase of the allocations, adding that the second phase would benefit other security agencies, including the Ghana Armed Forces, Police and Fire Services.

Prior to the presentation, President Mahama inspected operations at the newly-built Ghana Emergency Command Centre at the premises of the National Security Secretariat.

At the centre, the President witnessed the surveillance system monitoring various locations in the capital, including traffic intersections, busy streets and installations, through the use of intelligence cameras that feed the system at the centre.

The centre, which is acting as an emergency call centre to alert the security agencies of emergencies to ensure rapid response, is currently using Accra for its pilot operations, after which the surveillance would be extended nationwide.

Source: Ghanaian Times


03.02.2016 LISTEN

The Flag Staff House has ordered for search and arrest of Peter Sowatey, who posed as a National Security operative from the seat of government and defrauded a Chinese national of GHC36, 000.

An unimpeachable source at the Flag Staff House told The Chronicle that the order is targeted at charging Sowatey with impersonation, when arrested. The alleged fraudster, who has gone into hiding and would not answer his phone calls, after he was granted police inquiry bail, lured the Chinese lady, Luo Zian, 62, into parting with GHC36, 000 (USD equivalent of 10,000 at the time), with a promise to using his supposed influence to secure her a mining license.

The source said the high interest in the arrest of Sowatey by the Big House is intended to serve as deterrent to the number of persons who are allegedly defrauding unsuspecting persons of their hard-earned resources.

The source continued that the Flag Staff House was worried that similar stories of people impersonating state officials under the pretense of securing them jobs, state vehicles, lands and the like, in exchange for huge sums of monies are common nowadays.

He, however, advised the general public to be more wary of people who offered them deals that seemed too good to be true and possibly report such persons to the rightful authority, or at least cross-check such promises. The prompt reaction to the story shows how serious authorities at the Flag Staff House are treating this publication and will follow through to the logical conclusion of this matter, he noted.

It would be recalled that the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service arrested Peter Sowatey, who posed as a National Security operative at the Flag Staff House and defrauded a Chinese of GHC36, 000  under the pretext of securing her a mining license.

Sowatey, 30, later described at the seat of government as a goro boy, after duping Madam Luo Zian, turned round to inform her that the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, wanted to arrest her for allegedly making derogatory statements about the number one gentleman of the country, so she should go into hiding.

A highly placed source at the CID headquarters, who confirmed the story to The Chronicle, said the Chinese arrived in the country about five years ago and went into partnership with a Ghanaian to work on a mining concession at Gwira Bamso in the East Nzema District, near Axim, in the Western Region.

According to the source, after working for about seven months, there was anti-galamsey operation sometime in October 2015, which affected the concession and so she decided to go for genuine documents to enable her to work without infringing on the country's mining regulations.

Along the line, Madam Zian was introduced to Sowatey by a Chinese, named Wang, who claimed that Peter, the 'goro boy', was a Presidential Staffer, and to convince the woman, the fraudster was wearing a National Security Identity Card of the seat of government.

The source continued that Sowatey, during discussions with Madam Luo Zian, said he could secure a mining license for her and thereby demanded that she parted with USD10, 000 which the woman gave its Cedi equivalent of GH36, 000 to enable him to facilitate the process.

Barely two weeks after collecting the amount in October 2015, Sowatey started playing hide and seek with the Chinese woman, by not answering her calls. Sometime in November 2015, Sowatey invited her to a place in East Legon and informed her of an 'order' allegedly issued by the President of the Republic for her arrest, because the security operatives had wind of derogatory remarks she reportedly made about him.

He, therefore, asked her to go into hiding and change phone numbers, to which she obliged to avoid being tracked by the state security agencies because she was on their radar. Information of Sowatey's machination against the Chinese was reported to the CID headquarters for action.

By John Bediako
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Legionnaires' disease -- the respiratory illness that plagued New York City in an outbreak last summer -- is typically thought to develop when people breathe in contaminated mist or water droplets.

However, a case that occurred in the fall of 2014 in Portugal suggests that the often deadly bacterial infection may, in rare cases, pass person-to-person.

One expert in the United States urged caution in interpreting the findings, however.

"While this case report sheds new light on a potential concern for person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease, it's important to realize that the primary mode of transmission continues to be via inhalation of infected aerosols from cooling towers associated with large-scale air conditioning and ventilation units," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Legionnaires' disease was first seen among 2,000 American Legionnaires attending a convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1976, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak was linked to air conditioner cooling towers in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. That outbreak sickened 221 people, and killed 34 of them.

Last summer, 124 people were sickened and 12 people died in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease tied to contaminated cooling towers at a hotel in New York City's South Bronx.

Those cases were not thought to involve person-to-person transmission.

However, Portuguese researchers reporting Feb. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine believe they have identified such a case.

According to a team led by Dr. Ana Correia, of the Northern Regional Health Administration in Porto, a 48-year-old male maintenance worker contracted an infection with the Legionnaires' bacterium after working at a contaminated cooling tower complex near Lisbon.

He returned to the home he shared with his 74-year-old mother in Porto, nearly 190 miles away, and began to show signs of illness about three days later.

His mother nursed the ailing man -- who was later transferred to a hospital -- and about two weeks later, she too became ill.

Laboratory testing confirmed that the mother's illness was caused by the same strain of Legionnaires' bacterium that had infected her son.

Both the mother and son died of the illness. Since mother and son had the identical strain of Legionnaires' bacterium, and the mother had never visited the infected site near Lisbon, "we suspect that person-to-person transmission probably occurred" in this case, Correia's team concluded.

Dr. Leonard Krilov is chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. He agreed that this is the "first case of documented person-to-person" transmission of Legionnaires' disease -- probably due to the long and sustained closeness between mother and son as she cared for him at home.

But Glatter stressed this case is likely very rare, and should not raise alarm bells. Instead, he said, "what is apparent to me is the importance of conducting future high-quality epidemiologic studies to better understand and determine actual and reported risks of person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease."

In the meantime, Glatter said, the best way to curb outbreaks should be "the meticulous disinfection of cooling towers," since they are the source of the vast majority of infections.

More information

Find out more about Legionnaires' disease at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As the question of the ownership of cattle managed by Fulani herdsmen, whose activities have brought untold hardship on our farmers rages on, Togbe Agymang II -Chief of Adaklu-Wumenu in the Adaklu District of the Volta region has revealed that these 'dangerous men' work for top security officers, as well as high ranking government officials.

According to him, the Fulani herdsmen have openly told them (chiefs and people in the area) that they cannot drive them away from the area because majority of the cattle they (Fulani herdsmen) herd belong to top government officials, such as ministers of state and security officers among others.

He said the nomads also bragged that because they are working for these top government officials and security officers in the country, even if they (chiefs and people in the area) arrest them for any wrong doing, they would eventually be freed.

He pointed out that the chiefs and people can no longer guarantee the safety of Fulani herdsmen in the area, following their violent activities, as well as the wanton destruction of crops leading to increasing tension between them and the youth. The Adaklu-Wumenu Chief has, therefore, appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to as a matter of urgency intervene and ensure that the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle are expelled from the area.

He explained that since top government officials and security officers own these cattle, without the intervention of the President, it would be difficult for anyone to attempt to drive the cattle and their managers away from the area.

Addressing a section of the media, the Adaklu-Wumenu Chief noted: I can tell you that tension in this area of Adaklu is very high, and as chiefs the people we have received and demarcated an area for their activities have now turned against us, as they would not listen to us anymore.

I am very sure and cannot assure you of the safety of any Fulani herdsman seen around this town, unless he comes to town under police escort, he stressed.

Explaining further, Togbe Agyemang said the chiefs received the Fulani herdsmen and gave them land for their activities, which was demarcated far away from farming areas, but for some time now, the Fulani herdsmen have refused to operate within their defined area.

To add salt to injury, the Fulani herdsmen have rather decided to deliberately allow their animals to feed on the food crops in peoples' farms. He elucidated that affected farmers have been reporting the harmful activities of these Fulani herdsmen to the chiefs, some of which include instances where the nomads attacked and beat them on their farms and inflicted cutlass wounds on them.

This is when they (the farmers) attempt to prevent their animals from grazing on their farms, but anytime herdsmen to their palaces to have amicable settlement of the cases between them and the farmers, they refuse to show up.

Some famers, who have suffered a great deal of pain from the activities of these Fulani herdsmen, have narrated their ordeal to members of the press to buttress the point being raised by the Adaklu-Wumenu Chief.

Narrating his ordeal, a 56 year old farmer, Mr. Mathew Azameti at Adaklu-Wumenu disclosed that on January 28, 2016, Fulani herdsman attacked him on his farm when he attempted to resist the cattle from grazing on his cassava and maize farm.

He said as he prevented the cattle from grazing on the farm, one of the herdsmen started struggling with him and in the process used a robe to beat him, but realizing that his life was in danger and seeing another herdsman coming to support his friend, he run for his life.

He hinted that to his surprise, the Fulani herdsmen ordered the animals to attack him as he saw the cattle running towards him, but decided to give a warning shot to scare the animals away, as his last resort, before they stopped.

Mr. Azameti continued that he reported the case to the police at Adaklu-Waya, the District capital and a medical form was given to him to visit the clinic at Waya, but he suffered severe pains in the night after the treatment at the clinic, which compelled him to visit the Volta regional hospital the following day.

The medical report on the victim from the Regional hospital, signed by Dr. Diana Donkor, stated that Mr. Azameti suffered from soft tissue injury with musculoskeletal pains, aside a sore he sustained on the left eye with swollen eyes, joint pains and ear pains.

A resident of Adaklu-Manorwoxa, Mr. Thomas Boni, also narrated how Fulani herdsmen attacked him and beat him up when he attempted preventing them from allowing their animals to drink from the only dam that serves four communities, as the only source of good drinking water.

Mr. John Kwawukume, a farmer at Adaklu-Wumenu also narrated how Fulani herdsmen destroyed the 331 acre of maize and only managed to harvest only seven bags of maize from the farm. He said he was able to get the seven bags because he employed private security to protect the farm in the night, as the Fulani herdsmen allowed their cattle to graze in the farm at night.

Meanwhile, all attempts to get the District Chief Executive of the area, Mr. Sky Ganaku to explain how Fulani herdsmen issue are being handled in the District prove futile, as calls made to his cell phone could not go through. In a related development, Issah Alhassan reports from Kumasi that two persons have reportedly lost their lives at Agogo yesterday, after being shot, in what is believed to be another handiwork of Fulani herdsmen operating in the area.

The victims, one of whom has been identified as David Atia, is said to be the son of the Chief of Kuroso Zongo, a community at Agogo. The assailants were also said to have torched the farm of a prominent personality in the Agogo community, after committing the dastardly act.

The Member of Parliament for the Asante Akyem Agogo Constituency, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, who confirmed the sad incident to The Chronicle, said he had dispatched his representative to gather details, though he was informed the District Chief Executive for the area, had also been to the scene of the incident.

The latest killings follow threat issued by residents of the Agogo community, led by the MP to declare war on the nomads, who have been terrorizing them in the area since the security agencies had failed to offer the needed protection.

The MP, together with youth of the community, held a press conference last week, during which they issued a threat to engage the Fulani herdsmen and chase them out of the community, contending that the police and other security agencies have failed to provide residents with the needed protection from the activities of these nomads.

They contended that security authorities have been reluctant to enforce a court ruling ordering the eviction of the Fulani herdsmen from the area. The recent killings, therefore, bring to three, the number of persons allegedly shot dead by the cattle headers, in less than four weeks following similar incident at the beginning of the year, during which a fetish priest was allegedly shot and killed in his farm.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

The ECOWAS Common External Tariff is necessary because it is helping us as a body to have a fair due for our producers...  Retired ECOWAS Staff

Episode #60: AFRICA IN FOCUS SHOW

ACCRA, Ghana  Independent Economic Consultant Frank Ofei believes the Common External Tariff (CET) that Ghana has begun implementing on 1 February is to prepare us to be competing on even ground. He contends the CET is a good instrument, but like every instrument, it is how we position ourselves on how to use it.

Speaking to host E.K.Bensah Jr on the Africa in Focus Show, Ofei, who is a former ECOWAS Staff with nineteen years as a Director of Economic Policy at the-then ECOWAS Secretariat, explained that his take-home message is everybody who wants to comment on it...should put it in proper context.

He went on If you take certain products, you must know what the rates were before the CET; what rates there are now, and the reason behind the change  if there is any change. He continues from there, you can protest, comment and make suggestions. The thing is that the CET has been adopted, but if it is realised that it is doing more harm...than good, then the country has a duty to back to ECOWAS and say this is not working right... for the long-term development of the region as a whole.

He believes this kind of analysis and feedback of the Common External Tariff needs to be done.

According to Ofei the CET is saying that all the ECOWAS are adopting the same rates of customs duties for goods imported into the country. Before the adoption of this, each country had its own rate, with some of them having four bands. He says that some even had as many as fifteen bands. The idea is for all States to adhere to a categorisation of bands. There is a negotiation of what products go into particular groups under what particular rate. ECOWAS inherited the UEMOA rates of 0, 5 and 20 percent. They would eventually add a fifth band, which was fixed at 35 percent. This covers sensitive products.

The second important issue that comes up, Ofei maintains, is that the CET is not just a customs duty to raise revenue. He adds It is a policy instrument for encouraging production, for protecting health, defence and security.

The host spent the better part of the show discussing with Ofei aspects of ECOWAS integration, including the regional significance of the CET; the ECOWAS Biometric ID Card and the future of Guinea-Bissau.

Ofei expressed surprise at the fact that an impoverished and fairly-illiterate country like Niger would be the country where the Biometric ID Cards would be launched by the International Organisation for Migration.

Pressed by the host to elaborate on Guinea-Bissau which he described as the black sheep of ECOWAS, Ofei clarified that recently, there was an ECOWAS package to move the country to a more viable state of affairs, but wouldnt want to label GB a black sheep, because the policy in ECOWAS is that every country has its own challenges, and so what it does is look at what each country brings on board positively.

He went on to explain that, a number of initiatives have been started for Guinea-Bissau, and similar things were done for Cote dIvoire. He contends at various levels, ECOWAS has country-specific measures to address issues, such as a Special Representative. He agrees there must be focus at the regional level on how to bring GB out of problems looking at specific issues that can be better-addressed at the regional level.

ENDs

The Africa in Focus Show is hosted by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr from 14h00 to 15h00 every Wednesday. You can download all podcasts from www.africainfocusradioshow.org. Follow the conversation on twitter on @africainfocus14 , using #africainfocus
Security expert with the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre says the alarming gun battle between residents of Agogo and fulani herdmen is evidence of failure by the Regional Security Command (REGSEC).

Dr Kwasi Aning said REGSEC ought to have known that the factions were preparing for full scale gun battle after years of disagreements between the two groups.

"Where did they get the arms from?" Dr Aning asked. He said if members of REGSEC had been a bit more intelligence minded they would have known that there is a "whole network of manufacturing, transporting and stock piling of weapons by both sides."

Agogo has become a hotbed of violence between natives of the area and nomads better known as fulani.

The nomads have been accused of raping women in Agogo, shooting, maiming and sometimes killing the men. Their cattle also graze on farmlands owned by Agogo residents.

The killing of two residents by persons suspected to be fulani residents this week has only complicated an already precarious security situation.

The chiefs and the youth of Agogo are getting ready for an all out gun battle with the fulani herdmen. The residents say the security personnel have failed to protect them over the years and they will now protect themselves.

The issue has become so alarming the Inspector General of Police John Kudalor intervened with a call on personnel to devise strategies to restore peace, law and order in the area.

Discussing the matter on Joy News, Dr Kwasi Aning said the conflict has become intractable because of the security personnel have ignored early warning signal overtime.

Rather than blaming the fulanis for the current state of affairs in Agogo, the security expert believes the long years of "institutional failure" has contributed to the canker.

In 2012 there was a court decision which ordered gradual phasing out of the fulani nomads but little has been done in that regard.

He said similarly, courts have pronounced judgment on chieftaincy, land and natural resources in various parts of the country yet no step has been taken to enforce those judgments.

"It is not enough to say it is a fulani problem," Dr Aning said, adding, in 1986 Ghana agreed as part of ECOWAS treaty to allow some groups of fulani herdsmen into the country.

"We have not fulfilled our responsibility to the Fulani. ..Where are the veterinary services?"

"Can we be an effective state that delivers on its mandate and obligations?" he demanded.

The security expert would rather the two factions "sit and talk" as part of the road map to solving the problem.
The Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance, (IDEG) Dr Emmanuel Akwetey is calling for the arrest and prosecution of politicians who bribe their way to power.

Dr Akwetey insists such practices are offensive to the laws of the country and the police must be seen to be cracking the whip.

He said this during an interaction with the Greater Accra regional police command Wednesday.

Issues of vote buying have pervaded the country's election right from the district to national elections.

Politicians always accuse each other of bribing electorates with money, food and other items. The recent CPP presidential primary was not spared the allegations.

Citing a case in the United Kingdom, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey says Parliamentarians were jailed for violating the laws on privileges, allowances etc.

This was after the UK police had investigated the MPs and found them culpable for the claims made against them.

"It is the kind of policing that we hope we are going to see in elections. The enforcement of the law in election. How money is being used openly and fearlessly," he said.

But the politicians are kicking against such a proposal.

George Lawson

A deputy General Secretary of the NDC George Lawson said allegations of vote buying are nothing but sour grapes from losing candidates.

"These are just hearsays. Is there any evidence?" he asked.

He said if the police were to arrest any politician what exactly will he be investigating?

He challenged persons advocating for the arrest of politicians in Ghana to monitor the elections in US and see if what is practiced there is any different from what pertains in Ghana.

"Those talking do not know what it takes for one to be elected," he said.

The Director of Communications of the NPP Nana Akomea would not endorse the vote buying but wondered whether there is a law that could adequately criminalise the hosting of voters by politicians.

"Is there a law that will adequately satisfy what we are looking at?" he asked.

He was answered by a legal practitioner Yaw Oppong who said the country's laws are replete with sanctions applicable to any person or group of persons who attempt to bribe their way to power.

He cited sections of the PNDC Law 284 which frown on vote buying and any other forms of bribery by politicians and their supporters for purposes of winning elections.

"Section 33, the sub head there is bribery. A person commits the offense of bribery if he directly or acting through another person gives money or obtains an office for a voter in order to induce the voter to vote or refrain from voting.

"II corruptly does such an act on account of the voter having voted or refrained from voting or make a gift or provide something of value to induce the voter to vote in a certain way.

"III. If he advances or pays money or causes money to be paid to or for the use of a person with the intent that the money or part of shall be expended in bribery at an election..." Yaw Oppong quoted the law as saying.
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Rome, Feb. 2, AGI/GNA - Africa is a continent of multiple opportunities for Italian businesses, Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta, the president of SACE, the Italian export credit agency, told AGI news agency in an interview to coincide with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's visit to the African continent.

The message launched by Ambassador Castellaneta to Italian businesses is positive and encouraging. He said: "Despirte five years of deep recession, they have become, actually they have been obliged to become, more performing, have dedicated time and money to research and, in a word, have become more competitive."

'Made in Italy' products are driving the economic recovery, opening new growth opportunities and repositioning companies on the market despite geopolitical tensions and market volatility', he added.

Ambassador Castellaneta has been the president of the Italian export credit agency for many years and therefore he has become a long-dated expert of what goes on in the world.

Taking a look at the figures, Castellaneta pointed out: "according to the latest figures published by ISTAT, exports to extra-EU countries rose 3.6 percent in 2015. This figure gives us food for thought because it means that we have continued to grow despite the difficult cycle and I'm convinced that this percentage will continue to rise."

In addition to the financial and insurance services that SACE provides to enterprises, of great importance are also the missions that the government organises in several macro areas.

On the specific case of Africa, Mr Castellaneta explained: "We truly believe in this continent and we are happy when Renzi goes there because it is an important signal for countries that offer great prospects.

'For example Ghana and Senegal are two markets that perfectly fit the concept of frontier market; they are relatively underexplored but capable of offering great opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises if they are matched with an adequate training in the sectors that are instrumental to development like agribusiness, infrastructures and power production and distribution".

The case of Nigeria is slightly different because, he said: "It is a large market that has outgrown that of South Africa in terms of percentage of GDP, where foreign companies have to factor into their costs critical security conditions and a complex regulatory framework."

Nonetheless, he added, the country offers many opportunities in the sectors of energy, automotive, infrastructures and transports.

Apart from Africa, Castellaneta is convinced that Italian companies are "perfectly capable of standing up to international competition".

The only critical aspect remains financial support, as the Italian industrial fabric is mainly made up of SMEs, which have models, ideas, professionalism to develop but they are mostly ensnared by a fossilised system, weighed down by the difficulty of accessing credit, he indicated.

He said: "This is where we step in: the business plan that the 'Cassa Depositi e Prestiti' (a financial company under public control) has just released sets down the SACE group as the main interface for companies wanting to export abroad. So, together with Simest and other partners in the group, we intend to build SACE into an export support service."

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Odumase, (B/A), Feb. 3, GNA - Available statistics from the Brong-Ahafo Regional Directorate of Health indicates that the region recorded 10,476 cases of teenage pregnancy from January to October 2015.

Out of the figure, 280 of the pregnant girls fell between 10-14 years while 10,196 of them were between 15 to 19 years.

Mr Yen Sapark, the Training Coordinator of Palladium Group, a non-governmental organisation, who disclosed the figures, said 59 of pregnant girls did safe abortion.

Palladium Group is an NGO facilitating and funding the Ghana Adolescent Reproductive Health Project in the Region.

Mr Sapark was speaking at the opening session of the 2015 annual review meeting of the Sunyani West District Directorate of Health at Odumase.

He noted that teenage pregnancy is on the increase in the region because many parents deny their adolescent children sexual education.

Mr Sapark emphasised that sex education is not a sin and called on religious organisations and traditional rulers to support the campaign on safe sex.

Mrs Eva Aryee, District Director of Health expressed unhappiness about the surge in teenage pregnancy, and appealed to stakeholders to contribute their part to bring the situation under control.

She expressed the importance to encourage young boys and girls who cannot control their sexual desires to avoid unprotected sex and teach them other family planning methods.

Mr Paul Kusi, District Manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme, said the scheme had cover 64 per cent of the total population of the district.

He explained that the scheme was able to achieve 150 per cent of its premium mobilisation target for 2015, and would soon roll out the capitation in the district.

Mr Kusi advised those who had not register with the scheme to do so to enable them easily access and benefit from quality healthcare delivery.

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Feb. 03, GNA - The operations savings and loans companies must not be confused with those of microfinance institutions as there are distinct features in their functions.

Dr Emmanuel O. Owusu, the President of the Ghana Association of Savings and Loans Companies (GHASALC), explained that Savings and Loans Companies were classified under the first tier of the Non-Banking Act, while Microfinance Companies were classified under the second, third, and fourth tiers.

He said lumping of the two sectors was affecting the image and fortunes of their businesses, given the recent reported cases of unethical practices by some of the microfinance providers leading to their closure by the Bank of Ghana.

He said the differences between the two sectors were that Savings and Loans Companies could operate deposit, current, and savings accounts; received and clear cheques through sister banking institutions; offered a wide range of credit facilities and money transfer services; but they not allowed to operate foreign accounts.

Microfinance companies on the other hand, provided similar services as savings and loans companies, but they were not allowed by the law to run a cheque account or clearing, operate foreign accounts for their clients or run money transfer services.

Dr Owusu, who was addressing the media, at an advocacy workshop towards addressing some industry issues in the financial sector, encouraged journalists to understand the mode of operations and the mandate of the two separate entities in order to enlighten the public.

He said the Association, which was the Apex body of Savings and Loans Companies, was worried about the misunderstanding of the public that the two institutions were synonymous.

He stressed that although Savings and Loans Companies had over the years, come to be associated with the Microfinance sector given that they both provided critical services to micro and small businesses, especially in the urban and peri-urban areas, they belonged to separate categories of financial service providers.

He, therefore, urged the media to help in rectifying the misconception.

Dr Owusu, giving an overview of Ghana's financial services sector, said it had been classified into three main categories of banking, non-banking and microfinance institutions.

He said there were currently a total of 24 Savings and Loans companies registered under GHASALC with more than 400 branches countrywide.

Mr Isaac Arthur, the Council and Advocacy Team Member of GHASALC, said a study they conducted with financing from the BUSAC Fund, confirmed the lack of public understanding on the differences between Savings and Loans and Microfinance Companies.

He said the recommendations were that client education be stepped up to prevent them from the risk of falling into the hands of undisciplined financial institutions and fraudsters.

GNA
Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - The Africa Development Programme (ADP) has organised a public forum in the Ga West Municipality to educate people on ways of seeking information from the assembly as part of efforts to deepen social accountability and transparency.

Citizens in the area were reminded that as taxpayers, contributing revenue to support the initiation and implementation of assembly projects, it was within their right to question officials about development plans in their communities.

Mr Charles Othniel Abbey, the Programmes Coordinator of ADP, said closer collaboration between citizens and assembly officials through free flow of information was crucial in speeding up development projects and enhancing revenue collection.

He said the willingness of people to pay levies largely depended on how they understood the processes of the assembly's preparation of the annual and medium term development plans as well projects earmarked or initiated for local communities.

'The annual and medium term development plans must be available and accessible to citizens,' he said, noting that the forum, aimed at deepening knowledge of the people could facilitate the process.

'This forum will enable you to seek the right information about social and economic development from assembly officials,' Mr Abbey said, 'and question development projects in local communities and the help from the assembly'.

Participants who spoke to the Ghana News Agency described the forum as 'an eye opener and a great platform to learn about assembly activities.'

Some wanted greater transparency in the disbursement of the disability common fund, and suggested the assembly publish the list of beneficiaries and total amount released by the common fund administration.

The session was on: 'Understanding social accountability and the role of citizens,' and it was organised under the Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability project implemented by the ADP.

The project is a component of the local government capacity support with grant support from the World Bank which aims to improve citizens' perceptions of urban management and increase their engagement with urban assemblies.

The African Development Programme, which is centred on building strong economic growth, is moored in inclusive social development for citizens.

It aims to promote human-centred development through integrated development programmes targeted at rural and peri-urban communities.

GNA
Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - A 10-member delegation from Finland led by the Finish Deputy Minister of External Economic Relations, Mr Matti Anttonen and the Finish Ambassador to Nigeria Miss Piijo Suomela Churdhury, has called on the Education Minister.

The members of the delegation are made up of companies representing the education, health, mining, information and communication technology, telecommunication, power and business sectors.

The delegation is aimed at promoting education trade, economic and business relations with Ghana.

Mr Matti Anttonen shared some of the educational strengths of Finland's especially technical and vocational education, adding: 'Finland try to be inclusive in all geographical areas, down to the villages, irrespective of location and gender with technical and vocational education.'

He said Finland also uses online degree training programme to train students in early childhood programmes.

Miss Churdhury urged the Education Ministry to help change the perception of vocational education, which is equally important to tertiary education, qualification and business.

She said exchange programme has forged partnership with universities in Ghana, Tanzania and Botswana.

Professor Janet Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education said Ghana has a good educational system that its citizens boost of.

She said Ghana-Finland relationship has existed over the years and has benefited both countries widely.

GNA
Ho, Feb. 03, GNA - Ms Sabrina Ghiddi, the Regional Manager of Operation Smile - Ghana, on Wednesday, said many children with cleft lips and palates in Ghana are being hidden from the public.

She said close observations indicated that such children were kept indoors and restricted to their immediate living environments due to superstitious beliefs and stigmatization.

Ms Ghiddi, whose organisation would be conducting free cleft surgery, in Ho in April, said a policy was needed to protect the dignity of those children.

She was interacting with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Ho.

Ms Ghiddi said people still believed children with those deformities were children of evil spirits and carried signs of bad luck, therefore, they must be kept out of the public view.

She said a good number of those children were not in school because of stigma.

Ms Ghiddi said parents of many of such children were unaware of the opportunities to correct those abnormalities while others were simply disinterested because of cultural beliefs.

Since 2011, Operation Smile Ghana has successfully operated 619 cleft patients in the country, for free.

A team of international and local surgeons are expected to fix at least 170 cleft lips and palates conditions in seven days during the April 2016 exercise.

Ms Ghiddi said there was no database on cleft in Ghana, however, about one out of 750 births in Africa record the deformity, the third most common birth defect in the world.

GNA
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A child's grades in school might suffer if a parent is suffering from depression, according to a new study.

Researchers found that Swedish teens received lower grades during their final year in school if either of their parents had previously been diagnosed with depression.

The difference in grades was noticeable but not huge, said senior author Brian Lee, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia.

"It's not an entire letter grade drop, but at the same time it might be the difference between a student passing or failing," Lee said.

Parents' depression could affect the children's home lives, causing stress that impacts their academic performance, Lee said.

"Depression is a social disease," he said. "It doesn't just affect you. It affects your relationships as well. If there's strain there, it may affect the child's academic performance."

Since depression can be handed down, it also could be that the children are not doing as well in school because they suffer from undiagnosed mood disorders, he added.

Infants also might receive poorer care during early development if their mothers are depressed -- less breast-feeding or nurturing, for example -- which could have long-term impacts on children's ability to learn and problem-solve, he said.

"There are many different mechanisms to explain what we've found, and those are just a few possibilities," Lee said.

The study, published online Feb. 3 in JAMA Psychiatry, only found an association between parental depression and worse grades, however, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

In the study, Lee and his colleagues examined data on more than 1.1 million children born in Sweden between 1984 and 1994.

Compulsory education ends at age 16 in Sweden, and kids leaving school are assigned a final school grade based on how well they did in their last year. The researchers compared the final grades of teens whose mothers and fathers had been diagnosed with depression against those of teens whose parents do not have a mood disorder.

They found that maternal and paternal depression affected a teen's performance during that final year in school, even if the depression occurred years earlier.

In general, both maternal and paternal depression in any period of a child's life were associated with worse school performance. Maternal depression was associated with a larger negative effect on school performance for girls compared with boys, according to the results.

The impact of depression is as large as similar effects on grades caused by differences in family income and the level of mom's education, the researchers reported.

Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said, "This study provides strong evidence to suggest that children who have a depressed parent are at increased risk for lower academic performance."

Adesman, who was not involved with the research, found it "striking" that parental depression affects learning "regardless of whether the parental depression occurred early in a child's life or later and regardless of whether it is the mother who is depressed or the father."

The findings show that parents suffering from depression need to get help if they want to protect their kids, said Myrna Weissman, chief of epidemiology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and a professor at Columbia University in New York City.

"We must make sure there's good available treatment for the parent so they stay asymptomatic. That would help a great deal," said Weissman, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. "We have great data now showing if you treat the parent, the children function better."

Friends of a parent with depression should urge them to seek help, Weissman said.

Schools can offer programs to help children of depressed parents, but Weissman thinks it would be better to get treatment for the adult.

"Depression is highly treatable," she said. "I would certainly begin there."

More information

For more on depression, visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
Kumasi, Feb. 03, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Volta Caucus of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has saluted former Transport Minister, Ms. Dzifa Attivor, for the bold decision to resign her position in the wake of the public outcry over the rebranding of the Metro Mass Transit buses.

A statement signed by Mr. Sylvanus Soga, its Secretary, said she deserved commendation for the principled position taken.

It noted that by that act, she has demonstrated high sense responsibility and integrity, something, the group said needed to be emulated by all politicians.

The Caucus pledged to continue to give her its unflinching backing in all her future political endeavours.

The statement reminded government appointees to be transparent and accountable in the performance of their duties.

The rebranding of the buses at a cost of GH3.6 million caused so much uproar that the Chief of Staff stepped in to order a review of the contract.

The contract sum after the review was slashed and the contractors asked to refund the excess charge.

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

A GNA feature by A.B. Kafui Kanyi

Ho, Feb. 3, GNA - Childbirth is more than a dream to the African woman. It is a duty placed on her by society. A task to provide companions and grandchildren to her parents in their lifetime.

Therefore a woman who refuses or can't give birth is given negative tags and names, whilst those with several children, including twins are celebrated in some traditional settings across the continent.

So, pregnancy is a great celebration. Once confirmed, that state is celebrated in varied ways. It calls for new dresses, hairstyles and fanciful walking techniques.

In modern times, young ladies go a step higher, checking on the Internet on how to give birth, and looking out for babies' dresses and names in anticipation of welcoming that beautiful child.

But a number of such expectant mothers go home with no babies due to stillbirth.

Stillbirth is giving birth to a baby with no signs of life at or after 28 weeks' gestation.

The major causes include child birth complications, post-term pregnancy, maternal infections in pregnancy such as malaria, syphilis and HIV and maternal disorders especially hypertension, obesity and diabetes), foetal growth restriction, and congenital abnormalities.

There were 2.6 million stillbirths globally in 2015, with more than 7,178 deaths a day, says the World Health Organisation.

It said majority of the deaths occurred in developing countries, with 98 per cent occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

In Ghana, institutional stillbirth figures went up nationally to 11,976 in 2013, with 274 stillbirths more than recorded in 2012, according to the Ghana Health Service.

Kay, 35, a career woman was among cases recorded in 2013. Unknown to her, her baby died between her thighs during delivery on a Sunday morning.

Kay said hours earlier, her doctor said all was well and she massaged her belly with smiles, waiting to carry little 'GG' soon.

Whilst in pain, she wrote, 'Little GG, I love you. Even though am going through pain, I can't wait to see your beautiful face...'

She however left the hospital without seeing the beautiful face of GG and was traumatised by the loss.

The trauma was heightened when she was taken into a room where her colleagues who had delivered were kept, with some asking her what she got.

Soaked in tears, Kay was wheeled into the theatre for an operation to address a complication with her placenta.

That was successful but after a few days of compassion from relations and friends, Kay was left to herself.

Martha, 25, a trader, perhaps had a more traumatising experience.

It was her first pregnancy too, and Martha was filled with anxiety to meet the condition of her husband to be- to marry her only after she had given birth.

She was rushed to the hospital with signs of labour, but midwives on duty claimed, she wasn't due.

After she screamed that the baby was in between her thighs, they rushed to her and started giving her lashes of the cane and instructing her to push.

Martha did push but alas, Kofi came out dead.

The nurses then started pouring invectives on her, calling her a witch and a murderer, as Martha broke down in tears.

After a while the midwives called Martha's husband and lied that she deliberately killed her baby.

The man hurried to the hospital, took pictures of the dead baby and went to where Martha sells in the Market to inform her colleagues, she had killed her own baby.

That same day, the man and his relations organised a burial service for the baby and buried him with pictures of Martha, asking the spirit of the child to deal with her.

Martha didn't see the face of her baby. She was only told he died and was buried by her husband who asked the baby's spirit to deal with her.

Everything went bad. No baby, no marriage, as her fiancAe evicted her from their chamber and hall apartment.

She was also rejected in her father's house because she was warned against that relationship and had to start life all over again, perching with a friend.

'I am yet to come out of that hell of stillbirth,' Martha told the Ghana News Agency, sounding angry.

Irrespective of these and many other pitiful stories, stillbirths do not attract the needed attention and investment in addressing causes of giving birth to dead babies.

Stillbirths remain hidden to policy makers and implementers. It is not counted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but maternal, neonatal and child health continue to receive great attention.

Experts say one-third of stillbirths are estimated to occur intra-partum (during labour), in low/middle income countries like Ghana and caused mainly by complications arising during labour and childbirth, such as prolonged or obstructed labour or umbilical cord accidents.

This is an indication that, expectant women are not receiving quality intra-partum care in health facilities in the country.

The health and pregnancy of our sisters, daughters, wives and mothers are simply confronted by lack of caregivers.

The few who are available in peri-urban and city centres are overburdened and hardly give quality service.

Health facilities in the country lack proper supervision and sufficient supplies, with some facilities asking expectant mothers to buy essential drugs and items whilst in labour.

BMC and Childbirth online journal says 'where women receive quality intra-partum care, as in many high-income countries, the proportion of intra-partum stillbirths is less than 10 per cent of all stillbirths', meaning, a good number of intra-partum stillbirth can be prevented.

It is worth noting that maternal mortality and stillbirths are important adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially in developing countries and must be given equal attention, because underlying causes of both outcomes appeared similar.

For instance, macerated stillbirth-death of a baby in the womb, could affect the clotting system of an expectant mother, leading to maternal mortality, which is said to have gone up from 350 per 100,000 live births to 380 in 2013 in Ghana.

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia,-hypertension in pregnant woman, could also cause stillbirth.

Dr Atsu Seake-Kwawu, Ho Municipal Director of Health Services said stillbirths are serious concerns to health authorities and underscored the need for families to take good care of pregnant women and also asked midwives to up their work with keen attention on risk factors associated with pregnant women.

He agrees that stillbirths could be reduced towards meeting the SDG targets for child and maternal mortality if good attention is given to addressing causes of stillbirth like the lack of information and education on the subject.

This is because stillbirth remains shrouded in secrecy with city dwellers and especially people in rural areas still believing stillbirths are caused by evil spirits and gods as punishment. It is therefore important that the situation is demystified.

Pregnancy case tracking, where nurses keep contacts of pregnant women and regularly check on them must be made to work effectively.

In many cases, the nurses do not call or check on the expectant mothers. They simply ask them to rush to the facility if they had any health concerns. So supervision from superiors could help ensure the system works well to avoid some obstetric emergencies.

Clinical psychologists could also be engaged in labour wards to help expectant mothers develop the mental toughness to handle complications and come out victorious.

The facilities must also be provided with electronic heart monitors so caregivers stop relying on Fetoscope, manual heart monitors, said to be less effective in monitoring the heart beat of babies.

Stillbirth is a thief in the delivery ward and must be arrested now in a bid to enhance maternal and child health.

GNA
03.02.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday broke grounds for the official commencement of work on the Kasoa interchange with a promise to make asphalt about 95 kilometres of urban roads in the Central Region.

He said the interchange which was financed by a Brazilian loan facility would also have two flyovers at the Galiea and CP areas in the Ga South District of the Greater Accra Region.

The President said urban areas that would benefit from the 95-Kilometre asphalt roads included Cape Coast, Winneba, Elmina, Mankessim, and Agona Swedru.

He said the construction of the Kasoa projects were transformational projects that would contribute to the development of the area.

President Mahama said apart from the flyovers, government would also build an ultra-modern Polyclinic to replace the old one that was affected by the relocation exercise to pave way for construction work.

The construction of the flyovers and interchange would ease the perennial traffic on the Kasoa-Winneba road, which at its peak time records five kilometres per hour traffic movement, particularly at the weekends.

Apart from the road works, government would also construct ancillary projects such as crAches, day care centres, bus terminals, boreholes in 10 communities in the area and improve on the link roads in the Kasoa Municipality.

President Mahama said the Kasoa projects which would be substantially completed by October this year would allow free movement of vehicles from Accra to the Western Region and the vice versa.

The President also promised to construct the 33-kilometre Kasoa-Amasaman road which would facilitate the movement of vehicles from Kasoa and its environs to Kumasi and other major cities along that route.

On the cost of the Kasoa interchange project, President Mahama condemned his political opponents for 'wrongly throwing the dust into the eyes of Ghanaians' that the project cost has been inflated.

President Mahama tasked the Minister of roads and Highways to form a committee involving all stakeholders in the demolition and relocation exercise to determine the kind of compensation that was to be given to the affected people in those exercises.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Minister for Roads and Highways, said the construction of the flyovers and interchange had become necessary because about 23,000 vehicles use the road on daily basis creating heavy traffic congestion.

He said the length of the interchange and flyover at the Kasoa traffic light area would be 270 metres.

Madam Irene Vida Gala, Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, commended government for maintaining peace over the years and gave the assurance that Brazil would continue to support Ghana with her development agenda.

GNA
Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - Nii Osah Mills, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has called for greater collaboration and cooperation between Ghana and Finland for their mutual benefit.

He said the two countries could collaborate and cooperate in areas such as forestry and mining; stating that 'in this era of low gold prices we are looking for low cost mining'.

Nii Osah Mills made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with a high-powered Finish delegation led by Mr Matti Anttonen, the Under-Secretary of State for External Economic Relations, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The Finish delegation, representing a wide range of companies, is in Ghana to explore business opportunities, strengthen the existing political relationship and further develop the economic ties between the two countries.

Nii Osah Mills hailed Finland for its excellent forest cover, which has being well managed from generation to generation; and that Ghana could learn from it.

He said the example of Uruguay, a small country in Latin America, which used 15 years to turn its forest cover from zero to becoming a timber exporting nation, shows that there is so much more to do to save Ghana's forest cover.

'The possibilities are there for us and it shows that there is so much more that we as a country could do in the forestry sector, than we are doing.

'I have been given information about Germany and how much it rakes in as revenue annually from its forestry sector.

'On the other hand Ghana is constantly losing its forest cover and the challenge is constant and we have a lot more to do to stop it,' he said.

He said somehow Ghana has to be able to get a hard core group of people like they have in Finland, where generations guard the forest that their parents have planted and they only go to make it better.

'And they probably spend their whole life literally guarding it. Where are we going to get such people in this country?

'We have to nurture our children; that is let the children grow up with a kind of love for the forest.

'You can plant a forest but if there is no one dedicated to keep it, it will go away,' the Minister said.

Nii Osah Mills said at the turn of century, Ghana had 8.2 million hectares of forest cover, which has within 15 years dwindled now to 4.6 million of hectares, stating that 'that is a large difference'.

'If within 15 years, Uruguay can go from nothing to making significant revenues from forest products, so can Ghana. So we have to reverse this trend. We have to regenerate the forest. We have to somehow get that dedicated cadre of the youth to buy into forest plantation, buy into ownership of forest and to literally guard the forest with their lives,' he said.

On his part, Mr Anttonen lauded the excellent relationship between the two countries.

He said Finland has not got big mining companies as other European nations, but has several good technology providers.

He said Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world; with three fourths of the land area, some 23 million hectares (76 per cent) under forests.

On how Finland has been able to maintain an excellent forest cover, he said their forest model merge both conservation and economics, in which generations come and go and they maintain the forest in a better shape than they met; adding that the forest sector in Finland provides livelihood for many people and has a very bright future.

Mrs Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, the Finland Ambassador to Ghana and Nigeria, said the aim of the visit was to promote strong trade and economic cooperation; for a win-win situation for both countries.

Mrs Edith Hazel, Ghana's Ambassador to Denmark and Finland, said Ghanaians were interested in getting investors into the Ghana, which is also a win-win situation.

Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in-charge of mining, called for the promotion of technical and economic cooperation between the two countries. GNA
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Will an IVA affect my employment?

In most occupations, your credit rating or credit scoring is not a factor and it may never have been checked in the past, it may also be likely that it is not checked in the future either.

There is no law to tell you that you must advise your employer that you have entered an IVA or that you owe money. They will not be notified by your insolvency practitioner. If you wanted to keep it a private matter, in most cases this would be absolutely fine. With some roles such as financial advisors, solicitors or bank workers it may make up part of your contract to advise them of changes like this. In these situations we would advise to inform your employers of your intentions before you enter into any arrangements. This way there will be no nasty surprises for you later down the line. More often than not, we find that your employer would not be concerned by your IVA and that it would not affect your employment status. An IVA is a formal solution and could affect some employments, such as if you were a solicitor or accountant for example. We would always recommend that you receive approval from your employers that your job isnt affected before you sign up for anything.

Will an IVA impact my partner?

There are certain situations where you may not want to involve your partner at all in your IVA proposal due to personal reasons. Insolvency Practitioners are very aware of these circumstances and can operate solely via telephone and email and at your convenience, so rest assured that your matters can be kept completely private.

If the debts which you are looking to place into your IVA are in joint names, then this would be different. Your IP would look to place all of your debts into an IVA, including joint debts therefore you would have to inform your partner of your plans.

If your debts are solely yours, then there would be no negative impact on your partner, their credit score would remain unaffected and they would not be entered onto any registers or be tainted in any way.

Will an IVA affect my credit score/credit file?

Whilst you are in your arrangement, you will not be able to get any credit. An IVA will stay on your credit file for 6 years, so 12 months after a typical IVA. When this time has passed and your monthly payments have ended, you will be able to rebuild your credit rating.

What proof will I need to apply for an IVA?

Proof of ID  Passport/driving license/birth certificate/utility bills/national insurance identification/credit agreement Bank statements  3 months bank statements with all transactions displayed Proof of income  3 months payslips/P60/proof of benefits

How long does it take to set up an IVA?

Your initial call will only last around 5-10 minutes. The IVA process will be explained to you and you will be told what further information you will need to provide to proceed with your IVA proposal. Once you have returned the required information, an IVA will usually take between 7-14 days to get into place. You will be protected from creditors within this time, your advisor will provide you with documentation via email.

How long does an IVA last?

Most IVAs will last for a length of five years. The i v a will remain on your credit file for a period of six years and is placed on the Insolvency Register for that period. You can work out what date it will be removed from your credit file, it will be six years from the start date of the IVA term. So if the IVA started on 1 January 2000, it should be removed from your credit file six years from that date, which would be 1 January 2006. When you apply for an individual voluntary arrangement your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) will tell you if you qualify for an IVA, how long it lasts, how much it costs and provide you with any other debt advice which you may need.

How much will debt advice cost for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement?

The advice cost for individual voluntary arrangements is free of charge. Your I.V.A company will tell you if you qualify for an IVA. They will talk to you about your different debts, provide you with free debt advice and check if your creditors are likely to approve your proposal for your IVA for debt.

How does an IVA affect your life?

By taking out an IVA you may affect your overall financial position. You will not be allowed to take out credit for 6 years. You will struggle to get a mortgage or remortgage your existing property. It also may affect any future increase in earnings or windfalls you may receive, as these will need to be paid to your insolvency practitioner. Your insolvency practitioner will take control of your debts for this period, they will deal with all of your creditors and this is legally binding. That means you will not be allowed to take out any more debts whilst in the IVA.

Once the plan is completed, any debts which you accrue will be managed by yourself. Your ability to take out further debts in the future will not be impacted once the IVA has completed.

What is the IVA protocol?

The I.V.A protocol is a voluntary set of guidelines which your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) can sign up for which improves the efficiency of Individual Voluntary Arrangements. When you apply for debt advice, it is important that you understand the steps of the debt solution, so you can decide whether or not the solution is the best one for your circumstances.

How do I know if creditors will accept my IVA?

Generally speaking, most creditors will approve voluntary arrangements for unsecured debt. But some debts can not be included within one formal debt solution. Your Insolvency Practitioner will tell you how likely it is that your creditors will be willing to accept your proposal, based on the voting creditors.

Can I pay in one lump sum?

There are occasions when you may be eligible for a debt solution which is payable in a one off lump sum as a final settlement to your creditors. This is usually when the money is being gifted from some one else, or you have received inheritance or a windfall for example. With a one-off lump sum payment, the advice is usually the same as when you normally apply for an IVA. You wouldnt have to make regular payments into the solution, your IP can provide you with more advice on one off lump sum solutions for your debts. Your IP will provide you with more advice on the debt IVA and explain what is IVA to you.

Who regulates the debt industry?

At present the debt industry is not regulated. Some Insolvency Practitioners offices choose to sign up to the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) or register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can contact the IPA using the contact details or email address on their website. Your creditors do not regulate the debt industry and your creditors will not be able to impact any decisions which the IPA or FCA make. In our experience, the regulators will take assertive action on any advisers or businesses which do not comply with their strict codes of practice. To check if a person is regulated by the FCA, enter their name into the search box in the FCA website.

Should I use a debt charity?

There are thousands of companies which provide debt help in the UK. You may be looking for an alternative to a private company. You should know that charities usually pass their fee charging products to sister companies which charge fees and disbursements, just like private companies. So what you initially thought was a good option, on further analysis could be different to what you originally thought. Charities do have their part to play though. They can help you if you have a problem with your bank accounts, maintenance arrears, living costs, credit reference agencies, child support arrears, bankruptcy, assets, accountancy issues, mortgages, creditor issues, insurance providers, mobiles, your bank account, rates arrears, PAYE contributions or if you want to work out your expenditure. They can make sure that you speak to an adviser or supervisor and look at proposals to offer your lender. A petition has started with the possibility of a debate in parliament about how charities represent themselves and their services.

Which charities help with debt?

You can contact Money Advice Service, National Debtline, Step Change, Shelter or a combination of the three. Charities are particular useful for a low debt level under 1,000. If the debt is high (such as a debt value of 10,000 or more) you would usually seek an assessment from a professional adviser. If you do decide to use a charity to guide you, make sure you check their charity number and the registration number on their website to make sure you are content that their team can answer your questions in the right ways. A lot of clients of charities have a minimum debt level which does not meet the basis for an IVA, so you could always chat to a charity that is happy to act on your behalf for low debt levels.

Although an I.V.A could be the answer to your debt problem, its important to understand the monthly payment so call us on our free phone number. Anyone customers can receive expert feedback on their rights from debt charities, if they cant help they will usually point you in the director of firms which help with IVAs.

We are homeowners, will lenders see my proposal differently?

In some cases yes. In the majority of cases, if you are a homeowner you will not need to remortgage or take out any additional finances that will effect your property. You will need to sign a additional restrictions which remove your ability to take out additional credit tied to your property, which is something that is restricted once you are in an i.v.a. There are exceptions to this, such as when you have a lot of equity in your property/properties. If you own half of a property and another party owns the other half, only your equity will be affected.

If you are landlord and you are in a position of equity, your IP may review your trading position or business to make sure the figures in question are in order. This is usually the case if you have two or more properties, as sometimes the equity can be used to form a repayment to your creditors. But this usually depends on the amount of value built up in your properties.

Banks and building societies will not change the terms of your mortgage as long as a contribution is still being made for the duration of your arrangement. Your mortgage payments will be added to your expenses and accounted for within your budget, as long as you can provide evidence that you can afford to continue to make payments into your mortgage for duration of the plan.

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business Power gen equip import ban to boost local demand: BHEL ex CMD BP Rao, former Chairman and Managing Director of BHEL highlighted that although Chinese imports were high 3-4 years back, they have gradually reduced since.
business Comfortable guiding 25% AUM growth: Bajaj Finance In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Bajaj Finance MD Rajeev Jain, discussed the company's third quarter earnings.
business Results satisfactory despite Middle East market pressure: KRBL Anil Mittal, CMD of KRBL says the company saw pressure in the Middle East markets.
"Is this current warm weather more than a trend? Per chance this winter has come to an end? There is no shadow to be cast, an early Spring is my forecast!," read Jeff Lundy, vice president of the Inner Circle of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Lundy is one of the top hat-wearing group that announces the forecast every year.

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.

The forecast was delivered with temperatures in the low 20s, on a clear day when the high temperature was expected to reach the unseasonably mild mid-40s.

The Inner Circle congratulated the mid-week crowd of about 10,000 revelers, which the group said was one of the largest for a weekday celebration. Many of those in attendance had stayed overnight and partied into the wee hours waiting for the groundhog's forecast.

Truth be told, Phil's handlers don't wait to see if he sees his shadow  which he almost certainly would have Tuesday. Instead, the Inner Circle decide on the forecast ahead of time and announce it on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill near the town for which the groundhog is named, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Records going back to 1887 show Phil has now predicted more winter 102 times while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. There are no records for the remaining years.

Tuesday's celebration was billed as the 130th forecast by Phil.

In New York, Staten Island Chuck agreed with Phil: An early spring is coming.

The groundhog did not see his shadow as he emerged from his home at the Staten Island Zoo early Tuesday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio missed this year's annual Groundhog Day commemoration. The Democrat had gone to Iowa to stump for Hillary Clinton for that state's caucus.

Traditionally, the city's mayor attends the festivities. De Blasio dropped the groundhog in 2014, the first year he attended the ceremony as mayor. The groundhog died a few months later.
With more than 100 analysts covering nearly 1,500 companies, were able to provide a wide variety of what we believe are attractively priced securities looking across sectors, industries, and geographies. Best Ideas are nominated by analysts and approved by managers in addition to the normal due diligence processes that precede our published research and ratings.

The list may include a broad mix of quality and risk characteristics to meet varying investor needs, including no-, narrow-, and wide-moat companies as well as the full spectrum of uncertainty ratings from low to very high. Most or all of the highlighted stocks will be trading at a discount to our estimate of intrinsic value, indicating improved odds of capital appreciation.

Here, for UK investors, we highlight the three Best Ideas stocks that are domestically-listed.

Kingfisher is Europe's largest home-improvement retail group and the third largest globally behind Lowe's and Home Depot. With 1,202 stores in nine countries in Europe and Asia at the end of fiscal 2014-15, Kingfisher generates annual sales of around 11 billion. Its main retail brands are B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France. The firm also operates the Koctas brand, a 50% joint venture in Turkey with Koc Holding, and recently sold a majority stake in its China business to Wumei Holdings, a Chinese retailer.

There is a lot for medium-term investors to like about Kingfisher. A decade ago, the company was a multi-category retailer, an ineffective conglomerate of primarily no-moat businesses. Today, it is focused solely on home improvement, and we believe management is building upon some competitive advantages that are likely to provide stronger defences than most traditional retailers possess against the major secular challenges currently facing the industry.

We believe the strategy to sell common products across its banners will allow Kingfisher to finally exploit its scale and help strengthen its economic moat as one of the cost leaders of the industry in Europe.

The product of a merger between Grand Metropolitan and Guinness in 1997, Diageo is the world's leading producer of branded premium spirits. It also produces and markets beer and wine. Strong intangible assets and a cost advantage are at the heart of Diageo's wide economic moat. While we believe the firm's total alcohol product portfolio is far from complete, it contains 14 of the top 100 global premium distilled spirits brands and seven of the top 20.

Its presence with number-one or number-two brands in most of the major spirits categories would be difficult for a new entrant to replicate. Diageo's positioning in the leading categories means that its brands have high churn in on premise channels and significant shelf space in the off-premise channels.

In turn, this makes Diageo an important partner for bars, restaurants, and retailers, and the firm works closely with its customers to optimise product displays, promotions, and pricing at retail. We believe this is a competitive edge over less valued distillers, even one as large as Pernod Ricard, whose positioning as the leader in second-tier categories generates lower inventory churn in the on-trade and less shelf space in the off-trade.

Royal Bank of Scotland, a dominant U.K. bank, has made considerable progress on its transformation, in our opinion. RBS destroyed its narrow economic moat with its global ambitions and reckless acquisition of ABN AMRO at the peak of the market bubble in 2007. RBS received 45 billion in U.K. government bailouts but has since lost it all, and then some, on dodgy assets and misconduct. While the road ahead is increasingly clear, we expect it to be a bumpy ride.

RBS' bad-bank assets, just 6.5 billion at September 2015, are down 95% from their peak, but the group is left with a loss-making investment bank, large liabilities for past misconduct, and a well-deserved reputation for poor customer service. We think that the additional clean-up costs, estimated at another 3 billion through 2017, along with 5.4 billion of misconduct provisions, will eat up much of the bank's operating profits through 2017.
Trevor Osborne has been investing in tax-free savings plans for more than 20 years.

We started investing in 1995 when we bought our first home, he explained. The house was bought with an interest-only mortgage, so he started saving into an investment plan to pay off the capital at the end of the term.

In the last 20 years he has remained invested through some rocky periods, but he says he has been pleased with the overall returns. Osborne has since remortgaged his home, but hes continued to put money into the stock market, via an ISA. In recent years hes also taken out Junior ISAs for his children, as well as a SIPP for each of them.

Osborne, who is an IT project manager with Mercedes Benz says: I invest in a mix of funds. We invest through the Fidelity Personal Investing and have tended to stick with Fidelity funds.

He says he is keen to keep investment charges to a minimum, so has much of his money in Fidelitys Moneybuilder range. These include index funds that follow the UK, US or European markets. Fidelity also offers low-cost active funds through this range - including its Moneybuilder Balanced and Moneybuilder Global range.

The Moneybuilder Balanced fund, which invests in a portfolio of high quality equities and bonds, has a four star rating from Morningstar. The portfolio is 65% investing on equities, which are managed by Michael Clark, with Ian Spreadbury managing the 35% bond split.

They work independently but meet monthly to discuss views and overall positioning. Morningstar gives these experienced managers a Bronze Rating.

The Moneybuilder Global fund has a three star rating. Its manager James Bateman, who took over in February 2014, has a Neutral Rating. Morningstar fund analysts say: The loss of long-standing manager Richard Skelt weakens this offering, although new manager James Bateman has made a promising start.

Passive Funds for Developed Market Exposure

Osborne says that in more developed markets he tends to invest in the index funds offered through the Moneybuilder range, but does have some exposure to more active funds when he is investing in less developed areas.

Osborne says that one of the most important things for him, as an investor, is how easily he can buy and sell holdings and transfer money from his cash fund into his investments.

He says: There have been times when Ive become quite nervous and have wanted to sell holdings quickly. With Personal Investing, Ive been able to call up and shift substantial amounts of money from investments to cash and vice versa.

Given the market volatility over the last year Osborne says he has concentrated his own ISA holdings in the UK and Europe.

Im fully invested at the moment though, and dont have any holdings in cash. After all they do say be greedy when the markets are looking nervous. However he says he doesnt want to be too greedy adding: Given the current market volatility Im not investing in higher risk areas, like emerging markets and China.

Taking a Growth Approach for Junior ISAs

However, he says when it comes to his investments for his children Osborne has tried to take a different approach. Ive invested in a mix of European, Japan and China funds on their behalf. With the longer term time frame - particularly on the SIPPs - Im hoping this higher risk approach will pay off.

Osborne says while he has dipped in and out of markets with his own money he adopting more of a buy and hold strategy when it comes to his childrens JISAs and SIPPs.

With the SIPPs in particular Im looking at a far longer investment horizon. Its amazing really - even small amounts of money have the potential to grow significantly over 50 plus years. Im hoping the current market volatility will barely register as a blip on this timescale.

Osborne adds: I initially opened the JISA for my daughter in 2011. It was a good time to buy and the returns have been good on these funds. But although I invested the same amount for my son, born in 2013, this has not proved so successful. There wasnt the strong rise in share prices to start with, and markets have been volatile more recently. Ill have to just wait and see what difference this makes to the overall returns.

What funds are in your ISA or SIPP? What has been your most successful investment? If you'd like to feature in Investment Views please contact the Editorial team on UKEditorial@morningstar.com
The growth of the Canadian economywhich has suffered repeated hammer blows from global oil price crashes and an ever-weakening currencyis now being largely supported by real estate transactions, according to analysts.



With growth shrinking by 0.09 per cent from January to November last year, the stagnant economy was harmed by a significant 2.6 per cent drop in commodity goods and a 1 per cent real output in services in 2015. These, in turn, affected the volume of non-residential investments like mining and oil/gas extraction.



Approximately 53 per cent of the scant economic growth last year came from the already strained real estate sector, which is seeing the beginnings of potential troubles stemming from overbuilding and overvaluation (as much as 30 per cent). As it stands, real estate represents 12 per cent of Canadian GDP.



Policy makers said that an economy operating on just one tent-pole is not sustainable. Observers added that increased household debt coupled with market oversaturation might cause significant problems in the long run.



It is concerning to see that degree of concentration coming from one sector. This underscores the importance of real estate to Canadian growth, and also reinforces how key of a risk the real estate sector is for the Canadian economy, Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Brian DePratto told Bloomberg Business.
Via La Nouvelle Tribune: Outbreak of Lassa: Already registered deaths in Benin. Benin is small country of 10 million just west of Nigeria and not far from Lagos. The Google translation, edited:

Declared officially present in Benin only a few days ago, Lassa haemorrhagic fever virus already saddens families. According to an interim report presented by the Minister of Health, Pascal Dossou Togbe, during a press conference he co-hosted with the representative of WHO resident, haemorrhagic fever Lassa virus has already bereaved nine ( 09) families.

To believe the Minister of Health, nine (09) people are already sadly passed from life to death out of a total of twenty (20) cases recorded. The nine (09) deaths, according to Benin health authorities, were recorded in the departments of Borgou (07) and Hills (2). Of these deaths, one (01) case was confirmed and eight (08) are probable.

Health workers not spared

Also according to provisional figures released by the health authorities, Lassa haemorrhagic fever virus resurfaced in Benin after a first outbreak was quickly contained, several months ago. Health workers are not spared. As of January 29, 2016, five (05) cases of which one (01) and confirmed four (04) suspects were recorded among health personnel.
On the heels of the U.S. Treasurys recent drive to clamp down on money laundering via real estate transactions, investigators revealed that unscrupulous elements make full use of legal workarounds to funnel dirty money into the United States.



In an investigative report published by The Real Deal, undercover agents using hidden cameras have found that allegedly shady foreign deals were conducted with advice provided by none other than top real estate lawyers like John Jankoff and Gerald Ross.



The investigators, who were working with transparency NGO Global Witness, took on the identities of professionals operating as representatives of foreign officials who were supposedly looking at secretly moving their finds to the United States.



If its not in his name, then he needs what is known as a straw man, John Jankoff of Jankoff & Gabe P.C. told the agents, who said they were employed by an African mining minister.



Straw man refers to a trusted third party who would purchase a property to cover up the perpetrators involvement.



Gerald Ross of Fryer & Ross L.L.P. defended such advice, saying that clients who are bringing significant sums are not looking for clandestine channels because they are hiding something.



Its because theyre afraid of being screwed by somebody, Ross told the New York Times.



In the undercover investigation by Global Witness, Ross was quoted as saying that his firms bank accounts might be a possible avenue for moving the false mining ministers funds.
Support groups this week

-- Coffee Break for Men, 9 a.m. today, HospiceMidland 911 W. Texas Ave., 682-2855.

-- New Beginnings cancer support group, 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Texas Oncology - Allison Cancer Center, 400 Rosalind Redfern Grover Parkway, Suite 100, 218-8714, fatima@giftsofhopemidland.org.

-- Midland Memorial Hospitals Better Breathing Club, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Midland Memorial Hospital Scharbauer Tower meeting room. Don at 221-4864 or Joanna at 682-4229.

-- The Knot Adoption Support Group, 11:30 a.m. Feb. 10, First Presbyterian Church; Kathy Hagler, Kathy@WTIE.net

-- Caregiver support, noon Feb. 10, HospiceMidland 911 W. Texas Ave., 682-2855.

***

Weekly Meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous  hotline 580-7868.

Narcotics Anonymous  hotline 582-2926.

 Survivors of sexual abuse; interactive Bible study to help deal with the consequences of sexual abuse meets Tuesdays. Child care available; House of Hope, 570-5935.

-- Overeaters Anonymous; 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays and 3-4 p.m. Sundays; B&J Plaza, 206 N. Midkiff Road, Suite 1-D; 553-1031.

-- Peer to Peer support group for veterans, active duty, guard, reserves and their families, 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Permian Basin Community Center, 401 E. Illinois Ave., Suite 403; Wil Hoggard, 213-5342, william.hoggard@wtcmhmr.org.

* * *

MMH Events

Multimodal Pain Management for Acute Pain, 5:30-7:30 p.m. today, MMH. Contact Rebecca Pontaski at 221-1625 or email rebecca.pontaski@midland-memorial.com

Weigh to Success Support Group Meeting, 4-5 p.m., Thursday. Contact Sundae Adkins at 638-8081 or email sundae.adkins@midland-memorial.com

Cardiovascular Symposium 2016, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Conference Room C. Contact Tonya Dawson at 221-1593 or email tonya.dawson@midland-memorial.com

* * *

How sick are you?

Midland Memorial Hospital is offering a nurse triage program 68-NURSE.

The program is designed to help people determine whether or not their health situation warrants a trip to the emergency room. Midland residents can call the line by dialing 686-8773.

The program is free and available 24 hours a day-365 days a year. Local nurses are available to help you determine the best place to receive care for your situation. 68-NURSE can help you save time and money by directing you to the most appropriate healthcare option, whether its a neighborhood clinic, urgent care center, emergency room  or just staying home.

* * *

Contact your Hospital District representative

MIDLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

400 Rosalind Redfern Grover Parkway, Midland, Texas, 79701

Phone: 221-1111

Website: www.midland-memorial.com

President Russell Meyers 221-1584

Directors -- District 1: vacant, District 2: Dorothea Logan, District 3: Tommy Lent, District 4: Cressinda Hyatt, District 5: Alison King, District 6: Joe Kiowski, District 7: Jeffrey Beard
When I began my journey toward becoming a therapist, I never expected that I would want to work with children. However, every road led me in that direction. It wasnt long before I realized the truth in what my graduate school professors told me: You get the clients you need, not always the ones you want.

This was never truer than when I was assigned my youngest client, a 5- year-old, who Ill call Joe. Learning about Joe, I quickly realized that he had been through more during his short life than many of my adult clients.
The first five months of Kelbie Faircloths life were a series of complex heart surgeries. From the moment she was born, Kelbie, now 1 1/2, was rushed to the NICU to be treated for five congenital heart defects.

The easiest way to describe it, according to her mother, Jessica Faircloth, Midland County senior court clerk, is that Kelbie was born with half of a heart.

About 1 in 100 children are born with some type of congenital heart defect, which is the most common cause of infant death due to birth defects, according to according to the Children's Heart Foundation, the countrys leading organization solely committed to CHD research funding.

But because of improvements in diagnostic and surgical techniques in what is still a relatively new field, the vast majority of children born with congenital heart disease make it into adulthood and live relatively normal lives, said Dr. Matt Lemler, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern and director of the Echocardiography Lab for Childrens Health at the Children's Medical Center in Dallas.

Those with complex heart defects -- such as Kelbie -- have a harder road to making it into adulthood, but still, their chances are quite good, Lemler said.

Kelbie had her first surgery -- a balloon atrial septostomy -- when she was 6 days old. At 3 months old she had a heart catheterization and at 4 months she was showing signs of heart failure. She had a procedure to hook the superior vena cava -- or the blood from the upper extremities -- to the pulmonary arteries, to take work away from her heart.

When she turns 3 or 4, she will need surgery to reroute the circulation from the lower half of her veins. Kelbie will take blood thinners and see a cardiologist for the rest of her life. She eventually will need a heart transplant, Faircloth said.

For certain complex CHDs, a heart transplant will be needed at some point in the child's life. However, the percentage of transplants that are being done in the adult world due to CHD has rise greatly. Lemler said thats a positive thing.

In some ways thats sad but in other ways its exciting because they are living into adulthood to have problems in adulthood, Lemler said. So in and of itself thats a victory. I think its important for people to realize weve come a long way.

Kelbie was diagnosed when Faircloth was 20 weeks pregnant, and it was a lot to absorb, Faircloth said.

The doctor explained everything from her chances at birth all the way into adulthood, Faircloth said. It wasnt until after I left there that reality kinda hit that something is wrong with my kids heart. There was that burden of, What did I do wrong? I placed the blame on myself rather than (realizing) it was nothing I did and that it effects more people than we think.

The causes for most CHDs are unknown, but genetics and environmental toxins can play a factor in certain defects. Conditions such Down syndrome also are often associated with CHDs.

Fetal diagnosis not only helps the parents mentally prepare, but also allows for planning delivery at an appropriate facility. Furthermore, the baby doesnt have to show symptoms of sickness before treatment -- as in a post-birth diagnosis -- which allows the baby to be in better shape going into surgery and gives them a better chance of survival, Lemler said.

Fetal diagnosis allowed Faircloth and her husband to arrange for Kelbies delivery to occur in Dallas so she could be transferred to the Childrens Medical Center, which is the only cardiac center in Texas and one of only six in the nation to honored by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for congenital heart surgery.

Faircloth and her year-old son moved to the Ronald McDonald House in Dallas for five months, while her husband remained in Midland for work.

Despite the fact that CHD is the most common birth defect in the U.S., it remains underfunded, and there is still little public knowledge about it, according to the Children's Heart Foundation.

We dont know why this happened, so thats all the more reason for research, Faircloth said. Knowing the cause could one day prevent it from happening.

Infant deaths due to CHDs often occur when the baby is younger than 28 days old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I remember sitting at the table with the other heart moms (at Ronald McDonald house) and we see another mom come in and we ask her how her sons doing and she says, He just passed away this morning, Faircloth said. We all looked at each other like that could be us. There were always those moms there who werent fortunate to be able to walk out of the house with their child.

Kelbie is still too young to fully understand what makes her a little different from other kids. She calls her scar her zipper. Her brother, who is now 2, says Kelbie was born with a broken heart. He thinks every baby has to have surgery after theyre born and on Christmas said Jesus was born and then he had his surgery, Faircloth said with a laugh.

Shes pretty much like any other kid, Faircloth said. Unless you saw her scars, you wouldn't know any different.

Every day I would constantly be checking her, but then I got to where its not really like that anymore, Faircloth said. "There are days it seems like I forget she has any medical disability and then there are other days where its always in the back of my mind -- that fear of, Is she going to be able to grow up, be able to experience what we are experiencing?
Via Vice: Brazil Steps Up Its War Against Zika. Excerpt:

Brazilian soldiers display an almost biblical urgency as they rush from door to door in Recife  the northeastern coastal city that is the frontline of the fight against the Zika virus.

They call through slats, gates, and letterboxes, urging people to empty stagnant water and prevent disease-carrying mosquitos from breeding. When doors open they search for possible infestations and, if they find any, put down orange larvacide granules, which attract the feeding larvae and then poison them.

It is a thankless and seemingly never-ending task that unfolds amid an often ambivalent public.

"People have the knowledge, they are informed through the TV. It's just that they don't always put measures in place," said Lieutenant Yago Douglas da Silva Fortaleza, who is responsible for one of the units inspecting a poor community in Recife. "They think it's a problem for somewhere else."

Brazil's crusade against the mosquito-borne Zika virus stems from evidence suggesting a link between the dengue-like disease  that is typically mild and often asymptomatic  and a sudden hike in the number of babies born in the country with abnormally small heads.

The possible link, which was first noticed last August, has not been scientifically proved, but the World Health Organization said on Monday that the evidence is strong enough to warrant declaring Zika to be a global emergency.

Brazil, where an estimated 1.5 million have been infected with Zika since the virus was first detected in the country eight months ago, had already announced the deployment of 200,000 troops to aid health workers combat the mosquito.

This week president Dilma Rousseff signed off on additional provisional measures that allow any public agent in search of mosquitos  including soldiers - to forcibly enter properties where the owner is absent, or the building has been abandoned.

"In the situation of imminent danger to public health through the presence of a mosquito that transmits Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, and Zika, the highest authority of the National Health System across federal, state, county and municipal levels is authorized to establish and implement the necessary measures to control the diseases caused by these viruses," the federal gazette said.

The extra powers follow reports that some households in Recife have been refusing health agents entry to their homes. The reticence is said to stem from a rash or burglaries in which conmen have posed as inspectors.

The authorities also have to battle the doubts of those who want to cooperate, but are concerned that this will not be enough to contain the virus that has already spread well beyond Brazil to at least 23 other countries.

"We're worried because we take care of our home but there are neighbors who don't," said Glaucia Perreira Ramos, 30, who stayed home to wait for inspectors in her humble Roda de Fogo community in Recife where sanitation conditions are poor.
DALLAS (AP)  A person in Texas has been infected with the Zika virus after having sex with an ill person who had returned from a country where the disease was present, Dallas County health officials said Tuesday.

It's the first case of the virus being transmitted in the U.S. during the current outbreak of Zika, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas. Dallas County Health and Human Services said it received confirmation of the case from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials did not release any details about the Texas patient, citing privacy issues. In a tweet, Dallas health officials said the first person infected had been to Venezuela, but did not detail when and where that person or the second person was diagnosed.

The CDC says that in this case there's no risk to a developing fetus.

The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. There was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

"That gives you the plausibility of spread, but the science is clear to date that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito," Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said during a recent news conference about Zika.

In the epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, the main villain identified so far is called Aedes aegypti  a species of mosquito that spreads other tropical diseases, including chikungunya and dengue fever. It is found in the southern United States, though no mosquito-borne transmission has been reported in the continental United States to date.

Texas Department of State Health Services said that case announced Tuesday is the first one contracted in the state. But the agency noted that there are seven other cases of the virus in Texas, all related to foreign travel.

The World Health Organization on Monday declared a global emergency over the rapidly spreading Zika virus, saying it is an "extraordinary event" that poses a threat to the rest of the world. The declaration was made after an emergency meeting of independent experts called in response to a spike in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year. Officials in French Polynesia also documented a connection between Zika and neurological complications when the virus was spreading there two years ago, at the same time as dengue fever.

WHO officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection between the virus and babies born with abnormally small heads.

Zika was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. It wasn't believed to cause any serious effects until last year; about 80 percent of infected people never experience symptoms.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week. Symptoms usually start two days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

The CDC says it will issue guidance in the coming days on prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus, focusing on the male sexual partners of women who are or may be pregnant. Health officials noted that sexual partners can protect themselves by using condoms to prevent spreading sexually transmitted infections.

___
For local Republicans, the Iowa caucus was impactful on two fronts. Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a performance they expected, and the enthusiasm for the Republican brand provided a reason to be excited.

Cruz showed off the ground game many expected from a candidate who spent so much of the last year to 18 months courting Iowa voters. Midlander Rhonda Lacy saw firsthand the ground game that resulted in Cruz smashing the record for number of votes in a Republican caucus for president. She was among the Republicans from Texas and across the nation who traveled to the Hawkeye state to campaign for Cruz.

The decision in Iowa told me that people want change in (Washington) D.C., said Lacy, who is a co-chair of Mighty Texas Strike Force, a stand-alone organization that works in battleground states and Democratic Party-controlled areas in Texas, making calls and walking blocks in support of Republicans. When he says hes going to do something, he does it. ... You need to do what the grassroots want, and Iowans really are attracted to that. He will take a stand. He is courageous.

Ernie Angelo, a former Republican national committee man, said Cruzs victory showed off an organization and commitment that he believes will transfer into future primaries. Two previous winners of Iowa (Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012) couldnt turn a victory in that state into resources in later contests. Angelo said Cruz already has those resources in hand.

And while some exit polling showed Iowas GOP turnout was 62 percent evangelical, Angelo said Cruz can add to the message as the primary schedule goes through New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and eventually to Super Tuesday (March 1), which includes Texas.

He will not change what he believes; he will just have to broaden the message, Angelo said.

Jason Moore, a former radio personality in Midland-Odessa and former member of the State Republican Executive Committee, called the caucus a historic night for the GOP and said it reaffirmed Cruzs status as a candidate to be reckoned with.

While Texas junior senator earned a win in Iowa like George W. Bush in 2000 and George H.W. Bush in 1980, Iowa showed there is plenty of competition. Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio also broke the previous record for votes for a Republican in a GOP caucus and maybe started to set up the rest of the GOP nomination race as a three-person contest. Angelo called the Trump loss a first crack in his veneer and expects there is a good chance the establishment will pour money into Rubios campaign.

Lacy said a turnout of more than 182,000 Republicans in the caucus was good news for the party and sent elections officials scrambling. They werent ready for it in Iowa. The previous record in Iowa was 121,000, so officials such as Midland County Republican Chairman James Beauchamp said there is something the party can build on.

Beauchamp added that Iowa is a starting point in the nomination process but that the attention the Iowa caucus receives is probably overstated considering the delegate count. Cruz collected eight delegates with the win. Trump and Rubio received seven each. Beauchamp said you need 1,237 to win the nomination. He also said primaries leading into Super Tuesday will award 109 delegates. On Super Tuesday, there are 709 delegates up for grabs in 14 states. Texas will award 155, which is roughly 22 percent, he said.

What I am excited about -- even ecstatic about -- is that for the first time in a long time Texas will have a real say and real impact in who the nominee is.
HOUSTON (AP)  One of the two anti-abortion activists indicted last month after making undercover videos about Planned Parenthood turned herself in Wednesday to Texas authorities.

Sandra Merritt appeared in a Houston courtroom and posted bond, which was reduced from $10,000 to $2,000. The other indicted activist, David Daleiden, was scheduled to turn himself in Thursday.

Both are charged with tampering with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden also was indicted on a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs that carries up to a year in prison. Their attorneys have said the two activists plan to plead not guilty.

Warrants had been issued for Merritt and Daleiden's arrests following their indictments on Jan. 25. But the activists' attorneys had made arrangements with authorities to have them voluntarily come from California, where they live. State records show Merritt lives in San Jose, has operated a tutoring business and has held a cosmetology license since 1982.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson's office initially launched the grand jury investigation to look into Planned Parenthood after the undercover videos claimed that the nation's largest abortion provider illegally sold fetal tissue to make a profit.

The grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of misusing fetal tissue, opting instead to indict Daleiden and Merritt, who made the videos and are accused of using fake driver's licenses to get into a Houston clinic.

The video footage showed them posing as representatives of a company called BioMax, which purportedly procured fetal tissue for research. Planned Parenthood has said the fake company offered to pay the "astronomical amount" of $1,600 for organs from a fetus. The clinic said it never agreed to the offer.

The activists' attorneys have acknowledged the two used fake driver's licenses but that their actions weren't meant to defraud or harm the abortion provider, and that they never intended to buy human organs.

Defense attorneys also said the charges won't stand up in court and have asked Anderson to drop the case and resubmit the evidence to another grand jury on possible charges against Planned Parenthood.

Anderson has said that she won't resubmit the case because she respects the grand jury's decision "even if it conflicts with my personal beliefs," which Anderson described as "pro-life."
The family of a Midland student killed in a car accident last month while volunteering for Republican Ben Carsons presidential campaign said they are touched by the way the candidate has honored his memory.

Braden Joplin, 25, died last month after two weeks of campaigning for Carson in Iowa. Joplins mother, Carolyn Joplin, said Carson and his wife, Candy, were the most caring, compassionate people.

I know why my son believed in him, Joplin said. I dont think hes used (Bradens death) for a personal agenda at all.

Following Joplins death, the Carson campaign saw that the last thing Joplin posted on Facebook was an encouragement for his friends to Trust in God. In response, Carson renamed his town hall meetings in Iowa and South Carolina Trust in God town halls.

He kind of told us, more or less, at the hospital that night that he wasnt going to let Braden die in vain, said Joplins brother, Bailey. He was going to keep him alive in his campaign.

Carson said the campaigns mission following Bradens death would be to honor him.

(Joplin) poured his heart into this campaign knowing this election is about something bigger than ourselves  its about returning this country back into the hands of We the People and He who guides our path, Carson posted on his Facebook page the day after Joplins death.

Carson coined a term for the way he hopes Joplins memory inspires others: the Braden Effect.

His example has already inspired other young people to step up and take his place to carry on the work he was not able to finish, said campaign spokesman Larry Ross.

Leap of faith

Joplin took a leap of faith in 2016.

The Texas Tech University student decided to take the spring semester off, and, just three days into the new year, he was on his way to Iowa to campaign for a presidential candidate he believed in.

His parents booked him a flight home at the end of January, but within two weeks, he was looking for ways to extend his trip.

The road conditions throughout Iowa were hazardous Jan. 19. A Carson campaign staffer was driving a van carrying three volunteers near Atlantic, Iowa, when he hit a patch of ice and lost control. The van rolled onto its side and was struck by a pickup.

The campaign staffer and two of the volunteers got out of the van and looked around for Joplin, who was asleep in the back when the wreck occurred, according to his mother.

Joplin was transported to a trauma center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The other passengers in the van were taken to a local hospital and were released later that day.

The Carson campaign flew Joplins family to the hospital, and the candidate immediately suspended his campaign to meet them in Omaha.

Joplin died 30 minutes before his family arrived.

(Carson) stayed, and we prayed at the hospital over his dead body, Carolyn Joplin said.

That night, Carson issued a statement saying he was filled with a deep and profound sadness.

This tragedy has certainly unified and inspired staff and volunteers toward greater resolve to carry on in the cause to which Braden was so committed, Ross said. But it had an additional impact on the entire primary process, as within a short time of the news, every campaign sent tweets and messages of prayers and concern ... demonstrating that life transcends politics.

Love of people, politics

In the two weeks he was with the campaign in Iowa, Joplin stood out. At an event at a Cedar Rapids school, Carson asked fifth-grade students who was the worst student in their class, trying to make the point that he used to be in that position. The students singled out one boy, prompting national attention and criticism.

At the end of the event, Joplin found the boy and gave him his copy of Carsons book, You Have a Brain: A Teens Guide to Think Big. He jotted down his email address and a note saying the book changed his life.

Carolyn Joplin said Braden and his father, Kenny, often discussed politics. But Bradens interest was piqued by Carson.

He spent his career healing children with the hope that they would go on to do great things, Braden wrote. Hes the only man that can revive this great nation from our morally bankrupt ways.

Those close to Braden Joplin describe a young man who was fiercely loyal and giving. Carolyn Joplin said her son called her every day, and his brother said he never hung up the phone without saying, I love you.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
Via NPR's excellent Goats and Soda blog: How Many Zika Cases Are There In Venezuela: 4,000 Or 400,000? Excerpt:

The current Zika outbreak got its start in Brazil, and that country is still the epicenter of the outbreak. But could the situation in neighboring Venezuela be nearly as bad?

That's the charge being made by some doctors' groups, who claim the Venezuelan government is vastly underestimating the number of cases. The government estimates that around 3,700 people have likely been infected with Zika since the outbreak began last year.

These doctors believe the number is closer to 400,000  and that estimate only covers people who showed symptoms of infection. Since Zika cases are generally mild and often free of any symptoms, the group says the true number of infections to date could be up to 1 million.

"The government has been completely opaque on this. They are keeping information from both the public and from the professionals," says Dr. Jose Oletta, who was a minister of health in Venezuela before current President Nicolas Maduro's political party  then led by the late Hugo Chavez  took power in 1999.

Even before the Zika outbreak, the Maduro administration had been criticized for lack of transparency on public health. Among the complaints: More than a year ago it ceased publishing weekly epidemiological bulletins reporting infection rates for a range of diseases including malaria, dengue and chikungunya.

Oletta says the government's communication strategy on Zika is just the latest example of this pattern. While the virus may have been circulating in Venezuela since at least this past summer, authorities apparently only confirmed transmission of Zika in their country in late November. But Oletta notes that rather than announcing this publicly, officials first sent word to the World Health Organization.

It wasn't until December 3, through an announcement by the WHO, that Venezuelans were informed that the virus was in their midst. And for weeks thereafter the government declined to release any estimates of the number of potential cases.

In the absence of official statistics, a private association of prominent public health professionals to which Oletta belongs  called the Network to Defend National Epidemiology  started doing its own research and statistical modeling. They came up with their estimate of about 400,000 cases and released it late last month.

Among other data, says Oletta, "we looked at the number of reported cases of acute fever that health workers did not believe were explained by other diseases, such as dengue and chikungunya." Oletta's group then compared that number against the typical number of unexplained acute fever cases in any given year. The excess case load was counted as potential Zika infections.

Oletta says all this data came from official health reports that aren't being made public. How did Oletta's group obtain the reports? He gets a little coy.

"Look, just like for a journalist protecting your confidential sources is a fundamental principle of the profession, I have to protect my sources. It's an issue of people's security," he says.

"But these are the official technical reports directly from the ministry of health. We have chosen to make them public because they shouldn't be kept private. This information belongs to the public. It's in the public interest to make it available."
Gwyneth Paltrow is unapologetic about the decisions she's made and the career paths she's chosen to take. The actress graces the March 2016 cover of Glamour, where she opens up about actresses receiving backlash for exploring other business endeavors, family life after divorcing Chris Martin, and why she feels so comfortable in her skin.

Kicking off her lengthy film career in 1991, Paltrow is most recognized for her work in notable projects like Seven (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Proof (2005), and the Iron Man movie franchise (2008-2013). Taking advantage of all her talents, Paltrow has dabbled in music and wrote several books about healthy eating and easy family recipes.

The 43-year-old California native started Goop as a friendly lifestyle newsletter nearly eight years ago, the company has since transformed into a global success. It has even attracted potential collaboration opportunities with Stella McCartney and Valentino.

A photo posted by Glamour Magazine (@glamourmag) on Feb 2, 2016 at 6:03am PST

Despite the company's accomplishments, Paltrow has often times received backlash for it and for stepping outside of her acting career. Paltrow voiced her discomfort on the criticism female entrepreneurs (like Jessica Alba and Reese Witherspoon) are subjected to versus their male counterparts.

I think its appalling," Paltrow told Glamour. "And the worst part of it is how [critics] try to pit us against each other. The energy could not be more opposite. We help each other; we consult each other I think were in the midst of creating a new archetype of a woman, and were gonna get there," Paltrow added. "Im a sexual being and a powerful woman and entrepreneur. Im all of those things. We now realize that we have permission to be everything.

Her business plans didn't stop there. She is now the creative director of Juice Beauty after working on an organic line of makeup this winter. Paltrow will also kick off a new venture with Goop, as she prepares to launch their fist skincare line called Goop Skincare. Her staff is predominantly made up of women, with hopes that young girls believe they can become a CEO, mother, and a sexual being.

The mother of two, 11-year-old daughter Apple and nine-year-old son Moses, has managed to balance celebrity life, running her own businesses, and taking care of her family. Paltrow's family dynamic was forced to undergo a major change in April 2015 when she filed for divorce from Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin. Despite their marital separation, the two have a firm grasp on "conscious uncoupling" and refers to Martin as a "great ex-husband."

"We spend a lot of time together," Paltrow said. "He's been away for two weeks [promoting his album]. Last night he got in at midnight and slept here so he could surprise the kids in the morning, we could all have breakfast, and he could take them to school. We're still very much a family, even though we don't have a romantic relationship. He's like my brother."

A photo posted by Glamour Magazine (@glamourmag) on Feb 2, 2016 at 9:16am PST

Paltrow also revealed she will often times sleep at Martin's home in Malibu with the kids. Spending weekends and holidays together are also very important to them. Their mission as parents was to minimize the impact of the divorce, by remaining active and present in their children's lives.

Although she would definitely consider getting married again, Paltrow is in no rush. For now, she's enjoying her independence and the excitement that comes along with building a business from scratch.

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Whether she's walking down the red carpet or participating in televised interviews, Kate Hudson allows her personality and positive energy to shine through whatever she does. The Golden Globe-winning actress graces the March 2016 issue of Self, sharing some advice on the importance of change, fun ways to exercise, and tips to living a happier life.

Despite the full plate of responsibilities on her table, the 36-year-old California native is up for the challenge. Besides being on full-time mommy duty to her sons, 12-year-old Ryder and four-year-old Bingham, is preparing to release two movies this year. Hudson will star alongside Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston in the forthcoming romantic comedy, Mother's Day. She is also expected to play a smaller role alongside Mark Wahlberg in the 2016 disaster drama, Deepwater Horizon.

Hudson transformed her passion for healthy living and looking good into a business when she collaborated with e-commerce firm, JustFab, to co-found her own activewear line called Fabletics. When it comes to working out Hudson is all about versatility.

A photo posted by SELF Magazine (@selfmagazine) on Feb 2, 2016 at 6:00am PST

"I change my routine. I change my look. I change my mind," Hudson told Self. "I really switch it up." She doesn't have a specific fitness routine, instead, she explores a variety of different ways to get her body in shape . "I'll do Tracy Anderson, I'll do Body by Simone, I do everything."

The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star really enjoys exercising outdoors, but if Hudson is really looking to whip her body into shape she focuses on pilates. She typically finds time to work out early in the morning after her children have been dropped off at school, but when she's on set, filming a location, or out of town stuck in a hotel room, things can get a little tricky. During these times, Hudson manages to squeeze in mini-workouts with the help of a fitness app.

When it comes to maintaining and radiating positive energy, there are certain steps Hudson takes to keep her life balanced. She admits dancing is a natural and great form of release for her. Not only does it make her feel better, but Hudson also feels a closer connection with her body when doing so. Whether she's flaunting her skills in her favorite jazz class or cutting loose to music she's blasting on the radio, Hudson uses any excuse to keep her body moving.

Journaling has also played an important role behind her happiness. Hudson believes writing things down can really give you a different perspective of what's going on around you. She admits it keeps her "centered." Hudson is also a firm believer in expressing gratitude. By practicing open appreciation, your life creates more room for joy instead of negativity.

"Find the place where you feel really good in yourselfWe've been programmed to feel like we're under this great obligation as women to look and be a certain way. And that's not our fault," Hudson said. "That's what culture and society have gifted us as women. Thank you but no thank you."

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After a long battle in the Hawkeye State, Ted Cruz has emerged victorious in the Iowa Republican Caucuses, and moves closer to the GOP nomination for president. The junior senator from Texas won 28% of the vote, beating out Donald Trump and Marco Rubio for a decisive victory in the nation's first presidential nomination contest.

Ted Cruz was the first Republican to announce his candidacy for presidency, and has spent a considerable amount of time courting Iowa voters. The Texas senator visited all of Iowa's 99 counties in preparation for last night's caucuses.



Cruz's success can be attributed both to the longevity and efficacy of his campaign in Iowa, and his ability to win over the evangelical vote, which comprises 60% of the state's Republican voters. Although he is not poised to perform as well in the upcoming New Hampshire primary, Cruz is hoping to galvanize the religious right in South Carolina where a larger share of the electorate share his religious and social beliefs.

Cruz's victory in Iowa follows in a recent legacy of hardline, religious conservatives capturing the imagination of the state's evangelical voters. In 2012, Rick Santorum, whose vehement opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion won him favor with this very demographic, won the Iowa Caucus. Further, in the 2008 election, Mike Huckabee, who attempted to create a similar coalition of socially and economically conservative voters, won the caucus.

Speaking to supporters at a campaign valley after the results had been finalized, Cruz said, "To God be the glory. Tonight is a victory for the grass roots. Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives all across Iowa and our great nation."

The senator continued, "Tonight, the state of Iowa has spoken. Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next President of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment, will not be chosen by the lobbyists, but will be chosen by the most incredible, powerful force by which all sovereignty resides in this nation. By we the people-- the American people."

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chad Cisneros and David Reed were just two music nerds who loved to examine the details of trance productions by their heroes like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten. After a year of talking online, they decided to take the relationship to the next level and work together on some music. This blossomed into the career that exists today as Tritonal with one album under their belts in 2011 and another on the way in June, several EPs and countless other singles and remixes.

The pair also co-helm their own label Enhanced Recordings alongside Will Holland, where they help with the A&R. However their most important achievements yet may be their families, as husbands and fathers, trying to balance the nearly impossible life of being in-demand touring musicians, label owners and recordings artists and family men.

We had the chance to catch up with the two DJs and producers during a trip to New York City last week and chatted with them about their new single "Blackout," their upcoming album, which should be released in June, Chad's sobriety and how they balance family and work.

MT: Now that you've wrapped up your Untouchable Tour, how difficult is it to do something as expansive as that with families?

D: Well it's a two edge sword isn't it? We're able to do what we love and go out there and play shows but we have our wives and our new little baby boy and girl at home and it is tough. It's more tough emotionally than it is anything else. It's just not being there and having that sense of guilt that you're not being a good father even though we are out working.

MT: Do you think you'll continue to do really big tours like that?

D: I'm certain we will have tours in the future but who knows we may bring them with us at some point. Having the balance of being home is important to us.

MT: Chad I know you been sober for 8-9 years now. Has it been tough to do that in the music industry?

C: It would be if I wasn't connected the way I am. Recovery is a big part of my life and to answer the question square on, no -- It hasn't been that tough. I don't have a desire to get drunk anymore. That's the cool thing. That's been removed and I give all the grace of that to god. My relationship with my higher power. I just try to stay connected to people and I'm still heavily involved in a program of recovery.

MT: Why do you think most DJ's go from hot too cold with partying?

C: Well you kind of answered your own question in a way. You know, it's hard to maintain a viable career, much less a career, a life and stay fresh in the studio if you're inebriated all the time. I think that everything in moderation is cool. I'm the person that takes everything to extremes. I didn't stop when it came to drinking or drugs. I took that to the extreme as well. You know it doesn't play out for you well over the long term.

MT: You said the bigger the track the bigger the gig. With that we've seen a lot of guys kind of get really big shows from one track. Do you think that's a good thing for consumers to see?

D: That's funny that could be a double edge sword. It's happened a lot where you have this huge track and you have to top that track, but if you can't things can take a turn for the worst for you. The bigger the track the bigger the shows you will have.

C: I guess it depends on every artist doesn't it? Like you kind of said, maybe you have a situation where you are a one-hit wonder and now that artist is thrown into a position where they have to be a DJ. Whether they are or not, maybe they are learning as they go and learning in front of thousands of people. For Dave and I, we haven't been a one-hit wonder. Our growth has been pretty steady and continuous and we've tried to produce a body of music that encompasses a lot of styles and I think we have. Chill out to trance, we have a melodic trap record I guess you would call it as our next single. We've played in all sorts of situations and I think for the most part that's what you have. If I look at the majority of artist that are out in tour, the Martin Garrixes of the world are few and far between. Most people that have success have been doing it awhile. That's just the bottom line.

MT: How involved are you guys with the day-to-day at Enhanced?

C: We are super involved at the A&R process, which means Dave and I both have a few artists that we personally A&R. Dave has Noah Niemen and Estiva to a certain degree and I've got Juventa and a couple other cats. Then for the records that come in, like a demo from an artist and we'd never heard of -- that goes through our team. We've got a few guys that listen to music and if they think something has potential they send it to Will and then Will A&R's it to a degree that he thinks it's signable and he brings Dave and I in. On the accounting, sending merch and keeping track of records and stuff we tell Will, have fun Paco. He's actually sitting across the room from me flipping me off right now.

MT: You guys got bored with trance before. Do you think you'd get bored of what you're doing now and go to something different?

C: How about this. Being that we are artists, we like to constantly change, evolve, build and take what we love from trance and build and take what we love from any kind of genre be that it be rap, be that it be more progressive and we like to have fun. We like to stay inspired. If you're painting the same picture everyday then you're going to go crazy.

MT: In the past you've done a whole gamut of ways to release music -- albums, EP's and singles. Which one did you like the best, which one did you think worked the best?

C: That's an interesting question. I don't know about the EP's. I've got some favorite records how about that? Well one of them which is funny enough, comes out tomorrow, "Blackout." Secondly the trance record "Still With Me." It was written as a ballad initially as a down-tempo piece with the set-up lines remolded. Third on the list would probably be "Now or Never."

MT: Why did it take so long to go from one album to the next?

C: Because we didn't want to just make another album because that's what you're supposed to do. When we made Piercing the Quiet we put every ounce of ourselves into that record and at the time we had a story to tell and we told that story at the time to the best of our ability. When we changed our sound we wanted to find our feet and we wanted to make sure that we knew who we were within that new environment and we do now. We know who we are now and we're already looking to new horizons again and I think that that's part of the journey. You want to keep making cool new stuff and challenging yourself.

MT: So "Blackout" is a sign of things to come?

C: Yeah, it is definitely a sign of things to come. We express a lot of creatively in that record. We had a lot fun making it and we had a lot of fun making all the records that we are working with for the upcoming album. Definitely is a sign of things to come.

MT: Explain the concept behind the video.

C: it was between us and the creative team, and you know we got to a place where we felt like we had the general concept and we kind of had to put trust in that team that they were going to deliver the look. I got to say that from what we agreed on as what you would call a treatment to the final product it's pretty bang on as what I thought in my head. I means there's a few things that were cool surprises and that I didn't necessarily envision but for the most part the overall aesthetic, the overall cinematography and like how those two interacted with each other. The emotion she expressed from her father that was sort of coming in the room and bantering her. All those things to me landed square on the peg.

MT: So you guys are heavily involved in your videos?

C: Art and everything, yeah. You need to be. As label owners and creative directors it's a big part of the fun too. You spend two years almost writing an album you want to make sure that the art, the font, the videos, look good. You want it to all feel like the music.

MT: How involved are you guys in writing the lyrics?

D: We work with a lot of other writers too we did a lot of cool writing sessions over the last year and we learned a lot. But we cannot take credit for all of it.

C: No way no.

D: But I will say that that's probably the one area that we've grown the most. In the last two years. Dave and chad the dj's or Dave and chad the producers, we've grown the most in our ability to get in the room with other writers and attribute to the writing process at its bare and bones level. I'm super proud of that.

MT: So I assume you had many of misfires over the past couple years?

C: We've learned from our mistakes for sure and some of them we've brought back. You know what this was a cool idea. What can we do with it? Maybe we can incorporate it somehow or take from it. Or maybe we missed it completely and it's in the trash. I think we missed more than we nailed. That's okay that's part of the writing process it's how you learn.

D: Yeah you miss and don't beat yourself up about it and you try to take what you can from it and try again.

MT: How often do you guys give each other permission to fail?

Both: Every day.

C: You have to have that rule because you want to get somewhere. You want to grow and half ideas are going to be bad. Or they are just average and you just have to be like, "Well, this is sh*t." You have days where you just do not feel it.

MT: What can fans expect from the album?

D: I guess a body of work. We worked our ass off on it and we are really proud of it. There's a lot of different styles of songs and tempos and it ranges across the board. At the end of the day its good songs that's what we choose. We wrote so many over a period of time that we have the luxury of sitting with that music and digesting it and being able to say you know, strip away the up lifters and effects and pull that away. If this song is just a piano and a vocal does it grab you as both? And for the most part the records we choose for the album they do that. They grab Dave and I at our core and I think that's so important.

MT: Is it done?

D: No, we still have a lot of work to do and we are making some great progress. About 70, 80%.

C: we are up there, but we are tweak heads. And our manager, he's a bastard.

MT: Tell me something people might not know about the other person.

D: I can go first. I tell you what, Chad is really into photography he just started. He's a newbie but it's cool to see.

C: Oh yea I'm a newb. I try to act like I know what I'm doing, but I don't.

MT: What do you take pictures of?

C: My little daughter man. Ha-ha. It's not weird I promise.

When Dave moved to Austin he was so so young and I feel like over the course of the relationship with him he's turned into an awesome man. It's super cool to watch. I was able finally to get all my iPhotos imported and it had all these old pictures of my first trip to his hometown of Washington DC with him and I taking pictures with his sh*tty camera. I found this picture of Dave where he looks like he's 8 and Caroline and I were like "Oh my god he's changed so much."

MT: Do you still have that picture?

C: Yeah but you aren't getting it!

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In the wake of Soundcloud recently adding a brand new feature to its site, top 50 lists for over 30 genres, on Tuesday (Feb. 2), it added yet another huge feature to their site called Stations. This new feature, now available for both iOS and Android platforms, will allow users to take songs they've liked on Soundcloud and ultimately create radio stations that continuously play music based upon their likes and taste in music.

According to Soundcloud's official blog page, "Stations is a new way to discover the tracks you've never heard anywhere else, making it easy to tap into a long stream of music related to your Likes." The article went on to state, "A station can be generated from any track, search term, content stream or your Collection. Pull up the menu from any one of those four and select the "Start Station" option. We'll pull from the 100 million plus tracks on SoundCloud to bring you an endless stream of awesome audio."

Wishing for a radio feature? Meet Stations. Discover tracks you cant find anywhere else. https://t.co/fgvu54MLRH pic.twitter.com/MepdTUdOoX  SoundCloud (@SoundCloud) February 2, 2016

The addition of Stations will continue to change the way people find new music on Soundcloud. Users can go to songs on Soundcloud that they've heard before and liked, and Soundcloud will continuously play music similar to the song you started your "station" with. When listening to your station and you hear something you've never heard before, you'll be able to see the track that is playing and now, you've found new music that you might not have found otherwise.

Other online streaming platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, all provide some sort of "station" in one way or another; iTunes with Apple Radio (which is no longer free), Spotify and their radio station feature, and Pandora acting as an online radio station, which Soundcloud's new Stations feature most closely resembles, however, Soundcloud's feature is the only one that will pull new, undiscovered music from its more than 100 million track catelog, separating its functionality from the rest.

Soundcloud has kicked off 2016 with a bang so far, and today's announcement of Stations has just added to their strong 2016 campaign.

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
DJ Big Kap has reportedly died at the age of 45. DJ Funkmaster Flex broke the news this morning on his Instagram. A staple of the New York City hip-hop community, Big Kap was known for working alongside the likes of Funkmaster Flex, Notorious B.I.G, Mister Cee, Nas and a whole host of other important 1990s rappers and DJs. His team and family has not confirmed the news, but those close to him have shared their condolences on social media.

His career's most significant project was 1999's The Tunnel, done alongside Funkmaster Flex. The LP featured verses from Eminem, Nas, Dr. Dre, Jay Z and posthumous verses from Tupac and Biggie. It debuted at No. 35 on the overall Billboard chart, moving 100,000 copies in the first week, eventually peaking at No. 3 on the rap charts.

He was also known as Notorious B.I.G.'s DJ and gained viral fame after video surfaced of him feeling the rapper's wrath at 1995 Summer Jam after messing up on the decks.

He was a part of the Flip Squad, which consisted of himself, Funk Flex, Mister Cee and host of East Coast rappers.

Artists and industry figured have expressed their condolences for the deceased DJ. The cause of death is still unknown.

Rest in peace.... Big Kap... A photo posted by FunkFlex (@funkflex) on Feb 3, 2016 at 3:51am PST

Rip Big Kap  Black Market (@rickyrozay) February 3, 2016

RIP BIG KAP pic.twitter.com/rxqcsRFC56  HOT 97 (@HOT97) February 3, 2016

Rest in Peace DJ Big Kap. NYC hip-hop legend right there. That legacy he helped build with the Tunnel will live forever  Rob Markman (@RobMarkman) February 3, 2016

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Blink-182's Mark Hoppus has posted a clip to his Instagram page of Travis Barker tracking drums for a brand new song during one of the band's studio sessions with famed pop-punk producer and Goldfinger frontman, John Feldmann.

The brief clip is captioned, "tracking drums for a song that didn't exist this morning," suggesting that the band had an unprovoked flow of creativity at some point yesterday (Feb. 2). The drumming sounds a lot like a song that would appear on the band's celebrated 2003 self-titled album -- or at least we think so.

The current band consists of the two previously mentioned founding members along with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba, who joined the pop-punk outfit after Tom DeLonge was kicked out and/or left. The updated trio had performed a few shows together on the West Coast after linking up and recently posted a promising photo from the studio.

Feldmann, who has produced for bands such as All Time Low and 5 Seconds of Summer, has been hard at work with the newly-formed trio for a few months now. In a recent interview, Barker revealed that the band had 15-20 songs recorded and has been entertaining the idea of touring this summer, ultimately hinting that the new album could be released during that time.

A new album would serve as Blink-182's seventh overall studio album, but first without DeLonge, who has remained hard at work via his own label, To The Stars... at his solo material, novels, and side (and now, only) project Angels and Airwaves.

Tracking drums for a song that didn't exist this morning. @travisbarker @johnfeldy @ocdrumdevil A video posted by Mark Hoppus (@markhoppus) on Feb 2, 2016 at 10:23pm PST

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Baauer just announced his debut artist album Aa in the most casual way - sitting on a couch on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, while Leikeli47 performed their new single together "Day Ones." Now the "Harlem Shake" producer has announced US tour dates for his First Foot Tour that will support the upcoming album.

The tour kicks off just a few days after Aa is released. The LP will be released to the public on March 18 and then he will get the tour underway on March 22 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, right outside of Boston. Then it moves down the east coast to Philadelphia, New York City and Atlanta. He will then hit other spots in Washington D.C., Pontiac, Michigan, right outside of Detroit and Denver, before ending this batch of shows in Chicago at The Mid on April 9.

Baauer hasn't said it yet, it is hard to imagine that this is all of the tour dates he has to offer for 2016 especially with festival season coming up and the demand for him after an album release. This should expand into a more global tour as he returns to Asia, Europe and Australia at some point during the year.

Baauer hasn't announced any special guests for the tour, but don't be surprising to see some rappers stop in throughout the tour.

Check out the complete list of shows below and head to his website to pick up tickets.

Baauer First Foot Tour Dates:

03/22: Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair

03/24: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

03/25: New York, NY @ Webster Hall

03/31: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

04/01: Pontiac, MI @ Elektricity

04/02: Miami, FL @ The Hangar

04/07: Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club

04/08: Denver, CO @ Beta Nightclub

04/09: Chicago, IL @ The Mid

 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Sarkodie should have been bigger than ...
Some friends of mine in the railroad business now question the viability of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern as going concerns. One such person awoke the other night with brain spasms. Holy moly, he thought, veering in and out of sleep, Virginia and West Virginia in 2016 are beginning to look a lot like Pennsylvania in 1960. Back then, Pennsylvania railroading was defined by the movement of coal. Anthracite was dying, and Erie, Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, Jersey Central, and Delaware & Hudson all tried to recast themselves successfully as merchandise railroads. None succeeded (which should give folks in Jacksonville and Norfolk pause). And we all know what happened to the 800-pound gorilla in that state, the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Now CSX and NS are being drawn into that same struggle, thanks to the collapse of their lucrative coal markets. Both railroads appear to see the intermodal business as their salvation. But at the same time, these railroads must also rationalize their networks or drown in avoidable capital and operating costs. For instance, what is the excuse for having two mostly double-tracked railroads crossing Virginia on an east-west axis? (Out west, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific have stranded assets of their own.)

How the eastern railroads come out of this Ill leave for another day. Right now I want to talk about Amtrak. Amtrak, you say? Whats it got to do with coal? A lot. Here are three possible accidental victims of coals demise.

California Zephyr. I rode the Zephyr from Chicago to Glenwood Springs, Colo., just three days ago. It was dark by the time we crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa. But the next morning after breakfast, leaving Denver was again one of those experiences you live for. Over 185 miles and almost seven hours I stayed glued to the tall windows in the Sightseer Lounge, unable to take my eyes off the scenery and the wildlife that inhabits it: South Boulder Canyon, Coal Creek Canyon, Fraser Canyon, Byers Canton, Gore Canyon, Glenwood Canyonand for much of the time, the icy headwaters of the Colorado River.

But listen up: The Union Pacific route we took out of Denver is about two mine closings from being an ultra expensive-to-maintain, worthless vestige that UP cannot afford to retain in its present form. Already, coal traffic down 28 percent on this line in January from a year ago, according to UP filings with the Surface Transportation Board. Were the mines around Steamboat Springs (on a branch north of the line Amtrak uses) to shut their operations, the economic justification for keeping the Denver-Salt Lake City route intact collapses. Mines in western Colorado, around Grand Junction, can be served by sending trains west to Salt Lake City and then east on UP Overland Route.

The California Zephyr could easily enough be run via Cheyenne and Green River, as could BNSF trains that run Denver to Salt Lake City on trackage rights.

So I say, if youve been thinking of riding this train, do so this year. Long term, the future of this train through Colorados Rocky Mountains is clouded.

Silver Star. Between the town of Selma, N.C., and Savannah, Ga., more than 300 miles, this New York-Miami train veers west, to ply the route of the former Seaboard Air Line, through Raleigh and Hamlet, N.C., and Columbia, S.C. Though equipped with Centralized Traffic Control (a heritage of SAL days) and good for 79 mph in places, it is not a major CSX freight corridor, the north-south traffic using the former Atlantic Coast Line through Fayetteville, N.C., and Florence and Charleston, S.C. Most of the freight traffic on the Seaboard side is coal. Oops, did I say coal?

Now maybe you see the problem. Sooner or later, like it or not, CSX will rationalize its system. Actually, it has already begun that transition, relegating the former Clinchfield Railroad, a one-time coal corridor, to the status of a train-a-day branch line. I think the Seaboard line (the S Line to we in-the-know folks) may soon get the same treatment.

What does that mean to the Silver Star? Possibly, it could be combined with its New York-Miami twin, the Silver Meteor. At least former Star riders would get their dining car backor would they?

Cardinal. This Chicago-New York train utilizes CSX from suburban Chicago to Clifton Forge, Va., 710 miles. Then it pops onto the Buckingham Branch Railroad from Clifton Forge to Orange, Va., 125 mountainous miles, before joining Norfolk Southern for the ride to Washington, D.C.

Buckingham Branch leases this trackage from CSX, and its economic viability go up and down based on the number of empty westbound coal and grain trains CSX runs over it between Richmond and Clifton Forge. BBRR collects traffic rights fee for every train. CSX has its own single track, CTC-equipped line between these points, cleaving to the James River. Today, with traffic down, does CSX really need the Buckingham Branch in order to relieve congestion on its James River main line. I think not. Were CSX to move empty unit trains to the James River, Buckingham Branch would have its props pulled from beneath it.

I raised this point with BBRRs chief executive, Mark Bryant. He replied: Yes, the decline of coal has certainly had an impact on us. Weve made adjustments and are doing fine. Further, he does not anticipate CSX taking those empty unit trains off of his railroad, implying that it would be impractical for CSX to put everything on the James River line. Given all this, Bryant does not see the Cardinal being at risk over his railroad.

I know and admire the Bryant family. But as I said, CSX is going to have to do a lot more rationalizing of its route structure if it expects to survive and thrive. How fast will coal continue to decline? Nobody knows. Therein lies the risk to the Cardinal.Fred W. Frailey
Sacramento, CA  Despite the winter rains, as state reservoirs struggle to increase water storage assets, regulators extended revised conservation measures for 2016.

The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday formally adopted a revised set of emergency regulations, citing the need, due to continued drought impacts, to ensure that urban water conservation efforts continue through Oct. 1, the end of the water-year. Back in November, Governor Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order directing the board to extend regulations, if drought conditions still persisted into January. This round of rules also gives urban water suppliers more flexibility in meeting conservation requirements and allows for a further easing of standards once the snow-pack and other water measurement readings taken in April are weighed. (For the latest snow-pack readings, reported Tuesday, and local reservoir levels, click here.)

The updated regulation acknowledges an ongoing recovery need, after years of extreme drought, to maintain high conservation rates, according to Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, who notes that stakeholder input was incorporated into the measures over the course of recent public hearings and a comment period. Too, she points out, If we continue to receive a lot of rain and snow in February and March, we may scale back the conservation requirements further, drop them, or move to another approach.

The statewide goal, under the revised regulation, is to exceed a 20 percent conservation rate over 2013 water use. The water board will continue monitoring state urban water suppliers with more than 3,000 connections on a monthly basis, tracking individual compliance to their set requirements and recording their cumulative savings efforts since June 2015. The board will continue to use 2013 as the benchmark comparison year for data comparison (click here for the most recent numbers, reported on Tuesday). This year, however, suppliers will be recognized and or receive credits or adjustments for certain factors affecting water use in their part of the state. These include hotter climates, population growth, and significant investments in developing wastewater reuse, desalination and or other drought resilient water sources. The regulation also has provisions to penalize homeowners associations and other community organizations that attempt to infringe on homeowners plans to reduce or eliminate lawn and landscape watering.

This regulation should still allow this state to save more than 1 million acre-feet of water through October 2016  which is enough water to serve an average of two million California families, Marcus predicts. She continues, While we are hopeful that we are turning the corner on this drought, the truth is that its just too soon tell.

The new version of the regulation, which has been submitted for review and final approval to the states administrative law office, is anticipated to shortly take effect.
Six new travel-related cases of the Zika virus were confirmed in Florida this week, according to the Florida Dept. of Health.

That brings the total number of cases in the state to nine:

Miami-Dade - 4 cases

Hillsborough - 2 cases

Lee - 2 cases

Santa Rosa - 1 case

None of the confirmed cases involve pregnant women.

The Centers for Disease Control has not identified Florida as an area of local Zika risk. However, the state is closely monitoring the disease.

Zika, a mosquito-borne illness, usually involves a rash, fever and joint pain. However, the CDC is examining a possible link between the virus and health issues in babies exposed during pregnancy.

Florida has the ability to test for Zika infections. DOH is working with health care workers to make sure patients can be tested based on CDC criteria.

Health officials: Zika spread through sexual contact

Health officials say a patient in Dallas County, Texas, has acquired the Zika virus through sex.

Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday it received confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a country where Zika was present.

The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites. Investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. It was found in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008.

Health officials note there are no reports of Zika being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas County.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Two men are suspected of burglarizing more than 30 homes across five counties, and stealing more than $200,000 worth of items in the process.

Dustin M. Peters, 27, and Harry C. Daymon, 37, are facing charges of armed burglary of a dwelling and grand theft, as well as other charges in Pasco County.

Officials say the duo are the prime suspects in more than 30 residential burglaries that happened between December 2015 and January 2016.

On Tuesday, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at an apartment on 604 N. Lake Ave. in Lakeland in connection to the rash of burglaries.

Officials said they found a significant amount of jewelry, televisions, electronics, computers and more during the search. Many of those items were identified as belonging to the victims. The estimated value could be well over $200,000, officials said.

Peters and Daymon were arrested while burglarizing another house in Pasco County, officials say.



Sheriff's offices from Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco, Orange and Lake counties, police departments from Tampa and Lakeland and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted the joint investigation into the string of burglaries.

More charges are likely to be forthcoming as each agency involved continues to investigate. Officials say the number of burglaries could potentially increase as well.



The men were taken to Pasco County Jail without further incident.

Officials have scheduled a press conference at 3 p.m. A number of the recovered items will be displayed, and at 3:30 p.m. victims of some of the burglaries will be made available to speak to the media.

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.
Florida's highest court has delayed the execution of a condemned inmate, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court found flaws in the way the state sentences people to death.

Florida's justices provided no reasoning for their decision Tuesday, but earlier in the day, they heard arguments from the state and an attorney for inmate Michael Lambrix, who told them the U.S. Supreme Court ruling should apply to all 390 people on death row.

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(Jan. 14, 2016) Florida death penalty unconstitutional, Supreme Court rules



"To execute people in Florida on the basis of a statute that has been declared unconstitutional is just wrong," Martin McClain said.

Lambrix was scheduled to be executed Feb. 11. He was sentenced to death for the 1983 slayings of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant. Prosecutors said Lambrix beat Moore with a tire iron and strangled Bryant after meeting the two at a bar and inviting them back to his trailer for dinner. The jury's death recommendation was not unanimous for either murder.

The U.S. Supreme Court found Jan. 12 that the state's sentencing procedure is flawed because it allows judges to reach a different decision than juries. Juries play only an advisory role in recommending death in Florida.

Judges have recommended death against the jury's recommendation in the cases of three of Florida's current death row inmates, state officials said. The last time it happened was 1999.

Lambrix's juries recommended death by an 8-4 vote for Moore's murder, and 10-2 in Bryant's.

Scott Browne of the Florida Attorney General's office argued Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling should not apply to already-decided cases. He warned the court that allowing the ruling to apply to old cases would create chaos and suffering for victims' families in the state with the second-most death row inmates in the nation.

"That would be a catastrophic (decision), we have nearly 400 inmates sentenced to death. It would be an immense burden on judicial resources," Browne told the court. "These are tragic cases. To unsettle the expectations of victims' family members without any compelling provision is unwarranted."

Browne said the U.S. Supreme Court's decision should be treated the same as a related case out of Arizona. In that case, the court ruled not to apply it retroactively.

Justices appeared conflicted during the arguments about how to the ruling in Florida.

"There has to be something to the law that is beyond technicalities. One person is executed today, but the one that comes up tomorrow is not, and there really is no difference in their cases," said Justice R. Fred Lewis. "I'm struggling with the word games."

University of Florida Levin College of Law professor Teresa Reid, a death penalty expert, said she was not surprised by the Court's ruling. Many of the Justice's questions indicated they are extremely concerned about whether and how Hurst should be applied to already-decided cases, she said.

"This stay and the detailed questions they asked counsel during Tuesday's hearing demonstrate they're carefully considering the arguments presented. They're not just rubber-stamping prior decisions," Reid said.

Meanwhile, Florida's Legislature has started to address the death penalty system.

Under one new proposal, the jury would have to make a unanimous decision about whether aggravating factors warrant capital punishment, but they could also choose life in prison without parole.

Judges could only consider an aggravating factor that was unanimously found by the jury.

There is also growing support for another bill sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman that would require a unanimous verdict in order for there to be a death sentence.

"By no way is this a 100-percent finished product," committee chair Rep. Carlos Trujillo said. "At some point we will have to reconcile both bills before it goes to the governor."
Sentinel Reporter Joshua Vaughn has been selected to attend the prestigious 11th Annual H.F. Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America later this month in New York City.

Vaughn, who covers crime and courts for The Sentinel, received a John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Reporting Fellow to be one of 21 people selected to attend the symposium, which will be held at John Jay College Feb. 25-26. The fellowship covers all expenses for the event, which will include some of the countrys leading practitioners, academics and policymakers in the field of criminal justice.

I am very excited for the opportunity of being named one of the fellows, Vaughn said. When I applied for the fellowship it was largely a pipedream. Previous recipients came from the Boston Globe, NPR, L.A. Times and other major publications. While I hold The Sentinel in high esteem and am continually impressed by the work we turn out, those are some big names to go up against.

This a great tribute to Joshs drive to produce content that breaks down complex data and helps our readers, Sentinel executive Editor Jeff Pratt said. His work developing online crime data tools on Cumberlink and with his monthly digital data packages shows his dedication to reporting on stories that matter in the Carlisle community and everyones right to know what goes on in our community.

Vaughns acceptance to attend the symposium include a project he is working on as part of his year-long Digital Data story packages for The Sentinel. This story will take a look at racial disparity in policing and the criminal justice system on a more micro level, in a predominantly rural area of Cumberland County.

Through the use of public records, Vaughn will examine racial disparity in criminal, low-level non-traffic and traffic cases filed within the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System. He will gather the data is done through a PHP program utilizing elements of two other programs he helped develop for newsgathering  The Pennsylvania Docket Monitor and Docket Spy.

Vaughn is publishing one digital data crime story a month for The Sentinel in 2016, using data to break out trends in the criminal justice system in Cumberland County. His latest package ran this past weekend focussing on a year in review for Carlisle crime data.

Race and crime are hot-button issues, Vaughn said. Clearly, it has been at the forefront of the national discussion of criminal justice lately, but the conversation can quickly get bogged down by very strong emotions. Im truly hoping the symposium, and this fellowship, will help to not only better research and explore the topic of race and the criminal justice system but help better discuss the issue so a genuine dialogue can be had.

The symposium will focus on the criminal justice system in America and the increased focus over the past year for a judicial and correctional approach that has developed over decades in a system riddled by inequity and racial bias, and one that has done little to make them safer.

This years Guggenheim symposium explores both the challenges and the choices the country faces at both federal and local levels, and the important role journalists can play in advancing the national debate on criminal justice.

Vaughns fellowship will last for one year, entitling him to mentoring or research assistance from John Jay College, a criminal justice academic institution, and the colleges journalism coordinator, CMCJ associate director and award-winning crime journalist and author Joe Domanick.

The symposium covers a gambit of criminal justice issues from some of the top experts out there today, Vaughn said. The education I receive while attending should help identify new areas of the criminal justice system that can be covered and new ways to look at the criminal justice system that hopefully will expand on the coverage we already have and provide a service to readers.
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Two Orlando men have pleaded guilty in the armed carjacking and kidnapping of a federal officer at a Universal Boulevard hotel last August.

Dante Askins and Gregory McDonald, both 18, carjacked a Customs and Border Protection officer on vacation with his family in Orlando on Aug. 12, 2015, according to federal court documents.

The officer had gone down to his SUV in the parking lot of a Fairfield Inn and Suites on Universal Boulevard, when he was approached by four suspects who pointed a gun at him and demanded his keys. Askins ran up to the officer and stuck a .22-caliber revolver in his face. He, McDonald and two minors forced the officer into the backseat of the SUV and pistol-whipped him three times in the back of the head, the Middle District of Florida says.

The carjackers held the officer for two hours, driving him around bound with duct tape and zip ties and held at gunpoint, until his worried wife called OnStar, which contacted the SUV. The suspects then fled, ditching the SUV about 7 miles away from the hotel.

Askins and McDonald each face a maximum of 25 years in federal prison for the carjacking conviction and a mandatory seven years for the firearm conviction. A sentencing date has not yet been set.


The death of a Brevard County teacher who was once a finalist for the county's Teacher of the Year is hitting her school hard as investigators released more details about her apparent slaying Tuesday.

Sandra Cook was found dead in her home of a gunshot wound Monday morning. The suspect, according to police, was her estranged husband, who also took his own life.

It was a somber day Tuesday on the Rockledge High School campus as students, faculty and staff all wore blue in honor of the math teacher.

A shrine has grown in the school's quad area. The base of a shade tree has filled with flowers, cards and notes, with a picture of the beloved teacher who lost her life as the centerpiece.

"She was just like a mom to everybody," said junior Dylan McGrath, who was studying math under Cook for the first time this year. In that brief period, she said the veteran teacher took time to help her whenever she could. So much so, McGrath had an "A" in math for the first time.

She and her classmates are still shocked their favorite teacher is gone.

"It's intense, especially if you look at the situation and who did it. It's frightening," McGrath said.

Melbourne Police say that on Sunday night, Ricky Cook broke into their Chapparal Drive home, shot and killed his wife, then turned the gun on himself. The couple was going through a divorce, and he had moved out a month ago, they said.

"We were scrambling to find out what was going on," Rockledge Principal Tony Hines said.

When Cook didn't show up for school Monday morning, they notified her sister, who went to check on Cook and made the gruesome discovery.

Hines said the school was still celebrating her being recognized as a Teacher of the Year finalist just three days before.

"She was our hero, our all star," Hines said.

Melbourne Police say there were no restraining orders between the couple. They had no children together, though Cook had three from a previous marriage.

"She will always have a place in my heart. She touched a lot of lives," McGrath said.


Hundreds of Seminole County school teachers packed the countys school board meeting Tuesday night to let board members know theyre not happy with a pay increase the district is proposing.

Connie Brittain says the reason she became a teacher is very personal.

This was my dads final wish. He said to give back to the world is very important, and public education is the way to do it, said Brittain, a teacher at Lake Howell High School.

Brittain says its becoming difficult to fulfill her fathers wish and also make ends meet. She says she has to work a second job, and she says some teachers even have to work a third job to get by financially.

Brittain joined hundreds of other teachers and other Seminole County school district employees Tuesday evening who demonstrated outside the districts regular board meeting.

The school district is proposing a 2.25 percent pay increase. Thats slightly less than last years increase, which SCPS officials say was 2.36 percent.

Brittain says if anything, the increase should be going up.

If we cant even stay in the system because weve got to find other employment and were exhausted and we cant meet the needs of the kids, then were not a priority, said Brittain.

Teachers say to make matters worse, their health deductible is also going up. A school district spokeperson says health insurance costs have gone up across the board, something thats out of their control. But the spokesperson says employees have different options and dont have to stick with the health insurance plan that includes the deductible increase.

Teachers like Brittain say overall, teacher pay needs to be more of a priority.

We are an A plus school district and were proud of it. Were proud of what we bring to the Central Florida community and the state of Florida. But we cant keep it up. We need help, said Brittain.

Despite an impasse, the two sides continue to talk. In a SCPS release, district officials say they are willing to take steps that will bring both sides to a conclusion as soon as possible.
The Zika virus, which can be dangerous for unborn babies, has been transmitted through sex in the United States, health officials said Tuesday.

Up until now, only mosquitoes were thought to be transmitters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a patient in Texas is the first case of Zika acquired inside the U.S., and that it was sexually transmitted.

"Dallas County Health and Human Services has received confirmation of a Zika case associated with acquiring locally, said Dr. Christopher Perkins of Dallas County Health and Human Services. We have received confirmation that it has spread otherwise through sexual activity."

Up until now, all other U.S. cases were thought to be from travelers who were bitten by a mosquito while in Latin America and then returned to the U.S.

Also on Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported six new cases of the Zika virus in the state.

State health officials think the virus was acquired outside of Florida. It brings the total to nine travel-related cases of the Zika virus in Florida:

Miami-Dade: 4 cases

Hillsborough: 2

Lee: 2

Santa Rosa: 1

Zika has been linked to a birth disorder in newborns that results in babies born with small heads, causing severe developmental issues and sometimes death. Infected patients often report no symptoms.

The Florida Department of Health officials recommend that residents and visitors protect themselves from mosquitoes by draining standing water, covering skin with repellent and clothing and covering windows with screens. Theyre concerned mosquitos carrying the Zika virus will make their way to Florida.

The CDC says mosquitoes are still the primary vector for Zika spreading to at least 24 countries. But with this latest case in Texas, health officials are recommending partners use protection during sex.


How any female in America could support Donald Trump, the American version of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, is beyond me.

Call me old school, but I have a real problem electing a man to public office who the Washington Post reported has a Twitter feed and history of public comments describing women as a dog, fat and disgusting. Even still, some conservatives give him a pass.

I know. Were electing a president, not a pastor. Or at least thats what we hear from certain evangelical leaders who think its OK to endorse a Biblically-illiterate strip club owner who trades his wives in for newer models, as Freedom Outpost described in their January 27 column.

How about electing a president with principles, that is, assuming principles still matter?

Sure, presidents are just people who put their pants on one leg at a time like we do, but am I asking too much to have a president who has a history of keeping his pants on? Conservatives had a lot to say about Bill Clintons improprieties when he was in office and they still do. In 1994, the LA Times reported the late evangelist Jerry Falwell, Sr. marketed a video featuring an assortment of allegations involving President Clinton ranging from sexual misconduct to murder... My, how far from the tree some have fallen.

Boasting about his sexual exploits with married women in his book The Art of the Comeback, Trump bragged, If I told the real stories of my experiences with women, often seemingly very happily married and important women, this book would be a guaranteed best-seller... Trumps appeared on the Howard Stern show multiple times discussing his female conquests in a way that might even make Bill Clinton blush. Maybe.

Its odd that prominent evangelicals like Dr. Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed a man who once said he couldnt recall ever seeking Gods forgiveness, saying he just tries to make it right...I dont bring God into that picture... Its amazing these leaders actually believe an unprincipled man who seems to have no problem breaking marital vows and brags about helping married women break theirs would keep his promise to be a defender of Christianity.

Trumps decision to not participate in the Fox News-Google debate simply because he believes he was treated unfairly by a female is troubling in that it displays how terribly self-involved he is and vindictive toward whomever he perceives as his enemy. Narcissism is a huge character flaw conservatives notice in President Obama, but with Trump, not so much. America needs a leader who loves America more than he loves himself.

Given the recent evangelical Christian endorsements, its starting to get lonely out there as a believer, but I cannot in good conscience endorse Trump  even if I am the last Christian standing. Yes, I will vote, because thats my duty as an American. But I cannot endorse a man who spent his lifetime supporting progressives and espousing just about everything I dont believe, while simultaneously gaming the political system to pad his wallet. I also have grave concerns about his mean-spirited, uncontrolled speech and relentless flip-flopping.

Of course, no candidate is perfect. But some are less flawed than others. Let us remember that earthly kings and presidents will always fall short. The longing we have inside for justice and righteousness will never be satisfied by looking at another human. So look up. Seek truth and dont allow anger to overcome reason or common sense.

Even as distasteful as a Trump Presidency is for me to consider, I am reminded that Jesus, who was known as a friend of sinners, would seek an audience with Donald Trump to remind him that there is a reason why it is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than a rich man to find peace with God. If Trump found that peace, he might be unstoppable.

Susan Stamper Brown is a recovering political pundit from Alaska who does her best to make sense of current day events using her faith. Her columns are syndicated by CagleCartoons.com. Email her at writestamper@gmail.com.
After years of hype, trendy low-cost carrier Virgin America finally began flying from its base in San Francisco to Hawaii three months ago.

Apparently the new flights have been a success. On Tuesday, Virgin America announced that it will start flying to Hawaii from its other main focus city -- Los Angeles -- beginning in early May. This confirms informal plans CEO David Cush laid out almost a year ago.

Virgin America enters Hawaii

Virgin America launched daily service from San Francisco to Honolulu in early November, followed by daily service from San Francisco to Maui in early December. With these new routes, Virgin America aimed to take advantage of its loyal customer base in the Bay Area and strong travel demand to Hawaii.

Virgin America began flying to Hawaii in November. Source: Virgin America.

Virgin America picked a good time to enter the Hawaii market. Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings recently reported that West Coast-Hawaii airline capacity growth slowed in the second half of 2015 following more than a year of double-digit growth.

This favorable environment allowed Hawaiian to post unit revenue growth in the domestic market during Q4, something not many airlines have managed in the past few quarters. Hawaiian Airlines' management also noted that as of late January, West Coast-Hawaii industry capacity was scheduled to rise just 5% in Q1 and then decline 1% year over year in Q2.

New flights on the way

Virgin America's new Los Angeles-Honolulu flights are scheduled to take off in early May, followed by Los Angeles-Maui flights in mid-June. This is just when West Coast-Hawaii industry capacity trends will probably be at their most favorable point, based on Hawaiian Airlines' analysis.

In fact, capacity trends in the Los Angeles-Hawaii market already look very promising. In December, airlines offered 4.7% fewer seats from Los Angeles to Hawaii than they did a year earlier, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. For Honolulu and Maui specifically, the declines were 7.1% and 8%, respectively.

Virgin America will still face plenty of competition -- from both Hawaiian Airlines and all three legacy carriers -- in both of its Los Angeles-Hawaii markets. However, Virgin America has faced a similar competitive environment for its flights to New York for nearly a decade. Yet those are its most lucrative routes.

Virgin America's attractive product allows it to thrive in competitive markets. Photo: Virgin America.

The new Los Angeles routes will also allow Virgin America to offer better connecting flights to Hawaii. For example, customers can take early morning flights from several Virgin America cities and connect in Los Angeles to the 10:35 a.m. flight to Honolulu. By contrast, the San Francisco-Honolulu flight leaves too early to carry much connecting traffic.

Furthermore, Virgin America has retimed its San Francisco-Maui flights to depart in the evening every day. Originally, this route had an early morning departure three days a week, meaning that connections were only feasible four days a week. Offering more connecting opportunities to both Honolulu and Maui will be especially valuable for keeping planes full during the off-peak season this fall.

Expecting solid earnings growth

In 2015, Virgin America produced higher unit revenue growth than most of its competitors. A few tailwinds should enable it to maintain this outperformance in 2016. Competition in the key New York-San Francisco and New York-Los Angeles markets is easing. Competitive capacity trends in Dallas also appear favorable. Additionally, new revenue management tools are driving ancillary revenue growth.

Virgin America's decision to start flying from Los Angeles to Hawaii suggests that the San Francisco-Hawaii routes have performed well so far. This strength in Hawaii is just one more reason to expect Virgin America to post a strong unit revenue performance in 2016 -- which could do wonders for its stock price.

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The article Virgin America, Inc. Expands in Hawaii originally appeared on Fool.com.

Copyright  1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SAN ANTONIO  A man suspected of leaving his wrecked car in the side of a home he crashed into Tuesday night was arrested on multiple charges following the accident.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was speeding on Gus Garcia around 11:30 p.m. when he slammed into the house, police said.
SAN ANTONIO  Five men and one teen suspected of involvement in a string of robberies in Seguin, San Antonio and surrounding areas have been arrested on multiple robbery charges.

According to the Seguin Police Department, Shane Davis, 20, Jacob Zepeda, 18, Justin Davis, 20, Dillon Shane, 18, Chance Lewis, 17, and an unidentified 16-year-old male have been linked to multiple crimes in the area, including the robbery of the historic Magnolia Hotel on Jan. 19.
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As the Texas Revolution was tearing across the land, developments in early photography were making headlines across the globe. Within five years of the Battle of San Jacinto, hundreds of photographers were traveling into Texas to capture images of the legendary frontier.

The above gallery showcases some of the first photographs of San Antonio with the original descriptions.

Henry A. Doerr (1822-1885), the most prolific photographer of 19th-century San Antonio, arrived in the city around 1865 by way of Kentucky. An immigrant from Prussia, Doerr went into business photographing scenes around San Antonio and selling them as stereographic cards to tourists. The stereograph, an early stepping stone to virtual reality, was a trendy novelty at the time. A card with two near-identical photographs produced a three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope.

RELATED: This photo of the Alamo is the oldest known image of Texas

Over the years, Doerr operated several studios and galleries along Commerce Street. He partnered with Samuel E. Jacobson in the 1870s, and they produced a series of stereographs around the Alamo City: "Scenes on the San Antonio River," "Street Life in San Antonio," and "Views in and Around San Antonio."

Doerr generated more photographic work than any of his contemporaries in San Antonio, and it's his work that authors Peter E. Palmquist and Thomas R. Kailbourn credit for making San Antonio "the best-photographed city in Texas during the 19th century" (Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide: A Biographical Dictionary, 1839-1865).

RELATED: Book illustrates San Antonio when plazas, saloons ruled

One of Doerr's contemporaries was Frank Hardesty of the San Antonio View Company. Although his photographs pop up in library collections, little is written about him.

Hardesty's stereographic images, along with those of Doerr and Jacobsen, are part of the Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views preserved in the New York Public Library and recently published online to the NYPL Digital Collection.

From a primitive Alamo Plaza to the lush, and practically untouched San Antonio River, these are some of the earliest photographed scenes. One of the first, if not the first, photographs of San Pedro Park dates back to 1876-79. Scenes from the streets include a busy breakfast on Military Plaza and and the time-honored "chili queens." There are wispy images of the rugged San Fernando Cathedral, Mission San Jose and Mission Concepcion.

The scenes captured in the above stereographic photos reflect the history buff's delight San Antonio has since become.

jmscott@mysa.com
Republican presidential candidate and second-place-finisher Donald Trump was nominated by an anonymous American elected official for the Nobel Peace Prize for his vigorous peace through strength ideology, according to media reports.

Trump joins the ranks of nominees including Pope Francis, the Afghan women's cycling team and a Yazidi woman who escaped living as a sex slave for ISIS to spearhead a campaign for women abused by the radical terrorism group, according to CBS News.
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The domino effect from last years mayoral race  which attracted two lawmakers as candidates  and a couple of unrelated retirements have sparked an unusual number of legislative contests in Bexar Countys Democratic primary.

In all, four Bexar County seats in the Texas House have resulted in contested Democratic primaries.

In Texas House District 116, three Democrats are vying for their partys nomination to replace state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who is vacating the post to run for the Texas Senate.

The three contenders are Diana Arevalo, Martin Golando and Ruby Resendez. All three have the potential to be solid public servants, but Golando has far more relevant experience than the others. And for that reason, we recommend that voters cast their ballots for Golando.

Serving as Martinez Fischers chief of staff for almost 10 years, Golando has a vast amount of experience in the legislative process that will enable him to hit the ground running. A lawyer, Golando has served as the general counsel of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, which was led by Martinez Fischer.

Golando has been through many legislative battles, and has developed an impressive expertise in policy and procedure.

Winning the District 116 nomination is tantamount to election because Republicans did not field a candidate.

In District 118, Gabe Farias and Tomas Uresti are seeking the Democratic nomination to the seat vacated last year by former Rep. Joe Farias, Gabe Farias father. Uresti is the brother of Sen. Carlos Uresti.

Both were candidates in a special election to fill the unexpired term, which was won by Republican John Lujan. The winner of the November general election will serve a full term beginning next year.

We strongly urge Democrats to nominate Farias, who has served as president and CEO of the West Side Chamber of Commerce since 2012. Farias has an understanding of business issues that will be helpful in the Legislature. He also has served on the staff of two City Council members and worked in the office of state Rep. Roland Gutierrez.

Additionally, Farias demonstrates a superior knowledge of key legislative matters, advocates expanding Medicaid and is a strong supporter of public education.

The Democratic nominee will face the winner of the GOP primary contest between Lujan and Robert A. Casias.

Former state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendons decision not to return to Austin for health reasons has spawned a crowded race in District 120. The six-candidate contest features several strong contenders and likely will end in a runoff. The field includes LaTronda Darnell, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, Art Hall, Byron Miller, Lou Miller and Mario Salas.

We recommend that voters cast their ballots for Byron Miller, an Edwards Aquifer Authority board member who has been elected to the EAA District 2 post three times. Millers EAA experience gives him a strong foundation to be a voice for Bexar County on water policy, which is a crucial issue in the state.

Miller is a lifelong resident of District 120 and has a long record of civic involvement, ranging from being a Boy Scoutmaster to serving on the Carver Cultural Center and Witte Museum boards. Miller also served on the Bexar County Coliseum Advisory board.

No Republican is seeking the District 120 post.

In District 124, we strongly recommend Ina Minjarez, who last spring was elected to the post formerly held by Sen. Jose Menendez with only weeks remaining in the legislative session. Minjarez is being challenged by political newcomer Sergio Contreras.

Minjarez immediately dived into the legislative process, becoming co-sponsor of numerous bills and showing a particular interest in legislation helping veterans. Minjarez has earned a full term in the job.

A Bexar County prosecutor for a decade, Minjarez offers an impressive understanding of a wide variety of issues and brings welcome professionalism to the job. She has the polish and skill to become a star in Bexar Countys legislative delegation, which has been diminished by the numerous departures of the last two years.

The winner of the District 124 Democratic primary will not face a Republican challenger in November.

Early voting in the primary elections begins Feb. 16 and will continue through Feb. 26. March 1 is the official election day.
Big bad Donald Trump is going to force Vladimir Putin to back down when he meets him. Right, but he couldnt even face Megyn Kelly; he ran away.

Quite the leader, right?

Robert D. Schneider, Universal City

On the offensive

Im not a Fox News fan or any cable-news echo-chamber fan. And Im not a Megyn Kelly fan. I do, however, know offensive, sexist behavior when I see it, and Donald Trump is the rarest, most perfect example Ive ever seen.

No, Im no Megyn Kelly fan, but I dont hate or despise her. I hate and despise what Trump espouses. Id vote against him if he were the only man running. Better yet, Id vote for Megyn Kelly if she were to run against him. Maybe Ill write her in. She has class and dignity, which Trump couldnt have if he spent the rest of his life trying to acquire it.

Valerie Overstreet

Language of civility

Re: Diplomacy really isnt a dirty word, Editorial, Jan. 25:

What a wonderful view your Editorial Board has expressed. Thank you so much. It made my day, and I dont have that many left, as I am 95 years old!

Marjorie Grigorieff

Money talks

Re: Mega donors bolster tea party, front page, Jan. 22:

One living in Joe Straus district must wonder what the advantage of voting for a candidate supported by Farris Wilks is. Surely, a candidate who received that much money from one person should feel beholden during the next session. Why would a Wilks candidate feel any obligation to his district?

More important, why would someone vote to remove Straus from office, when he is at least the second-most important elected officer in the state? Does Straus district truly need someone more conservative?

Were making strides to solve water problems, eliminating the need for toll roads, working to continually improve public education, and saving money at the same time. What does a tea party candidate bring to the district, someone beholden to people who dont even live in that district, period?

Craig Bell

Health care burden

Re: Uresti brothers split on Planned Parenthood funds, Gilbert Garcia, Jan. 24:

Thank you for highlighting an often unstated piece of significant information! You cited Sen. Carlos Urestis position regarding Planned Parenthood. The senator opposes the defunding of Planned Parenthood and said, Planned Parenthood does a whole lot more than provide for an abortion. Over 90 percent of their services are things like preventive and prenatal care.

Thank you, Sen. Uresti, for your position.

I lost my health care when my husband lost his job, and I cannot afford health care offered by my employer because it would deplete 35 percent of my monthly paycheck, significant since I am now the breadwinner of the family. I rely on Planned Parenthood for my health care screenings.

To diminish what Planned Parenthood does sorely misses the mark of what a 100-year-old institution brings to the community and nationwide. I only wish others in Texas would look at the other side of the picture instead of letting personal beliefs get in the way of womens health care.

For those whom my comment applies to, please stay out of the way unless you would like to cover my medical expenses!

Nancy Trevino

Political buffoonery

It is time that someone said Enough! to the political theatrics and utter buffoonery of candidates at all levels who wave banners as true conservatives while spouting ethnic slurs, tossing insults at American allies, hurling invective at those holding differing opinions, and gushing regressive nonsense about public policy.

These buffoons somehow manage to lead many American voters hypnotically, Pied Piper-like, on a road leading ... nowhere. How can sensible Americans be gulled into fawning over the rants and reactionary garbage served up like swill?

A genuine conservative respects others, does not spew invective on people of different backgrounds, and recognizes the need for thoughtful change. Some presidential candidates  and many other candidates at lesser levels of government  appear one step shy of book-burning and torchlight marches.

If Americans wish to avoid sinking into a dark abyss of government by ignorance, intolerance and invective, we should abandon all politicians who prance around as true conservatives, and seek instead representatives who respect the traditional politics of courtesy, compromise and consensus.

G.L. Lamborn

When No. 1 is bad

Lets hear it for Gov. Greg Abbott. On election night, he promised to keep Texas No. 1, and he has kept that promise. Unfortunately, Texas is leading the nation only in the number of people with no health insurance and almost leading in the number of people living below the poverty level.

And lets not overlook another accomplishment. Abbott is staunchly sustaining the legacies of Govs. George W. Bush and Rick Perry by keeping Texas last, or nearly last, in education, public health and environmental protection.

What a man! Its no wonder the Republican Party is so proud of him.

Thomas Lee

Reverse psychology

I took down my Rebel flag (which you cant buy on eBay any more) and peeled the NRA sticker off the front door.

I disconnected my home alarm system and quit the lame neighborhood watch. I bought two Pakistani flags and put one at each corner of the front yard. Then I purchased the black flag of ISIS (which you can buy on eBay) and put it in the center of the yard.

Now the local police, sheriff, FBI, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, Secret Service and other agencies are watching my house 24/7. Ive never felt safer, and Im saving money each month.

Robert Richter, Seagoville
Youve chosen sides for the big game, now its time to choose your beer. While Denver and Charlotte have some great breweries, why not toast the great brewing tradition of this years host city? If you were lucky enough to be there, youd no doubt be enjoying the wonderful cold beverages brewed in the San Francisco area.

Anchor Brewing Co. is one of San Franciscos best-known breweries, with a history that dates back to the California Gold Rush. Beloved far and wide, Anchor produces an array of exceptional beers, many of which sport 90+ point ratings from beer bibles like Beer Advocate. First brewed in 1975 to celebrate the centennial of Paul Reveres ride, Anchor Liberty Ale was the first modern American IPA produced after Prohibition. Crisp with a terrific hoppy bitterness, its the perfect beer for kick-off.
GlobeIn Artisan Box

4.1 overall rating

271 Ratings | 81 Reviews

The theme for the upcoming GlobeIn February 2016 Box is Rise and Shine! (Thanks for the head's up, Kristin!) And here is the latest spoiler:

Each Rise & Shine Artisan Box will come with...

1) Olive Wood Spatula by Le Souk Olivique from Tunisia (Retail $10).

Le Souk Olivique, a Tunisian wood-working studio is responsible for creating both your spatula and wood spreader (see below), and for generally being a saving grace to young Tunisian artisans affected by a failing economy. The 2007 world financial crisis lead to the closure of many Tunisian textile factories that exported to the European market. Mouna Maamouri, age 36, worked in a textile factory that shut down, compromising her and her husbands ability to provide for their four children.

Enter Le Souk. The company hired Mouna in 2014 to help with the process of oiling wooden kitchen implements, such as your spatula. After the piece has been cut and sanded, Mouna dunks it into a tub of Le Souks special finishing oil made of mineral oil, paraffin wax, and beeswax. Ahh how smooth it feels, family life dunked in the warm hug of financial stability.

Suggested use: Pancakes...flip em!

2) Olive Wood Spreader by Le Souk Olivique from Tunisia (Retail $7).

Your olive wood spreader is hand carved by Tarik Tlili, who joined Le Souk in 2013, after he lost his job at a furniture factory in Nabeul in 2013 when the factory shut down (sadly, not a unique story in post-revolution Tunisia).

Particularly deft at using the machinery to create curves and round pieces, Tareks steady hand is responsible for your new knifes delicate slope. Meanwhile, his alliance with Le Souk has carved a quiet prosperity into his and his familys future.

Suggested use: Spread something soft and delicious onto something warm and crisp...

And here is the first spoiler:

The Argan Project Amlou Argan Almond Butter

From GlobeIn:

Imagine a potent oil, packed with rich stores of vitamin E and essential fatty acids, delivering substantial health and beauty benefits, especially to the skin. The oil pools inside tiny kernels deep inside the fruit of a tree whose deep roots stretch into the soil of southwestern Morocco. Meet the argan tree and its oil, argan oil. Meet Arganams, a womens cooperative in the small town of Amskroude dedicated since 2012 to a twofold purpose: organizing within a shared production facility to improve their economic prospects and sharing the secrets of argan oil with the world. Meet Fatima, the eldest woman working with the co-op. Illiterate and innumerate, Fatima does not know her exact age, but she knows intimately the 20-hour process of sustainably harvesting the argan fruits, then roasting and pressing their kernels for the rich, nutty oil. Having grown up with brothers and working as a shepherd, Fatima is grateful to have the opportunity to spend her day in the company of other women. Suggested use: Meet your very own jar of argan almond oil. Say hello to it on a piece of hearty toast topped with a fruit of your choice.

What do you think of the latest spoilers?

Also, if youre thinking of signing up, use coupon code WELCOME to save 25% off the first month of a 3-month subscription.
Lenovo A7000 Turbo is the latest upgrade of the impressive A7000 smartphone that was unveiled earlier last year. This device comes with a better display, an octa-core processor, newer software, 4G LTE connectivity and Dolby Atmos audio for a more enjoyable user experience.

Where to Buy Lenovo Phones Jumia.com.ngfrom 14,995.00 Buy Now

Konga.comfrom 13,700.00 Buy Now

Build and Display

In terms of look, nothing significant has changed between this smartphone and the original Lenovo A7000. The thickness is virtually the same at 8 millimetres, but this one tips the scale at 150 grams.

Lenovo A7000 Turbo packs a 5.5-inch OGS IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The touchscreen offers viewing angles of up to 178 degrees ensuring immersive viewing with a high pixel density of 401 ppi.

Camera and Storage

The A7000 Turbo packs a robust 13-megapixel Omnivision camera with an f/2.0 aperture, 5-element lens and dual-LED flash on the rear. For selfies, you get another 5-megapixel Omnivision front-facing snapper with an f/2.2 aperture size.

Built-in storage has a decent capacity of 16 GB, which should cater to the needs of basic users. You will be able to another 32 GB using a microSD card.

Power and Performance

Lenovo A7000 Turbo is driven by a powerful MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor pacing along at speeds of up to 1.7 GHz. This robust CPU is assisted in its task by decent RAM of 2GB capacity which should boost the level of multitasking you should rightly expect the phablet to support.

However, the fact that the device still runs Android 5.0 Lollipop OS may be considered a tad disappointing. The software is overlaid with Vibe UI 2.0 skin. The handset is accompanied by a 2900mAh battery, similar to the one on the original Lenovo A7000, but based on Li-Ion technology.

Miscellaneous Specs and Features

Comparable to the original phablet, the Lenovo A7000 Turbo is designed to pump out rich sound, thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Atmos audio technology. Its Chinese maker promises users awesome 360-degree sound experience.

The phablet comes with dual-SIM slots and supports 4G LTE connectivity. MicroUSB 2.0 with on-the-go (OTG) support, Bluetooth 3.0 + 4.1 LE, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi hotspot are also available for connectivity.

Pricing and Availability

Lenovo A7000 Turbo is not yet available in Nigeria. When available, you can buy it at leading online stores in the country. Lenovo A7000 Turbo Price in Nigeria is expected to range from N35,000 to N45,000 depending on your location in Nigeria.
India, Brunei ink three MoUs

Published: February 3, 2016

India and Brunei have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the fields of defence, health and youth affairs & sports.

These MoUs were signed the representatives of both the countries in presence of the visiting Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari at capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

Three MoUs are

MoU in Health Cooperation: Its objective is to establish cooperation in the field of health between the two countries by means of pooling technical, scientific, financial and human resources and pharmaceutical regulatory practices. It also seeks to upgrade the health care, research and medical education.

Its objective is to establish cooperation in the field of health between the two countries by means of pooling technical, scientific, financial and human resources and pharmaceutical regulatory practices. It also seeks to upgrade the health care, research and medical education. MoU on Defence Cooperation: Its purpose is to enhance and expand the scope of Defence Cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Its purpose is to enhance and expand the scope of Defence Cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Defence ties between India and Brunei dates back to many decades and already exist in the form of naval ship visits, training of senior military officers in Staff colleges and exchange of experience.

MoU on Cooperation in Youth and Sports Affairs: It seeks to provide a framework for exchanges of sports teams and sports persons.

It seeks to provide a framework for exchanges of sports teams and sports persons. It also seeks to facilitate the exchange of expertise in coaching, Sports Management and Administration, Sports talent identification and exchange of information in the field of youth Affairs.

The key agenda of Vice Presidents visit was to decide upon the specifics of defence cooperation, health sector tie up and establishing a gas-based urea manufacturing unit by India in Brunei. He also met the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah who has agreed to pay an official visit to India in the near future.

Comment

The defence agreement between both countries is being considered as a major diplomatic breakthrough since both sides established formal relations in 1984.

Currently, oil rich Bruneis defence responsibilities are handled by the United Kingdom.

Indias defence cooperation with Brunei plays significant role in present scenario as the later has territorual disputes with China on the issue of South China Sea.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2016

Topics: Current Affairs 2016  Defence  Health  India-Brunei  Sports

Latest E-Books
Also known as the Moto Droid Turbo 2, the Moto X Force is Motorolas latest flagship smartphone which could be considered an upgraded version of the Moto X Style. The phone features a highly durable design, brilliant Quad HD AMOLED display, powerful cameras and an octa-core processor.

Where to Buy Mobile Phones Jumia.com.ng from 14,995.00 Buy Now

Design and Display

You may not be completely wrong if you describe Motorola Moto X Force as a smaller Moto X Style  they are that identical. The device features an attractive design with a metal frame, rounded corners and slightly curved back with customisable options, including plastic, wood, leather and resin.

It flaunts a stunning 5.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The main selling point of the Moto X Force is the awesome durability it promises through what is called ShatterShield technology.

The screen features five different layers of protection, including an aluminium core and an interior glass. Motorola describes it as the worlds first shatterproof smartphone display.

Camera and Storage

Motorola Moto X Force packs the same impressive pair of cameras as the Moto X Style  a 21-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The main shooter has an f/2.0 lens, dual LED flash and autofocus. It can be used to record high-resolution 4K videos.

The front-facing camera also features an f/2.0 aperture and flash for great selfies, even in low-light conditions. The phone will come in 32GB and 64GB storage versions, with the internal storage expandable by up to a whopping 2 TB via a microSD card slot.

You may also be interested in Motorola Nexus 6 Specs

Power and Performance

Armed with a robust octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, Motorola Moto X Force is configured for solid and highly responsive performance. The chip is supported by ample 3 GB of RAM.

The smartphone will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box and its maker has promised the OS will be upgradeable to the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow sometime in the future.

Power is supplied to the Moto X Force by a large battery with a capacity of about 3740 mAh  supposedly capable of supporting two days of use.

The cell also a fast charging feature that allows you get enough juice to last you up to 13 hours of use in just 15 minutes of charging.

Pricing and Availability

Motorola Moto X Force is not yet available in Nigeria. When available, you can buy it at leading online stores in the country. Motorola Moto X Force Price in Nigeria is expected to range from N90,000 to N130,000 depending on your location in Nigeria.
The New York Times, despite its fealty to the Clinton camp, caught its operatives at a vulnerable moment as the Iowa caucus results rolled in. And the picture that emerges is consistent with that of Hillary herself: elitist, out of touch with the needs of actual voters and presumptuous about what it ought to take to win them over.

The story, Hillary Clinton Campaign, Unnerved by Iowa, Braces for New Hampshire, at points reads like self-parody. And you can see similarly rattled nerves elsewhere. Brookings, which likes to depict itself as detached, had as its lead story in its AM email, How Hillary Can Move Past Iowa, with the subhead, After Iowa, Hillary should take advice from the West Wing and skip New Hampshire. Sounds a tad desperate, no?

Well go through the New York Times story in detail. The opening paragraphs depict Clinton staff and supporters expecting a comfortable win of several percentage points and Clinton having prepared only a victory speech that focused on Republicans. As the results streamed in, the mood darkened:

The outcome in Iowa  which at least until Tuesday afternoon appeared to be effectively a tie with a far left senator from a small New England state  dealt a jolting psychological blow to the Clinton campaign, leaving volunteers, donors and aides confused throughout the night, and then crestfallen. They had hoped that the former secretary of state would garner a decisive victory here and put to rest any doubts about her strength as a candidate.

You can see the Clinton blind spots on display. The former secretary of state isnt merely elegant variation in drafting. The Clinton machine has been unwilling to see Sanders as more than an upstart, even as his gains in polling have been showing otherwise. They are invested in the SS Clinton: Hillary as national, indeed international figure for over two decades, versus Sanders as a pol from a the frosty hinterlands. And far left translates into unsound and unable to get big corporate backing.

In fact, as NC commentor Richard Kline pointed out in 2012, these supposed far left positions are in fact middle of the road. The elites in the US have managed to get away with governing well to the right of the center of political gravity in this country via election bait-and-switch (Obama being a particularly vivid case study) and adept messaging to make policies sound more average-voter-friendy than the really were. From his post, Progressively Losing:

.lets dispense with several basic misconceptions regarding why progressives are presently so unsuccessful.

Progressive goals are not popular. Even with the systematically distorted polling data of the present, this is demonstrably untrue. Inexpensive health care, progressive taxation, educational scholarship funding, curtailment of foreign wars, environmental protection among others never fail to command majority support. It is difficult to think of a major progressive policy which commands less than a plurality. This situation is one reason for the lazy reliance upon electioneering by progressives, they know that their issues are popular, in principle at least. Rather childishly, they just want a show of hands then, as if that is what goes on really in elections.

Now one might wonder why Sanders has been able to overturn this sorry history of progressive (for want of a better term) failure. I dont pretend to have a definitive answer, but these factors appear to go on the list:

In the words of the more famous Clinton, Its the economy, stupid. Bill said that the most important responsibility of Democrats was to generate jobs. Obama blew that duty off, resulting in large-scale erosion of the Democratic seats in Congress, large of Blue Dog Democrats aligned closely with Obama. Sanders, as a dissident within the party, can effectively call out the party for failing to live up to its brand promise. Media fragmentation. The old assumption that you can buy the presidency with a billion dollar of ad spending may no longer hold. News and information consumption is far more fragmented, which makes getting ad messages in front of a broad range of voters more challenging. And thats likely to be even truer of young voters, who are likely to be less attached to mainstream media brands as validators than older voters. The menu is not the meal.. As Lambert likes to say of Hillary, The dogs wont eat the dog food. Let us face it: Sanders is not exactly a compelling politician. But he has an extremely compelling message, and he keeps hammering at it. By contrast, the implicit message of Team Hillary is that the public should trust her for her supposedly broad experience, and for women, for representing womens interests. Ive been put off by Hillarys repeated references in the debates to I have a plan and John Cassidy makes a broader observation along those lines: Speaking on CNN as it got late, David Axelrod, President Obamas former campaign manager, made an acute point. One of Hillarys problems is that her campaign is largely about herher experience, her electability, and her toughness. I will keep doing what I have done my entire life, she said in her non-victory speech. I will keep standing up for you. I will keep fighting for you. Sanders, on the other hand, rarely mentions himself in his speeches. His campaign is all about his message of taking America back from the billionaires. And, as Axelrod pointed out, it is often easier to inspire people, particularly young people, with an uplifting theme than with a resume And that resume, despite having lots of glitzy titles on it, has either no or negative accomplishment associated with these roles. Plus its hard to buy the notion that she will keep standing up for anyone other than her monied backers. And shes not likeable. She projects as hard and cold. Sanders is not warm and fuzzy, but hes at least sincere, so he beats Hillary in that category, save for voters who come from a social strata that predisposes them towards technocratic sheen. Elitism and entitlement. Clinton is having trouble faking being a woman of the people. From the New York Times: Mrs. Clinton re-entered politics last spring after four years as secretary of state, noticeably rusty after her time away from the trail. Although she improved as a retail politician over 10 months of campaigning, in the end, to many voters, she could appear detached, too shrouded in layers of staff and security. On her trip to the Iowa State Fair in August, Mrs. Clintons staff and security team had mapped out a route so she could admire the prizewinning stalks of corn, see an exhibit on agriculture and pick up a pork-chop-on-a-stick before climbing into a black S.U.V. to catch a private flight to Marthas Vineyard. These arent the only off-putting incidents. Recall the widely-reported incident where she walked through a town with a big cordon around her? The resulting videos were of someone who didnt want anywhere in her vicinity. Or how about the recent story in Iowa, where she showed up two hours late for a rally, gave a mere five minute canned speech, and wasnt apologetic? Anyone on a campaign is going to have the occasional bad moment, but hers are far too frequent, particularly for someone who knows the Presidential campaign drill. The movie The Big Short and the upheaval in the financial markets. The public is getting an in-its-face reminder that Wall Street wrecked the economy, got bailed out at public expense, and got away with it. Needless to say, Clinton is uncomfortably close to Wall Street. Corruption. As lawyers like to say, res ipsa loquitur.

Its also not a good sign for the supposedly professional Clinton campaign machine that they misread the state of play in Iowa badly enough to be convinced of a win. Or worse, was this entitlement syndrome preventing key staffers from presenting an accurate picture, meaning warnings? And the article points out that there were demands to demote Robby Mook, her young data-driven campaign manager. A spokesperson denied that any change was in the offing. But Mook appears to be in a shaky position, and mid-course changes in campaign staffing (or de facto changes by bringing more points of view into decision-making) often make matters worse rather than better by creating more inside-the-tent power struggles and making it harder to implement action plans.

The Clinton campaign tries to understand, or dangerously, rationalize, what happened:

The question the Clinton campaign confronts is whether the first two states are simply demographically unfriendly to Mrs. Clinton, as many analysts believe, or whether her lack of connection so far in Iowa and New Hampshire indicates a deeper shakiness underlying her candidacy.

As Li put it, Yes, they were demographically unfriendly. They were people.

More accurately, the Clinton camp is trying to see the failure as a white state issue, when the real story is a split by age group, with an unheard of 60+ point advantage to Sanders in the under 29 year old group and the preferences shifting in close to linear manner among older age cohorts. And quelle horreur, Sanders made inroads in Iowa among Hispanics.

And the supposedly sure-footed Bill is apparently unable to see that Hillarys problem is a policy and credibility problem, no doubt at least in part because he was the architect of the policy changes that sold out the middle class, policies he has continued to represent to great personal profit at the Clinton Foundation. Again from the New York Times article:

Former President Clinton had been among those who have attributed his wifes poor performance more to her campaigns muddled strategy and lack of a clear message than to Mrs. Clintons own failings.

This is nonsense. The problems with Hillarys branding are very much problems with Bills branding: that of having implemented pro-finance, pro-multinational policies that (with the help of the Internet tail wind) produced the economic equivalent of a sugar high and left the middle class with a case of diabetes. The muddled messaging results from Sanders having dented the inevitability myth, forcing Hillary to get out of tissue paper and out in the open, and discuss policy positions, where her barmy claim that she wants to be a President for everyone is not holding up to the light of day. The increased awareness of income inequality, a point Sanders pounds relentlessly, means you cant credibly be a candidate for the 1%, particularly the 0.1%, and everyone else.

In fact, Brand Clinton is not what is used to be:

Mr. Sanders drew three times as many people as Mr. Clinton as the two men held dueling rallies last Wednesday night.

Mind you, this isnt even the full list of Hillarys shortcomings. The article finishes with this one:

Some 47 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said that they felt Mrs. Clinton said what voters wanted to hear, rather than what she believed. Sixty-two percent said they believed Mr. Sanders said what he thought, according to a New York Times-CBS poll released Nov. 12.

If anything, the picture is worse than that. Clintons favorability ratings have kept falling the more she has campaigned. Gallup released on the eve of the Iowa caucus that Sanders had just moved in front of her in terms of net favorability among Democrats. And many polls show that Sanders outdoes Hillary among independents.

Now with all of that said, the Clintons hope to turn things around in Nevada (another caucus state) and most important, South Carolina, which will supposedly demonstrate that black (and by extension, other minority voters) represent her firewall. But some Democrats are starting to question that too:

Yes, they have a firewall, but how much asbestos is really in that firewall? asked Robert Shrum, a strategist for Democratic presidential candidates, including Al Gore, Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry. Do people start to take a second look?

Indeed, as of about two weeks ago, Clintons approval ratings among black voters in South Carolina had fallen from 79% to 54%. As of then, Sanders had not turned this decline into conversions to his campaign, but small focus groups suggest those voters are receptive to his message. So South Carolina could be more in play than it appears on the surface.

However, Clinton still has two huge advantages that this article fails to mention. The first is the control that she has obtained over the Democratic party apparatus. She has a lock on the superdelegates unless Sanders makes big inroads quickly and undermines her legitimacy as a candidate. The second is that the Clintons are famously ruthless. Obama has been charged in two independently produced movies of stealing the Texas caucus. Its not hard to imagine the Clintons, if they started to feel desperate, are capable of doing that and more.

So while Sanders has done a fabulous job of exceeding expectations in going from a quixotic outsider to a real contender, he still has an uphill battle before him. One can only hope that the more Hillary is forced to show her true colors as a result of the unexpected Sanders challenge, the more voters realize that even more than most politicians, she is out only for herself.
Ships noise is serious problem for killer whales and dolphins, report finds Guardian (Jeff W)

Researchers find birds can theorize about the minds of others, even those they cannot see PhysOrg

Rescued Baby Orphans Keep Cozy With Stuffed Animals The Dodo (furzy)

The causes of selfie-related fatalities Boing Boing (resilc). Wow, this is a category?

First U.S. Zika virus transmission reported, attributed to sex Reuters

Zika: Outbreak worse than predicted because virus has no symptoms, warns Brazilian health minister Independent

Japan Goes Negative

China?

Thwarting the European hegemon as sterling wilts amid Brexit fears Telegraph. Here the famously Euroskeptic Torygraph is acting like the dog that is scared it will actually catch the car.

Refugee Crisis

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

The West Is Traveling The Road To Economic Ruin Paul Craig Roberts. Teejay: Devastating commentary. The Peoples Campaign: The Real Hastert Case- All in One Place Boiling Frogs Post. The text is a bit overwrought but the video is well presented. From Chuck L: You may recall that in the wake of 9/11 Sibel Edmonds, a young Turkish American woman, responded to a public appeal from the FBI for people who were fluent in Middle Eastern languages. Very soon after she was hired she listened to tapes of wiretaps that indicated serious wrong-doing involving very high levels of the US government. When she sought to shine light on what she had learned she was silenced with some of the most draconian gag restrictions ever applied. For nearly fifteen years now she has kept digging and working to get the story out. She has now assembled connections to the story in one place at the link above. If nothing else, people should click on the first video, and overview that is 16 minute long. Micro Drones, Arsenal Plane, Railguns Funded in New Defense Budget Military.com

2016

Pharma Executives Worry About Presidential Candidates Demanding Reform Intercept (resilc). They should have realized getting greedy could lead to blowback.

What Happens to Farmers Interests After Everyone Packs Up and Leaves Iowa? Charles Pierce, Esquire

US immigrations electoral impact: New evidence VoxEU

Flint

Police State Watch

Angry White Men

Watch: Oregon militant challenges Chris Christie to sumo wrestling to end standoff OregonLive. Chuck L: The video is hilarious!

Fed

Global gas market braced for price war Financial Times

Dimon-led governance project a tough sell Financial Times. Yet more proof of the diminished stature of CalPERS. Its experience with corporate activism is that it was profitable. And these players are all conflicted by wanting corporate 401 (k) business. No acknowledgment of that. But the piece does point out why Dimon is not a very credible salesman for this idea.

Baby boomers retirements could cripple professions like air traffic controller, farmer, and geriatrician. Slate (resilc)

Guillotine Watch

Martin Shkreli All but Gloated Over Huge Drug Price Increases, Memos Show New York Times

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Chet G:

Attached is a photo of an eastern screech owl sitting in its tree hole (taken on Sunday). Whether you consider the tree or the owl, the camouflage is wonderful. (Ive been occasionally photographing the owl in its home going back to February 2012, and it is always a pleasure to see it there: http://www.lookoutnow.com/feeder/owl02.htm

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Bruno Air Conditioning owner Louis Bruno stands for a portrait outside the business in Bonita Springs on Monday, January 4, 2016. Bruno, along with his team, has created a new sensor that can help alert customers of problems with their heating and cooling, water issues, and other household issues. (Scott McIntyre/Staff)

SHARE Louis Bruno is seen in portrait Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at Bruno Air in Bonita Springs, Fla. (Corey Perrine/Staff)

By Laura Layden of the Naples Daily News

As he's grown his air conditioning business in Bonita Springs, Louis Bruno admits he's made mistakes along the way.

In part, he blames his mistakes on growing pains.

On most consumer review websites, from Google+ to Angie's List to Yelp, his company, Bruno Air Conditioning, has top ratings and high grades. There are hundreds of glowing reviews made by happy customers, giving it four and five stars. But his company hasn't always met its customer satisfaction guarantee, leading to 21 complaints with the Better Business Bureau, mostly about its products and services.

In November, the BBB's board of directors made a rare move, revoking Bruno Air's accreditation based on what it saw as a "pattern of complaints," alleging the company "misdiagnosed or misrepresented issues related to repair or replacement," resulting in higher costs or estimates. Bruno is appealing the decision, arguing there has been no purposeful wrongdoing.

Customers have also complained to the BBB about Bruno Air's quality of service in installing and repairing air conditioning systems. The BBB has put an alert on the business.

"At the end of the day, we're human. We're going to make mistakes," said Bruno, 27, who has been spotlighted as an American success story by local and national media.

Bruno has built his business on customer service, including his "be cool within two hours" promise, or he gives his customers a free one-year maintenance agreement. His company, doing business from Marco Island to Orlando, has grown by leaps and bounds since opening in December 2012. Started by two people in a garage, it now has about 150 employees, with annual revenues in the millions. The company has developed its own customized A/C systems and expanded into home maintenance services. Recently, it unveiled patent-pending technology that can help detect if air conditioning systems or appliances are failing.

With growth has come struggles to keep up with customer demands and to stay on top of the people, processes and controls in his business, but Bruno said he continues to make improvements.

"He's had fortunately through hard work and diligence quite a bit of growth, and with any growing business you are constantly having to refine your procedures, so that is what he's been doing," said Bruno's Naples attorney, Patrick Neale.

Bruno's struggles also have included a legal dispute with four former employees in his commercial division. In June, he sued them for breach of contract after their sudden exit. He said it was to enforce promises they'd made not to share his trade secrets or confidential information, and not to solicit his customers or employees for two years after leaving his company. The suit has since been settled confidentially.

Bruno Air has run into problems with Collier County Licensing, installing a few air conditioning systems without permits and a water heater without a permit or plumbing license.

"Obviously, I guess he grew too big because he started doing some work without permits and he wasn't in control of his permitting," said Mike Ossorio, Collier County's contractor licensing supervisor.

After paying $5,500 in fines, Bruno has since resolved all those problems and is in good standing with the county, though he remains on probation until March.

"I toured his facility and he's created this permitting section that deals with just Collier County itself," Ossorio said. "He took the administrative complaint seriously."

There are now five employees working solely on permitting, just for Collier, Bruno said.

A recent check found no permitting problems in Lee County.

As far as the BBB goes, Bruno said solving that problem has been tougher. He has a hearing before the BBB's executive committee later this month.

"I don't feel like I did anything wrong, but I haven't had a chance to defend myself yet," Bruno said.

The decision to revoke his accreditation, he said, was made behind closed doors, based on information he sent in response to the BBB's questions. He's waited months for a hearing.

Membership in the BBB is voluntary. To be accredited, companies must agree to operate under standards for fairness and honesty.

Bruno Air still carries a B rating on BBB's website based on several factors, including how many complaints it has received for its size. Eleven of the 21 complaints have been satisfactorily resolved, while in the other cases customers are either unhappy with the company's response, or haven't told the BBB how they feel about it.

Consumer complaints in the air conditioning industry are anything but rare. In the BBB's West Florida service area, which includes Lee and Collier counties, the industry ranked eighth overall in complaints, with 510, in 2015, said Bryan Oglesby, director of public relations and outreach for the BBB serving West Florida. In the service area, he said, consumers looked into air conditioning companies more than any other business last year, with a total of 231,659 inquiries.

A check on two of Bruno's BBB accredited competitors in the Naples area shows they've each had more than a dozen complaints filed against them in the past three years, many of them involving problems customers had with their products and services.

In July, the BBB asked Bruno to address his "pattern of complaints" and to explain what actions the business has taken to help eliminate the causes. His response didn't satisfy the BBB.

"The business does not believe that it has a pattern of complaints, and states that it believes in being upfront and honest with its customers about issues or potential issues their air conditioning may have," Oglesby said.

Bruno argues the only pattern in his company is growth. "I tripled the volume. There's no pattern," he said.

By volume, Bruno pointed out the BBB complaints represent a small fraction of his business. He said he's taken steps to improve customer satisfaction, hiring a customer experience manager and a highly experienced executive team, and creating his own online customer survey. As of Friday, he'd received 23,175 positive, or "cool," responses to his survey, and 377 negative, or "not cool," ones.

Naples resident Susan Jacobs, a single woman on a fixed income, is one of the customers who complained to the BBB and she also posted a negative review on Bruno Air's Facebook page. On the first maintenance visit early last year, she said a technician quoted $1,119 in repair costs for "must haves," then listed another $3,222 worth of suggested work.

"I was not impressed by this sales tactic nor being made to feel stupid if I did not take advantage of this advice," she said.

On a second visit in November, she said, a Bruno technician suggested she just buy a new $4,800 Trane air conditioning system, though parts of her unit were still under warranty. She hired a different company, paying far less for repairs, and her A/C is running just fine, she said.

Naples resident Terri Caton filed a complaint with the BBB over various problems, including poor communications, high quotes and messy work that left grit all over the house.

"I tried to research them. The Better Business Bureau did have an A+ rating at the time I was looking at companies to use," she said. "How much more can you do?"
Eric Garcia and Christoper Bances pose for a picture during a delivery to Publix in Naples, Fla. on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The products of Taste of Immokalee, a company started by Immokalee High School students, are now being offered at 18 Publix stores in Collier County. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News)

SHARE Hot Sauce is seen displayed during a delivery to Publix in Naples, Fla. on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The products of Taste of Immokalee, a company started by Immokalee High School students, are now being offered at 18 Publix stores in Collier County. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) Eric Garcia packs up products during a delivery to Publix in Naples, Fla. on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The products of Taste of Immokalee, a company started by Immokalee High School students, are now being offered at 18 Publix stores in Collier County. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) an assortment of products are seen displayed during a delivery to Publix in Naples, Fla. on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The products of Taste of Immokalee, a company started by Immokalee High School students, are now being offered at 18 Publix stores in Collier County. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News) Hot Sauce is seen displayed during a delivery to Publix in Naples, Fla. on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The products of Taste of Immokalee, a company started by Immokalee High School students, are now being offered at 18 Publix stores in Collier County. (Logan Newell/Special to the Daily News)

By Maria Perez of the Naples Daily News

The salsa, spice mixes and sauces created and sold by Immokalee High School students have reached the aisles of 18 Publix grocery stores in Collier County.

That's a big distribution leap for the products of Taste of Immokalee, a company created by the students with the help of One By One Leadership Foundation. The project's goal has been to attract economic development to the community and provide scholarships to its students.

Until recently, the products, based on recipes that Immokalee families serve at their tables, could be found in 14 locations in Collier County, including the Immokalee Winn-Dixie store, in addition to the cafeterias of the district schools.

Students took their display racks to 18 Publix stores in Collier County on Saturday and filled them with the products.

"It's a very big step for us, especially since we have only been around for one year," said Eric Garcia, a 17-year-old senior at Immokalee High.

Garcia, who wants to study business management and entrepreneurship, said they have been offered more than 50 Publix stores in Collier and Lee counties to display their products. But students decided on 18 because they don't have enough products.

Marie Capita, who mentors the students and is the executive director of the company, said it was also logistically difficult for them to take the racks to all the stores at once. They are planning to set the racks in the other stores next month, Capita said.

Now comes the challenge, Capita warns.

"Getting into Publix is not the hard part," she said. "The hard part is getting the products out of Publix."

If shoppers don't pick the products, Capita said, Publix won't order more. And to encourage consumers to choose their sauces over better-known brands, they need to put more effort in marketing. The challenge, she said, is to find funds for promotion. They welcome mentors who can teach the students about effective marketing, she said.

The students wanted to get into Publix, she said, but now, they are seeing that there are many costs associated with being there. Their profit margin, she said, is also lower when they sell in Publix.

"Business is a risk," Capita said. "That's the main thing they are learning."

Garcia said Publix gives them the chance to reach more consumers. Now, he says students want to produce a commercial for TV and social media to tell their story to more people.

"I am cautious," he said of their entrance in Publix. "It can go anywhere."

Christopher Bances, 18 and president of the junior board of directors, said they are hoping to sell about three cases of their products in each store each week. Their products, he said, are doing very well at Winn Dixie's Immokalee store.

The products will have new, more modern labels, and packaging for the spices mix will be smaller, so buyers are more likely to use before it expires.

Bances said they are also looking for ways to get into Whole Foods, and Capita is training 24 new students who are joining their project.

Capita said they will know soon where they are in terms of profit, when the accountant finishes work in their first year account. She estimates they have sold about $27,000 or more so far. She says the students get paid for most of the work they do, when for example, they intern in summer or work as "sales consultants," although sometimes they volunteer. That way, she says, they get real-life experience of work. Capita's position is also paid, but the other mentors are volunteers.

Although the company is currently getting their products bottled in Sarasota and North Carolina, its goal is to be able to manufacture them in Immokalee to create jobs and distribute the company profits in scholarships for Immokalee students.
SHARE Outdoors of new Bonita Springs preschool, the Growing Room.

By Tracy X. Miguel-Navarro

When parents drop off their children at a new Bonita Springs preschool, they won't be far away from checking up on how the little ones are doing.

That's because they'll be able to watch their children from work or home.

The Growing Room Child Development Center will offer online cameras for parents, which will give them access to monitor their children remotely, from their computer or smartphones.

"It's really so they can be part of their children's days," said Gina Johnston, owner and executive director. "We are an extended family. We want them to see what is going on."

The Growing Room Child Development Center, a 14,400-square-foot preschool, is slated to open Monday, May 20.

"We are happy to be here," said Johnston, while making final preparations in the school.

A ribbon-cutting for the state-of-the-art preschool, which resembles a small town, is slated for 8:30 a.m. today. The ceremony is an invitation-only event.

Johnston said there is no other preschool in the area that offers what the Growing Room Child Development Center will.

In addition to the online cameras, which will cost parents $10 per month, the preschool will focus on an active learning curriculum. The center also has locked-down security ? parents and guardians will access the center using thumbprint scanners.

The Growing Room Child Development Center, 25151 Bernwood Drive, just south of the intersection of Old 41 Road and Bernwood Drive, is expected to employ 40 to 45 full-time workers once at capacity, including teachers, teachers' aides, cooks, administrators and maintenance personnel.

"That's a pretty big company for Bonita Springs' specific standards," said Christine Ross, president and CEO of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Bonita Springs Estero Economic Development Council, about the number of employees. "We are just pleased to have these resources here."

Ross said a curriculum-based preschool system, versus whatever other option is out there, will be a nice, new resource in the community.

The Columbus, Ga.-based franchise preschool is owner-operated in Bonita Springs. The franchise, one of potentially three the company plans to open in Collier and Lee counties, is expected to have capacity for up to 200 children, ages 6 weeks to those ready for kindergarten. So far, the preschool has nearly 100 enrolled.

"We do have the ability to expand," Johnston said. "We are looking to develop additional centers in Southwest Florida."

The preschool was lured to the city with the help of the Bonita Springs-Estero Economic Development Council.

"They chose Bonita Springs over cities on the other coast because of the density of children that we have," Ross said.

Ross said the preschool raved about its experience with the city's streamlined permitting one-stop shop.

The center, decorated to represent a small town, features 12 classrooms, a dance room, a private room for nursing mothers and a parent lounge. The hallways simulate roads where children can discover a bakery, toy store, candy store, pet shop and pizzeria.

Johnston said the preschool is working to get Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment (APPLE) accreditation, which can be acquired after it's open for a year. Once the school obtains that, the preschool would receive the Florida Gold Seal of Excellence, demonstrating top qualities for education.

Tuition prices range based on the child's age and hours enrolled. The school offers full-time and part-time options. For example, monthly tuition for an infant is $895 full-time and $645 part-time; for 4- or 5-year-olds, cost is $775 full-time, $600 part-time, or $400 for two days.

The preschool participates with the Early Learning Coalition, so that parents only pay based on their economic ability. In addition, the preschool offers Voluntary Prekindergarten, which offers a 3-hour class for free.

Phillip Downs, a senior partner, said there will be no more than four infants per teacher.

"The goal is to exceed the state ratios for students per teacher," he said.

For example, the state says for every 20 students age 4, a center has to have one teacher, yet the new preschool will have one teacher for every 10 students.

In addition, the center features a 7,000-square-foot play area with a rubberized mulch floor to protect the children from hurting themselves, Downs said. The play area will be divided into three age-appropriate areas.

The preschool has a fully equipped commercial kitchen and plans to serve hot breakfast and hot lunch to every child as well as afternoon snacks. Parents are welcomed.

"Once that facility gets going, it's going to be one of the busiest restaurants in town," Downs said.

* * * * *

An open house is slated from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on two Saturdays: May 11 and May 18. All interested parents and others are welcomed to stop by and meet the staff.
SHARE

The failure of multiculturalism and the danger it presents

Just as radar warns of approaching storms, so does the flood of migrants entering Europe warn us of a deluge yet to come, not only for Europeans, if they continue to allow unrestricted immigration, but for the United States.

Reports that women in Cologne, Germany, have been groped and robbed by men described by authorities as having "a North African or Arabic" appearance should be warning enough, but there are other and more ominous warnings that suggest worse lies ahead, unless the problem receives immediate attention and action. And it's not just Cologne.

The Gatestone Institute, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit international policy council and think tank, is in possession of what it describes as a "leaked German intelligence document," which says, "We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of society and law."

Last October, reports Gatestone, Andrew Parker, the director general of Britain's Security Service, said that "'the scale and tempo' of the danger to the U.K. is now at a level he has not seen in his 32-year career. British police are monitoring over 3,000 homegrown Islamist extremists willing to carry out attacks on the U.K."

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama visited a Baltimore mosque. According to The Daily Caller, the mosque "has deep ties to extremist elements, including the Muslim Brotherhood." That mosque is not alone, as a map on the paper's website reveals.

Explaining the president's visit, White House spokesman Keith Maley said, "The president believes that one of our nation's greatest strengths is our rich diversity."

I doubt terrorists believe that. I don't believe that diversity, as practiced in America, exists in any country with a Muslim majority.

Benedicte Bjornland, head of the Norwegian Police Security Service, recently warned against further Muslim immigration. When U.S. politicians suggest a similar approach, they are denounced as "bigots" and "Islamophobes," but in Norway and Sweden, two of the most liberal nations in Europe that have welcomed Muslim immigrants, that charge will be difficult to make stick.

What we are witnessing is the complete breakdown and failure of multiculturalism. Dictionary.com defines multiculturalism as "the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation."

That definition contains a glaring contradiction. A society cannot be unified if it preserves different cultures and cultural identities within itself. That's why our national motto is translated "out of many, one." To the multiculturalist it appears to be "out of one, many."

History demonstrates that no nation can long survive if it forgets why it exists. Our failure to inculcate American traditions, beliefs and history, even in the native born, not to mention immigrants, is rapidly destroying the country bequeathed to us by our forebears.

Leftists in Europe and the U.S. have promoted multiculturalism, believing that once Muslims experience our freedoms and dedication to equality they will want to be like us. It doesn't appear to be working and anyone familiar with the Quran and its "kingdom of this world" instructions knows it likely won't.

European leaders, from Germany's Angela Merkel, to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, have deliberately closed their eyes to what they see unfolding in their countries, and in others.

Obama is doing the same thing with his trip to the Baltimore mosque. Our enemies see our weakness and failure to understand their objectives, which include destroying the West and establishing a worldwide caliphate. This is not top-secret information. Not all Muslims are terrorists, to be sure, but large numbers of radical Islamists profess allegiance to the faith and they are more than willing to wreak havoc in pursuit of their goals.

An ancient proverb reminds us: "There are none so blind as those who will not see."
Hundred dollar bills as background behind curled page

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By William F. Hague

We've seen this before 

Well, as rough as it has been with much "thanks" to El Nino, we here in paradise have certainly seen this before. Records indicate that back in 2007 we also endured a year of El Nino weather disrupting the lifestyle here in the tropics. As bad as it has been on certain days, the rebound days have been absolutely "Chamber of Commerce" weather.

As obvious as it may sound, the average retired conservative stock investor has also seen this before ... and not just one time, rather the performance pattern of the stock market during our lifetime. Now, we are not simply addressing the recent losses, rather we must acknowledge phenomenon of the retired investor who proclaims his conservative objectives and intolerance for losing money, yet at the same time, often will own a portfolio loaded with the same old stocks and the same old results. This inability to separate from the realities of stock investing has put the average investor between a rock and a hard place.

So, while the media continues to remind us on a daily basis about the current carnage with the stock market, we are reminded of an old quote regards to the value of successful investing during retirement, and it could not be more simple; "The only two things in life that make money are people at work and money at work, and by retiring we eliminate one of those." Yes, as trite and obvious as this may sound on the surface, the stark reality is that it is essential for retired investors to continue to grow their assets during retirement so as to maintain their purchasing power.

After all, what does our money really represent? Purchasing power is answer. When we consider where the stock market is today, and where it has been, there are some stark reminders that we have seen before, yet for some reason, they simply do not resonate with any effectiveness with the retired investing community.

Speaking of "having seen this before," here we sit squarely in the middle of yet another stock market correction which should have been as easy to see coming as the beautiful weather is here in paradise. Depending on how one's assets are managed, many retired investors rely on a stock broker to pick investments for them. (See dart throwers) Every time the markets go into a downward cycle, we hear the same old tired and useless advice from the Wall Street spin machine; "  stay the course  diversify  be patient  " Well, in the new era, that advice shares a headstone in the Wall Street cemetery of empty promises.

A little piece of investing advice which does not ever go out of style, however, is the very fact that while diversifying sounds good on the surface, we must always remember, a stock is a stock and we do know this; "An outgoing tide lowers all boats." In other words, there is no such value in diversification when the overall markets head to lower ground, never has and never will.

Here is where it is important for the retired investor to understand the markets generally run in five year cycles and that there are only a finite number of five year windows available in retirement with which to successfully manage our assets. Clearly we can see the importance of avoiding loss while achieve meaningful growth with each rolling five year cycle.

Since the numbers never lie, we could make a case that the last three five year cycles, or fifteen years, have been just north of a bust. When we consider long term rates of return over the last fifteen years now on the brink of averaging roughly two percent per year, we can see that many have unknowingly missed out on a crucial opportunity during retirement to enjoy success. The problem is that over the course of time; most investors have selective memory and simply continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

For a fortunate few, educated retired investors have avoided market loss while capturing a percentage of the markets gain along the way and certainly enjoy the life of a SWAN, Sleep Well At Night.

William F. Hague is a managing partner of Hague Wealth Management; 239-389-1999 or WFHague@earthlink.net.
A body is removed from the scene Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 in the Village Walk subdivision where two elderly siblings died in an apparent murder-suicide. (Corey Perrine/Staff)

By Kristine Gill of the Naples Daily News

He was a New York police officer and she was a nurse.

August Steen Jr. and his sister Edna Jarboe lived together on El Segundo Court in North Naples for the past 20 years. When they moved in, they lived next to a postal worker and a fireman from the same state. It was a nice lineup of public servants who had earned a Naples-style retirement, their neighbor Martin Becker said.

But throughout the years, their health declined and the two cared for each other. Jarboe's son lived down the street and also helped. Becker and his daughter, Lauren, would drop by with dinner or cheesecake and apple turnovers.

Before their death Tuesday, Jarboe could barely get around; Steen had prostate cancer.

Related story: Deputies: Elderly siblings dead in apparent murder-suicide



"They were nice people," Martin Becker said. "I guess he couldn't take it anymore."

On Tuesday, a home health care worker found the pair dead in their home following what the Collier County Sheriff's Office called an apparent murder-suicide. Steen, 85, appeared to have shot Jarboe, 92, before shooting himself. Official autopsy results are pending.

Investigators are still gathering evidence but said Tuesday they found a suicide note at the scene; further details about the note were not immediately released.

Becker and his daughter believe the siblings' health led to a decision to end their lives somehow. Reached by phone Tuesday, Jarboe's son Jay Jarboe said he did not know what led to their deaths.

"They were sick for years," Lauren Becker said.

In 1997, court records show the two siblings made legal pre-need declarations of guardianship, essentially saying that if either of them were to become incapacitated, the other sibling would be appointed guardian. There's no indication in Collier County court records that either Jarboe or Steen actually became incapacitated or officially served as each other's guardian.

The same year, Lauren Becker moved with her parents to the Village Walk community. She used to visit Jarboe and Steen regularly and often brought her schnauzer and golden retrievers over because they loved animals.

"She used to have three to four cats because they would take in people's cats when they died," Lauren Becker said.

An avid baker, Lauren Becker brought over dessert whenever she whipped something up.

Lauren Becker was a hospital chaplain and social worker so she and Jarboe often found things to talk about since Jarboe had a nursing background. Lauren Becker said Jarboe was a top surgical nurse and Steen had likely served with a K-9 unit as an officer. He was proud of a picture he had of himself in uniform alongside a large dog.

Jarboe had lived and traveled all over the world, Lauren Becker said, and decorated their home with mementos from various destinations including a tea set from Turkey.

"She had a really nice laugh," Lauren Becker said. "She was always laughing and joking with me. She was always interested in the world around her."

Jarboe and Steen were some of the only original homeowners left on the street and that bonded them to the Beckers as the neighborhood saw people come and go throughout the years.

The last time Lauren Becker saw Steen was when she was visiting her father in the neighborhood. Her mother passed away recently and Steen had heard. He offered his condolences.

"They were lovely people," Lauren Becker said. "Very nice, very warm."
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By Melhor Leonor of the Naples Daily News

Most Collier County and Lee County teachers were again deemed effective in the classroom, according to data released by state education officials this week.

The ratings come from a mix of student test score data and classroom observations, which every district evaluates differently. That's behind statewide disparities in the proportion of teachers that fill each of the rating categories: highly effective, effective, needs improvement and unsatisfactory.

In Collier County  which last year earned scores that surpassed the state average for nearly all standardized tests  just over 5 percent of teachers were rated highly effective, the sixth lowest proportion of these teachers in the state. In Lee County, that number is 38 percent, in line with the state average.

No teachers in Collier County were rated as unsatisfactory, and less than 1 percent were deemed as needing improvement.

Jonathan Tuttle, president of the Collier County teacher's union, says that it's no surprise most teachers in Collier County  94 percent  were rated as effective. But, he added, the number of highly effective teachers shouldn't be directly compared against that of other districts.

Tuttle said that in Collier County, district and union officials have striven to create a matrix that would keep the impact of test scores low. That means that teachers with low scores are not significantly hurt, and that teachers with high test scores don't benefit significantly.

"Our system is, 'do no harm.' I look at other counties, and it seems like it's, 'Show up and get highly effective,'" Tuttle said. "It should be rare to be ineffective and it should be rare to be highly effective. I think our numbers show that.

"Nobody should for a second read into our percentage of highly-effective teachers and think that it reflects on the quality of our teachers."

The ratings impact a teacher's paycheck, and last year, also determined who would qualify for a $10,000 bonus from the state.

Teachers deemed effective in Collier County receive a raise of $1,320, and highly-effective teachers qualify for the same increase, plus $440. Florida's Best and Brightest bonus, which is given for good SAT performance, was only offered to highly-effective teachers.

"You [have to] be highly effective to compete for this pot of money. A lot of teachers got hurt by our approach," Tuttle said. "We could have lowered that bar. I feel for the teachers in our district."

Tuttle said that the union plans to engage the district in conversations about how to best improve the way local teachers are rated. Right now, two thirds of each rating is based on observations and district measurement, and one third is based on the each teacher's VAM score  a score gleaned from a complex formula created by the state that factors in the test performance of a teacher's students.

"We were given this horrible thing and had to implement it very quickly. Now, as we look around, our teachers are being penalized for being here because we've maintained a low number of highly-effective teachers," Tuttle said.

In Lee County, 59 percent of teachers were rated effective. The number of teachers whose performance was deemed as needing improvement or unsatisfactory is just over 1 percent.

Mark Castellano, who heads the teacher's union that represents Lee County public school teachers, said that in his county, efforts have been made to keep teachers from being harmed by the accountability system the state has set in place.

"The whole evaluations system is still kind of a mess in Florida, and we have concerns about that. There is virtually no confidence in the VAM formula and we have done what we can to mitigate its impact."

Castellano said that while he has confidence in Lee County teachers, he wouldn't use the state's data to tout their qualifications.

"If I really felt that the evaluation system was truly reflective of what teachers are doing in the classroom, I might say, 'Oh yeah, more teachers worked better or harder,'" Castellano said. "That's just not the case."
JEFFERSON CITY  January 25 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) testified in front of the Missouri House of Representatives Committee on Conservation and Natural Resources about Governor Nixons and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) disputed acquisition of land in Oregon County. As a result of few details, no clear plan, and a lack of transparency from the State for the land purchased in Oregon County, Representative Smith was there to express his support for legislation authored by Representative Robert Ross and Representative Jay Barnes which would require the Department of Natural Resources to sell off the recent land acquisition.

The Oregon County land acquisition was done as part of the Strategic Restoration Implementation Plan in which the State received damages from mining metal contamination to restore natural resources in impacted areas. One major problem is that the purchase of over 4,000 acres for a proposed state park in Oregon County is over 100 miles from the impacted area  the counties effected in the lawsuit in which the State was awarded the funds to purchase the land are nowhere near Oregon County.

Postings about the proposed land purchase were in the 500,000 plus page federal register or on the DNR website. Smith is concerned very few of those in the impacted areas actually use either of those sources to get information about their community. During his testimony, Representative Smith expressed concern with the overall lack of openness and transparency in which the DNR selected the restoration site, made that information public and solicited public feedback.

Afterwards, Smith continued to express frustration, To not even hold a public hearing in the area where thousands of acres of land was purchased simply flies in the face of trying to claim this process was open and transparent. Im used to being disappointed with federal bureaucrats in Washington failing to disclose appropriate information to the American public, but in this instance it was the state government that flat out failed in its obligation to the taxpayers of Missouri to go above and beyond in its efforts to be honest with this land purchase.

According to the DNR, 10 primitive camp sites are planned on the new park.

Congressman Smith said, I went to see the property last week, its thousands of acres of rolling farm land with cattle grazing on it, so it begs to question how this will ever be a national forest area or a place with primitive campsites on it. I would also have to question why the State would plan to spend millions of dollars creating a forest where there isnt one.

Smith continued, Where is the plan, where is the transparency the citizens of Missouri and residents of Oregon County are entitled? With the information I have now, I can tell you that the State purchased the wrong piece of land. This land was purchased by a bunch of executive and state level bureaucrats. There was no input from the state senators, state representatives, town members or taxpayers.

On numerous occasions Congressman Smith has asked Governor Nixons administration for additional details on the transfer of these private lands. Smith has previously called the transfer a clear misuse of funds. Stating that Misusing these funds is a violation of the settlement agreement and the public trust.

In October the Congressman sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dan Ashe, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, and Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Sara Parker Pauley, outlining his numerous concerns.
The Bonita Community Health Center is in the middle of a five-year fight between the Lee Memorial Health System and the NCH Healthcare System over how to sever ties, or solve management disagreements, over center they jointly. File

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By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

The Bonita Community Health Center will remain jointly owned, at least for now, by the two dominant hospital systems in Southwest Florida, according to an arbitrator's decision.

The bylaws for the corporation creating the health center in 2000 between the Lee Memorial Health System in Lee County and the NCH Health System in Collier County do not allow the relationship to be terminated where one party buys out the other group's interest, James Nulman, the arbitrator, wrote in a Jan. 25 order.

The only way one or the other hospital could be the sole owner is by both hospital systems agreeing to amend the bylaws to allow that, Nulman said.

What Lee Memorial sought, in pursuing arbitration last month, was to allow Lee Memorial to buy out NCH's ownership and go forward with single ownership, he said.

The two hospital systems have been battling over the fate of the Bonita health center since Lee Memorial lost a bid to build an 80-bed hospital nearby at Coconut Point and now plans to build an extensive outpatient medical village instead. Lee Memorial wants sole ownership of the Bonita health center and NCH wants to retain its 50-percent ownership share.

The Bonita center has physician offices, a walk-in urgent care center and other medical services.

Lee Memorial filed for arbitration when the dispute wasn't resolved in court with NCH opposing arbitration.

Lee Memorial spokeswoman Mary Briggs said in a statement Tuesday they are disappointed with the arbitrator's finding.

"While we respect the decision of the arbitrator, we do not agree with his findings and are disappointed that his ruling fails to allow the opportunity to terminate our business relationship with NCH in a manner that would be the least disruptive to patient care and the employees at (the Bonita center)," Briggs said.

Plans for the outpatient medical village at Coconut Point will nonetheless proceed, she said.

NCH spokeswoman Debbie Curry said in a statement that NCH is pleased by the arbitrator's finding.

"NCH continues to believe that the public is best served by the two hospital systems working together to serve the health care needs of the community," she said.
JLB review: 2 terrific Asian fusion finds in East and North Naples

Among the most frequent questions JLB's readers ask is what are your favorite Asian restaurants? This week, two tempting finds worth the drive.
SHARE Dr. H. Kurtis Biggs, an orthopedic surgeon, performs a total knee replacement surgery on a patient at Seaside Surgery Center in North Naples. The patient went home the same day as the surgery. Liz Freeman /Daily News Staff Dr. Robert Zehr, an orthopedic surgeon, works at Seaside Surgery Center in North Naples, where he performs same-day outpatient surgery for select patients needing total hip replacement surgery or total knee replacement surgery. Don Uhlenkott, 56, in his Naples home on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Uhlenkott received an outpatient based hip replacement on his right hip using the anterior approach by Dr. Robert Zehr on Nov. 18, 2015. "The world has opened up to me again," Uhlenkott says. "To me, it is like a miracle." (Dorothy Edwards/Staff) Staff of Dr. H. Kurtis Biggs, an orthopedic surgeon at Seaside Surgery Center in North Naples. (Submitted Photo)

By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

Naples handyman Don Uhlenkott has bragging rights as the first person in the community to have total hip replacement surgery and go home the same day.

"You just can't fault this idea," Uhlenkott, 56, said. "It's finally come."

He checked into Seaside Surgery Center in North Naples shortly after 6 a.m. recently and was home by noon.

He traded anxiety, noise and the potential of a hospital-acquired infection for the comfort of home for his recovery.

"You just don't feel uneasy," he said. "I used a walker for six days and a cane for two. I could get in the shower."

Two local orthopedic surgeons, Robert Zehr and Kurtis Biggs, are blazing the trail offering outpatient-based total hip and total knee replacement surgery. It could be mainstream in a few years.

The Seaside center at 1879 Veterans Park Drive, opened Nov. 1. Zehr and Biggs are two of eight physician partners in the 6,700-square-foot surgery center with two operating rooms and 15 employees.

"Why would you want to be in the hospital?" Zehr said. "It's for sick people."

The concept of outpatient-based total hip and total knee replacement surgery is eye-opening because it is new to the area, but it has been going on elsewhere since at least 2007, he said.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons does not have data on how many surgeons are offering outpatient-based total joint replacement but it is gaining ground.

"Less overtreatment, fewer unnecessary tests and lower overhead contribute to cost savings in the outpatient setting," Dr. Keith Berend, a New Albany, Ohio, orthopedic surgeon, said at a panel discussion at the association's 2015 annual meeting.

When it comes to setbacks postoperatively, there is not much difference between the outpatient surgeries and those which are hospital-based, according to study findings presented at the academy's 2014 meeting.

The results showed 10 percent of 137 patients who had their total hip or knee replacement surgeries in an outpatient surgery center were admitted to a hospital within 30 days. That's compared to 6 percent of 106 patients who had the surgeries in a hospital and who were readmitted.

Dr. Carlos Lavernia, past president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, estimates less than 5 percent of orthopedic surgeons nationwide are performing the surgeries on an outpatient basis. In Florida, he estimates it is less than 2 percent. He is chief of orthopedics at Larkin Hospital in Miami.

Stays get shorter

The postoperative hospital stay after total hip and knee replacement has shortened with improvements in technique, technology, and pain management. Zehr and Biggs began sending patients home after one night in the hospital in spring 2015.

"We retooled our postoperative protocols to shoot for the next day," Biggs said, adding that they were preparing for outpatient-based procedures.

"The (practice) in the past has been three days in the hospital and three weeks in rehabilitation but it's not necessarily in the best interest of the patient," Biggs said.

The only total hip replacement surgery that Zehr and Biggs will perform Seaside is the direct anterior approach, a minimally invasive technique that impacts less muscle.

In addition, candidates for hips or knees must be healthy with no heart or lung conditions, all of which is known in advance so at-risk patients are screened out, Biggs said.

Medicare does not cover outpatient total hip or knee replacements, so patients are commercially insured or they self-pay, which includes Canadians and other foreign visitors. The cost on an outpatient basis is about one-third what it is in a hospital, Zehr said.

"Hospitals are not liking the surgery being done in an outpatient center since they do lose the business and for the most part these are the most profitable joint replacement cases because the patients are healthy and require little care," Lavernia, the president of the hip and knee surgeons' group, said in an email. "The major advantages are again the cost of the event to society and the avoidance of complications that mostly occur in the hospital such as hospital acquired infections with really 'bad bacteria' as well the wellness feeling of being at home and having the family around for the recuperation period."

Drawbacks are complications such as bleeding, chest pain or severe pain which are more difficult to treat at home, Lavernia said.

"A significant number of patients are reluctant to go outpatient because they require significant family resources," he said. "There is also a large amount of anxiety associated with going straight home after major surgery. I think that with the proper support, education and with the proper expectations, patients will go."

He sees outpatient joint replacement surgery as the wave of the future for patients who are younger and have minimal health issues, especially as patients have a greater stake in their health care costs.

Outpatient surgery centers must have a transfer agreement with a hospital if a complication arises; Seaside has an agreement with Physicians Regional Medical Center at Pine Ridge.

Physicians Regional expects the trend to continue toward more outpatient-based surgeries with caveats.

"We believe patients needing certain surgeries, including total joint replacements, benefit greatly from care provided in the hospital by a multidisciplinary team," hospital spokeswoman Marti Van Veen said in an email. "Physician Regional's joint center is a dedicated unit for patients needing total joint replacements. The collaboration helps speed patients' recovery and return to the activities they enjoy."

Get it done

Melissa Banks couldn't be happier after total knee replacement surgery with Biggs on Jan. 18.

"Everything went incredibly smoothly," the 43-year-old account executive said. "I was in at 6:15 and I walked out at 10:30 with my new (right) knee."

Biggs explained the option of going outpatient, and she jumped at it.

"I thought it was fantastic," Banks said. "I had never heard of it being done outpatient."

She is using a walker and will progress to a cane soon. Part of the outpatient protocol with Biggs and Zehr is to have a nurse visit patients in their homes the first evening of the surgery, and to have a physical therapist do home visits for 10 days. That is for both hip and knee patients.

"I don't think you can underestimate how big a difference it makes to be able to recuperate at home," Banks said. "It's invaluable. It allows you to take charge of your recuperation. It's me being aware of what I need to do. It's wonderful."

Uhlenkott, the handyman, put off seeking treatment for pain in his back and right hip as long as he could, until he could only work a few hours each day. He would come home and use a heating pad.

When he learned he needed hip replacement surgery, one surgeon said he would be recovering for six weeks. Uhlenkott couldn't do that. He found Zehr through word-of-mouth. Uhlenkott had his outpatient total hip replacement Nov. 18.

"The great thing about this program was that everything was in line," Uhlenkott said. "I was back to work in two weeks doing light stuff."

Before Christmas, he was able to go in his attic for Christmas decorations and hang them outside.

"I was probably up and down the ladder 18 times," he said.
SHARE Barbara Zdravecky, Planned Parenthood CEO for Southwest Florida and Central Florida. (Submitted Photo) Robert and Nancy Healey, of Fort Myers, speak to Barbara Zdravecky, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida and Central Florida at a fundraiser at Lexington Country Club in Fort Myers on Wednesday. (Liz Freeman/Staff) Abortion opponents Paul Muri and Rosemary Stonequist outside of Lexington Country Club in Fort Myers. They were protesting Planned Parenthood CEO Barbara Zdravecky, of Southwest and Central Fort Myers, who was speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday. (Liz Freeman/Staff)

By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

A Florida leader of Planned Parenthood isn't afraid of battling opponents across the state who are aiming to bring the women's health program to its knees.

The dozen abortion opponents outside Lexington Country Club in Fort Myers Wednesday fired up Barbara Zdravecky, the chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida and Central Florida.

"It is up to us as a group to move our message forward that we are going to continue to stand for the women of this state," Zdravecky said.

Speaking to 130 supporters at a fundraising luncheon at the country club, Zdravecky addressed the fetal tissue video campaign that became a lightning rod issue last summer. More recently, she's focused on a current effort in the Florida Legislative session to defund and weaken the organization.

The occasion of her visit is the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973.

Zdravecky took the helm of the Southwest Florida affiliate of Planned Parenthood, which includes clinics in Fort Myers and Naples, last July with the merger of the program in Central Florida. The purpose was to make the nonprofit organization stronger with a combined annual budget of $16 million.

"It was a smart business decision," she said. "It has been quite the year to survive, for sure."

The merger took effect July 1, the same day a new state law requiring women to wait 24 hours for an abortion took effect. Planned Parenthood was successful getting an injunction to keep the law at bay while a lawsuit is decided.

"That's being heard by the courts this month," she said.

A few days later, videos surfaced that claimed Planned Parenthood officials were trying to sell aborted fetal tissue, videos which Zdravecky said had been orchestrated during a three-year effort to infiltrate the organization.

The source of the videos, the Center for Medical Progress, was found to be a fictitious organization that registered illegally with the Internal Revenue Service, she said.

The videos' release was orchestrated to coincide with presidential debates for Republican candidates and for members of Congress to push for defunding Planned Parenthood. In addition, Republican governors seized on the videos to investigate Planned Parenthood chapters around the country.

"Florida was no exception," she said, adding that Gov. Rick Scott ordered inspections of clinics that perform abortions and the state opened a criminal investigation.

"The (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) quickly determined we were doing nothing wrong," she said.

An administrative hearing is scheduled for late April to contest allegations that Planned Parenthood clinics in Fort Myers, Naples and St. Petersburg have performed second trimester abortions in violation of their licenses, which allow them to perform only first-trimester abortions.

"I promise Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida and Central Florida will be cleared as well," she said.

A dozen abortion opponents protested outside the entrance of the country club, including Paul Muri, 65, who believes the videos about Planned Parenthood are "absolutely true."

"I would think they are selling them because of the monetary value they have," Muri said.

He said Planned Parenthood does some good  yet abortion is a different matter.

"When they do abortion, that trumps any good they do," he said.

Zdravecky said the regional Planned Parenthoods usually spend $5,000 a year on legal fees but the tab so far is $150,000 this year, which has gone toward hiring criminal and regulatory attorneys to defend against the allegations of wrongdoing.

With the Florida Legislature in session now, Zdravecky said the current House budget would block all public funding of Planned Parenthood and a Senate bill would defund the program.

She said Florida lawmakers want the state to become like Texas, which has severely hampered women's access to health care services, and shut down abortion providers.

"We are going to Tallahassee every week this session," she said.

Zdravecky oversees Planned Parenthood in 22 counties with 11 health centers, including Fort Myers, Naples and Immokalee, with a combined patient volume of 39,000 patients annually. There are 175 employees in the 22 counties.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 photo, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito is a vector for the proliferation of the Zika virus spreading throughout Latin America. New figures from Brazil's Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed cases of a rare brain defect as first feared. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

Public health officials report two cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Lee County, bringing the statewide caseload to nine, according to the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee.

The two cases in Lee involve people who have traveled outside of the state, according to the state health department.

In addition to the two cases in Lee, four more travel-associated cases of Zika were confirmed this week in Florida. That brings the total to nine.

The breakdown is four cases in Miami-Dade, two in Hillsborough, two in Lee and one in Santa Rosa County.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not identified Florida as an area of local Zika risk but the state is closely monitoring imported disease, state health officials said in a press release.

"Florida has many years of success in containing other mosquito-borne diseases and emerging health threats," Dr. John Armstrong, the state Surgeon General, said. "Through these experiences, the department remains ready to protect residents and visitors from the Zika virus."

None of the nine confirmed cases involve pregnant women, where Zika has been linked in some locations to babies born with abnormally small heads and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis.

The CDC has issued a travel notices for Zika virus. The travel-related cases in Florida so far involve people who traveled to Columbia, El Salvador, Haiti and Venezuela.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Armstrong, the state surgeon general, were briefed by the CDC on the status of Zika.

Florida's public health laboratory is able to test for Zika infection, and it works closely with health care providers to offer the testing.

The virus is transmitted primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which also spreads dengue and yellow fever.

Zika virus is common in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.

About one in five people infected with the Zika virus are symptomatic, which include low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, body aches, headaches, and vomiting.

The state health department has posted on its website a public safety video that also instruct the public about ways to prevent mosquito bites. The video and other information is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE6tkoWanXk.

Residents are advised to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, and apply mosquito repellent when they are outside. When it comes to homes, repair broken screens in windows and keep doors closed.
Travellers are seen at the private entrance Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 at the Naples Municipal Airport in Naples, Fla. (Corey Perrine/Staff)

By Joseph Cranney of the Naples Daily News

Elite Airways, the Maine-based airline that signed an agreement last fall to fly commercial flights out of Naples, is expected to announce start dates Wednesday for travel, which could begin in the coming weeks.

Company officials have scheduled a news conference Wednesday to discuss their service to Naples Municipal Airport and to display an Elite Bombardier CRJ jet. Elite is planning service to Newark, N.J., twice a week.

During the NAA board meeting on Jan. 21, Commissioner Jim Rideoutte said Elite was waiting for the CRJ jet to receive certification from the Federal Department of Transportation before the airline could start selling tickets. Rideoutte said Elite was hoping to start taking off in mid-February.

On Tuesday, Rideoutte said he "would not be surprised" if Elite announced its start date and ticket prices Wednesday.

"If they're smart, and I think they are, I think they'll tell us something," Rideoutte said.

The announcement comes after months of comment about the flights.

Airport critics are worried the flights will only add to what many argue is an already burdensome amount of flight noise. Supporters of the flights, including Executive Director Ted Soliday and Mayor John Sorey, are concerned the business will suffer from a delayed start caused by holdups from federal regulators.

When Soliday signed the deal with Elite in October to bring commercial fights to Naples for the first time since 2007, he said the airline wanted to start flying in December. But that timeline shifted as the city waited for the Transportation Security Administration to set up its services at the commercial terminal. The agency has committed to providing those services.

Soliday has also been criticized for not informing the Naples Airport Authority's Board of Commissioners and the Naples City Council about the Elite deal before he signed it. City Councilman Sam Saad has said Soliday's handling is cause for termination.

The Naples Airport Authority agreed to spend $63,300 to refurbish its old commercial terminal in September, before the Elite contract. An additional $24,200 was spent to install security equipment for the Elite flights, including dividers and a pat-down room.
Attendees tour a Bombardier CRJ-700 jet after a press conference announcing details about new commercial flights at the Naples airport with Elite Airways on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Naples. The airline's president announced Wednesday that Elite Airways commercial flights would commence Feb. 27 from the Naples Municipal Airport to Newark, Portland, Maine, Melbourne and Vero Beach. (David Albers/Staff)

SHARE Elite Airways crew members Wes Rutledge, Somer Overton, Brittany Johnstone and airline president John Pearsall, left to right, are announced by Naples Municipal Airport Executive Director Ted Soliday, at right, during a press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Naples. The airline's president announced Wednesday that Elite Airways commercial flights would commence Feb. 27 from the Naples Municipal Airport to Newark, Portland, Maine, Melbourne and Vero Beach. (David Albers/Staff) Elite Airways President John Pearsall speaks about his airline's new commercial flight routes from the Naples airport during a press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Naples. The airline's president announced Wednesday that Elite Airways commercial flights would commence Feb. 27 from the Naples Municipal Airport to Newark, Portland, Maine, Melbourne and Vero Beach. (David Albers/Staff) Greater Naples Fire Rescue District Commissioner Chuck McMahon chuckles at a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump while touring an Elite Airways Bombardier CRJ-700 jet after a press conference announcing details about new commercial flights at the Naples airport on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. The airline's president announced Wednesday that Elite Airways flights would commence Feb. 27 from the Naples Municipal Airport to Newark, Portland, Maine, Melbourne and Vero Beach. (David Albers/Staff) Elite Airways crew members Wes Rutledge, Somer Overton and Brittany Johnstone, left to right, stand together during a press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Naples. The airline's president announced Wednesday that Elite Airways commercial flights would commence Feb. 27 from the Naples Municipal Airport to Newark, Portland, Maine, Melbourne and Vero Beach. (David Albers/Staff) Related Photos Photos: Elite Airways announces flights from Naples Municipal Airport Related Coverage Elite Airways announcing start of Naples flights to Newark

By Joseph Cranney of the Naples Daily News

Commercial flights into Naples Municipal Airport are scheduled to start this month, as Elite Airways begins service on Feb. 27 between Naples and Newark, N.J., Portland, Maine and other Florida locations.

Elite announced the flight scheduled Wednesday, with fares starting at $169 and flights Thursday through Monday.

There will be weekly nonstop flights to Newark on Saturdays that take off from Naples at 8:30 a.m. and return from Newark at 12:15 p.m.

On Thursdays and Sundays, flights to Newark will takeoff from Naples at 7:45 a.m. with a connection in Vero Beach. Return flights will depart from Newark at 12:15 p.m. and also stop in Vero Beach. On Mondays and Fridays, flights will go to and from Portland, Maine with morning and afternoon connections in Melbourne.

Pearsall said the airline will not charge passengers for its first checked bag, and carry-on bags are free. For passengers who wish to fly to Vero Beach or Melbourne, without connecting to the Northeast, fares will start at $59.

Proponents of the setup said it will boost the local tourism industry and provide a welcome connection to the Northeast.

John Pearsall, president of Elite, said his Maine-based airline has been looking to expand to Naples for three years and applauded the airport for reopening its commercial terminal to what Pearsall described as an "underserved" community of travelers.

Naples has a long history of a full-service airport, but commercial flights haven't flown from here since 2007.

Ted Soliday, who has been the executive director of the airport for more than 20 years, is retiring in April. After several failed deals, there was a point in Soliday's career, he said, when he didn't think he would be around to see commercial flights return to Naples.

"It is nice to be able to be back to being a full-service airport," Soliday said. "And so those people who have been calling us just a place for the rich and famous to play can't quite say that now."

Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the commercial flights "definitely will have a positive impact," especially for downtown Naples and Marco Island.

A nonstop flight from Naples to Newark will last about 2 hours, 40 minutes, Pearsall said. He said his airline is hoping to add more nonstop destinations out of Naples.

"This is just the beginning," Pearsall said.

"We want to be very careful and be the good neighbors. Believe me, I want to be absolutely strong on that because we do not want to upset the neighborhood," he added.

Airport critics have questioned the demand for the flights and say they will only add to noise problems.

Signaling support for commercialization, the airport points to survey results from last May when nearly 80 percent of respondents said they wanted the flights. But Naples Airport Watch, a local watchdog group, has criticized the survey for polling county residents, among other concerns.

Though the group says it supports commercialization, Naples Airport Watch released a statement Wednesday criticizing Elite for proposing more weekly operations than what was included in the plan made public last fall. Elite will hold 10 weekly operations, an increase from the four operations announced in October.

"Did Elite have a thought through plan for service at Naples when it signed the contract or was it a bait and switch plan?" Alan Parker and Larry Schultz, co-founders of the watchdog group, said in the statement.

Elite's CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 jets will host 50 passengers and 70 passengers, respectively. Soliday estimated the jets were as quiet, or quieter, than 80 percent of the planes that fly in and out of the airport already.

In acknowledging the airport's critics, Pearsall said Elite hasn't seen such a vocal reaction to his airline in other cities. Pearsall said he received death threats in October from anonymous callers who said, "If you bring your airline in here, we'll kill you."

"It didn't deter us," Pearsall said Wednesday.

Elite's announcement Wednesday seemed to calm the nerves of Soliday and others who have been battling for public support of the commercial service since the contract was signed in October. Soliday signed the deal without first getting approval from the Naples Airport Authority's Board of Commissioners. Soliday was acting within his authority as director, but some board members and members of the Naples City Council said he should have informed them of the deal first.

Within 60 days of when the contract was signed on Oct. 15, the Transportation Security Administration was supposed to let the airport know when it could begin its services. That notification didn't come until January. The announcement of Elite's start date was also held up by the Department of Transportation, which didn't certify Elite's jets until last week.
SHARE Selous, the oldest male greater kudu in North America, was 16 and half years old at the time of his passing at the Naples Zoo, February 2, 2016. (Courtesy Naples Zoo) Denver, the oldest Cuban iguana in North America, was 33 years old at the time of her passing at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Garden, Tuesday, February 2, 2016. (Courtesy Naples Zoo) Denver, the oldest Cuban iguana in North America, was 33 years old at the time of her passing at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Garden, Tuesday, February 2, 2016.(Courtesy Naples Zoo)

By Eric Staats of the Naples Daily News

Along the winding paths at the Naples Zoo, Selous and Denver reigned.

The male African antelope and the female Cuban iguana were the oldest of their kinds living in captivity anywhere in North America.

They died within days of each other. He was 16. She was 33.

"Selous and Denver held a special place in the hearts of Naples Zoo staff and will be dearly missed," zookeepers said in a statement Tuesday.

Selous (pronounced seh-loo), a greater kudu, had lived at the zoo since he was a baby, coming from the Miami Zoo.

In 2014, Selous became the oldest male greater kudu in the history of captive kudus in North America. On top of that, he was only the second male greater kudu to ever make it to 15. Most males don't live past 12; females often live much longer.

Selous loved mangoes.

A mango tree grew in a corner of the African Oasis exhibit, where he lived with the gazelles and the impalas, around the corner from the anteaters.

"He'd have a mango moustache because he'd eat mangoes all night," the zoo's director of animal programs Liz Harmon said.

Selous liked to stand in the back of the exhibit, making it hard for all but the most observant visitors to spot his 6-foot-tall, 560 pound frame, Harmon said.

"It's amazing something that large could disappear, but he was really good at it," she said.

Denver, the female Cuban iguana, had nowhere to hide as a regular feature of the zoo's Safari Canyon shows.

She was very calm, and interns would learn how to handle animals by handling Denver, Harmon said.

At Safari Canyon, they would carry Denver around and explain that Cuban iguanas are in decline because they are prey for dogs, cats and rats. Then the handler would segue to the Gila monster and explain that its venom is used to produce diabetes medicine.

Denver, who came from the Denver Zoo in 2002, was in the twilight of her career: "We were kind of giving her her retirement."

When keepers saw Denver on Saturday morning, she appeared healthy. They found her dead shortly after noon. An animal autopsy found nothing significant to explain her death, just old age.

Selous had been in good health until past weeks, when he started eating less and started having a hard time getting around. He was euthanized Monday.

The zoo will remove Selous' impressive set of twisty horns  3 feet tall and 3 feet across, tip to tip  and use them for education.
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By The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP)  A former finalist for the Brevard Public Schools Teacher of the Year was found fatally shot in her bed, and the body of her estranged husband was found in the home with a gun nearby.

Florida Today (http://goo.gl/66uU3l ) reports that Sandra Cook's sister found her body in her Melbourne home after she was contacted by Rockledge High School officials who became concerned when she didn't show up for work on Monday.

Divorce papers filed by cook say that she was fearful of her estranged husband, Ricky Cook, because of his anger management issues.

She had asked for a restraining order to prevent her husband from returning to the home they shared, but it was never filed.

Because of that, a judge never was able to hold a hearing on the matter.
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During a light moment at Wednesday's announcement outside Naples Municipal Airport that commercial air service is returning after nearly a decade, a private jet departed.

It droned out the speaker, John Pearsall, president of Elite Airways, which on Feb. 27 will begin commercial flights to Newark, New Jersey, and Portland, Maine.

"Our airplanes are quieter than that," he remarked to the dozens gathered as he resumed his talk.

Tourists and seasonal residents have returned en masse, a resurgence from just five years ago when the area's economy struggled mightily from the double-whammy of the Great Recession and the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf.

Commercial air service between Naples and major markets has been a void for the area since Delta Air Lines stopped flights to the airport in 2007.

Airport critics and some candidates for the Naples City Council would just as soon leave the airport's commercial aviation terminal without carrier flights. But we see Wednesday's announcement of the air service as an opportunity to further solidify the tourism pillar of Collier County. Tourism remains a linchpin of our economy, with U.S. Department of Labor Statistics showing it accounts for about 28,000 jobs out of the 157,000 in Collier County, nearly 18 percent.

Beyond tourists, however, it's a recognition of the demographic change we're seeing in Collier County with seasonal residents  those who buy part-time homes, pay taxes on them, and stay here a few months of the year  coming not just from the Midwest now but also the Northeast.

Return flights

Airport critics and naysayers likely will make more noise about the resumption of service because it begins with two destinations, not just a couple of weekly round-trip flights to Newark as had been thought.

"That's more than we expected," we can hear critics complaining about what now will be nearly daily flights to and from Naples on the 70-seat jets, at $169 each way.

It's "more than we expected," too, but we see that as a plus, not a minus. The too idle airport can connect the Naples area to a region that's becoming more of a fabric of Southwest Florida  the New York and New England areas.

Collier County had a record year for tourism in 2015, with a nearly $2 billion impact on the economy. More than 1.8 million visitors stayed in hotels or other vacation rentals, a 3.1 percent increase over 2014, county tourism data shows. Visitors from within Florida accounted for the greatest portion (more than 625,000), but the Northeast was second (about 350,000) and European visitors third at about 300,000, the data shows.

Flights to Newark will be to and from the international terminal, Pearsall said. That's important for this market because it can service fliers both from the Northeast and Europe, as well as transcontinental flights  a niche Newark is competing to carve away from crowded New York City airports. Elite Airways will fly nonstop between Newark and Naples twice on Saturdays and have flights connecting there through Vero Beach twice Thursdays and Sundays.

Portland, Maine, is a logical connection for Southwest Florida because it's an alternative to the busy Boston airport and not that far away for New Englanders, Pearsall said. Elite's two Portland flights on Mondays and Fridays connect through the Melbourne-Orlando airport.

Elite's staff and federal security officers will be in place two hours before each departure to begin checking passengers through, he said.

Sound bites

Surrounded by media after the announcement, Pearsall addressed questions about aircraft noise. Elite's fleet, built in 2003 or since, is quieter than 60 to 70 percent of the jets folks here will hear, he said.

Most of the flights are 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m. or 12:15 p.m. departures, which we note shouldn't put a damper on anyone's Happy Hour.

The noise we hear is tourism and our seasonal economy thankfully ringing cash registers again after the deafening silence of five years ago. Welcome Elite Airways and the long-overdue resumption of commercial air service at Naples airport.
A representative for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry spoke to Desloge Chamber of Commerce investors Tuesday about two student programs the statewide organization is currently emphasizing.

The first  called Show-Me Scholars  urges students to take more challenging courses during their high school years. The second, Dream It. Do It. Missouri, encourages young people to consider the field of manufacturing as a career.

Show-Me Scholars is a low-cost, high-impact strategy to help motivate students to complete a more rigorous set of high school courses, said Brian Crouse, vice president of education for the Missouri Chamber. The program is built around a core course of study and aligned with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education graduation requirements that show students the rigorous classes they need to take in high school to better prepare them for success in college or the workplace.

Crouse explained that the program is community based in that it brings local business leaders into classrooms where they work with educators to motivate students to sign up for the core course of study when theyre in eighth grade.

These mentors continue their support through high school to make sure students maintain and follow through with their personal plans of study, helping to ensure that the plan continues to remain rigorous and that it is addressing their career and educational goals, he said.

According to Crouse, graduating as a Show-Me Scholar means a student will acquire advanced academic skills; develop more sound decision making and critical thinking skills; be more prepared for college and less likely to need costly remedial courses; be a stronger candidate for certain types of financial aid and scholarships; and have enhanced opportunities for placement and future advancement with local and international employers.

The Dream It. Do It. Missouri, said Crouse, is a program that seeks to bring greater visibility to the career opportunities available to Missouri youth in manufacturing.

In doing so, we will build content, activities and programs that will dispel myths and change minds surrounding the opportunities and promise that Missouris manufacturing sector holds for our future economic prosperity as a state, he said. The Missouri Chamber Foundations engagement in this high-impact program is a direct result of the work performed under the Missouri 2030 strategic plan with direct feedback from nearly 1,050 of Missouris small, medium and large employers."

He said the desired outcome for the first year is "to engage and mobilize manufacturers, educators and workforce development to increase the manufacturing talent pipeline through Missouris youth.

Planned activities for the program include Manufacturing Day, set for Oct. 7, and the Show-Me Manufacturing Video Competition  Whats So Cool About Manufacturing?

For more information about either program, contact Crouse at bcrouse@mochamber.com or 573-634-3511.

In addition to hearing from Crouse, investors elected four candidates to the chambers board of directors  Lori Crump, William Britton, Steve Vogt and Julie Pratte. They were sworn into office at the conclusion of the meeting by Brenda Jordan, board president.

Board member Todd Mahaney encouraged participation in the chambers upcoming Trivia Night fundraiser taking place Feb 19 in the Stone Park Resort clubhouse.

This years theme will be The Movies and were encouraging those who come to decorate their tables and themselves as well, he said.

Mahaney also announced that the board is still in the process of seeking a part-time chamber executive director following last months resignation by Sandy Francis.

If you know anyone thats available, if you have any candidates you think would be a good recommendation for us, please see one of the board members or call the chamber office at 573-431-3006 and let us know, he said. We want to fill the position of executive director as soon as possible so the chamber can keep moving forward.

The next investors luncheon will take place at noon March 1 at Desloge City Hall. The featured speaker will be Patrick Mullins of the St. Francois County Commissioners. He will be speaking on the disbursement of ASARCO settlement funds.
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R Harrell, Bonita Springs

High school confusion

Perhaps the Daily News and Banner can clear some things up for us all.

Since when did it become a detriment to adjacent homes to have a school nearby? Isn't this a consideration that families make when looking for a new home? Don't Realtors see schools in communities as a plus?

I hear on the news that some residents object, saying schools bring drugs and crime. When you attend school, doesn't that help keep you off the streets and out of trouble? Drugs and crime  how would you like to be stereotyped like the kids are being done?

Traffic seems to be a big concern. I've lived here since 1971 (I'm 62 years young by the way) and many of the people who are complaining created the traffic problem to begin with. That one doesn't hold water with me.

Maybe the underlying reason here is you want your retirement community without children. Really, do you have any grown children yourselves? If this were happening when your kids were growing up, would you be upset that no one wants them? They have to hear on the news that they are drug users and criminals. Shame on anyone who said that.

So explain to me again how a growing area like Bonita Springs is supposed to support the families that work here and service the community you live in without a centrally located school system for their children?
The board of trustees of Hodges University is pleased to announce the second finalist for the position of president, Dr. Luis Pedraja, vice president for Academic Affairs at Antioch University in Los Angeles.



Dr. Pedraja will be on the Hodges campuses on Friday, Feb. 5. Two special events for the community and alumni have been scheduled:



RSVP required (abuitrago@hodges.edu)

Fort Myers Campus  4501 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, 7:30-8:30 a.m. H Building  Kleist, Community Room (364). Light breakfast will be served.



Open forum, no RSVP, Naples Campus  2655 Northbrooke Drive, Naples. 5:30-6:30p.m. Stock Building  John White Community Room.



A native of Cuba, at age eight, Pedraja immigrated with his parents to Miamis Little Havana neighborhood. Support from his family and community empowered Dr. Pedraja to become the first in his family to attend college. He earned a B.A. from Stetson University and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.



Focusing on Latino perspectives, Dr. Pedraja published several books and numerous scholarly articles exploring how understanding language and culture can promote intercultural dialogue and tolerance. He taught philosophy, ethics and religious studies at the University of Puget Sound and Southern Methodist University before entering university administration. Since becoming a dean and provost, Dr. Pedraja has continued to mentor Latino doctoral candidates, and he served as president of La Comunidad of Hispanic American Scholars in the area of religious studies.



Converting his scholarship to action, Dr. Pedraja advocates passionately in the national media for increasing access to higher education for minority and marginalized populations who have been underserved historically by the American higher education system. Dr. Pedraja has recently been quoted on this topic in publications including the Associated Press, Huffington Post, and International Business Times.



Currently, Dr. Pedraja is provost and vice president of academic affairs at Antioch University Los Angeles, a nonprofit institution serving adult students through degree completion and professional graduate programs in psychology, education, nonprofit management, sustainability and creative writing. At Antioch, Dr. Pedraja has led projects that have created new competency-based, hybrid online graduate programs and undergraduate degree opportunities in applied studies and criminal justice, as well as on-site degree completion programs at community colleges and an early college program providing university level courses at local high schools. These innovative programs provide clear pathways to college for K-12 students in underserved communities and help adult students to achieve new professional goals or advance their current careers.



Before joining Antioch, Dr. Pedraja was vice president for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education from 2004-2011, where he oversaw the accreditation of more than 100 universities in Puerto Rico and the Mid-Atlantic region. In that position, Dr. Pedraja continued to champion intercultural dialogue by leading the first program to grant American accreditation to foreign universities, including institutions in South America and Asia. Based on this unique expertise, universities in the United States, Asia and Europe have since retained Dr. Pedraja to guide them on conforming to high American standards for strategic planning, assessment and quality assurance in higher education.



Outside of his academic life, Dr. Pedraja has volunteered extensively with the American Red Cross Disaster Services and local emergency management office. He has also served on the boards of several nonprofits and co-founded two such organizations, one focused on animal rescue and the other on assisting families of cancer patients. Dr. Pedraja, who has family in Naples, resides in Los Angeles with his wife and 12-year-old daughter.



Founded in 1990, Hodges University is a private, non-profit and one of Floridas leading institutions of higher learning. With campuses located in Naples and Fort Myers, the university uses its local roots and global reach to provide transformational, learner-driven educational opportunities for its students. In addition to offering associate, baccalaureate and graduate degrees in a variety of disciplines and delivery options, Hodges University enhances the ability of students to achieve personal and professional objectives through diverse educational experiences and programs including English as a Second Language and the Center for Lifelong Learning. For more information, call 239-513-1122 or visit Hodges.edu.
Michele Kief, managing director-investments of Kief Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors (www.MicheleKief.com) will host a Declaring Florida Your Domicile Estate Planning Strategies seminar on Tuesday, February 9 in the 4th Floor Conference Room of the Wells Fargo Building, located at 5801 Pelican Bay Boulevard.



The seminar will cover the following topics by a local attorney:

Declaring Florida Domicile

Estate Planning Strategies

Estate Tax Issues



If you are interested in attending this complimentary seminar, please call 239.254.2212.



About Kief Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors:

Kief Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors is a money management practice that has served the Naples community for 27 years. Kief Wealth Management Group is located at 5801 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Suite 200 in Naples. For more information, please call 239-254-2212 or visit www.MicheleKief.com.
North American Properties  Southeast, Inc. (www.NAProperties.com) is pleased to announce its newest shopping center  Sky Walk  to be located across from the main entrance to Gateway at the intersection of Daniels Parkway and Gateway Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. Sky Walk will feature a 45,000-square-foot Publix with a drive-thru pharmacy, as well as an additional 20,000-square-feet of retail space.

The shopping center will be part of Skyplex, the 1,150-acre master-planned commercial park along Daniels Parkway within the northern portion of Southwest Florida International Airport being developed by the Lee County Port Authority.

We are very pleased to work with North American Properties to lease airport land, said Robert M. Ball, A.A.E., executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. Sky Walk is the first development at Southwest Florida International Airports Skyplex and will offer people traveling along the Daniels Parkway corridor and residents of Gateway new grocery and retail shopping opportunities.

We jumped at the unique opportunity to work with Mr. Ball and the great team that runs the Lee County Port Authority on this initial phase of Skyplex, and to develop a new retail destination that will offer the convenience of a Publix Supermarket and other shops and restaurants to serve the residents living east of I-75 along Daniels and Treeline which is one of the busiest and fastest growing areas in Southwest Florida.

We are also excited about developing the first new Publix center to be built here in Lee County in over five years, said Dale Hafele, North American Properties Partner.

Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass added As a lifelong resident of Lee County and over 22 years in the Gateway community, I am excited to welcome Publix into the Sky Walk shopping center. Publix will serve as a key anchor in the plaza, providing much needed jobs and services to our residents and visitors here in Lee County. I look forward to officially breaking ground on this highly anticipated project in the near future.

Craig Kopko, Vice-President with North American Properties, commented on the estimated development schedule We are now in the process of applying for permits and expect to break ground later this year, with a store opening projected to occur in the second half of 2017. We are already experiencing strong interest in the shops from local, regional, and national tenants.

Founded in 1954, North American Properties is a privately-held, multi-regional real estate operating company that has acquired, developed and managed more than $5 billion of retail, multifamily, mixed use, and office properties across the United States. North American Properties  Southeast, the Florida division based in Fort Myers, has developed over one million square feet of retail space in Lee County alone, including three Publix locations, three Target locations, and a BJs Wholesale Club, and has developed over 25 Publix-anchored centers throughout the Southeast. For more information about Sky Walk or North American Properties, please visit www.NAProperties.com or contact Craig Kopko at 239-825-7624 or via email at Craig.Kopko@naproperties.com.
A family-owned Irish business, Kilsaran International has just acquired the former CEMEX quarry in Kilfeacle, which secures jobs for the current workforce with plans to expand in the future.

A family-owned Irish business, Kilsaran International has just acquired the former CEMEX quarry in Kilfeacle, which secures jobs for the current workforce with plans to expand in the future.

Celebrating 50 years in business, this is Kilsarans first venture into Munster after the acquisition of the majority of CEMEXs operating assets in the Republic of Ireland.

This places Kilsaran as a national player in the concrete, blocks and aggregate business in Ireland.

The third-generation Irish family business was founded in 1964 by the late Patrick McKeown in the village of Kilsaran in Co. Louth, Kilsaran. It has grown over the years to become Irelands largest independent manufacturer of concrete products with approximately 420 employees nationwide including the ten current employees in Kilfeacle.

We are quite literally Irish from the ground up, mining raw materials from our own quarries before producing superior quality products, explained brothers David and Derry, Operations Directors.

Minister of State Tom Hayes and Chairman of Tipperary Municipal County Council Cllr.Michael Fitzgerald welcomed the brothers and their team to Kilfeacle.

Were thrilled to be here. Our business is third generation and were looking to expand in Tipperary with the intention to create new jobs, added David McKeown Operations Director.

Kilsaran have secured ownership of CEMEX plants in Cork, Tipperary, Limerick , Waterford, Wexford, Portlaoise, Ballinakill, Castletown, Duleek and Dublin. The acquisition will see Kilsaran expand its geographic spread of plants and quarries, far beyond the origins of Leinster, into a nationwide business.

Operations Manager, Padraig Hogan from Borrisokane, is a former Tipperary senior hurler and All Ireland medal winner 1991. The Hogan family sporting stars also include Brendan and Adrian Hogan.
Morgan Stanley will pay $63 million to settle a series of government lawsuits claiming the bank misrepresented securities it sold to banks that later failed.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sued the New York-based lender after taking over three banks that had failed following the 2008 financial crisis. The FDIC accused Morgan Stanley of violating laws in the sale of 14 residential mortgage-backed securities offerings to the banks in Alabama, Nevada and Colorado, the agency said.

The settlement was announced by the FDIC in a Tuesday news release.

The settlement  coordinated with the Department of Justice  doesn't represent "an admission or evidence of liability," according to the agreement. This latest settlement brings the total collected from Morgan Stanley by the FDIC to $87 million for mortgage-backed securities claims. The money will go to cover losses the smaller banks incurred in their failures.

In December, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $225 million to resolve lawsuits from another regulator, the National Credit Union Administration, which also accused the bank of selling faulty mortgage-backed securities. That agreement was done without the bank admitting wrongdoing.

Mark Lake, a Morgan Stanley spokesman, declined to comment.
DEAR ABBY: I recently decided that I wanted to help an infertile couple conceive by becoming an egg donor. I'm well-educated and have a job I love. I understand the commitment both time-wise and emotionally. I am now part of a registry, and I could be selected for a donation at any time.

Like other young women, I am dating. However, I am conflicted about whether to tell my dates about my involvement with egg donation and if so, how. I understand that this is extremely personal, but at the same time I could have genetic offspring out there. Can you advise? -- HELPING OUT IN BATON ROUGE

DEAR HELPING OUT: I do not think it would be appropriate to share this information with any man you are seeing casually. However, if a relationship becomes serious, you should discuss it. A way to start the conversation would be to say, "It's said that the most meaningful gift a person can give is a gift of self. Well, I have taken it literally."

DEAR ABBY: My 22-year-old daughter, a recent college graduate, is back living at home. She has been bringing her boyfriends home and having sex in her room. I have a real problem with it. There are younger children living here. My husband is not aware of what goes on behind her closed doors at night. How should I handle this? -- STILL UNDER MY ROOF

DEAR STILL: If you prefer not to involve your husband in this, have a private chat with your daughter and tell her you are not comfortable with her entertaining her boyfriends in your home in the manner you have described. Tell her that if she wants to have sex, she should do it elsewhere -- but not under your roof with younger children nearby. Because it's your home, your rules should apply.

DEAR ABBY: My girlfriend of two years was offered the opportunity to travel to Nepal for a month-long stay. Leading up to the trip I tried not to be jealous, but I did say some childish things like, "You're leaving me for a mountain?" However, before she left, I told her I knew it was a great opportunity and that she should enjoy herself.

She emailed me a couple of nights ago about how she and two of her male guides went to a bar together where she got drunk. They plan on going to the club again later during the trip.

I trust my girlfriend, but I can't help but worry that she may be taken advantage of. I didn't mention my concerns and even encouraged her to go and have fun. But am I wrong to feel worried? Am I being insecure? -- LEFT AT HOME IN FLORIDA

DEAR LEFT AT HOME: You're not wrong to feel worried. Under the circumstances, it's only normal. Does your girlfriend drink at home? And if she does, how does it affect her? At high altitudes the effects of alcohol can be magnified.

It's one thing to be open-minded and quite another to be so open-minded your brains fall out. Rather than encourage her, you should have warned her to be careful because what she did was risky. As for feeling insecure, at this point you're entitled to feel that way.

DEAR ABBY: I am dating an awesome man who happens to be married. He and his wife have been separated for 10 years and they still talk to each other, but they are not living together.

"Mr. Right" is retired from the military and says they are still married because of her health issues and the fact that she can't afford health care on her own. Should we continue to see each other? -- HIS HONEY IN HOUSTON

DEAR HONEY: If you are satisfied with the relationship, enjoy it for what it is. But if you aspire to anything more, this man is not in a position to give it to you. (Instead of referring to him as "Mr. Right," it might be more accurate to call him "Mr. Right for Now.")

DEAR ABBY: I have a large family consisting of many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Looking through my photo albums, I can't complain that I don't have enough photos of my children, but it's a parade of tongues.

Their mothers all post photos on social media with their tongues hanging out. The children then mimic their moms and their photos are disgusting as well. I would love to have photos of my children minus the slimy organ.

Is this accepted behavior in our society now? Please, can someone enlighten me as to the inspiration of this repulsive action? -- CLOSED-MOUTHED IN THE SOUTH

DEAR CLOSED-MOUTHED: I suspect it originated back in the 1970s when Gene Simmons of Kiss licked his way to the top of the music charts. Lately, Miley Cyrus took up the torch and is keeping it burning brightly. Children often stick out their tongues when they are forced to have their picture taken or are trying to be funny, but I don't think Gene and Miley fall into that category. Quite the opposite, in fact.

DEAR ABBY: Sometimes I'll call a close friend or business associate for lunch with the goal of having a quality one-on-one conversation on a wide range of topics. After the lunch is set, more than one of them has then invited other people I know, but with whom I do not have the same quality relationship. It is not a pleasant surprise.

I find it irritating, because it invariably changes the dynamic of the conversation. I never say anything about it, but it bothers me. Is my reaction reasonable, or should I just roll with this? -- THWARTED IN DALLAS

DEAR THWARTED: Your reaction is perfectly reasonable. The first time it happened, you should have shared your feelings with the person who did it. It has happened again because you didn't speak up. Now you will have to warn the person you're inviting in advance.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
How do aquifers work?

The current situation in California

Replenishing groundwater in aquifers

(NaturalNews) Farmers in California's Central Valley are considering an extreme measure to help combat declining groundwater levels, and it may seem counterintuitive  they want to flood their own farms.The land has become completely parched with drought, and Don Cameron, a farmer in the area who grows everything from almonds to grapes and tomatoes, suggests that stormwater is the answer.Cameron and the neighboring farming community are proposing to flood fields with storm runoff in order to allow the water time to seep into the massive aquifer that is located underground.Aquifers occur underground when layers of rock become saturated with water that can then be brought to the surface either naturally or using pumps.Aquifers are one of the most crucial water sources on the planet  with about 30 percent of liquid freshwater held as groundwater at any one time.The most productive aquifers are located in porous, permeable rock such as sandstone or limestone, where groundwater flows more easily, allowing for faster and easier extraction. A dense, impermeable layer, such as clay, lies directly underneath, holding the water in place until either the groundwater is extracted or the water table rises above the surface.The water in an aquifer can be stored for hundreds of years, with many hydrologists estimating that some aquifers have been holding water for more than 10,000 years.The aquifer in California's Central Valley accounts for about 60% of the state's water supply  but its use is not currently regulated, and landowners can extract as much water as they wish.However, California is sinking  and at an alarming rate of more than 18 inches per year. This is thought to be due to the space left underground by the extraction of groundwater. The aquifer may be drying up.In fact, California has permanently lost around 6 trillion gallons of water over the last century. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, if everyone in the state stopped pumping groundwater immediately, it would take 50 years for the aquifer to refill. But without a government agency closely monitoring the levels, this would be incredibly hard to achieve.This is where Cameron and other local farmers come in. The idea is simple  flood fields with storm runoff from El Nino during times when water isn't needed and allow it to replenish the aquifer. Cameron first came up with the idea in 1983, when a huge storm saw entire vineyards submerged  and yet they survived.In 2011, Cameron started to put his theory to the test. He diverted stormwater passing by his property to flood a 300-acre vineyard for five months  and the experiment worked. Most of the water sitting on the land naturally drained into the aquifer, and the vines survived.Cameron is now investing $7 million from a federal grant for the prevention of flooding to quadruple the capacity of the stormwater channel, hoping that El Nino will bring even more water this year. Other farmers are also joining him  with the general opinion that something must be done to replenish the aquifer resounding throughout the local community.It is hoped that Sustainable Conservation, a Californian non-profit organization, will help Cameron spearhead this large-scale flooding experiment, the results of which could play a huge role in the long-term management and maintenance of the aquifer's groundwater  replenishing it for the future.1. CNBC.com 2. LiveScience.com 3. RevealNews.org
(NaturalNews) Just like with food, cheap, toxic chemicals are often used in cosmetics that pollute the body, the environment and even workers employed to manufacture them. Synthetic chemicals present in cosmetics aren't the only concern, but such products can also be prone to bacterial contamination, something that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does little to protect us from.When product contamination does occur, cosmetic manufacturers are allowed to use their own discretion when deciding whether or not to inform the public, often leading to products being quietly yanked from store shelves. report byreveals that the Ohio-based cleaning product manufacturer Kutol Products Co. removed 4,500 units of moisturizer from stores due to being contaminated with an opportunistic pathogenic bacteria capable of inflicting harm particularly to cystic fibrosis patients, burn victims and people with cancer.Kutol has been involved in two out of seven recalls this year, reports confirm, with Medline Skintegrity and KLM Hand & Body being the two moisturizers recently pulled from stores.bacterial infections are common among patients who have been hospitalized for more than a week, inducing complications such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and inflammation."They don't normally infect healthy people. [But] If someone is sick, burned or their immunity is compromised, they're susceptible to infection by these opportunistic bacteria," said microbiologist Ananda Chakrabarty.The rod-shaped bacteria are known for their metabolic diversity, occurring naturally in soil, marshes, coastal marine habitats and plant and animal tissue, according to, and can remain dormant in the host's body without symptoms for years."They consider the body as their home and try to protect it from outside invaders [diseases]," added Chakrabarty. "But when you're weak, that's the time it will work on your immune system and cause an infection."Kutol's latest product contamination was discovered when the company's director of quality, Veriti Overby, saw a pink film on the top of one of the moisturizers, prompting further examination of their products It was later concluded that a "food type ingredient known to have bacteria in it" was responsible for the contamination. Kutol issued a notice to all of its distributors, including in the U.S., Canada and Australia but did not notify the public of the recall.Under the FDA's Recall Policy for Cosmetics , the agency cannot order a recall for cosmetics but can only "monitor the progress of a recall" by conducting "audit checks at wholesale or retail customers to verify the recall's effectiveness."In order to "minimize the burden of product recalls," the FDA says manufacturers should do a thorough job of preventing "product adulteration" and take precautionary measures such as assigning lot or batch numbers in order to easily identify problem products.However, the law doesn't require companies to assign lot numbers for cosmetics For cosmetic firms with potentially contaminated products on store shelves, the FDA recommends that the company determines why the violation occurred, identify what changes should be made in order to prevent the problem from reoccurring and implement those changes.Not once does the FDA recommend notifying the public.Recalls are classified as Class I, II or III, depending on potential health effects. Typically, the public only receives notifications on Class I recalls.Otherwise, recalls are made public in the weekly FDA Enforcement Report, which is often several months behind. A Vogue recall involving 200,000 bottles of OGX Biotin and Collagen Conditioner occurred in May; however, it was not reported by the FDA until September.Consumer rights advocates insist that "better regulation and transparency of the cosmetics industry" could help curb bacterial infections originating from personal care products.
Academia petitions government to allow free-market organ harvesting

Low-risk operations promise great benefit for both donor and recipient

Organ real estate agent could be used as a broker between donor and recipient

(NaturalNews) There are at least 125,000 people waiting for an organ transplant right now in the US. Their names are filed on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network transplant list. An overwhelming majority of those waiting -- more than 100,000 -- are in need of a kidney transplant. Right now, they must either wait for a family member to donate a live kidney or wait for a cadaveric kidney, which is obtained from the accidental death of a young person. There are roughly only 5,700 live kidneys donated per year, leaving over 94,000 people desperate for a cadaveric kidney, which comes at the expense of someone's demise.Prominent academics in the field know how desperate the situation really is and have recently signed an open letter to the president, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Attorney General Eric Holder and the leaders of Congress. The letter says, "We call for the swift initiation of evidence-based research on ways to offer benefits to organ donors in order to expand the availability of transplants."In 1984, Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Al Gore sponsored the National Organ Transplantation Act, which effectively banned the free-market sale of organs. The measure passed into law, making it illegal for hospitals to "acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer" organs from one person to another for "valuable consideration." The law blocked cash payments for buying and selling organs.Now there is a new push to repeal that law and open up a free market for harvesting and selling organs. Kidneys, being the most sought-after organ and the easiest transplant to execute, could be the first organ to be allowed on a voluntary market. Live kidneys, donated from family members, may be donated in less-than-ideal condition. In a free market, healthier volunteers could sell healthier kidneys to those in need. Those waiting wouldn't have to wish for accidental deaths, and many times these cadaveric kidneys are in poor condition due to the time of death. By the time relatives decide on kidney transplantation, the organ could be in poor condition. An open market would make healthy kidneys more available on demand.The good news for the donor is that the risk of severe complication is low and is shown to occur every 3 cases per 10,000. On the receiving end, the benefit is extraordinary; receiving a live kidney typically adds 15 to 20 years to a person's life. The real question is: Who would line up to have their organs harvested and how much compensation would be enough to satisfy their discomfort and loss of work time? What would the cost of a kidney go for in an open market? The letter detailed in-kind compensation for donors, compensating them for lifelong health expenses, funeral expenses and potential disability insurance. The plan even said that donors could potentially be supplemented by "a pension contribution, tax credit, or charitable contribution."The open letter to the federal government also wanted to ensure equality and said that "private transactions between individuals should remain prohibited." According to the letter, the push to sell organs from US patients would be administered by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a nonprofit organization. How well would a program like this be executed, with UNOS acting as an intermediary between patients and donors? Would there be brokers available to act fairly on behalf of both buyers and sellers, as there are in real estate? Perhaps both donor and recipient would enjoy full legal protections in a system like this, in case there was a misrepresentation or mistake in the transfer.Would these brokers actively seek and recruit people with healthy organs?Would the richest recipients get the best organs first, leaving the poor on the back of the waiting list? Important questions remain in the push for free-for-all organ harvesting, buying and selling.
Was it an accident?

The saga continues
So what's the problem?

How many products are Monsanto?

Coca-Cola and all its variations (Coca-Cola Light, Cherry Coke, Minute Maid, Burn, Dr Pepper and Fanta)

Cadbury

Campbell, Liebig and Royco soups

Capri-Sun

General Mills products, including Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Yoplait yoghurt and Old El Paso fajitas

Heinz

Kellogg's including Cornflakes, Special K, Treso, Miel Pops, Coco Pops, Frosties, Extra and All Bran

Knorr broths, soups and sauces

Kraft Philipp Morris and associated brands including Maxwell Coffee, Philadelphia cream cheese, Lu cookies, Milka, Oreo and Toblerone

Lipton teas

Ocean Spray

Pepperidge Farm cookies

PepsiCo and Pepsi-Cola brands including Tropicana, Alvalle, Gatorade, Seven Up, Lipton Ice Tea, Lay's, Doritos, Ruffles, Tostitos and Quakers

Pringles

Schweppes

Uncle Ben's

(NaturalNews) You've probably heard of Monsanto  the largest producer of genetically engineered (GE) seeds in the world, accounting for over 90% of the seeds planted globally.The U.S.-based agricultural biotechnology company is also the leading producer of Roundup  a controversial herbicide that contains glyphosate. Monsanto creates GE seeds that are resistant to herbicides  in particular, Roundup  meanwhile Roundup kills everything except the GE crops that can withstand it. When these GE crops are harvested, they contain extremely high levels of glyphosate, which the WHO recently admitted is a "probable" carcinogen.Monsanto has developed chemical products for many years, some of which have eventually become controversial or been banned  such as DDT, Agent Orange, bovine growth hormone and PCBs.As the leading producer of GE seeds and glyphosate-based herbicide , Monsanto has a lot to answer for in terms of producing extremely dangerous products. Glyphosate is toxic to both humans and the environment, infiltrating the landscape and water systems and building up over time in the bodies of animals and humans alike.Monsanto claims that glyphosate is safe to use, but independent scientists disagree, and several studies have indicated that several health issues are associated with exposure to the toxic herbicide. It is an endocrine disrupter and affects reproductive health, wreaking havoc on the human body, even in low doses.The human body is not equipped to handle GE foods, and a variety of studies in animals have revealed serious health risks associated with GE food consumption. The risks include infertility, immunity problems, changes in the liver, kidney problems, accelerated aging and dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis.Monsanto claims that there is no need to test the safety of GE foods, and they cannot pose any health risks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has waived all levels of safety testing and claims that nothing more than voluntary research is necessary. So Monsanto and other controversial agri-giants are able to fly under the radar when it comes to the risks involved with their products.You may well be surprised when you realize just how many of your day-to-day goods use Monsanto products in their manufacturing process. If you're interested in avoiding GE foods, or just want to avoid putting your hard-earned cash into Monsanto's pocket, here are some brands to boycott By avoiding these and other Monsanto-related brands, you'll be diverting your cash away from the corporate giant and doing your bit to fight against the production of GE foods and glyphosate herbicides . Meanwhile, by sharing knowledge and information about Monsanto products, you are encouraging others to make informed decisions about what products are ethically sound.
ADM, Balchem and Huber announced acquisitions of Harvest Innovations, Albion and Martinswerk, respectively.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) reached an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in Harvest Innovations, an industry leader in minimally processed, expeller-pressed soy proteins, oils and gluten-free ingredients.

More and more consumers are looking for foods that are gluten-free, that arent genetically modified, and that are healthy and organic," said Vince Macciocchi, president of ADMs WILD Flavors and specialty ingredients business unit. Todays addition perfectly complements our existing ingredient businesses and offers customers a full-service, one-stop shop for their ingredient needs."

Harvest Innovations is based in Indianola, Iowa, and has a second processing facility in Deshler, Ohio. The company uses expeller pressing to turn grains, legumes and oilseeds into minimally processed, non-genetically modified organism (GMO), organic, gluten-free ingredients. Products range from non-GMO soy chips, expeller-pressed soy flour and textured vegetable protein, to organic soy crisps, to gluten-free flours and pastas.

We are not done growing," Macciocchi added. Were continuing to add to our capabilities, execute our plan to grow strategically, and deliver value for our customers and our shareholders."

ADM anticipates closing the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, in the coming months.

Balchem Corp. announced it acquired Albion International Inc., a privately held manufacturer of mineral amino acid chelates, specialized mineral salts and mineral complexes, headquartered in Clearfield, Utah, for a purchase price of $111.5 million in cash. Albions 2015 revenues were approximately $53.5 million. The acquisition purchase price reflects a multiple of approximately 10.7 times 2015 EBITDA, excluding any synergies. The transaction consideration is subject to certain adjustments as provided in the definitive agreement. The purchase price will be financed through the companys existing revolving credit facility and cash on hand. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Balchems earnings per share.

Albion has been a world leader and innovator in the manufacture of superior organic mineral compounds for 60 years. With more than 100 patents, the company leverages scientific expertise in the areas of both human and plant nutrition. Its products are renowned in the supplement industry for technologically advanced, unparalleled bioavailability.

With this acquisition, Balchem continues to expand its science-based human health and wellness solutions. Already a global leader in the essential nutrient, choline, Balchem will immediately expand the combined company's product offerings in the nutritional ingredient market by adding Albions premier branded innovative chelated minerals to its portfolio. The combined company will also benefit from a broader geographic footprint and an even stronger position as a technological leader in spray-drying and ingredient delivery solutions.

J.M. Huber Corp., through its Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) division, announced it acquired the Martinswerk business of Albemarle Corp. Now the Martinswerk portfolio is officially part of the Fire Retardant Additives (FRA) business unit of HEM.

Hubers largest acquisition in more than a decade, the transaction included Martinswerks manufacturing facility in Bergheim, Germany, more than 470 employees and the following product lines:

 Martinal precipitated and ground alumina trihydrate

 Magnifin premium precipitated magnesium hydroxide

 A variety of specialty chemical products, including Martifin specialty hydrates for paper, Martoxid aluminum oxide primarily for ceramics, Pergopak flatting agents and carrier additives, and Compalox granulated activated alumina.

This strategic acquisition is well aligned with HEMs FRA business unitboth from a product and geographic standpoint," explained Jerry Bertram, vice president and general manager of HEMs fire retardant additive business. It builds on our existing halogen-free fire-retardant offerings and expands the range of products we can provide to customers around the world."

To ensure a smooth integration, HEM is retaining the current management team at Martinswerk. The FRA business unit will be structured in a regional model with a general manager operating out of Europe.

The Martinswerk acquisition builds on Hubers 34 year history of supplying fire retardants and smoke suppressants. It marks the latest in a series of investments in the FRA business by Huber, including the acquisition of the Kemgard product line from Sherwin-Williams in 2010, and the purchase of the assets of the specialty hydrates business from Almatis in 2012. In 2015, Huber purchased the Safire nitrogen and phosphorous flame retardant technology from Floridienne Group and Catena Additives.

Bringing together our long-term experience in fire retardant additives with the product lines from Martinswerk broadens our portfolio of environmentally-friendly fire-retardant additives for use across multiple applications, including carpet backing, fiber reinforced plastics, roofing, silicone rubber and wire and cable," Bertram concluded.
Country

Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will face off in four more debates under an agreement reached by the campaigns and the national party on Wednesday.

The additional debates will held in Flint, Michigan on March 6, and two other cities in April and May, with details to be determined later. Clinton has sought a debate in Flint to bring attention to the city's water contamination crisis and Sanders said he wanted it to be scheduled before the Michigan primary on March 8.

Clinton and Sanders are meeting Thursday in a debate at the University of New Hampshire just days before Tuesday's first-in-the-nation primary.

Clinton narrowly defeated Sanders in Monday's Iowa caucuses but Sanders has maintained a solid lead in New Hampshire. It will be the first debate since former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley dropped out of the race, leaving just Clinton and Sanders competing for the nomination.

The former secretary of state wanted to debate Sanders in New Hampshire as she tries to close her deficit against the Vermont senator. Sanders, meanwhile, has vowed to take his campaign all the way to the party's summer convention and requested three extra forums to ensure the party will have debates throughout the spring.

Two other Democratic debates are already on the calendar: Feb. 11 in Milwaukee and March 9 in Miami.

In a sign of growing tensions, leaders of the rival campaigns have traded snippy statements over the details of the three debates.

Sanders' campaign wanted one of the debates to be held in California and another in Brooklyn, New York, and questioned why Clinton, a former New York senator, might be reluctant to debate in her adopted home state. Clinton's campaign accused Sanders' team of playing games.

Sanders said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that he got commitments to debate in Michigan and California but could not reach an agreement on holding one in New York City.

"New York City is our largest city. I would have loved to have a debate in that city. But Secretary Clinton has not agreed to do that," Sanders said. "But I believe we are looking at a debate, perhaps, in Pennsylvania or somewhere else."

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, said the times and locations for the final two debates will be determined at a later date and the party will work closely with both campaigns as they finalize the remaining details.
It was a showdown in Iowa Monday night, and Tuesday a jumbling at the top. Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton officially earned the most delegates in the Iowa Caucus, but each of the candidates had something to say, and claim, about their standing.

So whos telling the truth?

NBC Bay Area looked into those claims.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz raised eyebrows when he told the crowd during his victory speech, To put in perspective, your incredible victory that you have won tonight. That is the most votes ever cast for any Republican primary winner.

This statement is partly true. Cruz collected more than 51,000 votes, a record for a Republican candidate in the Iowa Caucuses, but nowhere near the GOP primary record. Consider this, in 2012, Mitt Romney fetched about a million votes in Texas alone.

Donald Trump, humbled by a second-place finish, told a crowd, We have a poll: We're 28 points ahead, New Hampshire. We love New Hampshire.

Trump is exaggerating his advantage, but not by that much. This week, five polls have handicapped the Republican race in New Hampshire, from CNN to the Boston Herald. They all show The Donald up -- but by between 18 and 26 points.

Throughout his campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has painted himself as a trailblazer, unwilling to accept super-PAC cash during his surge up his partys ranks.

At his speech Monday night, he told onlookers, We do not represent the interests of the billionaire class, Wall Street, or corporate America--- we dont want their money!

And he does lead the way in individual donations by a lot. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, some 98 percent of Sanders money comes from contributors. However, some of those contributors hail from corporate Americas most influential firms, and their political action committees are also making contributions to team Sanders.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton largely avoided taking any risks, instead opting for a bold vision of what shed like to achieve, like standing up to the gun lobby and passing what she called common sense gun safety measures. If efforts after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 proved anything, its that a presidents will is not enough. Gun laws wont change, until Congress changes.

Then theres Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He might not have won the most delegates, but he was most certainly the nights biggest winner, nearly matching Trump for votes. Thats a feat no one predicted, and a development that establishes a three-horse race in the Republican Party.
Incumbent Anita Alvarez holds a sizable lead over her two Democratic opponents in the race for Cook County State's Attorney, according to a new Chicago Tribune poll.

Despite months of protests and outcry for her resignation following the police shooting of Chicago teen Laquan McDonald, Alvarez received 34 percent of the recent polls votes.

"As the actual records of my opponents begin to be scrutinized and evaluated by the media in coming weeks, I believe that voters will continue to see that my record of reform, independence and my passion for standing up for victims of crime offers voters a clear choice over the other candidates in the field, Alvarez said in a statement to Ward Room.

Former Cook County Assistant States Attorney Kim Foxx received 27 percent of the poll's votes although 4 in 10 voters said they had never heard of Foxx.

We are energized by the results of this poll, Joanna Klonsky, a Foxx campaign spokesperson, told Ward Room. It shows Kim, a first time candidate, is in striking distance of a two-term incumbent with universal name recognition.

Former state and federal prosecutor Donna More received 12 percent of the votes. Half of the poll's voters said they had never heard of More.

Nonetheless, the More campaign was optimistic about the poll results.

Recent polls show what we already knew, Donna More said in a statement. Voters see failure of leadership by Anita Alvarez and they are calling for change.

According to the poll, 26 percent of voters had a favorable impression of Alvarez, while 42 percent of voters had an unfavorable impression, and 27 percent of voters had no opinion.

Alvarez, who is seeking a third term as Cook County state's attorney, came under scrutiny after a dash-cam video showing Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times was made public in November of last year as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Although the incident occurred in October 2014, Alvarez did not file murder charges for 13 months.

Alvarez has since stood by her record as states attorney.

Ive done a tremendous job as the Cook County states attorney being an independent professional states attorney, Alvarez said during a debate last week.

The poll is comprised of 968 registered Cook County Democratic voters were polled from Jan. 20-28 using landline and cell phone interviews. 26 percent of voters are either undecided or backing another candidate in the race.

The election for the Democratic nomination for Cook County State's Attorney will be held on March 15.
As a result of a budget impasse dating back to July of last year, the State of Illinois has accrued millions of dollars in unpaid bills.

The state currently owes payment for a variety of bills ranging from a mere $28.44 for water and sewer bills at a Springfield courthouse to $4.8 million for a joint health partnership with the State of Michigan, according to a report released Sunday by the Associated Press.

A $5 billion budget deficit has left the state without an official budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. The budget impasse has led to cuts in funding for social services and other programs. This includes Lutheran Social Services, the state's largest provider in social services, which have been forced to cut programs and staff.

The budget impasse further threatens the states social services as Illinois currently owes millions to $2 million to Ashleys Quality Care in Chicago, an in-home assisted living provider for seniors.

Although Ashleys is still receiving federal funding, the company has been unable to meet its payroll for the past 14 weeks. As a result, clientele has been lost and 40 of the companys 1,000 employees have departed.

Its really affecting us real bad, chief executive accountant Michael Robinson told Ward Room. Were down probably about 30 percent of our client base.

The States budget impasse has been typified by a battle between pro-business Governor Bruce Rauner and a Democrat-controlled legislature that insists on tax increases and spending cuts, according to the report.

"No one is more frustrated about the lack of a budget than Governor Rauner," Rauner spokesperson Catherine Kelly told Ward Room in a statement. "Bills could be paid if the Democrat-majority in the legislature worked with the Governor to pass structural reforms and a balanced budget."

The impasse hinges largely on the state's $111 billion in unfunded pension liability. During last week's state of the state, Rauner claimed to be working with Democratic Senate President Cullerton to pass legislation to remedy the problem.

Illinois continues to spend billions of dollars on services ordered by federal courts or limited legislative action.
UPDATE: A judge decided to move the case forward. NEW DETAILS HERE

The prosecutor in the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby argued Wednesday that his predecessor had no legal authority to make a deal a decade ago that would shield the comedian from ever facing charges.

District Attorney Kevin Steele said that the 2005 supposed no-prosecution deal  which was never put in writing and was only alluded to in a press release  ran afoul of the law and was a misuse of authority.



[[367557261, C]]

"A secret agreement that permits a wealthy defendant to buy his way out of a criminal case isn't right," Steele said.



Steele made the argument on Day 2 of a bid by Cosby's lawyers to get the sex-crime charges thrown out. They contend that then-District Attorney Bruce Castor's 2005 decision not to prosecute bars his successors from filing charges.



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"In this case, the prosecution should be stopped in its tracks," Cosby lawyer Chris Tayback argued. "Really what we're talking about here is honoring a commitment."



Judge Steven O'Neill said he hoped to rule later in the day.



Cosby, 78, was arrested and charged in December with drugging and sexually violating former Temple University athletic department employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The former TV star could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted.



Castor found the case too flawed to prosecute in 2005, but Steele's office reopened the investigation last summer, after the comedian's damaging, decade-old testimony from Constand's civil case was unsealed at the request of The Associated Press and after dozens of other women came forward to accuse Cosby of assaulting them.



On Tuesday, Castor testified that as an elected representative of the state, he had the power to give Cosby a lifetime pass from prosecution.



He said he wanted to use the agreement to force Cosby to testify in Constand's civil case without invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Cosby ultimately testified, and Constand settled for an undisclosed amount.



Cosby's lawyers said they never would have let him testify if they didn't believe criminal charges were off the table.



However, Constand's lawyer, Dolores Troiani, testified Wednesday that she was never told before or during the lawsuit that Castor had struck a deal taking criminal charges off the table. Troiani said she didn't learn of the supposed agreement until last September.



"There was no reason for us to request or ask for him to be granted immunity," she said. "We're ex-prosecutors, my partner and I. We wanted him arrested."

The judge said that he struggled to find similar cases where a suspect who was never charged received a promise that he would never be prosecuted. Normally, immunity is granted after a suspect is charged because he or she can provide testimony or information to prosecutors.



Here, Castor said he was clearing the way for Cosby to testify in a lawsuit that, at the time of his decision, hadn't been filed yet.



"There is one thing we can all agree on," Tayback said. "There is no case quite like this."

More than 40 women have accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them since the 1960s, destroying his good-guy image as America's Dad. But the statute of limitations for prosecuting him has run out in nearly every instance. This is the only case in which he has been charged.

Castor defended his decision not to bring charges, citing among other things Constand's yearlong delay in reporting the allegations, her continued contact with Cosby, and suggestions that she and her mother might have tried to extort the TV star.
A 13-year-old Virginia girl who apparently climbed out her bedroom window was fatally stabbed the same day she left home, investigators said Tuesday, as officials looked into her social media activity.

Nicole Madison Lovell, who had battled health issues during her short life, was found dead Saturday. Her mother said Tuesday that Nicole was once, as a small child, so ill that doctors said she had just a 1 percent chance of survival.

But Nicole, who also had a liver transplant as a baby, "once again beat the odds," said her mother, Tammy Weeks.

Now a Virginia Tech student, David Eisenhauer, is accused of kidnapping and murdering the girl.

"I believe the truth will set me free," he said, according to a police document resulting from his arrest Saturday.

That was also the day that Nicole's body was found hidden off a North Carolina road, two hours south of the Virginia Tech campus.

A preliminary report found that her cause of death was stabbing, Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt said at the press conference Tuesday afternoon. Pettitt said Nicole died Jan. 27, the same day she went missing.

But the truth of what happened to her has been closely guarded by investigators, and officials said little else at the news conference.

Another promising engineering major at Virginia Tech also is behind bars. Natalie Keepers will be charged Tuesday with being an accessory before the fact to the first-degree murder, Pettitt said. That's in addition to earlier charges that accuse her of helping to dispose of the girl's body. The new charge carries a term of up to life in prison, Pettitt said.

Pettitt said she would not take questions about the investigation. She said her responsibility is "to maintain the integrity of investigation and seek justice inside the courtroom."

Police Investigate Nicole Lovell's Social Media Activity

Police are investigating the role social media may have played in Lovell's abduction and death.



A neighbor of Nicole's said the seventh-grader told her children she had snuck out to meet her "boyfriend" David, an 18-year-old she met online through the Kik messaging app.

Neighbor Stacy Snider said her 8-year-old twins played with Nicole before she vanished. She said they told her Nicole showed them a thread of texts.



"She was talking about this boyfriend she had that was 18 and went to college, and his name was David. And showed some text messages off of a Kik and pictures. And that's what the girls told the police officers when they asked," she said.



Snider said she learned all this from her girls only after Nicole vanished. "I would have told her mother. But we didn't know nothing about it until she came up missing, unfortunately," she said.



Kik Interactive, based in Ontario, Canada, was "active in helping the FBI carry out their investigation," spokesman Rod McLeod said.

Also, at Kik's request, Apple stopped advertising Kik Messenger as appropriate for kids 9 and older on its iTunes store on Monday. "Yes, we did recently ask Apple to change our rating to 12+. This more closely matches the age (13) in our TOS (terms of service),"McLeod told the AP.



Kik, along with Instagram and Snapchat, are particularly popular with younger teens, and it's impossible to keep underage users from signing up. Even kids whose parents closely monitor their activity on sites such as Facebook often use smartphones with other social media where predators lurk, said Adam Lee, special agent in charge of the FBI in Richmond.



"Kids are crafty," Lee said. "They will have one account parents have access to, and half a dozen they shield from their parents' view."



David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, agreed that parental oversight is a good thing, but cautioned against placing too much blame on technology.



"Although there has been an increase in crimes that have some social media-related nexus to them, the overall level of crime victimization -- including sexual assaults and kidnapping and even peer bullying -- has declined," Finkelhor said. "So it's a complicated picture."



Teens who are vulnerable online would be vulnerable in other situations as well, Finkelhor added, especially those who are "socially isolated or dealing with some emotional problem, not well supervised, suffering rejection by families or peers. They are looking for support, someone who can give them affirmation."

Nicole Lovell Was a Survivor, Her Mother Says

Tammy Weeks, Nicole's mother, described the health problems her daughter battled and the joys in her short life.

Doctors discovered a rare tumor in Nicole's liver when she was a baby, and at 10 months old, she received a liver transplant. But at age 4, she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"She fought once again but after that, it wasn't enough," Weeks said, after her daughter developed an acute respiratory condition and fell into a coma for six months. During that time, she contracted MRSA, a drug-resistant bacterial infection.

Doctors said she had just a 1 percent chance of survival but after eight months in the hospital, Nicole went home.

Nicole loved pandas, music and dancing, and dreamed of being on "American Idol" someday, said Weeks, who clutched a stuffed panda during the press conference.

"Her favorite color was blue. Nicole was a very lovable person," her mother said as she cried and shook. "Nicole touched many people throughout her short life."

Weeks was unable to continue reading her statement, and an official ushered her away.

Nicole bore emotional and physical wounds as a young teen, suffering from bullying at school and online over her weight and a tracheotomy scar, her mother has said. She needed daily medication after her liver transplant.

"God got her through all that, and she fought through all that, and he took her life," Weeks told The Washington Post.

Nicole didn't like going to school because girls called her fat and talked about her transplant scars.

"It got so bad I wouldn't send her," Weeks said, but the bullying continued on social media.

Weeks shared with The Associated Press two photos of her daughter: one at about 10, sticking out her tongue and wearing a shirt showing an actor from the "Twilight" movies; the other in a Mountain Dew hat and Dr. Pepper shirt last summer.

"She loved Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper," Weeks said.

Shock Over Arrests at Virginia Tech

Eisenhauer, 18, is charged with kidnapping and murdering Nicole; Keepers, 19, is charged with improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony.

They said little at court appearances Monday, and their lawyers have declined to comment.

Blacksburg police said they have evidence showing Eisenhauer knew the girl before she disappeared Jan. 27.

"Eisenhauer used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her. Keepers helped Eisenhauer dispose of Nicole's body," a police statement said.

On the Virginia Tech campus, state police divers continued to search a pond, and wouldn't say what they hoped to find.

The arrests of Eisenhauer and Keepers, two ambitious and focused students, shocked people who knew them in Maryland, where they attended nearby high schools. Neither had prior criminal records, police said.

"We had no reason to think he would be unsuccessful in his goals because he was very focused," said Principal James LeMon at Wilde Lake High School, where Eisenhauer graduated last year.

Eisenhauer, named Boys Indoor Track Performer of the Year by The Baltimore Sun last March, chose Virginia Tech to pursue engineering while competing with the Hokies' top college runners, LeMon said.

Keepers interned at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, led science experiments at her church's Bible school and hoped to build a future in aerospace or ocean engineering, her online resume said.

"It's just very, very surprising," said her principal, Marcia Leonard at Hammond High School.

Eisenhauer lived in Ambler Johnston Hall, the same co-ed residence hall where the first two people were killed in the 2007 campus massacre that left 32 dead.

"From what we've heard, he really stayed in his room a lot," said Abbey Workmeister, another freshman who lives in the same dormitory.

Logan Fry, a sophomore who lives on the same floor and also ran track in high school, said Nicole's death and the arrest of her dorm neighbor was frightening.

"Like, it definitely could have been me," she said.

Associated Press writers Juliet Linderman in Maryland, and Larry O'Dell and Alanna Durkin Richer in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.
Dozens of residents from Willington and East Windsor hit the road today in buses to Hartford arriving full-force to a hearing about a proposed state police firing range that may be built in one of their towns.

Residents boarded wearing t-shirts and holding signs to show theyre not for a state police firing range possibly coming to their town.

We all feel its just wrong all the way around, said Eric Nichols of Willington.



When residents arrived to Hartfords Legislative Office Building, there was only standing room only.

This meeting was the first time the states public safety and security committee would speak before the public discussing the project with members of the state departments of administrative services, emergency services and public protection. DAS and ESPP said the new range would cost about $ 7 million.



And they deserve the best training and facility to provide that training possible, said Lt. Mark Petruzzi with State Police to the committee.



The 55,000 square foot facility would replace one used in Simsbury, which is prone to flooding.

Some committee members argued the range should not be in Willington or East Windsor, but that state police could train at the existing National Guard firing range in East Haven.



Wouldnt it be wise for us to get 2 organizations who are going to have to work together in the case of an emergency state police and the national guard  to do training the same facility have some familiarity with each other makes sense to me, said Sen. Tony Guglielmo who represents Willington.



Residents hope the range isnt placed in their town.



It is so close it is less than a mile from people, residential areas, said Munok Dane of East Windsor.



"They said wont go where were not wanted. Pretty clear we dont want the range there," said Dave Tharp of Willington.



Officials with DAS said they're continuing to look at other locations for the range.
A Santeria priest accused of stealing human remains from a Massachusetts mausoleum was arrested as a fugitive from justice in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where investigators found human skulls, bones and bloody altars in his apartment, according to police.

Police arrested Felix "Cuba" Delgado, 40, as part of a drug investigation Tuesday. Delgado is the second Santeria priest in Connecticut accused of stealing human remains in Massachusetts, although it's unclear if the cases are connected.

Bridgeport Violent Crime Reduction and FBI Safe Streets Task Force investigators searched Delgado's Hallet Street apartment after receiving information he was selling heroin and prescription pills from his residence, according to police.

Delgado was wanted in a parallel investigation out of Worcester, where he's accused of breaking into a 112-year-old mausoleum. Police said the caskets had been removed or forced open. Bodies were also taken out, but police said small bones were left behind.

He was charged in Bridgeport as a fugitive from justice. It's not clear if he has an attorney.

Police said Delgado was reported to be a high priest of the Santeria religion who was keeping the remains of humans and roosters in his basement. Santeria is an Afro-Cuban religion developed from the beliefs and customs of the Yoruba people and incorporates some elements of the Catholic religion.

"I heard a bunch of witchcraft stuff going on," Joshua Colon, Delgado's neighbor, told NBC Connecticut.

Neighbors, largely from Puerto Rico and the West Indies, where Santeria is practiced, believed Delgado was involved in the dark arts and were afraid to complain for fear he would curse them, police said.

"It's spooky that it's right next door," Colon said.

According to police, investigators found two human skulls and a "long" bone in Delgado's basement that were "configured in a 'Palo Mayombe' type alter, which is a sub-culture within the Santeria religion."

They also discovered carved figurines, candles, antlers, flowers, miniature coffins, rum, religious statues and carcasses of chickens strewn about his basement. Chalk drawings of symbols like stars, the moon and a skull were observed on the cellar floor, police said.

Bridgeport police seized the remains, which will be taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Worcester police obtained a warrant for Delgado's arrest charging him with eight counts of body disinternment. Bridgeport police were holding him in custody on a $125,000 bond ahead of his arraignment Wednesday and his extradition to Worcester.

The district attorney's office for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has coordinated his extradition with the court.

Delgado's arrest is the second time Santeria has made headlines recently in Connecticut.

Former Santeria priest Amador Medina, 32, was charged after police found bones in his Hartford apartment. Authorities said Medina stole the bones from a mausoleum in Worcester and used them for Santeria ceremonies. Medina has said he bought the bones from someone else.

It's unclear if Medina and Delgado are believed to have stolen from the same mausoleum or whether their cases are connected. Worcester police previously reported burglaries from two mausoleums.

The Cultural Association of African Religions Babalu Aye, a group connected to Santeria, has said followers of the religion do not recognize the use of human bones in their practice. Medina's membership was revoked.
With a celebrity introduction by Hollywood actress Eliza Dushku and a crowd of more than a thousand people in Keene, New Hampshire, supporters say Bernie Sanders has more momentum than ever coming off a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton in Iowa.



"This is my first political rally ever, the first time I have ever felt strongly enough about a candidate to really come out and support him," said Keene resident Patrick Harron.



Sanders, who finished less than a half a percentage point behind Clinton in the caucuses says it's proof a political revolution is underway.



"We started off in that state depending on the poll 40, 50, 60 points behind, with no money, no political organization, and no name recognition, and we fought Secretary Clinton to a virtual tie," Sanders told reporters Tuesday.



The former Secretary of State was in Nashua Tuesday relishing in her Monday night victory.



"I am so thrilled that I am coming to New Hampshire after winning Iowa," Clinton told a crowd of screaming supporters.



In New Hampshire, Clinton trails Sanders by more than twenty percentage points according to the most recent CNN poll.



When NECN's Alison King asked Clinton if she thinks she can win New Hampshire, she replied, "I'm going to make my case and hope I can do very well next Tuesday."



With the First in the Nation Primary just one week away, voters say picking our next president is their very first priority.



"People are skipping out of work, they're playing hooky, it's really great...it's such an exciting place to live," said Marcia Kayser of Keene.



Sanders told reporters Tuesday evening that he is not ready to concede the race in Iowa. He says his team is taking a closer look at the numbers.




Enter here for a chance to win a $500 daily prize and you are automatically entered in our $10,000 Grand Prize drawing on March 1.

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State lawmakers are back in session for the first time since the Troubleshooters exposed a crisis with crumbling home foundations in eastern Connecticut.



Legislators who represent the affected towns said this is a top priority this session. In just the past couple of weeks the urgency of the issue accelerated after a Stafford building officials condemned a family's home that was deemed unsafe because of the crumbling foundation.



The Troubleshooters have been reporting since July on the problem that's affecting hundreds of homeowners in eastern Connecticut.



Experts said it requires all the foundations to be replaced at a cost of 150 thousand dollars and up.

Right now, homeowners and state leaders are awaiting results of state investigation into the cause of the problem.



In the meantime, lawmakers from eastern Connecticut said they're committed to getting their colleagues from other parts of the state on board and moving closer to a solution for the hundreds of homeowners impacted.



Longtime Senator Tony Guglielmo of Stafford said Hartford area legislators have supported transportation bills impacting Fairfield County in the past, and now it's time to return the favor.



"You can't be so provincial that's you're not willing to reach out. It's a small state so if we can't help out one another in Connecticut then something is really wrong," State Representative Chris Davis of Ellington said he's committed to making some progress for his constituents.



"There's no one silver bullet and unfortunately there's no one action that can solve this issue for anyone so we need to work together.."



Senator Guglielmo pointed to Community Development Block Grants as a possible source of seed money for homeowners. They are federal dollars allocated to Connecticut for smaller towns and could be a solid first step to give struggling homeowners some financial relief.
Expect presidential politics to surge in Texas as the March 1 Super Tuesday primary approaches.

Texas is the biggest of 12 states conducting primary contests that day. Republicans have 155 political convention delegates up for grabs and they're awarded proportionate to a candidate's share of the vote, not winner-take-all.

"If they can come in and get a few delegates, then that's more delegates than they had before," said Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Wade Emmert. "So I think you're going to see all those contenders come to Texas, wanting the prize, but really wanting some of our delegates."

Individual primary results in the 36 Texas Congressional Districts determine 108 of the 155 Texas delegates.

"Think of it as 36 little presidential campaigns throughout Texas," Emmert said. "So you have to have a ground-game to hit that many congressional districts. But if you're organized, there's something to be gained here."

Candidates will start shifting resources soon to run all those campaigns, according to Southern Methodist University political science expert Cal Jillson.

"People should be building their support structure in Texas, opening offices, hiring people, getting their presence on the ground to let Texans know that they're interested in their vote," Jillson said. "We're not going to see the kind of attention Iowa got, but we should get a good bit of attention being the big kid on the block."

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, left Iowa with a caucus victory over Donald Trump, but Jillson said some Republican leaders are still not sold on Cruz.

"The establishment is very worried about Cruz. They think he would not only lose, but also lose the senate for them," Jillson said.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, could be an establishment choice after a strong third-place finish in Iowa.

"Nobody expected him to be just a few points behind Donald Trump," Emmert said. "This is going to be a big shot in the arm for his campaign."

Rubio announced a Texas leadership team Tuesday, including former Texas State Rep. Linda Harper Brown, R-Irving, and former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman.

Democrats have 252 Texas convention delegates available in the Super Tuesday primary.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, finished in a virtual tie with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa.

"The fact that it was a wash, a completely even race, was good for Bernie," Jillson said.

Sanders has a Dallas campaign office open. Clinton has strong support from one of the top Dallas Democrats, the county's chief executive, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

"I'm confident that she will prevail and have overwhelming success, particularly here in Texas on Super Tuesday," Jenkins said.

Three other states have primary elections in the next few weeks before Super Tuesday: New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Jillson said the big Texas Super Tuesday push will come after those other states, once candidates see how much money they have left and who is still in the race.
The Latest on the mosquito-born Zika virus, which is linked to brain deformities in babies (all times CDT):

WEDNESDAY

7 p.m.

The head of the Pan American Health Organization says more resources are needed quickly if the region is to fight the Zika outbreak.

Carissa Etienne told health ministers from Latin America holding an emergency meeting in Uruguay on Wednesday that every nation in the region needs to devote more money to expand mosquito control campaigns, bolster health services and educate the public on the dangers.

Etienne says governments also must do more to track the spread of Zika as well as suspected complications from the virus, including microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Brazilian researchers suspect the explosive spread of Zika is tied to an increase in microcephaly and Guillain-Barre cases, though scientists have not yet proven a link.

Etienne also told the ministers they should act now even though there is not yet a complete understanding of Zika. In her words: "One fact of which we are unequivocally sure is that the Zika virus--like dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses--is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The most effective control measures are the prevention of mosquito bites and the reduction of mosquito populations."

4:50 p.m.

Brazil's president says Zika virus has gone from a "distant nightmare" to a "real threat" against the Brazilian people.

In a pre-recorded, prime time television address Wednesday, Dilma Rousseff calls on citizens to unite to combat the mosquito that transmits the virus, which researchers in Brazil have linked to a rare birth defect. She describes concrete measures people can take to eliminate the mosquito's breeding grounds in their homes.

She also has "words of comfort" for the women who have given birth to babies with the birth defect, microcephaly, saying: "We will do everything, absolutely everything, to protect you."

She says the government iss mobilizing to develop a vaccine but insists that until it's ready, the best course of action remains to prevent the mosquito from breeding.

4:15 p.m.

The agency responsible for most of Canada's blood supply says people who have traveled outside of Canada, the continental United States and Europe will be ineligible to give blood for 21 days after their return.

Canadian Blood Services says it is implementing the waiting period to mitigate the risk of the Zika virus entering the Canadian blood supply.

In a release Wednesday, the agency said the new waiting period is being implemented across the country and will take full effect in all of its clinics starting on Feb. 5.

Quebec's blood operator, Hema-Quebec, will be implementing the same change as of this Sunday.

Canadian Blood Services says the 21-day period ensures enough time has passed for the virus to be eliminated from a person's bloodstream, but it is asking people to postpone donation for at least a month after returning from travel outside the specified zones.

"This new temporary deferral period will safeguard Canada's blood supply against the Zika virus, and will also help us protect against other similar mosquito-borne viruses," Dr. Dana Devine, chief medical and scientific officer for Canadian Blood Services, said in a statement.

4:05 p.m.

International health officials tell The Associated Press that Brazil has yet to share enough samples and disease data needed to answer the most worrying question about the Zika outbreak: whether the virus is actually responsible for the increase in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads in Brazil.

The lack of data is frustrating efforts to develop diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines. Laboratories in the United States and Europe are relying on samples from previous outbreaks. Scientists say having so little to work with is hampering their ability to track the virus' evolution.

One major problem appears to be Brazilian law. At the moment, it is technically illegal for Brazilian researchers and institutes to share genetic material including blood samples containing Zika and other viruses.

3:35 p.m.

A U.S. travel alert has been issued for two more destinations because of the Zika virus.

Health officials Wednesday added Jamaica and Tonga in the South Pacific to the list of places with outbreaks where travelers should protect themselves against the mosquito-borne virus.

There are now 30 travel destinations on the list, most of them in Latin America or the Caribbean.

The government recommends that pregnant women postpone trips to those destinations because of a suspected link between the virus and a birth defect, seen mostly in Brazil.

3:15 p.m.

Member countries of the Central American Integration System have agreed to implement a regional action plan to fight the Zika virus in the coming days.

Salvadoran Public Health Minister Violeta Menjivar says the foreign and health ministers of Central American countries and the Dominican Republic agreed to the plan in a video conference on Wednesday.

The ministers also agreed to mobilize the population, public institutions and private organizations to destroy mosquito breeding sites and take measures to prevent bites, especially of pregnant women.

Menjivar, who early participated in the World Health Organization conference, said "the most important effort must be the destruction of (mosquito) breeding grounds, nothing is more important."

2:15 p.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a health emergency in four counties of the state because of the Zika virus. At least nine cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been detected in Florida.

Health officials believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the disease while traveling to affected countries. Scott signed the order Wednesday to cover Miami-Dade, Lee, Hillsborough and Santa Rosa counties. The Zika virus is linked to brain deformities in babies and is causing concern among public health officials worldwide. The virus is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted.

U.S. health officials say a person in Texas became infected with Zika through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.



2 p.m.

Brazil's Health Ministry is calling for deeper investigation into studies on the transmission of Zika, following reports out of Texas that the virus had been spread through sex. The Health Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that "until now, there is no proof of the transmission of Zika through sexual relations." The ministry underscored its longstanding recommendation of condom use to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. U.S. health officials said Tuesday a person in Texas became infected with Zika through sex. The World Health Organization says that the reported case of sexually transmitted Zika virus is raising concerns.



1:40 p.m.

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa is authorizing the registry of laboratory tests that can detect the dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. Anvisa spokesman Carlos Lopes said from Brasilia on Wednesday that two tests will be able to spot all three viruses using antibodies from the illnesses, and several months after a person has been infected. Two other tests can identify the viruses but only one at a time and only if the person was infected while being tested. Lopes says the tests are expected to help improve the accuracy of diagnoses between the three viruses that are transmitted by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito. A German and a Brazilian lab are now in charge of the registry to carry out the tests before the Brazilian government distributes it to other accredited labs.



1:30 p.m.

Mexico has launched a radio and television ad campaign to encourage pregnant women to take measures to avoid getting Zika. Mexico has only 37 confirmed cases, none of them among pregnant women. But the Health Department says pregnant women should take special care after babies were born in Brazil with extremely small heads, possibly related to their mothers being infected with the Zika virus. The broadcast ads urge pregnant women to wear long-sleeved clothing, use mosquito repellant and keep windows and doors closed. The ads are scheduled to run at least through March, and tell women the disease "could seriously affect your pregnancy."



11:40 a.m.

Latin American health ministers meeting in Uruguay are focusing on why Zika has been linked to birth defects in Brazil but not in other countries where the virus has been detected. Colombian Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria told The Associated Press Wednesday that researchers need to look at what may be fueling the differences in manifestations. He gave the example of Colombia, where 20,000 cases of Zika have been confirmed but not a single case of microcephaly, or smaller than normal head size in infants. Brazilian officials have recorded 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly since October. Brazil's Heath Ministry says the rare brain defect in babies has been confirmed in 404 of those cases. Infants with microcephaly have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly.



11 a.m.

The World Health Organization says a reported case of sexually transmitted Zika virus is raising concerns. Spokesman Gregory Hartl says WHO is organizing and supporting research about the mostly mosquito-borne virus and "under what conditions is it transmitted and via which routes other than the mosquito route." Speaking in Geneva on Wednesday, Hartl said that for now WHO believes nearly all of cases are caused by transmission by mosquitoes. Zika has been linked to birth defects in the Americas. U.S. health officials say a person in Texas became infected with Zika through sex, in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin America. WHO says it has not yet issued any guidance on possible prevention of sexual transmission of Zika.



10:30 a.m.

The director of the Pan American Health Organization is saying that confirmation that the Zika virus can be transmitted sexually would change the paradigm of the quickly spreading epidemic.

Carissa Etienne made the comments Wednesday in Uruguay while attending an emergency meeting of health ministers from Latin America. Health officials in the U.S. state of Texas said Tuesday that a patient there acquired Zika through sex with an ill person who returned from Venezuela, where the virus was present. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites.

Etienne says that the Texas case has not been discussed at the summit. However, she wants to see a formal report on the case and study it further. In her words, "Obviously it would bring a new dimension to the Zika problem."



10:20 a.m.

Brazil's Butantan Institute is seeking to develop a vaccine to combat the Zika virus by adapting an existing one for dengue. The Sao Paulo-based institute is spearheading research against the Zika virus that has quickly spread throughout Brazil and the rest of Latin America. Butantan's Director Jorge Kalil says the technology that was developed in the Brazilian vaccine against dengue could be modified. He says one of the possibilities would be to add a gene containing a key protein in the Zika virus. Another alternative would be to create an attenuated Zika virus using a method similar to the one in the development of the dengue vaccine. Kalil's comments were published Wednesday on the official news agency of the Research Support Foundation of the State of Sao Paulo.



10:10 a.m.

A World Health Organization's spokesman says it's time for science to "step up" and tackle the "the very concerning" cases of microcephaly that could be linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Christian Lindmeier made the comments on Wednesday, a day after the U.N. health agency declared Zika a global public health emergency. No vaccine exists. Speaking via Skype from Geneva to British broadcaster Sky News, Christian Lindmeier also urged people to "keep everything on a rational level" because "not every mosquito you see flying around on the wall is an infected mosquito." Zika has been linked to brain deformities in babies in Latin America. Several thousand cases of microcephaly have been reported in Brazil since October, although researchers have so far not proven a definitive link to the virus.



9 a.m.

Argentina is reporting a second person in the country is confirmed to be infected with Zika. The health ministry in the central Cordoba province said Wednesday that the patient is a 68-year-old man who was infected abroad. He is known to have recently traveled to Venezuela's Margarita Island. The provincial health ministry says he's evolving well. Argentine authorities confirmed last week that a Colombian woman who lives in Buenos Aires had been infected with the Zika virus. Officials say the 23-year-old woman became ill while in Colombia.



8 a.m.

Ireland has reported its first two cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus but says both patients are in good condition and neither is pregnant. Wednesday's statement from the Health Service Executive of Ireland declined to identify either patient. The agency says both patients were unrelated, had recently returned to Ireland from countries where the virus is prevalent, and were recovering well from their fever. Zika is not typically lethal in adults but is linked to birth defects, making the virus particularly dangerous for pregnant women. Irish authorities say they expect to detect more Zika cases in Ireland, partly because of the substantial volume of Irish aid workers who fly back and forth from developing countries.



7:30 a.m.

France's health minister says two French regions in the Caribbean are facing an epidemic of the Zika virus, and the government is sending extra hospital equipment and preparing extra medical staff to combat it. Marisol Touraine told reporters Wednesday that Martinique and French Guiana have had 2,500 potential cases and about 100 confirmed Zika cases since mid-December, including 20 pregnant women and two people suffering a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome. A few cases have been reported in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, also part of the French Caribbean. Nine people have come to mainland France with Zika this year, but Touraine said there is no risk of epidemic on the mainland. She said the government will expand access to testing and recommend condom use in the region.

TUESDAY

1:30 a.m.

Hours after reporting Chile's first confirmed Zika infection, Chilean authorities have listed two more cases from the virus that is spreading rapidly in Latin America. The Chilean Health Ministry says all three Zika cases reported Tuesday were contracted outside Chile. It says one person was infected while traveling in Venezuela, one in Colombia and one in Brazil. All are recovering. Chile doesn't have infestations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry such diseases as Zika, dengue and chikungunya. The World Health Organization says Zika is likely to spread to every country in the Americas where the Aedes aegypti is found. That is every nation but Canada and Chile.



12:15 a.m.

Brazilian officials have lowered the country's number of suspected microcephaly cases, to 3,670 from 3,893 on Jan. 20. Brazil's Heath Ministry says the rare brain defect in babies has been confirmed in 404 of those cases. The ministry says microcephaly cases since Oct. 22 have been confirmed in 156 cities in nine states, most in Brazil's impoverished northeast. That region is the epicenter of the outbreak of the Zika virus. The report published Tuesday says 17 of the 404 confirmed microcephaly cases have been linked to Zika infections. Infants with microcephaly have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly. Many fetuses with the condition are miscarried, and others die during birth or shortly after. Those who survive suffer from developmental and health problems.



10:50 p.m.

The Brazilian Health Ministry says Brazil's health minister and the U.S. secretary of health and human Services have discussed ways the two countries can work together to create a vaccine against the Zika virus and combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the virus. An emailed statement from the ministry says the Health Minister Marcelo Castro and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathes Burwell talked by phone Tuesday. It says the two also agreed to accelerate current investigations into infections causes by arboviruses like Zika that may be linked to cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The statement says technicians of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet with technicians of the Brazilian Health Ministry and of three biomedical and clinical research centers. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 in Brazil.



10:20 p.m.

A Brazilian city is cancelling its Carnival celebrations and will use the money set aside for the annual festivities to fight the mosquito that carries the fast-spreading Zika virus and other diseases. The Capivari municipality in Sao Paulo state says on its website that the $25,000 saved will be spent on prevention measures, including eradicating mosquito breeding grounds. Carnival is Brazil's biggest popular party. But the Zika virus has recently been linked with a spiraling rise in reported cases of microcephaly -- a rare birth defect causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and can lead to lasting developmental problems. Brazil's government has sent about 220,000 troops to battle the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.



9:30 p.m.

Health officials say a patient in Dallas County, Texas, has acquired the Zika virus through sex.

Dallas County Health and Human Services said Tuesday it received confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a country where Zika was present. The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites. Investigators have been exploring the possibility the virus also can be spread through sex. It was found in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008. Health officials note there are no reports of Zika being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in Dallas county.



9:05 p.m.

Nicaragua is confirming its first two cases of the Zika virus in pregnant women. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo says four women have tested positive for the virus in the Central American nation, including two who are three and one-half and four months pregnant. That brings the country's total known cases of Zika to 15. Murillo says the country is monitoring World Health Organization recommendations and has directed local health authorities to pay close attention to pregnant women who may have contracted Zika. She noted Tuesday that not all pregnant women infected with Zika give birth to babies with the rare condition known as microcephaly.



8:45 p.m.

Chile is reporting its first case of a person infected with the Zika virus that has spread fast throughout Latin America. The Chilean Infectology Society confirmed the case Tuesday without providing any details about the patient. It only said that the virus had been transmitted while the person was abroad and that it was first recorded several weeks ago. There are no cases of local infection so far. Some Chilean travelers have been suspected of carrying the virus but this is Chile's first confirmed case of someone infected abroad. The World Health Organization says Zika is likely to spread to every country in the Americas where the mosquito that carries it can be found except for Canada and continental Chile.



8 p.m.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is promising that no resources will be spared in the fight against the quickly spreading Zika virus, believed to be the cause of smaller than normal heads in some infants. Rousseff addressed Congress on Tuesday, the day after the World Health Organization deemed the virus an international emergency. Researchers believe that a spike in cases of microcephaly, or babies born with small heads, has been caused by the virus. The president says: "resources will not be lacking." She has recounted what Latin America's most populous country had done since the outbreak was detected last year, such as sending troops to spray areas infested by mosquitoes. Rousseff is facing impeachment proceedings and low popularity amid an economic crisis, but says she expects Congress' support.



6:55 p.m.

Swiss International Air Lines says female flight attendants and pilots won't be required to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil, if they don't want to because of the Zika virus outbreak. The Swiss carrier, a subsidiary of Germany's Lufthansa, says in a statement that it's advising any pilot or member of cabin crew who is "in the phase of family planning" to speak with their gynecologist before flying to Brazil. Tuesday's statement said the company will "until further notice" take into account requests of such employees who ask not to be deployed to Brazil. Sao Paulo is Swiss' main destination in South America. The World Health Organization on Monday declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas.



2:20 p.m.

UNICEF is asking for $9 million for its programs in the Americas to curb the spread of Zika virus and lessen its impact on babies and their families across the region. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the U.N. children's agency said it would focus on educating communities in Brazil on how to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and how to wipe out their breeding sites. Dr. Heather Papowitz, UNICEF's senior adviser for health emergencies, commented: "Although there is still no conclusive evidence of the causal link between microcephaly and the Zika virus, there is enough concern to warrant immediate action,"



11:50 a.m.

The Middle East's biggest airline is offering refunds to passengers booked on flights to countries affected by the Zika virus. Emirates said in a statement Tuesday there is "no impact on operations" for flights from its Dubai base to three South American cities: Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is nonetheless offering passengers the chance to get refunds or rebook to alternative destinations in the Americas, saying "special provisions have been put in place for customers advised to avoid the affected regions based on CDC (Centers for Disease Control) guidance." The offer covers tickets issued by Jan. 29 for travel through April 30. Fast-growing Emirates has emerged as a major long-haul carrier, and is the biggest operator of the Boeing 777 and the double-decker Airbus A380.



11:40 a.m.

Officials say laboratory tests have confirmed a fourth case Zika virus in Spain.

The southeastern regional government of Murcia said Tuesday that tests carried out by the National Microbiology Center confirmed the case of a man treated two weeks ago at a regional hospital after visiting an unspecified country affected by the virus. The man, who was not identified but was said to be middle-aged and a Spanish resident, has been given the all clear after been treated for the virus and to avoid contagion. The other three cases in Spain also concerned people who had traveled to affected regions in Latin America. WHO is recommending that visitors and residents in affected areas, especially pregnant women, take measures to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that transmit the virus.



9:15 a.m.

Drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur says it is launching an effort to research and develop a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus. Sanofi's announcement Tuesday comes the day after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas. There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika, which is in the same family of viruses as dengue. Sanofi made the first licensed dengue vaccine shot, licensed last year in Brazil after years of scientific struggle to develop one. France-based Sanofi said in a statement Tuesday that its experience with the dengue vaccine "can be rapidly leveraged to help understand the spread" of Zika and "potentially speed identification of a vaccine candidate for further clinical development."
The release of new figures apparently finding fewer cases of microcephaly in Brazil than first feared is adding force to calls for more research into the link between the rare birth defect and the spreading Zika virus.

Health experts have been looking at 4,180 suspected cases of microcephaly reported since October in Brazil, where authorities said the birth defect could be linked to the virus and announced that 220,000 military personnel were being deployed to help eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits Zika.

But on Wednesday, Health Ministry officials said they had done a more intense analysis of more than 700 of those cases, confirming 270 cases and ruling out 462 others.

What this means is hard to say, according to some experts. It does not answer whether the tropical Zika virus is causing the babies to have unusually small heads. Nor does it really tell us how big the problem is.

"I don't think we should lower our alarm over the Zika outbreak," said Paul Roepe, co-director of Georgetown University's Center for Infectious Disease.

Brazilian officials still say they believe there's a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus is to blame. The concern is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present, and officials in El Salvador, Colombia and Brazil have suggested women stop getting pregnant until the crisis has passed.

But the World Health Organization and others have stressed that any link between Zika and the defect remains circumstantial and is not yet proven scientifically. And the new figures were a reminder of just how little is known about the disease and its effects.

The arrival of the mosquito-borne illness in Brazil initially caused little alarm as the virus' symptoms are generally much milder than those of dengue. Then late last year, after noting what they said was a spike in the birth defect, Brazilian authorities for the first time asked doctors to report cases of patients in their care. So there are no solid numbers to compare with the new tally.

In 2014, only about 150 cases were reported in Brazil in a year  a surprisingly small amount for a large country with nearly 3 million births a year. The United States, with about 4 million births a year, has an estimated 2,500 cases of microcephaly a year, said Margaret Honein, a CDC epidemiologist.

Brazilian health officials have dismissed the idea there might have been a large number of unreported cases previously. But the rate of recorded microcephaly cases was only a fraction of what some experts thought it ought to be.

In establishing a registry, the Health Ministry cast a wide net, including live births, stillborn and miscarried babies, and fetuses shown to have unusually small heads by ultrasound or other diagnostic tests, the ministry said. In subsequent investigations, tests were done to see if the brain had been affected.

Brazilian health officials did not detail what they found in the 462 cases that were ruled out, but many of them were just premature and under-sized, a health ministry spokeswoman said.

The birth defect can be caused by factors such as genetics, malnutrition or drugs. Infections are also a cause although Zika-like viruses have not previously been linked to microcephaly.

The CDC's Honein said shifts in the numbers reported out of Brazil were not surprising, and much more investigation is needed.

She was echoed by Dr. Ganeshwaran Mochida, a pediatric neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital who specializes in microcephaly.

He said 270 confirmed cases "is still quite a substantial number" in a country that has been reporting far lower counts.
President Barack Obama says bias against any segment of American society tears at the fabric holding the nation together and must be tackled "head on."

In an address Wednesday at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama pushed back against bias that Muslim Americans say is on the rise following terrorist attacks in Paris and California.

Obama talked about a 13-year-old Muslim girl from Ohio who wrote him to say she is scared.

"Muslim kids have asked me 'Are we going to be rounded up?' It is a conversation we should not be having with children," the president said, adding that its wrong that any child would be filled with doubt or question their place in society.

Before the speech, Obama met at the mosque with Muslim-American leaders from around the country. The visit is his first as president to an American mosque.

Last week, Obama became the first sitting president to speak at the Israeli Embassy. In remarks at the embassy, he warned of growing anti-Semitism in the world.

Obama's message at the mosque followed a similar tack, focusing on the need to speak out against bigotry and reject indifference.

"Recently, weve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country," the president said. "Too often people conflate horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith."

It's the kind of effort that Muslim-Americans said they've been waiting for from America's political and religious leaders.

"For some time, we've been asking for pushback. Perhaps this will start a trend," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has tracked a growing number of attacks on mosques and on individuals in the months following the Paris terrorist attack and the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California. A severed pig's head was delivered to a mosque's doorstep in Philadelphia. Someone attempted to set fire to a mosque in Southern California.

Hooper said harassment and bullying is also on the rise. He cited Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the country as an example of how bias toward Muslims has become part of the American mainstream.

"I don't think there's ever been this level of fear and apprehension in the Muslim-American community," Hooper said.

In 2001, President George W. Bush visited a mosque on Washington's Embassy row just days after the 9/11 attacks, urging Americans to get back to everyday business and not turn against their Muslim neighbors.

For Obama, the visit in his final year in office reflects a willingness to wade into touchy social issues that often eluded him earlier in his presidency. For years, Obama has fought unrelenting but incorrect claims that he's actually a Muslim and was born in Kenya, beliefs that polls suggest remain prevalent among many Republicans to this day. Obama, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

With no plans to ever again appear on a ballot, Obama faces less pressure to avoid political controversy. Ahead of his visit Wednesday, White House officials readily acknowledged the visit could spark controversy but suggested that would help make his point about ignorance and religious bias. White House press secretary Josh Earnest predicted Obama's visit would "prompt exactly the kind of discussion and debate that the president thinks is worth having."

Nearly half of Americans think at least some U.S. Muslims are anti-American, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday. Two-thirds of Americans said people, not religious teachings, are to blame when violence is committed in the name of faith. However, when respondents were asked which religion they consider troubling, Islam was the most common answer.

Meanwhile, some Republicans have criticized Obama for not linking attacks like the one in Paris to "radical Islamic terrorism." Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Trump have voiced that concern.

Obama has said he refuses to describe the Islamic State and other such groups that way because the term grants them a religious legitimacy they don't deserve, and he reiterated those remarks Wednesday.

"It is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted version of Islam," Obama said.

In June 2009, just five months into his presidency, Obama toured the Sultan Hassan mosque during a visit to Cairo. In a speech at Cairo University, he declared that the U.S. would never be at war with Islam. "America and Islam are not exclusive," he said, and share "common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

Attendees at the Baltimore mosque are predominantly of Turkish heritage, although immigrants of other nationalities also participate, said Akbar Ahmed, an Islamic studies specialist at American University who has researched mosques around the U.S.

Obama left it to the last minute to visit a U.S. mosque, Ahmed noted, "but better late than never."
At the big "Harry Potter" event at Universal Studios Orlando this past weekend, fans from all over the world gathered to celebrate the series that brought muggles from all walks of life into one wizarding world. Of course, this celebration had a somber note due to the recent passing of Alan Rickman, who played the beloved character Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.

Since this was the first big Potter event since the death of Rickman, fans made sure they took time to honor the late actor, and the video of the touching tribute (above) will probably make you tear up all over again.

Many people were dressed up as Snape during the expo, while some carried around little signs that said "Always." But it was the raising of the wands outside of the London area of the park that may give you all the goosebumps.

Watch a massive group of Harry Potter fans say goodbye to the iconic character and the man who brought him from page to screen so magically.

(NBC, E! News and Universal Studios are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

PHOTOS: The Best Harry Potter Movie Moments Ever

READ: Alan Rickman's goodbye letter to Harry Potter is just perfect
The recent Powerball jackpot may have you dreaming of becoming an overnight millionaire someday, and while the California lottery definitely delivers, many promises of instant riches are not at all what they seem.

Delivered to Southern California mailboxes every day are official-looking notifications meant to make you think youve struck it rich.



"Two million dollars? I won $2 million. I didnt go into any contest, I dont know why I won this," said homeowner Evelyn Parra, describing her reaction to receiving one such letter in the mail.

The notice from the "Award Notification Commission" in Kansas said Parra could accept a single check, or opt for annual payments over 30 years.

But she checked the fine print and saw that in order to collect the prize she needed to sign and mail back the form along with a prize "delivery fee" of $12.99.



"And I wondered how heavy must that check be that theyre asking for postage and handling," she said.

The company behind the mailings, Next Gen Inc., posted a video on its website of a man described as the winner of a $100,000 prize in 2014.

The site lists dozens of other winners of various cash rewards  all from 2014 or before.

Consumer advocates say the site and the mailings arent breaking any laws, but worry people are being tricked into thinking theyve already won and that they need to pay to get their prize.

The companies behind these mailings hope that people will send them the so-called shipping and handling fees, often with no intention of delivering on a prize, according to Steve McFarland, chief executive of the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau.

"Weve had consumers lose tens of thousands of dollars trying to recover their so-called sweepstakes earnings," said McFarland.

The NBC4 I-Team reached out to Next Gen Inc. numerous times, by phone and email, to ask to be put in touch some recent winners, but never received a response.

In the meantime, the Better Business Bureau has given Next Gen Inc. a failing grade and says your best bet is to steer clear.



"The major thing to remember about sweepstakes: if you have to pay a penny, it is not a sweepstakes," McFarland said. "If it seems too good to be true, its probably not true."

The Federal Trade Commission emphasizes that legitimate sweepstakes are free. In fact, its illegal to ask to pay for collecting winnings, including any taxes, shipping and handling charges and processing fees.

And if you didnt enter a sweepstakes, theres no way you can win.

Jackpot alerts are also starting to arrive by text message. If a promise of a big sweepstakes prize pops up on your phone, your best bet is to ignore it.

For more information on how to avoid falling victim to these so-called sweepstakes, the Better Business Bureau offers these tips.


but NOBODY vetted Barack Obama after Barack Obama politicized his own mother's cancer

for his own political gain during the 2008 democratic race, and then again in the presidential debates.

Did Barack Obama tend to his own mother in any personal way

during her last couple of years of life, when she was dying of cancer in Hawaii?





If I am wrong, or can be proven wrong about my concern, then I will stand corrected.

But until then, the timeline I have been able to put together shows that Barack Obama

chose to finish writing his book instead of being with his mother.

With apologizes to the filmmaker for politicizing his film,Or, did Barack Obama CHOOSE to fly over Hawaii, where his mother was dying of cancer,so he could go to Bali to finish writing his book about his sperm donor father?
A San Diego-area high school student has earned a perfect score on her advanced placement Spanish Language exam, making her one of only 55 students in the world to accomplish the impressive academic feat.

Grecia Perez-Carillo, a senior at Southwest High School in the Sweetwater Union High School District, earned every point possible on her AP Spanish Language examination in spring 2015.

Southwest High School Principal Lee Romero proudly shared the news of the students success after he received a letter on Jan. 12 from AP exam officials announcing Perez-Carillos accomplishment.

I am very proud of this young lady, said Romero. Her future is limitless.

The local student was one of only 55 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Spanish Language test. Last month, a 17-year-old math wiz in Los Angeles made headlines with a similar achievement, earning a perfect score on his AP Calculus exam, also taken last spring.

Looking across approximately 4.5 million AP exams taken by 2.5 million U.S. public high schools in 2015, only 322 students earned every point possible on an AP exam, Romero said, calling Perez-Carillo's score a rare accomplishment.

Perez-Carillo is currently enrolled in four AP classes at her high school: Spanish Literature; English Literature; Government; Environmental Science.

Her AP Spanish Language teacher, Dianna Sevilla, has been teaching Spanish at the high school for 17 years, Romero said.

According to the principal, when Perez-Carillo first arrived at Southwest High School as a freshman, she had limited English language proficiency. Within a year of English Learner program classes, she was taking AG College Prep courses in English.

Southwest High School is located at 1685 Hollister St. in San Diegos Nestor community and serves more than 1,700 students in grades nine through 12.


A judge on Tuesday ordered Bill Cosby to attend a second deposition and respond to questions in a lawsuit filed by a woman accusing the comedian of sexually abusing in the 1970s when she was underage.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan ordered Cosby to attend the half-day deposition and pay the costs of conducting a second round of sworn testimony in the civil case. Cosby must provide a valid legal objection to any questions he refuses to answer, including invoking his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination, Karlan said.

The ruling came as Cosby fought bicoastal legal battles Tuesday. He appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom where his lawyers sought a dismissal of criminal charges against him while attorneys in Santa Monica, California, argued he shouldn't have to sit for another deposition in the civil case.

No date was set for the second deposition, but it was ordered to occur by the end of February.

Cosby's attorney, Randa Osman, said it would be a hardship for the 78-year-old to travel to Los Angeles for the session. He was previously deposed in Boston.

In California, Cosby is being sued by Riverside County resident Judy Huth, who claims the comedian forced her to perform a sex act on him at the Playboy Mansion in the early 1970s, when she was 15 years old. Cosby's lawyers have denied her accusations and have accused Huth's former attorney of attempting to extort the comedian.

It is unclear what questions Cosby refused to answer when he was deposed in October in the case. Karlan has sealed court filings describing the October deposition and conducted part of Tuesday's hearing in chambers.

Huth's attorney, Gloria Allred, said after the ruling that she felt vindicated in seeking more sworn testimony from Cosby, but she could not elaborate on what answers she was seeking. Huth was recently deposed in the case, and Cosby's lawyers say they will bring a similar motion to compel more answers from her.

As for the case in Pennsylvania, it marks the first time that Cosby has ever faced criminal charges despite years of accusations that he had drugged and molested women.

Cosby, for the moment, has one less legal case to worry about. Also on Tuesday, model Chloe Goins dismissed a federal lawsuit accusing Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. No explanation for the dismissal was given and her attorney did not return an email message seeking comment.

Goins has come forward publicly in the lawsuit and at a January news conference with her attorney.
The man accused of killing a family of four from Fallbrook, Calif.  including two young children  has chosen to represent himself in court, again, as legal proceedings stall once more on a murder trial six years in the making

Charles Merritt is accused of bludgeoning to death his business partner Joseph McStay, as well as McStays wife, Summer, and the couples sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph Jr.

As prosecutors work to get Merritt to trial in the quadruple-murder, legal proceedings have repeatedly been halted for various reasons.

Last summer, Merritts trial was set for Aug. 10, 2015.

At the time, he was being represented by Southern California-based defense attorney Jimmy Mettias, who said he expected prosecutors to allege Merritt used a sledgehammer to kill the McStays after a business dispute with Joseph, and covered his tracks by painting over evidence at the familys home and burying his victims in the desert.

Mettias said no evidence on the sledgehammer could be traced to Merritt. The attorney also said Merritt had an alibi that would be revealed at trial.

Six months later, Merritt has now fired Mettias and, at a hearing on Tuesday, Merritt elected to represent himself, according to officials with the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino.

This isnt the first time Merritt has opted to act as his own attorney.

In late January 2015, he requested to represent himself, claiming he had six to eight months to live due to congestive heart failure. He also said he could not afford legal representation.

At this point, Merritts next court appearance is a disposition hearing slated for Feb. 11 at the San Bernardino Justice Center courthouse. The purpose of that hearing is to determine if Merritt is prepared to proceed to trial.

The McStay family vanished from their home north of San Diego County almost six years ago to the day  Feb. 4, 2010. Their sudden disappearance captured international attention and baffled investigators who said there were no signs of a struggle inside the familys home. Food was left on the kitchen counters and the familys dogs were left unfed.

Four days later, the McStay familys 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found in a parking lot near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro in south San Diego County.

From there, speculation unfolded that the family was in Mexico after the familys computer records showed searches for travel to Mexico and investigators sifted through a much-talked-about, grainy surveillance video of what appeared to be a family of four crossing the border from San Diego into Mexico.

According to search warrants unsealed last summer, in the McStay familys abandoned car, detectives found Merritts DNA on the steering wheel, shifter, radio and A/C control panel.

When detectives interviewed Merritt following the McStay familys mysterious disappearance, investigators noticed a fresh injury to his hand, which he claimed was from cutting his hand on sheet metal.

The warrants also noted: Merritt made several statements about Joseph in the past tense, including Joseph was, leading investigators to believe Merritt knew Joseph and the family were deceased.

On Nov. 11, 2013  nearly four years after the familys disappearance  the skeletal remains of the McStay family were uncovered in shallow graves in a very remote desert location in Victorville, Calif., about 100 miles away from their home.

Joseph's body was found covered in a blanket, an extension cord wrapped around his neck.

The partial skull of one of the children was bleached white due to exposure to the elements, as the remains had been there for an undetermined amount of time. A sledgehammer was found in one of the graves, investigators said.

Search warrants noted the cause of death for the McStay family was blunt force trauma, and one of the murder weapons was likely the sledgehammer found at the gravesite in the Southern California desert.

In November 2014, Merritt was arrested in connection with the murders. He has pleaded not guilty in the slayings.

Search warrants state detectives obtained phone records for Merritt in order to trace where he was during the time of the McStay familys disappearance.

Merritt was in a position to access the cellular telephone tower northeast of the McStay family gravesite on Feb. 6, 2010  two days after the family was last seen alive. Merritt made six phone calls in the area between 10:46 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. that day, the documents said.

The warrants also stated its probably there was more than one suspect involved in the murders since an entire family of four was murdered and transported to the desert.

For a timeline of McStay family murder mystery, click here.
A 59-year-old man who was accused of impersonating a Catholic priest in order to steal from parishioners was arrested Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Erwin Mena was tracked down to the 1400 block of North Academy Road in the Elysian Park area and taken into custody without incident on a felony warrant.

"Our prayers go out to all the victims of his scam," the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in a statement. "We are grateful to the Los Angeles Police Department for working to ensure that Erwin Mena was brought to justice."

He was charged on counts of falsifying a public document, perjury and multiple counts of grand theft. Among other things, he is accused of selling tickets for a trip to see the pope that never materialized.

The archdiocese reached out to the LAPD June 4, 2015, to report Mena.

The church said he defrauded parishioners by conning them out of money. Mena would allegedly visit Catholic parishes around the Los Angeles area, asking for donations to the church.

He was actually pocketing the money, authorities said.

Mena had apparently been doing this over the course of several years, the LAPD said.

He also unlawfully officiated at church ceremonies, according to police.

Mena was taken to the LA Metropolitan Jail, and was being held on $100,000 bail.

It wasn't immediately clear how much money he had allegedly amassed.

The Archdiocese Catholic Center encourages anyone who has questions about the validity of any priests credentials should call (213) 637-7000.
A little boy named Gideon Robinson melted the hearts of thousands on the Internet when he proposed to his nurse at Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego.

Five-year-old Gideon receives treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the hospital after being diagnosed with cancer last August, according to his GoFundMe page.

He has a special place in his heart for one of the nurses, whom he calls Tall Sarah (whose actual name is Sarah Richards), so he came up with a plan to propose last week.

Wearing a Batman hat, Gideon got down on one knee and popped the question, as seen in video posted to his Facebook page.

Of course you can be my hospital husband, the nurse said.

Now, Gideons engagement is garnering attention around the world. The Daily Mail, Buzzfeed and Headline News have all picked up the story.

Gideons parents said on his GoFundMe page that his prognosis is positive.

With the help of Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and further research we learned that with his age, and that we caught it so soon, there is a 90% chance to cure him in the next 3 1/2 years, they wrote on the page.
Two sheriff's deputies were acquitted Tuesday of a federal civil rights charge that accused them of illegally using force against a handcuffed inmate at the Men's Central Jail, but were found guilty of attempting to cover up the incident in reports that formed the basis of a false prosecution initiated against the prisoner.

Joey Aguiar and Mariano Ramirez were charged in a four-count indictment with kicking then-inmate Bret Phillips in the head and upper body, striking him with a flashlight, pepper-spraying him in the face and then filing reports designed to cover up what prosecutors deemed a use of excessive force.

The jury, which began deliberating late Friday afternoon, acquitted both deputies of a charge of conspiracy against rights, and hung 10-2 in favor of guilt on a charge of deprivation of rights under color of law. Prosecutors must now decide whether to retry Aguiar, 28, and Ramirez, 40, on that charge.

Sentencing is set for April 25 on the false reports count, which carries a potential maximum federal prison sentence of 20 years, prosecutors said.

"We are mystified by how the jury, upon finding the deputies not guilty of conspiracy, and not finding them guilty of excessive use of force, nonetheless concluded that the deputies filed a false police report regarding the incident," said George Hofstetter, president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. "We are confident that their attorneys will explore these inconsistencies as court proceedings continue."

The Feb. 11, 2009 incident at the Men's Central Jail was allegedly witnessed by a jail chaplain and an inmate, both of whom testified during the eight-day trial in downtown Los Angeles.

Prosecutors argued that the lawmen set upon Phillips in a gang-style beatdown as retribution for showing disrespect earlier in the day. Defense lawyers countered that Phillips was combative and threatening, and the deputies did only what was legally required to gain control of an unruly inmate.

"What they did was beat a man and they used their badge to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams told the panel last week. "And now they're trying to use that badge to get away with it. Do not let them."

But according to the defense, Phillips caused the run-in as he was being escorted back to his cell after a medical appointment.

As he was brought down the row of cells, his hands cuffed to a waist chain, Phillips swore at Aguiar  then a 21-year-old rookie  refused to follow orders and attempted to head-butt the officer, defense attorney Evan Jenness told the panel.

"Restrained punches" were used only to "gain control of a recalcitrant inmate in trying to get him back to his cell," she said.

The force, she said, was "appropriate" and "proportionate" to Phillips' behavior.

Jenness described Phillips' injuries as not more than "a little scratch on his forehead." The "minor extent" of the inmate's injuries disproves the prosecution's allegations of excessive force, the defense attorney argued.

Prosecutors, however, alleged that Phillips was unconscious for most of the event, in which he was said to have suffered a head wound, blunt force trauma to the legs and elbow, and back and spinal cord injuries.

In his testimony, Phillips said that at the outset of the encounter, in which he was ordered to face a wall, he was choked into unconsciousness by one of the defendants and has no memory of being hit and sprayed.

The chaplain and a state prisoner who was then an inmate at the facility told the jury that they were hidden in shadows just feet away from Phillips and the deputies, watching the incident unfold.

The memory was "beat into my brain," said John Maestaz, the inmate witness. "It was a memory I can see frame-by-frame in my mind  because it was that fierce of a beating."

Catholic minister Paulino Juarez testified that he also witnessed Aguiar and Ramirez pummeling the handcuffed, unresisting Phillips, leaving the man in a puddle of blood.

But the jury apparently found that the officers did not conspire to deprive Phillips of his right to be free of illegal force.

"These deputies used restraint," defense attorney Vicki Podberesky told the jury in her final argument. "If they wanted to use great force, they could have."

Aguiar and Ramirez were the latest of 21 current and former sheriff's officials to be tried by federal authorities in connection with the FBI's multi- year investigation into brutality and other misconduct in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The probe goes as high as Paul Tanaka, the former undersheriff, who faces trial in March on conspiracy charges for allegedly managing a secret plan in 2011 to "hide" an inmate-turned-informant from FBI handlers during the jails probe.

Aguiar and Ramirez are on unpaid leave from the department and are now expected to be fired.
A fugitive New York real estate heir has pleaded guilty in Louisiana to a weapons charge and has agreed to a sentence of seven years and one month imprisonment.

The maximum penalty that Robert Durst could have faced was 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt said Wednesday that he would "provisionally" accept the plea and would make a final decision after he receives a pre-sentencing report.

The acceptance of the deal is another step toward Durst's extradition to California, where he is wanted on a murder charge. Durst has waived extradition but won't immediately be sent to California until at least the sentencing.

The charge has kept him in Louisiana even though he waived extradition to California to face a charge that he killed a friend and onetime spokeswoman in 2000.

"It's our purpose ... to 'clear the decks' of anything and everything that would delay Bob's transfer to California so we can start preparing for trial in the Susan Berman case," attorney Richard DeGuerin wrote in an email Tuesday. "Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman and doesn't know who did, and he's eager to go to trial and prove it."

Previous filings show Durst, 72, had made a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Louisiana. In December, his attorneys and Los Angeles prosecutors signed an agreement that he would be extradited by Aug. 18.

DeGuerin said Durst's sentencing will be six to eight weeks later. The Bureau of Prisons must then decide where he will serve the sentence, and he will have to be transported to that prison.

"All that will take time," he wrote.

DeGuerin said the attorneys are asking for Durst to be assigned to a prison in Southern California to make it easier for him to appear in court in Los Angeles.

An estranged member of the wealthy New York real estate family that runs 1 World Trade Center, he's accused of killing Berman to keep her from talking to New York prosecutors about the disappearance of Durst's first wife, Kathleen, in 1982.

FBI agents tracked him to a New Orleans hotel on the eve of the finale of "The Jinx," HBO's six-part documentary about Durst, his wife's disappearance, Berman's death and the death and dismemberment of Durst's neighbor Morris Black in 2001. He was formally arrested early on the day of the broadcast.

Prosecutors have filed a statement that Durst should forfeit the revolver.

The statement doesn't list anything else, including $117,000 in $100 bills that was sent to the hotel for Everette Ward  the name under which Durst had registered  and arrived after his arrest.

Also not listed were other items found in his hotel room, including items prosecutors have said showed he was planning to flee to Cuba, such as a head-and-chest flesh-toned latex mask with salt-and-pepper hair, an apparently fake Texas ID, and a map folded to show Louisiana and Cuba.

DeGuerin wouldn't say whether Durst will get back the cash and everything found in his hotel room.

"I'm not going to discuss the details of the agreement until after it's put into place," he wrote.
A Dallas County resident has become the first Zika patient to contract the virus in the U.S. without traveling abroad, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. County health officials said the patient was infected through sexual contact, not through a mosquito bite.

Dallas County Health and Human Services said the patient was infected after having sexual contact with an individual who developed symptoms after returning from a trip to Venezuela. The individual from Venezuela is also infected with the virus. Both patients have fully recovered from the infection, health officials said Wednesday.

"A person who recently traveled to an area with Zika virus transmission returned to the United States and developed Zika-like symptoms. The person later tested positive for Zika, along with their sexual partner, who had not traveled to the area," the CDC said in a statement.

Neither is pregnant. Both are thought to still be in Dallas County.

DCHHS said Tuesday that the CDC confirmed the Zika test and that the county health department confirmed the virus was transmitted sexually through a follow-up interview with the patient. The CDCs statement did not confirm or rule out that the virus was transmitted sexually.

Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others, said Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director. Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections.

The Zika virus is usually spread through mosquito bites. The CDC previously said it was aware of reports of the virus being spread through sexual contact, but had not confirmed the transmission method. While exploring the possibility the virus could be spread through sex, investigators found the virus in one man's semen in Tahiti, and there was report of a Colorado researcher who caught the virus overseas and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, according to The Associated Press.

There are no reports of the virus being spread locally by mosquitoes, though local transmission by mosquitoes is possible with the virus now known to be in North Texas, according to the county. Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Health, said infected people could infect the mosquitos and "start the transmission cycle."

"And once that occurs, it's almost impossible to get the virus out of the population," he said.

Common symptoms of Zika virus include fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week, Dallas County health officials said.

The virus can have far more harmful effects on women who are infected while pregnant. Zika has led to reports of microcephaly in infants ad other "poor pregnancy outcomes," according to the CDC.

Those with symptoms, or those who have had sexual contact with someone who has symptoms, are urged to seek immediate medical care, to protect themselves from further mosquito bites and to avoid unprotected sexual contact.

The CDC said it has no definitive information on the infectious time period and will provide more guidance as it learns more about the virus.

There is no medication to treat Zika virus and there is no vaccine; the best prevention is to avoid mosquitoes and sexual contact with infected people. The recommendations for avoiding the Zika virus are the same for avoiding West Nile virus.

Dusk and Dawn: Stay inside if possible  mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn.

Stay inside if possible  mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn. Dress in long sleeves, pants when outside: For extra protection, spray thin clothing with repellent.

For extra protection, spray thin clothing with repellent. DEET: Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent.

Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent. Drain standing water in your yard and neighborhood: Mosquitoes can develop in any water stagnant for more than three days.

Additionally, the CDC continues to recommend that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant take the following precautions:

Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. Pregnant women who must travel to one of these areas should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional first and strictly follow steps to avoid mosquito bites during the trip. Pregnant women should also avoid exposure to semen from someone who has been exposed to Zika virus.

Women trying to become pregnant should consult with their healthcare professional if their partner has had exposure to Zika virus.

To date, there are seven other confirmed Zika cases in Texas, in Houston and Harris County. In each of those cases, the patient had traveled abroad to an area where Zika is present.

Dr. Seema Yasmin, medical expert at The Dallas Morning News, answers more of your questions about the Zika virus.

NBC 5's Kevin Cokely, Holley Ford and Todd L. Davis contributed to this report.
Authorities in New York City have accused 18 alleged gang members of going on "hunting expeditions" where they cruised around Brooklyn looking for rival gang members to shoot, paralyzing a 60-year-old woman grocery shopping in one instance.

Members of the "No Love City" chapter of the Folk Nation street gang were charged with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to commit murder, in a 76-count indictment unsealed Wednesday, NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton and Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced.

"These defendants are not just crew members but part of a criminal enterprise that has been responsible for a significant amount of the violence which has plagued the Flatbush and Canarsie sections of Brooklyn over the last two years," Bratton said.

Thompson and Bratton said 16 of the 18 suspects have already been arrested. Two members of the gang  which operated primarily along Flatbush, Newkirk and Ditmas avenues  are still on the run.

Authorities allege the gang members would go "riding out" in the Canarsie neighborhood, looking for members of the 100 Cloccs gang  a chapter of the Crips  and two other rival gangs in retaliation for the shooting death of a 17-year-old No Love City member.

"Many neighborhoods were affected, from Flatbush to Canarsie to DUMBO to Park Slope to Carroll Gardens to Bushwick," Thompson said. "These guys were just walking down the street they were driving in cars shooting and killing people."

During one of the so-called hunting expeditions, Bratton and Thompson said, No Love City gang members shot and killed a 25-year-old rival gang member.

In another instance, they shot a 60-year-old woman who was grocery shopping, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She told NBC 4 New York she was glad the alleged gangsters were off the streets.

"I'm glad to hear they're off the street and I hope they stay off the street," she told NBC 4 New York.

In a third instance, one gang member was caught on surveillance cameras shooting at several people in the courtyard of a Brooklyn apartment building as children ride bicycles and scooters nearby.

In all, authorities say the gang members were implicated in more than 30 shootings across Brooklyn.

After the expeditions, authorities allege, the gang members would brag about their exploits on social media, taking credit for attacks and killings. They also used Facebook to orchestrate future attacks, authorities said.

Amid the violent rides, another No Love City member, Richard "Money Bags" James, was shot to death at a comedy club in West Hollywood, California, hours before "Blue Collar Comedy Tour"comedian Ron White was set to take the stage. A few days after the Oct. 14 shooting, members of the gang went to DUMBO and got in a shootout with a rival gang.

Thompson and Bratton also said the gang members were accused of a litany of other crimes between 2013 and January of this year, including robberies and the sale of contraband in prison.

One of the arrested gang members was accused of leading cops on a high-speed chase that ended in a three-car crash after refusing to stop for police who tried to pull him over for texting while driving.
A former NYPD officer is being accused by federal prosecutors of running a prostitution ring, bringing at least 10 different women to motels across the tri-state area, often right after he clocked out of his departmental job, according to authorities.

Eduardo Cornejo, an 11-year veteran with the NYPD until he was fired on Jan. 15, is accused of employing at least 10 different prostitutes and transporting them to motels throughout the tri-state, including parts of Long Island and New Jersey, prosecutors say.

He'd often do so right after leaving his NYPD job, according to prosecutors.

An authorized wiretap captured Cornejo talking about the way he divided up money to the prostitutes he employed and stating that if he were to stand outside a motel door with "a bunch of girls," law enforcement would "know what's up real quick," according to prosecutors.

"Rather than seeking to eradicate crime from the streets of the city, the defendant promoted prostitution and profited from his exploitation of women," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Robert L. Capers said in a press release.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said he commended the Internal Affairs Bureau for its proactive role in investigating "serious misconduct" among the ranks of the NYPD and working with prosecutors in building cases against "those who violate the very laws that they have sworn to enforce."

The 33-year-old last worked out of the 79th Precinct in Brooklyn.

He was scheduled to be arraigned in federal Brooklyn court Tuesday afternoon. Attorney information wasn't immediately clear.
One of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's most difficult political fights has ensnared his brother.

The Republican presidential candidate's state environmental protection department is moving to seize a strip of beach behind a summer home owned by his brother.

Todd Christie says he's fine with the move, which is being done to clear the way for protective sand dunes along the state's entire 127-mile shoreline  even though it puts him at odds with his neighbors in Point Pleasant Beach, most of whom want to fight the project.

Since shortly after Superstorm Sandy devastated the coast in October 2012  including destroying some homes on Todd Christie's street  Chris Christie has been pushing to build dunes along the state's entire coast. But he has gotten unexpectedly strong push back from oceanfront homeowners in several spots. They have fought to a draw in court.

The governor has harshly criticized holdouts, repeatedly calling them "selfish," and accused them of putting entire communities at risk to preserve their oceanfront views. He has encouraged shore residents to knock on doors in Point Pleasant Beach and neighboring Bay Head and demand to know why the holdouts have refused to sign easements allowing the work to proceed.

In a statement to The Associated Press issued through the governor's office, Todd Christie said he has repeatedly voted in favor of the dunes and against the majority of those in his homeowners' association, which owns the beach and has thus far refused to sign an easement.

"I believe 100 percent that the protective dunes should be built, and any person or entity  including my homeowners' association  causing delay is putting our community at risk," he said. "If this was an individual decision and not one of the association, I would have signed an easement years ago. That is why each and every time the matter has come up for a vote before the association membership, I have voted for the dunes and against the push to further litigate and delay this matter."

In a lawsuit filed Dec. 28, the state Department of Environmental Protection seeks to seize a portion of the land under the concept of eminent domain. That entitles governments to seize privately owned land for a public purpose after paying compensation for it.

The DEP has offered the homeowners' association $1,000 for a portion of the beach. Todd Christie bought his full house and lot for $1.9 million, and it is assessed at nearly $3.6 million.

The case is just one of scores being fought over in court as New Jersey tries to clear the way for the dune project, and homeowners resist.

Margate's litigation has thus far prevented construction of dunes in the seaside town just outside Atlantic City. Bay Head homeowners also are suing, claiming that the $5 million of their own money they spent on a rock wall behind their homes will work better than dunes  a belief they said was justified by last month's severe coastal storm which washed sand away from the rocks but spared the homes behind them. The privately owned Jenkinson's beach just north of Todd Christie's neighborhood is in settlement talks with the state over a lawsuit it brought challenging the dune project.

The homeowners object to government taking private property. They worry about who will be required  or allowed  to maintain the beaches once dunes are built on them, and still others fear the eventual construction of boardwalks, public restrooms and even Ferris wheels near their homes. Chris Christie last month called that "a ridiculous idea, put forward by some selfish folks and their selfish lawyers who are just looking to make money off this."

Others are upset about losing prized oceanfront views. In a Long Beach Island case in 2013, the state Supreme Court ruled that judges must take into account the storm-protection benefits that dunes add to an oceanfront property, not just the decreased value from lost views. The couple at the heart of that case eventually accepted a $1 settlement after initially being awarded $375,000.

So far, the state has filed condemnation cases against 86 properties.
It may be February, but the spirit of giving just wont quit. On Friday, Feb. 6, five young musicians in San Diego will be presented with more than $4,000 in new instruments as part of the House of Blues national Music Forward Foundation and its Give Music program.

The five San Diegans receiving the instruments responded to an open call for letters from the Give Music program during the 2015 holiday season. To be considered, the kids wrote in to state their cases, explaining how a new instrument would change their lives.

Each letter was unique and amazing, said Music Forward Executive Director Marjorie Gilberg in a media release, but so many told a similar story. Even if kids had access to an instrument, oftentimes it was damaged, old and shared among several students. They couldnt take it home to practice or use it during summer and school breaks. They werent able to do what they loved most: play music.

Which is where Music Forward steps in Friday, presenting a trumpet, various strings and a euphonium (which looks like a small tuba) to the five kids in San Diego. The program has doubled its efforts this year, bringing 150 young musicians nationwide more than $125,000 in new instruments to strum, toot and bang out rhythms on.

Access to music accelerates real-life skills for youth and creates a bridge to success, said Gilberg. Give Music puts instruments into the hands of serious young musicians so they can strengthen their talent, expand their possibilities and pursue their musical and life goals.

And with that, five households across San Diego County get a whole lot noisier come Friday.

Hannah Lott-Schwartz, a San Diego native, moved back to the area after working the magazine-publishing scene in Boston. Now shes straight trolling SD for all the music she missed while away. Want to help? Hit her up with just about anything at all over on Twitter, where -- though not always work-appropriate -- she means well.
In a recent sting, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) of California busted 15 contractors operating illegally in San Diego County  offering their unlicensed services to homeowners impacted by El Nino storms.

On Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, CSLBs Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) invited suspected unlicensed contractors to a home in Tierrasanta to place bids for home improvement projects including replacing a leaking garage roof, installing new concrete with drains to prevent flooding, replacement of a wooden fence and other non-storm-related jobs.

Investigators chose the contractors based on prior complaints and by combing through ads on Craigslist and local newspapers.

The two-day sting resulted in 15 unlicensed contractors placing bids on the home improvement projects, ranging from $1,200 for re-roofing to $9,000 for concrete work.

According to the CSLB, a state contractor license is required for any bid over $500 for the total costs of labor and material.

The suspects were each given a misdemeanor citation for contracting without a license. Twelve suspects were also cited for a misdemeanor charge of illegal advertising. State law requires unlicensed contractors to state in all advertising that they are not licensed, the CSLB said.

Investigators said three of the suspects were repeat offenders who were previously cited on illegal contracting charges during other similar CSLB stings.

One suspect, Breck D. Pemberton, was also found to have active warrants out for his arrest in Florida.

Investigators said Pemberton allegedly admitted to taking $9,700 for a job he never started. Currently, Pemberton is on the Florida Department of Law Enforcements Wanted Persons list for larceny.

CSLB officials said one suspect, who was supposed to only place a bid for a kitchen remodel, noticed a tarp placed over the leaking roof of the Tierrasanta home and offered to fix that instead.

Investigators said this proves that many illegal contractors are taking this time  amid the strong, and in some cases, damaging El Nino storms  to prey on consumers as they prepare to safeguard their homes.

We understand the sense of urgency consumers have to make sure their homes are protected from the rain and possible floods, said CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson. But its very important to take the time to check the license first and find qualified licensed contractors for these types of home improvement jobs.

Investigators said they also cited one of the 15 suspects, Carlos M. Soliz, of Wildomar, Calif., for charging an excessive down payment for a home improvement project. The law states a down payment can be no more than 10 percent of the total contract price or $1,000  whichever is less.

The CSLB said the following San Diego-based contractors were busted in this operation:

 Daniel Flores Bernal (Bernals Concrete in Lemon Grove)

 Kiet T. Duong (Pro Fencing in San Diego)

 Timothy Lee Dye (of San Diego)

 Humberto Miguel (Elvira Home Repairs in San Diego)

 Santiago Jimenez (of Spring Valley)

 Joseph Eric Linn (of Escondido)

 Humberto Munoz (of San Diego)

 Breck Pemberton (of San Diego, wanted in Florida)

 Andrew Appleby (All American Hardwoods in San Diego)

 Arnulfo Castillo Garcia (of Escondido)

 Adan Rios-Hernandez (All American Hardwoods in San Diego)

 Randall Dean Houser (of Spring Valley)

 Pablo Rivas (SteelWorks in National City)

 Carlos M. Soliz (of Wildomar)

 David Quezada (of San Diego)

Officials said the suspects are scheduled to appear in San Diego County Superior Court on March 21, March 22 and March 23.

As El Nino conditions persist, the CSLB said this sting should serve as a warning to homeowners to be cautious of unlicensed workers advertising for roof repairs and other flood prevention jobs.
A motorist fleeing from a motorcycle officer was injured after driving the car into a pole in San Ysidro.

An officer pulled over the driver on East San Ysidro Boulevard just before 2 p.m. When the officer walked back to his motorcycle, the driver sped off, San Diego police said.

The officer followed and found that the car had crashed into a pole. The driver was trapped and needed to be extricated.

The driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries.

It was unclear why the motorist fled from the officer.
Residents of a street in Rockville, Maryland, were told to stay indoors Tuesday night as a hazardous materials team and bomb squad searched for the source of a "chemical" smell in a residential area, officials say.

After an investigation that lasted more than three hours, crews determined the odor came from insecticides and other household items, a Montgomery County fire department spokesman said.

Rockville City Police conducted a welfare check about 6 p.m. on the 1900 block of Valley Stream Drive, the fire department spokesman said. When officers entered, they encountered a smell unusual enough to cause them to call for backup.

No one was home, the fire department representative said.

Neighbors were advised to shelter in place, however officials said they do not believe there is any danger to residents. Nearby streets were blocked during the investigation.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
Would you use gondolas that glided between Georgetown and Rosslyn?

Officials in D.C. and Arlington, Virginia decided to take a closer look at the viability of creating a gondola system over the Potomac River. Either side invested $35,000 in public funds to conduct a study on the transportation option critics are calling a long shot.

A ski lift-like system could transport 4,000 people per hour across the Potomac, and help connect people in Georgetown to the Rosslyn Metro station, Joe Sternlieb, the CEO of the Georgetown Business Improvement District said.

"The great thing about this technology is there's no wait time," he said. "There's a car every 8 to 12 seconds to take you."

Archivo

Sternlieb said $70,000 in public funds was a low cost for determining if a gondola system is a good idea or not.

D.C. resident Molly Weaver said she would use it.

"It's beautiful, so to go over the river would be a really pretty view," she said.

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey is less sure.

"I'm skeptical. I believe my whole board is skeptical. But we want to keep an open mind," she said.

Why did she Arlington decide to fund the study, then?

"I think probably in the long run, it will cost us less, even if we decide not to do it, to do the study, make the decision and be done," Garvey said.

The study is expected to take a year to complete.
The combination of melting snow and heavy rain has caused ponding on some local roadways in some areas Wednesday.

Traffic delays due could be moderate during the evening rush, but should lessen by about 7 p.m. Wednesday, said Storm Team4.

Moderate-to-heavy rain and fog are moving through the D.C. area, leading to poor visibility in some spots. Flood warnings are in effect for some creeks, streams and parts of the Potomac River in Maryland and Virginia.

In Purcellville, Virginia, Appalachian Trail Road was flooded late Wednesday afternoon, and in Laurel, authorities said they plan to close the American Legion Commuter lot at 8 p.m. Wednesday because it has the potential to flood.

Flood warnings for small streams, creeks, rivers in bright green. More on News 4. @VJohnsonNBC4 & I have you covered pic.twitter.com/7UNzE7VBw1  Amelia Segal (@ameliasegal) February 3, 2016

The National Weather Service said some areas to watch out for are Westminster near Thurmont, Emmittsburg, Uniontown and Frederick County, Maryland, and Middleburg, Virginia.

Up to an inch of rain is possible before the rain ends.

The District had gotten nearly half an inch of rain by late Wednesday afternoon, with .91 inch in Leesburg and .69 inch in Gaithersburg. Rain was falling at a rate of close to a quarter-inch per hour as of 4:30 p.m. around Calvert Beach and Leonardtown. That rainfall rate will later move up toward Quantico and Culpeper.

Wednesday has been unseasonably warm, around 50 degrees, leading to quicker melting of snow leftover from January's blizzard. The record high for Feb. 3 is 65, according to Storm Team4.

Swift water rescuers at the Great Falls Fire Station in Fairfax County, Virginia prepared for flooding Tuesday, checking equipment, running engines on the boats and driving around low lying roadways looking for trouble spots.

"Most likely we're going to be getting some flooding with the amount of snow we got the days before, and with the rain we're going to be getting and the temperatures, it's going to melt and there is no place to go, so water's going to rise," said Romulo Maciel of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.

Montgomery County, Maryland, was monitoring weather forecasts. In addition to an inch of rain, the melting snow may result in another inch. Highway crews were clearing the 60,000 storm drain inlets along roadways Tuesday.

In Old Town Alexandria, the waterfront may be one of the first places to flood.

Carluccio's Italian Restaurant and Market built its main floor three step higher than the street to avoid rising waters. If there is flooding Wednesday, they are prepared.

"We have these really nifty sandbags that deflate when they dry and re-inflate as soon as they get wet," General Manager Sara Haven said.

In April 2011, rising water filled Tony and Joe's seafood restaurant at Washington Harbour in Georgetown with 10 feet of water. The damage was devastating. Tuesday they positioned all outdoor furniture within the perimeter of the flood wall that can surround Washington Harbour. The restaurant is waiting for the property manager's decision whether the flood walls will be pulled up for protection.
Police are searching for a woman suspected of stealing credit cards out of a locked car in Bethesda, Maryland and racking up thousands of dollars in charges.

Photos released Tuesday by Montgomery County police show a woman wearing exercise clothes. Police say she was caught on camera using stolen credit cards.

The theft occurred Dec. 21 outside the Bethesda Sport&Health gym on the 4400 block of Montgomery Avenue. Police say the suspect broke into a locked vehicle and found a wallet hidden in the backseat, under a jacket.

The suspect took several credit cards but left behind cash and other cards, likely so the victim would not immediately notice the theft, police said.

More than $7,000 in purchases were charged to the credit cards.

Police urge anyone with information about the suspect's identity to contact the 2nd District Patrol Investigations Unit at 240-773-6726 or call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477.
Have you stopped using the Metrorail transit system?

Why?

Its not reliable or quick? Its bad enough on weekdays, maybe worse on weekends? Track work, whatever that is, always seems to be happening on the line youre using? The newest line  Silver  was hobbled by snow? Youre sick of non-working escalators and/or elevators?

And worse, whether you are young or old, you are feeling or starting to feel unsafe? Yes, when the train breaks down, but even more from the threat of serious violence and harassing crime?

You are certainly not alone.

The new chair of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board says he hears you.

The whole [safety] element of the system and your feeling safe has to be addressed, said Jack Evans, speaking Friday on Kojo Nnamdis WAMU Politics Hour. Evans, the Ward 2 D.C. Council member, said a lot more after being elected Metro chair last week:

Public transportation works when two things exist, when its inexpensive and convenient. And Metro is neither.

Riders must have confidence [the system] is safe.

No fare increases. I will not support any fare increases while I am on the board.

Evans said on the Politics Hour that he would support a simpler fare system, if the finances can be worked out, with maximum fares of maybe $5 for suburban rides and $2 in the city.

You have to be a mathematical wizard with a computer to figure out these fares. Its crazy, he said. Why not make it simple. You would fill your subway cars.

Reports of more crime on Metrorail, specifically groups of young people screaming vulgarities and intimidating riders, could scare away even more riders.

But where are police? Metro Police Chief Ronald Pavlik says he has a force of fewer than 500 officers with a 10 percent vacancy rate. Thats for a rail system of 117 miles and 91 stations, not counting the expansive bus system.

Evans said riders must have confidence its going to be safe. It may mean that were going to have to add additional police officers; I think thats what we are going to have to do on Metro. Even the subdued lighting in rail stations, initially seen as groundbreaking, is now seen as too dark. Brighter lights are coming.

Evans recalled the more hopeful days of Metros past. When he served on the Metro board from 1992 to 1999, Metro was a shining example of regional cooperation, he said. Now, 15 years later, we are anything but.

Evans wants to help mend professional and personal strains among the 16-member board to ease management woes.

But mostly he wants to lend a strong hand to new general manager Paul Wiedefeld, who Evans says knows what needs to be done.

Its not like Metro needs to fix this or that  it basically needs to fix everything: organization, finances, management, labor and infrastructure. You can arrange those in any order you wish.

Before he became chair, Evans said he went to a recent community meeting in Ward 2, where he is running for re-election. He said 13 of the 15 questions were about Metro, not the ward.

In the cruelest cut of all, Evans told the Politics Hour that Metro today reminds him of the near-bankrupt District government in 1995 when a federal control board took over city finances. We have to show Congress and the jurisdictions that we can run this system, he said.

That means Evans will approach Congress for operating funds, but not anytime soon. As much as 70 percent of rail riders in rush hour can be federal workers, Evans said. But Congress wont be likely to support Metro operations for the first time if its reputation reminds everyone of the old D.C. government.

A management shakeup is necessary, Evans says, but the system also cant continue to absorb soaring labor costs.

Over the years, the contracts we have lost either by arbitration or entered into have produced a situation where all of our labor issues are the most expensive of any system in the country, Evans told us. I know the contracts are up and they will be coming back looking for increases, et cetera. If we dont raise fares, which we are not going to do, the money has to come from somewhere if we are to agree to these changes.

Evans and the Metro board dont have a full plate  they have a full platter or two.

 Costs of snow. WTOP radio reported that Metro lost about $7 million in revenue because of the big snowstorm, in part because of riders not showing up or the free rides offered on Monday. Metro still is adding up the overtime and other operating costs. General manager Wiedefeld said he expected the total to be significant.

 Another surplus. D.C. officials on Monday announced a surplus of $293 million for the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30. It is the 19th year in a row of audited balanced budgets. And this audit is the first with no major accounting suggestions.

The city now has about $1 billion in its required reserves  a far cry from the days of near-bankruptcy and federal control in the 1990s.

Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.


Seymour pleaded for parole Tuesday after spending three decades in prison for murdering his then 17-year-old son Patrick in his family's Billerica, Massachusetts home and then tying up his daughter Paula and her friend and stabbing his wife Regina when they learned of what he had done.

Seymour said, "Oh geez I'm sorry, I'm sorry I murdered our son Regina, I'm sorry, I'm sorry Paula for your brother, I'm sorry for everything, I take responsibility for all of my actions and the torment I caused my family both before and after the murder."

Seymour's former wife Regina Marsh said, "I think it's just his way of hoping he's going to get out."

Regina and Paula not only doubt Seymour's sincerity, but they fear what would happen if he was granted parole, even out of state in Connecticut as he has requested.

Seymour's daughter Paula Todisco said, "We would be put in our own prison constantly looking over our shoulders, wondering everywhere we went is he there, is he going to come after us again?"

Then we have a life sentence, that's exactly what it is. How do we live after that, you going to sentence us now?"

This is the fourth time Seymour's former wife and daughter have had to beg the parole board not to release him.

But they say it's worth the pain and stress of seeing him and reliving the worst day of their lives to make sure he remains locked up.

Todisco said, "It's hard but I made a promise a long time ago to my brother at I would always be his voice, he doesn't have one now, I'll come as many times as I need to."

Seymour's attorney was granted two weeks to respond to a filing made by the district attorney's office Tuesday.

It will take at least that long for the board to render a decision.
Tributes paid to prayer warrior Anne



Tributes have been paid to Anne Leguen de Lacroix, team member of Norfolk Christian organisation Call to Prayer. Jill Gower pays a personal tribute.



Our lovely Anne Leguen de Lacroix, a very dear friend, and team member of Call to Prayer, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday 27th January 2016.



Anne was always a great supporter of us all at Call to Prayer, and we shall miss her so much. She was an incredible prayer warrior, and her love for Jesus shone through her at all times. She was full of passion and encouraged so many of us in our walk with Jesus.



She had a heart for young people, and longed for them to be all they could be in Christ, to walk free of all that hindered them and to achieve great things in the Kingdom. She would run with them, and we all had a job to keep up with her!



Over the years of ministry she has seen such incredible fruit, and has touched so many lives, and helped so many people. She was always a great joy to be around, and her smile was infectious.



We feel quite sure now in Jesus safe arms, He will say to her, Well done, good and faithful servant



All are invited to thanksgiving memorial service on Thursday 11 February at 2pm St Edmunds Church Southwold. No black or flowers please but donations to Marie Curie Nurses appreciated.



Please add your tributes or memories of Anne below.
Goodbye Safe Harbor, hello Privacy Shield: that's the name given by European Union and U.S. negotiators to the deal they struck on Tuesday enabling legal transfers of personal data between the two regions.

The EU-US Privacy Shield will "protect the fundamental rights of Europeans where their data is transferred to the United States and ensure legal certainty for businesses," the European Commission said in a press release announcing the agreement.

Reactions were mixed, however, with some arguing the new framework fails to protect the privacy of European citizens. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was among the critics.

EU capitulates totally on #SafeHarbor. Interesting, given that they held all the cards. https://t.co/GmM8xGWPP6 https://t.co/EVSzYvgooX  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 2, 2016

Designed to replace the Safe Harbor agreement that was struck down in October, the new deal imposes stronger obligations for U.S. companies to protect the personal data of European citizens. It also calls for stronger monitoring and enforcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, both of which will cooperate with European data-protection authorities to address any complaints by EU citizens. A dedicated ombudsman will help oversee complaints and enquiries as well.

Finally, there will be a joint annual review focused on monitoring and ensuring that commitments are upheld.

"The EU and the United States are the closest allies," said Andrus Ansip, vice president of the EC in charge of Digital Single Market, in a press conference on Tuesday. "On a topic as important as this, we had to find common solutions. I believe this new arrangement is what Europe needs -- both our citizens and our businesses will benefit from this."

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker was similarly optimistic.

"It's been a long road, but we've turned the corner and now we stand together," Pritzker said during a press call on Tuesday. "This will allow the digital economy in both the EU and the U.S. to continue to grow."

As part of the agreement, the Department of Commerce will ensure that U.S. companies publish their commitments to protect Europeans' privacy, making them enforceable under U.S. law by the US. Federal Trade Commission. In addition, any company handling human resources data from Europe has to commit to comply with decisions by European DPAs.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has given the EU written assurances for the first time that data access for law enforcement and national security will be subject to clear limitations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms. The U.S. has ruled out indiscriminate mass surveillance on the personal data transferred inside its borders. The annual joint review will include the issue of national security access, with participation by national intelligence experts from the U.S. and European Data Protection Authorities.

Coming up next, the EU College of Commissions has mandated Ansip and the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova, to prepare a draft "adequacy decision" in the coming weeks. That, in turn, could then be adopted by the College after obtaining the advice of the Article 29 Working Party and after consulting a committee composed of representatives of the Member States. In the meantime, the U.S. side will make the necessary preparations to put in place the new framework, monitoring mechanisms and new ombudsman.

Though it was applauded by the U.S. Direct Marketing Association and Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, reactions elsewhere were decidedly less enthusiastic about the new agreement.

"We urgently need a thorough legal appraisal of the safeguards offered by the U.S.," said Sophie in 't Veld, vice president and spokesperson for data protection for the Alliance of Liberal Democrats in Europe. "The legal status of these safeguards is very unclear. It is highly doubtful that they offer meaningful protection to European citizens."

Similarly, "the emperor is trying on a new set of clothes," said Joe McNamee, Executive Director of European Digital Rights. "Today's announcement means that European citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic face an extended period of uncertainty while waiting for this new stop-gap solution to fail."

At least one U.S. company was also skeptical.

"European attitudes toward data privacy have not changed, and we suspect it will only be a matter of time before Safe Harbor 2.0 is challenged in court," said Yorgen Edholm, CEO of Accellion. "Ultimately, the practice of trans-Atlantic data transfer will remain controversial as long as there remains a fundamental difference of opinion between the U.S. and the EU on what is more important: national security or data privacy. We dont believe Safe Harbor 2.0 will end this debate.

Meanwhile, Europe's data protection authorities were meeting on Tuesday, a day before they are scheduled to publish an evaluation on how recent changes in U.S. law affect trans-Atlantic data transfer using alternative legal mechanisms. They will likely also offer an opinion on the Privacy Shield deal.
EDITORS NOTE: Israel has a long tradition of delivering security products for enterprise IT, dating back to Check Point introducing the first firewall 20 years ago. Today, Israel exports $6 billion in cyber technology and accounts for a fifth of the worlds private investment in cyber. Network Worlds David Strom attended last weeks CyberTech 2016 conference in Tel Aviv and filed this report.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- It isnt often that a speech from a head of state at a tech conference is relevant to IT security managers, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus address at last weeks third annual CyberTech 2016 focused on where the Israeli government and its IT security industry are heading.

Netanyahu offered a plan for cross-country sharing of cybersecurity threats, demonstrated his knowledge of the tech industry, described the economic opportunities of cyber-tech and outlined policy changes that he wants to see to further strengthen Israels role in both overall technology and cybersecurity in particular.
Microsoft is buying SwiftKey, the developer of a popular software keyboard for Android and iOS phones -- even though it already has its own software keyboard, Word Flow.

Software keyboards such as SwiftKey and Word Flow are used to speed up input: Rather than pecking at individual letters, users slide their finger from one letter to another, drawing a shape on the touchscreen. The software analyses the pattern to identify which word they are trying to type.

Microsoft's executive vice president for technology and research, Harry Shum, confirmed the deal in a blog post Wednesday morning, after rumors began circulating Tuesday.

One of the attractions of SwiftKey is that it uses artificial intelligence techniques to speed users' typing.

Last October SwiftKey announced an alpha version of a new neural-network-based SwiftKey keyboard that does a better job of predicting which word the user will type next.

Most such systems perform the hard computation on a powerful server, sending a trickle of data from the smartphone to the cloud -- including everything the user types.

However, SwiftKey's Neural Alpha keyboard does the number-crunching on the phone, potentially allowing the system to be more respectful of users' privacy and security by storing and processing sensitive data locally.

+ MORE M&As: See the list of tech mergers and acquisitions from 2015 +

In some ways, Microsoft's move is surprising, as it already has its own software keyboard, Word Flow, and last month announced that it would release versions of Word Flow for Android and iOS, where SwiftKey is already available.

Shum said Microsoft had no plans to shut down SwiftKey's iOS or Android apps, and promised to continue their development.

In addition, he said, "[We will] explore scenarios for the integration of the core technology across the breadth of our product and services portfolio," a move that could perhaps spell the end of Word Flow on Windows platforms. Shum promised further information about integration of SwiftKey and Word Flow in the coming months.

Microsoft isn't just after the software: It will also take on SwiftKey's staff, who work at the U.K. company's headquarters in central London and its offices in San Francisco and Seoul.
Her Majesty's Planning Inspectorate to rule on 'unauthorised' build

BATTLE lines have been drawn in what is perceived by some as a test case to prevent developers thumbing their noses at planning regulations.

At the heart of the ongoing row is a two-home development at Upper Eddington, Hungerford.

Residents opposed to the unauthorised build had until Tuesday to make their case to Her Majestys Planning Inspectorate, while West Berkshire Council planning officials have until Tuesday, February 16, to defend their position in slapping a stop notice on the project.

The appeal will contest planners refusal to allow developers to relax or change a large array of conditions which were imposed alongside original planning permission for the two-home build which was granted, despite objections, in 2012.

Developer Waddington Forbes Homes Ltd of Cookham, did not wait for such permission but ploughed ahead, prompting claims that the development was larger than agreed, affecting residents in Upper Eddington, Waram Close, Linden Lea and Hamblin Meadow.

The matter eventually came before the councils western area planning committee in September 2015 when member Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley) said she was absolutely staggered by how dominant these buildings are.

Anthony Pick (Con, St Johns) agreed, saying: I was astounded by the degree of dominance of these two buildings.

Clive Hooker (Con, Downlands) said: I have never seen a construction that has been more offensive or overbearing.

Howard Bairstow (Con, Falkland) later warned developers should not be allowed to thumb their noses at planning officers and added: It will be a free-for-all and Im sure other developers are watching with interest.

Many fear that, because the developer has been allowed to virtually complete the homes during the weeks it took to produce the stop notice, a planning inspector may be reluctant to reject the appeal or to order compliance with the original conditions.

One protester, Matt Ulry, wrote to the appeal inspector: The development has reached a stage of almost completion; the developer has shown a disregard for the law by not acquiring the correct legal pre commencements prior to the development of this site.

This renders the development unlawful and breaches the planning control under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990.

The outcome of this appeal will not only be of an interest to other developers and builders within West Berkshire area but also that of [Newbury MP] Richard Benyon.

The appeal to be heard by Her Majestys Planning Inspectorate has been scheduled for June 23.

The decision will be announced at a later date.
He has been cited by Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed on radio, TV and in social media.





Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.





Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post and other publications.



A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.



He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.









Cirucci's passions include politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel. In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, Matt Rooney's sidekick on Save Jersey's videocasts and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.
From Sukhothai through Dan Sai and Loei to the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong

Thailand

08/11/2015

We spent the next day and a half crossing northern Thailand. There was much driving to be done, but plenty to see on the way.

From Sukhothai to the Lao border at Vientiane

After retracing our steps to Phitsanulok we continued eastwards on Highway 12, a well-maintained dual-carriageway. En route Lynne sent a message to Mike and Alison in Australia using Shortys in-car Wi-Fi. There was no pressing need to communicate she did it because she could.

As we left the central plain and started climbing into the hills we paused for a photo. The clouds appeared threatening, but the rainy season was officially over and they knew the rules so they could only glower with frustrated malice. We would climb into higher, cooler regions, but here it was still hot, much hotter than the photo makes it look.

Leaving the central plain, Phitsanulok Province

Wat Pha Sorn Kaew - The Temple on a Glass Cliff

We continued climbing gently as we entered Phetchabun Province and soon turned onto a steep, narrow road up to Wat Pha Sorn Kaew. Established in 2004 and still unfinished, the temple and monastery sit on a hill above the main road. Somewhat off the tourist route it sees few foreigners, but is popular with locals particularly on a Sunday. Apart from the car park there are, as yet, few facilities for visitors but there was a traffic jam to savour.

Strange place Wat Pha Sorn Kaew, but at least the traffic jam looks normal

There are three main parts to the complex. The most obvious is the five-Buddha statue, symbolising the stages of the Buddha's life from birth to enlightenment. The outside is complete, but work continues on the inside which remains closed to the public. The statue is huge and impressive, by far the best part of the temple.

The life of the Buddha in one statue, Wat Pha Sorn Kaew

To reach the Temple Tower you must pass Vessavana, the Guardian of the North.

Vessavana, the Guardian of the North

The ornamentation reminded me of Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok, but whereas that merely seemed fussy this was way over the top, bordering on fantastical - a harsh critic might even say tacky. Again it is unfinished, but you can climb to a gallery giving views over the whole complex.

Wat Pha Sorn Kaew

I disliked the tower but the monastery is worse, apparently modelled on the palace of mad King Ludwig at Neuschwanstein with a nod towards Sleeping Beautys Castle.

Monastery, Wat Pha Sorn Kaew

According to 2112design.com the Wat is unique and spectacular rivalling Notre Dame, the Sistine Chapel and the Taj Mahal. Opinion is, of course, personal and the crowds certainly flock to see it, but I thought Wat Pha Sorn Kaew had the artistic integrity of Disneyland, though unredeemed by any rides.

Sweet Tamarinds and the Cool Highlands

Ake had earlier been telling us about the sweet tamarinds for which this area is famous. Tamarinds' usual function is to introduce a note of sourness into curries but these, Ake assured us, are different and we stopped at a rural market near the temple so he could prove his point.

Ake buys sweet tamarinds

(There is no truth in the story that he was David Miliband's banana coach)

Breaking open the brittle brown shells with your fingers and peeling back the fibres reveals a fruit the colour, shape and consistency of a small turd. Undaunted, you pull off a section and suck the flesh from around the large seeds. Obviously sweet tamarind tastes far better than it looks, indeed it is very pleasant, retaining just enough acidity not to be cloying, though it does leave you with very sticky fingers.

Three quarters of an hour later we turned north off the highway and followed a winding road into the mountains. As we rose higher we passed camp sites (People come here for the cold, said Ake) and strawberry fields. It was noticeably cooler, but despite Ake's comments about snow on Thailands highest peaks (a counter-intuitive side effect of global warming) it was not so cool either of us thought a pullover might be a good idea. When we had enjoyed the view and drunk a cup of coffee we went back down

Looking down at the central plain

Isan and its Fiery Cuisine

We now entered Isan, Thailand's largest region consisting of the 20 north eastern provinces in land half-encircled by Laos and Cambodia. Traditionally it is Thailands poorest region, though recent rapid economic growth is changing that. Isan is also Akes home region, though he has lived in Bangkok for decades. Noting our liking for Thai food and tolerance of chillies he wanted to buy us a traditional Isan meal, so back down in the valley we stopped for lunch at one of a group of roadside stalls with formica topped tables and cheap plastic stools.

Isan cuisine, popular all over Thailand, is based on sticky rice and chillies. Ake bought a barbecued chicken, a fiery Thai green papaya salad, an even fierier Isan green papaya salad for comparison and sticky rice.

Chicken, green papaya salad and sticky rice

Roadside stall, Isan

Isan food is traditionally eaten with the hands and the trick to balling up your sticky rice is to get your fingers good and greasy, or so Ake told us, enthusiastically pawing a piece of chicken. The meal was excellent, the chicken was tender and well-flavoured, the green papaya salads were the perfect foil, especially the Isan one, and the sticky rice was ideal for soaking up the fiery sauce. Ake had shown us Isan cooking as eaten by ordinary Isan people and we had thoroughly enjoyed it, which pleased him immensely.

Dan Sai

Wat Neramit Wipattasana

Wat Neramit Wipattasana, Dan Sai

Less than an hour later we were in the Dan Sai district of Loei Province. Wat Neramit Wipattasana stands on a hill overlooking what may be the township of Dan Sai (Thai villages have a way of spreading themselves out so you never quite know where they are). All sources agree that the temple is new but nobody will tell me exactly how new. They did tell me that it is made of laterite, which we could see for ourselves as this strange, porous rock is familiar from Angkor Wat and Si Satchanalai, and that the main hall contains a copy of the Phitsanulok Buddha which we saw two days ago.

Copy of the Phitsanulok Bhudda, Wat Neramit Wipattasana, Dan Sai

There were also some pleasing paintings of scenes from the Buddha's life and, whatever its exact age, it was good to see a modern temple that had refrained from going as far over the top as Wat Pha Sorn Kaew.

Scenes from the life of the Buddha,Wat Neramit Wipattasana, Dan Sai

Phra That Si Song Rak - The Stupa in Honour of Two Loves

A couple of minutes away, Phra That Si Song Rak was built in 1560 by the Kings of Thailand and Laos to celebrate a pact of mutual defence against the Burmese.

The courtyard was packed with cyclists wearing Bike for Dad tee shirts, part of a campaign which would climax in December with the Crown Prince leading 100,000 peddlers on a 30km ride round Bangkok to celebrate his father's 88th birthday.

We set off to climb the flight of steps to the stupa but before we could start I noticed a woman running towards me and shouting; clearly I was not satisfactorily dressed. My shorts were acceptable here, as everywhere else in Thailand, but not my shirt which was, apparently, far too red. I was loaned a pale blue jacket to wear over it, though I am at a loss to explain why this was necessary.

In a fetching powder blue jacket - and it fits so it must be kept for foreigners

Phra That Si Song Rak, Dan Sai

Unusually for Thailand the stupa was in need of a coat of paint.

The stupa, Phra That Si Song Rak Dan Sai

We were unimpressed by the 'Lady no Entry' signs by the stupas and in front of the holiest parts of the temple. I should have stayed out in solidarity, but I didnt, so I can inform Lynne, and the rest of the world's ladies, that they are not missing a great deal.

Lady No Entry

Phra That Si Song Rak, Dan Sai

At the front of the temple a girl was shaking out fortune telling sticks, a superstition we have seen practiced many times in Daoist temples, but not before among Buddhists.

Rattling the fortune telling sticks

Phra That Si Song Rak Dan Sai

Eco Lodge, Dan Sai

I had been under the impression that our hotel would be in the town of Loei. I had misunderstood; although in Loei Province, it was a rural eco-lodge and much closer to Dan Sai. The setting was pleasant with water buffalo wandering round the extensive grounds (and in another form in our bedroom) but we were the only people staying there.

Buffalo in our bedroom, Dan Sai

There were plenty of staff to look after us and although the bar was not open, they brought us a beer in the library, which had an impressive collection of books and games. We ate dinner in solitary splendour. The chicken dish, which we were warned would be spicy, turned out to be somewhere between a stew and a soup and arrived in an elaborate boiler. It was well-flavoured and when I made the mistake off chomping up a whole chilli I discovered that although I am largely chilli-tolerant, I am not entirely fireproof.

Dining Alone. Dan Sai

Ake arrived as we were finishing. As Lynne chatted to him I decided the now reduced quantity of liquid was boiling too vigorously and attempted to blow out the spirit burner. Had my reactions been a little slower the resulting flare would have cost me my eyebrows.

Ake leaned forward, local expert that he is, took the burner out from underneath and proved that he could not blow it out either. He flipped it upside down onto a table. With no oxygen he - and we - expected it to go out, but when he lifted the burner he found he had merely transferred the fire to the wooden table. With a little more urgency he grabbed a napkin and managed to stifle the flames, leaving a circular patch of paraffin wax on the table, and presumably unseen burns below.

When the waitress came and picked up our plates she spotted the wax disc, looked at us with furrowed brow and swept out. She returned for the boiler still apparently fretting that, perhaps, all foreigners were arsonists. I did not want to take the blame, but nor did I want to point the finger at Ake, so I was relieved when he stepped into the awkward silence and did the decent thing. After a couple of minutes explanation they were laughing about it.

09/11/2015

To The Friendship Bridge and into Laos

In the morning we proceeded to Loei. I had been disappointed we did not stay there as the guide book describes it as 'little visited' and I like being one of the few. We shot off a few photographs as we drove through and as the picture below is the least dull, perhaps Loei is little visited with good cause.

Exciting Loei

We paused for coffee at Udon Thani, the larger capital of the next province. Filling station complexes are common throughout Thailand. As well as fuel there are shops, always including a Seven Eleven and an Amazon coffee house. Small, clean, air-conditioned and modern they are unrelated to the ubiquitous on-line retailer and non-taxpayer.

At Udon Thani we turned north to Nong Khai and the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong. Here we said goodbye to the excellent Ake and Shorty the driver and checked out of Thailand.

After passport control we bought tickets for the shuttle bus and waited with a growing crowd of foot passengers. Traffic conditions made it a stop and start journey and I had to stand on the packed bus. I had wanted to see how they manage the changeover to driving on the right but the crowd obscured my view. Somehow, though, we exited Thailand driving on the left and arrived in Laos on the right.

We were met by Phim, negotiated the reasonably straightforward visa on arrival process and emerged into the People's Democratic Republic of Laos.
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Lucideon, the international materials technology company, has announced that it has extended its collaboration agreement with the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre (STC) to include wear testing of orthopaedic hip and knee implants.

The new agreement capitalises on the expertise of both companies in providing testing and analysis services to the medical device sector. It will also allow Asian orthopaedic implant manufacturers who export to the EU to have their products tested by an accredited European test house.

The collaboration builds on the work that the two companies have done over the past decade, providing testing of ceramic and glass tableware and tiles in Hong Kong and China.

Lucideon has ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation for the total wear testing of hip joints. The accreditation encompasses ISO 14242-1 and ISO 14242-2 standards and was awarded by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). In addition to wear testing, Lucideon also offers impingement and fatigue testing and debris analysis. Testing of knee implants is also offered through its facilities in the US.

The extension to the agreement means that orthopaedic implant manufacturers will get the benefit of both our and STCs experience and range of services. Asian manufacturers will benefit from having their products tested by a European accredited test house, giving their consumers confidence in the quality and performance of their devices. Steve Newman, Senior Product Manager at Lucideon.

Anne Chuah, General Manager of the Chemical, Food & Pharmaceutical Products Division at STC, said: We are very pleased to have signed this new agreement with Lucideon, which takes our collaboration to the next level. We look forward to working with Lucideon to satisfy customers from the medical device sector with our expertise and advanced technologies.

Lucideon also offers materials development and characterization, regulatory approval testing packages, cleanliness validation, process troubleshooting and failure analysis, as well as novel materials technologies, including inorganic controlled release drug delivery platforms.

Lucideon and STC will be running a series of webinars around wear testing and medical device testing in China in May.
Black-box warnings about the dangers of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications are confusing and could have serious consequences for the risk of youth suicide, according to researchers at the Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal (CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal) and the University of Montreal, whose correspondence has just been published in the most recent issue of the journal The Lancet Psychiatry.

"Health Canada has issued a series of black-box warnings about the suicidal potential of ADHD medications. However, these warnings have failed to take into account epidemiological studies showing the opposite, that increased use of this medication has been associated with reduced suicide risk in adolescents," says Dr. Alain Lesage, psychiatrist and researcher at the Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal (CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal) and one of study's authors.

In the past decade, the medical treatment of ADHD increased three-fold in Quebec, reaching 9% of boys aged 10 years and 4% of boys aged 15 years. However, suicide rates in Quebec's adolescents decreased by nearly 50% during that period among 15-19 year olds, which contradicts the warnings issued by Health Canada.

"Clearly, the increased use of ADHD drugs indicates that they might actually reduce rather than augment the risk of suicide," says Edouard Kouassi, pharmacist and researcher at the Institut universitaire en sante mentale de Montreal (CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal) and co-author of the study.

How can this decrease be explained clinically?

"Randomized controlled trials have shown ADHD medication to alleviate the usual symptoms of hyperactivity and attention deficit. It has also been associated with improvements in school performance, better self-esteem, and reductions in conduct disorders, drug abuse, and pregnancies in girls. In fact, these disorders or precarious social situations are especially associated with increased risk of suicide, not the actual taking of these drugs, which, on the contrary, may prevent suicide," say the authors.

Indeed, Health Canada's black-box warming may contribute to reducing prescriptions because of parents' fears about their children's health, while these medications may actually protect them. "The silence from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is especially worrying in a context in which it has been called on to prepare a national suicide prevention strategy for the government of Canada under Bill C-300. We wrote this correspondence hoping to sound the alarm about the warnings published by Quebec's health authorities, as elsewhere in Canada, which might lead to a decrease in this effective medical treatment," they conclude.
Researchers at Iowa State University have found evidence that a "housekeeping" gene present in every cell of the body may have a link to male infertility.

Ravindra Singh, a professor of biomedical sciences in the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, has studied the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene for years. A deficiency in the gene, known as a "housekeeping" gene because its presence is essential for basic cellular function, can lead to neurological problems such as spinal muscular atrophy.

But Singh's laboratory discovered a link between SMN and male infertility, making it one of only a handful of genes suspected to have such a connection. The findings appeared recently in Scientific Reports, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Nature.

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Singh's group conducted a genome-wide study of SMN deficiency in mice and found surprising correlation between low levels of the gene expression and testicular size and low sperm count in male specimens.

"We need to have housekeeping genes for normal function," Singh said. "Every cell in the body requires them. Our findings seemed to uncover a new function of the gene and suggest SMN plays a role in testicular development. Mice with deficient levels of the gene had lower sperm count and more instances of infertility."

Singh said around 5 percent of men deal with infertility concerns, and little is known about the intersection of genetics and infertility. He said genome-wide association studies have linked only around six genes in the human genome to male infertility, potentially making SMN another such gene. However, Singh cautioned that further human-based research is needed to validate his group's novel findings, since these findings are based on observations in rodents.

The results also suggest SMN deficiencies could have different effects in males and females, Singh said. Further developing that knowledge may lead physicians to take into account a patient's sex when determining treatments for SMN deficiencies.

He said the next step in the research will be to determine how early SMN deficiency can change testicular development in mice and what particular cells are targeted.

This kind of research guides new ways of thinking about medical therapies and how they interact with genetics, Singh said.

"We're heading toward an age of molecular medicine, where treatments can depend on the individual genetic differences in patients," he said. "What mutations you have could impact what treatments you receive."
insights from industry Mike Hutson Managing Director, Rober Ltd

What causes pressure ulcers and who do they affect?

Pressure ulcers are wounds that occur when a continuous pressure or friction is placed on one area of the body, damaging the skin. They occur when pressure stops blood from flowing normally, leading the cells to die and the skin to break down.

Pressure ulcers tend to affect people with health conditions that make it difficult to move, especially those confined to lying in a bed or sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Body parts that are most at risk of developing pressure ulcers are those that are not covered by a large amount of body fat and are in direct contact with a supporting surface, such as a bed or a wheelchair. These areas include; shoulders or shoulder blades, elbows, back of the head, rims of the ears, knees, ankles, heels or toes or spine.

Why are pressure ulcers a rising problem around the world?

Elderly people are at a higher risk of developing pressure sores because they have thinner skin, resulting in increased vulnerability to the damage caused by minor pressure. As such, if this pressure is continuous, a pressure sore can quickly develop.

With an aging population, pressure ulcers are a rising problem globally and in the UK alone, they affect over 700,000 people a year, adding an additional 4,000 per ulcer onto each patients care bill.

Pressure ulcers are also linked to prolonged hospitalization, pain, social isolation and in worst cases, death, which is why it is so important that patients, especially elderly ones who are bed bound or immobile, are treated on the most appropriate mattress.

Can you please explain the technology used in Robers mattresses?

Our technology creates a wave-like ripple effect that is specifically designed to replicate the bodys natural movements, helping to eliminate pressure injuries and provide patient comfort and safety.

This wave-like ripple effect provides regular and complete pressure elimination to all parts of the body that come into contact with the mattress, preventing pressure injuries from developing, as well as promoting the healing of established ulcers.

Over the last few years, heavy investment in R&D has enabled us to develop a full range of alternating mattress solutions, which cater for a variety of patients needs - from everyday nursing environments to acute care facilities.

We have solutions that cater for immobile, critically ill and bariatric patients, as well as those that have independent areas, such as the heel - a key risk area for pressure ulcers.

How does this technology help to eliminate pressure injuries?

Our new generation of mattresses are fully automatic and patients nursed upon them require less manual repositioning which helps in nursing environments.

The constant movement of the mattress ensures that patients are not affected by prolonged periods of pressure and therefore at risk of developing pressure injuries.

Through working closely with clinicians, we have focused our technology on four key areas - microclimate control, patient safety and comfort, maximizing infection control and offering additional nursing support.

Additional features such as a touch screen display panel, comfort settings, timed static mode, audible and visual alarms, and permanently inflated side formers all provide great benefits to patients and busy nursing staff.

What more needs to be done to prevent pressure ulcers around the world?

Education is the key. It is estimated that 80  95% of pressure are avoidable, so through educational programs, training and campaigns such as Stop the Pressure and worldwide STOP the Pressure Day pressure ulcers can be dramatically reduced.

Access to technology is also a key factor. We believe that all healthcare establishments, wherever they are in the world, should have access to pressure ulcer technology to prevent their patients from developing pressure ulcers.

To help cater for this market, we have developed a secondary cost effective range of mattress solutions designed to fulfill the requirements of affordable healthcare.

Through attending numerous congresses around the world and working with distributors in each country, we aim to raise the profile and awareness of these technologies worldwide.

What are Robers plans for the future?

Our R&D team is currently developing a third range of pressure solutions for Third World countries, which are more affordable. We hope that by providing undeveloped countries with access to this technology and by working with hospitals directly in these countries, it will help tackle the problem of pressure ulcers globally.

As a UK manufacturer, it is important to continually identify innovative solutions to assist our growth; therefore we are significantly investing in R&D and research activities/collaborative working to ensure that we stay at the forefront of technology.

We hope that the outcome of this work is increased profitability through improved quality and operations, increased sales and access to new markets.

Where can readers find more information?

www.roberlimited.com

About Mike Hutson

Studied Mechanical and Production Engineering along with Quality Assurance with the Ministry of Defense Research and Development focusing on weapon systems and fighting vehicles.

Worked for Thyssen Krupp Elevators as a Senior Manager of Operations for 12 years

Ran a multi-fuel stove burning company for 4 years on the South Coast UK before returning to the East Midlands.
Alcohol withdrawal adds challenges to caring for critically ill patients, and nurses must be diligent at each stage of care to minimize complications, according to an article in the February issue of Critical Care Nurse (CCN).

The article, "Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in Critically Ill Patients: Identification, Assessment, and Management," provides much-needed guidance to critical care nurses and other clinicians whose patients may have alcohol use disorder (AUD), including abuse and dependency conditions of varying severity.

Lead author Lynsey Sutton, RN, MNclin, is associate charge nurse manager of a level 3 intensive care unit, Capital and Coast District Health Board, Wellington Regional Hospital, Wellington, New Zealand. She is a guest teaching assistant in the postgraduate nursing program at Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

"The abrupt cessation of alcohol places patients with an AUD at risk for additional complications, and nurses are perfectly placed at the bedside to obtain histories of alcohol consumption from patients or the patients' families. This may help identify those at risk for withdrawal early," she said.

For the study, the researchers reviewed more than 100 articles related to alcohol use and critically ill patients that had been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Their work can help frontline nurses who are caring for critically ill patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).

Managing alcohol withdrawal effectively begins with the identification of patients with an AUD as indicated by the patients' medical histories. Unfortunately, a patient's history of alcohol consumption is often poorly obtained, not detailed enough or not obtained at all.

The researchers recommend that a validated tool be developed to enable nurses to obtain a more comprehensive history of alcohol use, including past withdrawal or detoxification episodes.

If patients at risk are identified at the time of admission, nurses will be better able to detect signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and initiate treatment early. This practice might halt the progression from mild to severe withdrawal and prevent delirium tremens.

The researchers also suggest development of a laboratory test or biomarker to highlight chronic alcohol use, especially when an alcohol history is unobtainable. Current blood tests focus on recent alcohol consumption, which may not help identify those at risk for withdrawal.

"The clinical manifestations of critical illness and alcohol withdrawal are often similar, and a worsening clinical condition in a patient with AWS should not always be assumed to be withdrawal related," Sutton said.

The article also discusses various therapies, tools and assessment scales nurses can use to evaluate and monitor response to treatment.

The researchers call for further studies related to nearly every aspect of alcohol withdrawal in critically ill patients to help validate tools and develop evidence-based practice guidelines.
Breast cancer takes a daunting toll on all women, but it hits younger women especially hard, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Women aged 18-44 with a history of breast cancer reported a lower health-related quality of life than older survivors, highlighting the impact of breast cancer on the physical and mental health of younger women.

For younger women, the effect of breast cancer on quality of life was 70 percent greater than that of other cancers.

The study, led by Derek Brown, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, was published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

Brown and his colleagues analyzed data from the 2009 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The sample included 218,852 women; 7,433 had a history of breast cancer and 18,577 had histories of other cancers. Health state utility (HSU) values, a scaled index of health-related quality of life for economic evaluation, were estimated using survey questions and a published mapping algorithm.

"One possibility to explain these results is that younger women are nearer to peak childbearing ages, so they are more concerned about fertility implications of treatment," Brown said.

"Even if the treatments have the same physical impact across ages, the stress and mental health impacts may be larger for younger women, and show up as larger impacts on health-related quality of life," he said.

Another possible reason for the finding, Brown said, is that breast cancers in this study could be more advanced when diagnosed in young women compared to older women, since routine screening is not recommended in younger women.

"If so, this could mean larger mental or physical health impacts, and a greater impact on quality of life," Brown said. "We would need a more detailed clinical sample data set to test this."
International biopharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics Asia (ST Asia) will supply and distribute a novel oncology drug candidate throughout South East Asia, following an exclusive licensing deal with European pharmaceutical company PharmaMar.

Under the terms of the latest agreement, ST Asia will be allowed marketing and distribution rights to new multiple myeloma compound APLIDIN (plitidepsin) in key regions including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

APLIDIN is a first in class drug currently in development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and a type of T cell lymphoma.

Commercial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment, royalties and additional remunerations for regulatory and sales milestones achieved by APLIDIN in these new markets.

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PharmaMar will retain production rights and will supply the finished product to ST Asia for exclusive commercial use in all agreed regions.

APLIDIN is PharmaMar's second anti-cancer drug candidate obtained from a marine organism.

The company announced in June 2015 that patient recruitment of the international pivotal Phase 3 trial (ADMYRE) for APLIDIN in refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma was successfully completed[i]. Data from this study is expected to be reported later this year.

Specialised Therapeutics Asia Chief Executive Officer Mr Carlo Montagner said the APLIDIN licensing deal was an important step forward as the company expanded operations to include key territories in South East Asia.

"We look forward to working with PharmaMar to ensure this valuable multiple myeloma therapy is available as soon as possible to patients in key South East Asia regions, as well as in Australia and New Zealand," he said.

"APLIDIN may be highly valuable as a new therapeutic for this difficult to treat cancer. While multiple myeloma remains relatively rare, it is an insidious disease with one of the lowest survival rates in oncology. ST Asia has been established to provide new therapeutics like this one to patients where there is a high unmet need."

"APLIDIN is the first step. We look forward to changing the lives of patients affected by a range of diseases  not only in oncology  in these new and important markets."

PharmaMar Chairman Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro said: "We are proud to enter into agreements with laboratories such as STA that enable us to ensure that all patients who need plitidepsin can avail themselves of it. We are firmly committed to advancing in the development of innovative therapies that benefit society."

The total population of South East Asian regions including Australia and New Zealand is put at 650 million, with an estimated 300,000 people living with multiple myeloma overall and between 30,000 and 40,000 new cases of the disease diagnosed annually.
Young African-Americans often hold a distorted view of their personal risk for a stroke, two nursing researchers at Georgia State University's Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions say in a recently published study in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.

Dawn Aycock, assistant professor, and Pat Clark, professor, examined the accuracy of risk perception by comparing a group of young rural African-Americans' perceived risk to their actual risk of stroke.

Stroke is a growing health issue. One-third of strokes occur in people under the age of 65. Young African-Americans have a 50 percent higher chance of having a stroke than Caucasians of the same age. Death rates due to stroke are also higher among African-Americans. Hypertension, diabetes and obesity increase the likelihood of stroke in young adults.

The researchers recruited young African-American patients from a mobile clinic that visits four rural Georgia communities. Participants were on average 43 years old and female and had no physical limitations to exercise. They were asked a series of questions to determine each participant's perception of their personal risk for a stroke in the next two decades. Researchers then matched the questionnaires with personal and family history forms developed from a commonly used stroke risk assessment form created by the American Stroke Association.

Results showed that 47 percent of the participants did have an accurate perception of their risk for stroke. However, another 44 percent underestimated their stroke risk. When researchers compared the perception data to the health history data, they found that 59 percent of the participants had a moderate to high risk of stroke with multiple contributing risk factors. Also, a sizable percentage had a family history of stroke and an even larger percentage smoked or were diabetic. But participants didn't link these health risk factors to the risk of stroke in themselves.

Conclusions of the research were that education on stroke risk must be increased in younger African-Americans. Nurses should find ways to link poor personal health habits with stroke risk for the rural African-American population, the researchers said.

"Many young adults don't know about stroke because it is typically a disease of older adults," Aycock said. "Most strokes can be prevented by changing unhealthy behaviors."
Health pioneers BetterYou are advising those looking to boost their levels of the sunshine vitamin to supplement orally as a safer alternative to lengthy UV exposure.

In a Guardian article, Australian authorities have released new advice on prolonged sun exposure amid concerns people are risking skin cancer in the belief they are boosting their vitamin D levels.

BetterYou who are at the forefront of research into vitamin D levels, are keen to educate about the importance of maintaining your levels. They aim to inform how much of this vital vitamin you should be taking, as dosage levels are still poorly understood.

Despite the sunny climate, a seasonal variation in vitamin D levels also occurs in Australia says the Nutrient Reference Value for Australia and New Zealand. Osteoporosis Australia's Professor Peter Ebeling confirms that about a quarter of Australians have a vitamin D deficiency, which could lead to bone problems like fractures and osteoporosis.

Much like the UK, at risk groups in Australia include pregnant women, babies and children under five, veiled women, the over 65s and those with darker skin pigmentation.

In the UK, the Department of Health recommends all children aged six months to five years, those aged 65 and over, people who have low or no exposure to the sun and those with darker skin take a vitamin D supplement.

BetterYou, recommends 1000IU (International Units) of vitamin D is received per 25kg of body weight. An adult living in the Northern Hemisphere requires between 2000-3000IU daily to maintain a healthy optimum level and during winter months this requires supplementation.

Unfortunately, modern indoor lifestyles, processed foods and the overuse of sun creams in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are resulting in a dramatic rise in vitamin D deficiency. By taking just one spray a day of one of our DLux oral sprays, vitamin D levels can be effectively managed and many health conditions and diseases associated with deficiency could be avoided. Andrew Thomas, founder and managing director at BetterYou.

There are a number of diseases related to Vitamin D deficiency, including Multiple Sclerosis, Type 2 Diabetes, bone diseases and over 17 internal cancers are believed to cost the UK taxpayer 29 billion annually  more than a quarter of the NHS budget.

Experts are agreed that a body with optimum vitamin D will be stronger, more flexible and better able to resist disease and infection.

Multiple clinical trials have found that oral vitamin sprays elevate serum vitamin D levels on average 50% faster than traditional tablets and capsules.

Researchers at Cardiff University, when testing BetterYous DLux vitamin D oral sprays, found that absorption within the mouth was far superior to the more traditional digestive route of tablets and capsules.

In addition, trials by both the National Technical University of Athens and the Swiss Research Centre Pharmabase found that vitamin D absorption via an oral spray was at least 50% faster and more effective than traditional tablets and capsules.

Dr Charles Heard, who lead the Cardiff University absorption trial, explains: The ultra-fast uptake is due to the very absorbent tissue within the mouth and the close proximity of a rich vein network. In some cases it is close to that of IV or intramuscular injections.
Some Countries May See Another Wave of COVID-19 Infection Due to XBB Subvariant, Says WHO Chief Scientist
Sachin Tendulkar walks in to bat as West Indies cricketers look on during the third ODI between India and West Indies. (AFP Photo)
All the new X-Men comics and collections from Marvel in 2022

Feature The full list of new X-Men comics arriving in the next few months that you need to get excited about
Believe It or

Not, Some World

Leaders Lasted

Just Minutes
(Newser)  New York's WBNG has the touching story of a reunion 82 years in the making. Lena Pierce gave birth to her first daughter, who she named Eva May, in 1933. But at only 14 years old, the state determined Pierce wasn't old enough to care for Eva and took the girl away after just six months with her mother. Eva was adopted and grew up an only child named Betty Morrell. "There was a lot of times I worried about her and wondered where she was, Pierce tells WBNG. Morrell's adoptive parents died when she was in her early 20s, and she began a decades-long search for her birth mother.

An aunt accidentally gave Morrell two important cluesshe was born in Utica and was originally named Evathat set her on the right path, and she was eventually able to track down Pierce, now 96. The two reunited for the first time in 82 years last month at the Binghamton airport in New York. Pierce and Morrell hugged and spent the day together. They say they plan on picking up where they left off back in 1933. Im not alone anymore, Morrell tells WBNG. I have my mother, and I have sisters and brothers. Its surreal but so wonderful to be together again after all this time. Read the full story here. (Read more uplifting news stories.)
(Newser)  Last week, reporter St. John Barned-Smith went to cover his first execution. "You'll never be the same," one anti-death-penalty protester warned him outside Texas's Walls Unit prison, where James Garrett Freeman would be put to death for killing a Texas game warden in 2007, when he was 26. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was nervous about witnessing my first execution. I kept wondering what it would be like and thinking about my own mortality," Barned-Smith writes in the Houston Chronicle, where he describes the steps he took in advance of the execution itself: talking to other game wardens, Freeman's defense team, the parents of the murdered game warden, andthe most difficult call of allFreeman's dad.

Barned-Smith describes how "surreal" it was to stand crammed into the viewing area with "the men whose colleague he'd killed and [who] wanted him dead," all while Freeman's family stood, devastated, in another room. "There was a weird, medical feeling to the whole thing" as he watched Freeman, strapped to a gurney, decline to give any last words before the execution drugs were pumped into him via IV. "I wondered at the terror he must be feeling" in the moments before the drugs were injected, as well as what the warden must be thinking as he presided over the execution. After Freeman's eyes closed and he made a slight gasping sound before his breathing slowed and stopped, "I could feel my heart pounding. It was bizarre and strange, and at the same time, surprisingly anti-climactic." Click for his full column. (Read more execution stories.)
(Newser)  The US military's opening of all combat roles to women has also apparently opened the door for unisex conscription. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, the chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps testified that they believe it's time for women to register for the draft the way men have to do when they turn 18, NBC News reports. "It's my personal view that, based on this lifting of restrictions ... every American who's physically qualified should register for the draft," said Marine Corps chief Gen. Robert B. Neller. Army Gen. Mark Milley agreed that the exemption should end and "all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft."

The draft ended in 1973, though Jimmy Carter brought back the requirement to register in 1980 after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, NBC notes. Sen. Claire McCaskill told the hearing that she thinks it's time for women to sign up for the draft because it would help steer them toward military careers, Stars and Stripes reports. "Part of me believes that asking women to register like we ask men to register would [possibly] open up more recruits," she said. The generals testified that it is going to take up to three years to integrate women into all combat roles, and that physical differences between men and women will affect integration, CBS News reports. (In 2014, the Selective Service System ordered 14,000 men born in the 19th century to register for the draft.)
(Newser)  A SEAL Team 6 member who took part in a daring hostage rescue in Afghanistan is going to become the first living sailor to receive the Medal of Honor in almost 20 years. The White House says Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers will receive the medal at a Feb. 29 ceremony to honor his courageous actions in the 2012 rescue of a kidnapped American doctor from the Taliban, reports the Navy Times. One SEAL Team 6 member was killed during the raid. According to an unclassified summary seen by CNN, Byers, the second man to enter the room where hostage Dilip Joseph was being held, managed to subdue a guard in hand-to-hand combat before throwing himself on top of Joseph to protect him as the firefight continued.

While shielding the doctor, Byers took on the last surviving guard and "was able to pin the enemy combatant to the wall with his hand around the enemy's throat," the summary states. "There's no margin of doubt or possibility of error in awarding this honor," a defense official tells USA Today. "His actions were so conspicuous in terms of bravery and self-sacrifice that they clearly distinguished him to be worthy of the award, including risk of his own life." Byers, a 36-year-old Ohio native who joined the Navy in 1998, will be the sixth Navy SEAL ever to be awarded the country's highest honor for battlefield valor. Two were awarded posthumously to SEALs who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. (In November, a Medal of Honor was awarded to a soldier who tackled a bomber.)
(Newser)  "My mama and my daddy got shot  They dead." That's how a 5-year-old boy describes the murder of his parents in Chattanooga, Tenn., in a 911 call released Tuesday. Over nearly eight minutes, the boy tells a dispatcher he witnessed the deaths of Lakita Hicks, 25, and George Dillard, 24, at their home around 10:30pm Sunday, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "This dude shot 'em  but now he gone," the boy says, per the Washington Post. "I was still at home and I started crying," he adds. "Can you tell the police officers to come?" Police tell the Free Press that the child was "extremely helpful," but no arrests have been made so far.

Police are looking into whether Dillard and Hicks' murders could be linked to the gang-related killing of a 20-year-old man shot while walking in Chattanooga on Jan. 25. "We have great concern that it is, but we have no reason to know that," an officer says, noting Dillard was a 52 Blood Stone Villains gang member. Authorities say the couple's son is now in the custody of other family members. "He's doing pretty good, strong little guy," Hicks' uncle says. Emails reveal police were reluctant to release the 911 call fearing it could put the boy in danger. However, a rep for the Hamilton County District Attorney's office says the boy's grandmother supported the move in the hope that someone would come forward with new information. (Read more Chattanooga stories.)
(Newser)  In his 10 short years, Wasil Ahmad was named a hero by the Afghan government for leading the fight against a Taliban siege. When the siege was over, the government dressed him in a police uniform, hung plastic flowers around his neck, and handed him a helmet and gun. "A program was held at the police headquarters, where his bravery and courage was talked about by officials," a provincial council chief tells the New York Times. "I was against this move  He is too young to hand him a gun." Though a neighbor says the hubbub left Wasil with little interest in school, his family recently enrolled him as a fourth-grader at a school in Tirin Kot. It was there, outside his home, that he was assassinated by the Taliban with two shots to the head, the group announced on Monday.

"There was no threat from this child to the armed opposition," says a rep for the Afghan independent human rights commission, noting government forces and insurgents illegally use child soldiers. "Possibly he took up arms to take revenge for his father's death, but it was illegal for the police to declare him a hero and reveal his identity, especially to the insurgents," he adds, per CBS News. Wasil's father was originally a Taliban fighter but switched sides along with his brother, Mullah Abdul Samad, then a Taliban commander. Samad was given control of 70 militiamen, 18 of whom died fighting the Taliban, including Wasil's father. When Samad became injured, Wasil took over. "He was successfully leading my men on my behalf for 44 days until I recovered," Samad says. "He fought like a miracle." (Read more Afghanistan stories.)
(Newser)  NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton took to the city's subways last week (with a cop by his side) in an attempt to show NYC residents that the transit system is perfectly safe and that recent stabbings and slashings were nothing more than an "aberration." But just an hour after Bratton gave a radio interview Monday to downplay the incident, a 30-year-old rider had his chin sliced open in Brooklyn by a mentally ill man, the New York Daily News reportsthe 10th knife attack in the subway this year. The two men had apparently had a confrontation before they boarded the train Monday afternoon, and 37-year-old Stephen Brathwaite, whom the paper IDs as a schizophrenic, reportedly followed his victim onto the No. 3 train and assaulted him with a folding knife. There's been a 15% to 20% rise in knife attacks overall in the city compared to last year (the Daily News and RT.com offer different numbers), with most of the subway attacks resulting from fights between riders.

The subway incidents have been concerning enough to prompt the anti-crime group the Guardian Angels to start having more of a presence underground, WABC reports. "We're increasing the visual presence, the deterrent factor.  [The police] really need to step it up themselves," group leader Curtis Sliwa tells the station. But "this is New York, and occasionally the media and police get focused on a series of incidents, and that's what happened here," Bratton countered during the radio interview Monday. And while Bratton insists the stabbings and assaults will always be a "high priority," the biggest concern his officers have in terms of frequency is "pickpocketing and theft of electronic equipment," per the Daily News. The victim in Monday's incident suffered minor injuries. WPIX reports that Brathwaite, who has eight prior arrests, faces charges of assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment. (Here's why people are sometimes afraid to interact on the subway.)
(Newser)  Warning: Do not get on Elon Musk's bad side. A California venture capitalist who put down a $5,000 deposit on a Tesla Model X blogged about problems he encountered during the launch event in an open letter to Muskand Musk responded by canceling the man's order for the car, the Guardian reports. In his first post in September, Stewart Alsop complained that the event started nearly two hours late, with no acknowledgement of that or apology from Musk (and no "real food" provided, to boot). Alsop wrote that he ultimately left in disgust when it became clear he wouldn't be able to test-drive the Model X, as promised, until after some 1,300 people ahead of him. Then, in a follow-up post this week, Alsop reveals that Musk reached out to him personally ... to tell him he was banned from buying the car.

Alsop writes that Musk considered the open letter a "personal attack" but maintains that "I was actually just a customer who felt he had been ignored at an event designed for customers." He adds that it's particularly sad, because he had often talkedeven in his complaint letterabout how excited he was to own one of the $130,000 cars. In response to the attention Alsop's post is getting, Musk tweeted Wednesday, "Must be a slow news day if denying service to a super rude customer gets this much attention." The Guardian asserts that Musk's wealth allows him "the ability to be unbelievably petty," but Kim Lachance Shandrow at Entrepreneur writes that Musk, "entrepreneurial superstar, future citizen of Mars," isn't getting the scrutiny other CEOs would over such a move. "Aside from a few dings and scrapes, his halo seems fully intact." (Musk isn't worried about offending Apple employees, either.)
(Newser)  Robert Durst, millionaire oddball and star of HBO's true-crime documentary The Jinx, pleaded guilty to gun charges Wednesday in New Orleans, earning him 85 months in prison and clearing the way for his extradition to California by summer's end, the New York Times reports. Durst, 72, was arrested in March in New Orleans as The Jinx was wrapping up. FBI agents, afraid he was going to flee the country, searched his hotel room and found a loaded gunsomething he isn't supposed to have as a convicted felon.

In the next six months, Durst will be transferred to a California prison to stand trial in the murder of his friend Susan Berman, who was found shot in her Los Angeles home in 2000, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Jinx looked at the multiple murders in which Durst has been a suspect, dating back to the 1982 disappearance of his first wife. In the finale of the documentary series, Durst went to the bathroom following an interviewapparently unaware he was still wearing a live micand muttered "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course," and "There it is, you're caught. What a disaster." (Read more Robert Durst stories.)
(Newser)  For Muslim advocates, President Obama's first visit to a US mosque on Wednesday was a long-awaited gesture to a community that has warned of escalating vitriol against them. Although Obama has visited mosques overseas in the past, he waited until his final year in office to make such a visit at home, reflecting the sensitivity of the issue, reports the AP. At the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama sat down around a large table with Muslim university chaplains, community activists, and public health professionals for a discussion about religious tolerance and freedom. An afternoon speech will address how the US can more successfully confront extremism if it works with Muslims instead of branding all of them as potential enemies.

One of the participants meeting with Obama, Ibtihaj Muhammad, has qualified for a spot on the United States Olympic Team for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The White House said she'll make history as the first United States Olympian to compete in a hijab. (See this Buzzfeed profile on the fencer.) Though it's a first for Obama, it's far from a presidential first: Time cites the State Department in reporting that President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the first presidential speech on record at a mosque on our own soil to mark the 1957 dedication of the Islamic Center of Washington. That, incidentally, is also the mosque President George W. Bush visited just days after the 9/11 attacks. (Read more mosque stories.)
The quest for a peaceful end to Syria's ongoing multi-sided civil war has been halted several times since the nationwide rebellion broke out in 2011.

The international community, however, is now hoping to break the impasse when Syria's opposition camp confirmed attendance to Geneva peace talks brokered by United Nations.

But opposition leaders maintained that no direct talks will happen if the pre-requisites for direct negotiations are not established.

"We will go to Geneva to be present but we will not attend the talks at all unless the regime fulfils our humanitarian demands, which specify stoppage to bombings and starvation of civilians in besieged areas as a condition. Today we received guarantees that these issues will be addressed in addition to political transition of power," said Monzer Makhous, spokesman for the opposition's 17-strong Higher Negotiation Committee (HNC) as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Intervening bodies from the United Nations has been urging both sides (including their external patrons) to quit 'politics' and instead focus on issues that matter most to the Syrian people.

"At least we should see something on the ground there in Syria. We should really stop these massacres against our people. So please help us, save our children, save the many children of Syria. Then we are willing to do anything that will put an end to this war," remarked UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura as mentioned in a report by CNN.

The armed upheaval in Syria has already morphed into a confusing multi-dimensional war when ISIS, Russia, the West, and a number of wealthy Gulf nations entered the fray with hundreds of thousands of people believed to have died from the 5-year-old conflict.

With powerful countries bankrolling and pulling the strings from behind, seeing an immediate cessation to the war can be a painstaking endeavor. To date, an estimated 1,400 people were thought to have died from pounding Russian aerial strikes which boosted Assad's embattled regime's chances of survival as stated in a report by the Reuters.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) braces for a likelihood of sectarian-fueled violence after four people were reportedly killed and 18 wounded in a bloody suicide bomb attack that rocked a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers in the eastern part of the country, law enforcement authorities confirmed.

According to ABC News, the incident took place when a suicide bomber and another armed attacker forced themselves into the Imam Shiite mosque frequented by Shiite employees of the world's biggest oil-producer, the government-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

The Interior Ministry said that authorities managed to prevent the attackers from breaking into the mosque.

"When security men stopped them, one blew himself up at the entrance of the mosque and there was an exchange of fire with the other. He was wounded and arrested wearing an explosive belt," said the ministry spokesman as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The chaotic scene that followed the attack which resulted to the apprehension of one of the attackers by the police forced to the police to shoot bullets into the air to disperse the crowd that surrounded the police vehicle.

Sunni-Shiite tensions in the Islamic kingdom is increasingly flaring up since ISIS took vast swathes of territories across various countries in the Middle East where security is particularly weak.

Sectarian differences even got more complicated following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric critical of the Saudi government in a country where 85-90% of the people belonged to the Sunni branch of Islam as mentioned in a report by CNN.
The present administration of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari blasts former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for his apparent inability to lead a decisive war against Boko Haram during his term of office.

The Buhari-led government also links Jonathan to a string of corruption allegations involving the purchase of substandard war materiel which significantly maimed the military's ability to conduct effective campaigns against the radical Islamist group.

Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also laments the dire situation that Nigerian soldiers experience in the face of leadership marred by glaring acts of incompetence and corrupt practices.

"The weapons, munitions and equipment which the former President said he bought were refurbished and lacked the basic components and spare parts...The situation was so pathetic that soldiers were often transported in...civilian vehicles...when going to the theatres of operation. That explains why troops...were unable to effectively ...rout the Boko Haram terrorists in all their known enclaves," the minister said in a statement as quoted by the Sahara Reporters.

Mohammed finds the situation quite incomprehensible how a leader could have allowed Boko Haram to go relatively unchecked in his six years in office.

"President Jonathan...has chosen to denigrate the system for the unprecedented feat that was achieved within the first six months of the Buhari Administration - something that he could not achieve in all of six years!" the minister added as mentioned in a report by the Premium Times.

However, the former president still refuses to comment on the substandard arms deal controversy being hurled against him.

In a related but separate news, Jonathan also denied allegations that his previous administration was involved in shady negotiations with the terrorist organization.

"We did not negotiate with fake Boko Haram...People will come to you with all kinds of names. But my government never set up a team to negotiate with Boko Haram," the former president reacted as stated in an article by NAIJ.
Cuban President Raul Castro has left Havana for France in a two-day official state visit in an apparent bid to attract French investments and forge strong bilateral partnership with its interlocutor in Europe.

The visit comes following French Socialist President Francois Hollande's trip to Cuba eight months ago. The 84-year-old Cuban leader is set to be warmly received by his host at Elysee palace after being welcomed with full military honors on Monday.

"This visit marks a new step in the development of a stronger relationship between the two countries," remarked Hollande as quoted by The Washington Times.

Cooperation agreements are bound to be signed by both countries which both nations hope will lead to the emergence and flourishing vibrant industries like environmental, transport, and tourism.

With French help, Cuba was able to secure a debt relief deal with the Paris Club of creditors to which the country owed $8.5 billion worth of overdue interest payments according to France 24. The Cuban government, in turn, pledged to pay back $2.6 billion within a year and half.

Cuba's gradual and cautious re-integration to mainstream world economy comes after the Obama administration lifted many Cold War-era sanctions against it in his effort to normalize the more than half-century frozen ties between US and the island nation.

Despite the ongoing normalization process, the official embargo remains due to Republican-controlled Congress' refusal to complement Obama's unilateral moves.

In a separate news, French DJ superstar David Guetta and his Cuban model girlfriend Jessica Ledon were included among the select guests in Hollande's state banquet for the visiting Castro as mentioned in a report by the Daily Mail.
The Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp has just reached the 1 billion mark in just two years after it was acquired by the social media giant for a whopping $19 billion-deal.

"That's nearly one in seven people on Earth who use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch with their loved ones, their friends, and their family," WhatsApp official statement said as quoted by the Wired.

At the time of acquisition, Mark Zuckerberg never doubted about his company's relentless pursuit to get WhatsApp under its game-changing tech portfolio. Although WhatsApp is a relatively under-used app among Americans, it is increasingly becoming more popular among non-US users in Africa, Europe, India, and South America.

"WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable," remarked Zuckerberg two years ago when the company bought the app designed by two ex-Yahoo engineers as quoted by The Guardian.

To monetize its 1-billion user base, WhatsApp is currently experimenting on some communication tools that would enable users to directly connect with businesses and organizations.

"That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight," said WhatsApp in an official statement as mentioned in a report by CNBC.

In a separate development, search engine giant Google has just announced that its email service 'Gmail' has also break the 1-billion milestone joining a select club of online platforms with more a billion or more registered users.
Sexual contact was considered a likely mode of Zika virus transmission until Tuesday when reports emerged claiming US's first case of transmission was likely through sex.

USA Today reports that the person infected by virus in Texas had sexual contact with a person with a history pf travel to Venezuela. The infected person does not have any history of travel to countries which are witnessing outbreak. Health officials ruled out mosquito bite as a likely cause as the vectors in mainland US are not carriers yet of the virus.

Zika Virus causes mild symptoms in only 20 percent of the infected. Infections often resolve without treatment and rarely lead to death in adults. However maternal infection with virus is associated with high risk of microcephaly in the fetus. Brazil, among other South and Central American countries, has seen thousands of babies born with the defect associated with debilitating neurological problems. Microcephaly causes babies to be born with small heads.

In at least two countries couples have been asked to put of pregnancy plans until tools to tackle the virus are available. Echoing sentiments of experts, Reuters reported that a vaccine was months away.

It was also reported that drug-maker Sanofi Pasteur on Tuesday announced it would develop a vaccine for the virus. Other companies too have set out to develop a vaccine while one US company is working treatment for the virus.
The US and its allies fighting ISIS will not send troops to Libya but efforts will be stepped up to ensure that the terrorists do not wrest the country away, US Secretary of State John Kerry informed on Tuesday.

According to The New York Times, Kerry was speaking during a conference in Rome attended by foreign ministers of Italy, France and representatives of nearly two dozen countries. The secretary said that all options are open for President Obama but right now there are no plans to send American troops to Libya. Instead, the coalition will make work to help the country form a national unity government. The meeting also discussed bringing stability to Iraq.

"There have been steps forward on the ground with respect to the Paris summit," he said. "But no triumphalism is warranted, we must continue the armed effort in Iraq".

The growth of ISIS and its affiliates in Libya has caused concerns given the country's large oil reserves. Kerry said a 'false caliphate' with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue was the last thing the world would want to see.

He also claimed that efforts against the Daesh in Syria and Iraq have yielded results though a lot more remains to be done.

"We are surely not here to brag about anything... but our persistence, our unity, our concerted commitment from every different country in whichever way you are committed, is all making a difference," he said according to NBC News, while adding that more humanitarian aid will be extended to Syrian people affected by civil war.
Presidential hopeful Rand Paul announced two days after the Iowa Caucus that he will be ending his campaign.

"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," the Senator of Kentucky said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of liberty."

A source with knowledge of Paul's campaign in New Hampshire added to ABC News, "Obviously people here at the office are disappointed, but we think his message will continue to resonate with the freedom movement in the Republican Party."

In Monday's caucuses, Paul finished fifth with 4.5 percent behind his opponents, Ted Cruz, who won, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson.

Throughout his campaign, which was announced on April 7, 2015, Paul has been focused on reducing the nation's influence on a domestic and international level with the objective of defending liberty. Paul's campaign failed to gain momentum on a national level and his poll numbers never passed the single digits.

Paul also had a difficult time convincing his father's supporters. Pauls' father, Ron Paul, ran for president in 2008 and 2012. He was also a former Texas congressman.

Drew Ivers, the elder Paul's 2012 Iowa chairman, explained why the younger Paul was not able to secure enough support.

"His decision to move to the middle and support a number of moderate Republicans in the 2014 elections, that sent us a real signal about the application of his ideology," said Ivers, who did not endorse Rand Paul, said reported by the Washington Post. "He muddled on his message, tried to get the left, and I told him it would backfire. ... I just saw someone trying to do too much and be too many things to too many people. His name is Paul, I told him. You can't defy gravity,"

Paul will now focus on his re-election campaign in Kentucky. He will be facing democrat Jim Gray, who is the mayor of Lexington.
Ashraf Fayadh

Panel of judges downgrades punishment for apostasy conviction to 8 years in prison and 800 lashes





A Saudi court has overturned the death sentence of a Palestinian poet accused of renouncing Islam , imposing an 8-year prison term and 800 lashes instead. He must also repent through an announcement in official media.





The decision by a panel of judges came after Ashraf Fayadh's lawyer argued his conviction was seriously flawed because he was denied a fair trial. In a briefing on the verdict, Abdulrahman al-Lahem said the judgment revoked the death sentence but upheld that the poet was guilty of apostasy.





In a memo posted on Twitter, Lahem details Fayadh's new punishment. He is sentenced to 8 years in prison and 800 lashes, to be carried out on 16 occasions, and must renounce his poetry on Saudi state media.





Lahem welcomed the overturning of the death sentence but reaffirmed Fayadh's innocence and announced they would launch an appeal and ask for bail.





Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: "Instead of beheading Ashraf Fayadh, a Saudi court has ordered a lengthy imprisonment and flogging. No one should face arrest for peacefully expressing opinions, much less corporal punishment and prison. Saudi justice officials must urgently intervene to vacate this unjust sentence."





The author Irvine Welsh said: "When this twisted barbarism is thought of as a compromise, it's way past time western governments stopped dealing with this pervert regime."





The death sentence imposed in November provoked a worldwide outcry.





Hundreds of leading authors, artists and actors, including the director of Tate Modern, Chris Dercon, the British poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, and actor Helen Mirren, have appealed for his release. More than 60 international arts and human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the writers' association PEN International, have launched a campaign calling on the Saudi authorities and western governments to save him. Readings of his poetry in support of his case took place in 44 countries last week.





Jo Glanville, the director of English PEN, which appealed for Fayadh's release, said: "It is a relief that Ashraf Fayadh no longer faces execution, but this is a wholly disproportionate and shocking sentence. It will cause dismay around the world for all Ashraf's many supporters. The charges against him should have been dropped and he should be a free man today. We will continue to campaign for his release."





Fayadh, who has mental health problems, has spent almost 2 years in prison in Abha, a city in the south-west of the ultra-conservative kingdom.





The 35-year-old Palestinian refugee rose to prominence as an artist and curator for the British-Saudi art group Edge of Arabia. He went on to curate shows in Jeddah and at the 2013 Venice Biennale, which showcased an emerging generation of Saudi artists.





mutaween (religious police) following a complaint that he was cursing against Allah and the prophet Muhammad, insulting Saudi Arabia and distributing a book of his But in August 2013, he was detained by the(religious police) following a complaint that he was cursing against Allah and the prophet Muhammad, insulting Saudi Arabia and distributing a book of his poems that promoted atheism . Fayadh said the complaint arose from a personal dispute during a discussion in a cafe in Abha.





Although he was released after one day he was arrested again on 1 January 2014 and detained at a police station before being transferred to the local prison 27 days later. At his trial in May 2014, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 800 lashes by the general court in Abha.





He was also found guilty of storing images of women on his phone, which friends and colleagues said were artists appearing in his show at the Jeddah art fair.





After his appeal was dismissed Fayadh was retried on 17 November 2015 and sentenced to death by a new panel of judges, who ruled that his repentance did not prevent his execution.





But appeal documents submitted by his lawyer last month argued that Fayadh's conviction was based on uncorroborated allegations and ignored evidence that he had a mental illness.





Fayadh's father had a stroke after hearing his son was to be beheaded. Fayadh was unable to visit him before he died last month, nor was he allowed to attend his funeral.





In documents considered by the panel of judges on Tuesday, Lahem argued that Fayadh's initial arrest in 2013 was unlawful as it was not ordered by the state prosecution service. The allegation of apostasy made by Shaheen bin Ali Abu Mismar, who is alleged to have had a personal dispute with the poet, was not corroborated by other evidence, which goes against the principles of sharia law, he argued.





The appeal document also stated that the November ruling ignored testimony by defence witnesses in Fayadh's 2014 trial who said Abu Mismar was lying, and from the accuser's uncle, who indicated he was not truthful. It contended that the "judiciary cannot rely on [his evidence] due to the possibility that it is malicious".





Source: The Guardian, Feb. 2, 2016









Saudi overturns Palestinian poet's death sentence





Saudi Arabia overturned the death sentence of Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh on Tuesday, although he will still face 8 years in jail and 800 lashes.





A panel of judges came to the decision after Fayadh's lawyer argued that his client had been denied a fair trial.





Fayadh's lawyer posted a document on Twitter on Tuesday showing the new sentence reached by the judges:





Though campaigners welcomed the decision, many protested the still harsh punishment, despite the fact that Fayadh's lawyer maintains his client's innocence.





"No one should face arrest for peacefully expressing opinions, much less corporal punishment and prison. Saudi justice officials must urgently intervene to vacate this unjust sentence."





Fayadh had been sentenced to be executed on the charge of apostasy and "spreading atheism" in 2014 by Saudi Arabia's General Court after the court of appeal overturned an initial dismissal of the case.





He was also charged with violating the country's Anti-Cyber Crime Law for allegedly taking and storing photos of women on his phone.





However, some of his supporters have argued that he was punished for posting a video online showing police in the south-western city of Abha lashing a man in public.





Campaigners had long protested that Fayadh had not received a fair hearing under the Saudi justice system.





"For 1 1/2 years, they promised him an appeal and kept intimidating him that there's new evidence," said Mona Kareem, a migrant rights activist from Kuwait.





"He was unable to assign a lawyer because his ID was confiscated when he was arrested. Then they said you must have a retrial and we'll change the prosecutor and the judges. The new judge didn't even talk to him, he just made the verdict."





As a poet and artist, Fayadh - who was born in Saudi Arabia - has played a major role in bringing Saudi art to a wider audience, including as part of the Saudi-British collaborative project Edge of Arabia.





Source: middleeasteye.net, February 2, 2016




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New Delhi :

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee right to work. The government scheme was started on February 2, 2006 by the Manmohan Singh government. The statute is hailed by the government as "the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world".

The act completes ten years today and the Modi led government hailed the scheme saying that the achievements across a decade are a "cause of national pride and celebration".

Though BJP has earlier been critical of UPAs rural job scheme. Also Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will visit Bandlapalli village of Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh from where the scheme had taken off to mark the completion of 10 years.

Here are some of the facts about MNREGA

This was UPAs flagship rural job guarantee scheme, announced by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi in 2006 and within two years, it was available in all the districts by 2008.

It was described as a landmark scheme in history that helped eliminating poverty from the nation.

Over 1,980 crore person-days have been generated in the programme.

According to the Rural Development Ministry, out of all the workers benefited under the scheme, the percentage of Scheduled Caste workers has consistently been about 20% and of Scheduled Tribe workers has been about 17%.

"57% of all workers are women, well above the statutory requirement of 33% and the highest in three years.

More than 65 percent of the works taken up under MGNREGA are linked to agriculture and allied activities.

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Hyderabad:

A voter slip containing the picture of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan during polling to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation held today created a stir.



A slip -- Elector's Photo Identity Card No. YVO1360395 -- had the name of the elector as Salman Khan and a picture of the 50-year-old actor.



The voter slip also mentioned father's name as Saleem Khan. However, in the age column it was mentioned as 64.



When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of GHMC Krishna Sekhar said he would inquire into it.



Popular Telugu actors Nagarjuna, Ramcharan, Allu Arjun, junior NTR and Balakrishna, who is a TDP MLA in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, were among the celebrities who exercised their franchise in the polls.

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Lucknow:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address Kisan Sammelans in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh starting February 18 to highlight his governments pro-farmer initiatives.

BJP general secretary Arun Singh said various farmer organisations will also felicitate the Prime Minister at these programmes for the initiatives taken by his government.

Farmers will felicitate the Prime Minister during these kisan sammelans where various initiatives taken by the government for their welfare will also be discussed, he said.

He said while the first such farmers rally will be held in Madhya Pradesh on February 18, the second will be organised in Odisha on February 21, followed by Karnataka on February 27.

The last Kisan Sammelan will be organised in Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls early next year.

The party is, however, yet to finalise the places where these events will be held, Singh said.

Among the pro-farmer initiatives taken by the Modi government in the recent past are provision of soil health cards, Prime Ministers irrigation scheme, crop insurance scheme, providing neem-coated urea to farmers and helping their coverage under various social security schemes, he said.

Singh said the farmers are keenly looking forward to the restarting of fertiliser producing units in Uttar Pradesh that were shut earlier due to various reasons.

Touting the new crop insurance scheme of the NDA government as a historic step in farmers interest, BJPs Kisan Morcha would organise the Jan Jagran week across the country from March 9 to 15 to help take the scheme to farmers.

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Mumbai:

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has called up Anupam Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he has applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.

Pakistan High Commission officials said Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Basit today tweeted, @AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you.

Replying to Basit, Kher said, Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately ive given away those dates now.

In another tweet last night, the Pakistani envoy had said, @AnupamPkher sorry Sir I dont know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport.

Kher has been denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi Literary Festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dear @abasitpak1, Reality remains that Pak Interior

Ministry refused to grant NOC for my visa. 17 others invited

also didnt apply for visa, Kher said in a tweet last night

Kher, who said he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the third time, was one of the 18 Indians invited to the four-day KLF starting Friday by the organisers and all of them including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das but excluding the actor were granted the visa.

I am not angry, I am hurt, upset and somewhere wanting to know the reason. Out of 18 why only I was singled out.

It could be either because I am a Kashmiri Pandit, I am not playing a card of Kashmiri Pandit and trying to divide people, or because Ive spoken about the issue of intolerance, taken a stand and have applauded my PM. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why the visa was denied to me. This has happened for the third time, Kher had told a press conference in Mumbai yesterday.

The Pakistan High Commission in Delhi had said Kher had never submitted visa application and so the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise.

Ameena Syed, the spokesperson for the KLF, had told PTI in Karachi that they had been advised by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to tell Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued one.

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Mumbai:

Echoing citizen's sentiments, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday told netizens that taxpayers should refuse to pay taxes through a non-cooperation movement if corruption continues.

The High Court judge took serious note of the increasing menace of corruption, and made the statement while hearing an embezzlement case.

The court also termed corruption as a 'hydra-headed monster' and asked citizens to come together to raise their voice and refuse to pay the taxes.

The judge was hearing the case where funds worth Rs 385 crore in the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Vikas Mahamandal (LASVM) set up for the welfare of the Mathang community were misappropriated.

Citing the case, the Justice Arun Chaudhari ruled, "The miasma (unholy atmosphere) of corruption can be beaten if all work together. If it continues, taxpayers should refuse to pay taxes through a non-cooperation movement."

He also asked the government to understand the excruciating pain and anguish of the taxpayers who have been suffering for over two decades in the state.

Notably, India recently continued to be at the 76th spot in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index for 2015.

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New Delhi:

Stars of upcoming movie 'Fitoor'  Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur  paid a special visit to News Nation's studio to promote their film.



The stars spoke their heart out about their mind-blowing experiences they had during the shoot of the film. Katrina also cleared air from the rumour about whopping cost of Rs 55 lakh invested over her air.



As they talked about adaptation of the film from novel, they also laughed, danced and acted for us.



Fitoor will release across silver screens on February 12.
New Delhi :

The Delhi University function turned tragic on Wednesday after a mounted light fell on stage crushing a college student.

The injured student was participating in a college event (fashion show) when the tragedy occured. He was immediately rushed to Fortis hospital. His condition is now said to be stable and out of danger.

The incident occurred at an annual function at the prestigious Delhi University's Deshbandhu College when a vertical light stand came crashing down at the students, who were walking the ramp, during a fashion show at college's 'Sabrang 2016' annual fest.

Students from Sri Aurobindo College, another DU college, were performing when the technical glitch marred the festivities.

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New Delhi :

Globally, the much dreaded Zika virus has finally found a solution in India.

Several pathology labs and diagnostic chains including Dr Lal PathLabs, SRL Diagnostics, Quest Diagnostics and Star Imaging came together to procure test kits and discover new technologies to detect the deadly virus.

The detection test for Zika virus which will be out by next month will cost about Rs 4500.

According to reports, Saliva or urine samples collected during the first three to five days after symptoms onset, or blood serum collected in the first three days, are suitable for detection of Zika virus.

Other media reports claimed that a Hyderabad-based Bharat Bioltech International Limited (BBIL) has developed two candidate vaccines from an imported live Zika virus.

Dr Krishna Ella, the chairman and managing director of the company told a news agency, On Zika, we are probably the first vaccine company in the world to file a vaccine candidate patent about nine months ago.

Dr Ella has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direct intervention to fast track the vaccine development, the report added.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday declare a global health emergency following Zika Virus outbreak.
New Delhi: US aircraft maker Boeing is in a "conversation" on manufacturing its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet in India, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg was quoted on Wednesday as saying on his first visit to the country.

"We see the Super Hornet as an opportunity ... to tie directly into the 'Make in India' strategy," Muilenburg told the Hindustan Times in an interview whose authenticity was confirmed by the company. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' drive is designed to expand India's industrial base.

Boeing was willing to back the project with billions of dollars in investment to India meet its operational needs, according to Muilenburg's comments in the interview.

India is locked in talks with France's Dassault Aviation SA to buy 36 French-built Rafale combat jets at a price said to be close to $200 million apiece.

But an earlier tender to buy 126 Rafales collapsed.

Plane makers are queuing up to fill the shortfall with revised offers, stressing their readiness to locate production in India, with Saab AB of Sweden also pushing its single-engine Gripen aircraft.

The twin-engine Super Hornet was eliminated in India's original tender for Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), however, and the future of its production facility in St Louis is uncertain.

"I would not say there is an official order. This is a conversation we are having right now," Muilenburg was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying.

Muilenburg also flagged the F-22 Raptor, a fifth-generation fighter jointly developed with Lockheed Martin Corp, as a future sales prospect for India, calling it "an area of future investment for which we are interested".
Kolkata:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed grief at the death of veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar.



Saddened at the passing of Balram Jakharji. In my first term as Member of Parliament, as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, he was always very encouraging, Banerjee said in a statement.



Jakhar passed away at his residence in New Delhi today at the age of 92.



Jakhar served as Deputy Minister Cooperation, Irrigation and Power in Punjab between 1973-77 and then as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly between 1977 and 1979.

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New Delhi:

Another Union Minister today claimed that Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide at Hyderabad University, was not a Dalit and parties should stop politicising his death for their own gains.



There is no question of this being a Dalit versus non-Dalit issue as Rohith and his family are an OBC. They belong to the Vaddera caste. Now it is being said that his mother is a Dalit which is correct, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said.



But Rohith was born in 1990 and as per the facts that have emerged from the investigations, Rohith got his certificate made in July 2014 which states that he is a Dalit. So, the certificate was made after almost 25 years and he was living with his father till then, he said.



So, the question here is why didnt he get a certificate made before that and why he got a certificate made now? he alleged.



Earlier, Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Jual Oram had claimed that Vemula was not a Dalit.



Gehlot alleged that Congress and other parties were politicising Rohiths suicide for their own gains.



Before Rohiths suicide, nine more students committed suicide on the same campus. Why didnt those become a big issue?



All these political leaders - Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and others - who are rushing to Hyderabad after Rohiths suicide, I want to ask them where were they when nine other students from the University committed suicide and those had happened during UPAs rule, he said.



Gehlot charged that Rohith and the organisation he was associated with were involved in anti-national activities and had condemned the execution of Yakub Memon who was involved in 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts.



ABVP (BJPs students wing) objected to their activities, following which 30-40 boys had roughened up Sushil Kumar. Later, five students, including Rohith, were expelled, he said.



We will ensure they get justice, the minister said.



Gehlot said that a judicial inquiry has been initiated by the government into his death and whoever is found guilty will be punished.



He said that it was sad that efforts were being made to give his suicide a caste angle and disturb countrys atmosphere.



Rohiths family members have refused to accept an ex-gratia amount of Rs 8 lakh and the government will ensure that they get justice, he said.



Gehlot today presented the Dr Ambedkar National Merit Awards to the meritorious students of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe students of Secondary and Senior Secondary School Examinations of year 2015.

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London:

The UK has imposed a temporary export ban on a white silk robe and dagger owned by T E Lawrence - better known as Lawrence of Arabia - amid efforts to find a local buyer for the iconic artefacts linked to British history.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey, who ordered the bars, said it was vital the classic objects remain in the UK.

Archaeologist Lawrence was a well known World War I diplomat who worked closely with Arab leaders.

It comes after a review said the items were integral to him and UK history, the BBC reported today.

Lawrence was one of the most recognisable figures of the war, due to his work in the Middle East and his involvement in the Arab Revolt.

A trained archaeologist, he led small but effective irregular forces against Turkey, attacking communication and supply routes.

His exploits were depicted in the 1961 Oscar winning film, Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter OToole.

The decision to defer export licences for his curved steel and silver dagger and his white robes have been put in place in the hope of finding buyers from the UK.

The dagger - which is valued at 125,000 pounds - was presented to the archaeologist and diplomat after the capture by Arab forces of Aqaba in Jordan in 1917.

Lawrence wore the white robes in a famous portrait of him by Augustus John.

The decision follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

The robes and dagger together form a crucial part of the images of Lawrence in painting, sculpture and photographs; and they are therefore an integral part of his life and our history, RCEWA chairman Sir Hayden Phillips said.

Vaizey said Lawrence was one of the most extraordinary figures of the 20th Century.

These robes and dagger are absolutely iconic and a key part of his enduring image. It is important that these classic objects remain in the UK, he added. Lawrence died on May 19, 1935 at the age of 46.

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Bengaluru: One of the key projects announced during the 2010 Global Investor's Meet was a steel plant at Ballari by ArcelorMittal. The man running it, Lakshmi Mittal, even came to the city to sign on the dotted line for about 2000 acres for the Rs 30000 crore project. But at the time global steel prices were at an all time high and the market was rapidly growing. The company was hopeful of procuring ore for the plant from important mining areas of Ballari and border areas of Andhra Pradesh.

However, what followed pushed the project back by three years. The Ballari mining scam following the then Lokayukta, Santosh Hegde's report, the arrests of mining bigwigs and the Supreme Court ban on mining led to a rethink within the company , which though allotted land, was reluctant to start work on the factory. When the Supreme Court began clearing mining licenses , hopes rose again, but then steel prices crashed globally. Although the company had taken possession of the land and fenced it in early 2014, it remained reluctant to commit further.

When RV Deshpande took charge as industries minister, the company in response to queries from the department on starting the plant, said it was no longer interested in setting it up and wanted the legal status of land to be changed for other purposes,'' sources said, adding that a final call on whether to take back the land or allow the steel giant to proceed with other plans would be taken soon at the cabinet meeting.

R.V. Deshpande, the go-to man for an industrious state?

People in the know say after PSUs took over Bengaluru between the sixties and the eighties, it was RV Deshpande who brought in big names to Karnataka even as IT made big strides during the late nineties and early 2000. Mr Deshpande has had the longest stint as industries minister of the state, heading the key ministry during both the Janata Dal and Congress governments from 1994 to 2004.

This was an important phase in the history of Karnataka, especially Bengaluru which went on to get global recognition. He is credited with bringing Toyota and Volvo, besides hundreds of heavy industries, be it glass or steel manufacturing or pharma to the state. Now at the helm for a third time, there is a lot riding on him at Invest Karnataka. Industry sources say he has meticulously worked over the last one year to make the investors meet successful.

"He toured South Korea, Japan and Europe, and the culmination is there for everybody to see. Wednesday (February 3) will be a big day and we will see the kind of investments the state has not seen before,'' claimed industry department sources.
At a press conference held yesterday, Anupam said, "I am wondering if it is because I am a Kashmiri Pandit or because of my views on the tolerance debate in India."

Mumbai: Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has called up Anupam Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he has applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.

Pakistan High Commission officials said Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you." Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now."

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

In another tweet last night, the Pakistani envoy had said, "@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport."

Read: Pakistan denied me visa because I'm Kashmiri Pandit, says Anupam Kher

@AnupamPkher sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport  Abdul Basit (@abasitpak1) February 2, 2016

Kher has been denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi Literary Festival, prompting him to suggest that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Anupam, who said he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the third time, was one of the 18 Indians invited to the four-day KLF starting Friday by the organisers and all of them including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das but excluding the actor were granted the visa.

"I am not angry, I am hurt, upset and somewhere wanting to know the reason. Out of 18 why only I was singled out. It could be either because I am a Kashmiri Pandit, I am not playing a card of Kashmiri Pandit and trying to divide people, or because I've spoken about the issue of intolerance, taken a stand and have applauded my PM. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why the visa was denied to me. This has happened for the third time," Kher had told a press conference in Mumbai yesterday.
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor are keeping their personal problems aside as they shoot for their upcoming film 'Jagga Jasoos'.

Rumours have been running wild that Ranbir Kapoor and his girlfriend of 6-years Katrina Kaif have ended their relationship. According to reports, the two have even moved out of their plush love nest and are living now separately. When asked about the same in recent interviews, both Ranbir and Katrina have either dodged the questions or chosen to stay mum.

Reliable sources had revealed that the two have been constantly fighting for years, and that this alleged split was like any other lovers tiff. However, our source did admit that this was the first time their relationship got so much media attention and was blown out of proportion.

We got our hands on an old clip of the stars during a promotional event of their film Raajneeti. In the short behind the scenes video, Ranbir and Katrina can be seen going at each others necks while Manoj Bajpayee and director Prakash Jha try hard not to pay attention.

In the clip, Kat seemed to have trouble with her microphone that was pinned near her chest. The actress snaps back when Ranbir offers to help put the mic in place. The actor can even be seen mocking her while she tries hard to keep her calm.

Ranbir then turns to his director saying, Jhagadti rehti hain Sir (She keeps fighting with me Sir). Watch the video right here.

Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif will be seen in Anurag Basus Jagga Jasoos that is expected to release later this year.
Is Turkey attempting to provoke a World War to spread radical Islam across the globe?

(NaturalNews) Turkey is a member of NATO but Turkey is not a NATO country, if that makes any sense.

Founded by the United States and others at the beginning of the Cold War, the North American Treaty Organization was originally formed as a counterweight to the Soviet Unions Warsaw Pact, which consisted of the USSR and mostly Eastern European nations under communist control.

NATO consisted primarily of Christian-dominated Western nations; the addition of Islamic Turkey was necessary at the time because Turkey was strategically located between Europe, the always volatile Middle East, and the Warsaw Pact nations of Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the USSRs Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The USSR and the Warsaw Pact no longer exist but NATO does and Turkey is still a member  for now. But its mounting aggression in the region is leading some notable military experts and analysts to wonder if now isnt the right time to cut Turkey loose, because it appears as though Ankaras actions may be intentionally running afoul of NATOs mission and the strategic interests of the West.

Consider:

 As reported by NationalSecurity.news, Turkey is set to purchase its first aircraft carrier, with an aim to becoming the preeminent Islamic power in the region:

Still, others see it as Turkey  a NATO member  being determined to become the preeminent power in the Middle East and even beyond, but the push is coming with ramifications. Already the region is home to some of the most volatile geopolitical scenarios on the planet, including the Syrian civil war, new tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and continued chaos in Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen.

 As noted by Zero Hedge, the Turkish government has been quite hypocritical regarding violations of airspace. You may recall that, last November, Turkish fighter planes shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter/bomber after it had violated Turkish airspace for all of about 17 seconds.

And yet, Turkish warplanes have routinely violated Greek airspace  as in, thousands of times  in 2014 alone. As Zero Hedge noted:

Although Turkey claimed the (17 second) violation of its airspace was unacceptable and just cause for military engagement, it was just three years prior that Erdogan had decried the downing of a Turkish F-4 phantom in Syrias airspace. A short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack, he declared.

But that wasnt the only hypocrisy apparent in Turkeys brazen move. According to the University of Thessaly (whose statistics are based on the Greek militarys tally), there were 2,244 violations of Greeces airspace by Turkish jets in 2014 alone, representing an increase of some 250% from 2013.

In June 2012, Erdogan, as the BBC reported, changed his countrys stance following the F-4 downing. He said Turkey would adopt a common sense attitude that should not be taken as a weakness.

 In recent days Turkish and Greek warplanes were in a dogfight over the Aegean Sea. In late December, the news site eKathimerini reported:

Greek and Turkish jets engaged in a brief dogfight over the Aegean Sea on Tuesday after Turkish aircraft violated Greek national air space several times.

A formation of six Turkish jets, flanked by two CN-235 aircraft that were not in formation, violated Greek air space nine times, according to Greek defense officials.

In all cases the Turkish jets were chased off by Greek aircraft. Two of the eight Turkish aircraft were armed.

 In September 2014, The Washington Post and others reported that the Turkish government actually refused U.S. and NATO requests to use Turkish airfields to base NATO coalition aircraft so they could provide air cover and relieve outgunned Kurdish forces battling ISIS forces in Kobane, thereby frustrating the Obama Administration.

Of course they could do more, a senior official said. They want the U.S. to come in and take care of the problem. The Obama Administration also wanted Turkey to do more to prevent foreign fighters from traversing its territory en route to join Syrian militants.

Turkeys long-term objectives in the region appear plain: Pursue its own interests, even if they run counter to those of NATO and the West.

Sources:

ZeroHedge.com

NationalSecurity.news

BBC.com

WashingtonPost.com

Submit a correction >>
The members of VHP have demanded the District Collector to cancel Raees' shoot permit in Gujarat.

Bhuj: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)members today protested against the ongoing shooting of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's film 'Raees' in the district, for his earlier remarks on "intolerance".

Around 20-30 VHP activists had yesterday handed over a memorandum to district officers and demanded withdrawal of the permission given for the shooting of the film.

Today, they protested outside the district Collector's office pressing for the same demand. They shouted slogans against the actor and also burnt and tore his posters.

"From the Collector's office they wanted to go to the place where the shooting is on, which is on the outskirts of the Bhuj city, but we have stopped them and dispersed them," Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) M B Parmar said.

"He should think, living in this country which gave him name, fame and riches; if he goes on speaking about non-existent intolerance, the VHP will never forgive," Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said.

"Today there is news that a Hindu temple was attacked and vandalised in Pakistan. Why are they not giving any statement on the intolerance there," he asked.

In December last year, workers of right wing organisations had staged protest against Khan in Gujarat, Rajasthan states and called for a boycott of his film 'Dilwale' on the same issue.

Shah Rukh Khan had entered the ongoing debate on intolerance on November 2 last year by expressing that there was "extreme intolerance" in the country.
Recently, I received a letter of support for the techs and therapists at Danbury and New Milford Hospitals from the regions congressional delegation. U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep.Elizabeth Esty wrote the letter in response to the ongoing efforts of these dedicated technical professionals to secure their first union contract. They understand that a fair agreement with management of the Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) would recognize the contributions these hard-working technical professionals make to quality patient care.

Radiological technicians, surgical technologists, respiratory therapists and other highly skilled caregivers at both facilities have been working to make their voice heard in decisions impacting their patients and working conditions. These technical professionals in November of 2014 voted Union Yes and have been engaged in contract negotiations with WCHN and their legal counsel for the past year.

The techs and therapists formed their union so they could sit down with management and work together to make the hospitals better places to receive vital acute care services. Network executives have, unfortunately, been more interested in playing games than collaborating.

The congressional delegation shares our frustration at managements failure to reach a settlement after so many months of talks. In their letter, they urged a prompt resolution to the labor contract negotiations that will result in fair wages and decent working conditions. They stress that continued stalemate is not an option and that managements refusal to reach an agreement is not in the interest of the patients you ably serve.

The delegation is not alone in their concern. A growing group of area advocates, residents, and faith and civic leaders are speaking out on behalf of the hospitals technical professionals.

In November, I joined a crowd of over 100 people at Broadview Middle School at a vigil organized by the community coalition Danbury Rising! We stood together overlooking the Danbury Hospital campus, and Sen. Blumenthal spoke eloquently about the core issues that have united the techs and therapists from the beginning.

Your cause is not about you alone, he said directly to the many hospital employees gathered at the event. Its really about the community, about the quality of health care. About treating people fairly.

Sen. Blumenthal and his colleagues understand that health care is a quality of life issue that affects all of us. We count on having access to high quality health care as one of the key components of a strong community. We may take our health care providers for granted at times, but when we or a loved one end up in the hospital we truly understand their value.

The hardworking technical professionals at Danbury and New Milford Hospitals care for the people of this community every day, but who cares for them and their families?

Thankfully, the letter I received from U.S. Sens. Murphy and Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Esty was also sent to WCHN Chief Executive Officer John Murphy. That should ensure hospital leadership receives the delegations message that now is the time for reaching an agreement that provides for fair wages and benefits and decent working conditions.

Jan Hochadel, a Shelton resident, is president of AFT Connecticut, a labor union that includes approximately 1,000 registered nurses (RNs), medical technologists and therapists at Danbury and New Milford Hospitals.
KENT  It was a short-lived celebration in the Schaghticoke Tribal Nations long quest to form a Connecticut casino.

The Kent tribe appeared this week to have finally taken a significant step toward establishing the states third casino, but the Secretary of the States office admitted Wednesday the groups application to form a tribal business entity was accepted in error.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said the tribe met the requirements to form an LLC, but did not meet the criteria of a special act that would have allowed the group to pursue establishing a gambling facility.

The Special Act created a unique situation that raised the bar for review, Merrill said in a statement. In this case, it looks like the application was received in error. In 99.99 percent of the cases, we have to receive and file an LLC application without regard to the stated purpose of the entity. Anyone can start a business, and we believe it should be easy to do. It appears in this case that the application meets the standard to create an LLC, but not the requirements of the Special Act. We are looking into what additional action should be taken.

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Chief Richard Velky released a celebratory statement Tuesday night after he believed the state accepted the tribes application for a limited liability corporation, which would be known as Confluence of Rivers Business Entity LLC, to pursue the development of a commercial casino in Connecticut.

We view this as a significant economic development opportunity, Velky said in the statement. Our objective will be to maximize economic opportunity for the residents of Connecticut, and to maximize revenue gained by the state of Connecticut.

Velky could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday after the state reversed its decision.

The General Assembly passed the special act last year that allowed a tribal business entity to pursue opening a third casino in Connecticut. However, the provision is limited to the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots, which are both federally recognized tribes.

Kent First Selectman Bruce Adams, whose town has fought federal recognition of either faction of the Schaghticoke tribe, said Wednesday his community remains opposed to a gaming facility.

The Legislature approved the special act to allow for a third gaming facility in the state as an effort to protect jobs and revenue from a planned casino in Springfield, Mass. Sites in East Hartford, East Windsor, Hartford and Windsor Locks have been proposed by the Mashantucket Pequot or Mohegan tribes. The General Assembly would need to approve a proposed gaming hall.

The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation previously proposed building a casino in Bridgeport and the greater Danbury area, or a bingo hall on its reservation in Kent.

For years, the tribe has been unsuccessful at winning federal recognition that could help lead to establishing a casino on its land in Kent.

The Schaghticokes had fought for years to overturn the 2005 federal decision to deny sovereignty to the tribe. In 2004, the Bureau of Indian Affairs granted sovereignty. But later that year, after state officials and members of Congress criticized the decision, the recognition was reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition in 2010 by the tribal nation for a review of the federal BIA denial.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the states congressional delegation have opposed new rules by the BIA that would have made it easier for tribes like the Schaghticokes and the Golden Hill Paugusetts to win federal recognition. Under new rules released last year, tribes previously denied recognition will not be able to reapply and cannot use centuries-old state recognition to qualify for federal recognition, which would allow them to operate casinos on tribal land.

The Schaghticokes are not federally recognized and, therefore, do not have authority to pursue a casino under federal law, Blumenthal said Wednesday in a statement. Their reliance on Special Act 15-7 seems misplaced, as that state legislative act limits the operation of the third casino to a business entity controlled by the two federally recognized tribes in Connecticut  the Mashantuckets and the Mohegans.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan is one of the few Indian actors who have successfully made a name for themselves in the film fraternity, both Bollywood and Hollywood.

The actor is not only charming everyone with his skills in Indian cinema, but is also in demand in West.

Irrfan, who featured in some big Hollywood films such as Life of Pi, The Amazing Spider-Man and Jurassic World, refused well-known filmmaker Steven Spielbergs latest film. Yes, you read that right.

At an event, the actor revealed that he was approached to star in Steven Spielbergs film which also featured Scarlett Johansson but the actor didnt feel the character offered much scope to him so he rejected the film.

Irrfan went further and revealed that he would have loved to share screen space with an actor like Scarlett.

Well, worry not as very soon well get to see Irrfan in yet another Hollywood flick. The actor recently wrapped up Ron Howards Inferno which stars Tom Hanks.
Review by Tulis McCall

30 January 2016

Sojourners is a valuable story. We overlook those we cannot "see". Like the person at the gas station who gives us our gas receipt. The subway maintenance person in the orange vest who wears gloves and carries a broom and dustpan. The garbage collectors. And - ah yes - the usher at the theatre who just handed you your tickets and asked that you turn off your phone. Mfoniso Udofia has focused her attention on these people.

Abasiama (Chinasa Ogbuagu) is a Nigerian woman living in Houston. it is 1978. She studies biology, works as an attendant at a gas station and carries her first born. And, oh yeah, she worries about her husband, Ukpong (Hubert Point Du Jour) who, for all intents and purposes is a big bag of lame. Their marriage was arranged back in Nigeria, and they have traveled here together to get their education. After that they plan to return to Nigeria. Anyway, that is what Abasiama intends. Ukpong has other ideas. He wants to stay here, fantasize about what might be and, in general, just goof off. He disappears for days at a time and returns with stories of what he saw out there. He has no job, and is supposed to be a student.

We fast forward to the moment when Abasiama meets Moxie (Lakisha Michelle May), a hooker with a heart of gold (of course) who is in need of help. The johns are getting tough and the job is getting dangerous. Abasiama offers Moxie shelter from the storm. The fourth person in the quartet is Disciple (Chinaza Uche) who appears to spend all his time writing a doctoral thesis: "Nigerian Immigration: Reconceptualizing a Country." This he writes in English but brainstorms in Ibibio, which is the same language that Abasiama and her husband speak.

Paths cross when Abasiama goes into labor at the gas station with only Moxie on hand. Disciple appears carrying a gas can in hand as he has just conveniently run out. Initially rebuffed by Moxie, he makes himself available when Abasiama nearly collapses. From then on, he becomes a staple in her life. This leads to a conflict with Moxie who has come to deeply love and value Abasiama. With the arrival of her daughter Abasiama now has four people who want her. Three adults and a baby.

While Udofia's intention is clear, her plot here is off track. The math in this play does not add up, and it starts with the first scene. What we see is an earnest, hard working woman who is saddled with a goof-off. And the question is why? Udofia never answers this question, and as a result this play suffers.

Udofia may be an excellent story-teller, but her playwriting is wanting. Normally I am a fan of both Playwrights Realm and this director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar. In this case I was disappointed in both. I was dumbfounded that this particular play was chosen for production. Secondly Iskander's direction, normally inventive and out of the box, appeared to be including the design of the set which was cumbersome and confining.

Sojourners is over written, slow-paced, and lacks clear plot points. These characters make the same points over and over again. There is no growth or development. Each person ends up pretty much the way we met them, or makes a decision that has no foundation. In particular, the conclusion of the play is so unbelievable that it made me think I had fallen asleep and missed a significant plot point. Upon reading the script I see there was no plot point to miss.

Odofia has real stories to tell, and the assistance of a dramaturge might be exactly what she needs in order to find the clarity that her tales deserve.

(Tulis McCall)

"An emotionally fervid and dramatically stolid play by Mfoniso Udofia for the Playwrights Realm... Ms. Udofia, a playwright early in her career and a Playwrights Realm fellow, has writerly gifts, but at this point, they are not particularly theatrical."

Alexis Soloski for New York Times

"At two and a half blocky, discursive hours, the play is too novelistic and interior to succeed as a dynamic drama. The characters are on compelling journeys; they just need a clearer road map."

David Cote for Time Out New York

External links to full reviews from popular press...

New York Times - Time Out
Coldplay recently visited India to shoot their song 'Hymn for the weekend'. (Photo: still from the song)

Mumbai: Apart from bagging the top spot on iTunes India for its latest single Hymn for the weekend, British band Coldplay also became the hot topic of debate on Internet.

Now that the whole 'culture appropriation' debate has cooled down, we wonder if Chris will ever return to India again with his band? If yes, then when?

For all those who missed their chance at having a glimpse of the band when they were in India, shooting for the song, here's a good news for you. The band will most likely soon visit India again!

Yes, while thanking fans for the overwhelmed response, Coldplays manager, Phil Harvey took to their official Twitter handle and made some exciting new revelation.

While thanking Beyonce, Sonam and India, the manager revealed that his new mission is to bring Coldplay back to India soon.

1/3: I see Hymn for the Weekend is at No.1 on iTunes India - unbelievable!! Thank you to the people of India for making us feel so welcome  Coldplay (@coldplay) January 31, 2016

2/3: and especially the residents of Worli Village, Mumbai for making our video possible. We had so much fun.  Coldplay (@coldplay) January 31, 2016

3/3 Thank you @beyonce & @sonamakapoor for gracing the video with your angelic beauty. My new mission: bring Coldplay back to India asap. PH  Coldplay (@coldplay) January 31, 2016

The song received rave mixed reviews from the listeners in India. Now that the whole culture appropriation debate has numbed down, this good news can surely lift fans' spirits.
[February 02, 2016] A Service-centric Approach to APTs

LONDON, Feb. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In this research service, Frost & Sullivan focuses on the advanced persistent threats (APT) landscape in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and the technologies that are offered by service providers that aim to help the organizations protect themselves against these threats. The first section covers the background information on APTs and a view of the managed security services market from an EMEA perspective. The second section offers market information and data on specific technologies that are designed fight APTs, looking at several service providers and cyber security companies in this market.



Introduction

In this study, Frost & Sullivan focuses on the Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) landscape in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and the technologies offered by service providers to help organizations protect themselves against these threats. The first part covers background information on APTs and a view of the managed security services market from an EMEA perspective. The second part offers more detailed information on specific technologies o fight APTs, looking at several service providers, cyber security companies, and partnerships in this market.







Background

The increased use of technologies for business processes in a distributed, outsourced world has created an environment where advanced persistent threats are thriving. This is exemplified by high-profile data breaches like the Sony Pictures hacking in late 2014. In the recent past, APTs were designed by sophisticated hackers that were financed by nation states to spy on adversaries for strategic advantage. Today, many cybercriminals are using the same techniques to steal data from businesses for financial gain. In this sense, APTs are the result of lessons learned by malicious actors from nation state cyber-attacks such as GhostNet. State actors continue to spy on each other, whether for strategic military purposes during war conflicts, or for political gain, as with the Stuxnet case. When it comes to critical infrastructure2, cyber criminals can wreak havoc by gaining access to telecommunications, transportation, flight control systems, and the electricity, gas, and water supply.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3028285/





About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-service-centric-approach-to-apts-300214156.html SOURCE ReportBuyer

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[February 03, 2016] Clari To Host EXCEED, First Ever Event Dedicated to Sales Operations

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --







What: Clari, the leading end-to-end sales analytics and forecasting solution provider, will host the first ever event dedicated to sales operations and sales enablement. EXCEED's unique format will be a hands-on learning and sharing event filled with keynote speakers, breakout sessions on topics like data-driven selling and forecasting best practices, as well as fireside chats, roundtables and networking opportunities.



Who: 100 top sales operations professionals and visionaries across corporations, geographies, industries and cultures. Guest speakers include San Francisco 49ers legend and four-time Pro Bowler Brent Jones and Steve Silver, Research Director at SiriusDecisions. Confirmed attendees include executives from Juniper Networks, Nimble Storage, Five9, Cisco Systems, Palo Alto Networks, and Blue Coat Systems.



Why: With the rise of data in the enterprise, sales operations has changed dramatically. Companies are using data to direct where sales should spend their time, what customers they should contact, what deals are at risk and if the company will make its number. Sales operations is no longer an unsung hero; it's a strategic ally to executives. These visionaries need a community and space to share their best ideas and invent the future with their peers.



When: May 4-5, 2016



Where: Levi's Stadium - Home of Super Bowl 50

4900 Marie P DeBartolo Way

Santa Clara, CA 95054



Accolades: "There's a massive increase of data in the enterprise, and new data sources give us insights we've never had. Sales teams are looking for our help on how to make the data easy to understand, make it relevant, and make it actionable. Sales Operations has moved from unsung hero to strategic ally to the entire sales organization. I am excited to participate in the first ever EXCEED event and work with my peers to determine the sales processes and strategies to design the future of sales." -- Chris Klapprott, Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Operations, Aruba Networks, A Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company





"At any moment's notice, my team and I need to be able to dissect and manipulate data so that our leadership team can make better business decisions. Are we allocating resources in the right areas? Who are our top performing sales teams and why are they successful? Are we hiring the right kind of people? That's why I'm excited to participate in the new EXCEED community and exclusive event devoted to our profession. Working together -- as a community -- we're going to define the future of sales." -- Jeff McKittrick, Director of Digital Sales Platforms at Cisco Systems





"Over the past decade, sales operations has evolved into a function that informs and enables sales strategy and technology capabilities, drives change and supports strategic growth objectives. I'm excited about the opportunity at EXCEED to explore the drivers of change, as well as the current and future states of the sales operations function." -- Steve Silver, Research Director, SiriusDecisions



Details: Visit www.exceed2016.com for more information and to request an invitation.

About Clari

Clari's leading end-to-end sales analytics and forecasting solution delivers insight to drive action. Sales teams from industry-leading companies like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Box, and Juniper Networks use Clari to increase revenue, improve forecast accuracy, and boost sales productivity. Backed by Sequoia Capital and Bain Capital Ventures, Clari is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For additional information, visit us at Clari.com and follow us @clarihq. Media Contact

Donovan Erba

[email protected]

(650) 265-2111 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150902/263086LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clari-to-host-exceed-first-ever-event-dedicated-to-sales-operations-300214319.html SOURCE Clari

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[February 03, 2016] More Than 150,000 Voters Choose Fan Favorite App Concept in Verizon Innovative App Challenge

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This week nine teams of middle and high school aged students from across the country learned their concepts for new mobile apps are winners of the fourth Verizon Innovative App Challenge. The teams earned their schools, clubs or organizations $20,000 from the Verizon Foundation to further develop or support STEM-related programming, and will now work with experts from MIT Media Lab to bring their app ideas to life. This year, for the first time, Verizon invited the public to play a role in the Innovative App Challenge by casting a vote for the Fan Favorite app concept. With more than 150,000 votes cast, the app concept POP (Protect our Parks), took home that title. POP was developed by a team of students from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Wyandotte, Mich., and would enable users to quickly report when parks are in need of clean up or repair. As in previous years, a panel of judges including educators and industry experts assembled by the Technology Student Association named the additional eight Best In Nation winning teams for their creative app concepts. The national competition, created by Verizon in partnership with the Technology Student Association, and presented in collaboration with MIT Media Lab, challenged student teams across the country to come up with ideas for mobile apps that could solve a problem in their schools or communities, with no coding skills required. Submissions for this year's contest demonstrated students' increased interest in tackling pressing social issues, not only in their communities but on a national scale. Many teams' app concepts focused specifically on helping those with disabilities and chronic health issues, such as epilepsy, neurological conditions, autism and mental health. A number of submissions also addressed ways to provide aid for those in poverty. This year's winners and their app concepts are: AutBuddy, an app to help children with autism manage tasks, and to help their parents and teachers communicate, see video (Adventure In Science, Derwood, Md. )

) Diction Defender, an app to help users practice English language skills and master sentence structure, see video ( Altona Middle School , Longmont, Colo. )

, ) FTDC - Force Transmission Data Collector, an app to help prevent concussons on the football field, see video (Pine Crest School, Fort. Lauderdale, Fla. )

) Kidspiration, a kid-friendly career testing app to help children discover potential careers opportunities, see video (West Salem High School, Salem, Ore. )

) Pay It Forward, an app to combat hunger by enabling users to buy a meal for a person in need, see video ( Harrison High School , Harrison, N.Y. )

, ) Pharm Alarm, an app to help people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease remember to complete essential tasks and take medication, see video (Meyzeek Middle School, Louisville, Ky. )

) Fan Favorite App : POP (Protect our Parks), an app to help users report when parks are in need of clean up or repair, see video ( Woodrow Wilson Middle School , Wyandotte, Mich. )

: POP (Protect our Parks), an app to help users report when parks are in need of clean up or repair, see video ( , ) SAFE SPEED, an app to make roads safer by encouraging drivers to adhere to speed limits, see video (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School, Cranberry Township, Penn. )

) Vroom, a carpooling app to help students find rides from afterschool activities, see video (Johns Creek High School, Johns Creek, Ga.)



Justina Nixon-Saintil , director of education and technology programs for the Verizon Foundation. "Getting young people to realize the power of critical thinking and technology to drive change is what this contest is all about," she added, "and these skills will undoubtedly prepare them for jobs of the future as well." It is predicted that the United States may be short nearly three million high-skilled workers by 2018. While the education system currently sees enough talent in math and science to fill the need for traditional STEM workers, less than 25% of those students enter STEM majors in college and of those that do, 38% of students who start with a STEM major do not graduate with one.1

In June, members of the nine winning teams will present their apps in person at the National TSA Conference in Nashville, courtesy of Verizon. Learn more about the Innovative App Challenge, as well as this year's winners at http://verizon.com/appchallenge. About the Technology Student Association (TSA)

TSA is a national organization for students engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Open to young people enrolled in or who have completed technology education courses, TSA's membership includes more than 230,000 middle and high school students in 2,000 schools spanning 49 states. TSA partners with universities and other organizations to promote a variety of STEM competitions and opportunities for students and teachers. TSA is supported by educators, parents, and business leaders who believe in the need for a technologically literate society. From engineers to business managers, our alumni credit TSA with a positive influence in their lives. Visit the Technology Student Association website for more information. About the Verizon Foundation The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company's innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live. Verizon's employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities. For more information about Verizon's philanthropic work, visit www.verizon.com/about/responsibility; or for regular updates, visit Facebook (www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/verizongiving). VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/ News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

1 Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, 2011, STEM Report Media contact:

Jessica Thorpe

908.559.6734

[email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329291 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-150000-voters-choose-fan-favorite-app-concept-in-verizon-innovative-app-challenge-300214623.html SOURCE Verizon

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[February 03, 2016] San Francisco's fast dining app Allset launches in New York City today

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Allset ( www.allsetnow.com ), a mobile app for restaurants and busy lunchtime eaters, is launching today their service at 40 restaurants in NYC. Allset expands to the East Coast after successfully launching the app with 50 restaurants in San Francisco and Palo Alto. From today, restaurants in New York are eligible to use the app and allow lunchtime diners to book a table, pre-order their food, and pay their bill. Using Allset saves diners up to 40 minutes of their time, which is usually spent eating out during the lunch rush. Benefits for Restaurants Reach busy diners by offering a quicker lunch service.

Increase table turnover by cutting dining time in half.

In one-touch acceptance of orders, reservations, and payments.

Free setup. No hardware to install. Benefits for Lunch Eaters By booking, pre-ordering, and paying, busy diners can have their lunch ready-to-be-served upon their arrval, and can return to work without waiting for the check.

Diners with tight schedules can now eat lunch at restaurants in under 30 minutes.

No more having to choose between fast food, takeout and eating at desk.

Diners can invite friends to join them for lunch.

Team lunches - companies can order lunch at restaurants nearby for their employees, control budget, and see analytics.



Affordable Costs $0.99 for users per order.

Key Restaurant Partners in NYC Palma, Les Halles, Mari Vanna, Brasserie Cognac, Carma Asian Tapas, IL Brigante, Senza Gluten, Numero 28, Bo's Kitchen & Bar, Black Barn, Serafina Group. Quotes "We're creating a better way for busy people to have lunch. Our goal is to help people take a real break, save time, and enjoy the full restaurant experience. We partner with local restaurants to evolve their hospitality and bring busy people back inside for lunch." Stas Matviyenko, CEO Allset "We've heard about Allset before. We're glad they entered New York's restaurant scene. Our guests will love the convenience of ordering lunch ahead via the app rather than wondering if they will really be able to get seated and served during their lunch break. Allset's customized service meets the needs of today's guests that want to schedule lunch on their terms while the app will help us effectively market our business." Boris Artemyev, GM at Mari Vanna Get Allset For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/allset-order-sit-down-lunches/id1016005447?mt=8 For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.allset.client Restaurants registration: https://allsetnow.com/for-restaurants Video demonstrating the app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJCZTJdWrZw About Allset was launched 3 months ago in San Francisco. Today they serve over 1,000 orders per month with 50 restaurant partners in the Bay Area. One restaurant that uses Allset, Les Clos, reported a 25% increase in lunch sales. Allset is funded by a $1.5M seed round by SMRK VC Fund and private investor and entrepreneur Alexandr Chernyak. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329294 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/san-franciscos-fast-dining-app-allset-launches-in-new-york-city-today-300214647.html SOURCE Allset Technologies

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[February 03, 2016] SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (SMKG:OTC) Signs Agreement with VMoney.com of the Philippines to Integrate Platform

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (OTC: SMKG) announced today an agreement that will align the VMoney.com platform and services to be certified with CT Payment Inc and broaden the reach into the POS Network & drive the VMoney solution to merchants in North America creating an opportunity for Filipino OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) for SME to access a pre-certified channel of acquirers and processors globally. This strategy put forward for Point of Sale will increase transaction processing traffic from foreigners working & traveling in North America. CEO Massimo Barone stated "We are very excited to work with VMoney as we appreciate their existing success of their business model in Asia & the strategy to grow in North America. Our platform wlll allow them to access and work directly on the rails of acquirers or processors on one agnostic environment furthering our pursuit engaging acquirer networks. As our clients and partners grow it is important that our product channel grows impressing on solutions available to Banks, Telecom & Global Enterprise." Ralph Santos Founder & CEO of Vmoney Stated "Making Vmoney a global player is something that's always been part of our roadmap and we're excited that this journey can be expedited through our partnership with SmartCard. We want to make our technology and solutons accessible to everyone through their payment infrastructure, in all corners of the world. This partnership allows us to immediately tap into Canada's POS networks, allowing consumers and businesses to experience a holistic and highly capable payment system that is simple, secure, and all-encompassing."



About VMoney.com VMoney, Inc. (VMI) is a global financial technology company that develops, operates, and markets leading payment processing solutions. The company's innovative solutions provide a financial transaction platform that enables businesses and consumers to instantly access, send, or receive money easily, reliably, and securely. Its business solutions include online payments, point-of-sale solutions, funds disbursement, tap payments, and loyalty and rewards. For more information, go to www.vmoney.com

About SmartCard Marketing Systems, Inc. SmartCard Marketing, Inc. (SMKG:OTC) is a financial technology solutions provider to the global payments industry, delivering a cloud-based EMV Host platform to banks, telecoms and enterprise customers. In addition, it offers proprietary transaction software solutions and services, Genorocity, a coupon and incentive management platform, Check21SAAS a Remote Check Deposit solution for X9 clearing and VelocityMWallet, a payment ecosystem for alternative payment solutions. For more information, go to www.smartcardmarketingsystems.com About CT Payment Inc. CT-Payment has been setting the pace in electronic POS transaction since 2002. It is North American leader in EMV compliant payment services and is Canada's largest debit- and credit-card processing company to be fully independent of Canadian financial institutions and acquirers. As a member of Interac and a debit acquirer, CT-Payment delivers integrated debit authorization and settlement services on behalf of its customers and business partners. As an experienced multi-acquirer service provider, CT-Payment offers transaction processing for point-of-sale debit and credit terminals, customized web-payment integration solutions, and the management of loyalty programs. CT-Payment further specializes in the development of platforms for emergent technology in the Global payment-processing ecosystem. It fully complies with PCI international security standards. To find out more: www.ct-payment.com. we seek safe harbor SOURCE SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc (SMKG)

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[February 03, 2016] Barnes & Noble's Chief Digital Officer to Speak at the Digital Book World Conference + Expo, March 7-9 in N.Y.C.

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 7th Annual Digital Book World Conference + Expo (DBW) will present a mainstage session called "Barnes & Noble: The Perspective of the New Chief Digital Officer" on Tuesday, March 8 in New York. During the interview-style presentation, DBW Conference Chair Mike Shatzkin will talk with Fred Argir, who became Barnes & Noble, Inc.'s vice president and chief digital officer in July 2015. Barnes & Noble is the nation's largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. DBW 2016 is the premier event (@DigiBookWorld - #DBW16) for book publishers and content providers of all sizes and business models who plan to thrive through and beyond publishing's digital transformation. DBW 2016 takes place March 7  9 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Registration and program details are available at digitalbookworldconference.com (the best early-bird rates expire Feb. 8; the final pre-conference registration rate expires March 6). As the nation's largest retail bookseller, Barnes & Noble is committed to operating the best omni-channel specialty retail business in America, fulfilling customers' needs no matter how they shop or in what format they choose to consume content. At the company, Argir oversees the E-Commerce and NOOK usinesses, which are part of Barnes & Noble retail.



"We look forward to discussing Barnes & Noble's long-term strategy with Mr. Argir, including how effective collaboration with publishers will help with the company's strategic initiative," said Mike Shatzkin (@MikeShatzkin), who's the founder of The Idea Logical Company and a partner at Publishers Launch Conferences, in addition to being the DBW conference chair. Argir joined Barnes & Noble from Toys "R" Us, Inc., where he served as chief digital officer since 2012, overseeing digital businesses in 13 countries. He is an accomplished e-commerce/omni-channel leader, who brings a deep understanding of retail, e-commerce, information technology and supply chain, with a proven track record for driving organizations to high levels of performance and profitability.

DBW 2016 will cover the most pressing topics, including: transformation in the book business and digital publishing community; data, discovery and SEO; tech vs. content; a fresh look at ebook sales, the indie-publishing market and a fast-changing publishing business; monetizing relationships with consumers; how digital has changed our culture; the changing realities for authors; and the book buyer's journey; among other relevant, strategy-focused topics. DBW 2016 is produced by F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company in partnership with Publishers Launch Conferences. Visit digitalbookworldconference.com to register (the best early-bird rates expire Feb. 8; the final pre-conference registration rate expires March 6). Email [email protected] to enquire about attending, sponsoring or exhibiting. Also download the complimentary white paper, Viewpoints on Publishing's Digital Transformation, which features DBW speakers: digitalbookworldconference.com/index.php/whitepaper. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/barnes--nobles-chief-digital-officer-to-speak-at-the-digital-book-world-conference--expo-march-7-9-in-nyc-300214682.html SOURCE Digital Book World Conference + Expo

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[February 03, 2016] Electronic Warfare (EW) Market Report 2016-2026: Forecasts & Analysis of Top Companies in Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP) & Electronic Support (ES)

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Report Details

Visiongain assesses that the global Electronic Warfare market will reach $10.31bn in 2016. It is therefore critical that your strategic planning is timely and your forecasting plans are in place to take advantage of the market opportunities.



Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage.



The report will answer questions such as:

- What are the prospects for the overall Electronic Warfare industry?

- Where are the business opportunities for Electronic Warfare?

- Who are the key players within the Electronic Warfare industry?

- What are the drivers and restraints underpinning the Electronic Warfare market?



How will you benefit from this report?

- This report you will keep your knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind.

- This report will allow you to reinforce strategic decision decision-making based upon definitive and reliable market data.

- You will learn how to exploit new technological trends.

- You will be able to realise your company's full potential within the market.

- You will better understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships.



5. Reasons why you must order and read this report today:



1) The report provides detailed profiles and market share analysis of 12 leading companies operating within the Electronic Warfare market:

- BAE Systems plc

- The Boeing Company

- Cobham plc

- Cohort plc

- Elbit Systems Ltd

- Finmeccanica SpA

- Harris Corporation (including Exelis, Inc.)

- L-3 Communications Holdings

- Lockheed Martin Corporation

- Northrop Grumman Corporation

- Raytheon Company

- Textron Inc



2) The study reveals where and how companies are investing in the Electronic Warfare market We show you the prospects for the following national markets with each further subdivided into submarket forecasts for electronic attack, electronic protection and electronic support:





Australia

- China

- France

- India

- Israel

- Italy

- Russia

- Saudi Arabia

- Turkey

- United States

- United Kingdom

- R.O.W



3) The analysis is also underpinned by our 3 exclusive interviews with leading experts

- Bruce Hargrave , Senior Lecturer and Military Academic Programmes Leader, The University of Lincoln .

- Byron Green , Vice President of Business Development at Textron Systems

- Ioannis Vagias , Lecturer in Electronic Warfare and RADAR, Cranfield University





4) Our overview also forecasts and analyses these submarkets from 2016-2026 at the global level and for each of the 11 national markets

- Electronic Attack

- Electronic Protection

- Electronic Support



5) See detailed tables of 343 electronic warfare contracts, projects and programmes



Competitive advantage

This independent 466 page report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 416 tables and figures examining the Electronic Warfare market space, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of your market. PLUS national market forecasts, as well as analysis, from 2016-2026 keeping your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals.



Who should read this report?

- Anyone within the Electronic Warfare value chain.

- CEO's

- COO's

- CIO's

- Business development managers

- Marketing managers

- Technologists

- Suppliers

- Investors

- Banks

- Government agencies

- Contractors



Don't miss out

This report is essential reading for you or anyone in the Electronic Warfare sector with an interest in Electronic Warfare. Purchasing this report today will help you to recognise those important market opportunities and understand the possibilities there. Order the Electronic Warfare (EW) Market Report 2016-2026: Forecasts & Analysis of Top Companies in Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP) & Electronic Support (ES) report now. We look forward to receiving your order.

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Intl: +1 339-368-6001 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electronic-warfare-ew-market-report-2016-2026-forecasts--analysis-of-top-companies-in-electronic-attack-ea-electronic-protection-ep--electronic-support-es-300214824.html SOURCE Reportlinker

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Kamal Haasan opens up about his greatest fears, on the limitations of honesty which according to him is a great luxury, his policy on giving and taking advice, feeling proud about his daughters also being in the film industry, how cinema has become his extravagancy and why happiness is always in the future.

Being on the Censor Board reforming committee:

Our opinion as reforming committe will go to chairman Shyam Benegal sir. We will ask to make changes suitable to our times and mind set, keeping the freedom of speech for a filmmaker intact.

On moral policing:

Every 10 or 20 years cultural parameters change, why give them so much importance? Earlier, an Iyer could not marry an Iyengar  now it is okay to marry any Brahmin.

Jallikattu issue:

Jallikattus original name was Eru Thazhuvudhal; taking on a bull without weapons. It is being mistaken for Spanish bullfighting, thats not what it is. It is a cultural thing.

About animal rights and vegetarianism:

I believe plants have life. Just because they cant sing, dance and tweet doesnt mean they are lifeless. One may say 2+ 2 is 4, but I may say 1 +1+1+ 1 = 4.

Kamal reads controversy:

Because I am God-less. That could be one of the reasons. Then you are not one of us! My best friend Ilayaraja becomes controversial very rarely, when he gets angry. But whatever I say becomes controversial. He tells me that he knows that I am internally a spiritual person  for that I cant get angry with him. My outlook and beliefs are totally different from his. We dont pull each others legs as both of us know each others traits. We collaborate for things where we synergise. He is deeply into theism and I am more inclined towards rationalism.

Using Twitter meaningfully always:

If you have noticed, I have used it for sharing happy pictures. I think it is an effective tool for converting my fans into social workers. Swacch Bharat is something we have been doing for 20 years.

Remakes do not mean a dearth of original writers:

K.Balachander sirs Aval Oru Thodar Kathai and Naan Avanillai were not his stories. At a restaurant, if you find a dessert which catches your attention, you gulp it there itself. Same thing applies when you are passionate about films!

About your family:

I feel so nice that my daughters are also in films. I was the odd man out earlier. Now, I am not alone. They are artistes by profession, I am an artiste by my mindset.

Teaming up with Shruti for a trilingual:

Yes, we are coming together for a trilingual, which will be shot in the US. We are working on it. It is too early to divulge more. Amma Appa Vilayaattu has been dropped for the time being.

Which emotion you fall prey to the most:

Anger.

Favorite virtue:

I presume it is honesty! Its a great luxury which I want to afford.

Biggest fear:

Physical pain. Once I conquer it, I dont fear anything. Fear of death is gone. I have accepted it as a part of life.

Greatest extravagance:

Films have always been my extravagance. I can be without cars, simple clothes and less food, but my cinema has to be bigger, grand and nice for my audience. It is like a proud father spending illogically on marriage.

A regret:

I think my evolution in cinema has been slow. I could have arrived here much earlier.

Three things, which no one knows about you:

Let it stay unknown

Things that immediately come to your mind for the following:

Censor Board  Reform

Awards  Thank you

Chennai Floods  oxygen

An idea that changed your life:

Ahimsa. Its a strange inner philosophy about loving all equally and truly. The best part is that ahimsa is not a nonexistent state  it is very much achievable.
[February 03, 2016] Trupanion Rolls Out New Veterinary Software to Save Veterinarians Time and Effort

SEATTLE, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Trupanion (NYSE: TRUP), a company that provides medical insurance for cats and dogs, announced the roll out of its game changing application to veterinary hospitals across the nation. Since 2013 Trupanion has spent over $17 million developing Trupanion Express, a web based application that allows the company to receive, process, approve and disburse payments for eligible claims within minutes. Trupanion is the only company to offer a solution like this to veterinary hospitals. It was designed in conjunction with veterinarians, with the hospital teams in mind, to make their lives easier. With Trupanion Express there is no longer a need to fill out confusing claim forms, it's all done electronically making claim forms a thing of the past. Pet owners with a Trupanion policy for their cats and dogs will know the decision of their claim before they leave the hospital, and their veterinarian can be paid directly, typically in under 5 minutes. "Medical insurance for cats and dogs is a critical part of responsible pet ownership. Traditional 'pet insurance' however, is fundamentally flawed. Pet owners are forced to pay veterinary invoices on their credit card in hopes of reimbursement. Meanwhile veterinarians are forced to process cumbersome paperwork and bear the cost of credit card fees. Trupanion Express solves these problems for veterinarians and their clients," said Darryl Rawlings, Trupanion CEO. "The software is offered to veterinary hospitals at no charge and is simple and quick to install. With Trupanion Express, veterinary staff have no paperwork to process. Pet owners know they will be covered before they leave the hospital, and we pay the veterinarian directly so they won't have to incur credit card processing fees that would otherwise eat at their bottom line." Trupanion is focused on innovation and has supported and invested heavily in the veterinary industry for years to address some of their financial challenges. Rawlings continued, "All veterinary hospitals should have Trupanion Express. It makes hospitals more efficient, increases profitability, and improves the overall experienc for your clients  it's a real game changer."



Over 26% of all claims paid by Trupanion are now paid direct to the veterinarian  this spells the end of reimbursement for pet owners. To learn more please visit Trupanion.com/Trupanion-Express. About Trupanion

Trupanion is a high-growth leading provider of medical plans for cats and dogs throughout the United States and Canada. For almost two decades, Trupanion's medical plan has given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet's recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing pet owners with the most value in pet medical insurance. Trupanion offers a simple, fair and comprehensive medical plan for cats and dogs that pays 90 percent of the actual veterinary costs for unexpected illnesses and injuries with no payout limits. Trupanion is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRUP. Trupanion was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. For more information please visit Trupanion.com.

Contacts:

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310.829.5400 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140306/SF78009LOGO Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160202/329082 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160202/329080 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160202/329081 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trupanion-rolls-out-new-veterinary-software-to-save-veterinarians-time-and-effort-300214646.html SOURCE Trupanion, Inc.

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The Supreme Court, on Wednesday night, affirmed the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State. A seven-man bench presided ov...

A seven-man bench presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, unanimously affirmed the governors elections after upholding their separate appeals against the judgments of the Court of Appeal which had ordered their removal from office.The decisions of the Supreme Court put paid to the legal actions initiated against Emmanuel and Ikpeazu by their main rivals shortly after the April 11, 2015 elections in the two states.While Emmanuels election was challenged by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Okon Umana, that of Ikpeazu was challenged by All Progressive Grand Alliances candidate, Dr. Alex Otti.The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had nullified the Akwa Ibom State governorship election in the entire 31 local government areas of the state on December 18, 2015, while the Owerri Division of the appeal court had removed Ikpeazu and declared the APGA candidate, Otti, winner of the election in Abia State, in a judgment delivered on December 31, 2015.Both governors, who had appealed against the separate judgments of the Court of Appeal which had removed them from office, are of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Embattled Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka and founder of the Adoration Ministries Enugu (AMEN) , has disclosed that he didnt coll...

Mbaka, who was recently transferred from Christ The King Parish to Our Lady Parish in Emene, a suburb of Enugu, disclosed this in an interview with reporters at his new post.When eventually I met Buhari when I went for prayers at Aso Rock, what I demanded from him was good governance for Nigeria. I didnt ask him to give me one kobo. One kobo of Buhari has never entered my hand.Mbaka visited Aso Rock on December 18, when Buhari described his exhortations one of the best in the country.He expressed appreciation to the Catholic priest for his exemplary courage.Thank you very much for what you have done and said.It brought you out to the whole country as a man of courage. It was honest and well delivered.It has gone into the records as one of the best concerns expressed from the pulpit, not because it favoured me and my party, the All Progressives Congress, but because it was good for the country, Buhari said.In the run up to the 2015 presidential election, Mbaka told his teeming followers that erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan would not be re-elected because of pervading corruption and insecurity in the land.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Preseident Muhammadu Buhari and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Preseident Muhammadu Buhari and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.Speaking in the Ogun State capital, Buhari, who was the special guest at the 40th anniversary of the state, said Obasanjo appointed him Minister of Petroleum and tolerated him for three and half years.He said: I express my thanks to General Obasanjo, who, as Head of State, made me Minister of Petroleum and tolerated me for three-and-half-years.He tolerated me because God knows and he knows that I am not used to working as hard as he used to, but he allowed me to last that long and allowed me to work.If you go into records, that government made so much investment and infrastructural development in the petroleum industry.Two refineries were built, Warri and Kaduna. More than 20 depots were built; more than 3,500 pipelines were laid; and we were exporting refined products of 100,000 barrels per day. But what do we have today?
The Nigeria Immigrations Service is set to deport six Britons who were arrested last Saturday for alleged breach of the countrys immigr...

The Nigeria Immigrations Service is set to deport six Britons who were arrested last Saturday for alleged breach of the countrys immigration law.The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr. Martins Kure-Abeshi, made the disclosure in Abuja when he met with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior at the National Assembly.According to him, violations of the Immigration Act, 2015, carried penalties including a term of imprisonment of 10 years or an option of N2m fineKure-Adeshi spoke as he defended the 2016 budget estimates of the service before the committee, which is headed by Mr. Adams Jagaba.A member of the committee, Mr. Sunday Katung, had asked a question on the fate of the Britons.The CG replied, I just arrived from abroad yesterday (Monday) and met this case.As I am talking, yesterday in the evening, the company that employed those expatriates, after my discussion with them, they are to be responsible for their air tickets.As I am talking now, I am sure they have been flown out.Giving more details, Kure-Adeshi stated, One company employed them. They were in the services of that company, but they travelled out, when they were coming back, another employer gave them visa to come, which is against immigration law.It is against the law of the land. So their first employer complained about these expatriates, so it is an offence they have committed and we have ordered their deportation.When we conduct our operation and discover that someone who is not a Nigerian is living in this country illegally, he will be repatriated. That is on our own part, they have to go.There is another another angle to it. If he is a worker, working in a company and we discover that he does not have papers to stay in this country, he has committed an offence against the state, the company that the expatriate is working will give us money, buy ticket or whatever is their responsibility.Before anybody takes an appointment here as an expatriate, the organisation will write to immigration that they are taking immigration responsibility for that expatriate.If that expatriate commits any offence against the company and they want to remove him, that company must provide ticket so that the person is removed from this country.The expatriates were working for GMT Energy Resources, contractors to EXXONMOBIL.
Elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, says former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former maximum ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, made corru...

Elder statesman, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, says former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former maximum ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, made corruption attractive to state governors in the country.Braithwaite said the former helmsmens policies and actions elevated corruption in governance, adding that many state governors were merely emulating them.The human rights activist said this during a telephone interview withon Tuesday.He was reacting to a statement credited to Obasanjo in which the former president slammed state governors for living like emperors  to the detriment of the masses.Obasanjo, who spoke at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Ibadan, on Monday, said, Nigeria is a country where some governors have become sole administrators, acting like emperors. These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless.But Braithwaite said, Obasanjo is not saying anything original because when he assumed office in 1999, I warned that the military constitution would make the governors emperors. Governors determine security votes which they do not account for. Since 1999, the military constitution clothes them (governors and president) with immunity against being arrested for criminal misdeeds. Many of them brazenly looted the treasury and got away with it. Obasanjo became rich through this structure.Something appears to be driving Obasanjo to be making frivolous statements everywhere. He and Babangida made corruption attractive to governors and they elevated corruption in governance which subsequent presidents and governors are emulating.Speaking on the recent terrorist attacks, Braithwaite said the Federal Governments declaration that Boko Haram had been technically defeated was premature, adding that such an assumption was wrong.He said the Federal Government could be forgiven for its statement that the sect had been defeated because of its (FGs) good intentions and wishes of ending terrorism, insisting, however, that the Federal Governments good intentions were far from reality.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections saw Tollywood celebrities come out to vote.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections saw Tollywood celebrities come out to vote as they also urged citizens to participate in the polling process.

Several leading Telugu actors including Balakrishna, Jr NTR, Nagarjuna and Allu Arjun cast their votes at polling centres in Jubliee Hills area. For example, accompanied by wife Amla, actor Nagarjuna was spotted casting his vote. The couple also appealed to people to come out of their houses and exercise their franchise.

Majority of the voters are youth. They often complain that they lack amenities. They should come out and vote to elect good representatives, Nagarjuna was quoted as saying by a website.

His son Akhil, however was conspicuous by his absence. Clearing the air, Nagarjuna informed that his sons name was missing from the voters list.

Actor Balakrishna also cast his vote at a polling booth in Jubliee Hills. He is the brother-in-law of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and is a member of Andhra Pradesh assembly.

Balakrishnas daughter Brahmini, who is married to Naidus son Lokesh, also cast her vote. She was accompanied by Lokesh and her mother-in-law Bhuvaneswari.

Balakrishnas nephew and popular actor Junior NTR and his wife also cast their votes. Please be responsible citizens and vote. You can question only if you vote, Jr NTR was quoted as saying.

Actor Allu Arjun too cast his vote. He tweeted saying, Vote. If you dont vote you dont have the right to complain.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday continued its case against a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, wit...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday continued its case against a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, with one of its detectives, Musa Sunday, telling a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gudu how the former governor allegedly shared N1.162bn belonging to the state.Reeling out names and figures from documents submitted to the court, including Dariyes statement made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the witness, Musa Sunday, explained how Dariye allegedly shared the N1.162 billion he obtained in 2004 as a governor.Dariye, who served between 1999 and 2007, is being prosecuted for allegedly diverting Plateau States funds while in office as governor.Sunday, an investigator with the EFCC, was cross-examined by Dariyes lawyer, Garba Pwul (SAN).He said investigations by his team of investigators assigned to the Dariye case showed that the ex-governor gave N100 million to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was then the coordinator of the Ecological Fund; N100m to Southwest PDP, which was received by then Minister of Special Duties, Yomi Edu, N80m to then permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund agency in the Presidency, Kingsley Nkoma; N10m to former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, N6.8m to PDP Plateau State and N66m to 274 PDP wards in the state.Sunday, who is the first prosecution witness, read out where Dariye confirmed the distribution of the money among his political associates in a statement he wrote to the EFCC in July 2007.The Ecological Fund is under the Presidency, but the Office of the Vice President oversees it and chairs the Funds activities. The Vice President at that time was Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.When given Dariyes statement to read, the witness read from page 10 of the statement marked exhibit P13(a) how Dariye gave a breakdown of how he disbursed the N1.162b received from the Ecological Fund.The witness said Dariye informed him that he gave Senator Mantu, who was then a Deputy Senate President, N10m; PDP, Plateau State, N6.8m, while N66m was distributed among 274 wards of PDP in the state.Sunday also read from page 11 of the statement, where Dariye said the N100m given to PDP Southwest was received by Yomi Edu (then Minister for Special Duties), while the N100m paid to Marine Float Limited, was given to Vice President Atiku.In the course of investigation, Marine Float was found to be a company owned by the former President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. As at when the money was paid, the Vice President was the Chairman of Ecological Fund, the witness said.He denied knowledge whether the N100m recovered was recovered from Atiku.When Pwul suggested to the witness that the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, returned to Plateau State in 2004, the N100m paid to the Southwest PDP by Dariye, the witness denied knowledge of such development.He said further investigation on the issue also revealed that Dariye paid N80m to the then Permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund, Kingsley Nkoma, N80m, for facilitating the prompt release of the N162b.The N80m paid in favour of Union Savings and Loan, was traced to Kingsley Nkoma, Permanent Secretary of Ecological Fund. We recovered the N80m from Nkoma, who said that was his share for facilitating the release of the money. That was the bribe he collected.Investigation proved, while he was invited, that the N80m paid to him through Union Savings and Loan was bribe money paid to him by the defendant. The money was recovered from him. The N80m registered from Nkoma is registered as Exhibit and it is with the EFCC. When we invited him, Nkoma said that was his share of the money and he was made to return it.The trial resumes today at noon.The witness reiterated his earlier claim that Dariye made his banker, All States Trust Bank (now defunct), to conceal his identity. He said their investigation showed that the mandate card for the account allegedly operated by a firm linked to Dariye  Ebenezer Ritnan Venture  did not carry anybodys photograph as required. He said they were able to uncover the companys true ownership by Dariyes signature on the mandate form.He said Dariye allegedly diverted his share of the N1.162b into the companys account.The witness said the bank and its officials, who claimed to have granted Dariye waiver by not including his photograph in the account opening documents, have since been convicted by a Federal High Court in Kaduna for aiding fraud.In the course of investigation, we found the waiver granted Dariye not to be proper, and as a result, the maker, the Account Officer, A. Awe Odesa, was charged before the FHC, Kaduna. The issue of the waiver was part of the charge.
The Federal Government has put all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on a red alert following the declaration ...

The Federal Government has put all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on a red alert following the declaration of Zika virus as an international public health emergency by the World Health Organisation, WHO.Disclosing this to newsmen, the Director General of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Prof Abdulsalam Nasidi said the red alert was to enable effective monitoring of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.The Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus, are found in Nigeria and Nasidi explained that the decision taken by the government is in line with global practice.
London: Sixty-five to 79 is the happiest age group for adults in the UK, according a new survey of over three lakh adults.

The survey by the Office for National Statistics found that life satisfaction, happiness and feeling life was worthwhile all peaked in that age bracket, but declined in the over-80s.

Those aged 45 to 59 reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction, with men on average less satisfied than women. That age group also reported the highest levels of anxiety, the BBC reported.

Researchers said one possible reason for the lower happiness and well-being scores among this age group might be the burden of having to care for children and elderly parents at the same time.

Meanwhile, those who were younger or retired had more free time to spend on activities which promoted their well- being, the researchers suggested.

Happiness and well-being dropped off again in those over 80, however, with researchers suggesting this could be down to personal circumstances such as poor health, living alone and feelings of loneliness.

The survey asked people to rate out of 10 how happy and how anxious they had felt the day before, how satisfied they were with their life generally, and how much they felt what they did in life was worthwhile.

The published results have been broken down by age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, employment status, religion, and where in the country people live. Researchers found a strong link between health and well- being.

People who said their health was very good reported an average life satisfaction rating of 8.01 out of 10, compared with people who said they were in very bad health, whose average rating was 4.91 out of 10.

The over-90 age group reported by far the lowest levels of feeling their life was worthwhile, even though their reported levels of happiness and life satisfaction were comparable to those in their 20s and 30s.

Understanding how people of different ages rated their personal well-being could help policy makers target issues to improve lives, the study added.

"We know that the UK population is ageing. There were more than half a million people aged 90 and over living in the UK in 2014 - almost triple the number 30 years ago," it said.
Generation Y or the Millennials are often put in the dock for being immersed in their gadgets, lacking in social skills, being self-centred, cynical, unaccustomed to hard work and not caring about social causes. But an emerging group of youngsters prove that they do have their heart in the right place and use the virtual world of bits and bytes to mobilise volunteers and funds for social causes. The very gadgets they seem to be addicted to have turned to indispensable tools to do their bit for the oppressed and the needy sections of society. There has been an impromptu mushrooming of various groups who used the power of the social media and messenger groups like WhatsApp to communicate and propagate ideas and put them into action through relentless hard work.

Anbodu Kochi was a Facebook collective of nine friends who wanted to do their bit by way of essentials for the Chennai flood relief. The movement soon spread, thanks to the power of the social media and the group soon grew. They are now involved in cleaning the ponds in Kochi and they have a reason.

Arun P.R., one of the members of Anbodu Kochi, says, There were more than 300 waterbodies in Chennai which were filled leading to no catchment areas to collect rainwater. We did not want any such calamity happening here and decided to clean up and restore 82 ponds in the Kochi panchayat through the Ente kulam Ernakulam initiative. The idea was suggested by the Collector of Kochi who leads through example and the group took it forward using the tools of the online media.

Arun adds, We have students, doctors and professionals who spare time on Sundays and volunteer their time. We update and communicate through different WhatsApp groups and we have already cleaned 12 ponds. College students too are actively involved in social causes. Tanz, a flash mob group formed by 65 students from five colleges in Kochi, has done four performances at different venues in Kochi to provide financial aid to orphanages as well as to individuals. They recently did a performance to support the disabled children of an orphanage in Pachalam, Kochi.

Sharon Mathew, third year B. Sc. Botany student at St. Albert's College, Ernakulam, and a member of Tanz says, In the beginning, we did not inform the public that it was a fund-raising event. We just started dancing to the beats and while concluding, we announced the cause and got `7,000 from the crowd. They have also collected money for an orphanage in Kaloor and for a man's treatment. Sharon adds, Dance is the only way we know to raise money and we used it. We used the social media platform to drum up support and aid.

Eighteen batchmates of NSS College created a WhatsApp group Help to Save to collect funds for the Chennai floods. Manoj, a CA working in Chennai, says, We already had a college group and had been thinking of doing some charity and thought the floods were a good time to begin. Members pooled in their own money to amass `1.5 lakh, which was handed over to an NGO. The success of this has egged us on and we have decided to pool in a sum every month to help one needy person.

Eighteen techies in Info Park working for Rapid Valley united to paint and exhibit their paintings. Melvin Thambi, Design head, says, We gave the proceeds of the exhibition to mentally-challenged people. We have an internal group called Happy Hands which does charity work and we intend to mobilize all the designers in Info park to create a bigger event. Shambhu Sajith is a film maker who along with three other like- minded friends Anjali, Aswani and Adarsh makes films about social ills that plague the society. Shambhu mentions, We schoolmates conducted a walkathon to create awareness on violence against women. I also direct short films that talk about alcohol abuse, LGBT and blood cancer and conduct awareness classes for women.Our short films are propagated through WhatsApp and we use the social medium to regularly update our activities. The short films are made using the members' own money and the actors and crew are all in-house.
After a slew of bizarre challenges that garnered immense popularity in the recent past, the latest to break the Internet happens to be the infamous Duct Tape Challenge  a game where the participant is wrapped with a duct tape onto a chair and is then filmed trying to break free. With several reports on the glaring consequences spanning from acute head injuries to permanent loss of eyesight surfacing online; the challenge is being shamed on social media. Namma Bengalureans give us their word

Terming the concept as downright crazy, Gautam Mahajan, a 26-year-old city-based musician feels its more of a publicity gimmick that ought to be shunned. Its quite astonishing how people can go to such extremes for some social media visibility. While milder stuff like the Ice Bucket Challenge itself was eye-brow raising, this is just ridiculous. I think its about time we react to such acts with scathing reviews. These are the kind of the stuff which must be trolled online as an attempt to discourage people from trying them out, he states.

Adding her opinion, Swati Rayasam, a 22- year-old advisory analyst, also believes that the challenge is very unlikely to gain that much momentum back home. The duct challenge is highly dangerous, not to mention a thoughtless act pursued in the name of fun... several people in the west were left badly injured in pursuit of completing the challenge. After so much being said and written about the dangerous act, I dont think something this extreme would work, she opines.

Expert Talk: Dr Chandrashekhar, former professor at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, opines, Most teenagers are driven by their need to experiment. Hence, its very common to see them succumb to peer pressure or do something just because its being talked about all over the Internet. Independent of this challenge in particular, I think its high time advisory messages and statutory warnings are conveyed to people in general. The lack of awareness is one of the key factors in getting people to give in to such acts.
Your average newborn will be nowhere near as popular as baby Pablo, whose fan club is 84 strong  and growing. Pablo has the distinction of being the first baby born in Ostano, Italy in nearly 30 years.

The population of the remote Italian towncurrently at 85, including baby Pablo  has been creeping toward zero for decades. A century ago, Ostano was thriving, with a flourishing economy and more than 1,000 residents. But new generations are leaving for places with more financial opportunity and this flight of young people has left remaining residents scrambling to keep their towns alive.

Ostano isnt the only Italian town facing this problem. Another area, Gangi, decided to sell about 20 homes for less than $2 to buyers who agree to stay and renovate the buildings.

There is an absence of politics to help small communities  we are a long way from Rome, Ostano mayor Giacomo Lombardo told The Local. By the 1980s, there was a real chance Ostano could die out completely. At its lowest point, Ostanos population totaled five residents. Only 17 babies were born there between 1976 and 1987, and none have arrived since  until Pablo.

 Source: www.mentalfloss.com
Bengaluru: African embassies are shocked at Sundays incident in Hesaraghatta, where a mob chased and thrashed a Sudanese student and beat up four more Tanzanians. The Tanzanian Embassy on Monday sought a detailed report on the incident from student leaders to pursue the issue diplomatically, Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Adviser, All African Students in Bengaluru told Deccan Chronicle.

The second car that was not involved in the accident was set on fire by the mob. Five Tanzanian students, including two girls, from Acharya College were in the car. Everyone was attacked. The mob stood in front of the car, preventing it from moving forward. They were beaten up, their dresses were torn and they were humiliated by the unruly mob for no fault of theirs. The mob then set the car ablaze with all the students losing their valuable documents, like passports, ATM cards and cash. Injured students were sent out of the hospital because they could not pay the bills as their ATM cards were burnt, and they had no cash on their hands. They also could not contact their parents as their phones were robbed, Mr Bosco said. The local residents on Sunday night went hunting for houses where Africans stayed and harassed them. They stopped vehicles to check if there were any Africans inside. Our students heard that there were messages floating around that the locals were planning to attack Acharya College cottages and all the hostel accommodations in the area, which are full of Africans, he said.

It was instigated by the local politicians, like it was done in the Byrathi Cross incident. The lives of African students will remain in danger until there is a collective meeting for reconciliation with the local residents, the police and the African community, he said, adding that it worked well the last time in East Bengaluru.

The entire African student community is still scared and reluctant to come out. Such incidents will have repercussions in Africa and innocent Indians who are in those countries will also face trouble from native Africans, he warned.

The community alleged that the police were totally inept during the entire incident.
Under the guidance of deputy commissioner of police, cyber cell, M. Raj Kumar, the Facebook authorities were contacted and the IP address of Dhas was procured. (Photo: Pixabay)

Mumbai: Har ek friend zaroori nahi hota hai (not every friend is essential), the slogan used by Mumbai Police last year for spreading awareness against cyber crime turned out to be accurate, with the arrest of a 21-year-old youth from Beed district, who allegedly befriended a 21-year-old woman from Mumbai posing as a woman from her elder brothers Facebook friend list and after tagging her pictures on his fake profile started posting vulgar and obscene comments.

Accused Ravindra Dhas is a resident of Ashti taluka in Beed district and his father is a farmer. Dhas made a fake Facebook profile named Pari Marathi to make it appear as a womans profile. He, however, did not use any photos.

He then randomly sent friend requests to several people including to the 21-year-old complainant womans 27-year-old brother, who accepted the friend request even though Dhas was a complete stranger. Dhas then sent a request to the mans sister. She saw Dhas was her brothers friend and so accepted the request without asking her brother.

Dhas then tagged some girls from his friend list and posted obscene comments below it. When the complainants brother objected to his behaviour, Dhas tagged his sister and started posting similar comments. The brother-sister duo approached the cyber cell, where a FIR was registered in September 2015.

Under the guidance of deputy commissioner of police, cyber cell, M. Raj Kumar, the Facebook authorities were contacted and the IP address of Dhas was procured. Police inspector Ravi Sardesai investigating the case sent a special team that nabbed Dhas from his village. After completing HSC, Dhas started helping his father, who had gotten him the mobile phone that he used to commit the crime.
The torched Wagon-R in which the Tanzanian girl was travelling. (Photo: DC)

Bengaluru: Four accused were arrested on Wednesday for stripping and beating up a Tanzanian girl student in Bengaluru. Police said they have recorded the girls statement and a criminal case has been registered.

The incident took place on Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru on Sunday night after a Sudanese national ran his car over a 35-year-old woman, killing her on the spot.

The Tanzanian student was travelling in another car, a Wagon-R, along with four others. The young woman, who arrived on the spot around 30 minutes later, was dragged out of the car and paraded naked after being stripped by the mob.

Read: Bengaluru: Mob strips Tanzanian girl, torches her car as police watch

We have Zero tolerance for mob mindset and have taken stringent measures in this case, said NS Megharikh, Bengaluru Police Commissioner on the incident.

Following massive outrage on the social media, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised concern over the issue and spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister over the matter.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the Chief Minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested, Swaraj tweeted.

We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

I have asked the Chief Minister to ensure safety and security of all foreign students and stringent punishment for the guilty.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 3, 2016

African embassies are shocked at Sundays incident in Hesaraghatta, where a mob chased and thrashed a Sudanese student and beat up four more Tanzanians. The Tanzanian Embassy on Monday sought a detailed report on the incident from student leaders to pursue the issue diplomatically, Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Adviser, All African Students in Bengaluru had told Deccan Chronicle.

Read: Africa angry, demands justice after mob strips Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru

Five Tanzanian students, including two girls, from Acharya College were in the car. Everyone was attacked. The mob stood in front of the car, preventing it from moving forward. They were beaten up, their dresses were torn and they were humiliated by the unruly mob for no fault of theirs.

Read: Road rage gets a foreign face

The mob then set the car ablaze with all the students losing their valuable documents, like passports, ATM cards and cash. Injured students were sent out of the hospital because they could not pay the bills as their ATM cards were burnt, and they had no cash on their hands. They also could not contact their parents as their phones were robbed, Mr Bosco said.
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.
Chennai: Rural areas of Tamil Nadu, no doubt supply the food grains for all in the state, but their children, especially those from the lower socio-economic background are more nutritionally deprived than their urban counterparts. And nearly 29.67 per cent of them are underweight.

Combating malnutrition in non-urban areas is becoming a challenge. Realising the importance of improving the nutrition among the children the state government is implementing the MGR Nutritious Meal Programme in rural areas for Pre-School and Prime School Children aged 2-5 years and 5-9 years respectively. It was later extended to benefit children aged 10-15 years.

A study on nutritional status of school children in rural, semi urban and urban areas of Tamil Nadu by the Stanley Government Medical College, here, recently, revealed that about 67.33 per cent of children were underweight and of them 29.67 per cent were from rural areas; 6 % were found to be overweight or obese, of which 4.67 per cent were from urban areas.

There is a significant statistical difference in the prevalence of underweight children in social class 4 & 5 as compared to class 1, 2 & 3. The mean calorie consumption of the study population was 1,333 kcal, which supplies only 50 % of calorie requirement by ICMR standards; the mean calorie intake by children in rural area was much lower than in urban area, says the cross sectional descriptive study carried out involving 300 children in the age group 11 to 14 years from urban, semi-urban and rural areas.

As per estimates, 40 per cent of the worlds malnourished live in India. When contacted, official sources said, the implementation of variety meal scheme from March 20, 2013 and its extension throughout the State from Aug. 15, 2014, has helped to improve the health of the children in government schools.
ConAgra Foods will move its headquarters to Chicago, eliminating 1,000 corporate jobs in Omaha and moving at least 300 others to the Windy City, cutting its salaried payroll in the area by more than half.

However, Council Bluffs frozen-food factory, which has 850 employees, will remain open.

Chief Executive Officer Sean Connolly told workers the decision to cut jobs and move company headquarters to Chicago came after agonizing debate. The move was forced by competition in the packaged food industry, he said.

We have a responsibility to ConAgra to set it up for the long haul, even if that means we have to do difficult things in the short haul, he said.

The move is a serious blow to the Omaha area: The city loses one of its five Fortune 500 headquarters and a significant number of good-paying professional jobs. Those job losses will throw families into a period of uncertainty just as the holiday season approaches.

Connolly acknowledged the prestige Omaha loses as a Fortune 500 companies decamps for another city. He called it an emotional day and assured workers its not their fault the company had become bloated.

Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said he was pleased to hear the citys plant would remain open, but noted that losing 1,000 jobs in the metro area is a major blow.

Those employees live throughout the area. It will have an affect on some Council Bluffs residents Im sure, Walsh said. Theyre good, quality jobs. Thats difficult to replace. Theyre well-paying and career type jobs. Those arent easy to come by. Were concerned about their futures.

Bob Mundt, president and CEO of the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce, said the organization would work with the Omaha Chamber of Commerce in helping those affected by the layoffs.

Well work on a strategy to help relocate some of this people to unfilled jobs in the area, he said.

Mundt also said hes pleased the Council Bluffs plant is unaffected, which he hopes continues.

ConAgras going through a lot of changes. We have a great plant, a very productive plant, good operation, he said. At this time theres no reason to believe itll be affected, but, at the same, in corporate America, you never know. Well do everything we can to make sure that plant stays open.

In Omaha, its now a stressful waiting game for employees potentially affected. Connolly said we dont know the answer, in many cases, when it comes to who exactly will lose their jobs and who will be asked to move.

The breakdown, which the company announced Thursday morning:

 ConAgra has about 2,500 salaried employees in the Omaha area as of now; the headquarters complex on the Missouri River in downtown Omaha employs about 1,800.

 300 to 350 will move to the new headquarters in Chicago. Those include top executives and the part of the consumer-foods division currently based in Omaha.

 1,000 salaried ConAgra corporate employees will lose their jobs.

 1,200 employees will remain in Omaha working in administration, research and development and what the company calls supply chain, or the department that supervises the production and distribution of goods.

 Not affected by the cuts are the Council Bluffs plant or the 100 or so employees at a Lincoln popcorn factory.

Workers will learn within a month whether their jobs are cut, whether theyll stay in Omaha or whether theyll be relocated, Connolly said. In any case, support will be available.

David Brown, president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said the companys move is disappointing but could have been worse.

You hate to lose a headquarters, but the fact is, were still going to be their largest employment base anywhere in the world, plus the manufacturing positions in Council Bluffs, Brown said. So were glad that ConAgra remains a strong presence in our community and will continue to play an important role.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday the Nebraska Department of Labor stands ready to assist Nebraskans seeking re-employment due to ConAgras restructuring.

While I regret ConAgras decision, it is a reminder why we must continually look for new ways to ensure our tax rates and incentive programs remain competitive, Ricketts said.

This week, Ricketts offered tax and economic incentives to ConAgra to assist the company, but the offer wasnt accepted. In 1987, the Nebraska Legislature passed its first suite of incentive legislation to assist ConAgra after the company threatened to leave for Tennessee.

The bills reduced or eliminated corporate income taxes for qualifying companies, granted generous credits for corporate aircraft and exempted from personal income taxes the profits gained from selling stock issued by a taxpayers employer.

It cant be determined how much public aid ConAgra has received over the years because as part of the 1987 bill, that information is concealed from the public.

CEO Connolly said ConAgra received incentives from Illinois to move its headquarters. The incentives offered by Illinois werent disclosed. The state offers relocating companies credits that can reduce corporate income tax; it has paid out almost $1 billion of such aid to 254 companies since 1999.

But Connolly said the decision wasnt about incentives  it was a strategic decision, he said. The company never felt it needed more from Nebraska or Omaha, he said.

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said, as far as she knew, the company didnt want anything from Omaha, in terms of incentives: We felt like if they needed our help ... they would have reached out.

She met with Connolly on Wednesday afternoon and offered to do what she could to keep the company in own, she said. Early Thursday, she got the ConAgra news.

Its not the information I wanted to hear, she said.

Still, Stothert said, its not a black eye for Omahas national reputation.

I dont think its going to be a negative on the City of Omaha, she said. But its certainly a negative on our feelings and hearts today.

ConAgra said the moves announced Thursday are designed to achieve cost savings of $300 million as it remakes itself under pressure from investors.

Moving the headquarters to Chicago cuts the roster of Fortune 500 headquarters in Omaha to four. ConAgra has called the city home since 1922. The move also ends months of speculation that started in late June, when Connolly told analysts and investors that nothing was off the table when it came to changing the way business is done at ConAgra.

Connolly has touted Chicago for its workforce experienced in the consumer packaged food business. A cluster of such businesses, including U.S. Foods and Quaker Oats, is in Chicago.

Connolly, brought in this year to revamp or sell brands such as Chef Boyardee and Act III popcorn, has long ties to Chicago, living and working there in his previous job as CEO of Hillshire Brands. He owns a home in suburban Winnetka.

The move comes as ConAgra looks to reorganize and grow its business, as it has faltered on several fronts in the past three years.

The companys expenses exceed those of the leaders in the packaged-foods industry, while profit margins lag.

ConAgra employs 31,500 people worldwide and is best known for food brands including Pam cooking spray, Marie Callenders frozen meals, Orville Redenbachers popcorn and Slim Jim meat snacks.

 The BH Media News Service contributed to this story.
ConAgra Foods will shut down one of nine production lines at its frozen foods plant in Council Bluffs, in what the company said is part of an ongoing efficiency effort in the face of competition.

The change isnt expected to lead to layoffs, a ConAgra spokesman said. He said the company still is evaluating the move and would share details with plant workers this spring.

We regularly look at our overall plant network to ensure that were operating as productively as we possibly can, as a matter of operating in a competitive environment, spokesman Dan Hare said.

He said that the production line would be idled and that the move didnt necessarily mean fewer workers or less food being produced, but rather making the most of the eight other production lines.

The plant, one of ConAgras largest, has about 850 employees, a figure that fluctuates throughout the year based on seasonal changes in demand. Workers there make frozen meals including pot pies and microwave dinners.

An employee said that a supervisor at the plant informed workers in late 2015 that one of the nine lines would shut down in late February or early March.

They said not to worry  that there is nobody going to be fired, and nobody going to be laid off, the employee said. ConAgra confirmed the line shutdown after being contacted by the newspaper and told of the employees account.

The employee spoke on the condition that he or she would not be identified. The employee, who speaks Spanish, spoke to the newspaper in a conversation translated by the employees English-speaking acquaintance.

The employee said as the one Council Bluffs line shuts down, the rest of the people are going to be fit elsewhere in the remaining eight (production lines).

Production line employees at the plant are paid $14 to $15 an hour depending on their shift, the employee said. Supervisors and specialty workers earn more.

A spokesman for the union representing the plants workers said he couldnt comment. The president of the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce said he was unaware of the changes. The Iowa Workforce Development agency said it hadnt received notice of any pending layoffs at the plant.

The changes in Council Bluffs come as the company evaluates its plants and supply chain nationwide. A new chief supply chain officer, who joined the company in October, has been evaluating the companys manufacturing and transportation network in a bid to cut costs and increase efficiency, ConAgra has said.

Any changes in manufacturing plants are in addition to major cuts announced in October. ConAgra said then it would cut $300 million in annual spending from the company budget. That included layoffs of 1,500 office-based workers nationwide, including 1,000 in Omaha, and transferring 300 more Omaha jobs to Chicago, where the company is relocating its headquarters from Omaha.
Hyderabad: After the wooing, the time has come now for the hard push. With votes sealed in GHMC polling machines, citizens might have to brace up for a power tariff hike across Telangana.

Distribution companies have been purchasing power from private firms since last year at around `5 per unit incurring expenditures running into several crores of rupees.

To make up for this, a steep hike in tariff is inevitable. Experts say the financial burden is set to go up with discoms getting ready to ensure nine-hour daytime supply to the agriculture sector, a commitment made by Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao.

Last year, discoms had shown a revenue deficit of over `5,100 crore after which the Electricity Regulatory Commission allowed a tariff hike.

This year, they will need to spend another `4,000 crore for the agriculture sector need. Discoms have floated tenders to purchase 2,000 MW power.

"Another `3,000 crore expenditure would come on account of a 10 per cent increase in operation and maintenance costs every year. There also are accumulated losses of nearly `15,000 crore since 2007-08," said an expert from the energy department.

Under the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana, even if the government bears three-fourth of the `15,000 crore accumulated losses, the discoms would still be short of `3,000 crore. "To overcome the revenue deficit, there is no choice but to go for a steep hike in tariff," he said. Sources say the total revenue deficit of the two discoms would be over `10,000 crore.

"Even if the Telangana government pays discoms `6,000 crore as subsidy for the free power supply to the agriculture sector, they would still be left with a `4,000crore deficit.

ERC to vet deal on power

The Telangana state government's long-term agreement with the Chhattisgarh government to purchase 1,000 MW, that has come under sharp criticism.

The agreement will now be vetted by the Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The ERC will conduct a public hearing on the deal on February 11.

TS Transco and Genco Chairman and managing director D. Prabhakar Rao said they were waiting for details from the Centre on the Union Cabinet's green signal for new tariff orders as well as for the other reforms.

What benefits can be passed onto the consumers in Telangana state would be known only after we receive the full details from the Centre, Prabhakar Rao said.

Summer to trigger more demand

With the temperatures soaring - the mercury has already touched 35C - power consumption is also going up in the state. From less than 120 million units a day in the first week of January, the state is consuming 134 MU and the demand is expected to rise to 180 million units in summer.

Officials say this is mainly due to the governments plan to provide nine-hour uninterrupted supply during day time to agriculture sector. Experts say the officials are projecting "too much demand".

The power requirement may not exceed 8,000MW as most places have little ground water, and consumption by the agriculture sector may not be that high.

The total installed capacity in Telangana is less than 6,000 MW, from both thermal and hydel. Most dams are dry and there hardly any hydel generation currently.

Telangana Genco and Transco chairman and managing director D. Prabhakar Rao said in addition to the share from Central generating stations and agreements with private producers, the state will need 2,000 MW more to meet the projected demand.

"We have invited tenders for 2000 MW short-term power purchase agreements. Our tie-ups with companies for 2,000 MW will continue upto May 27, thereafter we need power. That's why we have called for tenders." Concerns are being raised that the power utilities may actually not require 10,000 MW of power.
A short school board meeting held prior to the Iowa caucuses on Monday evening drew no public attendance, let alone testimony, for next years calendar for the Lewis Central Community School District.

Superintendent Mark Schweer described the calendar as fairly similar to this year, with 19 full weeks of instruction along with six full-release days and five early-out days for professional development. Students will attend for 177 days, while staff report for 192.

School will begin on Thursday, Aug. 25, and would wrap up May 31, 2017, provided the district does not have any snow days, which would be added onto the end of the school year. Graduation falls on Sunday, May 28, during Memorial Day weekend.

Schweer told The Daily Nonpareil the calendar was approved, as well as the other items on the school boards agenda. The meeting started at 5:30 p.m. so it could wrap up in time for the officials to participate in the caucuses, which started at 7 p.m. for both parties.

In other business, the school board approved a change in graduation requirements for Lewis Central High School students that offers an option for a college readiness class in lieu of a workplace readiness requirement.

Principal Joel Beyenhof said in board materials that many students at the high school would benefit from the college readiness course earlier than the workforce option, as the majority of students indicate they plan to attend college upon graduation.

Lewis Central students will still be tested in their junior year to make sure they have the necessary skills for success, but a change in board policy approved Monday will no longer specify the Iowa Tests of Educational Developments quantitative thinking and reading subtest and a minimum composite score, according to adopted language.

The change is really to allow more flexibility for students, said Dave Black, the district school improvement specialist.

Additional requirements for graduating from Lewis Central High School still include:

 Eight credits of English (including speech).

 Fix of social studies (to include American and world history plus government).

 Fix of mathematics (to include algebra and geometry).

 Four of physical education.

 One of health.

 Three of life skills (which can include a credit from technology and engineering).

 Two of fine arts (must be split across instrumental music, vocal music, art or drama).

Also on Monday, the school board also approved the purchase of reading materials for Titan Hill Intermediate School. The district will spend $74,607.26 on a set of leveled reading libraries, which adds to a $75,000 investment in genre-specific resources made in 2013, said Kim Jones, the district curriculum and instruction coordinator.

Kreft Primary School has leveled reading libraries, which allow students to select texts at just the specific reading level they have reached based on periodic assessments of their reading level. That allows students to continue to be challenged and not end up with texts that are too hard or too simple.

As the shift toward early literacy has happened in the past couple years, Jones said the district realized that taking a genre approach, with books grouped by theme and not by specific reading level, wasnt what was needed for Titan Hill students.

It is all about getting books in the hands of kids at their level, Jones said.
A 27-year-old woman avoids more jail time, but will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years after pleading guilty to sharing obscene materials and enticing a 15-year-old male.

Jessica Pritchard pleaded guilty on Nov. 3 to an amended charge of enticement of a minor, an aggravated misdemeanor; and one count of dissemination of obscene material to a minor, a serious misdemeanor.

Three counts of third-degree sexual abuse and three counts of decimation of obscene material to a minor were dismissed as part of the plea.

Additionally as part of the plea, Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Dan Salvo-McGinn lowered one third-degree sexual abuse charge, a Class C felony, to the misdemeanor enticement charge.

Pritchard received a deferred judgment on the enticement conviction and the dissemination of obscene material conviction. Pritchard  who has relocated to Sarpy County, Nebraska  will not be sent to prison. She was sentenced to two years of probation in Nebraska.

With the deferred judgments, the charges will be expunged if she follows the terms of her two-year probation sentence.

McGinn said if Pritchard violates her probation by, for instance, contacting the victim, a no-contact order runs for five years, she could still be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

While Pritchard wont be heading to prison, she will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, pay $965 in fines and pay possible restitution to the victim. She will also have to complete a sex offender treatment program.

Before handing out Pritchards sentence Fourth Judicial District Judge Kathleen Kilnoski reminded Pritchard that the age of consent in Iowa is 16.

Hes just a teen boy. Even if in your mind he was consenting, you should not have put in a position where he has to tell you no, Kilnoski said.

Pritchard was arrested on July 23 in Box Butte County, Nebraska, near Alliance. She was booked into Pottawattamie County Jail on July 26 and remained in custody until she pleaded guilty on Nov. 3.
As the precinct chair addressed the crowd in the Lewis and Clark Elementary School gym in Council Bluffs, he told of Iowas unique role in global politics.

Its awesome youre here, he said. This is the process no other country has and is unique to Iowa.

And hes right.

Nowhere else in the nation can those aspiring for the highest office in the land mingle with everyday voters. They take over coffeehouses, schools and bars to get caucus-goers to meet with Iowans  and we, in turn, fill livestock auction houses, ballrooms, banks, schools and living rooms to have the first say in the presidential election.

No matter how you look at it, thats pretty darn special on its own. But, when compared to dictatorships elsewhere in the world, the Iowa Caucuses are even more remarkable for civil discourse  even when both parties caucus in the same facility, as was seen in several Iowa communities.

Given the stories of civil war in countries across the globe with leaders unwilling to give up or share power, the American system of free elections every four years remains remarkable. Americans of voting age flock to the polls to elect congressional representatives every two years and a president every four years.

For as impressive as it remains, it was even more revolutionary at its founding.

King George III of England, the monarch whose armies the American colonies defeated for independence, noted that if George Washington gave up power at the end of his second term, he would be the greatest man alive. Our first president did just that  and the U.S. democracy has been the envy of world ever since.

In a nation with free speech and press, a right far from guaranteed in plenty of nations, we may take the caucuses for granted. But we certainly shouldnt.

Though it may hard to believe, Iowa has only had the first-in-the-nation for 40 years  just 10 caucus cycles. Its not ancient history. The man who won the caucus that propelled Iowas event into the national spotlight, former President Jimmy Carter, is still alive.

Yet, ever since, Iowans have flocked to this spectacle that draws a nations eyes on our state. Already in 2016, officials with the Iowa Republican Party are announcing that theyve broken caucus turnout records. Democratic leaders are likely soon behind.

Though the polarization and rhetoric of American democracy can be frustrating in this era, let us Iowans restore your faith in politics.

A government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this Earth. And Iowans, peacefully and passionately, proved it once again with their turnout for this years Iowa Caucuses.
Chowdhury's counsel had submitted that there was a security threat to the MP as well as his family at the new premises. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow in New Moti Bagh here.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, while upholding the single-judge bench order of February 1, said that as the MP is not entitled for relief, his appeal is dismissed.

"Pending representation before the House committee does not mean you are entitled for relief. The single judge has rightly dismissed your petition. This petition is also dismissed," the bench said.

Chowdhury, a Lok Sabha member, had moved the court against the February 1 order dismissing his plea against the eviction, following which the authorities concerned had disconnected water and power supply to his ministerial bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh, even as they started eviction proceedings against him.

Yesterday, the division bench, which did not interfere with disconnection of utilities, had directed maintenance of status quo with regard to the eviction till Wednesday morning.

According to the Directorate of Estates, the MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and given sufficient time to vacate the ministerial bungalow which, it said, he was not entitled to. But Chowdhury did not vacate despite several reminders in the past, it said.

Chowdhury had yesterday said that it was nothing but "political vendetta against opposition by the government."

During the arguments yesterday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, who appeared on behalf of the Directorate of Estates, had told the court that the government was trying to accommodate the MP but he was not satisfied with the housing options being given to him.

Chowdhury's counsel had submitted that there was a security threat to the MP as well as his family at the new premises.

Defending the eviction move, the Urban Development Ministry had said that Chowdhury was offered three Type VI bungalows after cancellation of Type VIII bungalow at 14, New Moti Bagh but he refused.

The allotment of the bungalow was cancelled in 2014 by the ministry since he ceased to be a minister at the Centre after the 2014 general elections.

As a member of Lok Sabha, he is entitled for a Type-6 accommodation. He was allotted an alternative accommodation at C-1/99, Moti Bagh by the House Committee of Lok Sabha in January, 2015 which was not accepted by him.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, let me declare that we, as a community, might be staring down the barrel of the greatest community marketing ploy this city has ever seen. The question is, do we have the wherewithal to make it happen.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, let me declare that we, as a community, might be staring down the barrel of the greatest community marketing ploy this city has ever seen. The question is, do we have the wherewithal to make it happen.In yearly health data reports, Greater Sudburians are told were sicker and fatter than the average Ontario resident . We have more cancer and we have more heart disease. Were told our children are sicker than the average, too.To be honest, its troubling to have to report on the state of our health here in Ontarios Northland every year, because the picture is always so dire. It always makes us sound, well, bad.Our winters are longer and colder so we spend more time not moving than most residents of this province. We know what its like to hunker down for warmth.Our industries are mostly resource-based, which come with long, physical working hours, more possibility for on-the-job injuries and death (than, say, working in an office on Bay Street), more noxious fumes and dust  you get the picture.So, our health suffers. But were northernerns, right? Were not southern softies who dont know a core sample from an apple core. Do we let our generally poorer health get us down? Hell, no.In fact, it's quite the opposite. Remember that survey that came out last spring? It found Sudburians are generally extremely happy.We dont let that dire health data depress us. We just smile and carry on. Of course, we smoke more cigarettes, use more drugs and drink more booze than southerners, which could account for our happier dispositions, I suppose.But it could also be just a quality of our character: When its time to work, we work. But when its to play, we play  hard. We dive right in. Northerners know how to have a good time. We certainly dont need alcohol or drugs to do it, but we dont mind a little recreational lubrication either.Speaking of lubrication, we learned this week that adult toy supplier PinkCherry.ca has released its ranking of the Canadian communities where it shipped the most of its wares last year. And what do you know? Sudbury ranked third in the whole country Im not sure if that distinction is dubious or not (but Im leaning on the not side). From the comments on our website, NorthernLife.ca, it seemed most people who responded took our penchant for sex toys as a point of pride.So, not only do we work hard and play hard, when it comes time to get intimate, we know how to let the good times roll (or vibrate or warm up or what have you).We shouldnt be embarrassed or ashamed. We should be using the health data to our benefit. Sure, Sudburians are chubbier and more intoxicated, but were also more sexually adventurous and generally happier. To me, that says we know how to relax and we dont take ourselves too seriously. To me, that says we should acknowledge these facts and turn them to our advantage.Sudbury: The Resourceful City is an OK slogan, if a little boring. Sure, we have a resource-based economy, but wheres the fun in that?How about Sudbury: We dont judge or Sudbury: Come as you are or Sudbury: Just relax  Im telling you, we have a winner on our hands.If we take these attributes and combine them into one unique marketing plan, well have more tourists and new residents than the Kingsway has potholes. Weve got the best urban amenities coupled with all the natural beauty right outside our door, combined with our predisposition to relax and enjoy life  what more could people want?Sudbury: Anything goes  Im telling you itd be huge.Now, somebody pass me the chips and crack me a beer. Ive got the munchies and Im all out of batteries. (And again, just to be clear, tongue firmly planted in cheek.)Mark Gentili is the managing editor of Northern Life and NorthernLife.ca.
Roundtable: Too many hoops in hydro savings programs

When 10 per cent of your capital expenditure goes towards keeping the lights on, and you consume one per cent of the province's hydro alone, high electricity prices are more than just an inconvenient monthly bill.

Sudbury Chamber of Commerce president Karen Hourtovenko and executive director Debbi Nicholson. Photo by Ella Myers

When 10 per cent of your capital expenditure goes towards keeping the lights on, and you consume one per cent of the province's hydro alone, high electricity prices are more than just an inconvenient monthly bill.



This is the case for Vale's Ontario operations, and the high cost of hydro is increasingly vexing. But they are taking advantage of energy savings programs, and hope to see other businesses do the same.



When we do our budget planning, the price of energy is the second highest operating cost, said Jody Kuzenko, Vale's director of refining in Sudbury. You can see that energy pricing is a key variable that matters to us.



Vale joined other Sudbury businesses, the Greater Sudbury and Ontario Chambers of Commerce, and the Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) at a roundtable Jan. 29 to discuss high hydro prices, cost-savings programs and provincial policies.



Programs run through the IESO can help cushion high costs. The range of programs includes retrofitting, audit funding, and support for new construction that incorporates energy efficient elements. But most of the programs are based on companies fulfilling conditions prior to qualification. Those who pay those hydro bills though would like to see more programs where businesses are rewarded for meeting specific targets.



Its not news to major power users that Ontario's prices are higher than those in bordering provinces. Vale has operations in Manitoba that are significantly less burdened by the cost of hydro.



The Sudbury Chamber's board chair, Karen Hourtovenko, thinks Northern Ontario companies are even further impacted.



It's not just a Sudbury issue, it's an Ontario issue, said Hourtovenko. We do have differences though, because of the industry that primarily drives Northern Ontario. Although it is a burden absolutely for smaller businesses, at an energy driven company (like Vale) you can't just turn the lights down and work with candles.
Four new board members at Laurentian

Laurentian University has announced that four new members have been appointed to the Board of Governors. Stuart Harshaw, Brian Lyle Montgomery, Yves Pelletier and Tina Sartoretto have each been appointed to a three-year term.

Laurentian University has announced that four new members have been appointed to the Board of Governors. File photo.

Laurentian University has announced that four new members have been appointed to the Board of Governors.



Stuart Harshaw, Brian Lyle Montgomery, Yves Pelletier and Tina Sartoretto have each been appointed to a three-year term.



Stuart Harshaw is the new vice-president of Vale's Ontario operations at Vale Canada Limited. He was previously vice-president of marketing and sales for Asia Pacific of Vale Base Metal. Harshaw obtained his MBA from Laurentian University and a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Queens University.



Brian Lyle Montgomery was born and raised in the Sudbury region. He is a lawyer and retired partner at Weaver Simmons LLP and recognized for his expertise in all aspects of mining, corporate, real estate and business law.



Yves Pelletier is a consultant in higher education. Born and raised in Sudbury, he was previously the assistant deputy minister for post-secondary education in New Brunswick. He holds undergraduate degrees from Laurentian and the University of Ottawa.



Pelletier currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Laurentian University Alumni Association.



Tina Sartoretto is the mayor of Cobalt. She is the former vice-president of academic and student services with College Boreal. Previously, she served as registrar at Cambrian College.



"We appreciate the tremendous experience and enthusiasm our newest members bring to the board, said Michael Atkins, chair of the board of governors in a news release.



The four new Governors replace Andrew Battistoni, Dr. Julie Bowen, John Pollesel and Kelly Strong who served with distinction for many years on the Board of Governors.
There are two cancelled departures and one cancelled arrival at the Sudbury Airport due to weather conditions, according to the airport's website . Bearskin Flight 376, from Thunder Bay, was scheduled to arrive in Sudbury at 12:10 p.m.

There are two cancelled departures and one cancelled arrival at the Sudbury Airport due to weather conditions, according to the airport's website.



Bearskin Flight 376, from Thunder Bay, was scheduled to arrive in Sudbury at 12:10 p.m., but has been cancelled.



Bearskin Flight 371, from Kapuskasing and Timmins, has been delayed, and is scheduled to land in Sudbury at 11 a.m.



All other arrivals appear to be on time.



For departures, Porter Flight 534, which was due to take off for the Toronto City Airport at 10 a.m., has been cancelled.



Bearskin Flight 379, which was due to depart for Thunder Bay at 2:25 p.m., has also been cancelled.



Bearskin Flight 371, due to depart for Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay at 8:50 a.m., has been delayed until 11:15 a.m.
Chennai: A student of SVS Medical College of Yoga and Naturopathy and Research Institute at Kallakurichi in Villupuram district, which was sealed recently pursuant to the death of three girl students whose bodies were found in a well, has approached the Madras high court to direct the state government either to take over the college or transfer the students to Government College of Naturopathy and Yoga Science in Chennai to enable them to continue their studies.

When the petition filed by S. Ravikumar came up for hearing before Justice R. Subbiah, special government pleader V. Jayaprakashnarayanan submitted that the state government was taking a sympathetic view of the condition of the students and was initiating steps to safeguard their interest.

This has been widely published in the media. Hence, he sought time to get instructions. Following this, the judge posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

The petitioner said he was pursuing second year B.N.Y.S course in the college. Due to lack of facilities and sufferings faced by students, some of them made representation to the authorities to take action. But, there was no response.

Despite lack of facilities, the students continued their studies. While so, due to the increasing difficulties and the arrogance of the college administration by deputing outside elements, three students died on January 24. After the outburst of students and local public, the district administration sealed the college.

As of now, the students could not attend classes. They lost the opportunity of attending internal and practical examinations. In the meantime, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University was making all arrangements to finalise the examination schedule.

The students were anxiously waiting for re-opening of the college, which was not possible in the near future. Unless, a proper scheme for conducting internal and practical examination was formulated and arrangement for further continuation of studies was made, the future of the students will be at peril, he added.
Cambrian seeking provincial grant for research projects

Cambrian College is among 24 community colleges calling for a $30-million investment from the province.

Cambrian College is among the 24 community colleges calling for a $30-million investment from the province. Supplied photo.

Cambrian College is among 24 community colleges calling for a $30-million investment from the province.



In a news release, Cambrian said the investment would represent a competitive multi-year fund for colleges to lead applied research projects that produce innovative, market-driven solutions to industrial and business challenges.



Investment in applied research partnerships that pair Ontarios colleges with businesses and organizations enhance innovation and create the jobs of the future, said Cambrian College President Bill Best in the news release.



Colleges have the physical and human resources needed to help Ontario businesses innovate. Right now, only three per cent of Ontario businesses perform any research, mainly because of time and cost constraints.



Best went on to explain that with competitive access to new provincial funds, colleges and industry partners can combine more resources to boost innovation and economic growth in Ontario.



Applied research projects help businesses become more competitive in global markets, Best said.



Cambrian Colleges applied research division, Cambrian Innovates, has leveraged grants from federal and provincial funding partners to conduct applied research projects with businesses across a range of sectors, including: mining, information technology, health and environmental services.



Projects rely on students and faculty experts, who work with business clients to design, test and refine new products, technologies and processes.



Other projects involve enhancing e-business marketing, branding, and online sales for small- to medium-sized enterprises.



Cambrian College is ranked 34th among Canadas top research colleges by Research Infosource.



The college earned $1.56 million in research income last year. Cambrian Innovates has 57 industry partners and has completed 61 projects since 2009, engaging 150 students and 33 faculty members in research and innovation efforts.
Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for Greater Sudbury and vicinity. Freezing rain may be mixed with ice pellets or snow early this morning, a statement issued by Environment Canada early Wednesday morning reads.

Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for Greater Sudbury and vicinity.Freezing rain may be mixed with ice pellets or snow early this morning, a statement issued by Environment Canada early Wednesday morning reads.Freezing rain will change to rain by noon. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas.Poor weather conditions may contribute to transportation delays.With the weather conditions, the Sudbury Student Services Consortium has cancelled school buses in the area for all four local school boards.Be careful out there!
Coimbatore: Kickstarting the BJPs campaign for the crucial Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress for its loud campaign of lies and stalling pro- poor laws and schemes in the country.

Addressing a massive rally at the Codissia grounds in Coimbatore, a potential citadel of the saffron party, the Prime Minister critised the principal opposition, Congress and spared regional parties.

In the last 18 months of the BJP government, there has not been a single case of corruption or multi-crore scandal.

So, the Opposition is worried. So, they are spreading lies loud and continuous against the government.

Amid Opposition, the BJP government is striving to bring pro poor laws and welfare schemes.

But they get stalled in Rajya Sabha. There are 1,800 laws that are against the interests of common public. Despite opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP has managed to eliminate 700 laws, Modi said, in his first political rally in Tamil Nadu after taking over as Prime Minister.

Perhaps in a veiled reference to the stir over the suicide of a Dalit student in Hyderabad University, the Prime Minister said that the Opposition parties are worried that Dalits may go behind the BJP due to its pro Dalit schemes.

So, the Opposition is spreading rumours to instigate the Dalits against the government.

The Congress which claims to be pro-poor and pro-backward classes is yet to accept a son of a poor mother becoming the Prime Minister, he said.

During the Congress rule, the country was ridden with corruption and multi-crore scams. People had lost hope and were in throes of despair over the string of scams.

It was only after BJP took over did people gain their lost confidence and hope.

Yet, some parties are upset as to how a poor mothers son, a chaiwala could become the Prime Minister. They are unable to digest my growth and their defeat and unable to accept the achievements of the government, he said to a rousing applause from the crowd comprising a large number of youth.
Jaipur: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asserted that the nation would stand by Pakistan if the latter is committed to take action against terrorists.

"Our government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations. For India, Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks have signified a tectonic shift," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said while addressing the valedictory session of Counter Terrorism Conference 2016 here.

Read: Let us name and shame countries that support terrorism: India

"Most of the terror attacks emanate from Pakistan. Pakistan has to show some sincerity and take action against terrorists operating from its soil," he added.

The Home Minister also asserted that the advance intelligence input on Pathankot helped the security agencies in neutralising the possible impact of the terror attack.

Read: India needs to be mindful of 'Do it Yourself' terrorists: Rajanth Singh

"We are working on a National Security Strategy aiming to achieve seamless coordination between all the agencies," he added.

Home Minister Singh also pointed out that after the Pathankot terror attack the government is reviewing its Counter Terror strategy, adding that the government is fully equipped and prepared to deal with Cross border terrorism.

"We are now formulating an effective strategy which would help in preventing our country from such terror attacks in future. We are fully equipped and prepared to deal with Cross border terrorism or any kind of terrorism," he added.

Asserting that the terrorism is a 'byproduct of a perverse mind', Home Minister Singh, said: "Today much of the world is grappling with the scourge of terrorism and its dangerous consequences."

"The challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy. Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster fed by massive supply of funds through different routes. It is a big challenge to cut these supply lines," he added.

The Home Minister further said that the world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no 'good' terrorist.

"From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco - terrorism and bio terrorism," he added.

Home Minister Singh also pointed out that India is full of diversity with multi lingual, multi religious and multi ethnic society.

"These conditions are actively utilised by anti-national elements and other enemies to foment trouble in our country," he said.

"To counter such threats we need to undertake sound preventive and responsive security measures," he added.
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Nebraska has a rich and powerful history of answering the call to serve. For nearly 150 years, our state has witnessed this bravery in each of Americas wars. The past decade is no different. Time and again, the men and women of Nebraska have risen to defend our precious freedom in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the globe.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on American soil. These events changed our lives forever. Nebraskans stepped up, ready to fight. Those serving in uniform, be it active duty, the National Guard, or reserves, knew they would likely wind up on the battlefield at some point in the future.

Many young Nebraskans enlisted after high school. Reserve Officers Training Corps units in Nebraska had no problem filling their ranks, and applications for military academy nominations poured in at record numbers. We should all be thankful to these Nebraskans for answering the call and standing up to defend freedom around the world.

To honor this generation of Nebraskas heroes, I recently began a new initiative on the floor of the U.S. Senate. My focus will be on those who lost their lives in combat.

Each of our fallen Nebraskans has a special story. According to the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 77 Nebraskans who lost their lives to combat-related incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Telling their stories keeps their service and sacrifice alive in our hearts. These tales also remind us of the principles so many Americans fought and died for.

I began this new initiative by honoring Sergeant Josh Ford of Pender.

Joshua A. Ford was killed in Iraq on July 31, 2006. His parents, relatives and high school classmates look back lovingly on the boy who quickly grew to be a courageous soldier. As a young teenager, Josh was described as a couch potato who liked video games, painting and watching horror movies. But deep inside, there grew a strong desire to serve his country in military uniform.

He joined the Nebraska Army National Guard between his junior and senior year at Pender High School in 2003. That same year, he began basic training at Fort Jackson. He was just 17 years old, and it was a tough transition. Joshs parents, along with his classmates and friends, noticed how dramatically Josh had changed when he returned from basic training.

A year later, after graduating from Pender High School, Josh attended the Armys heavy-vehicle driver school at Fort Leonard Wood. He was assigned to the 189th Transportation Company, Detachment No. 1, in Wayne. A senior sergeant remembers that Josh grew up from a kid to [a] soldier, almost overnight.

In the early evening of July 31, 2006, near An Numaniyah, Iraq, the heat was unbearable, but it was typical for summer in Iraq. Specialist Ford and his battle buddy, Specialist Ben Marksmeier, were part of a 189th convoy that was driving through an area they had patrolled many times. Out of nowhere, a blast from an improvised explosive device obliterated their vehicle. Specialist Marksmeier was seriously injured, but Specialist Ford died at the scene.

For his service to his country, Specialist Ford earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. He was also promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant.

Our nation and all Nebraskans are forever indebted to his service and sacrifice. Sergeant Ford is a hero, and I was truly honored to tell his story, lest we forget his life and the freedom he fought to defend.

Throughout this year and beyond, I plan to pay tribute to more of these brave Nebraska heroes. Our nation must know of their sacrifice and the honor they brought to our state.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process.
Rand Paul and Rick Santorum, reportedly, are the latest candidates to drop out of the presidential race as the biggest GOP herd in a century thins itself.

Martin O'Malley dropped out of the Democratic race Tuesday. Too many people didn't even know he was running.

Mike Huckabee, a more familiar name, dropped out of the Republican race Tuesday, after failing to get traction in Iowa, even before the blizzard struck.

It's on to New Hampshire, for Tuesday's primary, and then the pace picks up.

Ballotpedia has a good list of who's in, who's out and who might, this late in the process, jump in. Yes, we're talking about you, Michael Bloomberg.

Look for a few more Republican candidates to drop out in the next couple of weeks. Sooner of later, lack of support in the polls will translate to lack of financial support for their campaigns. And then we'll see the power base for each candidate begin to shift.

Evangelical voters will sort out which Republican candidate will carry their banner for the rest of the primaries, and so will the strict fiscal conservatives.

And sooner or later, the shift will switch from who can defeat their fellow Republicans to who will be able to win in November.

Indiana is fairly late in the process, but the Democratic battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton might still be undecided. And the GOP ticket will almost certainly be up for grabs.

Filing ends at noon Indianapolis time  that's 11 a.m. Region time  for candidates to appear on the ballot for the May 3 primary election.

As of Feb. 1, Sanders had yet to file his petition, and the only Republicans so far were Jeb Bush and John Kasich. That's changing.

Marco Rubio turned in his petition with 8,000 signatures today. Republicans Chris Christie and Ben Carson have also filed, along with Democrat Sanders, political analyst Brian Howey, of Howey Politics Indiana, tweeted just before noon.

Expect a flurry of filing before the deadline. The secretary of state's office will be busy.

And expect some of the Republicans who filed to have dropped out of the race by the time the primary finally rolls around.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," the Declaration of Independence says. Sounds simple, but it isn't.

Certainly not in Indiana, where the Indiana Senate today failed to advance Senate Bill 344, legislation that would have applied that premise to LGBT Hoosiers.

For many, the "T" is the sticking point. They'll agree to rights for lesbians and gays, and even bisexuals, but transgender Hoosiers don't fit into their black-and-white moral framework.

For others, the oversight could be addressed by "four words and a comma"  a series of commas, but who's counting?  that would have added protection for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers to the existing civil rights law. With that protection, theyd be treated no different from other Hoosiers.

Reactions to the Senate action Tuesday came fast and, in some cases, furious.

Never has the intolerance of so few, hurt the reputation of so many," Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg said. "The failure of Gov. (Mike) Pence to provide any leadership to address the crisis he created is inexcusable. Until we update Indianas civil rights statute, our economy and reputation will continue to suffer. I remain committed to adding four words and a comma to our civil rights code so, together, all Hoosiers can move forward.

It is disappointing that the Indiana Legislature has failed to act to protect LGBT Hoosiers from discrimination," U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., said in a statement. "Surely we can agree that it is important for all Hoosiers to feel welcome in our state and for Indiana to be an attractive home to the businesses that create jobs and opportunities for our families. I remain hopeful that ultimately we will unite around civil rights protections for all Hoosiers.

Expanding civil rights legislation to include LGBT Hoosiers is a priority of the business sector. Often, the Republican Party is seen as pro-business in contrast to Bernie Sanders-style Democrats  but on this issue the Republican legislators aren't pro-business, at least as voiced by pro-business groups like the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Not everyone took the line that expanding civil rights is the direction Indiana should head. The social conservatives held sway. It was just last year, remember, that the U.S. Supreme Court granted gays and lesbians the right to marry in every state. Before that, the Indiana General Assembly had been considering a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, gave a lengthy speech on the Senate floor regarding SB 344.

"This effort was unfortunately hampered by well-organized extreme messaging from groups representing both sides of this discussion, many of them from out of state. Neither of those sides were truly seeking a solution, and you can read some of the comments now, since word has gotten out early that this was likely to happen.

'My way or the highway doesnt work in the legislative process. One way or no way means nothing happens. And as a result, nothing is happening today," Long said.

The failure of the Legislature to act means, as I have predicted before, that the courts will ultimately determine this issue.

The cold reality is, as Sen. (Travis) Holdman just mentioned, that if we in the Legislature dont forge a solution on this issue, the courts will, and that evidence is out there. Theres a roadmap showing what the courts are doing in this country today, and they are aggressively stepping in where the Legislature fails to tread. And where we as a legislative body and a group can strike a balance with these two issues  protecting religious freedom while also thoughtfully extending civil rights  the courts wont worry about that. And I fear and expect that religious freedom and liberty will be the loser if the courts are the ones to decide this issue," Long said.

Long noted, as others have before, that some units of local government has addressed what stymied the General Assembly.

At least 40 percent of Hoosiers today live under a human-rights ordinance drafted and passed by either their city or county councils. And those have been in place in many places for many, many years. Most without any incident whatsoever. No problems. And that number is likely to grow in the future. Kokomo is already considering just such a piece of legislation. And we could well be over 50 percent of the entire state under an HRO before we get back here next year," Long said.

That says a lot about the inability of the General Assembly to address this issue.

As for Gov. Mike Pence, his is the missing voice. He had the opportunity to show leadership on this issue, but he was conflicted. That much shows from his State of the State address, which devoted a full page to the issue without giving his firm opinion on pending legislation. It also shows from his failure to issue a prompt response to this development Tuesday.

So this issue was kicked down the road again and will linger throughout the gubernatorial campaign.
The Joint Venture exercise would ensure greater participation of state governments in implementation of Railway projects, both in terms of financial participation as well as decision making process. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: With a view to ensuring greater participation of states, Union Cabinet Wednesday allowed Railways to form Joint Venture companies with state governments to mobilize resources for speedy implementation of rail projects.

Keeping in mind the growing demands for railway lines in various states and huge requirement of funds to execute them, JV companies will be now responsible for identifying projects, land acquisition and possible financing in addition to government funding and also monitoring.

The Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that the Joint Venture companies would be formed with equity participation of Ministry of Railways and concerned state governments. Each Joint Venture (JV) would have an initial paid-up capital of Rs 100 crores based on the quantum of projects to be undertaken, a statement said. Railways' initial paid-up capital will be limited to Rs 50 crore for each state.

Further infusion of fund/equity for the purpose of the projects shall be done after approval of the project and its funding at the level of appropriate competent authority, the statement added. The JV can also form project-specific SPVs with equity holding by other shareholders like banks, ports, public sector undertakings, mining companies.

The Joint Venture exercise would ensure greater participation of state governments in implementation of Railway projects, both in terms of financial participation as well as decision making process. This will also facilitate faster statutory approvals and land acquisition.

Besides transporting people, various cement, steel, power plants would get the necessary rail link for transportation of their raw material and finished products. Railways has recently signed MoU with Kerala and Andhra governments for formation of JV companies to ensure faster implementation of rail projects in the respective states.
CROWN POINT  Burrell Imaging, once a significant player nationwide in photo processing services for professionals, will close at the end of this month, owner Don Burrell has announced.

At one time the company Burrell founded in his basement in Gary operated nine photo labs in the Midwest and other states. Today, its sole processing facility is in Crown Point, where about 40 people work.

Its my 57th year in business, so its a very difficult decision to make, but there comes a time you have to make a decision, Burrell said when contacted Wednesday.

In a letter to customers, Burrell said he is trying to ensure that all customers have the opportunity to get their work submitted and completed before the company closes. He has already arranged to have Full Color Inc., of Dallas, Texas, undertake future photo finishing tasks for Burrell Imaging customers.

That company can be reached by telephone at (800) 382-2101 and maintains a website at www.fullcolor.com/burrell.

Burrells philanthropic endeavors include contributions that underwrote the founding of the St. Jude House womens and childrens shelter and the Burrell Cancer Institute at Franciscan St. Anthony Health hospital in Crown Point.

Burrell, who is 79, said he is retiring from the photo business but not his philanthropic endeavors. In recognition of his business accomplishments and charitable work, Burrell was inducted into The Times Business & Industry Hall of Fame in 2009.

In his letter to customers this week, Burrell wrote he came to his decision to retire after many long and hard discussions with family and doctors. He said the demands of running the business had impacted his health, particularly in the past year.

In its heyday, Burrell Imaging served wedding and portrait photographers nationwide, employing more than 1,000 people at its photo labs.

In 2003, Eastman Kodak Co. bought Burrell Imaging, then known as Burrell Professional Labs, for $62 million. That sale came about under an agreement Burrell had previously negotiated with Kodak, a company he had long partnered with.

Kodak sold the company nine months later to privately held Jasco, also a Rochester-based company. In 2007, Burrell bought the company back from Jasco, which had sold off many of its photo labs in other cities.
HAMMOND  Robot and automated systems manufacturer Tri-State Automation announced Tuesday it is investing $2.5 million in an expansion and plans to hire 30 to 50 more workers.

Tri-State Automation is expanding to meet increased customer demand, as metal fabricators and other manufacturers throughout Chicagoland install more robots to better compete globally, according to owner Don Keller. Tri-State Industries, its 35-year-old parent company, is moving into a second, refurbished building and looking to build a third.

Keller got into the automation and robot business a few years ago after installing it at Tri-State Industries. The company makes metal-fabricated products and assembles mechanical systems in a 70,000-square-foot building on Columbia Avenue.

The division that makes customized robots for factories occupied a small space in that facility, but has outgrown it as more manufacturers in the area turn to increased automation to remain competitive with China and other countries.

Tri-State bought and renovated a 13,000-square-foot building at 710 Michigan Street in Hammond for the customized robot shop. And it plans to start construction this spring on a new 60,000-square-foot building next door. The company is investing $2.5 million in the first phase of the project.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Tri-State Automation to capitalize on Midwest market presence and partnership with the city of Hammond and the IEDC to bring more advanced manufacturing jobs to Lake County, Keller said.

The new jobs created will pay an average wage of $55,000 a year, before including the additional value of benefits.

The company also refurbishes and re-purposes used robots, which are more affordable for smaller companies. Its target market is anywhere within a two-hour drive, so it can provide quickly provide service or parts.

Keller said he hopes the company will stay in Hammond for at least another 35 years. Tri-State Industries current plant at 4925 Columbia Avenue will remain open, retain its 65 employees, and continue to make products like pipe guides and and pre-insulated slide guides.

Dons the type of person who believes in what he says, he invests in his city, and he believes in his city, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said at the announcement on Tuesday. He makes things happen.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Tri-State up to $185,000 in tax breaks as a reward for hiring, and Hammond additionally gave the company a $20,000 facade grant as credit toward its $2.5 million investment.

Lake County Economic Alliance CEO Karen Lauerman said Hammond stands out for investment and opportunity, and more big economic development announcements likely would be coming up.
MERRILLVILLE  A Gary man already facing criminal charges in an attempted robbery where a security guard was shot was additionally charged Wednesday in two separate robberies.

In one case, Stephen T. Spivey, 21, is accused of on Dec. 30, 2015, pointing a gun and yelling at a One Stop Mart worker, police said. Spivey is accused of firing at the worker as he tried to run. The worker was not injured because the store, which is in the 700 block of West 45th Avenue in Gary, had bullet-proof glass.

About 15 minutes later, Spivey pointed a silver gun at the forehead of a worker at King Gyro in the 5500 block of Broadway in Merrillville, according to court records.

Spivey is accused of demanding the worker open the cash register and threatening to kill the worker, according to court records. The worker and Spivey were initially unable to open the cash register, but he grabbed money from it after it was eventually opened.

Spivey left a trail of money as he ran out of King Gyro. A resident told police he saw a man running to a gold- or champagne-colored Pontiac Bonneville after the robbery.

He was identified as the suspect in the robberies after Merrillville officers distributed surveillance video still shots to the Indiana Department of Correction parole district. Workers from King Gyro and One Stop Mart also identified Spivey after viewing a photo array prepared by officers.

In the Merrillville robbery, Spivey faces a charge of armed robbery. He faces charges of attempted robbery and criminal recklessness in the Gary attempted robbery.

Spivey, of Gary, was arrested Monday on charges stemming from a Jan. 26 attempted robbery of ABC Cellular phone store in Gary. A security guard was shot in his back during the incident. Spivey had his initial hearing Tuesday in the Lake County Jail and requested a public defender.

Anyone with information about any of the robberies is asked to contact Gary Police Department Detective Sgt. Gregory Wolf at (219) 881-1210. Residents can also call the department's tip line at (866) CRIME-GP.
GARY  A 21-year-old man is accused of being one of four people who robbed at gunpoint the Advance Auto Parts store late last year in the 2200 block of Grant Street.

Richard D. Smith, of Hammond and Chicago, was charged Wednesday with armed robbery and criminal confinement. Smith remained this week in Lake County Jail without bail.

One of the four men who entered the store about 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 22 pointed a gun at a worker's head and demanded she show them the safe, according to the affidavit. As she was showing them the safe, another worker got out of the bathroom and ran out.

One worker told police she then heard a gunshot. The worker covered her ears and began praying.

The suspects left with two cash register drawers, though one was empty.

Smith was identified as one of the suspects who was armed and was not wearing a mask, according to the affidavit. The other three suspects were wearing masks and have not yet been identified.

The charges come weeks after Smith and Gregory Welch were charged with armed robbery, a Level 3 felony, in the Jan. 11 armed robbery of Premier Liquors located in the 3800 block of Ridge Road in Highland.

During that robbery, Smith is accused of pointing a gun at a worker while demanding money from the store's cash register, according to the affidavit. He also took the worker's cellphone.

While working with Chicago and Gary detectives, the getaway car Smith is believed to have traveled in during the Highland robbery was traced back to Welch's girlfriend, according to court records.

When the detectives went to the woman's home on Jan. 13 in Gary, a Chicago detective received a call that Smith had just been suspected of robbing another business there.

Smith and Welch eventually arrived to the Gary home and were arrested. Police found $1,048 in cash and a rusty .22-caliber revolver in the vehicle they were traveling in, according to the affidavit.

Information was not immediately available if the men were facing criminal charges in Chicago.

Anyone with information about the Gary robbery is asked to call Gary Police Department Detective Sgt. Daniel Callahan (219) 881-1210 or (866) CRIME-GP.
INDIANAPOLIS  The Republican-controlled House voted 58-38 Tuesday to override local opposition and establish a process to allow alcohol sales at the Indiana Dunes State Park pavilion.

House Bill 1247, which goes to the Senate, enables the Department of Natural Resources to obtain a new "state park" alcohol permit, for any or all of its parks, without having to follow most of the procedures typically required to get state permission to sell beer, wine or liquor  including local review.

The sponsor of the measure, state Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, emphasized it's not about the Dunes specifically, but rather part of a statewide effort to "leverage our state parks and provide services and amenities that otherwise may not happen."

State Reps. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, and Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, told the House no issue has generated as much reaction from their constituents as the Dunes pavilion.

The lawmakers said Region residents believe their emphatic opposition to the project, which twice prompted the Porter County Alcoholic Beverage Commission to deny an alcohol sales license to the Pavilion Partners redevelopment company, is being ignored.

"It's really tapped a nerve locally about how people feel about privatization and how they feel about assets being used for somebody to make money," Pelath said.

In response, state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, a co-sponsor of the plan along with state Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, said the pavilion project will produce more money for the state and revitalize a deteriorating structure.

"I think it's good policy for the state of Indiana to allow these licenses," Brown said.
INDIANAPOLIS  Indiana this year will not enact legislation specifically protecting the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers.

Senate Bill 344 failed to advance Tuesday for a final vote by the Republican-controlled Senate after its sponsor, state Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, declined to allow senators to consider changes to the measure.

His decision ends some 10 months of debate over whether Indiana would adopt an LGBT anti-discrimination law to wipe away lingering controversy tied to approval for the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was widely seen as licensing discrimination against gays and prompted nationwide boycotts of Indiana businesses.

As a result, RFRA remains law in Indiana with the caveat that Hoosiers cannot use "religious freedom" to discriminate against LGBT individuals.

LGBT Hoosiers still can be denied employment, housing and access to public accommodations for any other reason, except in communities with local ordinances prohibiting such discrimination.

Holdman said, despite his best efforts to craft legislation balancing civil liberties with strong protections for religious freedom, he simply could not find enough Senate support for the plan that was approved 7-5 last week by the Rules Committee.

It would have added sexual orientation, but not gender identity, to the seven classes already protected under the state's civil rights statutes, with exceptions for nearly any entity with a connection to religion and most wedding service providers.

"I believe the balanced approach that was outlined in the bill would be a step forward for our state," Holdman said. "I am greatly, greatly disappointed. I believe we have let down a number of friends, both our LGBT friends and our friends in the faith community."

Senators clearly disagreed, filing 27 proposed changes to the measure.

After an extended private discussion Tuesday among Senate Republicans about the amendments, Holdman decided to kill his proposal rather than watch it become unrecognizable.

Senate President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said it wasn't clear the legislation would pass the Senate, even if any or all of the suggested changes were adopted.

"They didn't want to go through the pain of having all this discussion if, in fact, in the end the bill was not going to move," Long said.

"We also got messages from the House that they weren't really probably going to seriously consider it. I don't know what the message was from down on the second floor; we still aren't sure what the governor would or wouldn't have done."

"All of that weighed into a difficult environment for us," Long said.

Supporters of an LGBT anti-discrimination law, including Freedom Indiana, Indiana Competes, Tech for Equality, Indiana Chamber of Commerce and ACLU of Indiana, all said the Senate should have at least voted on the proposal.

"The issue of legal discrimination against hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers will not go away, and we will continue to fight this session to update our civil rights law and undo the damage done to our state last year," said Chris Paulsen, Freedom Indiana campaign manager.

Long indicated he will not allow the Senate to consider any other civil rights measures in the five weeks remaining in the legislative session, but he's confident the issue will be before lawmakers again next year.
OAK LAWN, Ill.  Last summer, Vicki Olds watched and listened to her daughter's heart beat for 45 minutes. She couldn't help but get emotional, given that her daughter, Nikki Smith, had died weeks earlier.

Smith's organ was giving life to family friend Tanisha Basham, who had nearly died from congestive heart failure.

"I couldn't stop crying, to know that this is my baby, living inside Tanisha," said Olds, of Crown Point.

She spoke at the facility where the transplant took place, Advocate Heart Institute at Christ Medical Center.

"It was the most overwhelming thing a parent could ever experience," she said.

Last May, Smith, 18, was found floating facedown in the pool of a Schererville home where she'd been babysitting, dying three days later, in an incident police ruled an accident.

After death, she was able to provide life to a woman who watched her grow up, who was like an aunt of sorts, the younger sister of her mother's best friend.

Basham, a grocery store supervisor from University Park, Ill., previously had to be hospitalized multiple times for complications from congestive heart failure. In late 2013, doctors implanted a heart pump, hoping to keep the organ working until a donor could be found.

She never imagined it would be Smith, a theater actress and dancer who was studying at Valparaiso University. Basham turned down Olds' offer at first, the thought of it just too tough to digest. But Olds convinced her it's what her daughter would have wanted.

"Now we're connected by blood forever," Basham said.

Cardiologist William Cotts noted the transplant recipient had been, for all intents and purposes, a "terminally ill patient."

"Without surgery, it's unlikely we would be sitting here today," transplant surgeon Antone Tatooles said.

Now, Basham, 41, says she's feeling "wonderful," back to doing activities with her three children.

In death, Smith also donated her lungs, liver and kidneys, one of which went to a friend of her mother's fiance.

Olds hopes her story clears up misconceptions, largely existing in the African-American community, that organs only go to the rich and famous, that if you're a donor, doctors will let you die to harvest your organs.

She has also set up a foundation, Smile for Nikki, to provide performing arts education in Northwest Indiana and south suburban communities where they're not readily available. Smith, a 2014 graduate of Merrillville High School, was interested in the arts from an early age; she did ballet at 2, sang opera at 3.

She was gifted in so many ways  academics, music, theater  and in her death was able to give the ultimate gift: life.

"That's my hero," Basham said at the Oak Lawn hospital Tuesday, wiping away tears, a picture of Smith's smiling face beside her.
CROWN POINT  Crown Point First United Methodist Church and the Crown Point Fire Department are working together to help the residents of Flint, Michigan, during its ongoing water crisis.

The goal is to collect enough bottled water, pitcher water filters with cartridges and faucet filters to fill a semi-truck trailer. Monetary donations are also being accepted.

The collection will be delivered to the Lincoln Park United Methodist Church in Flint and be distributed from that site.

Items are being collected at First United Methodist of Crown Point, 352 S. Main St., from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the Crown Point Fire Station, 126 N. East St.

For more information, call (219) 663-1515 or go the Events page on www.FUMCCP.org. The last day for collection is Feb. 19.
CROWN POINT | Dr. Raymond Drasga has made a career out of fulfilling patients' needs, including those of people who cannot afford to pay for services.

Upon his retirement Jan. 1 after 30 years of service with Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Crown Point, where he served as medical director of the Burrell Cancer Institute, he leaves a legacy of helping patients not only afflicted by the disease, but those whose life circumstances would be next to hopeless had they not had access to free care.

In 1995, Drasga spearheaded efforts that led to the founding of St. Clare Health Clinic, which provides free, non-emergency primary health care for uninsured clients of six area counties.

"I recognized the need for a free clinic in this area and took the idea to the Mother Superior of the Sisters of St. Francis order that was in charge of the hospital at that time," Drasga recalled.

A community assessment followed and the idea was approved.

"We started with three people  me, Kathy Nix (a nurse practitioner who is still with the clinic) and Margaret Stoffregen-DeYoung (now nursing program director at the University of St. Francis Crown Point campus)," Drasga said.

Now, the staff, largely volunteers, includes more than 50 physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, off-site professionals and reception and support staff.

Annual patient visits have jumped to more than 4,000, from about 1,000 when the clinic opened, prompting a move in 2009 to a new, larger location at 1121 S. Indiana Ave.

David Ruskowski, hospital president, called Drasga a great physician and a true leader.

Drasga received the hospital's St. Raphael Award in 2010.

"This is the highest honor our nurses bestow upon physicians who exhibit to them the finest leadership, cooperation and teamwork," Ruskowski said. "We will miss Dr. Drasga's compassionate treatment of patients, families and St. Anthony staff. We wish him well in his well-deserved retirement."

Sister Aline Shultz, Franciscan Alliance corporate vice president of development, marketing and public relations, agreed.

"Dr. Drasga is an exceptional physician-leader. We have been blessed indeed to have had him working with us these many years."

Drasga, 60, who also ran Michiana Hematology Oncology PC - Advanced Center for Cancer Care in Crown Point, said his immediate retirement plans include two vacations.

After those, "We'll just let God guide things," he said.
EAST CHICAGO -- The city is shopping around for a so-called "crime insurance policy" to cover the behavior of employees, commissioners and other workers.

A recent State Board of Accounts audit suggested that the city buy just such a blanket bond policy, something never before done in East Chicago, Kimberly Anderson, interim city controller, told the City Council this week.

Some employees who accept money or write checks are currently covered by individual fidelity bonds based on their positions, Anderson said, but a policy insuring against dishonest, fraudulent or criminal acts by all persons acting on behalf of the city is something new.

Eleven East Chicago officials have been convicted of financial crimes over the past decade. Two, former Mayor George Pabey and former City Controller Edward Maldonado, are currently serving federal prison sentences, and a third, former City Councilman Frank Kollintzas, is believed to have fled the country to avoid a similar punishment.

The state would be the beneficiary of the crime bond, Anderson said, so if some misappropriation of funds were discovered, and the Attorney General's office was unable to collect the money back from the person responsible, the insurer would pay off the claim, not the city.

Anderson said she was not sure how much such a policy would cost, since state law required approval from the City Council before she could even begin formally soliciting proposals from potential vendors.

The council on Monday passed an ordinance allowing up to $300,000 coverage for the crime insurance policy.

Current city individual and position fidelity bonds are held by Merrillville-based Braman Insurance Services, and Anderson said she would factor in the cost of the existing coverage when seeking the wider blanket policy
Hyderabad: The entire Opposition on Wednesday in one voice demanded the arrest and booking of attempt-to-murder cases under Section 307 of the IPC, of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for the attacks on leaders of various parties on Tuesday.

The attacks united the Opposition leaders like very few other issues ever could. They met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and demanded that he invoke his powers under Section 8 of AP Reorganisation Act to monitor the Law and Order situation in the TS capital as TRS government has failed in its duties.

Aggrieved by the series of violent attacks on Congress and BJP leaders, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly K. Jana Reddy on Wednesday convened a meeting at the CLP office in the Assembly.

The meeting was attended by TD and BJP leaders, who decided to meet the Governor and State Election Commissioner V. Nagireddy in the first instance and later the President and PM.

The leaders said an attempt-to-murder case must be booked against Mr Owaisi, who according to them, instigated the attacks on Congress leaders N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Shabbir Ali, MLA T. Rammohan Reddy and BJP contestant Mahender from Jangammet by Akabaruddin Owaisi.

The demand to invoke the controversial Sec. 8 of the AP Reorganisation Act which empowers the Governor to monitor the Law and Order situation in the Capital was not part of the written memorandum they submitted but oral.

After a similar demand was made by the AP government last year and was objected to by the TS Chief Minister, the Centre announced it will not press for its implementation.

BJP MLC N. Ramachandra Rao and Congress MLC P. Sudhakar Reddy, who briefed newsmen at the Raj Bhavan, confirmed that the delegation demanded invoking Sec. 8. The delegation comprised of Congress, TD and BJP leaders.

Ally puts CM in a bind

The violent incidents that rocked the Old City on Tuesday have put Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in a bind, forcing him to maintain a stoic silence since the accused party is the MIM, an ally of the TRS.

Mr Raos silence was all the more profound, since even the residence of his Deputy, Md. Mahmood Ali was attacked, not to mention Opposition leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy, Md. Ali Shabbir and other Congress, TRS and BJP leaders and workers.

Though panchayat raj minister K.T. Rama Rao described the incidents as quite unfortunate and said that police would take necessary action, other TRS leaders are reluctant to speak on the issue saying the law will take its own course.

Though exit polls gave a big win to the TRS in the first GHMC polls after formation of the state, TRS is not taking chances and also doesnt want to rub the MIM the wrong way, lest it requires its supportif it doesnt get enough votes to bag the mayors chair.

There is no chance of TRS seeking Congress support, forget about the BJP-TD combine if there is a shortfall in the magic figure of 108 (both elected corporators and ex-officio members).

Interestingly, several ministers including Nayani Narasimha Reddy and K.T. Rama Rao, and TRS secretary general K. Kesava Rao and others called on Mr Mahmood Ali after the attacks to express their solidarity.

The CM, who has gone to his farmhouse, is expected to be back on February 5, the day the votes would be counted, and break his silence.
EAST CHICAGO | If misery loves company, former Mayor George Pabey is feeling the love.

Pabey is set to report today to the Oxford Federal Correctional Institution in Wisconsin to begin a five-year sentence for stealing city funds. He bought a home in Gary's Miller Beach neighborhood, remodeled it with governments funds and flipped it back on the market for twice the price.

He is among scores of East Chicago pols, city employees and merchants who have been convicted of public corruptions in the past four decades. Seven of them did their time at Oxford, too.

Pabey wouldn't need reminding that 46 of this ethically challenged multitude were caught manipulating absentee-ballot voting to cheat Pabey of victory in the 2003 mayoral primary. The Indiana Supreme Court overturned that fraudulent election, and Pabey won the next round in 2004 to become mayor.

Lavones Tolbert, a former city councilman, was the highest-ranking official to pay for the vote fraud, earning 30 days on probation. The rest were city cops, firefighters, school employees, city vendors and other assorted small fry, few of whom did time in prison.

But this East Chicago heritage goes further back in time and up the ladder.

Dr. John B. Nicosia, who served as East Chicago mayor from 1963 to 1971, was convicted in 1979 of a cover-up of $1 million in kickbacks delivered in connection with a city sewer project.

Nicosia, who maintained his innocence, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the sentence later was suspended because of his failing health. He died soon after.

Glenn Kuipers, a former executive director of East Chicago's Tri-City Mental Health Center, and Noah Atterson Spann, a former county commissioner from the city, were indicted in the late 1980s for bribery and bilking taxpayers in connection with publicly buying an East Chicago nursing home at an exorbitant price.

Kuipers and his wife entered the federal witness protection program after he pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Spann, who went to prison in 1988. He finished his sentence 11 years later, was hired by former Mayor Robert Pastrick to run his 1999 re-election campaign and later was named director of community services.

Vincent Kirrin, a longtime East Chicago power broker who boasted of his ability to "make and break" Lake County politicians, was convicted and sentenced in 1991 to three years for mail fraud in connection with providing janitorial services at the County Government Complex.

Sidewalk scandal scored big

A quiet spell was broken by a super-outbreak of corruption during the 1999 municipal election when Pastrick and the City Council spent $24 million to pave new sidewalks, curbs, private driveways and parking lots and, in at least one case, an entire backyard, as well as trim trees for residents, in return for votes for their re-election.

The concrete-for-votes convictions between 2004 and 2005 laid low the following:

Frank Kollintzas, former city councilman, fled to exile in Greece days before he was sentenced to 11 years.

Joe De La Cruz, former city councilman, six years.

Edwardo Maldonado, former city controller, is still serving a 130-month sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minn.

Adrian Santos, a former city councilman, 33 months.

Jose Valdez Jr., a former city parks superintendent, 33 months.

Pedro Porras, former city engineer, 27 months.

Joel Markovich, former county councilman and city vendor, 18 months.

Randall Artis, former city councilman, 27 months.

Terrance Artis, a brother to Randall, five months.

Four city vendors received probation in return for their cooperation against Kollintzas, De La Cruz, Maldonado, Santos, Valdez and Porras, who collectively were called the Sidewalk Six.

Pastrick never was convicted of criminal wrongdoing, but he was ordered last year by a federal judge to pay $108 million in damages after he and 15 former city officials and contractors were named in a civil racketeering suit that declared his administration to be a corrupt enterprise.

Kevin Pastrick, a son of the former mayor, and his childhood friend, Peter Manous, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party, were convicted and imprisoned about the same time for bribing a union official to buy land in the Coffee Creek development near Chesterton.

James Fife III, a former special assistant to former mayor Pastrick, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the concrete-for-votes case, but went to prison in an unrelated tax fraud case that also dragged down former North Township Trustee G. Greg Cvitkovich between 2005 and 2006.

Edward Samuels, a former deputy city police chief, and Miguel "Mike" Arredondo, a former city building commissioner, were placed on probation for a ghost-employment scheme in which they were paid for security guard duty they didn't perform.

Robert Cantrell, a former East Chicago Republican city chairman, is still serving a 78-month fraud sentence in Ashland, Ky.
Gary tamped down an alarming mid-summer rise in its homicide rate to end 2015 with a 36 percent drop in violent crime and a 14 percent decrease in property crime.

Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson attributed the decreases to increased coordination among local, state and federal authorities and community groups as part of the Gary for Life initiative.

"It's the comprehensive effort," she said. "There's better coordination in the department, but also with our community partners."

The city logged 50 homicides in 2015, compared with 51 in 2014 and 55 in 2013.

The slight decrease last year came after officials and residents ramped up efforts to stop a surge in violence in July and August. The city marked its 37th and 38th homicides Aug. 10 and did not record another until late September.

The total is far fewer than the number of homicides recorded during two years in the late 1990s, when the city was dubbed the murder capital of the U.S.

Gary logged 105 homicides in 1993 and 104 in 1996, according to statistics provided by Indiana University Northwest assistant professor Joseph Ferrandino. The citys population has decreased by about 37,000 since that time, from 117,836 in 1993 to 80,294 in 2010.

Statistics released by the mayors office showed 2015 marked the second year in a row that Gary has seen decreases in every category of violent and property crime.

Compared with 2013 totals, violent crime was down 48 percent and property crime was down 28 percent in 2015.

Besides homicide, the violent crimes include rape, robbery and assault.

The city recorded 25 rapes in 2015, down 43 percent from the 44 reported in 2014. Robberies were down about 26 percent, from 278 in 2014 to 204 last year. Assaults declined by 49 percent, from 354 in 2014 to 181 last year.

Property crimes include burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

Burglaries were down 20 percent, from 1,249 in 2014 to 990 last year. Thefts were down slightly, from 2,253 in 2014 to 2,027 last year. Motor vehicle thefts declined by about 17 percent, from 461 in 2014 to 380 last year. Arsons decreased from 63 in 2014 to 52 last year.

The city reported no officer-involved shootings in 2015, down from two a year earlier.

The Gary for Life imitative is based on NOLA For Life, developed in New Orleans in 2012 as a way to combat that city's violent crime.

Freeman-Wilson said the citys faith community, its block clubs and residents who worked to improve the city's appearance and spoke up about crime in their neighborhoods also helped reduce crime rates.

"I don't think we can underestimate the community effort," she said.

The city has hosted three calls-ins with people on probation or parole since late 2014, officials said. The meetings were attended by a total of about 60 people, Freeman-Wilson said.

Local, state and federal law enforcement officials, social services providers, and members of the citys faith community are on hand to talk with those who attend, officials said.

Freeman-Wilson disagreed with critics who say those causing the most trouble likely don't want to hear what pastors have to say.

"If the only thing the faith community did was go to this group and talk about God, I'd agree," she said.

But the pastors talk to the people at call-ins about their goals, aspirations and future. They talk "human being to human being," she said.

"There is a lot of credibility in that conversation," Freeman-Wilson said.

U.S. Attorney David Capp said at a community forum Sunday in Munster that his office has been involved in call-ins in Gary and South Bend.

He described the meetings as an effort to prevent people who have served time in jail or prison from committing new crimes and returning to life behind bars.

Its not a law enforcement threat, Capp said. Our message is: We will help you if you let us, but we will stop you if you make us.

People who attend can learn how to earn a GED, obtain job counseling and learn where to seek substance abuse counseling, he said.

I think its starting to make a difference, Capp said.

Freeman-Wilson said she's happy with Police Chief Larry McKinley, who was appointed in 2014.

"I think people understand that he is always willing to roll up his sleeves," she said.

She said a new multi-agency gang unit at the Police Department has been conducting targeted patrols. Indiana State Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have helped, too.

Freeman-Wilson credited Lake County Sheriff John Buncich for going to the County Council during the spike in gun violence last summer to secure overtime pay so his officers could help patrol Garys streets.

"When people work together and coordinate their efforts, you're always going to see success," she said.
HOBART  Federal jurist Rebecca Pallmeyer will be the keynote speaker at the 2016 Ethics Summit.

Pallmeyer, a judge for the U.S. District of Northern Illinois, will speak 8 a.m. March 2 at Avalon Manor, 3550 U.S. 30, Hobart.

She has a national reputation in judicial circles for speaking about ethics, Calvin Bellamy, president of the Shared Ethics Advisory Commission, said.

The shared ethics commission, formed a decade ago, does training for government employees in Lake LaPorte and Porter County government, Chesterton, Hebron, Ogden Dunes, Crown Point, Dyer, East Chicago, Gary, Highland, Lowell, Munster, Schererville and Whiting.

Bellamy said the audience will be asked to pass judgment on three hypothetical cases of potential conflicts between public and private interests that government officials and employees face. Audience members will discuss the cases among one another at their table and then vote on the most important ethical issues.

Valparaiso City Council President John Bowker, Heather Ennis, president of the Northwest Indiana Forum, and Merrillville Town Council President Richard Hardaway will take part in discussions of ethical dilemmas raised by the audience.

One Region, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Lake County Advancement Committee are sponsoring the summit.

Members of the public may attend the free event, which will have continental breakfast, but are required to make reservations by Feb. 24 by calling Cathy Bocek at (219) 227-6100 or by email at cbocek@kdlegal.com.
LaPorte County and the Indiana State Police officers are being lauded for helping a missing elderly woman from Gary return home safely.

A Gurnee, Ill. woman called Indiana State Police Cpl. Dan Avitia on Tuesday night reporting her mother, 92, left a friend's home in Gary around noon and had not been seen since.

A missing person's report was filed with the Gary Police Department and Indiana State Police remained involved.

Avitia checked records and determined state police had not interacted with the Gary woman, but provided her daughter with telephone numbers to area hospitals and police departments.

Police also issued an alert about her to area law enforcement agencies.

The woman's daughter called Avitia later Tuesday night and said her mother was found near LaCrosse after crashing her car and running it off the road near a home in the south LaPorte County town. The woman honked her horn and someone stopped to help her before calling police.

LaPorte County Sheriff's Deputy Neil Lachmund helped Henley, who was not injured. The woman's family was not able to provide transportation to get her home to Gary on the foggy night.

Lachmund drove the woman to Ind. 421 and U.S. 6, where Indiana State Police Senior Trooper Lawrence McFarrin put her in his squad car and drove her home.

"The coordination with LaPorte County Sheriff Department and the Indiana State Police helped to get a family member home safely where she belonged," said Lt. Terry Gose, District Commander of the Lowell Post.
GARY  Two people were wounded in a shooting Monday night near 12th Avenue and Washington Street, police said.*

A Gary officer responded about 7:30 p.m. to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus for a person who had been shot in the face.

The officer learned upon arrival at the hospital that two people were being treated in the emergency room for gunshot wounds to the face, police said.

Officers later determined the shooting happened near 12th Avenue and Washington Street, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Detective Sgt. Williams Fazekas at (219) 881-1210. To remain anonymous, call (866) CRIME-GP.

* Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version.
FLINT, Mich.  The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has undertaken a five-part strategy to determine whether Flint's water, which has become contaminated with lead, is safe to drink.

The state said the plan to try to ensure that drinking water no longer is tainted with lead includes residential water testing, school testing, food service and restaurant provider testing, blood testing and overall testing of Flint's water distribution system.

Flint switched its water source from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. The river water was not treated properly and lead from pipes leached into Flint homes. The city returned to Detroit's system in October while it awaits the completion of a separate pipeline to Lake Huron this summer.

DEQ Interim Director Keith Creagh told the Detroit Free Press he hopes "to be able to say something about the general health of the system come mid-April." Officials with the DEQ and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which have been meeting daily, planned to meet again Monday afternoon.

State officials say water samples from roughly 5,000 homes have been tested, and about 94 percent have are below the "actionable level" of 15 parts per billion for lead. Still, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder urged all residents to submit a free water test kit, which can be picked up and returned to designated Flint fire stations.

The DEQ said it is working with the state Department of Health and Human Services to make sure residents with high blood-lead levels get their water tested. Those homes are provided additional services in an effort to minimize lead exposure, the state said.

"We want to ensure that all homes are getting the proper immediate attention and the home water tests will help in that process," Snyder said late Sunday in a statement.

Flint residents coping with lead contamination will be cleared to drink unfiltered water again only when outside experts determine it is safe. Those who are evaluating the water and will help verify its quality include Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech researcher who helped expose the lead problem and is providing independent guidance to the city and state.

Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators. Some have resigned, including the DEQ's former top official, or have been suspended.

In a letter to more than 46,000 state employees Friday, Snyder said "what happened in Flint can never be allowed to happen again anywhere in our state." He said he wants a culture where workers' "input is valued." He also thanked workers for volunteering in Flint in recent weeks.

Ray Holman, legislative liaison for the United Auto Workers Local 6000, the biggest state employee union, called Snyder's letter a "little disingenuous," saying workers often are dissuaded from "thinking outside the box" and speaking up, and have been disciplined for not closely following policy.

Meanwhile, music mogul Russell Simmons has joined many well-known entrepreneurs, artists and actors who have visited the city or pledged their support. He went door-to-door Monday delivering cases of water to residents.

The water comes from AQUAhydrate, a bottled water brand partly owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Mark Wahlberg that pledged to donate 1 million bottles to the city. The RushCard prepaid debit card system, of which Simmons is a founder, was part of the relief effort.
Indiana lacks leadership and vision when it comes to education, said Jennifer McCormick, the Republican candidate for superintendent of public instruction.

The Yorktown Community Schools superintendent says, of course, that shes the one to bring it all together. Thats a tough job in a state where the scars from political squabbles over education havent fully healed.

You wont see McCormick on your ballot this May. Candidates for that office are chosen at the state political party conventions this summer and placed on the ballot in November.

McCormick wants to organize the Indiana Department of Education and bring in people with a wealth of knowledge. Its got to be a group effort, he said.

Her candidacy comes after a time of great change for education in Indiana.

The Republican-dominated State Board of Education, under Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, adopted some sweeping changes that included the Common Core standards for education and the appointment of school turnaround specialists for Garys Roosevelt Career and Technical Academy and a handful of schools in Indianapolis.

Educators reacted by voting against Bennett and electing Glenda Ritz as superintendent of public instruction, the only Democrat currently holding statewide office in Indiana.

Three years ago, when Ritz and Republican Gov. Mike Pence were elected, what had been a concerted effort to continue education reform became a battle between competing interests. Ritzs supporters said she was elected to be Indianas education expert. Pences supporters said the governor, as the states CEO, should be in charge.

Thats when the real battles began.

With Pences support, Common Core was repealed and new standards written. The ISTEP exam has been a flop more than once since then. And thats just a sampling.

The teachers want stability, McCormick said. Quit changing the standards.

McCormick said Friday in a visit to The Times that she wants to get parents, business leaders, students, administrators and teachers to offer their views on education. We need to have a vision, she said.

Pences vision is similar to the Ready NWI model adopted here a few years prior to Pences campaign. That involves bringing together business leaders and educators to make sure high school graduates are ready for college or career.

The Governors Education Roundtable, which featured educators and business leaders offering advice on how to better prepare students for the future, was used by governors prior to Pence. The Education Roundtable, which brought together voices statewide, was disbanded by Pence in favor of regional workforce councils that do much the same thing, but on a regional level.

Is it worth recreating the Education Roundtable, or should the superintendent of public instruction use another mechanism to get that broad-based input from business leaders and educators?

Thats something McCormick would have to decide.

As for the the teachers, theyve already made a decision in this race. Ritz was endorsed by the Indiana State Teachers Association last September. McCormick announced her candidacy just last week.
Harmony is something we normally associate with music, but Don Keller applies it to the factory floor.

The owner of Tri-State Industries in Hammond employs this term to describe the importance of relationships among co-workers in a work environment.

In fact, he gives bonuses based upon not only how the company performs, but in part how well employees work together. But it is more than getting along. Its also contributing ideas to solve problems and come up with solutions.

We can teach people basic skills, Don said. But they have to possess a willingness to be part of a team and help us be successful.

In addition to the 70,000-square-foot plant in Hammond and a 40,000-square-foot plant in East Chicago, the company also has a 65,000-square-foot plant in Alexandria, LA. There are about 65 employees.

This emphasis on encouraging ideas to come straight from the shop floor stems from an innovative process Don launched in the late '90s. Its called lean manufacturing, and Don helped pioneer it in this region. A lot of this is lean thinking and constantly improving and driving out waste, he said.

Our workers come up with new ideas to improve the process because they do the work. They are much better qualified to come up with new ideas than I am.

In contrast to batch processing that is the approach found in traditional manufacturing, lean manufacturing is based upon producing the just the amount of products that the customer needs.

In lean manufacturing, the objective is to ensure that the job is finished only when you put the part down, he added. All manufacturing operations are built around U-shaped cells where the work is completed. I tell employees I want them to move with their hands, not with their feet.

Additionally, Tri-State Industries took a major step forward with the installation of six in-line welding robots. So the combination of automation and lean manufacturing gave him an edge in reducing costs and turning marginal contracts into profitable ventures.

Today, Don is launching a new division to refurbish used robots and sell them to small manufacturers. Called Tri-State Automation, his company offers training, tooling, programming and installation of cells for robots.

By refurbishing welding robots, Don keeps outdated equipment out of landfills. He also helps small manufacturers save money. A new robot can cost anywhere from $100,000 to $120,000, while a refurbished robot is about $65,000.

Dons company is the first to offer a turnkey service involving robots to customers in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. We are the first to focus on used equipment to make this more palatable to small manufacturers.

For someone who likes harmony, Don is likely to make sweet music for small manufacturers who embrace a winning combination of robotics and lean manufacturing in pursuit of profits, quality and sustainability.
Indiana taxpayers spend about $20 million a year on children having to repeat kindergarten because theyre not prepared to move on.

Its a stark reminder of the importance of early childhood education in the development of our children. The figure, provided by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, also highlights the importance of an ongoing region effort to fund preschool for low-income region children.

This past school year, proactive Region nonprofit and business leaders raised enough money for 227 Lake County 4-year-olds to attend preschool programs.

Its all part of the On My Way Pre-K pilot program sponsored by the state, hopefully to lay the foundation for future universal pre-K education in the Hoosier state.

Now area leaders  including representatives from NIPSCO, the Lake Area United Way and various Region nonprofits  are hitting the fundraising trail to see the pilot program continue.

Lake County requires another $220,000 in local matching funds to extend the pilot project another two years. That amount would leverage roughly $2 million in state funding for the endeavor.

That money would allow 500 region children, whose parents otherwise couldnt afford it, to become preschoolers.

It also would allow for the valuable collection of at least two more years of data on the educational progress of pilot-program participants.

Such data will play a key future role in convincing state lawmakers to find ways of funding permanent preschool programs for our children.

Too often, our society weighs support for such programs based on whether individuals feel a direct impact.

But its clear the quality of education  and the preparedness of our children to succeed in school and become successful adults  impacts us all, even those without school-aged children.

Child development experts tell us that between 85 and 90 percent of a childs brain develops by the age of 5.

Businesses, nonprofit agencies and individuals should consider donating to the pre-K pilot program effort as an investment in this development and our Regions future.

Too many Hoosier children are being left behind in their most formative years.

We can invest now to help them catch up, or we can pay the price later through additional education costs for repeat students, unemployment lines and other resulting social service costs.

The wiser expenditure is clear.
CROWN POINT  A Lake Superior judge froze the assets of a former Gary worker who is accused of misappropriating city funds as part of a scheme involving nearly 900 iPad Air tablets.

Monique S. Bowling-Boyd, of Merrillville, appeared Tuesday in front of Lake Superior Judge Diane Kavadias Schnieder days after the Indiana attorney general's office filed a civil lawsuit seeking she pay Gary nearly $1.4 million plus damages.

Bowling-Boyd did not have an attorney with her during the hearing, but she told Kavadias Schnieder that she intends to hire one.

Jacob Butz, deputy attorney general, said in court the state was seeking the preliminary injunction, because Bowling-Boyd has already sold this past year some vehicles she owned.

He said Bowling-Boyd has other vehicles she could sell, which could hamper their intentions of recovering the funds.

"The state feels it will be harmed if she dissipates her assets," he said.

The state's lawsuit stems from a State Board of Accounts report issued in October that determined Bowling-Boyd owed Gary $1.37 million and the state $29,818 for its investigative costs. The state is also seeking treble damages in the amount of $4.1 million, court costs and attorney fees.

The attorney general's office last week accused Bowling-Boyd of misappropriating the funds from Jan. 1, 2012, to May 12, 2015, by falsifying or duplicating invoices for computer equipment and drawing funds from six city accounts. Most of the electronics were Apple products, but some of the money was used to purchase non-Apple products.

Kavadias Schnieder granted the state's motion and told Bowling-Boyd she couldn't sell, transfer or put any liens on any property she owned. She can still use the property.

The case was scheduled for a March 8 status hearing.
Hyderabad: Hours after booking a case against MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, the South Zone police registered a case against party Assembly floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for allegedly attacking a polling agent at Chandrayangutta.

Meanwhile MIM Malakpet legislator Ahmed Balala and his aides, who allegedly attacked deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Alis son Azam Ali, and MBT leader Amjadullah Khan, walked out from police custody after securing bail from a local court on Wednesday.

Senior officials instructed the South Zone police to act tough on MIM workers who had run amok in the last hours of GHMC polling on Tuesday.

According to South Zone officials, Chandrayangutta police on Wednesday registered a case against Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi and his men for allegedly attacking BJP polling agent Vijay Kumar.

Jaganmet BJP candidate K. Mahender had lodged a police complaint alleging that MIM activists led by Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi had stopped and assaulted the polling agent. They had also allegedly snatched his cellphone.

A case under various IPC sections for unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been booked against Akbaruddin and his aides, said Chandrayangutta police station house officer N. Rama Rao.

Earlier, Mir Chowk police had registered a case against Mr Asaduddin Owaisi and two others.

Special teams set up, videos collected

The case was registered under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage), and 506 read with 149 of the IPC.

Mr Balala was booked by the police based on two separate complaints from Mr Azam Ali and Mr Amjadullah Khan. Mr Balala, who remained in police custody overnight, secured bail from the Nampally criminal court by Wednesday morning.

In another case, South Zone police officials said that Charminar MLA Ahmed Pasha Quadri was detained as a preventive measure and released on Tuesday.

The complaint filed against Mr Quadri by Congress candidate Md. Ghouse was being inquired into, police said.

Senior officials said they had collected evidence including videos of the various attacks and special teams had been formed in South Zone to probe each case.

We are investigating all the cases. Action will be taken based on the findings of these probes, said Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahender Reddy.
GARY  An Illinois man was shot in the face during an attempted robbery Tuesday in Gary's Horace Mann neighborhood, police said.

Police responded about 6:15 p.m. to the area of Fifth Avenue and Roosevelt Street for a gunshot victim, Lt. Thomas Pawlak said.

The man, a 27-year-old from St. Charles, Ill., was shot during an attempted robbery, he said. The man was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary for treatment.

The circumstances surrounding the attempted robbery remained under investigation Tuesday night.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Michael Barnes at (219) 881-1210. To remain anonymous, call (866) CRIME-GP.
President Obama made his first visit to a U.S. mosque Wednesday. The White House says the trip was intended as a statement against bigotry and a defense of religious freedom as NY1's Geoff Bennett reports.

During his seven years in the White House, President Obama has visited mosques overseas during official trips.

But Wednesday was the first time hes set foot inside a mosque in this country while serving as president.

Obama visited the 47-year-old Islamic Society of Baltimore. After a closed-door meeting with leaders of Muslim community members, the president delivered remarks.

"Were one American family," Obama said. "And when any part of our family starts to feel separate, or second-class or targeted, it tears at the very fabric of our nation. "

Obama spoke for nearly an hour. He praised the contributions Muslims have made to the country, and tried to correct misconceptions about Islam.

"Whoever wants to enter paradise, the Prophet Muhammad taught, let him treat people the way he would love to be treated," Obama said. "For Christians, like myself, Im assuming that sounds familiar."

Obama also denounced the anti-Muslim rhetoric from some of the Republican presidential candidates  including Donald Trump, who in December called for a ban on Muslims entering the country.

"Of course, recently weve heard inexcusable political rhetoric, which has no place in our country," the president said. "No surprise, then, that threats and harassment of Muslim Americans have surged."

Muslim groups have been urging President Obama to make a trip like this for months, as a public rejection of Islamophobia  much the same way former President George W. Bush did in the days after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
OAKLAND, Calif.  Wildfires were burning across California as Marion Coleman began Firestorm, her quilt about the flames that ravaged the Oakland and Berkeley Hills in 1991. It is an inferno captured in cloth: the blackened silhouettes of trees, engulfed in a blaze of intricate, swirling stitches.

Ms. Coleman, a retired social worker, is now a professional quilter, one of about 80 women  along with the occasional man  who meet monthly as members of the multicultural African American Quilt Guild of Oakland. It is one of a dozen or so guilds across the country dedicated to furthering the tradition in black American culture, but few groups have taken on the challenge of defining a city through quilts.

About six months ago, Ms. Coleman and her guild sisters came up with an elaborate idea: designing narrative quilts that would convey in cloth the personality, history and social complexity of their home ground. Our name is the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland, Ms. Coleman emphasized. Theres a sense of pride and possession about our place. The result is Neighborhoods Coming Together: Quilts Around Oakland, a citywide exhibition of more than 100 quilts opening this week in a variety of locales, including the Oakland City Hall Rotunda.
Combined United States revenues for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey jumped 7.8 percent to $2.9 billion in 2015, up $210 million from the previous year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Domestic volume rose 5.2 percent last year to 20.4 million cases. Were living the dream, said Chris Morris, master distiller at Brown-Forman, producer of Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey revenues and volumes outpaced the overall distilled spirits sector, the council said in its annual report, and exports topped $1 billion for the third straight year despite a strong dollar. Over all, American spirits exports have more than doubled in the last decade, to a projected $1.56 billion last year from $743 million in 2005.
A hedge fund manager convicted of insider trading is being allowed to leave the San Francisco halfway house where he was serving out his 24-month sentence while he appeals his 2012 conviction.

The release of Doug Whitman, granted after a hearing in a federal appeals court on Tuesday, comes as the United States Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in another insider trading case.

In 2012, Mr. Whitman, who ran Whitman Capital in Menlo Park, Calif., was found guilty of making $1 million in illegal profits from trading shares of stocks like Google and Polycom. He was sentenced in late 2013, and has yet to succeed in overturning his conviction. He had four months left on his sentence.

The case was one of more than 80 convictions and guilty pleas secured in recent years by Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan. But a ruling in December 2014 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit threatened to upend many of those convictions.
Christopher Cox, the editor of Harpers Magazine, was fired by John R. MacArthur, the magazines president and publisher, last week, after a three-month tenure.

Mr. Cox said on Tuesday that he had been dismissed because of editorial differences with the publisher, but would not elaborate on the nature of the disagreement. A spokeswoman for the magazine declined to comment.

A person familiar with the dispute said that tensions flared during a recent meeting, when Mr. Cox presented his plans to redesign the magazines cover. Mr. MacArthur opposed the change, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions.

Mr. Coxs departure is the latest sign of upheaval at the 165-year-old magazine, which has struggled with dwindling print circulation and diminished relevance in the digital era. The magazines total circulation fell to 130,257 for the six months ending in June 2015, down from 187,635 two years earlier, according to the companys filings with the Alliance for Audited Media.
WASHINGTON  The odds of businesses owned by women winning a federal contract are about 21 percent lower than for otherwise similar companies, and years of effort to increase those chances have barely made an impact, according to a new report from the Commerce Department.

The report is being released as the federal government is beginning to change a Small Business Administration program that is five years old this week, yet has never met a goal of helping companies owned by women win at least 5 percent of federal contract dollars.

The changes, which were required by a 2014 law that also mandated the report, now make such businesses eligible for no-bid contracts so they can gain the experience needed to win other, competitive projects.

The percentage of federal contract dollars going to companies owned by women rose to 4.7 percent in the 2014 fiscal year, the most recent year that the report examined, from 4 percent in 2011, when the Small Business Administration program to help such companies began, according to the report. Businesses owned by women, which are defined as companies that are at least 51 percent owned by one woman or more, account for about 30 percent of American companies.
In late December, Anna Stubblefield  a former chairwoman of the philosophy department at Rutgers University in Newark, mother of two and fervent activist for social justice  sat down to write a letter on narrow-ruled, legal-size paper. Your Honor, she began, I write to ask for your mercy.

About three months earlier, Anna was found guilty of raping a man with disabilities on the floor of her campus office. Now it was several weeks before her sentencing on two counts of aggravated sexual assault  a crime that calls for 10 to 40 years in prison  and she meant to tell Judge Siobhan Teare what brought her to this point. I was deeply in love, she wrote from prison, referring to the person she was convicted of assaulting  a black man with cerebral palsy known as D.J. in the news media. I believed that he and I were intellectual equals, and that our romantic relationship was consensual and mutually loving. I intended no harm, and I had nothing to gain.

From the start, Anna claimed that the rape was nothing of the kind, but rather a long-simmering and unlikely romance that, after much sensitive discussion, had at last been consummated. D.J. can neither talk nor dress himself, but Anna argued that he was able to communicate using a keyboard, as long as she was there to hold his hand and give support. Ive dreamed about this, she said he typed the first time they tried to have sex.

Shortly after her conviction, I wrote an account of the events leading up to Annas trial for the magazine. That article raised as many questions as it answered: If D.J. really was incapable of giving his consent  if, as the jury decided, his typed-out messages were Annas words, not his  then how could their romance have progressed? Did Anna fall for D.J. or for some dissociated aspect of herself: her sense of empathy, her good intentions, her need to be a savior? And what if the jury had it wrong? What then for Anna and for D.J.?

The major figures in the case have not yet answered these questions, but since the trial, each has had the chance to make their feelings known. The most extensive statement came from Anna herself. Her five-page jailhouse letter, written in meticulous longhand, recounts the background of her love affair with D.J.: the deep commitment of her parents to the cause of disability rights and her own lifelong pursuit of the same ideals. By age 11, she said, she was already working with her mother to help a teenage girl with cerebral palsy communicate using a computer. Thus, when I met [D.J.], I saw him as someone I could potentially help as a friend, she wrote. And then something happened that took me by surprise  we fell in love.

On the day of her sentencing last month, Anna sat before Judge Teare in person, wearing a formless pink jumpsuit and with her hands in chains. Since the trial, her pixie haircut had grown out gray and shaggy. A crowd of friends  mostly fellow travelers in the field of disability studies  watched the hearing from the gallery. A three-person documentary film crew gathered tape from the jury box. Im interested in this as a love story, the director told me later. (Since publishing my article, I have also heard from playwrights, poets and producers. The other day, I met for tea with a composer, who described his plan to render Annas story as an opera, with the court transcript as his libretto.)

She was a woman who had fallen in love, your honor, said her lawyer, James Patton. The only reason were here is that Ms. Stubblefield disclosed the relationship to the family. She intended no harm and anticipated no harm.

The state argued just the opposite  that Anna had done her best to isolate and groom her victim. The typed-out messages that she attributed to D.J., including those she claimed would prove that he is competent, were never introduced at trial; the judge ruled them unreliable, because Annas method of assisting D.J., called facilitated communication, has been rejected by the mainstream scientific community. (That ruling on the messages will probably serve as the basis for an appeal.) If she loved him, she would not have acted the way that she did, the assistant prosecutor said during his closing argument in October. When D.J.s legal guardians  his brother and his mother  first learned about the relationship in 2011, they did not go to the police but merely asked Anna to keep her distance. She ignored their wishes. She disrespects their guardianship, the prosecutor said. She thinks shes smarter than the law.

Now, Annas lawyer tried to make the case that her punishment should be stepped down to something less than the minimum 10 years or even made probationary. Three psychologists had attested that she lacked malice and that she exhibited no pattern of deviant sexual behavior. This is just a woman who grossly miscalculated the intelligence of the person she was involved with, Patton said.

It was a sharp departure from what Anna said in her letter to the judge. For all her expressions of remorse, she had made it very clear that she did not miscalculate D.J.s intellect. She will not budge  will never budge, perhaps  from her first appraisal: It became apparent through objective evidence that he was the author of his words and a very intelligent man, she wrote. I deeply regret the choices we made in response to that development in our relationship.

That plural we runs throughout the letter, as if Anna could not resist the call to speak for D.J., even when she knew that call had cost her everything. Had we anticipated his familys reaction, we would have waited, she wrote. He would have talked with his family and pursued emancipation from the guardianship, and I would have used the time to obtain a divorce. That would have been a better path all around.

Her crime, as she now appears to understand it, amounted to a catastrophic social error: a failure to communicate, not with D.J. but with his family and her own. For all the pain she says she caused D.J.s family, her ex-husband, Roger, and their children, she orients her letter toward the miserable indignity that has befallen the man she loved and loves. He is the one who has been reclassified as cognitively impaired, deprived of basic human rights, made to live without his keyboard and returned once more to the prison of meager expectations. I especially regret that, due to the actions in which I engaged, she wrote, D.J. lost access to his means of communication and his hopes of furthering his education and attaining self-determination in his life.

In the courtroom, though, Anna offered none of this. When it was her turn to speak, she said only: I wanted to express my dismay and my regret and my sorrow that my actions have caused so much distress, and Im very, very sorry for that.

Annas 16-year-old daughter, Zoe, also spoke during the sentencing hearing. My mom is a very good person, she declared. Zoes father, Roger Stubblefield, had been abusive to them, she said, which is why her mother ran off with a disabled man to begin with. Zoe described her mothers kindness and open-mindedness, and the injustice of her prosecution: Shes like the cleanest, most goody-goody-two-shoes person Ive ever met. And now shes gone. Thank you. When the judge eyed her impassively, she snapped, Stop looking so bored, and went back to her seat.

D.J.s brother, Wesley (referred to here by his middle name), gave a statement that he wrote ahead of time. He began by saying that his family had been told that D.J. wouldnt live to see his third birthday and that 34 years later D.J. was a beautiful brother and a beautiful son. Then he recalled the moment at the end of Stubblefields trial, when the verdict was announced and Anna cried out, Who is going to take care of my daughter? It was as if the question had only just occurred to her, Wesley suggested. It was as if only then had she considered the meaning of the bond between a mother and her child. How else could you explain her actions  the rape of my brother, the harassment of my family, her condescending attitude toward my mother?

She tried to lay claim to him and rename him, he said of Anna, breaking into sobs. Early in Annas relationship with D.J., she started calling him by a nickname  one she said he asked for in his typed-out messages. In her view, this was an act of self-determination. But to Wesley, it was a way of taking ownership, with all the echoes of slavery the word implies.

As an academic  and Wesleys graduate-school professor  Anna had been a scholar of racial ethics; in one paper, she even wrote that well-meaning white people like her all too often invade or destroy the space of nonwhite people. Now Wesley called her out for what he saw as that very behavior. She had tried to overlay her values and her views, he said, on the people she pretended to be helping. She tried to supplant [D.J.s] life  a life steeped in the history and culture of his God-fearing, Southern-rooted, African-American family  with some version of life she thought was better.

Its time to stop thinking of this case as being simply strange, he continued, and imagining Anna as some kind of tragic she-ro. (He may have been referring to my article, which was published under the headline The Strange Case of Anna Stubblefield.) If the genders were reversed, he said  if D.J. were Diana and Anna were Anthony  then the details would seem more mundane: a tragic tale of sexual abuse. Anna is not Sandra Bullock, and this is not The Blind Side, he said to the judge. Then, directly to his former teacher: An able-bodied woman raped a disabled young man that could not consent to sex. You were wrong, Anna. You committed a crime. There is no gray area. As Wesley spoke, Zoe screamed an expletive at him from the gallery. Youre a liar! she shouted as a bailiff pulled her from the courtroom.

When Judge Teare at last addressed the court, it was in a tone of practiced weariness. I have thought long and hard, she said. Dozens of Annas friends and colleagues  philosophers, disability activists, practitioners of facilitated communication and their clients  had written letters of support, painting Anna as caring and compassionate. But the judge read from only one submission, from Annas ex-husband, Roger. I am shocked that Anna and her handlers would spin this incident as a disabilities-rights case in a weak attempt to deflect Annas willful participation when she should have known better, Roger wrote. He said that his daughter had been turned against him and that he had been abandoned and betrayed and treated as just another chunk of collateral damage. Now his son has dropped out of school, he wrote, and I fear that he is indulging in harmful pursuits.

I do believe that Anna is a pathological liar and narcissistic, Rogers letter went on. I believe it possible that given any opportunity she would definitely repeat the effort to pose herself as Anne Sullivan to Helen Keller, or perhaps a martyr like Anne Frank. She will stop at nothing to fool the court and seek vindication, regardless of the emotional and financial expense to her family or the primary victims family.

Finally, the judge delivered her own appraisal of the facts. The defendant believes she was in love with D.J., she said, and never meant to hurt anyone. Still, Anna knowingly and wantonly overstepped the bounds of lawful behavior. She violated the terms of D.J.s guardianship because she decided, on her own, that the courts were wrong  and that she knew better than the State of New Jersey.

Judge Teare allowed that Anna was, by most accounts, a well-meaning and empathic person. But the very fact of her respectability seemed to make her more blameworthy, not less so. Several times, the judge cited Annas intelligence  her high intellect  as a point against her. Anna was smart enough to see through the illusion of D.J.s facilitated typing. She was smart enough to realize that she didnt have consent. She was smart enough to know that D.J. wasnt smart.

At the bottom of her letter to the judge, Anna had made one final plea and one final statement of her faith: I am writing this letter from my cell in the Essex County Correctional Facility, she said. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope that it has helped you to understand that my actions were motivated by love, and my love was grounded in my belief in [D.J.s] intelligence and humanity.

But Judge Teare remained unmoved, concluding that the aggravating factors clearly outweigh the mitigating factors. Earlier, she called Anna the perfect example of a predator preying on her prey. Now she gave the sentence: Anna would get 12 years in prison. The first 10 years, 2 months and 13 days would be served with no possibility of parole.
Neena Rawal who hurled a flowerpot near Rajpath on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: In a major security lapse, a 20-year-old woman Monday almost broke through the security ring for Prime Minister Narendra Modis convoy near South Block just seconds before the cavalcade passed, sending the security agencies into a tizzy.

The woman, identified as Neena Rawal, allegedly threw a flowerpot on the heavily-guarded Rajpath when the security personnel stopped her from crossing the barricades.

Neena, a resident of Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, was detained and taken to the Parliament Street police station, where the Delhi police and IB officials jointly interrogated her.

She was then taken for a medical checkup at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

The police said the incident took place at around 2.12 pm, seconds before the PMs convoy left South Block.
An outbreak of scrapie, an ovine affliction similar to mad cow disease, brings havoc to the valley. Flocks are slaughtered, livelihoods are wiped out and an ancient way of life is threatened with ruin. Mr. Hakonarson observes the grief and the fatalism that the epidemic provokes in Gummi and Kiddis other neighbors, and at times Rams has the quiet specificity of a documentary. Government inspectors and veterinarians show up to monitor the killing of the animals and the cleaning of the barns, and their calm, implacable authority only increases the sense of helplessness and devastation.

As the crisis deepens, and as Gummi devises a devious, illegal response to it  one that will also settle scores once and for all with his brother  the film takes on a stark, elemental power. The landscape of snow and volcanic rock threatens to overwhelm the creatures that call it home, and the modern world recedes in the face of a primal story of kinship and survival. The last shot is especially hard to shake. Tender and poignant, it also has the haunting authority of an ancient stone carving, as if these brothers were ordinary flesh-and-blood creatures transformed into figures of myth.

Rams is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Lambs to the slaughter. In Icelandic, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 33 minutes.
Eduardo Cornejo had been an officer in the New York Police Department for more than a decade. But in a phone call one night last month, the authorities said, he hinted at his other, more nefarious work.

That might make it hot, though, standing outside with a bunch of girls, Mr. Cornejo said, a reference, according to the authorities, to dividing money among the prostitutes he is accused of employing outside a Long Island motel. Theyre going to know whats up real quick.

But investigators were already aware of the operation, the authorities said on Tuesday. They were listening to the phone call  his line had been wiretapped  and had been tracking his movements for months after an anonymous tipster said Mr. Cornejo was a pimp for at least one woman.

In all, the authorities said, he had employed at least 10 prostitutes. Investigators followed him to motels across the region, and the authorities described his efforts as something of a second job, starting many evenings as soon as his shift ended with the Police Department.
And some members of the City Council have even spoken of a sort of local analog of the congressional nuclear option, a little-known provision in the Council rules that would allow for changes to the otherwise final carriage bill on the day of the vote  raising the prospect of a contentious floor debate rarely seen in the usually soporific confines of the Councils chambers.

Its never been done before, but its possible, said Councilman Carlos Menchaca, a Brooklyn Democrat who is pushing to remove the pedicab driver ban from the bill. A real option is that we postpone the bill, have a second hearing.

The bill before the Council on Friday would allow for only 95 horses, down from the current 220, with 75 animals allowed to work in the park at a time. It would restrict pedicabs from operating in Central Park below 85th Street; authorize construction of a new stable by fall 2018, along the 85th Street transverse in Central Park, built inside an existing park building; and authorize the construction of an adjacent structure for the carriages.

Administration officials said privately that the storm and stress ahead of the vote on Friday was not unusual for the days before, as did Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, a Democrat from Manhattan, a sponsor of the bill, who called it a good compromise.

Others were less certain.

I wasnt satisfied with my conversations with the administration on this, said Councilman David Greenfield, a Brooklyn Democrat who has called for delaying the vote. Right now it seems like lose-lose.
In the courthouse lobby, the short, white-haired man seemed to be more clothes than body, bundled in a coat and scarf. It was a December day in 2013.

Let me hold your arm, he said. If you dont mind.

With that, Myron Beldock took my forearm. Short, slow steps brought him to the curb on Monroe Place in Brooklyn Heights, and then into a cab with his wife and legal partner, Karen L. Dippold. Some months earlier, a closing door had knocked him down, and doctors looking at his shoulder found cancer. Due in the appellate division to argue the cause of an innocent man he had been representing for years, Mr. Beldock had stopped taking pain killers a few days before, fretting that the medicine might cost him a step in court.

He got out of his sickbed and made his case that December, and was pleased with the reactions of the judges but unwilling to predict their decision, which was months off.

Not a bad day, he said getting in the cab, age 84, now the tail of a comet.

Mr. Beldock, who died on Monday, had an important hand in cases that helped define the landscape of 20th-century law, and in others that merely righted the grievous wrongs done to unknown people.
Updated 8:57 a.m.

Good morning on this soggy Wednesday.



The Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City, Temple Row on Staten Island, Union Square Park in Manhattan; all are counted among New Yorks most cherished icons, but none are official city landmarks.

At least not yet, though its not for a lack of effort.

The gems have languished on a list of 95 sites (fastidiously catalogued here) to be evaluated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

More than 85 percent of the properties have been in a backlog for over 20 years, and some for five decades.

But this month, their advocates patience might be rewarded.

By Feb. 23, all nominees that have been waiting since before 2010 will face one of three fates: priority for landmark designation, rejection or reapplication limbo.
 Bill Cosbys pretrial hearing.

An ex-prosecutor who declined 10 years ago to bring sex-crime charges against Mr. Cosby testified that the decision was intended to close the case forever.

Now a judge must rule on whether Mr. Cosbys deposition in the case is inadmissible. If so, the current district attorneys case could be weakened. If its allowed, the case will most likely proceed to a preliminary hearing and ultimately a trial.

 Investigations of sexual assault.

The resignation of a prominent molecular biologist at the University of Chicago comes amid calls for universities to be more transparent about sexual harassment in their science departments, where women account for only one-quarter of senior faculty jobs.

And U.S. authorities have arrested a seminary student that they say was attempting to find a baby, either through adoption or cash purchase, to sexually assault.

 Guilty plea for real estate scion.

Robert A. Durst, the estranged scion of a New York real estate family who has long been a suspect in several murders, pleaded guilty today in New Orleans federal court to illegally possessing a .38-caliber revolver.

Hell be sentenced to 85 months in federal prison, and the plea allows him to be transferred to Los Angeles to face charges that he murdered a friend.
The Pentagon has put Russia at the top of its list of national security threats with its plan to increase the deployment of heavy weapons, armored vehicles and troops on rotating assignment to NATO countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

In a speech on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter listed a hierarchy of threats to the United States, which included China, North Korea, Iran and finally, the fight against terrorism. But his primary focus was Russia.

While he makes a good case for deterring Russian aggression, his proposal to quadruple military spending in Europe in 2017 to $3.4 billion from $789 million seems excessive and raises questions about whether other immediate threats, like the Islamic State, are getting short shrift.
AS the fraught Syria peace talks inch forward in Geneva, the United States finds itself with little leverage to help negotiate an end to a conflict that has left almost a quarter of a million people dead and helped fuel the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

But theres an efficient way for Washington to put pressure on Damascus: Offer money and asylum to officers and officials who defect from the criminal regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Discontent among Alawites  the minority sect that forms the regimes core constituency  as well as Druse and other religious minorities is at its highest since 2012, when dozens of Mr. Assads senior military and security officials left the government. Last summer, simmering tensions reportedly boiled over when gun battles erupted between Iranian-backed regime forces and residents of two Alawite villages outside Hama. In September, Druse protesters and paramilitaries overtook a government building in the southern province of Sweida and even destroyed a statue of Hafez al-Assad, Mr. Assads father.

Over the course of the revolution, about 3,000 Syrian officers have jumped ship, according to a report by the Free Syrian Army. A vast majority now live in refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan, where they perform odd jobs or rely on host countries or the thinly stretched Syrian opposition for their daily bread. But not enough have left, largely because this enormous decline in quality of life discourages additional desertions, in particular from high-level generals who could help force a political solution. Money and legal assistance from the United States could change that.
Earle is more involved at a strategic level, sharing ideas. Hes always been a great ideas person.

Q. Is he your mentor?

A. Hell always be. We had a great connection and relationship from the day we met at Helmsley.

Q. What kind of work did you do at Helmsley?

A. In those days at Helmsley, they gave you a desk and a phone and they said, Figure out how to make money. And so I started out leasing and managing property. There was a philosophy at Helmsley, where Harry Helmsleys idea was that the people in the firm should participate in the ownership of real estate, and by doing so, they would be better, more capable real estate professionals. And so my focus from the very beginning was to work in management and leasing, but at the same time try to figure out how I could possibly participate in the ownership of buildings.

Q. What was it like working for Harry Helmsley?

A. Harry was starting to phase out when I was working at the company, but my experience with Harry was that he was always very straightforward, very direct and to the point, never wanted to waste a lot of time with the minutiae.

Q. So how is business at ABS?

A. Since we started the company, ABS has been growing at a rate of about 10 percent a year  in terms of the number of people that are part of our team, the properties that we manage and control and the square feet that are involved in that, the clients that we have, and the number of investors. So were growing in many, many ways.
The friends and filmmakers Gabriel Abrantes, Alexander Carver, Benjamin Crotty and Daniel Schmidt were brought together through serendipity  variously at school, through mutual friends and abroad  but its their shared aesthetic and sense of humor that have kept this creative quartet in conversation for the past decade. This February, the Film Society of Lincoln Center honors the foursomes unique connection with a weeklong program dedicated to their avant-garde shorts and feature-length films. Aptly titled Friends With Benefits, the series will act as a mini-retrospective for their individual efforts, as well as their collaborative ones. (A trailer for the series premieres above.) Packaged thematically over seven days, the program will encompass almost 10 years worth of their gleefully unorthodox content in addition to the U.S. premiere of Crottys Fort Buchanan, a queer soap opera about a man trapped on a remote military base, waiting for his lover to return.

Fort Buchanan, and many of the other films, are hard to place in time and space, creating a sense of compression that allows the filmmakers to mold reality to their liking  whether that ends up as a psychodrama inspired by Edouard Manets famous Olympia or an erotic sci-fi film about researchers building a particle accelerator. Pulling from classical narratives, pop culture and art history, the artists regurgitate these references to create new stories that feel familiar, yet foreign. Such is the case with Fratelli, Abrantess deliciously shot bastardization of Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew, which he co-directed with Alexandre Melo. The duos tongue-in-cheek adaptation calls to mind Pasolinis slapstick reimagination of Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales, but with a more surrealist bent.

In the program, Fratelli follows two other contemporary reworkings of history. One is Abrantess self-reflexive riff on Aristophanes The Birds. Transforming it into a cinematic mise en abyme, his version tells the tale of an overly ambitious (and eponymously named) director who attempts to restage the ancient play in Haiti  until his cast turns on him. The other is Schmidt and Carvers La Isla Esta Encantada Con Ustedes (The Island Is Enchanted with You), a 35-minute film fictionalizing the historic massacre of Puerto Ricos Taino people. A hybrid between a period film, soft-core pornography and an indie music video, La Isla Esta Encantada Con Ustedes embraces ambiguity as a vehicle for unexpected comedy. While completely different on paper, these shorts feel surprisingly complementary when watched back-to-back. Like the filmmakers, there seems to be an organic chemistry binding the works together  a personal joke, too good not to share.
New Delhi: Demanding a probe into the purported letter by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to his British counterpart, Clement Atlee, in which the former described Subhas Chandra Bose as a war criminal, RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya has questioned Congress claim that the letter was forged. An article in the weekly magazines latest edition has also called for a transparent national policy on making important documents public and attacked Congress past leaders for attempting to bury the truth of Boses disappearance.

Naturally, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma immediately trashed the said letter as forged because it does not bear the signature of Jawaharlal Nehru. But is it not possible for the message to have been sent via a telegram, a telefax or a teleprinter which dont require any signatures? This letter must be probed further, the article read. While referring to Nehrus purported December 27, 1945 letter the article says, The use of the words your war criminal for a great freedom fighter like Subhas Chandra Bose reflects the mindset and the character of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. These words are a grave insult for any freedom fighter. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making 100 files on Netajis life and his disappearance public on the latters 119th birthday, the article attacks former PMs  Indira Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh  for toeing the Nehru-Gandhi line on the issue.

These files will give us valuable insights into the sudden disappearance of Netaji and an opportunity to analyse the peculiar mindset of Congress leaders who kept attempting to bury the information on this subject, says the article.

The Panchjanya article, while referring to information that Netaji was in touch with Russia through the Russian ambassador in Tokyo, says, Perhaps the story of air crash was concocted because Russia could not openly offer political asylum to Netaji. Nehru knew this and mentions so in his letter to Clement Atlee.

The article says, Nehru knew this which was why he kept spying on the Bose family.
Californians used 18 percent less water in December and for a third straight month fell short of the 25 percent conservation mandate set by Gov. Jerry Brown, state officials said Tuesday. However, the State Water Resources Control Board reported that California will likely beat its long-term conservation goal. The state has saved a combined 25.5 percent since Governor Brown issued the mandate in June calling for savings from 2013 use rates, the agency said. Average daily water use declined from 76 gallons for each person in November to 67 gallons in December, the second-lowest rate since water-use reporting began in June 2014, officials reported.
But Dr. Gilad said that when it was contacted, Princeton said there had been no sexual harassment investigation of Dr. Lieb while he was there. He said efforts to find out more about what prompted Dr. Liebs departure proved fruitless. A Princeton spokeswoman said the university does not comment on personnel matters.

Faculty at Chicago said that Dr. Lieb had told them during the interview process that Princeton faulted him for not informing them about a complaint of unwanted contact filed against him at North Carolina, where he had taught for 13 years. But he told them he had seen no reason to do so because the investigation had not found evidence to support the claim.

Subsequently, he gave permission to Princeton to examine his personnel file. Chicago, too, received permission to look at the file, Dr. Gilad said, adding that the examination of the records did not raise red flags.

Separately, Dr. Gilad acknowledged, during the interviews of Dr. Lieb, he admitted that he had had a monthslong affair with a graduate student in his laboratory at the University of North Carolina.

At Chicago, the hiring committee struggled, Dr. Gilad said, to balance a desire to protect students with a desire not to convict someone without evidence. He said Dr. Lieb had not been found guilty of any offense at North Carolina. The department of human genetics voted unanimously to hire him.

Its hard to say this in retrospect, Dr. Gilad said, but whats the value of investigating anything if an unsubstantiated allegation itself invalidates the candidate?

But Joe Thornton, a faculty member in the department who raised objections before the vote, said in an interview, I dont think thats the right standard to use. He added, It may be a legal standard, but we should be capable of making more nuanced judgments about the environment were creating for human beings that are doing and learning science.
A pair of presidential primary battles that just days ago seemed to have heavy favorites now present the prospect of protracted and expensive contests for both parties, as the candidates who survived the Iowa caucuses surged on Tuesday toward the New Hampshire primary to be held next week.

No candidate in either party appears to have an easy path to capture consecutive victories in the next two contests, in New Hampshire and South Carolina. No one left Iowa with a convincing, rival-crushing win.

And for the first time in recent history, insurgent candidates on both the left and the right are emerging from the caucuses with enough money to finance a strong offensive in the weeks ahead, across electoral terrain that will vary from famously flinty New Hampshire to conservative, middle-class upstate South Carolina to the post-recession suburbs of Las Vegas.

What remains for the surviving contenders  particularly on the Republican side  are convoluted and extended paths to their parties nominations. As of the end of December, the candidates and their allied super PACs had more than $288 million in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed through Sunday evening.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is not among those accused of wrongdoing in an investigation by Switzerlands chief prosecutor into accusations of corruption involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign fund, a Swiss official said Tuesday. The Swiss Attorney Generals office said last week that it was investigating what it called the misappropriation of about $4 billion from Malaysian state companies. Andre Marty, spokesman for the office of Attorney General Michael Lauber, said Tuesday that Mr. Najib is not one of the public officials under accusation. Mr. Laubers office said that the investigation involved two unnamed former officials of the fund and persons unknown. Mr. Najib is the chairman of the funds advisory board. Last month a Malaysian investigation cleared him of wrongdoing in a separate case related to transfers of nearly $700 million into his bank accounts.
Jaqueline Vieira, left, watches as her 3-month-old son Daniel, who was born with microcephaly, undergoes physical therapy in Brazil. (Photo: AP)

Hyderabad: Viral pathogens for the Zika virus strains have been sequenced by Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, allowing it to create two vaccine components that will enter their preclinical animal trial phase in two-and-a-half months, companys managing director Dr Krishna Ella said.

The company had begun work on the Zika vaccine, named Zikavac, in July 2015.

There are two vaccines that are being developed inactivated vaccine and recombinant vaccine.

The patent for the vaccine was registered with the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks in July 2015.

Dr Ella said, We were working on the chikungunya vaccine and then found that in the early stages chikungunya, dengue and Zika have the same infections which are indistinguishable.

For that reason there was an interest in this virus and the project was started.

Zika virus was first isolated in 1947 from a rhesus monkey from the Zika forest in Uganda. The virus belongs to the flavivirus family.

From monkeys it was transmitted to mosquitoes and has now affected humans. Scientists say that cases of Zika virus were found in Asia in 1950 and in Pakistan in 1977-78.

The virus was considered weak one but its present strain is very virulent which calls for emergency attention, added Dr Ella.

Dr Sumathy, director of research and development said, The viral pathogens of the virus and its immune collaterals have been developed.

Data will be given to DGCI

This has helped us to take it for animal testing in two-and-a-half months. Animal testing takes five months and after that the data will be presented to the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for clinical human trials, added Dr Sumathy.

It is here that the vaccine has to stand a tough test as the data is very critically evaluated by the Drug Controller General of India.

The company has informed the Union ministry of health and family welfare and also the World Health Organisation (WHO)-India regarding the initial development of the vaccine. Sanofi and GSK Pharma also from the city have stated that they have the existing platform to create a vaccine, but no details have been shared.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia  A court in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday revised the punishment given to a stateless Palestinian poet convicted of apostasy, reducing it from death to eight years in prison, 800 lashes and public repentance, his lawyer said.

The poet, Ashraf Fayadh, had been sentenced to beheading because of the apostasy conviction announced in November, based partly on his published poetry.

The sentence stirred outrage among international artists and human rights groups at a time when Saudi officials were seeking to rebut comparisons between their application of Sharia law and the practices of the Islamic State extremist group.

The sentence also came near the end of a year in which the Saudi authorities carried out the highest number of executions here in two decades, and just before a mass execution of 47 men on terrorism charges, including a Shiite cleric who had called for the downfall of the royal family.
LONDON  Tefaf Maastricht, Europes biggest and most prestigious fair devoted to art, antiques and design, is expanding into New York.

The Netherlands-based event, organized by dealers under the umbrella of the European Fine Art Foundation, a nonprofit body, is collaborating with the New York art advisers Artvest Partners to hold two annual fairs at the Park Avenue Armory, Tefaf said on Wednesday.

Tefaf New York Fall will open in October to showcase dealers specializing in artworks from antiquity to the 20th century. Tefaf New York Spring, scheduled for May 2017, will focus on high-end modern art and design. Each fair is to feature about 80 to 90 international exhibitors.
Bob Elliott, who as half of the comedy team Bob and Ray purveyed a distinctively low-key brand of humor on radio and television for more than 40 years, died on Tuesday at his home in Cundys Harbor, Me. He was 92.

His death was confirmed by his son Chris Elliott, the actor and comedian, who said his father had had throat cancer.

Mr. Elliott and his partner, Ray Goulding  Bob was the more soft-spoken one, Ray the deep-voiced and more often blustery one  were unusual among two-person comedy teams. Rather than one of them always playing it straight and the other handling the jokes, they took turns being the straight man.

As Mr. Elliott told Mike Sacks, the author of Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations With Todays Top Comedy Writers (2014), We were both sort of straight men reacting against the other.
Beneath the surface of the global financial system lurks a multitrillion-dollar problem that could sap the strength of large economies for years to come.

The problem is the giant, stagnant pool of loans that companies and people around the world are struggling to pay back. Bad debts have been a drag on economic activity ever since the financial crisis of 2008, but in recent months, the threat posed by an overhang of bad loans appears to be rising. China is the biggest source of worry. Some analysts estimate that Chinas troubled credit could exceed $5 trillion, a staggering number that is equivalent to half the size of the countrys annual economic output.

Official figures show that Chinese banks pulled back on their lending in December. If such trends persist, Chinas economy, the second-largest in the world behind the United States, may then slow even more than it has, further harming the many countries that have for years relied on China for their growth.

But its not just China. Wherever governments and central banks unleashed aggressive stimulus policies in recent years, a toxic debt hangover has followed. In the United States, it took many months for mortgage defaults to fall after the most recent housing bust  and energy companies are struggling to pay off the cheap money that they borrowed to pile into the shale boom.
SAN FRANCISCO  It is game on once more for a potential Yahoo deal  maybe.

In acknowledging that it is exploring strategic alternatives, which is Wall Streets favorite way to say putting itself up for sale, Yahoo finds itself in a familiar place. In 2008, Microsoft tried and failed to buy the web company.

Three years after that effort, as activist investors like Daniel S. Loeb hovered, speculation ran wild that the company might get sold. Then competing groups of investors prepared for the chance to buy a minority stake in Yahoo  only to see that opportunity disappear.

Now it is 2016, and Yahoo is reluctantly weighing a sale of its core Internet operations as hedge fund activists like Starboard Value once more criticize the companys management.

It is clear that Marissa Mayer, Yahoos chief executive, would prefer her own self-help plan of cutting costs, businesses and employees. Both Ms. Mayer and people close to the company have said that the current focus on a so-called reverse spin, where it would spin off into a separately traded company Yahoos core business along with its stake in its Japanese affiliate, makes the most sense.
BENGALURU: Within days of exposing Congress veteran C.K. Jaffar Sharief for his attempt to secure ticket for his grandson Abdul Rahaman Sharief, Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda hauled his party legislator and former minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan over the coals for his tacit support to the Congress candidate in Hebbal Assembly constituency but clarified that no disciplinary action would be initiated against him.

I do not know if Mr Zameer is in the Congress or Janata Dal (Secular). He has no moral right to participate in any of our party functions, Mr Gowda told the media on Tuesday adding that former minister, who at one point escorted Mr Rahaman Sharief to Janata Dal (Secular) office for the party ticket, was now levelling allegations against him through advertisements released in Urdu.

Though Mr Zameer Ahamed Khan evidently heeded to pleas from prominent Muslims not to campaign against Mr Sharief, the former prime minister accused Mr Sharief of always helping the Bharatiya Janata Party win the elections.

Mr Sharief's moves have always favoured the growth of BJP. Even when I was the Prime Minister, there was an opportunity to destabilize the BJP government in Gujarat. I do not want to talk much about the episode but let Mr Sharief recall what happened, Mr Gowda added.

Recalling how Mr Sharief let down leaders of Janata Dal (Secular) after picking up the B and assuring that he would contest as Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from Mysuru parliamentary constituency in 2013, Mr Gowda said he had not yet forgotten that episode but attributed the victory of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate to the former Union ministers absence from the fray. There is no need for Mr Sharief to talk lightly about me. Even I can talk about a lot of issues. If he thinks that Muslim votes are in his control and he can politically finish me, he is wrong, Mr Gowda added.

On his part, Janata Dal (Secular) general secretary Mr Zafarulla Khan said the Congress fielded a Muslim candidate only after his party decided to issue the ticket to a Muslim.

This is a ploy by Congress leaders to divide votes of Muslims. Islam asks people to be loyal to the place where they belong to. Mr Zameer Ahamed will be in the party and will not campaign for the Congress, he added.
Loopholes are fun, Mr. Semmelhack said happily.

He is playing with another set of them at Bon Marche, a brasserie he opened last year. In San Francisco, a Type 47 liquor license, which allows restaurants to sell hard liquor, can be bought only secondhand and now costs around $250,000, up from about $80,000 five years ago. But a Type 75 license, for brew pubs that make and sell their own beer on-site, costs less than $13,000  and it permits distilled spirits to be sold as well.

Mr. Semmelhack insists he is serious about Bon Marches beer-making operations. He estimates that the restaurant has spent at least $200,000 on brewery equipment and $150,000 more on construction. Some other local pubs, though, do not make even a halfhearted effort to live up to their billing. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that four of the citys 17 brew bars had no house-made beers on tap.

Brewery licenses are a popular workaround in other states as well, including New Mexico, which has given them a protectionist twist.

State-licensed small brewers are allowed to open up to three off-site tap rooms. Those tasting rooms can also sell wine and beer from other craft makers, provided that the beverages are all produced in New Mexico.

A lot of people are using these licenses to start little bars, said Kyla Rhodes Stoker, a license broker in Albuquerque. You walk in and theres 50 beers on tap, all from New Mexico. Theres a lot of creative things you can do to stay within the law.

Entrepreneurs are pushed into such contortions by the rising cost of licenses in many municipalities. The strengthening economy, and consumers shift toward spending more on experiences like dining out than on possessions, have sent prices soaring even in once-sluggish markets.

In Detroit, a liquor license could be bought two years ago on Craigslist for around $20,000. Ken Karam paid $30,000 for the license he and his partners used to open Central Kitchen + Bar last August. He is now scouting licenses for their next venture and has encountered prices in the range of $45,000 to $50,000.
Santa Monica has Coloft, at $35 to $395 a month, and is popular with tech workers. It offers search engine optimization and programming classes, and tries to sound hip by turning its name into a verb (for example, We were colofting last night).

These have been joined by even newer and hipper co-working spaces, including RVCC, which stands for the Reserve Vault City Club. This club occupies the old Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Los Angeles, costs $88 a month, offers free coffee and feels more like a speakeasy than an office space. (Sticking with that secret feel, RVCC proudly doesnt have a social media presence or a website.)

And the newest is NeueHouse, a beautifully designed co-working space in Hollywood, in the 1938 CBS Radio Building on Sunset Boulevard. Opened last October, NeueHouse, which has branches in New York and London, puts a huge emphasis on cultural events, including Q. and A. sessions with musicians, writers and entrepreneurs. Memberships are $200 and $1,250 per month, depending on space.

Before you rush out to join a co-working space, there are pros and cons to consider.

Some believe working away from a traditional office improves productivity. A study published last year in the journal The Quarterly Journal of Economics examined Ctrip, a 16,000-employee Chinese travel agency, where call-center employees were randomly assigned to work in either the office or home. Those who worked from home were 13 percent more productive, the report found. When Ctrip gave all its workers the option to work from home, productivity grew even further, to 22 percent.

Another study published last year in the journal Sleep Health, found that people who had flexible work schedules slept better than those who had to report to the office at specific times.

But there are studies that raise doubts about working remotely. How Effective Is Telecommuting?, published last year in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, found that working from home can make people feel sad. The report says that this is likely because of the social and professional isolation experienced from being home alone for too long.
Ms. Henson and Ms. Witherspoon represent what have become default options for mainstream fashion magazines, whose covers were once opportunities to surprise, as with Diana Vreelands 1959 Bazaar cover showing a collage of gloves or Anna Wintours debut cover for Vogue in 1988, with the belly-baring Israeli model Michaela Bercu.

Now, readers can generally rely on seeing one of two possibilities: the new star or the beloved standby. The standby becomes a readers best friend, said Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan (whose March cover will feature Jessica Alba, seen last fall on the covers of Self and Allure). Editors hope that they will be able to revisit the same celebrities as cover models as they get married, have children, overcome heartbreak or have career breakthroughs like Ms. Witherspoon.

Reese is a tremendous example of someone with star power evolving into a producer, Ms. Coles said. Readers are invested in relationships with these women, and we want to see how they grow. (Cosmos best-selling cover of last year was the one with Cameron Diaz, who used to model and has also produced and written a health guide for women, The Body Book.)

Magazines also want to claim freshly minted celebrities, Ms. Coles said. Taraji is in an incredibly hot show, and everybody wants a bit of that for their reader, she said.
Interest definitely seems to be up. A representative from Amazon said it had seen a threefold increase in the last year in customers searching for gray hair dye.

Its kind of an ironic statement, especially when the wearer is noticeably young and probably years away from natural graying, said Michael Fisher, creative director of men's wear at Fashion Snoops, the trend forecasting agency. Its just another bold way to stand out from the crowd.

Tyler Oakley, 26, the social media personality who parlayed his online cachet into the documentary Snervous and book Binge last year, has experimented with his hair color, adopting many shades, from purple to green.

Gray is the favorite color Ive ever had, he said. It was unique and fun, but its not eye catching in the way that like lilac or mint was. When I had those colors, I felt like everyone was looking at me. With gray, I felt like I was trying on a new look but it was also relatively natural.

Celebrities arent the only ones to take the plunge. Ive always been confident, but now I feel more fun and cooler, Michael Vasquez, a 30-year-old senior business analyst, said of his artificial gunmetal hue, now several months old. I really love it. I feel sexier.

Admittedly, part of that is because of the positive response he received from friends and on social media, getting 90 likes on his Instagram account. Of course, my mom doesnt like it, Mr. Vasquez said with a laugh.
The gentleman in the vintage Japanese noragi work shirt and unstructured pinstriped suit, the one likely to be ringed with Mongolian prayer beads, is attracting attention, again.

Walk beside him on the way out of one of the many fashion shows he attends and you can expect to be blinded by camera flashes. Though he is somewhat bashful about it, he is a hero to many of those who follow mens wear. There is even a Pinterest board in his honor: Gods of Menswear 4: Josh Peskowitz.

Those looking to make themselves in their gods image will soon have a place to do so. Mr. Peskowitz, 36, who has spent the last several years as the mens fashion director of Bloomingdales, is striking out on his own.

In March, he and two partners  Christophe Desmaison and Simon Golby, of the fashion showroom CD Network  will open their own mens store, Magasin, in Culver City, Calif. So Mr. Peskowitz took in the mens wear shows in Europe in January and in New York this week with a new goal: to stock his shop without deference to anyones opinion but his own.
It is not with a shudder, then, but with a joyful noise  furnished by a klezmer band  that the congregations members plan to walk to their new home on April 3 from the current synagogue, deep within the Westbeth complex at 57 Bethune Street, out of sight from the street. The new synagogue will be dedicated on that day, after the congregations five Torah scrolls arrive and are installed in the ark.

The ark is framed by the most unusual architectural feature in the 299-seat sanctuary: a 46-by-17-foot wall, inclined 10 degrees away from the congregation and topped by a skylight, as if a transom had been cracked open.

The panels that form the wall were cast in glass-fiber-reinforced concrete with vertical divisions, or mullions, in a seemingly random pattern. The effect is almost like a silvery, frozen version of the waterfalls in the pools of the National September 11 Memorial. It also calls to mind the Civic Center Synagogue in Lower Manhattan and the M.I.T. Chapel in Cambridge, Mass.

Though it may not photograph dramatically, the wall has a mystical quality when seen in person. You cant tell whats shadow and whats object, Stephen Cassell, a principal of Architecture Research Office, said. Its irregular pattern is designed to disperse sound through the room. Music is an important part of congregation life, he explained.

At the back of the sanctuary will be a memorial wall of floor-to-ceiling gray glass, sandwiching an array of 606 LEDs. Each can be programmed to shine on the anniversary of the death of the person whose name is etched in front of the light. Memorial lights commemorating those who died in the Holocaust and the AIDS epidemic will always shine.
ISTANBUL  We Muslims like to believe that ours is a religion of peace, but today Islam looks more like a religion of conflict and bloodshed. From the civil wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen to internal tensions in Lebanon and Bahrain, to the dangerous rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Middle East is plagued by intra-Muslim strife that seems to go back to the ancient Sunni-Shiite rivalry.

Religion is not actually at the heart of these conflicts  invariably, politics is to blame. But the misuse of Islam and its history makes these political conflicts much worse as parties, governments and militias claim that they are fighting not over power or territory but on behalf of God. And when enemies are viewed as heretics rather than just opponents, peace becomes much harder to achieve.

This conflation of religion and politics poisons Islam itself, too, by overshadowing all the religions theological and moral teachings. The Qurans emphasis on humility and compassion is sidelined by the arrogance and aggressiveness of conflicting groups.

This is not a new problem in Islam. During the seventh-century leadership of the Prophet Muhammad, whose authority was accepted by all believers, Muslims were a united community. But soon after the prophets death, a tension arose that escalated to bloodshed. The issue was not how to interpret the Quran or how to understand the prophets lessons. It was about political power: Who  as the caliph, or successor to the prophet  had the right to rule?
Leonid Kuchma, a former president of Ukraine and his countrys envoy to the contact group, said recently that the negotiations needed to continue in the present format. He also suggested that he would welcome China getting involved in the process.

Commentators may be debating whether these efforts reflect a new determination to reach a conclusive resolution, but experience suggests that even if Moscow does want a settlement, it only wants an interim one. The Kremlin clearly prefers the conflict to keep simmering because being able to turn the heat on and off (not just in Ukraine but in the Middle East too) is Russias only functioning foreign policy lever. But the price for constantly relying on this crude tool is Russian societys continued disassociation from its neighbors  Ukraine first and foremost.

Ukrainian attitudes toward Russia have always encompassed a gamut of emotions, including an underlying resentment about a perceived sense of Russian superiority. In the years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians like me thought that this would fade away, helped by continuing linguistic and cultural links and a general opening up of civil society. We were wrong. Instead, in both societies, tense historical undercurrents have taken over.

The attitude started to turn more than 10 years ago, during the elections of 2004 that became the Orange revolution, Mikhail Minakov, a Ukrainian philosopher and political scientist, wrote me in an e-mail. Hatred toward Russia, originally fostered by nationalists, caught on with the rest of Ukrainian society and became, with time, the only legitimate language in addressing Moscow. Russia became a legitimate enemy.

A Ukrainian friend warned me before one of my recent trips to Ukraine, There are things you have to be cautious about, adding, try to avoid referring to Russians and Ukrainians as being one nation or one people or anything close.
Telangana minister KT Rama Rao after casting his vote in GHMC elections in Hyderabad. (Photo: Facebook)

Hyderabad: The TRS is set for a big win in the first GHMC elections after the formation of Telangana state.

TRS is likely to get between 80 to 85 seats, MIM 35-40, the TD-BJP combine 20 and Congress 6 to 7 in the 150-member body, according to intelligence sources.

If this prediction comes true, TRS can easily bag the mayors seat without the support of the MIM. TRS has 34 of the 64 ex-officio members in the form of legislators. The magic figure to bag the mayors seat (both elected corporators and ex-officio members) is 108.

As per the exit polls, while the MIM will retain its stronghold, the Old City, reports indicate TRS did make some inroads while the Congress created a scare in the MIM bastion.

The attack on the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Ali and other incidents of violence are considered to be the fallout of this change.

According to an exit poll by News Poll, TRS will bag 78-82 seats, MIM 35-40, TD-BJP 28-34, Congress 8-10 and others 1-3.

Another exit poll, by AARAA, gave TRS 81-85 seats, MIM 32-37, TD-BJP 25-30, Congress 3-7 and others 0-3. It gave TRS 42.13 per cent vote share, TD-BJP 27.55 per cent, Congress 7.53 per cent, MIM 14.77 per cent and others 7.99 per cent.

Several TV channels also made similar predictions.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who monitored the polling since Tuesday morning, was quite pleased after hearing the exit poll results, it is learnt.

Panchayat raj minister K.T. Rama Rao quoting the various exit polls, said TRS would win by a bumper majority. He said that victory margin would have been more if the polling percentage had been higher.

Exit polls confirmed TRS victory, Mr Rama Rao said, thanking officials, party leaders and workers for ensuring free and fair polls.

Booking of cases against some TRS activists indicated fair polls, transparency and no misuse of official machinery, he said, adding that polling was by and large peaceful barring clashes between TRS-MIM workers and Congress and MIM workers in the Old City.
It is easy to forget how beloved a celebrity O. J. Simpson was in his time  Heisman Trophy winner, N.F.L. superstar, Hollywood actor and pitchman supreme. Until he was arrested in the brutal slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman, after a televised police chase that transfixed the nation, he seemed to have transcended his roots in San Francisco housing projects.

Yet if Mr. Simpsons guilt seemed clear to much of America, African-Americans were disinclined to see it that way. Over months of lurid televised court testimony  now being dramatized in a series that started this week on FX  Mr. Simpson became a symbol, to many blacks, of endemic racism in the justice system. And when a jury with nine black members declared him not guilty on Oct. 3, 1995, black people across the country cheered.

I wasnt one of them.

I must admit I was as disappointed as many whites that black college students gleefully applauded the verdict as if Mr. Simpson were one of the Scottsboro Boys. While the police and prosecutors had been far from brilliant, and reasonable doubt was, well, reasonable, Mr. Simpsons innocence seemed decidedly unlikely.

At the time, what I saw was people ignoring the facts in favor of a kind of tribalism. A black journalism professor asked me, as a linguist, to lecture on language and the trial. Id be glad to, I told him, but I thought Mr. Simpson was guilty. I never heard from him again.
Mr. Howes was, however, the curator-director at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Conn., and even if he could not attend the dinner, he wanted to exhibit some of it at the museum. So Wendell Phillips Dodge, a theater impresario who had organized the dinner, sent Mr. Howes a sample, which he labeled Megatherium.

Image Wendell Phillips Dodge organized the 1951 Explorers Club dinner. Credit... Explorers Club Research Collections

That sample found its way to the Peabody in 2001, prompting years of puzzlement among students and professors. Was this jar of ethanol with a bit of flesh really cooked, extinct ground sloth from Alaska?

Recently, Matt Davis, a graduate student at Yale studying ice age ecology and one of the authors of the new paper, was having lunch with Eric Sargis, another author, who was giving a course in mammalogy. Mr. Davis was a teaching assistant for the course, and at the lunch, Dr. Sargis lamented, Its amazing that I cant get anybody interested in the piece of sloth meat we have.

Mr. Davis recalled, I was immediately hooked.

DNA analysis was called for, and they recruited Jessica R. Glass, another graduate student, and the first author on the paper, whose day job is studying the genetics of marine fish. As an undergraduate at Yale, she said, I always knew about this specimen, adding, I was fascinated by it.

She and other scientists joined the team. They assumed the flesh was thousands of years old, which meant that testing for DNA was more complicated than testing a more recent bit of flesh. Also, she said, the meat was cooked.

There was some legitimate science to be done. If the meat was really Megatherium, that would extend the species known range from South America all the way to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
SAN FRANCISCO  Alphabet, the parent of Google, is losing one of its most influential engineers, but his successors background is indicative of how important artificial intelligence technology is becoming to the Silicon Valley company.

Amit Singhal, the companys senior vice president for search, and one of the earliest builders of its global computer system, announced that he would retire on Feb. 26. He has been involved with many of the technologies that have made Alphabet an engineering powerhouse and one of the worlds most valuable companies.

His replacement, John Giannandrea, currently works in artificial intelligence, or A.I., at Alphabet. A.I. has been increasingly important to Google and other companies like Amazon, as they seek to build products that can do things like respond to voice commands, deliver complex alerts about changes to a users schedule, or drive a car.

In a post to the Google Plus social network, Mr. Singhal indicated that he wished to spend time with his family and intended to give away some of his fortune. It has always been a priority for me to give back to people who are less fortunate, and make time for my family, he wrote.
Europes national privacy agencies demanded more details on Wednesday about whether the European Unions new data transfer agreement with the United States would adequately protect individuals personal information.

The move by the privacy regulators, which represent individual countries within the 28-nation European Union, indicates an unwillingness to accept the word of officials in Brussels that they can adequately safeguard citizens personal data.

The group asked the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, to provide a fuller explanation of how safeguards would work and to explain how Europeans could seek legal redress in the United States if they believed their data was misused.

The primary concern is how much access American intelligence agencies will have to European citizens personal information.
Georgias oldest death row inmate was executed early Wednesday after the United States Supreme Court declined to grant a stay of execution.

The inmate, Brandon Astor Jones, 72, was put to death for the 1979 killing of Roger Tackett, a store manager, during a robbery. Mr. Jones, who accepted a final prayer and recorded a final statement before his execution by lethal injection, was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m.

He was convicted of the slaying with another man, Van Roosevelt Solomon, who was executed by electrocution in 1985, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Image Mr. Jones, 72, was convicted along with another man of killing a store manager in 1979. Credit... Georgia Department of Corrections, via Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

Late Tuesday, lawyers for Mr. Jones tried to block the execution by challenging the constitutionality of a Georgia law established in 2013 that protects the identity of those who manufacture and prescribe the drugs used in executions. They had also argued that the death penalty was too severe a punishment for the crime, The Associated Press reported. Both arguments were rejected.
WASHINGTON  The Flint water crisis fanned partisan tensions on Wednesday in both the Senate and the House, where members of an oversight committee grilled federal and state officials about actions that have resulted in fears of lead poisoning in children. The fight threatened to derail the first energy bill in a decade.

While there was bipartisan condemnation of how officials handled the crisis, Democrats and Republicans split over what the federal government should do to help resolve it. Many Republicans said they would oppose a Democratic proposal to add $600 million in aid to Michigan to the energy bill, a position that Democrats said was Republicans passion for smaller government gone bad.

I dont care whether its the E.P.A., whether its local, whether its the state, said Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, during a rare bipartisan questioning over the breakdown in public health. I want everybody whos responsible for this fiasco to be held accountable.

As House members questioned Michigan officials, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, scrambled to save a sweeping bipartisan energy bill that Democrats have threatened to derail if federal assistance for Flint is not included.
While Mr. Bush had $7.6 million in the bank and the super PAC supporting him had an additional $58.6 million as of Jan. 1, Mr. Kasich had just $2.5 million and Mr. Christie a paltry $1.1 million. And neither Mr. Christie nor Mr. Kasich, both of whom have spent the vast majority of their time in New Hampshire, has much in the way of organization in South Carolina.

Mr. Bush, by contrast, has an active network of supporters there and has tapped into Mr. Grahams organization. And perhaps most important, the super PAC supporting Mr. Bush has shown a willingness, to put it mildly, to spend millions of dollars against his rivals, particularly Mr. Rubio, whom it has spent more than $20 million attacking.

The prospect of the super PAC maintaining its assault on Mr. Rubio after the New Hampshire primary leaves many Republicans uneasy about Mr. Bushs intentions. And Mr. Rubios supporters, cognizant of these concerns, began moving on Tuesday to stoke these fears.

If Jeb doesnt do well there, and hes still got millions and millions to spend, does he stay around? mused Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, a Rubio backer. Who knows.

But, Mr. Gardner noted, more money has been spent attacking Republicans by fellow Republicans in this election than any cycle in the history of the party.

It is not just supporters of Mr. Rubio who are dismayed. Some of Mr. Bushs major donors, including those with long ties to the family, are also growing impatient, hoping he will not go past New Hampshire absent a strong finish here.
The speech served as a bookend to a 2009 address Mr. Obama delivered at Cairo University, where he called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world. In Baltimore, the president did not talk about intractable international conflicts like the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and focused instead on the more prosaic reality of vandalized mosques and bullied American Muslim children.

These children are just like mine, Mr. Obama said. And the notion that they would be filled with doubt and questioning their places in this great country of ours at a time when theyve got enough to worry about  its hard being a teenager already  thats not who we are.

Although President George W. Bush visited a mosque in Washington within six days of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to reassure American Muslims, Mr. Obama, a Christian, brushed aside requests for a visit for years in part because 43 percent of Republicans and 29 percent of Americans think he is a Muslim, according to a CNN/ORC poll last September. Aides feared a mosque visit would feed into that perception.

But in the final year of his presidency, Mr. Obama has lost much of his reticence in addressing issues like race, addiction and religion, often in very personal terms. Administration officials said there had been little internal debate about Mr. Obama visiting an American mosque since talk about it began at the White House last fall.

In an aside that drew considerable laughter, Mr. Obama told the crowd at the mosque that controversy over a presidents religion is not new. By the way, Thomas Jeffersons opponents tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim  so I was not the first, he said, adding: Im in good company.
MANCHESTER, N.H.  Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are both playing to win the Democratic primary here, and there may already be a handful of losers in their battle: the mainstream Republican candidates.

Bear with me here.

In most states, Republican and Democratic primaries unfold on different tracks. But in New Hampshire, the states open primary creates a strange tug of war between candidates in opposite parties, as they fight over a shared group of political independents who can vote in either primary.

A Democratic candidate who wins over independents may do more than pick up support in her own campaign. She may also pull away votes from a moderate Republican pursuing the same constituency.

Had Mrs. Clinton won Iowa by a big margin, some of the drama might have left the Democratic contest here, releasing a sliver of centrist and left-of-center independents to vote on the Republican side.
The bulk of the exonerations in 2015 came from just two states: Texas, where 54 people were cleared, and New York, with 17. The registry linked that trend to efforts by individual district attorneys in Brooklyn and in Harris County, Tex., to review questionable convictions.

Since taking office in 2014, Brooklyns district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, has overseen a broad review of potentially wrongful convictions, an undertaking that has been watched closely across the country by prosecutors, defense lawyers and inmates.

Under Mr. Thompson, the offices conviction integrity unit has cleared 17 men, mostly of murder.

If that same effort were put in across the country, Mr. Gross said, wed find many more of these cases.

Official misconduct played a role in 65 of the exonerations in 2015, the registry said, and false confessions were seen in 27. The most common reason inmates were cleared, in 75 of the cases, was that no crime had even occurred.

In one such case, three men were cleared of setting a fire in 1980 in Brooklyn that caused the death of a mother and her five children. The sole witness in the case was deemed unreliable, and advances in arson science showed that the fire was most likely an accident.
It is most unfortunate to know that 'vested interests' are working hard to disprove the fact that Rohith Vemula is a Dalit, Siddaramaiah said. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has condemned the attempts by "vested interests" for projecting the Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula as a non-Dalit.

It is most unfortunate to know that "vested interests" are working hard to disprove the fact that Rohith Vemula is a Dalit, he said.

"I will not allow such things to happen and I condemn this in very strong words," he said.

In a letter to Radhika, the mother of Rohith Vemula who committed suicide in a hostel room on the campus on January 17, Siddaramaiah expressed regret that the university campus has become a "place for unscrupulous elements to achieve their politically motivated, caste-based agenda."

"The university campus, which should have a cordial atmosphere for the students to learn and achieve all round growth, unfortunately, has become a place for unscrupulous elements to achieve their politically motivated, caste-based agenda," the senior Congress leader said.

The Chief Minister told Rohith Vemula's mother that he was aware of the circumstances that must have forced him to take the extreme step.

While some BJP leaders have claimed that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit, the Chief Minister did not specify who the "vested interests" were.

Congress has been demanding the sacking of Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya along with the removal of the Hyderabad Central University Vice chancellor in the wake of the suicide.
LONDON  The South African president, Jacob Zuma, agreed on Wednesday to repay the government part of the $23 million in public funds that were spent on lavish improvements to his home, in an attempt to defuse a controversy that has dogged his administration and the governing party, the African National Congress.

The improvements to Mr. Zumas spacious homestead, just south of the town of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal Province, were made shortly after he took office in 2009. They included a swimming pool, a visitor center, a helipad, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheater, three houses for Mr. Zumas personal employees and even a chicken coop. (The government tried to justify the swimming pool by characterizing it as potential firefighting equipment.)

Mr. Zuma did not specify how much he would repay.

The government at first insisted that the home upgrades were security enhancements, and at one point, Mr. Zuma told Parliament that he had paid for the improvements himself. But late in 2012, critics filed complaints with the office of the public protector, whose job is to investigate allegations of official misconduct, and demanded an investigation.

The public protector, Thulisile Madonsela, concluded in 2014 that Mr. Zuma had misappropriated government funds, failed to stop his architect and other contractors from piling on costs, and benefited unduly from the renovations, in a manner inconsistent with his office.
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Awale Kullane, Somalias Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations: Well, my experience started off very well in the morning. I went to the airport, this is the first time I fly out from our new airport and it was very welcoming. We felt very hopeful, everything really looked nice, even the planes that we were riding on, the last time I rode with Daallo and Jubba (airlines) was about eight years ago travelling to, nine years ago travelling to Djibouti so even the planes were a lot bigger and better and the customer service that we received and everything was really going into place, I noted down that things were improving. And when I went into the plane and most people started boarding the plane it was ok, the plane was not that full so people could sit wherever they wanted and there was a bit of distance within the people and then it took off so when the plane took off, roughly I would assume about 10, overall under 10 minutes that I heard the plane stewardess over the microphone saying that you know the plane is, the normal information that its above, I think they said it was about 11-thousand foot, you know, asking people not to move around and keep their seatbelts on until the lights are off and things like that, and then I heard a big bang, so, and the smoke erupted so we couldnt see anything for a few seconds, so it was a bit scary and of course traumatising those few seconds and when things, the smoke cleared I was sitting somewhere I would assume it is the middle of the airplane where I could stretch my legs and most people started moving behind me so I saw kind of a space of a chunk of small area of the plane missing and that air was floating in and out and the oxygen masks had started to drop above us so everything looked a bit more critical, then after a while, you know, me and others, everyone realised that there was something happening in front of us, a few rows ahead of us that I took a video clip after things had settled down and most people started moving at the back of the plane and so I think for the first few seconds and minutes there was, I was terrified and most people were terrified and of course people responded differently to that kind of a shock. // 5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Awale Kullane, Somalias Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations: I just saw white smoke and you know, there was a few seconds where I didnt realise where it was and then when things calmed down of course we saw a hole in the plane and the first thing you worry about is can we really make it? It was that worrying feeling was there but it was really traumatising, thinking back right now the first minute or seconds and then when things happen you know I really didnt think we would make it, but of course after things calmed down it was a lot easier to be hopeful and then at least take out the phone and take a few clips and things like that and by that time I, to my mind, understood it would be a lot calmer and a lot more stable and the plane stabilised and there was not that much turbulence and of course we give credit to the pilot who landed that plane.
The scientific link between Zika and infant brain damage has not yet been proved. But the rising reports of microcephaly in parts of Brazil stricken by Zika have caused enough alarm that the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency on Monday, noting that its experts agreed that a causal relationship between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly is strongly suspected.

Some Brazilian doctors are already encountering pregnant women seeking abortions because of the spike in microcephaly cases. Dr. Artur Timerman, an infectious-disease specialist in Sao Paulo, said that two patients had spoken with him in recent weeks about ending their pregnancies because they had tested positive for the Zika virus.

They come to my office and ask, Is there a chance for my baby to have microcephaly?  he said. We need to inform them there is. They ask if the chance is big or small. I respond, I dont know. They ask what I would do in their position. I tell them its a personal decision, only that the chance is a real one.

Later, he said, both patients told me they had abortions.

The debate over whether women should be allowed to have abortions in microcephaly cases could reverberate across the region. The outbreak in the Western Hemisphere is believed to have begun in Brazil, the country with the most Zika infections by far. But it has spread to more than 25 countries and territories in the Americas, some with abortion laws as restrictive as Brazils, if not more so.
BEIJING  A Chinese journalist who disappeared while seeking refuge in Thailand told his wife by telephone on Wednesday that he had returned to China and was being held by the police, she said.

The 10-minute call was the first sign of life the journalist, Li Xin, had given to his wife, He Fangmei, since he disappeared near Thailands border with Laos last month. Mr. Li had been trying for months to avoid returning to China, fearing that he would be persecuted here for having revealed that state security operatives had coerced him into becoming an informant, and for having described censorship in the state-run news media.

He said, Wife, its me, Li Xin,  Ms. He said by telephone from her home in Henan Province, in central China. He said that hed returned to China voluntarily and was under investigation, but he didnt say where he was in China.

He told me to celebrate the New Year holiday with his family and to make sure I kept healthy, she added. The annual Lunar New Year holiday starts Sunday evening.
Maya Wang, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong, said the reluctance of officials to impose severe punishments in the case of Mr. Huugjilt set a dangerous precedent.

If the authorities cannot offer even a modicum of justice in a prominent case like Huugjilts, Ms. Wang wrote in an email, what hope is there for the many others who try to seek accountability for the torture and mistreatment theyd suffered in detention?

The authorities in Inner Mongolia did not respond to requests for comment.

While Chinese officials have become more transparent about wrongful conviction cases in recent years  in 2014, more than 1,300 court decisions were reheard, according to the government  punishment for those accused of falsifying evidence and using coercive techniques is often lax.

Last year, Chinas top judge, Zhou Qiang of the Supreme Peoples Court, apologized for a raft of wrongful convictions and vowed to work to prevent similar injustices in the future. But he did not say what the government would do about those responsible for previous miscarriages of justice.

He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University who has argued for the abolition of the death penalty in China, said it was important to punish those directly responsible for wrongful convictions. In China, he said, higher-level officials like judges and prosecutors are often shielded from investigation, leaving lower-level officials to take the blame.

The people punished are not the real decision-makers, so the authorities can only give them lighter punishments, he said. They are not the decision-makers. They are only the executors.

In the case of Mr. Huugjilt, 11 former police officers, seven former employees of the procurators office, five former employees of the Inner Mongolia higher peoples court and three people from the intermediate peoples court in Hohhot received demerits.
BEIJING  Two photographers living in China, Kevin Frayer of Getty Images and Fred Dufour of Agence France-Presse, set up a collective Instagram account in June that displays photographs and short videos taken across China. They called it Eyes on China.

The aim was to provide an informal outlet and organizing point for many of the professional photographers, both Chinese and foreign, working in the country. The account now has 34 photographers, 18 of them Chinese and 16 foreign. A couple are video journalists.

China is a massive, complicated and incredibly interesting place that is impossible for any one photographer to show, Mr. Frayer said. Our goal was to pull together this large group of talented photographers and video journalists to give people a diverse and ongoing visual document of the country.

As seen here, the images are wide-ranging and offer a glimpse into ordinary lives across China. An old man sits atop a traditional bed known as a kang. A woman stands in a snowstorm. A bride prepares for a wedding portrait by a lake.
SYDNEY, Australia  The United Nations strongly rebuked Australia over its human rights record after the highest court here ruled on Wednesday against a challenge to Australias immigration policies.

The High Court decision means 267 asylum seekers could be transferred from Australia to an offshore detention center on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru.

Most of the asylum seekers, who were from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh, were brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment. The group includes 37 babies born here after their mothers were transferred for the births because Nauru lacks adequate medical facilities.

It also includes more than 12 women and at least one child who said they had been sexually abused or harassed while on the island.
In the rarefied world of star chefs, Mr. Violier was firmly perched at the top, and fellow chefs and friends said there was little to suggest that anything was amiss.

Pierre-Marcel Favre, his editor, who spent six years working with him on his encyclopedia devoted to European game birds, told Liberation that he remained perplexed by Mr. Violiers death. He was in control, relaxed, serious, had lots of ongoing projects, he said.

There has been speculation that it could have been an accident, but Mr. Favre said this was unlikely, given that Mr. Violier was a seasoned hunter. The hypothesis that he may have been attacked was equally fanciful because Mr. Violier owned guns and could have defended himself, he said. The Swiss police, who are investigating the circumstances of his death, have suggested that he ended his own life.

In a hypercompetitive industry where chefs can be demoted overnight and where there are heavy demands to match culinary perfection with global branding, Mr. Violiers death has renewed a debate over whether the system of ranking chefs, inherently subjective, needs updating.

In 2003, Bernard Loiseau, the chef and owner of the Cote dOr, a Michelin three-star restaurant in the Burgundy region of France, committed suicide at age 52, after the Gault & Millau lowered his rating, fanning alarm that he could lose one of his Michelin stars.

This week, the Michelin Guide demoted his Relais Bernard Loiseau to two stars. His widow, Dominique, was quoted by Le Monde as saying she was shocked and disappointed by the demotion after more than 25 years, adding that the restaurant would do everything to try to regain the star.

The guide declined to comment. But Michael Ellis, managing director of Michelin Restaurant and Hotel Guides was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying that it was a difficult decision but it is part of the job.
PARIS  Despite widespread protests across the country in recent days, the French government confirmed on Wednesday that it would seek a three-month extension of the state of emergency it declared after the attacks in and around Paris that left 130 people dead in November.

The extension is one of several pieces of legislation that the government has been pushing for since the attacks, including a bill that would increase the powers of the police and antiterrorism investigators, as well as a much-debated proposal to strip the citizenship of people convicted of terrorism. The citizenship proposal recently prompted the French justice minister to quit.

President Francois Hollande declared the state of emergency a day after the coordinated attacks on Nov. 13, which were carried out by teams of Islamic State gunmen. The French Parliament voted several days later to extend it for a three-month period that expires on Feb. 26. Lawmakers are expected to approve the new extension this month.

The state of emergency expands the powers of the French authorities, letting them carry out police raids and put people under house arrest without the prior authorization of a judge.
The debate on genetically modified (GM) mustard has acquired an epic and urgent quality. It is a story that needs a wider elaboration.

If science is public knowledge, then scientific research has to be open to public debate and scrutiny. For this, the public has to be defined not in terms of shareholders but stakeholders  citizens whose immediate connectivity to the event might be difficult to establish.

One has to remember that connectivity is not merely economic, but related to health, ecology, science, to cultural notions of the body and to ethical frames. So the joke, Does GM pass mustard? is more complex than one thought.

What enters into the GM debate and alters its complexion completely is the democratisation of science and decision-making regarding science.

The debate, in fact, is more important than the fate of any commodity because by democratising science, one is creating a new world of sensitivity.

The debates, I must admit, are raucous, pluralistic and uncontrollable. When Jairam Ramesh was the minister for environment and forest, he had a debate on Bt cotton which verged on a tamasha. The GM debate on mustard has been equally dramatic.

Poised on one side is a distinguished scientist with a distinguished genealogy  Deepak Pental  and cast on the other side are formidable critics like Vandana Shiva, Devinder Sharma and Aruna Rodrigues.

All are old hands at this Punch and Judy battle and all realise the responsibility for the future that goes with it. Both groups realise that this is not a short-term debate and it is not merely about mustard, but about the future of agriculture, the ethical and evolutionary responsibility of science.

Dr Pental complains that his critics are tarring him with stereotypes. GM mustard, he holds, is not anti-farmer. Dr Shiva and others point out that science is often turned into a con game under expert pretensions.

At the Energy and Resources Institute, Dr Pentals group first discovered that Indian mustard when crossed with east European types produced hybrids that were more productive than any of the local line.

As a crop developer, Dr Pental attempted to commercialise it by applying to Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in 2015. Backing him was a powerful multi-national from Belgium, Pro-Agro. Dr Pental also had the approval of the European Commission.Dr Pentals group claims it followed the right procedures.

Ms Rodrigues, in her petition against the environment and forest ministrys attempt to release GM mustard, sought action against the GEAC chairman for contempt of court.

The petition claimed that the Supreme Court had issued a restraining order against both large- and small-scale field trials as a prelude to commercial release.

Ms Rodrigues lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued that the field trials had violated fundamental biosafety protocols. He suggested that such trials virtually jump the gun, preempting the elaborate and cautionary rituals of decision-making that precede the release of a new species or hybrid.

The very act of seed-setting sets the stage for high-risk contamination. In fact, the very conduct of such trials was seen literally as a surreptious approval for commercialisation.

Dr Pental plays down these comments seeing them as irrational anxieties. He points to the international use of GM mustard. Eighty per cent of rapeseed, a sister crop, is already under this technology.

He points out the irony that while the Japanese refuse to have anything transgenic in their own country, they are feeding their chicken with rapeseed meals from Canada.

He points to the deregulation of mustard in Europe after a long and tedious debate. He condemns a lot of the critique of GM mustard as anxiety-driven rhetoric.

Dr Pental, of course, locates his argument within the structure of a wider rhetorical debate. He talks of the great contributions of science to the health debate in increasing lifespan and then asks rhetorically, what if agriculture had stayed frozen at 1900 levels? What if there was no mechanisation, no chemical fertilisers, no systematic plant breeding?

Incidentally, both sides seem to use an almost apocalyptic rhetoric to make their argument. The critique of GM is often unfairly presented as a critique of scientific progress.

Many scientists have jumped from the objectivity of their facts to making personal, almost libellous attacks on critics. What we see is a full-blooded politics of anxiety.

But two caveats must be raised. The critics of GMO are scholars and activists of integrity. Many of them are as professional as any establishment scientist.

In fact, the debate which often blurs at the edges has to recognise two things clearly. Firstly, it was dissenting scientists who brought many issues to the forefront of debate.

Secondly, the debate has extended beyond the standard provincialism of experts and now includes citizens who are no longer passive consumers but active, in fact, activist citizens, engaging in scientific debates that critically affect their future.

Unlike old-fashioned experts, the new generation of experts cannot be wished away. One must add that both democracy and science has changed. The citizen is no longer a passive consumer of scientific knowledge and scientifically produced commodities.

Also, science is no longer the expert-driven enterprise masked by total certainty. The emergence of risk sciences ensures that science has to be more cautious in certifying its products.

Ms Rodrigues petition has been considered by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court which has asked attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi to respond.

The petition will be heard after two weeks but it is now clear that mustard, an everyday crop used for food, for body massages and fodder has raised a network of questions that science and democracy have to answer carefully.

The old Manichean battles are irrelevant and mustard has become food for scientific thought.
DUBLIN  Irelands prime minister, Enda Kenny, announced on Wednesday that Parliament would be dissolved and a general election held on Feb. 26.

Mr. Kenny had been fast approaching a legal deadline of March 9 to dissolve Parliament and call an election. His decision was signed by the president, Michael D. Higgins, on Wednesday in a largely formal gesture. There was speculation in November that Mr. Kenny would call for an election but he delayed the move, in part to avoid coinciding with a politically delicate inquiry into the European Central Banks role in the collapse of Irelands banking sector in 2010.

Mr. Kenny is widely expected to be re-elected, given the countrys strong economic recovery under the coalition government he has led for the past five years. If he wins, he would be the first leader of his center-right Fine Gael party to win a second term since the Irish Free State was established in 1922.
LONDON  It was a case that riveted the world: In 1974, a dashing British aristocrat and army officer, known for his prowess at backgammon and bridge and his fondness for vodka martinis, powerboats and Aston Martin cars, vanished after the bludgeoned body of his childrens nanny was found in the basement of his familys house in the affluent Belgravia area of London.

The aristocrat, Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, was declared the killer in 1975. But he was never found, despite an international manhunt; unverified sightings in places as far-flung as Australia, Colombia, India, Paraguay, the United States and New Zealand; and endless conspiracy theories. In the United States, the case has been compared to that of Joseph Force Crater, a New York judge and bon vivant whose 1930 disappearance was never solved.

A British judge declared Lord Lucan dead in 1999, allowing the resolution of certain estate and inheritance matters, but that ruling did not definitively close the issue. Under a law that took effect in 2014, the earls son, George Charles Bingham, asked a court to formally issue a death certificate so that he could inherit his fathers title and become the eighth Earl of Lucan.

A High Court justice, Sarah Asplin, granted Mr. Binghams request in London on Wednesday. The proceeding, which attracted significant attention in the British media, was surprisingly brief for a case with such a notorious and lengthy history.
A video taken by a drone winding its way through the battered city of Homs, Syria, has captured haunting images of the virtually complete destruction after five years of civil war.

The minute-and-a-half video was uploaded on Tuesday to a YouTube channel operated by Alexander Pushin, a cameraman who runs a drone filming company, Russia Works, and who has taken several videos of Syrias war-torn landscape.

In his latest video, whose date of origin was unclear, the camera travels at low altitude between buildings and alleyways in Homs, a central city that had been home to a prewar population of one million people. It is almost completely empty of life.
JERUSALEM  Three Palestinian men armed with automatic rifles, knives and pipe bombs attacked Israeli border police officers in East Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing one officer and wounding another. The three assailants were fatally shot by officers at the scene.

The assault was the latest in a four-month wave of Palestinian attacks against Israeli security forces and civilians. Israeli officials said the officers were attacked after they became suspicious and approached two of the men, asking to see their identity cards. Those two men began to stab and shoot at the officers, the police said, and a third assailant fired at the police from behind.

The two police officers who were injured were both female. One  Hadar Cohen, 19  died of her wounds a few hours later at a hospital.

The attack took place in a predominantly Palestinian area of East Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate of the Old City. It was not immediately clear where the assailants were going when the officers approached them.
SANA, Yemen  An airstrike by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia hit a cement factory north of Sana, Yemens capital, on Wednesday evening, killing at least 15 people, including civilian workers in nearby businesses, according to local security and medical officials.

The bombing of the factory, in Amran Province, came days after Saudi officials pledged to form a high-level committee to investigate strikes in Yemens civil war that have killed civilians, and to improve their militarys aerial targeting with advice from American and British experts.

The coalition has been fighting since March on behalf of Yemens exiled government to defeat a rebel movement from the north known as the Houthis.

The coalition bombing campaign has intensified throughout northern Yemen over the last two months, since the breakdown of negotiations to end the civil war, and as anti-Houthi forces have mounted an offensive aimed at capturing Sana from the rebels.
Here is how Bank of Americas version of the debit card lock works (other banks features are similar): Users log onto their accounts on a phone or other device (the mobile app must already have been downloaded), and select Manage debit card settings under the help menu.

An image of the debit card appears, and the user swipes an on/off switch to lock the card. The app asks, Are you sure? and the customer taps a confirmation screen to lock the card.

Once the card is locked, it cannot be used to make purchases or withdraw money from automatic teller machines until the user unlocks it. Other types of transactions, like automatic deposits and bill payments, are not affected, Ms. Moore said.

Other big banks, like Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo, do not yet offer the debit card lock feature. A Citi spokesman said customers do have the option of locking their debit cards at any time by calling the bank (they can call again to have them unlocked). A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said the banks customers could opt to receive text messages when the bank notices suspicious transactions.

While the original idea was that consumers would use the debit lock occasionally, in case of a misplaced card, Robb Gaynor, co-founder and chief product officer at Malauzai Software, said many users choose to leave their cards turned off as a default setting and unlock them when they use them.

Theyre using it to prevent fraud, he said. They turn it off. Then, when they check out at Piggly Wiggly, they turn it on.

Initially, there was some concern that a consumer who turned off a card and forgot to turn it back on might be frustrated. But the card can be turned on quickly via mobile phone, so that has not been a problem, Mr. Gaynor said.
The Swedish are coming! The Swedish are coming!

Actually, in fashion, the Swedes  impossibly gorgeous, blondish, stylish  have arrived. Fashion labels from the country have been cropping up at fashion weeks around the world (and on fashion backs that attend them) for some years now.

But with the exception of Acne Studios, a world-beating empire built on jeans, their stores have not reached as wide. Actually getting the garb that Swedes take for granted can be a challenge.

Our Legacy, one of the most beloved of the current crop of young Scandi-labels (which include the ready-to-wear collection Cmmn Swdn, and the raincoat line Stuttherheim), has been selectively available at specialty stores for years, but a trip to one of its own stores meant traveling to Stockholm or Gothenburg.

More cheering to those whose travels, while global, dont wend quite that far afield, was the arrival in late 2014 of an Our Legacy store in London, its first outside Sweden. It stands on Silver Place, a tiny side street in Soho, a sliver virtually unreachable by car or cab, in a thicket of mall-like shopping.
The New York City Ballet dancer and choreographer Troy Schumacher, 29, has been with the company since 2005. As a choreographer, he is known for ballet-meets-fashion collaborations with designers such as Thom Browne, and the team Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida of MarquesAlmeida. His work with the design duo, in the ballet Common Ground, is featured this month at Lincoln Center for the ballet companys winter season. He offered a peek inside his closet.

Shirt When I was on tour with New York City Ballet, about three to four years ago, we were staying in Hong Kong. I was walking around and walked into a random tailors shop called Beaux Tailor. I had never had anything bespoke before. I kind of have a short torso, and it was fun to dictate everything I wanted about these shirts. I bought about 10, mostly in short sleeve. Because Im so active, I tend to get very hot.

Pants Sometimes, when Im choreographing, I like to wear something other than dance clothes, because I want to feel more like a regular person than a dancer in that moment. A pair of jeans that works super well for me is the Uniqlo skinny stretch denim pant.

Coat Weve been to tour in Tokyo twice, and I truly love shopping in Japan. Its the only place Ive been to where Im a medium instead of an extra small. We always stay in Shibuya, and there are a ton of amazing mens shops there. Theres a store called Fredy & Gloster, which is a Japanese label that does slightly Japanese-influenced preppy British clothes. I bought a navy wool-blend toggle button jacket there, and its great every day for fall and winter.
The dates allow Kaplan to trace the arc from brutal Communism to immediate post-revolution  to see an entire population struggling to recover their self-respect as individuals  to the near present, when Romania has joined NATO and the European Union, and even its provincial towns, like Sighisoara in Transylvania, are teeming with tourists. Spotting a sumptuous interior in Sighisoara, Kaplan writes, Few things scream money and elegance like soft yellow lighting.

He treasures his memories of the 1981 visit to the Balkans that changed his life, giving it a direction that would never really alter afterward, and is disappointed to find that, in 2013, his observations no longer have the same powerful effect. Bucharest was now a mishmash, he writes, admitting that this was its salvation and its humanity. It had not yet been overrun again by another utopian ideology or grand scheme. The city merely existed from day to day, adding dissimilar elements, while the politics of the capital were emblemized by petty, low-level intrigue and chaos. There was nothing archetypal about it anymore, thankfully.

As he notes when he arrives back in Romania from far poorer, more precarious Moldova in 2014, one could practically want to kiss the ground that the last two decades or so have been among the most benign in Romanian history. Even the worried people he encounters after Putin has overturned the post-1989 paradigm do not talk violence or revenge. Instead, Kaplan recounts, they fret over maps and routes of energy pipelines that may or may not solidify Russias grip on the region and implore him to make sure the West (and specifically Americans) takes care of Romania in the 21st century  as it failed, in their view, to do for much of the 20th.

Perhaps because of his publishing deadline, Kaplan gives little space to exploring the significance of Romanias surprising 2014 election. In a country long wedded to a rigid nationalism, Klaus Iohannis, the ethnic German mayor of the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, became the first non-ethnic-Romanian president, campaigning on a message of reform, fighting corruption and aligning with the West against Putin. Another curious omission, in this capturing of history near and distant, is discussion of the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, at which Germany opposed the American push  now seen as prescient by some, in the light of Ukraine in 2014  to hold out membership for Georgia and Ukraine.

But omissions and unevenness come with the territory, as it were, and are compensated for by the rich characters who wander through these pages, particularly the nonagenarian historians and other intellectuals, officials and churchmen who dispense wisdom from book-lined homes, cafes, or chapels old and new.

Over an espresso at the old home of Ceausescus wastrel son Nicu, a friend of Kaplans opines that Romanias geography is still a nightmare. Perhaps because of his long years in the Balkans and the Middle East, Kaplan is hyperconscious of the role of geography in history. (His many books include Balkan Ghosts and The Revenge of Geography.) His friends remark leads him to muse on how Romania joined the European Union (in 2007) just as the union fell into crisis: a mountain of debt spiraling out of control that put the future of the welfare state  the political and moral response to centuries of war and suffering on the Continent  in doubt. He shares the spreading view that this has led to many different Europes  the states within the eurozone and the Schengen borderless-travel agreement; those outside; and the ones outside the union entirely  instead of one Europe into whose bosom Romania could escape history.
The International Fleet Review that begins today in Visakhapatnam, is a mega maritime event that will bring together 54 nations. The theme of the IFR is United through Oceans.

Traditionally, fleet reviews are held periodically for the head of state to review the naval capability of the nation and, while being visibly ceremonial, it has multiple relevance that spans the political, diplomatic and military strands.

Of recent vintage, an IFR is multi-national and the host nation subtly conveys a message that seeks to establish its credibility in the maritime domain that will reassure friends and allies, even while signalling the contours of a latent military deterrence index that professional peers will interpret in an appropriate manner.

The maritime domain acquires its relevance primarily for the seamless connectivity it provides to the global landmass that is separated by vast stretches of water. Consequently, facilitating maritime trade and commerce is a primary attribute of the oceans.

This geo-economic compulsion axiomatically extends into the security domain, wherein flag and trade are synergistically linked and the co-relation between the global hierarchy of power and a credible maritime profile is abiding.

Over the last 500 years, since the beginning of the colonial era, major powers have sought to maintain an effective naval presence in two of the three navigable oceans of the world (the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) either on their own or as part of an alliance.

The colonisation of Asian and African nations may be ascribed to their inability to comprehend and acquire the sinews of appropriate naval power and India is no exception.

This inadequacy is also related to the distinctive political and strategic culture of non-European nations who were more insular and inward looking and either unable or unwilling to internalise the criticality of trans-border maritime military capability.

Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee outlined a sagar-mala vision that promised to transform Indias maritime infrastructure, but it was killed by a lethargic bureaucracy.

The maritime domain was not prioritised in any sustained manner by the UPA and some promising initiatives were indifferently pursued.

Signalling a welcome departure from his predecessors, Prime Minister Modi has accorded visible priority to Indias maritime potential and this is reflected in his numerous references and assertions apropos SAGAR  which is the innovative acronym for security and growth for all in the region.

Are these the green shoots of a comprehensive maritime orientation at last?

Paradoxically, the Indian Navy will remain the Cinderella service for the foreseeable future by way of its size and funding.

India has a skewed military composition wherein the Army, Air Force, Navy ratio by way of personnel is 20:2:1 and the budgetary allocation for the Navy is a modest 16 per cent of the total defence outlay.

Yet, the Indian Navy has acquired a credible profile and has acquitted itself with aplomb when required. Assessing the effectiveness of a Navy is a complex metric and, more than tangible capability, what is equally relevant is the perspicacity and deftness with which the national political leadership is able to utilise naval power in the furtherance of the national interest.

The Indian response to the tsunami of December 2004, and the subsequent anti-piracy and evacuation operations are cases in point.

Nations invest in navies to protect their national interest and win wars if such an exigency arises. In the security domain, cooperation at sea is unlikely outside of a formal military alliance and India has eschewed such a choice.

However, cooperation and collective effort are desirable in pursuit of many other shared and collective objectives. The need to ensure the safety and stability of global maritime commons in a consensual manner is one such endeavour and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief is another.

India has consistently demonstrated its ability to be a net security provider at sea as well as a source of maritime assistance.

Engaging with Indian Ocean littoral nations to maximise the opportunities of the maritime domain through improved sea-borne connectivity to enhance trade and commerce and burnishing prosperity, is a SAGAR objective, in as much as harnessing the many possibilities of the blue revolution  the ability to harvest the vast potential of the ocean. These are normative objectives that all IFR participants share.
Government silent over TPPA threat to public education 3 February 2016



NZEI Te Riu Roa is concerned about the governments silence over the potential dangers to our public education system as a result of signing the TPPA.



National Secretary, Paul Goulter says the TPPA is a major threat to our fee-free, high-quality public education system.



He says NZEI has written to the Trade Minister, Todd McClay, to seek assurances that the government will take steps to protect education from global edu-businesses seeking to profit from the New Zealand taxpayer.



The wording is ambiguous but the TPPA appears to open the door to allowing international corporations to establish schools or supply textbooks and other learning resources and then demand level-playing field access to the public education purse.



Unlike Singapore, our Government did not carve education out of the deal.



Paul Goulter says this is even more concerning in light of another secret trade deal currently being negotiated.



The Trade In Service Agreement (TISA) would restrict future governments' rights to regulate the quality and provision of education and protect unique aspects of New Zealands education system.



Together, these two deals would strike at the very foundations of our quality public education system and the outcome would be greater inequality for New Zealand children."



NZEI is asking that the governments current review of the Education Act specifically includes protections that ensure foreign corporations do not have free access to our annual $12.9 billion education budget.



We need to ensure that the government reserves the right to retain education as a 'social service established for a public good' under the TPPA provisions.



But so far, the Ministers lack of response is cause for concern."
On ground zero, Article 356 of the Indian Constitution is not at all a part of debate. The most discussed issue in Itanagar and, in fact, across Arunachal Pradesh is whether the governor acted prudently in recommending Presidents Rule or not. Most feel that the governors actions were justified, but that doesnt take away the great sense of loss, pain and disappointment in the Congress for wasting an absolute mandate. It had 47 legislators in a 60-member Assembly.

Though the case against the imposition of Presidents Rule in Arunachal Pradesh is being heard by a five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, the fact is that Gauhati high court has upheld the governors decision and the apex court has not stayed that judgment. What pains me to no end is to witness the strange media spinning in Delhi, instead of newspapers and TV channels focusing on the core issue, i.e. the role of elected leaders, as well as proprietary and probity in public life. It is unfortunate that the discourse about Arunachal Pradesh in mainland India has been reduced to a stand-off between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress, a replication of the Lok Sabha, or is seen as a constitutional crisis, whereas the real issue is the conflict within the Congress and corruption.

The first sparks flew in December 2014, when senior rebel Congress leader and chief minister-in-waiting Kalikho Pul was dropped from chief minister Nabam Tukis Cabinet after Mr Pul raised concerns about fiscal discipline in a Cabinet meeting sometime in November. An aggrieved Mr Pul then discreetly started mobilising Cabinet ministers and thats when the state Pradesh Congress expelled him from the party on April 2, 2015, for a period of six years. Thereon, Mr Pul came out all guns blazing, with incriminating documents pertaining to financial mismanagement to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore, stating that though during the 2014-15 financial year, the state government received Central grant of Rs 5,815.71 crore besides additional fund of Rs 1,109 crore, the chief secretary had to order the closing of financial year a week earlier since the government had gone bankrupt.

These colossal figures didnt cut much ice with the public till Mr Pul dropped a bombshell. He alleged that the retiral benefits, including General Provident Fund (GPF) and New Pension System (NPS) accounts had been reduced to zero  that Rs 864 crore of the GPF and Rs 97 of the NPS had been utilised by the government. The government couldnt defend the charges and the muck of financial mismanagement stuck. Thereafter public mood and sentiment swung against the Tuki-led government. In the meantime, Mr Pul went to court and got a stay on the expulsion notice served on him on May 18, 2015.

Seizing the escalating in-fighting as a window of opportunity, the principal Opposition party in the Arunachal Legislative Assembly, the BJP with 11 legislators, started making the right noises in media and reached out to the Raj Bhavan, then occupied by the UPA-II appointee, Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma (retd). The BJP soon realised that Lt. Gen. Sharma was being too soft on the Tuki-led Congress government despite several complaints with incrementing documents. Expectedly, J.P. Rajkhowa, a former bureaucrat and well-known litterateur, replaced Lt. Gen. Sharma as Arunachal Pradeshs 19th governor. He was accorded a warm welcome by chief minister Tuki a day before he took official charge on June 1, 2015.

Despite Mr Rajkhowas impeccable record as an upright bureaucrat and a celebrated and influential litterateur in Assam, he was looked at suspiciously for being a native of Assam  a state with whom Arunachal Pradesh has a long standing boundary dispute that has witnessed much blood bath since Union Territory days. With a National Democratic Alliance-appointed governor in the saddle, the state BJP started mounting a fresh assault on Mr Tuki and the functioning of his government with allegations of corruption and compromising his position and power.

Mr Rajkhowa sought clarifications from Mr Tukis office on various allegations, including the controversial Hollongi Greenfield Airport Project. Mr Rajkhowa is on record to state that at least Rs 500 crore of the total project cost of `1,150 crore was meant for land compensation and of that the lions share went to the family members of Mr Tuki, his cousin brother and ousted Speaker, Nabam Rebia. This led to a breakdown in communication between the Raj Bhavan and the chief ministers office.

On the other hand, Mr Pul convinced a few more senior Congress legislators and ministers to knock on the door of the All-India Congress Committee to brief the high command. The rebels, comprising 21 MLAs, camped in New Delhi seeking an appointment with the high command, but till date they have not been granted an audience with Sonia Gandhi or even Rahul Gandhi. Not meeting the state Congress rebel leaders is being interpreted as the AICCs arrogance and insensitivity towards the frontier state and also of using Arunachal Pradesh to settle political brownie points inside and outside of Parliament. Usually a composed man, a rattled Mr Tuki now strayed into more battles. He dropped at least four senior Cabinet ministers and many parliamentary secretaries.

One of the sacked senior ministers, Kumar Waii, accused Mr Tuki of creating CMs Super-18 out of 47 Congress legislators. The turning point in the rebellion came on October 27 last year, when tourism minister Pema Khandu resigned, terming Mr Tuki a failure and demanding his ouster as the leader of the House. Mr Khandu blamed lawlessness as the reason for the fall of 52 per cent in foreign tourist inflow in Arunachal Pradesh compared to the previous year. These and other allegations triggered an avalanche of resignations of political appointees, including principal adviser to the chief minister and former deputy chief minister, Kameng Dolo and chairman of forest corporation and former MLA, Tani Loffa, in protest against Mr Tukis leadership and style of functioning. Another setback for Mr Tuki was the World Bank report that ranked Arunachal Pradesh as last in the entire country for ease of doing business. An exasperated Mr Tuki reached out to the anti-national force, Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) to quell the dissidence, a fact that has been quoted by Mr Rajkhowa in his report.

On December 9, Mr Rajkhowa without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, revised the order dated November 3, 2015, summoning the Assembly session from December 16-17 instead of January 14-15, 2016. He justified his move stating that a notice for impeachment of the Speaker was served on November 18 by the BJP legislators, but legislative secretariat failed to act upon it even after the lapse of mandatory 14 days. Buttressing his stand on failure of the constitutional machineries, Mr Rajkhowa said that the chief minister had replied to only two of his 18 letters from June to October 2015. Rest of the events of December 16 and 17 are known to the world and much debated. But what is less known is that Mithun is a precious bovine that is considered a sacred animal in various traditional rituals. It was slaughtered right in front of the main gate of the Raj Bhavan as a mark of protest by Congress workers on December 17. What has not been reported is that the mob was led by some senior ministers who are well-versed with customary laws concerning rituals and the sacrifice was definitely an insult to the governor, a constitutional authority. In a tribal society, to avenge such a despicable act, a similar sacrifice must be performed at the protesters residence. That sacrifice, metaphorically, of course, may be carried out in the hallowed hall of the Supreme Court. Hopefully.
Special Prosecutor Matt Hart planted information from the investigation into Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard in a whisper campaign designed to prejudice the community against Hubbard, a political consultant said in an affidavit filed Tuesday in Hubbards case.

Hubbard attorney Lance Bell renewed a motion to dismiss his felony ethics case based on prosecutorial misconduct just two hours after a Lee County judge denied three of the defenses primary arguments for dismissal. Hubbards defense team has long argued selective and vengeful prosecution as a reason to dismiss the 23-count felony indictment handed down against the Auburn Republican in October 2014. Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III denied the earlier motion Tuesday after several hearings on the issue.

But the renewed motion also alleges Hart violated the states Grand Jury Secrecy Act by leaking information to radio show host Baron Coleman, a lawyer who also worked as a consultant on Auburn resident Sandy Toomers 2014 primary campaign against Hubbard.

In a signed affidavit dated Feb. 2, Coleman said he and Hart had detailed conversations about the more than yearlong grand jury investigation into Hubbard, adding he used that information in the primary campaign against the speaker.

I used information provided to me by Matt Hart against Mike Hubbard in an attempt to defeat Hubbard, the affidavit reads.

I used the information from Matt Hart to create a whisper campaign in Lee County. We visited many homes during the election cycle in order to get this information out in the public. We targeted individuals in the community that were well known and knowing they would repeat what we told them.

That information included identities of people testifying in front of the special grand jury and assurances that the investigation would result in the indictment of Mike Hubbard, according to the affidavit. Coleman further alleges Hart threatened to call him to testify as a witness before the grand jury if he revealed his pipeline of information out of the Attorney Generals Office, alleging Hart told him a visit to the grand jury would be painful for me.

The defense requested another evidentiary hearing regarding the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and asked Walker to place Hart under oath to be examined as a witness for the defense.

But in an order earlier Tuesday, Walker said Hubbard had up until then failed to meet any of the three necessary requirements to prove selective prosecution.

The defendant argues that he was targeted for prosecution by the state in order to benefit Attorney General Strange politically and that his prosecution has been pursued invidiously and in bad faith, the order reads. However, the defendant provided no evidence to this court in support of either of these claims.

The defense also failed to provide the third requirement, evidence of selectivity in enforcement of prosecution against similar offenses, Walker wrote.

In the same ruling, Walker denied the defenses motion to dismiss based on the expiration of the special grand jury and the constitutionality of the Alabama Ethics Act.

Last month, the defense filed a motion under seal calling for Walker to dismiss the case, arguing that the Lee County grand jury investigating Hubbard, which met for more than a year, indicted the speaker after its term had expired. Bell further argued the grand jurys term had expired before Hubbard was indicted in October 2014, citing the states request that a special grand jury be empanled and meet periodically over the next 12 months in its official request filed in July 2013.

Walker denied the motion to dismiss.

However, the Lee County special grand jury that indicted the defendant was created by order of the court on July 29, 2013, not upon the request of the state to empanel it. That order gave no specific expiration date and none has been contemplated since, the order reads.

Hubbards team has also challenged the constitutionality of the Alabama Ethics Act, which Hubbard championed as speaker in 2010.

In the defendants motion, he argues that both the Alabama Ethics Act itself is unconstitutional and that the act was unconstitutionally applied to the defendant in this case because it is unconstitutionally vague, fails due to the rule of lenity, is overbroad, and curtails the free speech of political parties and their members, the order explained.

Walker ruled the defenses argument for vagueness fails, adding the First Amendment doesnt protect the conduct prohibited by the Alabama Ethics Act  namely a public officials First Amendment right to lobby the Legislature.

The Alabama Ethics Act does not apply to the Alabama Republican Party as an entity, only to its chair and vice-chairs individually, the order continues. The act forbids those public officials from using that position of influence for their own personal gain. The defendants First Amendment challenges regarding the Alabama Republican Party as well as all of the defendants constitutional challenges to the Alabama Ethics Act necessarily fail.

The trial is set for March 28. Hubbard has maintained he is innocent of the 23 felony ethics charges against him.
RAJ P. MOHAN Raj P. Mohan passed away peacefully at age 74 on January 30, 2016. He leaves behind his cherished children, son Ravi (Toral) Mohan and daughter Mridula Mohan (Parmeet) Grover. He also leaves behind his treasured grandchildren, Siddharth and Meghna Grover. He took pride in his children's and grandchildren's accomplishments. He was preceded in death by his much beloved wife, Manju. Her memory always remained dear to him. The family also recognizes the care provided to him by Annie Sims and Kim Battle. He was born in Rawalpindi, India to Jaigopal Mohan and Kamla Devi Mohan (nee Shanti Devi Chhibber). He attended high school in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. After high school he traveled throughout India for his work in sales for an automotive products company. He earned his B.A. at a college affiliated with Agra University. At a very early age, he began a sociology journal, Indian Sociological Bulletin. This name was later changed to International Journal of Contemporary Sociology. After graduation he also worked for his family's business Mohan Meakin where he ran Advertising and Public Relations. Raj came to the United States in 1968 and earned an M.A. in sociology at the University of Maine and a Ph.D. in sociology at North Carolina State University. He came to Auburn University in 1973 as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and was promoted to full Professor in 1984. He was a dedicated teacher, a widely published researcher, a long-time editor of an international scholarly journal, an active participant in university service, and a kind and considerate colleague. He formally retired in 2014 from Auburn University with the distinction Professor Emeritus. His colleague in sociology from the University of Minnesota, Don Martindale, wrote of Raj as a "contemporary Avicenna," following the lead of an international scholar, Feliks Gross. Gross saw Raj as trying "to tie together Western and Eastern scholars and scholarship." Martindale saw Raj as "a Brahmin equalitarian who views all social distinctions as man-made; [someone] willing to set aside socio-religious enmity [to] consider working for a degree at Muslim University; [wanting] to promote the cause of sociology and [being viewed by the Indian establishment] as an anarchist and rebel," someone who loved India but earned citizenship in the United States, studied in the United States, and had his career in the United States. Further, he was "a cultural conservative, but an individual and social liberal." To his friends, Raj was an intelligent, insightful, and loyal companion. He had definite views about culture, society, and politics, and he expressed those views articulately and with vigor, but he always remained a scholar and a gentleman. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to one of the following: Food Bank of East Alabama, 375 Industry Drive, Auburn, AL 36832. Auburn University Foundation, Manju Mohan Memorial Endowed Scholarship 317 South College Street, Auburn, AL 36849-5170. Mohan Family Endowed Scholarship CLA Developments, 317 South College Street, Auburn, AL 36849-5170. If you are donating to the Auburn University Foundation or Mohan Family Endowed Scholarship, please mention the name of the scholarship on your check. If you are donating to the Food Bank of East Alabama please include the name Raj P. Mohan on your check. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Alabama Funeral Homes and Cremation Centers in Dadeville, AL are handling the arrangements. www.alabamafuneralhomes.com
Recently it was reported in the Western media that Emma Watson, at the age of nine, went from being a normal kid to one of Hollywoods most famous child stars overnight when she took the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. The attention was sudden  and very hard for Emma to deal with. People were asking her, What do you think of this? Who are you, who are you, who are you?

She did not have any answers to such queries then and was terrified by the huge attention she was getting. At times she felt lonely as many people do. Loneliness is not always bad if one wants to ponder over the existential questions of life. It can become a real blessing in disguise. I guess this is what happened to Emma. Being in such a space, she may have had her moments of meditation which opens the door to self-realisation. She could figure out Who am I. Sometime later, Emma realised that she was separate from her character Hermione: For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a sense of self that Im comfortable with. Perhaps, by this time, she started reading the discourses of enlightened master Osho and gained more confidence as an individual.

This confidence was extended to her love life, too. As a child of divorce, I am endlessly fascinated with finding the perfect formula for making it work, she said. But I think the biggest lesson I learned is that there arent any rules. (As Indian guru Osho said) Love never becomes wise, and that is its wisdom. Sit with the discomfort. Dont run away from it. Lean into it, take your time with it. So many people jump into things just because they cant stand the discomfort of not knowing.

Meditation is really essential for those individuals who pursue the profession of acting, as Osho tells us about his own experience: Many people come to me and ask, Why do so many actors come to you? My experience is this, that acting is one of the most spiritual professions in the world. Because an actor moves into so many actings  sometimes he is this, sometimes that  so many identities that he becomes loose. Then one day he suddenly starts thinking, Who am I? One day I am Abraham Lincoln, another day I am George Washington, another day I become this and that, and every day he goes on changing. In one film he is one, in another film he is another. Sometimes he is a saint and sometimes he is a sinner. Only then can he be a perfect actor

The enlightened mystic adds: To me, acting is one of the most spiritual professions. And if you take life as an acting, you will start moving towards spirituality. Take life as an acting, you will start moving towards spirituality. Take life as acting a great drama. The world is a vast stage. You are a mother  that is only one role. You are a father  that is only one role. You are a businessman  another role. You are a brother to somebody  another role. You are a son, husband  another role a thousand and one roles if you watch. And you go on changing your faces. When your servant comes to see you, you have a different face.
SAN FRANCISCO  Environmental groups and federal and state agencies have formed a partnership to increase the use of prescribed fires to improve the health of Californias forests and watersheds, and to minimize the effects of increasingly devastating wildfires.

The agreement signed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal and state agencies and several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy, will enable the sharing of resources and expertise among the signatories, who will meet Tuesday.

This allows us to bring key parties together and have a more organized approach to addressing some of the impediments that we face on using fire to restore our natural landscapes, said Jim Branham, executive officer for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, one state agency to endorse the memorandum of understanding.

Prescribed fires are not without controversy because of the air pollution they create, but the groups and agencies involved agreed to find ways to better manage smoke during controlled burns. They also agreed to train personnel in agencies that dont have the staff for prescribed burn because of strained resources.

The agreement comes after several wildfires largely fueled by dry vegetation scorched hundreds of square miles of forests and destroyed hundreds of homes in drought-parched California.

In Lake County last year, a wildfire burned so hot that flames generated their own wind and blew out embers that started spot fires.

Supporters say controlled burns are one way to prevent wildfires that quickly explode in size and intensity.

The last couple of years have been kind of a wake-up call that we need to figure out how to put (prescribed fires) back on the landscape in a more sophisticated way than weve done in the past, Braham said.
LONDON  A pivotal in or out referendum on Britains future in the European Union moved one step closer Tuesday as British and European leaders presented new draft proposals aimed at keeping the 28-nation EU intact.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who hopes to secure an agreement that will convince a skeptical public to remain part of the EU, said the new plans show real progress in his bid to give Britain more control over its affairs.

Cameron will seek more concessions and then the endorsement of other EU members at a Feb. 18 summit before scheduling a referendum that may be held in Britain as early as June.

I think we will be able to show  if we can secure whats in this document, finish off the details and improve it still further  that on balance Britain is better off, more secure, more prosperous, has a better chance of success for all of our families and all our people inside this reformed European Union, Cameron said.

Britain is a full member of the EU, but is often seen as having one foot in and one foot out, with the right to opt out of certain legislation, particularly in the areas of justice and immigration.

Camerons push to hold a referendum has raised troubling questions about the future of the ambitious European project at a time when the refugee emergency and financial crisis in Greece weigh heavily on the bloc.

European Council President Donald Tusk, who published the proposals in Brussels, said they go a long way toward meeting Camerons concerns without violating the key founding principles of the EU, which endorses the free movement of people throughout the region.

The proposals would make it possible for British lawmakers to work with European counterparts to block unwanted EU laws and also recognize that Britain now faces an exceptional situation regarding the influx of immigrants taxing Britains social services.

They would end Britains commitment to an ever closer union with Europe and recognize its ability to stay out of the euro single currency.

Cameron cited progress in his concerted bid to make citizens of other EU nations wait before claiming welfare benefits in Britain, although details about an emergency brake mechanism that would be used have not been spelled out.

Experts said it is not clear the proposal as it now stands will win the needed unanimous backing of other EU members or placate many Britons who have come to resent the EUs rule-making power and worry about the arrival on European shores of more than 1 million people fleeing war and poverty in the past year.

Anand Menon, director of the independent think-tank UK In a Changing Europe, said the draft represents a diplomatic masterstroke but predicts the process may be slower than expected.

I very much doubt it will persuade swing voters, he said of the proposals. And there is probably enough in there to irritate some of the member states, so it may not get through. France has made noise on the eurozone and the Poles are making noise about migrants and benefits. There could be a fight at the Feb. 18 summit and then it would be concluded later.

Thomas Raines, a coordinator of the Europe program at the Chatham House think tank, said the proposals fall short in terms of Camerons stated goals of limiting EU migration into Britain and limiting welfare payments to migrants. But he said there is enough in the proposals to provide a bit of political cover to Cameron.

I think the real value for Cameron is that it should be enough to get a majority of his parliamentary colleagues on side, he said. It will allow him to present to the public that this is not the status quo.

However, former defense secretary Liam Fox, who wants Britain to pull out, said the proposals are inadequate.

The very limited set of demands from our government have been watered down by the EU in every area, he said. The British people want to take back control and end the supremacy of EU law over our economy, our borders and our Parliament. None of these changes even come close to the fundamental changes promised to the public.

Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party, called the draft proposal truly pathetic because it does not change EU treaties and does not restore Britains ability to control its borders and its laws.

There is no fundamental reform, theres some fiddling around the edges on migrant benefits, he said.

Some business leaders struck a more positive note. Simon Walker, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said the deal is better than had been expected.

The top reform priorities for IoD members are to stop the flow of unnecessary red tape from Brussels, make clear the U.K. is not on a path to more political integration, and make the EU more competitive, he said. There are proposals on these areas in Tusks draft which hold promise, although no one should get carried away just yet.

He cautioned that most of the groups members are waiting to see the final outcome of negotiations before they decide whether to give thumbs up or down to continued EU membership.

Experts from EU nations are due to meet Friday for a first joint discussion of the proposals, hoping to pave the way for an agreement at the summit.
Rep. Dana Rohrabachers former campaign committee treasurer, who the politician accused of stealing campaign funds last year, was arrested Tuesday and will be arraigned Wednesday on charges of embezzling about $300,000 from campaign bank accounts and a former employer, the District Attorneys office said.

Jack Wenpo Wu, 45, of Newport Beach worked as a volunteer treasurer for Rohrabachers re-election committee. Hes accused of taking the money from the committees account and using some of it to pay restitution to a company that fired him, according to the district attorney.

Wu is charged with three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement, 21 felony counts of forgery with sentencing enhancements for theft exceeding $100,000, aggravated white collar crime over $100,000 and property loss more than $200,000, according to the DA.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche of the Major Fraud Unit said hes been working on the case since last spring.

Its not the first time someone has been charged with stealing to pay a (previous) victim, Labreche said.

In May 2015, the re-election committees campaign manager attempted to pay a bill with the committee debit card, but it was refused. The campaign manager contacted Bank of America to discover $170,000 was missing from the account, according to the DA.

Rohrabacher, a Costa Mesa Republican who has been a U.S. representative since his first election in 1988, said in a press release last year that he was disappointed and dismayed by this betrayal of trust.

Wu had worked as a volunteer treasurer for seven years. He has written columns for the Orange County Register about local politics, sometimes scolding politicians for how they used public tax money. He describes himself in those columns as a longtime Republican Party loyalist, and has also written for The Daily Pilot.

In 2008, Wu worked for Russell Fischer Inc. as a controller with a salary of $70,000, the DA said. He moved into a contracted position about four years later, and his pay was reduced to $2,000 every two weeks. He worked two days per week at RFI while managing his own accounting company, Wubell Services, the DA said.

According to the DA, Wu continued to receive payroll checks from RFI for his original salary from June 2012 and September 2013, collecting $71,000 in unauthorized payroll. From July to August 2013, he illegally issued additional independent contractor checks from RFI to his company, receiving $12,000 in unauthorized payments, the DA alleges.

RFI fired Wu after discovering the alleged theft in September 2013, the DA said. He agreed to make restitution payments to the company from 2013 to 2014, according to the DA.

Wu is being held on $322,000 bail and is required to prove the money is from a legal source before posting bond, according to the DA.

If convicted, Wu faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and four months in state prison.

Staff writer Meghann Cuniff contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7990 or mnicolai@ocregister.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Floridas highest court has delayed the execution of a condemned inmate, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court found flaws in the way the state sentences people to death.

Floridas justices provided no reasoning for their decision Tuesday, but earlier in the day, they heard arguments from the state and an attorney for inmate Michael Lambrix, who told them the U.S. Supreme Court ruling should apply to all 390 people on death row.

To execute people in Florida on the basis of a statute that has been declared unconstitutional is just wrong, Martin McClain said.

Lambrix was scheduled to be executed Feb. 11. He was sentenced to death for the 1983 slayings of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant. Prosecutors said Lambrix beat Moore with a tire iron and strangled Bryant after meeting the two at a bar and inviting them back to his trailer for dinner. The jurys death recommendation was not unanimous for either murder.

The U.S. Supreme Court found Jan. 12 that the states sentencing procedure is flawed because it allows judges to reach a different decision than juries. Juries play only an advisory role in recommending death in Florida.

Judges have recommended death against the jurys recommendation in the cases of three of Floridas current death row inmates, state officials said. The last time it happened was 1999.

Lambrixs juries recommended death by an 8-4 vote for Moores murder, and 10-2 in Bryants.

Scott Browne of the Florida Attorney Generals office argued Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling should not apply to already-decided cases. He warned the court that allowing the ruling to apply to old cases would create chaos and suffering for victims families in the state with the second-most death row inmates in the nation.

That would be a catastrophic (decision), we have nearly 400 inmates sentenced to death. It would be an immense burden on judicial resources, Browne told the court. These are tragic cases. To unsettle the expectations of victims family members without any compelling provision is unwarranted.

Browne said the U.S. Supreme Courts decision should be treated the same as a related case out of Arizona. In that case, the court ruled not to apply it retroactively.

Justices appeared conflicted during the arguments about how to apply the ruling in Florida.

There has to be something to the law that is beyond technicalities. One person is executed today, but the one that comes up tomorrow is not, and there really is no difference in their cases, said Justice R. Fred Lewis. Im struggling with the word games.

University of Florida Levin College of Law professor Teresa Reid, a death penalty expert, said she was not surprised by the Courts ruling. Many of the justices questions indicated they are extremely concerned about whether and how Hurst should be applied to already-decided cases, she said.

This stay and the detailed questions they asked counsel during Tuesdays hearing demonstrate theyre carefully considering the arguments presented. Theyre not just rubber-stamping prior decisions, Reid said.

Meanwhile, Floridas Legislature has started to address the death penalty system.

Under one new proposal by the House, the jury would have to make a unanimous decision about whether aggravating factors warrant capital punishment, but they could also choose life in prison without parole.

Judges could only consider an aggravating factor that was unanimously found by the jury.

There is also growing support for another bill sponsored by Sen. Thad Altman that would require a unanimous verdict in order for there to be a death sentence.

By no way is this a 100-percent finished product, Rep. Carlos Trujillo, chair of the Houses Criminal Justice Subcommittee, said. At some point we will have to reconcile both bills before it goes to the governor.
Candidates in Orange Countys most competitive races for state Senate and Assembly seats raised hundreds of thousands of dollars last year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the California Secretary of States Office. Candidates had a midnight Monday deadline to file the reports.

Irvine mayor leads Assembly District 68 fundraising

Irvine Mayor Steven Choi raised $157,971 in monetary contributions in 2015, leading three other candidates in the running for the 68th Assembly District seat held by Donald Wagner, who will be termed out this year.

Choi also received $4,105 in non-monetary contributions and personally loaned his campaign $50,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports, which run through Dec. 31, 2015.

Choi lost to Wagner in the 2010 Republican primary for the 70th Assembly District.

Former Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu raised $92,874 in monetary contributions last year, as well as $3,545 in non-monetary contributions, records show. He has loaned his campaign $100,000. He has the most cash in his war chest at $234,280, because he began raising money at the end of 2014.

Alexia Deligianni-Brydges, an Orange Unified School District board member, raised $4,101 and loaned her campaign $40,000.

Former Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly, who announced her candidacy in July, hadnt filed her campaign finance documents as of Tuesday, according to the Secretary of States website. Those who raise under $25,000 dont qualify for e-filing.

All four candidates are Republicans, which have a 15-point advantage in voter registration in the 68th Assembly District. The district encompasses Anaheim, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park and Lake Forest and surrounding unincorporated communities.

 Tomoya Shimura

Chen leads in race for open seat

Four Republican hopefuls have been raising campaign funds for the Assembly District 55 race, which is without an incumbent after Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, announced her 2016 run for senate.

In Orange County, the district includes parts of Brea, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda.

Business owner Phillip Chen, Diamond Bar Councilman Steve Tye, West Covina City Councilman Mike Spence and Chino Hills Councilman Ray Marquez plan runs for the seat.

Chen, a Walnut Valley Unified School District board member, raised the most money last year, $141,555, and started 2016 with that amount in cash on hand, according to state filings.

Tye entered the new year with $24,000 on hand, after raising $35,902 in contributions in 2015.

Spence raised $8,300 in the last year, according to his treasurer, John Fugatt. His financial and intent to run paperwork werent online as of Tuesday afternoon. Marquez raised $3,950 in the last year.

The district  which also includes parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties  leans right, with 39 percent registered Republican, 31 percent as Democrat and 26 percent declining to state, state records show.

In June 2014, Chang took the majority of the vote, with 28.7 percent.

 Joanna Clay

2 Democrats, 1 Republican in tight money contest

With Diamond Bar Republican Bob Huff termed out of the California Senate District 29 seat in North County, three candidates have raised funds in preparation for the election race.

Former Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang, who moved into the district last year, raised $363,062 in 2015, finance reports show. Headed into 2016, the Democrat reported $253,348 cash on hand.

Republican Ling Ling Chang, elected to the Assembly in 2014, is also vying for the Senate seat. In 2015 she raised $474,452 in campaign contributions and reported ending the year with $428,374 cash on hand.

Chang was encouraged to make the Senate run by Republican leaders, who have said they are concerned the GOP could lose the seat and believed the assemblywoman was the strongest option.

A second Democrat, Josh Newman, raised $101,442 in 2015 and had $69,168 at the end of the year. Newman runs an organization that helps vets find jobs.

The district covers portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. In Orange County, the district includes Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma, Placentia, Stanton and Yorba Linda.

 Denisse Salazar

Kim, Quirk-Silva raise cash for rematch

Incumbent Young Kim is being challenged by Sharon Quirk-Silva in a re-match of the 2014 Assembly District 65 race in North County, when Kim unseated Quirk-Silva.

Kim raised $611,000 in campaign contributions in 2015, with almost $489,000 cash on hand going into the new year, according to filings with the Secretary of States Office.

Quirk-Silva reported $213,000 in contributions during 2014, with $175,000 cash on hand at the end of the year.

Assembly District 65, which serves Fullerton, Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress, Stanton and part of Anaheim, is 36.9 percent Democrat and 35.5 percent Republican  23.4 percent declined to state, according to 2010 Census data.

In the 2014 race, Kim captured 54.7 percent of the vote to Quirk-Silvas 45.3 percent.

 Lou Ponsi
NEW ORLEANS  A New York real estate heir pleaded guilty in New Orleans on Wednesday to a weapons charge and agreed to an 85-month prison sentence, a move that could usher in his extradition to California to face murder charges.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt told Robert Durst that he will not make the plea final until he reviews a pre-sentencing report due in two weeks.

Durst, 72, appeared frail. He said mostly Yes, your honor and occasionally Im sorry; I couldnt hear that. Defense attorney Richard DeGuerin occasionally repeated questions into Dursts right ear; he told the judge that Dursts left ear is completely deaf.

Durst wore an orange jail jumpsuit, and his hands were shackled to his waist. When Durst was sworn in, the judge told him to raise his right hand, quickly amending that to as best you can.

Durst admitted that he illegally carried a .38-caliber revolver after being convicted of a felony.

The charge stems from his arrest in a New Orleans hotel last year by FBI agents who feared he was about to flee to Cuba. The gun was found in the hotel room he had taken under the name Everette Ward. After his arrest, a package with $117,000 in cash arrived, addressed to Everette Ward. Durst will forfeit that money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McMahon said after the hearing.

Durst was charged last year with the 2000 death of his friend Susan Berman after mumbling killed them all during the taping of an HBO documentary. His lawyer, Richard DeGuerin, says Durst did not kill Berman.

McMahon called the plea agreement a good result. The maximum would have been 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

Now he goes on to Los Angeles to face a charge of murder in Bermans death, the prosecutor said. He describing the proposed sentence as the result of very intense negotiations among federal prosecutors, Dursts attorneys, and the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office, which originally brought a weapons charge against Durst.

If Englehardt accepts the plea, prosecutors in Los Angeles have agreed to arraign Durst by Aug. 18, McMahon told the judge.

This agreement has a lot of moving parts and a lot of jurisdictions. What were doing and have been trying to do from the start is get Bob Durst to Los Angeles, defense attorney DeGuerin said after the hearing. Bob Durst did not kill Susan Berman, does not know who did, and wants to prove it.

Although Durst waived extradition from the start, he will remain in Louisiana at least until after his sentencing. If the judge accepts the sentence, then the Bureau of Prisons decides where Durst will serve it, though Englehardt can recommend a prison.

DeGuerin told the judge he will ask for the Terminal Island prison because its close to Los Angeles.

The plea bargain will be nullified if the judge gives Durst a different sentence, McMahon said.

An estranged member of the wealthy New York real estate family that runs 1 World Trade Center, Durst is accused of killing Berman to keep her from talking to New York prosecutors about the disappearance of Dursts first wife, Kathleen, in 1982.

FBI agents tracked him to a New Orleans hotel on the eve of the finale of The Jinx, HBOs six-part documentary about Durst, his wifes disappearance, Bermans death and the death and dismemberment of Dursts neighbor Morris Black in 2001. Durst was formally arrested early on the day of the broadcast, before viewers saw him in a washroom, still wearing a live microphone and muttering, There it is. Youre caught! What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

The previous felony that is part of Dursts plea was a 2004 plea in Pennsylvania to possessing a weapon both while under indictment for Blacks death and doing so while a fugitive on the murder charge.

He ultimately testified that he killed Black in self-defense, and was acquitted of murder.
WASHINGTON  Government officials tangled on Wednesday over who was to blame for the crisis in Flint, Michigan, that allowed lead-contaminated water to flow to thousands of residents at a combative congressional hearing that devolved into a partisan fight over witnesses and no-shows.

A failure of epic proportions, said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee at the first Capitol Hill hearing since the crisis in Flint emerged last year.

Joel Beauvais, acting water chief for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Michigan officials ignored federal advice to treat Flint water for corrosion-causing elements last year and delayed for months before telling the public about the health risks.

What happened in Flint was avoidable and never should have happened, Beauvais told the House panel.

Countering the federal official, Keith Creagh, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, acknowledged that the state should have required Flint to treat its water, but said the EPA did not display the sense of urgency that the situation demanded, allowing the problem to fester for months.

Creagh apologized for the states role in the water crisis, but said, in retrospect, government at all levels should have done more.

Flint is under a public health emergency after its drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The city was under state management at the time.

Water was not properly treated to keep lead from pipes from leaching into the supply. Some childrens blood has tested positive for lead, a potent neurotoxin linked to learning disabilities, lower IQ and behavioral problems.

In the Senate, Democrats are pressing for money for Flint and threatened to block a bipartisan energy bill if the city doesnt get some relief.

We are serious, and if they want a bill we want to help the people of Flint, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., sponsor of a package of aid that Democrats hope to add to the energy bill.

Democrats had proposed a $600 million package, but Stabenow said they had a agreed to less than half of what they had originally asked for. But Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican, said it seems a little premature to write a multi-hundred million dollar blank check when the state hasnt even assessed their needs, and is already getting funds from the state and the Obama administration.

Senate Republicans and Democrats continued their negotiations.

While lawmakers and officials traded charges at the four-hour House hearing, much of the attention was on three people who werent there.

Frustrated Democrats complained that the GOP-led committee did not ask Michigans Republican governor, Rick Snyder, to explain to Congress what happened. Chaffetz, the panels chairman, lamented the absence of Darnell Earley, a former state-appointed emergency manager who ran Flint when its water source was switched. Earley declined a request to testify.

Chaffetz vowed to hunt down Earley, although his lawyer said it was impossible for Earley to appear at the hearing and suggested a different date.

Chaffetz also said he would issue a subpoena to Susan Hedman, the EPAs former Midwest region chief who resigned amid criticism of her handling of the water crisis. Chaffetz said the committee will interview Hedman under oath this month.

Snyder has apologized repeatedly for the states role in the crisis. Snyder and state legislators have enacted $37 million in emergency Flint funding for the current fiscal year. Snyder is expected to propose an additional $30 million in state funding to help Flint residents pay their water bills.

The crisis has taken on partisan overtones, as Democrats blame the Republican governor and some Republicans target the EPA for failing to intervene sooner.

Chaffetz and other Republicans said EPA should have acted on its own to warn the public about water problems in Flint.

Democrats were equally adamant that the state was to blame.

Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., accused of Snyder of hiding by failing to appear at the hearing.

Despite the partisan bickering, the hearing got stuff accomplished, said LeeAnne Walters, a Flint parent and activist who helped bring public attention to the citys water crisis more than a year ago.

I think we were heard, thats the main thing, said Walters, a member of the group Water You Fighting For.

Walters said that the focus of some lawmakers on state officials and others on the federal government works for the people because they are both accountable.
For days, law enforcement portrayed him as the dangerous criminal mastermind behind an elaborate jail escape.

Now that Hossein Nayeri is back in custody, his attorney fears he wont get a fair trial on kidnapping and torture charges because it would be hard to find potential Orange County jurors who havent been unduly influenced by the massive media coverage.

Were certainly not going to rush it to trial on the heels of all this, defense attorney Salvatore Ciulla said Tuesday.

Ciulla said he is considering asking to move the trial out of Orange County. On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald agreed to postpone the case until March. 21.

Nayeri, 37, had been scheduled for trial on Feb. 23 and faces a possible life sentence if convicted .

He is accused of participating in a 2012 attack against a marijuana dispensary owner from Newport Beach in which three assailants burned the man with a butane torch and severed his penis.

The case gained renewed notoriety since Jan. 22 when Nayeri broke out of the Central Mens jail along with fellow tank mates Jonathan Tieu, 20, and Bac Duong, 43.

The fugitives were on the run for a week. In daily news conferences, the Sheriffs Department characterized Nayeri as the escapes mastermind. One prosecutor compared him to Hannibal Lecter, a comment the Orange County District Attorneys office later called rash, inappropriate and uniformed.

San Francisco Police arrested Nayeri and Tieu on Saturday when a man near Golden Gate Park recognized the fugitives stolen white van from television. Duong had turned himself in the day before.

While the nationwide media saturation aided in the capture, Ciulla said the daily coverage may make it difficult to find jurors whose views on Nayeri havent been influenced by what they have read or seen on television.

Ciulla declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Nayeris jail escape, which carries a possible three-year prison sentence.

His demeanor is like it was before  calm, easy to talk to for me, nothing like his characterization in the press in the last week, the attorney said.

Nayeri, a former Marine from Fresno with a history of evading law enforcement, is one of four people awaiting trial in the kidnapping case.

The judge also ordered co-defendant Kyle Handley, 37, to return to court on March 21. Two others charged in the case, Ryan Kevorkian, 36, and Naomi Rhodus, 35, have separate court dates next month.

Prosecutors allege the group targeted the owner of a Santa Ana-based marijuana dispensary who they wrongly believed had buried large amounts of cash in the desert.

On Oct. 2, 2012, prosecutors said, Handley, Nayeri and Kevorkian broke into the dispensary owners Newport Beach home and kidnapped him and his roommates girlfriend.

Investigators allege the three men drove the victims to the Mojave Desert, where they burned the dispensary owner with a blowtorch and cut off his penis. In an attempt to destroy DNA evidence, authorities said, the assailants poured bleach on the man before dumping him and the women in the desert.

The woman was unharmed and was able to run a mile to flag down police.

Rhodus, the fourth defendant and Kevorkians wife, is accused of assisting in the planning of the attack, but did not participate in the kidnapping, prosecutors said.

Nayeri fled to Iran before Newport Beach authorities could take him into custody, but the FBI arrested him in Prague as he tried to catch a flight to Spain to visit family.

Authorities were able to track Nayeri by finding his now ex-wife, Cortney Shegerian, according to court documents.

Shegerian, a Santa Monica civil attorney, is expected to testify as a prosecution witness in Nayeris trial, Ciulla said.

Her attorney, Lewis Rosenblum, declined to comment Tuesday.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com, 714-834-3773
MOGADISHU, Somalia  The pilot of a passenger plane that was damaged in an explosion from a suspected bomb over Somalia described on Wednesday how the crew jumped into action to fly the plane back to Mogadishu airport and keep the passengers calm as smoke enveloped the passenger cabin.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Serbian captain Vlatko Vodopivec said he and others were told the explosion that created a hole in the passenger cabin was caused by a bomb, though civil aviation authority officials said Wednesday they had found no evidence so far of a criminal act in Tuesdays blast aboard the Airbus 321 jetliner.

It was my first bomb; I hope it will be the last, the pilot said. He said the blast happened when the plane was at around 11,000 feet (3,350 meters).

It would have been much worse if we were higher, he said.

Mohamed Hassan, a police officer in Balad, an agricultural town 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) north of Mogadishu, said residents had found the dead body of a man who might have fallen from the plane.

Daallo Airlines said all passengers except one got off the plane safely, but did not elaborate. It previously said the plane carried 74 passengers.

Abdiwahid Omar, the director of Somalias civil aviation authority, told state-run Radio Mogadishu that authorities were not sure if the body found in Balad was the missing passenger.

Cellphone video taken aboard the plane pans from passengers, some wearing oxygen masks, in seats toward the back of the airliner in flight, and then swivels to the empty front area with a hole in the side of the cabin. There is a loud sound of rushing air. The video was taken by Awale Kullane, Somalias deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

The passengers bunched in the back appear calm. A child wearing an oxygen mask attached to the overhead compartment sits quietly, a blanket covering the legs. Near the hole, oxygen masks dangle and sway from overhead compartments.

When we heard a loud bang, the co-pilot went back to the cabin to inspect the damage and I took over the commands as the procedure demands, the pilot told AP, adding that the engines and hydraulics functioned normally so he had no problem flying the aircraft back to Mogadishu.

Smoke came into the cockpit, but it was mostly concentrated in the back of the aircraft, he said in a telephone interview from a U.N. military base in Mogadishu before he was to fly to Athens, Greece. The stewardesses did a great job calming down the passengers and following the emergency procedure.

He said the crew included an Italian co-pilot and two Greek, two Kenyan and one Bosnian flight attendant.

Investigators moved the plane from the runway to a private hangar. Foreign technical experts were involved in the inquiry, said Ali Mohamoud, an aviation official at the Mogadishu airport.

Two passengers on board the flight that was headed to Djibouti said they heard a loud bang that left a hole in the passenger cabin.

Kullane, who shot the video aboard the plane, said on Facebook that he heard a loud noise and couldnt see anything but smoke for a few seconds. When visibility returned he realized a chunk of the plane was missing.

I think for the first few seconds and minutes  I was terrified and most people were terrified, he later said. Of course we give credit to the pilot who landed that plane.

An official investigation is underway and a preliminary report will be issued later this week, officials said.

Daallo Airlines said in a brief statement posted on Facebook that the Airbus A321 was operated by Hermes Airlines.

Hermes Airlines is based in Athens. Its main business is providing planes on a wet lease basis, meaning it leases insured planes staffed and serviced by its crew to other carriers. Hermes fleet includes four A321s, one Airbus A320 and one Boeing 737, according to its website

Somalia faces an insurgency perpetrated by the Somali Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which is responsible for many deadly attacks across the nation.

On Dec. 11, 1994, a bomb blew a 2-foot (0.61-meter) hole in the floor leading to the cargo hold of a Philippine Airlines jetliner with 293 people aboard, but the pilot was able to make a safe emergency landing. One passenger was killed and 10 others were injured on the Manila-to-Japan flight.

The plane was flying at about 33,000 feet (10,058 meters) when the blast occurred. The flight landed about an hour later at Naha airport on Okinawa in southern Japan.

Ramzi Yousef, who was sentenced to life in prison for the Feb. 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, was convicted in the bombing of the Philippine Airlines flight.

AP writer Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.
CYPRESS  Police have arrested a woman suspected of being the getaway driver in a bank robbery last month in Cypress.

Jacqueline Velazquez, 25 is suspected of being the getaway driver for a Jan. 11 robbery at the Citi Bank in the 10081 block of Valley View Street, Sgt. Dean Pinvidic said.

Police also accused Michael Davis, 33, of entering the bank and handing the teller a note demanding money, Pinvidic said.

Velazquez and Davis are then suspected of fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash, he added.

Police said they believe Davis, who has a $100,000 warrant for his arrest for the robbery, is somewhere in Los Angeles County. He should be considered armed and dangerous and anyone who sees him should call 911 immediately, Pinvidic said.

Further, anyone with other information is encouraged to call the Cypress Police Department at 714-229-6631. Anonymous tips may be provided to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS (1-855-847-6227) and could be eligible for a reward.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline
PM must incentivise the poor too: Vijay Jawandhia

People get loans to buy washing machines, cars and other goods in order to boost consumption and help industry. Why the same scheme is not applied to the farmers to buy essentials like foodgrains?

The private sector takes advantage of all the incentives. For example, why is the reduction of excise duties on luxury goods necessary? If a person can pay Rs 4 lakh for a car, why cant s/he pay a few thousand rupees more? While it is argued that car is now an essential commodity, this is not true as barely seven per cent of Indians own cars.

The economic incentives given to the excise industry is anti-poor and against the aam aadmi because they are paying for it through indirect taxes. Instead of taxing the rich and increasing the revenues and helping the poor, the successive governments have been taxing the poor and helping the rich.

Under the new economic policy, taxes are continuously reduced under the fig leaf of incentives whilst providing healthcare and education to the poor are called subsidies.

Why should incentives not be given to the poor to educate themselves and get better medical facilities? The time has come to rethink and tax all luxury goods heavily as it was done in the 70s and 80s before economic liberalisation. Is economic liberalisation only for the rich?

The industry thinks that it is born for incentives. Take the extravagant recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission which will put a burden of Rs 1 lakh crore on the Narendra Modi government.

The sharp hike in salaries of Central government employees is likely to trigger demand for affordable homes and consumer durables such as cars, two-wheelers and other electronic items.

The so-called captains of the industry call it an incentive as it will help them sell their products to government employees while the fact is that it would be subsidising them indirectly.

Mr Modi has rightly brought into focus this misuse of words like incentives and subsidies. However, if he is serious he must change his policies immediately, or he will be perpetuating this injustice to the unorganised sector.

It will be interesting to see whether his government will accept the Pay Commission recommendations. Perhaps, Mr Modi is aware that the pay panel has recommended Rs 18,000 per month as minimum wage which comes to Rs 600 per day. A farm labourer gets a minimum wage of Rs 165 per day.

Taking Mr Modis observations further, people get loans to buy washing machines, cars and other goods in order to boost consumption and help industry. Why the same scheme is not applied to the farmers to buy essentials like foodgrains for yearly consumption after the harvest season? It would create a market for agricultural commodities.

If the government did not give loans for purchase of white goods, one wonders what would happen to the industry? The government through its pro-industry policies is creating two Indias  one like the US with purchasing power and the other like Africa where they give rice for Rs 1-2 per kg.

How can there be exclusive growth under such policies? When Mr Modi talks of these anomalies, he must address these loss of Rs 62,000 crore in the forthcoming Union Budget.

Vijay Jawandhia is a farmers leader and activist from Wardha, Vidarbha

Exemptions tackle ups and downs - Sunil Kanoria

To treat all the exemptions as wasteful or revenue leakages would not be a fair assessment. The so-called revenue foregone concept is generalised and all exemptions cant be treated as revenue foregone.

In his previous Budget, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the governments intent to bring down the corporate tax rates to 25 per cent from 30 per cent. However, the joy came about with a caveat.

Lowering of the tax threshold for the Indian corporates, with the avowed objective of bringing it down to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations level, was to be accompanied by removal of tax exemptions.

If all exemptions enjoyed by different industry and company segments are factored in, the effective rate is estimated to be less than 25 per cent.

So, if the corporate tax is brought down to 25 per cent from 30 per cent in four years and exemptions are done away with, the firms will end up paying more to the exchequer and the government will walk away with the credit of aligning the tax rates to the Asean level.

It is a fact that exemptions given in an indiscriminate manner distort the taxation regime. However, to argue for complete exemptions across the board will be moving to the other extreme.

In a tumultuous world of business, especially at present times, the corporate firms have to face sharp ups and downs, requiring different policy interventions, including changes in the tax treatment. At a given point of time, exporters may require some tax breaks.

Likewise, different regions of the country may require different tax treatment if investment has to be promoted in economically backward states. The tax at the same rates across different regions may not always be advisable.

Same holds true with the companies operating in carved out areas like the special economic zones, or in specific verticals, considered to be more important from the point of bringing equity.

For instance, companies operating in and manufacturing solar power equipment may be requiring a different tax treatment.

Moreover, if India wants to be a favourite destination of foreign direct investment then the tax rates have to be competitive enough. Thus, slashing corporate tax to 25 per cent along with removal of exemptions would amount to giving with one hand and taking with the other.

Assocham is all for pruning of the exemptions like better targeting of subsidies so that the tax administration becomes easier and disputes are brought to the minimum. However, to treat all the exemptions as wasteful or revenue leakages would not be a fair assessment.

The so-called revenue foregone concept is quite generalised and all the exemptions cannot be treated as revenue foregone. And even if there is revenue foregone, the consequent benefits could far outweigh the costs.

For example, if some concessions are given to the corporate engaged in the area of healthcare, water treatment or irrigation projects, the benefits will certainly be much more than the loss.

Thus, even if the tax exemptions and incentives have to be removed, they should not be done in one go.

Let there be a fair assessment of the existing exemptions which can be rationalised in a phased manner so that the corporates do not feel the shock. Let there be smoothening of the process with equity.

Sunil Kanoria is the president of Assocham
LOS ANGELES  City officials are acknowledging for the second time in recent months that the Port of Los Angeles failed to meet requirements to reduce pollution at a shipping terminal.

An audit by the city-owned port found that the TraPac terminal near Wilmington did not comply with measures to improve air quality that were adopted years ago, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

While docked, cargo ships failed to shut down their engines and plug into electricity on shore as required in an effort to reduce diesel emissions, the report says. Ships used power at the TraPac terminal 53 percent of the time last year, far below the requirement of 80 percent, according to documents released last week under the California Public Records Act.

The port also did not check that terminal equipment used the cleanest possible diesel engines by 2014, which the city required, the review found. Those emissions standards were met by 105 of 135 pieces of equipment by that year, it said.

TraPac did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Gene Seroka, the ports executive director of two years, blamed construction that stopped ships from using power on shore and last years labor-related congestion problems, which left more than two dozen ships waiting outside the port to unload cargo.

Port officials said last fall that they had failed to enforce similar mandates for years at the China Shipping North America terminal near San Pedro.

Together, TraPac and China Shipping handle about one-third of the containers moving through the port.

Despite emissions reductions in recent years, the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is the largest single air polluter in Southern California, with top contributors including diesel-fueled cargo ships and trucks, the newspaper said.
SANTA ANA  Responding to outcry by immigration and LGBT activists, the Santa Ana City Council has rejected a request by immigration officials to expand a jail contract that includes a one-of-a-kind detention facility for gay, bisexual and transgender detainees.

Federal immigration officials have long touted the facility at the Santa Ana Jail as a more humane and safer way to handle the vulnerable population.

But local LGBT and immigration advocates instead have called for its closure, seeing the detention of anyone whose immigration status is in question by the federal government as inhumane  and the Santa Ana facility as a symbolic slight in the heart of Orange Countys Latino immigrant population.

At the Tuesday meeting, Councilwoman Michele Martinez criticized City Manager David Cavazos for bringing the jail proposal before the council, which she said has made clear it wants to move in the opposite direction; she even called for phasing out the existing contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entirely.

We were having discussions within the community. We were saying that we were going to put a plan together to remove ourselves from ICE. This is not a plan for removing, this is expanding, Martinez said. Im not sure what happened, Mr. City Manager.

Cavazos recommended that the council approve the amendment because the jail is running a $27 million debt, projected to run through 2024, and the contract amendments would bring in $2.2 million annually. The proposed expansion would have increased the number of detainees it could handle to 300 from 200.

There is no increase in beds, but we would be able to take more people to fill beds that are vacant, Cavazos said. We would be in a better position long term to repay our debt.

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice indicated in an email Wednesday that the transgender detainee facilities, at least, could be moved following Tuesdays vote.

The agencys goal is to find facility partners willing to adopt the best practices related to the care of transgender individuals, she said.

The proposed contract called for a five-year amendment to a contract with ICE expiring June 30, 2020, which would include a 128-bed guarantee for LGBT detainees and increase the maximum number of all ICE detainees awaiting immigration proceedings to 300 from 200.

Santa Ana Jail is the only site in the United States where LGBT immigration detainees are held in housing modules separate from the general population, giving them access to the jails standard amenities, according to the immigration enforcement agency.

But after dozens of comments from LGBT and immigration rights activists, council members unanimously rejected the contract amendment in a rare move.

Santa Ana Jail entered into a contract with ICE in 2006 and began housing LGBT detainees in 2011. In 2012, ICE signed a contract modification and agreed to pay for an entire housing module  64 beds in two-person cells with a shared dayroom open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.  for LGBT detainees, according to Jail Administrator Christina Holland.

Last August, the jail moved transgender detainees into one 64-bed housing module and gay and bisexual detainees into a separate housing module. The jail around that time also increased how much ICE pays the city per detainee daily, from $82 to $105.

ICE opted to pay only for occupied beds, meaning general population detainees could move into the housing modules with LGBT detainees. In part because the jail did not reach capacity, Holland decided against mixing populations of different sexual orientations.

Operationally, it would not have been safe and it would have been a nightmare, the jail administrator said.

Also last year, ICE officials explored transferring transgender detainees from the Santa Ana Jail to the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino, but advocates for the detainees opposed the plan, saying Adelanto is farther from legal services and support groups. ICE backed off.

Had the contract amendment been approved Tuesday, ICE would have paid for all 128 beds in the transgender housing module as well as the gay and bisexual housing module. Holland said ICE chose Santa Ana for its only such operation because of the jails style of operation, which is very comfortable, she said. Theyre not locked cells with bars; its not a traditional jail setting.

Councilman David Benavides on Tuesday said he was wrestling with the issue before the vote.

Either way, for us in the city of Santa Ana, folks are going to be detained and held somewhere, Benavides said, and would it be the case where the city of Santa Ana would be able to be a place that would (be known for) providing dignity and a respectful way to be housed?

Christina Fialho, an attorney in Costa Mesa and co-founder of the nonprofit Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, questioned whether transgender and other detainees are treated appropriately anywhere.

We want to see an end to immigrant detentions in the U.S., Fialho said. There are alternatives to detention that are much more humane, less costly and dont destroy the fabric of our communities.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7762, jkwong@ocregister.com or Twitter: @JessicaGKwong
Kyle Selig was having lunch with his parents in New York City on Jan. 5, a day that would change his life. He was about to make his debut on Broadway in the lead role in The Book of Mormon as Elder Price.

No doubt the 23-year-old from Huntington Beach had plenty on his mind the day he was to take the stage as the youngest actor to play the lead in the immensely popular musical comedy.

So what popped into his mind at this critical time?

I realized I was going to have to do laundry after the show, Selig said.

The point he was making was that while this was a dreams-come-true time, it was also a strikingly normal day in some ways.

It wasnt as though he had fallen out of the sky into instant stardom. He has been acting in versions of the musical for more than two years. And now he is in the midst of a six-week engagement in the lead role.

Epiphanies are fine on big days, but life  and laundry  wait for no one.

That said, it has been a wild and meteoric rise for Selig, who three years ago was a junior at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and just five years ago scooped up national high school awards as an actor at the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts.

In the summer before his senior year at Carnegie Mellon, Selig remembers receiving an email from a teacher that The Book of Mormon was having auditions in Pittsburgh.

Although Selig had listened to the soundtrack years before in a friends car and remembered thinking it was so freaking funny, it wasnt necessarily a musical on his wish list.

The Book of Mormon, by the creators of South Park, is an outrageous sendup of Mormonism and the mission experience. Elder Price is an outward poster-boy version of the devout Mormon, who dreams of being sent to mission in Orlando, but instead is sent to Uganda.

Things go more awry when his outcast sidekick, Elder Cunningham, who has never actually read the Book of Mormon, begins drawing large numbers of converts with outlandish tales combining Mormonism, hobbits and Star Wars.

Physically leading-man handsome, the earnest Selig was a perfect match for the perfect-on-the-outside but flawed inside character.

Selig said he auditioned for the musicals ensemble as well as the role of Elder Price.

I did a dance call first and I was no longer up for the ensemble, he said with a laugh. I just get so nervous for dance calls.

The directors apparently liked what they saw and cast him as a stand-in for Elder Price and, yes, as an ensemble member.

Although Elder Cunningham is the role with the big laughs, Elder Price is the meatier role.

Theres something about his flaws, Selig said of what drew him to the character. He tries so hard to be the perfect Mormon. So much that he overlooks relating to people. Thats something I find interesting and not a common flaw in musical comedy.

That Selig can find an aspect of the character to sink his acting chops into is no surprise to Tim Nelson, who mentored Selig in high school.

I can remember the first time he auditioned, said Nelson, a teacher who helped create the musical program at the school. He was just a little eighth-grader. He had this acting talent that was crazy and something Id never seen in an eighth-grader.

However, Nelson said it was a relentless work ethic and desire to improve that took Seligs innate abilities to the next level.

Selig credits Nelson and the academy for preparing him. Theres no way Id be here without that school, he said.

Actors must audition for the school, which is part of Huntington Beach High. In addition to regular high school classes, the students go through intensive training in acting, music and dance.

I was given so much freedom there, Selig said. I was a trusted collaborator. To have that at 15, 16, 17 is invaluable. I love that school.

Selig had high praise for Nelson, describing his mentor as one of the kindest, most generous teachers one could have.

Nelson, who was in New York recently to watch Selig on Broadway, has seen his student in the role with the touring company and says he brings fresh ideas that make his portrayals stand apart.

Nelson recalled the first time he saw his protege perform in the role of Elder Price. He said he remembers thinking, Yes, theres Kyle. Hes figured something out.

While working as a stand-in for a touring production in 2014, Selig said he had his debut in the Elder Price role in Los Angeles.

Selig said he was told about the performance in advance so I was able to tell a few people secretly.

It soon became the worst-kept secret in Huntington Beach acting circles. Selig wound up having a huge rooting section.

I got made fun of  a lot, he said of the reaction of his fellow cast members.

However, he admits, I felt very loved and supported, which helped quell his nerves.

Seligs contract runs through Feb. 21, and he is unsure what he will do next.

When asked about his dream part, Selig said, Thats a role that hasnt been written yet. Id like something thats completely mine.

Nelson says Selig is the most shining example to come out of Huntington High in his 20 years there.

Hes at the beginning of a stellar career, Nelson said. I cant wait to see what happens.

The Book of Mormon for a six week engagement from January 5, 2016 to February 21, 2016. Selig joined the Broadway company in the summer of 2013 while a junior at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He is the 2010 recipient of the Jimmy Award, honoring National High School Musical Theater.

The Book of Mormon, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, is playing at the Eugene The Book of Mormon is also playing at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London and across the United States and Canada on two national tours.

The Book of Mormon has broken the house record at Broadways Eugene ONeill Theatre 49 times. The national tours of The Book of Mormon have broken 72 house records in 37 venues across the country.

Contact the writer: gmellen@ocregister.com
As he stands in front of his English class, David Theriault, a teacher nationally recognized for integrating new technologies into the classroom in innovative ways, is going old school.

He is reading from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

Of course, Theriault has an ulterior motive. He is keeping the Fountain Valley High juniors engaged while they pass around a T-shirt to be autographed for student teacher Ryan Haley, who will be concluding the semester the next day.

Sometimes, for all the things that social media and digital communication can bring to the table, Theriault says old-school works best.

The 49-year-old teacher from Costa Mesa delivered the closing keynote speech at the CUE (Computer Using Educators) October conference  the largest and oldest education technology conference in California and among the largest in the United States  where he urged fellow teachers to seek adventure and embrace not knowing.

He has created several chats on Twitter, where he has more than 8,000 followers, and has a couple of blogs and a Facebook page.

While sharing technology and tips with other professionals is important, in the end it is about reaching kids.

When he decided to be teacher, Theriault said he told himself, Im going to be the teacher I needed when I was a kid.

And that means meeting the kids on their turf with their tools.

AN AVERAGE DAY

Before the lesson ended in an old-fashioned way, the class had been classically Theriault. Students were studying Douglass, the famous 19th century abolitionist who escaped from slavery.

On this day, students were divided into teams, given a list of quotes from Douglass and asked to reflect on how the passages connected with modern-day life. Then they were to do a short film on a phone and post it to a social media website.

We want to connect curriculum to (a students) own life, Theriault said.

And by using new technology, students are using the tools they know best.

It challenges us to be more creative, said Elena Presilla, 16, after she and classmates Tiana Nguyen, 16, and Sarah Alshoubaki, 16, finished their comparison of the struggles of Douglass to the struggles of finals.

Casey Khaolaeiad, 16, had a different reason for liking the class.

Theres barely any homework, so its pretty chill, he said.

The kids dont get away that easily. Before dismissal the class is given a reading assignment from the book and told to be ready to discuss the connections between 19th and 21st century slavery, particularly human trafficking.

Haley, the 35-year-old student teacher, said he was immediately struck with how the students were engaged by Theriault, unlike in some other classes where their eyes glaze over.

I think they appreciate it, he said. Theres a little more creativity and its just fun for them.

NOT YOUR EVERYDAY TECHNO-GEEK

In some ways, Theriault is an unlikely candidate to be a mover and shaker in the new media world. He says he has never even owned a Kindle.

I like the feel of paper, he says. Im an English teacher.

For most of his 21-year teaching career, Theriault had steadfastly avoided all social media.

In fact he said he thought it was stupid and lame.

That didnt mean Theriault wasnt passionate and innovative without new media.

The disaffection Theriault experienced as a student in Huntington Beach is what eventually drove him to the profession.

Three years ago, a fellow teacher cornered him and said, You have to try Twitter.

I said no one needs to see what I have to say, Theriault said of his reaction.

Still, he gave it a shot and almost immediately I started getting ideas from teachers in other states.

Theriault said he remembers one of the first things he did online was to post a couple of photographs and a paragraph from a school event.

And the world didnt blow up, he said.

TALKING THE TALK

Before long, Theriault was conversant in hash tags, podcasts, Vine, Instagram, Facebook and blogs.

He is co-founder of edcampHOME.org, which he says is the worlds first all-online edcamp for professional development. He is also co-founder of #CAedchat, the Teacher Twitter chat for the state of California and creator of #slowchatED, the first regular week-long teacher Twitter chat.

Today, his students all have blogs on which they post work on social media. He encourages his kids to take pictures and selfies in class, and he does it himself all the time, because it makes memories.

Its an approach that has its risks. In the digital world, once information is out, its there for all to see and not easily taken back.

I give the kids the freedom to go out, Theriault said. I dont know how it will all turn out, and thats a good place to be. When you attempt what is uncertain, then you teach with adventure in your heart.
KABUL, Afghanistan  The Afghan government declared Wasil Ahmad a hero for leading a militias defense against a Taliban siege last year, parading him in front of cameras in a borrowed police uniform too big for him. On Monday, the Taliban triumphantly announced that they had assassinated him with two bullets to the head.

Wasil Ahmad was 10 years old.

He was gunned down in Tirin Kot city, the capital of southern Oruzgan province, just a few months after leaving militia life and enrolling in school as a fourth-grader.

Wasils story is a painful example of how child combatants continue to be a part of life in Afghanistan, both in the ranks of pro-government forces and among the Taliban insurgents.

Rafiullah Baidar, a spokesman for the Afghan independent human rights commission, said that despite strict orders from President Ashraf Ghani last year against using children in the military, his commission continues to receive reports of child soldiers in the Afghan forces, particularly in the Afghan Local Police militias. The Taliban, he said, used child soldiers, too, in recent fighting in places like Kunduz and Badakhshan, in the northern part of the country.

Baidar said the provincial government had broken the law by parading Wasil in a police uniform after the Taliban siege was lifted. But he also condemned the Talibans killing of Wasil because the boy had moved to a civilian life.

There was no threat from this child to the armed opposition, Baidar said. If they had targeted him in a military base, then they could have raised the question of what was a child doing in a military base. But he was targeted in front of his home.

In many ways, a life of the gun was chosen for Wasil before he was born.

His uncle, Mullah Abdul Samad, was a Taliban commander who decided four years ago to switch sides to support the government along with 36 of his men, including Wasils father. In return, the Afghan government appointed Samad commander of about 70 Afghan Local Police militiamen in Khas Oruzgan district.

Samads forces became the governments front against the Taliban. He lost 18 men in the fighting, including Wasils father. Last summer, as the Taliban intensified its offensives across the country and the security in Oruzgan deteriorated, the noose around Samads fighters tightened, the Taliban besieging them for more than two months, Samad said in an interview.

About a month into the siege, a Taliban attack wounded Samad and 10 of his men. Wasil took command of the defense, Samad said.

He fought like a miracle, Samad said, adding that Wasil had fired rockets from a roof. He was successfully leading my men on my behalf for 44 days until I recovered.

The siege was finally broken in August, and Afghan and NATO forces airlifted Samad and his forces to a heros welcome in Tirin Kot.

In a celebration hosted by Rahimullah Khan, the deputy police chief of Oruzgan, Wasil was the center of attention, wearing a baggy police uniform with garlands of plastic flowers around his neck. Khan patted him on the back as they posed for pictures. Then the deputy chief went around with wads of cash, handing it to the rescued men. Pictures of Wasil  helmet on, assault rifle in hand  circulated widely on social media.

But that was supposed to be the end of it. Wasils family enrolled him in a school near their new rented home in Tirin Kot. Though he was not a good student, he excelled with a tutor his uncle hired for him at home, growing proficient in English over five months, relatives said. Still, they said, he always spoke of military matters and wanted to play with weapons and drive police vehicles as a hobby.

He was not really interested in education because he was highly encouraged by police officials and awarded medals for his bravery, said Ezatullah Khan, a former neighbor of the familys.

Mohammad Karim Khadimzai, the provincial council chief of Oruzgan, said he had disagreed with the polices promotion of Wasil and his actions, even though the boy had bravely stepped forward at a desperate time during the Talibans assault.

A program was held at the police headquarters, where his bravery and courage was talked about by officials, Khadimzai said. I was against this move and told the officials that instead of encouraging him to military activities that will ruin his future, let him go to school. He is too young to hand him a gun.

On Monday, as Wasil walked out of the house to buy vegetables, an armed man on a motorcycle shot him twice in the head and escaped, his uncle said. The boy was buried in Tirin Kot, in the Shahidano graveyard. He left behind two younger brothers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility on their website, saying they had killed a stooge militiaman.
The dangers of excessive Wi-Fi radiation will not be among the topics discussed when Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff talks Feb. 10 about the ongoing installation of 7,500 high-powered Wi-Fi kiosks in New York City.



Dan Doctoroff

Jennifer Cho, director of development, NYUs Center for Urban Science & Progress, Brooklyn, said the program will discuss new technologies that will improve the life of city inhabitants. There will be a Q&A period in the hour-long program but no duration has been set for that.

Activists have asked for a literature table where documents on the health effects of radiation can be displayed. That will not be allowed, she said. Also rejected was the suggestion that the program be moved to NYUs Kimmel Center in New York.

Doctoroff uses abstract, general terms in talking about the Kiosks. The Jan. 25 New Yorker described an initial nine-foot, six-inch kiosk being installed at Third ave. and 15th st.

Jennifer Cho

Formation of Sidewalk Labs by Google, a $200 million project, was announced June 10, 2015. It included the following paragraph.

We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities. At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient. We hope Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technological products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world.

Fry Our Brains As We Walk

Critics of the installations say the corporatese expressed above masks what is being donefrying the brains and bodies of people walking by these radiation-emitters.

Truly educational programs, they say, include the six-part series on radiation dangers conducted by the Ashland, Mass., library from Oct. 8, 2015 to Feb. 11, 2016 and the Feb. 16 program to be conducted by Dr. Joel Moskowitz, director, Center for Family and Community Health at University of California Berkeley School of Public Health.

In May of 2015, says the program, more than 200 scientists signed an appeal which was then submitted to the United Nations WHO and UN member states. These scientists have collectively published over 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the biological or health effects of non-ionizing radiation, part of the EMF spectrum that includes Extremely Low Frequency Fields (EMF) used for electricity, or Radio Frequency (RFR) used for wireless communications.

The International EMF Scientist Appeal calls for the UN, WHO, UNEP and UN member states to address the emerging public health crisis related to cellphones, wireless devices, wireless utility meters and wireless infrastructure in neighborhoods.

Alternatives such as wired devices are being urged that would substantially lower human exposures to non-ionizing radiation. smartmeters.org is distributing cards that warn of the dangers of Wi-Fi and other radiation.








[email protected], the global media agency and marketing network owned by Ogilvy & Mather, has appointed David Rittenhouse to serve as representative director.

David Rittenhouse

Rittenhouse since 2014 has been managing director of [email protected]s Tokyo office. A founding member of [email protected]s New York location, he joined the agency when it was established in 2006.

As representative director, Rittenhouse now joins Ogilvy & Mather Japan's executive committee and will help guide the team's performance and growth strategy in that region.

Ogilvy & Mather Japan president Todd Krugman said Rittenhouse embodies everything that is great about Ogilvy and has made a significant positive impact on the growth of the business in Japan since he joined.

[email protected], which offers digital media support for the marketing company's global properties, now holds more than 1,000 employees and 40 offices worldwide.
The OECD Observer online archive takes you on a journey through half a century of public policy and world progress.

Since November 1962, the OECDs experts and leading guests offer insights on the questions facing our member countries with concise and authoritative analysis, and provide our audiences with an excellent opportunity to understand policy debates and consider solutions.

Each edition of the OECD Observer reports on a core theme of the OECDs on-going work, from economics and society through governance, finance, and the environment, and articles are bolstered by tables and graphs.
Cyber-criminals have been increasingly spreading two families of remote access Trojans across businesses in India, UK, and the US. (Representational Image)

Mumbai: Since the start of 2015, cyber-criminals have been increasingly spreading two families of remote access Trojans (RATS) across businesses in India, UK, and the US.

Several attackers have been essentially targeting employees working in financial departments in order to steal money from their respective organisations, according to a research conducted by Symantec.

Infection activity in the top three targeted regions throughout 2015. (Source: Symantec)The research pointed out that the attackers operate with only a few sources while relying heavily on social engineering rather than exploits, and the attackers also use two publicly available RATSBackdoor.Breut and Trojan.Nancrat. Although the tools are measly in number, they are potent enough to give the hackers complete access to any victims computer.

The online threats have been rapidly rising and the report suggests that most of the targeted employees were located in India in 2015, while some others were in the UK, and US. Currently, the number of attacks in India and US has dropped significantly in contrast to UK where the malwares are spreading rapidly.

Early in 2015, hackers used Backdoor.Breut to essentially target organisations in India. The UK operations were started post August using Trojan.Nancrat. Interestingly, most attackers are not focused on specific industries or organisations: they simply want to get access to businesses with low network security architecture.

The process

The most common and simple process for the hackers to spread the RATs is by sending emails from spoofed or stolen accounts, the Symantec research suggested.

Based on campaigns run by Symantecs Phishing Readiness solution, its clear that, on average, employees are susceptible to email-based attacks 18 per cent of the time, which is one of the reasons why attackers have exploited this access point so much when trying to spreading RATs quickly and effectively, the research added.

Interestingly, the majority of messages are in the morning during Eastern Standard Time (EST), which suggests that the attackers are most likely based in Europe or the US. Most of the messages are related to finance to lure employees that have access to the targeted organisations accounts.

Here are some examples:

Re:Invoice

PO

Remittance Advice

Payment Advise

Quotation Required

Transfer Copy

TT Payment

PAYMENT REMITTANCE

INQUIRY

Qoutation

QUOTATION

Request for Quotation

Most of the emails include archive file attachments, usually with the .zip extensions. The research further indicated that computers are infected with either Backdoor.Breut or Trojan.Nancrat as soon as the targeted users open these file.

Both the threats give hackers complete control of the victims computer and are able to access the webcam, microphone, log keystrokes, confidential data, passwords, and much more.

The Symantec research also observed that the perpetrators use the targeted employees privileged access to transfer money to an account under their control.

After a computer has been compromised, the attacks start examining it to discover news ways for stealing all the money. After extracting money from one account, these hackers quickly move to their next target, suggesting that there are a small number of attackers involved in these campaigns.

Harmful domains

According to the research, in the first half of 2015, the attackers used domain names such as cleintten101.no-ip.biz, cleintten.duckdns.org, and clientten1.ddns.net as command and control (C&C) servers for Backdoor.Breut.

However, in August, the attackers configured another variant of Backdoor.Breut to use the domains such as akaros79.no-ip.biz, mathew79.no-ip.biz, and clientten1.ddns.net as C&C servers.

Few resources, huge impact

While advanced hacking groups may garner a lot of attention in the news, users should not ignore less skilled attackers who have access to a lot of online methods to con any targeted company.

Over the past one year, Symantec has spotted many fraudulent activities with similar tactics that have targeted financial employees. For instance, in December, four attack groups targeted Columbian finance departments with malicious email attachments to deliver the W32.Extrat RAT.

Given the continued focus on these types of tactics by attackers, businesses around the world should know how to protect their assets against these kinds of operations, the research added.

The solution

In the wake of more social engineering tactics being used by hackers, users should adhere to the following advices to avoid any kind of future attack.

Do not open attachments or click on links in suspicious email messages

Avoid providing any personal information when answering an email

Never enter personal information in a pop-up web page

Keep security software up to date

If youre uncertain about an emails legitimacy, contact your internal IT department

You can also a full protection stack

Symantec also offers a full protection stack including symantec.cloud, email blocking, web gateway security, and endpoint security to prevent such attacks.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
IF you are eager to give up smoking then you should go along to one of the clinics due to be held in Tullamore shortly with renowned hypnotist Tom Ryan.

IF you are eager to give up smoking then you should go along to one of the clinics due to be held in Tullamore shortly with renowned hypnotist Tom Ryan.

Why should you consider using Hypnosis? asks Tom Ryan?

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness during which extraordinary events may occur. It is powerfully effective and is the most misunderstood of all therapies. Hypnosis brings us into resourceful states of mind. One can stop smoking or change habits in just one session. Its a wonderful solution for stress or to stimulate one to achieve their true potential.

Ryan gives the example of Dr Jack Gibson, a surgeon at Naas Hospital, who performed four and a half thousand operations using only hypnosis as an anaesthetic. Hypnosis has been practiced for 200 years and is now used extensively by Swedish and Russian Olympic Athletes to maximise their performance.

A recent survey in American Health magazine revealed the following recovery rates: Hypnotherapy : 93% recovery after 6 sessions; Behavior Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions; Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions.

Hypnosis is an increased state of receptivity to suggestion. However, one will never accept suggestions contrary to their morals. Hypnos is a Greek word meaning sleep. However electroencephalographic (EEG) tests show hypnosis to be a waking state. You may remember the experience of a teacher in school droning on and your mind drifted like the experience of a music lover closing their eyes and merging into the musical experience.

Hypnosis is a highly successful therapy that can unlock ones true potential. This is due to its ability to bypass the critical faculty of the conscious mind so direct communication with the subconscious can take place. The programmes that run all automatic processes and habits can then be directly communicated with and influenced.
Offalys Rose of Tralee in 2011 Brianna Connaughton is carving out a new modelling career for herself.

Offalys Rose of Tralee in 2011 Brianna Connaughton is carving out a new modelling career for herself.

Beautiful Brianna was selected as the winner of the Simply Be Curvy Competition in 2009 by Gok Wan before going on to become the Face of Simply Be as Miss Curvy 2010.

These successes spring boarded her into the Plus Size Modelling world where she has gone from strength to strength over the last 3 years!

Brianna was the Cover Girl for SimplyBe.ie that year as well as continuing to promote the brand and encourage Irish women to embrace their curvy figures. Brianna has been blazing the trail for up and coming Curvy ladies to get out there and flaunt their curves and embrace the beautiful bodies they have been blesses with.

Brianna is a stronger of female beauty- being unbiased to size, shape, colour or height, Being womanly is beautiful- every type of body is beautiful- confidence is beautiful!

In early 2010 Brianna began modelling with Prima Models in the South East and at the end of 2010 the Andrea Roche Model Agency opened its doors to Brianna in the agencys infancy stages.

Since 2009 Brianna has graced our screens with regular appearances on Xpose, Ireland Am , Live 4 and Off The Rails. She has travelled the length and breath of the country doing photo shoots and fashion shows like Xpose live, Womans Way RDS Shows and numerous charity events, as well as becoming a regular on local radio and in local and national media, although all this only seemed to be scratching the surface of what was to follow for Brianna.

At the beginning of 2012 Y Models in Cape Town in South Africa signed Brianna to their agency and they have been eager to get Brianna over to meet interested potential clients!

Brianna has also been in talks with a number of agencies in New York who are showing interest in her moving stateside in the new year to continue her modelling. 

Brianna has done all this in addition to her full time day job as a Youth Justice Co-ordinator. Brianna works with young people aged 12-18 who are involved in offending behaviour to divert and prevent their future offending encouraging them to live positive pro social lives.

Brianna completed BA (Hons) degree in Applied Social Studies in Waterford Institute of Technology and is currently also doing a Masters by research (through WIT) on desistance in young Irish male offenders.

Brianna was also the Offaly Rose in 2011 and volunteers with the Make a Wish Foundation.
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Tokyo: Japan said Wednesday it would destroy a North Korean missile if it threatened to fall on its territory, after Pyongyang announced it planned to launch a space rocket this month.

"Today the defence minister issued an order" to destroy such a missile if it "is confirmed that it will fall on Japanese territory," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Read: North Korea will pay heavy price if it launches rocket, warn US, Japan

Defence Minister Gen Nakatani issued the order, citing the "possibility that North Korea will launch a missile it calls a 'satellite' within coming days," the statement said.

Read: After nuclear test, North Korea announces satellite rocket launch

The order will be carried out by Japan's ballistic missile defence system, which includes PAC-3 surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles, and similar SM-3 systems aboard warships, the ministry said.

The order will be effective until February 25, it added, the end of the launch window announced by Pyongyang that begins on February 8.
What are your thoughts on Penny? reader Horace Cooke of Covington, Virginia, asks about his wifes name.

Ancient Germanic panning (a coin) became penny in English.

When English pennies were first minted around 760, they were quite valuable. Families called Penny or Penney had medieval ancestors nicknamed Penny because they were rich. Boys are occasionally given the surname as a first name.

Penny as a girls name, though, is a pet form of Penelope.

Penelope is the wife of Odysseus in ancient Greek poet Homers Odyssey. Her father, angry that she wasnt a boy, threw newborn Penelope into the sea, where ducks saved her.

When Odysseus took 20 years to return from the Trojan War, Penelope remained faithful. She told suitors shed marry again after shed finished her weaving. Every night she unraveled what shed woven that day to make sure she never did.

Experts disagree on the names origin  either its from penelops (duck), or pene-ops (weaving-eye). Either way, Penelope became the exemplar of a faithful wife.

The first English Penelope was born in 1563 to Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, and his wife, Lettice, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. She was forced to marry Baron Robert Rich in 1581.

Though beautiful Penelope had seven children by Rich, she flouted her names faithful image. She became mistress to Charles Blount, Earl of Mountjoy, in 1595. They lived together openly and had four children, though she didnt divorce Rich until 1605.

Despite Penelope Richs scandalous fame, other noble families took up the name. Penelope still has an upper-class image in England.

In the American colonies, educated parents also named daughters Penelope. Penelope Barker (1728-1796) was the wealthiest woman in Edenton, North Carolina. In 1771 she got 51 other women to meet and sign a letter supporting the Boston Tea Party.

Barker sent the letter to a London newspaper. The Edenton Tea Party was the first political action by women in the American colonies.

The 1850 U.S. Census found 3,299 Penelopes. Less than 4 percent of Americans lived in North Carolina then, but 23 percent of the Penelopes did. Barkers neighbors named girls after their Revolutionary War heroine.

There were 759 Pennys in the 1850 Census. When Social Securitys yearly baby name lists started in 1880, both forms were rare.

Then, in 1934, Shirley Temple played Penelope Penny Day, a little girl who inspires her jewel-thief father (Gary Cooper) to reform in the film Now and Forever.

Temples stardom catapulted both names back into popularity. Penelope peaked at 265th in 1944, and Penny at 142nd in 1947.

The soap opera As the World Turns premiered in 1956. Character Penny Hughes (Rosemary Prinz) was part of daytime televisions first super couple with Jeff Baker (Mark Rydell). Penny boomed for babies to rank 87th in 1963  just after a tragic car accident killed Jeff and left Penny with one of the soaps first cases of amnesia.

Penelope dropped below the top 1,000 in 1976, and Penny in 1988. Normally theyd have been predicted to rise again around 2035.

Penelope Cruz falsified that prediction. In 2001 the Spanish actress became a breakout star in Vanilla Sky and Blow. Winner of 2008s Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, she was Esquire magazines Sexiest Woman Alive in 2014.

Penelope soared from 946th in 2001 to 42nd in 2014, far surpassing its 1944 peak.

Penelopes boom brought Penny back. It ranked 808th in 2014. Penny, the wannabe actress from Nebraska played by Kaley Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory, also may have helped.

British novelist Penelope Lively (born 1933), actress and director Penny Marshall (1943), director Penelope Spheeris (1945), actress Penelope Ann Miller (1964) and television character Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) on Criminal Minds contribute to the names image.

American pennies may not be worth much today, but Penny and Penelope will be golden baby names for years to come.

Cleveland Evans is a Bellevue University psychology professor and author of The Great Big Book of Baby Names.
Richard Somerville said his son Robert, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane airport. (Representational Photo: Pixabay)

Sydney: A Canadian who said he fought alongside Kurdish forces against Islamic State in Syria has been detained while trying to enter Australia and told he will be deported, his father said on Wednesday.

Richard Somerville said his son Robert, a Canadian veteran who previously fought in Afghanistan, was detained at Brisbane airport on Tuesday after he told immigration officials he had spent seven months fighting alongside the Syrian Kurdish militant group YPG last year.

"I haven't seen my son in 20 years," Richard Somerville, who lives in Queensland, told Reuters. "I was absolutely shocked when he called to say he was being detained."

Australian Border Force and Immigration Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The basis for the visa cancellation is at this stage unclear," Somerville's Melbourne-based lawyer, Jessie Smith, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It may have political undertones and could be contestable."

Australia introduced sweeping security reforms in 2014 over concern at the number of its citizens heading to Iraq and Syria to fight. About 110 Australians are estimated to be involved in the conflict.

It is illegal for Australian citizens to support any armed group in Syria and fighters face life in prison upon return.

The Syrian Kurds have established control over wide areas of northern Syria since the country erupted into civil war in 2011, and the YPG has become a major partner in the US-led coalition against Islamic State.

Several foreigners, including Europeans and Americans, have joined the YPG but their numbers are dwarfed by foreign jihadist recruits to the other side.

Kurds in Syria and Iraq are backed by a US-led coalition, including Australia, which has been bombing Islamic State in both countries.
A man who held law enforcement authorities at bay over two days in late January when they went to his northwest Omaha house intending to take him to a hospital for a psychological exam died Tuesday, officials said.

Mark LHeureux, 59, who was married and had a teenage son and daughter, was accused of firing at deputies and shooting dead a police dog in his home near 83rd Street and Keystone Drive during the standoff on Jan. 22 and 23. He eventually surrendered and was charged with attempted second-degree murder and other crimes.

The deputies had intended to serve LHeureux with a Board of Mental Health warrant.

Tuesday, he was taken from the Douglas County Jail to Nebraska Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 1:15 p.m., the countys Department of Corrections said.

The cause of LHeureuxs death was unclear, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine and Chief Deputy Tom Wheeler. A Sheriffs Office-led investigation was underway, and an autopsy will be performed.

A grand jury will review LHeureuxs death.

In June, LHeureux walked to a neighbors yard and used shears to cut daylilies that he intended to put in a bouquet to take home with him, the neighbor said.

During the standoff, he at times wore a towel wrapped around his head.

On Jan. 26, a district court judge ordered LHeureux to submit to a competency evaluation at the Lincoln Regional Center. He refused to leave the jail to attend the hearing.

World-Herald staff writer Todd Cooper contributed to this report.
When a child attends Catholic school, he or she is taught important lessons like kindness, character, honesty and faith. It is these lessons that help students understand that every one of their classmates is a child of God.

Catholic school students look forward to coming to school each day and spending time with friends. They also know the importance of caring for one another so that every student feels welcome and included.

During Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate communities of faith, knowledge, and service. We also celebrate our wonderful students who open their hearts to each other every day, remembering Jesus' command, Do to others whatever you would have them do to you: Matthew 7:12.

See more at lovemyschool.com.
Well, that was certainly exciting, wasnt it?

Expectations were defied. Insurgencies surged or receded. Marginal candidates quietly slipped into the gathering darkness. And Iowans enjoyed their brief quadrennial turn in the limelight.

What to make of everything? Here are six takeaways:

1. Hillary Clinton is a terrible candidate.

That doesnt mean she wont end up president. But if she does, it will be despite her lackluster campaigning skills rather than because of them.

The woman has had almost incumbent levels of support from her party, which paved the way for an easy coronation  and she came to a statistical tie with a self-avowed socialist.

She started 30 percent ahead of Bernie Sanders and ended up winning six precincts by a coin toss. She seems to have a stronger base of support among Iowa coins than Iowa voters.

2. Donald Trump is getting voters to the polls, but thats not necessarily good news for him.

The story going into Iowa was that Trumps success would depend on how many people he could draw to the polls, because his polling strength was among people who had never caucused before. High turnout would mean a good night for him, low turnout would mean his incredible free media ride was no match for a strong organizational ground game.

Turnout at the Republican caucus was extremely high, well above the record  and Trump lost while underperforming his polls. This suggests a significant "Anyone But Trump" vote out there.

Skipping debates may give Trump that alpha-male feeling, but its probably a bad idea. Ground game still beats free media in the only contest that matters.

3. Young uns are feeling the Bern.

In 2008, Barack Obama took 57 percent of young Iowa Democratic voters. Last night, Sanders got 84 percent. He also took a strong majority in the 30-44 age group.

Clintons core demographic, on the other hand, is folks who are really worried about the cost of long-term care insurance.

Why should this be? Are young people more progressive? Do they simply not have the same nasty associations with the word "socialism" as those of us who watched the Berlin Wall tumble? Are they more economically challenged than their elders? Do they feel that Sanders plans offer them more in the way of government support than Clinton does?

Hard to say. But this has repercussions beyond Iowa or this election. The youth of the party are its future direction, and that direction seems leftward.

4. Sanders may not win, but hes definitely shaping the race.

Pundits noted that Iowa is an unusually favorable state for Sanders because it is very white and so is his base of support. As primary season heads south and into major urban areas, he will have trouble pulling even with Clinton, much less taking the nomination.

All this is probably true. But look at Clintons speech after the Iowa caucuses. Shes trying to out-progressive Sanders, notably by saying, "I know that we can finish the job of universal health care coverage for every single man, woman and child."

She has always talked up expanding and completing Obamacare, but she has positioned herself as the careful pragmatist against the Sanders pipe dream of a single-payer system. She seems to have realized that a lot of voters, especially young ones, prefer the pipe dreams to the prosaic realities of Obamacare.

5. Theres a lot of stuff that you can say, even though conventional wisdom said you couldnt.

Trump underperformed and looks considerably less likely to take the nomination. But credit where credit is due: The guy took 24 percent after a campaign in which he made fun of Vietnam POWs and disabled people and bragged that American voters had issued him a license to kill.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz went into Iowa, dissed ethanol and walked away with the win anyway.

6. Marco Rubio has momentum and looks likely to be the establishment candidate.

He way overperformed his polls, suggesting that hes not only attracting more voters as the field winnows but also is picking up a disproportionate share of the Anyone But Trump vote. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott endorsed him upon hearing the caucus results, which demonstrates something pundits already knew: Expectations matter.

If Rubio can deliver another strong performance in New Hampshire, the race is going to consolidate into Cruz, Rubio and Trump pretty quickly. Thats good for Rubio, bad for Trump.

Fragmentation of the GOP moderate vote has given Trump a lot of oxygen to keep his going, because news media tend to over-cover the front-runner. Evening out the media attention will diminish the perception that he is steam-rolling the establishment.
Pisa: Lines between real and reel merged fatally as an Italian actor was taken to hospital in a coma after an audience member realised that he was being strangled during an on-stage lynching scene gone wrong. According to dailymail.co.uk, Raphael Schumacher, was appearing in Mirages, an experimental theatre production staged in Pisa when the incident occurred. Police are investigating the incident and sealed off the Teatro Lux, while officers interviewed cast, crew members and the family of the actor.

Reports indicate that a box on which Schumacher was supposed to stand while he wore the noose was moved. He was also supposed to wear a body harness. The noose should have been fake and a harness should have caught him if he fell, said the actor. I cannot explain how an incident like this happened. Mirages is a six-scene immersive performance staged in different parts of the theatre, with the audience walking between them.

The 27-year-old actors ill-fated act took place in the courtyard of the theatre, where a rope had been suspended from a fig tree. The report further said that the actor was wearing a mask for the scene, which was performed successfully earlier in the same evening, but a recent medical graduate saw him trembling and realised something was wrong. The crew members said the incident has left them shocked. We are shocked, Gabriele De Luca, the art director at the theatre, said. No one, not even us, understands how this happened and it will be up to the police to shed light on it.'

However, De Luca told Italian newspaper Il Giorno that Schumacher changed the script at the last minute, opting for the noose instead of gunshots. The original monologue included a fake gunshot but he eventually decided for the hanging - without telling us, he said. The actors mother, from Como, northern Italy, rejected the theory, reportedly explored by police, that he may have tried to commit suicide. She said, My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again. He didnt leave a suicide note and had no reason to kill himself.
LINCOLN  Three major agricultural groups have thrown their weight behind Gov. Pete Ricketts plan to ease property taxes.

The governor announced Tuesday that his proposal has support from the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen and Nebraska Pork Producers. The three are the largest agricultural organizations in the state.

But a fourth major group, the Nebraska Farmers Union, has not yet taken a position on the proposal.

Were looking at what to do, said John Hansen, president of the Farmers Union. Its a far cry from what we want or need.

Ricketts plan focuses on tightening the lid on local government spending, state school aid and agricultural property valuation growth.

State Sens. Mike Gloor of Grand Island, the Revenue Committee chairman, and Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids, the Education Committee chairwoman, introduced the two-bill package.

Steve Nelson, the Farm Bureau president, said Nebraska ag producers need relief after seeing their property tax bills grow 100 percent in five years.

The governors two bills are definitely steps in the right direction, he said, while adding that more work needs to be done to balance who pays for education in Nebraska.

About 60 percent of property tax revenue goes to fund K-12 education in Nebraska.

Pete McClymont, the Cattlemen executive vice president, said that ag land owners have been carrying a disproportionate share of the property tax burden and that controlling the growth of ag land valuation is key to changing the situation.

He said the cattlemens group has named the governors bills their top priorities for the session.

Hansen shared similar concerns about the property tax burdens on farmers and ranchers.

But he said controlling valuation growth wont necessarily make a difference in a property owners tax bill. He said the answer is to put more sales and income taxes into funding Nebraska schools.

Legislative Bill 958 will have a public hearing Thursday before the Revenue Committee. The Education Committee hearing on LB 959 will be Feb. 9.

Together, the bills would:

 Tighten spending limits on cities, counties and other entities of local government.

 Tighten property tax levy lids by removing exceptions that governing boards can invoke without a vote of the people.

 Control growth in the school funding formula by limiting school budget increases.

 Cap the amount that the assessed valuation of farm and ranch land may increase at 3 percent per year.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com

***

Additional information on the Legislature
While working as a bouncer in South Omaha bars, Eddie A. Abraham was known for knocking a guy down and then offering him a hand up, his son said Tuesday.

Ive heard a lot of stories about my dad doing that, said Eddie Van Sant of Omaha. People tell me that he hit hard, but he had a heart of gold.

Abraham, 59, of Council Bluffs, died Monday at the Nebraska Medical Center from injuries he suffered Friday in a crash on Ninth Avenue near 31st Street in the Bluffs. He was working as a driver for a cab company when his minivan rear-ended an unoccupied parked car, police said.

Abraham apparently veered off the right side of the road into the parking lane, pushing the car about 50 feet before stopping. Police said they are investigating whether a medical condition contributed to the accident.

A funeral service will be held Friday at 10 a.m. in the Korisko Larkin Staskiewicz Funeral Home, 5108 F. St. Visitation will be Thursday at 5 p.m.

Abraham, a 1973 graduate of Omaha South High, had worked as a cabdriver for about eight years, his son said. The many friends he made as a bouncer and cabdriver were evident Monday when his family invited acquaintances to stop by the hospital to say goodbye.

A few hundred people showed up, Van Sant said. A 97-year-old man came up and told me that whenever he got a cab ride, my dad would refuse to take his money. Sometimes, it seemed like it cost Dad money to go to work.

Van Sant learned many things from his dad, who loved to hunt pheasant and fish. He said the biggest lesson was an old school thing about treating people like you would want to be treated yourself.

It sounds corny, but thats really something that he believed, Van Sant said. He also taught me to always shake a mans hand and look him straight in the eye.

Van Sant said he also learned the importance of family from his father, who had eight sisters and one brother. Van Sant often heard about his dad going all in for family members, including the time that he drove to California to bring back a sister who had run away from home.

Abraham was also a bit of a camera bug and enjoyed taking pictures of old barn doors, sunsets and bald eagles nesting near his home. That softer side also appeared when Abraham talked about his late son, Tony Van Sant, who was just 6 years old when he died from cancer in 1998.

Dad would talk about Tony all the time even though he died a long time back, Van Sant said. Tony was his world.

In addition to his son, Abraham is survived by Sandy Van Sant; mother Janice Vopalka; father Edward A. Abraham; brothers Mark Abraham and Alan Vopalka; sisters Brenda Abraham, Vicky Abraham, Lori Briers, Christine Antoniak, Kim Reed, Jody Baratta, Roni Plescia and Sarah Jordan. A gofundme account has been set up to help Abrahams family with funeral expenses.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
Strong Iowa caucus showings by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio sent them roaring into next weeks Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire with a head of steam at the expense of a deflated Donald Trump.

A virtual tie between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders puts intense pressure on Clinton to rebound in New Hampshire and foreshadows a protracted struggle in a race she once expected to dominate.

New Hampshire is renowned for its independence and contrarian voting. Anything can happen. Trump and Sanders enjoy big polling leads that they need to turn into New Hampshire victories. That will be a test of whether Sanders can retain the enthusiasm of his youthful supporters and whether Trump fans still consider him a winner after losing the first contest.

Rubio didnt claim Iowa but was a big winner there. His third-place finish was closer than polls predicted. His challenge now is to persuade mainstream Republican voters to coalesce behind his candidacy to foil the self-styled outsiders Cruz and Trump. Hell need a strong showing in New Hampshire against Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie  three other mainstream Republicans competing vigorously in the Granite State.

New Hampshire comebacks are not unusual. Clinton staged one after Barack Obama beat her in Iowa eight years ago. Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1988 scored critical New Hampshire wins after losing Iowa.

Clintons win in 2008 wasnt enough to propel her to victory over Obama for the nomination. This time shes counting on strong organizations and well-financed campaigns in later states to overcome the unexpected success of the Vermont senator.

New Hampshires outcome is hard to predict because about 40 percent of its voters are independents who can decide on primary day whether to vote in either partys contest. A candidate who scores big with these voters can spring a surprise. And surprise has been the story of this campaign, in which little has played out as expected.

On the Republican side there are several question marks, in addition to the overriding one of Trumps durability:

 Can Rubio, the Florida senator, get a bounce from his strong Iowa finish and thereby crowd out the other mainstream contenders? If he placed first or second in New Hampshire, he would become a top contender for the nomination.

 Can Kasich, Bush or Christie do well Tuesday? Each faces virtual elimination otherwise. And each probably has to finish ahead of the other two and Rubio for a plausible pathway to the nomination.

 Can Cruz ride his Iowa victory to a respectable showing in New Hampshire, a state hed been inclined to ignore but now intends to contest? He had planned to focus instead on South Carolina, where the third GOP contest takes place Feb. 20 and where conservative voters are more of a force. Another factor may be whether Ben Carson, who finished a distant fourth in Iowa, stays in the race; he and Cruz compete for evangelical Christian voters.

New Hampshire is likely to winnow out at least three or four candidates. Iowa effectively took out half a dozen, including Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, winners of the last two Republican caucuses.
Americas manufacturing sector will need almost 3.5 million jobs to be filled over the coming decade, the National Association of Manufacturers estimates.

Theres a catch, though: Successful applicants will need training in advanced skills.

In some cases, that means getting up to speed in understanding and using advanced math. In other cases, computer software or chemistry. In still others, operation of high-tech equipment.

Nebraska is working to meet the need. The Nebraska Dream It, Do It coalition of manufacturers and educators has been focusing on workforce preparedness since 2005.

School systems are working with industry and community colleges to create career academies where young people can receive training for industry. Metropolitan Community College is developing its new Center for Advanced and Emerging Technologies, and Northeast Community College recently opened its Applied Technology Building.

Gov. Pete Ricketts administration has contributed by winning approval in the Legislature last year for competitive grants to promote advanced skills training. U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford is promoting similar legislation at the federal level.

Nebraskas program, called the Developing Youth Talent Initiative, provides financial assistance of up to $125,000 each to two eligible businesses a year on a competitive basis. The companies provide students hands-on experience in the manufacturing or information technology sectors.

The state is now accepting applications for the next round of grants. The webpage is at http://www.neded.org/business/talent-a-innovation-initiative/nebraska-developing-youth-talent-initiative.

Its a worthy cause for the future of the students and for the future of Nebraskas economy.
A second wave of snow and wind kept Omaha Public Power District crews busy battling outages into the evening Tuesday and early Wednesday.

Less than 150 of the districts customers were without power by 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, but that number spiked to about 3,800 customers around 9:45 p.m. Just under 2,300 of those outages were in Sarpy County.

Tuesday morning, more than 23,000 OPPD customers were without power for a few hours, but power was restored relatively quickly for most. The type of snow and short duration of actual snowfall made it easier to handle.

An OPPD spokeswoman said Wednesday crews were making good progress working on the outages in spite of wind gusts of 30 mph.

There were some really harsh conditions our crew were out there in, Paula Lukowski, the spokeswoman, said about the overnight efforts.

Late morning Wednesday, OPPD reported that about 200 customers were still without power, including 63 in Douglas County, 14 in Sarpy County and 118 in Johnson County in southeast Nebraska.

Lukowski praised workers for restoring power within 12 hours to the majority of its OPPD customers

Mike Jensen went all morning without power at his home in Ponca Hills. He and his family planned for the worst. After the first hour they started up the fireplace, and a few hours later they moved the food in the fridge outside to keep it cold.

For lunch they heated up soup in an old fondue set.

The power problems peaked in early morning, when the storm was at its strongest. Winds knocked out power in rural areas, and Ralston was hit hard.

The outages were largely attributed to the combination of wet, heavy snow and wind, said Laura King-Homan, a spokeswoman for OPPD. Snow accumulated on power lines, weighing them down.

Strong winds then blew the slack lines. Power blinked for some customers when the wires grazed tree branches. When the wires touched, power went out, said Jason Kuiper, a spokesman for the district.

Jeff Goss was ready to press send and file his taxes when the power at his Ralston home cut out Tuesday morning.

Boom, power out, he said.

Luckily, his work was saved. Instead of filing his taxes, he cleared his driveway and sidewalk with a snowblower and worked on his neighbors, too.

Although Goss power was flickering on and off throughout the morning, it was back on by afternoon, as was the case for most OPPD customers.

A total of 125 crew members were on call to respond to power outages for OPPD. Most of those remaining were in the Omaha area, said Jodi Baker, an OPPD spokeswoman, in an email. No injuries were reported from crews or customers during the day, she said.

The Nebraska Public Power District, too, dealt with fallout from the storm. NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said Wednesday that a scattering of power outages, from Plattsmouth to Lexington, were reported Tuesday morning, but all were back in service by 1 p.m.

World-Herald staff writers Jay Withrow and Erin Duffy contributed to this report.

World-Herald staff writer Erin Duffy contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 402-444-3144, matt.wynn@owh.com

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Prosecutions story may be attractive but should be backed by evidence

Which terror group is most likely to use bio-chemical weapons?

Feature

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The issue relating to use of chemical and biological weapons by terrorist groups has been discussed for several years now. While the al-Qaeda had boasted of such capability there were similar claims made by the Taliban too. Today it is the ISIS which has made a claim of possessing chemical and biological weapons.

Some threats have been over-estimated and many have said that terrorist groups sometime claim more than they actually have. If there were to be a terror attack using chemical and biological weapons which group is most likely to use it.

In Tamil Nadu, the ISIS problem none are talking about

In the current day scenario it appears that the ISIS which is growing at such a rapid rate is most likely to use such weapons.

ISIS most likely to use chemical and biological weapons

The ISIS is eager to strike at all times. Moreover this is an outfit which has a huge following which is also coupled with finances. Today it is the richest outfit and very easily can afford chemical or biological weapons or a scientist who can produce it.

Animesh Roul, Executive Director of Research at the New Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC) says that the present day ISIS has strong roots in the ideals of Abu Mushab al Zarqawi of Jordan and Jihadi ideologue like Ibn Taymiyyah who propounded the logic of Book' for guidance and Sword' for victory.

IS also adheres to guidelines noted by Abu Bakr Naji about extreme retaliatory violence to deter enemies in a jihadi manual titled (translated) "Management of Savagery."

Abu Mushab Zarqawi and his lingering influence as a founding father of IS leads us to believe that the violent group won't hesitate to use chem/bio weapons against the enemy.

He was identified as al Qaeda's chief biochemical engineer, before his death in 2006 and it was widely believed that Zarqawi imparted training to a special terror cell in Afghanistan and Iraq on the use of bio/chem agents for possible attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

Latest findings, especially a seizure of IS laptop and purported attacks using seized chemical weapons, have brought the world's attention towards Islamic State's intention and capability.

Intelligence Bureau questioning alleged ISIS sympathiser in Goa

The information on the laptop of a Tunisian IS militant suggests their interest to acquire or develop a biological weapon capability, even if they can be used effectively. A 19-page document in Arabic found in that laptop was on how to develop biological weapons and how to weaponize the bubonic plague from infected animals.

The instruction found on the laptop describing the benefits of biological agents indicated IS approval on the work to weaponize the bubonic plague and other viruses that would have an even greater affect than that of a localized chemical attack.

What is more alarming is that the laptop information had a message of religious approval for the use of such weapons. It reportedly read, "If the Muslims can't overwhelm the infidels in any other way, they are allowed to use weapons of mass destruction to kill everyone and erase them and their descendants from the earth."

The 26-page fatwa was issued by the Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al- Fahd, who is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. To note, this could be a May 2003 fatwa written by Nasir al- Fahd and endorsed by Ali al-Khudair, another radical cleric.

Following al Fahd's arrest (on May 28, 20003), Saudi intelligence agency found cyanide in an Al Qaeda safehouse in Riyadh. Al-Fahd is the author of a book that approved the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction against the non-believers.

No matter what, Indian ISIS recruits still clean toilets

Will ISIS capture secret labs?

Roul further points out that as the IS is advancing for territorial gains in Iraq and Syria at present, it can be speculated that sooner or later it will capture secret labs and factories that can facilitate to pursue chem/bio activities.

In June 2014, there were reports suggesting that IS had captured Saddam Hussein era chemical facility at Muthanna, near the city of Samarra.

By mid October 2014, there were unconfirmed reports from Kobani where Kurdish minorities were fighting against IS forces that unidentified chemical weapon was used by the IS militants.

The claim from the IS side regarding the possession of chemical weapons, such as Mustard agents, came in late August 2015 from a Dutch soldier turned ISIS fighter identified as Omar Yilmaz, who indicated that the group has acquired chemical weapons once belonging to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Yilmaz's revelations came with a series of suspected incidents of mustard gas attacks in northern Iraq and Syria.

Independent sources such as Conflict Armament Research (CAR) and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) have claimed that the IS has used chemical weapons several times against Kurdish forces between January -June 2015.

In August this year, the German Defence Ministry too reported IS's chemical weapon use in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. The same month, the United States officials stationed in Iraq claimed that ISG have used sulphur-mustard in a mortar attack on Kurdish forces in Makhmour town located in Northern Iraq.

The location has been in the news and a battlefront between the Kurdish forces and the Islamic State.

Various information are still flowing from the war theaters about the use of Mustard gas by the IS forces in Iraq and Syria and while ISIS may not yet have the most potent chemical agents, they will ultimately possess them in future as they advance towards their objectives.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 10:00 [IST]
Beijing: A Chinese province with a large Tibetan population has ordered shopkeepers to hand in portraits of the Dalai Lama, state-run media said Wednesday, quoting Beijing experts likening the Nobel laureate to executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sichuan in the southwest, which includes several ethnically Tibetan areas, set up a "law enforcement squad" of cultural bureau personnel, police and other officials to enforce the drive, reported the Global Times, which is close to the ruling Communist party.

The aim was to "crack down on pornography and illegal publications, which include portraits of the Dalai Lama" ahead of the Lunar New Year, it quoted Gou Yadong, director of the provincial publicity department, as saying.

People were more than welcome to put on show pictures of the country's past and present leaders, he added, referring to former heads of the ruling party.

The Global Times also cited Lian Xiangmin, of the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing, as saying that for Chinese people, hanging his picture was the same as displaying Saddam Hussein's image would be for Americans.

The former Iraqi leader was executed in 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity, while the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, was awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace prize.

The move in Sichuan comes as Beijing steps up a campaign against the spiritual leader, who is still widely revered by Tibetans.

Beijing brands him a dangerous separatist, despite his repeated statements condemning violence, and in Tibet it tightly controls images of him as part of what many Tibetans see as official repression of their religion and culture.

China denies repression of minorities and says its massive investment in Tibet has brought development to a formerly poverty stricken region.

Some Tibetan areas in Sichuan had seen laxer enforcement in recent years, with business owners displaying his portrait in shops.
Anupam Kher says his mother now 'healthy', will be quarantined at home

After Abdul Basit's call, Anupam Kher declines visa offer from Pak

India

oi-Sandra

New Delhi, Feb 3: A day after Bollywood actor Anupam Kher was denied Pakistani visa, the Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit called the actor and expressed his regret over denial of visa to the actor.

Meanwhile, Kher took to Twitter to respond to Basit's call and said: "Thank you Mr Abdul Basit for your call and offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately I've given away those dates now."

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher denied Pakistani visa

Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now.  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 3, 2016

It all began when Kher was denied a visa to visit Pakistan. Kher was invited to attend the Karachi Literature Festival along with other Indian celebrities like former minister Salman Khurshid, journalist Barkha Dutt and actor Nandita Das.

However once Kher was denied the visa, the Pakistan High Commission said that 'he (Kher) never applied for a visa in the first place.' Whereas Kher said that he said that he was denied a visa for two reasons.

"Has my visa been denied because I speak about India's rich tradition of tolerance or I am a Kashmiri Pandit who may expose Pak terror nexus?," Kher tweeted.

Has my visa been denied because I speak about India's rich tradition of tolerance or I am a Kashmiri Pandit who may expose Pak terror nexus?  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) February 2, 2016

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 11:05 [IST]
Prashant Kishor claims Nitish Kumar in touch with BJP says don't be surprised if he joins hands with it again

J&K govt: BJP, PDP a coalition that was never meant to be

India

oi-Vicky

The survival chances of the BJP-PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir is looking grim. However in politics nothing can really be predicted until the last word is spoken.

The drama that has unfolded over the past couple of weeks following the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is only an indicator that this coalition was never on the same page.

BJP seeks time to respond to Mehbooba's conditions

Mehbooba clearly wants more from the BJP in the form of several assurances. Be it speaking of the beef ban or Article 370 (special status), the PDP has sought an assurance from none less than the Prime Minister on these issues. The BJP has sought 8 to 10 days time to take a final call on the issue.

The coalition that never was

After the passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, none expected that his daughter Mehbooba would allow a peaceful transition. For starters she was never in favour of this alliance since the start. When her father was in talks with the BJP following a fractured mandate in Jammu and Kashmir, she was always opposed to the idea.

However Mufti Sayeed had other problems. For instance the government in Jammu and Kashmir was in urgent need of funds following the floods that devastated the state. His only option was to go with the BJP since it was the party that was ruling at the centre as well. Mufti Sayeed felt that this coalition would help bring in the central funds faster.

J&K govt formation: Suspense continues as Mehbooba seeks CBMs from Centre

After a lot of talking the PDP and the BJP managed to put together a government. What can one say about this government. They were never on the same page, but it did survive. Trouble began once the PDP decided to release Kashmiri separatist Masarat Alam. This did not go down too well with the BJP.

This was followed by a host of other incidents such as talk on beef ban and also Article 370 by members of the BJP which did not go down well with the PDP.

All these clearly show that the two parties were never on the same page. Today both parties do not want to change their stand and while the PDP upped the ante seeking more assurances, the BJP has decided to remain non-committal.

The future course of action

Mehbooba has been meeting with her party legislators over the past couple of days. There are very strong voices within the PDP which want the alliance with the BJP to break. However there are others who also ask what would be the next option if they break ties with the BJP.

Some PDP leaders feel that if the state goes to elections they may not gain entirely. While the sympathy factor will make a difference in certain pockets, there is also a section that is very angry with the PDP for allying with the BJP.

Hence the question of elections is not the best option some members of the PDP feel.

The BJP on the other hand would weigh the situation carefully. It does not want to be seen compromising too much for the sake of saving the alliance as it fears that its vote bank may erode in some pockets of Jammu.

For now it is a wait and watch game and the BJP may hope that the PDP agrees to continue with the alliance as per the original agenda of alliance.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 9:09 [IST]
Fake passport case: CBI files first charge sheet against Chhota Rajan, 3 others

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 3: CBI has filed its first charge sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan and three former officials of Passport Office, Bengaluru for allegedly issuing a fake travel document to him which he used to escape to Australia.

CBI Press Information Officer R K Gaur confirmed that the charge sheet has been filed in the Special Court, Patiala House, which has also taken cognisance of it.

They said Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan and three passport officials-- Jay Shree Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Layamon's--who were posted at Bengaluru passport office and are now retired, have been made accused in the charge sheet.

CBI sources said the agency has charged them with criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and under Provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act in the charge sheet.

CBI had registered a case against Rajan and unknown public servants alleging he got prepared an Indian Passport No G9273860 in the fake name of Mohan Kumar, residing at 107/B, Old MC Road, Azad Nagar, Mandya (Karnataka).

"He allegedly reached Australia on September 22, 2003 on the strength of the said passport and tourist visa and fraudulently obtained several different visas since then and continued to stay there till October 25, 2015," Gaur said.

Rajan was detained by Indonesian Police at Bali on October 25, last year on his arrival from Australia following a Red Corner Notice by the Interpol. He was later deported to India on November 6, 2015.

PTI

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 11:53 [IST]
Delhi HC refuses to stay eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 3: Delhi High Court on Tuesday, Feb 3, refused to stay the eviction of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his bungalow in New Moti Bagh.

Authorities on Monday disconnected water and power supply to a ministerial bungalow occupied by Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as they started eviction proceedings against the former UPA Minister who alleged "vendetta" by the government.

Officials reached the 14, New Moti Bagh residence of Chowdhury, who has failed to move to an alternative accommodation provided to him, and snapped the electricity and water connections besides moving out his furniture.

The Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad attempted to get the eviction stayed by the Delhi High Court which did not interfere with the disconnection of utilities and ordered status quo till tomorrow morning when it will hear the matter.

According to Directorate of Estates, the MP has been allotted another house on Humayun Road and given sufficient time to vacate the ministerial bungalow which it said he was not entitled to. But Chowdhury did not vacate despite several reminders in the past, they said.

"I got a stay from the court. It is nothing but political vendetta against opposition by the government," Chowdhury told PTI. He also denied claims that he was not entitled to the house.

Asked why he has not moved to the new house allotted to him, the MP said it has to be made livable with light and electricity connection and other facilities. "I am asking them to make a joint inspection of the house so that whatever is required can be done," he said.

Chowdhury, who was Minister of State for Railways in UPA government, has been allotted the house at Humayun Road more than one year ago, after he became the Lok Sabha MP from Murshidabad in 2014.

In the High Court, Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath refused to interfere in the proceedings.

"If water and electricity have been disconnected, let it be. We will keep it as it is. We are not passing any interim order (on staying eviction). We will maintain status quo till tomorrow morning," they said.

PTI
Don't write off Afzal Guru 'ghost' as yet: Hurriyat plans worldwide protest

India

oi-Vicky

Srinagar, Feb 3: Jammu and Kashmir will witness a virtual shut down on February 9 and 11 as the Hurriyat Conference has decided to mark the death anniversaries of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat respectively.

Both Afzal Guru and Bhat were hanged at the Tihar jail. While Afzal Guru was convicted for the Parliament attack, Bhat the founder of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front was hanged after being guilty of two murders.

The name of Afzal Guru resurfaced during both the attacks at Pathankot and Mazar-e-Sharif (Afghanistan) recently. In both these attacks the fidayeens had left behind pamphlets singing praises of Afzal Guru. It had become a clear strategy to capitalise on his name and start a movement in Kashmir.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the attempt was replicate what was done post the hanging of Bhat. The hanging of Maqbool Bhat in 1984 had become the focal point of the Kashmir movement five years later.

The Ghost of Afzal Guru returns:

There are desperate attempts being made by both Pakistan based terrorist groups and also the Hurriyat Conference to stir up passions in the name of Afzal Guru. Immediately after his hanging three years back there was no uproar in Kashmir.

However, if one looks at the case of Bhat, then it is something to worry about. This because there was a relative calm in Kashmir after his hanging in 1984. Five years later several groups used the hanging to stir up passions which led to a violent movement in Kashmir.

On February 9 and 11 the Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani have decided to observe a strike in Jammu and Kashmir. They are also planning on having demonstrations at Saudi Arabia, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Canada, Germany and United Arab Emirates. The demand would be to seek the return of their mortal remains which is at Tihar jail.

The message goes beyond:

Geelani has stated that the intention is to tell the people that both Guru and Bhat are part of the Kashmir freedom movement.

It is a clear attempt to stir up passions and one needs to be careful or matters could well go out of control says an officer with the intelligence bureau. We have alerted the police to be on high alert, the officer also added.

Both the recent attacks at Pathankot and Mazar-e-Sharif too attempted to send out one common message and that was to Kashmir. The Jaish-e-Mohammad made it extremely clear that they want to stoke emotions and make Kashmir a rallying point once again.

The terrorists who stole the vehicle of the Superintendent of Police (Gurdaspur) had left a note. The note read Long live Jaish-e-Muhammad . From Tangdhar to Sambha Kathua you will find loyalists of Afzal Guru who will readily lay down their lives for him.

A similar message was found at Mazar-e-Sharif as well. Here the message read, " Afzal Guru- a martyr for whom there will be a 1,000 fidayeens. Both these messages make it amply clear that the Jaish-e-Mohammad is using the Afzal Guru slogan to churn sentiments in Kashmir.

Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of the JeM has written a lot about Afzal Guru in some magazines published by his outfit. He had repeatedly tried to say that India had been running a smear campaign against Afzal Guru so that there is no reaction in Kashmir.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the message that the Jaish-e-Mohammad is trying to convene is extremely clear. They are hoping to replicate the events that occurred following the execution of Bhat.

They believe that they can still evoke sentiments in Kashmir quoting Afzal Guru. While it is a worrying trend, Indian officials however feel that the times have changed and the Jaish-e-Mohammad may not be successful this time around.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 12:28 [IST]
Do RAW, others get a raw deal in the name of 'intelligence failure'?

The NIA, ED dossiers that led to the raid on the PFI

Keep it clean, keep it safe: How the federal agencies raided the PFI

IB questions man held from Vasco railway station

India

oi-PTI

Panaji, Feb 3: Intelligence Bureau today grilled a man arrested against the backdrop of ISIS threat after he was found loitering suspiciously at Vasco railway station near here.

"He was interrogated by intelligence bureau officials. Anti-Terrorism Squad is also questioning him. We have not found anything related to terror at least till now," Inspector General of Police, Sunil Garg told reporters here.

The man, identified as Sameer Sardana (46) hailing from Dehradun, was apprehended by the police and ATS yesterday. Police found five laptops in his possession and have sent them to cyber crime cell for examination.

Sardana was booked under section 41 of the CrPC which deals with preventive arrests. According to police, Sardana was living in a railway dormitory, 35 kms from here, since January 22 and has been extending his stay.

He was questioned after he was constantly seen sitting on railway platform and busy on laptop for hours together, police had said.

Goa Police are on alert after the letter purportedly written by ISIS, threatening to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, was received on January 13 by the state secretariat, which was handed over to the ATS.

Police had detained a Syrian, a Nigerian and a Yemeni last week for overstaying and they were probed from the terror angle.

PTI
In Tamil Nadu, the ISIS problem none are talking about

India

oi-Vicky

Chennai, Feb 3: Out of the 150 persons who are under watch for alleged ISIS links, 90 are from South India, intelligence bureau officials say. The manner in which these persons have been interacting with handlers and recruiters shows the extent up to which the ISIS has impressed them.

Tamil Nadu was largely off the terror radar in comparison to other states. However things began to change gradually and when the Cuddalore based Haja Fakkruddin left his home for Syria.

In this case it was found that he had first moved to Singapore and then to Syria to join the ISIS. This was almost two years back and there is still no word on him.

The problem in Tamil Nadu

The ISIS threat has been looming large in Tamil Nadu. There are pockets where the problem persists. There are some groups that are actively involved in radicalising the youth and in the Haja case it was found that the operation was carried out by the Tauheed Jamaat.

While it is not yet clear whether the government in the state has realised the magnitude of the problem, several organisations are now coming up to counter this threat. Ahlah-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaath Federation is one such organisation which is doing its bit to curb the menace.

The role that this organisation will play is two fold. On one hand it wants to drill sense into the heads of these radicalised youth the dangers of being part of the ISIS. On the other hand it also wants to urge the Tamil Nadu government to crack down on groups which are supporting the cause of the ISIS.

The organisation says that there are several groups in South which are promoting the cause of the ISIS and a crack down is necessary.

The Haja Fakkruddin case is a classic example of how some of the groups are radicalising the youth in Tamil Nadu. It may be recalled that one person from Cuddalore was deported two years back from Singapore.

During the questioning of this computer engineer he revealed how he had radicalised Haja. He further added that he was involved with the Tauheed Jamaat. He also said that he had given Haja radical writings and speeches of 20th century Islamist thinker Abul Ala Maududi and radicals like Anwar Al Awlaki and Abdul Raheem Green.

Though the government is tightlipped about the incident, Fakruddin left for Syria via Turkey in November 2013 but returned disillusioned to India a month later after he and his family were put up in Chechen rebel camps in Syria.

"Fakruddin was motivated again in January in Chennai to join jihad. He left for Turkey the same month and there is no trace of him or his family," said a senior official, adding it was important to zero in on Indians who radicalised the Singapore nationals before more people were motivated to join jihad.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 9:50 [IST]
Intelligence Bureau questioning alleged ISIS sympathiser in Goa

India

oi-Vicky

Panaji, Feb 3: The Goa Anti Terrorist Squad and the Intelligence Bureau are jointly questioning a man alleged to be a sympathiser of the ISIS. This person was picked up by the Goa ATS after it had been found that he was allegedly linked to the ISIS. Investigations are still on and we are still ascertaining his exact role an intelligence bureau official informed OneIndia.

The National Investigating Agency which is probing a case relating to an alleged ISIS module in India had learnt that some operatives were planning on carrying out strikes in Goa in a bid to target foreigners and French nationals in particular.

Why were alleged ISIS operatives looking for car thieves in India?

It was also found that there was a plan to carry out attacks using military vehicles. During the probe it was found that the youth had drawn out a plan to steal military vehicles and then use it to carry out attacks in Goa and also Maharashtra.

These alleged operatives were believed to be in touch with car thieves in both Maharashtra and Goa. They wanted to rope these men in so that they could help steal military vehicles, investigations have found.

The military vehicle was meant to be used to carry out attacks both in Goa and Maharashtra. The use of a military vehicle would have generated less heat.

Further it has also been found that there was a money trail of Rs 1.5 lakh which was meant to be used to rent houses in Goa.

It was found that one Mohsin Sayeed and Khalid were given the money and told to rent out houses in Goa. The intention was to plan attacks in Goa and target foreigners in particular, the probe has also found.

OneIndia News
Jagan Mohan Reddy meets family of Kapu man who killed self over quota

India

oi-PTI

Kakinada (AP), Feb 3: YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday met family members of a man, belonging to the Kapu community, who allegedly committed suicide in support of reservation demand for the community under OBC category.

Reddy arrived here from Srikakulam and drove straight to the residence of C H V Murthy, who hanged himself from a dish antenna at Bennet Club in the Collectorate on Monday. The Opposition leader consoled the family members and assured them of his party's full support.

Kapu stir leader Padmanabham threatens indefinite fast

Later, talking to reporters, he blamed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for the present plight of Kapus and also the suicide of Murthy, a TV mechanic by profession and a resident of Kakinada. Reddy demanded an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of Murthy and a government job to one of his family members.

The Chief Minister should convince the Centre to amend the Constitution to raise the quota limit from present 50 per cent, he said. Meanwhile, former Andhra Pradesh Minister Vatti Vasantha Kumar extended support to the agitation launched by Kapus for reservation in jobs and education.

Kumar met Mudragada Padmanabham, who is spearheading the agitation, at his residence in Kirlampudi, East Godavari district and extended his support to the quota stir. He said Naidu should treat the quota demand as a social issue and not a political one.

"The Chief Minister should take a proper decision on the issue," Kumar said. "The Kapu community is facing severe problems. The Chief Minister should fulfil his promise made in 2014 election manifesto (to provide OBC status to Kapus)."

PTI
Delhi air quality projected to cross 301 by Sat; GRAP stage II comes into effect ahead of Diwali

Pak visa issue: Congress takes dig at Anupam Kher

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 3: Taking a dig at Anupam Kher over visa issue, Congress on Wednesday said if the "poster boy" of "tolerant" India is so keen to go Pakistan, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi can talk to his "friend" Nawaz Sharif to facilitate the visit.

"If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said in a tweet.

After Abdul Basit's call, Anupam Kher declines visa offer from Pak

If the #posterboyof "tolerant" India is so keen to go to Pak his friend PM Modi can surely talk to his drop by friend Nawaz & facilitate it?  Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) February 3, 2016

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh also questioned the uproar by Kher over the denial of visa, asking if it is not mandatory for an individual to file for a visa application.

"Anupam Kher has himself confessed that he hasn't filed an application in Pakistan Embassy. Then Arnab (Goswami) and Anupam what is the fuss about?(sic), Singh tweeted.

Anupam Kher has himself confessed that he hasn't filed an application in Pakistan Embassy. Then Arnab and Anupam what is the fuss about ?  digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) February 3, 2016

The veteran actor had last year taken out a rally against a protest march over growing "intolerance" in the country. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit had called up Kher yesterday after the actor said he was denied visa to attend the Karachi Literary Festival while 17 others were issued the travel document.

Basit today tweeted, "@AnupamPkher you are always welcome Sir. You are a great artiste; we respect and admire you."

Replying to Basit, Kher said, "Thank you Mr. @abasitpak1 for your call & offering me visa to visit Karachi. I appreciate it. Unfortunately i've given away those dates now."

PTI
Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have arrested the main facilitator of the gruesome attack on Bacha Khan University that killed 21 people, mostly students, while he was trying to slip across the border to Afghanistan, a media report said on Wednesday.

Waheed Ali alias Arshad, categorised as 'Terrorist A', was arrested in Nowshera last week by intelligence agencies, the Dawn reported, citing "credible" sources.

"He had made arrangements to flee to Afghanistan and hired a taxi to take him to the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. Had there been any further delay, the man would have slipped away," they said.

"He had shaved his beard and had packed up. His taxi was intercepted and he was picked up after positive identification," said the sources, requesting anonymity.

The alleged facilitator, in his early 30s, said in his initial statement that the planning of the attack on the university was going on for six months in Achin district of Afghanistan, the base of militant commander Omar Mansoor.

Mansoor, mastermind of the Peshawar school carnage and a commander of the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the January 20 assault on Bacha Khan University (BKU).

Waheed said Mansoor had provided him Rs 1 million to execute the plan and procure arms and ammunition.

Waheed is also reported to have said that he secretly made videos of the Punjab Regiment Centre and a police station in Mardan as possible targets and took the footages in a memory chip to Mansoor, but the plans were dropped because of heavy security in the two places.

The mastermind and planners, Waheed said, later opted for Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan and prepared a group of four militants to carry out the attack. He said he was the one who had made the video of the four attackers with Mansoor and that was the reason why the Abdul Wali Khan University was mentioned in the video, according to the report.

The plan to attack that university was also cancelled because of better security arrangements and the mastermind was informed about the new target in Charsadda.

Meanwhile, addressing a meeting last night, Deputy Inspector General of Police Mardan Division Saeed Wazir also said that militants initially had planned storming Wali Khan University in Mardan but later selected BKU deeming it a soft target and to increase causalities.
On camera: College student molested by auto driver doesn't let go off him

Shubham couldn't have enmity with anyone, says father on son's stabbing in Australia

Panel to go into "casteist" comments charge in IIMC

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 3: The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) here has formed a committee to probe allegations of "casteist" remarks against students belonging to the SC and ST community and has asked for a report within three weeks.

The committee was set up after a group of students, including those from SC and ST community, approached authorities alleging that "ill will" and "hatred" against them was being spread by some of their peers after they protested over Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide.

In letters to the Social Justice Ministry and the Tribal Ministry, 17 students have complained against certain social media posts that first appeared on January 18.

The students subsequently threatened legal recourse stating that due to the "prevailing tension" they are not able to focus on studies. Anurag Mishra, IIMC OSD, refused to comment when asked about the allegations.

However, a faculty member said that a five-member committee, including representatives from the students' side, was formed yesterday in a meeting where "both the grieving parties were heard out". It has been given three weeks time to submit a report on the issue.

The IIMC, run by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, will hold its annual convocation on February 5. When contacted, one of the students who has been complained against, said that "personal revenge" was being taken against him "misusing" constitutional protection granted to SC and ST community people.

"I have apologised for the post although initially I was not ready to do so. In the region where I come from, words I used in the post are not regarded offensive at all. A propaganda has been unleashed against me," the student said.

The complainant students have told the authorities that "comments are being passed and remarks made loud" when they pass through the corridors in the college and hostels since they raised the matter. "In the campus there is an air of worry...We hereby expect proactive action by our able faculties to ensure harmony and amicability on campus as assured," they wrote.

"We would beg to request a slot in the academic timetable to be allocated for sensitising of all the students by experts in the field of Caste/Tribe reality and affirmative action, to promote amicability and inclusivity on campus," they added.

Last month, a group of students had organised a protest meet inside the campus over the suicide of Hyderabad University Dalit student Rohith Vemula.

PTI
Delhi air quality projected to cross 301 by Sat; GRAP stage II comes into effect ahead of Diwali

Tata Motors drops 'Zica' brand after 'Zika' virus outbreak

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 3: Tata Motors has decided to rename its soon-to-be launched hatchback 'Zica' in view of the outbreak of Zika virus that has caused hardships across many nations.

Although spelt differently, the name sounds the same as the virus. 'ZICA' was derived from 'Zippy Car'.

"Empathizing with the hardships being caused by the recent 'Zika' virus outbreak across many countries, Tata Motors, as a socially responsible company, has decided to re-brand the car," a company statement said here.

The World Health Organization has declared an emergency over the mosquito-borne virus, suspected of causing microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, in babies.

Tata Motors did not announce the new name of the car, which will be showcased for the first time at the Auto Expo 2016 at Greater Noida, near here, from February 3-9.

"While it carries the 'Zica' label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced after a few weeks, ensuring all necessary consumer/branding and regulatory aspects are addressed, and the launch will take place thereafter," the statement said.

Tata Motors said the new car is backed by Tata Motors' "Made of Great" campaign, with the motto, 'What drives us from within is what makes us great'. The company said it is committed to doing what is right for its customers.

"The car, which has been designed for young people, has already received enthusiastic reviews from informed commentators, and the company is determined to place it in the market addressing all relevant needs of the target audience," the statement added.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 10:50 [IST]
Delhi air quality projected to cross 301 by Sat; GRAP stage II comes into effect ahead of Diwali

IRCTC update: 140 trains cancelled on October 20; here is the complete list

Partial solar eclipse on Diwali: Can you perform Lakshmi Puja on Oct 25?

News Flash: World's first "Zika" virus vaccine made in India, claims scientists in Hyderabad

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, Feb 3: Most of the terrorist attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity: Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Get all the latest national and international news updates of Tuesday, Feb 3, here:

2.00 am: A man allegedly got sucked out of Somalian passenger flight after possible explosive blew out fuselage mid-flight.

1.36 am: China proposes to set up a major trade centre worth around USD 450 million in Nepal.

1.06 am: Haryana CM Khattar urges Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to introduce Shatabdi train between Kurukshetra, Mathura.

12.38 am: Tanzanian student assault case: Karnataka CM looking into the matter. DGP to submit report, some officers likely to face suspension.

10.23 pm: Tata unveils "Zica" (zippy+car), Girish Wagh says they'll relaunch with name changed in view of Zika virus infection.

10.21 pm: We have been working on Zika vaccine for last more than 15 months, claims Dr. Krishna Ella (Chairman & MD Bharat Biotech International Ltd).

10.20 pm: World's first "Zika" virus vaccine made in India, claims scientists in Hyderabad.

9.10 pm: Ministry is now framing a policy to bring a two-year mandatory gap for distinguished service awards

9.09 pm: Defence Min raises objections over awarding Param Vishisht, and Ati Vishisht Seva Medals by armed force to top brass every year.

9.08 pm: We have taken the Tanzanian girl's statement, we are looking into the matter, says NS Megharikh.

9.07 pm: Zero tolerance for mob mindset, taken stringent measures in this case, says NS Megharikh, B'lore Police Commissioner on Tanzanian girl incident.

9.06 pm: I spoke to the Chief Minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested, says EAM.

9.05 pm: We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru, says EAM Sushma Swaraj's tweet.

8.38 pm: We have brought Gurpreet and her 8 year old daughter from the refugee camp to our Consulate in Frankfurt: EAM's tweet.

8.30 pm: Lalu Yadav's son-in-law Vineet Yadav's car stolen from his driver at gunpoint near Sikanderpur Metro Station (Delhi) earlier today.

8.10 pm: Our security forces&intelligence agencies not only prevented any damage to our capabilities & assets but achieved it with min casualties, says HM.

8.09 pm: In recent attack on Pathankot airbase there was conscious effort to target sensitive assets of country & to cause large scale casualties, says HM.

7.55 pm: For India, Mumbai & Pathankot terror attacks have signified a tectonic shift, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

7.54 pm: India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists & their organisations, says HM Rajnath Singh.

7.50 pm: Most of the terrorist attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity: Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

7.49 pm: To counter such threats we need to undertake sound, preventive, and responsive security measures: HM Rajnath Singh.

7.48 pm: From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco terrorism and bio-terrorism: HM Rajnath Singh.

7: 30 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh addressing conference on counter terrorism in Jaipur (Rajasthan)

7:00 pm: Yadav Singh arrested, will be produced in court tomorrow: RK Gaur (CBI Press Info Officer) Yadav Singh's arrest.

6:34 pm: Dr Anand Kumar (IPS) appointed Special Director in Intelligence Bureau.

6:32 pm: A K Poddar, IPoS (1987) appointed Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in CONCOR New Delhi under Ministry of Railways.

6:15 pm: CBI had registered case against Yadav Singh under sections 409,420,466,467,469, 481 and prevention of corruption act.

6:00 pm: Suspended Noida Authority chief engineer Yadav Singh arrested by CBI in a corruption case

5:42 pm: CBI summoned suspended Noida Authority chief engineer Yadav Singh for questioning in Disproportionate Assets case.

5:20 pm: Bengaluru Police file FIR against unknown persons in Tanzanian student assault case.

5:15 pm: Deonar (Mumbai) dumping ground fire: Congress BMC Councillors protest by wearing pollution masks.

5:06 pm: Learned from Pathankot; very soon GoI will clear everything required for security system to secure periphery, says MoD Sources.

5:00 pm: This is a very irresponsible comment from a person who has been an HM. Congress must apologize, says MA Naqvi,Union Minister on Sushil Shinde.

4:48 pm: Finance Ministry's PPP committee clears roads and port projects envisaging investment of Rs 9,672 crore.

4:30 pm: BJP people took advantage of the situation and spreading garbage on streets: Arvind Kejriwal.

4:10 pm: 10 army jawans trapped in Siachen avalanche; efforts on to rescue them.

4:00 pm: Pak Panel led by Awais Leghari of PML-N MNA proposes Pak must not encourage calls for active support of banned groups in Kashmir: Reports.

3:30 pm: MCD strike: Delhi CM Kejriwal demands CBI probe, blames BJP for strike.

2:54 pm: Massive avalanche in Siachen. Search and rescue operations underway.

2:05 pm: J&K police bust Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module in Handwara. 3 terrorists arrested by the police.

1:54 pm: HC refuses to stay eviction of Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury.

1:30 pm: Cabinet approved allowing Railways to form Joint Venture Companies with State Govts to mobilize resources fr rail projects in States, says Piyush Goyal.

1:10 pm: CCEA approved delinking Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd (REIL), Jaipur,frm parent company and turn it into independent CPSE, says Piyush Goyal.

1:00 pm: A commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and two other terrorists have been arrested in Handwara. It is said that they had infiltrated into Kashmir with an intention of carrying out a major terror attack.

12:37 pm: I am vacating the bungalow, My demand was simple give me 15-20 days time, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress.

12:25 pm: Hindu Nyaya Peeth protest against movie 'Mastizaade' outside a theatre in Ludhiana (Punjab).

12:30 pm: Girl allegedly molested by a person onboard Doon Express. Police arrest youth from Kolkata's Bandel Station.

12:25 pm: Delhi LG reaches Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence

12.20 pm: "I will submit digital evidences against Oommen Chandy, his involvement will be revealed", says Saritha S Nair, accused in solar scam.

12.15 pm: MCD Doctor strike matter: Delhi HC issues notice to Delhi Govt,East & North Municipal Corporation,Resident doc association, Med. council, IMA.

12 noon: Vyapam Scam: SC says,"will hear bail plea of all accused together" after 1 of accused sought early hearing of his bail plea before CJI bench.

11.55 am: Sardara Singh backed out of our relationship & is now not taking my calls or responding to message, alleges Complainant.

He (Sardara Singh) backed out of our relationship & is now not taking my calls or responding to messages-Complainant pic.twitter.com/Uob5221n1z  ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

11.45 am: Congress cannot play any role as we are no where party in so far as Govt formation (J&K) is concerned- Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress

11.35 am: Union Cabinet meeting ends.

11.30 am: SC allows construction of Railway line which passes through Mahananda national park,asks WB Govt to issue notification within 2 months.

Even in the midst of global slowdown, India has comparatively stood out-FM Jaitley pic.twitter.com/UB0WjfT2th  ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

Former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah pays homage to senior Congress leader Balram Jakhar in Delhi pic.twitter.com/0KOg6jzCSB  ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

11.15 am: FM Arun Jaitley speaking at Invest Karnataka 2016-Global Investors Meet in Bengaluru.

DMK Chief Karunanidhi pays floral tribute to former TN CM C.N. Annadurai on his death anniversary in Chennai. pic.twitter.com/I2LBJX1bhL  ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

11.05 am: No relief to Congress' Adhir R Chowdhury, Delhi HC double bench rejects plea seeking stay on Central Govt's order to evacuate Govt bungalow.

11.00 am: MCD workers protest in Nirman Vihar (Delhi) over non payment of salary dues.

10.50 am: SC allows Maharashtra Govt to organize event at Mumbai's Girgaum Chowpatty beach.

10.35 am: Traffic jam at NH 24 (Delhi) as MCD workers continue with their protest over non payment of salary dues

Traffic jam at NH 24 (Delhi) as MCD workers continue with their protest over non payment of salary dues pic.twitter.com/bfjMFgkUXq  ANI (@ANI_news) February 3, 2016

9.50 am: Uttar Pradesh ATS arrested Saudi based LeT Commander Abdul Aziz from Lucknow airport late last night.

9.33 am: MCD Doctors Association to move Delhi HC asking for their services to be transferred from MCD to Delhi government.



9.23 am: Nagpur bench of Bombay HC asks citizens to raise voice against corruption and asks them to not pay taxes if govt fails to control corruption.

8.53 am: Union Cabinet meeting scheduled to take place this morning.

8.35 am: A person alleged to be a sympathiser of the ISIS has been detained by the Goa ATS. He is being questioned by the ATS and intelligence bureau officials.

8.00 am: First US Zika Virus transmission reported, sexual transmission cited.

OneIndia News
Puri, sabzi, kachori': Nirbhaya case convicts mother's last wish for her son

Mother has the right to decide surname of child after husband's death: SC

In best interest and welfare, SC orders mother to return child to father in US

Monkey tries to snatch month-old human baby from mother

Toddler who filed 'FIR' against mom gets bicycle, chocolates from MP minister

US: OMG! Mother, daughter meet after a gap of 82 years in a rare reunion

International

oi-Jagriti

Washington, Feb 3: In a rare and extraordinary reunion, a woman in her late 90s met her daughter after a long gap of 82 years.

The nonagenarian Lena Pierce met her daughter Betty Morrell in the lobby of the Greater Binghamton Airport in Binghamton, New York last month, reported the CNN.

Pierce -- now a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother was forced to give up her 6-month-old daughter in 1933 as she was just 14 at the time.

She gave birth to a little girl in a Utica hospital.

."It seems like it's unbelievable," Morrell's birth mother, said Lena Pierce.

Pierce was forced to give up her 6-month-old in 1933 after state officials concluded she was too young to raise the child, according to another of Pierce's daughters, Millie Hawk.

Morrell, whose adoptive parents died when she was in her 20s, was raised an only child in Long Island, New York.

OneIndia News
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The petition said Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India. (Photo: PTI)

Lahore: For the second time, a Pakistani court on Wednesday sought a larger bench to hear a petition to prove the innocence of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the murder case of a British police officer after the plea was last heard nearly three years ago.

A Lahore High Court (LHC) two-member division bench, headed by Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan and constituted by chief justice Ijazul Ahsan, conducted the hearing of the petition, nearly 85 years after Singh's execution by the colonial government.

Justice Mahmood, however, referred the case to the chief justice for constitution of a larger bench after petitioner Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi argued that a three-member bench had awarded death sentence to Singh, and therefore, a larger bench not less than five members should be formed to hear the plea.

After the hearing, advocate Qureshi - also chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation - told PTI that the court had accepted his plea to constitute a larger bench for hearing of the plea.

"Under the law only a larger bench comprising more than three members could undo the decision of the three-bench member that had awarded death sentence to Bhagat. We have also requested the LHC for regular hearing of the case," he said.

Last hearing of the petition was held by Justice Shujaat Ali Khan in May, 2013 when he referred the matter to chief justice for the constitution of a larger bench.

The chief justice then formed the two-member bench that held its first hearing today.

In the petition, Qureshi said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India.

Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931, after being tried under charges of hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government.

He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".

The petitioner further said Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Sikhs but also Muslims and that the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah had paid tribute to him twice during his speech in the central assembly.

"It is a matter of national importance and should be fixed before a full bench," he said and pleaded the court to set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with state award.

Earlier in 2014, the Lahore police had provided the copy of FIR to the petitioner on the court's order. Singh's name was not mentioned in the FIR of the murder of British police officer John P Saunders for which he was handed down the death sentence.


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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Caymans proposed EU Connect Funds are an exciting development for the hedge fund industry, as this would enable funds to passport across the European Union, said Jason Allison, a partner in the investment funds group at Walkers during the latest Opalesque Cayman Roundtable.

He said that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is currently assessing the Cayman Islands for inclusion in the AIFMD equivalency regime. Allison added that some amendments have already been made to Caymans Mutual Funds Law and the Securities Investments Business Law harmonize with European requirements in order to allow passporting.

"We are now waiting on ESMA for their assessment. That is obviously going to be an exciting development when it becomes available for hedge funds, but also for closed-ended funds who might want to make use of the European passport instead of the national private placement regimes when distributing fund interests in Europe," Allison said.

Under the proposed regulation, there will be a separate opt-in regime for EU Connect Funds that would meet AIFMD requirements for passporting. "Obviously, we would like that to happen," he added.

Leanne Golding, a senior vice president at The Harbour Trust Co. Ltd., echoed th......................

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This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Reprinted from www.popularresistance.org

Washington, DC -- On Thursday, January 28 at 12:30 PM, representatives of Indigenous organizations from the Southwest, Northern Great Plains, and supporters called for "no nukes" in a protest addressing radioactive pollution caused by 15,000 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) posing a toxic threat in the US. The demonstration was held at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters to call for immediate clean up of these hazardous sites, protection of Indigenous sacred areas from uranium mining, and for intervention in communities where drinking water is poisoned with radioactive contamination. The groups charged that the EPA has been negligent in addressing these toxic threats that severely threaten public health, lands, and waterways.

"Native American nations of North America are the miners' canaries for the United States trying to awaken the people of the world to the dangers of radioactive pollution", said Charmaine White Face from the South Dakota based organization Defenders of the Black Hills.

South Dakota has 272 AUMs which are contaminating waterways such as the Cheyenne River and desecrating sacred and ceremonial sites. An estimated 169 AUMs are located within 50 miles of Mt. Rushmore where millions of tourists risk exposure to radioactive pollution each year.

Indigenous communities have been disproportionately impacted as approximately 75% of AUMs are located on federal and Tribal lands. A majority of AUMs are located in 15 western states with the potential to impact more than 50 million people.

Out of 272 AUMs in South Dakota only one, the Riley Pass Mine located on US Forest Service held lands, has been cleaned up but the process has been called inadequate and concerns were raised about the reclamation budget. "My concern is how with the balance remaining from a $179 million mine reclamation settlement, the USFS says that local affected communities will be able to use the remainder on community projects and training to replace uses of the Grand River, which flows into Missouri River. The river is destroyed through this act of radioactive genocide." stated Harold One Feather, a member of Defenders of the Black Hills, "After discussing the $179M Tronox settlement for the Riley Pass Uranium Mine Reclamation, the US Forest Service said the affected communities can submit budgets to use up any remaining balance after mine reclamation."

Outside of the EPA headquarters the groups chanted, "Radioactive Pollution Kills!", "No More Churchrock Spill, No More Fukushima!", and "Clean Nuclear is a deadly lie!" in response to the EPA's Clean Power Plan which they state promotes nuclear energy.

A massive banner stating "Radioactive Pollution Kills" with the image of a Miner's Canary and radioactive warning symbol was dropped inside the EPA headquarters.

From January 25-28, Clean Up The Mines, Defenders of the Black Hills, Dine No Nukes, Laguna and Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment & Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, and Indigenous World Alliance, met members of congress, Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, DC.

The Clean Up The Mines! campaign is focused on passing the Uranium Exploration and Mining Accountability Act that would ensure clean up of all AUMs. The act was submitted as a draft to Congressman Raul Grijalva (D--AZ) two years ago but has yet to be introduced to Congress.

Currently, no comprehensive law, regardless of mining era, requires clean-up of all these dangerous abandoned uranium mines allowing corporations and the federal government to walk away without taking responsibility for the continuing harms they have caused.

"This is an invisible national crisis. Millions of people in the United States are being exposed as Nuclear Radiation Victims on a daily basis." said Mrs. White Face, "Exposure to radioactive pollution has been linked to cancer, genetic defects, Navajo Neuropathy, and increases in mortality. We are protesting the EPA today because we believe that as more Americans become aware of this homegrown radioactive pollution, then something can be done to protect all peoples and the environment. In the meetings we had in DC, not only were AUMs discussed, but we also talked about radioactive pollution from coal dust, coal smoke, and in water.

These show a need for amendments to the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act." said Mrs. White Face.

The groups addressed extreme water contamination, surface strip coal mining and power plants burning coal-laced with radioactive particles, radioactive waste from oil well drilling in the Bakken Oil Range, mill tailings, waste storage, and renewed mining threats to sacred places such as Mt. Taylor in New Mexico.

"The U.S. is violating its own Executive Orders and laws intended to protect areas sacred to Native American people on public lands by applying the General Mining Act of 1872." Petuuche Gilbert of the Laguna Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment & President of the Indigenous World Association, "The U.S is discriminating against Indigenous peoples when it permits mining on these lands. Specifically, the U.S. is violating: Executive Order 13007, Executive 13175, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."

"With adherence to out-dated, racist policies promoting colonialism, such as the 1872 mining law,Indigenous peoples across the country will continue to be oppressed, and we will continue to demand that our land be returned and restored to its original condition, to that of before the colonization by the United States," stated Leona Morgan of Dine No Nukes. "The United Nuclear Corporation mill tailings spill of 1979, north of Churchrock, New Mexico left an immense amount of radioactive contamination that down-streamers, today, are currently receiving in their drinking water. A mostly-Navajo community in Sanders, Arizona has been exposed to twice the legal limit allowable for uranium through their tap--this is criminal!" said Morgan.Dine No Nukes is a collective focused on educating the general Navajo population about the issues created by US Atomic Energy Commission, as well as ongoing and new threats from the nuclear industry.

Tommy Rock, a member of Dine No Nukes and graduate student from the state of Arizona stated that the water crisis in Flint, Michigan was extremely similar to a crisis near the Navajo Nation in Sanders, AZ. "The regulatory agencies are responding by sending the Army National Guard to provide bottle water for the community of Flint. However, the small community of Sanders which is also predominantly an Indigenous community that is off the reservation are not receiving the same response from the state regulatory agency or the state legislatures and the media," stated Rock who worked on a recent study that uncovered levels of uranium in the drinking water system of residents and an elementary school in Sanders that violated the drinking water standard for uranium. Rock continues, "The same can be said about two Lakota reservations. They are Pine Ridge and Rock Creek, Standing Rock Reservation that have not received any assistance from regulatory agencies. This exemplifies the inconsistency among the US EPA regions about responding to Indigenous communities compared to non-Indigenous populations which are facing the same issue regarding access to safe drinking water."
Reprinted from Wallwritings

British critic Patrick McCray has described the Marx Brothers' 1933 film, Duck Soup as "an absurdist essay on politics and warfare...which can stand alongside (or even above) the works of Beckett and Ionesco."

Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) is Groucho Marx' perennial comedy sparring partner. In Duck Soup, she is the wealthy benefactor of Freedonia, a 1933 female equivalent of the Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson, or Haim Saban.

In relating to Mrs. Teasdale, Groucho is as insulting to her gender as Donald Trump is to any woman who crosses him. In his attitude toward diplomacy, Groucho sounds as clumsy and adolescent as Ted Cruz when he calls for carpet-bombing.

The narrative of Duck Soup's Freedonia envisions U.S. politics between Monday's Iowa caucuses. the New Hampshire primary, Tuesday, February 9, and the presidential election November 8.

Freedonia is bankrupt. Mrs. Teasdale appoints Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) as the country's new president. Sensing a weakness in the new leader, the bordering nation of Sylvania sends in two spies, Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) to set the stage for a revolution.

The Sylvania ambassador comes to see President Firefly (Groucho). The two-minute video clip below, captures that encounter:
Cliven Bundy is not helping his son's cause today, the very day Ammon Bundy is headed before a federal judge:

"Three men charged over the armed occupation of federal land in Harney County will appear in federal court on Tuesday. "Ammon Bundy, Peter Santilli and Joseph O'Shaughnessy are seeking release from custody pending trial. Bundy and Santilli were denied release on Friday. "O'Shaughnessy was granted release, but federal prosecutors are fighting to keep him locked up."

Ammon Bundy was previously denied released pending trial because the judge determined he is a danger to the community. He is asking a judge to allow him to leave for Idaho with a GPS enabled ankle bracelet.

Meanwhile, Ammon's own father may have hurt his cause. Late yesterday he publicly released a certified letter he sent to Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and President Barack Obama. The letter was meant to put Sheriff Ward "on notice":

Cliven Bundy is ordering the FBI to leave Burns, Oregon immediately ... or else. He also says the standoff will continue and they will not give up the refuge. Given the previous federal judge said there was no chance of release while the standoff is still going on and the fact Ammon Bundy and his wife Lisa Bundy have reached out both directly and indirectly to the remaining four militants at the refuge, pleading for them to leave, this isn't likely to help Ammon's case today in federal court.
I support Senator Sanders like I have never supported any candidate in my lifetime. And on those days I allow myself to think about the possibility of his losing, something I don't believe we have time for, I console myself in the thought that I will no longer be silent.

Win or lose I will get involved in local, state and federal government. I will run for office and work for others doing the same. I will not stop, not this time. I was inspired by the election of President Obama. Everyone, I guess, was one way or another. And on some level I knew President Obama was in for the fight of his life. Maybe the fight of our lives. But he was and is so inspiring. I guess I didn't realize he might need my actual help. Not just my vote. Even as he asked me all the time. Email after email and on TV. I did nothing, to my great shame.

I knew to my core he couldn't do it alone. I told all my Obama crazy friends, he's not going to be able to do anything because of how things are in Washington. I lashed out at those who gushed about Obama. Not because President Obama was or would be lacking, but because I didn't believe in my fellow Progressive, Independent and Democratic friends.

So I became part of the self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't know if I discouraged my friends. If I had just stood up would they have followed? It doesn't matter. I should have stood up because it was right. We all should have. I think we all know it. If we had stood up with President Obama, Senator Sanders could have served in the Senate for as long as he wanted and retired quite happily. This year we would be electing the first woman President without a doubt, Elizabeth Warren. Be we didn't stand up.

The election of President Obama was amazing. So many people I had idolized were so touched. African American legends expressed that they finally felt like they had arrived as Americans, as equals. Even as many, too many to mention had largely created American culture. I somehow believed President Obama was so popular, was so charismatic he might be able to make the change he promised.

But my friends didn't stand up. I didn't stand up. And President Obama was left to do what he could. We didn't rise to his call. We didn't run for office. We didn't even vote in the midterms. The Powers that be won again; Tea Party candidates were elected that kept President Obama from doing anything. President Obama however didn't quit. He has not been perfect. But he has quite definitely used his popularity and his progressive inclinations in his second term to push the nation and conversation back left towards the center again.

Now this critical primary/caucus season has not just become about the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, but which way this country will go in the future. The Clinton campaign has made an argument that they are "pragmatic Progressives," which for true Progressives just sounds like Karl Rove's "Compassionate Conservative" tag line. That might be fitting because after 15 years of far right wing attacks. All the Clintons know are Karl Rove like tactics. Maybe they have Stockholm syndrome, who wouldn't?

The whole Clinton campaign has been fear. Be afraid of a Republican presidency. Bernie Sanders isn't electable. Bernie Sanders wants to give everyone guns and take your healthcare. Bernie Sanders is a Socialist, maybe a Communist. Tactics I didn't think we'd face until we reached the general election. The problem with their attack line is we loved the Clintons when they were Democratic Socialist. Most of the support Clintons generated with the Progressive community is because they were the dreamers with an unrealistic agenda. "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow."

Look, we all remember Hilary trying to get us universal healthcare. The attacks on her were vicious. It was the height of misogyny and the worst in politics. We all heard her when she talked about a vast right wing conspiracy. We understood. So they hardened, who wouldn't? Evolving political armor to survive. But there is a difference between being hard and being strong. The hardest steel breaks and shatters. The strongest steel bends and bounces back. That is the difference right now. Between the Clintons and Bernie Sanders. The Clintons look hardened and calculating by their time in Washington. Bernie just looks stronger. And he makes me feel strong.

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The conventional political wisdoms, that's right wisdoms, not wisdom, about Hillary Clinton before Iowa went like this. One, she bombed badly in Iowa in 2008, losing to both Obama and John Edwards, therefore if she doesn't do well in Iowa it will be 2008 all over again, and the wind will quickly taper to a faint breeze behind her campaign. Two, Iowa is one of the two whitest states in the union. This was tailor made for rival Bernie Sanders to bag the states Democrat's fiercely independent, contrarian, and liberal voters. Some polls showed Sanders with a clear edge over Clinton. Three, a Sanders win and a Clinton loss would ramp up support among more mainstream Democrats, party officials, donors and bundlers for Sanders. It would also give him an enormous public and media boost and dispel doubts about his electability.

Clinton's win made mush of each of those political wisdoms. Make no mistake, Sanders did do well with the vote, revving up and inspiring voters, especially young voters, and effectively messaging his call for an assault on Wall Street greed, wealth and income inequality. The brutal political reality, however, is that though he made the Iowa vote a close run up against Clinton, it was a loss for his campaign in more than just the vote. Let's do the math first. Sanders needed to win roughly 70 percent of Iowa's proportioned out delegates to stay close to Clinton in the projected national delegate total needed for the nomination. He didn't come close. He will get about 50 percent of Iowa delegates. That totals out to about 21 delegates. He needed at least 31 delegates to stay close to the projected national delegate totals for both candidates. Sanders got lots of support, and many of his votes, from ultra-liberal, progressives, and college students in Iowa.

http://theweek.com/articles/602929/sorry-bernie-tie-iowa-still-win-hillary

However, that's a voter demographic that pales in number, percentage and geographic placing to the Democratic voter base in other states, particularly the South and the West where blacks and Hispanic voters make up in some states a majority of Democratic voters, and in others a significant minority of the voters. They make up a big part of Clinton's core supporters, and polls repeatedly show that despite energetic efforts by Sanders to break the Clinton lock on her minority voter support, so far it has produced little results. One example is South Carolina which will hold its primary February 27. 84% of black voters in South Carolina supported Clinton, compared with only 7% who backed Sanders. Clinton racks up the same top heavy percent of the black votes in the other Southern state primaries.

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-bernie-sanders-south-carolina-nevada-hillary-clinton-2015-10

The reasons Clinton beat the expectations of many in Iowa are the same reasons that polls still show her handily beating Sanders nationally. While it's true that a majority of Americans are sick of and disgusted with the dysfunctionality, deal making, and big money manipulation of American politics, there is little evidence that this now or for that fact ever translated into a repudiation of traditional party politicians at the polls. Sanders, for one, has done everything by the standard campaign book, made clear he's a staunch Democrat, and carefully frames his mantra issues of wealth and income equality, and the need for a "political revolution" as being a movement for reform not a radical overhaul of the system.



The drumbeat knock against Clinton from Sanders' fervent backers is that she's a Wall Street beholding, Iraq war backer, foreign policy hawk, and a beltway Democratic insider. The typecasting aside, she's also one of the best prepared White House candidates in years.





The other is the terrifying prospect of a Trump, Cruz or Rubio winning the White House and having say-so over the next round of appointments to the Supreme Court, as well as White House say so over dealing with climate control, jobs, taxes, abortion, gay rights, police violence, and the Middle East conflicts. The frontal and collateral damage of a GOP controlled White House should be more than enough to seal the Democratic Party deal for Clinton.

Iowa then was not just a big step toward the nomination for Clinton. It was a monster win for her.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His latest book is Trump and the GOP: Race Baiting to the White House (Amazon Kindle) He is a frequent MSNBC contributor. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network
"I didn't have any money. Now there is a massive infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns for all the candidates. Some candidates like Trump can put in his own money but others have to be able to raise a $100m to $200m just to get the Republican or Democratic nomination. That's the biggest change in America."

Former President Jimmy Carter is not one to hold back how he feels about the current condition of money in politics. When he ran against Gerald Ford and later Ronald Reagan, he says, "We didn't raise a single penny to fund our campaigns." This morning he told BBC Radio 4's Today program:

"The erroneous ruling of the supreme court, where millionaires, billionaires, can put in unlimited amounts of money, give legal bribery the chance to prevail, because all the candidates, whether they are honest or not, or whether they are Democratic or Republican, depend on these massive infusions of money from very rich people in order to have money to campaign."

Last October, President Carter appeared in a candid interview with Oprah, and said if he were to run for president in today's world, he would not be able to afford it.

"We've become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that's been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I've ever seen in my life."

President Carter expanded on the issue with Thom Hartmann in July 2015:

"It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it's just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we've just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election's over."

During the BBC interview, President Carter also discussed the work he's done via The Carter Center to help eradicate the plague of Guinea Worm Disease. The Center was co-founded with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1982. Since then, cases of the disease have dropped down from 3 million to only 22 cases now known in the world.
Reprinted from Campaign For America's Future



Move over -- we're headed to New Hampshire!

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The Iowa caucuses just supercharged the 2016 presidential race. Younger and lower-income voters drove Bernie Sanders into a head heat with Hillary Clinton. A record Republican turnout of white voters elevated an odd couple -- two first term Cuban-American Senators -- and deflated Donald Trump, the fear peddler.

The winnowing has begun as Mike Huckabee and Martin O'Malley dropped out, with more to come. And now the pace accelerates: New Hampshire next week, followed by South Carolina, Nevada and the Super Tuesday states, as more and more Americans discover that a presidential campaign has begun. Iowa will be dissected over the next days, but here are five quick takeaways the morning after...

Sanders is for real.

Sanders ended in a stunning dead heat with Hillary Clinton, after starting in single digits in Iowa. Commentators suggest he was no Barack Obama (who is?), but the real measure of his achievement is that he overcame a Hillary Clinton campaign that Obama never faced. Determined not to be blindsided as she was in 2008, Clinton invested early and big in Iowa. She hired the best Obama operatives, and built an unprecedented ground operation. She identified, contacted, and mobilized her voters. And Clinton's strengths in the voting population -- older voters, older women, more educated, more affluent, experienced caucus goers -- were exactly the voters most likely to show up on caucus night. Sanders' strengths -- younger voters, first time caucus goers, lower income -- were the least likely to show up.

Despite this, the race ended in a dead heat. Sanders is for real. If he sustains his lead in New Hampshire, he'll come out of the first states with a head of steam

Something is happening, but you don't know what it is.

Clearly, young voters -- the millennials -- are attracted to the political revolution that Sanders is championing. Sanders beat Clinton by a staggering 84 to 14 among voters under 29, and 53-37 on voters 30 to 45.

This is the Obama generation. They mobilized to sweep Obama to victory in 2008, with many growing disillusioned along the way. But rather than checking out, many are doubling down, intent on building a movement to transform this country.

The leadership of virtually all of the mainstream Democratic linked groups -- from the unions to Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign -- have endorsed Hillary Clinton. Almost all of the party leaders, gatekeepers, deep pockets, cultural icons line up with Clinton. But the activist energy, the young, the searching are drawn to Sanders. Sanders trails Clinton among voters that are looking for a winner or care about experience. But he wins big margins among those who value most someone who cares about people like me (74 to 22), or is honest or trustworthy (87 to 10).

Sanders is providing the first clear, forceful, populist message and agenda that these voters have heard, focused on how our corrupted politics and rigged economy keep us from building a decent, vibrant country of opportunity -- where health care is a right, college is free, workers are empowered, big money is curbed, and the rich and powerful pay their fair share. He's begun to educate a generation -- and to transform the activist base of the party. These voters will continue to organize and agitate when the campaign is over, whether Sanders wins or loses. A new force is getting built in American politics that will have lasting impact.

The big challenge for Sanders is to find entry points that will allow his message and candidacy to gain an honest hearing from people of color. At this point, he is trailing badly among African Americans and Latinos. But much of this is lack of name recognition, combined with a dearth of contacts to provide introductions. The big question is whether the young movements that are challenging the leaders of the black and Latino communities will decide that Sanders will provide a vehicle that will help them increase their reach. All that remains to be seen.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Clinton, like any good politician, has adjusted to this. Her program has grown more progressive (against the TPP, against Keystone, for putting banksters in jail). Her rhetoric has grown more populist. Commentators noted that her closing argument in Iowa offered up angrier, more combative flare.

But it is not simply Clinton, but candidates across the country that are learning new lines, exploring new stances. Sanders will spark insurgent candidates across the country, arming them with argument and hope. This isn't George McGovern who was focused on ending a grotesque war. This is the left's version of Ronald Reagan, focused on transforming our political economy. The "era of big government is over" is over.

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Protest

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What we have been witnessing at the University of Hyderabad, India in the form of protests following the tragic suicide of a Dalit student is a systematic attempt to demolish the character of institutions run by governments, whether at the center or the state level. Though ironically it is minorities and the weaker sections who need these institutions the most, the attempt to use a politics of intimidation to put an entire administration on the defensive is sickening and has a price tag attached to it.

Not only do the protests weaken the resolve of governments to take these institutions seriously, but they provide justification in the public imagination for private universities where we hardly see the kind of mayhem and anarchy unleashed by student pressure groups on the University of Hyderabad campus. In fact, just as Public Sector Undertakings (PSU's) were discredited following liberalization, the universities run by the government are bound to suffer the same fate. In the larger scheme of things, the welfare state will be replaced by the corporate state.

The student's suicide was a personal tragedy, according to the suicide note left behind, though there is a political angle and context to it. If, however, the suicide was meant to highlight the social condition of Dalit students in Universities, it doesn't look like the Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA) ever went beyond accusations of casteism randomly attributed to non- Dalits or those who did not endorse their point of view.

The phrase "you're either with us, or against us", popularized by George W. Bush, summarizes how the ASA looks at anyone critical of their excesses. I am not trying to absolve either the University or the government of moral responsibility in terms of what they could possibly have done to prevent the suicide. I am merely saying that there is no middle way with the ASA, and in that sense they share something in common with ultra-left or ultra-right groups that take an extreme stand, usually an illogical one.

Specific details apart, universities are superstructures, perhaps reflective of injustices happening in the world outside campus walls. If caste-based or any injustice must end, these things have to be worked out through mobilization of public opinion outside campuses. The so-called student activists either have no clue with regard to the implications of their actions, or it is sheer opportunism wedded to anti-intellectualism, when they destroy the possibility of dialogue except on their own terms. Intellectualism in the right sense of the term provides the tools to fight social injustice. I doubt if intellectualism is remotely a priority with the student activists. Facebook, twitter and WhatsApp take up more of the time of the youth, rather than reading books or being creative with ideas, leaving no scope for intellectualism of any kind.

The unhealthy concoction of politicians and pseudo-intellectuals on the University of Hyderabad campus and outside writers in support of these students, have made a rational and serious debate on issues surrounding the student's suicide virtually impossible. The activist students operating within the comfort zone of universities, a democratic space which they claim is not "democratic" enough, have demonstrated that they are not merely a pressure group but a lobby, and not averse to using any means, ethical or otherwise to achieve their ends. Revolutions begin at home and move towards the streets. Universities are controlled environments meant to produce specific results in the form of intellectual labor to meet the requirements of the real world. This attempt by certain student groups to claim "ownership" of university spaces makes them no different from other private stakeholders fighting for their share of property.

The student groups are reactionary and enemies of the downtrodden because they use the rhetoric of fighting injustice without in any manner contributing to alleviation of injustice. I have one question to leaders of these groups: How many people from the downtrodden sections have they met before embarking on the protests? How many homes of the poor and the weak have they visited to seek permission before implementing their plan of action? If it is the economic exploitation of the poor at the sub-structural level that pays for the creation and upkeep of superstructures such as the university, would it not be fair to ask the poor if they think these protests are legitimate or not?

Administration and the running of institutions is a highly specialized activity. This is something Socrates is never tired of arguing in the Dialogues of Plato. To treat an administration with contempt, to misuse the space on campuses where you enjoy freedoms that people outside the campuses do not, to interrupt the normal functioning of the university, as if that is why people come to these places and not to study and acquire a degree -- if that is the case, I don't think that universities should have any structure at all in the form of administration, faculty or the making of standards. They should simply surrender to the whims and fancies of groups that garner support through whatever means at their disposal.

My middle class parents could send me to state-run universities both for my undergraduate and graduate degrees because they were extremely affordable and with the subsidized education I could go abroad for a doctoral degree. I remember how amazed people I knew abroad would be when I told them how little I paid to get a BA and a MA degree. There is no doubt that the marginalized should be accommodated within the university system. But to attack the university's integrity through mobs and use fear tactics of ruining the reputations of teachers and administrators through social and other media simply means that no sensible, self-respecting person takes these positions and the poor and the middle classes ultimately stand to lose.

Given that we are a liberal democracy, reformist alternatives can safely be explored within a university. Radical changes need a different kind of platform that involves the masses cutting across the caste divide. Terming the "youth/student" movements as "by their nature impermanent and discontinuous," the historian Eric Hobsbawm notes that in the universities of the third world, the "typical ultra-leftism is to some extent a way of coming to terms with a new and disorienting form of life" and "rarely outlasts graduation." Therefore, one can be certain that very little in terms of change at the level of the substructure will come out of this "compulsory revolutionary service" (Eric Hobsbawm) of student activists across the subcontinent unless the activism is a prelude to a career in politics and the university is a means to that end.
Welcome ! This blog is a space for critical conversation on the state of global crisis, democracy and transformation. It has a particular focus on post-apartheid South Africa and its multi-faceted crisis. The South African crisis is linked to the crisis of global capitalism. This blog will feature critical analysis, debates, crucial documents from grass roots movements and useful online resources as part of Defending Popular Democracy.
America is all about freedom, at least for some of us. And a look at our history shows just how much we've struggled with what that actually means.

My wife Carol and I have traveled constantly for more than a decade, soaking up everything this land has to offer. And we enjoyed the 2015 travel season. Perhaps more than any before, it was instructive. American history is a complex web of conflicts, culture, economics, and human psychology. And everything is connected to this web.



Massachusetts was too small for the ideas of Roger Williams

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Did you know that John Quincy Adams freed the slaves?

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Frederick Douglass declined John Brown's invitation to join the raid on Harper's Ferry

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Hampton Plantation, and some of its outbuildings

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The great hall at Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty

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The wheelchair ramp at the FDR Memorial, and the cottage at Campobello

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The Great Dismal Swamp harbors some secrets we should know

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Montgomery, Alabama then and now

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Two young activists at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL

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Tuskegee Airmen were heroes in the 1940s and beyond

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Years later Tuskegee Airmen turned up again in Selma, marching to claim the right to vote. By 1965 many of them were influential citizens - doctors, lawyers, and university professors. But even while enjoying the freedoms that their success had brought them, they recognized a truth - that we're not free 'til we're all free.

Years ago, I was privileged to meet one of the Freedom Riders who came to the Deep South in the 1960s to demonstrate for civil rights. His were the words I'll never forget - "We're not free 'til we're all free." He understood that my freedom, even as a white privileged male, is connected to his freedom as a black, retired, activist minister. We're connected.

And our freedom is still a work in progress.

Following the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on Shelby County v. Holder, a dozen states immediately set in motion their plans to restrict the voting rights of their own citizens. Down in Alabama, a photo ID became necessary to vote. They are available from local DPS/DMV offices, and they're free. But 31 of these offices have been closed since the ID restrictions became law. And most of these offices were located in Alabama's "black belt" where the residents are impoverished, rural African-Americans. Many of them would have to drive 50 miles or more to get an ID, even if they can't afford a car.

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It must come up in every single argument, from sophisticated to sophomoric, about the practicability of non-violent pacifism. Look what Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were able to achieve! Yes, but what about Hitler? What do you do about the Nazis? The rebuttal implies future Nazi-like entities looming on the horizon, and though this reductio ad Hitlerum generally has the effect of nullifying any continued rational discussion, its difficult to imagine a satisfying pacifist answer to the problem of naked, implacable hatred and aggression on such a scale as that of the Third Reich. Even Gandhis own proposal sounds like a joke: in 1940, Adolph Hitler abandons his plans to claim Lebensraum for the German people and to displace, enslave, or eradicate Germanys neighbors and undesirable citizens. He adopts a posture of non-violence and universal friendship, and German forces withdraw from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, France, agreeing to resolve differences through international conference and committee.

Hitler may have been a vegetarian, but thats likely where any sympathy between him and Gandhi began and ended. And yet, the above is precisely what Mahatma Gandhi asked of the Fuhrer, in a letter dated December 24, 1940. Engaged fully in the struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi found himself torn by the entry of Britain into the war against Germany. On the one hand, Gandhi initially pledged nonviolent moral support for the war, sensing an enemyGermanyeven more threatening to world peace and stability. (That stance would change in short order as the Indian National Congress revolted and resigned en masse rather than participate in the war). On the other hand, Gandhi did not see the British Empire as categorically different from the Nazis. As he put it in his letter to Hitler, whom he addresses as Friend (this is no formality, he writes, I own no foes): If there is a difference, it is in degree. One-fifth of the human race has been brought under the British heel by means that will not bear scrutiny.

Gandhi acknowledges the absurdity of his request: I am aware, he writes, that your view of life regards such spoliations as virtuous acts. And yet, he marshals a formidable argument for nonviolence as a force of power, not weakness, showing how it had weakened British rule: The movement of independence has been never so strong as now, he writes, through the right means to combat the most organized violence in the world which the British power represents:

It remains to be seen which is the better organized, the German or the British. We know what the British heel means for us and the non-European races of the world. But we would never wish to end the British rule with German aid. We have found in non-violence a force which, if organized, can without doubt match itself against a combination of all the most violent forces in the world. In non-violent technique, as I have said, there is no such thing as defeat. It is all do or die without killing or hurting. It can be used practically without money and obviously without the aid of science of destruction which you have brought to such perfection. It is a marvel to me that you do not see that it is nobodys monopoly. If not the British, some other power will certainly improve upon your method and beat you with your own weapon. You are leaving no legacy to your people of which they would feel proud. They cannot take pride in a recital of cruel deed, however skillfully planned. I, therefore, appeal to you in the name of humanity to stop the war.

As an alternative to war, Gandhi proposes an international tribunal of your joint choice to determine which party was in the right. His letter, Gandhi writes, should be taken as a joint appeal to you and Signor Mussolini. I hope that he will take this as addressed to him also with the necessary changes.

Gandhi also references an appeal he made to every Briton to accept my method of non-violent resistance. That appeal took the form of an open letter he published that July, To Every Briton, in which he wrote:

You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession of your beautiful island, with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these, but neither your souls, nor your minds. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them.

When Gandhi visited England that year, he found the viceroy of colonial India dumbstruck by these requests, writes Stanley Wolpert in his biography of the Indian leader, unable to utter a word in response, refusing even to call for his car to take the now more deeply despondent Gandhi home.

Gandhis 1940 letter to Hitler was actually his second addressed to the Nazi leader. The first, a very short missive written in 1939, one month before the ill-fated Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, strikes a conciliatory tone. Gandhi writes that he resisted requests from friends to pen the letter because of the feeling that any letter from me would be an impertinence, and though he calls on Hitler to prevent a war which may reduce humanity to a savage state, he ends with, I anticipate your forgiveness, If I have erred in writing to you. But again, in this very brief letter, Gandhi appeals to the considerable success of his nonviolent methods. There is no evidence, The Christian Science Monitor remarks, to suggest Hitler ever responded to either of Gandhis letters.

As the war unavoidably raged, Gandhi redoubled his efforts at Indian independence, launching the Quit India movement in 1942, whichwrites Open Universitymore than anything, united the Indian people against British rule and hastened its eventual end in 1947. Non-violence succeeded, improbably, against the British Empire, though certain other former colonies won independence through more traditionally warlike methods. And yet, though Gandhi believed non-violent resistance could avert the horrors of World War II, those of us without his level of total commitment to the principle may find it difficult to imagine how it might have succeeded against the Nazis, or how it could have appealed to their totalizing ideology of domination.

Related Content:

Tolstoy and Gandhi Exchange Letters: Two Thinkers Quest for Gentleness, Humility & Love (1909)

Hear Gandhis Famous Speech on the Existence of God (1931)

Watch Gandhi Talk in His First Filmed Interview (1947)

Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness
Don't you think it is a bit risky to assume what someone thinks and why? You better stick with your own thoughts instead of guessing about mine.



I really don't care that much about the founding fathers, because they were only humans just like us and they did not know everything. However, they are the product of the Enlightenment, which occurred because of discovering ancient Greek and Roman documents and a total fascination with Egypt and lost knowledge. That is what we have to turn to understand democracy, not just a US document written by a handful of humans. They made some serious errors as humans do. Tocqueville spoke of some of them in 1830 like the military and government being too close.



More important to understanding the moment is knowledge of the Prussians and Germans, and understanding that Bush's and Hitler's New World Order and Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex are the same thing. This is best when it goes with knowledge of mineral resources and the most likely destiny of nations based on the nation's mineral resources.



I wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy arguments that motivate me to get more information and improve my own agruments, but please, use your thoughts and don't attempt to guess what mine is.



Explain





The global presence of multinational industries like Monsanto and Halliburton do not equal the industrial base upon which millions of families need to depend. These multinational companies depend on the military force that is the burden of common folks who pay taxes, and the value of the dollar that our consumer populations supports as we go deeper in debt. These multinational companies that depend on us, are the 1% that now owns not only most of our national wealth but increasingly the wealth of the world, and bring upon us things like the attack on the Military Industrial Complex we know as the World Trade Organization and Pentagon and their tie with our government.



Greenspan and indeed most economist support and economic growth that is hurting not only US citizens but farmers and communities around the world, and all those places where mining and oil operations are exploiting resources while leaving the people with a destroyed environment, pollution that is a serious health problem and poverty. What we did to the Appalachia's we are doing around the world and this is not good for the average citizen any where, and we are paying through the nose in debt and taxes for their benefit, while they laugh at our naivety.



"Oh Bermie, really cares about us". I want to throw up! Yes, I am sure Bernie really cares about us, and so does Obama. Three whoopies. Unless we realize what has happened and where the power has been put, and figure out a way to unite and come to some basic agreements, it doesn't matter how much a president likes us.



One more thing, Roosevelt strongly was in favor of the average person and meant well when he worked with Hoover to give our government new powers. At the time, some warned giving government these new powers was a dangerous thing. They pointed out in the hands of Roosevelt great things could be done for the average citizen, but in the hands of future presidents, we could regret our government having these new powers. Their warning has proven serious problem for us.



Fascism began in Italy as an economic system to benefit workers. It now sooner was in place when industry took the seats of power and these new government powers proved to be a nightmare for the worker. Hum, they didn't have the Prussians expertise in organization. But now we have it all.
Prchard Parks Maya Clinard Orchard Parks Maya Clinard, far right, took runner-up in singles at this past weekends Section VI Girls Tennis Championships at...

Boys soccer peaking into sectionals It was not an ideal start to the 2022 season for the Orchard Park boys soccer team, dropping its first...
pulverizer.JPG

A worker carries out maintenance at PGE's Boardman coal plant in this 2009 file photo. The plant is slated for closure in 2020, and a bill in the legislature would require Oregon's two biggest utilities to stop delivering any power from coal-fired plants into the state by 2030.

(Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian/2009)

The Legislature held its first public hearing Tuesday on a far-reaching bill that aims to rid Oregon of electricity from coal-fired plants by 2030 and require utilities to serve half their customers' demand with renewable energy by 2040.

The hearing in the House Energy and Environment Committee was largely a lovefest for the legislation, a compromise plan that had already been hashed out by utilities, environmentalists and renewable energy advocates. A parade of lobbyists from all sides testified in favor of the plan, which they negotiated as a more flexible alternative to a set of ballot measures that had been proposed for November.

Advocates of the House Bill 4036 insist it's not only technically feasible to serve 50 percent of big utilities' demand with sources like wind and solar power, but that the buildout of those resources can be accomplished at little to no extra cost to ratepayers. They maintain that the plan will slash the state's carbon footprint while delivering a slug of new jobs and property taxes.

There were few penetrating questions from lawmakers Tuesday or much time for detailed follow-up at the two-hour meeting, which also included an initial hearing for a bill that would provide new taxpayer subsidies to solar-energy developers.

The one private citizen who traveled from La Grande to testify against both bills was granted three minutes before being cut off by the committee chair, Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, D-Portland. Pederson is the chief sponsor of the bill and former political chair of the Sierra Club.

State utility regulators have significant concerns with the bill. Jason Eisdorfer, program manager for the Oregon Public Utility Commission, told committee members that while the commission had no objection to "de-carbonizing" the utility sector, the bill would not accomplish that directly because out-of-state coal plants could simply send their output elsewhere.

Supporters of the bill acknowledge the problem. But they insist Oregon's law will contribute to the financial and moral momentum to close coal plants. The state's two biggest utilities, they said, would be joining those in California and Washington in rejecting coal, while other western states face continued pressure from federal rules to reduce their own emissions.

Eisdorfer also noted that the commission has had little time to consider the implications of the bill, as it was only recently briefed by the utilities. Based on the limited information provided, he suggested utilities were underestimating the costs and shifting risks to ratepayers.

Varner Seaman, a lobbyist for PGE who was formerly the policy director for the advocacy group Renewable Northwest, said "the writing is on the wall" for coal plants. "We're going to have to spend one way or the other. The question is whether we spend on renewables or we spend on natural gas."

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, did try to pin down some specifics, including the costs of the anticipated emissions reductions and the required investments in new renewable-energy facilities.

Utilities have offered estimates of the rate impacts. But the response Tuesday as inexact.

Seaman estimated PGE and PacifiCorp would together spend "in the low billions of dollars in the next few years."

Rachel Shimshak, the executive director of Renewable Northwest, said there was no way to estimate costs precisely, but that the 3,000 megawatts of renewables built in Oregon during the last decade resulted in an investment of $9 billion.

"It's our view that this particular policy will probably incent another 3,000 megawatts of new renewables," she said, noting there was no assurance where that would be built.

Supporters of the bill released polling results Tuesday morning suggesting there was strong public support for the policy. The survey of 601 likely voters across the state found that 48 percent strongly supported the legislation as described, and another 21 percent somewhat supported it. Only 18 percent strongly opposed the legislation, and 7 percent were somewhat opposed. Another 6 percent were undecided.

The description of the legislation provided to survey respondents did not include any information about its cost.

The House Energy and Environment committee will take up the bill again Thursday, along with the new subsidies for solar developers and a complicated "cap and invest" bill that aims to limits emissions of carbon dioxide in the transportation, utility and industrial sectors.

- Ted Sickinger

tsickinger@oregonian.com

503-221-8505; @tedsickinger
Shayne Kniss, a Lake Oswego investment adviser with a hipster beard and a leased Jaguar, ran his own company, Iris Capital, for five years before deciding in 2015 it was time for a career change.

The 40-year-old shuttered Iris and started working full time for his three marijuana start-ups.

There was only one problem: Kniss didn't tell some of his 50 clients, who had entrusted at least $5.5 million with him. For some customers, the first real inkling that things were amiss came in September, they said, when they didn't receive the monthly stipend Kniss normally sent them out of their investment earnings.

Five months later, the whereabouts of their money is unclear, as are the prospects they'll recover any of it.

Iris Capital is in the hands of a court-appointed receiver, and a phalanx of lawyers is sorting through the wreckage.

The collapse of Iris Capital has devastated its customers, primarily mom and pop investors, some of whom entrusted much or all of their retirement savings to the company.

Adding to the intrigue are the two high-profile entrepreneurs Kniss did business with. Sean Keys, a veteran local real estate developer and home builder, was Iris' real estate expert, according to Kniss. Lawyers familiar with Iris said there's no evidence the company ever employed Keys. Investors said Kniss had told them their money would be used for the purchase and rapid resale of distressed residential properties -- transactions that were to be identified and executed by Keys.

In early November, a judge appointed a receiver to take control of Iris and recover any funds possible for the investors and creditors. The receiver now says part of the investors' money never went to buy real estate. Instead, it went toward Kniss' marijuana-related businesses. Kniss' partner in two of his three weed operations is Nitin Khanna, a successful technology entrepreneur.

Keys declined repeated requests for comment. Khanna said he knows nothing about Iris and said any infusion of Iris money came before he got involved with Kniss' marijuana operations.

Kniss says that he did nothing wrong and that he's dedicating himself to helping the investors recover as much as possible.

"I'm probably the only person in this situation without (legal) representation," he said. "I don't think I need it. I want the truth out there."

To tell this story, The Oregonian/OregonLive interviewed four former Iris investors. Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, most of them spoke on the condition their names would not be published. The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke to dozens of other sources and reviewed hundreds of pages of documents to confirm the details of their lost investments.

A nation of novice investors

In 2010, Kniss was a veteran of more than a decade in financial services. He had job-hopped between three Lake Oswego stock brokerages in the prior decade before going out on his own and forming Iris in December 2010. His disciplinary record kept by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a nonprofit regulatory agency, shows no serious issues.

One investor a retired public employee living in Portland, says he hired Kniss as his financial adviser in 2008. The former Portland Public Schools employee said he appreciated Kniss' personal service.

The retiree, an admitted financial novice, said Kniss volunteered to accompany him to PERS financial-planning meetings as he neared retirement. Kniss told him he could earn more if he put all his public-pension money into a self-directed IRA that Kniss would manage instead, the retiree said. So he cashed out of his guaranteed state benefit and gave the $729,000 to Kniss.

"I thought, 'Wow, this guy is really on top of things, he really cares about me,'" the Portland resident said. "Yeah, he cared about me. He cared about my money."

Details of the retiree's experience are supported in a state cease-and-desist order against Iris. Kniss declined to comment about his dealings with his clients.

The plight of Iris' investors underscores a harsh truth about the U.S. retirement system.

The decline of traditional pensions has transformed the country into a nation of untrained, unskilled investors. Critics of the system argue that Americans aren't saving enough for retirement and too often make bad decisions due to their lack of training and experience.

"The shift from traditional pensions to 401(k) and IRAs has created a do-it-yourself pension system, with all the predicted results of a project constructed by amateurs," said Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist and recognized expert on retirement issues at The New School in New York City. "Having people manage their own long-term savings is like asking us to pull our own teeth and fix our own electricity. The U.S. voluntary, commercial and self-directed pension system is a 30-year-old failed experiment."

To be sure, even the safest stock index fund can be brutal when the market declines, as the first month of 2016 illustrated. But markets recover, even from cataclysmic setbacks like the economic crash of 2008. Iris investors worry there is no coming back for them.

The former Portland schools employee said he knew nothing of the issues at Iris until September, when the $3,500 monthly stipend Kniss was to send him never showed up. Now 65, he faces the possibility of losing some or all of his $720,000. He and his wife are getting by on their monthly Social Security checks.

"It's in the hands of the lawyers now," he said. "All I can do is hope and pray I get some of it back. I hope we can survive."

Flipping homes for fun and profits

Iris promised investors annual returns of 8 percent to 12 percent, according to the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. It would do so not through stocks and bonds but residential real estate.

Kniss confirmed real estate was Iris' focus. He declined to specify the returns Iris offered.

He had little real estate experience. But Keys was a savvy veteran. Perhaps best known for launching 45 Central, the 360-unit development of condos and single-family homes just east of Nike's main campus in Beaverton, his Metropolitan Land Group is one of the larger developers on Portland's west side.

Iris investors said they had no idea Keys was dealing with a slew of his own financial challenges during the period Iris was in operation. Between 2011 and 2015, dozens of lenders, subcontractors and other creditors filed lawsuits or liens against Keys claiming he or his companies owed them millions.

In the same period, the IRS and Oregon Revenue Department filed more than $200,000 worth of tax liens against him.

Keys has since managed to pay off many of his creditors and tax liens. In May 2014, Keys enjoyed an enormous payday. Separate from Iris, his company, MLG at Murray Village LLC, sold the final remaining 115 lots in his 45 Central development to giant homebuilder DR Horton for $10 million, Horton officials confirmed.

Still, creditors continue to chase Keys to the courthouse. On Feb. 23, 2015, the state of Oregon filed a $125,381 tax lien against him. In August, Deutsche Bank Trust Co. launched foreclosure proceedings against him seeking to take possession of a property in Lane County.

In the midst of the legal free-for-all, Keys engineered deals with Iris. The exact nature of their relationship, like so much about Iris, is uncertain. Kniss said he "hired Keys to manage all the assets." But lawyers close to the case say they've seen no evidence to indicate Iris ever employed Keys.

In any case, the Iris funds purchased 19 condos in Tigard, 124 apartment units in Gresham and 130 vacant residential lots in Vancouver in three separate transactions.

The seller in each case was a limited liability company owned and controlled by Keys, according to the receiver's Dec. 7 preliminary report. Kniss acknowledged that he knew that some of the real estate bought by Iris had been owned by Keys or his companies.

How much the Iris funds made, or lost, on those transactions also remains a mystery. The complexity of the transactions and the lack of dependable Iris financial records, make it impossible at this point to determine the bottom line for Iris investors, the receiver said.

Over time, Kniss said his relationship with Keys deteriorated. Kniss claims he removed Keys as asset manager for one of the Iris funds in late summer 2014. He declined to say why.

"What happened to the profits, I don't know," Kniss said. "There were three parties to this arrangement - Iris, its investors and Sean. One of those three parties is in a better financial position today and it's not Iris or the investors."

The Oregonian/OregonLive could not independently verify Kniss' claims. He offered to produce documents showing how much Keys made off the Iris deals but then decided against it. Keys and his lawyers declined repeated requests for interviews.

A divine detour

Kniss had in 2014 diversified into the marijuana business, too. By 2015, he was working full time on three marijuana companies -a retail location, a medical pot dispensary and a processing and distribution operation, all in Portland.

Kniss partnered with Khanna on two of the companies, Divine Kind LLC and Terwilliger Partners LLC. Khanna sold Saber Corp., the Oregon software company he co-founded, for $420 million in 2007. Since then, he's become an adviser, cheerleader and sometimes investor to the city's technology startup crowd.

The receiver noted in her report that Terwilliger Partners and Divine Kind received more than $300,000 in 2014 from Iris to meet payroll and to buy grow-room and processing equipment.

Khanna declined interview requests. In a written statement, he said any financial dealings between the marijuana companies and Iris happened before he got involved.

"Upon the company's request, I assumed the role of CEO of Terwilliger Partners in July of 2015," Khanna said. "These matters predate my involvement as CEO. I have not read the receiver's report. To me, this is a matter between Shayne, Iris and the receiver. If and when the receiver contacts Terwilliger Partners, we will respond accordingly."

In November, Kniss gave up control of Iris as part of a deal with state financial regulators. The Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities had launched an investigation after hearing from angry Iris investors.

In a Nov. 4 cease and desist order, state investigators ruled Kniss had failed to register the Iris stakes as securities and he'd violated his fiduciary duty to look out for his investors. The division permanently barred him from getting a state securities license and fined him $350,000. It agreed to suspend the entire penalty if Kniss gave up control of Iris to the receiver.

The receiver could raise money for investors by liquidating what's left of Iris' property, primarily residential properties in Beaverton Gresham and Springfield. But the real estate is significantly encumbered by bank debt, meaning there may be little left for investors after repaying the bank.

Mike Esler and a number of the city's other leading securities lawyers are now representing the Iris investors. Receiver Amy Mitchell, meanwhile, continues to unravel the Iris mess, a task complicated by what she said is her inability to get straight answers from Kniss.

"Based on independently obtained records, the Receiver has concluded that there are inconsistencies between the Petitioners' records and the representations made by Mr. Kniss," Mitchell concluded in a Dec. 7 report.

For their part, Iris investors feel like they've received more than their share of "inconsistencies." A Lake Oswego woman, another retiree who entrusted her entire $619,000 retirement nest egg to Kniss and Iris, still can't quite believe what's happened.

"You think if you know somebody over 10 years and they don't exhibit any strange behavior... I'd like to think I would detect any signs," the woman said. "But he was always so forthright."

Like other Iris investors, she is now getting by on Social Security. "That's pretty frightening when you have a house and utilities," she said. "I'm barely hanging on."

-- Jeff Manning

503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
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A man is at large after robbing an ampm convenience store in Vancouver on Feb. 2.

(The Oregonian/File)

A man is at large after robbing an ampm convenience store in Vancouver on Tuesday.

The man entered the store, 3817 Main St. in Vancouver, at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, showed a weapon and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said in a news release.

The man was wearing a disguise over his face, Kapp wrote. Little descriptive information was available late Tuesday night, and Kapp wrote that video surveillance footage will be recovered later.

A canine unit was dispatched to track the man, Kapp wrote, but it was unsuccessful.

The Vancouver Police Department urges anyone with information about the robbery or identity of the man to contact the department. Its non-emergency number is (360) 693-3111 and its tip line is (360) 487-7399.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
Sunday's Super Bowl is almost here. We've given you plenty of ideas for what to serve at your party. So what will you be sipping? There's always beer and wine. But do it up right with three special cocktails, inspired by the Carolina Panthers, the Denver Broncos, and the city of San Francisco, which is hosting the big game.

The Carolinas are known for good barbecue, washed down with sweet tea. Carolina Front Porch Tea is a good match for a lot of the sauce-driven snacks that are common at Super Bowl parties. It's easy to make - no cocktail shakers necessary - by adding in order peach schnapps, sweet tea and bourbon, garnished with a lemon wedge.

Recipes included with this story: Carolina Front Porch Tea; Rocky Mountain Blast; San Francisco Cocktail.

Nothing cuts through the bone-chilling cold of a Denver winter like a blast of whiskey, though the Amaretto and lime juice in the Rocky Mountain Blast cocktail soften the blow. Serve ice cold in a large shot glass or cordial glass with a wedge of lime.

Want a cocktail to go with Super Bowl desserts? The San Francisco Cocktail is made with sloe gin, a liqueur that combines gin and sweet sloe berries. It's paired with equal amounts of sweet and dry vermouth, plus dashes of two types of bitters, all dressed up with a maraschino cherry.

As always, pace yourself and drink responsibly on Super Bowl Sunday. And raise a toast to your favorite team!

-- Grant Butler

503-221-8566; @grantbutler
Diet pepsi.JPG

Pepsi has been trying to appeal to more health-conscious consumers for years as the trend has grown. Now they are trying to make the kola nut cool.

(The Associated Press)

Giant pop brands are desperate to drum up interest in their beverages now as consumers become more health conscious, and sales keep dropping.

For Pepsi, that means trying to make the kola nut cool.

Kola House is opening in New York City after renovating a former trendy restaurant space, and the drinks, cocktails and cuisine will focus on the fruit that gives cola drinks their caffeine and name, according to the New York Times. The restaurant -- which will also serve as a bar and event space -- is not going to be an ode to PepsiCo, though. It's decor and ambience is supposed to appeal to hip crowds likely to post food pictures on Instagram and Facebook.

Some are skeptical the idea will create an Apple-like cult following for a physical Pepsi experience.

"They could be in the right place, but just because they're hanging out with the right brands doesn't mean they're going to attract the right buzz," Mr. Adamson said in the New York Times article. "While they can buy Super Bowl spots, they can't buy edge, they can't buy panache, they can't buy sizzle."

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger
On this topic, it is appropriate to know the connection of our President, the Obumerrhoid, who is already a PROVEN MONUMENTAL FRAUD, LIAR, and a WANNABE COMMIS/MUZZIE.



Do we really know the extent of this wonderful chap's involvement with the Whackjob Islam ?



By googling: "Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Obama", one gets a mountainous amount of info about the Obumerrhoid and his connection to wonderful Islam. One of the links there provides the following startling info: "1987 Bill Ayers solicited Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour (a.k.a. Donald Warden) to raise money for Obamas Harvard Law School education. al-Mansour is an orthodox Muslim, a black nationalist, an outspoken enemy of Israel, and mentor to Black Panther Party founder Huey Newton and his cohort, Bobby Seale. At the time al-Mansour associate Percy Sutton was raising money for Obamas education, al-Mansour was the top financial advisor to mega-billionaire Prince Alwaleed (Alwalid) bin Talal of the Saudi royal family. Obumsky is beholden to Black Panther's most outrageous TERRORISTS, and is beholden to Al Mansour a TRUE Muslim and an OUTSPOKEN ENEMY OF ISRAEL !!!



I suggest that you and the other readers of this post google "Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Obama" and you'll get startling information on the Obumerrhoid which will go a long way to proving that the Obumerrhoid is a MONUMENTAL FRAUD, LIAR and a WANNABE COMMIE/MUZZIE.



It will further connect the Obumerrhoid to that BLACK RACIST PSYCHO Rev Jeremiah "******* AMERICA" Wright's Cathedral of Hate to Islamic Terrorism.



So, waddaya think of them apples ?


Hmmm. Where have we heard this kind of thing before? To be specific? Right here when Ronald Reagan ran for president. Lets start with the media first.



 New York Times: Reagans candidacy is patently ridiculous.



 New York Times: The astonishing thing is that this amusing but frivolous Reagan fantasy is taken so seriously by the news media and particularly by the President (Gerald Ford). It makes a lot of news, but it makes no sense.



 New Republic: Ronald Reagan to me is still the posturing, essentially mindless and totally unconvincing candy man that hes been in my opinion ever since I watched his first try for the Republican nomination evaporate in Miami in 1968.



 New Republic: Reagan is Goldwater revisitedHe is a divisive factor in the party.



 Harpers magazine: That he should be regarded as a serious candidate for President is a shame and an embarrassment for the country at large to swallow.



 Chicago Daily News: The trouble with Reagan, of course, is that his positions on the major issues are cunningly phrased nonsense  irrationality conceived and hair-raising in their potential mischief Here comes Barry Goldwater again, only more so, and at this stage another such debacle could sink the GOP so deep it might never recover.



 Time: Republicans now must decide whether he represents a conservative wave of the future or is just another Barry Goldwater calling on the party to mount a hopeless crusade against the twentieth century.



 Newsweek: Ronald Reagan is a man whose mind and nerve and mediagenic style have never been tested in Presidential politics and may not be adequate to the trial.



 National Review (a conservative magazine): Reagans image remains inchoate. At the outset of his campaign, his image is largely that of the role-playing actor  pleasant on stage, but ill-equipped for the real world beyond the footlights. Reagan does not yet project the presidential image. He is not seen as a serious man.



 Manchester Union-Leader (a conservative New Hampshire paper): Reagan lacks the charisma and conviction needed to win.



 Pravda, the official newspaper of the Soviet Union: Reagan is a dinosaur from the cold war. It is strange that there are still fish in the sea that are tempered by this putrid bait.



And thats just a sample from the media. Then there were the views of those stalwarts of the Republican Party Establishment:



 The Ripon Society: The nomination of Ronald Reagan would McGovernize the Republican Party.



 Vice President Nelson Rockefeller dismissed Reagan as a minority of a minority who has been taking some extreme positions.



 New Yorks Republican Senator Jacob Javits: Reagans positions are so extreme that they would alter our countrys very economic and social structure and our place in the world to such a degree as to make our countrys place at home and abroad, as we know it, a thing of the past.



 Illinois Republican Senator Charles Percy said Reagans candidacy was foolhardy and would lead to a crushing defeat for the Republican Party. It could signal the beginning of the end of our party as an effective force in American political life.



 Former President Gerald Ford: I hear more and more often that we dont want, cant afford to have a replay of 1964. If the Republican Party nominates Ronald Reagan it would be an impossible situation because Reagan is perceived as a most conservative Republican. A very conservative Republican cant win in a national election. Asked if that meant Ford thought Reagan cant win, Ford replied to the New York Times: Thats right. The Times story went on to observe that Ford thought Mr. Reagan would be a sure-loser in November and that Reagan held extreme and too-simple views.




and you'll get a work permit."

It is more than just offensive to real conservatives for Marco Rubio to claim he is a conservative and that he embraces the rule of law as set out in our Constitution. In fact, Marco Rubio, just like Obama, has established a pattern in which he undermines the provisions of our Constitution and has advanced policies which place the general welfare of the United States and her Citizens in peril.When it comes to dealing with the 10-20 million foreigners who have invaded our borders Rubio and Obama are two peas in a pod!Rubio told NPR's Morning Edition. And, tell us, Rubio, what about the millions of American Citizens who have lost good paying jobs in the construction trades and service industry to those who have invaded our borders who have been working off the books, below the going wage, and did not pay taxes on their earned wages in order to compete with American Citizens for these jobs and are now on food stamps and other welfare programs because they were squeezed out of the job market by illegal aliens? Seems to me you have more compassion for law breakers than for the citizens of your own country who are now suffering from the destructive effects of those who have invaded our boarders.The unvarnished truth is, no good can come from allowing 10s of millions of poverty stricken, poorly educated foreigners who have invaded our borders to remain here. Not only do these illegal entrants compete with American Citizens for good paying jobs in the construction trades and displace American workers which has already caused unemployment to spiral out of control, but trying to accommodate illegals and their children has proven to be disastrous in that American Citizens are being made into tax slaves to pay for the economic needs of the illegal aliens you seem to embrace, not to mention how many of our public schools and emergency rooms have been overburdened and destroyed by this massive invasion of our borders.Marco Rubio also spat upon our Constitution when supporting Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority which is an idea intentionally designed to circumvent Congress exclusive power to fashion regulations of commerce with an America First Policy in mind. Rubio has thrown his hat in with the Chamber of Commerce and the Club for Growth who are behind various policies destructive to America's best interests and her general welfare. These two groups' agenda is to break down any barriers designed by our founders to promote the best interests of the United States with regard to regulating commerce with foreign nations.Keep in mind that our Constitution places and exclusive power to legislate regulations of commerce with foreign nations in Congress hands. Placing this power in Congress hands was intended by our Founders to insure that any regulations of commerce would be formulated, debated, and amended if needed by the various States Congressional Delegation sent to Washington to insure that each States interests would be represented in the making of such regulations. After any regulations of commerce were agreed upon by Congress, the president was left with a limited power to either approve or veto the regulations of commerce agreed to by Congress.Rubios Fast Track Trade promotion authority is intentionally designed to reverse the president's and Congress' constitutionally assigned duties as they apply to regulating commerce with foreign nations. In this reversal, the president would usurp Congress assigned duty to represent the particular state interests when fashioning regulations of commerce in secret with foreign powers while Congress would be left with the limited power to either approve or veto what the president has cooked up in secret.The bottom line in conjunction with the above two issues is, Marco Rubio is a sock puppet for the Chamber of Commerce, Club for Growth and our Global Governance crowed who have no allegiance to America or any nation and whose only concern is advancing the interests of international corporate giants.And let us not forget Rubios attack on Trump for wanting to pause immigration from war torn Islamic countries until we can figure out a way to vet these immigrants.SEE: Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham Attack Trump Over Muslim Immigration Instead of placing Americas general welfare at the top of Rubios interests, he attacks a common sense approach to deal with a flood of immigrants from war torn Islamic controlled counties and he would place the general welfare of the United States in jeopardy merely to attack a political opponent.Unfortunately, our sympathetic media has already jumped on Rubios bandwagon, so forget about one of their talking heads to confront Rubio's unwise immigration desires or bluntly ask Rubio under what Constitutional authority can Congress power to fashion regulations of commerce be transferred to the Executives office while leaving Congress with the Executives limited power to veto?JWKWell, heaven forbid a member of the GOP agreeing with Obama! Heresy! WE all know that the GOP establishment WANTS Rubio. Why, you ask?? Because he's more electable than Trump or Cruz. Right now Marco is 3rd in line to the throne and might have a chance, but apparently you'd rather have a Democrat in the W.H.? Your choices are about to narrow. Time to choose sides. Do you want the W.H.? Yes, it's that simple.
Maybe Punxsutawney was right. One day after Pennsylvania's most famous rodent predicted an early spring, we're headed for near-record temperatures today. Many forecasts believe we'll surpass the record high of 62, which was set back in 2006.So much for the good news. The warm weather is going to be accompanied by a day-long rain, including some heavy downpours later this afternoon and tonight. Coupled with melting snow from our recent blizzard, flooding is likely. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the entire region from noon until 5 p.m. Thursday. That could mean problems for the usual trouble spots, including Darby Borough, and areas along Chester Creek. The city of Chester already has issued a warning to residents along Chester Creek that they may need to evacuate their homes. The city put out an advisory warning residents of Parker Manor to be prepared to evacuate, move motor vehicles as far away from Chester Creek as possible and find shelter with family or friends until the threat has passed. Residents with questions are asked to call the Chester Fire Department, Station 81, at 610-447-7844, or Station 82 at 610-447-7842. In the meantime, AccuWeather's extended forecast is calling for the possibility of cold and snow extending into early March, but then a quick warm-up. Here's what they have to say: AccuWeather reports Punxsutawney Phil failed to see his shadow on Feb. 2, 2016, indicating an early start to spring for the United States. The decision marks only the 18th time Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog hasn't seen his shadow since the tradition began in 1887. For the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned for just the opposite, as cold air and the potential for snow will linger into the start of March. Elsewhere, springlike severe weather isn't predicted to become widespread until April. Cold air and snow possible for mid-Atlantic, Northeast into March; Drought may develop for Great Lakes, Ohio Valley Warm weather lovers in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will have to be patient, as winter plans to linger into March across both regions. Cold air and stormy weather will take the stage from late February into the start of March, opening the door for a potential late-winter snowstorm. "There could be a last surge of winter before we see the transition into spring," AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "For the Northeast, there's still an opportunity for some snow, although there's a higher chance that we'll see a cold snap rather than a big snowstorm." A quick warmup will follow, however, allowing milder air to arrive faster than it has in the past two years for both regions. "A lack of arctic air in the region and the sun getting higher and higher in the sky will make it feel pretty nice, I think, by mid-March in the Northeast," Pastelok said. Through April, the weather pattern will lend itself to the occasional damp and dreary day before a turnaround in May. May could also yield drought concerns for the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, prompting some early season heat. During the same month, the threat for severe weather will loom for the mid-Atlantic. For the complete local forecast, click here.
DETROIT (AP)  A Detroit parent organization will host a rally in the city and in Lansing as it advocates for building repairs and supporting teachers in Detroit Public Schools.

The Detroit Parent Network says it will hold a rally Monday that will convene at its building and march to the Fisher Building, which has school district offices. The group will then travel to Lansing to continue to rally.
Dr. Carl Doud appeared at Tuesdays Midland County Board of Commissioners meeting to talk about pesticides. But, before talking about BTI and Permethrin, he shared information about something more important to residents in Midland County: the Zika virus.

Were not anticipating it will be a problem here in Michigan, said Doud, county Mosquito Control director. The mosquitoes that spread that virus dont occur in this part of the country, fortunately.

He did issue a warning to those traveling south.

It is still a concern to anybody traveling to Central America, South America. (The mosquitoes) are very active right now. Maybe take some precautions against mosquito bites and particularly women that could be pregnant. The biggest risk is to unborn children, Doud said.

Commissioner Scott Noesen, R-7th District, raised a concern about people going to northern Mexico for spring break.

That is a good concern, Doud said. Mosquitoes can bite you during the day. They are very active during the day.

Commissioner Jim Leigeb, R-3rd District, inquired if the virus could be transmitted from human to human.

Doud didnt know the answer, but the Centers for Disease Control website states that, Spread of the virus through blood transfusion and sexual contact has been reported.

CNN reported that, on Tuesday, the CDC announced the first known case of the virus being locally acquired in the continental United States in the current outbreak. Dallas County health officials announced the case involved a patient who had sex with someone who had recently returned from Venezuela infected with the mosquito-borne virus.

For more information on Zika, Doud recommended visiting the CDC website at: cdc.gov/zika/

Along with the Zika virus update, Doud shared news about insecticide purchases for 2016. Total costs will be $383,516.96; which is $15,948.94 less than the 2015 order of $399,465.90.

The reduced cost is largely due to less granular material purchased this year because of a reduction in the application rate in 2016. In 2015, mosquito control conducted a test area with 4 lb./acre versus 5 pounds per acre and concluded that reducing the rate slightly would still result in adequate control.

Because of the reduction in pricing, Doud was able to purchase two extra 1,300 pound bags of BTI granular, which will result in a savings in 2017, when prices are expected to increase.

A couple of the items we buy the most of were down about 3 percent this year, primarily due to two reasons: we had a competitive bid for the granular material and in trying to win that bid, both manufacturers went down from the previous years bid. The other thing that has caused a reduction is that oil prices have been a lot more reasonable, so their manufacturing costs have gone down, Doud said.

The next county board meeting will take place on Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. at the Midland County Services Building.
As press releases from Michigans Attorney General Bill Schuette go, this one could have been handled better.

Schuette and Michigan State Police Director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue sent a release early Thursday that stated law enforcement operations throughout the state have more than 1,800 untested sexual assault evidence kits.

The press release also provided local numbers of untested sexual assault evidence kits, including the Midland Police Department having 31 of the untested kits. The story told of how Schuette and Etue plan to use their resources to assist law enforcement agencies with the testing and potential investigation of the kits.

Schuette, a Republican from Midland, was quoted as saying: Today, we take another step forward in getting rapists off the streets and ensuring justice for sexual-assault victims. I thank our prosecutors and law enforcement agencies for working with us to test previously untested sexual assault kits. Experience shows that testing every kit helps law enforcement solve crimes and stop serial rapists.

And Etue added: The Michigan State Police is committed to providing forensic analysis and analytical case support to ensure the best possible evidence is available to solve these crimes and bring justice to the survivors.

Heres the problem: The press release did not clearly spell out what percentage of those untested sexual assault evidence kits involved, in effect, closed cases. So a reader seeing that the Midland Police Department had 31 untested kits might have concluded that the department was not doing its job, which is not even close to the truth.

Theres a distinct difference between being untested and uninvestigated, Midland Police Chief Clifford Block told the Daily News after the Schuette-Etue release was published on ourMidland.com. Block said each of the untested kits in the possession of his department was investigated.

He also explained that there are various reasons for the sexual assault evidence kits to be untested, such as the suspect in the case might have confessed or the evidence wasnt needed for prosecution, or the victim might have opted not to prosecute or even recanted the sexual assault story.

These are all nonactive cases, Block said of the cases involving the 31 untested kits.

So, if any residents were concerned about how the Midland Police Department was handling these evidence kits, we hope that Chief Blocks explanation has reassured them Midlands officers are not falling down on the job. Of course, it would have been much better if Chief Blocks explanation and clarification had not been needed in the first place.
The following list includes reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Monday, Feb. 1

2:35 a.m.  A Kent County man, 21, was arrested for marijuana possession after a traffic stop in Homer Township.

8:05 a.m.  Deputies and police officers were called to The Dow Chemical Co. security gate on Washington Street for a report of a disorderly person. The man, age 57 and a retiree, was upset about an incident that occurred in Hope Township the day before with a current employee, and wanted to speak to his manager. The man left the gate when asked by authorities.

9:41 a.m.  Deputies were called to a Greendale Township business to investigate a report of trespassing.

2:17 p.m.  Detectives received a referral from the Department of Human Services regarding improper supervision, and found no crime occurred.

4:11 p.m. A Lee Township woman, 25, was arrested on Meridian Road in Lee Township for driving while her license was suspended.

7:06 p.m.  Gasoline, valued at $19, was stolen from a Greendale Township gas station.

8:14 p.m.  A Larkin Township man, 45, reported a fraud attempt that occurred when someone tried to use his Social Security number to collect unemployment.

8:15 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a foreclosed Mills Township home for a report of the 41-year-old previous owner causing damage. The man was not there, and due to the poor condition of the home it is unclear if there is new damage.

Sunday, Jan. 31

3:05 p.m.  A Sanford man, 23, was cited for driving without insurance after he was stopped in Edenville Township for defective equipment.

4:01 p.m.  The parents of a 14-year-old Jerome Township boy requested charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor against an 18-year-old woman who picked up the boy and took him to her apartment. While there, the boy fell and injured himself, which resulted in paramedics being called. A report is being sent to the prosecutor.

4:43 p.m.  A Mills Township woman, 66, reported someone charged $65.91 on her debit card without her permission.

10:31 p.m.  Police were called to investigate a sexual assault in the 4900 block of Universal Drive.

Saturday, Jan. 30

10:28 a.m.  Gasoline, valued at $30.89, was stolen from a Coleman gas station.

8:58 p.m.  A deputy was called to a Geneva Township home for a report of a prowler that was knocking on the house. The deputy checked the area and found no tracks in the freshly melted snow.

10:39 p.m.  A deputy stopped a vehicle for speeding at 77 mph on a road in Greendale Township. The passenger, a 19-year-old woman, was arrested for marijuana possession.

Friday, Jan. 29

1:19 p.m.  A deputy was called to a Sanford gas station for a report of a man threatening the clerk. The man, age 59 of Sanford, was issued a trespass warning.

1:36 p.m.  Deputies were called to a Lee Township home by Consumers Energy workers so they could change a meter. Workers had previously been threatened by the homeowner.

4:10 p.m.  A Greendale Township homes fence was damaged during a traffic crash.

4:55 p.m.  Deputies responded to a domestic assault at a Lincoln Township home, involving a woman, 53, and man, 45. A report is being sent to the prosecutor.
Forceful Tiger 2016

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Michael Lawrence, 909th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, performs engine oil checks on a KC-135 Stratotanker following its flight in support of Forceful Tiger Jan. 28, 2016, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Air Force maintainers are the backbone for providing the force with highly capable aircraft capable of supporting and defending allies all around the globe. Without the diligence of the 909th AMU, the quickly aging aircraft would be unable to support the mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Maeson L. Elleman/Released)
During World War II, the way service members loaded cargo onto aircraft was disorganized and lacked today's calculations. This caused problems in one critical aspect of aircraft dynamics: balance. From the need for accurate calculations and specialized handling of cargo has arisen a relatively new job.

The Airmen who perform that critical job are loadmasters. Yokota's 36th Airlift Wing C-130 Hercules loadmasters work daily to deliver airlift priorities to a larger area than any other U.S. base in the world.

Staff Sgt. Noel Jones, a 36th Airlift Squadron C-130H loadmaster, explained that loadmasters are extremely specialized aircrew members who make sure cargo and passengers get airdropped or airlifted safely and in a timely manner.

"If it were possible to outsource all the other positions on a C-130, there would still be loadmasters on board," Jones said. "There are so many variables with the cargo, a computer can't handle it. A loadmaster has to be there."

According to Senior Airman Andrew Fox, a 36th AS C-130H loadmaster instructor, Yokota loadmasters helped evacuate disaster refugees and deliver relief supplies in 2011 during Operation Tomodachi and again in 2013 during Operation Damayan. They did the same in 2015 when an earthquake struck Nepal.

"Yokota has continuously shown the ability to respond quickly to emergencies" Jones said. "We're a small unit but we're capable of responding quickly and effectively if needed."

Yokota executes regular airlift and airdrop exercises in order to maintain a constant state of ready. Recently, Fox accompanied two of Yokota's newest loadmasters on several personnel drops to train them in a realistic setting.

The drops were performed from a C-130H at 9,999 feet over Yokota. During the flight, the cabin shook from turbulence and gravity pressed down as the aircraft banked, but the loadmasters continued to walk around the cabin and do their jobs. They performed scanning duties and made sure everything was ready for the pararescuemen, making sure there were no problems during the flight or the drop.

"There is such a thing as getting your 'air legs,'" Fox said. "It takes situational awareness and it comes with experience. You have to pay attention to what you're trying to accomplish while dealing with turbulence and other obstacles that may arise."

In a combat environment a loadmaster's tasks and responsibilities remain the same, however, their cargo varies depending on the mission.

"One of the best things about being on deployment is getting to bring Soldiers back home," Jones said. "They're out there for a year and when you pick them up they're just so happy. They're talking about their kids and about what they're going to do when they get back. I'm so happy that I can bring these people home."

The job also comes with challenges. As Jones explained, being a loadmaster is like other operational jobs in that they feel the pressure of having to succeed for the sake of the mission. With help from the rest of Team Yokota, they continue to get the job done.

"At the end of the day when you're covered in oil and you just pulled a 16 hour shift, it's pretty easy to go to sleep knowing that you made a difference," Jones said.

According to Jones, as a loadmaster there are times when it seems like the world is at your throat but just like with any other mission-related job they simply have to put their shoulder to the wheel because failure is literally not an option. They press on to do what they need to do to get the mission done.
CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan (Oct. 19, 2022) - Firefighters with Marine Corps Installations Pacific Fire and Emergency Services prepare to decontaminate a simulated casualty during a confined space rescue drill during Exercise Constant Vigilance 2022 on Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 19, 2022. The annual drill was held to convey the readiness and capabilities of the various instillations and first responders in the event of an emergency. CV22 is a Force Protection Condition and crisis response evaluation to validate regional installations, camps, and tenant antiterrorism plans and policies. Flickr
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- On top of an ice covered slope with constant arctic winds and less than seven hours of daylight, 20 Survival Evasion Resistance Escape specialists trained for four days in freezing temperatures, upgrading their Arctic survival training.

The Arctic survival training is a week-long course that gives S.E.R.E. specialist hands on experience with building shelters and surviving in the extreme arctic temperatures.

This course, taught by the 66th Training Squadron Detachment 1 at Eielson Air Force Base is the final step for these Airmen to become S.E.R.E. specialist journeymen.

We brought the soon to be 5-level S.E.R.E. specialist out to the barren land on part of the Joint Pacific Alaska Range complex, said Staff Sgt. Ryan Rogers, a 66th TRS Det. 1 S.E.R.E specialist. We bring them to a peak with good packed, windswept snow, which is good for us to build shelters and dense enough for us to cut snow blocks.

Instructors showed students how to cut blocks out of the packed snow to build a wall next to their tents to help block the cold, harsh winds. As the sun was setting the students melted chunks of snow from around the area for a source of water and then received tasks for the night from the instructors, who would soon leave the students for the night to battle the night cold alone.

We already know the basic principles that go along the line of survival itself, said Staff Sgt. Joseph Aguilera, a 22nd TRS S.E.R.E. specialist apprentice from Fairchild AFB, Wash. This was the first time weve ever been able to cut blocks, build snow caves, snow domes, igloos and other structures that are required in these extreme conditions.

Throughout the next day the students were busy cutting numerous other snow blocks, as well as digging snow caves and other structures they would be sleeping in for the night.

With the shelters we built, we took our time and put in the extra effort to make them comfortable for ourselves, Aguilera said. That really helped us sleep a lot better.

One of the final lessons came with help from the U.S. Army and an UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. The students were given a briefing on how the aircraft can handle the arctic environment along with the hoist capability.

The Army will come out and hoist each S.E.R.E. specialist up a little bit so they can experience the rotor wash in these temperatures, said Rogers. They can convey that to their students back at the survival school on what its like to be hoisted in an arctic environment.

Aguilera said the biggest reward hell take away from the training isnt for himself, its for his future students.

Ill be able to pass this information to them so if the time comes, they are able to survive and return with honor, said Aguilera.
Editors Note: This is the second of a four-part series looking into the Airmen of Osan who support global deterrence.

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- In effort to highlight the alliance in the host nation, F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots from the 36th Fighter Squadron aided a B-52 Stratofortress in a joint airpower demonstration Jan. 12 here.

Teaming up, the U.S. and ROK air forces showcased to the world theyre ready for any contingency according to two 36th FS pilots who flew in the demonstration.

Maj. Jason Vanta and Capt. Nathan Skavdal shared their accounts and insight on flying with the ROK pilots.

It wasnt so much a practice of going to war, but a demonstration of our common (combat) capabilities and our ability to work together, said Skavdal. Even though it was a relatively simple mission, its something we can bring to any theater at any time.

Vanta and Skavdal worked alongside F-15K Slam Eagle pilots during the demonstration and delivered a presence in the Korean skies.

In the past years [the 51st Fighter Wing] has been here, weve worked very closely with our ROK counterparts, said Skavdal. Even in the 18 months Ive been here, I can see the progression their pilots are making.

In addition to working with the ROKAF, the 36th FS trains to work with other Department of Defense assets like the B-52.

As a fighter squadron, the 36th is able to rapidly put jets in essentially any configuration to complete the mission, said Vanta, who flew as the mission commander during the demonstration. Whenever they need us, were able to [deter the aggression] as shown in our past.

In this demo, [the U.S. Air Force] was able to send up a nuclear-capable bomber, showing what we can offer, he added.

In order to deliver this amount of airpower, the 36th FS worked 24-hour operations to ensure mission capability, which according to Vanta was rewarding in the end.

Pride in our work gets pretty high when we get to do interesting missions like this, said Vanta. Flying with a B-52 on the right and an F-15[K] on the left in a show of force definitely increases morale for me.

Whether a normal sortie or a joint-flying mission, the 36th FS stands ready to deter any aggression and defeat any attack.
JEFFERSON  Last year, the Jefferson Community Food Pantry provided 61,000 pounds of food to local residents in need.

Thanks to a new building that opened Jan. 20, that figure should climb much higher in 2016, said Tony Tate, pantry supervisor.

We can hold a lot more stuff in here, he added, as he stocked shelves with canned vegetables on Tuesday.

An open house for the new structure is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 14, and a dedication is set for 12:30 p.m. that day. Refreshments will be served. The Jefferson Community Food Pantry sits behind the Jefferson United Methodist Church, 310 N. Second St.

Besides additional space, the new 40-foot by 14-foot building also is climate controlled, and the heat and air conditioning will help keep food from spoiling.

And we have more refrigerators, added Tami Manning, a pantry leadership team member.

The Jefferson Community Food Pantry gives out food every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Clients can pick up bread and produce every week  even local hazelnuts. Once a month, clients can do a full shopping trip, where they get meat, cooking essentials and other items.

They dont get a food box. People can pick and choose what they want, said Manning, who also stressed that the pantry focuses on healthy food.

Every month, the pantry serves between 300 to 350 adults and children in the Jefferson, Talbot, Scio, Crabtree and Millersburg areas. Besides food, the pantry offers healthy cooking demonstrations.

The pantry started in 2012, and operated out of two small rooms at the Jefferson United Methodist Church. Much of the time, however, food also was stored in the churchs fellowship hall, which local groups use for meetings. Some produce couldnt fit in refrigerators and didnt last long.

The new pantry building also has a loading dock, where pallets of food are dropped off every other Tuesday. When the pantry was in the church, volunteers had to use a hand truck to haul 2,000 pounds of food up the church steps every other week.

The building cost nearly $50,000, and it was funded through community donations. Volunteers also helped create the structure, including Dan Gilmour Construction, which donated numerous hours and painted the exterior of the pantry at no charge.

The Jefferson Community Food Pantry has about 35 volunteers. Half are Jefferson United Methodist Church members.

The pantrys annual budget is about $7,200, and that is used to buy food from the Linn Benton Food Share and the Oregon Food Bank at a greatly reduced cost.
BLOOMINGTON  Residents along Clinton Boulevard in north Bloomington are asking the city to ban large trucks except for business and personal deliveries related to homes in the neighborhood.

The city has received a request to restrict trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds from traveling on the street between Emerson and Empire streets, said Public Works Director Jim Karch. His department is evaluating the matter for a possible recommendation to City Manager David Hales on Feb. 12.

Alderman Amelia Buragas, whose Ward 4 includes the neighborhood, said she saw a significant increase in traffic, especially heavy trucks, on the street over the summer. While that may have been the result of construction on Main Street, she is concerned the increase is part of a trend.

"This particular portion of Clinton is somewhat unique because it is a boulevard, and Clinton, leading up to Empire, can be a very busy street," said Buragas. "The 1100 to the 1400 blocks of (Clinton Boulevard) is 100 percent residential. There are no businesses."

The boulevard is lined on both sides by mature trees and has a landscaped median separating its single northbound and southbound lanes, which have on-street parking.

If the request is granted, only trucks making deliveries to residences, picking up personal property or performing contractual services for residents in the neighborhood would be permitted to travel on that portion of the street.

Buragas referred residents to city public works staff, and Karch sent a letter to neighborhood residents to ask for their input.

The city's Staff Traffic Advisory Committee reviewed the request Jan. 13 and decided against recommending the restriction, Karch said. Officials were worried truck traffic would be diverted to other streets in the area such as Fell Avenue and Linden Street, which are narrower and less capable of carrying such traffic, he said.

That section of Clinton Boulevard, which is the north end of Clinton Street, has about 8,000 vehicles per day while Fell has 900 and Linden has about 4,000, he said.

In addition, many pedestrians going to and from Illinois Wesleyan University, Constitution Trail and Fell Avenue Park use the area, Buragas added.

"It's something we have to deal with living in a city," she said. "We have businesses that need to get from point A to point B. We also have neighborhoods that want to maintain a neighborhood feel and are concerned about noise levels and public safety for people who are walking or crossing the streets," said Buragas.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Rauner repeated his pro-billionaire agenda: stripping unions of collective bargaining rights, freezing property taxes and changing workmans compensation laws. All of these reforms are pro-billionaire.

Since the Gilded Age, billionaires have fought against workers rights for collective bargaining, preferring an underclass working for low wages to a middle class who make a living wage. They have fought property taxes that support public schools and local government because their luxury estates incur high tax bills. They have fought workmans compensation as an unnecessary business expense, preferring to let workers deal with their own medical expenses for work-related injuries.

We have entered a new Gilded Age where billionaires like Rauner can buy political offices. Income inequality has dramatically increased over the last 50 years. Today the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans control 35.6 percent of the total wealth of the country. The wealthiest 10 percent control 75 percent of the wealth.

Rauners proposed policies represent the interests of the ever-richer billionaire class. Now the budget impasse created by Rauners insistence on his pro-billionaire agenda is resulting in laying off faculty at state universities, the gutting of social service agencies and the lowering of Illinois' credit rating.

It is time to recognize that pro-billionaire policies are only good for billionaires, not for the other 99 percent of citizens.

John B. Pryor

Bloomington
Alzheimers, dementia workshop on Feb. 6

The public is invited to a full-day workshop on dementia care this Saturday at the Mennonite Village Chapel, 5353 Columbus St. S.E.

Best Friends Workshop for Alzheimers & Dementia Care will be from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for a cost of $40 per person or $150 per family.

The workshop is geared toward family members, home care providers, facility caregivers, state workers, respite workers, social workers and anyone who has experienced the effects of Alzheimers in their lives.

It is meant to offer a comprehensive, person-centered, nonmedical model of care that is easy to learn and understand. It covers the differences between normal and not normal aging and teaches caregivers to assess strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to make care more manageable.

For information or reservations, contact Mary Scott at 541-704-4297 or mary@mennonitevillage.org.

Porcelain lecture, demonstration at LBCC on Feb. 19-20

CORVALLIS  Linn-Benton Community College ceramics instructor Renee McKitterick will hold a slide lecture and demonstration on working in porcelain Feb. 19 and 20.

McKitterick spent last summer as an artist in residence at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, where she completed a body of work in porcelain while exploring the technical methodologies.

She will present a free slide lecture from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at the LBCC Benton Center, 757 Polk Ave., room BC-244, Corvallis.

McKitterick will also give a demonstration on porcelain techniques Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Benton Center ceramics studio. The cost is $45.

The slide lecture is open to the public. For more information, or to register for the ceramic demonstration, contact the LBCC Benton Center at 541-757-8944.

Committee member sought in Lebanon

LEBANON  The Lebanon City Council is seeking applicants for a vacancy on the Lebanon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. The mayor will appoint a member based on geographic representation, areas of expertise and/or interest.

The board serves in an advisory capacity to the City of Lebanon while promoting bicycle and pedestrian safety and awareness. Meetings of the advisory board are generally held at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month.

The required application may be filled out online at Boards/Committees Application Form or picked up at City Hall, 925 Main St. Submit a completed application to the Lebanon city clerk office by 5 p.m., Feb. 29.

For more information, contact City Clerk Linda Kaser at 541-258-4264 or lkaser@ci.lebanon.or.us.
SPRINGFIELD  Gov. Bruce Rauner is backing a plan to revamp the way the state buys goods and services, changes he says would save taxpayers more than $500 million a year and free up money for higher education and other services.

Funding for universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students has become the latest crisis point in a budget impasse thats now in its eighth month, and Rauner offered procurement reform as a possible way to provide money.

Hes threatened to veto a bill Democrats passed last week that would fund community colleges and Monetary Award Program grants because he says theres no way to pay its $721.5 million price tag.

Meanwhile, Comptroller Leslie Munger is urging fellow Republican Rauner and Democrats in the General Assembly to adopt a balance budget, saying the state will be $6.2 billion further in debt by the end of the year if that doesnt happen.

Standing with lawmakers Tuesday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Rauner said the states procurement rules  many of them created in the wake of scandals surrounding now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich  are a tangle of red tape that can triple or quadruple the time it takes to make purchases and cost the state millions.

Procurement has been one of the largest sources of waste and abuse in our state, Rauner said. Its frustrating, the level of incompetence and inefficiency in the system, and we really need to change this as quickly as we possibly can.

The governors office says the proposal would give colleges and universities more purchasing flexibility, allow vendors to more easily fix mistakes in their registration with the state, and put one chief procurement officer in charge of the process rather than the current four, among other changes. It also would require the auditor general to review the states procurement every two years.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is the House sponsor of the bill. He said state university presidents have been critical of the current rules.

Such changes would help them substantially, said Brady, whose district includes Illinois State University. Our state universities are at a crisis point  in fact, theyve crossed the crisis point  and they are looking for help, a lifeline.

Universities backed the Democratic funding bill that Rauner pledged to veto.

Republicans offered an alternative plan that would fund universities at 80 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015. It would also fund community colleges at 90 percent and fully fund MAP grants. But the $1.7 billion in funding would be tied to a measure giving Rauner new authority to shift money around in the budget.

Republican Sens. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Dale Righter of Mattoon last week proposed instead tying the funding to procurement reform.

In response to questions about whether Rauner supports that idea, the governors office sent an email highlighting the following comment from Tuesdays news conference:

What we cant do is spend money we dont have. Thats not an option. We have got to stop spending money we dont have. If we get structural reform, it will free up resources to be able to put into our schools and our human services, where it belongs.

Munger said at a news conference in Chicago that the state is going to spend $1.2 billion more than last year in the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services due to court orders and consent decrees. Coupled with $5 billion in lost revenue from the partial rollback of the temporary state income tax increase, that will drive the state $6.2 billion further into debt.

Illinois must pass a budget, and we must reclaim our controls over spending and revenue, Munger said. We must stop the financial bleeding and start healing.
Mohawk Named Official Converter and Distributor of Domtar Branded Envelopes Feb. 3, 2016 - Mohawk is now an official converter and distributor of Domtar Cougar, Lynx Opaque Ultra and EarthChoice Colors envelopes. In an ongoing effort to provide the highest level of service and supply chain options for our merchant partners, Domtar is pleased to announce that Mohawk Envelope is now a full line converter servicing all Domtar branded envelopes, said Vanecia Carr, Director of Marketing, Printing and Publishing, Domtar. With the addition of these well-known Domtar branded envelope lines, we now proudly offer the broadest collection of envelopes available in the market. Mohawk provides one-stop shopping convenience, fast delivery and superior envelope converting quality, said Bob Scammell, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Operations, Mohawk. Cougar, Lynx Opaque Ultra and EarthChoice Colors envelopes are engineered and converted by Mohawk to stringent specifications, ensuring trouble-free printing and inserting on a wide range of equipment. Mohawk will convert and provide a wide range of items including multiple color options in various basis weights, finishes and envelope types: Cougar envelopes are offered by Mohawk in a broad selection of styles and sizes including #9 commercial, #10 commercial, #10 commercial windows, A2 through A10 announcements plus a selection of booklets, catalogs, monarchs, square flaps, baronials, panel cards and panel folders. Envelopes are available in two finishes and two shades (white and natural), that match the Cougar paper lines for ease in coordinating printed communications.

Lynx Opaque Ultra envelopes are now offered by Mohawk in six standard sizes including #10 commercial and A-2 through A-10 announcements that match the Domtar Lynx Opaque Ultra line. Featuring exceptional opacity for minimal show-through and a smooth finish for excellent print performance, Lynx envelopes are acid free for archival quality and FSC certified.

EarthChoice Colors envelopes are now offered by Mohawk in seven standard sizes including #6.75 commercial, #9 commercial, #10 commercial, #10 commercial windows and A-2 through A-7 announcements. Available in 12 pastel colors with a vellum finish, EarthChoice envelopes are acid free for archival quality and FSC certified. Mohawk is North America's largest privately-owned manufacturer of fine papers and envelopes. To learn more, please visit: www.mohawkconnects.com. SOURCE: Mohawk
Australian Shipments of Eucalyptus Chips Reach Record High in 2015, China Major Destination Feb. 3, 2016 - Australia has increased exportation of Eucalyptus chips by 58% in three years to reach a record-high in 2015, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). Shipments to pulp mills in China have gone up substantially and the costs for chips landed in this growing market have increased the past two years to practically equal those of chip costs delivered to Japan. Eucalyptus chip export volumes from Australia were up 15% in 2015 year-over-year to reach a record-high of 5.2 million tons, valued at almost one billion Australian dollars. Shipments have increased for three consecutive years and were in 2015 about 58% higher than they were in 2012. The major development in wood chip trade during the past few years has been the increase in exports of hardwood chips to China. Back in 2010, chip shipments to China only accounted for about 13% of the total export volume from Australia. In 2015, however, more than half of the chip exports were destined for China and the country has surpassed Japan as the major destination for Australian Eucalyptus chips, WRQ reported. In the past, Japan was the major consumer of hardwood chips from Australia, accounting for 80% of the export volume as late as 2010. Over the past five years, export volumes have fallen from about 3.6 million tons in 2010 to an estimated 1.9 million tons in 2015. Australia has not only increased shipments the past few years, but the country has also been climbing from being the world's fourth largest exporter of hardwood chips in 2012 to trail only Vietnam in 2015 in terms of total exports. About a third of the world's traded hardwood chips are currently originating from Eucalyptus plantation forests in Australia. Other major chip-supplying countries include Vietnam, Chile, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil. Another noteworthy development is how the costs for Australian chips delivered to pulp mills in China and Japan have changed over the past few years. During much of the period from 2011 to 2013, the price discrepancy for chips landed in China were about US$50/odmt lower than chips delivered to Japan. However, since early 2014 the delivered costs converged between the major consuming countries of Australian hardwood fiber, and they have remained practically the same since then only changing marginally in 2015. Wood Resources International LLC publishes the Wood Resource Quarterly report, which tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world. For further information visit: www.woodprices.com SOURCE: Wood Resources International LLC
Let us elaborate on a point weve made in passing in recent editorials: Raising Oregons minimum wage, already the second-highest in the nation, is a bad idea. Its bad public policy that runs the risk of devastating local governments and small businesses across Oregon.

So, of course, it seems to be a virtual lock to pass the Legislature in the short session that got underway on Monday in Salem. The only real question is whether it will pass without a single vote from a Republican. Of course, with Democrats firmly in control of both houses of the Legislature, it doesnt need any Republican votes, but Democrats would like at least the pretense that the measure enjoys a bit of support on the other side of the aisle.

Gov. Kate Brown has proposed increasing the minimum wage, and its her proposal that is forming the starting point for legislative consideration. She previously had announced backing a plan to increase the minimum wage, now $9.25 an hour, to $13.50 in most of the state and $15.50 in the Portland area. Last week, she said she was revising her proposal, based on feedback from stakeholders. Under her new proposal, the minimum wage would increase to $9.75 in July and $13.25 by 2022 for areas outside the Portland metropolitan area. (Inside Portland, the minimum wage would increase over the same time to $14.50 an hour.)

Advocates of raising the minimum wage say the current rate isnt high enough to make a living. Thats true. But it misunderstands the purpose of the minimum wage: It never was intended to be a living wage. Its meant to be a starting wage for someone just entering the job market  and one of the crueler results of increasing the wage might be making it harder for a newcomer to the workplace to land that critical first job.

Brown hopes her proposal helps to derail a number of other minimum-wage proposals that might be on the November ballot: Those proposals, in general, call for steeper increases phased in over a shorter period of time.

Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist traveled to Salem on Tuesday to testify against the proposed increase and referred to a recent report from the Legislative Fiscal Office that estimated the costs to local governments that would come with an increase in the minimum wage. Nyquist estimates that the increase will cost Linn County millions, and many other governments are in the same boat. The cost for school districts throughout the state, to cite just one example, would be $23 million over a two-year budget period.

The effects on small businesses, agricultural enterprises and rural Oregon likely will be dramatic. (It probably no longer amuses the owners of small businesses that lawmakers and state officials love to praise small businesses as the engines of the states economy but rarely miss an opportunity to make their work more difficult.)

Maybe it makes a measure of sense, as the governor argues, for the Legislature to enact a minimum-wage increase in this session in order to pre-empt a possible ballot measure in November that would call for an even larger increase. But any way you slice this, its still bad policy thats going to have an outsized effect on small businesses and rural Oregon. (mm)
A young woman is currently asking food giant, Nestle, to give her a lifetime supply of KitKats after none of the eight chocolate bars she bought had wafer inside. 20-year old, Saima Ahmad, who is also a law student, bought the chocolate bars for 2, (about $3) and has written to Nestle saying that they failed to fulfill their duty of care to consumers.

According to ITV, Ahmad, who goes to Kings College in London, even provided the manufacturer details of a 1930 case law to back her case up. Expressing her disappointment with her purchase, she said, "I'm hoping they will apologize to me and in the future focus more on the quality of their product."

"No one else in that industry has that unique concept about mixing the wafer with the chocolate and that's why I'm a fan," she continued. Before she submitted the letter and threatened legal action, she made her research and found out that there have been others who had gone through similar experiences.

In her letter, she reasoned that providing her KitKats for life will enable her to serve as "quality control." "Nestle have a huge following and I don't think these mistakes are acceptable," she remarked.

She also hopes for the CEO of Nestle to respond to her, especially since she described the incident as a very important issue. As to whether or not she will get sick of the chocolate bars if Nestle gives in to her demands, she said, "They are my favorite chocolate bars, I love them."

She continued to explain that the failure involved the manufacturing process, which "resulted in a product being defective." She cited monetary and emotional significance as her losses and blatantly said that she would have purchased a Galaxy bar if she wanted something that's pure chocolate.

Ahmad is firm on her decision to take legal action if Nestle does not give her what she wants. "I wouldn't rule out taking this further if Nestle do not apologize or compensate me adequately," she said. "As I mentioned in my letter of complaint, an unlimited supply of KitKat would do."
Despite all the warnings and the clamor raised by other scientists all over the world, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has given the green light to a group of British scientists, allowing them to modify human embryos genetically.

Telegraph reported that experimentation on the leftover IVF embryos by the Francis Crick Institute can now begin on March. These scientists will be deactivating the genes of the embryos in the hopes of determining whether or not these genes inhibit development.

The initial experimentation stage will utilize 30 embryos, a number which the scientists plan to quadruple by working on three genes more. The experiment will still need to pass an ethics evaluation.

The scientists believed that by determining which genes were responsible for healthy cell division, they will be able to potentially avert miscarriages. The primary goal of the experimentation is to help fertility problems encountered by many couples. According to the report, faulty genetic code may be responsible for the non-development of approximately 50 percent of fertilized eggs.

Many critics of the experiment have warned that such may pave the way for the making of designer babies. According to Anne Scanlan, member of LIFE charity, "The HFEA now has the reputation of being the first regulator in the world to approve this uncertain and dangerous technology." She added, "It has ignored the warnings of over a hundred scientists worldwide and given permission for a procedure which could have damaging far-reaching implications for human beings."

This experimentation will be the second in the world, with the first undertaken in China in 2015. CNN reported that the procedure done in China edited a gene which was said to cause blood disorder.

According to U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, "The concept of altering the human germline in embryos for clinical purposes has been debated over many years from many different perspectives, and has been viewed almost universally as a line that should not be crossed."
Police Officer Marcus Montgomery may look intimidating in his uniform but the truth is, he is just a big softie at heart. Montgomery, who serves in Fort Walton Beach, met the cute puppy when he was sent to the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society or PAWS to check on a situation with a former employee.

According to BuzzFeed, the officer spoke with the employees for about 20 minutes, when one of the supervisors left. He was still talking to the director of PAWS, when the supervisor came back, carrying a little puppy.

He apparently took an immediate interest in the puppy as he noticed the dog had been sleeping since "his eyes were heavy and he was yawning constantly." Right then and there, he asked if he could hold the puppy.

Officer Montgomery giving his new potential family member some lovin'. Thank you for all you do for our community and for adopting from PAWS! Posted by Panhandle Animal Welfare Society on Thursday, January 28, 2016

"When the supervisor brought him in, I just looked in his eyes as he yawned at me," he said. "And I told the supervisor, 'Don't bring him in here, because I will take him home right now.'"

The officer was also excited to say that the new puppy would be a great addition to his family. He shared that he and his girlfriend, Kristen Martin, have been wanting to get another dog, as their 4-year old rescue dog named Vader, loves to meet and play with other dogs.

He described the puppy, which he and his girlfriend later named Kylo, as just chill. He was not whining and barking and when he held him, he immediately just curled up and got comfortable in his arms. Needless to say, the adorable pup went home with the kind-hearted officer that same day.

Metro also shared that girlfriend, Martin, later took to Facebook and wrote about adopting the little guy and calling him Kylo. "He'll be a little brother to Vader," she wrote.
A mom from Connecticut is more than grateful to two Payless employees who generously helped her pay for her children's shoes. The mom took to the shoe store's official Facebook page to thank them.

Last Jan. 21, Katy Sypher-Piper went to Payless looking for shoes she can buy for her daughter Ava, 2, and Andrew, 10 months, according to Yahoo Parenting. She said she could only afford to spend a total of $30 for the shoes but saw that Payless was having a "buy one, get one" promo at the time.

Sypher-Piper asked for the employees' help in measuring the children's feet and let them know about her budget. They talked about how her daughter, Ava, extremely loves "Frozen," as well as her medical history. The mom shared that Ava has issues with her respiratory system, which causes her to sometimes stop breathing. She also revealed that she's anxiously waiting for her daughter's test results, which was all she could think about.

Ava chose a pair of Frozen boots, which was selling for $44, way beyond her budget for two pairs of shoes. Sypher-Piper said that she was on the verge of crying when the Payless employees "began putting their heads together about coupons and how to get [the] price down."

Hi Payless, I stopped in your Old Saybrook, CT store today to get shoes for my 2 1/2year old daughter Ava and son... Posted by Katy Leigh on Thursday, January 21, 2016

Not long after, the amazing Payless employees told the mom that they would pay for her children's boots along with some socks and "Star Wars," "Frozen" and "Cars" stickers, as reported by NBC 4i. She wrote on Payless' Facebook page, "These wonderful, amazing employees of yours told me they were paying for my kids' boots and socks, that I had enough to worry about, and to use the money for the kids and food." The post has garnered more than 8,700 likes and about 1,545 shares.

"I have been pretty down lately, and this act of kindness is so amazing and uplifting to me," she said. "I am so grateful and wanted to say a big thank you and hope you have some sort of employee recognition program."
Our sun has shown some cosmic mysteries that are slowly beginning to unravel with the help of modern science.

The engine that drives our sun is the magnetic field heating its multi-million degree atmosphere called the corona. Magnetic field lines come from sun's interior into the corona. They are highly dynamic and follow the sun's 11-year cycle. The coronal loops of superheated plasma are the basis of coronal heating mechanisms.

Until now, it was not fully understood why the sun's internal dynamo follows the 11-year long period, during which solar activity spikes up around a period called "solar maximum." At the solar maximum the sun's magnetic activity increases and triggers clusters of active regions as well as dark spots called "sunspots." During this time, massive solar eruptions peak and can affect our planet.

In order to understand the solar cycle, the powerful flares in the corona and their impacts on Earth, scientists must understand the process of sun's magnetism. On NASA's website, aid space scientist Dean Pesnell explains that it clear for the scientific community where the magnetic field is created in the sun. In could be over a wide range of depths, from deep inside the sun to close to the solar surface.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is working in conjunction with other space weather observatories and solar telescopes to analyze the dynamic sun in more detail. Complementary computer models are used to interpret these observations based on known physics behind the solar corona. Such models help scientists to better understand the sun's magnetic field and environment.

There are also NASA space missions dedicated to studying the sun the solar eruptions. Occasionally, the solar flares also project plasma called coronal mass ejection (CME) out into space.

According to Scientific American, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Bin Chen, is the lead author of a study that provides the first solid observational evidence that a kind of stationary shock wave accelerates particles released during a solar eruption.

We are still far from fully understanding how the sun's dynamo works, according to Discovery News. However, scientists are continuously improving their models and aim to find better ways to predict the solar weather that can impact the Earth.
Many people are misinformed about the facts that involve sex particularly on how to stay safe. Since there are plenty of myths that surround sex, experts try to separate the facts from the wide-believed mythologies.

1. You can't get pregnant, HIV or STD in the pull-out method

Withdrawal is not an effective means to prevent pregnancy, HIV, or other STDs. This myth is largely circulated based on typical use and the convenience of people who experience it but is not entirely true.

The only option that protects women from pregnancy and STDs is condoms. Using a birth control method such as the Pill or Depo shot along with condoms will be the best option for maximum protection.

2. You can't get pregnant on your period

A good egg which is released during ovulation can still live for four to five days while healthy sperm can live for up to four days. Since the eggs and sperm can live longer than usual, the window of opportunity for implantation can be extended.

"There is not a time at which a woman between the ages of 15 and 50 can't get pregnant," Dr. Gillian Lockwood consultant obstetrician and gynecologist and medical director of Midland Fertility Services said. Lockwood explains further that women who think they are safe should think otherwise.

3. Peeing before sex reduces UTI

Sex is one of the most common causes of urinary tract infection (UTI) especially for young women in their 20s, according to Dr. Zaki Almallah consultant urologist at BMI Hospital in Edgbaston. While women are told to pee before and after sex to avoid UTI, this is not entirely true.

There is no real evidence for the need to urinate before sex, but urinating after sex may help. Bacteria that causes UTI can transfer to areas in the bladder and through the pipe of the urethra but urinating after sex means flushing out any bacteria that had lodged during intercourse.

4. Sex can increase the risk of a heart attack

Based on a paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, it is very unlikely for a sexual activity to trigger a heart attack, as cited by Daily Mail. "Patients need not be worried and should resume their sexual activity," Deitrich Rothenbacher said, lead author of the study.

In most cases, people have heart attacks at the same time they are having sexual intercourse. "They were going to have a heart attack anyway, it's not the sex that did it," said Dr. Mark Knapton, associate medical doctor of the British Heart Foundation.

5. Premature ejaculation only affects young men

In many cases, premature ejaculation begins during a young man's onset of sexual maturity while others find it an issue later on in life. However, premature ejaculation affects 30 percent of men at some point in their lives largely due to fatigue, anxiety, depression, erectile dysfunction or poor cardiovascular conditioning, according to Fox News.
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Zoos can be interesting, but lets be honest, they can seem like prisons. Safaris are much better. Theres no match for seeing animals in their natural habitat (or as close as possible). If traveling to Africa isnt on your bucket list, but taking a safari is, these eight U.S. parks are a good alternative until you can experience the real thing. They feature open lands, caravans and animals ranging from lions to zebras. Thats about as genuine of a safari experience as you could hope for without leaving the country.



Lake Buena Vista, Florida



Photo by Christian Lambert Photography , CC BY-ND 2.0

You only have to travel as far as Florida to feel like youre on the savanna of East Africa. The Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disneys Animal Kingdom takes you on a nearly 20-minute tour through the 110-acre Harambe Wildlife Reserve. Youll ride along in an open-air safari vehicle as you pass more than 30 species of African wildlife from antelopes and zebras to hippopotamus, lions and giraffes.



Camp Verde, Arizona



Photo by s0crates82, CC BY-NC 2.0

From animal spotting to tiger feeding, Out of Africa Wildlife Park offers a safari experience on a Serengeti preserve right in Camp Verde, Arizona. Their African Bush Safari Tour gets you up close and personal with the parks free-to-roam animals that include giraffes and zebras. You can also zip line through the park for an aerial view of the animals, or you can opt to camp out in the park for an overnight safari experience.



San Diego, California



Photo by Nathan Rupert, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

There are no shortage of ways to experience the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and their countless animals. You can caravan, cart, tram and trike through the park on tours that take you through the parks plains for close encounters with rhinos, giraffes and a variety of exotic birds, or opt to see the park via zip line or hot air balloon. Theres even a roar and snore overnight option that lets you sleep in the park and witness the animals after dark.



Glen Rose, Texas



Photo by Julie Delio, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Home to more than 1,000 animals, the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center serves as a research and conservation center that offers a 9.5-mile driving tour. This endangered species sanctuary sits in the hills near Glen Rose, Texas where animals roam freely around the park.



Cumberland, Ohio



Photo by Valerie, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This non-profit safari park covers more than 9,000 acres in Cumberland, Ohio and is the largest conservation center in North America. The Wilds sits on reclaimed coal mining land that today features hiking and biking trails, some 150 lakes for fishing, horseback riding and zip-lining, a butterfly habitat, all in the presence of the parks free-roaming wildlife.



Gentry, Arkansas



Photo by MRHSfan, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This drive-through safari in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas takes you through 180 acres of park land that is home to a variety of animals ranging from zebras to kangaroos. While some areas of the Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari include enclosed habitats for animals like porcupines and exotic birds, the drive-through portion features cage-free encounters with buffalo, wildebeests and camels.



Santa Rosa, California



Photo by Mike Boening Photography, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Whether visiting for a day-tour or camping out for a week, this 400-acre private wildlife preserve will provide no shortage of animal sightings. Safari West is home to an estimated 79 native African animal species, some 900 animals in all, including cheetahs, rhinos and giraffes.



Natural Bridge, Virginia



Photo by smthng else, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This drive-through park sits on 180 open acres in the Shenandoah Valley. The Virginia Safari Park encourages visitor-and-animal interaction, as the animals roam free and often approach vehicles along the parks three miles of gravel road. Dont be surprised if you look in your rear-view window and spot a bull elk or camel on your tail.

Top photo: Scott Smith, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Paste Travels Bucket List columnist Lauren Kilberg is a Chicago-based freelance writer. Her travels have found her camping near the Pakistani border of India and conquering volcanoes in the Philippines.
As if Netflix and Chill hadnt gone far enough with its own song, condoms and Goose Island beer, the meme now has a designated listing on Airbnb.

According to the description, the room is fully equipped to experience Netflix & Chill the best way possible. That best way possible includes: a Netflix and Chill Bed, minibar loaded with liquors and mixers, AppleTV with a Netflix account, surround sound speakers and a view

overlooking Manhattan. Surprisingly, the listing provides no Netflix and Chill essentials like condoms, spliffs or R&B mixtapes.

Bringing the joke to reality, one of the rooms artists, Tom Galle from Art404, told the New York Daily News that the room wasnt designed strictly for sexeven though the room has a champagne bar and we all know what Netflix and Chill really means.

The romantic, and totally chill, room in NYCs West Village starts at $400/night, quite the pricetag for a Saturday nightthe only night the rooms availablewith that Tinder date whos definitely DTF and still hasnt seen Master of None. Of course, if it takes a little more than Netflix and Chill to set the mood, the West Villages loaded with candlelit restaurants, jazz clubs, that one dive bar where you challenged an NYU kid to Scrabble, and pretty much the

backdrop to Sex and the Cityactivities for later.

If you do end up reserving for a chill Saturday night, just make sure you keep your chill in check because you dont want to end up like another Airbnb story.

Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts.
Reputation is give and take.

Certain breweries are revered by name alone. Think Alchemist. Think Russian River. Toppling Goliath. These cornerstones of the craft brewing world have a prestige that makes them an instant buy, regardless of style, serving, or even price. You find something by Russian River in your local beer store, you buy it.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are breweries that, for one reason or another, have failed to gain the favor of the drinking public. Some of them are so ubiquitous, its easy to take them for granted. Others simply havent earned the cult following of an Alchemist or Side Project Brewing. But we think theyre worthy of your attention. These are the American breweries that deserve a critical re-evaluation.



Abita Springs, Louisiana

The self-proclaimed Brewery of Mardi Gras, Abita has long since outgrown the bayou. Abita is currently the 21st largest craft brewer in the United States, offering their beers in 46 states. Theyve expanded into sugar-cane-sweetened sodas, and they even have tap handles at Disney World now. All the exposure has given the illusion that the 30-year-old Louisiana brewhouse has conceded quality for territory, but the opposite is in fact true.

With eight flagships, there are bound to be some misses, but Abitas twosome of Jackamo IPA and Turbodog brown ale are evidence enough that theres more to be discovered in Abitas sprawling product line. Purists may lament the pandering raspberry flavor of Purple Haze, but what other brewery do you know thats built a 130,000-barrel empire off a fruit beer? Give Abita some credit.



Tarpon Springs, Florida

While Funky Buddha and Cigar City have become destination breweries in the rising craft beer haven of South Florida, Saint Somewhere has somehow managed to get lost in the boom. But far from farm country in the sweltering Gulf of Mexico, Saint Somewhere dutifully makes crisp and authentic farmhouse ales, distributing to 43 states though few could point to the Tarpon Springs brewhouse on a map.

Their collection of high-ABV Belgian-style brews have romanced the locals, especially Cynthiana, which is made with local grapes, giving it a refreshing sauvignon blanc or chardonnay ester. But its more than just the beer that makes Saint Somewhere worth another look. Fans of the brewing company are invited to help bottle the beer in exchange for free libations. If only people were lining up to buy the beer like they are to package it.



South Burlington, Vermont

Sometimes, a hugely popular flagship can encourage drinkers to delve deeper into a brewerys stock. Think Stone Pale Ale or Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Other times, that beer can be where the public starts and stops  as seems to be the case with Magic Hat and their expertly balanced #9.

The Vermont brewer has staked much of its success on #9, its name-making not quite pale ale, but nothing else in their portfolio has managed to catch on. Anyone whos visited their circus-themed artifactory in South Burlington can tell you that theres much more to be enjoyed from Magic Hat. Take, for example, Circus Boy, their lemongrass-infused hefeweizen, or the roundly malted Belgo Sutra Belgian Dark Ale. Both are examples of why the quirky elixir makers arent to be taken at surface level.



Longmont, Colorado

Similar to Magic Hat, Colorados Oskar Blues has been a bit stunted by the success of their flagship. With two gigantic facilities in the United States pumping Oskar Blues to every bar, liquor store, and bodega in the market, Dales Pale Ale has basically become the Millennial answer to PBR. While itd be tempting to say DPA is all the bottle-eschewing brewery has to offer, youd be wrong.

As we discussed last month, Oskar Blues didnt stop innovating when they became one of the first breweries to can craft beer in 2002. Their Hotbox coffee porter and Death by Coconut porter show that the team at Oskar Blues is playing with a full toolbox of skills. Theyve even reinvented Dales as a gutsy tallboy double IPA, but it probably only hurt their bid for mass appeal.



Portland, Oregon

As the best beer town in the United States, Portland is a tough scene to tread water in. There are always new breweries and brewpubs popping up to serve the locals, and the old guard can easily get lost in the shuffle. Such has been the story with Lithia Creek standby Rogue Ales. Oregonians  and Americans alike  have stopped believing in Rogues ever-revising revolution.

But that revolution is what keeps Rogue relevant as one of the most exciting, least predictable breweries in the country. They were one of the first to experiment with sriracha in the brew kettle, and since then, theyve kept up the weirdness. Theyve made a braggot with marionberries they farmed themselves. Theyve made a maple-bacon-flavored ale with help from Voodoo Doughnuts. The spirit of boldness and experimentation is still alive and well at Rogue, so dont sleep on this Pacific Northwestern stalwart.



San Francisco, California

Its easy to miss what a great beer Hell or High Watermelon is. The fruit-ified wheat beer from the Bay Areas 21st Amendment is equal parts refreshing and complex, but its so unfortunately unheralded that it gets skipped for other summer seasonals with better reps. In fact, only five of their offerings have cracked a 4.00 rating on BeerAdvocate despite their Great American Beer Fest golds.

Perhaps its the companys goofy, uber-patriotic branding or the fact that they dont deal in bottles or bombers, but 21st Amendment has a hard time being taken seriously in the craft beer world. With a solid line of IPAs and an expanding roster of rarities like their Marooned on Hog Island oyster stout, 21st Amendment are steadily making themselves harder to overlook.



Cold Spring, Minnesota

Minnesotans dont want to admit that Third Street Brewhouse makes some of the best beers in their state. Birthed from the diversification of the much-maligned Cold Spring Brewing, Third Street started off on the wrong foot and seemingly hasnt recovered, despite their best efforts. Considering the fact that they introduced their Minnesota Gold Lager to compete with locally endeared adjunct tallboys like Grain Belt Premium and Hamms, it doesnt look like Third Street will be getting a fair shake with the locals, which is a shame.

With early offerings like Three Way Pale Ale and Sugar Shack Maple Stout proving that the reincarnated brewhouse can make beer far better than their predecessor, Third Street are gradually returning the good name to their Northern Minnesota town. Its only a matter of time before the rest of the business catches on.



Easton, Pennsylvania

In a yearlong thread on the BeerAdvocate community boards, hop heads argued over the most underrated beermaker in the United States, and far and away the most namedropped brewery was Weyerbacher. That doesnt necessarily mean that the 30,000-barrel Pennsylvania sudsmaker is indeed the most underestimated in America, but it certainly calls into question whether this huge-ABV brewery isnt quite getting its due.

Weyerbacher is truly unique in its holistic approach. The founders grow their own hops, which they use to flavor harvest and pale ales. They provide recipes for cooking with their beer. They instruct drinkers on proper cellaring techniques. Even if you think their high-alcohol, boldly flavored brews are just candy for beer geeks, at least theyre not dealing in any half measures.



Halethorpe, Maryland

Hugh Sisson lost some momentum when he rebranded his company from Clipper City to Heavy Seas in 2010. Gold Ale, Powder Monkey Pale Ale, and Heavy Seas Cutlass Amber Lager have all improved since migrating from the Clipper City name, but they lack the nostalgia of the original moniker. The Maryland beer pioneer  Sisson opened the states first brewpub in 1989  has since watched The Brewers Art and Full Tilt explode in popularity while their own growth has flown under the radar.

The pirate-centric brewhouse is certifiably one of the best in the Old Line State. With Small Craft Warning Uber Pils being continually lauded in festivals, and Loose Cannon moving up and down the East Coast in cans, Heavy Seas stake outside Maryland presents a massive growth opportunity, but for now, theyre among the most slept-on breweries in the country.



Providence, Rhode Island

Much in the tradition of Lone Star, Rainier, and Old Style, Narragansett Lager is a regionally beloved bargain beer, but that doesnt mean parent company Narragansett Brewing doesnt have its eyes on higher concepts. When the brand was revived in 2005 after 24 years off the market, the new owners set up the craft branch of their business in their hometown of Providence.

Gansett goes hyper-local for their craft brews, too. Theyve partnered with Rhode Island favorites Allies Donuts, Autocrat Coffee, and Dels Frozen Lemonade on collaborative beers and brewed others in honor of H.P. Lovecraft and the USS Massachusetts, cementing their place in the hearts of Providence drinkers, but the rest of the world hasnt discovered the 16-oz. craft spree taking place in the countrys smallest state.
If you need another reason to fume at this years slate of Oscar nominees, look no further than Pablo Larrains The Club. Think of it as a Chilean counterpoint to Tom McCarthys Spotlight, sans the gloss and with a greater emphasis on the guilty and afflicted than on the supposed saviors: Spotlight is about good guys taking down bad guys, while The Club inhabits the same grey moral space as John Michael McDonaghs Calvary. That undersung film wades into the fray of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal with melancholy eyes and an amoral heart, coming out the other side all the more meaningful and heartbreaking for its willingness to speak to the unspeakable.

The same is true of what Larrain has accomplished in The Club, though after watching the film you may feel inspired to seek out the nearest church pew to pray. Larrain isnt interested in concocting easy answers to the questions his film poses: Should we forgive transgressors for their transgressions? Do we dare empathize with them? Are the spiritually corrupt beyond redemption? And what, exactly, defines spiritual corruption? The film denies simple catharsis to its viewers, and therefore must be engaged with patience and an open mind.

The Clubs principal cast is comprised of four disgraced priestsPadre Vidal (Alfredo Castro), Padre Ortega (Alejandro Goic), Padre Ramirez (Alejandro Goic), and Padre Silva (Jaime Vadell)who have committed crimes of varying heinousness. We meet them in their dwelling in La Boca, a tiny seaside town in Chile where they have been relocated by the Church as both a punitive and protective measure; they live in social isolation, and under strict rules, to ward off public reprisal against them, as well as to shield the Churchs already tarnished reputation from further embarrassment.

Its kind of like The Real World: Defrocked, at least until the quartet becomes a quintet and everything changes in the blink of an eye. This isnt an exaggeration, either: Five minutes after a new arrival shows up at the group home, blood is shed on the priests doorstep and their cover is blown by Sandokan (Roberto Farias), a victim of repeated clerical rape in his boyhood who by chance has wound up in La Boca in his adulthood. Talk about bad luck. The violent incident impels the Church to send an agent, Padre Garcia (Marcelo Alonso), to La Boca to determine whether the home should stay open or be shut down.

The Club begins in earnest with the appearance of Garcia, who sits down with Vidal, Ortega, Ramirez, Silva, and their housekeeper, erstwhile nun Monica (Antonia Zegers), in turn to interview them about their personal histories and about the death of their would-be housemate. (Unsurprisingly, they all stick to the same story to duck culpability in the tragedy.) It is here that the film commences its exploration of the priests differing misconducts, and that Larrain urges us to confront their wrongdoing in context with the pursuit of salvation. As Garcia gets to know Gods fallen servants, he is presented with their decidedly thin rationales for their offenses, and we are forced to puzzle out the extent of their sins. The trick is that not all of their sins are what we expect them to be.

This is not an easily digested movie, its an intensely uncomfortable onethough its not without its distinct cinematic pleasures. It is impeccably made, for one thing: Larrain and his cinematographer, Sergio Armstrong, use the camera lens to put us right in the La Boca room with the films cast, and also to make the films remote, small-scale location feel as equally claustrophobic as it is vast. Also worth savoring, in addition to Larrains sense of craft, are the performances from his small but impressive ensemble of actors. Each player mines great depth of character from roles that are relatively bare on the page.

It is in the murkiness of the characters and their past actions that The Club finds its identity as an outraged work of art. There are no elegant conclusions to be drawn from Larrains film, only challenges to moral authority and to our own notions of guilt. Nothing in The Club is one-sided, and Larrain allows no one to be shaped only by flaws and infractions. For many, as with Calvary, the ease with which Larrain embraces ambiguity over judgment may make The Club too grim to process. (Plus, bad stuff happens to animals. Youve been trigger warned.) But as a muted alternative to Hollywoods attempt at examining the same atrocity, the film is refreshing for its grand uncertainties.

Director: Pablo Larrain

Writer: Pablo Larrain, Guillermo Calderon, Daniel Villalobos

Starring: Roberto Farias, Antonia Zegers, Alfredo Castro, Alejandro Goic, Alejandro Sieveking, Jaime Vadell, Marcelo Alonso

Release Date: February 5, 2016

Boston-based critic Andy Crump has been writing online about film since 2009, and has contributed to Paste Magazine since 2013. He also writes for Screen Rant, Movie Mezzanine and Birth.Movies.Death. You can follow him on Twitter. He is composed of roughly 65% craft beer.
Long time Bohlin Cywinski Jackson client, Apple Inc., will receive the New York Landmarks Conservancy's 2016 Chairman's Award for their contribution to preserving and restoring notable historic structures in New York City. Together, Apple and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson have repurposed three New York City historic buildings, marrying modern technology with distinguished architecture in Grand Central Terminal (an individual New York City landmark), 103 Prince Street (in the SoHo Historic District), 401 W. 14th Street (Gansevoort Market Historic District), and 940 Madison Avenue (Upper East Side Historic District).







The Landmarks Conservancy inaugurated the Chairman's Award in 1988 to recognize exceptional organizations and companies that have demonstrated their dedication to protecting New York's rich architectural heritage.

The Chairman's formal Award Luncheon will take place on Wednesday March 9, 2016 at the Metropolitan Club, 1 East 60th Street. Ticket prices range from $15,000 for a 'Leadership Table" for ten; $10,000 for a Patron Table; and $5,000 for a Sponsor Table. Those hoping to get their hands on tickets for the event could apply online here.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Comments are reviewed daily from 4am to 6pm PST and sporadically over the weekend.
Last month I shared two wonderful guest posts by researchers looking into race in American Buddhism (Race Matters and The Dukkha of Racism). I also noted the change, which occurred early in 2015, of the blogs title from the singular American Buddhist Perspective to plural Perspectives in recognition that more perspectives than my own were being shared here and as an aspiration that this growth and diversity continues to flourish. Today Im honored to share an interview that has been many months in the making  delayed by my travels and work responsibilities  which is almost certain to widen the perspective of readers here, dealing with issues around race, but more importantly feminism and intersectionality in our contemporary global Buddhist community.

Can you tell me who/what the Tibetan Feminist Collective is? How long has the collective been around and what brought you together?

The group is comprised entirely of young Tibetan women from India to the US. There are currently four of us  Kaysang, Choetso, Ngawang, and myself, but weve had other members before when we first got started and were trying to figure out what this space would look like. We are actually relatively new, having just formed last year. We are essentially a multimedia platform, using online spaces, technology, and new media tools to provide a platform for Tibetan women to promote and center our own narratives. There had been a lot of discussions in informal online forums for a while, and the Tibetan Feminist Collective just sort of grew organically into a manifestation of this growing consciousness among Tibetan women after years of being socially conditioned into not challenging patriarchal norms and attitudes in our culture/society (both in Tibet and in exile).

I first came across the Tibetan Feminist Collective last fall when the Dalai Lama was attacked on a popular feminist website for his comments about women and beauty. The article (Yes, the Dalai Lama Is Still A Feminist ) fired back, arguing in part that Because of the critical influence of His Holiness on Buddhism in the west and human rights around the world, a Tibetan (note: intersectional) feminist critique is imperative to clarify and contextualize his remarks.

Can you tell me more about the difference between dominant modes of feminism in the US today and a particularly Tibetan feminism?

The article, which was authored by our editor Choetso, was an important opportunity for us to clarify what differentiates Tibetan feminism from western feminism (not only in the US, but also in Europe, etc.). An intersectional approach to promoting gender equality is critically needed for all communities of color because we face very unique cultural barriers as Tibetan exile women to addressing such issues. We cant simply treat our identities as singular (i.e. just as women or just as Tibetans) because our lived realities as women of color are at the margins, or intersections, of society. Just as feminist scholar Audre Lorde said, There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. To try and simplify or flatten our identities in the name of unity or harmony is simply disingenuous and impractical on both a theoretical and policy level. Having lived such unique lives, as is the nature of diaspora, our identities as Tibetan women are necessarily complex, and, in order to truly dismantle harmful norms and policies, we must address the problematic nature of our current norms and policies. Obviously, talking about race/class/gender is not easy and its going to be a messy process, but this is also one of the challenges facing our Tibetan exile democracy. This is why its so difficult to treat gendered and racialized discourses as unimportant to the Tibet issue. How are we going to strengthen the human capital of the Tibetan people if we leave out over half of our population? How are we going to end violence against women if we dont even acknowledge that it exists? How can we honesty and safely move on and heal from historical and collective traumas of exile and statelessness if we refuse to have conversations about spiritual and mental health? To not talk about these so-called taboo topics out of shame or fear is natural, but this is why we, as Tibetan women, have formed such a collective and are trying to regain our agency together.

Is there a specific history of feminist figures/movements in Tibet or evidence of feminism in Tibetan culture that you draw from?

Yes, I think its incredibly important to recognize the feminist underpinnings in our own history. Weve seen some truly amazing women who resisted patriarchal norms and took a bold stand amid persecution and great hardship. Machig Labdron (whose name literally means the One Mother) is one of the earliest known Tibetan feminist figures, as a teacher and founder of the Mahamudra Chod tradition. But aside from the Tibetan hagiographies, which Janet Gyatso highlighted in  Women in Tibet , there are also more contemporary feminist figures, like Ani Pachen, popularly known as the warrior nun who ran away from an arranged marriage to lead an armed rebellion during the Chinese invasion. In present day Tibet, there are some powerful, unapologetic feminist figures like Jamyang Kyi, whos written extensively about toxic masculinities and the male gaze within Tibetan culture and inspired many Tibetans in exile through her writing.

I was also really interested in an article I found through the Tibetan Feminist Collective twitter account on Tibetan Fundamentalism. Part of what it talks about is the idea of what it means to be a real Tibetan today. Can you talk about what this means, especially for younger Tibetans in the diaspora community?

Yeah, so that article we shared was not authored by the editors at TFC and we dont endorse the views of anything we publish or share. My personal thought on that piece is that I think the notion of what constitutes a real Tibetan, and who gets to determine this idea of Tibetanness, is going to be a constant source of tension for Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet. There is a very real, growing generational gap and an ongoing political crisis in our homeland right now, but its also important to recognize that this struggle over who gets to negotiate our identities is an issue for all diasporans in every community. I see these parallels through my conversations with friends from other communities of color, and issues like language loss and cultural preservation are a shared struggle for people of color and indigenous peoples throughout the globe. So, while its tempting for Tibetans to sometimes want to police the identities of other Tibetans throughout different parts of the diaspora, I think we all share a strong desire for unity as a people  while also recognizing different levels of privilege in diaspora and the imperative of allowing a diversity of opinions and identities within our community. This is the current struggle for our burgeoning exile democracy, and speaking as a young exile myself during a particularly tense election year, I think Tibetans in exile feel very passionately about our freedoms and thats, ultimately, a good thing.

With that in mind, what do you see as the key contemporary challenges to Tibetan identity and culture?

Theres a huge generational gap that I fear is in danger of widening if we dont have honest, open discussions about issues affecting Tibetans beyond the politicized narratives of Tibet. When we reduce an entire population of people (keeping in mind the diversity of Tibet itself) to a single story, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie termed the popular stereotypes that abound about Africa, we risk minimizing and silencing the struggles of those already at the margins of society. A large part of the challenge for Tibetan exiles today, who are trapped in a kind of limbo of statelessness is challenging these enduring, deeply-held western imaginings of Tibet as this Shangri-la and, whats more difficult challenging the ways that we as Tibetans, or allies, propagate and internalize such exotified, ahistoric narratives and attitudes towards our history and ourselves. A lot of this can be attributed to a fear of retaliation, or losing support for our cause, which reveals just how failing to acknowledge such problematic relational power structures obfuscate meaningful discussions about racial, gender, and class disparities in our society.

Where do you hope to see the discussion going in 2016?

One that gets back to the core of feminism as a deeply spiritual exercise rooted, ultimately, in compassion. bell hooks, one of the most prominent feminist and critical race scholars, discussed the intersections of Buddhism and feminism in a piece entitled  Toward a Worldwide Culture of Love . In this address, she discusses how Buddhism rose to prominence in the US through the transnational social justice movements of the sixties and seventies through a collective unease with imperialistic foreign policies. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh both became vocal opponents of the Vietnam war, at a time when a collective unease across the global community drew many, including bell hooks, to find solace in Buddhism, stating that [l]inking Buddhism with social engagement, Thich Nhat Hanhs work attracted Westerners (myself included) precisely because he offered a spiritual vision of the universe that promoted working for peace and justice. This was also the time when second-wave feminism rose to prominence and you had individuals like Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer popularizing so-called radical social projects like womens liberation. A lot of these same Baby Boomers, and Gen X/Yers, really became drawn to the Free Tibet movement in the 90s, which correlated with this massive renewed interest in Buddhism in the west because of the Dalai Lama and his incredible story of resilience through his faith and spirituality. Its no wonder, then, that the Dalai Lama calls himself a feminist and talks openly about his support for womens rights and why the Gyalwang Karmapa has entire chapter in his book ( The Heart Is Noble ) to gender and the Buddhist argument for feminism and gender equality. I think, now, with the third-wave feminism that gave rise to new subjectivities (i.e. intersectionality) by the LGBTQ community, indigenous/refugee women, and women of color, fits right into the discussion of Tibetan feminism.



What would you like to see for Tibetans and feminists in, say, 2026?

A global shift in norms, where gender/race/class disparities are discussed and addressed as necessarily intersectional issues and tackled collectively by the global community.

Tenzin Pelkyi is a writer, activist, and law student. She is the chair of the board of the Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) and is also a founder/editor of the Tibetan Feminist Collective. She writes and speaks regularly about Tibet, Asian American advocacy, reproductive rights, and racial justice. Tenzin Pelkyi is a writer, activist, and law student. She is the chair of the board of the Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) and is also a founder/editor of the Tibetan Feminist Collective. She writes and speaks regularly about Tibet, Asian American advocacy, reproductive rights, and racial justice.
Tonight I attended a gathering of Catholic businessmen and women in Savannah. After a delicious dinner, the speaker was introduced. She was a simply dressed woman, with black hair, and a sweet smile. When she began to speak, she spoke softly, yet with great conviction. At first, she was tied to her prepared text, but she quickly relaxed and relied less on it. I had not picked up her name when she was introduced, but I knew that she would speak about forgiveness. Her son had been killed some years ago, and she was going to share with us about her personal journey of forgiveness. She spoke about her two sons, Christopher and Brian, who were very close to each other as they grew up in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Her eyes sparkled with the joy and pride of a loving mother. These two boys, born nineteen months apart, were inseparable and devoted Catholics.

Suddenly it hit me unexpectedly when she said, after high school, Christopher went to a university about two hours away from home a university that sits on top of a hill. I could feel the neurons in my brain connecting dots. This woman was the mother of Brian Muha, a student of my alma mater who was brutally murdered two years before I transferred to Franciscan University of Steubenville.

During my time at Steubenville, everyone knew that Brian Muha and Aaron Land had been senselessly murdered in May of 1999. The upperclassmen remembered the murder. Two drugged young men entered Brian and Aarons off-campus apartment early one morning, dragged them out, drove them to Pennsylvania, and shot them both on a hill off Highway 22. Rachel Muhas telling of this devastating story was humbling and enlightening. I was humbled by her great courage. Though visibly painful for her, she told the story knowing that by telling it, the lives of others will be transformed. Tears streamed down her cheeks, tears that spoke of unspeakable loss. This woman had the courage to cry in public as she shared with us her deepest wound. I was also enlightened by her presentation. Her practice of forgiveness is truly admirable. Hearing her speak of her decision to forgive the men who murdered her son revealed her magnanimous soul. Rachel Muha is a woman who could understandably harbor deep hatred for the murderers, yet she has chosen, with Gods grace, to forgive. She has not absolved the men of their crime, but she has forgiven them by wishing them good things, in particular, wishing them the greatest good, which is eternal life with Jesus Christ.

Rachel stated that we are by grace what God is by nature. It is only through Gods grace that we are able to forgive those who have harmed us, and by doing so, we are liberated from anger, hatred, and frustration. To forgive is our choice. It is through forgiveness that evil loses and God is victorious.

I approached her afterwards and gave her a hug. I thanked her for sharing her story.

Ten years ago Rachel founded the Run the Race Club, a program that reaches out to young people in the Columbus, Ohio area, especially inner-city kids, so that they may grow in virtue and develop attitudes that will help them grow towards happiness. She hopes that this way, children who would otherwise grow up to be like her sons murderers, will have an opportunity to be productive members of society. This is truly admirable. Not only has she forgiven those who took her son away from her, but she is actively healing the root from where the two murderers came. She is providing for inner-city youth what her sons murderers lacked when they were growing up, love and attention. She may not be able to revive Brian (though she knows with certainty that she will see him again), but she can help by doing what she can to avoid a future senseless murder. What an admirable soul. We can all learn so much from her, a woman of true forgiveness.

These are my own photos, all rights reserved.
Let me start with a word of background. Saeed Abedini converted from Islam to Christianity in 2000. In 2002 Saeed met Naghmeh, an American citizen who grew up in Boise, and together they became active in the Iranian house church movement. They married in 2004 and left for the U.S. when the Iranian government cracked down on this movement in 2005. When Saeed returned to Iran to visit family in 2009, he was detained by authorities and forced to sign a pledge to forgo any house church activities. At this time, he was told that he could return to the country to engage in non-sectarian humanitarian activities.

Saeed gained dual citizenship in 2010, becoming an American citizen. In 2012, while in Iran to work on an orphanage, Saeed was arrested, tried, and given an eight-year prison sentence for his involvement in the house church movement. For the next three years, Naghmeh worked tirelessly to free Saeed, holding gathers of supporters and meeting with political leaders. Her drive was unshakeable. But then, this past November, something unexpected happened.

In November, Naghmeh announced that she was taking a step back from her activism to focus on herself and her two children. In emails to her supporters she mentioned, for the first time, the abuse that she had suffered at Saeeds hands since their early marriage. According to a November 12th Christianity Today article:

In two emails to supporters, Abedini revealed details of her troubled marriage to Saeed Abedini, an American citizen and pastor imprisoned in Iran since September 2012. Those troubles include physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse (through Saeeds addiction to pornography), she wrote. The abuse started early in their marriage and has worsened during Saeeds imprisonment, she said. The two are able to speak by phone and Skype. Touring the country to advocate for Saeeds release while coping with marital conflict proved too much, she wrote. She told supporters shes withdrawing from public life for a time of prayer and rest. It is very serious stuff and I cannot live a lie anymore, she wrote. So, I have decided to take a break from everything and seek the Lord on how to move forward.

In a statement released on November 13, Naghmeh expressed some regret:

I regret having sent the emails, she said in a statement released Nov. 13 through the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). I was under great psychological and emotional distress. I am now taking time off [from public advocacy for her husbands release] to heal and to rest and to spend much needed time with my kids. . . . I would appreciate for those who care about Saeed and our family to give us time for rest and healing and to respect our privacy, Abedini said through the ACLJ. I will continue to pray for my husbands release and advocate for him as he suffers in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith. I would also ask others to join me in continuing to pray for his release.

That Naghmeh later regretted her emails isnt surprising. Many people questioned her decision to go public with her allegations of abuse, given that Saeed was still in prison in Iran at the time, expressing concern that efforts to free Saeed might be hurt by her revelations. Naghmeh was in a very tricky situationshe was expected to show unqualified support her husband through his unjust imprisonment, even as he continued to abuse her.

After a year of negotiations, President Obama arranged a prisoner exchange and Saeed was released from prison on January 16, 2016. Naghmehs years of tireless advocacy had paid off, and Saeed was coming home. But this also meant Saeed was returning to a wife who had only months before revealed his abuse to their supporters. Naghmeh initially expressed optimism about the future of their relationship:

Please pray for us as we will be spending weeks or possibly months healing as a family and going through counseling. I am thankful for Franklin Graham for coming along side our family through these next steps of the difficult journey ahead, she said. I am believing in a miracle for our marriage. We need your prayers more than ever. The enemy wants to bring division and destruction. Please pray that we can heal and move forward united as a family, Naghmeh continued.

But this initial optimism soon faded. On January 27th, less than a week after Saeed set foot on American soil, Naghmeh released this statement on her Facebook page:

Dearest Friends, Saeed landed in Boise yesterday and had a wonderful reunion with the children. They will be spending more and more time together in the coming days. I am so happy for this long waited reunion and for the joy that I see in my children and in Saeed. Nothing can make me happier than seeing those whom I love be happy and free from the pain that they had been under for the last 3.5 years. I am so thankful for the thousands of people who have responded to my pleas and helped work toward Saeeds release. His imprisonment was unjust, and was an extremely difficult ordeal for him and all of us who sought for his release. I worked tirelessly night and day toward that end for three-and-a-half years. Nothing has made me happier than seeing Saeed freed from his chains and in American soil. Thank you for all of you who stood with us and made this happen. I do deeply regret that I hid from the public the abuse that I have lived with for most of our marriage and I ask your forgiveness. I sincerely had hoped that this horrible situation Saeed has had to go through would bring about the spiritual change needed in both of us to bring healing to our marriage. Tragically, the opposite has occurred. Three months ago Saeed told me things he demanded I must do to promote him in the eyes of the public that I simply could not do any longer. He threatened that if I did not the results would be the end of our marriage and the resulting pain this would bring to our children. I long more than anyone for reconciliation for our family and to be united as a family. Since Saeeds freedom I have wanted nothing more than to run to him and welcome him home It is something I dreamed about the last 3.5 years. But unfortunately things did not work out that way and our family has to work through reconciliation. I want our reconciliation to be strictly based on Gods Word. I want us to go through counseling, which must first deal with the abuse. Then we can deal with the changes my husband and I must both make moving forward in the process of healing our marriage. In very difficult situations sometimes you have to establish boundaries while you work toward healing. I have taken temporary legal action to make sure our children will stay in Idaho until this situation has been resolved. I love my husband, but as some might understand, there are times when love must stop enabling something that has become a growing cancer. We cannot go on the way it has been. I hope and pray our marriage can be healed. I believe in a God who freed Saeed from the worst prisons can hear our plea and bring spiritual freedom. I love you all. God will see us through. Thank you for your prayers and support. We need them more than ever. Love Naghmeh

Many people asked why Naghmeh stepped back from her public activism for her husbands release when she did, and why she mentioned her husbands abuse then and not earlier. This statement makes it clear that something happened in October that changed things for Naghmeh.

Three months ago Saeed told me things he demanded I must do to promote him in the eyes of the public that I simply could not do any longer. He threatened that if I did not the results would be the end of our marriage and the resulting pain this would bring to our children.

This explains why Naghmeh stepped back from public activism for Saeeds release when she did. It also becomes clear that Saeed has demonstrated to Naghmeh since his release that he has not changed.

According to the Washington Post:

Naghmeh filed for a legal separation in Boise on Jan. 26, five days after her husband was freed in a prisoner deal that included The Washington Posts Jason Rezaian. A legal separation agreement would govern custody of the couples children while the Abedinis live apart. Naghmeh also filed for a temporary restraining order to keep her children in Idaho while she and her husband work on their future. At issue are allegations of physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, which Naghmeh says she endured for most of her married life.

On January 28, Franklin Graham posted this on his Facebook page:

I was one of millions of people around the world praying for the release of Saeed Abedini, the American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith. It was an honor to finally be able to meet him last week. This young men has spent 3 1/2 years of his life in jail for his faith, where he was beaten and tortured. While we rejoice at his new freedom, we now lift him and his wife Naghmeh to the Lord for healing in their marriage. Other than God, no one knows the details and the truth of what has happened between Saeed and Naghmeh except them. Theres an old saying that there are at least two sides to every story. I can tell one thing for surenot everything that has been reported in the media is true. As a minister of the Gospel, I have tried to be a friend to both and to assist them in getting Saeed home and in getting access to any help that they may need. Clearly, there is a great need for prayer for their relationship and their family. God has answered prayer by bringing about Saeeds release from prison, and now, Satan would like nothing more than to continue to destroy their lives. It is my prayer that this will not happen.

Franklin says that there are at least two sides to every story, that he knows for a fact that not everything that has been reported is true (despite the fact that he only just met Saeed for the first time), and that other than God, no one knows the details or the truth of what has happened between Saeed and Naghmeh except them. In other words, Franklin goes to great lengths to undercut Naghmehs narrative.

But Naghmeh has something other women in her position generally dont have:

In 2007, Saeed pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault in Ada County Magistrate Court. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which was suspended, and placed on probation for a year, according to online Idaho court records. The case file was not immediately available for review.

What is involved in misdemeanor domestic assault, exactly? Lets look.

18-918. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

(3) (a) A household member who commits an assault, as defined in section 18-901, Idaho Code, against another household member which does not result in traumatic injury is guilty of a misdemeanor domestic assault. 18-901. ASSAULT DEFINED. An assault is:

(a) An unlawful attempt, coupled with apparent ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another; or

(b) An intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.

That sounds pretty seriousespecially given the 90 day jail sentence Saeed was given. When a woman accuses a man who has pled guilty to domestic violence in the past of abuse, you would think people would listen. I mean gracious, people should listen even without this, but the man pled guilty to either attempting to violently injure Naghmeh or threatening to violently injure Naghmeh, while creating reasonable fear that he would follow through. How do you look at that and then jump to talking about how there are two sides to every story and no one knows the details or the truth of what has happened? Its becoming quite clear that evangelicals problems with dealing with abuse are even worse than I had thought.

But what about Saeed? How has he responded to Naghmehs statements? Like this:

1. Our marriage is under great stress and I am hoping and praying for healing and restoration. 2. I love my wife and want Gods will for both of our lives. 3. I am a sinner, saved only by the wonderful grace of God. While I am far from perfectas a man or as a husband, I am seeking every day to submit to God as He molds me into what He wants me to be. 4. Much of what I have read in Naghmehs posts and subsequent media reports is not true. But I believe we should work on our relationship in private and not on social media or other media. Naghmeh wrote this week, We are taking personal time to work on very serious personal issues. I intend to do this hard work in private. 5. The God I serve today is the same God I served while being interrogated and beaten in some of the harshest prison conditions in the world and He is capable of restoring a marriage that has withstood unbelievable pressure. I ask for prayer for another victory.

I grieve for the position in which Naghmeh now finds herself. Franklin Graham, perhaps the most prominent public evangelical figure of our era, has stated publicly that there are two sides to the story, and her husband, Saeed, has publicly accused her of lying. Meanwhile, both of them have positioned the restoration of the couples marriage as a victory from God and the destruction of their marriage as a victory for Satan. In other words, if Naghmeh decides to make the separation permanent, she will have allowed Satan to win. Think, for a moment, about the impossible position in which that puts Naghmeh.

Theres something else to note in Saeeds positioning as well. Evangelical women typically lose any hope they might have for their communitys support in leaving an abusive husband when that husband professes to be actively working to listen to and submit to God. As long as her husband says he is working on his relationship with God and that he wants to fix the marriage, an evangelical woman will typically be seen as the one destroying a marriage if she leaves, even if her husband is actively abusing her. Saeed has positioned himself as the reasonable one, the one listening to God and dedicated to restoring his marriage. This perfectly positions Naghmeh as the unreasonable one, the one willing to flee in the face of Gods efforts at restoration and destroy a marriage.

On a related note, I keep seeing people talking about the Naghmeh and Saeeds marriage troubles. Thats a rather fancy way of saying Saeed is abusive and Naghmeh is trying to decide whether to stay and hope against all history that things will change or whether to leave and create a new life with her children. By discussing it as marriage troubles, the responsibility for fixing their marriage is placed on both Naghmeh and Saeed. Oh, and can we talk about that term, fixing their marriage? Their marriage doesnt need fixing, Saeed needs fixing. And given how long his abuse of Naghmeh has been going on, and the fact that he has apparently shown enough red flags right out of prison that Naghmeh felt the need to file an order to prevent him from taking the children out of the state, it looks like thats not happening.

Finally, I made the mistake of reading comments on Facebook and you know what? A whole bunch of people are upset with Naghmeh for making her husband look bad. Thats just lovelyand its something I imagine pastors wives feel more keenly than other evangelical women. Coming forward about your abuse will damage your husbands ministry. Why cant you just keep quiet and let the Lord do his work? I cant even imagine the pressure these women must feel. Frankly, the wonder is not that Naghmeh kept quiet for so long but rather that she had the courage to come forward about her abuse at alland we should all be asking what that means for other evangelical women in abusive marriages.

[Addendum: As a reader pointed out, evangelicals ought to be praising Naghmeh for working so hard to free Saeedher abuserfrom an unjust imprisonment. She could have just written him off when he was imprisoned, but instead she worked to see him freed. Imprisoning someone based on their faith is utterly abhorrent regardless of their other actions. Its unfortunate that society didnt afford her the room to be both open about the abuse she suffered at Saeeds hands and adamant that Saeeds eight-year prison sentence for attempting to spread his faith was unjust.]
As always when I comment on politics be clear that I am making observations. I am not endorsing any candidate and I am not telling anyone who they should vote for.

Sanders says he is a Socialist, and Catholic social teaching condemns socialism right?

Pope Leo XIII most famously condemned socialism in Rerum Novarum, and Pope Pius IX wrote

You are aware indeed, that the goal of this most iniquitous plot is to drive people to overthrow the entire order of human affairs and to draw them over to the wicked theories of this Socialism and Communism, by confusing them with perverted teachings.

Therefore you cant vote for Bernie Sanders.

Unfortunately its not quite as simple as that. There are different forms of socialism.

Totalitarian socialism is the sort we associate with communism, forced state ownership of all capital and oppressive state control, and it was this form of socialism leading to communism which the popes condemned so soundly.

On the other hand, Democratic socialism (which is what Sanders espouses) seeks to counter the abuses of unfettered capitalism through state regulation on behalf of the people. It aims to use democratic means to accomplish its goals and claims therefore to truly be government of the people, by the people and for the people.

In this excellent essay on the history of Europe Pope Benedict XVI clarifies the difference between these two forms of socialism and recognizes the benefits of democratic socialism.

But in Europe, in the nineteenth century, the two models were joined by a third, socialism, which quickly split into two different branches, one totalitarian and the other democratic. Democratic socialism managed to fit within the two existing models as a welcome counterweight to the radical liberal positions, which it developed and corrected. It also managed to appeal to various denominations. In England it became the political party of the Catholics, who had never felt at home among either the Protestant conservatives or the liberals. In Wilhelmine Germany, too, Catholic groups felt closer to democratic socialism than to the rigidly Prussian and Protestant conservative forces. In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has in any case made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness. The totalitarian model, by contrast, was associated with a rigidly materialistic, atheistic philosophy of history: It saw history deterministically, as a road of progress that passes first through the religious and then through the liberal phase to arrive at an absolute, ultimate society in which religion is surpassed as a relic of the past and collective happiness is guaranteed by the workings of material conditions.

While Benedict sees the good things in democratic socialism he also warns against any state that assumes too much control. In Deus Caritas Est he writes,

The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person  every person  needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need. 

No economic system is perfect and no single economic system can be said to be Catholic but it would not be inconsistent for a Catholic to vote for a Democratic Socialist. Indeed, the reason so many Catholics voted for the Democratic party over the years was because they perceived the Democrats to be the party of the poor, the marginalized, the workers and the little guy.

The other big issues for Catholics are abortion and the defense of marriage. Unfortunately, Bernie Sanders toes the Democratic party line and supports Planned Parenthood, liberal abortion laws, same sex marriage and the whole liberal agenda on marriage and gender.

One therefore has to look at the options: could you vote for a candidate because you favor his stance on economics while you hold your nose over his position on family and life matters?

Continue Reading

Image Creative Commons
Patna: Nearly a week after he pumped four bullets in Shrishti Jain of Indore killing her on the spot, Rajnish Kumar Singh was captured by the Patna police on Tuesday from Kankarbagh area where he was going to meet his wife before allegedly surrendering at a police station.

Shrishti was gunned down by Rajnish on January 25, two days after she arrived in Patna reportedly to meet the family members of her killer for a possible matrimonial relationship not knowing the man whom she met on Shadi.Com and who sent her an airplane ticket to come to Patna was already married and was the father of two children.

During his grilling, the killer said that he was enraged by Shrishti's attempt to blackmail him and start seeing another man just a day after he sent her plane ticket to come to Patna.

"Shrishtri was running a scam of trapping men like me on matrimonial sites and social media. Once she would trap her victim, she would demand money, jewelries, and other expensive items from them. She pulled the same trick on me and when I asked her to return my money, she threatened to blackmail me. Even her family members were part of this scam. I know my life is finished now but I have saved the lives of many others," Rajnish said adding he dumped his revolver and the motorcycle used in the commission of crime in the Ganges.

After killing Shrishti, Rajnish spent the next few days in Hajipur, Raghopur, and Sonepur at his relatives' houses before deciding to come back to Patna to meet his wife in Kankarbagh on Tuesday morning. Aware of his possible return to Kankarbagh, police were waiting in hiding and as soon as Rajnish showed up at his wife's home, authorities nabbed him around 11:20 am without any incident, DIG Shalin said.

As reported, Rajnish was married to one Kiran Singh in 2003. He also has two children but he was always attracted towards city girls who were educated, were fluent in English, and had a modern outlook.
Patna: After years of building up the hype of introducing a metro railway transit system in Patna to ease the traffic problem of the state capital, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, at a public rally in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, said that he would not allow the metro system to come to Patna if it meant the destruction of the historical value and heritage of the city.

"Patna, previously known as Pataliputra, has a history that goes back thousands of years. I will not allow metro train to come to Patna until some new technique is used to save the historical value of the ancient city," Kumar said.

Interestingly, the Nitish government, less than two months ago on December 22, had given his nod to the Patna Metro Rail Project and had asked Maheshwar Hazari, the Urban Development Minister, to send the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Central government for its clearance.

The DPR was submitted by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) in 2014 with an estimated cost of Rs. 14,000 crore to build the metro transit system.

In other backtracking by the state government, the Chief Minister, nearly six months after barring anyone to contest in Panchayat elections if they did not meet the minimum requirement of having at least one indoor toilet at their home, reversed his decision saying the rule was too tough on poor people who wished to contest in the upcoming Panchayat polls.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday attended by Kumar and other senior ministers.

"Considering there are many qualified people who happen to be very poor, this requirement is being waived for the March-April Panchayat elections in Bihar, said an official.

As reported, in order to stop human defecation in open fields, the state government had passed an amendment to the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act of 2006 last August preventing anyone from contesting the election if the candidate did not have at least one indoor bathroom in their home by January 1, 2016.

With the January 1 deadline already gone with no substantial improvement in the problem of open defecation, the Chief Minister decided to repeal the amendment.
By Der Kosmonaut

At BU the racial and class tensions between me and my colleagues became quite acute. I came from an Upper Middle Class background and had for the most part been in racially integrated settings. I used to socialize with children of the wealthy. When I was teenager, I used to go on week long camping trips with the elite children of the Northeastern United States. The tensions were more mundane. I was from the city. The others were from the affluent suburbs of New York and Philadelphia. They hailed from all white insular suburbs and were preppies. Still, I got on with all of them quite well and had managed to develop good friendships.

At first the tensions with my university colleagues were regional. As I've explained, New York City was a separate country from the rest of the United States. Even then, New York is still the de-facto capital of the Northeast. The city straddles midway between Boston and Washington, DC. Geographically New York City is the northern border of the Mid-Atlantic states. Northeast of the city along the coast begins New England. The Northeast is oldest part of European settlement in the United States. Though the various colonies, which became states, were settled by different groups for various reasons, they more or less had the same pace and level of development. New England was mostly settled by the Puritans. New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were settled by the Dutch. Maryland was settled by the Irish. Maryland is exceptional in so far as that it was first Roman Catholic settlement in the United States while the New England and the Mid-Atlantic were settled by Protestants. The Northeast was the center of the Industrial Revolution in the USA. So despite the differences in the development and origins of the states and areas of the Northeast, they were not major. Taking an Amtrak railway tour between Boston and Washington, DC, one would notice many similar characteristics of the different cities. In my novel The King of the Woods , I described Baltimore has the Sixth Borough of New York. In the same novel, I described Philadelphia as being like New York in an alternate dimension. Others have noted very strong similarities between Philadelphia and Boston. New Jersey is just one giant suburb of New York City and Philadelphia. The southwestern portion of Connecticut is also suburban New York. Boston is the most unique of the Northeastern cities but even it was in many ways the original template for New York City. Boston was the first metropolis of the United States. It also has the oldest subway system in North America. Indeed, the Philadelphia subway originally was identical to the Boston T.

Then there is the dialect. From New Jersey up to Maine the Northeast speaks a dialect known linguistically as

non-rhotic English accent. This means that the sound of the letter R is dropped. Within the Northeast there are various degrees of non-rhotic accent. Natives of New Jersey pronounce it New Joisey. New Yorkers pronounce the city and state as New Yawk. The most (in)famous is the New England non-rhotic popularly known as the Boston accent. There the letter R is pronounced as the short form of H. Harvard becomes Hahvahd. Car becomes cah. Park becomes Pahk. For example: Why did ya pahk the cah so fah from da bah?

TH sound of English. In New York and to a lesser extent in Boston, TH is replaced by D. A resident of a Middle Class high rise apartment in Manhattan will say that they live on the Dirtieth floor. Likewise a resident of a similar working class high rise in the borough of Queens will say that they live on the Doitieth floor. Of course, there is rapid fire pace of the spoken language. New Yorkers are renowned for their hectic pace of their speech. For a good example of the Northeastern American accent, please listen to One will also notice that Northeasterners have difficulty pronouncing thesound of English. In New York and to a lesser extent in Boston,is replaced by. A resident of a Middle Class high rise apartment in Manhattan will say that they live on the Dirtieth floor. Likewise a resident of a similar working class high rise in the borough of Queens will say that they live on the Doitieth floor. Of course, there is rapid fire pace of the spoken language. New Yorkers are renowned for their hectic pace of their speech. For a good example of the Northeastern American accent, please listen to Danny Simmons , the late great announcer at New York's Penn Station rail terminal.

The point that I'm trying to convey is that the Northeast is itself a country that is distinct from the rest of the United States. To this day I can easily relate with others from the Northeast. Whether they hail from Washington, DC or Boston, there is a shared history and culture, which in turn creates a shared sensibility. South of Washington, DC and west of the Appalachian mountains lies the United States of America. As far as I'm concerned not only are the regions outside of the Northeast foreign lands, they are hostile.

Saturday Night Live had a recurring skit As I was the only Black student and native New Yorker in my History and Education program, I stood out from the rest. At the time the television comedy programhad a recurring skit "Coffee Talk with Paul Baldwin" played by the actor Mike Myers. It was a parody of the New York accent. For my colleagues I was the living embodiment of the skit. Indeed I used to have a deep New York accent which was the source of amusement and mirth for the other students. They used to come up to me and ask me to say certain words.

"Hey K say water!"

"Wawder" would be my reply. This was followed by guffaws from the students

"Say quarter!"

"Qwauder" would be my reply. Giggles galore would follow.

Of my few regrets in life, I'm sorry that I lost my New York accent. I still have remnants of it which comes out from time to time, especially when I say "New Yawk", but for the most part it's gone. I decided to clean up my English, but in the process I affected a strange accent which sounded almost Northern English. I was a huge Morrissey fan at the time and most likely I had unconsciously tried to sound like him. As I traveled abroad, my accent changed for various reasons. The main reason was that I wanted to be properly understood. Later on, I incorporated the many accents and dialects from my travels. Today I have a curious mixture of New York, Boston, Montreal, Vienna and Newfoundland in my vocal intonations. Sadly, the New York, like many accents worldwide, is nearly dead. Today one would be hard pressed to hear a genuine New York accent on the streets of Manhattan.

I didn't make many friends at BU. I simply didn't like most of the other students. They were politically conservative and socially reactionary. Their values didn't align with mine. At the time I was a textbook Upper West Side Manhattan Liberal. In other words, I was a Liberal Democrat in the line of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mario Cuomo. I hadn't become a political revolutionary but that was to come soon enough.

My biggest disappointment with BU was the lack of a healthy intellectual climate. One of the reasons why I couldn't wait to finish High School was that I believed that I would be in a serious and sober learning environment. I was fed up with foolishness and stupidity. Apart from reading, writing, arithmetic and history, I didn't learn anything in Grade School. For the most part, school was a waste of time. I had assumed that since I was going to Boston University, I would be in an academically elite setting. I was looking forward to debates and discussions about history, philosophy, politics. Alas, what I found instead was High School part two minus the rules and regulations. My first year there was only one other student who had any intellectual curiosity. Unsurprisingly she hailed from New Paltz which is located approximately 123 KM north of New York City.

Disappointment aside, what really astonished me was the abject ignorance and stupidity among the other students. I quickly learnt that Boston University was the dumping ground for rich kids that couldn't get into any decent universities. They were so uneducated that, even though their parents attended Ivy League schools, their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were so abysmal that their "legacy" status wasn't enough to get them into Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc. The reason being that the Ivy League schools prestige rely on the average (SAT) scores. Allowing these children in would risk the schools' ratings. Boston University had a special remedial college known at the time as the College of Basic Studies (CBS). It turned out that Boston University was the only university to take in the rich kids who couldn't even make it into the public State and City universities and colleges. At best, they might have qualified for Community College, but that was questionable. Since these students had rich parents, it was simply a matter of social standing that their children attended a proper university. While the other parents could boast of sending their kids to Ivy League schools, BU offered a social lifeline to these families. Hence parents could boast that their children attended Boston University, even though in reality, they were in the remedial courses.

The College of Basic Studies (CBS) was, in the final analysis, the school for rich dumb kids. It was the butt of all jokes. The initials CBS had many uses. "Coloring Book School", "Cute But Stupid", "College of Bart Simpson" "Couldn't Bribe Silber" (in reference to then Boston University president John Silber, who I will get to later.) When I lived in the West Campus dorms next to CBS I was surrounded by rich morons. Rich kids are obnoxious enough but combined with ignorance and stupidity, they became unbearable. To put it in a contemporary context, it was like being surrounded by thousands of young Donald Trumps. There is a widespread notion in the United States that rich people are smart. Many mistakenly believe that the rich made their fortunes solely from their brilliance. The writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. touched upon this in his novel Slaughterhouse Five. Describing Americans glorification of ignorance and wealth, Vonnegut describes the typical American thinking using the quote: "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?"

As horrible as the College of Bart Simpson students were, it wasn't anything compared to the School of Management (SMG) students. SMG students were the majority of all undergraduates at BU. For the duration of the time that I lived in the campus dorms, I had always been assigned SMG roommates. These students came from all over the country, and in some cases from abroad, were petite-

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bourgeois through and through. They had a single minded focus which was to become filthy rich and to retire by the age of Thirty-Five. These were the contemporary 1% in training. Actually there were probably the top 10% for they attended BU rather than Harvard Business School. They had no interest in expanding their minds. They were bereft of intellectual curiosity and devoid of any creative or cultural pursuits nor were they in the least interested in anything which broadened their horizons. Unlike many of my fellow Manhattanites, they weren't even superficially cultured. Black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers from the ghettos of The Bronx and Brooklyn had more culture and intellect than these rich whites from the suburbs of Middle America.As for myself, I had attended the School of Education (SED) in the Social Studies Secondary School Education program. After it was impossible for me to attend flight school due to my poor mathematical abilities, (I am the first one to admit my imbecility when it comes to mathematics and natural sciences.) I settled on a career path to become a High School History teacher. For my SMG roommates, my choice was as foolish as it was incomprehensible. What was the matter with me? Didn't I want to make money and get rich? Keep in mind that this was during the peak of the Reagan-Bush era. During the first half of Sophomore year I walked along campus with my two SMG roommates. When we passed by SED, the two of them made a joke:"Do you know what that is?" The first asked the second."Yes it's the School of Education. That's where Kosmonaut goes.""No," replied the first. "It's a bad investment."Hence I was surrounded in a sea capitalist degeneration. Think about it. I wanted to teach future generations about history. Furthermore, I wanted to be an educator. I wanted to impart knowledge to others. For these capitalistic degenerates, that was nothing more than a "bad investment". Wretched! The backgrounds of my SMG roommates is worth describing. The one with whom I had shared the same bedroom was the son of a US Air Force Major and hailed from Fairfax, Virginia. The other whom had his own bedroom in the apartment was the son of a Philadelphia corporate attorney and hailed from Cherry Hill, NJ. That was already too much for me to handle but it got worse, much worse. Our neighbor in the next dorm to us was the son of the then president of Costa Rica and was also a SMG student. He was not only a rich swine but he was an arrogant scion of the wretched Latin American Comprador class. In his room hung a picture of he, his father, mother and siblings posing with Barbara Bush, the former First Lady and mother of George W. Bush. As soon as I saw that photo, I knew that I was breathing the same air as my enemy. I hated George H.W. Bush, especially after his viciously racist campaign he used to win the presidency in 1988. It was known throughout Black America that Bush was the number one political enemy of the race. Whenever girls would visit the Costa Rican, he would show that photograph and tell them that Barbara Bush was his grandmother. (I was hardly surprised years later when I was informed that Costa Rica has a rigid racial segregation system in place.)The Costa Rican president's son loved to show off his wealth. Even though he was just Seventeen, he has obtained a dozen counterfeit identification cards which he was given through the Costa Rican consulate in Boston. One night we went to the liquor store to buy booze. When the clerk asked for identification, the Costa Rican through six counterfeit cards on the table: "You want to see my ID? Here! You want to see more? Just ask!"On another occasion he decided that he wanted a car. He went to Costa Rican consulate and picked up a briefcase of $20,000 cash. He then went to a car dealer and bought a brand new white BMW. My class resentment against he and the others churned and slowly burned.As I had written earlier, I was used to being around affluent whites. However, there's a big difference between the affluent whites on Manhattan's Upper East Side from those elsewhere. While there was plenty of racist whites in New York City, they were different from these Middle America whites that I was surrounded by. I must go into some detail for the reader to understand.Given the geographically dense nature of New York City (more so then than now) all social classes had to rub elbows with one another. Even though most of the city was racially and economically segregated, everyone was forced to interact with each other one way or another. Everyone takes public transit to get from one end of the city to the other. Only a tiny elite are driven around by limousine. Even those that do, their children don't. All kids rich or poor, whether they're Black, Latino or white must use the subway and buses to get to and from school. Even the rich white kids that go to the elite prep schools must take public transportation like everyone else. I can say with a certainty that even Donald Trump as a youth had to schlep to school on the subway like everyone else. That was the uniqueness about New York City at the time. Your skin color and bank balance counted for very little in the daily routine. Even the top executives on Wall Street had to ride the same elevators as the lowly receptionists. Whether you made a six figure salary or made minimum wage, you had to stand in overcrowded subway trains as everyone else. Your wardrobe didn't entitle you to reserved seating on the subway or buses. Seats were first come and first served. If an empty seat appeared, it was those with the fastest feet that sat down. There was an old saying that came from the subway: Move your feet, lose your seat.Given this reality of social dynamics white wealthy New Yorkers had to develop a natural tolerance for those different than they. This, I may add, included the suburbanites from Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey. Sure they were part of the white flight that fled the city centres following the Second World War in order not to live next to Blacks. Still, they too had take their commuter trains to Grand Central and Penn Station and from there take the subway along with everyone else. Even though many were racist and classist, it was checked by reality each and every working day.This wasn't the case with the rich whites that I had encountered at Boston University. All their lives, they had inhabited completely lily white worlds. Their parents drove directly to work from the suburbs. They had never had any sort of interaction with Blacks or those from the lower classes. If they did, it was most likely that their maid or cleaner was a person of color. Given their class and racial insularity, many of them hadn't a clue about everyday reality. They were, in short, out to lunch. They had a mentality and outlook which was alien and the antithesis to what I was used to. In essence, I had encountered White America for the first time. Not only did I dislike them but thanks to them I would come to hate everything they represented, namely capitalism.It was at Boston University where I got to meet the children of the American ruling class. I slept with them (yes I do mean sex as well as sleeping in close quarters). I ate with them. I studied with them. I socialized with them. I got to see know them upfront and personal. American capitalists were real to me. They weren't some abstract caricatures like the Monopoly game board character . Nor were they one dimensional personas on TV like Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Unlike many of those that protested with Occupy Wall Street, I actually know the children of the ruling class intimately. My hatred for the capitalist class is personal. I not only disapprove of what they do and represent but I despise them personally.It didn't take long for my resentment to erupt. Not only against my roommates and the Costa Rican president's son but against nearly every student at BU. I became bitter and surly. I lashed out. I cursed out my roommates. I insulted the vast majority of the residents in the building. After more than a decade of daring authorities to take drastic measures, they finally did it. I was ejected and banned from that dorm.Even that didn't stop me. I still regularly visited the building even after I had been officially banned.Because I was still a registered student, I still had my university ID card. The way it worked at the time was that at the bottom of the card was a space where housing stickers were placed. Each dorm building or dorm area had an alphabetical code. In order to enter into the buildings one had to show their card to a security guard. They would check the letter to verify if the student had the proper credentials to come in or not. It was quite an elaborate system which is beyond the scope of the essay. When I was ejected from the dorm, the building code was removed. Of course I found a way around it. I had a personal connection within the university housing office. I asked that person if they could get me another residence sticker. They asked me if there was any in particular. I didn't want to get the same one for the building as that would be obvious and I didn't want that person to lose their job or worse. I told them to give me another sticker which would allow me access to all dorms between the hours of 6AM and 1AM. (The dining halls were open during those hours and the ID cards doubled as meal cards. All the dining halls were located within various dorm buildings.) At one point I ran into the director of the building in the dining hall. He was the one who had me banned. He was quite surprised to see me within a week of my banishment. I smiled and waved at him, knowing that I once again I pulled one over another authority figure.This had worked for a couple of months until the Resident Assistant (RA) from the floor which I had lived on caught on to me. When he wasn't doing RA duties, he had a work study job doing security for the largest dorm complex on campus. When I went into that particular dorm to visit a friend of mine, he stopped and questioned me. I invented a piece of fiction saying that I was able to move into another student residence. He seemed to believe me at first but of course he had to check my story. The next time he saw me I was on my way out and he called out:"Hey K! Wait a minute. I investigated you! You don't live anywhere on campus. I'm going to have to take your card."After I attempted to add a weak epilogue to my fiction, he wasn't buying it."I know that's not true. I need to have your card now!"Knowing that the jig was up, I bolted. He yelled after me to come back. He wasn't allowed to leave the booth since he needed to inspect the steady endless steam of students coming in. It was another battle with authority and once again I bested it.To be continued....
Iran's 'Sormeh' Wins Award At Italian Film Festival

02/03/16

Source: Mehr News Agency

Sormeh, a short fiction movie directed by Iranian filmmaker Azadeh Ghochagh has won the Best Film Award in the main section of the Italian short film festival 'Dieciminuti'. Ghochagh's production had competed with other movies from France, the UK, Finland, Bahrain, the US, Italy and Norway.





The flick narrates the story of a married woman ready to leave the flat for a friend's marriage ceremony in the midst of 1979 uprisings, but gets stuck on her way out of the building with a runaway rebel.

Sormeh was previously screened at Germany's Exground Film Festival as well as the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival. It managed to win the 3rd prize at the 16th International Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey.

Established in 2005, Dieciminuti Film Festival has become one of the most important events in Italy dedicated to screening short films. More than 4,000 short fi lms with a total of almost 9,000 spectators attended the festival last year. The event is held in various competitive sections: Official Section (for short films up to 10 minutes), Extra Large (for short films between 11 and 15 minutes), Animations (animations for up to 10 minutes), Seen from Near (for short films from the province of Frosinone).

The 11th edition of Dieciminuti Film Festival was held on 26-60 January, 2016 in Italy.

Born in 1980, Azadeh Ghochagh graduated in film from Sooreh University. Ever since she has been actively involved in the Iranian film industry in many different fields such as a script supervisor, director, editor, 1st assistant director, production manager. Sormeh is Azadeh's latest film which have been selected in the line up of many international film festivals throughout the world.
Tehran Stock Market Hits One-Year High After Sanctions Lifted

02/03/16

Source: REF/RL

The Tehran Stock Exchange has surged to a one-year high since Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers went into effect last month. The Tehran TEDPIX index soared to 73,725 on February 2, boosted by an outpouring of foreign investment of $16.6 million in the 10 days since sanctions were lifted, Bloomberg reported.





cartoon by Alireza Pakdel, Etemad daily





It hasnt been very long since implementation, but its impact in this short period of time has been very positive, Hassan Ghalibaf Asl, the exchange's chief executive, told Bloomberg. Its also psychological. It has generated optimism about the future because the picture is clearer for investors.

Iran had hoped for an economic bonanza after the lifting of sanctions, which has allowed the Islamic republic to sell crude oil more freely and access $100 billion in assets frozen for years in overseas banks.

The exchange said daily trading has more than tripled from $40 million to $133 million since implementation of the deal, which lifted international sanctions in exchange for Iran restricting its nuclear activities.

"Since the implementation of the nuclear deal last month, the stock index has experienced 15 percent growth in terms of share turnover alone," exchange spokesman Hamid Rouhbakhsh told the Associated Press.

"The total trade value is not remarkable yet, but it is a very good indication that foreign investors are now more enthusiastic about our market than before," he added.

Tehran stockbroker Tahereh Mollaie told AP that after the nuclear deal, "everyone was a little bit doubtful, but now we can say that trust is returning to the market."

European investors have been particularly keen to resume business with Iran and invest there after years of sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rohani toured the continent last week, signing lucrative business deals in France and Italy. The Iranian government controls about 80 percent of the countrys economy.

Rohani on February 2 invited U.S. businesses to also invest in Iran and expressed hope Iran would eventually become a major auto manufacturer and exporter of manufactured goods, lessening the country's reliance on oil exports.

"If U.S. companies are willing to come and invest in Iran, to bring manufacturing to Iran, we have no problem with that," he said on Dubai state television.

"In terms of cars, we must be world class...The recent contracts signed in France involve investment in Iran and manufacturing cars inside the country, and cars will be exported," he said.

While several major multinational firms have rushed to establish a position in Iran as it reopens for business, others have held back due to perceived business risks. U.S. companies in particular have been slow to invest due to separate U.S. sanctions that remain in place.

With reporting by AP, Bloomberg, Reuters, and U.S. News & World Report

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
Families of detained Kerman mine workers upset by lack of news

02/03/16

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Twenty detained miners from the Khatoonabad Mine in Kerman, who were arrested last week for labour protests, remain in custody and have been transferred to Kerman Prison.





file photo: A coal miner in Zarand, Kerman





ILNA reported on Tuesday February 2 that there has been no announcement explaining the charges against these workers.

Families of the detainees have expressed concern for their relatives and the failure of the authorities to provide them with answers regarding their fate. They report: "Judiciary officials are set to meet with the detained workers today."

The workers were arrested last week during protests against a new test for workers that was introduced by management, resulting in a number of dismissals.
Two Dozen Iranian Baha'is Sentenced to Six to Eleven Years for Practicing Their Faith

02/03/16

Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Twenty-four Bahais from northeastern Iran have been handed down sentences that range from six to eleven years simply for being Bahais, according to Simin Fahandej, the faiths spokesperson at the United Nations in New York.

The Bahai community is one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran. The faith is not recognized in the Islamic Republics constitution and its members face severe discrimination in all walks of life and prosecution for the public display of their faith.

We dont know if they were put on trial together or individually, but based on the written verdict we received on January 27, they have each received prison sentences ranging from six to 11 years in prison, Fahandej told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

They were charged with propaganda in favor of the Bahai faith and against the Islamic Republic by being members of an illegal organization, added Fahandej, implementing [proselytizing] projects in Golestan Province and collaborating with enemy states by actively promoting sectarian, anti-Islamic and anti-Shia objectives.

You really cannot accuse people of propaganda and hand down long prison terms just because a few Bahai and non-Bahai families gathered together to talk about religion, said Fahandej .

Iranian officials have repeatedly denied prosecuting Bahais for their religious beliefs but have routinely accused members of the religious minority of crimes against national security, including espionage, on thin or non-existent evidence.

The most recent mass sentencing appears to represent a rare occasion where a judge has penned a verdict directly tying the individuals religious beliefs to his verdicts.

The 24 Bahais were arrested in the cities of Gorgan, Gonbad, and Minoodasht in northern Golestan Province.

Shahnam Jazbani and Sheyda Ghoddoosi were each sentenced to 11 years in prison; Farah Tabianian, Pouneh Sanaei, Mona Amri Hessari, Behnam Hassani, Parisa Shahidi, Mojdeh Zohoori, Parivash Shojaie, Tina Mohebati, Hana Aghighian, Shohreh Samimi, Bita Hedayati, Vosagh Sanaie, and Hana Kooshk Baghi each received nine-year prison terms.

Roufia Pakzadan, Soudabeh Mahdinejad, Mitra Nouri, Shiva Rouhani, Hooshmand Dehghan, Maryam Dehghan, Nazy Tahghighi, Camelia Bideli, and Navid Moalem were each sentenced to six years in prison.

The verdicts were issued by Judge Mohsen Ghanbari of Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province, Fahandej told the Campaign.

The judges words show that these individuals were arrested and given such long prison sentences just because of their belief in the Bahai religion, she said.

More than 80 Bahais are currently held in Iranian prisons, according to Fahandej. The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, has cited the persecution of Bahais in Iran in his annual reports.

Unfortunately, since Mr. Rouhani came to power some two years ago, many Bahais have been arrested, many Bahai cemeteries have been destroyed and Bahai youths with top grades have been denied entry into the universities only because of their faith, she said.

And now 24 Bahais have been given long prison sentences. This begs the question, who are the criminals here? The Bahais or officials who send Bahais to prison?
Defending Khomeini's grandson earns backlash for Iranian cleric

02/03/16

Source: Radio Zamaneh

After moderate cleric Hashemi Rafsanjani spoke out against the Guardian Council for disqualifying Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the late leader of the Islamic Republic, from running in the Assembly of Experts elections, conservative factions slammed Hashemi, referring to him as a "deviant and corrupt element" who should be disqualified as well.



Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani on front page of Iranian daily Jahan Eghtesad





The current Supreme Leader's representative in the Basij said Ayatollah Rafsanjani should beware that the fate of late dissident cleric Ayatollah Montazeri does not befall him.

Ayatollah Montazeri, who was at first said to be the chosen successor of the late Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader of the country, was completely sidelined and confined to house arrest until his death for refusing to go along with the late leader's decisions regarding a violent crackdown on opposition forces.







Iranian President Hassan Rohani with Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson Hassan Khomeini

(source: Iranian daily Arman)





Several Iranian media outlets, especially those linked to the Revolutionary Guards, have spoken out against Hashemi Rafsanjani and called for his disqualification.

Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted as saying the Guardian Council was not qualified to disqualify Hassan Khomeini and has called on the council to apologize to the younger Khomeini.
Farhang Foundation Announces the Winners of the 2016 Nowruz Competitions

02/03/16

Source: Farhang Foundation

Preparations for Farhang's 8th Annual Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) Celebrations at LACMA are underway as the Foundation selects the winning submissions from this year's Nowruz Multimedia Program and Nowruz Street Banner Competitions.



2016 Nowruz Banner Winning Design by Maryam Ghanbarian





LOS ANGELES, February 1, 2016 - Farhang Foundation is thrilled to announce the winners of its annual Nowruz Multimedia Program and Nowruz Street Banner Competitions.

"Each year, Farhang's Nowruz Multimedia Program and Street Banner Competitions are met with overwhelming enthusiasm by artists worldwide, and this year has been no exception! We are certainly thrilled by the quality and record-breaking number of submissions for 2016. Once again this year our beautiful banners and groundbreaking program promise to capture the heart and soul of Nowruz," said Hormoz Ameri, Farhang Foundation Trustee & Chair of Nowruz Committee.

The winner of this year's centerpiece Nowruz Multimedia Program is awarded to Mamak Khadem, named "one of the wonders of world trance music." by The Los Angeles Times. Her program, entitled Whispers of Spring, will make its world premiere during Farhang's 8th Annual Nowruz Celebration at LACMA on March 13. Whispers of Spring will be an engaging, multimedia theatrical performance that celebrates the arrival of Spring through a blend of music, dance, and film.







Mamak Khadem



"As an Iranian immigrant, for years I have dreamt of going back to my native country where Nowruz is embedded in culture and tradition. After more than 30 years, and finally being able to call Los Angeles home, I realize that the most meaningful celebration takes place in one's heart..." said Mamak Khadem. "Over the years, I've come to personally re-discover that Nowruz it is about new birth, new life, and new beginnings, pushing boundaries, striving for full potentials, and connecting to your inner power. For these reasons, I am producing this event for Farhang Foundation. Farhang has most diligently conveyed these meanings of Nowruz to the community at large, and this March, I am honored to be part of the celebrations and to do my part in expressing what I feel is the true essence of Nowruz."

Maryam Ghanbarian, an Iranian Graphic Designer from Tehran, has been selected as this year's Nowruz Banner competition winner. In March 2016, Maryam Ghanbarian's submission -- a stunning design representing elements of Nowruz, such as sabzeh (wheatgrass) and goldfish -- will be featured on street banners along prominent boulevards in Los Angeles, announcing Farhang's forthcoming 8th Annual Nowruz celebration at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) taking place on March 13, 2016.

"Nowruz is the celebration of life and its renewal rooted in a tradition that has a unique place in Iranian culture." Said Maryam Ghanbarian. "Inspired and moved by my own feelings during Nowruz, I chose the symbols that I see as the most representative elements of Nowruz for my design. Nowruz starts with the growing the wheatgrass (sabzeh) that announces the arrival of the New Year and to me the goldfish represent purity, freshness and vitality. I am happy and proud that my design has been selected by Farhang Foundation as the winner of this year's competition, and I hope that with this work I have made a contribution to introducing the beauty and richness of the Iranian culture to the world!"

Farhang Foundation's annual Nowruz Banner and Nowruz Multimedia Program Competitions were launched back in 2010 and 2011 respectively, as a prelude to Farhang's signature event, its annual Nowruz celebration at the LACMA.

Each year, Farhang Foundation, through its Nowruz Banner Competition, reaches out to a global community of artists, illustrators, and graphic designers, enlisting their talents to create and submit original designs that capture the essence of Nowruz. During the weeks leading to Farhang's annual Nowruz celebration, the winning design is featured on large street banners in prominent areas of Los Angeles announcing the event.

Likewise, through its annual Nowruz Multimedia Program competition, Farhang Foundation calls upon performers, musicians, actors, playwrights, and other talented individuals to submit proposals for performing arts pieces that epitomize the meaning of Nowruz. Every year, Farhang selects one proposal and works with the artist to produce the piece into a dynamic and immersive theatrical experience that is then performed before a live audience at LACMA's Bing Theater during Farhang's annual Nowruz event.

For a list of Nowruz banners and programs from past years, please visit Farhang.

About Mamak Khadem

Mamak Khadem captivates audiences by blending her roots in the ancient poetry and music of the Persian masters with a bold and revolutionary new sound. In music, she is open to cultural influences, but she has chosen the classical Persian style as her base. Formerly of the sensational cross-cultural fusion ensemble AXIOM OF CHOICE, Mamak weaves a canopy, both simple and rich, for a stunningly emotional and spiritual musical experience that inspires new listeners to embrace cultural diversity and an awareness and appreciation of Persian arts and culture through a blending of old and new. "The Road", Mamak's newest project, continues a journey started with her celebrated first solo album Jostojoo. Following her passion for new influences, Mamak has crossed borders from northern Iran to Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Morocco and Indonesia. Her search for common threads and powerful traditional melodies remains a driving force behind her music using elements from her Iranian heritage such as the poetry of Rumi to re-imagine a song from another culture, time and place.. For more info please mamak-khadem.com





About Maryam Ghanbarian

Maryam Ghanbarian was born in Tehran in 1987. She received her Master's degree in Graphic Design from the Department of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. Maryam is interested in combining Persian calligraphic forms and elements of nature to show the similarity and universality of both in her paintings. She has participated in several Solo and Group exhibitions including: Illuminating the Word, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, London,2015. Grand Opening of Shirazi Art Gallery, Melbourne 2015, Opera Gallery, London 2013. Les Mots Devoiles, Geneva, 2012. Solo Exhibition in Shirin Gallery Tehran, 2013 and ProArt Gallery, Dubai 2015. Her work is displayed in IAMM Museum, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She has won the award for poster design in first international festival of ECO in 2012. For more info visit maryamghanbarian.com and follow her on Instagram.





About Farhang Foundation

Farhang Foundation is a non-religious, non-political and not-for-profit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate and promote Iranian art and culture for the benefit of the community at large. The foundation supports a broad range of academic activities in Southern California by funding university programs, publications and conferences. The foundation also supports diverse cultural programs such as the celebration of Nowruz and Mehregan, theater, dance performances, film screenings and poetry reading in Southern California. And, in cooperation with various cultural and academic institutions, Farhang Foundation funds major programs and exhibitions about Iran and its culture. However, the content, viewpoints or biases expressed by individual artists, academics, institutions or events supported by the foundation belong solely to each individual party and do not necessarily reflect the views of Farhang Foundation. For more info visit Farhang.org
Iran Elections Update

02/03/16

By Farideh Farhi (source: LobeLog)



Iranian President Hassan Rohani:

"Concerns shouldn't be created that the election is being engineered."

(Source: Shargh Daily)





Less than four weeks away from the February 26 elections for Irans parliament, the details of how many registrants will be allowed to run is not yet clear. This was not unexpected. As I suggested in my previous post, the unprecedented rate of disqualifications by the provincial supervisory committees was bound to unleash a flurry of consultations with the Guardian Council to reverse some of the decisions made at the lower levels.

After meetings between the Guardian Council representative and the 50 disqualified members of the current parliament, reportedly at least seven of the latter were successfully qualified. Although not yet officially confirmed, the qualified include reformist Kamaleddin Pir-moazzen as well as Ali Mottahari, a maverick conservative who has been highly critical of the countrys security establishment and treatment of opposition leaders. Even reformists have reported meetings with members of the Guardian Council and have forwarded a list of 208 registrants with no problematic background to the first vice president, Ishaq Jahangiri.

President Hassan Rouhani has assigned the first VP to follow up on the matter of disqualifications since apparently the majority of registrants who identify themselves as independent or moderate/centrist have also been disqualified. According to Mohsen Rahami, the chair of a working group lobbying for the qualifications of more reformist registrants, the list given to Jahnagiri will be passed on to Rouhani who will then take it to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, political forces identifying themselves as either principlists or reformists are working hard to pick their candidates in smaller precincts and create candidate lists in the large cities that include the already-qualified candidates. In selecting their candidates and creating candidate lists, the opposing political camps face different challenges.

Dissension among the Ranks

The conservative and hardline forces that have been working together under the aegis of the Council of Principlist Coalition are ironically struggling to choose among too many contenders in their disparate ranks. The spokesman for the Council of Principlist Coalition, Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, said last week that principlist forces-ranging from traditional conservative organizations, such as Islamic Coalition Party and Association of Combatant Clergy, to the hardline Steadfastness Front-are about to agree on a nationwide list of candidates. Also included in these discussions are supporters of prominent conservative politicians such as Tehran mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.

But last Thursdays principlist confab, held in a half-full stadium in Tehran, suggests that this statement may be too optimistic. Members of the Steadfastness Front did not show up presumably because either they are unhappy with the possibility that some of their most well-known candidates will be left off the joint principlist lists in big cities or they are playing hard-to-get in order to have more say regarding who will be on the lists.

The hardest list on which to create consensus is Tehran with 30 seats. Haddad Adel has stated that so far there is agreement on 80 percent of the list. What he did not say is that the last 20 percent always causes trouble for principlist unity. The Steadfastness Front probably wants its most prominent members, who also happen to be the loudest and most well-known members of the current parliament, on the Tehran list. The rest of the principlist crew, meanwhile, wants precisely the same members off the unified list out of fear that their presence will mark the whole list as hardliners and doom the election of every list member.

At this point, if a unified list is finally agreed upon, the challenge for the principlists will be to convince candidates who did not make the list to withdraw and forgo joining an alternate list, which they did in the 2012 parliamentary elections. The principlist split in 2012 caused most of their Tehran candidates to fall short of the minimum 25 percent of the total vote needed to get elected in the first round even though they faced no competition from the other side of the political spectrum.

Meanwhile, the members of the Reformist Policymaking Council face the opposite problem of too few candidates. They are hence tying to figure out whom they can support outside their own ranks in case their lobbying for more qualifications totally fails. Their problem is the higher-than-usual disqualifications of even the centrist candidates they could support in the same way they supported the centrist Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 presidential election. No matter what happens, they have said that they will try to bring as many people to the voting booth (maximal participation) in order to prevent the election of hardliners close to the Steadfastness Front and the security establishment. Their campaign slogan of Hope and Tranquility is intended to remind voters of the high and destabilizing costs of what they call extremism in both foreign and domestic policy. In the midst of all the jockeying for political positions, they have said very little about what kind of policies, particularly in the socioeconomic arena, they will propose or pursue. The addition of economic prosperity to their previous slogan this week is still devoid of any policy content.

The spiritual leader of the Steadfastness Front, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, on the other hand, has asked supporters to focus on making sure that no reformist is elected. But beyond some vague message about improving the economy, the Steadfastness Front and the principlists in general have yet to come up with a positive slogan. Their constant refrain is preventing foreign infiltration of the next parliament. In the words of this weeks Tehran Friday prayer leader, Kazem Sediqi, the paramount task is to prevent the election of those who make the enemys heart happy.

Others have begun to challenge the path taken by Rouhani in opening Irans economy to foreign trade, imports, and investment. On Saturday, the authorities forcibly arrested 38 individuals identified as student basij who were protesting without a permit. They had gathered in front of the oil ministry to demonstrate against new petroleum contracts the government has proposed to make foreign investment in the countrys oil and gas sector more appealing.

Speaker Ali Larijani nipped in the bud an attempt to criticize the treatment of the students in the parliament. But these challenges already give a hint regarding a potential arena of contestation even after the parliamentary election. Clearly, if a more Rouhani-aligned parliament is not voted in, more parliamentary challenges to the presidents attempt to further liberalize and globalize Irans economy should be expected. A parliament in line with Rouhanis agenda, in turn, will deprive those opposed to his economic policies of a significant institutional arena. These arguments will by no means disappear but will have fewer formal opportunities to be articulated. As such, the protest in front of the oil ministry and the harsh police response may also be a sign of things to come.

Assembly of Experts

The situation with the Assembly of Experts election has been a bit different since the Guardian Council is the sole body dealing with the qualification process. In addition, the time frame has given urgency to finishing the task. The final number of qualified candidates has to be decided one week earlier than the list of candidates for the parliament since the legal campaign time for the Assembly of Experts is two weeks as opposed to one week for the parliament.

In fact, the Guardian Council has already issued its verdict by qualifying only 166 people out of 801 registered. No woman was qualified, but one non-cleric who also happens to be a member of the Guardian Council was approved. In the three-day objection period, 80 registrants have challenged their disqualification. So there is a possibility of more qualifications in the next 10 days especially since in six out of a total 31 provinces the number of approved candidates matches the number of seats, guaranteeing a win for the approved. In eight others, the approved have well over 50 percent chance of winning.

Several clerics with outstanding religious pedigree have been disqualified. This number includes Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Mussavi Bojnurdi whom no less than the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, appointed to establish the High Council of Judges. He then served for eight years as a member of the High Judicial Council. Few doubt that that his closeness to reformist president Mohammad Khatami is the reason for his disqualification.

Without a doubt, however, the most famous disqualified cleric is Khomeinis grandson, Hassan Khomeini. It took the grandson a couple of days to respond, but he eventually issued a public letter stating that he will challenge his disqualification despite the fact that he foresees no reversal. The public letter was carefully crafted to put the Guardian Council on the spot for abandoning the tradition of accepting sufficient religious training by sources of religious emulation as a sufficient qualification.

Khomeini is probably right. The Guardian Council will not likely be moved by this charge of disrespect for sources of emulation. Nevertheless, a blow coming from no less than a Khomeini has further harmed the Councils standing in society . Public commentary regarding the politicized conduct of the Guardian Council has become so widespread that last week the hardline Javan newspaper felt compelled to defend the Councils secretary, Ahmad Jannati, calling him a the most ill-treated person alive in the face of all the ridicule and jokes made about him.

Beyond ridicule, Jannati may soon face another blow as he is one of the 36 qualified candidates running for 16 Expediency Council seats in the city of Tehran. The reformists and centrists, if they get their act together, will create a list of 16, headed by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and current president Rouhani, both of whom have been qualified. A higher-than-usual voter turnout for the Assembly election-made possible by its coincidence with the parliamentary election-may then end with candidates excluded from the Hashemi Rafsanjani-led list (as Jannati will probably be) on the losing side.

And what irony that would be if the chief disqualifier ends up being booted out by popular vote! Chances of this are slim but still worth a thought. Stay tuned...





About the Author: Farideh Farhi is an Independent Scholar and Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. She has taught comparative politics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, University of Hawai'i, University of Tehran, and Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran. Her publications include States and Urban-Based Revolutions in Iran and Nicaragua (University of Illinois Press) and numerous articles and book chapters on compartative analyses of revolutions and Iranian politics. She has been a recipient of grants from the United States Institute of Peace and the Rockefeller Foundation and was most recently a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the International Crisis Group.
Arms, financial supply to terrorists must be blocked, Iran's President Rouhani tells visiting German Foreign Minister

02/03/16

Source: Press TV

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has described terrorism as a serious threat to the entire world, including Europe, calling for measures to stop financial and arms supply to terrorists. The Iranian president made the remarks in a meeting with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on Wednesday.



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on February 3, 2016.

(source:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on February 3, 2016.(source: Islamic Republic News Agency

Rouhani further pointed to the landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the UK, the US, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany, noting that the precise and immediate implementation of the deal serves the interests of both sides.

The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), as a successful model, has prepared a very good condition in the international area for dialogue and interaction on other issues. We should try to utilize this win-win equation for the resolution of other regional issues, Rouhani pointed out.

He added that Iran has a great deal of opportunities available in the fields of industry, mining, energy, railway transport and tourism, and that Berlin can seize the opportunity to have a more active business cooperation with Tehran.







The German official, for his part, underscored the need for a concerted campaign against terror, stating that the root causes of the menace must be explored and addressed.

He also called for further promotion of Tehran-Berlin ties following the implementation of the JCPOA which started on January 16.

Earlier in the day, Steinmeir also held a meeting with Irans Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani, during which the Iranian official expressed concern over growing tensions in the Middle East and criticized some regional states over their role in fomenting regional conflicts.

Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani (R) meets with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tehran on February 3, 2016.

Larijani also said Saudi Arabia's military adventurism in the region will fail just like US military aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq.

Steinmeir, for his part, voiced concern over growing tensions and crises in the Middle East, stating that Berlin and Tehran are eager to help resolution of regional issues.

The German foreign minister also condemned attempts to derail the ongoing Syria peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, warning that the negotiations would fail if Syrian opposition groups do not put aside their differences to reach a consensus.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people and left over one million injured.

The UN says 12.2 million people, including more than 5.6 million children, remain in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria. The violence has also displaced 7.6 million people.
Don't have a Twitter account, but want to check out the latest celebrity feud(Opens in a new window)? No sweat.

Twitter on Tuesday announced some fresh updates for users who visit the site on their mobile device without signing in, including a new home timeline for people across 23 countries (listed below).

"Before today, you could see individual tweets but it was hard to discover stories and conversations happening on Twitter without signing in," Twitter Product Manager Paul Lambert wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window). "Now, you can check out a news story as it unfolds, dive into the play-by-play discussions around a game, and then come back again to see that exchange between two rappers(Opens in a new window) everyone's been talking about."

Twitter's new home timeline for logged-out users is rolling out to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S.

Meanwhile, Twitter is also expanding its refreshed homepage on the Web, which first launched in the U.S. and Japan in April, to all the countries listed above. Now, anyone in these countries can "explore and discover different topics and stories as they occur, including some that are tailored just for you based on your location and activity on Twitter," Lambert wrote.

The revamped Twitter.com homepage greets users who are not signed in with a grid of topics, such as politics, country artists, and cute animals. Clicking one of the topics will bring up a timeline of users who fit that category.

The move comes during a transitional period for Twitter, which has struggled(Opens in a new window) with growth as well as efforts to combat abuse on the service. It has a (somewhat) new CEO, but recently lost a number of its top execs, one of which fled to Instagram(Opens in a new window) and another who returned to his previous employer, Google.
One of my favorite stories of forgiveness comes from George and Hanna Miley. She was rescued as a child at the last possible minute; her par...
Google's effort to provide free Internet access to those in low-income housing developments kicked off today with a launch in Kansas City, Missouri.

All 100 homes in the West Bluff housing development have been wired for gigabit Internet via Google Fiber, which provides speeds up to 1,000Mbps. In partnership with the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Google is also working with local affordable housing providers to connect eight more properties, in hopes of reaching more than 1,300 families in the area.

Google last year announced that it will offer free Internet to low-income housing complexes located in Google Fiber cities. The initiative is part of ConnectHome(Opens in a new window), a program from the White House and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that aims to bring Internet connectivity to more school-aged children and families living in assisted housing in communities across the country.

For those who can't afford an Internet-connected device, ConnectHome will help folks find discounted gadgets and learn new computer skills via digital literacy classes, Google said.

"For low-income families, access to the Internet can mean the difference between thriving or falling behind," Dennis Kish, vice president of Google Fiber, wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window).

"It can mean more children using computers in after-school programs and STEM classes, more students going online to finish their homework, more people taking advantage of resources like Khan Academy, and more families learning basic computer skills that help them be more connected," he said.

Google Fiber is also available(Opens in a new window) in Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, with plans to expand to: Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh-Durham.

Google is not the only provider participating in ConnectHome: CenturyLink promised to hook up HUD households in Seattle for $9.95 per month for the first year and $14.95 for the next foursimilar to Comcast's Internet Essentials. Cox Communications is doing the same in Macon, Meriden, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, for eligible K-12 families residing in public housing.
It's been about two years since the introduction of the Sony Alpha 6000 ($549.99 at Dell Technologies)(Opens in a new window) . In that time it has received accolades (it's still our Editors' Choice pick for affordable mirrorless cameras), and also sold quite wellSony states that it's the best-selling mirrorless camera ever, and also the best-selling interchangeable lens camera priced above $600. But two years is a long time in the world of digital photography.

Today Sony announced what is essentially a beefed-up version of the Alpha 6000. The new Alpha 6300 is priced a bit higher (the Alpha 6000 will remain in the lineup for customers who are more budget-minded), but it adds quite a bit of functionality. There's a new 24-megapixel image sensor. It's still an APS-C size (you'll need to move up to the Alpha 7 II ($898.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) if you want a full-frame body), but it has an autofocus system that puts its full-frame siblings to shame. A total of 425 phase detect focus points cover the sensor from nearly edge to edge, working in conjunction with 169 contrast detect points (which cover a slightly narrower area) to track moving subjects.



The advanced autofocus system supports numerous specialized autofocus modes. Face Detection is almost a given in a modern interchangeable lens camera, but Sony goes a bit further with its Eye AF system, which ensures that your subject's iris is the point of focus for portraits. It's proven effective in other Sony cameras which with I've shot, but certainly works best when you're shooting a head-and-shoulders portrait. Eye AF is supported when the camera is set to continuous AF.



Another benefit of on-sensor phase detection is the ability to use SLR lenses with full autofocus capability via an adapter. You can use a Sony LA-EA3 adapter and leverage the library of Sony and Minolta A-mount lenses, or opt for a Metabones or Fotodiox adapter to mount Canon EF SLR lenses. This is a feature that we've tested with the Alpha 7 II and Alpha 7R II ($1,799.99 at Dell)(Opens in a new window) with mixed resultsat times focus locks immediately and tracks just as well as a native lens, but at other times adapted lenses would hunt for seconds trying to find a subject. We'll try it out again with the Alpha 6300 when it comes in for review.



Like the Alpha 6000, the 6300 can shoot at 11.1 frames per second with automatic exposure and focus. There's also a drive mode setting to shoot at 8fps. You do lose some speed, but this method minimizes blackoutthe time that you don't see an image in the viewfinder when shooting in a burst. Sony showed a side-by-side video comparing the Alpha 6300 with an unnamed competing consumer SLRit shows that, at 8fps, the Alpha has less blackout when shooting in a burst. This allows you to effectively track a moving subject.



The new sensor isn't just about improved autofocus. Its design incorporates copper circuitry, which increases the size of the photodiodes and improves the readout speed. Larger photodiodes generally lead to better images at high ISOs, and the Alpha 6300 can be set from ISO 100 through ISO 51200. The Bionz X image processor powers the camera and its JPG output, but you can also shoot Raw images at 15-bit quality.



The other big upgrade is in the video realm. The camera is capable of 4K video acquisition at 24 or 30fps. Video is saved in an MP4 wrapper with compression handled by the XAVC S 4K codec at 60 or 100Mbps. If you have a field recorder you can use the HDMI port to record uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 video.

An oversampling method is used for 4K recording. This means that the camera is able to use the full width of its image sensorequivalent to a 6K video frame at 16:9when recording. Footage is saved at 4K, without pixel binning, a method which Sony promises delivers footage with more details than you'd get by shooting at native 4K. S-Gamut and S-Log profiles are available, making the 6300 a viable choice for use in a professional production environment. In addition to support for standard 3.5mm microphones, the Alpha 6300 supports Sony's multi-interface XLR adapter, which allows you to use pro-grade mics with the camera.



Full HD 1080p video capture is also an optionthat's still a good choice for the consumer market, as editing 4K footage requires a pretty serious computer. XAVC S is also used here, with 50Mbps compression used for 24p, 30p, and 60p footage. If you shoot at 120fps the bit rate can be set at 60 or 100Mbps. You have the option of saving footage at the native 120fps rate so you can slow it down using editing software, or using the camera to create the slow-motion footage by saving it as a 30fps or 24fps file4x and 5x slow-motion, respectively.



There are also some updates to the body itself. The EVF is a 2,359k-dot OLED, sharper than that of the Alpha 6000. And it displays motion more smoothly, thanks to a 120fps refresh rate. The new camera is quite compact, so there's no in-body image stabilization like you'll find with the second-generation full-frame Alpha 7 II models. There is weather-sealing around buttons and dials and a ruggedized lens mount, both of which are updates from the Alpha 6000.



The body style and design is largely unchanged from the Alpha 6000. The grip and shutter release have seen slight changes, but the tilting rear LCD (3 inches, 921k dots) is unchanged, and the controls are mostly the samethe big addition is a toggle switch around the AEL button that allows it to pull double duty as an AF/MF control. The pop-up flash and hot shoe are in the same place, as is the EVF. It almost goes without saying, but the Wi-Fi and NFC are included as well.



I got to shoot a bit with the Alpha 6300 at a Sony press event this morning. The camera was a pre-production model, so I wasn't able to keep my images, but in a studio setting I found the focus to be as quick and accurate as promised. We'll have more details on how the camera performs in the real world when it's released in March.



The Alpha 6300 is priced at $1,000 as a body only, or at $1,150 when bought along with the 16-50mm ($179.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) power zoom lens. Canadian pricing is higher: $1,350 for the body and $1,500 for the kit.



Sony also announced three full-frame mirrorless lenses as part of its new G Master line.


An arson blaze at the former George Air Force Base prompted the arrest of a 17-year-old Hesperia boy in Victorville, say San Bernardino County Fire Department officials.

The teen was arrested on Monday, Feb. 1, during a car stop along Village Drive and booked into High Desert Juvenile Detention Center in Apple Valley for investigation of arson and possessing stolen property.

Witnesses reported that a boy was at the fire scene, and an arson dog sniffed out flammable liquids at Sundays two-alarm blaze that burned long-abandoned homes near Nevada and George roads at the old airbase, fire officials said in a written statement. The base has been redeveloped and renamed Southern California Logistics Airport.

The smoke was visible for miles.

At least two other recent fires have burned abandoned buildings in the same general area.

On Jan. 18 and 21, firefighters battled suspicous blazes at the airbase. However, the teenager hasnt been tied to those blazes, officials emphasized.

Anyone with additional information may call Fire Investigator Tim Tate at 909-356-3805.
San Bernardino voters on Tuesday re-elected City Councilman James Mulvihill to his Ward 7 seat and selected newcomer Bessine Littlefield Richard to succeed Rikke Van Johnson in the 6th Ward, according to final unofficial election night results.

The runoff had four candidates vying to lead a city trying to recover from bankruptcy while also working to heal after the Dec. 2 mass shooting.

ELECTION RESULTS: www.pressenterprise.com/sections/news/reports/election/sbco/

Mulvihill, who took office during the November 2013 recall election, won 803 votes, or 54 percent. He said hes fit to continue to lead the city because of the work hes done in helping it recover from bankruptcy.

Theres more that needs to be done and Im looking forward to being able to do that, Mulvihill said Tuesday night.

He said Dec. 2 did not change his campaign strategy.

The point is that those issues involving Dec. 2 are really more global issues of terrorism.  Its not an inherent weakness of San Bernardino, he said.

Trailing Mulvihill with 696 votes, was businessman Scott Beard, 54.

Beard said the Dec. 2 attack did not affect his run, adding that hes not sure if it impacts the regular citizen all that much. His main issue was improving housing in San Bernardino.

In the 6th Ward, Bessine Littlefield Richard, 53, is a workforce development supervisor for San Bernardino County. She had 648 votes, or 65 percent. She has spoken against budget cuts and has advocated to restore community services.

She said shes ready to help lead the city after Dec. 2 because public safety was already high on her priority list before the attack.

Trailing Littlefield Richard was Roxanne Williams, 45, with 353 votes. Williams had focused on public safety, an issue she said residents are concerned about, especially since the terrorist attack.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9462 or amolina@pressenterprise.com
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held the most substantive discussion it has had in a long time on steering the county in the right direction.

There is no doubt that since the recession of 2007-09, the county has struggled to strike a sustainable balance between expenditures and lagging revenue. Simply put: The county is in financial trouble. It spends too much. It isnt sustainable.

County Executive Officer Jay Orr, to his credit, has more or less explained this to the board on a quarterly basis for the past few years. On the public safety front, Sheriff Stan Sniff has been vocal and consistent in sounding the alarm about the direction the county is headed. Likewise, these pages have long encouraged the board to take significant action.

The board received another report from Mr. Orr this week, reiterating the importance of fiscal discipline and noting the same problems that have been mounting for some time.

In a welcomed move, Supervisor Marion Ashley proposed a 16-point plan to slash spending. The proposal includes hiring freezes for all general fund departments, holding off on raises for two years, negotiating lower and longer step increases, cuts to Community Improvement Designation funds and negotiating a deal with Cal Fire more favorable to the county.

We need to achieve sustainability, Mr. Ashley said.

The proposal was well-received by his colleagues, and will undergo review by county staff, who will bring back a report assessing the proposal, and other suggestions, by March 29, the same date KPMG is due to submit its report on the countys public safety departments.

Supervisor Chuck Washington expressed the greatest concern, seemingly averse to the idea of impairing county employees in any way. We havent gotten to the bottom of operating the county in a more efficient fashion, he said.

Identifying efficiencies, of course, is always welcome, though the situation the county is currently confronting is undesirable for everyone. Taxpayers are on the hook for more, while getting less, and theres no way things can get better without tough choices being made. As Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said of Mr. Ashleys proposal: It is long overdue.

The county can no longer afford to do nothing. Were glad the board is finally showing some interest in making county government more effective and efficient.
As the presidential campaigns shift from Iowa to New Hampshire and its Tuesday primary election, a main question will be whether the anti-establishment prairie fire will spread east. Iowa caucus-goers in both parties expressed the discontent so many across the country, including in Orange County, have shown toward the status quo in Washington, D.C.

The revolt was especially strong in the Republican Party. Saying who is and isnt part of the establishment is somewhat subjective, but the establishment generally includes those who have been in government for some time, or are identified with the powers running the government.

The Associated Press provided a workable definition when it noted that first-term Sen. Marco Rubios third-place performance in Iowa will strengthen his argument that supporters of other such moderate, establishment candidates as former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich should throw their support, and their money, behind him. The combined tally Monday of those establishment candidates was 29.6 percent, with 23.1 percent going to Rubio.

Compare that share with the anti-establishment candidates. They either built reputations within government for attacking the status quo, like Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, or never have held elective office, like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. Those candidates combined Iowa tally was 67.7 percent.

For Democrats, insurgent Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, nearly upset former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, whose top campaign plank is her long experience in government. The Clinton victory was so narrow that Sanders campaign Manager Jeff Weaver taunted, As an empirical matter, were not likely to ever know what the actual result was.

The results in Iowa were at odds with much of the late polling. That said, Mr. Trump, a New Yorker, and Sen. Sanders, who represents neighboring Vermont, currently lead in New Hampshire. Victories for either or both would be seen as new blows against the political establishment.

But after next week begins a long slog through the South, with dozens of states holding primaries before California on June 7. Its far too early to count out the establishment.
The U.S. Department of Education has pulled federal funding from a beauty school chain with campuses in the Inland Empire.

A spokesman for Marinello Schools of Beauty said campuses in Moreno Valley, Hemet, Murrieta, San Bernardino and Ontario may be shut in the coming months, along with the rest of its 56 other schools in California, Nevada, Utah, Kansas and Connecticut.

UPDATE: Marinello schools to start closing Thursday

Spokesman Joe Hixon said the 110-year-old Whittier-based company is trying to comply with regulators.

Weve been ready to respond to the department for some time, Hixson said, but they wouldnt tell us what their allegations were until yesterday. It really does come down to a question of due process.

Calls to the DOE for comment were not returned.

RELATED: Feds concerns about Marinello well-founded, ex-manager says

The move is the latest in DOE actions against for-profit colleges.

In April, Corinthian Colleges closed all of its campuses after being hit with a $30 million fine for misrepresenting job placement rates for graduates.

More recently, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against DeVry University, saying it used fraudulent practices to attract students.

In a news release issued Monday, the DOE said it is taking action to end the participation in the federal student financial assistance programs of 23 Marinello Schools  (by) denying pending recertification applications.

Most for-profit technical schools receive the bulk of their operating money, often more than 90 percent, from federal Pell grants and student loans.

Education officials estimated there are 2,100 students at the 23 campuses.

Hixon said the company has a systemwide enrollment of 4,300 students. It has 800 employees, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9595 or mmuckenfuss@pressenterprise.com
Re: Riverside missed its chance to cut sprawl [Opinion, Jan. 30]: Deb Bennett and Ralph Salisbury lecture us about the thousands who wish to impose their dream of a perfect Earth upon the millions of us who are far more concerned about jobs, security and struggling just to keep our way of life. This is the same group who promised not to hinder development if monies were set aside for conservation of lands, which Riverside has done in spades. This is the same thinking that costs Californians billions of dollars a year in extra money (enough to send many, if not every, young person to college) at the gas pump for a custom fuel cocktail instead of the fuel used in all other states.

When I was young, I voted for such progressive ideals; however, as I matured I realized that politicians pander to such ideals to gain the reins of power, then impose higher taxes, more regulation and a lower quality of life on the rest of us. Many who move here do so to raise a family or retire. We can reduce time spent driving, and smog, by bringing jobs through warehousing and logistic projects, such as in Moreno Valley. Those of our elected leaders who have striven to this end should not be criticized for doing so. To this end, Ms. Bennett and her attorneys are part of the problem, and not part of the solution.

Michael Sanchez

Hemet

Whose burden to bear?

Why is it that the Sheriffs Department is saddled with the $40 million cost of inmate care which is a county obligation? Lets not cut anything on the public safety side to provide for mandates not covered with sufficient funding sources. It doesnt make any sense. If the inmates were not in custody, their care wouldnt be assigned to the sheriff

When the sheriff is forced to assume these liabilities and costs, we all suffer. Dont cut. Protect public safety.

Dickie Simmons

Eastvale
Two men who won $7 million from a SuperLotto Plus lottery ticket purchased at a Lake Elsinore smoke shop have come forward.

California Lottery officials say John Boers and his brother, Steven, have been playing the same set of numbers for five years.

John Boers purchased the winning ticket from M&V Smoke Shop at 32295 Mission Trail. The ticket matched all six numbers in the Jan. 2 SuperLotto Plus drawing: 43-10-21-29-39 and Mega number 24.

The duo has had some success over the years from playing the lottery before, the release says, but this is their first time winning big. And it was a big surprise.

My heart skipped a beat for a second there, John Boers said in a news release. I thought, What just happened?

How will the brothers spend their shares of the money?

John plans to finish remodeling his home and says a financial adviser will be helping him with the rest of his winnings, while Steven plans to help his children with their college education, according to the release.

The Boers brothers, who could not be reached for an interview, are among a spate of recent lotto winners across the Inland area.

Whoever who bought a ticket at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills became $528.8 million richer (or $327.8 million if they take the lump-sum payment instead of a 30-year annuity) after the record Jan. 13 Powerball drawing. That ticket and two others sold in Florida and Tennessee matched all six numbers for the nearly $1.6 billion jackpot. The Chino Hills and Florida winners have not yet come forward.

Thirteen Redlands nurses who entered into an office pool bought a ticket that hit five of the six numbers in that drawing. They came forward this week to claim their prize, which will work out to $49,088 each before taxes.

Antwan Samaan, 44, won $500,000 off a scratcher ticket purchased in Moreno Valley recently.

And an East Hemet liquor store sold a scratcher ticket worth $1.2 million on Jan. 29.
A transient man who police say stabbed a Victorville man to death Saturday, Jan. 30, was arrested Monday morning in Utah.

Laurence Caureliola Mixon, 30, was booked into jail in Sevier County, Utah on Monday morning after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the killing of 30-year-old Brandon Huff, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department news release. Mixon remained in custody there Tuesday, awaiting an extradition hearing.

San Bernardino County Sheriffs deputies found Huff suffering a stab wound in an apartment in the 18300 block of Taloga Road, the news release said. Huff was transported to Saint Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley where he later died.

The Sheriffs Departments Homicide Detail assumed the investigation, and identified Mixon as a suspect, the news release said. On Monday morning, detectives learned that Mixon was driving east on Interstate 70 near Richfield, Utah. Utah Highway Patrol was contacted and Mixon was taken info custody.

San Bernardino County Sheriffs Deputies traveled to Richfield to interview Mixon and two others who were in the car when he was taken into custody.

Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact Detective Brian Chambers or Sgt. Jason Radeleff at the Sheriffs Homicide Detail at 909-387-3589, Information can be relayed anonymously at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or www.wetip.com.
The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestras program Saturday will be all about U.S. composers and the music they wrote about and for this country. The Echoes of America concert will be held at the California Theater for the Performing Arts in San Bernardino.

People should know that Americans have written fantastic music, and that a symphony concert doesnt have to be just about old European composers, said Music Director and Conductor Frank Fetta in a recent interview. Much of the music has never been heard by the general public, and its up to us to present it.

Until World War I, the United States did not have a distinctive music sensibility. According to Fetta, arts in America were very much oriented to Europe through the nations first century.

There really was no time to develop a national music sense, he said. Americans were too busy fighting wars, settling the West and industrializing. It wasnt until ordinary American men, who werent rich, came back from fighting in Europe that the nation began to develop a truly American school of music.

Fetta said the first really great American composer was Charles Ives, and his work Variations on America will be part of the program.

Were presenting this concert twice on Friday to more than 3,000 San Bernardino school kids, and the Ives piece will be one of the first on the program, he said. The kids will recognize the My Country Tis of Thee tune. Our goal with this concert is to use music as a medium to inspire our audience with uplifting, uniquely American compositions.

The program features pieces from Grofes Grand Canyon Suite and Richard Rodgers music from the 1950s television program Victory at Sea.

Grofe wrote several works paying homage to areas of America, including the Mississippi and the Grand Canyon, said Fetta. His piece is definitely a tone painting. Each piece in the suite is evocative of a particular scene typical of the majestic Grand Canyon.

Lyric soprano Candace Bogen will offer two songs by American composers. She will sing the aria Aint It a Pretty Night from Carlisle Floyds opera Susannah, a beautiful aspirational song, according to Fetta, and My Mans Gone Now from Gershwins Porgy and Bess. Fetta said Bogens uncommon sensitivity and artistry are well-suited to Gershwins uniquely American style.

The orchestra will perform The American Scene, by the first African American composer whose work was performed by a leading symphony orchestra. William Grant Still composed the work in 1957 to describe young Americans based on geographic regions of the country. For this program, the orchestra will play The Far West.

The sounds in this suite are very Southern California, said Fetta. You can see the desert in the sounds of the music, and see the mountains and the ocean. The audience, especially the kids, will really be able to get it.

John Phillip Sousas marches will also be part of the program.

We are focusing on every detail to ensure a thrilling and memorable concert experience for every audience member, said Fetta. Everyone will be able to appreciate the diversity of buoyant and lively American music.

Contact the writer: features@pressenterprise.com
For the next week and a half, Norco residents will likely hear warning sirens and garbled messages from loud speakers at the Navy base on Fourth Street.

Military vehicles and Riverside County Sheriffs cruisers may be seen rushing toward the base, also known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division.

Not to worry.

From Monday, Feb. 1, until Feb. 12, the center is participating in Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2016  the U.S. Navys largest security exercise of the year. During the event, Naval installations across the country will conduct tests to spot safety risks, said Greg Smith, spokesman at the Naval Weapons Station-Seal Beach, which owns the Norco property.

The Norco base will likely coordinate responses to active shooter situations and terrorist attacks, Smith said. He would not elaborate on specific exercises, which began Tuesday, Feb. 2.

In some cases, you dont want to share what type of actions wed be taking, Smith said.

Training topics have included natural disaster and chemical spill response. Military bases have been targeted in recent mass shootings.

On July 16, 2015, four Marines and a Navy sailor were killed when a gunman opened fire on two military centers in Chattanooga, Tenn. A little more than a year earlier, three people were killed and 16 injured in a shooting at the Ft. Hood Army base in Texas.

The training comes on the heels of the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino.

The Norco base will undergo surveillance drills to spot would-be intruders, and conduct communications operations that reach all the way to Washington, D.C., Smith said.

You always try to stress out your system and see where the breaking points are, so you can improve them in the future, Smith said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9644, poneill@pressenterprise.com, @PE_PatrickO
During its long history, the Army Jr. ROTC program at Poly High School, known as the Bear Battalion, has notched its share of achievements.

When established Aug. 21, 1916, it was one of the original Army Jr. ROTC units created under the Defense Act of 1916.

In the early 1970s, the Riverside schools program was among the first Jr. ROTC units to accept young women.

At its Feb. 20 Military Ball at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium and Soldiers Memorial Building, the program will mark another milestone: it will celebrate its centennial year as one of the oldest Jr. ROTC programs  some say the oldest  in the U.S.

Mark A. Pratt, chief of Jr. ROTC Operations for the 8th Brigade, which includes California, said he wasnt sure if Polys program is the nations oldest such unit. The Battalion may be tied with several programs that opened in 1916, Pratt said.

The Battalions historical archives were lost because they were stored in a room with a leaky roof, said Major Joe Dominguez, who oversees Polys unit.

Before the program was created, Poly had the Cadet Corps, which began in August 1912.

Riverside City Councilmen Paul Davis and Chris MacArthur will join the celebration later this month. The ball is open to the public and costs $50 for students and $65 for adults.

Both proudly identify as Bear Battalion alumni and are not shy about acknowledging that the lessons they learned in Jr. ROTC played a crucial role in making them the men they are today.

JROTC taught me so many interdisciplinary skills that I use today, Davis said. How to get to work on time, understanding and respecting a chain of command. And how to lead effectively and not be a tyrant.

MacArthur agreed.

The program gave us the leadership skills and discipline that allowed us to be successful, MacArthur said.

Dominguez, a U.S. Army veteran who speaks six languages and served in Operation Desert Storm has been at Poly since 1996.

This year, the program has 165 cadets. About 65 percent are boys; 35 percent are girls.

Dominguez, 65, said the programs purpose is to build better citizens and to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

On a more personal level, Jr. ROTC can offer guidance and support that cadets might not get at home, Dominguez said.

He recalled a cadet who had never heard a supportive word from her parent.

Her mother told her she would never amount to anything, Dominguez said. If someone looked at this girl the wrong way, she was ready to fight.

He said it took two years to repair the emotional damage that left the girl so angry and combative.

I kept telling her she was special, Dominguez said.

After two years, she finally came around.

Shes coming to the Military Ball and bringing me Girl Scout cookies, Dominguez said.

Davis, who attended Poly from 1982 to 1986, said he had no father figure but he found one in Major Robert Sagona of the Bear Battalion.

He was an intelligent and disciplined man and became a father figure to me, Davis said.

Davis said Sagona was supportive when he decided against a military career and opted to become a law enforcement officer.

He advised me how to make it through tough environments like boot camp or the police academy, Davis said. Never give up and always persevere. Those were his words.

While some question if Jr. ROTC is a recruiting tool for the U.S. military, Dominguez said the reality is much different.

We dont push military careers here, he said. We focus more on education.

He noted that in the 2014-15 school year, out of a class of 165 students, only five students went on to military careers.

Senior Anicia Leyva, 18, is this years Battalion Commander. On a recent Thursday, which is inspection day, she was impeccably dressed in her tailored and carefully pressed uniform. Her hair was pulled neatly away from her face and her shoes shined with a spit and polish sheen.

Leyva said she aspired to a military career when she joined Jr. ROTC as a freshman.

Although a bad case of asthma has dashed her hopes of joining the military, Leyva said the lessons she has learned in self-discipline, team work and how to be a leader will continue to serve her after graduation.

Ive learned that my job as a leader is to motivate the group to be happy while they complete their task, she said. A leaders job is to create other leaders so when we leave they can take over.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9647 or sstokley@pressenterprise.com
The High Court in Canberra has thrown out a challenge to the Australian governments offshore detention on Nauru, which could have deemed our entire offshore detention regime invalid.

Lawyers for a Bangladeshi woman intercepted on board a boat heading for Australia in October 2013 and taken to Christmas Island and later Nauru have been arguing for nine months that it is illegal for the government to operate and pay for offshore detention in a third country. She was brought to Australia while pregnant for medical treatment in August 2014 suffering serious health complications, and later gave birth to her daughter in Brisbane.

This legal action, filed by lawyers from the Human Rights Law Centre, was a bid to prevent her from being deported back to Nauru.

However, today the full bench ruled 61 held that section 198AHA of the Migration Act 1958 authorised that the Governments actions were legal.





The High Court held, by majority, that the plaintiff was not entitled to the declaration sought, the judgement said. The conduct of the Commonwealth in signing the second MOU with Nauru was authorised by s 61 of the Constitution.

Protesters outside the High Court react to its decision to throw out challenge to offshore detention. @ellinghausen pic.twitter.com/b0H5vhyeNO  Stephanie Peatling (@srpeatling) February 2, 2016

The High Court also ruled that the plaintiff should pay the costs of the government.

High court also ruled the plaintiff should pay the costs of the Government in this case.@9NewsAUS  Charles Croucher (@ccroucher9) February 2, 2016

She is now facing deportation with her one-year-old child.

Sending 90 children to dangers of Nauru is child abuse. This is a big test for Malcolm Turnbull, will he authorise it or do the right thing?  Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) February 2, 2016

This ruling means that hundreds of asylum seekers who were brought to Australia for medical treatment  plus 37 babies born in Australia  will likely be sent back to Nauru within 72 hours.

Photo: Digital Global / ScapeWare3d / Getty.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has appealed to PM Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to show compassion to the hundreds of asylum seekers who may now be sent to Nauru, following todays High Court decision to throw out the challenge to Australias offshore detention policies.

This number includes 37 babies born in Australia, plus a five-year-old boy who was allegedly raped while in detention.

Sending these children to Nauru would be child abuse and Malcolm Turnbull needs to decide whether he is willing to authorise that, she said in a statement today. The evidence is clear and its undeniable that Nauru is unsafe for women and children and sending them back would be torture.

Keeping families on Nauru is untenable and we need to find a better way to protect people who are seeking asylum.

We must create a fair and efficient system that will bring people here safely and integrate them into the community, so that their families can flourish.

This is the first major test for the Prime Minister. Will he keep these children safe, when they can thrive and prosper, or will he dump them back on the prison island of Nauru?

The Immigration Minister has made his position clear. He wants to send these children back to the Hell of Nauru as quickly as possible. For the families and young children who have been caught up in this mess, I hope that doesnt happen.



Greens MP Scott Ludlum said much the same on Twitter:

so now we fall back on the conscience of @TurnbullMalcolm and @PeterDutton_MP not to send children and families back into hell.  Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) February 3, 2016

Hanson-Young and Greens leader Richard Di Natale are set to address media later today.

Photo: Supplied.
Back when it was still du jour to rag on American president Barack Obama instead of his potential follow-up acts, the rallying cry of thanks, Obama! unified both legitimate critics and sarcastic assholes alike.

It became a full-steam meme in both camps, and a whole slab of Reddit was even dedicated in its honour. Much mirth was had.

A funny thing happened that stopped the meme dead: it became self-aware, cause the POTUS himself dropped it.

The mods on the Subreddit decided that was it. A pinnacle had been reached, and it was time to retire any other attempts to eke lels out of it. The site has been preserved in posterity.

Drakes Super Bowl commercial is the Canadian equivalent. He knows what youve all been memein, and he is all too aware of that fluorescently-lit clips aggressive virality.

Fortunately, hes got the good sense to presumably turn that popularity into beaucoup bucks, cause comms juggernaut T-Mobile want a piece of that Hotline Bling too.

Fare thee well Bling memes, you had a good run:

Thanks, Drake.

Itll go to air IRL on Super Bowl Sunday. It does make you wonder, though: has the bloke ever considered a career in acting?

Photo: Youtube.
http://donpolson.blogspot.com/ Bringing you the very best information, analysis and opinion from around the web. NOTE: For videos that don't start--go to article link to view.
FILE - In this April 30, 2015 file photo, Marion "Suge" Knight is escorted into court for his arraignment on murder charges in Los Angeles. Court records show a Los Angeles judge on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, cut off Knight's access to phone calls, visitors and mail from anyone except his attorneys at the request of sheriff's investigators. (Kevork Djansezian/Pool Photo via AP, File )


Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.

Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.

Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.

Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.

Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of this post.

Put a link back to pen to paper (http://www.pentopaperblog.com) somewhere in your post, and a note saying that Pen to Paper is the host of the meme.

Visit the other blogs and enjoy! So what do you need to do to join in?

Goodreads

Baba Yaga is an old hag who lives in a house built on chicken legs and kidnaps small children. She is one of the most pervasive and powerful creatures in all mythology. But what does she have to do with a writer's journey to Bulgaria in 2007 on behalf of her mother? Or with a trio of old women who decide to spend a week together at a hotel spa? Startlingly original, "Baba Yaga Laid an Egg" takes a traditional myth and spins it afresh. The result is an extraordinary meditation on femininity, ageing, identity, secrets, storytelling and love.

What's on your wishlist this week? Let us know in the comments below, or link to your own Wishlist Wednesday post in the Linky :)













Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.Synopsis:In the space of just a couple of weeks, I've gone from having never heard much at all about Baba Yaga to having seen it. It started when I was watching some comic book recommendations on YouTube and I think about three different YouTubers mentioned Baba Yaga's Assistant (with mixed reviews).All I really know from watching these videos is that Baba Yaga was a Slavic folklore character with some sort of supernatural presence, and she would either help or harm those who looked for her. Since I watched those videos, she keeps popping up everywhere, and then I'm in one of my local bookshops, looking for something entirely different, and I stumble on this book.This takes the Baba Yaga figure and puts her in several different forms and tells her story based on what form she takes. This has me really intrigued, and I would have it on my shelf already, but the bookshop's copy was damaged, so I will be keeping an eye out for it on my trip to London in a week and a half.
New urgent care, family practice opens in Petoskey

Bay Street Urgent Care and Family Practice opened in Petoskey in early September and has seen high demand for services ever since.
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PDVSA short on oil shipments to China, Venezuela could restructure debt



Oil woes could make Venezuela restructure China debt: Barclays

NEW YORK

Petroleumworld.com 02 03 2016

Venezuela may need to restructure its oil-linked Chinese debt before undertaking any similar move with its international bondholders, Barclays said in a report on Tuesday.

The OPEC nation is widely believed to be headed for a credit event thanks to the dramatic tumble in oil prices, which has wreaked havoc on the Latin American country's economy.

Barclays said Venezuela is falling short of the daily oil shipments to China that it uses to repay loans from Beijing, as the fall in prices has raised the number of barrels needed.

At current prices the country needs nearly 800,000 barrels a day to satisfy its loan payment, Barclays said - sharply up from the roughly 228,000 needed when oil was at $100 per barrel.

"A restructuring of Chinese fund debt could be supportive for Venezuela," Barclays analysts wrote.

"Venezuela would need to send about 774,000 barrels a day to China, something that does not seem to be happening and is not easy to achieve in the short term."

While the loan terms have not been made public, the bank estimates that Venezuela owes China about US$7bn this year, and believes that a restructuring is more likely than a new loan.

"That could allow Venezuela to buy some time, or lower the level of oil prices needed to avoid a credit event in 2016," Barclays said.

Oil accounts for more than 90% of Venezuela's exports, and the collapse in crude prices has emboldened the opposition to the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

"With the political and economic uncertainty in the country, we doubt that the Chinese authorities could have an incentive to increase (their) exposure to Venezuela significantly," Barclays said.

"They might prefer to wait and negotiate with an eventual new administration," the bank said.

"Therefore in the absence of a regime change that might open new financing alternatives, Venezuela remains basically dependent on a rebound of oil prices and its capacity to further cut imports to avoid a credit event."






The US has reported the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted sexually, further raising fears over the potential spread of the disease.

The patient, in Dallas, Texas, was infected after having sexual contact with an ill individual who returned from a country where Zika virus is present, officials have confirmed.

The primary route of transmission is through the Aedes species of mosquito. Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others, said Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services director.

Next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections, he stressed.

Only 20% of those infected with the disease will experience any symptoms, the most common of which are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting several days to a week.

However, the disease is thought to pose a serious risk to developing foetuses, having been linked to a neurological birth disorder called microcephaly which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.

According to reports, cases of another neurological condition called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, that can cause paralysis, are also higher in areas hit by the virus.

The World Health Organisation has declared an international public health emergency, and has called for a coordinated international response to minimise the threat in affected countries and reduce the risk of further international spread.

News of the first sexually-transmitted Zika infection comes as Ireland reports its first two cases in people who had travelled to Latin America, following six cases in the UK and two cases in Australia.
Bones

Name: Yaakov Kirschen Location: Israel

I started Dry Bones in Jan 1973. Since then I've been known as "Bones" to friends and colleagues. This is the first time I've ever shared the "stories behind the cartoons." Enjoy.

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Keeping you updated on important news stories you might have missed!
ISSUE | FOR-HIRE RIDES

Uber, Lyft are safe

Emails between taxi medallion owners and the Philadelphia Parking Authority have revealed a too-cozy relationship between the regulated and the regulator ("Taxis, PPA join against Uber," Thursday). Shrugging it off as business as usual only justifies bad behavior.

Competition, innovation, and consumer choice provide incentives for businesses to offer better service. Regulatory agencies have an important role. However, it is time to ask questions when they're caught protecting turf and coordinating backroom deals with the industry they're supposed to regulate, at consumers' expense.

PPA Executive Director Vince Fenerty wrote in a commentary that his primary concern has always been public safety ("Public safety, fairness drive ride-share concerns," Tuesday). He said there was no assurance that UberX or Lyft drivers have been trained or have had their driving records or backgrounds checked.

That's not true. Uber and Lyft drivers are screened by third-party, certified professionals for criminal offenses and driving incidents on national and county databases and local courthouse records. Pennsylvania law requires a check for moving violations and drunken driving.

Rather than pretending to "level the playing field" and forcing innovators to knuckle under, the PPA should focus on encouraging the taxicab industry to raise its game.

|Steve DelBianco, executive director, NetChoice; McLean, Va.; sdelbianco@netchoice.org

Boot the PPA and allow freedom of choice

The PPA wants to hold us captive to filthy rattle traps sometimes driven by surly men. This 50-year tax-paying resident is entitled to freedom of choice, also known as the Uber phenomenon. Free enterprise equals competition equals constitutional rights. Do not let the PPA oversee a monopoly.

|Kelly Wolfington, Philadelphia
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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....
Former Inkster, MI, police officer William Melendez was sentenced to 13 months to 10 years for beating a motorist. (Photo: Michigan State Police)

A Wayne County (MI) Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans sentenced Inkster police officer William Melendez to 13 months to 10 years behind bars.

Melendez sat stoically in court Tuesday as Evans, in usual fighting form, unleashed a lengthy discussion of the acts he was convicted of.

You utilized your Dirty Harry tactics and used excessive force to arrest him, Evans told the officer.

Evans said she got letters from various people testifying to Melendezs high character and past acts of heroism, including saving people from a burning building.

Where was that man on the day Dent was beaten? The way you denigrated that man was awful, Evans said. Melendez was found guilty in November of assault and misconduct in the bloody beating of Dent during a traffic stop that was captured on video.

Police stopped Dent, 58, in Inkster for disregarding a stop sign, and dashcam video from a police vehicle shows Melendez punching him 16 times in the head.

Melendez was fired. Inkster later agreed to pay $1.4 million to Dent, who suffered broken ribs, blood on his brain and other injuries, CBS Detroit reports.
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Fresh off of her narrow win in the Iowa caucus, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told MSNBCs Chris Matthews in an interview that she respects this primary process and looks forward to the contest of ideas. Clinton contrasted the Democratic issue-oriented primary with the Republicans having a contest to see who can insult the most people, Were going to be talking about and arguing about issues on our side, theyre going to keep insulting each other on the Republican side.

Video:

Transcript courtesy of MSNBC (in part and with edits):

Clinton expressed her excitement about the CNN forum Wednesday evening and the upcoming MSNBC Democratic candidate debate in New Hampshire:

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Im really happy weve got a forum on CNN tomorrow night. Weve got your MSNBC debate on Thursday night, which will give us a chance to reach a larger audience. But Im going to be there day after day between now and Tuesday. I respect this primary process. I know how seriously people take it. And I just want them to understand what Im offering, what I believe we can do.

Matthews expressed alarm over Senator Sanders being a socialist and calling for a political revolution:

MATTHEWS: I know youve been saying nice things about your only opponent now. Its really a battle since Martin OMalley, Governor OMalley has withdrawn. Its a two-person race. The only person, and Im going to say this bluntly  the only person between a confirmed socialist whos calling for political revolution in this country, winning the nomination of the Democratic party, which has always been more moderate than that, is you.

Matthews pulled out the Republican argument of how do you compete with someone who is offering free toys to voters:

MATTHEWS: How do you beat a person whos coming along in the primaries, however, whos saying, Im going to give you all the things you want, free tuition, more social security benefits without an increase in your taxes, healthcare from birth to death, all government paid. How do you compete with a revolution of promises, really?

Clinton expressed excitement over the young people involved on the Democratic side and then pivoted to what is at stake: Now allowing Republicans to rip away the progress weve made, noting the Supreme Court is at issue as well.

CLINTON: We cant let the Republicans rip away the progress weve made. We cant let them go back to trickle-down economics, repeal the affordable care act, we cant let them stack the supreme court for another generation against common sense kind of changes that we need. Weve got to get back to the middle, weve got to get back to the big center, weve got to get back to solving problems.

While embracing the contest of ideas between Democratic candidates, she touted herself as the person who has gotten things done and has a track record of results:

CLINTON: I know how hard this is and I totally appreciate how exciting it can be to be involved in a campaign that really just puts out these great big ideas. But I want folks to stop and think, no matter what age you are, OK, we agree on getting the economy going. We agree on raising incomes, we agree on combating climate change, we agree on universal coverage.

Who has the track record? Whos gotten the results? Who can actually produce the kind of change you want for yourself and your family and for our country? So Im very energized about this because I like a contest of ideas. Thats what politics should be about. Were going to be talking about and arguing about issues on our side, theyre going to keep insulting each other on the Republican side, but the goal for any sensible American has to be, do not turn the white house over to the Republicans in November. Do not turn the supreme court further over to their nominees. We cant let that happen.

Matthews pointed out that Clinton was offering a lesson in civics and then went on a bit of a rant about Sen. Bernie Sanders not being taught about how the system works and how there isnt going to be a revolution (probably not the best thing to say if indeed he doesnt want one):

MATTHEWS: But in every case, you had to battle Republicans who voted against it to the last person. And its always been a tough fight. You need 60 votes in the senate, you need, what is it, 218 in the house, and if you dont have it, nothing gets done. The Bernie people need to be taught, not him, he wont be taught  the kids behind him need to be told, this is how it works in our system. You can call for revolution, but it aint going to happen. There isnt going to be a revolution. Theres going to be an election, an inauguration, and then theres going to be a congress sitting with you youve got to do business with, no matter who gets elected. You dont have to worry about logic anymore, just, Im going to have a revolution and pay for everything.

But interestingly, Clinton didnt bite at this easy attack on Sanders. Instead, she said that she didnt think the American people could wait, essentially tying herself to the liberal and progressive causes:

CLINTON: Well, where I come out on this is, I dont think our country or the American people can wait. I dont think they can wait for better jobs with rising incomes, getting prescription drug costs down. I think people want to vote for somebody who is going to get in there on the first day, knows how to do the job, is prepared to do the job, and gets to work. And I will give everything Ive got to make sure that we preserve the progress weve made, because youre right, it is hard fought.

Clinton said what Republicans have made obvious any time they have been in the minority in recent years  our system is designed for incremental change:

CLINTON: Our system is set up to make it difficult. Checks and balances, separation of powers  our founders knew that if we were going to survive as a great democracy that they were creating, we had to have a system that kept the passions at bay. We had to have people who were willing to roll up their sleeves and compromise. We couldnt have idealogues who were just hurling their rhetoric back and forth. We had to actually produce results. That hasnt changed since George Washington. Weve got to produce results now because a democracy is a fragile organism, Chris. People have to believe they have a stake in it, that their voices count, that their votes count.

But then theyve got to see results from their investment in our democracy. Our democracy has to work better, our economy has to work better, our politics has to work better. Thats what I know how to do and thats what we have to get done in this election.

This was a great interview for Hillary Clinton. She managed to embrace progress and liberal ideas (nothing new for her) while at the same time selling herself as the pragmatist and realist who can get things done. Clinton did not take easy digs at Sanders, in spite of their close battle last night and upcoming battle in his neighboring state, where he is favored.

Democrats can be proud of having two candidates who are both committed to progressive and liberal ideals. It is just a matter of approach and minor policy disagreements at this point And after that, who can get it done and who can win the general election.
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For anyone who is not a staunch Tea Party Republican, it is likely they comprehend that any iteration of the GOP is a threat to Americans; except the rich and the religious. Whether it is taking food from children and seniors, trying to take healthcare access from close to 20 million, or obstructing regulatory protection for everyone, the consensus among the sane is that Republicans are not good for Americans.

Now, for the second time in less than a week, a noted journalist and Nobel-winning economist has joined a staunch progressive in sounding the alarm that if Republicans gain any more power, especially the White House, they pose a threat to the entire worlds population. It was just last week that Noam Chomsky, an alleged radical and MIT professor emeritus, said that the Republican Party is so extreme in rhetoric and policies that it poses a serious danger to human survival.

Those are strong assertions from both Messrs. Krugman and Chomsky, but they are assertions with merit and not just because the two men are not conservatives. In fact, Chomsky cited an article by two highly-respected conservative political analysts who called Republicans a radical insurgency that has totally abandoned parliamentary politics. The conservatives exact words in 2013 were that the GOP is ideologically extreme, scornful of facts and compromise, and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.

Three years later and the GOP has only gotten much more extreme and not only scornful of facts, they openly lie and could not care less when they are revealed to be mendacious. And, as Chomsky and Krugman warn, Republicans are on a crusade to exacerbate global climate change despite reams of data warning the planet, and it inhabitants, are doomed without immediate action.

Chomsky agrees with Ornstein and Mann and said, Today, the Republican Party has drifted off the rails. Its become what the respected conservative political analysts Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein call a radical insurgency. New York Times op-ed columnist, Paul Krugman fairly echoed Chomskys warning and wrote that no less than the fate of the planet rides on the results of this years election.

Chomsky said the GOP and its presidential candidates are literally a serious danger to human survival on account of Republicans nearly universal rejection of any measures to deal with climate change; something Chomsky, Krugman, sane humans, and 97 percent of climate scientists claim is a looming environmental catastrophe. In many parts of the world it is already an environmental catastrophe.

What troubles Chomsky, Krugman, and sane Americans is that all of the leading Republican presidential candidates either outright deny climate change exists, doubt it is a serious problem, or insist that no action should be taken to assuage the potential environmental catastrophe that Chomsky asserted is dooming our grandchildren.

Where Krugman differed from Chomsky in his Monday column is that while acknowledging that a Republican victory in November virtually dooms the planet, he is hopeful that increasingly affordable renewable energy advances may indeed save humanity; something Republicans and their fossil fuel money machine is intent on stopping at all costs and therein lies the looming threat.

In expressing his concern about the upcoming election, Chomsky advised voters to cast their ballots strategically, He noted that small differences between the factions can make a huge difference in systems of enormous power; like that afforded to the president. He said, Ive always counseled strategic voting. Meaning, in a swing state, or swing congressional district, or swing school board, if there is a significant enough difference to matter, vote for the better candidate  or sometimes the least bad.

Although not a ringing endorsement of any candidate, Chomsky said that if he lived in a swing state hed vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Interestingly, Chomsky who has at times been a Clinton critic said her presidency would resemble that of President Barack Obama. What some would say is not a bad thing. Chomsky did not cite the Presidents dedication to combatting climate change, or thwarting Republican efforts to make the threat worse. But he has condemned the President for using drone strikes to kill terrorists; something most Americans likely agree is better than risking a terror attack on American soil or sending tens-of-thousands of American troops into harms way.

Chomsky told Al Jazeera that regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, he would cast his general election vote against the Republican candidate. He justified his strategic vote on the obvious fact that,

There will be dire consequences to a GOP victory. What they are saying is, lets destroy the world. Is that worth voting against? Yeah. The likely Republicans candidates are, in my opinion, extremely dangerous, at least if they mean anything like what they are saying. I think it makes good sense to keep them far away from levers of power. Chomsky knows damn well the Republicans mean exactly what they are saying

It is too bad that regardless which Democrat wins the nomination, and possibly the White House, Americans and the worlds population are still in grave danger. Because Republicans will control at least one chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives, solely because disgruntled Democrats and angry EmoProgs could not bring themselves to even vote strategically in 2010; and it is why Republicans are powerful enough today to pose a serious danger to human survival.
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God told Iowa Republican Caucus attendees to elevate Ted Cruz to a narrow victory over runner-up Donald Trump and Florida Senator, Marco Rubio. The numbers were 28, 24 and 23 percent.

You know Evangelical hero Cruz, the Texas Senator. Hes the one who is so smitten with the Lord that he has pledged to repeal every word of Obamacare. Atta boy; lets kill a bunch of people for want of being able to afford to go to a doctor until its too late and they die on the way to the emergency room. Only the rich deserve to live, right?

On the plus side, one time Iowa Republican caucus winner, Mike Huckabee has dropped out and insufferable egomaniac, Trump shed the mantle of invincibility with his second place finish. The man who always makes the right decisions made the wrong one in skipping the last debate.

Rubio with his fast-closing third place finish gives us the portrait of someone at least slightly ethically challenged and too lazy to attend numerous Senate votes. Apparently there were great matinees being shown on those days. Lets face it, forcing an aging 44-year-old to labor 132 days for a $174,000 pittance is cruel and unusual punishment. Especially when theres a campaign to be run forcing Rubio to miss 39 or 67 October  December votes in 2015.

On the Democratic side, former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State (too bad shes not qualified) Hillary Clinton lost by winning. Hillary barely prevailed by an almost even split over Bernie Sanders by the narrowest of possible margins; a percentage of one point while forgotten candidate, former Maryland Governor Martin OMalley, actually floundered around zero percent for most of the night. Martin, MARTINgo home already. A successful public service track record, grounded and intelligent ideas, an indefatigable campaign, a pleasant speaking style and decency coming out your ears, still earns you virtually no voter response. Wait for a Cabinet post.

The narrowness of the Clinton win once again proved that white Good OleBoys hate Hillary almost as much as Trump and Bill OReilly hate Megyn Kelly. The immediate road ahead for Clinton is New Hampshire, definitely Bernie country and essentially unwinnable for Hillary. A compilation of polls by HuffPollster shows Sanders with an average of 55.25 to Hillarys 37.5. Maybe OMalley will stick around for his 2.4%, a marked improvement over Iowa.

Theres very little turnaround time in New Hampshire. The primary is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9. Clinton and Sanders, presumably tied after New Hampshire, next hit the Nevada Democratic caucus, February 20. If far west polls are to be believed, Clinton hits the jackpot in Nevada, giving her a 2-1 margin going into the South Carolina Democratic primary, Saturday, February 27. Clinton steamrolls over Bernie in South Carolina as well. Theres an ambitious Bernie youth ground game in the state, but so far to little avail.

For the record, a week earlier, the Republicans have at it. Initial polling shows there is a Trump resurgence with wide margins separating The Donald and Cruz and Rubio. Whether those margins will hold now that Trump has proven less than inevitable remain to be seen.

Hillary Clinton should be in a strong position going into the definitive Super Tuesday, March 1 stampede. On that date 15 primaries and caucuses will most likely determine the final outcome of the primary season even though the last pre-convention breath isnt drawn until the Washington DC Democratic primary, June 14.

It seems to be a three way battle for the Republican nomination. It also seems way too early to make anything resembling a final prediction for either party. How much of the Trump bluster and nonsense will stick to the wall? Will Rubios momentum carry him to the very top or will he fall back to the middle of the pack? Can people take Cruz/ acerbic personality for several more months? Is there any air left in such campaigns as Bush (who gets double digits in New Hampshire and South Carolina), Christie, Carson, Kasich, Fiorina, Santorum and Paul?

It is my considered opinion that you wont have Santorum, Kasich, Fiorina and Paul to kick around anymore come Super Tuesday. Carson and Bush need an infusion of luck and money to stay viable. But who really knows? With a busload of Republican candidates, anything can happen. An attack of the type the late Lee Atwater used to specialize in could derail a hot campaign in a matter of days. An ill-advised opinion can end a presidential campaign in a sound bite. Mitt Romneys father, George lost all his candidate mojo with these comments following a mid-60s visit to Vietnam.

Sometimes an Iowa victory means something and paves the way to the White House. Other times, an Iowa victory leads nowhere. The aforementioned Huckabee and Rick Santorum both won Iowa in earlier campaigns. Santorum didnt win the presidency that year and is a current bottom feeder while Huckabee has abandoned the current campaign trail. On other occasions, the winner in Iowa rides the victory all the way to the Oval Office.

The only thing thats clear at this point is that the Iowa finish and sure loss in New Hampshire notwithstanding, Hillary appears to have the inside track to the Democratic nomination. I love youth Pied Piper Bernie, the populist reformer who disdains those who disdain everybody not worth a million bucks, and if all the stars align, could win. I think giant money and Wall Street connections still count for more than a deep sincerity of cause. Maybe next time, but it would take a minor miracle this time around.

For the Republicans, flip a coin, or a SuperPac because giant money defines their campaigns and their nomination will be decided by SuperPacs, not candidates.

The great unknown; if hes behind, will Trump break his word and run as an independent?
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For some political observers who actually comprehend the danger of a rabid group of religious extremists infiltrating the halls of power from Washington D.C. to every tiny berg in America, Ted Cruzs Iowa victory was no surprise. In fact, after the lead up to the 2014 midterms when poll after poll showed voters sending failed Republican incumbents home to cry and pray only to win by large margins, it was obvious they had a secret weapon; nasty, virulent and extremist religion. A weapon, by the way, this column spent no small number of words warning would easily give Republicans more power and influence; especially in the states.

Now, it is true that Donald Trump has commonality and support among evangelical fanatics, but he does not run his campaign on pledging to hew to Christian fundamentalists vision of a Taliban-like American theocracy like Cruz; and Trump paid the price in the Iowa caucuses.

Since its inception, Cruz has portrayed his campaign for the presidency as a religious war, and Christian crusade, in which evangelical true believers will elevate gods anointed one, Texas Ted, as Americas rightful ruler. In fact, the first words in Cruzs victory speech was an appeal to evangelical theocrats; he said, Let me first of all say: to God be the glory. As a clever Muslim woman noted, Cruz uttered the Republican version of Allahu Akbar!

Cruzs maniacal evangelical father Rafael actually claims, and evangelicals believe, that his son is gods chosen emissary to transform America into the Christian nation according to the Founding Fathers original intent; like a messianic figure. Elder Cruz even agrees with Glenn Beck that Ted Cruzs candidacy is divine providence and that Texas Ted is the prophetic figure who will save us all. Beck said,

Everybody was born for a reason. In your son, I am more and more convinced in the hand of divine providence. Cruz concurred saying, Oh, absolutely. Who doesnt want to be the father of the messiah?

Cruzs brand of evangelical-driven hate won over Trumps generalized hate with ardent support of religious freaks such as the Family Leaders Bob Vander Plaats who agrees with Cruz that gods law supersedes the Constitution, the Supreme Court is irrelevant, and that America must emulate Vladimir Putin and imprison those who speak out for gay rights. Cruz still contends that the Supreme Courts Obergefell ruling is god-wrong and that marriage equality is an abomination to him and his god, and if it is allowed to exist at all, it is the purview of the states.

Joining Cruz and Vander Plaats in the Iowa campaign was Duck Dynasty religious maniac Phil Robertson who told Cruzs audiences that as president Cruz will deal a death blow to equal rights and marriage equality. According to the hirsute duck-boy, the 14th Amendment guaranteeing gay couples marriage equality Is evil. Its wicked. Its sinful. We have to rid the earth of them. Get them out of there. Ted Cruz loves God. Cruz never distances himself from Robertsons theocratic rants.

A lot of Americans love god, but they are not all like the hate-driven evangelicals who single-handedly propelled Cruz to victory over Donald Trump; it informs why Democrats would do well to stop perpetually underestimating these dangerous human beings and start calling out their radical intent to control all Americans.

If one was courageous enough to sit through Cruzs sermon in the guise of a victory speech, they would have heard a litany of biblical references, a slew of actual biblical scriptures and passionate appeals to inject Judeo-Christian values as the government. Cruzs embrace of the Christian right is not new, and certainly not insincere and that is what should horrify Americans; the crazy evangelical Cruz means every radical religious thing he utters as do his equally rabid theocratic acolytes.

There is a reason Cruz launched his presidential candidacy at an evangelical school, Liberty University, and why he courted the endorsements of, and enlisted, the leading theocratic conservatives across America and particularly in Iowa. To organize an extremely passionate and radical Christian conservative movement to get out the vote on Iowas caucus day and propel him to victory over equally hateful, but not religiously fanatical, Donald Trump.

As Amanda Marcotte noted, Ted Cruz won Iowa on the back of the scariest Bible-thumpers in the business; and scarier still is that they exist nationwide in great numbers. The fact that evangelicals are allegedly on the decline, and yet still easily propelled failed Republicans to victory in the 2014 midterms, and Cruz in Iowa, is a portent for disaster and a fair warning to decent Americans. Not addressing the rise of the American Taliban is precisely why Ted Cruzs nasty evangelical hate easily bested Donald Trumps generalized hatred in Iowa and likely across America.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) shamed Republicans on the Senate floor for perpetuating the already problematic rigged legal system that protects corporate lawbreakers and the rich, bringing to light two Republican proposals that protect corporate lawbreakers and make it harder to investigate and prosecute bank fraud.

Watch here:



We have one set of laws on the books, but there are really two legal systems. One legal system is for big companies, for the wealthy and the powerfulIn this legal system, instead of demanding actual punishment for breaking the law, the government regularly accepts token fines and phony promises to do better next time, Senator Warren said. The second legal system is for everyone elseIn this legal system, the government locks up people up for decades, ruining lives over minor drug crimes, because thats what the law demands.

At issue is the Republicans running to the rescue of white-collar criminals again, even when there is evidence that it is already very difficult to prosecute corporate actors for suspected criminal deeds because it is hard to prove intent. Instead, regulators have relied on civil actions and fees, which clearly shows the disparity in justice between everyday people and the wealthy and powerful.

So Republicans are trying to make it harder to prove intent for white-collar criminals. They are doing this by holding up a bill that is supposed to help reduce mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenders unless Congress includes a mens rea amendment that would make it harder to prosecute white-collar criminals.

If adopted, this amendment would severely weaken the already anemic enforcement of federal white-collar criminal laws, Warren wrote in a report called Rigged Justice that she released last week.

Republicans didnt leave off their protection of the wealthy there, however. They have another bill (H.R.766) that would make it harder to investigate and prosecute bank fraud. Senator Warren was not impressed with that bill, either. It is set for a vote Wednesday.

The American people expect better from us. They expect us to straighten out our criminal justice system and reform drug enforcement practices that do nothing but destroy lives and communities. They expect us to stand up to unjustified violence, Senator Warren said on the Senate floor. They also expect us to protect the financial system and to hold Wall Street executives accountable when they break the law. They expect us to hold big companies accountable when they steal billions from taxpayers, when they rip off students or veterans or retirees or single moms, or when they cover up health or safety problems and people get sick, get hurt, or die because of it.

We are supposed to have blind justice but we do not have that. We have $$$$$ justice, color-biased justice, and gender-biased justice (in other words, the not-in-power biases) and it is only getting worse, courtesy of the Republicans ruling both chambers of Congress currently.

Post Bush Great Recession and subsequent taxpayer funded Big Bank bailouts, its disturbing that Republicans feel their priority should be ensuring less accountability for the powerful corporations and bankers that use our taxpayer-funded infrastructure in order to make huge profits and then get a socialized bailout from the little people when their risks dont turn out well.

Wall Street didnt go to jail after defrauding the American public and rendering their pensions worthless. Instead they asked for yet another handout and got it. So its not clear why they need to be protected more.

Republicans dont apply their belief that prison/punishment deters petty criminals to their Wall Street funders.

Republicans feel so strongly about protecting the wealthy that they are holding up a bill to reduce mandatory drug sentencing unless Democrats will agree to give corporate actors a get-out-of-jail-free-card. A card they do not even need, if recent history is taken into account.

Remember this the next time a cynical friend tells you that both sides are the same. They are not, and the proof is in the policy and bills.
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The Funeral Mass for John "Jack" Prow will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, officiated by the Rev. Paul Nelson. Friends are invited one hour prior to the Mass at the church on Friday (10 a.m. to 11 a.m). Military honors will be provided by American Legion Post 92 at the church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Mr. Prow, 78, passed away Jan. 31, 2016, at his home of natural causes.

He was born April 7, 1937, at St. Cloud, Minn. He grew up there and moved to Rochester with his family during his high school years. He graduated from Lourdes High School in 1955. He then served in the U.S. Air Force. He worked at K-Mart and Kahler Hotel as his first jobs. In 1952, the Prow family built and opened The Prow's Motel, where John worked as a front desk clerk. On Dec. 17, 1957, The Prow Company was formed as a business specializing in a commercial real estate development. Jack later became its CEO and president, positions he held for more than 40 years. He retired in October 2015.

In 1964, he was considered one of Rochester's most eligible bachelors, and was chair for the Ms. Minnesota pageant. He met Marlene Prout in 1966. The couple had one daughter, Debra Gustafson.

As president of The Prow Company, Jack purchased several businesses in Rochester, including, but not limited to, The Fashion Tree Women's Clothing Store, the Carlton Hotel (the current Days Inn Downtown), The Maxwell House and the Parker Hotel (currently The Civic Inn). He also had his hand in the purchase and reconstruction of the old Wonder Bread Factory building, where Workforce Development resided for several years. Jack's accomplishments are far too long to list. He had a heart so big, having helped several Rochester area businesses get their feet in the door and become successful. He leaves behind a great legacy that his daughter and grandchildren will carry on.

He is survived by his daughter, Debra (David) Gustafson of Rochester; two brothers, Donald (Barb) Prow and Thomas (Laura) Prow both of Rochester; grandchildren, Jacqueline Batista of Monroe, Wis.; Nicholas Gustafson, Travis Gustafson, Dawntaya Fullilove, Tyree Gustafson and Tamisha Gaustafson, all of Rochester. In addition, 10 great-grandchildren survive.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Marcel and Marie (Brausch) Prow; two brothers, Gerald and Mark Prow; a sister, Marilou Henderlite; and a grandson, Brandon Gustafson.

Macken Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com.
Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights Movement led to a series of laws banning public discrimination. African-Americans no longer were barred from certain restaurants, some schools were integrated and fair housing laws created more living options. But today, it's clear that court rulings and legislation didn't change the root cause of conscious and unconscious bias  the widespread belief in racial hierarchy still exists.

As a nation, we didn't understand the power of this belief, this misguided notion that some people are either superior or inferior because of the color of their skin.

This bias manifests in many ways. Unarmed men and women are killed by police and civilians, the justice system seems tilted toward whites and there remains unequal treatment for children and adults when it comes to health, education, housing and employment.

David R. Williams, a sociology professor at Harvard University, cites studies showing that when whites, blacks and Hispanics visited hospital emergency rooms with the same ailment, white patients received pain medication more frequently than people of color.

Does that make the physicians racist?

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That may not be the case. With the advancements in neuroscience, we now know much more about the power of the mind. We understand that unconscious beliefs are deeply held, that centuries of this belief system have unconsciously shaped how some of us respond. But now, 21st century technology  YouTube, cellphones, dashboard cameras, body cameras  are leveraged to shape new beliefs about our humanity. They are capturing and exposing vivid samples of people of color abused and dehumanized. We must move beyond the absurd notion that some people have more value than others.

What's promising is that recent polling data demonstrates a palpable desire for a positive change in how we view one another and how we shape our society to reflect the inherent value of all people. We have carried the burden and the weight of this mythology of a hierarchy of human value, allowing it to weigh our country down for centuries. We must jettison that belief and move forward with the truth of our equal values as a human family.

It's significant that a polling analysis conducted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in conjunction the Northeastern University School of Journalism, has found that a majority of whites now acknowledge that racism still exists, and it creates bias in structures such as the criminal justice system. Furthermore, a majority of Americans believe more needs to be done to eliminate racism. In a poll last year, 53 percent of whites said more changes needed to be made to give blacks equal rights with whites, up from just 39 percent a year earlier.

Those findings underscore that now is the time for the Truth Racial Healing and Transformation process, which the Kellogg Foundation launched on Jan. 28. More than 70 diverse organizations and individuals ranging from the National Civic League to the YWCA USA to the NAACP are partners in the TRHT process. This broad coalition seeks to move the nation beyond dialogues about race and ethnicity to unearthing historic and contemporary patterns that are barriers to success, healing those wounds and creating opportunities for all children.

Specifically, the process will prioritize inclusive, community-based healing activities and policy design that seek to change collective community narratives and broaden the understanding that Americans have for their diverse experiences. TRHT will assemble national and local commissions that will hold public forums on the consequences of racial inequity and work toward mobilizing systems and structures to create more equitable opportunities. In the forums, we will also discuss racial hierarchy and how best to dismantle it.

Clearly, there must be broader knowledge of the harm that comes from the devaluation and from the structures of inequality. They create physical harm; they create mental and emotional harm, and when there's harm, healing is needed.

When an unarmed black person is killed, I have a bodily reaction to that tragedy. I relive losses of my own, such as when I was a teenager in Cleveland. My first cousin was shot and killed by a white thrill-seeker in our segregated neighborhood. I recall that we buried her that week, while he enlisted in the Navy and left the city. It was the first funeral I ever attended. Despite all the joyful moments my cousin and I shared growing up together, my only lasting recollection is of her body lying in that casket.

All of us must become more cognizant of the cost of violence and the harm. We must be willing to invest in the processes that help to bring about healing.

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TRHT will lead this transformation. Other Truth and Reconciliation efforts around the world aim to reconcile. But America's genesis is this hierarchy. And so we don't have to come back, we don't need to reconcile, this nation needs to transform. The TRHT will chart that course.

Gail C. Christopher is vice president for Truth Racial Healing and Transformation and a senior adviser at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Yes, at the GEC voting center at the Westin.

Yes, at one of the satellite voting centers open on Saturdays.

No; I'm voting on Nov. 8.

No; I'm not voting in the general election.

Vote

View Results
The mass immigration from Islamic countries into central and western Europe has been a debacle, particularly in those countries the migrants have selected as desirable destinations, like Germany and Sweden. (Who wouldnt?) In Germany, the disaster has been such that in at least one poll, 40% of Germans want Chancellor Angela Merkel to resign over her refugee policy.

So Germanys government is trying to adopt a more rational approach toward the million or so migrants who have chosen to call the country home. On Sunday, Germanys Labor Minister, Andrea Nahles, wrote in one of the countrys principal newspapers that migrants will suffer consequences if they fail to conform to German mores:

If you come to us seeking protection and wanting to start a new life, you have to stick to our rules and values, Nahles wrote in an op-ed for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. If you signal that you cant integrate, your benefits will be cut. Nahles added that migrants welfare payments should be linked to their attendance at German language classes and to their behaviour. Anyone seeking help in Germany must bring all of their abilities, their strength to work and their own property, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician said. Nahles also announced that she had tasked her ministry with producing a new draft law on integration to slash bureaucracy and set aside cash resources to fund the process.

The devil, of course, is in the execution. It is hard to imagine that the German government will be able to track the enormous number of individual migrants, to figure out whether they are seriously attending German classes and engaging in proper behaviour, and to cut their welfare payments accordingly. That is probably too much to expect from any countrys bureaucracy.

But it is noteworthy that the German government is at least trying to palliate its citizens outrage over the irrational immigration scheme that has been imposed on them by Angela Merkels administration.
President Obama seems to believe in nothing more than he does the defense of Islam. He specializes in pronouncements on what is truly Islamic and what is not. Such pronouncements are always intended to preserve the good name of Islam. Al Qaeda, of course, not Islamic. The Islamic State, not Islamic.

San Bernardino murderers Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, not Islamic.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, well, they must be Islamic, but I dont think anyone has bothered to ask him. Obama seeks to ally the United States with the Iranian regime, as he sought to ally the United States with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood, theyre Islamic. Obama invited members of the Brotherhoods parliamentary membership to attend his 2009 Cairo speech. Indeed, he gave them front row seats. They must be good Muslims by his lights.

What about Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood offshoot? Again, I dont think anyone has asked him.

Its a curious phenomenon. One is left to draw ones own conclusions.

Today Obama makes his first visit to an American mosque. He plans to appear and speak at the mosque of the Islamic Center of Baltimore. Its Islamic, but it raises the usual concerns of sane Americans such as Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the Islamic Forum for Democracy, reported by FOX News on Sunday: As a Muslim American Im just insulted, this is disgraceful that this is one of the mosques  or the mosque  that hes chosen to visit.

Investors Business Daily notes in a reported editorial:

President Obama is conferring legitimacy on a Baltimore mosque the FBI just a few years ago was monitoring as a breeding ground for terrorists, after arresting a member for plotting to blow up a federal building. IBD has learned that the FBI had been conducting surveillance at the Islamic Society of Baltimore since at least 2010 when it collared one of its members for plotting to bomb an Army recruiting center not far from the mosque in Catonsville, Md. Agents secretly recorded a number of conversations with a 25-year-old Muslim convert  Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain  and other Muslims who worshipped there. According to the criminal complaint, Martinez said he knew brothers who could supply him weapons and propane tanks. He indicated that if the military continued to kill their Muslim brothers and sisters, they would need to expand their operation by killing U.S. Army personnel where they live, FBI special agent Keith Bender wrote. Martinez said that in studying the Quran he learned that Islam counsels Muslims to fight those who fight against you. Sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012, Martinez also stated in a social media posting that he wanted to join the ranks of the mujahideen in Pakistan or Afghanistan (a country that struggle[sic] for the sake of allah). Most of ISBs board members are from Pakistan. To help disrupt the plot, the FBI reportedly put an undercover agent in the mosque, which upset the leadership there. After protests, the FBI sent an official to ISB to take questions and mollify concerns the bureau was spying on Muslims. Members of the mosque complained that the FBI tried to entrap Martinez and other Muslim terrorism suspects by sending spies with Muslim names into the mosque. If I was the president of the mosque, I would not let you come here without strip(-searching) you, one member angrily told the FBI official, because you might drop something (like a bug) to hear whats going on here. The Muslim Link newspaper described the questioner as Pakistani. This is the mosque that will be honored with a visit from Obama on Wednesday, the first U.S. mosque visit of his presidency. Its now abundantly clear the White House failed to properly vet the venue. Reportedly, it let the Council on American-Islamic Relations choose the site, even though the FBI has banned CAIR from outreach because of known ties to the Hamas terrorist group. For a number of years weve been encouraging the president to go to an American mosque, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said. With the tremendous rise in anti-Muslim sentiment in our country, we believe that it will send a message of inclusion and mutual respect. As we reported Tuesday, ISB is affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America  which federal prosecutors in 2007 named a radical Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas front and an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator in a scheme to funnel more than $12 million to Hamas suicide bombers  and ISB has helped organize the terror-tied ISNAs conferences. The Shariah-compliant mosque was led for 15 years by a radical cleric  Imam Mohamad Adam el-Sheikh  who once represented a federally designated al-Qaida front group. El-Sheikh also has argued for the legitimacy of suicide bombings, according to the Washington Post. We also first reported that ISB board member and vice president Muhammad Jameel has blamed American foreign policy  namely, U.S. support for Israel  for terrorism and the rise of Osama bin Laden.

IBD has more, and then sums up: So lets recap. The mosque that is hosting the commander in chief, while receiving his historic benediction graduated a terrorist who plotted to blow up a local Army recruiting station, hired an imam who condoned suicide bombings and blames American foreign policy for terrorism.

As I say, one is left to draw ones own conclusion. IBD draws this one, which errs on the side of generosity and caution: Obama has to be willfully blind not to see all these ties to terror.
Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Sen. Tom Cotton, the bipartisan congressional effort to reduce the mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal drug felonies, and to release many drug felons from jail, is on hold in the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for what Politico calls a breather of sorts on the bill, so that Republican Senators can examine the issue more closely.

Sen. John Cornyn is using this time to press his fellow Senate Republicans hard in favor of the lenient sentencing legislation he is co-sponsoring, the passage of which is a core agenda of President Obama for his final year in office. But why?

Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, points out that Cornyn has consistently opposed such legislation in the past:

What is truly remarkable is that while in the Senate minority, Cornyn argued vociferously against early criminal release in 2011 when the sentencing commission implemented retroactive sentencing reductions of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. And again in 2014 when the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014 was proposed, the precursor of the current legislation, Cornyn objected citing the nations historic heroin epidemic and warning of tens of thousands of additional murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, and incidents of arson. If anything, the rise of the use of heroin has become more endemic since 2014, and the streets more dangerous.

Moreover, Cornyn all but scoffed at the pet argument of Team Leniency, whose ranks he has now joined, namely that only non-violent drug offenders would get lighter sentences. He wrote:

The notion that drug traffickers are non-violent is simply incorrect. Among other factors, disputes over [drug] money cannot be settled with a lawsuit. Violence and threats are the norm.

Why the about-face? Manning notes that Cornyn is leaning on the idea of empathy. He told the New York Times:

It doesnt hurt to show that you actually care. This is a statement that is not just symbolic, but actually shows that you care about people. It doesnt hurt to show some empathy.

Until recently, John Cornyn likely would have been among the first to point out that empathy should be directed in the first instance to the victims of rampant drug crime  those who live the neighborhoods most affected. As Manning puts it:

Senator Cornyn, whose sense of empathy must have developed at Washington, D.C. cocktail parties, should prove he truly cares for people whose neighborhoods have been ravaged by drugs and violent crimes by moving to those one of those neighborhoods so he can see for himself the impact of releasing early thousands of hardened drug kingpins and violent criminals back on to the streets of America. Senator Cornyns empathetic conscience needs to meet the reality of the street, where a 77 percent recidivism rate amongst released prisoners is the norm, with 25 percent of those crimes being violent and nature.

The question persists, though: why did Sen. Cornyn flip on this issue? What happened to John Cornyn?
PR-Inside.com: 2016-02-03 16:02:01

Supported by the GSMA, Sutel and the Deputy Ministry of Telecommunications, Claro, ICE and Telefonica Pledge to Tackle Mobile Phone Theft and Promote Greater User Accessibility

GSMA and Costa Rican Operators Commit to a Safer Mobile Environment

For the GSMA

Tatiana Cantoni (Brazil)

+55 11 95210-2225

taticantoni@pimenta.com

or

GSMA Press Office

pressoffice@gsma.com

Mobile operators today announced a series of new initiatives as part of the WeCare Costa Rica campaign run by the GSMA to provide a safer and more reliable environment for all mobile users. Operators Claro, ICE and Telefonica will work together to fight mobile phone theft as well as facilitate greater accessibility for consumers with disabilities with the support of Costa Ricas telecoms regulator, Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel), and the Deputy Ministry of Telecommunications.

There are currently more than 7.6 million mobile connections in Costa Rica, of which almost 37 per cent are smartphone connections1. 4G deployment is also rapidly expanding and is forecast to leap from 126,000 connections at the end of 2015 to more than two million by 2020.

Strong growth in the Costa Rican mobile market demonstrates how mobile technology can be put to good use by working proactively to help solve some of the countrys social problems, said Sebastian Cabello, Head of GSMA Latin America.

Today in San Jose, a letter of commitment was signed between Carlos Rios Briceno, Country Manager at Claro Costa Rica; Jaime Palermo Quesada, Head of Telecommunications at ICE; Jorge Abadia, Country Manager at Telefonica Costa Rica; Gilbert Camacho Mora, President of the Board at Sutel; Emilio Arias Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications of Costa Rica; and Sebastian Cabello on behalf of the GSMA.

The latest initiatives to form part of the WeCare Costa Rica campaign include:

Reducing Handset Theft

Handset theft is one of the most common crimes in Costa Rica; in March 2012 it became the first country in Latin America to connect all its mobile operators to the GSMAs International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) database2, which shares information about stolen mobile phones globally.

In the latest move to tackle mobile device theft and trafficking between countries, Sutel today agreed to implement GSMAs IMEI Device Check. This system will enable Costa Rican consumers to check the Sutel website in real time when buying a handset, to see whether it appears on the global list of stolen mobile devices. The blacklist on the GSMA IMEI database is updated every day through reports from more than 100 operators around the world, including 45 operators in 16 Latin American countries.

Supporting Disabled Consumers

According to data from 20113, almost 11 per cent (452,859) of the Costa Rican population has some kind of disability and requires support to improve their quality of life. Claro, ICE and Telefonica signed an agreement with the Mobile Manufacturers Forum to improve access from their websites to the data system of the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI)4. The system enables users to identify mobile handsets in their area that offer services designed to assist users with disabilities.

The three mobile operators also agreed to continue exploring further activities of common interest that could help to improve citizens quality of life, as a second phase of the WeCare Costa Rica campaign. In 2014, mobile operators waived call charges to the 1147 child helpline, run by Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (National Child Welfare Institute - PANI).

Supporting Statements

Emilio Arias Rodriguez, Deputy Minister of Telecommunications of Costa Rica: Mobile penetration has reached 151 per cent in Costa Rica, and this trend is set to continue. In this context, and as we work to build an integrated, inclusive and caring society, it is essential to keep taking action to enable every citizen, without exception, to have access to affordable, quality telecommunications services through the development of infrastructure that supports sustainable, efficient, secure and robust mobile networks. These networks will also be key to enabling people to develop their skills and knowledge, in particular those people who are the most vulnerable, through productive, safe and meaningful use of these tools."

Jaime Palermo, Telecommunications Manager, ICE: These initiatives reaffirm our commitment with actions to help support the efforts of the Costa Rican government to ensure better security and increased accessibility of services for the entire population. In ICE we believe that technology is key to economic and social development and should contribute to the protection of the rights of Costa Ricans.

Carlos Rios Briceno, Country Director, Claro Costa Rica: "Claros philosophy is to be part of the solutions to the needs of our customers. We care about the lives of Costa Ricans, which is why we are celebrating this agreement for WeCare Costa Rica. We trust that this will be the start of many steps towards improving the quality of life of mobile users.

Jose Pablo Rivera, Regulatory Manager, Telefonica Movistar Costa Rica: "Telefonica Movistar joined the WeCare Costa Rica campaign because we strongly believe that ICTs are key to improving peoples quality of life. For past three years, we have worked closely with 800 operators worldwide to block stolen mobile phones and to discourage these types of crimes from being committed. This agreement allows us to support Costa Rica through Telefonica Groups various initiatives in the area of disability and which aim to promote social inclusion."

Gilbert Camacho, President, Sutel: "One of Sutels objectives is the protection of users rights. This led to us signing an agreement with the GSMA in 2012 to discourage the theft of mobile phones; in fact Costa Rica was the first Latin American country to implement the initiative. Today we are taking a further step to provide new tools for users to combat this problem. We believe that through initiatives like WeCare Costa Rica, we can build a better country."

About WeCare

The GSMAs WeCare campaign was launched by Latin American operators to ensure all consumers can enjoy the transformational benefits of mobile technology in a safe and secure environment. To achieve this, operators joined forces to make a series of commitments in every country in the region where mobile phones and networks can provide solutions to social problems. The WeCare campaign has already been launched in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua, and will continue to expand throughout the region.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

1 Source: GSMA Intelligence, December 2015

2 To access the latest information about handset theft in Latin America and the GSMA IMEI database please visit http://www.gsma.com/latinamerica/handset-theft-ime

3 Data from the report Approach to the situation of children and adolescents with disabilities in Costa Rica by the Second Vice Presidency of the Republic of Costa Rica, Nationality Council of Rehabilitation and Special Education (CNREE) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Costa Rica, July 2014. http://www.unicef.org/costarica/20140801_discapaci

4 More information about the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) is available at http://gari.info/index.cfm?lang=eng

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201602030050
Kannywood actress, Ummah Shehu, has told PREMIUM TIMES how she started her career in the Hausa film industry.

Ummah, 26, said the industry brought out acting skills she never knew she had.

Relatively new in Kannywood, Ummah won her first award in 2015 at the City People Awards, as the best new actress in the Hausa film category.

Ummah said she experienced her lifes biggest transformation after acting in the film Sa-In-Sa, besides Adam Zango.

Although I acted besides Adam Zango who is a great personality in the Kannywood, and as a new comer, it was like what an opportunity. I was his wife in the film. That same movie, Sa-In-Sa got me an award last year even though I met many other actors who could not match my performance for the award, she said.

Ummah also narrated how she started her acting career.

Tijjani Asase was very instrumental to me joining the Kannywood. He has always been a family friend and one day he came to my house in Tudun Wada, Kaduna, and while we got talking, he told me to follow him to one location where they were shooting a new film.

We went there and the actress to feature in that film was not available and the director, Falalu Dorayi, insisted on recording that scene that same day. Reluctantly I said Let me do it, they all turned around and looked at me. I said yes, let me do it, she said.

Ummah said she was given the role and was given the script to go through.

In two hours I was done and I left, she said. I started getting calls from movie producers and directors. So far, I have acted in more than 30 films and still counting.

On marriage plans, Ummah said she hoped to get married soon.

I was once married and had a baby. It did not last long and now I am trying to build a career now but definitely I will marry again and I will invite PREMIUM TIMES, she said.

Ummah also said her dream holiday destination is Switzerland. She loves Tuwo miyan Kubewa, a Hausa local delicacy.

Ummah Shehu said she hoped to clinch more awards in 2016.
Oil price rose on Wednesday, paring earlier losses, after fresh comments from Russia about its openness to talk with OPEC over output cuts helped revive hope of higher prices.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said if there is consensus among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members to meet, then we will meet.

This helped push the price of oil, which had been set for a third day of declines after data on Tuesday showed another big build in U.S. inventories, off the days lows.

Brent for April delivery rose 40 cents to $33.12 a barrel, pulling away from a session low of $32.30.

U.S. crude futures rose 46 cents to $30.34, off a session low of $29.40.

Is there going to be a meeting between Russia and OPEC? That is a supportive factor in this rally that weve seen in the last one hour, PVM Oil Associates analyst, Tamas Varga said.

Oil is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and the West African country is reeling from huge revenue loss following the crash of crude oil price.

(Reuters/NAN)
Bristow Helicopters has given details of the accident involving one of its aircraft Wednesday, saying the helicopter actually landed on water.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the company said the helicopter got involved in water landing in Lagos while returning from an offshore platform.

The statement said the nine passengers on board and a crew of two are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation.

The statement said,  Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today that one of its helicopters, was involved in a water landing near Lagos at about 10.25 a.m. local time on return from an offshore platform.

The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C++, had departed on a routine crew transfer flight offshore with nine passengers and a crew of two.

All persons onboard are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation.

The company is in the process of collecting pertinent information and will release more details as soon as it is available.

The Accident Investigations Bureau had earlier told PREMIUM TIMES that crew members and passengers aboard the helicopter survived the accident.

Tunji Oketunbi, the spokesperson for the Bureau told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that all occupants of the craft survived the accident.

They all survived, they all survived, the AIB spokesperson said when contacted for updates.

Mr. Oketunbi later issued the following statement,  A S76 C++ helicopter marked 5N-BQJ belonging to Bristow Helicopters, which departed ERHA Platform enroute Lagos was ditched into the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles into destination at about 10:20am local time.

All the eleven souls on board including two crew members were rescued alive. Accident Investigation Bureau AIB has commenced investigation into the occurrence. Details will be communicated to you later.

The new crash occurred less than six months after another helicopter belonging to the same company crashed in Lagos.

The chopper had on August 12, 2015 plunged into the Lagos Lagoon, killing six of the 12 persons on board.
The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party as governor of the oil-rich Akwa Ibom State.

The court gave the ruling validating the April 11 governorship election on Wednesday night but did not provide reasons for its judgment.

The court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which nullified Mr. Udoms election.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Udom of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, won the lawfully cast votes in the April 11, 2015 election.

Full details of the ruling would be provided on a February 15, the court said.

Background

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had on December 18 nullified the Akwa Ibom State governorship election of April 11, removing Mr. Emmanuel, from office.

Mr. Emmanuels election was challenged by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Umana Umana.

At the election tribunal, Mr. Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party, had secured partial victory, with the election cancelled only in 18 out of the states 31 local government areas.

The tribunal had ordered a rerun.

Mr. Emmanuel had challenged the ruling, insisting he won in all 31 LGAs.

The APC candidate, Mr. Umana, also appealed against the ruling, seeking a total nullification of the election.

But a five-man panel at the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Emmanuels argument, and cancelled the entire election.

The appeal court had said the tribunal was wrong in its refusal to comply with section 179 (2) of the Constitution. The appeal court had said the tribunal was wrong in its refusal to comply with section 179 (2) of the Constitution.

The court said having agreed with the evidence of principal witnesses, video evidence, and evidence from state collation agents, the tribunal should have concluded that there was no collation and that votes were merely allotted.

The question is, if there was no collation, can there be said to be an election, the court asked. Indeed where there was no collation of election, there cannot be said to be an election.

The tribunal was wrong in failing to nullify the entire election, the court ruled, setting aside the judgement of the tribunal in the 13 LGAs.

The entire election is hereby nullified. The election that brought Mr. Udom is hereby nullified, it ruled.

The appeal court then ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct fresh election within 90 days.

That verdict has now been upturned by the Supreme Court, and Mr. Emmanuel can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party as governor of Abia State.

The court gave the ruling validating the April 11 governorship election on Wednesday night but did not provide reasons for its judgment.

The court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which nullified Mr. Ikpeazus election on December 31, 2015.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Ikpeazu of the PDP won the lawfully cast votes in the April 11, 2015 election.

Full details of the ruling would be provided on a February 26, the court said.

Background

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, had on December 31 removed Mr. Ikpeazu as governor of the South-east State.

The court also declared Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance the winner of the April 11 and April 25 supplementary elections in the state.

Delivering judgment in an appeal filed by Mr. Otti, the five-member panel, headed by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, said the APGA candidate scored 164, 444 valid votes to defeat Mr. Ikpeazu who scored 114, 444 votes.

The court declared that Mr. Otti was the winner of the April 11 and April 25 supplementary elections in Abia.

Justice Omoleye said the cancellation of the elections held in three LGAs of Obingwa, Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa by the returning officers after the results were uploaded to INEC was wrong.

In the Electoral Act, the Returning Officer has the right to only declare results of elections and not to cancel elections.

This panel discovered that the earlier results uploaded to INEC headquarters correspond with the correct valid registered voters in the three LGAs, while that awarded to the respondent shows over voting and therefore null and void.

Justice Omoleye had while reviewing preliminary objections and issues raised by both parties, struck out the preliminary objections by Mr. Ikpeazus counsel to the effect that the appeal lacked merit. Justice Omoleye had while reviewing preliminary objections and issues raised by both parties, struck out the preliminary objections by Mr. Ikpeazus counsel to the effect that the appeal lacked merit.

The court also turned down the objection raised by the PDP that the members of the panel were wrongfully constituted and affirmed the arguments of Mr. Ottis counsel.

The appellate court maintained that the lower tribunal erred by not handling all the issues raised before it on their merit.

It was wrong for the court below to insist that because the appellant failed to appear in person, his matter will not be given due attention.

For not appearing in person, the first appellant did not abandon his case, she said.

The court insisted that there was no need to call for re-run because the results of the April 11 and 25 polls clearly present Mr. Otti as the genuine winner of the exercise.

The court therefore directed INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Mr. Otti and swear him in as winner of the Abia Governorship election.

In his reaction to the judgment, Oracle Nwali, a lawyer in Mr. Ottis legal team, described the victory as an end of the year gift to APGA, saying Mr. Otti would not disappoint Abia people.

On his part, Charles Esonu, the PDP secretary in Abia, said the party and its candidate would study the judgment and decide on the next line of action.

Mr. Otti had proceeded to the Court of Appeal after the Abia tribunal gave its judgment on November 3, saying the PDP validly won the election.

In that 85-minute judgment, delivered by its Chairman, Usman Bwala, the tribunal said the petitioners  Mr. Otti and APGA  failed to prove their claim to have won the election beyond doubt.

Mr. Bwala said the petitioners had, on one hand urged the court to nullify the election on grounds that it was marred by irregularities and massive fraud and on the other hand, sought that they should be declared winners of the same election.

He said the petitioners reckoned with the card reader as a means of accreditation during the election of April 11 but failed to agree with use of voters register.

The tribunal further refused to grant the petitioners request to uphold the cancellation of the results of the election in Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala-Ngwa North Local Government Areas of the state.

Mr. Bwala said the State Returning Officer, Benjamin Ozumba, was not allowed under the law, to cancel the said results in the first place, hence the subsequent reversal by him had no effect.

He said the onus lay heavily on the petitioners to prove beyond doubt that they won the election as they claimed in their petition.

The tribunal chairman, therefore, dismissed the petition because of the failure of the petitioners to convince the tribunal beyond doubt that they won the election.

Mr. Otti had urged the tribunal to annul the declaration of Mr. Ikpeazu as governor, saying the election was marred by irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

He, however, urged the tribunal to declare him (Otti) the winner on account of the lawful votes cast during the election.

He also asked the tribunal to uphold Mr. Ozumbas cancellation of the results for Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala-Ngwa North LGAs.

He said Mr. Ozumba, having cancelled the results, did not have the power to cancel the result and reverse himself, adding that only the tribunal had the power to reverse the cancellation.
About two weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirate on money laundering, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has taken steps towards deepening the pact at the local level.

On January 20, Mr. Buhari signed a bilateral agreement tagged Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters with UEA authorities in Abu Dhabi, with a view to returning hidden money invested in banks and real estates in the country.

The EFCC boss on Wednesday sought the collaboration of the UAE ambassador to Nigeria, Muhammad A-Mahmud, towards the execution of the agreement.

The fight against graft requires the collaborative support of all and sundry, most especially the international community for it to be won, Mr. Magu said during a visit to the envoy on Wednesday.

According to the EFCC chairman, the present administration in the country is poised to recover the nations commonwealth looted and laundered in foreign countries by corrupt elements.

He said the commission had intelligence the UAE is considered a safe haven by corrupt, politically-exposed persons in Nigeria.

I have come to seek your support and cooperation just as we had in the case of Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, James Ibori, among others to get the mission accomplished, Mr. Magu pleaded.

In his remark, Mr. Al- Mahmud pledged the support of his country to Nigerias anti-graft war saying, no country can be an island on its own without the support of others.
The American University of Nigeria (AUN) with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday launched a literacy programme tagged Year of Literacy: Technology Enhanced Learning for All (TELA).

A statement by the executive director in charge of Communication and Public Relations, Daniel Okereke, said the project was formally launched in Yola by the universitys founder, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Adamawa State governor, Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla.

According to the statement, TELA is sponsored by the USAID, which gave the AUN a grant to improve literacy and numeracy in Adamawa State.

The program targets an estimated 22,000 vulnerable children, at-risk youths, orphans, displaced children, and adolescent boys and girls.

The US government gave $801,000 to fund this project and AUN has been tasked to prove that this pilot scheme is scalable. If it succeeds, it will be replicated across Nigeria.

AUN-API had identified 22,000 vulnerable children around the community. This is 2,000 more than the grant will fund; AUN will cover the costs of the additional children. Seven hundred and fifty facilitators (and 750 locations) have been identified throughout Yola and Jimeta to oversee the program.

It is expected that TELA will reach more than 22,000 beneficiaries in Adamawa State since radio is a common medium of mass communication in the north. Radio and tablet computers will be used as part of the instructional teaching content in the program.

President Ensign later invited the founder and the governor to launch the Lesson One of the literacy program. They were also handed the literacy workbook to share among the children. The Lesson One demo of the radio literacy workbook series went live for 15 minutes, said the statement.

It also quoted the lead facilitator of the radio literacy program, Jacob U. Jacob, the Interim Associate Dean of Arts & Science, as saying, Each location will have between 5-10 people and a facilitator to assist the childrens work.

We have also provided radio sets; the numeracy program will broadcast on Mondays at 4:10 pm and the literacy program on Thursdays at 4:10pm. Repeat broadcasts will air on Tuesdays and Fridays, he said, adding that AUN is partnering with Radio Gotel to air the program.

Another lead facilitator of the project, Grace Malgwi, explained the pedagogy of TELA.

She stated that radio is only part of the literacy program as tablets loaded with apps written by AUN students will also provide learning material for 2000 of the children.

Eighteen thousand children will be reached via radio and 2,000 will be reached face-to-face in an after-school tutoring program.

Ms. Malgwi, an assistant professor of English, further explained that AUN students would play a fundamental role in the literacy program.

AUN students enrolled in CDV courses are the trained tutors in the after school program; they have written over 50 childrens book-titles translated into Hausa and Fulfulde.

Every child will be taught letter identification, letter sounding, blending of sounds, and then proceed to reading three letter words, and decodable stories, she said.

The statement added further that TELA addresses the missing link between the home languages as a medium of instruction for these early grade primary school children, just as it addresses the current lack of appropriate reading materials available for use in instruction.

In his remarks the Adamawa State governor applauded the initiative and thanked USAID. He described the program as the future. He pledged his support to program, noting that there is nothing that will compromise his support for education. He agreed to make this year, the Year of TELA and Literacy in Adamawa State.

The founder of the university, Atiku Abubakar, told a touching account of his own pursuit of education in the 1950s, saying he used the sand as his notebook and his finger as the pencil.

You are lucky to have the pencil, paper, radio, and tablet. You have no excuse not to be literate, he said.

He stated that when AUN was first conceived, he thought that the mandate would be meaningless if it does not affect the lives of the immediate community of this state.

Mr. Atiku praised President Ensign for her excellent work in driving the vision of AUN as a development university.

He charged AUN community to ensure the mission and vision of the university is translated into development solutions.

The occasion was witnessed by members of the AUN community and other distinguished guests including the Adamawa State commissioners of education and health, Kaletpwa Farauta and Fatima Atiku, respectively, and Mr. Linus T. Wajiati of the State Agency for Mass Education who, in his vote of thanks, sought to partner AUN in the TELA project.

Other dignitaries who graced the occasion were chieftains of AUN-API, the prominent peace-building association, who nominated the TELA participants from their primary constituencies, including Stephen Mamza, the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Gambo Jika of Jamatu Nasril Islam, Stephen Ransom, Dauda Bello and Turai Abdulkadir.
The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday blamed all public office holders since 1999 for the countrys current political and economic woes.

He stated this in Abuja while speaking to journalists about opening the budget of the National Assembly and the allegation of corruption made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo against the federal legislature.

Mr. Obasanjo had recently written the two chambers of the National Assembly, accusing their members of corruption, greed and impunity.

Mr. Saraki said it was inappropriate to hold one person or institution responsible for the nations problems.

We have all been here since 1999 up to the recent past when things were not done right. We are all part of it. I was there, you were there; every other political office holder in different capacities was there as well.

The response of the 8th National Assembly is that the time for collective participation for the good of all Nigerians is here with us in line with the change mantra of the present administration. We are all on the same page for things to be done differently, he said.

The senate president said what is needed now is the cooperation, encouragement and participation of everybody in going forward rather than holding one person responsible for the woes.

Mr. Saraki repeated his earlier promise to provide the details of the N115 billion allocated to the National Assembly on a section-by-section basis.

Meanwhile, in a statement by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the senate president condemned the recent Boko Haram attacks in Dalori, Borno State, during which several people were killed and others injured.

He lamented the attacks against women and children on the outskirts of Maiduguri, saying it was unacceptable.

I condemn in totality this barbaric attack on mostly women and children in Dalori village. By all standards, these are defenceless and vulnerable groups. They need protection and we must ensure that they get protected.

We have recorded tremendous gains in the war against Boko Haram and their atrocities. But the recent attacks show that more needs to be done to restore security which is needed for the current rebuilding efforts in the region to succeed.

Mr. Saraki said the incident was devastating such that Governor Kashim Shettima had already begun the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the north eastern state.

He pleaded with the security agencies to ensure that such attacks did not distract them from the success they had made in the fight against the dreaded sect.

He further assured, The Senate will make further consultations with the authorities to see further areas of intervention that we can make that will assist the military so that this kind of incident will never occur again.
An Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate Court on Wednesday ordered the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police to arrest a former secretary of the Ekiti chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Temitope Aluko, for alleged perjury.

The Chief Magistrate, Soji Adegboye, gave the order based on a Motion Ex-parte number MAD/10cm/2016, filed by the Ekiti State Government against Mr Aluko and the State Commissioner of Police.

According to the order, the motion was made in pursuant to Section 117 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C16, law of Ekiti State 2012, Section 79 of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2014 and Section 23 (D) of the Magistrates Courts Law 2014.

The Ekiti State police commissioner was joined as second defendant and was required to execute the order against Mr. Aluko.

A lawyer, Sunday Olowolafe, had earlier petitioned the state attorney general, drawing attention to the alleged perjury by Mr. Aluko.

In his application, Mr. Olowolafe noted that Mr. Aluko was PDP witness from the Election Petitions Tribunal up to the Supreme Court in the petitions challenging the election of Governor Ayodele Fayose.

He said his recent recant of his testimonies in the courts as published in newspapers amounted to perjury.

Although the Commissioner of Police, Etop James, was expected to effect the arrest of Aluko, the police in Ekiti State said it had not received any such order to arrest the former PDP official.

Police Spokesman, Alberto Adeyemi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the story about a warrant of arrest remained a mere newspaper speculations.

According to him, the command was not aware of any order from a magistrate court.

Mr. Aluko recently told journalists in Abuja how he participated in the rigging of the 2014 governorship elections that brought Mr Fayose to power.

He alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave Mr. Fayose N4.7billion in cash to prosecute the election.

The Ekiti State Government indicated that Mr. Aluko would be prosecuted, when it responded to the allegations made by him in the media.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, had accused Mr. Aluko of carrying out vengeance against Mr. Fayose at the risk of committing perjury.
The European Commission and the International Energy Agency will address the impact of the energy crisis on SMEs in an online event on 21 October.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reopened the case file of a N5.2 billion scandal in the Ministry of Aviation, with hearing on the matter slated for February 14 after the Attorney General of the Federation would have been briefed.

Hearing on the suit filed by the EFCC against the former Minister of Aviation, Babalola Borishade, and four others before Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar of the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, was stalled on Wednesday, following a request by the AGF to be briefed about the matter.

Mr. Borishade, his former personal assistant, Tunde Dairo, and two others, allegedly mismanaged a N5.2 billion Aviation Safe Tower contract funds.

Others on trial for the alleged offence are former managing director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, Rowland Iyayi; an Australian, George Eider, and Avsatel Communications Ltd.

The suspects were arraigned on November 19, 2009 by the EFCC on a 15-count charge of taking bribe and forging aviation contract documents.

Although both parties were present in court, Justice Umar informed them that the matter could not go on as planned as the AGF requested a brief on the case by the EFCC since the matter had been in court for about seven years.

He presented a letter dated February 2, 2016 from the AGF requesting for an adjournment of the case and records of court proceedings so far.

The counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, told the court that his hands were tied with regards to continuing the proceeding as the AGF being the chief law officer, had power over him.

According to Mr. Okoroma, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and Section 174 of the Constitution, the AGF has the power to take over, continue or discontinue a case.

Counsel to the first defendant, Kehinde Ogunwumiju and Regina Okotie-Eboh, representing the 4th and 5th defendants, who had initially sought a dismissal of the case, could not have their applications taken as a result of the letter from the AGF.

Justice Umar adjourned the case to February 17, 2016 for ruling and continuation of hearing, pending the decision of the AGF.
The Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Wednesday signed the 2016 appropriation bill into law with a pledge to fully implement the budget for the benefit of the citizens of the state.

Speaking at an event to commemorate the signing in Sokoto, Mr. Tambuwal said considering the precarious financial situation the country is facing, all avenues of leakages will be block.

Let me say it here that any attempt to embezzle the little resources we have will not be tolerated. We are giving the issue of internal revenue generation all the seriousness it deserves. Any government official found dipping his or her hand in the tilt will be dismissed and prosecuted, the governor said.

While commending the state legislature for the expeditious manner it handled the budget proceedings, Mr. Tambuwal called for the support of the people in achieving the laudable objectives set in the budget.

Earlier in his remarks, the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Salihu Maidaji, said the total sum of the budget, N174 billion, as presented by the governor in December, was not altered.

He however said that changes were made to sectoral allocations to emphasise areas of priorities.

He said the 2016 budgeting process was more inclusive, participatory and transparent as it had active input of development partners and civil society organisations.
The leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State on Wednesday requested a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to address the partys state of affairs and its political fortunes in the state.

A high-level delegation led by the APC governorship candidate for the state, Dakuku Peterside, made the request during a meeting with the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, at the partys national secretariat in Abuja.

At the meeting, Mr. Odigie-Oyegun expressed shock over the Supreme Courts decision on the Rivers State governorship election. He assured that the party national leadership would give necessary support to ensure successes in subsequent elections in the state.

Mr. Odigie-Oyegun said, The APC national leadership has not neglected party leaders and supporters in Rivers State. The state has always been in the front burner of discussion and decision in the party.There is obviously something fundamentally wrong in Rivers State which needs to be investigated and addressed.

Your visit have had a sober effect on me. This meeting will kickstart urgent actions to address what went wrong.

As of today, there a attempts being made by INEC to bar us from elections in Anambra and other states. We must address these issues. I still find the judgement on the Rivers State governorship election totally astonishing. There is something fundamentally wrong in the Judiciary.

We have lost very important resource-rich states to the PDP. No matter how crude oil prices have fallen, it is still the most important revenue earner for the country.

I will take up your request to facilitate a meeting with the President. We will do that as soon as possible and also make it clear that there are problems which as a party, we must address.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Mr. Peterside said: It will interest you to know that many of our members, supporters and sympathisers are still at a loss to see us work as orphans. We have a herculean task explaining to them that we actually form government at the centre. It is like, we lost the elections.

To an overwhelming majority of them, the only indication that we might be part of government at the federal level is because our leader and Director General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign which led to a peoples revolution that defeated the former ruling party, and former Governor of the State, Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi is a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The concerns of our members are re-enforced by the fact that more than eight months after APC has formed government at the Federal Level, notable PDP chieftains and members who spent state resources to work assiduously against us (APC) are still occupying strategic federal government positions, dispensing patronages to PDP members to the disadvantage and chagrin of APC members.

Mr. Peterside reported that as a result of the unflinching support party leaders and members gave President Buhari and the APC, they have been exposed to undue attacks and hatred and internal discriminations.

He said, We are called all sorts of names including being branded as traitors and almost live like outcast in our communities and environmentsEven today, we are not out of danger as we are killed, molested, maimed and insulted.

Mr. Peterside also said security infrastructure that were skewed against the APC before and during the 2015 elections were still working against and frustrating APC activities in the state.

The partisanship against us was and is still enormous. he said.

He said the Independent National Electoral Commission is structured to disfavour the APC.

It (INEC) was put in place by the leadership of the last administration to perpetually protect its interest, Mr. Peterside side. We are all witnesses to how some of these actors found it convenient to annul results which were favourable to APC but upheld all those favourable to PDP under the same circumstances in the recently concluded governorship election in Bayelsa State.

Meanwhile, politically speaking Rivers and Bayelsa States are in the same sub-zone of the South South geo-political zone. What has been put in place is to marginalise us and our members feel nothing is being done to change these structures to, atleast, give us a fighting chance in neutrality.

On the Rivers State rerun elections scheduled for March 19, Mr Peterside said, The issues of the re-run elections are paramount in our mind. We have 22 seats in a House of 32-man membership. Winning all 22 seats will give us 23 seats and that will enable us produce the Speaker of the House. Also, that number is more than the proverbial two-third. Furthermore, there are 12 House of Representatives seats and all 3 Senatorial Seats to be contested for.

Presently, the Party does not have a two-third majority in any of the chambers of the National AssemblyNow the opportunity to up the partys numbers in these chambers has come and we expect that the Party will do all that it takes to win all 12 House of Representatives and 3 Senate Seats.

Even if this may not give it the needed two-thirds but it wil make the party to have a robust majority such that it wont struggle to have its programmes and plans that require parliamentary inputs to be easily implemented to achieve its set goals and core mandate.

There is no gainsaying that Rivers State occupies a strategic political position in the politics of Nigeria.l

The delegation amongst others requested that:

 The APC National Leadership undertake a massive funds drive to finance the forthcoming re-runs in Rivers state;

 The restructuring of the Presidential Amnesty Programme by making sure that the current leadership and managers of the programme understood the political connotation of its implementation;

 Urgent replacement of all agents and heads of agencies that the immediate-past federal government administration used to frustrate the Change Revolution;

 Purge of vestiges of and sympathisers for the immediate-past federal government administration in the leadership of Security agencies, especially in the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

 That political appointments in all Federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies including ambassadorial positions be made to reflect the current realities of a change of government.

 A meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to convey to him messages from families of the nearly 100 APC supporters killed and others maimed and or have completely lost their means of livelihood for supporting President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC. The meeting will also afford the Rivers delegation an opportunity to confer with President Buhari and proffer solutions to the challenges and issues.

The delegation comprised APC governorship candidate for Rivers state, Dakuku Peterside and running mate, Asita Honourable; Rivers state APC Chairman, Davies Ikanya; member of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT), Sam Sam Jaja; Senator Magnus Abe and several Rivers state aspirants and Rivers state APC stalwarts.
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Indias leading fruit juice player, Manpasand Beverages Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs. 4.92 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 as against net loss of Rs. 2.59 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net sales for Q3 of FY 15-16 at Rs. 89.91 crore were higher by 76% over previous fiscals same quarter net sales of Rs. 51.05 crore. Earnings Per Share (EPS) for the Q3FY16 is at Rs. 0.98.For the nine months ended December 2015, company reported a net profit of Rs. 25.01 crore against a net profit of Rs. 12.64 crore in the corresponding period last year, a growth of 97.9%. Net sales in the nine months of FY 2015-16 at Rs. 326.32 crore were higher by 36.5% compared to Rs. 239.10 crore in the same period of previous fiscal. EPS for the nine months ended FY16 is at Rs. 5.46 as against Rs. 4.22 for nine months ended FY15.Mr. Dhirendra Singh, Chairman & MD of Manpasand Beverages said, Companys flagship brand Mango Sips sales continue to grow at a fast pace and our new urban market focused Fruits Up brand is getting a very good response from consumers. Expansion plans including setting up of a new manufacturing facility in Haryana and modernisation of Vadodara and Varanasi facilities are completed. During the quarter, company entered into a tie up with German wholesale retail and trading major, METRO Cash & Carry and is exploring more such tie-ups to increase its urban market penetration. Manpasand also became a completely Debt Free company by pre-paying its entire outstanding debt from the IPO proceeds and internal accruals.About Manpasand Beverages Limited (www.manpasand.co.in)One of the countrys leading fruit juice players, the Rs 400 crore Manpasand Beverages Limited, has got the unique distinction of being the only pure play company in this sector in the Indian capital markets. It is a niche player in a large, high-growth market. Manpasand Beverages represents the successful story of a visionary first generation entrepreneur, Dhirendra Singh, who has built one of Indias fastest growing fruit juices company and is now ready to take on the global cola giants head-on.Manpasand Beverages is a fruit drink manufacturing company with a primary focus on mango fruit, which is the leading flavour for juice drinks in India. Companys mango-based fruit drink, Mango Sip, is its flagship brand, which is strategically focused towards customers primarily based in semi urban and rural markets. With a view to expand its product portfolio, company has launched two new brands, Fruits Up and Manpasand ORS. Under the Fruits Up brand, Manpasand offers fruit drinks and carbonated fruit drinks in different flavours. Under the Manpasand ORS brand, it offers fruit drinks with energy replenishing qualities with a primary focus on North East India. Companys other major fruit juice brands are Apple Sip, Litchi Sip and Guava Sip. In the packaged drinking water its brand is Pure Sip.In the fast-growing fruit-based beverages market in India, Manpasand Beverages has emerged as a formidable competitor for the bigger foreign and Indian rivals. Companys value-for money offerings, strong focus on affordable price points, innovative products (like fruit-based carbonated soft drinks) and distribution strategies are going to be its major strengths.The company has carved a niche for itself with a strong presence in the tier-2 and semi-rural and rural markets in India. Manpasands beverage brands are present in 24 states through more than 200,000 retailers, over 2000 distributors and 200 plus super stockists. The company has two manufacturing facilities at Vadodara in Gujarat, one each at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttaranchal and a new one is being set up at Ambala in Haryana. For the year ended March 31, 2015, company reported sales of Rs 360 crore and net profit of Rs 30 crore.
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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 peace process in Colombia is at a pivotal stage. During Colombian President Manuel Santoss visit to Washington, both President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will met with him to hear President Santos analysis of the peace process, and how the United States can support Colombias transition into a new post-peace accord era.

For more than 50 years the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, have been fighting their country's government. During that time more than 220,000 people have been killed and more than six million have been displaced. Large numbers of Colombians have been kidnapped, forcibly recruited as children, or subjected to sexual violence.

With U.S. support, Plan Colombia was launched in 2000. Under that initiative the United States worked with officials in Bogota to help the country's armed forces and police become more professional, to ensure that they could effectively provide security and fight crime while also protecting human rights.

But law and order, said Secretary Kerry in a recent op-ed, is only part of the equation. With support from the United States, Colombians moved ahead on multiple fronts to improve governance, reform the judiciary, enhance opportunities for Afro-Colombian and indigenous groups, provide support for the victims of conflict, and extend protections to journalists and civil society.

Having helped Colombia create the conditions for a peace accord, the United States plans to further assist Colombia in seizing the promise that peace affords. President Obama will soon present to the U.S. Congress a successor strategy aimed at further enhancing security gains, cracking down on trade in illegal drugs, ensuring transitional justice and help for victims, and providing the means for economic recovery in areas once controlled by the FARC.

As with the original plan, said Secretary Kerry, Colombians themselves will bear most of the cost, but unique U.S. capabilities can help them win the peace.

No peace accord will bring back the many lives lost across Colombia over the past half century. But Colombians now have a historic opportunity to embrace a future free from conflict and violence; and the United States has good reason to stand by their side.
VIENNA, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking at the International Dialogue Centre yesterday, the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Dr. Heinz Fischer, stressed the importance of interreligious dialogue as Austria faces the challenges of integrating refugees fleeing turmoil and violence in the Middle East.

The President said that if the country does not face these challenges now, then there will be even greater problems in the future.

"The long-term integration of these individuals into our society is a major challenge. I would like to reiterate that Muslims who live in Austria can and should be a valuable part of our society. It is possible to be a good Muslim and a good Austrian simultaneously," he said.

The President was speaking on the occasion of World Interfaith Harmony Week, which is celebrated every year in the first week of February. He was hosted at the event by the Secretary General of KAICIID, Faisal Bin Muaammar.

In his lecture, President Fischer emphasized that Austria's longstanding record of promoting dialogue between religions and cultures has been a valuable asset in recent times, and that this sort of dialogue was now more important than ever.

The war in Syria has worsened the worst refugee crisis since World War II, and Austria has received one of the highest number of refugees per capita in Europe. As the refugee crisis makes it necessary for countries to quickly and effectively integrate large numbers of people from other religions into their own societies, the practical importance of interreligious dialogue becomes clear.

"The integration of refugees in Austria in the coming years will increasingly need to be part of the dialogue between religions. The inclusion of vulnerable people is a serious, societal responsibility that needs to be carefully and knowledgeably accomplished with a view to securing social cohesion and social peace in Austria. It cannot be denied that this will also entail problems," the President said.

"I consider dialogue, being open to discussion, and the ability to engage respectfully with other viewpoints (even when one does not share them), to be a basic requirement for peaceful coexistence between people, communities, cultures and religions," he said.

The President traced the roots of several current international conflicts to the manipulation of nationalism, ideology, and power to marginalize individual rights, or the rights of the weaker sections of society. In order to bridge the mistrust, or oppression, of those of other religions and cultures or nationalities, he said, "voices of reason, signals of moderation and willingness to talk are needed."

He emphasised that KAICIID exists to serve these goals. "As a platform for interreligious dialogue, as a bridge builder in interreligious and intercultural dialogue, it can seek to be a cosmopolitan, open, international dialogue partner. Its work and mandate, as laid out in the establishment agreement, strengthen cooperation and mutual respect at the international level, and promote a tolerant exchange of views between religious communities."

"KAICIID is the only international organization to work together on an equal footing with leaders of the five major world religions. The center has the potential, through its work, to create a better understanding between religions and thereby make an important contribution to the development and advancement of human rights," he said.

In his welcoming words, the KAICIID Secretary General, Faisal Bin Muaammar described how the International Dialogue Centre works to support the integration of refugees into Austria.

"If refugees are to return to peaceful homes, or to integrate into new circumstances, then we must find a way to help people accept and not fear differences. Dialogue helps us achieve this. In dialogue we recognize that we are all equals and share core values. Austrian religious communities have shown great commitment and resolve in supporting the integration of refugees here in Austria. We are trying to do our part to support these efforts, by providing religious communities the means to help more refugees," he said.

About KAICIID

The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) is an intergovernmental organization that promotes dialogue to build peace in conflict areas. It does this by enhancing understanding and cooperation between people of different cultures and followers of different religions. The Centre was founded by Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain. The Holy See is the Founding Observer. Its Board of Directors comprises prominent representatives from five major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism). The Board designs and supervises the Centre's programs.

SOURCE KAICIID
PUNE, India, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Global epigenetics market is expected to reach USD 890.0 million by 2020 growing at a CAGR of 13.64% between 2015 and 2020 with market growth majorly driven by the high prevalence of cancer, increasing R & D funding and increasing intensity of genomic research activities. Other growth factors include increasing application for non-oncology diseases and growing partnership between academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Complete report on global epigenetics market spread across 158 pages, profiling 10 companies and supported with 84 tables and 82 figures is now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/215227-epigenetics-technology-market-epigenomics-dna-methylation-histone-modifications-rna-interference-cancer-therapeutics-personalized-medicine-2012-2017-.html .

By product, the market includes enzymes, instruments & consumables, kits and reagents. Enzymes are further sub segmented into DNA-modifying enzymes, protein-modifying enzymes, and RNA-modifying enzymes. Instruments & consumables are further sub segmented into mass spectrometers, next-generation sequencers, qPCRs, sonicators and other epigenetics instruments & consumables. Kits are further sub segmented into bisulfite conversion kits, ChIP-seq kits, RNA sequencing kits, whole genomic sequencing kits, 5-hmc and 5-mc analysis kits and other epigenetics kits. Reagents are further sub segmented into antibodies, buffers, histones, magnetic beads, primers and other epigenetics reagents. The kits segment is expected to grow at the highest rate. Based on research areas, the market is segmented into developmental biology, drug discovery, oncology and other research areas. Other research areas include genome-wide regulatory mechanisms and research related to several metabolic and genetic diseases.

A combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches was used to calculate the market sizes and growth rates of the global epigenetics market and its sub segments. All percentage shares, splits, and breakdowns were determined using secondary sources and verified through primary sources. All possible parameters that affect the markets covered in this research study have been accounted for, viewed in extensive detail, verified through primary research, and analyzed to get the final quantitative and qualitative data. Primary interviews with key opinion leaders were also used to determine the percentage shares of each sub segment and the relative differences in growth rates. The report provides qualitative insights about growth rates, and market drivers for all sub segments. It maps market sizes and growth rates for each sub segment and identifies segments poised for rapid growth in each geographic segment. The report also includes company profiles of market leaders.

The key players in the worldwide epigenetics market are Abcam plc. (U.K), Illumina, Inc. (U.S.), QIAGEN N.V. (Netherland), Merck & Co. (U.S.), New England Biolabs, Inc. (U.S.), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., (U.S.), Active Motif (U.S.), Diagenode, Inc. (Belgium) and Zymo Research Corporation (U.S.). Order a copy of Epigenetics Market by Product (Modifying Enzymes, DNA Polymerase, Acetylase, Methyltransferase, Instruments & Consumables, Kit, Bisulphite Conversion Kit, Reagents), by Research Area (Developmental Biology, Oncology) - Global Forecast to 2020 research report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=215227 .

The geographic segments included in this report are North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (RoW). North America is further segmented into the U.S. and Canada. North America is expected to account for the largest share in the global epigenetics market in 2015. Asia is expected to register the fastest growth.

The report will enable both established firms and new entrants to gauge the pulse of the market and help them make important strategic growth decisions.

On a related note, another research on Gene Expression Analysis Market Global Forecasts to 2020 says, the global gene expression analysis market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% from 2015 to 2020 to reach 5.30 billion by 2020. North America is expected to account for the largest share of the global gene expression analysis market, followed by Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (RoW). Companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), QIAGEN N.V. (Germany), Illumina, Inc. (U.S.), Bio-Rad Laboratories (U.S.), Agilent Technologies (U.S.), and PerkinElmer (U.S.) have been profiled in this 174 research report available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/275022-gene-expression-analysis-market-by-technology-dna-microarray-real-time-pcr-next-generation-sequencing-consumables-dna-chips-reagents-services-gene-profiling-bioinformatics-data-analysis-software-applications-global-forecast-to-2018.html .

Explore more reports on biotechnology market at http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/biotechnology/ .

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SOURCE ReportsnReports
LONDON, February 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The IoT Tech Expo, a leading Internet of Things conference and exhibition series, has announced its 2016 world series with events and dates confirmed in Berlin and San Francisco for 13-14 June and 20-21 October respectively.

The IoT Tech Expo Europe event takes place at Olympia, London on 10-11 February, with leading sponsors including Vodafone, Intel, Samsung SmartThings and Ubuntu among others, five conference tracks with 200 speakers from the likes of Shell, DHL, LEGO, Honda, Orange and Statoil, 100 exhibitors, networking, live hackathons, and more. Conference tracks include Connecting Living, Connected Industry and Smart Cities.

Following this is the IoT Tech Expo Germany which lands in Berlin's Congress Center on 13-14 June for two days of top level content and discussion from a range of industries. A recent study from Marketo* showed 41% of respondents in Germany cited the IoT as a trend which they thought would have the biggest impact on marketing by 2020. The IoT Tech Expo North America will take place on 20-21 October at the Santa Clara Convention Center, San Francisco, with attendees expected from across the entire IoT industry including energy, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, M2M, government, and more.

Richard Blythe, event managing director for Encore Media Group, said: "With the London event just around the corner, it's great to be able to confirm Berlin and San Francisco dates and expand the IoT Tech Expo series. The technology hubs of Berlin and Silicon Valley make the perfect backdrop for exploring the vast potential of the Internet of Things, and I am excited at the prospect of bringing IoT Tech Expo to these locations."

To learn more about the IoT Tech Expo and register your pass, visit the corresponding sites:

 IoT Tech Expo Europe: 10-11th February, Olympia, London

 IoT Tech Expo Germany: 13-14th June, BCC, Berlin

 IoT Tech Expo North America: 20-21st October, Santa Clara Convention Center, San Francisco

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About IoT Tech Expo

The IoT Tech Expo World Series will host top level content and discussion, introducing and exploring the latest innovations in the Internet of Things arena. It brings together key industries including Manufacturing, Transport, Health, Logistics, Government, Energy and Automotive.

* http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1012672&ecid=MX1086

SOURCE IoT Tech Expo
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 13 million Americans have hidden a bank or credit card account from their live-in spouse, partner or significant other, according to a new CreditCards.com report.

Those accounts aren't the only financial secrets Americans are hiding: 41% have spent over $100 without their spouse or partner's knowledge, including 19% who have spent more than $500. Men are almost twice as likely as women to have spent more than $500 without notifying their spouse or partner.

Most Americans can't be accused of hypocrisy when it comes to financial secrets, though. While 19% of Americans have secretly spent $500 or more, a larger percentage --24% -- believe that their spouse or partner should be able to spend more than $500 without letting them know. Also, while 41% of Americans say they've spent more than $100 without telling, 47% said they'd be OK with their spouse or significant other spending more than $100 without being told about it.

Honesty and openness are still the best policies when it comes to managing money in a relationship, believes Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst.

"Avoiding secrets is key to a successful relationship," Schulz said. "It's important to be honest with your significant other about spending and finances. In the end, secret spending can lead to spiraling debt as well as a messy break up."

Millennials and seniors are less likely to spend over $25 without their spouse or partner's knowledge than people between the ages of 30 and 64.

without their spouse or partner's knowledge than people between the ages of 30 and 64. Surprisingly, out of all the income groups, the middle class were the most approving about having their spouse or partner spend $500 or more without having to know about it.

or more without having to know about it. Northeasterners were the most likely to have spent more than $500 without their spouse or partner knowing about it.

Schulz advises all couples to create an accurate household budget to better track all spendingthat can help keep down debt and create a lower-stress environment for your relationship.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/financial-infidelity-poll-secret-account.php

PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (500) and cell phone (503, including 340 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from January 7-10, 2016. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of the sampling error for the original complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

About CreditCards.com:

CreditCards.com is a leading online credit card marketplace, bringing consumers and credit card issuers together. At its free website, consumers can compare hundreds of credit card offers from America's leading issuers and banks and apply securely, online. CreditCards.com is also a destination site for consumers wanting to learn more about credit cards. Offering advice, news, features, statistics and tools, CreditCards.com helps consumers make smart choices about credit cards. In 2015, over 27 million unique visitors used CreditCards.com to find the right credit card to suit their needs.

For More Information:

Adriana Perisa

Publicist

[email protected]

917-368-8637

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151014/276819LOGO

SOURCE CreditCards.com

Related Links

http://www.CreditCards.com


PHOENIX, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Based upon 15,000 miles of estimated annual driving, the average driver spends $9,122 a year on owning and maintaining a car. Of this $9,122, approximately $2,000 is spent on gas. Fueling up is a never ending expense. As long as there are places to go and the only way to get there is by car, Americans are going to be tossing money into their gas tank. Hastings & Hastings encourages everyone to save on the annual expenses of fueling up by maximizing gas mileage. Short of buying a new car, the savings will not be revolutionary, but it will add up over the course of the year.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160202/328780

Properly inflated tires can reduce fuel costs by as much as 3% annually. This simple step alone could save vehicle owners enough for a nice dinner at a restaurant. Most gas stations offer stations where air can be added to tires for the cost of $1. Vehicle owners should make sure they are inflating their tires to the PSI recommended by the manufacturer. Hastings & Hastings cautions, overinflating tires increases the risk of experiencing a blowout.

The condition of the engine may also impact gas mileage. If it is in the budget, vehicle owners can schedule an engine tune-up. They may also change the air filters and the gas filters.

A majority of vehicles will function at peak fuel efficiency while traveling below 65 miles per hour (MPH). Drag and air resistance when traveling above 65 MPH make it more difficult to accelerate. This means that the engine has to expend more fuel for each additional MPH over 65.

Hastings & Hastings also advises commuters to avoid stop-and-go traffic as constant acceleration has a negative effect on fuel efficiency.

Lightening the load will also help to maximize gas mileage. Drivers should avoid hauling heavy items whenever possible.

"When it comes to maximizing gas mileage, all these little things add up. Sure you may only be saving $1 here or $5 there, but by the end of the year you may have saved $300! Wow! Think of everything you could do with an extra $300. All it takes is diligence, discipline and awareness," said David Hastings, the founder of Hastings & Hastings.

About Hastings & Hastings

Hastings & Hastings is an Arizona consumer law firm. We are an experienced trial law firm that represents personal injury and wrongful death victims at a Discount Fee.

Contact Information

Kristy Guell

(480) 706-1100

[email protected]

http://hastingsandhastings.com

SOURCE Hastings & Hastings

Related Links

http://www.hastingsandhastings.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Publishers specializing in children invest enormous efforts in creating the safest possible browsing environment for their young audience. Publishers don't only focus on ensuring the content is appropriate and designed for the correct age group, but they also work hard to to create a "closed" and protected environment, free of external content, ads and spyware.

This is an example of an actual screenshot, demonstrating the various threats of client-side injected malware for children. In addition to unauthorized ads and inappropriate content, children may also be subject to additional malware attacks via malvertising.

In November 2015, VTech experienced the biggest cyber attack ever targeting children, with 6.4 million children exposed. VTech admitted the breach included names, addresses, IP addresses, email addresses, etc. In addition, as indicated on Wired, 190GB of kids' photos and chats may have been jeopardized during the attack.

The good news is that VTech identified the attack. The bad news is that this is just the tip of the iceberg; there are numerous ways to access the information, some of which are undetectable by any server-side security shields.

Client-side Injected Malware (CSIM) is a relatively new but rapidly growing type of malware that runs through customers' devices and browsers. Users are infected by connecting to non-secure wi-fi networks or by downloading free software or browser extensions that appear legit but include malware.

Namogoo estimates that 15%-30% of online user are infected with CSIM. There are over 50,000 types of CSIM, including unauthorized ads, inappropriate content (including sexual content), and various types of spyware designed to collect data for unscrupulous uses.

For publishers targeting children, the impact of CSIM can be devastating. Product and video ads are particularly enticing for children and can lure them away from protected sites. It's much harder for a child to resist the promise of free illicit images or the urge to click on an ad. CSIM also includes spyware that collects data on the child's online behavior, passwords, even payment details. CSIM also includes social engineering attacks designed to collect information via fake surveys and forms that look legit but send the data to unauthorized parties.

The most frightening thing about these attacks is they are undetectable by traditional server-side cyber monitoring tools and are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable online users.

The bottom-line is simple. 15%-30% of users experience the website very differently that how it was designed. It requires publishers to re-think the way they protect their digital assets and their audience, specifically when it involves children. Namogoo works with publishers worldwide to protect their online brand and create a safe browsing experience for customers, whatever their age.

ABOUT NAMOOGOO

Namogoo Technologies Limited is a cyber security company, funded by top-tier VCs, with offices in San Francisco, London, Singapore and Tel Aviv, offering enterprise-grade solutions to protect online publishers from Client-Side Injected Malware (CSIM). 15%-30% of online users are infected with CSIM that they unintentionally download to their computer and devices. Namogoo was founded with the goal of eliminating CSIM at the publisher's website level, eliminating unapproved ads, pop-ups, scripts and more. Based on patented machine learning technology, Namogoo detects anomalies for 'zero-day' attacks for both web and mobile devices.

Media enquiries:

Shira Sarid-Hausirer, Namogoo

[email protected]

+972.54.4304219

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329132

SOURCE Namogoo Technologies Limited

Related Links

http://www.namogoo.com


U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma recently opened enrollment for a new Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, funded by the U.S. Department of States Passport to India Initiative.

The six-week course, entitled The Importance of India, will be delivered via the worlds largest online course platform Coursera, to garner wider interest among young Americans for study abroad, internship, and business opportunities in India.

The course covers a broad range of topics, from Indias ancient trade relations with the Roman Empire, South East Asia, and China to Indias rapidly growing startup ecosystem and its role in creatively solving global problems through technology.

The courses final week is dedicated to presenting study, internship, and business startup opportunities in India along with references and advice for those wishing to come to India.

Last year there were 130,000 Indian students in the United States  a record number reflecting record growth. However, at the same time the number of American students in India remained relatively flat  4,500.

The United States Governments Passport to India initiative is designed to encourage more American students to consider studying in India, said Ambassador Verma. I am especially excited that this free online course will be delivered virtually and thus reach the maximum number of potential students.

The course is expected to make a significant contribution toward meeting the Passport to India Initiatives goal of increasing the number of American college and university students studying in India from approximately 4,500 to at least 10,000 per year by 2020. India is relevant to American students of all backgrounds and interests, said Nick Booker, Executive Director (India) of Passport to India. Our MOOC will demonstrate how Indias economic and civilizational re-emergence has renewed the importance of India. Take any of the grand challenges faced by the world today and if you can innovate a solution that works in India it can work anywhere.

Indian students are actively encouraged to join and learn alongside their American peers. The course is free for anyone in the world and currently open for enrollment here at https://www.coursera.org.

The U.S. is proud to encourage the study of one of the great civilizations of the world  India.
MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As companies initiate change, the path to success is filled with potential potholes. But where are businesses most commonly tripped up during a transition? According to 46 percent of senior managers interviewed for a Robert Half Management Resources survey, change-management efforts typically falter at the execution stage.

Where change management fails

The research shows this often depends on the size of the company, however. While roughly half of managers at small companies (those with 20-49 and 50-99 employees) expressed the greatest concern about the execution phase, respondents at the largest companies (1,000 or more employees) said they experience problems most commonly after the implementation.

The survey findings further suggest clear and frequent communication can be the remedy for what ails change-management efforts. Sixty-five percent of managers said this is the most important aspect of leading a team through a transition. It was the top response for companies of all sizes and far outdistanced the second-leading factor, managing expectations (16 percent).

View the data tables with the survey results by company size.

Senior managers were asked, "In general, at which point in the following stages do organizations' change-management efforts most commonly fail?" Their responses:

Strategy development 10% Pre-implementation 20% Execution 46% Post-implementation 23% At some other point 1%

100%

Respondents also were asked, "In your opinion, which of the following do you think is most important when leading your company or team through a major change?" Their responses:

Communicating clearly and frequently 65% Managing expectations 16% Outlining goals 9% Delegating effectively 9% Don't know 1%

100%

"Whether major or incremental, many companies are initiating changes, from transforming their business models to updating business systems and looking for ways to enhance productivity," said Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. "While change is never easy for a company, it's even harder for employees."

Hird added, "People naturally worry what a transition will mean for them. To prevent rumors, resentment and stress, managers must quickly and continuously update staff, not just on the nuts and bolts of the change but also on how team members will be expected to contribute and, ultimately, benefit from it."

Robert Half Management Resources also highlighted change-management do's and don'ts:

Do Don't Communicate early Leave employees out of the loop and let rumors spread Consider the volume of communication Share limited information or, conversely, overwhelm people with irrelevant details Manage expectations Sugarcoat issues or set unrealistic goals and timelines Bring in project professionals for specific expertise and to reduce the burden on staff Overload staff, expecting them to help with the transition in addition to maintaining peak performance with their core responsibilities Communicate the benefits for your team Forget the success of your business -- and every initiative supporting it -- is dependent on your employees Recognize the implementation is only the start; the new process is the beginning of your company's future and requires ongoing communication and training for employees Stop communicating after the change is implemented Celebrate success and reward those involved Fail to acknowledge staff contributions

About the Survey

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on telephone interviews with more than 300 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the United States.

About Robert Half Management Resources

Robert Half Management Resources is the premier provider of senior-level finance, accounting and business systems professionals to supplement companies' project and interim staffing needs. The company has 150 locations worldwide and offers assistance to business leaders and consultants at roberthalfmr.com and on its blog at blog.roberthalfmr.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160202/329056

SOURCE Robert Half Management Resources

Related Links

http://www.roberthalfmr.com


Ranchi, Jan 28 : The Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) of Jharkhand decided here on Thursday that Scheduled Area Regulation (SAR) courts will continue to exist, but the system of transferring tribals' land after giving them compensation will end.

"The SAR court is a constitutional provision that cannot be ended. We want to continue with such provisions to protect the land rights of the tribals," Ratan Tirkey, a member of the TAC, told reporters after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

The members agreed that the SAR courts were being misused and land of the tribals was being transferred after giving compensation to them through court directives.

Now this way of transferring tribal land to non-tribals will come to an end.

Chief Minister Das had announced in December that the SAR courts, set up in 1969 under Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908, would stop functioning, inviting criticism across the political spectrum.

"The chief minister announced an end to the SAR courts without consulting legal experts and political leaders. It is a unilateral decision," former chief minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik president Babulal Marandi had said.

Marandi had admitted that the SAR courts were being misused by the land mafias, but "instead of stopping their misuse, the state announced an end to the courts".

The opposition parties had demanded to know what alternative of the SAR courts had the state government proposed.

In the meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Das expressed concern over misuse of the compensation system to transfer tribal land.

The meeting decided to expedite 4219 cases pending in the SAR courts. The meeting also agreed to include in the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act projects like railways, roads, electricity, canal, schools and hospitals for which land could be given.

Currently, land could be given only for industries and mining.
Imphal, Jan 29 : The mother of Chungkham Sanjit, a former insurgent who was allegedly shot dead in a fake gunfight on the directions of a top police officer, has demanded a fresh CBI probe into the killing, family sources said on Friday.

Chungkham Taratombi on late Thursday filed a fresh petition to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the light of Head Constable Thounaojam Herojit's revelation that he shot dead an unarmed Sanjit in 2009.

"My son had gone to the town on the fateful day to buy medicine for his ailing father. However, after some hours, I was told that he was killed in an encounter," said Taratombi.

Sanjit, who had given up militancy, was allegedly trapped inside a chemist's shop on B.T. Road in Imphal, and a few minutes later his body was dragged out by security personnel on July 23, 2009.

Police had produced one hand gun they said to have been recovered from Sanjit.

Sources said that on the basis of assurance by union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, the CBI indicated that it would take a relook at the case.

However, the officials whose names were disclosed in the confessional statement are yet to be questioned.

Akoijam Jhalajit, the Imphal West district police superintendent, who allegedly gave the orders to kill Sanjit clarified that the allegations against him were "concocted, motivated and baseless".
Seoul, Jan 29 : South Korea's defence ministry on Friday said deploying a US mobile missile defence system, dubbed Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) in the country would be helpful to its security and defence.

Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok saqid he was aware of discussions being made in the US government to deploy the THAAD to the US forces stationed in South Korea, Xinhua reported.

Kim said South Korea has never received any request from the US for the THAAD deployment, but he noted that the deployment of the missile defence system would be helpful to South Korea's security and defence.

The spokesman added that the South Korean government will review all possible measures to defend the country against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

His comments came after Pyongyang claimed on January 6 that it had tested its first hydrogen bomb. Seoul forecast a long-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea at any time as a follow-up provocation to the nuclear test.

North Korea had test-fired long-range ballistic missiles months before or after its three previous atomic bomb tests. Two months before its third nuclear test in February 2013, North Korea put a satellite into orbit with a three-stage Unha-3 rocket which Seoul and Washington saw a ballistic missile.

Kim said the ministry was collecting and analysing information on the THAAD to determine the military feasibility of the mobile missile defence system.

The THAAD, developed by the US defence company Lockheed Martin, was designed to shoot down missiles at an altitude of 40-150 km.

South Korea was developing its own missile defence technology, called Korea Air and Missile Defence (KAMD), to intercept missiles at an altitude of less than 40 km.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship on Thursday signed an agreement with Yashaswi Academy for Skills with an objective to expand the number of apprentices in India by providing one lakh trade apprentices for youth in over three years.

"The aim is to expand the number of apprentices in India by taking necessary steps required to motivate today's youth as well as employers to participate in the programme," said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, minister of skill development and entrepreneurship.

"the government has recognised the apprenticeship programme as part of its skill initiative to increase and improve training for Indian youths and help them attain better jobs," he added.

A web-based apprenticeship portal was recently launched to bridge the gap between students and industry where all companies would be required to publish their trade-wise requirement of apprentices. Apprentices would also be encouraged to apply online.

This will enable online interaction among apprenticeship applicants, companies and the government.
Cairo, Jan 29 : At least two Egyptian police officers were killed and five security men injured in a bomb blast in the restive Sinai peninsula on Friday, an official security source said.

The police official's vehicle exploded when it passed through explosive devices near a school complex in North Sinai provincial capital of Arish, Xinhua quoted a source as saying.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the second in recent days.

A colonel and three soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion in Arish on Wednesday.

Islamist militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian soldiers and police since the army toppled president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

Hundreds of security men have been killed during the attacks.

Islamic State's Egypt affiliate, which took from Sinai peninsula a base for their operation, claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Phnom Penh, Jan 29 : Cambodia has been monitoring the situation for Zika virus very closely, though the country has not seen any case of the virus so far, the health ministry said on Friday.

At present, there is no case of Zika virus in Cambodia, and the ministry is watching the situation very closely, Xinhua cited the statement as saying, adding that the risk of the virus coming into Cambodia remained low.

According to the statement, Cambodia found a Zika case in 2010, but the patient had recovered and since then, no such case was reported.

Symptoms of Zika, which is transmitted through Aedes species mosquitoes, usually include fever, headache, rash, red eyes, and joint pain, it said.

Most of the patients recover within two to seven days, as the fatality rate is very low, it added.

However, if the virus is transmitted to pregnant women, it can lead to the death of babies in the wombs, or babies' heads are abnormally small, it said.

Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the disease.

"To prevent from Zika infection, people should protect themselves from being bitten by Aedes mosquitoes," Health Minister Mam Bunheng said, urging people to visit doctors when they have symptoms as mentioned above.

Zika virus was first isolated from a monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947. In 2015, the mosquito-borne virus was detected in the US with Brazil reporting its first case in May 2015.
Hyderabad, Jan 30 : Amid continuing protests by students of University of Hyderabad over the suicide of a Dalit research scholar, interim Vice Chancellor Vipin Srivastava has gone on leave.

Barely a week after Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao proceeded on indefinite leave in the wake of students' demand for his resignation, senior most professor Vipin Srivastava, who had taken over as the interim vice chancellor, has also gone on leave.

According to information available late on Friday night, the next seniormost professor, A M. Periasamy, will perform the duties of the vice chancellor of the university till further orders.

Appa Rao, whose name figures in the first information report, had gone on leave on January 24. However, the students had also refused to accept Srivastava as the interim vice chancellor as he had headed a sub-committee of the executive council which suspended five Dalit students following an alleged clash with a leader of ABVP.

Rohith Vemula, one of the suspended students, committed suicide on January 17, triggering protests across the country with students calling for action against the vice chancellor and others responsible for the suicide.
New Delhi, Jan 30 : A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Mahinder Yadav who was arrested for rioting during a protest here on Friday.

Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh granted bail to Yadav on a personal bond of Rs. 20,000 and a surety of the like amount. The court on Friday sent him to police custody for a day.

Yadav, who represents Vikaspuri constituency in the Delhi assembly, was arrested along with four AAP workers for rioting while protesting against the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl in Nihal Vihar area of the city.

The protesters had demanded the immediate arrest of the 38-year-old accused alleging that the police was not pursuing the case promptly, though Joint Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Dependra Pathak had claimed the alleged culprit was arrested much before the protest.

Police said there were about 100-150 AAP supporters in the protest and they tried to disrupt traffic movement. "We have arrested Yadav and four AAP workers. They went on to protest despite the rape accused having been arrested."

"They pelted stones at the police, in which at least two officials were injured. They have been booked for rioting and causing hurt to public servant," said a police official on Friday.
Toronto, Jan 30 : Four Canadians have been confirmed as being infected with the Zika virus, the country's chief public health officer said.

Dr. Gregory Taylor on Friday said two cases were reported from the western Canadian province of British Columbia, one from Alberta and another from Quebec, all have recently returned from Zika virus-active areas such as Central and South America and the Caribbean, Xinhua reported.

The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the virus are not present in Canada because they are not adaptable to the country's cold climate, Taylor said. "So the risk of Zika virus infection in Canada is considered very low."

Only one of the four cases is likely to develop symptoms, such as low-grade fever, joint pain, red eyes, rash, muscle pain, physical weakness, lethargy and headaches, which may last from two to seven days.

Taylor explained that while mosquitoes are the main source of transmission, the virus could be passed from mother to child.

According to a Canadian Public Health Agency notice, there is concern that an increase in the incidence of microcephaly, or abnormally small heads among newborns reported in Brazil last year may be linked to the Zika virus.

Zika virus infection may also go unrecognised or be misdiagnosed as dengue, chikungunya or other viral infections causing fever and rash, according to the Public Health Agency.

There is no vaccine for the virus at the present. A group of Canadian and the US scientists are working on a potential vaccine that is reportedly ready for testing on humans. The first clinical trial is expected to start this summer.
Los Angeles, Jan 31 : Rapper Kanye West has seemingly expressed his regret for dragging in rapper Wiz Khalifa's son into their fight on Twitter. He says now he will not say anything about anybody's children.

"God's dream. Never speak on kids again. All love. All blessings," West wrote on Twitter on late Friday, reports aceshowbiz.com.

West was embroiled in an online feud with Khalifa after the latter called him out for renaming his new album from "Swish" to "Waves". In his rage, West then mistook Khalifa's "kk" mention as a reference to his wife Kim Kardashian.

"Don't even hint at mentioning me my family or my wife... You let a stripper trap you. I know you get mad every time you look at your child that this girl got you for 18 years. You wouldn't have a child if it wasn't for me. You own waves? I own your child!" West had tweeted.

He seemingly tried to take revenge on Khalifa by dissing his former wife Amber Rose.

Rose, who previously dated West, reacted to his rant with a taunt.

"Awww @kanyewest are you mad I'm not around to play in your a**hole anymore? #FingersInTheB**tyA**B*tch," she posted on the micro-blogging site.

West quickly replied: "I'm not into that kind of sh*t... I like pictures and videos. Me and my wife got the kind of love that can turn exes into best friends."
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday supported striking sanitation employees of Delhi's three main civic bodies seeking salaries as AAP leaders cleared garbage from across the capital.

"I support (the) demand of protesting MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) employees that they should get their full salaries," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader tweeted. "I hope some solution will emerge" after Tuesday's hearing on the issue in the Delhi High Court, he added.

The president of the Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha, Sanjay Gehlot, however told IANS that the strike by sanitation workers will continue till their demands were met.

"We are going to meet Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday afternoon to discuss the whole issue," he said.

Sanitation workers have been on strike demanding immediate payment of salaries and pending back wages. In some areas, they have not only refused to clear garbage but have littered it on the streets.

While Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia cleaned the garbage in his assembly constituency Patparganj, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra swept the streets in Karawal Nagar, both in east Delhi.

Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel also led a team in Shahdara area in east Delhi to clear the garbage littered on the streets.

Other AAP legislators and residents undertook cleanliness drives in various residential areas.

"The AAP is of the view that any part of Delhi cannot be allowed to remain dirty. It is shocking the civic agencies - the three municipal corporations - have failed in their primary and obligatory duty of keeping the city clean," it said in a statement.

"Due to largescale corruption and mismanagement, the three MCDs have financially and functionally collapsed. The corporations are even unable to explain how they have spent the planned and unplanned budgetary grants provided to them by the Delhi government," the party said.

"It is condemnable that despite having received the entire budgetary amount before time and having been given the concession by the Delhi government of not seeking any repayment of the Rs.6,000 crore outstanding loan and even the interest amount from the MCDs for the current financial year, these corporations instead of paying their employees salaries have provoked them to go on strike."

The Delhi government on Saturday formed a task force as part of special arrangements to remove garbage from across the national capital.

The public works department of the city government deployed 93 vehicles to clean the garbage dumps.

Health department workers of the civic body have also joined the protest, also demanding payment of salaries.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told the media that he met senior officials of the civic bodies to discuss the issues.

He said the workers had a right to get their salaries.

The civic body is divided into three zones, all run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP's main rival in Delhi.

The BJP has accused the AAP-controlled Delhi government of starving the civic body of funds, leading to the present crisis. The Delhi government denies the charge.
London, Feb 3 : One Direction star Harry Styles has split from the band's management team, Modest Management, to sign with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)'s Jeffrey Azoff for a solo career.

"We wish Harry the very best. It has been a real pleasure working with him," Modest execs Richard Griffiths and Harry Magee said in a statement to Billboard on Monday, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"Harry is a total gentleman, and we know our good friend Jeffrey Azoff will look after him. We look forward to sharing some great wine with them next time we are in LA."

Styles' new team is preparing to launch his solo career early next year. Back in December last year, he registered four songs "Already home", "Coco", "Endlessly" and "5378 miles" to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The tracks were co-written with Snow Patrol's guitarist John McDaid and songwriter Gary Go.

There's still a debate whether One Direction's hiatus is permanent or temporary.

Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson decided not to renew their contract after wrapping their tour in October 2015.

Zayn Malik has already left the group first and is in the middle of promoting his solo career.
Seoul, Feb 3 : South Korea on Wednesday warned a harsh price against North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch after Pyongyang's notification of its plan to launch a satellite.

"If North Korea pushes ahead with long-range missile launch, it will pose a significant threat to peace and security in the region and the world as well as on the Korean peninsula," Xinhua quoted Cho Tae-Yong, the first deputy chief of the presidential security office, as saying.

Cho said Seoul sternly warns a harsh price which will come from the international society against Pyongyang.

North Korea reportedly informed the International Maritime Organisation on Tuesday of its plan to launch a satellite, named Kwangmyongsong, sometime between February 8 and 25.

South Korea's presidential national security council held an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to discuss how to deal with North Korea's missile launch plan, and Cho made an announcement of the country's official stance after the meeting.

Seoul strengthened monitoring of the possible launch of Pyongyang's long-range ballistic missile after its claim on January 6 that it tested its first H-bomb.

Pyongyang has test-fired long-range missiles months before or after its previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

North Korea launched the three-stage Unha-3 rocket, carrying what it called a Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, on December 2012, two months before its third atomic bomb test. At the time, Seoul and Washington called it the test-launch of long-range ballistic missile, violating the UN Security Council resolutions.
Canberra, Feb 3 : Around 40 percent of Australian grandparents believe they should be reimbursed for looking after their grandchildren, SAID a new survey.

The research study, released on Wednesday by the Australian Seniors Insurance Agency (ASIA), asked the nation's grandparents if they should receive payment -- either from their child (the parent) or the government -- and almost two-fifths (37 percent) agreed.

Australian grandparents, on average, care for their grandchildren for 16 hours a week, and most do nOt receive -- or even ask for -- a cent for their troubles.

ASIA spokesperson Simon Hovell said the figure of 37 percent was probably underselling the number of grandparents who felt some form of compensation was fair.

"There is a stigma around asking for money," Hovell told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.

"It's reasonable to assume that there is a percentage of grandparents who would like to be paid, but feel uncomfortable asking for it."

The survey, which involved more than 1,000 participants, also asked grandparents about other sacrifices they had to make as their children could not afford paid childcare.

In order to care for their grandchildren, 75 percent of grandparents lived closer to their own kids, 58 percent forwent recreational activities, 42 percent put travel plans on hold and 30 percent changed their work arrangements, according to the research.

It is estimated 937,000 Australian parents are collectively saving almost $90 million each week by using their parents for free childcare.

In 2015, the Australian government's National Commission of Audit recommended the country follow the lead of the Britain and create welfare payments for grandparent care givers.

However, the idea did not receive the support for Australia's Treasurer Scott Morrison, who recently made it clear he has no plans to incorporate it into the 2016 budget.

"For those who are doing the normal thing like my parents do and a lot of peoples' parents do then, no, the government isn't considering that," Morrison said in October 2015.
Mumbai, Feb 3 : A benchmark index of Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), on Wednesday was trading 214.44 points or 0.87 percent down during the afternoon session.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 62.80 points or 0.84 percent down at 7,392.75 points.

The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 24,393.59 points, was trading at 24,324.56 points (at 01.12 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 214.44 points or 0.87 percent from the previous day's close at 24,539 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 24,393.77 points and a low of 24,246.94 points in the trade so far.

In the other Asia-Pacific markets, too, the mood was sullen. Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200, the Shanghai Composite and the South Korean Kospi were all ruling in the red.

On Tuesday, even as the status quo on policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India was on expected lines, the mood was one of gloom in the Indian markets.

The Sensex ended the day with a loss of 285.83 points, or 1.15 percent, while Nifty lost 100.40 points, or 1.33 percent.

In the global markets, developments in the energy market continued to weigh sentiments heavily.

"The US markets ended in red on Tuesday as the sell-off on the Wall Street came amid a notable decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for March delivery down by $1.74 to $29.88 a barrel," Angel Broking said ahead of the opening bell for the markets here.

"Traders may have been looking ahead to the release of some key economic data in the coming days, including the closely watched monthly jobs report due on Friday," said the brokerage, adding the European markets also fell over the oil prices.
Chennai, Feb 3 : Actor Prakash Raj and his wife Pony Verma were on Wednesday blessed with a son, their first child.

"Hi. Me and Pony are happy (to) share with you this moment of joy in our life. We had a lovely baby boy. Today. Bless him. Cheers (sic)," Prakash Raj posted on his Twitter page.

Pony is Prakash's second wife whom he married in 2010.

He divorced his first wife Lalitha Kumari in 2009. They have two daughters, Meghana and Pooja.

One of the busiest actors in southern cinema, Prakash Raj, a three-time National Award winner, has starred in over 200 films across all four southern industries.

He has also worked in a few Hindi films.
Washington, Feb 3 : Starting with "Miss India America" as the opening night movie, the 2016 Dallas/Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival (DFW SAFF) will showcase 13 award-winning shorts, documentaries and feature films.

In addition to film screenings, the February 19-21 festival at the Perot Museum in downtown Dallas and the Angelika Film Centre in Plano, will also include post-screening Q&A sessions, networking events and after parties.

JINGO Media, a Dallas & New York City-based events management company, produces the annual festival.

"We strive to bring quality, independent film programming through Texas, US and North American premieres to DFW audiences," said Jitin Hingorani principal & CEO of the company.

"We hope people will leave our festival with a better understanding of our South Asian community and an appreciation for our cultures."

The festival line up includes "I Say, Bhallaji" - short feature; "The Backward Class" - documentary, "Blue Like Me" - short documentary; "Spaces Between - short documentary; "Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi" - documentary; "Saankal" (Shackle) - feature film; "Vanvaas" - short film; "Umrika" - centerpiece feature film; "Super Girl" - short feature: "Dhanak" - feature film and "Amma Y Appa" - documentary feature.
Mumbai, Feb 3 : British designer brand Christopher Kane has made its India debut here at Le Mill, a concept store that stocks the best of international designer brands such as Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Balmain and Valentino.

Starting this week, Le Mill started retailing Kane's wide range of offerings including its cruise collection.

The 2016 resort collection is inspired by the seemingly child-like terrain of the love heart which is mixed with its graphic pop appeal.

"The starting point was our Lovers Lace and it was a natural progression to the love heart as the icon and motif of this collection. The love heart seems so simple and pure, almost child-like, but powerful and graphic.

"There are those two sides to this collection: something romantic and pure, almost 'church girl' with those pastels, mixed with a powerful 'killer red' and an idea of something seductive but also disturbing," Christopher Kane, the man behind the brand, said in a statement on Wednesday about their spring-summer 2016 collection.

Brand Christopher Kane was launched in 2006 with a design philosophy that is very abstract and personal.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 3 : For a while now, street food has been passe in most middle-class and upper-middle-class households in Kerala. But lately, it's making its way back on to their dining tables.

One reason is the way street food has undergone a transformation and the latest fad is the mobile kitchens that appear when dusk sets in on the main roads in cities across the state.

There are more than 150 such mobile kitchens which do business till 11 p m in the state with most concentrating in the 14 district headquarters of the state.

These mobile kitchens are modified vehicles, mostly Tempo Travellers, from which all the seats are removed and it's just the driver's section that remains from the original.

While the concept has been around in other parts of the country, notably in north India, Syed Mohammed claims to have pioneered the transformation in Kerala. THus, as dusk falls, his mobile kitchen arrives in front of a leading foreign bank, situated a stone's throw from the Kerala governor's residence in this capital city.

"This is my 14th year. This vehicle which I use is modified and we have a state of the art kitchen behind the drivers cabin. It has been beautifully done up using different material to keep it very neat and clean. We have made a makeshift water tank that's fixed at the bottom. All the water that my clients use to wash their hands is collected in the tank. At the end of the day, we empty the water on my land," Mohammed told IANS.

The mobile vans have an extended menu and it includes mostly the traditional dishes like the popular thattu dosha (the smaller version of the regular one), chapathies, parottas, idiappom, appom. Some even offer fried rice, while omelettes and bull's-eye (fried eggs, sunny side up) are the most sought after ones.

The curries on offer include various varieties of beef and chicken and also vegetable dishes.

"I am a regular at this eating joint as I have found it very tasty, besides being reasonably priced. If the very same dish that I have from here is eaten at a hotel in the city, I have to pay a minimum of 30 percent more. What I understand is that these mobile vans have very little overheads and what they save on that is passed on to people like me," said John Thomas a post-graduate student in Kottayam who is a regular customer at a mobile kitchen, told IANS.

Illustratively, four pieces of chicken fry and a couple of rotis would cost Rs.70. An egg curry with a couple of rotis would cost Rs.30.

Sreekumar, a parotta maker at a mobile kitchen in Kochi. said they start around 7 pm and serve curries and other eats.

"Once we are here in the road, we start working on the parottas and make the dosas. All the fries (chicken and beef) are done inside the mobile kitchen, while the curries are all prepared at our home kitchen. We use environmentally-friendly material, which include plantain leaves (placed on steel plates), paper cups for water and also paper plates. We also provide mineral water," Sreekumar told IANS.

"The waste is also collected and we use it in our biogas plant," he added.

The Food and Safety Commissioner is the watchdog for these mobile kitchens. Its commissioner, T.V. Anupama said the mobile kitchens are classified as street vendors.

"These vehicle kitchens have to pay an annual fee of Rs.2,000 ($30). Our officials conduct surprise checks at these eateries and any lapses connected to hygiene invite penalties. In December (2015), we realised a total fine of Rs.288,000 across the state," Anupama told IANS.

With the watchdog doing a good job, good quality food at cheap rates, hygiene being of prime importance and ease of doing business with practically no taxes to be paid by the kitchen owners, more and more mobile kitchens are certain to hit the roads in the state in the days to come.

"Our business model is to improve the quality of the food as this would lead to more sales. I am quite happy doing this business because I have seven staffers working with me," said Mohammed, who uses an electronic machine to generate a bill, which also serves acts as a token to collect the food.

These mobile kitchens are definitely worth tyring out when you're next in Kerala!

(Sanu George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in)
Alleppey (Kerala), Feb 3 : One of India's oldest industries is steadily embracing modern machinery, and the men presiding over the future of coir making say there is absolutely no other way out.

And for a state where trade unions have often been accused of derailing industry, workers' collectives in this hub of Kerala's coir appear to be at home with the steady pace of modernization.

Kerala's Revenue and Coir Minister Adoor Prakash explains why.

"This is a traditional industry but the new generation is not taking to it, precisely because of the traditional methods used in the industry," the minister told IANS in an interview.

"We have no option but to go for mechanization to rectify this situation."

Kerala's coir is considered one of the finest in the world, and its products enjoy global appreciation and demand. It employs some 3.5 lakh people in the organised and many more in the unorganised sector across the state.

For decades, producing fibre from coconut husks was a tedious process. The husks would be kept in water for six months, and they would emit a foul smell. Workers would finally get into this stench to extract the husks - and fibre.

For all this back-breaking work, the wages they got was a pittance - as little as 70 paise a day.

This is when Kerala decided to deploy machines to do a better job. Although the process began some time back, the pace has quickened in the past few years.

"At one time, the workers didn't appreciate mechanization," G.N. Nair, managing director of the state-run Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd, told IANS at the venue of the sixth edition of Coir Kerala 2016 here.

"There was a lot of opposition to the introduction of machines. This was akin to the way computers were first received by people who feared they may lose their jobs," Nair explained.

"But work now has become easy, more humane, more decent. Our machines are also used to twist and twist the fibre to make fine yarn.

"Productivity has shot up because of mechanization. Now, in an eight-hour shift, we produce 1,200 sq km of fibre per shift. When output is more, we can sell more. Income is more. Naturally, wages also go up."

When Nair took charge of the Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd in January 2012, it was earning Rs.57 crore. This had doubled to Rs.120 crore in 2014-15, a period coinciding with growing mechanization.

To produce machines within the country for the industry, the Kerala State Coir Machine Manufacturing Co came up last year at Adoor, about 80 km from Alleppey. The earlier machines were imported.

Minister Prakash said the Kerala government's intention was to spread the mechanization process across the length and breadth of the state where coir making is the biggest cottage industry.

"We are helping all the cooperative societies to mechanize," he said, adding that Kerala wanted to increase its share of coir production vis-a-vis two other states which too play a role in the industry: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Nair warned that the traditional coir industry in Kerala "will die on its own" unless it took to mechanization. "The industry has to be mechanized. Tradition is good, but modernization is vital. The two must marry."

(M.R. Narayan Swamy can be contacted at narayan.swamy@ians.in)
Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), Feb 3 : India is keen to expand its cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday, the third day of his visit to this southeast Asian nation.

"The scourge of terrorism is a challenge for all peace loving countries of the world," Ansari while delivering a speech at the University of Brunei here.

"We are determined to combat this menace with strong cooperation from like-minded countries. We would be keen to expand our cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information," he said.

According to Ansari, energy trade is an area where India and Brunei have strong complementarities.

"At present India imports crude oil worth $1 billion from Brunei. Though India is the third largest importer for Brunei, the total import from Brunei is only a fraction of India's global crude imports of more than $112.748 billion in 2014-15," he said.

He said that with India's growing energy requirements, Brunei has an opportunity to enhance export of hydrocarbon to India.

Stating that the growing Indian economy also provides an opportunity to move beyond the typical energy seller-buyer relationship, the vice president said: "In this context, India is keen to work with the government of Brunei in setting up a fertiliser plant that would make use of the hydrocarbon resources available here for producing fertilisers to meet agricultural requirement in India."

He also lauded the contributions of the 10,000-strong Indian community of professionals like doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and skilled personnel to the economy of Brunei.

"The quality of our professionals is a testimony to the strength of academic institutions in India. This is another area for us to collaborate. We would welcome more exchanges of students, teachers and researchers from the academic institutions in Brunei, including this university," Ansari said.

He also said that information technology was another area in which India would be keen to share its experience and expertise with Brunei.

Ansari said that both India and Brunei have an interest in maintaining the safety of sea-lanes and maritime security.

"For some years now, Indian naval ships have been visiting Brunei and your ships have also participated in some of joint exercises. This has laid the grounds for deepening our cooperation in the defence sector, including by training of defence personnel in various fields."

He said that India and Brunei shared common perspectives on several global issues, including that of climate change.

"India has a long history and tradition of harmonious co-existence between man and nature. Human beings here have regarded fauna and flora as part of their family," he said.

Stating that both India and Brunei have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of the shared Asian neighbourhood, he said the scope of India's engagement with east and southeast Asia has grown steadily in the last two decades.

"It is to the great credit of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries that they have led the way in cooperation and integration, not only among themselves, but also in the broader region," he said, adding that for India, this was an article of faith of its Look East policy.

Stating that India valued Brunei's support in making India a full dialogue partner of the Asean, Ansari said New Delhi's Look East policy was aimed at integrating "multifaceted relations with Asean and beyond".

"Last year with the advent of a new government, we upgraded our policy towards southeast and east Asia from 'Look East' to 'Act East' - to indicate India's resolve to move with a great sense of priority and speed to intensify our cooperation in security, trade, investment, connectivity and capacity building and strengthening people-to-people linkages with the Asean countries," he said.

The vice president also said that the 'Make in India' initiative has opened up new vistas for investments from Asean countries into India, including in sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure.

"Enhancing connectivity between India and Asean in all its aspects - physical, institutional and people-to-people - is a key strategic priority for us. Our northeastern region is our land-bridge to the Asean," he said.

"As Asean engages in charting out its post-2015 roadmap, India is also working on drafting the ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-2021, to translate the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership Vision into concrete action for greater progress and prosperity of our peoples and countries," the vice president stated.
Panaji, Feb 2 : Goa, conventionally associated with feni, beer and wine when it comes to beverages, appears to be heading for a milk war.

The state government's decision to allow Gujarat-based Surat District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited (SUMUL) to set up milk procurement facilities in four agrarian sub districts, has brought the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the existing Goa Dairy Co-Operative Milk Producers Union Limited at logger heads.

While the BJP has accused Goa Dairy of sabotaging milk production, the latter has charged the BJP with trying to finish the dairy, one of the largest undertakings in the co-operative sector, after the ruling party failed to take control of it.

It all began when on January 7 with a government notification allowed SUMUL, which markets the popular milk and dairy products brand of the same name, to set up procurement operations in Sattari, Sanguem, Canacona and Quepem sub-districts, which account for the biggest chunk of milk production in Goa.

"We have to make Goa self-sufficient in milk production... If there is competition, dairy farmers will definitely benefit from the better rate they will get for the milk they produce. We do not intend to do injustice to Goa Dairy, but I believe competition is needed to improve things in the dairy (sector)," Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said, after announcing the decision.

Goa, with a resident population of 1.5 million and a floating population of nearly four million tourists, consumes anywhere between 350,000-500,000 litres of milk every day. Of this demand, the Goa Dairy, with its present infrastructure and procurement network is able to process approximately 90,000 litres of milk every day at its facility in Kurti, Ponda, which is not even a fourth of the requirement, during the peak tourism season.

The difference is met by over a dozen private milk companies, which flood the market with milk bags and products and have been on the Goa government's Food Drugs Administration's radar for sub-standard quality.

The BJP insists that only a competitive edge to the dairy sector would help Goa become self-sufficient in milk production.

"Let competition happen between the two dairies. Competition is never bad. Finally, the dairy farmers will benefit because their produce will get a better price because of two competitors," BJP spokesperson Pramod Sawant told IANS.

In the recent past the BJP-led coalition government had accused the Goa Dairy of trying to sabotage the government's plan to beef up milk production and threatened to take it over.

"The government is ready to take over the dairy and improve the quality of milk. We can also replace them with Amul, if required. There are various options available," then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had said in an assembly debate in 2013.

Goa Dairy officials, in a petition to Parsekar, had requested him to revert the SUMUL decision, claiming Goa's co-operative sector would be finished with the entry of the Gujarat giant.

"SUMUL's coming to Goa would create a rift between the 30,000 odd dairy farmers who supply milk on an everyday basis. That would be a detriment to quality and quantity of milk production," Goa Dairy Managing Director Navso Sawant said in the representation.

SUMUL managing director Jayesh Desai said it do not consider Goa Dairy to be competition.

"We do not consider Goa Dairy as competition. They are also from the co-operative sector. We can work together to make Goa self-sufficient in milka We have a plan in place to help farmers increase their dairy yield and make more profit from the milk they produce," Desai told IANS.

(Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at mayabhushan.n@ians.in)
New Delhi, Feb 3 : The strike called by civic employees in the national capital over non-payment of their salaries continued for the eighth day on Wednesday with thousands of workers blocking major roads and creating traffic jams and inconveniencing commuters.

The sanitation workers staged demonstrations on major roads in Delhi, including the National Highways that skirt it. Among others, traffic was blocked on east Delhi's Vikas Marg, inconveniencing commuters.

Hospitals and schools run by civic bodies were also affected as doctors, hospital staff, teachers and school employees joined the protest.

Protestors dumped garbage on roads and set ablaze tyres at various places. With uncollected garbage strewn along roads, an overpowering stench pervaded most municipal areas.

Employees of Delhi's three civic bodies -- the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation -- are protesting against the non-payment of salaries, directing their ire at both the Delhi and central governments.

The national capital also has two other civic bodies -- the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board. Their workers are not part of the ongoing stir.
Phnom Penh, Feb 3 : Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Wednesday said the country has no biased foreign policy towards any country.

"Though Cambodia is a small and poor country, it has independence and sovereignty. As a nation with its good morals, culture and civilization existing for thousands of years, we do not choose a country over another," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Namhong's remarks came after some critics and analysts commented that Cambodia has closer ties with China than the US.

"I told US Secretary of State John Kerry during a recent meeting that Cambodia is a friend of China, but Cambodia also wants to be a close friend of the United States," said Namhong, who is also deputy prime minister of the country.

As for relations with China and Japan, he said Cambodia does not prefer one to another because the two countries have the same level of comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation with Cambodia.
London, Feb 3 : A combination of a carbon tax on food and sugary drinks could lead to health benefits, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and raise up to A3.6 billion in revenue, says a research.

A tax on soft drinks can result in significant health improvements to the population, the researchers said, adding that a well designed carbon tax could be an important addition to policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our study demonstrates that a food carbon tax could have meaningful effects on greenhouse gas emissions without harming health," said lead researcher, Adam Briggs from the University of Oxford in Britain.

The researchers modelled different tax scenarios to investigate the environmental, health and economic effects of such a cess.

The results predicted a decrease in the purchase of beef, lamb and other meats. There was, however, a predicted increase in purchases of pork and poultry, the findings, published in the journal BMC Public Health, said.

All scenarios predicted delayed or averted deaths mostly from heart disease and cancer, which the researchers attribute to increased fibre intake and changes to fat consumption, the study showed.

The scenarios predicted an increase in consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and a decrease in purchases of cream, cheese and eggs, further resulting in more deaths being delayed or averted.

All scenarios also predicted a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of between 16.5 and 18.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The scenarios that did not include subsidies for low emission food generated revenues of A3 billion and A3.4 billion, the higher figure being due to the additional sugary drink tax.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 3 : Amid the Left opposition's demand for his resignation in the solar scam, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said he had done no wrong in the case.

"If there is even one percent truth in the allegations levelled against me in the scam, I will quit public life of five decades," Chandy told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting here.

"I am able to defend myself as I have done no wrong. My conscience is clear. People understand things, but you (media) are the last to understand things," the chief minister said.

Chandy and other politicians have come under attack after solar scam accused Saritha Nair, while deposing before a judicial commission over five days, alleged that bribes were paid to Congress leaders to speed up procedures for her solar panel business.

"The Left opposition appears jittery because they know that the people of Kerala will not believe these baseless allegations. Hence, they are engaging in various protests. If they are confident about these allegations, why can't they wait for a few months till assembly elections. They are afraid," Chandy said.

"Due to this scam, there was no loss to the state exchequer, no monetary benefit was extended to scamsters and no laxity was there on the government's part in taking legal steps against them," the chief minister said.

Hitting out at the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist, Chandy said a leading magazine carried a cover story in 2014, wherein Nair was quoted as saying that she was offered Rs.10 crore by the CPI-M to speak against the chief minister.

He warned that -- as sought by ruling United Democratic Front leaders -- the government will take necessary steps to initiate action against those behind the mudslinging.
New Delhi : "How can I have cancer, Doctor? I don't smoke, I exercise every day, I eat the right food and I get annual health check-ups." Bewildered and shocked patients, often say this to me.

The reality - no matter how many "Do's and Don'ts" we follow, fossil fuel pollution, food made from pesticide-laden agri-produce and stressful work lives are here to stay. These causes of cancer are beyond individual control and short of staying in a bubble, they can't be avoided.

Preventive health check-ups are good, they serve a purpose, but awareness and alertness is equally important.

If a cell goes rogue, a day after the health check, it will get detected at the next check-up, which in most cases is 365 days later, by when it could have spread to other body parts. We know of a family member, a very dear friend or a work colleague who has suffered at the hands of this deadly disease. So, early signs should be heeded to and if any known symptoms show-up a visit to a qualified Medical Oncologist is warranted.

To put it in perspective, every year nearly 1.1 million new cases of cancer are reported. In all, the disease affects about 3.3 million people in India at any given point in time. Cancer incidence increases with age and as the geriatric population rises, so will the incidence of cancer.

Thanks to the internet, we are quick to read up on cancer and have conversations on Facebook and Twitter. While most of us are no longer ignorant about cancer, it instills a morbid fear. Science is looking for newer options to prevent, detect and treat cancer.

A mammography test, earlier recommended once a year, is now being recommended once in two or three years. Even the age for mammography has moved from early forties to early fifties.

The symptoms and signs that should be watched out for include mild to high pain in the affected area, sudden, unexplained weight loss, unusual lump or growth, unexplained bleeding, breathlessness, appetite loss, fever and extreme tiredness

Contrary to popular belief, many treatment options are available for cancer, depending on the age of the patient, intensity and and its spread. But only experienced and skillful medical oncologists can assess how the patient is likely to respond and react to the treatment. An individualised treatment tailored to each patient can and does offer long term survival of the patient.

Science is making it possible to detect an individual patient's cancer causing genes and share a considered prognosis -- whether it will go away, recur or respond to treatment at all. Oncologists can not only treat cancer by modifying genes but also by strengthening the immune system, so that the body can fight cells that behave abnormally.

While researchers look for a surer cure for cancer and medicine wages a war against it, the patients' quality of life has to be ensured. A part of the job is to see that a patient's pain reduces, he eats and sleeps well and continues to live a dignified life.

It is said that once diagnosed with cancer, a typical patient is either in active phase, treatment phase or in follow up phase. Irrespective of the stage, a patient needs support till the very end.

A cured person needs to go through regular health check-ups, and the one fighting this disease needs palliative care to go through the ailment with less pain, anxiety and hardship to the caregivers at home. The anxiety stems mainly from the questions like "Who will attend to me, if my mobility goes down a wee bit more", or "With so much vomiting I shall have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. Who will take me to the hospital?"

There is a crying need for a better tertiary healthcare system that can decentralise the treatment, so for simple procedures like injecting saline water, caregivers don't have to rush to the nearest cancer hospital.

India also needs to evolve a robust homecare medical service that can administer palliative care in the comfort of the patient's home while reducing the financial burden on the caregivers. A few companies have taken a step in the right direction.

Nurses and attendants in some of these companies are trained in providing palliative cancer care and are familiar with processes such as Tracheostomy Management, Stoma Care, Onco Emergency Recognition etc. and can be deployed at the patient's home on a 24x7 basis for providing high quality patient care.

Whether we conquer the disease or not, we can surely make the battle easier for the affected patients and their families. At least then the fear of the disease can be conquered.

(Dr. Dinesh Pendharker is an oncologist and director on the Zoctr Board that provides home-based palliative care to cancer patients. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at drpendharkar@gmail.com)
Kolkata, Feb 3 : Disability rights activists launched a sit-in demonstration here on Wednesday to protest against the "denial of basic human rights" to disabled citizens by airline staff following a recent incident where an air carrier's ground crew allegedly restricted an autistic individual's movement from Kolkata airport.

As many as 70 activists, under the Disability Activists Forum, West Bengal, said a 24-year-old autistic man, who had travelled from Delhi to Kolkata, was not allowed to board a flight from the eastern metropolis to Dhaka, Bangladesh. They staged their protest at the Netaji Subhas International Airport.

"He was well-received in Delhi. But the Air India ground crew did not let him board the flight to Dhaka. The ground crew threatened that he would not be permitted to travel. He was asked to procure a fit-to-fly certificate later, which he managed from doctors in Kolkata," a disability activist said.

"If they just needed that then why didn't they inform him earlier? Why isn't there any consistent process," asked R.J. Den, a prominent wheelchair-bound citizen-activist of Kolkata.

The agitators said the incident reflected the denial to right to dignity and basic human rights.

"There is a need to create awareness among people and sensitise airline personnel and other passengers regarding the rights of persons with disabilities with regard to air travel," a protestor said.

The protest also came in the wake of a differently-abled passenger on an Air India flight being allegedly left to "crawl" to the passenger coach after landing at Delhi airport as the airline failed to arrange a wheelchair for "security reasons".
New Delhi, Feb 3 : Union minister Maneka Gandhi's enunciation of an "alternate point of view" that a foetus be tracked from conception to save the girl child has been welcomed by many experts while others are skeptical about it.

Inaugurating the All India Regional Editors' Conference in Jaipur on Monday, the minister said: "There is an alternate point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus made known to parents and if it happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system will help ensure that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female."

She also said that this issue needs further debate and had requested the media for suggestions.

The national capital's sex ratio recorded in the 2011 census was 866 females to 1,000 males. But according to the government's birth and death registration report for 2013, the ratio improved slightly to 895:1,000. The average for the whole country was 940:1000 in 2011.

"It is an excellent new approach to the problem. It is a different view and a new line of thought as compared to previous thought. Some states have shown that trends are reversing and there is an increase in female ratio. It is not that the previous method is wrong," Dr. Neerja Bhatla, professor of Obstetrics and gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told IANS.

"But to implement the idea it would demand huge infrastructure, logistics and several other parameters. They have to track each and every pregnancy and births in the country, track manpower required for ultrasound, track all the data, adhar cards and how the system works. This is a huge task but nothing is insurmountable. It is about how much we need, when and how. This is about men, money and management. It requires a lot of thinking," she added.

Bhatla also added that looking at the country's narrow health-care budget and the prevailing budget crunch to deal with many diseases, including cervical cancer, it is going to be a huge challenge for the government.

"It is also for the government to decide whether it is to br implemented in the whole country or only in those states where reverse trends have not been seen," she added.

Nitisha Sharma of Inaya Foundation, a NGO, said the suggestion would not "practical" in a state like Rajasthan, which suffers from a skewed sex ratio - 883 girls for 1,000 boys. Girls in the desert state, which is the largest in term of area, are considered a liability.

"Girls are not welcome in parts of the state. If you look at the sex ratio it has shown further drop. The sex ratio which was 909, 10 years back, declined to 883 in the last census. In these circumstances the move in state like Rajasthan does not seem practical.

"Look what happens with sex determination tests. It is illegal, still it is going on. So if gender determination tests are to be allowed then it has to be in a proper way and method with proper planning, polices and regulations so that the girl child is not killed in the womb," Sharma told IANS.

Haryana and Punjab are two states which have been notorious for female foeticide among all states in the country in the past nearly three decades.

"This will open a pandora's box all over again. With strict laws and monitoring, sex determination tests were not being done openly. If these are allowed again, people with go in for sex determination and then try to find excuses to abort the girl child," Dr. Preeti, a gynaecologist in Chandigarh, told IANS.

Five northern states, Haryana (12 districts), Punjab (11 districts), Jammu and Kashmir (five), Uttarakhand (two) and Himachal Pradesh (one) and union territory of Chandigarh (one) account for 32 worst districts in the country in terms of female foeticide.

Out of the 100 worst districts in India for sex ratio, Haryana accounted for 12 districts. Neighbouring Punjab has 11 districts among the worst 100.

"If sex determination tests are allowed, strict monitoring will have to be done to track the girl child. Otherwise, the foeticide problem will continue," Geeta Kumar, a social activist in rural area of Haryana's Sirsa district said.

Haryana, which is at the bottom among all states in sex ratio, recently drew comfort from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast where he mentioned that Haryana had been able to slightly reverse the reducing sex ratio.

Haryana's sex ratio stood at just 879 females per 1,000 males as per the 2011 Census. The state claimed last month that, for the first time in over a decade, the sex ratio had crossed the 900-mark. The sex ratio, as per claims of the Haryana government, now stands at 903. This is still far lower than the national average of 940 females per 1,000 males.

Given Haryana's track record in sex ratio, Modi had chosen Haryana to launch the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' (save girl child and educate her) campaign from Panipat in Haryana on Jan 22 last year to counter the adverse sex ratio.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : Sunny Deol, who is awaiting the release of his forthcoming film "Ghayal Once Again", says his choice of work is not driven in any way by his sons Karan and Rajveer.

Asked if his sons play a role in the way he chooses his projects, Sunny told reporters here: "No, not really. That has never been neither I have with my dad... We are all basically together but at the same time we are very individual with each other."

The 58-year-old actor's elder son Karan is prepping for his launch into filmdom. And Sunny hinted that after the release of the "Ghayal" sequel, he will launch his son.

"Karan is doing very well. He is waiting for my film to release and after 'Ghayal Once Again', I will talk about my son's debut. That is the next thing I will be doing," said the "Ghatak: Lethal" star.

Produced by veteran actor Dharmendra, "Ghayal Once Again", which will see Sunny playing a media personality, also stars actors Soha Ali Khan and Tisca Chopra.

The film, which is releasing on Friday is high on action, which is co-ordinated by Dan Bradley, who has done action for films like "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bourne Identity".

-*-Had been egging on director for 'Fukrey' sequel: Ali Fazal Actor Ali Fazal, who will be seen in the sequel of "Fukrey", says the movie's team had been urging director Mrigdeep Singh Lamba to make another "masterpiece".

"Fukrey" came out three years ago and featured actors Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha.

Sharing his excitement about the sequel, Ali said in a statement: "Oh I am thrilled to hear about this... I think in our own ways, we have been egging Mrig to bring out another masterpiece.

"So finally some ideas came together and 'Fukrey Part 2' has come into being. I think we begin in August, so I am trying to wrap up all my movie work before that and have enough time to prep for the second part."

-*-Aditya didn't have to read 'Great Expectations' for 'Fitoor'

Aditya Roy Kapur says director Abhishek Kapoor didn't want him to read "Great Expectations" for "Fitoor", which is based on the Charles Dickens book.

"Abhishek wanted me to play Noor according to his vision of the character and did not want me to read any book or watch any film before the release of our film," Aditya said in a statement.

Abhishek wanted to pass on his vision of Noor to Aditya so that the "Aashiqui 2" actor could deliver the director's version of the character rather than the one from the book.

Co-produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Abhishek Kapoor, "Fitoor" is all set to release on February 12. It also stars Katrina Kaif and Tabu.
Los Angeles, Feb 3 : Actors George Clooney and Hugh Laurie's came together for a reunion of American medical drama television series "ER" on the late night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".

Clooney reprised his role as Dr. Ross who checked on a patient, played by the show's host Jimmy Kimmel. But when Dr. Ross needed the assistance of his co-workers, no one was there.

Kimmel explained that the other original cast members, such as Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle and Eriq La Salle, were busy with their own schedules and couldn't make it for the reunion.

Whereas Laurie, who played Dr. House, made it clear that he's actually not in "ER", but he's starring in another medical drama, "House M.D."

Things then got intense as Kimmel was "crashing". Clooney tried to bring him back by performing CPR and Laurie reminded him of a technique that they learnt from TV medical school, "a rapper's delight".

Clooney began rapping while Laurie was dancing, and it did work.

"I used hip-hop to save his life," so he claimed.

The episode will air in India on Thursday on Star World and Star World HD.
Bengaluru, Feb 3 : Invest Karnataka 2016 is the first Global Investors Meet (GIM) with more than 100 ready-to-invest projects, said Karnataka's Large and Medium Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande at the inaugural session here on Wednesday.

"This is perhaps the first (GIM) where such an exercise has been done by government for investors to invest," said Deshpande.

He highlighted more than 300 exhibitors are participating at the GIM in over one lakh square feet area.

Interestingly, 50 percent of the 5,000 delegates participating at the two-day summit belong to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs and startups among others.

Deshpande said Karnataka state has been a pioneer in industrial transformation of India.

"Right from a 25 million-tonne steel industry, which is the largest in India to the hi-tech industry consisting of IT, biotechnology, nano technology, aerospace, space, garments, granite and iron ore, tourism and fashion, agro, silk - Karnataka has invented, innovated and invested to lead the future of India."

According to Deshpande, Karnataka's strategy is based upon conducive policies, high quality infrastructure, massive investments in human capital, consistent and transparent tax policies and a responsive administration.

Noting that people of Karnataka are its strength, the minister said, "Talent and workforce has made it (Karnataka) the knowledge capital of not only India but also the world, with R&D and innovation centres of more than 400 top Fortune 500 companies."

Karnataka first organised its GIM in 2000 and has sectoral policies with industry participation.

Highlighting that the future of India was being made in Karnataka, Deshpande said, "Invent in Karnataka, innovate in Karnataka, invest in Karnataka".
Lucknow, Feb 3 : Political leaders from diverse parties on Wednesday mourned the death of former Lok Sabha speaker and Congress leader Balram Jakhar.

Condoling the death, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik in a message recalled how Jakhar, as the Lok Sabha speaker, used to take along all people irrespective of their political affiliations.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also recalled the services of Jakhar in "strengthening democracy".

He recalled Jakhar's great contribution in agriculture, horticulture and in making farmers understand and embrace modern technology in farming.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said the veteran leader had a towering personality and would be missed in the times to come.

Jakhar became the Lok Sabha Speaker in 1980 and served till 1989 for two terms. As the speaker, he was instrumental in automation and computerisation of the house work. He died after prolonged illness on Wednesday, aged 92.
Beijing, Feb 3 : China was "seriously concerned" about the North Korea plan to launch a satellite later this month, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang told a press briefing that Beijing hopes Pyongyang will exercise restraint on the issue and deal with it prudently to avoid possible escalation in tensions, Xinhua reported.

North Korea is entitled to the peaceful use of outer space, yet this right was restricted by resolutions of the UNSC, Lu said.

China will continue to communicate with all parties concerned to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

It is a shared responsibility of all parties concerned to maintain peace on the peninsula, and regional stability is in the interests of all sides, the spokesperson added.

A UN spokesperson said on Tuesday that three UN organisations have been informed that North Korea plans to launch an earth-observation satellite between February 8 and 25.
Alleppey (Kerala), Feb 3 : Buyers from 54 countries interacted with sellers and exhibitors at the Coir India 2016 meet here on Wednesday that is expected to generate business deals and export orders worth Rs.250 crore.

It was the third day of a five-day show-piece meet that brings together buyers and sellers involved in the coir industry, an official statement said.

Wednesday saw some 160 buyers from 54 countries as well as 260 registered settlers and exhibitors dealing with an array of coir products, including geo-textiles, interact for possible business deals.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien described Coir India as a "success story" which, he said, had helped promote and preserve Kerala's largest cottage industry.

"India has the best quality coir and coir products in the world. The one-to-one interactions over the past several years have helped bring this to the world's knowledge," he said.

Kurien called for "greater modernisation, better technology, intensive research and consistent marketing, especially in the domestic market" in order to keep Indian coir products ahead of the competition.

Abdul-Hameed Saeed, a first-time delegate from a business group in Saudi Arabia which has been importing coir products for over 20 years, said he expected to procure coir fibre this year.

This is the sixth edition of the biggest international event on coir and natural fibre products. The event ends on Friday.
Lucknow, Feb 3 : A suspected recruiter for subversive groups deported from Saudi Arabia was arrested here early Wednesday by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad and Telangana Police, officials said.

Abdul Aziz alias Gidda was produced before a magistrate here who permitted the Telangana Police to take him away on a transit remand. He was later taken amid high security on a train to Hyderabad.

Aziz was accused of making fake passports and recruiting the youth for terror organisations.

ATS officials told IANS that a case of forgery of passports was lodged against Aziz in Telangana and that he helped youngsters involved in terror plans to sneak into India on fake passports. He is also accused of conspiring to blow up a temple in Hyderabad.
New York, Feb 3 : Media plays an important role in its coverage of portraying Muslims as terrorists, says a study.

Exposure to news stories which are anti-Muslim in nature was driving people's attitudes and perception that Muslims are inherently violent, the study said.

A series of studies conducted by the researchers from the Iowa State University in the US have predicted more support for the presidential candidates taking a strong anti-Muslim stand.

Political conservatives and people who most strongly identify with their "fellow Americans" were more supportive of war against Muslim countries and civil restrictions of Muslim Americans, the study revealed.

The level of support that participants expressed for restricting the freedom of Muslim Americans was very high, the findings showed.

"The influence of negative media stories as well as a separate link we found between political conservatism and anti-Muslim sentiments and beliefs, both suggest that US political candidates who were willing to take very strong anti-Muslim stands would get a lot of support from the most active and vocal conservatives," said Craig Anderson, professor at Iowa State University.

Two studies measured exposure to news stories portraying Muslims as terrorists. In an additional study, participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three news clips, which portrayed Muslims in a negative, neutral or positive light.

Participants also were questioned about their perceptions and support for military or political action.

However, the researchers were encouraged by how participants responded to the positive story about Muslim Americans.

The researchers asserted that the positive story reduced participants' view of Muslims as aggressive. And they were less likely to support military action and civil restrictions for Muslims.

Journalists can make a difference by actively seeking out positive stories about Muslim Americans, the researchers pointed out in the study published in the journal Communication Research.

And when covering on Islam-related terrorist attacks, the reporters should talk with Muslim Americans about their opposition to such actions, they added.

Also, Muslim Americans can help erase negative stereotypes by speaking out and being more visible in their communities, the researchers concluded.
Mumbai, Feb 3 : Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan has been chosen for the prestigious Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi classical music award for 2015-2016, Maharashtra's Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde announced here on Wednesday.

The annual award, instituted by the Maharashtra government, is given to individuals who have excelled in classical vocal or instrumental music, the minister said.

The award, finalised by a committee of top music artistes and exponents, comprises Rs.5 lakh in cash, a trophy and a citation.

Pandit Ram Narayan, 88, has been playing the sarangi since his childhood, and over the years acquired global acclaim for his music for which he was conferred India's second higest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.

He popularised the bowed instrument as a solo concert instrument in Indian classical music and is considered the first sarangi player who became successful in the international arena.

Born in Udaipur, he shifted to New Delhi after Partition and gave performances on All India Radio in the national capital.

In 1949, Pandit Ram Narayan shifted base to Mumbai and over the years gave solo performances all over India and many other countries, besides teaching hundreds of Indian and foreign students.
Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), Feb 3 : India and Brunei have mutual interests in maintaining the safety of Asian sea lanes for the security and prosperity of a "shared Asian neighbourhood", Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Wednesday.

"Both our countries have equal stakes in the security and prosperity of our shared Asian neighbourhood," he said while delivering a speech at the University of Brunei on 'India-Brunei: Partners in Peace and Prosperity'.

"We seek to promote not only mutually beneficial bilateral relations, but also to work institutionally with regional partners and foster a climate conducive to stability, security and economic development in our region," he said.

Noting that as trading economies, both countries have an interest in the safety of sea lanes and maritime security, Ansari said India wants to expand cooperation with Brunei in combating terrorism, particularly in sharing information to check its financing.

"We are keen to expand our cooperation with Brunei in combating global terrorism, particularly preventing financing of terrorism through sharing of information," he added.

The south-east Asian nation of Brunei is located on the island of Borneo off the South China Sea, a major shipping lane with over half the world's commercial cargo passing through the Indo-Pacific waterways.

Ansari said Indian naval ships have visited Brunei, while those from Brunei have participated in joint naval exercises.

"This has laid the ground for deepening our cooperation in the defence sector, including by training of defence personnel in various fields," he said.

Pointing to the potential of strengthening bilateral energy trade, the vice president said India imports crude oil worth 1 billion dollars from Brunei.

Though India is the third largest oil importer for Brunei, the total import from there is only a fraction of India's global crude imports of over 112,748 billion dollars in 2014-15, Ansari said.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : With a high alert at several air bases in the country's western sector post-Pathankot attack, shoot at sight orders have been issued against trespassers at 20-odd bases in the sector, a senior Indian Air Force officer said on Wednesday.

This comes as the IAF is scaling up security at its 54 major air bases across the country following an audit of security at air force stations by a committee.

The audit was ordered following the January 2 terrorist attack on the IAF base at Pathankot town in Punjab in which seven security personnel were killed. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in the gun battle that lasted almost three days.

A senior IAF officer, aware of the audit report, said an air force base on high alert functions as if it is at war.

"When there is a high alert, the guards are authorised to shoot a trespasser without a warning," the officer said.

"The local administration is informed about it and signage and boards are also put up," the officer said.

Explaining further, another official said that the decision depends on the wisdom of the personnel guarding the station perimeter.

"Usually, the guard first tries to identify the trespasser... Whether the person is unarmed, what is the threat perception etc.," said an official.

"Under normal circumstances, the guard would first fire warning shots. But at high alert, the trespasser can be shot at sight," the official said.

Following the attack at Pathankot, most air bases in the western sector continue to be on high alert.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : Former telecom minister A. Raja on Wednesday apprised a court here that he had informed the then prime minister Manmohan Singh about the law ministry's opinion on referring the 2G spectrum allocation process to an empowered group of ministers (EGoM).

Raja's counsel Manu Sharma told Special Judge O.P. Saini that he had informed Singh about everything, including the law ministry's opinion to refer the matter of processing applications for 2G spectrum to an EGoM and the department of telecommunications' (DoT) view that the law minister's note was out of context.

Advancing final arguments in the case, Sharma said Manmohan Singh, who was the only authority to convene an EGoM, did not see any need to convene it and the matter rested there.

Defence counsel said Raja wrote three letters to Manmohan Singh and "the final letter written by Raja in which he had given the entire details was vetted and studied in depth by then senior prime minister's office (PMO) official Pulok Chatterji. The prime minister said it was okay. Had it not been okay, things would have been different".

Denying the prosecution allegation that Raja misled the then prime minister, defence counsel said the allegation that Raja's decision was unilateral was untenable.

The final arguments will continue on Thursday too.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, while advancing final arguments in the case, said Raja misled the then prime minister on policy matters related to 2G spectrum allocation.

According to the CBI, Raja was biased in allocating the 2G mobile airwaves and operating licences to telecom firms, causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.

The court framed charges on October 22, 2011, against 14 accused and three companies under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

All the accused, including Raja, are out on bail.
SPRING CREEK  Since becoming the executive director of the Creative Kids Co-op day care center, Margaret Marcucci has found that the children she watches over have given her a new name.

They know my name is Margaret but Im Grandma to them, she said.

Marcucci took on the role of unofficial grandma to the children at the non-profit day care center back in September, shortly after relocating back to the Elko area in March of last year. Unfortunately for Marcucci, the move back to Elko was preceded by the death of her husband.

My husband got really sick with cancer and we had to move to Salt Lake City, she said. When he passed away I came back here and the board of directors called me in September and offered me the job. And I wouldnt trade it for the world.

With over 30 years of educational experience, dealing with young children is nothing new to Marcucci. She said one of the biggest influences in her decision to pursue a career in education was one the teachers who taught her when she was young.

I had a fifth-grade teacher and she was my inspiration, she said. She always knew I would do something like this.

Even though having 110 kids to keep track of could be overwhelming to some, Marcucci said she prides herself on knowing all the names of the kids and the parents.

One of the things that keeps her connected to all the children in the day care is her unique role.

Im the floater, I go everywhere in this whole building, she said. Im never standing still for one minute. Marcucci explained that every age group has a schedule for the day and that she is responsible for overseeing all of the childrens activities.

Marcucci said one of her favorite activities shes helped organize since taking the job is the annual Breakfast With Santa.

The holiday pancake breakfast involves a man dressed as Santa Claus and was held at the fire station last year. Its expected that the kids would be excited for Santa but, the local fire department has fun at the event as well.

The fire department loved it, it was the best time they ever had. They were in the middle of everything. They were enjoying themselves and Santa was enjoying himself, she said. There is never a dull moment around here.

With Marcucci back in the area shes called home for so long, she said she would like to see Creative Kids become a bigger part of the community under her leadership.

Its the community that makes us work, its not just us, she said. Were a family and were either going to make it or go down together. 
New Delhi, Feb 3 : The striking municipal employees of Delhi on Wednesday refused to call off their strike even as the Delhi government announced a loan of Rs.551 crore to two municipal corporations for payment of their salaries.

The striking employees said the funds given by the government were not a permanent solution to the crisis.

"Our strike will continue. The amount announced by the Delhi government is like a drop in the ocean. We had demanded Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to arrange Rs.5,000 crore either from Delhi or the central governments," Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha president Sanjay Gehlot told IANS.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced Rs.551 crore loan for payment of salaries to striking workers.

"We are giving Rs.551 crore to the North and East municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers," Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment for his throat problem at a naturopathy centre.

United Front of MCD Employees president Rajesh Mishra too said the "strike will continue".

"Giving loan to the civic bodies to clear the salaries bill is not a solution. We want a permanent solution to the problem. The three corporations should be merged," Mishra told IANS.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : A court here on Wednesday framed charges against suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) member and Pakistani national Arshad Khan for planning terror strikes in India.

Arshad Khan, who is lodged in the Kolkata jail in connection with the kidnapping of shoe baron Partha Roy Burman in 2001, was presented before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh via video conferencing.

The court framed charges dealing with criminal conspiracy and under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

After he pleaded not guilty and sought trial, the court fixed April 1 for recording of the statement of prosecution witnesses.

The court last month framed charges against suspected LeT operatives Mohammad Shahid and Mohammad Rashid, Abdul Subhan and his aide Asahbuddin.

Shahid and Rashid were arrested from Haryana's Mewat district in December 2013 by Delhi Police and a charge sheet was filed against them in May 2014.

Later, police arrested the other three accused and filed a supplementary charge sheet against them.

According to police, Abdul Subhan's name surfaced during interrogation of the two youths from Mewat.

In the charge sheet, police said Subhan was the main conspirator in the case and conspired with the others to carry out terrorist acts in Delhi and other parts of the country.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : Weeks after several faculty members of AIIMS protested a doctor's removal for allegedly misbehaving with a patient in 2015, its administration on Wednesday said several other complaints, including of harrasment, were pending against him.

The complaints include using objectionable language during ward assessment.

The AIIMS administration has also said that Kuldeep Kumar, during his stint with the institution as assistant professor in the medicine department, was writing and disseminating objectionable e-mails against senior professors and heads of the departments.

The AIIMS on January 10 terminated services of Kuldeep Kumar of the medicine department for allegedly misbehaving and manhandling a patient in September last year.

After the incident, a committee was set up under head of the department S.K. Sharma to conduct an inquiry. It decided in late January to terminate Kuldeep Kumar's contract with the AIIMS.

Following support from some of the faculties, Kuldeep Kumar also sat on a protest outside the director's office on Wednesday.

The Central Administrative Tribunal recently issued a notice to the AIIMS administration, questioning the inquiry process before the doctor's removal.

The statement issued by the AIIMS administration said Kuldeep Kumar also had several complaints of frequently harassing junior residents of his department while making various presentations in the department.

"Many patients and staff members have complained against his behaviour," said the statement issued by the administration.
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Feb 3 : Demanding a CBI inquiry into "financial irregularities" in Delhi's three municipal corporations, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a Rs.551-crore loan for payment of salaries to striking workers of two civic bodies.

Employees of Delhi's three civic bodies - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation - have been protesting the non-payment of salaries for the past few months, and directing their ire at both the Delhi and central governments for the last eight days.

"We are giving Rs.551 crore to the North and East municipal corporations as loan for payment of salaries of workers," Kejriwal said in Bengaluru, where he is undergoing treatment for a throat problem at a naturopathy centre.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will also be paid Rs.142 crore against the stamp duty bill, he said.

Out of Rs.551 crore, the North Delhi MC will receive Rs.314 crore whereas the East Delhi MC will get Rs.237 crore.

"It is with great difficulty that we have been able to find Rs.550 crore for loan. The Delhi government is facing Rs.3,000 crore shortfall in value added tax collection," Kejriwal said soon after he announced the loan.

"We had to postpone some of our present commitments to the next year to manage this money," he tweeted.

Kejriwal also demanded a CBI inquiry into "massive scams" in three municipal corporations of Delhi, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said his government did not owe any money to the civic bodies, as claimed by them.

The chief minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party government had allocated extra funds to the three civic bodies in the current fiscal compared with the previous year.

"The BJP, which ruled the MCD for 10 years, is responsible for its poor financial situation. Funds given to civic bodies have been diverted. Where has the money given to the MCD gone?" he said.

"It is a classic case of financial mismanagement and corruption. A Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry should be ordered to probe the financial irregularities in the municipal corporations," Kejriwal demanded.

Kejriwal said a joint front of 19 unions of MCD employees has called for dissolving the civic bodies and bringing them under the Delhi government.

He said doctors of MCD hospitals have requested the Delhi government to take over these hospitals to improve their functioning.

"Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will see the legal viability of the suggestions for bringing the MCD-run hospitals under the Delhi government," Kejriwal added.

The strike called by civic employees in the national capital over non-payment of their salaries continued for the eighth day on Wednesday as thousands of workers blocked major roads, including east Delhi's arterial Vikas Marg, leading to traffic jams and inconvenience to commuters.

The striking sanitation workers staged demonstrations even on the National Highways skirting Delhi.

Hospitals and schools run by the civic bodies were also affected as doctors, other hospital staff, teachers and school employees joined the protest.

Protestors dumped garbage on roads and set ablaze tyres at various places. With garbage strewn along roads, an overpowering stench pervaded in most municipal areas.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : To shed the "anti farmer" and "pro-industrialist" image of the central government, the ruling BJP has decided to reach out to farmers through four rallies to be addressed by Prime Minister Naredra Modi.

The "Kisan Mahasammelan" rallies -- in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh -- will be held before presentation of the General Budget in the upcoming session of parliament.

"'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' (Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme) is going to prove a milestone for the farmers of the country. So, it needs to be popularised among the farmers," BJP general secretary Arun Singh told IANS.

"In an effort to popularise this ambitious scheme, prime minister will interact with the farmers of the country through his rallies," he added.

Modi's first rally will be held in Sehore (Madhya Pradesh) on February 18 and second in Bargarh (Odisha) on February 21. These rallies will be followed by two rallies in Karnataka on February 27 and in Uttar Pradesh on February 28.

Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme, approved by the union cabinet recently, gives insurance cover against crop loss due to natural calamities, and has lower premium rates.

Singh also said such rallies will be organised in all states thereafter.

"Before each rally, party will organise 100 'Chaupal Pe Charcha', a programme in tune with 'Chai Pe Charcha', which the BJP had organised during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls campaign in each district of the state," he said.

"BJP leaders and workers will interact with the farmers during the discussion and will inform them about the crop insurance scheme and other schemes related to farmers launched by the government," he added.
Ranchi, Feb 3 : A Maoist guerrilla was killed in a gun battle with police in Jharkhand's Khunti district on Wednesday, police said.

Police said that following a tip-off a raid was carried out at a village at Torpa block of Khunti district, around 70 km from Ranchi. There were eight members of the banned Maoist group People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI).

A Maoist guerrilla was killed while others managed to flee the place following a gun battle with police.

A rifle, live cartridges and other things were seized from the killed Maoist.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 22 districts of Jharkhand.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed an upgradation of security at all the 54 major air bases across the country, following an audit that was undertaken in the aftermath of the Pathankot terror attack, an IAF official said.

The cumulative cost of the whole exercise, as estimated by the IAF officials, can be to the tune of Rs.5,400 crore to Rs.8,100 crore, with an estimated cost per base ranging from Rs.100 crore to Rs.150 crore.

The audit was ordered following the January 2 terrorist attack on the IAF base at Pathankot town in Punjab, which left seven security personnel killed. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in a gun battle which lasted almost three days.

A senior officer of the IAF, who did not want to be named, said it has been decided that "smart fencing" and other changes to strengthen security will be taken up at all 54 major air bases across the country.

The officer said while security audit is a regular feature, the IAF was so far planning to go with the up-gradation of the bases in phased manner, as it is an expensive proposition, costing Rs.100 to Rs.150 crore per base.

However, after the Pathankot terror attack, the Narendra Modi-led government asked the IAF to present a collective proposal for all the major air bases.

The official added the exact cost of the whole plan, however, would be known later.

"The proposal sent to government includes smart fencing for the bases, and removal of encroachments along the boundary of the bases and other things," the official said.

Asked if there was any finding on how the terrorists entered the Pathankot base, the official said: "The probe is on... They could have taken cover in the vegetation, or used the darkness." He added that the dense vegetation along the boundary walls of the base is not being cleared.

The officer also said the IAF is seeking cooperation from state governments to implement the rules on leaving buffer space around air force bases, which varies from 100 metres to 900 metres depending on the base.

Asked about the Hindon air base on the outskirts of the national capital, the officer said almost 60 percent of the work on constructing the boundary walls is completed. But encroachment was a major issue, he added.

The IAF is also raising additional squadrons of Garud commandos, the special force of IAF.

According to plans, at least 10 more squadrons of commandos will be raised, consisting of about 1,000 personnel each.

"Government has sanctioned additional units of Garud commandos. Training is going on," the official said.
Kolkata, Feb 3 : A leader of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress was arrested and sent to custody for the illegal possession of a gun in Jalpaiguri district, police said on Wednesday.

Rabiul Islam was arrested from Mal in the district on Tuesday night, and was on Wednesday presented before a court which sent him to police custody for five days.

Islam's arrest follows that of Naren Chakraborty, a Trinamool leader of Burdwan district who was arrested for trying to board a Chennai-bound flight at the airport here with an unlicensed revolver and three rounds of cartridges on Sunday.

Chakraborty was arrested under the Arms Act on Sunday evening after he was caught by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) posted at the check-in point of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Lucknow, Feb 3 : Noida Authority's former chief engineer Yadav Singh, accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth, was arrested by the CBI from Noida on Wednesday, an official said.

The tainted engineer is now being interrogated "based on many leads of unaccounted wealth", an official told IANS.

Yadav was earlier called to the CBI office for interrogation, after which he was arrested in the evening. He is to be presented in a case at the CBI court in Ghaziabad on Thursday.

A few days ago, Yadav's close aide Ramendra is learnt to have "spilt the beans" on his money trail and other benami properties, after which his arrest was a foregone conclusion, a police official said.

Over the past few months, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been looking at official records, tenders and other dealings of Yadav Singh between 2002 and 2014, during which period he is accused to have amassed wealth to the tune of several hundred crore rupees.

During a raid at his Sector 51 residence in Noida on Noveber 27, 2014, Income Tax officials had unearthed a large sum of money, jewellery, gold, diamonds and property papers that could not be accounted for.

Welcoming the arrest of Yadav Singh, state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpayi said it was long awaited and now the loot trail would be out in the open. People of the state are entitled to know who all were beneficiaries of the largesse of the tainted engineer and who all protected him from law.

The engineer was very close to the powers that be in the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government and after a brief suspension endeared himself to the present Samajwadi Party (SP) government so much so that the Akhilesh Yadav government went to the Supreme Court to shield him.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : To ensure stringent norms for bursting fire-crackers during the wedding season and other celebrations are adhered to, the AAP government has constituted a committee, the Delhi High Court was informed on Wednesday.

Filing an affidavit before the court, the Delhi government said to review standards of fire-crackers during events like celebrations and wedding etc., a committee has been constituted.

"In order to review standards of fire-crackers during events like celebrations and wedding etc. a committee has been constituted consisting of members from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), IIT Bombay, Central pollution Control Board, West Bengal Pollution Control Board and officers from government of Delhi and Delhi Police (licensing)," said the affidavit filed by special secretary (environment) of the Delhi government's department of environment and forests.

"The first meeting was fixed for February 3, 2016. The objective of this excercise is to make stringent the norms for bursting of fire crackers," said the affidavit.

The government's response came after a division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the Delhi government to come up with a policy to regulate bursting of fire-crackers during the wedding season and festival season.

It had asked government to try to dissuade people from excessive use of fire-crackers, through electronic and print media as it is for the safety of the citizens themselves.

The government also said the air pollution of Delhi is "part of air shed which covers neighbouring states".

The department also suggested that to achieve effective result on pollution in Delhi, it is essential that neighbouring states and the Central government also enforce measures relating to pollution control norms.

"Expedite completion of eastern and western expressway, pollution control in industries, brick kilns and power plants, agricultural residue burning, construction activities in neighbouring states and early introduction of Euro V or Euro VI norms compliant fuel and vehicles," the government said, suggesting a few measures to be undertaken by neighbouring states.

The bench took up the issue of air pollution in the city as a suo motu PIL in 2015 after a study released by World Health Organization, saying Delhi was the most polluted city in the world.

The matter would come up hearing on Thursday.
Lucknow, Feb 3 : A three-day 'IAS Week' would be held here in the Uttar Pradesh capital during March 18-20, an official announced on Wednesday.

UP IAS Association chairman Rakesh Bahadur said a delegation of officials called on Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav earlier in the day and sought his consent for organising the annual event.

"The chief minister approved the dates after which we have begun the preparations," he added.

Though an annual event of IAS officials in the state, it was discontinued for five years, during the Mayawati regime as the then chief minister did not allow it.

It was, however, in 2013 that Akhilesh Yadav okayed the event and it restarted.
Well-known social activist Sunitha Krishnan has hit out at the television media for making solar scam accused Saritha S Nair a celebrity by giving undue publicity to her statements.

In an article carried by Malayala Manorama daily on Wednesday, Sunitha Krishnan lamented that a woman who is an accused in several cases was virtually putting the entire State on tenterhooks through her revelations.

A State like Kerala that had earned national acclaim for women empowerment schemes like Kudumbashree was now making news for the blackmailing being carried out by a woman, she wrote.

When I went to Jharkhand the other day, many people were curious to know about Saritha, she deplored.

Holding the media responsible for the present state of affairs, the Padma Shri awardee lambasted the visual media for going after the so called revelations.

She questions the propriety of the media reporting on depositions given before the judicial commission looking into the solar scam, saying that such reportage would engender prejudice in the public.

Such reportage would only help the accused since the people were forming opinions even before the veracity of the allegations were finally determined by due procedures of law, she added.

Ms. Krishnan also accuses the visual media of metamorphosing into parallel courts.

The debates in new channels were in the form of court trials where people spoke on the basis of mere conjectures, the article said.

Sunitha Krishnan, whose organisation Prajwala works for the protection of victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking, also lashed out at Saritha S Nair for flip-flopping on her charge that she was sexually abused.

One day, she would level allegations of sexual abuse and the very next day she would go back on it. Being sexually abused is a traumatic experience and a tragedy in a womans life. Is she making fun of it? Ms. Krishnan asks.

The article also pokes fun at the Malayali psyche, which celebrates an alleged fraudster like Saritha Nair even as victims of sex scandals were looked down upon.

This attitude was a challenge to women empowerment, Sunitha Krishnan wrote, wondering whether hereafter any talented and dignified women would be able to approach the government with a business venture.

She concluded the article by exhorting Saritha Nair to respect her body and mind and to prove the truth in a court of law rather than trying to hog limelight with her allegations.
Mumbai, Feb 3 : Cinematographer Sudeep Chaterjee says if he had got more time for "Bajirao Mastani", he would have shot the movie in a bigger and better manner.

Chatterjee denied that the film took two years to make as suggested by reports.

"We shot for 217 days, the shooting was spread a little over a year. We shot from October to October (2014-15). A film of this scale requires that kind of time. I think we were short of time. I wish we had a little more time to shoot, we could've shot aspects little bigger and better," he said.

A lot of things he created for the film were from his imagination as very little historical references for the Peshwa era was available.

But he visited the interior regions of Maharashtra, to understand the architecture.

"Bajirao Mastani" was the second time Chatterjee collaborated with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after the Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Guzaarish".

The two had first met on the sets of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "1942 - A Love Story", where Bhansali was an assistant director, and Chatterjee was an apprentice to ace cinematographer Binod Pradhan.

"I don't think any other director gives me the freedom that Sanjay gives. He has this wonderful approach where he narrates the film to me. We spend a lot of time just talking about the film," he said.

He said Bhansali would talk about the music, characters and numerous other aspects of the film with him and would ask how he visualised those factors into the film.

After intense discussions, they would make numerous changes, sometimes even as the sets are built and even after the shooting would start.

Chatterjee is eager to work with Bhansali again and considers him one of his "most favourite directors".

"The process is so dynamic, that's the fun of working with Sanjay. The collaboration is very enriching, there is a lot of positivity in that because continuously you feel that you're creating something that matters. You feel there is somebody who is like a true artist, who is standing by you. It's a great atmosphere to be in." he said.

Chatterjee won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography for "Chak De! India" and has also worked on films such as "Iqbal", "Kaminey", "Baby" and "Dhoom 3" among others.
Jaipur, Feb 3 : Appropriate legal and structural frameworks to fight against terrorism is being created in the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.

Addressing the International Conference on Counter Terrorism organised by the India Foundation here on Wednesday, Rajnath Singh said that after the Pathankot terror attack, the government was reviewing its counter terror strategy.

He said the government was now formulating an effective strategy which would help in preventing the country from such terror attacks in future.

"We are fully equipped and prepared to deal with cross-border terrorism or any kind of terrorism. We are working on a national security strategy aiming to achieve seamless coordination between all the agencies," he said.

The home minister said the national security strategy would now aim at creating an environment which provides full opportunity for unhindered growth and development to every section of the society.

"We are also looking forward to create appropriate legal and structural frameworks to fight against the menace of terrorism. We want to insure that all terror related cases are thoroughly investigated and followed up properly and regularly in the courts," he said.

The government was increasing its capabilities in proper assimilation, analysis and timely sharing of intelligence inputs as well.

"We are also stepping up vigil at our international borders and strengthening our border infrastructure to ensure fool proof security in the border areas," he said.

Rajnath Singh maintained that most of the terrorist attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and the country (Pakistan) will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil.

"If Pakistan takes concrete action against terrorists on its territory, it will not only improve the bilateral ties between both the countries but also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region."

The home minister said India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists.

Rajnath Singh said terror groups were becoming deadlier by the day.

"From traditional forms of terrorism, we are now witnessing cyber terrorism, narco terrorism and bio terrorism. Use of dirty bombs also cannot be ruled out. Modern weapons, technology, and communications are being used by terror groups to enhance their lethality and impact," he said.

He said the challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy, and make perverse distinction between 'good' and 'bad' terrorists.

When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating groups of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons, and weapons of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of the threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult, he said.
Bengaluru, Feb 3 : The Adani group would invest about Rs.21,000 crore in Karnataka to expand its power station, and set up a solar project for renewable energy and a sea port on the state's coast, group founder Gautam Adani said on Wednesday.

"We are setting up two 800 Mega Watt (MW) plants at our Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. station at Rs.11,500 crore, and a 1,000 MW solar power project at Rs.7,000 crore and a greenfield seaport at Tadadi at Rs.2,000 crore on the coast," Adani said at the state's global investors meet (GIM) here.

Tadadi is in Uttara Kannada district of the state, about 500 km from Bengaluru.

The $17.5-billion Ahmedabad-based conglomerate had bought the 1,200 MW Udupi thermal project from Lanco group at Rs.6,300 crore in April 2015.

The power plant is located near the temple town of Udupi in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, about 400 km from Bengaluru.

"As the Udupi plants run on imported coal, we are setting up a captive dredge at the New Mangalore Port Trust at Rs.500 crore to handle about 10 million tonnes of coal per annum. The jetty will create 600 jobs," Adani asserted.

The additional investment in the power project will make it the largest independent power producer in the southern state and provide energy to about 20 million homes when 1,600 MW will be added to the grid.

The group also expanded its edible oil processing capacity to become its largest producer in the state.

Barring Adani's investment, no announcements were made on signing agreements on the first day of the three-day jamboree 'Invest Karnataka 2016' in the Bangalore Palace ground.

The state government, however, claimed that it has lined up investment proposals and infrastructure projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
New Delhi, Feb 3 : Highlighting the government's commitment to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, union minister Birender Singh on Wednesday assured states that funds will not be a constraint to achieve targets of sanitation and drinking water in the country.

Addressing a 'National Conference on Sanitation and Drinking Water', the minister for drinking water and sanitation expressed satisfaction over the pace of construction of toilets in rural India gathering momentum and states like West Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra taking the lead in construction of individual household latrines and community toilets.

"Many of the states may achieve the target of open-defecation free status in 2017 or 2018, well before the target of October 2, 2019. Sikkim and Kerala are now open defecation free states," he said.

"Merely achieving the target of toilet construction will defeat the very purpose of Swachh Bharat Mission, rather more importance should be attached to the sustainability of the programme and change in attitude," he added.

He further said 8-10 percent of the ministry's total budget would be spent on various campaign strategies in future.
Moscow, Feb 4 : Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was greatly concerned about a plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite later this month.

"We have to state that by intending to violate the requirements of the UN Security Council once again, the DPRK shows defiant disregard of the universally recognised norms of international law," Xinhua quoted an online Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday.

The statement added that Russia called on the DPRK to seriously consider the consequences of openly acting in opposition to the international community and "to assess realistically the full costs of such short-sighted moves."

A UN spokesperson said on Tuesday that three UN organisations have been informed by the DPRK of its plans to launch an Earth-observation satellite between February 8 and 25.

South Korea and Japan condemned this plan on Wednesday on suspicion that Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, was in fact intending to test a long-range ballistic missile.

Also on Wednesday, China expressed its serious concern about the plan and said it hoped the DPRK would exercise restraint and deal with the issue prudently so as to avoid a possible escalation of tension.
The Scottish Government have released a draft code of practice for letting agents which will mean a huge shake up in the industry before it comes into force in 2018.

The Letting Code of Practice (Scotland) Regulations 2016 has been structured in eight sections to mirror the lettings process and sets out the standards expected of letting agents operating in Scotland in how they manage their business and provide their services.

It covers key areas such as standards of practice, engaging landlords, lettings, management, maintenance, ending tenancies, communications, complaints, deposits and insurance.

Under the code Scottish ministers will establish and maintain a register of letting agents. The regulations will also allow them to remove a letting agent from the register if they are no longer fit and proper.

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) welcomed the introduction of a statutory code of practice for letting agents and said that it will help to further professionalism in the industry and drive up standards.

We contributed to the Scottish Governments consultation on the code last year and we are pleased that they have taken on board a number of our recommendations over procedure and wording, said ARLA managing director David Cox.



It is also very pleasing that the code has a requirement for agents to have professional indemnity insurance and client money protection. These are two requirements of ARLA membership and mandatory CMP is something we are campaigning for in England to provide greater protection for landlords and tenants if things go wrong, he explained.

But ARLA believes that there should be more detail about what agents should do if disputes occur around tenancy deposits. This is because an agent may be required to co-operate with any investigation by an independent body if a dispute is raised between either the landlord or tenants and this is not always clear in the relevant schemes rules for disputes.

On the issue of training and qualification ARLA has long campaigned for greater regulation for letting agents and believe that mandatory qualifications will promote professionalism and basic standards within lettings that will benefit businesses and consumers. We look forward to seeing more detail from the Scottish Government in this area, added Cox.

Kaira Massie, solicitor in the Law Society of Scotlands professional practice team, said that there has been very little scrutiny of letting agents until now and having a new, statutory code of conduct will improve the situation for both landlords and tenants.

Solicitors in Scotland are already subject to stringent rules of admission and detailed practice rules covering professional ethics and conduct and many other aspects of practice. While solicitors will still be subject to the new letting agency scheme, there will be less duplication than was in the original proposals, she pointed out.

Were pleased that the Scottish Government has considered many of the points we raised. The regulations now take into account that solicitors are required to have indemnity to practice and will not be required to take out additional cover. They have also been amended to take into account that solicitors are already required to take anti money-laundering measures and conduct checks, she explained.

But there are still concerns, in particular that there is still a potential for conflict of interest if solicitors are subject to two different regulatory regimes. Additionally, while we are pleased the regulations require letting agents to consider conflict of interest between clients and/ or the letting agents personal interests, we dont believe they go far enough. We would like to see these further developed to direct letting agents as to a course of action when conflict arises. This is still under discussion with the Scottish Government, said Massie.

The Law Society has also raised issues around confidentiality and considers the requirement for solicitors to advise a local authority when a landlord is failing to meet his obligations to be at odds with their duties of confidentiality. The Society is continuing to press for this obligation to be restricted to only having to pass on information if a client indicates they will commit a crime so solicitors can maintain their professional duties of confidentiality.

Issues around confidentiality are still under discussion with the government. We are also discussing the fit and proper test for letting agents as we are keen to see a pass-porting for solicitors, who already have to satisfy such a test to be able to practice, Massie explained.

Another concern is around resolving complaints in relation to letting agency work. We are disappointed that solicitors may remain subject to the first-tier tribunal following disposal of a complaint related to letting agent work by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, she added.

Training requirements are also yet to be determined and we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure that letting agents meet the standards required and the overarching aims of the regulations can be met, she concluded.
Landlords confidence in the buy to let sector in the UK has collapsed to an all-time low and is now worse than levels witnessed during the financial crash, according to the countrys biggest landlord association.

Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the National Landlords Association (NLA), told delegates at the Building Societies Associations (BSA) annual meeting for mortgage professionals that the situation is worrying.

He explained that confidence in landlords business expectations has tumbled by more than a third over the past year, down from 67% to an all-time low of 43% and the current level of confidence in the sector is now 5% lower than levels witnessed after the financial crash in 2007.

He pointed out that the actions taken by the Chancellor in last years Summer Budget and Autumn Statements has led the NLA to reverse its previous prediction of the continued growth of the private rented sector (PRS) by another million more households over the next five years.

It now forecasts that, if landlords follow through on their intentions, there will be a dramatic sell-off of 500,000 properties in the next 12 months, followed by another 100,000 sold each year to 2021. The net effect will be that the PRS be smaller by up to 136,000 properties.

The data, from the latest NLA quarterly landlord panel survey, also shows that the proportion of landlords looking to sell in next 12 months has more than doubled since July 2015, up from 7% to 19%.

Over the next few years some 28% of landlords dont plan purchase any more properties, 10% plan to reduce their portfolio and 5% plan to sell up completely.

Two speeches from the Chancellor in 2015 have led to a crisis in confidence greater than when all but a few buy to le products were immediately withdrawn from the market following the 2007 financial crash, Lambert said.

Up to half a million properties could come onto the market as a result of the Summer Budget and Autumn Statement, which the Chancellor will no doubt deem a success. But there is no guarantee that these will be the one or two bedroom flats or small houses that will appeal to first time buyers, especially as landlords are more likely to offload less desirable stock in less desirable areas, he explained.

Weve always said that Mr Osborne is blinded to the impact of his decisions by his commitment to homeownership. He may have intended to focus on the small scale part time investor, but its the larger and more professional landlords who will be hit worst by cuts to mortgage tax relief and increases to stamp duty, and who appear most likely to leave the sector, Lambert told the meeting.

What happens to the people these landlords house if they still cant buy and there are fewer and fewer properties available to rent? he added.
When everyone is looking for gold,

its good to be in the pick and shovel business.

 Mark Twain

The entrepreneur-turned-humorist ought to know. Even though Samuel Clemens failed miserably at both mining and logging ventures in Nevada, he gave getting rich his best shot. Twain well understood the appetite Americans have for money  and how far those who want a slice of the supply chain pie are willing to go in order to get it.

Its the same ambitious impulse a recent Seattle Business article identified when it said, Marijuana entrepreneurs are lining up to cash in. The green that a new generation of suit-and-tie pot professionals are lining up to gather is not a pungent-smelling weed rolled into a joint  its the zcolor of all the money these potprenuers hope to gain from the marijuana dispensary joints in which their private equity funds are now invested.

As Seattle Business reported, Microsoft manager turned ganja convert Jamen Shively recently partnered with former Mexican President Vincente Fox, boasting that their new premium brand of designer party pot will mint more millions than Microsoft.

Forgive me if I think it would be better for Silicon Valley software giants to invest their fortunes in advanced technology businesses in the Silver State, as Rob Roy, Elon Musk, and Faraday Futures have done. Establishing pot shops shouldnt be high on anybodys list when it comes to creating the New Nevada. Conservatives should be concerned with what is best for the health and well being of Nevada families. Progressives should be concerned about the same and also  as they so frequently shout at Wall Street  about socially responsible investing.

Tell us, President Fox, how growing and selling marijuana has been good for Mexicos economy and social infrastructure?

And to my good friend in the state Senate Tick Segerblom, who supports the Nevada ballot initiative to legalize recreational pot Nevada: tell me how making the Las Vegas Strip into the Amsterdam of the West is going to help Nevadas majority-minority student populations overcome their serious achievement gaps and excel academically so they can have a better future?

The legalization of recreational marijuana in both Colorado and Washington has resulted in significant increases in the percentage of the population ages 12 and up who used marijuana in the past year (18.9 percent in CO and 17.5 percent in WA).

According to 2013 Nevada Kids Count data, 19 percent of Nevada kids and young people age 12 to 25  thats nearly one in five  already smoke marijuana one or more times a month, with African-American and Hispanic populations accounting for significantly higher percentages among Nevadas youth.

Not long ago, President Obama correctly said, Students who smoke marijuana have twice the the odds of being a high school dropout. And have trouble finding jobs, get involved in gangs and crime, and end up on welfare.

Research shows the president is right. Teenage marijuana users think more slowly, process less information, and thus do more poorly on high school tests and college entrance exams. College-age students who regularly smoke pot perform poorly in the classroom and beyond.

Studies by psychiatrist Dr. Ed Gogek in his book Marijuana Debunked show that losing IQ points from habitual marijuana use means someone born with the ability to do well in community college is instead likely to be struggling. Someone who should have been promoted at work is passed over, or someone who was once capable of doctoral work instead has an average white collar job, he writes.

A research project by the University of Maryland School of Public Health followed university freshmen for a period of ten years. It found that substance abuse, especially marijuana use, was linked to college students skipping more classes, spending less time studying, earning lower grades, dropping out (more frequently) and being more likely to be unemployed after college.

Nevadas leaders are trying to diversify and strengthen its economy and workforce by raising the bar on both academic services and student performance. The 2015 Legislature made a substantial investment in numerous aspects of K-12 education along with some aggressive reforms.

Legalizing a mind-altering substance that will result in greater access to illegal underage use is not going to help in those efforts. Regular marijuana use is undeniably detrimental to the fragile developing brain of adolescents and young adults  and to their chances for the most successful, productive life possible.

Legalizing recreational marijuana will be bad for Nevada kids, bad for Nevada families, and bad for Nevada employers. If voters pass the measure, it will be an especially sad day for Nevada parents and grandparents. For too long we have watched too many of the children and grandchildren of this state falter and fail. Legalizing pot will make the problem even worse.
www.NAELA.org NAELA supports the federal governments investment in the safety and well-being of this vulnerable population.

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a founding member of the Elder Justice Coalition, was pleased to see a doubling of funding for the Elder Justice Act in FY 2016 to $8 million in the appropriations package.

NAELA supports the federal governments investment in the safety and well-being of this vulnerable population, said NAELA President Shirley B. Whitenack, Esq., CAP.

One of the objectives of the Elder Justice Act is to coordinate the response to elder abuse by federal and state agencies, as well as support efforts to detect and prevent abuse. The Elder Justice Coalition sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee stating that programs that focus on prevention warrant greater investment and funds for elder abuse prevention, as well as funding [that] would support a critical element of a long overdue need in the field of elder abuse  improved data collection through unified Adult Protective Services (APS) databases, a key finding of a GAO report.

Funding could provide the resources needed to prevent elder exploitation, such as the recent incident in the December 2015 Washington Post article, where embarrassing and dehumanizing photos of nursing home residents were posted to social media.

Learn more about NAELAs position on elder justice and other advocacy issues.

About NAELA

Members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) are attorneys who are experienced and trained in working with the legal problems of aging Americans and individuals of all ages with disabilities. Established in 1987, NAELA is a non-profit association that assists lawyers, bar organizations, and others. The mission of NAELA is to establish NAELA members as the premier providers of legal advocacy, guidance, and services to enhance the lives of people with special needs and people as they age. NAELA currently has members across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit NAELA.org.
Dan Bender, Ken Cable, Marvinetta Hartwig, John Forni, Mike Hunzinger, David Dyer, and Gayle Roberts "Hartwig's exceptional reputation and project portfolio paves the way for Stanley Consultants to expand into the Colorado transportation market." Gayle Roberts, Stanley Consultants President and CEO

Stanley Consultants, a global consulting engineering firm, announced today that it has acquired Hartwig & Associates, Incorporated. Based in Denver, Hartwig is an engineering and construction management services firm serving the Colorado transportation marketplace.

We believe there is significant value to our clients by combining the skills and resources of both firms, said Gayle Roberts, president and CEO of Stanley Consultants. Hartwigs exceptional reputation and project portfolio paves the way for Stanley Consultants to expand into the Colorado transportation marketplace. Services to Hartwigs clients will be expanded through Stanley Consultants capabilities, specialized expertise, and global resources.

The firm was founded by Marvinetta Hartwig in 2001. Under her leadership the firm has grown to nearly 30 professionals offering expanded capabilities in civil, structural, traffic and water resource engineering, and construction management / inspection. The firms portfolio includes transportation clients throughout Colorado, including the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The similarities in our company cultures is what attracted us to Stanley Consultants, said Marvinetta Hartwig, the firms president. Our values and standards for quality, reliability, and client service closely mirror those of Stanley Consultants. The Hartwig staff will integrate into Stanley Consultants Denver office as the transportation and construction management departments.

The acquisition raises Stanley Consultants Colorado employee numbers to well over 200, making it one of the larger engineering firms in the state. The firms Denver office, opened in 1982, provides planning, engineering and construction services in power generation, power delivery, plant and building services, urban planning, and environmental to clients around the world. The Hartwig acquisition adds an entire suite of transportation services to the office's portfolio.

Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, Stanley Consultants employs 1,100 professionals in 30 offices around the world and is ranked among the nations largest engineering firms.

About Stanley Consultants: Founded in 1913, Stanley Consultants is a global consulting engineering firm that provides program management, planning, engineering, environmental and construction services worldwide. Recognized for its commitment to client service and a passion to make a difference, Stanley Consultants brings global knowledge, experience and capabilities to serve clients in the energy, water, transportation and Federal markets. Since 1913, Stanley Consultants has successfully completed more than 25,000 engagements in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and in 103 countries. For more information on Stanley Consultants, please visit http://www.stanleyconsultants.com.
We believe by establishing a workplace where people are proud to work we will provide customer service that is more than a slogan  its a commitment to our clients that we take very seriously.

LECMPA, provider of wage loss protection for railroad and transportation workers, today announced it has been named to the national list of the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2015.

Determined by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR), the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For competition honors businesses that demonstrate excellence in human resource principles, customer service and employee enrichment programs. Candidates are evaluated in categories such as work-life balance, communication, employee education, diversity and other workforce considerations.

LECMPA is a nonprofit, member-owned company founded in 1910 to provide job protection to union railroad workers. It has expanded to provide job insurance protection to workers in all union transportation crafts.

Im so pleased to share the acknowledgement from NABR about the critical importance of creating a positive, worker-friendly environment, stated LECMPA President Susan Tukel. We believe by establishing a workplace where people are proud to work we will provide customer service that is more than a slogan  its a commitment to our clients that we take very seriously.

The Best and Brightest awards strives to recognize the most influential, trend-setting companies in the country. They believe that creating a better business environment results in richer lives and stronger communities.

All award winners for the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2015 can be viewed here.

About LECMPA

LECMPA, founded in 1910 as a cooperative assessment insurer for railroad workers, provides wage loss protection to unionized transportation workers in all crafts and industries throughout the United States. LECMPA is a nonprofit, member-owned company with approximately 27,000 members nationwide. LECMPA is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan and has regional offices throughout the United States. More information is available at http://www.lecmpa.org.
"We are thrilled to introduce CareTend BI to the market so that data can easily be turned into insight in real time, says Paul OToole

Mediware Information Systems, Inc., a provider of comprehensive post-acute care healthcare software, announces the next release of its CareTend software, which includes a next-generation business intelligence suite that enables providers to analyze their data on a deeper level in real time.

The new offering includes a complete analysis package that includes detailed analytic cubes, real-time exception reporting, and dashboards with trending metrics and key performance indicators. With CareTend BI functionality, customers will no longer have to create report themselves; instead, the system produces reports automatically, which will improve workflow and efficiency.

Along with viewing the new reporting capabilities, Medtrade attendees will see the CareTend softwares new HME inventory and home infusion features, which were added after the 2015 R1 release. These new additions include national pricing changes and advanced workflow capabilities that allow staff to easily track orders and identify bottlenecks before they become backlog issues. With real-time workflow tracking, providers can actively monitor key performance indicators and optimize staff output.

Access to data is key for providers to stay ahead and proactively lead their business into the future. We are thrilled to introduce the CareTend BI software to the market so that data can easily be turned into insight in real time, says Paul OToole, vice president and general manager of the Home Care Solutions Division of Mediware.

Mediware will be showcasing the CareTend software during exhibit hours in booth #544 and will also be sponsoring the Audit Happy Hour on Monday, February 29, from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. and HME Breakfast Club on Wednesday, March 2, 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. during the Medtrade conference.

About Mediware:

Mediware delivers interoperable best-of-breed software systems that improve efficiencies and address safety concerns, enabling healthcare organizations to improve care processes while decreasing costs. Core Mediware solutions include blood management technologies for hospitals and blood centers; cell therapy solutions for cord blood banks, cancer treatment centers and research facilities; medication management solutions for hospitals, behavioral health facilities, infusion and specialty pharmacy providers; business intelligence-based performance management solutions for clinical, regulatory and financial aspects of the broader healthcare market; and rehabilitation therapy and respiratory care solutions. For more information about Mediware products and services, visit our website at http://www.mediware.com.

###
ELKO  Near the end of the month, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties in Nevada will cast votes as to who they feel should represent their respective parties in the 2016 race to the White House.

In a presidential year, in particular, the caucus is really important because it is, for Nevadans, their chance to vote for the one they want to represent the party in the presidential race. That really is the biggest deal, said Lee Hoffman, chairman of the Elko County Republican Party.

We want to have a turnout so we have the greatest representation we can from Elko County in determining that, he said.

The Republican Party

The caucus is "intended to be grassroots, bottom-up," said Hoffman.

He told the Free Press those who show up to the caucus are the ones who decide who the partys going to endorse.

We wont be educating people on platform issues at the caucuses, he said. We will be asking if anyone has any suggestions for the platform.

In suggesting his or her platform idea, the caucus participant can fill out a form and then go to the county convention where a platform will be voted on.

Hoffman said the main thing is for voters to cast their ballots, to exert their voices.

Its really the same in the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The idea is to get the turnout and for everybody within each party to have a voice in who their partys nominee should be, said Hoffman.

If voters do not participate in the caucus, youre taking your voice away, he said, explaining that this is important in every election, no matter the contenders for office.

At this time, Hoffman is not aware of any Republican candidates opening field offices in Elko. He does know that there has been outreach. However, the county party provides support to any of them equally.

There will be training for precinct captains. There is also a tutorial on the Nevada Republican website giving an overview of the caucus.

The party always needs volunteers and is still looking for captains in the following precincts: 6 in Elko, 15 in Carlin, 21 in West Wendover, and 38 in Jackpot. There were a couple of possibilities but no commitments.

By going to nevadagop.org, members of the Republican Party can register to vote, find out more information on the caucus as well as pinpoint his or her precinct location.

Those wishing to participate in the Republican Party Caucus must be a registered Republican by Feb. 13.

The Republican caucus is Tuesday, Feb. 23.

The Democratic Party

A key part of the caucus process is to help in the organization and mobilization of Nevada Democrats statewide  this includes Elko and other rural counties, according to the Nevada State Democratic Party.

Whereas the Republican Party maintains a stronghold in Elko County, the Democrats aren't as vocal. However, the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns have field offices and organizing staff locally.

Our mock caucus trainings will help ensure that Democrats are informed about the caucus process, ready to use our new online tools and prepared to run their local precinct caucus on Caucus Day. These are strictly introductory trainings that simulate the caucus process will work on Saturday, February 20th, said Stewart Boss, press secretary for the Nevada State Democratic Party.

Boss said these training would be held on Feb. 4 and 13.

With the White House and control of the U.S. Senate on the line in 2016, the candidate we nominate to lead our party in this election is incredibly important. Nevada Democrats who show up to caucus on Feb. 20 will play a huge role in deciding the outcome, he said.

Boss continued to explain with Nevada having early-state status has brought issues important to the state to the forefront of national politics.

The presidential candidates who pursue Nevada voters are expected to have plans on issues such as public lands access, mining and renewable energy.

The caucuses are an essential organizing tool to help us mobilize our ground game early in the election. Nevada will once again be a battleground state, and we are laying the groundwork for important victories in 2016. We have to be ready to win Nevada for the Democratic nominee for president, elect Catherine Cortez Masto to the U.S. Senate, and take back our majorities in the state legislature, he said.

The Democratic Party has online resources to help their constituents as well.

There is a pre-registration tool called Caucus Express where participants can find caucus location information  the pre-registration is a three-step process and can be completed at caucus.nvdems.com.

There will be 200-plus different caucus locations statewide, according to Boss. There is a caucus locator tool where participants can enter his or her current home address in Nevada: nvdems.com/caucus/locations.

You must be registered with a party to vote with that political organization on caucus day. Nevada Democrats allow same-day voter registration on the day of the caucus. Voters can also register to vote or update information on the Nevada Secretary of States website.

Additionally, as long as the voter is eligible to vote at the time of the election, he or she does not have to be 18 at the time of the caucus. As long as he or she turns 18 before Nov. 8, the caucus is open to that person.

The Democratic caucus is Saturday, Feb. 20.
Kathy Donovan joins Dr. Ken Cuave at a premier, East Coast residential living program for emerging adults

Calo Programs (http://www.caloprograms.com) is excited to announce Kathy Donovan has joined Calo Young Adults as Executive Director, reporting to Calo Programs CEO Alex Stavros.

Kathy Donovan started her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines where she developed a drug and alcohol education program. She continued abroad as the YMCA International Program Director in Japan. She returned to the States to work in many capacities in the DC area, including the DC child welfare system and DC Superior Court as a clinical consultant and therapist.

In addition to private practice and clinical consulting in the Washington DC area, Ms. Donovan worked as a Second Nature Wilderness Program therapist for four years. As a therapist for Second Nature she was sought out around the country to treat clinically complex emerging adults who have stalled developmentally, leaving them ill-prepared for successful transition into adulthood. She also served as the Executive Director of a trauma-based residential program for young women. In this capacity, Kathy developed a trauma-informed treatment to transition model with an emphasis on intensive individual therapy combined with small group work to best prepare the women for successful transition from residential to supervised apartment living. Following this experience Kathy developed her own Independent Treatment Living Program for emerging adults in the Washington, DC area.

I have spent most of my professional career specialized in post-traumatic stress, attachment issues, depression and anxiety disorders in emerging adults. said Donovan. This is why I felt Calo Young Adults was a perfect fit. I am excited about incorporating Calos proprietary CASA Treatment Model into working with emerging adults.

Donovan's clinical work includes: desensitization and exposure techniques to reduce debilitating stress and trauma responses, skills to detect and reverse nervous system distress, resilience training, social and leadership skill development and methods for developing greater self-awareness.

Kathy has a ton of life and work experience. She is a wonderful fit personally, culturally, clinically and operationally and we are ecstatic to have her on the team said Stavros. Kathys sense of humor is a delight and her clinical chops, particularly as it relates to trauma and working with emerging adults, are exceptional. However, what was most appealing was her absolute commitment to quality clinical care.

Joining Donovan on this high performing clinical team is Dr. Ken Cuave. Calo partnered with Dr. Ken Cuave late last year to develop Calo Young Adults, a cutting edge adoption, trauma and attachment specialized program for emerging adults. Stavros said Dr. Ken Cuave is one of the foremost experts on struggling emerging adults and we are lucky to have him on the team as Executive Clinical Director.

Dr. Cuave began his work with emerging adults in the early 80's. New Lifestyles was started in Florida in 1985 and he co-founded the College Living Experience in 1994. In 1997 Dr. Cuave began New Lifestyles of Virginia. This is an important next step in my career. I am invigorated to take my multi-decade experience with emerging adults and partner with Calo to start a one-of-a-kind program, said Dr. Cuave.

Calo Young Adults is open and currently working with a handful of students. They are actively reviewing and accepting enrollment applications.

Contact Jon Young at JYoung@caloyoungadults.com or Kathy Donovan at KDonovan@caloyoungadults.com for admissions and tours.

Like Calo YA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caloyoungadults/

About Calo Programs

Calo (kay-low) Programs (http://www.caloprograms.com) is a behavioral and mental health provider specialized in healing the effects of complex developmental trauma. Calo is comprised of Calo Teens (http://www.caloteens.com), Calo Preteens (http://www.calopreteens.com)  both residential programs located in Lake Ozark, MO predominately serving adoptive families, and New Vision Wilderness (http://www.newvisionwilderness.com  NVW), Calo Young Adults (http://www.caloyoungadults.com)  transitional living program for young adults - and Embark by Calo (http://www.embarkbycalo.com) a therapeutic workshop and family intensive program for those reeling from issues of trauma, attachment and adoption.

For more information contact Thomas Ahern at tahern@caloprograms.com.
2015 Grand Prize Winner: The Future City Competition

More than a slogan or buzzword, STEM (science, engineering, technology and math) has inspired limitless ideas and activities for creative, diverse hands-on learning.

STEM learning also is incorporated in the call to action for environmental issues targeted on sustainability and wise, efficient uses of limited resources. DiscoverEs Future City competition (http://futurecity.org/) invites approximately 40,000 students from more than 1,350 middle schools to try their hands at green engineering design, with the help of their teachers and mentors who are professional engineers. This year, students are designing virtual reality scale models of cities to handle the 4 Rs of solid waste management: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot.

In 2015, Future City won the UL Innovative Education Awards grand prize, a competition sponsored by UL, a global safety science leader, and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), a leader in environmental education. The five winning entries received a total of $250,000 in cash prizes.

Applications which champion the partnership of STEM skills with sustainability education are now being accepted for this years UL Innovative Education Award. The application deadline is Feb. 22 at midnight Eastern Time.

Effective proposals should include the following attributes:

 Apply math and science or any prominent STEM skill set to real world problems

 Help students discover engineering and inspire them to learn more about engineerings role in making our environment sustainable

 Guide students to learn how their communities work and become more informed citizens

 Inspire students to design and create something on their own

 Give students the foundation for developing the skills theyll need for living and working in a 21st century world

 Emphasize the value of team work in which students learn how to manage their project, work together, and use research to solve a problem.

Qualified applicants, which can represent either a whole organization or one program within a larger organization, must be a US 501(c)(3) not-for-profit or registered with either the Canada Revenue agency or a Canadian provincial revenue agency as a non-profit organization. Eligible organizations must have children in grades K-12 as their principal audience. Schools for K-12 students are not eligible to apply but not-for-profit organizations that serve school populations are eligible, as are university programs provided they meet the other organizational eligibility requirements.

For more information, see http://ulinnovationeducation.naaee.net.

About UL

UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for more than 120 years. Its nearly 11,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people via two distinct entities: Underwriters Laboratories Inc., a 501(c) 3 public charity, and UL, LLC. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving safety needs. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information, visit http://www.UL.com.

About NAAEE

The North American Association for Environmental Education is a pioneering membership organization dedicated to accelerating environmental literacy through education. NAAEE supports a network of more than 16,000 educators, researchers, and organizational members working in environmental education across more than 30 countries through direct membership and 54 regional affiliate organizations. Through sponsored community networks, publications, and employment development opportunities, NAAEE provides resources for educators, professionals, volunteers, and researchers. For more information, visit https://naaee.org.
SmartC2 , announces an agreement with FlyMotion Unmanned Systems to incorporate the VirtualAirBoss business software to manage UAS operational data in the TRIDENT vehicle. FlyMotion Unmanned Systems is the provider of TRIDENT, the fully equipped turnkey UAS (aka drone) mobile command and control vehicle for public safety, media broadcast, emergency management, and inspection for industry, agriculture, utilities, etc.

Inside of the TRIDENT vehicle are dedicated UAS flight stations capable of rapid deploy & fly functionality, making TRIDENT an invaluable tool for many applications including a wide range of disaster and emergency response situations. On-board SATCOMS and bonded cellular broadcast technology permits live HD situational monitoring from any place in the world. In a matter of minutes first responders can launch a UAS to collect high-definition aerial scene data for critical decision-making and triage planning, while minimizing risk to rescuers. The VirtualAirBoss platform enables A to Z management of all this operational data, and an audit trail for cost accounting and after-action reporting, all critical for effective incident and mission management.

VirtualAirBoss is the ideal system for all FlyMotion vehicle platforms, said Stuart Rudolph, President and CEO of SmartC2, because its state of the art, patented information-sharing technology reflects the accumulated understanding derived from years supporting command and control situations for emergency management. The VirtualAirBoss push-button software makes it easy for UAS pilots to schedule, plan, and account for their mission, equipment, maintenance, and reporting requirements. Theres even a push-button for monthly COA reporting.

The TRIDENT vehicle and on-board systems are equally valuable for industrial inspections in dirty, dangerous, and distant locations. TRIDENT and its UAScan be customized to carry a wide variety of electro-optic and long-wave data gathering sensors for industrial and agricultural use, e.g., inspecting hyperboloid cooling towers, acquiring details of critical key infrastructure, monitoring thousands of miles of rails or powerlines, or surveying overall crop or herd health.

According to Ryan English, President and Co-Founder of FlyMotion, our vehicles and solutions reflect our teams broad experience in special operations, law enforcement, fire rescue and business. We also offer specialized training sessions for a wide variety of UAS uses from Tactical Operations to Aerial Cinematography. We want to ensure that all of our UAS clients are fully trained to pilot UAS safely and in compliance with FAA regulations. VirtualAirBoss will help us with that, too.

ABOUT FLYMOTION:

FlyMotion Unmanned Systems has quickly become one of the most recognized, full-scale UAS solution companies in the US. FlyMotion executive and creative teams engulf themselves in the artistry of Unmanned Systems, and never stop thinking about how to improve the current industry, or introduce completely new concepts into it, such as the FlyMotion TRIDENT vehicle. FlyMotion's mission is to deliver premier turnkey Unmanned Aerial Systems and solutions, while ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction and support. Founded in 2014, and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, FlyMotion Unmanned Systems is a Veteran-Owned Small Business. Visit http://www.flymotionus.com to learn more about FlyMotion Unmanned Systems and TRIDENT.

ABOUT VIRTUALAIRBOSS:

VirtualAirBoss is a comprehensive, browser-based, service-oriented-architecture (SOA) solution designed to help UAS service groups manage their business operations from end to end. The easy-to-use software system provides one central place where operators schedule, plan, manage and report on their entire fleet and business operations. VirtualAirBoss supports inventory, asset management, maintenance, emergency procedures, cost allocation, along with COA and other key reporting functions. Visit http://www.virtualairboss.com to learn how VirtualAirBoss can help your UAS business.
"State of Tobacco Control 2016" reports grades states on tobacco prevention and cessation funding While significant progress has been made in reducing youth cigarette smoking, youth use of other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and little cigars, is at an all-time high. - Harold P. Wimmer, American Lung Association

Today, the American Lung Association released its 14th annual State of Tobacco Control report that finds that the increase in the use of tobacco products other than cigarettes threatens to undermine the United States overall progress in the fight against tobacco-caused death and disease.

While significant progress has been made in reducing youth cigarette smoking, youth use of other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and little cigars, is at an all-time high, said Harold P. Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association. With almost a quarter of high school students still using tobacco products, its imperative that the states and the federal government take more aggressive action to reduce all tobacco use  the number one cause of preventable death and disease in our nation. And that must start with the release of the regulation giving FDA authority over all tobacco products.

The State of Tobacco Control report documents the progress and failure of the states and the federal government to address tobacco use. The report assigns grades based on whether federal and state laws protect Americans from the enormous toll tobacco use takes on lives and the economy.

The American Lung Association and its partners have called for immediate action by all levels of government to achieve three bold goals:

1. Reduce rates of smoking and other tobacco use to less than 10 percent for all communities by 2024;

2. Protect all Americans from secondhand smoke by 2019; and

3. Ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.

Assigning annual grades to benchmark the federal governments tobacco control efforts, the 2016 report assigned the federal government an I for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products, a C for coverage of tobacco cessation treatments, an F for tobacco taxes and a B for mass media campaigns. As of January 31, 2016, the Obama Administration had not yet finalized the rule giving FDA oversight authority over all tobacco products including cigars, e-cigarettes, little cigars and hookah (commonly referred to as the deeming rule). The grade of I for Incomplete is assigned because the final rule is expected at any time.

The report celebrates the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) Tips from Former Smokers media campaign, which has helped hundreds of thousands of Americans quit smoking since the ads started airing in 2012. The FDA also launched the Real Cost Campaign in February 2014, aimed at preventing at-risk youth from beginning any tobacco use. The report finds yearlong funding for the Tips media campaign is vital to continue to help smokers quit.

Tobacco taxes are another proven way to reduce tobacco use especially among youth, according to the Lung Association, yet of the several bills introduced in Congress to increase federal tobacco taxes and level the playing field between federal cigarette and other tobacco product taxes, none were passed.

State of Tobacco Control 2016 also assigns grades to each states tobacco control efforts in four key areas  Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding, Smokefree Air Laws, Tobacco Taxes and Access to Tobacco Cessation Treatments. Aside from some notable progress on tobacco taxes in 2015, the states arent acting quickly or aggressively enough to meet the three bold goals outlined by the Lung Association and its partners.

Tobacco taxes were addressed by many states this year, and in total, eight states  Alabama, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont  increased cigarette taxes. Nevada was also recognized in the report for increasing its cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack. However, according to widely-accepted research on how tobacco taxes impact smoking rates, many of the other states did not increase cigarette taxes by a large enough amount to reduce youth or adult smoking rates.

Beyond efforts to curb smoking rates, the report also looked at secondhand smoke protections in workplaces. While 28 states plus the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive smokefree workplace laws, no state passed a comprehensive law in 2015 and only one state has passed a comprehensive smokefree law in the past five years. A major victory was scored at the local level, when the city of New Orleans eliminated smoking, including e-cigarette use, in public spaces and workplaces including bars and casinos.

No one should have to face the harmful effects of secondhand smoke to earn a paycheck, Wimmer said. We call on all states to step up and protect citizens from toxic secondhand smoke.

We know what works to reduce tobacco use across the nation and on the state level: tobacco prevention programs funded at CDC-recommended levels, comprehensive smokefree workplace laws, high tobacco taxes and full and unfettered access to all treatments proven to help tobacco users quit, Wimmer said. What our state and local leaders lack is the political will to implement these proven policies.

Learn more at http://www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org. For media interested in speaking with an expert about the State of Tobacco Control report, lung health, tobacco use and tobacco policies, contact the American Lung Association at Media(at)Lung(dot)org or 312-801-7628.
For decades the Junior League has seen thousands of volunteers devote more than 40,000 volunteer hours each year to our community initiatives, and events like the Gala are just one way we support the enduring mission of the Junior League

On February 27th, The Junior League of Boston will host its annual Charity Gala, one of Bostons premier fundraising events. Hosted at The Algonquin Club in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, proceeds from the event support JL Bostons mission of excellence in non-profit leadership training and direct community service programing supporting the wellness of girls in greater Boston. The theme of this years event is Gilded Gala, for which attendees are encouraged to dress in French glamour.

The Leagues nearly 1,000 volunteers embrace a milestone in 2016, celebrating 110 years of giving to the Greater Boston community through custom designed community service programs focused primarily on adolescent girls. Designed to develop tomorrows confident, healthy, women leaders, JL Boston community service programs encompass a whole girl model, with focus on the arts, fitness, nutrition, and self-esteem. The signature programming serves neighborhoods throughout Boston and inner suburbs, with key programs now entering their third decade of excellence in supporting the regions girls.

The Gala honors two special guests who have made a significant impact to the community and have demonstrated superior leadership.

For decades the Junior League has seen thousands of volunteers devote more than 40,000 volunteer hours each year to our community initiatives, and events like the Gala are just one way we support the enduring mission of the Junior League, said President Valerie Pontiff. We encourage women in the greater Boston community to thrive as top non-profit leaders through crafting and executing some of the most impactful non-profit service initiatives in the region.

The evening of splendor starts with a seated dinner at 6:00 pm for attendees with a Dinner & Dancing Ticket. Additional guests with a Dancing Ticket will join the celebration to partake in dancing and cocktails beginning at 8:00 p.m., with live music by popular cover band, Hot Mess. The silent auction will be open throughout the evening. Select silent auction items include acceptance and tuition for a 4-week semester at the Paris Fashion Institute with an opportunity to attend Paris Fashion Week, a cozy weekend getaway in Maine, and a culinary chef prepared in-home multicourse dinner for four from Elegant Spoonful.

To learn more about the Junior League of Boston and to purchase tickets for this years Gilded Gala, visit http://www.jlboston.org/gala.

About the Junior League of Boston

The Junior League of Boston, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

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As we enter our 49th year, we hope it will help us springboard the festival to our golden 50th Anniversary - Richard Hashimoto - Co-chair, Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

The executive committee of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is proud to announce its dates for the festival on - April 9, 10 & April 16, 17 and is free to the public. The Grand Parade will be on April 17 starting from SF Civic Center and ending in Japantown.

The first Cherry Blossom Festival took place in April of 1967 and now enters its 49th year and is using this year as a runway to its golden anniversary. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is said to be the second largest festival outside of Washington, D.C. to celebrate the blooming of cherry blossoms; and held at the biggest of three remaining Japantowns in the United States.

Every year, the festival is joined by hundreds of performers from both Japan and California to give our thousands of spectators a taste of the Japanese culture. The festival features a Japanese cultural arts area, exclusive non-profit vendor food area, Arts & Crafts area and Japanese cultural stage performances at five venues in San Franciscos Japantown. We continue to bring the Sakura 360 (http://bit.ly/Sakura360)  highlighting the new culture of Japan. Ending the festival is the Grand Parade, and a raffle for cash, tickets and other prizes.

The 2016 performers and schedules will be finalized in late March. Check our website (http://bit.ly/NCCBF) for the latest information.

Our festival is supported by the heart and benevolence of volunteers. Please help support us by including a request for volunteers in any posts about the festival. Link to volunteering at the festival is here (http://bit.ly/NCCBFVolunteer)

For media and press pass requests, please visit http://bit.ly/SFCherryBlossomMediaInfo.
Rev. Lawrence P. Lakey, a minister, pastor, elder, previous CEO of the Tulsa Urban League, published writer and author, has completed his newest work Where Are Your Scars?: a gripping and potent work that delves into the ideas of faith, race, equality and perseverance.

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Rev. Lawrence P. Lakeys religious work argues the positive involvement of the church for African Americans during a challenging time in American history.

Can one enter Heaven without scars? The author raises this question and depicts some of the scars inflicted upon Black Americans during, perhaps, their most vulnerable period in American history, the Post-Reconstruction Era. These brutal scars were inflicted through the stark nakedness of physical, economic, social, and legal terror; and they ran to the bone of the soul. Though ridiculed by some twentieth century Black scholars, the author argues the Black Church was the only institution to which the community could find haven. Out of THE CHURCH came the faith, hope, and strength to face the daily struggle of life without dying. Just as Black Americans came through slavery and not from slavery, Where Are Your Scars? is an invitation to understand how the community came out of the wilderness to the place for which our fathers sighed."

Readers who wish to experience this potent work can [purchaseWhere Are Your Scars? at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing

Page Publishing is a traditional New York based full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex and time consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Poriferous, LLC, an innovative medical device manufacturing company based in Newnan, Georgia, today announced that it has entered in an agreement with Minogue Medical Inc. as the exclusive distributor of SU-POR Surgical Implants in Canada. Minogue Medical is a leading Canadian specialty medical product distributor with a long history of distribution of porous polyethylene implants.

"Minogue Medical is a great partner for us and we are very excited that they will represent the SU-POR brand of porous polyethylene implants in Canada. They have the expertise, reputation, clinical experience and complementary product portfolio to drive SU-POR Surgical Implants to a market leader position in Canada," said Aaron Noble, CEO of Poriferous.

Danny Minogue, CEO of Minogue Medical said, "We are pleased with the opportunity to distribute SU-POR Surgical Implants. The SU-POR product line fits into our overall strategy to provide innovative medical technologies to the Canadian market. The innovation of the Poriferous team is reflected in the enhancements to quality and ease of use to the SU-POR brand of porous polyethylene implants."

Poriferous received its license from Health Canada earlier this month. SU-POR Surgical Implants are manufactured in Newnan, GA, USA, from high-density polyethylene and are designed for non-weight bearing applications of craniofacial reconstruction/cosmetic surgery and repair of craniofacial trauma.

About Poriferous, LLC

Located in the metro Atlanta area, Poriferous, LLC. specializes in sterile surgical implantable products. SU-POR Surgical Implants are cleared to market in the United States under 510(k) K140437 and 510(k) 152463 and in Canada under License 96371.

For more information about Poriferous, LLC please call 1-877-631-1954, or visit the website at http://www.su-por-ior.com.

About Minogue Medical, Inc.

Minogue Medical Inc., celebrating 30 years in business this month, is a healthcare organization specializing in the delivery of innovative medical technologies, supplies and equipment to hospitals and medical clinics. In addition they provide nutritional and supplemental products for weight conscious patients and high performance athletes.

For more information about Minogue Medical Inc. please call 1-800-665-6466 or visit the website at http://www.minogue-med.com.
Chris Jerry, international advocate and iHeart radio program host, announces his new radio program: Surviving Healthcare Today! where he will discuss the basics of patient safety advocacy. After losing his two-year-old daughter, Emily, to a preventable medical error, Chris found out just how devastating losses are from medical mistakes. These mistakes turn families and medical professionals into victims of these errors.

In the U.S. alone, 440,000 men, women and children die each year from preventable medical errorsmistakes most often caused by dedicated professionals. The majority are medication errors or hospital-acquired infections, and altogether they are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Many unreported casualties are labeled under a different cause of death. Patients who survive errors may have to live with a dangerous infection or other serious health issue for the rest of their lives. Chris Jerry has dedicated the years since his daughters tragic death to facilitating solutions for these issues through every level of medical care. His new radio program, Surviving Healthcare Today, will help listeners be a part of the solution instead of victims of the problems.

Chris zeroes in on specific issues that can lead to medical errors. Patient family involvement from asking questions, to advocating for their family members wellbeing and safety is one key solution.

The new radio program is co-produced with his advocacy partner, Joni Aldrich. Surviving Healthcare Today is the eighth advocacy-based radio program that Aldrich has launched in the past five years. Most of these shows are broadcast worldwide, including Advocacy Heals U, which is co-hosted by both Chris and Joni. Surviving Healthcare Today is the first program hosted by Chris Jerry.

In their new Pulitzer Prize nominated book Advocacy Heals U, the co-authors discuss every aspect of patient advocacy and personal advocacy. One of their core objectives is to produce radio programming from prominent health-related conferences. They broadcast their show live from the Patient Safety Movement Foundation summit in January, held in California. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation was established in 2013 by Joe Kiani, the Founder and CEO of Masimo Corporation. Mr. Kiani has convened hundreds of leading clinicians, hospital CEOs, and medical technology CEOs from around the globe with an aggressive goal: ZERO patient deaths by 2020. Chris Jerry has been actively involved since their second conference, serving on their international medication safety steering committee. This year, The Emily Jerry Foundations Guardian Angel Pediatric Safe Label Program has been submitted for their Patient Safety Movement Foundation Innovation Competition. For more information and to have Chris and Joni attend a medical conference or event, contact Diane at info@inspiredmc.com.

Advocacy Heals U is the seventh book by Author, Speaker, Radio Host and Healthcare Advocate Joni Aldrich. Joni speaks to the world through her books and international radio. She advocates for advocates, patient awareness, patient engagement, cancer families, caregiver rights, and cancer care legislation in honor of her husband and mother who lost their fight with cancer. Advocacy Heals U; 15 Keys to Fast Track Results and Emotional Fulfillment (Motivational Press, 2015) is available alt bookstores nationwide and from major online booksellers. For more information visit http://www.motivationalpress.com/Advocacy-Heals-U.

Joni Aldrich

Joni Aldrich has been involved with Internet Radio broadcasting with Talk4Media for the past five years. During that time, she has produced 1,000 radio programs with medical professionals, researchers, patients, and support foundations from around the world. Joni has launched eight radio programs: Treatment SOS, Surviving Healthcare Today, Advocacy Heals U, Cancer SOS, Caregiving SOS, The Literate Patient, Diagnosis SOS and Ladies Who Inspire. Seven of these shows are still being broadcasted internationally through iHeart Radio (90 million subscribers in the U.S. and Australia) and UK Health Radio (Europe and Asia). In addition, live programs are simulcast on three Internet Radio Networks (part of the Talk4Media conglomerate): http://www.W4WN.com, http://www.W4CS.com, http://www.W4HC.com. Two of these are featured networks on iTunes.

Chris Jerry

Chris Jerry has been involved with Internet Radio broadcasting with Talk4Media for the past three years. Surviving Healthcare Today is Chris's second program launch. He is also the co-host of Advocacy Heals U, which has featured hundreds of advocates worldwide. The addition of Internet Radio complements Chris's advocacy work through speaking for The Emily Jerry Foundation. The Internet radio audience has experienced rapid growth...in fact, eMarketer analysis estimates that 12% of time spent with digital media will go to Internet radio this year while only 6% will be with Facebook. Chris's programs are also on iHeart Radio (90 million subscribers in the U.S. and Australia) and UK Health Radio (Europe and Asia). In addition, live programs are simulcast on three Internet Radio Networks (part of the Talk4Media conglomerate): http://www.W4WN.com, http://www.W4CS.com, http://www.W4HC.com. Two of these are featured networks on iTunes.
Today, Beechwold Veterinary Hospital, a full-service veterinary medical facility for cats and dogs for more than 60 years, announced that it has welcomed Jill E. Yaissle, DVM to its staff.

Dr. Yaissle brings a strong medicine-based veterinary perspective to the practice, with extensive experience in internal medicine. Her areas of focus include renal failure and cytology.

Dr. Yaissle is a member of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

A 2004 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Yaissle also has a Masters degree in Animal Nutrition. She later returned to The Ohio State University Teaching Hospital in 2006 to work with the Oncology department for one year with their clinical trials.

She also has a strong interest in nutrition, especially weight loss programs for dogs.

About Beechwold Veterinary Hospital

Beechwold Veterinary Hospital opened its doors in 1952. Today, our state-of-the-art hospital is home to nine veterinarians and over 35 staff members. Our practice meets the standards of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). Our membership to this voluntary organization reflects our desire to provide the highest level of care for our patients. We also meet the guidelines of the American Association of Feline Practitioners as a cat-friendly practice. We continually strive to keep pace with the most recent advancements in medical and surgical care through our ongoing involvement with continuing education and our close relationships with specialists. We work as a team to provide your pets with the quality care and compassion they deserve. For more information, visit http://www.beechwoldvet.com/.

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Clinical Supervisor, Dayna Blake stated "We appreciate the opportunity to have the skilled and knowledgeable staff of NAAMTA assessing and validating the foundation of TSCF. The experience from the beginning to the end was a refreshing change of pace."

NAAMTAs Accreditation program is built on providing standards that focus on quality patient care and transport safety. Using a comprehensive audit of administrative documentation, medical practices, and facilities, NAAMTA is awarding TriState CareFlight full medical transport accreditation for their fixed and rotor-wing programs.

TriState CareFlight demonstrates compliance in each of the defined standards, excels in identifying best practice procedures, and instills these values in each employee. NAAMTA verified compliance through employee interviews, on-site evaluations, and process reviews, all of which were conducted using ISO 9001:2008 auditing guidelines.

In addition to the accreditation award, TriState CareFlight joins the NAAMTA Alliance. This alliance unifies accredited organizations in the promotion of continuous improvement in safety and patient care. Continuous improvement is the result of shared education, experience and quality management principles by alliance members.

Quoted from Amy Arndt, NAAMTAs Program Director, Through administrative and site audits, we were able to review TriState CareFlights processes, and meet with TriState Careflight crews in several states. The strong crew dynamics emphasized their desire to provide the best care for their patients. Crew members commented, the patient becomes an extension of the TriState CareFlight family and it is important bring everyone home safely. TriState CareFlights documented and observed processes supports the strength or the employees desire to do the job right.

Dayna Blake, Medical Program Director states: Tri-State CareFlight LLC has been in operation since 2002, our commitment has always been dedicated to operational safety and quality patient care. We appreciate the opportunity to have the skilled and knowledgeable staff of NAAMTA assessing and validating the foundation of TSCF. The experience from the beginning to the end was a refreshing change of pace. No matter what the question was, NAAMTA was always willing to provide assistance.

TriState CareFlight has built a solid reputation in medical transport excellence, a status augmented now by a nationally-recognized medical transport accreditation. NAAMTA salutes TriState CareFlight for their proactive approach in achieving accreditation and looks forward to the contributions they share with the NAAMTA Alliance.

About NAAMTA

NAAMTA is an accreditation standard-bearer for the medical transport industry, offering procedures that include guidelines for developing a system focusing on transport safety, patient care, quality management, and continuous improvement.

NAAMTA is globally recognized for its ISO 9001:2008 QMS certification and implementation of quality practices in their accreditation program. NAAMTAs certified quality management system is audited annually by PRI Registrar which is an ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board-approved Registrar accredited to certify organizations to a variety of management systems including ISO 9001.

NAAMTA has successfully made great strides in identifying key best practices to improve the standard of performance among EMS providers at the national and global levels. Through a dynamic approach to auditing and a vast array of web-based reporting and learning tools for members, NAAMTA distinguishes itself as an accreditation source interested in providing services to their members and work toward the improvement of medical transportation practices.

About TriState CareFlight

Headquartered in Bullhead City, Arizona, TriState CareFlight is a critical care transport service dedicated to providing the highest quality patient care and rapid transport of critically ill and injured patients to health care facilities and EMS agencies throughout its service areas.

TriState began its operation in 2002 with one helicopter and has expanded to 27 fixed- and rotor-wing aircraft and 380 employees. TriState CareFlights fleet of aircraft allows for the most efficient and expedient transport no matter where the patient is located. Originating in Western Arizona, the demand for TriState CareFlights services quickly grew throughout the state and before long, found itself providing critical air transport services Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.

Roylen Griff Griffin, Executive Director
CoNextions Medical, Inc. (http://conextionsmed.com) CEO, co-founder and president, Rich Linder was honored by The Utah Science and Research Initiative (USTAR) and the Governors Office for Economic Development (GOED) at an awards dinner at Rio Tinto Stadium on January 13. Mr. Linder was the recipient of the prestigious Governors Medals for Science and Technology.

The Governors Medals for Science and Technology are awarded to residents and companies who have provided distinguished service or made significant contributions to Utahs advanced scientific and technological knowledge, education and industry.

Access to science and technology resources statewide benefits not only the quality of STEM education for our students, but also the quality of life for Utahns, Gov. Herbert said. I am pleased to recognize these education and industry leaders, who have helped put Utah on the map in life science, engineering and information technology.

Linders achievements include work as co-founder, director and former chairman of the board of BioUtah and his current leadership of CoNextions, a Sandy, Utah-based medical device company that is pioneering a promising new generation of soft tissue repair technology that is designed to accelerate procedures and subsequent patient recoveries at lower costs compared to traditional suture repairs.

Mr. Linder began his career in the medical device industry in 1991 with Merit Medical Systems. In 1996, Rich co-founded Rubicon Medical, Inc. and served as President and Chief Executive Officer, taking the company public in 2000 and overseeing its acquisition by Boston Scientific in 2005. Following his tenure at Boston Scientific, where Rich served as Vice President of Vascular Protection, he served as President/CEO and a Director of Coherex Medical from 2006 to 2012. Coherex is a company dedicated to the minimally invasive treatment of structural heart disease. Mr. Linder also serves as Founder and Chairman of Linder Enterprises, Lone Peak Technology, and a General Partner in Elkhorn Enterprises, a Private Equity firm investing in life science companies in Utah.

When asked how he felt about the award, Linder said he was very honored and humbled to be bestowed such a prestigious award. Mr. Linder further stated, Utah has a wealth of engineering and science resources, a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, state of the art medical capability, and educational resources. It would be unwise to go anywhere but Utah to start and grow a life science company.

About CoNextions Medical

Founded in 2011, CoNextions Medical, Inc. is a privately held company located in Sandy, Utah. They are an innovation-based medical device company dedicated to achieving safer, stronger and more durable tendon repairs worldwide marked by faster rehabilitation, fewer complications and lower long-term costs.

For additional information about CoNextions Medical or the CoNextions TR, contact Angela Bailey, senior vice president of marketing, at (801) 580-4049 or abailey(at)conextionsmed(dot)com.
Ilus Art, a life science Art and Education company was commissioned to install a large exhibit at the Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino, CA. The displayed art represents images from research institutes and universities around California where scientists are uncovering how stem cells work, how organs regenerate and are developing therapies to treat or reverse certain diseases. The special exhibition entitled, Taking Art to the Cellular Level, shines a light on the research. All of the pictures are microscopic cell images from scientists at such places as The Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCSD and others.

California has some of the brightest minds in regenerative medicine, and has long been recognized as a hub for biotechnology and life science research. The art was purchased by Chino Valley Medical Centers education fund to help educate the public about the research being done to address the health challenges we face and finding cures for these conditions. It also provides a beautiful and visually stimulating display for the hospital. Chino Valley Medical Centers President and Chief Medical Officer, James M. Lally, D.O. explains, Chino Valley Medical Center is part of the Prime Healthcare system, and we support education programs, especially something as beautiful as this scientific art. When one realizes that these are research images from a microscope studying treatments or cures to some of the most complex diseases we face, including Parkinsons, Alzheimers, diabetes, autism spectrum, traumatic brain injury, diseases of the kidney or liver  it really opens your mind and heart.

Dr. Lally had a wonderful vision for these hallways at the hospital and we are excited to see it come to life, said Janet Hubka, CEO of Ilus Art. Ilus was honored to work with the staff at Chino Valley Medical Center to update the art at the hospital, not only with contemporary art, but with pictures of scientific research. Our unique printing technology infuses the microscopic images into metal, creating beautiful luminescent pictures.

Ilus is not only an art company, but is dedicated to life science education by helping the public learn about the science behind these cellular images. Ilus designs special plaques which define each piece of art  what the scientist is studying, details of the colors, names of the scientist(s) and the institute where the work was performed. Hubka explained, Dr. Lally and his team asked us to provide the plaques in both English and Spanish  which was a first for us. They turned out great!

Ilus art also uses this art in lectures they provide to K-12 Schools in support of the STEAM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math). It is important to get children interested in these areas of study, and we use this art to engage them, says Hubka. People like Dr. Lally, who support education programs outside of our schools, will also have an impact on students inside of schools. Displays like this allow the public to see the beauty of the images, which will hopefully inspire them to learn more about the research behind them.

Ilus Art had a similar exhibit at the San Diego Airport for 7 months last year, bringing the research into the public eye.

We are thrilled to be hosting information about Chino Valley Medical Centers art on our website, ilusart.com, said Hubka. Through the site, visitors can learn about the scientists behind these unique images, their company or institute, and the focus of their lab.

Ilus is honored to work with the many people involved in the project. We want to personally thank Dr. Lally, President and CMO of Chino Valley Medical Center and their education fund, and Dr. Prem Reddy Chairman of the Board of Prime Healthcare Services.

For more information about ilus Art and this exhibit please visit http://ilusart.com

For more information about Chino Valley Medical Center go to: http://www.cvmc.com/

For more information about Prime Healthcare Services visit http://www.primehealthcare.com/About-Us/Facts-About-Prime-Healthcare.aspx
Ray Lucia Jr., Chairman of Lucia Capital Group For many years, Ive worked hard to better the lives of not just my clients but retirees nationwide, and its nice to have that recognized by an organization as esteemed as the AICPA.

Raymond J. Lucia Jr. was one of 22 CPAs age 40 and under honored by the AICPA for contributions to the areas of personal financial planning with the first annual Standing Ovation, which recognizes the best young CPAs in various specialty credential areas. Raymond J. Lucia Jr. was honored at the AICPA's Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference in Las Vegas in mid-January.

The Standing Ovation program, which launched last year, recognizes young CPAs who exhibit outstanding professional achievement in specialization areas. Requirements for nomination for the Standing Ovation program in the Personal Financial Planning specialty area include maintaining an active CPA license, being an AICPA member in good standing, and holding the PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) credential. Nominees must also be 40 years old or younger.

The AICPA is pleased to recognize these outstanding young CPAs who hold the PFS credential for their contributions to personal financial planning, said Andrea Millar, CPA/PFS, AICPAs associate director of Personal Financial Planning. Personal financial planning is a fast-growing field with increasing demand, and this underscores the opportunity for up and coming CPAs to serve the public interest by providing these services.

Mr. Lucia is the chairman of the family of companies collectively referred to as Lucia Capital Group, which spans multiple lines of financial services businesses (including wealth advisory, asset management, investment platform, and product origination). His retail firms, Lucia Wealth Services and Lucia Securities, LLC, provide financial planning services to over 5,000 families across the country and oversee more than $2 billion in fee-based, brokerage, fixed insurance, and variable insurance assets.** Mr. Lucia also licenses The Bucket Strategy and its software to independent financial advisors across the country through The Bucket Strategy Advisor Network.

Additionally, Mr. Lucia is a majority owner and managing member of VALIDUS Growth Investors, LLC, and is responsible for the media business behind educational website WealthEd.com, which provides educational content to website viewers, radio listeners, and television viewers (through BizTV) all over the country.

Im humbled to be named as an inaugural recipient of the AICPAs Standing Ovation award, said Mr Lucia. For many years, Ive worked hard to better the lives of not just my clients but retirees nationwide, and its nice to have that recognized by an organization as esteemed as the AICPA.

Recipients of this years Standing Ovation in PFP were recognized on the PFP Section website and during the Advanced PFP Conference.

Lucia Capital Group encompasses a family of companies across multiple financial service businesses. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, Lucia Capital Group offers a range of investment options and wealth advisory services, including asset management, investment platform management, and product origination.

** As of December 31, 2014, client assets managed by Lucia Wealth Services totaled $261,807,874 in discretionary accounts and $237,006,546 in non-discretionary accounts. In addition, their investment advisor representatives, in their separate capacities as Lucia Securities, LLC registered representatives, oversee $1,254,292,705 of assets in non-discretionary, traditional commission-based accounts. All services provided through Lucia Securities, LLC are non-discretionary. Their investment advisor representatives, in their separate capacities as licensed insurance agents, oversee $146,666,905 in fixed-annuity products. As of December 31, 2014, Lucia Capital Management had $196,218,276 in discretionary assets under management.

Ray Lucia Jr. is chairman of Lucia Capital Group and chairman of its subsidiary broker/dealer, Lucia Securities, LLC.

Investment advisor representatives of Lucia Capital Group, a registered investment advisor, are also registered representatives of, and offer securities through, Lucia Securities, LLC, a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and a subsidiary of Lucia Capital Group. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Registered representatives of Lucia Capital Group only conduct business in the states where they are currently licensed. Check the background of this firm on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
With our continued growth across California, we have made a true impression throughout the real estate industry." -- Mathias Bode

European-based premium real estate brand, Engel & Volkers, announced today the opening of its first shop in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, furthering the firms presence across California. Centrally located in the Riviera Village of Redondo Beach, Engel & Volkers is thrilled to bring its unmatched services and expertise to this emerging and booming market. Engel & Volkers made its official debut to the South Bay with a grand opening celebration on January 9th.

In todays industry, as prices continue to be on the rise, so too are client expectations. Clients are demanding more for their money, and with its competitive edge, Engel & Volkers, LA  South Bay has the capabilities to deliver an unparalleled experience, including an organized and up-to-the-minute database for off-market listings. With our continued growth across California, we have made a true impression throughout the real estate industry, says CEO of Engel & Volkers California, Mathias Bode. I am proud to introduce our cutting-edge services to the South Bay area.

With its flourishing aerospace and tech industries, award-winning schools, and breathtaking beaches, the South Bay is high on the radar as a key destination for local and international buyers alike. Engel & Volkers unique connected network allows us to effectively meet the various real estate needs of the growing number of domestic and international buyers drawn to the region, said Ben Larson, co-owner of Engel & Volkers, LA - South Bay. We pride ourselves in performance based on quality, not quantity, and we look forward to offering our unparalleled service and world-wide reach to the areas diverse real estate clientele, Larson continued.

Solidifying Engel & Volkers stronghold along the southwest peninsula, Larson, alongside co-owner Nick Peters, are also set to open at least two additional shops in the next few years. The South Bay has always drawn in a diverse group of buyers across its real estate landscape, and as the area continues to attract and keep leading firms in the tech and aerospace industry, Engel & Volkers provides the state-of-the-art tools and global network that will best serve buyers and sellers comprehensive real estate needs, said Peters. The expansion is sure to further establish the firms elite representation in the Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, and El Segundo areas.

About Engel & Volkers

Since its beginning in 1977 as a specialty boutique providing exclusive real estate services in Hamburg, Germany, Engel & Volkers has become one of the worlds leading companies specializing in the sale and lease of premium residential and commercial property, yachts and private aviation. Engel & Volkers currently operates a global network of over 7,000 advisors in more than 700 brokerages spanning 37 countries across five continents, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services. It established its North American corporate headquarters in 2007 and opened its first brokerage in the same year. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and tools; multiple platforms for mobile, social and web; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Engel & Volkers is an active supporter of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated.

# # #

For more information please contact:

Sheela Shouhed

Engel & Volkers

Director of Communications
The Annual Celebration of Engineers Week will take place on Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 5:30 PM at Wunsch Building in the NYU Tandon School of Engineering (Polytechnic) in downtown Brooklyn. The featured speaker will be Dr. Imin Kao, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Stony Brook University, who will discuss Robotics Applied to Medical Resection and Rehabilitation.

The exact title of the topic will be Engineering of Mechanical and Electronic Systems for Robotics Research as Applied in Medical Resection and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Kao is also a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook, where he is also the Director of the Systems Engineering and Integration Laboratory. He conducts research in microsystems, intelligent fault detection and diagnosis, robotics and intelligent contact interface.

The New York City Mayors Proclamation on Engineers Week will be presented by one of his commissioners.

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Engineers Week is an annual celebration to recognize the achievement of Engineers, It is timed close to the birthday of George Washington, to honor his engineering work as a land surveyor, military engineer and his role in establishing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Metropolitan Engineering Societies Council (MESC): consists of 23 local Engineering organizations and local sections of National Engineering Societies.

Attendance at the dinner meeting is by advance registration for $50.00 (contact Wasyl Kinach at (212) 669-2203 or at info(at)mesc(dot)org) .
Scholarship Winner Philip MA His passion for learning and helping others is incredibly inspiring. Theres no doubt that Philip exhibits the values that the All Rounder Scholarship stands for, and we couldnt be happier to have him be the first recipient of this award.

California-based ticket broker Barrys Ticket Service today announced the winner of its 2015 All Rounder $3000 scholarship contest. The winner is Philip Ma of Troy, Michigan, an undergraduate student studying biochemistry and psychology at the University of Michigan.

Each applicant was tasked with writing an essay illustrating what makes them a well-rounded student both in their curricular and extracurricular lives, and displaying how theyve contributed to their school and local communities. Philips essay detailed the hard work that goes into maintaining a 3.9 GPA in such a tough field, while still finding time to volunteer at a local psychology research facility and the MedRehab physical therapy clinic in Ann Arbor. He states in his essay, I worry about my loved ones, my friends, and even those strangers around me. I want to be able to do anything in my power to help those in need and stabilize the fragile lives around me. It was sentiments like that which made him an obvious choice for the All Rounder Scholarship.

I was blown away by the compassion in Philips essay, said Chris Cabrera, CDO of Barrys Ticket Service. His passion for learning and helping others is incredibly inspiring. Theres no doubt that Philip exhibits the values that the All Rounder Scholarship stands for, and we couldnt be happier to have him be the first recipient of this award.

When asked what winning this scholarship means to him, Philip replied, Winning, to me, does not just mean that I get money towards my education winning this scholarship validates my goals and aspirations. Barry's Tickets is telling me that what I am trying to achieve is meaningful and this fills me with determination. The support that I have received from Barry's Tickets is not only monetary, but also moral.

For more information on Barrys Ticket Service All Rounder Scholarship and to consider submitting an application for 2016 please visit https://www.barrystickets.com/scholarships/

About Barrys Ticket Service:

Barry's Ticket Service Inc. and Barrystickets.com have been providing hard-to-get and premium tickets to their clients for all major worldwide, national, and local events for over 20 years. As an upstanding member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB), reliability and accountability are cornerstones of their business philosophy. BarrysTickets.com is an online ticket provider for all sports, concert, theater, and exclusive event tickets. You can contact them by phone at 866-708-8499, by email at info(at)barrystickets(dot)com, or online at http://www.barrystickets.com.
Kania stands beside a camera trap during the Earthwatch expedition Exploring Lions and their Prey in Kenya. I was hooked, Kania said. It was one of those strange things where I didnt know Earthwatch existed, but I had been looking for it my whole life.

Earthwatch Institute announced today that Scott Kania has been named its new Chief Executive Officer.

Kania, 63, has been the organizations Chief Operating Officer since 2014. He came to Earthwatch following a 35-year senior operations career in the financial services industry--most recently at HSBC where he served as Senior Vice President in New York and London.

Scott has streamlined and strengthened Earthwatch since his first day on the job, and he was a natural choice for the next CEO, said Amy Ruth Borun, Chair of the Board of Directors. A proven leader in change management and operations, Scott also walks the talk. His passion for the Earthwatch mission is obvious and palpable.

Kanias been on three Earthwatch expeditions so far, most recently bringing one of his daughters to track wildlife in Kenya. He was first introduced to Earthwatch when he participated in the Sustainability Leadership Program in London, a four-day Earthwatch program supported by HSBC designed to promote a deep understanding of sustainability as a core strategic and operational business issue and opportunity.

I was hooked, Kania said. It was one of those strange things where I didnt know Earthwatch existed, but I had been looking for it my whole life.

Kania said his focus areas this year include continuing to strengthen Earthwatchs portfolio of outcome-driven conservation science expeditions, launching new strategic approaches to Earthwatchs longstanding teacher and student fellowship programs, and expanding its corporate partnership program.

We are experiencing an alarming and accelerating rate of global change across the planet, and the need to involve citizens representing all sectors of society in solving these challenges has never been greater, Kania said.

Kania replaces Lawrence Mason, who announced his plans to step down as CEO last fall. Kania holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Conservation and throughout his career has remained active in conservation, particularly in Connecticut: as a Trustee of The Rivers Alliance of Connecticut; a member of the Conservation Commission in Canton; exploring the trails of the Canton-based Roaring Brook Nature Center with his family; and more.

Learn more in the Q&A conducted for Earthwatch blog.
Beat those winter blues with the the Paint Your World Blue sale from STA Travel. Book by February 29, 2016 and recieve $100 off per person on a Spring Break package!

Feeling those winter blues? STA Travel is pleased to announce the Paint Your World Blue sale, featuring last minute deals for the month of February.

From now until February 29, 2016 take advantage of offers like $100 off a spring break package hotel or deals on round trip flights to Paris, London and Tokyo. The Paint Your World Blue sale includes the following offers:

$100 Off Per Person for Spring Break Package

Crank up the heat this year with STA Travels Spring Break 2016 deals. Last minute packages start from $699, and until February 29, 2016 travelers are able to get an additional $100 off per person on a Spring Break package, bringing the price to only $599. These packages are selling fast and availability is limited, so call today for the guaranteed lowest Spring Break prices around. Terms and conditions apply.

$100 Off Flights When Booking a Tour of $1,000 or More

Book a G Adventures or Contiki tour of over $1000 or more and receive $100 flight credit to use on flights. As a bonus, this offer is combinable with other select tour promotions and discounts. Terms and conditions apply.

Fly to Paris from $529

Take a trip to the city of lights! Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, visit the Mona Lisa and stumble upon a plethora of Parisian cuisine.

Fly to Tokyo from $585

Big business, mega brands, state-of-the-art mobile phones, karaoke bars and hands-down the world's best sushi - welcome to Tokyo.

Fly to London from $569

From shopping in Oxford Street to grabbing a beer at a local pub, there's never a dull moment when visiting London.

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STA Travel is the leading student and youth travel agency enabling students and young adults to explore the world by creating experiences filled with adventure, discovery and personal growth. STA Travel offers a unique range of products with exclusive discounts on airfare, accommodations, tours, rail passes and more. Globally, STA Travel is present in 90 countries with 200 retail locations, sending more than 2 million travelers away each year.
We are extremely fortunate to have such amazing and talented individuals join the Jaykal team. We look forward to working with them and taking advantage of their unique and varied skills and knowledge," says JAYKAL'S President Sanjay Kapuria.

Lt. General Buck Bedard (USMC - Ret) will act as chair, and brings over 47 years of military and professional service experience, most recently Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations at US Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Also on the Board is Robert Hobart, a founding partner of HHQ Ventures, a boutique business advisory firm, specializing in developing appropriations strategies. Rob provides strategic planning services on policy development and regulatory risk analysis, focusing on technology, commercial energy finance and growth opportunities in global markets.

Rashid Holloway, co-founder of HHQ Ventures, joins the Board with more than 15 years of public policy experience, specializing in federal and state advocacy, regulatory affairs and access to government markets. Rashid previously served US Sen Evan Bayh on staff advising on national security matters and serving as designee on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Former US Congressman (3rd Dist  AZ), Ben Quayle, has also been named to the Board. He currently counsels clients on domestic policy, focusing on financial services, intellectual property, tax, national defense and energy policies. While serving in Congress, Ben focused on regulatory reform, and was known for his hard work, analytical skills, leadership and coalition building.

George P. Fenton (USMC - Ret) rounds up the impressive and time-honored Advisory Board, bringing with him an impressive military career of 28 years. He is currently the VP GMP of Sales at Taser International, and is responsible for the development and implementation of sales to all Federal Department Law Enforcement agencies, as well as Department of Defense Armed Forces. He is well-versed in cultivating business development, advancing opportunities for federal research, development and engineering.

Jaykals CEO and founder, Sanjay Kapuria says of the newly formed Board, We are extremely fortunate to have such amazing and talented individuals join the Jaykal team. We look forward to working with them and taking advantage of their unique and varied skills and knowledge.

Jaykal LED Solutions, Inc., a certified minority owned business headquartered in Harbeson Delaware, is a vertically integrated manufacturer priding itself on quality products, excellent customer service, and the speed at which it can develop, safety certify and bring new technology to market. For additional information on Jaykal LED Solutions, please contact Sanjay Kapuria at 302-295-0015 or Sanjay@jaykal.net. Visit Jaykal on the web at http://www.jaykal.net.
Angel Merkel and Mariano Rajoy take a walk in Meseberg, Germany last August. Markus Schreiber (AP)

Spains presence on the global stage has been greatly affected by the political uncertainty over the formation of a new government, with many fearing the hold on foreign policy decisions could drag on for months.

The government of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which was enmeshed in a grueling election campaign last year and is now facing doubts over its future, has been absent from or overlooked at several important events in the past few months.

As long as this situation persists, more opportunities will be missed  veteran diplomat

When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Europe following the signing of an anti-nuclear pact, his trip did not include a stopover in Spain.

Neither did Cuban President Raul Castro include Spain on his itinerary when he traveled to Paris this week to repay a visit that French President Francois Hollande made to the Caribbean island last May.

The current political stalemate could last until the summer or even later, if a new election has to be held, meaning an entire year will have gone by without any major action taken on the global stage.

As long as this situation persists, more opportunities will be missed, said one veteran diplomat.

Vacancies at 44 embassies M. G. Spains seat on the UN Security Council has been forcing the government to push forward with it foreign policy objectives. But many other decisions have been put on hold, including the naming of 44 ambassadors. The new envoys will replace the current ambassadors, whose terms will expire this year. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo has selected the candidates but will leave their nominations up to the new prime minister because the acting government under Rajoy does not have the legal authority to name them. Among the embassies that need to be filled are those in Rome, Moscow, Oslo, Jamaica and India.

Although the Popular Party (PP) won the December 20 general election, Rajoy has been unable to muster enough support to stay on as prime minister. The opposition Socialists do not have enough seats in Congress on their own to form a government, but are now attempting to negotiate a cross-party deal.

Rajoy has not signed a bilateral agreement with any country since August when he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany.

Committed to his re-election campaign, Rajoy also put off making trips abroad except to important meetings such as the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, the G20 Summit in Turkey and Valletta Summit on Migration in Malta.

He also traveled to New York to preside over a session of the UN Security Council, though many described the event as a mere photo opportunity.

Since last summer, only five international leaders have paid visits to Madrid: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Under Spains acting government, the prime minister is the chief negotiator when it comes to international relations and Rajoys inactivity can hardly be made up for by his foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.

Up until the end of the year, Garcia-Margallo maintained a busy schedule with official trips to Iran, Paraguay, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and other countries. But after the election, the foreign minister has also scaled back his trips.

It is unclear whether King Felipe will keep his scheduled state visit to Britain next month

He does plan to visit Rome and Morocco this week, but the only foreign ministers who have come to Madrid this year are Susana Malcorra of Argentina and Riyad al-Maliki of Palestine.

King Felipe, who as head of state meets with international leaders, has also been affected by the current political situation. He suspended an upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia because of the uncertainty over a future government  although the recent execution of 47 prisoners by Riyadh had also made it an inopportune moment for a visit.

It is still not clear whether Felipe will keep his scheduled trip to Britain from March 8 to 10  the first state visit by a Spanish monarch to the country in three decades.

But the king cannot afford to miss out on a valuable opportunity for Spain by failing to attend the Seventh International Congress of the Spanish Language to be held from March 15 to 18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The selection of the US territory as the venue is part of a long-term plan by Spain to help push for the practice, use and advancement of the Spanish language throughout the United States.

English version by Martin Delfin.
We are very excited about receiving AESPs Energy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Customer Engagement, says Ward Eames, President of NTC.

NTC announced today that it has been recognized by this years Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) for its Trickle Up educational programming module that employed NTCs unique theatre to school to home model. NTC received top honors in the Customer Engagement category. AESP presented the award to NTC President, E. Ward Eames III during AESPs 26th Annual National Conference and Expo, held February 2-4, 2016 in Phoenix, AZ.

NTCs Trickle Up provided clients with access to schools through in-school live theatre performances. These theatre assembly performances used social norm marketing principles, along with the customer engagement system unique to the electric utility space, to garner unprecedented energy savings in students' homes. NTCs Trickle Up program generated measurable kWh reduction in home energy usage through an innovative technology system, focused on a link between school and household. This system engages entire families, changing their usage behavior, empowering them to become the driving force behind the resulting energy savings. And the results were impressive.

We are very excited about receiving AESPs Energy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Customer Engagement, says Ward Eames, President of NTC. Our Trickle Up program is a proven specialization in outreach marketing. It provides verified kWh energy savings and influences behavior change both in the schools and in the homes. The messages that are delivered in the school trickle-up to the parents at home, encouraging strong energy literacy for the entire community.

Struggling to meet the requirements of state mandates and quotas, a large, multi-state energy services provider partnered with NTC during the 2014-2015 academic year to create an innovative educational program designed to empower children and their parents to become the driving force behind household energy savings through the installation of energy efficiency kits.

Although distribution of energy efficiency kits via schools/students is not a new concept, what is unique is that unlike other utility programs that provide kits to every student, NTCs programs guarantee a higher installation rate due to the requirement that parents opt-in and sign-up to receive the kit. Over the course of nine months, NTC used its Trickle Up customer engagement system to help its energy client engage students and their families in 1,742 schools.

The campaign delivered remarkable energy and cost saving results including:



Number of energy efficiency kits delivered: 46,709

kWh saved: 294,342,314*

Value of kWh saved: $93,779,895**

Avoided Emissions: total of $17,818,180 in emission savings*** (combined C02 kWh and C02 BTUs)

To learn more about NTC, visit http://www.ntccorporate.com

About AESP

AESP is the premier organization for professionals in the energy efficiency industry. We are a member-based association dedicated to improving the delivery and implementation of energy efficiency, energy management and distributed renewable resources. AESP members have one thing in common  the desire to advance their professional growth and development through acquiring current practical knowledge and building their network in the energy efficiency field.

About NTC

NTC is a provider of educational content, delivered through unique and innovative methods that are tied to their clients unique brand promise. They help corporations, non-profits and governmental agencies impact their key stakeholders via a platform of proven, turn-key communications programs in the areas of energy efficiency, resource conservation, electrical and natural gas safety, renewable energy and environmental issues. These utility industry programs, along with our work in STEM, health & wellness, financial literacy, character development and peer-to-peer education, reach millions of students, parents, educators and their communities each year. Founded in 1978, NTC is an international company with operations in USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Please direct inquiries to:

Eddie Eames, 800-858-3999

Manager, Marketing & Client Services

eeames(at)ntccorporate(dot)com
Teradatas confidence in Experlogix helped us achieve another record-breaking year in 2015.

Experlogix, Inc., the worlds leading provider of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software, announced today that Teradata, the big data analytics and marketing applications company, has selected Experlogix CPQ to streamline their quote generation processes. Teradata conducted a thorough review of multiple CPQ application providers. In Experlogix, we have found a partner whose software will help our sales team to more efficiently configure and price our products, said Mark Crouch, Teradata Director, IT.

Experlogix CPQ empowers sales reps to build complex quotes and orders based on multiple options and item-specific business rules. Experlogix combines with CRM and ERP systems to form a powerful quote and order automation system, increasing order volumes, improving accuracy and customer loyalty.

Experlogix President Christian Stepien commented: We are delighted Teradata has joined other global organizations by trusting Experlogix CPQ to enhance their quote-to-order processes. Teradatas confidence in Experlogix helped us achieve another record-breaking year in 2015.

About Experlogix

Experlogix is a premier provider of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) technology, specializing in fully integrated quote and order automation solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP. Experlogix delivers the scalability and flexibility needed to handle virtually any CPQ requirement at a low total cost of ownership. Formed in 1997, it partners with more than 450 VARs across North and South America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. More than 900 companies worldwide in a variety of industries rely on Experlogix, including, TelePacific Communications, Allegion, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift, ASSA ABLOY Hospitality, Otis (United Technologies), Spectra Logic, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Nikon Instruments, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Malibu Boats, AMX, Analogic and FEI Company. For more information, visit experlogix.com.
A cornerstone of our company is to provide full-time professional positions from the comfort of ones home that focus on providing our customers a remarkable experience when planning their dream vacations.

For the second year in a row, World Travel Holdings, the worlds largest cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company is proud to announce that it has been named to FlexJobs' annual list of the Top 100 Companies to Watch for Telecommuting and Remote Jobs in 2016. FlexJobs, a job service specializing in remote and flexible job opportunities, analyzed its database of more than 40,000 companies job posting history in 2015 to determine which companies would be most likely to incorporate telecommuting into their hiring practices in 2016. To be considered, companies had to offer a telecommuting-friendly component to some of their jobs, such as an arrangement to telecommute entirely, part of the time, or as an option.

A cornerstone of our company is to provide full-time professional positions from the comfort of ones home that focus on providing our customers a remarkable experience when planning their dream vacations. We couldnt be more proud to be recognized for the second year in a row by FlexJobs as a leader in this space, said Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of Human Resources for World Travel Holdings. We care about our employees and enjoy being able to provide them with an opportunity to work for us no matter where they live in the country. With 70 percent of our employee community working from home full time, including 99 percent of our travel agents, we have proven that this model drives positive results."

In the past, World Travel Holdings has hired for jobs with telecommuting options such as Travel Professional, Customer Care Representative and Business Development Manager and has been recognized as a leader in the industry in virtually recruiting, hiring and training more than 300 employees annually.

World Travel Holdings is one of the forward-thinking companies that understands that integrating telecommuting options is a smart business strategy," said Sara Sutton Fell, founder and CEO of FlexJobs. Telecommuting can benefit companies in so many ways, including cost savings, increased productivity and retention, better candidate pools, improved company culture and employee health, and many others.

Since 2005, the number of telecommuters has grown by 103 percent in the United States. People who telecommuted in both 2014 and 2015 said that they telecommuted 22 percent more in 2015, according to a recent FlexJobs survey.

For the complete list of the top 100 companies to watch for remote jobs in 2016, visit: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/100-top-companies-with-work-from-home-jobs-in-2016

To request additional information, please contact Heidi Ferolito at traveljobs(at)wth.com or Kathy Gardner at kgardner(at)flexjobs.com.

About World Travel Holdings

World Travel Holdings is the world's largest cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company with a portfolio of more than 40 diverse brands. In addition to owning some of the largest brands distributing cruises, villas, hotels, resort vacations, cars and luxury travel services, World Travel Holdings has a vast portfolio of licensed private label partnerships comprised of top leisure travel providers, including almost every U.S. airline, leading hotel brands and prominent corporations. The company also operates a top-rated travel agency franchise and the country's original host agency, and is consistently recognized as an industry leader in work-at-home employment. Its global presence includes operating multiple owned and private label cruise and vacation brands in the United Kingdom. World Travel Holdings has offices in Long Island, NY; Wilmington, Mass.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Chorley, United Kingdom. For more information, visit WorldTravelHoldings.com.

About FlexJobs

FlexJobs is the leading online service for professionals seeking telecommuting, flexible schedule, part-time, and freelance jobs. With flexible job listings in over 50 career categories, and opportunities ranging from entry-level to executive and freelance to full-time, FlexJobs offers job seekers a safe, easy, and efficient way to find professional and legitimate flexible job listings. Having helped over one million people in their job searches, FlexJobs has appeared on CNN and Marketplace Money and in TIME, Forbes, Fortune, and hundreds of other trusted media outlets. FlexJobs' Founder & CEO Sara Sutton Fell has also launched two additional partner sites, Remote.co and 1 Million for Work Flexibility, to help provide education and awareness about the viability and benefits of remote working and work flexibility.

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With our best-in-class solutions and embedded analytics, educators can now spot areas of need for their students, allowing teachers to tailor their approaches to teaching for each individual, maximizing student potential and growth.

PowerSchool Group LLC (PowerSchool) announced the acquisition of Interactive Achievement (IA), a leading provider of award-winning standards-based instructional assessment and analytical solutions for school districts that allow administrators and teachers to deliver measurable improvements in student performance.

PowerSchool is the #1 leading provider of K-12 technology solutions used by more than 40 million users and over 15 million students in 70+ countries. We power school operations for over 6,000 school districts enabling secure, compliant best-in- class processes and insights into school data. Additionally, PowerSchool provides industry-leading enrollment solutions for large and small public, charter, and independent school districts. This acquisition enhances PowerSchools solutions for teachers, providing innovative digital classroom capabilities and enabling a single user experience for managing attendance, grading, assignments, assessments and analytics. With IA, PowerSchool will deliver new opportunities for customers to measure achievement, utilize rich content, and improve student learning outcomes in the K-12 educational community.

Interactive Achievement was founded by educators in 2006 for the purpose of delivering improved assessment and reporting tools that help enable students and teachers achieve success in the classroom. As a result, IAs team of educators created the Assessment Management Solution (AMS) and Longitudinal Data Solution (LDS), allowing educators to deliver personalized curriculum and assessments in order to make data-driven decisions to raise student achievement. Interactive Achievement has the most technologically advanced assessment creation and delivery capabilities, offering proven internal and third-party content, allowing educators to deliver assessments that can be personalized or aligned with state longitudinal test standards. IAs Assessment and Analytics solutions are used in classrooms across 13 U.S. states, including nearly all Virginia public schools.

PowerSchool has the largest K-12 education community with over 6,200 school districts, said Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool. Our customers are looking to adopt digital classroom tools that empower teachers to easily create personalized and data-driven assessments that directly and measurably improve student performance. By combining formative assessment with PowerTeacher Gradebook, we are providing a comprehensive tool for teachers to manage all critical aspects of their classroom activities. With our best-in-class solutions and embedded analytics, educators can now spot areas of need for their students, allowing teachers to tailor their approaches to teaching for each individual, maximizing student potential and growth. Customers of IA and PowerSchool will significantly benefit from the investments we are making to provide a superior experience for administrators, teachers, students and parents."

Interactive Achievement is excited to become part of the PowerSchool team, said Jon Hagmaier, CEO of IA. Combining our intuitive assessment tools, rich standards-based content and robust reporting will augment PowerSchools market leading Student Information System so that it can be used to improve teaching, learning and measurement of student outcomes.

Marcy Daniel, COO of IA, will join PowerSchool as General Manager of Assessment Solutions. PowerSchool will be further investing in IAs products and content, enabling wider adoption of these solutions by PowerSchool customers in all states and provinces. PowerSchool will also bring IAs assessment solution into its open ecosystem of more than 150 partners, enabling integration with any Student Information System, other K-12 solutions, and content providers.

About PowerSchool

PowerSchool, the #1 leading provider of K-12 Student Information Systems (SIS), serves more than 40 million users and over 15 million students in over 70 countries, playing a central role in K-12 education around the world. Additionally, PowerSchool provides industry leading cloud-based enrollment solutions, including online applications, school choice lotteries, new and annual student registration designed specifically for Pre K-12 independent, charter, and public schools. Learn more about PowerSchool at http://www.powerschool.com.

About Interactive Achievement

Interactive Achievement (IA) creates award-winning standards-based instructional improvement systems for school districts that create positive change in student education. IA was founded in 2006 by educators searching for improved assessment and reporting tools to enable both students and teachers to achieve success. As a result, IAs team of educators created their system to assist their education peers in making data-driven curriculum decisions in an effort to raise student achievement. IA is being used in classrooms across 12 states and is currently being piloted in the United Kingdom. IA is ranked 33rd within the Inc.
NASFAA invites parents, college students, and prospective college students to submit their pressing financial aid questions by tagging NASFAA on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FinAidFeb.

Each winter, students across the country begin the process of applying for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Throughout the month of February, the higher education community, including the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), celebrates Financial Aid Awareness Month, in an effort to provide crucial information to students and families about access to federal, state, and institutional student aid.

This February, NASFAA will be facilitating a social media campaign and a series of Q&A sessions to spread awareness. NASFAA invites parents, college students, and prospective college students to submit their pressing financial aid questions by tagging NASFAA on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FinAidFeb. Students and their families can also follow @NASFAA for advice on a different topic each week, such as what students need to know about filling out the FAFSA, who gives financial aid and how types of aid differ from one another, how to budget and manage student debt while in school, and making a plan to repay student loans after graduating.

This week, to kick off Financial Aid Awareness Month, NASFAA is taking questions about filling out the FAFSA, the application that acts as a gateway to billions of dollars in federal student aid. Submitted questions will be answered by NASFAA members, who serve as financial aid professionals all over the country on Wednesday, February 3 from 7:00  8:00 pm ET and Friday, February 5, from 1:00  2:00 pm ET. Other Twitter Q&A topics, times and dates are as follows:

Week 2: Types of Aid



Wednesday, February 10, 7:00  8:00 pm ET

Friday, February 12, 1:00  2:00 pm ET

Week 3: Budgeting and Managing Debt



Wednesday, February 17, 7:00  8:00 pm ET

Friday, February 19, 1:00  2:00 pm ET

Week 4: Financing After College



Wednesday, February 24, 7:00  8:00 pm ET

Friday, February 26, 1:00  2:00 pm ET

"With Financial Aid Awareness Month upon us, we hope to be a valuable resource for students and parents who don't know where to look for reliable information about applying for financial aid and managing the cost of a college education," said NASFAA President Justin Draeger. "Financial aid administrators can provide thorough and up-to-date advice and counseling, and through our #FinAidFeb social media campaign we hope to get that information out to the students who need it most."

NASFAA has free resources on college costs and financial aid for students, parents, and high school counselors. Experts are also available for interviews on why increasing financial awareness is critical. To schedule an interview with a NASFAA expert, please contact us at 202-785-6959 or news(at)nasfaa(dot)org.

About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 20,000 financial aid professionals at nearly 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. For more information, visit http://www.nasfaa.org.
Cousins Air believes this helped us accomplish the goal of being awarded the Prestigious Carrier President award for four years in a row

Cousins Air, a family-owned and operated air conditioning company, has recently been awarded with Carriers Presidents Award for the fourth consecutive year, a goal rarely achieved. This prestigious award will be presented in Huntington Beach California to the select group of industry-leading contractors from across the country.

The Presidents Award is Carriers highest honor for its air conditioning contractors. The award was designed to reward companies that have excelled in all areas that Carrier and the industry believes to be important goals. Eligible dealers will have met the stringent requirements including the highest level of customer satisfaction, a minimum amount of years working with the Carrier product line, NATE certified service technicians and exceeding year over year sales goals. Presidents Award recipients, such as Cousins Air, strive to provide personal follow-up and quick, knowledgeable solutions to keep homes and businesses comfortable at all times. These dealers also make sure to keep ahead of the industry with specialized training to ensure they are highly skilled and knowledgeable in their field.

Cousins Air takes pride in their fair pricing guarantee, high quality of services and products, and their strong workmanship that customers know they can trust and count on. Cousins Air Vice President, John Brescia Jr. stated, In such a competitive environment we strongly feel that we must exceed our customers expectations by providing exceptional service, product knowledge and overall experience, through empowering our employees with training and a strong work ethic. Cousins Air believes this helped us accomplish the goal of being awarded the Prestigious Carrier President award for four years in a row.

About Cousins Air:

Cousins Air is a local family-owned and operated air conditioning company that has been a leader in the industry since 1995. Cousins Air is based in South Florida and serves customers living in areas from Palm Beach to Broward County. The Cousins Air team works together to promise complete customer satisfaction and top notch quality from their services. Learn more about Cousins Air and the many air conditioning services they can provide you today. http://www.cousinsair.com/
Recap student responses presented for a teacher.

Swivledtech pioneer of classroom videotoday announced Recap, a brand new, free app designed especially for teachers. Todays announcement also marks the launch of Recaps private beta, now open for sign ups.

Recap is a video response and reflection app that lets teachers and parents see how students learn. It provides insight into students grasp on curriculum and how theyre progressing through the learning process by introducing video as a simple, everyday tool to collect unique, highly-personalized student data. Recap will expand formative assessment, promote peer-to-peer learning and strengthen the Home-to-School Connection.

Video is an incredibly powerful tool for learning, said Swivl co-founder, Brian Lamb. For years, weve talked to educators about their use of video in the classroom. Todays announcement of Recap, however, is the product of an eight-month, highly-concentrated research and development process where we collected feedback from hundreds of classroom teachers.

Recaps short-form, multimodal response system provides quick bursts of student data, enabling teachers to immediately adjust instruction. After creating an assignment, teachers can use student-captured video responses to assess individual or class performance, track progress and keep parents better-informed and engaged.

Classroom technology must follow the same transformation teaching has undergone, Lamb continued. From sage on the stage to guide on the side, technology needs to become less immersive. It should free teachers to better personalize the learning process and reinforce the social bonds that make up our learning environments.

To learn more about Recap and to join the private beta, visit http://letsrecap.com.

About Swivl

Swivl was founded in 2010 by Brian Lamb and Vladimir Tetelbaum. We were one of the first startups to ever successfully use crowdfunding, and have been developing and launching education-focused solutions ever since. Today, our solutions are used in over 20,000 schools around the world. We have offices in Silicon Valley to Kiev, Ukraine and Hong Kong, China. And we are backed by a world-class team of investors including IdeaBulb Ventures, Grishin Robotics, Newbury Ventures, Kima Ventures, Zhen Fund, Fresco Capital Advisors, StartCaps and more. http://www.swivl.com.
This Manufacturing Matchmaking event is an excellent event for those wanting to source parts and services in their own backyard

The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) has announced the third date in the series of Manufacturing Matchmaking events for Chicagoland manufacturers to increase sales opportunities for firms in primary metals, metal fabricating, metal working and machinery industries. The matchmaking series is an initiative of IMEC and the Chicago Metro Metals Consortium. The event is scheduled for February 24th at the Waubonsee Community College, APC Building, Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive, Sugar Grove, IL 60554. Registration is open now through February 10th by visiting https://www.regonline.com/matchmaking-sugar-grove. To increase penetration and visibility of new market opportunities, IMEC has also partnered with the Valley Industrial Association who serves as a manufacturing resource organization in the region, as well as Kane and Kendall County economic development organizations.

This series of matchmaking and networking events represents speed-dating opportunities for suppliers and end users. Participating firms from across the region have a structured opportunity to network with potential customers and suppliers by sharing information, samples and more. The first two events in the series were held in Chicago (December 2014) and Bolingbrook (May 2015). Manufacturing participants have been encouraged by the amount of connections made at the event and the opportunity for new business relationships to transpire.

This Manufacturing Matchmaking event is an excellent event for those wanting to source parts and services in their own backyard, said Cindy Tomei, President of the Valley Industrial Association and co-host of the Sugar Grove event. It provides the forum for manufacturers to connect with other local companies to form strong business relationships that can lead to sales, new product development and other types of collaboration. We are fortunate to partner with IMEC in order to bring this opportunity to our members.

Advanced registration is required for all participants. Manufacturers may register for $50 per company and non-manufacturers may participate in a vendor capacity for $150. All one-on-one appointments are reserved strictly for manufacturers and scheduled on a first come, first served registration basis; organizers will try to accommodate all requests. Partners, or non-manufacturers, may participate in an exhibitor capacity benefiting from networking opportunities throughout the event. For additional information and to register, please visit https://www.regonline.com/matchmaking-sugar-grove.

The Chicago metro region is one of the nation's top metal manufacturing regions. Currently, there are more than 3,700 metal and machining firms in the region employing more than 100,000 people and generating $30 billion in annual revenue. The Chicago Metro Manufacturing Consortiums goal is to assist companies involved in metals and manufacturing increase their revenues and productivity.

Additional program support is provided by the Valley Industrial Association, Kane County Development and Community Services, Kendall County Economic Development, J.P. Morgan Chase, Chicago Metro Metal Consortium, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, IMEC and Made in Illinois  highlighting the diversity of products made in the state and celebrating the companies that manufacture them.

##

Lead Organizations:

Chicago Metro Metal Consortium

The Chicago Metro Metal Consortium brings together more than 40 organizations and governments, including the seven counties of Northeastern Illinois and the City of Chicago, to focus on the regions cluster of more than 3,700 metal manufacturing firms. The Consortium was one of just 12 recipients nationwide to receive an Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) designation through the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2014 and seeks to support economic development strategies focused on workforce development; supplier networks; research and innovation; infrastructure and site development; trade and international investment; and operational improvement and capital access. Kendall County and IMEC, both committed partners of the CMMC, serve as co-chairs for CMMCs Supplier Networks Subcommittee.

IMEC

IMEC was established in 1996 with the goal of improving the productivity and competitiveness of Illinois small and mid-sized manufacturing firms. A non-profit economic development organization, IMEC is funded in part by the National Institute of Standards and Technologys Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and through fees paid by Illinois manufacturers for IMECs services. IMEC has 11 offices statewide and 40 full-time manufacturing improvement specialists.

Valley Industrial Association

The Valley Industrial Association (VIA) is exclusively for manufacturers and those businesses in Northern Illinois which serve manufacturing in the Fox Valley area, including Kane, Kendall, DeKalb and Western DuPage counties. A regional trade association for manufacturers, providing an environment for companies to connect locally with their peers and gain insightful business practices from companies they trust.
It's thrilling to see what was once an aggressively optimistic goal turn into a reality. - Michael Praeger, CEO & Co-Founder of AvidXchange

AvidXchange, leading FinTech provider of Accounts Payable and Payment Automation, is North Carolinas most well-funded startup and #14 in the nation, according to venture capital database, CB Insights. Tech.Co presented the results in a recent article.

Its thrilling to see what was once an aggressively optimistic goal turn into a reality  what an honor to be named a leading force in North Carolina, states Michael Praeger, CEO and Co-Founder of AvidXchange. I hope AvidXchange can continue to make North Carolina proud, and that other entrepreneurs in our great state will see this as an example of what can come from perseverance, passion, and innovative ideas, added Praeger.

The list was based on disclosed equity funding and only looked at companies that raised more than $5 million in equity funding, have raised funding since 2011, and excluded those that raised debt funding. Hawaii and Alaska were excluded. All of the other continental 48 states and Washington, D.C., were represented.

About AvidXchange

AvidXchange revolutionizes the way companies pay their bills. Serving more than 5,500 clients throughout North America, AvidXchange is an industry leader in automating invoice and payment processes for midmarket companies spanning multiple industries including Real Estate, Financial Services, Energy, and Construction. AvidXchange has been recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Charlotte area for four consecutive years, ranked among Deloittes Fast 500 this past year, and recently was named of the top 100 technology companies in North America by Red Herring. In the midst of record growth, AvidXchange has remained true to its most valued competitive advantageits people. AvidXchange has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Charlotte for seven consecutive years. For more information, contact us at 800.560.9305 or info(at)AvidXchange.com.
Early movers have already made their mark on the Granite State by passing life-saving drug reform legislation, expanding school choice and protecting first amendment rights... Just imagine what can be accomplished with 10 times as many people.

As of today, The Free State Project is the most successful intentional migration movement in American history. This is because today the organization has announced that 20,000 participants have signed the Statement of Intent to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert their fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of individuals rights to life, liberty and property.

The 20,000 mark is significant, because it triggers the move  the mass migration of the Free State Project participants who have all agreed to move to New Hampshire within the next five years. So far, almost 2,000 have already relocated to the state.

In the last few months, using various social media targeting tools, we expanded our audience and a significant number of new people signed the pledge, says Carla Gericke, President of the Free State Project. Early movers have already made their mark on the Granite State by passing life-saving drug reform legislation, expanding school choice and protecting first amendment rights  this has drawn in a whole new crowd of participants. Just imagine what can be accomplished with 10 times as many people.

Since the first early movers flocked to New Hampshire, Free State Project participants have followed their individual passions to the center of some of the states most contentious political fights. They were instrumental in organizing resistance to Real ID in 2008, legalizing same-sex marriage through the legislature in 2009, and establishing a medical cannabis program in 2013.

The Free State Project started in 2001 with an essay by Jason Sorens, who was then a graduate student at Yale. Sorens, who is now a lecturer at Dartmouth College, theorized that if 20,000 committed activists moved to a single state with a small enough population, they could push policy and culture in a more free, open direction. In 2003, early participants chose New Hampshire as the state to migrate to. Now that the move has been triggered, the Free State Project will continue the effort to attract more participants, and inspire signers to move to the Live Free or Die state sooner rather than later.

"I'm thrilled by how far the Free State Project has come since the essay I wrote 15 years ago. Freedom lovers from around the country have turned concept into reality by moving to New Hampshire and building all kinds of exciting efforts to secure liberty and prosperity for all--efforts I could never have imagined back in 2001. Good ideas are powerful, and the idea of freedom is spurring many thousands of Americans to commit to move to the Granite State for a better life."

This news comes on the heels of the announcement that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden will be the headline speaker at the Free State Projects 9th annual Liberty Forum, held in Manchester, New Hampshire from February 18-21.

This is the culmination of over a decade of grassroots and volunteer work, and I am thrilled to be announcing that the Free State Project has surpassed the 20,000 signer mark, says Gericke. Early movers are bringing their businesses, families and charities with them to New Hampshire  not to mention disposable income. So far weve purchased more than $30 million in real estate alone, and I cant wait to see what kind of larger impact will be made as a result of individual efforts within this growing and thriving community.

The Free State Project will hold a press conference to announce this news at 11AM on February 3 in the Frost Room of the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. If youd like to reserve a media pass for the press conference, or want to interview Carla Gericke or Jason Sorens, please contact Brinck Slattery at brinck(at)contentfac(dot)com or at (603) 703-2846.
Sanchez acude a su primera rueda de prensa de este martes tras su reunion con el Rey. ULY MARTIN

After weeks of political stalemate, Spains King Felipe VI on Tuesday called on the secretary general of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez, to try to form a majority government.

The move came after an initial refusal by acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative Popular Party (PP) to do so, given his lack of support in Congress ahead of the investiture vote. At a second meeting between Rajoy and the monarch on Tuesday, the latter did not ask the incumbent again.

I will be taking this seriously, said Sanchez on Tuesday, calling on the countrys political forces to refrain from vetoing his future plans

Today we lack the support, but we are waiting for events to unfold, said Rajoy. My own and my partys option is to forge ahead and we are not renouncing a bid for the investiture, but I dont have the support yet because the PSOE refuses to talk, and I cannot guarantee a stable government for Spain.

Rajoy was alluding to the fact that Sanchez has repeatedly rejected his offer of a grand coalition between the PP and PSOE. His strategy appears to be to wait in the hope that Sanchez will fail at building an alternative coalition, then repeat his offer.

In the meantime, the Spanish head of state has called on Sanchez to try to form a government following the second round of talks with political leaders after the December 20 polls. Although Rajoys PP won the election in terms of number of seats in Congress, the vote left no party with a clear majority.

Sanchez requests a month to forge deal FERNANDO GAREA Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday asked congressional speaker Patxi Lopez for "three weeks to a month" to negotiate a governing deal with other political parties, according to the latter. At a press conference, the Socialist secretary general himself also talked of about a month. Once he has a deal, Sanchez will ask Congress to call an investiture debate, which could take place in late February or early March. At this session, he will need an absolute majority in the first round of voting, or else a simple majority in a runoff to be held 48 hours later. If his bid fails, the king could turn to another candidate and ask them to try to form a government. In any case, the Spanish Constitution stipulates that if no nominee is successful two months after the first investiture vote, new elections will be called.

Until now negotiations between Spains political forces  including emerging groups Ciudadanos and Podemos  have not spawned any agreements that could lead to the formation of a government  a situation never before seen in Spanish politics since the return to democracy in the late 1970s.

Sanchez announced on Tuesday night that he would immediately begin conversations with other parties with the aim of reaching agreements. PSOE members will be able to give their approval via a referendum, during which they will vote on the content and the participants within the pact. I will be taking this seriously, said Sanchez on Tuesday, calling on the countrys political forces to refrain from vetoing his future plans.

The problems of the country, the PSOE chief told reporters, required responsibility from all political forces, and no one should put their personal interests ahead of them. Change is not the property of any political party nor of a leader, but rather of millions of citizens, said Sanchez, who added that he would try to form a government of change, one that is progressive and that will introduce reforms. [] All Spaniards should have a place within this change. This change will be for all citizens, or it wont happen at all.

As he had warned some time ago, Sanchez waited for Rajoy  who won 123 seats at the December 20 election but fell short of a majority (176)  to first try to find governing partners. But on Tuesday, King Felipe did not repeat his offer to the acting prime minister, given that the Socialist chief had already expressed his willingness to do the same, albeit with conditions. I have told the king that the Socialist Party is willing, Sanchez explained. If Mr Rajoy renounces what we understand to be his obligation, the PSOE will take a step forward and try to form a government, thus taking Spains democracy and institutions out of this stalemate.

From today onward, Sanchez will try to forge this majority with calls to the representatives of the parties of change. On this occasion, he has made clear that this will not include the Popular Party, nor nationalist parties that seek independence for the northeastern region of Catalonia, although he said he would speak to them. I wont seek their support but I will speak to them to make clear that I do not agree with them, he said Tuesday.

His insistence that he would not seek support from pro-independence regional parties is due to misgivings expressed by many Socialist officials, who also fear any deal with Podemos. The anti-austerity party has expressed support for a referendum on self-rule in Catalonia.

Sanchez has yet to give a clear answer to Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, who recently proposed a coalition between their two forces and the United Left in which Sanchez would be prime minister and Iglesias his deputy.

English version by Simon Hunter and Susana Urra.
"We invite our customers and industry colleagues to visit us at Booth 735, where we will demo our Directory of World Chemical Producers (DWCP), the most extensive database of producers of chemical raw materials available." - Ernie Cote, ChemicalInfo CEO

ChemicalInfo, providers of the most comprehensive online databases for chemical and pharmaceutical companies and those who do business with them, announces that they will exhibit at InformEx in New Orleans, LA from February 2-4, 2016.

The goal of the innovation-focused show is to build a global network of customers, suppliers, and colleagues in some of the most rapidly growing chemical markets, including medical devices, agrochemistry, biopharma and green chemistry.

"ChemicalInfo is looking forward to seeing everyone this week at InformEx," said Ernie Cote, ChemicalInfo CEO. "We invite our customers and industry colleagues to visit us at Booth 735, where we will demo our Directory of World Chemical Producers (DWCP), the most extensive database of producers of chemical raw materials available."

For information on ChemicalInfo's comprehensive online database tools, contact ChemicalInfo at sales@chemicalinfo.com.

To download ChemicalInfo's latest whitepaper, "Purchasing a Chemical Sourcing and Sales Tool: What You Need to Know First", go to: http://chemicalinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/What-You-Need-to-Know-First-ChemicalSourcing.pdf.

ChemicalInfo

ChemicalInfo provides the most comprehensive online databases for chemical and pharmaceutical companies and those who do business with them. Since 1972, ChemicalInfo has been the global information resource for buyers and sellers of chemicals and pharmaceuticals worldwide. Our global services, include DWCP, DWCP+, PathFinder, PathFinder+, FinishedForms and FinishedForms+ and ContractMFG which are the most comprehensive set of chemical producers and distributors, finished form and intermediate users, plus custom and contract manufacturers in the industry. CIS services cover more than 12,000 producers including contact information and data on 350,000 chemicals titles with synonyms. For more information, visit http://chemicalinfo.com/.

@ChemInfoService

linkedin.com/company/chemical-information-services

youtube.com/user/ChemicalInfoServices

facebook.com/ChemicalInfo
Resia 100 ml eau de parfum Truly Yours Parfums is celebrating Valentine's Day with a #lovenotes campaign and promotion inspired by its debut fragrance Reisa's romantic and fashionable oud base note.

With love in the air on Valentine's Day, why not choose a scent that's all about romance, whether you are wearing one or gifting? Reisa, the new fragrance from LA-based Truly Yours Parfums, recently debuted its 100 ml eau de parfum an intoxicating citrusy-floral scent anchored with a woody oud base note, prized for centuries for its romantic properties.The perfect Valentine's Day fragrance.

To the celebrate the countdown to cupid's arrival, Truly Yours Parfums is launching a #lovenotes campaign on their social media and website, complete with fun photos, a 20 percent off promotion (promo code LOVE) and product giveaway.

Oud, a rare ingredient harvested from Asian argarwood, has become a sought after fashionable ingredient in niche and premiere fragrances, experimenting pairing it with florals, powders, trees, and palatable flavors. With its oud base note, Truly Yours Parfums has positioned itself among other luxe and premiere fragrance houses.

Reisa opens with a bright top note of Italian bergamot accented by the sheer softness of lime blossom. Its lush, full bodied floral middle note accord of tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine and stargazer lily is supported by notes of warmth and deptha hint of woody oud dancing among sweet vanilla and earthy patchouli.

The perfume oil debuted at New York Fashion Week in September with the eau de parfum being introduced at the GBK Golden Globes gifting suite with celebrity accolades for the sexy beautiful sophisticated scent.

Please view the complete media kit with images (scroll to bottom of media kit) of REISA 100 ml eau de parfum and pure perfume rollerball here.

To see more of REISA and Truly Yours Parfums, please visit our website.

About Truly Yours Parfums

Entrepreneur Sheba Grobstein dreamed about creating a signature parfum ever since her first trip to France in her early twenties. When the time was right, many years and much research later, she did just that. And when she began to wear it, the overwhelming response from friends, strangers and others made Sheba realize she had to share. Her company and its first fragrance, Reisa, the one that started it all, are dedicated to the philosophy that the beauty of fragrance is timeless. Her goal is that her scents be subtle yet distinctive and unique enough to evoke a reminder of the women who wore them. Twenty percent of profits will be shared with organizations whose programming promotes individual empowerment, success and well-being. To learn more about Reisa and Truly Yours Parfums, please visit the company website at trulyyoursparfums.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA CONTACT:

AMN Media Group/Amy Nebens

310.849.0335

amy(at)amnmediagroup(dot)com
"Water and LightA Travel Journal of the Cambodian Mekong" by George Groslier. DatAsia Press, 2016. This is travel adventure journalism at its best. Grosliers keen eye for detail gives readers intimateoften surprisingly candiddescriptions...

In 1929, author and artist George Groslier set out by boat to inspect Buddhist pagodas along two-thousand kilometers of the Cambodian Mekong. Groslieramong the first French children born in 19th century Phnom Penhspoke fluent Khmer and by then was recognized as a quintessential witness to colonial Cambodian life. Months later he returned with rare photos and a 600-page travel diary filled with first-person impressions.

As Groslier accurately pointed out in his original preface: I could even claim that a tour like this will perhaps not be undertaken again anytime soonif ever againthe old Cambodia has been so thoroughly upset by Western influence. Indeed, such a journey was not, and could not be repeated. His experiences remain unique.

On February 4, 2016, "Water and LightA Travel Journal of the Cambodian Mekong" appears in English translation for the first time, simultaneously commemorating the 129th anniversary of George Grosliers birth. A basic version of his travelogue was previously published in French as "Eaux et Lumieres" to coincide with the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition.

Groslier dedicated his life to the arts of Cambodia, founding both the countrys National Museum and School of Fine Arts. Tragically, only weeks before the end of World War II, Groslier died in a prison camp under Japanese torture. Following his murder, Grosliers entire catalog of eighteen rare books about Southeast Asia fell into obscurity.

In 2008, historian Kent Davisa self-described literary archaeologist began working with the authors daughter, Nicole Groslier Rea, to revive her fathers legacy and to restore his creative works that had disappeared more than half a century earlier. In his role as editor at DatAsia Press, Davis comments This is travel adventure journalism at its best. Grosliers keen eye for detail gives readers intimateoften surprisingly candiddescriptions of the people who inherited their art, history and traditions from the great Khmer Empire that once ruled Southeast Asia.

In his foreword for the new full-color edition, French literary expert Prof. Henri Copin writes George Groslier was a man whose pen could stroke that singular balance between things he saw, encountered, and felt, within his own dreams embodied by the foreign land he explored. These pages carry exceptional weight in their literary depiction of Cambodia.

"Water and LightA Travel Journal of the Cambodian Mekong" by George Groslier was edited by Kent Davis, with foreword by Henri Copin, and literary translation by Pedro Rodriguez. The book features more than 70 hand-tinted illustrations, including Grosliers original photos; appendix articles by Paul Boudet, Dr. Paul Cravath and Solang Uk; and the complete original French text. First Edition. Florida, USA: DatAsia Press, 2016. Published simultaneously in the UK and USA. ISBN 1934431877. US$34.95.

Four other George Groslier titles are available in English from DatAsia Press: "Cambodian DancersAncient and Modern" (2011); "In the Shadow of AngkorUnknown Temples of Ancient Cambodia" (2014); "Return to ClayA Romance of Colonial Cambodia" (2014); and Road of the StrongA Romance of Colonial Cambodia (mid-2016).
UHY Advisors, Inc. (UHY Advisors), one of the nations leading professional services firms, announces the appointment of five new managing directors: Brad Baer, Harold Mohn, Robert Scope, Mehmet Sengulen and Aaron Witalec.

We are excited to announce the newest class of managing directors. They all bring unique skills and experiences to lead our professionals in providing outstanding client service of the highest quality, said Mr. Anthony Frabotta, UHY Advisors chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

Richard David, chief operating officer of UHY Advisors, adds, Increasing demand from our dynamic clients drove the need for additional leaders within our firm. By increasing our ranks of managing directors, we can bring added resources to our current and prospective clients.

Brad Baer is a managing director of UHY Advisors GA, Inc. With over 20 years of experience he is a leader in the firms management consulting practice, which provides high-value consultative services to help clients meet their business, accounting and finance objectives. Mr. Baer is responsible for client acquisition, client management and solution creation. Mr. Baers work was directly responsible for helping the firm achieve BlackLines first ever Platinum Implementation Partner status and be recognized as the global services leader for BlackLine. He is frequently asked to speak at finance events throughout the country. Mr. Baer received his M.S. in Accounting and B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He is a BlackLine Certified Implementation Professional and licensed CPA in the state of Florida.

Harold Mohn is a managing director of UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic MD, Inc. and partner of UHY LLP. Looking at tax efficiency, estate, financial, business and retirement planning, Mr. Mohn helps individuals and families create a holistic wealth management plan that accounts for all aspects of their lives. With over 25 years of experience, the core of his practice lies in his passion for helping clients navigate through wealth management, tax efficient strategies, business succession, estate planning and 401(k) planning matters. Mr. Mohn received his M.S. in Taxation from the University of Baltimore and B.S. in Accounting from Columbia Union College. He is on the board and past president of The Historical Society of Frederick County. Mr. Mohn is a licensed CPA in the states of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. He is also FINRA Series 65 licensed.

Robert Scope is a managing director of UHY Advisors MI, Inc., partner of UHY LLP and co-leader of the firms national audit practices committee. He specializes in attest services and has extensive experience with business combinations and purchase price allocations. Mr. Scope assists with the firms internal quality inspections and peer reviews. He has developed and instructed programs for both local and national audit training. Mr. Scope is regularly called upon to speak at professional education events and is a member of the MICPA Employee Benefits Task Force Committee. He received his B.A. in Accounting from Oakland University and is a licensed CPA in the state of Michigan. Mr. Scope has been with the firm and its predecessors since 1994.

Mehmet Sengulen is a managing director of UHY Advisors NY, Inc. and partner of UHY LLP. He has over 13 years of diversified public and private accounting experience with two Fortune 100 public companies and two Big 4 accounting firms, where he worked with clients in the manufacturing and distribution, technology and oil and gas industries. He is a subject matter expert for the firms SEC practice as well as one of the leaders of the technology and software industry services sector. During his tenure in private industry, Mr. Sengulen specialized in the compliance and reporting requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 for two global companies and participated in the post-merger integration for a multi-billion dollar transaction. He was honored by SmartCEO Magazine with their 2014 Accounting Rising Star award. Mr. Sengulen received his B.S. and M.B.A. from St. Johns University where he was the president of Beta Alpha Psi, the national honors fraternity. He is a licensed CPA in the state of New York.

Aaron Witalec is a Michigan-based managing director of UHY Advisors Corporate Finance, LLC. He specializes in sell-side investment banking and buy-side advisory services for strategic and private equity clients engaged in acquisitions, divestitures, restructuring, carve-outs, private capital raising and venture capital. Mr. Witalec has over 14 years of investment banking and transaction services experience and has advised on more than 200 domestic and cross-border transactions ranging in value from $25 million to $2 billion across a broad range of industries. In 2015, he consulted on Deal of the Year as named by Crain's Detroit Business in cooperation with the Detroit chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Mr. Witalec is a University of Michigan-Dearborn alumni and received B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mathematics, as well as M.S. degrees in Accounting, Finance and Mechanical Engineering. He is a licensed CPA and in the state of Michigan and holds Series 7, 79, 63 and 24 licenses.

# # #

About UHY Advisors

UHY Advisors provides tax and advisory services to entrepreneurial and other organizations, principally those enterprises in the dynamic middle market. UHY LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides audit and other attest services to publicly traded, privately owned and nonprofit organizations in a number of industry sectors. UHY Advisors, operating in an alternative practice structure with UHY LLP, forms one of the largest professional services firms in the US. While that scale might provide confidence for some clients, others tell us our greatest value is the way we bring these resources to bear to help address todays evolving business challenges. Its a philosophy we call The Next Level of Service. To learn more visit http://www.uhy-us.com.

All of the above entities are members of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited (UHYI), a worldwide network of independent professional services firms that provide audit, tax and advisory services around the globe. UHYI is ranked among the top international accountancy networks and a proud member in good standing of the Forum of Firms. Collectively, the US operating entities (UHY Advisors and UHY LLP) are the largest independent members of UHYI with significant participation, bringing the power of the international network to serve the individualized needs of US clients.

UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of UHY Advisors. UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities. UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP are US members of UHYI, a UK company, and form part of the international UHYI network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. UHY is the brand name for the UHYI international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY Advisors, Inc. and/or UHY LLP (as the case may be) and not by UHYI or any other member firm of UHYI. Neither UHYI nor any member of UHYI has any liability for services provided by other members.
As the official treat of sweethearts, sweetFrog is always a great place to celebrate Valentines Day with your special someone.

In celebration of National Frozen Yogurt Day, February 6, sweetFrog Enterprises is inviting customers to bring a friend for free, all day, at participating shops nationwide. In addition, the chain will be celebrating Valentines weekend, February 12-14, with their very own super bowl of frozen yogurt party. Customers nationwide will be able to fill a shareable 24-ounce, super bowl of froyo for just $8.

National Frozen Yogurt Day gives us an opportunity to let our customers know how much they mean to us, said Matt Smith, chief marketing officer of sweetFrog. And, as the official treat of sweethearts, sweetFrog is always a great place to celebrate Valentines Day with your special someone.

The first National Frozen Yogurt Day was celebrated in the early 1990s and focuses on fun ways to emphasize the healthier and leaner aspects of yogurt over other frozen treats. Named for a Christian martyr, Valentines Day has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia and dates back to the 5th century.

About sweetFrog Frozen Yogurt:

Sweet Frog (http://www.sweetfrog.com) is the fastest growing premium, self-serve frozen yogurt restaurant company in the country. Sweet Frog currently has 344 stores including both company-owned, franchise and independently licensed locations either open or under contract in twenty-four states in the U.S, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom and Egypt. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Richmond, Virginia. Sweet Frog prides itself on providing a family-friendly environment where customers can enjoy soft-serve frozen yogurt, gelato and sorbets with the toppings of their choice. The company was founded on Christian principles and seeks to bring happiness and a positive attitude into the lives of the communities it calls home.

#####

Contact:

Matt Smith, Chief Marketing Officer

matt.smith(at)sweetfrog.net

(804) 835-6796

10800 Midlothian Turnpike, Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23235
We chose Centric Cloud PLM because of its simplicity and flexibility. It is a comprehensive PLM solution which can adapt to our needs as our business grows.

Centric Software announces that Scandinavia's leading tent and sleeping bag manufacturer, Helsport, has decided to adopt Centric Cloud, a new cloud-based, SaaS PLM solution specifically tailored with small businesses in mind. With an ultra-fast implementation, Centric Cloud is based on innovative technology and key industry learnings inspired by more than 125 PLM project implementations with leading fashion, consumer and sporting goods companies.

Helsport is a Norwegian family owned and run company, founded in 1951. From the very first sleeping bags developed in 1954, to the worlds first tunnel tent in 1970 and the lightest tents in the world in 2014, Helsport is synonymous with innovation in the outdoor market. The Scandinavian manufacturer first produced sleeping bags and tents for alpinism, expeditions and hiking before diversifying their product portfolio to include additional ranges of their core products and branching out into other outdoor gear. Helsport has demonstrated a strong commitment to ethical trade over the years.

As they continued to grow their business and expand their activities, Helsport looked for a solution that would enable them to increase the volume of their products and enhance communication with their suppliers without sacrificing quality.

As we expand our activities, we couldnt use excel spread sheets anymore. We decided to look for a solution that would enable us to improve efficiency, enhance visibility and control over our supply chain to reduce lead times and improve product margins. We chose Centric Cloud PLM because of its simplicity and flexibility. It is a comprehensive PLM solution which can adapt to our needs as our business grows, explains Stein Helliksen, CEO at Helsport.

Centric Cloud PLM is tailored for small businesses and designed to give them access to same innovations and benefits as accessible to larger companies, thus helping to level the competitive playing field. It will help Helsport speed product development, improve costs and increase market responsiveness.

Helsport also wanted to facilitate communication between product development, marketing, production and sales teams to improve data quality and reduce the number of errors across the value chain.

We will use Centric Cloud across all product types throughout the supply chain from assortment planning to product development processes. We hope to enhance our tech packs, quality, sourcing and costing capabilities too, continues Bjrn Stnan, Product Developer Tents.

We are excited to be part of Helsports growth plans as we share their passion for innovation and excellence, says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. We are happy to have innovated an inclusive PLM solution that will enable Helsport, as well as other small companies in Europe, to elevate their businesses, be more competitive on a global scale and dream big.

Helsport (http://www.helsport.no/om-oss)

We are proud to introduce ourselves as Scandinavias leading tent and sleeping bag manufacturer!

Helsport was established in 1951 and through the past 60 years, we have learned what it takes to make some of the best tent and sleeping bags in the world.

We developed our first sleeping bags in 1954 and launched our first tent in 1957. Since then, there have been many great innovations in design details, fabrics and other materials. We created the worlds first tunnel tent in 1970, and have since set several international standards in development. It is with pride that we can say that we received our first design award in 1968 and, our most recent one, in 2013.

Centric Software, Inc. (http://www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley and offices in trend capitals around the world, Centric Software builds technologies for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury and consumer goods. Its flagship product lifecycle management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, business planning, quality and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Cloud packages extended PLM including innovative technology and key industry learnings tailored for small businesses.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards, including the Frost & Sullivan Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion and Apparel PLM. Red Herring named Centric to its Top 100 Global list in 2013 and 2015.

Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Centric Software

Americas: Jennifer Forsythe, Centric Software, jforsythe(at)centricsoftware(dot)com

Europe: Maria teresa Rubino, Simply MOD, +39 389 457 3163, mariateresarubino(at)simplymod(dot)it

Asia: Emilie Gao, Centric Software, +86 186 1651 9769, egao(at)centricsoftware(dot)com

Helsport:

Bjrn Stnan, bjorn(at)helsport(dot)no, +47 40 45 60 90
Center for Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT) The TREAT team comes from a broad range of backgrounds but were driven by a common passion to see needed new rehabilitation and assistive technologies get to the market where they can make a difference in society - Solomon Diamond, PhD

Say that you have an idea for a product that would not only help someone regain independence after an injury, but do it faster and better. What is the next step? How do you build it? How will it be sold? What are the future challenges or barriers that may derail a seemingly clear pathway to the marketplace? Between technical and business development, navigating intellectual property, regulatory, and reimbursement requirements, and developing strategies to verify that the technology works as intended, some of these hurdles can be incredibly overwhelming to overcome. Ideas with great potential may be left in the mind of the inventor or on a laboratory shelf, never getting into the hands of the people who would truly benefit from them the most  individuals with injuries or disabilities, clinicians, and educators. Established in 2010, The Center for Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT) provides education, consultation, and direct assistance to innovators seeking to bring their novel technology solutions to the marketplace.

TREAT was recently awarded five years of additional funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The $6.2M award will support the continuation and expansion of the centers multiple programs and services. TREAT was the recipient in 2010 of initial funding from the NIH to create program infrastructure and deliver technology translation assistance. Since then, the center has worked with hundreds of innovators from a variety of backgrounds including rehabilitation researchers, clinicians and bioengineers. In my 30 years in clinical research, working with TREAT was by far the best experience I have had in completing a grant. TREAT was able to cut through the red tape of clinical research and guide me through the research process in an efficient, professional manner, said Pat Andres, a Senior Research Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"During the first 5 years of TREAT, we examined the commercialization process within rehabilitation from a variety of perspectives and worked with a broad range of clients facing a wide array of different challenges. Through this experience we have been able to model the process, identify common missteps along the way, and develop a suite of assistance tools along the continuum of commercialization experience and expertise, says Jon Lurie, MD, MS, Co-Director of TREAT and Associate Professor of Medicine, Orthopaedics, and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. In addition to The Dartmouth Institute, TREAT member organizations include Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, Boston Universitys School of Public Health, and Simbex  a leader in developing human solutions.

The TREAT team comes from a broad range of backgrounds but were driven by a common passion to see needed new rehabilitation and assistive technologies get to the market where they can make a difference in society, says Solomon Diamond, PhD, Associate Professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. TREAT educational programs include self-guided instructional tools, such as the TREAT Technology and Market Assessment and online lecture series from Dartmouth College. Additionally, TREAT offers commercialization services and seed funding through a competitive Pilot Project grant program. For individuals seeking an onsite opportunity to work with TREAT partners, the center offers sabbatical, internship, and fellowship opportunities.

The launch of TREATs new website and educational platform marks a strong start for the next phase of the center. One key goal for TREAT moving forward is to stimulate additional interest in our platform in the medical investment community as part of our plan to sustain TREAT long-term and beyond full government funding, says Rick Greenwald, PhD, Co-Director of TREAT and President of Simbex. We are confident that there is interest in novel paradigms for technology commercialization, and we will present TREATs economic model for stimulating growth in this area for rehabilitation and assistive technologies.

TREAT is now accepting proposals for Pilot Project grants to support development and commercialization of novel rehabilitation and assistive technology ideas. Additional details on the application process and eligibility can be found by visiting the TREAT website. Those interested must first register on-line and submit abstracts by February 22, 2016. Following abstract review, full proposals will be selected by invitation only through March 7, 2016. In addition to funding opportunities, individuals who are interested in sabbatical, internship, or fellowship programs are encouraged to reach out to Chris Maeder, TREAT Program Manager.

---------------

About the Center for the Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT)

TREAT is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, collaborative consortium between corporate, educational and non-profit entities that provides education, expert consultation, and direct assistance to accelerate commercialization of rehabilitation and assistive technologies. The center is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Rehabilitation Research Infrastructure Network (MRRIN). Funding is provided by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) through awards R24HD065703 and P2CHD086841. For more information, please visit http://treatcenter.org.

About Simbex

Simbex is a product development company focused on engineering human solutions. The company brings to market innovations / medical devices that can change the beliefs of what is feasible in human performance, disease prevention/management, and rehabilitation. Understanding all aspects of a product ecosystem is a standard part of Simbexs product development process that helps identify new products, maximize opportunities, and avoid potential cliffs. This holistic approach helps traverse the path from "What If...." to "Wow!". Simbex is an award winning company whose products and services have been recognized by: Time Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year, Edison Awards, Inc 5000, Sybase Innovation Award, Computerworlds Honor Program Award Finalist, and US Small Business Tibbetts Award. To learn more, visit the Simbex website at http://www.simbex.com.

About Boston University School of Public Health

Since 1976, Boston Universitys School of Public Health (SPH) has been growing, innovating, discovering, and launching the careers of some of the most accomplished and influential women and men in the field. Today they stand among a select group of public health graduate schools. U.S. News & World Report ranks SPH 10th in the nation. For further information about Boston Universitys School of Public Health, visit the BU website at http://www.bu.edu/sph/about/

About The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice

The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice is a dynamic force within Dartmouth College, dedicated to improving health care through education, research, policy reform, leadership improvement, and communication with patients and the public. For further information, visit http://tdi.dartmouth.edu.

About Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

Dartmouth's Thayer School is one of the country's oldest professional schools of engineering and offers both undergraduate and graduate programs within a single unified Department of Engineering Sciences. Teaching and research is advancing innovation in three focus areas: engineering in medicine; energy technologies; and complex systems. These areas crosscut traditional engineering disciplines and address critical human needs. For more information, visit the Thayer School Web site at http://engineering.dartmouth.edu.
Thomas Harman, CEO, Balsam Brands This recognition comes as Balsam Brands flagship brand Balsam Hill, best-known as the leading-brand of artificial Christmas trees, is moving into its 10th year under founder and CEO Thomas Harman.

Balsam Brands is named one of Forbes 25 small giants this month on the magazines list of Best Small Companies in America, 2016. The 25 privately held companies are named from around the country for their industry leadership, 10-year track record of steady profit margins, and demonstration of measured growth while maintaining a focus on employee satisfaction and giving back to the community.

This recognition comes as Balsam Brands flagship brand Balsam Hill, best-known as the leading-brand of artificial Christmas trees, is moving into its 10th year under founder and CEO Thomas Harman.

It is wonderful to receive this amazing outside recognition, and it is my privilege to be a part of a team who love their jobs and accomplish great things together, Harman stated.

Since founding Balsam Hill in 2006, Harman has grown Balsam Brands from a $3 million one-man company into a $90 million company with 120 employees worldwide. The company has been named one of the fastest growing companies by local and national media for five consecutive years, an accomplishment credited to Harmans commitment to employees.

It has been quite a journey together over the past 10 years, and we have a bright future ahead of us. We would not be where we are today without each member of the company: everyone has contributed to our company, culture, and success, Harman added.

Many of Balsams leadership team of over 50 percent women have been with the company since the early years. Harmans dedication to the Balsam team  displayed during the recession when he promised all of the employees job security, and during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 when the company chartered a helicopter to rescue an employee in the storms path and deliver aid to affected areas - is fundamental to Balsams continued growth. The company also focuses on giving back to the larger community, and has raised or donated over $100,000 for charities nationwide while supporting foundations such as Negrense Volunteers for Change and Operation Smile.

Now recognized as a market leader in artificial Christmas trees and greenery, the Balsam Brands team is taking its focused approach to develop exclusive products in highly complementary holiday categories, including heirloom-quality Christmas ornaments with assorted trim, tree skirts and stockings, outdoor decorations, and holiday collectibles such as snow globes, nutcrackers, and Santa figurines.

About Balsam Brands:

Balsam Brands is an Internet Retailer Top 500 e-retailer, appeared on the San Francisco Business Times 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Top 100 Fastest Growing Bay Area Companies list, the Silicon Valley Business Journals 50 fastest growing private companies in Silicon Valley for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and for the past five years on Inc. magazines annual Inc. 500|5000, a list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The company is headquartered in Redwood City with teams in Idaho, the Philippines and Ireland.

The companys flagship brand, Balsam Hill, was launched in Redwood City in 2006 to introduce a premium-level of realistic artificial Christmas trees using an exclusive True Needle design that patterns the color and shape of needles from molds of live trees. The trees and a new line of holiday home decor are available at http://www.BalsamHill.com, and the trees can be found internationally via websites in countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, England, Australia and France.

# # #
Staff members at Brookhaven Retreat  LLC will wear red on February 5 in honor of National Wear Red Day declared by the American Heart Association to support efforts of awareness and heart disease prevention during the entire month of February.

In 2003, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute joined forces against the disease that claims the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year. This year celebrates the 13th anniversary of the effort to raise awareness of the No. 1 killer in women.

Since the inception of National Wear Red Day, the American Heart Association has made the following strides:



Nearly 90% of women have made at least one healthy behavior change.

More than one-third of women has lost weight.

More than 50% of women have increased their exercise.

6 out of 10 women have changed their diets.

More than 40% of women have checked their cholesterol levels.

One-third of women has talked with their doctors about developing heart health plans.

Current statistics show that nearly 300 fewer women die from heart disease and stroke each day, and death in women has decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years. However, more progress must be made considering 1 in 3 women die of heart disease and stroke each year.

National Wear Red Day is also an effort to encourage financial support to fund educational programs to increase womens awareness about their risk for heart disease and stroke, as well as to continue research to discover more about cardiovascular health.

Brookhaven Retreats approach to mental wellness is holistic in nature and includes physical health, as one supports the other.

Mental and physical wellness are part of the same equation, says Jacqueline Dawes, founder of Brookhaven Retreat. Its nearly impossible to have one without the other. We work hard to ensure that each client learns to tend to all their needs in creating a life worth living. Our mission is to create a plan for each individual that takes all aspects of life into consideration. Seeing staff members in red will be a reminder for us all to do what we can to keep our hearts healthy not just in February, but all year round.

About Brookhaven Retreat

Brookhaven Retreat is a women's treatment center nestled on a naturally beautiful 48-acre site secluded in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. It has helped hundreds of women across the United States overcome depression, trauma, anxiety, substance use and a range of other behavioral health challenges. Brookhavens Founder, Jacqueline Dawes, has predicated its gender-specific treatment on healing emotional breakage for women. In this way, she has established a sanctuary and a place where women can feel safe, secure and cared for by a staff of highly trained professionals.
One of Decibel Insight's new offices is in Austin, Texas. Opening new offices in Austin and Boston goes some way to realizing our growth ambitions but in no way satisfies them.

Decibel Insight, the fastest growing enterprise customer experience analytics platform globally, has opened new offices in Boston, MA, and Austin, TX.

This expansion comes at the same time as two significant new hires into the global team. Nick Herbert, former Director of Sales at Velaro, joins as Enterprise Sales Executive in Boston, MA; while Aaron Wine, former Strategic Account Manager for Epicom Corporation, joins as Enterprise Sales Executive in Austin, TX.

Between them, these new additions to the team have decades of experience in the enterprise technology sector.

Aaron Wine said, Its fantastic to join Decibel Insight at such an exciting time for the company. The team is sizzling with talent, passion and ambition and Im thrilled and proud to be part of it.

Nick Herbert said, Ive spent my career with SaaS companies, and Decibel Insight is by far the most compelling technology Ive come across in this space.

Ive been blown away by the agility of the development team and the innovative environment here. We have an incredibly exciting roadmap in prospect for the coming year.

This expansion into new US markets consolidates Decibel Insights rapid growth over the past twelve months. Staff headcount has tripled, whilst their proprietary customer experience analytics platform has been adopted by a number of major US brands.

This growth is also reflected in business results, with a 2,200% increase in revenue year on year.

Decibel Insights CEO, Ben Harris, said: Aaron and Nick are brilliant additions to our growing global team. Their expertise in the SaaS space makes them a natural fit for our business.

Opening new offices in Austin and Boston goes some way to realizing our growth ambitions but in no way satisfies them. This year will be the biggest and most exciting in Decibel Insights history, and will see the opening of more new offices and continued aggressive growth across the board.

ABOUT DECIBEL INSIGHT

Decibel Insight empowers enterprise-level digital marketers and web analysts to put customers at the heart of their websites. Its award-winning technology tracks and records what website visitors see and what they do, enabling marketers and web analysts to forensically examine their behavior and use that insight to improve the on-site customer experience.

Backed by the UK Government, Decibel Insight launched at the end of Q1 2014 after three years of development and beta testing, and is now the most advanced product of its kind globally, surpassing its competitors and being used in over 50 countries.